[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.17"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2842"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. c3
d6 9. d4 Bb6 10. a5 {C78: Ruy Lopez: Archangelsk and Möller Defences.} Ba7 $1
11. h3 {11.Be3 is the modern continuation.} O-O 12. Be3 exd4 13. cxd4 Nb4 14.
Nc3 Bb7 15. Ng5 {[#]} Qe7 $146 ({Predecessor:} 15... Qe8 16. e5 dxe5 17. dxe5
Qc6 18. Nf3 Bxe3 19. fxe3 Ne4 20. Qd4 Nxc3 21. Qxb4 Ne4 {1-0 (46) Sasikiran,K
(2648)-Moroni,L (2532) Caleta 2020}) 16. e5 dxe5 17. Nxf7 e4 ({Not} 17... Rxf7
$2 18. dxe5 c5 19. exf6 $16) 18. Nd6+ (18. Ng5+ {seems wilder.} Kh8 19. Ne6
Rfc8 20. Qe2 Nbd5 21. Nxd5 Bxd5 22. Bxd5 Nxd5 23. Qg4) 18... Kh8 19. Nxb7 Rxb7
20. Qe2 c6 21. Rad1 Rd7 22. f3 exf3 23. Rxf3 c5 24. dxc5 Rxd1+ 25. Nxd1 Bxc5
26. Qf2 Bd6 27. Nc3 Nd3 28. Qe2 Nc5 29. Ba2 Re8 30. Qd2 Nce4 31. Nxe4 Nxe4 32.
Qd3 Ng5 33. Bxg5 Bc5+ 34. Kh1 Qxg5 35. Rf1 Qe5 36. Qd5 {[#] Threatens to win
with Rf8+!} Qe2 37. Qf5 {Bb1 is the strong threat.} Qe5 38. Qxe5 {The position
is equal.} Rxe5 $11 {Endgame KRB-KRB} 39. Rd1 {White wants to mate with Rd8+.}
g6 40. Bd5 Re7 41. Bc6 Re2 42. Bb7 Rxb2 43. Bxa6 Ra2 44. Bxb5 Rxa5 {Accuracy:
White = 91%, Black = 90%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.17"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bc5 4. d3 O-O 5. Nc3 c6 6. Nf3 {A22: English Opening:
1...e5 2 Nc3 Nf6.} d6 7. O-O Re8 {7...a5 is the modern continuation.} 8. Na4 {
[#] The position is equal.} Bb4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 8... Na6 9. Nxc5 Nxc5 10.
d4 exd4 11. Nxd4 Bg4 12. Re1 Qd7 13. Qc2 Bh3 14. Bh1 Qg4 {1/2-1/2 (32)
Sucikova,S (1934)-O'Donnell,D England 2013}) 9. a3 Ba5 10. b4 Bc7 11. e4 a5 {
Threatening ...axb4.} 12. Bb2 Na6 13. b5 cxb5 14. cxb5 Nc5 15. Nxc5 dxc5 16. a4
Bg4 17. Ra3 Nd7 18. h3 Bh5 19. Qb1 b6 20. Nd2 Nf8 21. Bf3 Qg5 22. h4 Qg6 23.
Qd1 Bxf3 24. Qxf3 h5 25. Qf5 Rad8 26. Qxg6 Nxg6 27. Kg2 f6 28. Nc4 Kf7 29. Bc1
Rd7 30. f4 exf4 31. Bxf4 Nxf4+ 32. gxf4 f5 33. e5 Re6 34. Kf3 Rg6 35. Ne3 Ke6
36. Rd1 Bd8 37. Ra2 Rd4 (37... Be7 $17) 38. Nc2 $11 Rd5 ({Don't play} 38... Rd7
39. Ne3 $17) 39. Ne3 Rd7 40. Rdd2 $2 (40. d4 $1 $11 Rxd4 41. Rxd4 cxd4 42. Nc2)
40... Bxh4 $19 41. Rg2 {[#]} Rg4 $1 42. Rh2 (42. Nxg4 hxg4+) 42... g6 43. Nxg4
(43. Rag2 $142 Rxd3 44. Rxg4 fxg4+ 45. Ke2) 43... fxg4+ {Black is clearly
winning.} 44. Ke3 Be7 45. Rac2 h4 {Accuracy: White = 81%, Black = 94%.} 0-1
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.17"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "146"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. g3 Qb6 7. Ndb5 Ne5 8.
Bf4 {A33: Symmetrical English: 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 e6 5 Nc3 Nc6.} Nfg4
9. e3 a6 10. h3 {The position is equal.} axb5 11. hxg4 Nxc4 12. Rc1 {[#]} d5
$146 ({Predecessor:} 12... Qa5 13. b3 Ba3 14. bxc4 Bxc1 15. Qxc1 bxc4 16. e4 b5
17. Rh5 d5 18. exd5 g6 {1-0 (33) Sedlacek,P (2478)-Suarez Sedeno,M (2426) ICCF
email 2004}) 13. b3 Bb4 14. bxc4 Ra3 $1 15. Be5 f6 16. Bd4 Qa5 {Hoping for ...
e5.} 17. Be2 $1 ({Don't blunder} 17. cxd5 $2 e5 $19) 17... Bxc3+ 18. Rxc3 Rxc3
19. Kf1 $1 b4 20. g5 $1 e5 ({But not} 20... fxg5 $2 21. Bxg7 Qxa2 22. Bxh8 $18)
21. Bxc3 bxc3 22. gxf6 gxf6 23. Qb1 Qc7 24. Qd3 {[#]} b5 $1 25. Qxc3 (25. cxb5
c2) 25... bxc4 {[#]} 26. e4 $1 dxe4 27. Rh4 Be6 28. Rxe4 O-O ({Black should try
} 28... Kf7 $15) 29. Bxc4 (29. Rh4 $11) 29... Kg7 $36 {And now ...Rc8 would
win. Black fights for an advantage.} 30. Qb3 {White is now going downhill.} ({
White should play} 30. Qb4 $1 $15 Rb8 31. Bxe6 Rxb4 32. Rxb4) 30... Rb8 $17 31.
Bxe6 Rxb3 32. Rg4+ Kf8 {( -> ...Rb1+)} 33. Bxb3 {Endgame Rg8+ is the strong
threat. KQ-KRB} Qc1+ 34. Kg2 Qc6+ 35. Kg1 h5 36. Rg8+ (36. Rh4 $17 {was
necessary.}) 36... Ke7 $19 37. Rg7+ Kd6 38. Rh7 $2 (38. Rg6 {was called for.}
Qf3 39. Rg8) 38... Qf3 39. Rh8 (39. Ba4 $142 Qe4 40. Rd7+ Ke6 41. Ra7) 39... e4
40. Rd8+ Ke7 41. Bd1 Qc3 42. Rd5 {[#]} h4 $1 43. gxh4 {[#]} f5 $1 44. Rxf5 Qe1+
{Double Attack} 45. Kg2 Qxd1 {KQ-KR} 46. Rg5 Qa1 47. Rg4 Qb1 48. Rg3 Qxa2 49.
Rh3 Qd5 50. Kf1 Qd1+ 51. Kg2 Qg4+ 52. Rg3 Qh5 53. Ra3 Qd5 54. Kg1 Kf6 55. Rg3
Qd1+ 56. Kg2 Kf5 57. Rg5+ Kf4 58. Rg3 Qd5 59. Kf1 {[#]} Qd2 $1 60. Kg2 Qd1 $2 (
60... Ke5 {Threatens to win with ...Kf5.} 61. Rg5+ Kf6) 61. Re3 $2 (61. Rh3
Qg4+ 62. Kh2) 61... Kf5 62. Rg3 Kf6 63. Rh3 Kg6 64. Rg3+ Kh5 65. Rh3 Qb1 66.
Re3 Kxh4 67. Rg3 Kh5 68. Rh3+ Kg4 69. Rg3+ Kf4 70. Re3 Qd1 71. Ra3 Ke5 72. Rg3
Kd4 73. Re3 {[#]} Qd3 $1 {Promotion. Accuracy: White = 71%, Black = 92%.} 0-1
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.17"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2698"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bc5 4. d3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nc3 {A20: English
Opening: 1...e5.} Nxc3 7. bxc3 O-O 8. Qc2 Nc6 9. Nf3 h6 10. O-O {[#]} Rb8 $146
({Predecessor:} 10... Re8 11. Rd1 Bf5 12. Qb3 Bb6 13. Bb2 Rb8 14. Nd2 a6 15.
