[Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.24"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2803"] [PlyCount "60"] [GameId "2137840584807278"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,60,17,16,9,20,24,3,8,29,11,23,21,24,23,24,21,26,24,-114,24,-140,25,14,16,18,12,9,6,16,17,17,16,25,14,20,18,10,38,55,33,0,-172,1,40,5,8,172,6,-8,-3,-9,36,-16,0,-34,-18,13,11,-33,-3,1,1] Erigaisi was apparently feeling under the weather, so he used the occasion of Caruana playing the Berlin to make an easy draw.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Rxe8+ Nxe8 12. c3 d5 13. Bd3 g6 14. Nd2 c6 15. Nf3 Ng7 16. Bf4 Bf5 17. Bxf5 Nxf5 18. Qd2 Qf8 19. Re1 Re8 20. Rxe8 $146 Qxe8 21. Qe1 Qxe1+ 22. Nxe1 Ng7 23. Kf1 Ne6 24. Be3 h5 25. Ke2 Kf8 26. Nd3 Ke7 27. Ne1 Bg7 28. Nd3 Bf6 29. Ne1 Bg7 30. Nd3 Bf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.24"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D78"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2731"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2137840584827759"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,107,12,16,18,15,34,12,9,15,2,12,12,10,16,26,27,26,18,22,15,43,44,27,32,37,56,-64,58,34,17,48,54,61,32,139,41,41,41,41,-42,41,56,42,70,76,54,46,33,31,23,-17,21,41,21,17,-7,-16,-10,-10,32,-6,26,21,30,16,5,10,0,4,-53,-16,14,32,12,-1,-1,1,6,-26,-1,-26,22,21,0,0,13,12,25,-9,25,1,27,32,43,29,31,1,1,-1,1,-1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 d5 5. Qb3 Bg7 6. Nc3 O-O 7. Nf3 Qb6 8. O-O Rd8 9. h3 Be6 10. c5 Qxb3 11. axb3 Ne4 12. Bf4 Nd7 13. g4 h6 14. Ra4 g5 15. Bc7 Rdc8 16. Bh2 f5 17. gxf5 Bxf5 18. Rfa1 a6 19. Rb4 Nxc3 (19... Ra7 $142 $11) 20. bxc3 Ra7 21. Ra5 Be4 $6 (21... Re8 $142 $11) 22. h4 $1 $14 g4 23. Ne1 $6 (23. Ne5 $1 $14) 23... Bf5 $11 24. Ra2 (24. e3 $142) 24... h5 (24... e5) 25. Rba4 (25. e3 $142) 25... e5 26. e3 Re8 27. Bf1 Nf8 28. Ng2 Ng6 29. b4 Bd7 30. Bd3 Kf7 (30... e4 $142) 31. Bxg6+ Kxg6 32. Bxe5 Bxe5 33. dxe5 Rxe5 34. Rd2 Be8 35. Ra1 Bf7 36. Nf4+ Kf6 {White has better everything here, but the pawn structure is such that there's nothing he can do with it.} 37. Rd4 Ra8 38. Ne2 Ke7 39. Kf1 Bg6 40. Ng3 Rf8 41. Rf4 Rf6 42. Rd1 Kf7 43. Rdd4 Re8 44. Ne2 Be4 45. c4 Rxf4 46. Nxf4 Re5 (46... Bf3 $142) (46... dxc4 $142) 47. Ke1 (47. cxd5 $142 cxd5 48. Ne2 $14) 47... Kf6 $11 48. Kd2 Rf5 49. Kc3 Ke5 50. cxd5 cxd5 51. Rd2 Bh1 52. Rd4 Be4 53. Rd1 Bf3 54. Rd4 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.24"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Sarana, Alexey"] [Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2717"] [PlyCount "89"] [GameId "2137840584831856"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,89,14,42,9,15,13,18,23,12,-23,18,19,-12,7,5,18,22,25,6,4,15,38,-3,1,-22,-14,-21,-17,-17,2,-13,-26,-25,1,65,-20,-3,-7,-9,-9,-13,95,-18,56,33,68,66,53,1,119,127,127,190,169,190,203,219,204,226,238,219,186,192,215,381,289,377,298,375,351,382,380,232,325,319,344,319,214,315,310,327,232,295,269,308,297,351,388,401,408,414] After singing Fedoseev's praises for his back-to-back wins in the last two rounds, he then loses to one of the lower-rated players. This isn't some sort of choke on his part, however, but evidence that the tournament is full of players who capable of great chess.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. Qc2 Nf6 7. h3 {A move that has become popular. The idea isn't so much to give the bishop a retreat in case of ...Nh5, but to keep Black's light-squared bishop out of the game.} Qa5 (7... g6 {is another principled move, insisting on developing the bishop to a better square than e6.}) 8. e3 Ne4 9. Bd3 Na6 $146 10. Qa4 Qb6 (10... Qxa4 11. Nxa4 Bb4+ 12. Ke2 b5 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Nc3 f5 $11 {is very different but still equal.}) 11. Qb3 Bf5 12. Bxe4 (12. Bb1 $142 $11) 12... dxe4 13. Nge2 Nb4 14. O-O O-O $11 {/? Things are going very well for Fedoseev.} 15. Qd1 Bg6 16. Bg3 f5 $6 {The move's drawbacks are obvious; the question is whether its potential upside justifies the risk.} (16... h6) (16... Nd3 $1 17. Rb1 f5 $1 {is the right way to do it - now Black doesn't have to worry about Nf4.}) 17. Nf4 Bf7 18. a3 Na6 19. b4 $14 {This is not what Fedoseev had in mind when playing 16...f5.} Qd8 20. d5 Qc8 $2 (20... Nc7 {is okay for Black. Yes, his queenside pawns will be split after} 21. dxc6 bxc6 {, but Black will soon play ...a5, when both Sarana and Fedoseev will be left with a queenside weakness.}) 21. Rc1 $16 Rd8 22. Qa4 c5 23. Rfd1 {White has more space and his pieces are harmonious. Black's pieces...not so much.} cxb4 $2 (23... Bf8) 24. Nb5 $1 $18 Bc5 $2 25. axb4 Nxb4 26. Bh4 $6 {Inaccurate, but still winning.