[Event "4NCL, Great Britain League"] [Site "Hangzhou"] [Date "2022.05.02"] [Round "9"] [White "Shirov, Alexei"] [Black "Jones, Gawain"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2666"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2022.04.05"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CHN"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. axb5 axb5 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 d6 11. Nbd2 g5 12. Bg3 O-O 13. c3 Bb6 14. Nf1 Ne7 15. Ne3 Be6 16. Bxe6 fxe6 {After a normal move the position would be equal, but Shirov goes for the sort of action that made him a beloved player in his heyday.} 17. h4 $5 (17. h3 $11) (17. O-O $11) 17... g4 18. Ng5 {The point of the last move, of course. Objectively, this is "sus", as the kids say (for those who aren't hanging around kids, "suspicious"), but it is tricky.} Bxe3 $1 (18... hxg5 $2 19. hxg5 Nh7 20. Qxg4 Qe8 $1 21. Rh6 $1 $16 {White has no immediate breakthrough, but Black is stuck while White can keep building on the kingside.}) 19. Nxe6 $1 Qc8 $8 20. Nxf8 Bb6 (20... Bf4 $142 {was a bit better, with some advantage after} 21. O-O Kxf8 22. d4 Qe6 23. Ra7 c6 $15) 21. f4 $1 gxf3 (21... Nh5 22. Ng6 $1 Nxg6 23. f5 Kh8 (23... Nxg3 24. Qxg4 Nxh1 25. Qxg6+ $11 {is an immediate draw (and nothing more).}) 24. Qxg4 Ngf4 25. Bxf4 Nxf4 26. Qf3 Qe8 27. g3 Nh5 28. Rh2 $1 $11) 22. Qxf3 Qxf8 23. Rf1 {So far, so good for both sides.} Qg7 $2 (23... Nh7 {was best.} 24. Qxf8+ Nxf8 25. b4 Kg7 26. Bf2 $11) 24. Bxe5 $1 {The desperado is obvious; what took calculating was Black's counterattacking chances.} dxe5 25. Qxf6 Qg3+ 26. Kd2 (26. Kd1 $4 Qxd3+ ) 26... Qxg2+ 27. Kc1 Be3+ 28. Kb1 Qe2 $2 {The losing move - or rather, it should have been.} (28... b4 {Jones hit on this move a little later, but by then it was too late. Here it's in time to keep the game going:} 29. Qe6+ Kh8 30. Qxe5+ Kg8 31. Qe6+ Kh8 32. Qf6+ Kg8 33. Qf7+ Kh8 34. Qf3 Qd2 $8 35. Rd1 Qf2 36. Qxf2 Bxf2 37. Kc2 bxc3 38. bxc3 Bxh4 $14 {/+/- White keeps some winning chances, though a draw is the likeliest result.}) 29. Qf7+ (29. Qe6+) 29... Kh8 30. Qf6+ Kg8 31. Ra6 $2 (31. Qe6+ Kh8 32. Qxe5+ Kg8 33. Qe6+ Kh8 34. Ka2 $1 $18 ) 31... Qxd3+ 32. Ka1 b4 $2 {Giving Shirov another chance. This time, he will not reciprocate with a "generous" offer of his own.} (32... Qc4 $8 33. Rf3 Rd8 $1 34. Qe6+ Qxe6 35. Rxe6 Rd1+ 36. Ka2 Bc5 37. Rxe5 Bd6 38. Rxb5 Re1 39. Rf6 Rxe4 40. Rxh6 Kg7 $11 {/+/= will be drawn.