[Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.18"] [Round "7.1"] [Board "1"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Wei, Yi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B50"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "159"] [GameId "2091382315008009"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] {[%evp 0,159,20,23,59,46,70,56,66,28,26,33,16,29,24,29,18,22,22,9,11,-9,-6,8,31,28,42,31,29,27,48,21,14,5,-29,-22,-34,-60,-29,-36,-20,-20,-20,-38,-19,-14,73,38,66,63,60,66,57,44,58,47,34,56,59,59,60,62,101,103,99,92,70,70,72,86,79,87,77,81,107,75,81,81,78,77,77,46,53,77,77,73,77,84,77,52,84,39,57,69,67,72,72,68,66,61,75,75,80,75,80,61,107,119,142,122,130,105,117,117,117,114,130,114,108,108,132,114,107,108,129,122,116,98,96,108,100,101,79,82,74,74,87,90,99,79,74,52,115,117,101,89,240,94,94,94,96,86,94,291,328,401,782,772,882,982,1090,1187] Did Ding chicken out? I'm guessing it was the team captain who made the decision to hold him out of the match, perhaps thinking that if he lost this high-pressure game it would make his iffy psychological state even worse heading into his World Championship match with Gukesh in November. Whatever the motive, the move nearly worked. China drew on the other three boards and were headed for a draw here too, right to the very end.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Be2 e5 5. Bc4 {Carlsen and Aronian have also done this stutter-step, in their cases against MVL, without success.} Be7 6. d3 Nc6 7. Bg5 O-O (7... Nd7 {This is the move I would recommend, looking to swap off the bad bishop rather than the useful knight (which can fight against White's attempt at a death grip over d5).} 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Nd5 Qd8 10. h4 h6 11. c3 Nf6 12. Nd2 O-O 13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 14. Nf1 Kh8 15. Ne3 Qg6 16. g4 Nd8 17. Qf3 Bd7 18. g5 Ne6 19. gxh6 gxh6 20. Nd5 f5 21. O-O-O b5 22. Rhg1 Qh7 23. Bb3 c4 24. Bc2 fxe4 25. Qxe4 Qxe4 26. dxe4 Be8 27. f4 Bh5 28. Rd2 exf4 29. Nc7 Rg8 30. Rxg8+ Rxg8 31. Nxe6 Rg1+ 32. Bd1 Rf1 33. Rxd6 f3 34. Nf4 Bg4 35. Ng6+ Kg7 36. Kc2 h5 37. Ne5 f2 38. Rg6+ Kh7 39. Rf6 Bxd1+ 40. Kd2 Bg4 41. Ke3 Re1+ 42. Kxf2 Rxe4 43. Nxg4 Rxg4 44. Rf5 Kg6 45. Rxb5 Rxh4 46. Kg3 Rg4+ 47. Kh3 Re4 48. a4 a6 49. Ra5 Re6 50. Kh4 Re4+ 51. Kg3 Re6 52. Rc5 Rb6 53. Rxc4 Rxb2 54. Rc6+ Kf7 55. Rxa6 Ke7 56. Kf4 h4 57. Ke5 h3 58. Ra7+ Kd8 59. Rh7 h2 60. c4 Rd2 61. c5 Kc8 62. a5 Rd1 63. Rxh2 Kb7 64. Rh6 Re1+ 65. Kd6 Rd1+ 66. Ke7 Kc7 67. a6 Ra1 68. Rf6 Ra5 69. c6 Rxa6 70. Re6 Rxc6 71. Rxc6+ Kxc6 {½-½ Carlsen,M (2830)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2728) Karlsruhe Grenke 2024 (4)}) 8. Bxf6 Bxf6 9. Nd5 Be6 10. Qd2 $146 (10. a3 Bg5 11. Nxg5 Qxg5 12. Ne3 Rad8 13. O-O Bc8 14. Kh1 Kh8 15. c3 f5 16. exf5 Ne7 17. Be6 Nxf5 18. Bxc8 Rxc8 19. Nxf5 Rxf5 20. Qa4 Qe7 21. Qxa7 Rcf8 22. b4 Rxf2 23. Kg1 Qf7 {0-1 Aronian,L (2745)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2742) Warsaw Superbet Blitz 2023 (13)}) 10... a6 11. O-O (11. a4) 11... b5 12. Bb3 Kh8 13. a3 Rb8 14. h3 g6 15. c3 Bg7 16. Ba2 f5 17. Ng5 $6 (17. Nb4 $1 Bd7 $1 18. Nxc6 Bxc6 19. Ng5 $11) 17... Bg8 $15 18. exf5 $2 gxf5 $17 {/-+ At this moment putting Wei Yi on first board seemed an inspired choice. What a shock it would have been had China won the match!} 19. f4 c4 $17 (19... a5 $142) 20. dxc4 bxc4 21. Bxc4 exf4 $2 (21... Na5 22. Ba2 Nb3 23. Bxb3 Rxb3 $17 {White is up a pawn and his knights look beautiful, but b2 is weak, Black has the better center, and most important of all, there are the two Bs. They will come into their own before the game is over.