[Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.15"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2865"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,42,25,24,32,-23,-10,-10,-11,-7,39,42,53,25,19,14,16,9,21,16,22,18,36, 31,32,18,89,18,18,19,19,12,33,20,30,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 b6 {Not the absolute main line, but a move whose popularity has slowly increased over the years. Dreev has played it many times, while Carlsen himself tried it once before, some years earlier.} (6... Bd6 {is the most common move by far.}) 7. b3 Bb7 8. Bd3 (8. Be2) (8. Bb2) 8... Bd6 9. O-O O-O 10. Bb2 c5 $5 {Black generally keeps developing before playing this. The move has scored pretty well, though.} (10... Re8) (10... Qe7) (10... Rc8) 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Rfd1 (12. Bf5) 12... Re8 (12... Qe7) 13. Rac1 (13. Bf5) 13... a6 14. Bf5 Rc8 15. dxc5 bxc5 16. Na4 $2 {A "disimprovement" over Wesley So's move in an earlier game. Surprisingly, Carlsen did not play the thematic refuation.} (16. Qd3 Rc7 17. Na4 Qe7 18. Qc3 d4 19. exd4 Bxf3 20. Qxf3 cxd4 21. Ra1 Ne5 22. Qh3 g6 23. Bd3 Nd5 24. Bxd4 Nxd3 25. Qxd3 Nf4 26. Qxa6 Qg5 27. g3 Ne2+ 28. Kf1 Qg4 29. Be3 Rxe3 30. Qa8+ Kg7 31. Rxd6 Re4 32. Kg2 Nf4+ 33. Kg1 Nh3+ 34. Kg2 Rc2 35. Rf1 Nf4+ 36. Kg1 Qf3 {0-1 (36) So,W (2778)-Naiditsch,A (2722) Dortmund 2015}) 16... Rc7 $2 $146 (16... d4 $1 $17 {is the right move, and one that doesn't require the advantages enjoyed by a correspondence player to find and play it.} 17. Qd3 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Rc7 19. Qf1 g6 20. Bh3 Nd5 21. exd4 cxd4 22. Rxd4 Qg5+ 23. Kh1 Qe5 {0-1 (23) Weiss,L (2123)-Neborak,Y (2326) ICCF email 2015}) 17. Bc3 $2 Qe7 $2 (17... d4 $1 {may be even stronger now, though here Black does at least have something to worry about.} 18. Ba5 {is the obvious argument against 17...d4, but Black is winning all the same.} Bxf3 19. gxf3 (19. Bxc7 $4 Bxd1 $19) 19... Ne5 20. Qe2 (20. Bxc7 $2 Nxf3+ 21. Kg2 Qa8 $1 {Maybe this is the move that Carlsen either overlooked or couldn't get to the bottom of.} 22. e4 Nh4+ 23. Kg1 Nxe4 $1 {Not an easy move to play, down a rook and with the loose bishop on d6. It does win, though. Here is one simple variation demonstrating a key point:} 24. Bxe4 Rxe4 25. Bxd6 (25. f4 {stops the mate, but is very far from saving the game. Black could now take on c7, with a winning advantage, but it's even better to give check on f3 and play ... Rxf4.}) 25... Re1+ $1 26. Rxe1 Qg2#) 20... Qa8 $1 21. Kg2 (21. Bxc7 $2 Nxf3+ 22. Kf1 Bxc7 23. Nxc5 Nxh2+ 24. Kg1 Nf3+ 25. Kf1 dxe3 26. fxe3 Nh4 27. Qf2 Bg3 28. Qxg3 Nxf5 29. Qh3 Nxe3+ $19) 21... Rc6 $17 {/-+ White has averted an immediate catastrophe, albeit at the cost of allowing Black a somewhat slower but still very dangerous attack without any material investment.}) 18. Ba5 $11 Rc6 19. Bc3 Rc7 20. Ba5 Rc6 21. Bc3 Rc7 {A lucky escape for Esipenko, and a surprising slip from Carlsen.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.15"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E10"] [WhiteElo "2792"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,100,22,32,30,-7,-7,-7,-6,-12,-7,-13,8,12,19,17,17,21,4,-9,21,23,35,29, 35,28,33,24,35,20,23,30,15,23,33,29,64,30,48,38,54,25,51,46,60,37,28,26,30,10, 57,33,24,61,47,3,36,15,26,15,45,-45,-37,-37,-3,-19,-14,8,6,23,1,0,0,-76,-83, -95,-83,-83,-82,-89,-90,-95,-95,-101,-99,-99,-104,-109,-95,-111,-111,-111,-95, -96,-95,-95,-96,-101,-96,-98,-84,-93,-85]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 c6 6. Bf4 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. e3 O-O 9. Qc2 b6 {It's a logical move, aiming to swap off the bad bishop. Black must often make a long series of moves to put it safely on f5; it's far speedier to play ...b6 and ...Ba6. The drawback, which accounts for the move's rarity, is that the c6 pawn will come under pressure for a long time to come.