[Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.22"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2713"] [BlackElo "2735"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,62,23,33,22,25,18,15,22,19,20,26,26,15,7,0,9,-1,38,17,-12,-5,6,-11,80,69,16,26,28,0,6,25,25,22,22,22,15,0,20,21,15,0,0,0,0,0,0,-20,-19,-28,-32,-46,-45,-41,-48,-39,-39,-29,-38,-38,-38,-38,-18,-29,-10]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 Be6 7. O-O Bd6 8. Nb3 ({In an online blitz match with Wesley So, Abdusattorov twice played} 8. b3 {(the main move)}) ({and once went for} 8. Ng5 {.}) 8... b6 {Almost a novelty, but this was once played by So.} 9. Qe1 $146 {Not particularly liked by the engine.} (9. d4 Nd7 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Qh5 Bf6 13. Rd1 Qc8 14. h3 O-O 15. e5 g6 16. Qe2 Bg7 17. Bf4 c5 18. Nd2 Qb7 19. Ne4 Bd5 20. Nf6+ Bxf6 21. exf6 Bxg2 22. Qg4 Qf3 23. Bh6 Qxg4 24. hxg4 Bf3 25. Bxf8 Bxd1 26. Rxd1 Rxf8 27. Rd7 g5 28. Rxc7 h6 29. Rxa7 Rd8 30. Ra6 Rd2 31. Rxb6 Rxc2 32. Kg2 Kh7 33. Kf3 Rc4 34. Rc6 Kg6 35. b3 Rc2 36. b4 Rc3+ 37. Ke2 Rc4 38. b5 Rxg4 39. a3 Rg1 40. b6 Ra1 41. Rc8 Rb1 42. Rb8 h5 43. b7 Kh7 44. a4 h4 45. Kf3 h3 46. Kg3 g4 47. a5 Rb3+ 48. Kh2 Rb2 49. a6 Rxf2+ 50. Kg3 Rg2+ 51. Kf4 h2 52. Rh8+ Kxh8 53. b8=Q+ Kh7 54. Qf8 {1-0 Vachier Lagrave,M (2784)-So,W (2770) Opera Euro Rapid Prelim chess24.com INT 2021 (2)}) 9... Nd7 10. Qc3 c5 $15 11. Ng5 Nf8 $6 (11... Bg4 $142) 12. f4 $14 f6 13. Nxe6 Nxe6 14. Qc4 $11 (14. f5 $142 Nd4 15. Nxd4 $14) 14... Qd7 (14... Nxf4 $142 {is very sharp, but with best play it results in equality, potentially a perpetual check.} 15. d4 Qe7 16. dxe5 fxe5 17. Bxf4 exf4 18. e5 Bxe5 19. Rae1 O-O-O 20. Qa6+ Kb8 21. Na5 bxa5 22. Qb5+ Kc8 23. Qa6+ Kd7 24. Qb5+ $11) 15. f5 Nd4 16. Nxd4 cxd4 17. a4 a5 18. Bd2 Qf7 19. Qc6+ Ke7 20. Rf3 (20. g4) 20... Qe8 $11 {Black will chase White's queen until they are traded or there's a repetition, and although White's position is nominally better as Black's pawn structure is theoretically in White's favor, there's no way for White to take advantage of it.} 21. Qc4 Qf7 22. Qc6 Qe8 23. Qxe8+ Raxe8 24. Kf2 g5 25. fxg6 hxg6 26. Rf1 Ke6 27. h4 f5 28. g3 Ref8 29. Ke2 Be7 30. Kd1 c5 31. b3 Rh7 1/2-1/2 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.22"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2859"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,66,25,25,22,19,16,17,26,0,7,0,16,-22,0,-3,0,-11,1,-10,-3,-34,-35,-51,-34,-34,-20,-7,-7,-29,11,-46,-3,-29,-4,-54,47,57,46,19,73,51,51,51,178,-136,-180,-207,-197,-228,-277,-203,-166,-181,-173,-165,-160,-164,-159,-160,-149,-196,-175,-180,-181,-193,-189,-189,-182]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 b4 9. a5 d6 10. c3 Rb8 {Caruana has been here before, playing 11.Bc4 (the main move) at least four times.