[Event "FIDE Chess Grand Prix 1 2022 | Pool D"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B22"] [WhiteElo "2717"] [BlackElo "2752"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [EventCountry "GER"] 1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Bc4 {Dominguez admitted that he had not expected this variation and playing natural moves from here on out.} Nb6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. d4 cxd4 7. cxd4 d5 8. Bc2 $1 {Creative play by Harikrishna—he aims to block the black bishop from coming out with ...Bc8-f5.} Nb4 9. h3 $5 {Once again, single-mindedly concentraing on the c8-bishop.} (9. Nc3 Bg4 $5) 9... Nxc2+ 10. Qxc2 Bd7 {Dominguez gets the thread of the game, and desires to bring the bishop out of the pawn chain at any cost.} 11. Nc3 Qc8 {Aiming to play 12...Bf5.} 12. Qd3 {Realizing that the black bishop is going to reach the f5-square anyway, Harikrishna decides to shift his queen to the kingside, stopping Black from developing his pieces.} Bf5 13. Qg3 e6 14. Nge2 Qc4 15. Be3 Rc8 16. O-O h5 $6 {This was when it appeared that Black was showing signs of cracking under White's creative play. Black's kingside got weakened in the process.} 17. Rac1 h4 18. Qf3 Qc6 19. Bg5 Qd7 20. Nf4 Nc4 21. Qe2 {Now the black pawn on h4 is a weakness.} Bb4 {Harikrishna admitted that he overlooked Black's plan of ...Bb4-a5-d8 in the long run.} 22. a3 (22. g4 $1 {White had to act drastically to mount an attack on the black king.}) 22... Ba5 23. a4 $6 { After the game, Harikrishna was quite critical of his own play during this phase of the game.} ({White had an interesting alternative with} 23. b3 Nxe5 ( 23... Nxa3 24. Nb5 $1 {with complications}) 24. b4) 23... a6 24. Rfd1 $6 Bd8 25. Bxd8 Qxd8 {Having removed the thorn at g5, Black has even gained the upper hand here.} 26. Nd3 Qb6 27. Nc5 Qxb2 28. Qf3 $2 Bc2 {Black is enjoying an advantage now—he converted his advantage patiently.} 29. Re1 b6 30. Nxa6 Nd2 31. Qe3 Qxc3 32. Qxc3 Rxc3 33. Nb4 Kd7 34. Rxc2 Rxc2 35. Nxc2 Rc8 {This endgame is winning for Black.} 36. Ne3 Ra8 37. Ra1 Nb3 38. Rb1 Nxd4 39. Rxb6 Nc6 40. Ng4 Rxa4 41. Rb7+ Ke8 42. Rc7 Ne7 43. Kf1 Ng6 44. Rc8+ Kd7 45. Rg8 Nf4 46. Kg1 d4 47. Rb8 d3 48. Ne3 d2 49. Rb1 Ne2+ 50. Kh2 Nc3 51. Rb3 Re4 0-1 [Event "Berlin"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D40"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2727"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [EventCountry "GER"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c5 5. e3 Nc6 6. a3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 a6 8. O-O b5 9. Ba2 Bb7 10. Qe2 cxd4 11. Rd1 b4 12. exd4 bxc3 13. d5 Nxd5 14. Rxd5 Qc7 15. Rd3 Be7 16. Rxc3 O-O 17. Be3 Rac8 18. Rac1 Qb8 19. Bb1 Bf6 20. Rc5 Ne7 21. b4 g6 22. Bd3 Qa8 23. h3 Nd5 24. Bh6 Rxc5 25. Rxc5 Rc8 26. Ne5 Rxc5 27. bxc5 Qc8 28. c6 Bxc6 29. Nxc6 Qxc6 30. Bxa6 g5 31. Bd3 Nf4 32. Qe4 Qxe4 33. Bxe4 Bd8 34. Kf1 f5 35. Bc2 $2 (35. Bc6 {White is threatening 36.h4.} Ng6 36. Be8 $1 { Paralyzing the black king. Black finds it difficult to extricate himself here.