[Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.19"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2549"] [BlackElo "2742"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,53,19,17,19,6,6,6,34,14,19,-30,11,5,12,12,9,-1,24,19,19,14,14,21,12,13,12,8,16,16,43,22,31,34,30,0,9,16,16,36,22,8,8,18,5,13,18,15,13,20,16,16,16,16,16,16]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O c6 9. Bc3 d5 10. Nbd2 Nbd7 11. Qc2 (11. Re1 {is much more common, intending e4.}) 11... c5 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. e3 Qb6 14. Rfd1 Bb7 15. Rac1 {Here we've finally left GM territory, though we're not out of theory. The position has occurred in 10 previous games, nine of which were drawn and one was won by White. I don't know if Ju thought this sideline would be tricky for Black, or if she just thought it would be nice and solid and give her another half-point "upset". Anyway, Black seems to be fine here.} Rfd8 16. cxd5 exd5 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. Bxe5 Rac8 {Oddly, the play has transposed to a number of predecessors, almost all of which involve GM, including two superGM vs. superGM battles.} 19. Qf5 (19. Bb2 Qe6 20. Re1 h6 21. e4 d4 22. Nc4 Nd7 23. f4 Nb6 24. Bf1 Re8 25. Bd3 Bf8 26. Re2 Ba6 27. Ne5 Bxd3 28. Qxd3 Bd6 29. Nf3 Rb8 30. Rcc2 a5 31. Bc1 a4 32. f5 Qd7 33. Bf4 axb3 34. axb3 Ra8 35. Kg2 Bf8 36. Ne5 Qb7 37. Nf3 Nd7 38. Bc1 Nf6 39. e5 Nd5 40. e6 Nb4 41. exf7+ Qxf7 42. Rxe8 Rxe8 43. Qd2 Nxc2 44. Qxc2 Qd5 45. Kf2 {0-1 Ivanchuk,V (2704)-Leko,P (2723) Beijing Sportaccord blitz 2014 (21)}) 19... g6 20. Qf3 $146 {Finally, the game reaches new territory.} (20. Qf4 Nh5 21. Qg4 Nf6 22. Qf4 Nh5 23. Qf3 Qe6 24. Bb2 Rd7 25. Qe2 Bf6 26. Bxf6 Nxf6 27. Qb5 Rdc7 28. Qa4 Kg7 29. Qf4 h6 30. h4 Nh5 31. Qa4 Nf6 32. Qf4 Nh5 33. Qa4 {½-½ Wojtaszek,R (2750)-Karjakin,S (2785) Tata Steel-A 79th Wijk aan Zee 2017 (9)}) 20... Nd7 21. Ba1 Qe6 22. Qf4 Bd6 23. Qh6 Bf8 24. Qh4 Be7 25. Qh6 Bf8 26. Qh4 Be7 27. Qh6 ({White could have kept the game going with} 27. Qa4 $14 {, and probably should have.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.19"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2682"] [BlackElo "2725"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qf6 {This is becoming a popular alternative to the traditional main lines 4...Nf6 and 4...Bc5.} 5. Nb3 ({That said,} 5. Nxc6 Bc5 {transposes to one of the key variations within the 4...Bc5 line, while preventing White from choosing alternatives to 4...Bc5 5.Nxc6, e.g. 5.Be3 and 5.Nb3.}) (5. Ne2 {is a funny-looking move that has received some recent attention. The idea is to meet} Bc5 {with} 6. Nf4 {, when depending on how things go the knight may retreat to d3 or (ideally) jump to d5 or h5.}) 5... Qg6 6. f3 Bd6 {This looks clumsy but the bishop will soon move again, freeing the d-pawn.} (6... Nf6) 7. Nc3 Nge7 (7... Bxh2 $4 {is a nice trap that has caught several victims, including a couple of GMs.} 8. Rxh2 $1 Qg3+ 9. Ke2 Qxh2 10. Nd5 $18 {and there's no sensible defense to the threatened Bf4.