} (26. Ne6 $1 Bxe6 27. dxe6 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Nd3 29. Nc7 Rb8 30. e7 Bxe7 31. Nd5 Bf8 32. Bxb8 Qxb8 33. Qd7 $18) 26... Rd7 27. Nxa7 $1 Qe8 28. Rxc5 Na6 29. Rcc1 Rxa7 30. d6 h6 31. Be7 {White's advantage is so overwhelming that this move, a move that is obvious and good - is somewhat of a mistake compared to his best options.} b5 32. Qxb5 Rxe7 33. Qxe8+ Rxe8 34. d7 Nc7 (34... Rd8 35. Rc8 Ra8 36. Rxa8 Rxa8 37. d8=Q+ Rxd8 38. Rxd8+ Kh7 39. Rf8 $18) 35. d8=Q Rxd8 36. Rxd8+ {Black has no shot at saving this.} Ne8 37. h4 Kh7 38. Ne6 Kg6 39. Nf4+ Kf6 40. Rcc8 g5 41. hxg5+ hxg5 42. Nd5+ Bxd5 43. Rxd5 Ke6 44. Rcc5 Nd6 45. g4 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.24"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2777"] [PlyCount "131"] [GameId "2137840584835953"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. a4 {Something new! Playing a4 in the Italian isn't a new idea, but it's unusual to play it this early.} Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. a5 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 O-O 9. O-O Ne7 $146 (9... Bd7 10. c3 b6 11. b4 Ne7 12. Re1 Ng6 13. d4 c5 14. Bf1 Qc7 15. Qb3 b5 16. dxc5 dxc5 17. c4 Rab8 18. Rec1 Be6 19. Ng5 bxc4 20. Nxc4 Rxb4 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Qc2 h6 23. f3 Rfb8 24. a6 Kh7 25. Na5 Rc8 26. Qc3 Qb6 27. Nc4 Qc7 28. Ra2 Rcb8 29. Rac2 Rb1 30. Qa5 Qe7 31. Rxb1 Rxb1 32. Na3 Rb3 33. Nb5 Ne8 34. Qd2 c4 35. Nc3 Nd6 36. Na4 Qc7 37. Qf2 Qa5 38. Nc5 Rb1 39. g3 Nf8 40. Kg2 Rb5 41. Nb7 Nxb7 42. axb7 Rxb7 43. Bxc4 Rc7 44. Ra2 Qb4 45. Bf1 a5 46. Rb2 Qc3 47. Ra2 Nd7 48. Qe2 Nc5 49. Rc2 Qb4 50. Qb5 Qxb5 51. Bxb5 g5 52. Kf1 Kg7 53. Ke2 Kf6 54. Ke3 Ke7 55. h4 Na6 56. Ra2 Rc3+ 57. Kf2 Nc7 58. Rxa5 gxh4 59. gxh4 Nxb5 60. Rxb5 Kf6 61. Rb8 Kg7 62. Kg3 h5 63. Re8 Rc6 64. Kf2 Ra6 65. Ke2 Ra2+ 66. Ke3 Ra3+ 67. Kf2 Ra2+ 68. Kg3 Ra6 69. Rb8 Rc6 70. Rb3 Kf6 71. Ra3 Rb6 72. Ra7 Kg6 73. Ra8 Kg7 74. Ra7+ Kg6 75. Ra8 Kg7 76. Ra7+ Kg6 {½-½ Nepomniachtchi,I (2771)-Giri,A (2752) Saint Louis Rapid 2023 (2)}) 10. c3 Ng6 11. Re1 h6 (11... Bd7 $142 {followed by ...b5 maintained equality.}) 12. d4 $14 Nh7 13. Re3 Ng5 14. Nxg5 Qxg5 15. g3 Bg4 16. h4 $1 Qh5 17. Qb3 Rab8 18. Nf1 Ne7 {This first retreat will be followed by more, after which White's advantage grows and is comfortable.} (18... Nf4 $1 19. Nh2 $1 exd4 20. cxd4 Ne2+ 21. Bxe2 Bxe2 22. Qc2 Bb5 23. Qxc7 Qg6 $14) 19. Nh2 $1 $16 Bd7 20. Be2 Qg6 21. dxe5 (21. Qc4 $142 $16) 21... dxe5 22. Rd1 Be6 23. Qb5 Nc6 24. a6 (24. h5 $142 Qf6 25. a6 Bc8 26. Rf3 $16 {transposes to the game without allowing 24...f6.}) 24... Bc8 (24... f6 $142) 25. h5 Qf6 26. Rf3 Qe6 27. Bc4 Qe7 28. Qa4 (28. Rfd3 $142 $16) 28... Nd8 $14 29. axb7 Bxb7 30. Re3 Bc6 31. Qa2 Nb7 32. b4 (32. Qa6 $142) 32... Nd6 33. Bd5 Bxd5 34. Rxd5 Qe6 $11 {/? Black is fine now, though he still has to be careful given his split pawns.} 35. Re2 c6 $6 (35... Rb5 $1 36. Rxb5 Qxa2 37. Rxa2 Nxb5 38. c4 Nd6 39. c5 Nxe4 40. Rxa7 Rb8 $11) 36. Ra5 (36. Rc5 $142 Qxa2 37. Rxa2 Nxe4 38. Rc4 $1 Ng5 39. Rxa7 $14) 36... Qxa2 37. Raxa2 Rfc8 38. Ng4 c5 $5 (38... f6 $11 {could in theory weaken Black's 7th rank, so while nothing *should* happen it's understandable that Gukesh preferred another method.}) 39. bxc5 Rxc5 40. Rxa7 Rxc3 41. Rd7 Ne8 {Unnecessary, but still holding.} (41... Nc4 {was fine, as} 42. Rc7 {is harmless thanks to} Rc1+ 43. Kh2 Rbb1 $11) 42. Nxe5 Nf6 43. Re7 Rb4 $6 (43... Re8 $1) 44. g4 $16 Rc5 45. f3 Kf8 $2 (45... Rb3 $1 46. Kg2 Kf8 $1 47. Rxf7+ Ke8 48. Rxg7 Rxe5 49. Ra2 Kf8 $8 50. Rg6 (50. Rc7 Re7 $11) 50... Nxe4 $1 51. Re2 $1 Rg5 $1 52. Rxh6 (52. Rxe4 Rxg6 53. hxg6 Rb6 {is objectively drawn.}) 52... Nc3 $1 53. Re3 Rb2+ $14) 46. Rxf7+ Ke8 47. Nd3 $18 {It's surprising that Gukesh has mishandled the endgame so badly, but now he shows his characteristic resilience and it's Abdusattorov who fumbles the win.} Rb1+ 48. Kg2 Rc3 49. Ne5 (49. Rxg7 Rxd3 50. Ra2 Kf8 51. Rg6 Nd7 52. Rxh6 $18) 49... Rb5 50. Rxg7 Rxe5 51. Ra2 Kf8 52. Rg6 Nxe4 53. Re2 $1 Rg5 {We saw a very similar position in the note to Black's 45th move. The position after 51...Rg5 in that line was very similar to this one, with the only difference that Black's rook was on b3 rather than c3. Remarkably and unobviously, that changes the evaluation drastically. There it was drawn; here, White is winning.} 54. Rxh6 $1 {Black can't play ...Nc3 here, and that makes all the difference.} Nc5 55. Rc6 Na4 56. Ra6 (56. Rf6+ $1 Kg7 57. Ra6 $1 Nc5 58. Rc6 $1 {The point of this rook "triangulation" is that} Na4 {can be met by} 59. Re7+ $1 Kf8 60. Rce6 {, which wins. For example:} Nc5 61. Re8+ Kf7 62. R6e7+ Kf6 63. h6 $18 {and White's h-pawn will cost Black a rook.}) 56... Nc5 57. Ra8+ Kf7 58. Ra7+ $6 (58. h6 $142 Kg6 59. Rh8 Rb3 60. Re7 $18) 58... Kf6 59. Re8 $2 (59. h6 Rg8 60. Rc7 Na4 61. h7 Rh8 62. Rd7 $1 $18) 59... Ne6 $14 {Gukesh survives.