[Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.13"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Black "Wei, Yi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E61"] [WhiteElo "2643"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,76,25,26,18,-17,37,37,33,11,9,5,19,22,39,22,15,28,26,23,55,16,-3,-1,-8,-4,-16,-50,-35,-35,-42,-37,-63,-35,-30,-24,-43,-37,-51,-59,-82,-80,-83,-87,-97,-72,-31,12,-8,-21,-40,-9,-22,-21,-27,-32,-36,-5,-46,-41,-52,-43,-50,-50,0,-63,-68,-84,-79,-83,-48,-45,-90,-430,-458,-503,-576,-590,-605]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e3 {This is an anti-Gruenfeld idea: if Black plays ...d5, then White swaps and plays e4, and Black's knight can't swap itself for a White knight on c3. The drawback is that Black can switch gears and go for a comparatively favorable Modern Benoni.} O-O 5. Be2 c5 6. d5 e6 7. Nc3 d6 8. O-O exd5 9. cxd5 Bg4 10. Nd2 (10. h3 {is an important alternative here and in analogous normal Modern Benonis. This gives White the bishop pair, but less control over the dark squares. It's probably the better choice, judging by frequency, results, and engine evaluations, but 10.Nd2 is of course playable.}) 10... Bxe2 11. Qxe2 Na6 {This position hasn't come up a lot, but two of the four games featured super-GMs.} 12. e4 $146 (12. Nc4 Nc7 13. e4 b5 14. Nxd6 Qxd6 15. e5 Qd7 16. exf6 Bxf6 17. Ne4 Bg7 18. Nxc5 Qxd5 19. Be3 Rfe8 20. Qc2 Ne6 21. Nxe6 Qxe6 22. Rac1 Qxa2 23. Ra1 Qxb2 24. Qxb2 Bxb2 25. Rab1 Bg7 26. Rxb5 a5 27. Rb3 a4 28. Ra3 Bf8 29. Ra2 a3 30. g4 Rab8 31. Rfa1 Rb3 32. Kg2 Rc8 33. h3 h5 34. gxh5 gxh5 35. Kf3 Kh7 36. Rd2 Bg7 37. Rg1 Rc6 38. Rd5 Rf6+ 39. Ke4 Re6+ 40. Kf3 Rf6+ 41. Ke4 Rb4+ 42. Kd3 Ra4 43. Rxh5+ Kg8 44. Rg4 Rxg4 45. hxg4 Rd6+ {0-1 Nepomniachtchi,I (2793)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2736) Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2022 (1.13)}) (12. Rd1 Re8 13. Nc4 Ne4 14. Nxe4 Rxe4 15. a4 Nc7 16. Bd2 Qd7 17. Qd3 f5 18. Bc3 Rd8 19. f3 Ree8 20. Be1 Qe7 21. Bg3 Bf6 22. Rac1 b6 23. Be1 Bg5 24. Bd2 Bf6 25. b4 Qd7 26. b5 Qf7 27. Be1 Qe7 28. Rb1 f4 29. e4 Bd4+ 30. Kh1 Rb8 31. Bc3 Bxc3 32. Qxc3 Qf8 33. a5 bxa5 34. Qxa5 Rb7 35. e5 dxe5 36. d6 Na8 37. Nxe5 Nb6 38. d7 Rd8 39. Rd2 Qf5 40. Re1 Kg7 41. Qc3 Qxd7 42. Nxd7+ {1-0 Nakamura,H (2736)-Giri,A (2764) Carlsen Inv Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2020 (2.1)}) 12... Re8 13. Nc4 b5 (13... Nxe4 14. Nxe4 f5 15. Ncxd6 Qxd6 16. Nxd6 Rxe2 17. Nxb7 Rb8 18. Na5 Bxb2 $11 (18... Rd8 $11)) 14. Nxb5 Nxe4 15. Qf3 Qd7 $11 16. a4 (16. Nc3 $142) 16... Nb4 17. Bf4 Nc2 18. Rad1 Nd4 19. Rxd4 $2 {Too optimistic - I wonder if Donchenko has been playing too much blitz lately. This is the sort of thing one wants to play, and can get away with most of the time in blitz. In a slower game, Black can take his time, calmly neutralize the opponent's initiative, and win with the extra material.