[Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.24"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D24"] [WhiteElo "2549"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,108,34,20,20,6,6,11,12,15,50,50,81,39,48,28,28,50,56,59,50,50,55,43,39,34,28,30,30,30,30,30,59,29,24,-15,-28,-28,-26,-26,-8,-10,-19,-36,-30,-12,0,0,-8,0,0,0,22,0,-2,-1,5,0,1,0,30,30,67,67,56,32,43,46,54,41,41,41,41,41,72,72,75,72,72,30,74,74,74,80,69,76,60,91,100,91,100,92,90,65,80,80,80,80,72,78,65,2,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] The Women's World Champion continues to perform very well in this event. Bouncing back from her loss in the previous round, she has Maghsoodloo on the ropes for a while before having to acquiesce in a draw.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. Nxb5 $5 {This hasn't scored well, but its rarity may have given Ju hopes of surprising her opponent.} (6. e5 Nd5 7. Nxb5 {is more popular.}) 6... Nxe4 7. Qa4 c6 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Ba6 10. Bxc4 Bxc4 11. Qxc4 Bd6 12. O-O Qc7 (12... O-O {is more common, seen most notably in this very high-level game:} 13. Rb1 Qc7 14. Qd3 Nd7 15. c4 c5 16. d5 exd5 17. Qxd5 Nb6 18. Qd3 Rad8 19. Qc2 h6 20. a4 Rfe8 21. Be3 Bf4 22. a5 Nc8 23. Bxf4 Qxf4 24. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Nd6 26. Qa4 Re6 27. Qd7 Ne4 28. Re1 a6 29. Qd8+ Kh7 30. Qd3 f5 31. g3 Rd6 32. Qb3 Qg4 33. Kg2 Qg6 34. Rd1 Rxd1 35. Qxd1 Qd6 36. Qb3 Qe6 37. Qd3 Qd6 38. Qe3 Qc7 39. Nh4 g6 40. Qd3 Qb7 41. Nf3 Kg7 42. Ne5 Kf6 43. Nd7+ Kf7 44. Nb6 Nf6+ 45. f3 Qe7 46. Nd5 Qd7 47. h4 g5 48. Qb3 Qe6 49. Qb7+ Kg6 50. Kf2 Nxd5 51. cxd5 Qf6 52. Qb6 Kf7 53. hxg5 hxg5 54. Qxc5 Qb2+ 55. Ke3 Qb3+ 56. Kd4 Qd1+ 57. Ke5 Qxf3 58. Qa7+ Kg6 59. Qxa6+ Kh5 60. Qe6 Qxg3+ 61. Kf6 Qc3+ 62. Qe5 Qxe5+ 63. Kxe5 f4 64. Ke4 Kg4 65. d6 f3 66. Ke3 Kg3 67. d7 f2 68. d8=Q f1=Q 69. Qxg5+ Kh3 70. Qh5+ Kg3 71. Qg6+ Kh3 72. Qd3 Qf8 73. a6 Qf7 74. Ke2+ Kg2 75. Qe4+ Kh2 76. Qh4+ Kg2 77. Qg5+ Kh2 78. Qe5+ Kg2 79. Qe4+ Kh2 80. Ke3 Qb3+ 81. Kf2 Qb6+ 82. Kf3 Qb3+ 83. Qe3 Qd5+ 84. Kf2 Qf5+ 85. Ke1 Qb1+ 86. Ke2 Qb5+ 87. Qd3 Qe5+ 88. Kd2 Qa5+ 89. Ke3 Qe5+ 90. Kf3 Qg3+ 91. Ke2 Qe5+ 92. Kd1 Qa1+ 93. Kd2 Qa2+ 94. Ke1 Qa1+ 95. Kf2 Qf6+ 96. Qf3 Qb6+ 97. Qe3 Qf6+ 98. Qf3 Qb6+ 99. Ke1 Qa5+ 100. Kf2 Qb6+ {½-½ Carlsen,M (2847)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2789) Carlsen Inv KO chess24.com INT rapid 2021 (2.11)}) 13. Rd1 $146 (13. Qd3 {½-½ Woelk,T (2310)-Barp,A (2408) Cattolica Vergani Cup 2021 (6)}) (13. Re1 {½-½ Nasshan,D (2320)-Kristoferitsch,D (2295) Marianske Lazne IM-B2 21st 2023 (4)}) 13... O-O 14. Qd3 $146 Nd7 15. c4 c5 16. Be3 Rfd8 17. dxc5 Bxc5 18. Bxc5 Nxc5 19. Qe2 {Black has no problems here, and could just sit and make a draw.} f6 $5 {Ambitious. Understandable, given the rating difference, but risky.} 20. Nd4 e5 21. Nf5 Ne6 22. Qg4 Kh8 23. h3 g6 24. Ne3 Nd4 25. Nd5 Qg7 (25... Qc6 $142 $11) 26. Qe4 (26. Rab1 $142 $14) 26... Rac8 (26... f5 27. Qd3 g5 $11 {looks almost too committal, but it seems to be okay.}) 27. Rac1 f5 28. Qd3 Ne6 $6 (28... g5 $1 {To be followed by the bloodthirsty ...g4, no less.}) 29. Qa3 (29. Rb1 $142 {puts the pressure on Black, who needs to play several accurate moves to avoid serious trouble.