[Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.15"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2713"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,108,24,24,24,5,4,6,0,6,38,-2,0,10,10,-13,-11,-8,-3,-51,12,-48,15,19,21,0,10,8,8,31,22,30,42,47,61,58,79,63,85,71,84,92,108,108,105,101,94,73,134,108,119,139,119,108,161,159,161,163,154,155,155,164,184,152,155,155,158,148,155,158,155,155,155,155,158,158,159,157,159,119,159,132,145,100,97,99,99,100,100,100,100,55,52,51,41,49,49,49,49,49,76,76,85,58,49,49,50,42,50,50,50]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 Bf5 9. Ne5 (9. Qb3) ({and} 9. Be2 {are more popular.}) 9... c5 10. Be2 (10. Bd3 {had been played in almost every previous game.}) 10... cxd4 {Caruana finds (or prepared?) a funny plan, managing to isolate all six of his remaining pawns over the span of four moves. It's not the engine's preference, but it doesn't (metaphorically) hate it, either.} 11. Qxd4 Qb6 12. Qxb6 axb6 13. Bxf6 gxf6 {At least Black has the bishop pair...} 14. Nd3 Bxd3 {...or not.} 15. Bxd3 Nc6 16. Ke2 Bxc3 {Make that no bishops, and for good measure he's opening the b-file and exposing his doubled, isolated b-pawns.} 17. bxc3 Ra3 {Of course Caruana has done what he has done for a reason. His b-pawns are sickly, sure, but White's a- and c-pawns are weak as well, and Black's pieces will all be quite active.} 18. Rhb1 Rfa8 19. Rxb6 Rxa2+ 20. Rxa2 Rxa2+ 21. Ke1 Ne5 22. Bb1 Ra3 23. Ke2 (23. Rxb7 Rxc3 $11) (23. Rxf6 Ra1 24. Rb6 Nc4 25. Rxb7 Na3 $11) 23... Kg7 24. Rxb7 Rxc3 25. Rb5 (25. Ba2 $4 Rc2+) 25... Rc1 $1 {Black is okay with losing his d-pawn, provided that the minor pieces are exchanged as part of the bargain. This accurate move helps to guarantee this eventuality.} 26. Bf5 Nc6 $1 27. Rxd5 Ne7 28. Rb5 Nxf5 29. Rxf5 {This ending is an easy draw - even easier than it would be if Black's pawns weren't doubled but on the f-, g-, and h-files. The rest is a piece of cake for Caruana.} Ra1 30. Kf3 Ra2 31. Kg4 Kg6 32. Rf3 Rb2 33. Kh4 Ra2 34. Rf4 Rb2 35. Rg4+ Kh7 36. Kg3 Ra2 37. Kf3 Rb2 38. h3 Ra2 39. e4 Rb2 40. Ke3 Ra2 41. f4 Ra1 42. Kd4 Rd1+ 43. Kc5 Re1 44. f5 Rd1 45. h4 h5 46. Rg3 Rd2 47. Kc4 Kh6 48. Kc3 Ra2 49. Kd4 Rd2+ 50. Ke3 Ra2 51. Kf3 Ra3+ 52. Kf4 Ra2 53. Kf3 Ra3+ 54. Kf4 Ra2 1/2-1/2 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.15"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2811"] [BlackElo "2719"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "158"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,158,24,16,13,18,16,26,19,1,1,-4,10,4,0,13,38,22,74,64,64,-54,68,-1,10,-38,50,45,48,7,40,33,48,6,28,117,117,117,66,35,61,0,12,7,7,14,9,7,7,7,40,17,21,21,28,44,54,24,24,0,36,0,27,39,96,89,106,76,119,128,123,98,118,107,107,91,91,91,90,87,87,93,110,132,130,104,125,139,133,100,130,104,126,70,100,116,158,178,208,158,169,171,171,130,120,147,166,173,173,173,164,164,162,127,162,157,154,157,170,163,169,157,144,151,147,151,144,136,144,144,144,144,144,144,142,143,129,128,128,128,128,128,128,127,128,128,128,35,98,75,88,99,88,88,88,88,75,74,75,79,79]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. c3 d6 9. d4 Bb6 10. a5 {This neat idea goes back to 2000. The pawn is immune from capture.