[Event "83rd Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2021.01.31"] [Round "13.4"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2663"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2021.01.16"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "19"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1369"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2021.02.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.02.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,93,19,38,40,41,66,66,57,33,33,27,50,31,41,35,57,44,50,50,34,13,18,-18, -24,-31,-23,-25,11,4,0,-28,-18,-7,-22,-2,-22,-22,19,27,30,-69,-54,-4,-3,-9,55, 58,68,51,66,66,71,37,100,28,0,39,98,39,46,-23,227,71,97,214,239,267,252,304, 297,268,274,300,306,301,296,294,296,361,481,367,446,510,538,621,647,701,1070, 1091,1253,1477,29985,29986,29993,29990]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Qd3 $5 {Of all the interesting 6th moves that have come on the scene the last few moves, this is one of the more comprehensible: White prepares to castle long while the queen is generally heading for g3. At least that's how it often works; in this game, the queen wound up on e3 and White castled short. Go figure.} Nbd7 7. Be2 b5 8. a4 Nc5 $146 {A computer-approved novelty.} ({Previously, Black had played} 8... b4 {and gone 2-0 with it, but the computer claims that White is significantly better after} 9. Nd5 {, which was played in all three games. I leave further research to you, and note that Black was significantly higher-rated in both games.}) 9. Qe3 b4 10. Nd5 Ncxe4 11. a5 $6 (11. Nc6) (11. Nxf6+) 11... Nxd5 12. Qxe4 e6 $6 (12... Bb7 $142) 13. O-O Bd7 14. Bd2 Be7 15. Bf3 O-O 16. Qd3 Qb8 17. c4 bxc3 18. bxc3 {White has at least full compensation for the pawn, with lots of queenside pressure thanks to the open files and the bishop on f3, but Black's not yet in terrible shape.} Ra7 $2 (18... Qa7 $142) (18... Bf6 $142) 19. Rfb1 Qc8 20. c4 Nf6 21. Nb5 $1 { Maybe Grandelius missed this fine move. Now Black faces a future filled with misery.} axb5 22. cxb5 Bxb5 {Pretty much forced.} 23. Qxb5 $16 {/+-} Nd7 $2 ( 23... Nd5 {had to be played, forcing White to cough up one of his killer b's to make further progress.}) 24. Bb7 $18 {Now Black gets buried alive on the queenside.} Qd8 25. a6 Bf6 26. Ba5 Qe8 27. Bc7 $6 {Needless showboating.} ({ After} 27. Ra3) ({or} 27. Ra2 {White keeps all his advantages without making the least concession.}) 27... Bxa1 28. Rxa1 $2 (28. Bxd6 $1 $18 {was better, but it's ridiculous to have to work out that this is better than taking on a1 when it could have been avoided on move 27.}) 28... d5 $2 {Fortunately for Van Foreest, Grandelius immediately bails him out (with interest).} (28... Nc5 $1 { would have been a cruel awakening that probably would have cost Van Foreest a chance at a playoff.} 29. Qb6 $1 Qd7 $1 30. h3 (30. Qxa7 Qxc7 $11) 30... Re8 31. Rc1 e5 32. Qxa7 Qxc7 $11 33. Rb1 g6 34. Qb6 Qxb6 35. Rxb6 Nxb7 {and however White recaptures, he'll have full compensation for the pawn but no more: it should be a draw.}) 29. Bd6 {Now Black is really dead, and JVF doesn't resuscitate him a second time.} Qd8 30. Rc1 $6 {Not a huge error, but more showboating that lets Black catch up a bit.} (30. Bxf8 $142) 30... g6 ( 30... Re8 $142) 31. h3 (31. Bxf8 $142) 31... Re8 32. Rc7 Nf6 (32... Nb8 33. Rc8 Qxc8 34. Bxc8 Rxc8 35. Bxb8 Rxa6 36. Be5 $1 {should win fairly easily, but it's probably a better try for Black than the game.} (36. Qxa6 $2 Rxb8 37. g4 $1 {should still be winning - I think - but I don't think it will be easy.})) 33. Be5 Ne4 34. Qc6 Rf8 35. Bd4 Qb8 36. f3 Rxa6 $1 37. Bxa6 Qb4 $1 {It doesn't quite work, but it's an excellent try.} 38. Be5 $1 Qe1+ 39. Kh2 Nf2 40. Qc3 Qh1+ 41. Kg3 Qg1 42. Rc8 $1 Nh1+ 43. Kh4 Qf2+ 44. g3 g5+ 45. Kxg5 f6+ 46. Kh6 $1 fxe5 47. Qxe5 {A speedy mate will follow, thanks to White's iron king.} ({Or } 47. Qc7 {.}) 1-0 [Event "83rd Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2021.01.31"] [Round "1"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C24"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2764"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2021.01.31"] [EventType "match (blitz)"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1369"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2021.02.