[Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.19"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2851"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2016.04.19"] {[Annotations by GM Dejan Bojkov]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Nbd2 {It is hardly a huge surprise to see the world champion avoiding the main theoretical paths. He obviously needs to keep a secret his preparation against one of the best players in the QID nowadays - Sergey Karjakin. Far more common are:} (5. b3) ({or the immediate} 5. Qa4) 5... Bb4 ({Karjakin prefers to drop the bishop back on b7 at once instead} 5... Bb7 6. Bg2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. b3 c5 9. Bb2 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Bxg2 11. Kxg2 Nc6 {and to slowly level the game, Ni,H (2666)-Karjakin,S (2786) Tromso 2014 and Carlsen,M (2881)-Karjakin,S (2772) Shamkir 2014}) 6. Qa4 {Carlsen had some bitter experience in another version of this line:} (6. Qc2 Bb7 7. Bg2 c5 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. b3 Be7 10. Bb2 d6 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Rd1 Qc7 13. Ne4 Be7 14. Qd3 Na6 15. Nxd6+ Bxd6 16. Qxd6 Qxd6 17. Rxd6 {Ivanchuk,V (2781)-Carlsen,M (2775) Moscow 2008}) 6... c5 7. a3 Bxd2+ 8. Bxd2 O-O 9. dxc5 ({White can postpone this capture for a move} 9. Bg2 Bb7 10. dxc5 bxc5 11. Be3 d6 12. O-O a5 13. Qb3 Qc7 14. Rfd1 {Sebenik,M (2552) -Iordachescu, V (2645) Istanbul 2012}) 9... bxc5 10. Bg2 Qb6 {Perhaps it was not too late to retreat with the bishop} (10... Bb7 {On a6 it seems too vulnerable.}) 11. O-O Nc6 {The pawn on b2 is not really hanging.} (11... Qxb2 $4 12. Rfb1) 12. Be3 Rfc8 ({A novelty in comparison to} 12... Qa5 13. Qc2 Ng4 14. b4 $1 {and White was already winning loads of material:} cxb4 15. axb4 Qh5 (15... Nxe3 16. fxe3 Qb6 17. b5) 16. Bc5 Bb7 17. h3 Nf6 18. g4 {Belotti,B (2405)-Boog,A (2375) Biel 1992}) 13. Rfd1 $1 {White stops the d7-d6 defense and threatens b2-b4. Something went wrong with Harikrishna's preparation.} ({The immediate} 13. b4 { was less precise due to} Bxc4 14. Bxc5 Qb8 15. Rfe1 a5) ({And Carlsen probably did not want to move the rook away from the a-file as it multiplies the effect of the b2-b4 push} 13. Rac1 Qa5 (13... d6 14. b4) (13... d5 14. cxd5) 14. Qxa5 (14. Qc2 Rab8 {is a much better version than the line below.}) 14... Nxa5 15. Nd2) 13... d5 ({White's idea of keeping the rook on a1 reveals itself in the line} 13... Qa5 14. Qc2 {with the powerful threat b2-b4!}) 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Bxc5 {Simple and good.} Qa5 16. Qc2 $1 {White decided to give back the pawn. Converting the advantage is more diffciult after} (16. Qxa5 Nxa5 17. Nd4 (17. b4 Nb3 18. Ra2 Nxc5 19. bxc5 Rxc5) 17... Rxc5 18. b4 Rc3 19. bxa5 {although here too it is obvious who is the Boss.}) 16... Bxe2 17. Qxe2 Qxc5 18. Rac1 Qb6 19. b4 {As a result of the opening White's advantage is significant: better pieces, queenside majority and weak isolated pawns in Black's camp are the main plusses in Carlsen's position.} h6 20. Qe3 {A clever way to ask her Majesty leave its active position.} Qb7 ({Perhaps it was worth trying his chances in the endgame after} 20... Qxe3 21. fxe3 Ng4 22. Bh3 h5 23. Rc5) 21. Bh3 Re8 22. Qc3 Ne7 23. Nd4 {White's pieces are set to invade the opponent's camp.} Ne4 (23... Rad8 24. f3) 24. Qc7 Qa6 25. f3 $1 {One more accuracy which does not allow a chance to Harikrishna to show his creative genius. It seems as } (25. Bd7 {is stronger} Red8 26. f3 {with the idea} Nf6 ({I suspect Carlsen did not want to allow the complications after} 26... Nd6 27. Bc6 Nxc6 28. Nxc6 Rac8 29. Ne7+ ({If,} 29. Qa5 $1 {with the idea} Qxa5 ({Black can bail out with } 29... Qe2 $1 30. Re1 Qxf3 31. Ne7+ Kh7 32. Nxc8 Ne4 $1) 30. bxa5 Rd7 31. Rxd5 ) 29... Kh7 30. Nxc8 Rxc8 31. Qe7 Rxc1 32. Rxc1 Qxa3 {when the exposed white king makes win problematic.}) 27. Bb5) 25... Ng5 (25... Nf6 {looks safer although Black is definitely suffering after} 26. Rc3) 26. Bd7 Red8 27. h4 $1 { Carlsen is very accurate. Black would be happy to see} (27. Bb5 Qf6 28. f4 Ne4 {with some play thanks to the wonderful knight on e4.}) 27... Nxf3+ { Harikrishna decided to sacrifice the knight.} (27... Ne6 28. Bxe6 {was losing the piece for free.}) ({However} 27... Nh7 28. Re1 {would have continued the battle (and the suffering).}) 28. Nxf3 Qxa3 29. Kg2 Qb2+ 30. Rd2 Qxb4 31. Re1 a5 (31... Ng6 32. Rxd5) 32. Rde2 Ng6 33. h5 Nh8 {Sad but true, since} (33... Nf8 34. Be8 $1 {leaves no chance for the f7 pawn (and the king).}) 34. Bf5 a4 35. Ne5 Qd6 36. Qc2 Re8 37. Bh7+ Kf8 38. Qf5 (38. Nd7+ Qxd7 39. Qc5+ {was faster, but Carlsen is focused on another idea.}) 38... Re7 39. Bg6 Kg8 40. Nxf7 Rxf7 41. Bxf7+ {Or} (41. Re8+ Rxe8 42. Rxe8+ Rf8 43. Bh7#) 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.19"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Netherlands"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NED"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] [WhiteClock "0:08:17"] [BlackClock "0:00:13"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 a5 (7... a6 8. a4 Ba7 9. Na3 h6 10. Nc2 Re8 11. Be3 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 {So,W (2773) -Mamedyarov,S (2747) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) 8. Bg5 (8. Nbd2 h6 9. h3 a4 10. Bb5 Bd7 11. Nc4 Qc8 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Nxe3 Ne7 {Lehmann,S (2359)-Maec,M (2454) corr. 2011}) 8... h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Ba7 11. Na3 Bg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. Nc2 Bg6 14. Bh2 Nh5 15. d4 Nf6 16. dxe5 Nxe4 17. Ne3 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 dxe5 19. Ng4 h5 $2 (19... Kg7 $1 20. Bd5 (20. Bxe5+ f6 21. Bd4 c5 22. Be3 Qc7) 20... Nc5 21. Nxe5 (21. Bxe5+ f6 22. Bd4 Nd3) 21... Nd3 22. Nxd3 Qxd5 {with equality.}) 20. Rxe4 $1 Bxe4 21. Qxd8 Rfxd8 22. Nf6+ Kg7 23. Nxe4 f6 {Keeping White's bishop on h2 bad for the moment, but White should be better anyway.} 24. g4 $1 {Cementing the knight on e4.} h4 25. a4 c6 26. Kf1 Kg6 27. Ke2 Rab8 28. Be6 Kg7 29. f3 Re8 30. Bc4 Red8 31. Bd3 Kf7 $6 ({Better was} 31... Rd7 {to prevent White's maneuver.}) 32. Nd2 Ke7 33. Nc4 {Now White's winning.} Rd5 34. Be4 Rc5 35. Nd2 b5 36. Bg1 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.19"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Sweden"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "SWE"] [WhiteClock "0:03:08"] [BlackClock "0:01:31"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 e6 4. c3 c5 5. Nd2 Nc6 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. f4 cxd4 9. cxd4 O-O (9... Bd7 10. a3 O-O 11. Ngf3 Ne7 12. O-O Bc6 13. Ne5 Nd7 14. Qh5 f5 {Kamsky,G (2721)-Wang,Y (2723) Beijing 2013}) 10. a3 Ne7 11. Ngf3 (11. g4 Bd7 12. g5 Ne8 13. Ngf3 Nf5 14. Kf2 Qe7 15. Rc1 f6 16. Rg1 fxg5 17. Nxg5 Ned6 {Billio,M (1730)-Schroeder,C (2219) corr. 2013}) 11... Qb6 12. Qb3 Qxb3 13. Nxb3 b6 14. Rc1 Bd7 15. Ke2 Nc8 16. Ne5 Ba4 17. Nd2 Nd6 18. b3 Bb5 19. Bxb5 Nxb5 20. a4 Nd6 21. Rc6 Rfd8 22. Ra1 Nfe8 23. a5 f6 24. axb6 axb6 25. Rxa8 Rxa8 26. Nd7 b5 27. Nc5 Kf7 28. e4 dxe4 29. Ndxe4 Nxe4 30. Nxe4 Ra2+ 31. Kf3 Rb2 32. Nc5 g5 33. Rb6 gxf4 $6 ({Black could still hold with} 33... g4+ $1 34. Kg3 Ng7 $1 {and now, with the threat of 35...h5 and 36...Nf5 mate, White has to go} 35. Kxg4 Rxg2+ 36. Kf3 Rxh2 37. Rxb5 Rh3+ 38. Kf2 h5 {which is equal.}) 34. Rb7+ Kg6 35. Nxe6 Kf5 (35... Rxb3+ 36. Kxf4 {and it's White who has got the mating net (threatening 37.Nf8+).}) 36. Nc5 Rc2 $6 (36... Rd2) 37. Ne4 Nc7 38. Rb6 Nd5 39. Rd6 1-0 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.19"] [Round "1"] [White "Giri, A."] [Black "Eljanov, P."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2765"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 a5 $5 ({ The main line is} 7... a6 8. Bb3 Ba7 9. h3 h6) ({Or first} 7... h6) 8. Bg5 (8. Nbd2 Kh8 9. Nf1 Be6 10. Bb5 Bd7 11. Ng3 Bb6 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Rxe3 Ne7 14. Bxd7 Qxd7 15. d4 Nc6 16. a4 Rfe8 17. h3 Kg8 18. Qe2 Ra6 19. Rd1 Qe7 20. Rd2 g6 21. Qd1 Rb6 22. Rde2 Qf8 {1/2-1/2 (22) Ehlvest,J (2620)-Spassky,B (2580) Clermont Ferrand 1989}) 8... h6 9. Bh4 g5 $5 10. Bg3 (10. Nxg5 hxg5 11. Bxg5 {is optimistic because the white f-pawn cannot move. However, the idea is not totally absurd, e.g.:} Kg7 12. Qf3 Rh8 (12... Be6 13. Bd5) 13. Nd2 Be6 14. h4 $13) 10... Ba7 11. Na3 {Starting a journey to the kingside.} Bg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. Nc2 Bg6 14. Bh2 Nh5 15. d4 Nf6 (15... Qe7 $6 16. Ne3 $16) (15... Re8 $5) 16. dxe5 Nxe4 17. Ne3 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 dxe5 19. Ng4 {[#]} h5 $2 {Overlooking or underestimating White's next move.} (19... Kh7 {prevents the sequence White has in the game. After} 20. Rxe4 Bxe4 21. Qxd8 Raxd8 22. Nf6+ Kg6 {deckt g5!} 23. Nxe4 f5 24. Ng3 Rd2 25. Ne2 f4 $17 {White's in trouble.}) 20. Rxe4 $1 { Now White gets two pieces for a rook.} Bxe4 (20... Qxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Bxe4 22. Nf6+ {does not change much.}) 21. Qxd8 Rfxd8 22. Nf6+ Kg7 23. Nxe4 f6 (23... Kg6 24. g4 $16) 24. g4 h4 25. a4 c6 26. Kf1 Kg6 27. Ke2 Rab8 28. Be6 Kg7 29. f3 { White only has to reactivate the bishop h2 via g1 and its game over.} Re8 30. Bc4 Red8 31. Bd3 Kf7 32. Nd2 Ke7 33. Nc4 Rd5 34. Be4 Rc5 (34... Rd7 35. Nxa5 $18) 35. Nd2 b5 36. Bg1 1-0 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.19"] [Round "1"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Harikrishna, P."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2851"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Nbd2 ({The main move is} 5. b3) (5. Qa4) ({or} 5. Qc2 {are also more popular.}) 5... Bb4 6. Qa4 c5 7. a3 Bxd2+ 8. Bxd2 O-O 9. dxc5 bxc5 10. Bg2 Qb6 (10... Bb7 $5) 11. O-O Nc6 12. Be3 Rfc8 ( 12... Qa5 13. Qc2 $16 {1-0 (35) Belotti,B (2405)-Boog,A (2375) Biel 1992}) 13. Rfd1 (13. b4 Bxc4 14. bxc5 Qa6 {yields nothing for White.}) 13... d5 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Bxc5 Qa5 16. Qc2 Bxe2 17. Qxe2 Qxc5 18. Rac1 Qb6 19. b4 h6 20. Qe3 Qb7 21. Bh3 Re8 22. Qc3 Ne7 23. Nd4 $16 {White exerts a certain amount of pressure. } Ne4 24. Qc7 Qa6 (24... Qxc7 25. Rxc7 {is no improvement for Black.} Ng6 $6 26. Bd7 $18) 25. f3 Ng5 26. Bd7 Red8 27. h4 {[#]} (27. Rc3 $16) 27... Nxf3+ ({ Where to go with the knight? Obviously Black was loath to beat a retreat with} 27... Nh7 {.}) 28. Nxf3 Qxa3 29. Kg2 Qb2+ 30. Rd2 Qxb4 {Well, Black has three pawns and an active queen for the his piece. But his other pieces fail to impress.} 31. Re1 a5 32. Rde2 Ng6 33. h5 Nh8 {Ouch! In this game the black knights do not shine.} 34. Bf5 a4 35. Ne5 Qd6 36. Qc2 {[#]} Re8 ({After} 36... a3 {White has the clever} 37. Nc6 Rf8 38. Bh7#) 37. Bh7+ Kf8 38. Qf5 { Threatening 39.Nd7.} Re7 39. Bg6 Kg8 (39... Nxg6 40. Nxg6+ Kg8 41. Rxe7 fxg6 42. Qf7+ Kh7 43. Qxg7#) 40. Nxf7 Rxf7 41. Bxf7+ {A massacre.} 1-0 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.19"] [Round "1"] [White "Kramnik, V."] [Black "Grandelius, N."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2649"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 {Recently, Kramnik likes to try new ways.} d5 3. e3 e6 4. c3 c5 5. Nd2 Nc6 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. f4 cxd4 9. cxd4 O-O 10. a3 Ne7 11. Ngf3 (11. g4 Bd7 12. g5 Ne8 13. Ngf3 Nf5 14. Kf2 Qe7 15. Rc1 f6 16. Rg1 fxg5 17. Nxg5 Ned6 18. Qh5 h6 19. Ngf3 Rac8 20. Bc2 Kh8 21. Ne5 Be8 22. Qg4 Qd8 23. Bxf5 Nxf5 24. Nb3 Rxc1 25. Nxc1 h5 26. Qh3 Qc7 27. Ne2 Qc2 28. Ng6+ Bxg6 29. Rxg6 Qe4 30. Nc3 Qc2+ 31. Ne2 Qe4 32. Nc3 Qc2+ 33. Ne2 {1/2-1/2 (33) Billio,M (1730)-Schroeder,C (2219) LSS email 2013}) 11... Qb6 12. Qb3 Qxb3 13. Nxb3 $14 {White has more space and the better bishop.} b6 14. Rc1 {And the c-file.} Bd7 15. Ke2 Nc8 (15... Rfc8 16. Ne5 Be8 17. Ba6 $16) 16. Ne5 Ba4 17. Nd2 Nd6 18. b3 Bb5 19. Bxb5 Nxb5 20. a4 Nd6 {Black got rid of the bad bishop but could not solve his problems on the c-file.} 21. Rc6 Rfd8 22. Ra1 Nfe8 23. a5 f6 24. axb6 axb6 25. Rxa8 Rxa8 26. Nd7 b5 $14 {Black defended well but White still has the initiative.} 27. Nc5 Kf7 28. e4 dxe4 29. Ndxe4 Nxe4 (29... Ra2+ 30. Kf3 Nf5 31. Nxe6 Nh4+ $13) 30. Nxe4 Ra2+ 31. Kf3 Rb2 32. Nc5 g5 33. Rb6 {[#]} gxf4 (33... g4+ $1 34. Kxg4 (34. Kg3 Ng7 $11) 34... Rxg2+ 35. Kf3 Rxh2 36. Nxe6 h5 $11) 34. Rb7+ Kg6 35. Nxe6 Kf5 36. Nc5 Rc2 $2 ({Better was} 36... Rd2 37. Rd7 b4 $16) 37. Ne4 Nc7 38. Rb6 Nd5 (38... Ne8 39. Rxb5+ $18) 39. Rd6 {If the knight moves, White mates on f6.} 1-0 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Grandelius, N."] [Black "Aronian, L."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2649"] [BlackElo "2784"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nbd2 O-O 6. Bxc6 bxc6 {An interesting pawn-sacrifice.} ({"Normal" is} 6... dxc6) 7. Nxe5 Re8 8. Nef3 d5 9. O-O Bg4 10. h3 Bh5 11. Qe2 h6 ({Last year a game in the Norway Chess tournament continued} 11... dxe4 12. Nxe4 h6 13. Be3 Nxe4 14. dxe4 Rxe4 15. Qd3 Bxf3 16. Qxd8+ Rxd8 17. Bxc5 Be2 18. Rfc1 a5 19. b3 a4 20. Re1 Rd2 21. Rac1 axb3 22. axb3 Rd5 23. Be3 Bh5 24. Ra1 Bg6 25. Ra7 Re7 26. c4 Rd8 27. Rea1 Bc2 28. b4 Rd1+ 29. Rxd1 Bxd1 30. b5 cxb5 31. cxb5 Re5 32. Rxc7 Rxb5 33. Rc5 Rxc5 34. Bxc5 Bc2 35. Bd6 Bd1 36. Bc5 Bc2 37. Bd6 Bd1 {1/2-1/2 (37) Anand,V (2804) -Caruana,F (2805) Stavanger 2015}) 12. Re1 a5 13. Qf1 a4 14. e5 Nd7 15. d4 Bb6 16. c4 Nf8 17. c5 Ba5 18. Re3 Ne6 19. g4 Bg6 20. a3 f5 21. b4 axb3 22. Nxb3 fxg4 23. hxg4 Rf8 24. Nh2 {[#]} Be4 ({After} 24... Bc2 25. Nxa5 Rxa5 26. Rc3 Be4 27. Be3 Ra4 {the engines give Black an advantage.} 28. Qd1 $2 Qh4 29. -- { with the idea} Ng5) 25. Rg3 Qe7 ({If now} 25... Bc2 26. Nxa5 Rxa5 27. Be3 Be4 { White blocks the path to h4:} 28. g5) 26. Ra2 g5 27. Rb2 Qh7 28. Qd1 Qf7 29. Qe2 Qg6 30. Qd1 Qf7 {Black's advantage is gone and he contents himself with a draw.} 31. Qe2 Qg6 32. Qd1 1/2-1/2 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Giri, A."] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B96"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2788"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 h6 8. Bh4 Qb6 {The Poisoned Pawn variation with 7...h6 is a pet line of Vachier-Lagrave.} 9. a3 ({The alternative is} 9. Qd2 Qxb2 10. Rb1 Qa3 {z.B.:} 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Be2 Nc6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. O-O Bg7 15. Kh1 O-O 16. Rb3 Qa5 17. Qxd6 Rd8 18. Qa3 Qxa3 19. Rxa3 Rb8 20. Bd3 Bf8 21. Rb3 Rb4 22. Rxb4 Bxb4 23. Na4 a5 24. Rb1 c5 $15 {0-1 (44) Grischuk,A (2783)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2745) Beijing 2013}) 9... Be7 10. Bf2 Qc7 11. Qf3 Nbd7 (11... b5 12. g4 Nc6 13. O-O-O Bb7 14. h4 d5 15. e5 Ne4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Qc3 Rc8 18. Rh3 b4 19. axb4 Nxb4 20. Qxc7 Rxc7 21. f5 O-O 22. Be1 Bd5 23. g5 Rfc8 24. Bxb4 Bxb4 25. f6 Kh7 26. c3 gxf6 27. gxf6 Rg8 28. Bxa6 Bc5 29. Nb5 Rc6 30. Bb7 Rb6 31. Bxd5 exd5 32. Nd4 Bxd4 33. cxd4 Rg2 34. Rd2 Rxd2 35. Kxd2 Kg6 36. b3 Kf5 37. Rg3 Kf4 38. Rg1 e3+ 39. Kd3 Rxb3+ 40. Kc2 Rb6 41. Kd3 Rb3+ 42. Kc2 Rb6 43. Kd3 {1/2-1/2 (43) Grischuk,A (2750) -Vachier Lagrave,M (2765) London 2015}) 12. O-O-O (12. Bd3 b5 13. O-O Bb7 14. Qh3 O-O 15. Rae1 Rfe8 16. Kh1 Nc5 17. Bh4 Nxd3 18. cxd3 Qc5 19. Bf2 Qh5 $11 { 0-1 (61) Solak,D (2611)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2742) Rhodes 2013}) 12... b5 13. g4 g5 (13... Bb7 14. Bg2 Rc8 15. Kb1 g5) 14. h4 gxf4 15. Be2 Rg8 (15... Ne5 16. Qxf4 Nexg4 17. Bxg4 e5 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19. Qf3 Bxg4 20. Qxg4 Nf6 21. Qf3 Rc8 22. c3 Rg8 23. Nf5 a5 24. Rhg1 Rxg1 25. Bxg1 b4 26. axb4 axb4 27. Nxd6+ Bxd6 28. Qxf6 bxc3 29. b4 Bxb4 30. Bb6 Qe7 31. Qh8+ Qf8 32. Qxe5+ Qe7 33. Qh8+ Qf8 34. Qd4 Qe7 35. Kc2 Qe6 36. Qxb4 Qa2+ 37. Kd3 Qa6+ 38. Ke3 c2 39. Rc1 Rb8 40. Rxc2 {1/2-1/2 (40) Nekhaev,A (2535)-Yamaliev,V (2477) ICCF email 2013}) {[#]} 16. Rdg1 $2 {This move looks natural enough but a few moves later White is busted.} (16. g5 {has been extensively analysed by the engines - as you can see in Let'sCheck - and seems to be quite promising for White.} Ne5 17. Qxf4 hxg5 18. hxg5 Nfd7 19. Nxe6 $5 fxe6 20. Rh7 $16 {threatening Bh5 and g6.}) 16... d5 $1 ( 16... Ne5 17. Qxf4 {yields Black nothing.}) 17. exd5 Ne5 (17... Bb7 $5 18. Nc6 Bf8 $17) 18. Qh3 (18. Qxf4 {now fails to} Nd3+) (18. Qg2 Bb7 $19) 18... exd5 19. Re1 $6 (19. Bf3 b4 20. axb4 Bxb4 21. Nxd5 Nd3+ $17) 19... Kf8 {The black king sidesteps the x-rays coming from White's rook on e1.} (19... h5 $5 { is a also good as the following long engine-line shows:} 20. Nf5 hxg4 21. Bxg4 Rxg4 22. Bd4 {Attacking the Ne5, which cannot move.} Bxf5 (22... Rg3 {is also possible but even more complicated.}) 23. Bxe5 Qxe5 24. Rxe5 Rg1+ 25. Qf1 Rxf1+ 26. Rxf1 Be6 27. Rxf4 $19) 20. Nf5 ({Not good but slightly better was} 20. Nb3 h5 $19) 20... Bxf5 21. gxf5 Bc5 ({Or} 21... Bxa3 22. Nxd5 Bxb2+ 23. Kxb2 Nxd5 $19) 22. Qf1 (22. Bxc5+ Qxc5 {threatening d4 and Rg3xc3.}) 22... d4 23. Nb1 Ne4 24. Bf3 (24. Bd1 Ng3 $19) 24... Nxf2 25. Bxa8 {[#]} Ned3+ 26. Kd2 (26. cxd3 Bxa3+ 27. Kd2 Bb4+ $19) 26... Nxe1 27. Qxf2 d3 28. Qxe1 Be3+ (28... Be3+ 29. Kd1 Qxc2#) 0-1 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Giri, A."] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B96"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2788"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. e4 {After the unfortunate "flat" result at the Candidates' Anish Giri is more determined than ever to avoid the second edition of "My 60 Memorable Draws."} c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 {You see what I mean.} e6 7. f4 h6 8. Bh4 Qb6 {This version of the Poisoned Pawn Variation is not as common as the immediate 7...Qb6, but the position of the white bishop on h4 may favor Black in some of the sharp lines after the capture on b2.} 9. a3 {Saves the pawn just in case.} Be7 (9... Qxb2 $4 10. Na4) 10. Bf2 {This is an argument against the early h7-h6, but Vachier-Lagrave obviously does not mind this extra possibility.} Qc7 11. Qf3 Nbd7 ({MVL's latest game in this line went:} 11... b5 12. g4 Nc6 13. O-O-O Bb7 14. h4 d5 15. e5 Ne4 {with a double-edge position in Grischuk,A (2750)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2765) London 2015} ) 12. O-O-O b5 13. g4 g5 {A typical way to stop White's aggression on the kingside. It often comes with a pawn sacrifice.} 14. h4 gxf4 {But here it is White who sacrifices the pawn.} 15. Be2 {I suspect both players spend a lot of time analyzing then lines after:} (15. g5 Ne5 16. Qxf4 {one interesting line to investigate being} hxg5 17. hxg5 Rxh1 18. gxf6 $1) 15... Rg8 {A novelty by the French GM. Previously Black hurried to occupy the e5 outpost with} (15... Ne5 16. Qxf4 Nexg4 17. Bxg4 e5 18. Nd5 ({Perhaps Giri had prepared something related to the enterprising queen sacrifice in this case-} 18. Qxf6 $5 Bxf6 19. Nd5 Qd8 20. Nc6) 18... Nxd5 19. Qf3 Bxg4 20. Qxg4 Nf6 21. Qf3 {with advantage for White in Nekhaev,A (2535)-Yamaliev,V (2477) corr. 2013}) ({Vachier-Lagrave also considered the immediate} 15... d5 {but dismissed it due to} 16. exd5 Ne5 (16... Bb7 17. dxe6 Bxf3 18. exd7+ Qxd7 19. Bxf3 {is great for White (Giri)}) 17. Ndxb5 axb5 18. Nxb5 Qb8 19. Qc3 Nxd5 (19... Ne4 {should be analyzed as well.