Games
[Event "chess.com IoM Masters"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.20"]
[Round "1.15"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Erenberg, Ariel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2712"]
[BlackElo "2407"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4
b4 9. Nbd2 Bc5 10. Nc4 d6 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. fxe3 a5 13. Qe1 Ne7 14. Nh4 Be6 15.
Qg3 Ng6 16. Nf5 Nh5 17. Qh3 Qg5 18. Rf3 d5 19. exd5 Bxd5 20. Nd2 Bb7 21. Raf1
Rad8 22. g4 Nf6 23. Rg3 e4 24. d4 c5 25. c3 Bc8 26. Rg2 bxc3 27. bxc3 cxd4 28.
cxd4 Be6 29. Qg3 Bxb3 30. Nxb3 Rb8 31. Nxa5 $2 {Still winning, but far easier
was to target the stuck queen with} (31. Nc5 {and there's just no good
response to the threat of 32. h4.} Nd5 (31... Nh8 $4 32. Ne7#) 32. Nd7) (31. h4
{is too early} Nxh4 32. Nxh4 Rxb3) 31... h5 32. gxh5 Qxh5 33. Nc6 Rb3 34. a5 (
34. Qd6 {and Nxg7 coming up is just brutal}) 34... Kh7 35. a6 Rb6 36. Ne5 Rxa6
37. Ne7 Qh6 38. Nf5 Qh5 39. Ne7 Qh6 40. N7xg6 fxg6 41. Nxg6 Rfa8 42. Ne7 Ra1
43. Nf5 Rxf1+ 44. Kxf1 Ra1+ 45. Kf2 Ra2+ 46. Ke1 Ra1+ 47. Kd2 Ra2+ 48. Kc1 Rxg2
49. Qxg2 Qg6 50. Qh3+ Qh5 51. Qxh5+ Nxh5 52. Kc2 Kg6 53. Ng3 Nf6 54. Kb3 Kg5
55. Kc4 Kg4 56. d5 Kf3 57. Kd4 Nxd5 58. Kxd5 Kxe3 59. Nxe4 Kf3 60. h3 Kg2 61.
Ng5 Kg3 62. Ke5 Kh4 63. Kf5 Kg3 64. Ke4 Kh4 65. Kf4 g6 1/2-1/2
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.20"]
[Round "1.16"]
[White "Eggleston, David J"]
[Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C53"]
[WhiteElo "2406"]
[BlackElo "2711"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O O-O 7. a4 a5 8. Bg5 h6
9. Bh4 g5 10. Nxg5 $5 {Certainly speculative but not necessarily bad. In fact
it has been played before with the pawn on a6 instead of a5, including even in
Caruana-Nakamura (GCT Paris Blitz 2016).} hxg5 11. Bxg5 Kg7 12. Qf3 Rh8 13. Nd2
Qe7 (13... Kg6 $1 {was Nakamura's treatment.} 14. h4 Bg4 $1 15. Bxf6 Qd7 16.
Qg3 Kxf6 17. d4 exd4 18. e5+ Ke7 {and Black won eventually.}) 14. h4 Bd7 15.
Bd5 (15. Qg3 Nh5 16. Bf6+ {was one fun line given by the commentators since}
Kxf6 ({the amazing antidote is} 16... Kh7 $1) 17. Qg5#) 15... Rag8 16. Nc4 Nxd5
$1 17. Bxe7 Ndxe7 {A brilliant idea from a practical standpoint. White's
pressure is completely gone and Black can sort out his king now and launch his
pieces at White. Clearly easier for Black to play.} 18. Ne3 (18. g3 {knowing
what we know now about the coming onslaught, pawns near White' king were
precious.}) 18... Rxh4 19. g3 Rh6 20. Rfc1 {With the doubling of rooks coming
on the h-file, White prepares a king march.} Rf8 21. Kf1 {But this now lines
up perfectly with Black's last move.} f5 22. Ke1 fxe4 23. Qxe4 d5 24. Qg2 Bh3
25. Qg1 {The queen is no match for the minors.} Bxe3 {Simply to open the
f-file.} 26. fxe3 Rhf6 27. Ke2 Bg4+ 28. Ke1 e4 29. d4 Rf3 30. c4 Nb4 31. Kd2
Rf2+ 32. Kc3 R8f3 33. Kb3 Rxe3+ 34. Rc3 dxc4+ 35. Kxc4 Be6+ 36. d5 Bxd5+ 37.
Kd4 Nc2+ 38. Kc5 Rxc3+ 39. bxc3 Rf6 40. Kb5 Nxa1 41. Qxa1 e3 42. c4 Bc6+ 43.
Kxa5 Kf7 44. g4 Bf3 45. c5 Nc6+ 0-1
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.20"]
[Round "1.10"]
[White "Munguntuul, Batkhuyag"]
[Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B92"]
[WhiteElo "2422"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bg5
Nbd7 9. a4 Qb6 10. O-O h6 11. Be3 Qxb2 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. Qxd5 Nf6 14. Qd3 Qb4
15. Nd2 Qa5 16. Nc4 Qc7 17. Nb6 Rb8 18. a5 O-O 19. Rfb1 Qc6 20. Bf3 Be6 21. Rb2
Nd7 22. Nxd7 Bxd7 23. Rab1 Qc8 24. Ba7 Ra8 25. Rxb7 $1 {Essentially forcing
the next move, an exchange sac.} Bb5 26. R1xb5 axb5 27. Qxb5 Bd8 28. a6 {
White has the better chances since every single one of Black's pieces are on
the back row.} Qxc2 29. g3 Bg5 30. Bb6 (30. Bb8) 30... d5 $2 (30... Bd8) 31. a7
(31. exd5 e4 32. Be2 e3 33. Qd3 {and Black's counterplay has stalled while
White's passers have not.}) 31... dxe4 32. Be2 e3 33. h4 exf2+ 34. Kxf2 Bd2 35.
Bc5 Bc3 36. Rb8 Qf5+ 37. Kg1 Rc8 38. Qb7 Raxb8 39. axb8=Q Rxb8 40. Qxb8+ Kh7
41. Qb3 Qe4 42. Qd1 (42. Bc4 Bd4+ 43. Kh2 Bxc5 $2 44. Bd3) 42... g6 43. Kh2 Bd4
44. Bf8 Qa8 45. Bb4 Qe4 46. Qf1 Kg7 47. Be7 f5 48. Bd6 f4 49. g4 Qd5 50. Bb4
Qb3 51. Be1 Qe3 52. Qf3 Qg1+ 53. Kh3 Qxe1 54. Qb7+ Kh8 55. Qc8+ Kh7 56. Qd7+
1/2-1/2
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.20"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Sadhwani, Raunak"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C70"]
[WhiteElo "2438"]
[BlackElo "2771"]
[PlyCount "148"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 g6 5. O-O Bg7 6. c3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. d4
exd4 9. Nxd4 Bd7 10. Bd5 Nge7 11. Bg5 f6 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. Bxc6+ Nxc6 14. Bh4
Qd7 15. a4 Rb8 16. axb5 axb5 17. Ra6 Ne7 18. Qb3 Qg4 19. Bg3 Qxe4 $6 {Here we
go!} 20. Ra7 Kd7 $2 {Anand stubbornly holds on to the pawn. Against another
2700 he might be content with struggling through the slightly worse position
after} (20... Qc4 21. Qxc4 bxc4 22. Rxc7) 21. Rd1 Rb6 22. Na3 Nc8 {Anand said
he knew Bxd6 would win, but he "gambled" since he was so short on moves.} 23.
f3 (23. Bxd6 $3 Rxd6 24. Qf7+ Ne7 25. Rxc7+ Kxc7 26. Nxb5+ Kc6 27. Nxd6 Qe2 28.
Qb3) 23... Qe8 24. Ra5 Qe6 25. Qb4 Bh6 26. Rxb5 (26. Nxb5) 26... Re8 27. Nc4
Ra6 28. Rb8 (28. Rb7 {has even more venom and things turn out in White's favor
after such lines as:} Kd8 29. Qb5 Ra7 30. Rxa7 Nxa7 31. Qb8+ Kd7 32. Nb6+ (32.
Qxa7 Be3+) 32... Kc6 33. Qxa7 Qb3 (33... Be3+ 34. Kf1 Bxb6 35. Qa4+ Kb7 36. Re1
) 34. Qa4+) 28... Be3+ 29. Kh1 Rc6 30. Na5 Rb6 31. Rxb6 Nxb6 {The worst is now
over and the many-time world champ outplays his younger opponent.} 32. c4 Ke7
33. c5 Bxc5 34. Qh4 Qf7 35. Qh6 g5 36. f4 Qg6 37. fxg5 Qxh6 38. gxh6 Be3 39.
Bh4 Kf7 40. Rf1 Nd7 41. Nc6 Bxh6 42. Be1 Ne5 43. Nd4 Nd3 44. Bc3 Be3 45. Nc2
Bf2 46. Rd1 Nc5 47. Nb4 Ne4 48. Nd3 Bb6 49. Be1 Ng5 50. h4 Ne4 51. g3 f5 52.
Kg2 Nf6 53. Nf4 Re3 54. Bc3 Ne4 55. Rd3 c6 56. Rxe3 Bxe3 57. Nd3 Ke6 58. Kf3
Bh6 59. Be1 Nf6 60. b3 Ng4 61. Ke2 Ne5 62. Nf2 d5 63. Nd3 Nxd3 64. Kxd3 c5 65.
Ke2 Bf8 66. Kf3 h5 67. Ke3 Bd6 68. Bf2 Be5 69. Kd3 Kd6 70. Be1 Kc6 71. Bf2 Kb5
72. Be1 c4+ 73. bxc4+ dxc4+ 74. Kc2 Kc5 0-1
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.20"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Krishna, C R G."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A50"]
[WhiteElo "2776"]
[BlackElo "2445"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Bf4 Qb6 4. Qd2 d5 5. e3 Bf5 6. Nc3 e6 7. f3 Nbd7 8. g4
Bg6 9. h4 h6 10. c5 Qd8 11. b4 Be7 12. Bg3 O-O 13. Nh3 a5 14. b5 e5 15. Be2 Ne8
16. g5 hxg5 17. hxg5 Nc7 18. Bd1 Bxg5 19. Qh2 Bh6 20. Nf2 Ne6 21. dxe5 f5 22.
Bf4 Bxf4 23. exf4 Kf7 24. Qg3 Rh8 25. Rxh8 Qxh8 26. Ba4 Rc8 27. bxc6 bxc6 28.
Nxd5 Ndxc5 29. Nb6 Nxa4 30. Nxa4 Qf8 31. a3 Rd8 32. Nh3 Qe7 33. Ng5+ Nxg5 34.
Qxg5 Qd7 35. Nb2 Qd2+ 36. Kf1 Rh8 37. e6+ Kg8 38. Qg2 Qxf4 39. Re1 Be8 40. Nd3
Qd4 (40... Qd6 {right away was ever better since now the centralizing response.
} 41. Qe2 {fails to} (41. Ne5 Qxa3) 41... Rh1+ 42. Kg2 (42. Kf2 Rh2+) 42...
Qh2#) 41. Qe2 Qd6 42. Nf2 Rh6 43. e7 Kf7 (43... Qxa3) 44. Qe5 Qxe5 45. Rxe5 a4
46. Rxf5+ Kxe7 1/2-1/2
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.20"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Lubbe, Nikolas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "2780"]
[BlackElo "2447"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Nc3 d6 7. a4 Kh8 8. h3
Nd7 9. a5 Nb4 10. Ne2 c5 11. Ng3 Nb8 {Not your everyday lineup of knights, now
is it? The commentators explained that Black wanted to keep an eye on f5.} 12.
c3 N4c6 13. Qa4 Be6 14. Nf5 Bxf5 15. exf5 d5 16. a6 $1 {In true bughouse style,
the bishop leaves c8 and a6 is weakened.} b6 (16... dxc4 17. axb7) 17. Bb5 Qd6
18. Re1 Bd8 19. b4 cxb4 20. cxb4 f6 21. Bd2 Ne7 22. Nd4 $1 Rg8 (22... exd4 23.
Re6 Qc7 24. Rc1 {is one of the stranger queen traps, but then, nothing has
been normal about this game.}) 23. Be8 Nxf5 24. Nxf5 Qe6 25. Bb5 Qxf5 26. Rac1
g5 (26... Be7 {Black needs to try to finish development as best he can.}) 27.
Qc2 Be7 28. d4 e4 29. Qc7 g4 30. h4 Qe6 31. g3 {Black resigned since all the
counterplay is done and there's no stopping Qb7. And yes, that's indeed the
king's knight on b8 still!} 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.21"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Hess, Robert"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C16"]
[WhiteElo "2771"]
[BlackElo "2574"]
[PlyCount "156"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Qd7 5. Bd2 Ne7 6. f4 b6 7. Nb5 Bxd2+ 8. Qxd2
Ba6 9. a4 O-O 10. Nf3 c6 11. Nd6 Bxf1 12. Rxf1 c5 13. Qe3 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Nbc6
15. Nxc6 Qxc6 16. c3 a6 17. Kf2 Nc8 18. Nxc8 Rfxc8 19. Rfd1 b5 20. axb5 Qxb5
21. Rd2 Rc4 22. Kg1 Re4 23. Qf2 a5 24. h3 g6 25. Re1 Rxe1+ 26. Qxe1 a4 27. Rf2
a3 28. bxa3 Rxa3 29. Rf3 Qa5 30. Qe3 Qa7 31. Qxa7 Rxa7 32. g3 Ra2 33. Rf2 Ra3
34. Rc2 d4 35. cxd4 Rxg3+ 36. Kf2 Rxh3 37. Rc8+ Kg7 38. Rd8 Rd3 39. Ke2 Ra3 40.
d5 exd5 41. Rxd5 h5 42. Rd7 Kf8 43. Rb7 h4 44. Rb6 Ke7 (44... h3 45. Rb7 Ra2+
46. Kf3 h2 47. Rb1 Ke7 48. Rc1 Ke6 49. Rc6+ Kd5 (49... Kf5 50. Rf6#) 50. Rd6+
Kc5 51. Rd1 {was the "fortress" found by Hess.}) 45. f5 gxf5 46. Kf2 h3 47. Rf6
h2 48. Kg2 Rh3 49. Kh1 Rh5 50. Ra6 f4 51. Rf6 Rxe5 52. Rxf4 Rh5 53. Rf3 Ke6 54.
Ra3 f5 55. Ra6+ Ke5 56. Ra5+ Kf4 57. Ra4+ Kg5 58. Ra3 Rh8 59. Rb3 f4 60. Ra3
Kg4 61. Rb3 Re8 62. Kxh2 Re3 63. Rb8 Kf3 64. Ra8 Kf2 65. Ra4 f3 66. Ra1 Re8 67.
Ra2+ Re2 68. Ra8 Rb2 69. Ra1 Rc2 70. Kh3 Rd2 71. Kh2 Re2 72. Ra8 Kf1+ 73. Kg3
f2 74. Kf3 Re7 75. Ra1+ Re1 76. Ra2 Kg1 77. Rxf2 Rf1 78. Rxf1+ Kxf1 1/2-1/2
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.21"]
[Round "2.14"]
[White "Harsha, Bharathakoti"]
[Black "Sethuraman, S.P.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E73"]
[WhiteElo "2492"]
[BlackElo "2673"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Be3 Na6 7. g4 c5 8. d5 e6
9. f3 exd5 10. cxd5 Nc7 11. a4 a6 12. h4 h5 13. g5 Nh7 14. Qd2 Bd7 15. f4 Re8
16. Bf3 Bg4 17. Bxg4 Bxc3 18. bxc3 hxg4 19. Ne2 Rxe4 20. Ng3 Re8 21. Kf2 Re7
22. h5 Qf8 23. f5 Re5 $2 {White was already playing inspired chess but this
leads to a majestic finish.} (23... gxf5 24. Nxf5 Re5 {to slow down the pawn
storm was required. It's a mess of a position.}) 24. c4 gxf5 25. Bf4 f6 26. g6
$1 Ng5 27. h6 (27. Bxe5 fxe5 28. Qc2 {is pedestrian but better.}) 27... Rae8
28. Bxe5 dxe5 29. Nxf5 $1 Ne4+ 30. Ke2 $3 Nxd2 31. g7 {Black resigns, even
though he's up nearly a full queen. The only safe square for the black queen
is Qf7, but that leads to h7 mate! And if for example 32...Qxg7 33. hxg7, then
Black can't prevent 34. Rh8+ Kf7 35. g8=Q+! Rxg8 36. Nh6+.} 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.21"]
[Round "2.9"]
[White "Kobo, Ori"]
[Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A15"]
[WhiteElo "2505"]
[BlackElo "2706"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. h4 Bg7 6. e4 Nb6 7. d4 Bg4 8. Be3
Nc6 9. d5 Ne5 10. Be2 Nxf3+ 11. gxf3 Bh5 12. a4 O-O 13. a5 Nd7 14. f4 Nf6 15.
f3 Ne8 16. e5 f6 17. Ne4 fxe5 18. Ng5 Qd6 19. Ne6 exf4 20. Bc5 Qe5 21. Bd4 Qxd5
22. Bxg7 Qxe6 23. Bxf8 Bxf3 24. Rh2 Kxf8 25. Qd4 Qe4 26. Qh8+ Kf7 27. Qxh7+ Ng7
28. h5 Bxe2 29. Rxe2 (29. hxg6+ Qxg6 30. Qxg6+ Kxg6 31. Kxe2 $13) 29... Qh1+
30. Kf2 Qh2+ 31. Kf1 Qxh5 32. Rxe7+ Kxe7 33. Qxg7+ Kd6 34. Qf6+ Kc5 35. Qc3+
Kd5 {weirdly it is correct to walk to the open file (since d1 is covered)} (
35... Kb5 36. Qd3+ {wins for White} Kc5 (36... Kb4 37. Qe4+ $1 Kc5 (37... Kb5
38. Qxb7+) 38. Rc1+ Kd6 39. Qxf4+ Qe5 (39... Ke6 40. Re1+ Kd5 41. Qe4+ Kd6 42.
Qe6+ Kc5 43. Rc1+ Kb4 44. Qc4+ Kxa5 45. b4+ {eventually wins}) 40. Rd1+ Ke6 41.
