[Event "23rd European Teams"] [Site "Terme Catez SLO"] [Date "2021.11.12"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Ragger, Markus"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2770"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2021.11.12"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SLO"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1410"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2021.11.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.11.15"] [SourceQuality "2"] [WhiteTeam "Austria"] [BlackTeam "France"] [WhiteTeamCountry "AUT"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] {[%evp 63,63,-1]} 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. Be2 d4 7. Nb1 Ne7 8. h4 h5 9. d3 Ng6 10. Qh3 a5 11. f4 e5 12. fxe5 Nxe5 13. O-O Nbd7 14. Nd2 Bd6 15. a4 Nf6 16. Nf3 Neg4 17. Bg5 Qd7 18. Nd2 Nh7 $2 (18... Bh2+ 19. Kh1 Bc7 $11) 19. Nc4 $2 (19. Bf4 $18) 19... Nxg5 20. hxg5 Bh2+ 21. Kh1 Bc7 22. Bxg4 Qxg4 23. Rf3 O-O 24. e5 $2 {Ragger spent more than 12 minutes on this move, but he missed something serious.} (24. Kg1 $11) 24... Rae8 $17 25. Qxg4 hxg4 26. Rg3 b5 27. Nd2 $2 (27. axb5 cxb5 28. Nxa5 Rxe5 29. Rxg4 Rfe8 30. Re4 Rxe4 31. dxe4 Rxe4 {favors Black, but White has decent drawing chances after} 32. Nc6) 27... Rxe5 28. Rxg4 Re2 $19 {Now Black is clearly winning, and Firouzja's technique is up to the job.} 29. Nf3 c5 30. Rc1 bxa4 31. Kg1 Rb8 32. Kf1 Re6 33. Nd2 Rxb2 34. Nc4 Rb8 35. Kf2 Rbe8 36. Rh4 Re2+ 37. Kf3 g6 38. Re4 R2xe4 39. dxe4 Rb8 40. Ke2 Kg7 41. Ra1 Rh8 42. Kf3 Rb8 43. Ke2 Rb4 44. Kd3 Kf8 45. Rf1 Ke7 46. Ra1 Ke6 47. Rf1 {White's knight is doing a great job of gluing White's position together; it's just not quite good enough.} Bd8 48. Ra1 Bxg5 49. Nxa5 f5 50. exf5+ gxf5 51. Nc6 Rb6 52. Na5 Kd5 53. Nc4 (53. Rxa4 Rb1) 53... Rg6 54. Rf1 f4 55. Rh1 Bh4 $1 {Cute, and strong.} 56. Rh3 (56. Rxh4 Rg3+ 57. Ke2 Kxc4 $19) 56... Rxg2 57. Nb6+ Kc6 58. Rxh4 Rg3+ 59. Kd2 Kxb6 0-1 [Event "23rd European Teams"] [Site "Terme Catez SLO"] [Date "2021.11.13"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Saric, Ivan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2665"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2021.11.12"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SLO"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1410"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2021.11.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.11.15"] [SourceQuality "2"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "Croatia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "CRO"] {[%evp 0,63,24,11,52,61,76,68,67,24,38,23,57,28,74,39,29,39,29,16,11,14,7,18, 27,25,18,38,38,17,14,-39,0,-14,0,-26,-11,0,0,0,0,0,12,19,13,13,23,19,19,16,20, 18,12,11,29,22,24,14,10,10,0,0,0,-26,-4,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 g6 7. g4 Nc6 8. Be3 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Bg7 10. O-O-O O-O 11. Qb4 a5 12. Qa3 Bd7 13. e5 Ne8 14. Nd5 Bc6 15. Bg5 Bxd5 16. Rxd5 Bxe5 17. Rxe5 dxe5 18. Bxe7 Qd5 19. Rg1 Qd4 20. Qe3 Qxe3+ 21. fxe3 Nc7 22. Bxf8 Kxf8 23. Bg2 Rb8 24. Rd1 Ke7 25. g5 b6 26. h4 Rd8 27. Rxd8 Kxd8 28. c4 Ke7 29. Kc2 f6 30. gxf6+ Kxf6 31. Kb3 Ke6 32. Ka4 {A well-played game by Saric, and the only "blemish" on Firouzja's score through four rounds.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "23rd European Teams"] [Site "Terme Catez SLO"] [Date "2021.11.14"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Erdos, Viktor"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2615"] [BlackElo "2770"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2021.11.12"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SLO"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1410"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2021.11.