[Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.18"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2643"] [BlackElo "2682"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,67,19,-22,-22,-35,-21,-16,-1,4,7,4,17,-1,-12,-1,30,22,18,2,22,7,7,-1,-4,-11,-7,-16,-13,-18,-13,-9,-17,-34,-43,-42,0,-22,-7,-19,-19,-22,-24,-2,-28,-20,-10,3,12,21,0,17,20,39,14,42,29,47,35,0,0,18,9,18,8,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 d5 {Relatively rare, but as Carlsen and Vidit (among others) have played it on multiple occasions it's obviously something to take seriously.} 3. cxd5 Qxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qd8 6. Bg2 Nf6 7. O-O h6 {Black has a plus score here, both in general and in Carlsen's games in particular.} 8. d3 (8. a3 a5 (8... Bd6 9. b4 O-O 10. d3 Re8 11. Bb2 a6 12. Rc1 Be6 13. Na4 Qd7 14. Nc5 Bxc5 15. Rxc5 Bh3 16. Bxh3 Qxh3 17. Bxe5 Nd7 18. Bxc7 Rac8 19. Bf4 Nxc5 20. bxc5 Qe6 21. e3 Ne7 22. Nd4 Qd5 23. Bd6 b6 24. Bxe7 bxc5 25. Bxc5 Rxc5 26. Qa4 Rec8 27. Qxa6 Rc1 28. h4 Kh7 29. Qa4 Rxf1+ 30. Kxf1 Rc1+ 31. Ke2 Qh1 32. Qb3 Re1+ 33. Kd2 Rb1 34. Qc2 Qe1# {0-1 So,W (2769)-Carlsen,M (2835) Aimchess Rapid Div 1 W Chess.com INT 2023 (4.2)}) 9. b3 (9. e3 Bd6 10. d4 exd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Qe7 13. Qa4+ Bd7 14. Qb3 O-O 15. Qxb7 Rab8 16. Qa6 a4 17. e4 Be5 18. Qe2 Rfe8 19. Be3 Bxc3 20. bxc3 Nxe4 21. Qc2 Rb3 22. Bd4 c5 23. Rfe1 Bf5 24. Bxc5 Qxc5 25. Bxe4 Be6 26. Rac1 Rxa3 27. Qd3 Ra2 28. Rf1 Bc4 29. Qd7 Rxe4 30. Qd8+ Qf8 {0-1 Donchenko,A (2581)-Vidit,S (2669) Wch Blitz Almaty 2022 (14)}) 9... Bd6 10. d4 O-O 11. Bb2 e4 12. Nd2 Nxd4 13. Ndxe4 Be5 14. Nxf6+ Bxf6 15. e3 Nb5 16. Nxb5 Bxb2 17. Qxd8 Rxd8 18. Nxc7 (18. Rad1 Bg4 19. Rb1 Be5 20. Rfc1 c6 21. Nc3 Bxc3 22. Rxc3 Rd2 23. h3 Bf5 24. e4 Be6 25. b4 axb4 26. Rxb4 Ra7 27. f4 f6 28. h4 Kf8 29. f5 Bf7 30. g4 Be8 31. g5 b5 32. e5 fxe5 33. Re4 Ra4 34. Rxa4 bxa4 35. Bxc6 Bxc6 36. Rxc6 hxg5 37. hxg5 Rd4 38. Rc8+ Ke7 39. Rc7+ Kf8 40. Kh2 Rf4 41. Rc8+ Ke7 42. Rc7+ Kf8 43. Rc8+ Ke7 44. Rc7+ Kf8 {½-½ So,W (2770)-Carlsen,M (2847) Carlsen Inv KO chess24.com INT rapid 2021 (3.23)}) 18... Bxa1 19. Nxa8 Bb2 20. Nb6 Bxa3 21. Nxc8 Rxc8 22. Bxb7 Rc1 23. Rxc1 Bxc1 24. Kf1 g5 25. Ke2 Ba3 26. f4 gxf4 27. gxf4 f6 28. Kf3 Kg7 29. Kg4 Bc5 30. e4 Kg6 31. Bc8 Bd6 32. Bf5+ Kf7 33. h4 Bc7 34. Bd7 Bb8 35. Kf5 Bd6 36. Bb5 Bc7 37. Bc4+ Ke7 38. e5 fxe5 39. fxe5 Bb6 40. h5 Bd4 41. Ke4 {½-½ Carlsen,M (2830)-So,W (2752) CCT Final KO Toronto rapid 2023 (2.12)}) (8. b4 Bd6 9. b5 Nd4 10. a4 O-O 11. d3 a6 12. Bd2 Re8 13. Re1 axb5 14. Nxd4 b4 15. Ndb5 bxc3 16. Bxc3 Bf8 17. a5 c6 18. Na3 e4 19. dxe4 Qxd1 20. Rexd1 Nxe4 21. Bxe4 Rxe4 22. Rd8 f6 23. f3 Ra4 24. Nc2 Rxa1+ 25. Nxa1 Kf7 26. Nb3 Be7 27. Rh8 Bf8 28. Kg2 Be6 29. Nc5 Re8 30. Nxb7 Bc8 31. a6 Rxe2+ 