[Event "Chessable Masters Play-In"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.01.31"] [Round "2"] [White "Indjic, A."] [Black "Svidler, P."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C25"] [WhiteElo "2595"] [BlackElo "2689"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2024.01.31"] [EventType "swiss (rapid)"] [EventRounds "9"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1526"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceQuality "2"] {Peter Svidler didn't have a good tournament, but he did get to win a wild game in a crazy old-time gambit.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 (2... Nf6 {avoids the gambit, so perhaps Svidler was hoping Indjic would play it.}) 3. f4 $5 {It's objectively bad, but that doesn't mean it's easy to face.} (3. Bc4 {is the normal move.}) (3. Nf3 {is the move for those who think adding raisins to oatmeal is living on the edge.}) 3... exf4 4. d4 ({Perhaps the most famous game in this gambit was Capablanca's very impressive win over Juan Corzo when Capa was 13:} 4. Nf3 g5 5. h4 g4 6. Ng5 h6 7. Nxf7 Kxf7 8. d4 d5 9. exd5 Qe7+ 10. Kf2 g3+ 11. Kg1 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Qc5 13. Ne2 Qb6 14. Qxb6 axb6 15. Nd4 Bc5 16. c3 Ra4 17. Be2 Bxd4+ 18. cxd4 Rxd4 19. b3 Nf6 20. Bb2 Rd2 21. Bh5+ Nxh5 22. Bxh8 f3 23. gxf3 Nf4 24. Be5 Rg2+ 25. Kf1 Rf2+ 26. Ke1 Nd3+ {0-1 Corzo y Prinzipe,J-Capablanca,J Match Capablanca-Corzo +4-3=6 Havana 1901 (8)}) 4... Qh4+ 5. Ke2 d5 $5 {Black has played many moves here, many of which are good. But we've got to appreciate Svidler's joining Indjic in the 19th century style.} (5... b6 $15) 6. Nxd5 $2 {Losing! It says something about how wild the gambit is that the player who chose it is lost all of three moves later.} (6. exd5 $11 {is the only acceptable move for White.}) 6... Bg4+ $19 7. Nf3 O-O-O 8. Bxf4 Nf6 9. Ke3 Nxd5+ 10. exd5 Re8+ 11. Kd2 Qf2+ 12. Kc3 Re1 $3 {Not the only good move, but it's always a good day when one finds such moves.} 13. Qd3 (13. Qxe1 Bb4+) (13. Nxe1 Bxd1) 13... Nb4 $1 14. Rxe1 Nxd3 15. Bxd3 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Bb4+ $1 17. Kxb4 Qxd4+ 18. c4 Qxf4 (18... Qxb2+ {is the computer's preference, but it doesn't much matter at this point; the hard work has been done.}) 19. Kc3 Kd8 20. Re4 Qf6+ 21. Kc2 Re8 22. Rhe1 Rxe4 23. fxe4 Qe5 24. Re2 g5 {White's majority is going nowhere, Black's is.} 25. b4 g4 26. Rf2 h5 27. c5 Ke7 28. Rf5 Qxh2+ 29. Kc3 g3 30. e5 g2 31. d6+ Kd8 32. e6 g1=Q 33. exf7 Qg7+ {It's mate in a few moves, and even if it wasn't Black could stop the f-pawn from promoting. A great game by Svidler, especially with the short time control.} 0-1 [Event "Chessable Play-In Match D1"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.02.01"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Yu Yangyi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E00"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2024.02.01"] [EventType "k.o. (rapid)"] [EventRounds "2"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1526"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,67,20,20,29,-9,-13,-43,4,10,5,5,5,2,32,21,64,74,67,31,35,47,4,44,40,35,77,39,71,67,59,97,98,76,84,76,79,76,105,91,89,70,83,86,93,102,131,126,170,163,155,179,222,215,228,198,236,229,230,242,231,235,233,218,657,704,720,720,734,723] The nightmare/"knightmare" pun is overused (not that that stopped anyone), but absolutely appropriate in this game.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Bf4 Be7 4. Nc3 d5 5. e3 O-O 6. Rc1 c5 7. dxc5 dxc4 (7... Bxc5 {is usual (and equal).}) 8. Bxc4 Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 Bxc5 10. Nf3 Nc6 11. Ke2 Rd8 12. Rhd1 Bd7 {Now the adventures begin.} 13. Nb5 $5 (13. g4 $1) 13... Bb6 $2 (13... Be7 $1 $11) 14. Nd6 $16 {/+-} Na5 15. Bd3 Nd5 16. Ng5 $1 f5 17. Ngf7 {Jump, jump, jump.} (17. Bg3 {first was a good alternative, though.