}) 20. Rxd5 $1 {and White wins (Vachier-Lagrave.)}) ({Both players disliked} 15... h5 {for different reasons.} 16. g5 Ng4 {Vachier-Lagrave did not like it due to} 17. Qxf4 ({Giri wanted to attack with} 17. g6 Nde5 18. gxf7+ Nxf7) 17... e5 18. Nd5 $1 {This is indeed bad for Black, for example} Qb8 19. Qg3 exd4 20. Bxg4 hxg4 21. Bxd4 {followed by h4-h5 and powerful attack on the kingside.}) 16. Rdg1 $6 {This appears to be wrong on the account of Black's next move. In the post-mortem players agreed that the critical move is: } (16. g5 Ne5 (16... hxg5 17. hxg5 Ne5 {is another option which may transpose to the line below.}) 17. Qxf4 {and now bad is} Nfg4 {due to} ({MVL intended} 17... hxg5 18. hxg5 Nfd7) 18. gxh6 {Another suggestion by the French GM was the queen sacrifice after} (18. Bxg4 hxg5 19. hxg5 Bxg5 20. Qxg5 Rxg5 21. Rh8+ {which Giri also explored but could not find a win after} Kd7 {White has a draw though (if he wishes) with} (21... Ke7 {on the hand loses to} 22. Bh4) 22. Bxe6+ fxe6 23. Rh7+ Kd8 24. Rh8+) 18... Nxf2 19. h7 Rh8 {Noone suggested the simple} 20. Qxf2 (20. Rhg1 Ng6 ({However, there is an amazing resource for Black after} 20... Nxd1 21. Rg8+ Kd7 22. Rxh8 Nxc3 23. bxc3 Qxc3 {and although White can promote to a queen with} 24. Rd8+ Bxd8 25. h8=Q {He is losing after} Qa1+ 26. Kd2 Qxd4+ 27. Ke1 Nf3+) 21. Qxf2 {looks good for White.}) (20. Rdg1 Rxh7 21. Rg8+ Kd7 22. Qxf2 Bb7 {is very unclear.})) 16... d5 $3 {This move shocked not only Giri, but all commentators unarmed with silicon chips. It is very unusual for this situation and as the Dutchman put it looks crazy with the king in the middle. The position is very complex and both sides are not shy of option, for example:} (16... h5 17. g5 Ng4 18. Qxf4 e5 19. Nd5 {which looks good for White.}) ({Or} 16... Ne5 17. Qxf4 Nexg4 18. Bxg4 e5 {and now} 19. Qxf6 $3 Bxf6 20. Nd5 Qd8 21. Bxc8 Rxg1+ 22. Rxg1 Rxc8 23. Rg8+ Kd7 24. Rxd8+ Bxd8 25. Nf5 {leads to clear advanatge for White in the endgame.}) 17. exd5 {Black's play is very easy and straightforward after} (17. g5 Ne5 18. Qh3 hxg5 (18... Nxe4) 19. Rxg5 Rxg5 20. hxg5 Nxe4) 17... Ne5 {A cold shower.} ({ Giri was hoping for} 17... Bb7 18. dxe6 $1 Bxf3 19. exd7+ Qxd7 20. Bxf3 { with compensation for the queen.}) 18. Qh3 {Bad is} (18. d6 Nxf3 19. dxc7 Nxg1) 18... exd5 {As a result White's attack on the kingside was stopped for good while the black king feels safe in the middle of the board.} 19. Re1 { Discouraged, Giri puts little resistance.} (19. Nf5 Bxf5 20. gxf5 Rxg1+ (20... O-O-O) 21. Rxg1 O-O-O {was very good for Black as Be7-c5 will follow next.} ({ Or even the immediate} 21... Bc5 22. Nxd5 Nxd5 23. Bxc5 O-O-O)) (19. Qg2 { looks timid} Bxg4 (19... Bb7)) 19... Kf8 $1 {Black avoids the unnecessary complications after} (19... h5 20. Ndxb5 (20. Bxb5+ axb5 21. Ndxb5 Qb8) 20... axb5 21. Nxb5) 20. Nf5 {There is hardly a defense as both} (20. Bf3 Nxf3 21. Qxf3 Bxg4) (20. Qf1 Bxa3 $1 {are great for Black.}) 20... Bxf5 21. gxf5 Bc5 $1 {Without the dark-squared bishop White's position collapses very fast as d5-d4 followed by Nf6-d5-e3 is unstoppable.} 22. Qf1 (22. Bxc5+ Qxc5 23. Qf1 d4) 22... d4 23. Nb1 Ne4 (23... Nd5 {was not bad neither.}) 24. Bf3 Nxf2 25. Bxa8 ( 25. Qxf2 d3 26. Qf1 Be3+ 27. Nd2 Qxc2#) 25... Ned3+ $1 {Quite a finish!} 26. Kd2 (26. cxd3 Bxa3+ 27. Kd2 Bb4+ 28. Ke2 (28. Nc3 dxc3+) 28... f3+ 29. Kxf3 Qg3+ 30. Ke2 Qe3#) 26... Nxe1 27. Qxf2 (27. Qxe1 d3 $1) 27... d3 $1 28. Qxe1 Be3+ {White resigned due to} (28... Be3+ 29. Kxd3 Qc4#) 0-1 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2851"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"] [BlackTeam "Norway"] [WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"] [BlackTeamCountry "NOR"] [WhiteClock "0:21:08"] [BlackClock "0:52:57"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Qc2 c6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bf4 Nh5 8. g3 {"It was just an idea but I don't think it was anything." (Topalov) "I wasn't overly impressed." (Carlsen)} (8. Bd2 Be7 9. e3 Nhf6 10. Bd3 g6 11. O-O O-O 12. Rab1 a5 {Riazantsev,A (2671)-Zvjaginsev,V (2660) St Petersburg 2015}) 8... Nxf4 (8... Be7 9. h4 Nxf4 10. gxf4 Nf6 11. O-O-O g6 12. e3 {1/2 Bareev,E (2660)-Kramnik,V (2710) Biel 1993}) 9. gxf4 Nb6 10. e3 g6 11. h4 (11. Bd3 Bg4 12. Ne5 Bh5 13. f3 f6 14. Ng4 {Topalov} Qe7 $5) 11... Bb4 12. Bd3 Bg4 13. Ne5 Bh5 14. Be2 (14. f3 Qe7 15. Kf2 O-O-O 16. Ne2 Kb8 17. Ng3 f6 18. Ng4 Bxg4 19. fxg4 Rhe8 20. Qe2 c5 $5 {Carlsen}) 14... Bxe2 15. Kxe2 f6 16. Nd3 Bxc3 17. Qxc3 Qe7 {Topalov thought it was "around equal" here.} 18. Qc5 Nc4 {"I decided just to bail out." (Carlsen)} ({"This is the point where on another day..." said Carlsen and he meant going} 18... Qe6 {and now e.g.} 19. a4 (19. Qb4 $5) 19... Nc4) 19. Qxe7+ ({Topalov admitted afterward that he could have won a tempo with } 19. h5 Kf7 20. Qxe7+ Kxe7 21. Rag1 Kf7 {but it doesn't make a huge difference.}) 19... Kxe7 20. h5 Rag8 21. hxg6 hxg6 22. a4 {Here Topalov had in mind that he might play a4-a5, and after a7-a6 put the knight on c5 at some point and prepare e3-e4, but Black always has the Rh5 option.} a5 23. b3 Nd6 24. Rag1 Kf7 25. Rc1 Rh5 26. Rhg1 Rh2 27. Rh1 Rh5 28. Rhg1 Rh2 29. Rh1 Rh5 { "I don't see a plan for any side." (Topalov)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Grandelius, Nils"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2649"] [BlackElo "2784"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Sweden"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "SWE"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] [WhiteClock "0:12:19"] [BlackClock "0:38:34"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nbd2 (5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. Qe2 Re8 8. Nc4 Nd7 9. Bd2 Bd6 10. O-O-O b5 {Caruana,F (2794)-Nakamura,H (2790) Moscow 2016}) 5... O-O 6. Bxc6 bxc6 7. Nxe5 Re8 8. Nef3 d5 9. O-O Bg4 10. h3 Bh5 11. Qe2 h6 (11... dxe4 12. Nxe4 h6 13. Be3 Nxe4 14. dxe4 Rxe4 15. Qd3 Bxf3 16. Qxd8+ Rxd8 17. Bxc5 Be2 18. Rfc1 a5 {Anand,V (2804)-Caruana,F (2805) Stavanger 2015}) 12. Re1 a5 13. Qf1 a4 14. e5 Nd7 15. d4 Bb6 16. c4 Nf8 17. c5 Ba5 18. Re3 Ne6 19. g4 Bg6 20. a3 f5 21. b4 axb3 22. Nxb3 fxg4 ({Aronian didn't like} 22... f4 23. Re2 Bd3 24. Qd1 Bxe2 25. Qxe2 {so much.}) 23. hxg4 Rf8 24. Nh2 Be4 ({Both Carlsen and Svidler thought} 24... Bc2 {was very logical. Aronian wasn't sure about} 25. Ra2 Bxb3 26. Rxb3 Nxd4 27. Rh3 Qe7 28. f4 Qxc5 29. Be3 {but the computer typically has no fear and thinks Black is close to winning after} Bb6) 25. Rg3 Qe7 26. Ra2 g5 {Against f2-f4.} 27. Rb2 { Here Aronian thought he was slightly worse.} Qh7 ({Interesting was the pawn sac } 27... Rfb8 28. Nxa5 Rxb2 29. Nxc6 Qd7 30. Bxb2 Qxc6 31. Rb3 Qa4) 28. Qd1 Qf7 29. Qe2 Qg6 30. Qd1 Qf7 31. Qe2 Qg6 32. Qd1 {"One of the most bizarre repetitions I've ever seen." (Carlsen)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Harikrishna, P."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2765"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] [WhiteClock "0:50:26"] [BlackClock "0:55:07"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 c5 5. d5 b5 6. e4 O-O 7. Nh3 d6 8. Nf4 e5 ( 8... exd5 9. cxd5 a6 10. Be2 Nbd7 11. O-O c4 12. Be3 Bc5 13. Bxc5 Nxc5 { Grischuk,A (2781)-Topalov,V (2798) Stavanger 2015}) 9. Nfe2 Nh5 10. g4 Qh4+ 11. Kd2 Nf4 12. Nxf4 exf4 13. Kc2 bxc4 14. Bxf4 (14. Bxc4 Ba6 15. Bxa6 Nxa6 16. Bxf4 c4 17. Qd4 Rfc8 18. a3 Bc5 {Cheng,B (2440)-Papin,V (2514) Melbourne 2013}) 14... Qf6 15. Qd2 (15. Bg3 $5 {Harikrishna}) 15... Nd7 (15... Ba6 $5) 16. Be2 Qe7 {Eljanov didn't like his position here.} (16... Rb8 17. Bg5 {Harikrishna}) 17. Bxc4 Rb8 18. b3 Nb6 19. Qd3 Bd7 20. Bd2 (20. Rhe1 Nxc4 21. bxc4 Rb6 22. e5 Rfb8 23. exd6 Qf6 {Harikrishna}) 20... Nxc4 21. bxc4 Rb6 22. Rhb1 Rfb8 23. a3 Bxc3 24. Bxc3 (24. Rxb6 $2 Ba4+ 25. Kxc3 Qe5+ {cannot be recommended. :-)}) 24... Ba4+ 25. Kc1 h5 {Gustafsson: "White is fighting for a draw." Eljanov/ Harikrishna: "Yes, but it should be easy."} 26. Rxb6 Rxb6 27. Rb1 hxg4 28. f4 Rxb1+ 29. Kxb1 Qb7+ 30. Bb2 Qb3 31. Qxb3 Bxb3 32. e5 dxe5 33. d6 Kf8 34. Bxe5 g6 35. d7 Ke7 36. Kb2 Bxc4 37. Kc3 Bb5 38. Bd6+ Kxd7 39. Bxc5 Ke6 40. Kd4 a6 41. Ke3 Bc6 42. Bb4 Bb5 43. Bc5 Bc6 44. Bb4 Bb5 45. Bc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Li, Chao"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C26"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2801"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "0:50:30"] [BlackClock "0:46:19"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bc5 4. Bg2 c6 5. Nge2 d5 6. exd5 cxd5 7. d4 exd4 8. Nxd4 O-O (8... Bg4 9. Qd3 Nc6 10. Qe3+ Ne7 11. O-O O-O 12. Qd3 h6 13. h3 Bh5 14. Be3 Qc8 {Yu,Y (2585)-Ni,H (2667) Danzhou 2010}) 9. O-O Bg4 10. Qd3 Bxd4 11. Qxd4 Nc6 12. Qc5 {The best square.} (12. Qf4 Qd7 {and it's not easy to continue.}) 12... d4 13. h3 Bxh3 (13... dxc3 14. hxg4 Nd4 15. bxc3 Ne2+ 16. Kh1 Rc8 17. Qf5 {Kramnik}) (13... Be6 14. Ne2 Nd7 15. Qb5 Nde5 {Li Chao}) 14. Bxh3 dxc3 15. bxc3 {Kramnik said he hadn't analysed this.} (15. Qxc3 Re8 (15... Ne4 16. Qb3 Nd4 17. Qd3 Nc5 18. Qd1 {Muller,J (2498)-Marcotulli, G (2475) corr. 2004}) 16. Re1 Ne4 (16... Qd5 {Kramnik}) 17. Qd3 Qxd3 (17... Nb4 18. Qc4) 18. cxd3 Nc5 {is equal.}) 15... Re8 (15... Ne4 $5 {Kramnik thought} 16. Qc4 Re8 { might have been more accurate.}) 16. Qb5 Qa5 (16... Ne4 17. Qxb7 Qf6 18. Bd7 ( 18. Bf4 Nxc3 19. Rae1 Nd4 20. Kg2) 18... Ne5 19. Bxe8 Nf3+ 20. Kg2 (20. Kh1 Rxe8 {is dangerous}) 20... Ne1+ 21. Kg1 {is a draw - Kramnik.}) 17. a4 (17. Qxa5 Nxa5 18. Be3 {is "probably kind of equal" (Kramnik).}) 17... Qxc3 18. Bb2 Qxc2 19. Rac1 (19. Bf5 Qe2 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Qxb7 $6 Nd4) 19... Qe2 20. Bg2 $1 (20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Qxb7 Nd4 22. Rc7 Nf3+ 23. Kg2 Ng5 {and now White has} (23... Ne1+ $1 {is a draw}) 24. Bc8 $1 Qe5 25. f4 Qe2+ 26. Rf2 Qe4+ 27. Qxe4 Nxe4 28. Rfc2 {with a slight edge.}) 20... Qe7 (20... Rab8 21. Bxf6 gxf6 22. Qxe2 Rxe2 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Rxc6 Rb4 25. Ra6) 21. Bxf6 (21. Bc3 Ne4 22. Bxe4 Qxe4 23. Rfe1 Qf3 24. Rxe8+ Rxe8 25. Qxb7 h5 {Kramnik}) 21... Qxf6 22. Qxb7 Nd4 23. Rfe1 h5 (23... g6 $5 24. Qxa8 Rxa8 25. Bxa8 Qa6 {Kramnik}) 24. Qxa8 Rxa8 25. Bxa8 h4 26. Rc8+ Kh7 27. Be4+ g6 28. gxh4 Qe6 (28... Qxh4 29. Rc7 Kh6 30. Rxf7 Qg4+ 31. Kf1 Nc2 32. Re2) ({Another option was} 28... Qa6 {e.g.} 29. Re8 (29. Rc7 Qa5 30. Rxf7+ Kg8) 29... Qxa4 {Kramnik} 30. h5 Kh6 31. Bd5 Kxh5 {Li Chao}) 29. Re8 Qg4+ 30. Kf1 Qxh4 31. Re7 $1 {Missed by Kramnik. This holds.} Qh3+ 32. Kg1 Qg4+ 33. Kf1 Qh3+ 34. Kg1 Kg7 35. Bd5 Qg4+ 36. Kf1 Qh3+ 37. Kg1 Nf3+ 38. Bxf3 Qxf3 39. Rxa7 Qg4+ 40. Kf1 Qh3+ 41. Kg1 Qg4+ 42. Kf1 Qh3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.21"] [Round "3"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Grandelius, N."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B29"] [WhiteElo "2851"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "ChessBase"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 {The Nimzowitsch-Sicilian, which Grandelius plays occasionally. } Nf6 {Die Nimzowitsch-Variante hat Grandelius gelegentlich schon gespielt.} 3. e5 ({Different structures arise after} 3. Nc3 d5 4. exd5 Nxd5 5. Bb5+) 3... Nd5 4. Nc3 Nxc3 5. dxc3 Nc6 6. Bf4 (6. Bc4 {is also played quite often.}) 6... Qb6 $5 ({The main line arises after} 6... e6 7. Qd2 Qc7 8. O-O-O) 7. Qc1 {After nine minutes thought.} ({More common is} 7. b3 {Nach After} Qc7 8. Qd2 e6 9. O-O-O {the position is almost similar to those arising in the main line. However, White played the extra-move b3 which weakens his king.}) 7... f6 { This move is not a novelty but was played in only one previous game.} (7... h6 8. h4 d5 9. exd6 exd6 10. Bc4 Be7 11. Qe3 Qxb2 12. O-O O-O 13. Rfb1 Qa3 14. Bxh6 gxh6 15. Rb3 Qa4 16. Bb5 Qg4 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. Qxe7 Be6 19. Qxd6 Bxb3 20. axb3 Qg6 21. Qxc5 Qxc2 22. Ra4 Qd1+ 23. Kh2 Qd5 24. Qe7 Qe6 25. Qxe6 fxe6 26. Ra6 Rfb8 27. b4 Rb6 28. Ra1 c5 29. bxc5 Rb5 30. Ra6 Rxc5 31. Nd4 Rxc3 {1/2-1/2 (31) Rodshtein,M (2664)-Ipatov,A (2625) Germany 2014}) 8. Bc4 {That's the new move - after eight moves.} (8. Bg3 fxe5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Bxe5 Qe6 11. Qe3 d6 12. Bf4 Qxe3+ 13. Bxe3 $11 {1/2-1/2 (65) Zude,A (2389)-Gheng,J (2314) Schwaebisch Gmuend 2003}) 8... g5 {Black wants to take the e-pawn.} 9. Bg3 g4 { [#]} 10. exf6 $3 {Carlsen sacrifices his knight on f3 to get an attack.} (10. Nh4 Nxe5 11. Bxe5 fxe5 {yields White nothing.}) 10... gxf3 11. Qf4 fxg2 12. Rg1 Na5 13. f7+ Kd8 14. Bd5 {[#] Black has an awkward position. The white pieces threaten Black left and right and Black has problems to bring his pieces into play. Maybe Black is already lost here.} Bh6 (14... e6 $4 15. Qf6+ Be7 16. Qxh8+ Bf8 17. Qxf8#) (14... Qxb2 $4 15. Qc7#) (14... d6 15. O-O-O Kc7 16. Rxg2 Bh3 17. Rgg1 h5 18. Bh4 -- {followed by} 19. Rg8) 15. Qe5 Rf8 (15... Qf6 16. Qc7# {By now this mating motive should be familiar.}) 16. Bh4 {Attacking e7.} Rxf7 {Giving a rook to stay in the game.} 17. Bxf7 Nc6 $16 18. Qg3 Qxb2 19. Rd1 Qxc2 20. Bd5 Qf5 21. Rxg2 {[#] Black has two pawns for the exchange but is seriously behind with his development. Carlsen also plays the technical part convincingly.} Bf4 22. Qf3 Kc7 23. Rg5 Qf8 24. Bg3 e5 25. Rh5 a5 26. Rxh7 Ra6 27. Rf7 Qe8 28. Kf1 Bxg3 29. hxg3 Qh8 30. Kg2 Nd8 31. Rf8 Qg7 32. Rh1 Rh6 33. Rxh6 Qxh6 34. Qf6 Qxf6 35. Rxf6 d6 36. Kf3 b5 37. g4 Kd7 38. Rh6 {The g-pawn decides.} 1-0 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.21"] [Round "3"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Black "Eljanov, P."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2765"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {The starting position of the Berlin Defense. Black has the two bishops, White has a mobile pawn majority on the kingside.} 9. h3 ({Currently the main move is} 9. Nc3 {and literally thousands of game have been played with this line.}) 9... Be7 (9... Ke8 10. Nc3 {transposes to the main line.}) 10. Nc3 Nh4 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. Be3 (12. Ne2 Bf5 13. Nd4 Bd7 14. f4 Be7 15. f5 Bc5 16. Be3 Re8 17. e6 fxe6 18. Nxe6+ Bxe6 19. Bxc5 Bd5 20. Rad1 b5 21. b3 Kc8 22. Rde1 Kd7 23. Bd4 g6 24. f6 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Re8 26. Rxe8 Kxe8 27. Bxa7 Kf7 28. a4 bxa4 29. bxa4 Kxf6 30. a5 Ke6 31. Kf2 h5 32. Be3 Kd7 33. a6 Kc8 34. Bc5 Be4 35. c3 Bd3 36. a7 Kb7 37. Kf3 Bf1 38. Kf2 Bd3 39. Kf3 Bf1 40. Kf2 Bd3 {1/2-1/2 (40) Grischuk,A (2750)-Eljanov,P (2753) Reykjavik 2015}) 12... h5 13. Rad1+ Ke8 14. Ne2 Be7 15. Rfe1 a6 16. Bf4 g5 17. Be3 Bf5 18. Nd4 Bg6 19. e6 Rd8 20. exf7+ Kxf7 21. Nf3 Bxc2 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Nxg5+ Kf6 24. Ne6 Rd1 (24... Kxe6 25. Bg5+ Kf5 26. Bxe7 Rd4 $11) 25. Bg5+ Kf7 26. Rxd1 Bxd1 27. Bxe7 Kxe6 {White's pawn majority on the kingside became even more pronounced but the opposite-colored but the opposite-colored bishops prevent White from making serious winning attempts.} 28. Bd8 Kd6 29. f3 c5 30. Kf2 b5 31. Ke3 b4 32. g4 hxg4 33. fxg4 a5 34. Kf4 c4 35. Bf6 c5 36. h4 Ke6 37. Bh8 Kf7 38. h5 a4 {White cannot make progress on the kingside.} 39. a3 Be2 40. Be5 ({Black might have dreamt of} 40. axb4 $2 cxb4 41. Bd4 $2 c3 42. bxc3 $4 b3 43. c4 a3 $19) 40... c3 41. bxc3 bxa3 42. c4 {White must control the diagonal.} Bxc4 43. g5 {But now Black must be careful.} Bd3 (43... Be2 $4 44. g6+ Kg8 45. h6 $18) 44. g6+ Bxg6 45. hxg6+ Kxg6 {[#] With a draw.} 46. Ke4 c4 47. Ba1 c3 48. Kd3 a2 49. Kxc3 a3 50. Kb3 Kh7 51. Kxa2 Kg8 52. Kxa3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.04.21"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B29"] [WhiteElo "2851"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:02:22"] [BlackClock "0:00:30"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {It is not every day that you see the Nimzowitsch (or Rubinstein) in a top level game. Grandelius though (together with some young GMs like Ipatov and Rakhmanov) likes it and is not shy of trying it against the world champion.} 3. e5 {The most principled continuation.} ({In a recent game from the German Bundesliga Grandelius used the line to transpose into the Dragon after} 3. Nc3 d6 ({And in another recent game he followed the original Nimzowitsch recipe} 3... d5 4. Bb5+ Bd7 5. e5 Bxb5 6. Nxb5 Nfd7 7. e6 fxe6 8. O-O Qb6 {Adams,M (2744)-Grandelius,N (2644) Reykjavik 2015}) 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 {Harikrishna,P (2737)-Grandelius,N (2628) Germany 2015} ) 3... Nd5 4. Nc3 Nxc3 (4... e6 {is a known gambit line which might be a bit too much in Norway.}) 5. dxc3 Nc6 6. Bf4 Qb6 {Black uses this move to force a minor concession by his opponent.} 7. Qc1 ({One concession might be the loss of the long castle opportunity in the line} 7. Rb1 Qc7 8. Bd3 e6 {A demonstration of Black's plan is the following game} 9. Bg3 b6 10. O-O Bb7 11. Qe2 d5 (11... d6) (11... O-O-O) 12. c4 Nb4 13. cxd5 Bxd5 14. Bb5+ Bc6 {and Black held later in Azarov,S (2595)-Rakhmanov,A (2640) Al Ain 2015}) ({ Slightly weakening is} 7. b3 h6 8. h4 Qc7 9. Qd2 e6 10. O-O-O a6 11. Kb1 b5 { Wang,H (2729)-Ipatov,A (2613) Dubai 2014}) 7... f6 {In both alternative scenarios Black had problems finishing the development. Grandelius might have also feared prep, thus the move in the game.} (7... h6 {which led to the following tactical battle-} 8. h4 (8. Bc4 $5) 8... d5 9. exd6 exd6 10. Bc4 Be7 11. Qe3 Qxb2 12. O-O O-O 13. Rfb1 Qa3 14. Bxh6 $5 (14. Rb3 Qa5 15. Re1 Qc7 16. Bd5) 14... gxh6 15. Rb3 Qa4 16. Bb5 Qg4 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. Qxe7 Be6 19. Qxd6 Bxb3 20. axb3 {and White was better in Rodshtein,M (2664)-Ipatov,A (2625) Germany 2014}) (7... e6 8. Nd2 {here we see the drawback of the Qd8-b6 move; she has to lose a tempo} Qd8 9. Ne4 d5 10. exd6 e5 11. Qe3 f5 12. Bxe5 Nxe5 13. Ng5 Bxd6 14. f4 O-O 15. fxe5 f4 {was unclear in Oratovsky,M (2522)-Ninov,N (2508) Ascona 2011}) 8. Bc4 {White is practically sacrificing a piece with this novelty. Carlsen believes in the solid fundament of his position and continues with the development.} ({The only predecessor saw:} 8. Bg3 fxe5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Bxe5 Qe6 11. Qe3 d6 12. Bf4 Qxe3+ 13. Bxe3 Bd7 {which allowed Black a chance to swap off the queens and level the chances, Zude,A (2389) -Gheng,J (2314) Schwaebisch Gmuend 2003}) 8... g5 9. Bg3 ({Another way to sacrifice is} 9. exf6 gxf4 10. Qxf4 {for example} Qxb2 11. O-O Qxc3 12. Rae1 { with massive pressure for the piece. Say} e6 ({White's main idea is revealed in the line} 12... d6 13. Re3 Qxc2 14. fxe7 Bxe7 15. Bd5 {when captures on d6 and later on e7 are unavoidable.}) 13. Re3 Qxc2 14. f7+ Ke7 (14... Kd8 15. Qf6+ ) 15. Nh4 {with a strong attack.}) 9... g4 10. exf6 {The point of the novelty. As usual engines are skeptical about the attack but change their minds after some deep thought.