[Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.14"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Bd7 {Relatively rare, but Pragg has played it in several previous games, so it wouldn't have been a shock to his opponent.} 6. Ne5 Bc6 7. Nxc6 Nxc6 8. e3 (8. O-O {is more common.} Qd7 9. e3 Rd8 {etc.}) 8... Qd7 9. Qe2 (9. O-O {is usual here, transposing to the preceding note.}) 9... e5 10. O-O Rd8 (10... exd4 11. exd4+ Be7 {is a good, possibly superior, alternative.}) 11. Nc3 (11. Qxc4 exd4 12. Qb5 {is perhaps a little better for White. Pragg has been here before:} Rb8 13. exd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd7+ Nxd7 15. Nc3 Bd6 16. Re1+ Ne6 17. Be3 Bc5 18. Nd5 O-O 19. Bh3 c6 20. Bxe6 fxe6 21. Nf4 Rbe8 22. Rad1 e5 23. Rxd7 exf4 24. gxf4 Rf7 25. Rxf7 Kxf7 26. Kf1 Bb4 27. Rd1 a6 28. Rd7+ Re7 29. Rd8 Ba5 30. Rb8 Rd7 31. Ke2 Bd8 32. Kf3 Kg6 33. Kg4 Kf6 34. Kf3 Kf5 35. b3 Be7 36. h3 Bd6 37. Rh8 g6 38. Rc8 Rf7 39. Re8 Rf8 40. Re4 Rd8 41. Bb6 Rd7 42. Re8 Be7 43. Be3 Ke6 44. Rb8 Bd6 45. Re8+ Re7 46. Rd8 Bc7 47. Rf8 Rf7 48. Re8+ Kd5 49. Re4 c5 50. Rc4 Bd6 51. Rc2 b5 52. Rd2+ Kc6 53. Rc2 a5 54. Ke4 Rf5 55. a4 b4 56. Rc1 Rh5 57. Rh1 Rh4 58. Kf3 Rh5 59. Ke4 Bc7 60. Rc1 Bb8 61. Bd4 Bd6 62. Be3 Rxh3 63. f5 Rh5 64. fxg6 hxg6 65. Rg1 Re5+ 66. Kd3 Re6 67. Kc4 Be7 68. Rg4 Bf8 69. Rg1 Bd6 70. Rg4 Be7 71. Rg1 Bf8 72. Rg4 Bd6 73. Rg1 Be7 74. Rg4 g5 75. Bxg5 Bxg5 76. Rxg5 Re4+ 77. Kd3 Rd4+ 78. Ke3 Rd1 79. Rg6+ Kd5 80. Rg5+ Kd6 81. Rg6+ Kd5 82. Rg5+ Kd6 83. Rg6+ Kd5 {½-½ Lenderman,A (2572)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2690) Airthings Masters Div 3 W Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (4.2)}) 11... Be7 12. Qxc4 (12. d5 {is a viable alternative, and after} Nb4 {either} 13. Qxc4 ({or} 13. e4 {.})) 12... exd4 13. exd4 (13. Rd1) ({and} 13. Bxc6 {are also possible, also equal.}) 13... Nxd4 {This has been played before - 14 times, in fact, even at the 2700 level. There's no indication from those previous games that White has anything here (Black has a plus score), and the engine is unimpressed as well.} 14. Bxb7 c6 15. Rd1 O-O $146 (15... Qxb7 16. Rxd4 Rxd4 17. Qxd4 O-O {resulted in two easy draws for Black, but Pragg finds a new solution that's just as convincing.}) 16. Bxc6 Qxc6 17. Rxd4 {With an extra pawn, yes, but with some nice tactics everything is rebalanced.} Bc5 $1 18. Be3 $8 (18. Rh4 $2 Rfe8 $1 $19 19. Bg5 h6 20. Bxf6 Bxf2+ $1 21. Kf1 (21. Kxf2 $2 Rd2+ 22. Ne2 Rexe2+ 23. Qxe2 Qxf6+ 24. Rf4 Rxe2+ 25. Kxe2 Qxb2+ $19) 21... Qh1+ 22. Kxf2 Rd2+ 23. Ne2 Rexe2+ 24. Qxe2 Rxe2+ 25. Kxe2 Qxa1 $19) 18... Rc8 $1 19. Rd2 Bxe3 20. Qxc6 Bxf2+ 21. Kxf2 Rxc6 {Material is equal and so is the position. The players do their duty and get past move 40 before bringing the game to its already likely (if not absolutely guaranteed) conclusion.