}) 33. Qf7+ Kh8 34. Qf6+ Kg8 35. Qe6+ Kh8 36. Qxe5+ Kg8 37. Qg3+ $1 (37. Qg3+ $1 Kh8 (37... Kh7 38. Rf7+ Kh8 39. Qg7# ) 38. Rxh6+ $1 Bxh6 39. Qxd3 $18) 1-0 [Event "14th BPB Limburg Match"] [Site "Hangzhou"] [Date "2022.06.03"] [Round "1"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2695"] [BlackElo "2715"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2022.04.05"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CHN"] {[%evp 0,50,28,24,27,-14,25,31,38,11,38,15,34,-15,-13,-23,-20,-23,-20,-54,-28, -40,-11,-29,17,1,13,-29,-9,-47,2,-9,-11,-2,65,99,230,243,157,38,96,96,96,-48, 109,-309,-338,-492,-582,-582,-563,-243,-1021]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Ne5 h5 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. Be5 (13. Qc1 Rg8 14. Rd1 {is the other main line.}) 13... Rh6 14. Qc1 Rg6 (14... Ng4 {is also possible, with lots of theory starting after} 15. Bxg4 hxg4 16. Qxg5 Rg6) 15. Rd1 Ng4 16. Bg3 f5 17. h3 ({Or} 17. f3 { .}) 17... O-O-O (17... f4 {is more common, with equality and a likely draw after} 18. hxg4 hxg4 19. Bxg4 Qh7 20. Bxf4 gxf4 21. Qxf4 O-O-O {, e.g.} 22. d5 Bd6 23. Bxe6+ Kb8 24. dxc6 Rxe6 25. Rxd6 Rdxd6 26. Nxb5 Rf6 27. Qe5 Rfe6 { ½-½ (31) Lujambio,A (1943)-Palmiero,O (2255) ICCF email 2018. White must maintain the pin, and Black must keep harrassing the queen so White can't exploit the pin. White can avoid the repetition, though it's not clear that the resulting position will be harder for Black to handle than for White:} 28. Qf4 Rf6 29. c7+ Qxc7 30. Qxf6 Rxf6 31. Nxc7 Kxc7 $11) 18. hxg4 hxg4 19. d5 $2 $146 {A novelty, but as it's a mistake it's likely that he was caught by surprise somewhere or misremembered his preparation.} ({The correct} 19. Be5 { had been played in the three previous games to reach the game position. Those games all continued with} Qh7 $1 20. exf5 Rh6 21. f3 g3 22. Bxg3 exf5 $11 { , and now White chose the mistaken 23.Qxg5 in one game and lost, and the correct (and forced) 23.f4 in the other games and drew.} 23. f4 (23. Qxg5 Be7 24. Qc1 Rg8 25. Bf4 Rh3 26. Qb1 Bh4 27. g4 Bg5 28. Bxg5 Rxg5 29. Kf2 Rxg4 30. Ke1 Rg2 31. Kd2 b4 32. Rf1 Rhh2 33. Re1 c5 34. d5 bxc3+ 35. bxc3 Qd7 36. Qc2 Qxd5+ 37. Kc1 Qxf3 38. Kd1 Be4 39. Qa4 Rxe2 40. Qe8+ Kc7 {0-1 (40) Grabowski,B (1903)-Johansen,A (2386) ICCF email 2017}) 23... Rh1+ 24. Kf2 Rxd1 25. Bxd1 Rxd4 26. Kg1 Rd3 27. Bf2 Bd6 28. Ne2 gxf4 29. Nxf4 Rxd1+ 30. Qxd1 Bxf4 31. Bc5 b4 32. Qf3 {1/2-1/2 (32) Lehnhoff,H (2313)-Matei,C (2362) ICCF email 2020} Qh2+ 33. Kf2 Qh4+ 34. g3 Qh2+ 35. Qg2 Bxg3+ 36. Kf3 Qh5+ 37. Kxg3 f4+ 38. Kxf4 Qxc5 39. Qg8+ Kc7 40. Qg7+ Kb6 41. Qg1 a5 42. Qxc5+ Kxc5 43. Ke3 Bc8 44. Rh1 Be6 45. a3 {1/2-1/2 (45) Quidiello Prado,M (2283)-Roy Laguens,A (2348) ICCF email 2018} ) 19... cxd5 20. exf5 exf5 $19 21. Qc2 $2 {A mistake, but there weren't any great ideas. Perhaps White should have sacrificed the knight to increase his chances for a queenside miracle.