} e4 30. Qa3 Nd4 $1 31. Qa6 {Threatening Rb7. Black has only one acceptable move here.} Rc6 $8 32. Qa5 Rcd6 $14) 29... e4 $2 (29... Nd4 $11) 30. Ne7 $1 Ra8 31. Rxd8+ Rxd8 32. Rb1 $1 $16 {Black has not managed to generate any kingside play, while White is making real progress on the queenside. Maghsoodloo's attempts to mix it up have backfired.} Nf4 33. Qxa7 $16 Qd4 $1 34. Qxd4+ $6 (34. Qc7 $1 Ne6 35. Qg3 f4 36. Qh4 Qg7 37. Nd5 g5 38. Qh5 $16) 34... Rxd4 35. Rb8+ $6 (35. c5 $1 Ne6 $1 36. c6 f4 $1 $14 {is not equal for Black, but he should manage to make a draw with best play.}) 35... Kg7 $11 36. Rb7 Kf8 37. c5 Rc4 (37... Ne6 38. c6 f4 $132) 38. c6 Ne6 $6 (38... Rc1+ {first, only then ...Ne6.} 39. Kh2 Ne6 $11) 39. g3 $1 {Of course - why allow the king to be driven to the edge?} Nd8 40. Rc7 Rc1+ 41. Kg2 Rc2 42. Kf1 Ke8 (42... Rxa2 $4 43. Nd5 Rc2 44. Rc8 $18) 43. a4 Ne6 44. Rb7 Kd8 $1 45. Rd7+ (45. h4) 45... Ke8 46. Ng8 {Calling it quits.} Rxc6 47. Nf6+ Kf8 48. Nxh7+ Ke8 49. Nf6+ Kf8 50. Rd1 Ra6 51. Nd7+ Ke7 52. Ne5 Kf6 53. Nd7+ Ke7 54. Ne5 Kf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.24"] [Round "10.2"] [White "Warmerdam, Max"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D25"] [WhiteElo "2625"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {Another disaster for Warmerdam. He was getting outplayed early on, but then fought back and reached a winning position. A mistake after the time control let Abdusattorov reach equality, and as Warmerdam kept playing slowly holding the game became a practical impossibility, and he finally lost the thread and the game. That's two straight losses in games that were (at times) winning for him, and three unnecessary losses in his last four games.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. Bxc4 e6 6. O-O (6. h3) 6... Nbd7 7. Nc3 (7. h3) 7... c6 8. Be2 Be7 9. b3 (9. e4 $142 O-O 10. Be3 $14 {is usual, though the whole line is rather old-fashioned.}) 9... O-O 10. Bb2 Rc8 $11 11. h3 Bh5 12. Rc1 Nd5 13. Nd2 $146 (13. Ne4) 13... Bg6 14. Nde4 f5 $5 15. Nd2 N7f6 16. Bf3 (16. Nf3 f4 $1 17. exf4 Nxf4 18. Ne5 Bf5 19. Qd2 N6d5 20. Nxd5 Nxd5 $11 {White has his outpost, Black has his, and the position is equal.}) 16... b5 17. a4 a6 18. Qe2 Bb4 19. g3 Qe8 20. Bg2 Bh5 21. Qd3 Qg6 $5 (21... Bg6 22. Qe2 Bh5 $11) 22. Ndb1 $2 (22. Nf3 $142 $14 Bxf3 23. Bxf3 Bd6 24. Bg2 h5 25. h4 $14) 22... Bd6 $15 23. Ne2 $2 Nb4 $17 24. Qd1 f4 $3 {The point of Black's play. Now White is in loads of trouble as Black's pieces attack from all directions.} 25. exf4 $8 Nd3 26. Rc3 $1 (26. Rc2 $143 Bxf4 $3 $19 27. gxf4 $2 Bf3 $1 28. Ng3 Bxd1 $19) 26... Nxb2 27. Qd2 Nxa4 $6 $17 (27... b4 $1 28. Re3 Nd5 29. Re4 Nxa4 30. bxa4 Qf7 $17 {/-+}) 28. bxa4 Bb4 29. g4 Nxg4 30. hxg4 Bxg4 31. Ng3 $1 Bf5 $2 (31... Qh6 $1 32. Qe3 Bxc3 33. Nxc3 Qxf4 $17) 32. Qe3 $1 $14 {White has defended perfectly since Black's hammer blows on moves 24 and 25, and his resilience has been rewarded.} Bxc3 33. Nxc3 {Despite Black's minimal material advantage and White's comical pawn structure, White's pieces are coordinated and he has stabilized the position. The game begins anew.