} (19. Qd3 Nxb5 20. axb5 Qxb5 21. Rfe1 $44) 19... cxd4 20. Ncxd6 Nxd6 21. Nxd6 Red8 $17 {White's knight looks nice, but what now?} (21... Rf8 {is better still, cutting out any tactical worries on f7.}) 22. b3 g5 $1 23. Bg3 f5 24. Qxf5 Qxf5 25. Nxf5 Bf6 (25... Kf7 $142) 26. Nd6 (26. d6 $143 Rac8 $19) 26... h5 27. h3 h4 28. Bh2 Be7 $1 29. Nb5 $6 (29. Nf5 $142) 29... Bc5 $19 30. d6 (30. Rd1 Rac8 $19) 30... Rac8 $6 (30... d3 $1 31. Rd1 Re8 $1 32. Nc7 (32. Kf1 Bb4 $19) 32... d2 $1 33. Nxe8 Rxe8 34. Be5 $1 (34. Kf1 $2 Bb4 $19) 34... Rxe5 35. Rxd2 Bb6 36. d7 Bd8 $19 {White has three pawns for the bishop, but no passers and doubtful prospects of reaching R vs. R + B.}) 31. Be5 $1 d3 32. Bf6 (32. Rd1 $142 $1 Rf8 $1 33. Nd4 $1 Ba3 $1 34. Rxd3 $1 Rc1+ 35. Kh2 Rxf2 36. d7 Be7 37. Ne6 Rff1 38. d8=Q+ Bxd8 39. Rxd8+ Kf7 40. Rf8+ Kxe6 41. Rxf1 Rxf1 42. Bd4 Rf7 $1 $19 {is White's best shot, though it's not the easiest line for either player to work out.}) 32... Rd7 33. Bxg5 a6 34. Nc3 Bxd6 {Black's rooks are ready to go and he has saved his d-pawn. Now it's time to tidy up and finish.} 35. Ne4 Be7 36. Rd1 Bxg5 37. Nxg5 d2 38. Kf1 Re7 {Next up: ...Rc1.} 0-1 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.13"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C13"] [WhiteElo "2682"] [BlackElo "2759"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,74,26,40,37,45,40,45,56,17,25,28,41,49,30,15,15,15,55,10,23,-6,22,-16,-1,-2,-11,-11,-9,-20,-20,-23,8,-33,5,5,5,-2,11,24,24,31,29,9,5,5,26,23,16,-3,-48,-27,-16,-30,18,10,-22,-57,-57,-34,-43,-40,-44,-62,-51,-95,-60,-51,-25,-42,-31,-28,-28,-28,-44,-44,4]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 (4. e5 {has been more popular for years, but (a) there's nothing wrong with the text, and (b) White has had trouble cracking the line} Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6 {for years now. This would be a good line for Ju Wenjun to play against Firouzja, as the massive rating gap would encourage Black to avoid this line, as White can head for a draw if he or she wants it. Maybe Firouzja would play 7...a6, which is another popular option for Black.}) 4... dxe4 (4... h6 {has been popular lately, with So, Kramnik, and especially Carlsen using it with some regularity. Perhaps it's mostly a weapon for rapid and blitz, however.} 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. exd5 Bb4 {etc. Incidentally, Van Foreest has tried this line himself (with Black).}) 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Nxf6+ Bxf6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Nf3 O-O 9. Qd3 {The latest try, and possibly White's only reasonable attempt at an edge.} ({The routine} 9. Bd3 {, historically the most popular move, has given White nothing after} c5 $11) 9... Bd7 (9... Rd8 {first is also common, while Kramnik likes}) (9... c5) 10. Qe3 Nc6 $1 {To meet 11.Bd3 with 11...Nb4.