} 22. Re1 Rc7 23. Kf3 h5 24. Re5 Rb8 25. Nd1 Kf8 26. Ne3 g6 27. Kg2 Rd7 28. Rf2 Kg7 29. Rc2 Rb4 30. Nc4 Ng4 31. Ree2 Rb5 32. Rcd2 Rxd2 33. Rxd2 a5 34. b3 Rc5 35. a4 Ne5 36. Nxe5 Rxe5 37. Kf3 g5 38. Rd4 Kg6 39. b4 axb4 40. Rxb4 Re1 41. a5 Ra1 42. Rb6+ f6 43. a6 Ra2 44. h3 Ra3+ 45. Kg2 Ra2+ 46. Kf3 Ra3+ 47. Kg2 Ra2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.14"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Ju, Wenjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2769"] [BlackElo "2549"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "159"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,159,18,14,20,20,20,20,17,-9,-5,-5,14,-8,26,-15,-5,-7,-6,-1,-4,-65,11,16,6,-82,-28,0,-10,-15,-20,8,8,16,-5,-21,12,6,24,-39,-37,-27,-30,-69,-7,-39,-35,-43,-27,-22,-16,-8,-7,0,19,-7,-5,6,0,2,14,27,43,28,50,50,69,33,48,43,29,1,34,0,0,0,0,0,22,8,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,5,0,0,15,10,1,1,1,1,0,7,17,25,25,12,25,12,0,12,0,0,0,-70,-38,-64,-67,-68,-66,-63,-34,-39,-50,-77,-28,-49,-50,-50,-43,-50,-15,-15,-43,-43,-43,-2,-1,-2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] This was a long game only because of the rating gap between the players. Nepo had a tiny edge early in the ending, but it was already nothing before the first time control on move 40. He played on for a long time, got nothing, and Black made a confident draw.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qa4 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2 Ra7 11. Rc1 Be4 12. Qb3 Nc6 13. e3 Qa8 14. Qd1 b4 15. Be1 Bd5 16. Nbd2 Nb8 17. Nh4 Bxg2 18. Nxg2 Nbd7 19. Qf3 c5 20. Qxa8 Raxa8 21. Nb3 Rfc8 22. dxc5 Nxc5 23. Nxc5 Rxc5 24. Rxc5 Bxc5 25. Rc1 Be7 26. f3 Kf8 27. Kf2 Nd7 28. Ke2 a5 29. e4 Ke8 30. Ne3 g5 31. Nc4 Ra6 32. Bd2 f6 33. g4 Bd8 34. b3 Bc7 35. Nb2 Kd8 36. Nd3 Bxh2 37. Rh1 Bd6 38. Rxh7 Ne5 39. Nxe5 Bxe5 40. Rb7 Rc6 41. Ra7 Rc5 42. Kd3 Ke8 43. Rh7 Kf8 44. Rb7 Ke8 45. Ra7 Bc7 46. Ke2 Be5 47. Kd3 Bc7 48. Ra8+ Kd7 49. Ra6 Be5 50. Ra7+ Ke8 51. Rh7 Kf8 52. Rh1 Bf4 53. Kd4 Rc2 54. Bxf4 gxf4 55. e5 Rd2+ 56. Ke4 Re2+ 57. Kxf4 Rxe5 58. Rh8+ Kf7 59. Ra8 Kg6 60. Ra6 Kf7 61. Kg3 Rd5 62. f4 Rd3+ 63. Kf2 Rd2+ 64. Kf3 Rxa2 65. f5 exf5 66. gxf5 Ra3 67. Ra7+ Ke8 68. Ke4 Kd8 69. Kd4 Rxb3 70. Rxa5 Rf3 71. Ke4 Rf1 72. Rb5 Rb1 73. Kd5 Kc7 74. Ke6 Kc6 75. Rb8 b3 76. Kxf6 b2 77. Kf7 Rf1 78. Rxb2 Rxf5+ 79. Ke6 Rc5 80. Rd2 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.14"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2742"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,69,14,20,20,18,34,34,27,35,26,27,28,30,25,4,65,44,41,32,30,34,34,34,34,34,78,11,9,-20,-6,-4,14,21,31,8,27,13,17,8,27,18,29,21,12,-7,-7,-22,-25,-27,-30,-39,-30,-39,-25,-30,4,-4,13,0,-2,0,34,14,28,27,31,24,24,10,24,-5]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bf5 7. Qb3 Na5 8. Qa4+ Bd7 9. Qc2 Rc8 10. Bd3 e6 11. Nf3 {There was a time when White enjoyed some mild success in this line, but it looks like Black has been pretty comfy for a while.} Bb4 12. O-O Nh5 13. Be5 f6 14. Bg3 Nxg3 15. hxg3 Nc4 16. Rfc1 Nd6 17. e4 Bxc3 $146 (17... Nxe4 {was played in a correspondence game that soon transposed back to this one - see below.}) 18. bxc3 dxe4 19. Bxe4 Nxe4 20. Qxe4 b6 $146 {Novelty #2.