[Event "FIDE Grand Prix 2 Pool D"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.01"] [Round "1.8"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Predke, Alexandr"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C93"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2682"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Re8 10. d4 Bb7 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. a3 h6 13. Bc2 Nb8 14. b3 Nbd7 15. Bb2 Rc8 ({In the game against Firouzja, Predke chose} 15... Rb8 16. Rb1 g6 17. Bd3 c6 18. Qc2 Nh5 19. Bf1 Ng7 20. dxe5 dxe5 21. c4 Rc8 22. Rbd1 Qe7 23. c5 Nxc5 24. Nxe5 Nd7 25. Ndc4 Nxe5 26. Nxe5 Red8 27. Qc3 h5 28. Rxd8 Qxd8 29. Re3 Rc7 30. Rd3 Qe7 31. Qd2 Bc8 32. f4 c5 33. Rf3 Ne6 34. a4 Nd4 35. Bxd4 cxd4 36. axb5 axb5 37. Bxb5 Qb4 38. Qxb4 Bxb4 39. Bc4 Kg7 40. Rf2 Ra7 41. Nc6 Ra1+ 42. Rf1 Rxf1+ 43. Kxf1 Bd2 44. Ke2 Bxf4 45. Kd3 Bd7 46. Nxd4 g5 47. Kc3 Be5 48. Be2 g4 49. hxg4 hxg4 50. Kc4 Kf6 51. Kd5 Bc8 52. b4 Bb7+ 53. Nc6 g3 54. b5 Bc7 55. Kc5 Kg5 56. e5 Kf4 57. Bf3 Ke3 58. b6 Bb8 59. Nxb8 Bxf3 60. Nc6 Bxg2 61. b7 Be4 62. b8=Q g2 63. Qb2 {1-0 (63) Firouzja,A (2770)-Predke,A (2666) Riga 2021}) 16. a4 Rb8 (16... c6 {could also be considered.}) ({Less accurate is} 16... b4 $6 17. cxb4 exd4 {was played in Topalov,V (2761)-Ding,L (2755) Saint Louis 2016 where White could have claimed a clear advantage with} 18. Nxd4 {.}) 17. axb5 ({ In an email game, White had previously tried} 17. Ba3 {which also seems to offer White an edge.}) 17... axb5 18. Bd3 d5 ({Very combative and complex.} 18... c6 {was more solid.}) 19. dxe5 $2 ({A bizarre blunder by MVL who is now in serious trouble. It would have been better to play} 19. exd5 Nxd5 ({if} 19... exd4 {then} 20. Rxe8 Qxe8 21. Nxd4 Bxd5 22. Nxb5 {would have offered White the better chances.}) 20. dxe5 b4 21. cxb4 Nf4 22. Bf1 Bxb4 23. Re3 { and White has a very small plus.}) 19... dxe4 20. Nxe4 Nxe5 21. Nxe5 Rxe5 22. Qb1 ({Essentially the only move. After} 22. Nxf6+ Qxf6 23. Rxe5 Qxe5 {, Black is more or less winning.}) 22... Bxe4 23. Bxe4 Rxe4 24. Rxe4 Nxe4 25. Qxe4 Qd2 26. Rb1 Bc5 ({Around here, Black seems at loss for the right way forward. The computer indicates} 26... Rb6 $1 {as best although Black would then after} 27. c4 {have to find the less than obvious} Qb4 $1 {and White should praise himself lucky if he does not lose both queenside pawns $1} ({not} 27... bxc4 28. Qxc4 {which seems to hold for White})) 27. Qf5 Be7 ({The beginning of the wrong plan. Both} 27... Bd6 $5) ({and particularly} 27... Bf8 $1 {would have been better options.}) 28. Ba1 Bf6 $2 ({Black follows his plan from the previous move but it allows White to escape into a pawn-down rook ending that is easy for White to hold. The last winning chance was offered in} 28... Qa2 29. Re1 Bf8 {with clearly better chances for Black}) 29. c4 $1 {Now White escapes.} Bxa1 30. Rxa1 bxc4 31. bxc4 Qc3 32. Rd1 Qxc4 33. Rd7 Re8 34. Kh2 c6 35. Rc7 Qe6 {Not a move Black wanted to play as the departure of the queens makes White's defensive task easy.} 36. Qxe6 Rxe6 37. f4 g6 38. g4 Kf8 39. Kg2 Re2+ 40. Kf3 Rc2 41. h4 $1 {White plays to reduce the pawns on the kingside, securing an easy draw.