Re1) 37. b4+ $1 Kxb4 38. Rb1+ Kc5 39. Rc1+ Kb4 40. Qc4+ Kxa5 41. Ra1+ Kb6 42.
Rb1+ Ka5 43. Qa2# {who needs pawns?!}) 36. Re1 Qh1+ 37. Kf2 Qh4+ 38. Kf1 Qh1+
1/2-1/2
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.21"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Puranik, Abhimanyu"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2547"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bc1 Nf6 8.
Be3 e5 9. Nf3 Be7 10. Bc4 O-O 11. O-O Be6 12. Bb3 b5 13. a4 b4 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15.
Bxd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5 Nd7 17. Rfd1 Qc7 18. Bg5 Nb6 19. Qa5 Bxg5 20. Nxg5 Qc5 21.
Qxc5 dxc5 22. b3 Rad8 23. a5 Nc8 24. Nf3 f6 25. Ne1 Nd6 26. Rd5 Nb7 27. Rxd8
Rxd8 28. Nd3 Kf7 29. Kf1 Ke6 30. Ke2 Kd6 31. Nb2 Kc6 32. Nc4 Rd4 33. Ke3 Nd6
34. Nxd6 Rxd6 35. g3 {For all of the reasons mentioned in the lead-in, Black
is winning. He just needs a breakthrough, and it is not hard to find.} c4 36.
bxc4 Kc5 37. f4 Kxc4 38. fxe5 fxe5 39. Rf1 Kc3 40. Rf7 Rc6 {White's
counterplay has come too late as the g- and h-pawns are far too slow for
Black's b-pawn.} 0-1
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.21"]
[Round "2.12"]
[White "Vishnu, Prasanna. V"]
[Black "Nabaty, Tamir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2504"]
[BlackElo "2692"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Be7 7. Bd3 Bg4 8. Qc2
Bh5 9. Nge2 Bg6 10. Ng3 Na6 11. a3 Nc7 12. Nf5 Ne6 13. h4 Bxf5 14. Bxf5 Qd6 15.
O-O-O g6 16. Bd3 O-O-O 17. Kb1 Kb8 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Rc1 Qe7 20. g3 c5 21. dxc5
Nxc5 22. Rhd1 d4 23. exd4 Nxd3 24. Rxd3 Bxd4 25. Rcd1 Be5 26. Nd5 Qd6 27. Qb3
Qe6 $2 {It seems innocent and reasonable. What could be wrong with sliding the
queen off the dangerous d-file?} (27... Rde8 {was better since there's no
knight moves that need fearing! Yes, it's weird to slide the lesser-value rook
instead of the queen, so now you know why a near-2700 missed it.}) 28. Re1 $1 {
The e-file is even more treacherous! Now there's no place to hide the queen
and guard the bishop, and f4 is coming. Now, you might think that the queen
can just go back, but then would come a true lesson in forks!} Qf5 (28... Qd6
29. Nb4 $1 Qe7 (29... Qc7 30. Na6+) (29... Qc5 30. Na6+) (29... Qf6 30. Rxe5
Qxe5 31. Nc6+) 30. Nc6+) 29. g4 Qxf2 30. Rxe5 Rd7 31. Nb4 Rxd3 32. Nxd3 Qxh4
33. Nc5 b6 34. Qd5 bxc5 35. Re3 Qh1+ 36. Qxh1 1-0
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.10.21"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Wagner, Dennis"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B15"]
[WhiteElo "2572"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c6 {We call this opening "The Rat" in Bulgaria. The
name speaks for itself- a risky opening, with chances to confuse the opponent.
The top guns need to avoid the main theoretical paths in the open tournaments.
There is too much theory there, very few human moves...} 4. f4 {The most
principled move.} d5 5. e5 Nh6 6. Nf3 Bg4 {This is the strategical idea behind
the line. Black wants to get rid of this bishop before advancing the e-pawn.
But a bishop is a bishop when the pawn structure is not yet determined.} 7. h3
Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nf5 ({White preserved opening advantage after:} 8... f6 9. Be3
fxe5 10. dxe5 Rf8 11. Qe2 Qa5 12. O-O-O Nd7 13. Kb1 {Andriasian,Z (2585)
-Petrosian,T (2606) Yerevan 2018}) 9. Ne2 e6 10. g4 {The major problem for
Black- the knights do not have secure outposts.} Ne7 11. Ng3 f6 $146 {A novely
which does not change anything. White is better.} ({A predecessor saw:} 11...
c5 12. dxc5 Qa5+ 13. c3 Qxc5 14. Be3 {with typical advantage for White in
Csonka,A (2349)-Kantorik,M (2293) Slovakia 2017}) 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. c3 ({
White could have also tried to save this move this with} 13. Qe3 Bh4 (13... Qd6
) 14. Bd2) 13... Bh4 14. Bd2 Qd6 15. O-O-O Nd7 16. Bd3 O-O-O 17. Ne2 {Now we
have typical French pawn structure where White enoys more space, owes the
bishop pairand can play against the backward pawn on e6, or try to make use of
the e5 outpost.} Rhf8 18. Qe3 ({The immediate} 18. Kb1 {was also possible as}
e5 {(to get rid of the backward pawn) is not a threat-} ({Or} 18... g5 19. Bxh7
Rf7 20. Bc2 Rdf8 21. Rhf1) 19. dxe5 Qxe5 20. Qg2 {and White is still better.})
18... Bf6 19. Rhe1 (19. Be1 $1 {followed by Be1-g3 and some time in the future
f4-f5 looked like a logical follow-up.}) 19... Bh4 {Aronian is barely holding
the position.} 20. Rf1 Bf6 21. Ng1 $1 {Also good! The night is heading to the
e5 outpost. White is clearly better.} c5 {The only active idea for Black.} 22.
Nf3 Nc6 23. Kb1 (23. h4 $5 {looked excellent as well.}) 23... Kb8 24. h4 {
With the idea h4-h5 followed by g4-g5 (or vice-versa).} cxd4 25. cxd4 Nb6 26.
Rc1 {So far Wagner was methodically improving his position, but now he commits
his first innacuracy.} (26. b3 $1 {looked a bit weakening, but was limiting
the black knights badly. For example} Qa3 27. Bc1 Qb4 28. Bb2 a5 {When White
has a choice between the solid} 29. Qe1 ({And the aggressive} 29. h5 $5 gxh5
30. g5 {with advantage in both cases.})) 26... Qe7 ({Aronian missed the chance
to equalize with:} 26... Nc4 $5 27. Bxc4 (27. Qf2 $2 Nxd4 $1 28. Nxd4 Bxd4 29.
Qxd4 Nxd2+) 27... dxc4 28. Rxc4 Qd5 $1 ({Not} 28... Nxd4 $2 29. Bb4) 29. Rfc1
Nxd4 30. Nxd4 Bxd4) 27. Bb5 {Wagner tries to soften the e5 outpost, and weaken
the opponent's queenside in the process.} ({It was not too late for} 27. b3) ({
Or the preliminary} 27. g5 Bg7 {and then} 28. b3) 27... Rc8 28. Bxc6 bxc6 29.
Ne5 {But that's a bit rushy.} ({Stronger was to activate the bishop first with:
} 29. Qb3 $1 Qb7 ({Or} 29... Qc7 30. Bb4 Rfe8 31. Ne5) 30. Bb4 {and wait for a
better moment to jump on e5. Or not jump there at all.}) 29... Bxe5 30. Qxe5+
Ka8 {Now the play becomes double-edged. Aronian can attack on the queenside
and Wagner needs to be careful not to get into a strategically poor situation
with a bad bishop versus good knight.} 31. Qe1 Qf6 32. Bb4 Rf7 33. Qf2 Nc4 34.
b3 Rb8 35. Bc5 Rb5 $1 {With the threat Rb5xc5 and mate on a3.} 36. Kc2 ({
There is no safer square-} 36. Ka1 $2 Rxc5) 36... Rxc5 $1 {Aronian does not
think twice when there is a possibility to expose the enemy king.} 37. dxc5
Na3+ ({There is not enough compensation for the exchange after} 37... Qb2+ 38.
Kd1 Qxf2 39. Rxf2 Ne3+ 40. Kd2 Nxg4 41. Re2) 38. Kd1 Nb5 $1 {Brings the knight
back into the game.} (38... h5 {looks logical but might allow some extra
possibilities for White after} 39. g5 Qf5 40. Qe2 e5 41. Kd2 e4 42. Qa6) 39.
Qe3 ({Or} 39. Kd2 e5 40. f5 e4 {which is similar to the game.}) 39... e5 40. f5
{The time control move.} ({Thee was apparently no time to calculate the
consequences of the ultra-sharp} 40. a4 Nd4 41. b4) 40... Qxh4 41. Kc2 gxf5 42.
gxf5 ({After} 42. Qxe5 $6 Re7 43. Qh8+ Kb7 {the black pieces become too
dangerous.}) ({And} 42. Rxf5 $2 Nd4+ {is not ideal for White...}) 42... Qf6 {
From a position where he had nothing to show at all Aronian got this. He can
attack on the queenside, advatnce the h-passer or just squeeze the opponent in
the center.} 43. Kb1 e4 ({Perhaps} 43... h5 $5 {was more precise as} 44. a4 Nd4
{sends the knight on a good square.}) 44. a4 Nd4 45. Rg1 $1 {Quickly into
activity.} (45. Qc3 {will be met with} Nxb3 $1 46. Qxb3 (46. Qxf6 Rxf6) 46...
Rb7) 45... Rf8 {An important regroupment.} ({Here} 45... Nxb3 $4 {would
backfire after} 46. Rg8+ Rf8 47. Rxf8+ Qxf8 48. Qxb3) ({Also bad for Black was:
} 45... Rb7 $2 46. Rg8+ Rb8 47. Rxb8+ Kxb8 48. Qc3 {with a nasty pin.}) 46. Qc3
{Setting a nice little trick.} ({The computer claims that White is OK in the
endgame after} 46. Qg5 Qxf5 47. Qxf5 Rxf5 ({But not} 47... Nxf5 $2 48. Rcf1 e3
49. Rf4 d4 (49... e2 50. Re1) 50. Kc2 {when White should win.}) 48. Rg8+ Kb7
49. Rg7+ Ka6 50. b4 {but for a human being the black three passers look too
dangerous.}) 46... e3 $1 ({The trap was} 46... Nxb3 $2 47. Rg8 $3) 47. Rcf1 ({
Instead} 47. Qxe3 Nxb3 48. Qxb3 Rb8 49. Qxb8+ Kxb8 {was clearly better for
Black.}) ({As well as} 47. Ka2 Ne2) 47... Qe5 48. Ka2 Qe4 {Centralization.} ({
The other option was to bring the h-passer into motion with} 48... h5 {The
arising positions are very double edged and difficult for both sides. Here is
a sample (non-obligatory) line:} 49. Rg2 Qe4 (49... h4 $5) 50. Rg7 Rb8 51. Rfg1
Nxb3 52. Rg8 Qxa4+ 53. Kb2 Qb5 54. Rxb8+ Qxb8 55. Qxe3 Nd4+ 56. Kc1 Nxf5 57.
Qf3 Nd4 58. Qf6 Ne2+ 59. Kc2 Nxg1 60. Qxc6+ Qb7 61. Qe8+ {with perpetual.}) 49.
Rg7 Rb8 ({In case of:} 49... e2 50. Rfg1 Nxf5 51. Rc7 Rb8 52. Ka3 $1 {White
generates enough counterplay. For example:} Qe6 53. Rgg7 Nxg7 54. Qxg7 Rxb3+
55. Kxb3 Qe3+ 56. Kc2 (56. Kb2 Qd2+) 56... Qc1+ $5 57. Kxc1 e1=Q+ {with
perpetual.}) 50. Rfg1 Nxb3 {I am not sure if this was a bluff, or just a
chance that Aronian felt he needed to try. Wagner was very low on time and
after all this is a special tournament, is not it?} ({It is not everyone's cup
of tea to run beteen the enemy bullets with his bare king after} 50... Nxf5 51.
Rxa7+ Kxa7 52. Qa5+ Kb7 53. Qb6+ Kc8 54. Qxc6+ ({Or} 54. Rg8+ Kd7 55. Qxb8 Qc2+
{with perpatual.}) 54... Kd8 55. Rg8+ Ke7 {Apparently, White has at least draw
and way too many checks to deliver. However after} 56. Qc7+ Kf6 57. Rxb8 e2 58.
Rf8+ Kg6 {The cold-blooded machine claims no advantage to White.}) 51. Ka3 $4 {
It worked! In the time trouble White trembled.} ({But it could have well
backfired after:} 51. R7g4 $1 Qxf5 ({Or} 51... Nc1+ 52. Qxc1 Qd3 53. Qd1 Qxf5
54. Re1 {and Blac does not have enough for the rook.}) 52. Rg8 Nd2 53. Rxb8+
Kxb8 54. Qb2+ Kc7 55. Rg7+ {with mate after both} Kc8 ({Or} 55... Kd8 56. Qb8+
Qc8 57. Qd6+ Ke8 58. Qe7#) 56. Qb7+ Kd8 57. Rg8+) 51... d4 52. Qc4 Na5 0-1
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.22"]
[Round "3.14"]
[White "Antipov, Mikhail Al."]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2593"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h6 5. g4 Be4 6. f3 Bh7 7. c4 e6 8. Nc3 dxc4
9. Bxc4 Nd7 10. f4 Nb6 11. Bb3 Ne7 12. h5 Ned5 13. Nge2 Be7 14. O-O Qd7 15.
Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Nc3 O-O 17. Qf3 f6 18. Bd2 Kh8 19. Rad1 Rad8 20. Bc1 Qc7 21. Qg3
b5 22. Kh2 a5 23. a3 a4 24. Bxd5 cxd5 25. g5 fxg5 26. fxg5 hxg5 27. Bxg5 Bxg5
28. Qxg5 b4 29. Nb5 Qc2+ 30. Rd2 Qxd2+ 31. Qxd2 Rxf1 32. Nd6 bxa3 33. bxa3 Rdf8
34. Kg2 R1f4 35. Kg3 Rf3+ 36. Kg4 Rxa3 37. h6 {So far so good for Nakamura,
but the winning way was} Raf3 (37... Ra1 $1 {and the basic premise is to
either mate the White king or solidify his own king and run the a-pawn as in}
38. hxg7+ Kxg7 39. Qg5+ Kh8 40. Qe7 Raf1 {And now White must worry about both
"rook roller" mates and the advance of the a-pawn.}) 38. hxg7+ Kxg7 39. Ne8+ $1
{The tactical trick allows the knight to post on f6 and both disrupt
communication of the rooks and threaten some mates on h7. It was enough to
cease Black's operations.} Kh8 1/2-1/2
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.22"]
[Round "3.19"]
[White "Artemiev, Vladislav"]
[Black "Keymer, Vincent"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B50"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2491"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Be2 g6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 O-O 7. Bf1 Nc6 8. d3
e5 9. Nbd2 Re8 10. a4 h6 11. Nc4 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. a5 Bf5 14. Nfd2 Be6 15.
Qa4 Qc7 16. Ne4 Bf8 17. Be3 b6 18. axb6 axb6 19. Qxa8 Rxa8 20. Rxa8 g5 $2 {
Already in a difficult position, Keymer stumbles immediately after acquiring
the queen.} (20... Bc8) 21. Nxb6 $1 Qxb6 (21... Nxb6 22. Nf6+ Kg7 (22... Kh8
23. Rxf8+ Kg7 24. Ne8+) 23. Ne8+) 22. Bxc5 Qxb2 23. Bxf8 Kh7 24. Ra6 Nb8 25.
Raa1 Nd7 26. Ba3 Qb6 27. c4 Nf4 28. Bc1 Bf5 29. Be3 Qc6 30. Ra7 Kg7 31. c5 Nd5
32. Nd6 Be6 33. d4 Nxe3 34. Rxe3 exd4 35. Rxe6 $1 {And now White gives both
rooks back to win the ending!} fxe6 36. Rc7 Qd5 (36... Qxc7 37. Ne8+) 37. Rxd7+
Kf8 38. Rf7+ Kg8 39. Rf5 Qb3 40. Rf3 Qd5 41. Rf5 Qb3 42. Re5 Qc2 43. Nc4 d3 44.
