Games
[Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.03.29"] [Round "1"] [White "So, W."] [Black "Shabalov, A."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D11"] [WhiteElo "2822"] [BlackElo "2556"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {Shabalov is the lowest seed in the field, but he earned the right to be there by virtue of winning yet another U.S. Open in 2016. King of the Opens he certainly is, Shabba is turning 50 this year, and it's getting harder and harder for him to compete with the young stars of today. The recipe of success remains the same - ultra-sharp attacking play. Question is, how to get it?} 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 {This means Shabba won't get to play the Botvinnik Variation tonight.} Nf6 4. d4 Bg4 5. h3 Bf5 {A rare move, but often it leads to the same thing as} (5... Bh5 6. Nc3 e6 7. g4 {I'm not expert enough to discern the difference.}) 6. Nc3 e6 7. g4 Bg6 8. Ne5 Nbd7 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. g5 $5 {The most resolute.} ({The other popular move,} 10. a3 {allows Black to play his pawn forward,} g5 {which maintains his knight on f6. The recent game Andreikin-Aronian, Tata Steel 2017 went to White's favor after} 11. Bd2 g6 12. Qf3 a6 13. Bd3 dxc4 {I'd blame this surrendering of the center for all bad things that happened to Levon in that game.} (13... Bg7 14. O-O-O Nb6 {looks more reliable.}) 14. Bxc4 b5 15. Bf1 c5 16. Bg2 Ra7 17. O-O Qb8 18. Rfd1 Be7 19. b4 $5 cxb4 20. axb4 Nb6 21. e4 {etc.}) 10... Ng8 11. h4 Ne7 12. Bd2 Nf5 { OK, the knight circled around to a nice square, and e3-e4 is now discouraged by the underprotected d4-pawn.} 13. Qg4 a6 ({I like} 13... Nb6 14. c5 Nd7 15. b4 b6 {White is not developed enough to contest the newly opening files on the Q-side, and, besides, his queen is AWOL.}) 14. O-O-O dxc4 {Once again, this plan. In many ways I understand why Shabalov chose it: true to his style he sought active play. The problem is, this typical Meran plan is supposed to liberate Bc8, which happened not to be there anymore.} ({The Chebanenko inspired} 14... b5 15. c5 {leaves Black real short of elbow room, as} e5 { accomplishes nothing but inviting White to play} 16. h5) 15. Bxc4 c5 (15... b5 16. Be2 c5 17. d5 {Black's light squares seem totally abandoned.}) 16. dxc5 { One of Wesley's great assets is his lack of fear of simplifications. He's confident he can overcome his opponents resistance in symmetrical structures, and he always does!} (16. d5 Ne5 17. Qe4 Nxc4 18. Qxc4 b5 19. Qe4 Nd6 20. Qc2 Qd7 {is tenable.}) 16... Bxc5 (16... Nxc5 17. Kb1 Qc7 {seems more harmonous, but, still, what's next?} 18. Be2 O-O-O 19. e4 Nd4 {gets busted by} 20. Nd5 $1) 17. Be2 Be7 18. Kb1 Qb6 $6 {This only helps White to unroll.} ({On the other hand,} 18... O-O 19. h5 {is suicidal}) 19. Na4 Qc7 20. Rc1 Qd6 21. Ba5 $1 Ne5 22. Qe4 Nc6 23. Rhd1 {Forceful and strong. White couldn't care less for the h4-pawn.} Rxh4 24. f4 Qb8 (24... Nxa5 {was worth trying if only because of the cute trap} 25. Rxd6 Nxd6 26. Qd4 Nc6 27. Qxg7 $2 ({White should win after} 27. Qb6) 27... Ne4 {and the queen is very short of squares.}) 25. Nb6 {This is it.} Nd6 26. Qa4 Ra7 27. Bf3 Nb5 28. Qc2 Qc7 29. Rd7 {Judging by this smooth effort Wesley So is not planning to slow down any time soon.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.03.29"] [Round "1"] [White "Robson, R."] [Black "Nakamura, Hi"] [Result "*"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "130"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 Be6 7. O-O Bd6 8. d4 Nd7 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 Bxe5 11. f4 Bd4+ ({Nakamura has had a look at this position from the other side of the board.} 11... Qd4+ {was played against him by Aronian. After} 12. Kh1 Bd6 13. Qe2 O-O-O {White made a thematic advance} 14. f5 {known since Lasker's win over Capablanca, St. Peterburg, 1914 . Similar positions, same idea to restrict Black's LSB.} Bd7 15. Nf3) 12. Kh1 f5 {Hikaru is well prepared as ever. Here he takes a page out of Grischuk's opening book.} (12... f6 13. Qe2 O-O 14. Nf3 Bc5 15. Be3 Qe7 { Robson-Swiercz, PRO League, 20017 ended peacefully after mere 123 moves of play, albeit Black was better most of the way through.}) 13. Qe2 ({Not much is accomplished by} 13. Qh5+ g6 14. Qe2 O-O 15. Nf3 Bf6 16. e5 Be7 { Caruana-Grischuk, London Classic 2015. Despite a good looking pawn on e5 this structure is known to be safe for Black.}) 13... O-O 14. Rd1 Qe7 15. Nf3 Bc5 16. Re1 Rae8 17. exf5 $6 {Ray wants to take a different path, but opening the position must favor the bishop pair.} Bd5 18. Ne5 Rxf5 19. c4 Be6 20. Bd2 Bd6 21. Rf1 Ref8 22. b3 Bxe5 $1 {The strength of said pair is often manifested in trading one of the bishops!} 23. fxe5 Qc5 24. Bc3 b5 25. Rxf5 Rxf5 26. Rd1 Qf2 27. Qd3 ({The endgame resulting in} 27. Qxf2 Rxf2 28. cxb5 Rc2 {is not a simple draw. The g2-pawn is a big target, while the white bishop is reduced to strictly a defensive role.} 29. Be1 cxb5 30. a4 a6 31. axb5 axb5 32. b4 c6 33. Kg1 Bd5 34. Rd2 Rc4) 27... bxc4 28. bxc4 h6 29. Bd4 Qxa2 30. Ra1 Qxc4 31. Qxc4 Bxc4 32. Bxa7 Rxe5 33. Kg1 Bd5 34. Rc1 Re2 35. Bf2 Kf7 36. h3 Ra2 37. Rc3 { Ray was in too much of a time trouble rush to look ahead and see if his fortress can be breached. Credit goes to Hikaru to seeing deeper.} g5 38. Rc1 h5 39. Rc3 Kg6 40. Rc1 Kf5 41. Rc3 g4 42. hxg4+ hxg4 {Absolute Zugzwang.} 43. Bg3 {From the first sight this move looks strange, but in truth, there was nothing better.} (43. Rd3 {surrenders the c-file:} Rc2 44. Re3 c5) (43. Kf1 { drops the g-pawn anyway:} Ra1+ 44. Be1 Bxg2+ 45. Kxg2 Rxe1 46. Rxc6 Re7 $19) ({ Other rook moves, such as} 43. Rc1 {allow} g3) 43... Rxg2+ 44. Kf1 {[#]} Rxg3 $1 {Who says technical endgame play leaves no room for flair?} (44... Rb2 45. Bxc7 Rb3 46. Rxb3 Bxb3 {was winning, but in such endings things can go wrong if White establishes a blockade.} 47. Ke2 Ke4 $1 (47... c5 $6 48. Kd3 Be6 49. Bd6 c4+ 50. Kd4 {Now in order to win Black must force the White king away from d4:} Kg5 (50... Kg6 51. Bg3 Kf7 52. Bf4 Ke7 53. Bg3 Kd7 54. Bf4 Kc6 55. Bg3 Kb5 56. Bd6 Bf7 57. Kc3 Kc6 $1 58. Bg3 Kd5 {but it's the longer road.}) 51. Bg3) 48. Bd6 Kd4 $19) 45. Rxg3 c5 {Too much distance between the pawns for White to cope with.} 46. Kf2 Kf4 47. Rd3 c6 {This little guy has an important role too - see the note to the 63rd move.} 48. Ra3 c4 49. Rc3 Be6 50. Ra3 Bf5 51. Rg3 Bd3 52. Re3 Be4 53. Ra3 (53. Rg3 Bf3 {and the c-pawn moves forward.}) 53... Bd3 54. Ra5 g3+ 55. Kg1 Be4 56. Ra3 Bd5 57. Kf1 g2+ 58. Kf2 Ke5 59. Rg3 Kd4 60. Ke2 c3 61. Kd1 Be4 62. Ke2 c2 63. Kd2 Ke5 64. Rg4 ({There it is,} 64. Rxg2 Bxg2 65. Kxc2 {is useless.}) 64... Kf5 65. Rg8 Kf4 {A flawless, business as usual, performance by Nakamura.} * [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.03.29"] [Round "1"] [White "Shankland, S."] [Black "Caruana, F."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2666"] [BlackElo "2817"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 d6 6. g3 b6 7. Bg2 Bb7 8. O-O Nbd7 9. b3 Qe7 10. Bb2 Bxc3 11. Qxc3 Ne4 12. Qc2 f5 {Delayed Dutch Defense.} 13. Rad1 Rae8 (13... c5 14. Nd2 Nxd2 15. Rxd2 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 cxd4 17. Rxd4 e5 18. Rd2 Nc5 {I'm sure Fabiano was not too excited with the prospects of holding such position.}) 14. d5 $1 {Textbook play from Sam.} exd5 15. cxd5 Ndf6 16. Bxf6 Rxf6 (16... Qxf6 17. Nd4 Bxd5 18. Qxc7 {is mildly unpleasant for Black.}) 17. Rd4 Rf7 18. e3 a5 19. a3 Ba6 20. Rc1 g5 21. Rdd1 Bb7 22. Rd4 h5 $6 {A rather nervous attempt to get something out of nothing.} ({Repeating the moves with} 22... Ba6 {would be a silent draw offer with some rating points to be sacrificed. Besides, nothing stops White from trying for more with, say,} 23. b4) 23. Rc4 Bxd5 24. Rxc7 Qxc7 25. Qxc7 Rxc7 26. Rxc7 Bxb3 27. Nd4 Be6 28. Bf1 {Too straightforward.} ({A little subtlety was required:} 28. Bf3 $1 g4 ( 28... h4 $4 29. Bh5) 29. Be2 {would take care of Black's only counterplay chance of pushing f5-f4.}) 28... Kf8 29. Rb7 f4 $1 30. exf4 gxf4 31. f3 (31. Rxb6 Bf7 32. gxf4 Nd2 33. Bb5 Re1+ 34. Kg2 Nc4) 31... Nd2 32. Bb5 Bd5 {Having found a target on f3 Black is out of danger now.} 33. Rxb6 Re3 34. Rxd6 Nxf3+ 35. Kf2 Nxd4 36. Rxd5 Nxb5 37. Rxb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.03.29"] [Round "1"] [White "Onischuk, Al"] [Black "Naroditsky, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2667"] [BlackElo "2646"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "1r3rk1/p3b1pp/bq2pp2/2pP4/4P3/2p1N1P1/P3QPBP/2RR2K1 w - - 0 22"] [PlyCount "25"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 22. Qg4 {White's position looks promising, but Dan is not fazed.} f5 $1 23. exf5 exf5 24. Nxf5 Bf6 25. d6 Kh8 26. Ne7 $6 {Thematic, but it also allows Black a thematic counterplay against f2.} ({Instead, the crafty exchange sac} 26. Be4 Bb7 27. Rb1 c2 $1 28. Bxc2 Qc6 29. Rxb7 Rxb7 30. Ne3 {would leave White with some chances to get more than a draw.}) 26... Bd4 27. Ng6+ {Nothing else left to do.} hxg6 28. Qh4+ Kg8 29. Bd5+ Rf7 30. Bxf7+ Kxf7 31. Qe7+ Kg8 32. Qe6+ Kh7 33. Qh3+ Kg8 34. Qe6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.03.29"] [Round "1"] [White "Abrahamyan, T."] [Black "Virkud, Apurva"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B80"] [WhiteElo "2364"] [BlackElo "2262"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 {In Tatev's capable hands the English Attack is a deadly weapon. She scores exceptionally well in sharp Sicilians regardless of her opponent's preparation.} e6 7. Be3 b5 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. g4 Nb6 10. a4 Nc4 11. Bxc4 bxc4 12. a5 Bb7 13. Na4 Qc7 {Leaving theory already?} ({I'm no expert on this line, but isn't Black supposed to play} 13... d5 {right away?} 14. e5 Nd7 15. f4 Qh4+ 16. Bf2 Qxg4 17. Rg1 Qh5 {Gelfand had a game like this, and as a rule whatever Boris Gelfand plays on the black side of the Najdorf is writ large.}) 14. Nb6 Rb8 15. Ra4 d5 {Now it is forced.} 16. g5 Nd7 ({More active seems} 16... Nh5 {There's a nice tactical point to it in} 17. exd5 Bxd5 18. Ne2 Rd8 19. Nxd5 Qc6 $1) 17. exd5 Nxb6 $2 (17... Bxd5 18. Nxd5 exd5 19. O-O Rxb2 20. Re1 {looks dangerous for Black, but perhaps she can survive thanks to the misplaced Ra4.}) 18. axb6 Qd7 19. Rxc4 Qxd5 {It's possible the young Ms. Virkud counted on winning back the b6-pawn and just missed the following tactic. Maybe so, but I bet Black was in a tailspin right out of the opening and had no control over events whatsoever.} 20. Rc7 Bd6 $2 21. c4 Qe5 22. Rxb7 $1 Rxb7 23. Nc6 {Just like that it's game over.} Qf5 24. Qxd6 f6 25. O-O Rf8 26. Nd4 Qd3 27. Qxe6+ Re7 28. Qc6+ Kf7 29. Qd5+ Kg6 30. Bf4 Rff7 31. gxf6 gxf6 32. Nc6 Rd7 33. Qxd3+ Rxd3 34. Na5 1-0 [Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "Playchess.com"] [Date "2017.03.30"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Kamsky, Gata"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C07"] [WhiteElo "2659"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Elshan"] [PlyCount "44"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {Another nightmarish blunder by Gata.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. O-O Nc6 8. Re1 Nf6 9. Nb3 a6 10. a4 Be7 11. Nbxd4 Nxd4 12. Nxd4 O-O 13. b3 Rd8 14. Bb2 Qc5 15. Qd3 h6 16. h3 Qc7 17. Qe2 Bb4 18. Red1 Bd7 19. Rd3 e5 20. Nf3 e4 21. Bxf6 exd3 22. Bxd8 $4 {A blunder in a rich position} (22. Qe4 Qc6 23. Bxf7+ Kh8 24. Qxc6 Bxc6 25. Bxd8 dxc2 26. Bg6 Rxd8 27. Bxc2 Bxf3 28. gxf3 Kg8 {with a draw}) 22... Qxc4 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "Playchess.com"] [Date "2017.03.30"] [Round "2.6"] [White "Shabalov, Alexander"] [Black "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2556"] [BlackElo "2667"] [Annotator "Elshan"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 {We have 5 US championship titles in this game!} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Ne5 {The move resurfaced back to mainstream theory after Wesley So beat Nakamura in the Sinquefield Cup with it!} Nc6 8. Nxc6 bxc6 9. Na3 Bxa3 10. bxa3 Ba6 11. Qd2 Rb8 12. Qa5 Qc8 13. a4 Rd8 14. Ba3 Qb7 $146 {A novelty confirmed by Mega Database} (14... Rxd4 15. Rfb1 Rb6 16. Bc5 Rd7 17. Rd1 h6 18. Rxd7 Nxd7 19. Bxb6 cxb6 20. Qd2 c5 21. Rd1 Nf6 22. Kf1 Kh7 23. Qc2+ Kg8 24. Qd2 Kh7 25. Qd8 Qxd8 26. Rxd8 c3 27. Ke1 Bc4 28. Kd1 Bxa2 29. Kc2 Bc4 30. e3 b5 31. Kxc3 a6 32. Ra8 Nd5+ 33. Bxd5 exd5 34. a5 b4+ 35. Kd2 Bf1 36. Rc8 c4 37. Rb8 b3 38. Kc3 {1-0 (38) So,W (2771)-Nakamura,H (2791) Saint Louis 2016}) 15. Bc5 c3 $5 {The best move.} 16. Rfe1 Nd5 17. e4 Nb6 18. Rac1 e5 $5 {An interesting practical try but most likely dubious!} 19. dxe5 Rd3 20. Be7 $2 {Black is ok now!} (20. Rb1 $1 c2 21. Rb2 h6 22. e6 fxe6 23. Bh3 Re8 24. Rxc2 {gives White a tangible edge.}) 20... Nc4 21. Qc5 Qb6 22. e6 Qxc5 ( 22... fxe6 {looks better.}) 23. exf7+ Kxf7 24. Bxc5 Rb2 (24... Nd2 {was still necessary}) 25. e5 $1 $16 Ke6 26. Bxa7 $2 (26. f4 $3 {counter-intuitive} Rdd2 27. f5+ Kxf5 28. Bh3+ Kg5 29. Rxc3 Rxh2 30. Bf1 $18 {and White wins}) 26... Nd2 27. Bh3+ Ke7 28. Bc5+ Ke8 29. Kg2 g6 30. Be6 Bc4 31. Bxc4 Nxc4 32. Re4 { White should be winning here. What happens from here is just a tragedy for 'Shaba'.} Nb6 33. a5 (33. e6 Nd5 34. a3 $1 {would have sealed the deal.}) 33... Nd7 34. Be3 Rxa2 35. Kh3 $4 {Inexplicable!} Rxa5 36. e6 Nb6 37. Bxb6 $4 { This one too!} cxb6 {All of a sudden, Black is winning now!} 38. Rc4 Rc5 39. Rxc5 bxc5 40. Kg4 Ke7 41. Kg5 Kxe6 42. Kh6 Kd5 43. f4 Kc4 44. Kxh7 Kb3 { In a game all done by Shaba, he gained the advantage, he then let it go and finally, he lost the game!} 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "Playchess.com"] [Date "2017.03.30"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Naroditsky, Daniel"] [Black "Zherebukh, Yaroslav"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2646"] [BlackElo "2605"] [Annotator "Elshan"] [PlyCount "132"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h4 $6 {Well, not exactly a novelty but very suspicious. It was played by Peter Heine Nielsen in 2015 and this year three Israeli players used this opening. The idea behind this line has yet to be understood!} e5 7. Nb3 Be6 {A very normal reaction} 8. f4 {This was also the choice by the three Israeli players. I still do not understand why we should weaken g4 and what the pawn is doing on h4!} Nc6 $146 {The most natural move.} (8... exf4 9. Bxf4 d5 (9... Nc6 10. Qd2 b5 11. O-O-O Ne5 12. Nd5 Rc8 13. Qd4 Nfd7 14. Bg5 f6 15. Bf4 Nc5 16. Be2 Be7 17. Kb1 Rc6 18. h5 h6 19. Rhf1 O-O 20. Na5 Qxa5 21. Nxe7+ Kh7 22. a3 Rb6 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. exd5 Ncd7 25. Bd2 Qa4 26. Bb4 Nc5 27. b3 Nxb3 28. Qxb6 Rc8 29. Qe3 Na5 30. Bd3+ Kg8 31. Qh3 Re8 32. Qf5 Kf7 33. Rde1 Nac4 34. Bxc4 bxc4 35. Qf2 Qd7 36. Qb6 c3 37. Qxd6 Qb5 38. Qc5 {1-0 (38) Reshef,O (2466)-Erenberg,A (2366) Budapest 2017}) 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. Qd2 Nc6 13. O-O-O Be6 14. Qe3 Qc8 15. a3 Be7 16. Nc5 Bf5 17. Bd3 O-O 18. Bxf5 Qxf5 19. Nxb7 Rac8 20. Rd2 Rfe8 21. Re1 Bf8 22. Qxe8 Rxe8 23. Rxe8 Qxf4 24. g3 Qxg3 25. Rc8 Qg1+ 26. Rd1 Qe3+ 27. Kb1 Qe2 28. Rd6 Qf1+ 29. Ka2 Qc4+ {1/2-1/2 (29) Kobo,O (2501)-Drori,S (2368) Budapest 2017}) (8... Bg4 9. Be2 Bxe2 10. Qxe2 Nbd7 11. g4 Nb6 12. g5 Nfd7 13. a4 Rc8 14. a5 Nc4 15. f5 Be7 16. Nd5 Rc6 17. Rh3 Qc8 18. Rc3 b5 19. axb6 Ndxb6 20. Nxb6 Nxb6 21. Rxc6 Qxc6 22. Rxa6 O-O 23. Na5 Qc7 24. Be3 Nc8 25. Qc4 {1-0 (25) Steinberg,N (2486) -Agbabishvili,L (2095) Caleta 2017}) 9. f5 Bxb3 10. axb3 d5 $6 (10... Be7 11. g4 d5 {appeals more to me}) 11. exd5 (11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. exd5 Nd4 13. f6 $1 {and this is what Naroditsky might have missed. White has a huge advantage here. For instance} Qxf6 14. c3 Nf5 15. Bb5+ $18) 11... Nd4 12. Bd3 Nxd5 13. Bb5+ Nxb5 14. Nxd5 Nc7 {The position is balanced now but..