[Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Caruana, F."] [Black "Akobian, V."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2615"] [Annotator "AS"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 {The Scandinavian with 2...Nf6 - a rare guest at top tournaments.} 3. Bb5+ ({The main line is} 3. d4 Nxd5 4. c4 Nb6) 3... Bd7 4. Bc4 Bg4 ({The line} 4... b5 5. Bb3 Bg4 {dates back to the beginnings of opening theory, e.g. in the following example:} 6. f3 Bc8 7. Qe2 a6 8. c4 c6 9. Nc3 cxd5 10. cxd5 Bb7 11. Qe5 Nbd7 12. Qd4 Qb6 13. Qe3 b4 14. Na4 Qa5 15. d6 Bc6 16. a3 e6 17. axb4 Qxb4 18. Qc3 Qxd6 19. d4 Nd5 20. Bxd5 Qxd5 21. Ne2 Bb5 22. Nf4 Qf5 23. Kf2 Bd6 24. g4 Qf6 25. Qe3 O-O 26. h4 e5 27. Nh5 Qg6 28. Qe4 f5 29. Qd5+ Kh8 30. g5 f4 31. Rd1 Qxh5 32. Qxd6 {0-1 (32) Hanstein,W-Von Heydebrand und der Lasa,T Berlin 1841}) 5. f3 Bf5 6. Nc3 Nbd7 7. g4 ({More popular is} 7. Nge2 Nb6 8. Bb3 Nfxd5 9. Nxd5 Nxd5 10. d4 e6 $14) 7... Nb6 8. b3 Bc8 9. Bb2 Nfxd5 10. Nxd5 Nxd5 11. Qe2 e6 12. O-O-O b6 13. Nh3 Bb7 14. f4 {[#]} Bd6 $6 ({ Komodo can colleagues recommend} 14... Qe7 {and} 15. -- O-O-O) 15. f5 ({ Less energetic is} 15. Bxg7 {because of} Rg8 16. Be5 Bxe5 17. fxe5 Qh4 { and Black has counterplay.}) 15... Qe7 16. Bxg7 (16. Rhf1 $5 O-O-O 17. Bxd5 exd5 18. Qxe7 Bxe7 19. f6 gxf6 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Rxf6 Rhg8 22. Rg1 $16) ({Or} 16. fxe6 $5 fxe6 17. Rhe1) ({Less promising is} 16. Rhe1 {because of} O-O-O 17. fxe6 Rhe8) 16... Rg8 17. Bb2 O-O-O 18. Rhf1 Rde8 19. f6 Qf8 {[#]} 20. g5 { Black suffers from a very restricted position.} h6 21. Rg1 hxg5 22. Nxg5 {[#]} Rh8 $6 23. h3 ({Here the engine spot an immediate and tactically complicated win for White:} 23. Nxf7 $3 {A typical computer move.} Qxf7 24. Rg7 Qh5 25. f7 Ref8 (25... Re7 26. Qxh5 Rxh5 27. f8=Q+) 26. Qxe6+ Kb8 27. Rg8 {and Black has more problems than he can solve, e.g.} Nf4 28. Qe8+ Rxe8 29. fxe8=Q+ Qxe8 30. Bxh8 Bf8 31. Bg7 Ne6 32. Bxf8 Bc8 (32... Nxf8 33. Rf1 $18) 33. Rdg1 Nxf8 34. Rf1 $18 {with a winning advantage for White.}) 23... Rh6 24. Rdf1 a5 25. Kb1 Kb8 26. Rg4 Rd8 27. h4 Ka7 28. Be5 Rd7 {[#] White keeps things under control. Black has no counterplay and is forced to wait.} 29. Bb5 Rd8 30. Bxd6 cxd6 $2 ( 30... Rxd6 31. c4 Nxf6 32. Rgf4 $16) 31. Bc4 (31. c4 $5 Nxf6 32. Rgf4 Qg7 33. Qf2 $18 {and White wins on the f-file.}) 31... Nc7 {[#]} 32. Nxf7 {The beginning of the end.} Qxf7 33. Rg7 Qf8 34. Rxc7 Rxf6 35. Rxf6 Qxf6 36. Qxe6 Qxh4 37. Bd5 Rb8 38. Qf7 Qe1+ 39. Kb2 Qe5+ 40. c3 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Nakamura, Hi"] [Black "Lenderman, A."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2618"] [Annotator "AS"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. g3 {Nakamura fights the Semi-Slav with a Catalan.} dxc4 6. Bg2 b5 7. O-O Bb7 8. b3 {White did not play the typical Ne5 but decided to play a real gambit.} cxb3 9. Qxb3 Be7 10. Ne5 a6 11. Rd1 ({All this happened before:} 11. Be3 O-O 12. Ne4 Nd5 13. Rfc1 a5 14. Bd2 Qb6 15. Qb2 Rc8 16. Nc5 Ra7 17. e4 Nf6 18. Be3 Bxc5 19. dxc5 Qc7 20. Rd1 Ne8 21. Bh3 Qe7 22. Rd6 Ba6 23. Rad1 Rb7 24. Nxf7 Kxf7 25. Bxe6+ Qxe6 26. Rxe6 Kxe6 27. Qb3+ Ke7 28. Qg8 h6 29. Rd6 Nxd6 30. cxd6+ Kd7 31. Qxg7+ Kxd6 32. Qxh6+ Kd7 33. Qg7+ Kd6 34. Qf6+ Kc7 35. Qe5+ Kd7 36. Qf5+ Kc7 37. Bf4+ Kb6 38. Qxc8 Ka7 39. e5 {1-0 (39) Spassky,B-Zinn,L Marianske Lazne 1962}) 11... O-O 12. Ne4 (12. Bg5 Nfd7 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Nd3 Ra7 15. Rac1 c5 16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Nxc5 Qxc5 18. Ne4 Qe7 19. Nd6 Bxg2 20. Nc8 Qb7 21. Nxa7 Bd5 22. Qe3 Nd7 23. Qf4 Qxa7 24. Rc7 Qb8 25. Rxd7 Qxf4 26. gxf4 Bxa2 27. Ra7 Bc4 28. e3 Bd5 29. Rxa6 Rb8 30. Rb1 f5 31. Rb4 Bc4 32. Ra7 Rd8 33. Rb1 h6 34. Kg2 Rd2 35. Kh3 Rxf2 36. Rg1 Rf3+ 37. Kh4 Kf8 38. Rgxg7 Bf1 39. Kh5 Rf2 40. Rgc7 Rxh2+ 41. Kg6 Rg2+ 42. Kf6 {1-0 (42) Ma,Q (2621)-Svane,R (2507) Groningen 2014}) 12... Qc7 13. Ng5 a5 {[#]} 14. Bh3 {White does not hide his willingness to sacrifice on e6 if the opportunity arises.