} Ba7 (10... Bxa5 $4 11. d5 $18 {is simplest, though not necessarily best.}) (10... Nxa5 $2 11. Rxa5 $3 Bxa5 12. dxe5 {is just about winning as well. One picturesque possibility is} dxe5 13. Qxd8+ Kxd8 14. Nxe5 $18 {with a fork-fork: White's knight "forks" a pair of forks - one on f7 and one on c6.}) 11. h3 O-O 12. Be3 {Another tactical point to the 10.a5 line: Black would like to play ...Bb7, but here it would be a blunder So Black's most popular move is ...Ra8, constituting a loss of two tempi.} Ra8 (12... Bb7 $4 13. d5 Bxe3 (13... Ne7 14. Bxa7 $18) 14. dxc6 $18 {wins one bishop or the other.}) (12... Nxe4 {may look like a blunder, but it's playable. White is only slightly better after} 13. Bd5 exd4 14. Bxe4 (14. cxd4 Qe8 15. Re1 Nf6 16. Bg5 Nxd5 17. Rxe8 Rxe8 18. Nc3 $14) (14. Bxc6 {is a line where White keeps an extra piece, but Black has full compensation after} dxe3 15. Bxe4 Re8 16. Qc2 $8 $11) (14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. Bxe4 d5 16. Bxd4 c5 {transposes to the 14.Bxe4 line.}) 14... d5 15. Nxd4 (15. Bxh7+ Kxh7 16. cxd4 $14) 15... Nxd4 16. Bxd4 c5 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Bxd5 c4 $14) 13. Nbd2 Bb7 (13... h6 {is the most popular move, chosen by Maghsoodloo in two prior games.}) 14. Re1 Re8 15. Ng5 Re7 (15... Rf8) 16. Ndf3 {Cutting off the Ng5's retreat and thus committing to the following unbalanced exchange.} h6 17. Nxf7 Rxf7 18. dxe5 Bxe3 19. exf6 Ba7 20. fxg7 $146 (20. Bxf7+ $142 Kxf7 21. Qd5+ Kf8 22. e5 dxe5 23. fxg7+ Kxg7 24. Qe4 Qf6 25. Rad1 Rd8 $2 (25... Bc8 $1 26. g4 $1 b4 $1 $11) 26. Qg4+ Kh7 27. Rxd8 Nxd8 28. Rxe5 Nf7 29. Re6 {1-0 Kurmann,O (2466)-Kenneskog,T (2307) Sitges Sunway op 8th 2021 (4)}) 20... Qf6 $15 21. Qd5 Kxg7 (21... Qxg7 $142) 22. Qxf7+ (22. e5 $1 Nxe5 $1 (22... dxe5 23. Qxf7+ Qxf7 24. Bxf7 Kxf7 25. Nxe5+ Nxe5 26. Rxe5 $14 {- see the game.}) 23. Qxb7 Nxf3+ 24. gxf3 Qh4 $1 $11) 22... Qxf7 23. Bxf7 Kxf7 24. e5 Nxe5 (24... d5 $142 $17 {was correct, when Black's bishops are liable to cause White serious problems as the game goes on.}) 25. Nxe5+ dxe5 26. Rxe5 $14 Rg8 (26... Rd8 $142) 27. g4 $16 Rd8 28. Rae1 Rd7 29. Kh2 $2 (29. b4 $142) 29... c5 $2 (29... b4 $1 $11) 30. Rf5+ Kg7 31. Kg3 $16 (31. Re8 $142 $18) 31... Bb8+ 32. Kh4 Bc7 33. Re6 Bd5 34. Rxa6 b4 35. Kh5 Bf7+ 36. Rxf7+ $1 Kxf7 37. Kxh6 (37. Ra7 $1) 37... bxc3 38. bxc3 Be5 39. Rc6 Bxc3 (39... Rd8 $1 $14) 40. Rxc5 $16 Bd2+ 41. g5 Rd4 42. Kh5 Ra4 43. Rc7+ Kf8 44. Rd7 Bc3 $2 (44... Be1 $1 $14) 45. Kg6 $18 Rxa5 46. h4 $2 (46. f4 $18) 46... Ra6+ $14 47. Kh7 Ra4 48. h5 Rf4 $2 (48... Ke8 $8) 49. Rd3 $2 (49. Rc7 Be5 50. Rc8+ Ke7 51. Rc5 $1 Bd6 52. Rc2 $18) 49... Rf7+ 50. Kg6 Rg7+ $1 51. Kh6 Rc7 52. f4 Rc6+ $6 (52... Kf7) 53. Kh7 (53. g6 $142) 53... Rc7+ $8 54. Kg6 Rc6+ $8 55. Kh7 Rc7+ 56. Kh6 Rc6+ $6 (56... Kf7 $1) 57. g6 Bf6 58. Ra3 Rc8 59. Ra6 Bc3 60. Ra7 (60. Kg5 $142 {does a better job of maintaining coordination, but Black still holds with accurate moves.