[Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.23"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Shankland, Samuel"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D32"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2865"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2022.01.14"] {[%evp 0,69,19,31,19,0,4,4,21,35,34,19,9,9,8,22,103,30,23,21,30,31,24,14,60,58, 62,59,64,42,71,74,64,26,65,26,26,16,20,22,3,6,12,1,2,-25,-25,-25,-16,-20,-35, -44,-39,-50,-55,-55,-14,-34,-50,-46,-50,-50,-51,-62,-23,-15,-15,-26,-18,-16, -21,-19]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 cxd4 {Say what? I used to play this nonsense sometimes when I was a kid (ok, as an adult, too), but it was primarily as a guilty pleasure. Now Carlsen is playing it? (The funny thing is that the three joke/semi-joke openings I played as a kid - the Schliemann, the Budapest Gambit, and now the Von Hennig-Schara Gambit - have all had their moment in the sun. But while the first two endured for a time in big-time chess, I still have my doubts about this one.)} 5. Qa4+ Bd7 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Qxd5 Nf6 (7... Nc6 {is the traditional move, defending the b-pawn, and after} 8. Nf3 Nf6 9. Qd1 (9. Qb3 {is possible here too. It can, but need not, lead to a speedy draw:} Be6 {Not forced.} 10. Qxb7 {Likewise not forced.} Nb4 {And now White can choose which of two draws he wants if doesn't want to lose.} 11. Qb5+ ({or} 11. Nd4 Rb8 12. Qxa7 Ra8 13. Qb7 Rb8 $11) 11... Bd7 12. Qe5+ Be6 13. Qb5+ Bd7 $11) 9... Bc5 10. e3 Qe7 11. Be2 O-O-O {This isn't necessarily best, but it was pretty much automatic for a long time.} 12. O-O g5 13. b4 {and let the fun begin.}) 8. Qb3 (8. Qd1 Bc5 9. Nf3 O-O 10. e3 Nc6 11. Be2 Qe7 12. O-O Rfd8 {gives Black some compensation for the pawn, perhaps, but nothing close to full compensation.}) (8. Qxb7 $6 Nc6 9. Qb3 Rb8 10. Qd1 Bb4 {seems to give Black enough for the two pawns, which means that 7...Nc6 isn't necessary.}) 8... Na6 {This was played a few weeks ago by Carlsen's compatriot Tari in the World Blitz Championship, and before that Grischuk used it against Kasparov in St. Louis last year. Again, we see that since 7...Nc6 isn't necessary, Black has additional options.} 9. Nf3 Nc5 10. Qc2 (10. Qd1 Nce4 11. e3 Bb4 12. Bd2 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Qa5 15. Qd4 Rc8 16. Bc4 (16. Qb4 Qc5 17. Bd3 Qxc3+ 18. Qxc3 Rxc3 19. Kd2 Ra3 20. Rhb1 b6 21. Rb3 Ra5 22. Nd4 Ke7 23. a4 Rc8 24. f3 Ne8 25. Rb4 Nd6 26. e4 h5 27. h4 g5 28. hxg5 Rxg5 29. Bf1 Rgc5 30. Ke3 f5 31. exf5 Nxf5+ 32. Nxf5+ Rxf5 33. Bd3 Re5+ 34. Kf2 Rcc5 35. Be4 Bc6 36. Bxc6 Rxc6 37. Ra2 Rcc5 38. Rd2 Rc6 39. Ra2 Rcc5 40. Rd2 Rc6 41. Ra2 {1/2-1/2 (41) Kasparov,G (2812)-Grischuk,A (2778) Zagreb 2021}) 16... O-O 17. O-O Rfd8 18. Bb3 Rxc3 19. Rfd1 Rcc8 20. Qf4 Be6 21. h3 Qb6 