[Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.31"] [Round "11.1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Warmerdam, Max"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2731"] [BlackElo "2646"] [PlyCount "75"] [GameId "2140324206539402"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,75,22,30,22,23,18,12,15,12,6,17,8,12,31,38,35,25,27,26,38,31,38,15,18,17,40,9,67,85,87,79,108,79,-30,67,63,79,80,96,87,145,102,88,80,80,54,73,12,71,84,62,40,88,113,18,131,102,62,73,48,111,51,168,192,133,153,147,232,260,268,314,283,381,558,511,682,789]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nc3 {The "Scholastic" Variation? Those of us who work with kids have seen this position eleventy-million times, while experienced players more often push the pawn to c3 instead. (Obviously I don't mean that Giri doesn't know what he's doing, and there are some GMs who play this more than just as a once-off - Nepo in particular.)} h6 6. O-O d6 (6... a6 {takes Na4 ideas off the table.}) 7. Na4 Bb6 8. a3 {See the note to Black's 6th move.} Bg4 9. c3 Bh5 $146 {Black is being coy about the possibility of ...g5-g4, *especially* if White plays h3.} (9... Qc8 10. Nxb6 axb6 11. Bb3 Ne7 12. h3 Be6 13. Ba4+ Bd7 14. Bc2 Ng6 15. Nh2 O-O 16. f4 exf4 17. Bxf4 Nxf4 18. Rxf4 Qd8 19. d4 Ra5 20. Qd3 d5 21. exd5 g6 22. c4 b5 23. Raf1 Ra6 24. Qf3 Kg7 25. d6 Rxd6 26. c5 Bc6 27. Qf2 Re6 28. Bb3 g5 29. Rf5 Be4 30. Bxe6 fxe6 31. Re5 Bd3 32. Rd1 Ng4 33. Nxg4 Rxf2 34. Nxf2 Bc4 35. Ng4 Bb3 36. Rd2 h5 37. Nf2 Bd5 38. Ne4 Bxe4 39. Rxe4 g4 40. hxg4 Qg5 41. Rde2 hxg4 42. g3 Qf5 43. Rf4 Qd3 44. Kf2 Qb3 45. Rxg4+ Kf7 46. Rf4+ Kg7 47. Rfe4 Qd3 48. Kg2 c6 49. Rg4+ Kf7 50. Rf2+ Ke7 51. Rg7+ Ke8 52. Rgf7 e5 53. dxe5 Qd5+ 54. Kh2 Qxc5 55. R7f5 Qe3 56. Kh3 Ke7 57. Rf7+ Ke8 58. Rf8+ Ke7 59. R2f7+ Ke6 60. Rf6+ Kd5 61. Rd8+ Kc4 62. e6 Qe5 63. Rf4+ Kb3 64. Rd3+ Kc2 65. Rdf3 Qxe6+ 66. g4 Kxb2 67. Kg2 c5 68. Rg3 Qd5+ 69. Kh2 Qe5 70. Rf2+ Kb1 71. Rf1+ Kc2 72. Rf2+ Kd1 73. Kh3 Ke1 74. Rf5 Qe4 75. Rg1+ Ke2 76. Rg2+ Ke1 77. Rg1+ Ke2 78. Rg2+ Ke1 79. Rg1+ {½-½ Rapport,R (2719)-Carlsen,M (2830) Karlsruhe Grenke Playoffs 1-2 rapid 2024 (2)}) 10. Nxb6 axb6 11. Qe2 Qd7 12. Qe3 O-O (12... Ne7 {followed by ...Ng6 isn't bad.}) 13. h3 d5 $1 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Nxe5 $1 {It wins a pawn, but the position that arises after the tactics end is eminently holdable for Black, much like a typical Marshall Gambit.} Qd6 16. Bxd5 Qxd5 17. Nxc6 Qxc6 18. Qe4 Rfe8 19. Qxc6 bxc6 20. Bf4 Re2 21. b4 b5 22. Bxc7 Rc2 23. Be5 Be2 24. Rfe1 Bxd3 25. Re3 Bg6 $2 {The bishop will just end up out of play here, and White keeps his queenside pluses.} (25... Bc4 $11 {was better, keeping the queenside frozen. Now ...Ra2 is on the agenda, and as long as Black is able to handle White's kingside threats with Rg3 - and he should - he should be fine.}) 26. Bd4 $16 Kh7 27. Re7 Ra6 $2 (27... Kg8) 28. g4 $18 Kg8 29. Re8+ Kh7 30. Rf8 $1 {What is the rook doing on a6? White is ready to play Re1-e8 and go for mate, and f4-f5 is another possibility in some positions, not only looking to cage the bishop but the Black king as well.} Re2 31. f4 $1 f5 {Saving the bishop but giving White attacking opportunities on the 7th rank.} 32. gxf5 Bh5 33. Rc8 {Heading for c7.} Bf3 34. Rc7 Rg2+ 35. Kf1 Kg8 36. Re1 Rxa3 37. f6 $1 {Black can't take as 38.Re8 is a ladder mate.} Bd5 38. f7+ $1 {Black's bishop is overloaded, so he's either going to allow White to queen or give up the rook on g2. Actually, there is a third possibility (not counting resigning)...} ({Just for fun:} 38. f7+ Kh8 39. Re8+ Kh7 40. f8=N+ $1 Kg8 41. Ng6+ Kh7 42. Rxg7#) 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.31"] [Round "11.2"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Black "Mendonca, Leon Luke"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2717"] [BlackElo "2639"] [PlyCount "80"] [GameId "2140324206547595"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,80,22,34,10,22,28,18,13,13,-79,6,10,0,21,18,21,-3,7,8,1,11,4,11,20,20,29,50,39,34,45,55,-45,14,30,-1,-20,-6,7,-16,0,-2,-4,70,-11,86,-11,70,19,77,-5,-46,-68,-1,-58,-136,-77,-206,-197,-230,-258,-201,-178,-201,-129,-133,-236,-224,-224,-239,-245,-245,-231,-224,-217,-240,-259,-277,-344,-277,-254,-251,-243] Fedoseev has been in the leading group for most of the past few rounds while Mendonca has been struggling near the bottom. Further, Fedoseev has the white pieces and is the higher-rated player, all of which means...precisely nothing, as we'll see.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c6 6. a4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 a5 8. Bc3 $146 ({White generally plays} 8. Qc2) ({or} 8. Qc1 {, which can but need not be interchangeable.