} (21. Nxd5 Bxd5 22. b3 Qe6 $1 $19) (21. Nxb5 Qxb5 22. Bd3 f4 $1 23. Bxg6 fxg3 24. Qxg5 gxf2+ 25. Kf1 Ba6 $19) 21... Rh6 $1 22. Nxb5 $1 {A nice try. Now neither ...Qh7 nor ...Qxb5 will give Black what he wants. Unfortunately for Van Foreest, Shirov didn't become Shirov by missing such moves and not having something ready for it.} Bc5 $1 {That puts an end to the tricks, at least the most serious ones. Now Black is ready to double on the h-file and/or play ...f4.} (22... Qxb5 $4 23. Qxf5+ Qd7 24. Bxg4 $18) (22... Qh7 $2 23. Qxc4+ $1 {was the trick. Black can survive it, but he is no longer winning after} Bc6 $8 (23... dxc4 $4 24. Nxa7# {was White's trick. }) 24. Nxa7+ $1 Qxa7 $8 25. Qc2 $1 f4 26. Bxg4+ Kb8 27. Bh2 Bb7 $15) 23. Nxa7+ Bxa7 24. Bxc4 Rdh8 $1 {The discoveries are not dangerous.} 25. Bxd5+ Bc6 (25... Bc6 26. Kf1 Rh1+ 27. Ke2 Re8+ {wins the light-squared bishop - for starters.}) 0-1 [Event "14th BPB Limburg Match"] [Site "Hangzhou"] [Date "2022.06.04"] [Round "2"] [White "Shirov, Alexei"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2695"] [BlackElo "2715"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2022.04.05"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CHN"] {[%evp 0,51,27,23,23,23,2,0,8,15,0,-4,0,-9,68,28,39,53,53,70,12,0,9,8,15,19,28, 22,12,11,8,12,15,9,62,70,141,154,136,132,108,114,71,66,166,159,145,163,161,118, 140,146,196,198]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 (5... b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 {is an old Shirov favorite.}) 6. c3 O-O (6... b5) 7. d4 Ba7 8. dxe5 (8. Bg5) (8. Re1) 8... Nxe4 9. Bc2 {An unusual line, and one that hasn't fared well for White. (The computer isn't impressed, either.)} (9. Qd5) 9... d5 10. exd6 Nxd6 11. Bg5 f6 12. Bf4 g5 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. Qxd6 cxd6 {Presumably Shirov felt optimistic about his practical chances in this ending. If that was the motivation, it turned out to be justified.} 15. Nbd2 (15. Na3 Bg4 16. Be4 Rfe8 17. Bd5+ Kf8 18. Nc4 Re2 19. h3 Bh5 20. g4 Bg6 21. Rae1 Bd3 22. Rxe2 Bxe2 23. Re1 Bxc4 24. Bxc4 Ne5 25. Nxe5 dxe5 26. Rd1 {1/2-1/2 (26) Arvola,B (2485)-Tari, A (2623) Stavanger 2019}) 15... Kg7 $146 (15... g4 16. Nh4 d5 17. Nf5 d4 18. Nc4 Bxf5 19. Bxf5 h5 20. Rad1 Rfd8 21. a4 Ne7 22. Be6+ Kg7 23. Rfe1 f5 24. Na5 Rab8 25. Kf1 Kf6 26. Bb3 Ng6 27. Re6+ Kg5 28. g3 dxc3 29. bxc3 Rxd1+ 30. Bxd1 Rd8 31. f4+ gxf3 32. Bxf3 h4 33. Nc4 hxg3 34. hxg3 Bb8 35. Kg2 b5 36. axb5 axb5 37. Ne3 Rd2+ 38. Kh3 Rd3 39. Be2 Rxc3 40. Bxb5 f4 41. Be8 Nf8 42. Rb6 Be5 43. Nf1 fxg3 