Ne3 Qb3 45. c6 d2 46. Rc5 Qb6 47. Rc4 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.22"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Donchenko, Alexander"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D78"]
[WhiteElo "2610"]
[BlackElo "2722"]
[PlyCount "178"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 c6 7. b3 dxc4 8. bxc4
c5 9. Bb2 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Qb6 11. Qc1 Bd7 12. Nd2 Nc6 13. Nc2 Rac8 14. Rb1 Qc7
15. Bc3 b6 16. Qb2 Ne8 17. Ne3 Bxc3 18. Qxc3 Nf6 19. Rfc1 Qe5 20. Qxe5 Nxe5 21.
c5 Rxc5 22. Rxc5 bxc5 23. Rb7 Rd8 24. f4 Neg4 25. Nef1 Be6 26. Rxa7 Ne3 27. Rc7
Nxg2 28. Kxg2 Ra8 29. Rxc5 Rxa2 30. h3 h5 31. Rc3 Nd5 32. Rf3 Rc2 33. Rf2 Nc3
34. Kh2 Bd5 35. e4 Bc6 36. g4 h4 37. Ne3 Ra2 38. g5 Nb1 39. Nef1 Nc3 40. Ne3
Nb1 41. Nef1 Bb5 42. Kg2 Nc3 43. Ne3 Be2 44. Nef1 Bd3 45. Ne3 Nxe4 46. Nxe4
Bxe4+ 47. Kg1 Ra4 48. Rb2 Kg7 49. Rb5 Ra1+ 50. Kf2 Ra2+ 51. Kg1 Re2 52. Rb3 Ra2
53. Rb4 Bf3 54. Rd4 Re2 55. Rd3 Be4 56. Rc3 Bb7 57. Rb3 Bc6 58. Rc3 Be4 59. Rb3
Re1+ 60. Kf2 Rh1 61. Rb4 Bc6 62. Rb3 Bd7 63. Ng4 Bxg4 64. hxg4 Rh2+ 65. Kg1 Re2
66. Rb4 h3 67. Kh1 Rg2 68. Re4 Kf8 69. f5 gxf5 70. gxf5 Rxg5 71. Rf4 Kg7 72.
f6+ {White might as well try out this ending, but the presence of the third
pawn matters it seems! For one thing, it helps "shield" the Black king from
lateral checks as the lead pawns march down the board.} exf6 73. Kh2 Rh5 74.
Rg4+ Kf8 75. Re4 f5 76. Re5 Kg7 77. Ra5 Kg6 78. Ra4 Kg5 79. Ra5 Kg4 80. Ra8 f4
81. Rg8+ Rg5 82. Rf8 f3 $1 {And here's a second usage of the extra f-pawn:
simply winning a tempo to slow down the white rook's defense. Wang now
transitions from three pawns to one winning pawn.} 83. Rxf7 Rf5 84. Rg7+ Kh5
85. Rg1 (85. Kxh3 f2) 85... f2 86. Rf1 Rf3 87. Kh1 Kg4 88. Kh2 Kf4 89. Kh1 Kg3
{Any rook move leads to f1=Q+ and there's not even a stalemate trick to
attempt.} 0-1
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.22"]
[Round "3.9"]
[White "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Black "Harsha, Bharathakoti"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B09"]
[WhiteElo "2639"]
[BlackElo "2492"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 c5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. e5 Ng4 8. Bxd7+
(8. e6 fxe6 (8... Bxb5 $6 9. exf7+ Kd7 {was Seirawan's idea}) 9. Ng5 Bxb5 10.
Nxe6 Bxd4 {is one of the messier lines, and while White doesn't have to go
into it, there's} 11. Nxd8 Bf2+ 12. Kd2 Be3+ 13. Ke1 Bf2+ {which would have
been yet another queen sac on the Isle of Man!}) 8... Qxd7 9. d5 dxe5 10. h3 e4
11. Nxe4 Nf6 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 13. O-O O-O 14. Be3 Bxb2 15. Ne5 Qc7 16. Rb1 Bxe5
17. fxe5 Nd7 18. e6 fxe6 19. dxe6 Rxf1+ 20. Qxf1 Rf8 21. Qc4 Ne5 22. Qe4 b6 23.
Kh1 Kg7 24. Re1 Nc6 25. Qh4 Rf5 26. Bh6+ Kg8 27. Rd1 Nd4 28. Qe4 {Black has
defended just fine, but now makes a very subtle slip.} Qc8 $2 (28... Qb8 {
looks nearly the same, but the difference is that} 29. c3 {can now be answered
by} Re5 30. Qd3 Nxe6 {and the attack is fizzling.}) 29. c3 Rh5 (29... Nc6 30.
Qxc6 $1 Qxc6 31. Rd8+ Qe8 32. Rxe8+) (29... Nb5 30. Qc6 $1) 30. cxd4 Rxh6 31.
d5 g5 32. d6 $1 exd6 33. Rxd6 Qe8 34. Qd5 Kg7 35. Rd7+ Kg6 36. Qe4+ 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.22"]
[Round "3.20"]
[White "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Black "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B66"]
[WhiteElo "2519"]
[BlackElo "2703"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8.
O-O-O Be7 9. f3 Qc7 10. h4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 b5 12. Qd2 Bb7 13. Kb1 O-O 14. Ne2
Rac8 15. Nd4 Rfe8 16. g4 Nd7 17. Bxe7 Rxe7 18. h5 d5 19. h6 g6 20. exd5 Bxd5
21. Bd3 Qe5 22. Be4 Bxe4 23. fxe4 Nf6 24. Rhe1 Rd7 25. g5 Ng4 26. Qg2 Qxg5 27.
e5 Qf4 28. Nc6 $6 {It shouldn't work, but it invites a very tempting reply by
Black.} (28. Re4 $10) 28... Ne3 $2 (28... Rxd1+ 29. Rxd1 Kf8 {and Black should
be able to rebuff any attack, whereby his soon-to-be large kingside pawn
advantage is for choice.}) 29. Rxd7 $1 (29. Rxe3 Rxd1#) 29... Nxg2 30. Ne7+ Kf8
31. Nxc8 Qxh6 (31... Nxe1 32. Rd8# {is the point.}) (31... Ke8 32. Red1 Qh4 33.
Rb7 $18 {with Nd6+ coming.}) 32. Rf1 {It's possible Eljanov saw White's trick
and misevaluated that his passers are worth the pressure, or that he thought
the exchange-down ending was fine, and it nearly was..} Nf4 33. Nd6 g5 34. Nxf7
Qg7 35. Rd8+ Ke7 36. Ra8 $1 Qxf7 37. Ra7+ Kf8 38. Rxf7+ Kxf7 39. b3 h5 40. c4
bxc4 41. bxc4 h4 42. c5 Ke7 43. Rd1 h3 (43... Nd5 44. Rg1) 44. c6 Nd5 45. Rg1
h2 46. Rh1 Nb4 47. c7 Kd7 48. Rxh2 Kxc7 49. Rh6 Kd7 50. Rg6 a5 51. Rxg5 Kc6 52.
Kb2 Kd5 53. Kb3 Kd4 54. Rh5 Nc6 55. Ka4 Kc4 56. Rh6 Kd5 57. Kb5 Nxe5 58. Rh5
Kd4 59. Kxa5 Nd3 60. Kb5 e5 61. a4 Nf4 62. Rh4 Kd5 63. a5 Ne6 64. Rc4 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.22"]
[Round "3.7"]
[White "Tregubov, Pavel V."]
[Black "Melkumyan, Hrant"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E46"]
[WhiteElo "2588"]
[BlackElo "2660"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nge2 Re8 6. a3 Bf8 7. d5 a5 8. Ng3
Na6 9. Be2 Nc5 10. b3 d6 11. Rb1 c6 12. b4 axb4 13. axb4 Na6 14. e4 exd5 15.
cxd5 cxd5 16. exd5 Ng4 17. Nce4 Nf6 18. Nxf6+ Qxf6 19. O-O Bd7 20. Bd3 Qh4 21.
Bd2 Nc7 22. Qf3 Qg4 23. Qxg4 Bxg4 24. Bc4 Bd7 25. b5 Rec8 26. Rb4 Ne8 27. Re1
Nf6 28. Bg5 Ng4 29. Be2 Re8 30. h3 Ne5 31. Rc1 Rec8 32. Rxc8 Bxc8 33. Be3 Nd7
34. Ne4 b6 35. Bg4 Nc5 36. Bxc8 Rxc8 37. Nd2 Be7 38. Nc4 Bd8 39. Nxd6 Ra8 40.
Bxc5 bxc5 41. Rb1 Kf8 42. b6 Ke7 43. b7 Rb8 44. Nc8+ Kd7 45. Na7 Bc7 46. Nc6
Re8 47. b8=Q $1 {Tregubov takes what could be a tricky ending and finds a way
to make it simple. It involves a lot of counting of king moves, but he got it
right!} Bxb8 48. Rxb8 Rxb8 {Playing on a piece down is hopeless, so Black
takes his chances by trying to trap the knight.} 49. Nxb8+ Kd6 50. Kf1 Kxd5 51.
Ke2 $1 {Allowing his knight to be "trapped"!} Kd6 52. Kd3 Kc7 53. Na6+ Kb6 54.
Kc4 (54. Nb8 Kc7) 54... Kxa6 55. Kxc5 {And White wins the race to the pawns.}
1-0
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.10.22"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Tari, Aryan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D71"]
[WhiteElo "2780"]
[BlackElo "2618"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 d5 5. Qa4 {A rare move and specialty of
Mamedyarov. A curious fact is that the French GM was Mamedyarov's most
frequent opponent in those games.} Bg7 ({MVL have tried himself the standart
regroupment with:} 5... Nfd7 6. cxd5 Nb6 7. Qd1 cxd5 8. Nc3 Nc6 9. a4 Bg7 10.
a5 Nc4 11. Bxd5 N4xa5 {and Black was OK in Mamedyarov,S (2800)-Vachier Lagrave,
M (2796) Paris 2017}) ({There is also} 5... dxc4 6. Qxc4 Be6) 6. cxd5 O-O 7. e4
({Vitiugov dared to capture the pawn, but Black got more than enough for it
after:} 7. dxc6 Nxc6 8. Nf3 Nd5 9. e3 Nb6 10. Qd1 e5 11. O-O Bg4 12. dxe5 Qxd1
13. Rxd1 Nxe5 {Vitiugov,N (2735)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2789) Karlsruhe/
Baden-Baden 2018. All black light pieces are tremendously active.}) 7... cxd5
8. e5 Nfd7 9. Nc3 Nb6 10. Qd1 Nc6 11. Nge2 f6 $146 {A novelty. Tari is
improving on a game of MVL!} ({That game went:} 11... Bg4 12. h3 Bxe2 13. Nxe2
{Only now} f6 {was played.} 14. f4 fxe5 15. dxe5 e6 16. b3 Nd7 17. O-O Qb6+ 18.
Kh2 {and later Black even won, Mamedyarov,S (2801)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2779)
Saint Louis 2018}) 12. exf6 exf6 ({After} 12... Bxf6 {White will have the
usual advantage thanks to the better pawn structure.}) 13. O-O {Now a
symmetrical pawn structure arises where the main question is who will attack
the central pawn first.} Be6 {The most natural move might not be optimal here.
Wite wants to mount as much pressure as he can on the d5 pawn. Moves like
Ne2-f4 are obviously part of his plan.} ({For this reason, the cardinal} 13...
g5 $5 {deserved serious consideration.}) 14. b3 {White develops on his turn.} (
{But perhaps the straightforward} 14. Nf4 Bf7 15. a4 $5 {was more to the point.
White simply wants to outnumber the defenders of the d5 pawn. After} a5 16. b3
{White intends Bc1-a3-c5 to get rid of the defender on b6. There is a bonus in
this line. The attempt to do the same with:} Bh6 {Can be answered:} 17. Ne6
Bxe6 18. Bxh6) 14... Re8 15. Ba3 Bf7 ({Once again Tari misses a chance to
limit White's options.} 15... Bh6 $5 {Seems more precise, say} 16. Bc5 Qd7) ({
If} 15... Bf8 16. Bc5) 16. Qd2 Bf8 {This does not stop White's intentions.} ({
Since the Nb6 was aobut to be expelled from the defensive point, it seemed
wise to send it to another one with:} 16... Nc8 17. Rfe1 N8e7 {Then if} 18. Nf4
Bh6) 17. Bc5 $1 {Vachier-Lagrave has done everything that he wanted. Next he
will either jump with the knight on f4, or will start pushing the a-pawn. The
captures on b6 are always in the air too.} Nd7 ({Maybe it was not too late to
return to:} 17... Bg7 18. Nf4 {With the idea:} ({White is better after} 18.
Rfe1) 18... g5 19. Bxb6 axb6 ({But not:} 19... Qxb6 20. Nfxd5 Qxd4 21. Qxd4
Nxd4 22. Nc7 {when White wins.}) 20. Nfxd5 Ra5) 18. Bxf8 Nxf8 19. Nf4 {The
numbers are working for White.} Ne6 {Tari defends the pawn tactically, but
after the simple:} 20. Nxe6 ({Not} 20. Nfxd5 Nexd4) 20... Bxe6 21. Rfe1 {
There is no adequate defense against the threats 22.Re1xe6 and 22.Bg2xd5.} Bf7
({If} 21... Kg7 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. Rxe8 Qxe8 24. Bxd5 {wins the pawn anyway.})
22. Rxe8+ Qxe8 23. Nxd5 ({Not} 23. Bxd5 $2 Bxd5 24. Nxd5 Qd8 {with equality.})
23... Qd8 24. Ne3 $1 {As usual Vachier-Lagrave has calculated everything very
accurately.} Qxd4 25. Qxd4 Nxd4 26. Bxb7 Rd8 27. Rd1 {White converts the
advantage with ease. First he trades some pieces.} Rd7 28. Bd5 Ne6 (28... Bxd5
29. Rxd4 Bc6 30. Rxd7 Bxd7 31. Kf1 {is similar to the game.}) 29. Kf1 Kf8 30.
Bxe6 Rxd1+ 31. Nxd1 Bxe6 {Then centralizes the king.} 32. Ke2 Ke7 33. Kd3 Kd6
34. Kd4 g5 35. Nc3 Bf5 {Finally uses the qeenside potential passer.} 36. b4 Kc6
37. Ne4 Be6 38. Nxf6 Bxa2 39. Nxh7 g4 40. Ng5 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.22"]
[Round "3.8"]
[White "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Black "Vishnu Prasanna, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B46"]
[WhiteElo "2656"]
[BlackElo "2504"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8.
O-O Qc7 9. Re1 Bb7 10. e5 c5 11. b3 Ne7 12. Na4 Nc6 13. Bf4 h5 14. c3 Be7 15.
Qe2 Kf8 16. Rac1 h4 17. h3 g6 18. Qe3 Nb8 19. Bg5 Bxg5 20. Qxg5 Nd7 21. b4 Rh5
22. Qf4 Rxe5 23. Qh6+ Ke7 24. Nxc5 Nxc5 25. bxc5 g5 26. Qg7 Rxe1+ 27. Rxe1 Qf4
28. Rb1 Bc6 29. Rb6 {White hasn't exactly burned all of his bridges to get to
the Black king, but he did cripple his pawns and cede the center. But that's
not a problem when you're attacking from both flanks!} Kd7 $2 (29... Rc8 $1 {
was the start of a weird defense, intending} 30. Bxa6 Ra8 $1 31. Rxc6 (31. Qd4
$14) 31... Rxa6 $1 {is the point.} 32. Rxa6 Qc1+ 33. Kh2 Qf4+ 34. Kg1 Qc1+ {
and now that there is no blocker with Bf1, it's a draw.}) 30. Rb4 {And
suddenly there's not really a great place for the queen to maintain defense of
f7. She has to give check and thus leave the kingsides.} Qc1+ 31. Kh2 Ke7 32.
Qe5 Bb5 33. a4 Bd7 34. Rb7 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.23"]
[Round "4.9"]
[White "Meier, Georg"]
[Black "Rapport, Richard"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2639"]
[BlackElo "2725"]
[PlyCount "152"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. Nf3 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. d5 Nb4 6. Be2 a5 7. c4 Nf6 8. Nc3
O-O 9. Be3 Ng4 10. Bg5 f5 11. exf5 h6 12. Bh4 Bxf5 13. O-O Qd7 14. Qd2 g5 15.
Bg3 e5 16. dxe6 Bxe6 17. Rad1 Rae8 18. Nd4 Bf7 19. Ndb5 Nf6 20. h3 b6 21. b3
Kh8 22. Rfe1 Bg6 23. Bf3 Nd3 24. Rxe8 Rxe8 25. Nd4 Ne5 26. Be2 Nh5 27. Bh2 Qf7
28. Nd5 Rf8 29. Nf3 Nf4 30. Nxf4 gxf4 31. Nxe5 Bxe5 32. Bf3 Qf5 33. Bg4 Qc2 34.
Qxc2 Bxc2 35. Rc1 Be4 36. Re1 Bc6 37. Be6 a4 38. Bd5 Bd7 39. g4 fxg3 40. Bxg3
Re8 41. Kg2 Kg7 42. Bxe5+ Rxe5 43. Rxe5 dxe5 44. bxa4 Bxa4 45. f4 Kf6 46. Kf3
Bc2 47. Be4 Bd1+ 48. Ke3 Ke6 49. fxe5 Kxe5 50. Bd3 c5 51. a3 Ba4 52. h4 Bb3 53.
