[Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.20"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,65,17,1,1,12,63,4,30,50,26,1,6,-28,17,64,65,56,53,39,50,16,51,32,32, -90,26,12,19,-9,18,-5,16,-18,25,-9,8,-9,2,2,0,-1,-3,8,17,12,16,-24,-18,-31,-36, -32,-46,-39,-46,-42,-35,-36,36,36,10,-11,-14,-14,-20,-34,-39,-34]} 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. Re1 Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. c5 (11. Nc3 {is usual, but hasn't borne much fruit after} Nxc3 12. Bxf5 Qxf5 13. bxc3 b6 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Qb5 Qd7 {, as in game 4 of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi match.}) 11... Bc7 12. Nc3 $146 {Daring Black to play 12...Nxc5.} (12. Nbd2) 12... Re8 {Preferring a normal position with a tiny disadvantage to potential equality with high risk.} (12... Nxc5 13. Bxf5 Nxb3 14. Bxd7 Nxa1 15. Bf5 {may be equal, but even if it is it's understandable that Vidit would want to avoid it, especially if he hadn't specifically prepared the line. In general, two minor pieces will crush the rook and pawn unless the position is really favorable for the rook, so Black has to find something good before White rounds up the knight on a1.} Na6 16. Bd2 g6 17. Bd3 Nb4 18. Bf1 Nxa2 (18... Nac2 19. Rc1 a5 20. a3 a4 21. axb4 Nxb4 $14) 19. Rxa1 Nxc3 20. Bxc3 a5 $11 {Black's pawns do a nice job of keeping White's minor pieces restricted, so with a rook and *two* pawns for the bishop and knight Black is O.K., as Adorjan would say.}) 13. Be3 Na6 14. Ne2 f6 (14... Rab8 $142) 15. a3 g5 16. Qc2 (16. Nd2 $142 $16) 16... h5 $2 17. Rad1 $2 (17. h4 $1 g4 18. Nd2 Qh7 19. Nxe4 Bxe4 20. Bxe4 Rxe4 21. b4 $16 {/+-}) 17... h4 18. Nd2 $6 (18. Nxh4 $1 gxh4 19. f3 $14 {/+/-}) 18... Qh7 $11 19. Nxe4 Bxe4 20. Bxe4 Qxe4 21. Qxe4 Rxe4 22. Nc3 Re7 23. h3 (23. Bd2 $142) 23... Rae8 (23... Kf7 $142) 24. Kf1 Bb8 25. Bd2 Nc7 26. Rxe7 Rxe7 27. a4 Ne6 28. Ne2 b6 $6 (28... Kf7 {followed by a king march to the queenside was better, waiting for the most opportune moment - if any - to open the queenside.}) 29. cxb6 axb6 30. b4 (30. Rc1 $142 Rc7 31. b4) 30... Ra7 31. Ra1 Kf7 32. Ke1 Ke8 33. Kd1 $15 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.20"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Grandelius, Nils"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B48"] [WhiteElo "2672"] [BlackElo "2865"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,107,20,20,48,60,46,32,27,38,47,47,93,72,82,62,71,71,77,50,50,61,28,28, 71,23,10,-25,11,-7,11,15,76,59,50,62,50,23,86,85,115,28,45,11,5,4,18,-38,-2,-2, 0,-6,0,0,0,0,0,-6,22,-73,-77,-54,-125,-57,-141,-107,-57,-127,-127,-127,-19,-77, 0,33,31,30,30,41,5,3,13,-9,-53,-38,-26,-26,-38,-119,-95,-84,-22,-15,17,24,78, 67,62,57,66,54,54,51,51,31,46,40,50,17,15,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. g4 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 b5 9. O-O-O Bb7 10. f3 Rc8 11. Qd2 Bb4 12. Bd4 f6 13. g5 h6 14. gxh6 Nxh6 15. a3 {Encouraging the following exchanging variation.} (15. Rg1) 15... Bxa3 16. bxa3 e5 17. Nxb5 axb5 18. Bb2 d5 $2 {/!? Grandelius has been better throughout, and after this bold move he's winning. However, the move randomizes the position, giving White plenty of chances to go wrong - and he soon does.} 19. Bxb5+ Kf8 20. Ba4 $2 {The bishop will be a decent defender on b3, but it was much better to win the second pawn.} (20. Qb4+ $1 Kg8 21. Qb3 Nf7 22. exd5 $18) 20... d4 21. Bb3 Nf7 22. Qb4+ $2 (22. h4 $14) 22... Kg8 23. Rd2 Ba6 $17 24. f4 (24. Qa4 Bc4 25. Qxc4 Qxc4 26. Bxc4 Rxc4 $17 {gets the queens off, but White's bishop is terrible and his structure is a mess. Despite White's extra pawn, he's clearly worse.}) 24... Rb8 25. Qa4 Bb5 26. Qb4 Ba6 27. Qa4 Bb5 28. Qb4 Rh3 $1 29. fxe5 fxe5 30. Rg1 (30. Rg2 $142) 30... Be2 $2 (30... Ba6 $1 31. Bxf7+ $8 (31. Qa4 $4 Rhxb3 32. Qxa6 Rxb2 $19) 31... Kh8 $1 32. Rg3 $1 (32. Qa4 $2 Qxf7 33. Qxa6 Qa2 $19) 32... Rh6 $8 33. Bd5 $1 (33. Qa4 $2 Qxf7 $19 {is hopeless for White, who has no good answer to threats like ...Qa2 or ...Rhb6.}) 33... Rxb4 34. axb4 Bb7 $19 {White is fine as far as material is concerned, but his position is a wreck and the bishop on b2 is awful.}) 31. Bxf7+ Kxf7 $15 32. Qa4 Qb7 33. Qb4 Qc7 34. Qa4 Bb5 $6 (34... Bc4 {was the only way to keep a meaningful edge, and even this isn't so clear after} 35. Rdg2 Rh7 $8 36. Rg6 $15) 35. Rdg2 $1 $11 Rh7 36. Qb3+ Bc4 37. Qg3 Qb6 38. Qg6+ Qxg6 39. Rxg6 Rc8 40. R6g5 $2 {Getting into another bit of bother at the end of the time control.