Games
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.11.05"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E05"]
[WhiteElo "2728"]
[BlackElo "2764"]
[Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4
c5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Bf4 ({Ding chose instead:} 10. Qxc4 b6 11. Ne5 Ra7 12. Nd3
Be7 13. Bf4 Bb7 14. Bxb7 Rxb7 15. Rc1 Nd5 {trying to make something out of the
small opening advantage in Ding,L (2805)-So,W (2776) St. Louis 2019}) 10... Nc6
11. Nbd2 Nd5 12. Nxc4 Qe7 {N A logical novelty. Grischuk keeps the knight in
the center in order to control the Catalan bishop. In the process he protects
the dark-squared bishop, connects the rooks and is ready to finish the
development.} (12... Nxf4 13. gxf4 Rb8 14. Nce5 ({White could have claimed
advantage with} 14. Ng5 f5 15. e3) 14... Nxe5 15. Nxe5 {Karttunen,M (2444)
-Norri,J (2351) Helsinki 2007}) 13. Bd2 Bd7 14. Ng5 {Provoking a slight
weakening on the kingside...} f5 {...which Grischuk is OK with.} 15. Nf3 Ncb4
16. Qd1 f4 {Black is playing for the initiative himself.} ({Solid and good was
} 16... Rad8 17. Nfe5 {and then:} f4 ({Or:} 17... Be8)) 17. Nce5 Be8 18. Rc1 {
Wojtaszek finds an interesting way to activate his rook.} (18. Qb3 $5) 18... a5
19. Rc4 $5 {White wants to relief the pressure on the kingside and force the
trade of the f4 pawn. In the future he may use the rook for a kingside hunt.}
b5 {In return Black plays all over the board and tries to active his
light-squared bishop.} 20. axb5 ({The computer suggests the exchange sacrifice
} 20. Rxc5 Qxc5 21. Ng5 Ra6 22. Qb1 g6 23. axb5 Qxb5 {which is not clear at
all.}) ({However, a much better move was the immediate} 20. Re4 {Then} bxa4 21.
Qb1 {builds an initiative for White. The rook on e4 is excellently placed and
the light-squared bishop is ready to assist it in the attack against the e6
pawn:} Nc6 (21... fxg3 22. hxg3) (21... g5 22. Bh3) (21... Bb5 22. gxf4) 22.
Bh3 {and in all the lines White has the better prospects.}) 20... Bxb5 21. Re4
Rad8 {Now Grishuk takes over the initiative. Wojtaszek's main problem is that
the rook cannot leave the e4 square as the pawn on e2 demands protection. And
it is very packed in the middle of the board.} 22. Qc1 ({Or} 22. Qb1 fxg3 23.
hxg3 Nf6 24. Bg5 Qc7 {which forces White to trade his dark-squared bishop
anyway.}) 22... fxg3 23. hxg3 Nf6 24. Bg5 Qc7 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Ng4 $1 {
The only chance that White has is connected with the attack against the
weakened black king.} Rc8 {Creating the threat of a capture on f2.} 27. Kh1 $6
({Better was the immediate} 27. Qh6 Qg7 28. Qh4 {although Black is ahead here
as well after} ({Note that White cannot snatch a pawn with} 28. Qxg7+ Kxg7 29.
Rxe6 $2 Bd7 30. Re4 f5) 28... Kh8) 27... Qg7 28. Nh6+ Kh8 29. Qf4 ({Or} 29. Rg4
Qa7 30. Qe1 Qe7 {with advantage for Black.}) 29... Bd7 30. g4 {All these moves
are very consistent with the general plan of a kingside attack, but wrong.} Nd5
({Black could have won material at once with} 30... f5 $1 31. gxf5 (31. Rc4 $2
fxg4 {drops at least a piece for White.}) 31... exf5 32. Re5 Bd6 {trapping the
rook.}) 31. Qh2 Rb8 {It is very hard to call this obvious move a mistake.
Grischuk activates his rook and hits the weakness on b2.} ({However, instead
he could have activated his bishop first:} 31... Bb6 $3 32. Nd4 Bc7 {Thus
stopping all of White's dreams about kingside action. After} 33. Qh4 Nf4 34.
Bf3 Qg5 {Black completely dominates the board. Without the queens on, all
White's drawbacks will become obvious: the trapped pieces on e4 and h6. Black
is winning.}) 32. g5 fxg5 ({White would also develop an initiative after} 32...
Rxb2 33. Rg4 f5 34. Rc4 Ba7 35. g6) 33. Nf7+ $3 {Wojtaszek lived to deliver
this blow. It does not win the game but provides enough attack to keep the
balance.} Qxf7 ({Here is where we see one of the hidden drawbacks behind the
obvious Rb8 move:} 33... Rxf7 $2 34. Qxb8+) 34. Nxg5 Qg6 35. Nxh7 $1 {The
point behind the sacrifice. The black king is stripped.} Qxh7 $1 {Grischuk
decides to give back the queen at once but to save-guard his Majesty.} ({
Instead} 35... Kg7 36. Nxf8 Rxf8 37. Rh4 {would be roughly balanced, for
example:} Nf6 38. Bf3 Kf7 39. Rg1 Qc2 40. Rh6 Ke7 41. Qe5 Rf7 42. Rxf6 Rh7+)
36. Rh4 Qxh4 37. Qxh4+ Kg7 38. Be4 ({Also interesting was} 38. Bf3 $5 Rxf3 ({
Not} 38... Rh8 39. Rg1+ Kf7 40. Bh5+ {which wins for White.}) 39. Rg1+ Kf7 40.
Qh7+ Ke8 41. exf3 Kd8 {The only one to play for the win is Black though.})
38... Kf7 39. Rg1 Nf6 ({Wojtaszek's attacking potential should not be
underestimated:} 39... Rh8 $2 40. Bg6+ Kg7 41. Be8+ $1) 40. Qh6 {The last move
in time-trouble allows Black a chance to play for a win again.} ({The brilliant
} 40. Rg7+ $3 {was forcing a perpetual:} Kxg7 ({Also} 40... Ke8 41. Qg3 Rc8 42.
Bb7 {leads to a draw, which however Black should find:} Bxf2 $1 43. Qxf2 Rc1+
44. Kg2 Ne4 {with enough counterplay to take the material back:} 45. Qd4 Rf2+
46. Qxf2 Nxf2 47. Kxf2) 41. Qg5+ Kh8 42. Qh6+) 40... Ke7 {The last move was
tough for Grischuk as well.} ({He could have played for the win with either}
40... Rg8 $1 41. Bf3 Rxg1+ 42. Kxg1 Rg8+) ({or} 40... Nxe4 $1 41. Rg7+ Ke8 42.
Qg6+ Kd8 43. Qxe4 Rf5 {and in both cases Black's material advantage provides
him with excellent winning chances.}) 41. Rg7+ Kd8 42. Qd2 Bb4 ({Black cannnot
really play for a win as the queen is too strong:} 42... Kc8 43. Bf3 Bb4 44.
Qd3) 43. Qd4 Rc8 44. Qb6+ Rc7 45. Qb8+ Rc8 46. Qb6+ Rc7 1/2-1/2
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "Hamburg GER"]
[Date "2019.11.07"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "2719"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "chessvibes"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2019.11.05"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 h6 8. a5 O-O
9. h3 Ba7 10. Be3 d5 {N} (10... Bxe3 11. fxe3 Qe7 12. Qb3 Rb8 13. Nbd2 Be6 14.
