[Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.21"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2643"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,86,31,23,24,-8,6,6,6,12,39,11,27,33,33,-2,-2,-13,8,-2,-3,6,16,19,34,19,30,33,27,27,23,23,21,20,27,25,16,10,12,-21,36,26,32,28,27,31,45,59,29,41,46,42,51,0,13,0,0,0,0,0,0,-15,-21,-14,0,-12,0,0,-23,0,-5,-17,-22,-38,-23,-23,-24,-26,-30,-2,-1,-29,-24,-5,0,-5,-5,-5,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 Bd7 (9... dxc4) (9... Bxc3+) 10. Qb3 dxc4 11. Qxc4 Qe7 12. a3 (12. O-O) 12... Bd6 13. O-O (13. Ne4) 13... e5 14. Rfe1 (14. d5 Na5 15. Qa2 e4 16. Nd4 c5 17. dxc6 Nxc6 18. Nxc6 Bxc6 19. g3 Be5 20. Rac1 Rad8 21. Rfd1 g6 22. Qb3 Kg7 23. Bc4 Qf6 24. Bd5 Bxc3 25. bxc3 Rfe8 26. c4 h5 27. h4 Qe5 28. Rd4 Bxd5 29. cxd5 Rd7 30. Qa4 Red8 31. Rxe4 Qxd5 32. Rd4 Qf5 33. Qxa7 Rxd4 34. exd4 Qd5 35. Rb1 Rd7 36. Qc5 Qxd4 37. Qxd4+ Rxd4 38. Rxb7 Rd1+ 39. Kg2 Ra1 40. Rb3 Ra2 41. Kf3 f6 42. Rb7+ Kh6 43. Ra7 g5 44. a4 Kg6 45. a5 Ra3+ 46. Ke4 gxh4 47. gxh4 Ra4+ 48. Kd5 Rxh4 49. a6 Ra4 50. Ra8 h4 51. Kc5 Ra2 52. f3 h3 53. Kb6 Rb2+ 54. Kc6 Rc2+ 55. Kb6 Rb2+ 56. Kc6 {½-½ Bu,X (2729)-Vidit,S (2707) Hengshui IMSA blitz 2019 (14)}) 14... a6 (14... Rae8) 15. Rad1 $146 Rae8 16. Ne4 Bf5 (16... exd4 $142 17. Nxd6 Be6 $1 18. Qc2 Qxd6 19. Nxd4 Nxd4 20. Rxd4 Qe7 $11) 17. Nxd6 (17. Ng3 $142) 17... cxd6 18. d5 Nb8 19. Qb4 (19. Rc1 $142) 19... Rc8 (19... Nd7 $1 $11) 20. Rc1 (20. Nd2 $142) 20... Rc7 (20... b5 $142 $11) 21. Nd2 (21. Rxc7 Qxc7 22. Nd2 $14) 21... Rfc8 22. Rxc7 Qxc7 23. e4 $14 Bd7 24. Nc4 (24. Nb3 $142 b5 25. Rc1 $14) 24... b5 25. Na5 f5 26. exf5 (26. Bf3 $142 f4 27. Bh5) 26... Bxf5 $11 27. a4 Qc5 28. Qxc5 Rxc5 29. axb5 axb5 30. Rd1 Rc2 31. Bxb5 Rc5 32. Nc6 Bg4 33. f3 Bxf3 34. gxf3 Rxb5 35. Ne7+ Kf8 36. Nc8 Rxb2 37. Nxd6 Nd7 38. Ne4 Nf6 39. d6 Ke8 40. Nc5 Nd7 41. Ne4 Nf6 42. Nc5 Nd7 43. Ne4 Nf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.21"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Warmerdam, Max"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2625"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,86,31,23,34,-8,6,12,31,31,59,40,40,29,19,-1,-6,-63,2,20,31,31,21,-15,31,-2,53,-27,50,29,54,19,36,18,24,7,13,30,30,28,34,35,36,36,36,40,33,5,8,33,44,22,28,28,38,40,22,18,40,18,18,11,18,18,18,13,18,13,13,-11,11,-7,4,4,12,0,17,15,2,0,0,0,0,0,54,32,18,35,47]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ {The Bogo-Indian isn't all that popular at the highest levels, but it does seem to be a Praggnanandhaa favorite.} 4. Bd2 Qe7 5. g3 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 Nc6 7. b3 (7. Nc3 {was the main move, but it's getting supplanted by the text.