} (40. Kb1) 40... Bd3 41. Rf5+ (41. c3 $142) 41... Kg8 42. Rf2 Rh6 $17 43. Rd1 (43. Rfg2) 43... Bxe4 $2 ( 43... Bb5 $1 $17 {/-+ was better, keeping the center closed so that White can't get counterplay. The bishop will go to a4 and resume its pressure on c2.} ) 44. Re1 Rh4 45. a4 $1 Rc5 46. Ba3 $11 Rc8 47. Be7 $1 Rg4 48. h3 $1 Rg2 49. Rxg2 Bxg2 50. Rxe5 d3 51. Bc5 Ra8 52. cxd3 Rxa4 53. Kd2 Bxh3 54. Re4 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.20"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2792"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,125,17,13,27,-10,6,6,6,6,45,48,52,21,15,-26,-1,-2,11,-93,-62,-109, -101,-109,-101,-136,-77,-121,-50,-59,-59,-58,9,-51,-44,-38,-54,-85,-72,-114, -103,-96,-96,-70,-69,-69,-30,-18,5,-41,-40,-38,-12,-18,-64,-91,-85,-98,-105, -113,-105,-111,-131,-130,-126,-132,-154,-148,-108,-66,-96,-104,-74,-59,-51,-82, -74,-77,-89,-89,-89,-86,-87,-108,-70,-65,-53,-62,-55,-55,-56,-63,-63,-41,-44, -44,-46,-105,-84,-88,-40,-40,-40,-40,-42,-40,-40,-40,-39,-48,-44,-106,-43,-106, -43,-106,-105,-85,-74,-4,-3,-3,-3,-3,0,0,0,0] Caruana is not having a great event. He was winning in this game, but his young opponent eventually escaped with a draw.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. g4 h6 8. Bd2 dxc4 9. Rg1 b5 10. e4 e5 11. O-O-O Qc7 12. Kb1 Bb7 13. h4 O-O-O 14. g5 hxg5 15. hxg5 Ng8 16. g6 f6 17. dxe5 Bxe5 18. Ne2 $2 (18. Nxe5 $11 { followed by Be3 was fine for White.}) 18... c5 19. Nxe5 Nxe5 20. Bg2 Ne7 (20... Nd3 $142) 21. Nf4 Qb6 (21... N7c6 $142) 22. Be3 Kb8 (22... a5 $142) 23. b4 $1 { It's funny how often players - even top GMs - miss or underestimate tactics based on en passant ideas.} cxb3 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. axb3 $15 Rc8 26. Rc1 $6 Qa5 $17 27. Qa2 $2 Qxa2+ 28. Kxa2 c4 $19 29. bxc4 Nxc4 30. Bd4 Nc6 31. Bc3 N6e5 32. Bh3 Rh8 33. Bf5 Rh2 (33... Rh4 $19) 34. Ne6 Rxf2+ 35. Ka1 Rg2 36. Nxg7 Nxg6 37. Nh5 (37. Bxf6 $142) 37... Ne7 $2 (37... Bc6 $1 $17) 38. Be6 $1 Bxe4 39. Bxc4 bxc4 40. Bxf6 Nd5 41. Rxc4 {and it's a trivial draw from here, especially now that the time control has been made.} Rg1+ 42. Kb2 Bf5 43. Be5+ Kb7 44. Nf4 Nb6 45. Rc7+ Ka6 46. Bd4 Rb1+ 47. Ka3 Rd1 48. Bxb6 axb6 49. Ne2 b5 50. Nc3 Rh1 51. Rf7 Bd3 52. Rf3 Bf1 53. Rf2 Bc4 54. Rd2 Ka5 55. Kb2 Rh3 56. Rf2 Rh5 57. Rd2 b4 58. Na2 Bxa2 59. Kxa2 Rb5 60. Kb3 Rc5 61. Rd3 Rc3+ 62. Rxc3 bxc3 63. Kxc3 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.20"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C80"] [WhiteElo "2702"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,88,17,27,27,13,22,11,32,0,1,11,41,34,16,10,10,13,17,-23,-13,3,16,-37, 18,-30,-23,-34,-48,-20,-23,-29,10,-38,3,-9,-32,-3,0,-2,-3,-82,-63,-68,-29,-33, -76,-83,-86,-86,-71,-75,-64,-114,-110,-86,-93,-99,-96,-115,-77,-136,-76,-78, -78,-94,-114,-121,-80,-74,-74,-147,-178,-179,-178,-206,-236,-193,-197,-227, -230,-313,-230,-378,-316,-291,-291,-459,-423,-422,-422]} 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. a4 {This isn't a new move, but this stowaway from the Anti-Marshall isn't considered particularly dangerous.} b4 10. Be3 Be7 11. a5 O-O 12. Qd3 Nc5 13. Bxc5 Bxc5 14. c3 Ne7 $146 (14... d4 {The computer doesn't like it, but if Black was able to get away with this as recently as 2018 in correspondence chess, *maybe* it's playable. I wouldn't trust it without a careful look.} 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. c4 Rf4 (16... Qe8 17. Nbd2 Rf4 18. Nb3 Be7 19. Rad1 Rd8 20. Rfe1 Qh5 21. Re4 Rf5 22. Rde1 Qg6 23. R4e2 Rf4 24. Rd1 Qh5 25. Re4 Rf5 26. Rde1 Qg6 27. R4e2 Rf4 28. Rd2 Qf5 29. h3 g5 30. Ree2 h5 31. Ne1 Rh4 32. c5 Qxd3 33. Nxd3 g4 34. hxg4 Rxg4 35. f3 Rg5 36. Re4 Kf7 37. Kf1 {1/2-1/2 (37) Semmler,J-Kruse,E DESC email 2004}) 17. Nbd2 Qd7 18. b3 Rf5 19. Rfe1 Raf8 20. Re2 Qf7 21. Qe4 Qe8 22. Qd3 Rf4 23. Ng5 R8f5 24. Ngf3 Qg6 25. h3 Qh5 26. Re4 Rf8 27. Rxf4 Rxf4 {1/2-1/2 (27) Louro,E (1906)-Cabrera Trujillo,C (1876) IECC email 2018}) 15. Nbd2 bxc3 ( 15... Bf5 16. Qe2 bxc3) 16. bxc3 (16. Bc2 $1 Bf5 (16... g6 $142 17. Qxc3 Ba7 18. Rfd1 $14) 17. Qxc3 $16) 16... Ba7 17. Nd4 Bd7 $11 18. N2f3 c5 19. e6 $6 ( 19. Bc2 Ng6 20. Ne2 $11) 19... Be8 (19... c4 $142 20. Qe2 cxb3 21. exd7 Qxd7 22. Nxb3 Ng6 $15) 20. Ng5 $6 {White is ambitious, but his ambition doesn't prove justified.} (20. Bc2 $142) 20... f5 $17 21. Nf7 $2 Rxf7 $1 {Maybe he missed this? It's hard to believe - he's 2700, after all - but even super-GMs have oversights.} ({JVF probably expected} 21... Bxf7 22. exf7+ Rxf7 {, when White is ok after} 23. Ne6 Qd6 24. Ng5 {, e.g.} Rf6 25. Rfe1 c4 26. Bxc4 dxc4 27. Qxd6 Rxd6 28. Rxe7 Rd2 29. Rf1 $11) 22. exf7+ Bxf7 23. Nxf5 c4 24. Bxc4 Nxf5 $1 {Or maybe White missed this last interpolation. Whatever the case, the upshot is that he's lost: as usual, the side with the two bishops will almost always demolish a rook and pawn.