[Event "Russian Team Championship"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.05.05"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Sjugirov, Sanan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2703"] [BlackElo "2674"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:05:10"] [BlackClock "0:15:20"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {It is always a challenge to find something against the Petroff defense. But for this game the former European champion had prepared something special.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. c4 {One of the favorite lines of the Armenian GM S. Movsesian.} Be7 (5... Nc6 {True, Movsesian prefers to trade the knight on e4 with} 6. Nc3 Nxc3 7. dxc3 Bf5 8. Be2 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Be3 { as in Movsesian,S (2718)-Fridman,D (2649) Warsaw 2009}) 6. d4 O-O 7. Bd3 Ng5 { Quite a logical decision- to swap off a pair of knights. Alternatively} (7... d5 {was tested, for example} 8. O-O c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qc2 Nd7 11. Nc3 Ndf6 { Palac,M (2561)-Vajic,G (2379) Sarajevo 2015}) ({Or} 7... Nf6 {which seems a bit timid after} 8. h3 Re8 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Nc3 {with pleasant advantage in space in Hovhannisyan,R (2620)-Atabayev,M (2460) Kazan 2013}) 8. Nc3 Bg4 $2 { I have the feeling we are not going to see this move soon. Neither later...} ({ An alternative is} 8... Nc6 9. Be3 ({Perhaps Black was afraid of} 9. Nxg5 Bxg5 10. Qh5 (10. O-O {should be a bit better for White as well.}) 10... h6 11. Bxg5 Qxg5 12. Qxg5 hxg5 13. Nb5) 9... Bg4 10. Nd5 Re8 11. h4 {with a mess in Azarov, S (2616)-Putka,V (2323) Warsaw 2013}) ({There is a good reason to follow the experts in the opening lines. Check out how one of them comfortably held the position} 8... Nxf3+ 9. Qxf3 Nc6 10. Be3 Bf6 11. O-O g6 12. Qf4 Bg7 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Qh4 Bf5 15. Bh6 Bxd3 {1/2-1/2 (15) Kuczynski,R (2510) -Rozentalis,E (2600) Germany 1995}) 9. Bxg5 {A novelty and the refutation of the line!} ({ White was not successful prior to this game} 9. Be2 Nxf3+ 10. Bxf3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Nc6 12. Be3 Bg5 {Tseshkovsky,V (2560)-Makarichev,S (2500) Minsk 1979}) 9... Bxg5 {Now comes a shocker.} 10. Bxh7+ $1 {Played almost instantly. A typical sacrifice with a pinch of salt.} Kxh7 11. h4 $3 {The point. It is extremely easy to miss this move in anyone's preparation.} (11. Nxg5+ Qxg5 { would not have been a refutation.}) 11... Bd2+ $5 {A clever reply in difficult situation.} ({White's idea is unleashed in the line:} 11... Bh6 12. Ng5+ Bxg5 ( 12... Qxg5 {is better with clear advantage for White after} 13. hxg5 Bxd1 14. Rxd1) 13. hxg5+ {with a check!}) ({Even worse for Black is} 11... Bf4 12. Ng5+) ({The intermediate check changes nothing, but was probably Black's best chance } 11... Re8+ 12. Kf1 Bh6 13. Ng5+ Qxg5 14. hxg5 Bxd1 15. Rxd1 Nd7 {Now he is not losing a pawn at least. True, his position remains poor after} 16. gxh6 gxh6 17. Nd5) 12. Qxd2 Re8+ (12... Bxf3 13. Qd3+ {would be similar.}) 13. Kf1 Bxf3 14. Qd3+ Kg8 15. Qxf3 {Nepomniachtchi came out of the opening (or rather home prep) a solid pawn up. Next he comfortably converts the advantage.} Nd7 16. Rd1 {There are other promising moves, like} (16. g3 {or}) (16. h5) 16... Qf6 17. Qxf6 Nxf6 18. f3 d5 {The only chance to get some counterplay.} 19. c5 b6 20. cxb6 axb6 21. Kf2 b5 22. a3 ({Not} 22. Nxb5 Reb8 $1) 22... b4 23. axb4 Rab8 {Since otherwise White may protect this pawn} (23... c6 24. Ra1 Rab8 25. Ra4) 24. b5 c6 25. Rhe1 {A very cool way to convert the pawn. Instead} (25. bxc6 Rxb2+ 26. Kg3 Rc8 {would have made things really difficult for White.}) 25... cxb5 26. Rxe8+ Rxe8 27. Rc1 {Once again avoiding} (27. Nxb5 Rb8) 27... Ra8 {White's last move created a threat which Sjugirov missed. He couldn't have saved the game though even after the most resilent} (27... b4 28. Ne2) 28. Nxb5 Ra4 (28... Rb8 29. Rc5 {was the point.}) 29. Rc8+ Kh7 30. g4 Rb4 31. Nd6 Rxd4 32. Kg3 $1 {The final tough which avoids the trap:} (32. Nxf7 $2 Nxg4+ 33. fxg4 Rf4+ {with serious chances for a draw in the rook endgame.}) 1-0 [Event "Hasselbacken Open 2016"] [Site "Stockholm"] [Date "2016.05.02"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Shirov, Alexei"] [Black "Akesson, Ralf"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteElo "2686"] [BlackElo "2452"] [Annotator "Alexei Shirov"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2016.04.30"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Be2 Nge7 7. O-O Ng6 8. g3 Be7 9. h4 cxd4 10. cxd4 O-O 11. h5 (11. Nbd2 f6 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. Nb3 Kh8 14. h5 Nge7 15. Bf4 Nf5 {Volokitin,A (2627)-Ivanisevic,I (2643) Doha 2014}) 11... Nh8 12. h6 g6 13. Nc3 f6 14. exf6 Bxf6 15. Bf4 Nf7 16. Qd2 g5 17. Be3 Kh8 ( 17... Nxh6 {is answered by} 18. Nxg5 $1 Nxd4 19. Nxe6 $1 Nxe6 20. Bxh6 { and White is better (Shirov).}) 18. Kg2 Rg8 19. Rh1 Qe7 {The players were probably not aware that only this was the first new move!} (19... Ne7 20. Rh5 Nf5 21. Rah1 Be8 22. R5h2 a6 23. Ne1 Bc6 24. Bg4 N7d6 25. Nf3 Nc4 {Zhigalko,S (2486)-Matlakov,M (2361) Kirishi 2004}) 20. g4 Raf8 $6 ({Shirov suggested} 20... Nd6 {as better.}) ({Against} 20... Rad8 {(with the idea of Bc8 and ...e5) Shirov had planned} 21. Rae1 Bc8 22. Bd1 $1 {and the e6-e5 move might still be tricky.}) 21. Rh3 Nd6 22. Bd3 Be8 23. Re1 Qd8 24. Ne5 Qc7 25. Rf3 Nxe5 $2 ({ After some preparation like} 25... Qe7 $1 {the knight on e5 cannot be maintained.}) 26. dxe5 Bxe5 27. Bxa7 $5 (27. Rxf8 Rxf8 28. Bxg5 (28. Bxa7 $5) 28... Nf7 29. Bh4 $1 {and here Shirov pointed out that} Bf4 $2 {is answered by} (29... Bc6 $1) 30. Bf6+ Kg8 31. Bxh7+ $1 Kxh7 32. Qd3+ Kg8 33. h7#) 27... Rxf3 28. Rxe5 $1 {Shirov had planned this exchance sac in advance.} Rf4 $2 ({ Shirov failed to mention the counter-sacrifice} 28... Rxd3 $1 29. Qxd3 Rg6 $1 30. Bd4 Kg8 {- a wonderful regrouping which leads to an equal position.}) 29. Rxe6 Bc6 {Now White gets the chance to end the game in spectacular fashion.} ({ Not} 29... b6 30. Qe2 $1 {(threatening Qe5)} Ne4 31. Bxb6) ({while} 29... Rxg4+ 30. Kf1 {doesn't help Black either.}) 30. Qxf4 $1 d4+ (30... gxf4 31. Bd4+ Rg7 32. hxg7+ Kg8 33. Rh6 Ne4 34. Nxe4 dxe4 35. Bc4+ Qf7 {and now the quickest checkmate is reached with} 36. Rd6 $1) 31. Kg1 gxf4 32. Bxd4+ Rg7 33. hxg7+ Kg8 34. Rxd6 $1 1-0 [Event "Hasselbacken Open"] [Site "Stockholm"] [Date "2016.05.04"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Shirov, Alexei"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2686"] [BlackElo "2589"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Latvia"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "LAT"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] [WhiteClock "0:51:08"] [BlackClock "0:50:19"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Qe2 Bb4+ (6... Bc5 7. e5 Nd5 8. c4 Ne7 9. Be3 Bxe3 10. Qxe3 d6 11. exd6 Qxd6 12. Bd3 O-O {Yu,Y (2734)-Wei,Y (2737) Taizhou 2015}) 7. c3 Be7 ({In the sixth round Victor Mikhalevski played} 7... Bc5 8. e5 Nd5 9. Nd2 O-O 10. Ne4 Be7 11. c4 Nb6 12. Qh5 d5 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Bd3 g6 15. Qf3 Nd7 {against Shirov and eventually drew the game.}) 8. e5 Nd5 9. Qg4 Kf8 10. Qe4 (10. Be2 d6 11. Qe4 f5 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. O-O g6 14. Nd2 Kg7 15. Qa4 Bd7 16. Ne4 Be7 {Hernandez Sanchez,J (2299) -Pena,A (2371) Quibdo 2015}) 10... d6 $1 {A good response to Shirov's novelty. Black concentrates on development, not material.} 11. c4 Nb6 12. Qxc6 Rb8 13. Nc3 Bb7 14. Qb5 Nd7 $1 {Another good maneuver.} 15. exd6 Bxd6 16. Qg5 f6 17. Qh5 Qe7+ 18. Be2 $5 (18. Be3 $5 {seems fine, but Shirov hopes to use the open g-file later on. (And he will!)}) 18... Bxg2 {No fear!} 19. Rg1 Be4 20. c5 $5 { Deflecting the knight is the start of a truly remarkable game.} Nxc5 (20... Bxc5 21. Rxg7 Kxg7 22. Bh6+ Kg8 23. O-O-O Bg6 24. Bc4+ {is White's main idea.}) 21. Rxg7 $5 {Wow!} Kxg7 (21... Qxg7 22. Bh6) 22. Bh6+ Kg8 23. O-O-O Bg6 { The only move, but a good one.} 24. Bc4+ Ne6 25. Qh3 (25. Qd5 Kf7 26. Re1 Be5 27. Rxe5 fxe5 28. Qxe5 Rb4 29. Qg7+ Ke8 30. Qxh8+ Kd7 31. Qe5 Qd6 32. Qxd6+ Kxd6 33. b3 {is the engine's main line.}) 25... Kf7 26. Nd5 {This looks dangerous but Sevian finds a great (the only) refutation.} Rxb2 $1 {Boom! Black has some fun too.} 27. Kxb2 Rb8+ 28. Bb3 (28. Ka1 Be5+) (28. Kc3 Bb4+ 29. Kb2 Ba3+ 30. Kc3 Qc5) (28. Kc1 Rb1+ 29. Kd2 Bb4+ 30. Nc3 Bxc3+ 31. Qxc3 (31. Kxc3 Qb4#) 31... Qd6+) 28... Be5+ 29. Nc3 (29. Kc1 Qc5+) 29... c5 ({The easiest was} 29... Ke8 $1 {and Black is a healthy piece up.}) 30. f4 $1 { Shirov grabs his chance.} c4 31. fxe5 cxb3 32. a4 $1 {Suddenly things are highly unclear.} Nc5 (32... fxe5 $2 33. Nd5) 33. exf6 Qc7 34. Rd4 (34. Qh4 $5) 34... Rd8 (34... Qe5 35. Rd7+ $1 Kg8 (35... Nxd7 36. Qxd7+ Kxf6 37. Bg7+) 36. f7+ $1 Bxf7 37. Qg4+ Kh8 (37... Bg6 38. Qc4+ Ne6 39. Qd5 $1) 38. Rxf7 Nxa4+ 39. Qxa4 Qxh2+ 40. Ka3 Qd6+ 41. Kb2 Qh2+ {would have been a good end of the game!}) 35. Rxd8 Qxd8 36. Qe3 (36. Be3) (36. Qh4) 36... Qd6 37. Nb5 $2 {Spoiling the game in time trouble. How unfortunate!} (37. Qe7+ Qxe7 38. fxe7 Bc2 39. Bg5 { should lead to a draw.}) 37... Nd3+ 38. Kb1 Ne5+ 39. Kb2 Nd3+ 40. Kb1 Nf2+ $1 { Winning.} 41. Kc1 (41. Kb2 Nd1+) (41. Ka1 Qd1+ 42. Kb2 {is the same as in the game.}) 41... Qd1+ 42. Kb2 Nd3+ 43. Ka3 Qa1+ 44. Kxb3 Qb2+ 45. Kc4 Qb4+ 46. Kd5 Be4+ $1 (46... Be4+ 47. Qxe4 Qc5#) 0-1 [Event "Hasselbacken Open"] [Site "Stockholm"] [Date "2016.05.05"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Smirin, Ilia"] [Black "Mareco, Sandro"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B80"] [WhiteElo "2665"] [BlackElo "2625"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Israel"] [BlackTeam "Argentina"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ISR"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARG"] [WhiteClock "0:13:04"] [BlackClock "0:01:03"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. g4 h6 9. Qd2 b4 10. Na4 Nbd7 11. c4 (11. O-O-O d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Bc4 Bb7 14. Rhe1 N7f6 15. g5 hxg5 16. Bxg5 Be7 17. h4 Qa5 {Negi,P (2658)-David,A (2599) Belgium 2013}) 11... bxc3 12. Nxc3 Bb7 13. O-O-O d5 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. Kb1 Be7 17. h4 (17. Rg1 Rc8 18. Be2 Ne5 19. b3 O-O 20. g5 h5 21. Bxa6 Ra8 22. Bb5 Ra5 {Randolph,D (1992)-Babic,D (2062) corr. 2012}) 17... h5 $6 18. Nf5 $1 hxg4 (18... Ne5 $5) 19. Nxg7+ Kf8 20. Nf5 Bxf3 21. Nxe7 (21. Bh6+ Kg8 22. Bg2 Bxd1 23. Nxe7+ Qxe7 24. Bxa8 Ba4 25. Qf4 {was also possible.}) 21... Bxh1 22. Bg5 $1 Be4+ 23. Bd3 Nc5 $2 ({Black had to go for} 23... Bxd3+ 24. Qxd3 Qc7 {which is not clear.}) 24. Qc3 $1 {A winning double attack.} Rh5 (24... Bxd3+ 25. Ka1 Rh5 26. Qxc5 {is the game.}) 25. Qxc5 Bxd3+ 26. Ka1 Rxg5 27. Nf5+ $1 Kg8 28. Nh6+ Kg7 29. hxg5 {Now the bishop will drop.} Rc8 30. Qe3 $2 ({Winning was} 30. Qe5+ Kg6 31. Qf4 Qe7 32. Nxg4 Bf5 33. Rh1 Qc5 34. a4) 30... Qd5 31. Qf4 $6 Qf3 $1 32. Qd4+ Kg6 ({The computer goes} 32... e5 $1 33. Qxe5+ f6 34. Qe7+ Kg6 35. Qf7+ Kxg5 36. Qg7+ Kh4 {and Black wins!}) 33. Re1 g3 $2 (33... Rc4 $1 {was winning.}) 34. Ng4 $2 (34. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 35. Qd7+ Kg6 36. Qxc8 ({or} 36. Qxe6+ Kxg5 37. Qxc8 g2 38. a3 Qf2 39. Qd8+) 36... g2 37. Qxe6+ Kxg5 38. a3 Qf2 { is a draw}) 34... Kxg5 35. Ne5 ({After} 35. Ne5 Qf4 {Black still has a winning position.}) 1-0 [Event "TCh-RUS Men 2016"] [Site "Sochi RUS"] [Date "2016.05.06"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2779"] [BlackElo "2762"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2016.05.01"] [Source "GM Rep 1 - 1.d4"] [SourceDate "2011.01.01"] [WhiteTeam "SSM Legacy Square Capital Moscow"] [BlackTeam "Bronze Horseman St-Petersburg"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 {currently the main line against Black's "threat" to play the Marshall Gambit after} (8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 $44) 8... b4 9. d4 d6 10. dxe5 {Black threatened ...10...Bg4, putting the Nf3 into an annoying pin. Therefore White clarifies matters in the center.} (10. h3 {stops ... Bg4, but now Black can seize the initiative:} exd4 11. Nxd4 Na5 12. Ba2 c5 13. Nb3 (13. Nf3 Bb7 $36 {[%csl Ra1,Rb1,Rc1]} 14. Nbd2 Qc7 {and White does not manage to regroup the Nd2.}) 13... Nc6 14. Bf4 Be6 {0-1 (53) Vachier Lagrave,M (2745) -Karjakin,S (2756) Beijing 2013}) 10... dxe5 11. Nbd2 {Karjakin intends to play the knight to c4 with the idea to play a5 which isolates the pawn b4.} Bc5 (11... Bg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. g4 Bg6 14. Nc4 $13 {1/2-1/2 (28) Lampert,J (2376) -Boguslavsky,O (2442) Germany 2014}) 12. a5 h6 13. h3 Qd6 {Svidler has faith in his opening strategies. In 2014 he played two games against Karjakin, in which this position was on the board and Svidler has always opted for ...Qd6 - with success.} (13... Qe7 14. Qe2 (14. Bd5 $5 Bb7 15. Nb3 Ba7 16. Qd3 $13) 14... Be6 15. Bc4 Nd4 16. Nxd4 Bxd4 17. Nb3 Rfd8 18. Nxd4 Bxc4 19. Nf5 Qe6 20. Qf3 Kh7 21. b3 Bb5 22. Qg3 Rg8 23. Qh4 Ne8 24. Bd2 Nd6 25. Qe7 Rge8 26. Qxe6 Rxe6 27. Bxb4 Nxf5 28. exf5 Ree8 29. Rad1 Bc6 30. Rd3 Rab8 31. Rc3 Bd5 32. Ba3 Rb5 33. Rxc7 Rxa5 34. Bd6 f6 35. c4 Bg8 36. Re3 e4 37. Rg3 Rxf5 38. Rgxg7+ Kh8 39. Rg6 Rh5 40. g4 Rxh3 41. Kg2 {1-0 (41) Caruana,F (2791) -Tomashevsky,E (2695) Dubai 2014}) 14. Qe2 {Karjakin removes the queen from the d-file to win a tempo with Nc4.} Be6 (14... Nh5 $5 {was successfully played by Svidler in October 2014. In CBM 163 Postny gives ...Nh5 an exclamation mark. However, Svidler might not have been entirely convinced about the merits of ...Nh5 and decided to play ...Be6 instead.} 15. Nc4 Qf6 16. Be3 $146 (16. Ne3 $2 {is a mistake that allows Black to carry out his plan without too much trouble:} Nf4 17. Qc4 Nxg2 $1 18. Kxg2 Bxh3+ 19. Kxh3 Qxf3+ 20. Kh2 Nd4 $40 21. Rf1 Qh5+ 22. Kg2 Qf3+ 23. Kh2 Bd6 24. c3 Qh5+ 25. Kg2 Qf3+ 26. Kh2 Qh5+ 27. Kg2 Qf3+ { 1/2-1/2 (27) Karjakin,S (2767)-Svidler,P (2732) Baku 2014 CBM 163 [Postny,E]}) 16... Nf4 17. Bxf4 Qxf4 18. c3 {and the pawn on e5 is very weak.