}) 17... Rf8 18. Ne5 Rad8 $6 (18... Bc6) 19. Bg5 $18 Ba4 $8 20. Bxd8 Bxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Rxd8 22. Ndf7 {This is the problem with Black's 18th move. White drives the rook away from the defense of the knight, so that the e6-pawn will be overloaded.} Re8 23. Bxf5 Nxe3 $2 {A desperado, but two can play at that game.} 24. Bxh7+ Kxh7 25. fxe3 Rc8 26. Ng5+ Kg8 27. Rd7 (27. Nxe6 {is playable, as Black can do nothing further after} Re8 28. Rd6 $18) 27... Rd8 28. Re7 ({Again,} 28. Nxe6 {is fine, though there's nothing wrong with Firouzja's move.}) 28... Bc5 29. Rxe6 Bf8 30. h4 Rc8 31. h5 b6 32. h6 $1 gxh6 33. Rg6+ Bg7 (33... Kh8 34. Nef7# {would have been most appropriate, highlighting the destructive power of White's knights in this game.}) 34. Ne6 1-0 [Event "Chessable Play-In Match D1"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.02.01"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Nakamura, Hi"] [Black "Lazavik, Denis"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2567"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2024.02.01"] [EventType "k.o. (rapid)"] [EventRounds "2"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1526"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,106,20,-13,-9,7,-24,-48,-21,-2,-23,-10,-13,-13,17,-2,25,-61,-58,-34,-37,-37,-20,-48,-52,-124,-119,-176,-208,-214,-190,-193,-158,-382,-411,-491,-452,-580,-222,-222,-267,-326,-250,-397,-338,-331,-331,-455,-422,-431,-281,-417,-449,-454,-442,-503,-440,-436,-456,-459,-455,-472,-472,-472,-482,-583,-517,-517,-514,-665,-645,-664,-640,-626,-533,-625,-632,-703,-606,-814,-748,-748,-745,-769,-846,-847,-842,-843,-842,-869,-808,-845,-778,-846,-855,-859,-846,-867,-893,-878,-896,-921,-947,-958,-1053,-1533,-1039,-1768,-1061]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. a3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 {White can choose various approaches in this reversed Sicilian, including but not limited to the provocative 6.e4.} 6. e4 {This is familiar (as ...e5) in various Sicilians, kicking away the active knight and grabbing space in return for a potentially worrisome hole on d4.} (6. Qc2 {a la the Taimanov, is probably the least committal option.}) 6... Nf4 7. d3 $2 {A mouse slip?} (7. d4 {is the normal rejoinder in the regular Sicilians where ...e5 is met by Nf5.} exd4 8. Bxf4 dxc3 9. Qxd8+ Nxd8 10. bxc3 Ne6 $11 {is equal but not dull.}) 7... Bg4 $17 {Standard operating procedure: swap off the defenders of d4 and then squeeze White to death.} 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nd4 10. Qd1 Bc5 11. g3 Nfe6 {Black's position is a dream.} 12. h4 Qf6 13. Bh3 $4 Nb3 $1 {Threatening ...Qxf2# as well as the rook on a1.} 14. O-O (14. Qxb3 Qxf2+ 15. Kd1 Qf3+ 16. Ne2 Qxh1+ 17. Kc2 Qxh3 $19 {leaves Black a rook up.}) 14... Nxa1 {Nakamura being Nakamura, he of course manages to put up plenty of resistance, and against most if not all of us he'd succeed in swindling a draw or a win. Against Lazavik, who is both very strong and in great form in this event, no such luck.} 15. Nd5 Qd8 16. Qh5 O-O 17. Bf5 g6 18. Qg4 Kh8 19. Bxe6 fxe6 20. Bg5 Qd7 21. Nf6 Qg7 22. Qxe6 Nc2 23. Kg2 Bd6 24. Ng4 Nd4 25. Qc4 h5 26. Nh2 Qf7 27. Qc1 Qe6 28. Be3 c5 29. Bxd4 cxd4 30. Qh6+ Kg8 31. Nf3 Be7 32. Nd2 Rf7 33. Nf3 Raf8 34. Ng1 Bxh4 $1 {Lazavik is on the lookout for his own opportunities, and not just working to stop Nakamura's mischief.} 35. f3 Be7 36. Nh3 Rh7 37. Qd2 Rc8 38. f4 Rf8 39. Kh2 h4 40. g4 exf4 41. Rf3 Qxg4 42. Qe2 Bd6 43. Nf2 Qe6 (43... Qg3+ $1 {is a nice move.}) 44. Qf1 Be5 45. Qg2 Rg7 46. Ng4 g5 47. Qh3 Re8 48. Kg2 Rc7 {The beginning of the end. Black's kingside bunker is secure, and now some of the troops can go on the offensive.} 49. Rf2 Kg7 50. Qf3 Rec8 51. Kh3 Rc2 52. Rf1 Rc1 53. Rf2 R8c2 0-1 [Event "Chessable Play-In Match D2"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.02.01"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Aronian, L."] [Black "Lysyj, I."