Be2 Kf5 54. Kf3 Bc2 55. Ke3 Ba4 56. Bf3 Bd7 57. Bd5 Ke5 58. Bf7 Bh3 59. Bd5 Kf5
60. Kf3 Bg4+ 61. Ke3 Bh5 62. Bg8 $2 {Kind of a weird mistake to make, since it
is clear that allowing Black to play ...Kg4 is nearly always a bad idea.} (62.
Bf3 {holds since} Bxf3 (62... Bf7 63. Be2 {is a funny case of mutual zugzwang!
As it stands, White holds, but if it were White's move, then any move ruins
the position. Even 63. a4 Be8 64. Bd1 Bc6 is a problem.}) 63. Kxf3 h5 64. a4 {
And White has the right number of tempos to keep the opposition.} Ke5 65.
Ke3) 62... Bd1 (62... Kg4 63. Ke4 {was surely White's idea, with counterplay,
but Black need not allow this right away.}) 63. Bf7 Bb3 64. Kf3 Ba4 65. Bd5
Bd1+ 66. Ke3 Kg4 {Now funnily enough White' bishop impedes his own king's
movement.} 67. Ke4 Kxh4 68. Bf7 Kg5 69. Kd5 Ba4 70. Kd6 h5 71. Be6 h4 72. Bh3
Kf4 73. Bf1 Kg3 74. Kc7 Kf2 75. Bh3 b5 76. cxb5 Bxb5 {White's bishop can't
stop both passers.} 0-1
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.23"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Black "Tregubov, Pavel V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C17"]
[WhiteElo "2721"]
[BlackElo "2588"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Ba5 6. b4 cxd4 7. Qg4 Kf8 8. Nb5
Bb6 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. Bb2 Nge7 11. Nbxd4 h5 12. Qf4 Ng6 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Qg3 a5
15. Bd3 Ne7 16. Qf4 Kg8 17. O-O Ba6 18. Bxa6 Rxa6 19. c4 Ng6 20. Qc1 h4 21. b5
cxb5 22. cxd5 exd5 {Black was doing just fine here, but over the course of the
remainder of the game, he becomes too passive. Either here or on the next move,
...h3 should be tossed in.} 23. Rd1 Rh5 (23... h3 24. g3 {The inclusion of
these two moves can only help Black tactically later on down the road.}) 24. h3
{White plays it himself to give his king some air.} Qd7 25. Qc2 Ra7 26. Qd2 Rc7
27. Bd4 Bxd4 28. Qxd4 Ne7 29. Qb6 a4 30. Rac1 Rb7 31. Qa6 Ra7 (31... Ng6 {
Targeting White's main weakness was better.}) 32. Qd6 Rb7 33. Rc5 Qe8 34. Qa6
Qb8 35. Rdc1 Rh6 36. Qa5 Rhb6 {It's amazing how Black's pieces have contorted
themselves in defense. There's just too much space on the board to try to
"hold on."} 37. Qb4 Rh6 38. Qg4 Re6 39. Ng5 {A winning attack since if the
rook moves...} Qxe5 (39... Rg6 40. Rc8+ {not only wins the queen bit is also
mating} Nxc8 41. Rxc8+ Qxc8 42. Qxc8#) 40. Qxh4 {and there's no good way to
guard h7! If the queen or Re6 slide over, then Black will lack the needed
battery on the e-file (his defense is based on the following line that White
did not pick):} (40. Rc8+ $2 Nxc8 41. Rxc8+ Re8) 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.23"]
[Round "4.17"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Zumsande, Martin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2492"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2
O-O 9. dxc5 Nxc5 10. O-O-O a6 11. Qf2 b6 12. Kb1 Qc7 13. Nd4 Bb7 14. Nxc6 Bxc6
15. Bd4 Bb7 16. Bd3 Rac8 17. Ne2 a5 18. Ng3 f5 19. Nh5 Bc6 20. Qg3 Bd8 21. Be2
Ba4 22. Rc1 Ne4 23. Qe3 Bxc2+ 24. Ka1 Qd7 25. b3 a4 26. Kb2 g6 27. Ng3 a3+ $1 {
Not only is Black up a pawn, but White's attack has stalled.} 28. Kxa3 {
Wow! Not wanting to have his king cornered and be down a pawn, Nakamura
restores material equality but gives his chess-playing family a coronary.} Be7+
(28... g5 $1 {Played much later on, but there seems to be no need to drive the
White king back in his home. It must be hard to play on the opposite wing
after sacrificing the a-pawn though.} 29. Nxe4 (29. fxg5 Bxg5) 29... dxe4 {
and now Black can think about ...Be7+ and ...Rfd8. The pawn is still immune
since} 30. fxg5 f4 31. Qd2 e3 32. Qb4 Be7) 29. Kb2 Nxg3 30. hxg3 Be4 31. Bxb6 {
From here on out, Nakamura wiggles his way out of the pressure, and the two
passers decide matters.} Bxg2 32. Rxc8 Rxc8 33. Rc1 Be4 34. Bd4 Bf8 35. Rxc8
Qxc8 36. Qc3 Qd7 37. a3 g5 38. b4 gxf4 39. gxf4 Qg7 40. Bf2 Qh6 41. Qg3+ Kf7
42. Qh4 Qxh4 43. Bxh4 Bh6 44. Bg3 Ke7 45. Kc3 Kd7 46. a4 Bf8 47. Bf2 Kc7 48. a5
Be7 49. b5 Kb8 50. a6 Bg2 51. Bd4 Bh3 52. b6 Bg4 53. Bb5 1-0
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.10.23"]
[Round "4.11"]
[White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Black "Praggnanandhaa R"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E01"]
[WhiteElo "2711"]
[BlackElo "2519"]
[Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bd6 ({Karjakin tried instead
the ultra-solid:} 5... Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Nc3 c6 9. Bf4 dxc4 10. e4
Re8 11. a4 b6 {Nakamura,H (2777)-Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis 2018}) 6. Nc3 c6
7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. e4 Nxe4 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. Qxe4 c5 ({It might make sense to insert
} 10... Nf6 {first, just checking where the queen will go. After:} 11. Qh4 b6
12. O-O-O Bb7 13. Bg2 c5 {Black seemed OK in Galburd,Y (2322)-Mastrovasilis,A
(2556) Bansko 2010}) 11. Bc3 Nf6 12. Qe2 b6 $146 {A novelty. Praggnanandhaa
hurries to develop as quick as possible, but the feeling is that he had
allowed White too much already.} ({Black was also under pressure in the
predecessor:} 12... cxd4 13. Nxd4 Qe7 14. Bg2 Bb4 15. O-O Bxc3 16. bxc3 Nd7 17.
Rab1 Nc5 18. Qe5 {Cordova,E (2608)-Williams,J (2371) Saint Louis 2017}) ({
Another developing move} 12... O-O {will lead to other difficulties after} 13.
dxc5 Bxc5 14. Bg2 {Since} b6 $2 {now drops material to:} 15. b4 Be7 16. Ne5)
13. Bg2 Bb7 14. d5 $1 {Ambitious and strong.} ({The alternative was small
advantage after} 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. O-O) 14... Qe7 {Black accepts the creation
of an isolani.} ({In similar situations one often sacrifices the pawn, with
the idea to make use of the fact that the white most importantpices are lined
on the e-file. However after:} 14... O-O 15. dxe6 Re8 {White has the tactical
shot:} ({The computer claims compensation for a pawn after} 15... Qe7 16. exf7+
({But White may play for positional edge instead with} 16. O-O) 16... Rxf7 17.
Qxe7 Rxe7+ 18. Kf1) 16. Ng5 $1 Bxg2 17. exf7+ {with a win.}) 15. dxe6 Qxe6 16.
Qxe6+ fxe6 17. O-O {Vidit can be happy with the opening outcome. The e6 pawn
is a major issue.} Bxf3 $5 {Praggnanandhaa is trying to bring some stability
to his position.} ({Instead} 17... O-O 18. Rae1 Rae8 19. Ng5 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 e5
21. Re2 {would lead to a situation where all white pieces are better than the
opponent's ones to add to the advantage of the better pawn structure.}) 18.
Bxf3 Rd8 19. Rfe1 Kf7 20. Re3 Rhe8 21. Rae1 Bc7 ({Maybe} 21... e5 {is an
option, no matter how ugly as it seems. All the light squares are severely
weaken, but Black at least has a clear plan of bringing the knigt on d4.}) 22.
h4 $1 {The owner of the bishop pair often uses the rook pawns to limit the
enemy light pieces. In this particular game there will be an additional effect
from this advance.} Re7 23. Kg2 h6 {And when most of the people expected long
grinding there came:} 24. Bxf6 $3 {A sign of a excellent tactical talent. Many
people will not even consider this move, purely psychologically, as they will
be prepared for the grinding. But Vidit saw concrete gain.} gxf6 ({In the line:
} 24... Kxf6 25. Bd5 Rde8 26. Rf3+ Kg6 27. Be4+ Kh5 28. Kh3 {Black is getting
checkmated. This where the h-pawn played its part!}) 25. Bh5+ Kf8 26. Rxe6 Rxe6
27. Rxe6 {White won a pawn and kept all his pieces active. Still, the
opposite-colored bishops give Black hopes.} Be5 ({Not:} 27... Rd6 28. Re8+ Kg7
29. Re7+) 28. b3 Rd7 $6 ({The only chance was the active defense after:} 28...
Rd2 $1 29. Re8+ Kg7 30. Re7+ Kg8 31. Rxa7 Bd4 32. Ra6 Rxf2+ 33. Kh3 Bc3) 29. f4
Bc3 ({Now} 29... Rd2+ 30. Kh3 Bd4 {does not attack anything on f2 and White
wins after} 31. Re8+ Kg7 32. Re7+ Kg8 33. Rxa7) 30. Kf3 $1 {The king enters
the battle and Praggnanandhaa cannot hold his fortress.} Kg7 ({Similar was:}
30... Re7 31. Rd6 Kg7) 31. Kg4 Rd3 ({In case of a passive defense White would
have won the following way:} 31... Bd4 32. Kf5 Bc3 (32... Bf2 33. Rxf6) 33. Re8
Bd4 34. Ke6 $1 {The active king leaves no chance to the rook, say-} Rb7 ({If}
34... Rc7 35. Kd6 Rb7 36. Kc6 {traps the rook.}) 35. Kd6 a5 36. Kc6 Ra7 37.
Kxb6 {and wins.}) 32. Re7+ Kf8 33. Re8+ Kg7 34. Re7+ {To gain a couple of
minutes on the clock.} Kf8 35. Rxa7 {Two pawns and active pieces are more than
sufficient for the point. It all ended after:} Be1 36. Rf7+ Kg8 37. Rxf6 Rxg3+
38. Kf5 Rh3 39. Rxb6 (39. Rxh6 {would also do as in the line} Rxh4 40. Rxb6
Rxh5+ 41. Kg6 {wins.}) 39... Rxh4 40. Rxh6 Rxf4+ 41. Kxf4 Bd2+ 42. Ke4 Bxh6 43.
Kd5 {The passers are unstoppable.} 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.23"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Wang, Hao"]
[Black "L'ami, Erwin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2722"]
[BlackElo "2639"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 Qxd5 8.
Bc4 Qd8 9. Nbd2 h6 10. b4 Bd6 11. Re1 Re8 12. Bb2 Bf5 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. dxe4 Be6
15. Nd2 Bf8 16. Qe2 Qd7 17. Bxe6 Qxe6 18. Nc4 Rad8 19. Ne3 Rd7 20. Qc4 Qxc4 21.
Nxc4 f6 22. Red1 Red8 23. Rxd7 Rxd7 24. Kf1 Kf7 25. Ke2 Ke6 26. a4 Nd8 27. Bc1
Nf7 28. Be3 b6 29. a5 Nd6 30. axb6 axb6 31. Nxd6 Bxd6 {There's "equal" and
then there's "dead equal" and this ending is merely equal!} 32. Ra8 {This is a
classical "playing for two results" position. White risks nothing to poke and
prod for a while.} Be7 (32... f5 {Was a more active treatment, and in light of
the squeeze that occurs, perhaps a more practical one. But you can hardly
blame L'ami for sitting tight. After all, he didn't seem to have any targets.})
33. Rc8 Bd8 (33... f5 {was still possible.}) 34. g4 {But not anymore.} Rd6 35.
Ra8 Kd7 36. c4 {It's full-on squeeze time now.} Re6 37. Kd3 Re8 38. Ra7 Ke6 39.
c5 bxc5 40. bxc5 (40. b5 $1 {was also possible.}) 40... Rh8 (40... h5 {right
away to try to grab an open file for himself was also possible.}) 41. Ra8 Kd7
42. Kc4 c6 $2 {Probably the fatal mistake.} (42... h5 {was more consistent and
less weakening. After all, you can always "hold" ...c6 until White's king
approaches farther.}) 43. Ra7+ Bc7 44. Bd2 Kc8 (44... Rc8 {may have been
Black's intention. But the fortress doesn't hold after for example} 45. Ba5 Kd8
46. Bb6 Kd7 47. Kb4 Kd8 48. Ka5 Kd7 49. Ka6 Kd8 50. Rxc7 Rxc7 51. Bxc7+ Kxc7
52. Ka7 {and White will outflank, or "shoulder" Black's king away from c6.} g6
53. h4 h5 54. gxh5 gxh5 55. f3 Kc8 56. Kb6 Kd7 57. Kb7) 45. Ba5 Bb8 46. Rxg7 h5
47. h3 hxg4 48. hxg4 Rh2 49. Rf7 Rxf2 50. g5 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.24"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Gupta, Abhijeet"]
[Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E51"]
[WhiteElo "2588"]
[BlackElo "2711"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd2 b6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Rc1
Bb7 9. Bd3 Nbd7 10. O-O Be7 11. Be1 c5 12. Ne5 cxd4 13. Nxd7 Nxd7 14. exd4 Nb8
15. Bd2 Nc6 16. Bf4 g6 17. Bb5 Bf6 18. Ne2 Rc8 19. Qa4 Re8 20. Be3 Re6 21. Nf4
Rd6 22. Rfd1 a6 23. Bf1 Na5 24. Rxc8 Qxc8 25. Rc1 Qd7 $2 {White generally just
outplayed Black, but if you had to point to a specific moment, this might have
been it.} (25... Qd8) 26. Qxd7 Rxd7 27. b4 {And the knight has nowhere good to
go.} Nc4 (27... Nc6 28. Bxa6 Bxa6 (28... Nxb4 29. Bxb7 Rxb7 30. a3 Na6 31. Nxd5
) 29. Rxc6) 28. Nxd5 Bxd5 29. Bxc4 Bxc4 30. Rxc4 Kg7 31. Kf1 b5 32. Rc3 Be7 33.
a3 Kf6 34. Rc6+ Rd6 35. Rc7 Ke6 36. Ra7 Bf6 37. Ke2 h5 38. Kd3 Be5 39. g3 f5
40. Ra8 Bf6 41. f3 Kf7 42. h3 Ke6 43. g4 hxg4 44. hxg4 Bg7 45. Ra7 Be5 46. Rh7
Bg3 47. Ra7 Be5 48. Rb7 Bf6 49. g5 Be5 50. Rh7 Rd8 51. Bf2 Bh8 52. Ra7 Rd6 53.
Ra8 Bg7 54. Be3 Kf7 55. Ra7+ Kg8 56. Rc7 Be5 57. Rc5 Bg7 58. d5 Bb2 59. Kc2 Be5
60. f4 Bg7 61. Rc6 Rxd5 62. Rxg6 Kh7 63. Rxa6 Bd4 64. Bd2 Rd7 65. Rc6 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.24"]
[Round "5.10"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Sevian, Samuel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C88"]
[WhiteElo "2760"]
[BlackElo "2634"]
[PlyCount "183"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
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
b4 9. a5 d6 10. d3 Be6 11. Nbd2 Qc8 12. h3 Rb8 13. Nc4 h6 14. Be3 Rd8 15. Qe2
Bf8 16. Nfd2 g6 17. Ba4 Qb7 18. Qf3 Nh7 19. Qg3 Bg7 20. f4 exf4 21. Bxf4 Nf6
22. Be3 Nd7 23. Qf2 Nc5 24. Bxc6 Qxc6 25. Bd4 Bxd4 26. Qxd4 b3 27. c3 Nd7 28.
Qe3 d5 29. exd5 Bxd5 30. Qxh6 Re8 31. Ne3 Ne5 32. c4 Bxg2 33. Nxg2 Nxd3 34. Re3
Qc5 35. Kh1 Nf2+ 36. Kh2 Qd6+ 37. Kg1 Rxe3 38. Qxe3 Nxh3+ 39. Kh1 Kg7 40. Re1
Rh8 41. Qe5+ Qxe5 42. Rxe5 Ng5+ 43. Kg1 Rd8 44. Rd5 Rxd5 45. cxd5 Kf6 46. Nxb3
Ne4 47. Ne3 Ke5 48. Kg2 f5 49. Nc1 f4 50. Nc2 Kxd5 51. Nb4+ Kc4 52. Nxa6 Kb5
53. Nxc7+ Kxa5 54. Nd3 Nd2 55. Ne6 Kb5 56. Nexf4 Nc4 57. Ne6 Nxb2 {It appears
that this pawn is not really going anywhere and Sevian could instead start
with 57...g5 and try to run the pawn before sacrificing. But technically his
move wasn't a mistake, according to the tablebases.} 58. Nxb2 g5 59. Nd4+ Kc5
60. Nf5 g4 61. Ng3 {And sorry, but there's just no enough bandwidth for this
writer to determine every last mistake that cost Black here!} Kd4 62. Kf2 Kc3
63. Nd1+ Kd3 64. Ke1 Kc4 65. Kd2 Kd4 66. Nc3 Kc4 67. Nce2 Kd5 68. Kc3 Kc5 69.
Nf4 Kc6 70. Kc4 Kd6 71. Nd3 Kc6 72. Ne5+ Kd6 73. Kd4 Ke6 74. Nc4 Kf6 75. Ne3
Ke6 76. Nef5 Kd7 77. Kd5 Kc7 78. Nd4 Kd7 79. Ne6 Ke7 80. Nc5 Kf7 81. Kd6 Kf6
82. Nce4+ Kf7 83. Kd7 Kf8 84. Nd6 Kg7 85. Ke6 Kg6 86. Nde4 Kg7 87. Ke7 Kg8 (
87... Kg6 88. Kf8 Kh6 89. Kf7 {still drives the king to the corner}) 88. Kf6
Kh7 89. Nf5 Kg8 (89... g3 90. Kf7 g2 91. Ng5+ Kh8 92. Nh4 g1=Q 93. Ng6#) 90.