} Rc4 42. h5 Kg7 43. hxg6 Kxg6 44. Rd7 Rc1 45. Rd6+ Kg7 46. Kg3 c5 47. Rc6 Rc3+ 48. Kh4 Rc4 49. Kg3 Rc1 50. Kh4 $1 c4 51. g5 hxg5+ 52. Kxg5 c3 53. Kf5 c2 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.01"] [Round "1.7"] [White "Yu Yangyi"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2713"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] {[%evp 0,71,19,28,20,25,17,9,2,20,7,8,2,0,0,0,17,-14,-17,-15,-20,-43,-48,-27, -28,-27,5,6,-8,-8,-16,-16,6,-1,16,24,43,40,34,34,27,21,21,21,20,14,17,5,0,6,12, 10,7,13,12,5,6,5,7,0,0,0,0,0,5,3,1,6,6,9,8,3,0,4]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. h4 Qe6 9. Nd2 d6 ({ The main line and probably better move is} 9... a5 {which is considered completely okay for Black.}) 10. exd6 Bxd6 11. Nc4 Bc5 12. a3 O-O 13. Qxe6 Bxe6 14. Bd3 Rfe8 ({Black has also tried} 14... a5 15. O-O Rfb8 16. Ne5 Rb6 17. Nc4 Rbb8 18. Ne5 Rb6 19. Nc4 Rb7 20. Ne5 f6 21. Nc4 Nb6 $11 {which was equal in Tsydypov,Z (2552)-Deac,B (2625) Lichess.org INT 2021, a game that ended in a draw after 60 moves.}) 15. O-O Nf6 (15... a5 16. Ne5 Bc8 17. Nc4 Be6 18. Re1 Nb6 19. Ne5 Bd5 20. Be3 Bd6 21. Bd4 c5 22. Bc3 c4 23. Bf1 Na4 24. Bd4 c5 { 1/2-1/2 (38) Caruana,F (2828)-Robson,R (2667) Saint Louis 2019}) 16. Be3 Bb6 17. Nxb6 cxb6 18. Rfe1 Nd7 19. Rad1 Ne5 20. Bf1 Bc4 21. b3 $6 ({White should have tried} 21. Bd4 $1 Bxf1 22. Kxf1 Ng6 23. h5 Nf4 {and now} 24. h6 $1 { would have given White a nice plus.}) 21... Bxf1 22. Kxf1 f6 23. Rd6 (23. a4 { to attack on the queenside seemed better, threatening to play a4-a5 later.}) 23... Rad8 24. Red1 Rxd6 25. Rxd6 Kf7 {Now Black is in safe territory.} 26. Bf4 c5 27. a4 Re6 28. Bxe5 Rxe5 29. Rd7+ Re7 30. Rd8 Kg6 31. Rd5 Re4 32. g3 c4 33. a5 cxb3 34. cxb3 bxa5 35. Rxa5 Rb4 36. Rxa7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.01"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2704"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] {[%evp 0,75,29,27,31,-10,-15,-11,28,-10,-17,-10,-8,-23,-7,-7,6,-28,-33,-35,-22, -49,-37,-50,-42,-34,-28,-13,-4,-13,-3,-21,-32,-25,-8,-17,16,20,29,28,28,-15, -25,22,0,21,-3,-5,-6,18,19,67,60,45,65,58,66,20,66,56,59,66,56,60,86,77,89,89, 57,79,67,76,63,76,68,58,66,4]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b6 7. Bg5 Bb7 8. e3 h6 9. Bh4 Re8 (9... d6 10. Ne2 Nbd7 {is more normal and probably best.}) 10. Ne2 d6 11. Rd1 Nbd7 12. Qc2 g5 $6 {This pawn push seems a little too optimistic, especially with White not yet having castled and thus having the option to play on the kingside with either h2-h4 or f2-f3 at some point.} 13. Bg3 Be4 14. Qc1 e5 15. h4 g4 16. h5 Qe7 17. Nc3 ({ Or} 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Bh4 Ned7 19. Nd4 Qe5 20. Bg3 Qg5 21. Bf4 Qg7 {and White seems to have a clear advantage on account of his better pawn structure and bishop pair while Black really does not have much going for him.}) 17... Qf8 $6 ({Probably another less than accurate move. The engine suggests} 17... Qe6 18. Nb5 Rec8 {as a better choice for Black.}) 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. Bh4 $1 Ned7 ({ Of course,} 19... Nxh5 $4 {cannot be played because of} 20. Nxe4 {.}) 20. Be2 Qg7 21. Kf1 ({Or} 21. Rd4 Re5 22. Qd1 {with a clear advantage for White.}) 21... Re5 22. Bg3 Rf5 23. Kg1 Re8 24. Rd4 Nc5 25. Qd1 Nxh5 26. Bh4 {White has sacrificed a pawn, but Black's position seems at the verge of collapse. Therefore, he went for a reduction of material in a very aggressive fashion...} Bf3 $5 {Wow $1 Black's only chance to stay in the game.