} (20... Qb6 21. c4 O-O 22. a4 Rfd8 23. Qe3 Qd6 24. a5 Rc7 25. Qb3 Qa6 26. c5 Bb5 27. Rc3 Be8 28. Re3 Rd5 29. g4 h6 30. Rae1 Bf7 31. Qb2 Rd8 32. Rc1 Bg6 33. Qb4 Bf7 34. Ra1 Rcd7 35. Qe1 Rc7 36. Qb4 Be8 37. Qc3 Bf7 38. Rb1 Bg6 39. Rb4 Rcd7 40. Qb3 Bf7 41. Qb2 Bg6 42. Re1 Be8 43. Qa3 Bg6 44. Qb3 Bf7 45. Qb2 Re7 46. Rb1 Rdd7 47. Nh4 Be8 48. Ra1 Rd8 49. Qb3 Kf8 50. Qc2 Kg8 51. Qa2 Bf7 52. Re1 Red7 53. Qb2 Re8 54. Ra1 Red8 55. Re1 Be8 56. Qb3 Bf7 57. Qa4 Be8 58. Qa1 Rc7 59. Qa3 Rcd7 60. Qa2 Bf7 61. Qa1 Be8 62. f4 {½-½ Schleef,H (2375)-Varas,P (2009) LSS No Engine Cup 218 Preliminary 0 LSS email 2021}) 21. c4 O-O 22. c5 Re8 23. Qe3 Bc6 $11 {Black's bishop is better than White's knight, but the e6-pawn is a mild weakness. It all cancels out soon.} 24. a4 Qd7 25. cxb6 axb6 26. a5 {The queenside pawns are hoovered up, and more trades are on the way to facilitate a speedy draw.} bxa5 27. Rxa5 Bxf3 28. Rxc8 Rxc8 29. gxf3 h6 30. Kg2 Rd8 31. Ra6 Qxd4 32. Qxe6+ (32. Qxd4 Rxd4 33. Rxe6 {would have been more "agreeable", but Giri's aggressive-looking choice doesn't forebode any real action.}) 32... Kh8 33. Qe7 Qd7 34. Qa3 Qd3 35. Qa5 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.14"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Wei, Yi"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2725"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,66,20,16,25,25,19,12,25,21,4,-7,6,-22,-10,-50,-13,-8,-10,-6,-9,-4,13,19,27,42,47,-12,-19,-18,-22,-49,-12,-43,-45,-48,-22,20,24,-29,18,-30,58,-50,-73,-97,-59,-95,-95,-95,-66,-230,-111,-115,-127,-127,-127,-261,-270,-210,-231,-231,-263,-307,-325,-345,-366,-825,-487] After three dull draws, we finally get some action.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 {Not a promising start, but the dreadful Berlin/Giuoco era has not yet come to an end.} 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Bg5 {One of White's more concrete options, though not a very good one in the computer's "opinion".} h6 7. Bh4 a6 8. Nbd2 (8. a4 Ba7 9. Nbd2 Qe7 10. O-O g5 11. Bg3 Nd7 12. b4 Nf8 13. b5 Nd8 14. d4 h5 15. h3 Ng6 16. Bd5 g4 17. hxg4 hxg4 18. Nh2 exd4 19. Nc4 dxc3 20. b6 Bxb6 21. Nxb6 cxb6 22. Qd4 Ne5 23. Qxb6 Be6 24. Rac1 Rc8 25. Qd4 Bxd5 26. exd5 Rc4 27. Qe3 Qc7 28. Qg5 Qe7 29. Qe3 Qc7 30. Rfe1 f6 31. Rc2 b5 32. axb5 axb5 33. Qe2 Kf7 34. Nxg4 Nxg4 35. Ra1 Ne5 36. Rca2 c2 37. Rc1 Nb7 38. Rcxc2 Rxc2 39. Rxc2 Nc5 40. Qxb5 Rb8 41. Qe2 Rb1+ 42. Kh2 Kg6 43. Bh4 Qh7 44. g3 Qh5 {0-1 So,W (2753)-Gukesh,D (2758) Armageddon Grand Final W Berlin blitz 2023 (1.2)}) 8... Ba7 9. O-O g5 {Here we go. Action time!} (9... Qe7 10. b4 O-O 11. a4 Be6 12. Re1 Bxc4 13. Nxc4 b5 14. axb5 axb5 15. Na5 Nxa5 16. Rxa5 Bb6 17. Rxb5 g5 18. Bg3 Nd7 19. d4 f6 20. dxe5 fxe5 21. c4 c6 22. Rxb6 Nxb6 23. c5 Nd7 24. cxd6 Qe6 25. Qc2 Ra6 26. Nxe5 Ra2 27. Qxa2 Qxa2 28. Nxd7 Rd8 29. Nf6+ Kf7 30. e5 Qd2 31. f3 Qxb4 32. h3 Ra8 33. d7 Qd4+ 34. Kh2 Ke6 35. Rc1 c5 36. Ne4 c4 37. Nd6 c3 38. Ne4 Kxd7 39. Rxc3 Kd8 40. Rc6 Qe3 41. Rc3 Qd4 42. Rc2 Ke7 43. Rd2 Qc4 44. Bf2 Ra5 45. Bg3 Ra1 46. e6 Qc1 47. Bd6+ Kxe6 48. Kg3 h5 49. Nxg5+ Kf5 50. Rd5+ Kg6 51. Ne6 Qe1+ {0-1 Gukesh,D (2732)-Carlsen,M (2853) Norway Chess Armageddon 11th Stavanger rapid 2023 (4)}) 10. Bg3 Bg4 11. h3 (11. Kh1 {is another move White has tried, with mixed results. Here's a success story featuring another participant in the tournament:} Qd7 12. b4 O-O 13. h3 Bh5 14. a4 Rae8 15. Qc2 Bg6 16. Rab1 Nd8 17. b5 axb5 18. Rxb5 c6 19. Rbb1 Kg7 20. d4 exd4 