[Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.29"] [Round "12"] [White "Ganguly, Surya Shekhar"] [Black "L'Ami, Erwin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2627"] [BlackElo "2622"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Na4 Bb6 7. a3 O-O 8. O-O h6 9. h3 (9. Re1 Re8 10. b4 Ne7 11. h3 Ng6 12. Bb3 c6 13. Nxb6 axb6 14. d4 exd4 15. Qxd4 Be6 {Aronian,L (2772)-Matlakov,M (2674) Warsaw 2021}) 9... Re8 10. b4 Be6 11. Bxe6 Rxe6 12. Nxb6 $146 (12. c4 Nd4 13. Bb2 Nxf3+ 14. Qxf3 Nd7 15. Nxb6 axb6 16. a4 Rg6 17. Kh2 c5 {Angermann,I (1817)-Krammel,J (1699) GER email 2017} ) 12... axb6 13. c4 $2 {This is refuted nicely:} Nxb4 $1 14. Bxh6 Nxd3 $1 15. Ng5 Nc5 $1 16. Nxe6 Nxe6 17. Be3 Nxe4 {This is hardly a sacrifice.} 18. Qd5 Nf6 ({Keeping b7 with} 18... N6c5 {was also possible, but l'Ami decides to head straight into a promising endgame.}) 19. Qxb7 Ra4 20. Rfc1 Qa8 21. Qxa8+ Rxa8 22. a4 Ne4 23. Ra3 f5 24. f3 N4c5 25. Rca1 Nb7 26. g4 f4 27. Bf2 g5 28. Kg2 Na5 29. Rc1 Kf7 30. h4 gxh4 31. Bxh4 e4 32. fxe4 Nc6 33. Rh1 Ne5 34. Be1 Ng5 35. Rf1 f3+ 36. Kg3 Kg6 37. a5 bxa5 38. Rxa5 Rf8 39. Kf2 Nxg4+ 40. Kg3 Ne5 41. Kf2 Nxe4+ 42. Ke3 Ng5 43. Ra4 Ng4+ 44. Kd3 f2 45. Ba5 c5 46. Ra2 Rf3+ 47. Ke2 Re3+ 48. Kd1 Ne4 49. Bd2 Rd3 50. Ke2 Rb3 51. Bf4 Kf5 0-1 [Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.29"] [Round "12"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 c5 5. d5 b5 6. e4 d6 7. Bd2 (7. Nge2 bxc4 8. Nf4 g5 9. Nfe2 exd5 10. exd5 Qe7 11. Kf2 Nbd7 12. Ng3 Nb6 13. Nce4 h6 14. a3 Ba5 {Mamedyarov,S (2765)-Ding,L (2799) Chess.com 2021}) 7... a6 8. a4 bxc4 9. Bxc4 Nbd7 10. dxe6 fxe6 11. Bxe6 Ne5 12. Bxc8 Qxc8 13. Bf4 c4 14. Bxe5 dxe5 15. Nh3 Bc5 $146 (15... Qc5 16. Nf2 Bxc3+ 17. bxc3 Qe3+ 18. Kf1 Qxc3 19. Rc1 Qa3 20. Qc2 Rc8 {Basso,P (2538)-Alsina Leal,D (2500) Cattolica 2021}) 16. Qe2 Rb8 17. Nf2 Qb7 $6 {The first step in the wrong direction.} (17... Bd4 {is better.} ) 18. O-O Qxb2 19. Qxc4 $1 {A temporary piece sacrifice.} Bxf2+ 20. Kh1 Qb3 21. Qc7 $1 {Now e5 is attacked by the white queen and, also, 22.Rab1 is threatened, which would come, for example, if Black would castle.} ({Shankland said that his opponent probably counted on} 21. Qc6+ {when} Kf7 {actually holds or more than that.}) 21... Qb6 {What else?} 22. Qxe5+ Kf7 23. Nd5 $1 {It's all forced.} Nxd5 24. Qxd5+ Ke7 25. Qe5+ Kf7 26. Rac1 $1 (26. Rac1 Rhc8 {loses to} 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Qf5+) 1-0 [Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.29"] [Round "12"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O h6 7. Re1 O-O 8. Nbd2 Bb6 9. h3 Ne7 10. d4 (10. Bb3 Ng6 11. Nc4 Be6 12. Bc2 Bxc4 13. dxc4 Nh5 14. b4 Qf6 15. a4 a5 16. Ba3 Nhf4 {Volokitin,A (2677)-Caruana,F (2792) Warsaw 2021}) 10... Nc6 11. a4 exd4 $146 (11... a5 12. Ba2 exd4 13. Nc4 dxc3 14. Nxb6 c2 15. Qxc2 cxb6 16. Bd2 Be6 17. Bxe6 fxe6 18. Qb3 Qe8 {Alekseenko,K (2698)-Caruana,F (2842) Ekaterinburg 2021}) 12. cxd4 d5 $5 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. b3 Be6 15. Ne4 Re8 16. Bb2 Na5 17. Ne5 c6 18. Qf3 f6 19. Nd3 Bf7 20. Re2 Bc7 21. Rae1 b6 22. Bc1 Re6 23. Bd2 Nxc4 24. bxc4 Ne7 25. Bxh6 Qxd4 26. Qg4 $4 {A huge oversight, forgetting that Black's next move covers g7.