} 27. Rxg4 $1 Qxg4 28. Bxf3 Rxf3 29. Qxf3 Qxf3 30. gxf3 {White has won the pawn back, has a space advantage and the relatively better pawn structure as well as a bishop which with all of Black's pawns on dark squares could become a wonderful asset. Unfortunately for White, he had used a lot of time and was heading into serious time trouble.} c6 31. Kg2 Re6 32. Rd1 ({It was better to play} 32. b4 Rg6+ 33. Kf1 Nd7 34. f4 {when White has excellent winning chances.}) 32... f5 33. Ne2 Nb3 34. Bg3 $6 ({Short on time, Rapport starts playing imprecisely.} 34. Kh3 c5 35. Bd8 Na5 36. Kh4 {would have offered White reasonable winning chances.}) 34... Rg6 35. Kh3 Na5 36. Rc1 c5 37. b4 Nc6 38. bxc5 $2 ({With only two seconds on the clock White played this move and offered a draw which was accepted, which seems entirely reasonable.} 38. Bh2 Ng7 39. Nf4 Rg5 40. Nd5 { would still have offered White good chances in the endgame.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.01"] [Round "1.6"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2704"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Qd3 $5 {Like the Qd3 in the Harikrishna-Vitiugov game, this move was played by Spaniards GM Vallejo Pons & GM Anton Guijarro. It is still relatively rare, although it has been played by Magnus Carlsen as well as other top grandmasters.} Nbd7 ({The main alternative is} 6... g6 {which would the game in the direction of a Dragon Variation.}) 7. Be2 b5 8. Nd5 ({A new move $1} 8. a4 $5 {was played in Van Foreest,J (2671)-Grandelius,$146 (2663) Wijk aan Zee 2021.}) 8... Bb7 9. a4 Nc5 10. Nxf6+ gxf6 11. Qe3 bxa4 12. f3 e5 $6 ({True to his nature, Shirov plays very direct and very aggressive. It would have been more solid to opt for} 12... e6 13. O-O Bg7 {with chances to both sides.}) 13. Nf5 d5 14. exd5 $6 ({ Obvious but not best, after} 14. O-O {would would have gotten the king to relative safety.}) 14... Qxd5 15. Qf2 e4 $2 ({This advance is a little too aggressive. It would have been better to play} 15... Rg8 16. Be3 Rc8 {when Black through his active pieces would have had excellent counterplay.}) 16. Ne3 ({Dropping the knight on this square seems appealing as it provides an anchor for the bishop to move to c4 or possibly jump to c4 itself. However,} 16. Ng3 { was possibly best, e.g.,} exf3 17. Bxf3 {which looks comfortably better for White until we look at the engine's suggestion which continues} Qe5+ 18. Be3 Bh6 19. Ra3 O-O-O ({or} 19... Nb3 20. Bxb7 Bxe3 21. Qf5 Qxb2 22. Rxb3 axb3 23. Bxa8 Qxc2 {which the computer assesses as clearly better for White... hmm $1}) 20. O-O Bxe3 21. Rxe3 Qxb2 22. Nf5 {and White has the upper hand on account of Black's vulnerable king.}) 16... Qc6 $6 (16... Qe6 17. Bc4 Qd7 {was relatively better.}) 17. O-O O-O-O 18. Nc4 Qe6 19. b3 $5 (19. Na5 $5) 19... axb3 20. cxb3 ({The friendly engine generously offers} 20. Ra5 $1 {as an improvement but that just looks crazy from a human perspective.}) 20... Nxb3 21. Nb6+ Kb8 $2 ({ Somewhat surprisingly, the always tactically adept Shirov missed a great defensive tactic; it was best to play} 21... Qxb6 $3 22. Qxb6 Bc5+ 23. Qxc5+ Nxc5 24. fxe4 Rhg8 {with good chances of saving a draw or Black in the endgame. }) 22. Bf4+ Bd6 23. Bc4 Qe8 $4 ({A simple blunder. The interference move} 23... e3 {would have kept Black in the game, for instance,} 24. Qa2 Qf5 25. Bxd6+ Rxd6 26. Qxb3 e2 {followed by ...Qc5+ and Black has survival chances.