} 25. Bxa6 Nd6 $19 26. Qf3 Bc5 $2 {But this proves to be a serious error. Yes, the a-pawn drops, but Black suddenly finds himself with some tactical liabilities of his own.} (26... Ne4 $19) (26... Qe7 $19) (26... Qh4 $19) 27. Bd3 Rxa5 $17 28. Rxa5 Qxa5 29. h4 h5 30. g3 Ne8 31. c4 $1 dxc4 32. Bh7+ $1 Kf8 33. Bg6 Nf6 (33... Qa7 $142) 34. Bxf7 Kxf7 35. Rc1 $2 { Natural, but after this Black's advantage reasserts itself.} (35. Qb7+ $1 Kg8 36. Qc8+ Kh7 37. Qf5+ Kh8 38. Qc8+ Ng8 39. Rd1 $1 $11) 35... Qc7 {This puts an end to White's counterplay while reestablishing the harmony of Black's army. The c-pawn is safe (36.Rxc4?? Bxf2+ and 37...Qxc4) and becomes a major asset.} 36. Kg2 Bd4 37. Qa8 c3 38. Qa2+ Kg6 39. Qc2+ Kh6 40. Qd3 Qb7+ 41. f3 Qb2+ 42. Rc2 Qb1 43. Qf5 Be3 44. Kh3 Qd1 0-1 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.20"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2612"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,111,17,13,27,6,6,4,23,-13,-4,-10,5,-14,-10,-11,6,17,43,18,52,52,73,48, 28,12,2,9,36,-15,24,38,45,52,39,6,27,11,19,19,25,36,60,74,58,64,73,76,74,74,52, 71,74,75,75,74,103,64,89,88,93,-10,94,93,76,76,76,78,91,93,105,105,116,194,222, 117,194,117,146,105,148,183,133,125,125,147,143,143,157,157,167,77,47,3,155, 163,154,182,211,205,191,229,260,321,320,334,349,362,462,495,675,954,1019,1062] } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Bg5 c5 8. dxc5 d4 9. Qg3 Nbd7 10. Nf3 e5 11. Rd1 $2 {Rare (only played once before), and bad.} (11. e3) (11. O-O-O) 11... Re8 $17 12. b4 a5 13. Nd2 axb4 14. axb4 Kf8 $2 $146 (14... e4 $17) 15. Qb3 $2 (15. e4 $11) 15... h6 $17 16. Bh4 e4 17. e3 d3 $2 (17... Ne5 $17 {/-+ is terrific for Black, though the position is so sharp that both sides may be prone to make mistakes.}) 18. h3 $11 g5 $6 19. Bg3 Ne5 $6 20. Qb2 Qe7 $6 21. Ra1 Rxa1+ $6 22. Qxa1 $18 {After a long string of inaccuracies, the evaluation has flipped. White is better, and while he doesn't do everything right he does manage to keep control the rest of the way en route to a well-deserved and stylish victory.} Bf5 23. Bxe5 Qxe5 24. Qxe5 Rxe5 25. g4 Bg6 26. Bg2 $2 (26. Kd1 $142 $18) 26... Re8 $1 27. Nb1 Nd7 $2 ( 27... Ra8) 28. Kd2 $18 Ra8 29. Kc3 Ra2 30. Rd1 $2 (30. Kd4) 30... Rxf2 $2 ( 30... Ne5 $142) 31. Rd2 $18 Rf6 32. Kd4 Re6 33. Nc3 Nf6 34. b5 Kg7 35. Ra2 h5 36. gxh5 Bf5 37. Rb2 Kh6 38. Rf2 Bh7 39. Nd5 (39. Rxf6+ $1 Rxf6 40. Bxe4) 39... Nxh5 40. Rxf7 d2 41. Nc3 Ng3 42. Nd1 Ne2+ 43. Kd5 Re8 44. Kd6 (44. Rxb7 $142) 44... Bg6 45. Rd7 (45. Rxb7 $142) 45... Nf4 46. Kc7 Nxg2 47. Rxd2 Ne1 48. Kxb7 Nd3 49. c6 Bf5 50. c7 Re5 51. Nb2 Nc5+ 52. Kc6 Nb3 53. Rd8 Rc5+ 54. Kd6 g4 55. hxg4 Bxg4 56. b6 1-0 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.20"] [Round "5.6"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D20"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2743"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 b5 4. a4 c6 5. axb5 cxb5 6. Nc3 Qb6 7. Be2 e6 8. Nh3 Bb7 9. O-O Nf6 10. e5 Nd5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. Nf4 Nc6 13. Be3 Rd8 14. b3 Bb4 15. bxc4 bxc4 16. Qc2 O-O 17. Rfd1 Ne7 18. Nxd5 exd5 19. f4 a5 20. f5 f6 21. e6 g6 22. g4 Kh8 23. Kh1 Rg8 24. Rf1 gxf5 25. gxf5 Bd6 26. Rab1 Qc7 27. Bh5 Rb8 28. Qf2 c3 29. Bh6 Rxb1 30. Rxb1 Qc4 31. Be2 Qa2 32. Rc1 Nc6 33. Rg1 Ne7 34. Rc1 $11 {Karjakin had been better most of the way, at some points even winning, but now Duda had a chance to complete the 180.} Rg4 $4 35. Be3 $4 (35. Rf1 $1 { is winning. The queen is protected, so White threatens Bxg4. If the rook leaves the g-file, while will jump on it, and if retreats to g8, then Qh4 wins on the spot.}) 35... Rg7 $4 36. Bh6 $1 Rg4 (36... Rg4 37. Rf1 {is still winning, and would probably induce resignation in a move or two.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.20"] [Round "5.7"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2708"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 43,43,28]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 a5 6. Bg2 O-O 7. Qc1 Nbd7 8. O-O Be7 $146 (8... c6 9. Bxb4 axb4 10. Nbd2 b6 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Nd7 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Nf3 Bb7 15. Qe3 Qe7 16. Nd4 Rfc8 17. f4 Rc5 18. f5 exf5 19. e6 Re8 20. exf7+ Qxf7 21. Qd2 g6 22. g4 Qe7 23. gxf5 Qe3+ 24. Qxe3 Rxe3 25. fxg6 hxg6 26. Rf4 Re7 27. Bh3 Nf8 28. Raf1 Re8 29. Rf6 Bc8 30. Bg2 Kg7 31. Rf7+ Kg8 32. R7f6 Kg7 33. Rxb6 Rc4 34. Rf4 Ne6 35. Nxe6+ Rxe6 36. Rxc4 dxc4 37. Rxb4 Rxe2 38. Rxc4 Be6 39. Re4 Rxe4 40. Bxe4 Bxa2 41. Kf2 g5 42. Ke3 Kf6 43. Kd4 Ke6 