[Event "Tata Steel Chess Masters 2022"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.30"] [Round "13"] [White "Grandelius, Nils"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B66"] [WhiteElo "2672"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O h6 9. Bf4 Bd7 10. Nxc6 Bxc6 11. f3 Qb6 12. Bc4 Rd8 13. Bb3 Be7 14. Be3 Qc7 15. Qf2 Qb8 $146 (15... Nd7 16. Qg3 Kf8 17. Ne2 Rc8 18. Kb1 Nc5 19. Bd4 Rg8 20. e5 d5 21. Qf2 b6 {Unzicker,W-Pustina,Y Siegen 1970}) 16. Bb6 Rc8 17. g4 O-O 18. h4 Nd7 19. Bd4 $6 ({Does White really need that bishop? Something could be said for} 19. g5) 19... Nc5 20. Rhg1 $6 ({Again} 20. g5 h5 21. f4) 20... b5 21. h5 b4 22. g5 $5 ({After} 22. Ne2 Nxb3+ 23. axb3 a5 {Black is faster.}) 22... Bxg5+ 23. f4 Nxb3+ 24. axb3 f6 $1 {Missed by Grandelius. This is an excellent idea from Duda.} 25. fxg5 fxg5 26. Qe3 bxc3 $2 {But this is a mistake.} (26... Qb7 $1) 27. Bxg7 $1 {Grandelius grabs his chance, and the remainder is forced:} cxb2+ 28. Kxb2 Kxg7 29. Rxg5+ $1 hxg5 30. Qxg5+ Kf7 31. Rf1+ Ke8 32. Qg6+ Kd8 33. Rxf8+ Kc7 34. Rxc8+ Qxc8 35. h6 Bxe4 36. Qxe4 Qh8+ 37. Ka2 Qxh6 38. Qc4+ Kb7 39. Qb4+ Kc7 40. Qc4+ Kb7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.30"] [Round "13"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R.."] [Black "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E29"] [WhiteElo "2612"] [BlackElo "2714"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 {The Nimzo-Indian defense was quite popular in The Netherlands in the past couple of weeks.} 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 c5 {The first mini-thought by Esipenko. Which line would be most unpleasant for his lesser experienced opponent?} 6. e3 Nc6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Ne2 b6 9. e4 Ne8 { A notable maneuver that aims to attack c4 whenever a chance is given, but also intends to meet the dangerous f2-f4 thrust with an identical f7-f5 block.} 10. O-O Ba6 11. f4 f5 {There it is.} 12. exf5 exf5 13. dxc5 {Better a damaged pawn structure, with diagonals for the bishops, than a blocked one!} bxc5 14. Be3 d6 15. Ng3 Ne7 {Here and on the next few moves, Esipenko will try to avoid the weakening g7-g6 move.} ({Nakamura did not try to be that sophisticated and was eventually successful against the world champion after} 15... g6 16. Re1 Nf6 17. Bf2 Qd7 18. Nf1 Na5 19. Bh4 Rae8 20. Rxe8 Qxe8 21. Bxf6 Rxf6 22. Qf3 Re6 { Carlsen,M (2863)-Nakamura,H (2736) Online 2020}) 16. Qf3 $146 {This is a novelty.} ({In an earlier game, the queen traveled to the wrong side of the board:} 16. Qa4 Nc7 17. Rfd1 Qe8 18. Qc2 Rb8 19. Re1 Qf7 20. Bf2 Rbe8 21. Qa4 Ng6 {and Black did not experience any difficulties in Chiong Zacarias, R (2373) -Zarnicki,P (2536) Dos Hermanas 2003}) 16... Nc7 {Still avoiding g7-g6.} ({ Although there does not seem to be anything particularly wrong with} 16... g6 17. Bf2 (17. Rfe1 Nf6) 17... Nf6 18. Rab1 Qd7) 17. Rab1 (17. Rad1 $5) 17... Qd7 {The queen is heading to the a4-square. Therefore...} 18. Rfe1 g6 {Finally, Esipenko decided that he cannot go without this push.} ({The pawn is immune:} 18... Qa4 $2 19. Bxc5) ({And} 18... Rfe8 {leaves the f5-pawn unattended, as in the line} 19. Bf2 Qa4 20. Bxf5) ({Last, but not least, the idea that happened in the game} 18... Nc8 {does not seem to work here due to} 19. Nxf5 $1 ({ Or the alternative capture} 19. Bxf5 $1) 19... Rxf5 20. Bxf5 Qxf5 21. Qc6 Qf7 22. Bf2 {when Black is paralyzed.