[Event "FIDE Candidates"] [Site "Yekaterinburg"] [Date "2020.03.25"] [Round "7"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "DF"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 {Black decides not to venture the Najdorf against a fellow expert.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. h4 Qc7 {Ian repeats his opening from a few rounds before.} 8. h5 (8. Nf3 b6 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Be2 Ba4 11. O-O Nd7 12. Be3 h6 13. Ra2 Nf5 14. Bf4 Qc6 15. Rb2 $11 {Alekseenko, K-Nepomniachtchi,I Yekaterinburg 2020}) 8... h6 9. Rb1 b6 10. Qg4 Rg8 $5 (10... Kf8 11. Rh3 Ba6 12. Bxa6 Nxa6 13. Ne2 cxd4 14. cxd4 Qxc2 15. Rb2 Qe4 16. Qxe4 dxe4 17. Nc3 Rc8 18. Bd2 Rc4 19. Nxe4 (19. Nb5 $1 $132) 19... Rxd4 20. Nd6 Nc5 21. Ke2 Rd5 $17 {Dominguez Perez,L-So,W Saint Louis 2017}) 11. Bb5+ {White tries to finesse his bishop to d3 using an idea from various 1.d4 openings such as the Catalan or Nimzo-Indian.} ({Both sides, as well as previous analysts, must have known that White really wants to develop the bishop to d3. However, here there are details that make it a less than ideal plan:} 11. Bd3 cxd4 12. cxd4 Ba6 $1 {Challenging the d3-bishop in this way is Black's main idea in almost any French line involving ...b6.} 13. Bh7 Kf8 $3 $36 {White doesn't have time to take on g8 because of ...Qxc2, thus after the ...Rh8 which Black undoubtedly intends to play next he will have lost 2 tempi.}) 11... Kf8 $146 {A logical novelty.} ({In the previous game Black played} 11... Bd7 { thus renouncing his wish to develop this piece to a6. White reacted with the principled} 12. Bd3 {threatening Bh7 and in my opinion he has a slight advantage here.} Nf5 13. Qf4 Nc6 $4 14. Bxf5 exf5 15. e6 Qxf4 16. exd7+ Kxd7 17. Bxf4 $18 {Bartel,M-Jaroch,K Zgierz 2017}) ({After} 11... Nd7 {White is under no obligation to retreat the bishop on b5; it can never really be trapped because he can always take on d7 at the last moment.}) 12. Bd3 (12. a4 c4 $17) 12... Ba6 {Obviously, White isn't going to play Bh7 now as there would be no point; rather, he will try and claim that ...Kf8 was also a concession of some kind.} 13. dxc5 Bxd3 14. cxd3 Nd7 {One of several moves of approximately equal value, in a tremendously complicated position.} (14... bxc5 $11) ({The computer also suggests the remarkably chilled-out} 14... Rh8 { intending ...Kg8-h7.}) 15. d4 bxc5 16. Qd1 Qa5 {Over the next few moves Black drifts a bit, not improving his king position but also not grabbing pawns to compensate for it.} (16... Nc6 $5 17. f4 f5 (17... Qa5 $6 {is again a bit slow: } 18. Bd2 Ke7 19. f5 Rab8 20. fxe6 fxe6 21. Ne2 $14) 18. g4 fxg4 19. f5 $1 exf5 20. Ne2 $13 {White has to go all-in, and I think this works out for him.}) ({ Therefore, it seems like a better order to start with} 16... Rb8 {:} 17. Rxb8+ (17. Bd2 Nc6 {Back to plan A, now that White can't simply reply with f4.} 18. Ne2 (18. f4 Rxb1 $1 19. Qxb1 Qb6 $15) 18... Ke7 19. O-O Qa5 20. Rxb8 (20. f4 $6 Rxb1 21. Qxb1 Nxd4 $15)) 17... Qxb8 18. Ne2 c4 $1 {Closing the centre.