[Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.02"] [Round "13.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Warmerdam, Max"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D04"] [WhiteElo "2803"] [BlackElo "2646"] [PlyCount "126"] [GameId "2140943110166355"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,126,11,39,15,21,14,10,20,3,8,3,12,3,5,0,7,9,6,8,2,0,33,15,17,19,51,-14,57,36,31,55,-8,55,55,4,10,-11,-10,-15,-15,2,-3,99,-11,-53,37,-71,1,-110,-71,-65,44,-74,-51,-72,-70,-39,-68,-78,-61,-87,-73,-50,-71,-81,-74,-7,-88,-81,-35,-94,-142,-184,-135,-219,-192,-200,-200,-200,-252,-294,-307,-268,-276,-292,-380,-416,-213,-86,-261,-261,-274,-236,-291,-322,-224,-308,-303,-302,-393,-393,-426,-348,-430,-410,-513,-505,-366,-396,-338,-305,-334,-358,-379,-357,-361,-323,-382,-368,-367,-363,-376,-377,-404,-385,-388,-385,-399]} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 a6 4. h3 {If my students played this way (with both colors) I'd fire their coach (me).} e6 5. b3 $146 b6 6. Bb2 Bb7 7. Nbd2 Nbd7 8. Bd3 Bd6 9. c4 O-O 10. O-O {Finally returning to a single (non-professional) predecessor.} Qe7 $146 11. Ne5 Ne4 12. Rc1 Bxe5 $6 (12... Nxd2 13. Qxd2 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Bc5 $11 {/?}) 13. dxe5 $14 Ndc5 14. Bb1 (14. Ba3 $1) 14... Rfd8 15. cxd5 Nxd2 (15... Rxd5 $142) 16. Qxd2 Bxd5 17. Bd4 (17. Qe2 $142 $14) 17... Ne4 18. Qe2 c5 19. Bb2 Qg5 $11 {/?} 20. f4 $6 (20. Qg4) 20... Qe7 (20... Qg3 $15) 21. Rfd1 a5 22. Bd3 $6 a4 23. bxa4 Rxa4 24. a3 Raa8 25. Kh2 h6 $17 26. Qc2 Qb7 27. Bb5 Rac8 28. Qe2 Qa8 29. a4 Bb3 30. Rd3 Rxd3 31. Qxd3 Bd5 32. Qc2 g6 33. Rd1 h5 $2 34. Bc1 $2 (34. Rxd5 $1 exd5 35. e6 $1 fxe6 36. Bd3 $1 (36. Bd7 $2 {might be what you're expecting, but} Rd8 37. Bxe6+ Kf8 $19 {followed by ...Qc6 is a big problem for White.}) 36... Kh7 37. Bxe4 dxe4 38. Qc3 Qb7 39. Qe5 $44 {Black will have a very difficult time achieving anything from here in spite of his significant material advantage.}) 34... h4 $17 35. Bd2 $2 Ng3 $19 36. Be1 Nf5 37. Rxd5 $4 Nxe3 $1 38. Qc1 Nxd5 39. Bxh4 c4 40. f5 exf5 {With the time control having been made Caruana is very unlikely to swindle his lower-rated opponent.} 41. Bd7 f4 (41... c3 $1) 42. e6 Ne3 $1 {This was of course the point of ...f4.} 43. Qg1 c3 $6 {Black is still winning after this, but there's no need to give up the exchange.} (43... Rc7) 44. Bxc8 Qxc8 45. e7 c2 46. Bg5 Kh7 47. Qe1 (47. e8=Q Qxe8 48. Bxf4 Nd5 49. Bd2 Qe5+ 50. Kh1 Kg8 51. Qc1 Qe4 $19 {White can hang around indefinitely, but sooner or later Black will break through.}) 47... Qc6 48. Qh4+ Kg8 49. e8=Q+ Qxe8 50. Bf6 {Almost winning...which is to say that it's still losing.} Nf1+ 51. Kh1 (51. Kg1 Qe3+ 52. Kxf1 c1=Q+ $19) 51... Ng3+ 52. Kh2 Nh5 {So close, but so far.} 53. Bb2 Kh7 (53... f3 $1) 54. Qg5 Qe3 (54... f3 $1) 55. Qd5 Qg3+ 56. Kg1 Qe1+ 57. Kh2 Qg3+ 58. Kg1 c1=Q+ 59. Bxc1 Qe1+ 60. Kh2 Qg3+ 61. Kg1 Qe1+ 62. Kh2 Qxc1 63. Qxf7+ {It's only one check.} Ng7 0-1 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.02"] [Round "13.2"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Black "Wei Yi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2717"] [BlackElo "2751"] [PlyCount "132"] [GameId "2140943110170452"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,132,11,26,15,20,15,23,17,4,17,20,18,20,30,10,7,8,1,0,0,12,8,14,-80,7,14,-4,-7,41,19,-28,16,13,41,-25,25,17,21,18,95,27,17,122,24,-12,14,20,24,-10,14,36,27,19,45,22,29,30,60,91,55,55,39,43,32,20,33,27,-77,21,30,41,42,60,47,62,41,20,51,30,28,14,20,13,32,25,-70,23,0,1,39,24,13,22,14,25,2,-89,15,-1,19,-110,-1,-130,-142,-167,-116,-94,-122,-92,-92,-84,-108,-110,-131,-99,-91,-109,-109,-124,-192,-143,-102,-152,-106,-114,-114,-98,-98,-77,-62,-98,-97,-77,-77]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qa4 