21. Bd3 Ne6 22. e5 Nh5 23. Bxg6 fxg6 24. exd6 Nxg3+ 25. fxg3 Nd8 26. Nc4 b5 27. axb5 cxb5 28. Na3 g4 29. hxg4 Qxg4 30. cxd4 b4 31. Nh2 Qd7 32. Qc7 Qxc7 33. dxc7 Ne6 34. Nb5 Rxf1+ 35. Nxf1 Bxd4 36. Nd6 Nxc7 37. Nxe8+ Nxe8 38. Rxb4 Bc5 39. Rb5 Bd6 40. Kg1 h5 41. Kf2 Nf6 42. Kf3 Ng4 43. Rb3 Kh6 44. Nd2 Bc7 45. Ne4 Be5 46. Rb5 Bc7 47. Ke2 Be5 48. Kd3 Kg7 49. Rb7+ Kh6 50. Rb6 Kg7 51. Rb5 Kh6 52. Ke2 Kg7 53. Kf3 Nh2+ 54. Ke2 Ng4 55. Rb3 Kh6 56. Nc5 Kg5 57. Ne4+ Kh6 58. Rf3 Nh2 59. Ra3 Ng4 60. Rb3 Nf6 61. Nf2 Ng4 62. Nh3 Nf6 63. Kf3 g5 64. Nf2 g4+ 65. Ke2 Kg6 66. Ra3 Kf5 67. Nd1 Ne4 68. Ne3+ Ke6 69. Nf1 Nd6 70. Kd3 Nf5 71. Ra5 Kf6 72. Ke4 Nd6+ 73. Kd5 Nf7 74. Ra6+ {1-0 Praggnanandhaa,R (2727)-Vitiugov,N (2719) ESP-chT CECLUB Honor Linares 2023 (2.4)}) 11... Bh5 12. b4 Qc8 $146 {Varying from his countryman's choice several months ago, though the idea of playing ...g4 and recapturing with the queen was seen in the earlier game as well.} (12... Rg8 13. Kh1 Qd7 14. b5 axb5 15. Bxb5 g4 16. hxg4 Qxg4 17. d4 Kf8 18. Qa4 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 Qxe4 20. Rae1 Qd5 21. c4 Qe6 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Qxc6 Re8 24. dxe5 dxe5 25. Nxe5 Qxc6 26. Nxc6 Bb6 27. Rxe8+ Kxe8 28. Nb4 Kd7 29. Nd5 Bd4 30. Rb1 Be2 31. Nf4 Re8 32. f3 c5 33. Nd5 Rh8 34. Rb7+ Kd8 35. Bh4+ Kc8 36. Re7 Bf1 37. Nb6+ Kd8 38. Rd7+ {1-0 Praggnanandhaa,R (2727)-Vidit,S (2716) Tata Steel India rapid Kolkata 2023 (7)}) 13. b5 axb5 14. Bxb5 O-O 15. Re1 Bg6 (15... g4 $142 16. hxg4 Qxg4 17. Nf1 {(Black was threatening to take on g3.)} Qg7 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Ne3 Bxf3 20. Qxf3 Bxe3 21. Rxe3 Ng4 22. Re2 Qg5 {is a little easier for Black to play, with ideas like ...Ra3 on the queenside and ...h5-h4 on the kingside.}) 16. Rc1 (16. a4 $142) 16... Nh5 17. Bh2 Ng7 {Rather long-winded. Black will play ...f6 to defend the g-pawn, then push the h-pawn.} (17... g4 $142) (17... Nf4 $5) 18. d4 f6 19. Nf1 Ne7 20. Ne3 $6 (20. Bd3 $14 {first was better, overprotecting e4 before playing Ne3.}) 20... h5 $6 {Black had this in mind when beginning the ...Nf6-h5-g7 maneuver, and it also stops 21.Ng4 (see the following note) and makes a real threat out of ...Bxe4. Still, it's a (small) mistake.} (20... Bxe4 $1 21. Ng4 Bxf3 22. Qxf3 f5 {obliges White to sac a piece, lest he find himself a pawn down and overrun by a wave of Black pawns.} 23. Bc4+ Kh7 24. Nxe5 dxe5 25. Bxe5 Ng6 26. Bxg7 Kxg7 27. Re6 Qd7 $1 28. Qxb7 $1 Nf4 $44 {doesn't seem particularly plausible for White from afar, but the engine assures us that White has just about enough compensation for the piece.}) 21. c4 $6 {Continuing to invite Black to create imbalances.} (21. Bd3 $14) ({and} 21. Qc2 $14 {both leave Black slightly cramped and without any way to make something happen on the kingside, at least not yet.}) 21... exd4 22. Nd5 $6 (22. Nxd4 $142 Qd8 23. Nef5 Nexf5 24. exf5 $1 Bxd4 $1 25. Qxd4 (25. fxg6 Bc5 26. Ba4 f5 27. Rb1 b6 {looks easier for Black to play, but the engine says '='.