[Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.15"] [Round "5.1"] [Board "1"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Suleymanli, Aydin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2632"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "75"] [GameId "2090227740065808"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "AZE"] {[%evp 0,75,24,24,8,15,7,12,8,8,15,20,5,-38,-35,-18,-23,-21,-13,-12,13,-3,30,25,18,3,17,22,94,60,89,82,74,77,77,72,61,60,71,60,60,80,125,110,119,135,128,129,129,162,173,164,177,128,159,151,186,202,228,178,213,218,220,202,196,275,275,296,362,334,328,328,328,328,394,395,385,400] Gukesh strikes again.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bg5 {Lines with Bg5 have become increasingly popular the last couple of years, and now White has accelerated it to the earliest possible moment in the Giuoco.} h6 6. Bh4 g5 (6... d6 {is the most common move, while the safety-first}) (6... Be7 {is another important option.}) 7. Bg3 d6 8. c3 a5 9. Nbd2 Ba7 10. a3 $146 Nh5 $2 $146 {Inviting complications that he has not calculated as well as his opponent.} (10... Qe7 $146) (10... O-O) 11. Nxe5 $1 Nxg3 $8 12. Bxf7+ $1 Kf8 13. Ng6+ Kg7 $2 (13... Kxf7 14. Nxh8+ Qxh8 15. hxg3 $14 {/?}) 14. fxg3 $1 Kxf7 15. Nxh8+ Qxh8 16. d4 $16 {/+- I've told students a million times that two minor pieces are better than a rook and pawn, and sometimes even a rook and two pawns, in the opening and middlegame. The reason why that's *generally* true is because the minor pieces are in the action while the rook is generally shut out of play. Here it's the opposite: Black's a7-bishop and knight are dominated by White's c- and d-pawns, while the f-file is open for White's rooks (and h5 is beckoning the queen). And it is two pawns, too. So White is just about winning here.} Kg7 17. O-O Bd7 18. Kh1 Rf8 19. Qe2 Rxf1+ 20. Rxf1 $18 Qe8 21. Qf3 Qe7 22. Nc4 Be6 23. Ne3 Nd8 24. Nf5+ Bxf5 25. exf5 Qf6 26. Re1 Bb6 27. g4 c5 28. d5 c4 29. Re4 Bc5 30. a4 Ba7 31. Qe2 h5 32. Re7+ Kf8 33. Re8+ Kf7 34. gxh5 g4 35. h6 Qxf5 36. h7 Qb1+ 37. Qe1 Qxe1+ 38. Rxe1 {The h-pawn will cost Black his knight.} 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.15"] [Round "5.1"] [Board "3"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Mamedov, Rauf"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B77"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2637"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "87"] [GameId "2090227740254226"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "AZE"] {[%evp 0,87,24,24,45,39,68,48,66,42,42,26,59,64,58,40,39,30,32,27,43,31,25,22,49,21,38,35,52,64,83,41,45,51,58,58,47,52,46,41,33,30,42,22,35,0,0,30,30,9,11,5,-2,7,8,0,-10,-6,-6,-7,0,0,-8,-3,-12,-9,-11,0,0,-45,-33,-22,30,37,8,35,86,99,98,87,112,102,322,426,436,389,625,690,722,795]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. Bc4 Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Be6 11. Bb3 Qa5 12. O-O-O b5 13. Kb1 b4 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15. exd5 Qb5 16. Qd3 Qxd3 17. Rxd3 Rfc8 18. Re1 Rc7 19. c3 a5 20. cxb4 axb4 21. g4 Rac8 22. Rdd1 Bh6 23. h4 $146 (23. a4 bxa3 24. bxa3 Kf8 25. Ka2 Nd7 26. Ba4 Ne5 27. Bxe5 dxe5 28. Bc6 e6 29. Rb1 exd5 30. Bxd5 Ra7 31. Rb7 Rxb7 32. Bxb7 Rc3 33. a4 Bc1 34. Kb1 Be3 35. a5 Rb3+ 36. Ka2 Bf2 37. Kxb3 Bxe1 38. a6 Bf2 39. g5 Kg7 40. Kc4 h6 41. Kd5 f6 42. gxh6+ Kxh6 43. Ke6 Kg7 44. Be4 Be3 45. Bd3 Bf2 46. Ke7 Be3 47. Kd6 Kh6 48. Ke6 Kg7 49. Bb5 Bf2 50. Be8 Be3 51. h4 Bd4 52. h5 gxh5 53. Bxh5 Kh6 {½-½ Gabrielian,A (2513)-Belous,V (2426) RUS-ch Higher League 62nd Ulan-Ude 2009 (6)}) 23... Bf4 24. Bb6 Rb7 25. Be3 Bxe3 26. Rxe3 Kf8 27. Ba4 Rc5 (27... Rbc7 28. Bc6 e6 $11) 28. Bc6 $14 Ra7 $2 (28... Rb6) 29. g5 $16 {/+-} Nd7 30. Rd4 Nb6 31. Rb3 e5 32. Rdxb4 $18 Nxd5 33. Rb8+ Kg7 34. Bxd5 Rxd5 35. R3b7 Rxb7 36. Rxb7 Rd4 37. b4 Rxh4 38. a4 {Black has more pawns, but White's pawns - at least the a-pawn - is faster.} h5 39. gxh6+ Rxh6 40. a5 Rh3 41. a6 Rxf3 42. Rb5 e4 (42... Ra3 43. Ra5 $18) 43. a7 e3 44. Kc2 (44. Kc2 e2 45. Kd2 Re3 46. Ke1 Ra3 (46... Re8 47. Rb8 $18) 47. Ra5 $18) 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.15"] [Round "5.2"] [Board "1"] [White "Ivanchuk, Vasyl"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D92"] [WhiteElo "2635"] [BlackElo "2715"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "51"] [GameId "2090227740393492"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Ukraine"] [BlackTeam "Hungary"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UKR"] [BlackTeamCountry "HUN"] {[%evp 0,51,24,23,28,-7,39,31,78,52,37,26,19,19,55,35,60,52,123,91,124,65,62,69,80,80,79,79,79,52,47,70,145,50,46,46,31,50,50,51,19,-127,-175,-175,-215,-68,-127,-153,-99,-112,-112,-297,-193,-1469] Ivanchuk was Ukraine's hero in round 4, surviving a lost position against So and then winning when So got careless in an ending he could have drawn at will. This time he's the goat, the only player to lose - and with White.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. Rc1 Bg4 {Very rare.} (6... dxc4 {is the main move, and the Grünfeld-y}) (6... c5 {is #2.}) 7. e3 c5 8. dxc5 Bxf3 $146 9. Qxf3 Ne4 10. cxd5 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Qxd5 12. Rd1 Qe6 13. Rd4 Nxc5 14. Bc4 Qc6 15. Bd5 $1 Qb5 $2 {A bad move that wins the game. It's common, even though it sounds paradoxical: a move creates a complicated situation where both players are likely to make mistakes. White is the one who slips on the banana peel this time, but right here he had a wonderful chance to notch an upset and help his team win the match.} (15... Qf6 $142 16. O-O $14) 16. a4 $2 (16. Bh6 $1 Nbd7 (16... Nd3+ 17. Kd2 $1 Ne5 18. Qe4 Nbc6 19. Bxf8 Rxf8 20. Bxc6 Nxc6 21. Rd5 Qb2+ 22. Qc2 $18) 17. Bc4 $1 Qb1+ 18. Rd1 Qc2 19. O-O $1 $18) 16... Nd3+ 17. Kd2 Qb2+ $1 {Ivanchuk either missed or underestimated this move.