[Event "Chennai Women's Chess Olympiad"]
[Site "chess.com"]
[Date "2022.07.30"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Mouradian, Knarik"]
[Black "Cramling, Pia"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B26"]
[WhiteElo "2121"]
[BlackElo "2459"]
[Annotator "Saravanan,V"]
[PlyCount "18"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Lebanon"]
[BlackTeam "Sweden"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "LBN"]
[BlackTeamCountry "SWE"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nh3 h5 8. Qd2 Nd4
9. f3 $4 Bxh3 {and White resigned. 0-} 0-1
[Event "Chennai Women's Chess Olympiad"]
[Site "chess.com"]
[Date "2022.07.30"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Atalik, Ekaterina"]
[Black "Muzychuk, Mariya"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A11"]
[WhiteElo "2422"]
[BlackElo "2540"]
[Annotator "Saravanan,V"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Turkey"]
[BlackTeam "Ukraine"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "TUR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "UKR"]
1. c4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. b3 Bd6 6. Bb2 O-O 7. d4 Ne4 8. Nxe4
dxe4 9. Nd2 f5 10. Qc2 Nd7 11. O-O-O Qe7 12. f3 $1 {This central break proves
to be effective for White, as she then develops her pieces harmoniously.} exf3
13. gxf3 e5 $6 {Premature.} ({Black could have developed her pieces first with
} 13... Nf6 14. Bd3 (14. e4 fxe4 15. Nxe4 (15. fxe4 e5) 15... Nxe4 16. fxe4
Bf4+ 17. Kb1 e5) 14... b5 $5) 14. Bd3 Nf6 15. Rde1 $5 {Discouraging Black from
opening up the e-file.} (15. Bxf5 Bxf5 16. Qxf5 exd4 17. exd4 Rae8 {might give
Black some compensation for the pawn.}) 15... a5 16. Bxf5 Bxf5 17. Qxf5 exd4
18. exd4 Qc7 19. Rhg1 $16 Rf7 20. d5 $1 Raf8 21. Qe6 Kh8 22. Ne4 Nxe4 23. Rxe4
Bf4+ 24. Kb1 cxd5 25. Qxd5 ({Even better is} 25. cxd5) 25... Bh6 26. Be5 Qc8
27. Bd6 Rf5 28. Qe6 Qxe6 29. Rxe6 Rd8 30. Be5 $2 ({White could have won the
game with} 30. Bc7 Rc8 31. Rge1) 30... Kg8 31. f4 g6 32. Rg4 Rd7 33. Kc2 Rf8
34. h4 Rfd8 35. Rg2 Bg7 36. h5 gxh5 37. f5 Kf8 38. f6 Bh6 39. Bc3 {White once
again enjoys a clear advantage.} Kf7 40. Re5 Bf4 41. Rg7+ Kf8 42. Ree7 Rd1 43.
Rxh7 Rg1 44. Reg7 1-0
[Event "Chennai Women's Chess Olympiad"]
[Site "chess.com"]
[Date "2022.07.30"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Koneru, Humpy"]
[Black "Zuriel, Marisa"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2586"]
[BlackElo "2174"]
[Annotator "Saravanan,V"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "India"]
[BlackTeam "Argentina"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "IND"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ARG"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. Qc2 b4 5. e4 d6 6. Bd3 g6 7. Ne2 Bg7 8. O-O O-O
9. Nd2 Nbd7 10. f4 a5 11. a4 e6 12. Nf3 exd5 13. exd5 Re8 14. h3 Rb8 15. Bd2
Ba6 16. Rae1 Qb6 17. Kh2 Re7 ({Black misses a complicated way to play for an
advantage with} 17... Nxd5 18. cxd5 c4 19. Be4 (19. Bxc4 b3 20. Qxb3 (20. Qc1
Rec8) 20... Qxb3) 19... Nf6 20. Ng3 c3 $1 21. bxc3 Bxf1 22. Rxf1 bxc3 $17) 18.
Ng3 Rbe8 19. Rxe7 Rxe7 20. b3 Qd8 21. f5 $16 {White has a clear advantage here,
due to an advantage in Black's position.} Qe8 22. Bg5 Bc8 23. Qd2 {White
seemed to have difficulty in finding a way to continue here.} Qf8 24. Bf4 Re8
25. Kh1 Qe7 26. Qc2 Qf8 27. Qd2 Qe7 28. Bc2 Qf8 29. Ng5 (29. Bg5 {followed by
Qd2-f4 and Nf3-h4 seems to give White a decisive initiative.}) 29... Ne5 30.