Ne4 Qc8 16. Rac1 Be6 17. c4 Nd4 18. Bxd4 exd4 {1-0 (35) Mrakovcic,K (1685)
-Detelic,M Bjelolasica 2008}) 11. Bb2 b6 12. Rad1 Qe8 13. e4 Bd6 14. Nh4 Bg4
15. f3 Bd7 {Threatening ...Ne7.} 16. f4 exf4 17. gxf4 Na5 (17... f6 $11 {
remains equal.}) 18. Rde1 ({White should play} 18. Qf2 $16) 18... Qd8 $1 $11
19. Qf2 Nc4 {[#]} (19... Bc5 $11 20. d4 Be7) 20. Bc1 $1 $16 ({Not} 20. dxc4 $2
Bc5 $19) 20... Bc5 21. d4 Be7 {[#]} 22. Nf3 $1 f5 23. Qe2 Nd6 24. e5 Ne4 25.
Nd2 Nxd2 26. Bxd2 Be6 27. Qd3 Qd7 28. Be3 c6 29. a4 a6 (29... Rfd8 $14) 30.
Qxa6 Ra8 31. Qxb6 Bd5 32. Qb2 {aiming for Ra1.} Rxa4 33. Ra1 Rfa8 34. Rxa4 Rxa4
35. Ra1 Rxa1+ {The position is equal.} 36. Qxa1 Bxg2 $1 37. Kxg2 {Black should
prevent c4.} Qd5+ 38. Kf2 Bh4+ 39. Ke2 Qg2+ 40. Kd3 Qe4+ 41. Kd2 Qg2+ {
Accuracy: White = 87%, Black = 85%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.18"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2842"]
[BlackElo "2698"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Be7 6. e4 dxe4 {E20: Nimzo-Indian:
4 g3 and 4 f3.} 7. fxe4 c5 {now scores much better than the old 7...e5. Played
by Viswanathan Anand in January 2020.} 8. d5 exd5 {The position is equal.} 9.
exd5 O-O 10. Be2 Re8 11. Nf3 Bg4 12. O-O Nbd7 {[#]} 13. d6 $146 ({Predecessor:
} 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bh4 Bd6 15. Qc2 Qb8 16. Kh1 Bh5 17. Nb5 Bf4 18. d6 Bxd6 19.
Nxd6 Qxd6 {0-1 (55) Lombaers,P (2383)-Schoppen,C (2489) Leiden 2020}) 13... Bf8
14. h3 Bh5 15. Nb5 Re6 16. Bf4 a6 (16... Re4 $14 17. Bh2 a6) 17. Nc7 $16 {
[#] Double Attack} Re4 18. Bh2 Rc8 19. g4 Bxg4 20. hxg4 Nxg4 21. Bd3 Nxh2 22.
Bxe4 Nxf1 23. Qxf1 Bxd6 (23... Nf6 $14 24. Re1 (24. Bxb7 Rb8 $17) 24... Qxd6)
24. Nd5 g6 25. Qh3 {Strongly threatening Qxd7!} Kg7 26. Kh1 $40 {Threatens to
win with Bf5! Black is in trouble.} Ne5 27. Nh4 {aiming for Nf5+!} h5 $2 {
Loses the game.} (27... Rc6 $16) 28. Rg1 $18 Bf8 $2 (28... Rc6 29. Nf4 Ng4 30.
Nxh5+ {Deflection} gxh5 31. Nf5+ {Discovered Attack} Kf8 32. Rxg4 Be5 33. Bxc6
(33. Qxh5 $2 Qd1+ 34. Kg2 Qe2+ {Double Attack} 35. Kg1 Rg6 $19) 33... hxg4 34.
Qh6+ Kg8) 29. Nf4 {Black must now prevent Nhxg6!White is clearly winning.} Ng4
{[#]} 30. Nxh5+ $1 gxh5 31. Bf5 Be7 32. Bxg4 hxg4 33. Qxg4+ Bg5 34. Qh5 {
Accuracy: White = 93%, Black = 58%.} 1-0
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.18"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2774"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
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. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 {C67: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence: 4 0-0 Nxe4.
} 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. Rfe1 Bb4 15. a3 Bxc3 16. bxc3 h4 {
[#]} 17. Kh2 $146 ({Predecessor:} 17. Ne4 Rg6 18. g4 hxg3 19. fxg3 Kf8 20. Kh2
Ne7 21. g4 Re8 22. Rd3 Kg8 23. Ng3 {1/2-1/2 (49) Vachier Lagrave,M (2778)
-Karjakin,S (2750) Saint Louis 2019}) 17... Kf8 18. Rb1 b6 19. Rb4 Re8 20. Ra4
a5 21. Bd2 c5 22. Rf4 Rh5 23. Rf3 Kg8 24. Bc1 (24. g4 $11 hxg3+ 25. fxg3) 24...
Ne7 $15 25. g4 hxg3+ $1 26. fxg3 Nc6 27. Bf4 Bc8 {And now ...f6 would win.} 28.
Rfe3 {[#]} Nd8 (28... Ne7 $1 $17) 29. Kg2 Ne6 30. Nxe6 Bxe6 31. g4 Rh8 32. Bg5
Kh7 33. Kg3 Rb8 34. Rd3 Rhe8 35. Red1 $1 b5 36. Rd8 {The position is equal.} b4
37. Rxe8 Rxe8 38. cxb4 cxb4 39. axb4 axb4 40. Rd8 Rxd8 {Accuracy: White = 92%,
Black = 85%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.18"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. h4 {A37: Symmetrical
English vs ...g6:4 Bg2 Bg7 5 Nf3.} h6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nb5 {The position is equal.
} d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. O-O Nf6 11. Bf4 {[#] Nc7+ is the strong threat.} O-O {[#]
} 12. Qc1 $146 ({Predecessor:} 12. Nfxd4 a6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Nd4 Qb6 15. Nb3
Ng4 16. Bd6 Re8 17. Bc5 Qb5 18. Rc1 Qxe2 19. Qxe2 Rxe2 {1/2-1/2 (37) Sandipan,
C (2575) -Leenhouts,K (2486) Dieren 2017}) 12... a6 13. Nbxd4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Kh7
15. Rd1 Re8 16. Qc7 Qxc7 17. Bxc7 Bg4 18. f3 Rac8 19. Ba5 Bd7 20. Kf2 h5 21.
Bf1 Ng8 22. Bc3 Bh6 23. Rd3 Ne7 24. Rad1 Bg7 25. e3 Kg8 26. R3d2 Ba4 27. Re1
Bd7 28. Ne2 Rc7 29. Bxg7 Kxg7 30. Nc3 Be6 31. Red1 b5 32. a3 Rb8 33. Ne2 a5 34.
Nd4 Bd7 35. b4 axb4 36. axb4 Ra8 37. Rb2 ({Reject} 37. Nxb5 Bxb5 38. Bxb5 Rb8
$11) 37... Ra4 38. Rdb1 Rb7 39. Rc1 Rba7 40. Nxb5 Bxb5 41. Bxb5 Ra3 42. Be2 Rb7
43. b5 Rb6 44. Rd1 Kf6 45. Rdd2 Rb7 46. Bd3 Nc8 47. e4 dxe4 48. Bxe4 Rb6 49.
