[Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.07.29"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Silva, David"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2315"] [BlackElo "2775"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Angola"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ANG"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. c3 Ngf6 5. Bd3 Ne5 6. Nxe5 dxe5 7. Bc2 g6 8. d3 Bg7 9. Be3 b6 10. O-O O-O 11. h3 Ba6 12. Re1 Qd6 13. Na3 Rad8 14. Qf3 Nh5 15. Rad1 Bb7 16. Bb3 Kh8 17. Qg4 Qc6 $6 {It is difficult to understand the motive behind this move, apart from terming it as being quite provocative. Aronian looked to be all set to sacrifice his exchange.} 18. Bd5 Rxd5 {As expected.} 19. exd5 Qxd5 20. f3 Qc6 $6 {[%c_effect c6;square;c6;type; Inaccuracy;persistent;true] Once again, the queen moves to the same square, as if awaiting the opponent to make his own moves rather than indulging in any active measures.} (20... f5 21. Qa4 Qe6 $5 {could have been interesting, with the hidden point that} 22. Qxa7 $2 {[%c_effect a7;square;a7;type;Mistake; persistent;true] could be met with} Bxf3 $1 {[%c_effect f3;square;f3;type; GreatFind;persistent;true]} 23. gxf3 f4 {and Black has a raging attack on the kingside.}) 21. Qc4 Qd6 $6 {Once again, Aronian invites White to \"make his own bones.\"} 22. Qa4 Qb8 23. b4 cxb4 24. Qxb4 {Having removed the pawn on c5 and thus eliminating a limiting factor on his center, White enjoys an advantage here.} Re8 25. c4 Nf6 26. Nb5 Nd7 27. a4 a5 28. Qb1 Kg8 29. Bf2 Bc6 30. Qb3 Nc5 31. Bxc5 bxc5 {With a solidly planted knight on b5, it seems to be a position with two results for White here.} 32. Qc2 Bd7 33. Rb1 Rc8 34. Qd2 Qb6 35. Rb3 Qd8 36. Reb1 Rb8 37. Qe3 e4 $5 {Black activates his dark bishop here, but he may still not be able to achieve anything tangible anymore.} 38. Qxe4 e6 39. Qf4 Be8 40. Kh1 h5 41. Qd6 Bf8 $16 {and a practical Aronian offered a draw here, saving himself from a defeat.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.07.29"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Junior, Domingos"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E17"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2107"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Angola"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "ANG"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. Bf4 Ne4 11. Rc1 c5 12. dxc5 Ndxc5 13. Be5 Nxc3 14. Bxc3 Ne4 15. Bd4 Bb4 16. Rf1 Qe7 17. Qa4 Bc5 18. e3 Rfd8 19. Rfd1 a6 20. Ne1 Rac8 21. Nd3 b5 22. Bxc5 Rxc5 23. Qa3 Rc7 24. Qxe7 Rxe7 25. Nb4 g6 26. Rd4 Red7 27. Nd3 f5 28. b4 Kg7 29. h4 Kf6 30. Nc5 Nxc5 31. Rxc5 Ke5 32. Kf1 Rd6 33. Ke2 Bc6 34. Rd2 R8d7 35. Rdc2 Bb7 36. Kd3 Rb6 37. Rc7 Rbd6 38. R2c5 Ba8 39. Rc8 Bb7 40. Rb8 Re7 41. Bf3 Rdd7 42. g4 Rc7 43. Re8 Kd6 44. Rd8+ Red7 45. Rxc7 Kxc7 46. Rxd7+ Kxd7 