} 15. Ra5 $2 {A horrible move which puts White in grave danger. After a topsy-turvy round game, Naroditsky managed to happily survive. Further analyses would be followed in future reports!} b5 16. Nxc7+ Qxc7 17. Qf3 Bb4+ 18. c3 O-O 19. Ra1 e4 {Black is much better} 20. Qe3 Bd6 21. Rh3 Rfe8 22. Qf2 Be5 23. Kf1 a5 ( 23... Rad8 24. Be3 Rd5 {looks critical and Black should have a winning attack soon.}) 24. Bd2 Qd7 25. Re1 Qd5 26. Rhe3 Bc7 27. R3e2 h5 {Black's advantage has been reduced but the position remains unplesant for White.} 28. c4 $2 { desperation in a bad position} Qd3 29. Qe3 Qd7 30. Rf2 Be5 31. Bc3 Bxc3 32. Qxc3 Ra6 33. Kg1 b4 34. Qd2 Rd6 35. Qg5 Rd1 (35... Re5 36. Qxh5 e3 37. Rf4 (37. Rf3 e2 $19) (37. Rfe2 Rxf5 {wins the queen}) 37... Rd3 {with a huge advantage since the pawns on the queenside would fall soon.}) 36. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 37. Kh2 f6 38. Qe3 Qd6+ 39. g3 Qe5 40. Qf4 Qc5 41. Re2 Re5 42. Kg2 e3 43. Qf3 Qd4 44. Qxh5 Qd3 45. c5 Qxb3 46. c6 Qd5+ 47. Qf3 Qc5 (47... Qxf3+ 48. Kxf3 Rxf5+ 49. Kxe3 Rc5 {looks like a winning endgame to me. It seems like Yaroslav's last chance to win this game.}) 48. g4 a4 49. Kh3 Kf8 50. c7 Qxc7 51. Rxe3 Rxe3 52. Qxe3 Qc2 53. Qe6 Qd3+ 54. Kg2 b3 55. Qc8+ Ke7 56. Qe6+ Kf8 57. Qc8+ Ke7 58. Qe6+ Kd8 59. Qg8+ Kc7 60. Qxg7+ Qd7 61. Qf8 Qd2+ 62. Kf3 Qd3+ 63. Kf2 Qd4+ 64. Kf3 Kb7 65. h5 Qd3+ 66. Kf2 Qd2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.03.31"] [Round "3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2822"] [BlackElo "2817"] [Annotator "Alexander Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 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. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bg5 Be6 12. Rad1 Be7 13. b3 h4 14. Rfe1 a5 15. Rd3 Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. Ne2 Bd5 18. Bxe7+ Kxe7 19. Ned4 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Be6 21. c4 a4 22. c5 axb3 23. axb3 g6 24. Re4 Bd5 25. Rg4 Rh5 26. f4 Rh8 { [#] As it happens the Berlin endgame gradually turned in Black's favor. Seeing no way out for his rook Wesley went forward.} 27. f5 gxf5 28. Rf4 ({Problem is that as soon as the rooks are traded a remote position of the white king makes the ending dangerous for White, e.g.} 28. Rxh4 Rxh4 29. Nxf5+ Ke6 30. Nxh4 Bxb3 31. Nf3 Bd5 32. Kf2 {and here} Bxf3 33. Kxf3 Kxe5 {just wins.} 34. h4 f5 35. h5 Kf6 36. Kf4 b5 $19) 28... Kd7 29. Rxf5 Rg8 30. Rf2 Rg5 {Fabiano was getting short of time.} ({For that reason here he rejected the more promising continuation} 30... Rg3 31. b4 Rc3) 31. Kh2 Rxe5 32. Rf4 Rg5 33. Rg4 {A tough choice for Wesley.} ({The pawn down rook ending after} 33. Nf3 Bxf3 34. Rxf3 Ke6 {didn't look safe for White, yet it may have been a better choice. White has a plan to attack the black pawns:} 35. Rc3 Re5 36. Rc4 f5 37. Rb4 Rxc5 38. Rxb7 Rb5 39. Rxc7 {reaching safety.}) 33... Rxg4 34. hxg4 Ke7 {The king threatens to come out via f6.} 35. g3 $6 {Unnecessary.} ({The direct} 35. g5 f6 36. g6 {would force Black to shed his K-side pawns:} f5 (36... Kf8 37. Kh3 Kg7 38. Kxh4 Kxg6 39. g4 {is easy}) 37. Nxf5+ Kf6 38. Nxh4 Bxb3 39. Kg3 Bc2 40. Kf4 Bxg6 {and here there's a fancy way to force a draw:} 41. Nf3 (41. Ke3 Bc2 42. Kd4 {is also pretty reliable.}) 41... Ke6 42. g4 Kd5 43. Ne5 Bh7 44. Nd7 { The knight holds everything together.}) 35... Kf6 $6 {Time trouble.} ({Fabiano could have posed serious problems had he found} 35... h3 $1 {[#] Now} 36. g5 { can be answered with} (36. Kxh3 {allows the king through in a situation where White's counterplay on the K-side is much slower in coming:} Kf6 37. b4 Be4 38. Kh4 Ke5 39. Ne2 Bf3 40. Ng1 Bd5 41. Ne2 Bc4 42. Ng1 Kd4 {One sample line goes as follows} 43. Nf3+ Kc3 44. Ne5 Kxb4 ({also,} 44... Bd5 {wins}) 45. Nxc4 (45. Nd7 Be6) 45... Kxc4 46. Kg5 Kxc5 47. Kf6 b5 48. Kxf7 {Now we will see new queens appearing and leaving the board in rapid succession.} b4 49. g5 b3 50. g6 b2 51. g7 b1=Q 52. g8=Q Qb3+ 53. Kf8 Qxg8+ 54. Kxg8 Kd6 $1 55. g4 c5 56. g5 c4 57. g6 c3 58. g7 c2 59. Kf8 c1=Q 60. g8=Q Qh6+ 61. Ke8 Qe6+) 36... Bg2 37. b4 b6 38. g4 {Possibly, Caruana saw all this, but not the backdoor entrance for his king:} Kd7 $5 39. Kg3 Kc8 {[#] Trouble spot.} 40. Nf5 $1 {Only this saves White.} (40. Ne2 Kb7 41. Nf4 Ka6 $19) 40... Kb7 41. Nh6 Bd5 42. Kxh3 Ka6 43. Kg3 Kb5 44. Kf4 Kxb4 45. cxb6 cxb6 46. Ke5 {The king joins the fray just in time.}) 36. gxh4 Ke5 37. Nf5 Bxb3 38. h5 Kf6 39. Kg3 Kg5 40. h6 Kg6 41. g5 { Now the far advanced h6-pawn guarantees a draw} Bc2 42. Nd4 Bb1 43. Kf4 f6 44. gxf6 Kxf6 45. Nb3 b6 46. Nd4 bxc5 47. Nxc6 Kg6 48. Ke5 Kxh6 49. Kd5 c4 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.03.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Robson, R."] [Black "Kamsky, G."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2659"] [Annotator "Alexander Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6 5. Nb3 Nf6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Bd3 a6 8. f4 d5 9. e5 Nd7 10. Qg4 Nc5 11. Nxc5 Qxc5 12. a3 g6 13. Nd1 Nd4 14. Ne3 Bd7 15. O-O Bb5 16. Qd1 Nf5 17. Bxb5+ Qxb5 18. Nxf5 gxf5 19. Kh1 Rc8 20. a4 Qc4 21. c3 Bc5 22. Rf3 Rg8 23. b3 Qe4 24. Ra2 b5 25. axb5 axb5 26. Rd3 d4 27. cxd4 Bb4 28. Be3 Qd5 29. h3 Kf8 30. Kh2 Rg6 31. Qf3 Qxf3 32. gxf3 {[#] In the middlegame Gata spoiled a promising position by nearly getting his queen trapped in the middle of the board. At the cost of a pawn he managed to trade queens, but suddenly he faltered.} Rc3 $2 {When your remaining rook is stuck on the other side?} ({Of course, the right move was} 32... Be1 33. Bf2 (33. Rg2 Rxg2+ 34. Kxg2 {and only now} Rc3 35. Rxc3 Bxc3 $11) 33... Bxf2 34. Rxf2 b4 35. Rfd2 Rc1 {The miserable position of his king leaves White with no chances to win.} 36. d5 exd5 37. Rxd5 Rb1 38. R5d3 h5 $11) 33. Rxc3 Bxc3 34. Rc2 b4 {Tailspin.} ({ Still,} 34... Be1 35. Bf2 Bxf2 ({not} 35... Bb4 36. Bh4 {and suddenly it's the black king who's in trouble.}) 36. Rxf2 b4 37. Ra2 Rg8 38. Ra4 Kg7 39. Rxb4 Rd8 40. Rc4 Rd5 {would leave some practical chances.}) 35. Bd2 Bxd4 36. Bxb4+ Ke8 37. Bc5 Bxc5 38. Rxc5 Kd7 39. b4 $1 $18 {Ray manages to get his pawn up just in time. It is not going to queen, but it'll help his rook gain the 7th rank.} Rg8 40. b5 h5 41. b6 Rb8 42. Rc7+ Kd8 43. Rxf7 Rxb6 44. Kg3 Rb4 45. Rh7 Ra4 46. Rxh5 Ke7 47. Rh7+ Kf8 48. Rb7 Rc4 49. h4 Rc1 50. h5 Rh1 51. Rh7 Ke8 52. h6 Kf8 53. Rh8+ Kf7 54. h7 Rh6 {Now comes the elegant finish.} (54... Kg7 55. Re8 Kxh7 56. Rxe6 Kg7 57. Rf6 Rh5 58. Kf2 {and the king marches to e6}) 55. Ra8 $1 Rxh7 56. Ra7+ Kg6 57. Rxh7 Kxh7 58. Kf2 {Gata gave up.} (58. Kf2 {not wanting to see } Kg6 59. Ke3 Kh5 60. Kd4 Kh4 61. Kc5 Kg3 62. Kd6 Kxf3 63. Kxe6 Kxf4 64. Kf6 $1 Kg4 65. e6 f4 66. e7 f3 67. e8=Q f2 68. Qe2+ Kg3 69. Qf1 {played on the board.} ) 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.03.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Akobian, V."] [Black "Naroditsky, D."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2645"] [BlackElo "2646"] [Annotator "Alexander Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 Bb4+ 5. Nbd2 dxc4 6. a3 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 Nbd7 8. a4 c5 9. e3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 h6 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. Bxc4 O-O 13. Qb4 Nd5 14. Qc5 b6 15. Qc6 Bd7 16. Qd6 Nf6 17. b3 Rc8 18. Bb5 Bxb5 19. Qxd8 Rfxd8 20. axb5 Rd5 21. O-O Rc7 22. Rfc1 Rxc1+ 23. Rxc1 e5 24. Nc6 Rxb5 25. Nxa7 Rxb3 26. Nc6 { [#] Some unconvincing play by Akobian led him to a difficult endgame while low on time.} Rb5 {Naroditsky starts off with the correct move.} (26... e4 $2 { would have surrendered an important sqaure for the white knight.} 27. Nd4) 27. h3 Ne4 $2 {and then he goes wrong!} ({White wasn't threatening anything. If his knight moves Black will have Rc5, so a gradual improvement with} 27... g6 { was in order.}) 28. f3 Nd6 29. e4 Kh7 $6 {This just feels wrong.} ({Although it may have been too late for} 29... g6 30. Rd1 Nc4 31. Rd8+ Kg7 32. Rd7) 30. h4 h5 31. Kh2 f6 32. Ne7 $2 {R+N endgames are largely tactical. It's important to find targets and hit them hard.} (32. Nd8 $1 Rc5 33. Rd1 Nc4 (33... Nb5 34. Rb1) 34. Rd7 {planning Ne6 would do just that.}) 32... Rc5 33. Rd1 Nc8 $5 { This is where you need time to correctly assess all possible simplifications.} 34. Nd5 $2 (34. Nxc8 Rxc8 35. Rb1 Rb8 {This only looks great for Black, who has his rook behind the passed pawn. In reality,} 36. Rb5 Kg8 37. Kg3 Kf7 38. f4 exf4+ 39. Kxf4 g6 40. g4 hxg4 41. Kxg4 Ke6 42. h5 gxh5+ 43. Kxh5 Kd6 44. Kg6 {is an easy draw.}) 34... b5 35. Ne3 {Varuzhan was mainly concerned with making the time control without blundering.} ({Truth to tell, it was too late for active play anyway:} 35. Ra1 f5 36. Ra6 fxe4 37. fxe4 Rc4 {and Black gets the second pawn.}) 35... b4 36. Rb1 Rb5 37. Rb3 Ne7 38. Kg3 Nc6 39. Nd5 Rc5 40. Rb2 Rb5 41. Rb3 f5 42. Kf2 fxe4 43. fxe4 Rb7 44. g4 (44. Ke3 {would allow Black to make an important step forward:} Nd4 45. Rb2 b3) 44... hxg4 45. Kg3 Kg6 46. Kxg4 Kf7 47. h5 Ke6 48. Kg5 Kd6 49. Kg6 Kc5 {Once again, Akobian was very low on time.} 50. Kh7 $2 {A wild attempt to get around to capturing the g7-pawn} ({Paradoxically, he should have parted with his knight right away:} 50. Nxb4 Nxb4 51. Rf3 Kd4 (51... Nc6 52. Rf7 Rb1 53. Kxg7 Rg1+ {and now White saves a draw with a spectacular idea:} 54. Kh7 $3 Kd4 55. h6 Kxe4 56. Kh8 Nb4 57. h7 {Self-stalemating!} Nd5 {the last thing left to do is to get rid of your own rook:} 58. Rf4+ Kd3 59. Rd4+) 52. Rf7 Rb6+ 53. Kxg7 Nd3 54. Rf6 (54. h6 Nf4 55. h7 Nh5+ 56. Kf8 Kxe4 57. Rf1 Rb7 58. Kg8 Rg7+ 59. Kh8 Rg3 60. Rf4+ { the same stalemate motif}) 54... Rb7+ 55. Rf7 Rb1 56. h6 Rg1+ 57. Kh8 Nf4 58. h7 Ng6+ 59. Kg7 Kxe4 60. Rf6 Nf4+ 61. Kh8 {and once again!}) 50... Kd4 51. Nxb4 Nxb4 52. Rg3 Kxe4 53. Rxg7 Rb6 {Now White comes short of his goals, maybe by a tempo or two.} 54. Rg6 Rb8 55. h6 Nd5 56. Kg7 Rb7+ 57. Kf8 Kf5 58. Rg1 Nf6 0-1 [Event "ch-USA w 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.03.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Paikidze, N."] [Black "Zatonskih, A."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D78"] [WhiteElo "2369"] [BlackElo "2451"] [Annotator "Alexander Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "258"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 c6 7. Nc3 e6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. e4 dxc4 10. a4 c5 11. Rd1 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Qe7 13. b3 e5 14. Ndb5 cxb3 15. Qxb3 Nc5 16. Qa3 b6 17. Bg5 Bb7 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. exd5 Qd7 20. Be3 Rac8 21. d6 Rfd8 22. Rac1 Ne8 23. Bxc5 bxc5 24. Rxc5 Bf8 25. Rxc8 Rxc8 26. Qe3 Nxd6 { [#] Good defense by Zatonskih, but she left herself only with a couple of minutes to reach move 40.} 27. Nxa7 $4 {A horrible blunder.} ({Objectively, the game should have been drawn after} 27. Nxd6 Bxd6 28. Qxe5 Bxe5 29. Rxd7 Rc7 ) (27. Qxe5 {as} Qg4 {leads White nowhere.}) 27... Qxa4 28. Rxd6 Qa1+ 29. Bf1 Rc1 30. Rd8 Rxf1+ 31. Kg2 Rg1+ 32. Kh3 Kg7 {Black is up apawn and the white knight is out there somewhere. Should be an easy win even with just the increment seconds.} 33. Re8 Re1 (33... Qf1+ 34. Kh4 Rh1 35. Qxe5+ f6 36. Re7+ Kh6) 34. Qb6 Qd1 35. Qb7 Qh5+ (35... Rg1 36. Rxe5 Qf1+ 37. Kg4 Qxf2 {requires no calculation.}) 36. Kg2 Qe2 37. Qb5 Qe4+ 38. Kh3 Qe2 $4 {That's just panic.} 39. Qxe2 Rxe2 40. Nc6 Rc2 41. Nd8 Rxf2 42. Rxe5 h5 {Black is probably still winning because of the bad position of the white knight, but it should have never come to this.} 43. Rd5 Be7 44. Nc6 Bf6 45. Nd4 g5 46. g4 hxg4+ 47. Kg3 Ra2 48. Nf5+ Kg6 49. Kxg4 Rxh2 50. Rd6 Re2 51. Kf3 Re8 52. Ne3 Re5 53. Nd5 { Unsure play led Black to an awkward situation} Rf5+ $2 ({Only} 53... Re6 { keeps the winning advantage. I bet Anna was afraid of a possible blockade in a minor piece ending, but it doesn't see to be happening.}) 54. Kg4 Rf1 {[#]} 55. Ne7+ $2 {The defending Champion is floundering.} (55. Ra6 Kg7 56. Nxf6 Rxf6 57. Ra5 Rg6 {is a draw because Black cannot untangle. The only thing to avoid is} 58. Rxg5 $4 Kf6 59. Rxg6+ Kxg6 $19) 55... Kh7 $19 56. Nd5 Be5 57. Rd7 Kh6 58. Re7 f6 $6 ({Why not} 58... f5+ 59. Kh3 Bd4 {finishing the game in a few moves?} ) 59. Re6 Kg6 60. Ra6 Rg1+ 61. Kf3 Rf1+ 62. Kg4 Rg1+ 63. Kf3 g4+ 64. Ke4 Re1+ 65. Ne3 Kg5 66. Kd3 Ra1 67. Rc6 Ra3+ 68. Ke4 Ra4+ 69. Nc4 Kh4 70. Rc8 Kg3 71. Kf5 Kf3 72. Nd2+ Ke3 73. Nc4+ Kf3 74. Nd2+ Kg2 75. Ne4 g3 76. Rc2+ Kf3 77. Nd2+ Ke2 78. Ne4+ Ke3 $4 (78... Kd3 {was there to round it up.}) 79. Nxg3 Bxg3 80. Rc3+ Kf2 81. Kxf6 {[#] The notorious endgame has been reached.} Bf4 82. Kf5 Be3 83. Rd3 Kf3 84. Rd5 Rh4 85. Ke5 Rh5+ 86. Ke6 Rh8 87. Kf5 Rf8+ 88. Ke5 Bf4+ 89. Kd4 Ra8 90. Kd3 Ra4 91. Rf5 Ra3+ 92. Kd4 Ra7 93. Rd5 Ra1 94. Kd3 Kg4 95. Ke4 Re1+ 96. Kd3 Be3 97. Ra5 Kf4 98. Ra8 Rd1+ 99. Kc3 Bc5 100. Kc4 Bd6 101. Ra2 Ke3 102. Rc2 Bf4 103. Ra2 Ke4 104. Ra4 Bd6 105. Kc3+ Kd5 106. Kc2 Rh1 107. Kd3 Bc5 108. Rg4 Rh3+ 109. Ke2 Be3 110. Rg8 Bf4 111. Ra8 Be5 112. Kd2 Ke4 113. Kc2 Rh2+ 114. Kb3 Rb2+ 115. Kc4 Rc2+ 116. Kb3 Rc7 117. Kb4 {Black hadn't been making a lot of progress, so Nazi got a bit too comfy here.} ({It was about time to set up the reliable second rank defense.} 117. Rb8 Rc3+ 118. Kb4) ({or the Reshevsky method:} 117. Rg8 Bd4 118. Rg4+ Kd3 119. Rg3+ Be3 120. Rh3) 117... Bd6+ 118. Kb5 Kd5 119. Kb6 (119. Rh8 Rb7+ 120. Ka4 Bc5 (120... Rb4+ 121. Ka5) 121. Rh5+ $5 (121. Rh1) 121... Kc4 122. Rh4+ Bd4 123. Rh5) 119... Rc1 120. Ra5+ Bc5+ 121. Kb7 {It's getting a little dicey for White.} Rh1 {[#]} 122. Ra8 $4 { This is the losing error.} ({It is still a draw after} 122. Rb5 Rh7+ 123. Ka8 Kc6 {but you have to see} 124. Rb7 $3) 122... Rh7+ 123. Ka6 Kc4 124. Ka5 Rh6 $6 {This just wastes two more moves.} (124... Rg7 125. Ka6 Kb4 126. Rb8+ Ka4) 125. Rc8 Rh1 126. Ka6 Rh7 127. Ra8 Kb4 $1 {Finally, on the right rack.} 128. Rb8+ Ka4 129. Ra8 Rg7 {It must be hard to lose this endgame only two moves away from the safety line of the 50-move rule.} 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.01"] [Round "4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2817"] [BlackElo "2674"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nc6 { [%emt 0:00:07]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 4. d3 {[%emt 0:00: 00]} Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 5. c3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} d5 {12 A rare line. Xiong hopes to catch Fabiano off-guard in some rare lines. Well, we all can wish that....