32. Kf1 Re8 33. g4 c5 34. Rxf8+ Kxf8 35. Nxc5 Re7 36. Ba5 Kf7 37. Bb6 Bxa6+ 38. Nxa6 Re6 39. Bc5 Rxa6 40. Kg2 Rc6 41. Ba7 Ra6 42. Bc5 f5 43. Kg3 Ra4 44. h4 f4+ 45. Kh3 Rc4 46. Bb6 Rc3 47. Kg2 Rc2+ 48. Kh3 g5 49. hxg5 hxg5 50. Bd8 Rc5 51. Bb6 Rd5 52. Ba7 Ke6 53. Kg2 Rd2+ 54. Kf1 Kd5 55. Bb6 Kc4 56. Ba7 Kd3 57. Bb6 Ra2 58. Bc5 Ra6 59. Kf2 Kc4 60. Be7 Kd4 61. Bxg5 Ra2+ {0-1 Nepomniachtchi,I (2771)-Carlsen,M (2839) Chess.com Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (2.18)}) 8... Bd6 9. d4 {Rare, and (because?) safe. This "takes advantage" of Black's last move, but mainly leads to simplifications.} (9. a3 a5 10. b3 O-O 11. Bb2 Re8 12. Rc1 Bf5 13. h3 Qd7 14. Kh2 Nd4 15. Nd2 c6 16. e3 Nb5 17. Nxb5 cxb5 18. Nf3 Rad8 19. e4 Be6 20. Bxe5 Bxe5 21. Nxe5 Qd6 22. f4 Qxa3 23. d4 Bxb3 24. Qd3 Qb4 25. d5 Rc8 26. d6 Rcd8 27. d7 Nxd7 28. Nxd7 Bc4 29. Qd1 Qe7 {0-1 Ding,L (2791)-Carlsen,M (2863) Chessable Masters Final chess24.com INT rapid 2020 (2.23)}) 9... O-O 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 {This seems unambitious.} Bxe5 $11 12. Qc2 c6 13. e4 Qe7 14. Bd2 b6 15. Rfe1 Rd8 16. h3 Ba6 17. Rad1 Nd7 18. f4 Bd4+ 19. Be3 Bxe3+ 20. Rxe3 Nc5 21. e5 Rxd1+ 22. Nxd1 Rd8 23. Nf2 (23. Bxc6 $4 Ne6 $1 24. Bg2 (24. Nf2 Nd4 25. Qe4 (25. Qc3 Ne2+ $19) 25... Qc5 26. Ba4 Qc4 {wins the bishop or the knight (...Qf1+ and ...Qxf2).}) 24... Qc5 {is 0-1.}) 23... Ne6 24. Qxc6 Nd4 25. Qe4 Bc4 (25... Qc5 $11) 26. f5 (26. a3) 26... Qg5 27. f6 gxf6 28. h4 Qg7 29. exf6 Qxf6 30. Ng4 Qe6 31. b3 (31. Qxe6 Bxe6 32. Nxh6+ $4 Kg7 $19) 31... Qxe4 32. Bxe4 Be6 33. Nf6+ Kf8 34. Kf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.18"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Warmerdam, Max"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C85"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2625"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,67,19,15,15,15,25,13,25,7,0,0,31,23,1,4,14,16,4,0,7,7,7,-2,9,9,19,-26,-32,-51,-45,-22,-44,-34,21,26,23,18,11,0,9,15,21,14,14,29,24,23,29,27,37,42,83,69,55,46,62,57,57,57,56,37,25,27,26,5,4,4,0,-2]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. d3 Bd6 (7... Nd7) 8. Nbd2 Be6 9. Nb3 a5 10. Qe1 {This position hasn't happened in many previous games, but almost all of them feature super-GMs: Caruana, Firouzja, Nakamura, Aronian, Dominguez, Gukesh, Vitiugov, Eljanov, Fedoseev, and Alekseenko.