} d5 8. Bg2 (8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. Rfe1 h6 12. Qc2 Bg4 13. Rad1 Qd7 14. Qb3 Rab8 15. a3 a6 16. e3 Ne7 17. Rc1 Ng6 18. Na4 c6 19. Nc5 Qf5 20. Nd2 Bh3 21. Qd3 Qc8 22. Bf3 Nf8 23. e4 dxe4 24. Ndxe4 Qf5 25. b4 Red8 26. Rcd1 Nd5 27. Bg2 Bxg2 28. Kxg2 b6 29. Nb3 Ne6 30. Qf3 Ne7 31. Ned2 Rd5 32. Qxf5 Nxf5 33. Re5 Rbd8 34. Rxd5 cxd5 35. Rc1 Nfxd4 36. Nxd4 Nxd4 37. Nf3 Nxf3 38. Kxf3 Rd6 39. Ke3 d4+ 40. Kd3 g5 41. a4 Kg7 42. Rc2 h5 43. Re2 Rd5 44. Re4 b5 45. axb5 {½-½ Nguyen,N (2635)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2727) Asian Games tt Hangzhou 2023 (7.6)}) 8... dxc4 9. O-O O-O 10. e4 (10. e3 Rb8 11. a4 a6 12. a5 b5 13. axb6 cxb6 14. Ne5 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Nd7 16. Qd4 b5 17. Ne4 Bb7 18. Nd6 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Rb6 20. Rfd1 Rc6 21. Nxb5 Nxe5 22. Qxe5 Rc5 23. Qd6 Qb7+ 24. Kg1 Rc6 25. Qd8 Qxb5 26. Qe7 Rcc8 27. Rd2 Rfe8 28. Qd6 a5 29. Qd7 Qb4 30. Ra4 Qb6 31. Rxc4 Rcd8 32. Qa4 g6 33. Rcc2 Kg7 34. h4 h5 35. Qe4 Qb5 36. Qf4 Rxd2 37. Rxd2 Rc8 38. Kh2 Rc4 39. Qf3 Rc1 40. Qe4 Rc4 41. Qf3 Rc1 42. Qe4 Qf1 43. Qe5+ Kh7 44. Qe4 Qe1 45. Qf3 Kg7 46. Re2 Qd1 47. e4 Rc2 48. Re3 Qxf3 49. Rxf3 Rxb2 50. Kg2 Rb4 51. e5 Rb5 52. Re3 a4 53. Ra3 Rb4 54. f4 Kf8 55. Rc3 Rb8 56. Ra3 Rb2+ 57. Kf1 Rb3 58. Rxa4 Rxg3 59. Kf2 Rg4 60. Rb4 Rxh4 61. Kg2 Kg7 62. Kg3 Rg4+ 63. Kf3 g5 {0-1 Abdusattorov,N (2716)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2727) Tata Steel India blitz Kolkata 2023 (4)}) 10... Rb8 11. Rfe1 Rd8 12. Rad1 b5 13. a3 a5 14. Nd5 exd5 15. exd5 Qd6 16. dxc6 b4 17. Ne5 Be6 18. axb4 Qxb4 19. Qxb4 axb4 20. d5 Nxd5 21. Nxc4 Kf8 22. h3 Ra8 23. Ra1 b3 24. Ne5 Rxa1 25. Rxa1 Ke7 26. Ra7 Kd6 27. Nc4+ Kc5 28. Nd2 Nf6 29. Ne4+ Nxe4 30. Bxe4 Rd1+ 31. Kg2 Kd6 32. Ra8 Ke5 33. Kf3 Re1 34. Ra5+ Kd6 35. g4 h6 36. Rb5 Bc4 37. Rb4 Kc5 38. Rb7 Kd6 39. Rb4 Be6 40. Rd4+ Ke5 41. Rb4 g5 42. Rb5+ Kd4 43. Rb4+ Bc4 44. Ra4 Kc5 45. Ra7 Kd6 46. Ra4 Be2+ 47. Kg3 Bb5 48. Rd4+ Kc5 49. Rd5+ Kb6 50. Rd4 Rg1+ 51. Kf3 Rh1 52. Kg3 Rc1 53. Kf3 Bc4 54. Ke3 Kc5 55. Rd7 Re1+ 56. Kf3 Kb6 57. Rd4 Be6 58. Rb4+ Kc5 59. Rb7 Kd6 60. Rb4 Rh1 61. Rd4+ Ke5 62. Rd2 Re1 {0-1 Radjabov,T (2745)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2727) Tata Steel India rapid Kolkata 2023 (1)}) 7... Ne4 (7... O-O 8. Bg2 d5 9. O-O dxc4 10. bxc4 e5 11. d5 Nb8 12. Qc3 Re8 13. Nfd2 e4 14. Nb3 Bg4 15. f3 Bf5 16. Nd4 Bg6 17. f4 h6 18. Nd2 Nbd7 19. N2b3 Rac8 20. Na5 c6 21. dxc6 bxc6 22. Rab1 Nb6 23. Naxc6 Qd6 24. Ne5 Nfd7 25. Nxg6 Rxc4 26. Qe3 Qxd4 27. Qxd4 Rxd4 28. Nh4 Rd2 29. Nf5 Nf6 30. e3 g6 31. Nd4 Nbd5 32. Rf2 Rxf2 33. Kxf2 Ng4+ 34. Ke1 Ngxe3 35. Bf1 Rc8 36. Ba6 Rc3 37. Rb3 Rc1+ 38. Ke2 Ra1 39. Ra3 Rh1 40. Bb7 Rxh2+ 41. Ke1 Nc4 42. Rxa7 Nf6 43. Bc6 e3 44. Bb5 Nd6 45. Bd3 Rd2 46. Ra3 Nh5 47. Ne2 Nf6 48. Kf1 Nd5 49. Rb3 Rxa2 50. Rb8+ Kg7 51. Rd8 Ra3 52. Bxg6 fxg6 53. Rxd6 Nf6 54. Kg2 h5 55. Kf3 Ng4 56. Rd7+ Kh6 57. Rd6 Ra1 58. Nd4 Rf1+ 59. Ke4 Rf2 60. Re6 Kg7 61. f5 Kf7 62. fxg6+ Kg8 63. Nf5 Kf8 64. g7+ Kf7 65. Re7+ Kf6 66. g8=Q {1-0 Lazavik,D (2541)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2690) Airthings Masters Play In Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (6)}) 8. Qb2 $14 d6 $146 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O e5 $146 (10... f5 $6 {was played in a couple of GM games, and transposed to a few more games.