[Event "FIDE Grand Chess Prix 1 All Pools 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.02.10"] [Round "6"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2752"] [BlackElo "2704"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 {A modern, aggressive line with which Shirov scored quite well.} 5. O-O ({Here is Black's latest successful effort in the line.} 5. c3 d6 6. Nbd2 g5 7. h4 g4 8. Nh2 h5 9. Qb3 Qd7 $146 10. Nhf1 Na5 11. Qc2 Nxc4 12. Nxc4 d5 {and Black eventually prevailed in Esipenko,A (2720)-Shirov,A (2652) Struga 2021}) 5... d6 6. c3 g5 {That is the modern treatment—when Black is in fact currently scoring better than the usual 6... g6.} ({Although, of course, Black can always switch to the normal lines with:} 6... Be7 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. a4 Be6 9. a5 a6 10. Re1 Bxc4 11. dxc4 b6 12. axb6 cxb6 13. Nf1 {as in Firouzja,A (2759)-Le,Q (2709) chess24.com INT 2021}) 7. Nbd2 { So far Dominguez is confidently executing his moves.} ({One more blitz game of Shirov was quite short} 7. Re1 Bg7 8. Nbd2 g4 9. Nh4 Nxe4 10. dxe4 Qxh4 11. Nf1 f5 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. Ne3 Bd7 14. Nd5 O-O-O 15. Be3 g3 {0-1 (15) Salem,A (2682) -Shirov, A (2647) Chess.com INT 2020}) 7... Bg7 8. Bb3 g4 {In a fierce battle for the center, Black is trying to stop the opponent from his central break with d3-d4.} 9. Ne1 {The problem with this approach is obvious—Black is burning his bridges on the kingside and his king might become vulnerable in the center.} h5 10. f4 {Therefore, White is aiming for the f7-pawn.} exf4 11. Rxf4 d5 (11... Be6 $5) 12. Rf1 $146 {Dominguez's first major expenditure on the clock produces a novelty.} ({But he was certainly aware of the predecessor between the young American GMs:} 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Rf1 f5 14. Nc4 O-O 15. d4 f4 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Be6 {Burke,J (2538)-Yoo,C (2479) Saint Louis 2021}) 12... Be6 ({After} 12... dxe4 {White can temporarily sacrifice a piece with} 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Bxf7+ Kf8 {when the simplest solution is} (14... Ke7 15. Qe2) 15. dxe4 Qxd1 16. Bb3+ {with a solid extra pawn.}) 13. d4 ({Also} 13. exd5 $5 {looks like a good attempt for an edge} Bxd5 (13... Nxd5 14. Ne4) 14. Nc4 $1 O-O 15. d4 {when White looks prettier.}) 13... dxe4 14. Qe2 Qd7 {Shirov hurries to castle long.} ({However, it made sense to slow down a bit before regaining the pawn with} 14... Bxb3 15. axb3 Qe7) 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Qxe4 O-O-O {The king is safe, or so it seems.} 17. Nc2 $1 {A nice move that solidifies the center.} ({ The more obvious} 17. Bg5 $5 Bxb3 18. axb3 Rde8 19. Qd3 {also looks good for White at first sight; however, there might be some future problems with his d4-pawn, like in this line} h4 20. Qc4 Nxd4 $3 21. cxd4 b5 22. Qc2 Bxd4+ 23. Kh1 Rh5 24. Bf4 Rc5 25. Qd2 Rd5 {and it is extremely messy, exactly what Shirov would have loved.