}) 24. Bxd6+ Rxd6 25. Bxb3 {White has won a piece.} Rg8 26. Nc4 Rd3 27. Bc2 exf3 28. g3 Rc3 29. Na5 Qe2 30. Bxh7 {Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.03.01"] [Round "1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Tabatabaei, M. Amin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C24"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2643"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. h3 d5 {In the past, such aggression was deemed premature; however, the strong computers nowadays prove over and over that practically anything can be played.} 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Nbd2 Be6 9. Ne4 Bb6 {Tabatabaei chooses to stay on the more active diagonal while still blitzing. Giri's next move, though, made him revise his beliefs about the situation.} (9... Be7 10. Nfg5 Bxg5 11. Nxg5 Qd6 12. Nxe6 Qxe6 13. f4 {Guadamuro Torrente,A (2107)-Tamajon Castilla,F (1960) Campillos 2007}) 10. b4 $146 {Quite a novelty $1 Giri is coming armed to the teeth for the game. White attacks the opponent's center from the flank, while opening the long diagonal for the bishop.} ({The predecessor saw:} 10. a4 f6 11. b4 a6 12. a5 Ba7 13. Bd2 Kh8 14. Re1 Nce7 15. Nc5 Bxc5 16. bxc5 Bf7 {with White eventually emerging victorious in Nepomniachtchi,I (2773)-Abdusattorov,$146 (2651) chess24. com INT 2022}) ({Please note that the immediate assault} 10. Nfg5 Bf5 11. Qf3 { is parried by the simple and effective} Nd4 $1) 10... Ndxb4 ({After} 10... Ncxb4 {White likely did not intend to take the pawn at once with} 11. Nxe5 { due to} ({However, without the black knight close to the center, the maneuver} 11. Nfg5 $1 Bf5 12. Qf3 {makes perfect sense as} Bg6 {is bad due to} 13. c3 { when White wins a piece} Nc6 14. Bxd5 Qxd5 15. Nf6+) 11... Bd4) 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. Rb1 {As a result of his fruitful preparation, Giri managed to spoil the opponent's pawn structure, and besides the weakness of the e-pawns, he can also enjoy a powerful attacking outpost on the e4-square.} h6 {Tabatabaei decided to part with the extra pawn at once.} ({However, it made sense to keep it, at least for the time being, especially when} 12... Nd5 $5 13. Nfg5 { does not yield White anything significant in the line} Qe7 14. Qg4 Nf6) 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Rxb4 a5 {This looks suspicious. Why voluntarily weaken the queenside $2} ({Both} 14... Qd7 $5) ({And even the immediate} 14... Qh4 $5 { looked better, as White has no way of exploiting the x-raying power of the rook.}) 15. Rb1 Qh4 {Black does not have enough power to create trouble on the kingside, and after some preparation, Giri starts to show who is in charge.} 16. Qe2 Rad8 ({The drawbacks of the queenside weakening may easily start to be felt. For example, the obvious} 16... Rf7 {leads to White's huge edge after} 17. Rxb6 $1 cxb6 18. Nd6) 17. Kh2 Qe7 18. f4 Nd7 19. Rf3 {The white pieces constantly find beautiful working places.} Nf6 20. Bd2 (20. Rb5 $5 {to provoke another weakness also made sense.}) 20... Qa3 21. Nc3 ({The other way to play it was} 21. Bc3 Nxe4 22. dxe4 Qa4 23. Rg3) 21... Rde8 22. Qe5 $1 {A very neat queen maneuver $1} Nd7 23. Qb5 Qe7 (23... c6 24. Qc4 {is actually what White wants.