[Event "FIDE Grand Prix 2 Pool D"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.03"] [Round "3.8"] [White "Yu Yangyi"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D87"] [WhiteElo "2713"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 b6 {This is far from Black's most popular line, but it is a line that MVL has played several times, including in the previous Candidates tournament.} 11. Rc1 ({Yu Yangyi's countryman, Wang Hao, opted for} 11. h4 {against MVL in the Candidates tournament:} e6 12. h5 Qh4 13. hxg6 hxg6 14. f3 Bb7 15. Qd2 cxd4 16. cxd4 Rfd8 17. Rac1 Qe7 18. Rfd1 Rac8 19. Bg5 Bf6 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 {(Black is very close to having equalized.)} 21. Qe3 Kg7 22. Kf2 Rh8 23. Rh1 Rxh1 24. Rxh1 Rh8 25. Rxh8 Kxh8 26. Qc3 Kg8 27. d5 Qxc3 28. Nxc3 Na5 29. Bd3 exd5 30. exd5 {(This endgame is clearly better for White, but he failed to convert after a solid defensive effort by MVL.)} Kf8 31. Ke3 Ke7 32. Kd4 Bc8 33. Nb5 a6 34. Nc7 Kd6 35. Nxa6 Nb7 36. g4 g5 37. Nb4 Bd7 38. Nc2 Ke7 39. Ne3 Nd6 40. Nd1 Ba4 41. Nf2 f6 42. Be2 Be8 43. Nd1 Ba4 44. Nb2 Be8 45. Bd1 Nb5+ 46. Kc4 Nc7 47. Bb3 Kd6 48. Kd4 Nb5+ 49. Kd3 Nc7 50. Nc4+ Kc5 51. Nd2 Bb5+ 52. Ke4 Bd7 53. Nf1 Nb5 54. Ng3 Nd6+ 55. Ke3 f5 56. gxf5 Bxf5 57. Nxf5 Nxf5+ 58. Ke4 Nh4 59. Ba4 Kd6 60. Be8 Ng2 61. Bf7 Ne1 62. a4 Nc2 63. Be8 Ne1 64. Bb5 Ng2 65. Bc4 Nh4 66. Bf1 Kc5 67. Bh3 Kd6 68. Be6 Ng6 69. Bf7 Nh4 70. Be8 Ng2 71. Bb5 Nh4 72. Bd3 Kc5 73. Bf1 Kd6 74. Bh3 Ng6 75. Be6 Nh4 76. Bf7 Ke7 77. Bh5 Kd6 78. Bg4 Ng2 79. Kf5 Kxd5 80. Kxg5 Ke5 81. Kg6 Nf4+ 82. Kf7 Nd3 83. Ke7 { 1/2-1/2 (83) Wang,H (2762)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2767) Ekaterinburg 2020}) 11... Bb7 12. Bb5 Rc8 13. Qd2 cxd4 14. cxd4 e6 15. Rfd1 Qd6 ({Or} 15... Na5 16. Rxc8 Qxc8 17. Bg5 Qc7 18. d5 exd5 19. exd5 Qc5 20. Qd3 {with marginally better chances for White, Giri,A (2764)-Ding,L (2791) chess24.com INT 2020.}) 16. h4 a6 ({A new move. Black had tried some other moves in online games against Giri: } 16... Rfd8 17. Bg5 Ne7 18. Qe3 h6 19. Bxh6 Bxh6 20. Qxh6 Bxe4 {and Black was okay, Giri,A (2764)-Preotu,R (2487) Chess.com INT 2020.}) (16... Qb4 17. Qd3 Rfd8 18. a3 Qe7 19. Bg5 Bf6 20. Qe3 h6 21. Bxh6 Nxd4 22. Rxc8 Nxe2+ 23. Bxe2 Bxc8 {with equal chances, Giri,A (2764)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2784) chess24.com INT 2020.}) 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. e5 Qd5 19. f3 f6 20. Nf4 Qd7 21. d5 ({After this move, all the pieces come off the board and a draw becomes the obvious result. White could have considered} 21. Qb2 $5 {to keep the tension, but Black is more or less okay anyway.}) 21... Bxd5 22. Nxd5 exd5 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Qxd5+ Qxd5 25. Rxd5 fxe5 26. Bxb6 Rc4 27. Ra5 e4 28. fxe4 Rxe4 29. Rxa6 Bd4+ $5 { Black could also have captured the pawn on h4, but MVL knows that after the exchange of bishops, it will be impossible for him to lose despite being a pawn down.