[Event "FIDE Chess Grand Prix 1 2022 | Pool D"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.07"] [Round "4"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2752"] [BlackElo "2772"] [Annotator "Saravanan,Venkatachalam"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [EventCountry "GER"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a5 7. Re1 Ba7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. h3 Be6 10. Bb5 Ne7 11. d4 Ng6 12. Ba4 Nh5 13. Nf1 Nhf4 14. Ng3 exd4 15. Nxd4 Bxd4 16. cxd4 d5 17. Qf3 Qf6 18. Bd1 Qh4 19. Bd2 c6 20. Rc1 f5 21. exf5 $6 ({White had to play} 21. e5 Rf7 (21... Nxg2 22. Kxg2 Qxd4 23. Qe3 Qxe3 24. fxe3 Nxe5 {is fine for White, as Black doesn't have complete compensation for the piece yet.}) 22. Nf1 {with a complex position where White might even be slightly better.}) 21... Bxf5 22. Nxf5 Rxf5 23. Qg3 $2 {Dominguez admitted after the game that this mistake was borne out of an oversight.} (23. Bc2 Rg5 24. g3 {leads to complications but where White may not be worse.}) 23... Qxg3 24. fxg3 Nd3 $1 25. Bc2 Rf2 $1 {Dominguez had originally overlooked this.} 26. Bxd3 $6 ({White's best defense is} 26. Bc3 Rxc2 27. Rxc2 Nxe1 28. Bxe1 { and though he is worse, White still had practical chances to hold the game.}) 26... Rxd2 27. Bxg6 $2 ({White could have still tried} 27. Bf5 {to hold the position.}) 27... hxg6 28. Re7 Rxb2 29. Rce1 Rf8 30. Rd7 $2 {This hastens the win for Black, but White's position is difficult anyway.} (30. R7e2 Rxe2 31. Rxe2 Kf7 {and Black is still winning.}) 30... Rff2 {Black's rooks are dominating the game now.} 31. Ree7 Rxg2+ 32. Kf1 Kh7 33. h4 Kh6 34. Re5 Rbf2+ 35. Ke1 Rxa2 36. Kf1 Rh2 37. Kg1 Rag2+ 38. Kf1 Rb2 39. Kg1 Rhd2 0-1 [Event "Berlin"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.07"] [Round "4"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2664"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [EventCountry "GER"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Qb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. O-O Qxb2 9. Qe1 cxd4 10. Bxd4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Bb4 12. Ndb5 Ba5 13. Rb1 Qxc2 14. Rc1 Qb2 15. Na4 Bxe1 16. Nxb2 Ba5 17. Nd6+ Ke7 18. Nxb7 Bd8 19. Nxd8 Kxd8 20. Rfd1 {Incredibly, even this position is part of a long theoretical discussion $1 Both players reached here almost without any long think, thus indicating their preparedness. But it was here that Keymer started fumbling in his treatment of the position.} Rb8 $6 (20... Nh6 21. Nc4 Ke7 (21... f6 22. f4 Bg4 23. Bxg4 Nxg4 24. h3 Nh6 25. Nd6 {with an advantage for White in Sarana,A - Rozum,I, Khanty-Mansiysk 2018}) 22. Nd6 Rhd8 {and Black should be able to hold the game. }) 21. Nc4 g5 $2 {Dubov singled out this moment as the turning point of the game.} (21... Ne7 22. Nd6 Bg6 23. Rc5 Nf5 {was a better defense here.}) 22. Nd6 Bg6 23. Rd4 {Dubov later felt that he could have played this part of the game more precisely.} (23. Ba6 $1 {It is important to control the c8-square here.} Ne7 24. a4 Nf5 (24... Rb6 25. Bb5) 25. Nb5 $1 {This would not have been possible without 23.Ba6 $1}) 23... Ne7 24. g4 $2 Rb6 $2 ({The only way to defend is} 24... Kd7 25. Bb5+ Rxb5 $1 {This remarkable exchange sacrifice saves the day for Black.} 26. Nxb5 Rb8 {and Black should be able to achieve equality. The pivotal elements for Black's defense are his bishop, which will cover all his weaknesses on the kingside, and his protected passed pawn at d5.} ) 25. Bb5 $1 {An important move. White stops the black rook from exchanging with his counterpart at c1 with ...Rb6-a6. Now his threat of 26.Ra4 is quite serious.