} 18. Kxd3 Na6 $11 19. Rc4 $1 Rad8 20. Be5 $2 (20. Bh6 $1 {was the right way.} e6 21. Bxf8 Kxf8 22. e4 exd5 23. exd5 b5 $11) 20... e6 $19 21. Qf6 Rxd5+ 22. Ke4 Rxe5+ 23. Kxe5 Qe2 24. Rd4 Nb8 $1 25. Rd6 Qc4 26. Qf4 $2 (26. Rhd1 Nc6+ 27. Rxc6 Qxc6 $19) (26. Qf4 $2 f6+ {wins the queen - for starters.} 27. Qxf6 Nc6+ $1 {Just to rub it in.} 28. Rxc6 Qd5+ 29. Kf4 Rxf6+ 30. Kg3 Qg5+ 31. Kh3 bxc6 $19 (31... Rxf2 {is faster, if you want to go directly for mate.})) 0-1 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.15"] [Round "5.3"] [Board "2"] [White "Wei, Yi"] [Black "Anton Guijarro, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B36"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2665"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "137"] [GameId "2090227740434454"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "Spain"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "ESP"] {[%evp 0,137,24,16,45,39,46,32,27,23,70,40,30,26,18,14,14,13,13,-2,6,19,36,57,65,50,52,59,79,46,60,8,10,10,25,20,32,25,55,6,0,10,48,19,19,18,16,18,28,31,31,22,41,38,11,14,24,10,11,0,5,15,19,29,31,8,52,47,61,65,44,62,68,71,74,81,84,79,86,88,95,101,114,114,121,109,113,111,113,122,122,122,149,119,165,195,208,166,172,181,183,172,178,197,242,261,273,251,273,273,293,340,358,320,320,280,275,271,344,358,463,444,486,465,465,262,263,386,507,557,557,557,557,557,557,557,982,557,982,912] Wei Yi was the only winner in the China-Spain match. He has been hot in the event, going 3.5/4 so far, reaching a peak rating (2767.8) and ranking (#7!) on the live rating list.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Be2 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 a5 11. f3 a4 12. Rc1 Be6 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. cxd5 Bd7 15. a3 e6 16. dxe6 Bxe6 17. Bd4 Bxd4 18. Qxd4 Qg5 19. Kf2 Rfc8 20. h4 Qh6 21. Rc3 Rxc3 22. bxc3 Rc8 23. c4 Qf4 24. g3 Qe5 25. Rd1 h5 26. f4 Qc5 27. Qxc5 Rxc5 28. Rd4 Kf8 29. Ke3 Ke7 30. Kd3 Bd7 31. Kc3 b5 32. Rd5 Rc8 33. e5 dxe5 34. Rxe5+ Kd6 35. Rd5+ {The position is equal, but a single slip costs Anton the game and his team the match.} Ke7 $2 (35... Ke6 $11) 36. c5 $1 Be6 37. Re5 f6 38. Re3 Rxc5+ 39. Kb4 Rc1 40. Bxb5 $18 Rb1+ 41. Kxa4 Kd6 42. Ka5 Bf5 43. a4 Kc5 44. Rc3+ Kd4 45. Rc4+ Kd5 46. Rc6 Rg1 47. Kb6 Rxg3 48. a5 Rb3 49. Rc5+ Kd6 50. a6 Be4 51. a7 Rb2 52. Rc8 Bh1 53. Rc3 Ba8 54. Rg3 Ke6 55. Rxg6 Kf5 56. Rh6 Kxf4 57. Rxh5 f5 58. Rh8 Bh1 59. Rg8 Ke5 60. h5 f4 61. h6 Rh2 62. Rg6 Ba8 63. Bc6 f3 {Setting up a nice trick, but Wei won't be bluffed.