Rd7 Rc3 50. Rb7 Rxb7 51. Bxb7 $18 {Endgame Strongly threatening b6. KRB-KRN}
Nb6 52. Be4 Ke5 53. Rd2 Rb3 {[#]} 54. Bc6 (54. Bd3 $142 $1) 54... Nc4 $16 55.
f4+ Kf6 56. Rd8 Rb2+ 57. Kf3 Nd2+ 58. Ke3 Nf1+ 59. Kf3 {Hoping for Rd3.} Nd2+
60. Ke2 Ne4+ 61. Kf3 {Black escapes into a draw. Accuracy: White = 87%, Black
= 91%.} ({Better is} 61. Ke3 $16 Nxg3 62. Rd1) 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.18"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3
Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. a3 Qd7 {The modern move.} 11. Nc3 Rfe8 {C88: Closed Ruy Lopez:
Anti-Marshall Systems.} 12. Bd2 Nd8 13. Nd5 Nxd5 {The position is equal.} 14.
exd5 c5 15. a4 {[#]} f5 $146 (15... f6 $11) ({Predecessor:} 15... f6 16. axb5
axb5 17. Rxa8 Bxa8 18. c4 Rf8 19. cxb5 Qxb5 20. Bc4 Qb7 21. b4 cxb4 22. Qb3 Nf7
23. Ra1 f5 24. Ra4 Qd7 25. Rxb4 Bf6 26. Bc3 h6 {1/2-1/2 (26) Zeihen,P (2315)
-Schulz,R (2263) ICCF email 2019}) 16. axb5 $16 axb5 17. Rxa8 Bxa8 18. c4 Nf7 {
[#]} 19. cxb5 $1 g5 20. Nh2 Kg7 21. Bc4 Kg6 22. g4 Nh6 23. Qf3 Bd8 24. Qg2 f4 (
24... Kg7 $16 {is a better defense.}) 25. b4 Bb6 (25... Nf7 $142 26. bxc5 dxc5)
26. Qe4+ Kg7 27. bxc5 dxc5 $2 (27... Bxc5 {might work better.} 28. d4 Bxd4) 28.
Nf3 $18 Nf7 29. Bc3 Bc7 30. b6 Bb8 31. Qf5 Qxf5 32. gxf5 Kf6 33. Nd2 Rd8 34. d6
Rxd6 35. Rb1 {Threatens to win with b7.} Nd8 $2 {[#]} (35... Bc6 36. Ne4+ Bxe4
37. dxe4 Rd7) 36. b7 $1 Bxb7 37. Ba5 {Black did not feel at home in the
position after the opening. Accuracy: White = 100%, Black = 56%.} 1-0
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.19"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2842"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. f3 Bb4 8. Nxc4
O-O 9. Kf2 $1 {[#] now scores much better than the old 9.Bg5. D17: Slav
Defence: 5 a4 Bf5: Lines with 6 Nh4 and 6 Ne5.} e5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 9...
Nd5 10. Na2 b5 11. Nxb4 bxc4 12. Na2 c5 13. e4 cxd4 14. Bxc4 Nb6 15. Be2 Bg6
16. a5 Nc8 {1-0 (60) Anton Guijarro,D (2674) -Hovhannisyan,R (2639) Douglas
2019}) 10. Nxe5 Bc2 $1 11. Qd2 {White is slightly better.} c5 12. d5 ({Much
weaker is} 12. Qxc2 Qxd4+ 13. Be3 Qxe5 $15) (12. e3 $5 cxd4 13. Qxc2 (13. exd4
Bb3 $11) 13... dxc3 14. bxc3 $14) 12... Bb3 13. e4 Re8 $1 14. Qf4 c4 $1 15.
Nxc4 Nbd7 16. Be3 Nf8 (16... Bxc4 $1 $11 17. Bxc4 Nb6 18. Bxb6 Qxb6+ 19. Kf1
Rec8) 17. Bd4 $14 {Hoping for Qf5.} Ng6 (17... Rc8 $1 $11 18. Ne3 Ng6) 18. Qf5
(18. Qc1 $1 $16) 18... Bxc4 19. Bxc4 Qc7 $1 20. Be2 Bc5 $1 $132 {Black is
fighting back} 21. Bxc5 $1 Qxc5+ (21... Re5 $5 22. Qh3 Qxc5+ 23. Kf1 Qb4 $16)
22. Kf1 {Threatens to win with Qg5.} h6 {White now steadily converts the win.}
(22... Re5 $14 23. Qh3 Qb4) 23. Rd1 Qb6 24. Rd2 $1 Qe3 {[#]} 25. Rc2 $1 a6 26.
Qh3 b5 27. Qg3 {Qf2 is the strong threat.} ({Worse is} 27. axb5 axb5 28. g3
Nxe4 $15) 27... b4 (27... Rec8 $16 {keeps fighting.}) 28. Nd1 $18 Qb3 {[#]} 29.
Rd2 $1 Qxa4 30. Qf2 Qd7 31. g3 Qh3+ 32. Kg1 a5 33. Qd4 Nh5 34. Nf2 Qd7 35. f4
Nhxf4 36. gxf4 Nxf4 37. Kf1 Qd6 {[#]} 38. Rg1 $1 f6 39. Bb5 Re7 40. b3 Rf8 41.
Rc2 Ne6 42. Qe3 {White is clearly winning.} Ng5 43. h4 Nf7 44. Rc6 Qb8 45. Qc5
Qd8 46. Rxf6 Kh8 47. Rf5 Rc7 48. Bc6 a4 49. bxa4 b3 50. Rg3 b2 51. Rb3 Nd6 52.
Rxf8+ Qxf8 53. Rxb2 Qf4 54. Rb8+ Kh7 55. Qc2 {Black must now prevent e5+.} Re7
56. e5+ Nf5 57. Qe4 Qc1+ 58. Kg2 g6 59. Rb3 {Accuracy: White = 79%, Black =
55%.} 1-0
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.19"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2767"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 Bg7 6. e4 Nxc3 7. Bxc3 c5 8.
d5 Bxc3+ {D85: Exchange Grünfeld: Unusual White 7th moves and lines with 7
Nf3.} 9. bxc3 O-O 10. Qd2 Qd6 {White has an edge.} 11. f4 e6 12. Bc4 b5 13.
Bxb5 exd5 14. Bc4 Bb7 15. Nf3 {[#]} ({Reject} 15. exd5 Nd7 $17) 15... Nd7 $146
({Predecessor:} 15... Rd8 16. Bxd5 Bxd5 17. Qxd5 Qxd5 18. exd5 Rxd5 19. Rd1
Rxd1+ 20. Kxd1 Nd7 21. Re1 Kf8 {1/2-1/2 (29) Tomashevsky,E (2702)
-Nepomniachtchi,I (2768) Satka 2018}) 16. O-O ({And not} 16. exd5 Rfe8+ 17. Kf2
Nf6 $17) 16... Nb6 17. Be2 d4 18. e5 Qd7 19. cxd4 Rad8 20. Rad1 Bxf3 21. Rxf3 {
[#] Hoping for d5!} Qxd4+ 22. Qxd4 Rxd4 23. Rxd4 cxd4 $11 {Endgame KRB-KRN} 24.
Rd3 Rd8 25. Bd1 Nc4 26. Kf2 Nb2 {The position is equal.} 27. Rd2 Nc4 28. Rd3
Nb2 29. Rd2 Nc4 30. Rd3 {Accuracy: White = 89%, Black = 100%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.19"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d3 Nf6 6. d4 d5 7. Bd3 Bd6 8.
Qe2+ Be6 {C01: French: Exchange Variation.} 9. Ng5 Qe7 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. c3 c5
{[#]} 12. Nd2 $146 ({Predecessor:} 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Nd2 e5 14. Nb3 Bb6 15. Be3
Bxe3 16. Qxe3 O-O 17. O-O Nc6 18. Rad1 Rae8 19. Qc5 Qe6 20. f3 {1/2-1/2 (43)
Szczepanski,Z (2337)-Andeer,S (2383) ICCF email 2004}) 12... Nc6 13. Nf3 O-O
14. O-O cxd4 15. cxd4 e5 16. dxe5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. Qxe5 Bxe5 19. f3 Bd4+
20. Kh1 Rac8 21. Rd1 Rfe8 22. g3 Kf7 23. Kg2 g6 24. Bd2 Be3 25. h4 Re6 26. Bxe3
Rxe3 27. Kf2 Re6 28. Rd2 Ke7 29. Rad1 Rec6 30. g4 a6 {[#]} 31. h5 $1 Kf7 (31...
gxh5 32. g5) 32. a3 Re8 33. hxg6+ hxg6 34. g5 Ne4+ $1 35. Bxe4 dxe4 $11 {
Endgame KRR-KRR. The position is equal.} 36. Re1 exf3 37. Rd7+ {[#] Double
Attack} Kf8 {Threatening ...Rc2+.} 38. Rh1 Kg8 39. Rxb7 Rc2+ 40. Kxf3 {
Threatens to win with Rb6.} Rc5 41. Rh4 Rxg5 42. b4 (42. a4 {seems wilder.} a5
43. Rc4 Rge5 44. b3 Kf8 45. Rg4) 42... Rge5 43. Rd4 Re3+ 44. Kf4 Rxa3 45. Rd6
Ra1 46. Rxg6+ Kh8 47. Rh6+ Kg8 48. Rg6+ Kh8 49. Rh6+ Kg8 {Accuracy: White =
91%, Black = 94%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.19"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2698"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. h4 Qc7 8. Nf3
b6 9. Bb5+ {C19: French: 3 Nc3 Bb4: Main line: 7 Nf3 and 7 a4.} Bd7 10. Be2 Ba4
{[#]} 11. O-O $146 ({Predecessor:} 11. Bd3 cxd4 12. cxd4 Qc3+ 13. Bd2 Qxd3 14.