} gxf3 {There is no way back as} (10... exf6 11. Qe3+ Be7 12. Nh4 {leaves Black's position in ruins for free.}) 11. Qf4 fxg2 {Alternatives do not seem better:} (11... Qxb2 $4 12. f7+ Kd8 13. Qc7#) (11... exf6 12. Qxf6) (11... Kd8 {leaves some extra options to White} 12. O-O-O (12. fxe7+ $5) 12... fxg2 13. Rhg1 ({Or} 13. Rhe1)) 12. Rg1 {For the piece White has huge lead in the development, but more importantly plenty of lines and diagonals to use it.} Na5 ({Like in the previous note} 12... exf6 13. Qxf6 {is immediate resignation. }) ({Black cannot lock the position with} 12... e6 13. f7+ Ke7 (13... Kd8 14. Qf6+) 14. Bh4#) ({And} 12... Kd8 {allows} 13. O-O-O) 13. f7+ $1 {Carlsen's original plan was to go for} (13. fxe7 Bxe7 14. Bf7+ Kd8 ({But he rejected it at the last moment as he could not see more than a draw after} 14... Kf8 15. Be6+ (15. Rxg2 Qf6)) 15. O-O-O) 13... Kd8 14. Bd5 Bh6 {"Born out of desperation," but this loses. Grandelius could not see any defense in case of:} (14... d6 15. O-O-O Kc7 16. Rxg2 ({Or} 16. Bh4 {which Carlsen calculated with the fancy line} e6 (16... Bh3 17. Qe3 $1) 17. Rxg2 exd5 18. Rg8 Nc4 19. b3 Qa5 20. bxc4 Qxc3 21. Rxh8 Qxh8 22. Bf6 $1 {trapping the queen.}) 16... Bh3 17. Rgg1 e6 ({Perhaps Black can try to defend the position after} 17... h5 18. Bh4 Bh6 19. Bg5 Bxg5 20. Qxg5 Qb5 21. Qxe7+ Qd7 22. Qe3 Nc6 {although the computer claims advantage for White after} 23. b4 $1) 18. Be4 {(Grandelius) when he could not find a defense against the combined threats of Qf4-f6, Bg3-h4 and Rg1-g8 and the attack against the king. One line to support his thesis} Be7 19. Qh6 Bg4 (19... Bf5 20. Bxf5 exf5 21. Qe6) 20. f3 Bf5 21. Bxf5 exf5 22. Qe6 { and White wins.}) 15. Qe5 Rf8 (15... Qf6 16. Qc7#) 16. Bh4 Rxf7 ({The Swedish GM missed that in the line} 16... Nc6 17. Bxc6 Rxf7 {White has the strong in-between blow} 18. Rxg2 $1 {with a win. All captures lead to mate:} bxc6 ( 18... dxc6 19. Rg8+ Bf8 20. Rxf8+ Rxf8 21. Qxe7#) (18... Qxc6 19. Bxe7+ $1) 19. Bxe7+ Rxe7 20. Rg8+) 17. Bxf7 {Carlsen managed to win an exchange and kept the attack alive.} Nc6 18. Qg3 {Carlsen wants to continue the attack. In the line:} (18. Qh8+ Kc7 19. Rb1 d6 20. Qxh7 {Black is down on material but at least has king into relative safety.}) 18... Qxb2 19. Rd1 Qxc2 20. Bd5 {Black's b- and d-pawns can't move.} Qf5 21. Rxg2 Bf4 22. Qf3 {Makes good use of the pin.} ({ The endgame was not bad neither.} 22. Qxf4 Qxf4 23. Rg8+ Kc7 24. Bg3) 22... Kc7 23. Rg5 Qf8 24. Bg3 {"This was just stupid" said Carlsen and suggested the easy win after} (24. Bxc6 $1 bxc6 25. Bg3 e5 26. Rxe5 {instead as} Bd2+ 27. Ke2 {defends the queen.}) 24... e5 25. Rh5 a5 26. Rxh7 {But White's position is still won and he converted the advantage easily.} Ra6 27. Rf7 Qe8 28. Kf1 (28. Bxf4 exf4+ 29. Kf1) 28... Bxg3 29. hxg3 Qh8 30. Kg2 Nd8 31. Rf8 Qg7 32. Rh1 Rh6 33. Rxh6 Qxh6 34. Qf6 Qxf6 35. Rxf6 d6 36. Kf3 b5 37. g4 Kd7 38. Rh6 {The bishop on c8 did not make a move at all!} 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.21"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Harikrishna, P."] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E53"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2754"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Bulgaria"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "BUL"] [WhiteClock "0:19:31"] [BlackClock "0:43:05"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nf3 d5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. dxc5 Nbd7 9. Bd2 Nxc5 10. Be2 Ne6 (10... Ba5 11. O-O Nce4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Nd4 Bxd2 14. Qxd2 Bg4 {Le,Q (2697)-So,W (2773) Baku 2015}) 11. a3 Be7 (11... Bc5 12. Nb5 a6 13. Nbd4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bxd4 15. exd4 Ne4 16. O-O Qb6 {Arizmendi Martinez,J (2529)-Trepat Herranz,J (2351) Erts La Massana 2015}) 12. O-O a6 13. Rc1 b6 ({Better than} 13... b5 {which weakens some squares.}) 14. Na2 Bb7 15. Bc3 (15. Bb4 Bc5) (15. Nb4 Nc5 16. Nd4 Qd7 {Harikrishna}) 15... Ne4 16. Be5 Bf6 17. Nb4 N4c5 $1 {Underestimated by Harikrishna.} (17... Bxe5 $6 18. Nxe5 Qd6 19. Nec6 $1 {with the point} a5 $2 20. Nxd5 Bxc6 21. Rxc6) 18. Nd3 (18. Nc2 Bxe5 19. Nxe5 Nb3 20. Rb1 d4 {Harikrishna}) 18... Bxe5 19. Ndxe5 Qd6 20. Nc4 Qd8 21. Nce5 Qd6 22. Nc4 (22. b4 Ne4) 22... Qd8 23. Nce5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.21"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Li, Chao"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D90"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] [WhiteClock "0:50:04"] [BlackClock "0:50:46"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 g6 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. Bf4 Bg7 7. e3 Nc6 8. Bb5 Bd7 9. O-O O-O 10. Ne5 Ne4 11. Nxc6 (11. Nxd7 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Qxd7 13. c4 a6 14. Bxc6 Qxc6 15. cxd5 Qxd5 16. Qb3 Qxb3 17. axb3 Rfc8 {Visier Segovia, F-Pfleger, H Palma de Mallorca 1966}) 11... Bxc6 12. Bxc6 Nxc3 13. Qd3 bxc6 14. Qxc3 Rc8 ( 14... Qb6 $5 15. Rfc1 Rfc8 16. Rc2 Bf8 {(Svidler) preparing ...e6 and ...c5.}) 15. b4 Re8 16. Rac1 f6 17. Rc2 e5 18. Bg3 exd4 19. Qxd4 Re4 20. Qd2 d4 21. Rd1 f5 22. Qc1 (22. Qd3 Qe7 {Aronian}) 22... Qb6 23. exd4 Rce8 {Missed by Aronian.} 24. h3 Qxb4 25. Kh2 Rxd4 ({Aronian showed the amazing line} 25... Bxd4 26. Rc4 Qb2 27. Rdxd4 Qxc1 28. Rxe4 Qf1 29. Rxe8+ Kf7 30. Rxc6 Kxe8 31. Rc8+ Kf7 32. Rc7+ Ke6 33. Rxa7 g5 34. Rxh7 f4 35. Rb7 {and White is in time to bring the rook to f3 and has a fortress!}) 26. Rxd4 Qxd4 27. Rxc6 Qa4 28. Rc7 Qxa2 29. Rb7 Qe6 30. Qc7 Qf6 31. Qd7 Rd8 32. Qa4 Qd4 33. Qa2+ ({Aronian said he should have played} 33. Qa5 {which sets the nice trap} h5 $2 34. Rxg7+ $1 {and wins.}) (33. Qa5 Rd7 34. Rb8+ Kf7 {is equal though.}) 33... Qd5 34. Qxa7 Bd4 35. Qa6 Rf8 36. Qb5 Qxb5 37. Rxb5 Kg7 38. Be5+ Bxe5+ 39. Rxe5 Rf7 40. Ra5 Rd7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.21"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] [WhiteClock "0:53:21"] [BlackClock "0:52:06"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Be7 10. Nc3 (10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nc3 h5 14. f3 f5 15. exf6 gxf6 16. Ne2 Kf7 17. b3 Re8 {Adams,M (2744)-Eljanov,P (2760) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) 10... Nh4 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. Be3 h5 13. Rad1+ Ke8 14. Ne2 Be7 (14... b6 15. f4 Ba6 16. Rd2 Rd8 17. Rxd8+ Bxd8 18. Re1 c5 19. Nc3 Bc8 20. Rd1 Bf5 {Almasi,Z (2689)-Melkumyan,H (2622) Bastia 2015}) 15. Rfe1 (15. f4 f5 16. exf6 gxf6 {MVL}) 15... a6 ({MVL expected} 15... Bd7 {and 16...Rd8.}) 16. Bf4 (16. e6 $5 Bxe6 17. Nf4 {Svidler}) 16... g5 17. Be3 Bf5 ({It looks like a waste of time but Black has weakened some squares, e.g.} 17... Kf8 18. Ng3 Kg7 19. Ne4) (17... g4 18. hxg4 hxg4 19. Bf4 Bf5 20. Nd4 Bg6 21. e6 Rd8 22. Bxc7 Rd5 23. Re5 fxe6 24. Rde1 {Eljanov/MVL}) 18. Nd4 Bg6 19. e6 ({MLV couldn't make } 19. g4 hxg4 20. hxg4 {work (to put the knight on f5) because of} Be4 21. f3 c5 22. Bf2 cxd4 23. Rxe4 c5) 19... Rd8 (19... f6 20. h4 $5 (20. f4 $5 c5 21. Nf3) 20... c5 (20... Rd8 $5) 21. Nb3 b6 22. Rd7 Rc8 23. hxg5 fxg5 {is unclear.} ) 20. exf7+ Kxf7 21. Nf3 Bxc2 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Nxg5+ (23. Bxg5 Bxg5 24. Nxg5+ Kf6 25. f4 Bf5) 23... Kf6 24. Ne6 Rd1 25. Bg5+ (25. Rxd1 Bxd1 26. Nxc7 Be2 27. Na8 Bc4) 25... Kf7 26. Rxd1 Bxd1 27. Bxe7 Kxe6 ({Worse is} 27... Kxe7 28. Nf4 ( 28. Nc5 $5 {Svidler}) 28... Kf6 29. f3 h4 30. Kf2 {MVL}) 28. Bd8 Kd6 29. f3 c5 30. Kf2 b5 31. Ke3 b4 32. g4 hxg4 33. fxg4 a5 34. Kf4 c4 35. Bf6 c5 36. h4 Ke6 37. Bh8 Kf7 38. h5 a4 39. a3 Be2 40. Be5 c3 41. bxc3 bxa3 42. c4 Bxc4 43. g5 Bd3 44. g6+ Bxg6 45. hxg6+ Kxg6 46. Ke4 c4 47. Ba1 c3 48. Kd3 a2 49. Kxc3 a3 50. Kb3 Kh7 51. Kxa2 Kg8 52. Kxa3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.21"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A49"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Netherlands"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "NED"] [WhiteClock "0:43:43"] [BlackClock "0:52:03"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 c6 7. b3 dxc4 8. bxc4 c5 9. Bb2 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nc6 {Kramnik said he didn't know this move.} (10... Qb6 11. Qc1 Bd7 12. Nd2 Nc6 13. c5 Qc7 {Efimenko,Z (2647)-Areshchenko,A (2677) Lvov 2015}) 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Nd2 Qc7 (12... Be6 13. Qc2 Qc7 14. Nf3 Bf5 15. Qa4 Qc8 16. Nd4 Be4 17. Nxc6 Bxc6 18. Qxc6 Rb8 {Heuser,P (2119)-Odeh,K (2000) London 2015}) 13. Qa4 Rb8 14. Nb3 c5 15. Ba3 Bd7 16. Qa5 ({Giri showed the line } 16. Qa6 Bf5 17. Nxc5 Ne4 18. Bxe4 Bxe4 19. Ne6 fxe6 20. Qxe6+ Rf7 21. Qxe4 Qa5 22. Qe3 Bxa1 23. Rxa1 Qf5 {and Kramnik, who went for the endgame because his opponent was playing fast, said: "So I was right not to play Qa6!"}) 16... Qxa5 17. Nxa5 Rfc8 18. Nb3 ({Kramnik even considered} 18. Bb7 Rc7 19. Rab1) 18... Bg4 19. Bxc5 Rc7 $1 ({Easier to play than} 19... Bxe2 20. Rfe1 Bxc4 21. Bxa7 Rb4 22. Rac1 $1 (22. Bc5 Rb5 23. Bxe7 Bxb3 24. axb3 Rxb3 25. Ra6 (25. Ra7 Rbc3) 25... Ng4 {Kramnik}) 22... e6 $1 (22... Ra4 23. Rxe7 Rxa2 24. Bd4) 23. Na5 Ra4 24. Nc6 Bf8 {Kramnik}) 20. Bd4 (20. Be3 Bxe2 21. Rfe1 Ng4 {Kramnik}) 20... Nd7 21. e3 e5 22. Bb2 Rxc4 23. Rfc1 (23. Na5 $6 Rc5) 23... Be6 24. Rxc4 Bxc4 25. Na5 $6 Bd3 26. Nb3 ({When playing 25.Na5 Kramnik had missed that} 26. Rd1 e4 27. Bxg7 Kxg7 28. Bxe4 {is not possible because of} Bxe4 29. Rxd7 Rb1+) 26... Bc4 27. Rd1 Nb6 28. Na5 (28. Ba1 $5 {Kramnik}) 28... Bxa2 29. Nc6 Re8 30. Ra1 Bd5 31. Bxd5 (31. Rxa7 e4 32. Bxg7 Kxg7 33. Nb4 Bc4 34. Rc7 {should be a draw but White can still try a bit according to Kramnik.}) 31... Nxd5 32. Rxa7 e4 ({Kramnik had set up the trap} 32... Rc8 $2 33. e4 $1 Rxc6 34. Ra8+ Bf8 35. exd5 {and wins.}) 33. Rd7 Bxb2 34. Rxd5 h5 35. h3 Kg7 (35... f5 $5 {Svidler}) 36. g4 hxg4 37. hxg4 Rc8 38. Na7 Rc1+ 39. Kg2 Kf6 40. Rb5 Be5 41. Rb4 Rc7 42. Rb6+ Kg5 43. Nc6 Rxc6 {The right decision according to Kramnik.} 44. Rxc6 Kxg4 45. Rc4 Kf5 46. f3 (46. Kh3 g5 47. Rc5 f6 48. Ra5 Kg6 49. Kg4 f5+ 50. Kh3 g4+ 51. Kh4 Bf6+ 52. Kg3 Bg5 {Giri}) 46... exf3+ 47. Kxf3 g5 48. e4+ Ke6 49. Rc6+ Bd6 50. Ra6 f6 51. Rb6 Kd7 52. Kg4 Ke6 53. Rb5 Bc7 54. Kh5 Bd6 55. Rf5 Be5 56. Kg4 Bf4 57. Rxf4 gxf4 58. Kxf4 Ke7 59. e5 fxe5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.23"] [Round "4"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Black "Kramnik, V."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2801"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 Ne7 8. d4 Bb6 9. Bd3 Ng6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Qc2 c6 (11... exd4 12. cxd4 c5 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Nc3 Be6 15. Be3 Qc8 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. Qd2 Ne5 18. Be2 Nxf3+ 19. Bxf3 Rad8 20. Red1 h5 21. Qd4 Qg5 22. Qd2 Qe5 23. Qe3 a6 24. Rd4 Bd7 25. Rad1 Bc6 26. g3 Re6 27. Bg2 h4 28. gxh4 Rde8 29. Bf3 a5 30. a4 Qc5 31. Qf4 Re5 32. R1d3 R8e6 33. Kh2 Qb6 34. Rd2 Qd8 35. Qg3 Bxe4 36. Bxe4 Nxe4 37. Nxe4 Rxe4 38. Rxe4 Rxe4 39. Rxd6 Qxh4 40. Qxh4 {1/2-1/2 (40) Anand,V (2762)-Caruana,F (2794) Moscow 2016}) 12. Na3 (12. Be3 d5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Rxe5 15. Bxb6 axb6 16. f4 Rh5 17. e5 Nd7 18. Qe2 Rh4 19. e6 Nc5 20. exf7+ Kxf7 21. Nd2 Nxd3 22. Qxd3 Rxf4 23. Qxh7 Bf5 24. Qh5+ Bg6 25. Qe5 Rf6 26. Nf3 Kg8 27. Ng5 Qd7 28. a3 Raf8 29. Rad1 Qf5 30. Qe3 Qf2+ 31. Qxf2 Rxf2 32. Re6 Be4 33. Nxe4 dxe4 34. Rxe4 Rxb2 35. Rd7 Rff2 36. Rg4 Rf7 37. Rxf7 Kxf7 38. Rb4 Ra2 39. Rxb6 Rxa3 40. Rxb7+ Kg8 41. c4 Ra4 42. c5 Ra5 43. Rc7 Rxc5 {1/2-1/2 (43) Adams,M (2725)-Anand,V (2780) Baden-Baden 2013}) 12... Bc7 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 dxe5 15. Be2 h6 16. Nc4 Nh7 17. Rd1 Qf6 18. Ne3 Qg6 19. Bg4 Bxg4 20. Nxg4 Bb6 21. a4 h5 22. Nh2 Nf6 23. a5 Bc5 24. b4 Bf8 {The bishop stood here before.} 25. Re1 a6 26. Nf3 Nd5 27. Qb3 Nf4 28. Bxf4 exf4 29. Rad1 Rad8 (29... Rxe4 30. Rxe4 Qxe4 31. Rd7 Be7 32. Rxb7 $16 {was not to Black's liking.}) 30. e5 Rxd1 31. Rxd1 {[#]} Qf5 {Preparing to advance the g-pawn.} 32. Re1 g5 33. Nd4 Qg6 34. e6 Kh8 35. Qd1 fxe6 36. Nf3 g4 37. Ne5 Qf5 38. hxg4 hxg4 39. Nxg4 Bg7 40. Qd7 Rf8 41. f3 c5 {[#]} (41... Bxc3 42. Rxe6 $16) 42. Qxe6 (42. Rxe6 cxb4 43. cxb4 Qb1+ 44. Kh2 Qh7+ 45. Kg1 Qb1+ $11) (42. bxc5 $5 Qxc5+ 43. Nf2 $14) 42... Qxe6 43. Rxe6 Bxc3 44. bxc5 Bxa5 45. Re7 $11 Bb4 46. Rc7 Rf5 47. Rxb7 Bxc5+ 48. Kf1 a5 49. Rb5 a4 50. Nf2 Rh5 51. Ra5 a3 52. Nd3 Rh1+ 53. Ke2 Bd6 54. Ra6 Rh6 55. Kd1 Kg7 56. Kc2 Rg6 57. Kb3 Kf7 58. Nxf4 Bxf4 59. Rxg6 Kxg6 60. Kxa3 1/2-1/2 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.23"] [Round "4"] [White "Grandelius, N."] [Black "Harikrishna, P."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C13"] [WhiteElo "2649"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Johannes"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. e4 {Nils Grandelius and Pentala Harikrishna know each other well and already have played a couple of games against each other. However, this is the first time Grandelius opens with 1.e4.} e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 gxf6 7. Qd2 ({More common is} 7. Nf3 {and now, e.g.:} f5 8. Nc3 a6 9. Qe2 b5 10. O-O-O b4 11. Na4 Qd5 12. b3 Nd7 13. Qe3 Rg8 14. Rg1 Bb7 15. Bc4 Qe4 16. Qd2 Qg4 17. h3 Qh5 18. Be2 Qg6 19. Kb1 Qf6 20. Ne1 Qg5 21. f4 Qg3 22. Nd3 a5 23. c3 Nf6 24. cxb4 axb4 25. Qc1 Bd6 26. Ndc5 Bd5 27. Bf3 Bxf4 { 0-1 (27) Libiszewski,F (2515) -Harikrishna,P (2755) Gibraltar 2016}) 7... b6 8. O-O-O Bb7 9. Nc3 c6 10. Nf3 (10. Kb1 {was played in a couple of correspondence games.}) 10... Nd7 11. Qh6 Qc7 12. Qg7 Rf8 13. Qxh7 f5 {Now, the white queen is a bit out of play.} 14. Bc4 {Here the bishop can be easily attacked.} Nf6 15. Qh6 Ng4 16. Qd2 O-O-O 17. h3 Nf6 18. Ne5 Kb8 19. Rhe1 b5 20. Bb3 b4 21. Ne2 c5 22. Qe3 Ne4 23. f4 cxd4 24. Nxd4 Bc5 $17 25. Nef3 Rg8 26. g4 (26. Re2 Qb6 { followed by} 27. -- Ng3) 26... fxg4 27. hxg4 Rxg4 28. Ne5 Rxd4 $1 (28... Rgg8 $6 29. Ndc6+ Bxc6 30. Nxc6+ Qxc6 31. Rxd8+ Rxd8 32. Qxe4 $15) 29. Rxd4 Rg3 { [#] White is in trouble and has to give queen for rook and minor piece.} 30. Qxe4 (30. Qe2 Bxd4 $19 {winning a piece.}) 30... Bxe4 31. Rdxe4 Rg1 $6 { With this somewhat hasty offer to exchange rooks Black gives up the pawn on b4. } (31... Ka8 $5 $17) ({or} 31... Qb7 32. Rc4 Be3+ 33. Kb1 a5 $17 {- that's what the engines want to play. But is this enough to win?}) ({But not} 31... a5 $2 32. Rc4 {and Black has problems to escape the pin without damage.}) 32. Rxg1 Bxg1 33. Rxb4+ Bb6 34. a4 Ka8 35. Kb1 {In this position Black's queen is not particularly dangerous.} Qe7 36. Rc4 Bc7 37. Nd3 Bd6 38. a5 Kb8 39. Ba4 Qb7 40. Rc6 Bxf4 41. Nc5 (41. Nxf4 Qb4 42. Nd3 Qxa4 43. Rc5 $17) 41... Qe7 42. Na6+ Kb7 43. Nc5+ Kb8 44. Na6+ Kb7 45. Nc5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.22"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Li, Chao"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D14"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2851"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "Norway"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "NOR"] [WhiteClock "0:20:42"] [BlackClock "0:36:29"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 {Not the most ambitious approach...} cxd5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. e3 e6 8. Bd3 {...especially combined with this move.} ({A known line is} 8. Bb5 Nd7 9. Qa4 Rc8 10. O-O a6 11. Bxc6 Rxc6 12. Rfc1 Be7 13. Ne2 Qb6 14. Rxc6 bxc6 15. Rc1 {and now} Bd3 16. Qd1 Bxe2 17. Qxe2 O-O { equalizes.}) 8... Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Bd6 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. O-O O-O 12. Rac1 Rfc8 13. h3 h6 14. Nd2 Nd7 15. a3 Nb6 {The first new move.} (15... a6 16. Na4 Rc7 17. Rc2 Rac8 18. Rfc1 Ncb8 19. Rxc7 Rxc7 20. Rxc7 Qxc7 21. Qc3 Qxc3 22. Nxc3 Kf8 { was quickly drawn in Paragua,M (2533)-Zhou,W (2590) Ho Chi Minh City 2013}) 16. Qb5 Qd8 17. Na4 Nxa4 18. Qxa4 Qa5 19. Qd1 Ne7 20. Qe2 Qa4 21. Qd3 Nf5 22. Qb3 Qa6 23. Qb4 Nd6 24. a4 {This surprised Carlsen.} ({Li Chao didn't want to change the position after e.g.} 24. Nb3 Rc4 25. Rxc4 dxc4 26. Nc5 Qc6) (24. Rc5 Rxc5 25. dxc5 Nf5 {is why Li went a4, so he can go Qb5 here.}) 24... Qb6 25. Qa3 (25. Qxb6 axb6 26. b3 b5 {is good for Black according to Carlsen.}) 25... a5 26. Rc5 Qb4 27. Qxb4 axb4 28. Rfc1 Rxc5 29. dxc5 Rc8 (29... Nf5 30. Ra1 Ne7 31. e4 Nc6 32. exd5 exd5 33. Nb3 {Carlsen/Li Chao}) 30. Kf1 Nc4 31. Nxc4 Rxc5 32. b3 dxc4 33. bxc4 Ra5 34. Ra1 Rc5 35. Rc1 Ra5 36. Ra1 Rc5 37. Rc1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.04.22"] [Round "4.5"] [White "Grandelius, Nils"] [Black "Harikrishna, P."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C13"] [WhiteElo "2649"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:18:59"] [BlackClock "0:49:49"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 gxf6 { Harikrishna's pet line in the French, once revived by A. Morozevich.} 7. Qd2 { Grandelius chooses his "own" move order. The Indian GM was quite successful in two recent games after:} (7. Nf3 a6 8. Qd2 f5 9. Nc3 b5 10. O-O-O b4 (10... Qd6 11. Kb1 Nd7 12. Bd3 c5 {Maze,S (2582)-Harikrishna,P (2737) Berlin 2015}) 11. Ne2 Bb7 12. Kb1 Qd6 {Naiditsch,A (2682)-Harikrishna,P (2737) Douglas 2015}) 7... b6 ({Grandelius mentioned an important game at the press-conference:} 7... a6 8. g3 $6 {This intends to make use of the long diagonal but backfires after the spectacular} ({Most likely White's intention was to avoid Ng1-f3 again with } 8. O-O-O) 8... Nc6 9. Ne2 e5 $1 10. d5 Nd4 11. Bg2 $6 Bh3 $1 12. O-O (12. Bxh3 $2 Nf3+) 12... Bxg2 13. Kxg2 Qxd5 {with solid extra pawn fro Black in Landa,K (2626)-Svane,R (2542) Germany 2015}) 8. O-O-O Bb7 9. Nc3 {The threat is d4-d5, thus the next move.} c6 10. Nf3 Nd7 {Black's plan is simple- Qd8-c7, 0-0-0, f6-f5 and possibly Nd7-f6, and in a good moment c6-c5 to open the bishops. White would be happy to carry out the d4-d5 advance but the clumsy position of the Nc3 prevents him from doing this. Instead Grandelius went for another plan.} 11. Qh6 Qc7 12. Qg7 Rf8 13. Qxh7 {Risky (Grandelius).} f5 14. Bc4 Nf6 ({Probably White concentrated his preparation on the previously played } 14... Qf4+ 15. Kb1 Nf6 16. Qh3 Ng4 17. Rhf1 O-O-O {Grigoryan,K (2473) -Petrosian,D (2478) Kajaran 2011}) 15. Qh6 Ng4 16. Qd2 {The queen went back home but feels the discomfort of a rook facing it. Black has compensation for the pawn thanks to the bishop pair and the possibility of queenside assault. His play is much easier as well.} O-O-O 17. h3 Nf6 18. Ne5 {Grandelius called this move a mistake as it enables Black a chance to advance his queenside pawns with tempoes. He recommended instead either} (18. Rhe1) ({or} 18. Kb1) 18... Kb8 19. Rhe1 (19. Bb3 a6 {followed by c6-c5 would be similar.}) 19... b5 $1 20. Bb3 (20. Bf1 b4 21. Na4 c5 {leads to strong central pressure as well.}) 20... b4 {The most energetic.} (20... a5 {is not bad neither.}) 21. Ne2 c5 22. Qe3 Ne4 {The knight on e5 is danger after c5xd4.} 23. f4 cxd4 {Natural and strong. The computer suggests} (23... f6 24. Ng6 c4 25. Ba4 Rf7 26. Nxe7 Rxe7 { but why to trade the knight which might get trapped?