} Kg8 $8 61. h6 Rc5+ $8 62. Kg4 Rc8 $8) 60... Kg8 $1 61. Kg5 Rc5+ 62. Kg4 (62. f5 Bd2+ 63. Kg4 Rc4+ 64. Kg3 Bg5 $11) 62... Rc6 $1 63. Rd7 Bb2 64. Rd8+ Kg7 65. Rd7+ Kg8 66. Kg5 Rc5+ 67. Kh6 Bf6 68. Rf7 Rc6 69. Ra7 Rd6 70. Ra8+ Rd8 71. Ra7 Rd6 72. Rb7 Rd8 73. f5 Rd6 74. Ra7 Rd8 75. Ra6 Rf8 76. Rc6 Bd8 77. Re6 Bf6 78. Rc6 Bd8 79. Re6 Bf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.15"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D91"] [WhiteElo "2696"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "130"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,130,24,24,24,6,39,43,65,63,57,41,38,34,12,13,56,59,59,50,73,26,33,33,40,3,0,6,26,13,0,5,5,5,48,13,3,-5,7,-73,-12,-45,-59,-50,-56,-57,-9,-47,-24,-46,-48,-68,-64,-71,-80,-114,-77,-110,-101,-117,-110,-111,-111,-111,-75,-88,-95,-111,-108,-121,-80,-144,-111,-108,-105,-209,-174,-190,-112,-171,-138,-224,-232,-213,-158,-150,-172,-157,-146,-144,-149,-146,-144,-150,-145,-143,-143,-143,-141,-153,-162,-155,-150,-153,-139,-149,-149,-155,-153,-153,-153,-150,-148,-144,-146,-147,-144,-195,-204,-216,-224,-222,-241,-287,-303,-316,-316,-317,-317,-353,-371,-388,-464]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bg5 Ne4 6. Bf4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c6 $5 8. e3 O-O 9. Qb3 (9. Rc1 $5 $146) (9. h4 $5 $146) 9... Qa5 (9... dxc4 10. Bxc4 b5 {followed by ...Be6 also makes sense.}) 10. Be2 (10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Be2 $14) 10... dxc4 11. Bxc4 Nd7 (11... b5 {followed by ...Be6 still looks natural and good.}) 12. Bg5 (12. O-O $142) 12... b5 13. Be2 Re8 14. O-O Nb6 15. e4 (15. a3 $11) 15... Be6 16. Qc2 c5 $1 17. d5 Bg4 $15 (17... Bd7) 18. Bd2 (18. Rac1 $142) 18... e6 $17 19. Rab1 (19. h3 $142 Bxf3 20. Bxf3 c4 $17) 19... c4 20. dxe6 Rxe6 21. Nd4 Bxe2 22. Nxe2 a6 23. Nd4 Ree8 24. Rfe1 Na4 $19 25. Nc6 Qc7 26. Nb4 Nc5 (26... Qb7 $142) 27. Nd5 (27. f3 $142) 27... Qc6 28. Bg5 $2 Nxe4 $1 29. Ne7+ Rxe7 30. Bxe7 Nxc3 31. Rbc1 a5 {White's extra exchange plays no role here, in contrast to Black's terrifying 3-1 queenside majority.} 32. Bg5 b4 33. Bd2 Rd8 34. h4 Rd3 (34... Qb5 $142 {was better - not to meet 35.h5 with ...Qxh5 but to prepare ...b3. Passed pawns must be pushed!}) 35. h5 gxh5 $5 (35... Qd7 $142) 36. Bxc3 Bxc3 37. Qe2 Qd5 (37... Bxe1 $4 38. Qxd3 $15) 38. Qe8+ Kg7 39. Re3 h6 (39... Bd4 $142) 40. Qe4 Qxe4 {This is good if the rook ending after 45.Rxa1 is a relatively easy win for Black. I'm not sure about the ease, but it does seem to be winning.} (40... Qg5 $19) 41. Rxe4 b3 42. Rxc4 bxa2 43. Ra4 a1=Q 44. Rcxa1 Bxa1 45. Rxa1 Rd5 46. Ra4 Kf6 47. Kf1 Ke6 48. Ke2 Rf5 ({The idea of bringing the queen across to the queenside wins, though it can be close.} 48... Kd6 49. Rf4 f5 50. Rh4 Kc5 51. Rxh5 a4 52. Rxh6 a3 53. Rh1 Rd4 $1 54. Ke3 f4+ 55. Kf3 Kc4 56. g4 fxg3 $8 57. fxg3 a2 58. g4 Kc3 59. Kg3 (59. g5 Rb4 60. g6 Rb6 61. g7 Rf6+ 62. Ke4 Rg6 $19) 59... Ra4 60. Ra1 (60. Kh4 a1=Q 61. Rxa1 Rxa1 62. Kg5 Rf1 63. Kh6 Kd4 64. g5 Ke5 $19) 60... Kb2 61. Rxa2+ Rxa2 62. Kf4 Kc3 63. Kf5 (63. g5 Kd4 $19) 63... Kd4 64. g5 Kd5 $8 65. Kf6 Kd6 66. g6 Rf2+ $8 67. Kg7 Ke7 68. Kh7 Kf6 69. g7 Rh2+ $8 70. Kg8 Rg2 71. Kh8 Kf7 $19) 49. f3 (49. Ke3) 49... Kd6 50. Rc4 Rc5 (50... Rg5 $1 51. Kf2 Rc5 $19) 51. Rf4 Re5+ 52. Kd3 $2 {Cutting his own king off from his pawns. Now Black brings his king back to the kingside and wins without any further trouble.