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C49"] [WhiteElo "2725"] [BlackElo "2589"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "29"] [EventDate "2024.02.01"] [EventType "k.o. (rapid)"] [EventRounds "2"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1526"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,29,20,17,19,13,28,6,6,6,11,6,5,19,11,-3,0,3,5,48,33,-20,-35,20,22,61,294,299,200,200,188,202]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 {This old-fashioned move is coming back into circulation.} 5. O-O O-O 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Nxe5 Re8 8. Nd3 Bf8 $2 (8... Bxc3 {is the overwhelmingly most common move, and there's no reason why it shouldn't be - it's a draw machine.} 9. dxc3 Nxe4 10. Qf3 Qf6 $11 {makes the 5.Re1 Berlin and the Exchange French seem scintillating by in comparison.}) 9. Re1 $16 {White's up a pawn for nothing.} c5 10. Nf4 Bg4 $2 {A mistake, but that it's a mistake requires a nice calculation. Without the zinger at the end of the line, this would equalize.} 11. f3 Qd4+ 12. Kh1 Nxe4 $2 {The same point applies here as well.} 13. Nxe4 Rxe4 14. Rxe4 Qxe4 {If White takes the queen, Black takes White's queen; if White takes the bishop, Black takes the knight. In both cases, Black is totally fine. But...} 15. d3 $1 {Oops! Now the knight is defended, so Black will lose a piece for nothing - gg.} 1-0 [Event "Chessable Masters Div 1 W"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.02.02"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, I."] [Black "Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2610"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2024.02.02"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1526"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,84,20,17,28,13,6,3,3,8,14,7,7,21,19,-29,-3,-24,-4,-1,5,1,29,12,33,-2,3,-7,-2,-38,-19,-29,-26,-31,-31,-34,-7,2,-26,-54,-51,-62,-7,-163,-168,-168,-157,-129,-120,-201,-180,-188,-144,-202,-130,-189,-50,-77,-65,-167,-154,-270,-271,-239,-223,-233,-233,-257,-257,-257,-257,-267,-277,-304,-183,-287,-287,-1084,-1554,-29985,-29986,-29987,-29988,-29989,-1284,-29999,-29999] Martinez was in great form in this event, defeating Nepo among others. That doesn't mean it was all smooth sailing, as we'll see.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 Bb6 7. Re1 h6 8. a4 O-O 9. h3 a5 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. d4 exd4 $6 (11... Nc6 $1) 12. cxd4 d5 13. exd5 $6 (13. e5) 13... Nexd5 $11 14. Nf1 Be6 15. Qb3 Qd6 16. Bd2 Rfe8 17. Ng3 Nf4 18. Bxe6 Nxe6 19. Bc3 Nf4 20. Re5 Ng6 21. Rae1 $2 {Trying too hard, Nepo makes a simple tactical error.} Nxe5 22. dxe5 Qd5 $1 $19 23. Qc2 Nd7 24. Re4 {Time for White to throw the kitchen sink at Black's kingside. Black needs to be precise, but if he can do so he'll win.} Nc5 $2 {Sensible, looking for control over d3 while retaining the possibility of ...Ne6, but it's an error.} (24... Nf8 $19) (24... Rad8 $19) 25. Rg4 $15 Rad8 $2 (25... Qd3 $1 26. Qc1 Re6 27. Nh5 {and now} g5 $1 $15 {works because the barrier on g5 will be replaced by one on g6.}) 26. Kh2 $2 {This Kasparovian king tuck is too slow.} (26. Qf5 $1 $18 {was better, sending the queen to h5.}) 26... Ne6 $17 27. Nh5 Qd3 28. Qc1 g5 $1 {Again, the sac on g5 won't get anywhere, while reclaiming the exchange won't help either.} 29. Bd2 $2 (29. Nxg5 $2 hxg5 30. Rxg5+ Nxg5 31. Qxg5+ Qg6 32. Qh4 Kf8 $19) (29. Nf6+ Kf8 $17 {/-+} 30. Nxe8 (30. Qe1 $142) 30... Kxe8 $19) 29... Kf8 $19 30. h4 {Too little, too late.} Nd4 31. Nxg5 (31. hxg5 $2 Nxf3+ 32. gxf3 Qxf3 $19 {is a disaster.}) 31... Ne2 $1 32. Nh7+ Ke7 33. Bg5+ {Might as well. The upshot of all this is that Black will "castle" queenside, and White has surrendered too much material to fight on once the king reaches c8.