}) 24. Nxd4 Bc5 {The pin is far more dangerous than it seems.} 25. Nef3 (25. c3 {drops the knight after} f6 26. Nef3 bxc3 27. bxc3 e5) 25... Rg8 $6 {Up to here Harikrishna played perfectly and Grandelius felt he is close to lost. Now the correct thing was to concentrate on the pin and to go for the knight after:} (25... Qb6 $1 { For example} 26. Rd3 Rd6 27. Kb1 (27. Red1 Ba6 $1) ({If} 27. g4 Rfd8 28. gxf5 exf5 29. c3 bxc3 30. bxc3 Nxc3 31. Rxc3 Rxd4 $1 {wins thanks to another pin after} 32. Nxd4 Bxd4 33. Qg3 Bxc3 34. Qxc3 Rc8) 27... Rfd8 28. c3 {It seems as White managed to guard the knight, but} Nxc3+ $1 29. bxc3 Be4 30. Ka1 Bxd3 31. Qxd3 bxc3 {clarifies things. The knight is a goner.}) (25... Rd6 $1 {would also work.}) 26. g4 $1 {White grabs his chance.} (26. Re2 Ba6 $1) (26. Rg1 Rg3 $1) 26... fxg4 27. hxg4 Rxg4 28. Ne5 Rxd4 {Harikrishna missed in his preliminary calculations} (28... Rgg8 29. Ndc6+ Bxc6 30. Nxc6+ Qxc6 31. Rxd8+ Rxd8 32. Qxe4) 29. Rxd4 Rg3 30. Qxe4 (30. Qxg3 $5 {would be another possibility with highly unclear position after} Nxg3 31. Rd7 Qc8 32. Rxf7 Ka8 33. Nd7 Be4) 30... Bxe4 31. Rdxe4 {White got away from the pin and has enough activity to compensate for the slight material deficit.} Rg1 {Harikrishna hurries to saveguard his king, but does it an a slightly inappropriate way.} ({ To an instant draw will lead} 31... f6 32. Nd3 Rxd3 33. cxd3 Bf2+ 34. Rc4 Bxe1 35. Rxc7 Kxc7) ({But another save line is} 31... Bd6 {intending} 32. Rc4 Bxe5 33. Rxb4+ Ka8 34. fxe5 Qc5 35. Rbe4 Rg1 {White should be able to build a fortress here, but Black risks nothing.}) 32. Rxg1 Bxg1 33. Rxb4+ Bb6 34. a4 { With the oppositite-colored bishops on the board White's initiative is more unpleasant than in the line after 31...Bd6 and objectively the game should end in a draw.} Ka8 35. Kb1 Qe7 36. Rc4 Bc7 37. Nd3 Bd6 (37... a5 $5 {(Harikrishna. )}) 38. a5 Kb8 39. Ba4 Qb7 40. Rc6 {This forces a draw. It is hard to find progress for White after} (40. b4 Qd5 41. Bb3) 40... Bxf4 41. Nc5 Qe7 42. Na6+ (42. Bb5 Be3 {leads nowhere.}) 42... Kb7 ({Black cannot play for a win neither: } 42... Ka8 $2 43. Rc4 Kb7 44. Nc5+ Ka8 (44... Kc8 45. Nxe6+) 45. Bc6+ Kb8 46. Na6+ Kc8 47. Rxf4) 43. Nc5+ Kb8 44. Na6+ Kb7 45. Nc5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.04.22"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D59"] [WhiteElo "2765"] [BlackElo "2754"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "Bulgaria"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] [BlackTeamCountry "BUL"] [WhiteClock "0:10:04"] [BlackClock "0:29:02"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 b6 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Rc1 Be6 12. b3 {In just two moves Eljanov has steered away from almost all theory.} ({One of the most famous games in chess history went} 12. Qa4 c5 13. Qa3 Rc8 14. Bb5 a6 ({A year later the improvement} 14... Qb7 $1 {was played in Timman,J (2480)-Geller,E (2590) Hilversum 1973}) 15. dxc5 bxc5 16. O-O Ra7 17. Be2 Nd7 18. Nd4 Qf8 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. e4 d4 21. f4 Qe7 22. e5 Rb8 23. Bc4 Kh8 24. Qh3 Nf8 25. b3 a5 26. f5 exf5 27. Rxf5 Nh7 28. Rcf1 Qd8 29. Qg3 Re7 30. h4 Rbb7 31. e6 Rbc7 32. Qe5 Qe8 33. a4 Qd8 34. R1f2 Qe8 35. R2f3 Qd8 36. Bd3 Qe8 37. Qe4 Nf6 38. Rxf6 gxf6 39. Rxf6 Kg8 40. Bc4 Kh8 41. Qf4 {1-0 Fischer,R (2785)-Spassky,B (2660) Reykjavik (06) 1972}) 12... c5 (12... Rc8 13. Be2 Qa3 14. O-O Nd7 15. Bb5 c5 16. dxc5 Rxc5 17. Rxc5 Nxc5 18. Qe2 {?-? Rozental,E (2214)-Figura,A (2412) corr. 2009}) 13. Bb5 a6 14. Bd3 Nd7 15. O-O a5 16. h3 Rfc8 17. a4 {A concession, but otherwise Black will play it at some point.} Nf6 18. Qe2 Bd7 19. Ne5 (19. Rc2 cxd4 20. Nxd4 Rc5 {Topalov}) 19... cxd4 20. exd4 Qd6 21. Qe3 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Rc8 23. Rxc8+ (23. Re1 Be6 24. f4 (24. f3 Nd7) 24... Ne4 {Topalov}) 23... Bxc8 24. Qc1 Be6 25. Qc6 (25. f3 $5 {Topalov}) (25. Qc3 Ne4 {Eljanov}) 25... Qxc6 26. Nxc6 Kf8 27. Kf1 Ne8 28. Ne5 Nd6 29. Ke2 g5 {"It's completely equal." (Topalov) } 30. Ng4 Bxg4+ 31. hxg4 Ke7 32. f3 Ke6 33. Ke3 f5 34. Bxf5+ Nxf5+ 35. gxf5+ Kxf5 36. g4+ Ke6 37. Ke2 Ke7 38. Ke3 Ke6 39. Ke2 Ke7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.04.22"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2784"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Netherlands"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NED"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] [WhiteClock "1:01:33"] [BlackClock "1:04:50"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 c6 8. h3 b6 9. b4 a5 10. a3 h6 11. Bd3 Ba6 12. O-O Qc8 (12... Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Qc8 14. Rfc1 Qb7 15. Rab1 axb4 16. axb4 Rfc8 17. Ne1 Bd8 18. Qd1 Bc7 19. Nd3 Bxf4 20. exf4 Ne4 21. Ne2 Ra2 {Giri,A (2793)-Aronian,L (2786) Moscow 2016}) 13. Rb1 axb4 14. axb4 Qb7 (14... Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Qb7 16. Ra1 Rxa1 17. Rxa1 Ra8 18. Qb1 Bd8 19. Ra2 bxc5 20. Rxa8 Qxa8 21. bxc5 Qa3 {Ding,L (2766)-Sargissian,G (2702) Huaian 2016} ) 15. b5 cxb5 16. Nxb5 Rfc8 17. Ne5 (17. cxb6 Rc6 18. Bc7 Nxb6 {Aronian}) 17... Nxe5 18. Bxe5 Rc6 19. Qe2 Nd7 20. Bg3 Qc8 (20... bxc5 21. Nc7 Bxd3 22. Qxd3 Rxc7 23. Rxb7 Rxb7 {is also playable.}) 21. e4 {Probably not the best plan. Black starts to be better from here.} (21. Nd6 $5 {was an alternative and leads to very double-edged positions.}) 21... Nf6 22. exd5 Nxd5 23. Qe4 $6 Nf6 ({After} 23... f5 $1 {White has to be careful.} 24. Qf3 (24. Qe1 bxc5 25. Na7 { as suggested by Aronian fails to} Rxa7 26. Rb8 Qxb8 27. Bxb8 Bxd3 28. Bxa7 c4) 24... Qd7 25. cxb6 Rxb6 26. Nc3 Bb7 {with an edge.}) 24. Qf3 Bb7 25. cxb6 Rxb6 26. Qe2 Qc6 27. f3 Nd5 28. Rbc1 Qd7 29. Nc7 $1 {This trade is useful for White. } Rc8 30. Nxd5 Bxd5 31. Kh2 Bd6 32. Rxc8+ Qxc8 33. Bxd6 Rxd6 34. Rb1 Qd8 35. Qe5 Rb6 36. Rxb6 Qxb6 37. Be4 f6 38. Qf4 Bxe4 39. Qxe4 Kf7 40. Qf4 h5 41. h4 Ke7 42. Qe4 Qc7+ 43. Kh3 Kf7 44. d5 Qd7 45. dxe6+ Qxe6+ 46. Kg3 Qxe4 47. fxe4 g5 48. hxg5 fxg5 49. Kf3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.04.22"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2801"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "0:25:14"] [BlackClock "0:18:18"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 Ne7 (7... a6 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. Re1 Bb6 10. Nbd2 a5 11. Nc4 h6 12. d4 exd4 {Carlsen,M (2851) -Eljanov,P (2765) Stavanger 2016}) 8. d4 Bb6 9. Bd3 Ng6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Qc2 c6 12. Na3 (12. Be3 h6 13. Nbd2 Nh7 14. Bf1 Ng5 15. Rad1 Qf6 16. Nxg5 hxg5 { Areshchenko,A (2720)-L'Ami,E (2648) Antalya 2013}) 12... Bc7 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 dxe5 15. Be2 h6 16. Nc4 Nh7 17. Rd1 Qf6 ({Kramnik had seen the fantastic line} 17... Qh4 18. Nd6 Bb6 19. Nxe8 (19. Bc4 $1 {is the reason he didn't play it}) 19... Qxf2+ 20. Kh2 Bg4 $3 21. Rf1 ({the computer comes up with} 21. Nxg7 $3) 21... Qxe2 22. Qxe2 Bxe2 23. Re1 Ba6 24. Nd6 Rd8 25. Nf5 Bf2 26. Rh1 Nf6 { and White has problems.}) 18. Ne3 Qg6 ({The players thought} 18... Ng5 19. h4 Ne6 20. g3 Nf4 21. gxf4 exf4 22. Nf5 Bxf5 23. exf5 {was nothing for Black but the computer things he's winning here!}) 19. Bg4 Bxg4 (19... Ng5 20. Bf5 Bxf5 21. exf5 Nxh3+ 22. Kf1 Qh5 23. gxh3 Qxh3+ 24. Ke1 e4 25. Qe2 $1 {and White defends.}) 20. Nxg4 Bb6 21. a4 $1 {Missed by Kramnik.} h5 (21... Nf6 22. Rd6 $1 ) 22. Nh2 Nf6 23. a5 Bc5 24. b4 Bf8 25. Re1 {Kramnik said he wasn't sure if he was playing for a win or for a draw here.} a6 (25... c5 26. b5 a6 27. b6 c4 28. Ra4 Rac8 29. Qe2) 26. Nf3 Nd5 27. Qb3 (27. Nh4 $5 Qf6 (27... Qh7) 28. exd5 Qxh4 29. dxc6 bxc6 30. Be3 Qc4 {Kramnik}) 27... Nf4 (27... Nc7 28. Be3) 28. Bxf4 exf4 29. Rad1 Rad8 30. e5 Rxd1 31. Rxd1 ({Perhaps} 31. Qxd1 $5 {which was MVL's initial idea was better:} Qf5 ({MVL didn't like} 31... c5 {but there's} 32. bxc5 Bxc5 33. Qa4) 32. Nd4 Qd7 (32... Qg6 33. Qf3) 33. Qxh5 Bxb4 $2 34. e6 {MVL}) 31... Qf5 32. Re1 g5 33. Nd4 Qg6 34. e6 Kh8 (34... Re7 35. Re5 $1 Bg7 36. Nf5 $1) (34... fxe6 35. Rxe6 Rxe6 36. Nxe6 Qf7 37. Qc4 Be7 38. Qe4) 35. Qd1 fxe6 (35... Bg7 36. e7 Bf6 37. Nxc6 $5 bxc6 38. Qd7 {Kramnik}) 36. Nf3 g4 ( 36... Bg7 37. Ne5 Bxe5 38. Rxe5) (36... Kg8 $5) 37. Ne5 Qf5 38. hxg4 hxg4 39. Nxg4 Bg7 (39... e5 40. Nf6 $5 (40. f3) 40... Re7 41. Ne4) 40. Qd7 Rf8 41. f3 c5 42. Qxe6 (42. Nf2 Bxc3 43. Rxe6 cxb4) (42. bxc5 $5 Qxc5+ 43. Nf2 Qxa5 44. Rxe6 Qxc3 45. Qxb7 a5 46. Qb5) 42... Qxe6 43. Rxe6 Bxc3 44. bxc5 Bxa5 (44... Rc8 45. Re7) 45. Re7 (45. c6) 45... Bb4 46. Rc7 ({White could force the draw here with } 46. Rxb7 Bxc5+ 47. Kf1 Ra8 48. Nf6 Ra7) 46... Rf5 47. Rxb7 Bxc5+ 48. Kf1 a5 49. Rb5 a4 50. Nf2 Rh5 51. Ra5 a3 52. Nd3 Rh1+ 53. Ke2 Bd6 54. Ra6 Rh6 55. Kd1 (55. Nb4 Bf8) 55... Kg7 56. Kc2 Rg6 57. Kb3 Kf7 58. Nxf4 Bxf4 59. Rxg6 Kxg6 60. Kxa3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Stavanger"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.24"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2851"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "Netherlands"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "NED"] [WhiteClock "0:49:15"] [BlackClock "0:54:16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. Nc3 d6 8. Nd5 h6 9. c3 O-O 10. O-O Rb8 11. Re1 (11. d4 Ba7 12. Be3 Ng4 13. Qe1 Be6 14. Rd1 Nxe3 15. fxe3 exd4 16. cxd4 Ne7 17. Qg3 Bxd5 18. exd5 a5 {Salem,A (2615) -Inarkiev,E (2677) Moscow 2016}) 11... Ba7 12. Be3 (12. h3 Be6 13. d4 exd4 14. cxd4 Bxd5 15. exd5 Ne7 16. Nh4 Qd7 17. Rxe7 Qxe7 18. Nf5 Qd7 {Mkrtchian,L (2459)-Kosintseva,T (2479) Krasnoturinsk 2006}) 12... Bxe3 13. Rxe3 $5 Na5 ( 13... Nxd5 14. exd5 Ne7 15. d4 Nf5 16. Re2 exd4 17. Nxd4 {Giri}) 14. Bc2 ({ Giri thougth} 14. d4 {was stronger.} Nxb3 15. axb3 Nxd5 16. exd5 f6 { Gustafsson/ Svidler}) 14... c5 15. b4 cxb4 {Afterward Giri wasn't sure about this position.} 16. Nxb4 Qc7 17. Qd2 Nc6 (17... Bb7 18. Nh4 Rfc8 {Giri}) 18. Nxc6 Qxc6 19. h3 Be6 20. d4 Qc7 21. Bb3 Rfe8 22. Bxe6 Rxe6 23. a4 exd4 24. Qxd4 (24. Nxd4 $6 Rxe4 25. Rg3 Nh5) 24... bxa4 25. Qxa4 Rbe8 26. Qxa6 Rxe4 27. Rxe4 Rxe4 28. Qd3 Re8 29. Nd4 d5 30. Nf5 Qf4 31. g3 Qe4 32. Rd1 Qxd3 33. Rxd3 Kf8 34. f3 Ra8 (34... h5 $5 35. g4 hxg4 36. hxg4 g6 {Giri}) 35. g4 Ra3 ({Afteward Giri suggested} 35... g6 36. Nxh6 Kg7 37. g5 Nh5 38. h4 Nf4 {and this indeed works:} 39. Re3 Ra1+ 40. Kf2 Ra2+ 41. Kf1 (41. Kg3 Nh5+ 42. Kh3 Kf8) 41... Ra1+ 42. Re1 Rxe1+ 43. Kxe1 f6 44. Ng4 fxg5 45. hxg5 Kf7 {and this is a draw as g5 will hang.}) 36. Kf2 h5 37. Ke3 g6 38. Nd4 hxg4 39. hxg4 Nd7 $6 (39... Ke7 $1 { was playable because after} 40. g5 Ne8 41. Nb5 Rb3 42. Rxd5 {Black has the nice move} Nc7 $1 {which holds.}) 40. Nb5 $6 {Played too quickly.} (40. Nc2 $1 Ra5 41. Nb4 $1 (41. Kd4 Ke7 42. Nb4 Kd6 {was what Giri had seen}) 41... Nb6 42. Kd4 {is actually rather annoying for Black.}) 40... Rb3 41. Rxd5 Nb6 42. Rc5 ({ Carlsen was planning} 42. Rg5 {but only here he saw} f5 $1 {when} 43. Nd4 Rxc3+ 44. Kd2 Rc4 {is a dead draw.}) 42... Na4 43. Rc8+ Kg7 44. Rc4 Nb6 45. Rc5 Na4 46. Rc4 Nb6 47. Rc5 Na4 48. Rc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.04.24"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Harikrishna, P."] [Black "Li, Chao"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:59:44"] [BlackClock "0:53:33"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 {A very popular Anti-Gruenfeld line.} c5 4. d5 d6 { A recent top GM game took a highly exciting course:} (4... b5 5. e4 Bg7 6. e5 Ng8 7. f4 d6 8. Nf3 {Aronian,L (2797)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2758) Beijing 2014}) 5. e4 Bg7 6. Ne2 O-O 7. Nec3 {Some years back the many time Bulgarian champion GM E. Ermenkov was trying to convince me that this is the best set-up against the KID. He even came to the conclusion that the whole defense is dead on the account of this tricky development. The idea is to once and for all solve the problem of this knight (which often finds itself on squares like h1 on its way to the center), then finish the development with Bc1-e3 and Nb1-d2 when all the white pieces will be well placed, and finally smash Black on either side of the board. However, there is an obvious drawback of this whole system: White is behind in development. Even though the position is closed, Li finds a way to exploit this.} e5 8. g4 (8. Be3 {was not tested yet.}) (8. Bg5 $5) 8... h5 {"A strong idea." (Harikrishna) In a previous game Black found himself suffering after:} (8... Ne8 9. h4 f5 10. Be3 (10. h5 $5) 10... Nd7 11. Nd2 Bf6 12. g5 Be7 13. exf5 gxf5 14. Qc2 {Arencibia Rodriguez,W (2335)-Boudy Bueno,J (2390) Havana 1986}) 9. h3 Nh7 $1 {The point behind Li Chao's play. He wants to trade the dark-squared bishops.} 10. Be3 ({Both players came to the conclusion that Black is doing good after} 10. h4 Bf6 11. gxh5 Bxh4+ 12. Kd2 g5 13. Kc2) (10. gxh5 {is not good on the account of} Qh4+ 11. Kd2 Qxh5) 10... h4 {Sticking to his original idea.} ({Li also considered} 10... f5 11. gxf5 gxf5 12. Qe2 f4 13. Bf2 Bf6 14. h4 Kh8 {followed by the knight transfer from b8 to g6.}) 11. Qd2 Bf6 12. Rg1 Bg5 13. Bxg5 Qxg5 {Black can be happy with the opening. In fact he thought he is already better. Li managed to trade his "bad" bishop and if he can keep the white one blocked he can be quite optimistic about the future.} (13... Nxg5 {was another idea with equality after } 14. Qf2 Kg7 15. Nd2 Rh8 16. f4 exf4 17. Qxf4 f6 {(Harikrishna)} ({But not the hasty} 17... Qf6 $2 18. Qxf6+ Kxf6 19. Nb5) ({Or} 17... a6 {which prepares Qd8-f6 (Li)})) 14. Nb5 {White wants to make sure he can do something on the kingside.} (14. Qxg5 Nxg5 {is indeed pleasant advantage for Black.}) 14... Qe7 15. g5 a6 (15... Nd7 $5 {at once makes sense too.}) 16. N5c3 Nd7 17. Qg2 { Both players are getting ready for the opening of the kingside.} Kg7 (17... f6 18. gxf6 Rxf6 19. Qg4 g5 20. Qxh4 Rxf3) 18. Nd2 f6 19. gxf6+ Qxf6 {Black's plan is Rf8-f7,g6-g5 followed by Nd7-f8-g6 after which he will be in full command on the kingside. However, Harikrishna found a strong antidote.} ({After } 19... Rxf6 20. Qg4 {one of the black kingside pawns will drop.}) 20. Nd1 $1 { Li Chao missed this idea. Now the knight comes to an excellent position from where it supports the demolition of the blockade.} Rf7 21. Nf2 Ndf8 ({In case of} 21... g5 22. Nd3 Kh6 {Black did not like} 23. Be2 {with the idea} Ndf8 ({Or } 23... Qg6 24. f4 $1 exf4 25. Nf3 {and if} Qxe4 $2 26. Nxg5 Qxg2 27. Nxf7+) 24. f4 $1 gxf4 (24... exf4 25. e5 dxe5 26. Ne4 f3 27. Qf2 $1 {with advantage. Rather than} (27. Nxf6 $2 fxg2 28. Nxh7 Nxh7 {which is actually good for Black. })) 25. Qf3 Ng6 26. Qh5+ Kg7 27. Nf3 {and there is no defense (Li Chao).}) 22. Nd3 b5 {White will break the blockade in case of:} (22... g5 23. f4 $1 exf4 24. e5 $1 (24. Nf3 Kh6 25. Be2 Ng6) 24... dxe5 25. Ne4 {and establish an attacking blockade himself. Indeed this seems unpleasant for the second player, but is everything that bad? After} Qh6 {Black has many pieces ready to challenge the blockade in their turn and this should be good enough to keep the game unclear. For example:} 26. O-O-O (26. Ndxc5 g4 $1 27. hxg4 b6 28. Nd3 Ng5) (26. Nexc5 Bf5 $1) 26... f3 (26... Bf5 $5) 27. Qh2 g4+ 28. Rd2 g3 29. Nxg3 hxg3 30. Rxg3+ Kh8 31. Nxe5 {and it's anyone's game.}) 23. O-O-O g5 $2 {Only this move can be called a mistake.} ({Instead Harikrishna's recommendation} 23... bxc4 24. Nxc4 Bd7 25. Ne3 (25. f4 exf4 26. e5 dxe5 27. Ncxe5 $6 (27. Ndxe5 f3) 27... c4 $1) 25... g5 {keeps the game approximately even.} ({Or even} 25... Qxf3)) (23... Bd7 {is another option} 24. f4 exf4 25. e5 dxe5 26. Ne4 f3 27. Qh2 (27. Qf2 $5) 27... Qe7 (27... Qf5 $2 28. Nd6) 28. d6 {when anything can happen.}) 24. f4 $1 {This is very strong now. The white pieces get an access to the enemy king.} exf4 25. e5 $1 Qf5 {Sadly, the pawn should be allowed to go to e6 as otherwise Black's position will quickly detoriate after} (25... dxe5 26. Ne4 Qh6 (26... Qe7 27. d6) 27. Nxe5) 26. e6 {The pawn separates the flanks and this is the reason why Li Chao cannot hold on the kingside.} f3 (26... Re7 27. Qe4 { (Harikrishna)} (27. Ne4) 27... Kf6 28. Nf2 $1 {would win for White.}) (26... bxc4 27. Nxc4 f3 28. Qd2 (28. Qh2) 28... Qxd5 29. Qc3+ Rf6 30. Nf4 {(Svidler)} ({Or the simple} 30. e7 {are two other winning lines.})) ({PerhapsBlack's last chance was to sacrifice the piece at once with} 26... Nxe6 27. dxe6 Bb7 28. Qf2 Qxe6 {although this should also be won for the Indian GM.}) 27. Qh2 {Better than} (27. Nxf3 Qxf3 28. exf7 Qe3+ 29. Kb1 bxc4 {followed by c4-c3 (Harikrishna)} (29... Bxh3)) 27... Bxe6 (27... Re7 28. Qxd6) 28. dxe6 Qxe6 29. Nf2 Qe3 ({Maybe} 29... Rd8 30. Bd3 {was a try for Black.}) 30. Ng4 Qf4 31. Qxf4 Rxf4 32. Nxf3 $1 {A small tactic to get rid of Black's most dangerous pawn. The game is essentially over.} bxc4 (32... Rxf3 33. Bg2) 33. Ngh2 Ne6 34. Rxd6 Nd4 (34... Re8 35. Rxa6) 35. Rd7+ Kh8 36. Ne5 Nf8 37. Rf7 Re4 38. Rxg5 Rd8 39. Rxf8+ Rxf8 40. Ng6+ Kg7 41. Nxf8+ Kxf8 42. Rxc5 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.24"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] [WhiteClock "0:49:53"] [BlackClock "0:50:33"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O a6 7. Re1 h6 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Nf1 Ba7 (9... Na5 $5 10. b4 Nxc4 11. bxc5 Na5 12. cxd6 cxd6 13. a4 b5 14. axb5 axb5 15. d4 Bb7 {Svidler}) 10. Bb3 Re8 11. Ng3 (11. Be3 Be6 12. Bxa7 Rxa7 13. Ng3 Ra8 14. d4 Bg4 15. Qd3 Na5 16. Bc2 c5 {Zhigalko,S (2656)-Leko,P (2707) Berlin 2015}) 11... Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. d4 Re8 (13... d5 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Nxe4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Bf4 {Kramnik} Qxd1 18. Raxd1 g5 19. Bg3 h5 { Gustafsson}) 14. h3 (14. d5 Ne7 15. Nh4 Qd7 16. Qf3 Qg4 17. Nhf5 Qxf3 18. gxf3 Ng6 19. Bd2 Kh7 20. c4 Rac8 {Gimenez Menchon,C (2132)-Garcia Martin,M (1929) Mislata 2014}) 14... d5 $1 {Critical.} (14... Qd7 15. Be3 exd4 16. cxd4 Nxe4 17. d5 Nd8 18. Bxa7 Nxg3 19. Rxe8+ Qxe8 20. fxg3 Rxa7 21. Qd4 c5 22. Qh4 (22. dxc6 Nxc6 23. Qxd6 Ra8) (22. Qf4 {Kramnik})) 15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nxe4 17. Nxe4 dxe4 18. Qg4 Rxe5 19. Bxh6 g5 (19... Qf6 20. Bf4 Re6 (20... Ree8 $5) 21. Rad1 Qe7 22. Bg5 f6 23. Be3 Bxe3 24. Rxe3 Re8 25. Rd4 {with a slight edge (Kramnik).}) 20. Kh1 $5 ({At first Kramnik wanted to go} 20. Rxe4 Rxe4 21. Qxe4 Qf6 22. Qxb7 {Kramnik said} (22. Bxg5 Qxg5 23. Qxb7 Qd8 24. Re1 Bc5) 22... Qxf2+ (22... Bxf2+ 23. Kh1 Re8 24. Qf3 (24. Rf1 Bg3) 24... Qxf3 25. gxf3 f6 26. f4 Kh7) 23. Kh2 Rb8 {"is not working" for Black but the computer disagrees.}) 20... Qf6 (20... f5 $6 21. Qh5) 21. f4 Qxf4 22. Qxf4 gxf4 23. Bxf4 Re7 24. g4 $1 {White still has some chances.} (24. Rad1 f5) 24... Kg7 25. Rad1 f5 26. Rd5 $5 (26. Bg5 Rf7 27. gxf5 Rxf5 28. Rd7+ Kg6 29. h4 Re8 {with counterplay (Kramnik).}) ({Also interesting was} 26. gxf5 Kf6 27. h4 Kxf5 28. Bg5 Re6) 26... fxg4 27. hxg4 Rf8 28. Re5 (28. Rg5+ Kf7 29. Rf5+ (29. Kg2 $5 Ke8 30. Be3 Bxe3 31. Rxe3 Rf4 32. Kg3 Rf1 {Kramnik}) 29... Ke8 30. Rxf8+ Kxf8 31. Kg2 Kf7 32. Rh1 Kg6 33. Kg3 c6 34. Rh5 Bb6 {and White can't really make progress.