} 11. O-O-O (11. c3 Ne7 12. Bd3 (12. Ne5 $146 Rfd8 $11) 12... Bc6 $11) 11... Rfd8 12. c3 $146 {Restricting Black's knight, but it's possible that this will loosen White up on the light squares while giving Black a hook for ...b5-b4.} Ne7 13. Qe5 Ba4 (13... Qh6+ 14. Qe3) 14. Re1 (14. Qxf6 $142 gxf6 15. Rd2 $11) 14... Qg6 $15 15. b3 Be8 (15... Bc6 $142 $15) 16. Qg5 (16. h4 $1 $11) 16... Nd5 (16... Qxg5+ $142 17. Nxg5 b5) 17. Qxg6 hxg6 $11 18. Kb2 Rac8 19. Bc4 c5 20. dxc5 Rxc5 21. Re5 b5 22. Bxd5 Rcxd5 23. Rxd5 Rxd5 {Black has the potentially better minor piece, but White's king is more active and his majority is - for the moment - more easily mobilized. It's balanced.} 24. c4 bxc4 25. bxc4 Rf5 26. Rd1 (26. Rf1 {followed by Nd4 wasn't bad.}) 26... Kf8 (26... g5) 27. Rd8 e5 28. Kb3 e4 29. Nd2 (29. Nd4 Rxf2 30. c5 Ke7 31. Ra8 e3 32. Rxa7+ Kf8 33. Kc3 Rxg2 34. Ra8 $8 Ke7 35. Ra7+ Kf8 36. Ra8 $11 {is a plausible way to make a draw, though it's not completely forced.}) 29... Ke7 30. Ra8 (30. Rd5 $1 Rxf2 31. Nxe4 Rxg2 32. Ra5 $11) 30... Bc6 $1 31. Rxa7+ Kd6 (31... Kf8 $5) 32. Ra6 Kc7 33. Ra7+ $1 Kd8 34. Kc3 $1 Rxf2 35. Nb3 e3 {The position is still "officially" equal, but White's burden has grown steadily more difficult. Here only one move keeps Black from a winning advantage, and Van Foreest doesn't play it.} 36. Nd4 $2 (36. Kd3 $8 e2 (36... Rxg2 37. Kxe3 $11) 37. Kd2 Bxg2 38. Ke1 Rf4 39. Kxe2 Ke8 (39... Rxc4 40. Rxf7 {is a dead draw.}) 40. c5 Rh4 41. Ke3 $11 {White's counterplay with the c-pawn and against Black's inactive king suffices for Black's better minor piece and potential material advantage.}) 36... Be4 $1 {White's king is cut off, and White's rook can't help deal with the e-pawn either. Just like that, Black is winning.} 37. c5 Rd2 $1 {The threat is to take on d4 (with check, if possible - ...Rd3+ Kc4 first, then take) and then play ...e2-e1, and White has no sensible defense to this idea.} (37... Rd2 $1 38. Nb3 (38. Nf3 Bxf3 39. gxf3 Rd1 40. Ra8+ Ke7 41. Ra7+ Kf6 42. Ra4 e2 43. Rf4+ Kg5 44. Re4 e1=Q+ 45. Rxe1 Rxe1 $19 {is hopeless for White, as Black's king can return to the queenside in plenty of time.}) 38... Rc2+ 39. Kd4 e2 $19) 0-1 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.13"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,75,26,18,18,-16,4,4,28,-46,-48,-33,1,5,13,13,95,55,92,60,58,70,70,64,60,60,68,61,68,105,72,63,71,80,72,27,83,108,111,80,98,98,118,95,49,-1,16,3,0,0,0,-7,-10,0,-3,3,25,34,34,11,28,27,33,-20,-24,-24,-22,-15,-21,-13,-9,-6,-4,-1,0,1,-6,-12]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Be7 6. e4 dxe4 7. fxe4 c5 8. d5 exd5 9. exd5 O-O 10. Be2 a6 11. Nf3 h6 ({The immediate} 11... Bd6 {is more common, not fearing the pinning} 12. Bg5 {, when} h6 13. Bh4 Bf5 $11 {seems equal in theory and in practice.}) 12. Bf4 $146 Bd6 13. Qd2 $14 Re8 14. O-O Bg4 15. Bd3 Bxf4 16. Qxf4 Nbd7 (16... Bxf3 17. Rxf3 Nbd7 {followed by ...Ne5 looks natural and good.