} 11. h3 h6 12. d4 bxc3 13. bxc3 exd4 14. Nxd4 Bd7 15. Bf4 $146 {?} (15. Nd2 Re8 16. Bc2 Bf8 17. N2f3 Ne5 18. Nxe5 dxe5 19. Nf5 Bxf5 20. exf5 e4 21. Be3 Nd5 22. Qd4 Nxe3 23. Rxe3 Qxd4 24. cxd4 Bb4 25. Bxe4 Bd2 26. Rd3 Rxe4 27. Rxd2 Rb5 28. Rc1 Rxa5 29. Rxc7 Rxf5 30. d5 Re8 31. d6 Rd8 32. Ra7 a5 33. g4 Re5 34. Rd3 Re6 35. Rf3 Rf6 {½-½ Nguyen,T (2627)-Wojtaszek,R (2696) POL-chT Ekstraliga Bydgoszcz 2022 (1.1)}) 15... Ne5 16. Na3 (16. Bg3 $142 $14) 16... Re8 17. Bg3 Bf8 $11 18. f4 Nc6 19. e5 (19. Bh4 {sharpens the play, intending e4-e5.} Nxa5 20. Ba4 Bxa4 21. Qxa4 c5 22. Nf5 Nb3 $8 23. Rad1 Qa5 24. Qxa5 Nxa5 25. Nxh6+ gxh6 26. Bxf6 Re6 27. e5 dxe5 28. fxe5 Bg7 $11) 19... dxe5 20. fxe5 Nxd4 21. cxd4 Bc6 $1 (21... Bf5 {also works. After other moves, White's pawn center would give him a large advantage.}) 22. Bc2 $4 {The effect of playing a 106-move, seven or eight hour game the day before? This simply loses.} (22. exf6 $2 Rxe1+ 23. Bxe1 (23. Qxe1 Rxb3 $19) 23... Rxb3 24. Qxb3 Qxd4+ 25. Kh2 Qxa1 $19 {is the tactical idea that makes 21...Bc6 work.}) (22. Qd3 Be4 23. Bxf7+ Kxf7 24. Rxe4 Nxe4 25. Qxe4 $44 {would have been interesting.}) (22. Rc1 Bd5 23. Bxd5 Nxd5 $11 {/?}) 22... Qd5 $1 $19 23. Re2 (23. Qd2 {loses to anything-b4:} Rb4 $1 (23... Bb4 $19) 24. Rad1 Rxd4 $19) (23. Qe2 {allows ...Qxd4+, but once again} Rb4 $1 $19 {is best.}) 23... Rb4 $1 {It's as easy as that: the d-pawn falls, and White's position crumbles.} 24. Kh2 (24. exf6 Rxe2 25. Qxe2 Qxd4+ 26. Kh2 Qxa1 $19) (24. Bf2 $4 Qxg2#) 24... Rxd4 25. Qb1 Ne4 {Centralization!} 26. Bxe4 Rxe4 27. Rxe4 Qxe4 28. Qxe4 Bxe4 29. Nc4 Rb8 30. Rc1 Rb5 31. e6 fxe6 32. Bxc7 Rc5 33. Bf4 Bd5 (33... Bd5 34. Ne5 Rxc1 35. Bxc1 Bb4 $19) 0-1 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.22"] [Round "8.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2811"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,83,23,32,59,68,64,64,77,53,53,12,30,-27,19,4,79,59,79,21,21,15,28,28,39,39,59,29,29,36,30,10,38,33,41,30,9,43,43,-3,0,2,-8,7,22,22,21,4,-5,-5,0,-3,17,21,47,28,20,21,3,3,3,3,17,3,7,0,0,0,3,-9,-12,-9,-10,-9,-2,0,-8,0,0,0,0,-10,-14,-6,0,0]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. a3 Bxc5 6. b4 Be7 7. Nf3 f6 8. Bb2 Nd7 9. c4 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 fxe5 11. Bxe5 $1 $146 {?} (11. Qh5+ g6 12. Qxe5 Bf6 $11 {is fine for Black, but suppose there's no pawn on e6. Then White would be in great shape with the queen on e5. That suggests that White could try}) (11. cxd5 {, and that's the move that was played in the three previous games in this line.} Nf6 $1 {is the cure.