} ({Mamedyarov said that after} 26. Bf4 {\"Black is still OK, maybe better, I don't know. I was happy with my position,\" but the engine disagrees and shows a sneaky way to win a pawn for White:} Bxf4 27. Nxf4 Re5 28. Qg4 $1 {(threatening 29.Nxf6+.)} Kf8 29. Nxf6 $1 Rxe2 (29... gxf6 $2 30. Ng6+) 30. Nh7+ Kg8 31. Rxe2) 26... f5 {Winning a piece in every line.} 27. Bxg7 Qxg7 28. Qxg7+ Kxg7 29. Ng5 Rxe2 30. Rxe2 Ng6 31. Ne6+ Bxe6 32. Rxe6 Rd8 33. Rxc6 Bb8 34. Ne1 Ne5 35. Re6 Kf7 36. Rh6 Rd1 37. Kf1 Nxc4 38. Rh4 Ne3+ 0-1 [Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.29"] [Round "12"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Ne7 $5 5. Nc3 ({Of course not} 5. Nxe5 $4 c6 {and, after the bishop moves, 6...Qa5+ wins the knight on e5—called by Rapport a \"kindergarten tactic.\"}) (5. O-O c6 6. Ba4 Ng6 7. Re1 Be7 8. d4 d6 9. c3 O-O 10. Nbd2 h6 11. Nf1 Re8 {Carlsen,M (2855)-Rapport,R (2760) Stavanger 2021}) 5... c6 6. Bc4 d6 7. O-O h6 8. d4 Qc7 9. Nh4 g5 $146 (9... g6 10. f4 exd4 11. Qxd4 Bg7 12. e5 dxe5 13. Bxf7+ Kxf7 14. fxe5 Rd8 {Saric,I (2689) -Fedorchuk,S (2626) Rio Achaea 2018}) 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Qf3 Bg7 12. Nf5 Bxf5 13. exf5 Rd8 14. Bd3 Ned5 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Be4 Nf6 17. c3 O-O 18. h3 Qb6 19. Qe2 Rd7 20. a4 Rfd8 21. Be3 Qc7 22. Qc4 Rd6 23. b4 b6 24. b5 Nxe4 25. Qxe4 cxb5 26. axb5 Qxc3 27. Rxa7 Qb3 28. Qb7 e4 29. Kh2 Rf8 30. Qxe4 Qxb5 31. Rb1 Qe5+ 32. Qxe5 Bxe5+ 33. g3 Rb8 34. Rb5 Bd4 35. Bxd4 Rxd4 36. Ra3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.01.29"] [Round "12"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2792"] [BlackElo "2865"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 {This is what we call the Classical Rossolimo. In the beginning, it was all about White expanding in the center.} Nf6 6. Re1 O-O 7. d4 d5 {Black naturally would not give the most vital part of the board without a fight.} 8. e5 Ne4 9. Be3 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qb6 11. Qe2 ({Another way to play the position was demonstrated by Kryvoruchko:} 11. Bxc6 Qxc6 12. Nfd2 Be6 13. f3 Nxd2 14. Qxd2 Rfc8 15. Nc3 Qa6 16. Ne2 Rc7 17. Nf4 Rac8 {although Black was fine at the end in Kryvoruchko,Y (2686) -Shevchenko,K (2632) Riga 2021}) 11... Bd7 12. Ba4 Rac8 13. Nc3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Qd8 $1 {A brilliant move that defends the bishop, thus preparing the knight maneuver via a5 towards the c4-square, while creating the tactical threats of Nc6xd4! and/or Nc6xe5!} 15. Bb3 ({Perhaps} 15. Rab1 {was to be preferred, when none of the tricks seem to work.} Nxd4 ({Similar is} 15... Nxe5 16. dxe5 Bxa4 17. Rxb7) ({The other idea behind the move is to meet} 15... Na5 {with} 16. Bxd7 Qxd7 17. Qb5 $1) 16. Bxd4 Bxa4 17. Rxb7) 15... Na5 $146 {Carlsen is strictly following his plan, but this move is surprisingly a novelty.} ({ Interestingly, there is an email predecessor up to this point that went:} 15... Bf5 16. Nh4 Be6 17. Bd2 Na5 18. f4 Nc4 19. Bxc4 Rxc4 20. f5 gxf5 21. Rf1 { and it was unclear in Brundisch,V (2067)-Taksrud,V (2090) ICCF email 2019}) 16. Rac1 Nxb3 {A hefty bishop pair has been acquired…} 17. axb3 {at the expense of the improved pawn structure for White. However, one should not forget that pieces almost always have priority to pawns.