Bxe6 fxe6 15. d4 Kh7 16. Qa2 g5 {Alekseenko,K (2674)-Grischuk,A (2759) Isle of
Man 2019}) 11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Bxa7 Rxa7 13. Re1 Nf4 14. Nxe5 Qg5 15. Ng4 h5 $6 (
{Better was} 15... Nxa5 16. Ba2 (16. Re5 Bxg4 17. Rxg5 Bxd1 18. Rgxa5 Be2)
16... h5 17. Re5 Bxg4 18. Rxg5 Bxd1 19. Rxa5 Raa8 {with roughly equal chances.}
) 16. Ne3 Bxh3 (16... Nxh3+ 17. Kf1 Nf4 18. Nd2 {is also slightly better for
White.}) 17. Qf3 Ne5 18. Qg3 $1 Bg4 ({The point of White's play was that} 18...
Qxg3 19. fxg3 {loses material for Black.}) 19. Nd5 Nxc4 20. Qxf4 Qxf4 21. Nxf4
Nxb2 22. Ra2 g5 23. Rxb2 gxf4 24. Re5 {And, after a long and forced sequence,
we see another point. Black is a pawn up, but his structure is terrible. White
has the better chances in this endgame.} Rd8 25. d4 Rd6 26. f3 Bd7 27. Nd2 b6
28. Ne4 Rg6 29. Re7 Bb5 30. d5 {In just a few moves, White has reached a
strategically winning position.} f5 31. axb6 Rxb6 32. Nc5 Kf8 33. Rh7 Kg8 34.
Rxh5 Bc4 35. Rd2 Rd6 36. Rxf5 c6 37. Ne4 $1 Rxd5 38. Nf6+ Kg7 39. Nxd5 cxd5 40.
Rd4 a5 41. Rdxf4 Kg6 42. Rf8 Kg7 43. Rb8 a4 44. Rff8 d4 45. cxd4 Bd5 46. Rfd8
a3 47. Rxd5 (47. Rxd5 {Hari resigned as it wasn't difficult to see} a2 48. Rd7+
$1 Rxd7 49. Ra8 {and White is completely winning.}) 1-0
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.11.06"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Wei, Yi"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nb3 {A fashionable line,
still. White often tries to enter a favorable version of the Keres Attack.} e6
({At the World Cup the French GM chose instead} 6... Nbd7 7. Be3 h5 8. a4 g6 9.
a5 Bg7 10. Be2 b5 11. axb6 Nxb6 12. h3 Qc7 13. Qd4 Rb8 14. Bxa6 O-O 15. Qd3
Bxa6 16. Rxa6 Nc4 {with compensation for the pawn in Svidler,P (2729)-Vachier
Lagrave,M (2774) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019}) 7. g4 b5 8. Bg2 Bb7 9. g5 Nfd7 10. h4
Nc6 11. f4 Be7 12. Ne2 {N A novelty which will hardly attract any followers.
Wei might have mixed up something in his preparation.} (12. Be3 Nb6 13. Qe2 Nc4
14. O-O-O Qc7 15. Kb1 Rc8 16. Bc1 {and eventually White won in Esipenko,A
(2584)-Keymer,V (2500) Wijk aan Zee 2019}) 12... h6 $1 {This is it! The
overextended pawn phalanx collapses and the white king is far more exposed
than the opponent's one.} 13. Ned4 ({The alternatives are no better:} 13. gxh6
Bxh4+ 14. Kf1 Rxh6 {drops a pawn without any compensation.}) ({While} 13. Be3 {
allows the typical freeing idea:} hxg5 14. hxg5 Rxh1+ 15. Bxh1 e5 $1) 13...
Nxd4 14. Qxd4 ({Apparently Wei gave up on the idea to prevent e6-e5. In the
line} 14. Nxd4 hxg5 15. hxg5 Rxh1+ 16. Bxh1 g6 {with inevitable e6-e5! to
follow.}) 14... hxg5 15. hxg5 ({Black is also better after} 15. fxg5 Ne5 16.
Bf4 Qc7) 15... Rxh1+ 16. Bxh1 e5 $1 {Vachier-Lagrave knows his stuff. Black is
clearly better.} 17. Qf2 ({Instead} 17. fxe5 dxe5 18. Qg1 Rc8 {is simply
horrible for White.}) 17... exf4 18. Bxf4 Bxg5 19. Bxd6 Rc8 {White cannot
castle and Bg5-h4 is always a powerful threat.} 20. c3 Bh4 {Solid and good.
Vachier exchanges White's best piece.} ({There was also the more aggressive}
20... b4 $5 21. cxb4 Rc6 {with the main idea} 22. Rd1 $2 ({Black also develops
strong initiative in case of} 22. Qh2 Bh4+ 23. Kd1 (23. Ke2 Rc2+ $1 {the point
behind b5-b4 is clear in this line.}) 23... Qf6) 22... Rxd6 $1 23. Rxd6 Bh4 {
winning a piece.}) ({Less accurate however is the immediate} 20... Rc6 {due to}
21. Qh2) 21. Bg3 Bxg3 22. Qxg3 b4 $1 {Now he does it.} 23. O-O-O {Wei sensibly
castles at first opportunity.} ({Instead} 23. cxb4 Qe7 24. Kf1 Rc6 $1 {will
leave the white king terribly exposed.}) ({Perhaps the last chance to try and
stay in the match was pinned with the line} 23. Qxg7 Qh4+ 24. Ke2 bxc3 25. bxc3
{Although then} a5 {leaves to a situation where a dry victory for the French
GM is the most likely outcome.}) 23... Qf6 24. Rd6 {Resigning to a draw.} ({
After} 24. Nd4 bxc3 25. bxc3 {Black has a pleasant choice between risk-free
endgame with:} Qe5 ({or risk-free attack with} 25... Rc5 {in both cases with
clear edge for Black.})) 24... Qf1+ 25. Rd1 Qf6 26. Rd6 Qf1+ {Black is much
better but a draw sends him to the next round, therefore:} 27. Rd1 1/2-1/2
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "Hamburg GER"]
[Date "2019.11.07"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D27"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2019.11.05"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bxc4 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. O-O c5 7. Bb3 Nbd7 8. e4
cxd4 (8... b5 9. e5 c4 10. Bc2 Nd5 11. Ng5 Be7 12. Qh5 g6 13. Qh6 Bf8 14. Qh3
Be7 15. Qg3 Qb6 {Perez Ponsa,F (2562)-Slipak,S (2399) Buenos Aires 2019}) 9. e5
Ng4 10. Re1 Nc5 11. h3 Nh6 12. Nxd4 {N} (12. Bg5 Be7 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Qe2 Bd7
15. Na3 Bc6 16. Rad1 Nf5 17. Nxd4 g6 18. Nxc6 bxc6 {½-½ Tregubov,P (2635)
-Guliyev,N (2507) Paris 2011}) 12... Nxb3 13. axb3 Nf5 14. Be3 Nxd4 15. Bxd4
Bd7 16. Nc3 Bc6 17. Re3 Qh4 18. Bb6 Be7 19. Rg3 Bd8 20. Bc5 Bc7 21. Rg4 Qh5 22.