} 30. Bxd4 Rxd4 31. g3 Kg7 32. Kf2 Rd3 33. a4 h5 34. a5 Ra3 35. Ra8 Kf6 36. a6 Kg7 37. Ra7+ Kf6 38. Ra8 Kg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.03"] [Round "3.7"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Predke, Alexandr"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2682"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 c5 (6... h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. dxc5 Nbd7 9. Qc2 Qa5 10. Nd2 Qxc5 11. Nb3 Qc7 12. a3 Be7 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Bxe7 Nxe7 15. Be2 b6 16. Bf3 Rb8 17. O-O Ne5 18. Be2 Bb7 19. Rac1 Rbc8 20. Nd4 Rfd8 21. Rfd1 Qb8 22. Qa4 N7g6 23. f3 Nc6 24. Nxc6 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Bxc6 26. Qd4 Qe5 27. Ba6 Rb8 28. Qxe5 Nxe5 29. Rd6 Be8 30. f4 Nc6 31. Bb5 Na5 32. Bxe8 Rxe8 33. Rd7 Nc4 34. Rxa7 Nxb2 35. Nb5 Rd8 36. Kf2 g5 37. Nd4 gxf4 38. Nc6 Rd2+ 39. Kf3 fxe3 40. Kxe3 Rxg2 41. Ne5 Rxh2 42. Nxf7 Nc4+ 43. Kd4 Rh4+ 44. Kc3 e5 45. Nxh6+ Rxh6 46. Kxc4 Rd6 47. Re7 Kf8 48. Rxe5 Kf7 49. Kb5 Kf6 50. Re3 Kf7 51. a4 Kf8 52. Rc3 Ke7 53. Rc6 Rd4 54. Rxb6 Kd7 55. Rc6 Rxa4 56. Kxa4 Kxc6 {1/2-1/2 (56) Mamedyarov,S (2770)-Andreikin,D (2725) Lichess.org INT 2021}) 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Be2 h6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 Be6 12. Ne5 Nd7 {A new move.} ({ Previously, Black had tried} 12... Nc6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Qa4 Bf5 15. dxc5 Rfb8 16. Qa3 Qg5 17. Rad1 {with a small but clear advantage for White, Li Chao (2750)-Yu Yangyi (2736) Doha 2015.}) 13. Nxd7 Bxd7 14. dxc5 Be6 {Compared to the line with 12...Nc6, Black has an isolated d-pawn that can prove to be vulnerable, but at the same time, White's doubled c-pawns are now on the open c-file and therefore considerably easier for Black to attack.} 15. Qd4 Qe7 16. Rab1 Rfc8 17. Rb5 a6 18. Ra5 Rc7 19. Rb1 Rac8 20. Bd3 Qf8 21. f4 $6 ({Here, I think White missed an interesting opportunity in} 21. c6 $5 {, for instance,} Rxc6 (21... bxc6 $4 22. Rxa6 {is much better for White.}) 22. Rxb7 Rxc3 23. h3 Ra3 24. Rxa3 Qxa3 25. f4 {and White has some pressure.}) ({Or} 21. h4 Rxc5 22. Rxc5 Qxc5 23. Rxb7 Qxc3 24. Qxc3 Rxc3 25. Bxa6 {with a position similar to the game, but with a pawn on h4 instead of f4.}) 21... Bd7 22. Ra3 Qxc5 23. Qxc5 Rxc5 24. Rxb7 Rxc3 25. Rxc3 Rxc3 26. Bxa6 Bf5 $1 ({This is stronger than immediately playing to win the a2-pawn. For instance,} 26... Ra3 27. Rb8+ Kh7 28. Bb7 Be6 ({but not} 28... Rxa2 $4 29. Bxd5 Re2 30. e4 {which looks drawish but is very unpleasant for Black.}) 29. f5 Bxf5 30. Bxd5 Be6 31. Bb3 g5 { and Black should hold the draw.}) 27. Rb3 Rc2 28. Bd3 Bxd3 29. Rxd3 Rxa2 30. Rxd5 {Objectively speaking, this should be an easy draw, but chess history has several examples of the weaker side losing after nonchalant defensive play.} g6 31. h4 h5 $1 {Stopping the advance of White's pawns. If White was allowed to play h4-h5, he would have some winning chances, even if it objectively still would be a draw. The remainder of the game saw Mamedyarov try for more but never truly getting close to a proper shot at winning.} 32. f5 Kg7 33. fxg6 Kxg6 $1 {Not allowing White a passed pawn on the e-file.