} 60. h6 Re5 $11 61. Ra6 Rc2+ 62. Kf1 Rc1+ 63. Kf2 Rc2+ 64. Kf1 Rc1+ 65. Kf2 Rc2+ 66. Kf1 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.24"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Wei Yi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C83"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2751"] [PlyCount "115"] [GameId "2137840584840050"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,115,11,-1,-8,14,14,6,9,6,19,19,14,14,1,22,20,32,27,32,11,12,11,0,16,-101,1,10,111,19,28,20,12,30,30,30,36,78,53,79,61,53,69,61,114,44,47,49,93,59,78,-25,-3,49,53,46,57,48,62,116,49,2,54,50,53,54,69,40,71,59,47,51,48,50,61,84,60,84,54,40,37,49,47,50,48,34,33,46,14,43,43,64,52,26,58,60,49,51,66,51,47,47,54,52,50,45,97,57,87,81,87,115,73,70,70,57,72,41] Pragg pressed throughout, but as far as I can tell he was never close to winning.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 10. Re1 O-O 11. h3 Qd7 12. Be3 Na5 13. Nbd2 Nxb3 14. axb3 c5 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Qxd7 Bxd7 17. Nd2 Bc6 18. Bf4 f5 19. exf6 Rxf6 20. Bg5 Re6 21. Bxe7 Rxe7 22. b4 cxb4 23. cxb4 Bd5 24. Nf1 Kf7 25. Ne3 Be6 26. Red1 Rd7 27. Rxd7+ Bxd7 28. Rd1 Ke6 29. Kh2 Rf8 30. Kg3 Bc6 31. Rc1 Kd6 32. Rc5 Bd7 33. Rg5 Rf7 34. Rd5+ Ke6 35. Rd1 Ke5 36. Rc1 Rf6 37. Rc5+ Kd6 38. Rd5+ Ke6 39. Rd4 Bc6 40. Rd8 Rg6+ 41. Kh2 Rf6 42. Kg1 Rf7 43. Rc8 Bb7 44. Rb8 Kd6 45. h4 g6 46. Rg8 Ke7 47. g4 Bc6 48. Kg2 Kd6 49. Rc8 Kd7 50. Rh8 Kc7 51. Kg1 Kd7 52. Kf1 Kc7 53. Rg8 Kd7 54. Ke2 Kc7 55. h5 gxh5 56. gxh5 Kd6 57. h6 Ke5 58. Rg5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.24"] [Round "6.6"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C66"] [WhiteElo "2695"] [BlackElo "2680"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2137840584840051"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,107,13,2,21,21,16,11,29,21,14,10,16,104,34,24,7,16,-4,-4,-6,22,5,36,46,33,49,49,43,63,52,53,61,80,89,103,76,103,74,83,-86,73,95,91,102,91,95,76,96,90,37,73,64,62,116,65,182,65,69,75,95,83,105,73,72,78,73,72,79,78,117,67,86,77,88,99,76,58,65,115,106,31,28,-19,3,-1,13,-10,4,37,0,12,24,-27,1,-20,-91,30,22,2,40,1,8,1,36,12,14,1,1,9]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. O-O a6 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. Re1 c5 8. c3 Bb7 9. Qc2 Be7 10. d4 cxd4 11. cxd4 d5 12. Qb3 Rb8 13. Qa4+ Qd7 14. Qxd7+ Nxd7 15. exd5 e4 16. Rxe4 Nf6 17. Re2 Nxd5 18. Nc3 f6 19. Nxd5 Bxd5 20. Bf4 Kd7 21. Bxc7 {This is reminiscent of some Marshall Gambit endings. There White is only one pawn ahead rather than two, but both there and here Black's bishop pair is so effective that it's very difficult for White to convert the advantage.} Rb5 22. Bf4 g5 23. Be3 a5 24. Ne1 a4 25. Nd3 Rhb8 26. Rd1 Bxa2 27. Nc5+ Ke8 28. Bc1 Bc4 29. Re3 Kf7 30. Nxa4 Ra5 31. Nc3 Ra1 32. Bd2 Ra7 33. Bc1 Ra1 34. Rde1 Bd8 35. h3 Kg6 36. d5 Ba5 37. d6 Rd8 38. Re4 Bf7 39. Rd4 Bb6 40. Rd2 Bc5 41. d7 Ra7 42. Rde2 Raxd7 43. Be3 Bf8 44. Ra1 Rb7 45. Rc2 Be6 46. Ra6 Bf5 47. Rd2 Rxd2 48. Bxd2 Kf7 49. Be3 Rxb2 50. Bd4 Be6 51. Ra7+ Kg6 52. Ra6 Kf7 53. Ra7+ Kg6 54. Ra6 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.24"] [Round "6.7"] [White "Mendonca, Leon Luke"] [Black "Warmerdam, Max"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2639"] [BlackElo "2646"] [PlyCount "66"] [GameId "2137840584844148"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,66,18,3,-6,17,11,1,12,1,81,19,17,23,27,23,31,22,44,36,44,53,46,48,53,24,42,32,42,46,44,45,37,17,23,103,37,17,36,15,22,3,62,-10,0,175,-5,-2,-2,-5,9,17,17,22,19,4,14,-70,-8,-4,1,-14,5,37,-3,6,30,47,75]} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 c6 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. h3 Nf8 9. Nf3 Ne6 10. Bh4 g6 11. O-O O-O 12. Rb1 a5 13. Rc1 Ng7 14. Qb3 Ra7 15. Na4 Bf5 16. Be2 Ne4 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Qb6 Raa8 19. Nc5 Nd6 20. Rc3 Rfb8 21. Nd2 Nc8 22. Qb3 Ne6 23. Nxe6 Bxe6 24. Rc5 Qd8 25. a4 Nd6 26. Ra1 Ra7 27. Rcc1 h5 28. Qc3 Rba8 29. Qc5 Kh7 30. Bd3 Bf5 31. Bxf5 Nxf5 32. Ra3 Nh4 33. Rd1 Nf5 {A fairly comfortable hold for Warmerdam.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.25"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Wei, Yi"] [Black "Mendonca, Leon Luke"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2639"] [PlyCount "80"] [GameId "2138551940413222"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,80,18,27,35,119,22,-1,7,17,13,-7,12,8,17,8,7,12,26,-1,19,22,28,43,19,17,30,-9,2,18,45,2,24,17,-6,160,-22,-30,-9,-5,-33,-11,41,14,31,-79,20,20,19,-38,20,20,35,12,28,24,65,95,48,45,-72,52,66,24,55,35,-41,23,23,16,15,30,0,13,16,81,19,14,19,-9,15,15,15]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Nc3 b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. d3 d6 8. a3 O-O 9. O-O h6 10. Be3 Be6 11. Nd5 Qd7 12. Rc1 Bd8 13. c4 Na5 14. Ba2 bxc4 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. dxc4 c5 17. b4 cxb4 18. axb4 Nc6 19. Rb1 Rfc8 20. Qa4 Qb7 21. Rfd1 Be7 (21... a5 $15) 22. h3 Rcb8 23. Bd2 Rc8 24. Be3 Rcb8 25. Bd2 Rc8 26. Qc2 Qc7 27. Rdc1 a5 28. b5 Nb4 29. Bxb4 axb4 30. Rxb4 Qc5 (30... d5 $142 $1 31. exd5 Bxb4 32. dxe6 e4 $1 $11 {would have made for an entertaining game.