[Event "FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss"] [Site "Riga"] [Date "2021.11.04"] [Round "8"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Sasikiran, Krishnan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2640"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 Bg4 9. Nbd2 Nb6 10. h3 Bh5 11. Bb3 Kh8 (11... Qxd3 12. Nxe5 Qf5 13. Nef3 Bg6 14. Nf1 Rad8 15. Qe2 Qc8 16. Qb5 Be7 17. Ng3 a6 18. Qe2 Rfe8 {Svidler,P (2694)-Nakamura,H (2736) Chess.com 2021}) 12. Ne4 Nd7 13. Bd5 f5 $146 {This exchange sacrifice doesn't really work.} (13... Bb6 14. Ng3 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 f5 16. d4 f4 17. Ne4 Qh4 18. Nd2 exd4 19. Nc4 Rad8 20. Bxc6 bxc6 {Vachier Lagrave, M (2751)-Swiercz,D (2655) Saint Louis 2021}) 14. Neg5 h6 15. Ne6 Qf6 16. Nxf8 ( {According to the engine} 16. d4 {was an even stronger move order.}) 16... Rxf8 (16... Bxf8 {on Black's turn was better here.}) 17. d4 $1 {Practically deciding the game.} e4 (17... exd4 18. Re6 Qd8 19. Bxc6 bxc6 {and now White is spoiled for choice, e.g.} 20. Bxh6) 18. dxc5 Nde5 19. Nxe5 $1 {White is getting two minor pieces and a rook for the queen.} Bxd1 20. Nd7 Qd8 21. Bxc6 Re8 22. Rxd1 bxc6 23. Bf4 Qh4 24. Bxc7 e3 25. fxe3 Rxe3 26. Rd4 Qe7 27. Bf4 Re2 28. b4 Qe8 29. Rf1 Qe6 30. Rf2 Rxf2 31. Kxf2 Qxa2+ 32. Bd2 Qe6 33. c4 a6 34. Bf4 Qe7 35. b5 axb5 36. cxb5 Qe6 37. b6 Qb3 38. Kg1 g5 39. Bd2 g4 40. Rb4 Qd1+ 41. Kh2 g3+ 42. Kxg3 f4+ 43. Kh2 1-0 [Event "Riga"] [Site "Riga"] [Date "2021.11.04"] [Round "8"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Navara, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2654"] [BlackElo "2691"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd2 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bd6 9. Qc2 e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. O-O (12. f4 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 g6 14. e4 Re8 15. Bd3 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Bf5 17. Be5 Bxe4 18. Qxe4 f6 19. O-O fxe5 20. fxe5 Qe7 {Xiong,J (2700)-Caruana,F (2800) Saint Louis 2021}) 12... Qe7 13. f4 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Qxe3+ 15. Kh1 Be6 16. Rf3 $146 (16. Bxf6 Bxc4 17. Qxc4 gxf6 18. Qxc7 Qb6 19. Qxb6 axb6 20. a3 Rfe8 {½-½ Agrest,E (2583)-Laznicka,V (2598) Catalunya 2009}) 16... Qb6 17. Bd3 Bd5 18. Rg3 h6 19. Be5 Rfe8 20. Bxc7 Qe6 21. Be5 Nh5 22. Re3 f6 (22... Rac8) 23. Bg6 Qg4 $6 24. h3 Qh4 25. Qd1 (25. Bxe8 Rxe8 26. Qd2) 25... Red8 26. Qxh5 Qxh5 27. Bxh5 fxe5 28. fxe5 Be6 29. Bf3 a5 30. a3 Rd2 31. b3 Rad8 32. b4 axb4 33. axb4 Rb2 34. Bxb7 Rxb4 35. Ra7 Rb3 36. Re1 Rb5 37. Be4 Bf7 38. Bc6 Rb6 39. Rc7 Be6 40. Be4 Rd7 $2 ({Inserting} 40... g5 {first was probably good for a draw.}) 41. Rc8+ Kf7 42. Rf1+ Ke7 43. Bc6 $1 {Suddenly Black cannot avoid the loss of material.} Bc4 44. Rf4 Rd1+ 45. Kh2 Bf7 46. Rc7+ Ke6 47. Rfxf7 Rxc6 48. Rfe7+ Kd5 49. Rcd7+ 1-0 [Event "Riga"] [Site "Riga"] [Date "2021.11.04"] [Round "8"] [White "Tabatabaei, M. Amin"] [Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2639"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ {One of the plausible ways to meet the Catalan. There is a very long list of strong GMs who have it in their repertoires.