} 34. Kh2 Ra3 35. Rg5+ Kh6 36. Re5 Ra4 37. Kg3 f6 38. Rf5 Kg6 39. Rf4 Ra1 40. Rb4 Rf1 41. Rf4 Ra1 42. Kf2 Rh1 43. g3 Ra1 44. g4 hxg4 45. Rxg4+ Kf7 46. Kg2 Ra5 47. Rg3 Rh5 48. Rh3 Kg6 49. Kf3 Rf5+ 50. Kg4 Re5 51. Rg3 Rf5 52. e4 Re5 53. Kf4+ Kf7 54. Rd3 Rh5 55. Kg4 Re5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.03"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2704"] [BlackElo "2704"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Qd3 b6 ({An usual choice. In his only other encounter with 5.Qd3, Shirov opted for} 5... Nbd7 6. e4 dxe4 7. Nxe4 Nxe4 8. Qxe4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Nxd2 O-O 11. O-O-O Qa5 12. Bd3 Nf6 13. Qh4 Qh5 14. Qxh5 Nxh5 15. g3 {with an unpleasant, passive, queenless middlegame for Black in Navara,D (2692)-Shirov,A (2730) Novi Sad 2009.}) (5... dxc4 { is the other main line.}) 6. cxd5 Ba6 7. Qc2 cxd5 {Now the structure resembles the Exchange Variation of the Slav Defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5), but where Black has played a somewhat unusual ...b7-b6, weakening the light squares on the queenside.} 8. Bf4 Nbd7 ({Because of Black's early troubles, it makes sense to look for an improvement. Here,} 8... Bd6 {would run into} 9. Qa4+ Ke7 ({or} 9... b5 10. Nxb5 Bxf4 11. Nc7+ Ke7 12. Nxa6 {with an extra pawn for White.}) 10. g3 {with somewhat better chances for White. although there is nothing seriously wrong with Black's position.}) 9. Qa4 Qc8 10. Ne5 b5 $6 ({ Now this is definitely not the best. More solid, and probably better, was} 10... Qb7 {, for instance,} 11. Nxd7 Nxd7 12. Nb5 Bxb5 13. Qxb5 a6 14. Qb3 Be7 15. e3 {when White has the bishop pair and some pressure, but Black may be able to defend.}) 11. Qa5 b4 12. Nb5 Bxb5 13. Qxb5 Qc2 $6 {Active but not particularly good.} 14. Nd3 $1 {Essentially a pawn sacrifice, threatening Rc1 with a nasty initiative.} Qc4 15. Qa4 Qxd4 16. Qc6 {Neither side has castled nor completed the development, but it is Black who is in trouble due to White's control of the c-file as well Black's inability to find a safe square for the rook on a8.} Rd8 17. Bc7 Rc8 18. Qb7 Rxc7 19. Qxc7 Be7 20. e3 Qe4 21. Qxa7 O-O 22. Rc1 {Black has a pawn for the exchange, but he is struggling to create real counterplay.} b3 $5 {An attempt for play on the dark squares.} 23. axb3 Rb8 $4 ({Logical but very bad. It was better to play} 23... e5 24. f3 Qg6 {when White is still dealing with issues of coordinating his pieces and getting the h1-rook into play.}) 24. f3 Qh4+ 25. g3 Qh6 26. Be2 g6 27. Ne5 $1 { Now Black's position collapses; too many loose pieces.} Rxb3 28. Nxd7 Nxd7 29. Qxd7 Bb4+ 30. Kf1 $1 {The only move to win, but unfortunately for Black, not too difficult to find.} Qxe3 31. Rc7 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.03.03"] [Round "3"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. a3 Bd6 8. Qc2 {Rapport and Vidit are entering one of the most complex structures, a Carlsbad with a white dark-squared bishop behind the pawn chain.} a6 ({The Indian GM has experience with the other main continuation in the first GP tournament:} 8... c6 9. Nge2 Re8 10. Bd2 b6 11. O-O Ba6 12. Kh1 c5 13. Rad1 g6 14. Qb1 Bb7 15. Nf4 {and White eventually prevailed in Aronian,L (2772)-Vidit,S (2727) Berlin 2022}) 9. Nge2 Re8 10. O-O {[%mdl 4] 10.0-0 is the recent fashion according to Megabase.