44. Kc5 Ke5 45. Bd3 Bb3 46. Bc4 Ba4 47. b4 Kf4 48. Bd5 Kg4 49. Bc6 {1-0 (49) Gelfand,B (2663)-Adams,M (2700) London 2021}) 9. Rd1 c6 10. Bf4 a4 $146 (10... b6 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Nc6 Bxc6 14. Qxc6 Rc8 15. Qb5 Nh5 16. Bd2 Nhf6 17. Nc3 Ne8 18. Qd3 Nd6 19. b3 f5 20. Rac1 Nf6 21. Nb5 Qd7 22. Nxd6 {½-½ (22) Gelfand,B (2663)-Cheparinov,I (2664) Warsaw 2021 (blitz)}) ( 10... Nh5 11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 b6 13. Nf3 Ba6 14. Nbd2 Nhf6 15. Qc2 Rc8 16. Rac1 c5 17. Qb3 cxd4 18. Nxd4 Nc5 19. Qe3 Re8 20. N4b3 a4 21. Nxc5 bxc5 22. Qa3 Qa5 23. e3 Qb4 24. Qxb4 cxb4 25. Bf1 Bb7 26. cxd5 Bxd5 27. Bb5 Rxc1 28. Rxc1 Ra8 29. Bxa4 Bxa2 30. b3 Nd5 31. Rc4 Rd8 32. Kf1 g6 33. Ke1 Kg7 34. e4 Nc3 35. Rxb4 Nb1 36. Nxb1 Bxb1 37. f3 e5 38. Rc4 Rd3 39. Rc1 Ba2 40. Ke2 Rxb3 41. Bxb3 Bxb3 42. Rc5 Kf6 43. Ke3 Be6 44. f4 exf4+ 45. gxf4 Kg7 46. Kd4 Kf6 47. Rc6 h6 48. Rb6 Ke7 49. Ke5 f6+ 50. Kd4 Bd7 51. e5 fxe5+ 52. Kxe5 Bf5 53. Rb7+ Ke8 54. Kf6 {1-0 (54) Gelfand,B (2663)-Vokhidov,S (2536) Warsaw 2021 (blitz)}) 11. h4 $5 h6 12. Ne5 $6 Nh5 (12... Nxe5 $142 13. dxe5 Ng4 $11) 13. Be3 Nhf6 14. Bf4 Nh5 15. Bd2 Nhf6 16. Nd3 Nb6 17. c5 Nbd7 18. Bb4 b6 $6 19. cxb6 $14 Bxb4 20. Qxc6 Ba5 $1 21. b7 $1 (21. Qxa8 Qxb6 22. Nc5 $8 Nxc5 23. dxc5 Qc7 24. b4 $8 Bxb4 25. Qxa4 Bxc5 26. e3 Bd7 27. Qc2 Ng4 28. Qe2 Nxe3 29. fxe3 Qxg3 30. Re1 f5 $44 {would have been very entertaining.}) 21... Bxb7 22. Qxb7 $14 Qe7 23. Qb5 ( 23. e3) 23... a3 $5 24. Nxa3 Rfb8 25. Qc6 Rc8 26. Qa4 Bc3 27. Qb3 Bxb2 28. Qxb2 Qxa3 29. Qxa3 (29. Rdb1) 29... Rxa3 30. Rdc1 Rca8 {White's extra pawn may survive, but it's going nowhere. The draw is near.} 31. Nb4 R3a4 32. Rab1 g5 33. hxg5 hxg5 34. Rb3 Nb6 35. Rc2 Kg7 36. e3 Nc4 37. Rc1 {If anything, Black is a little better here, and should fix the kingside with ...g4. But the position is too simple and stable for either player to have real winning chances.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.21"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2865"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,61,19,29,23,17,27,-12,-5,-17,-16,-3,-12,-11,20,-25,46,0,-6,-31,14,11, 7,-2,-2,-15,-12,-11,-17,-9,4,-3,2,9,13,4,18,27,20,38,30,0,16,28,57,57,94,79, 142,155,191,168,334,341,354,347,451,409,409,484,464,478,493,512]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. O-O (6. Qa4 {is the most popular move, with lots of sharp, forcing lines on tap after} Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Nd5) 6... Rb8 7. Be3 {Not a novelty, but this inaesthetic move has only been played on seven previous occasions out of 1540 total games. The immediate point is to play Qc1, looking to regain the c4-pawn, without hanging the d-pawn along the way.} Bd6 ( 7... Nd5 {is possible, but the gain of time is illusory as the bishop's retreat may be followed by e4. More surprisingly, perhaps, White may play Qc1 anyway, as happened in the only previous game to see 7...Nd5.} 8. Qc1 $5 Nxe3 9. fxe3 $5 {Chess gets more interesting every year, despite the protestations of the draw-death doomsayers.} (9. Qxe3 $11) 9... g6 10. Qxc4 Bh6 11. Qd3 $6 ( 11. e4 $142 $15) (11. Kh1 $142 $15) 11... O-O $17 {Black is most certainly better here, notwithstanding the eventual result of the game.} 12. e4 Qe7 13. e3 Rd8 14. Nc3 Nb4 15. Qe2 b6 16. Rfd1 Ba6 17. Qf2 c5 18. Kh1 Rbc8 19. Bf1 Bb7 20. a3 Nc6 21. Bg2 Na5 22. Rf1 Ba6 23. Rfe1 b5 24. e5 f5 25. exf6 Qxf6 26. Ne4 Qf7 27. Nxc5 e5 28. Qe2 exd4 29. exd4 Bb7 30. Nxb7 Qxb7 31. Rad1 Nc4 32. Ne5 Qb6 33. Nxc4 bxc4 34. d5 Bg7 35. Bh3 Rc5 36. Qe7 Qd6 37. Qxa7 Bxb2 38. Re7 Rxd5 39. Rde1 Re5 40. Rg7+ {1-0 (40) Janik,I (2466)-Leniart,A (2508) Bialystok 2019} ) (7... Be7) (7... b5) ({and} 7... a6 {have also been played as well. This last move also transposes into a number of games that reached the position via a different move order.}) 8. Qc1 $146 (8. Nfd2 {is also good, and was played in the only prior game with 7...Bd6.} O-O 9. Nxc4 Ne7 10. Bg5 Nd7 11. e4 f6 12. Be3 Nb6 13. Nbd2 Nxc4 14. Nxc4 b5 15. Na5 c6 16. Qd2 Bd7 17. Rac1 Bc7 18. Nb3 Nc8 19. Nc5 Nd6 20. b3 a5 21. Nxd7 Qxd7 22. Qc2 Rb6 23. d5 Ra6 24. dxc6 Qe7 25. Qe2 a4 26. Rfd1 axb3 27. axb3 Rd8 28. Bc5 e5 29. Bxd6 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 Qxd6 31. Qxb5 Rb6 32. Qd5+ Qxd5 33. exd5 Rb8 34. Bh3 Kf8 35. d6 Bxd6 36. c7 Bxc7 37. Rxc7 Rxb3 38. Bf5 h6 39. Kg2 Rb6 40. h4 Rd6 41. Kf3 Rd4 42. h5 Rb4 43. Bg6 Rd4 44. Rf7+ Kg8 45. Re7 Rd8 46. Re8+ Rxe8 47. Bxe8 {1-0 (47) Mulyar,M (2385)-Zeng, S (1863) Philadelphia 2018}) 8... b5 (8... Nd5 {may be better. It's brand new territory, so making sense of the ins and outs and of which setups are best and why is going to take some time.