}) 19. Bf2 Nc8 {Black wants to keep more pieces on the board and put pressure, at last, on the weak c4-pawn.} ({However, it made sense to trade a pair of rooks first with} 19... Rab8 20. Nf1 Rxb1 21. Rxb1 {and then go for} Nc8) 20. Nf1 $1 {After provoking a kingside weakness, the horse steps back to open the road for the bishop. In the meantime, it gets closer to the fabulous d5-outpost.} Nb6 21. Ne3 Rae8 22. Bh4 Qg7 23. Rbc1 Re6 24. a4 $1 {A strong move! In return for the pawn, the bishop on h4 gets a couple of strong supporters.} Nxa4 25. Nd5 {Black already faces serious problems.} Bb7 ({It seems like the idea} 25... Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1 Bb7 $1 {promised better drawing chances to Black, for example} 27. Ne7+ Qxe7 28. Bxe7 Bxf3 29. Bxf8 Kxf8 30. gxf3 Nxc3 {with a much better version of the exchange sacrifice than the game continuation.}) 26. Rxe6 Nxe6 27. Re1 Qd7 ({It was not too late to switch to the line from above with} 27... Nc7 28. Ne7+ Qxe7 29. Bxe7 Bxf3 30. Bxf8 Kxf8 31. gxf3 Nxc3 32. Ra1 d5 33. Rxa7 Ne6 {when a draw seems like the most likely outcome.}) 28. Qg3 ({Also good was} 28. Qf2 $5 {with the idea to meet} Bxd5 {with} 29. cxd5 Ng7 30. Re7 Qc8 31. Qa2 $1 {But Praggnanandhaa is not afraid of losing this pawn.}) ({Certainly not} 28. Nf6+ $4 Rxf6) 28... Rf7 {And Black finds nothing better but to sacrifice the exchange!} ({In case of} 28... Kg7 29. Ne7 $1 {\"...his king is just very weak.\" (Praggnanandhaa) And a line like} Kh8 30. Bxf5 gxf5 31. Bf6+ Rxf6 32. Qg8# {can prove his statement.}) ({Black also barely moves after} 28... Bxd5 29. cxd5 Ng7 30. Re7 Qc8 31. Bb5) 29. Nf6+ Rxf6 30. Bxf6 Kf7 31. Qh4 h5 32. Bg5 $1 {It is important to set the white queen free. Black does not have enough for the exchange.} Qc6 33. Qh3 $1 {A very accurate move.} ({Not} 33. Qg3 Nxc3 $1) 33... Nxg5 ({Now} 33... Nxc3 {loses on the spot due to} 34. Bxf5 $1) 34. fxg5 Bc8 35. Qe3 ({ Here the inhuman breakthrough} 35. g4 $3 {would have finished the game faster.} ) 35... Qd7 36. Qe2 $1 Qd8 ({Here and in the future, the c3-pawn is never an option for Black:} 36... Nxc3 $2 37. Qb2) 37. Qa2 {Once the queen is successfully transferred to the queenside, Black needs to part with yet another pawn.} Bd7 38. Bc2 Nb6 39. Qxa7 Nc8 40. Qb7 {\"I think I played well until move 40 and then I think my technique wasn't that good. I think I should have finished much earlier.\" (Praggnanandhaa)} Ne7 41. h4 Be6 42. Ra1 (42. Qa6 {was somewhat more accurate.}) 42... Qc8 {Esipenko's last chance is the fortress.} 43. Qxc8 Nxc8 44. Bb3 Ke7 45. Ra6 Kd8 46. Kf2 {However, after a few maneuvers, Praggnandhaa finally finds a way to break through.} Kc7 47. Ra1 Bf7 48. Ke3 Be6 49. Kf4 Kd8 50. Ra8 Kc7 51. Ra2 Bf7 52. Ra1 Kd8 53. Ke3 Be6 54. g3 Kc7 55. Kf4 Bf7 56. Ba4 $1 {\"When I got [this] I was sure I would win.\" (Praggnanandhaa)} Nb6 ({The point is that} 56... Bxc4 57. Be8 Ne7 58. Ra7+ Kd8 59. Rxe7 Kxe7 60. Bxg6 {leads to a kingside collapse.}) 57. Bb5 Nc8 ({Or} 57... Bxc4 58. Be8) 58. Ke3 Be6 59. Be8 {And the counter-exchange sacrifice as in the line above is unstoppable.