}) 28... Rxe5 29. Bxe5+ Kg6 30. Rxe4 Rf1+ 31. Kg2 Rf2+ 32. Kg3 Rxb2 33. Rf4 Re2 34. Rf6+ Kg5 35. Rf5+ Kg6 36. a4 c6 37. a5 b5 38. axb6 Bxb6 39. Rf6+ Kg7 40. Rxc6+ Rxe5 41. Rxb6 Re3+ 42. Kf4 Rxc3 43. Rxa6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.24"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C87"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"] [BlackTeam "Sweden"] [WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"] [BlackTeamCountry "SWE"] [WhiteClock "0:52:36"] [BlackClock "0:49:16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 d6 7. c3 O-O 8. Re1 Re8 9. Nbd2 Bf8 10. h3 b5 11. Bc2 Ne7 (11... h6 12. a4 b4 13. a5 Rb8 14. Nc4 Bd7 15. Bd2 bxc3 16. bxc3 Qc8 17. Nh2 Be6 {Naiditsch,A (2689)-Lenic,L (2625) Reykjavik 2015}) 12. d4 Ng6 13. Nf1 exd4 (13... Bb7 14. Ng3 h6 (14... d5 $5 { Topalov}) 15. a4 c6 16. Be3 Qc7 17. axb5 axb5 18. Rxa8 Rxa8 19. Nh2 Re8 { Gharamian,T (2661)-Butnorius,A (2400) Cappelle-la-Grande 2013}) 14. cxd4 c5 15. d5 Nd7 16. Ng3 a5 17. Be3 a4 18. Bd3 (18. b3 $5 {Topalov}) 18... Rb8 19. Bf1 Nde5 20. Nd2 Be7 (20... c4 $5 {Topalov}) 21. b3 axb3 22. axb3 Bg5 23. Nh5 $1 { A key move that makes clear it is White who has the advantage.} Bxe3 24. Rxe3 Nd7 ({Svidler suggested} 24... Qg5 $1 {to provoke} 25. g3 $2 {so that Rg3 won't be possible anymore, but missed the tactic} Bg4 $1 26. hxg4 Nxg4 { and Black close to winning.}) ({White should go} 24... Qg5 25. Rg3 Qh4 { which is indeed better for Black than the game.}) 25. Ra7 {This is already incredibly unpleasant for Black.} Re5 (25... Nf6 26. Nxf6+ Qxf6 27. Rf3) 26. Be2 Ndf8 27. Qa1 $1 {Using the whole board.} Qh4 28. Ng3 Qd8 29. Bg4 {White is strategically winning.} Re7 30. Rxe7 Nxe7 31. Bxc8 Rxc8 32. Nh5 f6 33. Rg3 Neg6 34. Qa6 {Complete domination.} Qd7 35. f4 c4 36. bxc4 bxc4 37. Nxc4 f5 38. Nxd6 Rc1+ 39. Kh2 fxe4 40. f5 e3 41. fxg6 hxg6 42. Nf4 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.24"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D14"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2788"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "France"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] [WhiteClock "0:28:31"] [BlackClock "0:16:33"] 1. Nf3 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. d4 cxd4 ({Aronian expected} 3... e6 {and was planning} 4. Bf4) (3... g6 4. dxc5) (3... b6 4. dxc5 bxc5 5. e4 $1 {MVL}) 4. cxd4 d5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. e3 e6 8. Qb3 Bb4 9. Ne5 (9. Bb5 O-O 10. O-O Qe7 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Rfc1 c5 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Na4 Bd6 {Seirawan,Y (2620)-Rublevsky,S (2702) Berlin 2015}) 9... Qb6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Be2 Ne4 12. f3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Be7 14. O-O (14. c4 $5 Qxb3 (14... Qa5+ 15. Kf2 {Aronian}) 15. axb3 Bb4+ 16. Kf2 a5 17. Rhc1 {MVL/Gustafsson}) 14... O-O 15. c4 c5 16. cxd5 Qxb3 17. axb3 exd5 18. dxc5 Bxc5 19. Rfd1 ({At first Aronian was planning} 19. Ra5 {which was actually played in a game:} Bb6 20. Rxd5 Be6 21. Rd3 (21. Rb5 Rac8 {Aronian }) 21... Rfd8 (21... Rac8 {Aronian}) 22. Rfd1 Rxd3 23. Rxd3 {and a draw was agreed in Tkachiev,V (2639)-Fressinet,L (2697) Belfort 2010}) 19... Be6 20. Kf2 a5 21. Be5 Rfc8 22. Rdc1 Bb4 23. Bd1 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Rc8 25. Rxc8+ Bxc8 26. g4 f6 27. Bd4 Kf7 28. f4 f5 29. h3 g6 30. Bf3 Ke6 31. gxf5+ gxf5 32. Be2 Bd7 33. Bd1 Be8 34. h4 h5 35. Be2 Be7 36. Kg3 Bb4 37. Kf2 Be7 38. Kg3 Bb4 1/2-1/2 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.24"] [Round "5"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Li Chao"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 {Hari goes for the same move that Magnus Carlsen used to beat Li Chao at the Qatar Masters 2015.} c5 {This time instead of d5, the Chinese player goes for c5 which in some ways transposes the game into Benoni/ King's Indian structures.} 4. d5 d6 5. e4 Bg7 6. Ne2 O-O 7. Nec3 $5 {Nec3 was also used by Anand in his only Classical win against Boris Gelfand in the 2012 World Championship Match.This is how Igor Stohl describes this move. "Rather unusual, but the underlying idea is sound enough. Instead of bothering to find a good square for the Ne2, White will rather look for another post for his Nb1 - it might go to a3, or more probably to d2 after Be3(g5).} e5 {This is where Harikrishna's opening preparation came to an end. This is a pretty rare move.} 8. g4 h5 $5 9. h3 {Looking to cause some major problems with the move Bg5 now. Li Chao prepares for this.} Nh7 10. Be3 (10. h4 {Hari was looking in this direction. But after} Bf6 11. gxh5 Bxh4+ 12. Kd2 g5 {He was not so sure about his position. It looks like after} 13. Kc2 $16 {White should be better.}) (10. gxh5 $6 Qh4+ $1 11. Kd2 Qxh5 $13) 10... h4 $5 {Black prepares a very interesting idea of exchanging the dark squared bishops.} 11. Qd2 Bf6 12. Rg1 Bg5 13. Bxg5 Qxg5 (13... Nxg5 {would have been better than the game continuation.}) 14. Nb5 $1 {This forces Black to retreat with the queen.} Qe7 15. g5 $1 {Blocking the g5 square so that it cannot be used by the black pieces.} a6 16. N5c3 Nd7 17. Qg2 Kg7 (17... f6 18. gxf6 Rxf6 19. Qg4 g5 20. Qxh4 Rxf3 21. Nd2 Rf4 22. Qg3 {is quite a messy position but no so bad for Black.}) 18. Nd2 f6 19. gxf6+ Qxf6 (19... Rxf6 20. Qg4 $16) 20. Nd1 $1 { A brilliant idea. Black's plan was to play Rf7, Nf8, g5 and Ng6. However, Hari is quick to take measures against that and prepare Nd1-f2-d3 in order to break in the centre with f4! This truly shows how strong he is.} Rf7 21. Nf2 Ndf8 22. Nd3 b5 (22... g5 {was the critical test.} 23. f4 $1 {A similar idea like in the game.} exf4 24. e5 dxe5 25. Ne4 $44 {With excellent compensation.} Qg6 26. Qe2 (26. Nxe5 f3 $19) 26... Nd7 27. O-O-O) 23. O-O-O $1 g5 24. f4 $3 {This is clearly the best move in the game! Black's position is ripped to shreds after this.} exf4 25. e5 $1 {Pawns are not really so important at this moment!} Qf5 ( 25... dxe5 26. Ne4 Qh6 27. Nxe5 Re7 28. Nc6 $16) 26. e6 f3 (26... Re7 27. Qe4 $1 $18) 27. Qh2 Bxe6 {Black sacrifices the piece for a few pawns but it is not enough.} 28. dxe6 Qxe6 29. Nf2 Qe3 30. Ng4 Qf4 31. Qxf4 Rxf4 32. Nxf3 $1 { Always tactically alert!} bxc4 (32... Rxf3 33. Bg2 $18) 33. Ngh2 Ne6 34. Rxd6 Nd4 35. Rd7+ Kh8 36. Ne5 Nf8 37. Rf7 Re4 38. Rxg5 Rd8 39. Rxf8+ Rxf8 40. Ng6+ Kg7 41. Nxf8+ Kxf8 42. Rxc5 {A powerpacked game by Harikrishna. Especially the moves f4 followed by e5.} 1-0 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "6"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2851"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. Rfe1 Bb4 15. g4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 17. f3 ({The most popular move here is} 17. Nxe6) 17... Bxc3 18. bxc3 Bxa2 19. Ne4 Rh8 20. e6 Bxe6 21. Bxc7 Nd5 ({One wonders how Vachier-Lagrave wanted to improve a game between Anish Giri and Sergey Karjakin which continued with} 21... b5 22. Be5 Rg8 23. Nc5 Nd5 24. f4 Bxg4 25. c4 f6 26. Rb1 Nb6 27. Bxf6+ Kf7 28. Bg5 Nxc4 29. Re7+ Kg6 30. Rbe1 Bf5 31. Kf2 Rad8 32. Nd3 a5 33. Rg1 Rd7 34. Bh4+ Kh7 35. Rxd7 Bxd7 36. Ne5 Nxe5 37. fxe5 Re8 38. Re1 a4 39. Kf3 a3 40. Bf2 Rf8+ 41. Kg3 Be6 42. Bc5 Ra8 {0-1 (42) Giri,A (2734)-Karjakin,S (2776) Beijing 2013}) 22. Be5 Kf8 23. Nc5 b5 24. c4 bxc4 25. Rd4 Re8 26. Rxc4 Rh6 27. Ra4 Kg8 (27... Ra8 28. Rea1 $14) 28. Rxa7 Bc8 29. Bg3 Rxe1+ 30. Bxe1 Rd6 {Black has to take measures against the threat of Ra8.} 31. Ba5 {[#]} Bxg4 $5 {Carlsen liquidates into an endgame which he knows from his World Championship match against Vishy Anand.} (31... Be6 32. Ne4 Rd7 33. Ra8+ Kh7 {apparently was not to his liking.}) 32. fxg4 Rg6 33. Kf2 Rxg4 34. Bd2 ({Another attempt was} 34. Nd3 Rc4 35. Ne1 Ra4 36. Ke2 g5) 34... Rc4 35. Ra8+ Kh7 36. Nd7 Rxc2 {The last remaining white pawn vanished from the board.} 37. Ke2 f6 38. Kd3 Rb2 39. Nf8+ Kg8 40. Ne6+ Kh7 41. Ra7 Rb3+ 42. Kd4 Rg3 43. Kc5 Rg2 44. Ba5 Ne3 45. Kxc6 Nf5 46. Bb4 Re2 47. Kd7 Re4 48. Bc5 Kg6 49. Ra1 Re5 50. Bd6 Nxd6 51. Kxd6 Rb5 52. Rg1+ Kh6 53. Nf4 Kh7 54. Nd5 g5 55. Ke6 Kg7 56. Rf1 Ra5 57. Nxf6 Kg6 58. Nd5 Ra6+ 59. Ke5 Ra8 60. Ne7+ Kh5 61. Rh1+ Kg4 62. Rg1+ Kh5 63. Rh1+ Kg4 64. Rg1+ Kh5 65. Rh1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "6"] [White "Eljanov, P."] [Black "Grandelius, N."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D77"] [WhiteElo "2765"] [BlackElo "2649"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. c4 dxc4 6. Na3 c3 7. bxc3 O-O 8. O-O c5 9. e3 Nc6 10. Bb2 (10. Qe2 Bf5 11. Rd1 Qb6 12. Bb2) 10... Bf5 11. Nd2 Qc8 ( 11... Bg4 12. f3 Be6 13. Qe2 Rc8 14. Rfd1 Qb6 15. Ndc4 Qa6 $11 {0-1 (55) Lemos, D (2553)-Caruana,F (2721) Caleta 2011}) 12. e4 Bg4 (12... Bh3 13. Rb1 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 $14) 13. f3 cxd4 14. cxd4 Bh3 15. Rc1 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Qd8 17. Nb3 Nb4 18. Nc2 Nxc2 (18... Nxa2 19. Ra1 Qb6 20. Qd3 Nb4 21. Nxb4 Qxb4 22. Ba3 $16) 19. Rxc2 Rc8 20. Qe2 (20. d5 $5 $16) 20... Rxc2 21. Qxc2 Qd7 22. Rc1 Bh6 23. f4 ( 23. Rd1 $6 Rc8 $11) 23... Qa4 (23... g5 $5 24. f5 g4 $11) 24. Rd1 (24. Nd2) 24... Qd7 25. Qe2 Rc8 26. d5 Bg7 27. Rd2 Qa4 28. Nd4 Qxa2 (28... Rc4 $5 $11 { threatening Nxd5.}) 29. Nf5 gxf5 30. Bxf6 Qa3 31. Bxg7 Kxg7 32. e5 {Now Black loses control.} Rd8 ({Better was} 32... Qc3 33. d6 exd6 34. exd6 Qc6+ $11) 33. d6 Qb4 34. Kh3 exd6 35. Qh5 {[#] Threatening to win the rook on d8 with Qg5+.} Rd7 $4 {This loses because White's rook can penetrate.} (35... Qxd2 36. Qg5+ Kh8 37. Qxd8+ Kg7 38. Qf6+ Kg8 39. exd6 $18 {and the d-pawn queens.}) (35... h6 $5 36. Qxf5 (36. Rc2 dxe5) 36... Qxd2 37. Qf6+ Kg8 38. Qxd8+ Kh7 39. exd6 (39. Qxd6 Qe2 $11) 39... Qe2 40. Qe7 Qh5+ 41. Kg2 Qd5+ 42. Kf2 Qc5+ 43. Kf3 Kg7 { and Black keeps drawing chances, e.g.} 44. Qe5+ Qxe5 45. fxe5 Kf8 46. Ke4 {so} a5 47. Kf5 a4 48. Kf6 Ke8 49. d7+ Kxd7 50. Kxf7 a3 51. e6+ Kc7 52. e7 a2 53. e8=Q a1=Q $14) 36. Qg5+ Kf8 37. Rc2 Re7 38. Qf6 Re8 39. exd6 (39. Rc7 {was also possible:} Kg8 40. Qxf7+ Kh8 41. Qxe8#) 39... Kg8 40. d7 1-0 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "6"] [White "Giri, A."] [Black "Harikrishna, P."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Be7 {The "modern" line. } ({The main lines start with} 6... Nc6) 7. Be3 O-O (7... b6) 8. Qd2 b6 9. Nd1 ({After} 9. O-O-O {Black could quickly drum up an attack on the queenside:} Nc6 10. g4 c4) 9... a5 10. c3 a4 11. Bd3 Ba6 12. O-O Nc6 (12... Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Nc6 14. f5 a3 15. b3 cxd4 16. cxd4 Nb4 17. Qe2 exf5 18. Bd2 Nb8 19. Ne3 Qd7 20. Bxb4 Bxb4 21. Nh4 g6 22. Qf3 Be7 23. Nhxf5 gxf5 24. Nxf5 Kh8 25. Qh5 Qe6 26. Rf3 Nc6 27. Raf1 Qg6 28. Qh3 Bg5 29. Nd6 f6 30. Nb5 Qe4 31. e6 Nxd4 32. Nd6 Qxe6 {0-1 (32) Baskin,R (2329)-Neef,M (2406) Germany 2016}) 13. Bxa6 Rxa6 14. f5 b5 15. fxe6 (15. f6 {yields nothing for White:} gxf6 16. exf6 Nxf6 17. dxc5 Ne4 $15) 15... fxe6 16. Qe2 Qb6 17. Nf2 a3 18. b3 b4 19. dxc5 Bxc5 20. Bxc5 Nxc5 21. c4 Ne4 22. cxd5 (22. Kh1 Nxf2+ 23. Rxf2 Ra5 $15) 22... exd5 23. e6 Ne7 24. Kh1 Nc3 25. Qd3 h6 $15 26. Nd1 {[#]} ({After} 26. Ne5 Qxe6 27. Nd7 Rc8 28. Rae1 Qd6 29. Ng4 Ne4 30. Nde5 Qe6 $17 {Black is a pawn up and clearly better.}) 26... Qb5 27. Qxb5 Nxb5 28. Nf2 (28. Re1 Rf6 $19) 28... Rxe6 $19 {Black is a pawn up - a passed pawn on the d-file. And White's pawn on a2 is weak.} 29. Nd3 Nc6 30. Rfc1 Nc3 31. Nxb4 Nxb4 32. Rxc3 Re2 33. Rc7 Ra8 34. Nd4 Rxa2 35. Rf1 Rd2 36. h3 {[#] The last trick...} a2 (36... Rxd4 $4 37. Rff7 {with a perpetual because Black's rook cannot go to g4.}) (36... a2 37. Rff7 a1=Q+ 38. Kh2 Qxd4 $19) 0-1 [Event "Norway Chess"] [Site "0:58:33-0:41:33"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "6"] [White "Maxime Vachier-Lagrave"] [Black "Magnus Carlsen"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {Ah. We've reached the lovely Berlin endgame, which the participants in the Candidates' Tournament had avoided. Neither of these players competed in that event, so they didn't get the memo.} 9. h3 {For pointers on how to play this opening, start with the wonderful games from the Kasparov-Kramnik World Championship match in 2000. From there, move into modern theory with many fine games played by the world's leading players. The Berlin is a frequent guest at the elite level. It is so popular because it is often seen as a fighting opening for both colors: trading queens does NOT mean you are playing for a draw. We reach a rich position, with Black securing the two bishops "advantage" while White has superior development and a better pawn structure.} Ke8 {One of many moves in this position.} (9... Bd7 {was played to a draw by Carlsen against Anand in game 4 of their 2013 World Championship match.}) 10. Nc3 h5 (10... b6 {is another principled move. The idea is to refrain from touching the h-pawn until necessary. Perhaps it will scoot to h6, where it will cover g5. Or maybe it will sit at home, as it did for the remainder of the following game:} 11. Rd1 Bb7 12. Bf4 Rc8 13. Nd4 Nxd4 14. Rxd4 Rd8 15. Rad1 Be7 16. e6 fxe6 17. Bxc7 Rxd4 18. Rxd4 Bf6 19. Rd2 Ke7 20. Ne4 Rc8 21. Bd6+ Ke8 22. Bg3 Rd8 23. Nxf6+ gxf6 24. Rxd8+ {1/2-1/2 (24) Almasi,Z (2700) -Kasimdzhanov,R (2704) Germany 2016}) 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. Rfe1 Bb4 15. g4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 17. f3 (17. Nxe6 {is commonly played, but MVL hoped that Carlsen would be less comfortable here.} Rxe6 18. Bd2 {stopping the pin isn't proactive enough. For instance} (18. Re3 {is another possibility, encouraging Black to exchange on c3.} Bxc3 (18... Rd8 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. Ne4 Nd5 21. Rd3 Kc8 22. Bg3 f6 (22... Be7 23. f4 Nb4 24. Rd2 Nxa2 {is double-edged. White is to be preferred for sure, but a few imprecise moves can lead to a collapse now that Black has snagged a pawn.}) 23. f4 fxe5 24. f5 $1 {is thematic. A temporary pawn sacrifice does wonders for White, whose knight on e4 is the best piece on the board. White's position is extremely pleasant and easy to play.}) 19. Rxc3 Ng6 20. Rh3 Rd8 21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 22. Bg5+ f6 23. exf6 gxf6 24. Bd2 {is a legitimate edge for White. In all these endgames, Black has trouble advancing the queenside pawns, since their are doubles on c-file.}) 18... Rd8 19. Kg2 (19. a3 Bxc3 20. Bxc3 Rd5 {does not look like a particularly good winning try for White.}) 19... Rd4 20. f4 f5 $1) 17... Bxc3 18. bxc3 Bxa2 {At first glance, it seems like Black is doing exceptionally well. After all, he's up a pawn and his pawn structure is superior. The essential issue is that White gains far superior piece play, whereas Black's bishop has limited scope. Just check back in several moves from now, and you'll see what I mean.} 19. Ne4 Rh8 20. e6 Bxe6 21. Bxc7 Nd5 {The first new move, according to my database.} ( 21... b5 22. Be5 Rg8 23. Nc5 Nd5 24. f4 {This was a terrible move in a good position for White.} (24. c4 bxc4 25. Rb1 {was one of many moves that preserved White's edge.}) 24... Bxg4 25. c4 f6 26. Rb1 Nb6 27. Bxf6+ Kf7 28. Bg5 Nxc4 {and eventually Black won in Giri,A (2734)-Karjakin,S (2776) Beijing 2013}) 22. Be5 Kf8 23. Nc5 b5 24. c4 bxc4 25. Rd4 (25. Nxe6+ fxe6 26. Rd4 Kf7 27. Rxc4 a5 {allows Black to unravel without too much trouble. The rook will park itself on a7, from where it simultaneously defends the seventh rank and supports the passed pawn.}) 25... Re8 $2 {A bad move according to the players.} (25... Rh6 $5) (25... a5 $5) 26. Rxc4 (26. Bd6+ Kg8 27. Nxe6 Rh6 {was Carlsen's "childish trap" as he said himself!}) 26... Rh6 (26... Kg8 27. Bg3 Rh6 {is similar to the game, though now there's a temporary pin on the e-file. Realistically, the pin means nothing, since there is no way to make use of it.} 28. f4 Ra8 29. f5 Nb6 $1 30. Rb4 Bd5 {and the bishop escapes to a phenomenal square, leaving Black with a slight edge. If not for this Nb6 maneuver, there would have been problems for Black.}) 27. Ra4 Kg8 28. Rxa7 {Let's pause right here. For all the chess lovers out there, this is a very instructive position. First step: let's count material. Both sides have two rooks, two minors, and three pawns. OK, so even material. The second thing I take notice of is the opposite-colored bishops. To many, that suggests a draw is on the horizon, but the position is not lacking life. From there, I'd consider the quality of the pieces. White has a superior bishop, a slightly superior knight, and certainly has at least one much better rook. As for the kings, which become mighty in the endgame, White's is also to be preferred. For starters, there's a clear haven on g3. Importantly, the center is more approachable. Lastly, white's pawn structure is preferable as well, since his advanced little ones cramp some of Black's pieces. And despite all of that, Black should still be able to draw. Funny game chess is!} Bc8 29. Bg3 (29. Ra8 {appears to be a more challenging starting point. The back rank is a legitimate issue, and unless you're like Magnus and find the idea similar to the one he played in the game, you're going to drop a pawn.} Rh8 (29... Kh7 30. Rb8 f6 (30... f5 31. Bg3 { isn't fun.}) 31. Bg3 Rxe1+ 32. Bxe1 Bxg4 $1 {this sacrifice, as in the game, should hold.} 33. fxg4 Rg6 34. Bf2 Rxg4+ 35. Kf1 Rc4 36. Rb2 Nb4 {scoops up the final White pawn.}) 30. Ne4 Nb6 (30... Rxe5 $2 31. Rxc8+ Kh7 32. Rxc6) ( 30... Bd7 31. Rxe8+ Bxe8 32. c4 Nb6 33. Bd4 Nxc4 34. Ng5 Bd7 35. Ra1 {is decisive. Black has run out of defensive ideas.} Nd6 36. Ra7 Bc8 37. Ra8 f6 38. Ne4 {wins a piece.}) 31. Nd6 Rxe5 32. Rxe5 Nxa8 33. Nxc8 Kf8 34. Re7 Nb6 35. Rc7 Nd5 36. Rxc6 {with a clean pawn advantage for White.}) 29... Rxe1+ 30. Bxe1 Rd6 31. Ba5 {Aiming to seize control of the eighth rank, which will truly limit the scope of Black's pieces.} (31. Ra8 Rd8 32. Ba5 Re8 {holds the balance.}) 31... Bxg4 $3 {This move likely will shock most readers, but the idea is very strong. Simply put, Carlsen did not want to suffer. The best way to avoid the suffering is to give up the weak bishop in exchange for all of the White pawns. If Magnus could not find his way to c2, this would be a problem. But as we'll see, the knight being on c5 allows Black to nab the final pawn.} 32. fxg4 Rg6 33. Kf2 Rxg4 34. Bd2 (34. Nd3 Ra4 {is a really, really annoying pin. White has no means of escaping it since} 35. Bb6 $4 { is met with the simple} (35. Ne5 f6 36. Nxc6 Rc4 {allows Black to get to that last pawn.}) 35... Nxb6 {and Black is now ahead.}) 34... Rc4 35. Ra8+ Kh7 36. Nd7 Rxc2 {White has no pawns left, meaning the draw is trivial once Black exchanges one more piece. It doesn't matter if it is a rook swap, a knight exchange, or the knight for the bishop -- all of these trades make the game very simple.} 37. Ke2 (37. Nf8+ Kg8 {and funnily enough there is no good discovered check. Black next plays f6 and escapes with his king.}) 37... f6 38. Kd3 Rb2 39. Nf8+ Kg8 40. Ne6+ Kh7 41. Ra7 Rb3+ 42. Kd4 Rg3 43. Kc5 {The king looks like a nice attacked, but there's a limit to how far it can run.