[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.24"] [Round "1.16"] [White "Lombaers, Peter"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2314"] [BlackElo "2675"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "133"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bd3 c5 7. Nge2 Nc6 8. a3 cxd4 9. axb4 dxc3 10. b5 {Belarussian GM Aleksej Aleksandrov has played this system many times with the white pieces.} Ne5 11. bxc3 O-O 12. O-O Re8 13. Nf4 b6 14. Ra4 $5 {A very novel way to activate the rook.} Bb7 15. Bb2 Qc7 16. Qc2 $1 {The other rook is coming to a1 and overall White looks pretty well co-ordinated.} Nc4 17. Rfa1 Ne4 (17... Qb8 18. Nxd5 $16) 18. Rxa7 Rxa7 19. Rxa7 {White has won a pawn, Black has some compensation but not enough.} Qc8 20. Ra4 g6 21. Ba3 Qd7 22. Bxc4 dxc4 23. Rxc4 Ra8 24. Rd4 Qxb5 25. Bb4 $16 {Being a pawn down, Black has a long defensive task ahead.} Nc5 26. f3 Ba6 27. Rd1 Bb7 28. e4 Qc4 29. Qd2 $18 {White has strengthened his position even further.} Bc6 30. Qd4 Qb3 (30... Qxd4+ 31. cxd4 $18) 31. h4 h5 32. Qd6 Nb7 33. Qd3 Rd8 34. Nd5 Bxd5 35. exd5 Nd6 36. Bxd6 Rxd6 37. c4 Qb4 38. Qd4 {Peter has played this pretty well. Now all that he needs to do is activate his rook and combined with his d-pawn as well as threats on the black king, this should be easily won.} Kh7 39. Kh2 Rd7 40. d6 Qa4 41. Rb1 Rb7 42. Qd5 (42. Rxb6 Rxb6 43. Qxb6 Qxc4 {complicates the issue.}) 42... Ra7 43. Rxb6 $18 {[#] Two pawns up! What more can one ask for.} Qe8 44. Rb4 $4 {An extremely careless move by Lombaers.} (44. Qd4 $1 $18 {The queen guards everything and Nigel must stretch out his hand in resignation.}) 44... Qe1 $1 {A double attack!} 45. Qd4 Qxb4 46. Qxa7 Qxd6+ $11 {Now the weakness of white king is enough for Black to find a perpetual.} 47. g3 Qd2+ 48. Kh3 Kg7 49. Qa1+ Kg8 50. Qf1 Qc2 51. g4 hxg4+ 52. fxg4 Qc3+ 53. Kg2 Qc2+ 54. Kf3 f5 55. Qe2 fxg4+ 56. Kf2 Qc3 57. Qxg4 Qd2+ 58. Kf1 Qc1+ 59. Ke2 Qc2+ 60. Ke3 Qc3+ 61. Kf2 Qd2+ 62. Kg3 Qc3+ 63. Kg2 Qc2+ 64. Kh3 Qd3+ 65. Qg3 Qxc4 66. Qxg6+ Kh8 67. Qh6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.24"] [Round "1.25"] [White "Gupta, Abhijeet"] [Black "Buchenau, Frank"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2645"] [BlackElo "2274"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nf3 cxd4 7. O-O Bc5 8. Nxd4 {I would already count this as a very favourable Catalan for White.} O-O 9. Nc3 (9. Nb3 Be7 10. e4 Nb4 11. Nc3 $14) 9... Nxc3 10. bxc3 Qc7 {White has taken on a positional weakness. In return he has excellent compensation in the form of the strong g2 bishop, pressure down the b-file and a well centralized knight. However, it is important that White play actively creating threats. Because if Black can consolidate, he would be more than fine.} 11. Rb1 $6 (11. Nb5 Qe7 $11) (11. Be3 $5 Na6 12. Qd3 Bd7 13. Rfb1 $14) 11... e5 12. Nb3 Be7 13. Qc2 Nc6 14. Be3 Be6 {Black can be happy with what he has achieved out of the opening.} 15. Nc5 Bxc5 16. Bxc5 Rfd8 17. Qa4 Bd5 18. Rfd1 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 b6 20. Bb4 h6 {Very solid and calm play by Buchenau.} 21. e4 $2 (21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Rd1 $11) 21... Nxb4 $1 22. Qxb4 (22. cxb4 Qc4 $15) 22... Rac8 $15 {White is slightly worse now.