} b6 ({Sure enough, Rapport knows that the Greek gift sacrifice} 10... Bxh2+ $2 11. Kxh2 Ng4+ {would not work due to} 12. Kg3 $1 Qg5 13. f4 Qh6 14. Bd2 Qh2+ 15. Kf3 {and the king escapes.}) 11. b4 {First and foremost, White needs to take the teeth out of the c7-c5 break.} Nbd7 $146 { Rapport sank into deep thought and, after more than thirty minutes on the clock, came up with a good plan.} ({The predecessor witnessed highly instructive play by White:} 11... Bb7 12. Rb1 Qe7 13. h3 Nbd7 14. b5 a5 15. a4 Rac8 16. Qb3 Nf8 17. Nf4 Rcd8 18. Ra1 $1 {the white problematic bishop is about to be traded while the opponent's bad one on b7 will suffer till the end of the game, Milov, V (2680)-Riff,J (2474) Kemer 2007}) 12. Nf4 {First and foremost, the Hungarian GM lures the opponent's bishop on b7 anyway.} (12. b5 $5 {like in the above-mentioned predecessor also made a lot of sense.}) 12... Bb7 13. Rb1 $1 {Now c7-c5 would be difficult to execute.} Nf8 ({One other classical idea in the Carlsbad} 13... b5 {intending to transfer the knight via the b6-square to the c4-outpost would be met with the timely} 14. a4 {Notice that the white rook defends the b4 pawn.} c6 15. a5 {with White's edge.}) 14. f3 {Now that c7-c5 is out of the question, Rapport can concentrate on Botvinnik's idea of preparing e3-e4 $1} Ng6 {Vidit hopes to swap some pieces and reduce the attacking potential of his opponent.} ({Here, and on the previous move, the trade} 14... Bxf4 15. exf4 {never works for Black as the black knights will lack good outposts, whereas White will find a way to transfer his only horsie all the way to the vulnerable e5-point.}) 15. Nfe2 $3 {But his offer is rejected $1 The white knight has far better perspectives.} ({ Further on, the straightforward} 15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. e4 {would have failed tactically due to} dxe4 17. fxe4 Nxe4 $1 18. Nxe4 Bxe4 19. Bxe4 Qh4 {when Black wins material.}) 15... Qe7 16. Ng3 {The knight found an even better career, and his salary would raise after reaching the f5-square.} Qd7 ({ The attempt to stop the knight with} 16... Nh4 {releases the e-pawn} 17. e4) ({ However, the machine claims that Black could have defended better with the passive} 16... Bc8 {Its main point is that in the line} 17. e4 dxe4 18. fxe4 { There is} Ng4 {and Black somehow gets enough play against the enemy king. This is hard to believe, but the machine insists and prints the following line:} 19. e5 Qh4 20. h3 Qxg3 21. hxg4 Rxe5 $3 22. dxe5 Bxe5 23. Ne2 Qh2+ 24. Kf2 Bb7 { It seems as Black has enough for the rook, somehow, and should be able to find a perpetual with} 25. Be4 Qh4+ 26. Ke3 Qg5+ 27. Kf2 Qh4+ {I honestly do not buy any of this...}) 17. Nf5 Bf8 18. Kh1 $1 {The final preparation. And a move of a true master $1 Why rush when the opponent is forced to sit and wait for your decision $2} Ne7 ({The active attempt} 18... c5 19. bxc5 bxc5 20. dxc5 Bxc5 21. Na4 {only makes things worse for Black.}) 19. Ng3 $1 {A second retreat $1 And, once again, it is the black knight that looks silly, clumsily blocking his own pieces.