cxd3 Bxd1 15. Rxd1 Nbc6 16. h5 h6 17. g4 {0-1 (24) Borgmeyer,M (2044)-Doering,
A (1895) Chemnitz 2009}) 11... Nd7 12. Be3 h6 13. Ra2 Nf5 14. Bf4 Qc6 15. Rb2
a6 16. dxc5 Qxc5 17. Rb4 b5 18. Bd3 {White wants to play Bxf5.} Ne7 19. Bd2 Nc6
{Double Attack} 20. Qe2 Nxb4 21. axb4 Qc7 22. Re1 Nb8 23. Nd4 Nc6 {Threatens
to win with ...Nxd4.} 24. Qg4 Nxd4 $1 25. cxd4 g6 ({Avoid the trap} 25... Bxc2
$2 26. Qxg7 O-O-O 27. Rc1 $18) (25... g5 $11) 26. h5 ({White should try} 26.
Bxg6 $1 $14 fxg6 27. Qxe6+ Qe7 28. Qxg6+ {Double Attack} Kd7 29. Qb6) 26...
gxh5 $15 27. Qxh5 O-O-O 28. f4 Kb8 29. c3 Bb3 30. f5 Bc4 31. Bc2 Rdg8 32. Kf2
a5 33. bxa5 Qxa5 34. Qxf7 {The position is equal.} Qa2 35. Qxe6 {Strongly
threatening Rc1.} Qxc2 36. Qb6+ {[#]} Kc8 $1 37. Qc6+ {[#]} Kb8 $1 38. Qb6+ {
[#]} Kc8 $1 39. Qc6+ {[#]} Kb8 $1 40. Qb6+ {Accuracy: White = 89%, Black = 86%.
} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.21"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2842"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
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 {Nowadays more popular than 10...Qc7.} 11. Qd2 {
D87: Exchange Grünfeld: Classical Line: Variations without ...cxd4.} Bb7 12.
Rfd1 cxd4 13. cxd4 Rc8 14. Rac1 Na5 15. Bd3 Qd7 16. h4 Rxc1 17. Rxc1 Rc8 18. h5
Rxc1+ 19. Qxc1 {[#]} Qc8 $146 ({Predecessor:} 19... e6 20. h6 Bf8 21. Bg5 Qa4
22. Qb1 Nc6 23. Bc2 Qc4 24. Bd3 Qa4 25. Bb5 Qa5 26. Be3 {1/2-1/2 (26) Hort,V
(2595)-Chiburdanidze,M (2555) Biel 1988}) 20. h6 Bf8 21. d5 e6 22. Nc3 Nc4 23.
Bxc4 Qxc4 24. Qd2 exd5 25. Nxd5 Bxd5 26. exd5 {[#] d6 is the strong threat.}
Qb4 27. Qd3 Qa3 ({Black should play} 27... Bd6 $11 28. g3 Kf8) 28. Qc2 (28. Qd1
$14) 28... Qa5 29. Qd1 {And now d6 would win.} Bd6 $1 30. g3 Kf8 $1 31. Qf3 {
[#] Threatening mate with Qf6!} Qe1+ {The position is equal.} 32. Kg2 {White
threatens Qf6! and mate.} f5 33. g4 Qb1 34. Bd4 Kf7 35. Qe3 {Intending Qe6+
and mate.} Qe4+ 36. Qxe4 fxe4 $11 {Endgame KB-KB} 37. f3 exf3+ 38. Kxf3 Ke7 39.
Ke4 Kd7 40. a4 Bc7 41. Be3 a6 42. Bd2 b5 43. axb5 axb5 44. Kd4 Bb6+ 45. Kd3 Bc5
46. Bc3 Ba3 (46... Kd6 $5 47. Ke4 $8 Ke7 $11) 47. Bg7 Bc5 48. Bc3 Bf8 (48...
Kd6 $5 49. Ke4 $8 Ke7 $11) 49. Bg7 Be7 50. Kd4 Bd6 51. Bf6 Kc7 52. Bg5 Kb6 53.
Bd8+ Ka6 54. Kd3 $1 Bf8 55. Kd4 Bd6 {Accuracy: White = 92%, Black = 98%.}
1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.21"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2698"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 c6 7. Nbd2 a5 8. b3
Bf5 9. Bb2 a4 10. bxa4 Qa5 11. Qb3 Nbd7 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Rfc1 Ra6 14. e3 Qxa4
15. Bf1 Qxb3 16. axb3 Rxa1 17. Rxa1 Nb6 18. Ra7 Rb8 19. Ne5 Nfd7 20. Bb5 f6 21.
Nxd7 Bxd7 22. Ra5 {White wants to play Bxd7.} Bf5 23. Ba3 Bf8 24. Bc5 Nd7 25.
Ra7 Nxc5 26. dxc5 e5 27. b4 b6 28. c6 {e4! is the strong threat.} Bxb4 29. e4
dxe4 {[#]} ({Don't go for} 29... Bxd2 $2 30. exf5 Kh8 31. c7 $18) 30. Nxe4 $1
Bxe4 31. c7 Rf8 {Hoping for ...Bf5.} 32. Bc4+ Kh8 {White must now prevent ...
Bf5.} 33. Be6 Bf5 34. c8=Q $1 Rxc8 35. Bxc8 Bxc8 36. Ra8 Kg7 {[#] Strongly
threatening ...Be6.} 37. Rxc8 Bc5 38. Rc7+ {White has compensation.} Kh6 39. h4
f5 40. Kg2 e4 41. Kf1 {Accuracy: White = 100%, Black = 100%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.21"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
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 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14.
Rfe1 Bb4 15. a3 Bxc3 16. bxc3 h4 17. g4 hxg3 $1 18. fxg3 Ne7 19. h4 Nd5 20. Bc1
Nxc3 21. Rd3 Na4 22. Rf3 Bd5 23. Rf4 Nb6 $1 24. Ref1 Rg6 25. Rf5 Bc4 26. Re1
Ke7 27. h5 (27. a4 $11) 27... Rh6 ({Black should try} 27... Be6 $1 $15 28. hxg6
Bxf5 29. gxf7 Be6) 28. g4 $11 Rhh8 {[#]} 29. a4 $1 Nxa4 30. Ba3+ c5 31. e6 f6
32. Bxc5+ Nxc5 33. Rxc5 {[#] Strongly threatening Nf7. Double Attack} fxg5 34.
Rxc7+ {Double Attack} Kd6 35. Rxc4 {Endgame KRR-KRR} a5 36. Rd1+ ({Better is}
36. Rd4+ $16 Kc5 37. Rd7) 36... Ke7 {The position is equal.} 37. Re4 {
Threatens to win with Rd7+.} Rhd8 $132 {Black has counterplay} 38. Rb1 Rdb8 39.
Rb5 a4 40. Rxg5 Rg8 41. h6 gxh6 (41... a3 $5 42. h7 $8 Rge8 $11) 42. Rxg8 Rxg8
43. Rxa4 {KR-KR} h5 44. Kf2 Rxg4 45. Rxg4 hxg4 46. Kg3 Kxe6 {( -> ...Kf5)} 47.
Kxg4 {KP-KP} Ke5 48. Kf3 Kd4 49. Ke2 $1 Kc3 50. Kd1 $1 b5 (50... b6 $5) 51. Kc1
b4 52. Kb1 b3 53. cxb3 Kxb3 {Accuracy: White = 94%, Black = 94%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.21"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 a5 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Qc2 $1 {
outshines the older 7.0-0. Played by Ian Nepomniachtchi in December 2019.} c5 {
E11: Bogo-Indian.} 8. cxd5 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Qb6 {White is slightly better.} 10. e3
exd5 11. O-O Nc6 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Rc1 {[#]} Rb8 $146 ({Predecessor:} 13... Be6
14. Nc3 c5 15. Na4 Qa7 16. Bc3 Bxc3 17. Qxc3 Rac8 18. Qa3 c4 19. Rd1 h5 {
1/2-1/2 (86) Esipenko,A (2590)-Riazantsev,A (2594) Tallinn 2019}) 14. Bxb4 Qxb4
15. b3 h5 16. Nc3 h4 17. Ne2 Bd7 18. Nf4 hxg3 19. hxg3 Rfc8 20. Bf3 (20. Nd3 $5
Qd6 21. Qc5 $11) 20... a4 21. bxa4 Ra8 22. Nd3 Qxa4 23. Qxa4 Rxa4 24. Nc5 Ra5
25. a4 Rca8 26. Bd1 Be8 27. Kf1 Kf8 {The position is equal.} 28. Rab1 Ne4 29.