} a4 15. Qc2 Bc8 {Protecting the weak spot.} 16. Bf4 Qd8 17. Ng4 { Threatening to mate Black.} g6 18. Nxf6+ Bxf6 19. Ne4 Bg7 {[#] White is a pawn down but has lots of compensation. After 19 moves Black has only one piece that is fully developed: the bishop g7.} 20. Bg2 Qb6 21. Bd6 Re8 22. Rac1 Qd8 23. Bc5 Ba6 24. Bb4 Qc7 25. d5 $1 {Opening the position to activate the white pieces even more.} exd5 26. Nd6 Qd7 {Black tries to calm White with an exchange sacrifice. But White wants more...} (26... Rf8 27. Bxd5 $16) 27. Nxe8 Qxe8 28. e4 {and opens more lines.} d4 29. e5 h5 (29... Bxe5 $2 30. Re1 $18) ( 29... Qxe5 30. Re1 $18) 30. f4 f6 31. Rxd4 fxe5 32. fxe5 Bc8 {Black desperately tries to stop White from invading on d8.} (32... Bxe5 33. Re4 $18) 33. Rcd1 Bd7 34. Rd6 Qxe5 35. Qxg6 Qf5 36. Bc3 Qf7 37. Rf1 Qxg6 38. Rxg6 { White will mate soon.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.14"] [Round "1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Kamsky, Gata"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C95"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. e4 {After the game Kamsky said that he had expected Wesley would play 1.d4} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 {Black makes it clear that he doesn't want anything to do with the Marshall today - it's time for the classical main line. Black threatens to win the Ruy Lopez bishop with Na5 and hence the next move is logical.} 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 {White wants to play d4. But immediate 9.d4 is met with Bg4. That too is one of the lines, but Wesley prefers to go for the absolute main line with h3.} Nb8 $5 {Welcome to the beautiful word of Breyer where for the best co-ordination people are ready to undevelop. To bring harmony, Black is ready to go to the extreme. It is in that sense a very hypermodern idea. The knight on c6 wasn't particularly well placed. Black would be interested to put his knight on d7 and bishop on b7. Hence Black goes for the move Nb8.} 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 { The thing I like about the Ruy Lopez is that it is very logical. When White played d4 Black was in time to play Nbd7 to defend the e5 pawn. Now White over defends the e4 pawn so that he can continue his journey with Nf1-g3.} Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 {Just in time once again! exd4 is now not a threat as e4 is not hanging. Now Black first stops the knight coming to f5.} g6 15. Bg5 { This is the third popular move in the position and the one that was used by Fischer in his match against Boris Spassky in 1992. The main line is a4 and the second most popular move is b3.} (15. a4 c5 16. d5 c4 17. Bg5 {was Anand-Carlsen, Norway 2015 and the absolute main line.}) 15... h6 (15... Bg7 16. Qd2 {And now that h6 is not possible the pin on the diagonal is pretty irritating.}) 16. Bd2 {The reason for exactly retreating the bishop here is to keep the e4 pawn defended which wouldn't have happened if bishop was on e3. On d2 it keeps the rook connected and later Qc1 can attack the h6 pawn.