} 23. Qb3 g6 24. Qa4 Kg7 {If you were not looking at the names, you could be mistaken that the black player is Anatoly Karpov. g6-Kg7 is a typical way to slowly but surely improve one's position.} 25. Kg1 h5 26. Rd5 Rxd5 27. exd5 Qxc3 28. Qxa7 Qd4 $1 {Rc2 is a big threat.} 29. a4 Rc2 (29... h4 $1 30. Qxb6 (30. Qa6 Rc4 $19) 30... Rc1+ $19) 30. Rf1 Ra2 31. Qd7 Rxa4 32. d6 Ra5 33. Qe7 Rd5 34. Rc1 Rxd6 {Black is two pawns up now. Abhijeet had hoped for a final attack on the last rank.} 35. Rc8 Qd1+ 36. Kg2 Qd5+ 37. f3 { The position was anyway lost, but this just hastens the end.} (37. Kg1 Rd7 $1 38. Qf8+ Kf6 $19) 37... Qa2+ 38. Kh3 Qe6+ 39. Qxe6 Rxe6 {Winning a position where you are two pawns up in the rook endgame is just a matter of technique.} 40. Rb8 Kf6 41. Kg2 Rc6 42. h4 Ke6 43. Rb7 f5 44. g4 hxg4 45. fxg4 fxg4 46. Kg3 Kf5 47. Rf7+ Rf6 48. Rd7 b5 49. Rb7 Rc6 50. Rf7+ Ke4 51. Rb7 Kd3 52. Rxb5 e4 53. Rd5+ Ke2 54. Rd4 e3 55. Kg2 Ke1 56. Rxg4 e2 57. Rd4 Rc1 58. Rd6 Rd1 59. Rxg6 Kd2 60. Re6 e1=Q 61. Rxe1 Rxe1 62. Kf3 Rh1 63. Kg4 Ke3 64. h5 Ke4 65. Kg5 Ke5 66. Kg6 Rg1+ 67. Kf7 Kf5 68. h6 Ra1 69. h7 Ra7+ 70. Kg8 Kg6 71. h8=N+ Kf6 0-1 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.24"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Papp, Petra"] [Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2352"] [BlackElo "2752"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "178"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O Bf5 10. Nd4 Nxd4 11. cxd4 Re8 12. Bd3 Qd7 13. h3 d5 14. Bf4 c6 15. Rde1 Bf8 16. Bxf5 Qxf5 17. g4 Qd7 18. Rxe8 Rxe8 19. Re1 f6 20. f3 Kf7 21. Re3 g6 22. Rxe8 Qxe8 23. Kd1 Qd7 24. Bg3 Bd6 25. Qh2 Ke7 26. Kd2 (26. Bxd6+ Qxd6 27. Qxd6+ Kxd6 {What do you think about this endgame? According to me Petra should have gone for it because there is absolutely no way to breakthrough.} 28. Kd2 Ke6 29. Ke3 $11) 26... Bb4+ 27. c3 Ba5 28. Qe2+ Kf7 29. Kc2 Bd8 30. Qe3 Qe6 31. Qxe6+ Kxe6 {Of course the bishop endgame is also completely equal. Let's see how Chucky manages to trick his opponent.} 32. Kd3 b5 33. b3 Be7 34. Bb8 a6 35. Bf4 Bf8 36. Ke3 b4 37. cxb4 Bxb4 {The d4 pawn is now isolated, but the position is still equal.} 38. Kd3 Kd7 39. Bg3 Ba3 40. Kc3 Kc8 41. Bf4 a5 42. Bg3 Kb7 43. Bh4 f5 44. Bg5 Kb6 45. Bh6 Kb5 46. h4 a4 47. h5 gxh5 48. gxh5 Be7 49. Bf4 Bf6 50. Bd6 axb3 51. axb3 Kb6 52. Kd3 Bg5 53. Kc3 Kb7 54. Be5 Be7 55. Kd3 Kc8 56. Ke3 Kd7 57. Kf4 Ke6 58. Bc7 Bh4 59. Bb8 Bf2 60. Ba7 Kf6 61. Bb6 Be1 62. Bd8+ Ke6 63. Kg5 $2 {A bad move by Petra.} (63. Ke3 $1 { There is no good way for Black to breakthrough.}) 63... Bd2+ $1 64. Kh4 Be1+ 65. Kg5 Bd2+ 66. Kh4 Be3 67. Bb6 Kd7 $6 (67... Kf6 $1 {was the winning move.} 68. Bd8+ Kg7 69. Bb6 Kh6 $1 $19 {And now the bishop checks comes on f2 and the h5 pawn is lost.}) 68. Kg3 Kc8 69. Kg2 Kd7 70. Kh3 $2 (70. Kf1 $1 Ke6 71. Ke2 Bg1 72. Kd3 Kf6 73. Bd8+ Kg7 74. Bg5 $11) 70... Ke7 71. Kh4 Ke6 72. Kg3 Kf6 73. Bd8+ Kg7 {Ivanchuk hits the right plan.} 74. Kh4 Kh6 75. Bf6 Bf2+ 76. Kh3 Kxh5 $19 {The rest is easy.} 77. Kg2 Be3 78. Kg3 Bd2 79. Be7 Kg6 80. Kh4 Bc3 81. Bc5 Be1+ 82. Kh3 Kg5 83. Kg2 Kf4 84. Kf1 Bh4 85. Ke2 Kg3 86. Bd6+ Kg2 87. Be5 h5 88. Ke3 Bg3 89. Bf6 f4+ 0-1 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.24"] [Round "1.10"] [White "Bellin, Robert"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "2353"] [BlackElo "2721"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 {Whether you face Magnus Carlsen or some lower rated opponent, you have to be prepared against the London!