}) 31. Ra4 (31. Rb2 $142 $14) 31... Bd8 $1 32. Rxa8 Rxa8 33. Bb3 Bb6 34. Rb1 Rc8 35. Rc1 Ra8 36. Ne1 Ra3 37. Rb1 Qd4 (37... g6) (37... h5) 38. Nf3 Qc5 39. Ne1 Qd4 40. Nf3 Qc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.25"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Sarana, Alexey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2803"] [BlackElo "2677"] [PlyCount "121"] [GameId "2138551940417319"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,121,12,6,18,-22,10,15,15,15,15,13,23,23,33,26,16,-40,40,-1,23,13,14,18,25,10,12,5,-84,-7,-11,-27,-17,0,-68,6,-231,31,82,79,79,45,-127,0,56,7,36,6,-33,15,12,9,-2,-7,56,-6,39,34,-44,-1,-8,88,59,-24,58,55,-1,50,79,70,69,73,1,59,60,62,79,-127,88,50,29,68,-72,57,62,18,1,65,-9,45,57,-28,45,50,64,-32,10,65,65,66,246,95,135,39,79,108,116,106,99,101,70,83,96,91,91,102,65,94,86,74,70,67,70,57]} 1. c4 e6 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. d4 dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Nbd7 11. Nc3 h6 12. Bf4 Bd6 13. Qd3 Bxf4 14. gxf4 a5 15. Kh1 Ra6 16. Rg1 Rb6 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. fxe5 Ng4 19. Qg3 Qxd4 20. Bxc6 Nxf2+ 21. Kg2 bxc6 22. Qxf2 Qxe5 {White is clearly better, as Black's three pawns aren't impressive compensation for the knight. His queenside pawns look terrible, and he's nowhere near to creating any passers. On the other hand, White's king will always be at least somewhat exposed, and most of White's pawns make a sorry impression as well.} 23. e4 Rfb8 24. Rab1 Rb3 25. Qc2 c5 26. Kh1 R3b4 27. Rg3 c6 28. Qg2 Kh8 29. Rf3 Kg8 30. Rf2 R8b7 31. Rg1 Kh7 32. Re1 Qg5 33. Ree2 Qe5 34. Re3 Qg5 35. Rg3 Qe5 36. Rgf3 Kg8 37. Rd2 Rd4 38. Re2 Rbd7 39. Ref2 Rd3 40. Rxd3 Rxd3 41. Qf1 Rd7 42. Qe2 Rd4 43. Qf3 Rd7 44. Kg2 f6 45. Qg3 Qxg3+ 46. hxg3 e5 47. Rc2 Rd4 48. Kf3 Kf7 49. Rc1 h5 50. Nd1 Rxa4 51. Ne3 Rb4 52. Rxc5 Rxb2 53. Rxa5 Rb7 54. Ra8 Rc7 55. Rh8 Kg6 56. Nc4 c5 57. Rd8 Kg5 58. Rd1 Rb7 59. Rc1 g6 60. Ne3 Rb5 61. Nc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.25"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2680"] [BlackElo "2741"] [PlyCount "71"] [GameId "2138551940417320"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,71,18,27,24,20,27,15,30,13,41,45,51,57,-40,76,33,33,-123,-40,34,51,76,50,170,272,196,183,87,45,36,40,43,11,-130,-4,54,28,40,6,4,8,61,33,13,11,10,10,5,2,24,33,30,36,67,49,91,44,63,-18,106,61,89,53,104,111,186,119,131,77,105,106,150,119]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 {This has traditionally had a poor reputation. Lately, though, some superstars have tried it out: Caruana, Nakamura, Gukesh, and Firouzja, for example - and their results have been pretty good.} 4. Bb5 g6 5. e5 Nh5 {The North Sea Defense meets the Rossolimo?} 6. O-O Bg7 7. Re1 Nd4 8. d3 O-O 9. g4 d5 10. h3 a6 11. Ba4 Ne6 12. gxh5 b5 13. Bb3 (13. h6 Bh8 14. Nxb5 axb5 15. Bxb5 Bb7 16. d4 f6 17. c3 Qb6 18. exf6 Qxb5 19. Rxe6 Bxf6 20. Re1 Qd7 21. Ne5 Bxe5 22. Rxe5 Qxh3 23. Be3 Rf5 24. Rxf5 Qxf5 25. Qf1 e5 26. Qg2 exd4 27. cxd4 Re8 28. Qg5 Qxg5+ 29. Bxg5 Re4 30. f3 Re2 31. dxc5 d4 32. Bf6 Rxb2 33. Bxd4 Rd2 34. Bf2 Bxf3 35. a4 Rd1+ 36. Rxd1 Bxd1 37. a5 Ba4 38. Kg2 Kf7 39. Kf3 Bc6+ 40. Ke3 Ke6 41. Kd4 Kf5 42. a6 Ke6 43. Kc4 Kd7 44. Bg3 Ke6 45. Kb4 Kd7 46. Ka5 Bd5 47. Kb6 Bc6 48. Ka7 Kc8 49. Kb6 Kd7 50. Ka7 {½-½ Babiarz,A (2193)-Hulka,V (2311) Krakow op-A 35th 2024 (4)}) 13... c4 14. h6 Bh8 15. dxc4 $146 {Finally leaving theory (= past practice) behind.} (15. d4 Qd7 16. Nh2 f6 17. f4 fxe5 18. fxe5 cxb3 19. axb3 b4 20. Na4 Qc6 21. Ng4 a5 22. Be3 Ba6 23. Qd2 Rf3 24. Qg2 Raf8 25. Rad1 R3f5 26. Kh2 Qb5 27. Rd2 Qc6 28. Rdd1 Qb5 29. Rd2 Qc6 {½-½ Kulaots,K (2525)-Stremavicius,T (2544) Oslo Kvisla 2023 (5)}) 15... dxc4 16. Qxd8 Rxd8 17. Bxc4 bxc4 18. Be3 Bb7 19. Ng5 Bxe5 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Bg5 Bxc3 22. bxc3 {Both sides have pawn structures only a mother could love.} Kf7 23. Rab1 Bd5 24. Rb6 Rdb8 25. Reb1 Rxb6 26. Rxb6 Ke8 27. Kf1 Kd7 28. Ke2 Kc7 29. Rb2 Kc8 30. Ke3 Rb8 31. Rxb8+ Kxb8 32. Kd4 Kc7 33. Bxe7 Kc6 34. h4 Bg2 35. a3 Bf1 36. Bb4 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.25"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2731"] [BlackElo "2768"] [PlyCount "61"] [GameId "2138551940417321"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,61,15,11,0,-2,9,7,13,13,12,26,37,32,21,28,19,4,16,1,42,-39,78,18,30,14,28,76,19,5,32,34,52,48,47,83,59,93,52,103,45,42,52,64,59,49,59,59,48,64,61,38,40,49,-22,54,56,53,29,16,-21,-3,-42,6]} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O Nb6 7. Nc3 Be7 8. Rb1 O-O 9. b4 f6 10. d3 Be6 11. b5 Nd4 12. Nd2 c6 13. bxc6 Nxc6 14. Nc4 $146 (14. Nf3 $6 {isn't very good, but was chosen in all three prior games. The problem with the move didn't happen in any of those games; it's} Bb4 $1 $15 {/?