[Event "Shamkir2018"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.19"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2744"] [PlyCount "133"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:11:15"] [BlackClock "0:49:58"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O O-O 7. d3 Re8 8. Bd2 Nd4 (8... a5 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 a4 11. Qc2 Nd7 12. Rad1 Nc5 {Van Wely,L (2676) -Volokitin,A (2652) Germany 2017}) 9. a3 Nxf3+ 10. Bxf3 Bxc3 11. Bxc3 c6 12. e4 Bh3 13. Re1 c5 14. b4 b6 15. a4 Nd7 16. a5 Be6 17. Ra3 Rb8 18. b5 Qc8 19. axb6 axb6 20. Re2 Ra8 21. Rea2 Rxa3 22. Rxa3 Qc7 23. Bg2 Nf8 24. f4 f6 25. f5 Bc8 26. Bd2 Bb7 27. g4 h6 28. h4 Nh7 29. Bf3 Qe7 30. Kf2 Rb8 31. Qc1 Ra8 32. Rxa8+ Bxa8 33. Qa1 Bb7 34. Qa7 Qc7 35. g5 fxg5 36. hxg5 Nxg5 37. Bxg5 hxg5 38. Bh5 Kf8 39. Kg3 Ke7 40. Kg4 Kd8 41. Bg6 Ke7 (41... Kc8 42. Be8 Kd8 43. Bc6 Bxc6 44. Qxc7+ Kxc7 45. bxc6 Kxc6 46. Kxg5 b5 47. cxb5+ Kxb5 48. Kg6 d5 49. exd5 (49. Kxg7 dxe4 50. dxe4 c4 51. f6 c3 52. f7 c2 53. f8=Q c1=Q 54. Qb8+ Ka6 55. Qxe5) 49... e4 50. dxe4 c4 51. e5 c3 52. e6 {Wojtaszek}) 42. Kxg5 Kf8 43. Kh5 Ke7 44. Kg4 Kd8 (44... Kf8 45. Qa1 $1 Ke7 46. Qc1) 45. Bh7 Ke8 46. Bg8 g6 (46... Kd7 47. Be6+ Kd8 48. Kh5) 47. Bd5 gxf5+ 48. Kf3 (48. Kg3 Qd8 49. Qxb7 Qg5+ 50. Kf2 Qd2+ $1 {is a draw.}) 48... fxe4+ 49. Ke3 $2 ({Ding had seen} 49. Ke2 $1 { but he wasn't sure what was happening after} Qd7 (49... exd3+ 50. Kd2 $1 Qd8 51. Qxb7 Qg5+ 52. Kxd3 {is the same}) 50. Qxb7 Qg4+ 51. Kd2 Qf4+ (51... Qg2+ 52. Kc3 {and Black has run out of checks}) 52. Kc2 exd3+ {and now} 53. Kb3 ({ actually here} 53. Kxd3 {should win, e.g.} Qf1+ 54. Ke3 Qe1+ 55. Kf3 Qf1+ 56. Kg4 Qf4+ 57. Kh5 Qf5+ 58. Kh6 Qf6+ 59. Kh7 Qh4+ 60. Kg8) 53... d2 {but at the press conference Ding saw} 54. Qc8+ Ke7 55. Qe6+) 49... Qd8 $1 {Now it's suddenly a draw. Ding had missed that Black can just give up his pawns for the checks.} ({Ding had expected} 49... Qc8 50. Qxb7 Qh3+ 51. Kxe4 Qh1+ 52. Ke3 Qe1+ 53. Kf3 {and White wins.}) 50. Bxb7 Qg5+ 51. Kxe4 Qf4+ 52. Kd5 Qf3+ 53. Kxd6 Qf6+ 54. Kd5 Qf3+ 55. Kxe5 Qg3+ 56. Kf5 Qh3+ 57. Kf4 Qh4+ 58. Kf3 Qf6+ 59. Ke2 Qb2+ 60. Ke1 Qc1+ 61. Ke2 Qb2+ 62. Kf1 Qc1+ 63. Kg2 Qd2+ 64. Kg3 Qg5+ 65. Kf3 Qf6+ 66. Ke3 Qd4+ 67. Ke2 {1/2-1/2 (67) Ding,L (2778)-Wojtaszek,R (2744) Shamkir2018 2018} 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.19"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E35"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2778"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:00:49"] [BlackClock "1:11:46"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. dxc5 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. e3 Nc6 11. Bd3 (11. a3 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Qa5 13. Bd3 Nxg3 14. hxg3 d4 15. exd4 Nxd4 16. Qb2 Bd7 {Sokolov,I (2663)-Short,N (2687) Hoogeveen 2004}) 11... Nxg3 12. hxg3 d4 13. exd4 Qxd4 14. Nf3 ({Ljubojevic suggested} 14. Nge2 {and Giri agreed} Qxc5 15. O-O-O Be6) 14... Qxc5 15. O-O Be6 16. Rfc1 (16. a3 Bxc3 17. Qxc3 Qxc3 18. bxc3 O-O-O 19. Be4 Bd5 20. Bf5+ Kc7 {Achermann,J (1653)-Bilsel,S (2070) corr. 2009}) 16... g4 17. Ne1 O-O-O 18. Be4 Kb8 (18... Bxc3 19. Qxc3 Qxc3 20. Rxc3 Rd2 21. Nd3 (21. Bxc6 bxc6 22. Rxc6+ Kb7 23. Rc2 Rhd8) 21... Rd8 22. Kf1 Kb8 23. Ke1 f5 24. Bxc6 R2xd3 25. Rxd3 Rxd3 26. Bb5 Rd4) ({After} 18... Nd4 {White has the "brilliant" (Karjakin) resource} 19. Qd1 $1 {although the computer finds a not too shabby counter move:} (19. Qd3 Bc4) 19... Qg5 $1 (19... Nb3 20. axb3 Rxd1 21. Nxd1) 20. Nb5+ Kb8 21. Nxd4 Qe5 {and the best way to give back the piece is} 22. Nc6+ bxc6 23. Qa4 Qb5 { with equality.}) 19. Nd3 (19. Qa4 Ne5 20. Nd5 Qa5) 19... Qc4 20. Qe2 $1 { Karjakin said he underestimated this.} Qa6 (20... Ba5 21. b4 $5 (21. b3 Qa6)) ( 20... Nd4 21. Qe3 f5 22. Nd5 Ne2+) 21. Nxb4 (21. Qe3 Qb6 22. Qxb6 axb6 23. Nf4) 21... Nxb4 22. Qe3 $6 (22. Nb5 $1 {threatens 23.Bxb7! with a winning attack, which Giri only noticed right after playing his 22nd move. After} Qb6 23. a3 { White is better.}) 22... Qb6 23. Qf4+ ({White cannot get back to it because after} 23. Qe2 {Black has} f5) (23. Qxb6 axb6 {is not much either.}) 23... Qd6 24. Qe3 Qd4 25. Qf4+ Qd6 26. Qe3 Qd4 27. Qf4+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.19"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E61"] [WhiteElo "2814"] [BlackElo "2843"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:54:49"] [BlackClock "2:21:51"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 Nc6 $5 6. Nf3 d5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. O-O {"It's only by this move order that you can reach this particular position. " (Carlsen)} e5 (8... Bf5 9. Ng5 Nxc3 10. bxc3 e5 11. Qb3 Rb8 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Ne4 h6 14. Rd1 Qc8 15. Bf4 Re8 {Grischuk,A (2767)-Svidler,P (2760) Moscow 2018} ) 9. Nxe5 (9. Nxd5 e4 10. Nd2 (10. Ne5 Qxd5 11. Nxc6 Qxc6 12. Be3 Rd8 13. Qc1 Qxc1 14. Raxc1 c6 15. Bxe4 Bxd4 16. Rfd1 Bf6 17. Rxd8+ {½-½ Leitao,R (2636) -Mekhitarian,K (2558) Praia da Pipa BRA 2014}) 10... Qxd5 11. Nxe4 Qxd4 12. Nc3 Be6 {Stupak,K (2541)-Sutovsky,E (2659) Batumi GEO 2018}) 9... Nxc3 10. Nxc6 Nxd1 11. Nxd8 Rxd8 ({Carlsen knew} 11... Nxf2 12. Nxb7 Nh3+ 13. Kh1 Bxd4 { should be a draw as well but thought the text move is "also solid" and "in the long term there could be some play" but he missed 17.f4.}) 12. Rxd1 Rxd4 13. Be3 Rxd1+ 14. Rxd1 Bf6 15. Bd4 Bxd4 16. Rxd4 Be6 17. f4 $146 {"A very good move." Carlsen} (17. Ra4 c6 18. Bf3 a6 19. Rb4 Ra7 20. a3 a5 21. Rd4 Ra6 22. Rd2 Rb6 23. e4 Kf8 {is given as '0-1' in the database for Kulhanek,J-Wiener,R corr. 2009 but the position is equal obviously.}) 17... c6 18. Rb4 b6 (18... Bc8 $5 19. a3 Kf8 20. Kf2 Ke7 {is probably OK too but Carlsen, who realized he is now slightly worse, prefers active defense.}) 19. Bxc6 Rc8 20. Bb5 Bxa2 21. Ra4 Be6 22. Rxa7 Rc1+ 23. Kf2 Rb1 24. Bd7 Bxd7 25. Rxd7 Rxb2 26. g4 b5 27. Rb7 b4 28. g5 b3 29. Kf3 Rb1 30. Ke4 Kg7 31. Ke5 Rb2 32. e4 Rxh2 33. Rxb3 h6 34. gxh6+ Rxh6 35. Rg3 Rh8 36. Rb3 Re8+ 37. Kd4 Ra8 38. Ke3 Ra7 39. Kf3 Ra8 40. Kg4 Ra7 41. Rc3 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.19"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Mamedov, Rauf"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B35"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2704"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:49:11"] [BlackClock "0:36:52"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 Re8 ({Another option is:} 8... a6 9. O-O d6 10. h3 Na5 11. Qd3 b5 12. Nd5 { Wei,Y (2734)-Shankland,S (2671) Liaocheng 2018}) 9. f3 e6 10. f4 d6 11. Ndb5 Bf8 12. Qf3 a6 13. Nd4 Na5 14. O-O b5 ({A predecessor saw the sharp continuation:} 14... Bg7 15. e5 Nd7 16. exd6 Nb6 17. Rad1 Nbc4 18. Bxc4 Nxc4 19. Qe2 Nxb2 20. Rb1 Qxd6 21. Rxb2 Bxd4 22. Rd1 Bxe3+ 23. Qxe3 {with compensation for a pawn, Dobrica,D (2379)-Sitorus,Y (2261) corr. 2016}) 15. f5 (15. e5 $2 Bb7) 15... exf5 (15... Nxb3 {loses material after} 16. axb3 exf5 17. exf5) 16. exf5 Bb7 17. Bxf7+ ({There was another interesting sacrifice instead: } 17. fxg6 Bxf3 18. gxf7+ Kh8 19. fxe8=Q {but Black seems to do fine after} Qxe8 20. Rxf3 Nxb3 21. axb3 Ng4) ({Timid retreats give the initiative to Black: } 17. Qg3 Nxb3 18. axb3 b4 19. Nce2 Qe7 {with advantage for the second player thanks to the bishop pair and the control on the dark squares.}) 17... Kxf7 18. Qg3 ({On} 18. Qf2 {Black most likely planned} Bg7 ({But not} 18... Ng4 $4 19. fxg6+ Kxg6 20. Qf7#)) 18... Bg7 ({It is suicidal to invite the white pieces into the black castle:} 18... gxf5 19. Nxf5) 19. fxg6+ hxg6 20. Bg5 Nc6 ({ Apparently, the king cannot go back:} 20... Kg8 $2 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Qxg6+ Bg7 23. Rf7) ({If Black counter-pins with} 20... Qb6 $2 {He would lose his own queen after} 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Rxf6+ $1 Kxf6 23. Qf2+ {Ambush!} Ke7 24. Nf5+) ( {The other serious defensive try was} 20... Re5 {when White can mount pressure with} 21. Rf4 ({Or choose the forcing line} 21. Rxf6+ Bxf6 22. Rf1 Rxg5 23. Qxg5 {when things might end surprisingly peacefully after say} Qe7 24. Nd5 Bxd5 25. Qxd5+ Kg7 26. Ne6+ Kh7 (26... Kh6 27. Rf3) 27. Ng5+ Kg7 28. Ne6+)) 21. Rxf6+ $1 {So does White, with a tempo. The sleeping rook on a1 is joining the battle.} Bxf6 22. Rf1 Nxd4 23. Bxf6 Qxf6 $1 {Mamedov should have seen this in advance.} 24. Rxf6+ Kxf6 25. Qh4+ Ke5 {This one too. It seems as Navara will checkmate in a minute, but the limited material he owes does not give him this chance. At the same time he shouldnot forget that he is down a piece.} 26. Qh7 Bxg2 ({In case of} 26... b4 {the in-between check} 27. Qg7+ $1 {will give White the chance to restore the material balance-} ({He should avoid though} 27. Qxb7 $2 bxc3 28. bxc3 Ne6 {when Black consolidets and should later win.}) 27... Kf5 ({Or} 27... Ke6 28. Qxb7 bxc3 29. Qe4+) 28. Qxb7 bxc3 29. Qd5+ Re5 30. Qxd4 cxb2 31. Qxb2 {it is doubtful though that White has realistic winning chances.}) 27. Qg7+ {Again this little check!} ({Black has nothing to worry after} 27. Kxg2 Nf5 28. Qb7 Rf8 29. Qe4+ Kf6 30. Nd5+ Kf7) 27... Ke6 28. Qxg6+ {Again in-between-pawn-grab-this-time.} ({Also possible was} 28. Kxg2 Nf5 29. Qxg6+ Ke5 {although here the opened position of the white king makes the position very double-edged.}) ({Black should be OK after} 28. Qxd4 Bc6) 28... Kd7 29. Qg7+ Ke6 ({Navara expected} 29... Re7 30. Qxg2 Rb8 {with approximate equality once again due to the weakness of the white king.}) 30. Qxd4 Rg8 31. Kf2 Raf8+ 32. Ke3 Rg5 $1 {An important maneuver. The rooks are shifted to torture the white king.} ({Bad was} 32... Rf5 33. Ne2 Re5+ 34. Kd2 Rd5 35. Nf4+ {(Navara)}) 33. Qb6 ({Perhaps White should have tried} 33. h4 Re5+ 34. Kd2 Bf3 (34... b4 35. Qg4+)) 33... Rc5 34. Ne2 ({White is playing with fire after} 34. Qxa6 Rf3+ 35. Kd2 ({Say} 35. Ke2 $2 {loses to} b4 36. Ne4 Bf1+) 35... Rf2+ { when Black has at least perpetual check.}) 34... Rf3+ 35. Kd2 Rf2 {The pin leave White no winning chances. Navara forced the draw after:} 36. Ke3 Rf3+ 37. Kd2 Rf2 38. Ke3 Rf3+ 39. Kd2 Rf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.19"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2748"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:07:14"] [BlackClock "1:00:55"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. Rfe1 Bb4 15. a3 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Ne7 17. Nf3 Rh8 18. Nd4 (18. Bg5 c5 19. Nd2 Kf8 20. Nf1 Nf5 21. g3 Ne7 22. Kg2 Nd5 23. c4 Nb6 {Kramnik,V (2800)-Karjakin,S (2763) Berlin 2018}) 18... Nd5 (18... a6 19. Bg5 c5 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. c4 Rd8 22. Rxd8+ Kxd8 23. a4 b6 {Yu,Y (2724)-Malakhov,V (2706) China 2015}) 19. Bg5 Nxc3 20. Rd3 Na4 21. f4 Nc5 22. Rc3 (22. Rde3 {Topalov}) 22... Na4 23. Rg3 c5 24. Nxe6 fxe6 25. f5 Kf7 26. Bh4 Rag8 27. Rb1 Nb6 28. fxe6+ Kxe6 29. Rg6+ Kf7 ( {Radjabov wasn't sure about} 29... Kxe5 30. Re1+ (30. Rg5+ Kd6 31. Rd1+ Kc6) 30... Kd5 31. Re7) 30. Rg5 Ke6 31. a4 $5 {A nice try, but Radjabov is not afraid...} Nxa4 $1 (31... a5 32. Be1) 32. Rxb7 Nc3 33. Rxc7 Ne4 34. Rg6+ Kf5 35. Ra6 g5 36. Be1 Re8 $1 {Again very accurate.} (36... Kxe5 $2 37. Re7+ Kd5 ( 37... Kf4 38. Rae6) 38. c4+ Kd4 39. Rae6 Nc3 40. Re3 {wins.}) 37. Raxa7 Rxe5 38. Rf7+ Ke6 39. c4 Re8 40. Rg7 Kf5 41. Rgf7+ Ke6 42. Rg7 Kf5 43. Rgf7+ { 1/2-1/2 (43) Topalov,V (2749)-Radjabov,T (2748) Shamkir2018 2018} 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.20"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2777"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:00:30"] [BlackClock "0:10:36"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. a3 d5 {It is interesting to see how the generations change their assessments. Some years back Larsen called this move a mistake as it leads to a favorable line of the Sveshnikov Sicilian with reversed colors for White. (True, the great Dane had another position in mind, the one after 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d3 and now 4...d5.)} 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Qc2 ({Apparently Giri is not afraid of the reversed Sveshnikov after} 6. e4 Nf4 7. d4 (7. d3 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nd4 10. Qd1 c6 {and Black was more than fine in Yilmaz,M (2536)-Palac,M (2604) Sarajevo 2012}) 7... exd4 8. Bxf4 dxc3 9. Qxd8+ Nxd8 10. bxc3 Ne6 {as the position is indeed equal.}) 6... Nxc3 { Another unforced concession. There is nothing wrong with either:} (6... Be7) ({ or} 6... Be6) 7. dxc3 ({White can also take towards the center} 7. bxc3 Bd6 8. e3 O-O 9. d4 Qe7 10. Be2 b6 11. O-O Bb7 {as in Kramnik,V (2808) -Karjakin, S (2781) Stavanger 2017 But you would not expect Topalov to follow Kramnik, would you?}) 7... Bd6 8. e4 {Now we have reversed Kan and full symmetry. If Black experience any problems, they are minor.