} g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Be2 d6 6. O-O c5 7. c3 b6 8. h3 Bb7 9. Nbd2 Nbd7 {Both sides have finished their development and overall Boris should not be unhappy with his position. It is a complex middlegame where the superior player can outplay his opponent. Let's see what happens next.} 10. a4 a6 11. Bh2 Ra7 $5 {A very interesting plan of transferring the queen to a8.} 12. Qb3 Qa8 13. Rfd1 Ne4 14. Bf1 Bd5 $146 { This the first new move of the game. All this has been played before.} (14... Nxd2 15. Nxd2 Bc6 {With the idea of b5 could be a plausible idea.}) 15. Qa3 Rc7 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. Nd2 Bd5 18. Re1 f5 19. Rad1 Nf6 (19... c4 $5) 20. c4 Bf7 21. b4 a5 22. b5 Rd8 23. Be2 g5 24. Bf3 {White is slowly be steadily getting his pieces to better positions.} Ne4 25. Qd3 Bg6 26. g4 $5 e6 27. Bg2 {The bishop is now safe on g2 and hence the threat of d5 becomes real.} (27. d5 exd5 28. gxf5 Bxf5 29. cxd5 Nxd2 30. Qxf5 Rf7 $19) 27... Rcd7 $2 (27... Rcc8 $11 28. d5 Nc3 $1 $11 {And dxe6 is not going to attack anything.}) 28. Nxe4 (28. d5 $1 { would have put Black is some big trouble.} exd5 (28... Re7 29. Nxe4 fxe4 30. Bxe4 Bxe4 31. Qxe4 $16 {A pawn is a pawn.}) 29. gxf5 Bxf5 30. cxd5 $18) 28... fxe4 29. Qb3 (29. Qc2 $5 {With the idea of d5 is also very strong.}) 29... Bf6 30. d5 Re8 31. Qc2 exd5 {A draw was agreed at this point. However, White is surely better.} (31... exd5 32. Rxd5 {The d6 and e4, both the pawns are weak. Black has a long defensive task ahead and it was a good idea that Boris offered a draw and took home the half point.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.25"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Krysa, Leandro"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D15"] [WhiteElo "2491"] [BlackElo "2827"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. c5 g6 6. g3 Bg7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O Bg4 9. Ne5 Bf5 (9... Be6 {was a better move, because on f5 the bishop can be attacked with h3-g4.}) 10. h3 Nfd7 11. f4 Nf6 12. Qb3 Qc8 (12... Ra7 $1 13. g4 Be4 {was better than what happened in the game for Black.}) 13. g4 Be4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. f5 $1 gxf5 17. gxf5 (17. Rxf5 {was a very strong move.} e6 18. Rg5 (18. Rf4 Nd7 $11) 18... f6 (18... Nd7 19. Nc4 $16) 19. Rxg7+ $1 Kxg7 20. Nc4 $1 Nd7 21. Nd6 Qd8 22. Qxe6 $18 {A very interesting variation.}) 17... Nd7 18. Kh1 (18. Ng4 $5 Bxd4+ 19. Kh1 $40) 18... Nxe5 19. dxe5 Bxe5 20. Bh6 Rd8 21. f6 $5 {Everything would lose for Black except the rook sacrifice that Fabiano now plays!} (21. Rg1+ Kh8 22. Qxf7 {was an obvious candidate and it seems that White is just crashing through, until you see} Rg8 $14 {And Black holds on.}) 21... Rd3 $1 (21... Bxf6 22. Rxf6 exf6 23. Qg3+ $18) 22. Rg1+ Kh8 23. Bg7+ Kg8 24. Bh6+ Kh8 25. Bg7+ Kg8 26. Bh6+ {A great result of Leandro Krysa, but somewhere one gets the feeling that he could have beaten the World number two!