} Bc2 (33... Rb8 $142) 34. Nce4 $1 Bxe4 $6 (34... Qg4 $142) 35. Nxe4 $2 (35. Bxe4 $16) 35... Qg4 (35... bxa4 $5 $11) 36. Nc5 Rf6 (36... bxa4 $142 $11) (36... Qxf4 $142 $11) 37. a5 (37. axb5 $142 axb5 38. Nd3 $1 $14) 37... Rg6 $11 38. Qe4 Rd8 $1 {White has only one move not to lose.} 39. Re1 $1 Rd6 $2 (39... e5 $1 {is a great move, especially on the last move of the time control. Again, only one move avoids a loss.} 40. f5 $1 Rxd4 $1 41. Qxg4 Rgxg4 42. Nxa6 Rg5 43. Kf1 $11) (39... Rxd4 40. Qxc6 $11) 40. Kf1 $1 $18 {White is winning, though it's not easy.} b4 41. Nxa6 (41. Bf3 $1) 41... Rf6 42. Nxb4 $2 (42. Nc7 $1 Rxf4 43. Qe5 Rfxd4 44. a6 $1 Rd1 45. a7 $1 Rd8 46. a8=Q Rxa8 47. Nxa8 Rxe1+ 48. Qxe1 b3 49. Qe2 b2 $1 50. Be4 $1 (50. Qxb2 $4 Qd1#) (50. Qxg4 $2 b1=Q+ 51. Ke2 Qb2+ 52. Ke1 Qc3+ 53. Ke2 Qb2+ 54. Ke3 Qa3+ 55. Kd2 Qb2+ $11) 50... Qh3+ 51. Kg1 $18 {The fun and games come to an end; White wins.}) 42... Rxf4 43. Qb1 $2 (43. Qe5 {was the only move to keep a winning(ish) advantage.}) 43... Rdxd4 $11 {Now it's time for Warmerdam to suffer.} 44. Nd3 $8 Rf8 45. Re3 Qg5 46. Bf3 Qxa5 47. Bxc6 Qa6 48. Bf3 Qd6 49. Qb3 Rf6 50. Ke2 h6 51. Be4 Qc7 52. Bg2 (52. Ne5 $1 {was better, in addition to being visually appealing.}) 52... Rc4 53. Bh3 Qc8 54. Kd2 Kh8 55. Qa2 Rc6 56. Qb3 Qa6 57. Qb8+ Rc8 58. Qb3 Qa5+ 59. Ke2 Qh5+ 60. Ke1 Rg6 61. Bxe6 {Brave, as this gives White another file to worry about.} Rg1+ 62. Kd2 Rd8 63. Bh3 (63. Bf7 {makes sense, hoping to follow with Re8+. If that happens and there's no immediate punishment, he'll be safe.} Qg5 64. Ke2 Qg2 {is probably the best way to fight against the Re8+ plan, but White seems to be great after} 65. Qa4 $11 {, reinforcing the Re8+ idea.}) 63... Ra1 64. Be6 Rf1 65. Kc2 $6 (65. Kc3 $1) 65... Qg6 $1 66. Kb2 Re8 $5 {Not objectively best, but it elicited the fatal error.} (66... Qg1 $1 $17) 67. Bc4 $2 Qf6+ $1 68. Ka3 (68. Kc2 Rxf2+ $19) 68... Ra1+ 69. Kb4 Rb8+ 70. Bb5 Qd4+ 71. Qc4 Rb1+ (71... Rb1+ 72. Ka3 (72. Ka5 Qa7+ 73. Ba6 Ra1+ 74. Qa4 Qb6#) 72... Qa1+ 73. Qa2 Qc3+ 74. Ka4 Ra8+ 75. Ba6 Rxa6#) 0-1 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.24"] [Round "10.3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,102,34,29,29,6,11,15,15,15,14,5,30,15,26,-9,-7,5,25,23,23,28,16,14,19,-3,17,12,34,21,25,33,47,42,41,41,43,33,60,37,30,30,68,21,23,20,24,49,56,55,36,17,16,15,16,20,30,41,37,49,49,32,77,71,71,71,78,60,61,74,52,82,88,84,74,63,69,74,87,94,86,95,86,28,61,74,58,33,31,23,31,13,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. h3 {Not exactly one of the leading moves, but it makes some sense. The most obvious idea is to be able to play Bf4 without worrying about ...Nh5.} c5 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. e3 $146 (7. cxd5 exd5 8. e3 O-O 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. O-O Re8 11. b3 d4 12. Na4 Bd6 13. exd4 h6 14. Nc3 a6 15. Bb2 Nb4 16. Be2 Bf5 17. a3 Nbd5 18. Ne5 Nxc3 19. Bxc3 Nd5 20. Bb2 Nf4 21. Bg4 Qg5 22. Qf3 Bxg4 23. hxg4 f6 24. Nc4 Ne2+ 25. Kh1 h5 26. gxh5 Re4 27. g3 Rh4+ 28. Kg2 Bxg3 29. fxg3 Rg4 30. Kf2 Rxg3 31. Qxb7 Re8 32. Qd7 Rf3+ 33. Ke1 Rxf1+ 34. Kxf1 Qg1# {0-1 Keymer,V (2700)-Lazavik,D (2544) Chessable Masters Div 2 Win Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (2.2)}) 7... O-O 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 Qxd5 10. Qxd5 exd5 {This exact position is new, because of 5.h3, but this *kind* of position is typical. White will try to show that Black's isolated d-pawn (and the d4 square) gives him long-term chances.