} (11... exd5 $143 $6 12. Qh5+ g6 $6 13. Qxe5 Nf6 14. Bb5+ $16) 12. Bxe5 Qxd5 $11 13. Qxd5 exd5 14. Bb5+ Kf7 15. Nc3 a5 16. O-O axb4 17. axb4 Be6 18. Rab1 Rhc8 19. Rfd1 Bf5 20. Bd3 Bxd3 21. Rxd3 Ra3 22. Rf3 Rc4 23. Bxf6 Bxf6 24. Nxd5 Rxf3 25. gxf3 Ke6 26. Nxf6 Kxf6 27. b5 b6 28. Kg2 g6 29. Kg3 {½-½ Wedel,L (2165)-Szymanski,R (2372) PER Cup4 pr43 email ICCF email 2018}) 11... Bf6 (11... Nf6) 12. Nd2 a5 13. b5 Nh6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Bd3 O-O 16. O-O b6 17. Qe2 Bb7 18. Rae1 Rae8 19. cxd5 Bxd5 {Good prep and play by So thus far.} 20. Bc4 $6 (20. Nc4 $14) 20... Qg6 $11 {From here Ding maintains equality and holds the draw.} 21. g3 Ng4 22. f3 Nf6 23. Qe3 Nd7 24. Qd4 Qf6 25. Qxf6 gxf6 26. f4 Kg7 27. Rd1 Nc5 28. f5 Rf7 29. fxe6 Bxe6 30. Bxe6 Rxe6 31. Nc4 Ne4 32. Rfe1 Rfe7 33. Rd3 Kg6 34. Nd2 Nxd2 35. Rxe6 Rxe6 36. Rxd2 Re5 37. a4 Re4 38. Rd6 Rxa4 39. Rxb6 Rb4 40. Rb8 a4 41. Ra8 Rxb5 42. Rxa4 1/2-1/2 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.22"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2696"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,55,23,16,16,17,17,11,3,11,11,25,31,-24,-18,-50,-27,-22,-16,-12,-3,-7,-2,7,38,18,32,21,37,-18,-11,-2,0,-21,-20,-29,-21,-17,-22,-30,-27,-32,6,41,43,35,36,39,36,48,62,11,53,66,22,40,10,45]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 d6 7. c3 g5 8. Bg3 a6 9. Nbd2 Ba7 10. O-O O-O 11. b4 Nh7 12. Kh1 Kh8 13. a4 f5 14. exf5 Bxf5 15. Qe2 $146 (15. b5 {was played in all the previous games.} Na5 16. bxa6 bxa6 (16... Nxc4 $146 17. axb7 Nb2 18. bxa8=Q Qxa8 19. Qb3 Nxd3 20. Qc4 Nc5 $11 {/?}) 17. Bxa6 Nf6 18. d4 e4 19. Ne1 Bxd4 20. cxd4 Rxa6 21. Nc2 $14 Bg6 22. Ra3 (22. Ne3 Nc6 23. d5 Ne7 24. Nb1 Nd7 25. Nc3 Kh7 26. Qe2 Nc5 27. a5 Qd7 28. Ra3 Rfa8 29. Qa2 Nf5 30. Nxf5 Qxf5 31. h3 e3 32. Re1 Qc2 33. Rxe3 Qxa2 34. Re7+ Kg8 35. Rxa2 Rxa5 36. Rxa5 Rxa5 37. Rxc7 Ne4 38. Nxe4 Bxe4 39. Bxd6 Bxd5 {½-½ Manso Gil,A (2579)-Korze,D (2544) olm20 final email ICCF email 2016 [2]}) 22... Nc6 23. Nc4 Qa8 24. Qa1 Kh7 25. h3 Nd5 26. N4e3 Nf4 27. Qc3 Qb7 28. Kh2 Na5 29. d5 Rf7 30. Rd1 Ra8 31. Rd2 Bh5 32. Nd4 Nxd5 33. Nxd5 Qxd5 34. Nb5 Qc6 35. Rc2 Qb6 36. Qe1 Rd8 37. Re3 Nb7 38. Rxe4 Nc5 39. Re3 Bg6 40. Rc4 Rdd7 41. f3 Nd3 42. Qd2 Nc5 43. Nc3 c6 44. Ne2 Qa6 45. Rg4 d5 46. Rb4 Rde7 47. h4 Rxe3 48. Qxe3 Qa7 49. Rb8 Na6 50. Rb6 Nc7 51. Be5 d4 52. Bxd4 Nd5 53. Qe5 Qc7 54. Rb8 Qxe5+ 55. Bxe5 Nf6 56. Rd8 Bb1 57. a5 {1-0 Fritsche,F (2362)-Langer,R (2425) GER-ch50 V02 email GER email 2018}) 15... Nf6 16. b5 Na5 17. bxa6 bxa6 18. Bxa6 Nd5 19. Rac1 Re8 20. Rfe1 Nf4 21. Bxf4 exf4 $6 (21... gxf4 $142 $11 {/?}) 22. Qxe8+ $2 (22. Qf1 $16) 22... Qxe8 23. Rxe8+ Rxe8 $11 24. d4 g4 25. Ne1 d5 26. Kg1 c5 27. Bd3 Bd7 28. dxc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.22"] [Round "8.5"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2684"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,79,23,16,16,17,17,-1,11,-2,-2,-2,-2,-14,6,-42,-30,-61,24,-10,-6,-22,-7,-19,-36,-100,-77,-95,-95,-95,25,-44,-10,-15,-34,-34,11,9,-4,-5,-7,-7,-11,-13,0,-9,-15,-46,-46,-14,-9,-39,-15,-17,18,26,38,33,35,-18,20,28,10,12,110,93,114,147,85,148,199,229,204,204,213,218,218,152,147,147,167,135]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Nbd2 a6 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nf1 Ne7 9. Bg5 (9. Ng3) 9... Ng6 10. h4 $146 {? A novelty suggested by Stockfish.