} Bg7 17. a4 c6 (17... c5 18. d5 c4 19. b4 cxb3 20. Bxb3 Nc5 21. c4 {has been played before and looks like a small edge for White.}) 18. axb5 axb5 19. Rxa8 Qxa8 { According to Kamsky after the game he should have taken on a8 with the bishop and left the queen on d8. But the computer thinks that Kamsky's decision of Qxa8 was not incorrect.} (19... Bxa8) 20. Nh4 $5 {A very interesting idea by Wesley. Most probably he had seen something similar at home. He would want to sacrifice the knight on f5 square.} Qd8 (20... c5 21. d5 $14) (20... exd4 21. cxd4 c5 22. d5 Qa2 23. Qc1 Nh7 $5 24. b3 h5 25. Nhf5 gxf5 26. Nxf5 $40 { With attack. Somehow these knights on h4 and g3 are always ready to sacrifice their lives for the kingside attack. So it looks like a deep idea prepared by Wesley.}) 21. Qc1 $1 Kh7 $2 (21... Nh7 {looks like a safer solution.} 22. Nhf5 {is the most logical.} (22. Nf3 h5 {and it doesn't look pretty, but Black can survive.}) 22... gxf5 23. Nxf5 Re6 24. Bxh6 Bxh6 25. Nxh6+ Kf8 26. Nf5 Rg6 $13 {and Black should be able to defend this.}) 22. Nhf5 $1 {Such sacrifices don't have to be seen in too much depth. White gets two pawns and an attack. He isn't risking so much with this piece sacrifice.} gxf5 23. Nxf5 Re6 24. Bxh6 (24. d5 {Opening up the c2 bishop would also have been strong.}) 24... Ne8 ( 24... Nxe4 25. Bxg7 $18) 25. Bg5 $1 Bf6 {This is refuted very nicely.} (25... f6 26. Bh6 $18) (25... Qa8 {But this doesn't feel right.} 26. dxe5 $5 (26. d5 cxd5 27. exd5 Bxd5 28. Ne7+ Kh8 {There doesn't seem to be a killer blow.}) 26... dxe5 (26... Nxe5 27. f4 $16) 27. Bb3 $16) 26. Bxf6 $1 Qxf6 (26... Rxf6 27. Qg5 $18) 27. d5 $1 {The rook is almost trapped.} Re7 28. g4 $1 {A very nice finishing blow. The pawn is coming to g5 and the rook on e7 would be hanging. A fine game by Wesley.} 1-0 [Event "US Chess Championship"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.04.14"] [Round "1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Kamsky, Gata"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C95"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.04.14"] 1. e4 {A surprise on move one! In the postgame interview, Gata said all his work was thrown out the window because he exclusively prepared for 1. d4.} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 {Kamsky opts not for the Berlin Defense (with 3...Nf6) and instead goes for the main line Ruy. Considering how this game played out, he may have regretted that decision.} 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 {This position has occurred far too many times (over 1900 according to Chessgames.com). Black has a number of options here, but Kamsky decides to play the Breyer, which historically has produced good results for black.} Nb8 {The next few moves are all thematic.} (9... Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 {is very standard as well.}) 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 g6 15. Bg5 {Provoking h7-h6, which turned out to be a serious target.} h6 16. Bd2 Bg7 17. a4 c6 {This move is quite passive for my liking. Kamsky appears to secure his queenside pawns, but Wesley So had tricks up his sleeve.} ({In the recent game between MVL and Adams, the English player neutralized White's initiative and the game fizzled out into a draw by repetition.