[Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Zhu, Jiner"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C70"] [WhiteElo "2478"] [BlackElo "2632"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Bc5 5. c3 Nge7 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 (8. Nc3 d5 9. e5 Bg4 10. h3 Bxf3 11. gxf3 O-O 12. Qd3 Ng6 13. h4 Ncxe5 14. dxe5 d4 15. Qe4 b5 16. Bc2 f5 17. exf6 Re8 18. Bb3+ Kh8 19. Kf1 Rxe4 20. fxg7+ Kxg7 21. Nxe4 Qf8 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2838)-Nihal,S (2667) Riga 2021}) 8... Bxd2+ 9. Qxd2 d5 10. exd5 Qxd5 11. Nc3 Qe6+ 12. Kf1 Qc4+ 13. Kg1 Be6 $146 ( 13... O-O 14. d5 Nb8 15. Re1 Ng6 16. h4 h5 17. Re4 Qc5 18. Qg5 b5 19. Bb3 Nd7 { Bernadskiy,V (2600)-Petrov,N (2570) Novi Sad 2021}) 14. Ne5 Qb4 15. a3 Qb6 16. Bxc6+ Nxc6 17. Nxc6 Qxc6 18. h4 ({Better was} 18. d5 O-O-O 19. Rd1 Qb6 20. Qe3 Qxe3 21. fxe3) 18... O-O-O 19. h5 Bd5 20. f3 Qf6 21. Qf2 Bb3 22. Rh4 Rhe8 23. Rg4 Qh6 24. Re1 f5 25. Rh4 Bf7 26. Kh2 Bxh5 27. Rxe8 Rxe8 28. Qg3 Qg6 29. Qf4 Qf7 30. d5 Bg6 31. d6 Rd8 32. dxc7 Qxc7 33. Qxc7+ Kxc7 34. Ne2 Rd2 35. Nf4 Rxb2 36. Nxg6 hxg6 37. Rh7 Kb6 38. Rxg7 Ka5 39. Rxg6 Ka4 40. Rg5 f4 41. Rf5 Kxa3 42. Rxf4 b5 43. Kh3 b4 44. g4 b3 45. Rf5 Ra2 46. g5 b2 47. Rf6 a5 48. Rb6 Ra1 49. f4 b1=Q 50. Rxb1 Rxb1 51. g6 Rg1 52. f5 Rg5 0-1 [Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c5 (3... e6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Nbd7 {So,W (2760)-Aronian,L (2772) Bucharest 2019}) 4. c4 cxd4 5. Nf3 dxc4 6. Qxd4 Bd7 7. O-O e6 8. Nc3 Nc6 9. Qxc4 Rc8 10. Qf4 $146 (10. Bg5 Be7 11. Rfd1 Qb6 12. Qb5 Qxb5 13. Nxb5 Ne4 14. Be3 a6 15. Nfd4 axb5 16. Bxe4 Na5 {Matnadze,A (2412)-Ozturk Orenli,K (2293) Belgrade 2013} ) 10... h6 11. Nb5 Nb4 12. Rd1 Nbd5 13. Nd6+ Bxd6 14. Qxd6 Bb5 15. Qxd8+ Rxd8 16. Nd4 Ba6 17. Bd2 O-O 18. a4 Rd7 19. Nb5 Rfd8 20. Be1 b6 21. Rdc1 Ne7 22. e4 Ng4 23. Bc3 Nc6 24. Bf1 Nge5 25. Be2 Bb7 26. Rd1 a6 27. Rxd7 Rxd7 28. Rd1 Rxd1+ 29. Bxd1 axb5 30. axb5 Ne7 31. Bxe5 Bxe4 32. Be2 f6 33. Bd4 Nd5 34. f3 Bc2 35. Bc4 Kf7 36. Kf2 h5 37. Ke2 Ke8 38. Kd2 Bf5 39. Bxd5 exd5 40. Kc3 Bh3 41. Bxb6 Bf1 42. Kb4 g6 43. Bd4 f5 44. f4 Kd7 45. Kc5 Kc7 $5 ({Although} 45... Bg2 { was fine as well, Vidit correctly sees that he doesn't need his d-pawn to draw. }) 46. Bf6 (46. Kxd5 {is met by} h4 $1 ({not} 46... Bxb5 $2 47. Ke6 Be8 48. Ke7 Bb5 49. Kf7 Be2 50. Kxg6 Bg4 51. Kg5 {followed by 52.Kh4 and 53.h3, when White will create a second passed pawn.}) 47. gxh4 Be2 $1 48. Ke6 Bh5 49. Kf6 Kb7 { and White cannot make progress.}) 46... Bg2 47. Be7 d4 48. Kxd4 Kd7 49. Bh4 Ke6 50. Kc5 Kd7 51. Bf6 Bf3 52. Kb6 Bg2 53. Ka7 Kc8 54. Bc3 Bf3 55. Ba5 Bg2 56. Bb6 Bf3 57. Ka6 Bb7+ 58. Ka7 Bf3 59. Ka6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R.."] