[Event "40th ECC Open 2025"] [Site "Rhodes GRE"] [Date "2025.10.20"] [Round "2.73"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Williams, Simon K"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2636"] [BlackElo "2426"] [WhiteFideId "2805677"] [WhiteFideId "404454"] [PlyCount "65"] [GameId "2237056621952214"] [EventDate "2025.10.19"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] [WhiteTeam "Rishon Le Zion #1"] [BlackTeam "Cheddleton Savills Catering"] {Years and years ago Simon Williams won a nice game against Gelfand in the Dutch. This game is more representative of the balance of power...and the difficulties Black has in this opening.} 1. Nf3 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. c4 e6 5. O-O Be7 (5... Bd6 {is more common, to have ...Qe7 in case White wants to play b3 and Ba3. But Williams has a different sort of setup in mind.}) 6. b3 Nc6 {This is unusual, but Williams is following in the mighty footsteps of Richard Rapport, who played this a couple of times in 2015.} 7. Bb2 {Allowing ...d4, which Black should play.} O-O (7... d4 8. e3 e5 9. exd4 exd4 10. c5 $1 $146 {looks good for White. Black would like to play ...f5-f7, but that would be frowned upon by the arbiters.}) 8. cxd5 exd5 9. e3 $16 {White's bishops are both great and he has an extra pawn in the center. On the other hand, Black has...enthusiasm?} a5 10. Nc3 Ne4 11. d3 (11. Ne2 $142 {was better, and a typical idea. White will kick out Black's knight and the e2-knight is inevitably reaching f4. Maybe he didn't want to allow} Bf6 {, but since that happens in the game as well that's probably not the answer. Anyway, White is clearly better after initiating the trade or playing} 12. Qc1 $16 {and letting Black have the honors.}) 11... Nxc3 12. Bxc3 Bf6 (12... Bd6 $142) (12... Ba3 $142) 13. Rc1 Be6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. d4 {Black's position is pretty awful. The bishop is bad, the c-file is a problem, and he has some potentially weak dark squares. The only hope is to scare up some kingside play, and since Williams loves to attack without any particular provocation his next moves surely combined necessity with desire.} g5 16. Qd2 f4 17. exf4 gxf4 18. Rfe1 Kh8 19. Ne5 {This helps Black as ...c6 fixes several of his queenside problems. He remains worse, but it's a step in the right direction.} (19. Rc5 $142 {was better, maintaining the bind on the c-file while adding pressure against a5 and d5.}) 19... Nxe5 20. Rxe5 c6 21. Rce1 {Black's miseries have not come to an end.} Bd7 22. f3 {Another small step in the wrong direction.} (22. Re7 $142 Rf7 23. Rxf7 Qxf7 24. Re5 $16) 22... fxg3 (22... Qd6 $142 $14) 23. hxg3 Rg8 24. Re7 Rg7 (24... Qd6 25. g4 Rae8 {may have been even better.}) 25. Rxg7 Kxg7 26. Re5 {Williams had done a very good job of treading water, but now he makes a small tactical error.} Re8 $6 (26... Kf7) 27. Bh3 $1 Re7 $2 {This loses.} (27... Rxe5 {was forced, leaving Black with a still-defensible position after} 28. dxe5 Qe7 29. Bxd7 Qxd7 30. Qg5+ $1 Kf8 $1) 28. Qe3 $1 $18 Rf7 (28... Rxe5 29. dxe5 Qe7 30. Bxd7 Qxd7 {would transpose to the 27...Rxe5 line if White played 31.Qg5+, but instead of that} 31. e6 $1 Qe7 32. f4 $18 {gives White the one tempo he needs to turn a better position into a winning one.