}) 11. e3 $2 (11. d5 $1 {was better, concretely exploiting the loose knight on e4.} Nb8 12. Nxe5 $1 Nxf2 13. Rxf2 dxe5 (13... Qxe5 14. Qxe5 dxe5 15. Nc3 $16) 14. Qa3 $16) 11... f5 $6 (11... a5 $142 $11) 12. b4 $14 Re8 13. Rd1 (13. Nc3) 13... Nf6 (13... a6) 14. b5 Nb8 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Nc3 Nbd7 17. Nd5 $16 Nxd5 18. cxd5 e4 19. Nd4 Nc5 20. Bf1 Bd7 21. Rac1 Kh8 22. Nb3 (22. Qc3 $1 {first was better, inducing} b6 {and the concomitant weakening of the c6 square. Now it's time for} 23. Nb3 Nxb3 24. axb3 $18 {, with what is probably a winning position.}) 22... Nxb3 23. axb3 Qd6 24. Qd4 $16 (24. Rc2 $142 $16 {/+-}) 24... b6 (24... Re5) 25. Qc3 $1 Rec8 26. Ra1 (26. Rd2) 26... Be8 27. Rd2 Bf7 $2 (27... Rd8 $16) 28. Bc4 $6 $14 (28. Bh3 $142 $1 Bg6 29. Rc1 $18) 28... Rcb8 (28... h6 $142) 29. Ra6 (29. Bf1 $142) 29... h6 30. Bf1 Be8 (30... Rd8 $142) 31. Bc4 (31. Ra1 $142) 31... Kh7 32. Kf1 Bh5 33. Ke1 Rd8 34. Qa1 Bf3 $11 35. Qd4 Bh5 36. Rda2 Bf7 37. Rxa7 Rxa7 38. Rxa7 Bxd5 39. Bxd5 Qxd5 40. Rxc7 Qxd4 41. exd4 Rxd4 42. Rc6 Rb4 43. Rxb6 Rxb3 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.21"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2549"] [BlackElo "2725"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,103,23,24,28,12,12,12,39,43,43,43,46,46,18,47,47,57,58,31,44,26,43,43,43,19,49,83,85,69,50,50,55,48,26,35,10,26,16,-17,-14,12,5,-25,-1,-22,-26,-30,-24,-47,-47,-47,-46,-46,-37,-44,-45,-50,-40,-53,-48,-67,-63,-49,-13,-29,0,-44,-31,-21,-50,-36,-38,-38,0,-38,-24,-24,0,-24,17,20,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ {Two Bogo-Indians this round. While it was a normal part of Pragg's repertoire, it looks like all of Gukesh's experience - at least his recent experience - has been on the white side of this opening. A case of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em"?} 4. Bd2 Be7 (4... Qe7 {is Pragg's preference, as we've already seen.}) 5. Nc3 O-O 6. e4 d5 7. Bd3 {Aiming for safety first? That has been Ju's policy in this tournament, and it has worked out well for her.} (7. cxd5 $142 exd5 8. e5 Ne4 9. Bd3 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 $14 {looks splendid for White, but if you're a big fan of the bishop pair you can play this and bank on your long-term chances.}) 7... dxe4 8. Nxe4 c5 (8... e5 $1 $146 {is nice and strong.} 9. Nxe5 (9. dxe5 $4 Qxd3 10. exf6 Qxe4+ $19) (9. Bc3 exd4 10. Nxd4 Na6 $1 11. O-O Bb4 $11) 9... Nxe4 10. Bxe4 Qxd4 11. Qe2 Qxb2 12. Rb1 Qd4 13. O-O Nd7 $11) 9. Bc3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 e5 11. Nf3 (11. Nf5 {is cute.} Nc6 12. O-O Bxf5 13. Nxf6+ Bxf6 14. Bxf5 $11 {/?}) 11... Nc6 12. O-O Bg4 (12... Qc7 $142) 13. h3 Bh5 14. Ng3 $14 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 Bb4 {Eliminating White's bishop pair is an appealing idea, but} (15... Qc7 $142 16. a3 Rad8 17. Rad1 Nd4 {is a better choice.