[Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.02.29"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Xu, Xiangyu"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D86"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2623"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,127,27,22,23,-23,63,43,77,70,51,46,46,52,30,43,52,47,44,-8,9,18,11,13,20,16,30,-28,53,-33,10,10,10,-1,6,-13,0,22,19,19,19,33,66,59,53,47,47,83,115,123,122,112,125,90,105,114,106,116,123,94,100,93,95,71,84,80,89,74,50,0,0,0,29,-57,-31,-88,-33,-72,-52,-53,-53,-53,-47,-79,-41,-115,-60,-71,0,0,0,-42,12,23,39,10,37,37,37,39,143,123,122,153,153,121,138,138,138,138,138,138,138,91,164,144,145,211,211,1014,1116,1189,1173,1315,1353,1391,1430,1473,1568,726]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. d5 {A rare move that worked as a strong surprise.} Ne5 (9... Na5 {is also playable.}) 10. Bb3 O-O (10... Qa5) 11. O-O e6 (11... c4) (11... Qa5) 12. f4 $146 {Now Black will have to play very accurately not to be significantly worse. Probably unprepared, or at least underprepared for 9.d5, he doesn't manage the task.} c4 $1 13. Ba3 $1 Qb6+ $2 (13... Ng4 14. Bxc4 Ne3 15. Qd3 Nxc4 $1 16. Bxf8 Qb6+ $1 17. Nd4 Nb2 18. Qc2 Bxf8 19. Rfb1 Ba3 20. Qb3 $1 Qc5 21. Rxb2 Bxb2 22. Qxb2 exd5 23. e5 {is equal, though White's position looks nicer thanks to centralized knight while Black's bishop may be impeded by its d-pawn.}) 14. Nd4 $2 (14. Kh1 $1 {is the right move, even though it seems to add fork possibilities to Black's side of the ledger sheet without giving White anything in return.} Ng4 15. Bxf8 Bxf8 16. Bxc4 Nf2+ 17. Rxf2 Qxf2 18. Qd3 $16) 14... Nd3 15. e5 $1 exd5 $1 16. Bc2 $14 Rd8 17. Be7 Re8 18. Bd6 Bf8 $6 (18... Rd8 $1) 19. Bxf8 Rxf8 20. Kh1 $14 {/?} Bd7 $6 (20... Qa6) 21. Bxd3 cxd3 22. Qxd3 $16 {There are similarities with the final position of the 13...Ng4 line given above, but the differences are in White's favor.} Rac8 23. f5 Qc7 24. e6 $18 fxe6 25. fxe6 Ba4 26. h3 $2 (26. Qe3 $1) 26... Rxf1+ 27. Qxf1 Rf8 $16 28. Qe1 Qf4 29. Rb1 b6 30. e7 $6 Re8 $11 {Back to equality, but that computer assessment is misleading. White is in no danger, provided he doesn't make an outright blunder, but it's easy to see how things can go wrong for Black given his open king and the pawn sitting on e7.} 31. Rb2 Qf6 32. Re2 Bd7 ({Black cannot round up the e-pawn with} 32... Kf7 $4 {because of} 33. Rf2 $18 {, but once Black's bishop is on d7 and has the option of ...Bf5, it might be possible. (Might be: there are still worries about g4, for instance.)}) 33. g4 b5 34. Re5 Kf7 35. g5 Qf4 36. h4 b4 37. Re3 Kg8 38. Rf3 Qd6 39. cxb4 Rxe7 {Success for Black. Now I'd say the computer's "equal" translates into humanese as well.} 40. Qf2 (40. Re3 $142 $11) 40... Re4 41. a3 Qe7 42. Kg2 a6 43. Rf4 Ba4 44. Kg1 Bb5 45. Qf3 Rxf4 46. Qxf4 Qe1+ 47. Kh2 Bd7 (47... Qc3 $142 $11) (47... Bd3 $142 $11) 48. Kg2 Qc3 49. Nf3 Qxa3 $2 (49... Bb5 {is still approximately equal.}) 50. Qb8+ $18 Kf7 51. Qh8 {Kingside material drops, and White's kingside pawns will decide the game.} Bf5 52. Qxh7+ Ke8 53. Qg8+ Ke7 54. Qg7+ Ke8 55. Qe5+ Kf8 56. h5 {If it weren't for this sort of tactic, Black would be fine.} Be4 57. Qf6+ Ke8 58. hxg6 Qxb4 59. Qf7+ Kd8 60. g7 Bxf3+ 61. Kxf3 Qe4+ 62. Kg3 Qe3+ 63. Kg4 Qe4+ 64. Qf4 (64. Qf4 Qe2+ 65. Kh4 Qe1+ 66. Kh5 Qe8+ 67. Kh6 {and now Black has no checks except for one, and it's not helpful:} Qe6+ 68. Qf6+ $18) 1-0 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.02.29"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Bu, Xiangzhi"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D05"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2708"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,60,27,14,20,16,15,17,23,9,20,35,24,3,17,17,18,18,21,32,32,3,31,11,28,18,10,-2,-4,-2,-2,0,-1,-23,3,-4,-16,0,3,-26,-11,-18,16,34,25,21,24,14,8,15,12,8,7,-14,7,7,5,13,13,6,4,0,16]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. e3 {While Wei Yi won a hugely important game against Vidit with the Colle in the last round of Wijk aan Zee (Tata Steel), this insipid opening is of no danger to a prepared opponent. Any top GM who wasn't already prepared for the Colle before Wei Yi-Vidit will be prepared now, and Dubov equalizes and draws this game with consummate ease.} e6 4. Bd3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Nbd2 b6 7. e4 dxe4 8. Nxe4 Bb7 9. Nxf6+ Bxf6 10. Qe2 Qd6 11. Rd1 Nd7 12. Be4 Bxe4 13. Qxe4 Qd5 14. Qe2 Qf5 15. Be3 Rfd8 16. Qc4 Qd5 17. Qa6 Ne5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. h3 Bf6 20. c3 Bg5 21. Bxg5 Qxg5 22. Qb7 Qb5 23. Rd2 Qd7 24. Re2 c6 25. Qxd7 Rxd7 26. a4 a5 27. Re5 Kf8 28. Rae1 Rad8 29. f4 Rd5 30. Kf2 Ke7 1/2-1/2 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.02.29"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2711"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,53,27,12,24,12,21,12,28,7,-6,-8,16,-4,16,27,20,-2,49,29,20,30,39,45,63,26,49,55,66,35,43,43,28,39,80,66,211,156,118,118,114,-76,97,88,140,194,354,356,408,301,318,310,835,842,1148,1151] As of this writing, Giri has had a horrible tournament and is tied for last place. He has lost three games and has a -2 score, but it all started so well with this blistering win in round 1.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Rb8 9. axb5 axb5 10. Nc3 d6 11. h3 h6 12. Be3 Re8 13. Qd2 (13. Nd5 {has been almost universally chosen in this (rare) position.