fxg6 hxg6 31. N3e4 $6 {This relieves Black from his cramped positions.} Nxe4
32. Bxe4 f5 33. Bc2 Qe7 34. Qf2 Bf6 35. Qh4 Qg7 {White doesn't seem to have an
advantage anymore.} 36. Qg3 Bd7 37. Bd1 Bc8 38. Bf3 Bd7 39. Re1 Re7 40. Ne6 $2
({Better is} 40. h4) 40... Bxe6 41. dxe6 g5 $1 {Black suddenly develops an
initiative.} 42. Bxe5 Bxe5 43. Qf2 g4 $1 44. Bd5 (44. Bd5 gxh3 45. Rf1 (45.
gxh3 Bg3 46. Re5 {wins an exchange for Black.}) 45... hxg2+ 46. Qxg2 Bg3 {
followed by ...f5-f4 would have given a Black a simple advantage.}) 1/2-1/2
[Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"]
[Site "chess.com"]
[Date "2022.07.30"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Schitco, Ivan"]
[Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A28"]
[WhiteElo "2490"]
[BlackElo "2720"]
[Annotator "Saravanan,V"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Moldova"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "MDA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]
1. c4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. g3 d6 7. Nxc6 Bxc3+ 8.
bxc3 bxc6 9. Bg2 Bd7 10. c5 d5 11. Qd4 O-O 12. O-O Re8 13. Re1 Rb8 14. f3 Qe7
15. a4 Bc8 16. e4 dxe4 17. Bg5 Qe5 18. Qxe5 Rxe5 19. Be3 Bf5 20. Bd4 Ree8 21.
Bxf6 exf3 22. Bxf3 gxf6 23. Bxc6 Re5 {Undoubling his own pawns.} 24. Rxe5 fxe5
25. Bd5 Kg7 {Getting ready to improve the king's position.} 26. Ra3 Rd8 27. c4
Rb8 {The rook returns to the open file, having made White's bishop on d5 a
little less active.} 28. a5 h5 {Making the opponent a little worried about the
kingside.} 29. h4 e4 $1 {Paving the way for the black king to march to the
center.} 30. Kf2 ({Taking advantage of the tactic.} 30. Re3 Kf6 31. Bxe4 $2 Re8
$19) 30... Kf6 31. Ke3 Ke5 {Not bothering about giving up the f7-pawn and
keeping faith in the activity of his pieces and the passer on e4.} 32. Bxf7 Bg4
33. Bd5 (33. Kd2 Kd4 $19) 33... Rb2 $19 34. Bxe4 Re2+ 35. Kd3 Rxe4 36. Rb3 Be2+
37. Kd2 Kd4 38. Rb7 Bf3 {0-} 0-1
[Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"]
[Site "chess.com"]
[Date "2022.07.30"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Zacarias, M Ruben D"]
[Black "Shankland, Sam"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2175"]
[BlackElo "2720"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Paraguay"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "PAR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. a4 Ngf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 b6 7. d4 cxd4 8.
Qxd4 Bb7 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bxf6 Nxf6 11. Nd2 e5 12. Qe3 Be7 13. O-O O-O 14. Rfd1
Qc7 15. Nc4 Nd7 16. Nxd6 Bxd6 17. Qd3 Bb4 18. Qxd7 Rac8 19. Na2 Bc5 20. Qxc7
Rxc7 21. Bd3 g6 22. Nc3 f5 23. exf5 gxf5 24. Bc4+ Kg7 25. Bd5 Bd4 26. Bxb7 Rxb7
27. Ra3 $6 (27. Ne2 Bxb2 28. Ra2 Bd4 29. Nxd4 exd4 30. Rxd4 {would have been a
difficult ending for Black.}) 27... Rc8 28. Rb3 Bxc3 29. bxc3 Rc4 30. a5 b5 31.
Rd6 Ra7 32. Rb4 Rxc3 1/2-1/2
[Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"]
[Site "chess.com"]
[Date "2022.07.30"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Delgado Ramirez, Neuris"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C49"]
[WhiteElo "2614"]
[BlackElo "2773"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Paraguay"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "PAR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. d3 Qe7 7. h3 h6 8.
Bd2 Bd6 9. Ne2 Be6 10. Ng3 O-O-O 11. Qe2 g6 12. a3 Nd7 13. Bc3 f6 14. h4 h5 15.
Nf1 c5 16. Ne3 Nb8 17. Bd2 Nc6 18. c4 Qf7 19. Bc3 a5 20. Qc2 b6 21. Nd5 Kb7 22.
Rb1 Ra8 23. O-O a4 24. b4 axb3 25. Rxb3 Ra6 26. Nd2 Rha8 27. Rfb1 Kc8 28. Bb2
Qf8 29. f4 exf4 30. Bxf6 Bxd5 31. cxd5 Qxf6 32. dxc6 Rxa3 33. Nf3 Be7 34. Rxa3
Rxa3 35. Qc1 Ra8 36. d4 Qxc6 37. d5 Qd6 38. Qc3 Ra4 39. Re1 c4 40. Rd1 b5 41.