} (25. Ra4 Rc6) 25... Rb8 (25... a6 26. Ra4 $1) 26. Ra4 Nc8 27. Rxc8+ Rxc8 28. Rxa7 {The position is simply lost for Black.} Rc7 29. Ra8+ Ke7 30. Rxh8 f6 31. Rc8 Ra7 32. Rc6 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.02.07"] [Round "4"] [White "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2681"] [BlackElo "2704"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "27"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,36,51,22,75,56,56,51,57,38,33,30,56,23,27,33,59,41,32,11,6,5,5,15,38, 1,20,20,14,-5,-2,-18,-9,-13,0,-99,-121,-161,-142]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 { Anti-Sveshnikov. The author of the system considered the lines that avoid the Sveshnikov the only lines playable.} e5 4. Bc4 d6 5. d3 Be7 {Now it is almost an Italian but with a black pawn placed on the c5-square. This certainly weakens the d5-spot, but the question is, can White profit from that?} 6. a4 ({ The more modest:} 6. a3 {is also possible as this recent top-GM game} Be6 7. Nd5 Nf6 8. O-O O-O 9. c3 Rb8 10. b4 b5 11. Nxf6+ Bxf6 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Be3 Qe7 14. Nd2 Bg5 {Grischuk,A (2778)-Maghsoodloo,P (2698) Chess.com INT 2021}) 6... Nf6 7. Bg5 Nd7 $5 {[%mdl 4] ( e4 c5 Nf3 Nc6 Nc3 Anti-Sveshnikov. The author of the system considered the lines that avoid the Sveshnikov the only lines playable. e5 Bc4 d6 d3} 8. Bxe7 {Now it is almost an Italian but with a black pawn placed on the c5-square. This certainly weakens the d5-spot, but the question is, can White profit from that $2 a4} ({The more modest: a3 is also possible as this recent top-GM game} 8. Be6 {Nd5} Nf6 9. O-O O-O {c3 Rb8} 10. b4 b5 {Nxf6+} 11. Bxf6 Bxe6 {fxe6 Be3 Qe7} 12. Nd2 {Bg5 Grischuk,A (2778) -Maghsoodloo,P (2698) Chess.com INT 2021}) 8... Nf6 $5 $146 {Bg5 Nd7 Not a novelty, and certainly a move to know in this line. The knight can control the d5-square; therefore, Fedoseev preserves it. It is also generally desirable for Black to swap off his dark-squared bishop. Bd2 That is the reason why Oparin keeps the dark-squared bishops alive. He did play this novelty though after a lengthy thought.} ({In the predecessor, Short got an interesting kingside play with: Bxe7} 8... Qxe7 9. Nd5 Qd8 10. c3 O-O 11. Nd2 Nf6 12. Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. Nf1 Qg5 14. Ne3 Kh8 15. h4 Qd8 16. g4 a6 17. Qf3 Be6 {but Black eventually held his own, Short,$146 (2690) -Illescas Cordoba,M (2591) Sestao 2010}) 9. O-O Nd5 $1 {Nb6 This is why the knight is kept alive. Nxb6 axb6 Black is getting ready for a kingside attack, and the move in the game does two things. It stabilizes the center and opens a file in case that White decides to hide his king there. c3 Kh8} {After O-O Kh8 would have been played anyway.} 10. b4 {Qe8 Thanks to the central stability, Fedoseev is ready to break open the kingside with f7-f5. His game seems far more straightforward and simpler.} b5 {Oparin finds a clever plan to counteract.} ({Castling does not seem appealing O-O due to} 10... f5 11. b5 Na5 {with a tempo $1} 12. Bxd5 f4 $1 {when Black is ready to throw all his kingside pawns forward and it is pretty one-sided.}) ({The immediate h4 is not good either due to} 10... cxb4 $1 {cxb4 Bg4}) {Nd8} 11. h4 $1 {That is White's point: he may also fight back for the kingside.