} hxg5 34. Qxg5+ Kd7 35. N7f6+ Kc8 36. Nxe8 Rxe8 {Black has a piece for two not particularly useful pawns, and White's king is in some trouble as well.} 37. Nf6 Qb1 $1 {Threatening mate in two.} 38. Re4 Qg1+ 39. Kh3 Qh1+ 40. Kg4 Qxg2+ 41. Kf5 (41. Kh5 Rh8+ 42. Qh6 Qg6#) 41... Qf3+ 42. Rf4 Nd4# 0-1 [Event "Chessable Masters Div 1 W"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.02.02"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, I."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B00"] [WhiteElo "2610"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2024.02.02"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1526"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,61,20,17,83,75,91,52,54,51,62,54,62,44,94,59,55,24,98,68,93,93,100,81,150,150,148,155,178,178,208,102,91,73,90,90,90,63,63,14,51,-9,51,-10,66,52,52,34,37,-9,31,81,253,249,234,128,178,228,274,220,1366,2021,2066,2164] The previous game was followed by a couple of draws, so now Nepo must win on demand to keep the match going.} 1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. c3 {Super solid.} Bg7 4. Bd3 Nd7 5. Nf3 c5 6. O-O b6 7. Re1 Bb7 8. Nbd2 h6 9. Qe2 g5 {Desperate times require desperate measures. The good news for Black is that he has avoided a drawish position. The bad news is that he has reached a lost one instead, and must hope that there will be a messy moment or two where he'll get his chance to fight back.} 10. e5 $1 $18 dxe5 11. dxe5 Bxf3 12. Nxf3 e6 13. Rd1 Qc7 14. Bb5 O-O-O 15. a4 ({Surprisingly, the engine prefers a move on the other side of the board. Normally one would reject this, as} 15. h4 g4 {looks like it sends the knight to oblivion while weakening the e5-pawn. The key idea, however, is that White doesn't move the knight.} 16. Qe4 $1 {The g-pawn drops after a move like 16...Kb8, so let's go all in:} gxf3 17. Rxd7 $1 Rxd7 {Now it's time for "ring around the rosie" until the black king dies of the plague.} 18. Qa8+ Qb8 19. Bxd7+ Kc7 20. Qc6+ Kd8 21. Bg5+ $1 hxg5 22. Be8 $1 Qc7 23. Rd1+ Kc8 24. Qa8+ Qb8 25. Bd7+ Kc7 26. Qc6+ Kd8 27. Be8+ Ke7 28. Qd7+ Kf8 29. Qxf7#) 15... Ne7 16. a5 bxa5 17. Bxd7+ $2 $16 {Too direct.} (17. Re1 $18) (17. Rd6 $18) 17... Rxd7 18. Rxd7 Kxd7 19. Qb5+ $2 (19. h4 $1 gxh4 {Best.} 20. Qd3+ Ke8 21. Qb5+ Nc6 22. Be3 $16) 19... Nc6 $14 20. Be3 Rb8 21. Qa4 Bf8 $2 (21... Kc8 $11) 22. Nd2 $1 $16 Qxe5 $2 23. Nc4 $18 Qc7 24. Nxa5 $2 {The question marks are a bit heavy. Yes, objectively, White has made a few mistakes, but the time control is a short one and all he needs is a draw. From the standpoint of keeping safe, White has done just fine.} (24. h4 $1) 24... Bd6 25. Nc4 Ke7 $2 {This is a big error, and after this Nepo gets no further chances.} (25... Be7 $14 {/?}) 26. Nxd6 Kxd6 27. Rd1+ Ke5 (27... Ke7 28. Bxc5+ Kf6 29. Bd6 $18) 28. f4+ $1 Kf5 29. fxg5 h5 (29... hxg5 30. Qc2+ Kf6 31. Qh7 $1 $18) 30. Qc2+ $1 Ke5 31. Qf2 $1 {There's no sensible answer to the threatened Qf4#.} 1-0 [Event "Chessable Masters Div 1 L"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.02.03"] [Round "1.2"] [White "So, W."] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2024.02.03"] [EventType "k.o. (rapid)"] [EventRounds "4"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1526"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,66,20,17,13,13,34,8,14,14,7,17,0,-21,-35,-51,-22,-53,-22,-41,-14,-6,3,14,117,69,104,86,76,76,54,59,6,-2,-34,-34,29,1,260,260,274,296,273,257,298,263,225,92,160,201,201,201,201,140,140,64,64,-105,-105,-121,-121,-121,-18,-34,70,-29993,-29994,-29995,-29996] Serene So vs. fiery Firouzja. Whose chess will triumph?} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 d6 ({Black often plays the safe} 6... Be7 {- Carlsen is among those who likes this retreating move, blunting the h4-bishop, and he used it against So himself a day earlier.}) 7. c3 a6 8. a4 Ba7 9. Nbd2 ({A few months earlier, the players tested this line from the opposite side of the board, and then it was So who triumphed.