} (52. Kf2 $142) 52... Ke6 53. Ra4 Kf6 54. Rf4+ Kg6 55. Ra4 Rg5 56. Ra2 Re5 57. Ra4 f6 58. g3 Rg5 59. Ke3 Rxg3 60. Rxa5 h4 61. Ra8 Kh5 62. Kf2 Rg6 63. Ra5+ Rg5 64. Ra3 h3 65. f4 Rg2+ 0-1 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.15"] [Round "2.4"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2722"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,96,24,24,24,6,5,14,18,1,17,-1,4,19,-4,7,-18,-18,-8,-8,2,2,-1,5,11,-18,3,-35,49,54,115,47,67,74,91,67,128,44,129,112,172,172,172,96,191,158,158,135,158,87,129,0,80,76,42,30,9,1,11,11,11,7,81,95,90,90,98,94,122,85,78,67,48,35,40,22,28,69,73,52,58,58,79,24,87,77,134,29,3,32,83,119,41,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 e5 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Bg2 Rb8 9. O-O d4 10. Ne4 (10. Bxc6+ Bd7 11. Bxd7+ Qxd7 12. Na4 h5 13. f3 $8 h4 14. g4 $8 h3 $44 {The computer gives 0.00, but most players would prefer Black here. In practice things have gone great for him: three wins, two draws, and no losses.}) 10... Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Qc7 $11 12. Qc2 (12. e3 Bc5 13. Qf3 O-O 14. Bxc6 Bh3 15. Re1 f5 16. Qd5+ Kh8 17. Qxc5 d3 18. b4 e4 19. Bb2 Qf7 20. Qe5 h6 21. b5 Kh7 22. Rad1 Rg8 23. Bd5 Qh5 24. Qf4 Bg4 25. Rd2 Bf3 26. Qh4 Qe8 27. Qf4 Qh5 28. h4 Rge8 29. Rxd3 Rbd8 30. Rd2 Rd7 31. c5 Red8 32. Qe5 Qg4 33. Kh2 g5 34. Be6 gxh4 35. Bxf5+ {1-0 Keymer,V (2686)-Abdusattorov,N (2688) Biel blitz 55th 2022 (6)}) 12... Be6 $146 (12... Bh3 $11) 13. f4 $14 exf4 (13... h5 $5) 14. Bxf4 Bd6 15. c5 (15. Bxh7 {looks ridiculous, but may be good.}) 15... Bxf4 16. Rxf4 a5 (16... h5 $142) 17. Rd1 $16 Rb4 $2 (17... g5 $1 $16 {has obvious drawbacks, but chasing White's rook off the 4th rank for the sake of the d4-pawn makes it worthwhile.}) 18. b3 $2 (18. a3 $1 Rc4 19. Qd3 {White wants to play Bf5, not only undermining the rook on c4 but going after the d-pawn.} g6 20. b3 Rxc5 21. Qxd4 Re5 22. Bxc6+ Ke7 $8 23. b4 Rd8 24. Qxd8+ Qxd8 25. Rxd8 Kxd8 26. Re4 $18) 18... g5 $2 {Too late.} (18... Ke7 $1) 19. Rf3 Qe5 20. Bxc6+ Ke7 21. Ba4 $2 (21. e4 $3 {A good move, even 20 moves late.} dxe3 22. Re1 Rc8 23. Rfxe3 Qd4 24. a3 $1 Rxc6 (24... Rbb8 25. Qf2 $1 Kf8 26. Bd7 $3 {Good luck spotting this one back on move 21.} Qxd7 27. Rxe6 $18) 25. axb4 axb4 26. Qxh7 Qxc5 $18 {White is winning, though his breezy kingside gives Black some practical chances.}) 21... h5 $1 $14 22. a3 Rbb8 23. e3 (23. Qd3 $142 Qxc5 24. Qxd4 Qxd4+ 25. Rxd4) 23... Rbd8 $11 24. exd4 Rxd4 25. Rxd4 Qxd4+ 26. Rf2 Rd8 27. Qb2 $1 {Wisely getting the queens off the board, now that Black is fully mobilized.