[Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2859"] [BlackElo "2735"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2023.01.13"] {[%evp 0,81,28,30,35,-11,-3,-5,6,-11,-5,14,14,5,-5,-8,-13,0,12,-7,0,-15,0,-7,0,-12,-7,19,26,23,18,6,39,40,36,35,41,38,41,15,18,17,17,12,16,21,21,1,13,0,1,-2,-11,-4,-3,0,8,-14,24,0,25,91,34,14,20,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Bd5 11. Qc2 Be4 12. Qc1 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Rd1 a5 15. Nbd2 Bh7 (15... Bxf3 {is the most popular move.} 16. Bxf3 (16. Nxf3 Na6) 16... c6) 16. Nb3 Nd7 $6 $146 (16... c6) 17. Ne5 $16 c6 18. Qc3 Ra7 19. Nxa5 (19. h4 $142) (19. Bf3 $142) 19... Bxe5 20. dxe5 Rxa5 21. Rxd7 Rxa4 (21... Qxd7 $142 22. Qxa5 Qd4 23. Qc3 Rd8) 22. Rxa4 Qxd7 23. Rd4 Qc7 24. Rd6 (24. Qc5 $142) 24... Ra8 25. Bf3 Bg6 26. h4 h5 $11 27. Kg2 Qb6 28. Rd7 Kh7 29. Qd2 Ra5 30. b4 Rxe5 $1 31. Qd6 {White's attack will come quickly - Rd8, Qf8, and mate on h8 - so Black must play precisely.} Qb5 $8 32. Qf8 Rxe2 $8 33. Rd8 Be4 $8 34. Bxe4+ Rxe4 35. Qxf7 $8 Re1 {Now White's king is in at least as much danger, so it's time for him to force a draw.} 36. Qg8+ Kg6 37. Qe8+ Kh7 38. Qh8+ Kg6 39. Qe8+ Kh7 40. Qh8+ Kg6 41. Qe8+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2764"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2023.01.13"] {[%evp 0,61,30,32,20,6,6,6,6,6,58,40,35,20,1,-13,-5,-7,-13,-9,5,-3,16,3,9,12,11,-22,-6,-11,7,-16,-4,-14,-6,-24,-1,-16,10,-68,-57,-47,-62,-62,-5,-9,-63,32,33,28,0,10,4,3,3,11,6,-16,6,2,2,2,8,0]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. Bxc4 a6 6. O-O b5 7. Be2 Bb7 8. a4 b4 9. Nb1 c5 10. d3 Be7 11. Nbd2 O-O 12. Nc4 (12. b3 Nd5 13. Bb2 Bf6 14. Ne5 Nd7 15. Nxd7 Bxb2 16. Nxf8 Nc3 17. Qe1 Bxa1 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Bg4 Qxd3 20. Nc4 Bd5 21. Nb6 Rf8 22. Nxd5 Qxd5 23. Qxa1 Qxb3 24. a5 Qc4 25. Bf3 b3 26. Qb2 Na4 27. Qe5 b2 28. Be4 Nc3 29. Bb1 Ne2+ {0-1 Kezin,R (2492)-Sarana,A (2649) Titled Tuesday intern op 05th Oct Chess.com INT blitz 2021 (4)}) (12. Nb3 a5 13. Nfd2 Nc6 14. Nc4 Rc8 15. Bf3 Ba6 16. Bxc6 Bxc4 17. dxc4 Rxc6 18. Qxd8 Bxd8 19. Rd1 Ne4 20. Bd2 Bf6 21. Rab1 Ra8 22. Be1 Nd6 23. Nd2 Kf8 24. f3 Ke8 25. Kf2 Rd8 26. Ke2 Be5 27. Bh4 Ra8 28. f4 Bf6 29. Bxf6 gxf6 30. Rbc1 Ke7 31. Kf3 Rc7 32. Nb3 f5 33. Rd3 Ne4 34. g4 Nd6 35. h3 h6 36. Rdd1 Rc6 37. Nd2 Rd8 38. Nb3 Ra8 39. gxf5 Nxf5 40. e4 Nd6 41. Rg1 Rcc8 42. Rg7 Ne8 43. Rg2 Nf6 44. e5 Nd7 45. Nd2 Nb6 46. b3 Rd8 47. Ke3 Rd7 48. Ne4 Rc8 49. Rcc2 Na8 50. Rcd2 Nb6 51. h4 Rxd2 52. Rxd2 Nd7 53. Rg2 Nb8 54. Rg7 Nc6 55. Rxf7+ Kxf7 56. Nd6+ Kf8 57. Nxc8 Nd4 58. Nd6 Nxb3 59. Nb7 Ke7 60. Kd3 Kd7 61. Kc2 Kc7 62. Kxb3 Kxb7 63. h5 Kc7 64. Kc2 {½-½ Keymer,V (2558)-Svane,R (2613) GER-ch Net blitz final Playchess.com INT 2020 (3)}) 12... Nc6 