}) 29. Bxd7 Rxd7 30. Re6 Qf5 31. g4 Qb1+ 32. Kg2 Kf7 33. Qe5 {Black has only one check, and then he's powerless against Qf6+. That mates unless Black gives up the queen (with ...Qg6), and that's hopeless as well.} 1-0 [Event "40th ECC Open 2025"] [Site "Rhodes GRE"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "5.37"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E12"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2755"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "63"] [GameId "2237052929748034"] [EventDate "2025.10.19"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] [WhiteTeam "Alkaloid"] [BlackTeam "Novy Bor"] {[%evp 0,63,21,6,18,22,16,16,18,19,-4,14,33,66,32,17,29,40,39,34,155,164,148,104,149,98,150,144,175,150,206,224,260,237,227,201,243,190,278,217,220,220,267,338,238,385,225,139,170,169,151,181,151,140,352,364,598,480,606,581,1176,1365,1484,1560,1627,1608] Keymer had a great tournament, going 5/6 and gaining nine rating points. He's now #4 in the world, skyrocketing upward and still just 20 years old. He did go "bump" in this game, though, at the hands of the player who is now #6 in the world. Let's have a look.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 Ne4 {This is a Keymer favorite. I remember that this move had a slightly dodgy reputation when I was young, back in the dark ages, thanks to Kasparov's ritual slaughter of Anderssen. Apparently its rehabilitation has been successful - at least until this game.} 6. Nxe4 Bxe4 7. Ng5 $5 {Quite rare, and the usual explanation ("Stockfish says, 'Put your hands on your head'"..."Stockfish says, 'Put your hands on your hips'"..."Stockfish says, 'Play Ng5'") doesn't apply in this case. Such insouciance! All the same it's not a bad move, and the only move that gives Black equality (according to its majesty Stockfish 17.1) is 7...Bb7.} ({Behold the aforementioned massacre, which was typical of Kasparov's play - and success - in his youth. He was a force of nature.} 7. Nd2 Bg6 8. g3 Nc6 9. e3 a6 10. b4 b5 11. cxb5 axb5 12. Bb2 Na7 13. h4 h6 14. d5 exd5 15. Bg2 c6 16. O-O f6 17. Re1 Be7 18. Qg4 Kf7 19. h5 Bh7 20. e4 dxe4 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. Nxe4 Nc8 23. Rad1 Ra7 24. Nxf6 gxf6 25. Qg6+ Kf8 26. Bc1 d5 27. Rd4 Nd6 28. Rg4 Nf7 29. Bxh6+ Ke8 30. Bg7 {1-0 Kasparov,G (2630)-Andersson,U (2610) Interpolis-05 Tilburg 1981 (8)}) 7... Bg6 (7... Bb7 $142) 8. g3 h6 9. Bg2 $146 hxg5 {Giving in to a plausible temptation.} (9... c6 $142) 10. Bxa8 c6 {Where is your bishop going, good sir? The answer, of course, is that it's stuck - but trapping the bishop is one thing; collecting it, another.} 11. O-O ({The engine strongly prefers} 11. b4 {, though perhaps deeper analysis on a better machine tells a different story.} Na6 12. Bb7 Nb8 13. Qa4 Bd6 14. Qxa7 Be4 15. Rf1 Rxh2 16. Be3 f5 17. f3 Bd3 $3 18. exd3 Bxg3+ 19. Kd1 Bf4 20. Bxf4 gxf4 21. Rc1 $1 Qg5 $1 22. Qxb8+ Ke7 23. Re1 Qg2 24. Qxf4 g5 25. Qxh2 Qxh2 26. b5 cxb5 27. d5 e5 28. d6+ $1 Kxd6 29. Re2 $16 {/+- This ridiculous line is in White's favor, but how challenging is it to grasp this line and all the sidelines along the way? But one might wonder that about Erigaisi's approach as well.