}) 22. Nf3 $14 Na5 $2 23. Ba2 Nb3 24. Bxb3 Rxb3 25. Nxf4 $2 (25. Rf2 $16 {/+- , pre-defending b2 against ...Qb6+ ideas, leaves Black with an awful position (as it should be, given that all five of his pawns are isolated while none of White's pawns lack a friend next door.}) 25... Qb6+ 26. Rf2 Rb8 $11 27. Rd1 (27. Nd3 Bc4 $11) (27. Rb1 $2 Bxc3 $17) 27... Rxb2 28. Qxb2 Qxb2 29. Rxb2 Rxb2 30. Rxd6 a5 (30... Bxc3 31. Rxa6 Rb5 $11 {followed by ...Ra5, with an easy draw. Black will win White's a-pawn, and though it comes at the cost of the f5-pawn it doesn't matter: even I can draw that endgame against Gukesh.}) 31. Rd8 Bxc3 32. Nd5 Rb1+ 33. Kf2 Rd1 34. Rxg8+ {The best try.} Kxg8 35. Nxc3 Rc1 {It's equal, but it's the sort of equal that *could* result in a white win but will never result in a black win.} 36. Nb5 Rc2+ 37. Kf1 Kf7 38. Nfd4 Rc1+ 39. Ke2 Kf6 40. Nd6 Rc3 41. N6b5 Rc1 42. Ke3 Rg1 43. Kf2 Rc1 44. Ne2 Rb1 45. Nbc3 Rb3 46. a4 Ke5 47. g3 Rb6 48. Ke3 Rb4 49. Kd3 h6 50. Ke3 Rb3 51. Kd3 Rb4 52. Ng1 Rb8 53. Nf3+ Kf6 54. Nd4 Rd8 55. Ke3 Rc8 56. Kd3 Rd8 57. Nce2 Rb8 58. Nf4 Rb1 59. Nd5+ Ke5 60. Nc3 Rh1 61. Nf3+ Kd6 62. h4 Rh3 63. Ne2 f4 $5 64. Nfg1 Rh1 65. gxf4 Rxh4 66. Nf3 Rh1 (66... Rg4) 67. f5 h5 $2 (67... Ke7 $1 $11 {Nimzowitsch's famous line about the passed pawn being a desperate criminal to be kept under lock and key is a good one, and Black should indeed treat the task of winning or at least blockading White's f-pawn with urgency.}) 68. Nc3 $2 (68. Ng3 $1 $18) 68... h4 69. Ne4+ Kd7 $11 70. Ne5+ Kd8 71. f6 h3 $2 {It wasn't easy to find the right move and work out all the details, but there was a (singular) way to draw:} (71... Rd1+ $8 72. Kc4 (72. Ke2 Rd5 $1 73. Ng6 Rf5 74. Nxh4 Rf4 75. f7 Rxf7 $11) 72... h3 $8 73. f7 Rc1+ $1 74. Kd3 Ke7 $8 75. Ng5 h2 76. Ng6+ Kd7 $8 77. f8=Q h1=Q 78. Ne5+ Kc7 79. Ne6+ Kb7 $1 80. Nc5+ Rxc5 $8 81. Qxc5 Qd1+ 82. Kc3 Qxa4 $11) 72. f7 $18 Rf1 73. Ng5 h2 74. Ngf3 $2 (74. Nef3 $1 h1=Q (74... Ke7 75. Nxh2 $18) 75. f8=Q+ Kc7 76. Ne6+ Kd7 77. Qf7+ Kd6 78. Ned4 $1 Rb1 79. Qf4+ $1 Kd7 80. Ne5+ $1 Kc8 81. Qf5+ Kb7 82. Qd7+ Ka6 83. Qc8+ Qb7 84. Qc4+ Ka7 85. Nb5+ Rxb5 {Otherwise Black will soon be mated, but this still loses (albeit more prosaically).} 86. axb5 Qh7+ 87. Kc3 Qh3+ 88. Qd3 Qc8+ 89. Nc4 $18 {No more checks, no more worries.}) 74... Ke7 $2 (74... Rd1+ $1 75. Kc4 h1=Q 76. f8=Q+ Kc7 77. Qf4 Kc8 $16 {/+- White is better, *maybe* still winning in the long run, but there's certainly nothing immediate and forced.}) 75. Nxh2 {Now it's easy.} Ra1 76. Nhg4 Ra3+ 77. Kd2 Rxa4 {Now that the a-pawn is gone, all Black needs to do is sac the rook for White's pawn and draw the two knights vs. pawn ending, provided he can get the pawn to a3. (If it's blockaded by a knight while the pawn is still on a4, White wins with best play.) Unfortunately for Wei Yi and the Chinese team, he can no longer get rid of White's f-pawn.