}) 17. Nd2 $1 Bh5 18. Bf5 Bg6 19. Nde4 Bxf5 20. Qxf5 b5 $5 21. cxb5 (21. Rad1 $142 bxc4 22. Nd6 $14) 21... axb5 22. Nxf6+ Nxf6 23. Nxb5 Qb8 $44 24. a4 Re5 {Black regains the pawn, and has accurately assessed (maybe at home?) that everything is fine.} 25. Qf4 Rxd5 26. Qxb8+ (26. Nc7 $143 {had to be taken into account, but Black is if anything a little better after} Rd4 $1 27. Qg3 (27. Qe5 $4 {loses, as the queen is unprotected and the knight therefore in a fatal pin.} Ra7 $19) 27... Ne4 28. Qe5 Nd2 29. Rfe1 Raxa4 $15) 26... Rxb8 {The rest is the players professionally heading for the draw.} 27. Rfd1 c4 28. Rxd5 Nxd5 29. Rc1 Ra8 30. Rxc4 Nb6 31. Rc6 Nxa4 32. b3 Nb2 33. Rd6 Rb8 34. Rd2 Rxb5 35. Rxb2 Kf8 36. Kf2 Ke7 37. b4 Kd6 38. Ke3 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.13"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C00"] [WhiteElo "2549"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "160"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 Nf6 5. d3 Be7 6. O-O d5 7. Qe2 O-O 8. a4 dxe4 9. dxe4 e5 10. c3 h6 11. Na3 Qc7 12. Nd2 Bg4 13. f3 Be6 14. f4 a6 15. Nac4 b5 16. Ne3 c4 17. f5 Bd7 18. Nd5 Qd8 19. Kh1 Na5 20. axb5 axb5 21. b4 cxb3 22. Nxe7+ Qxe7 23. Ba3 Qd8 24. Bxf8 Qxf8 25. Rfb1 Bc6 26. h3 Qc5 27. Qd3 Qf2 28. Rb2 Kh7 29. Rab1 Qb6 30. Kh2 Rd8 31. Qe2 Rd6 32. Nxb3 Nc4 33. Ra2 Qe3 34. Qxe3 Nxe3 35. Re2 Rd3 36. Nc5 Rxc3 37. Rb3 Neg4+ 38. hxg4 Rxc5 39. Kh3 Rc4 40. Rbb2 Nxe4 41. Bxe4 Bxe4 42. Rxb5 f6 43. Rb3 Bc2 44. Rxc2 Rxc2 {White was better earlier - seriously better at one point - but now she must defend this inferior but still drawn ending.} 45. Rb8 $1 Rf2 46. Re8 Rd2 47. Rf8 Ra2 48. Re8 Rf2 49. Rf8 Rd2 50. Re8 Rd7 {After fiddling around for a while Giri enacts a plan. This keeps White's rook off the 7th rank, so that in some lines Black has the freedom to play ...g6.} 51. Kg2 h5 52. g5 {Objectively fine, but it's harder to defend than 52.Kh3. How much harder? Stick around for one more move and find out.} (52. gxh5 $2 Kh6 53. Rh8+ Kg5 54. Rh7 Kxf5 {wins easily, one important point being that} 55. h6 {fails to} Kg6 $1 $19) (52. Kh3 {was what I expected, after which Black will probably play} hxg4+ 53. Kxg4 g6 54. fxg6+ Kxg6 {with some practical chances for Black thanks to the passed e-pawn. Put White's pawn on f3 or e3 instead and the draw will be trivial for a GM.}) 52... Rd2+ 53. Kf3 $2 {Losing - that's how much harder.} (53. Kh3 $8 {was forced, though the draw isn't automatic here either. I'll let you work on this on your own.}) 53... Rd3+ 54. Kg2 fxg5 $19 55. Rxe5 g4 $1 56. Re8 Rd6 $1 ({Seeing the way the game goes through move 62, you might wonder why Black doesn't save six moves and play} 56... Rf3 $2 {straight away. The problem is that White is not going to play 57.Re5 but} 57. Rf8 $1 {instead, when Black cannot make any progress.} Kh6 (57... Ra3 58. Kf2 $1) (57... g6 $6 58. fxg6+ Kxg6 59. Rxf3 gxf3+ 60. Kxf3 $11) 58. Rh8+ (58. Rf7 $11) 58... Kg5 59. Rh7 $11) 57. Rc8 (57. Rf8 $2 Rf6 $19) 57... Rf6 58. Rc5 {Now the rook is stuck on the side, allowing Black to swin the rook back around.