Bd6 Rd8 23. Rxg7 Qxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Bxd6 25. exd6 Rd7 1/2-1/2
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "Hamburg GER"]
[Date "2019.11.07"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Yu, Yangyi"]
[Black "Jakovenko, Dmitry"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2691"]
[Annotator "chessvibes"]
[PlyCount "145"]
[EventDate "2019.11.05"]
1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. e4 Nc6 5. Be2 d5 6. exd5 exd5 7. d4 cxd4 8.
Nxd4 dxc4 9. Be3 (9. Nxc6 Qxd1+ 10. Kxd1 bxc6 11. Bxc4 Bg4+ 12. Kc2 Bf5+ 13.
Bd3 Bxd3+ 14. Kxd3 O-O-O+ 15. Kc2 Bc5 {So,W (2778)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2789)
Leuven 2018}) 9... Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Be6 11. O-O Be7 12. Qa4+ Qd7 13. Qxd7+ Nxd7
14. Bxg7 Rg8 15. Bd4 Bc5 {N} (15... O-O-O 16. Rac1 Bc5 17. Rfd1 {½-½
Zhigalko,S (2640)-Movsesian,S (2723) Khanty-Mansiysk 2010}) 16. Bxc5 Nxc5 17.
Rfd1 Rd8 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Rd1+ Kc8 20. f4 a6 21. f5 Bd7 22. Bxc4 Bc6 23. Bd5
Kc7 24. Bxc6 Kxc6 25. b4 Nd7 26. Ne4 Ne5 27. Rd6+ Kc7 28. Rd5 Nc6 29. a3 Rg4
30. Nf6 Rd4 31. Rxd4 Nxd4 32. Nxh7 Nxf5 33. Ng5 Nd6 34. Kf2 Kd7 35. Ke3 Nc4+
36. Kd3 Nxa3 37. Nxf7 Nb5 38. h4 b6 39. Ne5+ Ke6 40. Nc4 Kf5 41. h5 Kg5 42. g4
Na7 43. Nxb6 Nc6 44. Nd5 Ne5+ 45. Kd4 Nxg4 46. Nc7 Nf6 47. Nxa6 Nd7 48. Nc5 $2
({Winning were} 48. Kd5 {and}) (48. b5) 48... Nb6 49. Ne4+ Kxh5 50. Kc5 Nd7+ $2
({The only move was} 50... Na4+) 51. Kc6 Ne5+ 52. Kc7 $2 ({Here the moves} 52.
Kd6 {and}) (52. Kd5 {were winning.}) 52... Nc4 53. b5 Kg6 54. Nd6 Nb2 55. Kc6
Na4 56. Ne4 Nb2 57. Kd5 Na4 58. Kc6 Nb2 59. Nd2 Na4 60. Nb3 Kf7 61. Nc5 Nb2 62.
Kd5 Ke7 63. b6 Kd8 64. Na6 Nd3 65. Kc6 Ne5+ 66. Kb5 Kc8 67. Nc5 Kb8 68. Ka6 Ka8
69. Kb5 Kb8 70. Ka6 Ka8 71. Ne6 Nd7 72. b7+ Kb8 73. Nd4 1/2-1/2
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "Hamburg GER"]
[Date "2019.11.07"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Dubov, Daniil"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2676"]
[Annotator "chessvibes"]
[PlyCount "147"]
[EventDate "2019.11.05"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 Qc7 (6... Nh6 7.
c3 O-O 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 d5 10. e5 f6 11. exf6 exf6 12. Nbd2 Re8 13. Nb3 Rxe1+
14. Qxe1 Nf5 {Aronian,L (2758)-Le,Q (2708) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019}) 7. c3 d6 8.
h3 Nf6 9. d4 cxd4 10. cxd4 O-O 11. Nc3 Rd8 {N} (11... c5 12. e5 dxe5 13. dxe5
Rd8 14. Qa4 Nh5 15. g4 Bb7 16. Ne4 f5 17. Neg5 fxg4 18. hxg4 Qc8 {Ahmadzada,A
(2430)-Ivic,V (2510) Konya 2019}) 12. Bf4 Nh5 13. Bh2 Qb6 14. Qc2 Rb8 15. b3
Qa5 16. Rad1 Nf6 17. Qd2 Nd7 18. e5 Nb6 $2 {Blundering a pawn.} 19. exd6 exd6
20. Bxd6 Ra8 (20... Rxd6 21. Re8+ Bf8 22. Qh6) 21. Bc7 Rf8 22. Ne5 Bb7 23. Bd6
Rfe8 24. b4 Qa6 25. Ne4 Na4 26. Nd7 (26. Qf4 f5 27. Ng5 {is completely winning.
}) 26... Rxe4 $1 27. Rxe4 c5 28. Qe3 ({The engine finds} 28. Nb8 $1 Rxb8 29.
Bxb8 Bxe4 30. dxc5 {and Black's king is quite unsafe.}) 28... Bxe4 29. Qxe4 Rc8
30. bxc5 Nc3 31. Qd3 Ne2+ 32. Kf1 Qxd3 33. Rxd3 Nxd4 {After some great defense
by Dubov, Radjabov is still a pawn up. It should be a technical win, but with
limited time it's not easy.} 34. Nb8 $6 (34. Ra3 Nb5 35. Ra5 Nxd6 36. cxd6)
34... h5 35. Na6 Kh7 36. g3 g5 37. Nb4 g4 38. hxg4 hxg4 39. Nd5 Rc6 40. Kg2 Ra6
41. Rd1 Rxa2 42. Rh1+ Kg6 43. Nf4+ Kf5 44. Rh7 Bf6 45. Rxf7 Nf3 $6 46. Be7 $2 (
46. Nh5 $1 {would still have put Radjabov in the second round, because of} Kg6
47. Rxf6+ Kxh5 48. Bf4) 46... Ra1 {Now it's a draw.} 47. Rxf6+ Ke4 48. Ne2 Ne1+
49. Kh2 Nf3+ 50. Rxf3 Kxf3 51. Nc3 Kxf2 52. Bg5 Ra3 53. Bd2 Ra6 54. Bf4 Kf3 55.
Nb5 Ra2+ 56. Kg1 Ra1+ 57. Kh2 Ra2+ 58. Kg1 Ra1+ 59. Kh2 Ra5 60. Nd4+ Ke4 61.
Nb3 Rb5 62. Nd2+ Kd5 63. Nf1 a5 64. Ne3+ Kxc5 65. Nxg4 a4 66. Bg5 Kc4 67. Be7
Rb7 68. Bf8 Kb3 69. Kg2 Rb8 70. Bd6 Rb6 71. Bf8 Rb4 72. Ne5 a3 73. Nd3 Rb8 74.
Bxa3 1/2-1/2
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "Hamburg GER"]
[Date "2019.11.07"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Vitiugov, Nikita"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A14"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2703"]
[Annotator "chessvibes"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2019.11.05"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 d4 7. Bb2 (7. e3 c5 8.
exd4 cxd4 9. Re1 Nc6 10. Bb2 Bd6 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bxg3 13. hxg3 Qxd4 14.