} Be6 (18... Bxh3 19. gxh3 Qg3+ 20. Kh1 Qxh3+ 21. Nh2 bxc3 22. bxc3 Qxc3 23. Ba4 $14) 19. Ba4 $16) 15. Nc4 Qe7 16. c3 $146 {[%csl Gc3,Rc6][%cal Gc3d4] [#] Karjakin's improvement. In a previous game he played} (16. Be3 Rab8 17. Red1 Nxe4 18. Ba4 Ng3 19. fxg3 Bxc4 20. Qxc4 Bxe3+ {and Black had no problems.} 21. Kh2 Nxa5 22. Qe4 Bb6 23. Rd5 Nb7 24. Rxe5 Qf6 25. Qxb4 Nc5 26. Qf4 Qxf4 27. gxf4 Ba7 28. b3 Rb4 29. Bc6 Rxf4 30. Ra5 Ne6 31. Rxa6 Bc5 32. Re1 Nd4 33. Nxd4 Rxd4 34. Re2 h5 35. Ra4 Rfd8 36. Rxd4 Bxd4 37. Re8+ Rxe8 38. Bxe8 Kf8 39. Bc6 h4 40. g4 hxg3+ 41. Kxg3 {1/2-1/2 (41) Karjakin,S (2770)-Svidler,P (2743) Kazan 2014}) 16... bxc3 17. bxc3 Nh5 $5 {Apparently Karjakin did not spend too much time on this move during his preparations. However, he now invested no less than 32 minutes to find the best reply.} (17... Rab8 18. Bc2 (18. Ba4 $6 Bxc4 19. Qxc4 Nxa5 20. Qxa6 Ra8 21. Qe2 Nb3 22. Ra2 Nxc1 23. Rxc1 $11) 18... Rb5 {is a typical motive. } 19. Nfxe5 (19. Ba4 Bxc4 20. Qxc4 Nxa5 (20... Rxa5 $6 21. Bxh6 $1 $16) 21. Qe2 Rbb8 $13) 19... Nxe5 20. Nxe5 Bxf2+ 21. Qxf2 Rxe5 {and White has the pair of bishops though his structure is shattered. Moreover, the pawn on a6 might become weak and White might play Bf4 followed by e5 to start an attack.} 22. Bf4 Rc5 23. e5 Nd5 24. Bd2 $14 {[%cal Gf2g3]} Nxc3 25. Rac1 $1) 18. g4 Nf4 ( 18... Rab8 $1 {to push White's bishop to a2 first would have been better.} 19. Ba2 Nf4 20. Bxf4 exf4 {[%cal Rh6h5] and Black's threat ...h5 forces White to exchange the bishop on e6 - but under less favorable conditions than in the game.} 21. Ncd2 Bxa2 22. Rxa2) 19. Bxf4 exf4 20. Ncd2 Rfd8 21. e5 Rab8 { White is under fire - the opening definitely did not go well for him: Black occupies both open files, his king is safer and all his pieces are on good positions. White, however, needs a couple of moves to consolidate his position. } 22. Rab1 {White sacrifies a pawn to stop Black from becoming too active.} ( 22. Bxe6 Qxe6 23. Qxa6 Rb2 {[%csl Rf2]} 24. Red1 (24. Rad1 Ra2 {[%csl Ra5]}) 24... Qd5 $36 {Black has more than enough compensation for the pawn - the pawn on e5 is weak.}) 22... Nxa5 23. Bc2 (23. Bxe6 Qxe6 24. Rxb8 Rxb8 $15 {and even if White wins back his pawn with Qe4 and Qxf4 he is still worse.}) 23... Rxb1 24. Rxb1 {[%cal Ge2e4,Ge4h7,Ge4f4,Gf4h6]} Bd5 $1 {preventing attacking ideas and protecting f4.} 25. Be4 (25. Qd3 g6 {[%csl Rd3,Gf4]}) (25. Qxa6 Nc4 $1 26. Nxc4 Bxf3 $19 {[%cal Re7h4,Rh4f2,Rh4h3]}) 25... Nc6 26. Bxd5 Rxd5 27. Qe4 (27. Qxa6 Nxe5 28. Qa8+ Rd8 29. Rb8 Rxb8 30. Qxb8+ Kh7 31. Qb1+ g6 $17 {and Black is a solid pawn up.}) 27... Qe6 28. Nc4 (28. Nb3 Bb6 {[%csl Gb6,Re5][%cal Rb1b8,Gc6e5]} (28... Nxe5 $2 29. Nfd4 Qg6 $8 {[%cal Gg8h7]} (29... Qd7 30. Nxc5 Rxc5 31. Rb8+ $18) 30. Nxc5 Rxc5 31. Rb8+ Kh7 32. Qa8 $1 Qd3 33. Ne6 $3 fxe6 34. Rh8+ Kg6 35. Qe8+ Kg5 36. Qe7+ Kg6 37. Qe8+ $11) (28... Bf8 29. Nbd4 Nxd4 30. cxd4 {allows White to consolidate.}) 29. c4 Rd8 30. c5 Ba7 31. Re1 $15) 28... Bf8 29. Qxf4 Rc5 30. Ne3 Rxc3 $17 {the play is rather forced but in the end Black will remain with a pawn up.} 31. Rb7 Rc5 32. Rxc7 Nxe5 33. Rxc5 Nxf3+ 34. Qxf3 Bxc5 $17 {[#] The dust has settled and Svidler is a clear pawn up which is supported by a phantastic bishop and a strong black queen.} 35. Nf5 { Before making any long-term decisions Svidler tries to improve his king's position.} Kh7 36. Qc3 Bf8 37. Ne3 g6 38. h4 Bg7 39. Qc5 Be5 40. h5 gxh5 41. gxh5 Kg7 42. Kg2 Bf4 43. Nf5+ Kf6 44. Ng3 Bd6 45. Qd4+ Be5 46. Qc5 Kg5 47. Qa5 Kh4 $5 {the black king joins the attack.} 48. Qa4+ Kg5 (48... Qg4 49. Qxa6 Qh3+ 50. Kg1 Bxg3 51. Qf6+ $1 Kg4 52. Qg7+ Kf3 53. Qc3+ $11) 49. Qa5 Qc6+ 50. Kh3 $6 (50. Kg1) 50... Kf6 51. Qd8+ Kg7 52. Nf5+ Kh7 53. Ng3 (53. Qd1 {[%cal Gd1f3]} a5 54. Qe2 Bf6 55. Qa2 Qe6 $1 56. Qc2 a4 $19) 53... Qf3 54. Qa5 Bd4 55. Qxa6 Bxf2 56. Qd6 Qxg3+ 0-1 [Event "TCh-RUS Men 2016"] [Site "Sochi RUS"] [Date "2016.05.07"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A30"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2779"] [Annotator "Johannes"] [PlyCount "276"] [EventDate "2016.05.01"] [Source "GM Rep 1 - 1.d4"] [SourceDate "2011.01.01"] [WhiteTeam "Siberia Novosibirsk"] [BlackTeam "SSM Legacy Square Capital Moscow"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. O-O e5 5. c4 d5 {Kramnik plays King's Indian with colors reversed and tries to use his extra tempo with concrete play!} 6. Qa4 (6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Nc3 Be6 $11) 6... Bd6 7. d4 $5 (7. Ng5 O-O 8. cxd5 Nd4 9. e3 Ne2+ 10. Kh1 Bf5 11. Qc4 Nxc1 12. Rxc1 Ng4 13. Nh3 e4 14. Nc3 Ne5 15. Qf1 Bxh3 16. Bxh3 f5 17. Rc2 Rf6 18. Rd1 Nd3 19. f4 c4 20. b3 cxb3 21. axb3 Nb4 22. Rcc1 Nd3 23. Nb5 Qd7 24. Nd4 Nxc1 25. Rxc1 Ba3 26. Rc2 Qxd5 27. g4 fxg4 28. Bxg4 Kh8 29. Qa1 Bc5 30. Ne6 Bd6 31. Nd4 Bc5 32. Ne2 Rg6 33. h3 b6 34. Qc3 h5 35. f5 Rg5 36. Nf4 Qf7 37. b4 {1/2-1/2 (37) Yu Yangyi (2721) -Karjakin,S (2762) Baku AZE 2015}) 7... cxd4 8. cxd5 Qa5 9. Qxa5 Nxa5 10. Na3 {It seems as if Karjakin did not know this move. At any rate, he now thought for 26 minutes. But Na3 is not such a surprising move and the favorite of the engines.} Bd7 $2 (10... O-O $142 {is given as strongest response by Let's Check.} 11. Nb5 Bb8 12. Bd2 Nc4 13. Bb4 Re8 14. Rac1 Bd7 $13) 11. b4 $1 {White gives his b-pawn to get e5 and to open the b-file for the rook.} Bxb4 12. Nxe5 Bc3 13. Rb1 $6 (13. Nxd7 $1 {is stronger: White sacrifices an exchange to get a dominat position: the bishops pair, the passed pawn on d5 and Black's shattered structure offer White more than enough compensation.} Bxa1 (13... Kxd7 14. Rb1 $16) 14. Nxf6+ gxf6 15. Bf4 Bc3 16. Nb5 {is forced - it is difficult to say why Kramnik did not prefer this line to the continuation in the game.} O-O 17. Bc7 $16 { [%csl Gd5][%cal Gd5d6]}) 13... Bf5 14. Nb5 Bxb1 15. Nc7+ Kd8 16. Nxa8 Bg6 17. Bf4 {This is the position Kramnik must have aimed for when playing 13.Rb1. But it is less clear and more complicated than the lines arising after 13.Nxd7.} Nd7 $2 (17... Nh5 18. Rd1 Nxf4 19. gxf4 Re8 $15 {[%csl Ra8,Gc3,Gd4]}) 18. Nxd7 Kxd7 19. Bh3+ Ke7 20. d6+ Kf6 21. Nc7 {Kramnik freed his problem child and starts to harass Black's king - currently he simply threats Nd5#!} Bf5 22. Nd5+ Ke6 23. Nc7+ Kf6 24. Bg2 $1 Be6 25. h4 h6 26. Rb1 g5 27. hxg5+ hxg5 28. Nxe6 fxe6 29. Bc1 Rd8 30. Rb5 e5 31. f4 $1 {Kramnik further opens the position to give his bishops more possibilities. Karjakin simply cannot take twice on f4 because this would White allow to protect the pawn on d6.} gxf4 (31... exf4 32. gxf4 g4 33. Rh5 Nc4 (33... Rxd6 $2 34. Rh6+ Ke7 35. Ba3) 34. Bxb7 Nxd6 35. Ba6 $14 {[%cal Ga6d3]}) 32. gxf4 e4 33. Bxe4 Nc4 34. Bd3 Nxd6 35. Rg5 b5 36. Rg6+ Kf7 37. Kf2 {Black's is under pressure.} Bb4 38. f5 Nc4 39. Bg5 Rd5 (39... Rd6 40. Kg3 Rxg6 41. fxg6+ Kg7 42. Kg4 Bd2 43. Bd8 $1 {[%cal Gg4f5]} Ba5 44. Bxa5 Nxa5 45. Bxb5 Kxg6 46. Kf4 $16) 40. Rf6+ Kg8 41. Re6 Nd6 42. Rg6+ Kf7 43. Kf3 a5 44. Kg4 a4 45. Rh6 Nc4 (45... Bc5 46. Rh7+ Kg8 47. Rd7 $18 {[%csl Rc5,Rd5, Rd6]}) 46. Kh5 Bf8 47. Rh7+ Kg8 48. Rb7 Nd6 49. Rd7 {Karjakin is totally paralyzed and gives material to stir up trouble.} b4 50. Bc4 Nxc4 51. Rxd5 b3 52. axb3 axb3 53. Rb5 b2 54. Rb7 Ba3 55. Kg6 $6 (55. f6 Na5 (55... Ne5 56. Bf4 Nf7 57. Kg6 Nh8+ 58. Kf5 Nf7 59. Be5 $18) 56. Kg6 $1 Nxb7 57. f7+ Kf8 58. Bh6+ Ke7 59. f8=Q+ Kd7 60. Qf5+ $18) 55... Ne5+ 56. Kh5 Nc4 {[#]} 57. Bf4 $2 { With little time on the clock Kramnik finds no counter against Karjakin's nice ideas.} (57. f6 $1) 57... Na5 58. Rb6 Nc6 $1 {[%cal Gc6b4]} 59. Rb3 Kf7 { [%csl Rb3,Gc6,Gf7] and suddenly Black is back in the game.} 60. Bg5 Nb4 61. f6 Nd5 62. Rb7+ Ke6 63. f7 Bb4 64. f8=Q Bxf8 65. Rxb2 {Karjakin managed to exchange his previously pretty harmless passed pawn on the b-file against the white monster on the f-file. Now the game becomes rather technical.} Nc3 66. Kg4 Kd5 67. Kf3 Bc5 68. Rb8 Kc4 69. Rc8 Kd5 70. Bf4 Nb5 71. Bh6 Nc3 72. Bg7 Nb5 73. Rb8 Kc4 74. Rc8 Kd5 75. Bh6 Nc3 76. Bd2 Nb5 77. Kg2 Nc3 78. Kf1 Ne4 79. Ke1 Kc4 80. Re8 Nd6 81. Re5 Nb5 82. Kd1 Bd6 83. Rh5 Bc5 84. Rh8 Nd6 85. Kc2 Ne4 86. Be1 Nd6 87. Ra8 Ne4 88. Ra4+ Kd5 89. Kd3 Bb6 90. Bb4 Nf2+ 91. Kc2 Ne4 92. Bf8 Nc3 93. Ra6 Bc7 94. Kd3 Ne4 95. Ra7 Nf2+ 96. Kc2 Bb6 97. Rf7 Ng4 98. Rf4 Ne5 99. Bg7 Nc6 100. Kb3 Bc7 101. Rf5+ Be5 102. Rh5 Ke4 103. Bh6 Bf6 104. Bd2 Ne5 105. Rh6 Bg7 106. Rh4+ Kd5 107. Bf4 Nc6 108. Rh5+ Ke4 109. Rc5 Kxf4 110. Rxc6 Ke3 111. Rg6 Bh8 {[#]} 112. Re6+ (112. Rg8 $1 Bf6 113. Kc2 $3 Ke4 (113... Kxe2 114. Re8+ Kf3 115. Rf8 $18) 114. Kd2 Be5 115. Re8 Kd5 116. Kd3 $18) 112... Kd2 {now Black can no longer make progress.} 113. Kc4 Bg7 114. Rg6 Bh8 115. Rg2 Ke3 116. Rg8 Bf6 117. Rf8 Bg7 118. Rf7 Bh8 119. Re7+ Kd2 120. Re8 Bg7 121. Re7 Bh8 122. Re4 Bg7 123. Re6 Bh8 124. Rh6 Bg7 125. Rh2 Ke3 126. Rg2 Bh8 127. Rg8 Bf6 128. Rf8 Bg7 129. Rf7 Bh8 130. Re7+ Kd2 131. Kd5 d3 132. e4 Ke2 133. Rh7 d2 134. Rh2+ Ke3 135. Rh1 Ke2 136. e5 Bxe5 137. Kxe5 d1=Q 138. Rxd1 Kxd1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Ding Liren vs Wesley So"] [Site "Shanghai"] [Date "2016.05.04"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "China"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CHN"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] [WhiteClock "0:01:41"] [BlackClock "0:01:19"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Be2 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. a4 ( 8. Qc2 dxc4 9. a4 e5 10. Bxc4 exd4 11. exd4 Nb6 12. Bb3 Nbd5 13. Bg5 Be6 14. a5 h6 {Giri,A (2790)-Grandelius,N (2649) Stavanger 2016}) 8... a5 (8... Qe7 9. a5 a6 10. Qb3 Ne4 11. Nd2 f5 12. f4 Rb8 13. Ndxe4 dxe4 14. Bd2 g5 15. g3 h6 { Grischuk,A (2780)-Giri,A (2776) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015}) 9. Qc2 b6 (9... Qe7 10. Bd2 b6 11. Rfe1 Bb7 12. Rad1 Rad8 13. Bd3 h6 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Nb5 Rc8 16. Qb1 Ne4 {Epishin,V (2561)-Solodovnichenko,Y (2613) Bad Zwischenahn 2012}) 10. e4 Nxe4 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Qxe4 Bb7 13. Rd1 (13. Bg5 Qc7 14. Bd3 g6 15. Qh4 c5 16. Be2 f6 17. Be3 Rad8 18. Rad1 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 cxd4 20. Bxd4 Be5 {?-? (29) Jones,M (2171)-Tinjaca Ramirez,L (2323) corr. 2011}) 13... Qe7 14. Bf4 Rad8 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Qb4 18. b3 Qe7 (18... Qxb3 {was in fact possible but So probably didn't like} 19. Rdb1 (19. c5 $5) 19... Qc3 20. Ra2 Ba6 21. Qe3 ) ({while} 18... Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Qxb3 {is also met by} 20. c5 $1) 19. Bf3 Ba8 20. Qe3 c5 21. Bxa8 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Rxa8 23. Qd3 {White's control of the open file isn't enough to win the game.} h5 24. f4 Qh4 25. Qg3 Qe7 26. Qd3 Qh4 27. g3 Qh3 28. Qf1 Qf5 29. Qd3 Qh3 30. Qf1 Qf5 31. h4 Kh7 32. Rd6 Rb8 33. Qd1 Kg6 34. Kf2 f6 35. exf6 gxf6 36. Kg2 Qe4+ 37. Kh2 Re8 38. Rxb6 Rd8 39. Qxd8 Qe2+ 40. Kg1 Qe1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Ding Liren vs Wesley So"] [Site "Shanghai"] [Date "2016.05.05"] [Round "2.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C83"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2778"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] [WhiteClock "1:30:30"] [BlackClock "1:30:30"] 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. Be3 O-O 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 (11... Qd7 12. Bc2 Nxd2 13. Qxd2 Bg4 14. Bf4 Bxf3 15. gxf3 Rad8 16. Rfd1 Qe6 17. Qe3 Rd7 {Hou,Y (2673)-Muzychuk,M (2554) Lvov 2016}) 12. Bxd2 Qd7 13. Re1 Rad8 14. Bg5 Bg4 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Bc2 (16. a4 d4 17. Qd3 dxc3 18. Qxc3 Bxf3 19. e6 f5 20. gxf3 Nd4 21. axb5 Nxb5 22. Qe3 f4 {David,A (2580)-Vocaturo,D (2588) Milan 2015}) 16... d4 17. Qd3 g6 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. cxd4 Bf5 20. Qb3 Bxc2 21. Qxc2 Rxd4 22. Qc6 Qe6 23. Qxc7 Rc8 24. Qa7 Rd2 25. b4 Rcc2 26. h3 Qf5 27. e6 Qxf2+ 28. Qxf2 Rxf2 29. e7 Rxg2+ 30. Kh1 Rh2+ 31. Kg1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Ding Liren vs Wesley So"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.05.07"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:19:10"] [BlackClock "0:05:04"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. g3 {This "Catalan Gambit" is very popular nowadays.} dxc4 (5... Nbd7 {is a possibility, although if White insists on sacrificing the c4 pawn Black will have to capture it sooner or later. In fact the move order of the game Giri-Ivanchuk (see below) was this} 6. Bg2 dxc4 7. a4 Bb4 8. O-O) 6. Bg2 b5 ({Black's other choice is} 6... Nbd7 7. O-O (7. a4 Bb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Qc2 Qe7 10. a5 {Giri,A (2784)-Ivanchuk,V (2715) Wijk aan Zee 2015}) 7... b5 8. e4 Bb7 9. e5 Nd5 10. Ng5 h6 {when a famous and important game saw} 11. Nxe6 {Kramnik,V (2783)-Anand,V (2791) Shamkir 2015}) 7. Ne5 a6 {The most solid approach. The aggressive} (7... Nd5 8. a4 Bb4 {was basically dismissed after the theoretically important game Eljanov-Akopian, Eu Cup 2009. One fresh prove of this assessment:} 9. O-O O-O 10. axb5 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Nxc3 12. Qc2 Nxb5 13. e3 {Del Rio de Angelis,S (2484)-Beikert,G (2432) Llucmajor 2013. Black will lose all his pawns on the queenside.}) 8. O-O Bb7 9. b3 ({In a very recent game from the U.S. Championship which So witnessed live White got very little from the opening after} 9. a4 Be7 10. axb5 axb5 11. Rxa8 Bxa8 12. Nxb5 cxb5 13. Bxa8 O-O 14. Bg2 Qc7 {Kamsky,G (2678)-Robson,R (2663) Saint Louis 2016}) 9... b4 ({Giri captured instead} 9... cxb3 {against Kramnik in Doha 2014 which was evaluated as "modest but solid" by GM Stohl.}) 10. Ne4 { Centralization. On the other hand one of the main architects of this whole line GM Gleizerov prefers to keep the knights on the board:} (10. Na4 {e.g.} c3 11. Nc4 a5 12. a3 Ba6 13. axb4 axb4 14. Nc5 Bxc5 15. dxc5 O-O (15... Qxd1 16. Rxd1 O-O 17. Bf4 {Gleizerov,E (2546)-Solodovnichenko,Y (2543) Koge 2013}) 16. Bf4 Nd5 17. Bd6 {with pressure in both cases, Gleizerov,E (2531)-Bruno,F (2413) Sibenik 2014}) 10... Nxe4 11. Bxe4 c3 12. a3 a5 13. axb4 axb4 14. Bf4 {All of these are more or less forced as White needs to create counterplay before his opponent consolidates his position.