}) 9. b3 Bb7 (9... O-O) (9... Nd5) 10. bxc4 bxc4 11. Qxc4 Nb4 12. a3 Nbd5 13. Bg5 O-O 14. Nbd2 h6 15. Bxf6 Nxf6 {Black has healthy pieces and the bishop pair, White has a little more space and a long-term target on c7 to aim at. The usual Catalan principle seems to apply here: if Black can play ...c5 without any serious repercussions, equality and a draw are his for the taking.} 16. Rfc1 Nd7 17. Qa4 c5 {And there it is. Draw? Well, we have to wait for the dust to settle.} 18. Qxa7 Bxf3 $6 (18... Bd5 $1 {is the right start. ...Ra8 is the threat, winning White's queen. It's not easy to play this way, because White can hold on to his extra a-pawn for a while, but it was the right thing to do.} 19. Qa6 Be7 20. e3 Ra8 21. Qd3 (21. Qf1 cxd4 22. Nxd4 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 Rxa3 24. Nc6 Qa8 25. Kg1 Bc5 $11) 21... Ra7 22. dxc5 Nxc5 23. Qf1 Qa8 24. Ne5 Bxg2 25. Qxg2 Rxa3 $11) 19. Bxf3 (19. Nxf3 $142 Ra8 20. Qb7 cxd4 21. Qb3 $14 {/+/-}) 19... cxd4 {The asymmetry in the pawn structure keeps a little play in the position. Not much, but a little.} 20. Ra2 (20. Qxd4 $4 Be5) 20... Qe7 $2 (20... Ne5 $1 21. Qxd4 Bxa3 $1 22. Qxd8 Rfxd8 $11 {and it's time for a handshake.}) 21. a4 $16 {White is now in the driver's seat. The a-pawn is no longer a weakness for White, but a big problem for Black. It's going to truck up the board, pushed by the rook and helped by the mighty bishop on f3 guarding the queening square. Just like that, Black is (almost) lost.} Rfd8 $2 (21... e5) 22. Qxd4 {And now he is lost, as White's a-pawn is still a long-term asset, but now he's a pawn up as well.} Rb4 $2 ( 22... Ne5) 23. Qc3 Nb6 $2 (23... Ne5) 24. a5 Qa7 25. Qe3 Be7 $2 (25... Bb8) 26. Rcc2 Bg5 27. Qc5 Be7 28. axb6 Qxa2 29. Qxe7 Qxc2 30. Qxd8+ Kh7 31. b7 {White has a significant material advantage, a brewing attack, and a sword of Damocles hanging over Black's head on b7. It's time to resign.} 1-0 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.21"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,72,29,17,27,-5,-10,-11,-10,6,32,45,60,63,58,52,68,69,73,74,71,67,53, 46,49,39,44,35,29,9,14,1,25,10,10,10,39,5,4,-6,34,-3,18,59,25,8,28,34,34,38,40, 40,53,22,17,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-68,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 O-O 11. Bc4 Nd7 12. O-O b6 13. Rad1 Bb7 14. Rfe1 Rc8 15. Bb3 Re8 16. h3 Nf6 17. Qf4 Qc7 18. Ne5 Re7 19. Qh4 b5 $146 (19... Qd8) (19... Ree8) 20. Rd3 (20. Nd3 {is an attractive alternative; the c5 square beckons now that Black's pawn has left b6.}) 20... a5 21. Rg3 Nxe4 22. Rxe4 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 a4 24. Bd1 f6 25. Nd3 Qd6 26. Nc5 {This allows Black to (more or less) force a draw.} (26. Qh4 $14) 26... Rxc5 $1 27. Qa8+ Kf7 28. dxc5 Qxd1+ 29. Kh2 {Black is up a pawn, but between White's c-pawn and the threatened Qh8 it's White who is making the threats here.} Qd4 $1 30. c6 (30. Qh8 f5 31. Qxh7 Rc7 $11) 30... Rc7 31. Qh8 f5 32. Qxh7 b4 {Now Black "kindly" informs White that he's capable of making threats of his own, and with White's queen in a distant country he had better react before it's too late. He does by forcing a draw.} 33. Qh5+ Ke7 34. Qh8 Kf7 35. Qh5+ Ke7 36. Qh8 Kf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.21"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A35"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2672"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "31"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,31,17,17,53,22,25,14,16,15,39,34,34,46,42,42,32,39,48,29,25,25,86,1, -7,-60,-26,-24,-12,-43,-10,-60,-43,-14]} 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. d4 cxd4 6. exd4 d5 7. Bg5 Be6 8. Be2 g6 9. Bxf6 exf6 10. O-O Bg7 11. c5 O-O 12. b4 $146 {As a pawn sac, it's sound (primarily because it's more of a pawn loan than a pawn sac). But it's not so good if Black ignores it in the right way.} (12. Qd2 $142 $11) 12... f5 (12... g5 $1 13. b5 axb5 14. Nxb5 f5 $15) 13. Qd2 Qf6 (13... h6 $142) 14. Rfd1 g5 (14... f4 $142) 15. Nxg5 (15. b5 $142) 15... Qxd4 16. Qxd4 (16. Qxd4 Bxd4 $15 {is hard to assess at the board. Black's dark-squared bishop is a beast and both c3 and b4 are attacked; on the other hand, he has four isolated pawns. He is a bit better here, but it's easy to be prefer the safety of an easy draw with Black against a considerably higher-rated opponent.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.21"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A05"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2714"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d4 O-O 6. c4 dxc4 7. Qa4 {This prevents the fashionable 7...b5 in reply to 7.Qc2, but eliminates the trendy 8. a4 as an option in case Black meets 7.Qc2 with the traditional 7...a6, as in the game.