} O-O 9. Bc4 Qe7 $146 {A novelty in comparison to the restricting:} (9... a5 10. a4 Bg4 11. h3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Qf6 13. Rg1 h6 {Muthaiah,A (2316)-Preotu,R (2463) Porto Carras 2015 which has been seen in Muthaiah,A (2316)-Preotu, R (2463) Porto Carras 2015}) 10. Bg5 (10. b4 {will be met with} Be6) 10... Qe8 11. O-O-O {White is showing determination to play hard for the win.} (11. O-O Be6 12. Bxe6 ({Surprisingly, the line} 12. Bd5 f6 13. Be3 Bxd5 14. exd5 Ne7 {is more dangerous for White as in the game, as Black will soon start moving his pawn majority against the white king.}) 12... Qxe6 13. b4 a5 {would be around equal.}) 11... Be6 ({If} 11... Na5 12. Bd5 Be6 {then White has the additional choice of} 13. c4) 12. Bd5 f6 13. Be3 Bxd5 14. Rxd5 (14. exd5 Ne7 15. h4 b5 {will be more fun for Black to play as White has hooks on the queenside.}) 14... Ne7 15. Rdd1 {Topalov wants to keep the d2 square available for the knight.} (15. Rd2) 15... Qc6 $1 {Slowing down White's idea of Nf3-d2-c4 and openining of the d-file.} 16. Nd2 a5 17. Qb3+ Kh8 18. Qc4 {Giri had missed this move.} ({Not} 18. Nc4 $2 a4 19. Qa2 Qxe4 20. Nxd6 cxd6 21. Rxd6 Qxg2) 18... Qd7 {Now both white pieces have to compete for the c4 square.} 19. a4 $1 {Play on the light squares. In the future White plans Qc4-b5 followed by Nd2-c4.} b6 20. f3 (20. Qb5 $5 {was already interesting, but perhaps Topalov did not see how to crack Black's defenses after} Qxb5 21. axb5 Rad8 22. Nc4 Nc8) 20... Rab8 21. Kc2 b5 {Opens files for the rooks, but weakens the pawn structure. Now Giri has to be very careful whenever he enters the endgames (or rather not enter them at all.)} 22. axb5 Rxb5 23. Ra1 Rfb8 24. b3 (24. Ra2 $5) 24... Ng6 25. Qa4 {Topalov's is sharply following his plan. The c4 square is that tempting in these positions for the knight!} Qe7 26. Nc4 Bc5 $1 {Giri gets rid of his bad bishop and brings the queen out for counterplay. He may easily consider sacking both the queenside pawns now.} ({ Two rooks are clearly better than the queen after} 26... Rxb3 27. Qxb3 Rxb3 28. Kxb3) 27. Bxc5 Qxc5 28. Rhd1 Nf4 (28... Rxb3 $2 {is even worse now than before due to} 29. Qxb3 Rxb3 30. Rd8+ Nf8 31. Rxa5) 29. Rd2 h6 {Air for the king is needed.} 30. Qa3 a4 $2 {Missed by Topalov, but it's not good.} (30... Qc6 { would have kept Black in the game. For example the line} 31. Nxa5 Qe6 32. Nc4 Rxb3 33. Qxb3 Rxb3 34. Kxb3 {leads to a position where the rooks are no longer better than the queen. Milady pins the knight and bothers successfully the white king.}) 31. bxa4 Rb4 {A study-like combo!} 32. Rb1 $1 {Oops. A study-like refutation in return!} ({Missed by Giri. Otherwise White has to play } 32. cxb4 {when} Rxb4 33. Kd1 Qg1+ 34. Kc2 Qc5 {draws.}) 32... Qxc4 33. Rxb4 Rxb4 34. Qxb4 Qa2+ {Luckily for Giri, White has to give up his passed pawn here.} 35. Qb2 Qxa4+ 36. Qb3 Qa6 {Still, it seems like a miracle for Black to survive. White's problem however is that his king is not as safe as his counter-part. Or at least it looks so.} 37. g3 Ne6 38. Qd5 $2 ({Topalov didn't go} 38. h4 $1 {because of} Nc5 {and now after} 39. Rd8+ Kh7 40. Qg8+ Kg6 { he tought Black might give a perpetual somewhere but White can just go} 41. h5+ $1 Kxh5 42. Qxg7 {and wins, e.g.} Qa2+ (42... Qe2+ 43. Rd2) 43. Kd1 Qb3+ (43... Qb1+ 44. Ke2 Qc2+ 45. Rd2) 44. Ke2 Qc4+ 45. Kf2 {In this line it turns out that the black king ain't safe neither.}) 38... Ng5 39. f4 {Bothers the knight, but leaves the white king exposed till the end of the game.} (39. Qd8+ Kh7 40. Qd7 {was a better try.}) 39... Nf3 ({Worse is} 39... Qa4+ 40. Kd3 Qa6+ 41. Ke3 Qb6+ 42. Ke2) 40. Rd1 ({On} 40. Rf2 c6 41. Qb3 Kh7 $1 {is strong with decent drawing chances.} ({Not} 41... f5 42. fxe5 fxe4 43. e6)) 40... Qe2+ {Forces matters.} (40... c6 {looks also good.}) 41. Kb3 (41. Kc1 {was the last chance according to the computer.}) 41... Nd4+ 42. Rxd4 exd4 43. Qxd4 Qxh2 44. Qd8+ ({ The passer is not fast enough after} 44. e5 fxe5 45. fxe5 Qxg3 46. e6 Qg6 47. Qd8+ Kh7 48. e7 Qb1+ (48... Qb6+ $2 49. Kc2) 49. Kc4 Qe4+) 44... Kh7 45. Qd3 Kh8 46. e5 fxe5 47. fxe5 Qg2 48. Qd8+ Kh7 49. Qd3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.20"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Navara, David"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2843"] [BlackElo "2745"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:29:45"] [BlackClock "1:18:03"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nd2 (4. Nc3 e6 5. g4 Bg6 6. Nge2 c5 7. Be3 Ne7 8. f4 h5 9. f5 exf5 10. g5 Nbc6 11. Nf4 a6 {Kasparov,G (2812)-Navara,D (2737) Saint Louis USA 2017}) 4... e6 5. Nb3 Nd7 6. Nf3 a6 (6... c5 7. dxc5 a6 8. Be3 Ne7 9. Be2 Be4 10. Ng5 Nxe5 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. c3 Nf5 13. Bd4 Nc6 {Anand,V (2776)-Caruana,F (2784) Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden 2018}) 7. Be2 c5 8. c3 h6 (8... c4 9. Nbd2 h6 10. Nf1 Ne7 11. Ng3 Bg6 12. O-O Nf5 13. Nxf5 Bxf5 14. Ne1 Be7 15. Bg4 Bh7 (15... Bxg4 16. Qxg4 g6 17. Nf3 Nb8 18. b3 b5 19. bxc4 bxc4 20. h4 Kd7 {Rublevsky,S (2683)-Esipenko,A (2564) Moscow RUS 2017}) 16. f4 O-O 17. Be3 Qb6 18. Qd2 Be4 19. f5 exf5 20. Bxf5 Bxf5 21. Rxf5 f6 {Rublevsky,S (2683)-Esipenko, A (2564) Moscow RUS 2017}) 9. dxc5 Bxc5 (9... Nxc5 10. Nfd4 Bg6 11. O-O { is slightly better for White.}) 10. Nxc5 Nxc5 11. Be3 Nd7 $146 ({Improving upon } 11... Rc8 12. O-O Ne7 13. Nd4 O-O 14. a4 Bh7 15. a5 Nc6 16. Nxc6 Rxc6 17. Bd4 Qg5 {Wei,Y (2743)-Navara,D (2740) Yancheng 2017}) 12. Nd4 Ne7 13. f4 Be4 14. O-O Nc6 {Here White has several options. Carlsen plays for a majority on the queenside.} 15. Nxc6 bxc6 16. c4 O-O 17. cxd5 cxd5 18. b4 ({Probably best was} 18. Qd4 {(Ljubojevic)} f6 19. exf6 Rxf6 20. Rac1 Rg6 21. Bf3) ({Carlsen rejected} 18. Bd4 {(Navara) because of} Qa5 19. a3 Rfc8 20. b4 Qd8 21. Rc1 Nb6) (18. Rc1 Qa5 19. a3 Rfc8 {Carlsen} 20. Qd4 (20. Qd2 Qxd2 21. Bxd2 Nc5 $1 { Navara}) 20... Rab8) 18... f6 $1 19. exf6 Qxf6 20. Rc1 e5 21. Bd3 (21. Bf3 Qf5 (21... Bxf3 22. Qxf3 Qe6)) 21... Qg6 22. Bxe4 Qxe4 23. Re1 d4 24. Qb3+ (24. Bd2 Qf5 $1 {(Navara) is actually fine for Black here too.} (24... Qd5 25. fxe5 Rae8 26. Bc3 Nxe5 (26... Rf4 27. g3 Re6 28. Qb3 Qxb3 29. axb3 Rg4 30. Ba1) 27. Qxd4 Qxd4+ 28. Bxd4 Nd3 29. Rxe8 Rxe8)) 24... Kh8 25. Bd2 Qf5 26. Qh3 $5 (26. Qd5 Rae8 (26... exf4)) 26... Qxh3 27. gxh3 exf4 (27... Rf5 28. Rc7 Rd8 {was an interesting try (Ljubojevic).}) 28. Rc4 $5 Rad8 29. Re6 (29. Rxd4 {Navara had underestimated White's 28th but said was lucky to have} Ne5 $1 {here:} 30. Rxd8 Nf3+ 31. Kf2 Rxd8 32. Kxf3 Rxd2 33. Re2 {and now} Rd4 ({not} 33... Rxe2 $2 34. Kxe2 Kg8 {and both players had seen that White wins like this:} 35. a4 Kf7 36. a5 $1 Ke6 37. b5 Kd7 38. b6 g5 39. Kf3 Kc6 40. h4 Kb7 41. h5 $1 Kc6 42. h4) 34. Re4 (34. Rb2 g5) 34... Rd2 {(Navara)}) 29... Rf6 30. Re4 (30. Re7 Nb6) 30... Nb6 31. Rcxd4 (31. Rc7 g5 (31... Nd5 32. Rxd4 Rfd6) 32. Ree7 Rfd6 (32... Rg6 $5 ) 33. Rh7+ Kg8 {Navara}) 31... Rxd4 32. Rxd4 g5 33. h4 Kg7 34. hxg5 hxg5 35. h4 Kg6 36. Kg2 (36. hxg5 Kxg5 37. Kf2 Kg4 38. Bc1 Na4 39. Bd2 Nb6 {Navara}) 36... gxh4 37. Bxf4 Rc6 38. Kf3 Kf5 39. Be3 Rc3 40. Rf4+ Ke5 41. Rxh4 Nc4 42. Re4+ Kd5 43. Kf4 Nxe3 44. Rxe3 Rxe3 45. Kxe3 Kc4 46. a3 Kb3 47. Kd4 Kxa3 48. Kc5 Kb3 49. b5 axb5 50. Kxb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.20"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2814"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:42:26"] [BlackClock "0:47:22"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 Nc6 {Mamedyarov hadn't payed this move before.} 6. Qa4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Nd5 8. Bxb4 Ndxb4 9. Ne5 $5 {"My prepared idea." (Wojtaszek)} ({More common is} 9. O-O) 9... O-O {"The human move," said Wojtaszek, who lamented that he hadn't spent enough time on this.} (9... Bd7 10. O-O Rb8 (10... O-O 11. Nxc6 Nxc6 12. Qxc4 {is a worse version of the game - Wojtaszek}) (10... Nd5 11. Nxd7 Qxd7 12. Qxc4) 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Na3 c5 13. Qxa7 cxd4 14. Qxd4 {was very good for White in Lysyj,I (2618)-Frolyanov, D (2576) Khanty-Mansiysk 2017.}) (9... Qxd4 10. Nxc6 Nxc6 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. Qxc6+ Ke7 13. Qxc7+ Bd7 14. Nc3 Rhc8 15. Qa5 {Wojtaszek}) ({The main move is} 9... Rb8 $1 10. Nxc6 Nxc6 11. e3 {and now} e5 12. d5 b5 $1 13. Qa3 Ne7 14. Qxa7 Bf5 {Wojtaszek}) 10. Nxc6 Nxc6 11. e3 e5 12. d5 Ne7 13. Qxc4 c6 14. dxc6 Nxc6 15. Nc3 Be6 16. Qb5 Qb6 17. Qxb6 axb6 18. O-O $146 (18. Bd5 Bxd5 19. Nxd5 b5 { ½-½ Retamoza,F (2260)-Baranowski,T (2315) corr. 2011}) 18... Rfd8 19. Rfd1 Kf8 20. Bd5 Ke7 21. Kf1 f5 22. f3 b5 23. Bxe6 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Kxe6 25. a3 b4 26. axb4 Nxb4 27. Ke2 Na2 28. Rb1 Nb4 29. Rd1 Na2 30. Rb1 Nb4 31. Rd1 Na2 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.21"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Mamedov, Rauf"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B09"] [WhiteElo "2704"] [BlackElo "2843"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] 1. e4 d6 {Aggressively, for a win.} 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 c5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. e5 Ng4 8. Bxd7+ {Solid, whereas:} ({The really cool (sharp) stuff starts affter} 8. e6 Bxb5 9. exf7+ Kd7 10. Nxb5 Qa5+ 11. Nc3 cxd4 12. Nxd4 h5 13. h3 Nh6 14. O-O {as in Collins,S (2459)-Fridman,D (2653) Riga LAT 2012}) 8... Qxd7 9. d5 dxe5 10. h3 e4 11. Nxe4 Nf6 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 13. O-O O-O { "The game is about level although Black still needs to play quite accurately to maintain the balance." This statement was given some years back by GM Gallagher and remains true. Apparently, Mamedov did not want to risk much.} 14. c4 ({The endgame after} 14. Ne5 Qa4 15. c4 Qxd1 16. Rxd1 Rd8 17. Bd2 Nd7 18. Bc3 Nb6 19. b3 Nc8 $1 20. Re1 Nd6 {is equal, Baklan,V (2602)-Hillarp Persson,T (2524) Reykjavik 2011}) 14... e6 15. Be3 ({The only try for the advantage was the sharp} 15. Ne5 $5) 15... exd5 16. cxd5 $146 ({In comparison to:} 16. Qxd5 { It is not logical to trade queens as the central pawn on d5 becomes a liability in the endgame.} Qxd5 17. cxd5 Nd7 18. Rfd1 Rfe8 19. Kf2 Rad8 { and Black was already better in Kolar,P-Omelka,R Czech Republic 1999}) 16... Rd8 17. Qc2 Na6 ({White is better after} 17... b6 18. Rad1 Na6 19. Ne5) ({ Carlsen avoids the complete dryness after} 17... Qxd5 18. Rfd1 Qc6 19. Rxd8+ Bxd8 20. Qxc5 Bb6 21. Qa3 {when the draw seems inevitable.}) 18. Rad1 Nb4 { Carlsen got a good version of the Gruenfeld defense where he is not risking at all. But the poor position of his knight forces him to trade further.} ({Both} 18... Nc7 $6 19. Ne5) ({And} 18... b6 $6 19. Ne5 {are both too risky for Black. }) 19. Qxc5 Nxd5 20. Bd4 {Or else the black bishop will be significantly better.} Rac8 21. Qa3 ({But not} 21. Qxa7 $4 Ra8 22. Qc5 Rdc8 {when the white queen is trapped almost in the middle of the board.}) 21... Qf5 (21... Bxd4+ 22. Rxd4 Qc7 23. f5 {is equal.}) 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. Qxa7 Nxf4 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Qe3 Nd5 {If anything, Carlsen achieved some sort of imbalance.} 26. Qb3 Nf4 27. Qe3 Nd5 28. Qb3 b6 {Once again avoiding the drawing continuations.} 29. Rd1 Nf4 30. Rxd8+ Qxd8 31. Qe3 g5 $1 {The advanced knight on f4 will attack, thus making it impossible for the white pieces to expose the potential weakness of the black king.} 32. Kh2 h6 33. h4 {Mamedov is carefully handling the situation and reduces the material.} Ne6 34. hxg5 hxg5 35. Qe4 Qf6 36. Qe5 Qg6 37. g4 (37. a4 $5 {made sense too. Why not simply advance on the side where you are better?}) 37... Qd3 38. Kg3 b5 39. Kf2 Kf8 40. Qe2 Nf4 ({M. Botvinnik once explained perfectly the knight endgames as masked pawn endgames.} 40... Qxe2+ $2 41. Kxe2 {would be a torture for Black, and it is not even sure if he can survive.}) 41. Qxd3 {Now everything disappears.} Nxd3+ 42. Ke3 Nxb2 43. Nxg5 Nd1+ 44. Kd4 Nf2 45. Nxf7 Kxf7 46. Kc5 Ne4+ 47. Kxb5 Nc3+ 48. Kc4 Nxa2 49. g5 Kg7 50. g6 Nb4 51. Kxb4 Kxg6 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.22"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C83"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2814"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 {Since his teenage years Mamedyarov successfully exploited the Open Ruy Lopez.} 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Be3 Be7 10. c3 O-O 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 12. Qxd2 Na5 13. Bc2 Nc4 14. Qd3 g6 15. Bh6 {This came as surprise for Mamedyarov who believed that 15.Bc1 is the main move.} Nxb2 {Simply grabbing the pawn.} ({The other possibility is:} 15... Re8 16. Nd4 Bd7 17. Rae1 Nxb2 18. Qf3 Bg5 19. Bxg5 Qxg5 20. Qxd5 { as in Tari,A (2570)-Ernst,T (2372) Vasteras 2016}) 16. Qe2 Re8 {Black plays for the maximum.