} Re8 11. h5 ({But here, before pushing on with h5, it recommends the preliminary} 11. Qd2) 11... Nf4 12. Ng3 h6 13. Bxf4 exf4 $11 14. Ne2 Ng4 (14... Bb6 $142 15. Qd2 c6 16. Nxf4 Bg4 $44) 15. Rf1 $6 (15. O-O $142 $14) 15... Nf6 $11 (15... a5 $142 16. Qc2 b5 17. d4 Bb6 $15) 16. Qc2 Bg4 17. O-O-O Ba7 $6 (17... c6 $142) 18. Nxf4 $14 c6 19. Rde1 Nxh5 $6 (19... b5 $142) 20. Qd2 (20. Nxh5 $142 Bxh5 21. Kb1 $16) 20... Qf6 (20... d5 $142 $14) 21. Nxh5 Bxh5 22. Rh1 (22. Nh2 $1 $16 {followed by f4 looks promising, with the pawns steamrolling Black's kingside.}) 22... Bxf3 23. gxf3 Qxf3 24. Rh2 Kf8 (24... d5 $1) 25. Bd1 $1 Qf6 26. f4 $16 Ke7 $2 {Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Black's king may manage to escape to the queenside, but the trip will cost too much.} (26... Rad8 $8) 27. d4 $18 Kd7 28. e5 Qe7 29. Rg2 g6 (29... Rg8 30. f5 Rad8 31. e6+ Kc7 32. Qf4 g5 33. fxg6 fxg6 34. Qxh6 $18 {Black's king is safe, but White will soon be a pawn up - and a great pawn it is, on e6.}) 30. f5 $1 gxf5 31. Rg7 {Threatening e6+, possibly prefaced by Bh5.} Rf8 32. e6+ Kc7 33. Bh5 Qf6 34. Rxf7+ Rxf7 35. exf7 Rf8 36. Qe3 $1 Rxf7 37. Bxf7 Qxf7 38. Qe7+ Qxe7 39. Rxe7+ Kb6 40. c4 {White should manage to pick off the f- and h-pawns, after which the resulting ending will be an easy win.} 1-0 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.22"] [Round "8.6"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E94"] [WhiteElo "2681"] [BlackElo "2722"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,107,28,-7,-3,-24,34,34,34,34,31,24,24,24,55,34,58,52,52,50,50,50,81,59,54,71,122,43,44,39,38,31,33,24,29,24,44,40,21,14,81,30,120,49,55,16,26,-14,16,16,26,29,29,12,28,12,18,-6,14,-68,-33,-36,-23,-30,-30,-26,-37,-39,46,-58,-50,-42,-64,-64,-64,-64,-64,-69,-55,-55,-55,-55,8,8,16,20,125,114,114,34,211,196,230,216,238,197,226,226,207,199,174,178,292,270,389,389,389,388,388,388]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 {It's always fun to see the Classical King's Indian, especially when it's on someone else's board. It's hard to know how correct it is, but it promises a complex and entertaining game.} 7. O-O h6 {This move is new to me - apparently it has been played fewer than 100 times (out of tens of thousands of opportunities), but last year some very strong players trotted it out: Caruana, Aronian, Naroditsky, Niemann, etc. There results weren't amazing, but then they were generally facing elite opposition as well, and so could have scored poorly with other openings.