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.11.15"] [SourceQuality "2"] [WhiteTeam "Hungary"] [BlackTeam "France"] [WhiteTeamCountry "HUN"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] {[%evp 0,112,24,11,58,55,63,27,97,43,53,40,51,37,52,34,19,-7,-12,-2,4,8,12,-32, -4,-18,-28,-11,-8,-11,1,0,7,2,21,14,18,2,10,-6,3,-13,-3,-17,-24,-41,-27,-54, -25,-28,-40,-40,-38,-59,-46,-49,-71,-56,-46,-31,-57,-75,-19,-18,-14,-22,-5,-21, -29,-44,-48,-115,-116,-105,-84,-83,-81,-80,-80,-80,-94,-107,-111,-113,-130, -125,-110,-114,-113,-111,-101,-110,-77,-88,-114,-81,-87,-79,-53,-37,-48,-147, -148,-147,-148,-147,-164,-179,-177,-218,-188,-297,-286,-582,-601]} 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 {As in round 1.} Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. d4 (6. Be2 { was Ragger's choice in round 1.}) 6... Nf6 (6... dxe4 {is another standard move, when both recaptures are playable. (In case of 7.Nxe4, Black can play 7.. .Qxd4. White gets sufficient counterplay, but not more.)}) 7. exd5 (7. Bd3 { is the most popular move historically, offering the d-pawn (7...dxe4 8.Nxe4 Qxd4; Black sometimes takes it, but not always), while}) (7. Be2 {seems to be the trend. The idea is that after} dxe4 {White can defend the d-pawn with} 8. Qe3 {, and there's no hanging bishop on d3.}) 7... cxd5 8. Bd3 Nc6 9. Ne2 h6 ( 9... Bd6 {is common, not fearing the pin, while Black also plays}) (9... Be7 { fairly often, so that there won't be a pin. Firouzja prefers to stop the pin and put the bishop on the more active square.}) 10. c3 Bd6 11. Bc2 Rc8 (11... e5 $5) 12. g4 Kd7 $5 {If this interesting idea is flawed, it's not because it endangers Black's king, which will be very safe on b8. Rather, the problem is with the time it takes to finish this way of artificially castling.} (12... e5 {is still a good option.}) 13. g5 (13. h4 $142 $14 {/+/- is better, intending g5 and to recapture with the pawn.}) 13... hxg5 14. Bxg5 Kc7 (14... Be7 $142 { is better, though undesirable. The point is to meet} 15. h4 {with} g6 {, not allowing White to play h4-h5 free of charge.}) 15. O-O-O (15. h4 $142 { followed by h5 gives White a clear plus.}) 15... Kb8 (15... Be7 $142 16. h4 g6) 16. Rdg1 $6 (16. h4 {was still good for White.}) 16... b5 $5 17. a3 (17. h4) 17... a5 18. Qd3 $6 {Finally forsaking the h4-h5 idea for good. Now Black takes over the initiative.} (18. h4) 18... Qb6 $15 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Rg7 Qb7 ( 20... Rc7 $142) 21. Rhg1 (21. Rh7 $1) 21... b4 $17 (21... f5 $17) 22. a4 Bf8 $6 (22... f5 $142) 23. Rh7 Bh6+ 24. Kd1 (24. Kb1 $142 {Yes, there's the open b-file after a pawn swap, but White's king will be (even) less safe in the center.} bxc3 25. Nxc3 {isn't so bad for White, who can plug up the b-file with Nb5, as needed.}) 24... f5 25. Rxh8 Rxh8 26. Rg3 $6 $17 {Black doesn't take perfect advantage from here; we'll return in a dozen moves or so.} (26. Nc1 $142 $15) 26... Rc8 27. Ke1 bxc3 28. bxc3 Ne7 29. Kf1 Ka7 30. Rg1 Qa6 31. Qxa6+ Kxa6 32. Bd3+ Ka7 33. Bb5 Ng8 34. Rg3 Nf6 $17 35. Rd3 $2 Ne4 $19 36. Rd1 Nxc3 $2 37. Nxc3 Rxc3 38. Be8 Rc7 39. h4 $2 (39. Ke2 $1 {is best, looking to activate the rook. If Black plays as in the game, trying to activate his king, White's idea becomes evident.} Kb7 (39... Re7 $142) 40. Rg1 $1 {and now the position is objectively equal.}) 39... Kb7 $19 {Here comes the king!} 40. Rb1+ Kc8 41. h5 Bg7 {A moment's respite for his majesty.} 42. Ke2 Kd8 43. Rb8+ Ke7 44. Bb5 Kf6 45. Kd3 Kg5 46. Ra8 Kxh5 {Quite the journey, from the a-file to the h-file in only nine moves! He's not done, either.