} 5. Nbd2 {This move is a favorite of Dubov. White sacrifices a pawn in return for a strong center.} dxc4 6. Bg2 b5 ({Dubov won a top-GM miniature this year after} 6... a5 7. a3 Bxd2+ 8. Bxd2 O-O 9. Qc2 b5 10. a4 c6 11. h4 Nbd7 12. h5 h6 13. g4 Nxg4 14. axb5 Bb7 15. Nh2 Nxf2 16. Kxf2 Qh4+ 17. Kf1 Qf6+ 18. Bf3 {1-0 (18) Dubov,D (2710)-Ding,L (2791) Online 2021}) 7. a3 Be7 8. Ne5 $146 ({Black managed to consolidate after} 8. b3 cxb3 9. Nxb3 Bb7 10. O-O O-O 11. Bd2 Nbd7 12. Qb1 Be4 13. Qb2 Nb6 {in the game Karner,C (2372) -Zelcic,R (2555) Oberwart 2011}) 8... Nd5 9. a4 {But this might not be the most accurate.} ({Craftier seems} 9. O-O {at once, in order to provoke} Bb7 { and only then to opt for} 10. a4 {which forces Black to block his own bishop with} c6 {Then White has enough for the pawn with} 11. e4 Nf6 12. Ndf3 {as} Nxe4 $2 {is a bit too much and is punished instantly:} 13. Nxf7 $1) 9... c6 10. O-O a5 {Alekseenko keeps his king in the center for the time being.} ({After} 10... O-O {White typically expands on the kingside with} 11. h4) 11. e4 (11. h4 $5) 11... Nf6 {The knight is destined to defend the kingside.} 12. Ng4 { Until traded.} Nxg4 13. Qxg4 h5 {This is what Alekseenko was waiting for $1} 14. Qe2 ({Surely not} 14. Qxg7 $4 Bf6 $1) 14... e5 {Instead of taking a pawn, Black offers one $1} ({After} 14... Qxd4 15. e5 $1 Ba6 16. Rd1 Qd3 17. Qe1 { White gets what he wants: his knight will soon land on the d6-square.}) 15. dxe5 {After a lengthy thought, Tabatabaei decided that he can open files like that too.} ({To an unclear situation leads} 15. d5 h4 16. Rd1 Qc7 {when the black king feels very safe in the center.}) 15... Na6 16. e6 {But White does not want to keep the pawn at all, he needs the open files $1} ({Stronger seemed } 16. Rd1 Qc7 17. Nf3 Nc5 18. Nd4 {moving the knight closer to the enemy king's residence.}) 16... Bxe6 17. e5 {Still, Tabatabaei underestimated Black's next move.} Nb4 $1 {A powerful exchange sacrifice $1} ({Rather than} 17... Bd5 18. Ne4 {when a check on d6 or f6 is unstoppable and highly unpleasant for Black.}) 18. axb5 cxb5 19. Ne4 {Initiative and only initiative $1} ({Black's initiative for the exchange is so powerful, that he can even afford playing down a full exchange as in the line} 19. Bxa8 Qxa8 20. Ne4 Bh3 21. Rd1 O-O $5 22. Qxh5 Qxe4 23. Qxh3 a4 {and it is even easier to play as Black here.}) 19... Ra6 20. Nd6+ {Once again sacrificing a pawn $1} ({Not much is yielded after} 20. Rd1 Nd3) 20... Bxd6 21. exd6 Nd3 $1 {The pawn on d6 will go nowhere, therefore Alekseenko uses the time to build a blockade.} (21... Rxd6 22. Bf4 Rd3 23. Qe5 {would have been nice for White instead.}) 22. Bd2 h4 {Alekseenko also thinks only about the initiative.} ({Here better seemed} 22... b4 $5 23. b3 O-O 24. Qxh5 Qxd6 25. bxc4 Qc5 $1 {keeping the situation under control.}) 23. Bc3 hxg3 ({Here and on the next move} 23... O-O {was safer.}) 24. hxg3 Qxd6 (24... O-O $5) 25. Bxg7 Rg8 26. Bc3 {Now that both kings are under fire the question is who will be more creative in the attack.} Kf8 { The king steps out of the pin.} ({However, stronger seemed the centralization with} 26... b4 27. Bd2 ({Or} 27. Bf6 Rg6 28. Bh4 Qd4) 27... Qc5) 27. Qh5 $1 { Tabatabaei does not miss the chance to activate the queen.