} a4 11. Na5 Qb8 (11... Qc8 12. Ng5 Bc5 13. Nxe6 Qxe6 14. Nxb7 Bb6 15. Be3 Nd7 16. b4 axb3 17. axb3 Rxa1 18. Qxa1 O-O 19. Qc3 Bxe3 20. fxe3 Qh6 21. Qd2 Ra8 22. Na5 c5 23. Nc4 Qe6 24. Qc3 h6 25. Ra1 Rxa1+ 26. Qxa1 Qg4 27. Qf1 f6 28. h3 Qh4 29. Kh2 Nb6 30. Na5 Qg5 31. Qf3 h5 32. Nc6 Kf8 33. Qg3 Qxg3+ 34. Kxg3 Ke8 35. Kh4 g6 36. g4 hxg4 37. Kxg4 Kd7 38. Na5 Nc8 39. h4 Nd6 40. Nc4 Nf7 41. h5 Nh6+ 42. Kh4 g5+ 43. Kg3 Ke6 44. Nd2 Kf7 45. Nf3 Kg7 46. d4 cxd4 47. exd4 exd4 48. Nxd4 Nf7 49. Kg4 Kh6 50. Nf5+ Kh7 51. Kf3 Ne5+ 52. Ke3 Ng4+ 53. Kd4 Nh6 54. Ne3 g4 55. Nd5 f5 56. exf5 g3 57. Ke3 Nxf5+ 58. Kf3 Nd4+ 59. Kxg3 Nxc2 60. Nxc7 Kh6 61. Kh4 Nd4 62. b4 Nf5+ 63. Kg4 Ne3+ 64. Kf4 Nc4 65. Nd5 Kxh5 66. Kf5 Na3 67. Ke5 Kg5 68. Ne3 Kg6 69. Ke6 Kg5 70. Kd5 Kf4 71. Nc4 Nb5 72. Nd6 Na3 73. Kc5 Kg5 74. Nc4 Nb1 75. Kd4 Kf6 76. Kd5 Ke7 77. Kc6 Nc3 78. Nb6 Kd8 79. Nd5 Nxd5 80. Kxd5 Kd7 81. Kc5 Kc7 82. Kb5 Kb7 83. Kc5 Kc7 84. b5 Kb7 85. b6 Kb8 86. Kc6 Kc8 87. Kb5 Kb7 88. Kc5 Kb8 89. Kc6 Kc8 90. b7+ Kb8 91. Kb6 {½-½ Caruana,F (2764)-Le,Q (2728) Chessable Masters Div 1 Win Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (1.1)}) 12. b4 (12. Bd2 h6 13. Bc3 Nd7 14. d4 f6 15. dxe5 fxe5 16. Nh4 O-O 17. Qe2 Rf4 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. exf5 Rxf5 20. Rad1 Nf6 21. Nc4 Nd5 22. Bxe5 Qe8 23. Rfe1 Qg6 24. Nxd6 cxd6 25. Bg3 Rf6 26. Rd4 b5 27. c4 bxc4 28. Qxc4 Re8 29. Rf1 Qf7 30. Qxc6 Ne7 31. Qxa4 Nf5 32. Rd2 h5 33. b3 Rg6 34. Qc4 Qxc4 35. bxc4 h4 36. Bf4 Re4 37. Be3 Rxc4 38. Re1 h3 39. Rde2 Rxg2+ 40. Kh1 Nh4 41. f3 Nxf3 {0-1 Caruana,F (2786)-Firouzja,A (2777) Titled Tuesday intern op 05th Sep Late Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (9)}) 12... O-O 13. Ng5 Bg4 $146 (13... Re8 14. Nxe6 Rxe6 15. Kh1 (15. Rb1 Bf8 16. Bd2 b6 17. Nc4 Qe8 18. Ne3 b5 19. f4 exf4 20. Rxf4 c5 21. bxc5 Bxc5 22. Kh1 Bxe3 23. Bxe3 Nd5 24. Rf5 Nxe3 {½-½ Moussard,J (2655)-Ragger,M (2631) FRA-chT Top 16 Gp Haute Chartres 2023 (4.1)}) 15... Nd7 16. Rb1 Qa7 17. Nc4 b5 18. Ne3 c5 19. bxc5 Qxc5 20. Qe2 c6 21. Nf5 Bf8 22. Be3 Qc3 23. d4 exd4 24. Bxd4 Qa3 25. c4 g6 26. Ng3 Rd6 27. Ba1 bxc4 28. Qxc4 Qd3 29. Qc1 Qd2 30. Qc4 Qd3 31. Qc1 Qd2 32. Qc4 {½-½ Gukesh,D (2744)-Esipenko,A (2683) FIDE World Cup Baku 2023 (4.1)}) 14. Nc4 h6 $11 15. h3 Bh5 16. f4 $1 hxg5 17. fxe5 Nxe4 18. exd6 Nxd6 19. Nxd6 cxd6 20. Bxg5 {The flurry has come to an end, and the position remains equal.} Re8 21. Qh4 Bg6 22. Rae1 Qa7+ 23. Kh1 Re5 24. Be7 Rd5 25. Bd8 Re5 26. Bc7 {White wins a pawn, but after even more swaps the resulting opposite-colored bishop ending is extremely drawish.} Rae8 27. Bxd6 Rxe1 28. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 29. Qxe1 Qd4 30. Qe5 Qxe5 31. Bxe5 f6 32. Bb2 b5 33. Kg1 Bf7 34. c4 {Not strictly necessary, but probably a good idea.} (34. a3 Ba2 35. c3 Bb1 36. d4 Ba2 {is not only completely unpromising for White, it could even be a little dangerous as Black's king attempts to make a beeline for b3.