} 78. Nh6 Ra2+ (78... Rf4 $2 79. Ng6+ $18) 79. Ke3 Ra3+ (79... Rg2 {stops Ng6+ ideas, but there's still} 80. Nd7 Rg3+ (80... Kxd7 81. f8=Q $18) 81. Kf2 $18) 80. Ke4 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.18"] [Round "7.2"] [Board "2"] [White "Leko, Peter"] [Black "Pultinevicius, Paulius"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2666"] [BlackElo "2587"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "45"] [GameId "2091382315016206"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Hungary"] [BlackTeam "Lithuania"] [WhiteTeamCountry "HUN"] [BlackTeamCountry "LTU"] {[%evp 0,45,25,16,58,64,59,37,51,45,30,8,33,5,26,8,13,10,34,34,26,26,70,56,53,27,27,27,52,57,78,70,70,54,152,153,148,153,150,170,160,179,308,282,282,307,307,362] It's been a while since Peter Leko came within a draw of becoming the World Champion, but he has not forgotten how to play chess since then. This was the only win of the Hungary-Lithuania match, and it keeps the Magyars in contention for a medal - they are now in a tie for 3rd-6th, currently 4th on tiebreak.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. b3 Ne7 6. Bb2 d6 7. e5 d5 (7... Nf5 $142 {is more common and preferred by the engine. Granted, it *looks* awful, allowing White to take on d6 and leave Black with three isolated pawns on the queenside. They're not so easy to get at, though, and Black's central control would just about make up for it.}) 8. d3 $14 Qb6 $6 9. Nc3 $16 {White's plan is to treat this like a Saemisch Nimzo-Indian (with colors versed): castle first, then play Na4, c4, Rc1 and go after the weak doubled pawn on c5.} Ng6 10. O-O c4 {Anticipating White's plan. Unfortunately for Black, this only exchanges one kind of bad position for another.} 11. Na4 (11. dxc4 $142 Ba6 12. Na4 Qc7 13. h4 h5 14. cxd5 $1 cxd5 (14... Bxf1 $2 15. d6 $18) 15. Re1 $16 {/+-}) 11... Qc7 12. d4 $6 (12. dxc4 $16) 12... Ba6 $2 (12... f6 $1 $14 {/? was best, taking advantage of the fact that White's last move cut off the Bb2's control over f6.}) 13. Re1 $18 {Back to sheer misery for Black.} c5 14. Nxc5 Bxc5 15. dxc5 Qxc5 16. a4 d4 $5 {Hoping for counterplay down the d-file or along the a8-h1 diagonal.} (16... O-O 17. Ba3 $18) 17. Ba3 Qd5 18. Qxd4 {No queens, no counterplay.} Qxd4 19. Nxd4 cxb3 20. Nxb3 ({The more aesthetic} 20. cxb3 {was equally good. Leko prefers active pieces to tidy pawns, and it quickly pays off.}) 20... O-O-O $2 {A mistake, but it's hard to blame Black for it. Castling kingside is illegal, so how is he supposed to get the rooks into the game?} 21. Bd6 {White intends Nc5 and Rab1, when there's already no good defense to the threatened Rb8#.} f6 22. Nc5 fxe5 23. Red1 {Protecting the bishop and still intending Rab1. There's no satisfactory defense for Black, so it's gg.} 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.18"] [Round "7.3"] [Board "4"] [White "Banh Gia Huy"] [Black "Idani, Pouya"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2425"] [BlackElo "2599"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [GameId "2091382315024404"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Vietnam"] [BlackTeam "Iran"] [WhiteTeamCountry "VIE"] [BlackTeamCountry "IRI"] {[%evp 0,74,25,23,13,20,37,16,29,33,69,-20,45,14,53,15,3,8,8,12,15,20,20,13,10,17,20,18,19,20,29,25,27,26,51,19,21,10,9,5,-4,-14,-14,-11,0,-39,-4,-10,31,31,15,56,0,19,19,-28,-29,-137,-113,-64,-64,-95,-27,-22,8,8,-21,0,20,-518,-568,-575,-609,-609,-983,-1005,-627] This was the one decisive game in this match, after which Iran was in clear second.} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 cxd4 6. exd4 a6 7. Nb3 $146 (7. c3 {is far more common, and after} Bf5 {, then 8.Be2 or} 8. Nh4) (7. Bd3 {would be nice if White could also play c3, but Black plays} Nb4 {, forcing White to surrender the bishop pair. Still, it's not so bad after} 8. Qe2 {.}) 7... Bg4 (7... Bf5 {is okay too.