13. Qc2 $146 (13. e4 Nd7 14. Be3 Nb6 15. Nxb6 Qxb6 16. Rc1 Rac8 17. Nd2 Rfd8 18. Nb3 Na5 19. Nxa5 Qxa5 20. Qc2 Bf6 21. f4 Bd4 22. Bxd4 Rxd4 23. b3 Qd8 24. Rf3 f5 25. Re3 Qd6 26. g3 e5 27. Rf1 Rf8 28. Qc1 exf4 29. Rxf4 fxe4 30. Rxf8+ Qxf8 31. dxe4 Bxe4 32. Bc4+ Kh8 33. Qe1 Qf5 34. Bd3 Rxd3 35. Rxd3 h6 36. Re3 Bd5 37. Qf2 Qb1+ 38. Re1 Qd3 39. Re3 {1-0 Medvegy,Z (2524)-Keymer,V (2558) Chartres Blitz Europe Echecs INT 2020 (4)}) 13... a5 14. e4 Qc7 $15 15. h3 Nd7 16. Be3 Ba6 $6 (16... f5 $142 $17) 17. Ncd2 $11 Rac8 18. Rac1 Qb6 19. Nb3 Nd4 20. Bxd4 cxd4 $15 21. Qb1 Nc5 22. Nfxd4 $2 (22. Nxc5 Bxc5 23. Ne5 $15) 22... Nxa4 $17 23. Qa2 Nxb2 $1 24. Qxb2 Bf6 $2 (24... a4 25. Nd2 Rxc1 26. Rxc1 Bc5 27. N4f3 (27. N2f3 $6 a3 28. Qa1 Rd8 $19) 27... Bxf2+ $17 {/-+ With two pawns, the bishop pair, and those glorious queenside passers, Black's advantage is likely to prove decisive.}) 25. Rxc8 Rxc8 26. Qa2 $1 Bxd4 27. Nxd4 Qxd4 28. Qxa5 $11 Rc6 29. Qa4 Qc3 30. Rb1 h6 31. Qxb4 1/2-1/2 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Black "Ding Liren"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2725"] [BlackElo "2811"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2023.01.13"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O d5 9. Nc3 c6 10. Bf4 Nbd7 11. cxd5 (11. Qd3) 11... exd5 $146 {A novelty, though it transposes to some prior games.} 12. Ne1 $146 (12. Qc2 $142) 12... Re8 $15 13. Nd3 Nf8 14. Bg5 Ne6 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. e3 Nc5 $1 17. dxc5 Bxc3 18. Rc1 Qf6 19. Qc2 d4 20. cxb6 axb6 21. Rfd1 Rad8 22. exd4 Bxd4 23. Nf4 $2 (23. Bxc6 $1 Rc8 24. Nf4 $1 $11 {keeps everything together, if only by a hair.} Bb5 (24... Bxf2+ 25. Qxf2 Rxc6 26. Nd5 $11) (24... Re5 25. b4 Re2 26. Nxe2 Qxf2+ 27. Kh1 Bxe2 28. Rxd4 Bf3+ 29. Bxf3 Qxf3+ (29... Rxc2 $4 30. Rd8#) 30. Kg1 Qe3+ 31. Kg2 Rxc2+ 32. Rxc2 h5 33. Rcd2 $11) 25. Bxb5 Rxc2 26. Rxc2 $11) 23... g5 $17 24. Nh5 Qh6 25. Bf3 c5 26. g4 f5 $1 {Fearless, energetic play.} 27. Ng3 (27. Qxf5 $142 Bc8 28. Qc2 Rf8 $19) 27... fxg4 28. Nf5 Qf6 29. Be4 h5 $2 (29... Qe5 $142 $1 30. Nxd4 Qxe4 31. Qxe4 Rxe4 32. Nf5 Rxd1+ 33. Rxd1 h5 $19) 30. b4 $1 $17 Kf8 $6 (30... Qe5 $142) (30... h4 $142) 31. a3 $2 (31. a4 $1 $15 h4 32. b5 $11) 31... h4 $19 32. Re1 {Now for a nice finish:} (32. Nxd4 $142) 32... Rxe4 $1 33. Qxe4 (33. Rxe4 {is also met by} Bd3 $19 ({But not, of course,} 33... Qxf5 $4 {due to} 34. Re8+ $18 ({or even} 34. Rxd4 $18 {.}))) 33... Bd3 $1 34. Qe6 (34. Qxd3 Bxf2+ 35. Kxf2 Rxd3 $19) 34... Qxe6 35. Rxe6 Bxf5 36. Rxb6 {The rook has no chance against the bishop pair in such a position, and that would be true even if Black didn't have ...g3 on tap.