} 17... c5 18. d5 c4 19. b4 cxb3 20. Bxb3 Nc5 21. c4 Qd7 22. cxb5 axb5 23. a5 Reb8 24. Bc2 Bc8 25. Rb1 Qd8 26. Qc1 Kh7 27. Qa3 Ne8 28. Ne2 Nc7 29. Nc3 Bd7 30. Na2 N7a6 31. Nb4 Be8 32. Ra1 Nxb4 33. Qxb4 Na6 34. Qb3 Nc5 35. Qb4 Na6 36. Qb3 Nc5 37. Qb4 {1/2-1/2 (37) Vachier Lagrave,M (2765)-Adams,M (2744) London 2015}) 18. axb5 ({A new move, and clearly home preparation. So's analysis was spot on, as the position seems to be standard, but White has a hidden agenda. Some accuracy was required from Kamsky, but he clearly overlooked (or underestimated) So's tactical resources in a seemingly harmless position.} 18. b3 {also led to a nice position - and eventually a win - for White:} Qc7 19. Qc1 Kh7 20. Bd3 Nf8 21. dxe5 dxe5 22. c4 Rad8 23. Bf1 bxa4 24. Rxa4 Qe7 25. c5 Ne6 26. b4 Nc7 27. Bc3 Nd7 28. Bc4 Nb5 29. Bb2 Nf8 30. Ra1 Bc8 31. Qe3 Qc7 32. Rad1 Ne6 33. Qb3 Kg8 34. h4 Nbd4 35. Bxd4 Nxd4 36. Nxd4 exd4 37. h5 Bg4 38. hxg6 Kh8 39. gxf7 Re5 40. Ra1 h5 41. Qd3 Rg5 42. Nf5 Be5 43. Rxa6 Rf8 44. Rea1 Bxf5 45. exf5 h4 46. Ra8 Qe7 47. R1a7 Bc7 {Duda,J (2603) -Inarkiev,E (2680) Wroclaw 2014 1-0}) 18... axb5 19. Rxa8 Qxa8 ({After the game, Kamsky suggested that he should have recaptured on a8 with the bishop:} 19... Bxa8 {but he wasn't sure he could fend off the same ideas with Nh4-f5.} 20. b4 {is very comfortable for White. A nice spatial advantage and better minor pieces, combined with potential targets on the kingside (and this Nh4-f5 plan).} (20. Nh4 $6 exd4 21. cxd4 c5 22. d5 Ne5 {looks quite pleasant for Black.})) 20. Nh4 Qd8 $2 {It's hard to give this move a question mark, because it is so natural. The black queen returns to the center and spies on the knight on h4. However it fails tactically. Instead, perhaps Gata should have competed for the center with:} (20... exd4 21. cxd4 c5 22. d5 (22. e5 dxe5 23. Nxg6 fxg6 24. Bxg6 Bxg2) 22... Kh7 23. Qc1 Ng8 24. Ngf5) 21. Qc1 Kh7 {This move surprised So, who anticipated the safer alternative:} (21... Nh7 {after which} 22. Nf3 (22. Nhf5 gxf5 23. Nxf5 Re6 24. Bxh6 Bxh6 25. Nxh6+ Kf8 26. Nf5 {leaves White with plenty of compensation for the material deficit. Black's king will never find safety and it is unclear if his minor pieces will ever harmoniously coordinate. This certainly was a better variation than what happened in the game, though.})) 22. Nhf5 {Wesley said he did not think the game was over here, but "in the worst case I get two pawns and an attack for the piece. White is not risking much."} gxf5 23. Nxf5 Re6 24. Bxh6 (24. d5 { is messy, though White should be on top in every line.} cxd5 25. exd5 {the bishop on c2 is now open for discoveries.} Nxd5 (25... Bxd5 26. Bxh6 {is, in the words of my good friend Danny Rensch, ouchtown.}) 26. Nxd6+ Kg8 27. Nxb7 Qc7 {that knight looks trapped, but White has tactical resources to help it escape.} 28. Bf5 Rf6 (28... Qxb7 29. Bxe6 fxe6 30. Bxh6 {results in a material imbalance where White gets a rook and two pawns for two knights. With those ridiculously ugly doubled e-pawns and the open king, the evaluation is obvious. Advantage: White.}) 29. Bxd7 Qxd7 30. Nc5 Qc6 31. Nd3 {The dust has settled, and White comes out up a pawn! Nothing to complain about when a piece sacrifice ends up yielding material.}) 24... Ne8 25. Bg5 Bf6 (25... Qa8 { feels so wrong. When your king is under attack, you generally do not want to move your queen to the other side of the board.} 26. f4 {and the onslaught ensues.}) 26. Bxf6 Qxf6 {Both players sort of criticized this move, but the game is hopeless. It doesn't matter what piece captures on f6.} (26... Rxf6 27. Qg5 Nf8 (27... Nb6 28. Re3 Qd7 29. dxe5 dxe5 30. Qh4+ Kg8 31. Rd3 Qc7 (31... Qe6 32. Rd8 {doesn't help at all.