}) 14... Nxc4 15. dxc4 Qxd1 16. Rxd1 Rab8 17. Nd5 Kf7 18. Be3 Rfd8 19. f4 exf4 20. gxf4 Bf5 $11 21. Rb5 a6 (21... b6) 22. Rb6 Na5 (22... Ba3 $142 $11) 23. Rc1 $14 Bf8 24. Bf2 Re8 25. Bf3 Rbc8 26. c5 (26. Bh5+ $1 Bg6 $8 27. Bg4 $1 Rxc4 (27... f5 28. Bf3 $14) 28. Rxc4 Nxc4 29. Rxb7+ Kg8 30. Nc7 Rd8 $1 31. Be6+ Kh8 $1 32. f5 Nd6 33. Ra7 Nxf5 34. Bb3 $11) 26... Kg8 27. Kg2 (27. Rb4 $1 $14) 27... Be4 $1 $11 28. h4 h5 29. Kg3 f5 30. Nb4 Bxf3 31. Kxf3 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.25"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2695"] [PlyCount "89"] [GameId "2138551940417322"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,89,18,27,37,52,21,20,13,12,18,26,21,4,7,4,13,0,20,21,29,-8,9,12,20,40,54,53,17,-1,-41,0,41,60,265,91,30,85,76,53,73,33,90,43,95,76,40,53,43,46,28,52,62,33,12,23,-1,-17,-45,114,371,463,314,405,401,394,374,321,357,245,128,202,230,200,88,213,89,277,259,261,153,234,160,263,197,275,330,304,359,336,383,426]} 1. e4 e6 {Playing the French against Gukesh is a daring choice given all the work he saw and did in the World Championship, but since Harikrishna was on the team he knows all about that work. So it's Gukesh who blinks first, choosing 3.e5 instead of 3.Nc3.} 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Be2 Nge7 7. O-O cxd4 8. cxd4 Nf5 9. Nc3 a6 10. Kh1 Rc8 11. Rb1 (11. a3 {has been usual (and is preferred by the engine).}) 11... Qb6 $146 12. g4 $5 {A bluff, or an inaccuracy?} (12. Na4 Qa7 13. Be3) 12... Nfe7 $6 (12... Ncxd4 $1 {was the way to go, exploiting the underprotected rook on b1.} 13. gxf5 Nxf3 14. fxe6 (14. Bxf3 Rxc3 15. Be3 Rxe3 16. fxe3 Qxe3 $11 {/?}) 14... fxe6 15. Nxd5 exd5 16. Bxf3 d4 $11) 13. Be3 h5 $1 {Otherwise Black has no play, and would be danger of being squished.} 14. g5 (14. gxh5 $1) 14... Nf5 $2 (14... g6 $14) 15. g6 $1 $16 {Black is in serious trouble now.} f6 $8 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Bd3 (17. Na4 $142 Qc7 18. Rc1 $16) 17... Nce7 18. Rg1 Bg7 19. Na4 Qd6 (19... Qb4 $1 20. Nc5 Rxc5 $1 21. Bd2 Qa4 22. b3 Qa3 23. dxc5 e5 24. Rc1 e4 25. Bb1 $14 {/?} exf3 $2 26. Qxf3 $18) 20. b4 $2 $11 (20. Nc5 $16) 20... b6 21. b5 axb5 $6 (21... Nxe3 22. fxe3 a5 $15) 22. Bxb5 Bxb5 23. Rxb5 Nxe3 $6 (23... Rc6 $11) 24. fxe3 $16 Rc6 25. Qb3 O-O 26. Nxb6 Bh6 27. Na4 $2 (27. Re1 $1) 27... Nf5 $11 28. Rc5 Rxc5 $2 (28... Rfc8 $11) 29. Nxc5 $16 Nxe3 $4 (29... Bxe3) 30. Qb7 $18 {The rest wasn't too difficult for Gukesh, as the black kingside is irreparably weak.} Bg7 31. Re1 Nf5 32. Nxe6 Rb8 33. Qf7+ Kh8 34. Nxg7 Nxg7 35. Re7 Rg8 36. Rd7 Qb6 37. Rxd5 Qb1+ 38. Kg2 f5 39. Rc5 Qb2+ 40. Kf1 Qa1+ 41. Kf2 Qb2+ 42. Kg3 h4+ 43. Kf4 Qb8+ 44. Re5 Qd6 45. Kg5 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.25"] [Round "7.6"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir3"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2717"] [BlackElo "2733"] [PlyCount "101"] [GameId "2138551940417323"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {Fedoseev bounces back from his defeat in round 6 - impressive.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 Nd7 8. Be2 Qe7 {One of Black's rarest options in a fairly popular position.} 9. c5 $146 g5 10. b4 Bg7 11. Rc1 O-O 12. b5 g4 13. Nd2 e5 $15 14. Nb3 exd4 15. Nxd4 Ne5 16. O-O Qxc5 (16... Rd8 $142 $15) 17. bxc6 bxc6 18. Ncb5 (18. Ne4 $44 {is a fine alternative, looking to continue with Ng3 and Ndf5.}) 18... Qb6 19. Nd6 Bd7 (19... c5 $142 20. N4f5 Bxf5 21. Nxf5 Rad8 22. Bxg4 Rfe8 $11 (22... d4 $11)) 20. N4f5 $14 h5 21. f3 {That's the problem with pushing the pawns in front of your king. Maybe it's fine when you do it, but there's always the danger that when the short-term point no longer matters, the long-term issue of king safety may cost you the game.} ({Similarly,} 21. h3 {is also promising.}) (21. f4 {was better still, taking the proverbial bull by the horns.}) 21... Rfb8 $1 22. Kh1 Bf8 23. f4 Ng6 24. e4 Qb4 $2 (24... Bxd6 $1 25. Nxd6 Qe3 $1 $11 {isn't the easiest idea in the world, trading off what seems to be one of Black's key defenders. Black's queen is remarkably effective here and almost impossible to extract, keeping White's attackers at bay.}) 25. e5 $1 $16 Qa3 $2 (25... Bxf5 26. Nxf5 Nxf4 27. Qc2 $1 Nxe2 28. Qxe2 Re8 $1 {Black should not allow e5-e6.} 29. Rxc6 $16) 26. Ng3 $1 $18 {Black's kingside is collapsing.} Bxd6 27. exd6 Qxd6 28. Nxh5 Rb4 29. Bxg4 (29. Qd2 $142 $1 f5 30. Nf6+ $1 Qxf6 31. Qxb4 $18) 29... f5 30. Bf3 Rf8 31. a3 $1 Rb7 32. Re1 $6 (32. Qd4 $142) 32... Rf7 $16 33. Qd4 Nf8 (33... Rb3 $1) 34. Re3 $1 $18 Nh7 35. Be2 Nf6 36. Rg3+ Kh7 37. Rg5 c5 38. Nxf6+ (38. Qf2 $1 Ne4 39. Qh4 Qh6 (39... Nxg5 $2 40. Nf6+ Kg7 41. Qxg5+ Kf8 42. Qh6+ Rg7 (42... Ke7 43. Ng8+ $18) 43. Qh8+ Kf7 44. Bh5+ Kxf6 45. Qh6+ Ke7 46. Re1+ $18 {wins the house.