} Rg2 44. Ba5 Ne3 45. Kxc6 Nf5 46. Bb4 Re2 47. Kd7 Re4 48. Bc5 Kg6 49. Ra1 Re5 {This is as solid a fortress as you'll ever see. Black has covered his bases extremely well. All that's left is meaningless shuffling.} 50. Bd6 Nxd6 51. Kxd6 Rb5 52. Rg1+ Kh6 53. Nf4 Kh7 54. Nd5 g5 55. Ke6 (55. Nxf6+ {appears to be a free pawn.. .but it matters not. Black is simply looking to get into the easy theoretical draw, rook and knight versus rook.} Kg6) 55... Kg7 56. Rf1 Ra5 57. Nxf6 Kg6 58. Nd5 Ra6+ 59. Ke5 Ra8 60. Ne7+ Kh5 61. Rh1+ Kg4 62. Rg1+ Kh5 63. Rh1+ Kg4 64. Rg1+ Kh5 65. Rh1+ {Seeing as there is no benefit in playing on in such a basic draw, MVL allows the repetition. Despite the result, I was impressed by the French player's ability to obtain a tangible advantage against the world's best player. Maxime is making a push for the top, and we are seeing him grow as a player in this Norway Chess event.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Harikrishna, P."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Netherlands"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NED"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] [WhiteClock "0:06:19"] [BlackClock "0:18:48"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Be7 (6... Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. Qd2 b5 9. Be2 Qb6 10. Nd1 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bc5 {Ponomariov,R (2712)-Wang,H (2717) Huaian 2016}) 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 b6 9. Nd1 {"Probably the most challenging." (Hari)} a5 10. c3 (10. a4) 10... a4 11. Bd3 (11. a3 Nc6 12. Nf2 Na5 13. Rd1 {didn't look not very harmonious to Giri.}) 11... Ba6 12. O-O Nc6 (12... Qc8 13. Ng5 Bxg5 14. fxg5 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Qa6 16. Qd2 Nc6 { Asgarizadeh,A (2412)-Svane,R (2509) Moscow 2015}) 13. Bxa6 Rxa6 14. f5 $5 b5 ( 14... exf5 15. Qd3 (15. Bf2 $5) 15... cxd4 16. cxd4 Nb4 17. Qxf5 g6 18. Qh3 { Svidler}) 15. fxe6 ({Giri felt he should have played} 15. f6 gxf6 16. exf6 Bxf6 17. Nf2 (17. Bh6 Bg7 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Qe3 f5 {Hari}) 17... Bg7 18. Ng4 (18. dxc5) 18... f5 {althought it's not clear at all. "I had to play this, it looks more fun."}) 15... fxe6 16. Qe2 (16. Nf2 Na5 17. Nd3 Nc4 {Giri}) 16... Qb6 17. Nf2 $6 (17. a3 {is still OK for White.}) 17... a3 18. b3 b4 19. dxc5 (19. cxb4 cxd4 $6 (19... Nxb4 $1) 20. Nxd4 Nxd4 $6 21. Bxd4 Qxd4 $2 22. Qxa6 Rxf2 23. Qxe6+ Rf7+ 24. Kh1 Nxe5 25. Rxf7 Nxf7 26. Rf1 {wins (Hari).}) 19... Bxc5 20. Bxc5 Nxc5 21. c4 Ne4 22. cxd5 exd5 23. e6 ({Initially Giri had missed} 23. Kh1 Nxf2+ 24. Rxf2 Nxe5 $1) 23... Ne7 24. Kh1 Nc3 25. Qd3 h6 26. Nd1 $2 ({Better was} 26. Ne5 Qb5 (26... Qxe6 27. Nd7 Rc8 28. Rfe1 Qd6 29. Qh3) 27. Qxb5 Nxb5 28. Ned3 Rxe6 29. Nxb4 Re2 30. Nfd3) 26... Qb5 $1 {Giri had seen this idea but "forgot about it. " The ending is just lost.} 27. Qxb5 (27. Nf2 Rxe6) 27... Nxb5 28. Nf2 Rxe6 29. Nd3 Nc6 30. Rfc1 Nc3 31. Nxb4 Nxb4 32. Rxc3 Re2 33. Rc7 Ra8 $1 (33... Nxa2 $2 34. Ra7 Nb4 35. R7xa3 Nc2 36. R3a2 {Hari}) 34. Nd4 Rxa2 35. Rf1 Rd2 36. h3 a2 0-1 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D77"] [WhiteElo "2765"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "Sweden"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] [BlackTeamCountry "SWE"] [WhiteClock "0:08:38"] [BlackClock "0:16:54"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. c4 dxc4 6. Na3 c3 7. bxc3 O-O 8. O-O c5 9. e3 (9. Re1 Nd5 10. Bb2 Nc6 11. e4 Nb6 12. Rb1 Na5 13. Ba1 Bd7 14. Qe2 Rc8 {Eljanov,P (2717)-Tari,A (2518) Germany 2016}) 9... Nc6 10. Bb2 Bf5 11. Nd2 ( 11. Re1 cxd4 12. cxd4 {?-? Maiorov,N (2596)-Zhigalko,A (2584) Minsk 2015}) 11... Qc8 (11... Bg4 12. f3 Be6 13. Qe2 Rc8 14. Rfd1 Qb6 15. Ndc4 Qa6 16. Bf1 b5 {Lemos,D (2553)-Caruana,F (2721) Gibraltar 2011}) 12. e4 (12. d5 $5 Nxd5 $5 13. Bxd5 Rd8 14. Bg2 (14. e4 Bh3) 14... Nb4 $5 {Grandelius}) 12... Bg4 13. f3 cxd4 14. cxd4 {Quickly played.} (14. fxg4 Nxg4 {is not so clear actually.}) 14... Bh3 15. Rc1 (15. Nb3 {was perhaps more accurate.}) 15... Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Qd8 17. Nb3 Nb4 18. Nc2 (18. Qd2 Nxa2 19. Ra1 Qb6 20. Nc5 Bh6) 18... Nxc2 19. Rxc2 Rc8 20. Qe2 (20. d5 $5 {Svidler}) 20... Rxc2 21. Qxc2 Qd7 22. Rc1 Bh6 23. f4 Qa4 (23... g5 $5) 24. Rd1 Qd7 25. Qe2 Rc8 26. d5 Bg7 27. Rd2 Qa4 28. Nd4 Qxa2 $6 {This turns out to be dangerous at least practically speaking.} (28... Nd7 $5 {Grandelius}) 29. Nf5 $1 gxf5 30. Bxf6 Qa3 31. Bxg7 Kxg7 32. e5 Rd8 ( 32... Qb4 $5) 33. d6 Qb4 34. Kh3 exd6 $6 (34... Rd7 {was still equal.}) 35. Qh5 $1 Rd7 $2 ({Black could still prolong the game with} 35... h6 36. Qxf5 Qxd2 37. Qf6+ Kg8 38. Qxd8+ Kh7 39. exd6 Qe2) 36. Qg5+ Kf8 37. Rc2 Re7 38. Qf6 Re8 39. exd6 Kg8 40. d7 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2784"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] [WhiteClock "0:08:38"] [BlackClock "0:18:25"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 a6 6. O-O d6 7. a4 Ba7 (7... O-O 8. Re1 Ba7 9. h3 h6 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. Nf1 Ng6 12. Ng3 c6 13. Ba2 Be6 {Giri,A (2793)-Nakamura,H (2790) Moscow 2016}) 8. Re1 Ne7 9. d4 (9. Nbd2 O-O 10. Nf1 b5 11. Bb3 h6 12. Ng3 Be6 13. d4 Ng6 14. h3 c5 {Erdei,A (2146)-Lengyel,B (2271) Budapest 2009}) 9... O-O 10. h3 Ng6 11. Bd3 {This is some kind of transposition into an Anti-Berlin, as Kramnik noted.} Re8 12. Qc2 {With the idea Be3 and Nbd2.} Bd7 $5 {A new move, for Kramnik.} 13. Be3 ({Aronian thought } 13. Bg5 h6 14. Be3 {was critical.}) 13... d5 14. Nbd2 ({Not very promising is } 14. dxe5 dxe4 15. Bxe4 Nxe4 16. Bxa7 Rxa7 (16... Ng5 $1) 17. Qxe4 Bc6) 14... exd4 15. cxd4 (15. Bxd4 Bxd4 16. Nxd4 c5 17. N4f3 Qc7 {Svidler}) 15... dxe4 16. Nxe4 Bc6 (16... Nd5 17. Bg5 f6 18. Bc4 Bc6 19. b4 $5 {Kramnik}) (16... Nxe4 17. Bxe4 c6 18. Bg5 (18. d5 cxd5 19. Bxd5 Bxe3 20. fxe3 Bc6 21. Bxc6 Rc8) (18. Rad1 Be6 19. d5 $5) 18... Qc8 19. d5 cxd5 20. Qxc8 Raxc8 21. Bxd5 Rc2 {Kramnik}) 17. Bg5 (17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 (17... gxf6 $5 {Aronian} 18. d5 (18. Rad1 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Nh4 20. Kh1 {Kramnik}) 18... Bxd5 19. Bxa7 Rxe1+ 20. Rxe1 Bxf3) 18. d5 Rxe3 $1 ( 18... Bxd5 19. Bxa7 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Nh4 $6 {is refuted by} 21. Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. Qxc7) 19. fxe3 Bxd5 20. Be4 Bxe4 21. Qxe4 c6) 17... Bxe4 18. Bxe4 c6 19. Qb3 ( 19. Rad1 $5 Qd6 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. d5 cxd5 22. Bxd5 Re7 {Kramnik} 23. Rxe7 Qxe7 24. Qf5 $1 {is still unpleasant for Black.}) 19... Qb6 20. Qxb6 Bxb6 21. Bxf6 gxf6 22. a5 Ba7 ({Kramnik expected} 22... Bc7 23. d5 cxd5 24. Bxd5 Rxe1+ 25. Nxe1 Rb8 26. Nd3 (26. Nc2) 26... Nf4 27. Nxf4 Bxf4) 23. d5 Rab8 $1 {A strong move.} 24. Rad1 (24. Rac1 Ne5) 24... Bc5 25. Bxg6 (25. d6 $6 Rbd8 26. d7 Re7) ( 25. Kf1 Bb4 26. Re3 Bxa5 27. dxc6 bxc6 28. Nd4 Rxb2 29. Nf5 Bb6 {just doesn't work (Kramnik).}) 25... Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1 (26. Nxe1 hxg6 27. Rc1 Bb4) 26... hxg6 27. Rc1 Bb4 28. dxc6 Bxa5 29. Ra1 Bc7 30. cxb7 Rxb7 31. Rxa6 Rxb2 32. Ne1 Bb6 33. Nd3 Rb1+ 34. Kh2 Rb3 35. Nc1 Rb2 36. Nd3 Rb3 37. Nc1 Rb2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Li, Chao"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2754"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "Bulgaria"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "BUL"] [WhiteClock "0:24:33"] [BlackClock "0:10:58"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. g3 Nd7 8. Bg2 dxc4 9. O-O Be7 10. Ne4 Qf5 11. Ned2 e5 12. e4 Qe6 13. Rc1 b5 (13... exd4 14. Nxd4 Qf6 15. Nxc4 O-O 16. Nf5 Nb6 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Qd6 Qd8 {Kramnik,V (2793) -Anand,V (2773) London 2013}) 14. b3 c3 (14... Ba3 {is what the computer recommends.}) 15. Rxc3 Bb7 16. d5 cxd5 17. Rc7 Rb8 18. exd5 Bxd5 19. Re1 Rd8 20. Nd4 Qb6 21. Bxd5 Qxc7 22. Ne6 Qb6 23. Nxd8 (23. Qc2 $2 Bc5 $1 24. Nxd8 Bxf2+ 25. Kg2 Bxe1 {Li Chao}) (23. Nxg7+ Kf8 {and Topalov didn't see a problem here.}) 23... Qxd8 ({Topalov didn't like} 23... Bxd8 24. Qg4 {but the computer finds} Qd6 25. Qxg7 Rf8 26. Bf3 Ba5 27. Ne4 Qg6 28. Qxg6 fxg6 29. Re3 Bb6 30. Rd3 Nf6 {and Black is OK.}) 24. Nf3 O-O 25. Bc6 Nf6 26. Qxd8 Bxd8 27. Nxe5 Ba5 28. Re2 Rb8 $1 {Li had missed this.} 29. Kg2 Kf8 30. f4 Bc3 31. g4 Rb6 32. Bf3 Rd6 33. Nc6 a6 34. Nb8 Rb6 35. Nc6 Nxg4 36. Bxg4 Rxc6 37. Bd7 Rg6+ 38. Kf3 f5 39. Re8+ Kf7 40. Re3 Rd6 41. Be8+ Kf8 42. Bh5 g6 43. Bxg6 Rxg6 44. Rxc3 Rd6 45. Ke3 Kf7 46. a4 Re6+ 47. Kf3 bxa4 48. bxa4 Rb6 49. Ke3 Rb4 50. a5 Rb5 51. Rc7+ Kg8 52. Rc8+ Kg7 53. Rc7+ Kg8 54. Rc8+ Kg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.27"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2851"] [BlackElo "2801"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "1:04:11"] [BlackClock "0:21:07"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Qf3 Bg6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 10. Nf3 Nd7 11. Nh4 Be7 12. Ne2 $1 {A strong maneuver found by Jon Ludvig Hammer during one of the World Championship matches. White is going to try and cement a knight on f5.} (12. Kd2 f5 13. g3 Bxh4 14. gxh4 Ke7 15. Ne2 Nf6 16. Nf4 Nh5 17. Nh3 f4 18. Nxf4 Nxf4 19. exf4 Rhg8 {Aronian,L (2784)-Harikrishna,P (2763) Stavanger (blitz) 2016}) 12... Nb6 13. Ng3 Bb4+ 14. Kd1 Na4 $2 {Based on a miscalculation.} ({It was important to challenge the knight with} 14... Nc8 15. Ngf5 Ne7) 15. Ngf5 $1 Kd7 ({White's point was} 15... Nxb2+ 16. Kc2 Nc4 (16... Na4 17. Kb3) 17. Bxc4 dxc4 18. Rhb1 {and b7 will drop, with a large advantage.}) 16. Rb1 Ke6 17. Bd3 {Now White has the ideal setup and it's not fun at all for Black.} Rhc8 18. Ke2 Bf8 19. g4 c5 20. Ng2 cxd4 21. exd4 Bd6 22. h4 h5 23. Ng7+ Ke7 24. gxh5 Bxd3+ 25. Kxd3 {White is already winning here.} Kd7 26. Ne3 Nb6 27. Ng4 Rh8 28. Rhe1 Be7 29. Nf5 Bd8 30. h6 Rc8 31. b3 Rc6 32. Nge3 Bc7 33. Rbc1 Rxc1 34. Rxc1 Bf4 35. Rc5 Ke6 36. Ng7+ Kd6 37. Ng4 Nd7 38. Rc2 f5 39. Nxf5+ Ke6 40. Ng7+ Kd6 41. Re2 Kc6 42. Re8 Rxe8 43. Nxe8 Nf8 44. Ne5+ Bxe5 45. dxe5 Kd7 46. Nf6+ Ke6 47. h5 Kxe5 48. Nd7+ Nxd7 49. h7 Nc5+ 50. Ke2 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.27"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:37:21"] [BlackClock "0:41:54"] 1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 dxc4 4. Qa4+ Nd7 5. Qxc4 c5 6. Nc3 {Aronian was not happy with this move as he did not want to put this knight on c3 too early (or at all), but he figured out that after:} (6. Nf3 {Black would not go for} a6 ({ Eljanov may go} 6... b6 $5 7. Nd4 Ne5 {and he did not like the consequences of the line} 8. Nc6 Nxc4 9. Nxd8 Rb8 10. Nc6 Bb7 11. O-O Ra8 {with equality.}) 7. Qb3 Rb8 8. d4 cxd4 9. O-O Nc5 10. Qd1 d3 {with an edge for White, Wang,Y (2718) -Barsov,A (2460) Abu Dhabi 2016}) 6... Ngf6 7. d3 Be7 8. Nf3 b6 {A novelty. Black needs to oppose the Catalan bishop as fast as possible. Instead} (8... O-O 9. O-O Nb6 {saw Black suffering after} 10. Qb3 Nfd5 11. Bd2 Bd7 12. a4 a5 13. Ne5 {Guenthner,O (2238)-Martin,S (2257) Germany 2006}) 9. Ng5 {A somewhat desperate attempt to play for the advantage. Instead the central advance} (9. O-O Bb7 10. d4 Rc8 {would lead to comfortable equality for Black.} ({Or} 10... O-O)) 9... Rb8 10. O-O Bb7 11. Bf4 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 Rb7 $1 {A nice regroupment of the black pieces. The queen is ready to torture the white king on the long diagonal. Eljanov's opening strategy was a success.} 13. Nf3 O-O 14. e4 { One idea of the Rb8-b7 move is revealed in the line} (14. d4 cxd4 15. Nxd4 Qa8 $1) 14... Qa8 15. a4 Rd8 {Black's play is very natural and easy. Nd7-f8-g6 followed by Rb7-d7 comes next.} 16. Nb5 {Aronian does not want to resing himself to the possible draw after:} (16. a5 bxa5) ({Or} 16. Rfd1 Nf8 17. d4 cxd4 18. Rxd4 Rxd4 19. Nxd4 Rd7) 16... Qc8 {The Armenian GM was hoping to force his opponent into passive defense after} (16... Ne8) 17. Rac1 Nf8 18. d4 {Since this pawn might become a liability Aronian finally offers the trade. But the missed time can be used by Eljanov to fight for the initiative.} Ng6 19. Bg5 $6 {A blunder! Correct was} (19. Be3 a6 20. Nc3 b5 (20... Rc7 $5) 21. axb5 axb5 22. Qe2 Qc6 {with approximate equality.}) 19... a6 {Eljanov trusted his opponent's word. He could have won a pawn with} (19... Nxe4 $1 20. Bxe7 Nxe7 21. dxc5 ({White's best chance would be} 21. Rfe1 Nd6 22. Nxd6 Rxd6 23. b4 Rc7 24. dxc5 bxc5 25. Rc2 {although Black can still hang to the pawn and create serious problems after} Rdc6) 21... Nxc5 22. b4 Nd3 $1 {The move that White missed!} 23. Qxc8 Nxc8 24. Rfd1 Rbd7 $1 {The move that Black missed!}) 20. Nc3 b5 21. axb5 axb5 22. Qe2 c4 {Eljanov felt he was a little better here and on the top of that Aronian was low on time. One more pawn sacrifice was rejected for two different reasons. White believed that he has very good compensation after:} (22... cxd4 23. Nd5 $5 ({While Eljanov did not believe he had any edge after} 23. Nxd4 Rxd4 24. Nxb5 Qd7 25. Nxd4 Qxd4 26. Rc8+ Bf8) 23... Qd7 (23... Qb8 24. Nxe7+ Nxe7 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. e5 $5) 24. Nxe7+ Nxe7 25. Ne5 {One funny line being} Qd6 26. Bxf6 gxf6 27. Ng4 Kg7 28. Nxf6 $5 Kxf6 29. e5+ $1 Qxe5 30. Qf3+ Nf5 31. Qxb7 {and White wins the exchange, although nothing is clear yet after} d3) 23. Rfd1 h6 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. h4 {Now White's game is very natural and easy and he enjoys some initiative.} Qb8 26. Ra1 Be7 27. h5 Nf8 28. Ne5 Rc8 {Better was to follow Aronian's after-game advise and deal with the rook on the "a" file with} (28... Qc7 29. Ra6 Rd6 30. Ra8 Rd8) 29. Ra6 Rb6 {Only this is a serious inaccuracy. Better was} (29... b4 30. Na4 ( 30. Nc6 Rxc6 31. Rxc6 bxc3 32. bxc3 Rb2 33. Qxc4 {the open position of the white king provides Black good chances of not losing the game.}) 30... Ra7 {as} 31. Nc6 {is bad due} Rxc6 32. Rxc6 Rxa4) 30. Rxb6 Qxb6 31. Qf3 f6 {Eljanov regretted after the game that he did not try} (31... Bf6 32. Nxf7 Kxf7 (32... Bxd4 33. e5 $1 ({Or} 33. Nxb5 Bxb2 (33... Qxb5 34. Nd6 $1) 34. Nfd6)) 33. e5 { In all cases White has annoying initiative.}) 32. Ng6 Nxg6 {Positional resignation. Black could have tried his last chance:} (32... Bb4 {Or} 33. Ne2 { (Eljanov) keeping the super knight on the board.} (33. d5 {(Aronian)} Re8 ( 33... Bxc3 $2 34. Ne7+) 34. Qg4)) 33. hxg6 b4 34. Ne2 Qd6 {If the queen goes too far mate follows:} (34... Qa6 35. d5 e5 36. g4 Bf8 37. g5 $1 fxg5 (37... hxg5 38. Qh3 Bc5 39. Rh1 Kf8 40. Qd7) 38. Qf7+ Kh8 39. Rh1 {and Rh1xh6 is unstoppable.}) 35. d5 e5 36. g4 {Brings the knight closer to the black king.} Bf8 (36... Qd7 37. g5 $1 {still works for White.}) 37. Qf5 {White is in no hurry.} ({Here} 37. g5 {is stopped with} fxg5 38. Qf7+ Kh8 39. Rh1 (39. Ng3 $5) 39... Qc7 $1) 37... Ra8 38. Rc1 (38. g5 $5) 38... Qa6 39. Ng3 Kh8 40. Qe6 { The time trouble is over and Aronian is completely winning.} Qa2 (40... Qxe6 41. dxe6 c3 42. bxc3 b3 43. Rb1 Rb8 44. Nf5) 41. Nf5 c3 42. Rh1 Qa7 {Or mate after:} (42... cxb2 43. Nxh6 gxh6 44. Qxf6+ Bg7 45. Rxh6+ Kg8 46. Qf7#) 43. d6 Qb7 44. d7 Qxe4+ 45. f3 {Black resigned due to:} (45. f3 Qe2+ 46. Kg3 Qd2 47. Rxh6+ gxh6 48. Qxf6+ Kg8 49. Qf7+ Kh8 50. Qh7#) 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.27"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"] [BlackTeam "Netherlands"] [WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"] [BlackTeamCountry "NED"] [WhiteClock "0:38:13"] [BlackClock "0:56:13"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. b3 O-O 9. Bb2 f6 10. Rc1 Be6 11. Ne4 Bd5 12. Qc2 (12. Nc5 Bxc5 13. Rxc5 a5 14. Qb1 a4 15. Rfc1 axb3 16. axb3 Bxb3 17. d4 Ba2 18. Qd3 exd4 19. Nxd4 Na4 { Zvjaginsev,V (2643)-Brkic,A (2543) Rijeka 2010}) 12... Nb4 13. Qb1 Nxa2 14. Nxf6+ Bxf6 15. Qxa2 e4 16. Nd4 Qd7 ({Promising was} 16... a5 $1 {to go 17...a4 next move, as pointed out by Giri's second Erwin l'Ami. Black is better.}) 17. Qb1 Rae8 18. e3 c6 19. Ne2 Bxb2 20. Qxb2 Bf7 21. Nc3 Bg6 22. Qa3 Qxd2 23. Nb1 Qd7 24. Qxa7 Nd5 25. Qc5 Rf6 26. Nc3 Nxc3 27. Qxc3 Rd6 28. b4 h6 29. Rfe1 Kh8 30. Qc2 Rd3 31. Bf1 Bh5 32. f4 Rd2 33. Qc3 Bd1 34. b5 c5 35. Qxc5 ({The computer goes} 35. Bh3 Qd5 36. Qxc5 Qa2 37. Qc4 Bb3 38. Qf1 {but it looks weird.}) 35... Ra8 36. Qb4 Bf3 37. Rc7 Rxh2 $1 {A nice drawing combination at the moment when White seemed to be taking over the initiative.} 38. Rxd7 Rh1+ 39. Kf2 Rh2+ 40. Bg2 Rxg2+ 41. Kf1 Rh2 42. Rd2 ({There's no escape:} 42. g4 $2 Rh1+ 43. Kf2 Ra2+ 44. Rd2 Rxd2+ 45. Qxd2 Rh2+) 42... Rh1+ 43. Kf2 Rh2+ 44. Kf1 Rh1+ 45. Kf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2016.04.27"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Grandelius, Nils"] [Black "Li, Chao"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B16"] [WhiteElo "2649"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "185"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Sweden"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "SWE"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] [WhiteClock "0:12:51"] [BlackClock "0:24:48"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6 6. c3 Bf5 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. g3 Qc7 9. Bg2 e6 10. Nh4 Bg6 11. Bf4 (11. O-O Bd6 12. Qe2 f5 13. Bg5 O-O 14. Rfe1 Rfe8 15. a3 Nb6 16. Rad1 Be7 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 {Kukk,R (2565)-Cuno,T (2526) corr. 2004}) 11... Bd6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. O-O f5 (13... O-O-O 14. f4 f5 15. Qe2 Nf6 16. Bf3 Kb8 17. a4 Rd7 18. a5 a6 19. Rfd1 Rhd8 20. Ra3 c5 {Remmler,H (2310) -Gebigke,M (2130) Pforzheim 1997}) 14. b4 Nf6 15. a4 a6 16. Re1 O-O 17. a5 Rad8 18. Qc1 Kg7 19. Nf3 Nd7 20. Nd2 Qc7 21. Nc4 Rfe8 22. Ra2 h6 23. Rae2 Bh5 24. Re3 Nf6 25. Ne5 Ng4 26. Nxg4 Bxg4 27. Re5 Bh5 28. Bf1 Rd5 29. R5e3 Qe7 30. Bc4 Rdd8 31. Re5 Qg5 32. R1e3 Bg6 33. Bb3 Rd6 34. h4 Qf6 35. Re1 Red8 36. Qf4 Bh5 37. Kh2 Bg6 38. R1e3 h5 39. Re1 Bh7 40. Kg2 Qh6 41. Qg5+ Bg6 42. R5e3 R8d7 43. Kf1 Rd8 44. Ke2 R6d7 45. Kd2 Rd6 46. Kc1 R6d7 47. Kb2 Rd6 48. Bc4 Re8 49. Kb3 Rd7 50. Bf1 Qxg5 51. hxg5 Rh8 52. Bg2 Rdd8 53. Rh1 f6 54. gxf6+ Kxf6 55. Kc4 Ke7 56. Kc5 Bf7 57. Rh4 Kd7 58. Kb6 Kc8 59. Bf3 Kb8 60. Re1 Rh6 61. Re5 Rd6 62. Kc5 Kc7 63. Re1 Rd8 64. c4 Rh7 65. Reh1 Rdh8 66. Rb1 Be8 67. Re1 Bd7 68. Re5 Rh6 69. d5 exd5 70. cxd5 cxd5 71. Bxd5 b6+ 72. Kd4 bxa5 73. bxa5 Rb8 74. Bc4 Rb2 75. Rc5+ (75. Ke3 Kd6 76. Rd5+ Ke7 77. Rhd4) 75... Kd6 76. Rd5+ Kc7 77. Rf4 Rc6 78. Rc5 Rd2+ 79. Kc3 Rxc5 80. Kxd2 Rxa5 81. Bf7 Kd6 82. Rd4+ Ke7 83. Bxh5 Re5 84. g4 fxg4 85. Bxg4 Bxg4 86. Rxg4 a5 87. Kc3 Rf5 88. Ra4 Rxf2 89. Rxa5 Rf3+ 90. Kb4 Rf4+ 91. Kb5 Rf5+ 92. Ka4 Rxa5+ 93. Kxa5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.27"] [Round "7"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Kramnik, V."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2851"] [BlackElo "2801"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [Source "ChessBase"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 (6. Qc2) 6... Bf5 ({ The "normal" continuation is} 6... Be7) 7. Qf3 Bg6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 { Black's structure is shattered but the exchange of queens eases Black's defensive task and gives him the pair of bishops.