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2 Bd6 11. Re1 Be4 12. Qc1 Bb7 {So far, an old-fashioned line of the Catalan, but now a new move:} 13. Be3 $146 Nbd7 14. Nbd2 Nd5 15. Nb3 {A good rule of thumb for the Open Catalan (what we've got with 6...dxc4) is that if Black can safely achieve ...c5 he has equalized (and there's a reasonable chance the players will quickly close up shop). 13.Be3 and now 15.Nb3 are aimed against that liberating move.} Nxe3 16. Qxe3 Rc8 17. Rec1 Bd5 18. Nfd2 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 c5 $11 {And there it is.} 20. Ne4 cxd4 {Forced, but obviously foreseen.} 21. Nxd4 Nc5 22. Nxd6 Qxd6 23. Nf3 {The position is very drawish, but no harm in continuing. Indeed, something does eventually happen.} Na4 24. b3 Nb6 25. Qd4 Qb8 26. e4 Qb7 27. Ne5 f6 28. Nd3 Rfd8 29. Rxc8 Qxc8 30. Qe3 Nd7 31. Rc1 Qb7 32. Qd4 Qa8 33. Qb4 Nf8 34. Nc5 Rc8 35. Qd2 Rd8 36. Qe3 Kf7 37. Nd3 Rc8 38. Rd1 {It's White who's pretending - for now.} Nd7 39. Qd4 Rc7 40. Rd2 Qb7 41. Qe3 Rc8 42. Nf4 Ne5 43. Rd6 Rc6 44. Rd8 Rc8 45. Rxc8 Qxc8 46. Qa7+ Nd7 47. Nd3 Qc6 48. Kf3 (48. Nc5 {would expedite the draw.}) 48... Ke7 49. Ke3 Qc3 50. f4 {I'm not sure if this is a winning try or a losing try, but it does inject some drama into the game.} (50. h4 $11) (50. Qd4 $11) 50... Qc2 51. Nb4 $8 {Forced.} Qxh2 52. Qc7 $1 Qxg3+ {White is still okay, but down two pawns there's no margin for error.} 53. Ke2 Qg2+ 54. Ke3 Qg1+ 55. Ke2 Qg2+ 56. Ke3 Qh3+ 57. Kd2 e5 58. Nd5+ Ke8 59. Qc8+ Kf7 60. f5 $8 Qg2+ 61. Ke3 Qh3+ 62. Kd2 Qg2+ 63. Ke3 Qg1+ 64. Ke2 Qh2+ 65. Ke3 Qg1+ 66. Ke2 Qg2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.02"] [Round "13.3"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C44"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2695"] [PlyCount "99"] [GameId "2140943110170453"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,99,27,33,42,45,28,-5,-36,-13,-13,-6,-1,-11,-10,28,22,15,-77,26,6,16,38,65,16,1,0,-22,-4,1,6,6,26,-6,0,0,9,-7,31,14,1,16,67,7,-2,-71,94,63,65,81,57,-1,138,115,110,132,132,118,91,99,99,110,77,89,51,101,51,77,90,87,314,162,68,65,302,99,229,185,90,25,213,17,158,1,1,1,0,0,-9,-1,-1,-7,-1,-9,-9,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1] As it turned out, a win would have brought Abdusattorov into a three-way tie for first.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. g3 {A poor move, but with the virtue of reducing theory and forcing Harikrishna to find his own moves rather than having the chance to rely on prep. At least in theory (no pun intended). Pragg, Gukesh, and yes, Abdusattorov have played this before, multiple times, so I'm sure Harikrishna was prepared for this opening (whatever it's called) as well.} Nf6 4. d3 d5 5. exd5 Qxd5 (5... Nxd5 {is more popular, but the two moves are of approximately equal value.}) 6. Bg2 e4 $5 (6... Bg4 {is the preference of Stockfish and most previous players.}) 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. Nd2 Bxc3 (8... Qe5 $142 $146 {=}) 9. bxc3 Bg4 10. Nxe4 $1 $14 {Black has some compensation for the pawn, but this looks like a good start for White.} O-O-O (10... Qe6 $142) 11. f3 Rhe8 12. Qe2 $6 $146 {A new move, but not a very good one.