}) 8... O-O (8... Nd5 $11 {followed by ...Be7 is an interesting option.}) 9. Ne5 c5 10. O-O (10. Na3 $14) 10... Nc6 (10... Qc7) 11. Na3 (11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bxc6 $14) 11... Bxc3 (11... Nd5) (11... cxd4) 12. bxc3 Nd5 13. Nxc6 (13. Rc1) 13... bxc6 14. dxc5 {With a queenside pawn structure (for both sides) only a mother could love.} Ba6 15. Qd4 Qf6 16. Qxf6 gxf6 $11 {Might as well start messing up the kingside too.} 17. Rfc1 f5 18. Kf1 Rfd8 19. Ke1 Rab8 20. e3 (20. Rab1 $142 $11) 20... Rb3 21. Bf1 Nf6 22. Bxc4 Rxa3 23. Bxa6 Rb3 24. Bc4 Rb2 25. Rab1 Rdb8 26. Rxb2 Rxb2 {Black's activity is certainly more important than White's extra, doubled c-pawn. It's funny, though, that it's because of the extra, doubled c-pawn that White can still get out of this unpleasant position alive - if he finds the right moves.} 27. Be2 $2 {This isn't it.} (27. Rd1 Ne4 28. Bb5 $3 {is the cleanest equalizer.} Nxc5 (28... cxb5 $4 29. c6 Rc2 30. c7 (30. axb5 $18 {also wins.}) 30... Rxc3 31. Rd8+ Kg7 32. c8=Q Rxc8 33. Rxc8 $18) 29. Bxc6 Rc2 $11) 27... Ne4 $19 {White can hardly move.} 28. Bf3 Nxf2 29. Bxc6 (29. Kf1 Nd3 30. Rd1 Ne5 $19 {is a more prosaic approach. White will live longer, but without great hopes for survival.}) 29... Nd3+ 30. Kd1 Nf2+ 31. Ke1 Nd3+ 32. Kd1 Nxc1 33. Kxc1 Re2 34. e4 $1 {A nice try. Black has only one winning move here.} (34. Bb7 Rxe3 35. Kc2 Re5 $19 {shows why White must preface the Bb7, c5-6 idea with 34.e4.}) 34... Kf8 $1 {That's it.} (34... fxe4 $2 35. Bb7 Re3 36. Kc2 Re2+ $8 37. Kc1 e3 38. c6 Re1+ 39. Kc2 e2 40. c7 Rc1+ (40... Ra1 41. c8=Q+ Kg7 42. Qd8 $1 e1=Q 43. Qg5+ Kf8 44. Qd8+ Kg7 45. Qg5+ $11) 41. Kxc1 e1=Q+ 42. Kc2 {Black can't force a fork that will allow him to take on c7, so he needs to make a perpetual here:} Qe2+ 43. Kb3 Qd1+ 44. Kb2 Qd2+ $11) 35. exf5 Ke7 36. fxe6 fxe6 37. h4 Re3 38. Kc2 Rxg3 39. Kb3 Rg4 40. h5 h6 0-1 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.31"] [Round "11.3"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B13"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2768"] [PlyCount "154"] [GameId "2140324206547596"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,154,16,27,28,4,27,16,17,12,16,62,25,26,23,10,8,21,30,22,30,22,34,14,20,9,10,-11,-6,-1,18,-25,82,32,17,4,13,0,59,17,11,102,5,15,-2,-17,-14,33,19,27,-11,28,-57,-26,11,4,-8,-55,-78,-83,-118,-167,-62,-113,-148,-132,-132,-177,-206,-190,-178,-110,-169,-178,-161,-213,-197,-208,-123,-1,-124,-125,-122,-40,-116,-123,1,-131,-115,-94,-103,-129,-95,-92,-118,-109,-102,-101,-101,-94,-113,-98,-114,-50,-97,-20,-111,-86,-79,-92,-101,-99,-1,-97,-93,-86,-1,-82,-78,-70,-76,-106,-84,-38,-79,-74,-72,-46,-60,-60,19,-67,1,-57,39,-83,-56,1,-80,-84,-84,-78,-74,-67,-78,-87,117,-66,-36,-45,-21,-66,-33,-76,1,-95,-1]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nf6 5. h3 Nc6 6. Nf3 (6. c3 {is more common, but has the drawback of allowing} e5 {. White can prevent this by playing 5.Bf4, but then Black gets in 5...Bg4. White is always a tempo away in this line from preventing all of Black's active options.}) 6... Nb4 {Revealing the drawback of not getting in a quick c3.} 7. Ne5 (7. O-O Nxd3 8. cxd3 g6 9. Nc3 Bg7 10. Re1 O-O 11. Bf4 a6 (11... e6 12. Qb3 Ne8 13. Rac1 Nd6 14. Be5 Nf5 15. Nb5 Qb6 16. g4 Bd7 17. Nc7 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Bxe5 19. Qxb6 axb6 20. Rxe5 Rxa2 21. Re2 Rc8 22. Rc3 Kg7 23. g5 h6 24. h4 hxg5 25. hxg5 Rh8 26. Nf3 Ra1+ 27. Kg2 e5 28. Nxe5 Bh3+ 29. Kf3 Rg1 30. Ke3 Rxg5 31. f4 Rgh5 32. Nxd5 Be6 33. Nc7 Bf5 34. Kd2 Rh4 35. Rc4 Rd8 36. Kc3 f6 37. Rd4 Rxd4 38. Kxd4 fxe5+ 39. Kxe5 Bxd3 40. Rd2 Bf5 41. Ne8+ Kf8 42. Nd6 Rh5 43. Kf6 Bb1 44. Re2 Rd5 45. Re8# {1-0 Abdusattorov,N (2651)-Triapishko,A (2506) Titled Tuesday intern op 08th Feb Early Chess.com INT blitz 2022 (5)}) 12. Rc1 Bd7 13. Ne5 b5 14. Qd2 e6 15. Bg5 Ra7 16. Ne2 Qb6 17. Rc5 Be8 18. Rec1 Nd7 19. Rc6 Qb7 20. Rc7 Qxc7 21. Rxc7 Rxc7 22. Nf3 f6 23. Bf4 e5 24. dxe5 fxe5 25. Bh6 Bf7 26. Bxg7 Kxg7 27. d4 e4 28. Ne5 Nf6 29. Ng3 h6 30. Qf4 Be6 31. Nxg6 Rfc8 32. Nh4 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2832)-Niemann,H (2703) Chess.com SpeedChess Chess.com INT blitz 2024 (3.25)}) 7... Nxd3+ 8. Qxd3 {The pluses for White that compensate for giving up the bishop pair are (1) that he has successfully kept Black's c8-bishop from getting out of the box and (2) he has prevented ...e5 as well.} e6 9. Nc3 $146 {I think this is the right decision, but it looks a bit weird when you've seen hundreds (thousands?) of Exchange Caro-Kanns with the pawn on c3.