[Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.28"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Warmerdam, Max"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2680"] [BlackElo "2646"] [PlyCount "59"] [GameId "2139247422097787"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,59,16,30,12,7,15,11,15,19,27,18,26,25,13,-3,24,18,24,11,4,28,39,-1,60,48,58,34,45,52,77,83,89,67,85,78,-28,15,33,30,25,39,-1,41,33,30,-73,40,-1,1,1,1,1,1,1,-1,1,-1,1,1,1,1]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Qc2 dxc4 6. e4 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Bxc4 a6 9. O-O Qc7 10. Qe2 Bd6 11. Rd1 Ng4 $2 (11... Ne5) 12. h3 $16 Nge5 13. Bb3 Nxf3+ 14. Qxf3 O-O 15. Be3 Bh2+ 16. Kh1 Be5 17. Rac1 Qb8 18. Qg4 $1 Nf6 19. Qh4 b5 20. f4 $18 {Black's poor development and weak kingside should cost him the game.} Bxc3 21. Rxc3 (21. Bc5 $3 Bb7 (21... Ba5 $2 22. Bxf8 Kxf8 23. e5 Ne8 24. Qxh7 $18) (21... Re8 $2 22. Rxc3 $18) 22. Bxf8 Qxf8 23. Rxc3 Bxe4 24. Qf2 $18) 21... Bb7 22. Bd4 $1 Nxe4 23. Be5 Nxc3 (23... Qe8 24. Rc7 Bd5 $8 25. Bc2 $1 f6 $1 26. Bxe4 Bxe4 27. Rdd7 Qg6 28. Rxg7+ Qxg7 29. Rxg7+ Kxg7 30. Bc3 $18) 24. bxc3 $2 (24. Bxb8 $2 Nxd1 25. Be5 Ne3 26. Bc2 $1 Bxg2+ 27. Kg1 Nxc2 28. Bxg7 $8 Kxg7 29. Qg5+ Kh8 30. Qf6+ $11) (24. Rd7 $3 Bxg2+ (24... Qc8 25. Qg5 $1 {mates.}) (24... Bc8 25. Bxb8 Bxd7 26. Bd6 Ne4 27. Bxf8 Rxf8 28. Qe7 Nf6 29. Qd6 $18) 25. Kxg2 Qb6 26. Qg5 Qf2+ $1 27. Kxf2 Ne4+ 28. Ke3 Nxg5 29. fxg5 $18) 24... Qe8 $11 {If White's rook was on d3, 25.Qf6 would be a spectacular finishing blow. With the rook on d1, however, any attempt to play for a win would be too slow. After a longish think, Van Foreest bowed to the inevitable and made the draw.} 25. Bxg7 Kxg7 26. Qg5+ Kh8 27. Qf6+ Kg8 28. Qg5+ (28. Rd3 $4 Be4 29. Rg3+ Bg6 $19) 28... Kh8 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30. Qg5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.28"] [Round "9.2"] [White "Sarana, Alexey"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E21"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2733"] [PlyCount "90"] [GameId "2139247422105980"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,90,17,33,16,23,19,-3,-29,12,10,-3,-2,5,4,-7,14,-7,9,20,24,22,22,49,17,-12,34,12,0,-14,0,9,1,11,12,-28,42,-88,24,13,-12,13,5,-3,-3,18,-36,31,10,29,-4,109,-2,-17,-13,-6,-10,-1,-110,-6,-8,-13,7,-17,-19,-28,-17,-39,21,-39,-1,-21,-21,-13,1,-12,-1,-4,-36,-42,-73,-90,-81,-70,-70,-41,-31,15,-19,-1,-11,-68,1] First Sarana and then Keymer had the initiative, but neither player was objectively in any serious trouble.