Nxe4 dxe4 30. Rb7 c5 31. Bb3 R5a7 32. Rxa7 Rxa7 $11 {Endgame KRB-KRB} 33. Ke1
Ke7 34. Ra1 c4 35. Bc2 Kd6 36. Kd2 Kc5 37. Kc3 Ra6 $1 38. g4 g5 39. a5 Bc6 40.
Ra2 Ra7 41. Ra1 Ra6 42. Ra2 Kd5 $2 {Accuracy: White = 94%, Black = 93%. . An
unexpected result.} (42... Ra7 $11 {and Black has nothing to worry.}) 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.22"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2842"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6 {D12:
Slav Defence: 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 e3 Bf5.} 8. Bd2 Be7 $1 {is currently scoring better
than 8...Nbd7. Played by Xiangzhi Bu in October 2019.8...Nbd7 is not played
anymore.} 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. Qc2 Nbd7 11. O-O-O {[#]} Nb6 $146 ({Predecessor:}
11... Qc7 12. h4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 b5 14. Bd3 a6 15. Ne4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Rc8 17. Kb1
Nf6 {1/2-1/2 (67) Lupulescu,C (2643)-Bu,X (2721) Douglas 2019}) 12. c5 Nbd7 13.
Kb1 Qb8 14. h4 g5 15. Be1 g4 16. e4 gxf3 17. gxf3 b6 18. exd5 exd5 19. cxb6
axb6 20. Ne2 Qa7 21. b3 Nh5 22. Ng3 g6 23. Nxh5 Rxh5 24. f4 Kf8 25. Be2 Rh8 26.
Bd3 c5 27. Bc3 {dxc5 is the strong threat.} cxd4 (27... c4 $16 28. bxc4 Nf6)
28. Bxd4 $18 Bf6 29. Bxf6 (29. Bb5 $18) 29... Nxf6 $16 30. f5 gxf5 31. Bxf5 b5
(31... Qe7 $16 {might work better.}) 32. Rh2 (32. Qb2 $18) 32... Rh5 33. Re2 ({
Better is} 33. Rf1 $16) 33... d4 34. Re5 (34. Be4 $16 Re8 35. Bd3) 34... Ng4 $1
$11 {The position is equal.} 35. Rc5 Ne3 36. Rc8+ Rxc8 37. Qxc8+ Ke7 $132 {
Black puts up resistance} 38. Rc1 Nd5 $1 {[#] White must now prevent ...Nc3+.}
39. Re1+ Ne3 40. Rc1 Nd5 $1 {Strongly threatening ...Nc3+.} 41. Re1+ Ne3 42.
Rc1 {Black defended with fortune. Accuracy: White = 70%, Black = 70%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.22"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3
Bb7 $1 {The main line 8...Bb7 scores better than 8...d6.} 9. d3 d5 {C88:
Closed Ruy Lopez: Anti-Marshall Systems.} 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nbd2 Qd7 12. a4 f6
13. Ne4 {Hoping for c4.} Na5 14. Ba2 c5 15. Be3 Rfc8 16. axb5 axb5 17. Nxc5 {
[#] Remove Defender, Decoy} Rxc5 18. b4 $1 {Double Attack} Rcc8 19. bxa5 Kh8 {
Threatens to win with ...Nc3.} 20. Bd2 Nb4 21. Bb3 Bd5 22. Bxd5 Qxd5 {[#]} 23.
Rc1 $146 ({Predecessor:} 23. c4 bxc4 24. dxc4 Qxc4 25. Ra4 Rcb8 26. Qa1 Qd3 27.
Rd1 Rd8 28. Rb1 Na6 29. Be3 {1/2-1/2 (48) Boada Marti,M (2196)-Padilla Lopez,D
(2155) ICCF email 2018}) 23... Nc6 24. c4 bxc4 $1 25. Rxc4 {aiming for Qa4.}
Nxa5 (25... Rcb8 {seems wilder.} 26. Qc2 Nb4 27. Bxb4 Bxb4 28. Rc1 Bxa5 29. d4
e4) 26. Rxc8+ Rxc8 27. d4 Nc6 28. dxe5 Nxe5 29. Nxe5 fxe5 30. Qg4 Rd8 31. Be3
Bf6 32. Rc1 Qd7 33. Qh5 Qe8 34. Qf3 Rc8 35. Rd1 Rd8 36. Rc1 Rc8 37. Rb1 Rb8 38.
Re1 Qg6 39. Ba7 Rc8 40. Qb7 Qc2 41. Be3 {Black must now prevent Rc1!} Qc6 42.
Qb4 h5 43. Bc1 Qc2 44. Be3 Rd8 45. Qb1 Qxb1 {The position is equal.} 46. Rxb1
$11 {Endgame KRB-KRB} Kh7 47. g4 hxg4 48. hxg4 Rd6 49. Kg2 Kg6 50. Kf3 Bg5 51.
Ke4 Bxe3 52. fxe3 Re6 53. Rb7 (53. Kd5 $5 Re7 54. Rh1 $11) 53... Re8 54. Ra7 {
Accuracy: White = 92%, Black = 93%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.22"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2698"]
[BlackElo "2767"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e6 7. Be3 b5 8. Qd2
Nbd7 9. a3 {B80: Sicilian Scheveningen: 6 g3 and 6 Be3, including English
Attack.} h5 10. O-O-O {was the old line (10.Be2).} Bb7 11. Kb1 Be7 12. Rg1 Rc8
13. Be2 Nb6 14. Qe1 Nfd7 15. g4 hxg4 16. Rxg4 {[#]} g6 $146 ({Predecessor:}
16... Bf8 17. Rg2 Ne5 18. f4 Nec4 19. Bc1 Qc7 20. Bxc4 Nxc4 21. Rd3 g6 {
0-1 (82) Carlsen,M (2872)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2780) London 2019}) 17. Rxg6 Rxc3
$1 {The position is equal.} 18. Nxe6 ({Much worse is} 18. bxc3 fxg6 19. Nxe6
Qc8 $17) 18... Qc8 19. Ng7+ Kf8 20. Rh6 $1 Rxh6 21. Bxh6 Rxc2 22. Nf5+ Ke8 23.
Nxe7 Kxe7 24. Qh4+ $1 f6 25. Bf4 {[#]} Rxb2+ $1 26. Kxb2 Na4+ 27. Kb1 Nc3+ {
Double Attack} 28. Ka1 Nxd1 29. Qh7+ Kd8 30. Qg8+ Ke7 31. Qh7+ Kd8 32. Qg8+ ({
Of course not} 32. Bxd1 Qc3+ 33. Kb1 Qd3+ 34. Bc2 Qxa3 $15) 32... Ke7 {[#] (
-> ...Qc3+)} 33. Qh7+ {Not much happened in this game. Accuracy: White = 100%,
Black = 95%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.22"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2774"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 7. O-O Be7 8.
Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 $1 {is recently more successful than 9.c4. C42: Petroff
Defence: 3 Nxe5 and unusual White 3rd moves.} Nd6 $1 10. Nf1 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 {
The position is equal.} c6 12. Bf4 Na6 {[#]} 13. h4 $1 $146 {A top novelty.} ({
Predecessor:} 13. Ne3 Nc7 14. Re2 Ne6 15. Bxd6 Bxd6 16. g3 Qd7 17. Rae1 Rae8
18. b3 {1/2-1/2 (31) Anand,V (2767)-Yu,Y (2738) Stavanger 2019}) 13... Nc7 14.