} 19. O-O Qb3 $13 {With the idea of, for instance, ...Nb6 and ...Ke8-d7. Even if White somehow wins a pawn he won't be better.}) 17. Bd2 Rb8 18. Ne2 c4 $6 {Black realises the catch-22 a bit late: to connect rooks his king has to get to the 7th rank, which means he has to move one or other knight, but then White will open the centre before Black has connected rooks, either with dxc5 or f4.} ({ There were still some workarounds like} 18... Rxb1 $5 19. Qxb1 Qa6 {followed by ...Ke8-d8-c7 or ...f5.} 20. a4 $5 (20. Be3 cxd4 21. cxd4 f5 $11) (20. f3 Ke8 21. Kf2 Kd8 22. a4 Kc7 $11) 20... f5 21. exf6 Nxf6 22. Qb5 Qxb5 23. axb5 Kf7 24. Bf4 cxd4 25. cxd4 Rc8 $132) 19. O-O Rb6 20. Qc2 $14 {The problem is that Black cannot prevent f4-f5 in the long term, except by playing the (undesirable) ...f5 himself. Then White may be able to play g4, but definitely taking on f6 is also an option.} Rh8 $6 {This is a 'nothing' move. Against ... Nc6 White might well have intended Qh7, but then again he might not, and removing that optionality is not worth one tempo.} (20... Qxa3 21. Bc1 Qa6 22. Rb2 $1 $16 {A 'computer move' which has the idea of Ra2 and Ba3.}) (20... f5 21. exf6 Nxf6 22. Rxb6 axb6 23. Nf4 Kf7 24. Re1 $16) ({The lesser evil was probably} 20... Nb8 $1 21. a4 Nbc6 $14 {which stalls the idea of Bc1-a3 while also cuing up ...Ke8-d7.}) 21. a4 Ke8 22. Rb4 {It seems like White has decided to try and play Ba3 without improving Black's structure.} (22. Rxb6 $5 axb6 23. Bc1 $16) 22... Nc6 $6 23. f4 $1 Ne7 {After all Black's dithering it seems he now has a nearly lost position.} (23... Nxb4 $2 24. cxb4 Qa6 (24... Rxb4 25. Qc3 $18) 25. b5 Qb7 26. Bb4 $18) 24. Rfb1 f5 25. Rb5 Qa6 26. Bc1 Kf7 $6 { Black makes a decision to more or less sit tight.} ({It was possible to try and run the gauntlet:} 26... g6 27. Ba3 Rxb5 28. Rxb5 gxh5 $16 {though White has numerous appealing options, like the piece sacrifice} 29. Bxe7 Kxe7 30. Ng3 h4 31. Nxf5+ exf5 32. Qxf5 {with a strong attack.}) 27. Ba3 Rhb8 28. Bxe7 Kxe7 29. g4 Rxb5 30. axb5 Rxb5 31. gxf5 Rxb1+ 32. Qxb1 exf5 33. Ng3 $1 $18 {The f5-pawn is doomed anyway and it's better to take there with the knight, so that he can continue on his route to d6 in some lines. White finishes very crisply.} Qb6 34. Nxf5+ Kf8 35. Qa1 Qe6 36. Ng3 Qg4 37. Kg2 Qxf4 38. Qxa7 Ke7 39. Qa3+ Kd8 40. Qd6 g5 41. hxg6 h5 42. g7 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates"] [Site "Yekaterinburg"] [Date "2020.03.25"] [Round "7"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "DF"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. Nf3 ({Another major line is} 3. d4 {.}) 3... e4 4. Nd4 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nc2 Nf6 7. Nc3 Qe5 8. Bg2 Na6 ({As Black Giri had chosen to try and bring the knight to c6.} 8... Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. f4 (10. Nxe4 $5 Nxe4 11. f4 Qe6 12. f5 Qd5 13. g4 Bc5+ 14. Kh1 Nd7 15. d3 Ndf6 $132) 10... exf3 11. Rxf3 c5 $1 12. Ne3 Nc6 13. Qf1 Nd4 14. Rf4 Be6 15. b3 Rab8 16. Nc4 Qc7 $15 { Grandelius,N-Giri,A Stavanger 2016}) 9. O-O Be7 {Waiting for White to make another move before pushing on the kingside.