}) 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 e6 10. c3 Bd6 11. Bd3 Bxf4 (11... O-O 12. O-O e5 $5 $11) 12. Qxf4 O-O 13. O-O Nd7 (13... Re8 $142 14. Rae1 Qb8 $11) 14. Rfe1 (14. Rae1 $14) 14... Re8 (14... Qb8) 15. Re3 Rc8 16. Rae1 Ne7 (16... g6 $142) 17. Rf3 (17. h4 $14 {/?}) 17... Rf8 18. Rg3 $14 (18. h4 Ng6 19. Bxg6 hxg6 20. Nc1 e5 $1 21. dxe5 Rc4 22. Qg3 Rxh4 23. Nd3 Re8 24. e6 $1 fxe6 25. Qxg6 Qe7 26. Nf4 Rh6 $14) 18... Ng6 19. Bxg6 (19. Qg4 Nf6 20. Qd1 $14) 19... hxg6 20. h4 Nf6 (20... a5 $11) 21. Rh3 $14 Qc7 22. Qg5 Ne4 (22... Rfe8 $142 $11 {/?}) 23. Qe3 Rce8 24. h5 (24. f3 $142 Nf6 25. Nc5 $14) 24... g5 (24... e5 $1) 25. f3 {The game has been on simmer for a while, but now it comes to a full boil. Black loses if he retreats the knight, as his kingside is sorely lacking in defenders after 26.Qxg5.} (25. h6 $1 $14) 25... g4 $1 $11 {Forced.} 26. fxg4 f5 $1 {Suddenly, Black has counterplay, though White is still okay.} 27. Nd2 (27. Rf3 fxg4 28. Rxf8+ Rxf8 29. Nd2 Rf4 30. Nxe4 Rxe4 31. Qc1 $11) 27... fxg4 28. Rh4 $2 {The most natural move, but a blunder.} (28. Rh2 $1 $11 {Ugly, but good. Make that *very* ugly.}) 28... Nxd2 29. Qxd2 Qg3 $19 30. Rh1 e5 (30... Rf3 $1 $19 {followed by ...Ref8 was best.}) 31. Re3 $1 Qf4 32. Qe2 Qg5 $1 33. dxe5 $2 (33. h6 $1 e4 $1 34. Rg3 Rf4 35. hxg7 Kxg7 36. Qe3 Ref8 37. Rhh3 Rf1+ 38. Kh2 Kf6 {is still winning for Black, but at least White isn't losing on the spot.}) 33... Rf5 34. Rg3 (34. e6 Ref8) 34... Qc1+ 35. Kh2 Rxh5+ 36. Rh3 Qf4+ 37. Kg1 Rexe5 {White's queen is hanging, the rook on h3 is hanging, and if White's queen moves to a square that doesn't cover e1 there's ...Re1+/# for good measure.} 0-1 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.18"] [Round "7.4"] [Board "1"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Volokitin, Andrei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B87"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2660"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "59"] [GameId "2091382315024405"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Uzbekistan"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UZB"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] {[%evp 0,59,20,26,64,59,80,62,61,33,37,37,68,48,84,79,66,30,48,32,38,21,-4,8,19,-8,-8,-3,-6,7,-2,-18,11,-31,-85,-85,-85,39,38,41,31,71,59,59,59,29,26,84,84,16,68,68,60,61,61,61,104,113,86,100,356,533] Abdusattorov rolls on.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 {This old favorite of Fischer's has made a bit of a comeback.} e6 7. Be3 ({One of White's ideas in recent times has been} 7. a4 {, a move that was known decades ago but thought to be harmless.}) 7... Be7 (7... b5) 8. Bb3 b5 9. a3 O-O 10. Qe2 Bb7 11. f3 {When I was a pup, the thought was that if White played a3 and f3 in a Najdorf, certainly in a 6.Bc4 Najdorf, he had done something wrong. Certainly White wouldn't play these moves and then castle queenside! But that's just what happens, and has been happening, in this recent resurgence of 6.Bc4.} Nbd7 (11... Nc6 {is worth considering, and if} 12. O-O-O {then 12...Na5 or} b4 {, which equality in the first case and probably equality here as well.