}) 13... Be6 $146 14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. Ne2 $14 Qc8 (15... Qd7 $142) 16. Ng3 Nd8 $2 (16... Bf8) (16... Qd7) 17. Bxh6 $1 $18 gxh6 $2 {Asking White to prove it, which he will. It was possible to decline the offer, but leaving White with an extra pawn and the better position would have led to an inevitable loss as well.} 18. Qxh6 Nf7 19. Qg6+ Kf8 20. Nh2 {This keeps a winning advantage, but it misses out on a spectacular opportunity.} (20. Ng5 $1 Nxg5 21. f4 $3 Nf7 22. Nh5 $1 Nxh5 23. fxe5 $1 {White is three(!) pieces down, but thanks in good part to the bishop on e7 Black's heavy pieces are unable to give their king the defensive help they need to stay alive.} Bf6 $8 24. exf6 Qd7 25. d4 $1 $18 {This keeps Black's knight off of e5 while clearing a path for Ra3-g3. Black is, as they used to say, toast.} (25. Qxh5 $18)) 20... Ra8 21. Rae1 Bd8 22. Re3 (22. f4) 22... Nh8 23. Qh6+ Kf7 24. Rf3 Rg8 25. Nh5 Rg6 26. Qxh8 Be7 27. Qh7+ 1-0 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.02.29"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Ma, Qun"] [Black "Yu, Yangyi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E10"] [WhiteElo "2651"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,85,27,22,23,-14,4,6,24,24,41,24,31,26,26,-6,24,-12,-5,15,-4,10,21,-4,28,37,27,12,9,-22,36,36,38,38,46,26,31,9,89,-13,27,36,106,56,68,56,56,71,69,18,40,36,68,64,79,85,87,88,89,89,76,76,79,76,87,89,89,89,88,83,85,85,121,115,126,130,115,115,108,28,111,28,28,24,108,24,17,14]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 h6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qc2 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. c6 bxc6 8. g3 O-O 9. Bg2 d5 10. O-O Bb7 11. Rd1 c5 12. cxd5 exd5 13. Nh4 Nc7 14. Na4 Ne6 15. a3 Ba5 16. Nxc5 Nxc5 17. Qxc5 Bb6 18. Qb4 Re8 19. Nf5 a5 20. Qb3 Ba6 21. Be3 Rb8 22. Qc3 Bxe3 23. Nxe3 Qb6 24. b4 axb4 25. Qxb4 Qxb4 26. axb4 Bxe2 27. Rd4 Red8 28. Re1 Ba6 29. Nxd5 Nxd5 30. Rxd5 Rxd5 31. Bxd5 Rxb4 {White enjoyed a significant advantage for much of the foregoing play, but this ending is an easy draw, notwithstanding the pawn he's about to win.} 32. Re8+ Kh7 33. Bxf7 Bc4 34. Bxc4 {Essentially accepting the draw. The remaining moves are a mere formality.} Rxc4 35. h4 h5 36. Kg2 Rc7 37. Kf3 g6 38. Ke4 Kg7 39. Ke5 Rc5+ 40. Ke6 Rc6+ 41. Ke5 Rc5+ 42. Ke6 Rc6+ 43. Ke5 1/2-1/2 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.01"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Xu, Xiangyu"] [Black "Yu, Yangyi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C68"] [WhiteElo "2623"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,80,22,18,12,12,8,14,22,20,25,23,49,0,16,15,49,49,57,12,59,39,0,-27,-30,-49,-52,-40,-36,-9,-15,-24,-23,-48,-22,-62,-41,-60,-37,-50,-51,-66,-64,-101,-83,-95,-66,-76,-94,-126,-118,-136,-136,-131,-133,-146,-149,-157,-152,-139,-138,-156,-129,-125,-130,-121,-128,-129,-132,-126,-125,-152,-146,-144,-142,-236,-251,-251,-251,-318,-296,-283,-180]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 {One doesn't see this very often at the top, but it seems to be moderately popular among some members of the high-26/low-27 crowd like Shankland and Deac.} dxc6 5. O-O Qd6 {One of about 80 moves that maintain equality. (An exaggeration; there are only nine moves that either equalize or leave White with a very slight advantage.)} 6. d4 $6 {Well: if even a 2600 player goes wrong one move into "his" variation, that's not much of an ad for the Exchange Ruy. That's the problem with playing a boutique opening that gives Black nine good options: you have to waste your time preparing for all of them, while your opponent only needs to prepare one of them. If you're getting an advantage or at least an attractive position in all nine lines, it may be worth it; if you're getting nothing across the board (if your opponent is prepare), it's not.} (6. Na3 {is favored in popularity, success, and engine evaluation.}) 6... exd4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 8. Nc3 O-O-O {Black's score in the database is over 60% here, and looking at the first batch of entries in the online database the figures are even more woeful: nine wins for Black, three draws, and no wins for White. (And one of the draws is super-GM Abdusattorov failing to beat a 2100.) White's position isn't as bad as my rhetorical overkill would suggest, but still, there's very little reason to recommend this for White.} 9. Be3 Nh6 10. Nf3 $2 $146 (10. f3) 10... Ng4 $17 {One periodically comes across complaints about the draw death of classical chess. Perhaps it's an issue for the World Championship finalists (maybe, maybe not), but the rest of us should stop parroting that line when a 2600 can't make it to move 11 as White without being clearly worse.} 11. Qxd6 Bxd6 12. Bd2 Rhe8 (12... Be6 $142) 13. Rad1 b5 (13... Ne5 $142) 14. h3 Ne5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. b3 h6 $2 (16... f5 $142) 17. f3 $2 (17. g4 $1 $11) 17... f5 $17 {/-+} 18. Rfe1 c5 19. Nd5 $2 fxe4 $19 (19... Bc6 $19) 20. fxe4 Be6 {Remove the rooks and minor pieces and White is winning, but that's just a fantasy. With Black's spectacular bishops, White's position is not merely lost but almost hopeless.} 21. Ne3 Rd7 22. Bc1 Bd4 23. Kh1 Rde7 24. Rf1 Bg8 25. Nf5 Rxe4 26. Ba3 Re2 27. Nxd4 cxd4 28. Rxd4 Rxc2 29. Rf8 Rxf8 30. Bxf8 {White has made progress, reaching an opposite-colored bishop ending with rooks. Black's pawns are easier to advance, though, so with correct play Black should still win comfortably.