}) 8. f4 Bb4 9. f5 Qf6 10. Bd3 {White had gone 5-0 here in prior games, but White's advantage is minimal at best. What matters is that it's a fresh position, rewarding preparation and over-the-board creativity. This favors the stronger player, and in this case it's Gukesh.} Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Qxc3+ 12. Bd2 Qf6 13. O-O d6 14. Kh1 $146 Bd7 {The chances are approximately equal. In return for the pawn and Black's potential outpost on e5, White has the bishop pair, a little more space, and the opportunity to attack in whichever direction Black chooses to send his king. (Indeed, it's for that reason that Black is deliberate about castling.)} 15. a4 Ne5 16. Qe1 N7c6 17. Rb1 a5 18. Nc1 Nb4 $1 {Offering to return the pawn - an offer White correctly refuses.} 19. Qg3 (19. Bxb4 $2 axb4 20. Qxb4 O-O 21. Qxb7 Rfc8 $17 {Now it's White who's a pawn up - but Black has loads of compensation. The a4-pawn is weak, White's bishop is bad (severely constrained by all the white pawns on light squares), White's pieces are uncoordinated, etc.}) 19... h6 20. Ne2 g5 $2 {Ambitious, but objectively bad. Black's aim is to open lines on the kingside, then castle queenside and attack. Not a bad idea in the abstract, but there are concrete problems.} (20... Bxa4) ({and} 20... O-O-O {were sane alternatives maintaining approximate equality.}) 21. fxg6 Qxg6 22. Qf2 $4 {This is not the problem.} (22. Qe3 $1 $16 {is best - why give up the pawn? Next comes Nf4, and White starts going forward. (Note that Nf4 also defends g2, so White doesn't have to waste a tempo with a different move in response to 22...Rg8.}) 22... Nbxd3 23. cxd3 Nxd3 $19 24. Qd4 {Maybe White thought this forced 24...Ne5, when White would be the boss after 25.Nf4 followed by 26.Nd5?} Rg8 $1 $19 25. Ng3 (25. Qxd3 $4 Qxg2#) 25... Nc5 $1 {The right square for the knight. It covers b7 and hits the pawns on a4 and e4.} 26. e5 {This is the only potential drawback of Black's last move, but it can be handled.} Ne6 $6 $17 {This keeps a significant advantage, but it wasn't best.} (26... Bc6 $1 27. exd6 Qxd6 28. Rbe1+ Kd8 $1 $19 {leaves White surprisingly devoid of ways to bother Black's king - which could, if need be, tuck in on b7 (...Kc8, ...b6, ...Kb7).}) 27. Qb2 $2 (27. Qh4 $1 $17 {was necessary, keeping Black's king in the center.}) 27... Bc6 $19 28. exd6 O-O-O $1 {Now White is in deep trouble. Black's king is safe, while White's king is anything but.} 29. dxc7 Rd4 $6 (29... Rd3 $142 $1 $19 {Black wants to play ...h5-h4, but ...Rxg3 ideas obviously merit a look. This move also leaves the d4 square open to Black's knight.}) 30. Rbc1 Rh4 {Threatening both 31...Qxg3 and 31...Rxh2+ 32.Kxh2 Qxg3+ and 33...Qxg2#.} 31. Rc3 Nc5 $2 $17 {Surprisingly, this is an error.} (31... h5 $1 32. Qb6 Nxc7 $19 {Black's king is safe, so next he'll play ...Rxa4 and then ...h4.}) 32. Re3 $1 Rxa4 33. Rf6 Qg7 34. Bc3 Qg5 35. Qe2 $2 (35. Re2 $1 Nd3 $1 36. Qc2 Qc1+ 37. Qxc1 Nxc1 38. Rb2 Nd3 39. Rd2 Nf4 $17 {White's position remains unpleasant, but it's defensible.