} ({Topalov was more afraid of the positional exchange sacrifice after} 16... c5 17. Bxg6 (17. Bxf8) 17... fxg6 18. Bxf8 Qxf8 19. Qxb2 {with compensation thanks to the bishop pair and the central pawn mass.}) 17. Nd4 Bd7 18. f4 {For the pawn White got some time to advance on the kingside. The plan is obvious f4-f5 followed by e5-e6 and mate somewhere around the f7 square.} c5 {Naturally, Black gets rid of the knight asap.} 19. Nf3 Qb6 20. Qf2 d4 $146 {A novelty, and a logical one. This is the best way to distract the flank attack.} ({The email predecessor ended in a draw after:} 20... Nc4 21. Rae1 Bd8 22. Ng5 Na3 23. e6 Rxe6 24. Nxe6 fxe6 25. f5 exf5 26. Qg3 Bc7 27. Qh4 Bd8 28. Qg3 Bc7 29. Qh4 {1/2-1/2 (29) Haznedaroglu,K (1990)-Wojcik,W (2185) ICCF email 2006}) 21. Bg5 {The dark squares are weak and Topalov needs to attack them first and foremost.} ({The pawn is immune:} 21. cxd4 $6 cxd4 22. Nxd4 $2 Bc5) 21... dxc3 22. Qh4 ({The other way to build the attack was:} 22. Bxe7 Rxe7 23. Ng5 {to which Black planned} ({Topalov also mentioned the line:} 23. f5 Bxf5 (23... gxf5 {is also possible.}) 24. Bxf5 gxf5 25. Nh4 Kh8 ({ White is better after} 25... Rae8 26. Qg3+ Kh8 27. Nxf5 Rg8 28. Qxc3 Na4 29. Qh3) ({However} 25... Re6 $1 26. Qg3+ Rg6 27. Qxc3 c4+ 28. Kh1 Nd3 { (Mamedyarov) is enough to end White's attack.}) ({But the best defense was not mentioned by the players-} 25... Nd3 $1 26. Qg3+ Kh8 27. Nxf5 c4+ 28. Kh1 Rg8 { and Black wins.}) 26. Nxf5 Rxe5 27. Qg3 Qf6 28. Nh6 Qxh6 29. Qxe5+ Qg7 { where Black should not be worse.}) 23... f5 $1 24. Bb3+ Kg7 {Here tactics} 25. Nxh7 {is ignored with the strong} Nd3 $1 26. Qh4 c4+ 27. Kh1 Rf7 {when the white pieces are left discordinated and weak.}) 22... c4+ 23. Kh1 Bf8 $1 { A strong defensive resource. The Bg5 obstructs its own knight in reaching the black king.} ({But not:} 23... Bxg5 24. Nxg5 h5 25. Ne4 {when White's attack is huge.} ({Or} 25. f5)) 24. f5 Nd3 {Again in time to shut the second bishop. Topalov proceeds with the attack.} 25. e6 $1 Bxe6 $1 {The only move, but an excellent one. Being many pawns ahead Mamedyarov is OK to part with some material in order to reduce the attacking potential of the opponent.} ({ Otherwise Black is checkmated-} 25... fxe6 $2 26. fxg6 hxg6 27. Bf6 Bg7 28. Ng5 ) 26. fxe6 Rxe6 27. Rad1 {Only here did White realize that on his planned:} ( 27. Nd4 {There is the strong:} Rd6 $1 ({Instead:} 27... Re5 {allows the sacrifice:} 28. Rxf7 $1 Kxf7 29. Qxh7+ Ke8 30. Bxd3 cxd3 31. Rf1 {with a possible perpetual after:} Ra7 32. Rxf8+ Kxf8 33. Qh8+ Kf7 34. Qh7+ Ke8 35. Qh8+ Kd7 36. Qxe5 d2 37. Qe7+ Kc8 38. Qe8+ Kb7 39. Qe4+)) 27... Rae8 (27... Rd6 $5) 28. Bxd3 cxd3 29. Rxd3 {The smoke has finally cleared. For the piece Black has three pawns and two of them are very dangerous passers. Mamedyarov is better.} Re4 ({The Azeri GM did not like that in the line:} 29... b4 30. Bd8 Qb5 31. Ng5 h6 {White has:} 32. Qf2 $1 {Now:} ({But not} 32. Nxe6 Qxd3 33. Qf6 Qxf1+ $3 34. Qxf1 Rxe6 {which is what Mamedyrov was hoping for and which is indeed a win for him despite the material deficit.}) 32... f5 ({Both players missed the computer idea:} 32... R6e7 $3 33. Bxe7 Rxe7 {with an edge for Black. }) 33. Nxe6 Qxd3 34. Nxf8 Rxd8 35. Nxg6 c2 (35... Qc4) 36. Rg1 {The position is not yet clear. Black has to find though:} Qc3 $1 {which gives him excellent winning chances after:} ({Instead:} 36... Qd1 {is weaker due to:} 37. Qc5 Qxg1+ $2 38. Kxg1 Rd1+ 39. Kf2 c1=Q 40. Qf8+ Kh7 41. Qf7#) 37. Ne7+ Kf7 38. Qxf5+ Kxe7 39. Qe4+ Kd6 40. Rc1) 30. Bf4 Be7 {Not a bad move.} ({Black rejected the possible draw in the line:} 30... h6 31. Rxc3 g5 32. Nxg5 hxg5 33. Qxg5+ Qg6 34. Qh4) 31. Qg3 b4 ({The pawn might be lost after} 31... c2 32. Rc3 ({ Although the line that Mamedyarov calculated-} 32. Ng5 Rxf4 33. Qxf4 Qf6 $1 { has a flaw-} 34. Nh3 Qxf4 35. Nxf4 {and White defends the back rank.})) 32. Ng5 Bxg5 33. Bxg5 Qe6 34. h3 {Topalov did a good job in co-ordinating his pieces.} (34. h4 $5) 34... Qe5 $2 {Only this is a mistake. Queens needed to stay on the board.} ({Correct was} 34... a5 35. Kh2 {and now for example:} Qxa2 36. Rd7 R4e5 37. Rfxf7 Qxf7 38. Rxf7 Kxf7 {Black should survive here.}) 35. Kh2 Qxg3+ 36. Kxg3 h6 ({White has excellent winning chances after} 36... Re1 37. Rxe1 Rxe1 38. Bf6 Re8 39. Rd6 Rc8 40. Bg5 c2 41. Bc1 {but this was more resilient.}) 37. Bxh6 Re1 38. Rf6 $1 R1e6 39. Rf2 Re2 40. Rd5 Rxf2 41. Kxf2 f6 42. Be3 { Black pawns are tamed and will soon drop one after another.} 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.22"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A15"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2778"] [PlyCount "138"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:42:38"] [BlackClock "1:00:11"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. b3 d5 4. Bb2 c5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. g3 (6. e3 Nc6 7. Bb5 Bd6 8. d4 O-O 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. O-O Bg4 {Andreikin,D (2712)-Anand,V (2776) Moscow 2018}) 6... Nc6 7. Bg2 d4 8. O-O Be7 9. Na3 O-O 10. Nc4 Be6 11. e3 Rc8 12. exd4 $146 (12. Nfe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 dxe3 14. dxe3 Bd5 15. Bh3 Ra8 {Salaun,Y (2329) -Delaunay,S (2357) France 2005}) 12... cxd4 13. Re1 Bd5 14. Nce5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Re8 16. Bf3 $6 (16. Nd3 {Giri}) (16. Bxd5 Qxd5 17. Qf3 {Giri}) 16... Bc5 17. Rc1 Qd6 18. Nd3 Rxe1+ 19. Nxe1 Re8 20. Nd3 Bb6 21. Nf4 Bxf3 22. Qxf3 Qd7 { "From here the moves I played, I am completely embarrassed and ashamed of myself."(Giri)} 23. h4 h6 24. Ng2 $2 (24. Kg2) 24... Ng4 25. Re1 Ne5 26. Qe4 Re6 27. Ba1 Ng4 28. Qd3 Ne5 29. Qe4 g6 (29... Ba5 30. Rd1 f5 $1 31. Qxf5 Qd5 32. Qc2 Rc6 {gives Black a winning advantage.}) 30. Rf1 f5 $6 ({Here} 30... Qc6 31. Qxc6 Rxc6 {was strong.}) 31. Qf4 Qd5 ({Giri suggested} 31... h5 {to prevent g4 altogether. "I have no moves."}) 32. f3 Kg7 33. g4 Rf6 $2 {Allowing White's next move is not very handy.} ({After} 33... Nd3 34. Qg3 Kf7 {White is still in trouble.}) 34. g5 $1 hxg5 35. hxg5 Re6 36. Qg3 Nd3 37. Nf4 Nxf4 38. Qxf4 {White has clearly made progress.probably more back than} Kf7 39. Qh4 Ke7 40. Qh7+ Kd6 41. Bb2 f4 42. Kh1 Qxg5 $2 ({Black keeps the advantage with} 42... Bc5) 43. Ba3+ Kc6 44. Rc1+ Kb5 45. Qxb7 {White is OK now.} Qh4+ 46. Kg1 Re1+ 47. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 48. Kg2 Qxd2+ 49. Kh3 Qc2 50. Qd5+ Ka6 51. Bd6 Qc8+ 52. Kg2 Qc2+ $1 53. Kh3 Qc1 54. Kg4 $2 {This loses. Giri thought he could force a draw with this move.} (54. Kg2 {is equal. Giri was worried about some} g5 {but White goes } 55. a4) 54... Qg1+ 55. Kxf4 Qh2+ 56. Kg4 (56. Ke4 Qc2+ 57. Kf4 d3 58. Bb4 Qh2+ 59. Ke4 (59. Kg4 Qh5+ 60. Qxh5 gxh5+ 61. Kxh5 Ba5) 59... Qh4+ 60. Kxd3 Qxb4) 56... Qh5+ $1 {The bishop endgame is indeed winning.} 57. Qxh5 gxh5+ 58. Kxh5 d3 59. Bf4 Ba5 60. Kg4 Kb5 61. Kf5 d2 ({Ding thought this was "the easier win."} 61... Kc5 62. Ke4 d2 63. Be3+ $1 Kd6 {However White draws with} 64. Bf4+ $3 (64. Bxd2 Bxd2 65. f4 Bc1 $3 {is the only winning move.} (65... Bc3 66. Kd3 $1 (66. f5 $2 Kc5) 66... Bf6 67. Kc4 {and White draws})) 64... Kc6 65. Bxd2 Bxd2 66. f4 Kc5 67. Ke5) 62. Bxd2 Bxd2 63. f4 Kb4 64. Ke4 Kc5 $2 (64... Ka3 $1 65. f5 Bb4 66. Kd3 {The only winning move is the study-like} a6 $3 (66... a5 $2 67. f6 Kxa2 68. Kc4 {is a draw, e.g.} Ka3 69. f7 Ka2 (69... Bf8 70. Kb5) 70. Kb5 Kxb3 71. f8=Q) (66... Be7 67. Kd4 (67. Kc4 $2 a6 $1) 67... a6 (67... Kxa2 68. Kc4 Ka3 69. Kb5) 68. Kc4 Bb4 69. f6 Bf8 70. f7 Be7 71. Kd5 Kxa2 72. Kc6) 67. Kc4 (67. f6 Kxa2 68. Kc4 Ka3 69. f7 Bf8 70. Kc3 Bc5 71. Kc4 Bb4) 67... Be7 $1 68. Kd5 Kxa2 69. Kc4 Ka3 70. Kc3 Bb4+ 71. Kc4 Be1 72. f6 Bb4 73. f7 Bf8 74. Kc3 Bd6 75. Kc4 Bb4) 65. Ke5 Kc6 66. f5 Bb4 67. Ke6 Ba3 68. f6 a5 69. Kf7 Kd7 ( 69... Kd7 70. Kg8 Ke6 71. f7 Kd5 72. f8=Q Bxf8 73. Kxf8 Kd4 74. a3 Kc3 75. b4) 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.22"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Navara, David"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2745"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "2:29:47"] [BlackClock "2:14:12"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Qb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. O-O Qxb2 9. Qe1 cxd4 10. Bxd4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Bb4 12. Ndb5 Ba5 13. g4 (13. Rb1 Qxc2 14. Rc1 Qb2 15. Na4 Bxe1 16. Nxb2 Ba5 17. Nd6+ Ke7 {Kryvoruchko,Y (2703) -Pantsulaia,L (2592) Dubai 2018}) 13... Bg6 14. Rb1 Qxc2 15. Rc1 Qb2 16. f4 Ne7 17. Nd6+ Kf8 18. f5 exf5 19. gxf5 Nxf5 20. Nxf5 Rc8 21. Bb5 $146 {A new idea which Navara had noticed the morning before the game.} (21. Nxd5 Qxc1 22. Qxa5 Qc5+ 23. Qxc5+ Rxc5 24. Nfe3 Be4 25. e6 Bxd5 26. Rxf7+ Ke8 27. Nxd5 Rxd5 28. Rxb7 Rg5+ {½-½ Muukkonen,K (2437)-Machycek,L (2394)corr. 2014}) 21... Bxf5 22. e6 f6 {The only move.} ({Navara showed a pitfall he noticed during his prep:} 22... Be4 $2 23. e7+ $1 Kxe7 24. Nxd5+ Kd6 25. Qg3+ Kxd5 26. Qg5+ f5 27. Rxf5+ Bxf5 28. Qxf5+ Kd4 29. Qf4+ Kd5 30. Rd1+ Kc5 31. Qc4+ Kb6 32. Rd6+ Rc6 33. Rxc6+ bxc6 34. Qxc6#) 23. Rxf5 Bxc3 24. Rxc3 Qxc3 25. e7+ Kf7 26. e8=Q+ Rhxe8 27. Bxe8+ Kf8 28. Qxc3 Rxc3 29. Ba4 Rc5 30. Bb3 Ke7 31. Rxd5 Rxd5 32. Bxd5 b5 33. Kf2 Kd6 34. Bg8 h6 35. Ke3 Ke5 36. Bb3 g5 37. Bd1 f5 38. h3 a5 ( 38... Kd5 39. Kd3 Kc5 40. Kc3 b4+ 41. Kd3 a5 42. Bf3 a4 43. Bd1 {Karjakin/ Navara}) 39. Bf3 b4 40. Bd1 Kd5 41. Kd3 Ke5 42. Ke3 Kd5 43. Kd3 Ke5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Shamkir AZE"] [Site "Shamkir AZE"] [Date "2018.04.22"] [Round "4"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Navara, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2745"] [Annotator "Marco Baldauf"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 ({Two rounds ago, Carlsen chose} 4. Nd2 { This move delays kingside development and is targeted at Navara's specific variation with 5...c5} e6 5. Nb3 Nd7 6. Nf3 {and the game takes on a less concrete character, more according to Carlsen's taste. Navara kept the game close despite having a difficult position and was probably ready to subject his preparation to a repeated test against Karjakin. ½-½ (50) Carlsen,M (2843)-Navara,D (2745) Shamkir AZE 2018}) 4... e6 5. Be2 c5 $5 {The Caro-Kann is a versatile opening. Some prefer quieter and solid lines, with slow manoeuvring of the pieces, while others delay development in favour of challenging in the centre immediately.} 6. Be3 {Karjakin sees no reason to avoid a theoretical duel with Navara and chooses the principaled answer. He is considered one of the leading specialists on the white side of these lines and has already contributed to the formation of the theory thanks to his game against Pavel Eljanov from the 2010 Chess Olympiad.} Qb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 (7... Qxb2 $6 {is regarded as bad for black today because of that Karjakin-Eljanov game from 2010} 8. Qb1 Qxb1+ 9. Rxb1 c4 10. Rxb7 Nc6 11. Nb5 Nd8 12. Rc7 Rb8 13. Nd6+ Bxd6 14. exd6 Rb1+ 15. Bd1 Bxc2 16. Kd2 Bxd1 17. Rxd1 Rb6 18. Bf4 Nf6 19. Re7+ Kf8 20. Rxa7 Ne4+ 21. Kc2 f6 22. h4 Nxf2 23. Rb1 Rxb1 24. Kxb1 Ne4 25. a4 Rg8 26. a5 Nc6 27. Ra6 Nb8 28. Ra7 Nc6 29. d7 Nd8 30. Kc2 Ke7 31. a6 e5 32. Bc1 Kd6 33. Ba3+ Kc6 34. Ra8 {1-0 (34) Karjakin,S (2747)-Eljanov,P (2761) Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 CBM 139 [Ftacnik,L]}) 8. O-O Qxb2 9. Qe1 cxd4 10. Bxd4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Bb4 12. Ndb5 (12. Rb1 {is less dangerous. The resulting endgames are a bit better for white but black players usually hold them without major problems.} Bxc3 13. Rxb2 Bxe1 14. Rxe1 b6 15. Rb3 Ne7 16. Rc3 g5 17. Rc7 Bg6 18. g4 h5 19. h3 Kf8 20. Ba6 hxg4 21. hxg4 Rh4 22. f3 Bh7 23. Bb7 Re8 24. Ba6 Ra8 25. Bb7 Re8 26. Ba6 Ra8 27. Bb7 Re8 28. Ba6 Ra8 29. Bb7 Re8 {1/2-1/2 (29) Sjugirov,S (2635)-Eljanov,P (2729) St Petersburg 2013}) 12... Ba5 13. g4 $146 { a novelty, which quickly transposes to known terrain, however.} (13. Rb1 Qxc2 14. Rb3 (14. Rc1 Qb2 15. Nd6+ (15. g4 {was the original move order in Caruana vs Vachier-Lagrave, 2014}) 15... Kf8 16. Nxf5 exf5 17. Na4 Bxe1 18. Nxb2 Bb4 19. Rc7 $44 {and White definitely had sufficient compensation in 1-0 (43) Kryvoruchko,Y (2703) -Czarnota,P (2526) Gorzow Wielkopolski 2014}) 14... Ne7 15. Nd6+ Kf8 16. Nxb7 Bb6 17. Nd6 Ba5 $13 {1-0 (46) Karjakin,S (2779)-Fridman, D (2655) Dortmund 2012}) 13... Bg6 14. Rb1 Qxc2 15. Rc1 Qb2 16. f4 Ne7 $146 { the real novelty of the game, although this logical move could not have surprised Karjakin.} ({Vachier-Lagrave in the stem game charged ahead with} 16... Be4 17. Rf2 $1 Nh6 $2 (17... Kf8 $142 {meanwhile brave Caro-Kann players tried a complicated position that Navara probably considered dangerous for Black.