} 10. Rc1 g6 11. Bd3 Ba6 12. Bxa6 Nxa6 13. O-O Rfc8 14. Rfd1 {Black can achieve ...c5, but at the cost of weakening d5.} Nc7 15. a3 Ne6 16. h3 Qe7 17. Ne5 Qb7 18. Qe2 Ne8 19. b4 (19. e4 $16) 19... a6 20. h4 h5 21. e4 $16 Kg7 $2 22. Nf3 $2 (22. f4 $1 Nxf4 {Else f4-f5 will blast open his kingside, with a winning attack.} 23. Qe3 Ne6 24. Rf1 Rc7 25. g4 $18 {Black will almost certainly get crushed by a direct kingside attack. Given the placement of both sides' pieces, this is not shocking.}) 22... Nf6 23. e5 Ng4 24. Qd2 a5 $1 {White's mistake on move 22 cost him most of his advantage, but not all of it. Black should act before White can reload with a second wave of the attack on the kingside.} 25. Ng5 $1 axb4 26. axb4 Qd7 (26... Qe7 $142) 27. Ne2 Ra3 $2 (27... Nh6) 28. Rc2 $2 (28. Nxe6+ Qxe6 29. Qg5 {and the threat of Nf4 forces Black to play the disgusting} Qf5 {, when White has a technically won ending after} 30. Qxf5 gxf5 31. Rd2 Rb3 32. Rdc2 Rxb4 33. f3 $1 Ne3 34. Rxc6 Rxc6 35. Rxc6 $18) 28... Qe7 (28... Rb3 $142) 29. Rdc1 c5 $2 {Caruana gets yet another chance to win the game.} (29... Rb3 $142) 30. dxc5 $2 (30. bxc5 bxc5 31. Nxe6+ fxe6 32. f3 Nh6 33. Rxc5 Rxc5 34. dxc5 $18) 30... bxc5 $11 {Now Black is fine, and the rest of the way he enjoys the easier play on the way to a drawn conclusion.} 31. bxc5 ({The problem with White's 30th move is that here} 31. Nxe6+ fxe6 32. f3 {does nothing - Black takes on e5, with equality.} Nxe5 $11) 31... Nxg5 32. hxg5 Qxe5 33. Qd4 Kf8 34. g3 Qxd4 35. Nxd4 Ne5 36. Kg2 Nc4 37. Nb5 Ra6 38. Nc3 Rxc5 39. Nxd5 Rxd5 40. Rxc4 Rxg5 41. Rc5 Rxc5 42. Rxc5 Kg7 43. Rb5 Ra2 44. Rc5 Kh6 45. Rc6 Re2 46. Ra6 Re6 47. Ra8 Rb6 48. Rc8 Rb4 49. Ra8 f5 50. f4 Rb2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.15"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R.."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2612"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,87,29,-10,-29,-32,-4,6,4,10,10,-3,2,4,3,12,2,40,38,36,40,8,26,-31,24, 28,35,27,60,46,59,59,37,60,70,76,54,75,79,63,69,69,59,59,76,43,39,32,39,39,39, 45,45,12,8,1,3,7,7,5,37,-11,-1,-4,10,13,0,0,18,15,20,3,9,1,1,1,19,29,23,12,26, 34,29,31,29,26,31,24,31,25]} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. Nf3 e4 4. Nd4 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nc2 Nf6 7. Nc3 Qe5 8. Bg2 Na6 9. O-O Be7 10. Ne1 Nb4 11. f3 exf3 12. Nxf3 Qh5 13. d4 Nbd5 14. e4 {White retains an edge, but it was better for him to keep his e-pawn, continuing to build with} (14. Qb3 {,}) (14. Qc2 {,}) ({ or even} 14. Qe1 {.}) 14... Nxc3 15. bxc3 Nxe4 16. Re1 f5 17. Qb3 Qf7 18. Qxf7+ Kxf7 19. Ne5+ Kg8 20. Bxe4 (20. g4 $5) 20... fxe4 21. Rxe4 Bf5 22. Re1 (22. Rf4 $142) 22... Bf6 23. Nc4 b6 $11 24. Bf4 h5 25. Nd6 Bg6 26. Ne4 Bxe4 27. Rxe4 Kf7 28. Rae1 Rad8 29. Be5 Rhe8 30. Bxf6 Rxe4 31. Rxe4 gxf6 32. Kf2 Rd5 33. Re2 c5 34. Ke3 cxd4+ 35. cxd4 Ke6 36. Kd3+ Kd6 37. Rf2 f5 38. a4 Ra5 39. Kc3 a6 40. Kb4 Ke6 41. Re2+ Kd7 42. Rf2 Ke6 43. Re2+ Kd7 44. Rf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.15"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,59,24,32,32,-10,39,32,25,9,42,-5,8,3,17,10,58,50,41,1,-9,-17,-21,-14, -12,-31,22,-51,1,-67,-23,-69,-45,-44,-70,-66,-70,-91,-73,-167,-123,-138,-74, -75,-5,-121,-45,-173,-109,-102,-114,-77,-191,-29,30,0,108,32,36,-22,-24,-24]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. g3 dxc4 {If there's one thing you can count on in a game between Dubov and Mamedyarov, it's an interesting opening.