} Qxb2 28. Rxb2 Rd1+ 29. Kf2 Ra1 30. c6 Rxa3 31. c7 Ra1 32. Rc2 Bc8 33. Ke3 Rd1 34. Rc5 f5 35. h4 gxh4 36. gxh4 Kd6 37. Rc6+ Ke5 38. Bb5 f4+ 39. Kf2 Rd2+ 40. Ke1 Rd6 41. Rc2 f3 42. Kf2 Rd4 43. Rc6 Rxh4 44. Bc4 Rh2+ 45. Kxf3 Rc2 46. Ke3 h4 47. Kd3 Bf5+ 48. Ke3 Bc8 1/2-1/2 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.15"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C80"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2684"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,63,24,13,34,16,16,-2,29,0,-8,0,9,-11,-17,-17,-10,-9,-12,-15,-3,-9,2,-17,3,7,26,-16,-15,-15,28,24,2,-12,-7,-37,-25,-25,-48,-41,-30,-20,-3,1,-5,-5,-3,-14,10,0,29,35,63,69,75,76,83,65,67,60,50,56,38,34,68,40]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. Nxe5 (8. dxe5 {is the near-automatic move.}) 8... Nxe5 9. dxe5 c6 {This is why 8.Nxe5 isn't considered particularly dangerous. Aronian has tried 8.Nxe5 before though - it's not a one-off - but those other games were also drawn.} 10. Be3 Be7 11. c3 O-O 12. Bc2 f5 (12... f6 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. exf6 Bxf6 15. Qxd8 Rxd8 16. Nd2 Bf5 17. Nb3 Be6 18. Nc5 Bd5 19. a4 Be7 20. Rfd1 Bxc5 21. Bxc5 Bb3 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. axb5 axb5 24. Bd4 Rd7 25. h3 h6 26. Kh2 Kh7 27. Kg3 Rf7 28. h4 Kg6 29. Ra8 Bd5 30. Rd8 h5 31. Rd6+ Kf5 32. Rd8 Re7 33. Be3 Kg6 34. Kf4 Kf7 35. g4 hxg4 36. Bc5 Re8 37. Rd7+ Kg6 38. h5+ Kh6 39. Rc7 Kxh5 40. Rxg7 Rg8 41. Rd7 g3 42. fxg3 Rg4+ 43. Kf5 Rg5+ 44. Kf4 Rg4+ 45. Kf5 Rg5+ {½-½ Aronian,L (2782)-Vidit,S (2727) Tata Steel India Blitz Kolkata 2021 (17)}) 13. exf6 Nxf6 14. h3 Be6 (14... Bd6 15. Nd2 Be6 16. f4 Re8 17. Qf3 c5 18. Rae1 Bf7 19. Bf2 Qc7 20. g3 Bh5 21. Qg2 Be2 22. Ne4 Bxf1 23. Nxf6+ gxf6 24. Qxd5+ Kh8 25. Rxf1 Rad8 26. Qh5 Bf8 27. Rd1 Rxd1+ 28. Qxd1 Qf7 29. b3 c4 30. bxc4 bxc4 31. h4 f5 32. Qf3 {½-½ Aronian,L (2772)-Vidit,S (2722) Tata Steel India blitz Kolkata 2019 (4)}) 15. Nd2 Qd7 $11 (15... Qc8 16. Nf3 Bd6 17. Ng5 Bf5 18. Qb1 Bxc2 19. Qxc2 h6 20. Nf3 Ne4 21. Nd2 Nxd2 22. Bxd2 Qe6 23. Rae1 Qf6 24. Re2 Rae8 25. Rxe8 Rxe8 26. Re1 Rxe1+ {½-½ Reeh,O (2449)-Holzke,F (2479) Bundesliga 0506 Germany 2005 (1.5)}) 16. f4 (16. a4 $11) 16... Bf5 $15 17. Bxf5 Qxf5 18. g4 Qd3 19. Rf3 Ne4 $11 (19... Nd7 $15) 20. f5 Nxd2 21. Qxd2 Qxd2 22. Bxd2 Rfe8 23. Kf1 Bh4 24. a4 h6 25. Re3 Bg5 26. Rxe8+ Rxe8 27. Bxg5 hxg5 28. axb5 axb5 29. Ra6 Re3 30. Rxc6 Rxh3 31. Rc5 d4 32. Kg2 (32. cxd4 Rb3 $11) (32. Kg2 Rd3 33. Rxb5 dxc3 34. bxc3 Rxc3 35. Rb6 Rc2+ 36. Kf3 Rc3+ $11 {and Black will keep checking until and unless White's king goes too far away from the g-pawn to protect it.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.15"] [Round "2.6"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2725"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,53,20,24,28,6,8,8,8,20,36,20,25,32,40,42,51,19,66,67,46,46,36,0,64,74,76,25,34,18,20,-11,-11,-2,-24,-23,0,-270,103,103,103,103,97,99,92,156,140,85,371,371,383,391,375,384,388,388]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Ne4 Qe7 12. a3 Ba5 {All very well-known so far. Here White almost always recaptures with the queen.} 13. exd4 Rd8 14. Rc2 $146 {Looking to swing the rook to e2.} (14. Ba2 {was tried twice in 2022 by Mamedyarov, and other moves had been tried before that.