} 18. Bd3 Qb4 19. a3 Qe7 20. Bxe4 dxe4 21. Kg2 h5 $132 {1/2-1/2 (39) Azarov,S (2556) -Shimanov,A (2640) Saint Louis 2017}) 18. Bd3 Qb4 19. Rb1 Qc5 20. Nxe4 $18 {1-0 (30) Caruana,F (2801)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2768) Saint Louis 2014 CBM 162 [Postny,E]}) 17. Nd6+ Kf8 18. f5 exf5 19. gxf5 Nxf5 20. Nxf5 { Navara has sacrificed a piece for three pawns but can use} Rc8 {to immediately apply pressure to the white position. After the kingside pawns come off Karjakin's army is badly coordinated and specifically his c3-knight is hanging. } 21. Bb5 $5 (21. Nxd5 Qxc1 $1 22. Qxa5 Qc5+ 23. Qxc5+ Rxc5 24. Nfe3 Be4 $11) 21... Bxf5 22. e6 (22. Rxf5 Bxc3 23. e6 f6 {tr}) 22... f6 $1 {Navara wheels off his preparation, playing this move in mere seconds. Fortunately for him, he had covered the Bb5 option as well, as Karjakin was not content to try the simpler Nxd5 line.} 23. Rxf5 Bxc3 24. Rxc3 Qxc3 25. e7+ Kf7 26. e8=Q+ Rhxe8 27. Bxe8+ Kf8 28. Qxc3 Rxc3 {Navara concludes this position is a simple draw! Impressive preparation from the Czech whos was up to this point "in his book" and thus gave Karjakin no chance to win. We look forward to Navara's next Caro-Kann chapter; he meets opening specialist Anish Giri in round 6.} 29. Ba4 Rc5 30. Bb3 Ke7 31. Rxd5 Rxd5 32. Bxd5 b5 33. Kf2 Kd6 34. Bg8 h6 35. Ke3 Ke5 36. Bb3 g5 37. Bd1 f5 38. h3 a5 39. Bf3 b4 40. Bd1 Kd5 41. Kd3 Ke5 42. Ke3 Kd5 43. Kd3 Ke5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2018"] [Site "Shamkir AZE"] [Date "2018.04.22"] [Round "4"] [White "Topalov, V."] [Black "Mamedyarov, S."] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2814"] [Annotator "Marco Badauf"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Be3 Be7 10. c3 O-O 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 12. Qxd2 Na5 13. Bc2 Nc4 14. Qd3 g6 15. Bh6 Nxb2 16. Qe2 Re8 (16... c5 {was Topalov's proposal in the post-game analysis. It's refreshing to see how the Bulgarian former FIDE World Champion wants to see material sacrificed time and time again. Mamedyarov explored the position after} 17. Bxg6 hxg6 18. Bxf8 Qxf8 19. Qxb2 Qh6 $44 {however was not convinced, and preferred to keep the material.}) 17. Nd4 Bd7 18. f4 c5 19. Nf3 Qb6 {This is what Mamedyarov was aiming for - "and Black has no problems", according to the world number two.} 20. Qf2 {Topalov however was pretty satisfied, after all, he had the mating attack. The pawns on the queenside are less interesting for him for the moment.} d4 21. Bg5 dxc3 22. Qh4 (22. Bxe7 $5 Rxe7 23. f5 (23. Ng5 {was just as interesting but the black response} f5 $1 { halts White's attacking efforts.}) 23... Bxf5 24. Bxf5 gxf5 25. Nh4 Kh8 26. Nxf5 Re6 {and White has some attack but probably not enough to compensate for two pawns.}) 22... c4+ 23. Kh1 Bf8 (23... Qc5 24. Be4 Rab8 25. f5 $40) 24. f5 Nd3 25. e6 Bxe6 26. fxe6 Rxe6 27. Rad1 {Now it's clear that the attack has stalled. Although Mamedyarov had to give up a piece on e6, four whole pawns should be enough for it!} (27. Nd4 {was Topalov's original idea, but it has a hole in the middle} Rd6 28. Rxf7 {looks dangerious but} h6 $1 $19 {is simple and good.} (28... Kxf7 $2 29. Qxh7+ Bg7 30. Rf1+ $18)) 27... Rae8 28. Bxd3 cxd3 29. Rxd3 Re4 (29... b4 $5 {was hotly debated in the press conference.} 30. Bd8 Qb5 31. Ng5 h6 32. Qf2 (32. Nxe6 Qxd3 33. Qf6 Qxf1+ $1 34. Qxf1 Rxe6 $19 { Mamedyarov correctly assessed. The queen is probably powerless against the rook and c-pawns}) 32... f5 33. Nxe6 Qxd3 34. Nxf8 Rxd8 35. Nxg6 c2 {was Topalov's main line. Mamedyarov was not confident of victory here because he was lines like} 36. Rg1 Qd1 (36... Qc3 $1 $17) 37. Qc5 Qxg1+ 38. Kxg1 Rd1+ 39. Kf2 c1=Q 40. Qf8+ Kh7 41. Qf7#) 30. Bf4 Be7 (30... h6 {would have made the game a mildly exciting draw, but Mamedyarov wanted more!} 31. Rxc3 g5 32. Nxg5 hxg5 33. Qxg5+ Qg6 34. Rg3 $11 (34. Qh4 Bg7 $1 35. Rg3 $140 Re1 $19)) 31. Qg3 b4 32. Ng5 Bxg5 33. Bxg5 {Topalov: "Not it is very bad for Black". The engine still sees compensation in the position but it is clear that Black now has to be careful. Mamedyarov already regretted the missed chance at a draw via 30... h6} Qe6 34. h3 Qe5 35. Kh2 Qxg3+ 36. Kxg3 {Black's pawns are not a big threat but the bishop is a star.} h6 (36... Re1 37. Rxe1 Rxe1 38. Bf6 Re8 39. Rd5 { and Black might still be able to hold according to Mamedyarov, although Topalov disagreed.}) 37. Bxh6 Re1 (37... a5 {and the engine still finds the position balanced - hard to believe.}) 38. Rf6 R1e6 39. Rf2 Re2 40. Rd5 Rxf2 41. Kxf2 f6 42. Be3 1-0 [Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2018"] [Site "Shamkir AZE"] [Date "2018.04.22"] [Round "4"] [White "Giri, A."] [Black "Ding Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2778"] [Annotator "Marco Baldauf"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/p7/8/1k3K2/5P2/1P6/P2b4/8 b - - 0 63"] [PlyCount "13"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] {[#] At this point Ding invested almost all his remaining thinking time for his move, but nevertheless chose wrong} 63... Kb4 64. Ke4 Kc5 $2 (64... Ka3 $1 65. f5 Bb4 66. Kd5 (66. f6 $2 Kxa2 $19) 66... a6 $3 {takes control of the important b5 square and blocks the white king} (66... Kxa2 $2 67. Kc4 Bf8 68. Kb5 {This is the defensive idea - the king grabs the last pawn and the black king is shut off from the action.}) 67. Kc4 (67. Kc6 Kxa2 68. Kb6 a5 69. f6 Kxb3 70. f7 a4 $19) (67. f6 Kxa2 68. Kc4 Ka3 $19) (67. Kd4 Kxa2 68. Kc4 Ka3 69. f6 Bf8) 67... Be7 $3 {mutual Zugzwang} 68. b4 Bxb4 69. f6 Bf8 70. Kd5 Kb4 $19) 65. Ke5 Kc6 66. f5 Bb4 67. Ke6 Ba3 68. f6 a5 69. Kf7 Kd7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Shamkir2018"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.23"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "2843"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:45:15"] [BlackClock "0:06:33"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. d4 {Vintage Carlsen- no theory at all!} cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qd2 ({Moreusual is the set up after:} 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. Bxc6 Bxc6 7. Nge2 Nf6 8. f3 e5 9. Qd3 h6 10. Be3 {Guseinov,G (2646)-Amonatov,F (2636) Riadh 2017}) 5... Nf6 6. b3 e6 7. Bb2 a6 8. O-O-O b5 $146 ({There is just one predecessor, which quickly ended in a draw after:} 8... Qa5 9. Kb1 Be7 10. f4 {1/2-1/2 (10) Fernandez de Bobadilla,J (2106)-Fernandez de Bobadilla,G (2167) Granada 2015}) 9. f3 h5 $6 {"This (idea) was a bit too much" (Wojtaszek)} (9... Be7 {was good "with normal position" (Carlsen)}) 10. Nh3 $1 Be7 11. Ng5 {Now Black is stuck as he cannot castle on either side.} h4 12. f4 Bb7 13. Kb1 Rc8 ({If} 13... Qc7 {White can try to reach the f7 square with} 14. f5 e5 15. a4 bxa4 16. Bc4) 14. Be2 Qc7 15. Rhe1 Nh7 {"I could not see anything else"(Wojtaszek)} 16. Nxh7 Rxh7 17. g4 $6 {Timid. "I thought I could win prosaically but of course that is a terrible attitude." (Carlsen)} ({The world champion's intuition was telling him that:} 17. Nd5 $1 {is the winning move, but he could not see a clear-cut win. The computer helps with:} exd5 18. exd5 Nd8 (18... Nb8 {is similar after} 19. Bd3 Rh5 20. Rxe7+ $1) 19. Bd3 Rh5 (19... Rh8 {loses faster after} 20. Bxg7 Rg8 21. Bf6) 20. Rxe7+ $1 {The point.} Qxe7 ({The rook is hanging on h5 after} 20... Kxe7 21. Qe2+) 21. Re1 Ne6 22. dxe6 {With crushing attack for White. For example:} f5 (22... fxe6 23. Bg6+) 23. g4 $1 hxg3 24. hxg3 {The threat is again g3-g4 to clear teh diagonal for the bishop. Then} Bf3 25. Qf2 Bg4 {allows } 26. Qb6 {and Black is completely helpless.}) ({Black also expected} 17. Bg4 Kf8 18. f5 Ne5 19. Bh3 Rh6 {where he has "some squares" and chances to survive. }) 17... hxg3 18. hxg3 Bf6 {Now Black is back in the game.} 19. Bd3 ({The pawn is not poisoned and can be taken:} 19. Qxd6 Qxd6 20. Rxd6 {But Black has compensation after both} Rh2 ({Or the preliminary} 20... Nb4 21. e5 Be7 22. Rdd1 Rh2)) 19... Rh8 20. g4 Nd4 ({The standard} 20... g5 $2 {fails to the standard} 21. Nd5 $1) 21. Re3 Kf8 $1 {Missed by Carlsen.} ({Apparently, he expected:} 21... g5 22. Nd5 $1 exd5 ({Or} 22... Bxd5 23. fxg5 Bxg5 24. Bxd4) 23. e5 dxe5 24. fxe5 Be7 25. Bxd4 {where White should be winning.}) 22. Ne2 Nxe2 23. Rxe2 Bc3 ({Better than} 23... Bxb2 24. Kxb2 {where the white king takes care of himself.}) 24. Bxc3 Qxc3 25. Qe3 Rc5 $2 {And just when the Polish GM came back into the game, he overrelaxed and committed a decisive mistake.} ({Correct was:} 25... Qc5 26. Qc1 a5 {where "White is better, but not much" (Carlsen)}) 26. e5 $1 dxe5 {Black is not happy to open files against his king, but he hardly has any choice.} (26... d5 {is positional suicide after } 27. f5 {When White has the perfect French- huge positional advantage plus unstoppable attack.}) 27. fxe5 Rh1 {Loses by force.} ({Or else the attack along the half-open f-file is decisive-} 27... Rc8 28. Rf1) 28. Rxh1 Bxh1 29. Rh2 Rxe5 {Not just to take the pawn, but to defend the g5 square.} ({Mate is unstoppable after} 29... Bd5 30. Rh8+ Ke7 31. Qg5+) 30. Rh8+ Ke7 31. Qa7+ { Black resigned due to:} Kd6 32. Rd8+ Kc6 33. Rc8+ 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.23"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2748"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:17:19"] [BlackClock "0:25:05"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 8. Bd3 Nxf4 9. exf4 b6 10. b4 a5 11. a3 c6 12. O-O Qc7 13. g3 Ba6 14. Qe2 (14. Bxa6 Rxa6 15. Qe2 Rfa8 16. b5 cxb5 17. Nxd5 exd5 18. Qxe7 R6a7 19. Rab1 bxc5 20. Rxb5 cxd4 21. Rxd5 Nf6 22. Qxc7 Rxc7 {Aronian,L (2805)-Karjakin,S (2760) Riadh 2017}) 14... Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Ra7 16. Rfc1 $146 (16. Kg2 Rfa8 17. Rab1 axb4 18. axb4 Ra3 19. Rfc1 g6 20. h4 bxc5 21. bxc5 Qa7 {Shirov,A (2691)-Fridman,D (2635) Germany 2015}) 16... Rfa8 17. cxb6 Qxb6 18. b5 a4 19. f5 c5 20. fxe6 fxe6 21. dxc5 $6 (21. Qe2 Bf6 22. dxc5 Nxc5 23. Rab1) 21... Nxc5 22. Qe3 Rb7 23. Rab1 Nb3 24. Qxb6 Rxb6 25. Rc2 Bf6 26. Nxa4 Rxb5 (26... Rxa4 27. Rxb3) 27. Nc3 Rb7 28. Ne2 Rab8 29. Nf4 Nd4 30. Rxb7 Nxf3+ 31. Kg2 Ne1+ 32. Kf1 Rxb7 33. Kxe1 Kf7 34. a4 Ra7 35. Ra2 g5 36. Nd3 Ke7 37. f4 gxf4 38. gxf4 Kd6 39. Ke2 Bc3 40. Ke3 Ba5 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.23"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2749"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:46:39"] [BlackClock "0:39:17"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O Bg4 5. d3 Nbd7 6. c4 (6. h3 Bxf3 7. Bxf3 e5 8. e4 dxe4 9. dxe4 Bc5 10. Bg2 Qe7 11. a4 O-O 12. Qe2 a5 {Giri,A (2782) -Kramnik,V (2812) Paris FRA 2016}) 6... dxc4 7. dxc4 e5 (7... Bxf3 8. exf3 e6 9. f4 Be7 10. Nd2 O-O 11. Nf3 Bc5 12. Qc2 a5 {Laznicka,V (2654)-L'Ami,E (2611) Heraklio 2017}) 8. Qc2 h6 9. Rd1 Qc7 10. Nc3 $146 (10. Nh4 Bc5 11. Nf5 O-O 12. Nc3 Rad8 13. Na4 Rfe8 14. Nxc5 Nxc5 15. Be3 Ne6 {Plonczak,D (2216)-Dreev,A (2673) Warsaw 2013}) 10... Be6 11. b3 Bc5 12. Na4 Be7 13. Nh4 g6 14. h3 Kf8 { Topalov didn't like this.} (14... e4 15. Bxe4 Qe5 16. Bg2 $1 Qxa1 17. Nc3 { Navara}) (14... Rc8 15. Be3 b5 16. Nb2 $1 {(Topalov) was perhaps not a bad idea.}) 15. Bb2 Re8 16. e4 (16. Rac1 Kg7 17. Nf3) 16... Kg8 17. Rac1 Kh7 18. Nf5 (18. Nc3 $5 {with the idea 19.Nd5 (Navara)} Qb8 19. Nd5 Bd8 {Topalov}) 18... Bf8 19. Ne3 Nb6 (19... h5 20. Nd5 Qb8 21. Nxf6+ Nxf6 22. f4 {Topalov}) 20. Qc3 (20. Nxb6 axb6 21. Bc3 (21. Qc3)) 20... Nxa4 21. Qxe5 Bd6 (21... Qc8 22. bxa4 Bg7 {and now} 23. Qd4 ({not Topalov's} 23. Bd4 Bxh3 24. Qf4 Bxg2 25. Kxg2 Rxe4) 23... Bxh3 24. e5 Nh5 25. Bxh3 Qxh3 26. Qg4 Qxg4 27. Nxg4) 22. Qxf6 ({Both} 22. Rxd6 Nxb2 23. Qd4 {and}) (22. Qxd6 Qxd6 23. Rxd6 Nxb2 24. Rb1 Nxc4 25. bxc4 {are still better for White.}) 22... Nxb2 23. Qxb2 Qe7 24. Qc3 Bb4 25. Qe5 Qg5 26. Qb2 Rd8 {From this point Navara starts to lose the thread.} 27. a3 $6 (27. Kh2 $5) 27... Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Bc5 29. Nf1 $6 {Too passive.} (29. Ng4 Bxg4 30. hxg4 Qxg4 31. Rd3 {was relatively best.}) 29... Rd8 30. h4 Qe7 31. Rxd8 Qxd8 32. b4 Qd4 $1 33. Qc2 Be7 34. c5 (34. Nd2 Qa1+ 35. Nb1 a5) 34... a5 $1 {White is in big trouble.} 35. bxa5 (35. Qb1 a4) 35... Bxc5 36. a4 Kg7 37. Nh2 (37. h5 gxh5 38. Bf3 $5) 37... Bb3 38. Qe2 Qxa4 39. Nf3 Qa1+ 40. Bf1 Qc3 ({ Strong was} 40... Be6) 41. Kg2 Ba4 42. Qc4 Qxc4 43. Bxc4 Bc2 44. Nd2 Bb4 45. Bb3 Bxb3 46. Nxb3 c5 47. Kf3 c4 48. Nd4 Bxa5 49. Nb5 c3 50. Nd4 b5 51. Ke2 b4 52. f4 Bb6 53. Nb3 h5 0-1 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.25"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Navara, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2745"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:58:06"] [BlackClock "1:57:40"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Qb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. Na4 ( 8. O-O Qxb2 9. Qe1 cxd4 10. Bxd4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Bb4 12. Ndb5 Ba5 13. Rb1 Qxc2 14. Rc1 Qb2 15. Na4 Bxe1 16. Nxb2 Ba5 {Kryvoruchko,Y (2703)-Pantsulaia,L (2592) Dubai 2018}) 8... Qa5+ 9. c3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Ne7 12. O-O Nc6 13. b4 Qc7 14. Rc1 Be7 15. g4 $146 (15. b5 Nxd4 16. cxd4 Qa5 17. Nc5 O-O 18. Nxb7 Qxa2 19. Bd3 Bxd3 20. Qxd3 Rfc8 {Bok,B (2611)-Saltaev,M (2477) Germany 2018}) 15... Be4 16. f3 Bg6 17. f4 Be4 18. Nc5 a5 19. Be3 axb4 (19... Bxc5 20. Bxc5 axb4 21. cxb4 Rxa2 22. Ra1) 20. cxb4 Ra3 21. Bf2 Bxc5 (21... Qb8 $5 22. b5 (22. Qd2 { is probably better here}) 22... Nb4 {seems to work, e.g.