} f5 12. h5 $1 ({Also interesting is} 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. Ng5) 12... Be6 $1 (12... h6 $5) ({Qb3 There is one serious issue that Oparin did not solve yet: where to hide his king. Black is obviously not worried about} 12... h6 {g6}) ({Qd7 Kd1 An attempt to hide his majesty on the queenside, but this is a mistake. Stronger is} 12... h6 {g6} 13. Bxd5 $1 {when White seems to keep things under relative control. The important detail is that} f4 {does not work that well due to} 14. d4) ({fxe4 dxe4 Bxc4 Qxc4 Qg4 Double attack. Qd3 And this makes things even worse. Instead Rh2 would not have been a defense due to Rxf3 gxf3 Qg1+ It is not clear what Oparin missed. Maybe something in the line Kc2 Qxg2 Nh4 Bxh4 Rag1 Did he simply calculate Qxf2 only when White is on top with Did White miss the simple retreat Qf3 Rxh4 Qxf2 Rhg4 Qf7 when Black has it all well defended $2 Rf1 c4 The alternative Qxg2 Ke2} 12... bxc4 $1 { is equally good.}) ({Qe3 Ne6 When the knight comes on the freshly created d3-outpost, the white king will have nowhere to hide. Rg1 Perhaps he should have kept this pawn alive at least} 12... h6) {Nf4 Kc1 Qxh5 Black won a pawn while building a huge positional advantage. The game is essentially over. Kc2 Qg6} 13. g3 $1 {Nd3 Nh4 Qe6 Nf5 The only active try, but Rxf5 Opens a crucial diagonal against the white king, and this quickly translates into a mating attack. exf5 Qxf5 g4 Nb4+ Kd1 Qc2+ Ke1 Qb2 Rc1 Nd3+ Ke2} Rf8 $1 {Bringing everybody into the action.} ({The move in the game is even stronger than the prosaic Nxc1+ Rxc1} 13... h6) ({f3 e4 d5 would do too. Rh1 Or Rcf1} 13... Nf4 { when the white king still has nowhere to hide. Kf2 Kd1 Qb3+} 14. Bh4) 14. exd5 {fxe4 Rf2+ Kd1 Qb3+ Rc2 Qb1+ Rc1 Nxc1 Qxf2 Nd3+ Ke2 Qxh1} 0-1 [Event "Berlin"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.07"] [Round "4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2642"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [EventCountry "GER"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. a3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bc5 10. Qd2 g5 $5 {This drastic push sets the tone of the game, as the French grandmaster had obviously come prepared for a sharp struggle.} ({ Bacrot had earlier employed} 10... O-O 11. O-O-O (11. Be2 Qc7 12. O-O b5 13. Bf3 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Bxd4+ 15. Qxd4 Bb7 16. Be2 Qc5 17. Rad1 Rfc8 18. Qxc5 Nxc5 { with equality in Van Foreest,J - Bacrot,E Malmo SWE 2021.}) 11... Rb8 12. h4 Bxd4 13. Bxd4 b5 {with a complex game in the previous round: Esipenko,A (2714) -Bacrot,E (2642) Berlin 2022}) 11. Nf3 {\"I didn't want to play Nf3. Somehow, there is probably something better\" Nakamura.} ({Nakamura's move is an improvement ( $2) over} 11. f5 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bxd4 13. Qxd4 Qb6 14. Qxb6 Nxb6 { with a complex endgame in Svidler,P - Nepomniachtchi,I, Paris 2021.}) 11... d4 $1 {Obviously a prepared retort.} 12. Bxd4 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 gxf4 14. Qxf4 Nxe5 15. Nb3 (15. Ndb5 {was suggested as an improvement by Bacrot after the game, claiming White might get a slight edge in the long run.}) 15... Ng6 16. Qf3 { Somewhere around here, Nakamura understood that this was \"not the situation to go crazy,\" as he was still in lead in the group and there was no necessity for burning any bridges.} Ba7 $6 {Bacrot termed this a \"blunder,\" though it still gives him a compensation of more than a tempo.} (16... Be7 {and Black might even be a little better in the resultant position.}) 17. Bxa6 O-O 18. Bd3 Qh4+ 19. Qg3 Qh6 {Keeping the white king in the center, Black has compensation for being down a pawn.} 20. h4 f5 21. Nd2 Bb8 22. Qf2 Ba7 23. Qg3 Bb8 24. Qf2 Ba7 25. Qg3 Bb8 1/2-1/2