} Rad8 ({There will be no repetition after} 19... Ng6 20. Bd2) ({And, in the case of the pseudo-active} 19... h5 {White can finally go for} 20. e4 $5 dxe4 21. fxe4 Qxd4 {Without a check.} (21... h4 22. Rxf6 $1) 22. Nce2 {with a massive attack.}) 20. Nce2 Ng6 21. e4 {The time had come.} ( 21. Bd2 $5) 21... dxe4 22. fxe4 Re6 {Vidit is apparently afraid of the exchange sacrifice on f6, but the move in the game will soon lead to complete White domination.} ({Maybe it was worth trying} 22... c5 23. bxc5 bxc5 24. Rxf6 $1 gxf6 25. d5 {at least hoping for some practical chances.}) 23. Bb2 ({ Apparently, the Indian GM hoped to sacrifice an exchange himself in the line} 23. d5 Re5 24. Bb2 (24. Nd4 $1 {is a big advantage for White though.}) 24... Ng4 25. Bxe5 N6xe5 {when the dark-squared domination indeed compensates Black somewhat.}) 23... Ng4 24. Qb3 b5 ({Or} 24... Nh4 25. Bc2 $1) 25. Bc2 $1 Rc6 26. Nf5 {A picturesque position $1 Just like that, Rapport is completely winning. Vidit's pieces are scattered all over the place, completely oblivious to reality.} Re8 ({Maybe it was worth at least trying for the last time to trade THAT knight with} 26... Ne7 27. Neg3 ({But, since the knight was insulted so many times, Black might have feared the third retreat:} 27. Nfg3 $5) ({Or the retreat forward} 27. Nxg7 $1 Bxg7 28. Rxf7) 27... Nxf5 28. Nxf5 {although it will be immediately replaced by the other.}) 27. Neg3 a5 {Desperation.} 28. Bd3 ({Nothing wrong with the immediate} 28. bxa5) 28... Rce6 29. bxa5 c6 30. e5 Be7 31. Nh5 {Rapport is winning as he likes and chooses his way.} (31. Qd1 $1 { would have been another solution} Nh6 32. Nxh6+ gxh6 33. Be4) 31... Bf8 32. h3 Nh6 33. Nxh6+ gxh6 34. Nf6+ Rxf6 35. Rxf6 Bg7 36. Rf2 Rb8 37. Be4 c5 38. Bxb7 c4 39. Qf3 Rxb7 40. Bc3 {PLAY CHESS, NOT WAR.} 1-0 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.03"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Vitiugov, Nikita"] [Black "Tabatabaei, M. Amin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2726"] [BlackElo "2623"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Bf5 {A super-solid line that Tabatabaei previously had used once in the FIDE Grand Swiss in Riga last year.} 7. Qf3 Bg6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 {Black has accepted some ugly pawns on the kingside, but in return he has the bishop pair.} 10. Nf3 ({ The game from Riga went} 10. Nge2 Nd7 11. h4 h5 12. Nf4 Bd6 13. g3 a5 14. Kd2 a4 15. Bd3 Bxf4 16. exf4 Bxd3 17. Kxd3 Ke7 18. Nd1 f5 19. Re1+ Kf6 20. Nc3 Nb6 21. Re2 Rhe8 22. Rae1 Re6 {and Black had a small but clear advantage although he lost the game in the end, Abdusattorov,$146 (2690)-Tabatabaei,M (2555) Riga 2021.}) ({The first of Vitiugov's games with this line saw White try} 10. h4 Nd7 11. h5 Bf5 12. Nge2 h6 13. Nf4 a5 14. f3 Bd6 15. Kf2 a4 16. a3 Nb6 17. Rc1 Ke7 18. Be2 Ra5 19. Rhe1 Bd7 20. Bd3 f5 21. g3 Kd8 22. Nce2 {½-½ (22) Vitiugov,$146 (2738)-Ponomariov,R (2711) Czech Republic 2015}) 10... Nd7 11. Nh4 ({This approach with the knight to h4 was popularized by World Champion Magnus Carlsen, who used it to beat Vladimir Kramnik in very convincing fashion. Another try was seen in another Vitiugov game:} 11. g3 Nb6 12. Nh4 Be7 13. O-O-O Nc8 14. Bd3 Nd6 15. Ng2 Bxd3 16. Rxd3 f5 17. Rdd1 Ne4 18. Rhf1 Kd7 19. Kc2 h5 20. h4 Bd6 21. Kd3 a5 22. Ne2 Rhg8 23. Ngf4 {(and, objectively, White has a small advantage, but it is very difficult for either side to break through.)