} 11. Bd2 Nc6 12. Bc3 Rd8 13. O-O-O Bf5 14. Bd3 Bxd3 {Somewhat accommodating of Giri, but he has probably worked out to his satisfaction that the straightforward setup he uses will allow him to hold without undue trouble.} (14... Be4 $1) 15. Rxd3 Rd7 16. Rhd1 Rad8 17. a3 f6 18. g4 Kf7 19. Kd2 Ke6 {The basic setup. Now what will White do?} 20. Ke2 h5 $1 {Not a bad option.} 21. R3d2 (21. gxh5 Rh8 22. Nh4 Rxh5 23. Ng6 {is almost dangerous for Black, but there's} Bd6 $1 {the only move, but good enough.} 24. e4 $1 {is forced for White, and now Black must play} Kf7 $1 25. Rxd5 $1 Rxd5 $1 26. exd5 Nb8 27. Nh4 Na6 {First one knight moves to the edge, and then the other one does too. The position is equal, despite White's extra pawn. His kingside pawns are split, the d-pawn will come under fire, and White has nothing to grab a hold of to create some new opportunities.}) 21... hxg4 22. hxg4 Bb6 23. g5 Ne5 24. Nd4+ Bxd4 25. Rxd4 fxg5 26. Ra4 Nc6 27. Rg4 Kf7 (27... d4 28. Bxd4 Rd5 $11 {was a good alternative. We'll see something similar next move.}) 28. b4 d4 $1 29. Bxd4 Rd5 (29... a6) (29... Kg6) 30. Rd2 a5 31. Bc3 Rxd2+ 32. Bxd2 axb4 33. axb4 Ne5 $5 (33... Rd5) 34. Rg3 (34. Rxg5 $4 Rxd2+ 35. Kxd2 Nf3+ $19 {is a simple trap, but a necessary tactic to justify 33...Ne5.}) 34... Rd3 $1 35. Bc1 Rb3 36. Rxg5 Kf6 37. f4 Nc4 38. Rb5 Rb1 39. Kd1 (39. Bd2 Rb2) 39... Nxe3+ 40. Kd2 Rb3 41. Rxb7 Nd5 42. b5 Rb4 $1 (42... Nxf4 43. Kc2 {looks a little riskier, but after} Rf3 $11 {everything is protected and Black can still cope with White's b-pawn. Still, it feels like the sort of position that could wind up with rook + bishop vs. rook, which isn't a smart practical choice for Black.}) 43. Kc2 Rc4+ 44. Kd1 Nc3+ 45. Ke1 Rb4 46. b6 Nd5 {Now the b-pawn is going, and with it any last hopes White might have of winning.} 47. Bd2 Rxb6 48. Bc3+ Kf5 49. Rxb6 Nxb6 50. Bxg7 Kxf4 {As long as White's bishop remains, there is at least a possible way for White to be mated. Of course the players could simply agree to a draw, but a little joke will finish the game as well.} 51. Be5+ Kxe5 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.24"] [Round "10.4"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,74,19,32,20,11,14,12,41,35,43,22,26,-5,-5,-7,22,19,19,13,10,5,10,-1,12,8,3,-4,-29,-19,-16,-24,-31,-28,0,0,35,-3,-4,-4,-2,-2,-12,-30,11,-33,-15,-21,-21,-41,-27,-38,-26,-29,-13,-17,-27,-31,-21,-34,-17,-13,-15,-17,-17,-14,-14,-15,-5,-5,1,-1,-7,0,0,-3,-3] More than one battle between countrymen has proved, shall we say, less than vigorous in this tournament. Will this be an exception?} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ 5. Qxd2 O-O 6. g3 d5 7. Bg2 c6 8. Qc2 b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Nbd2 Nbd7 11. b4 a5 12. a3 Qe7 13. Rab1 $146 {A novelty on move 13 in a position with only one trade having been made and no forced play in sight. Dare we hope?} (13. Qb2) ({and} 13. c5 {had been played before.}) 13... axb4 14. axb4 Ra7 15. c5 Rfa8 16. Rfe1 bxc5 17. bxc5 (17. dxc5 e5 18. e4 d4 19. Nc4 $14 {is more imbalanced and (therefore) more interesting.