} 6. exd5 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Qxd5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 7. Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:20] } Qd6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 8. b4 {362} Bb6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 9. a4 $5 $146 {13 allowing e4? At first sight, this looks like a ridiculous move, but later moves show us how 'deeply' Fabiano knows this rare line!} e4 {1126} 10. dxe4 { [%emt 0:00:10]} Qxd1+ {274} 11. Kxd1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nxe4 {251} 12. Kc2 $1 { 11 It takes the engines quite some time to realize White is doing well here! And honestly, it is even harder as a player.} Nd6 {420} 13. Re1+ {329} Ne7 { [%emt 0:00:46]} 14. Bb3 {1213} Bf5+ {368} 15. Kb2 {[%emt 0:00:12]} a5 {[%emt 0: 00:40]} 16. Bf4 {446} Bxf2 {993} 17. Re2 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Bb6 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 18. Na3 {101} Be6 {617} 19. Bxe6 {917} fxe6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 20. Bxd6 {167} cxd6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 21. Rxe6 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Kd7 {730} 22. Rae1 {[%emt 0:00: 16]} Rhe8 {112} 23. Nc4 {982} Bc7 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 24. Kb3 {[%emt 0:00:16]} axb4 {572} 25. cxb4 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Nf5 {27 in a slightly worse middlegame, Jeffrey defended well and maintained approximate balance.} 26. R6e2 {483} Rxe2 {106} 27. Rxe2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 28. Rd2 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Re4 {133} 29. a5 {159} Kc6 $2 {33 loss of two tempi!} (29... Ne3) (29... h6 { are both fine}) 30. b5+ {170} Kd7 {164} (30... Kxb5 31. Rd5+ {loses a piece.}) 31. b6 $2 {38 This returns the favor.} (31. a6 bxa6 32. bxa6 Re8 33. Nfe5+ Ke6 34. Nc6 Ra8 35. Nb4 {would give White good winning chances according to Komodo and colleagues!}) 31... Bb8 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 32. Nce5+ {182} Kd8 {[%emt 0:00: 46]} 33. h3 {239} Ne7 {33 Now it is White who has to be careful to maintain equality!} 34. Nc4 {144} d5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 35. Na3 {60} Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:19]} 36. Nc2 {[%emt 0:00:45]} Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:34]} 37. Rd3 {151} h6 {[%emt 0:00:41]} 38. g4 {94} Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 39. Nfd4 {[%emt 0:00:52]} Nc6 {141} 40. Nxc6 { [%emt 0:00:00]} Kxc6 {[%emt 0:00:45]} 41. Rd1 {620} Rf4 {317} 42. Rd3 {63} g5 { 202} 43. Kc3 {[%emt 0:00:44]} Ra4 {326} 44. Rf3 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Kb5 {[%emt 0: 00:22]} 45. Rf7 {515} Kxa5 {93} 46. Rxb7 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rf4 {145} 47. Rd7 { 202} Rf3+ {[%emt 0:00:24]} 48. Kd2 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Kxb6 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 49. Rxd5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rxh3 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 50. Nd4 {61} Rg3 {170} 51. Nf5 { [%emt 0:00:06]} Rg2+ {[%emt 0:00:07]} 52. Kd3 {111} Kc6 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 53. Re5 {[%emt 0:00:26]} Rxg4 {[%emt 0:00:24]} 54. Nxh6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Rg1 {144} 55. Re4 {[%emt 0:00:28]} Rg3+ {61} 56. Kc4 {153} Rf3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 57. Re6+ {75} Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 58. Rg6 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Rf4+ {46 A nice close battle and good achievement for Jeffrey Xiong, holding a second super GM to a draw with black} 1/2-1/2 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.01"] [Round "4"] [White "Kamsky, Gata"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2659"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e6 { [%emt 0:00:22]} 3. Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:24]} 4. e3 {[%emt 0:00: 44]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:20]} 5. c3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nc6 {5 Kamsky's pet line as white, the very London system!} 6. Nbd2 {[%emt 0:00:05]} cxd4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 7. exd4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Nh5 {5 The new trend.} 8. Be3 {4 Kamsky is prepared and has a different opinion.} ({At the London Classic, Anish Giri instead played} 8. Bg5 {against Wesley So.} f6 9. Be3 Bd6 10. g3 O-O 11. Bg2 f5 12. Ne5 f4 13. Qxh5 fxe3 14. fxe3 Nxe5 (14... Bxe5 15. dxe5 {would have given Wesley a serious advantage.}) 15. dxe5 Bc5 16. Rf1 Bxe3 17. Rxf8+ Qxf8 18. Qf3 Qxf3 19. Nxf3 Bd7 20. Rd1 Rf8 21. c4 Bc6 22. Nd4 Bxd4 23. Rxd4 Rf5 24. g4 Rxe5+ 25. Kf2 Kf7 26. b4 Ke7 27. b5 Bd7 28. b6 dxc4 29. Rxc4 axb6 30. Rc7 Rb5 31. Rxb7 Kd6 32. Kg3 h6 33. Rb8 Rb2 34. Bf3 b5 35. a4 b4 36. a5 Rb3 37. Kg2 Bc6 38. Bxc6 Kxc6 39. a6 Ra3 40. Rxb4 Rxa6 41. h4 e5 42. Kf3 Kd5 43. Rb5+ Ke6 44. Rb7 Kf6 45. g5+ hxg5 46. hxg5+ Kg6 47. Re7 Ra5 48. Ke3 Rb5 49. Kf3 Rb3+ 50. Kf2 Rb5 51. Kf3 Rd5 52. Ke3 e4 53. Kxe4 Rxg5 54. Kf3 Kh5 55. Re1 Rg4 56. Rh1+ Kg5 {1/2-1/2 (56) Giri,A (2771)-So,W (2794) London 2016}) 8... Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 9. Ne5 { [%emt 0:00:04]} g6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 10. g4 $146 {4 Kamsky's novelty, but it seems both players had prepared it!} Ng7 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 11. h4 {[%emt 0:00: 03]} Nxe5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 12. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Bxe5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 13. Nf3 {5 Given the fact that the players blitzed their moves up to this point, they should have both analysed this position deeply before.} Bf6 {[%emt 0:00: 05]} 14. h5 {5 The idea of pawn sacrifice is to address the awkward situation of knight on g7.} O-O {[%emt 0:00:20]} 15. Qd2 {[%emt 0:00:16]} d4 $1 {1 Great counter-strike in the center which ensures comfortable equality. Please note that Nakamura, who is facing the novelty, has played the five moves after it in 5 seconds or less. Even this powerful shot was played in exactly ONE second! } 16. cxd4 {116} b6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 17. hxg6 {255} fxg6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 18. Ne5 {576} Bb7 {640} 19. Rh3 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Rc8 {273} 20. Be2 {514} Bg2 {1539} 21. Rg3 {348} Bd5 {422} 22. Rh3 {103} Bg2 {92} 23. Rg3 {108} Be4 {737} 24. Rc1 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Qd6 {[%emt 0:00:29]} 25. a3 {1052} Rxc1+ {297} 26. Qxc1 { [%emt 0:00:16]} Bxe5 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 27. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Qxe5 {[%emt 0: 00:01] Komodo gives 0.00 at depth 42 here! White's pair of bishops and the weak knight on g7 compensate for White's material deficiency!} 28. Qd2 { [%emt 0:00:17]} Bd5 {158} 29. Bd4 {[%emt 0:00:37]} Qe4 {96} 30. f3 {[%emt 0:00: 42]} Qf4 {256} (30... Qf4 31. Qxf4 Rxf4 32. Be5 Rf8 33. Kf2 Rc8 34. Bd3 Rc1 35. Rh3 Ne8 36. f4 {and the position is balanced because Black cannot play Nc7 due to f5.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.01"] [Round "4"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A14"] [WhiteElo "2822"] [BlackElo "2667"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] {In the only decisive game of the day, Wesley So, the world No.2 faced solid and 'almost always in shape' Alex Onischuk, who happens to have been my ex-coach during my time at Texas Tech. In the close battle that ensued, Wesley So posed problems to Alex Onischuk which the latter did not manage to solve in time pressure.} 1. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 2. g3 {[%emt 0:00: 00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 3. Bg2 {0 It is hard to guess what opening Wesley would choose for each game.} e6 {[%emt 0:00:40]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0:00:12]} Be7 { [%emt 0:00:30]} 5. c4 {268} O-O {114} 6. b3 {4 Wesley goes for an off-beat line instead of playing the main line of the Catalan, which Onischuk most likely expected.} b6 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 7. Bb2 {299} Bb7 {[%emt 0:00:26]} 8. cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} (8. e3 {is equally popular but is also a better known and more probed line.}) 8... Nxd5 {(183) This is one of many common approaches.} 9. d4 {[%emt 0:00:21]} Nd7 {236} 10. Re1 $5 {22 Wesley might have analyzed this line after he beat Anish Giri last June in Paris!} (10. Nbd2 {is more popular.} ) 10... c5 {374} 11. e4 {[%emt 0:00:17]} N5f6 {80} 12. Nc3 {74} cxd4 {187} 13. Nxd4 {138} Ne5 {238 So far so good! both players are following the known theory of this line.} 14. Qe2 {495} Bc5 {183} (14... Qxd4 $2 15. Nd5 Qc5 16. Rac1 Qd6 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Bxe5 {leaves White with a pair of bishops and an ensuing endgame in which Black has no active way to hold.}) 15. Red1 {108} (15. Ncb5 a6 16. Rad1 axb5 17. Nxe6 Qe7 18. Nxf8 Kxf8 19. Bd4 b4 20. f4 Bxd4+ 21. Rxd4 Qc5 22. Qe3 Nfg4 23. Qd2 Nc6 24. Rd1 Rd8 {0-1 (24) Giri,A (2782) -So,W (2770) Paris 2016}) 15... Qe7 {1369} (15... Bxd4 16. Nb5 Bxb2 (16... Bxf2+ 17. Qxf2 Qb8 18. Nd6 Nfd7 {Looks bad for Black but it is not clear how White can break Black in this position.}) 17. Rxd8 Bxa1 18. Rd1 $18 {does not work either.}) 16. Na4 {501} Bxd4 {[%emt 0:00:57]} 17. Bxd4 {375} Nc6 {144 despite White's pair of bishops Black should be able to hold this position.} 18. Be3 { 125} Rfd8 {175} 19. Nc3 {250} Qb4 {302} 20. Qb2 {80 a provocative move by World no.2 . Onischuk could stay still or go for the battle. What would a principled player do in such situations?} Ng4 $5 {350 Of course Onischuk accepts the challenge.} 21. Bf4 {459} Nce5 {373} 22. a3 {904} Qc5 {[%emt 0:00: 44]} (22... Qe7 23. h3 g5 24. Bxe5 (24. Bd2 Nxf2 {loses}) (24. hxg4 gxf4 { is very bad for white.}) 24... Nxe5 25. Nb5 f6 {was a better choice in my opinion.}) 23. Na4 {99} Qb5 {[%emt 0:00:53]} 24. Nc3 {305} Qc5 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 25. Na4 {250} Qb5 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 26. h3 {469 not a draw for Wesley, yet!} Nd3 {81} 27. Rxd3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Rxd3 {[%emt 0:00:40]} 28. hxg4 {7 The moment of truth for Onischuk....} Qxb3 $2 {349 Onischuk had played a very good game so far but this is a grave mistake.} (28... Rxb3 29. Qd4 Rc8 30. Bf1 Qe8 {, as both super GM Nakamura and engines suggest, should keep the position balanced although it might be a matter of taste to on whether one prefers White or Black in this position.}) 29. Bf1 $1 {30 The move that Onischuk might have missed.} Qxb2 {237} (29... Bxe4 30. Bxd3 Qxd3 31. Qc3 Qd5 {may be a worthy of consideration continuation given the practical aspects of the game.}) 30. Nxb2 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Rb3 {[%emt 0:00:35]} 31. Nc4 {[%emt 0:00:19]} Rd8 {311} 32. Nd6 {103} Ba8 {94} 33. g5 $1 {91 This prevents g5. White is winning and Wesley converts this game into a full point like a machine. Speaking of technique in chess, one should show this game to every kid who learns chess.} Rc3 {[%emt 0: 00:41]} 34. a4 {309} Rc5 {[%emt 0:00:43]} 35. e5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Rd7 {200} 36. Be3 {443} Rxe5 {[%emt 0:00:50]} 37. Rc1 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 38. Rc7 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Rd5 {156} 39. Nxf7 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Rf8 {174} 40. g6 { [%emt 0:00:00]} hxg6 {[%emt 0:00:55]} 41. Ng5 {266} Rd1 {334} 42. Nxe6 {61} Re8 {97} 43. Rxg7+ {74} Kh8 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 44. Rxg6 {244} Be4 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 45. Bd4+ {[%emt 0:00:20]} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.02"] [Round "5"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Shabalov, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2556"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c6 4. f4 d5 5. e5 Nh6 6. Nf3 f6 {Shabalov's second, GM Ehlvest, is known to be a specialist in this obscure opening.} 7. Be3 O-O 8. h3 Qb6 9. Qd2 $5 {A novelty, which might have been expected. Such gambits suite the style of the combatants.} (9. Na4 Qa5+ 10. c3 Nf5 11. Bf2 fxe5 12. fxe5 Bh6 13. b4 Qd8 14. Bd3 b6 $13) 9... Qxb2 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. g4 Nf7 12. Bd3 fxe5 13. dxe5 Na6 14. Rb3 Qa5 15. O-O e6 16. h4 Nc5 17. h5 $5 {Ray always has his eye on the enemy king.} ({He obviously didn't fancy the slow play after} 17. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 18. Kg2 b6 19. Ne2 (19. h5 {can now be met by} g5 $1) 19... Nh6 {etc.}) 17... Nxd3 $1 ({Ray's exchange sac was quite clever, as the following line illustrates:} 17... Nxb3 18. cxb3 gxh5 19. Bb1 $1 {and what do you do against Qc2 now? Some battery that one is going to be.}) 18. cxd3 gxh5 19. g5 Nh8 $1 {Timely re-grouping. This is the moment when I thought Shabba would win the game.} 20. Qh2 Ng6 21. Qxh5 {[#]} Nxf4 ({More thematic would be} 21... b6 $5 {seeking an opportunity for a swift counterattack:} 22. Nh2 d4 $3 23. Bxd4 Ba6 24. Ne4 Qxa2 25. Rb2 Qd5 {once the position opens up a bit White's plan with Nf6+ is just too slow.}) 22. Bxf4 Rxf4 23. Ne2 Rf8 24. Ng3 Qc5+ $4 { It is hard to explain this. For 30+ years of his chess career Alex had lost many games, drew some, and won much more by always playing his kind of chess: intuitive, inventive and, most importantly, very brave. My favorite description of Alex's style is "burning his bridges BEFORE crossing them". This approach has earned him four U.S. Championship titles not counting numerous open tournament wins. I just don't recognize Alex in this tournament. Regardless of computer evaluations, bringing the queen back is not going to make Black's defenses stronger, but opportunities for counterplay will be lost. } (24... Qxa2 25. Rb4 Qa3 26. Rh4 Qxd3 27. Ne4) (24... c5 $1 25. g6 (25. Rb2 Qa3 26. Rd2 Bd7 27. Qh3 Be8 $1 28. Qxe6+ Bf7 29. Qd7 Qa6 30. Nf5 Qe6) (25. Nh2 Bd7 26. Ng4 Be8 27. Rxf8+ Kxf8 28. Qxh7 Qe1+) 25... h6 26. Nh2 Rxf1+ 27. Ngxf1 Qa4 28. Ng4 Qf4 29. Qh4 Kh8 30. Qd8+ Qf8 31. Qh4) 25. Kh1 Qe7 26. Rb2 Qf7 27. Qh3 $1 {Ray is not going to miss his chances. He has great attacking skills.} b6 ({The folly of Black's defensive strategy is best seen in the long, but inevitable, demise after} 27... Qg6 28. Nh5 Qf5 29. Qh4 Qxd3 30. Rbf2 Qe4 31. Qh2 Bd7 32. Nf6+ Bxf6 33. gxf6 Kh8 34. Re1 Qg6 35. Rg1 Qe4 36. Qh6 Rg8 37. Rg7 c5 38. Rfg2) 28. Rh2 Qg6 29. Nh5 Ba6 30. Nf6+ Kf7 31. Nd4 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.02"] [Round "5"] [White "Akobian, V."] [Black "Shankland, S."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2645"] [BlackElo "2666"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qb3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 Nd7 9. Rd1 Rb8 $6 {A bizarre looking novelty from Sam, but it's recommended by silicon minds.} (9... g6 10. a3 Bg7 11. e4 O-O 12. e5 Qe7 13. Ne4 {brought White success in Ivanchuk-Predojevic, 2016}) 10. g3 {Varuzhan switches to Catalan tracks.