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.02.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,87,27,41,34,11,11,-3,14,12,0,8,-8,12,12,12,15,-6,-2,-7,2,-1,-2,-6,38, -1,1,-10,-9,-50,-50,-40,-56,-56,-50,-43,-59,-28,-41,-41,-44,-40,-28,-112,-84, -96,-88,-79,-88,-88,-94,-94,-91,-145,-45,-51,-42,-40,-55,-48,-14,-10,-27,-27, -33,-33,-19,-20,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,11,12,10,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb3 a5 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 a4 9. Ba2 dxe4 10. Nxe5 O-O 11. O-O Qe7 12. d4 Nbd7 13. Bf4 Nd5 14. Qd2 Nxf4 15. Qxf4 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Ra5 17. Qxe4 Qxe5 18. Qb4 Rb5 19. Qxa4 Qxc3 20. Bb3 Rg5 21. Rfe1 $2 ({After} 21. Qf4 $1 Rg4 $1 22. Qe3 $1 Qxe3 23. fxe3 $15 {White keeps his king safe. He's worse, obviously, due to his ragged pawns, but it's not *that* bad.}) 21... Bh3 (21... Qh3 22. Qe4 $8 Bf5 $1 23. Re3 $8 Bxe4 24. Rxh3 Rxg2+ $19 {is also great for Black.}) 22. Qf4 $8 Rxg2+ 23. Kh1 g5 $1 {Forced, but strong. (White had two major threats: 24.Qe3, winning material; and above all, 24.Qxf7+ with mate next move.)} 24. Qe3 Qxe3 25. Rxe3 g4 26. f3 $2 (26. Rg1 $8 $17 {/-+}) 26... h5 $2 (26... g3 $1 27. hxg3 Rd8 $1 {essentially won on the spot, with the straightforward idea of ...Rdd2, ...Rh2+, ...Rdg2+ and ...Rh1#. White can only prevent this with heavy material losses.}) 27. fxg4 hxg4 28. Rg1 Rxg1+ $8 29. Kxg1 {Now White is okay, as Black's bishop is more a stranded piece than a brilliant attacker, and Black gets no further opportunities to win.} Rd8 30. Re7 Rd1+ 31. Kf2 Rf1+ 32. Kg3 b5 33. Rc7 Rf6 34. a4 bxa4 35. Bxa4 Rf3+ 36. Kh4 Rf2 37. Bb3 Kf8 38. Rxc6 Rxh2 39. Rf6 Ke8 40. Rxf7 Rxc2 41. Bxc2 Kxf7 42. Bf5 Kf6 43. Bxg4 Bxg4 44. Kxg4 1/2-1/2 [Event "83rd Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2021.01.31"] [Round "2"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C70"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2671"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2021.01.31"] [EventType "match (blitz)"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1369"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2021.02.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.02.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,74,35,13,12,11,3,18,7,4,-2,-6,41,28,28,25,33,16,32,34,32,26,23,37,41, 35,42,36,62,75,72,60,60,52,61,73,67,67,72,66,47,39,58,42,81,78,98,105,63,63,96, 88,97,94,72,77,65,85,96,77,71,54,54,21,7,0,0,-11,-6,-1,-2,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Bc5 5. c3 Nge7 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 Bxd2+ 9. Qxd2 d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. O-O O-O 13. Nc3 Nxc3 14. Qxc3 Be6 15. Ne5 Bd5 16. b3 a5 17. Nxc6 Bxc6 18. Qxc6 Qxd4 19. Qxc7 a4 20. Rfd1 Qb2 21. Rdb1 Qd4 22. Qc4 Rfd8 23. Qxd4 Rxd4 24. b4 Rb8 25. a3 g6 26. g3 $2 (26. Rb2 $1 Rd3 27. Kf1 $1 $16 {was White's best. The point is that he has prevented Black's rook from landing on the second rank, and is about to evict it from the third rank as well. Once the a-pawn is safe, White can start working to make progress. Note that here Black is not in time for ...Rc8-c3:} Rc8 $2 28. b5 Rcc3 29. Rb4 $1 Rb3 30. b6 $1 Rxb4 31. axb4 Rd6 32. Rxa4 Rxb6 33. Ke2 $18 { and this single-rook ending is a very easy win for White.}) 26... Rd3 $1 27. Rb2 Kg7 28. Kg2 ({Going for the plan mentioned in the note on move 26 doesn't work this time, thanks to the nook for the rook on f3.} 28. Kf1 Rb5 29. Ke2 Rc3 30. Kd2 Rf3 {, and if White can't chase the rook away he has no chance to win the game.}) 28... h5 29. h4 Rb6 30. Rc2 Rf6 31. Raa2 Rff3 32. b5 Rxa3 33. Rab2 Rab3 34. b6 Rf6 35. Ra2 a3 36. b7 Rfb6 37. Rc7 Rxb7 1/2-1/2 [Event "83rd Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2021.01.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2671"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "124"] [EventDate "2021.01.31"] [EventType "match (blitz)"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1369"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2021.02.