}) 35... Ne6 $19 36. Rf5 $2 (36. Qd2 $1 Qd5 $1 37. Rd3 Qa2 38. Bb2 Nxc7 $19) 36... Bxg2+ $1 37. Kg1 (37. Kxg2 Qxf5 $19) (37. Qxg2 Qxe3 $19) 37... Qxf5 $1 38. Nxf5 Bf3+ 39. Kf2 Bxe2 40. Ne7+ Kxc7 41. Be5+ Kb6 42. Nxg8 Bh5 43. Nxh6 Nc5 {Black is up two pawns, and although the position has a somewhat ragged look to it Black's pieces coordinate surprisingly well.} 44. Kg3 Ne4+ 45. Kf4 Bg6 {Everything is protected, so Black can play ...Ka6, ...b5 and roll the pawns in (relative) peace.} 0-1 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.19"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2769"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,87,19,17,27,-10,2,-5,9,18,22,22,22,21,68,21,67,35,52,-45,10,-31,-28,-30,-6,-3,5,5,27,27,24,-31,-36,-43,-18,-22,-34,-33,-45,-42,-64,-19,-57,-53,-24,-26,14,-5,-5,-5,11,19,12,17,17,7,49,57,48,34,31,36,62,64,96,63,99,83,133,138,138,138,133,124,122,124,146,133,191,121,140,139,145,142,142,147,146,146,143,120]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. c4 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nc3 Nc7 7. a3 g6 8. h4 Bg4 9. Na4 b6 $146 (9... c4 10. Nc5 Bg7 11. O-O Qc8 12. d4 cxd3 13. Qxd3 O-O 14. Be3 Ne6 15. Nxe6 Bxe6 16. Qb5 Qc7 17. Ng5 Bd7 18. Rac1 a6 19. Qb3 h6 20. Ne4 Be6 21. Qa4 Bxb2 22. Rc5 Bg7 23. h5 Rad8 24. hxg6 fxg6 25. Nc3 Qd7 26. Qe4 Bf5 27. Qc4+ Kh7 28. Nd5 Qd6 29. Bf4 e5 30. Be3 Nd4 31. Bxd4 exd4 32. Qb4 Rf7 33. Nf4 Bf8 34. Qb3 Qf6 35. Rd5 Rc7 36. a4 Bd6 37. Qb6 Be5 38. Qxf6 Bxf6 39. Rxf5 gxf5 40. Ne6 Rc4 {½-½ Gukesh,D (2732)-Narayanan,S (2660) Sharjah Masters 6th 2023 (3)}) 10. h5 Bg7 11. h6 Bd4 12. Nh2 Bd7 13. e3 Bf6 14. Ng4 Bxg4 15. Qxg4 Ne5 16. Qe4 Qd7 17. O-O (17. d4 $1 cxd4 18. f4 $1 Nc4 $1 19. Qc6 Rc8 $1 20. Qxc4 Ne6 21. Qb4 O-O 22. O-O b5 23. e4 $1 bxa4 24. e5 Bh8 $11 {is a crazy line that might get tested someday.}) 17... Rd8 18. Nc3 O-O 19. b4 Nd3 20. Rb1 {Excepting the possible small improvement on move 17, both sides have been playing very well. I'm sure of the game was prep past move 9, but I don't know how far they went before they were on their own.} Bg5 21. bxc5 Nxc5 22. Qc4 Nd3 (22... Qd3 $11) 23. a4 Bxh6 24. Ba3 Bg7 25. a5 Rc8 (25... Rb8 26. Bxe7 Rfc8 27. axb6 Rxb6 28. Rxb6 axb6 29. Nd5 Nxd5 30. Qxd3 Qxe7 31. Bxd5 Rd8 32. Rb1 Rd6 {is ostensibly equal, but I'm reminded of the Giri-Gukesh game from round 4 that was similarly "equal" before Giri ground him down.}) 26. axb6 axb6 27. Bxe7 Qxe7 (27... Rfe8 $142 $1 28. Bc6 Qxe7 29. Bxe8 Ne5 $1 30. Bxf7+ $1 Kh8 $1 31. Qf4 Nxf7 32. Rxb6 $11) 28. Qxd3 $16 {White is comfortably better now.} Rfd8 29. Qe4 $1 Qa3 30. Ra1 Qc5 31. Na4 (31. Rac1 $142 $1 $16 Rxd2 $4 32. Nb1 $18) 31... Qd6 $14 32. d4 Nb5 33. Rab1 Nxd4 $5 {Not best, but ingenious and tricky.} (33... Nc3 34. Nxc3 Rxc3 $14) 34. exd4 Bxd4 35. Kh1 $1 Qf6 $1 36. Qf3 $6 (36. Rb3 $142 $1 Ra8 $1 37. Qc6 Qe5 $1 38. Nxb6 Rab8 39. Kg1 Qc5 40. Qxc5 Bxc5 41. Rfb1 Rd2 42. Nc4 Bxf2+ 43. Kf1 Rxb3 44. Rxb3 Ra2 45. Bd5 Bd4 $1 46. Rf3 Ra7 47. Nd6 $14 {/? is not an automatic draw for Black.}) 36... Qxf3 37. Bxf3 Rc2 $11 38. Kg2 Ra2 39. Bd1 (39. Nxb6 Rb8 40. Bd5 Re2 $8 (40... Rc2 $2 41. Be4 Ra2 42. Nc4 Rxb1 43. Bxb1 $18) 41. Kf3 Rc2 {Now 42.Be4 is met by 42...Rc3+ followed by taking the knight.