} g3 37. hxg3 hxg3 38. bxc5 Bh3 0-1 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2681"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2023.01.13"] {[%evp 0,98,20,14,24,6,6,6,15,-14,5,14,5,3,1,1,4,4,-11,-1,-1,12,9,12,19,0,6,25,25,-18,29,13,19,-6,-11,-29,4,9,0,-27,-30,-85,-86,-74,-68,-70,-64,-66,-78,-54,-48,-53,-53,-53,-55,-46,-55,-72,-81,-85,-85,-68,-76,-61,-60,-66,-66,-63,-56,-62,-62,-70,-69,-65,-35,-37,-50,-42,-45,-41,-41,-31,-7,-17,-22,-27,-40,-46,-36,-47,-53,-47,-36,-57,-56,-60,-59,-55,-61,-60,-62]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Ne5 c5 8. dxc5 Qxd1+ 9. Nxd1 Bxc5 10. Nxc4 Nd5 (10... Nc6 {had been just about automatic prior to this game.}) 11. Bd2 Nc6 12. Rc1 b6 13. Nc3 $146 Rd8 14. Ne3 Bxe3 $146 15. Bxe3 Nce7 16. Bd2 Bb7 17. Nb1 f5 18. O-O Rd7 19. Rfd1 Rad8 20. Be1 Nf4 $1 21. Rxd7 $8 Nxe2+ 22. Kf1 Rxd7 23. Kxe2 Bxg2 24. f3 $8 {The good news for Black is that he'll keep the extra pawn. The bad news is that extricating his bishop will require ...e5-e4, which will render that extra pawn almost useless.} e5 25. Nd2 e4 26. fxe4 fxe4 27. Kf2 Bh1 28. Ke2 Nd5 29. Rc8+ Kf7 30. Nc4 Ke6 31. Re8+ Re7 32. Rxe7+ Nxe7 {Black should keep playing, of course, but as long as the opposite-colored bishops remain it's 95-99% drawn.} 33. Bc3 g6 34. Ne3 Nc6 35. Kd2 g5 36. Ng4 h5 37. Nf6 Bf3 38. Ke3 Kf5 39. Nd5 Kg4 40. Bf6 Kh3 41. Bxg5 Ne5 42. Nf6 Nc4+ 43. Kd4 Nxb2 44. Nxe4 Kxh2 ({Black can solve the opposite-colored bishops problem with} 44... Bxe4 45. Kxe4 Kxh2 {, but with his king far away from the queenside White will have no trouble making a draw, with his king making a beeline for the a- and b-pawns.} 46. Bf4) 45. Bf4 Kh3 46. Nc3 Kg4 47. Bd6 a6 48. Ba3 Nd1 49. Nxd1 Bxd1 (49... Bxd1 50. Bd6 {is drawn unless a meteorite crashes into one of the players - and then no one will care about the result anyway.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C29"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2713"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "2023.01.13"] {[%evp 0,94,14,25,23,16,16,14,15,-31,-38,-33,8,2,7,0,29,-35,-38,-38,0,3,11,-10,9,13,55,52,80,44,56,-4,92,72,72,-17,77,52,69,64,12,1,-1,-21,-41,-138,-94,-105,-66,-62,-89,-92,-36,-41,-37,-40,-54,-57,-65,-77,-70,-79,-93,-143,-110,-108,-92,-81,-81,-73,-95,-95,-87,-93,-96,-88,-88,-93,-88,-77,-77,-77,-91,-83,-89,-90,-88,-104,-99,-98,-97,-439,-379,-524,-591,-611,-610]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 {Blow the dust off your chess sets, boys and girls; it's the Vienna!} Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Qf3 {The modern preference.} ({The probably inferior} 5. Nf3 {is the original recipe. Black has many good answers, including} Bc5 6. d4 Bb4 7. Bd2 c5 $11 {/?, when it's probably White who must prove equality.}) 5... f5 {There's nothing wrong with 5...Nc6, but this aggressive move may be even better.} (5... Nc6 {is also good.