Ke7 g3 91. Nf6+ Kh8 92. Kf8 {Sadly Black resigned instead of promoting. If
instead 92...g2 he gets his queen but gets mated, since Nf5-h6-f7 takes two
moves as well.} 1-0
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.10.24"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Rapport, Richard"]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2725"]
[BlackElo "2656"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c3 d5 3. Nf3 e6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 ({The alternative is the development
with:} 4... b6 5. Nbd2 Bb7 6. e3 Be7 7. Ne5 O-O 8. Bd3 c5 9. O-O Nc6 10. f4
Nxe5 11. fxe5 Ne4 {although White got favourable version of the reversed
Stonewall in Al Sayed,M (2508)-Tregubov,P (2585) Doha 2016}) 5. Nbd2 h6 6. Bh4
b6 7. e4 $1 $146 {The always-creative Rapport uncorkes a novelty. This idea is
very common in similar situations (e.g. in the Tromp) and poses serious
problems to Xiong.} ({Previously White did not get much after} 7. e3 Bb7 8. Bd3
Be7 9. Qe2 c5 10. O-O O-O 11. Rad1 Qc7 12. e4 {Gerencer,J (2153)-Deak,A (2114)
Budapest 1999}) 7... g5 {The principled choice.} ({Although} 7... dxe4 8. Nxe4
Be7 {might be safer.}) 8. Bg3 dxe4 ({The trade of a pair of knights favours
White after:} 8... Nxe4 $6 9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. Ne5 Nxe5 (10... Bb7 {here just
loses to} 11. Bb5) 11. Bxe5 Rg8 12. f3 {with strong intiative for the first
player.}) 9. Ne5 Bb7 10. Bb5 a6 {Xiong is trying to clarify the situation.} ({
White has plenty of options to develop the initiative after} 10... Bg7 {Like}
11. h4 ({Or} 11. Nc6) ({And} 11. Qe2)) 11. Bc6 {Aggressive as usual.} ({
There is also the positional} 11. Ba4 b5 12. Bc2) 11... Bxc6 12. Nxc6 Qc8 {
The queen will replace the bishop on the long diagonal.} 13. Qe2 Qb7 14. Ne5
Bd6 15. Nxd7 Kxd7 {Once more Black keeps the pawn. At least for the time being.
In the future he plans to castle by hand.} ({Instead} 15... Nxd7 16. Bxd6 cxd6
17. Nxe4 {gives White the advantage without any fight.}) 16. O-O ({After} 16.
Be5 {Xiong most likely planned:} Bxe5 ({Since} 16... Ke7 17. Bxf6+ (17. O-O)
17... Kxf6 18. Nxe4+ Kg6 {looks too risky for Black.}) 17. dxe5 Nd5 18. Nxe4
Rad8 {followed by Kd7-c8.}) 16... Bf4 $1 {Getting ready to block center.} ({
Otherwise White will develop strong initiative along the e- and f-files:} 16...
Raf8 17. Rae1 Kc8 18. Bxd6 cxd6 19. f3 $1 exf3 20. Rxf3 Nd5 21. Qf1) 17. f3 $5
{Rapport insists on the sacrifice.} ({There was an argument for the move:} 17.
Rae1 $5 {Then after the possible} Ke7 18. Bxf4 gxf4 19. Nxe4 Qxe4 20. Qxe4 Nxe4
21. Rxe4 {Black will lose the f-pawn, but can get counterplay thanks to} f3 22.
g3 c5 23. dxc5 bxc5 24. Re3 Rhd8 25. Rxf3 Rd2) 17... e3 $1 ({Anytime the
center is opened, Black is in trouble. Both players most likely saw:} 17...
exf3 18. Nxf3 Qe4 19. Qxe4 Nxe4 20. Bxf4 gxf4 21. Ne5+ Ke7 22. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 23.
Rxf4+ Nf6 24. Raf1 {and White wins a pawn.}) 18. Nc4 Nd5 19. Bxf4 gxf4 20. Ne5+
Ke8 21. Qe1 {The plan is to kick the black knight back with c3-c4 and then win
both pawns on f4 and e3 with Qe1-h4.} c5 {Black is ready to sacrifice too!} (
21... b5 $5 {was also possible for example} 22. Qh4 c5 23. dxc5 Qe7) 22. c4
cxd4 $5 {This was the point.} ({Although Black was by no means forced to
sacrifice and could have gone for:} 22... Nb4 $5 23. Qc3 (23. Qh4 cxd4) 23...
Rg8 24. dxc5 bxc5 {with unclear play.}) 23. cxd5 Qxd5 24. Nd3 Qf5 {For the
piece Xiong has three pawns and two of them are far advanced passers. But
since the white knight is perfectly placed on d3, and most importantly, his
dafe king it is White who should be better.} 25. Qd1 (25. Rd1 Rc8 {leaves the
white rook workless on d1.}) 25... Ke7 26. Qb3 Rhd8 27. Rfc1 Rac8 28. Rc4 {
Once again Rapport plays for initiative.} ({But it was time to be more
materialistic with:} 28. Qa3+ Kf6 29. Qxa6 Ra8 30. Qc4 Rac8 31. Qb3 {when
White is better.}) 28... b5 29. Rc2 Kf8 {Finally, the king is safe, rooks are
connected. It is time to advance the passers.} 30. Rac1 e5 31. h3 {Useful move.
In many lines the king needs the air.} ({Black does not risk to lose the
endgame after:} 31. Rxc8 Rxc8 32. Rxc8+ Qxc8 33. Qd5 Qc2 34. Qc5+ Qxc5 35. Nxc5
Ke7 36. Nxa6 d3 37. Kf1 Kd6) 31... Rxc2 32. Rxc2 Kg7 {Sooner or later Black
will need this move.} ({Although it was more accurate to start with:} 32... Re8
33. Rc7 Re6 34. Qc2 Kg7) 33. Rc7 Re8 34. Qd5 Re6 {The culmination of the game.
Rapport made huge progress. He occupied the open file, penetrated along the
seventh rank and centralized the queen. His next move looks like a killer.} 35.
Nxf4 $6 {It indeed wins a pawn, but lifts the blockade and turns the black
pawns into a huge power.} (35. h4 {with an advantage, but I do not really
understand the idea.}) ({But maybe} 35. b4 {is useful. Sometimes later,
eventually in the endgame this pawn can decide the outcome of the game. Who
knows...}) 35... Rf6 $1 {Best. Xiong plays for a win now.} ({Surprisingly}
35... Qxf4 {does not lose after} 36. Qxe6 {The black pawns are strong enough
to secure half the point after} d3 37. Qd5 e2 38. Kf2 Qh4+ 39. g3 {When both:}
Qxg3+ $1 ({And} 39... e1=Q+ 40. Kxe1 Qxg3+ 41. Kd2 Qh2+ 42. Kxd3 e4+ 43. Kxe4
Qxc7 {which is equal as well.}) 40. Kxg3 e1=Q+ {should lead to a draw. Unless
White does not want to lose with:} 41. Kg4 $4 Qg1+ 42. Kf5 Qg6+ 43. Kxe5 Qg5+
44. Ke4 Qxd5+ 45. Kxd5 d2) 36. Ne2 ({Perhaps it was not too late for} 36. Nd3
Qxd3 37. Qxe5 e2 38. Kf2 Qb1 39. Qxe2) 36... d3 37. Nc3 $6 {Another mistake.} (
{The knight should have gone to the center with tempo-} 37. Ng3 Qg5 38. Ne4 {
when the followin non-forcing line was possible:} e2 39. Kf2 Qh4+ 40. g3 Qxh3
41. Rc1 Qf1+ $1 42. Rxf1 Rxf3+ 43. Kxf3 exf1=Q+ 44. Nf2 Qe2+ 45. Kg2 Qxb2 {
and anything is still possible.}) 37... Rg6 $1 {A very accurate move. Now
Black is close to winning.} ({But not} 37... e2 38. Kf2 Rg6 39. g4 $1 {and
White defends.}) 38. Re7 ({The last chance was:} 38. Rxf7+ Qxf7 39. Qxd3) 38...
b4 39. Nb1 ({If} 39. Ne4 e2 40. Kf2 Rxg2+ $1) 39... e2 40. Qxe5+ ({Or} 40. Kf2
Rxg2+ $1) ({Whereas} 40. Rxe5 e1=Q+ 41. Rxe1 Qxd5 {drops the queen.}) 40...
Qxe5 41. Rxe5 Rc6 (41... Rc6 {Rapport resigned not wishing to see} 42. Kf2 Rc1
43. Nd2 Rd1 44. Rxe2 dxe2 45. Kxe2 Ra1) 0-1
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.24"]
[Round "5.9"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2636"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O h6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3
g5 9. Ne1 Qc7 10. f4 c5 11. Nxc5 Nxc5 12. dxc5 Qxc5+ 13. Kh1 d4 14. Nd3 Qc7 15.
fxg5 O-O-O 16. Bg4 Bxg4 17. Qxg4 Nf5 18. Rxf5 $6 exf5 19. Qxf5+ Kb8 {The lack
of activity for Black, and White's two pawns, means he has about exactly equal
compensation for the exchange, but...} 20. g6 $2 {is probably too much. It
allows the position to open quickly.} (20. Qf2 {asking Black to help White
develop if he wants to open the h-file, was a better way.}) 20... fxg6 21. Qxg6
{As you'll later see, Black's rooks can use the g-file just as easily as the
h-file.} Be7 22. Bf4 Bg5 23. Bg3 (23. Qe4) 23... Qxc2 24. h4 Be3 25. e6+ Ka8
26. Qe4 Rhg8 27. Rf1 Rde8 $2 {Black has a very long line that won material
right away:} (27... Rxg3 $1 28. e7 Re8 29. Rf8 Rg8 30. Rxg8 Qd1+ (30... Rxg8 $2
31. e8=Q+) 31. Kh2 Qg1+ 32. Kh3 Qh1+ 33. Kg4 {all of those checks ensure the
rook could now be captured with check} Rxg8+ 34. Kf5 {the pawn on e7 is still
a problem but} Qf1+ {forces White to cross into the stream, so e8 is no longer
a concern} 35. Ke6 a6 $1 $17) 28. Rf7 Qc6 29. Qxc6 bxc6 30. Bd6 Rxe6 31. Bc5
Re4 32. Be7 Reg4 0-1
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.24"]
[Round "5.12"]
[White "Svane, Rasmus"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E00"]
[WhiteElo "2595"]
[BlackElo "2701"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 c5 4. Nf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qc7 6. Nc3 a6 7. Bg2 Qxc4 8.
O-O Nc6 9. Nb3 d5 10. Bf4 Be7 11. Rc1 Qb4 12. a3 Qb6 13. e4 dxe4 14. Be3 Qc7
15. Nc5 O-O 16. N5xe4 Bd7 17. Nxf6+ Bxf6 18. Na4 Be7 19. b4 Rae8 $2 {Allowing
a forced sequence that wins material for White.} 20. Bb6 Qd6 (20... Qc8 {
doesn't avoid Black's fate after} 21. Nc5 Bxc5 22. Bxc5 Ne7 23. Bxe7 {and a
discovered attack on the black queen.}) 21. Qxd6 Bxd6 22. Rfd1 {Bishops of
course cannot guard each other so Black resorts to desparate measures just to
avoid losing a whole piece.} Ne7 23. Nc3 Nd5 24. Bxd5 exd5 25. Rxd5 Re6 26.
Rcd1 {Still an issue!} Bb8 27. Rxd7 Rxb6 28. Nd5 Re6 29. Ne7+ Kh8 30. Rd8 {
Kind of pretty how the knight prevents ...Kg8} Re1+ 31. Kg2 $1 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.24"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Parligras, Mircea-Emilian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "2780"]
[BlackElo "2623"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Re1
O-O 9. h3 h6 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. Nf1 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. b4 d5 14. Qc2 dxe4 15.
dxe4 Qd7 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. Nxe3 Rd8 18. Rad1 Rd6 19. Rxd6 Qxd6 20. b5 axb5 21.
axb5 Na5 22. Qa4 b6 23. Rd1 Qe7 24. Rxd8+ Qxd8 25. Nxe5 Qd2 26. Nf3 Qxc3 27. e5
Nd7 28. Qe4 Nf8 29. Qa8 c6 30. g3 cxb5 31. Nf5 g6 32. Nxh6+ (32. e6 $1 {
was possible since the Nf8 is pinned and} fxe6 {greatly loosens Black's king's
safety} 33. Nxh6+ Kg7 34. Kg2 $1) 32... Kg7 33. Nxf7 $6 {Even here MVL needn't
be "all-in" since} (33. Kg2 {is still playable} Qc6 34. Qd8 Nc4 35. Qg5 {
guards the h6-knight directly and the f3 knight from getting piled on from ...
Nd2 or ...Nxe5} Nxe5 $2 36. Nf5+ Kg8 (36... Kh8 37. Qh6+ Nh7 38. Qg7#) 37. Ne7+
) 33... Qc1+ 34. Kg2 Kxf7 35. Qa7+ Kg8 36. Qxb6 Nc6 37. Qxb5 {This was
Vachier-Lagrave's idea -- three pawns for his knight. Clearly he's still the
one pushing for the win, but Black holds.} Nd8 38. Nd4 Qc7 39. Qd5+ Kg7 40. h4
Qe7 41. f4 Qb7 42. Qxb7+ Nxb7 43. Kf3 Nc5 44. g4 {White's pawns end up looking
more impressive than they are.} Nfd7 45. e6 Nb6 46. h5 gxh5 47. g5 Nd5 48. f5
Kf8 49. Kg3 Ke7 50. Kh4 Nf4 51. f6+ Ke8 52. e7 Ne4 53. Nf5 Kf7 54. Nh6+ Ke8 55.
Nf5 Kf7 56. Nh6+ Ke8 57. Nf5 1/2-1/2
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.25"]
[Round "6.20"]
[White "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Black "Schneider, Ilja"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2703"]
[BlackElo "2507"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bf4 e5 8.
Bg5 a6 9. Na3 b5 10. Nd5 Qa5+ 11. Bd2 Qd8 12. Bd3 Nxd5 13. exd5 Ne7 14. c4 g6
15. cxb5 Bg7 16. O-O O-O 17. Nc2 axb5 18. Bxb5 Rb8 19. a4 Nxd5 20. b4 Rxb5 21.
axb5 Bb7 22. Qe2 Qb6 23. Be3 Nxe3 24. Nxe3 d5 25. Ra6 Bxa6 26. bxa6 Qxb4 27.
Nxd5 Qa5 28. Ne7+ Kh8 29. Nc6 Qb6 30. Nxe5 Qe6 31. f4 g5 32. Qb5 gxf4 33. Re1
Kg8 34. a7 Qe7 35. Qa5 Ra8 36. Nc6 Qd7 37. Qb6 Bf8 38. Kh1 Qd5 39. Qb7 Re8 40.
Rg1 Qa2 41. Nb8 $2 {White had a multitude of ways to win, from the very direct}
(41. Qb8 {to the fairly direct}) (41. Qd7 {to just sitting on the position with
}) (41. h3) 41... Qf2 $1 {Now even two queens won't help White.} 42. Qb5 {
Now White scrambles just to draw} (42. a8=Q $2 Re1 43. Qaa7 (43. Qxf7+ {
actually does hold merely a draw after a complicated series of checks}) 43...
Rxg1#) 42... Re1 43. Qg5+ Kh8 44. Qf6+ 1/2-1/2
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.25"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Jumabayev, Rinat"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. Be2 d6 6. Nc3 Bf5 7. Nd2 e5 8. d5 e4
9. g4 {Often allowing this move is a mistake in the King's Indian Attack setup,
since it costs the e4-pawn (which would normally be on e5 in the "normal"
white version of the KIA. But here it's a straight pawn sac.} Bc8 10. g5 (10.
