[Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.20"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2769"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,111,17,17,24,24,24,10,37,36,34,1,11,-22,31,55,58,56,53,44,58,3,44,10,25,-87,41,16,38,50,19,19,49,14,28,35,14,16,64,51,46,46,62,41,36,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,9,0,0,0,0,0,0,-25,-23,-41,-34,-40,-41,-39,25,6,18,-20,-6,0,-9,-6,-20,-25,4,-13,-22,-43,-40,-45,13,0,-34,-33,21,30,23,23,17,-43,48,4,0,4,15,-5,-6,-5,11,11,0,0,0,-15,-31,-13,0,-11,-5,-5,-8,-37]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. c5 Bc7 12. Nc3 Re8 13. Be3 h6 (13... Na6 14. Ne2 f6 15. a3 g5 16. Qc2 h5 17. Rad1 h4 18. Nd2 Qh7 19. Nxe4 Bxe4 20. Bxe4 Qxe4 21. Qxe4 Rxe4 22. Nc3 Re7 23. h3 Rae8 24. Kf1 Bb8 25. Bd2 Nc7 26. Rxe7 Rxe7 27. a4 Ne6 28. Ne2 b6 29. cxb6 axb6 30. b4 Ra7 31. Ra1 Kf7 32. Ke1 Ke8 33. Kd1 {½-½ Giri,A (2772)-Vidit,S (2727) Tata Steel-A 84th Wijk aan Zee 2022 (5)}) 14. Nh4 $146 {A new move, but it doesn't seem to offer White any advantage.} (14. Rac1 Qc8 15. Nh4 Bh7 16. f3 Nxc3 17. Qxc3 Nd7 18. Bxh7+ Kxh7 19. Nf5 Qd8 20. Bf2 Qf6 21. g4 g6 22. Bh4 Qh8 23. Nd6 Bxd6 24. cxd6 g5 25. Bg3 Qf6 26. Kg2 Nb6 27. b3 a5 28. Rc2 Nd7 29. Rce2 Re6 30. Qd3+ Kg7 31. Rxe6 fxe6 32. Qe3 Re8 33. f4 gxf4 34. Bxf4 Qg6 35. h3 h5 36. Be5+ Kh7 37. g5 Kg8 38. Bg3 Kh7 39. h4 Kg8 40. Qe2 Kg7 41. Kh2 Kg8 42. Qd2 Ra8 43. Re3 a4 44. b4 b5 45. Qe2 Re8 46. Be5 Kh7 47. Bf6 Qf7 48. Be7 Qf4+ 49. Kh3 Kg8 50. Rxe6 Nf8 51. Rf6 Qc1 52. Qf3 {1-0 Yakubboev,N (2620)-Bluebaum,M (2673) Olympiad-44 Chennai 2022 (8.2)}) 14... Bh7 15. g3 Bd8 16. Nf3 Bf6 {Black is fine, and if there were any hidden shoals Nepo avoided them.} 17. Rad1 Na6 18. Bxe4 dxe4 19. Ne5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 Qe7 21. e6 Bf5 (21... fxe6 {was also playable.}) 22. Rd7 (22. exf7+ Qxf7 23. Qxf7+ Kxf7 24. a3 Rad8 25. b4 Nc7 $11) 22... Qxe6 23. Qxe6 Bxe6 24. Rxb7 Bc8 25. Rb3 Be6 26. Rb7 (26. Ra3 Nb4 $11) 26... Bc8 27. Rb3 Bg4 {Black is justified in playing on; nevertheless, he has no special reasons to hope for more than a draw, either.} 28. Rb7 Reb8 29. Rxb8+ Rxb8 30. Rb1 Nb4 31. a3 Nc2 32. Bf4 Rb3 33. Nxe4 Rd3 34. Be5 $11 Bf3 35. Nd6 Rd5 36. Bc3 Rxc5 37. h3 h5 38. Kh2 Nxa3 39. Re1 Nb5 40. Re8+ Kh7 41. Nxf7 Nxc3 42. bxc3 Ra5 43. c4 Ra2 (43... Ra1 $4 44. Ng5+ Kg6 45. Nxf3 $18) 44. Rf8 (44. Ng5+ Kg6 45. Nxf3 Rxf2+ 46. Kh1 Rxf3 47. Kg2 Rf6 48. Re5 {is also equal, but the text is a better practical option.}) 44... Be2 45. h4 Ra5 46. Ng5+ Kg6 47. Rc8 c5 48. Ne6 Bxc4 49. Nf4+ Kh7 50. Rc7 Kh6 51. Rc6+ Kh7 52. Nxh5 Be2 53. Nf4 Bf3 54. Rc7 Ra1 55. g4 Bxg4 56. Rxc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.20"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Wei, Yi"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C47"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,63,39,25,13,8,30,5,19,4,-6,-6,-6,8,21,21,33,24,58,15,15,0,0,-3,1,6,-44,-24,-17,-18,-18,-10,-10,-13,-3,8,-2,-8,8,13,18,-10,-6,5,0,20,-3,6,11,0,0,-18,-18,-9,0,21,10,13,18,-4,17,22,22,-12,16,21]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 