} 6. Bg2 b5 7. Ne5 a6 8. O-O Bb7 9. b3 b4 10. Na4 c3 11. Nc4 a5 12. a3 Ba6 13. Bf4 $146 ({All the previous games continued with either} 13. axb4 axb4 14. Nc5 Bxc5 15. dxc5) ({or} 13. Qc2 Be7 14. Rd1 O-O 15. Nc5 {.}) 13... Bb5 $15 14. e4 $2 {You might wonder, "What else is White supposed to do?" But this turns out to be a mistake.} ({To answer the question:} 14. axb4 axb4 15. Qc2 { and White will move the a4-knight and aim for play down the a-file.}) 14... Be7 15. Nab6 Ra6 16. a4 Rxb6 (16... Bxc4 17. Nxc4 O-O $17 {was also good.}) 17. axb5 Rxb5 $17 18. Ra2 O-O 19. Qa1 $2 Qxd4 $19 20. Rd1 Qa7 21. Nxa5 Bc5 22. Nxc6 Bxf2+ 23. Kh1 Qb6 24. Bxb8 Qxc6 25. e5 Ne4 $6 (25... Nd5 $142 26. Bd6 Bc5 27. Bxf8 Bxf8 $19 {would have won easily. Black is still winning after the text, provided he finds the right move on the next turn.}) 26. Bd6 Rd8 $2 (26... Be3 $1 27. Bxf8 c2 $1 28. Re1 Kxf8 29. Rxc2 $1 Qxc2 30. Qa8+ Ke7 31. Bxe4 Qc7 $19 32. Rxe3 $2 Qc1+ 33. Kg2 Qxe3 $19 {and - it almost seems like bad luck - White has no (safe) checks, and because the e-pawn is about to drop he has no time for a quiet move like 34.Bc6 or 34.Qc6.}) 27. Re2 $1 {And Dubov escapes.} f5 28. exf6 c2 29. f7+ Kxf7 30. Rf1 (30. Rf1 c1=Q 31. Rxc1 Qxd6 32. Bxe4 $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.15"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,81,24,30,34,38,25,21,30,-22,-29,-38,2,-8,-8,-15,6,3,29,2,54,-13,0,-7, 5,-32,21,-15,-12,-7,-22,-57,-49,-51,-10,-4,-8,2,2,2,-7,-9,16,1,22,-26,-12,-5, -7,-13,-32,-26,2,-22,0,-6,0,-9,15,6,7,0,0,0,25,28,38,35,56,27,38,9,40,9,40,9, 27,40,33,34,198,181,241,198]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 Bf5 4. c4 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qb3 (6. Nc3 {is more common.}) 6... Bd6 7. Bg3 (7. Bxd6 cxd6 8. Nc3 Qa5 9. Nd2 Rc8 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Be2 O-O 12. O-O Nb6 13. a4 a6 14. Qa3 Nc4 15. Nxc4 dxc4 16. Qxd6 Rc6 17. Qe5 Qxe5 18. dxe5 Ne4 19. Nd5 Re8 20. Rfd1 Kf8 21. f3 Nc5 22. e4 Bg6 23. a5 Rxe5 24. Nb6 c3 25. bxc3 f5 26. f4 Re8 27. e5 Nb3 28. Ra3 Rxc3 29. Bf3 {1-0 (29) Xiong,J (2700)-Abasov,N (2638) Riga 2021}) 7... dxc4 8. Bxc4 Rb8 9. Nc3 b5 10. Be2 O-O 11. Rd1 Qe7 $11 12. Ne5 b4 13. Na4 Bxe5 14. dxe5 Ne4 15. f3 Nxg3 16. hxg3 Nc5 17. Nxc5 Qxc5 18. Kf2 Qxe5 19. Rd7 a5 20. Rhd1 h5 21. e4 Bg6 22. R1d2 h4 23. gxh4 Qh2 24. Bf1 Qxh4+ 25. g3 Qh5 26. Qe3 c5 $6 ( 26... f5 $11) (26... Qh2+ 27. Bg2 Qh5 $11) 27. Kg2 $14 a4 28. Bc4 a3 (28... Qe5 $142) 29. b3 $16 Qe5 30. Qf4 Qxf4 31. gxf4 {Black is a pawn up, but close to lost. White's rooks dominate the only open file, Black's bishop is badly restricted, and he has little space and no counterplay. Even his extra pawn is useless - maybe even worse than useless, as there might have been some possibility of an exchange sac on c4, searching for activity and possible counterplay with a further ...b3, creating a passed a-pawn.} Bh5 32. Kg3 g6 $2 {The further restriction of Black's bishop leaves him with a lost position.} 33. R2d3 Rbe8 34. Kh4 {It's not quite Short-Timman, but White's king will participate in the attack. This is another drawback to 32...g6?} Kg7 35. Kg5 Rh8 36. Rc7 Rc8 37. Re7 Rce8 38. Red7 Rhf8 39. Rc7 Rh8 {Hoping for ...Bxf3 followed by ...Rh5#, but it's too slow.