} a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 {And so we have what was the main line of the Open Catalan for at least three or four decades, prior to the revival of 7. Qc2 a6 8.a4.} 10. Bd2 Be4 11. Qc1 Bb7 {The traditional move, and a reliable option, but} (11... c6 {has been the new main line for a few years.}) 12. Bf4 Nd5 (12... Bd6 {is a well-known alternative.}) 13. Nc3 Nxf4 14. Qxf4 Nd7 15. Rfd1 Bd6 16. Ne5 (16. Qe3 {is usual.}) 16... Bxg2 17. Kxg2 f6 18. Nc6 Qe8 $146 (18... Bxf4 {was usual, making sure to achieve ...c5. (Cf. my comments about that in the Carlsen-Rapport game.)} 19. Nxd8 Rfxd8 20. gxf4 c5 {Black has no real problems here.} 21. dxc5 (21. a4 b4 22. Ne4 {1-0 (81) Tilicheev,V (2343) -Abasov,N (2517) Batumi 2010} c4 $11 23. a5 f5 24. Nd6 c3 25. bxc3 Nf6 26. Nb7 Rdb8 27. Nc5 bxc3 $11) 21... Nxc5 22. b4 {is a minor inconvenience for Black, which he quickly solved in this (short) correspondence game.} Nb7 23. a4 bxa4 24. Rxa4 a5 25. Rxd8+ Rxd8 26. bxa5 Ra8 {1/2-1/2 (26) Kamanel Zamora,J (2291) -Hagerty,J (2219) ICCF email 2019}) 19. Qf3 $14 {/+/- Black's position looks unpleasant.} f5 20. b4 (20. Rac1 $142) 20... e5 $2 (20... h5 {, possibly followed by ...g5, was better, somewhat reminiscent of the sharp draw between Magnus Carlsen and Jorden Van Foreest in round 4.}) 21. dxe5 Nxe5 22. Nxe5 Bxe5 23. Rac1 $16 c6 24. Nb1 Rf6 25. Nd2 a5 26. bxa5 Rxa5 27. Rc5 (27. Rc2 $142) ( 27. e4 $142) 27... Ra6 (27... Ra4 $1) 28. Qe3 $1 Re6 29. Qb3 Kh8 30. e4 (30. Nf3 $142 Bf6 31. e3) 30... f4 $6 (30... Bf6 $142) 31. Nf3 Ra8 32. Rdc1 $2 (32. g4 $1 $16 {/+-} h6 33. g5 $1 $18) 32... h6 $14 33. g4 Bc7 34. Qc2 (34. g5 $142 Bd8 $1 35. gxh6 Rxh6 36. Re5 $14) 34... Bb6 $11 35. Rxc6 {Steering towards a draw.} (35. Rf5 $11 {would keep the game going.}) 35... Rxa2 36. Qxa2 Rxc6 37. Rxc6 Qxc6 38. e5 b4 39. Qf7 Qc5 40. Kh3 Qxf2 41. Qe8+ Kh7 42. Ng5+ hxg5 (42... hxg5 43. Qh5+ Kg8 44. Qe8+ Kh7 45. Qh5+ $11) 1/2-1/2 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.21"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2792"] [BlackElo "2772"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,81,20,17,13,-17,-14,-14,-5,-45,-12,-12,-8,-9,14,14,14,14,10,1,25,25, 29,29,23,26,65,10,26,16,38,32,39,30,53,53,51,5,24,31,31,0,40,35,30,28,27,29,37, -1,-1,18,43,32,40,21,15,15,18,18,30,0,0,0,6,6,-25,-67,-67,-51,-66,-66,-66,-88, -93,-125,-58,-53,-39,-39,-8,-351,-351,-322]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 {Lines with an early b3, even on move 1, have been popular (at the top level) for years now - but almost exclusively in rapid and blitz. It's good to see someone trying it in a "real" game.} Bf5 3. Bb2 e6 4. g3 h6 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. O-O Be7 7. d3 O-O 8. Nbd2 a5 9. a3 c6 10. Re1 Bh7 11. e4 Nbd7 12. Qe2 Qb6 ({Black also goes for setups with} 12... b5 {, either immediately or in the near future, e.g.}) ( 12... Rc8 13. h4 b5 14. Bh3 Qb6 {1/2-1/2 (50) Larino Nieto,D (2461)-Shankland, S (2691) chess24.com INT 2020}) 13. a4 (13. e5 Ne8 14. h4 a4 15. b4 c5 16. Bc3 Nc7 17. bxc5 Bxc5 18. d4 Be7 19. Reb1 Qc6 20. Bb4 Bxb4 21. Rxb4 b5 22. Rc1 Rfb8 23. Qe3 Na6 24. Rbb1 b4 25. Bf1 Ra7 26. Ne1 Qa8 27. Ra1 Nc7 28. axb4 Rxb4 29. Ra3 Nb5 30. Bxb5 Rxb5 31. Rca1 Nb6 32. Nd3 Nc4 33. Nxc4 dxc4 34. Ne1 Be4 35. f3 Bc6 36. Ng2 Rb2 37. Qc3 Rab7 38. Ne3 Rb1+ 39. Kf2 Rxa1 40. Qxa1 Qa6 41. Qc3 Bd5 42. Qa1 Ra7 43. Nxd5 exd5 44. Qb1 Ra8 45. c3 h5 46. Qb4 Qg6 47. Qb2 Qd3 48. Qe2 Qf5 49. Kg2 g6 50. Qb2 Kg7 51. Ra2 a3 52. Rxa3 Rxa3 53. Qxa3 Qc2+ 54. Kf1 Qd1+ 55. Kf2 Qd2+ 56. Kf1 Qd1+ 57. Kf2 Qd2+ 58. Kf1 Qd1+ {1/2-1/2 (58) Radjabov,T (2765)-Ding,L (2791) chess24.com INT 2020}) (13. Rab1 {This is the most common move, but judging by the results and the engine's evaluation, not the best one. } Rfd8 14. h3 Qa6 15. e5 Ne8 16. Bf1 Nc7 17. Qe3 b5 18. Qf4 c5 19. a4 b4 20. Rbc1 Nb8 21. h4 Nc6 22. Nh2 Qa7 23. Ng4 Bf8 24. Nf3 Rd7 25. h5 Rad8 26. Ne3 c4 27. bxc4 dxc4 28. Qxc4 Ne7 29. d4 Ncd5 30. Qb3 Nxe3 31. fxe3 Bf5 32. Nd2 Rc7 33. Nc4 Bg4 34. Nd6 Qb8 35. Nb5 Rc6 36. Bg2 Nd5 37. Bxd5 exd5 38. c4 dxc4 39. Qc2 c3 40. Qe4 Bd7 41. Ba1 Rc4 42. Rf1 Bxb5 43. axb5 Qxb5 44. e6 fxe6 45. Qxe6+ Kh8 46. Rf7 Rcc8 47. d5 a4 48. Rcf1 a3 49. g4 Qd3 50. g5 Re8 51. g6 Bc5 52. d6 Bxd6 53. Qd7 Qxe3+ 54. Kh1 Qe4+ 55. Kg1 Bc5+ 56. Kh2 Qh4+ 57. Kg2 Qg5+ 58. Kh3 Qxh5+ 59. Kg3 {0-1 (59) Nakamura,H (2736)-Ding,L (2791) chess24.com INT 2020}) 13... Rfc8 $146 14. Rac1 Bc5 (14... Nc5) (14... Bb4) 15. e5 Ne8 16. Nf1 Qd8 17. Ne3 Nc7 18. Kh1 $2 {The beginning of the see-saw. To be honest, I don't understand the purpose of this slow move. To play Ng1 and then f4? To clear g1 for the rook, which could come in handy as part of a buildup involving an eventual f4, g4, and f5? To avoid a ...Bxf2 desperado coming with check in some line? A fourth possibility is that he believes that Black is in a sort of zugzwang, and whatever plan Black starts to implement will allow White to wrong-foot him (i.e. to exploit the concession made by that move). If that was Caruana's hope, it was entirely wrong-headed, as Black's next move makes very concrete progress without any real drawbacks.