Nc3 Ng4 15. Qf3 f5 {Artemiev,V (2761)-Korobov,A (2687) Poikovsky 2019}) 7... c5
8. b4 a5 9. bxc5 Nc6 10. Na3 e5 11. Nb5 Bg4 {N} (11... Be6 12. Qc2 Nd7 13. Ba3
Bxc5 14. Bxc5 Nxc5 15. d3 Qe7 16. Rfe1 Rad8 17. a3 f5 18. Nd2 a4 {Couso,L
(2328)-Lissang,C (2273) Stockholm 2015}) 12. d3 Bxc5 13. Rb1 Re8 14. Nd2 Qd7
15. Nb3 Bf8 16. Ba3 Nb4 17. Qd2 Bh3 18. Nxa5 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Rxa5 20. Bxb4 Bxb4
21. Rxb4 h5 22. Rb2 Ra6 23. Qg5 Nh7 24. Qh4 g5 25. Qxh5 Kg7 26. Kg1 Rh6 27. Qf3
Nf6 28. e4 $2 ({Strong was} 28. c5 $1 Reh8 29. h4 gxh4 30. Nd6) 28... Reh8 29.
Qf5 $2 (29. h4 gxh4 30. g4 Nxg4 (30... Qxg4+ 31. Qxg4+ Nxg4 32. Kh1 $1 {
is unclear.}) 31. Qf5 {offered better chances of survival.}) 29... Qxf5 30.
exf5 Rxh2 {The attack is too strong.} 31. Rfb1 e4 32. dxe4 g4 33. Kf1 d3 34. f3
gxf3 35. Nd4 Rxb2 36. Rxb2 Rh1+ 37. Kf2 Rh2+ 0-1
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "Hamburg GER"]
[Date "2019.11.07"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Yu, Yangyi"]
[Black "Jakovenko, Dmitry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2691"]
[Annotator "chessvibes"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2019.11.05"]
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. g3 e6 4. Nf3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. Re1 d5 (7...
Ne4 8. Nxe4 Bxe4 9. d3 Bb7 10. e4 Nc6 11. d4 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 O-O
14. Be3 Qc7 {Giri,A (2780)-Xiong,J (2707) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019}) 8. d4 dxc4 9.
e4 {N} (9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Qa4+ Nbd7 11. Bg5 O-O 12. Red1 Qc8 13. e3 Bc6 14. Qxc4
Qb7 {Kamsky,G (2723)-Gashimov,V (2717) Sochi 2008}) 9... cxd4 10. Nxd4 O-O 11.
e5 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 Nd5 13. Qg4 Kh8 14. Rd1 Na6 15. Nf5 $1 exf5 16. Qxf5 {A bold
decision. White will win back the knight on d5.} Nab4 (16... Nac7 17. Nxd5 Nxd5
18. Qf3) 17. Nxd5 Nd3 (17... Nxd5 18. Qf3) 18. Nf4 g6 19. Qg4 Nxe5 20. Qe2 Nd3
$6 {Unnecessary.} ({Black had time for} 20... Qb8 $1 21. Nd5 Re8 {followed by
22...Bf8 with equality, because after} 22. Nxe7 $2 Rxe7 {it's the white king
that gets into trouble.}) 21. Nxd3 cxd3 22. Rxd3 Qc7 23. Bh6 Rfe8 24. Qf3 Bf8
25. Rc1 Qe7 26. Re3 Qd7 27. Rd1 Qc7 28. Bxf8 Rxf8 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30. Re7 Qc2 31.
Rdd7 Qf5 32. Qxf5 gxf5 33. Rxa7 Rxa7 34. Rxa7 Rd8 35. Ra6 Rd6 36. Kf3 Kg7 37.
Ke3 Re6+ 38. Kd3 f4 39. a4 Rh6 40. a5 Rxh2 41. Rxb6 Rxf2 42. gxf4 Rxf4 43. b4
h5 44. a6 Rf3+ 45. Ke2 Ra3 46. b5 f6 47. Rb7+ Kg6 48. a7 Ra2+ 49. Kd3 h4 50. b6
h3 51. Rb8 1-0
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.11.07"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A08"]
[WhiteElo "2764"]
[BlackElo "2728"]
[Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. O-O e5 5. d3 d5 6. e4 {This might be
Grischuk's rapid weapon, the reversed KID.} d4 7. a4 Bd6 8. Na3 h6 {The
opening should not have been a surprise for Wojtaszek.} ({Grischuk has
experience in this line. A recent game against Caruana went} 8... Be6 9. Ng5
Bg4 10. f3 Bh5 11. h4 h6 12. Nh3 Nd7 13. Nf2 g5 14. hxg5 hxg5 15. Bh3 Qe7 16.
Kg2 O-O-O 17. Bd2 Kb8 18. Qe2 Nf8 19. Rh1 {and White looked better in Grischuk,
A (2775)-Caruana,F (2819) Stavanger 2019}) 9. Nh4 g6 {N Depriving the knight
of the f5 square, a form of prophylaxis often used by Taimanov.} ({Most likely
the players were unaware of this game:} 9... Be6 10. Nf5 O-O 11. Nxd6 Qxd6 12.
f4 Qe7 13. Bd2 Rad8 14. a5 {and a draw was soon agreed in Tauscher,K (2444)
-Leisebein,P (2434) email 2013}) 10. f4 exf4 11. gxf4 Ng4 {A necessary move.} (
{The immediate} 11... g5 {is met strongly with} 12. e5 $1 ({rather than} 12.
fxg5 Ng4 $1 {when Black firmly occupies the e5 point.}) 12... gxh4 13. exd6 {
with initiative for White.}) 12. Nf3 g5 $1 {This is all about the e5 square.
If Black manages to seize it, he will kill two birds with one stone by
shutting down the white light-squared bishop.} 13. e5 ({White cannot afford
the opening of the game with} 13. fxg5 $2 hxg5) 13... Be7 ({Better than} 13...
Bc7 14. Qe2 gxf4 15. Bxf4 Be6 16. Nc4 {when the black bishop does little to
nothing on c7.}) 14. Qe2 gxf4 15. Bxf4 Rg8 16. Nc4 Be6 17. Kh1 Qd7 {Wojtaszek
can be satisfied with the opening outcome. The position is dynamically
balanced.} 18. Nfd2 {The square strategy. Since the board is packed with
pieces and both sides have fixed wonderful outposts in the enemy camps the
knights try to occupy them.} ({After} 18. Nd6+ Bxd6 19. exd6 Ne3 {leads to
full equality, say:} ({But Black can postpone this move and play for even more
with} 19... O-O-O) 20. Bxe3 dxe3 21. Qxe3 Qxd6) 18... O-O-O 19. a5 Bd5 {
A good plan.} ({But often it makes sense to try and give a rook for the bishop
on g2 and preserve his own bishop, as in the line} 19... Ne3 $5 20. Bxe3 dxe3
21. Qxe3 ({Better is} 21. Nxe3 {although then Black certainly has compensation
after any reasonable move.} Kb8 {Even}) 21... Nd4 $1 {as} 22. Rac1 {is
strongly met with} Rxg2 $3 23. Kxg2 Bg5 24. Qf2 Qc6+ {and Black is in command.}
) 20. Ne4 ({In the pure endgame battle of the squares after} 20. Bxd5 Qxd5+ 21.