} Rf8 $1 59. Rd5 Ra8 60. Rc5 (60. Rd7 $5 {was feistier.}) 60... Ra2+ $1 61. Kg1 Ra3 $1 62. Kg2 Rf3 $1 {Mission accomplished: both White's king and rook are tied down. Now Black brings the king back into play and wins the f-pawn.} 63. Rd5 Kg8 64. Rd8+ Kf7 65. Rh8 Rxf5 66. Kg1 Ra5 67. Kg2 g6 68. Rh7+ Kf6 69. Kg1 Ra6 70. Kg2 Rd6 $1 {A nice move, helping Black's king progress up the board without suffering many checks.} 71. Kf2 Ke5 72. Kg2 Rd2+ 73. Kg1 Ke4 74. Ra7 g5 75. Ra5 Rd5 (75... h4 76. Rxg5 Kf3 77. gxh4 Kg3 $19 {is an alternative win.}) 76. Ra4+ Ke3 77. Kg2 Rd2+ 78. Kg1 Re2 79. Ra3+ Ke4 80. Ra5 Kf3 $1 {A good grind by Giri, but a game Ju shouldn't have lost.} (80... Kf3 $1 81. Rxg5 Kxg3 82. Kf1 Rf2+ 83. Kg1 Ra2 (83... h4 $4 84. Rxg4+ Kxg4 85. Kxf2 $11) 84. Kf1 h4 $19) 0-1 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.13"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2725"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,73,39,21,5,5,24,18,18,25,22,21,24,21,27,3,3,10,44,55,74,30,60,39,93,82,198,205,205,150,67,24,301,-113,-72,-72,-40,-40,-83,-40,6,-55,-83,-110,-117,-165,-165,-166,-102,-108,-45,0,-14,-30,-14,-30,-27,-27,-27,0,-4,-30,-11,-23,-14,-80,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Nc3 d6 7. a4 Bg4 8. h3 Bh5 9. Be3 Qc8 (9... Nd4) ({and} 9... Kh8 {are the principal alternatives. No matter: we'll see both moves presently.}) 10. Kh1 $146 Kh8 11. Rg1 Nd4 $1 12. g4 Nxg4 13. hxg4 Bxg4 14. Bxd4 exd4 15. Nd5 Bg5 16. Nxc7 $1 Bh5 $1 {Threatening ...Qh3+, winning on the spot.} 17. Rxg5 $1 Qh3+ 18. Nh2 Bxd1 19. Rxd1 Rac8 20. Nb5 $1 f5 $1 $11 {Great though these players are - and they really and truly are - I would be surprised if this position didn't exist in both players' analysis before the game.} 21. exf5 (21. Rdg1 {may be a marginal improvement. Other than this - and I'm not sure it's much - the game is essentially flawless.}) 21... d5 22. Bxd5 Rxc2 23. Rg2 Qh4 (23... Qxf5 24. Nxd4 Qxd5 25. Nxc2 Rxf2 26. Ne3 Qc6 27. d4 Rxg2 28. Nxg2 Qxa4 $11 {is also equal.}) 24. Be4 Rxf2 25. Nxd4 Rxg2 26. Kxg2 Qg5+ 27. Kf2 Qh4+ 28. Kg2 Qg5+ 29. Kf1 Qf6 30. Nhf3 g6 $1 31. Rc1 (31. fxg6 $4 Qxd4 $19 {is the essential point.}) 31... gxf5 32. Nxf5 Qxb2 33. Rc7 Qb1+ 34. Ke2 Qb2+ 35. Kf1 Qb1+ 36. Ke2 Qb2+ 37. Kf1 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.13"] [Round "1.6"] [White "Warmerdam, Max"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D24"] [WhiteElo "2625"] [BlackElo "2769"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. Nxb5 Nb6 {This line may look weird to you if you've never seen it (Black moves the knight a bunch of times in return for the privilege of a gruesome-looking pawn structure), but it's trendy and (at least at the moment) going extremely well for Black.} 8. Be2 Nc6 9. Be3 Be7 10. Nc3 Bb7 11. a3 {Rare, though on the previous move it's one of White's major options, aimed against ...Nc6-b4-d5.