}) 25... Nxf5 26. Qd5+ Kg7 27. Qxb7 Rxa2 28. c5 $44) 22... Qd8 23. Nxd4 $2 (23. Nxe7+ {The path for White to maintain equality is rapidly narrowing. Here it is, and it's not easy:} Qxe7 24. c5 $1 Bxc5 25. e5 $1 dxe5 26. Nxe5 fxe5 27. Rxe5 Qf6 28. Rcxc5 c6 (28... Qxf2+ 29. Kh1 c6 30. Bg1 Qf6 31. Bc4+ Bf7 32. Bxf7+ Rxf7 33. Rxg5 $11) 29. Bc4+ Bf7 30. Bxf7+ Rxf7 31. Qd2 d3 $11) 23... Bc5 $17 24. Nb3 Ba3 25. Nxc7 $2 (25. Rb1 c6 26. Nxe7+ Qxe7 27. c5 $1 cxb5 28. Bxd6 Qe6 29. Nd4 Qc4 30. Bxf8 Kxf8 $17 {/-+}) 25... Qxc7 $19 26. c5 {It looks interesting, but White is giving up way too much material here. The game offers an odd echo of Wei Yi's first round game, which saw Donchenko make a completely unnecessary - and bad - exchange sac to turn an equal position into a (nearly, and soon) lost one. Wei Yi's tactics-at-all-costs play in this game works out the same way.} Bxc1 27. cxd6 Qb6 28. dxe7 Rfc8 29. e8=Q+ Nxe8 30. Bxe8 Rxa2 {Threatening mate on two starting with 31...Qxf2+.} ({The prosaic} 30... Rxe8 31. Nxc1 Rad8 $19 {is also completely winning.}) 31. Qd5+ Kh8 32. Nd4 Bxe8 33. Bd6 Qa5 {Black is simply a rook up, and White must either trade queens or lose a second rook as well (without a shred of compensation).} 0-1 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.14"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,85,20,25,25,19,28,11,22,23,57,45,45,40,39,4,10,8,8,5,8,8,-8,13,27,20,36,15,12,0,-6,-6,-22,-72,-22,-57,-39,-39,47,92,38,133,0,0,0,0,16,-122,51,51,51,38,61,68,67,79,72,67,143,131,172,180,195,207,197,143,143,130,194,184,231,260,305,320,345,358,358,358,358,357,375,481,536,542,549,557,559,554]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 {This can result in dull, Exchange French-like games that end in uninspiring draws. There are some interesting lines though, and - thankfully - this game features one of them.} Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Bf4 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. Nc3 (13. c3 {is dullsville, when many games have seen the following draw (suitable for emulation - use this instead of Dubov-Nepo if you're going to prearrange a peaceful outcome):} d5 14. Bd3 g6 15. Nd2 Ng7 16. Qe2 c6 17. Re1 Bf5 18. Bxf5 Nxf5 19. Nf3 Ng7 20. Be5 Ne6 21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22. Ne5 Re8 23. Ng4 Qd8 24. Qe5 Ng7 25. Qxe8+ Nxe8 26. Rxe8+ Qxe8 27. Nf6+ Kf8 28. Nxe8 Kxe8 $11 {has led to a draw in 81 of 81 games in the database.}) 13... Bxd4 14. Nd5 d6 15. Bg5 f6 16. Bh4 {This position has occurred in 45 prior games, and here, as opposed to the 13.c3 line, there are plenty of decisive games.} Bxb2 ({This is not one of them:} 16... g5 17. Qe4 Bxb2 18. Re1 Be5 19. f4 gxh4 20. fxe5 dxe5 21. Bd3 Bf5 22. Qxf5 Qxd5 23. Qxh7+ Kf8 24. Qh6+ Ke7 25. Qh7+ Kf8 26. Qh6+ Ke7 27. Qh7+ Kf8 28. Qh6+ {½-½ Vachier Lagrave,M (2734)-Firouzja,A (2777) Sinquefield Cup 10th Saint Louis 2023 (9)}) 17. Rb1 Be5 18. f4 {Now for something strange. This position has arisen in 20 prior games, including some at the highest level - players like Anand, Karjakin, Dominguez, and Navara have been on the black side. In two of the 20 games Black played 18...Bd4+(?!) and lost, but in 18 Black played 18...c6, which is also the engine's top choice. It's very strange that Maghsoodloo didn't play this - either he forget his prep here, or got confused when choosing 16...Bxb2 (it's a standard move, but not the only acceptable option).