} (9... h5 $6 {This move is tempting but premature. Black can get away with these ideas in the thematically similar 4...Nf6 Caro-Kann, but not here.} 10. d4 $1 Qe6 11. Bg5 h4 12. Bxh4 Rxh4 13. gxh4 Qg4 14. Nxe4 $1 Nxe4 15. f3 Qg6 16. fxe4 Bh3 17. Rf2 Bxg2 18. Rxg2 Qxe4 19. Qd3 $18 {Martinez Alcantara,J-Vitiugov,N Riga 2019}) 10. Ne3 h5 {Like Giri himself a couple of days ago, Grischuk doesn't really want to deliver mate along the h-file, but rather just hint that such a thing is possible to encourage his opponent to simplify.} 11. d4 (11. h4 Bc5 $11) 11... exd3 12. exd3 Qd4 {Black plays in principled fashion. He intends ...Nc5 and the position is basically equal.} 13. Nc2 Qg4 14. Bf4 Qxd1 15. Raxd1 Bg4 16. Rd2 O-O-O $11 17. d4 Nc7 18. Ne3 Be6 19. d5 {White recognised that this pawn was about to be blockaded, so after half an hour's thought decided to push (even at the possible cost of killing the game.)} ({After} 19. Bxc7 Kxc7 20. d5 {, unlike in the game, Grischuk could have very seriously considered playing} Bc5 $5 {forcing White to simplify on different terms.} (20... cxd5 21. Rfd1 Rd7 22. Ncxd5+ Nxd5 23. Nxd5+ Bxd5 24. Rxd5 Rxd5 25. Rxd5 h4 $11) 21. Rc2 (21. Rfd1 Bxe3 22. fxe3 Bxd5 23. Bxd5 cxd5 24. Nxd5+ Rxd5 25. Rxd5 Nxd5 26. Rxd5 h4 $11 { Black can play on a bit in this equal rook ending due to his better structure.} ) 21... Bxe3 22. dxe6 Rd2 23. Rxd2 Bxd2 24. exf7 Bxc3 $1 25. bxc3 Rf8 $11 { The position is imbalanced but dynamically equal.}) 19... Ncxd5 {A sedate, sensible reply; Grischuk is happy to draw.} ({Black had the incredible option of} 19... Bc5 $5 {but it isn't even clear to me that he benefits if White gives the exchange.} 20. dxe6 Rxd2 21. exf7 $13) 20. Ncxd5 Nxd5 21. Nxd5 Bxd5 22. Rxd5 (22. Bxd5 {is the same. With two pairs of rooks on the board Black can't recapture with the pawn:} cxd5 $2 23. Rc1+ Kd7 24. Rc7+ Ke8 25. Rxb7 $16) 22... Rxd5 23. Bxd5 cxd5 24. Rc1+ Kd7 25. Rc7+ Ke6 26. Rxb7 Rc8 27. Rxa7 Rc2 28. Be3 Bf6 29. Ra4 Bxb2 30. Kg2 d4 {You could reasonably ask whether Black really had to destroy all the tension immediately. Was it possible to play for a later ...d4 instead, perhaps after preparing with ...g5? Well, I think it was possible, but Grischuk no longer felt it was conceivable that the game would leave the drawing margin, and so concluded things without spending too much energy.} (30... f6 $5 31. h4 Rc4 32. Ra7 d4 33. Bf4 $11) (30... Rc4 31. Ra6+ Kf5 32. Ra7 $11) 31. Bxd4 Bxd4 32. Rxd4 Rxa2 {There follow some quite amusing non-moves to reach the point of allowed draw offers.} 33. Re4+ Kf6 34. Rf4+ Ke6 35. Re4+ Kf6 36. Rf4+ Ke6 37. Re4+ Kf6 38. Rf4+ Ke6 39. h4 g6 40. Re4+ Kf6 {A very correct draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates"] [Site "Yekaterinburg"] [Date "2020.03.25"] [Round "7"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Wang, Hao"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "DF"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. O-O-O Nf6 {Of course, this opening by Wang is mostly notable due to having been Caruana's own choice in a certain other game with a fair amount of competitive significance.