}) 14... Bd7 15. Re2 Bc6 16. Qc2 Bb6 $6 (16... Rc8 $1 {is a good, logical move, but also easily rejected. Why not wait until the a-rook is ready to reach the c-file? A good question in theory, but trumped by the specifics of reality.} 17. Qd3 Bxe4 18. Rxe4 Nd7 19. Re2 Nf6 20. Ne5 {Looking for Nxf7 tricks.} Qc7 21. Ba2 Rf8 22. Nxf7 Rxf7 23. Bxe6 Rd8 24. d5 Kh8 25. Rc2 Qe7 26. Bxf7 Qxf7 $11) 17. Rfe1 $14 {Believe it or not, Black has only one move that doesn't lose.} Kh8 $2 {This isn't it.} (17... Bd5 $1 {was forced, overprotecting the e6-pawn.} 18. Bxd5 Rxd5 19. Nc3 Rd6 $1 20. d5 Nd7 21. dxe6 Rxe6 22. Rxe6 fxe6 $14 {White is a bit better because of the weakness on e6, but only a bit.}) 18. Neg5 $3 hxg5 19. Rxe6 $1 fxe6 20. Rxe6 Qxe6 {The best try.} (20... Qf8 21. Nxg5 Qg8 22. Qg6 Be8 23. Rxe8 Rxe8 (23... Qxe8 24. Qh7#) 24. Qh5+ Qh7 25. Qxh7#) 21. Bxe6 Bxf3 22. Qf5 $1 {Threatening mate in two starting with 23.Qh3+.} Be4 $1 23. Qxe4 Rxd4 $2 (23... Re8 $1 24. h4 $1 Nd7 25. hxg5 Rxe6 $8 26. Qxe6 Nf8 $18 {Black won't get mated any time soon, and he's got plenty of pieces for the queen. Still, White has too many pawns, and should eventually win with accurate play.}) 24. Qf3 {Threatening both 25.Qh5# and 25.Qf8+.} g4 25. Qf8+ Kh7 26. Bf5+ Kh6 27. Bc2 {White has too many threats, and Black is stuck. His knight and the a8-rook are paralyzed, while active moves like 27...Rd2 loses the rook to 28.Qf4+. The win is just a matter of time, and there are strong threats like 28.Qh8+, 28.Qf5 and 28.Qf7 (the latter threatens mate on g6 as well as Qxb7).} 1-0 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.15"] [Round "2.7"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2681"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "109"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,109,20,13,16,16,13,-5,28,30,23,1,-8,12,18,34,49,31,21,25,43,24,42,27,41,-35,-15,-15,8,7,8,-1,-4,-7,-13,3,-13,-25,-10,-10,4,-4,10,-9,-6,-19,-9,-18,-28,-11,-51,-30,-45,-48,-30,-48,-54,-47,-13,-35,-34,-38,-22,-25,-24,-24,-29,-39,-43,-50,-55,-60,-81,-61,-68,-86,-50,-69,-88,-87,-74,-70,-43,-26,-10,0,-7,-1,0,0,0,-13,-13,-46,-7,-48,-30,-30,-30,-40,-9,0,0,0,0,-6,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 Bg4 9. c4 Nf6 10. Nc3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Nxd4 {Karpov put this idea on the map back in 1983.} 12. Qh3 (12. Qg3 dxc4 13. Bxc4 O-O 14. Bg5 Bd6 15. Qh4 h6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qxf6 gxf6 18. Re4 c5 19. Rh4 Kg7 20. Ne4 Be7 21. Ng3 f5 22. Rh3 Bd6 23. f4 b5 24. Bd3 c4 25. Bxf5 Rfe8 26. Be4 Rad8 27. Rf1 b4 28. Kh1 c3 29. bxc3 bxc3 30. Nf5+ Nxf5 31. Bxf5 Bb4 32. a3 Ba5 33. g4 Re2 34. g5 h5 35. Rxh5 c2 36. Bxc2 Rxc2 37. f5 Bc7 38. g6 f6 39. Rh7+ Kg8 40. Re1 a5 {0-1 Lobron,E (2515)-Karpov,A (2710) (GER-ch) Internationa06 DSB Mephisto GM Hannover 1983 (6)}) (12. Qd1 Ne6 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Bb5+ c6 15. Nxd5 cxb5 16. Qb3 O-O 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Qxb5 a6 19. Qb3 Rfd8 20. Be3 Rac8 21. Rac1 h6 22. h3 Nd4 {½-½ Kasparov,G (2700)-Karpov,A (2720) World-ch31-KK2 Kasparov-Karpov +5-3=16 Moscow 1985 (15)}) 12... dxc4 13. Bxc4 Nc2 14. Rd1 Qc8 15. Qxc8+ $146 (15. Qg3 O-O 16. Rb1 Bd6 17. Qh4 Qg4 18. Qxg4 Nxg4 19. h3 Nf6 20. Bg5 Be5 21. Nd5 c6 22. Bxf6 {½-½ Caruana,F (2670)-Gelfand,B (2755) Biel GM 42nd 2009 (6)}) 15... Rxc8 16. Rb1 O-O 17. Bb3 Nb4 {White has just about enough for the pawn thanks to his bishops, but certainly no advantage.