} 8. Rb1 {Rare.} (8. Re1 {was usual, while}) (8. d5 {should be mentioned if only because it's what Carlsen played.}) 8... exd4 9. Nxd4 Re8 10. f3 c6 11. Bf4 $146 {?} (11. Kh1 d5 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Bb5 Bd7 14. exd5 Bxb5 15. Ndxb5 a6 16. Na3 b5 17. Nc2 Nbd7 18. a4 Nb6 19. axb5 Nfxd5 20. bxa6 Rxa6 21. Ne4 Ra7 22. Ne3 Rd7 23. Qb3 Qa8 24. Nxd5 Nxd5 25. Bd2 Rb8 26. Ra1 Qb7 27. Qxb7 Rdxb7 28. Bc3 Nxc3 29. bxc3 f5 30. Nc5 Rb5 31. Ne6 Bxc3 32. Rac1 Be5 33. Rfe1 Bd6 34. g3 Rb2 35. Rc6 Rd2 36. Nf4 Kf7 37. Ra6 Rb7 38. Ng2 Rbb2 39. Ra7+ Kf6 40. Ra6 h5 41. f4 Kg7 42. Re6 Rxg2 43. Raxd6 Rxh2+ 44. Kg1 Rhg2+ 45. Kf1 Rxg3 {0-1 Castellanos Rodriguez,R (2474)-Mamedov,R (2646) Braila GP RO Stage 5 rapid 2022 (4)}) 11... Nh5 $6 (11... d5 $1 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Ndb5 d4 14. Nd5 (14. Nxd4 Nxe4 $1 15. Ncb5 Ng5 $11 {/?}) (14. Qxd4 Qxd4+ 15. Nxd4 Nxe4 16. Ncb5 Ng5 17. Rbd1 Nc6 18. Nxc6 Rxe2 19. Nc7 bxc6 20. Nxa8 Ne6 $1 21. Bg3 $14) (14. Nc7 {By far the most entertaining option.} Nh5 $1 15. Bd6 $1 dxc3 16. bxc3 Bf8 17. e5 Nf4 18. Bc4 $1 (18. Nxa8 $4 Nxe2+ 19. Qxe2 Bxd6 $19) 18... Nc6 19. Nxa8 Bxd6 20. exd6 Qg5 21. g3 Qc5+ 22. Kh1 Bh3 $1 23. Bxf7+ $8 Kxf7 24. gxf4 Bxf1 25. Rxb7+ Kf8 26. Qxf1 Qxd6 27. Nc7 Re3 $11) 14... Nxd5 15. exd5 Bf5 16. Rc1 Na6 17. g4 d3 18. Bxd3 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Bxb2 20. Rcd1 Be5 21. Bxe5 Rxe5 {is at most a touch better for White.}) 12. Be3 f5 {This pawn break is Black's best move at this point (and was of course the point of ...Nh5). Still, it was better to play the other pawn break, ...d5, the move before.} 13. Qd2 f4 14. Bf2 $14 {/?} Qg5 15. Rfd1 Nd7 16. b4 Ne5 {Threatening 17...Bh3 18.Bf1 c5, as the attacked knight can't move because of ...Nxf3+ winning the queen.} 17. Kh1 {It's hard to see how Black makes anything of his aggressively placed pieces. There's nothing for them to grab hold of, so he may need to retreat the queen (and perhaps the knight on h5) to get the g-pawn (and maybe the h-pawn) rolling. If that plan isn't feasible, then all the fun will be White's, in the center and on the kingside.} Qf6 18. Rbc1 Qf7 19. a4 b6 $2 {This is bad, for both general and specific reasons. The general problem is that White has all sorts of pawn breaks here: a5 and c5, but also (in some cases) b5. But there's also a concrete problem: White can take on c6 followed by Nb5, with loads of threats.} (19... Nxc4 $4 20. Bxc4 Qxc4 21. Nd5 cxd5 22. Rxc4 dxc4 23. Nb5 $18) (19... a5 $142 $14) 20. Qa2 $2 $14 (20. Nxc6 $1 Nxc6 21. Nb5 Rd8 (21... Qe7 22. Qd5+ Be6 23. Qxc6 Be5 $16 {/+- is Black's best, returning the piece and hoping to keep the center glued shut. This shouldn't work in the long run, even if it's the best he's got.