} 47. Rxa5 Kg4 48. Ra6 Kf3 $2 {Surprisingly, this is practically a blunder.} (48... Bf8 $142 $19 {stops the Rd6-d7 maneuver.}) 49. Rc6 $1 $11 Rb7 50. Rc2 $2 (50. Rd6 $1 {This is the problem. White plays Rd7 next, and because White's a-pawn is difficult for Black's bishop to catch and because Black has so many pawns on light squares (ready to be gobbled up by White's bishop, one after another, like potato chips), the position is drawn.} Kxf2 51. Rd7 Rxd7 52. Bxd7 Bf6 53. Be8 f4 54. Bxf7 f3 55. Bxe6 Kg1 (55... Kg2 56. Bxd5 $11) 56. Ke3 f2 57. Bh3 $11) 50... Bf6 $19 {White's a-pawn is not enough to save him.} 51. Rb2 Bd8 52. Rc2 Ba5 53. Rc5 Be1 54. Bc6 Ra7 55. Rb5 {Bad, but there aren't any good ideas left.} Rxa4 56. Rxd5 $5 (56. Rb7 Rc4 57. Be8 Rc3#) (56. Be8 Ra7 $19) 56... Ra3+ 0-1 [Event "23rd European Teams"] [Site "Terme Catez SLO"] [Date "2021.11.15"] [Round "4.5"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Yilmaz, Mustafa"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2626"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2021.11.12"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "SLO"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1410"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2021.11.15"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.11.15"] [SourceQuality "2"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "Turkey"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "TUR"] {[%evp 0,71,24,11,39,56,80,56,58,42,42,42,63,48,45,52,47,29,20,24,22,13,1,-1,1, -2,3,-22,16,4,25,29,58,60,60,60,60,60,55,51,46,53,48,37,39,46,49,38,34,9,40, 165,160,159,159,159,163,169,226,157,164,183,232,241,236,229,238,238,256,263, 285,327,389,327]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 ({ Varying from his choice of} 6. h3 {in round 2.}) 6... e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. O-O-O Be7 10. h3 (10. f4 {is the most common move here, while}) (10. f3 { transposes to an even more explored variation.}) 10... b5 11. g4 Rc8 $6 $146 { A novelty, but one that transposes into a moderately well-explored line.} ( 11... O-O) (11... b4) 12. Kb1 Nb6 (12... h6 $142 13. f4 exf4 14. Bxf4 $14 {/+/- }) 13. g5 $16 Nh5 $146 (13... Nfd7 {had been played in five earlier games, and reaches a position that happened in eight games in the database. Black's results have been terrible here (six losses, two draws, no wins), but Yilmaz's move doesn't seem any better. Black should probably vary on move 12 or, even better, move 11.}) 14. h4 (14. Na5 {first may be even stronger.}) 14... Nc4 15. Bxc4 Rxc4 (15... bxc4 $142) 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. Qxd5 (17. exd5 $142) 17... Qc7 18. Nd2 Rc6 19. Rc1 (19. c4 $1 bxc4 20. Rc1 c3 21. Rxc3 Rxc3 22. bxc3 O-O 23. Kc2 Rc8 24. c4 $16) 19... O-O $14 20. c3 g6 21. Rc2 Rb8 (21... Qd7 $142 22. Nb3 Rc7 $14) 22. Rhc1 a5 23. b4 $1 Rc8 (23... Nf4 $1) 24. a4 (24. Qxb5 $1) 24... axb4 $4 (24... bxa4 $8 25. b5 $14 {/+/-}) 25. Qxc6 $1 $18 (25. axb5 Rxc3 26. b6 $1 { is also winning handily, so Yilmaz (who seems to have been in time trouble) missed at least two things when he played 24...axb4.}) 25... Qxc6 26. cxb4 Qxc2+ 27. Rxc2 Rb8 {Now White's a-pawn wins the game.} ({That said,} 27... Rxc2 28. Kxc2 bxa4 {only changes the identity of White's winning queenside pawn; it doesn't rescue Black from his fate.} 29. b5 Bd8 30. Nc4 $18 (30. b6 $18) (30. Ba7 $18 {is worse than the previous alternatives. It's often the right move in situations like this, covering the queening square, but on this occasion White doesn't need it.})) 28. a5 Nf4 29. Rc7 Bd8 30. Rd7 Nd3 31. a6 Nxb4 32. a7 Ra8 33. Rxd6 Bc7 34. Rd7 Na6 35. Rd5 Ba5 36. Nb3 1-0