} 10. Bd3 c5 11. Rhe1 Be6 12. Kb1 Qa5 13. c4 (13. a3 $5 c4 14. Be2 Ne4 15. Qc1 d5 16. Bd4 {I think this line still deserves a closer look.} Rac8 17. Ne5 Nd6 (17... Bc5 $5 $132) 18. Bg4 Rfe8 $4 19. Qf4 $2 ( 19. Nxf7 Bxf7 20. Rxe7 $18) 19... Bf8 20. Re3 Qc7 21. Rde1 Ne4 22. Bxe6 Rxe6 23. f3 Nd6 24. Ng4 $14 {Caruana,F-Duda,J Paris 2019}) 13... Qxd2 14. Nxd2 (14. Bxd2 h6 15. Nh4 (15. b3 Rad8 16. Bf5 Bxf5 17. Rxe7 d5 18. Rxb7 dxc4 19. Kc1 $14 {Nepomniachtchi,I-Duda,J Paris 2019}) 15... Rfe8 16. Ng6 Ng4 17. Nxe7+ Rxe7 18. Re2 Ne5 19. Bf4 Nxd3 20. Rxd3 Rd7 21. Rxd6 Rxd6 22. Bxd6 Rd8 23. Rd2 Bxc4 $11 { Carlsen,M-Caruana,F London 2018}) 14... Rad8 15. f3 b6 16. g4 $5 {Black was ready to play ...d5 and liquidate both his own backward pawn and White's doubled pawn, so that the structure would be completely symmetrical. Caruana decides to try and introduce some slightly more complex problems into the position.} d5 (16... Nd7 $5) 17. g5 Nh5 18. cxd5 Bxd5 19. Ne4 f5 20. gxf6 Nxf6 21. Bg5 Kf7 {White's problem now is that all his efforts to unbalance the position have left him with a worse structure, and he needs to look for something concrete. Black's problem is that the present move gives White a sliver of a chance to justify his choices.} (21... c4 22. Nc3 cxd3 23. Rxe7 Bxf3 24. Rxd3 Rxd3 25. cxd3 Rf7 $11 {White may need to limit his ambitions quite explicitly in order to keep this position equal.}) 22. Ng3 {Not the most precise move, but to the human eye it seems much more tempting to bring the knight to f5 rather than b5.} (22. Nc3 $5 {Offering a pawn, but rather than take it Black should offer one of his own.} Be6 ({The computer indicates that the compensation after} 22... Bxf3 23. Rd2 h6 24. Bf4 $13 {is nebulous, but could well take on solid form soon. The key point is that Black's king cannot easily escape from its current position on f7, which is quite a weak one.}) 23. Nb5 $5 {White has to continue playing with some imagination.} (23. f4 Rfe8 24. f5 Bd7 $11 {is dull for Black, but also quite equal.}) 23... c4 (23... Nd5 24. Bxe7 Nxe7 25. a4 $14 {White has some real initiative here.}) 24. Bf1 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Rc8 $1 {I think this is probably the best way to meet the ideas of Nxa7 and Nc7.} 26. Nd6+ (26. Nxa7 Rc7 27. Nb5 Rc5 28. Bxf6 Kxf6 29. a4 Rg5 $44 { Black has at least adequate compensation for the pawn.}) 26... Bxd6 27. Rxd6 Rc5 $11 {Black's structural advantage compensates for the bishop-pair, but there are still very good chances for the better player to win.}) 22... c4 23. Bf1 b5 24. a4 a6 25. axb5 axb5 26. Nf5 {White recognises that if he does nothing, his split kingside pawns will cause headaches in the future.} Bc5 ({ It seems marginally more precise to me to play} 26... Bb4 27. c3 Bc5 {when White's queenside pawns are a bit stuck.