} 1-0 [Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.30"] [Round "13"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2702"] [BlackElo "2708"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "137"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 c5 5. Be2 Nc6 (5... Bd6 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 Nc6 9. Nc3 a6 10. Rc1 d4 11. exd4 Nxd4 12. Be5 Nc6 {Rapport,R (2735) -Shankland,S (2731) Saint Louis 2019}) 6. O-O cxd4 7. exd4 Bd6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. c3 O-O 10. Re1 e5 $146 (10... b6 11. Bd3 Qc7 12. a3 Bb7 13. Nbd2 Qf4 14. g3 Qh6 15. a4 Nd7 {Cros Goma,A (2108)-Lecha Gonzalez,J (2198) ICCF email 2016}) 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Bf3 Ne4 14. Na3 Bf5 15. Nc2 Rfe8 16. Qd4 Qxd4 17. Nxd4 Bd7 18. c4 $1 {Winning a pawn.} Kf8 19. h4 Rac8 20. cxd5 Nd6 {This knight is so well placed, that Black still has good drawing chances.} 21. Rxe8+ Bxe8 22. Rd1 Bd7 23. Kh2 Ke7 24. g4 h6 25. h5 Kf6 26. Kg3 Rc4 27. Kf4 Rc5 28. Rd2 g5+ 29. hxg6 fxg6 30. Rd1 Ra5 31. a3 Nc4 32. Nb3 Rb5 33. Nd2 g5+ 34. Kg3 Nxd2 35. Rxd2 Rb3 36. Kg2 Ke5 37. Re2+ Kf6 38. Rc2 Ke5 39. Rc7 Kd6 40. Rc1 Rb6 41. b4 Ke5 42. Rc7 Kd6 43. Rc3 a5 44. bxa5 Rb5 45. Rc1 Rxa5 46. Rh1 Rxa3 47. Rxh6+ Kc5 48. Rh7 Kd6 49. Rh6+ Kc5 50. Rh7 Kd6 51. Rg7 b5 52. Rxg5 b4 53. Rg8 Ra5 $2 {This seems to be the decisive mistake.} (53... b3 $1 54. Rb8 Kc5 $1 55. g5 Bf5 $1 {is a perfect setup for Black and still good for a draw, it seems, e.g.} 56. Bh5 Bc2 57. Bf7 (57. g6 Ra7) 57... Ra6 58. d6 Rb6 $1 59. Rxb6 Kxb6 60. g6 b2 61. g7 b1=Q 62. g8=Q Be4+ $1 63. f3 Bxf3+ $1 64. Kxf3 Qd3+ 65. Kf2 Qxd6) 54. g5 b3 55. g6 b2 56. Rb8 Rb5 57. Rxb5 Bxb5 58. g7 b1=Q 59. g8=Q Qf1+ 60. Kg3 Qd3 61. Qe6+ Kc7 62. Qe5+ Kd7 63. Qe3 Qb1 64. Qe6+ Kd8 65. d6 Qh7 66. Qf6+ Kd7 67. Bg4+ Ke8 68. Qe5+ Kd8 69. Qg5+ 1-0 [Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.30"] [Round "13"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C47"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. Bd2 O-O 9. O-O Bxc3 (9... a5 10. Re1 Re8 11. a3 Bg4 12. Qc1 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 dxe4 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Bxe4 Re6 {Karjakin,S (2743)-Mamedyarov,S (2767) Warsaw 2021}) 10. Bxc3 dxe4 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Bxe4 Qxb2 13. Bxc6 Rb8 14. Rb1 Qxb1 15. Qxb1 Rxb1 16. Rxb1 Rd8 17. Bf3 Kf8 18. Rb8 Re8 19. h4 Ba6 20. Rb3 Re5 $146 (20... Re1+ 21. Kh2 Re5 22. Rc3 Be2 23. Bxe2 Rxe2 24. Kg3 Re4 25. Rxc7 Ra4 26. c4 Rxa2 27. c5 a5 28. Ra7 a4 29. c6 Rc2 30. c7 Ke8 31. Rxa4 {½-½ Mastrovasilis,D (2619)-Grischuk,A (2773) Terme Catez 2021}) 21. Rc3 Re7 $6 ({Here} 21... Be2 { was the best try, e.g.} 22. Bxe2 Rxe2 23. Rxc7 Re4 24. Rxa7 Rxh4 {with still good drawing chances.}) 22. Ra3 Re6 23. Bd5 Rb6 24. Bb3 c5 25. Ra4 g6 $6 (25... Be2 $1 {was again the move:} 26. Rxa7 c4 27. Ba4 g6) 26. f3 Rd6 27. c4 $1 Ke7 28. Ra5 Kd8 $6 ({And here} 28... Rc6 29. Ba4 Rb6 30. Rxc5 Rb4 {was more resilient:} 31. Ra5 (31. Bb3 Kd6 32. Ra5 Bxc4 33. Bxc4 Rxc4) 31... Bxc4 32. Rxa7+ Kf6 33. a3 Rb1+ 34. Kh2 Ra1) 29. Rxc5 Bc8 30. Kf2 Rd2+ 31. Kg3 h6 32. h5 Rd6 33. hxg6 fxg6 34. Kf4 g5+ 35. Ke5 Re6+ 36. Kd4 Re2 37. g4 Rd2+ 38. Ke3 Rd6 39. Ra5 Re6+ 40. Kd4 Rf6 41. Bd1 a6 42. Be2 Rf4+ 43. Ke3 Bb7 44. Rf5 Rxf5 45. gxf5 Ke7 46. c5 Kf6 47. Bd3 Ke5 48. Be4 Bc8 49. c6 h5 50. c7 a5 51. a4 Kf6 52. Kf2 h4 53. Kg2 Ke5 54. Kh2 Kf6 55. Bd3 Ke5 56. Bf1 Kf6 57. Bh3 Bd7 58. Bg4 Bc8 59. Kg2 Bd7 60. Kf2 Bc8 61. Ke3 Bd7 62. Kd4 Bc8 63. Kc5 Kf7 64. Kb6 1-0