} Nd7 $1 {So correctly speeds up with development. Greed could well be a deadly sin in chess as Mr. Rowson would say: } (14... Rxa1 $6 15. Qxa1 Qxd4 $2 16. Rd1 $1 Qxe4 17. Qa7 {and White wins.}) ( 14... Be7 {is not great either for the same reason:} 15. Rxa8 Bxa8 16. Qa1 Bb7 17. Qa7 {and the queen crashes in.}) 15. Bxc6 Bxc6 16. Nxc6 Qc8 17. Rxa8 { A novelty. All of this has been seen an year ago when after} (17. Na5 Be7 18. d5 O-O 19. e4 exd5 20. exd5 Bc5 {White regained the pawn but was left possitionally suffering in Baron,T (2524)-Shirov,A (2702) Riga 2015}) 17... Qxa8 18. d5 {Ding deflected the queen from the d-file and tries to attack in the middle.} Bc5 {The only move.} (18... exd5 {is like an open invitation for the wolf in the pen.} 19. Qxd5 Be7 20. Qe4) (18... Nf6 {is bad as well due to} 19. e4 $1 Nxe4 20. Qd3 {followed by Qd3-b5 or Qd3-c4 and Rf1-e1 when the black king would hardly make it to the kingside.}) 19. Qd3 O-O {Once again the only move. Black cannot castle after} (19... Qc8 20. Be3 $1 {since} O-O 21. Bxc5 Nxc5 22. Qb5 {drops at least a piece.}) 20. dxe6 Qxc6 21. exd7 Rd8 22. Rd1 Bb6 {So sacrificed a pawn but has good compensation thanks to the defended passer on c3. Black's ideas include an attack against the lonely b3 pawn and some back rank checkmate ideas.} 23. e4 h6 24. h4 {Ding sequres himself against the possible g7-g5 nastystness. Plan "A" for Black is seen in the line:} (24. e5 Qe6 {when White has difficulties with the defense of the b3 pawn} 25. Qd6 (25. Qd5 $2 {even loses to} c2 26. Rd3 Qf5 $1 {with the unstoppable threat of Qf5xf4!} 27. Kg2 Qxf4 ({Or even} 27... g5 $1)) 25... Qxb3 26. Re1 Qe6) 24... Qe6 25. Qd5 Qg4 $1 {An ambitious move. The queen is ready to help the c-passer and to attack the white king. Safer was:} (25... c2 26. Rc1 ({Or} 26. Rd3 Qf6) 26... Qxd5 27. exd5 Rxd7 28. Rxc2 Rxd5 29. Rc6 Bc5 {when White is a tad better but it should be a draw.}) 26. Kg2 $1 {Ding is alert. The careless} (26. Rd3 Qe2 $1 {would give the win to Black.}) 26... c2 ({Now} 26... Qe2 {is answered} 27. Rf1) 27. Rc1 Qe2 $2 {So got overambitious, or simply missed something. The logical result of this interesting battle would have been a draw after the forced:} (27... Rxd7 28. Qb5 Qe6 29. Qxb4 Rd4 30. Qc3 Qxe4+ 31. Qf3 ({but not} 31. Kh2 $4 Rd1 {when plan "B" works nicely for Black.}) 31... Qxf3+ 32. Kxf3 Rd3+ 33. Ke2 Rxb3 34. Rxc2) 28. Rf1 Bc7 29. e5 $1 {The only move White, but sufficient!} (29. Bxc7 $2 {would have lost to} Qxf1+ 30. Kxf1 c1=Q+ 31. Kg2 Qxc7) ({While the retreat} 29. Be3 {will be met with the beautiful strike} Bxg3 $1 {and since} 30. Kxg3 Qxf1 {is bad it is Black who is on top.}) 29... Qg4 30. Rc1 Rxd7 31. Qa8+ Rd8 32. Qc6 {But now that the c-pawn is no longer defended it is getting an easy prey for the black pieces.} g5 {Desperation.} ({Instead} 32... Bb8 33. Rxc2 {is a solid extra pawn for White and technically won position.}) 33. e6 $1 {Ding is very precise with his calculation as usual.} ( 33. hxg5 hxg5 34. Be3 Bxe5) 33... gxf4 (33... Bxf4 34. e7 $1 {was White's point.}) 34. Qxc7 f3+ ({Or} 34... Rf8 35. e7 f3+ 36. Kh2 Re8 37. Qd8 Qc8 38. Qxc8 Rxc8 39. Rxc2) 35. Kh2 Rd2 36. Rxc2 Rxc2 37. exf7+ Kg7 38. Qxc2 {So resigned as he loses a second pawn after} (38. Qxc2 Kxf7 39. Qh7+) 1-0 [Event "Ding Liren vs Wesley So"] [Site "Shanghai"] [Date "2016.05.08"] [Round "4.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C83"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2778"] [Annotator "Administrator"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "China"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "CHN"] [WhiteClock "1:23:29"] [BlackClock "1:13:22"] 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. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Be7 11. Bc2 d4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. cxd4 Qxd4 14. Nf3 Qxd1 15. Rxd1 O-O 16. Be3 (16. Nd4 Rfd8 17. Be3 Bd5 18. Rac1 Ne6 19. Nf5 Bf8 20. a3 b4 21. axb4 Bxb4 22. Nd4 a5 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2785)-Sethuraman,S (2639) Gibraltar 2016}) 16... Rfd8 17. Rdc1 h6 18. Nd4 Bd5 19. f4 Ne6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Bg6 Rac8 22. Bc5 Kf8 23. Kf2 (23. Bxe7+ Kxe7 24. Rc5 Bc4 25. b3 Bd3 26. Bxd3 Rxd3 27. Rac1 Kd7 28. Rc6 Rd4 {Hou,Y (2606)-Koneru,H (2610) Beijing 2012}) 23... Bb7 24. Bxe7+ Kxe7 25. Rc2 c5 26. Ke3 c4 27. a4 Bd5 28. axb5 axb5 29. g4 b4 30. Ra4 Rb8 31. Be4 b3 32. Rc3 Bxe4 33. Kxe4 Rb7 34. Ke3 Rd1 35. Rcxc4 Rb1 36. Ra6 Rxb2 37. Rcc6 Rb1 38. Rxe6+ Kf7 39. Reb6 Rxb6 40. Rxb6 b2 41. Kd3 Rf1 42. Rxb2 Rxf4 43. Rb7+ Ke6 44. Rxg7 Kxe5 45. Ke3 Ra4 46. Rg6 Ra3+ 47. Kf2 Kf4 48. Kg2 Rb3 49. h3 Rb2+ 50. Kf1 Rb1+ 51. Ke2 Rb2+ 52. Ke1 h5 53. gxh5 Rb5 54. Rg4+ Kf3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Ding Liren vs Wesley So Match"] [Site "Shanghai"] [Date "2016.05.05"] [Round "2"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C83"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2778"] [Annotator "Marco Baldauf"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [Source "GM Rep 1 - 1.d4"] [SourceDate "2011.01.01"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 {Apart from Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Ding Liren is the only top ten player who does not play the Berlin as main weapon against. But he often plays the Open Spanish. So also has experience with this opening - this year he played it twice at the Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee.} 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 (9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Be7 11. Bc2 d4 12. Nb3 d3 {is the absolute main line. White now has the choice between the solid 13.Nxc5 with a very slight plus in the endgame or the more ambitious 13.Bb1 with an unclear position.} 13. Nxc5 (13. Bb1 Nxb3 14. axb3 Bf5 15. Re1 O-O {1/2-1/2 (70) Wei Yi (2706)-So,W (2773) Wijk aan Zee NED 2016}) 13... dxc2 14. Qxd8+ Rxd8 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Be3 Rd5 17. Rfc1 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Rxe5 19. Bd4 Rg5 20. Rxc2 Kf7 21. Be3 Re5 {1/2-1/2 (99) Carlsen, M (2844)-Ding Liren (2766) Wijk aan Zee NED 2016}) 9... Be7 10. Be3 O-O (10... Nc5 $5 {is a sharper alternative.} 11. Bc2 Nd7 12. Re1 Ndxe5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Bd4 Nc6 15. Bxg7 Rg8 16. Bh6 Bc5 17. Qf3 Qh4 $13 {0-1 (65) Acs,P (2525) -Kortschnoj,V (2619) Paks 2005}) 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 {gives White a slight advantage but Ding Liren shows how Black might neutralize this slight plus.} (11... Qd7 { leaves the knight on e4 and is more ambitious.} 12. Re1 Rad8 13. Bc2 f5 14. exf6 Nxf6 {with a slight plus for White but unclear play.} 15. a4 Ng4 16. axb5 axb5 17. Bd4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Qd6 19. N2f3 Bd7 20. h3 Nxf2 21. Kxf2 Bh4+ 22. Kg1 Bxe1 23. Qxe1 c5 24. Nb3 Bxh3 25. Ng5 Bf5 26. Bxf5 Rxf5 27. Qe6+ Qxe6 28. Nxe6 Re8 29. Nbxc5 Re5 30. Ra6 Re2 31. b4 Rc2 32. Ra7 Rxc3 33. Rxg7+ Kh8 34. Rd7 Rc4 35. Ng5 Rxb4 36. Nce6 Rh4 37. g3 Rh5 38. Kg2 b4 39. Nf7+ Kg8 40. Nf4 {1-0 (40) Kasparov,G (2813)-Shirov,A (2726) Izmir 2004 CBM 104 [Postny,E]}) 12. Bxd2 $5 $146 {This novelty is directed against Black's standard maneuver but d2 is not the most natural square for the white bishop.} (12. Qxd2 {is the usual continuation. But then Black can make progress with} Na5 13. Bc2 (13. Nd4 c5 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Bc2 Nc4 16. Qd3 g6 17. Bh6 Rf7 $13 {0-1 (31) Becker, A-Bogoljubow,E Karlsruhe 1938}) 13... Nc4 14. Qd3 g6 15. Bh6 Nxb2 16. Qe3 Nc4 17. Qf4 f6 (17... Re8 $146 {Black shows no fear - White has compensation but one might have doubts whether it is big enough.}) 18. Bxf8 Qxf8 19. Nd4 $14 { 1-0 (47) Psakhis,L (2545)-Zaitsev,I (2465) Yerevan 1982}) 12... Qd7 $1 { Apparently unimpressed by So's novelty Ding Liren opts for a logical plan and prepares the typical central breakthrough ...d4.} (12... Na5 13. Bc2 Nc4 14. Bc1 c5 15. Qe2 {is White's idea. The position is double-edged but offers White more chances.}) 13. Re1 Rad8 14. Bg5 $2 (14. Qe2 d4 15. cxd4 Nxd4 16. Nxd4 Qxd4 17. Ba5 $1 Qa7 $1 {followed by Bc5-Bb6 neutralizes White's pressure and leads to equality.} 18. Rac1 Bc5) 14... Bg4 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 {I fail to understand why So went for this position. His pawn on e5 might become weak, his knight is in an annoying pin and Black always threatens to break through with d4.} 16. Bc2 { [#]} d4 $6 {aiming for a major-piece endgame in which Black is slight better.} (16... g6 $1 {would have kept the tension. Right now Black threatens to cash in on e5.} 17. a4 (17. h3 $6 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Nxe5 19. Qg3 (19. Qe3 Rfe8 20. f4 Nc6 $17) 19... Rde8 20. f4 Qc5+ $17) 17... d4 $36 (17... Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Nxe5 19. Qe3 Rfe8 20. axb5 axb5 21. f4 Nc6 22. Qxe7 Rxe7 23. Rxe7 Nxe7 24. Ra7 $44)) ( 16... Bxf3 $6 17. Qxf3 Nxe5 $4 18. Qf5 {[%cal Gf5e5,Gf5h7]}) 17. Qd3 g6 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. cxd4 Bf5 20. Qb3 Bxc2 21. Qxc2 Rxd4 {The dust has almost settled and Black's initiative is not too dangerous. So has no problem to secure the draw.} 22. Qc6 Qe6 23. Qxc7 (23. Qxe6 {was an alternative - but Black still has a slight edge.} fxe6 24. Rad1 Rfd8 25. Rxd4 Rxd4 26. Kf1 c5 (26... Rd2 $6 27. Re2 Rd1+ 28. Re1 Rxe1+ 29. Kxe1 c5 30. Ke2 Kf7 31. Kd3 {and Black has no more than a draw.}) 27. Rc1 Rd5 28. f4 g5 29. fxg5 Rxe5 $15) 23... Rc8 24. Qa7 Rd2 25. b4 Rcc2 26. h3 {[#] Black's initiative seems threatening but So has things under control - e6 always gives White enough counterplay.} Qf5 (26... Rxa2 27. Rxa2 Rxa2 28. Qd4 $11) 27. e6 Qxf2+ 28. Qxf2 Rxf2 29. e7 Rxg2+ 30. Kh1 Rh2+ 31. Kg1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Ding Liren vs Wesley So Match"] [Site "Shanghai"] [Date "2016.05.07"] [Round "3"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "Marco Baldauf"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "CHN"] [Source "ChessBase"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. g3 {with ...c6 Black threatened to take on c4.5.g3 ignores this threat for the sake of quick development and the initiative.} ({In the first game Ding tried} 5. e3 {but did not get much:} Nbd7 6. Be2 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. a4 $5 {such ideas usually last only one game.} a5 9. Qc2 b6 10. e4 Nxe4 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Qxe4 Bb7 13. Rd1 $11 {and Black is definitely more happy about the insertion of a4-a5.} Qe7 14. Bf4 Rad8 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Qb4 18. b3 Qe7 19. Bf3 Ba8 20. Qe3 c5 21. Bxa8 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Rxa8 23. Qd3 h5 24. f4 Qh4 25. Qg3 Qe7 26. Qd3 Qh4 27. g3 Qh3 28. Qf1 Qf5 29. Qd3 Qh3 30. Qf1 Qf5 31. h4 Kh7 32. Rd6 Rb8 33. Qd1 Kg6 34. Kf2 f6 35. exf6 gxf6 36. Kg2 Qe4+ 37. Kh2 Re8 38. Rxb6 Rd8 39. Qxd8 Qe2+ 40. Kg1 Qe1+ { 1/2-1/2 (40) Ding,L (2778)-So,W (2775) Shanghai CHN 2016}) 5... dxc4 6. Bg2 b5 7. Ne5 a6 (7... Bb7 $2 8. Nxb5 $16) 8. O-O (8. Nxc6 {only helps Black to develop quickly.} Qb6 9. Ne5 Bb7 10. e4 Bb4 11. O-O O-O $13 {0-1 (73) Vachier Lagrave, M (2721)-Smeets,J (2669) Germany 2010 - White's centre is a bit shaky. }) 8... Bb7 9. b3 (9. a4 {is the alternative - but the text move scores better. After 9.a4 Black can humbly give back the pawn with ...Be7 or try to strive for more with ...Qc8 or ... Nd5.} Qc8 (9... Be7 10. axb5 axb5 11. Rxa8 Bxa8 12. Nxb5 cxb5 13. Bxa8 O-O 14. Bg2 Qc7 15. Bd2 Rd8 $11 {1/2-1/2 (46) Kamsky,G (2678) -Robson, R (2663) Saint Louis USA 2016}) 10. e4 (10. b3 $2 {When White played a4 this is often bad because Black can often advance to b4 and c3:} b4 11. Na2 c3 12. a5 c5 $17 {0-1 (30) Chu Wei Chao (2331)-Ma Qun (2613) China CHN 2016}) 10... Be7 11. g4 Nfd7 12. Nf3 O-O $13 {led in Grischuk,A (2747)-Aronian, L (2808), Monte Carlo 2011, 1/2-1/2 (31) to an unclear position with chances for both sides. It is not easy to unwind Black's queenside but Black is a pawn up and has no concrete weaknesses.}) 9... b4 (9... cxb3 10. axb3 Be7 11. Bb2 O-O 12. Ne4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 a5 14. Qd3 $44 {and White has an annoying initiative and pressure for the pawn.} h6 15. f4 $6 (15. Qe3 $5 Bd6 16. Rfc1 Nd7 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. Nxc6 Qb6 19. Qf3 $16) 15... Bd6 16. Qe3 Nd7 17. Rac1 (17. Nxc6 Qb6 18. Ne5 Nf6 $132 {[%csl Rd5,Re4]}) 17... Nxe5 18. fxe5 Be7 $15 {[%cal Ge7g5] 0-1 (54) Ipatov,A (2625)-Eljanov,P (2717) Baku 2015}) 10. Ne4 (10. Na4 {played recently by Chinese talent Bai Jinshi.} c3 11. Nc4 a5 12. a3 Na6 13. axb4 axb4 14. Nab6 Ra7 15. e4 $44 {1-0 (62) Bai,J (2507)-Siva,M (2370) Caleta ENG 2016}) 10... Nxe4 11. Bxe4 c3 {Black managed to put his pawns on b4 and c3 but White's lead in development guarantees him enough compensation.} 12. a3 a5 13. axb4 axb4 14. Bf4 {[#]} Nd7 {After thinking for 23 minutes So decides to give back his extra pawn to reduce White's pressure. Ding still played quickly which indicates that he had analysed the only previous game with this line in some detail.} (14... Bd6 15. Rxa8 Bxa8 16. Qa1 Bb7 (16... Nd7 17. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 18. Bxd6 {[%csl Gd6][%cal Gd6b4]}) 17. Qa7 Qc7 18. Nxf7 $1 (18. Nd3 $5 Bxf4 19. gxf4 O-O 20. Nc5 {wins a piece but gives Black counterplay.} Qxf4 21. Qxb7 c2 $1 22. Bxc2 Qg4+ 23. Kh1 Qxe2 $13 {[%cal Ge2f3,Gf3g4,Ge2c2,Ge2f1]}) 18... Kxf7 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. Qxb7+ Qe7 21. Qb6 $13) (14... f6 15. Rxa8 Bxa8 16. Nc4 Be7 17. Qd3 $44) 15. Bxc6 Bxc6 16. Nxc6 Qc8 17. Rxa8 (17. Na5 $6 {looks artifical and loses time. After all, the knight on c6 makes a rather good impression!} Be7 18. d5 O-O 19. e4 exd5 20. exd5 Bc5 21. Qd3 Nf6 22. Qc4 Qh3 23. Qxc5 Ng4 24. Rfe1 Rfe8 25. Rxe8+ Rxe8 26. Be3 Nxh2 27. f3 Qxg3+ 28. Kh1 Nxf3 {0-1 (28) Baron,T (2524)-Shirov,A (2702) Riga 2015}) 17... Qxa8 18. d5 Bc5 (18... exd5 $2 19. Qxd5 $18 {and Black's king is caught in the centre.