}) 27. Re5 Bxf3 28. Rxd8 {Caruana keeps playing for a win, but seemingly not in an appropriate set of circumstances. In another three moves it will be Black trying.} (28. Bxc4+ bxc4 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. Rxc5 Rd5 {leaves less play in the position, and it seems Black's king might be better situated for the ending. Nevertheless, I think White should do this, and Black needs to be unafraid of ghosts to play in the most accurate fashion:} 31. Rc7+ Kg6 $1 (31... Rd7 32. Rxc4 $14) (31... Nd7 32. Ne3 Rxg5 33. Rxd7+ Ke6 34. Rd4 $36) 32. Bxf6 Kxf6 33. Ne3 Rh5 34. Rxc4 g5 $11 { In principle the bishop should be better in a pawn-race situation like this, though it isn't yet 100 percent clear that Black is getting to take on h2.}) 28... Rxd8 29. Rxc5 Rd1+ 30. Ka2 Rxf1 31. Rxb5 c3 $5 {One of several very interesting attempts to win that Black has now.} ({I wondered whether Black could be greedy in this position and try} 31... Rf2 {which should probably not be enough for an advantage, but is worth looking at.} 32. Nd6+ $1 ({After the natural} 32. h4 $6 {White's piece co-ordination is so terrible that even having a passed b-pawn doesn't restore the balance.} Nd5 $1 (32... Rxc2 33. Nd4 Rf2 34. Rf5 $16) 33. Nd6+ Ke6 34. Nxc4 Rxc2 35. Nd2 (35. Ne3 Nc3+ 36. Kb3 Rxb2+ 37. Kxb2 Nxb5 $15 {White should almost definitely draw this, but it's becoming harder.}) 35... Be2 36. Rb7 h6 $15) 32... Ke6 33. Nf5 Be4 $5 34. Nxg7+ Kf7 35. Bxf6 Rxf6 36. Nh5 Rf2 $11) ({If Black really wants to have some fun he can try } 31... Nd5 {immediately as well:} 32. Nd6+ Ke6 33. Nxc4 Rf2 34. Nd2 Be2 35. Rc5 Rxh2 $13 {when both sides have 2 connected passed pawns.}) 32. Bxf6 (32. bxc3 $4 Bd5+ {wins material.}) 32... Kxf6 33. Ne3 Rf2 34. Rf5+ $6 {This natural check lands White in trouble, though he can still defend.} (34. b4 $5 g6 35. Kb3 Rxh2 36. Kxc3 h5 37. Rb8 $13 {keeps both winning and losing chances. }) 34... Ke6 35. Ka3 $1 {The safest bail-out in this case is to accept being a pawn down.} ({It is not certain that} 35. bxc3 $2 {is mathematically lost, but White is definitely in trouble.} g6 $1 36. Rf4 (36. Rb5 Rxh2 $17) 36... Ke5 37. Ng4+ Kxf4 38. Nxf2 Bb7 $17) 35... cxb2 36. Kxb2 h5 (36... Rxc2+ 37. Kxc2 Be4+ 38. Kd1 Bxf5 39. Ke2 Ke5 40. Kf3 $15 {In this version White lacks protected squares for his knight (like g5) and so there are still some things Black can try.}) 37. h4 Rxc2+ 38. Kxc2 Be4+ 39. Kd2 Bxf5 40. Ke2 Ke5 41. Kf3 Bd3 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates"] [Site "Yekaterinburg"] [Date "2020.03.25"] [Round "7"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "DF"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 ({ The main line and probably also the sharpest one is} 7... c6 $5 {intending to grab the c4-pawn soon.}) 8. Qc2 ({The most critical approach is to ditch the c4-pawn again. I updated my old analysis in what follows.} 8. Nc3 c6 9. Bf4 dxc4 ({This is one of a few places where Black can try and make a draw with} 9... Nh5 10. Bc1 Nhf6 {.}) 10. e4 Re8 (10... b5 $5 {This move is possible, but Black needs a lot more knowledge in order to make it work.