} (10. a3 Qd8 11. e4 b5 {has to be the point of the mysterious rook move. After} 12. Qxc6 $6 Rb6 13. Qa8 a6 {the white queen is in grave danger.}) 10... Qd8 11. Bg2 Be7 12. O-O b5 13. Qd3 (13. Qxc6 $2 Bb7) 13... O-O 14. Ne4 Qa5 $6 ({The more accurate} 14... Qb6 {will be tested shortly, I'm sure.}) 15. Nc5 $5 Nxc5 16. dxc5 Bf6 (16... Bxc5 17. Ne5 {is extremely awkward for Black, who has positioned his major pieces right into a fork from c6.}) 17. Qd6 $1 {Very energetic play from Akobian.} Ba6 $2 (17... Bb7 18. Ne5 Rbd8 19. Nxc6 Bxc6 20. Qxc6 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 b4 $1 {might have been enough to get Black out of trouble. Surprisingly the white queen cannot step out of the way without abandoning her c-pawn.}) 18. Ne5 Bxe5 19. Qxe5 b4 20. Bxc6 {Not bad, albeit materialistic.} ({I wanted to see} 20. Rd7 Bb5 21. Rfd1 Qxa2 22. Rxf7 $1 {This isn't just a random line. Many games have been won by following Alekhine's dictum of tying up the defender on the other side, and then using your superior forces for a quick K-side kill.}) 20... Rbc8 21. Rd6 Bxe2 22. Rc1 Bb5 23. Bb7 Rc7 24. c6 Qb6 {[#] This is where I chalked the second win for the old guard.} 25. Qc5 $5 ({The same logic applies here:} 25. h4 {How's Black going to untangle?} Ba6 {allows} 26. Bxa6 Qxa6 27. Rxe6) 25... Qxc5 26. Rxc5 a6 27. Rd4 Rb8 28. Rxb5 axb5 29. Rxb4 $3 {This was Akobian's idea. I admit I didn't see it.} Rbxb7 30. cxb7 Rxb7 31. a4 Ra7 $5 (31... Kf8 32. Rxb5 Rxb5 33. axb5 Ke7 34. f4 Kd6 35. Kf2 Kc5 36. Ke3 Kxb5 37. Kd4 Kb4 38. Ke5 Kc5 39. g4 Kc6 40. h4 Kc5 41. h5 Kc6 42. b4) 32. axb5 Kf8 33. b6 Rb7 34. Kg2 Ke7 35. Kf3 Kd6 36. Ke4 Kc5 37. Rb3 f6 38. Kd3 e5 39. g4 {A classic example of outside passer's winning advantage.} g6 40. h4 f5 41. h5 gxh5 42. gxf5 h4 43. Ke4 Kd6 44. f6 h3 45. Kf5 e4 46. Rxh3 Rxb6 {[#] I had long stopped following this game, thinking Sam was just going trough motions, but then there was a sudden twist in the tale.} 47. b3 $6 {I don't get it. To me keeping this pawn is unnecessary.} ({With his king supporting the passed pawn all White needed to do is to eliminate some driftwood:} 47. Rh4 Rxb2 (47... Rb5+ 48. Kg6) 48. Rxe4 Rxf2+ 49. Kg6 h5 50. f7 {isn't this routine?}) 47... Rb5+ 48. Kxe4 $4 {A terrible move, but in some way it is consistent with 47.b3. } ({Instead,} 48. Kg6 Rg5+ 49. Kf7 Rg2 50. Rxh6 Rxf2 51. Ke8 {promotes the pawn.}) 48... h5 {A whole new ballgame now.} 49. Rf3 (49. Kd4 Rb4+ 50. Kc3 Rf4) (49. b4 Ke6 50. Rb3 Kxf6 51. Kd4 h4 52. Kc4 Rh5) 49... Ke6 50. Kd4 ({Suddenly} 50. f7 {isn't working. Clearly Varuzhan missed} Rb4+ $1 51. Kd3 Rxb3+ 52. Ke2 Rxf3 53. Kxf3 Kxf7) 50... Kf7 51. Kc4 Rb8 52. b4 h4 53. b5 Rh8 54. Rh3 Kxf6 55. b6 Ke7 $4 {Words fail me.} (55... Kg5 {just *had* to be played, and guess what? It would have saved the game!} 56. f3 (56. Kb5 Kg4 57. Rh1 Rf8 58. Rh2 Rf3 59. b7 Rb3+ 60. Kc6 h3 61. Rh1 Rc3+ {is an elementary draw.}) 56... Rc8+ 57. Kb5 Rc1 58. Rh2 (58. f4+ Kg4 59. Rb3 Rc8 60. b7 Rb8 61. Kc6 Kxf4 $11) 58... Rb1+ 59. Kc6 Rc1+ 60. Kb7 Rc3 61. Rg2+ Kh5 62. f4 h3 63. Rb2 Kg4) 56. Kb5 Kd7 57. Ka6 Kc6 58. b7 {At least I got the result right: the older gentleman won.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.02"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E61"] [WhiteElo "2667"] [BlackElo "2817"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "180"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 d6 {Fabiano is not known for his Kings Indian, but the tournament situation called for something extra.} 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 g6 4. Nc3 Bf5 {Caruana already played this line a bunch of times, losing to Kramnik, Morozevich, Ragger and Lenic, with only one draw against Gelfand to his credit. Some bad memories to wipe out...} 5. g3 Ne4 6. Bd2 {One of the quietest responses. The experienced Onischuk is content with safe, easy to play position.} Bg7 7. Bg2 Nxd2 8. Qxd2 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 (9... c5 10. d5 Na6 {didn't score well for Black in Le Quang Liem-Ivanchuk, 2013.}) 10. d5 Na5 $5 {That's pushing it.} (10... Ne5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 {was certainly a safer choice}) 11. b3 c5 12. e4 Bd7 13. Rae1 Qc7 14. Qe3 {White doesn't seem to be missing his DSB because of the more than adequate development.} a6 {Caruana correctly decides to speed up his counterplay, otherwise in the long run the terrible position of his Na5 may cost him the game.} (14... f6 $6 {would have stopped White's intended e-pawn push, but rather at a steep cost of weakening the king and making Bg7 miserable.} 15. h4 $1 {and I take White here.}) 15. e5 b5 16. e6 fxe6 17. dxe6 Bc6 18. Nd5 Qb7 $1 (18... Bxd5 19. cxd5 b4 (19... c4 20. b4 {is the knighttrap known from the classical Chigorin Ruy Lopez.}) 20. Rc1 c4 21. bxc4 Nb7 22. h4 Nc5 {would be a standard pawn sac to create Q-side play, but with the e6-pawn cutting the board in two (borrowed that one from G. Kasparov) White has great chances to checkmate the black king.} 23. h5 gxh5 24. Ng5 Bh6 25. f4 {etc.}) 19. Qg5 $6 {Alexander was too eager to create chances against Fabiano's king.} (19. Rb1 {would have been more prudent.}) 19... Rae8 20. Qh4 bxc4 21. bxc4 Bxd5 ({Did Fabiano miss} 21... Nxc4 $1 22. Ng5 h6 23. Qxc4 {idea? Probably not, only the follow-up move,} Rf5 {that makes the whole thing work!}) 22. cxd5 Bf6 23. Ng5 Bxg5 24. Qxg5 Qb2 25. Qh4 ({The endgame after} 25. Rc1 Qd4 26. Qe3 { would more likely than not end in a draw.}) 25... c4 26. Re4 Qg7 $6 {Feeling uncomfortable with his clock situation Caruana decides to play it safe.} ({ Snatching a pawn with} 26... Qxa2 {was possible:} 27. Rf4 Rxf4 28. Qxf4 Rf8 29. Qh4 Rf6 30. Qd4 Qb3 {and now White has to be careful not to end up in a bad position. The right move is} 31. Ra1 ({not} 31. Qa7 Qb7 32. Qxb7 Nxb7 33. Rc1 Nc5 34. Rxc4 a5 {Black will win this for sure.}) 31... c3 32. Be4 Nc4 33. Rb1 c2 34. Rc1 Na3 35. Qd2 {Black has made some strides but his knight is still not well-positioned, and White's counterplay with h4-h5 is something to worry about.}) 27. Rf4 Rxf4 28. Qxf4 Rc8 29. Rc1 Rc5 30. Be4 {[#] This is the moment I rated Onischuk's chances very highly. He was better on the board and on the clock as well. To call it a win for White may be a stretch, but I thought he should push for it. The next few moves were easy to predict. Caruana just had to play this way or lose on time.} c3 31. h4 {Not a top priority move.} (31. Bd3 $1 Qf6 32. Qxf6 exf6 33. Bxa6 Kf8 34. h4 Ke7 35. Kg2 $14) 31... Qf6 $1 32. Qxf6 exf6 33. g4 Kf8 34. Kg2 (34. f4 Ke7 35. f5 gxf5 36. Bxf5 h6 37. Kf2 Rxd5 38. Rxc3 Rc5 39. Ra3 {Black is totally stuck here. Maybe he can hold on, maybe not, but surely White's is the one to try.}) 34... Ke7 35. Kg3 $4 {Oh, horror! One thing White had to make sure off is to keep the black knight out of the game.} Nc4 $1 {This was played instantaneously. "How do you spell r-e-l-i-e-f" was a 1976 TV commercial. I'm not sure Caruana (b.1992) has ever seen it, but he knows now.} 36. Kf4 $2 {Onischuk must have been shaken up.} (36. Rxc3 Nd2 { is the trick.}) ({Objectively best was} 36. Rb1 $11) 36... Nb6 $17 37. g5 fxg5+ 38. hxg5 Nxd5+ 39. Bxd5 Rxd5 40. Rxc3 Rf5+ 41. Ke3 $1 {One has to admire Alexander's composure. Facing extreme adversity he fights on.} ({A lot of people would go} 41. Kg4 {to perish after} Rxf2 42. Ra3 Kxe6 43. Rxa6 Rf7 44. a4 Ke5 45. Ra8 d5 46. a5 Rf4+ 47. Kg3 Ra4 {etc.}) 41... Kxe6 42. Rc7 Rxg5 43. Rxh7 Re5+ (43... Ra5 44. Rg7 Kf5 45. Rf7+ Ke5 46. Re7+ Kd5 47. Rg7 Ra3+ 48. Kf4 Rxa2 49. Ke3 a5 {looked a better try.}) 44. Kf3 a5 {Black retains some practical winning chances here, but White should hold with correct play, which is exactly what Onischuk demonstrated.} 45. Rg7 Kf6 46. Rd7 Rf5+ 47. Ke3 Ke6 48. Ra7 Rc5 49. Rg7 g5 50. Rg6+ Kd7 51. Rf6 Rc2 52. Rf5 Rc5 53. Rf6 Kc6 54. Kd3 Rd5+ 55. Kc3 Re5 56. Kd3 Kc5 57. f4 gxf4 58. Rxf4 Rh5 59. Rc4+ Kb5 60. a4+ Kb6 61. Rg4 Kc5 62. Rc4+ Kd5 63. Rd4+ Kc6 {It should be pointed out that White's a-pawn is utterly unimportant here, and this exact position would still be a draw even if White had no pawn.} 64. Rc4+ Rc5 65. Rh4 Rc1 66. Rh5 Rc5 67. Rh8 Rg5 68. Rc8+ Kb7 69. Rd8 Kc7 70. Ra8 Rh5 71. Ra6 Rd5+ 72. Kc4 Rc5+ 73. Kd4 Rh5 74. Kc4 Kd7 75. Ra8 Kc7 76. Ra6 Rh4+ 77. Kb5 Rb4+ 78. Kxa5 Rb8 79. Ra7+ Kc6 80. Rh7 d5 81. Rh1 d4 82. Rc1+ Kd5 83. Ka6 d3 84. Rd1 Kc4 85. a5 Rb2 86. Ka7 d2 87. a6 Kc3 88. Ka8 Kc2 89. Rxd2+ Kxd2 90. a7 Rb1 1/2-1/2 [Event "U.S. Championships Women 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.04"] [Round "6"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2444"] [BlackElo "2369"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "3r4/p2nkp2/4p3/2p3N1/1n3Pp1/1PN1P1P1/P3K3/7R b - - 0 36"] [PlyCount "35"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] {[#]} 36... Nf6 {53 In an uneventful game. The players had reached this position close to the time control. Krush had already declined Paikidze's drawn offer but her move is a grave blunder.} 37. Nge4 $2 {132 Completely misses} Nxa2 $1 {63 Game is far from over but I think the psychological effect of this blunder on Irina was so much that she lost thread the in a few moves.} 38. Ra1 {[%emt 0:00:28]} Nxc3+ {[%emt 0:00:36]} 39. Nxc3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Rd7 { [%emt 0:00:51]} 40. Ra5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rb7 {[%emt 0:00:42]} 41. Rxc5 {503} ( 41. Na4 Ne4 (41... Rxb3 42. Nxc5 Rb2+ 43. Kd1 Rg2 44. Rxa7+ Kf8 {I think Krush might have missed the counter play.} (44... Kd6 45. Rxf7 $11) 45. Ra8+ Kg7 46. Ra7 Kg6 47. Nd3 $11 Rxg3 48. Ne5+ Kf5 49. Rxf7 Rxe3 50. Rxf6+ Kxf6 51. Nxg4+ Kf5 52. Nxe3+ Kxf4 {[#]}) 42. Nxc5 $11) 41... Rxb3 {[%emt 0:00:54]} 42. Rc7+ { [%emt 0:00:24]} Kf8 {65} 43. Kd1 {469} Ra3 {537} 44. Kc2 {[%emt 0:00:44]} Ra1 { 45 Now the g3 pawn is White's Achilles Heel.} 45. Kd3 {155} Rg1 {87} 46. Rxa7 { 350} Rxg3 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 47. Ne4 $6 {105 This loses by force.} Nxe4 {250} 48. Kxe4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Rf3 {85} (48... f5+ 49. Kd3 Rg2 {should be a simpler win although Paikidze's choice does the deed too.}) 49. Ra5 {438} (49. Kd3 Rf2 50. Ra5 f6 51. Ra1 (51. Ra8+ Kg7) 51... g3 52. Rg1 g2 53. e4 Rf3+ $1 54. Ke2 Rxf4 { and Black wins.}) 49... f5+ {361} 50. Ke5 {[%emt 0:00:33]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 51. e4 {218} Re3 {52 The game is over.} 52. Ra7+ {[%emt 0:00:25]} Kg6 {[%emt 0: 00:07]} 53. Ra4 {[%emt 0:00:30]} (53. Kxe6 Rxe4+ {loses anyways}) 53... Rxe4+ { 136 Kd4} 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championships Women 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.04"] [Round "6"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "2234"] [BlackElo "2451"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] {After a difficult loss in the first round, Anna Zatonskih had a great comeback and was in shared first before the beginning of this round. However, things went sour for her in this game after she got into a difficult position against the youngest participant of the event, Carissa Yip, who showed an excellent feel for attacking chess and managed to score a decisive win for herself. Carissa is a gifted young girl to be watched in future!} 1. e4 { [%emt 0:00:00]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 2. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 3. Nd2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} dxe4 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 4. Nxe4 {0 Rubinstein French is today's recipe of Anna against her young opponent.} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} (4... Nd7 {is more common and is considered as the main line. If you want to study this line put 1.e4 and black "George Meier" in your ChessBase Engine. The German GM is the world renowned expert in this line!}) 5. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Bc6 {[%emt 0:00:33]} 6. Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nd7 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 7. Be3 {341} (7. O-O Ngf6 8. Ned2 {is the best line in my opinion!} Be7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nc4) 7... Ngf6 {281} 8. Nxf6+ {[%emt 0:00:14]} (8. Ng3 Be7 {is also possible.}) 8... Qxf6 {279} 9. c3 {229} h6 {1273 came after a long thought by Anna. She might have been surprised by the handling of the opening by the youngster, which although far from optimal is nonetheless very creative!} 10. Qc2 {167} Bxf3 { 503} 11. gxf3 {[%emt 0:00:12]} c6 {74} 12. f4 {308} Bd6 {1183 the f4 pawn proved not to be that loose!} (12... g6 13. d5 {and things suddenly gets critical along a1-h8 diagonal!}) 13. f5 {144} e5 $6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} (13... exf5 $1 14. Bxf5 Nb6 15. O-O-O O-O {and Nd5 is pretty strong.}) 14. O-O-O { [%emt 0:00:35]} O-O {447} (14... exd4 15. Bxd4 Be5 {would have been my choice}) 15. Kb1 {217} Qh4 $6 {311 A weird move from Anna. Obviously White wants to place her pieces on the kingside along the h- and g- files. I am not sure if Black wants the same thing. Although I am criticizing Anna here, the truth is that it is hard to really propose a great continuation for Black: the pressure along the g-file is just overwhelming.} (15... exd4 16. Bxd4 Be5 17. Be3 Bc7 18. Rhg1 Bb6 19. Bf4 Nc5 (19... Ne5) 20. b4 Nxd3) 16. Rdg1 {574} Nf6 {183} 17. f3 {83} Rfe8 {[%emt 0:00:43]} 18. Qg2 {83} Bf8 {131} 19. dxe5 {271} Rxe5 {118} 20. Bf2 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Qg5 {329} 21. Qf1 {108} (21. Qxg5 hxg5 22. h4 { looks like to be even stronger!}) 21... Qh5 {187} 22. Bd4 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Rxf5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 23. Bxf5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Qxf5+ {[%emt 0:00:04]} 24. Ka1 { [%emt 0:00:09]} Re8 {69} 25. Qb1 $1 {71 You wouldn't believe a thirteen year old could make such a mature move!} Qf4 {108} 26. Qc1 {81} Qf5 {[%emt 0:00:26]} 27. Re1 $1 {288 with rooks off the board, things going to be much easier to exploit Black's queenside.} Rxe1 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 28. Qxe1 {135} b6 {68} 29. Rg1 {157} Nh5 {152} 30. Qe4 {279} Qxe4 {187} 31. fxe4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} f6 {97} 32. Be3 {235} (32. Rd1 {is stronger because Bd6 will be met with Bxb6.}) 32... Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 33. Rd1 {[%emt 0:00:26]} Ke8 {[%emt 0:00:50]} 34. b4 { [%emt 0:00:33]} (34. a4 g5 35. Ka2 Nf4 36. a5 {is easier but Carissa's choice is good enough for a win!}) 34... g5 {[%emt 0:00:29]} 35. a4 {[%emt 0:00:48]} Ng7 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 36. a5 {[%emt 0:00:58]} bxa5 {136} 37. bxa5 {[%emt 0:00: 06]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 38. Rb1 {243} Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 39. h3 {[%emt 0:00: 22]} (39. Rb6 Bxh2 40. Rxc6 {is winning.}) 39... Bc7 {93} 40. Rb7 {[%emt 0:00: 00]} Ne6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. Bb6 {131} Kd8 {539} 42. Rb8+ {169} Kd7 {[%emt 0: 00:39]} 43. Ra8 {238} Bxb6 {182} 44. axb6 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Nc5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 45. Rh8 {122} h5 {[%emt 0:00:25]} 46. e5 {170} fxe5 {117} 47. Rxh5 {35 It is all over now!