} (12. Be3 $142 $14 Qa5 13. fxg4 Nxe4 14. O-O Nxc3 15. Qf3 f6 16. g5 f5 17. Kh1 g6 18. Bd2 Qc5 19. d4 Nxd4 20. Qxc3 Qxc3 21. Bxc3 Nxc2 22. Rab1 c6 23. Rb2 Ne3 24. Rfb1 Rd1+ 25. Be1 Nxg2 26. Rxd1 Nxe1 27. Rf2 Re3 28. g4 fxg4 29. Rf8+ Kc7 30. Rf7+ Kb6 31. Rb1+ Kc5 32. Rfxb7 Nf3 33. R7b3 Rxb3 34. Rxb3 Nxg5 35. Rb7 a5 36. Kg2 Kd5 37. Ra7 c5 38. Rxa5 h5 39. a4 h4 40. Ra8 Ne6 41. a5 c4 42. a6 Nc7 43. Rd8+ Kc6 44. a7 Kb6 45. Rc8 {1-0 Zvjaginsev,V (2627)-Motylev,A (2640) Moscow Dvoretsky Memorial rapid 2019 (2)}) 12... Nxe4 $1 13. dxe4 Qa5 $15 14. O-O Be6 15. Qe1 Ne5 (15... Qa4 $142 $15) 16. Be3 Nc4 (16... Qa4 $142) 17. Bd4 $11 f6 18. Rf2 (18. a4 $142) 18... Rd7 (18... Qa4 $142 $15) 19. Bf1 (19. a4 $142 $11) 19... Red8 (19... Na3 $142 $15 {You get the idea by now. White should play a4 to keep Black's pieces off of a4 and a3, and when he doesn't Black should creep forward.}) 20. a4 $1 $11 c5 (20... a6) (20... h5) 21. Be3 Nxe3 22. Qxe3 Rd1 23. Rxd1 Rxd1 24. e5 (24. Kg2) 24... Bh3 25. e6 Qxa4 (25... Qa6 26. Qxc5+ Kb8 27. Qf8+ Kc7 28. Qc5+ Kb8 $11) 26. e7 Qe8 27. Qxc5+ Kb8 28. Qe3 a5 $1 29. g4 a4 30. c4 Kc7 $11 31. Qc5+ Kb8 32. Qe3 Kc7 33. f4 {Still trying.} Bxf1 34. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 35. Kxf1 Kd7 36. Qe4 Qa8 37. g5 fxg5 38. fxg5 g6 39. Qe5 Qe8 40. Qe4 Qf7+ 41. Kg2 Ke8 (41... Qxe7 $11) 42. c5 Qf5 43. Qxa4+ Kxe7 44. h4 Qxc5 45. Qe4+ Kd6 46. Qf4+ Qe5 47. Qb4+ Qc5 48. Qf4+ Qe5 49. Qb4+ Qc5 50. Qf4+ {White certainly gave it the proverbial old college try, but Hari played well to make sure that only his countrymen would be part of the tie for first.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.02"] [Round "13.4"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2741"] [PlyCount "159"] [GameId "2140943110174550"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 {For a time in Fischer's youth this was his favorite line against the Caro-Kann. It fit with his hearty enthusiasm for the bishop pair, though that enthusiasm and optimism didn't bear much fruit for him in the 1959 Candidates. In this game, Fischer's dream comes true, though it's ultimately an attack in an opposite colored bishop ending that leads to success.} e6 6. Be2 Nf6 7. O-O d4 (7... Nbd7) ({and} 7... Be7 {are the main moves.}) 8. Nb1 Bd6 9. c3 $5 {Very rare.} (9. d3 {is standard.}) 9... c5 10. cxd4 $146 cxd4 11. Na3 O-O $11 12. Nc4 Bc7 13. d3 Nc6 14. a4 a6 (14... Nd7 $11 {followed by ...Nc5 and ...a5 is positionally well-motivated, though it's scary to leave the Black kingside so unprotected.}) 15. g3 $6 (15. Bg5 $142) 15... b5 16. Na3 $6 Rb8 (16... Nd7 $1 17. axb5 axb5 $15) 17. axb5 axb5 18. Bg5 $11 Bd6 (18... Be5 $11 {was a little better, to continue with ...Qb6 without hanging a pawn.}) 19. Rfc1 Ne5 20. Qg2 Ned7 21. Nc2 Qb6 22. b4 e5 23. h4 Ra8 24. Qf1 Rfc8 25. Rxa8 Rxa8 26. Ra1 Qc6 27. Rxa8+ Qxa8 28. Qc1 Qb7 (28... Qc6 $11) 29. Bd1 Ne8 30. Bd2 $14 Nb8 31. Ne1 Nc6 32. Bb3 $1 Nxb4 $6 {A dubious practical decision, based on a miscalculation.} 33. Bxb4 Bxb4 34. Nf3 Qe7 $2 (34... Qc7 {is the only move that isn't *losing*.} 35. Qa1 $1 (35. Qxc7 Nxc7 36. Nxe5 Ne6 $11 {and the opposite-colored bishops should preserve the draw.}) 35... h6 $1 {Again an only move, though this time Black will "only" be clearly worse after lesser options.} 36. Qa8 Kf8 {White is having all the fun here even if the engine calls it equal.}) 35. Qc6 $2 $16 (35. Qc8 $1 {gives White a decisive advantage. One example:} h6 36. Bd5 Kh7 37. Qf5+ g6 38. Qxf7+ Qxf7 39. Bxf7 Nc7 40. Nxe5 $18) 35... h6 $1 36. Qxb5 (36. h5 $1 $16) 36... Bd6 37. h5 Nf6 38. Nh4 Qd7 (38... Qc7 $142 $14) 39. Qa6 Kh7 (39... Qc7 $1) 40. Qa2 (40. Nf5 $142 $16) 40... Kg8 41. Qa8+ Qe8 42. Qa6 Bf8 $6 43. Qb6 $1 Nh7 $2 44. Qg6 $18 (44. Ng6 $18 {is even better.