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. Nd4 Bxb3 24. axb3 g6 25. Rc1 Ne8 26. Qg5 a6 27. Qe7 Rb8 28. g4 Qd6 29. Qxd6 Nxd6 30. Rc7 Kf8 31. Rd7 Ne4 32. Rc7 Ke8 33. Kg2 Nd6 34. Rc5 Rc8 35. Rd5 Ke7 36. h4 b6 37. Kf3 f6 38. g5 fxg5 39. Rxg5 Nf7 40. Rg1 a5 41. Ke2 Rc5 42. f4 Nd6 43. Kd3 Nf5 { 1/2-1/2 (43) Georgiev,K (2594)-Maghsoodloo,P (2698) Krasnaya Polyana 2021}) 10... Rc8 11. e3 Nce4 (11... Bd6 12. Be2 O-O 13. O-O Qe7 14. Rd1 a6 15. Bd2 b5 16. a3 g6 17. Nd4 Nfe4 18. Be1 Nxc3 19. Qxc3 Be5 20. Bf3 Qh4 21. h3 Qf6 22. b4 Ne6 23. Qd3 Rfd8 24. Rac1 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Nxd4 26. exd4 Qf4 27. Bd2 Qh2+ 28. Kf1 Bf5 29. Qb3 Bxd4 30. Bd5 Rxd5 31. Rc8+ Kg7 32. Bh6+ Kxh6 33. Qxd5 Bxc8 34. Qxd4 Qh1+ 35. Ke2 Qxg2 36. Qh4+ Kg7 37. Qd4+ f6 {0-1 (37) Holm,K (2464)-Tari,A (2653) Warsaw 2021}) 12. Bd3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Nd5 $146 (13... Bd6 14. O-O Qc7 15. Bb2 Bc6 16. Bf5 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Rd8 18. Qa4+ Kf8 19. Qh4 Qc6 20. e4 Be7 21. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 h6 23. c4 Qxc4 24. Rc1 {1-0 (26) Nita,C (1800)-Mosshammer,M (1873) ICCF email 2008}) 14. O-O (14. Qb3 Nxc3 15. O-O $14) 14... Nxc3 (14... Nb4 15. Qd2 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 $14) 15. Bb2 (15. Qb3 $14) 15... Bb4 16. Bxc3 Bxc3 ( 16... Rxc3 $142) 17. Rab1 (17. Rac1 $142) 17... Bf6 18. Qe2 Rc7 $11 {Black survived the experiment, but will there be an encore from Carlsen (or other members of the super-elite) in classical chess?} 19. e4 O-O 20. e5 Be7 21. Nd4 Bc5 22. e6 Bxe6 23. Nxe6 fxe6 24. Qxe6+ Kh8 25. Qh3 h6 26. Qg3 Rd7 27. Rb3 Rf6 28. h3 b6 29. Be2 Rd2 30. Rd3 Rxd3 31. Bxd3 Qd6 32. Qxd6 Rxd6 33. Rd1 g5 34. Kf1 Kg7 35. Bc2 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.23"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2612"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2022.01.14"] {[%evp 0,91,36,-6,-5,-54,27,-5,4,-19,-14,-12,-20,7,-15,-4,4,3,13,11,20,-2,19, 43,43,40,43,48,66,38,57,52,52,28,42,49,84,141,143,-12,116,130,135,131,135,102, 113,127,135,108,138,114,109,123,130,136,143,91,118,107,152,121,129,162,171,186, 185,183,217,213,186,109,116,129,154,107,118,126,150,211,234,260,273,247,239, 293,310,256,317,274,317,350,381,356]} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. d4 e4 4. Qa4 { Rare, but a couple of strong GMs have used it i nrecent years.} d5 5. cxd5 b5 { The predecessors get fewer and fewer; this move had hitherto been seen only in a pair of correspondence games.