}) 16. Bxb4 Nxb4 17. Be4 (17. Rfd1 $142 $14) 17... Nxe4 18. Qxe4 Qc7 19. a3 Nc6 $11 20. Rad1 (20. b4) 20... g6 21. c5 Rfd8 22. b4 f5 23. Qc4+ Qf7 24. Qxf7+ Kxf7 25. Ne2 e4 (25... Rxd1 26. Rxd1 Rd8 {isn't a bad try, counting on his strong center and centarlized king.}) 26. f4 exf3 27. Rxd8 Rxd8 28. Rxf3 a6 29. Re3 g5 30. Kf1 f4 31. Rc3 Rd1+ 32. Kf2 Ne5 {Ju is getting outplayed and nearing trouble, but she rights the ship just in time.} 33. g3 $8 {Everything else loses.} f3 34. Re3 $1 {Likewise.} Ke6 35. Nf4+ $1 {Again, the only good move.} Kf5 36. Nh5 {Forced again, but this time it's the obvious move.} Rd2+ 37. Kf1 Rd1+ 38. Kf2 Rd2+ 39. Kf1 Rd5 40. g4+ Kg6 41. Ng3 {White has made the time control and survived the near-crisis. The draw is coming.} Nc4 42. Rc3 Ne5 43. Re3 a5 44. Nf5 Kf6 45. Nd6 axb4 46. axb4 Rd1+ 47. Kf2 Rd2+ 48. Ke1 Rb2 49. Ne8+ Ke6 50. Nc7+ Kf6 51. Ne8+ Ke6 52. Nc7+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.21"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2769"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,129,40,18,19,19,20,17,8,9,19,19,16,-8,21,-9,-2,-25,-12,-2,-7,-24,3,19,10,6,4,0,5,-5,9,-4,9,0,1,0,0,-33,-28,-8,0,15,34,9,44,0,79,28,61,47,115,144,125,127,142,133,117,134,125,102,107,100,128,128,119,139,139,139,145,83,116,76,97,121,97,85,130,119,121,121,121,121,124,128,127,121,121,124,160,147,179,165,163,156,156,156,170,178,207,167,177,182,222,163,176,228,247,168,154,141,157,157,159,152,255,184,269,272,284,286,273,308,308,314,351,362,357,389,389,412,493,412]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Re1 d6 7. a4 Be6 8. a5 (8. Nbd2) 8... Bxc4 (8... a6) 9. dxc4 b6 10. Bd2 (10. axb6 axb6 11. Rxa8 Qxa8 12. Nc3) 10... Nxa5 11. Bxa5 bxa5 12. Rxa5 c6 13. Ra2 $146 (13. b4 Qb8 14. c3 Bd8 15. Ra6 Qb7 16. Qa4 Bb6 17. Qa3 c5 18. Nbd2 cxb4 19. cxb4 Rac8 20. Ra4 Ng4 21. Re2 g6 22. Qa2 Qe7 23. Nb1 Qe6 24. Nbd2 h6 25. Qb1 Kg7 {½-½ Levacic,P (2350)-Krstic,U (2270) Cannes op-B 18th 1997 (5)}) 13... Qc7 (13... a5) (13... Qb8) 14. Nc3 a5 15. Qe2 Nd7 16. b3 Nc5 {Heading for e6, on the way to d4 or f4.} 17. Na4 (17. Rea1) 17... Ne6 18. c5 $1 {The point of White's last move.} dxc5 (18... Rad8 $142 19. cxd6 Bxd6 $11) 19. Nb2 $14 Nd4 20. Qd3 Qb8 21. Rea1 Rd8 $6 (21... Bd8 $142) 22. g3 (22. Nc4 $142 $16 {Black has no meaningful discovered attack, so White should continue as intended.}) 22... Qb4 $6 (22... Nb5 $142 $14) 23. Nc4 $16 (23. Ra4 $16) 23... Nb5 24. Qe3 Qc3 $6 25. Nfxe5 Rac8 $2 (25... Qxe3 $142) 26. Qxc3 $2 (26. Rxa5 $142 $18) 26... Nxc3 27. Rxa5 Nxe4 $16 {/+- While White could have done better on move 26, Black's position is still pretty terrible.} 28. Nb6 $1 Rc7 29. Ra8 f6 30. Rxd8+ Bxd8 31. Ra8 fxe5 32. Rxd8+ Kf7 33. Nc4 Ke6 34. Kg2 $6 (34. Re8+ $142 Re7 35. Rxe7+ Kxe7 36. Nxe5 $18) 34... Nf6 35. Kf3 e4+ (35... g5 $142) 36. Kf4 $18 Ke7 37. Rd6 Rc8 38. h3 $1 Ne8 39. Rd1 Nf6 40. Rd6 Ne8 41. Rd2 Nf6 42. Nd6 Ra8 43. Nxe4 {Now White is up a pawn while Black is still left with his sickly c-pawns. (But for how long?)