} 9. O-O g5 10. Bg3 Ne7 11. d4 Nxe4 12. dxe5 d5 13. Bd3 Nf5 14. Nd4 Nxd4 15. cxd4 h5 16. e6 Bxe6 17. Bxe4 dxe4 18. Nc3 Qxd4 19. Bxc7 Rc8 20. Bd6 f5 21. Ba3 Qxd1 22. Raxd1 Kf7 {0-1 Firouzja,A (2777)-So,W (2753) Chess.com Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (2.5)}) 9... g5 10. Bg3 Qe7 11. O-O Nd7 12. b4 Nf8 13. b5 Na5 (13... 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)}) 14. Bd5 h5 (14... c6 15. Ba2 Ng6 16. Rb1 (16. Kh1 h5 17. h3 g4 18. Ng1 gxh3 19. gxh3 h4 20. Bh2 Rg8 21. Rb1 Qg5 22. Ndf3 Qf6 23. bxa6 bxa6 24. d4 Nf4 25. dxe5 dxe5 26. Nxe5 Qxe5 27. Qf3 Bb8 28. Ne2 Bxh3 29. Bxf4 Bxf1 30. Bxf7+ Ke7 31. Bxe5 Bg2+ 32. Qxg2 Rxg2 33. Bxb8 Rxf2 34. Bh5 Nc4 35. Rb7+ Kf8 36. Nf4 Rxb8 37. Ne6+ Kg8 38. Rxb8+ Kh7 39. Kg1 Rf6 40. Nd4 Ne3 41. Bf3 c5 42. Nf5 h3 43. Rb2 Kg6 44. Rh2 Nxf5 45. exf5+ Kxf5 46. Rxh3 Rb6 47. Be2 Rb1+ 48. Kf2 Ra1 49. Rh5+ Ke4 50. Rh4+ Kd5 51. Bxa6 {1-0 Firouzja,A (2777)-Tabatabaei,M (2689) Julius Baer Play In Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (8.2)}) 16... axb5 17. axb5 cxb5 18. Rxb5 Nc6 19. Bd5 h5 20. h3 g4 21. hxg4 hxg4 22. Nh2 Nf4 23. d4 Nh5 24. Nb3 Nd8 25. Ra5 Nxg3 26. fxg3 Qg5 27. Re1 Nc6 28. Bxc6+ bxc6 29. Qa1 Rb8 30. Rxa7 Rxb3 31. Qa2 Rb7 32. Rxb7 Bxb7 33. Qa7 Bc8 34. Qc7 O-O 35. Nf1 exd4 36. cxd4 Qf6 37. Rd1 c5 38. dxc5 dxc5 39. Qxc5 Be6 40. Ne3 Rc8 41. Qd6 Qg5 42. Qf4 Qc5 43. e5 Ra8 44. Qg5+ Kh7 45. Kh2 Rg8 46. Qh4+ Kg7 47. Nf5+ Bxf5 48. Qf6+ Kh7 49. Qxf5+ Kg7 50. Qf6+ {1-0 So,W (2776)-Carlsen,M (2864) Norway Chess Armageddon 10th Stavanger rapid 2022 (2)}) 15. h4 g4 16. Ne1 c6 $6 $146 (16... Ng6 17. d4 Nxh4 18. f4 (18. bxa6 Ng6 19. Nc4 Nxc4 20. axb7 Bxb7 21. Bxb7 Rb8 22. Bd5 Nb2 23. Qc1 h4 24. Bh2 h3 25. g3 Qd7 26. Rb1 Nxa4 27. Rxb8+ Bxb8 28. Bb3 Qb5 29. Qc2 Nb6 30. Nd3 O-O 31. f4 gxf3 32. Rxf3 c5 33. c4 Qa5 34. dxc5 Qa1+ 35. Rf1 Qd4+ 36. Nf2 Nd7 37. Qe2 Qc3 38. Bd1 Ba7 39. Ng4 Rb8 40. Kh1 Bxc5 41. Nh6+ Kf8 42. Nxf7 Ke7 43. Qh5 Qd3 44. Be2 Nf6 45. Nxd6 Bxd6 46. Qxg6 Qxe4+ 47. Qxe4 Nxe4 48. Bd3 Ng5 49. c5 Bxc5 50. Rf5 e4 51. Rxc5 exd3 52. Rxg5 d2 53. Rd5 Rd8 54. Rxd2 {½-½ Tyulenko,Y (2453)-Herman,T (2365) Webchess op7 final email ICCF email 2020}) 18... exd4 19. cxd4 c6 20. bxc6 bxc6 21. Ba2 d5 22. f5 Bxd4+ 23. Kh1 Be5 24. Bxe5 Qxe5 25. Nd3 Qf6 26. exd5 Nxf5 27. Qe1+ Qe7 28. Rxf5 Bxf5 29. Qf2 Qg5 30. Re1+ Kf8 31. d6 Rh6 32. Ne4 g3 33. Nxg3 Rf6 34. Nc5 Bg6 35. Qd4 Rd8 36. d7 Qf4 37. Qc3 Nb7 38. Nce4 Bxe4 39. Rxe4 Qg5 40. Re5 Qh4+ 41. Kg1 Rxd7 42. Qe1 Qd4+ 43. Kh2 Nd6 44. Rxh5 Rf4 45. Kh3 Re7 46. Qa5 Ne4 47. Nf5 Nf2+ 48. Kh2 Ng4+ 49. Kh3 Nf2+ 50. Kh2 Ng4+ 51. Kh3 Qd3+ 52. Ng3 Nf2+ 53. Kh2 Ng4+ 54. Kh3 Re3 55. Qc5+ Kg7 56. Qg5+ Qg6 57. Kh4 Nf6+ 58. Qxf4 Qxg3+ 59. Qxg3+ Rxg3 60. Kxg3 Nxh5+ 61. Kg4 Nf6+ 62. Kf5 Nd7 63. a5 Nc5 64. Bc4 Nb7 65. Bxa6 Nxa5 66. Ke5 Nb3 67. Kd6 Nd4 68. Kc5 Ne6+ 69. Kxc6 {½-½ Navara,D (2689)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2690) FIDE World Cup Baku 2023 (3.2)}) 17. Ba2 Ng6 18. Qb1 $1 Nxh4 $2 19. b6 $18 Ng6 $5 20. bxa7 $1 h4 21. Bh2 Qg5 22. Qb4 $1 g3 $2 {So far, So good. (So very good. Me Cookie Monster.) If Black were playing Stockfish, he could resign, but Black's attack is more dangerous when it's a human who has to deal with it.} 23. Qxa5 $2 (23. fxg3 {is best according to the wacky computer.} hxg3 24. Bxf7+ Ke7 25. Bxg3 Qxg3 26. Bxg6 {and "What attack?"} Qxg6 27. Qxa5 $18) 23... gxh2+ 24. Kh1 Qxd2 $16 25. Qc7 $1 O-O 26. Qxd6 Kg7 27. Nf3 Qxc3 {Aside from his 23rd move, So has played very well and continues to enjoy the advantage. The position remains messy though, and it's time for another error.} 28. d4 $4 {While the line that follows is almost impossible to produce at the board, there were other satisfactory moves that retain some advantage for White. This isn't one of them; indeed, Black is winning, and Firouzja finishes in style.} (28. Rab1 $1 Qa5 29. Nxh4 $1 Rd8 30. Qb8 Bd7 31. Qxb7 Nxh4 32. Qb2 $3 $16 {followed by 33.f4. We can forget about White finding this at the board, even in a classical game.