} (5... Bd7 6. d6 Bxd6 7. Nc3 Nf6 8. Bg5 c5 9. Qd1 Be7 10. Bg2 O-O 11. dxc5 Na6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Nxe4 Bxb2 14. Rb1 Ba3 15. Nh3 Bb4+ 16. Kf1 Bf5 17. c6 bxc6 18. Qa4 Qe7 19. Qxa6 Bxe4 20. Rc1 Bf5 21. Nf4 Bd2 22. Rxc6 Rab8 23. e3 Bxe3 24. Nd5 Rb1+ 25. Ke2 Rb2+ 26. Kd1 Qe5 {0-1 (26) Svidler,P (2723)-Giri,A (2764) chess24.com INT 2020}) (5... Nf6 6. Nc3 b5 7. Qc2 Bb4 8. Bg5 cxd5 9. e3 a6 10. a4 h6 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. axb5 O-O 13. Nge2 Bb7 14. Bh3 axb5 15. Rxa8 Bxa8 16. Qb3 Qd6 17. O-O Bc6 18. Ra1 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Nd7 20. Qb4 Qc7 21. Qe7 Rc8 22. Nf4 Nf6 23. Qe5 Bd7 24. Qxc7 Rxc7 25. Bxd7 Rxd7 26. Ra6 Kf8 27. Rb6 Ke7 28. h3 g5 29. Ne2 Rd6 30. Rxb5 Rc6 31. g4 Ke6 32. Ng3 Ne8 33. Nxe4 Nc7 34. Nc5+ Kf6 35. Rb7 Ne6 36. Nd7+ Kg7 37. Ne5 Rc7 38. Rb3 f6 39. Nd3 {1-0 (39) Anton Guijarro,D (2674)-Sunilduth Lyna,N (2611) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019}) 6. Qb3 Nf6 (6... Qxd5 7. Qxd5 cxd5 8. Nc3 Bb4 9. Bd2 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Nc6 11. e3 a6 12. h3 Nge7 13. Ne2 f6 14. a3 Bf5 15. Nc1 Nc8 16. Nb3 Nb6 17. Nc5 Na4 18. Nxa4 bxa4 19. Be2 Bd7 20. f3 Ne7 21. Kf2 Kf7 22. fxe4 dxe4 23. Rac1 Bb5 24. Bxb5 axb5 25. Bb4 Rac8 26. Bxe7 Kxe7 27. Ke2 Ke6 28. Kd2 Rc4 29. Rc3 g6 { 1/2-1/2 (29) Eccles,A-Faust,D (1825) ICCF email 2019}) 7. Bg5 $146 (7. Bg2 cxd5 8. Bg5 Qa5+ 9. Nc3 b4 10. Qa4+ Qxa4 11. Nxa4 Nbd7 12. Rc1 h6 13. Bxf6 Nxf6 14. e3 Bd6 15. Nc5 a5 16. f3 exf3 17. Nxf3 O-O 18. O-O Ra7 19. Nh4 Rd8 20. Nf5 Bf8 21. Nxh6+ Kh7 22. Nf5 g6 23. Nh4 Ng4 24. e4 Bh6 25. exd5 Be3+ 26. Kh1 Bxc1 27. Rxc1 Ne3 {0-1 (27) Eccles,A-Sherwood,R (2361) ICCF email 2019}) 7... Qa5+ 8. Nc3 b4 9. Nd1 Nxd5 {The position may be equal, but it's fresh and very unusual - just what the stronger player (Mamedyarov) wants.} 10. Bh3 Bxh3 $6 (10... Nd7 $142 $11) 11. Nxh3 Nd7 12. Rc1 h6 13. Bd2 Rc8 14. f3 $16 {/+- White already enjoys a serious advantage. Why? Because Black must either allow White to put a pawn on e4, with an imposing center, or must open the board to the possible detriment of his king.} N7f6 15. Nhf2 exf3 16. e4 (16. Qxf3 Qxa2 17. e4 Nb6 18. O-O $18 {is even better, but Mamedyarov prefers not to sac the a-pawn.}) 16... Nb6 (16... Qb5 $1 17. Qxf3 Nc7 {is terrific for White, but had to be played.}) 17. O-O $18 {White has a (clearly) winning advantage. There are some inaccuracies the rest of the way, but his position is so good that Black never really made it back into the game - and he made his own errors as well.} Be7 18. Ne3 Qa4 19. Qd3 Qb5 20. Qxb5 cxb5 21. Rxc8+ Nxc8 22. e5 Nd7 23. Nf5 g6 24. Rc1 Ndb6 25. Nxe7 Nxe7 26. Bxb4 Nbd5 27. Bxe7 Kxe7 28. Ne4 g5 29. h3 f6 30. Rc5 f5 31. Nd2 Rd8 32. Nxf3 b4 33. Kf2 Nb6 34. Rc6 Rc8 35. Rxc8 Nxc8 36. h4 g4 37. Ne1 Nb6 38. Ng2 Na4 39. Ne3 Nxb2 40. Nxf5+ Ke6 41. Nxh6 Nd1+ 42. Ke1 Nc3 43. Nxg4 Nxa2 44. h5 Nc3 45. Kd2 Ne4+ 46. Kc2 (46. Kc2 Ng5 (46... Nxg3 47. h6 Kf7 48. e6+ Kg6 49. e7 $18) 47. Kb3 a5 48. h6 Kd5 49. Ne3+ Ke6 (49... Kxd4 50. e6 Nh7 51. e7 Nf6 52. h7 $18) 50. Kc4 Nh7 51. Ng4 Ng5 52. d5+ {and so on. Black's pawns aren't going anywhere, but White's are.