}) (18... Nf6 19. e4 $44 ) 19. Qd3 {threatening Qc4 or Qe4 and forcing Black to castle.} (19. dxe6 $2 Qxc6 20. exd7+ Qxd7 $17 {[%csl Gb4,Gc3][%cal Ge8d7]}) 19... O-O {But now White's d-pawn advances to d7.} 20. dxe6 Qxc6 21. exd7 Rd8 22. Rd1 {[#] White regained his pawn with interest and now has a proud passed pawn on d7. But the proud pawn needs to be supported by White's rook and queen and it is not easy to see how Ding can make progress. It is noteworthy that Ding up to this point had hardly used any time which indicates that he had reached this position in his preparations and considered it as good for White.} Bb6 23. e4 h6 24. h4 { [#]} Qe6 (24... Bc7 $5 {would have been a concrete solution for Black's problems but it is difficult to calculate the arising complications:} 25. Be3 $1 (25. Bxc7 $6 Qxc7 26. Kf1 (26. Qd5 $2 c2 27. Rc1 Rxd7 $17) 26... Qc6 27. Qd5 {is not enough for White to win.} (27. Ke2 Rxd7 $1 28. Qxd7 Qxe4+ 29. Kf1 Qh1+ 30. Ke2 Qe4+ $11) 27... Qxd5 28. Rxd5 c2 29. Rc5 Rxd7 30. Ke2 $1 Rd1 $1 (30... Rd4 31. Rxc2 Rxe4+ 32. Kd3 Re8 33. Rc4 $14) 31. Rxc2 Rb1 32. Rc8+ Kh7 33. Rb8 Rxb3 34. h5 {and White does not reach a rook ending with 4 against 3 on the kingside and the position is drawn.}) 25... Bb6 $5 {otherwise ...Bc7 rather worsened Black's position.} 26. Qa6 (26. Bxb6 $5 Qxb6 27. Qd5 Qe6 $1 (27... Qc7 28. e5 c2 29. Rc1 Rxd7 30. Qa8+ Rd8 31. Rxc2 Rxa8 32. Rxc7 Ra3 33. Rc8+ Kh7 34. Rf8 $14) 28. Qxe6 fxe6 29. Kf1 c2 30. Rc1 Rxd7 31. Rxc2 Rd3 32. Rc7 Rxb3 $14 { with a draw.}) 26... c2 $1 (26... Rxd7 27. Rxd7 Qxd7 28. Qxb6 Qd1+ 29. Kg2 Qxb3 30. Qd4 $16 {and Black cannot advance the passed pawns. White will try to expose the black king gradually and then play for mate.}) 27. Rf1 $1 Rxd7 28. Qxb6 Qxb6 29. Bxb6 Rd3 30. Kg2 $1 (30. Be3 $2 {shows how dangerous the pawns can be:} Rxb3 31. Rc1 Rxe3 (31... Rb1 32. Kf1 b3 33. Ke2 Ra1 $3 34. Rxa1 b2 35. Rc1 b1=Q 36. Kd2 Qb4+ 37. Kd3 Qb3+ 38. Kd2 Qc4 39. Rxc2 Qxe4 $15 {Black can play for a win but White should probably hold.}) 32. Rxc2 Rxe4 $15) 30... Rxb3 31. Rc1 Rc3 32. Bd4 Rc4 33. Bb2 b3 34. Kf3 Ra4 35. Ke3 Ra2 36. Bd4 b2 37. Bxb2 Rxb2 38. Kd3 {and White gets a 4-3 rook endgame - but after} h5 $14 {the endgame is a draw.}) 25. Qd5 Qg4 (25... c2 {also suffices and is concrete and simpler.} 26. Rc1 Qxd5 27. exd5 Rxd7 28. Rxc2 (28. d6 g5 29. hxg5 hxg5 30. Bxg5 Rxd6 31. Rxc2 Rd3 $11) 28... Rxd5 29. Rc4 Bc5 {and White can still try to make some winning attempts.}) 26. Kg2 c2 $1 27. Rc1 {Now Black has to play very precisely.} Qe2 $2 (27... Rxd7 28. Qc4 (28. Qc6 Rd3 $1 $132 29. Qxb6 $2 Qf3+ 30. Kh2 Rd1 $19) 28... g5 $1 29. Qc8+ Kg7 30. Be5+ f6 {and Black holds.}) 28. Rf1 {[%cal Rd5c6] With this move White defends everything and threatens Qc6.} Bc7 29. e5 Qg4 {Black finally manages to eliminate the pawn on d7 but White in turn wins c2 and remains with an extra pawn and the initiative.} 30. Rc1 Rxd7 31. Qa8+ Rd8 32. Qc6 g5 (32... Bb8 33. Rxc2 $16) 33. e6 $1 {Precise play.} (33. Qxc7 $2 {allows the in-between move} Rc8) 33... gxf4 (33... Bxf4 34. e7 $1 $18) 34. Qxc7 {[%cal Gc7f7,Gc7d8]} f3+ 35. Kh2 Rd2 36. Rxc2 Rxc2 37. exf7+ Kg7 38. Qxc2 1-0 [Event "TCh-RUS Men 2016"] [Site "Sochi RUS"] [Date "2016.05.06"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2703"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "2016.05.01"] [WhiteTeam "Bronze Horseman St-Petersburg"] [BlackTeam "SSM Legacy Square Capital Moscow"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. g4 b5 11. g5 Nh5 12. O-O-O Nb6 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 Bd7 15. Na5 Qc7 16. Kb1 O-O 17. Rg1 (17. c4 f6 18. Rc1 b4 19. gxf6 Rxf6 20. Qxb4 Rb8 21. Qd2 Rxf3 22. Be2 Rh3 23. Bxh5 Rxh5 24. Ka1 Rh3 {Dominguez Perez,L (2726)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2714) Beijing 2014}) 17... g6 18. c4 f6 19. Rc1 Bf5+ 20. Ka1 Bd8 21. Nc6 fxg5 22. cxb5 (22. Nxd8 Qxd8 23. Bxg5 Qd7 24. Be3 Rfc8 25. Be2 bxc4 26. Rxc4 Nf4 27. Rxc8+ Rxc8 28. Bxa6 Rc2 {Cesetti,C (2593) -Borzenko, A (2523) corr. 2012}) 22... axb5 23. Bxb5 Nf4 24. Nxd8 Qxd8 25. Rc6 Qe7 26. Bc4 Kh8 27. Qb4 Rfd8 28. Bb6 Rd7 29. a4 Qf7 30. Qb5 Rb7 31. a5 Bd7 32. Rc1 Rbb8 33. Ba2 Qf5 34. a6 $2 ({White had to go out of the pin here with} 34. Qc4 {when} Nd3 35. Rd1 Nc5 {can simply be answered by} 36. Rxd6) 34... Nd3 $1 {A kind of double attack: threatening both Nxc1 and Nc5.} 35. Bb1 {So why does it work exactly?} Qf4 $1 {That's why!} 36. Qxd3 $6 ({It's understandable that Dominguez didn't like} 36. Bxd3 Qxc1+ 37. Rxc1 Bxb5 38. Bxb5 Rxb6 39. Be2 Raxa6+ 40. Bxa6 Rxa6+ 41. Kb1 Ra5 {but perhaps} 42. b4 Rb5 43. Rc6 Rxb4+ 44. Kc2 {still gives drawing chances.}) 36... Bxc6 37. Rxc6 Qa4+ 38. Qa3 Qxa6 $1 { Now White loses material.} (38... Rxa6 $2 39. Bc7 $1 Qxa3+ 40. bxa3 Rxa3+ 41. Ba2 Rba8 42. Rc2 Rc8 43. Bxd6) 39. Bc7 Qb7 40. Bxb8 Rxa3+ 41. bxa3 Qxb8 42. Ka2 Kg7 43. Be4 Kh6 44. Rc2 Qb5 45. Rc6 g4 46. fxg4 Qe2+ 47. Bc2 e4 0-1 [Event "Russian Team Championship"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.05.07"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B81"] [WhiteElo "2703"] [BlackElo "2752"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:30:27"] [BlackClock "0:01:06"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 {Nepomniachtchi and Grischuk had already discussed this line in a rapid game.} e6 {That game went:} (6... Nc6 7. g4 Qb6 8. Nb3 e6 9. g5 Nd7 10. h4 Qc7 11. f4 b5 12. Bg2 Bb7 { eventually ended in a draw, Nepomniachtchi,I (2730)-Grischuk,A (2792) Dubai 2014}) 7. g4 Be7 {The classical approach to the flank attack should be a central strike with} (7... d5 {which is quite playable, although after} 8. Bg2 Nxe4 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. Bxe4 {White gets a good version of the French Rubinstein pawn structure with his light-squared bishop working nicely on the long diagonal. One example:} Nd7 11. c3 Qc7 12. Qe2 Be7 13. Be3 Nf6 14. Bg2 { and White looks very comforable, Ponomariov,R (2714)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2758) Beijing 2014}) 8. g5 Nfd7 9. Be3 b5 10. a3 Bb7 11. h4 {With Grischuk's approach the game has a distinct Sicilian flavor. Soon both kings will castle in opposite directions and the same old question "who is faster?" will dominate the conversation.} Nc6 ({Black deviates from a recent top game:} 11... O-O 12. Qd2 Nb6 13. h5 N8d7 14. g6 {as in Karjakin,S (2760)-Topalov,V (2780) Moscow 2016.}) 12. Qd2 Rc8 {As usual Black is not in a huge hurry to castle.} 13. Nxc6 Rxc6 14. O-O-O O-O {Now he does.} 15. Kb1 Ne5 16. Rh3 {A common maneuver which prevents the trouble along the long diagonal and protects the knight on c3 from the exchange sacrifice. And at the same time it's a brand new concept, at least for me. As far as I know in similar situations White likes to keep his dark-squared bishop on the board. The main reason is that this bishop can be very handy for the attack once that it occupies the long diagonal. So far seven correspondence games saw the move} (16. f4 {with good results for the first player, e.g.} Nc4 17. Bxc4 Rxc4 18. Bd4 {e.g. Yamaliev,V (2438)-Marez,S (2444) corr. 2012}) 16... Nc4 17. Qe1 Nxe3 {Grischuk hurries to get rid of the mighty bishop. Perhaps it made sense to seek some counterplay first with} (17... f6 18. Rg3 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 fxg5 20. hxg5) 18. Rxe3 Qc8 19. f4 {We can appreciate Nepomniachtchi's idea now. The rook on e3 stabilizes White's position and provides him enough time to advance his pawns on the kingside. At the same time the black pawns are quite static.} Bd8 20. f5 Ba5 { Black seeks counterplay with the pin, but...} 21. b4 $1 {Keeps things under control. This looks better than} (21. Bh3 Bxc3 22. bxc3 e5 23. f6 {which is the computer's suggestion.}) 21... Bb6 22. Red3 exf5 ({Or} 22... Rc4 23. fxe6 fxe6 24. Bh3 Re8 25. Qd2 {when Black finds it hard to make moves. If} Bxe4 26. Nxe4 Rxe4 27. Rxd6 {leaves White dominating.}) 23. exf5 Re8 {The greedy} (23... Qxf5 $2 {loses after} 24. Nd5) 24. Qd2 Rc4 {Once again} (24... Qxf5 $2 { is plain wrong to another fork} 25. Bh3 Qe5 26. Bd7) 25. g6 {A logical continuation of the attack. White had a pleasant choice though:} (25. h5 $5 { with the idea} Qxf5 26. Rxd6 Rc6 27. Re1 $1 {Then the problems of the weak back rank force Black to retreat} Qc8 {which will lead to a pleasant endgame for White after} 28. Rxe8+ Qxe8 29. Bg2 Rxd6 30. Qxd6 Bxg2 31. Qxb6) 25... hxg6 {The same problems of the back rank become obvious after:} (25... fxg6 26. fxg6 h6 27. Bh3 Qc7 28. Re1 $1 Rxe1+ 29. Qxe1 {When} Qd8 {fails to} 30. Rxd6 $1 Qxd6 31. Qe8+ Qf8 32. Be6+ {and mate.}) 26. fxg6 fxg6 27. Nd5 $1 {Nepomniachtchi looks for an attack with opposite-colored bishops.} Bxd5 ({It is hard to tolerate this knight, but maybe Grischuk should have tried} 27... Ba7 28. Bh3 Qd8 29. Qg2 {although White is clearly better here as well.}) 28. Rxd5 Rxh4 $2 {Grischuk's best chance was the rook endgame after} (28... Be3 $5 29. Bxc4 Bxd2 30. Rc5+ bxc4 31. Rxc8 Rxc8 32. Rxd2 {with good practical chances to survive.}) 29. Rxd6 Be3 30. Qd5+ Kh8 31. Bd3 {The dominating position of all the white pieces and the deadly threats on both the back rank and the h-file make Black's survival impossible. On top of that Grischuk was typically low on time. This however did not prevent him of finding an amazing resource:} Bd4 $1 { Everything else is very grim:} (31... Qc3 32. Rh1 Rxh1+ 33. Qxh1+ Bh6 34. Ka2 $1) (31... Bf4 32. Rxg6) 32. Rh1 {After some four minutes of reflection White falls into it.} (32. Bxg6 $1 {was winning as we shall see a bit later.}) 32... Qh3 $1 33. Rd1 $1 {Admitting the mistake. If} (33. Rxh3 {Black has a cute escape} Re1+ 34. Ka2 Ra1+ 35. Kb3 Rb1+ {with perpetual.}) 33... Qg3 ({Grischuk knows that Nepomniachtchi will not repeat the moves after} 33... Qc8 {and tries another tactical idea.}) ({Objectively best was} 33... Qg4 34. Rf1 { although it is hard to believe that Black can survive this.}) 34. Bxg6 $1 { Well calculated!} Qc3 (34... Qxa3 35. Qxd4 Rxd4 36. R6xd4 {would be similar to what happened in the game.}) 35. Qxd4 $3 {The point behind White's combination. The two rooks and the bishop are good enough to handle the situation. In comparison} (35. Rxd4 Re1+ 36. Rd1 Rxd1+ 37. Qxd1 {would walk into Grischuk's second devilish trap} Rxb4+ $1 38. axb4 Qxb4+ 39. Kc1 Qa3+ 40. Kd2 Qxd6+ 41. Bd3 Qb4+ {and it is highly doubtful that White can win this.}) 35... Rxd4 36. R6xd4 {The back-rank checkmate idea forces...} Rf8 {...but then the trouble comes from aside:} (36... Qc8 37. Bxe8 Qxe8 38. Rd8) 37. Rh4+ Kg8 38. Rdh1 { Ironically, the rook which saved the king from the back-rank mate is blocking its way out.} 1-0 [Event "TCh-RUS Men 2016"] [Site "Sochi RUS"] [Date "2016.05.08"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Sjugirov, Sanan"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C66"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2801"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2016.05.01"] [WhiteTeam "Zhiguli Samara region"] [BlackTeam "Siberia Novosibirsk"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. O-O Bd7 (5... g6 6. d4 exd4 7. e5 dxe5 8. Nxe5 Qd5 9. Qe2 Be7 10. Re1 d3 11. Bxc6+ Qxc6 12. Qxd3 Qd6 13. Qe2 O-O 14. Nc3 Be6 15. Qf3 Nd5 16. Bh6 {½-½ So,W (2760)-Nakamura,H (2816) Las Vegas 2015}) 6. Re1 g6 7. d4 Bg7 8. d5 Ne7 9. c4 O-O 10. Nc3 Bg4 ( 10... h6 11. Bd2 a6 12. Ba4 Bxa4 13. Nxa4 Nd7 14. c5 f5 15. Qb3 b5 16. cxb6 cxb6 17. Nc3 Nc5 {Akshayraj,K (2404)-Moradiabadi,E (2526) Subic Bay 2009}) 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 Kh8 13. Ba4 Nfg8 14. Bc2 f5 15. exf5 gxf5 16. g4 fxg4 17. Qxg4 Qe8 18. Be3 Bh6 19. Kh1 Nf6 20. Qh4 Bxe3 21. fxe3 Qh5 22. Qxh5 Nxh5 23. Ne4 Nf5 24. Kh2 a6 25. Rac1 b6 26. a3 h6 27. Bd3 a5 28. Rc2 Nh4 29. Be2 Rf3 30. Rf1 Rxf1 31. Bxf1 Rf8 32. Rf2 Rxf2+ 33. Nxf2 Nf3+ 34. Kg2 Ne1+ 35. Kh2 Kg7 36. Be2 Nf6 37. Bd1 e4 38. Kg3 Kg6 39. b4 Kf5 40. bxa5 bxa5 41. Ba4 Nd3 42. Nd1 Nc5 43. Bb5 Nfd7 44. Kh4 Kg6 45. Bxd7 Nxd7 46. Nc3 Ne5 $6 ({The king had to join the party immediately:} 46... Kf5 $1 47. Kh5 (47. Nb5 Nb6 48. Nd4+ Kf6) 47... Ne5 48. Nb5 Nxc4 49. Nd4+ (49. Nxc7 Nxe3) 49... Kf6 50. Nc2 Nb6 51. Kxh6 Nxd5 { and wins.}) 47. c5 $1 Kf5 48. cxd6 $2 (48. c6 $1 Nc4 49. Nb5 Nxe3 50. Nxc7 Ke5 51. Kg3 Nf5+ 52. Kf2 Ne7 53. Ke3 {and neither player can make progress.}) 48... cxd6 49. Kh5 (49. a4 Nc4 50. Nd1 Nb6 51. Nc3 Ke5 52. Kh5 Nxd5 53. Nd1 Nb6 54. Kxh6 Nxa4 55. Kg5 Nc5 56. h4 a4 57. h5 a3 58. Nc3 Nd7 59. h6 Nf8 {als wins.}) 49... Nc4 50. Kxh6 Nxa3 51. Kg7 Nc4 52. h4 Nxe3 53. h5 Ng4 54. Nb5 Ke5 55. Kg6 e3 56. Nc3 a4 57. Kg5 Nf6 58. h6 a3 59. Kg6 e2 0-1 [Event "TCh-RUS Men 2016"] [Site "Sochi RUS"] [Date "2016.05.08"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Najer, Evgeniy"] [Black "Timofeev, Artyom"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "2681"] [BlackElo "2598"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2016.05.01"] [WhiteTeam "SSM Legacy Square Capital Moscow"] [BlackTeam "Rook Republic of Tatarstan"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 c5 7. O-O Nxe4 8. Bxe4 Nf6 9. Bg5 Be7 (9... cxd4 10. Nxd4 Be7 11. Bf3 O-O 12. Re1 Qb6 13. Be3 Qxb2 14. Qd3 Nd5 15. Bxd5 exd5 16. Nb5 Bf5 {Navara,D (2734)-Ivanchuk,V (2710) Huaian 2016}) 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Qe2 (11. Re1 O-O 12. Qe2 cxd4 13. Rad1 Qa5 14. Nxd4 Rd8 15. c3 f5 16. Bxf5 Rxd4 17. Bxh7+ Kxh7 18. Rxd4 Qf5 {Ganguly,S (2614) -Cruz,C (2569) Linares 2014}) 11... f5 12. Bd3 cxd4 13. Rad1 O-O 14. c3 Bf6 15. Nxd4 Qb6 16. Bc4 Kh8 17. Rd3 Qc7 18. Rh3 Rg8 19. Rd1 Bd7 $2 ({Black had time for} 19... a6 20. Qh5 Rg7 {and looks to be doing OK.}) 20. Nxf5 $1 exf5 21. Rxh7+ $1 Kxh7 22. Qh5+ Kg7 23. Qxf7+ Kh6 24. Qxf6+ Rg6 25. Qh4+ Kg7 26. Qe7+ Kh6 27. Rxd7 Qxc4 28. Qh7+ Kg5 29. Rd4 1-0 [Event "17th ch-EUR Indiv 2016"] [Site "Gjakova KOS"] [Date "2016.05.12"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Korchmar, Vasiliy"] [Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A62"] [WhiteElo "2437"] [BlackElo "2715"] [Annotator "Johannes Fischer"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.05.12"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bg2 Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Bf4 Qe7 11. a4 b6 12. h3 Nh5 13. Bg5 f6 14. Bd2 f5 15. Ng5 f4 16. Ne6 fxg3 17. f4 $2 {[#]White seems to panic and weakens his kingside.