} 64. Bxa8 $1 f2 65. Bg2 Rxg2 66. Rxg2 f1=Q 67. a8=Q Qb1+ 68. Ka7 Qa1+ 69. Kb8 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.15"] [Round "5.5"] [Board "1"] [White "Yilmaz, Mustafa"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2587"] [BlackElo "2832"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2090227740569624"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Turkiye"] [BlackTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeamCountry "NOR"] {[%evp 0,107,24,23,24,-11,6,6,6,24,43,42,42,-5,12,11,13,22,26,14,14,14,3,-4,0,7,7,-15,-6,-4,-9,0,8,-37,13,-15,-21,-26,29,-25,-27,-30,-46,-20,22,22,25,30,25,61,59,66,60,57,62,59,100,113,91,91,100,78,80,71,95,75,80,26,28,66,79,97,95,75,120,119,109,99,99,102,102,105,97,97,148,105,97,51,45,45,45,45,40,50,50,44,44,44,44,35,31,0,1,1,0,1,2,2,2,2] Norway would have won this match even if Carlsen had lost, but it still would have created a sensation if Yilmaz had managed to bring home the full point.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 c6 7. e3 Qa5 8. Bd3 Ne4 9. Qc2 Nxg5 10. Nxg5 h6 11. Nf3 Bd6 12. O-O Nf6 13. Rae1 O-O 14. Ne5 a6 15. f4 $14 c5 16. Qf2 $146 (16. Kh1 $142 $14 Qd8 17. Qe2 b5 18. Qf3 Bb7 19. g4 b4 20. g5 hxg5 21. fxg5 Bxe5 22. gxf6 Bxf6 23. Ne2 Re8 24. Ng3 cxd4 25. exd4 Rxe1 26. Rxe1 Bxd4 27. Qh5 g6 28. Bxg6 fxg6 29. Qxg6+ Bg7 30. Qe6+ Kh8 31. Qh3+ Kg8 32. Qe6+ Kh8 33. Qh3+ Kg8 34. Qe6+ Kh8 {½-½ Kobalia,M (2590)-Alekseev,E (2615) RUS-chT 27th Sochi 2020 (2.4)}) 16... b5 17. Bb1 Bb7 18. g4 Qc7 19. h4 Ne4 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. g5 f6 (21... Rad8 $142) 22. gxf6 gxf6 $6 (22... Rxf6) 23. Qg2+ Qg7 24. dxc5 (24. Ng6 $142) 24... Bxe5 $2 (24... fxe5 25. cxd6 exf4 26. Rxf4 Rxf4 27. Qxg7+ Kxg7 28. exf4 Rd8 29. Kf2 Rxd6 30. Rg1+ Kf6 31. Ke3 Rd7 $1 $11) 25. fxe5 $18 fxe5 26. Rxf8+ Rxf8 27. Rd1 b4 {I'm happy to report that I tuned into the game for a couple of minutes here (no commentary, no engine) and found the best move. Unfortunately for Yilmaz, he didn't - or rejected it.} 28. Rd6 $2 (28. Bc2 $1 $18 {There are two main points to the move. The first is that you might see 28.Qxg7+ Kxg7 29.Rd7+ and see that Black has 29...Rf7. With this move, White is threatening 29.Bb3+ and only then 30.Qxg7+ Kxg7 31.Rd7+, winning Black's bishop. It also activates White's bishop, which is otherwise buried on b1. The bishop could conceivably also help the c-pawn advance in an endgame. So there's nothing mysterious abbout this move; one just has to notice it and not be dazzled by other shiny objects. Anyway, Black is completely lost here after, say,} Qxg2+ 29. Kxg2 Kg7 30. Bb3 Bc8 31. c6 $18) 28... Qxg2+ 29. Kxg2 Rc8 {White is still winning with best play, but he again forces the issue rather than improve his position.} 30. Rb6 $2 (30. h5 $1 {takes advantage of Black's inability to grab the c-pawn (30...Rxc5?? 31.Rd8+ followed by 32.Rd7+ and 33.Rxb7).}) 30... Bd5 31. Rxb4 Rxc5 32. Bxe4 Bxa2 {Now it's a draw - White has no advantage.} 33. Ra4 Bf7 34. Rxa6 Rb5 35. Rxh6 Rxb2+ {This is a dead draw, especially against Carlsen.