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2612"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Nh5 (5... Qb6 6. dxc5 Qxb2 7. Rb1 Qc3 8. Bb5 e6 9. O-O Be7 10. e4 O-O 11. e5 Nd7 12. Nb3 Qb4 {Aronian,L (2782)-Ding,L (2799) Chess.com 2021}) 6. dxc5 Nxf4 7. exf4 g6 8. c3 Bg7 9. Bb5 Qc7 10. Nb3 $146 (10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. Qa4 O-O 12. O-O Bf5 13. Rfe1 Rac8 14. Nb3 Be4 15. Nfd2 Bd3 {Karlik,V (2277)-Jirka,J (2339) Czech Republic 2002}) 10... a6 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. Qd2 O-O 13. h4 $5 Bg4 14. h5 a5 ({After} 14... Bxh5 { White indeed goes} 15. Rxh5 {like in the game.}) 15. Nbd4 (15. h6 Bf6 16. Nbd4 {was another option. Modern engines tend to like those far advanced pawns.}) 15... Bxh5 16. Rxh5 gxh5 17. Qe3 a4 18. O-O-O e6 19. Rh1 Rfb8 20. Ne5 Qb7 21. Nd3 Qa6 22. a3 Qc4 23. Rxh5 Bxd4 24. Qxd4 Qxd4 25. cxd4 f6 26. Kc2 Rb3 27. g4 Rab8 28. Rh3 Kg7 29. Re3 Kf7 30. Rh3 Kg6 31. Re3 Kf7 32. Rh3 Kg6 33. Re3 h5 $6 ({After} 33... Re8 {Black is still better.}) 34. gxh5+ Kf5 35. Nb4 $1 Rxe3 36. fxe3 Ke4 37. Nxc6 Rc8 38. Na7 $1 Ra8 39. Nb5 Kxe3 40. c6 $2 {The wrong pawn!} ( {After} 40. h6 $1 {the best move is} e5 $1 {but here White can hold with} 41. fxe5 fxe5 42. dxe5 d4 43. Nd6 d3+ 44. Kd1 Rg8 45. Nf5+) 40... e5 $5 ({Even more accurate was} 40... Rc8 $1 41. c7 e5 $1 42. fxe5 fxe5 43. dxe5 d4 44. h6 d3+ 45. Kd1 Rg8 {and wins.}) 41. dxe5 $6 ({The best chance was} 41. fxe5 $1 Rc8 (41... fxe5 42. Nc7 $1 Rc8 43. Nxd5+ Kxd4 44. Nb4 Rh8 45. h6 $1) 42. exf6 Rxc6+ 43. Nc3 Kxd4 44. f7 Rf6 45. Nxa4 {although Black is probably still winning.}) 41... Rc8 42. Kd1 Rxc6 43. Nd6 fxe5 44. fxe5 Kd3 45. Ke1 Rc7 46. Kf2 Re7 47. Kg3 Rxe5 48. Kg4 Re6 49. Nf5 Ke4 50. Ng3+ Ke5 51. Kg5 Re8 52. h6 Rg8+ 53. Kh4 Rg6 0-1 [Event "Wijk aan Zee "] [Site "Wijk aan Zee "] [Date "2022.01.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Grandelius, Nils"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteElo "2672"] [BlackElo "2792"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Be2 Nge7 7. O-O Ng6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. Re1 a5 $146 (10... Rc8 11. Nf1 cxd4 12. cxd4 Nb4 13. Bd3 Nxd3 14. Qxd3 Qb6 15. b3 Bb5 16. Qd1 Bb4 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2766)-Caruana,F (2791) Chess.com 2021}) 11. a3 a4 12. Bd3 cxd4 13. cxd4 h6 14. Qe2 b5 15. g3 Qb6 16. h4 Rfc8 17. Nf1 $6 (17. Kh1 $1 b4 18. h5 Nf8 19. g4 bxa3 20. bxa3 Qb2 21. Rg1 {and White's attack is real.}) 17... b4 18. N1h2 Rab8 19. h5 Nf8 20. Ng4 bxa3 21. bxa3 Qb2 22. Nd2 Kh8 $1 ({The immediate} 22... Nxd4 {fails to} 23. Nxh6+ $1 gxh6 24. Qg4+ Kh8 25. Bxh6 {so Caruana prepares it with an excellent move.}) 23. Qf3 Be8 {With everything defended, the d4-pawn will fall.} 24. Nf6 $5 Nxd4 ({Of course not} 24... gxf6 25. exf6 Bxa3 26. Qf4) 25. Qg4 Nf5 (25... Nc6 {was perhaps a tad more accurate.