} 6. Bb5 (6. Nxe4 $2 Nd4 $1 7. Qc3 (7. Qd3 $4 dxe4 8. Qxe4 Bf5 $19 {is the tactical justification of 5...Nc6.}) 7... dxe4 8. Ne2 Nc6 $15 {/?}) 6... Nxc3 7. dxc3 Qh4+ 8. g3 Qe4+ 9. Qxe4 dxe4 $11 {White has not managed to prove anything here.}) 6. d3 Nxc3 7. bxc3 d4 8. Be2 (8. Qg3 {is more common, though a transposition is likely.}) 8... Nc6 9. Qg3 Be6 10. c4 Bb4+ (10... Qd7 {may be better, though it's tempting to prevent White from castling.}) 11. Kd1 Qd7 (11... O-O) 12. Rb1 O-O-O 13. Bf3 $11 {/?} Be7 $146 14. Nh3 (14. h4 $142) (14. Qxg7 $2 Bxc4 $1 $17 {/-+} 15. dxc4 $2 d3 $19) 14... b6 $11 15. Nf4 (15. Ng5 $11) (15. Re1 $11) 15... g5 16. Nxe6 Qxe6 17. Rb5 Nb8 18. Rd5 (18. h4 $1 $11) 18... c6 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. h3 (20. Qf2 $142) 20... Nd7 $15 21. Qh2 $6 (21. Qf2) 21... h6 22. g4 (22. Re1 $142) 22... Nxe5 $17 23. gxf5 Nxf3 24. fxe6 Nxh2 25. Rxh2 Rf8 26. Bb2 Rf4 (26... c5 $142 27. c3 dxc3 28. Bxc3 Rf5 $17) 27. c3 (27. Ke2 $15) 27... dxc3 28. Bxc3 Kd8 29. Be5 (29. Bg7) 29... Rf1+ 30. Kc2 Bf6 31. Re2 Ke7 32. d4 $1 $15 Kxe6 33. Bxf6+ Kxf6 34. d5 cxd5 35. cxd5 Ra1 36. Re6+ (36. Kb3 $11 {/?}) 36... Kf5 37. Rxh6 Rxa2+ 38. Kb3 (38. Kc3 $142 $11) 38... Ra1 (38... Rd2 $142) 39. Kc4 $2 (39. d6 Rd1 40. Kc4 a6 41. Kb4 $1 $11) 39... Rc1+ $1 40. Kd4 $2 (40. Kb3 $1 Ke5 41. d6 Rd1 42. Rg6 $8 {and the game should still be drawn with correct play.}) 40... Rd1+ $1 $19 41. Kc4 b5+ $1 42. Kc5 (42. Kxb5 Rxd5+ 43. Ka6 Rd4 $1 $19 {followed by ...Rh4, winning. One possible continuation:} 44. Rc6 Rd3 45. Rh6 Ra3+ 46. Kb5 a6+ 47. Kc4 Ra4+ 48. Kd3 a5 49. Ke2 Rb4 50. Ra6 a4 {etc.}) 42... b4 $1 43. Rh8 b3 44. Rf8+ Ke4 45. Re8+ Kd3 46. d6 b2 47. d7 Kc2 0-1 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D87"] [WhiteElo "2684"] [BlackElo "2722"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2023.01.13"] {[%evp 0,80,23,20,24,6,38,39,68,65,67,46,46,51,51,51,51,43,42,39,44,55,93,16,23,27,42,28,40,-51,-42,-42,-28,-28,3,3,-11,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,8,-6,3,28,9,21,22,-3,-5,-5,0,0,0,0,20,0,6,0,5,-28,-38,-44,-46,-31,-31,-31,0,0,5,-41,-18,0,26,26,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 b6 11. Qd2 Bb7 12. Rac1 e6 13. f3 Rc8 14. h4 Na5 $146 15. Bd3 cxd4 16. cxd4 Qxh4 $146 17. Bg5 Qh5 {Black's queen looks ready to be trapped and collected, but this is tantalizing in the original, mythological sense: she will not be lost.} 18. e5 {Now Ng3 is a big threat.} ({Here's a fun line:} 18. Ng3 Bxd4+ 19. Rf2 Rxc1+ 20. Qxc1 Bxf2+ 21. Kxf2 Qh2 22. Qf4 Nc6 23. Qf6 Nb8 $1 24. Nf1 Qh1 25. Ng3 Qh2 26. Nf1 Qh5 27. Ng3 Qh2 $11) 18... f6 $8 19. exf6 Bxf6 20. Bxf6 Rxf6 21. Rxc8+ Bxc8 22. Rc1 Bb7 {White has enough for the pawn, but not more.