} Ne6 {[%emt 0:00:20]} 48. Rh8 {[%emt 0:00:23]} Nd8 {[%emt 0:00: 06]} 49. Rg8 {11 Great win for Carissa!} 1-0 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.04"] [Round "6"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Kamsky, Gata"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2817"] [BlackElo "2659"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] {The world no. 2 and defending champion scored his first victory of the tournament by essaying a number of strong moves in 'always firey' white side of the Sicilian Sveshnikov to move to joint second place at the hand of Gata Kamsky, whose enterprising chess has not paid off so far as he is on -2 after 6 rounds.} 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 3. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} cxd4 {62} 4. Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {188} 5. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 6. Ndb5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 7. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 8. Na3 { [%emt 0:00:04]} b5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 9. Bxf6 $5 {14 No more 'Karpov' style of handling Sveshnikov. Caruana wants blood!} (9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 { is of course the most common way of handling the Sveshnikov.}) 9... gxf6 {278} 10. Nd5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Bg7 {271} 11. Bd3 $5 {14 Another less common choice by Caruana. He might have caught Gata off-guard as the development of the game from here is all in Caruana's favor.} Ne7 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 12. Nxe7 {[%emt 0: 00:06]} Qxe7 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 13. c3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} f5 {273} 14. Nc2 { [%emt 0:00:33]} f4 {1113 After a long thought, Kamsky chose a rare and a bit passive move. By pushing this pawn, Black kills all of his active play in the center with d5 and f5 as we will see in the game. Recent handling of this line by two strong teenagers of the chess world seem to promise more chances for black than Kamsky's choice. Although, I am sure Fabiano might have something there.} (14... Qg5 15. O-O (15. g3 $6 Bb7 16. Qe2 O-O 17. h4 Qf6 18. O-O-O d5 19. f3 Rfc8 20. Kb1 a5 21. Ne3 b4 22. cxb4 axb4 23. Nxf5 Bf8 24. Rc1 b3 25. a3 Rcb8 26. Qe3 Kh8 27. exd5 Bxd5 28. Rhe1 Re8 29. g4 Qe6 30. Rc3 Ra5 31. Kc1 Bc5 32. Qh6 Qg6 33. Be4 Be6 34. h5 Qxh6+ 35. Nxh6 Be7 36. Nf5 Bg5+ 37. Ne3 Rd8 38. Kb1 Ra4 39. Rd1 Rad4 40. Rdc1 h6 41. Ka1 Rd2 42. Rb1 Kg7 43. Nc4 Re2 44. Bf5 Bxf5 45. gxf5 Rc8 46. Rg1 Rc2 47. Rg4 e4 48. Rxb3 R2xc4 49. fxe4 Re8 50. Re3 Re5 51. b3 Rc2 52. b4 Kf6 53. Re1 Re8 54. Rd1 Ra8 55. Rd3 Re2 56. b5 Rc8 57. Rb3 Rc1+ 58. Rb1 Rcc2 59. Rb3 Be3 60. e5+ Kxe5 {0-1 (60) Firouzja,A (2475) -Aravindh,C (2506) Moscow 2016}) 15... Bb7 16. f3 O-O 17. exf5 d5 {if I were to try my chances I would have chosen this line but Kamsky might think that it is not a wise decision to opt for the main line against a player like Caruana.} ) 15. Qh5 {826} h6 {617 Extremely rare.} (15... O-O 16. O-O-O Be6 17. g3 { 1-0 (69) Lafarga Santorroman,D (2639)-Kerr,S (2580) ICCF email 2007 In fact there are only four games in this line, three of which are in correspondence chess with two draws and a win for white.}) 16. Nb4 {182} Be6 $4 {1131 After almost 20 minutes thought, Kamksy blunders a pawn! The game is basically over after this!} (16... Bb7 17. O-O O-O 18. Rfe1 Qg5 19. Qxg5 hxg5 20. f3 Rab8 21. a4 a5 22. Nc2 {1/2-1/2 (22) Besztercsenyi,T (2270)-Ladanyi,T (2215) Hungary 1999}) 17. Nxa6 {579} O-O {[%emt 0:00:50]} 18. Nb4 {[%emt 0:00:37]} f5 { 15 Kamsky tries to complicate matters but Caruana's technique is flawless in this game.} 19. O-O $1 {570} (19. exf5 Bf7 20. Qe2 (20. Qf3 e4 {with complications}) 20... d5 {is unnecessary}) 19... fxe4 {375} 20. Bxe4 {[%emt 0: 00:06]} Rac8 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 21. Rad1 {213 White is dominating light squares. The game is strategically over!} Rc4 {554} 22. Qg6 {304} Rxe4 {304 desparation. ...} 23. Qxe4 {[%emt 0:00:07]} f3 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 24. Nd5 {683} Qg5 {257} 25. g3 {[%emt 0:00:47]} Rf7 {76} 26. Kh1 {417} Bh3 {172} 27. Rfe1 {96} Bf5 { [%emt 0:00:43]} 28. Qb4 {79} Bf8 {137} 29. Qxb5 {133} h5 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 30. Ne3 {64} Bh3 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 31. Qc4 {[%emt 0:00:34]} Qg6 {[%emt 0:00:19]} 32. a4 {94} Kh8 {135} 33. Qh4 {194} Be6 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 34. a5 {145} e4 {[%emt 0: 00:47]} 35. Qd8 {[%emt 0:00:57]} Kh7 {63} 36. a6 {[%emt 0:00:39]} Bh6 {[%emt 0: 00:18]} 37. Qb6 {236} h4 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 38. g4 {66} Bxg4 {[%emt 0:00:21]} 39. Rg1 {[%emt 0:00:36]} Bxe3 {[%emt 0:00:50]} 40. Qxe3 {0 Time control is reached and Gata decides that he has had 'enough'.} 1-0 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.04"] [Round "6"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2822"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r1q1kn2/pp2b1p1/2p2n2/3p2B1/3P2b1/2N1PNR1/PP3P2/R2QKB1r w Qq - 0 18"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] {[#]} 18. Qb3 {312 Akobian had uncorked a very important novelty early on in this game. Here, he could have played two very important move which would have earned him the brilliancy prize of the year (I doubt such a prize still exists but we would have given one to 'Var' had he found it!).} N8h7 {950 In extreme time pressure, Akobian did not find the winning continuation despite spending sixteen minutes trying to find the idea. I think he believed deep down that his position is winning but he was unable to fully realize the potential of the maneuver Qf5-d3} ({The winning maneuver would have been} 18... Bd6 19. Ne5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 {[#]} Qf5 $3 {[#]} 21. Qxb7 (21. f3 N6d7 22. O-O-O Qxg5 23. fxg4 O-O-O {and Black would win all of the White's pawn in the center!}) (21. e4 Nxe4 {And Black is winning.}) 21... Qd3 22. Qxc6+ Kf7 {and mate follows}) 19. Bxf6 {151} gxf6 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 20. O-O-O {122} Bd6 {120} 21. Rxg4 {221} Qxg4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 22. Qxb7 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Rc8 {[%emt 0:00:49]} 23. Qa6 {564} Rc7 {104} 24. Be2 {308} Rxd1+ {[%emt 0:00:14]} 25. Kxd1 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Qf5 { 154} 26. Nd2 {333} Ng5 {591} 27. f4 {403} Nh3 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 28. Bf3 {709} Bb4 {188} 29. Nxd5 {542} cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 30. Qb5+ {[%emt 0:00:01]} Kf7 { [%emt 0:00:24]} 31. Qxb4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Qd3 {303} 32. Bxd5+ {142} Kg7 { [%emt 0:00:07]} 33. Qb3 {71} Nf2+ {[%emt 0:00:50]} 34. Ke1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Rc1+ {80} 35. Kxf2 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Qxd2+ {[%emt 0:00:05]} 36. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00: 03]} Re1 {284} 37. Bc4 {313} Qh2 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 38. Qb7+ {283} Kh6 {[%emt 0: 00:05]} 39. Qe7 {[%emt 0:00:17]} Qh1+ {62} 40. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qh4+ { [%emt 0:00:13]} 41. Kf3 {82} Qh1+ {497} 42. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Qh4+ {72} 43. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Qh3+ {151} 44. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Qh4+ {[%emt 0:00:30]} 45. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Qh3+ {[%emt 0:00:50]} 1/2-1/2 [Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "Playchess.com"] [Date "2017.04.04"] [Round "6.6"] [White "Shankland, Samuel L"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2666"] [BlackElo "2668"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r5k1/pb3ppp/2q1pn2/2p5/2P5/4QN2/PP1RBPPP/6K1 w - - 0 20"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {[#]} 20. Bf1 {This is the position out of the opening where the tension in the center had somewhat fizzled out. The position is even and there is not much going on in here, except for a few weak pawns for Black which are in no danger where they are! A draw could be expected from two GMs at this level. In the following moves the players improved their positions.} h6 21. Ne5 Qc7 22. h3 a5 23. f4 a4 $6 {A strange move from Robson. I wonder whether he was playing for a win or something else was going on in his mind!} 24. Be2 Rd8 25. Bd1 {Shankland addresses the pawn on a4. I doubt it may pose any issue to Black yet, but it at least creates a headache for Robson.} a3 $2 {Robson voluntarily gives away a pawn. I do not know why.} (25... Rxd2 26. Qxd2 Bc6 27. Bc2 (27. Nxc6 Qxc6 28. Qd8+ Kh7 29. Bf3 Qa6 30. Qd3+ g6 {is also equal.}) 27... g6 (27... Be8 28. Qe3 (28. Nd3 Qc6 29. Qe3 Qe4 30. Qxc5 Bc6 31. Qf2 Qxc4 { is also equal}) 28... Qb7) 28. Qe3 Be8) 26. bxa3 Qa5 27. Rxd8+ Qxd8 28. Bc2 h5 $6 {From bad to worse.} 29. g4 $6 {A bit hasty but I like it!} (29. Kh2 { was probably better.}) 29... hxg4 $2 (29... Ne8 {should have given Black chances to hold.}) 30. hxg4 Qc7 31. g5 Nd7 32. Kf2 f6 $2 {weakens the king even more! This is the last nail in the coffin for Robson!} 33. gxf6 Nxf6 34. a4 Qa5 35. Ke2 Ba6 36. Qh3 Qb6 37. a5 Qd6 38. Bd3 Bb7 39. Ng6 Nh7 40. Ne5 Nf8 41. Qh8+ $1 {[#] Not the strongest but very elegant!} Kxh8 42. Nf7+ Kg8 43. Nxd6 Ba6 44. Be4 Nd7 45. Bc6 Nb8 46. Bb5 Kf8 47. Ne4 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.05"] [Round "7"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Shabalov, A."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2556"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 Bg7 5. h3 Nf6 {This obscure choice from Shabalov must have come as surprise for Jeffery.} 6. e5 {Yet, he went forward.} (6. Bd3 {is a more cautious continuation.}) 6... Ne4 7. Nxe4 dxe4 8. Ng5 c5 9. Bc4 O-O 10. c3 cxd4 11. cxd4 Nc6 12. Be3 Qa5+ 13. Kf1 (13. Qd2 Qxd2+ 14. Kxd2 h6 15. Nxe4 Rd8 16. Kc3 Bf5 17. Nd2 Rac8 {gave Black great compensation in Artemiev-V. Onischuk, 2013, although White managed to save himself.}) 13... h6 14. Nxe4 Rd8 15. f4 b5 $1 16. Bb3 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 Qb4 18. Qf3 Rxd4 19. a3 Qa5 20. Nf6+ Bxf6 $1 {The clock showed Xiong down to 10 minutes or so, while Shabalov had used no time at all. Can you say *preparation* ? Only the last move is a novelty, but it's easily the engines' best choice.} (20... exf6 {was played in the pre-historic game Ibragimov-Stangl, 1992.} 21. Qxa8 Qc7 22. Kg1 {Black erred with} Bf8 {and went down after} (22... Rd8 23. Rd1 Rxd1+ 24. Bxd1 fxe5 25. Bf3 exf4 {is about even.}) 23. Kh2 Bb7 24. Qe8 Rd2 25. Rhg1 {as his attack had petered out.}) 21. exf6 (21. Qxa8 Rxf4+ 22. Ke2 {is met with the absolute bonecrushing assault} b4 $1 23. Qxc8+ Kh7 24. exf6 Qe5+ 25. Kd1 (25. Kd3 Qd4+ { 3 is mate in}) 25... Qxb2 $1 26. Qc1 Qxb3+ 27. Ke2 Qe6+ {Black will win the queen in a matter of moves, leading to a technical win with Q vs 2R.}) 21... Qb6 $1 {Pretty, but not too hard to find.} 22. f5 {As the game went even a senior citizen can win it.} ({On} 22. Qxa8 Rxf4+ 23. Ke2 Rf2+ 24. Kd3 {the beautiful} Kh7 $3 {decides, e.g.} 25. Qxc8 Qd6+ 26. Kc3 Qd2#) (22. Re1 { was the best choice. Granted, Black is winning in three different lines,} Bb7 ( 22... e6 23. Qxa8 Rxf4+ 24. Ke2 Rf2+ 25. Kd3 Qd8+ 26. Bd5 exd5 {Although here White has the incredible resource} 27. Re6 $3) ({and, most convincingly,} 22... b4 $1 23. Rxe7 Ba6+ 24. Ke1 Rf8 25. Bxf7+ {followed by Qxf6 to remove any doubts. Still, dealing with a multiple choice of good moves is notoriously difficult.}) 23. Bxf7+ Kh8 24. Qe3 Qxf6 25. f5 g5 26. Qe6 Rc8 {quickly gaining the 2nd rank;}) 22... Bb7 23. Qg3 g5 24. fxe7 Re8 25. Re1 Rf4+ 26. Ke2 Qd4 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2017 Saint Louis USA"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.05"] [Round "7"] [White "Kamsky, G."] [Black "Naroditsky, D."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C91"] [WhiteElo "2659"] [BlackElo "2646"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. d4 {Kamsky has had great success with this line throughout his career: +9 -2, not counting draws.} Bg4 10. d5 Na5 11. Bc2 c6 12. h3 Bc8 13. dxc6 Qc7 14. Nbd2 Qxc6 15. Nf1 Nc4 16. Ng3 Re8 17. a4 Bb7 (17... Be6 18. Ng5 Bd7 19. b3 Na5 20. Bd2 {is another popular line.}) 18. Qe2 Nb6 $6 {An early novelty by Dan. Judging by his subsequent play, it might have been accidental.} ({Among many games I'll single out Kamsky-Eljanov, 2009.} 18... Bf8 19. Bg5 Nd7 20. b3 Ncb6 21. a5 Nc8 {White has pushed the black knight back, but at the cost of weakening his c3-pawn. In this situation Gata attempted an interesting pawn sac,} 22. c4 bxc4 23. Rec1 {but failed to take advantage of his chances and ultimately lost the game.}) 19. axb5 axb5 20. Bg5 Qd7 $2 {Failing to trade the white rook before it escapes the useless a-file is a grave error.} (20... Rxa1 21. Rxa1 h6 22. Bxf6 Bxf6 {is tenable, because after} 23. Bd3 Nc4 24. b3 Nb6 { the c3-pawn and later Ra1 also hang.} 25. Rc1 Ba6 {etc.}) 21. Rad1 {White has emerged with a substantial advantage.} Bd8 22. Nf5 Nc8 {Accepting his fate.} ( 22... d5 23. exd5 e4 {is not exactly sufficient, but it might have been worth trying.}) 23. Bxf6 Bxf6 24. Bb3 {Why can't White get a position like this from the Najdorf?} Ra6 25. Qd3 Rd8 26. Nh2 Ne7 27. Ng4 $1 Nxf5 28. exf5 {The pawn has moved away, but Gata keeps a firm grip on the the key d5-square.} Qc6 29. Ne3 (29. Bd5 {was another way to get there} Qxd5 $2 30. Nxf6+ gxf6 31. Qg3+) 29... Qc5 30. Bd5 Bc8 31. Be4 b4 32. Nd5 ({A pawn sac,} 32. cxb4 Qxb4 33. Nd5 Qxb2 34. Qf3 {maintains White's advantage, but then Black can put up some resistance by giving the rook for Nd5:} Ra5 35. Qh5 Rxd5 36. Bxd5 Rf8) 32... bxc3 33. b4 Qa7 34. b5 $1 {Gata Kamsky never looks back. Party like it's 1995 again!} Ra3 35. b6 Qa4 (35... Qa6 36. Qxa6 Bxa6 37. Ra1 $1 {trading the last black piece worthy of note.}) 36. Rc1 Ba6 37. Qg3 Kf8 38. Rxc3 Ra1 39. Rxa1 Qxa1+ 40. Kh2 Qb2 41. Rc7 Qd4 42. Nxf6 gxf6 43. Qh4 {in the end it's the black king that dies.} Qxb6 44. Qh6+ Kg8 (44... Ke8 45. Bc6+ Rd7 46. Bxd7+ Ke7 47. Qc1) 45. Rc3 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2017 Saint Louis USA"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.05"] [Round "7"] [White "Zherebukh, Yaroslav"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C95"] [WhiteElo "2605"] [BlackElo "2817"] [Annotator "AlexYermo"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 g6 15. a4 c5 16. d5 c4 17. Bg5 {The Spanish torture - this is how playing such positions has long been characterized. In the bad old Soviet days every Russian schoolboy was tasked to learn the classical Closed Spanish Game first-hand for both White and Black.} h6 ({The famous game Anand-Carlsen, Norway Chess 2015 comes to mind:} 17... Bg7 $2 18. Qd2 Rb8 {One of the problems plaguing Black is his inabilty to get the bishop out of b7 without surrendering the a-file to the white rook.