} Nf6 24. Nh3 Ke7 25. Nef4 Rh8 26. Ke2 Ne4 27. Kd3 Ra6 28. Kc2 Raa8 29. Rd3 a4 30. a3 Bxf4 31. Nxf4 Nd6 32. Ne2 Kf6 33. Rdd1 Nc4 {1/2-1/2 (33) Vitiugov,$146 (2734)-Andreikin,D (2713) Khanty-Mansiysk 2013}) 11... Be7 12. Ne2 ({Vitiugov has also tried} 12. f4 $2 {, but this is just a poor idea and Black is already very comfortable in this position:} f5 13. Nf3 Nb6 14. Bd3 a5 15. a4 Nc8 16. Ne2 Nd6 17. Ng3 Kd7 18. O-O Ke6 19. Rfe1 h6 20. Ne5 Ra7 21. Rec1 Raa8 22. Nf1 Ne4 23. Rc2 Bh7 24. Nd2 f6 25. Nef3 Bb4 26. Nb3 Kf7 27. Nc5 Rab8 28. Kf1 Rhg8 29. g3 Bg6 30. Nh4 Rge8 31. Be2 Nxc5 32. dxc5 Rxe3 33. Rd1 Rbe8 34. Bd3 Bh5 35. Rdd2 Bxd2 36. Rxd2 Rxd3 {0-1 (36) Vitiugov, $146 (2734) -Grachev,B (2683) Khanty-Mansiysk 2013}) 12... f5 ({The aforementioned game by the world champion saw Black try} 12... Nb6 13. Ng3 Bb4+ 14. Kd1 Na4 15. Ngf5 $1 Kd7 16. Rb1 Ke6 17. Bd3 Rhc8 18. Ke2 Bf8 19. g4 {(Black is already more or less losing.)} c5 20. Ng2 cxd4 21. exd4 Bd6 22. h4 h5 23. Ng7+ Ke7 24. gxh5 Bxd3+ 25. Kxd3 Kd7 26. Ne3 Nb6 27. Ng4 Rh8 28. Rhe1 Be7 29. Nf5 Bd8 30. h6 Rc8 31. b3 Rc6 32. Nge3 Bc7 33. Rbc1 Rxc1 34. Rxc1 Bf4 35. Rc5 Ke6 36. Ng7+ Kd6 37. Ng4 Nd7 38. Rc2 f5 39. Nxf5+ Ke6 40. Ng7+ Kd6 41. Re2 Kc6 42. Re8 Rxe8 43. Nxe8 Nf8 44. Ne5+ Bxe5 45. dxe5 Kd7 46. Nf6+ Ke6 47. h5 Kxe5 48. Nd7+ Nxd7 49. h7 Nc5+ 50. Ke2 {1-0 (50) Carlsen,M (2851)-Kramnik,V (2801) Stavanger 2016}) 13. Nf3 ({From the online world, we find the last of Vitiugov's previous experiences with this particular line:} 13. g3 Bxh4 14. gxh4 Nf6 15. Rg1 Ke7 16. Bh3 Nh5 17. Kd2 Kf6 18. b4 Rhe8 19. Bg2 f4 20. Bf3 fxe3+ 21. fxe3 Ke7 { when White, at most, had a marginal plus, Vitiugov, $146 (2722)-Kuzubov,Y (2643) Chess.com INT 2020.}) 13... Bb4+ 14. Kd1 Bd6 ({A novelty over} 14... Nf6 15. Nf4 Ne4 16. Nd3 Bd6 17. Rc1 Rg8 18. Be2 a5 19. g3 {which was comfortably better for White in Ponkratov,P (2641)-Andreikin,D (2724) Chess.com INT 2022.}) 15. Ne1 Bh5 16. Nd3 Bxe2+ 17. Kxe2 Ke7 18. g3 {White has the clearly better pawn structure, but Black has lost the bishop pair, leaving White with a small but clear advantage.} a5 19. Bh3 Kf6 20. a4 $6 {White intends to play for a b2-b4, followed by pressure on the b-file and the advance of the a-pawn. However, this does not appear to accomplish much in light of Black's response.} Ra6 $5 21. b3 Rb6 {No b2-b4 for you $1} 22. Rab1 h5 23. Kf3 Nf8 {Black has a comfortable position.} 24. Ke2 Ne6 25. f4 Ng7 26. Ne5 Ke6 27. Kd3 Bb4 (27... Ne8 {intending ...Be7 followed by ... Ne8-d6(or f6)-e4 would give Black the better chances. The rest of the game resembled shadow-boxing.