Ng5 Bxg5 (14... g6 {with more complications.} 15. Ng3 Re8 16. b3 Bxg5 17. Bxg5
Qd7) 15. Bxg5 f6 16. Bf4 Qd7 17. Ng3 {Bxd6 is the strong threat.} Rae8 18. Bxd6
Qxd6 19. Nf5 Qd7 20. Qh3 Kh8 21. h5 Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Re8 23. Rxe8+ Nxe8 24. g4 a6
25. b3 (25. Kf1 {is interesting.} Qe6 26. Qh2 Qd7 27. c3 Kg8 28. Qb8) 25... Qe6
26. Ne3 (26. Kg2 {looks sharper.} Kg8 27. Qe3 Qxe3 28. Nxe3 Kf7 29. c4) 26...
Nd6 27. h6 g6 28. c4 dxc4 29. bxc4 Kg8 ({Don't go for} 29... Nxc4 $2 30. Nxc4
Qxc4 31. Qh2 $18) 30. Qh2 Kf7 31. c5 Nb5 32. Qb8 $36 {Threatens to win with d5.
White is more active.} Qd7 $2 (32... Nxd4 $11 33. Qxb7+ Qe7 34. Qxa6 Qxc5) 33.
Qh8 $18 Ke6 34. f4 $1 Nxd4 {White must now prevent ...Ne2+.} 35. Qg8+ Qf7 36.
Qc8+ Qd7 37. Qg8+ Qf7 {[#]} 38. Qd8 $1 Qd7 {[#]} (38... Nb5 $142 39. Kf2 g5)
39. f5+ $1 gxf5 40. gxf5+ Nxf5 {White is clearly winning.} 41. Qxd7+ {
Overworked Piece} Kxd7 42. Nxf5 Ke6 43. Ne3 {Accuracy: White = 85%, Black =
82%.} 1-0
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.23"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2842"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. c3
d6 9. d4 Bb6 10. a5 {C78: Ruy Lopez: Archangelsk and Möller Defences.} Ba7 $1
11. h3 O-O 12. Be3 Re8 {[#]} 13. Ng5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 13. dxe5 Bxe3 14.
exf6 Bh6 15. fxg7 Qf6 16. Nh2 Ne5 17. Qh5 Nc4 18. Bc2 Qxg7 19. Ng4 Bxg4 20.
hxg4 b4 21. b3 Rb5 {1/2-1/2 (21) Libiszewski,F (2458)-Guadalpi,D (2281) Aix
les Bains 2003}) 13... Rf8 14. Nf3 (14. Re1 $11) 14... Re8 $16 {The modern
move.} 15. Re1 (15. dxe5 $16 dxe5 16. Qxd8 Rxd8 17. Bxa7 Nxa7 18. Nxe5) 15...
exd4 $11 ({But not} 15... Nxe4 $6 16. d5 $16) 16. cxd4 Nxe4 17. d5 Bxe3 18.
Rxe3 Na7 $1 19. Qd4 Bf5 20. Nbd2 Nc5 21. Rxe8+ Qxe8 22. Re1 Qf8 23. Bd1 {
aiming for Nh4.} b4 $1 24. Be2 Qd8 25. Bf1 h6 26. Re3 b3 (26... c6 $11) 27. Qf4
{White has compensation.} Bd7 28. Nd4 Rb4 29. Rg3 Qe7 30. Bc4 ({Avoid the trap
} 30. Qxh6 $2 Qe5 $19) 30... Nb5 31. N4xb3 Nxb3 32. Rxb3 Qe1+ 33. Kh2 $1 Rxb3
34. Nxb3 Qb4 35. Qe4 c5 36. Qd3 ({Don't blunder} 36. dxc6 $2 Be6 $19) 36... g6
37. g4 Kg7 38. Kg2 Nc7 (38... Bc8 $15) 39. Qc3+ {The position is equal.} Qxc3
40. bxc3 {Endgame KBN-KBN} f5 41. Nd2 Kf6 42. Kg3 Bb5 43. Bb3 Be2 44. gxf5 gxf5
45. f4 Nb5 46. c4 Nc3 47. Bc2 Bd1 48. Bd3 Na2 49. Kf2 Nb4 50. Ke3 Bc2 51. Be2
Na2 52. Nf1 Nc1 53. Kd2 {[#] And now Bh5 would win.} Nxe2 54. Kxe2 Ba4 {
Accuracy: White = 86%, Black = 94%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.23"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2698"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "196"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 {outshines
the older 7.Bb3.} a5 {C54: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5
d3.} 8. Nbd2 Be6 9. Bb5 Ba7 $5 {The position is equal. An interesting side
line.} 10. Nf1 Ne7 11. Ng3 c6 12. Ba4 Ng6 13. h3 d5 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Bc2 Qc7
16. d4 exd4 $1 17. Nxd4 Rae8 18. Bg5 Ndf4 19. Qd2 Bd5 20. Rxe8 (20. Bxg6 {
is more complex.} Nxg6 21. Ndf5 f6 22. Be3 Bxe3 23. Rxe3 Rxe3 24. Nxe3 Be6 25.
Qc2) 20... Rxe8 21. Re1 {[#]} (21. Bxg6 $1 $11 Nxg6 22. Ndf5) 21... Re5 $146 (
21... Rxe1+ $17 22. Qxe1 Qb8) ({Predecessor:} 21... Rxe1+ 22. Qxe1 Ne6 23. Be3
Bxd4 24. cxd4 Nh4 25. Ne4 f5 26. f3 Qe7 27. Bf2 Nxf3+ 28. gxf3 fxe4 29. Bxe4
Bxe4 30. Qxe4 {0-1 (51) Grandelius,N (2687)-Hovhannisyan,R (2630) Reykjavik
2019}) 22. Bxf4 $11 Rxe1+ 23. Qxe1 Qxf4 24. Qe8+ Nf8 25. Bb3 Bxd4 26. cxd4 Bxb3
27. axb3 Qf6 (27... h6 {with more complications.} 28. Qe3 Ne6 29. Ne2 Qf5 30.
Qd2 Qb5) 28. Qe4 g6 29. Ne2 Ne6 30. h4 h5 31. g3 Qd8 32. Qe5 Qb6 33. d5 cxd5
34. Qxd5 Kf8 35. Nc3 Qc7 36. Ne4 Qc1+ 37. Kg2 Qxb2 38. Qd7 b6 39. Nd6 Qf6 40.
Qe8+ $1 Kg7 41. Qd7 {Black must now prevent Ne8+.} Kg8 42. Qe8+ $1 Nf8 43. Qc6
$1 Qd8 44. Nc4 (44. Nb7 $1 $11 Qd3 45. Qxb6) 44... Ne6 (44... Qd7 $1 $17 45.
Qxd7 Nxd7) 45. Nxb6 Nd4 {Double Attack} 46. Qc5 (46. Qb7 $11 {remains equal.})
46... Nxb3 $17 47. Qb5 Nd2 48. Qxa5 Qd3 {( -> ...Qf1+)} 49. Qa1 Qe4+ 50. Kg1
Nf3+ 51. Kf1 {[#]} Nxh4 $1 52. Qa8+ (52. gxh4 Qh1+) 52... Qxa8 53. Nxa8 {
Endgame KN-KN} Nf3 54. Kg2 Ne5 (54... Nd4 {feels hotter.} 55. f4 f6 56. Nc7 Kf7
57. Nd5 Nf5) 55. f4 Ng4 56. Nb6 Kf8 57. Nd5 Ke8 58. Nc3 Ke7 59. Ne4 Ne3+ 60.
Kf3 Nc4 61. Ng5 Kf6 62. Ne4+ Kf5 63. Nf2 Nd2+ 64. Ke3 Nf1+ 65. Kf3 Nh2+ 66. Kg2
Ng4 {And now ...Nxf2 would win.} 67. Nh3 f6 68. Kf3 Ke6 69. Ke4 Kd6 70. Ng1 Kc5
71. Kd3 Nh6 72. Ke3 Nf5+ 73. Kf3 Kc4 74. Nh3 Nd4+ 75. Ke3 Nf5+ 76. Kf3 Kd4 77.
Nf2 Nd6 78. Nh3 (78. Nd1 $17) 78... Ne4 (78... Kd3 $19 79. Nf2+ Kd2) 79. Ng1
Kd3 80. Kg2 Nd2 {Threatens to win with ...Ke3.} 81. Kf2 Ke4 {aiming for ...h4!}
82. Ne2 Nb1 83. Ng1 {[#]} h4 $1 84. Nh3 $1 (84. gxh4 Kxf4) 84... Kf5 {Hoping
for ...Kg4.} 85. gxh4 Kg4 86. f5 gxf5 {Black wants to play ...Nc3.} (86... Kxf5
$5 87. Kg3 Na3 $17) 87. Ke3 Nc3 88. Nf2+ Kg3 {Strongly threatening ...f4+.} (
88... Kxh4 $5 89. Kf4 Nd5+ 90. Kxf5 Kh5 $11) 89. Nd3 $2 (89. Nh1+ $11 Kh2 90.
h5 Nd5+ 91. Kf3 Kxh1 92. h6) 89... Nd5+ $1 $19 90. Kd4 Nf4 91. Nc5 Kxh4 92. Ke3
{[#]} Kg3 $1 {Black mates.} 93. Nb3 Ne6 94. Nd2 f4+ 95. Ke2 Ng5 96. Kf1 f3 97.