} b4 28. Bd2 Bg4 29. Qb5 Be2 30. Qxc4 $1 {It is White's turn to sacrifice the exchange $1 It is funny how many times the players were offering material to each other.} ({ White could have also retreated with the rook} 30. Rfb1 {But then} Nxf2 { could have forced a draw in the line} (30... Qf6 31. Be3 {looks better for White.}) 31. Bxb4 axb4 32. Rxa6 Nh3+ 33. Kh1 Nf2+) 30... Rg4 {Now Black rejects a possible draw $1} ({This would have happened after} 30... Bxf1 31. Kxf1 Nxb2 32. Qc8+ Kg7 33. Qg4+ Qg6 34. Qd4+ Qf6 35. Qg4+ {with a perpetual.}) 31. Qc8+ Kg7 32. Be3 Qe6 ({Also interesting would have been} 32... Ne5 33. Qf5 Bd3 34. Qh5 Bxf1 35. Kxf1 Qd3+ 36. Kg1 Qb5 37. Kh1 Rag6 {when it is anyone's game.}) 33. Qb8 {Once again, White wants to keep the queens on the board.} ({ Whereas the endgame after} 33. Qxe6 Rxe6 34. Rfb1 Rxe3 35. fxe3 Rxg3 36. Kh2 Rxe3 37. Rxa5 {should be about equal.}) 33... Rd6 {Now that the white queen is excluded from the defence of the kingside, the threat 34...Nd3xf2 is in the air, and Tabatabaei panicks.} ({The correct execution was} 33... Bxf1 $1 34. Rxf1 Rd6 {with an edge for Black, but Alekseenko believes that his centralized pieces will keep his king safe enough.}) 34. Kh2 {This makes things worse.} ({ White missed a fantastic resource to turn the tables in his favour with the sudden rook maneuver} 34. Rxa5 $3 Bxf1 ({And if} 34... Rxg3 {Another fabulous counter-attacking idea} 35. Bd4+ $3 Rxd4 36. Qxg3+ Rg4 37. Rg5+ $1 {and White is in control.}) 35. Rh5 $1 {And in order to stop the checkmate Black will have to part with the queen.}) ({Alekseenko's main attacking idea is demonstrated in the line} 34. Rfb1 Rxg3 $1 35. fxg3 Qxe3+ 36. Kh2 Rh6+ 37. Bh3 Qf2+ 38. Kh1 {And a pleasant choice between} Rxh3# ({And} 38... Bf3#)) 34... Bxf1 35. Rxf1 ({Still, it was worth trying} 35. Bxf1 {Although here too, Black should win with} Nxf2 $1 36. Bxf2 Qe5 $1 37. Kg2 Rh4 $3) 35... Qe5 36. Bf3 Nxf2 $1 {White's position collapses, Tabatabaei resigns.} (36... Nxf2 $1 37. Rxf2 ( 37. Bxf2 Rh6+) 37... Qxg3+ 38. Kh1 Qg1#) 0-1 [Event "Riga"] [Site "Riga"] [Date "2021.11.04"] [Round "8"] [White "Vitiugov, Nikita"] [Black "Ponkratov, Pavel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2659"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O f5 (6... Nb6 7. b3 Bd6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. d4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 exd4 11. Qxd4 Be7 12. Qe4 Bf6 13. Qc2 Qe7 { Giri,A (2777)-Carlsen,M (2855) Online 2021}) 7. Nc3 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Bd6 $146 (8... e4 9. Ne1 Bc5 10. d3 Qe7 11. Qc2 exd3 12. exd3 O-O 13. d4 Bd6 14. Nd3 Kh8 15. Re1 Qf7 {Pantsulaia,L (2553)-Ponkratov,P (2623) Chess.com 2020}) 9. d4 e4 10. Ng5 h6 11. Nh3 O-O 12. f3 exf3 13. Bxf3 Na5 14. c4 Be6 15. d5 Bf7 $6 16. Qd3 c6 17. Bd2 $6 {Inaccurate, but it's tough to see why.} Rc8 $2 ({After the nice engine suggestion} 17... b5 $1 {which involves a pawn sacrifice, Black seems OK:} 18. cxb5 (18. dxc6 $6 Nxc4) 18... cxb5 19. Qxb5 Qb6+ 20. Qxb6 axb6 { and the open a-file gives Black good compensation.}) 18. Rac1 {Now White is indeed much better.} cxd5 19. cxd5 Kh8 20. Rxc8 Qxc8 21. Rc1 Qd8 22. Nf4 b5 23. Qxf5 Bxf4 24. Qxf4 Bxd5 25. Bxa5 Qe8 26. Qd4 1-0