}) 17... Bxb3 18. axb3 Rde8 ({The strange computer suggestion} 18... Qe6 {can be simply met with} 19. Qxe6+ $1 ({Or as in the game } 19. Qf5 $1) 19... fxe6 20. b4) 19. Qf5 {White firmly follows his policy of a better endgame with no tactical chances at all.} (19. Qd3 $5 {also looks fine.} ) 19... Qxf5 20. Rxf5 f6 {Not a desirable move, but what else $2} ({The side-defense} 20... Re7 21. Bg5 Rd7 22. b4 {cannot succeed.}) 21. Bf4 $1 { Even though this is not objectively the best move, the concept that Dominguez was heading for was extremely powerful and beautiful.} (21. b4 $5 {would have been en edge for White.}) 21... Re2 {Shirov would not miss a chance to demonstrate activity, but as we shall see, this works nicely into White's plan. The key to the position is the proper coordination of the rooks, and Black's last move leaves them separated.} ({The amazingly beautiful} 21... Ne7 $3 { would have equalized in full as the obvious pawn gain} 22. Rc5 (22. Rfa5 a6 { yields nothing to White.}) 22... c6 23. Rxa7 Nd5 {would not leave the white rooks uncoordinated and Black may even take over the initiative after} 24. Bg3 Re2) 22. Ne3 $1 {Separating the black rooks while heading to the optimal d5-square..} ({Not} 22. Rc1 $2 Ne7) 22... Rxb2 23. b4 b6 ({After} 23... a6 24. Re1 {looks like the neatest reply, with Ne3-d5 to come.} ({Although} 24. Nd5 { also looks great for the first player as Black cannot counter-attack quickly enough with} Re8 25. Rxh5 Ree2 26. Rh7 Rxg2+ 27. Kh1 Bf8 28. Rh8 {trapping the bishop.})) 24. Nd5 {Complete domination $1} h4 {The last active try.} ({ Otherwise, the second white rook will occupy the open e-file anyway—as in the line} 24... Rc2 25. b5 Na5 26. Re1 $1) ({Or} 24... Rb3 25. Re1 Kb7 26. Nxc7 Rxc3 27. Nb5 Rc2 28. d5 {winning a piece.}) 25. Re1 {With the inclusion of the last piece into the attack, Dominguez is ready for the final infiltration.} h3 26. gxh3 Rxh3 ({Nothing changes.} 26... gxh3 27. Ne7+ Nxe7 28. Rxe7 Rg8 29. Rxc7+ Kd8 30. Rxa7 Bh6+ 31. Bg3) 27. Bg3 $1 {The neatest move. The black rooks will never be connected.} a5 ({Or} 27... Rb3 28. Nxc7 $1 Rxg3+ 29. hxg3 Kxc7 30. b5) 28. bxa5 bxa5 29. Ne7+ $1 {Now the white rook will occupy the seventh rank.} Nxe7 30. Rxe7 Bh6 31. Rxc7+ Kb8 ({Or} 31... Kd8 32. Rd5+ Ke8 33. Rxa5) 32. Re7+ Rxg3+ 33. hxg3 1-0 [Event "Berlin"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.10"] [Round "6.8"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2717"] [Annotator "Saravanan,Venkatachalam"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2022.02.04"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 a5 6. Bg2 O-O 7. Qc2 c5 8. cxd5 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Qb6 10. e3 exd5 11. O-O Nc6 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Rc1 Rb8 14. Bxb4 Qxb4 15. b3 Be6 16. Nc3 c5 17. Ne2 Rfc8 18. Nf4 c4 19. bxc4 Rxc4 20. Qd1 Qc5 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bf1 Rc3 23. Rxc3 Qxc3 24. Rc1 Qb2 25. Rc2 Qb6 26. Qc1 e5 27. Rc6 Qd8 28. Qc3 e4 {White has firmly outplayed Black and has a near-winning advantage here.} 29. a4 $2 {After 14 minutes of thinking, So shows a bit of nervousness here.