} Rxa2 (30... a5 $1) 31. b4 h5 (31... a5 $142) 32. Bxg7 a5 33. bxa5 Rxa5 34. g4 (34. Rh4 $142) 34... hxg4 35. hxg4 c5 36. Rd6 (36. Rf4) 36... b4 37. g5 c4 38. g6 Kc7 39. Rd2 c3 40. Rc2 {For a moment it may seem as if White is escaping. He threatens to take on c3, which would draw, and 41.Bf8 is also a threat (41...Ra4 42.Bxb4 and 43.Rxc3). Black snuffs out this last hope.} Kc6 $1 (40... Kc6 $1 41. Bxc3 (41. Bf8 Kb5 $19) 41... Rc5 $19 {Note that if Black's king were on c7, White would escape with 42.Be5+.}) 0-1 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.01"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Black "Ma, Qun"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2711"] [BlackElo "2651"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,63,22,18,12,14,14,7,7,7,36,36,51,51,88,66,54,72,72,63,79,84,66,-2,2,-2,-10,5,-2,18,46,32,89,46,59,44,44,20,21,66,74,74,73,70,91,118,185,166,146,146,146,121,121,121,137,140,140,189,189,243,244,244,259,254,268,268] Artemiev bounces back from his crushing loss in round 1.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Be7 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. g4 Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nc3 h5 14. f3 f5 15. exf6 gxf6 {Black can't complain about his score in this line: two losses, two wins, and 52 draws. The engine says it's equal too, but neither point shows that the game *is* drawn.} 16. Bf4 hxg4 17. hxg4 f5 18. g5 Kf7 $2 $146 {One issue - the perennial issue for decades, even before the advent of chessplaying programs - is that it's not enough to have acquired or developed an opening repertoire. It is, most inconveniently, necessary to remember it, too. Alas, Black failed at this task, possibly because years of seeing 5.Re1 and 4.d3 at the board make it harder to remember the intricacies of the Berlin ending.} (18... Rh5 $1 19. Ne2 {and now the most common move (though not the only one - both 19...Be6 and 19...Bxg5N are every bit as good) is} Kf7 {; maybe Black mixed this up with 18...Kf7?}) (18... Rg8 {is less precise than 18...Rh5, but it's not so bad; it's certainly better than 18...Kf7.} 19. Rd2 $1 $11 {/? is the trick that keeps the g-pawn. (A note about the database: the apparent score is six draws and two wins by White. In fact, the "two" games are one - it's a duplicate - and moreover the final position of the game is equal. It was a correspondence event, so perhaps Black withdrew from the tournament.)}) 19. Be5 $1 $16 {This simple tactic prevents Black from collecting the g5-pawn, and now White has a big and more or less permanent advantage.} Re8 20. Bf6 Kg6 $6 (20... f4 $1 {was better, keeping White from finishing the chain with f4 and clearing f5 for the bishop.} 21. Rd4 Kg6 22. Rxf4 Bg3 23. Rc4 (23. Rd4 Bf5 $16) 23... Be6 $16) 21. f4 $16 {/+-} b6 $2 22. Rd3 $1 $18 {A new problem for Black: Rh3.} Kh5 23. Rh3 Kg4 24. Kh2 Bf2 25. Kg2 Re3 {This almost gets out of danger.} 26. Nd1 $1 {But not quite.} Rg3+ (26... Rxh3 27. Nxf2+ $18) 27. Rxg3+ Bxg3 28. Be5 Bh4 29. Ne3+ Kh5 30. Rh1 Bb7 31. Kf1 Rd8 32. g6 (32. Bc3 {followed by Be1 is another way of concluding matters.}) 1-0 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.01"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,79,22,22,23,6,37,37,51,46,46,38,43,35,35,35,51,39,39,27,27,-10,12,-13,21,27,18,11,-3,-3,-3,6,1,1,3,-7,-12,-37,-17,-77,-78,-95,-41,-50,-39,-137,-61,-132,-49,-131,-96,-192,-143,-140,-153,-166,-36,-7,7,8,-2,-2,18,18,47,85,85,63,120,237,237,241,516,544,601,614,619,631,627,649,702,702]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Bb5+ {This used to be a sideline, but now it's one of the main lines.} Nc6 9. O-O O-O 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Qc2 cxd4 12. cxd4 Bg4 13. Ne5 Qxd4 14. Bb2 Qb6 15. Rab1 Bxe5 16. Bxe5 Qa5 {All standard - there are lots of games with this, including at least two Giri games with Black and one Dubov game with White.} 17. Bc3 Qc5 18. h3 (18. Qb2 {is the most common move.}) 18... Be6 19. Kh2 $146 (19. Rfd1 Rfd8 (19... Qc4 20. a3 Rfb8 21. Rxb8+ Rxb8 22. Rd4 Qa6 23. Qd2 Qc8 24. Qh6 Qf8 25. Qf4 f6 26. Qc7 Kf7 27. Qxa7 Rb1+ 28. Kh2 Qb8+ 29. Qxb8 Rxb8 30. Bb4 Rb5 31. a4 c5 32. axb5 cxd4 33. b6 Bc8 {½-½ Vidit,S (2723)-Giri,A (2761) Chess.com Rapid Wk13 Swiss Chess.com INT 2022 (7)}) 20. Rxd8+ Rxd8 21. Qd2 Qd6 22. Qh6 f6 23. e5 Qd3 24. Rb7 Qxc3 25. Rxe7 Bf7 26. e6 Rd1+ 27. Kh2 Qe5+ 28. f4 Qxe6 29. Rxe6 Bxe6 30. Qh4 Bd5 31. Qxf6 Rd2 32. Kg3 Rxg2+ 33. Kh4 h6 34. f5 gxf5 35. a3 Rg7 36. Qxf5 Kh8 37. a4 Kg8 38. a5 Kh8 39. Qc8+ Kh7 40. Qf8 Rf7 41. Qd6 Rg7 42. a6 Be4 43. Qe6 Bd5 44. Qf5+ Kh8 45. Qb1 Bf3 46. Qc1 Kh7 47. Qc2+ Kg8 48. Qd2 Be4 49. Kh5 Bd5 50. Kxh6 Rh7+ 51. Kg6 Rxh3 52. Qf4 Rb3 53. Qc7 Be4+ 54. Kf6 Rf3+ 55. Ke5 Bd3 56. Qxa7 Bxa6 57. Qxa6 Kg7 58. Qxc6 Rf7 59. Qg2+ Kf8 60. Qg5 Rg7 61. Qd8+ Kf7 62. Kf5 Rh7 63. Qd5+ Kf8 64. Kg6 {1-0 Dubov,D (2711)-Abdusattorov,N (2651) Chess.com Rapid Wk4 Swiss Chess.com INT 2022 (7)}) 19... Rab8 (19... Bxa2 {is viable.} 20. Rbc1 Be6 21. f4 $44 Rab8 (21... f6) 22. Rf3 f5 $11 (22... f6 $11)) 20. Rbc1 Qc4 (20... f6) 21. f4 Qxa2 22. Qd1 Bc4 23. Rf3 $44 f6 (23... Rbd8 24. Qe1 Rd3 {looks like progress, getting rid of the lifted rook, but White's counterplay can't be quenched so easily.} 25. Rxd3 Bxd3 26. Qe3 Rd8 27. f5 f6 28. fxg6 hxg6 29. e5 Qe2 30. Qg3 Be4 31. exf6 exf6 32. Re1 Qc2 33. Bxf6 $44 (33. Re3 $44) (33. h4 $44) (33. Qg4 $44)) 24. Qe1 Qe2 25. Qh4 (25. Qg3 Qxe4 26. f5 g5 27. Re1 Qh4 $8 28. Qc7 $44 (28. Qxh4 gxh4 29. Rf4 $44)) 25... Bd3 $2 {Playing defense for an eternity is unpleasant, and Giri starts to crack.