}) 17... Ba6 18. Ra1 {Not a bad move, but one can also feel the mass exchanges coming up.} Qd8 19. Ra3 Bb5 20. Rxa7 Rxa7 21. e4 Qa8 22. exd5 Nxd5 23. Ne4 Ra2 24. Qc1 h6 25. Nc3 Nxc3 26. Qxc3 Qa3 27. Qxa3 Rxa3 28. h3 Kf8 29. Re3 Ra1+ 30. Re1 Ra3 31. Re3 Ra1+ 32. Re1 Rxe1+ 33. Nxe1 e5 34. dxe5 Nxe5 35. Nc2 Nd3 36. Nd4 Nxc5 37. Bxc6 Bxc6 {Moving on...} 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.24"] [Round "10.5"] [White "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2643"] [BlackElo "2725"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,114,25,24,24,-6,12,15,25,20,35,25,25,19,23,4,23,7,18,14,11,25,32,31,53,-27,26,-39,52,3,3,8,-4,5,1,-9,-9,-9,25,1,16,-51,-27,-75,-28,-63,5,5,-19,-19,-55,-166,-211,-177,-211,-211,-218,-213,-220,-220,-188,-188,-216,-224,-189,-210,-189,-189,-195,-210,-203,-181,-163,-179,-202,-194,-205,-190,-162,-125,-186,-179,-187,-209,-208,-203,-114,-116,-108,-108,-95,-103,-142,-134,-132,-189,-182,-187,-232,-225,-239,-244,-274,-289,-289,-282,-292,-302,-312,-274,-173,-246,-230,-230,-230,-399,-667]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. a3 Bd6 8. Qc2 c6 9. Nge2 Re8 10. Bd2 Nbd7 11. f3 c5 {A fairly well-known line, and in fact Donchenko has had this position before - with Black.} 12. h4 Nb6 $6 $146 (12... c4 13. Bf5 Nf8 14. g4 Rb8 15. h5 h6 16. O-O-O b5 17. Rdg1 N8h7 18. f4 Bxf5 19. Qxf5 Qc8 20. Ng3 b4 21. axb4 Bxb4 22. g5 Bxc3 23. Bxc3 hxg5 24. fxg5 Ne4 25. g6 fxg6 26. Qxd5+ Qe6 27. Qxe6+ Rxe6 28. d5 Nxg3 29. Rxg3 Ra6 30. Rhg1 g5 31. e4 Rd8 32. Kd2 Nf6 33. Ke3 Re8 34. Bxf6 gxf6 35. Rf1 Rb6 36. Kd4 Kg7 37. Rf2 Rb4 38. Rc3 a5 39. Re2 Kh6 40. Rxc4 Rxc4+ 41. Kxc4 Kxh5 42. d6 g4 43. Kd5 g3 44. d7 Rg8 45. Ke6 Kg4 46. Rd2 Kf3 47. d8=Q Rxd8 48. Rxd8 Kxe4 49. Kxf6 g2 50. Rg8 Kf3 51. Ke5 Kf2 52. Kd4 g1=Q 53. Rxg1 Kxg1 {1-0 Predke,A (2682)-Donchenko,A (2636) Wch Blitz Warsaw 2021 (6)}) (12... h5 $1 $11 {is probably best, as played in several games back in 2022. Here's the highest-rated one.} 13. O-O-O a6 14. g4 hxg4 15. fxg4 Nxg4 16. h5 Nf8 17. Rdg1 Nf2 18. dxc5 Be5 19. h6 g6 20. h7+ Kh8 21. Rh6 Bg7 22. Rh2 Ng4 23. Rh3 Ne5 24. Rhg3 Ne6 25. Nf4 Nxf4 26. exf4 Nxd3+ 27. Qxd3 d4 28. Ne4 Qd5 29. Ng5 Qxc5+ 30. Kd1 Qd5 31. Qf3 Qa2 32. Nxf7+ Qxf7 33. Rxg6 d3 34. Be3 Qb3+ 35. Ke1 d2+ 36. Kf2 d1=Q {0-1 So,W (2778)-Sevian,S (2693) American Cup-ch Saint Louis 2022 (1.1)}) 13. g4 $1 $14 Nc4 (13... Bd7 $142) 14. Bxc4 dxc4 15. d5 $2 (15. O-O-O $1 cxd4 16. Nxd4 $16 {followed by a quick h5-h6 leaves Black with a poor position.}) 15... Rb8 $15 {Now Black is better. The tempo matters.} 16. h5 $6 (16. a4 $1 a6 17. a5 $1) 16... b5 $17 17. g5 Nd7 18. f4 $1 {Necessary to keep Black's knight out of e5 (and then d3).} Bf8 19. h6 g6 20. Rd1 Nb6 $2 (20... b4 21. Ne4 (21. axb4 cxb4 22. Ne4 c3 $1 23. bxc3 b3 $19) 21... c3 $1 22. bxc3 b3 23. Qd3 c4 $1 24. Qxc4 b2 25. O-O Qb6 26. N4g3 Ba6 27. Qd4 Qxd4 28. cxd4 f5 $19 {Although White has two extra pawns, many of his pawns are weak, and Black's monster b-pawn and light-squared bishop will decide the game.