47. g5 Kd6 48. Kd4 Ba8 49. h5 Bb7 50. h6 Ke6 51. Bg2 Kd6 52. f4 Bc6 53. Bf3 {Beautiful $1 Having patiently manouvered patiently throughout the game, Shankland sets up a beautiful copybook zugzwang. Black has no defense against the threat of 54.Bh5 $1} 1-0 [Event "FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.07.29"] [Round "1"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Makoto, Rodwell"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E97"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2346"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. d4 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. b4 a5 10. bxa5 Rxa5 11. a4 Nd7 12. Nd2 Nc5 13. Nb3 Nxb3 14. Qxb3 f5 15. f3 Kh8 16. Ba3 c5 17. dxc6 Nxc6 18. Bd3 Bh6 19. Kh1 Be3 20. Nb5 Bc5 21. Rad1 Nd4 22. Nxd4 exd4 23. Bc2 fxe4 24. Bxe4 Qe8 25. Bb2 Qxa4 26. Qd3 Qe8 27. Rfe1 Qf7 28. Bxd4+ Bxd4 29. Qxd4+ Qf6 30. Qxd6 Qxd6 31. Rxd6 Rc5 32. Bd3 Kg7 33. Kg1 Rf6 34. Re7+ Rf7 35. Rxf7+ Kxf7 36. Rb6 Rc7 37. Kf2 Bd7 38. Ke3 Bc6 39. h4 Kf6 40. Be4 g5 41. h5 Ke5 42. Bxc6 bxc6 43. Ra6 $1 {[%c_effect a6;square;a6;type; GreatFind;persistent;true] A quiet move of great power. Black is virtually in a near-zugzwang here.} c5 (43... Kf6 44. g4 Ke5 45. Ra5+ c5 (45... Kf6 46. Rf5+ ) 46. Ra8 {would transpose back to the game.}) 44. Ra5 Kf5 45. g4+ Ke5 46. Ra8 Re7 47. Rd8 Kf6+ 48. Kd3 Re1 49. Rf8+ {White will follow up with Rf5 now, after which Black will lose either of his pawns on the fifth rank. Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.07.29"] [Round "1"] [White "Shirov, Alexei"] [Black "Toczek, Grzegorz"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C41"] [WhiteElo "2704"] [BlackElo "2287"] [Annotator "Rafael"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] {Shirov's games are famous for their entertainment value and this one is no different. We have a brave opening idea, a very complicated middlegame with chances for both sides, some inaccuracies, combinations, and a beautiful final touch. This legendary player never ceases to amaze us.} 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. g4 $5 {Shirov is fond of playing the g4-move in the opening. White can consider this idea without sacrificing the pawn, playing 5. Rg1 first.} (5. Bc4 {is the classical move.}) (5. Rg1 $5) 5... Nxg4 $1 { Accepting the gift.} 6. Rg1 Ngf6 7. Bc4 {The g-file is opened and Black has to lose time before finishing the development. The position looks good for White, but it's actually not easy to break Black's defense.} h6 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Be3 c6 10. Qd3 b5 11. Bb3 (11. Bxf7+ $2 {This move finds a neat refutation.} Kxf7 12. Nxe5+ Nxe5 $1 13. Qxd8 Nf3+ 14. Kd1 (14. Kf1 Bh3+) 14... Nxg1 {with a big advantage for Black.}) 11... Qa5 12. O-O-O Ba6 13. Nd2 $1 {A difficult but necessary move. White defends against the …b5-b4 advance and prepares to break with f2-f4.