} 42. Nc4 Rxb1 43. Rxb1 Rxf2+ 44. Ke4 Bc5 $11 {/? This version (compare the 36.Rb3 line given above) Black should hold.}) 39... Rd2 40. Bf3 Rc8 41. Nxb6 Rcc2 42. Be4 Rxf2+ 43. Rxf2 Rxf2+ 44. Kh1 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.19"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "126"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,126,17,17,18,-10,23,20,34,4,33,35,41,-3,40,40,22,13,3,-39,-3,-32,57,57,57,55,55,56,64,53,53,53,53,47,49,34,76,80,88,83,83,83,50,67,51,51,65,47,57,48,77,60,120,56,60,49,49,49,49,49,44,50,52,57,57,57,68,89,102,104,104,105,105,111,111,110,105,106,101,102,102,102,102,105,122,125,112,92,103,86,104,104,104,104,104,104,104,104,108,104,104,104,104,104,104,100,92,92,92,92,24,0,24,16,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. h3 Bh5 5. c4 e6 6. d4 Nd7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Nc3 Ngf6 9. Ne5 {Only two predecessors - both Warmerdam games.} Bd6 $146 (9... Nxe5 10. dxe5 Nd7 11. f4 (11. O-O Bc5 12. Na4 Qe7 13. Nxc5 Nxc5 14. Be3 O-O 15. Rc1 Nd7 16. g4 Bg6 17. f4 f5 18. g5 Bh5 19. Rf2 Rf7 20. b4 Nb6 21. Bxb6 axb6 22. b5 Qe8 23. Qb3 Re7 24. bxc6 bxc6 25. Rxc6 Qxc6 26. Bxd5+ Bf7 27. Bxc6 Bxb3 28. Bxa8 Bxa2 29. e4 Be6 30. Bd5 fxe4 31. Bxe6+ Rxe6 32. Rc2 b5 33. Kf2 Rb6 34. Rc8+ Kf7 35. f5 b4 36. e6+ Ke7 37. Rg8 g6 38. Rg7+ Ke8 39. Rg8+ Ke7 40. Rg7+ Ke8 41. Rxh7 gxf5 42. g6 e3+ 43. Ke2 Rxe6 44. Rh8+ {1-0 Warmerdam,M (2613)-Slagboom,L (2098) Maastricht Limburg op 14th 2022 (5)}) 11... f5 12. Qc2 g6 13. Be3 Qa5 14. Rc1 Be7 15. O-O Nb6 16. Kh2 O-O 17. Rfd1 Rad8 18. Bf2 Kh8 19. a3 Nc4 20. Rd3 g5 21. Na4 h6 22. b3 Nxa3 23. Qb2 Nb5 24. Nc5 Qb6 25. b4 Rf7 26. Kg1 Rg8 27. Ne6 d4 28. Nxd4 Nxd4 29. Bxd4 c5 30. e6+ cxd4 31. exf7 Rd8 32. e3 Bf6 33. Rc5 Bxf7 34. exd4 gxf4 35. gxf4 Qd6 36. Qd2 Bxd4+ 37. Kh1 Bxc5 38. Rxd6 Rxd6 39. Qc3+ Bd4 40. Qc7 {1-0 Warmerdam,M (2595)-Van den Doel,E (2604) NED-ch KO Hoogeveen 2021 (3.2)}) 10. f4 $146 {? The opening has been a total success for Giri.} Bg6 11. O-O Be4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Qb3 Bxe5 $2 (14... O-O $1 15. Qxb7 Nb6 {had to be tried.}) 15. dxe5 $18 Nb6 16. Qb4 (16. Be3 $142) 16... Qd5 (16... Qe7 $142 17. Qxe4 O-O) 17. b3 (17. Be3 $142) 17... O-O-O $1 $16 18. Be3 Qe6 (18... f6 $1) 19. Kh2 f6 20. Qxe4 (20. Qa3 $1 $18) 20... fxe5 21. fxe5 $2 (21. f5 $16 {/+- kept a sizeable plus.}) 21... Rd5 (21... Rhe8 $142 $14) 22. Bd4 $14 {/?} Nd7 23. Rf2 (23. Rf3 $142) 23... Re8 24. Raf1 Qg6 (24... g6 $11 {/?}) 25. Qe3 $2 (25. Qxg6 $142 hxg6 26. Bc3 Nxe5 27. Rf8 $16) 25... b6 $2 (25... Nxe5 $1 26. Rf8 Rdd8 $1 27. Rxe8 Rxe8 28. Bxe5 Qh5 $11) 26. b4 $6 (26. Rf7 $1 Nxe5 27. Rf8 $1 {gives White a better version of the 25...Nxe5 line now that Black's c-pawn is no longer covered by the b-pawn.} Rdd8 $8 28. Rxe8 Rxe8 29. Bxe5 Qh5 30. Qe4 $1 Qxe5 31. Qxc6+ Kb8 32. Rf2 h5 $1 33. h4 g5 $1 34. hxg5 (34. Kh3 gxh4 35. Kxh4 Qd4+ 36. Rf4 Qd8+ 37. Qf6 $16 Qxf6+ $2 {This draws easily in the game version with White's pawn on b4; here, it's losing.} 38. Rxf6 Rxe2 39. Kxh5 Rxa2 40. g4 $18 {With White's pawn on b4, 40...a5 draws. Here, Black is too slow, and White wins.