O-O 9. O-O cxd5 10. Bg5 c6 11. Qf3 Bd6 12. Rae1 Rb8 13. Nd1 h6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Qxf6 gxf6 16. b3 f5 17. Ne3 f4 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. Bxf5 Kg7 20. g3 Kf6 {Amusingly, I had just shown this variation, reaching at least this position, to a student in a lesson this past week. (The point was to emphasize the harmlessness of White's threat to wreck Black's kingside structure with the double capture on moves 14 and 15.) To say that this is not a serious winning try for White is a major understatement.} 21. Bd3 h5 22. Kg2 Rh8 23. Kf3 fxg3 24. hxg3 h4 25. Rh1 hxg3 26. fxg3 Rxh1 (26... a5 27. a4 Bb4 28. Ref1 Rxh1 29. Rxh1 Ke5 30. Rh4 Rg8 31. Rg4 Rxg4 32. Kxg4 f6 33. Kf3 f5 34. Ke2 Bc3 35. Kf3 Bb4 36. Ke2 Bc3 37. Kf3 Bb4 {½-½ Nepomniachtchi,I (2766)-Ding,L (2806) Candidates Tournament Madrid 2022 (8)}) 27. Rxh1 Rg8 $146 {A brilliant new contribution to opening theory. Having offered something new, the players decide they've done enough for the audience and call it a day.} (27... Re8 28. Rh6+ Ke7 29. Bf5 a5 30. a4 Rb8 {½-½ Ambartsumova,K (2386)-Kogan,A (2476) San Cristobal de La Laguna op 4th 2022 (9)}) 28. Rh6+ Ke7 29. Rh3 Kf6 30. Rh6+ Ke7 31. Rh3 Kf6 32. Rh6+ {A masterpiece that will be remembered in chess anthologies forever. (Or it will be forgotten within 30 seconds. You make the call.)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.20"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2759"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,83,13,13,46,40,61,61,67,26,33,19,44,41,64,35,26,5,10,6,53,35,23,-5,116,69,102,102,78,87,258,177,177,177,177,165,240,236,240,223,217,178,180,129,186,193,193,136,136,136,157,147,192,202,161,161,229,210,227,213,248,248,248,259,275,261,261,228,245,251,254,247,226,286,295,243,254,241,241,223,236,236,332,399,491,491]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 Nc6 ({There's nothing wrong with the usual} 6... e5 {- which Firouzja has also played - but variety has its place.}) 7. Be3 e5 8. Nb3 Be6 9. Qf3 Nb4 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Kb1 Qc7 (11... h6 {has also been played, though almost all the games in this line are 5-10 years old.}) 12. a3 Nxc2 13. Kxc2 Qc6 14. Nd2 Qa4+ $4 $146 {A bad novelty, resulting in a lost position. Firouzja probably mixed something up in his prep; whatever the story, he's already lost, without White having to find a single new move or demonstrate any special preparation.} (14... d5 {was played in all 11 previous games. The engine isn't pleased with Black's position after} 15. exd5 Nxd5 16. Rc1 $1 Qa4+ {(Maybe this is what Firouzja was thinking of on move 14?)