Ndxe4 Nxe4 11. Nxe4 f5 $13 {as in the game}) 10... Nfd7 11. Ndxe4 f5 12. gxf6
Nxf6 13. Ng3 Bh3 14. e4 Nbd7 15. Bg5 c6 16. Qd2 Qa5 (16... Nc5 17. f3 b5 {
may not be a serious idea, but remind of how Kasparov liked to play the KID in
the early 1990s.}) 17. f3 Ne5 18. Rg1 cxd5 19. cxd5 Rac8 {It is much easier to
play Black now. The White king has nowhere to hide.} 20. Nd1 (20. O-O-O Qxa2)
20... Qa4 21. Nc3 Qb4 22. Nd1 Qa4 23. Nc3 Qd7 (23... Rxc3 24. Qxc3 Nfd7 {
is a fantastic idea, but MVL probably didn't feel the need to risk anything
with such a fun position.}) 24. Bh6 b5 25. Bxg7 Qxg7 26. Nxb5 Qb7 27. Nd4 Qb6
28. Rd1 Rce8 29. Qc3 Rc8 30. Qd2 Rce8 31. Qc3 Rc8 32. Qa3 $1 (32. Qd2 {Would
have been the third repetition, but Jumabayev goes for more! If only bravery
by itself earned points.}) 32... Rc2 33. f4 $2 {now everything falls apart
right away. MVL now eats four pieces in a row, faster than the average
Frenchman can melt Raclette.} (33. b4 {was close to forced, but now after
White's blunder he's going to wish he'd taken that draw.}) 33... Rxb2 $1 34.
Nf1 (34. fxe5 dxe5 {was the tactical point.} 35. Nf3 Ng4 {and either ...Qf2 or
even ...Rxf3 are both big problems.}) 34... Nxe4 35. fxe5 dxe5 36. Ng3 exd4 {
White resigned rather than see 37. Nxe4 d3 and the opening of the diagonal is
too much to handle.} 0-1
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.10.25"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Gupta, Abhijeet"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2588"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 {The reversed Rossolimo line.} 5. Bg2
O-O 6. O-O d6 7. d3 h6 ({Duda chose a different path against Kramnik:} 7...
Bxc3 8. bxc3 e4 9. Nd4 exd3 10. exd3 Nxd4 11. cxd4 d5 12. Bg5 c6 13. cxd5 cxd5
14. Qb3 {but could not quite equalize, Kramnik,V (2792)-Duda,J (2737) Dortmund
2018. We analyzed this game for the chess.com members.}) 8. Na4 Bc5 {Most
likely not the best.} (8... Ba5 {was tried by Short once.}) ({Whereas Nakamura
himself (as well as other top players like Topalov, Eljanov, etc.) preferred
to defend with:} 8... a5 9. b3 Re8 10. Bb2 Bf5 11. e3 Qe7 12. a3 Bc5 13. Nc3
Qd7 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. cxd5 Ne7 {and later held on his own, Svidler,P (2757)
-Nakamura,H (2790) Moscow 2016}) 9. Nxe5 $1 {An over-the-board novelty,
although this has already been seen in an email game. White gets the bishop
pair and secures some advantage.} ({Previously moves like} 9. e3 {were played,
and after} a6 10. b3 Ba7 11. Bb2 Re8 12. Nc3 Be6 13. h3 d5 14. e4 dxe4 15. dxe4
Bd7 {and Black had no problems in Kravtsiv,M (2576)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2671) Al
Ain 2014}) 9... Nxe5 ({Or} 9... Bxf2+ 10. Rxf2 dxe5 11. h3 {with slight
advantage for White.}) 10. d4 Bxd4 ({Similar is} 10... Bb6 11. dxe5 dxe5 {
when White has a choice between} 12. Nxb6 ({And} 12. Qc2 $5) 12... axb6 13. b3)
11. Qxd4 Nc6 $146 {Technically speaking, this is the novelty.} ({Black could
not solve all his problems in the email predecessor:} 11... Re8 12. b3 Nc6 13.
Qd3 Bg4 14. Re1 Bh5 15. Bb2 {Szczepanski,Z (2523)-Buzas,G (2347) LSS email 2009
}) ({Interesting was:} 11... Bg4 $5 {when White should avoid} 12. Bxb7 $2 ({
But should prefer instead} 12. Re1 $5) ({Or like in the game:} 12. f3 $5) 12...
Bxe2 13. Re1 c6 $1 {and it is Black who is on top.}) 12. Qd2 Bf5 13. b3 {
The bishops will be perfect on the long diagonals.} Re8 14. f3 {Getting ready
to seize the center.} a6 $1 {Gupta is a very active player and would not miss
a chance to play actively. The b7-b5 advance is in fact a fight for the center
as well, as the c4 pawn is cleared and then the black central one can occupy
it.} ({There was also} 14... Qd7 {but the trade of the light squared bishops
makes little sense here as almost all the white pawns are on light squares-}
15. Bb2 Ne5 16. e4 Bh3 17. Rad1) ({Black can also try something like} 14... a5
15. Nc3 Nd7 {followed by Nd7-c5, but this can hardly suffice for the equality.}
) 15. Nc3 b5 {The point.} ({There is no time to prepare this advance:} 15...
Rb8 16. e4 ({Or} 16. Bb2 b5 17. e4 Bg6 18. Nd5 {with similar consequences})
16... Be6 17. Nd5 b5 18. Bb2 {and White enjoys stable advantage.}) 16. cxb5
axb5 17. Nxb5 {Nakamura grabs the pawn.} Qb8 18. Nc3 d5 {This is what the pawn
was sacrificed for. Gupta wants to expel the white pieces and seize space.} ({
The play for tricks with} 18... Qb6+ 19. Rf2 Ne5 20. e4 Bh3 {is easily
repelled with either} 21. Qe3 ({Or} 21. Bb2) ({But certainly not} 21. Bxh3 $4
Nxf3+)) 19. Bb2 {The second pawn is rejected by the American GM.} ({It could
have been taken though.Then} 19. Nxd5 Nxd5 20. Qxd5 Qb6+ 21. Kh1 Qd4 $5 {
would lead to an endgame where all the queenside pawns disappear after} 22.
Qxd4 Nxd4 23. e4 Be6 24. Bf4 Nc2 25. Rac1 Rxa2 26. Rf2 Bxb3 27. Bxc7 {White is
still ahead, but since the remaining pawns are on the same flank his win is
not certain.}) 19... Qa7+ {Gupta is correctly attracted by the e3 square, but
places the wrong piece there.} ({Better was:} 19... d4 $1 20. Na4 Qb5 21. Rfe1
Nd5 22. Bxd4 (22. Rac1 Ne3 {is similar.}) 22... Nxd4 23. Qxd4 Ne3 {with full
compensation for a pawn.}) 20. Kh1 Qe3 21. Rfd1 ({Avoiding} 21. Rad1 d4) ({And
} 21. Qxe3 Rxe3 22. Rac1 d4 23. Na4 Nb4 {since the black pieces become too
active here.}) 21... Qf2 {The queen keeps moving into the wrong direction.} ({
The last chance was:} 21... d4 22. Nb5 Nd5 23. Nxd4 Nxd4 24. Bxd4 Qxe2 {
When White has a pleasant choice between the tactical:} 25. Bxg7 $5 ({And the
positional} 25. f4 $5 {with an extra pawn in either case.}) 25... Qxd2 26. Rxd2
Kxg7 27. Rxd5 Bc2 28. b4 Rxa2 29. Rxa2 Bb3 30. Rc5 Bxa2 31. Bf1 {with a solid
extra pawn, but chances for Black to survive.} ({Of course not} 31. Rxc7 $4
Re1+)) 22. Re1 Nb4 {Gupta created serious threats, but Nakamura is faster.} 23.
Nb5 $1 {The threat is to trap the queen with Bb2-d4.} Nc2 24. Bd4 Ne3 ({Or}
24... Nxd4 25. Nxd4 Bd7 26. Rf1 Qe3 27. Qxe3 Rxe3 28. Rfc1 {with won endgame
for White.}) 25. Bxe3 Rxe3 26. Rf1 {The decisive "little tactics". White wins
a piece.} Qxe2 27. Qxe2 Rxe2 28. Nd4 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.25"]
[Round "6.14"]
[White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Black "Antipov, Mikhail Al."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D15"]
[WhiteElo "2711"]
[BlackElo "2593"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 a6 5. g3 Bf5 6. Bg2 e6 7. Nh4 Bg4 8. h3 Bh5
9. Qb3 b5 10. c5 a5 11. g4 Nfd7 12. Nf3 Bg6 13. Bf4 Be7 14. O-O O-O 15. Rfe1
Re8 16. a3 Na6 17. Qd1 Nc7 18. b4 Qc8 19. e3 Qb7 20. Nd2 axb4 21. axb4 Rxa1 22.
Qxa1 Ra8 23. Qb2 Bd8 24. e4 dxe4 25. Ndxe4 h6 26. Nd6 Qa6 27. Qe2 Nf6 28. h4 h5
29. g5 Nfd5 30. Nxd5 exd5 31. Be5 Qa3 32. Qd2 Qb3 33. Nb7 Ne6 34. Re3 $2 {
White's demise can be traced back this move. It essentially allows Black to
freely place his rook from a8 to a2, which must be a net positive.} (34. Bg3 {
solidifies White's position and help inhibit rook invasions since then either
Rxe6 or even better Nxd8 and Re8+ would follow.}) 34... Ra1+ 35. Re1 Ra2 36.
Qe3 Qxb4 37. Bg3 Kh7 38. Nxd8 Nxd8 39. Qe7 Ra7 40. Qe8 Ne6 41. Rxe6 fxe6 42.
Qxe6 Ra1+ 43. Kh2 Qe1 44. Qd7 Qg1+ 45. Kh3 Ra7 {A nice finish. If now 46. Qe6
the bishop achieves the diagonal anyway with 46...Rf7.} 0-1
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.25"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E06"]
[WhiteElo "2656"]
[BlackElo "2722"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
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
Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Nbd7 11. Nc3 h6 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. b4 Bd5 14. Nxd5 exd5
15. Qb3 c6 16. e3 Ne4 17. Rfc1 Bf6 18. Rab1 Re8 19. b5 axb5 20. axb5 Qd7 21.
bxc6 bxc6 22. Rc2 Qd6 23. Rbc1 Reb8 24. Qd3 Rb6 25. Ne1 Ng5 26. Qf5 Ne6 27. Nf3
Rab8 28. h4 Nd8 29. h5 Qe6 30. Bh3 Kf8 31. Kg2 Qxf5 32. Bxf5 Ke7 33. Ra1 Kd6
34. Nh2 Ne6 35. Ra7 R8b7 36. Ra8 Rb8 37. Rxb8 Rxb8 38. Ng4 Rc8 39. Ra2 c5 40.
Ra6+ Rc6 41. dxc5+ Nxc5 42. Rxc6+ Kxc6 43. Nxf6 gxf6 44. f4 Kd6 45. g4 Ne6 46.
Kf3 (46. Bxe6 fxe6 47. g5 fxg5 48. fxg5 Ke7 49. g6 {is actually not winning,
even after} e5 50. Kf3 Kf6 51. Ke2 Kg7 52. Kd3 Kf6 53. Kc3 Kg7 54. Kb4 d4 55.
exd4 exd4 56. Kc4 Kf6 57. Kxd4 Kg7 58. Ke5 Kf8 59. Kf6 Kg8 {and there's no way
through since} 60. g7 Kh7 61. Kf7 {stalemate}) 46... Ng7 47. Bc8 Ke7 48. Bb7 f5
49. g5 Nxh5 50. gxh6 Kf6 51. Bxd5 Kg6 52. h7 Kxh7 53. Bxf7 Nf6 54. Ke2 Kg7 55.
Be6 Ne4 56. Bd7 Kf6 57. Bc6 Ng3+ 58. Kd3 Nh5 59. Kd4 Ng7 60. Kd5 1/2-1/2
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.25"]
[Round "6.29"]
[White "Kolosowski, Mateusz"]
[Black "Hess, Robert"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "2448"]
[BlackElo "2574"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. Nf3 e6 2. c4 d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. b3 c5 5. Bb2 Nc6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Be2 Bd6 8. O-O
O-O 9. Nc3 d4 10. exd4 cxd4 11. Nb5 Bc5 12. Qc2 b6 13. a3 a5 14. h3 Ba6 15. Bc4
Qd7 16. Rfe1 Rac8 17. Qd3 a4 18. bxa4 Bb7 19. Ba2 Ra8 20. Ng5 Rxa4 21. Re6 $1 {
Not winning, but this rook wreaks havoc in the next few moves.} h6 (21... fxe6
22. Bxe6+) 22. Rxf6 $1 hxg5 (22... gxf6 23. Qh7#) 23. Rf5 Qe7 (23... Ne7 24.
Rxg5 Ba6 25. Bb3 Bxb5 26. Qg3 $1 Kh8 27. Qh4+ Kg8 28. Qg3 $10) 24. Qg3 Ra5 25.
Rxg5 Qf6 26. Bc4 Be7 27. Rg6 $1 {The rook has made the funny movement
e6-f6-f5-g5-g6. A true snake! Time for it to die, even if it costs the queen.}
Qxg6 28. Qxg6 Rxb5 29. Qc2 Rc5 30. a4 Ne5 31. d3 Nxc4 32. dxc4 {Even though
White is for choice, the Black bishops and passer on d4 make things not so
easy.} Rg5 33. g3 Rd8 34. Ba3 Bf6 35. Re1 d3 36. Qd2 Rh5 37. Kh2 Bc8 38. h4 Be6
39. Re4 Rf5 40. f4 $2 Ra5 41. c5 Bf5 42. Rc4 Ra6 (42... Re8 {was even more
direct.}) 43. c6 Re8 44. Kg1 b5 $1 {The other rook now enters the attack, and
unlike the trend from this tournament, the connected passers won't reach
paydirt before the White king expires.} 0-1
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.10.26"]
[Round "7.12"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Le, Quang Liem"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B68"]
[WhiteElo "2636"]
[BlackElo "2715"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 {The Classical Sicilian
against Shirov?! Daring! Why not something dull instead? Maybe next time...} 6.
Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 Be7 10. Nf3 b5 11. Bd3 b4 12. Ne2 Qc7 13.
h4 $146 {A logical novelty. White advances on the side where he is expecting
to meet the opponent's king.} ({The less convincing:} 13. Ned4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4
Qb6 15. Nf3 Ng4 16. Bxe7 Kxe7 {was played instead in Nayhebaver,M (2456)
-Demchenko,A (2671) Lisbon 2018}) 13... a5 ({The immediate} 13... h6 14. Bxf6
Bxf6 15. g4 {would only speed White's attack.}) 14. h5 h6 {Now he can win the
bishop pair.} 15. Bxf6 (15. Bh4 O-O {is good for Black.}) 15... gxf6 {Getting
into the typical Classical pawn structure. The solid pawn shield in the middle
protects the black king.} ({However, there was an argument for:} 15... Bxf6 $5
{when Black likely feared} 16. Bb5 (16. g4 b3 $1 17. axb3 (17. cxb3 Ne5+) 17...
a4 {looks excellent for Black.}) 16... Be7 17. Kb1 a4 18. c4 {with a bind.})
16. Kb1 Rb8 ({Here} 16... b3 $2 17. cxb3 {leads Black nowhere.}) 17. f5 {
The plan against this pawn structure is to weaken it as much as possible with
this advance, eventually trade on e6, and put as much pressure against the e6
pawn. Once it moves, the white knights will have access to the juicy central
outposts.} e5 ({In case of} 17... a4 18. fxe6 fxe6 19. Nf4 Ne5 20. Nd4 {
Black already has difficulties with the pawn and will have to defend it with}
Kf7) 18. Nh2 $1 {It is very common that the h-pawn disappears in the Classical
Sicilian. The unusual thing in the game is that it happens on the h6 square.}
a4 ({Since it cannot be adequately defended:} 18... Kf8 19. Ng4 Kg7 20. Rh3)
19. Ng4 Na5 20. b3 Bc6 21. Nxh6 d5 $1 {This is why Black is willing to part
with the pawn. Le gets central counterplay.} 22. exd5 Bxd5 23. Ng4 {The knight
needs to leave the h6-square as soon as possible.} ({It is hanging there, for
instance in this line:} 23. Rhg1 e4 24. Nf4 exd3 25. Nxd5 Qxc2+ 26. Qxc2 dxc2+
27. Kxc2 axb3+ 28. axb3 Rxh6) 23... axb3 ({Now} 23... e4 {fails to} 24. Nf4 $1)
({And} 23... Bxg2 24. Rhg1 Bf3 (24... Bc6 25. Ng3 {and once the knight
occupies the e4 square White should be clearly better.}) 25. Qe3 Bxg4 26. Rxg4
Bc5 27. Qh3 {is an advantage for White too.}) 24. cxb3 Bxg2 25. Rhg1 Bc6 {
Black regained the pawn but his counterplay on both the queenside and the
center petered out. It is Shirov who is controlling the center.} 26. h6 ({
Also good was} 26. Ng3 Rd8 27. Qe3 {preparing to put something on the e4
square.}) 26... Nb7 {The knight is heading to the center.} 27. Qe3 {But its
road is cut.} Ra8 ({Tactics work for White after} 27... Bc5 $2 28. Nxf6+ Ke7 ({
Or} 28... Kf8 29. Qg5 Bxg1 30. Rxg1 {and Black is helpless.}) 29. Qg5 Bxg1 30.
Nd5+ {and wins.}) ({As well as after} 27... Nc5 28. Nxf6+ (28. Bc2 $5) 28...
Bxf6 29. Qxc5) 28. Be4 {Probably Shirov's only inaccuracy in the game.} ({
He could have kept the knight away from his queenside with:} 28. Rc1 $1 Nd6 29.