} (18. c4 $11) 18... b5 $17 19. Nd4 {The "exploitation", perhaps, but it doesn't work.} bxa4 $1 ({Frankly, even the "concessive"} 19... Bxd4 20. Bxd4 bxa4 21. bxa4 c5 22. Ba1 Rab8 $17 { is excellent for Black, so 18.Kh1 was just bad.}) 20. bxa4 $6 (20. Nxc6 $142 Qe8 21. bxa4 (21. c4 {is better, but not good.} Bxe3 22. Qxe3 Nf8 23. Nd4 axb3 $19 24. Nxb3 $4 Rcb8 {and it's time for White to resign.}) 21... Nb6 22. Nd4 Nxa4 $19) 20... Nb6 $6 (20... Na6 $1 $19) 21. Ra1 Na6 $19 22. Nb3 Be7 (22... Bxe3 $142 23. fxe3 c5 24. Nxa5 Qe7 $19 {Aimed against Nb7-d6. Now Black intends ...Nb4, when he will regain the pawn and enjoy what should be an overwhelming initiative on the queenside.}) 23. f4 $17 Qd7 $2 (23... Nc5 { was a better way to handle the general threat of f4-f5.} 24. Nxc5 Bxc5 25. g4 Rcb8 26. Nd1 Nd7 27. Rf1 Rb7 (27... Rb4 $5 28. Bc3 Bd4 $17) 28. f5 Rab8 $17) 24. f5 $1 $14 {Anyway. Now White is better, as he now enjoys an initiative thanks to Black's delays on the queenside.} exf5 (24... Bf8 $142) 25. Qf3 $16 Nc5 26. Nxc5 Bxc5 27. d4 $2 {White wants to play Bh3 without allowing ...Bxe3, but it was better to keep the c4 square controlled and to maintain the option of e5-e6 to blast open the long diagonal. (The latter is especially appealing once Black plays ...Bxe3.)} (27. Bh3 $1 Bxe3 28. Qxe3 Rab8 29. e6 $1 fxe6 30. Qxe6+ Qxe6 31. Rxe6 $16) 27... Be7 (27... Bf8 $142) 28. Bh3 g6 $2 (28... Nc4 $1 29. Nxf5 Kh8 30. Bc1 $14) 29. g4 $1 $18 {Of course! White is going to rip open as many lines as he can on the kingside. Now Black is in deep trouble.} f4 { Absolutely forced. Black must keep the kingside as closed as he can.} 30. g5 $1 (30. Qxf4 $2 g5 $1 31. Qg3 Nc4 $1 $11 {/+/= solves most if not all of Black's problems.}) 30... Qa7 31. Bxc8 $2 {Time trouble?} (31. Ng4 $1 Bxg5 32. Bc1 $1 h5 33. Nf6+ Bxf6 34. exf6 Re8 35. Bxf4 $18 {Black is quite lost here. White doesn't have an immediate win, but then he doesn't need one, as Black's dark squares on the kingside are irreparably weak.}) 31... fxe3 32. e6 $1 {Caruana probably "felt" that this was going to win the game, but after the forced} Bxg5 {White's control over the kingside has evaporated. He is still "up" the exchange, but since Black has two pawns for it that's a dubious way of speaking. Fortunately, he still has enough activity to draw, but not more than that.} 33. Bd7 $2 {Not anymore.} (33. exf7+ Qxf7 34. Qxf7+ Kxf7 35. Bb7 Rd8 36. Ba6 (36. Bxc6 $6 Nc4 37. Bc1 Bf4 $15) 36... Bf4 $11) 33... fxe6 34. Bxe6+ $6 ( 34. Bxc6 $142 Rf8 35. Qg4 Rf5 36. Bb5 $17 {/-+}) 34... Kh8 $19 35. Ba3 (35. Bc1 Nc4 36. Bxe3 Bxe3 37. Rxe3 Nxe3 38. Qxe3 g5 $19) 35... Nc4 36. Bc5 Qg7 (36... Qc7) 37. Qg4 Bf6 $2 {Back on the seesaw.} (37... Nd2 $19) (37... Re8 $19) 38. Rab1 $1 g5 39. Bf5 Re8 $6 (39... Bxf5 $142 40. Qxf5 Qf7 $17) 40. Rb6 $4 { The last move of the time control. Perhaps Caruana didn't have the time to find something he found fully satisfactory, but this is just some kind of blackout, missing a literal one-mover.} (40. Qh5 $1 Rg8 41. Rf1 Bg6 42. Bxg6 Qxg6 43. Qxg6 Rxg6 $11) 40... Nxb6 41. Bxb6 Bxf5 42. Qxf5 Bxd4 {White has no compensation for the lost pawns; to the contrary, his position is a catastrophe. The rest is simple (and undoubtedly pure bliss for Giri).} 43. Bxa5 Bc3 44. Bxc3 Qxc3 45. Kg2 Qd2+ 46. Kf1 Kg7 47. Qd7+ Kf6 48. Qd6+ (48. Qxc6+ Re6 {brings the (sensible) checks to an immediate end.}) 48... Kf5 49. Qd7+ Re6 50. Qh7+ Kg4 51. Qf7 Re4 (51... Re4 52. Re2 (52. Qd7+ Kh4 {puts an end to the checks.}) 52... Rf4+ (52... Qd1+ 53. Re1 Qf3+ {is a very simple alternative (and there were plenty of others along the way), in case anyone wants to pretend that Caruana saw the main line of this variation when playing 40.Rb6 but miscalculated by a tempo. It doesn't work like that - it was just a one-move blunder, which can happen to anyone, albeit extremely rarely when speaking of "anyones" like Caruana.