} 10. Nf3 Nd7 11. Nh4 Be7 12. Ne2 {White intends to occupy f5 - a logical maneuver that nevertheless in this position has never before been tried in this form.} (12. g3 {is the standard move, e.g.} Nb6 13. Kd2 Nc8 14. Bd3 Nd6 15. b3 O-O-O 16. f3 Rhe8 17. Rac1 Kb8 18. Ne2 Nc8 19. Nf4 Bb4+ 20. Ke2 Nd6 21. g4 Re7 22. a4 Rde8 23. Nhg2 Nc8 24. Rc2 Bd6 25. Nh5 Bxh5 26. gxh5 h6 27. Kf2 Bb4 28. Re2 Nd6 29. Rc1 f5 30. f4 Ne4+ 31. Bxe4 fxe4 32. Nh4 Re6 33. Rec2 Rf6 34. Rg1 b6 35. Ke2 c5 36. Rd1 Rd8 37. a5 Kb7 38. axb6 axb6 39. Ra2 Bc3 40. dxc5 bxc5 41. Rc2 Bb4 42. Ra2 d4 43. Rda1 d3+ 44. Kf2 Rdd6 45. Ra7+ Kc6 46. Re7 Rde6 47. Rea7 Kb5 48. Rb7+ Rb6 49. Rba7 Bc3 50. Rb1 Ra6 51. Rb7+ Kc6 52. Re7 Ra2+ 53. Kg3 d2 {0-1 (53) Ivanisevic,I (2653) -Kramnik,V (2777) Berlin 2015}) 12... Nb6 13. Ng3 {[#]} Bb4+ 14. Kd1 Na4 $6 { As it turns out this is not a good square for the knight.} 15. Ngf5 $1 Kd7 ( 15... Nxb2+ {was not really threatening:} 16. Kc2 Na4 17. Kb3 $16) 16. Rb1 Ke6 17. Bd3 Rhc8 18. Ke2 Bf8 19. g4 $16 {Black's position is awkward.} c5 (19... Nb6 20. Ng2 Bd6 21. h4 $16) 20. Ng2 cxd4 (20... c4 21. Nf4+ Kd7 22. Bc2 Nb6 23. h4 h6 24. Nxg6 fxg6 25. Ng3 $16) 21. exd4 $1 {Threatening 22.Nf4+ followed by 23.Bb5+} ({Immediately} 21. Nf4+ {was also an option:} Ke5 (21... Kd7 $4 22. Bb5+) 22. Nxd4 $16) 21... Bd6 22. h4 h5 (22... Rh8 23. h5 Bxf5 24. Bxf5+ Ke7 25. Ne3 Nb6 26. Rbc1 (26. Kf3 $5) 26... Bf4 27. Rc5 Bd6 28. Rb5 $18 {and White is clearly better.}) 23. Ng7+ Ke7 24. gxh5 Bxd3+ 25. Kxd3 Kd7 26. Ne3 $18 Nb6 27. Ng4 Rh8 28. Rhe1 Be7 29. Nf5 {White exploits the doubled pawns and the weak square f5 in textbook fashion.} Bd8 30. h6 Rc8 31. b3 Rc6 32. Nge3 Bc7 33. Rbc1 Rxc1 34. Rxc1 Bf4 35. Rc5 Ke6 (35... Bxh6 36. Nxd5 Nxd5 37. Rxd5+ $18) 36. Ng7+ Kd6 37. Ng4 Nd7 (37... Bxh6 $2 38. Nxh6 Rxh6 39. Nf5+ $18) 38. Rc2 f5 39. Nxf5+ Ke6 40. Ng7+ Kd6 41. Re2 Kc6 42. Re8 Rxe8 43. Nxe8 Nf8 44. Ne5+ Bxe5 45. dxe5 Kd7 46. Nf6+ Ke6 {[#]} 47. h5 {White finishes with a little tactical trick.} (47. h7 Ng6 48. h5 Nh8 49. Kd4 $18) 47... Kxe5 48. Nd7+ $1 Nxd7 49. h7 Nc5+ 50. Ke2 1-0 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.27"] [Round "7"] [White "Aronian, L."] [Black "Eljanov, P."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2765"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [Source "ChessBase"] 1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 dxc4 4. Qa4+ Nd7 5. Qxc4 c5 6. Nc3 $5 (6. Nf3 Ngf6 7. O-O b6 8. Nc3 Bb7 9. d4 Rc8 {leads to a popular line of which Eljanov probably has fond memories.} 10. Qd3 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 Bb4 13. Ndb5 a6 14. Nd6+ Bxd6 15. Qxd6 Qe7 16. Qd3 b5 17. Bf4 e5 18. Bg5 h6 19. Nd5 Qe6 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. Nxf6+ Qxf6 22. Qa3 Rc2 23. b3 Qc6+ 24. Kg1 Qc5 25. Qxa6 O-O 26. a4 Rxe2 27. a5 e4 28. Rae1 Rxe1 29. Rxe1 f5 30. Qe6+ Kh7 31. Rd1 Rf6 32. Qd5 Qc2 33. Rd2 Qc3 34. Ra2 Qe1+ 35. Kg2 f4 36. a6 f3+ 37. Kh3 Rg6 38. Kh4 Qb4 39. Kh3 Rg5 40. Qf7 Qc5 41. g4 Qc1 42. a7 h5 43. Qxh5+ Rxh5+ 44. gxh5 Qc8+ 45. Kg3 Qa8 46. Ra6 Kg8 47. b4 Kf8 48. Kf4 Ke7 49. Ke3 Kd7 50. Kd4 Kc7 51. Ke3 Kb7 52. Ra5 Kb6 53. Ra3 Kc6 54. Ra5 Kd6 55. Kd4 Qd5+ 56. Ke3 Ke5 {0-1 (56) Grischuk,A (2771)-Eljanov,P (2717) Baku 2015}) 6... Ngf6 7. d3 $5 (7. Nf3 b6 8. Ng5 Rb8 9. O-O Be7 10. d3 {transposes into the game.}) 7... Be7 8. Nf3 b6 9. Ng5 Rb8 10. O-O Bb7 11. Bf4 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 Rb7 13. Nf3 O-O 14. e4 Qa8 15. a4 Rd8 16. Nb5 Qc8 (16... Nf8 17. Bc7 $5) 17. Rac1 Nf8 18. d4 Ng6 19. Bg5 a6 20. Nc3 b5 21. axb5 axb5 22. Qe2 (22. Nxb5 Qb8 $17) 22... c4 $6 (22... cxd4 $5 {looks risky but seems to be playable:} 23. Nd5 Qa8 24. Nxe7+ Rxe7 25. Rfd1 Red7 $15) 23. Rfd1 h6 {Black has no real counterplay whereas White gradually improves his position during the next moves.} (23... b4 24. Na4 {and c4 is weak.}) (23... Nh5 {droht Sf4.} 24. Kg1 Nf6 25. Ra1) 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. h4 Qb8 26. Ra1 Be7 27. h5 Nf8 28. Ne5 Rc8 29. Ra6 $14 {White is better and has options such as Qf3, Nc6 or d5.} Rb6 30. Rxb6 Qxb6 31. Qf3 {[#]} f6 $6 (31... Bf6 $5 32. Nxf7 Kxf7 33. e5 Nh7 $14 {seems to be the lesser evil.}) 32. Ng6 Nxg6 (32... Re8 33. d5 $36) 33. hxg6 {It soon turns out that the pawn on g6 seriously restrains the black king.} b4 34. Ne2 Qd6 35. d5 e5 36. g4 Bf8 37. Qf5 (37. Ng3 $5 -- { with the idea} 38. g5 {was also good.}) 37... Ra8 $2 (37... Rc7 {was more stubborn:} 38. Qe6+ Qxe6 39. dxe6 $16) {[#]} 38. Rc1 {White now calmly weaves a mating net.} ({However,} 38. g5 $1 {was winning already:} hxg5 (38... fxg5 39. Qf7+ Kh8 40. Rh1 -- {intending} 41. Rxh6+ gxh6 42. Qh7#) 39. Qh3 {with mate.}) 38... Qa6 39. Ng3 Kh8 40. Qe6 Qa2 41. Nf5 c3 42. Rh1 Qa7 (42... cxb2 43. Rxh6+ gxh6 44. Qxf6+ Kg8 45. Qf7+ Kh8 46. Qh7#) 43. d6 ({Or} 43. Nxh6 gxh6 44. Qxf6+ Bg7 45. Rxh6+ Kg8 46. Qe6+ Kf8 47. Rh3 $18) 43... Qb7 44. d7 Qxe4+ 45. f3 1-0 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.28"] [Round "8"] [White "Aronian, L."] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A11"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2851"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 g6 ({Black has a wide choice of moves, popular are} 4... Bf5) ({or} 4... Bg4 {which Carlsen played at the Blitz-World Championship 2015 in Berlin.} 5. Ne5 Be6 6. O-O Nbd7 7. cxd5 Bxd5 8. Nf3 e5 9. Nc3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Bc5 11. d3 O-O 12. Bg5 Re8 13. Rc1 Be7 $11 {1/2 (55)-1/2 (55) Petrosian,T (2625)-Carlsen,M (2850) Berlin 2015}) ({Or even} 4... dxc4) 5. b3 Bg7 6. Bb2 O-O 7. O-O {Here Black has tried almost every legal move. On the popularity list Carlsen's choice is only the number eight.} dxc4 8. bxc4 c5 9. d3 Nc6 10. Ne5 {[#]} Na5 {To threaten Ng4. Carlsen had already spent a lot of time which indicates that he did not feel entirely comfortable with his position.} ({A "normal" reaction would be} 10... Nxe5 11. Bxe5 {z.B.:} Ne8 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. Nc3 Rb8 14. a4 Bd7 15. a5 Nd6 16. Qc1 Nf5 17. Qb2 Kg8 18. Rfb1 Nd4 19. e3 Nc6 20. Nd5 Be6 21. Qc3 Qd6 22. Rb5 Rfc8 23. Rab1 Bxd5 24. Bxd5 Rc7 25. Bxc6 Qxc6 26. Qb3 Rd7 27. Qa3 Rc8 28. h4 h5 29. Qb3 Rcc7 30. Qc2 e5 31. R5b2 Rd6 32. e4 Qd7 33. Rb3 Qe7 34. Kg2 Kh7 35. Qb2 Rdd7 36. Qd2 Qe6 37. Qe3 Qa6 38. Rb5 Qd6 39. R5b3 Qa6 40. Qg5 Qe6 41. Qe3 Qa6 42. Rb5 Qd6 43. R5b3 Qa6 44. Qd2 Qe6 45. Qe3 Qa6 {1/2-1/2 (45) Radjabov,T (2734)-Gelfand,B (2743) Beijing 2014}) 11. Qc1 Qc7 ({More consistent seems} 11... Ng4 12. Nxg4 Bxg4 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. Nc3 (14. Na3 $5 {with a slight plus for White.})) 12. Nd2 Ne8 ( 12... Ng4 $5) 13. f4 Nd6 14. Bc3 Rb8 {Black has trouble to bring his queenside in shape...} 15. Qa3 b6 {... and cannot do anything against the destruction of his pawn-chain.} 16. Bxa5 bxa5 17. Nb3 $16 Nb7 ({Perhaps no better, but more active was} 17... Nf5 {z.B.:} 18. Qxc5 Qxc5+ 19. Nxc5 Bxe5 20. fxe5 Rb2 21. Bf3 (21. Rfe1 Nd4) 21... Nd4 22. Kf2 Nxf3 23. Kxf3 h5 24. Rfe1 $16) 18. Bxb7 Qxb7 ( 18... Rxb7 $5 19. Qxc5 (19. Nxc5 $6 {brings Black back into the game.} Rb4 20. Nb3 Bh3 21. Rf2 Bxe5 22. fxe5 Qxe5) 19... a4 20. Qxc7 Rxc7 21. Nd4 $16) 19. Nxc5 Qc7 20. d4 (20. Nb3 $6 Bh3 21. Rf2 Bxe5 22. fxe5 Qxe5 {with counterplay.}) 20... Rd8 21. Rfd1 f6 22. Nf3 e5 {By opening the position Black hopes to get some counterplay on the white squares which are no longer defended by the white-squared bishop.} 23. fxe5 fxe5 24. Nxe5 Bxe5 25. dxe5 Rxd1+ 26. Rxd1 {[#] } Qxe5 $2 {A blunder in a desolate situation.} (26... Bg4 27. Qe3 Bxe2 28. Qxe2 Qxc5+ 29. Kg2 $16 {and Black can still fight.}) 27. Rd8+ Kf7 (27... Kg7 28. Ne6+ Qxe6 (28... Kh6 29. Qf8+ {also leads to mate.}) 29. Qf8#) 28. Qf3+ Bf5 29. Rxb8 Qxb8 30. g4 Qb4 31. Nd3 1-0 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.28"] [Round "8"] [White "Eljanov, P."] [Black "Li Chao2"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2765"] [BlackElo "2755"] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 Bf5 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 Ne4 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. Bxe4 dxe4 8. Ne5 f6 9. g4 fxe5 10. dxe5 Be7 11. gxf5 exf5 12. Rg1 g6 13. Qe2 Qd5 14. O-O-O Nc6 ({All this happened before in a correspondence game. Which went on with} 14... Nd7 15. Nb3 Qe6 16. Kb1 O-O-O 17. Nd4 Qb6 18. Qc4 Nc5 19. h4 Bxh4 20. Rh1 Be7 21. Rdg1 $14 {1-0 (62) Rocco,J (2265)-Cipka,I (2282) ICCF email 2007}) 15. Nb3 Qe6 16. Qb5 O-O 17. Kb1 (17. Qxb7 Nxe5 18. Qxc7 Nd3+ {with unpleasant complications.}) 17... a5 18. Nd4 Nxd4 19. exd4 (19. Rxd4 c5 20. Rd7 b6 21. Rgd1 (21. Rb7 Rab8 $11) 21... Rfd8 $11) 19... c6 20. Qb6 Rfd8 21. a4 Rd7 22. d5 Rxd5 23. Rxd5 Qxd5 24. Qxb7 Re8 25. b3 Ba3 26. h4 Qd4 27. Bc1 Bxc1 28. Rxc1 f4 29. h5 g5 $5 (29... Qxe5 $5 $11 {and now} 30. hxg6 hxg6 31. Rh1 Qf6 32. Qh7+ Kf8 33. Qh6+ Ke7 $11 {yields nothing for White.}) 30. h6 Qxe5 31. Rd1 Re7 32. Qxc6 e3 $5 {a brave winning attempt.} (32... Kf7 $11) 33. fxe3 fxe3 34. Rd5 ( 34. Qc4+ $5 Re6 35. Rd5 Qf6 36. Qc7 Re7 37. Qc8+ Kf7 38. Rf5 e2 39. Rxf6+ Kxf6 40. Qc3+ Kf5 (40... Kf7 41. Qe1 $18) 41. Qxa5+ Kf4 42. Qe1 g4 $16 {is an engine-proposal to improve White's play in the game.}) 34... e2 $1 {That was the idea.} (34... Qf4 35. Qc8+ Kf7 36. Rf5+ Kg6 37. Rxf4 gxf4 38. Qg4+ $18) 35. Rxe5 Rxe5 36. Qa8+ Kf7 37. Qa7+ Re7 38. Qf2+ Ke8 39. Qe1 g4 {How does the white queen stop the two black pawns?} 40. Kc1 g3 41. Kd2 g2 42. c3 Re6 43. b4 Kd7 44. b5 Rd6+ 45. Kc2 Rg6 46. Qd2+ Kc8 47. Qxe2 g1=Q {It cannot.} 48. Qe8+ Kb7 49. Qe7+ Kb6 50. Qd8+ Kc5 51. Qf8+ Kd5 52. Qf5+ Kd6 53. Qf4+ Ke7 54. Qe4+ Re6 55. Qxh7+ Ke8 56. Qh8+ Kd7 57. Qh7+ Kc8 (57... Kc8 58. Qh8+ Kb7 59. Qh7+ Kb6 {and White has no more checks.}) 0-1 [Event "4th Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2016.04.28"] [Round "8"] [White "Kramnik, V."] [Black "Harikrishna, P."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2016.04.18"] 1. Nf3 e6 2. g3 b5 $5 3. e3 $5 {This move has been played only once before.} ({ Üblich ist z.B.:} 3. Bg2 Bb7 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3) 3... a6 4. Bg2 (4. a4 b4 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. d3 c5 7. Nbd2 Nf6 8. e4 d6 {1-0 (70) Anikaev,Y (2460) -Korzubov,P (2450) Minsk 1983}) 4... Bb7 5. O-O Nf6 6. b3 c5 7. c4 Be7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. d4 {Now Kramnik finally advanced his central pawns.} d5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Qe2 Nd7 14. Rd1 Qe7 15. Bb2 Rac8 16. Rac1 Bb7 {[#]} 17. Ng5 $5 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 f5 $6 (18... Nb6 $5 19. Qg4 f5 $11) ({White threatened} 18... -- 19. Ne4 {and now} Bb6 {fails to} 20. Rxd7 $1 Qxd7 21. Nf6+ gxf6 22. Qg4+ Kh8 23. Bxf6#) ({The second threat was} 18... -- 19. Nxh7 Kxh7 20. Qd3+ Kg8 21. Qxd7) 19. e4 {Now Black quickly gets under strong pressure.} (19. Qf3 $5 Rc7 20. h4 h6 21. Nh3 $16) 19... h6 20. Nf3 Nf6 21. exf5 exf5 22. Qxe7 Bxe7 23. Nd4 $16 Rxc1 (23... g6 $2 24. Nc6 Rc7 25. Nxe7+ Rxe7 26. Rd6 $18) 24. Rxc1 Nd5 25. Ne6 Rf7 26. Rc8+ Kh7 27. Ra8 f4 {[#]} 28. Rxa6 (28. Bxg7 $5 Rxg7 (28... f3+ 29. Kf1 $18) 29. Nxg7 Kxg7 30. Ra7 Kf8 31. Rxa6 $18) 28... fxg3 29. hxg3 Bf6 30. Bc1 Re7 31. Rd6 Nc3 32. a3 Kg8 33. Bb2 Ra7 34. Rc6 Nd5 ({Zäher war} 34... Nb1 35. Bxf6 gxf6 36. Nd4 Nxa3 37. Rxf6 $18) 35. Bxf6 Nxf6 36. Rc7 Rxa3 ({The alternative was to fight against two passed pawns on the queenside:} 36... Rxc7 37. Nxc7 Kf7 38. Nxb5 $18) 37. Rxg7+ Kh8 38. Rg6 Ne4 39. Rxh6+ Kg8 40. Rh4 Nd2 41. b4 Nc4 42. Nc7 Ra2 43. Re4 Nd6 44. Rd4 Nf5 45. Rd8+ Kf7 46. Nxb5 Rb2 47. Rd3 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.28"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A11"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2851"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "Norway"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "NOR"] [WhiteClock "0:45:46"] [BlackClock "0:05:13"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 g6 5. b3 Bg7 6. Bb2 O-O 7. O-O dxc4 8. bxc4 c5 9. d3 Nc6 10. Ne5 Na5 (10... Nxe5 11. Bxe5 Ne8 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. Nc3 Rb8 14. a4 Bd7 15. a5 Nd6 16. Qc1 Nf5 {Radjabov,T (2734)-Gelfand,B (2743) Beijing 2014} ) 11. Qc1 Qc7 $6 {Aronian thought this was dubious.} (11... Nd7 12. Ng4) 12. Nd2 Ne8 $2 {"Really bad" - Carlsen} ({Better was} 12... Nd7 13. Nxd7 Bxd7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Nb3 {Carlsen}) 13. f4 {"Black's position is very dangerous." (Aronian)} Nd6 (13... f6 $5 14. Nef3 Nc6 {Carlsen}) 14. Bc3 Rb8 15. Qa3 b6 16. Bxa5 bxa5 17. Nb3 Nb7 18. Bxb7 ({Carlsen had seen} 18. Nc6 Bxa1 19. Rxa1 Ra8 { and was happy that he "was not losing any pieces immediately." Here the computer thinks} 20. Ncxa5 {is best, with a clear advantage for White.}) 18... Qxb7 19. Nxc5 Qc7 20. d4 Rd8 21. Rfd1 f6 22. Nf3 e5 23. fxe5 fxe5 24. Nxe5 Bxe5 ({And here} 24... Rxd4 $1 25. Rxd4 Bxe5 26. Qe3 Bf5 {was more practical, although Aronian had seen this and felt he would consolidate. At the post mortem Carlsen evaluated this as "With very good chances... to make the time control!" Aronian: "With my infamous technique?"}) 25. dxe5 Rxd1+ 26. Rxd1 Qxe5 $2 {This loses a piece. Already in time trouble Carlsen makes the decisive mistake.} (26... Bg4 27. Qe3 Qb6 {is probably still winning for White but it's a game.}) 27. Rd8+ Kf7 (27... Kg7 28. Ne6+ $1 Kh6 29. Qf8+ Kh5 30. Rd5) 28. Qf3+ Bf5 29. Rxb8 Qxb8 30. g4 Qb4 31. Nd3 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.28"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Li, Chao"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2765"] [BlackElo "2755"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] [WhiteClock "0:04:43"] [BlackClock "0:20:04"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 Bf5 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 Ne4 6. Nbd2 (6. O-O Nd7 7. c4 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bd6 9. Bxd6 cxd6 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Qb3 d5 {Radibratovic,P (2362) -Ivanov,M (2398) Kragujevac 2013}) 6... Bd6 7. Bxe4 dxe4 8. Ne5 f6 9. g4 fxe5 10. dxe5 Be7 11. gxf5 exf5 12. Rg1 g6 13. Qe2 Qd5 14. O-O-O Nc6 (14... Nd7 15. Nb3 Qe6 16. Kb1 O-O-O 17. Nd4 Qb6 18. Qc4 Nc5 {Rocco,J (2265)-Cipka,I (2282) corr. 2007}) 15. Nb3 Qe6 16. Qb5 O-O 17. Kb1 a5 18. Nd4 Nxd4 19. exd4 c6 20. Qb6 Rfd8 21. a4 Rd7 22. d5 Rxd5 23. Rxd5 Qxd5 24. Qxb7 Re8 25. b3 Ba3 (25... Bc5 26. Be3) 26. h4 Qd4 27. Bc1 Bxc1 28. Rxc1 f4 (28... Qxe5 29. Rd1) 29. h5 g5 30. h6 Qxe5 31. Rd1 Re7 32. Qxc6 e3 $2 (32... Kf7) 33. fxe3 fxe3 34. Rd5 $2 ({ The computer plays} 34. Qc4+ $1 Qe6 35. Qc5 e2 (35... Qe5 36. Rd5) 36. Qxg5+ Qg6 37. Qd5+ Qe6 38. Rg1+ Kf8 39. Qa8+ Re8 40. Qf3+ Qf7 41. Qg3 Qg6 42. Qf2+ Qf7 43. Qc5+ Qe7 44. Qxe7+ Rxe7 45. Re1) 34... e2 35. Rxe5 Rxe5 36. Qa8+ Kf7 37. Qa7+ ({Can Black win after} 37. Qf3+) 37... Re7 38. Qf2+ Ke8 39. Qe1 g4 40. Kc1 (40. Kb2 g3) 40... g3 41. Kd2 g2 42. c3 Re6 43. b4 Kd7 44. b5 Rd6+ 45. Kc2 Rg6 46. Qd2+ Kc8 47. Qxe2 g1=Q 48. Qe8+ Kb7 49. Qe7+ Kb6 50. Qd8+ Kc5 51. Qf8+ Kd5 52. Qf5+ Kd6 53. Qf4+ Ke7 54. Qe4+ Re6 55. Qxh7+ Ke8 56. Qh8+ Kd7 57. Qh7+ Kc8 0-1 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.04.28"] [Round "8.5"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Harikrishna, P."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:41:27"] [BlackClock "0:45:17"] 1. Nf3 e6 2. g3 b5 {Bent Larsen loved to play this way. One idea is to grab some space on the queenside and if White develops in KIA way to be ready to attack on the other side as quick as possible.} 3. e3 {Kramnik wants to lure the black pawn on a6. In most of the cases White prefers the straightforward development instead:} (3. Bg2 Bb7 4. O-O c5 5. b3 d6 6. c4 b4 7. Bb2 Nd7 8. d4 Ngf6 {with approximate equality in Vitiugov,N (2736)-Bukavshin,I (2648) Sochi 2015}) 3... a6 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O Nf6 6. b3 c5 7. c4 Be7 8. Nc3 ({Previously White first developed his bishop} 8. Bb2 O-O 9. Nc3 b4 10. Na4 a5 11. d4 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Bxg2 13. Kxg2 Na6 14. Qf3 {with slight advantage for White in Rukavina,J (2417)-Aleksandrov,A (2636) Budva 2009}) 8... O-O (8... d6 $5 { was interesting as White cannot win the pawn} 9. cxb5 axb5 10. Nxb5 Ba6) 9. d4 ({Here too,} 9. cxb5 $6 axb5 10. Nxb5 {is bad due to} Ba6 {and Black wins the exchange.}) 9... d5 ({Harikrishna did not like} 9... Ne4 {due to} 10. Ne2 $5 ({ Although} 10. Bb2 Nxc3 11. Bxc3 d6 12. dxc5 dxc5 13. Qe2 {is little better for White as well.})) ({On the other hand Kramnik's suggestion} 9... cxd4 10. exd4 Qc8 {when the position is uncler but easier for White to play. For example} ({ On} 10... d5 {the Russian intended} 11. Ne5 ({Or} 11. c5) 11... Qc8 12. c5 { with advantage for White thanks to the defended passer.}) 11. Bf4 ({Or simply} 11. Qe2) 11... bxc4 12. bxc4 Qxc4 13. Ne5 Qc8 14. Bxb7 Qxb7 15. Rb1 {with compensation for a pawn.}) ({On the other hand} 9... b4 {is a recession as} 10. Na4 d6 11. dxc5 dxc5 12. Ne5 {gives White very good chance to occupy the c6 square later- the most palpable point in Black's position.}) 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. dxc5 Bxc5 {As a result a typical Kramnik's type of position arose. The computer quickly rushes to scream out its favourite evaluation 0.00 but the former world champion says "Not so fast!" His recommendation for Black here makes perfect sense:} (12... Nd7 $5 {to capture the pawn with the knight and if} 13. b4 (13. Bb2 Nxc5 14. Ne5 {looks a bit better for White although Black should be able to hold the c6 square after} Bxg2 15. Kxg2 Qe8 16. Qf3 Rc8 {followed by f7-f6.}) 13... a5 14. Nd4 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 axb4 16. c6 $6 (16. Nc6 $5 Qe8 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Qd6 Qxd6 19. cxd6 b3 20. a3 b4 21. a4 Nc5) 16... Ne5 { Black seems in perfect shape.}) 13. Qe2 {"It might be equal, but it is easier to play as White. I would mind playing this as Black, but I would rather prefer White." (Kramnik)} Nd7 14. Rd1 Qe7 15. Bb2 {White spend some time analyzing} (15. e4 Bb7 16. Bg5 f6 17. Bd2 Rac8 18. a4 {but decided that the move in the game is more dangerous for his opponent.}) 15... Rac8 16. Rac1 Bb7 $6 {This is dubious.} ({Both players came to the conclusion that Black is in under pressure after} 16... Rfd8 17. Qc2 {The threat is b3-b4!} Nb6 (17... Bb7 {is bad due to the typical trick} 18. Ng5 $1) 18. Qc3 f6 19. Qa5 $1 {A very nice maneuver which quickly switches the angle of the attack.} Qb7 20. Rxc5 $1 Bxf3 (20... Rxc5 21. e4) 21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Bxf3 Qxf3 23. Bd4 Qb7 24. Rc1 { Yes, they calculated that deep in this simple looking position!}) ({Also bad for Black is} 16... Ba3 17. e4) ({A typical Catalan position will arise after} 16... Nf6 17. Ne5 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Qb7+ 19. Qf3 {when if the white knight lands to the c6 square (and most likely it will!) Black will be constanlty suffering as Botvinnik showed in his famous game against Donner.