}) 32. Bd1 Bc8 33. Rg3+ Rg6 34. Ne7+ Kg7 35. Nxg6 fxg6 36. Bh5 {is a brutal finish. Black is toast.}) 28. Re3 {and with the rook swinging to g3, White is cruising.} Ng6 29. Rg3 Kg8 30. h4) (26... Ndxf6 27. Qg5 Qa8 28. dxe5 dxe5 29. Bb3 {at the very least picks up the rook on e6.}) 27. d5 Re7 (27... cxd5 28. exd5 Bxd5 29. Ne7+ e4 30. Nxd5 {is trouble for Black. So would end up with a pawn in the bag. Black is dead in the water regardless.}) 28. g4 {Kamsky resigned, as g4-g5 is unstoppable. White picks up the rook on e7 for free!} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.14"] [Round "1"] [White "Abrahamyan, T."] [Black "Bykovtsev, Agata"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B81"] [WhiteElo "2342"] [BlackElo "2219"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e6 7. g4 Be7 8. g5 Nfd7 9. Bg2 O-O 10. f4 Nc6 11. Be3 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 e5 13. Qd2 exf4 14. Bxf4 Ne5 15. Nd5 Nc4 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Qd4 Be6 18. b3 Na3 19. O-O-O Rac8 20. Rd2 Rfd8 $2 {Now the d-pawn is doomed, and the White bishops come to life. A double whammy.} (20... Nb5 {is the solid choice}) (20... d5 $1 {may work out too, without the passivity:} 21. exd5 Nxc2 $1 22. Qe5 (22. Rxc2 $2 Qa3+ 23. Kd1 Rxc2 24. Kxc2 Qxa2+ 25. Qb2 (25. Kd1 Qxg2) 25... Rc8+) 22... Qa3+ 23. Kb1 Bd7) 21. Qb4 Nb5 22. e5 Qe8 23. exd6 a5 24. Qa4 Bd7 25. Qe4 Qxe4 26. Bxe4 Nc3 27. Bxb7 Rb8 28. Bg2 Nxa2+ 29. Kb2 Nb4 30. Re1 Na6 31. Re7 Nc5 32. Bd5 Be6 33. d7 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.15"] [Round "2"] [White "Gorti, Akshita"] [Black "Paikidze, N."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2184"] [BlackElo "2346"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "124"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. g4 h6 8. h3 e5 9. Bd2 O-O 10. g5 exd4 11. exd4 Re8+ 12. Be2 hxg5 13. O-O-O dxc4 14. Bxg5 Qc7 15. Bxc4 b5 16. Bd3 Rb8 17. Rhg1 b4 18. Ne2 Kf8 19. Ng3 c5 20. Nf5 Bb7 21. Nd2 cxd4 22. Nc4 Bf4+ 23. Kb1 g6 24. Bxf4 Qxf4 25. Nfd6 Re6 26. Nxb7 Rxb7 27. Nd6 $5 {It's all or nothing!} Rb8 28. Nxf7 {Now Paikidze sat for a while, as she forget about White's 29th. She had only considered 29. Bxg6+.} Kxf7 29. Bc4 Qf5 {Paikidze gave the d-pawn willingly, surmising that she can't lose after the queens leave.} 30. Bxe6+ Kxe6 31. Rxd4 Qxc2+ 32. Kxc2 Kf7 33. Rgd1 Rb7 34. Rd6 Ne5 35. f4 Nc4 36. R6d3 Re7 37. Kb3 Ne3 38. Rc1 Nfd5 39. Re1 a5 40. a3 Kf6 41. axb4 axb4 42. Rd4 Rh7 43. Rh1 Rh4 44. Ka4 Kf5 45. Rg1 Nxf4 46. Rxb4 Ned5 { It seems like Black might have had to navigate the famous two-knight versus enemy pawn ending, but there would be no need for a second Troitsky reference in this report. Paikidze won without such technical knowledge needed.} 47. Rd4 Rxh3 48. Rc1 Ke5 49. Rd2 Re3 50. Rg1 Re4+ 51. Ka3 Kf5 52. Rc2 g5 53. Rc8 Ne6 54. Rd1 Ke5 55. Rb8 g4 56. b4 Re3+ 57. Kb2 Re2+ 58. Ka3 Ne3 59. Rg1 Nd4 60. b5 Kd5 61. Rd8+ Kc5 62. Rc1+ $4 (62. Rc8+ {and White can still try to fight, although it's very difficult. If Black does take the pawn, then White can still hope for a two-knight versus nothing draw.}) 62... Nc4+ {The counter-check finish!} 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.15"] [Round "2"] [White "Chandra, Akshat"] [Black "So, W."