} 23. b6 (23. Qd4 Nxa2) 23... O-O) 22. Bxc5 ({After} 22. Rxc5 h5 $1 {is a lovely, positional intermediate move.} 23. g5 (23. b5 $6 hxg4 $1 {The main idea is} 24. bxc6 $2 ( 24. Bxg4 f5 $1 25. bxc6 (25. exf6 Rxh2 $1) 25... b6 $1 26. Rc1 fxg4 27. Re1 Kf7 ) 24... Rxh2 $1 25. Kxh2 Rh3+ 26. Kg1 Rh1#) 23... Qd7 {and Black is OK.}) 22... Rxa2 23. b5 (23. Ra1 Rxa1 24. Qxa1) 23... Bc2 $4 {A shocking blunder. "I realized it about two seconds after I made my move." - Navara} ({Critical obviously is} 23... Na5 24. b6 Qc6 25. Rf2 {(Giri)} Nc4 26. Bxc4 Rxf2 $1 { (Navara) and now} 27. Be2 $1 Rg2+ 28. Kf1 Rxe2 29. Qxe2 Qa4 $1 {looks playable for Black.}) 24. b6 $1 {This intermediate move wins on the spot.} Bxd1 25. bxc7 Kd7 26. Bxd1 Kxc7 27. Bd6+ Kd7 28. Rb1 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.25"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2843"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:57:55"] [BlackClock "1:56:38"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d3 Bd6 13. Re1 Bf5 14. Qf3 Qh4 ( 14... Bg6 15. Bxd5 cxd5 16. Bf4 d4 17. cxd4 Bb4 18. Nc3 Qxd4 19. Be5 Qd7 20. Nd5 f6 21. Nxb4 fxe5 22. Qd5+ Qxd5 23. Nxd5 Bxd3 {was played in Anand,V (2791) -Carlsen,M (2863) Shamkir AZE 2015 - the very first time Carlsen employed the Marshall.}) 15. g3 Qh3 16. Be3 Bxd3 17. Nd2 Qf5 18. Bd4 Rfe8 ({Ding Liren argued a month ago that the rook is better placed on d8:} 18... Rfd8 19. a4 h6 20. h4 Rac8 21. axb5 axb5 22. Bxd5 cxd5 23. Qxf5 Bxf5 {and a draw was agreed on move 37 in So,W (2799)-Ding,L (2769) Berlin 2018}) ({The world champ has also played the other rook:} 18... Rae8 19. Kg2 Qxf3+ 20. Kxf3 Re6 21. Rac1 h6 22. Kg2 Rg6 {Wei Yi (2706)-Carlsen,M (2844) Wijk aan Zee NED 2016}) 19. a4 Kf8 {After 10 minutes of thinking, Carlsen repeats a move he played last year.} ({ Marshall experts like Aronian and Svidler prefer} 19... h6) 20. h4 h6 $146 { And after another 10 minutes, Carlsen plays a new move.} (20... Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 f6 22. Qxf5 Bxf5 23. c4 Nb4 24. axb5 axb5 25. cxb5 cxb5 26. Rc1 Nd3 27. Rc6 Be5 28. Be3 Ra1+ 29. Kh2 Bd7 30. Rc2 Ne1 31. Rc5 Nd3 32. Rc2 Ne1 33. Rc5 Nd3 { 1/2-1/2 Vachier Lagrave,M (2796)-Carlsen,M (2832) Paris FRA 2017}) 21. Qxf5 Bxf5 22. Rxe8+ Rxe8 23. axb5 axb5 24. Ra6 Ne7 25. Be3 Kg8 26. Ba2 Rd8 {Carlsen only needed to play a few moves on his own, and now his opponent already calls it a day.} ({After} 26... Bd3 27. g4 {might be an idea (Carlsen/Karjakin).}) 27. Bb6 Re8 28. Be3 Rd8 29. Bb6 Re8 30. Be3 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.25"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B97"] [WhiteElo "2748"] [BlackElo "2744"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:58:26"] [BlackClock "1:58:09"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3 10. e5 h6 11. Bh4 dxe5 12. fxe5 g5 (12... Nfd7 13. Ne4 Qxa2 14. Rd1 Qd5 15. Qe3 Qxe5 16. Be2 Bc5 17. O-O Nc6 {Dubov,D (2701)-Sjugirov,S (2652) Batumi 2018}) 13. exf6 gxh4 14. Be2 Qa5 15. O-O Nd7 16. Kh1 Qg5 17. Qe1 ({ The other main move is} 17. Rf4 e5 18. Nd5 exd4 19. Qxd4 Kd8 20. Ne7 (20. Bg4 $2 Bc5 21. Qd2 Bd6 22. Qa5+ b6 23. Rxb6 Bc7 24. Bxd7 Qe5 25. Kg1 Rb8 26. Qb4 Bxb6+ 27. Nxb6 Qe3+ {0-1 Duda,J (2563)-Wojtaszek,R (2713) Warsaw POL 2014}) 20... Qe5 21. Qd2 Bxe7 22. fxe7+ Qxe7 23. Bg4 f5 24. Rxf5 Re8 {Gabuzyan,H (2593)-Grigoryan,K (2606) Rasht IRI 2016}) 17... Nxf6 18. Nf3 Qg7 19. Ne5 Be7 ( {Wojtaszek had correctly seen that} 19... Bd6 {can be answered by} 20. Nxf7 $1 {and after} Kxf7 (20... Qxf7 21. Ne4 Be7 22. Rxf6 $1) 21. Ne4 Be7 22. Qxh4 Rf8 23. Nxf6 Bxf6 24. Rxf6+ Qxf6 25. Rf1 Qxf1+ 26. Bxf1 Kg7 27. Kg1 {White is much better.}) 20. Na4 O-O 21. Nb6 Rb8 22. Rb3 (22. Bf3 Qg5) (22. Bd3) 22... Ne4 23. Ned7 Bxd7 24. Nxd7 Qg5 ({Also possible was} 24... Nc5 25. Nxc5 Bxc5 26. Qxh4 Bd6 27. Rd1 Bc7) 25. Nxb8 Rxb8 26. Bh5 (26. Rd3 Nc5 27. Rdf3 Rf8) 26... Nd2 $1 {This forces the draw.} 27. Rxf7 Nxb3 28. Qxe6 Kh8 29. Rxe7 Rf8 30. Kg1 Qxh5 31. cxb3 Qd1+ 32. Qe1 Qd4+ 33. Qe3 $146 (33. Re3 Kg7 34. Qc3 Qxc3 35. Rxc3 { ½-½ Langer,R (2359)-Ingersol,H (2411) corr. 2016}) 33... Qd1+ 34. Qe1 Qd4+ 35. Qe3 1/2-1/2 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.25"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Mamedov, Rauf"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2704"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 {The Sveshnikov Sicilian. Once condemned as strategically flawed, nowadays it is considered a solid opening choice. Boris Gelfand, for instance, successfully solved the problem of the black color in his match against Vishy Anand.} 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 f5 11. Bd3 Be6 12. O-O Bxd5 13. exd5 Ne7 14. Re1 Bg7 15. c3 O-O 16. Nc2 Re8 17. Qh5 e4 18. Bf1 Nxd5 19. Qxf5 Re5 20. Qh3 Qb6 { One of the reasons behind the solid reputation of the Sveshnikov Sicilian lies in the fact that everything is very forced and deeply explored.} ({Mamedov chose a different square for the queen less than month ago:} 20... Qf6 { and drew after} 21. a4 Nf4 22. Qd7 Rd8 23. Qb7 Qh4 24. g3 Nh3+ 25. Bxh3 Qxh3 26. Ne3 Bh6 27. Qxa6 f5 28. Rad1 f4 29. Rxd6 Rxd6 30. Qxd6 fxe3 31. Qxe5 exf2+ 32. Kxf2 Qxh2+ 33. Kf1 Qh1+ 34. Kf2 Qh2+ {1/2-1/2 (34) Sjugirov,S (2652) -Mamedov,R (2709) Batumi 2018}) 21. Rad1 Rae8 {"My coach told me that Topalov will play very aggressively. When he put the rook on d1 I thought he wants to sacrifice the exchange, but did not believe he will." (Mamedov)} 22. Rxe4 $1 $146 {Topalov, as a master of the exchange sacrifice, did not need to be asked twice. "A good lesson for me." (Mamedov)} ({A predecessor saw colorless draw after:} 22. Rd4 R8e6 23. Qg4 h5 24. Qd1 Rf5 25. Rd2 {1/2-1/2 (25) Szczepanski, Z (2514)-Mokrys,C (2486) ICCF email 2015}) 22... Rxe4 23. Rxd5 {For the exchange White has a pawn, better pawn structure, but what is more important- a lot of improving ideas.} h6 {This takes the g5 square under control and opens some air for the king. The drawback of the move is that it deprives the bishop of the h6-c1 diagonal.} ({The lack of "luft" can be seen in a line like: } 23... R4e5 {Topalov believed this was Black's best.} 24. Rd1 a5 25. a3 Re2 $2 {Double attack, which fails tactically after} (25... h5 {seems better, but looks happier after say} 26. Qd3) 26. Bxe2 Rxe2 27. Qc8+ Bf8 28. Qg4+ { counter-double attack.}) 24. Qd3 R8e6 25. g3 R4e5 26. Bg2 $2 ({Later White regretted that he did not start with the prophylactic} 26. a3 $1 Rf6 (26... h5 27. Bg2) 27. Ne3 {For example:} h5 28. Bg2 Bh6 29. Rxe5 dxe5 30. Nf5 Bc1 { (Topalov, Mamedov) and now} 31. Qd7 $1 {is indeed better for the first player as} Bxb2 $2 {loses to} 32. Qe8+ Kh7 33. Be4 {with mating attack.}) 26... b4 $1 {Mamedov needs counterplay asap. Otherwise White will simply do all the preparatory moves line a2-a3, Nc2-e3-f5 and will totally dominate.} 27. cxb4 $5 ({Another option was pointed out by Topalov:} 27. Rxe5 dxe5 ({Mamedov planned instead} 27... Bxe5 28. Nxb4 (28. cxb4) ({However} 28. Bd5 Rf6 29. Ne3 { looks better for White.}) 28... a5 {which is indeed OK for Black.}) 28. Bd5 bxc3 29. bxc3 {and here Black holds on his own with} e4 $1 30. Bxe4 Bxc3) ({If } 27. c4 Re2 28. Rf5 {Black can sacrifice back the exchange with} Rxc2 29. Qxc2 Re1+ 30. Bf1 Qd4 {where the more active black bishop should compensate him for the pawn.}) 27... Re2 28. Rf5 Qc7 {This is what the sacrifice was about: the heavy pieces get into the white camp.} 29. Ne3 Qc1+ 30. Bf1 ({Topalov missed from afar} 30. Nf1 Qc2 $1 {and the only one to worry about his position is White.} ({Less convincing was Mamedov's idea} 30... Qxb2 31. Bd5 Re7 32. Rf4 ( 32. Qf3 $2 Rxf2 $1) 32... Kh8 {when White is better after} 33. Qxa6)) 30... Rxb2 31. a3 ({To a beautiful draw leads:} 31. Qxa6 Rxe3 $1 32. Qa8+ $1 ({ But not:} 32. fxe3 $4 Qxe3+ 33. Kh1 Qe4+ 34. Kg1 Bd4+ 35. Rf2 Bxf2#) 32... Kh7 33. fxe3 Qc2 34. Bg2 Qxf5 35. Be4 Rb1+ 36. Kg2 Rb2+) 31... Ra2 (31... Qd2 { might have been more precise.}) 32. Qd5 Rxa3 33. Kg2 Raxe3 {Liquidates into an opposite-colored bishop endgame.} ({Retreats like} 33... Qc7 34. Bc4 $1 { would be wrong as White can easily build attack on the color of his own bishop. }) 34. fxe3 Qxe3 35. Bxa6 {In slight time-trouble Topalov forces the draw.} ({ The former world champion did not trust his chances after} 35. Bd3 $1 {but this was his best try. For example} Qd2+ (35... Bd4 36. Rf3 $1) (35... Rf6 $4 { loses on the spot after} 36. Qa8+) ({Still, the impression is that Black should hold, say after} 35... Qa7) 36. Kh3 Qxb4 37. Bc4 ({Or} 37. Qa8+ Bf8 38. Qf3)) 35... Qe4+ 36. Qxe4 Rxe4 37. Rb5 Kf8 38. Bb7 Re2+ 39. Kh3 Bd4 40. Bf3 Rb2 41. Rd5 (41. Rb8+ Ke7 42. b5 f5 {ith the threat Bd4-g1 is unpleasant for White. }) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Shamkir2018"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.26"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2843"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:43:17"] [BlackClock "0:40:09"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 6. bxc3 d6 {A reversed Rossolimo line appeared on the board. The position is reminiscent of the Nimzo-Indian defense, even though White did not put his pawn to d4 yet.} ({ Another major plan is:} 6... e4 7. Nd4 d6 8. f3 Qe7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O Bd7 11. Rb1 Rab8 {as in Ganguly,S (2642) -Kryvoruchko,Y (2703) Dubai 2018}) 7. e4 O-O 8. g3 Ne8 {With the obvious intention of moving the pawn to f5.} 9. Nh4 { Stopped.} Ne7 {Threat renewed.} 10. d3 $146 {A novelty.} ({The predecessor saw: } 10. Qb3 Rb8 11. d4 c5 12. dxc5 dxc5 13. Qa3 {Suba,M (2535)-Komarov,D (2580) Sovata 1998}) 10... f5 11. exf5 Nxf5 12. Nxf5 Bxf5 13. Bg2 c6 {White has the bishop pair but as Carlsen put it mildly "I am not sure that the knight is weaker than the bishop here." It is approximately equal.} 14. h3 Nc7 15. O-O Ne6 {The perfect spot for the knight. It keeps an eye on both d3-d4 and f2-f4 advances and is ready to further torture the pawn on d3 via c5.} 16. Be3 Nc5 17. Rad1 Qd7 18. Kh2 Bg6 ({Also good was} 18... Rae8 {athough Topalov did not like} 19. Bxc5 dxc5 20. Qa4 {However here Black has} Rf6 $5 {with the idea:} 21. Qxa7 $2 Bxh3 $1 22. Bxh3 Rh6 {and Black wins.}) 19. Rd2 Rae8 20. Qd1 b6 21. Re1 h6 {Black placed all his pawns in accordance to Capablanca's principle: "place them on the color different of the bishop you own."} 22. Bxc5 ({White disliked both the direct:} 22. d4 Ne4) ({And the preparatory:} 22. f3 Nb7 $1 { when} ({Not so good is Topalov's suggestion-} 22... Ne6 23. d4 exd4 24. cxd4 d5 25. cxd5 cxd5 {with slight advantage for the first player.}) 23. d4 {is met with} Na5 $1) 22... dxc5 23. Re3 Re6 {Now both sides have pawn weaknesses and the game is heading to a draw.} 24. Kg1 Rd6 25. h4 {However here Black blunders.} Rd8 ({The game is about level after both} 25... Re8) ({Or} 25... Bf5 ) 26. Rxe5 Bxd3 ({Topalov's original idea was:} 26... Rxd3 {but here he spotted } 27. Bd5+ $1 cxd5 28. Rxd3 Bxd3 29. Rxd5 {when White wins an important pawn.}) 27. Be4 ({Carlsen also considered:} 27. h5 {with the idea} Kh8 ({Topalov suggested another defense-} 27... b5 28. cxb5 cxb5 29. Rxc5 Bc4 {with chances to hold.}) ({Also interesting is} 27... Qf7 28. Qe1 Kf8) ({But best seems to be the immediate} 27... Qc7 {which breaks the pin at once. The tactical point is that} 28. Re3 {is met with} Bc2 $1 29. Qe1 Rxd2 30. Re8+ Rxe8 31. Qxe8+ Kh7 32. Be4+ Bxe4 33. Qxe4+ Kg8 34. Qe8+ {with perpetual.}) 28. Re3 $1) 27... Bxc4 {Black decided to part with the queen.} ({The endgame after} 27... Bc2 28. Rxd6 Bxd1 29. Rxd7 Rxd7 30. Bxc6 {"is horrible" for Black (Carlsen) as the white bishop will be perfect on d5.}) ({Carlsen was afarid of} 27... Kf8 {and most likely for a good reason. For example, the rook endgame after} 28. Qf3+ Kg8 29. Bxc6 Qxc6 30. Qxc6 Rxc6 31. Rd5 Rxd5 32. cxd5 Rd6 33. Rxd3 b5 {looks holdable for Black as there is a good chance that the queenside pawns disappear from the board.}) 28. Rxd6 Qxd6 29. Re8+ $1 Rxe8 30. Qxd6 Rxe4 31. Qxc6 Re1+ 32. Kh2 Bxa2 {Since there are very few pawns left for White, both players agreed that if it is a win for White, it is very, very close.} 33. g4 Kh7 34. f4 ({If} 34. Qa4 Bd5 35. Qxa7 Rh1+ 36. Kg3 Rc1 {but this seems like a better version of the game for White.}) (34. h5 Bb1) 34... h5 $1 {The pawns should be separated.} 35. f5 $1 (35. g5 $2 {allows blockade after} Bb1) 35... hxg4 36. h5 ({After} 36. Qg6+ Kh8 37. f6 {Topalov has the strong defense} g3+ $1 38. Qxg3 (38. Kxg3 $4 Rg1+) 38... Re2+ 39. Kg1 gxf6) 36... Bf7 37. Qb7 Kg8 (37... Bxh5 $2 38. f6) 38. Qxa7 ({Another important defensive idea is shown by the world champion-} 38. f6 Re6 $1) 38... Bxh5 $2 {Probably the decisive mistake. This pawn was the least dangerous one for Black.