}) 1-0 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.23"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2772"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2022.01.14"] {[%evp 0,98,31,20,10,19,5,8,17,17,14,-13,-2,2,15,15,15,0,15,38,53,57,42,-29,-4, -40,-36,-53,-28,0,0,-13,0,0,0,-21,44,49,21,44,22,22,14,9,40,12,48,7,13,8,1,5,0, -8,-12,-18,0,-10,-10,-10,7,7,7,-40,-39,-42,-23,-40,-46,-49,-54,-45,-47,-45,-37, -48,-57,-75,-48,-84,-84,-55,-55,-63,-38,-31,-72,-44,-62,-62,-62,-224,-212,-220, -238,-264,-240,-576,-692,-730,-39]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 { Another Giuoco...but I'll offer a few comments anyway.} 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 Bg4 9. Nbd2 Nb6 10. h3 Bh5 11. Bb3 Qxd3 12. Nxe5 Qf5 13. Nef3 {This has been a fairly popular line, and one that's spectator-friendly as well, thanks to the forcing play and the open center. Now Black usually plays 13...Rad8 14.Qe2 Qc8, and Nakamura played ...Bg6 a couple of times - against Giri. Instead, Giri opts for a more directly combative line, one that has been played a few times, though not yet at the super-GM level (unlike the moves just mentioned).} Rfe8 $5 14. g4 Bxg4 15. hxg4 Qxg4+ 16. Kh1 Ne5 (16... Qh3+ 17. Nh2 Ne5 18. Ne4 (18. Qe2 Ng4 19. Qxe8+ Rxe8 20. Rxe8+ Bf8 21. Ndf3 Nxf2+ 22. Kg1 Qg3+ 23. Kf1 Ng4 24. Nxg4 Qxf3+ 25. Nf2 Nd5 26. Bg5 Qf5 27. Rd1 Nf6 28. Bxf6 Qb5+ 29. Re2 gxf6 30. Rd5 Qc6 31. Ne4 Be7 32. Ng3 Kf8 33. Nf5 Bd6 34. Ke1 a6 35. Kd1 b5 36. a3 Qb6 37. Nxd6 cxd6 38. Red2 Qg1+ 39. Kc2 h5 40. Rxd6 Qg6+ 41. Kc1 h4 42. Rd7 h3 43. Rxf7+ Ke8 44. Rfd7 Qg1+ 45. Kc2 Qg6+ 46. R7d3 Qe4 47. Rh2 a5 48. Rhxh3 Qg2+ 49. Kb1 {1-0 (49) Raghunandan,K (2352)-Sanal,V (2511) Dubai 2019}) 18... Nd3 19. Re3 Bxe3 20. Qxd3 Qh4 21. Bxe3 Qxe4+ 22. Qxe4 Rxe4 23. Nf3 Nc4 24. Bd4 Nd6 25. Rg1 g6 26. Rd1 Rae8 27. Bxa7 Rf4 28. Kg2 Rg4+ 29. Kf1 Rf4 30. Ng1 Nb5 31. Bc5 b6 32. a4 Nxc3 33. bxc3 bxc5 34. Ne2 Rfe4 35. Ng3 Rf4 36. Bd5 Rb8 37. Ra1 Rb2 38. Ne2 Rf5 39. Bc4 Rh5 40. Ng3 Rh2 41. Be2 h5 42. Kg1 h4 43. Kxh2 hxg3+ 44. Kxg3 Rxe2 45. a5 Re8 46. a6 Kg7 47. a7 Ra8 48. Kf4 Kf6 49. Ra6+ Ke7 50. Kg5 c6 51. c4 Kd6 52. Kf6 Kc7 53. f4 Kb7 54. Ra1 Kb6 55. Kxf7 Kb7 56. Kxg6 {1-0 (56) Moussard,J (2621)-Sosa,T (2565) Barcelona 2021}) ( 16... Bxf2 17. Nh2 Rxe1+ 18. Qxe1 Qg3 19. Qf1 Re8 20. Ndf3 Na5 21. Bg5 Nxb3 22. axb3 Re4 23. Qd3 f5 24. Bh4 Rxh4 25. Qd8+ Kf7 26. Nxh4 Qxh4 27. Qxc7+ Ke6 28. Qxb7 Nd5 29. Qc6+ Ke5 30. Qe8+ Kf6 31. Rf1 Bg3 32. Qf8+ Ke6 33. Qxf5+ Ke7 34. Qf8+ Kd7 35. Qf7+ Kd6 36. Qf8+ Kd7 37. Qf5+ Ke7 38. Qf8+ {1/2-1/2 (38) Low,Z (2413)-Stany,G (2525) Biel 2019}) 17. Nh2 Qg6 18. Bc2 Nd3 19. Bxd3 Qxd3 20. Ndf3 {Only now deviating from the stem game with 13...Rfe8.