} Nh8 (36... Ne5 37. f4) (36... Nf4 37. h4) 37. h4 gxh4 38. Bd2 {and White has a strong outside passer in his a-pawn.}) 35... Ng6 36. a4 Kf7 37. g3 Kf6 38. Ke2 e5 39. f3 Ba5 40. g4 Nf4+ 41. Kf1 fxg4 42. h4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Berlin"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2772"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [EventCountry "GER"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Qe7 8. Bd2 dxc4 9. Bxc4 e5 10. d5 Qc5 {Till this point, both the players had played in rapid tempo, and Aronian's move is a new move in the position.} 11. Ne4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 Ne7 13. Nxe5 $5 {A daring decision, as Keymer shows his willingness to take his king out for a walk in the middle of the board.} Bf5 14. Qf4 Bxd2+ 15. Kxd2 Qb4+ ({Better might have been} 15... g6 {[Targetting White's pawn at d5.]} 16. Qd4 (16. g4 Nxd5 $1) 16... Qxd4+ 17. exd4 Rad8 {with a tiny advantage for Black.}) 16. Kc1 Qc5 17. g4 g5 $3 {Brilliant. This tactical shot was the basis of Black's play.} 18. b4 $3 {A counter shot. Both players rose to the occasion here, earning praise from all the online commentators.} (18. Qxg5+ $4 Bg6 {and Black's threat of ...b7-b5 is too strong.}) (18. Qd4 Qxd4 19. exd4 Be4 20. Re1 Bxd5 {and Black is slightly better due to his pawn structure.} ) 18... Qxb4 19. Qd4 Ng6 $5 {Keymer later confessed that he had overlooked this move, which threw him off-balance.} (19... Bg6 20. a3 Qa4 21. Nxg6 Nxg6 { with a complicated position.}) 20. Bb3 Qa3+ 21. Kd2 c5 $1 {Brilliant. Aronian conducts this part of the game energeticaly, opening all roads to the white king in the center.} (21... Nxe5 22. Qxe5 Bg6 23. h4 {would give White enough counterplay.}) 22. Qc3 Nxe5 23. gxf5 (23. Qxe5 Bg6 {Compared to the above line after 21...Nxe5, the black pawn on c5 makes all the difference here, in mounting an attack on the white king.} 24. h4 gxh4 25. Rxh4 c4 $1) 23... Rfe8 { The position is extremely complex. Of course, the engines predict a simple 0. 00 verdict here $1} 24. Rhg1 $1 {Suddenly, the black king doesn't look too safe either.} b5 $2 (24... Nf3+ $2 25. Ke2 Nxg1+ 26. Rxg1 h6 27. h4 {and the black king comes under fire.}) (24... h6 {and position is extremely wild. A sample variation:} 25. f4 Nf3+ 26. Ke2 Nxg1+ 27. Rxg1 c4 28. fxg5 cxb3 29. gxh6+ Kf8 {with a chaotic position where White still has counterplay.}) 25. Rxg5+ Kh8 26. Bd1 $2 {Short of time, Keymer loses his way.} (26. Rag1 $1 f6 ( 26... c4 $4 27. Rg8+ $3) 27. R5g3 c4 28. Bc2 {with a slight advantage for White.}) 26... Qa6 {Black is threatening ...b5-b4 here.} 27. Be2 Rad8 28. e4 Qa4 29. Rh5 $4 {Having less than a minute on the clock, Keymer cracks under relentless pressure. When asked if he sensed that this was a losing move, Aronian came up with a brilliant one-liner, \"If it doesn't win on the spot, it definitely loses $1\"} (29. f3 b4 (29... Rxd5+ {was the resource quoted by Keymer and Aronian after the game.}) 30. Qb3 {and the position is nowhere close to clarity.}) 29... Qxe4 30. Rg1 Rxd5+ {Black is winning now.