Kg1 f2+ 98. Kf1 {[#]} f5 $1 {Accuracy: White = 84%, Black = 88%.} 0-1
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.23"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2774"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 $1
{is currently scoring better than 8.a4. Played by Alireza Firouzja in February
2020.} O-O 9. Nc3 Na5 {C77: Ruy Lopez: 3...a6 4 Ba4 Nf6, unusual lines.} 10.
Ba2 Be6 11. b4 Bxa2 {The position is equal.} 12. Rxa2 Nc6 13. Bg5 Qd7 14. Bxf6
Bxf6 15. Nd5 a5 {[#]} 16. Rb2 $1 $146 {A top novelty.} ({Predecessor:} 16. c4
Ne7 17. Qb3 bxc4 18. Nxe7+ Bxe7 19. dxc4 axb4 20. axb4 Qc6 21. Re1 Rxa2 22.
Qxa2 {1/2-1/2 (90) Vachier Lagrave,M (2780)-Ding,L (2801) London 2019}) 16...
axb4 17. axb4 Bd8 18. c4 Nd4 19. Nxd4 exd4 20. Qc2 Re8 (20... c6 $5 21. Nf4 $8
Qb7 $11) 21. g3 bxc4 22. Qxc4 c6 23. Nf4 Bg5 24. Ne2 d5 25. exd5 cxd5 26. Qb3
h5 27. b5 h4 28. b6 (28. Nxd4 $2 Bf6 $17) 28... h3 29. Kh1 (29. Nxd4 Bf6 $15)
29... Reb8 30. Rfb1 $36 {White fights for an advantage.} (30. Nxd4 $2 Bf6 $19)
30... Bd8 31. Qb5 (31. Nxd4 Rxb6 32. Qxb6 Bxb6 $19) 31... Qg4 $2 {[#]} (31...
Qf5 $16 32. Nxd4 Qf6) 32. Qxd5 (32. Qe8+ $18 {and the rest is easy.} Kh7 33.
Qxf7) 32... Ra5 $16 33. Qc6 ({Better is} 33. f3 $16 {And now Qxd8+! would win.}
Rxd5 34. fxg4) 33... Rc5 $2 (33... Rxb6 $1 $11 {and Black has nothing to worry.
} 34. Rxb6 (34. Qe8+ $2 Kh7 $19) 34... Qxe2) 34. Qe8+ $18 Kh7 {[#] ( -> ...
Qf3+!)} 35. Ng1 $1 Rxb6 36. Qxd8 {White has a decisive advantage.} Rxb2 37.
Rxb2 Rc1 38. Qh4+ Qxh4 39. gxh4 Rd1 40. f3 {Accuracy: White = 83%, Black = 75%.
} 1-0
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.23"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2767"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "165"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
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 {Nowadays more popular than 10...Qc7.} 11. h4 {
D87: Exchange Grünfeld: Classical Line: Variations without ...cxd4.} e6 12. h5
Qh4 13. hxg6 hxg6 14. f3 Bb7 15. Qd2 cxd4 16. cxd4 Rfd8 17. Rac1 {[#]} Qe7 $146
({Predecessor:} 17... Be5 18. f4 Bg7 19. Rf3 Rac8 20. Rh3 Qg4 21. Qe1 Nxd4 22.
Nxd4 Bxd4 23. Bxd4 Rxd4 {1/2-1/2 (44) Dubov,D (2676)-Svidler,P (2719) Hamburg
2019}) 18. Rfd1 Rac8 19. Bg5 Bf6 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. Qe3 Kg7 22. Kf2 Rh8 23. Rh1
$36 {Black is under pressure.} Rxh1 24. Rxh1 Rh8 25. Rxh8 Kxh8 26. Qc3 Kg8 27.
d5 Qxc3 28. Nxc3 $11 {Endgame KBN-KBN} Na5 29. Bd3 exd5 (29... Kg7 $14) 30.
exd5 $16 Kf8 (30... Bc8 $16) 31. Ke3 $18 Ke7 32. Kd4 Bc8 {[#]} 33. Nb5 $1 a6
34. Nc7 Kd6 35. Nxa6 Nb7 36. g4 (36. Nb4 $142) 36... g5 $16 37. Nb4 {Black
must now prevent Ba6.} Bd7 38. Nc2 Ke7 39. Ne3 Nd6 40. Nd1 Ba4 41. Nf2 f6 42.
Be2 Be8 43. Nd1 Ba4 44. Nb2 Be8 45. Bd1 (45. Bd3 $16) 45... Nb5+ $11 46. Kc4
Nc7 $1 47. Bb3 Kd6 48. Kd4 {[#] aiming for Nc4+.} Nb5+ 49. Kd3 Nc7 50. Nc4+ Kc5
$1 51. Nd2 {Hoping for Ne4+.} Bb5+ 52. Ke4 {Kf5 is the strong threat.} Bd7 $1
53. Nf1 Nb5 54. Ng3 Nd6+ 55. Ke3 f5 56. gxf5 Bxf5 57. Nxf5 Nxf5+ $14 {KB-KN}
58. Ke4 Nh4 $1 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 (68. Bg4 $14) 68... Ng6 ({
Black should play} 68... Ng2 $1 $11) 69. Bf7 ({Better is} 69. Kd4 $1 $14) 69...
Nh4 (69... Ne7 $1 $11 70. Be6 Ng6) 70. Be8 Ng2 71. Bb5 Nh4 72. Bd3 Kc5 73. Bf1
Kd6 74. Bh3 Ng6 75. Be6 Nh4 76. Bf7 Ke7 77. Bh5 {Strongly threatening Ke5.} Kd6
78. Bg4 $1 Ng2 79. Kf5 Kxd5 80. Kxg5 Ke5 81. Kg6 (81. Bf5 $16) 81... Nf4+ $11
82. Kf7 Nd3 83. Ke7 {Black escapes into a draw. Accuracy: White = 85%, Black =
83%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.25"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2842"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 O-O
8. Qd2 {C42: Petroff Defence: 3 Nxe5 and unusual White 3rd moves.} Nd7 9. O-O-O
Nf6 {is now debated instead of 9...Ne5.} 10. Bd3 {The position is equal.} c5
11. Rhe1 Be6 12. Kb1 Qa5 13. c4 Qxd2 14. Nxd2 {[#]} Rad8 $146 ({Predecessor:}
14... Rfe8 15. f3 Rad8 16. a4 b6 17. b3 h6 18. Ne4 d5 19. cxd5 Nxd5 20. Bd2 Nc7
{1/2-1/2 (30) Razumikhin,A (2433)-Serner,A (2409) ICCF email 2019}) 15. f3 b6
16. g4 d5 17. g5 Nh5 18. cxd5 Bxd5 19. Ne4 f5 20. gxf6 Nxf6 21. Bg5 Kf7 22. Ng3
c4 23. Bf1 b5 24. a4 a6 25. axb5 axb5 26. Nf5 Bc5 27. Re5 {aiming for Bxf6.}
Bxf3 28. Rxd8 Rxd8 29. Rxc5 {Ne3 is the strong threat.} Rd1+ {[#] Double Attack
} 30. Ka2 Rxf1 31. Rxb5 c3 {And now ...Bd5+ would win.} 32. Bxf6 Kxf6 $11 {
Endgame KRB-KRN} 33. Ne3 Rf2 34. Rf5+ (34. b4 $11) 34... Ke6 $1 $15 35. Ka3
cxb2 36. Kxb2 {[#]} h5 (36... Rxc2+ $1 $15 37. Kb3 (37. Kxc2 Be4+) 37... Bb7)
37. h4 {Hoping for Rf8.} Rxc2+ $1 {Decoy} 38. Kxc2 Be4+ {Double Attack. Black
is slightly better.} 39. Kd2 $1 Bxf5 40. Ke2 Ke5 {Threatens to win with ...Kf4.