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2477"] [BlackElo "2773"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h5 5. c4 e6 6. Nc3 Ne7 7. Nge2 Nd7 8. Ng3 Bg6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Be2 Qa5 11. Bd2 Nb4 12. O-O Qb6 13. Bg5 Nc2 14. Rc1 Nxd4 15. Bxh5 Bxh5 16. Nxh5 Nxe5 17. Re1 Nef3+ 18. gxf3 Rxh5 19. f4 g6 20. Na4 Qb4 21. Re4 Bg7 22. Nc5 Qxb2 23. Rc4 Rxg5+ 24. fxg5 O-O-O 25. Nb3 Nxb3 26. Qxb3 Qa1+ 27. Kg2 Rd1 28. Qc2 Kd8 29. Kf3 Ke8 30. Rb4 Rc1 31. Qe2 b5 32. Rb3 Rh1 33. Kg4 (33. Rxe6+ $3 fxe6 34. Qxe6+ Kf8 35. Rd3 $1 {and there's no checks! So said he just missed that the queen covered h3. SImple as that. His best line would have been:} Bd4 36. Qd6+ Ke8 37. Qxg6+ Ke7 38. Qe4+ {and White is totally winning.}) 33... Kf8 34. Rg3 Kg8 35. Ree3 Qd4+ 36. Re4 f5+ 37. gxf6 Qxf6 38. f4 Qxh4+ 39. Kf3 Rh2 40. Qd3 Qh5+ 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.15"] [Round "2"] [White "Caruana, F."] [Black "Shankland, S."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C18"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2656"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. Qg4 O-O 8. Bd3 Nbc6 9. Qh5 Ng6 10. Nh3 Qc7 11. Be3 c4 12. Bxg6 fxg6 13. Qg4 Qf7 14. Nf4 Ne7 15. h4 h6 16. Qe2 Bd7 17. g4 b5 18. f3 {a move that Shankland said he missed.} a5 19. Kf2 Rab8 20. Kg3 Be8 21. Bd2 b4 22. axb4 axb4 23. Rhb1 Nc6 24. Qe3 b3 25. Bc1 Bd7 26. Ba3 bxc2 27. Rc1 Rfc8 28. Rxc2 Ra8 29. Rca2 Be8 30. Bd6 Rxa2 31. Rxa2 Qd7 32. Qc1 Bf7 33. Qb1 Qe8 34. Qb7 Kh7 35. Ra6 Kg8 36. Bc7 Ne7 37. Bd6 Nc6 38. Kg2 Kh7 39. Kh3 Kg8 40. Kg3 Kh7 {Somewhere around her Bc7 to disconnect the Black rook and knight would have worked, but instead Caruana goes on a winning knight sojourn, as Black is paralyzed} 41. Nh3 Kg8 42. g5 h5 43. Nf4 Kh7 44. Ng2 Bg8 45. Ne3 Bf7 46. Nc2 Bg8 47. Na3 Bf7 48. Kf2 Bg8 49. Ke3 $2 Bf7 (49... Qf7 $5 50. Qxc8 Qf5 51. Kd2 Qd3+ 52. Kc1 Qxc3+ {might not be winning, so Caruana said he would have to reluctantly trade queens on f7 (analysis Caruana)}) 50. Kd2 Bg8 51. Kc2 Bf7 52. Kc1 Kg8 53. Nb5 Ne7 54. Na7 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.15"] [Round "2"] [White "Lenderman, A."] [Black "Shabalov, A."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2618"] [BlackElo "2528"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd2 O-O 8. O-O-O b5 9. cxb5 c5 10. Kb1 Bb7 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Nd4 Qe7 13. f3 Rfc8 14. Be1 Qe8 15. g4 Bf8 16. g5 Nh5 17. Be2 g6 18. f4 a6 19. Rc1 axb5 20. Bxb5 Qd8 21. Qe2 e5 22. fxe5 Qxg5 23. Bd2 Qxe5 24. Rcf1 Bg7 25. Be1 Ne4 26. Nxe4 dxe4 27. Rhg1 Nf6 28. h4 Nd5 29. Bg3 Qe7 30. Rc1 Nb4 31. Rxc8+ Rxc8 32. h5 Qc5 33. hxg6 hxg6 34. a3 Nd5 35. Bf2 Qb6 36. Ka1 Bxd4 37. exd4 e3 38. Bg3 Qxd4 39. Rd1 Qe4 40. Bd3 Qa4 41. Bb1 Nf4 42. Qg4 f5 $4 {How to explain such a move? For Shabalov, simple and direct: "I just forgot about the bishop. There's nothing to think [about]. Black just has to resign." Although perhaps many men in the field would have, Shabalov may be the last to lose hope after such a travesty.} 43. Bxf5 e2 44. Rb1 $2 (44. Be6+ {by playing the check first, Black can't bring his king to the 7th due to the rook entering with check.} Kf8 45. Rb1 { Why is it important for Black's king to be on f8? Read on to the game.}) 44... Rc3 $1 45. Be6+ Kg7 46. Qxf4 {This would have been check with the king on f8.} Rxa3+ $1 47. bxa3 Qxa3+ 48. Ba2 Qc3+ 49. Rb2 e1=Q+ 50. Bxe1 Qxe1+ 51. Bb1 Qa5+ 52. Ba2 Qe1+ {A classic Shaba escape.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.15"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2663"] [BlackElo "2664"] [Annotator "Johannes Fischer"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. Bf4 d5 4. e3 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. Bg3 Qe7 8. Ne5 Bxe5 9. dxe5 Nd7 10. Bb5 a6 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Qa4 Bb7 13. Bh4 f6 14. exf6 gxf6 15. c4 Rg8 16. O-O h5 17. Qd1 Rg4 18. Bg3 Qh7 19. Rc1 a5 20. Re1 {[#]} Ba6 $2 { Black seems oblivious to the dangers threatening him.