Qh8+ Qd8 42. Qg7 Ra6 43. e5 Bc5+ 44. Kh2 Qf8 45. Qh7 Qe7 46. Qg8+ Qd8 47. Qf7
Qf8 48. Qh7 Qe7 ({Wesley So probably didn't want to risk complications after}
48... Qe8 49. Qg7 b4 50. d6 cxd6 51. Qf6 Ra2 52. Rxd6 (52. exd6 Rxg2+ $1 53.
Kxg2 Qe2+) 52... Bxd6 53. Qxd6 Ra7 54. Qxb4 Rc7 {should be a winning ending.})
49. Qg8+ Qf8 {Draw $6} 1/2-1/2
[Event "FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.07.30"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"]
[Black "Sipila, Vilka"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E56"]
[WhiteElo "2642"]
[BlackElo "2416"]
[Annotator "Rafael Leitão"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]
{Nisipeanu is a great player, and his games are full of creative ideas. I once
faced him in a dramatic match in the world championship in Las Vegas, 1999,
when he eliminated me in the rapid tiebreaker.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4
4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 {The old main move. 6.cxd5 and 6.a3 are very
popular now.} dxc4 {This move-order prevents White from capturing on d5 first.}
(6... c5 7. cxd5 $1 {The critical move.} exd5 8. dxc5 {with chances for both
sides.}) 7. Bxc4 c5 8. O-O Nc6 (8... cxd4 {is a reliable choice and leads to a
very important position, not only to learn opening theory, but also to
understand how to play positions with an isolated queen's pawn.} 9. exd4 b6) 9.
a3 Ba5 10. Bd3 $5 (10. Qd3 {is the main move.}) 10... h6 {Black plays a useful
waiting move before deciding whether to take on d4.} (10... cxd4 11. exd4 {
and now it's necessary to play 1...h6 anyway in order to avoid a pin with Bg5.}
) 11. h3 {White decides to play a useful waiting move.} Re8 {A new move.} (
11... Qe7 12. Qe2 Rd8 13. Rd1 e5 $1 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 16. Bd2 Be6 {
gave Black a good game in Meskovs-Banikas, Athens 2021.}) (11... cxd4 {is also
possible.} 12. exd4 Bc7 {with equal chances.}) 12. dxc5 {Nisipeanu decides to
force matters. He could keep the central tension with a move like} (12. Bc2)
12... Bxc3 13. bxc3 Qa5 {This is not the best, but the position is still fine.}
(13... e5 $6 {seems logical to open the diagonal for the c8-bishop and to give
some work for the e8-rook, but it's not enough to solve the problems after} 14.
e4 {, for instance:} Nd7 15. Be3 Qe7 16. Bb5 $1 Nxc5 17. Qd5 {with advantage
for White.}) (13... Nd7 $1 {is the best move. Black will take on c5 with the
knight and has excellent chances to equalize.}) 14. Qc2 Qxc5 15. a4 {A typical
move, preparing to play Ba3.} Na5 $2 {The first real mistake. Black is in
trouble after this move. Let's remember again that \"a knight on the rim is
dim.\"} (15... b6 $1 16. Ba3 Qh5 {and Black is ok.}) 16. Ba3 Qc7 17. Rfd1 {
Now White has the bishop's pair and better development.} Nc4 $2 (17... Bd7 $2
18. Bd6 $1 {is very unpleasant.}) (17... Rd8 {is the best chance, avoiding the
Bd6 trick.}) 18. Bxc4 Qxc4 19. Rd4 $1 Qa6 20. Ne5 {Now the c8-bishop is
completely out of play. The presence of opposite colored bishops increases the
strength of the attack.} b6 21. Rad1 Bb7 {This loses after a pretty
combination, but it's hard to suggest good moves for Black.} 22. Nxf7 $1 {
Demolishing the king's position. The absence of the queen, far away from the
kingside, is now felt.} Kxf7 23. Rd7+ Nxd7 24. Rxd7+ Kf6 (24... Kg8 25. Qg6 {
and mate is unavoidable.}) 25. Qh7 $1 {I really enjoy long-range attacking
moves.} Rg8 26. Be7+ Kf7 (26... Ke5 27. f4#) 27. Bh4+ {Sipila decides to play
until checkmate is delivered, and we are grateful for his sportsmanship.} Kf8
28. Qg6 Qxa4 29. Be7# {A more “accurate” checkmate than 29.Qf7, since in
the game all the pieces are engaged and this is more aesthetically pleasing.}
1-0
[Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"]
[Site "chess.com"]
[Date "2022.07.30"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Meier, Georg"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C10"]
[WhiteElo "2864"]
[BlackElo "2613"]
[Annotator "Saravanan,V"]
[PlyCount "159"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "Uruguay"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "URU"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 {Meier sticks to his favorite Rubinstein
Variation of the French Defense.} 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. c3 {Carlsen prefers one of
his characteristic approaches to openings: preferring a little-known but sound
continuation that hopefully steers the game toward little known territories.}
Ngf6 6. Bd3 Nxe4 7. Bxe4 Nf6 8. Bc2 c5 9. Nf3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Bc5 11. O-O Bxd4
12. cxd4 b6 13. Qd3 Bb7 14. Ba4+ Kf8 15. Bd2 h5 16. Rac1 h4 17. h3 Qd6 18. Bd1
Rd8 19. Re1 Kg8 20. Be3 Nd5 21. Qd2 Nxe3 22. fxe3 Rh6 23. Rf1 Rg6 24. Bg4 f5
25. Bf3 Bxf3 26. Rxf3 {A familiar theme from Carlsen games: the position is
relatively simple and ventures into simple positions but with a promise of an
upcoming complex endgame.} Rg3 27. Qf2 e5 $2 {Eager to simplify to a draw,
Meier makes the mistake of allowing Carlsen to gain an upper hand in the
oncoming endgame.} 28. Rxf5 exd4 29. exd4 Qxd4 30. Rf8+ Kh7 31. Rxd8 Qxd8 32.