} 17. Kb1 Nxc3+ 18. Rxc3 Rxc3 19. bxc3 Bxa3 20. Bd3 $16 {. Black has gone 1.5/3 from here, but it seems that if White is well-prepared and able to handle a messy position, the burden will be on Black to prove that the sac can be justified.}) 15. Kd3 $1 (15. b3 {isn't as good, but it's probably winning as well.}) 15... Rxc3+ 16. bxc3 d5 17. Ke2 $1 $18 {The king is safe enough, and with his enormous material advantage the win is nearly inevitable.} dxe4 18. Qg3 Nd7 19. Ke1 f5 20. Be2 g6 (20... f4 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. Qxf4 $18 {still leaves White a full exchange ahead, and now his king is at least as safe as Black's.}) 21. h4 Be7 22. Bg5 (22. Qh3 $142) (22. c4 $142) (22. f4 $142) 22... f4 23. Bxf4 exf4 24. Qxf4 Rf8 (24... Bd5 $142) 25. Qxe4 Qxe4 26. Nxe4 Bxa3 27. h5 {With a full extra exchange and the h1-rook entering the game from its original square, the rest is easy.} Bf5 28. Rd4 Ne5 29. hxg6 Bxg6 30. Bh5 Nc6 31. Rd5 Ke7 32. Bxg6 hxg6 33. Rh7+ Ke6 34. Rdd7 b5 35. f3 Rc8 36. Rb7 b4 37. cxb4 Bxb4+ 38. Ke2 a5 39. Rhg7 Ne5 40. Ke3 Rc6 41. f4 Ng4+ 42. Kd4 (42. Kd4 {The g6 pawn is hanging, and Black's king is getting close to a mating net. After} Kf5 43. Rgf7+ Nf6 (43... Ke6 44. Ng5+ Kd6 45. Rbd7#) 44. Rxf6+ Rxf6 45. Rb5+ Ke6 (45... Kxf4 46. Nxf6 $18) 46. Rb6+ Ke7 47. Nxf6 $18 {Black's king has escaped at the cost of a full rook.}) 1-0 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.20"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,119,34,20,20,21,42,-4,38,35,24,4,8,1,1,3,15,4,17,5,39,38,41,39,20,26,48,48,17,5,45,38,29,24,24,10,10,7,15,-30,11,31,41,31,19,26,41,41,30,21,26,34,34,22,32,45,45,36,36,36,25,57,54,61,61,54,52,66,66,48,48,49,45,49,51,48,66,62,57,53,78,48,111,74,74,103,81,66,46,110,130,132,151,55,55,55,77,9,52,44,96,96,74,112,240,224,230,235,243,245,245,245,245,209,222,317,318,408,949,1160,1168,1396]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. c4 {More interesting than the ultra-mainline we saw in the Maghsoodloo-Nepo game, even if this too counts as theory with 1822 games in the database. (A lot, but there are 40,000 games with 5.d4 and another 19,000 games with 5.Nc3.)} Be7 6. Nc3 Nxc3 7. dxc3 O-O 8. Bd3 Nd7 9. Be3 Nf6 {We're already down to just one predecessor, and it was at a sub-professional level. It's nice to see something new as early as move 10.} 10. h3 b6 11. Qc2 $146 Bb7 $11 12. O-O-O h6 {Creating a hook, but it was probably going to be forced sooner or later.} 13. Rhe1 Re8 14. Bd4 c5 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Bh7+ Kh8 17. Be4 Bxe4 18. Rxe4 Qd7 19. Nd2 a6 (19... Qc6 $11) 20. Kb1 Bg5 (20... g6 $11 {followed by ...Kg7 is a standard consolidating idea.}) 21. Nf3 Bf6 22. Qd3 b5 $2 {Opening lines on the queenside makes sense, but we'll see that this ends up creating weaknesses that White manages to exploit.