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.18"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2549"] [BlackElo "2759"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,127,19,17,43,30,32,26,19,39,29,19,18,26,17,6,22,-8,13,29,63,33,50,27,61,28,28,15,17,15,56,24,24,24,24,16,19,19,1,39,27,27,23,-35,-35,-43,19,8,89,60,87,83,90,89,87,98,110,104,111,104,103,90,104,68,86,90,104,104,107,109,107,98,100,85,89,90,93,87,112,51,77,59,63,58,68,68,83,81,59,62,98,92,89,93,89,74,82,85,74,85,102,71,77,88,80,73,82,87,86,86,75,75,91,98,104,98,98,112,128,145,153,166,153,145,177,184,209,184,196,246]} 1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. exd5 {Really? Come on! (And yet...)} exd5 4. Nf3 Bd6 (4... Nf6 5. c4 Bb4+) 5. c4 Nf6 6. c5 Be7 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O Bg4 ({It was better to undermine the c5-pawn straight away with} 8... b6 {, as has been played many times before.}) 9. h3 $14 (9. Be3 $142 $14) 9... Bh5 10. Be3 Nc6 11. Nbd2 Re8 12. Bb5 (12. Re1 $142 $146) 12... Ne4 13. Qa4 $146 Nxd2 14. Nxd2 Bg5 $11 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Rae1 Bxe3 17. Rxe3 Rxe3 18. fxe3 Qe8 19. Re1 f5 (19... a5 $11) 20. Qa6 $5 (20. Qc2) 20... f4 21. Qf1 fxe3 22. Qd3 e2 $2 (22... Qb8 $1 23. Nb3 (23. Qxe3 Qxb2 $11) (23. Rxe3 Qxb2 $11) 23... a5 $1 24. Qc3 e2 25. g4 Bg6 26. Rxe2 Qb5 27. Re1 h6 $11) 23. Nf3 $2 (23. g4 Bg6 24. Qxe2 $16 {/+-}) 23... Qf7 $2 (23... Qe4 $11 {/?}) 24. Ng5 $18 Qg6 25. Qxg6 Bxg6 26. Rxe2 {The position is a disaster for Black, with a terrible queenside structure and the worse minor piece.} h6 27. Nf3 Be4 28. Ne5 a5 29. Nxc6 a4 30. Re3 Ra6 31. Nb4 $6 (31. Ne5) 31... Rg6 32. g3 h5 33. Ra3 $6 (33. a3 $18) 33... Kf8 34. Kf2 Rf6+ 35. Ke2 Rg6 36. h4 $2 $16 (36. Re3 h4 37. g4 $18) 36... Ke8 37. Re3 Kd7 38. a3 Re6 39. Kd2 $2 (39. c6+ $1 Kd6 40. Na6 $18 {followed by Nc5 is again winning for White.}) 39... Rf6 $16 40. Ke2 Rf8 $1 41. b3 axb3 42. Rxb3 Bg2 $2 (42... Ra8 $142) 43. Re3 (43. a4 $1 $18) 43... Be4 44. Na2 $1 Rb8 45. Nc3 Rb2+ 46. Ke1 Rb3 47. Kf2 Bh1 $8 48. Nd1 (48. a4 $142) 48... Rb8 49. Re5 $2 (49. Nc3 $142 Rb3 50. a4 $1) 49... g6 $6 (49... Kc6 $1 50. Rxh5 Rb3 $16 51. a4 $4 Bf3 $19) 50. Re1 $6 (50. Nc3 $18) 50... Be4 51. Nc3 Rf8+ $8 52. Kg1 Rf3 $2 (52... Kc6 $3 53. Re3 $1 (53. Nxe4 $2 Re8 $11) 53... Rf6 $1 54. a4 $1 Rf8 $1 $14 {/?}) 53. Nxe4 dxe4 54. Kg2 $1 $18 {Now White is winning, and stays winning.} Rxa3 55. Rxe4 Rd3 56. Kf2 c6 57. Kg2 $1 {Black is in zugzwang.} Rd1 58. Kf3 Rf1+ 59. Ke3 Rf7 60. Rf4 Rg7 61. Kd3 Ke6 62. Rf8 Ra7 63. Ke4 Ra1 64. Rd8 (64. Rd8 Ra6 65. Rd6+ Kf7 66. Kf4 {followed by Kg5 leads to further material gains.}) 1-0 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.18"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,81,19,17,27,26,19,14,12,5,5,1,7,7,7,0,14,44,32,12,45,45,63,36,36,40,37,17,21,-5,-9,-8,-6,-11,-8,-11,-2,28,28,33,33,33,24,33,18,26,26,36,33,57,29,29,46,21,31,40,13,-7,35,26,35,38,89,57,72,65,57,79,78,22,19,15,16,16,11,16,7,7,7,-4,9,10,10,2]} 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bf4 Bf5 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. cxd3 {More promising than recapturing with the queen.