} (25... Qxe4 26. Re1 Qf5 27. Rxe7 h5 28. Qg5 $5 Rf7 $1 29. Rxf7 Qxg5 30. fxg5 Bxf7 31. Rxf6 $11) 26. e5 $16 Be4 27. Rg3 Rb1 28. Rxb1 Bxb1 29. exf6 exf6 30. Bxf6 $18 {Black's dark squared weaknesses around his king are irreparable, at least barring a trade of queens, and it's just a matter of time before some small tactical slip ends the game.} Qe6 31. Be5 (31. Ba1 $142) 31... Be4 32. Ra3 Qd7 33. Qf2 Qe7 $2 (33... Rf7 {had to be played. Giri thinks he can play ...Rf7 on the next move, but it's too late there.}) 34. Qe3 $1 Rf7 (34... Ra8 35. Bb2 {followed by Qc3 or Qd4 will be extremely unpleasant; there's also Ra4.}) 35. Bb2 $1 {Again, Qc3/Qd4 is on tap.} Qb4 {This almost does the trick. The queen covers c3 and d4 without hanging the bishop, but White's next move pushes him over the edge.} 36. Rb3 $1 Qc4 37. Rb8+ Rf8 38. Qxa7 {Threatening Qg7#.} Qf7 39. Qd4 Qxf4+ (39... Qe7 40. Qh8+ Kf7 41. Qg7+ Ke6 42. Qe5+ Kf7 43. Rb7 Qxb7 44. Qg7+ Ke6 45. Qxb7 $18) 40. g3 1-0 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.01"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Bu, Xiangzhi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2671"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,72,22,12,14,20,33,33,35,-18,17,15,10,-4,-4,-17,-44,-30,-23,-16,-13,-13,-2,11,18,0,38,26,51,63,49,46,44,38,19,-7,-7,-3,-4,-27,-41,-67,-111,-78,-27,-27,-25,-25,-84,-75,-72,-113,-110,-202,-190,-126,-152,-146,-146,-148,-150,-235,-235,-224,-238,-327,-238,-447,-475,-486,-481,-510,-492,-492,-514] Erigaisi won in round 1, but is unable to build on his initial success.} 1. e4 e5 (1... Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 dxe5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 $6 6. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 7. Qh5+ Ke6 8. Qg4+ ({White should enter the complications with} 8. c4 N5f6 9. d5+ Kd6 10. Qf7 $16 {, but I suspect that many of the draws were foreordained that way (especially the eight(!) Turov-Turova/Turova-Turov games), and I don't mean it in the sense of divine predestination.}) 8... Kf7 9. Qh5+ Ke6 10. Qg4+ $11) 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 d5 {There were important alternatives the past four half-moves, but now the players have more or less settled in and chosen a variation.} 5. Nbd2 Qd7 6. Nd4 {Very rare, but as two of the four prior games saw Erigaisi play White there's little to no chance that Bu wasn't prepared.} Qe7 $1 {With this game, Black has gone 3.5/4 from here. The line's not that bad, but it's not looking all that good, either.} 7. N2f3 (7. Be2 Nxf2 {is an instant draw, a la Larsen's provocative line in the Alekhine - see the note to Black's first move.} 8. Kxf2 Qh4+ 9. Ke3 Qg5+ 10. Kf2 Qh4+ $11) 7... Nd7 (7... g6 8. Bd3 Nd7 9. O-O Bg7 10. Re1 Ndc5 11. c4 c6 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Bxe4 Nxe4 14. Qb3 Be6 15. Nd2 Nc5 16. Qe3 O-O 17. b3 Rfc8 18. a4 Qd7 19. Bb2 Bf5 20. h3 h5 21. Ba3 b6 22. Rad1 Re8 23. N2f3 Be4 24. a5 Rac8 25. axb6 axb6 26. Bb2 f6 27. exf6 Bxf6 28. b4 Bc2 29. Nxc2 Rxe3 30. Nxe3 Bxb2 31. Nxd5 Re8 32. Nxb6 Rxe1+ 33. Rxe1 Qb5 34. bxc5 Qxc5 35. Na4 Qb4 36. Nxb2 Qxb2 37. h4 Qb4 38. g3 Qc3 39. Re8+ Kg7 40. Ng5 Qc1+ 41. Kg2 Qc6+ 42. Re4 Qd5 43. Kh2 Qa2 44. Nh3 Qc2 45. Re1 Qd2 46. Ra1 Qb2 47. Rf1 Qe2 48. Kg1 Qg4 49. Ng5 Qb4 50. Rd1 Qa4 51. Rc1 Qa2 52. Nh3 Qd2 53. Rc7+ Kh6 54. Rf7 Qd5 55. Rf4 Qd1+ 56. Kh2 Kg7 57. Ng5 Qd6 58. Rf7+ Kg8 59. Ra7 Qb6 60. Ra2 Kg7 61. Re2 Kh6 62. Nh3 Qa7 63. Re5 Qd4 64. Rg5 Kh7 65. Kg1 Qa1+ 66. Kg2 Qa8+ {½-½ Erigaisi,A (2710)-Fedoseev,V (2676) FIDE World Cup Baku 2023 (3.1)}) (7... c5 8. Nb5 Be6 9. Bd3 Qd7 10. O-O a6 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 h6 14. Nd2 c4 15. Bf1 Bc5 16. Nf3 Bg4 17. Be3 Bxe3 18. Rxe3 O-O 19. h3 Bxf3 20. Qxf3 Qe6 21. Rae1 b5 22. h4 Rad8 23. h5 d4 24. cxd4 Nxd4 25. Qe4 f5 26. exf6 Qxf6 27. f3 Kh8 28. Rd1 Nf5 29. Ree1 Qb6+ 30. Kh2 Qb8+ 31. Kg1 Rde8 32. Qc6 Qa7+ 33. Kh2 Ne3 34. Rd7 Ng4+ 35. Kh3 Nf2+ 36. Kg3 Nh1+ 37. Kh3 Qb8 38. Rxg7 Nf2+ {0-1 Vachier Lagrave,M (2760)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2766) Zagreb SuperUnited Rapid 2022 (8)}) 8. Nb5 Nb6 9. Bd3 a6 10. Nc3 Bg4 11. O-O O-O-O 12. h3 $146 {This improves on his earlier outing, but as it still leaves Black with equality and - most importantly, won't have come as a surprise to Bu at all - it's hard to understand why he's going for this variation.} (12. Re1 f5 13. exf6 gxf6 14. Be3 f5 15. h3 Bh5 16. Bg5 Qxg5 17. Nxg5 Bxd1 18. Bxe4 fxe4 19. Raxd1 Rd7 20. Ne6 Bb4 21. a3 Bxc3 22. bxc3 Nc4 23. a4 Re8 24. Nc5 Rdd8 25. Kf1 b6 26. Nb3 e3 27. Kg1 c5 28. fxe3 Rxe3 29. Rxe3 Nxe3 30. Rc1 a5 31. Nd2 d4 32. c4 Rg8 33. g4 h5 34. Kf2 hxg4 35. hxg4 Rxg4 36. Ke2 Rg2+ 37. Kd3 Ng4 38. Nf3 Nf2+ 39. Ke2 Ne4+ 40. Kd3 Nc3 41. Rh1 Rg3 42. Rh8+ Kd7 43. Rf8 Ke7 44. Rf4 Rh3 45. Kd2 Rh1 46. Ne1 Nxa4 47. Re4+ Kd6 48. Rg4 Nc3 49. Rg6+ Kc7 50. Rg7+ Kb8 51. Rg8+ Kb7 52. Rg7+ Ka6 53. Re7 a4 54. Re8 a3 55. Kc1 Kb7 56. Re7+ Kc8 57. Re6 Kd7 58. Re5 Rg1 59. Kd2 a2 {0-1 Erigaisi,A (2712)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2727) Tata Steel India rapid Kolkata 2023 (7)}) 12... Bh5 13. Qe2 Nc5 14. Bf5+ Kb8 15. g4 Bg6 16. Bg5 f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Qxe7 Bxe7 19. Rfe1 Bxf5 20. gxf5 d4 21. Rxe7 dxc3 22. Bxf6 Rhg8+ 23. Kf1 Nd5 {This is all burped out by the engine, and now Erigaisi presumably forgot his prep.} 24. Re5 $2 (24. b4 $1 {The only move. Now there are various lines that retain equality, e.g.