} (29. Bh3 Kh8 30. Be6 {with a winning position.}) 29... Qd7 { Later So confessed to having missed this move.} 30. Bb5 {After consuming another 10 minutes for the move.} Qg4 31. Qxa5 $4 Qd1+ 32. Bf1 Rb1 33. Qa6 (33. Qd8+ Kf7 34. Rxf6+) 33... h5 34. Rb6 {With only five minutes on the clock.} Ra1 35. Rxf6 gxf6 36. Qe6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Berlin"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.10"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A09"] [WhiteElo "2681"] [BlackElo "2686"] [Annotator "Saravanan,Venkatachalam"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2022.02.04"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. b4 c5 4. e3 Nf6 5. b5 Qc7 6. exd4 cxd4 7. Bb2 e5 8. Qe2 Bd6 9. Nxd4 O-O 10. Nc2 Nbd7 11. Nc3 Nc5 12. Ne3 Be6 13. Qd1 e4 14. Ncd5 Nxd5 15. cxd5 Bd7 16. Rc1 Rae8 17. Bd4 b6 18. Nc4 Nd3+ 19. Bxd3 exd3+ 20. Ne3 Qd8 21. g3 Re4 22. Ba1 f5 23. Qb3 {Black has played efficiently till this point and he just needs a direct attack on the white king to win the game.} Qe8 { This doesn't spoil anything, but Black could have played more vigorously.} ( 23... f4 $1 24. gxf4 Rfxf4 25. Qxd3 (25. Rg1 {It was probably direct threats on his king that deterred Black from conducting such direct attacks.} Bg4 26. Qxd3 Qh4 27. Qf1 Rf7 {and Black has a winning position.}) 25... Qh4 26. Rf1 ( 26. Qe2 Bg4) 26... Bh3) 24. Rc6 Bxc6 $2 {The lure of material $1 White gains enough counterplay now.} (24... f4 $1 25. gxf4 Qg6 26. Qxd3 (26. Rf1 Rb4) 26... Rxe3+ $1 27. Qxe3 Qb1+ 28. Ke2 Qxh1) 25. dxc6+ Qe6 26. Qxd3 Bc5 27. Qb3 Qxb3 28. axb3 Rb4 29. Ke2 Rxb5 30. d4 Bd6 31. Rd1 f4 32. Nc4 f3+ $2 {Black even gets into trouble here.} (32... Re8+ {and Black still keeps a slight edge.}) 33. Kd3 Bb8 34. Kc2 Rd8 35. Ne3 Kf7 36. d5 Rc5+ 37. Kb1 Rb5 38. Kc2 Rc5+ 39. Kb1 Rb5 {Black is more than happy to repeat moves, as it is White who has an advantage in the final position.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Berlin"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.10"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B67"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2642"] [Annotator "Saravanan,Venkatachalam"] [PlyCount "146"] [EventDate "2022.02.04"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f3 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Be7 11. Kb1 Qc7 12. g4 h5 13. gxh5 Nxh5 14. Bxe7 Kxe7 15. Rg1 Qc5 16. Qd2 Bc6 17. Bc4 {A rather cute move. Observe how White keeps his pieces trained toward the black king.} Rad8 (17... Qxc4 18. Qxd6+ Ke8 19. Rd4 {wins for White.}) 18. Bb3 g6 19. f4 Nf6 20. Rg5 Qb6 21. Re1 Rh7 $2 22. Nd5+ exd5 23. exd5+ Kf8 24. dxc6 Qxc6 25. Qd4 (25. f5 $1) 25... Re8 26. Rgg1 $2 (26. Rd1) 26... Rxe1+ 27. Rxe1 d5 28. a3 Rxh2 29. f5 gxf5 30. Qf4 Rg2 31. Qxf5 Kg7 32. Rh1 Qc5 $2 33. Ka2 Rg1 34. Rh3 Rg6 35. Qe5 Qc8 36. Rh1 b5 37. c3 Qe6 38. Qh2 {The black king is caught in an attack once again.} Kf8 39. Qb8+ Ne8 40. Qd8 Kg7 41. Bxd5 {White has a winning position, and he goes on to convert the point slowly. Though the ensuing play was not flawless, it was entertaining nevertheless.