Qf5+ g6 33. Qf4 $16 {A Carlsen specialty: forcing Black to make accurate
decisions in an endgame that can easily go wrong.} Rd3 34. Rc7+ Rd7 35. Rxd7+
Qxd7 36. Qxh4+ {Gaining material and setting up a game where Black will be
forced to defend a difficult ending. A tough task when you don't have a chess
engine with you to do it effectively $1} Kg7 37. Qf4 $1 {Once again,
continuing the same theme: forcing Black to act and make critical decisions.}
Qd5 38. a3 b5 39. Qc7+ Kh6 40. Qxa7 Qd1+ 41. Kh2 Qd6+ 42. Kh1 Qd2 43. b4 Qc1+
44. Qg1 Qxa3 45. Qe1 {The game has simplified further, but the pressure on
Black to defend an unpleasant position is undeniably present.} Qd3 46. Qh4+ Kg7
47. Qe7+ Kh6 48. Kh2 {Once again a \"pause,\" demanding Black to come up with
correct decisions.} Qd4 49. h4 {Another familiar Carlsen theme: slowly
improving his position, putting Black under psychological pressure.} Qf4+ 50.
Kh3 Qf5+ 51. Kg3 Qd5 52. Qc5 $6 {An error, making Black's defense a little
easier.} (52. Kf2 Qc4 53. Ke3 {might have been more dangerous for Black, as
the white king suddenly develops wings.}) 52... Qd3+ 53. Kh2 Qe4 {The
centralized black queen and the difficulty to improve the position make
White's task more difficult.} 54. Qg5+ Kh7 55. h5 Qxb4 56. Qxg6+ {Engines
denote an equal position here, but this is Carlsen territory: his opponent has
to defend a technical ending and there may be a series of \"only moves\" that
have to be found.} Kh8 57. Qf6+ Kh7 58. Qf5+ Kg8 59. Qe6+ Kh7 60. Qf7+ Kh8 61.
Qf6+ Kh7 62. Kh3 Qe4 63. g4 {White's army is moving slowly toward a crescendo.}
Qe3+ 64. Kg2 Qe2+ 65. Kg3 Qe1+ 66. Qf2 Qc3+ 67. Kh4 b4 68. Qf7+ Kh8 69. Qe8+
Kg7 70. Qe7+ Kh8 71. h6 b3 72. Kh5 {White moves purposefully toward setting up
a finale where Black's ability to withstand pressure and find the most
accurate moves will be tested even more heavily.} b2 73. Qe8+ Kh7 74. Qe4+ Kh8
$4 {And here comes the blunder. When choosing between two squares that looking
equally good, Black makes the slip.} (74... Kg8 75. Kg6 b1=Q $1 76. Qxb1 Qg7+
$3 {The point. This resource is what Meier must have overlooked, which is not
available in the game.} 77. Kh5 Qf7+ 78. Kg5 Qe7+ 79. Kf4 Qc7+ 80. Kf3 Qc3+ {
and White will be forced to part with one of the pawns, which will make
Black's task of achieving the draw easier.}) 75. Kg6 b1=B {The rarest of
rarities, an underpromotion $1 Yasser Seirawan wondered in the Chess.com live
stream: \"Did we see a smile on Carlsen's face here $6\"} 76. Qxb1 Qc6+ (76...
Qg7+ {is not possible here, the difference between the black king being on g8
or h8.}) 77. Kg5 Qc5+ 78. Qf5 Qe3+ 79. Qf4 Qc5+ 80. Kg6 1-0