} Nd3 25. cxd3 Nxf6 26. Re3 Rd5 27. Ne5 Rg5 28. Rc1 Rxf5 29. Ng4 $11) 24... cxb2 25. Rae1 $2 (25. Rb1 $17) 25... Nxf6 26. Rxc5 Rge8 $19 {Did Bu have to make a single move of his own to get here?} 27. Rb1 Ne4 28. Rc4 Rd5 29. f6 Rf5 30. Kg2 Nxf6 31. Nd4 Rg5+ 32. Kh2 Reg8 33. Rb4 Rg2+ 34. Kh1 Ne4 35. Nc6+ Ka8 36. Rxe4 Rg1+ (36... Rg1+ 37. Rxg1 Rxg1+ 38. Kxg1 b1=Q+ 39. Kg2 bxc6 $19) 0-1 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.02"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Bu, Xiangzhi"] [Black "Xu, Xiangyu"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E36"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2623"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,61,27,20,20,6,6,5,10,-8,3,-3,-6,-8,9,13,10,5,23,29,19,28,23,33,22,25,16,22,33,27,34,3,12,3,42,49,43,44,43,55,42,33,35,24,49,33,27,49,35,-32,-10,-10,-17,-19,49,21,60,55,63,79,63,46,70,48]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 O-O 7. Nf3 b6 8. Bg5 Nbd7 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Qc6 (10. e3) 10... Ba6 11. Rc1 Rc8 (11... Re8 $1 12. Qxc7 $6 Qxc7 13. Rxc7 Rec8 14. Rxc8+ Rxc8 $15 {/?}) 12. Qa4 (12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. Ne5 $14 (13. g3 $14)) 12... Nb8 $11 13. e3 $146 Bxf1 14. Kxf1 c5 15. g3 Qd7 16. Qxd7 Nfxd7 17. dxc5 bxc5 (17... Nxc5 $142 $11) 18. Kg2 Na6 19. b4 (19. Rhd1 $142 $14) 19... Rfe8 20. bxc5 (20. b5) 20... Naxc5 $11 21. Rhd1 Nb6 22. Bf4 Ne4 23. Rc7 f6 24. h4 Rxc7 25. Bxc7 Rc8 26. Bxb6 axb6 27. Nd2 (27. Rxd5 Rc2 $11) 27... Nd6 28. Nb3 Nc4 29. Rxd5 Nxa3 30. Nd4 Nc2 31. Nxc2 1/2-1/2 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.02"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2738"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,78,27,20,20,6,6,6,30,31,20,33,36,21,21,36,10,10,35,25,31,7,28,14,8,10,16,-34,-35,-46,-46,-40,20,-43,-33,-137,-53,-70,-34,-84,-30,-40,-39,-69,-10,-32,-16,2,5,-15,-26,-140,-142,-157,-127,-131,-115,-133,-99,-162,-128,-128,-43,-123,14,-133,-41,-182,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-508,-472,-471,-1105,-1241,-1343]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 d5 6. a3 Bxc3 (6... Be7 {also makes sense, a more QGD-ish approach with an extra tempo for White but the bishop locked in by the e-pawn.}) 7. Bxc3 b6 8. Nf3 Ne4 9. Qc2 Ba6 {Aiming to eliminate White's bishop pair.} (9... Bb7) 10. Bd3 (10. b4) 10... Nd7 11. Bxe4 dxe4 12. Nd2 f5 13. O-O-O Bb7 (13... c5 $142 $11) 14. f4 $14 Nf6 15. Rhg1 b5 $1 16. d5 $5 {Giri rightly starts sacrificing pawns for open lines, but does it in the wrong order. Chess is tough.} (16. g4 $1 fxg4 (16... Nxg4 $6 17. d5 $1 exd5 18. h3 Nf6 19. cxb5 c5 20. bxc6 Bxc6 21. Nc4 $16 {[%CAl Bc4e5]}) 17. h3 $1 gxh3 18. Rg3 Rf7 19. Rxh3 $14) 16... exd5 17. g4 $6 $15 (17. cxb5 $14) 17... fxg4 18. cxb5 (18. h3 $142) 18... c5 $6 (18... Qe8 $1 $17) 19. bxc6 Bxc6 20. Nc4 $44 Rc8 21. Ne5 Bd7 22. Kb1 Bf5 23. Qd2 Qb6 24. Bd4 Qb7 25. h3 $6 (25. Qf2 $11) (25. Qa5 $11) (25. Rc1 $11) 25... gxh3 26. Rg5 Ne8 $15 27. Rdg1 Rc7 (27... Qa6 $142) 28. Ng4 Qa6 (28... Rc6 $142) 29. Qh2 Bxg4 30. R5xg4 Nf6 31. R4g3 $11 (31. Rh4 $11) 31... Rfc8 32. f5 h5 33. Qxh3 $4 {A tough, interesting game comes to an abrupt end after this blunder.} (33. Rxh3 $11 Rc1+ 34. Rxc1 Qd3+ 35. Rc2 Qf1+ 36. Ka2 Rxc2 37. Qxc2 Qxh3 $11) 33... Rc1+ $1 34. Rxc1 Qd3+ 35. Ka2 Rxc1 $19 {White is getting mated unless his desperate kingside counterattack can come through; unfortunately for Giri, it's not even close.} 36. Rxg7+ Kf8 $1 37. a4 Qd1 $1 38. b3 Rc2+ 39. Ka3 a5 (39... a5 40. Bc5+ Ke8 41. Re7+ Kd8 {brings the tricks to an end, and now it's time for Black to give mate.}) 0-1 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.02"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Ma, Qun"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2651"] [BlackElo "2708"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,61,27,20,20,6,6,6,20,20,33,11,15,18,35,38,36,41,54,39,45,8,27,34,16,5,27,25,40,21,36,8,15,6,3,4,9,-4,2,14,5,17,11,1,-5,-5,-2,-6,-6,-6,-6,-10,-9,-7,-6,-8,-11,-11,-11,-11,-11,-11,-11,-11]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Rc1 Nd7 (8... dxc4) 9. Qb3 c5 (9... Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 c6) 10. a3 $146 (10. cxd5) 10... cxd4 11. Qxb4 dxc3 12. Qxc3 dxc4 13. Bxc4 Qxc3+ 14. Rxc3 Nb6 15. Bd3 Bd7 16. Ne5 Rfc8 17. Rxc8+ Rxc8 18. Kd2 Be8 {This is over. I don't know if White had hopes in this game or was just happy to make a safe draw against a strong opponent, but whatever his aim this is a position that Dubov could draw in his sleep.} 19. Rc1 Rxc1 20. Kxc1 f6 21. Nc4 Nxc4 22. Bxc4 {This is a position even I could draw in my sleep. Based on this game and some other ones, it seems that the players needed to reach move 30 before making a draw, so a few pointless moves ensue.} Kf7 23. Kd2 Bc6 24. g3 Ke7 25. f4 Kd6 26. Kc3 b6 27. b4 e5 {Everyone's pawns are on dark squares, so there are no targets and no place for either side to penetrate.