}) (23... Re7 24. Qc4) 24. Qc4 {The queen is perfect on the c4-square. Once the black queen has been removed from the active position, White can start working on the enemy's weaknesses.} Kh8 25. Ne4 c6 {And, as strange as it sounds, this is a decisive weakening. It is, however, difficult to find a way to avoid this move.} 26. d4 $1 {Tabatabaei might have missed this. The kingside rook immediately rushes toward the now weak b7-pawn.} ({Black probably expected something along the line of} 26. Bc3 Kh7 27. Rg3 Rf7 { and here, too, Black suffers.}) 26... Rb8 27. Rfb3 Qd8 28. Qxe6 Bxd4 29. Rxb7 { Plain and simple, White nets a pawn.} ({Aparently, Giri did not like the complications after} 29. Rd3 c5 30. c3 Nf6 31. cxd4 ({But there is a winning move in this line for White.} 31. Nd6 $1) 31... Re8) 29... Rxb7 30. Rxb7 Nc5 31. Nxc5 Bxc5 32. Rd7 Qf6 33. Qxf6 Rxf6 34. Bc3 {This was a bit rushy though.} ({The patient} 34. Kg3 $1 Bb4 35. Be3 {would have saved White some energy.}) 34... Rxf4 35. Bxg7+ Kg8 36. Bxh6 Ra4 37. g4 $1 {The quality of the pawns is by far more important than their quantity.} Rxa2 38. g5 Rxc2+ 39. Kg3 {The white pawns are moving fast while threatening mate and, therefore, Black's position remains gloomy.} Be3 ({Nothing changes.} 39... Rc4 40. g6 Rd4 41. Rg7+ Kh8 42. Rf7 Kg8 43. h4) 40. Rd8+ Kh7 41. Kg4 Rd2 42. Re8 Bc5 43. Kh5 Rd5 44. Ra8 Bd4 45. h4 Bc3 46. Bf8 $1 {Takes the sixth rank under control.} (46. Rc8 Rd6 47. Kg4 {should have worked too.}) 46... Bd4 47. Rc8 a4 ({Or else} 47... c5 48. Rc7+ Kg8 49. Be7) 48. Ra8 c5 49. Rxa4 Rd8 50. Ra7+ Kg8 51. Be7 Rc8 52. Kg6 ({The other winning way was} 52. Bf6 $1 Bxf6 53. gxf6 c4 54. Kg6 c3 55. Rg7+ Kf8 56. Rh7 {when White is also in time.}) 52... c4 53. Rd7 $1 {Everything is well calculated, Giri is in time to capture the black rook.} Bh8 ({Or mate in case of} 53... Bb2 54. Bf6 c3 55. Rh7) 54. Bf6 c3 55. Rh7 Bxf6 56. gxf6 Rc6 57. Rd7 Rc8 58. Rg7+ {PLAY CHESS, NOT WAR.} 1-0 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.01"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Vitiugov, Nikita"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B45"] [WhiteElo "2719"] [BlackElo "2726"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Qd3 {This relatively rare move was originally introduced by the Spanish GM Romero Holmes, but has been played several times in recent years, including by Caruana in the Candidates tournament.} d5 ({The main line is} 6... Qc7 7. Ndb5 Qb8 8. Qg3 d6 { which is pleasant for White.}) 7. exd5 Nb4 8. Qg3 ({The aforementioned game by Caruana went} 8. Qc4 Nbxd5 9. Bg5 Bb4 10. Bd3 Bd7 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Rc8 13. Qb3 Qb6 14. Qxb6 Nxb6 15. a4 h6 {and Black had equalized in Caruana,F (2842) -Grischuk,A (2777) Ekaterinburg 2021; the game was eventually drawn in 65 moves.}) 8... Bc5 9. a3 Nbxd5 10. Bb5+ Kf8 11. Nde2 Bd7 12. Bxd7 Qxd7 13. Nxd5 $4 ({The first new move and, unfortunately for White, a massive blunder.} 13. O-O Rd8 14. b4 Bd6 15. Qf3 Be5 16. Bb2 Qc6 17. Rad1 {would have given White an advantage as in Tari,A (2639)-Vidit,S (2726) chess24.com INT 2021.}) 13... Ne4 $1 {Harikrishna had undoubtedly only accounted for Black recapturing on d5. Now he is almost lost.} 14. Qb3 $2 ({White makes a second mistake. It was necessary to play} 14. Qd3 {although} Bxf2+ 15. Kf1 exd5 16. Nc3 Bc5 17. Qxd5 Qxd5 18. Nxd5 Rd8 19. c4 Nf2 20. Rg1 Nd3 21. Rh1 Re8 {would have been much better for Black; White is unable to get the pieces properly coordinated.