Ng3 {followed by Ng3-h5!}) 28... Nd6 29. Ng3 Nb5 {Now White is practically
forced to part with the exchange.} 30. Rc1 Nc3+ 31. Rxc3 bxc3 32. Rc1 Bxe4+ 33.
Nxe4 {White's game remains still far more pleasant. After all the black rook
on h8 does not take part in the play.} Qa5 ({Better looked} 33... Kf8 34. Rxc3
Qd7 35. Qf3 Qa7 36. a4 (36. Qg2 Rd8) 36... Qb7 37. Ka2 Rd8 {with chances for a
successful defense.}) 34. a4 Rb8 35. Rxc3 {Setting a trap.} Qa6 {into which Le
does not fall.} (35... Qxa4 $4 36. Nexf6+ Kf8 (36... Kd8 37. Rd3+) 37. Rc8+ $1)
36. Kc2 O-O {Castling on move 36? Better late than never, but not in this case.
..} ({For good or for bad, Le should have kept playing with his king in the
middle.} 36... Rd8 37. Rc4 Kf8) 37. Nxe5 $1 {Not only grabbing a pawn but the
exchange too.} Kh8 {There is nothing else.} (37... fxe5 $4 38. Qg3+ {is mate})
({As well as} 37... Rfc8 $2 38. Qg3+ Kf8 39. Qg7+ Ke8 40. Qxf7+ Kd8 41. Qg8+
Bf8 42. Qxf8#) 38. Nd7 Rxb3 39. Kxb3 {White is up a piece and a pawn. The rest
is technique, although Shirov has to be careful with his exposed king.} (39.
Rxb3 {was also sufficient for the win after} Rd8 40. Ndc5) 39... Qb7+ 40. Nb6
Rb8 41. a5 Qd7 ({On} 41... Qd5+ {I suspect that Shirov planned a Steinitz/
Short sortie of the king with} 42. Ka4 $1 Qa2+ 43. Kb5 $1 Qb1+ 44. Ka6 $1 Qf1+
45. Ka7 $1 {and his majesty is taking care of himself.}) 42. Qd3 Qxf5 43. Nc5
Qh5 44. Nb7 {Little tactics to defend everything.} ({Although there was
nothing wrong with} 44. Qe3 Qd1+ 45. Kc4) 44... Qg4 (44... Rxb7 45. Rc8+ Bf8
46. Rxf8#) 45. Nd6 {Back to the center!} Qe6+ 46. Ndc4 Bc5 47. Qg3 Rg8 48. Qc7
Bd4 49. Rg3 {It is impressive how well and beautifully Shirov coordinated his
troops.} Re8 50. Qd7 Qe1 51. Qg4 Qb1+ 52. Ka4 $1 ({It is never too late to
spoil an excellent game.} 52. Ka3 $4 Bc5+ 53. Ka4 Qb4#) 52... Qa1+ 53. Kb5 f5
54. Qxf5 Qe1 55. Rg4 Qd1 56. h7 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.26"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2780"]
[BlackElo "2721"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. O-O Be7 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 a6 8. Ba4
Re8 9. Nbd2 Bf8 10. Nf1 h6 11. Ng3 b5 12. Bb3 Be6 13. Bxe6 Rxe6 14. a4 b4 15.
d4 d5 16. dxe5 (16. c4 $6 {The commentators were intrigued by this option that
detonates the center of the board, but Vachier-Lagrave provided clarity in his
post-game interview.} dxe4 17. d5 Re8 {is "comfortable for Black."}) 16... Nxe4
17. c4 $1 {Naiditsch is in serious trouble. He finds the practical try.} Nxe5
18. cxd5 Nxf2 $1 {Naiditsch will get two pawns for the piece and some
compensation in the form of easier coordination of forces and a solid king
position.} 19. Kxf2 Ng4+ 20. Kf1 Rxe1+ 21. Qxe1 (21. Kxe1 $5 {This looks
unsafe, but Black will now need to spend time recovering the d5-pawn (or let
it go). Likely this was a better winning try.}) 21... Qxd5 22. Qe4 (22. Bf4 {
White can still play for the win, but the position is by no means comfortable
for either player.}) 22... Qd1+ 23. Qe1 Qd5 24. Qe4 Qd1+ 25. Qe1 1/2-1/2
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.27"]
[Round "8.5"]
[White "Jones, Gawain C B"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 d5 7. Bb5 Ne4 8. cxd4
Bb6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Be3 Bg4 11. h3 Bh5 12. Qc2 Bg6 13. Qb3 Ne7 14. O-O c6 15.
Bd3 Kh8 16. Nh4 c5 17. Nxg6+ fxg6 18. Bxe4 cxd4 19. Nxd5 Nxd5 20. Bd2 Nf4 21.
Bb4 Qg5 {You can't say Levon wasn't going for it!} (21... Qh4 {was a corollary
idea.}) 22. Bxf8 Rxf8 23. e6 $1 (23. Rae1 Qxe5 24. Bxb7 {was also playable})
23... Bc7 (23... d3 24. Kh1) 24. Kh1 Qe5 25. Bxb7 (25. e7 $1 {is the
computer's suggestion, but the computer doesn't have to wear a heart-rate
monitor.}) 25... Nxe6 26. g3 Nc5 27. Qd5 Rd8 28. Qxe5 Bxe5 29. Rae1 Bf6 30. Bc6
d3 31. Re8+ Rxe8 32. Bxe8 Bxb2 33. Rd1 Bc3 34. Bf7 g5 35. Bc4 d2 36. Rb1 g6 37.
Rb8+ Kg7 38. Rd8 Kf6 39. Be2 Ke5 40. Bf3 Ne6 41. Rd7 Bd4 42. Kg2 h5 43. Kf1 Kf6
44. Bd1 Ke5 45. Ke2 g4 46. hxg4 hxg4 47. Bb3 Nc5 48. Rd5+ Ke4 49. Rg5 Bxf2 50.
Bc2+ Kd4 51. Rxc5 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.27"]
[Round "8.29"]
[White "Jumabayev, Rinat"]
[Black "Kashlinskaya, Alina"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A06"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2447"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 Nf6 3. Bb2 e6 4. g3 c5 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. e3 Nc6 8. Qe2
Re8 9. c4 d4 10. exd4 cxd4 11. d3 Bc5 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. Qxe5 Nd7 14. Qe2 e5 15.
Ba3 a5 16. Re1 Bxa3 17. Nxa3 Nc5 18. Nb5 Bf5 19. Rad1 h6 20. Qc2 Qb6 21. a3
Rac8 22. Bf1 Bd7 23. b4 axb4 24. axb4 Bxb5 25. cxb5 Ne4 26. Qb3 Nc3 27. Ra1
Qxb5 28. Ra5 Qd7 29. Raxe5 Rxe5 30. Rxe5 Ra8 31. Qb2 Qc7 32. Rc5 Qd6 33. Qd2 $2
(33. Ra5 {was necessary to shut down the file}) 33... Ra1 34. Rc8+ (34. Kg2 g5
$1 {and the squeeze is on}) 34... Kh7 35. Re8 $2 {An early birthday gift to
Alina. "Loose pieces drop off" and this is no exception.} Rxf1+ $1 36. Kxf1 Qc6
37. Re4 f5 0-1
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.27"]
[Round "8.24"]
[White "Keymer, Vincent"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2491"]
[BlackElo "2701"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O
Re8 9. e4 dxc4 10. Bxc4 e5 11. Rd1 exd4 12. Nxd4 Qc7 13. g3 Ne5 14. Be2 Bh3 15.
Bg5 Neg4 16. Bf1 Bxf1 17. Rxf1 Be5 18. Nf5 g6 19. Nh6+ Nxh6 20. Bxh6 Ng4 21.
Bd2 Rad8 22. Kg2 Qe7 23. h3 Nf6 24. Rfe1 Qc5 25. Rad1 Qc4 26. Bg5 Rxd1 27. Rxd1
b5 28. f3 b4 29. Qe2 Qe6 30. Na4 Qxa2 31. Qc2 c5 32. Nxc5 Rc8 33. Rd2 Qa5 34.
Be3 Qc7 35. Qd3 Qc6 36. Kf2 Bc7 37. Na6 Rd8 38. Nxb4 Qe6 39. Qxd8+ (39. Qc3 {
is also playable, but that's no way to get your game included in a news report!
}) 39... Bxd8 40. Rxd8+ Kg7 41. Bd4 {Who wants to play Black here? Not most
people!} Kh6 (41... Qxh3 {giving up the knight and going for checks may be the
best practical try} 42. Rd6 Qh2+) 42. g4 Nd7 43. Nd5 f5 44. Rh8 fxe4 45. f4 $1
Nf8 46. g5+ Kh5 47. Nf6+ Kh4 48. Nxh7 e3+ 49. Bxe3 {The discoveries on the
h-file are unstoppable.} 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.27"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B50"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2656"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Nc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Qxf3 g6 8. Nc3
Bg7 9. Qd1 O-O 10. a3 a6 11. Ba2 b5 12. Bg5 e6 13. Qd2 Qa5 14. f4 b4 15. axb4
cxb4 16. Ne2 b3 17. Qxa5 Nxa5 18. cxb3 h6 19. Bh4 Rab8 20. b4 Nc6 21. Be1 Nxb4
22. Bb1 Nd7 23. Bc3 Rb6 24. f5 exf5 25. exf5 g5 26. f6 Bh8 27. Bd4 Rc6 28. Ng3
Nd5 29. Ra5 Nf4 30. Nf5 Re8 31. Kh1 Bxf6 32. Nxh6+ Kg7 33. Nf5+ Kf8 34. b4 d5
35. Bf2 Rb8 36. g3 Nxh3 37. Be3 d4 38. Nxd4 Bxd4 39. Bxd4 Rxb4 40. Rd5 Ke7 41.
Ba2 Rc2 42. Bc4 f6 43. Re1+ Kd8 44. Bxf6+ Kc8 45. Bd4 Nf2+ 46. Bxf2 Rxf2 47.
Bxa6+ Kc7 48. Rc1+ Kb6 49. Rd6+ Ka7 50. Ra1 {Surely Black's king is mated,
right? Actually, no!} Ne5 51. Rh6 Kb8 52. Rh8+ Kc7 53. Rc1+ Kd6 54. Rh6+ Kd5
55. Rh2 Rbb2 56. Rxf2 Rxf2 57. Kg1 Rb2 58. Rf1 Kd4 59. Rf2 Rxf2 60. Kxf2 Ng4+ {
Finding a surprising fortress. White's king can never get to g4 and "going
around the world" via the queenside would leave the g3 pawn too weak.} 61. Ke2
Ne5 62. Kf2 Ng4+ 63. Kf3 Ne5+ 64. Ke2 Ng4 65. Bb7 Ne5 66. Be4 Ng4 67. Bf5
1/2-1/2
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.10.27"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C60"]
[WhiteElo "2721"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. d4 exd4 5. c3 Nge7 6. cxd4 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8.
O-O Bg7 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. Bg5 Qd6 11. Re1+ Be6 12. Nbd2 O-O 13. Ne4 Qb4 14. Qc1
Rfe8 15. Bd2 Qb6 16. Nc5 Bf5 17. Ne5 {In the sharp Cozio line White managed to
double ealy the opponent's pawns, but in return Black got the bishop pair.
Still, the comfartable c5 and e5 outposts make White's play easier.} Rad8 {[#]}
({In a recent game White got much better after:} 17... Re7 18. a4 Bxe5 19. dxe5
Rb8 20. b4 Rbe8 21. Qc4 Rxe5 22. Rxe5 Rxe5 23. g4 {Ly,M (2501)-Banusz,T (2616)
Abu Dhabi 2016}) 18. h3 $146 {A novelty.} ({In comparison to the predecessor:}
18. b3 Nf6 ({But perhaps Black had in mind the forcing line:} 18... Nb4 $5 19.
Bxb4 Qxb4 20. Nxc6 Rxe1+ 21. Qxe1 Qxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Rd6 23. Ne7+ Kf8 24. Nxf5 gxf5
25. Kf1 Bxd4 {when the most likely outcome should be a draw.}) 19. Qc4 {
with edge for White,Rozentalis,E (2600)-Pavlidis,A (2354) Milan 2014}) 18...
Nf6 ({Another way to play the position is} 18... f6 19. Nc4 Rxe1+ 20. Bxe1 {
when White is definitely more comfortable to say at least.}) 19. Nb3 {
Naiditsch is looking for a solid edge.} ({There was also the rude} 19. g4 $5
Bc8 20. Qc4 Nd5 21. b4 {which looks pretty nice for White.}) 19... Rd5 {
The pawn was doomed anyway.} (19... Rd6 $2 20. Nc4) ({Or even worse} 19... Re6
$2 20. g4 $1 Be4 21. g5) 20. Nxc6 Rxe1+ 21. Bxe1 Bf8 22. Ne5 Be6 {Nakamura's
compensation for the pawn does not seem sufficient, but White's next move
allows Black kingside threats.} 23. Nc4 ({Both} 23. Qf4 $5) ({And} 23. Bc3 $5 {
seemed more precise.}) 23... Qb7 {Aiming for the g-square.} ({However, there
was an argument for} 23... Qb5 {which gives some extra support for the black
rook. The following line are not obligatory, but demonstrate Black's
possibilities:} 24. Ne3 Rg5 25. f4 ({If} 25. Qxc7 Nd5 $1 26. Qa5 (26. Nxd5 Qxd5
27. Qh2 Bd6) 26... Qxa5 27. Nxa5 Nxe3 28. fxe3 Bxh3 {when Black is not worse.})
25... Rh5 26. Qxc7 Qe2 27. Bf2 Ne4 28. Qc2 Qxc2 29. Nxc2 Rb5 {if White has any
advantage, it is not much.}) 24. Ne3 Rh5 ({Now} 24... Rg5 {fails to} 25. Ng4 $1
{(the rook is not protected)} Rf5 26. Nc5 {with clear advantage for White.})
25. Nc5 $1 {Once again very solid play by Naidistch. He certainly saw that
after} Bxc5 26. dxc5 {There will be the tactical blow:} Bxh3 {But did not fear
it due to} 27. c6 $1 ({It is not worth accepting the offer:} 27. gxh3 Qf3 $1 {
leads to a position where Black has enough for the piece. For example:} 28. Nf1
Qxh3 ({Or maybe even more precise} 28... Ne4 $5 29. Qd1 Qxh3 30. Qd8+ Kg7 31.
Qd4+ Nf6 32. Ng3 Qh2+ 33. Kf1 Qh3+ 34. Ke2 Qe6+ 35. Kf1 Qh3+ {with perpetual.})
29. Ng3 Qh2+ 30. Kf1 Qh3+ 31. Ke2 Qg4+ {And if White wnats to avoid the draw
he should enter some risky line like:} 32. Kd3 Rd5+ 33. Kc2 Qc4+ 34. Bc3 Qd3+
35. Kb3 Qb5+ 36. Ka3 Rxc5 {when it is not even clear who is better.}) (27. Qc3
$1 {was decent alternative.}) 27... Qc8 28. f3 ({Even better was:} 28. Qc3 $1 {
when the sacrifice} Bxg2 29. Nxg2 Nd5 30. Qf3 {leads Black nowhere.}) 28...
Bxg2 $1 {The best practical decision. Objectively, the sacrifice can most
likely be refuted but it poses huge number of problems to Naidistch.} ({Whereas
} 28... Be6 29. Qc3 Nd5 30. Qd4 Qf8 (30... Nxe3 31. Bc3 $1 {would be
disastrous for Black.}) 31. Nxd5 Rxd5 32. Qxa7 {would hardly do the same.
White is up a clear pawn and owes the better bishop, thus should be close to
winning.}) 29. Nxg2 ({Not} 29. Kxg2 $2 Qh3+ 30. Kf2 Qh2+ 31. Ng2 Rf5 32. Qc4 h5
$1 {with decisive attack.}) 29... Qh3 30. Bc3 {This is not accurate neither.} (
{White should have brought the queen for the defense of the kingside:} 30. Qf4
$1 Nd5 31. Qg3 Qh1+ 32. Kf2 {Then a semi-forcing line goes} Rh2 33. b3 Nf4 34.
Qxf4 Qxg2+ 35. Ke3 Qb2 36. Qxc7 Qxa1 37. Qxh2 Qxe1+ 38. Kd3 Qe6 39. c7 {
with good winning chances in the endgame for White.}) 30... Nd5 (30... Qh2+ 31.
Kf2 {only helps White.}) 31. Bd4 f6 $3 {Fantastic resource. Nakamura's king is
taking care of himself!} ({The witty tactician Naiditsch most likely saw from
afar} 31... Qxf3 32. Qe1 $1 f6 33. Qe8+ Kg7 34. Rf1 Rh1+ 35. Kxh1 Qxf1+ 36. Kh2
{where White should win.}) 32. Qe1 Kf7 {Now there will be no mate in the
foreseeable future.} ({A curious unclear position arises after} 32... Kg7 33.
Rd1 Qxf3 34. Bc5 Qh3 35. Kf2 Re5 36. Qxe5 fxe5 37. Rxd5 Qf5+ 38. Kg3 Qg5+) 33.