}) 21. Kf2 $2 (21. Ng3 $1 $15) 21... b4 $19 22. Ne4 Bf5 23. N2g3 {Donchenko may have been counting on this move, but Gukesh has the refutation ready:} Rxe4 $1 24. Nxe4 Qe7 25. Nf6+ Qxf6 26. e4 Qd4+ 27. Kf3 Qxd5 $19 {White is completely lost, down material with a bad position to boot. With all the tactics, I suspect that Black may have been somewhat short of time, so it makes sense for White to try his luck until at least move 41 and see how things stand.} 28. Bxb4 Bxe4+ 29. Qxe4 Qxe4+ 30. Kxe4 cxb4 31. axb4 Bxb4 (31... Na4 $1) 32. Rd4 Bc5 33. Rd2 Bb4 34. Rd4 Bc5 35. Rd2 f5+ 36. gxf6 Kf7 37. Ra1 Rb7 38. Rd8 Kxf6 39. Ra6 Re7+ 40. Kf3 Kf7 {Black is still winning, but at least White's rooks are active. The game continues.} 41. Rh8 Ke6 42. Ra8 Bd4 $5 43. R8xa7 Rxa7 44. Rxa7 Nc8 45. Rc7 Nd6 46. Rxh7 {Black's 42nd move reduced his margin for error, and now Gukesh has only one move that keeps a winning advantage.} Nf7 $1 {Level passed.} (46... Bxb2 $2 47. Rc7 $1 Bh8 48. Ke2 c3 49. h7 Kf5 50. Rc6 Nf7 51. Rc7 $11 {Black cannot make progress, as White can keep attacking the knight and (if the knight leaves f7) the bishop.}) 47. Rg7 Bxg7 48. hxg7 Nh6 49. Ke4 Kd6 50. Kd4 Nf5+ 51. Kxc4 Nxg7 52. Kd4 Nf5+ 53. Ke4 Ke6 54. b4 Ne7 55. Kf3 Kf5 56. b5 Nd5 57. Kg3 {One last puzzle.} Nxf4 $1 (57... Nxf4 $1 58. b6 {looks like a win for White, but Black has not just one but two ways to deal with it. Funny enough, both require the knight to go in the "wrong" direction.} Ne2+ (58... Nh5+ 59. Kf3 Nf6 60. b7 Nd7 $19) 59. Kf2 Nd4 60. b7 Nc6 $19 {From here the win is simple: Black pushes the pawn to g2 with his king on f3, White plays Kg1, and Black plays ...Nb8 followed by ...Kf2 and ...g1Q.}) 0-1 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.24"] [Round "10.6"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Wei, Yi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "2682"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,72,20,20,12,0,0,11,43,8,-5,-5,7,-19,8,-54,-68,-76,-63,-63,-68,-68,-68,-70,-81,-114,-101,-88,-53,-59,-41,-41,-25,-34,-10,-21,-32,-13,-26,-27,0,0,-68,0,0,0,-39,-18,0,0,-22,-37,-43,-32,-36,-22,-11,0,0,0,0,-43,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 {The Tromp hasn't exactly disappeared in recent years, but its heyday as a trendy, semi-offbeat opening is in the last (at least for now).} d5 3. e3 c5 4. Bxf6 gxf6 (4... exf6 {is also played (including by Carlsen a month ago), but the text is more popular.}) 5. dxc5 Nc6 6. a3 e6 7. b4 a5 8. Nd2 axb4 9. axb4 Rxa1 10. Qxa1 Nxb4 11. Qa4+ Nc6 12. Bb5 Bd7 $11 {All theory, and almost all the games have finished in a draw. (Black won the only non-draw, and that was a blitz game won by the higher-rated player.)} 13. Nb3 Bg7 14. Nf3 O-O 15. O-O f5 {Still standard. Here White deviates from the four earlier games.} 16. Rb1 $146 (16. Qf4 Ne5 17. Bxd7 Nxf3+ 18. Qxf3 Qxd7 19. h3 Ra8 20. Rb1 Qc7 21. Qe2 f4 22. e4 dxe4 23. Qxe4 Rd8 24. Qf3 Bf8 25. Ra1 Bxc5 26. Nxc5 Qxc5 27. Qxf4 Qd4 28. Qg5+ Kh8 29. c3 f6 30. Qa5 Qd5 31. Qc7 Rg8 32. g3 Qf3 33. Rb1 Rg7 34. Qb8+ Rg8 35. Qxb7 Qxc3 36. Qe4 f5 37. Qh4 Qg7 38. Rb6 Re8 39. Qf4 Qa1+ 40. Kh2 Qg7 41. Qa4 Qf7 42. Rb7 Qxb7 43. Qxe8+ Kg7 44. Qxe6 Qf3 45. Qe3 Qd5 46. Qe7+ Kg6 47. g4 fxg4 48. hxg4 Qf3 49. Qe8+ Kg7 50. Qe5+ Kg6 51. Qg3 Qd5 52. Qe3 Qd6+ 53. Kh3 Qd5 54. Kg3 Qd6+ 55. f4 Qd1 56. f5+ Kg7 57. g5 Qd6+ 58. Kg4 Qd1+ 59. Kg3 Qd6+ 60. Qf4 Qd3+ 61. Kh4 Qd5 62. Kg3 Qd3+ 63. Qf3 