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.25"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Black "Kobo, Ori"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C13"] [WhiteElo "2752"] [BlackElo "2482"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 gxf6 7. Nf3 a6 8. a4 f5 9. Nc3 Bf6 10. Qd2 Qd6 11. g4 $5 {A very interesting move by Ivachuk.} Bd7 (11... fxg4 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 14. Ne5 $44 {And White has excellent compensation.}) 12. Qh6 Be7 13. gxf5 exf5 14. Qxd6 Bxd6 {The endgame is similar to the one we see in Queen's Gambit Declined where Black goes Bf5, Qf3 Bg6, Bxf6 Qxf6, Qxf6 gxf6. We get a structure of doubled f-pawns in return for the bishop pair. Here, it's the same case. Who's better? The player who plays better!} 15. O-O-O Nc6 16. Bc4 Kf8 17. Kb1 Rg8 18. Ne5 Bxe5 $1 {A good decision by Ori.} 19. dxe5 Be6 20. Bd5 (20. Bxe6 fxe6 21. Rd7 Rg7 $15 {is already better for Black.}) 20... Rg4 (20... Bxd5 21. Rxd5 Rg2 $1 $11) 21. b3 Ke7 22. Kb2 Rag8 23. Rd2 Rd8 24. Rhd1 Nxe5 $6 (24... Rh4 $11) 25. Bxb7 $1 { It seems like Black made a bad trade winning the e5 pawn for the b7 one, but he has a trick up his sleeve.} Nc4+ $1 26. bxc4 Rb8 27. Nd5+ Bxd5 28. Rxd5 Rxb7+ 29. Kc3 {A unique case on the board: each and every pawn is either isolated or doubled!} Kf6 (29... Rf4 $11) 30. Rc5 Rh4 31. Rc6+ Ke7 (31... Kg5 32. Rxa6 Rxh2 $11) 32. Re1+ Kd7 33. Rf6 Rb6 34. Rxf5 Rc6 35. Rxf7+ Kc8 36. f4 Rh3+ 37. Kb4 Rxh2 38. Re8+ Kb7 39. Rff8 Rch6 $2 {After this move White is just winning with Rb8+ Kc6 Ra8. Ivanchuk had missed the move number 24 on his score sheet and hence thought that he had reached the 40th move. In fact they had made only 39. He let his time run out and this resulted in a loss. Quite a heart breaking defeat.} (39... Rb6+ 40. Kc3 Rh3+ 41. Kd4 Rd6+ 42. Kc5 Rc6+ 43. Kb4 a5+ 44. Kxa5 Ra6+ 45. Kb4 Rb6+ 46. Kc5 Rc6+ 47. Kd4 Rd6+ 48. Ke5 Re3+ 49. Kf5 Ra3 {The position is still playable for Black, but he has to defend accurately in order to make a draw.}) (39... Rch6 40. Rb8+ Kc6 41. Ra8 $18) 0-1 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.25"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Debashis, Das"] [Black "Adams, Michael"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D36"] [WhiteElo "2472"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. Qc2 h6 7. Bh4 g6 8. e3 Bf5 9. Qb3 g5 10. Bg3 Qb6 11. Nf3 Nbd7 12. Nd2 Nh5 13. Be2 Nxg3 14. hxg3 Nf6 15. a3 Qxb3 16. Nxb3 a5 17. Kd2 Bd6 18. Bd3 Bg6 19. Rae1 Kd7 20. Re2 h5 21. Kc2 b5 22. Nd2 Rhb8 23. Ra1 b4 24. Bxg6 fxg6 25. Na4 Kc7 26. axb4 axb4 27. b3 g4 28. Kd3 Rf8 29. Rc1 Rf7 30. e4 dxe4+ 31. Nxe4 Nxe4 32. Kxe4 Re8+ 33. Kd3 Rxe2 34. Kxe2 Rf5 35. Nb2 Ra5 36. Nc4 Ra2+ 37. Kf1 g5 38. Nxd6 Kxd6 {Black has a small edge in this position. Mainly because he can create an outside passer with h4. However, like all rook endgames this position too has a tendency to be drawish.} 39. Rc4 h4 (39... Ra1+ 40. Ke2 h4 {was perhaps slightly more accurate.} 41. gxh4 gxh4 42. d5 $1 c5 43. Rxg4 Rb1 44. Rxh4 Rxb3 {Black pawns are much more advanced, but the white king is near. White should be able to hold this one.}) 40. gxh4 $2 (40. Kg1 $1 $15 {was the correct move as now Black cannot weave a mating net around the white king like he did in the game.