Rd1 Rg5 {Somewhere around here Nakamura lost the path.} ({He did not risk at
all with:} 33... Qxf3 $1 34. Be3 Re5 35. Rd3 Nxe3 36. Rxe3 Rxe3 37. Qxe3 Qxc6
38. Qxa7 Qc1+ 39. Kf2 Qxb2+) 34. Qe2 Kg7 {Now the king steps away not to
disturb the attackers.} ({As in the line} 34... Nf4 35. Qc4+ Kg7 36. Bxf6+ $1)
35. Bc5 $2 ({Correct was} 35. Qf2 {when} Nf4 {is once again impossible to} ({
White should be better after} 35... Rh5 36. Qd2 Qxf3 37. Qd3 {too.}) 36. Bxf6+)
35... Re5 $2 {A mistake in return!} ({After} 35... Nf4 $1 36. Rd7+ ({Worse is}
36. Qe7+ $2 Kh6 37. Qf8+ Kh5 {when White can just resign.}) 36... Qxd7 37. cxd7
Nxe2+ 38. Kf2 Rd5 39. Kxe2 a6 {It is only Black who can play for a win.}) 36.
Qf2 (36. Be3 $1 {s the computer suggestion with an edge.}) 36... Rg5 (36... Rh5
$1 {should have been played with chances to muddy the waters.}) 37. Rd4 $1 {
Finally, Naiditsch consolidated his pieces. The knight has no longer access to
the f4 square, which means that White is a healthy piece ahead.} Qe6 38. Re4
Qxc6 39. Qd4 a5 40. a3 h5 41. Kh2 Kh7 42. Qc4 Qb7 43. Re7+ $1 {Naiditsch
rarely misses blows like these!} Kh8 ({Since otherwise Black is checkmated
after} 43... Nxe7 44. Qf7+ Kh6 45. Qf8+ Kh7 46. Qxe7+) 44. Bd4 Rf5 45. Rd7 Qb8
{Trying the last chance.} 46. Qc6 $1 {Which was rejected.} ({Nakamura's idea
was} 46. Rxd5 c6+) 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.27"]
[Round "8.18"]
[White "Sevian, Samuel"]
[Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E10"]
[WhiteElo "2634"]
[BlackElo "2519"]
[PlyCount "199"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. d4 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bd6 6. Bg2 c6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. O-O
dxc4 9. Ne5 Bc7 10. Bg5 Bxe5 11. dxe5 Qxd1 12. Nxd1 Nd5 13. e4 h6 14. exd5 hxg5
15. dxc6 Nxc6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Rc1 Rb8 18. Re1 Ba6 19. Rc2 c5 20. Nc3 Bb7 21.
Ne4 g4 22. Nxc5 Bc6 23. Ne4 Rfd8 24. Nd6 Bd5 25. Rd1 f5 26. Rd4 Rb4 27. Kf1 a5
28. Ke1 Rdb8 29. Nxf5 Rxb2 30. Rxb2 Rxb2 31. Ne7+ Kf7 32. Nxd5 exd5 33. Rxd5 c3
34. Rc5 c2 35. a4 Ra2 36. Kd2 Rxa4 37. Rxc2 Ke6 38. Rc6+ Kf5 39. e6 Rd4+ 40.
Kc3 Re4 41. Rc7 g6 42. e7 Kf6 43. Rc6+ Kf7 44. Kd3 Re5 45. Rd6 a4 46. Ra6 a3
47. Rxa3 Kxe7 48. Ra4 Rg5 49. Rf4 Ke6 50. Ke3 Ke7 51. Kd4 $2 (51. Rxg4 {
seems brilliantly winning, but it's not!} Rxg4 52. f4 {and there's no stopping
Kf3 and h3, but it doesn't matter!} Ke6 53. Kf3 Kf5 54. h3 (54. h4 {is neat
but also doesn't win:} Rxf4+ 55. gxf4 Kf6 56. Kg4 Kf7 57. Kg5 Kg7 58. h5 gxh5
59. Kxh5 Kf6 $10) 54... Rxg3+ 55. Kxg3 g5 $10) 51... Ke6 52. Kc4 Rh5 53. Rxg4
Rxh2 54. Rf4 Rh5 55. Kd4 Ra5 56. Ke4 Ra3 57. Rf8 Ke7 58. Rf3 Ra6 59. Ke3 Ra3+
60. Kf4 Ra5 61. Kg4 Rb5 62. Kh3 Rh5+ 63. Kg2 Ra5 64. g4 Rb5 65. Kg3 Ra5 66. Kh4
Rb5 67. Ra3 Kf6 68. Ra6+ Kg7 69. Ra7+ Kh6 70. Ra6 Kg7 71. f4 Rb7 72. Kg5 Rb5+
73. f5 gxf5 74. gxf5 Rb1 75. Ra7+ Kg8 76. Kg6 Rg1+ 77. Kf6 Rf1 78. Ra8+ Kh7 79.
Ra2 Kg8 80. Ra5 Rf3 81. Ra8+ Kh7 82. Rf8 Rf1 83. Ke7 Re1+ 84. Kf7 Rf1 85. f6
Ra1 86. Re8 Ra7+ 87. Re7 Ra8 88. Rd7 Kh6 89. Rb7 Kh7 90. Re7 Kh6 91. Re6 Kh7
92. Re2 Ra7+ 93. Ke6 Kg8 94. Rd2 Ra6+ 95. Rd6 Rxd6+ 96. Kxd6 Kf7 97. Ke5 Kf8
98. Ke6 Ke8 99. f7+ Kf8 100. Kf6 1/2-1/2
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.27"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Wang, Hao"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2780"]
[BlackElo "2722"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4
c6 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Bf5 12. Ng5 h6 13. Qf3 Bg6 14. Ne4 Bxh2+
$1 {It looks like MVL hung a pawn, but actually he has everything under
control.} 15. Kxh2 Qh4+ 16. Qh3 Qxh3+ (16... Qxe4 17. Ba3 {And with White's
rooks also about to play, White has compensation.}) 17. gxh3 Bxe4 18. Rg1 {
This was MVL's idea. His bishop pair and the open g-file get him the pawn back
right away.} Re8 (18... g6 19. Rxg6+) (18... g5 19. h4) 19. Bxh6 g6 20. Rge1
Nd7 21. Bf1 c5 22. Bb5 Bc6 23. Rxe8+ Rxe8 24. Bxc6 bxc6 25. Be3 cxd4 26. Bxd4
a6 27. Rd1 Re2 28. Be3 Ne5 29. Rd8+ Kg7 30. a4 Ra2 31. Kg3 f6 32. f4 Nf7 33.
Rc8 Rxa4 34. Rxc6 Nh6 35. Rc7+ Kg8 36. Kf3 Nf5 37. Bf2 g5 38. fxg5 fxg5 39. c4
Nd6 40. c5 Rf4+ 41. Kg2 Nf5 42. c6 Rc4 43. Bb6 g4 44. hxg4 Rxg4+ 45. Kf3 Rc4
46. Rc8+ Kf7 47. c7 Ne7 48. Ra8 Ke6 49. Rxa6 Rc6 50. Ra8 Rxb6 51. c8=Q+ Nxc8
52. Rxc8 Ke5 1/2-1/2
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.10.28"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B97"]
[WhiteElo "2769"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.12.06"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Nb3
Nbd7 9. Qe2 Qc7 10. O-O-O b5 11. a3 Be7 ({Another plan is:} 11... Bb7 12. g4
Be7 13. Bg2 O-O-O 14. Rhe1 {Iljiushenok,I (2532)-Kokarev,D (2595) Cheliabinsk
2018}) 12. g4 h6 13. Bh4 Rb8 $146 {The most topical Najdorf move is a novelty.
The bishop remains on c8 in order to let the rook work along the b-file. Only
after b5-b4 will it get there.} ({An email predecessor saw sharp tactical
struggle after:} 13... Bb7 14. Bg2 Rc8 15. Kb1 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Bxh4 17. Bxb7 Qxb7
18. f5 e5 {with compensation for a pawn, Bernal Varela,N (2116)-Comes Dumoulin,
R (2109) FICGS email 2010}) 14. Be1 {Grischuk opens the road for his h-pawn,
and in the meanwhile tries to spoil the opponent's plan.} g5 {Ditto for your
ideas, mate!} ({Actually,} 14... b4 {was possible, since the forcing line} 15.
axb4 Rxb4 16. Nd5 $2 ({However, White can prepare the knight jump with} 16. Kb1
$5) ({Or} 16. Bg2 $5) 16... Nxd5 17. exd5 Rxb3 {works well for Black.}) 15. f5
Ne5 16. h4 $5 {Grischuk sacrifices a pawn in order to open files.} Nfxg4 17.
hxg5 Bxg5+ 18. Bd2 Bf6 ({Probably somewhat safer was:} 18... Rg8 19. Bxg5 hxg5
20. Rh7 (20. Kb1) (20. Bh3 Nf6 21. Rhf1)) 19. Rh5 {To cut the supporters.} ({
Weaker would be} 19. Bh3 h5) 19... Rg8 20. Bh3 Qc4 $1 {The best defense.
Vachier-Lagrave practically sacrifices the pawn back but enters an endgame.
White's threats are far more serious than it seems.} ({For example neither:}
20... Bb7 $6 21. fxe6 fxe6 22. Rxe5 $1 Nxe5 23. Bxe6) ({Nor:} 20... Bd7 {
allow Black normal development due to} 21. Bxg4 Rxg4 (21... Nxg4 22. Rg1) 22.
Rxh6) 21. Bxg4 ({In case of:} 21. Qg2 {Black has the trick:} Nd3+ $1 22. Kb1 ({
Worse is} 22. cxd3 Qxb3 23. Bxg4 b4 24. axb4 Rxb4 25. Be1 Rxg4 $1) 22... Ndf2
23. Re1 Nxh3 {and he gets rid of the nasty bishop.}) 21... Nxg4 22. Qxc4 bxc4
23. Na5 Ne5 24. Bf4 {Grischuk's initiative continues in the endgame. Most of
the black pawns are under pressure.} ({Not the hasty} 24. Rxh6 $6 Bd8 25. b4
cxb3 26. Nxb3 Nc4 {with clear edge for Black.}) 24... Rg4 {Best play by the
French GM as well.} ({White is better after} 24... Be7 25. Bxe5 (25. Rxh6)
25... dxe5 26. Nc6) 25. Bxe5 dxe5 ({Black cannot hold the bishop pair-} 25...
Bxe5 26. Nxc4 Ke7 $2 27. Nxe5 dxe5 28. Rxh6 exf5 29. Rh8) 26. Kb1 {In order to
reach the h-pawn Grischuk needs this move.} ({A curious and beautiful line was
possible after:} 26. Nxc4 Bg5+ 27. Kb1 exf5 28. Nxe5 fxe4 29. Nc6 Rb6 30. Rxh6
Rh4 31. Rhd6 Bd7 32. Rxd7 Rxc6 {with probable draw.}) 26... Rh4 ({Here} 26...
exf5 27. Nxc4 {would have most likely led to the above-mentioned line after} ({
Although White has an additional choice-} 27. Rxh6 Rg6 28. Rxg6 fxg6 29. Rd6
Ke7 30. Nxc4 Be6 31. Nd5+ Kf7 32. Rxa6 Bxd5 33. exd5 g5 {True, this does not
seem convincing. It is not the quantity of the pawns that matter that much in
such positions, but their quality. The black passers seem faster.}) 27... Bg5
28. Nxe5 fxe4 29. Nc6) 27. Rxh4 Bxh4 28. Nxc4 {White finally regains the pawn
but also keeps the initiative.} Kf8 $1 {It is Vachier-Lagrave's term to
sacrifice the pawn for the initiative.} ({There were other alternatives-} 28...
Bf6 $5 29. Rh1 Bg7 30. fxe6 Bxe6 31. Ne3 {when White is a bit better.}) ({Or}
28... f6 $5) 29. fxe6 Bxe6 30. Nxe5 Bf6 31. Nc6 Rc8 32. Nd5 $1 {Thanks to this
little tactical trick the game proceeds.} Rxc6 ({Maybe it was easier to play
with both bishops on the board after} 32... Bg5 33. Nd4 Bg4 34. Re1 Re8 {
with compensation for a pawn}) 33. Nxf6 Kg7 ({The rook endgame} 33... Ba2+ 34.
Kxa2 Rxf6 35. Rh1 {is gloomy for Black.}) 34. Ne8+ Kf8 35. Nf6 Kg7 {Do not be
surprised to see Grischuk repeating the moves every once in while to gain time
on his clock.} 36. Nd5 ({Similar is} 36. Rf1 Kg6) 36... h5 37. b3 Bg4 {After
creative and interesting play by both players an interesting endgame emerged
where Black compensates for the pawn due the advantage of the bishop over the
knight.} 38. Rg1 Re6 ({Better was:} 38... Kh6 $5 39. Kb2 (39. Kc1 Re6) 39...
Kg5 {With the outside passer still alive Vachier-Lagrave hardly risks to lose.}
) 39. Nf4 Rxe4 40. Nxh5+ Kg6 41. Ng3 Re3 42. Nh1 $1 {You did not expect that,
did you? But the knight is not shy of making one step back in order to make
two forward!} Kh5 ({The other way to play it was:} 42... f5 43. Nf2 Kg5 44. Kc1
(44. Kb2 Re2) 44... Re2 45. Nh3+ Kf6 46. Nf4) 43. Kc1 f5 44. Nf2 {Now Grischuk
skillfully squeezes every little bit out of his pieces.} Re2 45. Nd3 Kg5 46.
Rf1 Re4 47. Kd2 Re2+ 48. Kc3 Re4 49. Kd2 Re2+ 50. Kc3 Re4 51. Rg1 Re2 ({Not}
51... f4 $2 52. Nf2 Re3+ 53. Kd4 Rg3 54. Ne4+) 52. b4 {The pawns are moving.}
f4 53. a4 f3 54. b5 axb5 55. axb5 Kh4 56. b6 Re8 57. Rh1+ ({There was an
alternative play for the win with:} 57. Nf2 $5 Bc8 58. Rg7 Re2 59. Rg8 Ba6 60.
Rg4+ Kh5 61. Ra4 Bc8 62. Ra8 Bb7 63. Ra7 Rxf2 64. Rxb7 Rf1 65. Kd4 f2 66. Ke3
$1 Rc1 67. Kxf2 Rxc2+ 68. Ke3 Rb2 69. Ke4) 57... Kg3 ({The study-like idea}
57... Bh3 {Self-pinning would not work after} 58. Nf4 Kg3 59. Nxh3 Kg2 60. Nf2
({Instead} 60. Ng5 Kxh1 61. Nxf3 Rb8 {is a draw only.}) 60... Kxf2 61. Kb4 Kg2
62. Rb1 f2 63. c4 Re1 64. Rb2 {and once the white rook sacrifices itself for
the black pawn the white passers will be unstoppable.}) 58. Rg1+ Kh4 59. Kd4
Bf5 {Finally, after almost five dozens of moves Vachier-Lagrave cracks under
the pressure.} ({Correct was} 59... Rd8+ $1 60. Ke4 (60. Kc5 Rc8+ 61. Kb5 Bd7+)
60... Re8+ 61. Ne5 (61. Kf4 Rf8+) 61... Bc8 {with most likely draw.}) 60. b7
Bxd3 61. cxd3 (61. Kxd3 {would have let the win slip away after} f2 62. Rf1 Kg3
63. c4 Rb8) 61... f2 ({The black king is cut too far away after:} 61... Rb8 62.
Ke3 Rxb7 63. Kxf3) 62. Rf1 Kg3 ({Similarly to the previous note, the black
king is too far away after} 62... Rb8 63. Rxf2 Rxb7) 63. Kc5 Kg2 64. Rb1 (64.
Rb1 {Vachier resigned not wishing to see the rest-} Re1 65. Rb2 Re8 66. d4 Kg1
67. Rb1+ f1=Q (67... Re1 68. b8=Q) 68. Rxf1+ Kxf1 69. d5 Ke2 70. d6 Ke3 71. d7
Rg8 72. Kd6 Kd4 73. Kc7) 1-0
[Event "Douglas ENG"]
[Site "Douglas ENG"]
[Date "2018.10.28"]
[Round "9.20"]
[White "Kashlinskaya, Alina"]
[Black "Sevian, Samuel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A41"]
[WhiteElo "2447"]
[BlackElo "2634"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2018.10.20"]
1. d4 d6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. e4 Nd7 5. Be2 e5 6. O-O Nh6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. h3 c6
9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Be3 f6 11. c5 Nf7 12. Bc4 Qe7 13. b4 Re8 14. Qb3 Nf8 15. Rad1
Be6 16. Nd5 cxd5 17. exd5 Bf5 18. g4 Be4 $2 (18... Bc8 {Black is still fine
after this move. the runaway pawns are about equal to the extra piece.}) 19.
Nd2 {Now White's light-squared bishop just went up in value bigly.} f5 20. d6
Qd7 21. Nxe4 fxe4 22. b5 Rec8 23. f3 {She sees her birthday gift. It's a
knight on f7, and she wants it now!} (23. f4 {was equally good!}) 23... Kh8 24.
Bxf7 {Obviously White is winning now.} exf3 25. Rxf3 e4 26. Rf2 Qd8 27. Qd5 Qh4
28. Kg2 h6 29. c6 bxc6 30. bxc6 Nh7 31. d7 Rf8 32. c7 Nf6 33. Qe6 Nxd7 34. Rxd7
Rac8 35. Qxg6 Be5 36. Qxh6+ Qxh6 37. Bxh6 1-0