} Qb6 {Carlsen is trying to discourage the c3-c4 break, thus gaining stability.} ({The immediate} 17... a5 18. c4 a4 {was also possible but unclear.}) 18. Qa2 a5 19. Qa3 (19. c4 a4 20. Rb1 dxc4 21. bxc4 Qa6 {would have been similar to the game.}) 19... Rfe8 20. c4 dxc4 21. bxc4 Qa6 {At the end of the day, Black would provoke the advance of the c-pawn and this will promise his solid control of the light squares.} 22. c5 ({However, after moves like} 22. Qa2 b5) ({Or} 22. Nd2 b5 {White would have also experienced difficulties—as an outside passer(s) would be added as an asset to Black's treasure box.}) 22... Bc6 23. Rb1 a4 {\"I went for a somewhat risky plan here, as I have to spend some time later for Qa6-a8-c8, bringing the bishop back into the game.\" (Carlsen)} ({Wrong was the hunt for pawn weaknesses in the line} 23... Bxf3 $2 24. gxf3 Qe6 25. Qb3 Qh3 26. Qxb7) 24. Rec1 {Caruana has two major problems: his two minor pieces... None of them has any prospects—the bishop being particularly bad, but the knight too, does not have any good outposts. Take all the minors away and White would do great, but how to deal with them now?} ({Perhaps} 24. Nd2 Rcd8 25. Qc3 Qa8 26. f3 { would have been a minor improvement in comparison to the game.}) 24... Rcd8 25. Nd2 Qe2 {Black spots a chance and grabs it! The queen is heading toward the kingside.} 26. f3 ({The line} 26. Re1 Qh5 27. f3 f6 {opens the black bishops in his favor.}) ({But} 26. Nf3 {seems mandatory when} Bxf3 {does not win material due to} 27. Re1) 26... Rxd4 {\"The exchange sacrifice was screaming to be played.\" (Carlsen)} 27. Bxd4 Qxd2 28. Rd1 Qf4 {For the exchange, Black already got one pawn and is about to take a second one which, combined with his strong pieces, will promise him an edge. How serious that advantage would be is the question.} 29. Qb4 {The wrong plan according to the world champion.} ({Carlsen suggested instead} 29. Qb2 $5) ({Another idea was} 29. Bb2 $5 Bxe5 30. Bxe5 Qxe5 31. Rd2 {trying to survive the middlegame. With the queens on, White may make use of the open d-file and sometimes speculate with mating threats.}) 29... e6 30. Bc3 Qxb4 {\"It's very much in my interest to exchange queens there. My bishops are so strong in the endgame that he stands no chance. \" (Carlsen) Indeed, the strength of the bishop pair increases in the endgame.} 31. Bxb4 Bxe5 32. Ba3 {For the time being, the white rooks control the open files, but their functions are purely defensive. Whereas Black can soon open a file for his rook as well while protecting all the entry squares.} Bf6 33. Kf2 Be7 34. Rb6 Rc8 35. Rd2 f6 36. f4 e5 {Creates a passer at once while opening the f-file for his rook and the e6-square for the king.} (36... Kf7 $5 { Preparing h7-h6 and g6-g5 also looked great.}) 37. fxe5 fxe5 38. Re2 Rf8+ 39. Ke1 Rf5 40. Rb1 e4 41. Rc1 Bh4+ 42. g3 Bg5 43. Rb1 Rf3 {The black pieces steadily put the situation under control.} 44. Bc1 Bf6 45. Rb6 Rf5 ({Or the alternative win} 45... Bc3+ 46. Bd2 a3) 46. Ba3 Kf7 47. Rf2 Rf3 48. Rxf3 exf3 49. Kf1 Bd4 {And Caruana resigned as the second bishop is en route to the a6-f1 diagonal. 0-} 0-1