} ) 40... gxh4 41. Kg1 g3 $1 42. fxg3 hxg3 43. Kf1 Rf2+ 44. Ke1 (44. Kg1 Rb2 $19) 44... Rxg2 45. Kf1 (45. Rxb4 Rf2 46. Rb8 Kd5 47. Rg8 Rf3 48. b4 Kxd4 49. Ke2 Re3+ 50. Kf1 Rb3 51. Rg6 {This should end in a draw.}) 45... Rf2+ 46. Kg1 Kd5 47. Rxb4 Rc2 48. Rb8 (48. Ra4 {is better and maybe holds.}) 48... Kxd4 49. b4 $2 (49. Rb6 Kd5 50. Rb8 Rb2 51. Rd8+ Kc5 52. Rb8 {It's not so easy for Black to win.}) 49... Rb2 50. Rb6 Kd5 51. Rb8 Ke6 52. Rb7 Kd6 53. Kf1 Rf2+ $1 { Adams find a nice idea to draw.} 54. Kg1 Re2 55. Kf1 (55. b5 c5 $19) 55... g2+ $1 56. Kg1 Re7 $1 {The rook is transferred behind the pawn with a tempo.} 57. Rb8 Rg7 58. Rd8+ (58. b5 Kc7 $19) 58... Kc7 59. Rd4 Rg8 60. Rc4 Kb6 61. Rf4 Kb5 62. Re4 Rg3 63. Rf4 Rb3 64. Kxg2 Rxb4 {The white king is just too far away.} 65. Rf1 Rb2+ 66. Kf3 c5 67. Ke3 Kb4 68. Rf8 c4 0-1 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.25"] [Round "2.19"] [White "Hou, Yifan"] [Black "Zhukova, Natalia"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C19"] [WhiteElo "2651"] [BlackElo "2447"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. Nf3 Qa5 8. Bd2 Qa4 9. Qb1 c4 10. h4 Nbc6 11. h5 h6 12. g3 Bd7 13. Bh3 O-O-O 14. O-O Rdf8 15. Qb2 b6 16. Rae1 Kb7 17. Re2 Nf5 18. Ne1 g6 19. Ng2 Nce7 20. Bg4 Rh7 21. Qc1 Rfh8 22. Nf4 Rg8 23. Kh2 Bc8 24. Rh1 Bd7 25. Kg1 Bc8 26. hxg6 fxg6 27. Bf3 Rf7 28. Bg2 h5 29. Nh3 Nc6 30. Kh2 Rgf8 31. Bg5 Rh7 32. Nf4 Nce7 33. Bh3 {[#] The position is complicated. However, more often than not top players always get the better minor piece on the board after the complications. This is what happened in this game as well.} Rg8 $2 {A careless move by Zhukova that lets Hou Yifan get what she wanted. Natalia had to ask what her opponent wanted.} ( 33... Qe8 $1 {This keeps the rook on the f-file.} 34. Bxe7 Rxe7 35. Bxf5 Rxf5 $15 {Now the position is not so simple anymore as the f4 square is not an outpost. The knight can be kicked anytime with g5.}) 34. Bxe7 $1 Rxe7 35. Bxf5 $1 gxf5 36. Kg2 $16 {And just like that we see that it is Hou Yifan who is left with a clearly superior minor piece and a weakness on h5 to attack. This was a result of Zhukova not being prophylactic and not understanding what her opponent's threats were.} Rh7 37. Rxh5 Rgh8 38. Rxh7+ Rxh7 39. Re1 Qe8 40. Rh1 Qh8 41. Rh3 Kc6 42. Ng6 Qg7 43. Qg5 Kb5 44. Rxh7 Qxh7 45. Qf6 f4 46. g4 f3+ 47. Kg3 a5 48. g5 1-0 [Event "Tradewise Gibraltar"] [Site "Catalan Bay GIB"] [Date "2017.01.24"] [Round "1.7"] [White "Veselin Topalov"] [Black "Thomas Paehtz Sr"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A80"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "35"] [EventDate "2017.01.24"] 1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 f5 3. Bf4 Nf6 4. e3 b6 5. Be2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. c4 Ne4 8. Nfd2 Nxd2 9. Nxd2 O-O 10. Bf3 d5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Rc1 c6 13. Qa4 b5 14. Qb3 Nd7 { White to play and win.