}) 34... h4 35. Qf3 Rg8 36. g6 Qxg3+ 37. Qxg3+ hxg3+ 38. Kxg3 Rxg6+ 39. Kf4 Rf6+ 40. Ke3 Re6+ 41. Kf3 Rf6+ 42. Kg2 $14 {/? Black should still save this ending, but without swapping off queenside pawns it will be more difficult - compare the game continuation and the note to move 36.}) 26... Nxe5 27. Rf8 Rdd8 28. Rxe8 Rxe8 29. Bxe5 Qh5 30. Qe4 Qxe5 31. Qxc6+ Kb8 32. Rf2 $11 {/? This is almost exactly identical to to the 26.Rf7 line; the only difference is that White's pawn is on b4 rather than b3. But that little bit of looseness has some importance.} h5 $1 33. h4 g5 $1 34. hxg5 (34. Kh3 gxh4 35. Kxh4 Qd4+ 36. Rf4 Qd8+ 37. Qf6 Qxf6+ 38. Rxf6 Rxe2 39. Kxh5 Rxa2 40. g4 a5 $1 $11) 34... h4 $1 35. Qf3 Rg8 $1 36. g6 Qd6 $2 (36... Qxg3+ 37. Qxg3+ hxg3+ 38. Kxg3 Rxg6+ 39. Kf3 Rf6+ 40. Ke3 Re6+ 41. Kf3 Rf6+ 42. Kg2 Rg6+ 43. Kf1 Rg4 $1 {a meaningless move with the pawn on b3, but here it lets Black reach an easily drawn ending.} 44. a3 a5 45. bxa5 bxa5 $11) 37. Kh3 $18 hxg3 38. Qxg3 $2 (38. Qf6 $3 {would have won, but it's not easy to play this zwischenzug when (presumably) short of time.} Rxg6 (38... gxf2 $4 {would be great, were} 39. Qxd6+ $18 {not a check.}) (38... Qc7 39. Qf8+ $1 Kb7 (39... Rxf8 40. Rxf8+ Kb7 41. Rf7 $18) 40. Qxg8 gxf2 41. Qd5+ Kb8 42. Kg2 $18) (38... Qd2 39. Qe5+ Ka8 40. Qe4+ Kb8 41. Rf4 $1 $18 {Preventing ...Qh6+ ideas.}) 39. Qh8+ $1 Kb7 40. Rf7+ $1 Ka6 41. Qc8+ Kb5 42. Rf5+ Kxb4 43. a3+ $1 {The only winning move! (I'm reminded a little of Kasparov's 33.c3+ in his "immortal" game vs. Topalov from Wijk aan Zee back in 1999.)} Kxa3 44. Qc3+ Ka4 45. Qc4+ Qb4 46. Qa2+ Qa3 47. Rf4+ {and wins.}) 38... Qxg3+ 39. Kxg3 Rxg6+ {Now we reach the drawn ending discussed above. It might be drawn even with the pawn on b3, but White's chances would be considerably greater in that case.} 40. Kf4 Rf6+ 41. Ke3 Re6+ 42. Kd4 Rd6+ 43. Ke5 Rd2 $11 44. a4 a6 45. b5 axb5 46. axb5 Rb2 47. Kd6 Rxb5 48. e4 Rb4 49. e5 Rd4+ 50. Ke7 b5 51. e6 Kc7 52. Rf5 b4 (52... Kc6 {is also good enough.}) 53. Kf8 Re4 54. e7 Kd7 $1 {The only move.} (54... Kc6 $2 55. e8=Q+ Rxe8+ 56. Kxe8 {loses for Black. The problem is that his king can't cross the 5th rank to support the pawn, and the moment he pushes the b-pawn White plays Rf3 followed by Rb3, winning the pawn. Trying to temporize won't help either - White's king will quickly finish matters.} Kb6 57. Kd7 $1 {Best.} Ka6 58. Kc7 $1 {Likewise. Now Black either pushes (and loses) the b-pawn, or gets mated next move.}) 55. Rf7 Kc6 56. e8=Q+ (56. Rf5 Kd7 $1 {repeats.}) 56... Rxe8+ 57. Kxe8 Kc5 58. Kd7 b3 59. Rf1 Kc4 60. Kd6 b2 61. Ke5 Kd3 62. Rb1 Kc2 63. Rxb2+ Kxb2 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.19"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Wei, Yi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D48"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,91,17,17,27,6,6,15,15,6,38,13,59,45,63,36,45,-30,-26,-23,-26,-7,-31,-31,-18,-23,-18,-25,-28,-32,-29,-27,7,-3,10,-15,-18,-19,-19,-16,-26,-21,-28,-14,-2,-7,27,27,27,9,27,46,72,96,96,87,94,96,90,76,112,73,73,66,85,73,119,86,113,123,123,123,121,127,150,118,140,110,113,111,129,122,143,134,134,149,151,159,143,166,199,178,313,333]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. e3 {Avoiding the "Berlin".