} Rd8 (13... O-O-O {This is an important alternative.} 14. Bxf7 Nc5 (14... b4 $6 15. Nb3 $1 Bxd3 16. Nxa5 Ba6 17. Nb1 {with advantage for White. Todorovic-Solak, Cetinje 2010.}) 15. Qf1 b4 16. Ne2 Kb8 {with a roughly equal position.}) 14. Qf1 $1 c5 $2 {A new move.} (14... g6 {is possible since White can't advance the f-pawn yet.} 15. f4 $6 b4 16. Nc4 Bc5 $3 {A fantastic resource $1} 17. Bxc5 Qxc5 18. Nd6+ Qxd6 19. Qxa6 Qc5 {and Black was much better in Cmor-Kodric, Ptuj 2014.}) (14... b4 15. Nc4 $1 bxc3 16. Nxa5 cxb2+ 17. Kxb2 Bxf1 18. Rdxf1 {with good compensation for the pawn.}) (14... Nc5 15. Bxc5 Bxc5 16. Rxg7 b4 17. Nc4 Qc7 $1 (17... bxc3 $2 18. Nxa5 cxb2+ 19. Kxb2 Bxf1 20. Rxd8+ Kxd8 21. Nb7+ Ke8 22. Nxc5 {with a clear advantage for White in Kuybokarov-Vakhidov, Penang 2016.}) 18. Rxd8+ Qxd8 {with a complicated game.}) 15. Nd5 $2 {Shirov doesn't resist a sacrifice, but this is not the best. He had two better moves.} (15. f4 $1 {is the most brutal. After} c4 16. fxe5 Nxe5 17. Qf5 $1 {White is winning in all the lines.} Nc6 (17... Bd6 18. Rxg7 cxb3 19. Qxf6 bxa2 20. Nxa2 Qxa2 21. Nb3 {with a decisive attack.}) 18. Nd5 $1 Nxd5 19. exd5 Ne7 20. Qe5 $1 cxb3 21. Nxb3 Qxa2 22. d6 {winning.}) (15. a4 $5 { is more positional, but also good.} bxa4 (15... b4 16. Nb5 $18) (15... c4 16. axb5 $18) 16. Bc4 $16 {with a clear advantage.}) 15... c4 16. Nxc4 bxc4 17. Bxc4 Bb7 $6 (17... Bxc4 {is better.} 18. Qxc4 Bd6 $1 {The only move to keep Black's position together.} (18... Nxd5 $2 19. Rxd5 Qb4 20. Qc7 {with a strong initiative.}) 19. Rxg7 Nxd5 20. Rxd5 Qc7 21. Qxc7 Bxc7 22. Bxa7 {White has three pawns for the piece, but objectively Black has the advantage in this endgame.}) 18. Bd2 (18. Nxf6+ $1 Nxf6 19. Bb5+ Nd7 20. Qc4 {with a dangerous initiative.}) 18... Qc5 19. Bb4 Qc8 20. Ba5 (20. Nxf6+ {leads to a draw, but Shirov, naturally, wants more.} Nxf6 21. Bb5+ Bc6 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 23. Ba5+ Ke7 24. Bb4+ Kd8 $11) 20... Nxd5 $2 {White's compensation for the piece is too strong after this mistake} (20... Bxd5 $1 21. Bxd5 Be7 22. Bxd8 Bxd8 {and Black is holding. The computer evaluates this as 0.00, as always.}) 21. Bxd5 Ba6 22. Qh3 Nb6 23. Qh5 $1 {Shirov conducts the initiative with his typical flair.} Rd7 (23... Nxd5 24. Qxe5+ Qe6 25. Qd4 $1 Bb7 26. exd5 Rxd5 27. Qxa7 { with a decisive attack.}) 24. Qxe5+ Re7 25. Qd4 (25. Qf4 $18) (25. Qd6 $18) 25... Nxd5 26. Qa4+ $1 (26. Qxd5 $6 {is not so clear.