Qf3 Qxf3+ 22. Rxf3 Nb4 23. Rc1 Nd5 24. Ne4 {White is a bit better.}) 20... Qe6
21. Rae1 ({The computer is not afraid to position his king in front of a
discovered check with} 21. Ng3 f6 22. exf6 Qxe2 23. Nxe2 Bxg2+ 24. Kxg2 Nxf6+ {
with approximate equality.}) 21... Kb8 22. Ncd6 Ne3 {There you go, outposts,
all of you are occupied! Time for some trades.} 23. Bxe3 dxe3 24. Qxe3 {
A difficult to spot blunder.} ({It is about even in case of the preliminary}
24. c4 Bxe4 25. Nxe4 Nxe5 26. Qxe3 Nxd3) 24... Nxe5 ({Wojtaszek misses a
proper exchange sacrifice:} 24... Rxg2 $3 25. Kxg2 Nd4 {with a huge advantage
for Black as the first player cannot hold onto the c2 pawn:} 26. Rf2 ({Or} 26.
Rc1 Bg5) 26... Bh4 $1) 25. Nf5 Rg6 26. Re2 Ka8 {A mistake in return.} ({
It is only a bit better for White after} 26... Rdg8 {For example:} 27. Neg3
Bxg2+ 28. Kxg2 f6) 27. Neg3 $1 {Trading Black's best piece. The knights
clearly dominate.} ({Missing a way to win a clear pawn with} 27. Nxe7 Qxe7 28.
Nxc5 Bxg2+ 29. Rxg2 Rxg2 30. Kxg2) 27... Bxg2+ 28. Rxg2 Bf8 (28... a6 $1 {
was called for.}) 29. a6 $1 {Now Grischuk can definitely claim a serious
advantage as besides the better knight versus bishop he adds the better pawn
structure to his list of advantages.} bxa6 30. Re1 f6 31. Qe4+ Qd5 32. Rf2 Qb7
33. Qxb7+ Kxb7 34. Ne4 c4 {This can be named the last mistake.} ({Wojtaszek
should have tried} 34... Nc6 35. b3 Nd4) 35. d4 $1 Nc6 36. c3 {The pawn
structure is stabilized in White's favor and the weak black pawns start to
drop one after other.} Kc7 37. Ne3 {The first target is easily claimed.} a5 (
37... Na5 38. Rf5) 38. Ref1 a4 39. Nxc4 Be7 40. Ne3 (40. Ra1 {would be also
great.}) 40... a5 41. Ra1 a3 42. bxa3 a4 43. Rf5 ({Or} 43. d5 Ne5 44. Nf5 {
with a win.}) 43... Rb8 44. Nd5+ Kd7 45. Nb4 Nd8 ({The last chance, albeit
insufficient was} 45... Nxb4 46. axb4 Ra8) 46. Ra5 Rg4 47. Re1 Rb6 48. Ra7+ Rb7
49. Rxa4 Ne6 50. Ra6 Rb5 51. Rxe6 $1 {A petite combinaison à la Capablanca to
finish a fine positional game.} (51. Rxe6 {Black resigned due to} Kxe6 52. Nf2+
Kf5 53. Nxg4 Bxb4 54. Ne3+) 1-0
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.11.08"]
[Round "10.1"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E61"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. Be2 c5 6. d5 {A modern
Anti-Gruenfeld trend. White is ready to transpose into the Benoni, even though
he is a tempo down!} d6 7. Nc3 e6 8. Nd2 ({White can omit the e3-e4 move
altogether like Wojtaszek did recently:} 8. O-O exd5 9. cxd5 Bg4 10. h3 Bxf3
11. Bxf3 Nbd7 12. Bd2 a6 13. a4 c4 14. b4 cxb3 15. Qxb3 {Wojtaszek,R (2748)
-Tari,A (2630) Isle of Man 2019}) 8... Na6 9. O-O Re8 10. e4 Nc7 11. a4 {
Basically, White is ready to argue that the maneuver Nb8-a6-c7 isn't that
effective for Black. Topalov's last move prevents the possible b7-b5 advance
after the trade in the center. But it also has a drawback as it weakens the b4
square.} b6 ({It is too early for} 11... Na6 12. dxe6 fxe6 (12... Rxe6 13. f3 {
is also a bit better for White.}) 13. e5 $1) 12. Re1 Na6 {N Vachier-Lagrave
decided that the moment for the maneuver had come.} ({An earlier game saw}
12... a6 13. a5 b5 14. dxe6 Rxe6 15. Nb3 Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Rxe4 17. cxb5 Nxb5 18.
Nxc5 Rxe2 19. Rxe2 Nd4 {Fedoseev,V (2658)-Shankland,S (2666) St. Louis 2017})
13. h3 ({Now in case of} 13. dxe6 Rxe6 14. f3 Nb4 {Black can argue that the
position of the rook on e1 is beneficial for him. He can often search for a
fork on c2, say after a possible f7-f5 breaks.}) 13... Nb4 14. Ra3 {The rook
is ready to be transferred towards the center or the kingside.} exd5 {
Clarifying the position in the center.} ({Black can also do something useful,
like} 14... a6 15. Bf1 Ra7 {waiting for a better moment to swap the pawns.})
15. cxd5 a6 16. Bf1 Nd7 17. Na2 Ra7 $1 {In the Benoni Black is often ready to
trade on the b4 and d4 squares in order to either open a file for his rooks,
or an outpost for his knight.} ({The text move is better than} 17... Nxa2 18.
Rxa2 Rb8 19. b3 {when White is somewhat better.}) 18. Nc4 ({The outpost will
be successfully occupied after} 18. Nxb4 cxb4 19. Rae3 Nc5) 18... Ne5 19. Nxe5
Bxe5 20. Nxb4 cxb4 21. Rf3 (21. Ra2 {looks passive:} Bd7 22. Be3 a5 {when the
white rook does not have work to do.}) 21... Bd7 22. b3 b5 {The doubled black
pawns do a tremendously good job both depriving the white pieces of squares
along the c-file and providing some outposts for the black pieces. On the
other hand Vachier-Lagrave can be happy with the trade of the knights as this
makes White's planned kingside attack difficult to execute.} 23. Be3 (23. axb5
{gives Black more options:} axb5 ({Or} 23... Bxb5 24. Be3 Ra8)) 23... Ra8 ({
Black can also undouble if he wishes:} 23... Rb7 24. axb5 Bxb5 25. Bxb5 Rxb5 {
but he prefers to keep the a-file available for his rook.}) 24. axb5 axb5 25.