} ({He should have defended with either} 38... Re3 $1) ({Or even better} 38... Rf1 $1 {which should be adraw. For example} 39. Qxb6 Rxf5 40. Qd8+ Kh7 41. Qd3 g6 42. hxg6+ Kxg6 43. Kg3 Be6 44. Kxg4 Kf6 {with a fortress.}) 39. Qxb6 c4 ({It is too late for} 39... Re5 40. Qb8+ Re8 41. Qc7) 40. Qd8+ {Now the c4 pawn drops by force.} Be8 41. Kg3 Kh7 (41... g6 {would not work after} 42. Kf2 Re5 43. fxg6 Rf5+ 44. Kg3 Rf8 45. Qd6 Kg7 46. Qe7+ { (Carlsen, Topalov)}) 42. Qc7 Kg8 43. Qxc4+ Bf7 44. Qd4 Re8 45. c4 Rf8 46. c5 Be8 47. Qd5+ Kh7 48. Qe6 ({The only thing White should avoid is the hasty win of the bishop with} 48. c6 Bxc6 49. Qxc6 {when} Rxf5 $1 {leads to a fortress after} ({But not} 49... Rf6 50. Qe4 Kg8 51. Kxg4 Rh6 52. Kg5 Rf6 {This seems like a fortress, but} 53. Qd5+ Kh7 54. Qd3 $1 {destroys it-} Kg8 55. Qd8+ Kh7 56. Qxf6 $1 {and White wins.}) 50. Qe4 g6 51. Qe7+ Kg8 52. Kxg4) 48... Bb5 49. c6 Bxc6 ({Carlsen believed} 49... Ba6 {was Black's last try and intended} 50. c7 ({But it is easier to do} 50. Kxg4 Bc8 51. Qe5 {when White wins without calculating too much.}) 50... Bc8 51. Qg6+ Kg8 52. Kxg4 Rf7 53. Kg5 Rxc7 54. Qe8+ Kh7 55. f6 {with a complicated win.}) 50. Qg6+ $1 {An important disruptive check.} Kg8 51. Qxc6 Rf6 ({Alas, there is no fortress after} 51... Rxf5 52. Qe6+ Rf7 53. Kxg4 Kf8 54. Qc8+ Ke7 55. Kg5) 52. Qe8+ Kh7 53. Kxg4 Rh6 54. Kf4 Rf6 55. Ke5 Rh6 56. Qe6 $1 (56. Qe6 $1 {Topalov resigned due to One more way to break the fortress.} Kh8 57. Qxh6+ gxh6 58. Ke6) 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.26"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C90"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2778"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:51:44"] [BlackClock "0:37:19"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a3 d6 9. c3 Na5 10. Ba2 (10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. b4 cxb4 13. axb4 Nc4 14. Nbd2 Nxd2 15. Bxd2 Nd7 {Morovic Fernandez,I (2572)-Dragun,K (2599) Varadero 2016}) 10... c5 11. d4 c4 {Navara already disliked his position here.} 12. Bg5 $146 ( 12. Nbd2 Bb7 13. Bb1 Qc7 14. Bc2 Rae8 15. d5 Nd7 16. Nf1 Nc5 {Loskutov,O (2433) -Belozerov,A (2552) Tomsk 2004}) 12... h6 13. Bh4 Bg4 14. h3 $6 (14. Nbd2 Nd7 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. h3 Bh5 17. Nf1 Nc6 18. g4 Bg6 19. Ng3 {would be normal.}) 14... Bxf3 15. Qxf3 Nc6 16. d5 (16. Rd1 Qb6 (16... Nd7 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. a4 exd4 19. cxd4 Qf6 $1 {is annoying}) 17. d5 (17. Qe3 d5 $1 {Ding}) 17... Na5) 16... Na5 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Nd2 (18. a4 Bg5 19. Na3 g6) 18... Bg5 19. Nf1 g6 20. a4 Qe7 21. Bb1 $6 ({White should have tried} 21. Ne3 Nb7 22. Bb1 (22. Nc2 Nc5 23. axb5 axb5 24. Nb4 {is too slow:} f5) 22... Nc5 23. Bc2) 21... Nb3 22. Ra2 Nc5 23. Bc2 Rfb8 24. g3 h5 25. h4 Bh6 26. axb5 axb5 27. Rea1 Rxa2 28. Rxa2 Kg7 29. Qe2 (29. g4 Qxh4 30. gxh5 Bf4 {is also good or Black.}) 29... Rb7 30. Qe1 Qc7 31. Kg2 Qb6 32. Kf3 Rc7 33. Kg2 $6 {After this, Black's pawn push is already decisive.} (33. Qd1) 33... b4 34. cxb4 (34. Ra1 b3 35. Bd1 (35. Bb1 Ra7 ) 35... Nd3 {is also hopeless.}) 34... Nd3 $1 35. Bxd3 (35. Qe2 Nc1) 35... cxd3 36. Ra1 (36. Qd1 Rc2 37. Qf3 d2 38. Ra1 Rc1) 36... Rc2 {The threat of 37...Re2 is killing.} 0-1 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.27"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Mamedov, Rauf"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D34"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2704"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:42:27"] [BlackClock "1:01:23"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Bg5 c4 10. e3 (10. Ne5 Be6 11. Rc1 h6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. f4 Ne7 14. e4 Bxe5 15. fxe5 Qd7 16. Qd2 Rac8 17. Rcd1 b5 {Kramnik,V (2769)-Giri,A (2768) London 2014}) 10... Be6 11. b3 cxb3 $146 (11... Qa5 12. Qc2 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. bxc4 dxc4 15. Rab1 Bf5 16. Ne4 Be7 {Relange,E (2478)-Pecot,L (2225) France 1999}) 12. Qxb3 Na5 13. Qb2 Ne4 14. Nxe4 (14. Bxe7 $5 Qxe7 15. Rfc1 $5) 14... dxe4 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Nd2 Nc4 17. Nxc4 Bxc4 18. Rfc1 {"Up till here I think Black played very well." (Ding)} Rac8 $6 (18... b5 19. a4 a6 20. Bf1 Bxf1 21. Kxf1 b4 {was equal.}) 19. a4 g6 20. a5 Rc6 21. Bf1 b5 22. axb6 Rxb6 23. Qa3 Qxa3 24. Rxa3 Bxf1 25. Kxf1 a6 26. Rc5 (26. Rca1 Ra8 27. g4 {made sense, to try and avoid Black's set up as in the game.}) 26... f5 27. h3 Rff6 28. Kg2 h5 29. Raa5 Kg7 30. Rc7+ Rf7 31. Rc8 h4 32. Re8 hxg3 33. Kxg3 Rb3 34. Kg2 Rb2 $5 { In time trouble Mamedov wanted to clarify the position "which is understandable." (Ding)} ({First} 34... Rb6 35. h4 {and then} Rb2 $1 {as pointed out by Mamedov also draws:} 36. Rxa6 f4 37. exf4 e3 38. Rxe3 Rxf4 39. Kg3 {and now the computer takes with the b-rook} Rbxf2 40. d5 Rf7 {and White cannot win.}) 35. Rxa6 f4 36. exf4 Rxf4 37. Ra7+ Kh6 $4 (37... Kf6 {draws without too much effort:} 38. Kg3 (38. Rf8+ Kg5 39. Rxf4 Kxf4) 38... Rf3+ 39. Kg4 Rfxf2 40. Rxe4 Rg2+ 41. Kh4 g5+ 42. Kh5 Rb3 43. Ra6+ Kf7) 38. Kg3 $1 { It's either a mating net or a rook that drops the board.} Rf6 39. h4 g5 40. Rh8+ Kg6 41. Rg8+ Kf5 42. Rxg5+ Ke6 43. Re5+ Kd6 44. Ra6+ 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.27"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2843"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. a3 a5 9. d3 O-O 10. Be3 Be6 11. Rc1 a4 12. Nd2 f5 13. Bxb6 cxb6 14. Nxa4 Bg5 15. Nc3 e4 {Up to here this had all been seen in the game Nepomniachtchi-Aronian. Both players knew the game, but Giri revealed that he did not intend to follow it, but found all the moves so far logical.} 16. Kh1 $146 {A novelty.} ({That predecessor saw:} 16. Rb1 Ne5 17. Nb3 Ng4 18. Qc2 Be3 19. dxe4 Qg5 {and the game became "very dirty" according to the Dutch GM, Nepomniachtchi,I (2742)-Aronian,L (2809) Geneva 2017}) 16... Qd7 {Carlsen liked the position and the initiative that he got for the pawn. He also said that the majority of the players will prefer to have the initiative here, rather than the pawn.} 17. Rb1 Rad8 {Ineed Black has obvious moves and pressure along the open files.} 18. Nc4 Qf7 ({Weaker was:} 18... exd3 19. exd3 Qf7 20. f4) 19. b3 ({On} 19. Qa4 {Black planned to play in analogue to the game } exd3 20. exd3 f4 ({Although} 20... Rxd3 {is possible as well.})) 19... exd3 20. exd3 f4 21. Ne4 Be7 22. gxf4 $1 ({Or else the pawn will come in a striking proximity to the white king after} 22. Re1 f3 23. Bf1 Qh5) 22... Qxf4 23. a4 { Giri managed to stabilize the situation. The knights are solidly placed in the center and control a lot of squares. But Carlsen can attack on the dark squares. A lot of weaknesses have been created into White's position, with the h2 pawn being a particularly weak one.} Nb4 24. Qe2 Qh6 {Carlsen keeps mounting pressure.} ({Cashing out too soon may lead to drawish positions after } 24... Nxd3 25. Rbd1 Nb4 26. Rxd8 Bxd8 27. Ned6 Bd7 28. Bxb7) ({Or} 24... Rxd3 25. Ng5 Bxc4 26. Qxe7) 25. Rbd1 ({The world champion expected instead:} 25. Qe3 Qxe3 26. fxe3 {when he has a pleasant choice between:} Rxd3 {"It’s more ugly than bad, I thought." (Carlsen)} ({Or} 26... Rxf1+ 27. Bxf1 Nxd3)) (25. Bf3 Nxd3) 25... Nd5 26. Rg1 (26. Bf3 {looks worse after} Nf4 (26... Rf4 $5) 27. Qe3 Qh3 {for example} 28. Rg1 Nd5 29. Bg2 Nxe3 30. Bxh3 Bxc4 31. bxc4 Nxd1 { and Black wins the exchange.}) 26... Kh8 ({The immediate} 26... Rf4 $5 { was also OK.}) 27. Bf1 Rf4 {Shifting more pieces towards the kingside.} 28. Ne5 {White also prepares for the battle on the right part of the board.} Rdf8 ({ To me the immediate} 28... Rh4 {looks more precise as after} 29. f3 {Black has the additional resource} Ne3 30. Rd2 Nf5 {with advantage.}) 29. f3 Rh4 30. d4 { Both white knights are perfect but Carlsen keeps playing around them.} Nf4 ({If } 30... Qf4 31. Qg2) 31. Qd2 Bxb3 {Finally grabbing some pawns in return for the activity.} 32. Rb1 Bxa4 33. Bb5 $1 {But everything comes with a price. Giri gets rid of the powerful bishop and keeps his good pieces on board.} Bxb5 34. Rxb5 Qe6 {Carlsen intends to bring the bishop to c7 to attack the h2 pawn again.} (34... Bd8 35. d5 $1) 35. Qb2 {At the press conference Giri felt that he has good chances to hold if he just stays.} ({This might indeed be the case, but he has to do it extremely carefully. A good set up seems} 35. Rgb1 Bd8 36. Re1 $1 {The point is that} Bc7 {can be met with} ({And} 36... Qh6 $4 {even loses to} 37. Ng5 $1 Bxg5 38. Nf7+ $1) 37. Ng5) 35... Bd8 36. Ng5 {This makes things easier for Black.} ({But it is not certain that White can survive after } 36. Qd2 Bc7 37. Rc1 Qe8) 36... Qe8 $1 {Missed by Giri.} 37. Rb3 ({The last chance according to Giri was} 37. d5 {but this loses to} Rh5 $1 ({Not} 37... Bf6 38. d6 Nd3 39. d7 Nxb2 40. dxe8=Q Rxe8 41. Rxb2 Bxe5 42. Re2 {with a likely draw.}) 38. Ne6 Bf6 $1 {and Black wins.} ({Again Black needs to be careful-} 38... Nxe6 39. dxe6 Bf6 40. Nf7+ {gives the advantage to White.})) 37... Bxg5 38. Rxg5 Ne6 {Also missed by White. Now it all ends quickly.} 39. Rg4 Rxg4 40. fxg4 Qd8 41. Rh3 ({Only here did White realize that} 41. Rd3 { is neatly refuted after} Qd5+ 42. Kg1 Rf1+ $1 43. Kxf1 Qh1+ 44. Kf2 Qxh2+) ({ The pawn endgame is also lost after} 41. Rf3 Rxf3 (41... Qd5 42. Qb3) 42. Nxf3 Qd5 43. Kg2 Ng5 44. Qe2 Qxf3+ 45. Qxf3 Nxf3 46. Kxf3 Kg8 {due to the distant passed pawn(s).}) 41... Qd5+ 42. Kg1 Qe4 43. Qb4 Rf6 0-1 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.27"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Navara, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D90"] [WhiteElo "2814"] [BlackElo "2745"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:00:08"] [BlackClock "1:00:54"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. h4 dxc4 ({Mamedyarov said he didn't like the move} 5... c6 {and called Navara's choice "very principled."}) 6. e4 c5 7. d5 b5 8. h5 O-O (8... Nxh5 9. Nxb5 O-O 10. Nc3 (10. Bxc4 Nd7 11. Nc3 Rb8 12. Be2 Qa5 {Mamedyarov,S (2757)-Vachier-Lagrave,M (2745) Beijing CHN 2013}) 10... Bg4 11. Bxc4 Nd7 12. Be2 Rb8 13. Kf1 Qc7 {Mamedyarov,S (2759) -Vachier-Lagrave,M (2742) Bilbao ESP 2013}) 9. hxg6 fxg6 10. d6 $146 { Mamedyarov had prepared this for the Candidates'.} (10. Nxb5 Qa5+ 11. Nc3 Nxe4 12. Bd2 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Bxc3 14. Bxc4 Ba6 15. Qe2 Bxc4 16. Qe6+ Rf7 17. Rxh7 Bxd2+ 18. Nxd2 Kxh7 {Li,C (2732)-Xiong,J (2634) chess.com INT 2018}) 10... exd6 11. Nxb5 d5 12. Nc3 Re8 13. Be3 $1 {A very nice move.} (13. Bg5 $2 Nxe4 $1) 13... d4 (13... Nc6 {needs to be examined. Black looks OK.} 14. exd5 Nd4) 14. e5 $1 {Another critical move.} (14. Bxc4+ Be6 15. Bxe6+ Rxe6 16. Ng5 Qc8 $1 { Navara}) 14... Ba6 $6 (14... Be6 {is strongly met by} 15. Ng5) ({Similar is} 14... Nd5 15. Bxc4 Be6 16. Ng5) ({Navara thought that} 14... dxe3 {doesn't work but maybe it does:} 15. Bxc4+ (15. exf6 Qxf6 16. Qd5+ Kh8 17. O-O-O (17. Qxa8 $2 Qb6) 17... Nc6 18. Ng5 h6 19. Nf7+ Kh7 20. Ng5+ Kh8) 15... Kh8 16. Qxd8 Rxd8 17. Ng5 Rd7 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. Nce4 exf2+ 20. Kxf2 Bd4+) 15. Qa4 $1 (15. exf6) 15... Qd7 16. Bxc4+ ({Perhaps} 16. exf6 {was even better:} Qxa4 17. Nxa4 Bxf6 18. Nxc5 Bb5 19. a4 Nd7 20. axb5 Nxc5 21. Bxc4+ Kh8 22. Nxd4 Bxd4 23. O-O) 16... Bxc4 17. Qxc4+ Qe6 (17... Qf7 $6 18. Qxf7+ Kxf7 19. exf6 Bxf6 20. Nb5) 18. Qxe6+ Rxe6 19. exf6 Bxf6 20. Nd5 Bd8 21. O-O-O dxe3 22. Nxe3 Nc6 23. Rd7 Be7 $2 {Missing a tactic.} (23... Re7 24. Rhd1 Rc8 25. b3 {and White has a long-term edge, but it's not huge.}) 24. Rxh7 $1 Rb8 25. Rc7 $6 {Giving his opponent a slight chance of survival.} (25. Nd5 $1 {was killing.}) 25... Bf6 26. Rb7 Nb4 27. Rxb8+ Kxh7 28. Rb7+ Kg8 29. Rxa7 Nd3+ 30. Kb1 (30. Kc2 $1 Nxf2 31. Nc4 Re2+ 32. Nfd2 Bg5 33. a4 {was stronger (Navara).}) 30... Bxb2 31. a4 Bd4 32. Kc2 Nb4+ (32... Nf4 $5) 33. Kd2 Bxe3+ 34. fxe3 Nd5 35. a5 c4 $2 { Short on time, Navara makes the last big mistake.} ({At the press conference he quickly pointed out} 35... Nxe3 $1 {and even after the tricky} 36. Ng5 (36. a6 Nd5 37. Ng5 Rb6 38. Ra8+ Kg7) 36... Re5 37. Nh7 $1 Nd5 38. Rb7 $1 {Black might just be in time, helped by an underpromotion:} c4 39. a6 c3+ 40. Kd3 Re3+ 41. Kc2 Re2+ 42. Kb3 c2 43. a7 c1=N+ 44. Kc4 Ne3+ 45. Kd4 Nf5+ 46. Kc3 Ra2 47. Nf6+ Kf8) 36. Rd7 Nf6 37. Rd8+ Kg7 38. Kc3 Rc6 39. Ne5 Ne4+ 40. Kd4 c3 41. Kxe4 Rc4+ 42. Kf3 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2018.04.27"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2744"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:03:46"] [BlackClock "0:22:59"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. c3 O-O 7. d4 Ba7 8. Re1 (8. dxe5 Nxe4 9. Qd5 Nc5 10. Bc2 Ne7 11. Qd1 d5 12. exd6 Qxd6 13. Qxd6 cxd6 { Grandelius,N (2646)-Gajewski,G (2588) Batumi 2018}) ({The main move is} 8. Bg5 {e.g.