} Qe5 42. Bb3 Qe4 43. Qd1 Nd6 44. Qh5 Kf8 45. Bd5 Qf4 46. Qh8+ Rg8 47. Qh3 Qd2 48. Qh5 Rg5 49. Qh6+ Ke7 50. Bf3 Qe3 51. Qh4 Kd7 52. Re1 Qc5 53. Qh3+ Qf5 54. Qh1 Qc5 55. Rd1 Kc7 56. Rd4 Qe5 57. Bd5 Rh5 58. Qf3 Rf5 59. Qg2 a5 60. Bb3 a4 61. Bd5 Qe1 62. Ba8 Qe6+ 63. Bd5 Qe1 64. Bf3 Qe3 65. Bg4 Rf4 66. Rd1 Qe4 67. Qd2 Qe5 68. Bh3 Rh4 69. Bg2 Qc5 70. Qe1 Qc4+ 71. Ka1 Kd7 72. Bf1 Qe4 73. Qd2 Qf4 1-0 [Event "Berlin"] [Site "Berlin"] [Date "2022.02.10"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Saravanan,Venkatachalam"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2022.02.04"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. a4 a6 6. O-O d6 7. a5 Ba7 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 h6 10. Be3 Re8 $6 11. Qb3 Qe7 12. Nbd2 Rb8 13. Bxa7 Nxa7 14. d4 {White has gained a slight edge.} Nc6 $2 {This looked like a simple error.} 15. Rfe1 $2 {White defers from acting decisively.} (15. d5 Na7 16. Bxa6 Bxh3 17. Bxb7 { and it was difficult to see compensation for Black.}) 15... Bd7 16. d5 Na7 17. Bf1 Nh7 18. c4 Ng5 {With these \"active-looking\" measures, Black only enables White to improve his position.} 19. Qe3 Nxf3+ 20. Nxf3 Nc8 21. b4 {Black's pieces are cramped and White's advantage is obvious on the queenside.} f5 22. Bd3 ({Better is} 22. b5 {and Black still has to generate counterplay.}) 22... Qf6 23. exf5 Bxf5 24. Bxf5 Qxf5 25. Nd4 Qf7 26. f4 $2 {White loses his considerable advantage here, but neither player saw a hidden resource for Black in this position.} c6 $4 (26... Nb6 $3 27. axb6 exd4 28. Qxd4 cxb6 { and Black has generated the much-needed counterplay.}) 27. fxe5 cxd5 28. e6 ( 28. Qg3 $3 {The hidden tactical point is the \"loose\" black rook on the b8-square.} dxe5 (28... dxc4 29. exd6 Rd8 30. Re6 {with a winning position.}) 29. Rxe5 Rxe5 (29... Nd6 $4 30. Rxe8+ {and White wins.}) 30. Qxe5 Qf6 31. Qxd5+ {and White is simply winning.}) 28... Qg6 29. Rf1 $4 (29. cxd5 Ne7 30. Rac1 Nxd5 31. Qf3 Ne7 32. Rc7 {and White's pieces are dominating.}) 29... Ne7 $2 ({ Better was} 29... dxc4 30. Rac1 Ne7 31. Rxc4 Rf8 {and Black has generated counterplay.}) 30. Rf7 $4 (30. cxd5 Nxd5 31. Qe2 {and the passer on e6 will decide the game in White's favor.}) 30... dxc4 31. Raf1 Kh8 {Down to one minute on the clock for Esipenko. About six minutes for Nakamura.} 32. R1f3 Nc6 $4 {Short of time, Nakamura blunders.} (32... Nd5 $1 33. Qe1 c3 {and though White still has an advantage, Black has generated counterplay.}) 33. Nxc6 bxc6 34. e7 $18 Kh7 35. Qf4 Rg8 36. Rg3 (36. Qxc4 {was much simpler}) 36... Qe6 37. Re3 Qg6 38. Rf8 {Entering into simplifications that will ultimately cause White to see his advantages disappear.} (38. Qxc4 d5 39. Qf4 $18) 38... Re8 39. Rxg8 Kxg8 40. Qxc4+ Qf7 41. Qxa6 Rxe7 42. Rxe7 Qxe7 43. Qxc6 Qe1+ 44. Kh2 Qxb4 {After this Nakamura defends the position effectively.} 45. Qd5+ Kh8 46. Qa2 Qf4+ 47. g3 Qd4 48. a6 Qa7 49. h4 d5 50. Qe2 Qd4 51. Qa2 Qa7 52. Kg2 d4 53. Qe2 Qd7 54. Qe4 d3 55. Qb7 Qd8 56. a7 d2 57. a8=Q d1=Q 58. Qxd8+ 1/2-1/2