} 28. Bb3 Bb7 29. Bc4 Bc6 30. Bb3 Bb7 31. Bc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.02"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Yu, Yangyi"] [Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2711"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,115,27,5,66,74,69,62,69,57,50,37,72,64,60,50,37,35,43,33,23,13,4,3,-16,-40,-33,-15,-20,-10,-10,11,11,0,15,15,16,4,18,18,67,56,58,71,69,68,65,62,87,70,91,68,63,46,46,50,51,38,41,40,54,54,56,57,68,71,64,74,79,51,94,95,105,59,95,65,93,95,95,95,121,95,130,108,129,110,128,145,155,130,133,133,290,133,293,93,245,262,264,397,418,508,472,543,554,565,565,596,596,667,667,667,667,728,895,715,1460,1479]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Bxd4 Ne7 10. Nd2 Nc6 11. Nb3 Be7 12. f4 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Qb6 14. Kh1 Be4 15. Bb5+ Kf8 16. a4 Bc5 17. a5 Qc7 18. Nb3 g6 19. Bd3 Kg7 20. Bxe4 dxe4 21. Ra4 Rhd8 22. Qe2 e3 23. Rc4 b6 24. axb6 axb6 25. Nxc5 bxc5 26. Qxe3 Qb6 27. b3 Rd4 28. Rxd4 cxd4 29. Qd3 Rc8 30. Rd1 Rc3 31. Qxd4 Qxd4 32. Rxd4 Rxc2 33. h4 {Believe it or not, this ending is drawn. But there's drawn and there's drawn, and even Artemiev is unable to prove it.} Rb2 34. b4 Kf8 (34... h6 {followed by ...g5 is a better approach, looking to trade pawns and activate the king.}) 35. Rd8+ Kg7 36. Rd4 Kf8 37. Rc4 Ke7 (37... h6) 38. Rc7+ Kf8 39. Rb7 h6 40. b5 Kg7 $2 {It wouldn't seem like it would matter if Black starts with ...Kg7 or ...g5, but it does.} (40... g5 $1 {While this is a worse version than what he could have had, it's still good enough to draw.} 41. Rb8+ Kg7 $8 42. fxg5 hxg5 43. h5 (43. hxg5 Kg6 44. b6 Kxg5 45. b7 Kf5 $11) (43. b6 gxh4 44. b7 Rb1+ 45. Kh2 Rb3 46. Kg1 Rb1+ 47. Kf2 Rb3 48. Ke2 Kh7 $11) 43... Re2 $11) (40... Rb4 {also draws.}) 41. b6 $18 Rb5 ({The problem with the otherwise desirable} 41... g5 {is} 42. f5 $1 {, taking advantage of the pin along the 7th rank.} g4 43. Kh2 Kf8 44. f6 Kg8 45. Kg3 Rb4 46. Rc7 Rxb6 47. Kxg4 Rb2 48. Kh5 Rxg2 49. Rc8+ Kh7 50. Rf8 Re2 51. Rxf7+ Kg8 52. Re7 Rxe5+ 53. Kg6 Kf8 54. Ra7 $18) 42. g3 $1 {The only winning move!} (42. Kg1 g5 43. g3 gxf4 44. gxf4 Kg6 $11) 42... g5 43. h5 $1 g4 (43... gxf4 44. gxf4 Rb4 (44... Kf8 45. Kg2 $18) 45. f5 $18) 44. Kg2 {Now the king comes to the queenside, and Black's counterplay based on taking the g-pawn is too slow.} Rb2+ 45. Kf1 Kg8 46. Ke1 Rb3 47. Kd2 Rxg3 48. Rc7 Rb3 49. b7 Kg7 50. f5 $1 g3 (50... exf5 51. e6 Kf8 52. Rc8+ $18) 51. f6+ Kh7 52. Ke2 $1 {Now that the rook has made it to c7, the king is not needed on the queenside.} Rb2+ 53. Kf1 Kg8 {Setting a very nice trap.} 54. Kg1 $1 (54. Rc8+ Kh7 55. b8=Q $4 Rxb8 56. Rxb8 g2+ 57. Kf2 g1=Q+ 58. Kxg1 $11 {is stalemate - oops.}) 54... Rb1+ 55. Kg2 Rb3 56. Rd7 Rb2+ 57. Kxg3 Kh7 58. Rxf7+ 1-0 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.04"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Xu, Xiangyu"] [Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D14"] [WhiteElo "2623"] [BlackElo "2711"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,76,27,20,27,20,29,11,30,38,37,17,37,22,18,4,12,4,15,3,3,18,18,-9,5,-9,15,-19,33,33,41,15,15,-4,0,10,23,26,26,32,64,32,82,49,44,56,62,62,62,62,97,98,99,90,84,88,86,89,93,103,99,93,79,79,92,81,80,62,54,53,67,22,20,0,63,58,58,70,84]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bf5 7. Nf3 e6 8. Qb3 Bb4 9. Bb5 O-O 10. Bxc6 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Rc8 12. Ne5 Ng4 13. Nxg4 Bxg4 14. Qb4 Rxc6 15. Qxb7 Qc8 {All well known, going back to game 1 of the Kramnik vs. Anand match in 2008. (It had been played once in 2005 in a correspondence game that may or may not have been known about in '08, but it was the World Championship match that put it on the map.) It seems that the 2600s are playing ultra-cautiously with White. I get it, given their underdog status, but it's not as if they're going to get the chance to play in such an elite field whenever they want to, so they may be squandering a great opportunity.} 16. Qxc8 Rfxc8 17. O-O a5 18. f3 Bf5 19. b3 (19. g4) 19... h5 20. h4 a4 $146 (20... f6 $11) 21. bxa4 Ra8 22. Rfc1 Rxc1+ 23. Rxc1 Rxa4 24. Ra1 Rb4 (24... Ra3 $11 {seems better, but Artemiev doesn't have to suffer much after the text, either.}) 25. a4 Bd3 26. a5 Ba6 27. Ra2 (27. g4) 27... f6 28. Bd6 Rb1+ 29. Kf2 Kf7 30. Kg3 g5 31. hxg5 fxg5 32. Kh2 Kg6 33. Rc2 Bc4 34. Rc3 Rb2 35. e4 Ra2 36. exd5 Bxd5 37. Ra3 Rxa3 38. Bxa3 Kf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.04"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Yu, Yangyi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,60,27,5,25,5,50,17,38,35,35,-4,-2,-22,0,0,34,7,71,22,48,50,57,57,55,50,54,48,43,37,50,26,36,43,30,29,25,35,42,30,47,58,47,45,38,38,41,28,47,47,31,28,33,19,28,11,7,5,6,1,2,4,3]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 Bf5 9. Nbd2 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 O-O 12. c3 Qd7 13. Bd2 $146 {A novelty, though it does transpose to a handful of (non-elite) games.} (13. Bf4 {has been almost automatic.}) 13... Rae8 14. Re3 $146 Bf6 15. Rae1 Rxe3 16. Rxe3 Ne7 {White doesn't even have a token edge here.} 17. Re1 Ng6 18. Qe2 Rd8 19. g3 h6 20. h4 Qg4 21. Nh2 Qxe2 22. Rxe2 h5 $1 {An easy move for an experienced player to find, but an important one all the same. The only thing keeping the game going now is the need to reach move 30.} 23. Nf3 Be7 24. Ne5 Nxe5 $1 25. Rxe5 Bf6 26. Re2 (26. Rxh5 $4 g6 {and the rook is trapped, e.g.