} Bd6 7. Qb3 b6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. Nf3 c6 ({When playing Black in this position, Pragg went for} 9... Ng8 10. h4 Ne7 11. h5 h6 12. g4 c6 13. O-O-O Nd7 14. Kb1 c5 15. Rhg1 f6 16. e4 O-O 17. Rde1 cxd4 18. Nb5 Qf4 19. Nfxd4 Nc5 20. Qc2 Rfc8 21. Qe2 dxe4 22. dxe4 Nc6 23. Nxc6 Rxc6 24. Qe3 e5 25. Nc3 Qxe3 26. Rxe3 Rd6 27. b4 Nd3 28. Nd5 Nxf2 29. Ne7+ Kf7 30. Nf5 Rd2 31. Rc1 Rad8 32. Rc7+ R8d7 33. Rxd7+ Rxd7 34. Kc2 g6 35. hxg6+ Kxg6 36. a4 Kg5 37. a5 Nxg4 38. Rc3 Kf4 39. Kb3 bxa5 40. bxa5 Nf2 41. Nxh6 Nxe4 42. Rc8 f5 43. Rf8 Ng3 44. Ng8 e4 45. Nf6 Rd6 46. Ne8 Ra6 47. Kb4 e3 48. Nc7 e2 49. Re8 Ne4 {0-1 Erigaisi,A (2718)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2678) Meltwater Tour Final chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (7.1)}) (9... O-O {has been the most popular move, though most of the games have been at a sub-GM level.}) 10. O-O Ng8 $146 {Pragg's idea after all.} 11. a4 $1 Ne7 12. a5 $14 b5 13. Na2 (13. Qc2 {may be best, intending Nd2-b3-c5.}) 13... Na6 $1 14. Qa3 b4 15. Qa4 O-O (15... Rb8) 16. Nc1 Rfc8 (16... f6 17. Nb3 e5) 17. Nb3 c5 18. dxc5 Nxc5 19. Nxc5 Qxc5 20. d4 Qd6 21. Ne5 $14 f6 22. Nd3 e5 23. dxe5 fxe5 24. Rac1 Rxc1 (24... e4 $142 25. Nxb4 Rcb8) 25. Rxc1 Rb8 26. h3 (26. Nc5 $142) (26. g3 $142) (26. h4 $142) 26... h6 27. Qd1 Ng6 $1 28. Rc2 Kh7 (28... Rb5 $142 $11) 29. Nc5 $14 Rb5 (29... b3 $1 30. Rc3 d4 31. Rxb3 Rc8 32. Ne4 Qd5 33. Qd3 Qxa5 $14) 30. Nb3 $16 {Black is slipping into trouble.} Rb8 31. Rc5 (31. Qc1 $16) 31... Rd8 32. Qc2 Qf6 33. Rc6 Rd6 34. Rxd6 $2 (34. Rc7 $1 $16) 34... Qxd6 $11 35. Qf5 Kg8 36. Qc8+ Kh7 37. Qf5 Kg8 38. Qc8+ Kh7 39. Qc5 (39. Qc2) (39. Qb7) 39... Qxc5 40. Nxc5 Ne7 41. Kf1 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.18"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Wei, Yi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D88"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,125,19,17,19,4,35,41,79,70,61,61,61,47,54,35,57,49,56,29,41,53,73,70,76,25,51,40,51,51,82,72,73,34,55,42,40,35,23,7,24,4,-1,-27,-3,-19,42,24,27,1,0,0,0,9,12,48,45,10,39,37,57,89,96,90,141,67,58,72,90,87,66,87,128,143,143,153,147,143,154,154,142,166,162,152,114,157,90,104,117,116,90,90,86,90,71,19,23,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Bg4 11. f3 Na5 12. Bxf7+ {The good old Seville Variation, put on the map by Karpov in his 1987 match against Kasparov (in, you guessed it, Seville). Karpov had excellent results with the line, and while it seemed to have been solved by Black White has enjoyed some good results with it in recent years, so perhaps it hasn't been completely solved after all.