}) 44... Ng5 45. Qf5 Qb8 46. Bc4 Bd6 47. Kg2 Kf8 $2 48. Ng6+ $2 (48. Nf3 $1 {takes advantage of the knight's being tied to f7, lest Qxf7# occur.}) 48... Kg8 49. Qd7 Bf8 50. Nh4 Bd6 51. Nf5 Bf8 52. Nh4 Bd6 53. Nf3 $1 {Still good, though not as good as it was on move 48.} Qf8 54. Nxg5 hxg5 55. Bxf7+ Kh8 {Despite the extra pawn and Black's porous light squares, delivering the final blow isn't easy.} 56. Bb3 Be7 57. Qe6 Bf6 58. Bc4 Kh7 59. Qf5+ Kh8 60. Qg6 (60. Kf3 Qe8 61. Kg4 Qf8 62. Qe6 Kh7 63. Qf7 Qd8 (63... Qxf7 64. Bxf7 Bd8 65. Kf5 Bf6 66. f4 $18) 64. Be6 Kh8 65. Kf5 Be7 (65... Kh7 66. h6 $1 {mates in a few moves.}) 66. h6 $1 Qf8 (66... gxh6 67. Kg6 {mates in one or two moves.}) 67. Kg6 Qxf7+ 68. Kxf7 Bf6 69. Bf5 $18 {offers a winning zugzwang.}) 60... Be7 61. Bf7 Bb4 62. Qf5 Bd6 63. Kh3 Be7 64. Kg4 Bf6 65. Be6 Qe7 66. f4 $6 {This still wins, but it's not clear that it makes the win easier.} gxf4 67. gxf4 Qd6 68. Bc4 ({Does the following count as "easy"?} 68. fxe5 Bxe5 (68... Qxe5 69. Qxe5 Bxe5 70. Kf5 $18 {followed by e5 and Bf7 does make the win easier.}) 69. Qg6 Qf8 70. Bf5 Qg8 (70... Kg8 71. Qe6+ $18) 71. Kf3 Bf6 72. h6 Bd8 73. e5 Be7 74. e6 Qa8+ 75. Be4 Qf8+ 76. Ke2 Qg8 77. Bf5 Bd6 78. e7 Bxe7 79. Be6 Qf8 80. hxg7+ Qxg7 81. Qh5+ Qh7 82. Qe8+ Kg7 83. Qxe7+ $18) 68... Qb8 69. Bd5 $6 exf4 $1 70. e5 $4 {And now the win is gone entirely, though Black's draw is no more guaranteed than White's win had been.} Bxe5 $11 71. Be4 Kg8 72. Qe6+ Kh8 73. Qg6 Qc8+ 74. Bf5 Qg8 75. Kf3 Bf6 $1 76. Be4 Be5 $2 (76... Bd8 {maintains equality.}) 77. h6 $1 {Now White is winning again, and even more importantly, it is at last a straightforward win.} Bb8 78. Qg5 Qf8 79. hxg7+ Qxg7 80. Qh4+ {Gukesh is rescued again by his World Championship second, though perhaps if Pragg had made an easy draw from the start it would have been psychologically easier on him (Gukesh) than it was after the gutting loss in the tiebreaker.} (80. Qh4+ Kg8 81. Bd5+ Kf8 82. Qd8#) 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.02"] [Round "13.5"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2801"] [PlyCount "62"] [GameId "2140943110174551"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,62,12,28,24,27,33,33,26,12,10,-3,12,10,-23,0,15,8,-15,9,9,1,14,-24,-25,-7,5,19,12,26,39,37,-10,-22,-40,-33,49,-34,-45,-41,-9,1,-35,-78,-86,43,-122,-140,-175,-171,-101,-127,45,-198,-238,-83,-351,-386,-301,-440,-570,-640,-645,-994,-1221] For whatever reason, Gukesh played a terrible game once he got out of his prep.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nc4 Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 6. Ne3 {Certainy not a main line, but Carlsen tried it a couple of times, in 2020 and 2023. Wei Yi tried it in the last decade on several occasions as well, so it has had some high level tests.} Nf6 (6... c6) (6... Be6) ({and} 6... Nc6 {are all reasonable alternatives.}) 7. Nc3 Be6 8. g3 Nc6 9. Bg2 Qd7 10. O-O (10. b4 d5 11. b5 Nd4 12. Qd3 c5 13. O-O O-O-O 14. Re1 h5 15. h4 g5 16. b6 a6 17. hxg5 Ng4 18. Ncxd5 h4 19. Nc7 h3 20. Bxb7+ Kxb7 21. Qxa6+ Kc6 22. Nxg4 Bxg4 23. b7+ Kxc7 24. Qa5+ Kb8 25. Qa8+ Kc7 26. Qa5+ Kd6 27. Qb6+ Kd5 28. Re3 h2+ 29. Kh1 Qc6 30. Rb1 Qxb6 31. Rxb6 Bd6 32. Bb2 Rde8 {0-1 Rapport,R (2702)-Wei,Y (2706) Tata Steel-A 79th Wijk aan Zee 2017 (6)}) 10... O-O-O 11. b4 (11. f4 Bh3 12. d3 h5 {½-½ Horvath,T (2367)-Kastner,W (2193) Steyr Landesliga 1617 Austria 2016 (7.2)}) 11... d5 12. b5 Na5 $146 (12... Nd4 13. Qd3 Nf5 14. Nxf5 Bxf5 15. Qd4 b6 16. d3 Bh3 17. Bg5 Be7 18. a4 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 h6 20. Bd2 Bc5 21. Qf4 Kb8 22. a5 d4 23. Na4 Qd5+ 24. Qf3 Bf8 25. Rfe1 Qxf3+ 26. Kxf3 Rd5 27. axb6 axb6 28. Bf4 Kb7 29. Re5 Rg8 30. Rae1 Ba3 31. Ra1 Bf8 32. Rae1 Ba3 {½-½ Copar,A (2519)-Helbich,J (2517) EU-chT11 fin email ICCF email 2021}) 13. d4 $14 Bh3 14. Bxh3 (14. Bf3 $1 $14 Bxf1 $6 15. Qxf1 $16 Qe6 {Black's best move by far.