} 36. Kf3 Rb4 37. Bf5 Kg7 38. Rh7+ Kf6 39. e4 Rb1 40. Rh6+ Kg7 41. Rh7+ Kg8 42. Rh6 Kg7 43. Rd6 Bh5+ 44. Kg3 Rb3+ 45. Kf2 Rf3+ 46. Kg2 Rf4 47. Kg3 Rf3+ 48. Kh2 Rf2+ 49. Kg1 Rf4 50. Rd7+ Kf6 51. Rd6+ Kf7 52. Rd7+ Kf6 53. Rd6+ Kf7 54. Rd7+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.15"] [Round "5.7"] [Board "1"] [White "Peralta, Fernando"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E44"] [WhiteElo "2558"] [BlackElo "2798"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "60"] [GameId "2090227740745754"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Argentina"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARG"] {[%evp 0,60,24,24,16,24,18,24,25,29,20,10,32,10,15,-14,-7,0,6,-12,11,4,19,-14,6,-12,32,23,46,38,45,16,50,23,35,37,37,19,19,13,15,-1,24,6,3,-25,-30,-53,-53,-51,-29,-17,-13,-33,-31,0,0,0,0,-26,-94,-286,-327] Caruana makes it 4-0.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 {Caruana has been playing this a lot lately. (Nobody's perfect.)} 5. Nge2 Ne4 6. Qc2 (6. Bd2 Nxd2 7. Qxd2 Bb7 8. a3 Be7 9. d5 d6 10. O-O-O (10. g3 Nd7 11. Bg2 a5 12. b3 O-O 13. O-O e5 14. b4 Bc8 15. Nb5 h5 16. f4 Bf6 17. Nec3 Re8 18. Rae1 axb4 19. axb4 exf4 20. exf4 Rxe1 21. Rxe1 Nf8 22. Ne4 Be7 23. Nd4 Bd7 24. Nc6 Bxc6 25. dxc6 Bf6 26. Ng5 Bxg5 27. fxg5 Ng6 28. Bd5 Ne5 29. g6 Qf6 30. gxf7+ Kf8 31. Rf1 Qg6 32. Kg2 Ra3 33. c5 bxc5 34. bxc5 Ra8 35. Qd4 Ng4 36. Be4 Qg5 37. Rf4 Ra2+ 38. Kg1 Nxh2 39. Qc3 h4 40. Qb3 Ra8 41. cxd6 hxg3 42. Rf5 Qc1+ 43. Kg2 Qd2+ 44. Kxg3 Qxd6+ 45. Kh3 Qh6+ 46. Kg2 Ng4 47. Qb4+ Qd6 48. Qxd6+ cxd6 49. Rb5 Nf6 50. c7 Rc8 51. Rb8 {1-0 Sarana,A (2717)-Caruana,F (2796) Chess.com SpeedChess Chess.com INT blitz 2024 (1.4)}) 10... Nd7 11. Kb1 O-O 12. h4 Bf6 13. g4 Bxc3 14. Nxc3 Nc5 15. h5 h6 16. f4 a5 17. Rg1 exd5 18. cxd5 Re8 19. g5 hxg5 20. Rxg5 Qf6 21. Bd3 Kh8 22. Rdg1 Rg8 23. Bc2 a4 24. e4 Rae8 25. Qh2 Qh6 26. e5 dxe5 27. fxe5 Ba6 28. Nxa4 Bc4 29. Nxc5 bxc5 30. e6 Rb8 31. exf7 Rxb2+ 32. Kxb2 {1-0 Sarana,A (2717)-Caruana,F (2796) Chess.com SpeedChess Chess.com INT blitz 2024 (1.8)}) 6... Bb7 7. h4 $5 (7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 Nxc3 9. Qxc3 $14 {is usual, and now Black castles or plays 9...d6.}) 7... O-O 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Nxc3 Nxc3 10. Qxc3 d5 $1 $146 (10... d6 {was played in the prior games. Caruana's move makes sense according to the old general principle that one meets an attack (in this case, "attack" - it's a bit early) on the flank with a counter in the center.}) 11. b3 Nd7 12. Bb2 f5 13. f3 Qe7 14. O-O-O {The king has to be somewhere, and wherever that is, Black will have chances to attack him.} c5 {Here we go.} 15. h5 h6 $1 {Of course Black isn't going to allow h6, which can't be met by ...g6 due to dxc5 and Qh8+.} 16. Kb1 Rac8 $11 17. dxc5 Rxc5 18. Qd4 e5 $5 (18... Rc7 $11 {followed by ...Nc5 or ...Nf6 is equal.