} Rxf7 13. fxg4 Rxf1+ 14. Kxf1 Qd6 15. Kg1 Qe6 16. Qc2 (16. Qd3 {has been far more common, and why wouldn't it be? It gives some protection to the c4 square, covers the bishop on e3, and shores up the d-pawn. But it turns out that the text move has its own virtues.} Qc4 {That 16.Qc2 avoids this is just one of those advantages.}) 16... cxd4 (16... Nc4 17. Qb3 $1 {isn't available when the queen's on d3.}) 17. cxd4 Rc8 18. Qd3 Qxg4 (18... Qc4 19. Qxc4+ Nxc4 20. Rc1 {is another plus.}) 19. Kh1 $1 Qd7 (19... Nc4 20. Bg1 {is the main point of 19.Kh1.} a6 21. a4 Bh6 22. Rb1 Qd7 23. Rb4 Na5 24. d5 Bf8 25. Nd4 e5 26. dxe6 Qd6 27. Rb1 Bg7 28. Qf3 Rf8 29. Qc3 Qe5 30. h3 Re8 31. Qf3 Qf6 32. Qe2 Qe5 33. Rf1 Qd6 34. Qa2 Nc6 35. e7+ Kh8 36. Nxc6 bxc6 37. Qc4 Qxe7 38. Qxa6 Qxe4 39. a5 g5 40. Rc1 c5 41. Rxc5 g4 42. Qc6 Qe7 43. a6 gxh3 44. a7 hxg2+ 45. Kxg2 Qe2+ 46. Kh1 Qe7 47. Rh5 Qd8 48. Qd5 Qc8 49. Qg2 h6 50. Ra5 {1-0 Maghsoodloo,P (2707)-Salem,A (2632) Qatar Masters op Doha 2023 (5)}) 20. Bg1 $146 ({It isn't a particularly high-rated correspondence game, but in a sense just about every contemporary correspondence game played by competent players is very high-level, because they are of course using engines. So it's worth taking note of this game, and taking note of the fact that White managed to win - a rarity in correspondence chess nowadays.} 20. a4 Nc4 21. Bg1 e6 22. a5 a6 23. Qb3 Nd2 24. Qd3 Nc4 25. Qh3 Nd6 26. e5 Nb5 27. Qb3 Qd5 28. Qh3 Qd7 29. Rb1 Rf8 30. Qh4 Rf7 31. h3 Bf8 32. Qg4 Bh6 33. Ng3 Rf4 34. Nh5 Rxg4 35. Nf6+ Kf7 36. Nxd7 Re4 37. Nf6 Re2 38. Nxh7 Ke7 39. g4 Be3 40. Bxe3 Rxe3 41. Kg2 Ra3 42. h4 Ra2+ 43. Kg3 Rxa5 44. Rb4 Ra1 45. Kf4 Rd1 46. Kg5 Kf7 47. Rb2 Kg7 48. Nf6 Rd3 49. Rc2 Rc3 50. Rxc3 Nxc3 51. h5 gxh5 52. gxh5 Nb5 53. h6+ Kf7 54. Ne8 Kg8 55. Kg6 {1-0 Mangiarotti,M (1959)-Guineret,H (1990) W-ch WS/H/916 email ICCF email 2022}) 20... b6 21. a4 Kh8 22. Rf1 $14 Rf8 23. Rxf8+ Bxf8 24. Qf3 (24. e5 $5 Qxa4 25. d5 $14) (24. d5 e5 $1 25. Nc3 Nb7 26. Nb5 $14) 24... Kg8 $1 $11 {/?} 25. Nf4 Bh6 26. d5 (26. Nd5) 26... Bxf4 $1 27. Qxf4 Qd6 $11 28. Qg4 e6 $6 (28... Qe5 $1 $11) 29. h3 $1 Nb7 $6 (29... exd5 30. Qc8+ Kg7 31. exd5 Qxd5 32. Qc7+ Qf7 $8 33. Bd4+ Kg8 34. Qe5 Qf1+ $1 35. Kh2 Kf7 $8 $11 {Black is hanging on.}) 30. Bh2 $16 Qe7 31. Qg3 $2 (31. Bg3 $1) 31... e5 $1 $11 32. Qc3 (32. Qxe5 Qxe5 33. Bxe5 Nc5 34. Bb8 a6 35. Ba7 Nxa4 $11) 32... Nd6 33. Bxe5 Nxe4 34. Qc8+ Kf7 35. Bf4 Nf6 (35... h5) 36. d6 Qe6 (36... Qe1+ $1 37. Kh2 Qe6 $11) 37. Qc7+ Nd7 38. Qxa7 g5 39. Bg3 h5 40. Qc7 h4 41. Bf2 g4 $1 $11 42. hxg4 Qxg4 43. Qd8 Qd1+ 44. Bg1 Qxa4 (44... Qxd6 45. Qxh4 Qd1 {is also equal.}) 45. Qe7+ Kg6 46. Qe8+ Kf5 $8 {The position is equal with best play, but that doesn't mean that Black's task is simple.