} 15. Bxd5+ $1 cxd5 16. Rc7 {Black resigned here in view of} Rb8 (16... Bc8 17. Qxd5+) 17. Rxb7 Rxb7 18. Qxd5+ 1-0 [Event "Tradewise Gibraltar"] [Site "Catalan Bay GIB"] [Date "2017.01.25"] [Round "2.25"] [White "Jonathan Carlstedt"] [Black "Sebastien Maze"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E62"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2017.01.24"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O Bf5 8. d5 Na5 9. Nd2 c5 10. e4 Bd7 11. Qe2 e6 12. f4 exd5 13. cxd5 Re8 14. e5 Bg4 15. Qe1 Bf5 16. h3 dxe5 17. fxe5 Nxd5 18. Bxd5 Rxe5 19. Nde4 Rxd5 20. Bg5 Qd7 21. Nxd5 Qxd5 22. Nf6+ Bxf6 23. Bxf6 Bxh3 24. Rf2 Nc6 25. Qe3 Qh5 26. Re1 (26. g4 $1 Qxg4+ (26... Bxg4 27. Rh2 {and White's queen gets to the holy land, h6}) 27. Kh2 Qh5 28. Qxh3) 26... Rf8 27. Bg5 Nd4 28. Bh6 Be6 29. Bxf8 Kxf8 30. Qf4 Bd5 31. Qd6+ Kg7 32. Qf6+ Kh6 33. Qf4+ Kg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.26"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Adams, Michael"] [Black "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2572"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "137"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Bd7 6. Qxc4 c5 7. Ne5 Qc8 8. d3 Nc6 9. Nxd7 Qxd7 10. Nd2 Rc8 11. Nf3 Be7 12. Bd2 O-O 13. O-O Rfd8 14. Rfc1 Nd5 15. a3 a6 16. a4 Bf6 17. Rab1 Ncb4 18. a5 b5 19. axb6 Nxb6 20. Qe4 Qb5 21. Bg5 N4d5 22. Bxf6 Nxf6 23. Qe3 Nfd5 24. Qe4 Nf6 25. Qe5 c4 26. Qxb5 axb5 27. Ne5 Nfd5 28. dxc4 bxc4 29. Bf1 f6 30. Nf3 Nb4 31. e3 e5 32. Rc3 Kf8 33. Ra1 N4d5 34. Rc2 {The position is round about equal. Black has played pretty well and has many ways to maintain the equality. However, the young Romanian goes wrong.} c3 $2 35. e4 Ne7 (35... cxb2 36. Rxb2 $18 {simply loses a piece.}) 36. Rxc3 {White is up a pawn and the rest was done nicely by Michael.} Rb8 37. b3 Nec8 38. Ra2 Rb7 39. Nd2 Na7 40. Ba6 Rbd7 41. Nf1 Rd6 42. Ne3 Nc6 43. Bf1 Nd4 44. Ra6 Rb8 45. Kg2 Rd7 46. b4 Rdb7 47. b5 Nc8 48. Nd5 Nxb5 49. Bxb5 Rxb5 50. Rc7 h5 51. Rd7 Nb6 52. Nxb6 R5xb6 53. Raa7 g5 54. Rh7 Kg8 55. Rag7+ Kf8 56. Rc7 Kg8 57. Rcg7+ Kf8 58. Rg6 Re8 59. Rxh5 Rbe6 60. Kf3 Kf7 61. Rgh6 Rb6 62. Kg4 Rb2 63. f3 Rb3 64. Rh7+ Ke6 65. Ra7 Rd8 66. Rh6 Rd6 67. Rhh7 Rd4 68. Rhe7+ Kd6 69. Rf7 1-0 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.26"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Gopal, G."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B94"] [WhiteElo "2785"] [BlackElo "2579"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qe2 h6 8. Bxf6 Nxf6 9. g3 e5 10. Nf5 Be6 11. O-O-O g6 12. Ne3 Rc8 {This position has been reached in two top level encounters Wang-Grischuk and Motylev-Wojtaszek.} 13. Ned5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 Rc5 15. b4 Rxd5 $5 {This is excellent preparation by Gopal who clearly understood that sacrificing and exchange will give him good chances because of the strong bishops and the safer king.} 16. exd5 Bd7 17. h4 h5 18. Kb2 Bg7 19. c3 O-O {Black is just an exchange down, but the bishop on g7 is a monster and Black's king is safe. All in all I would count this as an extremely complex position.} 20. a3 f5 21. Ka2 Qc7 22. c4 e4 23. Qd2 a5 24. b5 Qc5 25. Qe3 Qxe3 $5 {Even the exchange of queens is not such a bad news for Black.} 26. fxe3 Be5 27. Rg1 b6 28. Be2 Kf7 29. Rdf1 Ke7 30. Kb3 Rc8 31. a4 Rc7 32. Kc2 Rc8 33. Kd2 Rh8 34. Rf4 {Hikaru returns the exchange seeing that there is absolutely no way to make progress.} Bxf4 35. gxf4 Kf6 36. Kc3 Rc8 37. Kd4 Be8 38. Bd1 Bf7 39. Bb3 Rc7 40. Ba2 Rc8 41. Bb3 Rc7 42. Ba2 Rc8 43. Bb3 { An interesting duel in the Najdorf.