}) 19. Qh4 (19. Qd3 $1 {could lead to an entertaining tactical flurry that peters out into an equal ending:} Nf6 $1 20. Qxf5 e4 21. Qe5 Qxe5 22. Bxe5 exf3 23. gxf3 dxc4 24. Bxf6 Bxf3 25. Be7 Bxh1 26. Bxc5 Be4+ 27. Kc1 bxc5 28. Bxc4+ Kh8 $11) 19... Nf6 20. Qg3 (20. a4 $11 {[%CAl Bb2a3]}) (20. Rc1 $11) 20... dxc4 21. Bxc4+ Bd5 22. Rc1 Bxc4 23. Rxc4 Rxc4 24. bxc4 Re8 25. Qg6 Qd7 26. Ka1 Nh7 27. Rc1 Nf8 28. Qg3 Qd2 {It's still equal, and after 29.f4 it would remain that way. Alas for Peralta, he thinks he has found a way to activate his rook and step up the pressure on the a1-h8 diagonal.} 29. c5 $6 bxc5 $15 30. Rxc5 $4 {The point of the last move.} f4 $1 (30... Rb8 $4 {doesn't work here due to} 31. Qxe5 {, defending the bishop, hitting the rook and threatening mate on g7.}) ({After} 30... f4 $1 31. exf4 Rb8 {the white queen's line to e5 has been blocked, and now there's no healthy way to defend the bishop on b2.} 32. Bc3 {saves the bishop, but not the king.} Qd1+ 33. Ka2 Qb1#) 0-1 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.15"] [Round "5.7"] [Board "2"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Krysa, Leandro"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2752"] [BlackElo "2495"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "159"] [GameId "2090227740794907"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "Argentina"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARG"] {[%evp 0,159,24,24,19,12,8,13,25,5,5,-10,4,-26,-32,-30,-19,-45,-9,-23,16,6,13,-1,9,15,11,13,-2,11,36,42,49,37,56,13,13,22,29,26,26,26,33,40,40,40,50,49,68,48,49,53,48,49,53,44,82,88,99,75,75,68,102,98,148,134,134,141,55,56,64,73,73,73,88,81,76,89,83,95,97,97,120,130,119,150,124,117,98,84,84,114,135,104,137,133,134,112,118,94,120,87,109,106,116,48,48,42,84,122,92,122,66,66,66,66,66,66,66,9,8,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,0,2,2,2,2,1,1,173,193,186,198,192,192,203,207,207,207,229,207,220,289,307,305,320,376,444,512,505,613,626,989] The ending is reminiscent of Howell's glorious grind against Kacharava in round 4.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 Re8 9. Nbd2 Bf8 10. Nf1 h6 11. Ng3 b5 12. Bb3 a5 13. d4 a4 14. Bc2 Bg4 15. Bd3 Rb8 16. Qe2 b4 17. Bb5 Bd7 18. d5 Nd4 19. Nxd4 exd4 20. Bxd7 Qxd7 21. cxd4 Nxd5 22. Bd2 Nf6 23. Qf3 Qg4 24. Qxg4 Nxg4 25. f3 Nf6 26. d5 g6 27. Rac1 Nd7 28. Rxc7 Nc5 29. Rd1 Bg7 30. Bf4 Bxb2 31. Bxd6 b3 32. Rxc5 bxa2 33. Bxb8 Bd4+ 34. Kf1 Bxc5 35. Be5 Rxe5 36. Ra1 a3 37. Rxa2 Re8 38. Ke2 Bd6 39. Kd3 Rb8 40. Nf1 f5 41. Nd2 Kg7 42. Kd4 fxe4 43. fxe4 Rb2 44. Rxb2 axb2 45. Kc3 Bf4 46. Nb1 Bxh2 47. Kxb2 h5 48. Nd2 g5 49. Nf3 Bf4 50. Kc3 g4 51. Nh4 Kf6 52. Nf5 Ke5 53. Kd3 Bg5 54. g3 Bd8 55. Ne3 Kd6 56. Nf5+ Ke5 57. Ne3 Kd6 58. Ng2 Bf6 59. Nf4 h4 60. gxh4 Bxh4 61. Ng2 Bf2 62. Ne3 g3 63. Ke2 Ke5 64. Kf3 Be1 65. Ng4+ Kd4 66. Ne3 Ke5 67. Ng2 Bd2 68. Nh4 Be1 $2 {Oddly, defending the pawn was the losing move.} (68... Bg5 {One of many moves that maintain the draw.