Bd4 Ra2 26. Re2 {Topalov hurries to get rid of the annoying piece.} ({However,
there was the idea of using this rook for tempo-gainers:} 26. Bxe5 $1 dxe5 ({Or
} 26... Rxe5 27. Qb1 Qa5 28. Qc1 $5 {Intending Qc1-f4 with realistic kingside
threats.}) 27. Qb1 Qa5 28. Rc1 {The powerful, defended passer and the play
along the c-file makes White's perspective better.}) 26... Rxe2 27. Bxe2 Qe7
28. Re3 $1 {True to himself Topalov plays for a win.} ({Instead} 28. Rd3 f5 29.
Bf3 fxe4 30. Bxe4 {would have slowly petered into a draw.}) 28... Bf4 29. Bf3 {
The point behind Topalov's previous move.} ({The chicken-hearted} 29. Rd3 f5 $1
{leads to trouble for White.}) 29... Bxe3 30. Bxe3 Rc8 31. Qd4 {The exchange
sacrifice is one of the trademarks of the former world champion. He can
finally exploit the weakness of the doubled pawns while combining threats
against the enemy king on the dark squares.} Qe5 32. Qa7 ({White also has
enough compensation for the exchange after} 32. Qxb4 Ra8 33. g3 Bxh3 34. Bd4)
32... Be8 33. g3 Rc3 {In the arising time-trouble, Vachier-Lagrave maximally
sharpens the play.} 34. Bd4 ({From a practical point of view, a better chance
was} 34. Bf4 Qf6 35. Qb8 {True, then} Rxf3 36. Qxe8+ Kg7 37. e5 Qf5 38. exd6
Qxd5 39. d7 Qd1+ 40. Kg2 {also leads to a draw by force thanks to the
excellent idea} Rxf4 $1 41. gxf4 (41. d8=Q $4 {leads to mate:} Qf3+ 42. Kg1
Qxf2+ 43. Kh1 Qf1+ 44. Kh2 Rf2#) 41... Qd5+ 42. Kg3 Qd3+ 43. f3 Qd1 $1 {
when White cannot avoid the perpetual as once again the promotion to a queen
loses:} 44. d8=Q $4 Qg1+ 45. Kh4 Qf2+ 46. Kg4 h5+ 47. Kg5 Qg3#) 34... Qg5 35.
Be2 ({Again, a better move seems to be} 35. h4 Qd2 36. Be3 {when the game also
heads to a draw after both} Rxe3 ({or the preliminary} 36... Qe1+ 37. Kg2 Rxb3
38. Qe7 Rxe3 $1 39. Qxe8+ Kg7 40. fxe3 Qd2+ 41. Kh3 b3 42. Qxb5 b2 43. Be2 b1=Q
44. Qxb1 Qxe2 {with a draw.}) 37. fxe3 ({Black does not risk anything after}
37. Qxe3 Qxe3 38. fxe3) 37... Kf8 {with equality.}) ({Not as good is} 35. Kg2
Rxb3) 35... Qd2 ({MVL could have also responded better:} 35... Rxb3 36. Qb8
Rb1+ 37. Kg2 Qe7 {with a large advantage.}) 36. Bf1 ({With seconds on the
clock, Topalov cannot find the saving path. It involved the inhuman move} 36.
Kh2 $3 {with the main idea to meet} Qxe2 $4 ({Therefore MVL should have
resigned himself to the draw with} 36... Rxb3 $1 37. Bxb5 $1 Ra3 38. Qb6 ({Not:
} 38. Qb8 $2 Qxd4) 38... Ra8 39. Be3 Qc3 40. Bd4 {with a positional draw as
the black queen needs to stick to the enemy bishop in order to avoid the
mating net.}) 37. Qe7 Rc8 38. Qf6 {and White mates the opponent:} Kf8 39. Qxd6+
Kg8 40. Qf6 Kf8 41. d6 $1) 36... Rxb3 37. Kg2 Ra3 $1 {Vachier-Lagrave spots a
nice defensive idea:} ({Also good was} 37... Rb1 $1 {with a decisive
counterattack.}) 38. Qb6 Ra6 $1 {The counter-sacrifice of the exchange decides
the battle. Without the attack, White stands no chance against the centralized
queen and the outside passer.} 39. Qxa6 Qxd4 40. Qc8 ({Nothing changes} 40.
Qxd6 Qxe4+ 41. f3 Qe1) 40... Qxe4+ 41. f3 Qe3 42. Bxb5 b3 {The pawn promotes.}
43. Bxe8 ({Otherwise the pawn promotes:} 43. Qxe8+ Qxe8 44. Bxe8 b2) 43... Qe2+
44. Kg1 Qd1+ (44... Qd1+ {Topalov resigned due to} 45. Kf2 Qc2+) 0-1
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "Hamburg GER"]
[Date "2019.11.08"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Dubov, Daniil"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D86"]
[WhiteElo "2676"]
[BlackElo "2719"]
[Annotator "chessvibes"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2019.11.05"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8.
Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Qc7 11. Bf4 Qd8 12. Be3 Qc7 13. Rc1 Rd8 14. Bf4 Qd7
$5 15. d5 (15. dxc5 Qe8 16. Bd5 Ne5 17. Nd4 e6 18. Bb3 Qe7 19. Be3 b6 20. cxb6
Ba6 21. c4 Qb7 22. Qe2 axb6 {Grischuk,A (2746)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2711) Moscow
2011}) 15... Na5 16. Bd3 e6 17. c4 b5 18. cxb5 exd5 19. Qa4 $6 (19. exd5 Qxd5
20. Be4 Qxd1 21. Rfxd1 Bb7 22. Bxb7 Nxb7 23. g4 $5 {is actually nice for White.
}) 19... Nc4 $1 20. Bxc4 dxc4 21. Qxc4 Qb7 $1 {The equalizer.} 22. Be3 Be6 23.
Qxc5 (23. Qxc5 {Everything had been played before:} Qxe4 24. Nf4 Bxa2 25. Rfe1
Qb7 {½-½ Douven,R (2475)-Vanheste,J (2410) Amsterdam 1989}) 1/2-1/2
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "Hamburg"]
[Date "2019.11.09"]
[Round "11.2"]
[White "Navara, David"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2703"]
[BlackElo "2764"]
[Annotator "chessvibes"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Czech Republic"]
[BlackTeam "Russia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "CZE"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Re8 8. Bd2
Bf8 (8... a6 9. a3 Bd6 10. Rd1 Bd7 11. h3 h6 12. c5 Bf8 13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. dxe5
Ne4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Ba5 Qc8 {So,W (2767)-Vidit,S (2718) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019}
) 9. a3 e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. cxd5 Nxf3+ 12. gxf3 Nxd5 13. Bd3 Nxc3 14. Bxc3 Qh4
15. O-O-O g6 {N} (15... Be6 16. Rhg1 Rad8 17. Rg3 Bc4 18. Be4 Rxd1+ 19. Qxd1
Rd8 20. Qg1 Qh6 {Navara,D (2733)-Piorun,K (2634) Germany 2018}) 16. Be4 Bg7 17.
Qa4 Qe7 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. h4 $6 ({Better is} 19. Qc2 {when e.g.} Be6 {can be
met by} 20. Qc3+ Kg8 21. h4) 19... Qc5+ 20. Kb1 Bf5 {Getting to develop the
bishop makes a big difference for Black. Chances are roughly equal now.} 21. h5
$6 (21. Rc1 Qd5 22. Bxf5 Qxf5+ 23. Ka1) 21... b5 $1 22. Qa6 $6 ({If Navara had
seen Black's next move, he would for sure have played} 22. Qd4+ Qxd4 23. Rxd4
c5 24. h6+ Kf8 25. Rd5 Rxe4 26. Rxf5 gxf5 27. fxe4 fxe4 28. Kc2) 22... Rxe4 $1
{Winning a very healthy pawn.} 23. h6+ Kf8 24. fxe4 Bxe4+ 25. Ka1 Bxh1 26. Qf6
(26. Rxh1 Qb6 $1 27. Qxb6 axb6 28. Rd1 Ke7 {is a technically winning endgame,
so Navara tries something else.}) 26... Bc6 27. e4 b4 28. axb4 Qb5 29. b3 a5
30. Kb2 axb4 31. Rd2 Qc5 32. Rd3 Re8 33. Qg7+ Ke7 34. Rf3 Kd8 35. Rxf7 Bxe4 36.
Qf6+ Kc8 0-1
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.11.09"]
[Round "11.4"]
[White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"]
[Black "Yu, Yangyi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D94"]
[WhiteElo "2748"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nc3 g6 5. d4 Bg7 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O Ne4 {
A relatively rare move. Far more popular alternatives in the Schlechter line
are:} (7... Bg4) (7... Nbd7) (7... dxc4) 8. Nxe4 ({Black could not solve the
opening problems in the following game:} 8. a4 b6 9. a5 Ba6 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11.