} (5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 {etc.}) 5... dxc4 {Turning the game into a Queen's Gambit Accepted. This is not forced, but the advantage of this move order (for Black) compared to 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 etc. is that White has already committed the knight to c3.} 6. Bxc4 a6 7. Bd3 (7. O-O) (7. a4) (7. Bb3) 7... Nbd7 8. Qe2 {Almost a novelty, though a queen on e2 in a QGA is pretty common.} (8. O-O b5 9. a4 b4 $11 {is fine for White - the position is equal - but here we see why it would have been nice for White to head for such a line with his knight still on b1.}) 8... b5 {Transposing to lots of (relatively old) games.} 9. O-O Bb7 {And now we're back in main line theory - 1230 predecessors.} 10. Rd1 Bd6 (10... Qc7 {is far more common.}) 11. dxc5 Bxc5 {The correct recapture, albeit at the cost of a tempo.} 12. h3 O-O 13. e4 {Transposing to a very recent game.} Qc7 14. Be3 Rac8 15. Rac1 Bxe3 16. Qxe3 Qb6 17. Nd4 $146 {The players are finally on their own (or at least breaking new ground as far as the databases are concerned).} (17. Qxb6 Nxb6 18. a3 Rfd8 19. Ne5 Ne8 20. Ng4 Kf8 21. f3 Ke7 22. Kf2 Rd7 23. Ne3 Rdc7 24. Rc2 Nf6 25. Rdc1 Kf8 26. Nb1 Rxc2+ 27. Rxc2 Rxc2+ 28. Bxc2 e5 29. Nd2 Bc8 30. b4 Be6 {½-½ Aronian,L (2723)-Gukesh,D (2720) Chennai 2023 (1)}) 17... Ne5 $11 18. Be2 Rfd8 19. f3 h5 $1 {With all White's kingside pawns on light squares (and lacking a dark-squared bishop) it makes sense for Black to go for ...h4, ...Nh5, ...g5 and so on to conquer the dark squares.} 20. Kf2 h4 (20... Ng6 21. Nf5 Qxe3+ 22. Nxe3 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 h4 $11) 21. Nb3 Qxe3+ 22. Kxe3 g5 (22... Rxd1 $142 23. Nxd1 Rxc1 24. Nxc1 g5) 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Nc5 (24. Na5 $142 $14 {followed by a4 gives White an edge.}) 24... Bc8 $6 (24... Rb8 $1) 25. a4 $14 Nfd7 26. Nxd7 (26. Rd1 $1) 26... Bxd7 27. axb5 axb5 28. Nxb5 Ng6 $2 (28... Rb8 29. Rc5 f6 30. b3 Ng6 $44) 29. Rd1 $16 (29. Nc7 $16) 29... Kf8 30. b4 Ke7 31. Nc3 Rc8 32. Kd2 Ne5 (32... Nf4 $142) 33. b5 Kd6 $2 {Black's king is going in the wrong direction. It won't be able to stop White's progress on the queenside, and by leaving White's kingside along it's going to be Firouzja who has all the fun.} (33... Be8 34. Kc2 Kf6 $1 35. Kb3 Rb8 36. Kb4 (36. Ka4 $6 Nd7 $1 $132 {[%CAl Bf6e5,Be5f4] allows Black's king to break into White's camp through e5 and f4.}) 36... Nc6+ 37. Kc4 Na5+ 38. Kd4 Nb3+ 39. Ke3 Ke5 $16) 34. Kc2+ $18 Kc7 35. Kb3 Rb8 36. Kb4 {From here it's all one-way traffic.} Be8 37. Na4 Nc6+ 38. Kc5 Ne5 39. Rc1 Rd8 40. Kb4+ Kb7 41. Rc5 f6 42. Rc2 Rd6 43. Ka5 f5 44. Nc5+ Ka7 45. Na6 Bd7 46. exf5 (46. exf5 exf5 47. Rc7+ Ka8 48. f4 $1 gxf4 49. Rc5 {White will ransack Black's kingside, leaving Black to worry about that in addition to White's b-pawn and his (Black's) nearly mated king.