} 47. Bd4 $5 Qd1+ 48. Kh2 Qxd4 49. Qxd7+ Kg5 50. Qe7+ Kf5 51. Qf7+ Kg5 52. Qg8+ Kf5 53. Qc8+ Kg5 54. Qd8+ Kf5 55. Qf8+ Kg5 56. Qe7+ Kf5 57. d7 Qf4+ 58. Kg1 Qc1+ 59. Kf2 Qd2+ 60. Kg1 Qc1+ 61. Kf2 Qd2+ 62. Kg1 Qc1+ 63. Kf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.18"] [Round "5.6"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D50"] [WhiteElo "2725"] [BlackElo "2769"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,97,19,17,19,4,4,9,6,6,47,38,61,39,39,4,11,-3,-2,-21,25,0,25,-11,0,-19,8,0,45,33,66,77,72,61,64,63,50,21,42,20,15,16,16,16,13,12,26,25,33,-18,25,0,7,7,24,24,28,13,3,11,11,41,48,13,9,3,27,32,14,29,156,110,146,125,125,125,124,132,124,136,136,136,136,136,136,136,181,172,175,182,180,180,221,230,250,220,273,277,302,273]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 {This line has been an effective drawing weapon for several years now, but "effective" doesn't quite mean "infallible".} 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Bg5 ({The original recipe with} 7. e4 {hasn't had much success lately. (There were a couple of Carlsen victories in December in experimental sidelines, but neither is dangerous against a slightly prepared opponent - provided they're not facing Carlsen.)}) 7... Be7 8. e3 O-O 9. Bb5 (9. Be2) ({and} 9. Rd1 {are more popular.}) 9... Nc6 (9... h6 10. Nh4 Nc6 $11) 10. Qa4 Bd7 (10... h6 $1 11. Bh4 Be6 $1 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Qxc6 Rb8 $44) 11. Rd1 $146 {11.0-0 had been played in the previous games, but Stockfish says 11.Rd1. Q.E.D.} a6 12. Bxc6 bxc6 (12... Bxc6 $142) 13. Ne5 $14 Rc8 (13... Rb8 $142) 14. O-O (14. Nxd7 $142 Nxd7 (14... Qxd7 $2 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Nxd5 $18 {offers a nice demonstration of the value of 11.Rd1.}) 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Qxa6 $14 {The burden is on Black to prove compensation for the pawn.}) 14... Be8 $1 $14 {/=} 15. Qxa6 h6 16. Bh4 (16. Bxf6 $142 Bxf6 17. Nf3) 16... Ra8 $1 17. Qe2 Ne4 $1 18. Nxe4 Bxh4 19. Nc3 Bf6 20. Nd3 Qa5 (20... Bd7 $11) 21. Rd2 (21. Rc1) 21... Bd7 ({Keep it simple:} 21... Bxc3 $142 22. bxc3 Qxc3 $11) 22. Rc1 Rfb8 23. Qf3 $1 Bc8 (23... Bxc3 24. bxc3 (24. Rxc3 $2 Rxb2 $1 $17) 24... Qa3 $11 {/?}) 24. h3 Ba6 25. Qf5 Bc8 (25... Bxd3 $142 26. Qxd3 Bxc3 27. bxc3 Qa3 $11 {/?}) 26. Qh5 Be6 27. Nf4 Bd7 (27... d4 $1 28. Qxa5 Rxa5 29. exd4 Bg5 30. g3 Bxh3 $14) 28. Qd1 (28. Nfe2 $142) 28... Bf5 (28... Bxc3 $1 29. bxc3 Bf5 $14 {/=}) 29. Nfe2 $14 Bg6 30. Nd4 Ra6 31. b3 $5 Be7 32. Na4 Rc8 $11 33. Qg4 Rc7 (33... Rd8 $142 $1 $11) 34. Rcd1 Bb4 $4 {Missing a nice tactical shot.} (34... Ra8 $11 {/?