} Rd7 27. Qe5+ Be7) 26... Qd7 $2 (26... Rd7 {was necessary, but White has a winning initiative after} 27. exd5) 27. Rxd5 $1 {Beautiful $1} (27. Rxd5 Qxa4 28. Rd8#) 1-0 [Event "FIDE Women's Chess Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.07.29"] [Round "1"] [White "Antonova, Nadezhda"] [Black "Koneru, Humpy"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "1832"] [BlackElo "2586"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 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. Ne4 Bd6 11. Bb3 Kh8 12. Ng3 Qf6 13. Re3 Qg6 14. Nh4 Qg5 15. Nf3 Qd8 16. h3 Be6 17. Bc2 f5 18. Re1 h6 19. b4 Qf6 20. b5 e4 21. Nh5 Qf7 22. bxc6 exf3 23. cxb7 Rae8 24. c4 $2 {[%c_effect c4;square;c4;type;Mistake; persistent;true]} (24. Nf4 Bxf4 25. Bxf4 Bd5 {with a complex position.}) 24... Qxh5 25. Qxf3 Bd5 $3 {The move which made Svidler go gaga $1} 26. Qd1 Rxe1+ 27. Qxe1 Bxb7 {and Black achieves a winning position.} 28. Bd2 Qg6 29. Qf1 f4 30. f3 Bc5+ 31. Kh1 Nxc4 32. dxc4 Qxc2 33. Ba5 Bd4 34. Rc1 Qxa2 35. Bxc7 Qf2 36. Qxf2 Bxf2 37. Bd6 Rf7 38. c5 Bc6 39. Ra1 Rb7 40. Rf1 Be3 41. h4 a5 {0- 0-} 0-1 [Event "Chennai Women's Chess Olympiad"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.07.29"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Saidova, Rukhshona"] [Black "Tania, Sachdev"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C93"] [WhiteElo "1624"] [BlackElo "2399"] [PlyCount "206"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Tajikistan"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "TJK"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 h6 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. Nf1 Bd7 13. Ng3 Na5 14. Bc2 c5 15. a4 Nc6 16. axb5 axb5 17. Rxa8 Qxa8 18. dxc5 dxc5 19. Nh4 g6 20. Qf3 Nh7 21. Nf1 Nd8 22. Qg3 Kh8 23. Ne3 Bg7 24. Nd5 Qb7 25. Rd1 Bc6 26. Nf3 Kg8 27. Nh2 h5 28. Be3 Ne6 29. Nf3 Qb8 30. Ng5 Nhxg5 31. Bxg5 Nxg5 32. Qxg5 Qb7 33. f3 Re6 34. Qd8+ Kh7 35. Qh4 Bh6 36. g4 hxg4 37. hxg4 g5 38. Qh5 Rd6 39. Ne3 Rxd1+ 40. Bxd1 Qd7 41. Be2 Qe6 42. Nf5 Qg6 43. Qxg6+ fxg6 44. Ne7 Bd7 45. Nd5 Kg7 46. Nc7 c4 47. Kf2 Kf7 48. Ke3 Bf8 49. Nd5 Ke6 50. Kd2 Bc5 51. Ne3 Kd6 52. Bd1 Be6 53. Be2 Kc6 54. Nf1 Bf2 55. Kc2 Kc5 56. Nd2 Be3 57. Nb1 Bf4 58. Nd2 b4 59. Nb1 Bd7 60. b3 cxb3+ 61. Kxb3 Be6+ 62. Kb2 Be3 63. cxb4+ Kxb4 {This is the point where Svidler came up with his memorable quip. Tania proceeds to do a Magnus Carlsen here:} 64. Kc2 Bb3+ 65. Kd3 Bd4 66. Nd2 Ba4 67. Nb1 Bd7 68. Kd2 Kb3 69. Bd3 Kb2 70. Ke2 Kc1 71. Nd2 Ba4 {The proverbial equal position where a commentator will go for the cliche: Black has the better side of equality.} 72. Nc4 Bd1+ 73. Ke1 Bxf3 74. Nd6 Be3 75. Be2 Bh1 76. Bd3 Bf3 77. Be2 Bg2 78. Bd3 Bh3 79. Be2 Kc2 80. Nf7 Bf4 81. Bf3 Kd3 82. Kf2 Kd2 83. Nh8 Be3+ 84. Kg3 Bf1 85. Nxg6 Ke1 86. Bg2 Bc4 87. Kh3 Bf4 88. Ne7 Ke2 89. Nd5 Kf2 {Zugzwang $1 The white knight has to move away, which will enable Black to move his king to e3 and ultimately win the e4 pawn.} 90. Nc3 (90. Nxf4 exf4 {and the f-pawn will prove to be decisive.}) 90... Ke3 91. Nd1+ Kd2 92. Nf2 Ke2 93. Nh1 Bd3 94. Ng3+ Bxg3 95. Kxg3 Ke3 96. Bf3 Bxe4 97. Bd1 Bd3 98. Bf3 Kd2 99. Kf2 e4 100. Bxe4 Bxe4 101. Kg3 Ke3 102. Kh2 Kf4 103. Kh3 Bd5 {0-} 0-1