44. Rc6 Ra3 45. Rb6 Ra2 46. Rb4 Ne6 47. Rg4+ Kf6 48. Bc6 g2 49. Bxg2 Nf4+ 50. Rxf4+ Bxf4 51. Bf3 Bb8 52. Ng3 Kg5 53. Ne2 Bc7 54. Kg2 Kh4 55. Kf2 Bb6+ 56. Ke1 Be3 57. Kd1 Kg5 58. Be4 Kf6 59. Bf3 Ke5 60. Bg2 Kd6 61. Be4 Kc5 62. Bf5 Rd2+ 63. Ke1 Rd8 64. Be4 Kc4 65. Kf1 Rf8+ 66. Ke1 Bf2+ 67. Kd2 Rd8+ 68. Kc2 Be3 69. Bf3 Rd2+ 70. Kb1 Kb3 71. Nc1+ Ka3 72. Ne2 Rb2+ 73. Ka1 Rb8 { 0-1 (73) Vallejo Pons,F (2693)-Carlsen,M (2845) Karlsruhe/Baden Baden 2019}) ( 15... d5 $142 $1 $11) 16. Rad1 $14 g4 $6 17. Nh4 $16 {That worked out well!} f5 $6 18. Nc4 $16 {/+-} d5 19. Nd6 Ne7 20. Rfe1 Kf6 21. Re2 Bc5 $2 22. Ndxf5 $1 $18 {Like a dream come true. A bad day at the office for JVF, and a perfect one for Shirov.} Nxf5 23. Nxf5 Be6 (23... Bxf5 24. Bxf5 Kxf5 25. Rxd5+ $18) 24. Nd4 Bg8 25. Rde1 Rac8 $2 26. Bf5 1-0 [Event "14th BPB Limburg Match"] [Site "Hangzhou"] [Date "2022.06.05"] [Round "3"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D44"] [WhiteElo "2715"] [BlackElo "2695"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2022.04.05"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CHN"] {[%evp 0,82,20,20,20,-21,39,19,19,10,38,24,44,-19,0,2,-4,24,24,24,24,24,24,-24, 18,18,15,15,39,18,38,-12,-12,-16,-11,-6,14,31,41,41,41,41,75,75,75,40,140,-119, -134,-134,-134,-136,-131,-133,-133,-133,-133,-133,-133,-133,-157,-136,-140, -190,-190,-190,-186,-186,-186,-202,-202,-204,-196,-234,-239,-221,-221,-233, -239,-246,-254,-309,-274,-377,-395]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 b5 {Inviting White to enter the Botvinnik System, one of Shirov's signature openings. Normally it arises through a 5...dxc4 move order.} ({In game 1, he played} 7... g5 {, staying in the Anti-Moscow Gambit.}) 8. e5 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. g3 Bb7 12. Bg2 Qb6 13. exf6 O-O-O 14. O-O c5 15. dxc5 {A very distant second choice--so distant, that Shirov was probably unprepared. (Or more likely, forgot his preparation for it, which may have been done 20-30 years ago.)} (15. d5 {is the main move, by far, with enough theory to give Stockfish a headache.}) 15... Nxc5 16. Qe2 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Qc6+ $2 ({The computer and the database are agreed that Black should prefer} 17... Bh6 {, when White will either take (probably best) or play 18.h4.}) 18. f3 Bh6 19. Bxh6 Rxh6 20. Rad1 $2 $16 {A mistake, although even here White seems to have a significant advantage.} (20. a4 $1 {This seems to refute 17... Qc6+.