}) 28... h3 $1 $19 29. Ng5 hxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Rh8 31. Kh1 Bh3 $1 32. Bxf7 {This wins against every move but one...} (32. Nxh3 Qf3+ 33. Kxh2 Qxh3+ 34. Kg1 Qh1#) 32... Bg2+ $1 33. Kxg2 h1=Q+ $1 (33... h1=Q+ $1 34. Rxh1 Nf4+ 35. Kg1 Qxa1#) 0-1 [Event "Chessable Masters Div 2 W"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.02.02"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Yu Yangyi"] [Black "Nakamura, Hi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2788"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2024.02.02"] [EventType "k.o. (rapid)"] [EventRounds "6"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1526"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,48,20,17,13,13,8,7,7,7,7,18,19,19,19,13,17,-3,-23,-23,-14,1,12,5,25,-20,-11,-47,-47,-2,-156,-15,-15,-22,-24,-87,-64,-125,-109,-410,-410,-429,-429,-739,-795,-804,-831,-792,-872,-872,-872]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a6 7. Nbd2 Ba7 8. Bb3 O-O 9. Re1 Ng4 10. Re2 Kh8 11. Nf1 f5 {All reasonably well-known.} 12. Bg5 (12. exf5 $142 Bxf5 13. Ng3 $11 (13. h3 Nf6 14. Ng3 $11)) 12... Qe8 13. exf5 Bxf5 14. Ng3 Qg6 15. Bc2 d5 16. Qd2 Nxf2 $5 (16... h6 17. Be3 Nxe3 18. fxe3 $11) 17. Be3 $2 (17. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 18. Kxf2 Bg4 {looks scary enough to avoid. With enough time to calculate, Yu could work out that after} 19. Re1 Bxf3 20. gxf3 h6 21. Be3 d4 22. cxd4 exd4 23. Bf4 Qf7 24. Re4 g5 {the threats against f3 are not fatal, so White can play 25.Bb3 or} 25. Bxg5 $1 hxg5 26. Qxg5 Qxf3+ 27. Kg1 $11 {White's threats are just as potent as Black's, and the game will end with one player or the other giving perpetual check. Yu also lacked the time to work out that his idea with 17.Be3 doesn't work.} (27. Ke1 $11)) 17... Bxe3 18. Rxe3 Ng4 $17 19. Nh4 $2 {This was the idea of 17.Be3, and it looks like Black is in trouble. (Other, better moves leave White with a bad position without any tactical or material compensation.) As usual, though, Nakamura's quick calculations were more accurate than his opponent's.} Qh6 $1 20. Ngxf5 Rxf5 21. Nxf5 Qxh2+ 22. Kf1 Rf8 $1 23. d4 (23. Rf3 Qh1+ 24. Ke2 Qxg2+ $19) 23... e4 24. Ke2 Rxf5 {White is going to lose a *lot* of material (or else get mated, or both).} 0-1 [Event "Chessable Masters Div 3 W"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.02.02"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Demchenko, A."] [Black "Paravyan, D."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C24"] [WhiteElo "2609"] [BlackElo "2612"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2024.02.02"] [EventType "k.o. (rapid)"] [EventRounds "7"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1526"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,47,20,17,13,7,7,-3,-11,6,22,22,29,-16,36,24,33,32,40,31,8,-47,-3,2,2,28,37,51,43,71,18,18,30,30,30,65,36,11,253,247,334,532,771,762,770,778,29989,29990,29999,29999] From the lower section, a nice white win from the hoary Bishop's Opening.} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb3 Bd6 (5... Bb4+) (5... a5) 6. exd5 Nxd5 (6... cxd5) 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 Nd7 9. Bg5 $5 Qc7 (9... f6 $142 {is the sort of move that might make one a bit queasy with the bishop on b3. Ideas like c4-c5 are scary, but after} 10. Bh4 Nc5 $1 {Black is okay.} 11. Bxd5+ cxd5 {and now White's best is 12.d4, with the marginally better half of an equal position. Note that White cannot grab on e5.} 12. d4 (12. Nxe5 $4 g5 $19) 12... exd4 13. Qxd4 Ne6 $1 $11) 10. d4 $14 (10. c4 $14) 10... exd4 (10... h6 $142 11. Bh4 b5 $1) 11. Qxd4 h6 12. Bh4 Bc5 13. Qd2 {Black's pieces are a little clumsy, which is making it hard for him to develop his queenside. His next move is what he'd like to play, but it's very risky.