} (39... Rc8 {had to be tried, to keep the game going.}) 40. Rdd7 Rhf8 41. f5 (41. f5 Bxf3 42. fxe6 Bxe4 43. Rxf7+ Rxf7 44. Rxf7+ Kg8 45. e7 Bd3 $1 46. Be6 $1 {and Black is getting mated, starting (or in some cases ending) with Rf8+.}) 1-0 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.15"] [Round "1.6"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2708"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "145"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,145,21,21,21,-6,-6,-6,6,-4,-4,-1,-7,0,42,27,45,38,71,55,67,85,66,53, 53,50,44,22,22,10,19,19,19,17,19,5,22,18,18,6,14,1,24,43,39,31,47,20,47,15,36, 42,25,-7,43,3,13,-7,14,26,34,0,58,42,29,43,48,47,70,64,97,94,83,93,93,93,88,86, 86,88,102,87,117,131,96,126,129,112,104,120,126,144,140,134,134,124,186,182, 183,201,194,163,163,175,225,190,225,210,187,202,206,170,152,152,201,231,349, 371,372,355,355,362,368,377,376,670,678,406,444,517,542,444,547,507,507,509, 527,537,537,537,683,774,774,784,794,794,804,804]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Be7 7. Bd3 O-O 8. h3 Ne8 9. Bf4 Bd6 10. Qf3 Qf6 11. Nge2 Bxf4 12. Nxf4 Nd6 13. h4 Re8 14. O-O-O Bf5 15. Bxf5 Qxf5 16. g4 Qf6 17. g5 Qf5 18. Qh3 Qxh3 19. Rxh3 Nd7 20. b3 Ne4 21. Nxe4 Rxe4 22. Kd2 Rae8 23. Ne2 R4e6 24. Ng3 g6 25. h5 c5 {White has been better throughout the game, and only now does Black have even a tiny opportunity for activity.} 26. Rdh1 $2 { White should have protected d4 with a piece, not allowing Black to open the e-file.} (26. Rh4 $14) (26. Ne2 $14) 26... R8e7 $2 (26... cxd4 27. hxg6 dxe3+ 28. fxe3 fxg6 29. Rxh7 Nf8 30. Rxb7 Rxe3 {gives Black enough counterplay for equality.}) 27. Rc1 $2 (27. Ne2 $14 {/+/-}) 27... cxd4 28. exd4 Nf8 $11 { A useful multi-purpose move, enabling the Re7 to cover c7, overprotecting h7, and bringing the knight closer to the potentially excellent e6 square.} 29. Rc5 Rd6 $6 (29... f5 $1 $11 30. Rxd5 (30. gxf6 Rxf6 31. Rh2 Ra6 32. a4 Rb6 33. Kc3 Rc6 $11) 30... f4 (30... Re1 $11) 31. Nf1 Re2+ 32. Kd3 Rxf2 33. Nd2 gxh5 $11) 30. Rc8 (30. f4 $14) 30... Red7 (30... Ra6 $1) 31. Ne2 Rd8 32. Rxd8 Rxd8 33. Nf4 f6 $2 (33... gxh5 $142 {was ugly, but best.} 34. Nxh5 Ne6 35. Kd3 Rc8 $14 { /+/-}) 34. gxf6 $18 Kf7 35. hxg6+ hxg6 36. Nd3 Kxf6 $2 (36... Nd7 $142) 37. Rf3+ Ke7 38. Ne5 Ke6 39. a4 $2 (39. Rf7 $142) 39... a5 40. Kd3 Rb8 41. Rf7 g5 42. Rg7 Kf5 43. Ke3 b6 44. Kf3 g4+ 45. Nxg4 Ne6 46. Ne3+ Kf6 47. Rg4 b5 (47... Nc7 $142) 48. Nxd5+ Kf7 49. Ke4 bxa4 50. bxa4 Rb2 51. f3 Rb3 52. f4 Ra3 53. Nb6 Rb3 54. Nd5 Ra3 55. Ke5 Rxa4 56. f5 Nf8 57. Kd6 $1 Nh7 58. f6 $1 Kf8 (58... Nxf6 59. Rf4) 59. Ke5 Ra1 60. Nf4 Re1+ 61. Kf5 Ke8 62. Rg8+ Nf8 63. d5 (63. Ne6 {was possible, e.g.} Rxe6 (63... Rf1+ 64. Ke5 Re1+ 65. Kd5 $18) 64. Rxf8+ Kxf8 65. Kxe6 a4 66. d5 a3 67. d6 a2 68. d7 a1=Q 69. d8=Q#) 63... Rf1 64. d6 Rd1 65. Ng6 Rf1+ 66. Ke5 Re1+ 67. Kd5 Rd1+ 68. Kc6 Rc1+ 69. Kb5 Kd7 70. Rxf8 Kxd6 71. f7 Rc5+ 72. Ka4 Ke6 73. Nh8 $1 1-0 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.15"] [Round "1.7"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2702"] [BlackElo "2672"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 g6 7. O-O Bg7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 Re8 10. Nf1 b5 11. Bc2 a5 {Rare, but keep your eyes open for ...a5 in various Closed Ruy positions, as it has become increasingly common over the years. (Or at least I've noticed it more over the past few years, and if it's new-ish to me, it may be relatively new to many of you as well.)