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Bg5 c5 6. e3 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Nc6 8. Qd3 Qa5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Be2 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 b6 12. O-O Rd8 13. Nd2 Ba6 14. e4 Kh8 15. Nb3 Qa3 16. f4 Rac8 17. Rf3 Qe7 18. Qe3 Rg8 19. Rd1 Nd8 20. c5 Bxe2 21. Qxe2 bxc5 22. Na5 Nc6 23. Nc4 d5 24. exd5 exd5 25. Qxe7 Nxe7 26. Nd6 Rc6 27. Re3 Rxd6 28. Rxe7 Kg7 29. Rxa7 Rb8 30. Ra5 Rb2 31. Rd3 c4 32. Rg3+ Kf8 33. f5 Rd8 34. h3 Rd2 35. Re3 Rc8 36. Kh2 h5 37. a4 h4 38. Rb5 Kg7 39. Rb7 Rg8 40. Rbe7 Rc2 41. Re2 Rxc3 42. Rd2 Rd8 43. Rd4 Rc2 44. Rg4+ Kf8 45. Rc7 d4 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.28"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Mendonca, Leon Luke"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2639"] [PlyCount "85"] [GameId "2139247422110077"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,85,19,22,22,22,22,20,10,18,18,22,20,27,27,7,49,22,25,-13,6,-6,-6,-27,-2,-9,7,-80,54,-111,3,11,30,30,41,23,-56,-8,-34,6,30,26,61,8,-22,12,36,16,56,-10,17,56,91,75,128,140,139,27,60,-69,74,-95,-107,69,122,-45,137,137,155,182,211,96,261,258,254,202,211,214,39,201,301,361,252,245,465,556,720,669] For a guy who has gained a huge number of points in the last year and a half, won the Candidates, won the World Championship, and achieved a 3044 or so TPR in the Olympics last year, Gukesh hasn't received a lot of respect from his peers. And yet here he is once more, showing the best performance in a world class event. This win brought him to +4, back over 2790 on the live rating list, and in clear first in the tournament. At some point the right thing to say is something like "I don't understand what he's doing, but his results are so good and so consistent that I should shut the heck up and learn something from him."} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. d3 d6 9. Bg5 {Very rare, which is almost certainly the point. Black will have to play chess rather than demonstrate his ability to memorize lines, which is exactly what the higher-rated player should want.} h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 O-O $146 12. c3 Bb6 13. Na3 (13. Nbd2 Nh7 (13... Ne7 14. axb5 axb5 15. d4 Ng6 16. dxe5 Nh5 17. exd6 Nxg3 18. dxc7 Qxc7 19. hxg3 Qxg3 20. Nd4 Qh4 21. Re1 Bg4 22. Qc2 Nf4 23. e5 Bh5 24. Ne4 Bg6 25. g3 Qh3 26. gxf4 gxf4 27. f3 Bxe4 28. Qxe4 Kh8 29. Qxf4 Rg8+ 30. Kf2 Bd8 31. Rg1 Bg5 32. Rxg5 {1-0 Vitiugov,N (2668)-Stefansson,H (2485) EU-ch 24th Petrovac 2024 (2)}) 14. Re1 Kh8 15. axb5 axb5 16. Nf1 f5 17. exf5 Bxf5 18. Ne3 Bg6 19. Nd5 Nf6 20. Nxb6 Rxb6 21. d4 exd4 22. Nxd4 Nxd4 23. Qxd4 c5 24. Qd1 b4 25. Bc2 Bxc2 26. Qxc2 Qd7 27. cxb4 cxb4 28. Qd3 Kg7 29. f3 Rf7 30. Ra5 Rc6 31. Bf2 Re7 32. Rd1 Qe6 33. h4 gxh4 34. Bxh4 Qe3+ 35. Qxe3 Rxe3 36. Rd4 b3 37. Rf4 d5 38. Bf2 Rd3 39. Bd4 Kg6 40. Ra8 Kg5 41. Be5 Re6 42. Rd4 Rxd4 43. Bxd4 Re2 44. Rd8 h5 45. Rd6 Nh7 46. Rxd5+ Kg6 47. Rd6+ Kf5 48. Rh6 Re7 49. Rxh5+ Ng5 50. f4 Kxf4 51. Bf6 Rf7 52. Bxg5+ Kg4 53. Rh3 Kxg5 54. Rg3+ Kh4 55. Rxb3 Rd7 56. Kf2 Rd2+ 57. Ke3 Rxg2 58. Rb5 Rg4 59. b4 Kg3 60. Kd3 Rf4 61. Kc3 Kf3 62. Re5 {1-0 Aronian,L (2745)-Caruana,F (2766) American Cup Elim Saint Louis rapid 2023 (2.2)}) (13. Re1 Kg7 14. Nbd2 Nh7 15. Nf1 h5 16. h4 g4 17. N3d2 Ne7 18. Ne3 Bxe3 19. Rxe3 f5 20. exf5 Nxf5 21. Re1 Nxh4 22. d4 exd4 23. Ne4 Nf5 24. cxd4 bxa4 25. Rxa4 Ng5 26. Bf4 Nxe4 27. Rxe4 Bd7 28. Rxa6 Re8 29. Rxe8 Qxe8 30. Ra7 Qe4 31. Rxc7 Qxf4 32. Rxd7+ Kh6 33. Qe1 Kg5 34. g3 Qxd4 35. Bc2 Qf6 36. Qd2+ Kg6 37. Rxd6 {1-0 Grandelius,N (2635)-Jones,G (2669) Chessable Masters Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (6)}) 13... Ne7 $146 (13... b4 14. Nc4 bxc3 15. bxc3 Na5 16. Nxa5 Bxa5 17. Qc2 Nh5 (17... c6 18. d4 Nxe4 19. Bxf7+ Rxf7 20. Qxe4 Bxc3 21. Rad1 Rb4 22. Qxc6 exd4 23. Qa8 Kg7 24. Bxd6 Qxd6 25. Qxc8 Rc7 26. Qf5 Rxa4 27. h4 Qf6 28. Qc2 Rac4 29. hxg5 hxg5 30. Rd3 R4c5 31. Rfd1 Rf7 32. Nh2 Qf5 33. Qa2 Ra5 34. Qe2 Re5 35. Qf1 Qe6 36. Rg3 Rd5 37. Qc4 Rff5 38. Nf3 a5 39. Nxg5 Qe7 40. Ne4+ Kh7 41. Nxc3 Rd8 42. Qd3 {1-0 Kovalev,A (2548)-Swinkels,R (2379) Eupen 2006 (3)}) 18. Nd2 c6 19. Nc4 Bc7 20. Ba2 Qe7 21. d4 Kg7 22. Rad1 f5 23. exf5 Bxf5 24. Qd2 Nf4 25. dxe5 dxe5 26. Ne3 Be6 27. Bb1 Kh8 28. Kh1 Bb3 29. Qd7 Qxd7 30. Rxd7 Rf7 31. Rxf7 Bxf7 32. Be4 Rb3 33. c4 Rc3 34. Bxc6 Bxc4 35. Nxc4 Rxc4 36. Bd7 Ne2 37. Re1 {½-½ Balogh,C (2583)-Lalic,B (2393) CRO-chT1A 30th Porec 2022 (4.1)}) 14. Nc2 Ng6 15. Ne3 Bxe3 (15... bxa4 $15) 16. fxe3 Kg7 (16... bxa4 17. Rxa4 Kg7 $15) 17. Bc2 $6 (17. axb5 $11) 17... c5 $6 (17... bxa4 $1 $17) 18. axb5 axb5 19. b4 cxb4 (19... c4 $1 20. dxc4 bxc4 21. Ra5 Rb6 22. Qe2 Ra6 $1 23. Rxa6 Bxa6 $15) 20. cxb4 $11 {Mendonca's initial reactions were good, but he has let the advantage slip away the past few moves. That's the point of playing newish positions.} Qe7 21. Ra5 Bd7 (21... h5 $1) 22. d4 $14 Bc6 23. Qa1 $1 {Reti-style! The queen both supports an incursion by the a5-rook and helps increase the pressure on Black's e-pawn.} Rfe8 24. Bb3 (24. Ra7 $142 Ra8 $1 25. Rxe7 Rxa1 26. Rxa1 Rxe7 27. d5 $14 {gives White targets on b5 and d6, but maybe Gukesh thought the pressure wasn't enough to push Black over the edge.}) 24... Ra8 $11 (24... Bxe4 $1 $11) 25. Nd2 Rf8 (25... g4) 26. Bc2 Nh5 $6 (26... h5 $11) 27. Be1 $14 Nf6 28. Rf5 (28. d5 $142 Rxa5 29. bxa5 Bd7 30. Bd3 $14 {/?}) 28... Rxa5 (28... Rac8 $11) 29. bxa5 Re8 $2 (29... Qc7 $11) 30. d5 (30. Nf1 $1 Bxe4 31. Rxf6 Bxc2 32. Rf2 Bd3 33. Ng3 $16 {is bad news for Black, with White's knight hopping into h5.}) 30... Bd7 $14 31. Rf2 Bc8 $2 (31... h5 $1 32. Nf1 h4 {keeps White's knight at bay.}) 32. Nf1 $18 {The knight is coming in, and in conjunction with his queenside advantage it will be enough to overtax Black's defensive resources.} Qa7 33. Qa3 Rd8 34. Bb4 Ne8 35. Ng3 Ne7 36. Bd1 Ng8 37. Be2 Qb7 38. Bd3 (38. Nh5+ Kg6 39. h3 $18) 38... Ngf6 39. Rc2 {Black has too many problems: d6 is weak, b5 is weak, the a-pawn requires constant supervision, and he must also try to keep White's knight out of h5 or f5. It's too much, and with two moves to make until the time control Mendonca cracks.