}) 12. O-O-O Nc5 $11 13. Ba2 (13. Kb1 Qa5 14. g4 b4 15. axb4 Qxb4 16. h4 a5 17. g5 Nfd7 18. Qb5 Ne5 19. Rh3 Nxb3 20. cxb3 Rfb8 21. Qxb4 axb4 22. Na4 d5 23. Bf4 Bd6 24. Nb5 Nd3 25. Bxd6 Nf2 26. Bxb8 Rxb8 27. Rhh1 Nxh1 28. Rxh1 dxe4 29. Nd6 Bc6 30. Nxe4 Rd8 31. Rc1 Bb5 32. Nac5 Be2 33. f4 Bg4 34. Re1 Bf5 35. Kc2 Rc8 36. Kd2 Rd8+ 37. Ke3 h5 38. Rc1 Kh7 39. Rc4 Rd1 40. Rxb4 Re1+ 41. Kf2 Rb1 42. Rb8 Rxb2+ 43. Ke3 Rh2 44. b4 Rxh4 45. b5 Rh3+ 46. Kd4 Rh1 47. b6 Rd1+ 48. Ke3 h4 49. b7 Rb1 50. Rc8 h3 51. b8=Q {1-0 Sapenov,D (2311)-Volokitin,A (2667) FIDE World Bl Team Final Almaty KAZ blitz 2024 (1.1)}) (13. g4 Qa5 14. g5 Nfd7 15. Qe1 Bd8 16. Kb1 b4 17. axb4 Qxb4 18. h4 Ne5 19. h5 Nxb3 20. Nxb3 a5 21. f4 Nc4 22. g6 Bf6 23. Bd4 e5 24. fxe5 Nxe5 25. gxh7+ Kh8 26. Nd5 Qxe1 27. Rhxe1 Bxd5 28. exd5 Kxh7 29. Nd2 Nd7 30. Ne4 Bxd4 31. Rxd4 Ra6 32. Ng3 Nf6 33. Re7 a4 34. Ka2 Kg8 35. Nf5 Nxh5 36. Rh4 g6 37. Nd4 Nf6 38. c4 Rb8 39. Nc6 Rb3 40. Rf4 Rab6 41. Rf2 Ng4 42. Rfe2 Rf3 43. c5 dxc5 44. d6 Rxc6 45. d7 Rd3 46. Re8+ Kg7 47. d8=Q Rxd8 48. Rxd8 c4 49. Rc2 f5 50. Ka3 Ne3 51. Rcd2 f4 52. Kxa4 Rf6 53. Re8 f3 54. Rxe3 f2 55. Rd1 f1=Q 56. Rxf1 Rxf1 57. Re4 Rf2 58. Ka3 Rc2 59. Ka2 c3 60. Kb3 Rxb2+ 61. Kxc3 Rf2 62. Kd3 Kh6 63. Ke3 Rf5 64. Rh4+ Kg5 65. Rh1 Kf6 66. Rh3 Ke5 67. Rg3 Kf6 68. Rg4 g5 {0-1 Kramnik,V (2753)-Grischuk,A (2776) Levitov Kramnik-Grischuk m Lichess.org INT blitz 2021 (9)}) 13... Qa5 $2 (13... Qb6 {looks "sus", as the kids say, lining up the queen with White's e3-bishop. It turns out that this is a better way to prepare ...b4, and that's what matters most: Black has equalized, and if White plays inaccurately Black will be better.}) 14. Qe1 $1 $16 b4 $146 15. axb4 Qxb4 16. Nd5 {This typical trick was of course the point of 14.Qe1.} Nxd5 17. exd5 Qa4 18. Kb1 Bxd5 19. Bxd5 exd5 20. Nf5 Bf6 21. Bd4 Rfe8 22. Qc3 $1 Nd7 23. b3 $1 Qa3 24. Bxf6 (24. Rhe1 $1 $16 {/+-}) 24... Nxf6 25. Rxd5 $1 a5 26. Rhd1 $1 a4 (26... h5) 27. Ra5 $1 {Forced, but good.} d5 $2 (27... Rxa5 28. Qxa5 Qc5 29. Qxc5 dxc5 30. bxa4 g6 31. Nd6 Ra8 32. Nb7 Rxa4 33. Nxc5 $16) 28. Rd4 $1 $18 Rac8 29. Qd2 {Black is lost in any case, so perhaps his next move wasn't so much a blunder as a bluff.} Rc4 $5 30. bxc4 $1 {Calling the bluff (if it was one). The point is that 30...Rb8+ does nothing - White has 31.Rb5, thanks to the pawn that just took the rook.} 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.18"] [Round "7.8"] [Board "1"] [White "Theodorou, Nikolas"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E08"] [WhiteElo "2619"] [BlackElo "2798"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "84"] [GameId "2091382315044901"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Greece"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GRE"] {[%evp 0,84,26,20,20,-9,4,4,5,-23,-4,21,6,-4,0,-11,29,24,16,7,38,11,46,38,33,56,39,51,84,66,68,50,33,10,8,18,18,-7,-4,-10,17,0,0,-7,35,7,17,4,3,2,7,-13,6,-11,11,6,12,-17,8,-22,-23,-61,-8,-163,-114,-114,2,-111,-31,-25,-49,-43,-54,-78,-3,-78,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Bf4 a5 10. Rd1 a4 11. Nbd2 Nh5 12. Be3 f5 13. Nf1 Bd6 14. b3 $146 (14. Bg5 Ndf6 15. c5 Bc7 16. e3 Bd7 17. b4 axb3 18. axb3 Be8 19. Bf4 Nxf4 20. exf4 Bh5 21. Re1 Bxf3 22. Bxf3 Ne4 23. Rxa8 Qxa8 24. Qb2 b6 25. b4 Qb7 26. Qc2 Bd8 27. cxb6 Bf6 28. Rc1 Rc8 29. Bxe4 fxe4 30. b5 Bxd4 31. bxc6 Qxb6 32. Kg2 Rc7 33. h4 h5 34. Qd1 Bc5 35. Qxh5 Qxc6 36. Nd2 Qb5 37. Nb3 Qxb3 38. Qe8+ Kh7 39. Qh5+ Kg8 40. Qe8+ {½-½ Cheng,B (2583)-Erigaisi,A (2761) FRA-chT Top 16 Basse Chartres 2024 (2.9)}) 14... h6 15. Bd2 Nhf6 16. Bf4 (16. bxa4 $14) 16... Bxf4 17. gxf4 Ne4 18. Ng3 b5 19. e3 $11 {Black is very solid, and while his bishop isn't very good because of all his pawns, White's bishop is hardly any better, and for the same reason.