}) 22. Nxd6 Qe6 23. c5 Ne5 24. cxb6 Bf8 25. bxa7 $3 Rxd6 26. Qc3 $18 {White has four pawns for two minor pieces. What matters is how effective those pawns are, and three of them in particular look ready to start collecting Black's material.}) (20. c5 $16) (20. a5 $16) 20... Rb8 (20... Bd7 $142) 21. a5 (21. b5 $142 $1 c5 22. Nc6 $1 {A black bishop on d7 would have prevented this.} Nxc6 23. bxc6 $16) 21... Bd7 $14 22. a6 {Committal. I'm not sure what JVF's idea was, but two possibilities come to mind. One is to look for a sac on b6, aiming to get two pawns for the piece, when the a-pawn, soon joined by a passed b-pawn, will likely win material. The other is to fix Black's a-pawn as a target, e.g. for the bishop on f2 if White can break the diagonal open with a c4-c5 pawn break.} Red8 23. Nc2 Be6 24. Nd4 Bd7 (24... Bxc4 $4 25. Bxc4 Qxc4 26. Qxc4+ Nxc4 27. Nxc6 $18) 25. Rd2 Kh7 26. Rdd1 {I guess Erigaisi got ambitious at this point, because he could declare a draw by threefold repetition with 26...Kg8.} Qe7 (26... Kg8 {is game over. (Or rather, stopping the clock and telling the arbiter that you intend to make this move, creating a threefold repetition, ends the game. Actually playing the move allows White to vary and continue the game.)}) 27. Qd2 Rbc8 28. Bf1 Be8 29. Nce2 $2 {A mistake, justifying Erigaisi's decision to continue. Unfortunately for him, it will eventually turn out that making mistakes isn't a privilege belonging only to Van Foreest.} Qf7 $2 {Black instead goes for a mini-plan targeting White's c-pawn.} (29... c5 $1 30. Nb3 Ba4 31. Qa2 Bd7 $1 32. Nc3 g5 $1 {Per my comment back on move 17.} 33. Nd5 Qf7 $17 {/-+ Black will send everyone to the kingside: ...Rg8, ...Rcf8, and sooner or later the flood will begin with ...g4.}) 30. Nc3 (30. c5) 30... Qg8 31. Qe1 Bf7 32. b5 {This takes care of Black's threat to win the c-pawn.} c5 $8 (32... Bxc4 $2 33. Bxc4 Qxc4 34. bxc6 Nxc6 $2 35. Ncb5 Qa4 36. Rxc6 Bxd4 37. Rxc8 Bxf2 38. Rc7+ Ng7 39. Qf1 $18) 33. Nc6 $1 Rd7 (33... Nxc6 34. bxc6 Rxc6 35. Nb5 Rd7 36. e5 $1 Re7 $8 (36... Bxe5 $2 37. Qxe5 $3 dxe5 38. Rxd7 $18 {Black's material situation is great, but after White takes on a7 his own a-pawn will decide the game.}) 37. Qe4 Be8 38. Bh4 Rxe5 39. Qb1 Qf7 $8 40. Bd3 Bf6 41. Be1 $44 {White's bishop will zigzag its way to d5, after which White's bind outweighs Black's two extra pawns. Maybe a computer could hold Black's position, but I think White would be a heavy favorite in a battle of two elite human players.}) 34. Nxa7 $1 {Some version of this has been White's dream since 22.a6, and now it has come true. Still, Black is OK.