} ( {It was better to be consistent and accept the offered exchange. After} 17. Nxf8 Nxf8 {Black has wonderful pieces and a strong attack for the exchange but White is definitely not lost.}) 17... Ndf6 18. Nxf8 {Now White takes the exchange - but soon has a prize to pay for weakening his kingside with 17.f4?.} Bxf8 19. e4 {[#]} Ng4 $1 {Black loses no time and wants to let his queen join the attack as quickly as possible.} 20. hxg4 Qh4 21. Rf3 Bxg4 {Black is whole rook down but he will win back his material with interest.} 22. Kf1 Bg7 23. Ke2 Rf8 24. Kd3 Bxf3 25. Bxf3 Nxf4+ 26. Kc2 g2 27. Bxf4 Rxf4 28. Bxg2 Rf2+ 29. Kb3 Rxg2 30. Qf1 Qg3 0-1 [Event "17th ch-EUR Indiv 2016"] [Site "Gjakova KOS"] [Date "2016.05.14"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Lupulescu, Constantin"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B91"] [WhiteElo "2620"] [BlackElo "2722"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2016.05.12"] [Source "GM Rep 1 - 1.d4"] [SourceDate "2011.01.01"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 7. Nde2 Be7 8. Bg2 O-O 9. a4 (9. O-O {is the main line.}) 9... Nc6 {Wojtaszek uses the fact that he did put his knight to d7 - the usual square for the knight in the Najdorf - and plays the knight to c6 where it has an eye on b4, the square White weakened with 9.a4.} 10. O-O Nb4 11. b3 Be6 12. Ba3 a5 {This weakens b5 but is the only way to keep the knight on b4. And the game shows that Black can comfortably live with the weakness of b5.} (12... Qa5 $2 13. Qd2 Rac8 14. Nd5 $18) (12... Qb6 $6 13. Qd2 Rac8 (13... a5) 14. a5 $1 $18) 13. Qd2 (13. Nb5 { [%cal Gc2c3]} d5 $1 14. c3 Nc6 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 16. exd5 Bxd5 $11) 13... Rc8 14. Rac1 Re8 15. h3 d5 {[#] If Black manages to achieve the ...d5 break without suffering serious consequences he usually equalized. This position is no exception and Lupulescu must already be careful.} 16. exd5 Nfxd5 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. Bxe7 Rxe7 19. Rfd1 Rd7 20. Qe1 Nb4 {attacking White's weak queenside.} ({ After} 20... Qc7 21. c4 Nb4 22. Rxd7 Bxd7 23. Rd1 Bc6 {Black has the better structure but White has the d-file.} 24. Bxc6 bxc6 25. Qd2 $11) 21. Bxb7 Rcc7 22. Bg2 (22. Be4 $1 f5 23. Bg2 Nxc2 24. Rxd7 Rxd7 25. Qc3 {and compared to the game White has more counterplay because the pawn on f5 is not strong but tends to be weak.} Nb4 $2 26. Qxe5 {[%cal Re5e6]} Bxb3 27. Nf4 $16) 22... Nxc2 23. Rxd7 Rxd7 24. Qc3 Nb4 25. Qe3 (25. Qxe5 Nd3 $19) 25... f6 $15 {Wojtaszek has the better structure and the more active pieces.} 26. f4 $2 (26. Kh2 $142 Rd2 ( 26... Rd3 27. Qa7 $132 {[%cal Gc1c7,Gc1c5,Gc5a5]}) 27. Be4 Rb2 28. Rb1 $1 Rxb1 (28... Ra2 29. Rc1 Qd2 $4 30. Qb6 $18) 29. Bxb1 g6 $15) 26... Rd3 27. Qc5 Rd2 28. Qb5 h6 29. fxe5 Nd3 30. Rc3 Nxe5 {Black's king is safe, White's king is not.} 31. Re3 Rb2 32. Kh2 ({Better is} 32. Nf4 $142 Bf7 33. Bd5 $1 Rd2 (33... Bxd5 34. Qxd5+ Qxd5 35. Nxd5 Kf7 36. g4 $15 {with good drawing chances.}) 34. Bxf7+ Kxf7 35. Qb7+ Rd7 36. Qe4 $17) 32... Bc4 $1 {Liquidating into a won position. The white pieces are not coordinated enough to drum up sufficient counterplay.} 33. bxc4 Rxb5 34. cxb5 Qd2 35. Re4 Qb2 36. Nd4 h5 37. Kg1 g5 38. Nf3 Qb1+ 39. Ne1 Nd3 40. Kf1 Nc5 41. Rc4 Nxa4 42. Rc8+ Kg7 43. Rb8 Qf5+ 44. Kg1 Qc5+ 45. Kh2 Nb6 46. Rb7+ Kf8 47. Nf3 a4 48. Nd2 a3 49. Ne4 Qd4 50. Ra7 Qb2 0-1 [Event "17th ch-EUR Indiv 2016"] [Site "Gjakova KOS"] [Date "2016.05.15"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Black "Andriasian, Zaven"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2686"] [BlackElo "2602"] [Annotator "Marco Baldauf"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2016.05.12"] [Source "GM Rep 1 - 1.d4"] [SourceDate "2011.01.01"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. f3 Be6 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O a5 11. a4 (11. Bb5 {Is the most popular move. However, in top level chess the game continuation has gradually replaced 11.Bb5 in recent years.} Na6 12. Qe2 Qb8 13. g4 Rc8 14. g5 Ne8 15. Kb1 Nec7 16. Bc4 Bxc4 17. Qxc4 a4 18. Nc1 a3 19. b3 Ne6 20. Qd3 Nb4 21. Qd2 Ra6 22. Nd5 Nxd5 23. exd5 Nd4 24. Bxd4 exd4 25. Nd3 Qc7 26. h4 Ra5 27. f4 Rxd5 28. h5 Bf8 29. Rde1 Qc3 30. Qe2 Rdc5 31. Rh2 R5c7 32. Qg4 Qa5 33. Rhe2 Rxc2 34. g6 f5 35. Qf3 Qc3 36. Qd5+ Kh8 37. Qxf5 Rxe2 38. Rxe2 h6 39. Qe4 d5 40. Qf3 Be7 41. Qh3 Bd6 42. Qf5 Bxf4 43. Qxc8+ Qxc8 44. Nxf4 Qf5+ 45. Ka1 Qf8 46. Kb1 Kg8 47. Kc2 Qf5+ 48. Nd3 Qc8+ 49. Kd1 Kf8 50. Nf4 d3 51. Nxd3 Qc3 52. Rd2 Ke7 53. Ke2 Kd6 54. Nf4 Qe5+ 55. Kf3 d4 56. Re2 Qf5 57. Re6+ Qxe6 58. Nxe6 Kxe6 59. Ke4 Kf6 60. Kxd4 Kg5 61. Ke5 Kxh5 62. Kf5 b6 {0-1 (62) Karjakin,S (2739)-Grischuk,A (2760) Odessa 2010}) 11... Nc6 12. g4 Nb4 13. Kb1 Rc8 14. g5 (14. h4 {is an alternative and was played against Andriasian two years ago:} d5 15. g5 Ne8 16. exd5 Bf5 17. Na1 Nd6 {and Black has interesting compensation for the sacrificed pawn. Black's pressure against c2 forces both knights to defend - however, I fail to see how Black can further strengthen his position on the queenside because White prevented the pawn-break ...b5 and Black cannot chase the Nc3 away.} 18. h5 Qd7 19. h6 g6 20. Rh2 $13 {1-0 (39) Shomoev,A (2568)-Andriasian,Z (2622) Nizhny Tagil 2014}) 14... Nh5 (14... Ne8 {was Andriasian's choice in 2013. But he failed to equalize:} 15. f4 exf4 16. Bxf4 Bg4 17. Re1 Nc7 18. Rg1 Be6 19. Nd4 d5 20. g6 $1 dxe4 (20... hxg6 21. Bxc7 Rxc7 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Bh3 $16) 21. gxh7+ Kh8 22. Be5 Bf6 23. Bxf6 Qxf6 24. Nxe4 $16 {1/2-1/2 (127) Swiercz,D (2654)-Andriasian,Z (2631) Martuni 2013}) 15. Rg1 {Directed against Black's plan to play ...f5.} f5 (15... d5 {does not work here:} 16. exd5 Bf5 17. Na1 { [%cal Rd5d6]} Bc5 18. Bb5 Nf4 19. Bxf4 Bxg1 20. Bxe5 $16) (15... g6 16. Bb5 { and it is not clear how Black can get counterplay without ...f5. White, however, has the simple plan to win the pawn on a5 with Qf2 and Bb6.}) 16. gxf6 (16. g6 hxg6 (16... h6 $2 17. Bh3 $1 {and White threatens to sacrifice on h6.}) 17. Rxg6 Rf6 18. Rg1 f4 19. Ba7 {[%cal Gd2f2,Ga7b6]} Rh6 $1 20. Qf2 d5 21. Bb6 Qe8 $132) 16... Rxf6 17. Bg5 Rxf3 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Qxd6 Qxd6 20. Rxd6 Nf4 $146 {[#] The first new move - and a logical one. Andriasian brings the knight back into game and defends the Be6.} (20... Rf6 {[%cal Ge6b3,Gb3c2]} 21. Nxa5 b6 22. Rxe6 Rxe6 23. Bh3 Nf4 24. Bxe6+ Nxe6 25. Nb7 $14 {1-0 (40) Aroshidze,L (2565) -Raghunandan,K (2148) Sitges 2014}) 21. Nxa5 $1 {Faced with a new move Inarkiew thought for 45 minutes but then found the best and most concrete way.} (21. Bb5 $5 {[%csl Gb5][%cal Gb5d7]} Bxb3 (21... Rf2 22. Nxa5 Nxc2 23. Rxe6 $1 Nxe6 24. Bd7 Na3+ $1 25. bxa3 Rxc3 26. Bxe6+ Kf8 27. Nxb7 Rxa3 $14 {and the two rooks should give Black sufficient counterplay even though defending such a position is not a pleasant task.}) 22. cxb3 Nfd3 $1 (22... g6 23. Bc4+ Kh8 24. Rgd1 $14) 23. Rd1 (23. Bc4+ Rxc4 $1 24. bxc4 Rf2 $132) 23... Nc5 24. Bc4+ Kh8 $13) 21... Rf2 22. Nxb7 Rxc2 23. a5 {Four black pieces managed to get closer to white's king but Black has not yet managed to pose real threats.} Rxh2 (23... R8xc3 24. bxc3 Ba2+ 25. Ka1 Rc1+ 26. Kb2 Rb1+ 27. Ka3 Rb3+ 28. Ka4 $18) 24. a6 Bb3 (24... Rh6 25. Bb5 Rf6 26. Bd7 Bxd7 27. Rxf6 $18) 25. a7 { [%cal Gd6d8]} Ne6 {[%csl Ge6][%cal Ge6d8]} (25... Bc2+ $2 26. Ka1 $18) 26. Rb6 {Now Black has to give material.} Bc2+ (26... Ra8 27. Rxb4 Bc2+ 28. Kc1 Rxa7 { [%cal Ga7a1]} 29. Rg2 $1 Rh1 30. Kxc2 Rxf1 $18 {and though White still has some work to do the position should be technically won.}) 27. Kc1 $1 Ra8 28. Nd6 $1 h5 (28... Rxa7 29. Rb8+ Nf8 30. Bc4+ Kh8 31. Rxf8#) 29. Rxb4 (29. Rb8+ { would have finished the game immediately.} Kh7 30. Rxa8 Nd4 31. Rxg7+ (31. Bc4 $4 Nd3+ 32. Bxd3 Nb3#) 31... Kxg7 32. Nf5+ Nxf5 33. Rg8+ Kxg8 34. a8=Q+ Kf7 35. exf5 $18) 29... Rxa7 30. Rg2 Rh1 31. Kxc2 Rxf1 32. Nf5 Nf4 33. Rg5 Rf2+ 34. Kb3 g6 (34... Nd3 35. Rb8+ Kh7 36. Rxh5+ Kg6 37. Rbh8 Rxb2+ 38. Kc4 Nf4 (38... Rc7+ 39. Kxd3) 39. Nh4+ Kf6 40. Rf5+ Ke6 41. Re8+ Kd7 42. Rfxe5 $18) 35. Rb6 Kh7 36. Nh4 Rg7 37. Nd5 {but even here White is clearly dominating and Inarkiev won without problems.} Nd3 38. Rbxg6 Nc5+ 39. Ka3 Rxg6 40. Rxg6 Nxe4 41. Re6 Nd2 42. b4 Rf1 43. Ka4 e4 44. Nf6+ Kg7 45. Nxe4 Nc4 46. Kb3 Ne3 47. Nd2 Nf5 48. Rg6+ 1-0 [Event "17th ch-EUR Indiv 2016"] [Site "Gjakova KOS"] [Date "2016.05.15"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Jobava, Baadur"] [Black "Parligras, Mircea-Emilian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2661"] [BlackElo "2599"] [Annotator "Marco Baldauf"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2016.05.12"] [Source "GM Rep 1 - 1.d4"] [SourceDate "2011.01.01"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 {For Jobava, who often starts with 1.b3 or 2.Nc3, this is a rather solid opening.} O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nge2 Re8 8. Bd2 (8. O-O Bd6 9. f3 c5 10. Nb5 Bf8 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. Nbd4 {leads to a structure with an isolated pawn and is another way to treat this position.}) 8... Bd6 9. Rc1 a6 (9... c6 10. f3 Nbd7 {is too slow.} 11. O-O Nf8 12. h3 Ne6 13. Be1 $14) 10. O-O Nc6 $6 (10... c5 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. Nf4 $14) (10... b6 11. Nf4 Bb7 12. Qf3 Bf8 13. Rfd1 $13) 11. f3 Nb4 12. Bb1 c5 13. Kh1 Nc6 {Black's maneuver seems to be too slow.} 14. Be1 cxd4 15. exd4 Nh5 $6 16. Qd2 {Covering f4 one more time and forcing Black to retreat with his next move.} (16. g4 $2 Nf4 $11) 16... Be6 17. g4 Nf6 18. Bh4 {[#] Black's position should be basically okay White's position is definitely easier to play. White has a lot of possibilities to increase the pressure while Black is damned to defend.} Be7 19. Nf4 Nd7 20. Bxe7 Nxe7 21. Rce1 Nf8 22. Nh5 {Freeing the square f4 to give the f-pawn a chance to advance or to give the other knight the chance to go to f4 and join the attack.} Nc6 23. Ne2 f6 24. Neg3 Rc8 25. h4 Rc7 (25... Qa5 26. Nxf6+ $5 (26. Qg2 $14) 26... gxf6 27. Qh6 Qc7 $140 28. Nh5 $16 {[%cal Gh5f6]}) 26. Nf4 Rce7 27. h5 Bf7 {[#]} 28. Rd1 $1 {Black has no entry squares on the e-file and thus White has no reason to ease Black's defense by exchanging rooks on the open e-file.} Qa5 29. Nf5 Rd7 30. Qf2 Qc7 31. Nd3 Be6 32. Rfe1 Rdd8 33. Rg1 Kh8 34. Qh4 Qf7 35. Nf4 Bxf5 $2 (35... Bc8 $14 {was better but forced Black to continous passive defense.}) 36. gxf5 h6 37. Rg2 Rd7 38. Rdg1 Nxd4 $4 {[#] White's pressure was too much and Parligras finally cracks.} ( 38... Nh7 39. Rxg7 Qxg7 40. Rxg7 Rxg7 41. Ng6+ Kg8 42. a3 $1 $16 {[%cal Gb1a2]} ) 39. Ng6+ Nxg6 40. hxg6 {[%cal Gh4d4]} 1-0 [Event "17th ch-EUR Indiv 2016"] [Site "Gjakova KOS"] [Date "2016.05.15"] [Round "4.22"] [White "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"] [Black "Tari, Aryan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A25"] [WhiteElo "2689"] [BlackElo "2558"] [Annotator "Marco Baldauf"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2016.05.12"] [Source "GM Rep 1 - 1.d4"] [SourceDate "2011.01.01"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 Bc5 4. Nc3 d6 5. e3 a6 6. Nf3 Nge7 7. O-O O-O 8. d4 Ba7 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. b3 Be6 11. Ba3 f6 12. Nd5 Rf7 13. Nxe7+ Nxe7 14. Qxd8+ Rxd8 15. Rfd1 Rb8 16. Ne1 {[#] White has the more pleasant position - he has the only open file, the bishop looks a bit lost on a7 and Black's queenside might turn out to be vulnerable.} Nc6 17. Rd2 {Allowing Black to reduce the pressure.} (17. Nd3 $1 Rd7 $140 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Nb4) 17... Rd8 18. Rad1 Rxd2 19. Rxd2 Rd7 20. Rxd7 Bxd7 21. Bd5+ Kh8 22. Nd3 Bf5 23. e4 Bd7 24. Bc5 b6 ( 24... Bxc5 $2 25. Nxc5 Bc8 26. Bxc6 bxc6 27. b4 $16) 25. Be3 Nd8 26. c5 {[#]} b5 $1 {Allowing White to bring his pawn to d7 but creating a position with opposite-colored bishops.} 27. c6 (27. b4 c6 28. Bb3 Be6 $11) 27... Bxe3 28. cxd7 Bd2 29. b4 (29. Ba8 Kg8 30. Nc5 Kf7 31. Nxa6 Ba5 32. Kf1 Ke7 33. Nb8 Bb6 34. a4 bxa4 35. bxa4 $11) 29... c6 30. Bb3 g6 31. a3 Kg7 32. Nc5 Kf8 33. Nxa6 Ke7 34. Nc5 Bc1 35. a4 Bd2 36. a5 Bxb4 37. Nb7 Bc3 38. a6 Bd4 39. Nxd8 Kxd8 40. Be6 b4 41. h4 Ba7 42. Kg2 c5 43. Kf3 c4 44. Bxc4 Kxd7 45. Bg8 Ke7 46. Ke2 Kf8 47. Bb3 Ke7 48. f4 h6 49. fxe5 fxe5 50. Kd3 Kd6 51. Kc4 g5 52. Kxb4 gxh4 53. gxh4 Kc7 54. Bd5 Be3 55. Kc4 Kb6 56. Bb7 Ka7 57. Kd5 Bf4 58. Ke6 1/2-1/2 [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.13"] [Round "2.23"] [White "Jobava, Baadur"] [Black "Bogner, Sebastian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B28"] [WhiteElo "2661"] [BlackElo "2555"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Georgia"] [BlackTeam "Switzerland"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GEO"] [BlackTeamCountry "SUI"] [WhiteClock "0:25:38"] [BlackClock "0:08:21"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. g3 b5 4. a4 (4. Bg2 Bb7 5. Qe2 d6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 e5 8. Nb3 Nf6 9. a4 b4 10. a5 Be7 11. O-O O-O {Grandelius,N (2628)-Erdos,V (2616) Germany 2015}) 4... Bb7 5. d3 e6 6. Bg2 d6 7. O-O Nd7 (7... Nf6 8. Nc3 b4 9. Nb1 Be7 10. Nbd2 Nc6 11. e5 Nd5 12. exd6 Qxd6 13. Re1 O-O 14. Nc4 Qc7 { Wilschut,P (2250)-Nestorovic,N (2439) Novi Sad 2014}) 8. Na3 Ngf6 9. Bf4 e5 $6 (9... Qb6 {looks more natural.}) 10. Bd2 Bc6 $6 11. b4 {This is already quite annoying for Black.} Be7 (11... cxb4 12. axb5 axb5 13. Bxb4 Be7 14. c4 bxc4 15. Nxc4 Qc7 16. Rxa8+ Bxa8 17. Qc1 $1 O-O 18. Ncxe5) 12. axb5 axb5 13. c4 $1 { Increasing the pressure.} Rb8 (13... cxb4 14. Bxb4) 14. bxc5 ({Perhaps first} 14. cxb5 {was more accurate.}) 14... Nxc5 ({The pawn sac} 14... b4 15. cxd6 Bxd6 {was perhaps the best try.}) 15. cxb5 Bxb5 16. Nxb5 Rxb5 17. d4 $1 { Very strong. The knight has to move.