} bxc4 20. bxc4 Ba6 21. Bf1 Nd6 (21... Qa5 $142 $11) 22. cxd5 (22. c5 $142 Bxf1 23. cxd6 $1 $14) 22... cxd5 $11 23. Bxa6 (23. Qc6 $142 Bxf1 24. Qxd6 Ra6 $142 $11) 23... Rxa6 $15 24. Rab1 Nc4 25. Kh1 Ra8 (25... Ra7 $142) 26. Rg1 $11 Kh7 27. Rb4 Qa5 28. Rb7 Ra7 29. Rxa7 Qxa7 30. Nh4 $2 (30. Ne5 $11) 30... Rf7 $2 (30... Nf6 $1 $19 {This stops e4, and the knight is itself headed to e4. The piece sacs on f5 are inadequate, and as a result Black's grip on the position gives him a decisive advantage.}) 31. e4 $2 (31. Nh5 $11) 31... fxe4 $19 32. Nxe4 dxe4 33. Qxc4 Nf8 $2 (33... Rxf4 34. Qxe6 Nf8 35. Qh3 Qf7 $19) 34. Ng2 $15 Rd7 (34... Rc7) 35. Rd1 Ng6 (35... Rd6 $142 $15) 36. Qxe6 $11 Rxd4 37. Re1 (37. Rxd4 Qxd4 38. h4 $11) 37... Qa5 (37... Qe7) 38. f5 Nf4 39. Nxf4 $1 Qxe1+ 40. Kg2 {White threatens a perpetual with Qg6-e8-g6, and in addition Black has to worry about Qg6+ followed by f6 or Ne6. There's no time to waste: Black must create his own threats so that White will have to take the perpetual check.} Qd1 41. Qg6+ Kh8 42. Qe8+ Kh7 1/2-1/2 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.18"] [Round "7.8"] [Board "2"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Kourkoulos-Arditis, Stamatis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E73"] [WhiteElo "2752"] [BlackElo "2570"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "119"] [GameId "2091382315048998"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "Greece"] [BlackTeamCountry "GRE"] {[%evp 0,119,20,20,28,5,32,37,37,33,33,33,22,22,37,0,30,-18,-16,-18,46,12,12,10,72,12,56,58,84,69,108,75,96,18,15,24,24,26,26,-5,33,11,19,27,44,32,-2,0,26,34,22,52,69,-2,53,17,73,50,50,32,42,38,37,31,26,26,27,21,45,43,41,16,126,119,118,122,249,75,113,81,99,59,62,67,62,60,62,63,61,63,78,55,71,75,134,126,125,129,129,129,119,87,92,88,118,108,111,108,108,108,108,108,108,103,103,103,103,103,103,103,103,111]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Be3 {Fairly popular of late.} ({Old Faithful,} 6. Nf3 {, still counts as the absolute main move.}) 6... e5 7. d5 Na6 8. h4 (8. g4 {is the principal alternative.}) 8... Nc5 9. Qc2 c6 10. Bxc5 (10. h5) 10... dxc5 11. h5 cxd5 12. Nxd5 (12. h6 Bh8 13. cxd5 (13. Nxd5)) 12... Ne8 $146 13. Nf3 Be6 14. O-O-O (14. h6 Bh8 15. O-O $14) (14. a4 $14) (14. Kf1 $14) 14... Bxd5 15. Rxd5 Qc7 (15... Qe7 $11) 16. Nd2 (16. h6 Bh8 17. Rdd1) 16... Nf6 (16... Qe7) 17. h6 Bh8 18. Rd3 $11 Rfd8 (18... Qe7) 19. Rxd8+ (19. Nb1 $1 {[%CAl Bb1c3,Bc3d5]}) 19... Rxd8 20. Nb1 $1 Rd4 21. Nc3 a6 (21... Qd8 $11) 22. a3 (22. Rd1 $14) 22... Ne8 23. Kb1 Bf6 {With the bishop escaping its box, Black should be fine.} 24. Nd5 Qc6 25. Qb3 Kf8 26. Rd1 Rxd1+ 27. Bxd1 Bd8 28. Qg3 Qd6 29. Qh3 Nc7 30. Qc8 Nxd5 31. cxd5 Qc7 32. Bg4 a5 33. Qa8 Ke7 34. Bc8 b5 35. Ba6 c4 $2 (35... b4 $11) 36. Bxb5 c3 37. bxc3 Qc5 38. Qc6 $2 {Understandably nervous, but also cognizant that the U.S. is winning the match on boards 3 & 4, so there's no need to do anything crazy.} (38. Qb8 $1 Bc7 39. Qe8+ Kf6 40. Qc6+ Bd6 41. Qxc5 Bxc5 {Here Black's king is just far enough away from the queenside for White to win:} 42. Kb2 Bxf2 43. Kb3 Ke7 44. Ka4 Bb6 45. Be2 Kd6 46. Kb5 $18 {Black can't both save his a-pawn and stop c4-c5.}) 38... Bb6 $2 (38... Qxc6) 39. f3 $2 Qxc6 $11 40. Bxc6 Be3 41. Kc2 Bxh6 42. Kb3 Bd2 43. c4 Kd6 44. Be8 f5 45. Bf7 f4 46. Bg8 h5 47. Bf7 h4 48. Bxg6 Be1 49. Ka4 Kc5 {This endgame is so easy to hold for Black, even a cave man could do it.