} Bd7 10. O-O ({Amazingly, the engine likes} 10. h4 $1 {here, even though this doesn't really seem like an AlphaZero-able position. Its main line is somewhat perplexing for both sides:} Be7 11. h5 O-O 12. h6 g6 {The engine simultaneously wants to ram the h-pawn into Black's kingside *and* to just to castle into whatever danger the h-pawn presents.} 13. Bg5 Ne8 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. O-O-O $14) 10... Rc8 $11 11. Re1 Be7 12. Bg5 O-O 13. a4 Be8 14. a5 a6 15. Qd2 Qc7 16. Re3 $5 Kh8 17. Nd3 (17. Rf3 $142 $11) 17... Bb5 (17... Bd6 $1 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Rf3 f5 20. Ne2 Rg8 21. c3 Bb5 22. Nef4 $1 Rce8 {is roughly equal but a touch more comfortable for Black thanks to the bishops.}) 18. Ne5 (18. Bf4) 18... Be8 (18... Bb4) 19. Rf3 Ng8 20. Bf4 Qd8 21. Nd3 Nf6 22. Nc5 Bc6 23. b4 Ne4 24. N3xe4 dxe4 25. Rg3 (25. Re3 $142 $11) 25... Qd5 26. Re1 Qf5 (26... Rfd8 $1 27. Nxe4 f6 $1 28. c3 e5 29. Be3 $8 Bf8 $44) 27. c3 (27. c4 $11) 27... f6 $11 {/?} 28. h4 $2 (28. Be3) 28... e5 $17 {/-+ Now White is in trouble.} 29. dxe5 $2 (29. Be3 $8) 29... Rcd8 $19 {And now Black is winning. Had Abdusattorov converted his advantage he'd have reached a tie for first with Gukesh heading into the last two rounds.} 30. Qe3 Bxc5 31. bxc5 Rd3 $6 (31... g5 $1 32. hxg5 fxg5 33. Bxg5 Rd3 $19 {leaves White unable to save all three of (1) his queen, (2) his f2-pawn, and (3) his bishop.}) 32. Qc1 fxe5 33. Bxe5 Qxf2+ 34. Kh2 Rxg3 35. Bxg3 Qxc5 {Black is still winning, but the win is no longer automatic.} 36. Bc7 (36. Rf1 $142) 36... Rf7 (36... Qe7 $142) 37. Qd2 (37. Bb6 $142) 37... h6 38. Bb6 Qe7 $4 (38... Qh5 $19) 39. Qd8+ $15 {with an ending that should be drawn - and is drawn, thanks to Keymer's good technique.} Qxd8 40. Bxd8 Rf2 41. Bb6 Ra2 42. h5 e3 43. Rxe3 Rxg2+ 44. Kh3 Kg8 45. Bd4 Rg1 46. Re7 Rg5 47. Kh4 Kf8 48. Rc7 Be4 49. Bb6 Kg8 50. Rc8+ Kh7 51. Rc7 Bf3 52. Bd4 Bxh5 (52... Rxh5+ $4 53. Kg3 $18 {and now White threatens the bishop but, even more than that, 54.Rxg7+ Kh8 55.Rg5+ and 56.Rxh5 (assuming Black's bishop no longer protects his rook).}) 53. Rxb7 Be2 54. Re7 Bf1 55. Rf7 Bc4 56. Re7 Bd3 57. Kh3 Bf5+ 58. Kh2 Rg4 59. Rc7 Bd3 60. Rc5 Bb5 61. Kh3 Rg6 62. Rc7 Bf1+ 63. Kh4 Bd3 64. Kh3 h5 65. Rc5 Be2 66. Re5 Bf3 67. Re3 Bd1 68. Re1 Bg4+ 69. Kh4 Kg8 70. Re5 Rd6 71. Re7 Rg6 72. Re5 Rc6 73. Re7 g6 74. Rb7 Re6 75. Kg5 Bf5 76. Rb6 Kf7 77. Rxe6 Kxe6 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.31"] [Round "11.4"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Wei Yi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2751"] [PlyCount "60"] [GameId "2140324206547597"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Nbd2 (6. Re1) (6. Nc3) 6... d5 $5 (6... d6) 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 f6 9. d4 $14 Bg4 $146 (9... exd4 10. Nb3 Kh8 11. Nbxd4 Nxd4 {½-½ Zhigalko,S (2572)-Pranav,V (2486) Titled Tuesday intern op 08th Feb Late Chess.com INT blitz 2022 (9)} 12. Nxd4 $16) 10. Nb3 Kh8 11. h3 Bh5 12. c3 (12. dxe5 Ndb4 13. c3 Qxd1 14. Rxd1 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 $1 Bxd1 16. Nf7+ Rxf7 (16... Kg8 17. Ng5+ Kh8 18. Ne6 $14) 17. Bxf7 Nd3 18. Be3 Nxb2 19. Nd4 $14) 12... exd4 (12... Nb6 $11) 13. Nbxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 Bxf3 15. gxf3 Nb6 16. Qxd8 Rfxd8 17. Rxe7 (17. Be6 {was perhaps the last attempt to squeeze something out of the position.}) 17... Nxc4 18. Bf4 Nxb2 19. Rb1 Rd1+ 20. Rxd1 Nxd1 21. Rxc7 b6 $11 22. Kf1 Re8 23. Bd2 h5 24. Rxa7 Rd8 25. Be1 (25. Ke2 Nxf2 $11) 25... Nb2 26. Rb7 Nc4 27. Rc7 Ne5 28. Ke2 Re8 29. Bd2 Nc4+ 30. Be3 Nxe3 (30... Nxe3 31. fxe3 Ra8 $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.31"] [Round "11.5"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2803"] [BlackElo "2741"] [PlyCount "74"] [GameId "2140324206547598"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,74,15,18,19,18,16,7,20,12,71,13,15,8,12,11,18,22,22,-8,15,19,13,-37,130,-5,35,-8,-15,-73,-73,-3,-19,-23,153,60,6,-28,59,-34,-14,44,12,6,32,6,10,7,20,16,32,22,38,10,-2,-7,31,21,-71,-31,-28,-39,-9,-8,-8,-30,-184,-238,-268,-263,-491,-684,-726,-740,-757,-820,-712]} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Nge2 Re8 9. h3 (9. Qc2 {is far more common.