} Na5 {This position happened once before, and it didn't go so well for White.} 12. Qc2 $146 {A novelty, but one transposing to seven prior games.} (12. Qa4+ $4 Nxa4 {0-1 Makarian,R (2442)-Keymer,V (2558) Candidates FED U16 Online Chess.com INT rapid 2020 (3.3) Why don't IMs play like this against us? We all want to know.}) 12... Qd7 {Now we're up to 30 predecessors - most, I suspect, from the 10.a3 move order.} 13. Rd1 f5 14. exf6 gxf6 15. Ne4 $6 (15. O-O {is more common, and after} O-O-O {White generally plays} 16. Nd2 $14 {followed by Bf3.}) 15... Qa4 $1 16. Qb1 $1 $146 (16. Qxa4+ $2 Nxa4 17. Nc5 Bxc5 18. dxc5 {½-½ Ostlund,J (2212)-Crevatin,L (2319) Rilton Cup 50th Stockholm 2022 (4)} Bd5 $1 $17 {/-+}) 16... O-O-O 17. Nc5 Bxc5 18. dxc5 Nd5 19. O-O Rdg8 20. g3 $6 {This takes the pressure off of g2, but it also creates a hook for Black's h-pawn. White may still have problems on the long light-squared diagonal, e.g. with Black's queen coming to c6 at some point.} (20. Qe4 $1 Qe8 21. Qc2 $1 $11) 20... h5 $15 {/?} 21. Rd4 $2 (21. Nd4) 21... Qc6 $17 22. Rh4 $2 (22. Qe1 Nb3 23. Rxc4 Rd8 $17 {/-+ is comparatively better, though still lousy.}) 22... Nxe3 $6 (22... Rg4 $1) 23. fxe3 Rg4 $1 $19 24. Qc1 Rxh4 25. gxh4 (25. Nxh4 $4 Qh1+ 26. Kf2 Qxh2+ 27. Ke1 Qxg3+ 28. Rf2 Qxh4 $19) 25... Nb3 $1 {No longer grim, the knight returns from the edge of the board to join in the attack.} 26. Qc3 (26. Qxc4 Nd2 {is the nice tactical point, forking the queen and the rook. The knight can't be taken, of course, due to 27...Qg2#.}) 26... Nxc5 {Another problem for White: trying to get the king out of danger starting with 27.Kf2 walks into 27...Ne4+, winning the queen.} 27. Qxf6 (27. Qxc4 Rg8+ 28. Kf2 Ba6 $1 $19) 27... Rg8+ 28. Kh1 (28. Ng5 $4 Qg2#) (28. Kf2 $4 Ne4+ $19) 28... Qe4 (28... Nd3) 29. Rg1 Rd8 $1 {Black has no immediately knockout and blow and material is still - somehow! - equal. White's resistance won't last long, though, with ideas like ...Qxe3 and ...Rd2 on tap.} 0-1 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.13"] [Round "1.7"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B95"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,88,26,5,57,41,79,57,61,26,29,26,80,72,90,45,91,40,83,21,10,-23,-10,-18,-28,-28,40,22,7,8,8,-65,-51,-94,-59,-96,-96,-82,-91,-70,-62,-69,-35,-53,-37,-45,13,-7,-11,6,0,0,0,0,0,-20,-25,0,25,14,18,15,10,26,56,21,28,8,14,0,0,0,0,12,13,0,17,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qf3 {There are more than 3300 games with this in the database, so it's not exactly a novelty. Still, it's an obscure move compared to White's main try with 7.f4, which has been played more than 72,000 times.} Be7 (7... Nbd7) ({and} 7... h6 {are important alternatives.}) 8. O-O-O Qc7 9. g4 (9. a3 {is a rare move, but the engine likes it and Vidit played it against Carlsen. So if you're interested in either side of this variation, you might want to investigate it further.