} 11. d5 Qb6 $1 ( 11... e5 $6 12. Nxe5 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Ng4 14. Bf4 g5 15. Bd2 b4 16. Na4 Ne5 17. a3 $1 bxa3 18. Bc3 $14) (11... cxd5 12. exd5 Qb6 13. dxe6 fxe6 14. Nd4 $14) 12. dxc6 (12. Be3 $6 Bc5 $11 {Matlakov,M-Grandelius,N Doha 2015}) 12... Nc5 13. e5 Nd5 14. Bg5 Bxg5 (14... Rd8 $6 15. Nxb5 $1 $14 {is a very strange decoy tactic. }) 15. Nxg5 Nd3 $1 {There is no need to fear sacrificing a pawn on d5.} (15... h6 16. Nge4 Nd3 17. Qh5 Qd4 $6 18. Nxb5 Qxe5 19. Qxe5 Nxe5 20. Nec3 $14 { Gupta,A-Ankit,R New Delhi 2011}) 16. Nxd5 (16. Nxh7 Kxh7 17. Qh5+ Kg8 18. Be4 g6 19. Bxg6 fxg6 20. Qxg6+ Kh8 21. Nxd5 exd5 22. Qh6+ $11) (16. Bxd5 exd5 17. Nxd5 Qd8 $19) 16... exd5 17. Bxd5 Bf5 $1 (17... h6 18. Nxf7 Rxf7 19. a4 $1 $14 {Black's structure is broken and so his position is harder to play.}) 18. a4 Nxe5 $1 (18... Rad8 19. Qf3 Bg6 20. Nxf7 Rxf7 21. axb5 Nxe5 22. Bxf7+ Bxf7 23. Qf5 $16) 19. Re1 Nd3 20. Qf3 Bg4 $1 $13 {The complications continue, but Black is holding his own.}) 11. a4 b6 12. d5 $5 exd5 13. exd5 Bb7 $1 14. a5 a6 $1 ( 14... bxa5 $6 15. d6 Bf8 16. Nd2 Nb6 (16... Nd5 $6 17. Nxd5 cxd5 18. Nxc4 $14 { Now White takes the bishop-pair. Nakamura,H-Karjakin,S Saint Louis 2018}) ( 16... Rc8 $1 {This machine-precise move is the only way, it seems, to equalise reliably.} 17. Nxc4 Ba6 18. b3 Nc5 $11) 17. Nde4 Nfd5 (17... Nxe4 18. Nxe4 Nd5 19. Bg5 Qb6 20. d7 Reb8 (20... Re5 21. d8=Q Rxd8 22. Bxd8 Qxd8 23. Qd4 $14) 21. Qg4 Ba6 22. Nf6+ Nxf6 23. Bxf6 $16 {Zontakh,A-Grigoryan,A Legnica 2013}) 18. Nc5 $5 Nxf4 19. gxf4 Qb8 20. N3e4 Nd5 21. Qg4 $13) 15. d6 Bf8 16. axb6 $1 (16. b3 $6 b5 $1 $15) (16. Nd4 Rc8 17. axb6 Qxb6 18. Nf5 $13 {White's position looks easier to play, but assuming Black can get away with ...c5, this does not translate into an actual advantage.}) 16... Nxb6 17. b3 c5 18. bxc4 $11) 8... c6 9. Bf4 ({A couple of years ago White came up with a nuance here.} 9. Rc1 b6 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Bf4 Bb7 12. Qb3 $5 {The idea is that Black probably cannot make do without ...a6, whether or not White places his queen on a4.} ( 12. Qa4 a6 (12... Rc8 $1) 13. Nbd2 (13. Rc7 $5 {is an exchange sacrifice that gives White quite good compensation.}) 13... Rc8 14. Qd1 Nh5 15. Rxc8 Bxc8 16. Rc1 Nxf4 17. gxf4 Bb7 18. e3 Qb8 $11 {Ghaem Maghami,E-Wei,Y Tashkent 2016}) 12... Rc8 13. Rxc8 Qxc8 14. Nc3 {See my annotations to Karjakin,S-Wei,Y Tata Steel Masters 2018.}) 9... b6 (9... Nh5 {This is another place where White will have to think of something new.}) 10. Rd1 Ba6 11. Nbd2 Rc8 12. Rac1 Nh5 13. Be3 Nhf6 14. Bg5 {White decides to play on. This move introduces ideas of e4, and Black's next move is prophylaxis against exactly that.} Bb7 ({It isn't so clear that White is better after} 14... h6 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. e4 Be7 { , but still Black felt he was not obliged to allow e4.}) 15. Ne5 $1 (15. e4 { would give Black a couple of ways to equalise.