} 41. Kf3 $1 Bd3 {Accuracy: White = 89%, Black = 95%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.25"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 {6...Qa5 is the
modern continuation.} 7. h4 Qc7 8. h5 {C18: French: 3 Nc3 Bb4: Main line: 7 h4
and 7 Qg4.} h6 9. Rb1 b6 10. Qg4 {The position is equal.} Rg8 11. Bb5+ {[#]}
Kf8 $146 {White must now prevent ...c4.} ({Predecessor:} 11... Bd7 12. Bd3 Nf5
13. Qf4 Nc6 14. Bxf5 exf5 15. e6 Qxf4 16. exd7+ Kxd7 17. Bxf4 cxd4 18. cxd4
Nxd4 {1-0 (36) Bartel,M (2629)-Jaroch,K (2254) Zgierz 2017}) 12. Bd3 Ba6 13.
dxc5 Bxd3 14. cxd3 Nd7 15. d4 bxc5 16. Qd1 Qa5 17. Bd2 Rb8 18. Ne2 c4 19. O-O
Rb6 20. Qc2 Rh8 (20... Ra6 $14) 21. a4 $16 Ke8 22. Rb4 Nc6 23. f4 Ne7 ({But not
} 23... Nxb4 $6 24. cxb4 Qa6 25. b5 $14) 24. Rfb1 f5 25. Rb5 Qa6 26. Bc1 Kf7 {
White stays focused until the end.} (26... Rf8 $14) 27. Ba3 Rhb8 28. Bxe7 $1
Kxe7 {[#]} 29. g4 $1 Rxb5 30. axb5 Rxb5 31. gxf5 {Threatens to win with Rxb5.}
Rxb1+ 32. Qxb1 exf5 33. Ng3 Qb6 (33... Qa3 $142) 34. Nxf5+ $18 Kf8 35. Qa1 Qe6
{[#]} (35... Kg8 $142 36. Ne7+ Kh8) 36. Ng3 $1 Qg4 $2 (36... Qb6 {was
necessary.} 37. Qa3+ Kf7) 37. Kg2 Qxf4 38. Qxa7 Ke7 39. Qa3+ Kd8 40. Qd6 g5 {
intending ...g4.} 41. hxg6 h5 42. g7 {Accuracy: White = 97%, Black = 62%.} 1-0
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.25"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2698"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8.
Qc2 c6 9. Bf4 (9. Rc1 a5 10. a3 h6 11. e3 Re8 12. b3 a4 13. b4 Ne4 14. c5 Bf6
15. Nc3 e5 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Nxe5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Bxe5 19. Bc3 Bxc3 20. Qxc3 Bg4
21. Ra2 {1/2-1/2 (70) Ding,L (2811)-Alekseenko,K (2671) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019})
9... b6 10. Rd1 Ba6 {E08: Closed Catalan: Main Line: 7 Qc2.} 11. Nbd2 Rc8 12.
Rac1 Nh5 13. Be3 Nhf6 14. Bg5 Bb7 {[#]} 15. Ne5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 15. Qb1 h6
16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. e4 dxc4 18. Nxc4 b5 19. Ne3 Qb6 20. b4 a5 21. a3 Rfd8 22. e5
Nd5 23. Ne1 axb4 24. Bxd5 bxa3 {1-0 (31) Joie,S (2363) -Monceau,E (1987)
Charleville Mezieres 2017}) 15... Nxe5 16. dxe5 Ng4 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Nf3 f6
19. exf6 Nxf6 20. Bh3 Rce8 21. Qa4 c5 22. b4 cxb4 23. Qxa7 Ne4 {Hoping for ...
Nc3.} 24. Qxb6 Nc3 {Double Attack} 25. Re1 dxc4 {[#]} 26. a3 $1 Bd5 (26...
Nxe2+ $1 $15 27. Rxe2 Bxf3 28. Rxe6 Qg5) (26... bxa3 27. Rxc3) 27. Qxb4 (27.
axb4 $5 Qf6 28. Qe3 $11) 27... Qxb4 {The position is equal.} 28. axb4 Nxe2+ {
Remove Defender} 29. Rxe2 Rxf3 30. Bg2 Rff8 31. Rd2 Rb8 32. Bxd5 exd5 33. Rxd5
Rxb4 $11 {Endgame KRR-KRR} 34. Rc2 Rc8 35. Kf1 c3 36. Ke2 Rb7 37. Rd3 Rb2 38.
Kd1 Rb1+ 39. Ke2 Rb2 40. Kd1 Rb1+ {Accuracy: White = 91%, Black = 92%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.25"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. Nf3 e4 4. Nd4 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nc2 {A20: English
Opening: 1...e5.} Nf6 7. Nc3 Qe5 8. Bg2 Na6 9. O-O Be7 {[#]} 10. Ne3 $146 ({
Predecessor:} 10. d3 exd3 11. Qxd3 Nc5 12. Qd4 Qxd4 13. Nxd4 O-O 14. Bf4 g6 15.
b4 Ne6 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 {1-0 (64) Tomashevsky,E (2705) -Grischuk,A (2777) Moscow
2019}) 10... h5 11. d4 exd3 $1 12. exd3 Qd4 13. Nc2 Qg4 (13... Qd8 {keeps more
tension.} 14. Bg5 Bg4 15. Qd2 O-O 16. d4 Nc7) 14. Bf4 Qxd1 15. Raxd1 (15. Rfxd1
{looks sharper.} Bg4 16. Re1 h4 17. d4 Rd8 18. a3) 15... Bg4 {The position is
equal.} 16. Rd2 O-O-O 17. d4 Nc7 18. Ne3 {Black should prevent d5.} Be6 (18...
Ne6 {feels hotter.} 19. Nxg4 hxg4 20. Be3 Nc7 21. d5 Nfxd5 22. Nxd5 Nxd5 23.
Bxd5 Rxd5 24. Rxd5 cxd5 25. Rd1 Rh5) 19. d5 Ncxd5 20. Ncxd5 Nxd5 21. Nxd5 Bxd5
{[#]} 22. Rxd5 $1 Rxd5 (22... cxd5 23. Bh3+) 23. Bxd5 cxd5 $11 {Endgame KRB-KRB
} 24. Rc1+ Kd7 25. Rc7+ {Double Attack} Ke6 26. Rxb7 Rc8 27. Rxa7 Rc2 28. Be3
Bf6 {White must now prevent ...d4.} 29. Ra4 Bxb2 30. Kg2 d4 (30... f6 {is more
complex.} 31. h4 Bc3 32. Kf3 Kf5 33. g4+ hxg4+ 34. Rxg4 g6) 31. Bxd4 Bxd4 32.
Rxd4 Rxa2 {KR-KR} 33. Re4+ Kf6 34. Rf4+ Ke6 35. Re4+ Kf6 36. Rf4+ Ke6 37. Re4+
Kf6 38. Rf4+ Ke6 39. h4 g6 40. Re4+ Kf6 {Not much happened in this game.
Accuracy: White = 100%, Black = 100%.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.26"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2842"]
[BlackElo "2767"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.26"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.26"]
[Round "8.3"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2774"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.26"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2704"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.27"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2704"]
[BlackElo "2842"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.27"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.27"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.27"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2767"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.29"]
[Round "10.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2842"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.28"]
[Round "10.2"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.29"]
[Round "10.3"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.29"]
[Round "10.4"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2774"]
[BlackElo "2704"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.30"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2774"]
[BlackElo "2842"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.30"]
[Round "11.2"]
[White "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2704"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.30"]
[Round "11.3"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2767"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.30"]
[Round "11.4"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.31"]
[Round "12.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2842"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.31"]
[Round "12.2"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.31"]
[Round "12.3"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2698"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.31"]
[Round "12.4"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.04.02"]
[Round "13.1"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2842"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.04.02"]
[Round "13.2"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2774"]
[BlackElo "2767"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.04.02"]
[Round "13.3"]
[White "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2704"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.04.02"]
[Round "13.4"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.04.03"]
[Round "14.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2842"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.04.03"]
[Round "14.2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2704"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.04.03"]
[Round "14.3"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.04.03"]
[Round "14.4"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
*