} 54. Qxf3+ Kxf3 55. Ra1 Rh4 ({ Alternatively, Black can win in slow motion:} 55... Re7 56. a5 Ra7 57. a6 c5 $19 {followed by creating a second (and a third) passed pawn. White is really, really, really dead.}) 56. a5 Rxh2 57. Kg1 Rg2+ 58. Kh1 Kf2 59. a6 Rg4 60. a7 Rh4#) 53. Qxf4+ gxf4 54. Rxd2 exd2 55. Ke2 f3+ 56. Kxd2 Kh3 57. a5 f2 {lets Black queen and have the tempo he needs to grab White's a-pawn.}) 0-1 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.21"] [Round "6.6"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2702"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,129,20,13,33,31,1,-2,-12,12,7,-5,13,2,62,-16,2,-5,27,25,68,58,60,65, 58,37,33,25,13,14,13,19,19,9,35,20,20,20,26,32,61,41,58,36,64,43,72,71,75,71, 83,79,104,76,64,76,85,82,82,88,88,91,94,59,65,78,73,86,81,86,80,80,94,88,88,91, 91,94,102,97,103,96,100,103,112,100,124,121,123,127,126,113,107,111,113,113, 113,110,120,107,112,124,155,145,182,212,220,215,194,205,205,182,201,204,203, 213,203,199,203,203,207,208,217,203,266,265,242,253,274,250,324,369]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 {As someone who not only follows top-level chess, but has scholastic students, I've reached the saturation point when it comes to the Italian Game. So while there will be exceptions, I've decided that life is too short to analyze the Giuoco any more than necessary, and this isn't a case where it's necessary. See the note on move 24, and I'll see you in the next game.} 5. c3 d6 6. O-O a5 7. Re1 Ba7 8. Na3 h6 9. Nb5 Bb8 10. d4 O-O 11. h3 Re8 12. Bd3 Ne7 13. c4 Ng6 14. Be3 c6 15. Nc3 Ba7 16. Qd2 Nh5 17. Bf1 Qf6 18. d5 Bxe3 19. Qxe3 c5 20. g3 a4 21. Nd2 Qg5 22. Nb5 Rd8 23. Qxg5 hxg5 24. b4 {White is winning here, in what looks like a fantasy King's Indian for White. (Yes, there's no pawn on g6, I know, but much of the structure closely resembles the KID.) The win did not transpire in a straight line, but it's not surprising that Karjakin wound up with the full point.} b6 25. Rab1 Kf8 26. Re3 Ke7 27. Nc7 Ra7 28. Nb5 Ra8 29. Ra3 Bd7 30. Nc3 Ra7 31. b5 Rda8 32. Be2 Nf6 33. Kg2 Kd8 34. Rh1 Kc7 35. Bd1 Ng8 36. Rxa4 Rxa4 37. Bxa4 Nh6 38. Bd1 Ra3 39. Ndb1 Ra8 40. a4 f6 41. Nd2 Ng8 42. Nf1 N8e7 43. Ne3 Rh8 44. Bg4 Bxg4 45. Nxg4 Ra8 46. Ne3 Rh8 47. Ra1 Ra8 48. Nb1 Nf8 49. Nd2 Nd7 50. Nb3 Rh8 51. a5 bxa5 52. Rxa5 Nc8 53. Ra6 Ndb6 54. Na5 Rf8 55. Nf5 Rf7 56. h4 gxh4 57. Nxh4 Rf8 58. Kh3 Rh8 59. Kg2 Rh7 60. Ng6 Nd7 61. Nc6 Ndb6 62. Nf8 Rh8 63. Ne6+ Kd7 64. Na7 Nxc4 65. Rc6 1-0 [Event "84th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2022.01.21"] [Round "6.7"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2612"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2022.01.15"] {[%evp 0,55,13,1,55,48,48,52,36,38,32,47,63,47,46,40,31,45,45,45,52,43,27,43, 36,34,47,38,29,29,38,33,81,76,68,42,60,36,108,73,79,79,97,53,87,95,107,101,6,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 Ne7 9. c4 Ng6 10. Qa4 Bd7 11. Qb4 Qb8 12. h4 h5 13. Be2 a6 14. Nc3 Be7 (14... Ne7 {followed by ...Nf5 is the most commonly chosen approach, with good results despite the engine's disdain.}) 15. g3 b5 $1 16. cxb5 (16. a4 bxc4 17. Qxb8+ Rxb8 18. Bxc4 Bc8 19. a5 f5 20. Rb1 Rb4 21. b3 e4 22. Ba3 Rb8 23. Na4 f4 24. Nb6 Bg4 25. Bxa6 O-O 26. Be2 Ne5 27. gxf4 Nd3+ 28. Bxd3 exd3 29. Bc1 Bf6 30. Kd2 Bd4 31. f3 Bxf3 32. Rh3 Bg4 33. Rxd3 Bxb6 34. axb6 Bf5 35. Bb2 Bxd3 36. Kxd3 Rxb6 37. Bd4 Rb7 38. Be3 Rfb8 39. Kc4 Rb4+ 40. Kc3 Kf7 41. Bd4 Kg6 42. Rg1+ Kf5 43. Bxg7 Rxb3+ 44. Kc2 R3b5 45. Rg5+ Ke4 46. Rxh5 Rc8+ 47. Kd2 Rbc5 48. Rg5 Rc1 {0-1 (48) Pasti,A (2411)-Lagarde,M (2632) Cattolica 2022}) 16... axb5 17. Nxb5 O-O 18. a4 (18. O-O $146 f5 {followed by . ..f4 gives Black obvious compensation and counterplay.}) 18... f5 19. Bxh5 (19. Bd2 $146 f4 20. Ra3) 19... Bxb5 20. Bxg6 Bd8 21. Qb3 $146 {A new move, though not as good as the move it supplanted. Now the game finishes in an immediate draw. A surprising failure of prep by Shankland, whose tournament has not been so bad that it's time for him to pack it in and make such draws with the white pieces.} (21. Bd2 Qb7 22. Qb3 Qb6 23. Qc3 ({The weird-looking} 23. Rh2 { is the way to continue, with a very slight edge after} Bxa4 24. Qxb6 Bxb6 25. Bb4 Bd4 26. f4 {, and now you see the point of 23.Rh2. As I said, however, it's not much:} Bb3 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28. Bxd6 exf4 29. Bxf4 Ra1+ 30. Kd2 Bxb2 31. Kd3 Rd1+ $8 32. Bd2 Rg1 33. Bxf5 Bxd5 34. Be3 {and this extra pawn is not going to lead to anything at the GM level.}) 23... Qb7 24. Qb3 Qb6 25. Qc3 Qb7 {1/2-1/2 (25) Arjun,K (2503)-Ivic,V (2571) Riga 2021}) 21... Ba5+ 22. Bd2 Bxd2+ 23. Kxd2 Qa7 24. Qe3 Qa5+ 25. Qc3 Qb6 26. Qe3 Qa5+ 27. Qc3 Qb6 28. Qe3 1/2-1/2