} (18... Nc5 19. Nh2 h5 {is standard. }) 19. Nh2 Bc8 {Magnus decided to part with the bishop, which handed White free attacking prospects. Vishy didn't miss his chance.} 20. Ng4 Nc5 21. Nh6+ Bxh6 22. Bxh6 {1-0(47)}) 18. Be3 Nc5 19. Qd2 h5 20. Bg5 Bg7 $2 {I wonder what brought Fabiano Caruana to choose this opening line. It is hard to see it as an attempt to play for a win, as the patterns of play for White have long been mapped out and drilled into our thick heads. Anyway, Black's last move is wrong. Leaving the knight pinned will soon prompt Fabiano to move his queen away from the kingside.} (20... Be7 21. Ra3 Nfd7 {is the right plan.} 22. Bh6 Nb6 $1 23. a5 Nbd7 {Having forced the issue on the other side Black now returns to his defensive duties. With good luck and some tail wind he may even survive this.}) 21. Rf1 (21. Nh4 Qc7 22. Bh6 Bh8 23. f4 exf4 24. Qxf4 {is more direct, albeit this kind of play may actually help Black to focus on the task at hand, rather than sit there and wonder why he chose this way in the first place.}) 21... Qc7 22. Bh6 Bh8 (22... Bxh6 23. Qxh6 Qe7 24. Ng5 Qf8 25. Nf5 $1 {is one of those tactical tricks White always seems to have in his possession. Now} Rad8 26. axb5 axb5 27. Ra7 {surrenders the a-file, while the K-side bind is impossible to break}) (22... Nh7 {may have been best, as} 23. Nh4 Qd8 24. Nhf5 Bf6 {leads White nowhere. For now.}) 23. Ng5 {White clears out for the f2-f4 push.} Nh7 24. Nxh7 Kxh7 25. Be3 Qe7 26. f4 exf4 27. Bxf4 ({Also good for White was} 27. Rxf4 Be5 28. Rf3 f6 29. Ne2 $14 {Unlike similar King's Indian structures, here White wisely kept his pawn on c3, while Black inadvertantly surrendered the d4-square to the white knight.}) 27... Kg8 28. Rf3 Bg7 29. Raf1 Nd7 $2 {Such a logical move, yet a decisive mistake.} 30. Bh6 $1 Bxh6 ({The desirable move} 30... Be5 {loses the f7-pawn. White may even choose} 31. Nxh5 gxh5 ({"better" is} 31... Rf8 {but I find it hard to comment on this.}) 32. Rxf7 Qxf7 33. Qg5+ Qg7 34. Bxg7 Bxg7 35. e5 $1 {to bring the point home in style.}) 31. Qxh6 Qf8 32. Qd2 $2 {Probably, the only moment in the whole game where Yaro's play can be criticized.} (32. Nf5 $1 {would have saved Fabiano from unnecessary suffering and let the spectators back home in time for dinner. There may follow:} Ne5 33. Rg3 Qxh6 34. Nxh6+ Kg7 (34... Kf8 35. Rxg6 $1) 35. Nf5+ Kf8 36. Nxd6 Re7 37. Rg5 Bc8 38. Rxe5 Rxe5 39. Rxf7+ Kg8 40. Rc7 {it's not entirely forced, but you get my drift.}) 32... Ne5 33. Rf6 Rad8 34. Qg5 Qg7 35. Bd1 (35. Ne2 bxa4 36. Bxa4 Rf8 37. Nd4 Bc8 38. Nc6 $18 { as another way into Black's poorly insulated fortress.}) 35... Bc8 36. Qh4 Kf8 37. Qf4 Qg8 {It is really sad to see Fabiano reduced to such pathetic little moves. On top of everything, he was in big time trouble.} 38. Kh1 ({Knowing that he had the game in hand, Yaro wouldn't allow even a slightest mess:} 38. Bxh5 gxh5 39. Nxh5 Bxh3 40. Qh6+ Ke7 41. Ng7 Bg4) 38... Re7 39. Bxh5 bxa4 ( 39... gxh5 40. Nxh5 Red7 41. Re6 $1 {Piece of cake.} Qh7 42. Rh6 Qg8 43. Qf6 $18) 40. Bd1 Qg7 41. Bxa4 Qh7 42. Qg5 a5 ({Black could have made some noise:} 42... Bxh3 43. gxh3 Qxh3+ 44. Kg1 Ng4 45. Rxf7+ Rxf7 46. Qxd8+ Kg7 47. Rxf7+ Kxf7 48. Nf1 Qf3 {but, of course,} 49. Qc7+ Kg8 50. Qb8+ Kg7 51. Qa7+ Kh6 52. Qd4 {beats it off easily.}) 43. Kg1 Qh8 44. R1f4 Qg7 45. Rh4 Nd3 46. Rh6 Ne5 ({ Not even the last snack is afforded before the execution:} 46... Nxb2 47. Rhxg6 ) 47. Rf4 Bd7 48. Qh4 Kg8 49. Qxe7 Re8 50. Qg5 Bxa4 51. Rf6 {Finally, Caruana resigned.} 1-0 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.06"] [Round "8"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2822"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] {The game between the two giants ended peacefully without much of a fight.} 1. d4 {0 It is hard to predict Wesley So's first move.} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:08] } 4. g3 {5 Wesley might have good memories from the Catalan against Naka. He won a beautiful technical game against the latter in a trimuphant performance at last year's Sinquefield Cup!} Bb4+ {7 This time Naka opts for one of the two closed versions of the Catalan.} (4... Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Ne5 Nc6 8. Nxc6 bxc6 9. Na3 Bxa3 10. bxa3 Ba6 11. Qd2 Rb8 12. Qa5 Qc8 13. a4 Rd8 14. Ba3 Rxd4 15. Rfb1 Rb6 16. Bc5 Rd7 17. Rd1 h6 18. Rxd7 Nxd7 19. Bxb6 cxb6 20. Qd2 c5 21. Rd1 Nf6 22. Kf1 Kh7 23. Qc2+ Kg8 24. Qd2 Kh7 25. Qd8 Qxd8 26. Rxd8 c3 27. Ke1 Bc4 28. Kd1 Bxa2 29. Kc2 Bc4 30. e3 b5 31. Kxc3 a6 32. Ra8 Nd5+ 33. Bxd5 exd5 34. a5 b4+ 35. Kd2 Bf1 36. Rc8 c4 37. Rb8 b3 38. Kc3 {1-0 (38) So,W (2771) -Nakamura,H (2791) Saint Louis 2016}) 5. Bd2 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Be7 { [%emt 0:00:05]} 6. Bg2 {[%emt 0:00:17]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:25]} 7. O-O {[%emt 0: 00:05]} Nbd7 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 8. Qc2 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Ne4 $5 {7 This might have caught Wesley by surprise. This is a less probed but good enough choice.} 9. Bf4 {214} c6 {[%emt 0:00:20]} 10. Nc3 {77} g5 $5 {14 Nakamura showes some ambition by playing it like Carlsen.} 11. Bc1 {[%emt 0:00:04]} (11. Be3 Nd6 12. b3 Nf5 13. g4 Nxe3 14. fxe3 b5 $5 15. e4 b4 16. exd5 bxc3 17. dxc6 Nb8 $5 { led to a close battle between Eljanov and Carlsen in which the Norwegian outplayed his ambitious opponent} 18. Qe4 f5 19. gxf5 exf5 20. Qd5+ Qxd5 21. cxd5 Na6 22. Rac1 Nc7 23. Ne5 f4 24. Nc4 Rd8 25. Rxc3 Nxd5 26. c7 Nxc7 27. Bxa8 Nxa8 28. e3 Bb4 29. Rc2 Bb7 30. h4 Be4 31. Rh2 Nb6 32. Ne5 fxe3 33. hxg5 Rxd4 34. Ng4 Nd5 {0-1 (34) Eljanov,P (2760)-Carlsen, M (2844) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) 11... f5 {4 Yours truly had some pleasant experience in this line. I won an important game against GM Denes Boros to finish clear first in Washington International last year!} 12. b3 {4 This is a better move than what I played.} (12. Rb1 Bf6 13. e3 b6 $6 (13... Qe7 14. b4 Nb6 15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. Nd2 Bd7 17. c5 Nc8 18. f3 exf3 19. Nxf3 Be8 20. e4 Bg6 21. Ne5 Qg7 22. Be3 Ne7 23. Nxg6 Qxg6 24. Rf2 Bg7 25. Rbf1 a6 26. a4 g4 27. Rxf8+ Rxf8 28. Rxf8+ Bxf8 29. b5 axb5 30. axb5 Bh6 31. Bf2 cxb5 32. Qb1 Kf7 33. Kh1 b4 34. Bg1 Bd2 35. Qf1+ Qf6 36. Qb5 Bc3 37. exd5 exd5 38. Qxb7 Bxd4 39. Qxb4 Bxg1 40. Kxg1 h5 {1/2-1/2 (40) Rozum,I (2581)-Oparin,G (2597) Vladivostok 2016}) 14. b4 g4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Nd2 Bb7 17. Nxe4 fxe4 18. Qxe4 Qe7 19. b5 Rac8 20. Ba3 Qxa3 21. Qxe6+ Kh8 22. bxc6 Bxc6 23. Bxc6 Nb8 24. Bd5 Na6 25. Qxg4 Qe7 26. a3 Rcd8 27. Qe4 Qg7 28. Qc2 Qd7 29. Be4 Qe7 30. Bg2 Rc8 31. Qa4 Nb8 32. Rbc1 Rc7 33. Rc2 Nd7 34. Rd1 Rd8 35. Rcc1 Nf8 36. Qb3 h5 37. a4 Ne6 38. a5 Qd6 39. axb6 axb6 40. Rb1 Qe7 41. Qxb6 Rxc4 42. Qb5 Rc7 43. Qxh5+ Kg7 44. Rb5 Ng5 45. h4 Nf7 46. Rb6 Rd6 47. Rxd6 Nxd6 48. e4 {1-0 (48) Moradiabadi,E (2595) -Boros,D (2441) Rockville 2016}) 12... b6 {832} 13. Bb2 {361} Bb7 {187} 14. Rad1 {259} Qe8 {1310 was played after a long thought. Nakamura decides to stay solid and see what Wesley has up his sleeves.} 15. Nd2 {463} Nd6 {145} 16. Ba3 {157} Rc8 {133} 17. Rfe1 {383} Nf7 {134} 18. Qb2 {268} Nf6 {77} 19. Bxe7 {892} Qxe7 {57 The position is even. The players played cautiously until move 30 and then they agreed on a draw.} 20. b4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Rfd8 {[%emt 0:00:42]} 21. e3 {315} g4 {195} 22. cxd5 { 76} cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 23. b5 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Rc7 {325} (23... h5 24. Ne2 h4 25. Nf4 h3 26. Bf1 Ne4 {is equal as well}) 24. Rc1 {106} Rdc8 {[%emt 0:00: 19]} 25. Ne2 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Nd6 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 26. Rxc7 {324} Rxc7 { [%emt 0:00:40]} 27. Rc1 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Rxc1+ {192} 28. Nxc1 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Nfe4 {[%emt 0:00:26]} 29. Bxe4 {262} dxe4 {116} 30. Ne2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Bd5 { 24 The position is locked and neither side can improve. Nakamura wanted to try something but Wesley kept things smooth and things fizzled out soon into a draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.06"] [Round "8"] [White "Zherebukh, Yaroslav"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2605"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] 1. e4 {0 Akobian played one of the best games of his life to join Wesley So in the first place. Yaroslav was a mere shadow of the person who had dismantled Caruana's position the other day.} e6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 2. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 3. Nd2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} c5 {9 Akobian follows Wesley So. This is how he handled this line against Zherebukh.} 4. exd5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qxd5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 5. dxc5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:22]} (5... Bxc5 {is how Wesley So played against Yaroslav} 6. Ngf3 Nf6 7. Bc4 Qc6 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Qe2 a6 10. a4 b6 11. Nb3 Bb7 12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. b4 Ncd7 14. Rd1 O-O 15. b5 Qc8 16. Nd4 Nc5 17. bxa6 Bxa6 18. Nb5 Bxb5 19. Bxb5 Nce4 20. Bb2 Nc3 21. Bxc3 Qxc3 22. Rab1 Rac8 23. Bd3 Qc6 24. Qe1 Ra8 25. Rb4 Qc7 26. Rc4 Qa7 27. Rb1 Rfc8 28. Rcb4 Nd5 29. Rh4 h6 30. Qe4 Nf6 31. Qe3) 6. Ngf3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Qxc5 { 20 This is the 'Kramnik move' Varuzhan referred to.} 7. Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Nbd7 {[%emt 0:00:27]} 8. O-O {[%emt 0:00:41]} (8. Qe2 Qc7 9. Nb3 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. a4 b6 12. Re1 Bb7 13. a5 bxa5 14. Nfd4 Nc5 15. Nxa5 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Bb4 17. Bd2 Be4 18. Qe2 Bd6 19. Nb5 Bxh2+ 20. Kh1 Qb8 21. Bg5 Be5 22. Ra4 a6 23. Na3 Bxb2 24. Bxf6 Bxg2+ 25. Kxg2 Bxf6 26. Qe4 Qc7 27. Nc6 Rfc8 28. Rc4 Qd6 29. Re3 Qd5 30. Qxd5 exd5 31. Ne7+ Bxe7 32. Rxc8+ Rxc8 33. Rxe7 g6 34. Re3 Kg7 35. Rd3 Rc5 36. c3 a5 37. Kf3 h5 38. Ke3 h4 39. Kf4 f6 40. Kg4 g5 41. f4 Kg6 42. fxg5 fxg5 43. Re3 a4 44. Rd3 Kf6 45. Rf3+ Kg6 46. Rd3 Kh6 47. Re3 Rc6 48. Rd3 Rf6 49. Rd4 Rf1 50. Nc2 Rg1+ 51. Kh3 Rg3+ 52. Kh2 Rxc3 53. Rd2 a3 54. Nd4 Kg6 55. Ra2 g4 56. Nb5 Rc5 57. Nxa3 Ra5 58. Ra1 d4 59. Rg1 g3+ 60. Kh3 Rxa3 61. Kxh4 Kf5 62. Kh3 Ke4 63. Re1+ Re3 {0-1 (63) Hou,Y (2635)-Kramnik, V (2810) Medias 2016}) 8... Qc7 {132} 9. Qe2 {177} (9. Nb3 Nc5 10. Bb5+ {is Varuzhan's suggestion but after Bd7 it is nothing more than an even position}) 9... Nc5 { 386} 10. Bc4 {141} (10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Bxd7+ Ncxd7 12. Ne4 {and calling it a day would have been my choice.}) 10... Bd6 {668} 11. b3 {820} (11. a4 O-O 12. a5 e5 13. b4 Ne6 14. Bb2 Nf4 15. Qe3 Ng6 16. b5 Bf5 17. b6 axb6 18. axb6 Qc6 19. Rxa8 Rxa8 20. Qb3 Rf8 21. Bb5 Qc5 22. Nc4 Be6 23. Qa3 Qxc4 {0-1 (23) Sanal,V (2501) -Ganguly,S (2652) Berlin 2015}) 11... a6 $146 {47 Black is threatening b5.} ( 11... O-O 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rad1 Bb7 14. Ne5 Rad8 15. Ndf3 Nce4 16. a4 Bb4 17. Rxd8 Rxd8 18. Nd3 Be7 19. Be5 Bd6 20. h4 Bxe5 21. Ndxe5 h6 {1/2-1/2 (21) Tan,J (2456)-Roberson,P (2388) Reading 2017}) 12. a4 {14 somewhat forced.} b6 { [%emt 0:00:58]} 13. Bb2 {[%emt 0:00:47]} Bb7 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 14. Rfd1 O-O { 258 the position is balanced but Black is much more comfortable and White should play accurately in order to maintain the balance. However, Zherebukh decided to go all self-destructive in the next few moves.} 15. Bxf6 $2 { 2025 After 35 minutes of thinking Zherebukh gives up his valuable bishop!} (15. Qe3 Ncd7 (15... Rad8 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Qh6 {is probably what Zherebukh was after.}) 16. h3 Rfd8 17. Bd3 {And White should be able to hold this uncomfortable middlegame.}) 15... gxf6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 16. Qe3 {444} Bf4 $1 { 288 Of course, this move prevents the queen from landing on h6.} 17. Qc3 { [%emt 0:00:04]} f5 {429} (17... Nd7 {with the threat of b5 and Ne5 is even stronger.}) 18. Bf1 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rac8 {329} 19. b4 $6 {262 Forcing the queen exchange at while weakening the pawn structure for a worse endgame. Even if this were somehow the best move on the board, it would not make sense practically and alternatives would be sought.} Ne4 {118} 20. Qxc7 {[%emt 0:00: 07]} Rxc7 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 21. Nc4 {204} Rb8 $1 {1229 After a long think, Akobian finds this strong prophylactic move.} 22. Nxb6 {396} Rxc2 {178} 23. Nd7 {139} Rbc8 {863} 24. Bd3 {121} Rb2 {361} 25. Bxe4 {263} fxe4 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 26. Rd4 {[%emt 0:00:23]} f5 {125} (26... Rcc2 27. Rf1 Rxf2 {would have won on the spot.}) 27. Rad1 {548} exf3 {54 Akobian finds a nice trick.} 28. Rxf4 {216} Rd2 $1 {18 With this beautiful tactical trick, Akobian wins the game and joins Wesley in the lead. In this game he was in complete control and is now in hot pursuit of the coveted title.} 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.06"] [Round "8"] [White "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2667"] [BlackElo "2668"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] 1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} g6 {[%emt 0: 00:11]} 3. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 4. cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Nxd5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 5. e4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Nxc3 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 6. bxc3 { [%emt 0:00:03]} Bg7 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 7. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:27]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:21] } 8. Be3 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Qa5 {[%emt 0:00:27]} 9. Qd2 {[%emt 0:00:10]} O-O { [%emt 0:00:27]} 10. Rc1 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Nd7 {[%emt 0:00:50]} 11. Bd3 {170} b6 {[%emt 0:00:57]} 12. O-O {291} e6 {1193} 13. Qe2 {306} Bb7 {218} 14. Nd2 { 270 Onischuk did not ask many theoretical questions from Robson and consequently Black looks fine except for a problem concerning a good square for his queen. Robson decides to solve the problem ... by giving up his queen!} Qxa2 $2 {416 A truly poisoned pawn!} 15. Ra1 {441} Qb2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 16. Rfb1 {68} Qxc3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 17. Nc4 {134} Nf6 {1694} (17... b5 18. Ra3 Qb4 19. dxc5 Qxb1+ 20. Bxb1 bxc4 {Was Robson's only chance although the position should be objectively lost.} 21. Qxc4) 18. Ra3 {192} Nxe4 {61} 19. Bxe4 {176} Bxe4 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 20. Rxc3 {69 Queen for rook and three pawn is not usually enough!