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.26"] [Round "3.19"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Batchimeg, Tuvshintugs"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D28"] [WhiteElo "2827"] [BlackElo "2390"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 a6 5. Bxc4 e6 6. O-O b5 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. a4 bxa4 9. Rxa4 c5 10. Nc3 cxd4 11. exd4 Be7 12. Qe2 O-O 13. Bg5 Bc6 14. Raa1 Nd5 15. Qe4 g6 16. Qh4 Bxg5 17. Nxg5 h5 18. Qg3 Qf6 19. Rac1 Ra7 20. Rfd1 Kg7 21. Be4 Rb7 {Fabiano's decision at this point was very interesting.} 22. Bxd5 $5 exd5 23. Rd2 Re8 24. h4 Nd7 25. Ne2 $1 {The knight comes to f4 and White kinght's start to weave their magic.} Nf8 26. Nf4 Kh8 27. Rdc2 $16 {White has beautifully co-ordinated his pieces. That's what top players do. They just get their guys on the best squares!} Ba4 28. Rc7 Rxc7 29. Rxc7 Bd7 30. Nf3 Be6 31. Ne5 Re7 32. Rc6 Qf5 33. Rxa6 Rb7 34. b3 Kg7 35. Rd6 Rc7 36. Kh2 Rb7 37. Rc6 Re7 38. b4 Rb7 39. Nfd3 Qe4 40. Nc5 1-0 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.26"] [Round "3.20"] [White "Salomon, Johan"] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2470"] [BlackElo "2796"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. c3 Ngf6 5. Qe2 a6 6. Ba4 e6 7. Bc2 b5 8. d4 Bb7 9. a4 cxd4 10. cxd4 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. b3 Rc8 13. Bb2 {[#]} Rxc2 $1 { This exchange sacrifice is as natural as a baby's smile!} 14. Qxc2 Bxe4 15. Qe2 Bc6 16. Rc1 Qa8 17. axb5 Bxb5 18. Qd1 Rb8 19. Na3 Bc6 20. Nc4 Nd5 21. Ba3 Nf4 22. Ra2 (22. Bxd6 $1 $11) 22... Bd5 23. Rc3 Nf6 24. Ncd2 g5 25. Nxg5 $2 Bxb3 $1 26. Qf3 Qxf3 27. Rxf3 Bxa2 28. Rxf4 Nh5 29. Rg4 f5 {Black is just up a piece.} 0-1 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.28"] [Round "5.12"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2572"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2017.01.24"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Bd7 6. Ne5 Bc6 7. Nxc6 Nxc6 8. e3 Qd7 9. O-O Rd8 10. Qe2 e5 11. Nc3 Be7 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Bxb7 Bb4 (13... O-O {And Black has a fine position out of the opening.}) 14. Rd1 Nd3 15. e4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Qb5 $1 {Deac is playing quite accurately.} 17. e5 Nd5 $6 (17... O-O $1 18. exf6 Qxb7 19. Qg4 g6 $17 {And Black is better. This should haveen preferred by Deac.}) 18. Rb1 $1 Nxc3 $2 {The most natural move actually turns out to be a blunder.} (18... Qc5 $1 $11) (18... Qxb1 19. Bc6+ Rd7 20. Bxd7+ Kxd7 21. Qg4+ $18) 19. Qf3 Qxe5 (19... Nxb1 20. Bc6+ $18) (19... Qxb1 20. Bc6+ Ke7 (20... Rd7 21. Bxd7+ Kxd7 22. Qg4+ $1 (22. Qxf7+ $2 Kc8 $19) 22... Ke7 ( 22... Kc6 23. Qxc4+ $18) 23. Bg5+ f6 24. exf6+ gxf6 25. Rxb1 $18) 21. Bg5+ $18) 20. Qc6+ Kf8 21. Bb2 $1 Ne2+ 22. Kg2 c3 23. Ba3+ Kg8 24. Qe4 c2 25. Rxd3 { A brilliant game by Veselin Topalov.} 1-0 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.28"] [Round "5.6"] [White "Zvjaginsev, Vadim"] [Black "Sethuraman, S.P."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C24"] [WhiteElo "2679"] [BlackElo "2637"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2017.01.24"] 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Nf3 d5 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. Bd2 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. O-O O-O 11. g4 (11. Re1 f6 12. Bb3 Kh8 {The position should be around even.