}) 9... Nbd7 (9... Na6) 10. Qc2 Nf8 11. O-O-O $5 (11. O-O) 11... b5 $146 (11... a5 12. g4 (12. Kb1 Be7 13. g4 b5 14. Rc1 Ba6 15. f3 a4 16. Nd1 b4 17. Bxa6 Rxa6 18. Qd3 Rb6 19. Nf2 Ne6 20. h4 Bf8 {½-½ Poltorak,S (2372)-Sumets,A (2521) Wolfsberg NSV 100 Ann 2024 (9)}) 12... b5 13. Bf4 a4 14. Kb1 Ba6 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 16. Ng3 N6d7 17. Nf5 Qb8 18. Ne2 g6 19. Nh6+ Kg7 20. g5 Rc8 21. f4 b4 22. Bxa6 Rxa6 23. Qd2 f5 24. h4 Qb5 25. h5 Nb6 26. hxg6 hxg6 27. Ng3 b3 28. Nhxf5+ gxf5 29. Nxf5+ Kg6 30. Nd6 bxa2+ 31. Ka1 Qb3 32. f5+ Kg7 33. Qh2 {1-0 Grebnev,A (2486)-Popov,I (2627) Moscow Dvoretsky Memorial 2022 (3.3)}) 12. Kb1 a5 $6 (12... Be7 $142) 13. f3 $6 (13. e4 $1 b4 (13... dxe4 $2 14. Nxe4 Be7 {is the normal reaction in similar positions, but here c6 is hanging.} 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Qxc6 $18) 14. Bxf6 gxf6 (14... Qxf6 $2 15. e5 Qxf2 16. Rhf1 Qh4 17. Na4 Be7 18. Nb6 Rb8 19. Qxc6 Bb7 20. Qb5 $16 {/+-}) 15. Na4 dxe4 16. Bxe4 Ba6 17. Rd2 $14 {/?}) 13... Be7 $11 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. e4 a4 16. a3 {Semi-forcing Black to sac a pawn - but it's good for him.} (16. h4) 16... b4 $1 17. axb4 a3 $5 (17... Be6 18. e5 Be7 19. Na2 $1 Rb8 $40) 18. b3 Qb6 $6 (18... Rb8) (18... a2+ $5 19. Ka1 $1) 19. Ka2 $14 (19. exd5 a2+ 20. Ka1 Qxb4 21. dxc6 Be6 $1 22. Ne4 Be7 23. Bc4 f5 $1 $14 {Black has a lot of compensation for the pawns.}) 19... dxe4 20. fxe4 Bxd4 (20... Qxb4 $142 21. e5 Be7 22. d5 $1 Ra5 $1 23. Bc4 Rc5 $14) 21. Nxd4 Qxd4 22. b5 Bd7 23. Bc4 $14 {/?} Qa7 (23... Qe5 $142) 24. bxc6 Bxc6 25. Rhf1 $16 Re7 26. Nd5 (26. Rd6 $16) 26... Rb7 $14 27. Rf5 Rc8 (27... Ne6) 28. Qd3 (28. Qf2) 28... Ne6 29. Rdf1 (29. Qe3 $14) 29... Be8 $11 30. R5f2 Qb8 31. Rc2 Nc5 32. Qe3 $2 (32. Qe2 $11 Nxb3 $4 33. Bxb3 Rxc2+ 34. Qxc2 $18) 32... Nxb3 $1 $19 33. Rb1 (33. Bxb3 $2 Rxc2+ {Had White played 32.Qe2, he could recapture with the queen - no problem.} 34. Bxc2 Rb2+ 35. Ka1 Rxc2 36. Qxa3 Rxg2 $19) 33... Ba4 $1 34. Bd3 $2 (34. Qf2) 34... Nc5 $1 35. Ne7+ Kh8 36. Rxb7 (36. Nxc8 Rxb1 37. Qxc5 Qb3#) 36... Qxb7 37. Ba6 Qxe7 (37... Bb3+ $19 {is also crushing.}) (37... Qxe7 38. Bxc8 Bxc2 $19 {leaves Black up a knight and a pawn with an attack in return for absolutely nothing.}) 0-1 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.31"] [Round "11.6"] [White "Sarana, Alexey"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2695"] [PlyCount "80"] [GameId "2140324206551695"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,80,12,25,7,5,13,8,20,19,21,14,16,25,29,5,19,3,10,5,-13,-12,-14,-1,-12,0,-4,-17,-12,-4,-38,-18,-33,-30,-63,-30,-32,-61,-102,-61,-57,-68,-50,-61,-47,-75,-39,-67,-62,-54,-48,33,-91,-94,-88,-72,-80,-80,-70,-80,-43,-42,-83,-250,-123,-94,-66,-111,-136,-141,-97,-235,-17,-218,-159,-197,-72,-213,-215,-348,-262,-475,-440]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 h6 {Moves like this have become increasongly popular of late. Carlsen played this against Gukesh in 2022, Nihal used it twice against Ding that same year, Gukesh played it against Giri and Eljanov last year, etc. In fact, Sarana faced it twice last year, against Jumabayev and the fast-rising Aravindh. In both games he played 5.Bf4, which was perhaps what Harikrishna was most especially prepared for. Sarana instead switches up with} 5. e3 {, as chosen by Ding, Erigaisi, Nakamura, and Giri (for starters).} a6 6. b3 c5 7. cxd5 cxd4 8. Nxd4 $146 {Played only once (8.Qxd4 was tried a couple of times), and that game finished in an immediate draw.} Nxd5 {A new move by virtue of being a move.} 9. Bd2 Nf6 10. Qc2 Bd7 11. Be2 Nc6 12. Nf3 Rc8 13. O-O Be7 14. Rfd1 O-O 15. a3 (15. Qb2 {may be a better way to prevent ...Ba3.}) 15... Bd6 $15 16. b4 Qe7 17. Be1 Rfd8 (17... Ne5) 18. Qb1 Ne5 19. Qb3 b5 $1 {Carving out the c4 square.} 20. h3 Nc4 21. Rac1 e5 22. e4 $6 (22. Bxc4 $142) 22... Be6 $17 23. Nd5 Nxd5 (23... Bxd5 $1 24. exd5 e4 25. Nd4 Qe5 26. g3 Re8 $17) 24. exd5 Bd7 $15 25. Bxc4 $2 {Presumably a tactical oversight.} (25. Nd2 $1) 25... bxc4 $1 26. Rxc4 Ba4 $1 $17 {/-+ This nasty shot wins the exchange.} 27. Qxa4 Rxc4 28. Qxa6 Qc7 29. b5 $2 (29. Kf1 $142) 29... Qc8 $6 (29... e4 30. Nd4 Rc1 $19) 30. Qa5 (30. Qxc8 Rdxc8 31. b6 Rc1 32. Rxc1 Rxc1 33. Kf1 Bxa3 34. Nxe5 {keeps a *very* slight ray of hope alive.}) 30... Qa8 $6 (30... Re8 $19) 31. b6 $2 (31. Rb1 $1 $17) 31... Qxa5 32. Bxa5 Ra8 (32... Ra4 $142 $19) 33. Bb4 $5 {Setting up a nice trap.} (33. Be1 $142 Rxa3 34. Rb1) 33... Bxb4 34. b7 Re8 $1 (34... Rb8 $4 {is obvious but wrong.} 35. Nxe5 $1 Re4 36. Nc6 Rxb7 37. axb4 $11) 35. d6 (35. Nxe5 Re4 $19 {Now the knight has no rooks to attack, so Black wins.}) 35... Bxd6 $1 36. Rxd6 f6 {Keeping the knight neutralized.} 37. Rd7 (37. Ra6 Rc1+ 38. Kh2 Rb1 39. Ra8 Kf7 $19) 37... Rb8 38. Nd2 Rd4 $1 {The only winning move. Now it's over.