} (22... Rxe4 23. Qxe4 Rb8 $11) 23. Rxe8+ $1 Qxe8 24. Nd2 $1 $16 Qe6 25. Ne4 Be7 26. Qd5 Rd8 $1 (26... Qxd5 $2 27. Rxd5 Rd8 28. cxb5 axb5 29. b4 $1 $18) 27. cxb5 axb5 28. f4 $1 Kg8 29. f5 Qxd5 (29... Qc8 $142) 30. Rxd5 $16 {/+- Black may not be lost (it's close), but his position is miserable. The d-pawn is weak, the b-pawn is weak, the bishop is terrible and dominated by White's knight, White's rook is better - everything is in White's favor. And if all that's not enough, Black must also worry about White creating an outside passed pawn on the a-file.} Kf8 (30... Re8 $1 {was best, offering a pawn for activity. White should keep the squeeze:} 31. Kc2 $1 Bf8 32. Kd3 {and Black's misery continues.}) 31. b4 $18 Ke8 32. Kb2 $1 Rd7 33. g4 (33. c4 $1 Rb7 (33... bxc4 34. b5 $18 {gives White two connected passers. Black might even resign here.}) 34. a4 $1 $18 {is a trick to remember. Whatever pawn Black takes, White will respond by putting a pawn on b5, with a clearly winning advantage.}) 33... Kd8 34. c4 $1 bxc4 35. bxc5 ({Here} 35. b5 $2 {is a mistake, as Black's king and rook get where they need to in the nick of time.} Kc7 $1 36. Kc3 Rd8 $1 37. Kxc4 Ra8 $1 38. Kb3 c4+ $1 $11) 35... dxc5 36. Rxd7+ Kxd7 37. Kc3 Kc6 38. Kxc4 Kb6 39. a4 {The outside passer decides, as it will divert Black's pieces from the kingside.} Kc6 (39... Ka5 40. Nxc5 Bxc5 41. Kxc5 Kxa4 42. Kd6 $18 {is a simplistic variation, but it demonstrates the fundamental value of an outside passed pawn.}) 40. Nf2 Bd8 41. Ne4 Be7 42. a5 Bd8 43. a6 Be7 44. Nc3 Bg5 45. Nb5 Be3 46. h4 {Pushing the pawns as far as possible - you never know when you'll need that extra tempo! (Possible foreshadowing? See the note to Black's 52nd move.)} Kb6 47. a7 Kb7 48. h5 Ka8 49. Kd5 Kb7 50. Kd6 c4 51. Kd5 Bxa7 52. Nxa7 c3 (52... Kxa7 53. Kxc4 {leaves Black one tempo short.} Kb6 {is what Black would like to play, as White's king cannot get in after 54.Kd5 Kc7. Unfortunately for Black, there's another problem.} 54. g5 $1 {This threatens 55.f6, with speedy promotion, and that's also the winning move if Black plays 54...hxg5. The only way to prevent White's pawns from breaking through on their own is} f6 {, but now Black's king is one move too late:} 55. gxf6 gxf6 56. Kd5 $18) 53. Nc6 $1 c2 54. Na5+ $1 Kc7 55. Nb3 Kd7 56. g5 {Nice, though not the only winning move.} Ke7 57. gxh6 gxh6 58. Ke5 f6+ 59. Kd5 Kd7 60. Nc1 {Zugzwang: White's king will win the f-pawn, and Black's c-pawn is harmless.} (60. Nc1 Kc7 (60... Ke7 61. Kc6 Ke8 62. Kd6 Kf7 63. Kd7 Kf8 64. Ke6 Kg7 65. Ke7 Kg8 66. Kxf6 $18 {etc.}) 61. Ke6 Kc6 62. Kxf6 Kc5 63. Kg7 Kc4 64. f6 Kc3 65. f7 Kd2 (65... Kb2 66. Ne2 $18) 66. Na2 $18) 1-0 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.20"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Warmerdam, Max"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D32"] [WhiteElo "2725"] [BlackElo "2625"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "131"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,131,23,0,6,6,-9,16,41,7,4,5,5,15,15,20,73,-14,7,15,19,19,56,56,52,51,51,51,51,51,49,41,51,6,43,37,35,35,25,28,86,24,23,21,29,29,25,-22,32,32,32,17,43,43,49,33,43,46,44,52,50,41,41,40,30,34,65,65,64,18,52,52,67,67,82,81,80,89,89,82,84,86,96,95,111,107,80,77,72,93,96,73,73,82,104,79,103,78,66,77,83,83,75,45,45,42,48,42,42,42,52,52,52,52,52,52,53,52,53,35,52,53,54,45,54,53,53,53,53,54,78,76,90,55]} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c5 4. cxd5 cxd4 {The Von Hennig-Schara Gambit! Definitely a rare bird at the super-GM level. (And at any other level, for that matter.)} 5. Qa4+ (5. Qxd4 Nc6 6. Qd1 exd5 7. Qxd5 Bd7 (7... Bd6 {is the contemporary move.}) 8. Nf3 Nf6 {transposes to the line given in the note to Black's 7th move, below.}) 5... Bd7 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Qxd5 Nf6 ({In the old days, Black would first cover the b-pawn, and only then play ...Nf6.} 7... Nc6 8. Nf3 Nf6 9. Qd1 Bc5 10. e3 Qe7 11. Be2 O-O-O 12. O-O g5 {is the tabiya of the old main line (which could also be reached from the 5.Qxd4 move order). Black has some tricks, but White is much better if he is prepared and able to handle sharp positions.}) 8. Qd1 Bb4 {Not a novelty, but almost completely new to GM chess (or even IM chess). There was one contemporary game involving a GM, and before that...Pirc-Tartakower from 1931.} (8... Bc5 {is usual, but after} 9. Nf3 {Black doesn't play ...Nc6, ...Qe7, and ...0-0-0 as in the old main line, but castles short.} O-O 10. e3 Qe7 11. Be2 Nc6 12. O-O {and now either one rook or the other comes to d8 or else 12...Ne5 (twice played by Carlsen himself).}) 9. Bd2 (9. e3 Ne4 10. Bd2 Bxc3 11. Bxc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Qa5 13. Qd2 Nc6 14. Nf3 Rd8 15. Be2 Bg4 16. Qb2 Bxf3 17. Bxf3 Ne5 18. Be2 Nd3+ 19. Bxd3 Rxd3 20. O-O O-O 21. Qxb7 Rxc3 22. Rfd1 Rc2 23. Qd5 Qxd5 24. Rxd5 Rb8 25. Ra5 Rbb2 26. Rxa7 g6 27. Rf1 Rxa2 28. Rxa2 Rxa2 29. g4 Kg7 30. Kg2 Rb2 31. Ra1 Rc2 32. Kg3 Rb2 33. Ra7 Rb5 34. f3 h5 35. e4 hxg4 36. Kxg4 Rb2 37. h4 Rg2+ 38. Kf4 Rh2 39. Kg3 Re2 40. Ra5 Kf6 41. Ra7 Re1 42. Kf4 Re2 43. Ra6+ Kg7 44. e5 Re1 45. Ra8 Rh1 46. Kg3 Rg1+ 47. Kh2 Re1 48. Re8 Kh6 {½-½ Pirc,V-Tartakower,S Bled International 1931 (23)}) (9. Nf3 O-O 10. e3 Qa5 11. Bd2 Rd8 12. a3 Bf8 13. Ne4 Qf5 14. Nxf6+ Qxf6 15. Bc3 Qh6 16. Ne5 Qg5 17. Qb3 Be6 18. Qxb7 Nd7 19. Nxd7 Bxd7 20. Bc4 Rac8 21. Ba2 Bd6 22. Rd1 Bc6 23. Qxf7+ Kh8 24. Bd5 Rf8 25. Qe6 Bxd5 26. Qxd5 Qh4 27. g3 Bxg3 28. hxg3 Qe7 29. Rd4 Rcd8 30. Qh5 h6 31. Rxd8 Rxd8 32. Qxh6+ Kg8 33. Qh7+ Kf8 34. Qh8+ Kf7 35. Qxg7+ Ke6 36. Rh6+ Kd7 37. Qd4+ Kc8 38. Qc4+ Kb7 39. Qb5+ Ka8 40. Qc6+ Qb7 41. Qxb7+ Kxb7 42. Rh7+ Kc6 43. Bd4 a5 44. Ra7 a4 45. Rxa4 Kd5 46. Ra5+ Ke4 47. Kd2 Kf3 48. Rf5+ Ke4 49. g4 Rc8 50. f3# {1-0 Soderstrom,A (2262)-Viskelis,D (2200) Titled Tuesday intern op 08th Mar Early Chess.com INT blitz 2022 (2)}) 9... O-O 10. Nf3 (10. e3 $142 $14) 10... Bxc3 $1 $146 11. Bxc3 Ne4 12. Qd4 Nxc3 13. Qxc3 Qe7 14. e3 Rc8 15. Qd2 Rd8 16. Qc3 (16. Rd1) 16... Rc8 17. Qd2 Rd8 18. Rd1 Nc6 19. Qd6 Qe8 20. Be2 Be6 (20... Bh3 21. Qg3 Rxd1+ 22. Bxd1 Be6 $11 {/?