} Be6 $2 $146 (18... c6 19. fxe5 cxd5 20. exf6 Nxf6 21. Bd3 Bd7 {is pretty standard. I'm not sure how to evaluate this. The engine thinks it's a 0.00 position (after any of several White moves), but in real life, starring actual human beings, White has a massive score of nine wins, eight draws, and no losses, and the victims include players like Dominguez, Navara, and Sam Sevian. So it's probably okay for Black, but one *really* needs to know how to handle the position as Black.}) 19. Bc4 $18 {Not quite winning a piece, but White still has a decisive advantage.} Bd4+ 20. Kh1 Bf7 21. Qe4 $1 Bc5 22. Ne7+ Kf8 23. Qxh7 $1 {This tactical point is probably what Maghsoodloo missed. The knight can't be captured because of mate or the loss of his own knight (depending on which way Black takes on e7), but letting it live is also terrible for the health of Black's king. Black gives up the queen for the king's sake, but it's ultimately inadequate as well.} Bxc4 $2 (23... Qxe7 $4 24. Qh8+ Bg8 25. Qxg8#) (23... Kxe7 $2 24. Re1+ Kd7 25. Bxf7 $18 {is amusing - Black's knight is stuck, and the queen can't (safely) get out of the way to let the rook recapture, either.}) (23... d5 $1 {is best.} 24. Nxd5 $1 Bxd5 25. Qh8+ Kf7 26. Qh5+ g6 27. Bxd5+ Kg7 28. Qf3 $18 {White has a beautiful position, but Black has achieved some stability.}) 24. Re1 $1 {Threatening 25.Qh8+ followed by 26.Q(x)g8#.} Qxe7 25. Rxe7 Kxe7 {Black has a lot of material for the queen, but White regains a piece with} 26. Qe4+ Be6 27. f5 {, when the resulting position is hopeless for Black's uncoordinated pieces.} Rd8 28. g4 $1 c6 29. g5 $1 Kf8 30. fxe6 Ke7 31. gxf6+ gxf6 32. Qg4 $1 d5 33. Qg8 Bd4 34. Bg3 $1 Be5 35. Bxe5 fxe5 {Black's king is safe, but now there's a new problem.} 36. h4 $1 e4 37. h5 d4 38. Qf7+ Kd6 39. e7 Rc8 40. Qf4+ Kxe7 41. Qxe4+ Kd7 42. Qxd4+ Nd6 43. h6 1-0 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.14"] [Round "2.6"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E94"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2643"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,74,28,20,29,6,60,25,24,33,45,45,45,48,37,38,36,25,39,41,79,54,54,47,93,66,50,64,40,23,21,64,64,27,39,45,43,1,19,24,24,37,37,13,49,17,32,-13,0,-14,14,14,16,20,1,0,14,10,7,7,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,28,32,33,2,21,29,24]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. d4 O-O 6. Be2 e5 {A brave decision against the World Champion - but it works out.} 7. O-O exd4 (7... Nc6 {might be a foolhardly choice.}) (7... Na6 {is the most popular option at the moment.}) 8. Nxd4 Re8 9. f3 c6 10. Nc2 {The second-most popular move.} (10. Kh1 {is the top choice.