} Nd5+ 44. Ke5 c4 45. bxc4 Nb6 46. Re2 (46. Kd4) 46... Nxc4+ 47. Kd4 Na3 48. c4 Rb8 49. Ra2 Ra8 50. Rb2 Ke6 51. Kc3 Ke5 52. Nd2 Ra7 53. Rb3 Ke6 54. Nf1 Kd6 55. Nd2 Ke6 56. h4 Kf5 57. f3 h6 58. Rb6 Re7 59. Ne4 g5 60. hxg5 hxg5 61. Rxc6 g4 62. Nd6+ Kf6 63. Nc8+ Re6 64. Rxe6+ Kxe6 65. f4 1-0 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.21"] [Round "8.5"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Wei, Yi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,65,28,24,36,12,46,17,15,15,22,-16,-10,-12,10,-8,-17,-11,-1,-12,-26,-18,11,11,17,1,15,3,-2,13,13,-24,-18,-18,-20,-66,-44,-44,4,-52,-29,-13,-11,-11,-5,2,2,2,0,0,33,-8,-7,-14,-1,0,-2,-4,-1,-15,-16,-14,-10,-40,-28,-47,-16,-23]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 d5 5. Qa4 {To play cxd5 without allowing Black to respond in kind.} Bg7 6. Nf3 {But then he doesn't capture. Taking on d5 is the usual move, but this seems to be a specialty of Yu Yangyi, who has played it - or rather, transposed to it - approximately 75,000 times.} (6. cxd5) 6... O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 (7... Nfd7 {intends to send the other knight to c6.} 8. cxd5 Nb6 9. Qd1 cxd5 10. Nc3 Nc6 $11) (7... dxc4 8. Qxc4 Bf5 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. Re1 Ne4 {etc.}) 8. cxd5 Nb6 9. Qb3 Qxd5 $11 10. Qd1 c5 (10... Qh5) 11. Nc3 (11. e4 $5 {looks impossible (that's part of its fun), but turns out to be a good idea.} Nxe4 (11... Qxe4 12. Nc3 Qc6 13. Ne5 Qe6 14. Re1 $44) 12. Nfd2 f5 13. dxc5 Qxc5 14. Qb3+ Rf7 15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. Nd2 {is roughly equal, but the (potential) weakness of e7 and the prospects for White's light-squared bishop give him good practical chances.}) 11... Qh5 12. dxc5 Qxc5 13. Ne1 Qh5 (13... Bf5 14. Bxb7 Rad8 15. Nd3 Bxd3 16. exd3 Nfd5 $44) 14. Nd3 Rd8 15. Qe1 (15. Qb3 $142) 15... Nbd5 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. e4 (17. Nf4 $142) (17. h4 $142) 17... Nb6 18. Nf4 Qe5 19. Nd5 (19. Qb4 $142) 19... Be6 {Missing a small chance. Now the players trade their way to a draw.} (19... Nxd5 $142 20. exd5 Bf5 $15) 20. Nxe7+ Kh8 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. exd5 Bxd5 23. Qxe5 Bxe5 24. Re1 Bxg2 25. Kxg2 Rd5 26. Re2 Kg7 27. Be3 a6 28. Rc1 Rad8 29. g4 f5 30. gxf5 gxf5 31. Rc4 Kg6 32. h3 R8d7 33. Rec2 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.21"] [Round "8.6"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D40"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,85,36,32,27,6,6,6,12,13,44,10,20,8,40,25,29,-1,-15,-38,-72,-72,-35,-43,-23,-32,-38,-55,-48,-54,-44,-64,-22,-22,-10,-3,21,-1,226,240,236,191,191,188,240,230,248,221,221,203,231,221,236,221,241,215,267,229,266,278,283,281,282,265,261,267,274,273,294,306,302,288,288,356,356,362,350,362,365,380,381,379,381,386,386,378,386,368]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. e3 {Firouzja played this way in round 6 as well, against Wei Yi.} Nc6 (5... dxc4 {was chosen in the earlier game.