} ({After} 20... e5 { his position is still shaky but Black is not lost.}) 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. e4 d4 23. Qa4 {With the simple but strong threat to take on a5.} Bb7 $2 ({A complete black-out. Though e.g.} 23... Qe7 24. Qc6 Ra7 25. Bd6 Bb5 26. Bxe7 Bxc6 27. Bxc5 $18 {also leads to a won position for White.}) 24. Qb3 {Targeting e6 and b7. Black did not want to continue the game and resigned.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.15"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Kamsky, Gata"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2678"] [BlackElo "2787"] [Annotator "Johannes Fischer"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nd2 d5 6. Ngf3 Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O 8. Bd3 b6 9. e4 Be7 {[#]} 10. Ne5 {Offering exchanges and early peace talks.} ({ One year ago Kamsky was more adventurous but the result was the same:} 10. e5 Nh5 11. O-O Bd7 12. Re1 Rc8 13. a3 Nxg3 14. hxg3 f5 15. dxc5 bxc5 16. b4 g5 17. Nh2 d4 18. b5 dxc3 19. bxc6 cxd2 20. Re2 Bxc6 21. Rxd2 Bd5 22. g4 c4 23. Bc2 f4 24. Qe2 Qa5 25. Nf3 Rcd8 26. Rdd1 Rd7 27. a4 Rfd8 28. Rab1 a6 29. Rdc1 Ba3 30. Rd1 h6 31. Kh2 Bf8 32. Rdc1 Qc5 33. Kg1 Qc6 34. Rd1 Bg7 35. Nd4 Qc7 36. Nf3 Rb8 37. Rxb8+ Qxb8 38. Be4 Qc8 39. Bc2 Qc6 40. Nd4 Qc7 41. Nf3 Rd8 42. Bb1 Rb8 43. Bc2 a5 44. Rc1 Qb7 45. Qd1 Qa8 46. Qe2 Rb4 47. Rd1 Qc6 48. Nd4 Qc7 49. Re1 Qb7 50. Rd1 Bf8 51. Nb5 Bxg2 52. Rd8 Bh1 53. Qf1 Rb2 54. Nd6 Qd5 55. Nf7 Rxc2 56. Rxd5 Bxd5 57. Qb1 Kxf7 58. Qxc2 Kg7 59. Qd2 Bb4 60. Qd4 c3 {1/2-1/2 (60) Kamsky,G (2683) -Nakamura,H (2798) Saint Louis 2015}) 10... Nxe5 11. dxe5 Nxe4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Bxe4 Qxd1+ 14. Rxd1 Rb8 15. Ke2 Ba6+ 16. Ke3 Rfd8 17. f4 Rxd1 18. Rxd1 Rd8 {Former World Champion Vishy Anand once coined an expression to describe the strategy both sides pursue in this game: "hoovering" the board.} 19. Rxd8+ Bxd8 20. Bf2 h5 21. b3 Bb5 22. c4 Bd7 23. h3 g6 24. g4 hxg4 25. hxg4 Kg7 26. g5 Be7 27. Kd3 Kf8 28. a4 a5 29. Be3 Ke8 30. Bf2 Kd8 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.15"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Chandra, Akshat"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2477"] [BlackElo "2773"] [Annotator "Johannes Fischer"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h5 5. c4 e6 6. Nc3 Ne7 7. Nge2 Nd7 8. Ng3 Bg6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Be2 Qa5 11. Bd2 Nb4 $146 {A new move.} (11... O-O-O 12. O-O Be7 13. Nce4 Qc7 14. Ng5 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 f6 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Bd2 Nf4 18. Re1 Nb6 19. Qb3 e5 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. Ne4 Rxd4 22. Bf3 Bxe4 23. Bxe4 Kb8 24. Bf3 Nc4 25. Qc3 Rhd8 26. Rad1 Rxd1 27. Rxd1 Ne5 28. Rxd8+ Qxd8 29. Bxh5 Qh8 30. Qd2 Kc8 31. Bd1 Qxh4 32. Qd6 Qg5 33. Qe6+ Kc7 34. Qe7+ Nd7 35. Qh7 Kd6 36. b4 Qe5 37. Qd3+ Qd5 38. Qe2 Ne5 39. a4 a6 40. Qe1 Qd3 41. Be2 Qc2 42. Bf1 f3 43. Qa1 Qd2 44. b5 c5 45. Qa3 fxg2 46. Bxg2 Nd3 47. Bxb7 Qxf2+ 48. Kh1 Qg3 {0-1 (48) Vachier Lagrave,M (2722) -Vitiugov,N (2712) Paris/St Petersburg 2013}) 12. O-O Qb6 13. Bg5 Nc2 14. Rc1 Nxd4 {[#]} 15. Bxh5 $6 ({The engines recommend} 15. Bc4 Nf5 16. Nxf5 Bxf5 17. Re1 Qxb2 18. Ne4 Bxe4 19. Rxe4 {White has only two pawns for the piece but the exposed position of Black's king offers him compensation.