} Bxb1 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 21. Rc1 {610} cxd4 {[%emt 0:00:20]} 22. Bg5 {567} d3 {544} 23. Qd2 {[%emt 0:00:53]} Rfc8 {714} 24. Rxb1 {266} Rxc4 { [%emt 0:00:06]} 25. Qxd3 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Rc5 {148} 26. h4 {135 White is completely winning and Onischuk gradually and assuredly converts his advantage! } h5 {459} 27. Rd1 {156} Rd5 {77} 28. Qf3 {[%emt 0:00:49]} Rxd1+ {[%emt 0:00: 39]} 29. Qxd1 {[%emt 0:00:06]} a5 {114} 30. Qf3 {109} Ra7 {239} 31. Be3 { [%emt 0:00:54]} Rc7 {104} 32. Bxb6 {188} Rc1+ {[%emt 0:00:27]} 33. Kh2 { [%emt 0:00:09]} Rc4 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 34. g3 {95} a4 {[%emt 0:00:29]} 35. Qa8+ { 113} Kh7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 36. Qa7 {[%emt 0:00:40]} Kg8 {[%emt 0:00:46]} 37. Qa6 {[%emt 0:00:35]} Rb4 {[%emt 0:00:43]} 38. Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:38]} Rb8 {[%emt 0:00: 28]} 39. Qxa4 {66} Bf6 {[%emt 0:00:35]} 40. Qf4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rc8 {[%emt 0: 00:21]} 41. Qxf6 {178} Rxc5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 42. Qd8+ {[%emt 0:00:02]} Kh7 { [%emt 0:00:03]} 43. Qf8 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Rf5 {[%emt 0:00:40]} 44. Kg2 {[%emt 0: 00:11]} Rf6 {140} 45. Kf1 {[%emt 0:00:57]} Rf5 {80} 46. Ke2 {[%emt 0:00:10]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:40]} 47. Kf1 {253} Rf6 {275} 48. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Rf5 {[%emt 0: 00:45]} 49. f3 {156} Rf6 {[%emt 0:00:27]} 50. Qe7 {[%emt 0:00:26]} Rf5 { [%emt 0:00:14]} 51. g4 {[%emt 0:00:26]} hxg4 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 52. fxg4 { [%emt 0:00:04]} Rf4 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 53. Kg3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Rf1 {492} 54. Qxe5 {69} Rg1+ {601} 55. Kf3 {159} Rb1 {219} 56. Qd4 {60} Rc1 {138} 57. Kf4 { 121} Re1 {99} 58. Qb4 {[%emt 0:00:53]} Rf1+ {75} 59. Ke5 {[%emt 0:00:39]} Kg7 { [%emt 0:00:48]} 60. Kd6 {109} Rf6+ {[%emt 0:00:39]} 61. Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:15]} Re6 {[%emt 0:00:29]} 62. Qc4 {[%emt 0:00:40]} g5 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 63. h5 {94} Re5 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 64. Qd4 {[%emt 0:00:48]} f6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 65. Kd6 { [%emt 0:00:31]} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.07"] [Round "9"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "So, W."] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2822"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Rd1 Bc6 10. Nc3 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Nc6 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Bg5 Rb8 14. e3 { Standard issue Catalan, one of those positions where White doesn't seem to be trying for much. Yet, "careful play" is required from Black, which in this day and age means computer-approved preparation.} c5 $5 {Wesley shows he'd done his homework.} (14... a5 {is considered automatic.}) 15. dxc5 Qe8 16. Rd4 (16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Ne4 Be5 18. Rab1 Rb4 19. f4 f5 20. Nd2 Bf6 21. Nxc4 Rxa4 { is roughly balanced.}) 16... Nd7 $1 {An improvement over one long-forgotten game} ({which went} 16... Rb4 17. Na2 Qxa4 18. Nxb4 Qxa1+ 19. Kg2 Qa5 20. Nc6 Qxc5 $14 {Sjugirov-Smirnov, 2012}) 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. c6 {It's hard to tell if Jeffery was still looking for an advantage or was ready to bail out.} ({ An attempt to take way e5 from the black knight} 18. f4 {meets with} e5 19. Rxc4 exf4 20. exf4 Qe3+ 21. Kg2 Nf6 {White gets to keep his extra pawn, but his king is weak. Lines such as this give bad vibes and usually are declined as long as there are some other options.}) ({The next move to think of is} 18. Rf1 {anticipating} Ne5 19. f4 Nc6 20. Rxc4 {but then comes} Na5 21. Rd4 Qxc5 { and once again, having weakened his position with the f-pawn move, White finds himself on the defensive end of it.}) ({In the meantime, the "simple"} 18. Rxc4 Ne5 19. Re4 Qxc5 {is really awkward for White.}) 18... Ne5 19. Qe4 Qc5 20. Nd5 {A logical continuation of the previous move. Moves from both sides become forced.} Nd3 21. Nxc7 Nxf2 $1 {[#] Wesley had to have seen this shot from afar. Did Jeff completely miss it?} 22. Kxf2 {A quick reply, but possibly, Xiong was bluffing.} ({Instead of playing mind games, he should have paid attention to the board. Maybe, then he would have found} 22. Nxa6 {which happens to be a good enough move to continue the game:} Qg5 {appears to be Black's best.} ( 22... Nxe4 23. Nxc5 Nxc5 24. Rxc4 {and White's pawns are more than enough to offset Black's extra knight.}) (22... Qh5 $4 23. Qc2 {and White even wins.}) 23. Qf3 $1 {A beautiful move that consolidates everything.} ({no need to flirt with disaster after} 23. Kxf2 Rxb2+ 24. Ke1) ({and} 23. Qc2 {is now bad on account of} Nd3) 23... Rxb2 24. c7 Nd3 25. Rf1 {Suddenly White has a threat of his own: Qxf7+!, his pieces are all participating and the c7-pawn is alive. Game on!}) 22... Rxb2+ 23. Kf1 Qh5 24. Qg4 Qxh2 25. Qf3 c3 $1 {Only this move made clear how difficult White's task is going to be.} 26. Rc1 e5 $1 {Wesley took about 20 minutes on this one. He just wanted to make sure.} 27. Rh4 $2 { Another error from Jeffery ends the game on the spot.} ({The right move was} 27. Rc4 {If anything, it would force Black to seek ways of getting his other rook involved. Without luft calculating the resulting variations could be unnerving. Would So be up to the task?} Rfb8 {is the right move.} (27... Qd2 28. Rd1 Rd8 {same as in the game, but here White does have a miracle line} 29. Nd5 $3 (29. Rxd2 Rdxd2 30. Kg1 Rb1+ 31. Qf1 c2 32. Nxa6 {is not enough to save White:} Rxf1+ 33. Kxf1 Rd1+ 34. Ke2 c1=Q 35. Rxc1 Rxc1 36. Nb8 Rc5 37. Kd3 f5 $19) 29... Rxd5 30. Rxd2 Rdxd2 {and now} 31. Qe2 $3 {[#]} Rxe2 32. c7 {forcing Black to take the perpetual.}) 28. Nd5 (28. Nxa6 Qd2 29. R4xc3 e4) 28... Rf2+ 29. Qxf2 Qh1+ 30. Qg1 (30. Ke2 Rb2+) 30... Qxd5 31. R4xc3 Rb2 $19) 27... Qd2 28. Rd1 Rd8 $1 29. Nd5 Rxd5 30. Rd4 Rxd4 (30... exd4 $4 31. c7 $18) 31. exd4 Qxd1+ {Fresh out of tactical tricks Xiong resigned.} 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2017.04.07"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Zherebukh, Yaroslav"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2605"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. g4 h6 10. a3 Bb7 11. O-O-O Rc8 12. h4 d5 13. Rg1 dxe4 14. g5 hxg5 15. hxg5 Nd5 16. Nxe4 g6 17. Kb1 b4 18. axb4 Bxb4 19. c3 Nxe3 20. Qxe3 Bxe4+ 21. Qxe4 Bxc3 22. Nxe6 Qb6 23. Nc5+ Be5 24. Nd3 O-O 25. Nxe5 Nxe5 26. Rh1 {A sharp Scheveningen. Who's going to get to the king first?} Qf2 $2 {Wrong entry point. } (26... Qb3 27. Bd3 Nxd3 28. Rxd3 Qc2+ 29. Ka1 Rc5 30. Qd4 f6 31. gxf6 Ra5+ 32. Ra3 Rxa3+ 33. bxa3 {looks troublesome for Black, but the accurate} Qc6 $1 { holds everything together. White has no better than} 34. f7+ Kxf7 35. Rh7+ Ke6 36. Rg7 Qc1+ 37. Ka2 Qc2+ 38. Ka1 $11) 27. Be2 Rfe8 28. Qf4 $1 {Despite severe time trouble Ray finds the best move. He's such a formidable attacker.} Re6 ( 28... Qxe2 29. Qh4 Qc2+ 30. Ka1 Qxd1+ {Only move, as White keeps a4 under control of his queen.} 31. Rxd1 Nxf3 32. Qf4 Ne5 33. Rh1 Nd3 34. Qa4 {White has good winning chances, but there are possible fortresses after Black trades a pair of rook and gives up the knight for the b-pawn. Ray was on the losing side side of a similar situation yesterday against Onischuk.}) 29. Rh2 ({ Better was} 29. Rd2 Qc5 30. Bd1 $1 Qc1+ 31. Ka2 Qc5 32. Rdh2 Kf8 33. Bb3 { Once the bishop enters the stage it is truly over.}) 29... Qc5 30. Rdh1 Kf8 31. Rh8+ Ke7 32. Rxc8 Qxc8 33. Qb4+ Rd6 34. Rd1 (34. Re1 $142 $16) 34... Qc6 35. Re1 Qb6 36. Qxb6 Rxb6 37. Bxa6 Re6 38. Bb7 Nc4 39. Rxe6+ Kxe6 40. Kc2 Kf5 $2 ({ Yaro could have forced an immediate draw by} 40... Nxb2 $1 41. Kxb2 Kf5 { The white king is too far to stop his black counterpart from taking on g5 and coming to f4, after which g5-g4 will trade White's last pawn.}) 41. b4 { As the game went Ray kept on trying, but it just wasn't enough to win.} Kxg5 42. Kc3 Nd6 43. Bc6 Kf4 44. Kd4 g5 45. Kd5 Nc8 46. Kc5 Ke5 47. b5 Ke6 48. Bd5+ Ke7 49. Bc4 f6 50. Kc6 Na7+ 51. Kc5 Nc8 52. Bd3 Kd7 53. Bf5+ Kc7 54. Kd5 Nb6+ 55. Ke6 Nc4 56. Kxf6 Nd2 57. Bg4 Kb6 58. Kxg5 Nxf3+ 59. Bxf3 Kxb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.07"] [Round "9"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2667"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "150"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Be7 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. Qc2 Nh5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. O-O-O Nb6 11. h3 g6 12. Nf3 Be6 13. Kb1 O-O-O 14. Nd2 Ng7 15. g4 Kb8 16. Nb3 h5 17. f3 Bc8 18. Qf2 hxg4 19. hxg4 Ne6 20. f4 Nc7 21. f5 Qg5 22. Rhg1 $5 Rh3 23. e4 Rdh8 {[#] +1=7 is not a scoreline Nakamura is used to having in U.S. Championships. He had clearly had enough of draws when he sat down to play the ever-solid Onischuk today - a dangerous mindset.} 24. e5 $5 {Points for the spirit, but, objectively speaking, White is playing with fire.} (24. fxg6 fxg6 25. Nc5 Rh2 26. Qg3 {should be enough to hold.}) 24... Rh2 25. Qe1 Nc4 $1 26. Bxc4 dxc4 27. Nd2 Qf4 ({Here Alexander had a strong idea in the exchange sacrifice,} 27... gxf5 28. Nf3 Qg6 29. Nxh2 fxg4+ 30. Ka1 Rxh2) 28. e6 $1 {HIkaru seizes the opportunity.} gxf5 29. exf7 Be6 30. Rf1 Qxg4 31. Nf3 Rg2 32. d5 $5 {HIkaru burned a lot of time on this one. Clearly, he wanted it all.} ({Obviously, he could see} 32. Qe5 Qg7 33. Rg1 Rxg1 34. Rxg1 Qxe5 35. Nxe5 {as advantageous for White.}) 32... cxd5 33. Nxd5 $4 {A step too far.} (33. Qe5 Qg7 34. Rg1 Qxe5 35. Nxe5 Rxg1 36. Rxg1 Rf8 {[#] and only now} 37. Nxd5 $1 {a fantastic shot, based on forks and deflections. White will end up up the exchange with some practical winning chances.}) 33... Qg7 {A cold shower. The threat of mate forces White to part with his best pawn.} ({ Nakamura's idea had been that if} 33... Bxd5 $2 34. Rxd5 $1 {is winning since} Nxd5 35. Qe5+ Kc8 36. Qxh8+ {is game over. However, he overlooked that Black needn't touch his knight at the beginning of this line at all.}) 34. Nc3 Qxf7 35. Qe5 Re8 36. Qd6 Qf8 37. Nb5 Qxd6 38. Nxd6 Rh8 39. Rh1 Rxh1 40. Rxh1 Rg8 { The last move before the time control may not have been the most optimal, but Alexander wanted to make sure he didn't blunder anything.} 41. Nd4 f4 42. Rh6 Bc8 43. Nxc4 Nd5 44. Kc2 Rd8 45. Rd6 $6 {This goes to show that Hikaru was still reeling form his blunder on move 33.} ({The activity offered by} 45. Kd3 Nb4+ 46. Ke4 Nxa2 47. Nf3 (47. Nd6 Nb4) 47... Rf8 48. Nd6 Nb4 49. Ne5 {would be more in his style, particularly against the opponent who was looking for technical solutions.}) 45... Rxd6 46. Nxd6 Bh3 47. a3 Kc7 48. Ne4 a5 $6 (48... Bg2 49. Kd3 Bf1+ 50. Kd2 Kb6) 49. Nd2 b6 50. Kd3 Bg2 51. Nc2 $2 (51. N4f3) 51... Ne7 52. b4 a4 53. Nd4 Kd7 54. Ke2 Bd5 {Onischuk at his best. His pieces guard the approaches to the f4-pawn, while the black king is slowly making his way forward.} 55. Nb5 $2 {This only helps Black.} Kc6 56. Nc3 b5 57. Kd3 Nf5 58. Nd1 Kd6 59. Nc3 Bc6 60. Nce4+ Ke7 61. Ng5 Kf6 62. Nge4+ Ke7 63. Ng5 Bg2 64. Nge4 Ke6 65. Nf2 Kd5 {Finally, the king has arrived and that signals the end of the game.} 66. Nd1 Nd6 67. Nf2 Nc4 68. Nxc4 Bf1+ 69. Kc3 Bxc4 70. Nh3 Ke4 71. Kd2 Be6 72. Ng5+ Kd5 73. Nf3 Bg4 74. Nh4 Ke4 75. Ke1 Ke3 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, U.S.A."] [Date "2017.04.07"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2674"] [BlackElo "2822"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [SourceDate "2015.02.27"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] [WhiteClock "0:02:16"] [BlackClock "0:18:43"] {The current world junior champion has not had a good tournament so far, especially with the white pieces! He had lost two games with White against Kamsky and Shabalov and today he went down again with White against one of the leaders to have -3 from his three Whites!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 { Catalan against Wesley, who is a master of this opening with both colors! A very interesting choice by Jeffery.} 4. Bg2 Be7 (4... Bb4+ {is another popular choice.}) 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 {Wesley opts for what is considered as "open Catalan."} (6... c6 7. Qc2 b6 8. Nbd2 Bb7 9. e4 {and now} Nbd7 ({Or} 9... Na6 { Are equally playable positions in a closed form of Catalan.})) 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 {Wesley So goes for a solid continuation.} 9. Rd1 $5 {And Jeffery Xiong goes for what is considered a benign game for black. It is interesting that Jeffery chose this because Wesley has had several good results in this line including a very "clean" victory against strong Canadian GM Anton Kovalyov.} Bc6 10. Nc3 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Nc6 12. Bxc6 bxc6 {The tripled pawns are fine.} 13. Bg5 {less common but equally acceptable.} (13. a5 Nd5 14. Na2 Nf6 15. Nc3 Nd5 16. Na4 Qb8 17. Bd2 Qb5 18. Rdc1 c5 19. dxc5 c3 20. Nxc3 Qxc5 21. Na4 Qb5 22. Qc4 Rfb8 23. Qxb5 Rxb5 24. e4 Nf6 25. f3 Bd6 26. Rc2 Nd7 27. Kg2 Rd8 28. Bc3 Ne5 29. Kf2 Nc6 30. f4 Nxa5 31. e5 Bf8 32. Bxa5 Rxa5 33. Ke3 Rb8 34. Ra2 g5 35. Nc3 gxf4+ 36. gxf4 Bc5+ 37. Kf3 Rxa2 38. Nxa2 Rb3+ 39. Kg4 Bd4 40. Rxc7 Rxb2 41. Nc1 Rxh2 42. Nb3 Be3 43. Rc3 Bf2 44. f5 h5+ 45. Kg5 exf5 46. Kxf5 Kg7 47. Rd3 h4 48. Nd2 a5 49. Ne4 Rg2 50. Rd7 h3 51. e6 Bh4 52. Rxf7+ Kg8 53. Nf6+ Bxf6 54. Kxf6 Rf2+ 55. Ke7 h2 56. Rxf2 h1=Q 57. Rf5 a4 58. Rg5+ Kh7 59. Kf6 Qh6+ { 0-1 (59) Kovalyov,A (2636)-So,W (2744) Edmonton 2014}) 13... Rb8 14. e3 c5 $1 { Wesley shows his vast knowledge of this opening and surprises Jeffery with this move, which has only been played once before, although the game is between two strong Russian GMs.} 15. dxc5 Qe8 16. Rd4 Nd7 $1 {Wesley's novelty. Black is totally fine, according to the engines!} (16... Rb4 17. Na2 Qxa4 18. Nxb4 Qxa1+ 19. Kg2 Qa5 20. Nc6 Qxc5 21. Nxe7+ Qxe7 22. Rxc4 c5 23. Bxf6 Qxf6 24. Rxc5 g6 25. b4 Qe7 26. Qd1 {1/2-1/2 (26) Sjugirov,S (2624)-Smirnov,P (2610) Novosibirsk 2012}) 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. c6 $2 {A really bad move. I am not sure but this may lose by force!} (18. f4 {is what the engines cry for. At first glance, it seems that White is weakening his king but in fact this is a prophylactic move which parries the threats after Ne5 against White's king.}) 18... Ne5 {Now, this knight is addressing serious weaknesses on d3 and f3. White should be accurate now despite machines evaluation which is the famous "0.00"!!} 19. Qe4 Qc5 20. Nd5 {The best and only move but things are far from easy for white.} Nd3 21. Nxc7 {Stockfish changes its evaluation several times but it asseses this position equal on depth 51!!} (21. Nf4 Nxb2 {is just a pawn down.}) 21... Nxf2 $1 {I still cannot clarify for 100% whether we are observing a first-class mate attack or a strong attack which worked for practical purposes.} 22. Kxf2 (22. Nxa6 Qg5 23. Kxf2 Rxb2+ {is another serious consideration.}) 22... Rxb2+ 23. Kf1 Qh5 {Initially it may seem that White should be able to hold here but it is all over according to the engines. I am not surprised at all! White's king is exposed and Black's rook and queen are in complete control of the second rank which poses several mate threat against White's king.