} 18. Be3 (18. a3 $142) 18... a5 (18... Rfd8 $142 $15) 19. a3 Na6 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. Rxd5 b6 22. Bc4 Nc5 23. g3 g6 24. b4 axb4 25. axb4 Ne4 26. Re5 Nd6 27. Rxe7 Nxc4 28. Bf4 f6 29. Rc1 b5 30. Rxc7 g5 31. Rxc8 Rxc8 32. Be3 Kf7 33. Bc5 (33. g4 $142 $11) 33... Nb2 $15 34. Ra1 Nd3 35. Be3 Rc4 (35... Nxb4 36. Rb1 Rc4 37. Bd2 $11) 36. Rd1 Rc3 37. Kf1 Rb3 (37... h5 $142 $15) 38. h4 gxh4 39. gxh4 h5 40. Ke2 Ne5 41. Bc5 $11 Rb2+ 42. Ke3 Ke6 43. Ke4 Re2+ 44. Kf4 Ng6+ 45. Kf3 Rb2 46. Rd6+ Kf5 47. Rb6 Rb3+ 48. Ke2 Nxh4 49. Be7 Nf3 50. Rxf6+ Ke4 51. Re6+ Kd5 52. Rd6+ Ke4 53. Re6+ Kd5 54. Rd6+ Ke5 55. Rh6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Tata Steel Challengers"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.15"] [Round "2.6"] [White "Roebers, Eline"] [Black "L'Ami, Erwin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C95"] [WhiteElo "2361"] [BlackElo "2627"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,91,20,16,23,12,12,-2,16,-1,0,7,20,0,-1,3,10,-22,-18,-16,13,-23,1,-28,-3,-18,35,35,44,44,44,25,28,19,46,15,15,18,32,30,38,-2,-3,-19,3,0,31,-11,-12,15,30,42,55,-13,28,-6,33,-35,20,25,25,16,105,134,239,237,237,188,237,212,311,351,380,360,382,411,413,363,373,365,471,162,368,364,358,359,358,240,240,316,277,319,366,392]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 c5 12. Nf1 Re8 13. Ng3 Bf8 14. Bc2 Qc7 15. Be3 Bb7 16. d5 c4 17. Nh2 a5 $146 18. Nf5 a4 19. a3 $16 Kh8 20. g4 Nc5 21. Qf3 Ng8 22. g5 g6 23. Ng3 Be7 24. h4 Rf8 25. h5 Bc8 26. Qh1 Qd7 27. f4 Qh3 28. Qf3 (28. Qg2 $16 {was better, with a terrific ending for White thanks to her big space advantage.}) 28... exf4 $2 $18 {Perhaps Black thought he could keep control of the important e5 square (and thus of the a1-h8 diagonal). He was wrong, as we'll see.} (28... Nb3 29. Rad1 exf4 $14 {was acceptable, though still in White's favor.}) 29. Bd4+ $1 f6 30. Qxf4 Nd7 31. Re3 $1 Ne5 {The diagonal is closed for now, but not for long.} 32. Nf5 $1 Qxh5 33. Nxe7 Nxe7 34. gxf6 g5 {Probably the move L'Ami was counting on when he played 28...exf4. Some normal move like 35.Qg3 would be met by 35...N7g6, when Black is completely fine. Alas for L'Ami, there are other possibilities.} 35. Bxe5 $3 {Spectacular and strong.} (35. Qxe5 $1 {is also strong:} dxe5 36. fxe7 Rf4 37. Bxe5+ Kg8 38. Bd1 $3 Qe8 39. Rg3 $1 Qxe7 40. Bxf4 h6 41. Bf3 $18) 35... gxf4 (35... dxe5 36. Qxe5 Ng6 37. Qd4 {followed by e4-e5-e6 and a massacre.}) 36. fxe7+ Kg8 37. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 38. Bxd6+ Ke8 39. Bxf4 Ra7 40. Kh1 $2 {/?? A big mistake. Putting a rook on the g-file is a good idea, and White should have done it immediately with the e3-rook.