Ng5 e5 12. Nxe4 exd4 13. exd4 Bxd4 14. Bg5 {Bu,X (2712)-Van Wely,L (2642)
Batumi 2018}) 8... dxe4 9. Nd2 c5 {N The logical followup that justifies the
knight's jump in the center turns out to be a novelty.} ({An earlier game saw
Black attacking it with the other pawn:} 9... f5 10. f3 e5 11. d5 exf3 12. gxf3
Qg5+ 13. Kh1 Qxe3 14. Nb3 Qb6 15. Bg5 cxd5 16. cxd5 Bf6 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. d6
Rd8 19. Qd5+ Kg7 20. Rfd1 {with compensation for the pawn in Mozetic,D (2540)
-Matulovic,M (2445) Novi Sad 1995}) 10. dxc5 f5 11. Rb1 a5 12. a3 a4 13. b4
axb3 14. Nxb3 Qxd1 15. Rxd1 {All these moves seem quite logical. It is obvious
that the extra white pawn will not survive for long. The question is, Will
Duda make something out of its energy?} Nd7 16. Kf1 h5 17. Bd2 Rxa3 18. Na5
Nxc5 {Not the most accurate solution, at least according to the computer.} ({
The machine thinks that White does not have any serious threats and suggests
something useful instead, such as:} 18... Kf7 19. Nxb7 ({Black is also OK after
} 19. c6 bxc6 20. Nxc6 Ra6 21. Nb4 Ra7) 19... Ra6 20. Be1 Bxb7 21. Rxd7 (21.
Rxb7 Nxc5) 21... Bc6 {In all the lines the evaluation of the position is about
zero.}) 19. Bb4 {With another forcing sequence Duda manages to tie down the
enemy pieces.} Ra2 20. Bxc5 Rxa5 21. Bxe7 Rf7 22. Bb4 Ra8 23. Rd8+ Kh7 24. Bd6
{If White is given the chance to play c4-c5, then Be2-c4 will follow with
disaster. Therefore, Yu temporarily sacrifices a pawn at once:} Rd7 25. Rxd7
Bxd7 {To get out of the pin. The pawn cannot be touched yet, but after White's
next move...} 26. g4 $1 {...it becomes clear that Black is under pressure.
Duda opens air for his king with tempo.} ({Of course, not the immediate} 26.
Rxb7 $4 Ra1+ {that drops both white bishops.}) 26... fxg4 $1 {The best defense.
} ({Worse for Black is} 26... hxg4 27. Rxb7 Bc8 28. Re7 Kh6 29. c5) ({Or} 26...
Bc6 27. gxf5) 27. Rxb7 Bc8 28. Re7 {Missing a chance to build an advantage.} ({
A better square for the rook is} 28. Rc7 $1 {with the idea} Kh6 29. Bf4+ g5 30.
Rc6+ $1 Kh7 31. Bxg5) 28... Kh6 29. Bf4+ g5 30. Bxg5+ Kxg5 31. Rxg7+ {Duda
also won a pawn but allowed the black king too much activity.} Kh4 $1 32. Rg8
Kh3 $4 {Just close to the draw and the rapid, Yu walks into a devilish trap.} (
{After the correct} 32... Ra1+ 33. Kg2 Bf5 34. Rd8 Rc1 35. Rd5 Kg5 36. c5 h4
37. Bd1 Kf6 {the game would have most likely ended in a draw.}) 33. Bxg4+ $3 {
A study-like blow! White wins the house.} ({Black must have only anticipated}
33. Bd1 $2 Ra1 34. Ke1 Be6 35. Rh8 h4 {when he does not risk to lose.}) ({Or}
33. Kg1 Ra1+ 34. Bf1+ Rxf1+ 35. Kxf1 Be6 36. Rg5 Bxc4+ 37. Kg1 h4 {that should
be a fortress.}) 33... Kh4 ({Otherwise:} 33... hxg4 34. Rh8#) 34. Rxc8 Ra1+ 35.
Kg2 hxg4 36. Re8 1-0
[Event "Hamburg FIDE Grand Prix"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.11.12"]
[Round "20.1"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A17"]
[WhiteElo "2764"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. Nf3 (1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2
Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 Be6 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. Ne1 d4 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Ne4 Qe7
14. Nxc5 Qxc5 15. Nd3 Qb6 16. Nf4 Qxb2 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Rb1 Qxa2 19. Rxb7 Qa6
20. Qb3 Nd8 21. Rd7 Rc8 22. Qb2 e5 23. Ra1 Qf6 24. e3 dxe3 25. fxe3 Nc6 26. Qd2
Nb8 27. Rdxa7 Rcd8 28. Qe2 h6 29. Be4 Rd7 30. Ra8 Rdd8 31. Rf1 Qd6 32. Rxf8+
Rxf8 33. Kg2 Qb4 34. Qd3 Kh8 35. Ra7 Qb2+ 36. Kh3 Qb6 37. Ra8 Rd8 38. Qc4 Nd7
39. Qc6 Rxa8 40. Qxa8+ Nb8 41. Qd5 Qc7 42. Bf5 Nc6 43. Qc4 Qd6 44. Qf7 Qd8 45.
Qg6 {1-0 Rubinstein,A-Tarrasch,S Karlsbad 1923}) 1... Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 d5 4.
cxd5 Nxd5 5. e3 e6 6. Bc4 ({More common is} 6. d4 cxd4 7. exd4 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Qc7
9. Bd2 Bd6 10. Bd3 Nd7 11. O-O O-O 12. a4 b6 13. Re1 {as in Karjakin,S (2748)
-Dubov,D (2700) Moscow 2019}) 6... Be7 {An achievement for Grischuk. He
deprived his opponent of his Gruenfeld bishop.} 7. O-O O-O 8. Qe2 Nc6 9. Rd1 b6
{N} ({An earlier game saw} 9... Nb6 10. Bb5 Bd7 11. d4 cxd4 12. exd4 Nb4 13.
Bxd7 Qxd7 14. Ne5 Qe8 15. a3 N4d5 16. Rd3 f5 17. Bd2 Bf6 {Eljanov,P (2755)
-Harikrishna,P (2766) Wijk aan Zee 2017. Most likely the Russian GM had
prepared something along the way, though.}) 10. d4 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Qc7 12. e4 Rd8
{A position similar to the Queen's Indian Defense came on the board. The plans
remain the same as in the Gruenfeld though: White would try to make use of his
superior center and more space to attack on the kingside, while Blackwould be
looking for counterplay on the opposite wing and eventual trades on the open
files.} 13. Be3 Na5 14. Bd3 Bb7 15. h4 {Again, a very typical move against the
Gruenfeld where White is ready to hit the enemy fianchettoe with h4-h5. But
here too, it helps the attack as it prepares Nf3-g5.} b5 $5 {Vachier-Lagrave
uses the first possibility to free himself.} ({After something normal like}
15... Rac8 {White can try} 16. Ne5 {not fearing} ({Or:} 16. Ng5 $5) 16... Bxh4
17. Qh5 Bf6 18. Ng4 Be7 19. e5 g6 20. Qh6 {with a serious attack for the first
player.}) 16. Bxb5 Bxe4 17. dxc5 Bxf3 ({More accurate seems} 17... Bxc5 18.