}) 35. Nxc6 $1 $18 Rcxc6 (35... Raxc6 36. Rxd5 Rc5 (36... Bc5 $2 37. Nxc5 Rxc5 38. Rd8+ Kh7 39. b4 $18) 37. Nxc5 Bxc5 38. Qf4 $18 {Two bishops are generally great against a rook and one pawn and often even a rook and two pawns. Here White has three extra pawns thrown into the bargain, the rooks are active, White's pieces are well-coordinated and his position has no weaknesses. As a result, Black's bishops don't have much to do.}) 36. Rxd5 h5 (36... Qc7 37. Qxb4 $18) 37. Qf4 Rd6 38. Rxd6 Bxd6 39. Rxd6 Rxd6 40. Qxd6 Qe1+ 41. Kh2 Qxf2 42. Nc3 $2 (42. Nc5 $1 Qxa2 43. b4 $18) 42... Qc2 $2 (42... Qxe3 43. Nd5 Qf2 $16 {is no longer clear.}) 43. Qd4 {Now everything is covered, and the careful advance of the queenside pawns will win.} Bd3 44. Nd5 Be4 45. Nf4 g6 46. a4 Bf3 47. Qd3 Qf2 48. e4 Bd1 49. Nxg6 $1 (49. Nxg6 $1 fxg6 50. Qxd1 Qf4+ 51. Kh1 Qxe4 52. a5 $18 {Black has no chance for a perpetual, and the queenside pawns are easily pushed.}) 1-0 [Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2024.01.18"] [Round "5.7"] [White "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2780"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2024.01.13"] {[%evp 0,61,19,15,18,20,25,14,18,5,16,-24,2,-23,5,-59,-27,-48,-19,-11,22,27,16,0,5,-8,-4,-5,5,-126,-126,-119,0,-97,0,-52,99,-58,134,98,98,90,58,53,54,54,52,75,96,82,82,34,34,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. a4 a5 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 Qe7 9. O-O Ba7 $146 10. Nbd2 Bd7 $146 11. Rb1 g5 12. Bg3 O-O $146 (12... Nh7 13. d4 Nf8 14. d5 Nd8 15. h3 h5 16. Bb5 c6 17. dxc6 bxc6 18. Be2 g4 19. hxg4 {½-½ Pascoal,J (2237)-Hering,H (2339) Champion's League 2021/B3 email ICCF email}) 13. Re1 g4 $2 (13... Rfe8) (13... Be6) (13... Nh7 {(Overprotecting the g-pawn to continue with ...h5.)}) 14. Bh4 $1 gxf3 15. Qxf3 Kg7 16. Nf1 Rh8 17. Ne3 Raf8 18. Kh1 $6 ({White is much better, but proving it is not easy, to put it mildly. Here's best play for both sides, according to the engine. No human would work this out at the board, but from now on this will be in all the top pros' computers as the reason not to repeat Ding's 13th move.} 18. d4 $1 Rhg8 $8 19. d5 $1 Nb8 20. b4 $1 Bxe3 $1 21. fxe3 $1 Bxa4 $1 22. bxa5 $1 Nbd7 $1 23. Rb4 $1 Bc2 $1 24. Bb5 $1 c6 $1 25. dxc6 bxc6 26. Bxc6 Qe6 $1 27. Qe2 $1 Qa2 $1 28. Bb7 Bb3 29. Qxa2 Bxa2 30. a6 Nc5 $8 31. Rf1 $1 Nfd7 32. Ra1 Be6 33. Be7 Re8 34. Bxd6 $16) 18... h5 $1 $14 19. Qg3+ Kh7 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. exd5 f6 $1 22. dxc6 Bxc6 {White has his piece back, but now Black's bishops look sharp. White should watch out for ...Rhg8 ideas.} 23. d4 $5 (23. Qh3 $1 $14 {/?}) (23. f3 Qg7 $11 {/?}) 23... Qg7 $1 $11 {Now the game ends quickly with a more or less forced draw.} (23... Rhg8 $4 24. Bxg8+ Rxg8 25. Qd3+ $1 $18 {is the trick.}) 24. Bd3+ Kg8 25. Re3 exd4 26. Qxg7+ Kxg7 27. Rg3+ Kf7 28. Rg6 Rhg8 29. Rxf6+ Kg7 30. Rg6+ Kf7 31. Rf6+ 1/2-1/2