}) 11... Be7 (11... Qc7 $1 12. Bxg5 a5 13. d5 f6 14. Be3 Qa7 15. dxc6 dxc6 16. Qb3 Qxa8 17. Qxb6 $14 {White's advantage is smaller than what's (allegedly) available in the 11.b4 line, but this is far easier for White to manage.}) 12. d5 $16 {/+-} Qc7 13. Be3 (13. b4) 13... a6 $2 {Preparing ...Qa7 to collect the bishop, but now the kingside collapses.} (13... O-O $142) 14. Qd4 $1 $18 Qa7 15. Qxg7 Rf8 (15... Rh7 16. Qg8+ Bf8 17. dxe6 Rg7 18. Qh8 Rh7 19. Qe5 $18) 16. Bxc6 (16. Rfd1 {may be better, but the text is good enough.}) 16... dxc6 17. dxe6 {White has a rook, three pawns, and the initiative for the two minor pieces. Black's king is unsafe, the queen and knight are out of play, and he has no targets. White is completely winning.} Qb7 18. Rfd1 c5 19. Rd5 $1 Be4 20. exf7+ Rxf7 21. Qh8+ Rf8 22. Qh5+ Rf7 23. Re5 Nd7 {Now Erigaisi finishes in style.} 24. Rxe7+ $1 Kxe7 25. Bxg5+ Ke8 26. Rd1 Bh7 27. Qh6 Bf5 28. Rd5 Rh7 29. Qd6 Bh3 30. Qg6+ Rf7 31. Qg8+ Rf8 32. Qg7 (32. Qg7 Rf7 33. Qe5+ $1 Be6 (33... Kf8 34. Qh8#) (33... Re7 34. Qxe7#) (33... Nxe5 34. Rd8#) 34. Qxe6+ Kf8 35. Bh6+ Kg8 36. Qg6+ Kh8 37. Qxf7 {and mate's coming - not that it's needed with the colossal material advantage.}) 1-0 [Event "40th ECC Open 2025"] [Site "Rhodes GRE"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2752"] [BlackElo "2773"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "105"] [GameId "2237052930030778"] [EventDate "2025.10.19"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] [WhiteTeam "SuperChess"] [BlackTeam "Alkaloid"] {[%evp 0,105,20,13,23,11,20,-8,-34,-19,0,2,-5,3,18,36,7,29,33,6,-45,3,66,20,-49,4,32,99,32,46,42,178,144,114,168,105,173,167,150,144,211,116,159,38,89,159,125,197,195,163,157,105,137,90,101,284,93,91,227,89,85,85,131,93,91,79,85,79,103,93,96,72,79,107,99,88,90,87,90,75,77,101,1,111,165,125,32,143,111,129,118,43,89,97,86,1,32,6,12,174,359,289,1013,1016,1016,1022,1016,1015] Gukesh hasn't had a great year, but he did well in this tournament, gaining 11 points and getting back in the top 10. This win over a major rival must be a confidence-booster for him; he'll need it in the Clutch Chess event starting Monday.} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 cxd4 5. O-O g6 6. Nxd4 Bg7 7. c4 O-O 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nb3 Nb6 10. a4 Be6 11. Qxd8 Rxd8 12. a5 Bxb3 13. axb6 Nc6 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Rxa7 Rab8 $2 {Natural, but Black has missed a tactic.} (15... Bd4 16. Rxe7 Bxb6 $14 {is only slightly better for White. Black's beautiful bishops go a long way towards compensating for the missing pawn.}) 16. Bf4 $1 $18 e5 17. Bg5 $6 $16 {Gukesh's decision to chase the rook off the open file makes sense, but it turns out that this benefits Black.} (17. Be3 $142 Bf8 18. Rc1 c5 19. Bd2 $1 {is the reason not to throw in 17.Bg5. Here Black can't take on b6 because 18.Ba5 is a skewer; with the rook on e8 that tactic is missing.