} 16. Ncxd5 $1 Rxd5 (16... Nxd5 $4 17. Bg4 $18) 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. Bd2 $1 Bb4 (18... b6 $2 19. Bxa5 bxa5 20. c4 Ne7 21. c5 $18 {Although White only has a pawn for the piece, Black's castled position is so weak and his kingside development so poor that he will not be able to withstand White's coming attack.}) 19. Bxd5 Qxd5 20. Bxb4 $16) 14... Qxh3 15. Qf3 h5 $11 16. Nexd5 $6 (16. Ncxd5 $142 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 h4 18. Nf4 Qd7 19. a4 hxg3 20. fxg3 Qxd4+ 21. Be3 $11) 16... h4 $1 $15 17. Nxf6 gxf6 18. Rd1 $2 (18. Qg2 $1 Qf5 19. Qe4 Qh5 20. Qe2 $15) 18... hxg3 $17 {/-+} 19. hxg3 Nc4 20. Bf4 $2 (20. Rb1) 20... Bh6 $19 21. Bxh6 Rxh6 22. Qg2 Qh5 23. Rab1 Rdh8 24. Rb4 Na3 $5 25. b6 $1 cxb6 $1 26. Ra4 $2 Nb5 $1 27. Rd3 (27. Nxb5 $4 Qxd1+ 28. Qf1 Rh1+ 29. Kg2 R8h2#) 27... Nxc3 28. Rxc3+ Kd8 29. f3 (29. Rd3 Qb5 $1 30. Raa3 Rh1+ 31. Qxh1 Qb1+ $19) 29... Qb5 $1 30. Rxa7 Rh1+ 31. Kf2 (31. Qxh1 Qb1+ $19) 31... R8h2 {Winning the queen on the way to a speedy checkmate.} 0-1 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.02"] [Round "13.6"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2731"] [BlackElo "2680"] [PlyCount "120"] [GameId "2140943110174552"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,120,22,27,28,18,18,16,9,14,29,7,12,15,4,8,-5,33,0,23,0,14,14,55,5,8,-3,-9,-13,-16,-23,-10,-87,-18,-28,5,0,85,-4,-61,-57,-45,-63,-61,-52,-62,-70,-163,-124,-36,-57,-76,-4,-68,-76,-99,-147,-107,-213,-236,-169,-34,-35,-95,-88,1,-32,-24,-110,64,26,56,-18,8,56,-1,103,176,29,1,47,-34,-30,-6,78,47,22,-21,52,7,-59,15,-104,42,58,-63,56,38,46,43,58,32,-1,32,32,-27,18,-55,54,52,51,67,0,1,12,24,51,34,49,1,39,59,31] Contrary to their stereotyped reputation, Berlin endings tend to be interesting; the problem is not that they are boring but that they have been so deeply explored by elite GMs that Black is okay with long strings of super-precise moves. But it doesn't take much for White *or* Black to wind up with a meaningful advantage, and for a time Van Foreest had a serious, even winning advantage.} 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 Ne7 10. h3 Bd7 11. Ne4 h6 12. Re1 b6 13. Bd2 Kc8 14. Rad1 a5 15. Ng3 c5 16. Nh5 Nd5 17. a3 Be6 18. g4 b5 19. Kg2 Ra6 20. Kg3 b4 21. Ra1 a4 22. c3 bxc3 23. Bxc3 Nxc3 24. bxc3 Rb6 25. Nf4 Bb3 26. Nd2 g5 27. Nh5 Be7 28. Re3 Rd8 29. Nxb3 Rxb3 30. Rf3 c4 31. Rxf7 Rxa3 32. Rb1 Rxc3+ 33. Kg2 Rb3 34. Rc1 a3 35. Rxe7 c3 36. Ng7 a2 37. Ne6 Rb1 38. Rxc7+ Kb8 39. R7xc3 a1=Q 40. Rb3+ Rxb3 41. Rxa1 Rd5 42. Nf8 Rd8 43. Ne6 Rd5 44. Rc1 Rb6 45. Nf8 Rd8 46. Nh7 Re6 47. Re1 Rd4 48. Nf6 Kc8 49. Re3 Kd8 50. Kg3 Ke7 51. Nh5 Rd5 52. f4 Kf7 53. Rf3 gxf4+ 54. Nxf4 Rdxe5 55. Nxe6+ Kxe6 56. Kh4 Ke7 57. Rf5 Re3 58. Rh5 Re6 59. Rf5 Re3 60. Rh5 Re6 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.02"] [Round "13.7"] [White "Sarana, Alexey"] [Black "Mendonca, Leon Luke"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E49"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2639"] [PlyCount "94"] [GameId "2140943110174553"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,94,17,30,9,21,17,20,9,16,10,-11,8,2,-30,-26,0,42,3,-5,-1,-27,-41,-36,-16,-35,-5,-34,-20,-30,-1,14,51,53,50,47,53,30,65,65,28,-20,28,29,29,58,42,119,84,93,93,61,38,55,61,18,45,-33,41,33,28,-7,16,19,17,14,5,18,8,1,6,-1,1,5,5,1,-28,-1,16,1,1,1,22,15,15,1,1,1,-1,138,1,1,1,141,1,-1,29]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 c5 9. Ne2 Qc7 10. Qc2 b6 11. f3 Bb7 12. Bd2 Nc6 13. Rc1 Rac8 14. Qb2 e5 15. e4 exd4 16. cxd4 cxd4 17. Bb5 Qd7 18. O-O Rfd8 19. Bg5 a6 20. Bxc6 Rxc6 21. Rxc6 Bxc6 22. Rd1 d3 23. Qxb6 h6 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Nf4 $2 (25. Ng3 $18) 25... d2 $11 26. Nd5 Bxd5 27. Rxd2 Qe7 28. h3 Rd7 29. Qb8+ Kh7 30. Rxd5 Rxd5 31. exd5 Qc5+ 32. Kh1 Qxd5 33. Qb6 Qe6 34. Qb4 Qd5 35. a4 a5 36. Qf4 Qe5 37. Qc4 Kg7 38. h4 Qe1+ 39. Kh2 Qb4 40. Qg4+ Qxg4 41. fxg4 Kg6 42. Kg3 f5 43. Kf4 fxg4 44. Kxg4 f5+ 45. Kf4 Kf6 46. g4 fxg4 47. Kxg4 Ke5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Tata Steel Masters TB"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.02"] [Round "1"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2741"] [PlyCount "83"] [GameId "2140943196189835"] [EventDate "2025.02.02"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,83,24,1,7,2,17,0,9,20,13,8,-93,6,25,22,10,0,10,13,20,9,17,-17,8,20,6,0,-27,0,-30,5,-13,11,10,-6,20,-24,-30,-58,-64,-49,-7,-58,-26,-43,1,-44,-66,-1,-38,-8,58,-14,47,-12,-15,20,61,1,-31,1,-10,-8,-16,18,76,-52,9,-7,0,-24,420,472,629,500,694,648,720,675,804,752,830,747,735,756] Given a new lease on life after Pragg's defeat to Keymer, Gukesh bounces back to win the first 3'+2" playoff game.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 d4 5. O-O Nc6 6. d3 Bc5 7. a3 a5 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Nbd2 Qe7 11. Ne4 a4 12. Nxc5 Qxc5 13. Nd2 O-O 14. Qc2 e5 15. Rfb1 Ra7 16. b4 axb3 17. Rxb3 Qe7 18. Rb5 Rxa3 19. Re1 $6 (19. Rxa3 Qxa3 20. Qb2 $44) 19... Ra7 $15 {/?} 20. Qb2 Rd8 (20... Nd8 $142) 21. h4 (21. Ra1 $142 $44) 21... Nb8 $15 22. e3 c6 $17 23. Rb3 Qc7 24. Nf3 Na6 $2 (24... c5 $17) 25. Ra3 $11 Qd6 26. exd4 exd4 27. Qb6 (27. Nxd4 $1 $14) 27... Ra8 28. Nxd4 Nc7 $2 (28... Bd7 $1 $11) 29. Rxa8 $2 (29. Nb5 $3 $18) 29... Nxa8 30. Qa7 $11 Nc7 31. Qa5 Qxd4 32. Qxc7 Qxd3 (32... Rf8 $142 $11) 33. Re7 (33. Bd5 $1 Rf8 34. Bxf7+ $1 $14) 33... Be6 (33... Rf8 $1) 34. Qxb7 $11 c5 35. Qc7 Qd6 $4 {Missing a simple tactic.} (35... Qd1+ 36. Kh2 Qd4 $11) 36. Re8+ $1 Kh7 37. Qxd8 Qe5 38. Rh8+ Kg6 39. Qd3+ Bf5 40. Qe3 Qd6 41. Re8 Be6 42. Be4+ 1-0 [Event "Tata Steel Masters TB"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.02"] [Round "2"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D03"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2777"] [PlyCount "77"] [GameId "2140943196222604"] [EventDate "2025.02.02"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,77,20,31,12,8,1,0,17,-9,10,0,-1,-32,-7,-60,8,-37,13,17,13,18,1,1,-1,-6,-16,10,-60,-14,18,-15,-12,54,10,58,39,-19,-1,15,0,37,40,18,7,21,53,35,121,-31,65,58,146,46,91,138,219,129,211,189,77,177,217,136,222,115,381,335,304,212,175,220,138,218,234,242,330,204,502,424]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. e3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Nbd2 O-O 6. h3 c5 7. c3 b6 8. Bd3 Nc6 {This is not a crazy move, obviously, but it is a bit unusual for Black to put the knight on c6 in conjunction with the bishop on b7. The point is to keep d7 clear for the other knght.} 9. O-O h6 10. Bf4 Nd7 11. Bg3 Bb7 12. Be2 e5 {Black is already a little better.} 13. dxe5 Ndxe5 14. a4 Nd7 $6 {But this is strange and unnecessary.