} 69. Ng2 Bd8 $11) 69. Ng6+ $18 Kd6 70. Nf4 Bd2 71. Nd3 Bc3 72. Kxg3 Bd4 73. Kf3 Bg7 74. Ke3 Bf6 75. Kd2 Bd4 76. Kc2 Bg7 77. Kb3 Bf6 78. Kc4 Bg7 79. e5+ Kd7 (79... Bxe5 80. Nxe5 Kxe5 81. Kc5 $18) 80. Nc5+ 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.15"] [Round "5.7"] [Board "3"] [White "Flores, Diego"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2546"] [BlackElo "2748"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2090227740799004"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "Argentina"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARG"] {[%evp 0,69,24,-17,6,13,9,6,24,-26,35,-11,4,-22,20,-5,48,62,74,42,52,22,18,-12,8,-17,53,-13,-1,0,5,11,13,18,5,29,29,29,35,33,35,1,58,38,54,71,134,125,161,123,143,194,141,152,125,88,126,173,180,176,263,245,260,266,261,263,263,263,386,403,403,594]} 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. e4 Be7 7. Nc3 c5 $5 $146 8. dxc5 O-O 9. Qxc4 h6 10. Bh4 b5 $1 11. cxb6 Qxb6 12. Be2 (12. Qb5 Bb4 $11) 12... Qxb2 13. O-O Nb6 (13... Qb4 $142 $11 {is best, reuniting the queen with the rest of the army.}) 14. Qd4 Rd8 $2 (14... Qa3 $142) 15. Nd5 $1 {This doesn't win material, but creates a position where White's bishop pair will keep Black under unpleasant pressure.} Qxd4 16. Nxe7+ Kf8 17. Nxd4 Rxd4 18. Nxc8 Rxc8 19. f3 $14 {/?} Rc2 20. Rf2 g5 21. Bf1 Rc5 22. Bg3 $16 Nbd7 $2 (22... Nh5) 23. Rb2 $18 Rc8 24. Bf2 $6 (24. a4 $142) 24... Ra4 25. Bb5 Ra3 26. Be1 a5 27. Rd1 (27. Bg3 $142) 27... Ne5 $2 (27... Nb6) 28. Bg3 Rc5 29. Bf2 Rc8 30. Bd4 Nfd7 31. Bxd7 Nxd7 32. Rb7 Rxa2 (32... Nb8 33. Rxb8 Rxb8 34. Bc5+ $18) (32... Ke8 33. Rxd7 Kxd7 34. Bc5+ $18) 33. Rxd7 Rcc2 34. Rd8+ Ke7 35. Be5 (35. Be5 Rxg2+ 36. Kh1 $18 {Black's counterattack is over, and unless he gives away a rook 37.R1d7# is next.}) 1-0 [Event "45th Olympiad 2024"] [Site "Budapest HUN"] [Date "2024.09.15"] [Round "5.7"] [Board "4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Sosa, Tomas ARG"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2515"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "135"] [GameId "2090227740803101"] [EventDate "2024.09.11"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "Argentina"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARG"] {[%evp 0,135,24,24,19,12,25,8,48,56,92,51,48,47,47,47,57,51,63,58,36,9,49,13,75,5,-9,-14,13,0,35,41,14,-16,-21,-25,-13,0,23,-4,4,-31,-6,-19,36,37,37,50,43,66,67,72,87,31,28,32,133,100,116,116,116,103,103,114,111,112,186,173,181,182,246,238,236,259,254,249,265,263,268,244,238,251,254,239,248,263,303,248,248,226,238,174,191,220,257,302,297,348,269,537,537,242,242,238,282,273,261,146,157,176,181,187,197,197,197,197,248,246,253,248,249,250,258,258,258,258,351,302,318,348,617,352,422,409,752,872,1016,1016]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 d6 4. d4 Nf6 {Not as masochistic as it seems, not that I would recommend this to anyone.