} h6 9. Bh4 exd4 10. Qc1 d6 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. cxd4 g5 13. Nxg5 Nxe4 14. Nf3 Qd7 {Naiditsch,A (2710)-Andreikin,D (2727) Dortmund GER 2013}) 8... b5 9. Bb3 d6 10. h3 Bb7 11. a4 $146 (11. Bg5 h6 12. Bh4 Re8 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Rxe5 15. Nd2 Re8 16. Bc2 Qe7 {Hou,Y (2509)-Stefanova,A (2483) Zafra 2007}) 11... Ne7 12. Bc2 ({After} 12. Nbd2 Ng6 13. Bc2 Re8 {White is a bit stuck (Wojtaszek).}) 12... Ng6 13. Na3 c6 {"I didn't see any other move." (Wojtaszek) } 14. Bd3 Re8 15. Nc2 (15. Be3 exd4 16. Bxd4 Bb8 $5 {(Topalov) and Black is fine, but perhaps White should have played it anyway.}) 15... h6 16. dxe5 (16. Ne3 exd4 17. Nf5 {is too much:} dxc3 18. bxc3 d5) ({Critical was} 16. Be3) 16... dxe5 17. Be3 Bxe3 18. Nxe3 Nf4 19. Bc2 $6 ({Better was} 19. Bf1 Nxe4 { and now} 20. g3 $1 (20. Ng4 Nc5) 20... Nd5 21. Ng4 {is quite playable.}) 19... Qc7 20. Nf5 Rad8 21. Qc1 Bc8 22. Nh2 $6 (22. Ng3 {"looks very stupid" (Topalov) but Wojtaszek thought it was better.} c5) 22... Bxf5 $1 {Simple chess.} 23. exf5 e4 {Now Black has a big advantage.} 24. axb5 (24. Ng4 Nxg4 25. hxg4 Nd3) 24... axb5 25. Nf1 c5 26. b3 Nd3 27. Bxd3 exd3 28. Rxe8+ Rxe8 29. c4 Re2 30. cxb5 Qe5 31. Ra8+ Kh7 32. Qc4 Qxf5 33. f3 Rc2 34. Qxf7 Qg5 35. g4 Qh4 0-1 [Event "Shamkir"] [Site "Shamkir"] [Date "2018.04.26"] [Round "7"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2843"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Daniel Fernandez"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] {As usual for a Carlsen game, the following was not played on the cutting edge of modern theory, so we can avoid stressing ourselves out before about move 15. } 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 (4. g3 {is the 'main' move but it is important not to forget about the text, or even the slightly offbeat 4.a3. After this, however, a surprising number of my recent conversations have dealt with the line} Bb4 5. Nd5 $5 {which I expect to become a new fashion in the sub-elite group.}) 4... Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 (5... O-O {The text is obviously not a bad move, but I would prefer to keep the bishop-pair for now.} 6. Nd5 Re8 { and now:} 7. Bd3 {The most solid alternative.} (7. Qf5 {is risky, and may not promise anything. Black can choose between solid or gambit.} d6 (7... Be7 $5 8. Nxe5 Nb4 9. Nxb4 Bxb4 10. Nf3 d5 11. Qd3 Bg4 $44 {gave Black acceptable compensation, especially for rapid, in Howell, D-Kryvoruchko,Y Riadh 2017}) 8. Nxf6+ Qxf6 {The solid approach.} (8... gxf6 9. Qh5 d5 $132 {can also be played after analysis, e.g. Nepomniachtchi,I-Karjakin, S chess.com INT 2017}) 9. Qxf6 gxf6 10. a3 Bc5 11. b4 Bb6 12. Bb2 a5 13. b5 Ne7 14. d4 a4 $5 $132 (14... Ng6 15. a4 $14 {was an edge for White in the game that set this all off, i.e. Grischuk,A-Giri,A Elancourt 2013})) 7... h6 8. a3 (8. O-O $5 a5 9. Nxf6+ Qxf6 10. Bh7+ Kh8 11. Be4 {seems a tad better to me- White is able to economise on a3. Perhaps he thought that after} Bf8 {he would want it anyway, but it is also perfectly fine to play} 12. b3 Nb4 13. Qd1 {, when the natural} c6 $6 14. Bb2 d5 {turns out not to be that great after} 15. Bb1 $14 {.}) 8... Bf8 9. O-O d6 10. Nxf6+ Qxf6 11. Be4 a5 12. b3 g6 13. Bb2 Bg7 (13... Bf5 $5 {improves; the usually-dubious structure after} 14. Bxf5 Qxf5 15. Qxf5 gxf5 16. Nh4 Ne7 { is actually fine here due to the resource} 17. f4 e4 18. Bf6 Bg7 $11) 14. Rae1 Qd8 (14... Bf5 {is good again}) 15. d4 $1 $14 {Nepomniachtchi,I-Karjakin,S chess.com INT 2017}) 6. bxc3 d6 7. e4 {Here this is clearly the best way to fix the structure, either immediately or after a preliminary d3.} O-O 8. g3 Ne8 9. Nh4 {As a general rule, the two bishops represent more of an advantage when they don't have to work around friendly knights. Specifically in this case, the h1-a8 diagonal gets cleared of both an enemy knight and a friendly one, so the exchange initiated with this move and executed over the following few moves favours White.} Ne7 {This move works well with a large variety of Black plans, so it is the following one, if any, that comes in for a bit of criticism.} 10. d3 f5 {This is fine, but the alternatives merited some attention.} (10... f6 $5 {initiates an interesting and highly thematic plan.} 11. Bg2 ({After the reasonable} 11. f4 exf4 12. gxf4 f5 $132 {White is seen to be under-developed}) 11... c5 12. O-O g5 {The point. Black claims that his dark squares, with holes plugged by knights and the light-square bishop zooming through the tunnels, represent enough of an advantage to offset the bishop-pair. To check this claim we should examine its logical extreme:} 13. Nf3 (13. Nf5 Nxf5 14. exf5 Bxf5 15. Bxb7 Rb8 16. Bg2 Qd7 $11 {won't give any edge}) 13... Ng7 14. h4 h6 15. d4 b6 {The fortress is complete and Black intends either ...Ng6 or ...Qe8-h5 next. In my opinion, he is not worse.}) 11. exf5 Nxf5 12. Nxf5 Bxf5 13. Bg2 c6 14. h3 $6 Nc7 {'Forgiving' White a little bit.} (14... Qd7 $5 {is the obvious way to query White's last move. Black could easily be better if White doesn't have a good answer up his sleeve, for instance} 15. g4 Bg6 16. Rb1 b6 17. Be3 Nc7 $15) 15. O-O Ne6 16. Be3 Nc5 17. Rad1 Qd7 18. Kh2 Bg6 {The position is equal, but it seems like Black has a few more ideas. Here, for instance, he plays with the idea of ...Rf5-h5 or ...Qf5.} 19. Rd2 Rae8 (19... Qf5 {is called for, making White clarify the situation rather than giving him time to think about how to unleash the bishop-pair.} 20. Bxc5 dxc5 $11) 20. Qd1 $5 b6 {I suspect this move was actually played to cover the a7-pawn in case of tactics after a d4-push from White, but both it and the next are a little bit loose.} 21. Re1 h6 22. Bxc5 $1 dxc5 (22... bxc5 23. Qa4 Rc8 $11 {is still fine, but it does look like White is on his way to asserting some kind of control, not least since his central 3 are stopping Black's central 4 in their tracks.}) 23. Re3 Re6 24. Kg1 Rd6 (24... Qe7 25. Qe1 Re8 26. Be4 Bxe4 27. Rxe4 {may be exactly what Black was looking to avoid, but in point of fact the e5-pawn is no weaker than the d3-pawn.}) 25. h4 Rd8 $6 { This looks like a fairly large tactical oversight by the standards of these guys.} (25... Re8 26. Qe1 Bf7 $11 {is uninspiring but fine}) 26. Rxe5 Bxd3 ( 26... Rxd3 $2 27. Bd5+ cxd5 28. Rxd3 Bxd3 29. Rxd5 $16 {is a pawn, albeit not a great one}) 27. Be4 $1 {Well calculated.} Bxc4 (27... Bxe4 28. Rxd6 Qxd6 29. Re8+ Rxe8 30. Qxd6 $16) (27... Kf8 $5 {is the machine suggestion, but it too drops a pawn after an ingenious overloading motif:} 28. Qf3+ Kg8 29. Bxc6 $1 Qxc6 (29... Rxc6 30. Rd5 $16) 30. Qxc6 $1 (30. Rxd3 Qxf3 31. Rxf3 Rd3 32. Kg2 Rxf3 33. Kxf3 Rd2 $11 {and Black will regain the pawn}) 30... Rxc6 31. Rd5 Rxd5 32. cxd5 Rd6 33. Rxd3 b5 $14 {Black has some degree of compensation for the pawn, but the rook endgame is still going to be unpleasant for him. Nevertheless, this was the best option.}) 28. Rxd6 Qxd6 29. Re8+ Rxe8 30. Qxd6 Rxe4 31. Qxc6 Re1+ 32. Kh2 Bxa2 {Perhaps I have been unfair to Topalov and he may have seen ahead to this endgame, thinking it playable. However, after White's next, it is seen not to be so.} 33. g4 $1 {A strong move, reckoning that the mate ideas with a White pawn on g6 will beat Black's passer in a race. } (33. Qa8+ Kh7 34. Qxa7 {is an obvious possibility, as soon as we notice that White can always escape from 'corner mates' with g4. However, surprisingly unpleasant now is} Re2 $1 35. Kg2 Bd5+ 36. Kf1 Rd2 $1 $132 {when White has to make concessions in view of the threat of ...Bf3.}) 33... Kh7 34. f4 h5 35. f5 (35. Qd7 $5 {is a computer move, taking advantage of Black's awful co-ordination and strongly hinting at f5-f6.} Bb1 (35... hxg4 36. Qd2 $18) 36. Qd2 $1 Re8 37. Qd1 Be4 38. g5 $18) 35... hxg4 36. h5 Bf7 37. Qb7 (37. Qd7 { is again strong, changing the angle of attack:} Kg8 38. Qd2 Rf1 39. Qg5 $16) 37... Kg8 38. Qxa7 Bxh5 (38... Rf1 $1 $14 {limited White's advantage and may have drawn.}) 39. Qxb6 c4 (39... Re4 40. Qxc5 Bf7 41. Qc8+ Kh7 {also fails to set up the fortress with Bf7, Rc4 that Black so badly needs, because of} 42. Qb7 $1 Re2+ 43. Kg3 Kg8 44. c4 {with similar play to the game}) (39... Re5 40. Qb8+ Re8 41. Qc7 {changes nothing}) 40. Qd8+ Be8 41. Kg3 Kh7 42. Qc7 Kg8 43. Qxc4+ Bf7 44. Qd4 Re8 45. c4 $18 {The position is now objectively completely winning and Magnus' technique was smooth from here.} Rf8 46. c5 Be8 47. Qd5+ Kh7 48. Qe6 Bb5 49. c6 Bxc6 50. Qg6+ Kg8 51. Qxc6 Rf6 52. Qe8+ Kh7 53. Kxg4 Rh6 54. Kf4 Rf6 55. Ke5 Rh6 56. Qe6 $1 {A good way to break the final roadblock, though not the only one.} 1-0 [Event "5th Shamkir Chess 2018"] [Site "Shamkir"] [Date "2018.04.26"] [Round "7"] [White "Navara, David"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2778"] [Annotator "Daniel Fernandez"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a3 {This has always been a poor relation of the main moves, of which the most principled remains 8.c3, in spite of allowing the Marshall Gambit.} d6 { The most principled and popular move.} (8... Bc5 $5 {creates a strange impression but has been chosen by Aronian; it makes sense in that in the Arkhangelsk variation White would typically like to play a4, and in this case Black will regain his tempo and rejoin main lines.} 9. c3 Bb6 10. d4 Re8 $1 { and now the Aronian game continued:} 11. Bg5 d6 12. Qd3 Na5 13. Bd5 c6 14. Ba2 c5 $5 15. dxc5 dxc5 16. Qxd8 Rxd8 17. b4 Nb7 18. c4 (18. Nxe5 c4 $132 {is of course the key test, but I think Black has enough here.}) 18... bxc4 19. Bxc4 cxb4 20. axb4 {Here the game Grischuk,A-Aronian,L Sharjah 2017 was agreed drawn; one possible continuation is} h6 21. Bxf6 gxf6 22. Rxa6 Rxa6 23. Bxa6 Nd6 $44 {and it would be hard to fault White for believing the compensation here.}) 9. c3 Na5 10. Ba2 c5 11. d4 $6 {White's sole idea in this variation was to keep the light-squared bishop on a more active diagonal. After the text, Black has a completely logical reply, which negates this gain and leaves White objectively suffering.} (11. b4 $5 {is interesting here.} Nc6 12. d3 (12. d4 $2 exd4 13. cxd4 Bg4 $15) 12... Be6 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. Nbd2 $13 {Here the pawn-structure does not make it clear who should be playing for what, or where. The position is about equal, but the player who finds even a marginally better plan will find himself with a better position in no time.}) 11... c4 $1 { Black lays claim to a small edge at this point. From here on in, Ding Liren demonstrates some really crisp and clean chess.} (11... Qc7 12. b4 cxb4 13. axb4 Nc4 14. Nbd2 {may also be playable, but it gives White some of what he wants.}) 12. Bg5 (12. dxe5 $2 dxe5 13. Qxd8 Rxd8 14. Nxe5 {is obviously not free, due to} Nxe4 15. Nf3 $6 Nc5 $3 $17) 12... h6 13. Bh4 Bg4 (13... Nh5 $15 { is the most thematic move, and after this too Black seems to be marginally better already.}) 14. h3 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 Nc6 16. d5 Na5 17. Bxf6 (17. Bg3 Nd7 18. Nd2 Nc5 $15 {is not encouraging}) 17... Bxf6 18. Nd2 Bg5 19. Nf1 g6 {Alongside White's numerous objective problems is the stylistic one that Black's moves suggest themselves immediately. Some cosmetic improvements on the kingside, a bit of 'hinting' at the idea of ...f5, and then the inevitable breakthrough with ...b4.} 20. a4 Qe7 21. Bb1 Nb3 22. Ra2 Nc5 23. Bc2 Rfb8 24. g3 h5 25. h4 Bh6 {All according to plan. White had no active alternatives.} 26. axb5 axb5 27. Rea1 Rxa2 28. Rxa2 Kg7 29. Qe2 Rb7 30. Qe1 Qc7 31. Kg2 Qb6 {It was never going to be possible to hold back ...b4 in the long term, not least because the c2-bishop needs to stay where it is to prevent immediate incursions by the Black knight (thus, White never has Ne3-c2-b4.) One thing that is, however, slightly surprising is that White crumbles in a further 5 moves.} 32. Kf3 $2 { Maybe White was trying for g4, or maybe the king was just wandering to e2 via the front route. We shall never know, because on the next move it went straight back.} Rc7 {Still thinking of ...Nd3, but possibly in conjunction with ...Rc4 after the pawn has vacated that square.} (32... Nd3 33. Bxd3 cxd3 34. Qd1 f5 {was the engine solution, relying on ...Rf7 ideas like} 35. Qxd3 $2 fxe4+ 36. Qxe4 Rf7+ $19) 33. Kg2 $2 (33. Qd1 b4 34. cxb4 Qxb4 35. Kg2 $17 { was possible and Black still needs to find an idea that doesn't simplify too much}) 33... b4 {Now Ding finishes crisply.} 34. cxb4 Nd3 35. Bxd3 cxd3 { Both ...Rc1 and ...Rc2 are extremely dangerous threats and White has no answer to both.} 36. Ra1 (36. Qd1 Rc2 37. Qf3 d2 $19) 36... Rc2 0-1 [Event "5th Shamkir Chess 2018"] [Site "Shamkir"] [Date "2018.04.26"] [Round "7"] [White "Mamedov, Rauf"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2704"] [BlackElo "2777"] [Annotator "Daniel Fernandez"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Bd3 Nf6 (5... d5 {is also playable, but Black's pieces get in a little tangle after} 6. Qe2 Qe7 7. O-O { when c4 is in the offing, as well as Re1, and Black does not have a clear way to develop without losing large amounts of time on a queen trade.