} 39. Rxd4 exd4 40. Nb3 d3 0-1 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.31"] [Round "11.7"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E24"] [WhiteElo "2680"] [BlackElo "2801"] [PlyCount "63"] [GameId "2140324206551696"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,63,11,26,16,20,20,11,19,5,-63,0,11,-11,-4,-1,4,7,-3,0,8,16,0,4,-25,-27,5,3,-21,-20,-33,1,100,-54,-55,92,-13,0,-4,-5,1,-1,-1,163,32,7,3,5,-12,5,-27,9,0,-1,-1,0,1,-6,-97,-6,-64,-23,-1,-2,18,-1]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 Nc6 6. f3 b6 7. e4 Na5 8. c5 bxc5 9. Qa4 Nc6 10. Bb5 cxd4 $146 11. Bxc6 dxc6 12. cxd4 Qd7 13. Ne2 c5 14. Qc4 cxd4 15. Nxd4 Ba6 $1 16. Qxa6 Qxd4 17. Qc6+ Ke7 18. Qxc7+ Nd7 19. Bg5+ $1 f6 20. Rd1 Rhc8 $1 21. Qg3 Qb6 $8 {Black can't allow Qd6+.} 22. Bf4 g6 23. Qf2 Qxf2+ 24. Kxf2 e5 25. Be3 Rc2+ 26. Rd2 Rac8 27. Rhd1 Nb6 28. Bxb6 axb6 29. Ke2 R8c3 30. a4 Rxd2+ 31. Rxd2 Ra3 32. Rb2 {A good, correct game bringing the players one round closer to the end of an unsuccessful tournament.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.01"] [Round "12.1"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E00"] [WhiteElo "2695"] [BlackElo "2733"] [PlyCount "64"] [GameId "2140600129086980"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,64,26,30,7,15,17,15,18,19,21,20,39,29,43,46,52,-24,53,20,-24,35,43,31,43,40,50,16,-14,6,6,1,-47,4,14,10,14,13,-1,0,-81,-1,-41,-12,0,-12,-2,19,19,-1,39,0,27,7,44,-6,41,19,-1,10,22,1,-1,-1,58,-1,1]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Nd2 O-O 5. Bg2 a5 6. Ngf3 d6 7. O-O a4 8. Qc2 Nc6 9. Ne4 $146 Nxe4 10. Qxe4 Qe7 11. a3 Ba5 12. Qc2 (12. c5 $1 dxc5 $6 13. dxc5 Qxc5 14. Ng5 Qf5 (14... f5 15. Qxa4 $16) 15. Qxa4 $16) 12... Bd7 (12... Bb6 $142) 13. d5 (13. Rd1) (13. c5) 13... exd5 14. cxd5 Ne5 15. Bd2 Nxf3+ 16. Bxf3 Rfc8 17. Rac1 Ra6 18. Rfd1 Qf6 19. Bc3 Bxc3 20. Qxc3 Qxc3 21. Rxc3 Rb6 22. Rd2 Kf8 23. e4 Ke7 24. Bd1 Ra6 (24... c5 $11) 25. h3 (25. Rc4) 25... f6 26. Rd4 Rb6 27. Rd2 Kd8 28. Kg2 Ra8 29. Be2 Ra5 30. f4 Bb5 31. Bg4 Be8 32. Be2 Bb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.01"] [Round "12.2"] [White "Wei Yi"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2731"] [PlyCount "75"] [GameId "2140600129091077"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,75,20,30,21,22,24,0,17,16,33,35,22,21,21,36,35,11,26,11,-76,29,36,26,7,0,50,0,44,13,12,-17,-37,-21,-64,-34,-29,-28,271,-38,-37,-22,-29,-24,-22,-22,1,36,-4,-4,-5,-20,-6,-7,-7,-9,-5,2,-3,-9,38,-19,-23,-22,-30,-16,-51,-19,-106,-10,-108,-9,-16,-7,-5,-1,-1,-1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 Bf5 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxd3 11. cxd3 (11. Qxd3) 11... Nc6 $146 12. c4 Bb4 13. Bd2 Bxd2 14. Qxd2 Qf6 15. cxd5 {White doesn't have anything in any case, but this is essentially a draw offer. Let the liquidation begin:} (15. Qb2) 15... Nxd4 16. Nxd4 Qxd4 17. Rac1 Rac8 18. Re7 Qxd5 19. Rcxc7 Rxc7 20. Rxc7 h6 21. h3 Rd8 22. Qe3 Qxd3 23. Rxb7 Qxe3 24. fxe3 Rd1+ 25. Kh2 Rd3 26. Rxa7 Rxe3 27. Ra8+ Kh7 28. Ra7 f5 29. Ra6 f4 30. Ra4 g5 31. Ra7+ Kg6 32. Ra6+ Kh5 33. a4 Re2 34. Rf6 Ra2 {White has stumbled into a mild zugzwang, but the good news is that it's still a dead draw.} 35. a5 Rxa5 36. g4+ fxg3+ 37. Kxg3 Ra3+ 38. Kg2 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.01"] [Round "12.3"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Sarana, Alexey"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D36"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2677"] [PlyCount "57"] [GameId "2140600129091078"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,57,13,21,11,17,25,17,16,11,77,16,12,18,25,32,27,17,18,0,17,8,11,4,4,-1,7,14,41,43,50,54,49,31,62,62,55,88,34,38,42,51,17,29,59,123,-1,163,324,297,310,511,406,361,497,540,509,676,29995,29996]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. Qc2 {In the old days Black would automatically play 6...Be7 here, but now that's relatively rare. The most popular move is 6...h6, and other moves (including the text) are trotted out from time to time.} Be6 7. e3 Nbd7 8. Be2 $146 {Okay, this is strange - and it gets stranger on the next move. Let's figure it out rather than passing by with a furrowed brow.} (8. Bd3 {is normal and obvious, and now play generally goes} h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Nh5 {The move 8.Be2 stops.} 11. Nge2 (11. Nf3 {is rarer but arguably better.}) 11... Nxg3 12. Nxg3 h5 {and so on. Black is doing well here.}) 8... Bd6 9. Bd3 $1 {The point is that ...h6 and ...g5 won't let Black take the bishop with his knight.} h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Bxg3 (11... Nh5 $4 {was fine when the bishop was on f8, but not here.} 12. Bxd6 $18) 12. hxg3 {The position is playable for both sides, with White still hoping for a slight edge.