} (11... Bb7) ( 11... d5) (11... h6) 12. Bg5 (12. a4 b4 13. Bg5) 12... h6 (12... a4) 13. Bh4 ( 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Ne3) 13... a4 14. Ne3 Bb7 (14... Bd7 $142 {followed by ... Qb8 is another setup.}) 15. c4 (15. b3 $142) 15... Nb4 (15... bxc4 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Bxa4 cxd3 18. Nd5 Rf8 $11) 16. cxb5 $14 Qd7 (16... Nxc2 17. Qxc2 Qd7 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Qd2 h5 20. Qb4 $14) 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 $2 (17... Nxc2 $142) 18. Bxa4 $16 Nxd3 19. Qxd3 Rxa4 20. Nd1 $1 Rb4 21. a4 $2 (21. Nc3 $1 {was correct, throttling Black's counterplay with ...d5. The b2-pawn will go, but that's less important than keeping Black bottled up.} Rxb2 22. a4 $16) 21... d5 $1 22. Qd2 Qd6 23. exd5 e4 {Now Black is right back in the game.} 24. Qxh6 Qf8 $2 ( 24... Qxd5 25. Ne3 Qd8 26. Ng4 Bg7 27. Qf4 Qe7 $44 {and Black's activity and bishop pair give him just about enough for the two pawns.}) 25. Qxf8+ Kxf8 26. Nd2 Bxd5 27. Re3 $2 (27. Nc3 $142 $16) 27... Bd4 28. Rea3 f5 $11 29. g3 g5 30. Ne3 Bxe3 (30... Rxb2 $142 31. Nxd5 (31. Rd1 Bxe3 32. fxe3 Ra8 33. Rc3 Rxa4 34. Rc5 Be6 ({The spectacular} 34... f4 {is also possible, if unnecessary:} 35. Rxd5 fxe3 36. Rf5+ Kg7 37. Rxg5+ (37. Nb1 Raa2 $11 (37... Ra1 $11)) 37... Kh6 38. Rd5 Raa2 39. Kf1 Rxd2 40. R5xd2 Rxd2 41. Re1 Rxh2 42. Rxe3 Rb2 $11) 35. Rxc7 Ra8 $11) 31... Rxd2 32. R1a2 Bxf2+ 33. Kg2 Rxd5 34. Kxf2 f4 $11) 31. fxe3 Rxb2 32. Nf1 Bc4 $2 {Too much talent, as they say. Black's bishop is performing a defensive function, not only "overattacking" the b-pawn, but an aggressive one as well - at least if the bishop can swing around to f3. Unfortunately for Black, White has time to meet the threat and consolidate his queenside advantage.} (32... Ra8 $11) 33. Rc3 $18 Be2 34. Rac1 $1 (34. Rxc7 $4 Bf3 $19) 34... Ra8 (34... Bf3 35. R3c2 $18) (34... Bd3 {is the best try, but with careful play White will consolidate his material plus while putting out the fires of counterplay.} 35. Rc5 Ra8 36. Rxf5+ Ke7 37. Rxg5 Rxa4 38. Rg7+ Kd8 39. Rcxc7 Ra1 (39... Raa2 40. Rb7 Rg2+ 41. Kh1 Kc8 42. Rbf7 $18) 40. Rcf7 Ke8 41. b6 Rxb6 42. Rf2 $18) 35. R3c2 Rxc2 36. Rxc2 Bf3 37. Rc4 Ke7 (37... Ra7 { was better, but inadequate.} 38. Nd2 $18) 38. Rxc7+ Ke6 39. Rc4 Be2 40. Rb4 Rc8 41. Nd2 Bd3 42. b6 Rc1+ 43. Kf2 Rc2 44. b7 1-0 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.16"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2865"] [BlackElo "2772"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,71,22,21,21,-6,-6,10,4,-14,7,10,8,14,4,-2,-8,-32,-5,-64,-64,-75,-7, -28,0,7,-10,11,16,-29,-7,-37,-18,40,28,-17,-35,18,-40,44,46,61,79,132,132,132, 105,0,227,215,233,226,241,251,259,257,261,261,261,202,208,200,204,213,213,208, 205,214,210,210,222,226,242,230]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Na3 {Not the main line, but an important sideline.} Bxa3 8. bxa3 Bd7 9. a4 (9. Ne5 {had been almost automatic, when play generally continues} Bc6 10. Nxc6 Nxc6 {and now White chooses between} 11. Bb2 {(usual),} (11. e3 {,}) (11. Bxc6 {,}) ({and} 11. Rb1 {.})) 9... Bc6 10. Ba3 Re8 11. Qc2 Nbd7 $146 12. Rac1 a6 13. Qxc4 Nb6 14. Qc3 $5 (14. Qb4) 14... Nxa4 15. Qb3 $5 ( 15. Qc2) 15... Qd5 (15... Nb6 {would almost certainly have been met in the same way. After} 16. Rxc6 bxc6 17. Ne5 {White has just about enough:} Qxd4 18. Nxc6 Qd2 19. Bf3 Nfd5 20. Rc1 {White's pieces are active and the bishops are wonderful; still, it is an exchange and a pawn!