}) 40. h3 $1 $18 {White will play Bf3xe4 followed by Rc3-g3, with an inevitable breakthrough.}) 38... Rxf6 39. Qe3 (39. Qf2 $142) 39... Rb8 40. Bd3 c4 41. Qh3+ Rh6 42. Bxf5+ Bxf5 43. Qxf5+ Kh8 44. h3 Rd8 45. Rd1 d4 46. Qf7 Rh7 47. Qxc4 Qxf4 48. Qc5 Qe4 49. Rd3 a6 (49... Qxd3 50. Qe5+ Rg7 51. Qxg7#) 50. Rdg3 Qf4 51. Rf3 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.25"] [Round "7.7"] [White "Warmerdam, Max"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B50"] [WhiteElo "2646"] [BlackElo "2801"] [PlyCount "75"] [GameId "2138551940421420"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,75,16,26,14,24,22,12,8,8,-4,18,11,2,13,18,33,31,49,46,42,50,49,49,39,41,67,52,83,126,20,80,58,106,106,109,108,79,122,155,78,192,192,102,172,-127,122,-27,158,-98,83,156,138,42,80,98,104,138,197,124,216,266,252,324,286,405,375,235,379,162,260,488,617,665,851,837,906,1070] Erigaisi's woes continue.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. h3 Bd7 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. Bc2 Rc8 7. O-O g5 $2 $146 {This could work in blitz or against me, but c'mon. This looks like tilt, and while Warmerdam isn't a player of his level he's not a scrub, and Erigaisi suffers a deserved loss in this game.} 8. d4 $1 g4 9. d5 (9. hxg4 $1 Bxg4 10. d5 Ne5 11. Ba4+ Ned7 (11... Nfd7 $4 12. Nxe5 $18) 12. c4 $16) 9... gxf3 10. dxc6 Bxc6 11. Qxf3 $16 {Maybe Warmerdam didn't find the absolute best refutation of 7...g5, but even this is pretty awful for Black.} Rg8 12. Rd1 (12. Bf4 $142) 12... e6 (12... Qd7 $142) 13. Nd2 b5 14. a4 $1 a6 15. axb5 axb5 16. Nf1 $18 {Black's king won't be safe for a very long time. In compensation for this, Black has...problems on the d-file? No wait: he has...material equality. The bottom line is that he has no compensation for his bad king and poor development.} Nd7 17. Ng3 Ne5 18. Qh5 (18. Qe2 {may be even better, keeping h5 free for the knight.}) 18... Rg7 (18... Qf6 $142) 19. Kh2 (19. Ra7) (19. Ra6) 19... Qf6 $6 (19... Rg6) 20. f4 Nd7 21. Qe2 $1 Qd8 22. e5 Qh4 23. Ne4 Bxe4 24. Bxe4 d5 25. Qxb5 $1 c4 26. Ra7 (26. Bxd5 $1 exd5 27. Qxd5 (27. Rxd5 $4 Qg3+ 28. Kg1 Qxg2#) 27... Qd8 28. f5 $18 {and here comes everybody: f6, Ra7, etc.}) 26... Rd8 27. Bxd5 $1 exd5 28. Qxd5 Qe7 29. Ra8 {A little hasty - it's not as if Black is getting out of the box. But it's good enough.} (29. Be3 $142) 29... Rxa8 (29... Qe6 $142) 30. Qxa8+ Qd8 31. Qb7 Bc5 32. f5 Bb6 33. Bh6 $1 Rg8 34. Kh1 $1 {Threatening e6, which would have been met by ...Qc7, with check.} Qc7 35. Qd5 Rg3 36. e6 fxe6 37. Qxe6+ Kd8 38. Bf4 {Completing the massacre. Treat your opponents like they're bums, and this is what happens to you, even if your name is Arjun Erigaisi.} 1-0 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.26"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Warmerdam, Max"] [Black "Wei, Yi"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2646"] [BlackElo "2751"] [PlyCount "126"] [GameId "2138551940421421"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,126,18,22,33,132,13,-20,-15,17,10,-9,1,13,6,0,13,13,-5,0,1,-3,12,12,4,-1,2,-43,-5,-19,-43,-22,105,-13,-35,-35,163,0,0,-87,-2,73,27,13,1,-107,1,0,0,-50,-237,-50,-50,-34,-57,-130,-75,-62,-76,-75,-23,-42,-44,-29,-6,-42,-22,-30,-20,-48,-22,-95,-23,-73,-14,-29,-58,-25,-37,-35,-30,-115,-3,-38,-35,-37,-53,-36,-69,-30,-31,-54,-56,-47,-32,-49,-54,-43,-49,-47,-102,-21,-160,-226,-227,-226,-225,-276,-264,-244,-304,-279,-258,-282,-217,-337,-469,-333,-338,-447,-334,-420,-329,-376,-400,-541,-755,-659,-703]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Bd3 {This is generally seen as a "soft" line. Does Warmerdam have something new in mind?} (6. e5 {is the main move, typically leading to complicated play after} Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. c4 Ba6 {and so on.}) 6... d5 7. exd5 cxd5 8. O-O Be7 9. h3 (9. c4) 9... O-O 10. Re1 (10. Nd2) 10... c5 (10... c6) (10... h6) 11. b3 Bb7 12. Nc3 c4 $146 (12... Ne4 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Bb2 f5 15. Qe2 Bf6 16. Rad1 Qe8 17. Ba3 Bxc3 18. Qc4+ Rf7 19. Qxc3 f4 20. Rd6 Rd8 21. Qxc5 Rfd7 22. Rxd7 Rxd7 23. Qg5 Qf7 24. g3 Rd2 25. Bb4 h6 26. Qxf4 Qxf4 27. gxf4 Rxc2 28. a3 Bd5 29. Re3 Rb2 30. Bc5 Rxb3 31. Bxa7 Rxe3 32. fxe3 Bc6 33. h4 h5 34. Kf2 Kf7 35. Bd4 g6 36. f5 gxf5 37. Kg3 Ke6 38. Kf4 Ba4 39. Kg5 Bd1 40. Kg6 Kd7 41. Kxf5 Bf3 42. a4 Kc8 43. a5 Kb7 44. Bb6 {½-½ Warmerdam,M (2608)-Santos Ruiz,M (2603) EU-chT 23rd Terme Catez 2021 (9.4)}) 13. Bf1 (13. bxc4 Bb4 14. Bd2 Qa5 15. Rb1 dxc4 $11 16. Bxc4 $4 Bxc3 $19) 13... d4 14. Nb5 Bb4 15. Bd2 Bc5 $1 16. Re5 Ne4 17. Rxc5 $1 Qf6 18. Be1 Nxc5 19. Qxd4 Qxd4 20. Nxd4 {White's extra pawn and bishop pair give him enough for the exchange. On the other hand, Black has nothing to complain about, and it would seem to be the sort of situation where the burden on White to maintain equality is at least as great as the one Black must bear.