} Qe7 {Best.} 13. Nf3 g4 $6 {But this isn't best, and doesn't fit with the idea of ...Qe7.} (13... O-O-O {meets the threat of Nxg5. Of course Black shouldn't play this if he's going to get mated, but while White can fling the pawns Black should be okay after} 14. b4 Kb8 15. a4 Rc8 $11) 14. Nh4 $16 Nb6 15. O-O O-O-O 16. a4 Kb8 17. a5 Nc4 18. Na4 $6 {More human, but not as good. White doesn't want to rush to fix the queenside structure, but it also gives Black time to improve his position.} (18. a6 $1 $16 {is the way to go, Alpha Zero style. The point isn't to open the a- or b-file, but to undermine Black's c-pawn.}) 18... Nd6 $1 19. Nc5 (19. a6 $1 b6 $8 20. Nc3 Rhe8 21. Ne2 Rc8 $11) 19... a6 20. Rfc1 {Sacs on a6 are in the air.} (20. Ra3 Rhe8 21. Rb3 Nb5 $11) 20... Bc8 $1 21. Qb3 Nb5 $4 (21... Ka8 $1 $11 {was a must - everything else loses. The position is equal and White has more than one acceptable move, so here's a fun line to show that both sides have their tactical possibilities.} 22. Qb4 Nfe4 23. Bxe4 Nxe4 24. Nxa6 $5 Qf6 $8 25. Nc7+ Kb8 26. Qb6 (26. Na6+ Ka8 27. Nc7+ Kb8 $11) 26... Qxf2+ 27. Kh1 Nxg3+ 28. Kh2 Nf1+ 29. Rxf1 Qxh4+ 30. Kg1 g3 31. Rxf7 Qh2+ 32. Kf1 Qh1+ 33. Ke2 Qxa1 {and now White really has nothing better than to pull the plug and make the draw.} 34. Na6+ Ka8 35. Nc7+ Kb8 36. Na6+ $11) 22. Nxa6+ $1 bxa6 23. Rxc6 Rd7 (23... Bb7 24. Bxb5 $1 axb5 25. Nf5 $1 Qd7 26. Rxf6 $18) (23... Ka7 24. Rac1 Bb7 25. Nf5 $18) (23... Ka8 24. Nf5 $1 Bxf5 25. Bxb5 $1 axb5 26. Ra6+ Qa7 27. Qxb5 Rd7 (27... Rc8 28. Rxa7+ Kxa7 29. Qb6+ $18) (27... Ne4 28. Qc6+ Kb8 29. Rb6+ Qxb6 30. axb6 Rd6 31. Ra8#) 28. Rxa7+ Kxa7 (28... Rxa7 29. Qc6+ $18) 29. Qb6+ $18) (23... Rd6 24. Bxb5 axb5 25. Qxb5+ Ka8 26. Nf5 Bxf5 27. Qa6+ Qa7 28. Rxd6 Ne4 29. Qc6+ Qb7 30. Qxb7+ Kxb7 31. Rxd5 $18 {This is about the best Black can do, and it's not good at all.}) 24. Nf5 Qd8 25. Bxb5 axb5 26. a6 Ra7 27. Qxb5+ Ka8 28. Nd6 Bd7 {Either Sarana missed Pragg's next move or it was a gracious gesture to let his opponent finish in style.} (28... Qd7 29. Qc5 Ne4 30. Qxd5 $18) (28... h5 29. e4 dxe4 30. Rxc8+ Qxc8 31. Nxc8 Rxc8 32. Qf5 Nd7 33. Qxe4+ Kb8 34. Qd5 $18) 29. Qb7+ $1 (29. Qb7+ $1 Rxb7 30. axb7+ Kb8 31. Ra8#) 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.01"] [Round "12.4"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2680"] [BlackElo "2777"] [PlyCount "101"] [GameId "2140600129095175"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 {I'm not sure if there have been more games in this tournament with the Exchange Variation of the QGD than Italian Games, but it seems like it. Saints be praised!} 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Nge2 Nd7 8. Rc1 {This seems a bit random. Playing 7.Nge2 is typically about kingside expansion, and how does 8.Rc1 fit into this?} (8. h4) (8. Ng3 Bg6 9. h4) 8... Ngf6 (8... g5 $1 9. Bg3 h5 10. h3 h4 11. Bh2 Qb6 $11 {Now what in the world is the knight doing on e2?}) 9. Ng3 Bg6 10. h4 h5 11. Be2 Qb6 (11... Kf8 $1 12. O-O {½-½ Moiseenko,A (2667)-Jojua,D (2530) Dresden ZMD op 2010 (9)} Kg8 $1 $11 {gets the king out of the way without dropping the h-pawn.}) 12. Qd2 $11 (12. O-O $1 $14 {/?}) 12... Ng4 $2 {Gukesh is pushing the envelope. We saw what happened when Erigaisi played with too much contempt for Warmerdam a few rounds back, and even the World Champion can get can burned if he plays with fire. Van Foreest may not be in his class, but he's not a bum.} (12... O-O 13. O-O a5 $11) 13. Bg5 $14 (13. Bxg4 $1 hxg4 14. h5 Bh7 15. O-O O-O 16. Qd1 $1 f5 17. Na4 $16 {is pretty awful for Black if you ask the bishop on h7.}) 13... Bd6 14. Bf4 (14. Bxg4) 14... Be7 15. Bg5 {Is Van Foreest unduly afraid of Gukesh, or is he trying to goad him into playing something inferior to avoid the draw?} Qd8 $5 {No draw.} 16. f3 $1 Ngf6 17. O-O (17. e4 $142 dxe4 18. fxe4 O-O 19. e5 Nh7 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Nxh5 $14 {/? is nothing for Black to be happy about.}) 17... Nh7 (17... O-O) 18. Bxe7 (18. f4 $1 Nxg5 $8 19. fxg5 $1 $14) 18... Qxe7 $11 19. f4 $6 (19. Kf2 $11 {was better. The rook will go to h1, the bishop to d1, the c3-knight to e2 on its way to f4. It's a slow plan, but the board is closed enough for White to achieve it.}) 19... Qxh4 $1 20. Qe1 f5 $15 {The bishop is miserable, but White must either remain a pawn down to keep the bishop incarcerated or take on h5, giving the bishop an out.