} 5. dxe5 (5. Ng5 $6 {looks great, but the extra tempo helps Black rather than White.} d5 6. exd5 Nxd4 $11) (5. d5 $14) 5... dxe5 6. Qxd8+ Nxd8 7. Nc3 (7. Nxe5 Bd6 $1 $11) 7... Bd6 8. Bg5 c6 9. a4 $146 (9. O-O-O Bc7 10. Bh4 b5 11. Bb3 Nb7 12. Bg3 Nd7 13. Ne2 Nbc5 14. Ned4 f6 15. Nxc6 Nxb3+ 16. axb3 Bb7 17. Ncd4 Rc8 18. Nxb5 Bxe4 19. Rhe1 Bg6 20. Nh4 Bb8 21. Nxg6 hxg6 22. f4 Ke7 23. Nd4 Kf7 24. Nf3 Nc5 25. fxe5 Nxb3+ 26. Kb1 Nc5 27. b4 Na4 28. Rd7+ Ke6 29. Rxg7 Rc4 30. exf6+ Kxf6 31. Ree7 Rxb4+ 32. Kc1 Rf8 33. Bxb8 Rbxb8 34. Rxa7 Nc3 35. Rgc7 Rb1+ 36. Kd2 Ne4+ 37. Ke3 Re8 38. Rf7+ Ke6 39. Kxe4 Kd6+ 40. Kd3 {1-0 Aronian,L (2782)-Artemiev,V (2699) Meltwater Tour Final chess24.com INT rapid 2021 (2.4)}) 9... Ne6 10. O-O-O Bc7 $11 11. Bh4 (11. Bd2 $142) 11... Nh5 12. Ne2 f6 13. Nd2 Nc5 $15 14. f3 g5 (14... Nxa4 $142 $15 {Greed is good.}) 15. Bf2 Nxa4 16. g4 $44 Nf4 17. Nxf4 (17. h4 $142) 17... gxf4 $11 {/?} 18. Bb3 Nb6 (18... b5 $1 {Ugly, but it forces White to swap minor pieces if he wants to damage Black's structure.} 19. Nc4 $1 bxc4 20. Bxa4 Bd7 21. b3 $1 Bb6 22. Bh4 $8 Rf8 23. Rd6 Ke7 24. Rhd1 Rad8 25. g5 $1 Bd4 26. Rxf6 Rxf6 27. gxf6+ Kf7 28. c3 $1 Bb6 29. bxc4 Be8 $11) 19. Bh4 $14 Rf8 20. g5 fxg5 21. Bxg5 Nd7 $2 (21... a5 $1 {should have been played, followed by ...a4-a3 and activating the rook.}) 22. Nc4 $2 (22. Rhg1 $1 $16 {/+- followed by 23.Bh6 has Black in all kinds of trouble.}) 22... Nc5 23. Nd6+ Bxd6 24. Rxd6 Nxb3+ 25. cxb3 $14 Kf7 $2 (25... Rg8 $14) 26. Rh6 $6 $16 (26. Rf6+ $1 Kg7 27. Rh6 $18 {followed by 28.Rg1 or 28.Rd1 was best. It looks odd, forcing Black's king to defend h7 before even attacking it, but the king will be uncomfortable on the g-file.}) 26... Rg8 27. h4 Rg6 $2 (27... Rg7 $1 {doesn't prevent White from regaining his material (and then some), but it's important for him to get rid of White's active rook.} 28. Bf6 Rg6 29. Rxg6 hxg6 30. Bxe5 Be6 31. Kc2 c5 32. Bxf4 $16) 28. Rxh7+ $18 Rg7 29. Rh8 Rg8 {Forced, and it forces a rook trade. The difference between this and the 27...Rg7 line is that Black is losing a million pawns and White's remaining rook is extremely active as well.} 30. Rxg8 Kxg8 31. Bf6 {White is clearly winning.} Be6 32. Rg1+ Kh7 33. Rg7+ Kh6 34. Rxb7 Rg8 35. Bxe5 Rg1+ 36. Kd2 Rg2+ 37. Ke1 Rc2 38. Bxf4+ Kh5 39. Rh7+ Kg6 40. Rh6+ Kf7 41. Be5 Bxb3 42. h5 Rc5 43. Bd4 Rc2 44. Rf6+ Kg8 45. h6 Kh7 46. Rd6 c5 47. Be3 Rh2 48. Rd7+ Kg6 49. Rg7+ Kf6 50. Rxa7 Bc4 51. h7 Bf7 52. Ra6+ Kg7 53. Rh6 $1 {A nice way to break Black's resistance.} Rxh6 54. Bxh6+ Kxh7 55. Be3 c4 56. Kf2 {This would be a draw without the queenside pawns, as Black can give up the bishop for the e- and f-pawns. With the queenside pawns, that won't be good enough.} Bh5 57. Kg3 Kg7 58. f4 Kf6 59. Bd4+ Ke6 60. f5+ Kd6 61. Kf4 Bd1 62. Bc3 Bc2 63. e5+ Kd5 64. Kg5 Bd1 65. e6 Kd6 66. Kf6 Bg4 67. Bb4+ Kc6 68. Ke5 1-0