} 23. Be4 Rf7 (23... Qb5 $11) (23... Ba6 $11) 24. Bxb7 Nxb7 25. Qe3 Qf5 26. Rc6 Nd8 27. Rd6 Qf6 28. Ng3 Qe7 29. Ne4 Rf5 30. Qb3 Kg7 31. Qc4 h5 32. Kf1 h4 33. Qc8 Rd5 34. Rxd5 exd5 35. Nc3 Qg5 36. Ne2 Nf7 37. Qb7 Qf5 38. Qxa7 h3 39. gxh3 Qxh3+ (39... Qxf3+ 40. Ke1 Qxh3 41. Qxb6 $11) 40. Kf2 Qh4+ {A very clean game.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2719"] [BlackElo "2696"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2023.01.13"] {[%evp 0,65,20,24,24,-6,-10,-13,8,23,-2,-73,-72,-80,-83,-83,-39,-19,-4,14,-32,-25,-31,7,39,-68,-72,-86,-55,-77,-40,-60,-61,-52,-54,-97,-86,-58,-47,-70,-57,-80,-85,-140,-98,-153,-111,-122,-85,-79,-85,-78,-58,-41,-36,-36,-49,-38,-37,-89,-73,-67,-54,-49,-14,-19,0,0]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c5 4. c4 d4 5. e3 Nc6 6. exd4 cxd4 7. d3 e6 8. O-O h6 9. Re1 Bd6 10. Na3 O-O 11. Nc2 a5 12. a3 e5 13. Rb1 a4 $15 {/? White has played this way quite a few times, even in grandmaster games, but he shouldn't. Both the database and the engine suggest that Black is doing splendidly. Now White should put something on b4, and either possibility is satisfactory.} 14. Nb4 Re8 15. c5 Bc7 16. Nd2 Bg4 $17 17. Bf3 $146 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Ra5 $17 (18... Ba5 $142 $17 {/-+}) (18... Re6 $142 $17 {/-+}) (18... Qd7 $142 $17 {/-+}) 19. Nxc6 bxc6 20. Qxc6 (20. b4 $142 axb3 21. Nxb3 Rb5 22. Qxc6 Qb8 23. a4 Rxb3 24. Rxb3 Qxb3 25. Qxc7 Qxa4 $17) 20... Re6 21. Qf3 Rxc5 22. b4 axb3 23. Nxb3 Rc3 24. Bd2 e4 25. Qd1 exd3 $2 (25... Rxd3 26. Nc5 Rxd2 27. Qxd2 Re5 {remains unpleasant, if not necessarily lost, for White.}) 26. Rxe6 fxe6 27. Nxd4 $1 $11 {As Keymer spent six minutes after this move, it seems very likely that he missed it rather than underestimating it.} Qxd4 28. Bxc3 Qxc3 29. Rb3 Qc6 30. Qxd3 Ne4 31. Qe2 Bd6 32. Re3 Nxf2 33. Kxf2 (33. Kxf2 Bc5 $11 {is completely equal, despite White's outside passer.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Tata Steel Challengers"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Warmerdam, Max"] [Black "Pechac, Jergus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C60"] [WhiteElo "2616"] [BlackElo "2637"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2023.01.13"] {[%evp 0,61,25,16,10,25,16,13,58,53,81,37,29,17,39,-4,60,39,39,-60,-95,-29,6,-85,-46,-46,-21,-46,0,-54,-89,-42,13,0,0,0,-16,-51,-56,-37,-25,-123,306,295,523,629,798,816,830,855,852,882,886,886,895,905,917,917,1063,1109,1307,1417,29999,-30000]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7 4. Nc3 Ng6 5. Bc4 $5 $146 {Not a completely unknown idea - Bc4 has been played on move 4, for instance - but still a rarity.} Bc5 {Transposing to two earlier, non-professional-level games.} 6. h4 $146 {Heading for h6, if possible.} h6 7. Nd5 {Most obviously clearing the way for c3 and d4, but it turns out to be even more interesting.