} Bd7 $2 40. Bxd6 Nxd6 41. Qxd6 Qa7 42. Qxe5 (42. Rf2 {also wins.} Ng4 43. Nh5+ Kg8 44. h3 $1 Nxf2 45. Qxh6 {and it's mate after a spite check.} Nxh3+ 46. Kh2 Bg4 47. Nf6# (47. Qg7#)) 42... Qxe3+ 43. Rf2 (43. Rf2 {The knight can't be defended, and the problem is that it's not only the knight that's in danger.} Qxd3 44. Qxf6+ Kh7 45. Qxf7+ Kh8 46. Qf6+ Kh7 47. Qe7+ Kg8 (47... Kg6 48. Qf7#) 48. Qxd8+ {wins everything on the way to mate.}) 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.28"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2803"] [BlackElo "2768"] [PlyCount "64"] [GameId "2139247422110078"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,64,33,19,11,12,14,5,5,-20,4,18,4,-5,12,4,12,11,17,11,19,0,11,12,24,16,24,27,22,15,38,28,29,18,2,24,22,-5,57,17,17,16,55,35,45,39,37,33,0,23,1,28,-19,23,30,39,67,64,69,27,35,40,123,74,17,11,10]} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c3 a5 {This only appears six times in the database (out of more than 6700 total games to reach the position after 3.c3), but three of those games feature 2700s with Black.} 4. Bf4 Bf5 5. Nbd2 h6 $146 6. e3 e6 7. Qb3 Ra7 {This defensive idea, better-known from the Chebanenko Slav, is one of the points to 3...a5.} 8. a4 Be7 9. Be2 Nbd7 10. h3 O-O 11. O-O c6 12. Rfc1 Ne4 13. Nxe4 Bxe4 14. Qd1 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 Nf6 16. Rab1 Bd6 17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. b4 axb4 19. Rxb4 Qe7 20. Qb3 Ne8 21. c4 dxc4 22. Qxc4 Nd6 23. Qd3 Rfa8 24. Bd1 Ra5 25. Rcb1 g6 26. Bc2 Rd8 27. Qc3 Rd7 28. e4 Ra8 29. Qc5 Rad8 30. Bd3 Qg5 31. Qxg5 hxg5 32. f3 Kg7 {A comfortable hold for Abdusattorov.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.28"] [Round "9.5"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2731"] [BlackElo "2741"] [PlyCount "125"] [GameId "2139247422110079"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,125,20,19,10,16,8,21,17,17,17,20,20,25,13,12,13,-9,26,14,10,0,-12,-28,9,-76,32,-15,29,-7,33,20,33,-1,27,36,38,27,72,7,75,82,69,65,70,-145,54,24,51,78,-1,65,68,55,42,109,-15,91,96,99,116,172,99,119,92,112,66,112,150,83,111,147,162,147,147,96,147,91,1,102,98,109,44,96,46,110,91,129,122,-1,153,43,151,156,153,154,206,206,210,233,238,181,205,213,167,175,176,254,186,255,255,278,296,317,339,332,337,363,351,318,374,390,372,380,487,412,449,504] Giri outplayed Pragg - at least twice - to win this game. Gir's technique didn't seem as smooth as it used to be, a decade or so ago, but his fighting spirit helped him reel in the win, knocking Pragg out of the tie for first.