Qd6+ 64. Kh3 Qd7 65. Qe4 Kf8 66. Kh4 Qd2 67. Qa8+ Kf7 68. Qb7+ Kf8 69. Qc8+ Kf7 70. Qc4+ Kf8 71. Qc5+ Kf7 72. Qa7+ Kf8 73. Qa3+ Kf7 74. Qb3+ Kf8 75. Qa3+ Kf7 76. Qa7+ Kf8 77. Qb8+ Kf7 78. Qb3+ Kf8 79. Qh3 Kg7 80. Qg3 Qd5 81. Qc3+ Kg8 82. Qh3 Kg7 83. Qf1 Qe4+ 84. Kh5 Qe8+ 85. Kg4 Qe4+ 86. Kg3 Qe3+ 87. Kg4 Qe4+ 88. Qf4 Qg2+ 89. Kh4 Qh1+ 90. Kg3 Qg1+ 91. Kf3 Qf1+ 92. Kg4 Qg2+ {½-½ Nakamura,H (2788)-Caruana,F (2794) CCT Final playoff Toronto rapid 2023 (6.2)}) (16. c4 dxc4 17. Qxc4 Qc7 (17... Ne5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. g3 Qc7 20. Rd1 Bc6 21. Bxc6 Qxc6 22. Na5 Qf3 23. Rb1 Rd8 24. Qf1 Rd7 25. Nc4 Bf6 26. Nd6 Be7 27. Qb5 Qc6 28. Qxc6 bxc6 29. Nb7 Kg7 30. Kg2 Rd5 31. Rb6 Bxc5 32. Rxc6 Be7 33. Rc7 Kf6 34. Kf3 Rb5 35. Rd7 h6 36. Nd6 Bxd6 37. Rxd6 Rb4 38. Ra6 Rc4 39. h3 Rb4 {½-½ Swiercz,D (2665)-Xu,Y (2507) Chess.com Rapid Wk15 Swiss Chess.com INT 2022 (8)}) 18. Rd1 Rc8 19. h3 Be8 20. Qh4 h6 21. Be2 Ne7 22. Nfd4 Ng6 23. Qh5 f4 24. Qf3 Rd8 25. Qe4 fxe3 26. Qxe3 Ba4 27. Rc1 Qf4 28. Rc4 Be8 29. Rb4 Qc7 30. Bf3 Bc6 31. Bxc6 bxc6 32. g3 Ne7 {0-1 Vrolijk,L (2566)-Matlakov,M (2670) Wch Blitz Samarkand 2023 (5)}) (16. Nbd4 h6 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. Qa6 Qe8 19. Ra1 e5 20. Nb3 Be6 21. Qb6 d4 22. exd4 e4 23. Nfd2 Qd7 24. c3 Bd5 25. c4 Be6 26. Ra7 Qd8 27. Qxc6 Bxd4 28. Nxd4 Qxd4 29. Qd6 Rd8 30. Qxd4 Rxd4 31. Ra2 f4 32. c6 e3 33. fxe3 fxe3 34. Nf1 Rd1 35. Re2 Bxc4 36. c7 Ba6 37. c8=Q+ Bxc8 38. Rxe3 Ba6 39. Rf3 {½-½ Rogemont,A (2338)-Ochs,M (2372) EU-ch 2022 sf12 email ICCF email}) 16... Qa8 $11 17. Qf4 $5 (17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. Qa5 $11) (17. Nbd2 Qxa4 18. Bxa4 $11) (17. Qxa8 Rxa8 18. Kf1 Kf8 19. Ke2 Ke7 $11) 17... Qa2 $1 18. Rc1 e5 19. Qg5 $6 (19. Qh4 $142 h6 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21. Qb4 $1 $11) 19... Be6 $15 (19... h6 20. Qh5 Be6 $15) 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21. Nh4 h6 22. Qh5 f4 $1 23. exf4 (23. Nf5) 23... exf4 (23... e4 $1 24. f5 Bd7 25. f6 Bxf6 26. Qxh6 Qb2 $1 $15) 24. Nf5 $11 Bxf5 25. Qxf5 Re8 26. g3 fxg3 27. hxg3 Qa4 28. Kg2 Qc4 29. Rh1 Re5 30. Qc8+ Kh7 31. Rh4 Qxc2 32. Nd4 Qd3 33. Qxc6 Re1 34. Qxd5 Qf1+ 35. Kf3 Qd3+ 36. Kg2 Qf1+ {Wei Yi had done his homework, and the result was that the only player in any danger in this game was Van Foreest (though not much danger).} 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.24"] [Round "10.7"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2769"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,71,20,31,8,25,25,15,16,2,0,0,20,4,20,3,28,-5,1,-26,-14,-52,-15,-27,-7,-1,23,4,52,-8,45,66,58,50,59,37,42,54,42,7,-2,-27,15,7,20,5,5,2,2,17,1,19,17,0,0,0,0,0,10,-10,10,-3,84,43,146,73,81,39,88,123,123,178,264,221]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. a4 Bd7 10. Ba2 $5 (10. Bc2 {is much more common.}) 10... h6 11. h3 Re8 12. Be3 (12. Re1 Bf8 13. Nbd2 Ne7 14. Nf1 Ng6 15. N3h2 Be6 16. Bxe6 Rxe6 17. Ng4 d5 18. Nxf6+ Rxf6 19. exd5 {½-½ Svidler,P (2740)-Adams,M (2733) EU-Cup 27th Rogaska Slatina 2011 (6)}) 12... Rb8 $146 (12... Bf8) 13. Nbd2 Bf8 (13... bxa4 $5 {looks bad, but it works for tactical reasons.} 14. Nc4 (14. Qxa4 Nb4 $1 15. Qd1 Nxa2 (15... Nxd3 $5 $11 {is risky but apparently sound.