} (20. Nb3 Qxd1 21. Rxd1 Bxf2 22. Ng4 Bh4 23. Rg1 Kf8 24. Kg2 Be7 25. Rh1 Kg8 26. a4 Bf8 27. Nd4 Nd5 28. Kf3 Rad8 29. a5 g6 30. Nh6+ Bxh6 31. Bxh6 f6 32. Bd2 Nb4 33. Rhe1 Nd3 34. Rxe8+ Rxe8 35. a6 bxa6 36. Rxa6 Nxb2 37. Rc6 Kf7 38. c4 h5 39. Bb4 g5 40. Nf5 Nd3 41. Rxc7+ Kg6 42. Ne7+ Kf7 43. Nd5+ Kg6 44. Bc3 Ne5+ 45. Bxe5 g4+ 46. Kg3 Rxe5 47. Rxa7 Kg5 48. Rg7+ Kf5 49. Rh7 Ke4 50. Nxf6+ Kd4 51. Nxh5 {1/2-1/2 (51) Rohs,R (2318)-Larsson,M (2287) ICCF email 2016}) 20... Qxd1 21. Rxd1 Bxf2 {Chances are roughly equal, but this doesn't mean very much. A somewhat more useful way to think about the position is this: White needs to find some active ideas while Black's pawns are still asleep. If he doesn't, then as the pawns (safely) progress up the board, it becomes Black who have the better practical chances.} 22. Bf4 c6 23. Rd2 (23. Ng4 $142) 23... Be3 24. Bxe3 Rxe3 25. Nd4 (25. a4) 25... Nc4 26. Rf2 Rae8 27. Raf1 Nd6 $15 28. Nf5 Nxf5 29. Rxf5 f6 30. Kg2 Kf7 31. Rd1 h5 32. Rf2 g5 33. Rd7+ R3e7 34. Rd6 Re6 35. Rd7+ R8e7 36. Rd8 g4 37. Rh8 $2 (37. Nf1) 37... Kg6 $19 38. Rg8+ Rg7 (38... Kh7 $142) 39. Rf8 Kg5 40. Nf1 h4 41. a4 a5 (41... b6 $142) 42. b4 b6 43. bxa5 bxa5 44. Ra8 Re5 $15 {White's position is difficult, though he has been more accurate than his opponent since his last mistake on move 37. But now he makes a tactical error that loses straight away.} 45. Nd2 $4 (45. Rh8 $15) 45... g3 $19 { The attacked rook can't move because of ...Re2+, winning the knight. White can wriggle a little, but not much.} 46. Nf3+ Kf4 47. Rf1 h3+ $1 48. Kxh3 (48. Kg1 g2 49. Rf2 (49. Nxe5+ gxf1=Q+ 50. Kxf1 fxe5 $19) 49... Kg3 $1 50. Rxg2+ (50. Nxe5 h2#) 50... hxg2 51. Nxe5 fxe5 52. Rd8 Rg4 $19 {is a very easy win, even if Black is "only" two pawns ahead.}) 48... g2 49. Rf2 Ke3 $1 (49... Ke3 $1 { leads to a nice mate.} 50. Rxg2 Kxf3 $1 51. Rxg7 (51. Rh8 Rxg2 {gives Black an extra rook, and White will soon be mated anyway, e.g.} 52. Rh6 Rg3+ 53. Kh2 ( 53. Kh4 Re4+ 54. Kh5 Rg5#) 53... Re2+ 54. Kh1 Re1+ 55. Kh2 Rg2+ 56. Kh3 Rh1#) 51... Rh5#) 0-1 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.23"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2022.01.14"] {[%evp 0,45,17,15,45,30,30,-8,-11,2,-13,-13,-7,-24,3,6,-2,13,19,22,11,17,26,18, 36,34,54,58,57,43,54,39,49,35,34,24,56,32,31,27,34,48,31,43,48,38,39,30]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nge7 6. h4 Nf5 7. Bd3 cxd4 8. Bxf5 exf5 9. cxd4 Be6 10. Nc3 Bb4 11. Bd2 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 a5 $146 (12... h6 13. Rc1 Qb6 14. Qd2 Qa6 15. b3 Rc8 16. Ng1 Kd7 17. f4 Rc7 18. Ne2 Rhc8 19. Kf2 Qb5 20. Rh3 h5 21. Bb2 Qb4 22. Rhc3 Qe7 23. g3 b6 24. Qd3 Kd8 25. Qd2 g6 26. Kf3 Na5 27. Rxc7 Rxc7 28. Rxc7 Kxc7 29. Qc1+ Kb7 30. Ba3 Qc7 31. Qd2 Qc8 32. Nc3 a6 33. Na4 Nc6 34. Bd6 Bd7 35. Ke3 Be6 36. Nc3 Ka7 37. Kd3 Na5 38. Kc2 Qd7 39. Kb2 Qc8 40. Na4 Nc6 41. Qc3 Kb7 42. Kb1 Na7 {1/2-1/2 (42) Kholmov,R (2465)-Vasiukov,E (2460) Moscow 1984}) (12... O-O 13. Qd2 f6 14. Qf4 Rc8 