}) 21. Qa3 Rxd1+ 22. Bxd1 Bc4 $44 23. b3 Ba6 24. Be2 Qe4 $1 25. Qc1 Qb4+ 26. Qd2 Bxe2 27. Kxe2 Qb5+ 28. Qd3 Qxd3+ 29. Kxd3 Nb4+ 30. Kc3 Nxa2+ 31. Kb2 Nb4 $11 {Whether this was prep or excellent play at the board, Warmerdam has done very well. His surprise variation has given him equality, with Black, against a very high-level opponent. Still, as we all know from dozens or even hundreds of Magnus Carlsen games, getting an equal endgame against a stronger GM opponent does not guarantee one of a draw.} 32. Rd1 Rc8 33. Ka3 Na6 34. Ng5 Nc5 35. b4 h6 $2 (35... f6 $142 {was better, as there's no desperado here.} 36. Nf3 (36. Nxh7 $4 Ne4 $19) (36. bxc5 fxg5 37. Rd5 g4 38. Kb4 b6 $1 39. cxb6 axb6 40. Rg5 (40. Kb3 Rf8 $11) 40... Rc2 $11) 36... Ne6 37. Rd7 Rc7 $11) 36. Nxf7 Kxf7 37. bxc5 Rxc5 38. Rd7+ Kf6 39. Rxb7 {It's still a draw, but now Black will have to earn it.} Rc1 (39... Rc2 $2 40. Rb2 $16) 40. Rb2 (40. Rxa7 $4 {is a blunder, of course, but even if it weren't it would make Black's life easier.} Rg1 {(Yes, a blunder, as are the next two moves. This line is just about showing the power of an active rook for counterplay.)} (40... Ra1+ $19) 41. g3 Rg2 $11) 40... g5 $1 41. h3 h5 42. Kb3 Rg1 43. f3 Re1 ({There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the immediate} 43... g4 {, e.g.} 44. hxg4 hxg4 45. Kc3 gxf3 46. gxf3 Rg3 47. Rf2 a5 48. Kc4 a4 49. Kb4 Ke5 50. Kxa4 Rg1 $1 51. Kb3 Re1 $1 {Just in time! Black wins White's pawns.} 52. f4+ Ke4 53. f5 Kxe3 54. Rh2 Rf1 55. Rh5 Ke4 $11) 44. e4 g4 45. hxg4 hxg4 46. Kc4 Rf1 $1 47. Rb8 Ke7 48. Rb3 Ke6 49. Kd4 Rf2 50. Ra3 a5 $1 51. f4 $5 Rxf4 $1 52. Ke3 Rf1 $1 {Black is doing great, finding one only-move after another. It's difficult to do this forever, though.} 53. Rxa5 Rg1 $2 (53... Kf6 {was the only drawing move, looking to bring the king up and around to g5, h4, and g3 if White's rook ever quits the 5th rank.} 54. Ke2 Rf4 $1 55. Ke3 Rf1 $1 56. Rb5 Kg6 $11) 54. Kf2 Rb1 55. Kg3 Rb2 56. Rg5 {Now it's two extra pawns - one too many.} Ra2 57. Rxg4 Ke5 {This bears some resemblance to rook + f- and h-pawn vs. rook, and can be challenging to win. Challenging - but not impossible, even against best play, whereas the f- and h-pawn version is drawn in the typical case where the pawns are far back and the defender's king is active. Here we see one difference: White can give up the e-pawn and win the with the g-pawn, with Black's king cut off. In the corresponding case where White would surrender the f-pawn to try to win with the h-pawn, the resulting position is generally going to be a very easy draw.} 58. Rg6 Kxe4 59. Rg5 $1 {The only move, cutting the king off along the rank rather than the file.