}) 14... Bxf2+ 15. Kf1 exd5 {Black is winning.} 16. Be3 Qf5 17. Nd4 Qf6 18. Nf3 Bxe3 19. Qxe3 Qxb2 20. Re1 Qxc2 21. Kg1 Qc5 22. Nd4 Rc8 23. h4 h5 24. Kh2 Qd6+ {Three pawns down and with ...Rc3 to come, White ended his own suffering.} 0-1 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.01"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2642"] [BlackElo "2708"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] {[%evp 0,91,28,40,51,55,82,56,62,74,45,32,32,35,27,21,23,27,26,1,7,-5,-13,-32, 0,8,12,12,12,2,0,40,24,28,50,20,70,38,70,57,97,68,90,68,51,72,85,48,61,67,52, 43,51,56,70,76,83,38,40,63,44,43,52,28,86,19,19,19,28,-22,-26,-4,21,-43,39,35, 55,55,73,62,48,32,29,36,36,-34,7,-68,-64,-59,-58,-41,-45,-47]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. Ba4 ({In his earlier games against 3...Nd7, Bacrot has given preference to} 4. O-O a6 5. Bd3 {.}) 4... Ngf6 5. O-O a6 6. c4 e6 7. Nc3 Be7 8. d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Qc7 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Kh1 Ne5 12. Bb3 Bd7 13. f4 Nc6 14. Nf3 Rfc8 15. e5 $1 {White has a strong initiative.} Ne8 16. Bc2 g6 17. Bd2 Nb4 18. Bb3 a5 19. Nb5 Qd8 20. Bc3 d5 21. Bxb4 Bxb4 22. cxd5 Bxb5 23. Qxb5 Nc7 24. Qxb7 $2 ({A logical choice, but actually throwing away all of his advantage. White should have played} 24. Qe2 {although it would force White into the committal} a4 25. dxe6 (25. Bc4 {allows Black to equalize after} Nxd5) 25... axb3 26. exf7+ Kh8 27. a3 Bf8 28. Ng5 {with three pawns and the initiative for the piece.}) 24... Rab8 25. Qa7 Nxd5 26. Ng5 Qc7 27. Qf2 Be7 28. Ne4 $6 ({For some reason, White abstained from} 28. Bxd5 exd5 29. Nf3 Qc2 30. b3 {which seems to offer White the somewhat better chances although Black through his activity has excellent chances to defend.}) 28... Nb6 29. Nc3 Qc5 30. Qg3 $6 {White is still ambitiously playing for a win but now the initiative shifts to Black.} Kh8 $6 ({Black could have tried} 30... a4 $1 {when} 31. Nxa4 Nxa4 32. Bxa4 Rxb2 {despite having a pawn less, Black has the initiative and the upper hand.}) 31. Rae1 Qc6 ({Once more,} 31... a4 $1 {was the way to go, for instance,} 32. Bxa4 Nxa4 33. Nxa4 Qa5 34. b3 Rc2 35. Rd1 Rbc8 {, recovering the a-pawn right away and through his more active pieces pushing for more. However, White should he able to hold without too many problems.}) 32. Ne4 a4 33. Bd1 Nd5 34. Ng5 Kg8 $6 ({According to the engines, Black's best was} 34... Bxg5 35. fxg5 Kg8 { although this would look like a risky decision at the board.}) 35. b3 $6 ({ Another natural, but less than accurate move. White had option to play} 35. f5 $5 {but again, this seems very risky, as the main line,} exf5 36. Rxf5 Rxb2 37. Nxf7 Qc3 38. Nh6+ Kh8 39. Rf3 Qd2 {has to be calculated very accurately with plenty of opportunity to go wrong.}) 35... a3 36. f5 exf5 37. Rxf5 Bxg5 38. Qxg5 {White seems to have regained a solid advantage but here Shankland finds a sequence of only moves that secures equality.} Qc1 $1 39. e6 Qxg5 $1 40. exf7+ Kf8 $1 41. Rxg5 Nb4 $1 {Attacking the a-pawn and securing the necessary counterplay to get into drawing territory.