} 24. Qg4 Qxh2 25. Qf3 c3 26. Rc1 e5 $1 {So plays it like a machine!} 27. Rh4 (27. Rc4 {would have led to a beautiful finish for this game! } Rfb8 $3 {It is not clear, at first sight what the purpose of this move is!} 28. Nd5 (28. Nb5 axb5 29. axb5 (29. c7 bxc4) 29... Qh3+ 30. Ke1 Re8 $3 { Stunning! Why this move?!} (30... g5 {is also winning!} 31. c7 Rc8) 31. c7 (31. Rh4 Qe6 {and White's pawns are falling!}) 31... e4 {Here comes the reason!} 32. c8=Q Rxc8 33. Rxc8+ Qxc8 34. Qxe4 Qb8 35. Qg4 Qb7 {and Black is winning!}) (28. g4 Qd2 29. R4xc3 e4 30. Qg3 Rd8 31. Nd5 Rxd5 {and mate on d1 cannot be parried! }) 28... Rf2+ $3 {Here comes the purpose!} 29. Qxf2 Qh1+ 30. Qg1 (30. Ke2 Rb2+) 30... Qxd5 31. R4xc3 Rb2 {A free move for White doesn't even help!} 32. e4 Qd2 33. R1c2 Qd1+ 34. Kg2 Rxc2+ 35. Rxc2 Qxc2+ 36. Kf3 Qxc6 {with a winning queen endgame! This is the most beautiful combination I have seen in 2017 so far!}) 27... Qd2 {The game is over! A well-deserved victory for Wesley !} 28. Rd1 Rd8 $3 {A cute finish!} 29. Nd5 (29. Rxd2 Rdxd2 {And White will be checkmated despite his huge material advantage!}) 29... Rxd5 30. Rd4 Rxd4 31. exd4 Qxd1+ ( 31... Qxd1+ 32. Qxd1 c2 $19) 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.08"] [Round "10"] [White "Zherebukh, Yaroslav"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2605"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Elshan Moradiabadi"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} c6 {56 After heart-breaking loss to Alex Onischuk, super-GM Hikaru Nakamura went ballistic today and rolled over Yaroslav Zherebukh who had is back to earth after a dream start, sharing first after seven rounds with Wesley So.} 2. d4 {[%emt 0:00:21]} d5 {5 Caro-Kan, A surprise for Zherebukh for sure!} 3. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} dxe4 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 4. Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Bf5 {[%emt 0:00:29]} 5. Ng3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Bg6 { [%emt 0:00:03]} 6. Nh3 {43 Not sure if this is Zherebukh main repertoire or he decided to avoid theoretical debate with Nakamura.} Nf6 {90} 7. Nf4 {78} Nbd7 { [%emt 0:00:04]} 8. Bc4 {279} Qc7 {111} 9. O-O {318} e6 {319} 10. c3 {2464 Came after a long thought.} (10. Re1 Bd6 (10... O-O-O {Is the right move which leads to a double edged game!}) 11. Rxe6+ $3 {A Tal-like sacrifice in 21st century! It only leads to a draw though!} fxe6 12. Nxe6 Qb6 13. Qe2 Ke7 (13... Bxg3 14. hxg3 Be4 15. b3 Bd5 16. Ng5+ Kd8 17. Bxd5 Nxd5 18. c4 Re8 19. Ne6+ Rxe6 20. Qxe6 N5f6 21. Bf4 c5 22. Bd6 cxd4 23. c5 Qc6 24. Re1 b6 25. b4 bxc5 26. bxc5 d3 27. Be7+ Kc7 28. Bd6+ Kc8 29. Qe3 Qd5 30. Rd1 Qe4 31. Qc1 Qd4 32. Bf4 Ng4 33. c6 Nc5 34. Qd2 g5 35. Be3 Nxe3 36. fxe3 Qd6 37. Qa5 g4 38. Rc1 d2 39. Rd1 Rb8 40. Qxa7 Qxc6 41. Qxh7 Qe4 42. Qh8+ Kc7 43. Qc3 Qd5 44. e4 Qd6 45. e5 Qb6 46. e6 Kb7 47. Kh2 Qxe6 48. Rxd2 Kc6 49. Qd4 Qh6+ 50. Kg1 Rb1+ 51. Rd1 Rxd1+ 52. Qxd1 Qe3+ 53. Kh2 Qh6+ 54. Kg1 Qe3+ 55. Kh2 Qe4 56. Qd8 Kb5 57. Qc7 Qe6 58. Qf4 Ne4 59. Qe3 Qc4 60. Qf4 Qe2 61. Qb8+ Kc6 62. Qe8+ Kc7 63. a4 Nc3 64. Qf7+ Kc8 65. a5 Nd5 {1/2-1/2 (65) Azarov,S (2635) -Lenderman,A (2601) Greensboro 2014}) 14. Bg5 Qxb2 15. Re1 Qxc2 16. Bd2 Nb6 17. Nxg7+ Kd7 18. Bb3 Qd3 19. Qe6+ Kc7 20. Qxf6 Raf8 21. Ne6+ Kd7 22. Nxf8+ Rxf8 23. Qg7+ Kc8 24. Bh6 Qc3 25. Rf1 a5 26. Bg5 Re8 {1-0 (26) Duda,J (2658) -Ivanchuk,V (2726) Berlin 2015}) ({Zherebukh might also have challenged his higher rated opponent by going for it with} 10. Bxe6 $5 fxe6 11. Nxe6 Qd6 12. Re1 {and while quite unclear, it will be a lot more fun to play as white than defend as black.}) 10... Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 11. Qf3 {[%emt 0:00:24]} c5 $5 {573 An interesting novelty by Nakamura.} 12. dxc5 {208} Bxc5 {[%emt 0:00:42]} 13. Bb3 {445} O-O-O {300 Things are getting critical and Zherebukh's reaction is far from optimal!} 14. Nxg6 $6 {71} (14. Qe2 Ne5 15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. Bf4 Bd6 {is better than what Zherebukh did!}) 14... hxg6 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 15. Bf4 $2 {26 Complete loss of time!} (15. Bg5 Ne5 16. Qf4 {is ugly but necessary}) 15... e5 $1 {382} 16. Be3 {251} e4 {198} 17. Qe2 {77} Bxe3 {[%emt 0:00:44]} (17... Rxh2 {is more accurate.} 18. Bxc5 (18. Kxh2 Bxe3) 18... Rdh8 19. Be3 Rh1+ 20. Nxh1 Qh2#) 18. Qxe3 $2 {49 [#] Zherebukh does not feel the trouble and runs into checkmate.} ( 18. fxe3 {was a must.}) 18... Rxh2 $3 {49 Checkmate comes soon!} 19. Rfd1 {84} Rdh8 {[%emt 0:00:34]} 20. Qxa7 {82} e3 $1 {349 one of the two winning moves.} 21. Qxe3 {227} Ng4 {14 A classic for the future!} (21... Ng4 22. Qf3 Rh1+ 23. Nxh1 Rxh1+ 24. Kxh1 Qh2#) 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2645"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Bxf3 Nbd7 7. d4 e6 { A little timid.} ({According to general principles of development and control over the center} 7... e5 8. dxe5 Nxe5 9. Bg2 Bc5 {has to be the right plan.}) 8. Nd2 Be7 9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Nf6 12. Bg2 Qb6 13. c3 O-O 14. Qe2 Rfe8 15. Kh2 Rad8 16. b4 a5 {Black has to seek some counterplay somewhere.} 17. bxa5 $6 ({As far as I can see there was nothing wrong with} 17. a3 $14) 17... Qxa5 18. Bd2 Qa4 19. Rfb1 Rd7 20. Rb3 Rc8 21. Be1 b5 22. Rc1 c5 $2 {Akobiam worried about c3-c4, but the remedy could be worse than the disease.} ({ Black had an interesting idea in} 22... Qc4 23. Qxc4 bxc4 {From the first sight it seems like this pawn is going to fall, but after} 24. Rbb1 Ra7 25. Bf1 Ra4 {Black manages to stabilize the situation which is not entirely unfavorable for him, as White's Be1 will be dominated by Black's Nd5.}) 23. d5 $2 {One of those moves Hikaru would have a hard time explaining.} (23. dxc5 Rxc5 24. Rcb1 {would pick off the loose b5-pawn and let Black worry about his compensation.}) 23... exd5 24. Rxb5 c4 {Suddenly, Black is for choice.} 25. Rcb1 Bd6 26. Qd1 {This was the only move in the entire game Hikaru took considerable time on.} ({He didn't want to part with the a-pawn:} 26. Bd2 Qxa2 27. Qd1 {which objectively may have been the better choice.}) ({while} 26. Qb2 {decentralizes the queen, and likely will be harshly punished by} h5 $1 {etc.}) 26... Qxd1 $4 {The marks go for taking a wrong turn at a critical junction. It is mainly a mental error of trying to "escape" with a draw from a better position.} (26... Qa7 {just had to be played. Regardless of a tournament situation Black needs to keep his queen on the board. Varuzhan just couldn't bring myself to taking any risk, and I wonder why. Wasn't a chance to win it all worth trying?} 27. a4 Re8 28. a5 $2 Rde7 {is one sample line which illustrates Black's potential.}) 27. Rxd1 Be7 28. a4 Ra8 29. a5 Bd8 30. Ra1 Rda7 31. Bxd5 Nxd5 32. Rxd5 Bxa5 33. Bd2 h6 34. Be3 Ra6 35. Ra3 Bc7 36. Rxa6 Rxa6 37. Rc5 Bd6 38. Rc8+ Kh7 39. Rxc4 Be5 40. Rc8 Ra3 ({For better or worse Black had to try something like} 40... g5 41. c4 Kg6 42. Kg2 f5) 41. c4 Kg6 $2 42. Kg2 h5 43. Re8 $1 {A great one from Nakamura.} f6 44. Re7 $1 {Now the black king is tied down to g7, and it really looks bad for Black.} Rc3 45. c5 Kh7 $2 46. Kf1 Rc4 47. Ke2 Kg6 48. Kd3 Rc3+ 49. Ke4 h4 50. g4 Bh2 51. f4 Rc2 52. Kd3 Ra2 53. c6 Ra6 54. c7 Rc6 55. Kd4 f5 56. Kd5 1-0 [Event "U.S. Championships Men 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2817"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Nf3 Qa5 8. a3 cxd4 9. b4 Qc7 10. cxd4 b5 {Obviously Black prepares his counterattack with a7-a5.} 11. Nf4 $6 {and White ignores it.} ({The right way to play this position was already shown by Morozevich:} 11. Bd2 Qb6 (11... Nb6 12. Nf4) 12. Rb1 $1 {Prophylaxis! I wonder if Fabiano would have found it necessary to go one anyway:} a5 $5 13. bxa5 Rxa5 14. Bxa5 Qxa5+ 15. Qd2 Qxa3 {is an interesting sacrifice.}) 11... Qb6 12. Rb1 a5 13. bxa5 Rxa5 14. Bd3 Ba6 15. O-O Bxa3 16. Be3 $2 {Ray was right to let go off the a-pawn, but his last move marks the beginning of a slow, plodding plan that fails to put any pressure on Fabiano's position.} (16. Ng5 $1 {is a standard probing move. Only after} g6 { White will play} (16... Nxd4 $6 17. Be3 Bc5 18. Qh5 Nxe5 19. Ngxe6 {Ray Robson knows how to handle such positions.}) (16... Qxd4 $2 17. Nfxe6 {simply wins for White}) 17. Be3 {and then} Be7 18. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 19. Qf3 {becomes a distinct possibility.}) 16... Be7 $1 {No more Ng5.} 17. Qd2 $2 ({For better or worse} 17. h4 O-O 18. Ng5 {even though after} Bxg5 19. hxg5 b4 {I cannot make White's attack work:} 20. Bxh7+ ({or} 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Bxh7+ Kf7 22. Qh5+ Ke7 23. Rfd1) 20... Kxh7 21. Nxe6 Kg8 22. Nxf8 Nxf8 {comes up short.}) 17... g6 18. Rfc1 b4 19. h4 Ra3 20. Bxa6 Qxa6 21. Nh3 Na5 {Black is way ahead already, and Ray's gallant attempts in his own time trouble were ruthlessly brushed away by Fabiano's impeccable calculation.} 22. Bg5 Nb3 23. Rxb3 Rxb3 24. Qe2 Qa8 25. Qb5 Rc3 $1 26. Rxc3 bxc3 27. Bxe7 Qa1+ 28. Kh2 Kxe7 29. Qb4+ Kd8 30. Nfg5 Rf8 31. Nxh7 c2 32. Nxf8 c1=Q 33. Nxd7 Kxd7 34. Qd6+ Kc8 35. Qf8+ Kb7 36. Qxf7+ Qc7 37. Qxg6 Qxd4 38. f4 Qe4 39. Qxe6 Qg7 40. g4 Qc7 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championships Women 2017"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2017.04.09"] [Round "11"] [White "Virkud, Apurva"] [Black "Foisor, Sabina-Francesca"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2262"] [BlackElo "2272"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. c6 {This paradoxical move was invented by Morozevich. As with most of Alexander's ideas it's good for him and for everyone else.} bxc6 8. g3 d5 9. Bd2 $2 {Case in point. When playing c5-c6 White has to realize she's giving the opponent a strong center, which should not be allowed to expand under any circumstances.} (9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 Ne4 11. Qc2 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Nxd2 13. Nxd2 dxc4 14. Bg2 c3 { is a book line.}) (9. Bg2 d4 10. a3 Ba5 11. b4 Nxb4 12. axb4 Bxb4 13. Bd2 dxc3 14. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 15. Qxc3 {is a promising pawn sacrifice.}) 9... d4 $1 10. Ne4 Rb8 11. Nxf6+ Qxf6 12. Bg2 e5 $15 13. O-O Bf5 14. Qc1 Bxd2 15. Qxd2 (15. Nxd2 { would at least slow down e5-e4.}) 15... h6 16. Qa5 c5 17. b3 e4 18. Nd2 Rfe8 $17 19. Rad1 Rb6 $5 {Sensing Apurva's indecisiveness Sabina moves in for a quick kill.} ({Objectively speaking,} 19... Qb6 20. Qxb6 axb6 21. a3 Rbd8 { was a safer choice.}) 20. Nb1 (20. e3 d3 21. a3 Bg6 22. f3 exf3 23. Rde1 { would offer a fighting chance.}) 20... Qe7 21. e3 Bg4 22. Rd2 Nb4 $1 23. exd4 ( 23. a3 Nc6 24. Qa4 Reb8 25. b4) 23... e3 $1 {A very energetic move, Sabina played like a Champion.} 24. fxe3 Qxe3+ 25. Kh1 Rf6 $1 26. Rg1 {[#] and now, a powerful finish.} Qxg1+ $3 27. Kxg1 Re1+ 28. Bf1 Rfxf1+ 29. Kg2 Rg1+ 30. Kf2 Ref1+ 31. Ke3 Rf3+ 0-1 [Event "U.S. Championship"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2017.04.08"] [Round "10.3"] [White "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2667"] [BlackElo "2674"] [Annotator "Elshan"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] [WhiteClock "0:27:30"] [BlackClock "0:13:26"] {Onischuk is a very classical player. He also knows his openings very well! In this game we see how he demonstrates his knowledge of technical chess and opening preparation at the same time.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Be3 {This is almost what Onischuk plays exclusively against Grunfeld, at least the set up is his favorite one.} Bg4 9. Rc1 {The best and in my opinion the only good move in this position.} ( 9. Rb1 Nc6 10. Rxb7 O-O {Is not such a great choice for White.}) 9... O-O 10. Be2 Qa5 11. Qd2 cxd4 (11... Nd7) (11... e6) (11... Nc6 {Are the 'hot' moves in theoretical debate in this line. Jeffery's choice is what I call 'archaic' for a Grunfeld player!}) 12. cxd4 Nc6 {A rare choice by Jeffery. This line has only been tested once in the top level.} (12... Qxd2+ 13. Nxd2 Bxe2 14. Kxe2 { is an old line which got out of fashion in early 2000 due to alleged clear edge for white.}) 13. Qxa5 Nxa5 14. h3 $146 (14. Nd2 Rac8 15. Rxc8 Bxc8 16. O-O Nc6 17. Nb3 Nb4 18. Rc1 Nxa2 19. Rc7 Rd8 20. Bd2 Bd7 21. Rxb7 Ba4 22. d5 Nc3 23. Bxc3 Bxc3 24. Nc5 Bc2 25. Rxa7 Bd4 26. Ra2 Bb1 27. Ra5 Bxc5 28. Rxc5 Bxe4 29. Bf3 Bxf3 30. gxf3 Kf8 31. Ra5 Ke8 32. Kg2 Kd7 33. Kg3 Kd6 34. Kf4 Rc8 35. Ra7 Rc4+ 36. Kg3 Rd4 37. Rb7 Rxd5 38. f4 Rd3+ 39. f3 Ke6 40. Ra7 Kf6 41. h4 Rd2 42. Ra5 Kg7 43. Ra8 Kh6 44. Rf8 Kg7 45. Ra8 Rd5 46. Ra7 e6 47. Rb7 Rf5 48. Ra7 Kf6 49. Rb7 Rd5 50. Ra7 h5 51. Rb7 Kg7 52. Ra7 Kf8 53. Rb7 Ke8 54. Ra7 Rd7 55. Ra6 Kd8 56. Rc6 Ra7 57. Rd6+ Kc7 58. Rd1 Ra5 59. Rd2 Kc6 60. Rd1 Rd5 61. Rc1+ Kd6 62. Ra1 Rc5 63. Rd1+ Ke7 64. Ra1 Kf6 65. Ra7 e5 66. fxe5+ Rxe5 67. Kf4 Rf5+ 68. Kg3 Rb5 69. Kf4 Rb4+ 70. Kg3 Rd4 71. Ra6+ Ke5 72. Ra5+ Rd5 73. Ra4 f6 74. Re4+ Kf5 75. Rf4+ Ke6 76. Re4+ Re5 77. Ra4 Re2 78. Ra5 Re5 79. Ra4 g5 80. hxg5 Rxg5+ 81. Kf2 Kf5 82. Ra5+ Kg6 83. Ra4 Rb5 84. Kg3 Kg5 85. Rc4 Rf5 86. Ra4 h4+ 87. Rxh4 Rxf3+ 88. Kxf3 Kxh4 {1/2-1/2 (90) Kasimdzhanov,R (2672)-Mamedyarov,S (2731) Germany 2008}) 14... Bxf3 15. Bxf3 {The ensuing endgame is really unpleasant for Black. I would say Jeffery had already lost the opening battle.} Rfc8 (15... Rac8 16. Ke2 b5 17. e5 Nc4 18. Bb7 Rb8 19. Bd5 Nxe3 20. fxe3 e6 { should be possible to hold by black.}) 16. Ke2 e5 $6 {This move would never cross my radar! I understand that Xiong is hoping for a strong blockade on d6 after d5 and Nc4-d6 but Onischuk who loves two bishops like his twins ( yes he actually has a twin!) is not to be messed with in such positions.} 17. dxe5 $1 {A very strong positional decision! 4 vs 3 and pair of bishop promises a lot of chances to White in this game.} (17. d5 Rc4 (17... Nc4 {loses to} 18. Bg4) 18. Rxc4 Nxc4 19. Rc1 b5 20. Bg4 Bf8 {is not as clear cut!}) 17... Bxe5 18. Bg4 Rc4 19. f4 {Onischuk would play these moves in seconds!} Bb2 20. Rxc4 Nxc4 21. Bf2 Re8 22. Bf3 (22. e5 {may have been ever better because} f6 {runs into} 23. Bd7 $18 Re7 24. e6) 22... Na3 23. Rd1 Rc8 24. e5 Bc1 $2 {This move loses a pawn and the game almost by force!} (24... b6 {was necessary and despite white's huge advantage, his winning chances is far from obvious.}) 25. Bxb7 Rc2+ 26. Kf3 Bd2 27. Bd5 Nb5 28. Bb3 Rb2 29. g3 Nc3 30. Ra1 a5 31. e6 fxe6 32. Bxe6+ Kf8 33. Bc5+ Kg7 34. Bd4+ Kf8 35. Bb3 Ke8 36. Rf1 a4 {Jeffery's last hope is to go for an opposte color bishop ending but two pawns is a lot of materials loss to make up for!} 37. Bxc3 Bxc3 38. Bxa4+ Kf8 39. Bb3 Bd2 40. Rf2 $1 {flawless technique! White is winning in the ensuing opposite color bishop ending. Jeffery fought valiantly the whole game but Onischuk was too good for him today!} Bc3 41. Rxb2 Bxb2 42. Ke4 Ba3 43. Ke5 Ke7 44. g4 Bd6+ 45. Ke4 Ba3 46. Bg8 h6 47. h4 Kf6 48. Bb3 Ke7 49. g5 {The most obvious way to win this game!} hxg5 50. hxg5 Kf8 (50... Bc1 51. a4 Bd2 52. f5 Bxg5 53. fxg6 Kf6 54. a5 Kxg6 55. a6 {and the bishop is too late to reach the a-pawn!}) 51. Kf3 Kg7 52. Kg4 {A crystal clear win for Onischuk! Jeffery needs indeed better opening preparation to cross 2700, which he will do very soon!} 1-0