}) 1-0 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.19"] [Round "6.6"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,59,17,17,17,6,12,25,22,14,45,46,50,35,50,17,69,53,80,71,40,44,54,48,61,58,78,56,59,45,58,58,58,27,69,69,68,46,66,69,92,89,80,13,26,13,13,24,37,25,21,38,20,30,34,32,22,22,24,24,32,32]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 {Speak of the QGA (see the last game, Firouzja-Wei Yi), here it is in its "proper" form.} 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 {Note that White is in no hurry to develop the b1-knight.} 7. b3 {Less popular than the following alternatives, but even so there are more than 1500 games from this position in the database. Note that none of these four lines see White developing the b1-knight.} (7. dxc5) (7. a4) (7. Bb3) ({and} 7. Qe2 {are all normal moves.}) 7... b6 (7... cxd4 {is the main move, and}) (7... b5 {(followed by ...Bb7 and/or ...Nbd7) is second.}) 8. Ba3 Nbd7 9. d5 exd5 10. Bxd5 Rb8 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Nc3 {Finally! Here ...b5-b4 isn't much of a worry, and even so it's coming.} b5 $146 (12... O-O 13. Qc2 b5 14. Rfd1 Qc7 15. Be4 (15. a4 h6 16. axb5 axb5 17. Qe2 Qb6 18. e4 Re8 19. Qd2 Bf8 20. Qf4 b4 21. Na4 Nxd5 22. Rxd5 Qe6 23. Rad1 Ra8 24. Qc1 Qxe4 25. h3 Ra7 26. Qd2 Qg6 27. Nh4 Qe6 28. Nf5 c4 29. Qd4 Nf6 30. Nb6 c3 31. Nxc8 Qxd5 32. Qxd5 Nxd5 33. Nxa7 cxb2 34. Rb1 Re2 {0-1 Praggnanandhaa,R (2612)-Carlsen,M (2865) Tata Steel-A 84th Wijk aan Zee 2022 (7)}) 15... Nb6 16. Bd3 Bg4 17. Ne4 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Nfd5 19. Ng3 g6 20. Be4 Rfd8 21. f4 Rbc8 22. a4 bxa4 23. Bxd5 Nxd5 24. Rxd5 Rxd5 25. Qc3 f6 26. Qc4 Qb7 27. e4 Qxb3 28. Qxd5+ Kf8 29. Qxb3 axb3 30. Rxa6 Rd8 31. Bxf6 c4 32. Bc3 Rd3 33. Ne2 b2 34. Bxb2 Rd2 35. Nc3 Rxb2 36. Rc6 Bh4 37. f3 Bf2+ 38. Kh1 h5 39. Rxc4 h4 40. Rc8+ Kg7 41. Rc7+ Kh6 42. Nd5 h3 43. Rc1 Kg7 44. e5 Kf7 45. f5 gxf5 46. Nf4 Bd4 47. e6+ Ke7 48. Re1 Bc5 49. Nd5+ Ke8 50. e7 Bxe7 51. Nxe7 Rf2 52. Nxf5+ Kf7 53. Nh4 Kf6 54. Kg1 Ra2 55. Re4 Kg5 56. Rg4+ Kh5 57. Ng6 {1-0 Le,Q (2728)-Aronian,L (2759) Julius Baer GenCup Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (9)}) 13. e4 O-O 14. Re1 $146 (14. Qc2 b4 {As advertised.} 15. Ne2 Nxd5 16. exd5 Bf6 17. Rfd1 Re8 18. Rac1 Bxb2 19. Qxb2 Qf6 20. Qxf6 Nxf6 21. Ng3 Rb5 22. h3 Kf8 23. d6 Nd7 24. Nd2 Re6 25. Nc4 g6 26. Nf1 Ke8 27. f3 Kd8 28. Kf2 Bb7 29. Nfe3 Bc6 30. Re1 h5 31. h4 Rb8 32. Nf1 Bd5 33. Nfd2 Rc8 34. Rxe6 Bxe6 35. Na5 Bd5 36. Re1 Be6 37. Ne4 Ke8 38. Ng5 Nf8 39. Nc4 Rc6 40. g4 a5 41. gxh5 gxh5 42. f4 Kd7 43. Nxf7 Ra6 44. f5 Bxf5 45. Re7+ Kc6 46. Nfe5+ Kd5 47. Rf7 {1-0 Mamedyarov,S (2759)-Aronian,L (2775) FTX Road to Miami Prelim chess24.com INT 2022 (1.5)}) 14... Nxd5 ({There's nothing wrong with} 14... b4 {here.}) (14... c4 $1 {is good too - maybe even Black's best.}) 15. Nxd5 Bb7 16. Qc2 Bxd5 17. exd5 Bf6 18. d6 Bxb2 19. Qxb2 Qf6 20. Qxf6 Nxf6 21. Rac1 {Essentially a draw offer, signaling his willingness to swap his d-pawn for Black's c-pawn. Once that happens, the structure is symmetrical and the situation is simple.