} Rxa7 35. Rxd6 Nxc4 (35... Bxc4 $142) (35... Rb8 $2 36. Nd5 $16) 36. Bxc4 Bxc4 37. Rxb6 Nf6 38. e5 Nd7 39. Rxg6 $1 Nxe5 (39... Kxg6 $4 40. Qe4+ Kf7 41. Qxc4+ Kf8 42. e6 $18) 40. Rd6 Re8 $2 {Very natural, enhancing the threat of ...Nd3 while adding ...Nxf3 and ...Nf7 to the mix. Still, it's one more error in the rich history of mistakes made on the last move of a time control.} (40... Nd3 $1 {looks wrong because of} 41. Qe4+ Kh8 42. Rxd3 {, but now} Re8 {is effective, asking White how he will keep the rook on d3 protected.} 43. Qg6 Re6 {The answer is that the queen will give her own life so that the rook may live:} 44. Qxe6 Qxe6 45. Rd8+ Kh7 46. Bxc5 {Still, Black should hold (at least in theory) after} Rf7 47. Ne4 Bd5 48. Rxd5 $1 Qxd5 49. a7 Bb2 50. Re1 Rxa7 $1 51. Bxa7 Qxb5 {. It's hard to believe Black didn't find this line during the game. (/sarc)}) 41. Qd2 $16 Qf7 42. Bxc5 Rc7 $2 (42... Rd7 43. Rxd7 Qxd7 44. Qxd7 Nxd7 45. Bg1 Bxc3 46. Rxc3 Bxb5 47. a7 {favors White despite Black's extra piece, but I suspect that this should be drawn.}) 43. Bg1 $18 {Now White is winning, period.} Rcc8 44. a7 Be6 45. Ne4 Nc4 46. Qd3 Bf5 (46... Nxd6 $2 47. Nf6+ Kh8 48. Qh7#) 47. Ra6 Bxe4 48. fxe4 Ne5 49. Qf1 Rxc1 50. Qxc1 f3 51. Qf1 fxg2+ 52. Kxg2 Qb7 53. Qf5+ Kg8 54. Bd4 {White isn't even down any material, so between his attack and his massively dangerous queenside passers it's no surprise that Black threw in the towel here.} 1-0 [Event "85th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2023.01.22"] [Round "8.7"] [White "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E50"] [WhiteElo "2725"] [BlackElo "2719"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2023.01.14"] {[%evp 0,97,23,17,29,-11,0,6,18,17,35,42,59,51,54,49,30,47,43,47,34,45,38,39,55,38,70,61,70,63,96,66,102,52,37,42,40,42,46,26,60,52,58,64,56,73,75,69,62,62,97,63,85,94,89,89,80,51,74,20,23,18,18,-113,-50,-125,-50,-50,-4,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,263,255,536,560,544,743,724,685,905,29992,29993,29994,29995,29996]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 h6 {Two straight games with a surprising ...h6. (See Van Foreest-Erigaisi for the other one.) By the way, we can have a fun game of "Guess the Opening". What is it right now? I have no answer. Do you? Maghsoodloo isn't the first person to play this, but since he has used it at least eight times now, against elite opposition (including another game with Gukesh about five months ago) maybe he has earned naming rights? Other elite players who have used it are Vladimir Fedoseev, Kirill Alekseenko, and Yu Yangyi.} 4. Nc3 Bb4 {Now it's a Nimzo-Indian (imagine a Nimzo move order, then 4.Nf3 h6).} 5. e3 c5 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. b3 Nc6 11. Bb2 Bg4 {Is it an e3 Tarrasch now, with a weird ...h6 thrown in?} 12. h3 Bh5 13. Rc1 Bb6 14. Be2 Rc8 15. Na4 $16 {If it is a Tarrasch of some sort, it has turned out to be a very good one for White.