} 31. Kc1 Qf4+ 32. Kb1 Rd4 33. Bxb5 Rb4+ 34. Ka1 Rxb5 35. Re1 f6 0-1 [Event "Berlin"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D32"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2681"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [EventCountry "GER"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c5 5. e3 Nc6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bb5 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 9. O-O Bd6 10. Nf3 Be6 11. b3 O-O 12. Bb2 Qe7 13. Rc1 Rac8 14. Bd3 a6 15. h3 Rfd8 16. Ne2 Ne4 17. Nf4 Bxf4 18. exf4 f6 19. Qe2 Qc7 20. Qe3 Re8 21. Bb1 Bf5 22. Rfe1 Qf7 23. Red1 Ng3 24. Qd2 Re2 25. Qxd5 Qxd5 26. Rxd5 Rxb2 27. Bxf5 Nxf5 28. Rxf5 Rd8 29. Rfc5 Rxa2 30. R5c3 Re2 31. f5 h5 32. Kf1 Re4 33. Re1 Rf4 34. Rc5 Rd6 35. Re6 Rd1+ 36. Ke2 Rb1 37. Nd2 Rb2 38. Ke3 Rd4 39. Rcxc6 Rdxd2 40. Rc8+ Kh7 41. Rc7 Rxf2 $2 ({Black misses} 41... Re2+ $1 42. Kd3 (42. Kf3 Rxf2+ 43. Ke4 Rxb3 {wins for Black.}) 42... Rbd2+ 43. Kc3 Rc2+ $1 44. Kd3 ( 44. Kb4 Rxf2) 44... Red2+ 45. Ke3 Rxf2 $1 {and White will lose even more material.}) 42. Rxf6 Rxg2 43. Rxb7 Rxb3+ 44. Rxb3 gxf6 45. Rb6 Kg7 46. Rb7+ Kf8 47. Rb6 Ke7 48. Re6+ Kf7 49. Rxa6 Rg3+ 50. Kf2 Rxh3 51. Ra7+ Kg8 52. Kg2 Re3 53. Rb7 Re5 54. Kg3 Rxf5 55. Kh4 Re5 56. Ra7 Kf8 57. Rb7 Re7 58. Rb4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Berlin"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Black "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2642"] [BlackElo "2714"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [EventCountry "GER"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 b4 9. d4 d6 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. Qxd8 Rxd8 13. Nd2 Bc5 14. Nf3 Re8 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Rxe3 Bb7 17. Rd1 Kf8 18. Nd2 Red8 19. f3 a5 20. Bc4 Bc6 21. b3 Nd7 22. Be2 Nc5 23. Kf2 f6 24. c3 Be8 25. Ke1 Bf7 26. cxb4 axb4 27. Bc4 Rd4 28. Rc1 Bxc4 29. Rxc4 Rxc4 30. Nxc4 Rd8 31. g3 $2 {Esipenko singled out this moment when the tide turned in his favour.} ({Better was} 31. Na5 Rd6 {To stop the threatened 32.Nc6.} (31... Nd3+ 32. Kf1 $1 {and White maintains equality}) (31... Rd7 32. Nc6) 32. Nc4 Rd4 33. Na5 {with equality.}) 31... Ke7 {The difference in dynamism between both the kings will an important factor in the ensuing endgame.} 32. Ke2 Rd4 {Esipenko pointed out the significance after the game—White's b3 pawn becomes a weakness here.} 33. Nd2 g5 34. Kd1 h5 35. Kc2 g4 36. f4 $6 (36. a5 Kd7 37. f4 exf4 38. gxf4 h4 39. f5 {could be a better try. }) 36... exf4 37. gxf4 h4 $1 {Black creates a passed pawn on the kingside, and creates a winning advatange.} 38. a5 Kd7 39. Kd1 g3 40. hxg3 hxg3 41. Kc2 g2 42. Re1 Nd3 43. Ra1 Nxf4 44. a6 Kc6 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.02.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E73"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2764"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Be3 {A form of the Averbakh system, where the bishop is provocatively placed on the g5-square. The oldest living GM just turned 100, and this is a good occasion to honor him $1} e5 {6...Na6 is the other main line.