}) 16. Rxa2 Bf8 $11 {is the more solid approach.} 17. Qc2 d5 $1 18. Rxa6 $2 dxe4 19. Nxe4 Bb5 $1 (19... Nxe4 $2 20. dxe4 Bb5 21. Rd1 $16) 20. Nxf6+ gxf6 21. Raa1 Bxd3 $17) 14... Bf8 15. Qxa4 Nb4 $1 16. Qd1 Nxa2 17. Rxa2 c5 18. Rxa6 Bb5 19. Ra7 Nxe4 20. Na3 Nf6 21. Nxb5 Rxb5 $11 {/?}) 14. g4 $5 {Subtle...not. But it doesn't really matter if White's intentions are obvious if they're hard to meet. Ding reacts very well, aiming to trade White's attackers and to achieve counterplay in the center - just the way we've all been taught since we were beginners.} Be6 15. Bxe6 Rxe6 16. axb5 axb5 17. g5 hxg5 18. Nxg5 Re8 19. Kh2 d5 {A slight inaccuracy, but nothing fatal.} (19... Qd7 $142 20. Rg1 g6 {followed by some mix of ...Bg7, ...b4, and ...Ra8 maintains full equality.}) 20. Rg1 (20. Ra6 $1 d4 $8 21. Qb3 $1 Qd7 22. cxd4 Nxd4 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. f4 Nd5 $1 25. Kg3 $1 Nb4 $1 26. Ra7 $1 Bc5 27. Raa1 $14) 20... d4 21. cxd4 exd4 (21... Nxd4 $142) 22. Bf4 Bd6 23. Bg3 Bxg3+ 24. Rxg3 Qd6 25. Kg1 (25. Kh1 {is also playable, keeping the g-file open for more heavy pieces but leaving f2 unguarded.} Qf4 26. Ndf3 Ne5 {etc.}) 25... Ra8 (25... g6) 26. Rxa8 (26. Rc1) 26... Rxa8 27. Qb3 Qd7 28. Ndf3 $11 {Ding has played well so far, but over the next few moves he makes several mistakes - most of them involving his rook. Whether he underestimated White's threats or miscalculated, I don't know, but once Nepo's attack gets going Black is quickly overwhelmed.} Rb8 $2 (28... Re8 $11 {is a good, solid move.}) (28... Ra1+ 29. Kg2 Nh5 30. Rg4 Na5 $1 31. Qb4 f6 32. Ne6 $1 Qxe6 33. Qxb5 Qf7 34. b4 c6 35. Qb8+ Qf8 36. Qc7 Nb3 37. Qxc6 $11 {is a crazy line.}) (28... Nd8 $1 $11 {is a nice multi-purpose move. The b-pawn is now defended, f7 is overprotected, and Black is ready to play c5, with possible counterplay and (at a minimum) securing the d4-pawn.}) 29. Qc2 $2 (29. Nh4 $16 {/+-}) 29... Rb6 $6 (29... Re8 $11) 30. e5 $14 Nh5 31. Rg4 Rb8 $2 {Again with the rook! Now White is clearly winning.} (31... Qd5 $14 {had to be played, preventing both Qc5 and Qb3.}) 32. Qc5 $1 $18 {This does (at least) two things. It gangs up on the d4-pawn, but there are also some horizontal attacking ideas that will come at the expense of the knight on h5 (e.g. with Ne4 and e6).} (32. Ne4 $1 $18 {was also winning, and Qc5 won't play a role in this case. So Ding can't blame the loss on overlooking one idea or the other.}) 32... Rd8 33. Ne4 {Threatening e6, but there are also Rh4/Rg5 ideas.} (33. e6 $1) ({and} 33. Rh4 {also win.}) 33... Qe6 (33... Qd5 34. Qxd5 Rxd5 35. Rg5 Nf4 36. Nf6+ Kf8 37. Nxd5 Nxh3+ 38. Kf1 Nxg5 39. Nxg5 Nxe5 40. Ke2 $18) 34. Rh4 $1 Rd5 (34... g6 35. Rxh5 $1 gxh5 36. Nfg5 Qxe5 (36... Qg6 37. h4 {Threatening Nf6+ followed by Qxc6.} Nb8 38. Qe7 Rf8 39. Kf1 Kg7 40. e6 $18) 37. Qxc6 $18) 35. Qa3 $1 {The only move, but it's crushing thanks to threats involving Qa8+.} g6 (35... Qf5 36. Qa8+ Rd8 37. Qxc6 Qxf3 38. Nf6+ $18 {One more tactical problem for Black.}) 36. Nfg5 $1 (36. Rxh5 $1 {also wins, as usual.}) (36. Nfg5 $1 Qc8 (36... Qxe5 37. Qa8+ Nd8 (37... Rd8 38. Qxc6 $18) 38. Rxh5 $1 gxh5 39. Qxd5 $1 Qxd5 40. Nf6+ Kg7 41. Nxd5 $18) 37. Rxh5 gxh5 38. Nf6+ Kg7 39. Nxd5 $18) 1-0