}) 6. O-O Be7 7. c3 O-O 8. Bc2 Bg4 {I actually don't much like this move, although 1) it is obviously not bad, and 2) I made an analogous call against Nigel Short once.} ( {I would be interested in why Black decided against the normal Petroff move} 8... d5 {when following some normal re-grouping like ...Re8, ...c6, ...Nbd7-f8 White's small initiative will dissipate all by itself.}) 9. h3 (9. d4 {works better immediately, as White must have realised a bit later on in the game. The point is that a White knight on g3 already suffices to put the question to a Black bishop on g4, and furthermore, the answer 'Bh5' is not very sensible at that point. Definitely Black would have had to play rather differently than in the game.} Re8 $1 (9... c6 10. Re1 Na6 11. Nbd2 {may still just be alright (say 11. ..Bh5 with a passive but reasonable position) but certainly} Qd7 $6 { is not:} 12. Nf1 Rae8 13. Ng3 $14) 10. Nbd2 d5 11. Re1 Bd6 12. Rxe8+ Qxe8 13. Nf1 c6 14. Be3 Nbd7 15. Ng3 g6 $11 {Black has made a good number of 'useful' moves and can now give up the bishop pair with a clean conscience.}) 9... Bh5 10. d4 c6 (10... d5 11. Re1 Re8 $11 {is obviously still fine too.}) 11. Re1 Na6 12. Nbd2 Qd7 {An interesting and in fact rather ambitious concept from Black. Just as a 2500 might play the Modern rather than the Caro-Kann in an attempt to outclass a 2350, here Anish is deliberately leaving the pawn-structure fluid to leave more room to outplay his opponent.} 13. Nf1 (13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 Nc7 {might have been what Black was hoping for, and now the play becomes a bit messy. He has ideas of ...f5 in some positions, and will be able to meet d5 with ...c5.}) 13... Rae8 14. Ng3 {The analogous position without h3 or ... Bh5 would have been troublesome for Black, but here he is just fine.} Bg6 15. Bxg6 hxg6 16. Qb3 Bd8 (16... Nc7 $11 {is both clever and spectacularly unnecessary.}) 17. Bg5 Nd5 {Now the bishops are gone, Black has a little bit less to play with.} (17... Bb6 $5 {would have been a slightly interesting attempt from Black. He would like ...Nc7-e6 next, forcing an imbalance in kingside structures and minor pieces.} 18. a4 d5 19. Ne5 Qc8 $132) 18. Bxd8 Rxd8 19. Ne4 (19. c4 $5 Nf6 20. Ne4 {and White can once again think about being the one with a microscopic nibble.}) 19... Rfe8 20. Qa3 Nf6 (20... Nac7 $5 21. c4 Nf4 $132 {would have been the last way to inject some life into the game; White's structure is at risk of having holes punched in it by (say) ... b6 and ...d5.}) 21. Nxf6+ gxf6 22. d5 c5 23. Qb3 Kg7 {Now both sides probably thought the game would be drawn without further oversights or adventures. Indeed, the position looks ripe for massive trades, and the draw can perhaps be made with only queens and pawns on each side.} 24. c4 Rxe1+ 25. Rxe1 Re8 26. a3 Rxe1+ 27. Nxe1 Nb8 28. Nc2 Qe7 29. Qe3 Qe5 30. Qb3 $6 {But that doesn't excuse carelessness! I suspect this move was looking for a repetition, but instead White drifts into real danger.} (30. Qxe5 fxe5 31. f3 f5 32. Kf2 a6 33. a4 $11 {locks down the position and draws, although White still needs to use a bit more care.}) 30... b6 $1 31. Ne3 f5 32. Qa4 a6 33. b4 $2 (33. g3 Kf8 34. b4 f4 35. gxf4 Qxf4 $15 {was necessary, if a tiny bit unpleasant due to pawn-islands.}) 33... f4 34. Nf1 Kf8 {Probably Anish was not on the lookout for a truly serious chance, after playing a super-solid Black Petroff game.} ( 34... Qe1 $1 $17 {and despite the fact that both knights are immobilised, White is actually in a lot of trouble.} 35. bxc5 bxc5 36. Qb3 Nd7 37. Qa4 { is of course not a repetition now, because} Ne5 38. Qxa6 Nd3 {forces mate.}) 35. bxc5 {After the near-miss, White bails out and forces a repetition.} dxc5 36. Qb3 Nd7 37. Qa4 Nb8 38. Qb3 Nd7 39. Qa4 1/2-1/2 [Event "5th Shamkir Chess 2018"] [Site "Shamkir"] [Date "2018.04.26"] [Round "7"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2814"] [BlackElo "2748"] [Annotator "Daniel Fernandez"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 d5 5. b3 {I have never been a particularly great fan of playing d4 in the middle of a double-fianchetto setup; it is usually a concession that Black goes to some lengths to force. If given it for free, as here, Black may be able to arrange some quick ...c5 and equalise completely without problems.} Bg7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O dxc4 8. bxc4 c5 $1 9. Bb2 { White feels obliged to play with the isolated c-pawn, which is an interesting structure in that if Black tries to simply play for its blockade, he will be at a disadvantage almost automatically. Note that we are still in heavy-duty theory here.} (9. e3 cxd4 10. exd4 Nc6 $132 {reaches a standard 'hanging pawns' position- here, I think Black has very easy play against the pawns. For instance ...Bg4, ...Rc8, ...Qb6.}) 9... cxd4 10. Nxd4 Qb6 {The main move, and it seems like a solid equaliser.} (10... Nc6 $5 {was chosen last year by Grischuk. The idea is clearly motivated in no small part by the Yugoslav Gambit (many orders, including 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 c5 5.0-0 0-0 6. Nc3 Nc6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 d6) and seems to provide Black with relatively easy equality too.} 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Nd2 (12. Bxc6 Rb8 13. Be5 Bh3 14. Bxb8 Bxf1 15. Qxd8 Rxd8 16. Kxf1 Rd1+ 17. Kg2 Ng4 $11 {and Black will regain all the material}) 12... Qc7 13. Qa4 Rb8 14. Nb3 Bg4 (14... c5 $1 $11) 15. Bc3 (15. c5 $5 $40) 15... Rfc8 16. h3 Bd7 17. Ba5 Qe5 18. Rad1 Qh5 $132 {Rapport, R-Grischuk,A chess.com INT 2017}) 11. Qc1 Bd7 12. Nd2 (12. Nc3 $5 {is possible, offering a truly intriguing material balance.} Qxd4 (12... Nc6 {is playable, but only if Black has advance knowledge of} 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. Bxg7 Nf4 $1 $11 {which is the only way to keep equality!}) 13. Nd5 Qc5 14. Ba3 Qa5 15. Nxe7+ Kh8 16. Nxg6+ hxg6 17. Bxf8 Bxf8 18. Bxb7 Bc6 19. Qb2 Bg7 20. Bxc6 Nxc6 21. Qb7 Re8 22. Qxc6 Rxe2 $132 {I would slightly prefer to be White here, but either way there is a high probability of the game being decisive within a handful of moves!}) 12... Nc6 13. e3 (13. Nc2 Rac8 14. Rb1 Qa6 15. Bc3 b6 16. Ne3 Rfd8 $11 {did not trouble Black greatly either in Giri,A-So,W chess.com INT 2017}) 13... Rac8 14. Bc3 Nxd4 {Surprising, although quite likely best, especially from the point of view of locking down, in the minimum time possible, a draw with Black against a higher-rated player.} (14... Qa6 { was played in the precedent, and the isolated c-pawn is so weak that White's position, while fine or even better according to engines, is practically the harder to play. The game continued:} 15. Qb2 b6 16. a4 Na5 17. Rfc1 (17. Qb5 $5 Qxb5 18. axb5 Nxc4 19. Rxa7 Nxe3 20. fxe3 Rxc3 21. Rxf6 Bxf6 22. Rxd7 Rxe3 $44) 17... Nxc4 18. Nxc4 Qxc4 $5 19. Bb4 (19. Bb7 Qd3 20. Bxc8 Rxc8 $44) 19... Qa6 20. Bxe7 Rxc1+ 21. Qxc1 Re8 22. Qa3 Ng4 $11 {Black went on to win a complicated game in Yu,Y-Nepomniachtchi,I Doha 2016}) 15. exd4 Bf5 16. Qa3 Bd3 (16... e5 $5 {shows a bit of ambition, though the jury is still out on whether this is good or not.}) 17. Rfe1 Bxc4 18. Nxc4 Rxc4 19. Rab1 Qa6 20. Qxa6 bxa6 21. Bb4 Rxd4 22. Bxe7 {The writing is on the wall: the game will be drawn with 3v3 on the kingside and at most two pieces each.} Re8 23. Bc5 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Rd2 25. Rb1 Nd7 26. Bxa7 Bd4 (26... Rxa2 27. Rb7 Rd2 28. Be3 Rd1+ 29. Bf1 { fails to change the ultimate verdict, since Black is too poorly co-ordinated to keep the a6-pawn for long, and in fact he runs considerably greater risk by leaving his opponent with the pair of bishops.}) 27. Bxd4 Rxd4 28. Bf1 Ra4 29. Rb7 Nf8 30. Rb6 Rxa2 31. Rxa6 Rxa6 32. Bxa6 Ne6 {Now, nobody was going to win, but in true elite style it was necessary to engineer a repetition in order to sign the scoresheets as fast as possible.} 33. Bf1 Nf8 34. Ba6 Ne6 35. Bf1 Nf8 36. Ba6 1/2-1/2 [Event "5th Shamkir Chess 2018"] [Site "Shamkir"] [Date "2018.04.26"] [Round "7"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2778"] [Annotator "Daniel Fernandez"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] {Today, Karjakin's was possibly the most interesting draw of the round.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Nd2 c5 5. a3 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 cxd4 {Unusually for Bogo-type openings, here Black needs to not cling on to his c5-pawn, not because d5 was such a big threat but because dxc5 was.} 7. Nf3 d5 (7... b6 8. Bg2 (8. Nxd4 Bb7 9. f3 $132 {is another option I've pointed out before}) 8... Bb7 {This is another big line, and also quite thematic.} 9. Qxd4 (9. O-O { is also playable, but White needs to be fine with the pawn not coming back immediately. For instance} Bxf3 10. Bxf3 (10. exf3 $5 Nc6 11. f4 Rc8 12. b4 d6 $44) 10... Nc6 11. b3 O-O 12. Bb2 Rc8 13. Bxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 Rc5 $11 { Tomashevsky,E-Eljanov,P Wijk aan Zee 2016}) 9... Nc6 10. Qc3 (10. Qf4 $5 { will be a future direction, as even though after} O-O 11. O-O Na5 $11 {Black may have managed objective equality, there are still issues surrounding his d-pawn.}) 10... Rc8 11. b4 Ne7 $132 {Bhat,V-Kovalyov,A Montreal 2009}) 8. Bg2 dxc4 9. Qxd4 Qxd4 10. Nxd4 O-O {Reaching a type of position which is very standard for the Catalan and related openings. On this site I annotated one precedent to the present game, from Tata Steel this year.} 11. Be3 Nd5 12. Rc1 Nxe3 13. fxe3 Nd7 ({In my annotations to Giri-Karjakin, Tata Steel 2018 I gave } 13... e5 14. Nb5 Nd7 15. Nd6 $14 {and commented that the then-played 12...c3 was preferable to 12...Nxe3, awarding that move an exclamation mark!}) 14. Rxc4 Nf6 15. O-O Rd8 (15... e5 $5 {is a reasonable improvement if Black must play 12...Nxe3, but as mentioned, I was convinced enough that 12...c3 equalises.}) 16. Rc7 $6 (16. Nf3 $5 {is a reasonable attempt to justify my previous optimism about White's game: Ne5 is a strong idea, as is e4-e5. Even Rf4 deserves note. When they reach good depth, engines suggest} Ne8 {as an attempt to solve Black's issues, but White must be better after} 17. Rfc1 f6 18. Nd4 $14 (18. Rd4 {may also be enough, and undoubling the pawns is certainly appealing.} Rxd4 19. exd4 Bd7 20. Nd2 $36)) 16... Rb8 17. b4 Rd7 18. Rc4 Rd8 19. Rc7 e5 {So White might be fine with a repetition, but...Black isn't? What can have gone wrong in these 20 innocuous moves?} 20. Nb5 Bg4 21. Re1 (21. Nxa7 e4 $36 {is a mess, and probably a good one for Black, who (unusually for the Catalan) has a better bishop.}) 21... a6 22. Nc3 Rbc8 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 $15 { This is the point; as soon as Black has even vaguely untangled, then as long as knights remain on the board his position is to be preferred. However he now drifts a little bit.} 24. Na4 Rc7 25. h3 Bc8 26. Nb6 Be6 27. a4 h5 28. a5 g6 ( 28... e4 $5 {suggests itself to me; certainly this is one of the most classical moves in the position, shutting down White's g2-bishop and preparing ...g5 and an eventual king walk to e5. Also, after this move Black need never worry about trading knights- in fact, it will almost invariably be in his favour to do so.}) 29. Kf2 Kg7 (29... Bf5 {followed by ...Be4 is one interesting way of trying to grow the advantage.}) 30. Rd1 Bf5 31. Rd6 Be6 32. Rd1 g5 33. Ke1 Kf8 {Black is holding off on decisive attempts, perhaps due to lack of time.} 34. h4 (34. Na8 $5 {tries to simplify quickly, and I think it works.} Rc4 35. Bxb7 Rxb4 36. Nb6 (36. Bxa6 Ra4 $17) 36... Rb3 37. Bxa6 Ra3 38. Bc4 Rxa5 39. Bxe6 fxe6 40. Nd7+ {Both sides have the same bad structure so Black is not still trying to be better.}) 34... gxh4 35. gxh4 Ke7 36. e4 $1 { White grows tired of the games surrounding if and when Black will push ...e4.} (36. Rb1 e4 $15 {and Black's advantage is back.}) 36... Nd7 (36... Rc3 37. Rd3 {gains nothing; White's point is that if the rooks come off in any way whatsoever then he will have a fortress.}) 37. Nd5+ $1 {White plays well in this part of the game to neutralise Black's winning ideas.} Bxd5 38. Rxd5 (38. exd5 $2 Kd6 $17 {would of course be a massive conceptual error from White.}) 38... Rc4 39. Bh3 Nf6 40. Rxe5+ Kd6 {It looks like Black is generating tricks, but at the same time pawns are flying off the board left, right and centre, so Black's better co-ordination never translates into anything more meaningful.} 41. Rf5 Nxe4 42. Kd1 Nc3+ 43. Ke1 Rxh4 44. Bg2 Rxb4 45. Rxf7 Nd5 (45... b5 $5 { was maybe worth a try:} 46. Rf6+ Ke5 47. Rxa6 Rb2 48. Bf3 Ra2 49. Bxh5 Kd4 { and with ideas like ...Ne4 about to come, White could still just about mess this up.}) 46. Rh7 Rb5 1/2-1/2