} Ra8 60. Kh4 Ra1 61. g3 Rf1 62. Kg4 Rf8 63. Rh5 Rf7 64. Kh4 Kf3 65. g4 Kf4 66. Rh6 {If Black's rook quits the f-file, then White plays Rf6+, g5, and eventually sets up the Lucena position, "builds a bridge" and wins. If Black maintains the status quo, then White plays g5, Kh5, and keeps wiggling up a rank at a time.} 1-0 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.20"] [Round "7.6"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2682"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 Be7 8. Bd3 Nh5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. O-O O-O 11. Qc2 (11. Qb1 {is a good alternative, likewise threatening Black's h-pawn but also preparing 12.b4, intending the standard minority attack plan with b5.}) 11... g6 12. Rfe1 {Looking for an e4 plan instead. Such plans are common when White has played Ne2 and managed to continue with Ng3 (with no Black knight sitting on h5), but less common with the knight on f3.} ({And here} 12. Rab1 {is usual, again going for the minority attack plan of b2-b4-b5.}) 12... Ndf6 13. Nd2 $146 (13. Ne5 Ng7 14. f3 Be6 15. Qf2 Rad8 16. Bf1 h5 17. Rad1 Nd7 18. Nd3 Qf6 19. b4 Bf5 20. e4 dxe4 21. fxe4 Bg4 22. Rd2 Qxf2+ 23. Kxf2 Rfe8 24. a4 Nf8 25. d5 cxd5 26. Nxd5 Nd7 27. Nc5 Nxc5 28. bxc5 Kf8 29. Rb2 Bc8 30. a5 Ne6 31. Rc2 Ng5 32. Nf6 Re5 33. a6 bxa6 34. h4 Ne6 35. c6 Nd4 36. Rc4 Rd6 37. Nh7+ Kg7 38. Ng5 Nxc6 39. Nf3 Re8 40. e5 Rde6 41. Rc5 Bb7 42. Bc4 R6e7 43. Kg3 Rd8 44. e6 fxe6 45. Ng5 Nd4 46. Rd1 Nf5+ {0-1 Caruana,F (2786)-Kuzubov,Y (2625) AI Cup Div 2 L Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (5.2)}) 13... Be6 (13... Ng7 $11 {followed by ...Bf5 is a standard idea in the Exchange Queen's Gambit.} 14. f3 Bf5 15. e4 {avoids the exchange, but it seems that} Be6 $11 {isn't bad. White could play e5, but given Black's grip on the f5 square (so there's no White attack with f4-f5) and his chances to undermine White's center Black should have nothing to fear.}) 14. Nb3 Ng7 15. Rad1 Rfe8 (15... Bf5) 16. f3 Rad8 17. Qf2 b6 18. h3 c5 ({The more patient} 18... Bc8 {followed by ...Ne6 was better, keeping the tension.}) 19. Bc2 $14 h6 20. a3 Nf5 21. g4 $1 Ng7 22. Nc1 h5 23. Qg3 (23. Nd3 $142 $16) 23... Bc8 24. Nd3 $16 Bb7 25. Ba4 $6 {This misplacement of the bishop helps Black.} (25. Ne5 $142 {was better, keeping the focus on the kingside.}) 25... Rf8 26. Ne5 $14 Ne6 27. Kg2 (27. Bc6) (27. Ne2) 27... Kg7 28. g5 (28. Bc2) 28... Ne8 $11 29. h4 Nd6 30. Bc2 Kg8 {Clearing g7 for the knight, with a strong grip on f5.} 31. Rd2 (31. Bxg6 $2 fxg6 32. Nxg6 Qf7 33. Nxf8 Qxf8 34. Qe5 Qf7 35. dxc5 {looks great for White at first glance, with a rook and three pawns for a bishop and knight. As often happens, though, the minor pieces are more effective, and after} Nc4 $1 36. Qf6 Qxf6 37. gxf6 Nxb2 38. Rb1 Nd3 39. Red1 Nexc5 $19 {Black has recovered the material and is on the way to victory.}) 31... Ng7 32. Qf4 Ndf5 (32... Qc7 $1 $15) 33. Bxf5 {Black may be a tiny bit better after recapturing with the knight, but he was probably happy to have survived a difficult middlegame.