}) 16. Rxc6 $1 Qxc6 17. Ne5 Qb5 18. Qc2 Nd5 $2 ({Black had a narrow path to (maintain) equality:} 18... Nb6 $1 19. Bxb7 Nc4 $1 20. Bxa8 Nxa3 21. Qc6 Qxe2 $11) 19. Rb1 $18 Qa5 20. Bxd5 $2 ( 20. Be4 $1 g6 (20... Nf6 21. Bxb7 Nc3 22. Rb3 Nb5 23. Bc5 $18) 21. Bxd5 $1 exd5 (21... Qxd5 $2 22. Qxc7 $1 b5 23. Qxf7+ Kh8 24. Rc1 Rec8 (24... Rac8 25. Rc7 $1 ) 25. Rxc8+ Rxc8 26. Qf6+ {Thanks to 20...g6, and likewise for White's next move.} Kg8 27. Ng4 $18) (21... Nc3 $2 22. Bb4 Nxe2+ 23. Qxe2 Qxd5 24. Ng4 $1 $18 {again demonstrates the problems created by inducing 20...g6.}) 22. Bb4 Qb6 23. Bc3 Qe6 24. Qxa4 $18) 20... exd5 $2 (20... Qxd5 $1 21. Qxa4 $16 ({White Black's pawn on g7 instead of g6,} 21. Qxc7 $2 {accomplishes nothing.} b5 22. Qxf7+ Kh8 $11)) (20... Nc3 $5 21. Bb4 Nxe2+ 22. Qxe2 Qxd5 23. Rc1 $16) 21. Rxb7 $18 c5 $2 (21... Nc3 $142 22. Bb4 Qxa2 23. Qxc3 $18) 22. Qf5 {Black could resign here.} Rf8 23. Nxf7 Qd8 (23... Rad8 24. Qe6 $18 {threatens not only to take the rook, but especially to give smothered mate.}) 24. dxc5 Qf6 25. Qxf6 gxf6 26. Nh6+ Kh8 27. c6 Rfc8 28. c7 Nc3 29. Bb2 d4 30. Nf7+ Kg7 31. Nd6 Kg6 32. Kf1 Nb5 33. Nxc8 Rxc8 34. a4 Nxc7 35. Bxd4 Ne6 36. Be3 {It might be a couple of dozen moves before White's pawns come within sniffing distance of the eighth rank, but that doesn't make Black's situation any less hopeless.} 1-0 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.16"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2792"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,53,22,21,21,-6,6,13,12,12,42,35,55,21,30,33,24,45,77,65,50,42,31,49, 49,91,69,39,34,28,48,-13,46,43,25,17,14,10,11,7,7,-13,12,4,6,-16,2,2,3,4,0,3,0, 6,6,-1]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 {Also played in Esipenko-Carlsen in round 1. Is Karpov's Anti-Meran making a comeback?} Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O e5 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. e4 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Bxe4 h6 13. Be3 exd4 14. Bxd4 Nf6 15. Bf5 Qa5 16. Bxc8 Rfxc8 17. Qb3 Qd5 18. Qxd5 Nxd5 { This has all happened before - multiple times - so Vidit either intended to make a draw from the get-go or, more likely, was surprised by Caruana's opening choice and decided to play it (very) safe.} 19. Rfd1 Rd8 20. Kf1 Nb4 21. Bc3 Nc6 22. Nd4 Nxd4 23. Rxd4 Bc5 24. Rg4 $146 (24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Re1 Kf8 26. Re5 Bd4 27. Bb4+ Kg8 28. Re2 Bf6 29. Rc2 h5 30. b3 Rd7 31. Ke2 Kh7 32. Bd2 Bd4 33. Bb4 Bb6 34. Rc4 Rd4 35. Rxd4 Bxd4 36. Bd2 Kg6 37. f3 {1/2-1/2 (37) Epishin,V (2599)-Cifuentes Parada,R (2521) Seville 2002}) 24... Bf8 25. Rd4 Bc5 26. Rg4 Bf8 27. Rd4 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.16"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2612"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 {There's nothing wrong with the Semi-Tarrasch (at least at the super-GM level...maybe), but given the rating disparity I'm surprised he didn't choose something more complex, aiming to build on his win in round 1 against the tournament's bottom seed.} 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 O-O 11. Bc4 Nd7 12. O-O b6 13. Rfe1 Bb7 14. Rad1 Rc8 15. Bb3 Re8 16. Re3 (16. h3) (16. d5) 16... Nf6 17. Qe1 (17. d5 exd5 18. e5 Ne4 19. Qe1 Qc7 20. Nd4 a6 21. h4 Rcd8 22. f3 Nc5 23. h5 Ne6 24. Nf5 d4 25. Red3 Nc5 26. Rxd4 Rxd4 27. Rxd4 Nxb3 28. Qg3 g6 29. axb3 Rd8 30. e6 Qc1+ 31. Kh2 Rxd4 32. e7 Qc8 33. Qe5 Rh4+ 34. Kg3 {1-0 (34) Carlsen,M (2863)-Giri,A (2764) chess24.com INT 2020}) 17... Ng4 (17... Qc7 18. h3 h6 19. d5 exd5 20. e5 Nd7 21. Ba4 Bc6 22. Bc2 d4 23. Nxd4 Rxe5 24. Nf5 Rce8 25. Qc3 Nf6 26. Rg3 Nh5 27. Rg4 Kf8 28. Rc4 Rc8 29. Rd6 Re6 30. Rxe6 fxe6 31. Qa3+ {1-0 (31) Sarana,A (2649)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2618) Riga 2021}) 18. Re2 Ba6 19. Red2 Bc4 $146 (19... Bb7 20. h3 Nf6 21. Re2 Qc7 22. Re3 {transposes to the Sarana-Praggnanandhaa game given above after} h6 23. d5 exd5 24. e5 {, though there it's move 20.