} (14... Re8) (14... Nxf3+ 15. Nxf3 Re8) 15. Qc2 $6 (15. e4 $1 $14) 15... Re8 (15... Qe7 $15) 16. Rfe1 Rc8 17. Rad1 Qe7 18. Qb1 ({Now for something entertaining, though completely unrealistic, in the context of a 3'+2" game:} 18. e4 $1 dxe4 19. Nxe4 Qxe4 20. Bd3 $3 (20. Qxe4 Rxe4 21. Rxd7 Rce8 $1 $11) 20... Qd5 21. Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. Bxg6 Nd4 $1 23. cxd4 cxd4 $1 (23... fxg6 $6 24. dxc5 Qf7 25. c6 Bc8 26. cxd7 Bxd7 $14 {/?}) 24. Bh7+ Kh8 25. Bd3 $11) 18... Nf8 $2 (18... Nf6 $11) 19. Bf1 (19. e4 $1 dxe4 20. Bd3 $1 $16) 19... Ne6 $2 {A further error, but it's the point of the previous move.} 20. e4 $1 $16 {Finally! Unfortunately for Gukesh and fortunately for Pragg, it's still very strong.} d4 21. Qc2 (21. e5 $142) 21... Ng5 22. Nh2 $1 {This is nice. The knight is just dangling on g5 and is likely to be kicked away with f4 or h4.} Rcd8 23. e5 Qc7 (23... Ne6 $142 $16) 24. Ng4 $2 (24. h4 Ne6 25. Ng4 $18) 24... Kh8 $2 (24... Nxe5 $11 {works. Black has enough defenders and there isn't any way to exploit the pin.}) 25. Nc4 $18 Ne6 26. Nd6 Rf8 27. Bc4 {Black's position is horrible, and now all he can do is hope that Pragg gets careless.} Ne7 28. Qc1 Qc6 {One can hope!} 29. Nxb7 {The knight was beautiful, but swapping it off to win the h-pawn is a good deal. (Of course White's not going to miss ...Qxg2#.)} Qxb7 30. Nxh6 Nd5 31. Ng4 Qe7 32. Rd3 Qg5 33. Qxg5 Nxg5 34. cxd4 (34. Bh4 {was even better. White will get a second chance - stay tuned.}) 34... Nb4 35. Rd2 Rxd4 36. Rxd4 cxd4 37. Rd1 Nc6 38. Bb5 Ne7 $4 {Losing immediately, not that Black had any real hope of saving the game in any case.} 39. Bh4 1-0 [Event "Tata Steel Masters TB"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.02.02"] [Round "3"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2777"] [PlyCount "123"] [GameId "2140943196222605"] [EventDate "2025.02.02"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,123,7,22,25,11,8,0,-41,-2,-47,1,19,19,19,17,25,14,23,13,10,11,1,7,26,129,11,4,16,114,-1,-29,-73,-44,-49,-40,0,-62,-31,-20,150,27,76,-20,-23,-47,-107,-103,-107,-115,-119,-93,-102,-126,-127,-144,-144,-117,-117,-142,-6,-104,-90,59,-33,103,-9,-15,-17,148,-51,140,-31,-42,1,-8,-12,-35,0,-6,-1,6,-18,157,-31,70,-20,-11,-8,-9,-12,-12,-15,-8,-12,63,-1,-31,-1,-1,36,119,69,85,154,183,184,278,279,305,292,309,345,350,378,381,393,451,432,525,550,611,537,541,720,772] This was the first - and last - game of sudden death. White started with 2:30 (actually 2:32) and Black with 3:00 (3:02), but unlike an Armageddon format the players had the same two-second increment as in the three-minute games we just saw. The winner of the playoff (and thus the tournament) would be the first player to win one of the sudden death games; in the event of a draw the players would switch colors and do it again until someone finally won (unless perhaps the players pulled a Carlsen-Nepo and decided to be co-champions).} 1. d4 d5 {After 10 seconds. Perhaps Gukesh was deciding if it was worth allowing the Tromp again, as in the previous game.} 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 c5 5. Be2 Bd6 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 a6 10. Qxd8 Rxd8 11. Nbd2 Bd7 $146 (11... b5 12. Be2 Bb7 13. Rac1 Nbd7 14. Nb3 Bb6 15. Bc7 Bxc7 16. Rxc7 Bd5 17. Rfc1 Bxb3 18. axb3 Nd5 19. Rb7 Rab8 20. Ra7 Ra8 21. Rxa8 Rxa8 22. Nd4 Kf8 23. Bf3 N7f6 24. e4 Nb4 25. e5 Nfd5 26. Bxd5 Nxd5 27. g3 Rd8 28. Ne2 Nb4 29. Rc7 Nd3 30. f4 g5 31. Ra7 gxf4 32. gxf4 Nb4 33. Ng3 Kg7 34. f5 exf5 35. e6 Kf6 36. exf7 Rf8 37. Kg2 Rxf7 38. Rxf7+ Kxf7 39. Nxf5 Ke6 40. Ng3 Nd3 41. Kf3 Nc5 42. Ke3 Nxb3 43. Ne4 Ke5 44. Ng5 h5 45. Nf3+ Kf5 46. h3 a5 47. Nh4+ Kg5 48. Nf3+ Kf5 49. Nh4+ Ke5 50. Ng6+ Kf6 51. Nf4 Kg5 52. Ng2 a4 53. Kd3 Na5 54. Kc3 Nc6 55. Kd3 Kf5 56. Ke3 b4 57. Kd3 b3 58. Ne3+ Kf4 59. Nd5+ Kg3 60. Nb6 Kxh3 61. Nxa4 h4 62. Nc5 Kg2 63. Ne6 Kg3 64. Ng5 Ne5+ 65. Kc3 Nf3 66. Ne4+ Kg2 67. Nf6 h3 68. Ng4 Ne5 69. Nxe5 h2 70. Kxb3 h1=Q 71. Kc3 Qh8 72. Kd4 Kg3 73. Kd5 Qb8 74. Nc4 Qb4 75. Kd4 Kf4 76. Kd5 Kf3 77. Ne5+ Ke2 78. Nc4 Kd3 79. Ne5+ Kc2 80. Nc4 Kb3 81. Ne5 Qb5+ 82. Kd4 Kxb2 {0-1 Praggnanandhaa,R (2737)-So,W (2747) Wch Blitz New York 2024 (8)}) 12. Rac1 Be7 13. Be2 Nd5 14. Bg3 Bb5 $1 {This nice move gets rid of Black's worst minor piece. As for the doubled, isolated b-pawns, they're not a problem. The pawn on b5 can either be advanced and exchanged (assuming White plays 16.a3, which happens) or can be used to support a knight coming to c4.} 15. Bxb5 axb5 16. a3 Nc6 (16... b4 $11) 17. Rfd1 Rac8 18. Kf1 Nb6 19. Ne4 Nc4 (19... Na4 $11) 20. Rxd8+ Rxd8 $2 {This is the sort of casual oversight that can happen in blitz but almost never at slower time controls. Fortunately for Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa also misses it.} (20... Nxd8 $11) 21. Rc2 $2 $11 (21. a4 $1 $16 Nxb2 $2 22. axb5 Na5 23. Rc7 Kf8 24. Be5 $1 Nbc4 25. Bxg7+ $1 $18) 21... Rd1+ 22. Ke2 Rb1 23. Nc3 Rxb2 24. Rxb2 Nxb2 25. Nxb5 Nc4 26. Kd3 Nxa3 27. Nxa3 Bxa3 $17 {This kind of situation is why the expression "playing for two results" was invented. Black has some winning chances with his extra pawn, and if they don't pan out it's a draw. It's important to realize that "playing for two results" is not a literal guarantee, and even a position like this can be lost. Not easily, perhaps, but anything's possible.} 28. Kc4 Na7 $1 29. Bb8 Nc8 30. Kb5 $2 f6 $2 {Missing a big opportunity.} (30... Bd6 $1 31. Bxd6 Nxd6+ 32. Kb6 Ne4 33. Kxb7 Nxf2 {really is a two-result position, and reasonably close to a one-resulter.}) 31. Nd2 $1 Kf7 32. Nc4 Bf8 33. Na5 Bd6 {Too late to win, but still a good move that keeps a nice, safe advantage.} 34. Bxd6 Nxd6+ 35. Kb6 Ne4 36. f3 Nc3 {This puts the knight on a track that won't win any pawns.} (36... Nd2 37. e4 (37. Kxb7 $2 Nf1 $19) 37... Nf1 38. Nxb7 $1 (38. h3 $2 Ne3 39. g4 Nf1 40. Nc4 e5 41. Kxb7 Nh2 42. Nd2 Kg6 43. h4 h5 $19 {Black breaks through and wins. That's easy to work out in a classical or even a rapid game, but not 35-40 moves into a three-minute game.}) 38... Nxh2 39. Kc5 Nf1 $15 {White should draw this, but Black is playing without any risk.}) 37. Kxb7 e5 38. Kc6 Nd1 39. Nc4 Ke6 40. e4 $11 g6 41. Kc5 f5 42. Kb4 fxe4 43. fxe4 Nf2 44. Nd2 {White is no longer in any danger, but then neither is Black. Here, however, Gukesh's "default setting" to always play for a win, which on balance works brilliantly for him, leads him to self-immolate.} Kd6 45. Nc4+ Ke6 46. Nd2 Kf6 47. Kc4 Ng4 ({Giving the up the d5 square is crazy, even if Black's position can still absorb the loss. Just play} 47... Ke6 {, make a draw, and then grind away with the white pieces in the next game.}) 48. Nf1 Nf2 49. Kd5 {Thank you for the great square!} Nd3 50. Ne3 Nf4+ 51. Kd6 Nd3 $4 (51... h5 {had to be played, to stop Ng4+.}) 52. Ng4+ $18 {Of course.} Kg5 53. Nxe5 Kf4 $4 {Black's king will not manage to eliminate all of White's pawns.} 54. Nxd3+ Kxe4 55. Nf2+ Ke3 56. Ng4+ Kf4 57. Nf6 h5 58. Ke6 h4 59. Kf7 Kf5 60. Kg7 g5 61. h3 Kf4 62. Kg6 {We remember the emotions Gukesh went through at the end of the match with Ding. This time too he was stuck at the board for at least a minute or so, but this time in utter disbelief and disappointment.} 1-0