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.02.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,124,14,13,13,23,27,27,68,35,60,0,25,23,29,14,12,3,27,17,23,12,15,24, 22,22,22,24,31,28,31,33,33,35,45,46,96,81,74,95,134,134,126,120,120,112,96,113, 149,97,86,98,98,-57,-64,-64,-64,-64,-64,-71,-68,-60,-64,-64,-66,-66,-55,-49, -49,-63,-50,-45,-25,-49,-50,-50,-50,-45,-44,-50,-45,-38,-40,-77,-83,-85,-58, -68,-70,-97,-90,-95,-69,-58,-50,-44,-35,-35,0,0,0,0,0,-5,0,-13,-21,-10,0,0,0,0, 8,0,359,365,368,330,326,329,329,-524,-526,-559,-579,-723,-729]} 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 e6 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bg3 h6 8. Bb5 Be7 9. Ne5 Qb6 10. a4 O-O 11. O-O a6 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. b4 Be7 15. a5 Qb7 16. Nd3 Nd7 17. Nb3 Qb5 18. Nd4 Qb7 19. Rb1 Nf6 20. Nc5 Bxc5 21. bxc5 Qd7 22. Rb6 Ne4 23. Rxc6 Nxc3 24. Qc2 Nb5 25. Rb6 Na3 {White is winning and then some. Unfortunately for Giri, he thought for a long time and blundered, instead of moving his queen somewhere and winning the game.} 26. c6 $4 (26. Qc3 Nc4 27. c6 $18 {and White is winning a million ways - there's no need to analyze.}) 26... Nxc2 27. cxd7 Nxd4 {Presumably only now did Giri notice that} 28. exd4 (28. dxc8=Q $2 {loses on account of the zwischenzug} Ne2+ $19 {.}) 28... Bxd7 $11 { Now it's just equal, but in the time scramble Giri gets a second chance.} 29. Rc1 Bb5 30. Bd6 Rfc8 31. Bc5 Rc7 32. Re1 Rac8 33. f4 h5 34. Kf2 Kh7 35. h3 Kg6 36. g4 hxg4 37. hxg4 Rc6 38. Rb7 R8c7 39. Rb8 Rc8 40. Rb7 R8c7 41. Rxc7 Rxc7 42. Re5 Bd7 43. Rg5+ Kh7 44. Bf8 g6 45. Re5 f6 46. Re3 Kg8 47. Bc5 Rb7 48. Bb6 Bb5 {A sacrifice, or an oversight in time trouble? Either way, the position goes from completely drawn to...completely drawn.} 49. Rxe6 Kf7 50. Re1 Re7 51. Rc1 Re4 52. Kf3 Be2+ 53. Kg3 Re3+ 54. Kf2 Re4 55. Rc7+ Ke8 56. g5 Rxf4+ $4 { Time trouble!} 57. Kxe2 $18 fxg5 {Giri's persistence has paid off, but now he loses his mind.} 58. Ra7 $6 {I would feel nervous making such a move with practically no time on the clock, as I (and probably every other human being who has played a lot of blitz) have lost such positions as Black cheerily promotes his g-pawns while I grab the almost entirely irrelevant a-pawn. (It's a bit like playing moves like ...Bxh2 - all chess players who are familiar with game 1 of the Spassky-Fischer match are paranoid about the capture, and will only make it when they're really, really sure it works. The same goes for this situation, after a soul-crushing defeat or two in blitz. We realize that we don't need the stupid a-pawn - we'll win it or the d5-pawn someday if we need to. What we DO need is to make sure Black's g-pawns aren't going anywhere, and with our king cut off and the bishop babysitting the d-pawn, we need the rook's help.) Objectively though, Giri is still okay, still winning.} (58. Bc5) (58. Rg7) 58... g4 59. Rxa6 $6 {It's not too late to "apologize".} (59. Rg7) ( 59. Bc5) 59... g3 60. Ra7 $4 (60. Bc5 $1 {still wins, clearing the 6th rank so White can play Rxg6.} Kf7 61. Rb6 Rf2+ (61... g2 62. Rb1 $18) 62. Ke1 Ra2 63. Kf1 $18 {White wins here too, but note that he is losing his a-pawn. That means that White's demonstration with Ra7xa6 gained nothing, but only risked the game without making any profit at all.}) (60. Ra8+ Kd7 61. Rd8+ {is a more sophisticated winning method, one that Giri could not have worked out in the panic of a time scramble. To reiterate: chasing Black's a-pawn was completely nuts.} Ke6 (61... Kc6 62. Rc8+ $18 {lets the rook get back to stop the pawn.}) (61... Ke7 62. Rxd5 Kf6 63. Ke3 Rf2 64. Bd8+ $18 {followed by 65.Rg5 wins - we'll see something similar in the 61...Ke6 line.}) 62. Re8+ Kf7 63. Re5 Kf6 64. Ke3 g2 65. Bd8+ Kf7 66. Rg5 $18 {This wins, but - again - there is zero chance that Giri saw anything like this when deciding that capturing on a6 was a good idea.}) 60... g2 {And there we go: game over, tournament over. If Van Foreest had won the game, that would be one thing, but this was all Giri losing it. All Black had to do was push his g-pawn and pray, and on this occasion the prayer was answered.} 61. Ra8+ Kd7 62. Rd8+ Ke7 0-1