}) 28. Nf3 Ne8 29. Nh4 Nd6 30. Rhc1 Kf6 31. Rc2 Ra6 32. Rbc1 Raa8 33. Re2 Rae8 34. Rcc2 Re7 35. Rc1 Rc8 36. Rec2 Rce8 37. Re2 Ba3 38. Ra1 Bb4 39. Rc1 Ba3 40. Ra1 Bb4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.03"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C83"] [WhiteElo "2719"] [BlackElo "2772"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Be7 11. Bc2 d4 12. Nb3 d3 13. Bb1 Nxb3 14. axb3 Bf5 15. Be3 ({The combatants had previously explored two other options at this juncture:} 15. Re1 O-O 16. b4 Qd7 17. h3 Rfd8 18. g4 Bg6 19. Bf4 a5 ({or} 19... Qc8 20. Ba2 a5 21. e6 f6 22. bxa5 Nxa5 23. b4 Nc4 24. Bxc4 bxc4 {with a complex position where White eventually won in Harikrishna,P (2755)-Ding Liren (2778) Danzhou 2016}) 20. bxa5 Rxa5 21. Ba2 Rf8 22. b4 Ra4 {and Black had equalized in Caruana,F (2805)-Giri,A (2773) Stavanger 2015.}) (15. b4 O-O 16. Bf4 Qd7 17. h3 Rfd8 18. g4 Bg6 19. Bg3 Kh8 (19... a5 $1 {is better as seen in some email games}) 20. Re1 Qc8 {was seen in Harikrishna,P (2752)-Caruana,F (2808) Baku 2016, and here} 21. Nh4 $1 {would have offered White a clear advantage.}) 15... O-O 16. Bd4 Qd5 17. Re1 b4 ({An interesting choice. The main line moves are} 17... d2) ({and} 17... Rfd8 {, whereas the text move, as far as I know, only has been played in one prior game.}) 18. Bxd3 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 bxc3 20. bxc3 Qxb3 21. e6 ({The first deviation from prior praxis:} 21. Reb1 Qe6 22. Ra4 a5 23. Qe4 Rfb8 24. Rba1 Rb5 25. Be3 Qg6 26. g3 Qxe4 27. Rxe4 Kf8 28. Kg2 Ra6 29. g4 Ke8 30. g5 Kd7 31. Raa4 Bc5 32. Bd2 Be7 33. Be3 Bc5 34. Bd2 Be7 35. h3 {1/2-1/2 (35) Koch,C (2343)-Koslowski,V (2273) LSS email 2020}) 21... fxe6 22. Qe2 a5 23. c4 Qxf3 $5 ({Yowsers $1 What a stunning move. However, I strongly suspect that this move, as well as the rest of the game for that matter, had already been on the computer at the Giri household. Alternatively, Black could also have played} 23... Nxd4 24. Nxd4 Qb6 25. Nxe6 Rf7) ({and} 23... Rxf3 24. Qxe6+ Rf7 25. Qxc6 Rd8 {, in both cases with about equal chances.}) 24. gxf3 Nxd4 25. Qe4 Nxf3+ 26. Kh1 Nxe1 27. Qxe6+ Rf7 28. Rxe1 Raf8 29. Rd1 Kh8 30. Rd7 Rxf2 31. Qxe7 Rf1+ 32. Kg2 R1f2+ 33. Kg1 Rf1+ 34. Kg2 R1f2+ 35. Kg1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.03"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2642"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] {[%evp 0,63,22,19,19,22,43,9,35,36,31,-8,2,-18,44,44,59,50,48,48,48,49,41,42, 109,95,87,80,107,23,77,18,103,77,71,64,63,62,70,67,81,63,78,75,63,70,66,62,59, 46,54,50,36,40,42,40,36,38,38,24,19,20,20,27,24,29]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Nc3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bg4 12. Rb1 {This line was played countless times 20-25 years ago, but even nowadays it is seen in grandmaster games.} Nd7 13. h3 Bh5 14. Rb5 Nf6 ({The main line is} 14... Nb6 {, and one example featuring Grischuk went} 15. c4 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 dxc4 17. Bc2 Qd7 18. a4 g6 19. Be3 Rac8 20. Rfb1 c3 21. a5 Nc4 22. Rxb7 Qe6 23. Bb3 Qf5 24. Qxf5 gxf5 25. Ra1 f4 26. Bc1 Rfe8 27. f3 c2 28. Kf2 a6 29. Ra4 Nb2 30. Bxf7+ Kf8 31. Bxb2 c1=Q 32. Bxc1 Rc2+ 33. Kf1 Rxc1+ 34. Kf2 Rc2+ 35. Kf1 Rc1+ {1/2-1/2 (35) Grischuk,A (2606)-Shirov, A (2746) New Delhi/Teheran 2000}) 15. Bg5 ({In a very recent game, Grischuk took the black pieces against a fellow Russian top grandmaster:} 15. g4 a6 16. Rxb7 Bxg4 17. hxg4 Qc8 18. Rb6 Qxg4+ 19. Kh1 Qh3+ 20. Kg1 Qg4+ 21. Kh1 Qh3+ 22. Kg1 Qg4+ 23. Kh1 Qh3+ 24. Kg1 Qg4+ 25. Kh1 Qh3+ 26. Kg1 Qg4+ 27. Kh1 Qh3+ 28. Kg1 Qg4+ 29. Kh1 Qh3+ 30. Kg1 Qg4+ {1/2-1/2 (30) Svidler,P (2701)-Grischuk,A (2775) Struga 2021}) 15... a6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Rxd5 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Qxf3 19. gxf3 {White has won a pawn, but a draw is nevertheless still an almost certainty.