}) 26. Nxe8 Rxe8 27. Bxf5 exf5 28. Qxf5 ({ A better try was} 28. Qxa4) 28... d4 $1 29. Bf4 Ne6 30. Ne4 Nxf4 31. Qxf4 d3 32. Rad1 Bxa3 {It's over.} 33. Nd6 Bxd6 34. exd6 Rxe1+ 35. Rxe1 Qc3 $2 { A mistake in time-trouble.} 36. Rd1 $2 ({Missing the counter-intuitive} 36. Rc1 $1 d2 37. Rd1 {which is good for a draw.}) 36... Qc2 $1 37. Qd2 a3 $1 38. d7 a2 39. Qe1 Qe2 40. Kg2 Kh7 {Almost sadistic.} 41. Qxe2 dxe2 42. Ra1 Rd8 43. Kf3 Rxd7 44. Kxe2 Ra7 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.01.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2865"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. g3 {Carlsen keeps milking his amazing Catalan WCC preparation.} dxc4 5. Bg2 Bb4+ {Mamedyarov chooses a line that was tested by Topalov in both his WCC matches against Kramnik and Anand—and which was also often a choice of Carlsen himself.} 6. Bd2 a5 7. O-O O-O 8. e3 {A very fresh line.} ({Another try is:} 8. Bg5 c6 9. Ne5 b5 10. a3 Bd6 11. a4 Ra6 12. Nc3 h6 13. Bf4 Nd5 {when a recent top GM game witnessed unusual cruelty towards the pieces after} 14. axb5 Nxc3 15. bxa6 Nxd1 16. a7 Bb7 17. axb8=Q Bxb8 18. Rfxd1 Bxe5 19. dxe5 Qb6 {and White did not have enough for the sacrificed material, Caruana,F (2792) -Cheparinov,I (2664) Warsaw 2021}) 8... Ra6 {Sensibly clearing the long diagonal, as the Catalan bishop is always a pain. Up to here, Mamedyarov was practically blitzing.} 9. Qc2 $146 ({The only predecessor was a blitz game that finished quickly after a blunder:} 9. a4 c5 10. Qc2 cxd4 11. Nxd4 e5 12. Nb5 Be6 13. Rd1 Qe7 14. N1a3 Rc8 15. Rac1 h5 16. b3 Bxa3 {0-1 (16) Skatchkov,V (2242)-Korobov,A (2688) Chess.com INT 2020}) 9... b5 10. a4 c6 11. Nc3 Rb6 12. e4 {Carlsen is happy with the compensation for the pawn. He intends to gain more space in the center and gradually shift his pieces toward the enemy kingside.} Be7 {And Mamedyarov offers, in return, the pawn back.} 13. e5 {Not taking it.} ({Black does not seem to experience problems after} 13. axb5 cxb5 14. Rxa5 Bb7) 13... Nd5 14. axb5 cxb5 {And Black does not stop with a pawn sacrifice only. \"I think the exchange sacrifice was quite expected. It was also his style, one hundred percent, but maybe in hindsight, there were other options there.\" (Carlsen)} ({With the help of the in-between} 14... Nb4 {Black could have saved the exchange still, but he likely did not like the attack after} 15. Qe4 {\"followed by\"} cxb5 16. Qg4 { \"and then Nc3-e4-g5, with an attack\" (Carlsen) Only the future analyses will prove how well can Black defend in the hypothetical line} f5 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. Ne4 e5) 15. Nxd5 exd5 ({Certainly not} 15... Qxd5 $4 16. Ng5) 16. Bxa5 Nc6 17. Bxb6 Qxb6 {\"I think he had reasonable compensation.\" (Carlsen)} 18. Ra8 h6 { Played without much thought. The air is useful for the black king, but this allows White a valuable tempo to co-ordinate his major pieces.