}) 20. Bxc4 Rxc4 21. Qe2 Rc7 (21... Rc3 $142) 22. Qd3 (22. e5 $142) 22... Nf6 $11 23. d5 exd5 24. e5 Nd7 25. Qxd5 Qe7 26. Qb5 Nf8 27. h3 h6 28. Rd6 Rec8 29. Qd3 Rc3 30. Qf5 Rc1 31. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 32. Kh2 Rc5 33. Qd3 Qb7 34. h4 Qe7 (34... Qa8 $142 35. Rd8 Rc8 $11) 35. Rd8 $14 g6 (35... f6 $142) 36. Rb8 (36. Qd4 $142 $14) (36. h5 $5) 36... Kg7 $11 37. Qe4 Nd7 38. Rb7 Qe6 39. Rxa7 Nxe5 40. Nxe5 Qxe5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.16"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D11"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2702"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nbd2 Bf5 5. Nh4 Be6 6. e3 g6 7. b3 Bg7 8. Bb2 O-O 9. Rc1 Ne4 10. Nhf3 Qa5 11. a3 c5 12. Bd3 Nxd2 13. Qxd2 Qxd2+ 14. Kxd2 Nd7 15. Rc2 Rad8 16. h3 Rfe8 17. Ke2 cxd4 18. Bxd4 dxc4 19. Bxc4 Bxc4+ 20. Rxc4 Bxd4 21. Nxd4 Nb6 22. Rc5 Rc8 23. Rhc1 Rxc5 24. Rxc5 Rc8 25. Rxc8+ Nxc8 { White's king is more active, so it's not a dead draw. (It's also relevant that it's a knight ending rather than, say, a bishop ending.)} 26. Kd3 Nd6 27. f4 f5 28. Nf3 Kf7 29. a4 Ne4 30. Kd4 Ke6 31. g4 Kd6 32. b4 Nf6 33. gxf5 gxf5 34. Ng5 e6 35. e4 {There hasn't been much excitement so far, but now Black is faced with a perennially challenging decision: to trade into a pawn ending, or not. Given the option he chose, he should have varied earlier.} Nd7 $4 (35... fxe4 36. Nxe4+ Ke7 $1 {It's possible that Van Foreest missed this, at least if he had been in time trouble.} (36... Nxe4 $2 37. Kxe4 a6 38. a5 Kd7 39. Ke5 Ke7 40. h4 {leaves Black in a fatal zugzwang; White to move would be drawn.} Kd7 ( 40... h5 41. f5 exf5 42. Kxf5 $18 {The h-pawn drops, and White wins the race.}) (40... Kf7 41. f5 exf5 42. Kxf5 Ke7 43. Ke5 Kd7 44. Kf6 Kc6 45. h5 Kb5 46. Kg7 Kxb4 47. Kxh7 Kxa5 48. h6 b5 49. Kg7 b4 50. h7 b3 51. h8=Q b2 52. Qb8 $18) ( 40... h6 41. f5 exf5 42. Kxf5 Kf7 43. h5 $18 {and White will win the h-pawn, either with a direct route (Kf5-g6xh6) or by squeezing in (Kf5-e6-f6-f7-g6xh6). }) 41. Kf6 Kd6 42. h5 Kd5 43. Kg7 Ke4 44. Kxh7 Kxf4 45. Kg6 e5 46. h6 e4 47. h7 e3 48. h8=Q $18) 37. Nxf6 Kxf6 38. Ke4 a6 39. a5 h6 $1 40. h4 h5 41. Ke3 Kf5 42. Kf3 e5 43. fxe5 Kxe5 44. Ke3 $11) 36. Nxh7 e5+ 37. fxe5+ Nxe5 38. exf5 { The rest was unnecessary.} Nc6+ 39. Kc4 Ke5 40. f6 Ke6 41. b5 Ne5+ 42. Kd4 a6 43. Ng5+ Kxf6 44. Ne4+ Kf5 45. Nd6+ Kf4 46. b6 a5 47. Kc5 1-0 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.16"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E00"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2714"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,51,22,25,29,12,12,-73,-68,-79,-57,-70,-33,-33,-5,-14,-12,-39,-9,-18, 13,0,25,26,64,28,40,27,8,-71,39,36,36,22,23,0,22,15,48,0,4,0,0,-7,-4,-28,-10, -44,-6,-6,14,6,9,16]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g4 $6 {/? This is the sort of thing the crazy (in a good way) Iranian-U.S.-French IM Kamran Shirazi would play (mostly in blitz, but sometimes in slow games), but it's a bit much in a super-GM event as opposed to a weekend Swiss.} d5 $15 {A decent reaction, though there was nothing wrong with being greedy.} (3... Nxg4 4. e4 f5 { is fine - better - for Black.