} Rfd8 20. Kg2 ({Or} 20. c4 Be7 21. Be4 b5 22. Rc1 bxc4 23. Rxc4 Rab8 {with an endgame nobody is going to win.}) 20... b5 21. c4 Ba3 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. cxb5 axb5 24. Bxb5 Rxd4 25. Re1 g6 26. Re3 Bb4 27. Re4 Bc5 28. a4 Rd2 29. Re2 Rxe2 30. Bxe2 Bb6 31. f4 f5 32. Kf3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.03"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Andreikin, Dmitry"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2724"] [BlackElo "2708"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Bb5+ Nc6 ({The only previous game that I could find with Shankland in this variation went} 8... Bd7 9. Be2 Qa5 10. Bd2 O-O 11. O-O Rd8 12. Qb3 Qc7 13. d5 Bg4 14. Rab1 b6 15. Bg5 Qd6 16. Rfe1 {and White was clearly better although the game later ended in a draw, ½-½ (40) Bogner,S (2584)-Shankland,S (2713) Biel 2019.}) 9. O-O O-O 10. Bxc6 ({The main line is} 10. Be3 Bg4 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Rc1 Qa5 13. Qc2 Bxf3 14. gxf3 cxd4 15. cxd4 Qh5 16. Kg2 {with an advantage for White as in Andreikin,D (2724)-Xiong,J (2687) Chess.com INT 2021.}) 10... bxc6 11. Qc2 cxd4 12. cxd4 Bg4 13. Ne5 Qxd4 14. Bb2 Qb6 15. Rab1 ({In the FIDE Grand Swiss, Dubov put the other rook on b1:} 15. Rfb1 Be6 $4 ({immediate bingo; Black should have played} 15... Bxe5 16. Bxe5 Qa5 17. Bd4 Rfd8 {and Black had already solved his opening problems in Sarana,A (2666)-Preotu,R (2473) Chess.com INT 2021}) 16. Nxg6 $1 hxg6 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Rxb6 axb6 19. Qb2+ Kg8 20. Qxb6 Rfb8 21. Qc7 Rb2 22. h4 Kf8 23. Qe5 {1-0 (23) Dubov,D (2747) -Chigaev,M (2610) Riga 2021.}) 15... Bxe5 16. Bxe5 Qa5 ({In another game from the FIDE Grand Swiss, Black played the less accurate} 16... Qa6 {which allows White's queen to c5 with an ongoing initiative:} 17. Qc5 Rfe8 18. Bc3 Qxa2 19. Rb2 Qa4 20. f3 Bc8 21. Rc1 f6 22. e5 Qf4 23. Re1 Qf5 $6 24. g4 Qxf3 25. exf6 Be6 26. Rf2 Qxg4+ $2 27. Rg2 Qf4 28. Rxe6 exf6 29. Rxf6 {and White eventually won, 1-0 (55) Praggnanandhaa,R (2618)-Adhiban,B (2672) Riga 2021.}) 17. Bc3 Qc5 ({This is the first new move and was undoubtedly part of Shankland's impressive preparation as he was still blitzing out the moves at this point. That being said, in another recent game, Black went for} 17... Qa6 18. Qd2 Be6 19. Qf4 f6 20. Rfc1 Rad8 21. h4 Rd7 {with even chances and an eventual draw in Solomon,A (2337)-Dvoirys,S (2436) Tel Aviv 2021.}) 18. Qb2 a5 {At the moment, Black has an extra pawn. but it seems unlikely that he will be able to do anything with it and the absence of Black's dark-squared bishop gives White fully sufficient compensation.} 19. Rfc1 Qd6 20. Be5 Qd7 21. Qc3 Rfd8 22. Qxc6 Rac8 23. Qxd7 Rxc1+ 24. Rxc1 Bxd7 25. Bc7 Rc8 26. Bf4 Rxc1+ 27. Bxc1 f6 28. f3 Kf7 29. a4 Bxa4 30. Bd2 Bb5 1/2-1/2