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 a5 6. Bg2 O-O 7. Qc1 Be7 8. O-O c6 9. Rd1 Nbd7 10. Bf4 a4 11. Qc2 h6 12. a3 Qa5 13. Nbd2 Nh5 14. Be3 Bd6 15. Rac1 b5 16. c5 Bb8 17. Ne1 e5 18. Nd3 Nhf6 19. Nb4 Bb7 20. dxe5 Bxe5 21. Nf3 Rfe8 22. Nxe5 Rxe5 23. Bd4 Re7 24. e3 Qc7 25. Qc3 Ne5 26. f4 Ned7 27. Nxd5 Nxd5 28. Bxd5 cxd5 29. c6 f6 30. cxb7 Qxb7 31. Qc7 Nf8 32. Qxb7 Rxb7 33. Bc3 Rd8 34. Ba5 Re8 35. Kf2 Rd7 36. Rc5 Rde7 37. Rc3 Rd7 38. Rcd3 Ra8 39. Bb4 Rad8 40. Ba5 Ra8 41. Bb4 Rad8 42. Rc1 d4 43. e4 g5 44. Kf3 Re8 45. h4 Ne6 46. f5 Nd8 47. Rc8 g4+ 48. Kf4 h5 49. Bc5 Rb7 50. Rxd4 Ne6+ 51. fxe6 Rxc8 52. Rd5 Rbc7 53. e7 Re8 54. Rxh5 Kf7 55. Kxg4 Ke6 56. Rd5 Rcc8 57. Kf4 Rh8 58. h5 Rhg8 59. g4 Rce8 60. Rf5 Rc8 61. Bd4 Kxe7 62. Bxf6+ Ke6 63. h6 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.28"] [Round "9.6"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "2717"] [BlackElo "2695"] [PlyCount "81"] [GameId "2139247422110080"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,81,14,17,18,4,2,23,4,6,-40,13,3,13,5,-4,7,0,27,15,17,17,93,20,15,-17,23,2,38,25,27,-4,41,26,63,56,94,71,29,77,49,57,48,26,35,35,11,11,30,20,9,97,5,15,-22,1,1,1,-1,1,-1,123,21,102,6,-1,-26,1,1,104,60,148,92,306,457,506,438,582,580,574,570,606,584,644]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c3 d5 3. Bf4 c6 4. h3 Bf5 5. Nd2 e6 6. Ngf3 Bd6 7. Ne5 Qc7 8. g4 Bg6 9. e3 $146 Nbd7 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. Qe2 $146 b5 $6 (12... O-O-O $11) (12... g5 $11) (12... e5 $11) 13. g5 $14 Ng8 (13... Nh5 {is better, but it's understandable that Harikrishna wouldn't want to put the knight on a square it can't come back from.}) 14. h4 (14. a4 $1 b4 15. c4 $16) 14... Ne7 $14 15. Qf3 (15. O-O-O $142) 15... Rh5 $6 (15... e5 $142 $11) 16. Be2 $16 (16. a4 $1 $16) 16... Nb6 17. e4 Nc4 18. a4 Nxd2 19. Kxd2 b4 {Best. Black's 12...b5 was the gift that keeps giving.} 20. e5 $6 (20. Qg3 $142 Qxg3 21. fxg3 Rh8 22. e5 $18 {White will inevitably play g4 and h5, when Black will have the inferior minor piece and pawn problems on both flanks.}) 20... Qb8 21. cxb4 $6 (21. a5 $142 $16) 21... Qxb4+ 22. Qc3 Rb8 $1 23. Bxh5 gxh5 $14 {White's rooks will have a hard time penetrating Black's position, especially with Black's knight on f5 hitting White's d- and h-pawns.} 24. Kc2 Nf5 25. Rhd1 Nxh4 $6 (25... a5 $1 $11) (25... Kd7 26. a5 $1 Nxh4 27. Qxb4 Rxb4 28. Kc3 c5 $1 29. dxc5 Rc4+ 30. Kb3 Nf3 $14) 26. Ra3 $6 (26. Rdc1 $1 Kd7 27. Kd3 $1 Qb6 28. b4 $16) 26... Nf5 $14 27. Qxc6+ Kd8 $1 $11 28. Rc3 $8 Qxb2+ 29. Kd3 Ne7 (29... Nxd4 $1 30. Kxd4 Qxf2+ 31. Kd3 $8 Qf5+ 32. Kd2 Rb2+ 33. Rc2 Qf4+ $11 {White cannot escape perpetual check - at least not in any sensible way.}) 30. Qc7+ Ke8 31. Rdc1 Rd8 $2 (31... Rb7 $1 32. Qa5 f5 $1 $11) 32. Ke3 $16 g6 33. a5 $1 Rd7 $2 (33... Rb8 $1) 34. Qc5 $18 Rb7 35. a6 $2 (35. Qa3 $1 Qxa3 36. Rxa3 Kd8 37. Rac3 a6 38. Ke2 Kd7 39. Kd1 Kd8 40. Rf3 Ke8 (40... Nf5 41. Rc6 $18) 41. Ke1 $1 {Black is in zugzwang.} Kf8 (41... Ra7 42. Rb3 $18) (41... Nf5 42. Rc8+ Kd7 43. Ra8 $18) (41... Rb5 42. Rfc3 Rxa5 43. Rc7 Rb5 44. Ra7 $18) 42. Rfc3 $18) 35... Rd7 $2 (35... Rb3 36. Rxb3 Qxb3+ 37. Qc3 Qb6 $16 {may yet hold for Black.