}) ({Maybe the modest} 16... Bb6 {was best, initiating trades along the "c" file.}) 17. Ng5 $1 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 {With the threats of Qe2-d3 or Ng3xh7 followed by Qe2-d3+.} f5 { It is hard to give Black a good advise.} (18... Nb6 {would see the white knight landing on another great square} 19. Ne4 Ba3 20. Rxc8 Rxc8 21. Bxa3 Qxa3 22. Nd6 {with nice advantage for White.}) (18... Nf6 {drops a pawn after} 19. Bxf6 Qxf6 20. Nxh7) ({While} 18... Rfd8 {leads to complete disaster after} 19. Qh5 h6 20. Ne4 Bb6 $1 21. Rxd7 Qxd7 22. Qg4 f5 23. Nf6+ Kh8 24. Qg6 $1 { and mate.}) 19. e4 h6 {Kramnik anticipated} (19... f4 {to whic he had in mind} 20. Qg4 fxg3 21. f3 $1 (21. f4 $5)) 20. Nf3 Nf6 {Or} (20... fxe4 21. Qxe4 Nf6 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. Rd7 {with difficult position for the Indian GM.} (23. Re1)) 21. exf5 exf5 22. Qxe7 Bxe7 23. Nd4 $1 {White takes complete command of the game. The pawns on a6 and f5 are targets and all the white pieces dominate. Not too bad for a 0.00 position, is not it?} Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Nd5 25. Ne6 Rf7 26. Rc8+ Kh7 27. Ra8 f4 28. Rxa6 fxg3 {Perhaps Black's last chance was Harikrishna's suggestion to keep the f pawn alive with} (28... Bf6 29. Bxf6 ({ Or} 29. Bc1 {which migth be more precise} f3+ 30. Kh3 Nb4 31. Ra8 g5 32. Kg4 Nd3 33. Be3 Kg6 34. Rg8+ Kh7 35. Rf8 Kg6 36. Kxf3 {(Kramnik)}) 29... Rxf6 30. Nc5 Rxa6 31. Nxa6 fxg3 32. hxg3 b4 33. Kf3 h5 {with chances to escape.}) 29. hxg3 Bf6 30. Bc1 Re7 31. Rd6 Nc3 32. a3 Kg8 33. Bb2 {And Kramnik converted his extra pawn.} Ra7 34. Rc6 Nd5 35. Bxf6 Nxf6 36. Rc7 Rxa3 37. Rxg7+ Kh8 38. Rg6 Ne4 (38... Ng8 39. Nd4) 39. Rxh6+ Kg8 40. Rh4 Nd2 41. b4 Nc4 42. Nc7 Ra2 43. Re4 (43. Nxb5 Ne3+ 44. Kf3 Nd1) 43... Nd6 44. Rd4 Nf5 45. Rd8+ Kf7 46. Nxb5 Rb2 47. Rd3 {Perfect technique by the former world champion!} 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.28"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D46"] [WhiteElo "2790"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Netherlands"] [BlackTeam "Sweden"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NED"] [BlackTeamCountry "SWE"] [WhiteClock "0:31:58"] [BlackClock "0:25:26"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Be2 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 dxc4 9. a4 ({Last month Giri had this position twice as Black:} 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 (10. Be2 Bb7 11. e4 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nd4 Neg4 14. g3 Re8 {Nakamura,H (2790)-Giri,A (2793) Moscow 2016}) 10... Bb7 11. a3 Rc8 12. b4 a5 {Karjakin,S (2760)-Giri,A (2793) Moscow 2016}) 9... e5 10. Bxc4 exd4 11. exd4 Nb6 12. Bb3 Nbd5 13. Bg5 Be6 14. a5 (14. Nxd5 cxd5 $1 15. Qd3 h6 16. Bh4 Be7 17. Nd2 Qd7 18. Rfe1 Rfe8 {Del Rio de Angelis,S (2556)-Alsina Leal,D (2517) Atarrabia 2016} ) (14. Rfe1 Re8 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Ne4 Qf4 {Grandelius}) 14... h6 15. Bh4 Qc8 $1 {Very strong.} 16. Rfe1 Re8 17. a6 Rb8 18. Bxd5 $6 {Too risky.} ({Best is} 18. Bxf6 Nxf6 19. axb7 Rxb7 {which is completely equal.}) 18... Nxd5 19. Ne4 Bc7 ( 19... Bb4 20. Bg3 Bxe1 21. Nd6) 20. Nc5 $6 ({And here White should make a draw with} 20. axb7 Qxb7 21. Neg5 hxg5 22. Nxg5 Nf6 23. Nxe6 Rxe6 24. Rxe6 fxe6 25. Bxf6 Qxb2 26. Qxb2 Rxb2 27. Be5) 20... Nb4 21. Qd2 Nxa6 22. Ne4 (22. Nxa6 bxa6 23. Bg3 Bxg3 24. hxg3 Rb6 {and Black is slightly better (Svidler).}) 22... Bd5 (22... Bf5 $1 {was strong but after} 23. Nf6+ gxf6 24. Qxh6 {Grandelius missed} Rxe1+ 25. Rxe1 Qf8) 23. Nf6+ $1 {For the second day in a row Giri makes a draw with a combination. "I usually have a draw in mind when I do something like this."} gxf6 24. Bxf6 Qf5 (24... Rxe1+ 25. Rxe1 Qf8 26. Ne5 Be6 (26... Bxe5 27. Rxe5 Re8 28. Qf4 Rxe5 29. dxe5 {and there's nothing against Qg4+ and Qf5+}) 27. Qf4 {and now taking on e5 transposes while} Bd8 $2 28. Ng4 $1 {actually wins for White.}) 25. Qxh6 Qh7 26. Qg5+ Qg6 27. Qh4 Qh7 28. Qg5+ Qg6 29. Qh4 Qh7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.29"] [Round "9.2"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2851"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] [WhiteClock "0:23:00"] [BlackClock "0:03:58"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. a4 (9. Bg5 b6 10. Nbd2 h6 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. e4 Bb7 13. e5 Nd7 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Rfe1 b5 {Li,C (2751)-Tomashevsky,E (2728) Huaian 2016}) 9... a5 10. Rc1 Ne4 (10... h6 11. Be1 b6 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Nc3 Bb7 14. Nb5 Rc8 15. Qd1 Rxc1 16. Rxc1 Qb8 {Sandipan,C (2608)-Meier,G (2668) Dresden 2012}) 11. Be1 f5 12. Nbd2 Bd6 13. e3 Ra7 {Afterward both Carlsen and Eljanov weren't sure about this plan.} (13... Qe7 14. Nb3 Bc7 {Eljanov} (14... b6 $6 15. c5 $1)) 14. Qd1 b6 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. Nb1 $1 {Missed by Eljanov. White has an edge now.} Ba6 17. Na3 Qa8 18. Nb5 Bxb5 19. axb5 Rc8 20. Bf1 Rxc1 21. Rxc1 Rc7 22. Rxc7 Bxc7 23. Qa4 {"This position should be holdable." (Eljanov)} Qb8 ({Maybe this was the moment to go} 23... g5 {- a move Black should have played according to Eljanov. }) (23... Qf8 24. b4 axb4 25. Bxb4 (25. Qa7 $6 Qb8) 25... Bd6) 24. b4 axb4 25. Bxb4 h6 26. Qc2 Bd6 27. Qc6 Ndf6 28. Bxd6 Qxd6 29. Qc8+ Kh7 30. Ne5 Qe7 31. Qc6 Ng4 32. Nxg4 fxg4 33. Bd3 g6 34. Bxe4 dxe4 35. Qxb6 1-0 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.29"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Harikrishna, P."] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E43"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2784"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] [WhiteClock "0:19:56"] [BlackClock "0:42:54"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O c5 8. Na4 cxd4 9. a3 (9. exd4 Re8 10. a3 Bf8 11. Bf4 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 Nc6 13. d5 exd5 14. cxd5 Ne5 15. Qd1 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Re4 {Yu,Y (2736)-Carlsen,M (2834) Doha (blitz) 2015}) 9... Bd6 10. exd4 Nc6 11. Nc3 Rc8 12. Bg5 (12. b4 h6 13. Bb2 Bb8 14. Re1 Ne7 15. Ne5 Re8 16. g3 Nf5 17. Na4 Nd6 {Figlio,G (2395)-Popov,V (2199) corr. 2012}) 12... h6 13. Bh4 Be7 {"I think it's easier for Black to play." (Aronian) } 14. Re1 (14. b4 $5 d6 (14... Nh5 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 (15... Qxe7 16. d5) 16. Nb5) 15. Qe2 (15. Re1 Nh5 16. Bxe7 Nxe7) 15... Nh5 16. Qe4 g6 {Aronian} 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Qe3 Kg7 19. Rfe1) 14... d5 15. cxd5 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 Bxh4 17. Ne3 Bf6 18. Be4 g6 ({Hari suggested} 18... Rc7 {but then} 19. Ng4 {Aronian} Bxd4 $5 20. Bxc6 Bxb2 21. Bxb7 Bxa1 22. Qxa1 Rxb7) 19. Qa4 a6 (19... Bg7 20. Rad1) 20. Rad1 b5 21. Qb3 Qb6 (21... Na5 22. Qd3 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 Nc4 24. Nxc4 Rxc4 25. Ne5 { is equal.}) 22. Ng4 Bg7 23. Qe3 (23. Bxg6 $5 Na5 (23... fxg6 24. Rxe6) 24. Qe3 fxg6 25. Nxh6+ Bxh6 (25... Kh8 26. Ng5) 26. Qxh6 Rc7 27. Ng5) 23... Kh7 $1 { The best.} (23... f5 $2 24. Nxh6+ $1 Bxh6 (24... Kh8 25. Ng5 Bxh6 26. Qh3 Kg7 27. Nxe6+) (24... Kh7 25. Ng5+ Kxh6 26. Nxe6+ Kh7 27. Qh3+ Kg8 28. Ng5) 25. Qxh6 Qc7 26. Qxg6+ Qg7 27. Qxe6+ Kh8 28. Bxf5 {and wins.}) 24. h4 f5 25. Bxc6 Rxc6 (25... Qxc6 26. Nge5 Qd5 27. Qf4 $1 {is OK for White.}) 26. Nge5 Rd6 27. Qf4 Bxf3 28. Nxf3 ({On stage Carlsen suggested} 28. Qxf3 {to the players but that's answered by} Rd5) 28... Rfd8 29. Rc1 Bxd4 30. Nxd4 Qxd4 31. Qxd4 Rxd4 32. Rxe6 Rd1+ 33. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 34. Kh2 Rd2 35. Rxa6 Rxb2 36. Ra7+ Kg8 37. f3 b4 38. axb4 Rxb4 39. Kg3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.29"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2801"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "0:41:45"] [BlackClock "0:09:46"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 Ne7 (7... a6 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. Re1 Bb6 10. Nbd2 a5 11. Nc4 h6 12. d4 exd4 13. cxd4 Re8 14. Qc2 c5 {Carlsen,M (2851)-Eljanov,P (2765) Stavanger (blitz) 2016}) 8. d4 Bb6 9. Re1 Ng6 10. Nbd2 c6 11. Bf1 exd4 (11... Re8 12. Qc2 d5 13. exd5 exd4 14. Rxe8+ Qxe8 15. Nc4 dxc3 16. Nxb6 axb6 {Swiercz,D (2654)-Hovhannisyan,R (2623) Martuni 2013 }) 12. cxd4 d5 13. e5 Nh5 14. b4 f6 15. a4 Nhf4 16. a5 Bc7 17. Nb3 a6 {Topalov didn't like this but Kramnik thought it was strong.} 18. Nc5 Ne6 19. Nxe6 Bxe6 20. Bd3 Qd7 21. exf6 ({Topalov was planning} 21. Bxg6 hxg6 22. Bf4 g5 23. Bg3 { but then didn't like} g4 24. hxg4 Bxg4 25. e6 Qe7) 21... gxf6 22. Bxg6 (22. Bh6 Rfe8 (22... Bxh3 $5 {Kramnik}) 23. Nh2 Bf5 (23... Bxh3 24. Qf3)) 22... hxg6 23. Ra3 Rfe8 24. Rae3 Bd6 25. Bd2 {Kramnik was playing for a win here.} Bf7 (25... Kg7 $5) (25... Re7 26. R1e2 Rae8 27. Ne1 {Topalov}) 26. Nh2 Kg7 27. Qf3 Rxe3 28. Rxe3 g5 29. Ng4 Be7 30. h4 (30. Qg3 $5 Bg6 31. f4 Bd6 32. Qf2) 30... gxh4 { And around here both players thought they had a win!} 31. Re1 (31. Qf4 Rh8 32. Nh6 Bg6 33. Qxh4 Bd6 34. Rh3 Rh7 35. Bf4 Bxb4 36. Rg3 {is a mess. (Kramnik)}) 31... Re8 (31... Rh8 $2 32. Bh6+ $1 Rxh6 33. Nxh6 Kxh6 34. Qe3+) 32. Bh6+ Kg6 33. Re5 ({Very nice was} 33. Bg5 Qf5 (33... Kxg5 34. Qe3+ Kxg4 35. Qh3+ { is the point}) 34. Ne5+ fxe5 35. Qxf5+ Kxf5 36. Rxe5+ Kg4 37. Bxe7 {and now only} h3 {holds.}) 33... Bd8 {The only move.} (33... f5 $2 34. Qe3 $1) (33... Be6 34. Nxf6 Bxf6 35. Qh5+) 34. Qd3+ f5 35. Bf4 Kg7 36. Rxe8 Bxe8 37. Ne5 Qe6 38. Qd2 (38. Qe3 Be7) 38... Qe7 39. Bh6+ Kh7 40. Nf3 Qe4 41. Ng5+ Bxg5 42. Bxg5 h3 43. gxh3 Bh5 44. Kh2 Be2 45. Qf4 Qxf4+ 46. Bxf4 Kg6 47. Kg3 Bf1 48. h4 Kh5 49. Bg5 Be2 50. Kf4 Bd3 51. Ke5 Kg4 52. Kd6 f4 53. Kc7 f3 54. Kxb7 Bb5 55. Kc7 Kh5 56. Kd6 Kg4 57. Kc5 Kh5 58. Kd6 Kg4 59. Kc5 Kh5 60. Kd6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.29"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Grandelius, Nils"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D71"] [WhiteElo "2649"] [BlackElo "2788"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Sweden"] [BlackTeam "France"] [WhiteTeamCountry "SWE"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] [WhiteClock "0:17:15"] [BlackClock "0:40:01"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 d5 5. e3 (5. Qa4 a6 6. cxd5 b5 7. Qd1 cxd5 8. Nf3 Bg7 9. Bf4 O-O 10. O-O Nc6 {Carlsen,M (2844)-Mamedyarov,S (2747) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) 5... Bg7 6. Ne2 O-O 7. O-O Re8 8. Nd2 Bf5 (8... e5 9. dxe5 Rxe5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nc4 Re8 12. Bxd5 Qxd5 13. Qxd5 cxd5 14. Nd6 Rd8 {Navya Vyshnavi,M (1730)-Tsoi,N (1650) Vung Tau 2008}) 9. Re1 Nbd7 10. Qb3 (10. b3 e5 11. Bb2 e4) 10... e5 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. dxe5 (12. Qxb7 Re6 (12... Qa5 13. b4) ( 12... exd4 13. Nxd4 Nc5 14. Qb5 Nd3 15. Nxf5 Nxe1 16. Nxg7 Kxg7 17. b3 Nxg2 18. Kxg2 d4 {Svidler}) 13. Qb3 Rc8 {MVL}) 12... Nxe5 13. Nd4 Qd7 14. Qb5 $6 (14. Nxf5 Qxf5 15. Qxb7 a5 {MVL}) 14... Rac8 15. Qxd7 Bxd7 16. N2f3 Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 Ne4 18. Rd1 (18. Bg2 Nxf2 19. Kxf2 Bxd4 {MVL}) 18... h5 19. Bg2 Rc7 20. Bxe4 ( 20. Bd2 Bxd4 21. exd4 Rc2 {Grandelius}) 20... Rxe4 (20... dxe4 $5) 21. f3 Re8 22. b3 Rc3 (22... Rec8 $5) 23. Ne2 Rc2 24. Nd4 Rc3 25. Ne2 Rcxe3 26. Bxe3 Bxa1 27. Kf2 Bf6 28. Rxd5 Bc6 29. Rd2 a6 30. h4 Rd8 31. Rxd8+ Bxd8 32. Nf4 a5 33. Bd4 b5 34. Ke3 a4 35. bxa4 bxa4 36. Bc5 Kg7 37. a3 Kh6 38. Bf8+ Kh7 39. Bc5 g5 40. hxg5 Bxg5 41. Kf2 h4 42. Bd6 Bd7 43. gxh4 Bxh4+ 44. Ke2 Bg5 45. Kf2 Kg7 46. Be5+ Kf8 47. Bd6+ Ke8 48. Nd3 Bb5 49. f4 Bh4+ 50. Ke3 Kd7 51. Bb4 Ke6 52. Ne5 Ba6 ({Both} 52... f6 53. Nf3 {and}) (52... Bd8 53. Ke4 f6 54. f5# {would have been embarrassing.}) 53. Nf3 Bd8 54. Ng5+ Bxg5 55. fxg5 Kf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.04.29"] [Round "9.5"] [White "Li, Chao"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D84"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2790"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "145"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:20:31"] [BlackClock "0:24:08"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 {Allowing the Gruenfeld is considered not-a-great idea of recently, but Li Chao is fearless.} d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Nxd5 Qxd5 8. Bxc7 {And this line is considered completely innocuous.} Na6 9. Bxa6 {The endgame is practically forced as} (9. Bg3 {is dubious to say at least. After} Bf5 10. a3 Rfc8 11. Nf3 Rc2 12. b4 Qb3 13. Bxa6 Qc3+ {and White was already fighting for his life in Evans,L-Saidy,A New York 1969}) 9... Qxg2 10. Qf3 Qxf3 11. Nxf3 bxa6 12. Rc1 f6 {For the damaged pawn structure Giri owes a hefty bishop pair.} 13. Rg1 Rf7 ({Or} 13... Bb7 14. Ke2 Rf7 15. Rgd1 e6 16. Ne1 Rc8 17. Bg3 Rxc1 18. Rxc1 e5 {Lysyj,I (2691)-Rodshtein,M (2654) Sochi 2015}) 14. b3 {A novelty. Previously White got nothing of the opening after:} (14. Ke2 Bd7 15. Rc2 Rc8 (15... Bb5+ $5) 16. Rc3 Bf8 17. Ba5 Rb8 { Schenk,A (2491)-Ragger,M (2658) Germany 2014}) 14... Bb7 {Now at least this bishop will not worry White on the a6-f1 diagonal.} 15. Ke2 Bf8 16. Ba5 e6 17. Nd2 Re8 {Giri camply put his pieces on good squares and is ready to open the board for his bishops.} 18. h4 {Black thought} (18. Nc4 {to be more precise to try and stop e6-e5 advance. True, Black can still go for} e5 ({Black can also go} 18... Rd7 {followed by a rook shift to the "h" file.}) 19. dxe5 fxe5 { with approximately even game.}) 18... e5 19. h5 {It always makes sense to get rid of an isolated pawn.} exd4 {Simplifies the position.} ({White gets some initiative after} 19... g5 20. dxe5 Rxe5 21. Bc3) 20. hxg6 hxg6 21. Rxg6+ Kh7 22. Rg3 Bh6 23. Nc4 Re6 (23... dxe3 {was interesting with the idea} 24. Nd6 ( 24. fxe3 {is correct instead.}) 24... exf2+ 25. Nxe8 Bxc1) 24. Rd1 dxe3 25. Rd6 Re4 (25... Rfe7 26. fxe3 Rxd6 27. Nxd6 Bc6) 26. fxe3 Rh4 27. Rd8 Bf8 28. Nd2 { Li Chao plays for a win. A draw would be sealed after:} (28. Nd6 Bxd6 29. Rxd6 {with the opposite-colored bishops being the harbingers of the peace treaty.}) 28... Bc6 29. Kd3 Rh5 30. Bc3 Be7 {Now both sides try to squueze something from the stone.} 31. Rc8 Bb5+ 32. Kc2 Bf8 33. a4 (33. Rf3 $5 Bg7 34. Rf2 { with the diea Nd2-e4 deserved consideration.}) 33... Bd7 34. Rd8 Bf5+ 35. Kb2 Rh2 36. Rf3 Be7 37. Rd4 Bg6 38. Rdf4 Bc5 39. b4 (39. Rxf6 Rxf6 40. Rxf6 Bxe3) 39... Rb7 40. Ka3 Be7 {Giri considered the tricky line:} (40... Bd6 41. Rxf6 Rc7 42. e4 Rxc3+ 43. Rxc3 Rxd2 {which does not work due to} 44. Rc6 Rd3+ 45. Ka2 Rd2+ 46. Kb3) 41. Nb3 Rc7 42. Bxf6 {An inaccuracy which puts White on the ropes for a while. Still, he did not overstep the boarderline yet.} (42. e4 { is just equal.}) 42... Rcc2 43. Rh4+ Rxh4 44. Bxh4 Bxh4 45. Rh3 Bf7 $1 46. Rxh4+ Kg7 {Suddenly the pin is unavoidable.} 47. Rh1 (47. Nd4 $4 Ra2#) 47... Rc3 48. Rb1 Rxe3 49. a5 {The Chinese GM quickly recovers from the surprise and finds a convincing draw. The passive defense would have also taken half a point, but why to suffer?} Bc4 50. b5 $1 axb5 (50... Bxb5 51. Rc1) 51. a6 { The pawns should be separated! Wrong is:} (51. Kb4 $2 {due to} Bxb3 ({But not} 51... Rxb3+ 52. Rxb3 Bxb3 53. Kxb5) 52. Rxb3 Rxb3+ 53. Kxb3 a6 $1 {and Black wins.}) 51... Kf6 52. Kb4 Bd3 53. Rc1 {The pin has been broken and the extra pawn is not enough for the win as the material is highly reduced.} Re4+ 54. Kc3 (54. Kc5 {is easier.}) 54... Be2 55. Kb2 Rb4 56. Rc6+ Ke5 57. Kc3 Rh4 (57... Rc4+ 58. Rxc4 Bxc4 59. Na5 {since White only need to sacrifice his knight for the "b" pawn.}) 58. Rc7 b4+ 59. Kb2 Bxa6 60. Na5 Kd5 61. Rxa7 {And after some further "wood-pushing" they agreed the draw.} Bb5 62. Rg7 Ba4 63. Rg2 Rh3 64. Rg5+ Ke6 65. Rg6+ Kf5 66. Rb6 Rh2+ 67. Ka1 Rh4 68. Nc6 b3 69. Na5 Rh1+ 70. Kb2 Rh2+ 71. Kb1 Rh1+ 72. Kb2 Rh2+ 73. Kb1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.29"] [Round "9"] [White "Harikrishna, P."] [Black "Aronian, L."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E43"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2784"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NOR"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O c5 8. Na4 cxd4 9. a3 Bd6 10. exd4 Nc6 11. Nc3 Rc8 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 Be7 14. Re1 d5 15. cxd5 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 Bxh4 17. Ne3 Bf6 18. Be4 g6 19. Qa4 a6 20. Rad1 b5 21. Qb3 Qb6 22. Ng4 Bg7 {[#]} 23. Qe3 ({White could have forced matters with} 23. Bxg6 $5 Na5 (23... fxg6 $2 24. Qxe6+ Kh7 25. Nh4 $40) 24. Qe3 fxg6 25. Nxh6+ Bxh6 26. Qxh6 Rc7 27. Nh4 Rh7 28. Qxg6+ Rg7 29. Rxe6 Qc7 30. Nf5 Rxg6 31. Rxg6+ Kh7 32. Rh6+ Kg8 33. Rg6+ $11) 23... Kh7 24. h4 f5 25. Bxc6 Rxc6 26. Nge5 Rd6 27. Qf4 Bxf3 28. Nxf3 Rfd8 29. Rc1 Bxd4 30. Nxd4 Qxd4 31. Qxd4 Rxd4 32. Rxe6 Rd1+ 33. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 34. Kh2 Rd2 35. Rxa6 Rxb2 36. Ra7+ Kg8 37. f3 b4 38. axb4 Rxb4 39. Kg3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Altibox Norway Chess 2016"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2016.04.29"] [Round "9"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Eljanov, P."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2851"] [BlackElo "2765"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NOR"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 ({Another option is} 8... b6 9. Rd1 Ba6 10. b3 Nbd7 11. a4 c5) 9. a4 { White has tried a number of moves in this position. But Carlsen's choice has not been played very often.} ({The main moves are} 9. Bf4) ({and} 9. Rd1) 9... a5 10. Rc1 ({A very old predecessor continued with:} 10. Nc3 b6 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12. Na2 Ba6 13. Rfe1 c5 14. e4 Nb4 15. Nxb4 axb4 16. d5 exd5 17. exd5 Bf6 $11 { 0-1 (57) Golovko,N-Averbakh,Y Moscow 1950}) 10... Ne4 {Black rebuilds his position into a Stonewall.} 11. Be1 f5 12. Nbd2 Bd6 13. e3 Ra7 {A deep move.} ( {Typical Stonewall moves are} 13... g5) ({or} 13... Ndf6) 14. Qd1 b6 15. cxd5 { Taking on d5 is considered to be good for White if Black has to recapture with the c-pawn.} cxd5 16. Nb1 {Heading for b5.} Ba6 17. Na3 Qa8 (17... g5 $5) 18. Nb5 Bxb5 19. axb5 {Now White has an outpost on c6.} Rc8 20. Bf1 Rxc1 21. Rxc1 Rc7 22. Rxc7 Bxc7 23. Qa4 Qb8 (23... g5 $5 24. b4 g4) 24. b4 axb4 25. Bxb4 h6 26. Qc2 Bd6 {[#]} 27. Qc6 {Now Black gets under pressure and with little time on the clock he fails to find the best.} Ndf6 (27... Qa7 $5 28. Be1 $11 (28. Bxd6 Qa2 29. Qc8+ Kh7 30. Bg2 Qa1+ 31. Bf1 Qa2 32. Bg2 Qb1+ 33. Bf1 Qa2 $11) ({ After} 28. Qc8+ Nf8 29. Bxd6 {Black can even play} Qa2 {:} 30. Qxf8+ Kh7 { and the threat of ...Qxf2+ secures Black a draw.} 31. Bg2 Qb1+ 32. Bf1 Qa2 $11) ) 28. Bxd6 Qxd6 $2 (28... Nxd6 29. Ne5 Qd8 $14) 29. Qc8+ Kh7 30. Ne5 Qe7 ({ White threatened} 30... -- 31. Nf7 Qe7 32. Qh8+ Kg6 33. Ne5+ Kh5 34. Be2+ $18) 31. Qc6 {[#]} Ng4 $2 (31... Qd6 $16) 32. Nxg4 fxg4 33. Bd3 g6 (33... Qf6 34. Bxe4+ dxe4 35. Qxe4+ Qg6 36. Qxg6+ Kxg6 37. e4 $18) 34. Bxe4 dxe4 35. Qxb6 1-0