}) (3... Bb4+ $15) 4. g5 Ne4 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Kf1 Be7 (6... c6 $142 $15) 7. h4 O-O 8. Nh3 (8. cxd5 exd5 9. Nc3) 8... c6 (8... c5 $142) 9. Qc2 $6 (9. Bxe4 $142 dxe4 10. Nc3) 9... e5 $6 (9... Nd6 $142 $15) 10. Nd2 (10. cxd5 $142) 10... Nxd2+ 11. Bxd2 exd4 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Nf4 Be6 $11 14. g6 $2 Nc6 $1 $17 (14... hxg6 $2 15. h5 $44 {speeds up White's kingside play. Black would like to play} g5 $4 {to keep lines closed, but this would be awful: } 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. h6 Rf5 18. hxg7 Kxg7 19. Bh3 Re5 20. Bxe6 $1 Rxe6 21. Qh7+ Kf6 22. Bxg5+ $1 Kxg5 23. Rh5+ Kf6 24. Rf5#) 15. gxh7+ Kh8 16. Qb3 Qd7 $2 ( 16... Bxh4 $1 17. Bxd5 Bg5 $1 18. Bxe6 Bxf4 19. Bxf4 fxe6 20. Bg3 Qg5 $19) 17. Bxd5 Bxd5 18. Qxd5 Rad8 19. Qxd7 Rxd7 $11 {The fun is over, and the game is soon abandoned.} 20. Rc1 Kxh7 21. Nd3 Rd5 22. Bf4 Re8 23. Bg3 Bd6 24. Rg1 Re4 25. f3 Re7 26. Bf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.16"] [Round "2.6"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D33"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,46,22,21,21,9,23,9,27,4,35,7,-22,16,16,-3,19,18,18,25,25,38,23,18,27, -8,6,-21,10,12,18,23,19,27,52,43,35,38,53,58,46,57,57,50,52,44,46,51,44]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 e6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. d4 Nc6 7. Bg2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 {Dubov's pet variation, which has added an important chapter to the theory of the Tarrasch Defense.} 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. O-O d4 11. Na4 O-O 12. Bg5 h6 ({ Dubov had hitherto chosen} 12... Re8 {, delaying ...h6.}) 13. Nxb6 axb6 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Qxd4 Rd8 17. Qxf6 (17. Qxb6 Ba6 $44) 17... gxf6 { It's a remarkable position, and a remarkable idea. White is up a pawn, apparently for nothing, and yet his winning chances are minimal. ("Negligible" is going too far, perhaps, but the position is drawish.)} 18. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Be6 20. Nc1 Bxa2 21. Nxa2 (21. b3 Bb1) 21... Rxa2 22. Rd6 Kg7 23. Rxc6 Rxb2 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.16"] [Round "2.7"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A37"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2672"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,90,22,-22,27,4,35,9,7,7,15,17,51,19,30,30,30,-4,-3,-5,5,27,25,-13,-12, 1,2,5,4,-17,-7,0,1,3,10,9,24,-16,-43,-24,-2,-16,-3,-25,-13,10,-53,-22,18,6,19, 0,-10,-8,0,0,37,49,62,35,47,35,35,0,31,-17,-11,15,15,9,55,56,61,28,50,19,48,34, 28,9,3,-16,-13,-40,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] An up-and-down struggle where Black had the better of the play until his 24th move. Then he was in trouble and sometimes losing until White's 37th move. Then Black equalized and even had his own plus, briefly, before the game finished in a repetition. I leave further investigation to the reader.} 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e5 6. a3 Nge7 7. d3 O-O 8. Nd2 d6 9. Rb1 Rb8 10. b4 b6 11. Nf1 Bb7 12. Ne3 Nd4 13. Bxb7 Rxb7 14. bxc5 dxc5 15. O-O f5 16. Ned5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 f4 18. f3 Rbf7 19. Kh1 fxg3 20. hxg3 h5 21. Be3 Nf5 22. Rg1 Qd7 23. Kh2 Qd6 24. Bg5 Nd4 25. Kg2 b5 26. Nc3 bxc4 27. dxc4 Qe6 28. Qd3 Rd7 29. Rgd1 Rff7 30. Rb8+ Kh7 31. Rd8 Rb7 32. Ne4 Rb3 33. Rxd4 Rxd3 34. R4xd3 Bh6 35. Rd5 Qa6 36. R1d2 Kg7 37. Rxc5 Qxa3 38. Rxe5 Bxg5 39. Rxg5 Rf5 40. Rd5 Rxg5 41. Nxg5 Qe3 42. Rd7+ Kg8 43. Rd8+ Kg7 44. Rd7+ Kg8 45. Rd8+ Kg7 1/2-1/2