15. O-O fxe5 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Qxe5 Re8 18. Qf4 Qc7 19. Qxc7 Rxc7 20. Rfe1 Bd7 21. Rxe8+ Bxe8 22. Re1 Bc6 23. Re5 g6 24. Kh2 Kf7 25. Bb4 b6 26. Kg3 Bb5 27. Rxd5 Bc4 28. Rd8 Bxa2 29. d5 Rc4 30. Ba3 Rd4 31. Rd7+ Kf6 32. f3 f4+ 33. Kh2 Rxd5 34. Rxa7 Bc4 35. Rxh7 Rd2 36. Bb4 Rc2 37. Bc3+ Kf5 38. Rg7 Bd5 39. Kg1 Rc1+ 40. Kh2 Rc2 41. Kh3 Rc1 42. Kh2 Rc2 {1/2-1/2 (42) Keitlinghaus,L (2400)-Zysk,R (2400) Germany 1987}) 13. O-O h6 14. Qd2 Qe7 15. a4 O-O {Transposing to a couple more oldish games.} 16. Rfb1 Rfc8 17. b4 b6 $146 (17... axb4 18. Bxb4 Nxb4 19. Rxb4 Ra7 20. a5 Qd8 (20... Qc7 21. Rbb1 Qc3 22. Rc1 Qxd2 23. Rxc8+ Bxc8 24. Nxd2 Bd7 25. Nb3 Bb5 26. Rc1 Bc4 27. Nd2 Rxa5 28. Nxc4 dxc4 29. Rxc4 Rd5 30. Rc8+ Kh7 31. Rc7 Kg8 32. Rc8+ Kh7 33. Rc7 Kg8 34. Rc8+ {1/2-1/2 (34) Holl,M-Koch,M GER corr 1993}) 21. Rb5 b6 22. Kh2 {1/2-1/2 (22) Sveshnikov,E (2535)-Chernin,A (2565) Sochi 1986}) 18. bxa5 Nxa5 19. Bxa5 bxa5 20. Rb5 Qc7 21. Rc5 Qb6 22. Rb5 Qc7 23. Rc5 {A real barn-burner.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.23"] [Round "8.5"] [White "Vidit, Santosh"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2672"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.01.14"] {[%evp 0,67,20,20,27,23,44,8,35,38,38,30,29,29,38,13,36,-17,-16,-21,3,26,24,24, 27,-24,-20,4,4,4,-11,-11,10,-11,39,49,29,-16,101,41,37,16,30,-46,100,100,99, 100,108,108,108,86,109,94,94,94,109,86,118,114,145,97,97,97,202,202,222,203, 356,414]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nbd2 Bg7 4. e4 O-O {Provocative, but less provocative than it looks. Grandelius has used it several times before, and so have even higher-rated players like Nepomniachtchi, Mamedyarov (more than once) , Firouzja, Svidler, and Vitiugov. And Gawain Jones used it three times against...Grandelius, scoring 2-1 against him, which may be what inspired Grandelius to take it up himself.} 5. e5 ({White has often contented himself with the more modest} 5. Bd3 {.}) 5... Nh5 (5... Ne8 {was played by Mamedyarov, Svidler, and Xiong, to note just the three highest-rated players to use it. It may be asking for troubel, however, after} 6. h4 $1 $16) (5... Nd5 {was Firouzja's choice.}) 6. g4 {The right move, but one which obviously carries with it some long-term risk.} Nf4 7. Ne4 d5 8. Ng3 Ne6 9. Nf5 c5 10. Nxg7 Nxg7 (10... Kxg7 $142 11. h4 f6 12. h5 g5 13. Bg2 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. Qxd4 Nc6 16. exf6+ exf6 17. h6+ Kh8 18. Qxd5 Bxg4 19. Be3 Qxd5 20. Bxd5 Rad8 21. Bxc6 bxc6 22. O-O a6 23. f4 Kg8 24. fxg5 fxg5 25. Bxg5 Rxf1+ 26. Rxf1 Rd1 27. c4 Rxf1+ 28. Kxf1 Kf7 29. Ke1 Ke8 30. Kd2 Kd7 31. Kc3 Kc7 32. Kb4 Kb7 {1/2-1/2 (32) Tang,A (2525)-Chigaev,M (2630) Biel 2021}) 11. h3 (11. Rg1 Nc6 12. Qd2 cxd4 13. Qh6 f6 14. Bf4 Ne6 15. exf6 Rxf6 16. Ng5 Nxg5 17. Bxg5 Re6+ 18. Kd1 Qb6 19. Rg3 Qxb2 