} Rg7 $2 ({Had Black played} 40... Rf7 $1 {White would have been forced to make a lot of precise moves to keep any advantage at all.} 41. Bg3 $8 Qg5 42. Rae1 $8 h5 43. e5 $8 h4 44. Bxh4 Qxh4 45. Bg6 Bb7 46. Rd1 Qg5 47. Bxf7+ Kxf7 48. Rf3+ Ke8 49. Rd4 $8 Qxe5 50. Ng4 $8 $16) 41. Rg1 $18 {All is well once more, and Roebers finishes things off in a hurry.} Rxg1+ 42. Kxg1 Bg4 43. e5 Bf5 44. Bxf5 Qxf5 45. Bg3 Qb1+ 46. Nf1 {Everything of importance is protected so White will play e6, d6, d7+ and win everything.} 1-0 [Event "Tata Steel Challengers"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.15"] [Round "2.7"] [White "Pechac, Jergus"] [Black "Tabatabaei, M. Amin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C34"] [WhiteElo "2637"] [BlackElo "2686"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,90,20,23,23,-11,-50,-46,-5,-20,-17,-18,41,-18,128,120,113,113,113,113,113,34,51,51,33,16,51,12,49,49,57,55,61,27,-38,-38,52,27,51,15,85,67,85,85,91,40,98,-22,-85,-87,-85,-167,-78,-77,-77,-77,-74,-74,-74,-74,-80,-87,-72,-72,-97,-97,-77,-104,-107,-106,-84,-88,-73,-77,-101,-101,-90,-90,-90,-113,-113,-88,-111,-111,-104,-104,-102,-112,-112,-112,-112,-116,-72]} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 $2 {Losing a pawn.} exf4 3. Nf3 Nf6 {The computer is surprisingly positive about this move, which fares pretty badly in human games. Maybe it's because even elite GMs don't really know what they're doing with it as we'll see in just three moves.} 4. e5 Nh5 5. d4 d6 6. Qe2 {Everything since 3...Nf6 has been the main line for both side, and since Black is the one who chose that move you'd think he'd know what to do now. You'd think so, and so would I, but we'd be wrong.} Be7 $4 (6... dxe5 7. Nxe5 Qh4+ 8. g3 Nxg3 9. hxg3 Qxh1 10. Bxf4 {is objectively fine for Black, but who wants to try to defend this, even with an extra exchange and a pawn to boot? Here's a real-life test:} Be6 $2 {Natural, and losing.} 11. Nc3 $18 g5 12. d5 $1 gxf4 13. dxe6 Bd6 14. O-O-O Qh6 15. Qb5+ Nc6 16. Nxf7 Qxe6 17. Bc4 Qe3+ 18. Kb1 Qc5 19. Nxd6+ cxd6 20. Qxb7 Qxc4 21. Qxa8+ Nd8 22. Re1+ Kf7 23. Qxa7+ Kg6 24. gxf4 Qc5 25. Rg1+ {1-0 Nepomniachtchi,I (2792)-Firouzja,A (2754) Norway Chess Armageddon 9th Stavanger blitz 2021 (2)}) 7. exd6 Qxd6 8. Qb5+ $18 {Thanks for the free piece. It should be 1-0, but just wait...} Nc6 9. Qxh5 Nxd4 10. Bd3 $2 (10. Nxd4 $8 Qxd4 11. Nc3 O-O 12. Bd2 $18 {The king finds safety on the queenside, and then the extra piece will matter.}) 10... g6 11. Qa5 Nxf3+ 12. gxf3 O-O $44 {Now Black has plenty of compensation for the piece, and any result is possible. In the end, Black wins, despite blundering a piece on move 6.} 13. Nc3 Qe6+ 14. Ne2 Bh4+ 15. Kd1 Qh3 16. Bxf4 Qxf3 17. Kd2 Bh3 18. Bg3 b6 19. Qb5 a6 20. Qc4 Bg5+ 21. Bf4 Bf6 22. Rhg1 Rfe8 23. Rae1 b5 24. Qxc7 Rac8 25. Qd6 Re6 26. Rg3 Qf2 27. Be3 Qxe1+ 28. Kxe1 Rxd6 29. Rxh3 Bxb2 30. Rh4 f5 31. a4 Bf6 32. Rb4 Be7 33. Rb1 bxa4 34. Ra1 a3 35. Bc1 Rd5 36. Bxa3 Ra5 37. Bb2 Rxa1+ 38. Bxa1 a5 39. Nf4 Kf7 40. Nd5 Bd6 41. h3 Re8+ 42. Kd2 Be5 43. Bxe5 Rxe5 44. c4 Ke6 45. Kc3 Rxd5 0-1