} Ncd7 (17... Ncxe4 18. Qa4 Qd7 19. Bh3) ( 17... exd4 18. Nxd4 Rb6 19. e5 dxe5 20. Nc6 {and White crashes through.}) 18. Qe2 Qb8 19. Nh4 $1 {Use the whole board!} O-O $1 (19... g6 $5 20. Bh6 Bf8) 20. Nf5 Re8 21. g4 $1 {Every move is a blow.} g6 22. Nh6+ Kg7 23. g5 Nh5 24. Ra8 $1 Qxa8 25. Qxb5 Qd8 26. Ba5 1-0 [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.13"] [Round "2.10"] [White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Black "Svetushkin, Dmitry"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2686"] [BlackElo "2575"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Moldova"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "MDA"] [WhiteClock "0:03:28"] [BlackClock "0:02:22"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nc3 Bb7 9. a3 d6 10. Ba2 (10. Re1 Qd7 11. Ne2 Nd8 12. Ng3 Ne6 13. Ba2 Rfe8 14. Ng5 d5 15. Nxe6 Qxe6 16. Bg5 h6 {Caruana,F (2808)-Carlsen,M (2853) Saint Louis 2015 }) 10... Qd7 11. Ng5 (11. Re1 Rfe8 12. h3 h6 13. Be3 Nd8 14. b4 Bf8 15. Bd2 g6 16. Bb3 Ne6 17. a4 c5 18. axb5 cxb4 19. Na4 Qxb5 20. Bc4 Qc6 {Fedorchuk, S (2641)-Hamitevici,V (2443) Vandoeuvre les Nancy 2015}) 11... Nd4 12. f4 c5 13. Ne2 Rae8 14. Ng3 exf4 15. Bxf4 Bd8 16. Qd2 d5 17. c3 Nc6 18. exd5 Nxd5 19. N5e4 Nxf4 20. Qxf4 Ne5 21. Rad1 g6 22. d4 cxd4 23. Rxd4 Qe7 24. Rxd8 $1 ({Even stronger than} 24. Nd6) 24... Rxd8 (24... Qxd8 {is met by the same:} 25. Nf6+ Kg7 (25... Kh8 26. Qh6) 26. Qg5 $1 Qb6+ (26... Nd7 27. Ngh5+ Kh8 28. Qh6) 27. Kh1 Nd3 {and now the simple} 28. h3) 25. Nf6+ Kg7 26. Qg5 $1 Qc5+ 27. Kh1 Nd3 28. Nfh5+ Kg8 29. Qf6 Nf2+ 30. Rxf2 Rd1+ 31. Nf1 gxh5 32. Bxf7+ $1 Rxf7 33. Qxf7+ Kh8 34. Qe8+ Kg7 35. Rf7+ Kh6 36. Qe6+ 1-0 [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.14"] [Round "3.16"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Kunin, Vitaly"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2595"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Czech Republic"] [BlackTeam "Germany"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CZE"] [BlackTeamCountry "GER"] [WhiteClock "0:18:30"] [BlackClock "0:12:11"] 1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bd7 5. Nf3 Bc6 6. Bd3 Nd7 7. O-O Ngf6 8. Ng3 g6 (8... Be7 9. c4 O-O 10. Bf4 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 c6 12. Rfd1 Re8 13. a3 a5 14. Ne2 g6 15. Nc3 Qb6 {Sjugirov,S (2646)-Rakhmanov,A (2637) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015}) 9. b3 Bg7 10. Ba3 Bf8 11. Bb2 Bg7 12. c4 O-O 13. Qe2 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 c6 15. Rfe1 Qa5 16. a3 (16. Bf1 Rfd8 17. Bc3 Qc7 18. Rad1 Rac8 19. h3 b5 20. Bd2 bxc4 21. bxc4 c5 22. Bf4 Qa5 {Huebner,R (2611)-Stojanovic,M (2552) Switzerland 2015}) 16... Rfd8 17. Rad1 Rac8 18. b4 Qc7 19. Bc1 e5 20. Bg5 Re8 21. d5 cxd5 22. cxd5 Qd6 {Passed pawns must be pushed, but how? Navara starts to play against the blockaders.} 23. Bb5 $1 a6 24. Bxd7 $1 Nxd7 25. Ne4 {The first piece in front of the pawn has to move now.} Qf8 26. Qh3 f5 27. d6 $1 Qf7 28. Be7 h6 29. Nc5 $1 {And now the second blockader has to move!} Nxc5 30. bxc5 {Now Black is forced to give up material, but to no avail.} Rxe7 31. dxe7 Qxe7 32. Rd6 Kh7 33. Qg3 Qf7 34. Qd3 Rxc5 35. Rd7 Qf6 36. Rxb7 e4 37. Qb1 Re5 38. a4 h5 39. Rd1 Re7 40. Rxe7 Qxe7 41. Qb6 f4 42. Qxa6 f3 43. Qb5 fxg2 44. Rd7 Qf6 45. Qb7 1-0 [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.14"] [Round "3.18"] [White "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"] [Black "Palac, Mladen"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B96"] [WhiteElo "2700"] [BlackElo "2577"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Spain"] [BlackTeam "Croatia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ESP"] [BlackTeamCountry "CRO"] [WhiteClock "0:16:49"] [BlackClock "0:05:58"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 h6 8. Bh4 Qb6 9. a3 Be7 10. Bf2 Qc7 11. Bd3 (11. Qf3 Nbd7 12. O-O-O b5 13. g4 g5 14. h4 gxf4 15. Be2 Rg8 16. Rdg1 d5 $1 {Giri,A (2790)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2788) Stavanger 2016}) 11... Nbd7 12. Qe2 b5 13. O-O-O Bb7 14. g4 (14. Kb1 Nc5 15. Rhe1 O-O 16. g4 d5 17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 Bxd5 19. Nf5 exf5 20. Qxe7 Qxe7 21. Rxe7 Nxd3 22. Rxd3 Be4 23. Rc3 Rfd8 {Alvir,A (2341)-Kiss,A (2383) Austria 2015} ) 14... g6 15. f5 e5 16. Nb3 g5 17. h4 Rg8 18. hxg5 hxg5 19. Kb1 Nc5 20. Rh6 O-O-O 21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. exd5 Rh8 23. Nxc5 dxc5 24. d6 $1 Bxd6 (24... Rxd6 25. Rxh8+) (24... Qxd6 25. Rxh8 Rxh8 26. Bxb5) 25. Rxf6 Qe7 {Will the rook be trapped?} 26. Qe4 {No, of course Paco had seen this.} Qxf6 (26... Kc7 27. Be2 $1 Qxf6 28. Bf3 Kd7 (28... Rd7 29. Bxc5 {is similar}) 29. Bxc5 Ke7 30. Bxd6+ Rxd6 31. Qb7+ Kf8 32. Qb8+ Ke7 33. Qc7+) 27. Qc6+ Kb8 28. Be4 1-0 [Event "17th EICC 2016"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.17"] [Round "6"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Demchenko, Anton"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E83"] [WhiteElo "2666"] [BlackElo "2589"] [Annotator "Marco Baldauf"] [PlyCount "154"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "KOS"] [Source "GM Rep 1 - 1.d4"] [SourceDate "2011.01.01"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} g6 {[%emt 0: 00:00]} 3. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bg7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 4. e4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:13]} 5. f3 {[%emt 0:00:10]} d6 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 6. Be3 {[%emt 0:00: 11]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 7. Qd2 {[%emt 0:01:32]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 8. Nge2 { [%emt 0:03:23]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:53]} (8... Rb8 {is the main line.}) 9. Bh6 { [%emt 0:03:16] A very direct approach that still looks a bit like coffeehouse attempts to play for mate at all costs. But in the Sämisch White often has only one direction - attacking the enemy king.} ({Quieter approaches such as} 9. Nc1 {do not promise much after} e5 10. d5 Nd4 $1) 9... b5 {[%emt 0:08:22] Black accepts the challenge.} (9... e5 {is a more solid option.} 10. d5 Na5 11. Nc1 c5 12. Bg5 Qe8 13. Nd1 b6 14. g4 Bxg4 15. fxg4 Nxe4 16. Qe3 Nxg5 17. Qxg5 f5 18. gxf5 Rxf5 19. Qg2 e4 20. Nb3 Bf6 21. Be2 Qa4 22. Qh3 Nxc4 23. Nc3 Qb4 24. O-O-O Nxb2 25. Kxb2 c4 26. Rhf1 cxb3 27. a3 Qc5 28. Kxb3 Rc8 29. Rc1 Rxf1 30. Bxf1 Kh8 31. Bxa6 Ra8 32. a4 Rxa6 33. Qe6 Be5 34. Qe8+ Kg7 {1/2-1/2 (34) Gulko, B-Zaitsev,I Soviet Union 1966}) 10. h4 {[%emt 0:02:06]} e5 {[%emt 0:11: 12]} 11. Bxg7 {[%emt 0:12:32]} Kxg7 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 12. h5 {[%emt 0:02:47] Duda fearlessly advances his h-pawn - he wants to open the h-file, enter with his queen on h6 to follow up with Nd5 to deflect Black's knight on f6.} bxc4 { [%emt 0:17:19]} (12... Nxh5 $6 13. g4 Nf6 $2 (13... exd4 $13) 14. Qh6+ Kg8 15. Nd5 $18) 13. O-O-O {[%emt 0:14:02]} (13. hxg6 {is too hasty:} fxg6 14. Qh6+ Kg8 15. Nd5 Rf7 $15 {[%csl Gf7][%cal Gf7h7]}) 13... Qe7 $6 {[%emt 0:24:15] On this square Black exposes his queen to all sorts of tactical attacks.} (13... Rb8 14. g4) 14. g4 {[%emt 0:05:11]} Rab8 {[%emt 0:05:44] Black has problems to get his attack going and it is difficult to see how he will be able to seriously harass the white king on c1. White, however, has a textbook attack with a number of well-known patterns and motifs.} 15. g5 {[%emt 0:21:45]} Nxh5 { [%emt 0:00:56]} 16. Nd5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Qd8 {[%emt 0:00:31] [#]} 17. Rxh5 $1 { [%emt 0:07:07]} gxh5 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 18. Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:23][%csl Gf6,Gg5] Duda reached a promising attacking position on the kingside: He exchanged Black's most important defender, the bishop on g7, and he got rid of his own h-pawn that often blocks White's attack. The knight e2 might go to f5 via g3 or d4 and the queen has an eye on h2 to join the mating party.} Rh8 {[%emt 0: 03:38]} 19. dxe5 {[%emt 0:12:23]} (19. d5 Nb4 20. Nc3 Nd3+ 21. Bxd3 cxd3 22. Qh2 $40) 19... Nxe5 {[%emt 0:04:46]} 20. Nd4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} (20. Qc3 $1 { would have been a creative solution - White will follow up with f4 and Black will hardly be able to move his knight e5.}) 20... c5 {[%emt 0:09:03]} (20... h6 $1 {Undermining the support of White's most important attacking piece - the fact that this might lead to an opening of the g-file is not that serious because Black can always close the file again with Ng6.}) 21. Nc2 {[%emt 0:02: 15]} Ba4 {[%emt 0:05:10]} 22. f4 {[%emt 0:02:54]} Bxc2 {[%emt 0:05:36]} 23. Qxc2 {[%emt 0:00:37]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 24. Bxc4 {[%emt 0:06:44]} Nd4 { [%emt 0:01:26]} 25. Qh2 {[%emt 0:00:02] With the simple but strong threat to take on h5 and play Qh6#.} Qb6 {[%emt 0:00:47]} 26. Nxh5+ {[%emt 0:00:05]} Kf8 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 27. Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Qb7 {[%emt 0:01:16]} 28. Rd2 { [%emt 0:01:30]} (28. Qh6+ Ke7 29. b3 $18 {[%cal Gf6d5]}) 28... h5 $1 {[%emt 0: 00:37] A strong defensive ressource.} 29. f5 {[%emt 0:01:27]} (29. gxh6 Qb4 30. b3 Nf3 $19) 29... Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:27] [#] Now White could have won the game immediately but Duda was in time-trouble and then it's difficult to calculate properly.} (29... Qe7 {was a better defense. With a roughly equal position according to the engines.}) 30. e5 {[%emt 0:01:12]} (30. Bxf7 $1 Kxf7 31. Qxd6 Rbd8 32. g6+ Kg7 33. Qe5 Kf8 34. Nd5 Rg8 35. Nc7 $18) (30. g6 $1 fxg6 (30... Kxf6 31. Qxd6+ Kg7 32. f6+ Kxg6 33. Rg2+ Kh7 34. Rg7+ Kh6 35. Qf4#) 31. fxg6 Kxf6 32. g7 $1 Kxg7 33. Rg2+ Kf8 34. Qxd6+ Ke8 35. Qe5+ $18) 30... Nf3 { [%emt 0:00:29]} 31. exd6+ {[%emt 0:00:29]} Kd8 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 32. Qf4 { [%emt 0:00:26]} Nxd2 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 33. Qxd2 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Rf8 $2 { [%emt 0:00:54]} (33... h4 $5 {was the right way to get counterplay.} 34. g6 fxg6 35. fxg6 Qh1+ 36. Kc2 Rb4 $1 $13) 34. Qe2 $1 {[%emt 0:01:02]} h4 {[%emt 0: 00:41]} 35. Bd5 {[%emt 0:00:57]} Qa7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 36. d7 $2 {[%emt 0:00:28] } (36. Bc6 $3 {would have won - the bishop wants to go to d7 after which White threatens to mate on e7.} c4 37. Qe1 $3 {[%cal Ge1g1,Ga7g1,Ge1a5] Black has no active moves.} (37. Bd7 {is of course simpler:} Qxd7 38. Nxd7 Kxd7 39. Qe7+ Kc6 40. Qe4+ Kxd6 41. Qd4+ Kc6 42. Qxc4+ Kb6 43. Qxh4 $18) 37... h3 38. Bd7 Qxd7 39. Qa5+ Kc8 40. Nxd7 Kxd7 41. Qc7+ Ke8 42. Qe7#) 36... Qb6 {[%emt 0:00:51]} 37. b3 {[%emt 0:00:33]} Qd6 {[%emt 0:00:31] Demchenko can now hope to get counterplay while Duda has problems to make progress - time-trouble cost him dearly and made him spoil a winning position..} 38. Qe3 {[%emt 0:00:31]} h3 $1 {[%emt 0:00:31] Black gives h3 and gets g5 which supports the strong knight f6. } 39. Qxh3 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Qf4+ {[%emt 0:00:22]} 40. Kb1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qxg5 {[%emt 0:00:00] [#]} 41. Qc3 {[%emt 0:09:36] The time-control is reached but White's positionis in ruins.} Qg1+ {[%emt 0:08:08]} 42. Kc2 {[%emt 0:00:50]} Qf2+ {[%emt 0:01:19]} 43. Qd2 {[%emt 0:05:52]} (43. Kc1 Rb4 $19 {[%csl Gb4] [%cal Gf2d4]}) 43... Qxd2+ {[%emt 0:01:38]} 44. Kxd2 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Ke7 { [%emt 0:06:08]} 45. Ne4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Kxd7 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 46. Kc3 { [%emt 0:00:02] Black is two exchanges up and that should be enough to win the game.} a5 {[%emt 0:02:01]} 47. a3 {[%emt 0:02:26]} Rfe8 {[%emt 0:05:20]} 48. Nxc5+ {[%emt 0:00:24]} Kd6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 49. Kd4 {[%emt 0:00:21]} Re1 { [%emt 0:08:12]} 50. Bxf7 {[%emt 0:01:38]} Rd1+ {[%emt 0:00:10]} 51. Nd3 { [%emt 0:00:07]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 52. Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00: 41]} 53. Kc3 {[%emt 0:01:47]} Kxf5 {[%emt 0:00:20]} 54. Kc2 {[%emt 0:04:52]} Rg1 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 55. Nc5 {[%emt 0:01:09]} Rg3 {[%emt 0:01:03]} 56. Bd3+ { [%emt 0:00:07]} Kf4 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 57. Kc3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Rc8 {[%emt 0:00: 35]} 58. b4 {[%emt 0:00:11]} axb4+ {[%emt 0:00:03]} 59. axb4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Ke5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 60. Kc4 {[%emt 0:01:01]} Rg4+ {[%emt 0:00:28]} 61. Kb3 { [%emt 0:00:21]} Rh8 {[%emt 0:00:55]} 62. Bb5 {[%emt 0:02:13]} Kd6 {[%emt 0:00: 46]} 63. Kc3 {[%emt 0:03:07]} Rhh4 {[%emt 0:00:38]} 64. Nd3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Rg3 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 65. Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Rg7 {[%emt 0:00:44]} 66. Ba6 { [%emt 0:01:33]} Kd5 {[%emt 0:00:57]} 67. Nc5 {[%emt 0:00:25]} Rh3+ {[%emt 0:00: 30]} 68. Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:55]} Rg4 {[%emt 0:00:58]} 69. Nb3 {[%emt 0:02:29]} Rc4+ {[%emt 0:00:25]} 70. Kd2 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rxb4 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 71. Nc1 { [%emt 0:00:02]} Rb2+ {[%emt 0:00:24]} 72. Kc3 {[%emt 0:00:15]} Rg2 {[%emt 0:00: 17]} 73. Kb4 {[%emt 0:00:50]} Rg1 {[%emt 0:01:00]} 74. Bc4+ {[%emt 0:00:02]} Kd6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 75. Nd3 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Rg7 {[%emt 0:00:35]} 76. Nc5 { [%emt 0:01:06]} Rh4 {[%emt 0:00:46]} 77. Nb3 {[%emt 0:02:04]} Rgg4 {[%emt 0:00: 25]} 0-1 [Event "17th ch-EUR Indiv 2016"] [Site "Gjakova KOS"] [Date "2016.05.17"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Saric, Ivan"] [Black "Matlakov, Maxim"] [Result "*"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "2650"] [BlackElo "2693"] [Annotator "Marco Baldauf"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2016.05.12"] [Source "GM Rep 1 - 1.d4"] [SourceDate "2011.01.01"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d3 Bd6 13. Re1 Bf5 14. Qf3 Re8 ( 14... Qh4 {is the alternative.