} N7f6 $6 (13... a5) 14. c4 Nf4 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. Re4 Ng6 17. Qxh6 Bf5 $8 {Attacking the rook is icing on the cake; the immediate job was preventing Qxg6+.} 18. Nc3 $1 Bxe4 $4 {This loses straight away, but Black's best move was almost impossible to find.} ({Suppose it's White's move - let's make a "pass" move to see what will happen.} 18... a6 19. Nh4 $1 Bxe4 20. Nxe4 Qf4 21. Qxf4 Nxf4 22. Nxc5 $18) ({There's our clue: we must defend the c5-bishop.} 18... b6 $3 19. Nh4 ({White must slow down, retreat the rook, and prepare to double, maintaining some advantage.} 19. Re2 Rfe8 20. Rae1 Rxe2 21. Rxe2 $14) 19... Bxe4 20. Nxe4 Qf4 {and here Black is better.}) 19. Nxe4 Qe7 20. Ng3 $1 {There's no adequate defense to the threatened Nh5/Nf5.} Bxf2+ 21. Kxf2 Rfe8 22. Nh5 Qe2+ 23. Kg3 Re6 24. Qg7# 1-0 [Event "Chessable Masters Div 3 W"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.02.02"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Paravyan, D."] [Black "Demchenko, A."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2612"] [BlackElo "2609"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "41"] [EventDate "2024.02.02"] [EventType "k.o. (rapid)"] [EventRounds "7"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1526"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,41,20,17,13,13,28,7,7,14,21,21,23,18,48,42,136,117,151,203,316,302,391,386,395,232,286,371,935,935,1306,1350,1342,701,701,695,1035,1172,1090,1082,1082,1237,1237,1124] Later the same day Paravyan, the victim in the previous game, wins with his own direct, bludgeoning attack in a somewhat similar opening.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 d5 {If only it were this easy to put the Italian Game out of business.} 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. O-O $14 Nb6 (6... Be7) 7. Bb3 Bd6 $4 {Clearly not prep, so I assume Demchenko just mixed up his analysis.} (7... Bg4) 8. Ng5 $18 Rf8 (8... O-O 9. Qh5 h6 10. Nxf7 $18) 9. Qh5 $1 Qe7 10. Nxh7 Rg8 $2 (10... Rh8 11. Nf6+ $18) 11. Bg5 {Here comes everybody.} Qd7 12. f4 e4 13. Nc3 {Getting the knight and the a1-rook into the action.} Na5 14. Nxe4 {Threatening (either)Nf6+.} Qf5 15. Nxd6+ (15. Nef6+ $1 gxf6 16. Qxf7+ {wins immediately.}) 15... cxd6 16. Rae1+ (16. Nf6+ $1) 16... Kd7 17. Bxf7 Rh8 18. Be6+ Qxe6 19. Rxe6 Kxe6 20. Qg6+ Kd5 (20... Kd7 21. Qxg7+ Kc6 22. Qxh8 $18) 21. c4+ {King moves are met by 22.Be7 - not that White "needs" to have some knockout blow to justify Black's resignation. A good game by Paravyan, but it's mostly Demchenko's forgetfulness or carelessness with 7...Bd6 that's to blame.} 1-0 [Event "Chessable Masters Div 3 L"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.02.05"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Bortnyk, Olexandr"] [Black "Safarli, E."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2608"] [BlackElo "2614"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "2024.02.02"] [EventType "k.o. (rapid)"] [EventRounds "8"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1526"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.05"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,46,20,20,29,11,18,9,33,33,30,15,47,47,20,23,30,-8,6,-5,11,18,2,2,4,-6,447,469,488,524,537,537,508,535,553,447,492,492,533,536,536,459,534,534,683,517,650,652,866]} 1. d4 (1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 $6 5. Nxf6+ Qxf6 6. Nf3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O $4 8. Bg5 $18) 1... Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 a6 4. e3 e6 5. a3 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Bd3 b5 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. O-O Qe7 $6 (9... h6 $1 10. e4 Bb7 $1 {keeps the game roughly level.