}) 11... Bg6 12. Re1 Re8 13. a4 h6 14. a5 e4 15. dxe4 Bxe4 16. a6 $1 {I like this move. It softens up the c6 knight and makes the next idea possible.} bxa6 17. Bg5 $5 {A very original move that launches a discovered attack on the knight on d5. The threat now is to take on e4.} (17. Bxh6 {doesn't work because of} Nb6 $1 $15 (17... gxh6 $2 18. Rxe4 $16)) 17... Nf6 $1 {Sethuraman sidesteps the danger.} (17... hxg5 $2 18. Rxe4 $1 Rxe4 19. Bxd5 $16 {White will recover the material with interest.}) 18. Qxd8 Raxd8 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Nd4 Nxd4 21. cxd4 Rxd4 22. Bxa6 {The position is just equal.} Re5 23. c3 Rd8 24. f4 Re6 25. Bf1 Ra8 26. Bc4 Ree8 27. Ra6 Kg7 28. Rea1 f5 29. Rxa7 fxg4 30. hxg4 Rxa7 31. Rxa7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.28"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E18"] [WhiteElo "2785"] [BlackElo "2652"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Bd2 Bf6 9. Rc1 d6 10. d5 Nxd2 11. Nxd2 e5 12. b4 a5 13. a3 axb4 14. axb4 Na6 15. Qb3 Bg5 16. e3 f5 17. f4 Bf6 18. fxe5 Bxe5 19. Nf3 Kh8 (19... Bf6 {Keeping the bishop could have been better.}) 20. Nxe5 dxe5 21. Nb5 Qd7 22. Qc3 Rae8 23. Rcd1 Rf6 24. e4 fxe4 25. Bxe4 c6 $2 {Black's position was worse, but this just hastens the end.} (25... Qf7 $16) 26. dxc6 $1 Rxf1+ 27. Rxf1 Bxc6 28. Qf3 $1 $18 {The move that Iturrizaga had missed. There's a mate on f8 and the c6 bishop is hanging.} 1-0 [Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"] [Site "Caleta ENG"] [Date "2017.01.28"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Adams, Michael"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A33"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2651"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "139"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. a3 Bc5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. e4 O-O 9. Be2 b6 10. O-O Bb7 11. Be3 d6 12. f4 Rc8 13. Rc1 Nb8 14. Qd3 a6 15. Nd4 Nc6 16. b4 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 Nd7 18. Qg3 Bf6 19. Rfd1 Qc7 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. e5 dxe5 22. fxe5 Nd7 23. Rd6 f6 24. exf6 Rxf6 25. Bd3 Rcf8 26. Rd1 g6 27. Be2 Nc5 $5 28. Qe3 (28. bxc5 Qxc5+ 29. Kh1 {It's a question what Hou Yifan had in mind here.} Rf2 30. Rg1 Bxg2+ 31. Rxg2 Rf1+ 32. Bxf1 Rxf1+ 33. Rg1 Rxg1+ 34. Qxg1 Qxd6 35. Qe3 $16 {White is clearly better.}) 28... Rf2 29. Qxf2 Rxf2 30. Kxf2 Kg7 $2 31. bxc5 Qxc5+ 32. R1d4 $6 (32. Kf1 {Would have ended the game immediately.} Qe3 33. R1d3 $18) 32... Bd5 $1 {Black is back with a fighting chance.} 33. Rd7+ Kh6 34. Ke3 Bc6 35. Ne4 Qxa3+ 36. Kf2 Qf8+ 37. Bf3 Bxd7 38. Rxd7 Qc8 39. Ra7 Qxc4 {This should be close to a draw now.} 40. h4 Qd4+ 41. Kg3 Qe5+ 42. Kh3 Qf5+ 43. Kg3 Qe5+ 44. Kh3 Qf5+ 45. Kh2 Qf4+ 46. g3 Qxf3 47. Rxh7+ $5 Kxh7 48. Ng5+ Kg7 49. Nxf3 {Even this is not an easy position to win.} a5 50. g4 a4 $2 {The critical mistake of the game.} (50... Kf6 $1 {would have led to a draw.}) 51. Nd4 $1 a3 (51... Kf7 52. Nb5 {Stops the pawns and just wins.}) 52. Nxe6+ Kf6 53. Nd4 Ke5 54. Nc2 Kf4 55. Kh3 a2 56. g5 b5 57. Na1 b4 58. Nb3 Ke5 59. h5 gxh5 60. Kh4 Kd5 61. g6 Kc4 62. Na1 Kc3 63. g7 Kb2 64. g8=Q Kxa1 65. Qc4 Kb2 66. Qxb4+ Kc2 67. Qa3 Kb1 68. Qb3+ Ka1 69. Kg5 h4 70. Qc2 1-0