20. Rc1 d3 21. Bxd3 Qg7 22. Qh4 Ne5 23. f4 Nxd3 24. Rxd3 Bd7 25. Bh6 Qf7 26. Rb1 Rb6 27. Rxb6 axb6 28. Re3 Re8 29. Bg5 d4 30. Rxe7 Rxe7 31. Bxe7 Qxf4 32. h3 Qf1+ 33. Kd2 Qg2+ 34. Kd3 Bb5+ 35. Kxd4 Qd2+ 36. Ke5 Qe3+ 37. Kd6 Qc5+ 38. Ke6 Bc4+ {0-1 (38) Bacrot,A (2272)-Globus,O (2354) Bratislava 2019 }) 11... cxd4 12. Bh6 $146 (12. Nxd4 Nc6 13. Bg2 Nxe5 14. O-O Nc6 15. Re1 Re8 16. Bh6 e5 17. Nxc6 bxc6 18. c4 Bb7 19. Qb3 Rb8 20. Qc3 d4 21. Qg3 Qd6 22. f4 f6 23. c5 Qxc5 24. f5 g5 25. h4 d3+ 26. Kh2 gxh4 27. Qxd3 Qb4 28. Re4 Qe7 29. Ra4 Ba8 30. Rd1 Rxb2 31. Qc3 Reb8 32. Kh3 Ne8 33. Be3 Rxg2 34. Kxg2 c5+ 35. Kf2 Qb7 36. Qb3+ Qxb3 37. axb3 Rxb3 38. Rxa7 Bc6 39. Bxc5 h3 40. Ra6 Bb7 41. Re6 h2 42. Rxe8+ Kg7 43. Re7+ Kh6 44. Be3+ Rxe3 45. Rxb7 Ra3 46. Rh1 Kg5 47. Rb4 h5 48. gxh5 Kxh5 49. Rxh2+ Kg5 50. Rg2+ Kxf5 51. Rg3 Ra2+ 52. Kf1 Ra6 53. Rf3+ Ke6 54. Rh4 Ra8 55. Rh6 Rf8 56. Ke2 e4 57. Rf4 Ke5 58. Ke3 f5 59. Ra6 Rf7 60. Ra5+ Ke6 61. Rh4 Kf6 62. Kf4 Kg6 63. Ra6+ Kg7 64. Rah6 {1-0 (64) Doluhanova,E (2264) -Dolzhikova,K (2161) Kharkov 2021}) 12... Qa5+ 13. Qd2 Qxd2+ 14. Nxd2 $16 Nc6 15. f4 f6 16. exf6 exf6 17. O-O-O Re8 18. Nb3 $6 {This gives Black a nice opportunity to improve his position.} (18. Rg1 $1 $16) (18. Bg2 $16) 18... Ne6 $2 (18... Bf5 $1 $11 {wasn't available last move, but thanks to the trapped bishop on h6 and the loose, attackable rook on h1, it is now.} 19. Bxg7 (19. gxf5 $2 Nxf5 $17) 19... Be4 $11 {White's knight was on d2 prior to his 18th move, when he could have played Nxe4 in response and won a piece.}) 19. Bg2 $16 {/+-} Nc7 20. f5 $6 (20. Nxd4 $142) 20... gxf5 21. Rhf1 $5 Kf7 (21... fxg4 $142 22. Rxf6 gxh3 23. Bf3 Ne5 24. Rg1+ Ng6 25. Nxd4 {may have looked scary to Black, but White has no way to deliver the knockout blow after} a5 $11 { /+/=, aiming to bring the rook into the defense with ...Ra6.}) 22. gxf5 $16 { /+- Now Black is once again in deep trouble.} Rg8 23. Rd2 $2 (23. Bh1 $142) 23... Ne5 $2 (23... Bxf5 $1 24. Rxf5 Kg6 $14 {/+/-}) 24. Nxd4 $18 {This time, Black stays dead.} Bd7 25. b3 Rae8 26. a4 a6 27. Bf4 Re7 28. Rff2 Bc6 29. Kb2 Rd7 30. Ka3 Ne8 31. c4 Ng7 32. Nxc6 bxc6 33. cxd5 Rgd8 34. dxc6 1-0 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.23"] [Round "8.6"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C82"] [WhiteElo "2792"] [BlackElo "2702"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2022.01.14"] {[%evp 0,53,20,15,15,15,20,6,15,10,0,4,23,-13,1,8,0,10,14,-28,0,8,12,-4,45,43, 46,-48,-61,-52,-52,-52,-21,-23,13,-42,-56,-46,-46,-48,-45,-20,-7,9,-1,-34,6, -100,-55,-55,-34,-39,-34,-39,-37,-37]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Bc5 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Bc2 Nxf2 {The Dilworth Variation has been reliable in recent years. Let's see if Caruana has something new to bring to the table.