} 7. d5 Na6 ({More common is} 7... a5) 8. h4 {That is the major point behind the Averbakh system. By delaying the development of his kingside knight, White keeps the path for his pawns opened.} ({The other pawn can also get straight into motion.} 8. g4 Nc5 9. Bf3 Bd7 10. b4 Na6 11. Rb1 Qc8 12. g5 Ne8 13. h4 f6 14. Be2 fxg5 15. hxg5 Rf7 16. c5 Nb8 17. Nf3 a5 18. a3 axb4 19. axb4 {and White achieved everything he wished for in Aronian,L (2773)-Firouzja,A (2728) Lichess.org INT 2020}) 8... Nc5 {After some thought, Grischuk deviated from an earlier game of his.} ({That game went: } 8... h5 9. Qd2 Nc5 10. f3 Bd7 11. Bd1 a5 12. b3 Qb8 13. Nge2 b5 14. cxb5 Bxb5 15. Nxb5 Qxb5 {and Black got enough counterplay in Aronian,L (2773)-Grischuk,A (2777) Lichess.org INT 2020}) 9. Qc2 {Nakamura is practically blitzing his moves.} c6 10. h5 cxd5 11. cxd5 Qa5 ({Nobody had yet tested} 11... Qc7 $5 { here, or on the previous move with the rude threat Nc5xe4 $1}) 12. h6 {A modern treatment of the position. In the past, the Averbakh adherents used their kingside pawns to try and completely seal that part of the board. Nakamura tries \"only\" to lock the bishop—ideally forever.} Bh8 13. f3 Bd7 ( {The active move} 13... Nh5 {simply begs for} 14. Rxh5 {and an active player like Gunina could not stand the temptation. After} gxh5 15. Qd2 Bf6 16. f4 Nb3 17. axb3 Qxa1+ 18. Kf2 Kh8 19. Bxh5 Bd7 20. fxe5 dxe5 21. Bg5 Qa6 22. d6 Qb6+ 23. Kf1 Qd8 24. Nf3 {it was as crazy as it may get, Gunina,V (2471) -Kashlinskaya,A (2490) Chess.com INT 2021}) 14. Rb1 Na4 {Grischuk creates some queenside trouble, just in time.} 15. Qd2 ({There was also the interesting computer suggestion} 15. Bd3 $5 Nxc3 16. Qxc3 Qxa2 17. Ne2 {but judging by the speed with which the American GM was blizting his moves, it was not interesting enough.}) 15... Nxc3 16. bxc3 Qc7 {[#]} 17. g4 $146 {This novelty was also blitzed out. White enjoys more space and better perspectives on both flanks.} ({Black held his own in the predecessor:} 17. c4 b6 18. g4 Bc8 19. Nh3 Nd7 20. Nf2 Nc5 21. Nd3 Bf6 22. Nxc5 bxc5 23. O-O Bd7 24. Rb3 Rab8 25. Rfb1 Rb6 {Eljanov,P (2676)-Demchenko,A (2679) Germany 2019}) 17... Bc8 $1 {A nice regrouping.} ({The typical opening of a file on the kingside} 17... Ne8 18. Nh3 f5 $2 {would have backfired} 19. gxf5 gxf5 20. Rg1+ Kf7 21. Ng5+ {and White wins.}) 18. Nh3 Nd7 19. Nf2 {At last some thought by the American GM, who as expected was way ahead on the clock.} ({The move in the game was certainly stronger than} 19. g5 Nc5 20. Nf2 f6 {and White cannot seal the kingside.}) 19... Bf6 {Out, in freedom $1} ({However, there was an argument for} 19... Nc5 20. Nd3 Nxd3+ 21. Bxd3 Bf6 22. a4 Bd7 {although here too White keeps an edge.}) 20. O-O Be7 ({And here there was an even stronger argument to transfer the knight to a better square first with} 20... Nc5 $5 21. Nd3 Na4 22. c4 b6) 21. Kh2 Nc5 22. Nd3 {The black knight is a key piece and needs to leave.} b6 $1 { Ultimately Grischuk decided to defend as Demchenko did, allowing the opening of the b-file.