} 15. g3 Qh3 16. Be3 Bxd3 17. Nd2 Qf5 18. Bd4 Rae8 19. Kg2 Qxf3+ 20. Kxf3 Re6 21. Rac1 h6 22. Kg2 Rg6 23. Ne4 Nf4+ 24. Kf3 Bxe4+ 25. Rxe4 Nd3 26. Rd1 Nxb2 27. Rd2 Ba3 28. Bb6 Rd6 29. Rxd6 Bxd6 30. Re2 Nd3 31. Rd2 Ne5+ 32. Kg2 Be7 33. f4 Nc4 34. Bxc4 bxc4 35. Rd7 Bf6 36. Rc7 Bxc3 37. Rxc6 Rb8 38. a4 Bb2 39. Ba5 c3 40. Bxc3 Bxc3 41. Rxc3 Rb4 42. a5 Rb5 43. Ra3 Rb2+ 44. Kh3 f5 45. Rc3 Rb5 46. Ra3 g5 47. fxg5 hxg5 48. Kg2 Kg7 49. h4 g4 50. Rc3 Rxa5 51. Rc6 Ra2+ 52. Kg1 a5 53. Ra6 a4 54. Kh1 Kf7 55. Kg1 Ra1+ 56. Kg2 Ra3 57. Kh2 Ra2+ 58. Kg1 Ke7 59. Kh1 a3 60. Kg1 {1/2-1/2 (60) Wei Yi (2706) -Carlsen,M (2844) Wijk aan Zee NED 2016}) 15. Rxe8+ Qxe8 16. Nd2 Qe1+ 17. Nf1 Bg6 $44 {One of the great "tabiyas" of modern opening play. In principle the black pair of bishops and the restricted white pieces should guarantee Black equality.} 18. g3 (18. Bc2 b4 19. c4 b3 20. Bd1 Nb4 21. Bd2 Qe5 22. Bc3 Qc5 23. Bxb4 Qxb4 24. Bxb3 Qb6 25. Re1 Bc5 26. Ba4 Rd8 27. Rd1 Qxb2 28. Bxc6 Bh5 29. Rb1 Qxb1 30. Qxh5 Bxf2+ 31. Kxf2 Qb6+ 32. Ne3 Qxc6 33. Nd5 Qd6 34. g3 h6 35. Qe2 Rb8 36. Kg2 Kh8 37. h4 Qa3 38. Kh3 Qc1 39. Nf4 Qb2 40. Qe7 Qb7 41. Qe5 Qd7+ 42. Kh2 Kg8 43. Qxb8+ {1-0 (43) Karjakin,S (2762)-Svidler,P (2727) Baku AZE 2015}) (18. Bxd5 {Taking the second pawn does not yield anything for White. After} cxd5 19. Qxd5 Rd8 20. Bg5 Qxa1 21. Bxd8 Bf8 22. h4 h6 23. h5 Bh7 { wins the pawn b2.} 24. f4 Qxb2 25. Ba5 Qa3 26. Qd8 Qd6 27. Qe8 Qe6 28. Qd8 Qd6 29. Qe8 Qe6 30. Qd8 {1/2-1/2 (30) Sevian,S (2531)-Naroditsky,D (2633) Saint Louis 2015}) 18... b4 $1 {Black has to keep the pressure because White threatened to free himself with Bd1 and Bd2.} 19. c4 {ein Zug den man ungerne spielt - man versperrt den eigenen Läufer} (19. h4 $2 h5 20. c4 Nf6 21. Bd1 Re8 22. Bd2 Qe5 23. Rc1 Bc5 24. a3 a5 25. axb4 axb4 26. Rc2 Ng4 27. Ne3 Qd6 28. Nxg4 hxg4 29. Qxg4 Bh5 30. Qxh5 Qxg3+ 31. Kh1 Qxf2 {0-1 (31) Ivanchuk,V (2720) -Svidler,P (2745) Reykjavik ISL 2015}) 19... Nf6 20. Qxc6 $146 {[#] This brave move has never before been played in a game with classical time control. White wins a second pawn but continues to neglect his darlings on c1, a1 and f1.} ( 20. Bd1 Re8 21. Bd2 Qe5 $44 {[%csl Rb2][%cal Gd6c5] 0-1 (35) Stellwagen,D (2639)-Gustafsson,J (2606) Germany 2008}) 20... Rd8 21. Qb6 Rd7 22. Bc2 { Defending d3 and preparing Rb1 followed by Bd2 to liberate the pieces.} (22. Qe3 $6 Re7 23. Qxe1 Rxe1) 22... Ng4 {The following moves all win favor with the engines and are indicated by Let's Check - this and the fact that both players hardly used any time indicates that they were still in their preparation.} 23. Rb1 Qe2 24. Bd2 Ne5 25. Qe3 Qh5 26. Bd1 Qf5 27. Be2 {Here Saric invested 14 minutes.} f6 28. b3 Bc5 29. Qf4 Qxf4 30. Bxf4 Nxd3 31. Bxd3 Rxd3 {Apparently both players were ready to play this kind of endgame. Black's compensation is obvious: He has the bishops pair, a more active rook and a strong white-squared bishop. But White trusts his solid extra pawn.} 32. Re1 { [#]} Kf7 $6 {The first step in the wrong direction.} (32... Bd4 $1 33. Be3 (33. Re7 $6 {White cannot allow himself such pseudo-active play:} Rd1 34. Kg2 Ra1 $36) 33... Bc3 34. Rc1 Be4 $44) 33. Be3 Bd6 (33... Bxe3 $2 34. Nxe3 $14) 34. Bb6 $1 {[%cal Gf1e3] Liberating e3 for the knight and toying with the idea to advance the c-pawn to c5 - and further down the board.} Be5 35. Bc5 a5 $2 ( 35... Bc3 $1 36. Re7+ Kg8 {is certainly a concession but was the lesser evil.} 37. Ne3 (37. Kg2 a5 38. g4 $13) 37... Rd2 38. Nd5 Rxa2 39. Bxb4 Be5 $44) 36. f4 $1 Bd6 (36... Bc3 37. Re7+ Kg8 38. Ne3 $16 {[%cal Gf4f5,Ge3d5]}) 37. Bxd6 Rxd6 38. Ne3 Be4 39. c5 Rc6 40. Nc4 Bd5 41. Nd6+ Kg6 42. Rc1 $18 {Black's compensation vanished completely: the rook is passive, the king is cut off and the bishops pair was reduced by half.} a4 43. Nb5 axb3 44. axb3 Rc8 45. Nd4 Kf7 46. Kf2 Ke7 47. Ke3 Kd7 48. Kd3 * [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.16"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2686"] [BlackElo "2722"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Poland"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "POL"] [WhiteClock "0:18:47"] [BlackClock "0:22:32"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Qd2 Be7 9. f3 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. g5 b4 13. Na4 Nh5 14. Qxb4 d5 15. Qa5 Qxa5 (15... Bxg5 16. Bxg5 Qxg5+ 17. Kb1 dxe4 18. Nd4 Qf6 19. Nxe6 Qxe6 20. fxe4 Ndf6 {Dominguez Perez,L (2734)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2754) Khanty-Mansiysk 2015}) 16. Nxa5 d4 17. Bd2 Bxa2 18. Nc6 (18. Bh3 Be6 19. Bg4 g6 20. Bxh5 gxh5 21. Nc6 Bd6 22. Bb4 Bxb4 23. Nxb4 Rfc8 24. Nd3 Rc6 {Manole,G-Secrieru,I corr. 2005 1-0}) 18... Bd6 19. Nc3 $1 Be6 (19... dxc3 $2 20. Bxc3 {is very good for White.}) 20. Nd5 Bxd5 21. exd5 Nb6 22. f4 e4 (22... Nxf4 23. Bxf4 exf4 24. Nxd4 a5 {was also possible.}) 23. Ba5 $5 (23. Nxd4 Nxd5) 23... Nxd5 24. Rxd4 Rfc8 25. Ne5 Nhxf4 26. Nc4 Be7 27. Bd2 Re8 28. Rxe4 Bxg5 29. Nd6 Red8 30. h4 Bf6 ({ Or} 30... Nd3+ 31. Bxd3 Bxd2+ 32. Kxd2 Rxd6 33. Rd4 Rad8 34. Ra1 Nc7 35. Rxd6 Rxd6) 31. Bxf4 Nxf4 32. Nxf7 Kxf7 33. Rxf4 a5 34. Bc4+ Kf8 35. c3 Rac8 36. Kc2 Rc5 37. h5 Rd6 38. Bd3 Rdd5 39. h6 Rh5 40. hxg7+ Kxg7 41. Rg4+ Kf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.16"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Zhigalko, Sergei"] [Black "Navara, David"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2647"] [BlackElo "2735"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Belarus"] [BlackTeam "Czech Republic"] [WhiteTeamCountry "BLR"] [BlackTeamCountry "CZE"] [WhiteClock "0:00:47"] [BlackClock "0:20:15"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Ne7 8. Nd2 Nbc6 9. N2f3 Be4 10. O-O Bxf3 (10... Ng6 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Ng5 Be7 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Qd4 Qd5 {Kryvoruchko,Y (2706)-Navara,D (2727) Czechia 2014}) 11. Nxf3 Qc7 12. Bf4 Ng6 13. Bg3 O-O-O (13... Be7 14. Re1 O-O 15. Bf1 Rac8 16. a3 Nb8 17. Bd3 Nd7 18. c3 Rfd8 19. Qe2 Nc5 {Alsina Leal,D (2529)-Peralta,F (2602) Barcelona 2011}) 14. c4 h5 15. h4 Kb8 16. cxd5 Rxd5 17. Qa4 Be7 18. Rfd1 Rhd8 19. Rxd5 Rxd5 20. Qe4 Qb6 21. Bc4 Rd8 22. b3 Nd4 23. Rd1 Nf5 24. Rxd8+ Qxd8 25. Be2 Qa5 26. a4 Bc5 27. Kh2 Qb6 28. a5 (28. Ng5 Bxf2 29. Bxf2 Qxf2 30. Bf3 Qxh4+ (30... Qb6 31. Bxh5 Qxb3 32. Bxg6 fxg6 33. Nf3) 31. Qxh4 Nfxh4 32. Bxh5 Nxe5 33. Nxf7 Nxf7 34. Bxf7 e5) 28... Qxa5 29. Ng5 Nxg3 30. fxg3 (30. Kxg3 Qe1 31. Nh3 Be7) 30... Qa1 31. Nf3 a6 32. Bc4 Ne7 33. Qh7 $6 {Now the mating net closes.} ({More tenacious was} 33. Qe1 {but} Qxe1 34. Nxe1 Nf5 35. Nf3 Nh6 { leads to a lost ending as e5 is too weak and the white king completely out of play.}) 33... Nf5 $1 34. Bd3 (34. Qg8+ Ka7 35. Qxf7 Bf2 $1) 34... Nh6 0-1 [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.16"] [Round "5.6"] [White "Fressinet, Laurent"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D12"] [WhiteElo "2692"] [BlackElo "2644"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "0:27:37"] [BlackClock "0:47:49"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Bd2 (8. Rb1 Nbd7 9. c5 a5 10. a3 Be7 11. g3 e5 12. Bg2 e4 13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 Nf8 15. b5 Ne6 {Nakamura,H (2790)-Topalov,V (2780) Moscow 2016}) 8... Nbd7 9. Qc2 Rc8 10. c5 Qc7 11. g3 (11. f4 g5 12. Be2 Be7 13. b4 Nh5 14. O-O gxf4 15. exf4 g6 16. g4 Ng7 17. Rf2 f5 18. g5 {½-½ Pedersen,S (2419)-Kaaber,J (2257) Denmark 2013}) 11... e5 12. f4 e4 13. Be2 g5 $6 {Positionally a good idea, but Fressinet nicely demonstrates what's wrong with it.} 14. fxg5 Nh7 15. g6 $1 fxg6 16. Nxe4 $1 {White's attack will be very strong.} dxe4 17. Qxe4+ Kd8 (17... Be7 18. Qxg6+ Kd8 19. Qxg7 Bf6 20. Qg6 {and Black is rather helpless.}) 18. Qxg6 Ndf6 19. O-O-O Qe7 20. Ba5+ Rc7 (20... Kd7 21. Bd3) 21. Kb1 Kc8 22. Bxc7 Kxc7 23. Bd3 Nd7 24. e4 Ng5 25. e5 Rh6 26. Qd6+ $1 {A nice one.} Kd8 27. Qxe7+ Kxe7 28. h4 Ne6 29. Bf5 b6 30. b4 Nc7 31. Rhf1 Nb8 32. Rf3 Kd8 33. Be4 Be7 34. Rf7 Ne6 35. Bf5 Nc7 36. Rxg7 Nd5 37. Rf1 Na6 38. a3 Ne3 39. Rf3 Nxf5 40. Rxf5 Nc7 41. Rff7 Nd5 42. Rh7 Rg6 43. Rfg7 1-0 [Event "17th ch-EUR Indiv 2016"] [Site "Gjakova KOS"] [Date "2016.05.19"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Jobava, Baadur"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B65"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2661"] [Annotator "Besenthal,Klaus-Günther"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.05.12"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O O-O 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Bd7 $5 (10... Qa5 {is here by far the most popular move.} 11. Bc4 Bd7 12. e5 dxe5 13. fxe5 Bc6 14. Bd2 Nd7 15. Nd5 Qd8 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Rhe1 Nb6 {with a roughly equal position.}) 11. Bxf6 {[#]} Bxf6 ( 11... gxf6 {is playable as well.} 12. Bb5 Bxb5 13. Nxb5 Qa5 $14) 12. Qxd6 Bc6 13. Qxd8 Rfxd8 14. Bb5 (14. e5 $6 Bh4 $1 $15) 14... Bxc3 15. Bxc6 Bxb2+ 16. Kxb2 bxc6 17. Rxd8+ Rxd8 18. Kc3 {[#] White's king is more active than Black's and that's why White is better.} Kf8 19. Rb1 {A logical move. Black rules on the d-file and therefore White occupies the b-file, threatening Rb7.} Ke7 20. e5 h5 21. a4 Rd5 22. Rb7+ Rd7 23. Rb8 Rd8 24. Rb4 Rd5 25. g3 Rc5+ 26. Kb3 Rd5 { [#]} 27. c4 Rd2 $6 (27... Rd3+ $1 {is more stubborn - Black does not allow the white king easy access to c5.} 28. Kc2 Rd7 29. Kc3 c5 $1 $14) 28. a5 $1 Kd8 ({ After} 28... Rxh2 {White continues with} 29. Rb7+ Ke8 30. Rxa7 Rg2 31. a6 Rxg3+ 32. Kb4 c5+ 33. Ka4 Rg1 34. Rb7 Ra1+ 35. Kb5 {and the combination of rook on the seventh and passed pawn is more than Black can handle.}) 29. Rb8+ Kc7 30. Rf8 Rd7 31. Kb4 a6 32. Kc5 {[#] The game is practically over for Black.} g6 33. Ra8 Kb7 34. Rf8 Kc7 35. h3 Kb7 36. g4 hxg4 37. hxg4 Kc7 38. Ra8 Kb7 39. Rh8 Kc7 40. Rh1 Rd2 41. Rh7 Rd7 42. g5 {[#] Black resigned. Black has no adequate defense against Rh1-b1-b6.} 1-0 [Event "17th ch-EUR Indiv 2016"] [Site "Gjakova KOS"] [Date "2016.05.19"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Black "Saric, Ivan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E92"] [WhiteElo "2686"] [BlackElo "2650"] [Annotator "Besenthal,Klaus-Günther"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2016.05.12"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. Be3 Qe8 8. dxe5 Ng4 9. Bg5 Nxe5 {[#]} 10. Nd4 {Avoiding simplifications.} Be6 11. Nxe6 fxe6 12. O-O Nf7 {Black defends d6 to follow up with ...c7-c5 spielen.} 13. Be3 c5 14. f4 Nc6 15. Bd3 a6 16. Kh1 Rb8 17. Rb1 Nb4 18. Be2 Nc6 19. Qd3 Nd4 20. Bg4 b5 21. b4 bxc4 22. Qxc4 Nc2 23. Bc1 Rxb4 24. Rxb4 Nxb4 25. Bd2 {[#] Black cannot keep the extra pawn; and the bishops pair still gives White a slight initiative.} Nd8 26. a3 Nc2 27. Ne2 (27. Qxa6 $2 Bxc3 28. Bxc3 Ne3) 27... Nxa3 28. Qxa6 h5 $2 {Black weakens his position without getting anything concrete in return!} 29. Bf3 Nb5 30. Rb1 Nd4 31. Nxd4 cxd4 32. Qxd6 {Now White is better: He has the better structure, the pair of bishops, more active pieces... } Nf7 33. Qb6 Qd7 34. e5 $1 {Paralysing Black's bishop.} Bh6 35. Bc6 Qc8 $2 ( 35... Qd8) 36. Qb5 $2 (36. Bb4 $1 Rd8 37. Be7 $18) 36... Nxe5 37. Be4 Nc4 38. Rc1 {[#]} Nxd2 $5 (38... Nd6 {was a better try but then Black had to see that he could answer} 39. Qe5 {with the computer-move} Bxf4 $1 {After, e.g.} 40. Qxd4 (40. Bxf4 $4 Qxc1+ 41. Bxc1 Rf1#) 40... Be3 41. Rxc8 Bxd4 42. Rxf8+ Kxf8 43. Bxg6 {Black should be able to draw without too much trouble.}) 39. Rxc8 Rxc8 40. Bc6 Bxf4 41. g3 Be3 42. Qe5 $1 {White has a clear advantage and wins quickly.} Rf8 43. Qxe6+ Kg7 44. Qe5+ Kh6 45. h4 Nf1 46. Bb5 Nd2 47. Bd3 Ra8 48. Qf6 Ra1+ 49. Kh2 {Diagramm [#]} 1-0 [Event "17th ch-EUR Indiv 2016"] [Site "Gjakova KOS"] [Date "2016.05.20"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2686"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2016.05.12"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nge2 Re8 8. O-O Bf8 9. Bd2 b6 10. Nf4 {A novelty at the grandmaster level. The usual move is 10.Rc1 to develop the rook and fight against the impending ...c5. Here White chooses to combine a fight against d5, preparing Rad1 once ...c5 dxc5 is played, with possible pressure against the kingside.} Bb7 11. Qf3 a6 12. Rad1 { [#]} Ra7 $3 {A fantastic move that shows just how inspired Inarkiev is. This seemingly odd move actually sets the stage for Black to fight back and play for the win himself. The point is to clear the a8 square for the queen, allowing not only Black to develop his knight on c6 or d7 without abandoning his pawn on d5, but also setting up a battery of queen and bishop on the long diagonal a8-h1. After ...c5 and dxc5, Black will then be ready to shove a nasty ...d4 of his own, when appropriate.} 13. Bc2 c5 14. dxc5 bxc5 15. Qh3 g6 16. Nce2 Bc6 17. Bc3 Nbd7 18. Bb3 Qa8 {[#] Both players have been quite consistent in their plans. White has set up pressure on d5 with some extra threats on the kingside if possible, while Black has also set up his plans. In a sense it is a bit unusual because usually grandmasters will work to impede their opponent's ideas as much as pomote their own, but here it seems a bit of a macho 'go ahead and do your worst and we'll see who is left standing.'} 19. g4 $2 {Probably even deserving of two question marks. With that battery of Qa8 and Bc6, one would think opening up the king with g4, precisely that diagonal, would be the last thing one should do. Sure enough, White will be punished swiftly for his temerity.} Ne5 20. g5 $4 {Black's threat is obvious, and Navara is certainly strong enough to sense the risk even from afar, so one can only presume a moment of utter chess blindness.} d4 $1 21. f3 dxc3 22. gxf6 c4 23. Bc2 Nxf3+ 24. Kf2 cxb2 ({The engines point out also} 24... Rxe3 $1 { though the move played by Black wins no less clearly, and possibly with fewer complications.