} ({Better was to attack the d4-pawn at once with} 18... Be6 19. Rxf8+ (19. Rfa1 Nxd4) 19... Bxf8 20. Qd2 {and only then go for} h6) ({The immediate} 18... Nxd4 {does not work so well for Black due to} 19. Nxd4 Qxd4 20. Rd1 Qxe5 21. Rxd5 Qe1+ 22. Bf1 Qb4 23. Rb8 {and Black would soon lose his queenside pawns.}) 19. Rfa1 Be6 { A move too late, and that's all the world champion needs!} ({However, in the line} 19... b4 {Mamedyarov might have feared the powerful opposite-colored bishop attack with} 20. Rxc8 $1 ({Slow-grinding with} 20. h4 $5 {looks good for White too.}) 20... Rxc8 21. Qf5 Rd8 22. e6 Bf6 23. exf7+ Kf8 $1 {The only move, but then White infiltrates along the e-file with} 24. Re1) 20. Qd1 $1 { White is perfectly coordinated and ready to improve the remainder of his army.} b4 {And this activity only makes things worse.} ({Maybe Black should have tried to hold passively with} 20... Qb7 21. Rxf8+ Bxf8 22. h4 {although this does not seem solid enough for Mamedyarov. White has too many improving maneuvers.}) 21. b3 $1 c3 {\"Capitulation, but did not see what he could do there.\" (Carlsen)} ({After} 21... cxb3 22. R8a6 $1 Qb7 23. Qxb3 Rb8 {the white pieces dominate.}) 22. R8a6 Qc7 23. Ne1 $1 {A star maneuver! The knight opens the road for the bishop and the white kingside pawns, and it is also ready to block the enemy passer.} f6 {A desperate try, but Carlsen is in control.} ({Or} 23... Rb8 24. Nc2 Bd8 25. h3 {followed by a kingside expansion with g3-g4 and f2-f4-f5.} ({Or the direct} 25. Ne3)) 24. Nd3 {Very energetical play!} ({The game move is even better than} 24. exf6 Bxf6 25. Nc2) 24... fxe5 { The opening of the position leads to further material losses for Black, but there was no way out.} ({The central pawn is immune due to the little trick} 24... Nxd4 25. Rxe6 $1 Nxe6 26. Bxd5 {and the knight is lost on the pin.}) 25. Nxe5 Nxe5 26. Rxe6 c2 27. Qe1 1-0 [Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.25"] [Round "9"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2708"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O e5 5. d3 Nc6 6. e4 dxe4 7. dxe4 Qxd1 8. Rxd1 Bg4 9. c3 Nf6 10. Nbd2 O-O-O 11. Re1 Bh6 $146 (11... h6 12. Nc4 Nd7 13. Be3 Be6 14. Nfd2 Nb6 15. Nxb6+ axb6 16. Bf1 h5 {Santos Latasa,J (2639) -Gumularz,S (2539) Warsaw 2021}) 12. Nc4 Bxc1 13. Raxc1 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 Ne8 15. Rcd1 Nd6 16. Bg4+ Kb8 17. Nxd6 Rxd6 18. Rxd6 cxd6 19. Re3 Kc7 20. Rf3 Nd8 21. h4 d5 22. exd5 f5 23. Bh3 Kd6 24. c4 b6 $2 ({Critical was} 24... e4 25. Ra3 ( 25. Rf4 Nf7 26. g4 $4 {fails to} Ke5) 25... a6 {and Black still has drawing chances.}) 25. g4 $1 {Now Black cannot hold things together anymore.} Nf7 26. gxf5 g5 27. Ra3 gxh4 28. Rxa7 Ng5 29. Kg2 Rc8 30. b3 b5 31. Ra6+ Kd7 32. f6+ Nxh3 33. Kxh3 bxc4 34. Rc6 1-0