} Nge7 (7... d6) 8. c3 O-O 9. Ng5 $1 {Buckle up, here we go!} Nxd5 {Forced, believe it or not.} (9... hxg5 $4 {is obviously bad. White's fastest win is} 10. Nf6+ $1 gxf6 (10... Kh8 11. Qh5#) 11. hxg5 Kg7 12. Qh5 Bxf2+ 13. Kxf2 fxg5 14. Qh6+ Kg8 15. Qh7#) (9... Bb6 $2 10. Nf6+ $1 Kh8 (10... gxf6 11. Qh5 Kg7 12. Nxf7 {Threatening the queen, to attack with Rh3-g3+, and above all a straightforward mate in two.} Qe8 13. Qxh6+ Kg8 14. Qh8#) 11. Qh5 {leaves Black without a good way to defend f7. His best is} d5 {, but after} 12. Nxd5 {(not the only winning move)} Nxd5 13. Bxd5 Qf6 14. Nxf7+ Kh7 15. d4 exd4 16. O-O $18 {White's continued kingside pressure (and extra pawn) leave him on top.}) 10. exd5 $1 (10. Bxd5 $2 Qf6 11. Qe2 d6 $17) 10... b5 $1 (10... Ne7 11. d6 $1 Bxd6 12. Qf3 Qe8 13. d4 $1 exd4 14. Kf1 {is almost winning. Black is in trouble, but not quite dead if he finds} b5 $1 15. Qe4 g6 16. Bxf7+ Rxf7 17. Nxf7 Qxf7 18. Qxa8 dxc3 19. Qe4 $16) 11. Bb3 Na5 12. Bc2 $14 {Black must take time out to address the threat of b4.} Nb7 $2 $16 (12... Bb6 $142 {was best, and}) (12... Nc4 $142 {is also better than the text.}) 13. Qh5 (13. Nh7 $1 Re8 14. d4 $1 exd4+ 15. Kf1 dxc3 16. b4 $1 Qe7 $1 17. Bg5 $1 Qe5 18. Qf3 $1 f5 19. Bf4 Qd4 20. bxc5 Kxh7 21. d6 $1 cxd6 22. Bxh6 $3 Qc4+ 23. Kg1 Qf7 24. Bxg7 $1 Kxg7 25. Rh3 $1 Nxc5 $1 26. Rg3+ Kf8 27. Qxa8 Bb7 28. Qxa7 $18 {is an utterly preposterous and glorious computer line. Unless both players had memorized this line in advance, the odds of its occurring were as close to zero as permitted by quantum physics. (And of course, if it had been memorized in advance, why would Black choose a line that leaves him with a lost position?)}) 13... d6 14. d4 $1 exd4 15. O-O f5 (15... Qe8 $142 $16) 16. Nf3 $2 {White has a nice idea in mind, and we'll get to see it. Still, it's an error - Black could have survived.} (16. Re1 $1 $18) 16... dxc3 $11 17. Bxh6 $1 cxb2 18. Rae1 Qf6 19. Bd2 $1 Bd7 20. Bc3 $1 Qh6 $2 (20... g6 $1 21. Bxf6 gxh5 22. Bxb2 Rfe8 $11) 21. Re7 $3 $18 Qxh5 22. Rxg7+ Kh8 23. Rf7+ {Understandably getting two moves closer to the time control. Playing a game like this one requires a lot of time on the clock.} Kg8 24. Rg7+ Kh8 25. Rxd7+ Rf6 (25... Kg8 26. Rg7+ Kh8 27. Rxc7+ Kg8 28. Rg7+ Kh8 29. Rxb7+ Kg8 30. Rg7+ Kh8 31. Rg5+ $18) 26. Bxf6+ Kg8 27. Rg7+ Kf8 28. Ng5 {Threatening mate in two with Ne6+ and Re7#.} Bxf2+ (28... Re8 {saves the king (temporarily) at the cost of the queen:} 29. Nh7+ $18) 29. Rxf2 Nc5 30. Bxb2 (30. Rxf5 {mates two moves faster, not that it matters.}) 30... Qe8 {I assume this was a little joke or a kindness. If so, kudos to Pechac - it's a nice way to let Warmerdam put the cherry on top of his masterpiece.} 31. Nh7# 1-0