} bxa4 {1-0 (28) Basso,P (2566)-Raahul,V (2331) Novi Sad 2021} (20... b4 21. Nb5 Kb7 22. Rad1 $1 $18 Rhh8 (22... Rd3 23. Rxd3 cxd3 24. Qe5 Nd7 25. Qe3 Rxf6 26. Qxa7+ Kc8 27. Qe3 Kd8 28. Qxd3 Rf5 29. Qe4 Rd5 30. Qxb4 Qc2+ 31. Rf2 Qc1 32. Qc3 Qa1 33. Qh8+ Ke7 34. Qh4+ Kf8 35. Rc2 Nc5 36. Qb4 Qd1 37. Rxc5 Qe2+ 38. Kh3 Qf1+ 39. Kh4 {1-0 (39) Mancini,M-Thierry,P Val Thorens 1990}) 23. Qxc4 a6 24. Nd4 Qb6 25. Nb3 Nxa4 26. Ra1 Nxb2 27. Nc5+ Kc6 28. Qc2 Nc4 29. Nb3 Kb5 30. Qe2 Qe3 31. Ra5+ Kb6 32. Rxa6+ Kb5 33. Ra5+ Kb6 34. Qxc4 Rd2+ 35. Nxd2 Qxd2+ 36. Rf2 Rxh2+ 37. Kxh2 Qxf2+ 38. Kh3 Kxa5 39. Qc7+ Qb6 40. Qxf7 b3 41. Qe7 Kb5 42. f7 b2 43. f8=Q b1=Q 44. Qfe8+ Kc4 45. Qxe6+ Qxe6+ 46. Qxe6+ Kd4 47. Qe4+ Qxe4 48. fxe4 Kxe4 49. Kg4 {1-0 (49) Kantorik,M-Plsek,M Czech Republic 1993}) 21. h4 $1 $146 Rxf6 22. Qxc4 Rd2+ 23. Kh3 e5 24. Ne4 Nxe4 25. Qxc6+ Rxc6 26. fxe4 $18) 20... Rxf6 (20... Rxd1 21. Rxd1 Rxf6 22. Ne4 Nxe4 23. Qxe4 Qxe4 24. fxe4 Kc7 25. h4 Rh6 26. Kf3 Rf6+ 27. Ke3 Rg6 28. Kf4 Rf6+ 29. Ke5 Rf2 30. Rh1 Rxb2 31. h5 Rd2 32. h6 Rd8 33. h7 Rh8 34. Kf6 b4 35. Kxf7 a5 36. Kg7 Rd8 37. h8=Q Rxh8 38. Kxh8 b3 39. axb3 cxb3 40. g4 a4 41. Rb1 {1-0 (41) Riazantsev, A (2556)-Ivanov,S (2546) Sochi 2004}) 21. Rxd8+ Kxd8 22. Rd1+ (22. b3 $1 b4 23. Qxc4 $1 bxc3 24. Qxc3 $1 Rf5 25. b4 $16 {/+-}) 22... Ke8 23. Nxb5 $4 {Looking to finish Black off, but he missed a nice counterattacking resource.} (23. Qe3 Nd3 24. Ne4 Rg6 25. Qxa7 $16) 23... Qxb5 24. Qe5 {White has a winning advantage against every move but one.} c3 $1 $19 {This is probably what he missed.} 25. bxc3 (25. Qxf6 Qe2+ 26. Kh3 Qxd1 $19) 25... Qb2+ $1 26. Kg1 Rh6 27. h4 (27. Qxc5 Qxh2+ 28. Kf1 Qh1+ 29. Ke2 Rh2+ $19) 27... Nd7 {Everything is covered, the king is safe, and White's two pawns aren't nearly enough for the knight.} 28. Qe4 Rh5 29. Qa4 Qb7 30. Kg2 Qb5 31. Qc2 Rc5 32. Rd4 Qc6 33. c4 Ne5 34. Qb3 Nxc4 35. Qb8+ Qc8 36. Qxa7 Ne3+ 37. Kf2 Nd5 38. Rd2 Kf8 39. Qa3 Kg8 40. Qd3 Rc4 41. Kg2 Rxh4 $1 (41... Rxh4 $1 42. gxh4 $2 Nf4+) 0-1 [Event "14th BPB Limburg Match"] [Site "Hangzhou"] [Date "2022.06.06"] [Round "4"] [White "Shirov, Alexei"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2695"] [BlackElo "2715"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2022.04.05"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CHN"] {[%evp 0,50,19,38,25,16,14,23,13,36,61,41,50,51,77,62,71,64,60,56,65,55,59,56, 60,54,69,60,64,59,91,89,88,64,47,47,64,48,41,35,40,38,25,22,27,22,15,22,7,8,8, 18,18]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Nh4 13. Nd4 Ng6 {Very rare.} (13... Nf5) 14. Bh2 Nf8 15. f4 (15. Ne4 {may improve. If 13... Ng6 shows up again, this is the move I'd expect to see.}) 15... Ne6 16. Nce2 Nxd4 17. Nxd4 g6 18. f5 Bxf5 19. Nxf5 gxf5 20. Rxf5 Rd8 21. Rxd8+ Bxd8 22. Kf2 Ke7 23. Rf6 Ke8 24. Rf5 Ke7 25. Rf6 Ke8 1/2-1/2