} 27. Rh6 Bg7 $19) 26... Kf8 27. Bf4 c6 28. Be5 Bxe5 29. Rxe5 g6 30. Kg2 f6 1/2-1/2 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.04"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Ma, Qun"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2651"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "139"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,139,27,5,25,5,5,15,15,55,5,5,10,-27,-27,-35,-17,-16,-18,-13,-8,-4,30,25,69,58,104,-6,144,144,157,109,7,36,36,22,17,15,23,-48,-45,-50,-27,1,1,0,11,-32,-3,-3,52,69,69,69,62,62,62,48,48,48,48,48,48,48,48,-2,0,-64,-17,-34,129,71,122,129,129,133,138,83,112,161,53,73,111,40,61,96,81,199,215,263,223,179,162,195,221,200,182,153,129,129,173,173,171,180,145,151,125,138,154,168,165,115,113,91,170,178,206,211,228,214,204,241,260,258,264,214,243,251,260,194,171,358,361,404,376,427,432,436,706,1014,29991,29992]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 {And...no thanks. The only thing worse than the 20 millionth Giuoco Piano is a long Giuoco Piano, so no annotations here, sorry. (I will make an exception for some events, but not this one.) That said, it was a fascinating game and I encourage you to look at it, but I feel about the Giuoco the way Carlsen feels about preparing for another classical World Championship match: I have nothing against those who want to dig into for themselves, but I can think of hundreds of things I'd rather do.} 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 a6 8. Nbd2 Ba7 9. a4 g5 10. Bg3 Qe7 11. O-O Nd7 12. b4 Nf8 13. d4 h5 14. b5 Nd8 15. h4 g4 16. Nxe5 dxe5 17. Bxe5 Rg8 18. Bg3 Ng6 19. Bd3 Nxh4 20. e5 Kf8 21. Ne4 Nf5 22. Nf6 Rh8 23. Qd2 Nxg3 24. fxg3 Qxe5 25. Rae1 Bxd4+ 26. cxd4 Qxd4+ 27. Rf2 Ne6 28. Re4 Qd6 29. Qc3 Rh6 30. bxa6 bxa6 31. Bc4 Rb8 32. Re1 Rb4 33. Ne4 Qb6 34. a5 Rxc4 35. Qd2 Qxf2+ 36. Qxf2 Nd4 37. Ng5 Nf5 38. Ne4 Rhc6 39. Qb2 Rd4 40. Qb8 Rd8 41. Rf1 Re8 42. Qb4+ Re7 43. Nc3 Be6 44. Nd5 Bxd5 45. Rxf5 Rc4 46. Qa3 Be6 47. Rxh5 Ke8 48. Rh8+ Kd7 49. Qd3+ Kc6 50. Rh6 Rc1+ 51. Kh2 Rd7 52. Qxa6+ Kc5 53. Rh5+ Rd5 54. Rxd5+ Bxd5 55. Qd3 Rc4 56. Qd1 Bc6 57. a6 Ra4 58. a7 Ra6 59. Qb3 f5 60. Kg1 Bb5 61. Qe3+ Kd5 62. Kf2 c5 63. Qe7 Bc6 64. Ke3 Kc4 65. Qe6+ Kb5 66. Qb3+ Ka5 67. Qb8 Bxg2 68. Kd3 Rb6 69. Kc4 Rb4+ 70. Kxc5 1-0 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.04"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Bu, Xiangzhi"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D24"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "145"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,145,27,20,27,20,20,20,11,9,50,50,45,45,45,51,45,33,37,24,36,34,22,5,5,6,13,14,46,39,41,-3,43,61,63,51,51,53,42,42,42,16,72,75,109,112,114,105,99,138,99,85,112,110,111,74,98,95,103,103,128,93,194,154,120,179,162,111,120,170,137,139,116,143,168,171,184,187,187,173,173,181,178,178,178,178,178,145,160,160,155,188,205,205,205,199,218,220,206,207,190,205,210,178,201,208,216,238,304,280,282,305,366,354,365,366,400,375,415,400,420,408,478,466,520,507,521,521,521,521,543,509,521,578,546,456,483,528,546,551,573,581,589,577,634,631,677,888]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. Nxb5 (6. e5 Nd5 7. Nxb5 Nb6 8. Be2 {is way more common, with loads of theory.}) 6... Nxe4 7. Qa4 Nc6 $146 {Going for a complicated game, hoping for the chance to play for a win?} (7... c6 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Ba6 10. Bxc4 Bxc4 11. Qxc4 Bd6 12. O-O O-O $11 {is usual and reliable for Black.}) 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Bd7 10. Qxc4 Rb8 11. Be2 Bd6 12. O-O Ne7 {Clearing c6 for the bishop, which is also threatening to land on b5.} 13. a4 Ng6 $6 (13... Bc6 $142 $11) 14. Be3 $14 O-O 15. Ne5 $1 a5 (15... Nxe5 $6 16. dxe5 Bxe5 17. Bxa7 $16 {is dangerous for Black. White's a-pawn is passed, supported by the a1-rook, and once White's bishop goes to f3 it will be even more dangerous.}) 16. Nxd7 Qxd7 17. Bf3 $14 {/? Black's 13th move has backfired. White's bishop pair is a serious asset.} Rb6 18. g3 Rfb8 19. Be4 c6 $6 {Perhaps played in the hope of continuing with ...Ne7-d5. Bu stops the idea, and in the end Black's c-pawn becomes a target.} 20. Qd3 $16 Kh8 21. Rab1 Rxb1 22. Rxb1 Rxb1+ 23. Qxb1 Qc7 24. Bd2 Ne7 25. c4 $18 Qa7 26. Bc3 h6 27. Qb2 Kg8 28. Bd3 g6 29. Qd2 c5 $5 30. d5 $1 exd5 31. cxd5 Nxd5 32. Bb2 Qe7 33. Qxa5 Nb4 34. Qa8+ Qf8 35. Qf3 Nxd3 36. Qxd3 {The reasons have changed over the past few moves, but the evaluation remains the same: Black is lost. White's a-pawn is a huge asset.} Qb8 37. Qc3 {This doesn't help Black, either.} Kf8 38. a5 Qb4 39. Qh8+ Ke7 40. Qf6+ Kd7 41. Qxf7+ Be7 42. Qd5+ Bd6 43. Bg7 Qxa5 44. Qf7+ Be7 45. Qxg6 Qe1+ 46. Kg2 c4 47. Bxh6 Bc5 48. Qf7+ Kc6 49. Qxc4 Qxf2+ 50. Kh3 Qf5+ 51. Qg4 Qd5 (51... Qf1+ 52. Kh4 Be7+ 53. Bg5 {brings the checks to an end.}) 52. Bf4 Kb7 53. Qe2 Qf5+ 54. Kg2 Kb6 55. h4 Qd5+ 56. Qf3 Qa2+ 57. Kh3 Qe6+ 58. g4 Qe1 59. Bg3 Qe6 60. h5 Be7 61. Bf4 Bc5 62. h6 Qf7 63. Qe4 Qb3+ 64. Bg3 Qc3 65. Qe6+ Kb5 66. h7 Bd4 {It looks good, but it's not a fortress.} 67. Qe8+ Kb6 68. Qb8+ Ka6 69. Qa8+ Kb6 70. Qe4 Bh8 71. g5 Qc8+ 72. Kh4 Qd7 73. Qb4+ {A terrific technical win by Bu, even if it was against an out-of-form Giri.} (73. Qb4+ Kc6 (73... Ka6 74. Qd6+ $18) (73... Ka7 74. Bf2+ Ka8 75. Qf8+ $18) 74. Qa4+ $18 {doesn't trade queens; it wins Black's queen.}) 1-0 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.05"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Xu, Xiangyu"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A90"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2623"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,62,27,-2,6,6,9,-10,-7,-15,-1,-26,-5,-1,-6,-2,18,14,61,39,57,9,59,48,78,60,56,57,90,28,62,61,98,45,71,55,102,102,100,54,66,43,63,50,46,35,47,35,56,42,42,29,33,29,43,29,39,38,34,34,34,34,17,0,-3] After "castling queenside" (losing three games in a row - 0-0-0) you'd expect Giri to play without ambitions. And his opponent has played without any ambition in the tournament even with the white pieces. So if you're like me you'd expect a fairly dull game on the way to a quick draw. As it turned out the game was a quick draw, but the opening was combative.} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. b3 d5 4. Bb2 Bd6 5. g3 Nbd7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. d4 Ne4 9. Nc3 f5 10. Qc2 Ndf6 11. Ne5 Bd7 12. e3 Nxc3 $146 13. Bxc3 Be8 14. c5 Bc7 15. b4 Qe7 16. a4 Ne4 17. Bb2 a6 18. f3 Ng5 {White is the one playing for/with an advantage, but now Giri locks things up. Sometimes one can do that and still have enough room to play for a win (see the old game Capablanca-Treybal for a famous example), but in this case it looks more like Giri wants absolute safety.} 19. f4 Ne4 20. Qe2 Bd7 21. a5 {Really sewing things up.} (21. Bxe4 $142 $14) 21... Be8 22. Kh1 Rd8 23. Rfe1 Qf6 24. Bxe4 fxe4 25. h4 h5 26. Rg1 Bxe5 27. dxe5 Qh6 28. Kh2 Bg6 29. g4 hxg4 30. Qxg4 Bf5 31. Qg5 Kf7 (31... Kf7 32. Qxh6 gxh6 33. Rg3 Rg8 34. Rag1 Rxg3 35. Rxg3 Rg8 36. Rxg8 Kxg8 37. Bd4 h5 {is not only drawn but *almost* drawn to the point where the players could engage in infinite pre-move.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.05"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Ma, Qun"] [Black "Bu, Xiangzhi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2651"] [BlackElo "2671"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,86,27,20,20,6,9,9,9,24,38,15,26,38,38,38,39,41,39,69,86,68,46,25,102,94,66,29,32,16,16,-3,46,6,10,-35,-3,-95,-37,-28,-61,-37,207,207,180,180,133,133,104,97,110,110,117,78,99,105,102,105,99,74,82,45,51,51,51,57,55,54,52,39,70,57,81,90,61,88,87,88,72,58,44,61,60,60,63,33,29,-9,11]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Ne4 Qe7 12. a3 Ba5 13. exd4 (13. Qxd4 Rd8 {is the alternative, when White puts the queen on c5 or e5. (Bu himself has been on the white side of this position, playing 14.Qc5 each time.)}) 13... Rd8 14. b4 (14. Qe2 {was Bu's own choice in a 2018 game with Vidit - drawn, as were the four 13.Qxd4 Rd8 14.Qc5 games he played.}) 14... Bb6 15. Rc3 Bd7 16. Re1 Bc6 17. Ng3 Qd6 $146 18. Nh5 Nd7 19. Rd3 Rac8 20. d5 Ba4 $4 (20... Bxd5 21. Qa1 $1 (21. Bxd5 exd5 22. Rxd5 Qc6 23. Qa1 Qc3 $11 {/?}) 21... Qf8 $8 22. Bxd5 exd5 23. Rxd5 Nf6 24. Nxf6+ gxf6 $11 {Yes, the f6 pawn is weak, but White has problems with f2 (e.g. after ...Rc2).}) 21. Qxa4 Rxc4 22. Qb3 $18 Qc7 23. dxe6 fxe6 24. Red1 $2 (24. g3 $18 {was better, taking back rank problems off the table.}) 24... Rc1 $16 25. Qxe6+ Kh8 26. Qg4 (26. Qe2 $142) 26... Rxd1+ 27. Rxd1 Nf8 $1 28. Re1 Qf7 29. h4 $6 (29. h3 $142 Qg6 (29... Ng6 $142) 30. g3 $16) 29... Qg6 $14 30. Ne5 Qxg4 31. Nxg4 Ng6 32. g3 Kg8 $6 (32... Rd4 $1 33. Ne3 Rd2 $14) 33. Kg2 $16 Kf7 (33... Kf8 $142) 34. f4 $1 $18 Rd5 35. Ne5+ Nxe5 36. fxe5 g5 37. Nf6 $1 Rd8 38. hxg5 $4 (38. h5 $1 $18 {retains a decisive advantage. White's knight will go to g4, safeguarding the e-pawn and targeting Black's weak h-pawn. White's advantage is overwhelming.}) 38... hxg5 39. Kf3 Ke6 $11 40. Kg4 Rd3 41. Ne4 Be3 42. a4 Ra3 43. Nc5+ Kxe5 1/2-1/2 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.05"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Yu, Yangyi"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B48"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2738"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 Nf6 8. O-O-O Be7 9. g4 $5 {Only played once before, and it was a couple of weeks ago. When that happens it's usually due to the computer, but this isn't one of Stockfish's top choices.} (9. f3 {is by far and away the main move.}) 9... Nxg4 10. Bf4 Nge5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Rg1 g5 (12... O-O 13. Qe3 f6 14. Qg3 Rf7 15. Be2 Bf8 16. Bh5 Re7 17. Be3 Qa5 18. Be2 d5 19. f4 Nf7 20. Bf2 Nd6 21. Qh4 f5 22. exd5 cxd5 23. Bd4 Bb7 24. Qxe7 Bxe7 25. Rxg7+ Kf8 26. Bh5 Qd8 27. Rdg1 Bf6 28. Bxf6 Qxf6 29. Rg8+ Ke7 30. R1g7+ Nf7 31. Rxf7+ Qxf7 32. Bxf7 Kxf7 33. Rxa8 Bxa8 34. Kd2 Kf6 35. Ke3 e5 36. fxe5+ Kxe5 37. Ne2 f4+ 38. Kf2 d4 39. Nc1 a5 40. Nd3+ Kf5 41. b3 Bc6 {½-½ Yan,N (2311)-Liu,P (2130) Santa Clara Presidents Day IM 2024 (2)}) 13. Rxg5 $1 {This very nice move is best, but only enough for equality.} Bxg5 14. Bxg5 Nf3 15. Qe3 Nxg5 16. Qxg5 d6 17. Qg3 e5 18. f4 Qe7 19. Qg7 Rf8 (19... Qf8 $11) 20. f5 f6 21. Qg1 Rf7 22. Qg8+ Rf8 23. Qg1 Rf7 24. Qg8+ ({If White wants to keep the game going he can try} 24. Bc4 Rg7 {followed by Qf2/e3/b6. None are advantageous, all are playable. But Yu recognized that Erigaisi had passed the test, and repeated moves.}) 24... Rf8 25. Qg1 1/2-1/2 [Event "5th Shenzhen Longgang"] [Site "Shenzhen CHN"] [Date "2024.03.05"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2711"] [BlackElo "2708"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2024.02.29"] {[%evp 0,61,27,5,30,5,15,16,16,16,13,5,11,11,44,-31,-16,-43,47,47,33,26,48,26,26,9,14,12,17,28,30,20,30,22,11,70,37,44,44,44,73,66,66,56,56,60,60,29,29,27,93,29,31,12,4,15,4,9,6,0,0,-3,0,-4]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 {I will overcome my allergy to Giuoco games to this extent: White got a significant edge in this game, but it started to slip away with 12.c4.} 5. c3 d6 6. O-O a6 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 Na5 9. b4 Nxc4 10. bxc5 Na5 11. cxd6 cxd6 12. c4 b5 13. cxb5 axb5 14. Bg5 b4 15. Nbd2 Nc6 16. Qc1 Ra6 17. a3 h6 18. Be3 bxa3 19. Rxa3 Rxa3 20. Qxa3 Be6 21. Rc1 Qd7 22. d4 exd4 23. Bxd4 Nxd4 24. Nxd4 Re8 25. Rc6 Qb7 26. Qxd6 Nxe4 27. Nxe4 Qb1+ 28. Kh2 Qxe4 29. Nxe6 Rxe6 30. Qb8+ Re8 31. Rc8 1/2-1/2