} 42. Bg4 Rc2 43. Be6 Rxa2 44. Ra5 Rb2 45. Rxa3 Nc2 46. Raa1 {and draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Belgrade"] [Site "Belgrade"] [Date "2022.03.01"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Andreikin, Dmitry"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B48"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2724"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2022.03.01"] {[%evp 0,70,25,16,39,44,44,29,27,27,27,44,94,70,66,43,53,41,61,36,54,46,57,29, 53,35,45,42,42,30,47,47,67,40,61,62,55,57,35,22,49,-25,-43,-57,-66,-66,-60,-66, -75,-97,-132,-123,-109,-122,-116,-117,-118,-125,-121,-151,-115,-121,-127,-174, -174,-193,-193,-202,-202,-196,-209,-207,-212]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. a3 d6 8. f4 Qc7 9. Bd3 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Kh1 Re8 ({A rare move;} 11... Nxd4 12. Bxd4 e5 {is more common.}) 12. Qf3 Bd7 13. Rae1 Rac8 14. Qg3 Nh5 15. Qf3 ({Inviting to repeat moves or just regretting placing the queen on g3 $2 Possibly} 15. Qf2 {would have been better.}) ({ The tempting} 15. Qh3 {can be met with} Nxf4 16. Bxf4 Nxd4 {and now one long and quite crazy line runs} 17. e5 Nf5 18. Nd5 exd5 19. Bxf5 Bxf5 20. Qxf5 Qc6 21. exd6 g6 22. Qxc8 Qxc8 23. Rxe7 Rxe7 24. dxe7 Qe6 25. Bg5 f6 26. Bxf6 Qe2 27. Kg1 Qe3+ 28. Kh1 {when neither side has better than to repeat the moves. However, the odds for both players finding their way through this mess on their own is perhaps not entirely likely.}) 15... g6 (15... Nf6 {would have accepted the repetition or allowed Grischuk to choose another square for the queen.}) 16. f5 $6 ({White should probably have given preference to} 16. Qf2 $5 {, for instance,} Nf6 17. h3 Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Bc6 19. f5 {with a strong initiative for White.}) 16... Ne5 ({Natural but probably not the most accurate; with} 16... Bf6 {Black seemed to have better chances of neutralizing White's pressure, for instance,} 17. fxg6 fxg6 18. Nxc6 Bxc6 19. g4 Bxc3 20. bxc3 Rf8 21. Qe2 Ng7 {with chances to both sides.}) 17. Qh3 Qd8 18. fxe6 $6 (18. Be2 $5 Nf6 19. fxe6 fxe6 20. Rd1 {with pressure for White seemed better.}) 18... fxe6 19. Nxe6 $6 ({This capture is difficult to explain: now the knight is stuck and pinned unless White can make his attack land which seems unlikely. Again,} 19. Be2 {would have been a better choice.}) 19... Qa5 20. Nd5 $6 ({Another natural move, but it should have been prefaced by} 20. b4 Qxa3 {and only then} 21. Nd5 {when Black has to be careful not to get hurt on the kingside; Black's best is likely} Bf8 22. Ra1 Qb2 23. Rab1 Qa3 24. Ra1 {with a draw by repetition.}) 20... Bd8 21. Bh6 $4 {[#] Consistent but very bad.} Qxe1 $3 ({ A brilliant strike which was missed by White. Of course, Black could not capture on e6:} 21... Bxe6 22. Qxe6+ Rxe6 23. Rf8# {.}) 22. Rxe1 Bxe6 23. Qe3 Ng4 $1 {Black brilliantly exploits the awkwardly placed white pieces to pick the third piece for the queen, leaving Black with a decisive material advantage.} 24. Qd2 Nxh6 25. Be2 ({If} 25. Qxh6 {then} Bxd5 {, exploiting the unprotected rook on e1 to secure a material advantage.}) 25... Ng7 26. Rf1 Nf7 {Black now has to coordinate his pieces to convert his advantage into a win.} 27. Nf6+ $6 {After this exchange, Black's task becomes a little easier.} Bxf6 28. Rxf6 Rc5 29. h3 Nh5 30. Bxh5 Rxh5 31. Qf2 Re5 {Black has finished coordinating his pieces; now the win becomes rather trivial.} 32. Qb6 Re7 33. Rf4 g5 34. Rf2 Rxe4 35. b3 Bd5 {and White resigned. 0-} 0-1