} Rfd8 21. Nf5 cxb3 22. axb3 a6 (22... a5 $5 23. Bxa5 Be4 24. Ne3 Rdc8 25. b4 Nb7 26. Nc4 Rc6 27. Ne3 Rcc8 $11) 23. Bc4 Ne6 24. Bxe6 $6 fxe6 25. Ne3 Rac8 26. Ra4 Rc5 27. Bb4 Re5 28. Bc3 Re4 29. Ra2 Rf4 30. Ra5 h6 31. Kf1 Bc6 32. Kg1 Bb7 33. Kf1 Kh7 34. Ke2 Rf7 35. f3 Rc7 36. Be1 Rcd7 37. Bb4 Rb8 38. Bc3 Rc8 39. Bb4 Rc6 40. Bc5 Bc8 {The time control has been made. The position remains equal, but it's Black who's playing for a win - as evidenced by his twice varying from repetitions.} 41. Ba3 Rb7 42. Bb2 Bd7 43. Ra3 Be8 44. Bd4 Bf7 45. Ra2 (45. h4 $142) 45... Rb4 46. Bb2 Bg6 47. Kd2 Rb5 48. Ra4 Rb7 49. Bd4 $6 (49. Nc4 $11) 49... Be8 $1 $15 {White has to be careful, as there are some tactical dangers facing him.} 50. Nc4 $2 e5 $1 $19 {After this cool tactic, White is lost.} 51. Nxe5 (51. Bxe5 Rg6 52. Ra5 Rxg2+ 53. Kc1 Bg6 $19) 51... Rd6 52. Rc4 Bb5 53. Rb4 a5 {And that's it: White loses material and the game. Warmerdam keeps kicking, but Black will win barring a once-every-ten-years blunder.} 54. Rxb5 Rxb5 55. Ke3 Rbd5 56. Bc3 a4 57. bxa4 Rc5 58. Bd4 Rxc2 59. g4 Ra2 60. f4 Rxa4 61. Bc5 Rd5 62. Be7 g5 $1 63. Nd3 gxf4+ {White will lose a piece.} (63... gxf4+ 64. Nxf4 (64. Ke2 Re4+ $19) (64. Kd2 Rad4 $19) 64... Re5+ $19) 0-1 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.26"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2695"] [BlackElo "2731"] [PlyCount "60"] [GameId "2138551940421422"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,60,20,18,25,69,7,16,17,13,9,14,21,13,39,15,22,29,39,18,18,18,36,8,-9,35,136,18,-3,-9,-11,1,-9,-14,-19,-26,-50,-37,-27,-44,-44,-47,0,-23,-3,36,49,50,-12,-5,-168,-148,-2,-8,-106,-4,-9,2,0,8,0,2,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. d4 Bb6 9. h3 O-O 10. Re1 Rb8 11. Be3 Re8 12. Nbd2 h6 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Bc2 $146 (14. Nxe5 dxe5 15. Nf1) 14... Bxe3 15. Rxe3 c5 {Black is a little better.} 16. Re1 Bb7 17. a4 Ng6 18. axb5 axb5 $15 19. b4 Qb6 (19... Nf4 $142) (19... Qc7 $142) 20. bxc5 (20. Rb1 $142) 20... Qxc5 (20... dxc5 $142 $15) 21. Rb1 $11 d5 22. e5 Ne4 23. Bxe4 dxe4 24. Nxe4 Bxe4 25. Rxe4 Nxe5 26. Nxe5 Rxe5 27. Rxe5 Qxe5 28. Qd3 Rc8 29. Qxb5 Qxb5 30. Rxb5 Rxc3 {Not exactly a barn-burner.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.26"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir3"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2768"] [BlackElo "2717"] [PlyCount "151"] [GameId "2138551940421423"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,151,12,27,54,28,33,34,73,15,32,32,34,26,24,105,42,45,111,56,32,29,40,52,44,73,39,43,32,28,49,44,19,46,46,81,63,132,50,193,71,98,51,49,-34,36,14,30,41,36,-6,30,14,26,-10,50,52,24,-30,18,17,14,26,19,20,-1,10,7,20,27,16,23,53,53,22,32,1,2,20,55,27,135,18,27,13,-1,-1,1,-7,-1,-3,-28,-166,-59,-174,-53,-143,-107,-120,-106,-92,-76,-76,-95,-71,-60,-65,-35,-47,-152,-57,-136,-65,-55,-57,-54,-35,-36,-51,-69,-25,-73,-46,-34,-34,23,0,5,-3,2,22,0,1,1,1,0,5,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Re8 10. Qb3 h6 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Nc3 Nxc3 13. Rxe8+ Qxe8 14. bxc3 Qc6 15. Rb1 b6 16. Bb5 Qb7 17. Ba3 Bxa3 18. Qxa3 Bd7 19. Qe7 Nc6 20. Qd6 a6 21. Bxc6 Bxc6 22. Ne5 Rc8 23. h4 b5 24. Nd3 Qc7 25. Qxc7 Rxc7 26. Nc5 {Both sides have done well: White has maintained his slight advantage, and Black has made sure it hasn't grown to a clear edge.} a5 27. f3 Ra7 28. Rb2 Kf8 29. Kf2 Ke7 30. Ke3 Kd6 31. Kd2 h5 32. Nd3 f6 33. Rb1 Be8 34. Re1 Bg6 35. Nc5 Bf5 36. Re8 b4 $1 37. g3 Kc6 38. Nd3 Rb7 39. Ra8 Bxd3 40. Kxd3 Kb6 41. Rd8 Kc6 42. g4 bxc3 43. Rc8+ Kd6 44. Kxc3 Rb1 45. Rg8 Rf1 46. gxh5 Rxf3+ 47. Kc2 Rf4 48. Kc3 Rxh4 49. Rxg7 Rxh5 50. Ra7 Rh3+ 51. Kb2 Rd3 52. Ra6+ Ke7 53. Rxa5 Rxd4 54. Kc3 Rc4+ 55. Kd3 Kd6 56. Ra8 Ke5 57. a4 Rd4+ 58. Kc3 Rc4+ 59. Kd3 Rc6 60. a5 Re6 61. a6 f5 62. a7 Re7 $8 63. Ke3 d4+ 64. Kd3 f4 65. Rb8 Rxa7 66. Rb5+ Kf6 67. Ke4 d3 68. Kxf4 Rd7 69. Rb6+ Ke7 70. Rb1 d2 71. Rd1 Kf6 72. Ke4 Ke6 73. Kf4 Rd4+ 74. Ke3 Ke5 75. Rxd2 Rxd2 76. Kxd2 {A very clean, well-played game.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.26"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2777"] [PlyCount "66"] [GameId "2138551940421424"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,66,19,14,33,2,7,22,22,0,18,28,20,8,25,26,15,7,16,14,23,3,18,0,-23,-10,0,-1,-16,-9,-65,18,0,-8,-5,-1,38,-24,-34,18,-11,-22,-39,-49,63,-41,-43,-35,33,17,-18,108,14,-152,-34,-117,-92,-19,-94,-42,-42,-9,-14,0,-5,22,-1,16,-9]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. O-O Qe7 7. Nbd2 a5 (7... Bg4) 8. Nc4 Nd7 9. c3 O-O 10. Qc2 (10. d4) (10. Re1) 10... b6 $146 11. Re1 Ba6 12. b3 Rfe8 (12... Bxc4 $142 13. bxc4 a4) 13. d4 (13. Nfxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Qxe5 15. d4 Bxd4 16. cxd4 Qxd4 17. Bb2 $44) 13... Bxc4 $11 14. bxc4 Bd6 15. Bd2 (15. Qa4 $142 Qe6 $11) 15... a4 16. Rad1 f6 17. g3 Qf7 $15 18. d5 Nc5 19. Be3 Nb7 20. dxc6 Na5 21. Bxb6 Nxc4 22. Be3 Reb8 23. Rb1 a3 (23... Rd8 $142 $1 $15 {/?