} (21. Ne5) ({and} 21. Rad1 {keep some complexity. For example:} Rfd8 22. Ne5 Rb6 23. d7 Kf8 24. Rd3 {gives White some advantage unless Black finds} Ng8 $1 {, e.g.} 25. Rc3 (25. Rde3 Nf6 26. Rd3 Ng8 $11) (25. Red1 Ne7 26. Rd6 Rxd6 27. Rxd6 f6 28. Nd3 Nf5 29. Rd5 Ne7 30. Rd6 Nf5 $11) 25... f6 26. Nd3 Rxd7 27. Nxc5 Rd2 $11) 21... Rfd8 22. Rxc5 Rxd6 23. g3 Kf8 24. Kg2 Rbd8 25. a4 bxa4 26. bxa4 Rd5 27. Rc7 R8d7 28. Rc8+ Rd8 29. Rc7 R8d7 30. Rc8+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.19"] [Round "6.7"] [White "Warmerdam, Max"] [Black "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E92"] [WhiteElo "2625"] [BlackElo "2643"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,83,17,-22,6,-2,35,17,42,48,44,47,43,40,42,13,23,11,55,37,61,20,31,31,26,4,2,-1,10,-7,-12,-2,16,17,17,6,21,19,9,-37,14,26,32,-51,-10,-10,38,62,51,60,90,-13,45,61,60,53,211,197,231,216,190,211,232,209,229,181,181,153,153,224,147,153,207,213,279,202,208,225,375,366,465,494,581,409,459,495]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. Nf3 e5 7. d5 (7. O-O exd4 {was played in Ding Liren vs. Donchenko from round 2 (drawn in 37 moves).}) 7... a5 8. Be3 Ng4 (8... Na6 9. Nd2 Nd7 {is a very different approach.}) 9. Bg5 f6 10. Bh4 Na6 (10... Nh6 {is an important alternative.}) 11. Nd2 Nh6 12. f3 Bd7 (12... Nf7) 13. a3 Qe8 14. Rb1 a4 $146 15. Nb5 $16 Bxb5 16. cxb5 Nc5 17. Rc1 b6 18. Bf2 f5 19. Rc4 {For the moment at least, White has everything under control.} Nf7 20. Qc2 $1 (20. Bxc5 $2 dxc5 21. Rxa4 {is a temptation to avoid.} Rxa4 22. Qxa4 Nd6 $11 {followed by ...Qd8 and ...Bh6 gives Black terrific compensation thanks to his control of the dark squares. White's extra pawn won't mean anything for a long time.}) 20... Qd7 21. Nb1 $1 {Looking to snap up the a-pawn without surrendering the f2-bishop.} fxe4 22. fxe4 h5 $2 (22... Bh6 $1 23. Nc3 Nd8 $1 {is best, but the following lines can only be anticipated by an engine.} 24. O-O Qe7 25. Bd1 $1 Qd7 26. Nxa4 Qxb5 27. Be2 Rxf2 $1 28. Rxf2 Nxa4 29. b3 Qe8 (29... Nc5 30. Rc3 Qe8 31. b4 Na4 32. Rh3 Bf4 33. Rhf3 Ra7 34. g3 Bh6 35. Qd3 $18) 30. Rxc7 $1 Be3 31. bxa4 $16) 23. O-O $2 (23. Nc3 $16 {/+-}) 23... Ng5 (23... Bh6 $14) 24. Nc3 Nb3 $6 (24... Bh6 $1 25. Nxa4 Nxa4 26. Rxa4 Rxa4 27. Qxa4 h4 $1 $14 28. h3 $4 Nxh3+ $1 29. gxh3 Qxh3 $19) 25. Rxa4 $16 Nd4 26. Qd3 Rae8 27. Bd1 (27. Rc4 $142 $16) (27. Be3 $142 $16) 27... Re7 $2 {Doubling on the f-file makes sense, but Donchenko has simply overlooked White's next move.} (27... Bh6 $1) 28. Qg3 $1 $18 Nh7 (28... Bh6 {is too late.} 29. h4 $18) 29. Qxg6 Ref7 30. Bxh5 {Black has no real compensation for the (three!) pawns. White just needs to reach the time control without blundering, and he'll win.} Rf4 31. Ne2 R4f6 32. Qg4 (32. Qg3 $142) 32... Qxb5 33. Rxd4 $5 (33. Rb4 $142 $18) 33... exd4 34. Nxd4 Qxf1+ (34... Qxb2 $142) 35. Kxf1 Rxf2+ 36. Ke1 R2f4 37. Qe6+ Kh8 38. Nf5 Nf6 39. Bf3 Re8 40. Ne7 Kh7 {Move 40 has been reached; the end is nigh.} 41. Qh3+ Bh6 42. Nf5 ({After} 42. Nf5 Rxf5 (42... Ng8 $2 43. Nxh6 Nxh6 44. Qd7+ $18) 43. Qxf5+ Kg7 {there is no fortress. One way to demonstrate this is with} 44. h4 {followed by h5 and Qg6+ or by g4-g5.}) 1-0