} 25. Kxe3 Bc5+ 26. Nd4 Qe8+ 27. Nfe6 Ng5 {Quite lovely. If the queen tries a cheapo with} 28. Qh6 Qxe6+ {ends White's resistance.}) 25. Qg3 Qb8 26. Nc3 Ne5 27. h4 Rd7 28. h5 Qd8 29. hxg6 fxg6 30. Rxd7 Qxd7 31. Kg1 Kf7 32. Ne4 Bh6 33. Qh4 Bxe4 34. Bxe4 Qg4+ 35. Qxg4 Nxg4 36. Bd5+ Kxf6 37. Nxg6+ Kg5 0-1 [Event "17th ch-EUR Indiv 2016"] [Site "Gjakova KOS"] [Date "2016.05.21"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Kovalenko, Igor"] [Black "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E18"] [WhiteElo "2644"] [BlackElo "2686"] [PlyCount "134"] [EventDate "2016.05.12"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Bd2 Bf6 9. Ne5 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 Bxg2 11. Kxg2 {This line has been played by Kovalenko several times with White over the past years, so was unlikely to have been a surprise for Inarkiev.} c5 12. dxc5 bxc5 13. Qd6 Qb6 (13... Be7 14. Qd3 Qc7 15. f4 d6 16. Ng4 f5 17. Nf2 Nc6 18. e4 Bf6 19. exf5 exf5 20. Qxf5 Bxc3 21. Qd5+ Qf7 22. bxc3 Na5 23. Rad1 Nxc4 24. Rfe1 Rfe8 25. Ne4 Qxd5 26. Rxd5 Re7 27. Kf3 Rae8 28. Re2 Kf8 29. g4 a5 30. h4 a4 31. f5 Re5 32. Rxe5 Nxe5+ 33. Kf4 Nd3+ 34. Kf3 Ne5+ 35. Kf4 Nd3+ 36. Kf3 Ne5+ {1/2-1/2 (36) Kovalenko,I (2650) -Kryvoruchko,Y (2700) Poland 2015}) 14. Rad1 Qxd6 15. Rxd6 Be7 16. Rd2 d6 17. Nd3 a5 {The novelty. Previously ...Nc6 had been the preference in three grandmaster games, but it could easily transpose. White stands a bit better thanks to the slight weakness on d6, Black's worse bishop and the half-open d-file for his rooks.} (17... Nc6 18. e4 Rfd8 19. Rfd1 Kf8 20. f4 Rac8 21. b3 Bf6 22. e5 Be7 23. exd6 Rxd6 24. Nb2 Rcd8 25. Rxd6 Rxd6 26. Rxd6 Bxd6 27. Nd3 f6 28. Kf3 Ke7 29. Bd2 Nb8 30. Be3 Nd7 31. b4 a6 32. b5 Kd8 33. a4 Kc7 34. a5 Kb7 35. Ke2 h5 36. Bd2 g6 37. Bc3 Ka7 38. Kf3 Kb7 39. h3 Ka7 40. g4 hxg4+ 41. hxg4 Kb7 42. Nb2 Ka7 43. Nd3 Kb7 44. Ke3 Ka7 45. Ne1 f5 46. gxf5 gxf5 47. Nf3 Kb7 48. Nh4 Be7 49. Ng6 Bd8 50. Kd3 Ka7 51. Nh8 Kb7 52. Nf7 Be7 53. Ke3 Ka7 54. Ng5 e5 55. Nf7 exf4+ 56. Kxf4 axb5 57. cxb5 Nb6 58. Kxf5 Na4 59. Be1 Bf8 60. Ne5 Bg7 61. Nc4 Bc3 62. b6+ Kb7 63. Nd6+ Ka6 64. b7 Ka7 65. a6 Bxe1 66. Nc8+ Kb8 67. Ne7 Kc7 68. Nc6 {1-0 (68) Kovalenko,I (2611)-Berkes,F (2665) Zalakaros 2014}) 18. f4 Nd7 {[#]} 19. Ne5 $1 {An excellent move that forces Black to retreat his knight (though so will White).} Nb8 $1 ({Taking with} 19... Nxe5 20. fxe5 dxe5 {isn't really an option as it allows White to penetrate with his rook and that can only be bad news.} 21. Rd7 Bf6 22. e4 {and now after} Rfd8 { White forces Black to chase his rook around, for which he will cause a bit more grief.} 23. Rc7 Rdc8 24. Rb7 Rcb8 25. Rb5 Rxb5 26. cxb5 a4 27. Rd1 Rb8 28. Rd7 Rxb5 29. Ra7 {and after the a-pawn fall, the queenside majority and incredibly active white rook will cause no end of problems for Black.}) 20. Ng4 f5 21. Nf2 Nd7 22. e4 Nb6 23. exf5 Nxc4 24. Re2 Rxf5 25. Rxe6 Bf8 26. Rfe1 ({ Although White still has the edge, it is a tenuous one at best, requiring razor precision to maintain.} 26. Rc1 d5 27. Nd3 a4 28. b3) 26... Rf7 27. Ne4 d5 28. b3 Na3 29. Ng5 Rfa7 30. Be5 h6 31. Nf3 a4 {White seems a bit at a loss on what to do. His advantage has completely disappeared, and Black is the one threatening to grab the upperhand. It was time to exchange off some of the pieces and steer for a draw.} 32. Rb6 $2 (32. Bd6 {was better.} Nc2 33. R1e2 Ra6 34. Rxc2 Rxd6 35. Rxd6 Bxd6 36. Re2 axb3 37. axb3 Rd8 $11) 32... Ra6 33. Rb7 R6a7 34. Rb6 Ra6 35. Rxa6 $2 {White seems to be overestimating his chances. Repeating moves and hoping for a draw was now the way to go.} Rxa6 36. Kf2 Rb6 37. Rd1 d4 38. Nd2 Nc2 39. Kf3 Rb7 40. Rb1 Nb4 41. a3 Nd5 42. bxa4 Ra7 43. Rb8 Kf7 44. Ke4 Nc3+ 45. Kd3 Rxa4 46. Nc4 Nd1 47. Rxf8+ $2 {Did White underestimate the trouble he was causing himself, or did he just hallucinate?} Kxf8 48. Bd6+ Kf7 49. Bxc5 Ne3 50. Nb6 ({The point was} 50. Nxe3 dxe3 {and if} 51. Kxe3 Rc4 $1 52. Bb4 Rc2 $17 {and the rook is a beast.}) 50... Ra5 51. Bb4 Rh5 52. a4 $2 {There was no need to leave the pawn. The minor pieces will have trouble challenging the rook, giving Black time to regroup and centralize his king.} (52. h4 {was better.} Ke6 53. a4 Nd5 54. Nxd5 Kxd5 55. Be1) 52... Rxh2 { Now White's position falls apart very quickly.} 53. a5 Ra2 54. Na8 Ke6 55. Ke4 Ra4 56. Nc7+ Kd7 57. Na6 Kc6 58. Bf8 Rxa5 59. Nb4+ Kb5 60. Nd3 Kc4 61. Bxg7 Nf5 62. Ne5+ Rxe5+ 63. Bxe5 d3 64. Kxf5 d2 65. Kf6 d1=Q 66. f5 Kd5 67. Bf4 Qh5 0-1 [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Jobava, Baadur"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B65"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2661"] [Annotator "Kavutskiy,Kostya"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2015.04.04"] [WhiteTeam "Czech Republic"] [BlackTeam "Georgia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CZE"] [BlackTeamCountry "GEO"] [WhiteClock "0:41:34"] [BlackClock "1:44:14"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O O-O 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Bd7 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Qxd6 Bc6 13. Qxd8 Rfxd8 14. Bb5 Bxc3 15. Bxc6 Bxb2+ 16. Kxb2 bxc6 17. Rxd8+ Rxd8 18. Kc3 {White has a small advantage here, mainly due to his king's proximity to the center and queenside.} Kf8 19. Rb1 Ke7 20. e5 h5 21. a4 Rd5 22. Rb7+ Rd7 23. Rb8 Rd8 24. Rb4 Rd5 25. g3 Rc5+ 26. Kb3 Rd5 27. c4 Rd2 $6 ({Better was} 27... Rd3+ 28. Kc2 Rd7 29. a5 Kd8 {transferring the king to the queenside, keeping White's rook at bay.}) 28. a5 $1 {White has a clear advantage due to better piece placement and having more space.} Kd8 (28... Rxh2 $2 {would lose after} 29. Rb7+ Kf8 30. Rxa7 Rh1 31. Kb4 {and the a-pawn is too strong.}) 29. Rb8+ Kc7 30. Rf8 Rd7 31. Kb4 a6 32. Kc5 {Now White's rook and king are superb, and Navara converts effortlessly:} g6 33. Ra8 Kb7 34. Rf8 Kc7 35. h3 Kb7 36. g4 hxg4 37. hxg4 Kc7 38. Ra8 Kb7 39. Rh8 Kc7 40. Rh1 Rd2 41. Rh7 Rd7 42. g5 ({Jobava resigned in view of} 42. g5 Re7 43. Rh2 Rd7 44. Rb2 $1 {Followed by Rb6, winning the a & c-pawns.}) 1-0 [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Ter-Sahakyan, Samvel"] [Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2601"] [BlackElo "2715"] [Annotator "Kavutskiy,Kostya"] [PlyCount "143"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2015.04.04"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] [WhiteClock "0:02:14"] [BlackClock "0:06:21"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bd3 Ngf6 6. Re1 b5 7. c4 g5 $5 { This move was introduced by Topalov in the 2015 Sinquefield Cup, defeating Carlsen in a complex game.} 8. Nxg5 Ne5 9. Be2 bxc4 10. Nc3 {Carlsen's own improvement, which he used to defeat Grischuk in the 2015 London Chess Classic. } ({The original game continued} 10. Na3 Rg8 11. Nxc4 Nxc4 12. d4 Nb6 13. Bh5 Nxh5 14. Qxh5 Rg7 15. Nxh7 {with an extremely unclear position where Black eventually came out on top, Carlsen-Topalov, Saint Louis 2015.}) 10... Bh6 { The first new move of the game, though it does not work out well for Ponomariov.} ({After} 10... Rb8 11. Rf1 h6 12. Nf3 Nd3 13. Ne1 Nxb2 14. Bxb2 Rxb2 15. Bxc4 {Carlsen eventually managed to win an exciting game, Carlsen-Grischuk, London 2015.}) 11. Nf3 Nd3 12. Bxd3 cxd3 13. e5 $1 {Opening the e-file for White's use.} dxe5 14. Nxe5 Kf8 15. Qf3 $1 Be6 16. Nxd3 Rg8 17. Ne5 Nd5 18. g3 {White already has a huge advantage, with an extra pawn and safer king.} (18. Ne4 {was very strong, threatening Nxc5.}) 18... Rc8 19. d3 Bg7 20. Bg5 f6 21. Ng6+ hxg6 22. Rxe6 Nb4 23. Be3 Kf7 24. Qe4 ({Stronger was} 24. Qg4 $1 Qxd3 25. Re1 {when White is ready to break through along the e-file. }) 24... Qd7 25. Rb6 Rgd8 26. Rd1 Nxd3 27. Qc4+ Kf8 28. Rxa6 Qf5 29. Qe4 Qxe4 30. Nxe4 c4 31. Nc5 Nxc5 32. Rxd8+ Rxd8 33. Bxc5 {Black has escaped into an endgame down a pawn, with some drawing chances, but Ter-Sahakyan shows good technique (for the most part!) to convert the full point:} f5 34. Ra4 Rd1+ 35. Kg2 Rc1 36. Rb4 Kf7 37. a4 c3 38. bxc3 Rxc3 39. Bb6 Ra3 40. a5 Bc3 41. Rb5 Ra2 42. h4 e5 43. Rc5 Bd4 44. Rc7+ Kf6 45. Rc6+ Kg7 46. Bxd4 exd4 47. a6 d3 48. Kf3 Kh6 49. Ke3 d2 50. Ke2 Kh5 51. Rf6 d1=Q+ 52. Kxd1 Rxf2 53. Kc1 $2 {The one slip, likely in time trouble.} (53. a7 Ra2 54. Rf7 {would give White good chances to win as in the game.} Kg4 55. Rg7 f4 56. gxf4 Kxf4 57. Kc1 Ke5 58. Kb1 Ra6) 53... Rg2 $2 (53... Ra2 $1 {followed by Ra5 and g6-g5 would give Black excellent chances to draw.}) 54. a7 Ra2 55. Rf7 Kg4 56. Kb1 Ra5 57. Rg7 { Now Black is not in time to create enough counterplay.} Kxg3 58. h5 $1 { This pawn is sprinting to h8.} Rxa7 59. Rxa7 gxh5 {A last ditch effort, but White's king is close enough to stop the pawns.} 60. Kc2 h4 61. Kd3 h3 62. Ke2 h2 63. Rg7+ Kh3 64. Rh7+ Kg2 65. Rg7+ Kh3 66. Kf2 h1=N+ {Under normal circumstances R vs. N is a draw, but with the knight in the corner this is simply lost for Black.} 67. Kf3 Kh2 68. Rg2+ Kh3 69. Rg5 Kh2 70. Rxf5 Kg1 71. Rg5+ Kf1 72. Rg2 1-0 [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2686"] [Annotator "Kavutskiy,Kostya"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2015.04.04"] [WhiteTeam "Czech Republic"] [BlackTeam "Russia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CZE"] [BlackTeamCountry "RUS"] [WhiteClock "0:15:39"] [BlackClock "0:01:26"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nge2 Re8 8. O-O Bf8 9. Bd2 b6 10. Nf4 Bb7 11. Qf3 a6 12. Rad1 Ra7 13. Bc2 c5 14. dxc5 bxc5 15. Qh3 g6 16. Nce2 Bc6 17. Bc3 Nbd7 18. Bb3 Qa8 19. g4 $2 {An extremely risky advance, which could work in certain circumstances, but Inarkiev is up to the task to refute Navara's hyper-aggression.} ({A move like} 19. Rd2 {followed by Rfd1 would keep the position balanced.}) 19... Ne5 20. g5 d4 $1 {This was possibly overlooked by Navara, as Black opens the diagonal to White's king and threatens Nf3+.} 21. f3 dxc3 22. gxf6 c4 $1 {Sidelining White's bishop.} 23. Bc2 Nxf3+ 24. Kf2 cxb2 {The simple approach. White has no real threats on the kingside and is completely busted.} (24... Rxe3 $3 {was already crushing --} 25. Kxe3 Bc5+ 26. Nd4 Qe8+ {and White is in enormous trouble.}) 25. Qg3 Qb8 26. Nc3 Ne5 27. h4 Rd7 28. h5 {Navara tries to get something going but with Black's pieces so active, there is little White can do.} Qd8 29. hxg6 fxg6 30. Rxd7 Qxd7 31. Kg1 Kf7 $1 32. Ne4 Bh6 33. Qh4 Bxe4 34. Bxe4 Qg4+ $1 {Trading queens and effectively ending the game.} 35. Qxg4 Nxg4 36. Bd5+ Kxf6 37. Nxg6+ (37. Nd3+ Kg5 38. Nxb2 Nxe3 {and White loses the exchange.}) 37... Kg5 { With so many extra pawns and Nxe3 threatened, Black's position is easily winning. White resigned.} 0-1 [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Ter-Sahakyan, Samvel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D46"] [WhiteElo "2722"] [BlackElo "2601"] [Annotator "Kavutskiy,Kostya"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2015.04.04"] [WhiteTeam "Poland"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "POL"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] [WhiteClock "0:19:28"] [BlackClock "0:04:51"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 dxc4 6. Bxc4 Nbd7 7. O-O Bd6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. e4 e5 10. h3 h6 11. Be3 Re8 12. Re1 b5 13. Bb3 a6 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Qxd8 Rxd8 17. Red1 Be6 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. f3 Kf7 20. Rac1 Rac8 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Ne2 Rc8 $6 (22... Bxb2 23. Rxc6 Rd3 {would give Black enough counterplay to keep things equal.}) 23. b4 $1 {Fixing Black's pawns. White now has some weaknesses to work with.} Bd6 24. a3 Nd7 25. f4 c5 26. e5 Be7 27. Ng3 $5 {An ambitious decision, allowing Black to create a protected passer.} c4 28. Ne4 Rc6 29. Rd1 Nb6 30. Bxb6 Rxb6 31. Kf2 Rc6 {Objectively this is equal, but Wojtaszek is able to pose practical problems to his opponent.} 32. Ke3 Ke8 33. g4 a5 34. Nc3 axb4 35. axb4 Rb6 (35... Bxb4 36. Nxb5 c3 37. Kd3 g5 $5 38. f5 exf5 39. gxf5 {would be quite unclear.}) 36. Rb1 Kd7 37. Ke4 Rb8 $2 {Black had to play g7-g6 on this or the previous move.} 38. f5 $1 {Now White gets a strong passed pawn in the center, while Black's c-pawn is currently blockaded.} h5 39. fxe6+ Kxe6 40. Nd5 {On move 40 White opts for piece activity, but gxh5 was a much stronger move objectively.} (40. gxh5 {There was no reason not to take the pawn.}) 40... hxg4 41. hxg4 Rc8 42. Nc3 Rb8 43. Ne2 Rb6 44. Ra1 $1 { White again has a decisive advantage, as the rook and knight are ready to work in unison to support the passed e-pawn.} Rb7 45. Nf4+ Kf7 46. e6+ {Wojtaszek finds a mating construction:} Kf6 47. g5+ $1 Kxg5 48. Rg1+ Kh6 (48... Kf6 49. Rg6#) (48... Kh4 49. Kf3 Bd6 50. Rg4#) 49. Ng6 $1 ({Black resigned as after} 49. Ng6 {White threatens Kf5 and Rh1, with inevitable mate. For example} Kh7 50. Kf5 Kg8 51. Rh1) 1-0 [Event "17th European Individual Championship"] [Site "Gjakova"] [Date "2016.05.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Brkic, Ante"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2644"] [BlackElo "2584"] [Annotator "Kavutskiy,Kostya"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2015.04.04"] [WhiteTeam "Russia"] [BlackTeam "Croatia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"] [BlackTeamCountry "CRO"] [WhiteClock "1:08:41"] [BlackClock "0:15:34"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 h6 6. Bh4 g5 7. Bg3 Ne4 8. Qc2 h5 9. h3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Nxg3 11. fxg3 Nc6 12. e4 dxe4 13. Qxe4 Qd6 14. Kf2 Bd7 15. c5 Qe7 16. Rb1 O-O-O 17. Ne5 f5 18. Qf3 g4 19. Ba6 $3 gxf3 (19... bxa6 20. Nxc6 Bxc6 (20... gxf3 21. Rb8#) 21. Qxc6 {is completely winning for White.}) 20. Bxb7+ Kb8 21. Bxc6+ Kc8 22. Bb7+ Kb8 23. Bxf3+ Kc8 24. Bb7+ Kb8 25. Bc6+ ({ Even stronger was} 25. Be4+ Kc8 26. Bd3 {threatening Ba6#} Bb5 27. Bxb5 Rd6 28. cxd6 Qxd6 29. Bd7+ {and White will win the queen back, plus heavy interest.}) 25... Kc8 26. Rb2 $1 ({Black resigned as after} 26. Rb2 Rdf8 27. Bxd7+ Qxd7 28. Rb8+ $1 Kxb8 29. Nxd7+ Kc8 30. Nxf8 Rxf8 31. Kf3 {White is up two pawns in an easily won rook endgame.}) 1-0