Bxc5 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Qxc5 {although here the French GM might have feared} 20. Rd7
$1) ({The computer, however, suggests the cool} 17... h6 {and only later, with
no hurry, to regain the pawn.}) 18. Qxf3 Bxc5 19. Bf4 $5 {This additional
possibility was not here had Black had taken on c5 first.} ({On the other hand,
Grischuk could have also switched to the aforementioned line with} 19. Bxc5
Qxc5 20. Rd7 {which also looks better for him.}) 19... Qb7 20. Qe2 ({It is too
early to release the pressure with} 20. Qxb7 Nxb7 21. Bc6 {Black can free
himself from the pin at once:} Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Rd8 {and get closer to the draw.}
) 20... Qe7 21. h5 Bd6 {Sensibly swapping off the bishop pair.} ({However, a
move like} 21... h6 $5 {would be also highly desirable. The air opened for the
king will be very handy after} 22. Qf3 Nb7 23. Bc6 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Rd8 25. Bxb7
({Here} 25. Rxd8+ $1 {preserves advantage for White.}) 25... Rxd1+ 26. Qxd1
Qxb7 27. Qd8+ Kh7 {with equality.}) 22. Bxd6 {Grischuk is OK with it as he
gets the open file in return.} Rxd6 23. Rxd6 Qxd6 24. Rd1 Qc5 25. Rd7 $3 {
White sacrifices a pawn and starts attacking on both flanks. This situation
somehow reminds me of the famous Rubinstein-Tarrasch game where the great
Polish GM also sacrificed a pawn or two for similar domination. Grischuk has
more active major pieces and is ready for the kingside assault. But there is
also the excluded black knight on a5, which may often fall victim to the enemy
pieces (Tarrasch also had exacty the same knight).} ({Also interesting was} 25.
h6 $1 Qxc3 26. Qe4) 25... Qxc3 26. Qd1 {As usual, the Russian GM was very low
on time and wanted to play somewhat safe.} ({Had he had some extra time on the
clock, he might have gone for} 26. Qe4 $1 {The lines are clearly favorable for
White:} Rf8 ({Or} 26... Qc1+ 27. Bf1 Qc6 28. Qd3 Nb7 29. h6 gxh6 30. Qg3+ Kf8
31. Rc7 Qb6 32. Qc3 Kg8 33. Rc4 $1 {with a sudden kingside switch and a
decisive attack.}) 27. h6 {Now if Black tries to stop the kingside attack with}
Qc1+ 28. Bf1 Qxh6 29. Qa4 Qg5 30. Rxa7 {he might ended up losing his queenside
knight!}) 26... h6 $1 {Vachier-Lagrave grasps his chance!} 27. g3 Rf8 {And
plays solidly in return.} ({It might have been better though to put the rook
on a more active spot with} 27... Rc8 $5 28. a4 {and bring the knight out at
once:} (28. Bf1 $5) 28... Nc4 {True, the rook on c8 has some problems as well}
29. Rxf7 $1 {in particular. But then the feeling is that the position after}
Kxf7 30. Qd7+ Kf6 31. Qxc8 Qe1+ 32. Kg2 Qe4+ {should be more easy to defend
for Black than the one that he got in the game.}) 28. Rxa7 Nc6 29. Rd7 Ne5 30.
Rd8 {Once more, the extra careful approach by Grischuk. He keeps a solid edge,
without any risk.} Qc7 ({More precise was} 30... Rxd8 31. Qxd8+ Kh7 32. Qd1 g6
33. hxg6+ Kxg6 34. a4 {with a better version than in the game.}) 31. Rxf8+ Kxf8
32. a4 Ke7 33. Be2 $1 {A nice move which shows the superiority of the bishop
over the knight. This light-squared bishop in particular was a favorite of
Rubinstein as well. Now that his king is secure, Grischuk wants to support the
advance of his outside passer.} Qc3 ({More stubborn seems} 33... Qa5 34. Qc2 (
34. Qa1 f6) 34... Qe1+ 35. Kg2 Qa5) 34. Qb1 Nc6 35. Qb7+ Kf6 36. Bf1 Na5 (36...
Ne5 {will be met with:} 37. Kg2) 37. Qd7 g5 {Practically forced.} ({As
otherwise the black king might catch a cold:} 37... Qc5 38. Qd8+ Ke5 39. Be2)
38. hxg6 Kxg6 39. Kg2 Kg7 40. Bb5 Qe5 41. Qd3 {Time trouble is over; Grischuk
gets a chance to catch his breath and seek for decisive improvements.} Qc5 42.
Qf3 Qd4 43. Be8 $1 {Forcing a concession.} Qd5 {A sad necessity for the French
player.} ({Vachier-Lagrave would have been happy to keep the queens, but he
cannot adequately defend the f7 point:} 43... f6 44. Qa3 $1 Qa7 45. Bb5) ({And:
} 43... Qf6 {in order to get an improved version of the endgame can be
answered by} 44. Qh5 $1 Nb7 45. Bc6) 44. Qxd5 exd5 45. Kf3 {The question is,
can Black build a fortress or will he be forced into zugzwang?} Kf6 46. Kg4 Ke7
{A step into the wrong direction.} ({Better was} 46... Ke6 {in order to get
ready for counter play in the line:} 47. Bb5 d4 $1) 47. Bb5 Kf6 {This loses.} (
{Black should have tried the active defense} 47... Kd6 $1 {with the idea} 48.
Kh5 Nc4 49. Kxh6 Kc5 50. Kg5 d4 51. Bxc4 Kxc4 52. a5 d3 53. a6 d2 54. a7 d1=Q
55. a8=Q Qd2+ {when Black should hold the queen endgame. This line is not
forced at all, but looks like the best chance for the second player.}) 48. Kh5
{Forcing the opponent into passive defense first.} Kg7 49. Bf1 $1 {A brilliant
maneuver, which destroys the possible fortress in the center.} Nb3 50. Bg2 d4 {
This pawn is already doomed.} 51. Bf1 Nd2 52. Bd3 Nb3 53. Bf1 Nd2 54. Bd3 Nb3
55. Bb5 f6 (55... Na5 56. Kg4 {also loses the d-pawn.}) 56. Bf1 Na5 57. Ba6 Nb3
58. Bb5 Na5 59. Kg4 {Going for the d-pawn and the queenside. Black's position
is beyond salvation.} Nb7 60. Kf4 Nc5 61. a5 d3 62. Ke3 d2 63. Be2 $1 {The
last touch.} ({Not:} 63. Kxd2 $2 Nb3+) (63. Be2 {The possible finish would
have been} Kf7 64. Kxd2 Nb3+ 65. Kc3 Nxa5 66. Bf3 {followed by Kc3-b4 when the
knight drops.}) 1-0