}) 6. a3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 a6 8. Ba2 b5 9. Qc2 {Rare, but one of the three predecessors featured Firouzja himself.} (9. O-O {is usual.}) 9... cxd4 (9... Qb6 10. O-O Bb7 11. d5 exd5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Bxd5 Be7 14. Qe4 Nd8 15. Rd1 Bxd5 16. Rxd5 Qg6 17. Rf5 Rc8 18. h4 Qc6 19. Rd5 Qg6 20. Rf5 Qc6 21. Qg4 O-O 22. e4 Ne6 23. h5 Rcd8 24. Bh6 Kh8 25. Ne5 Qe8 26. Be3 Bd6 27. Nf3 c4 28. h6 g6 29. Rd5 Bc7 30. Rad1 Kg8 31. Bd2 Qc6 32. Bc3 Rfe8 33. Qh4 {1-0 Nepomniachtchi,I (2793)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2736) Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2022 (1.27)}) 10. exd4 Bb7 (10... Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Qxd4 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. Qc6+ Ke7 14. Qxa8 Qe5+ 15. Kf1 Qd4 16. Bg5+ Kd7 17. Bxd5 Qxd5 18. Qxd5+ exd5 19. Rd1 Bb7 20. Be3 b4 21. axb4 Bxb4 22. Bd4 Rc8 23. h4 Rc2 24. Rh3 g6 25. Rf3 f5 26. h5 a5 27. hxg6 hxg6 28. Rg3 Ba6+ 29. Kg1 Be2 30. Ra1 Bh5 31. Rd3 Be2 32. Re3 Bh5 33. Re5 Kd6 34. Re8 Kd7 35. Rb8 Be2 36. Rb6 g5 37. Rg6 g4 38. Bc3 Bc5 39. Bxa5 Rxb2 40. Bc3 Rb3 41. Be5 Bc4 42. Rd1 Bd3 43. Rc1 Bc4 44. Rd1 Bd3 45. Rc1 Bc4 46. Rd1 {½-½ Firouzja,A (2778)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2792) Saint Louis Rapid 2022 (7)}) 11. d5 exd5 12. Bg5 $146 (12. O-O Be7 13. Rd1 Na5 14. Bg5 O-O 15. Qf5 Nc4 16. Rd4 Qc8 17. Qc2 Nd6 18. Re1 Nde4 19. Qd3 Bc5 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. Rh4 Re8 22. Rc1 Qe6 23. Kf1 Qb6 24. Nd1 Ne4 25. Rc2 Qg6 {0-1 Jumabayev,R (2531)-Narayanan,S (2605) Wch Rapid Almaty 2022 (11)}) 12... Be7 13. Rd1 d4 (13... Na5 $142 $11) (13... O-O $142 $11) 14. O-O O-O 15. Rfe1 $14 b4 (15... Qd6 $142) 16. Bb1 $5 (16. Ne2 $142 $1 $14 {/? is objectively better, but given the difficulty of Black's choice on move 18 in the game, it's not clear which move is better from a practical perspective (assuming Black hasn't prepared for this line).}) 16... g6 17. Rxe7 $1 Nxe7 18. Rxd4 Qc7 $4 {It was a challenging position, but this is a straightforward blunder.} (18... Nfd5 $1 {looks scary, with both knights pinned. But somehow, everything just hangs together.} 19. Nxd5 (19. axb4 Qc7 20. Nxd5 Nxd5 21. Qd2 h6 $1 22. Bxh6 Rfd8 23. Ba2 Ne7 24. Ne5 $1 Rxd4 $1 25. Bxf7+ Kh7 26. Qxd4 Rd8 (26... Kxh6 27. Ng4+ Kh5 (27... Kh7 28. Nf6+ Kh6 $8 29. Ng4+ $11) 28. Qe3 $1 Kxg4 $8 29. Be6+ Nf5 30. Qh6 Bxg2 $8 31. Qxg6+ Kh4 $8 32. Qf6+ Kh5 33. Qxf5+ Kh6 34. Qf6+ Kh7 35. Bf5+ Kg8 36. Be6+ Kh7 37. Bf5+ $11) 27. Nd7 $1 Kxh6 28. Qh4+ Kg7 29. Qf6+ Kh6 30. Qh4+ $11) 19... Bxd5 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Rxd5 {Simple, right? Not quite:} Rac8 22. Qd2 Rfd8 23. Rd3 bxa3 24. bxa3 Rxd3 25. Bxd3 Qxa3 26. Bf1 $8 Rc1 $11 {Black's activity suffices for the usual advantages of two minor pieces for a rook and pawn.}) (18... Ned5 $1 {also works.} 19. Ne4 Qe7 20. axb4 Rac8 21. Qd2 Rfe8 22. h4 h6 (22... Nxe4 $11) 23. Bxh6 Nc7 $11) 19. Ne4 $1 $18 Qxc2 20. Nxf6+ Kg7 21. Bxc2 {White has two minor pieces for a rook and *no* pawns, and White has the more active position as well. Black is lost.