} d5 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Bg5 Nc6 13. Bb5 h6 {seems to be where the action is. The engine likes White after} 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. Bxc6 hxg5 16. Bxa8 {, but it's obviously very complicated after} d4 {. White's overall results have been pretty good, but Black didn't lose in this game between the current champ and his predecessor:} 17. Nd5 Ba6 18. Bc6 Re6 19. Rc1 Bxf1 20. Qxf1 g4 21. Nf4 Re7 22. Nd3 gxf3 23. Qxf3 Nd7 24. Bd5 Ne5 25. Nxe5 Bxe5 26. g3 Kg7 27. Kg2 Rc7 28. Rc4 d3 29. Qxd3 Rxc4 30. Qxc4 Bxb2 31. Bxf7 Qd2+ 32. Kh3 Qh6+ 33. Kg2 Qd2+ 34. Kh3 Qh6+ 35. Kg2 Qd2+ {½-½ Ding,L (2791)-Carlsen,M (2863) Chessable Masters Final chess24.com INT rapid 2020 (2.14)}) 10... Na6 11. Kh1 h6 (11... Nc7 {has been the most popular move, but the engine's preference for 11...h6 will probably change that.}) 12. Be3 (12. Bf4 {has been usual:} d5 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. exd5 Nh5 {has seen White score 5.5/6, but four of the games were ratings mismatches - especially two games between Firouzja (2785) and Mahdavi (2324). The engine thinks White has an =/? edge with 15.Bc1 and maybe 15.Bd2.}) 12... d5 {Here too we have six games, and in this case the results have been 50-50. (Btw, yes, I can count. [Usually.] There were more than six games with 12.Bf4; it's the position after 14...Nh5 in that line that was only reached six times.)} 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Qc1 $146 (14. exd5 {was played in all four of the earlier games, but it doesn't lead to much after} Nb4 $1 15. Nxb4 Rxe3 $11) (14. Bd4 $146 dxe4 15. Bb5 $1 Rf8 $1 16. fxe4 {is worth a look, though.}) 14... dxe4 15. Bxh6 Nc5 $11 {White has nothing, and if there are any tricks here Donchenko solved them all. The game rolls on to a clean draw.} 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qg5 exf3 18. Bxf3 Ne6 19. Qe5 Qc7 20. Qxc7 Nxc7 21. Rad1 Rb8 22. Kg1 (22. Nd4 {prevents ...Be6, but Black has plenty of satisfactory alternatives, including} Bg4 $11 ({and} 22... Ne6 {.})) 22... Be6 23. Nd4 {Setting things up for a soft landing.} Bc4 24. Rfe1 Ncd5 {Let the trades begin!} 25. Rxe8 Rxe8 26. Nxd5 Bxd5 27. Bxd5 Nxd5 28. Nf5+ gxf5 29. Rxd5 Re2 30. Rb5 b6 31. a4 Kg6 32. a5 bxa5 33. Rxa5 Rxb2 34. Rxa7 Rb1+ 35. Kf2 Rb2+ 36. Kg1 Rb1+ 37. Kf2 Rb2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.14"] [Round "2.7"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Warmerdam, Max"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2682"] [BlackElo "2625"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,80,28,20,20,20,27,27,29,8,7,1,14,-13,9,13,19,4,41,11,18,11,4,-28,-3,19,19,17,17,4,4,3,9,13,1,-6,32,26,26,-25,59,-41,-21,-72,-65,-109,-124,-145,-157,-242,-246,-241,-223,-220,-206,-205,-211,-241,-211,-193,-198,-228,-217,-209,-235,-237,-197,-213,-213,-231,-237,-229,-229,-247,-258,-249,-263,-273,-292,-292,-248,-326,-297] One would expect this to be a good opportunity for the 2021 winner of this tournament, facing the second-lowest seed with the white pieces. One would expect this, but it's not what happens.} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 {Not every opening can be as exciting as the Berlin.} Bf5 4. e3 e6 5. Nbd2 Nbd7 6. c4 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Bd6 {This position is rare, but it did arise in the World Cup semi-final.} 8. Ne5 Ne4 9. f3 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 Qe7 $146 {With a small threat.