} 21. Nxh5 $6 Qe7 22. Bf3 Bxh5 23. Bxh5+ Kf8 $15 (23... Kd8 $142 $17) 24. Nd1 Nb6 25. Bg6 Qe6 26. Qb4+ Kg8 27. Bxh7+ Rxh7 28. Rf3 Re8 29. Nf2 Nc4 30. Nd3 Rh4 31. Ne5 $11 b5 32. Qc5 Qh6 33. Kf2 Re6 {The position is equal according to the computer, but it's getting very sharp. The players are in three-results territory, and in fact we'll see all three possibilities in the remaining moves.} 34. Rxc4 $5 dxc4 (34... bxc4 $142 {allows White to obtain a passed pawn after} 35. Qxa7 {, but it keeps more central control.} Qf6 $11) 35. Qxa7 $14 Qf6 $1 36. Rg3 (36. a4 $1) 36... Rh1 $11 37. Nd7 Qd8 38. Ne5 Re7 {Again, no draw. Gukesh fights to the end - sometimes taking it too far, but overall he gains far more points than he loses with this gladiatorial attitude.} 39. Qa6 $2 (39. Qa3 $8 $11) 39... Rxe5 $3 40. fxe5 f4 $1 $19 {Black is winning, but that doesn't mean it's easy.} 41. Rh3 fxe3+ 42. Ke2 {I had stopped watching the game for a while, and when I came back it was in this position. Within five seconds I thought, "take on h3, then on d4, right?" It's as obvious as can be, but I also recognized that White could give a bunch of checks and that his e-pawn can also play a role. So while my superficial assessment was correct, digging deeper makes it hard to be sure. Gukesh thought for a while here, and mistakenly chose something else.} Rb1 $4 (42... Rxh3 43. gxh3 Qxd4 44. Qc8+ Kf7 45. Qf5+ Ke7 46. Qg5+ Ke8 $1 47. Qh5+ Kd8 48. Qh8+ Kc7 49. Qxg7+ Kb6 {The job is essentially finished at this point. Here's a possible continuation, with Black winning comfortably:} 50. Kf3 Qxb2 51. Kxe3 Qc3+ 52. Ke4 Qd3+ 53. Kf4 Qd4+ 54. Kf5 c3 55. Qh8 c2 56. Qb8+ Ka5 57. Qc7+ Qb6 $19) 43. Qxc6 $18 {Threatening mate in two.} Rxb2+ $8 44. Kf3 $1 (44. Kxe3 $2 Qg5+ 45. Ke4 Re2+ 46. Kd5 Qxg2+ 47. Kd6 Qxh3 $19) 44... Qf8+ $8 45. Ke4 Rf2 $8 {The only move to keep the game going.} 46. Qe6+ Rf7 47. Rxe3 $2 {White understandably wants to eliminate Black's dangerous passer, but this gives away the win.} (47. Qg6 $1 {keeps a decisive advantage for White.} Qa8+ 48. d5 Qxa2 49. Qh7+ Kf8 50. Qh8+ Ke7 51. Qc8 {Threatening 52.d6#. Black does not have a perpetual check.} Qxg2+ 52. Kd4 Qb2+ 53. Kc5 Qxe5 54. Qb7+ $1 Kf6 55. Rf3+ Kg5 56. Rxf7 $18) 47... Qa8+ 48. d5 Qxa2 49. Qc8+ Rf8 50. Qe6+ Rf7 51. Qc8+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.01"] [Round "12.5"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E38"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2768"] [PlyCount "91"] [GameId "2140600129095176"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,91,19,7,15,11,11,17,21,5,15,12,12,20,11,8,17,17,10,62,6,31,17,55,48,67,44,46,59,111,53,72,58,78,55,43,70,33,62,77,61,61,64,44,74,74,67,65,45,73,192,266,313,358,252,351,257,248,232,191,261,269,239,311,312,120,107,112,112,103,82,65,77,110,109,228,228,262,215,111,228,250,216,155,166,199,186,178,204,189,189,211,206,260] Erigaisi gets his first win of the event, rather inconveniently for Abdusattorov's chances for first place in the tournament.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d6 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd3 c5 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. O-O Bxc3 9. Qxc3 Qe7 10. dxc5 dxc5 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. Qxe5 Rd8 13. Bc2 $14 Ng4 $6 $146 14. Qg3 $16 e5 15. f3 Nf6 16. b3 $16 {White has two nice bishops for free.} Nh5 17. Qf2 Bd7 18. Bb2 Bc6 19. Rad1 h6 20. h3 Nf6 21. Qg3 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Re8 23. a4 Nh5 24. Qf2 Qg5 $4 (24... b6 $16 {was better, as was pretty much any move maintaining the status quo.}) 25. g4 $1 f5 (25... Nf6 26. h4 {traps the queen. Black can get out with "only" the loss of his knight - e.g.} Nxg4 27. hxg5 Nxf2 28. Kxf2 hxg5 $18 {- but this is still entirely hopeless.}) 26. h4 Qg6 27. Bxf5 {This should be the end, but these guys are great fighters.} Qf7 28. Rd6 Nf6 29. g5 hxg5 30. hxg5 Nh5 31. Bg4 (31. Bh7+ $1 Kh8 32. Bg6 Qe7 33. Bxe8 Bxe8 34. Rd5 Qxg5+ 35. Kf1 $18) 31... Qe7 32. Rxc6 $4 {This gives away most of White's advantage.} (32. Rg6 $18) 32... bxc6 33. Bxh5 Qxg5+ 34. Bg4 e4 $16 {/+- Black still isn't safe - two bishops will normally crush a rook - but this is almost a new life for him compared to what he had before White's 32nd move.} 35. Kf1 $1 Qg6 $1 36. Qc2 $1 {Erigaisi has done a nice job of recovering.} Rf8 $2 (36... Qh7 $142 {was better, looking to bother White's king.} 37. Kg1 $8 Qg6 $1 {etc.}) 37. Qg2 $1 {Very nice, threatening 38.Be6+. White is in full control once more, and as long as he doesn't blunder between now and the time control he'll win the game.} exf3 38. Be6+ $1 Kh7 39. Qh3+ Qh6 40. Kf2 Rb8 {The time control has been made. Now White can work out the details and bring the game to an end.