}) 24. Rb7 $1 $11 Rxb7 25. cxb7 Rb8 26. Qb3 (26. Rb1 $142 Nb2 27. c4 c6 28. Ne1 Rxb7 29. Nd3 $11) 26... Nxe3 27. fxe3 Qxb3 28. axb3 Rxb7 $15 29. Nd2 Kf7 (29... Ra7 $142 30. Ra1 a2) 30. Ra1 $11 Ke6 31. Kf2 g6 32. Ra2 f5 33. Kf3 h5 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.26"] [Round "8.5"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Sarana, Alexey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2677"] [PlyCount "45"] [GameId "2138551940425521"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,45,12,23,19,19,11,-6,38,15,5,10,12,10,8,23,26,19,14,17,28,18,36,25,39,40,63,30,44,54,50,64,61,82,75,11,42,53,41,23,20,42,30,8,53,13,28,11]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Qf3 Bg6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 10. Nf3 (10. h4) 10... a5 (10... Nd7) 11. Nh4 Bb4 12. Rc1 Nd7 13. a3 Bxc3+ 14. Rxc3 a4 15. Be2 Ke7 16. g3 $146 (16. f3 Nb6 17. Kf2 Nc8 18. g3 Nd6 19. Ng2 h5 20. Nf4 Bf5 21. h3 Kd7 22. Re1 b5 23. Bf1 Bg6 24. h4 Bf5 25. Rc5 Nb7 26. Rc3 Nd6 27. Rec1 Nc4 28. e4 Be6 29. Nd3 Ke7 30. Nb4 Rac8 31. b3 axb3 32. Rxb3 dxe4 33. fxe4 Rhd8 34. Rd3 f5 35. Bg2 c5 36. dxc5 Rxc5 37. Rxd8 Kxd8 38. e5 Rc8 39. Rc3 Nxe5 40. Rxc8+ Kxc8 41. Ke3 Nc4+ 42. Kd4 f6 43. Bf3 Nxa3 44. Bxh5 Kd7 45. Bf3 Ke7 46. Kc5 Kf7 47. Bd5 Bxd5 48. Nxd5 Nc2 49. Nf4 Ne3 50. Kxb5 Nf1 51. Ne2 Kg6 52. Nf4+ Kh6 53. Kc5 Nxg3 54. Kd5 Nh5 55. Ke6 Nxf4+ 56. Kxf6 Ng2 57. Kxf5 Nxh4+ {½-½ Oparin,G (2681)-Bacrot,E (2662) Julius Baer Play In Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (3.25)}) 16... Kd6 17. Kd2 Nf8 18. Rf1 Ne6 19. Bd3 Ra5 20. Nf5+ Kd7 21. Nh4 Kd6 22. Bc2 Nc7 23. Bd3 $11 {With Erigaisi on -4, it's hard to be critical of his lack of ambition in this game.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.26"] [Round "8.6"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D36"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2803"] [PlyCount "120"] [GameId "2138551940425522"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,120,11,13,-3,0,11,19,29,14,17,52,19,16,28,30,27,21,31,26,11,17,16,14,9,4,19,9,10,25,29,90,32,46,28,96,19,58,37,34,46,33,36,-41,77,62,33,-14,17,32,15,0,11,18,-7,-9,31,-4,-21,17,-36,-59,-76,-48,-38,-48,-65,-40,-58,-53,26,-16,-27,-9,-139,-215,-252,-223,-247,-244,-276,-263,-198,-179,-198,-205,-191,-200,-235,-230,-221,-240,-262,-220,-195,-154,-217,-217,-224,-224,-224,-218,-216,-187,-207,-195,-220,-282,-200,-200,-233,-277,-220,-370,-511,-531,-410,-588,-108,-407,-201,-624,-331] Caruana gets back to +1 with the win, while Keymer falls further off the pace. I'll leave the analysis of this game to you, dear readers.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 c6 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. Nge2 Nf8 9. Qc2 Ne6 10. Bh4 g6 11. Rd1 O-O 12. O-O a5 13. Nc1 Ng7 14. f3 Be6 15. N1e2 Rc8 16. Kh1 Nd7 17. Bf2 b5 18. Nf4 Nb6 19. e4 Bg5 20. Be3 dxe4 21. fxe4 Bg4 22. Nce2 f5 23. exf5 Nxf5 24. Qb3+ Nc4 25. Bxc4+ bxc4 26. Qxc4+ Rf7 27. Bc1 Qe7 28. Rde1 Bh4 29. Ng3 Qb4 30. Qxb4 axb4 31. Nxf5 Bxf5 32. g3 Bf6 33. d5 Bd7 34. Nd3 cxd5 35. Nxb4 Bb5 36. Rf4 Re7 37. Bd2 Rxe1+ 38. Bxe1 Be5 39. Bc3 Bxf4 40. gxf4 Kf7 41. Nc2 Bc4 42. a3 Re8 43. Nd4 Re4 44. f5 gxf5 45. Kg2 Rf4 46. a4 Ke8 47. a5 Kd7 48. h3 Rf1 49. Nf3 Ba6 50. h4 h5 51. b4 f4 52. Nd4 Bc4 53. Bb2 Rb1 54. Bc3 Rd1 55. Nf3 d4 56. Bb2 Bd5 57. Kf2 d3 58. Bc3 Bxf3 59. Kxf3 d2 60. Ke2 f3+ 0-1 [Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2025.01.26"] [Round "8.7"] [White "Mendonca, Leon Luke"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2639"] [BlackElo "2680"] [PlyCount "60"] [GameId "2138551940425523"] [EventDate "2025.01.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,60,12,6,20,16,33,42,41,35,21,38,32,24,21,18,5,1,-3,-1,11,0,-29,26,12,38,34,39,76,36,41,106,27,27,8,16,31,175,71,32,-32,27,16,40,18,23,47,35,44,79,49,112,113,276,114,55,68,69,15,157,100,150,78]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Qa4+ Nd7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. Bg5 c5 10. Rc1 h6 11. Be3 Nf6 (11... a6 $142 $11) (11... b6 $142 $11) 12. Bd3 $14 Ng4 13. Bd2 $14 {/?} e5 $6 14. d5 $2 (14. h3 $1 exd4 $1 (14... Nf6 15. Nxe5 $18) 15. cxd4 $1 Nf6 16. Rxc5 $16 {/+-}) 14... f5 $1 $11 15. O-O Nf6 16. Nxe5 fxe4 17. Be2 Qe8 (17... Kh7 $11) 18. Qxe8 Rxe8 19. Nxg6 Nxd5 20. Nf4 Nxf4 21. Bxf4 Be6 $11 {/?} 22. a4 b6 {An unnecessary weakening.} (22... Rad8 $142) 23. Bb5 $14 Rf8 24. g3 Rad8 25. Rfe1 Bf5 (25... Bd5 $142 $14) 26. Bc6 $16 Rd3 27. c4 $2 (27. Bxe4 $1 Rxc3 28. Bxh6 $1 Rxc1 29. Bd5+ $1 Kh8 30. Bxc1 $16) 27... Rd4 $6 (27... Ra3 $11) 28. Be3 (28. Bd5+ $142 Kh8 29. Re2 $16) 28... Rd3 $11 29. Bf4 Rd4 $6 (29... Ra3 $1 $11) 30. Be3 (30. Bd5+ $142 $14) 30... Rd3 $11 1/2-1/2