} Rac8 22. Ng4 Ng8 23. Bb3 bxa3 24. bxa3 Rc3 25. Rb4 Bxf3 26. gxf3 Rxf3 27. Ne3 {Trapping the rook.} h6 28. Bd1 Rxf2 29. Bxh6+ Nxh6 30. Kxf2 {White is up a piece for a pawn. If Black could somehow swap off all the pawns, the resulting ending would be a draw. But that's not going to happen.} Rd8 31. Ke2 Rd6 32. Bb3 Rf6 33. a4 Rc6 34. Bc4 f5 35. Rb7+ Kf6 36. Rh7 Ng4 37. Nxg4+ fxg4 38. Bd3 Rb6 39. Ra7 Rb2+ 40. Ke3 Rxh2 41. Rxa6+ Ke5 42. Ra5+ Kf6 43. Kf4 {Black will lose his g-pawns without winning White's a-pawn. Moreoever, White's remaining pawn promotes on a light square, so Black will not be helped by swapping the rooks.} 1-0 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.21"] [Round "8.7"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2682"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,82,36,19,46,56,85,57,45,65,80,43,54,-28,5,22,24,25,54,18,25,16,-6,-4,-23,24,31,48,65,65,47,-4,44,31,19,26,79,41,39,23,48,-4,-4,13,34,42,42,45,48,69,72,68,102,-8,39,66,103,114,87,101,101,101,103,42,48,40,33,13,93,87,87,14,1,132,116,98,104,118,89,89,89,34,34,25,25]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Ngf6 6. Bd3 {The wave of the future?} Nc5 7. Nc3 a6 {This is like a Najdorf with 6.Bd3 (one of the minor lines that has become fairly popular in recent years), but with Black given the right to make two moves - 6...Nbd7 and ...Nc5. Nevertheless, it's playable for White.} 8. O-O g6 {Switching to a (quasi-) Dragon is often useful for Black when White hasn't chosen an especially aggressive setup.} 9. Re1 Bg7 10. Bf1 O-O 11. a4 (11. Bg5 b5 12. Nc6 Qd7 13. Nd5 Re8 14. Ncxe7+ Rxe7 15. Bxf6 Re5 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Nb6 Qa7 18. Nxa8 Nxe4 19. Qf3 Qxa8 20. Bd3 Bb7 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. Qc3 Kg8 23. f3 Rc5 24. Qd4 Bc6 25. c3 Rd5 26. Qf4 Qa7+ 27. Qe3 Qc7 28. Rad1 Re5 29. Qd4 Rd5 30. Qf2 Rf5 31. a3 h5 32. h4 Kh7 33. Qg3 Qb6+ 34. Kh2 d5 35. Rd4 Qd8 36. Re5 Rxe5 37. Qxe5 Kg8 38. Rf4 Be8 39. Rf6 Bc6 40. Rxc6 {1-0 Guseinov,G (2661)-Yilmaz,M (2633) Shusha Blitz 2022 (12)}) 11... Bg4 $146 (11... Bd7 12. Ra3 (12. f3 Rc8 13. Be3 Qa5 14. Qd2 Rfe8 15. Reb1 Qc7 16. a5 Ne6 17. Nde2 Qb8 18. Ra3 Nc7 19. Rb3 Nb5 20. Nf4 Nxc3 21. bxc3 Bc6 22. Nd5 Nxd5 23. exd5 Bb5 24. c4 Bxc4 25. Rxb7 Qa8 26. Bxc4 Rxc4 27. Qe2 Ra4 28. Bf2 Bf6 29. Qd2 Qc8 30. R7b6 Qc4 31. Rc6 Qa2 32. Re1 Rxa5 33. Rxd6 Rc8 34. Rc6 Rd8 35. d6 Rd5 36. Rxa6 Qxa6 37. Qxd5 Rxd6 38. Qe4 Rc6 39. Qd3 Qc8 40. Re2 Rd6 41. Qe4 Qc3 42. Kf1 Kg7 43. Be1 Rd1 44. g3 Qc8 45. Kg2 Rd4 46. Qe3 Rc4 47. Qd3 h5 48. h4 Qc6 49. Bd2 e6 50. Be1 Kh7 51. Kh2 Rd4 52. Qe3 Rd1 53. Kg2 Rd5 54. Qb3 Rc5 55. Qd3 Rc4 56. Kh2 Bc3 57. Bf2 Bg7 58. Be1 Rc5 59. Kg2 Qa4 60. Qb3 Qa6 61. Re4 Qa1 62. Qd3 Rd5 63. Qe2 Bc3 64. Bxc3 Qxc3 65. Qf2 Rd1 66. Re2 Kg7 67. Re3 Qc6 68. Rd3 Rc1 69. Rd2 Qc3 70. Qe2 Kh7 71. Qf2 Qc7 72. Kh2 Ra1 73. Qd4 Ra3 74. Kg2 Qb7 75. Qf6 Ra8 76. c4 Rc8 77. c5 Qa7 78. Kh3 Rb8 