} c5 (15... dxe4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Qxe4 Nf6 19. Qf4 c5 {could also work, but Black should remember to take back on c5 with the pawn, and have a plan in mind in case White opts to play d5 instead and sacrifice a pawn.}) (15... h6 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 $11) 16. cxd5 exd5 17. e5 Ne4 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 $11) ({Playing} 15. Bxf6 { unprovoked is rarely clever:} Bxf6 16. e4 c5 $132) 15... Nxe5 $5 {A double-edged decision.} (15... h6 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. f4 c5 $11) 16. dxe5 Ng4 ({ The text move was directed against the idea of} 16... Nd7 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. f4 $14 {with some kind of dark-squared blockade.}) 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Nf3 f6 { After this move Black was always going to suffer for a few moves. White repays the favour before long though.} (18... c5 $1 19. cxd5 Bxd5 $132) 19. exf6 ({ The computer suggests the impractical} 19. Qa4 Nxe5 20. Nxe5 fxe5 21. Qxa7 $14) 19... Nxf6 20. Bh3 (20. Ne5 $14 {looks quite safe to me.}) 20... Rce8 21. Qa4 $5 c5 {Black gets the right idea, but he could probably have sacrificed one pawn rather than two.} (21... Ne4 $1 22. Qxa7 Qc7 23. cxd5 exd5 24. Rxd5 (24. Qa3 c5 $44) 24... Nxf2 $1 25. Bf5 $8 (25. Kxf2 $6 Qe7 $15) 25... Rxf5 26. Rxf5 Nh3+ 27. Kg2 Ra8 28. Qxa8+ Bxa8 29. Kxh3 c5 $132) 22. b4 $6 ({It wasn't clear to me, while watching live, exactly what happened if White grabbed the pawn.} 22. Qxa7 d4 $5 (22... Qc7 23. Nd4 $3 {Now there are some ridiculous lines, mostly involving queen sacrifices.} Ra8 (23... cxd4 24. cxd5 Qe7 25. d6 Qf7 26. Rc7 Nd7 27. f3 $14) 24. Nxe6 Qc6 25. cxd5 Nxd5 26. Qxb7 Qxb7 27. Nxf8 Kxf8 28. Bg2 Rd8 29. Rc3 $14) 23. Qxb6 Ne4 $13 {Black has very active pieces, but even so, full compensation for 2 pawns might be a slight stretch.}) 22... cxb4 23. Qxa7 Ne4 $1 {Alekseenko conducts this phase of the game quite well.} ({A much riskier approach was:} 23... dxc4 24. Rxc4 Nd5 25. Bxe6+ Qxe6 26. Qxb7 { when Black has to find the un-intuitive line} Nc3 27. Rd7 Nxe2+ 28. Kg2 Rxf3 $1 29. Rxg7+ Kf8 30. Rxh7 Rf7 $11) 24. Qxb6 (24. a3 bxa3 25. cxd5 exd5 26. Qxb6 $11) 24... Nc3 25. Re1 dxc4 26. a3 Bd5 {A less ambitious move, but not wrong.} (26... Nxe2+ {was possible, due to a resource that would only be obvious to me with hindsight:} 27. Rxe2 Bxf3 28. Rxe6 Qg5 29. Rce1 Rb8 $1 (29... Qh6 $6 30. Bf1 $3 $14) 30. Qe3 Qxe3 31. R6xe3 b3 $3 {Black doesn't need both the queenside pawns, and the material balance isn't that important either.} 32. Be6+ Kh8 33. Bxc4 b2 $44) 27. Qxb4 Qxb4 28. axb4 Nxe2+ ({There was no point playing} 28... Na2 29. Ra1 Nxb4 30. e4 $14 {when White's better structure gives him a small advantage.}) 29. Rxe2 Rxf3 30. Bg2 Rff8 $8 31. Rd2 Rb8 32. Bxd5 exd5 33. Rxd5 Rxb4 34. Rc2 {White couldn't find anything better than heading for this rather equal rook ending.} Rc8 35. Kf1 c3 36. Ke2 Rb7 37. Rd3 Rb2 38. Kd1 Rb1+ 39. Ke2 Rb2 40. Kd1 Rb1+ 1/2-1/2
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