} Bc7 16. Nc5 (16. Bxf6 $142 Qxf6 17. Qxd5 Bg6 18. Qb5 $16) 16... Bxf3 17. Bxf3 (17. Nxb7 $5 Bh2+ $1 18. Kh1 $1 Qb6 19. Bxf3 Be5 $1 20. Ba3 $1 Nb4 $1 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Bxb4 Qxb4 23. Bxd5 Qb5 $1 24. Bf3 Rc2 $3 $14 {Without this move, the entire line would be terrible for Black.}) 17... Be5 $1 $14 18. Qd2 Qe7 19. Nd3 Bxb2 (19... Ne4 $142) 20. Qxb2 Rfd8 21. Rfd1 g5 $6 22. b4 $1 $16 a6 23. a4 Qd6 24. b5 Ne7 25. a5 $16 (25. Nc5 $1 Rxc5 26. Rxc5 Qxc5 27. Qxf6 Qd6 28. Qd4 $16 {/+- Here Black's 21...g5 is all downside; his king has been weakened and he has no compensating activity on the kingside.}) 25... axb5 26. Qxb5 Nc6 27. Ra1 (27. Qxb7 $1 Nxa5 28. Qxc8 Rxc8 29. Rxc8+ Kg7 30. Nc1 $16) 27... Rc7 28. g3 $6 (28. Rdc1 $142 $16) 28... d4 $11 {Now Black is okay again, and soon more than just "okay".} 29. Nb2 Nd5 30. Nc4 Qe6 31. exd4 $5 {Rolling the dice. White offers an interesting swap, exposing his king to danger in the hope that his a-pawn will give him winning chances.} Nc3 32. Qb6 Nxd1 33. Qxc7 Qe1+ 34. Kh2 Qxf2+ 35. Bg2 Rxd4 36. Qxb7 Rxc4 37. Rxd1 Rc2 (37... Nxa5 $4 38. Qb8+ $1 ({The simple} 38. Qa8+ $18 {should win in the long run.}) 38... Kg7 39. Rd8 $18) 38. Rg1 Nd4 (38... Kg7) 39. Kh1 $8 Nf5 40. Qb8+ Kg7 41. a6 $2 {A mistake on the first move after the time control. While errors on the last move of the time control are very common and a familiar phenomenon, the "move after" error also happens with surprising frequency. Luckily for Gukesh, it proves contagious.} (41. g4 $8 $11) 41... Ra2 $2 (41... Nxg3+ 42. Kh2 Nf5 43. a7 Ra2 {will leave Black two pawns ahead. The big point is that if White promotes and then recaptures, he gets mated.} 44. a8=Q Rxa8 45. Qxa8 Qf4+ 46. Kh1 Ng3+ 47. Kh2 Nf1+ 48. Kh1 Qh2#) 42. Qe5+ $11 Kg6 $4 {Literally every other legal move maintained equality. Maybe, I've seen it conjectured, Maghsoodloo was overly tired from his 106-move game against Caruana in the previous round? Both lost in this round, with blunders, and in Maghsoodloo's case against the tournament tailender.} 43. g4 $18 Ne3 44. Be4+ {This is why all the other moves drew: in this case only Black's king has no moves.} f5 45. Qd6+ $1 Kf7 46. gxf5 {White covers g2, h2, f3, the h-file and the first rank, so Black's attack is at a standstill.} g4 (46... Nf1 {threatens mate in two (...Qh2+, ...Rxh2#), but he'll be mated first.} 47. Qe6+ Kf8 48. Qf6+ Kg8 (48... Ke8 49. Bc6#) 49. Bd5+ Kh7 50. Qg6+ Kh8 51. Qxh6# (51. Qg8#)) 47. Qe6+ Kf8 48. Qf6+ Kg8 49. Bd5+ $1 {A nice finishing touch. Black is mated in two more moves, whether or not he takes the bishop.} (49. Bd5+ $1 Nxd5 (49... Kh7 {gets mated as in the note to Black's 46th move.} 50. Qg6+ Kh8 51. Qxh6# (51. Qg8#)) 50. Rxg4+ Kh7 51. Qg7#) 1-0
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