} (10... f6 11. Nxd7 Qxd7 12. e4 Bg6 13. Rd1 Bxf4 14. Qxf4 Bf7 15. Kf2 Qc6 16. Bb3 Qb6 17. Qe3 O-O-O 18. Rd2 Rd7 19. Rhd1 Rhd8 20. Bc4 c5 21. d5 exd5 22. exd5 Kb8 23. a3 Qd6 24. g3 Re7 25. Qc3 h5 26. b4 h4 27. bxc5 Qxc5+ 28. Qd4 hxg3+ 29. hxg3 Qxd4+ 30. Rxd4 Rc7 31. g4 Rc5 32. a4 Be8 33. Bb3 Rc3 34. R1d3 Rxd3 35. Rxd3 Kc7 36. Re3 Bg6 37. g5 Re8 38. gxf6 gxf6 39. Rxe8 Bxe8 40. Ke3 a5 41. Kd4 Kd6 42. f4 Bh5 43. Ke4 Bg4 44. Bc2 Kc5 45. Bb3 Bh3 46. Bc2 Bd7 47. Bd1 Kc4 48. Be2+ Kc5 49. Bd1 b6 50. Bc2 Kc4 51. Bd3+ Kb4 52. Bc2 Kc3 53. Bd1 Kc4 54. Be2+ Kb4 55. Bd1 Kc3 56. d6 Kc4 57. Bg4 Bc6+ 58. Ke3 Bxa4 59. d7 Bxd7 60. Bxd7 b5 61. Kd2 b4 62. Be6+ Kd4 63. f5 a4 64. Kc2 Ke4 65. Bd7 Ke5 66. Kd3 a3 67. Kc2 a2 68. Kb2 b3 69. Be6 Ke4 70. Bxb3 a1=Q+ 71. Kxa1 Kxf5 72. Bc2+ Ke5 73. Kb1 f5 74. Bxf5 {½-½ Abasov,N (2632)-Carlsen,M (2835) FIDE World Cup Baku 2023 (7.2)}) 11. O-O-O (11. a3 {was playable, waiting to see which way Black castles before deciding what to do with his own king.}) (11. O-O {was possible, giving Black the option of castling kingside and playing it safe or castling queenside and inviting an attacking race.} g5 12. Bg3 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Bxe5 14. dxe5 O-O $11 {is a lively option, hoping the superior pawn majority (at least come the endgame) will compensate for his bishop getting shut out of play after an inevitable e4.}) 11... O-O-O $11 12. Qa5 Nxe5 $1 13. dxe5 Bc5 14. e4 Bg6 {In some respects this is similar to the line given on move 11. Again Black has the better structure at the cost of his light-squared bishop's mobility.} 15. a3 (15. h4) 15... Bb6 16. Qc3 Kb8 17. g3 f5 {Improving his bishop's prospects at the cost of improving White's pawn structure. The chances remain balanced.} 18. exf6 gxf6 19. e5 $6 {Fixing Black's e-pawn, which would otherwise have moved to e5, but this comes at the cost of improving Black's g6-bishop in a big way.} (19. Kb1 $142 e5 20. Be3 Bf7 $11) 19... Qc5 $1 {The only good move; otherwise, White would have a significant advantage. But now it's Black who's (a little) better.} 20. Bxe6 $2 (20. Rhe1) (20. Bb3) 20... fxe5 $17 21. Qxc5 Bxc5 22. Bh6 $2 (22. Bxe5 $4 Be3+ $19 {is a massive problem.}) ({Only} 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. Bd2 Bd4 24. h4 $1 Bxb2+ 25. Kxb2 Rxd2+ 26. Kc1 Rc2+ 27. Kd1 Rf2 $17 {keeps White alive.}) 22... Bd4 $1 $19 {Material is equal, but White's king is in a world of trouble. Black's immediate idea is ...Rd6 followed by ...Rc6+.} 23. Bb3 Rd6 24. Rxd4 (24. Rd2 $142 Rc6+ 25. Kd1 Bh5 {is another problem for White: Black threatens both ...Bxf3+ and ...Rxh6. White's best is} 26. g4 Rxh6 27. gxh5 {, hoping that the opposite-colored bishops will let him survive with his awful structure and passive pieces. (It almost certainly won't, but it's the best try.)}) 24... exd4 {Black is clearly winning. Warmerdam struggles a bit, but manages to get the job done.} 25. Bd1 Re8 26. h4 Rc6+ 27. Kd2 Rb6 28. Kc1 Rc6+ 29. Kd2 Rb6 {The rook was originally on d6, so it's not a threefold repetition.} 30. Kc1 c5 (30... Ree6 $142) 31. h5 Bd3 32. Bg7 Be2 (32... Re3 $142) 33. f4 $2 (33. Re1 $142 Rbe6 34. f4) 33... Bxd1 34. Rxd1 Rb3 35. Be5+ Kc8 36. Rg1 Rg8 37. g4 Rh3 38. Kd2 Kd7 39. g5 Ke6 40. b4 c4 0-1