} 50. d6 Kxd6 51. Kb5 Kc7 52. Kc5 Bc3 53. Kd5 Bb2 54. Be8 Bc3 55. Bb5 Bb2 56. c5 Bc3 57. Ke6 Bd4 58. Kf5 Bc3 59. Kg4 Be1 60. Kf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.18"] [Round "7.8"] [Board "3"] [White "Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2550"] [BlackElo "2748"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "62"] [GameId "2091382315048999"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Greece"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GRE"] {[%evp 0,62,20,23,42,42,75,40,72,64,53,37,37,13,11,11,11,24,52,7,12,-6,2,-1,19,10,6,0,30,-7,31,31,6,6,23,11,11,7,-1,-25,-40,-40,-25,-25,-25,-49,-86,-61,-61,-59,-45,-107,-46,-256,-270,-307,-350,-358,-358,-363,-268,-281,-301,-272,-271]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Ngf6 6. O-O a6 ({In case you're wondering:} 6... Nxe4 $2 7. Re1 Nef6 (7... d5 8. c4 $1 a6 9. Ba4 b5 10. cxd5 $1 Nxf2 11. Qf3 $1 $18) 8. Nf5 $18 {Threatening mate, and at the very least regaining the pawn with tremendous positional interest.}) 7. Bd3 Nc5 8. Nc3 e6 (8... e5 {, Najdorf style, or the Dragon-like}) (8... g6 {are playable alternatives.}) 9. a4 Be7 10. Re1 O-O $146 (10... Nxd3) 11. Bf1 Qc7 12. a5 b5 {Not bad, but I wonder if Dominguez missed White's 14th move.} (12... Rd8 $142) 13. axb6 Qxb6 14. b4 $1 $14 Ncd7 (14... Qxb4 $4 15. Ncb5 $1 $18 {Threatening to collect the queen with 16.c3, and there's no solution that doesn't lose a different way.}) 15. b5 (15. Na4 $1 Qc7 (15... Qxb4 $4 16. Nc6 $18) 16. Bf4 $1 $14) 15... Bb7 $11 16. Be3 Qc7 $1 17. bxa6 Bxa6 18. Bxa6 Qxc3 19. f3 $6 (19. Nb5 $11) 19... d5 $15 20. exd5 Nxd5 21. Bf2 Bb4 22. Bb5 (22. Kh1 $142) 22... N7f6 $17 23. Rxa8 Rxa8 24. Qe2 Bc5 $15 (24... h5 $1 $17) 25. Qd3 (25. Qc4 $142) 25... Qb2 $1 $17 26. Bc6 $4 (26. Qc4 $17) (26. g3 $17) 26... Ra1 $1 $19 {The combined weaknesses of the knight on d4 and the back rank results in a forced win for Black.} 27. Rd1 Nb4 {More targets.} 28. Qf1 Rxd1 29. Qxd1 Nxc6 30. Nxc6 Bxf2+ 31. Kxf2 Qb6+ (31... Qb6+ 32. Nd4 (32. Qd4 Qxc6 33. Qd8+ Ne8 $19) 32... e5 $19) 0-1 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.18"] [Round "7.8"] [Board "4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Kelires, Andreas"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2536"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "77"] [GameId "2091382315053096"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "Greece"] [BlackTeamCountry "GRE"] {[%evp 0,77,23,33,59,59,62,47,74,69,53,48,47,37,42,13,34,27,18,-43,-40,-31,-35,-8,37,-1,22,-1,-5,0,17,19,16,23,62,59,95,46,82,63,88,83,150,150,139,128,165,133,122,115,119,83,144,94,106,122,159,159,291,291,271,271,350,356,345,347,344,353,352,352,423,436,453,407,414,421,400,418,437,480]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Be2 Ngf6 6. d3 g6 (6... e6 {is also playable.}) 7. c4 Bg7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. d4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nc5 11. f3 $14 Ne6 $146 (11... Bd7 12. Be3 Rb8 13. Qd2 Ne6 14. Nc2 b5 15. cxb5 axb5 16. Nb4 Qa5 17. a3 Rfc8 18. Rac1 Nc5 19. Rc2 Qd8 20. Ncd5 Nxd5 21. Nxd5 Be6 22. b4 Nb3 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Qd3 Bxd5 25. Qxd5 Rc3 26. Bf2 Bd4 27. Bxd4 e6 28. Bxc3 exd5 29. Rb1 Qb6+ 30. Kf1 Qe3 31. Rxb3 d4 32. Bxd4 Qxb3 33. Bf2 Qa4 34. Be1 Kf8 35. Bd3 Ke7 36. Ke2 Kd7 37. Bd2 Kc6 38. Bc1 Qb3 39. h4 Qc3 40. Bd2 Qxa3 41. g4 Qb2 42. g5 Qe5 43. Be1 Qh2+ 44. Ke3 Qg1+ 45. Ke2 Qd4 46. Bd2 Qb2 47. Kd1 Qe5 48. Kc2 Qh2 49. Kd1 Qxh4 50. f4 f6 51. Ke2 Qh2+ 52. Kd1 Qg3 53. Kc2 Qh4 54. Be3 h6 55. gxh6 Qxh6 56. Kd2 g5 57. fxg5 fxg5 58. Be2 Qf6 59. Kd3 Qe5 60. Bd4 Qg3+ 61. Be3 g4 62. Kd2 Qg2 63. Kd3 g3 64. Bd2 Qf2 65. Be3 Qe1 66. Bf3 Qb1+ 67. Kd2 g2 68. e5+ d5 69. Bxg2 Qb2+ 70. Kd3 Qxg2 {0-1 Predke,A (2651)-Giri,A (2772) Aimchess Play In op Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (6)}) 12. Nc2 g5 (12... b5 13. cxb5 axb5 14. Nxb5 Bb7 15. a4 Qb8 $14 {[%CAl Bd6d5] still favors White, but Black gets decent counterplay to compensate for the pawn.