79. g4 hxg4+ 80. Kxg4 Rb4+ 81. Kh3 Qxc5 82. Qxf7+ Kh6 83. Qxe6 Rxh4+ {½-½ Nigmatov,O (2473)-Goganov,A (2525) Tashkent Sahibkiran Temur Cup 2023 (4)}) 12... Rc8 13. b4 Ne6 14. Nxe6 Bxe6 15. Nd5 a5 16. bxa5 Bxd5 17. exd5 Rc5 18. c4 Rxa5 19. Bd2 Ra7 20. Be3 b6 21. Qb3 Nd7 22. Rb1 Qc7 23. Bxb6 Nxb6 24. Qxb6 Qxb6 25. Rxb6 Rfa8 26. a5 Rxa5 27. Rxa5 Rxa5 28. Rb8+ Bf8 29. g3 f5 30. Kg2 Kf7 31. Rb5 Ra3 32. c5 dxc5 {½-½ De Silva,L (2433)-Wojtaszek,R (2676) FIDE World Cup Baku 2023 (2.1)}) (11... Re8 12. f3 b6 13. Be3 Bb7 14. Qd2 Qc7 15. Nde2 e6 16. Bf4 e5 17. Be3 Red8 18. b4 Ncd7 19. Rad1 Bf8 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. exd5 a5 22. Rb1 Rdc8 23. Rec1 Qc4 24. bxa5 Rxa5 25. Bxb6 Rxa4 26. Nd4 Qa2 27. Bb5 Nxb6 28. Bxa4 Qxa4 29. Rxb6 Bh6 30. f4 Bxf4 31. Qb4 Qxb4 32. Rxb4 Bxc1 {0-1 Djidjeli,S (2028)-Sebag,M (2430) FRA-chT Top 16 GpA Chartres 2023 (6.16)}) 12. f3 e5 $1 13. Nde2 Be6 14. b4 $5 {Winning a pawn at the cost of loosening his position.} (14. Be3 $142) 14... Ncd7 15. Qxd6 Re8 $44 16. Rb1 Rc8 (16... Bf8 $142 17. Qd2 a5 18. bxa5 Qxa5 $44 {is fine for Black. If White doesn't take, Black will enjoy excellent play on the dark squares to go with his pressure against the a-pawn. And if he does, then} 19. Rxb7 $6 Nb6 $15 {strands the rook.}) 17. Be3 $14 Rc4 (17... Rc6 $142 18. Qd2 Qc7) 18. Qd2 Qc7 19. Rec1 Rd8 $6 (19... Rc8 {is better, but it doesn't win the c-pawn:} 20. Nd1 $16 Rxc2 $4 21. Rxc2 Qxc2 22. Rc1 $18) 20. Qe1 $1 $16 {/+-} Bf8 21. Nd1 Rc8 (21... Rxc2 $4 {fails here, too, but the specifics are different from those in the 19...Rc8 line.} 22. Rxc2 Qxc2 23. Nec3 $18 {Black's queen is trapped, and White is ready to collect with Rb2.}) 22. c3 Rc6 23. a5 $2 (23. b5 Rc4 (23... Rd6 24. c4 $18) 24. Nb2 Ba3 25. Nxc4 Bxc1 26. Nxc1 Bxc4 27. bxa6 bxa6 28. Nd3 $16 {/+-}) 23... b6 $14 24. axb6 Nxb6 25. Nb2 Ne8 $2 (25... Nc4 $11 {/?}) 26. f4 $2 (26. Ng3 $16 {/+-}) 26... Nc4 $14 27. Nxc4 Bxc4 28. fxe5 Qxe5 29. Nd4 R6c7 30. Nf3 (30. Bf2) 30... Qe6 $1 31. Qh4 Qf6 $6 (31... Be7 32. Qh6 Bxf1 33. Rxf1 Rxc3 $11) 32. Qg3 Bxf1 33. Bd4 $1 $14 Qe7 34. Rxf1 Nd6 35. Rbe1 Nxe4 36. Qf4 f5 37. Nd2 (37. g4 $1 {keeps the pressure on. Black's only move is} Qd6 {, which avoids an immediate loss but still leaves Black with problems to solve after} 38. Be5 Qb6+ 39. Nd4 {. Again Black must be precise - which would not be easy on the penultimate move of the time control.} Nd6 $1 40. gxf5 Rf7 $1 {If Black can make it here, he'll probably survive after} 41. Bxd6 Qxd6 (41... Bxd6 $6 42. Qe4 $16) 42. Qxd6 Bxd6 43. Re6 Bf8 $8 $14) 37... Bg7 $1 {The only move.} 38. Nxe4 (38. Bxg7 Qxg7 39. Nxe4 fxe4 40. Qxe4 Qxc3 41. Qe6+ Kh8 42. Rd1 Rg8 $11) 38... Bxd4+ 39. cxd4 fxe4 40. Qxe4 Qxe4 $1 (40... Qxb4 $6 41. Qe6+ Kg7 42. Qe5+ Kg8 43. h3 $14 {is unpleasant for Black, as White's passer is more dangerous than his own, and his king is of course much more exposed.}) 41. Rxe4 Rd7 {All the queenside pawns will be safely captured, after which there's nothing to play for.} 1/2-1/2