}) 36. Qa3 $18 {Now White is getting in, and Black's weak king will not survive.} Qb6 37. Qa4 $1 Nf5+ 38. Kd3 Kf8 39. Rb3 $1 (39. Qxd7 {wins - there is no perpetual - but the text is even better.}) 39... Qd8 40. Rb7 $1 Re7 41. Qb4 (41. Qb5 {is even stronger, but it doesn't matter - any move forcing resignation is a good move. That makes four wins in the last six games for Fedoseev, who is just half a point out of first and at an all-time career rating high.}) 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.28"] [Round "9.7"] [White "Wei Yi"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2801"] [PlyCount "64"] [GameId "2139247422110081"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,64,18,5,-20,32,17,9,25,12,26,7,30,25,18,23,19,61,58,81,43,56,71,56,57,72,38,31,76,48,38,43,178,90,2,5,19,-31,5,-31,-8,-2,-25,-10,9,23,20,54,22,3,-1,39,-34,58,61,101,11,-32,35,-47,18,7,9,-24,-1,17,1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 {It has been rare for years that someone allows the Marshall Gambit. Does Wei Yi have a new idea in mind?} d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 Bb7 {Maybe we won't find out, as it's 11...c6 that has proved the bane to White's existence. It's not that this move is unknown - there are 466 games in the database with this - but that's a drop in the bucket (okay, maybe a teaspoon or a tablespoon) compared to the more than 16,000 games with 11...c6.} 12. d4 Bf6 13. Re1 Re8 14. Na3 b4 15. Nc4 bxc3 16. Ne5 Qd6 17. f4 cxb2 18. Bxb2 a5 19. a4 (19. Rb1 a4 20. Bc4 Bxe5 21. fxe5 Qc6 22. Bf1 Ba6 23. Qf3 Bxf1 24. Rxf1 Qe6 25. Ba3 Rad8 26. Rbc1 f6 27. Rce1 Qc6 28. h3 Qc4 29. Qf2 Re6 30. Bc5 Rde8 31. Kh2 Qd3 32. Qb2 Qc4 33. Rc1 Qa6 34. Rf5 Qc6 35. Rf3 Qd7 36. Rcf1 Qc6 37. Qb1 Kh8 38. Qe4 Rg8 39. Ba3 Rd8 40. Rc1 Qe8 41. Rc5 Qd7 42. Ra5 Qc6 43. Qg4 Ree8 44. Rg3 g6 45. Qe2 Re6 46. Rf3 f5 47. Rf2 f4 48. Qg4 Ree8 49. Rc5 Qd7 50. Qxd7 Rxd7 51. h4 Kg8 52. Kh3 Rb8 53. e6 Rdd8 54. Rf1 Rbc8 55. Ra5 Kg7 56. g3 Kf6 57. Re1 Ne3 58. Ra6 Rg8 59. Bc5 Rge8 60. Rc6 Nd5 61. g4 Ne3 62. e7+ Kf7 63. g5 Rh8 64. Rf6+ Ke8 65. Rxf4 Nf5 66. Rxf5 gxf5 67. Rf1 {1-0 Panitevsky,I-Larsson,M (2290) BL-LSS email ICCF email 2013}) 19... Re7 20. Ba3 Nb4 21. Rc1 Rd8 22. Rc5 Qxd4+ $146 (22... Bxe5 23. fxe5 Qg6 24. d5 Nd3 25. Rb5 c5 26. Re3 Nf4 27. Qf3 Qb1+ 28. Bd1 Qf5 29. g3 Rxd5 30. gxf4 Qg6+ 31. Kf2 Rxd1 {½-½ Kong,X (2457)-Li,C (2635) TCh-CHN Div A Finals Shaoxing 2024 (3.1)}) 23. Qxd4 Rxd4 24. g3 Rd2 25. Rd1 Rxd1+ 26. Bxd1 Bxe5 27. fxe5 Rd7 28. Be2 Rd2 29. Rxc7 Rxe2 30. Rxb7 Kf8 31. Bxb4+ axb4 32. Rxb4 Ra2 $1 {Maybe this comfortable draw will give Erigaisi the shot of confidence he needs to make at least a partial comeback.} (32... Rxe5 {will also draw, but it lets White improve the position of his rook with} 33. Rb1 {followed by Ra1.}) 1/2-1/2