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.20"] [Round "7.7"] [White "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Black "Ju, Wenjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D36"] [WhiteElo "2643"] [BlackElo "2549"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,77,26,20,20,4,6,6,3,3,3,3,13,-19,-16,-37,-6,14,-10,-10,-2,-2,-2,-12,16,42,28,30,40,-8,-9,-9,5,0,2,-4,-8,6,2,-4,6,-6,12,6,-11,-11,-17,-46,-29,-7,4,-23,-35,-10,-10,7,0,-5,3,-8,-19,-17,-19,-13,-17,-5,-12,1,1,-2,-2,0,0,-1,9,0,8,6,16,0]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. Qc2 h6 7. Bh4 g6 8. e3 Bf5 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Nbd7 11. Nge2 Bg7 12. O-O O-O 13. f3 Re8 14. Rad1 (14. Rae1 {is more popular, going for the central plan mentioned in the last game.}) 14... Qe7 15. Bf2 Rad8 16. Rfe1 Nf8 (16... a6 17. h3 c5 18. Nf4 Qd6 19. dxc5 Nxc5 20. Qd2 Ne6 21. Nfxd5 Nxd5 22. Nxd5 Qe5 23. e4 f5 24. Bb6 Rc8 25. b3 fxe4 26. Rxe4 Qf5 27. Qe2 Rc6 28. Be3 Kh7 29. Nb4 Rc3 30. Nd5 Rc6 31. Nb4 Rc3 32. Rd7 Nc5 33. Rxg7+ Kxg7 34. Rxe8 a5 35. Bd4+ {1-0 Sasikiran,K (2642)-Bedouin,X (2336) FRA-chT Top 12 Montpellier 2015 (7.2)}) 17. h3 $146 (17. a3 Ne6 18. h3 Nh5 19. b4 a5 20. bxa5 Qxa3 21. Ra1 Qe7 22. f4 Nf6 23. f5 Nf8 24. Reb1 Ra8 25. Rb6 Qd8 26. fxg6 fxg6 27. Rxb7 Rxa5 28. Rab1 Ra3 29. Qc2 Qa8 30. Nf4 g5 31. Nfe2 Ra1 32. Ng3 Qxb7 33. Rxa1 N8d7 34. Nf5 Bf8 35. Bg3 Re6 36. Rf1 Qa8 37. Qb3 Qe8 38. Rf3 Nh5 39. e4 Nxg3 40. Nxg3 dxe4 41. Ncxe4 Kh8 42. Nd2 Rf6 43. Nf5 Qe6 44. Qd3 Bd6 45. Nxd6 Rxf3 46. Nxf3 Qxd6 47. Qf5 Kg7 48. h4 gxh4 49. Qg4+ Kh7 50. Nxh4 Nf8 51. Nf5 Qg6 52. Qf4 Ne6 53. Qe5 Ng5 54. Qc7+ Nf7 55. Qd7 Qf6 56. Ne7 c5 57. dxc5 Qa1+ 58. Kf2 Qb2+ 59. Kf1 Qc1+ 60. Ke2 Qc2+ 61. Kf1 Qc1+ {½-½ Karthik,V (2562)-Xiang,Z (2391) Abu Dhabi op 29th 2023 (2)}) 17... a6 18. a3 Ne6 19. Qc2 Nh5 20. b4 a5 (20... f5 {is also possible, not only to clamp down on e4 but to play ...f4 as well.}) 21. Qb3 (21. bxa5 Ra8 22. Rb1 Rxa5 23. a4 $14 {is a typical idea.}) 21... axb4 22. axb4 b5 $1 {Stopping the minority attack move b4-b5. The c6-pawn is weak, at least in theory, but if (for example) Black can maneuver a knight to c4 (...Nh5-f6-d7-b6-c4 - long-winded, I know) it will be shielded.} 23. Na2 $6 Nf6 24. Nac3 (24. Nac1) 24... Nd7 {After giving Black two free moves, the "long-winded" maneuver looks quite sensible.} 25. e4 $1 {Otherwise the knight gets to c4 and White starts to suffer.} Nb6 26. exd5 Nxd5 27. Nxd5 cxd5 28. Nf4 Qd6 29. Nxe6 Rxe6 30. Rxe6 Qxe6 {Black has a nominal edge, as the b- and d-pawns are fixed on dark squares, where they are targets for Black's bishop and obstacles for White's. But it's not enough for Black to get serious winning chances, and the game will soon end in a draw.} 31. Rc1 Bf8 32. Qd3 Qd7 33. Bg3 {Help yourself.} Bxb4 34. Rc7 Qe8 35. Rb7 {Now Black's b-pawn falls, the draw is nigh.} Bd6 36. Bxd6 Rxd6 37. Rxb5 Rd8 38. Kf2 h5 39. Qe2 1/2-1/2