}) 10. e4 d4 11. e5 $1 dxc3 12. exf6 Qxf6 $4 {An amazing blunder, which goes to show how context-specific our knowledge is. The queen trap given in the note to move 1 is one I've caught dozens if not hundreds of opponents with, and I would be shocked if Safarli is unfamiliar with it. But here, in a different opening and after all sorts of other distracting vicissitudes, he was blind to this elementary pattern.} 13. Bg5 cxb2 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Ra2 Bb7 16. Rxb2 O-O-O 17. Qe2 Rhg8 18. g3 Bxa3 19. Rb3 Bd6 20. Be4 f5 21. Bxc6 Bxc6 22. c4 Rg4 23. cxb5 Bxb5 {and Black presumably resigned rather than wait for 24.Rxb5.} 1-0 [Event "Chessable Masters Div 2 W"] [Site "chess.com INT"] [Date "2024.02.06"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Aronian, L."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2725"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2024.02.02"] [EventType "k.o. (rapid)"] [EventRounds "6"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1527"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.02.12"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.02.12"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,71,20,20,18,-13,34,19,10,10,17,21,2,-28,-27,0,-17,12,19,19,52,37,77,16,31,55,50,41,73,61,82,84,124,113,197,226,226,228,228,228,223,212,208,208,216,182,262,216,262,261,275,275,225,180,181,329,137,137,675,333,330,288,357,449,629,1102,1102,239,29993,29994,29995,29988,29989,29990] Keymer and Aronian had to play twice to determine the Division 2 winner. Keymer had won all his matches up to this point while Aronian had come back from the losers' bracket. Aronian triumphed in the match, but because Keymer had a match loss to spare they had to play again. This time, Keymer emerged victorious. While Keymer will look back with more fondness on that second match, his most impressive victory - this game - came from the first match.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. f4 $5 {This startling move wasn't quite a novelty, but close enough. The commentators were impressed, and Aronian didn't manage to solve his problems in the short time control.} d6 (6... Na5 $1) 7. Nf3 Na5 8. b3 c5 9. Bb2 Ng4 10. Qd2 $14 Nc6 $6 (10... cxd4 11. Nxd4 e5 12. Ndb5 exf4 13. Nd5 Bxb2 14. Qxb2 Be6 15. Nxf4 Ne3 16. Bf3 Qb6 17. Qc3 (17. Rc1 d5 18. Nc7 $1 Qxc7 19. cxd5 Qb6 20. dxe6 Nc6 21. Qc3 fxe6 22. Nxe6 Rf7 23. Qc5 $14) 17... d5 18. c5 Qxb5 19. Qxe3 Qb4+ 20. Kf2 Rfe8 21. Rhd1 Nc6 22. a3 Qb5 23. b4 a5 24. Qd3 Qxd3 25. Nxd3 Kg7 26. g4 g5 27. b5 Nd4 28. Nf4 Nxf3 29. Nh5+ Kg6 30. exf3 Rec8 31. Rdc1 Bd7 32. a4 Rc7 33. Ra2 Rac8 34. Rac2 f5 35. h3 d4 36. Ng3 d3 37. Rc3 d2 38. Rd1 Rxc5 39. Rd3 Be6 40. Rd6 Kf7 41. R1xd2 R8c7 42. Re2 Bc8 43. Rd8 Re7 44. Red2 h6 45. Rh8 {½-½ Launhardt,W (2294)-Zavrazhnov,A (2290) CP-2016-Q-00003 LSS email}) 11. d5 $16 Nd4 12. O-O Bd7 $6 13. h3 Nh6 14. e4 $2 {Careless, but he gets away with it.} (14. g4 $1 $16 {/+-}) 14... a6 $2 (14... e5 $1 $14) 15. g4 $1 $18 {What a horrible position for Black - almost all of his pieces are terrible!} Kh8 $2 (15... Nxf3+ 16. Bxf3 e5) 16. e5 {This is almost embarrassing.} b5 17. Nxd4 cxd4 18. Ne4 $1 bxc4 (18... dxe5 19. fxe5 Bxe5 $2 20. Qxh6 $18) 19. bxc4 Rc8 20. Rac1 Ng8 21. Bxd4 {When you get a position like this with White, you almost want the game to go on indefinitely, until you can find a chef's kiss finale.} f5 22. Ng5 (22. e6 $1) 22... h6 23. e6 hxg5 24. Bxg7+ (24. fxg5 $5 {isn't bad, looking to start some trouble on the h-file.}) 24... Kxg7 25. Qd4+ Kh7 26. fxg5 Be8 27. Rf4 Qa5 28. gxf5 gxf5 29. Kh1 (29. Rh4+ $1 Kg6 30. Qh8 Kxg5 31. Rf1 $18 {will force Black to cough up lots of material to avoid a speedy mate.}) 29... Nf6 30. Rxf5 {There's no rush; Black's position can't be fixed.} Bg6 31. gxf6 $1 Bxf5 32. Qh4+ Kg6 33. Be4 $1 {Very nice, clearing the g-file.} Qc5 34. Qg4+ $1 Kh6 (34... Kxf6 35. Qxf5+ Kg7 36. Qg6+ Kh8 37. Qh7#) 35. Bxf5 (35. Qf4+ {is faster, but it doesn't matter.}) 35... Qxd5+ 36. cxd5 (36. cxd5 Rxc1+ 37. Kh2 Rc2+ 38. Bxc2 Rxf6 39. Qh4+ Kg7 40. Qh7+ Kf8 41. Qh8#) 1-0