} 12. Rxf2 f6 13. Nf1 (13. exf6 {is the old main line, which is quickly becoming a relic.}) 13... Bxf2+ 14. Kxf2 fxe5 15. Kg1 Qd6 {Rare, with only two or three previous tests at the GM level.} (15... Bg4 {has been the more popular move.}) 16. Be3 (16. Ng5 { was played by MVL, but Caruana's move is better.}) 16... Rad8 17. Qe1 Bf5 18. Bxf5 $146 {Probably not prepared beforehand.} (18. Bb3 Na5 19. Qf2 Nb7 20. Re1 Bg4 21. Qg3 Bxf3 22. gxf3 Na5 23. Bc2 Nc4 24. Bc1 Rde8 25. Ne3 Kh8 26. Kg2 Re6 27. Kh1 Ref6 28. Nxc4 bxc4 29. Qxe5 Rxf3 30. Qxd6 cxd6 31. Kg1 h6 32. Bg6 R3f6 33. Be8 Rf3 34. Bd7 Rd3 35. Be3 Rf7 36. Bg4 Re7 37. Bd2 Rxe1+ 38. Bxe1 Kg8 39. Kf1 Kf7 40. Ke2 d4 41. Bc8 a5 42. cxd4 a4 43. Bc3 g6 44. a3 d5 45. Kf2 Ke7 46. Bg4 Kd6 47. Be2 Rh3 48. Kg2 Re3 49. Bd1 g5 50. h3 Re4 51. Bxa4 g4 52. Bd1 gxh3+ 53. Kxh3 Re6 54. Kg4 Rf6 55. a4 Rf1 56. Bf3 Rg1+ 57. Kf4 Rf1 58. a5 h5 59. Kg3 h4+ 60. Kg2 Ra1 61. Kh3 Rf1 62. Bg2 Rf4 63. a6 Kc6 64. a7 Kb7 65. Bxd5+ Kxa7 66. Bxc4 Kb6 67. Be2 Kc6 68. Bg4 Kd5 69. Kxh4 {1-0 (69) Roy,R (2184)-Nurtawa,S (2027) ICCF email 2020}) 18... Rxf5 $11 19. Rd1 h6 20. Bf2 Rf7 21. Bg3 Qc5+ 22. Bf2 Qd6 23. Qe2 (23. Ne3 $142 Qg6 24. Bg3 d4 25. Nxe5 Nxe5 26. Bxe5 d3 27. Bd4 Re7 $11 (27... Qe4 $11)) 23... Rdf8 24. Bg3 Qc5+ 25. Bf2 Qd6 (25... Qc4 26. Qxc4 $8 bxc4 {may even be nudging towards a Black advantage. Note, of course, that} 27. Rxd5 $4 {blunders a piece to} e4 $19) 26. Bg3 Qc5+ 27. Bf2 {Better prep by Black than by White. It happens, even to Caruana.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.23"] [Round "8.7"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Duda, Jan Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "2022.01.14"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Qa4 Bd7 8. Qxc4 cxd4 (8... b5) 9. Nxd4 Rc8 10. Nc3 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Bc5 12. Qf4 Bc6 13. Bxc6+ Rxc6 14. Rd1 Qc8 15. Be3 O-O 16. Bd4 $146 Bxd4 17. Rxd4 $11 {Sometimes a position looks dull, but hides great strategic depth waiting to be plumbed by sophisticated ideas. This is not one of those positions.} Re8 18. Rd6 Rxd6 19. Qxd6 Rd8 20. Qf4 h6 21. Rc1 Qc6 22. Qe3 a6 23. f3 Nd5 24. Nxd5 Qxd5 25. b3 Qd2 26. Qxd2 Rxd2 27. Rc8+ Kh7 28. Kf2 $6 {There was no need to give up the pawn, even if the resulting ending is still a draw. Speaking of which, Dubov plays the rest of the game so well that this slight inaccuracy does all of us a favor, showing us how to hold such positions convincingly.} ({After} 28. Rc7 $11 {the draw is probably five moves away...at most.}) 28... b5 $1 29. a4 bxa4 30. bxa4 Rd4 31. h4 $1 Kg6 32. Rc5 Rxa4 33. h5+ Kf6 34. f4 a5 35. Kf3 Ra1 36. g4 a4 37. g5+ Ke7 38. Rc7+ Ke8 39. g6 fxg6 40. hxg6 a3 41. Kf2 a2 42. Ra7 Kd8 43. Kg2 Ke8 44. Kf2 h5 45. Kg2 h4 46. e4 h3+ 47. Kh2 Re1 (47... Re1 48. Rxa2 Rxe4 49. Ra7 Rxf4 (49... Kf8 50. Rf7+) 50. Rxg7 Kf8 51. Ra7 $11) 1/2-1/2