}) 17... Re8 18. Be3 Bf8 19. Nd2 (19. Rc1 c5 $16) 19... Bd5 20. Rc1 Red8 $2 (20... c5 $1 21. Bxc5 Bxc5 22. Rxc5 Red8 23. Raa5 Be6 24. Ne4 Rxb6 25. Rab5 Rxb5 26. Rxb5 Bc4 27. Rxe5 Kf8 28. Nc3 Rd2 29. b4 Rc2 30. Re3 f5 $1 $16 {Despite White's two extra pawns Black has so much activity that it's hard for White to make meaningful progress.}) 21. Bg5 $18 Rd6 22. Be3 Rdd8 23. Nc4 c5 24. Nxe5 Rxb6 25. Nd7 $2 (25. Rd7 $1 Rxd7 26. Nxd7 Re6 (26... Rxb2 $4 27. Nf6+ $18) 27. Nxf8 Kxf8 28. Rxc5 $18) 25... Rxb2 $16 26. Bg5 (26. Nf6+ $142 Kg7 27. Bg5 Rxe2 28. Nh5+ gxh5 29. Bxd8 c4 $16) 26... Ra8 $1 {White's advantage is slipping away.} 27. Nf6+ Kh8 28. Nxd5 Rxa7 29. Bf6+ Bg7 30. Bxb2 Bxb2 31. Rxc5 $14 {With all the pawns on the same flank Black's drawing chances are very good; indeed, this ending *should* be drawn. That said, in positions with all the pawns on the same flank the knight is at least the equal of the bishop, so that helps White. Also, that it's 4 vs. 3 as opposed to 3 vs. 2 or 2 vs. 1 helps. So the draw won't be automatic even if it's the expected result.} h5 32. Kg2 Kg7 33. Rc2 Rb7 34. e4 Be5 35. f4 Rb2 36. Rxb2 Bxb2 {Despite what the engine claims, White's task is now easier as his king can get active without fear of counterplay from Black's rook. The engine gives all zeroes because (a) it can play this perfectly because (b) it's close enough to tablebase positions to analyze it to death. This was not true when the rooks were on. For humans it's very difficult to play this with Black, and he's soon losing.} 37. e5 Bd4 38. Kf3 Kf8 39. Ke4 Bg1 40. Nc3 {A semi-bluff.} Kg7 $2 {This loses, believe it or not. Black's king is too passive, and White now wins.} ({The pawn is edible, even if he must return it.} 40... Bxh2 41. Ne2 Ke7 42. Kf3 h4 43. gxh4 Ke6 $8 {The bishop may not be going anywhere, but it's not going to be taken, either. White can win it if he sees fit, but that will result in an easy draw after} 44. Kg2 Bxf4 45. Nxf4+ Kxe5 46. Kg3 Kf6 $11 {followed by ...Kg7-h6 and ...f6. White has nothing to do.}) 41. Ne2 Bb6 ({Now} 41... Bxh2 {loses, as Black's king is too far away to reach a drawn knight vs. pawns ending. It's close, though, and the exclamation points in the line given here indicate that the move was the only one to keep a winning advantage.} 42. Kf3 f6 43. exf6+ Kxf6 44. Kg2 Bxg3 45. Nxg3 $1 h4 46. Ne4+ $1 Kf5 47. Kf3 h3 48. Ng3+ $1 Ke6 49. Kf2 $1 Kd5 50. Nf1 $1 Ke4 51. Kg3 $1 Kf5 52. Kf3 $1 (52. Ne3+ {is "winning" according to the engine, but only because} Ke4 53. Nf1 Kf5 {gives White a second chance to play} 54. Kf3 $1) 52... g5 53. Ng3+ Kg6 54. f5+ Kf6 55. Kg4 h2 56. Nh1 $18 {and it's finally clear that White will win. He'll take the g-pawn, run the f-pawn to f7 with the king's help, and then make tempo moves as needed with the knight to gain the opposition and queen his pawn.}) 42. h3 Ba5 43. f5 gxf5+ 44. Kxf5 Bd8 {Preventing Kg5, winning a second pawn.} 45. Nf4 Kh6 (45... h4 46. g4) 46. Nd5 Kg7 47. Nf6 Kh6 48. h4 Ba5 49. Ne4 Bd8 50. Ng5 Bxg5 (50... Kg7 51. e6 Bxg5 52. Kxg5 $1 $18) 51. hxg5+ Kg7 52. g6 fxg6+ 53. Kg5 (53. Kg5 Kf7 54. Kh6 Ke6 55. Kxg6 Kxe5 56. Kxh5 Kf6 57. g4 Kg7 58. Kg5 $18) 1-0