} 41. Bf5+ g6 42. Bxg6+ $1 {Not necessary, but this well-calculated pseudo-sac is the most effective blow.} Kxg6 43. Qe6+ $1 Kh5 44. Bf6 $1 {Threatening Qf5+, mating.} Qh7 45. Qe5+ Kg6 46. Qxb8 (46. Qxb8 Kxf6 {might seem fine for Black, but the problem is that White forces a queen trade to reach a dead won king and pawn ending after} 47. Qd6+ $1 Kg5 (47... Kf5 $4 48. Qd3+ $18) 48. Qf4+ $18 {and White checks on e4 or h2 next move, trading the queens.}) 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.01"] [Round "12.6"] [White "Warmerdam, Max"] [Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2646"] [BlackElo "2717"] [PlyCount "66"] [GameId "2140600129095177"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,66,22,25,0,4,-87,17,40,27,15,8,18,0,13,6,20,7,0,28,7,-4,-3,-12,-23,0,22,20,21,19,36,2,2,2,12,8,-40,24,20,14,16,14,15,17,-21,33,14,5,14,8,0,0,-7,-8,-1,-2,0,1,1,15,10,-244,-193,-166,-222,-159,-181,-152,1] Fedoseev has fallen out of the race for first, but this bounce-back win keeps him in clear fourth, only half a point behind Abdusattorov.} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 d5 3. cxd5 Qxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. d3 Nf6 6. Bg2 Be7 7. Nc3 Qd6 8. Bg5 $146 (8. O-O $14) 8... Nd4 9. Nd2 c6 10. O-O O-O 11. Nc4 $146 Qc7 12. e3 Nb5 13. Bxf6 (13. Nxb5 cxb5 14. Nd2 $14) 13... Bxf6 14. Ne4 Be7 15. a4 (15. Ned2 $14) 15... Nd6 16. Nexd6 Bxd6 17. a5 Rd8 (17... Be6 $11) 18. Qc2 (18. a6 $14) 18... a6 19. Nb6 Rb8 20. Nxc8 Rbxc8 $11 21. Ra4 Be7 22. Rd1 Rd6 23. Qb3 Rcd8 24. h4 g6 25. Bf3 h5 26. Kg2 Kg7 27. Qc3 (27. d4 $142 exd4 28. Raxd4 Rxd4 29. Rxd4 Rxd4 30. exd4 {is a draw for the asking.}) 27... Bf6 28. Qc2 Qd7 $11 {/? A little token pressure, nothing serious yet.} 29. Rb4 Be7 30. Qb3 $4 {Yes, there's pressure down the b-file. Black has *his* files, too, and the f-file has bigger game.} (30. d4 $11) 30... Rf6 $1 $19 {Discovering an attack on the rook and threatening ...Qf5. Just like that, White is lost.} 31. Rxb7 Qf5 32. Be4 Qxf2+ 33. Kh3 (33. Kh1 Qxg3 $19) 33... g5 $1 {Not the only winning move, but the best and most spectacular one.} (33... g5 $1 34. hxg5 h4 $3 35. gxf6+ Kh6 36. gxh4 Rg8 $19 {and the mate on g3 can only be delayed, not prevented.}) 0-1 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.01"] [Round "12.7"] [White "Mendonca, Leon Luke"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2639"] [BlackElo "2803"] [PlyCount "113"] [GameId "2140600129099274"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,113,19,23,22,104,22,31,9,8,12,15,24,5,8,33,37,3,40,47,19,-42,31,45,46,50,44,42,41,65,43,29,73,28,51,41,1,-7,-46,54,49,32,52,41,100,75,40,86,-8,36,34,70,36,82,70,67,67,56,113,113,108,110,126,114,104,66,72,69,73,71,108,114,42,12,17,110,111,125,113,68,60,68,65,72,42,69,-1,49,40,-1,36,-1,12,-59,-1,10,96,65,118,40,97,28,47,1,7,8,0,0,0,120,11,71,-1,58,-1,-1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {I spoke too soon in my comments to the Van Foreest-Gukesh game. That's okay, I can still mostly ignore this game and skip over the opening.} Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. a4 Bb4 7. O-O Bxc3 8. bxc3 d6 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Bb5 Ne7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. d4 Ng6 13. Re1 c6 14. Bf1 Qa5 15. Re3 Kh8 16. Nd2 Rg8 17. Rg3 Nf4 18. Nc4 Qc7 19. Ne3 d5 20. exd5 cxd5 21. c4 exd4 22. Qxd4 Qe5 23. Rd1 dxc4 24. Nxc4 Qxd4 25. Rxd4 Rxg3 26. hxg3 Ng6 27. Nd6 b6 28. Bc4 Kg7 29. Bxe6 fxe6 30. Rc4 f5 31. Rc7+ Kf6 32. Nc8 Ne5 33. f3 h5 34. Nxa7 Rd8 $2 (34... Ng6 $11) (34... Nc4 $11) 35. Nc8 Rd7 36. Rc3 $2 (36. Rxd7 Nxd7 37. Kf2 {may be winning for White; at a minimum, he's seriously better.} Kg5 38. Ke3 e5 39. c4 $18 {is big trouble for Black. One of White's ideas is to play c4-c5, as ...Nxc5 Nxb6 is great for White while ...bxc5 a5 gets the outside passer further up the board.}) 36... Rd1+ $1 37. Kh2 Nd7 38. Rc6 Rd4 39. Nxb6 Nxb6 40. Rxb6 Rxa4 {This ending is a routine draw, and Caruana saves the game without any further scares.} 41. Rc6 Ra1 42. c4 Rc1 43. c5 Kf7 44. f4 Kf6 45. Rc8 Kg7 46. c6 Kf7 47. c7 Kg7 {Forced, but elementary - everyone learns the Rh8 Rxc7 Rh7+ skewer trick in one of their first endgame lessons.} 48. g4 $5 hxg4 $1 (48... fxg4 $4 {loses, believe it or not.} 49. Kg3 Rc5 50. Kh4 Kh7 51. g3 Kg7 52. Re8 Rxc7 53. Rxe6 Rc5 54. Re5 $18) 49. Kg3 Rc2 50. Kh4 Rc3 51. Kg5 Rc1 52. g3 Rc2 53. Re8 Rxc7 54. Rxe6 Rc3 $1 {The only move once again.} 55. Kxf5 Rxg3 56. Rg6+ Kf7 57. Rxg4 {Black draws routinely after trading rooks, and even keeping rooks is an easy draw, though there's no reason why Black should do that.} 1/2-1/2