} ({Instead} 22... Nxd3 23. Bxd3 Bd7 24. c4 b6 25. Ra1 {followed by the a-pawn advance looked clearly better for White.}) 23. Nxc5 bxc5 ({ Certainly not} 23... dxc5 24. a4 (24. f4 $5) 24... Bd6 25. Bb5 $1) 24. f4 $1 { That is the difference in comparison to the above-mentioned stem game. White can open a second front on the kingside. It turns out that the h-pawn was not only good for blocking the black dark-squared bishop.} exf4 $1 {Black cannot afford to let a pawn get to the f5-square.} ({As the line} 24... f6 25. f5 g5 26. Qb2 {looks horrible for Black.}) 25. Bxf4 Bd7 {Now it is all about the long diagonal; who will have it $2} ({Unfortunately for Black, he is a move short in establishing the e5 outpost in the line} 25... Bf6 26. Qe3 Re8 27. Qf3 Qe7 28. Bb5 $1) 26. c4 Rab8 {Only this move seems like a serious inaccuracy by Black.} ({So far Grischuk defended with great precision and} 26... Bf6 $1 { would have brought him very close to equality. For example} 27. Qe3 ({Perhaps the Russian GM disliked the typical sacrifice} 27. e5 $5 {but it seems he is in time after} dxe5 28. d6 Qd8 29. Be3 e4 $1) 27... Rae8 $1 {As we shall see, Black often needed both his rooks to hold the fort.}) 27. Qc3 $1 {Now the long diagonal is in White's hands.} f6 28. Rb3 {Nothing should be forced yet. Plus, both sides are trying to force the opponent to make a concession and capture first.} ({A premature clash might make things easier for the defender.} 28. g5 Rxb1 29. Rxb1 Qd8) 28... Rb6 {One more inaccuracy. Grischuk might have missed White's next idea.} ({Here, a better choice seemed to be} 28... Rf7 $5 29. Bc1 Re8 30. Bb2) ({Or even} 28... Rxb3 29. axb3 Rf7) 29. g5 Rf7 30. Bc1 $3 { The long diagonal it is $1} Qd8 31. Bb2 Qf8 32. Kg2 $1 {One more accurate move. Grischuk will be soon running out of moves.} Bd8 33. Qf3 Bc8 ({Definitely not} 33... fxg5 $4 34. Qc3) ({Whereas the computer suggests as more resilient} 33... Rxb3 34. axb3 a5 {but does not say how will it defend both the f6- and a5-weaknesses.}) 34. Qe3 $1 {One last preparation.} Rxb3 ({Maybe Grischuk should have tried} 34... Be7 35. Rxb6 axb6 36. Qc3 Bd8 {although here too} 37. Rf4 $1 {should be winning somehow. A plausible plan seems to be to bring the light-squared bishop to c2, thus threatening further infiltration via the a4-e8 diagonal, then capture the f6-pawn, and breakthrough with a timely e4-e5 to finally sacrifice on g6 and make it to the enemy king.}) 35. axb3 fxg5 { Now it is all happening by force.} 36. Qc3 Rxf1 37. Qh8+ Kf7 38. Qxh7+ Ke8 39. Qxg6+ ({Not falling into the trap} 39. Bxf1 $4 Bh3+) 39... Ke7 ({After} 39... Rf7 {both} 40. h7 $1 ({And} 40. Bh5 $1 {win outright.})) 40. Qxg5+ Rf6 { Now the pawn is unstoppable.} ({But Grischuk would not have saved himself after } 40... Kd7 41. Bg4+ Kc7 42. Qg7+ Kb8 43. Qxf8 Rxf8 44. Bxc8 Kxc8 45. h7 { either, as after regaining the rook White has a clear plan of trading his e4-pawn for the one on d6 and winning while playing against the two black weaknesses.}) 41. h7 Kd7 42. Qg8 {The pawn is unstoppable and Nakamura wins an excellent game $1} 1-0