}) 13. Rf2 $16 (13. Be3 $16) 13... Nf4 14. Bf1 h6 15. Be3 Be6 16. Nd4 Ng6 17. Qb3 Bd7 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. exf5 Nh4 20. Bd3 $16 {/+- Black's bid for play with 12...g5 has come up empty. White has the bishop pair, more space, threats against b7 and the stranded knight on h4 (White to move plays 21.g3 and wins a piece) while Black has nothing at all.} e6 (20... Qd7 $142) 21. fxe6 fxe6 22. Qxb7 $18 Rf7 23. Qb3 (23. Qc6 $142) 23... Nd7 24. Rd1 Qa5 25. Qc2 Ne5 26. Re2 Rc8 27. Bf2 d5 $2 {Desperation. But sometimes desperation is right: if you're practically guaranteed to lose in the long run playing "normal" moves, then looking for something that gives a chance, even if it could result in a speedier loss, can be the thing to do.} 28. cxd5 exd5 29. Bh7+ Kh8 30. Rxd5 Nexf3+ 31. gxf3 Nxf3+ 32. Kh1 Qc7 {Threatening mate.} 33. Bg3 Qb6 {Again, threatening mate.} 34. Rf2 Qe3 35. Bd3 Re8 36. Qe2 Qc1+ 37. Rf1 Rxe2 38. Rxc1 Rxb2 39. Rd8+ (39. Rd8+ Rf8 40. Rxf8+ Bxf8 41. Nd5 {White is up a piece for a pawn and threatening to bring the rook to the 7th rank and play Nf6 with a mating net. Black has no counterplay of his own, so it's time to resign.}) 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.18"] [Round "7.9"] [Board "1"] [White "Dragnev, Valentin"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C41"] [WhiteElo "2556"] [BlackElo "2832"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "80"] [GameId "2091382315057193"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Austria"] [BlackTeam "Norway"] [WhiteTeamCountry "AUT"] [BlackTeamCountry "NOR"] {[%evp 0,80,33,8,85,69,66,64,86,59,64,59,59,49,44,33,79,53,69,55,110,96,108,66,58,41,84,52,52,54,71,56,67,49,80,66,107,7,73,34,40,18,11,5,-14,-11,-9,-12,-27,-47,-68,-95,-61,-102,-100,-100,-100,-83,-76,-85,-72,-59,-60,-102,-131,-131,-193,-76,-157,-174,-212,-215,-211,-329,-137,-811,-541,-1129,-1143,-1194,-1085,-2189,-2603]} 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Bc4 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. a4 c6 8. h3 h6 9. Be3 Re8 10. a5 exd4 11. Qxd4 Bf8 12. Rfe1 Qc7 13. Bf4 Ne5 14. Be2 Bd7 15. Bg3 a6 16. Bh4 Re6 17. Nxe5 Rxe5 18. b4 $6 (18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Red1 Rxa5 20. Rxa5 Qxa5 21. Rd3 $14 {gives White more than enough for the pawn.}) 18... Rae8 19. Bg3 $2 c5 $1 $19 {Black's pieces all spring to life now, exploting White's 18th move in particular.} 20. Qd1 cxb4 21. Bxe5 dxe5 22. Nd5 Nxd5 23. exd5 e4 {Among Black's ideas/mini-plans is ...Qe5 followed by ...Bd6, and ...f5 looks delightful too.} 24. Bg4 f5 25. Bh5 Rc8 $2 (25... Rd8 $142 $19) 26. d6 $1 $17 Qc5 27. c3 $2 (27. Qd2 $1 $17 {followed by 28.Rad1 was correct.}) 27... bxc3 28. Qb3+ Qc4 $2 (28... Kh8 29. Qxb7 Bb5 $19) 29. Qxb7 $2 (29. Bd1 $1 $15) 29... Qe6 $1 30. Qxa6 $2 (30. Rxe4 $3 fxe4 31. Bg4 Qxd6 32. Qxd7 Qxd7 33. Bxd7 $17 {I wouldn't lay heavy odds on White saving the game, but he's definitely got a chance.}) 30... Bxd6 $19 31. Qa7 c2 32. a6 Bf4 33. Qb7 Rb8 $1 34. Qa7 Qd6 35. Be2 Be6 36. Bf1 Kh7 $1 {Tidying things up before finishing White off.} 37. Rec1 Bxc1 38. Rxc1 Rb1 39. Qe3 Qd1 40. a7 Qxc1 0-1