} Nc6 10. Qg3 Bd7 11. f4 h6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Nb3 O-O-O 14. Kb1 Kb8 15. Qe3 Rc8 16. Be2 Rhd8 17. Rd3 Na7 18. Nd4 Bb5 19. Rd2 Be8 20. Rhd1 Qb6 21. Rd3 Ka8 22. Qd2 Rd7 23. Nb3 Be7 24. Na4 Qd8 25. Qe3 Rc6 26. Nd4 Rc8 27. f5 e5 28. Nb3 Rc6 29. Rd5 Nc8 30. Nc3 Rdc7 31. R5d3 Rd7 32. Nd5 Nb6 33. Nxe7 Qxe7 34. Na5 Rc5 35. Nb3 Rc6 36. Qd2 Nc4 37. Qe1 Rdc7 38. Bf3 Rb6 39. Rc3 Ba4 40. Be2 Bb5 41. Bxc4 Rxc4 42. Rxc4 Bxc4 43. Na5 Bb5 44. Qc3 Ka7 45. Qe3 Qc7 46. Rd5 Kb8 47. b3 f6 48. Rd2 Be8 49. Nc4 Rc6 50. Qd3 Qe7 51. Nxd6 Rc7 52. Nxe8 Qxe8 53. Qd8+ Qxd8 54. Rxd8+ Ka7 55. c4 b5 56. cxb5 axb5 57. Kb2 Kb6 58. Rd6+ Kb7 59. Rd5 Kb6 60. g4 Ka6 61. h4 Kb6 62. g5 hxg5 63. hxg5 fxg5 64. Rxe5 g4 65. Re6+ Rc6 66. Re7 g6 67. Rg7 gxf5 68. exf5 Rc5 69. f6 Rf5 70. f7 g3 71. Rxg3 Rxf7 72. Kc3 Rf4 73. Re3 b4+ 74. axb4 Rh4 75. Rd3 Kb5 76. Rd5+ Kb6 77. b5 Rg4 78. Re5 Rh4 79. b4 Rh1 80. Kc4 Rc1+ 81. Kb3 Rb1+ 82. Kc4 Rc1+ 83. Kb3 Rb1+ 84. Kc4 Rc1+ {½-½ Vidit,S (2716)-Carlsen,M (2839) Chess.com Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (1.2)}) 9... Nbd7 $6 (9... b5 $1 {is desirable, so if the tactics work out Black should probably play it.} 10. Bxf6 ({An old-timey game between two legends of yesteryear (one of whom is still alive):} 10. Rg1 b4 11. Nce2 Bb7 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. g5 Bxd4 14. Nxd4 Nd7 15. Qe2 Nc5 16. Bg2 O-O 17. Kb1 Rfd8 18. h4 a5 19. h5 e5 20. Nf5 Ne6 21. Qg4 a4 22. g6 b3 23. cxb3 axb3 24. Rc1 bxa2+ 25. Ka1 Qd7 26. gxf7+ Kf8 27. Rgd1 Rdc8 28. Rxc8+ Qxc8 29. Qg3 Qc2 30. Re1 Kxf7 31. Nxd6+ Kg8 32. h6 Qd2 33. f4 exf4 34. Qc3 Qxd6 35. Qb3 Bc8 36. Rd1 Rb8 {0-1 Geller,A-Spassky,B Leningrad National 1954}) 10... Bxf6 (10... gxf6 11. e5 Bb7 12. exd6 Bxd6 13. Ne4 Bf4+ 14. Kb1 Nd7 15. Bxb5 $1 axb5 16. Nxb5 Qa5 17. Qxf4 Qxa2+ 18. Kc1 Qa1+ 19. Kd2 Qa5+ 20. c3 Bxe4 21. Nd6+ Ke7 22. Nxe4 Qe5 23. Qxe5 Nxe5 24. Ra1 Nxg4 25. Ke2 $14) 11. Bxb5+ axb5 12. Ndxb5 Qc6 13. Nxd6+ Ke7 14. Rhe1 $11 {/?} Rd8 15. Nd5+ Kf8 16. Nb4 Qc7 17. e5 Rxd6 18. exd6 Qa5 19. a3 {½-½ Matsukevich,V (2321)-Hauff,A (2319) EU-ch 2021 sf03 email ICCF email}) 10. Bd2 $1 $16 h6 (10... Ne5) (10... Qb6) (10... b5) 11. h4 (11. a3 $1) 11... Ne5 12. Qg2 Nexg4 13. Be2 h5 14. f3 Ne5 15. f4 $146 (15. Rhg1 $146 {?}) 15... Neg4 $11 16. e5 dxe5 17. fxe5 Nxe5 18. Qg3 Nfg4 19. Bf4 f6 20. Nf3 {White has enough for the two pawns, but not more.} O-O 21. Nxe5 fxe5 22. Bd2 Qc6 $2 (22... b5 $11) (22... Rf5 $11) 23. Bxg4 $6 (23. Bg5 $1 $14 {/?}) 23... hxg4 24. Qxg4 Qf3 25. Qxf3 Rxf3 26. Bg5 $11 {The time Black needs to develop his queenside will allow White to regain the material.} Bb4 27. Ne4 b5 28. Nd6 Bxd6 29. Rxd6 Bb7 30. Rxe6 Rc8 31. Re1 Rf2 32. Bd2 e4 33. h5 Rg2 34. h6 gxh6 35. Rxh6 Rc6 36. Rh5 b4 37. b3 Rc7 38. Reh1 e3 39. Rh8+ Kf7 40. R8h7+ Ke6 41. R1h6+ (41. Rxc7 exd2+ 42. Kb2 Bf3 {is still drawn, but now it's White who will have to prove it.}) 41... Kf5 42. Rh5+ Ke6 43. R5h6+ Kf5 44. Rh5+ Ke6 1/2-1/2