}) 15... Bxh5 16. Nxh5 Nxe5 17. Re1 Nef3+ 18. gxf3 Rxh5 {[#] Now Black's a solid pawn up. He only has to bring his king to safety.} 19. f4 g6 20. Na4 Qb4 21. Re4 Bg7 22. Nc5 Qxb2 23. Rc4 {[#]} Rxg5+ $1 {This exchange sacrifice allows Black's king to castle queenside and to escape to safety. With two pawns for the exchange, an exposed white king and active pieces Black is clearly better.} 24. fxg5 O-O-O 25. Nb3 Nxb3 26. Qxb3 Qa1+ 27. Kg2 Rd1 28. Qc2 Kd8 $2 ({Up to here So played strong and convincingly but now he loses the thread.} 28... Be5 { would have kept the advantage.}) 29. Kf3 Ke8 30. Rb4 Rc1 31. Qe2 b5 32. Rb3 Rh1 $4 {[#]Overlooking a tactical shot for White.} ({After} 32... Kf8 {the engines evaluate the position as equal.}) 33. Kg4 $4 {White returns the favor.} ({After } 33. Rxe6+ $1 fxe6 34. Qxe6+ Kf8 ({After} 34... Kd8 {White wins with} 35. Qd6+ Kc8 36. Qxc6+ Kd8 37. Qd6+ Kc8 38. Qc5+ Kd8 39. Rd3+) 35. Rd3 {White has a crushing attack, e.g.} Bd4 36. Qd6+ Kg8 37. Qxg6+ Kf8 38. Qd6+ Ke8 39. Qxc6+ Ke7 40. Qe4+ Kf8 41. Rxd4 {White is winning.}) 33... Kf8 {Black eliminates the danger and is better again.} 34. Rg3 Kg8 35. Ree3 Qd4+ 36. Re4 f5+ 37. gxf6 Qxf6 38. f4 Qxh4+ 39. Kf3 Rh2 40. Qd3 Qh5+ 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.15"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Shankland, Samuel L"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C18"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2656"] [Annotator "Johannes Fischer"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. Qg4 O-O 8. Bd3 Nbc6 9. Qh5 Ng6 10. Nh3 Qc7 11. Be3 c4 12. Bxg6 fxg6 13. Qg4 Qf7 $146 ({ A new move.} 13... Rf5 14. Nf4 Qf7 15. h4 Ne7 16. h5 gxh5 17. Nxh5 Qg6 18. Qxg6 {½-½ (18) Joachim,S (2380)-Libeau,R (2460) Gladenbach 1996 led to a quick draw.}) 14. Nf4 Ne7 15. h4 h6 16. Qe2 Bd7 17. g4 b5 18. f3 a5 19. Kf2 Rab8 20. Kg3 Be8 21. Bd2 b4 22. axb4 axb4 23. Rhb1 Nc6 24. Qe3 {[#]} b3 $6 {Allowing White's bishop to reenter the game with a vengeance.} 25. Bc1 Bd7 26. Ba3 bxc2 27. Rc1 Rfc8 28. Rxc2 Ra8 29. Rca2 Be8 30. Bd6 Rxa2 31. Rxa2 Qd7 32. Qc1 Bf7 33. Qb1 Qe8 34. Qb7 Kh7 35. Ra6 Kg8 36. Bc7 Ne7 37. Bd6 Nc6 38. Kg2 Kh7 39. Kh3 Kg8 40. Kg3 Kh7 41. Nh3 Kg8 42. g5 h5 43. Nf4 Kh7 44. Ng2 Bg8 45. Ne3 Bf7 46. Nc2 Bg8 47. Na3 Bf7 48. Kf2 Bg8 49. Ke3 Bf7 50. Kd2 Bg8 51. Kc2 Bf7 52. Kc1 Kg8 53. Nb5 Ne7 54. Na7 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.16"] [Round "3"] [White "Melekhina, A."] [Black "Krush, I."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "2205"] [BlackElo "2465"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. e4 d6 2. Nc3 c5 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Bb5 Rc8 6. O-O e6 7. Bxc6+ Rxc6 8. d3 Nf6 9. Qe1 Bxf3 10. Rxf3 Be7 11. f5 Nd7 12. Qe2 Ne5 13. Rh3 Bf6 14. Bf4 Qe7 15. Rf1 a6 16. Nd1 g6 17. c3 O-O 18. Nf2 Rcc8 19. Qd2 Bg7 20. Bh6 f6 21. fxe6 Rfe8 22. b3 Nc6 23. Bxg7 Qxg7 24. d4 cxd4 25. cxd4 Ne7 26. Ng4 Rf8 27. Qf4 f5 28. Nh6+ Kh8 29. Qxd6 (29. Nf7+ Kg8 30. Nh6+ Kh8 {This was one of several moments where Melekhina could have repeated moves. Of course she didn't since Krush had much less time. Little did she know that later she'd be below one minute just before time control, and likely would have avoided her oversight had these two benign moves been included.}) 29... Nc6 30. Nf7+ Kg8 31. exf5 ( 31. d5) (31. e5 {Both win too!}) 31... Qxd4+ 32. Qxd4 Nxd4 33. Nd6 (33. Rd3 $1 {is a brilliant and beautiful way to extract the annoying knight since} Nxf5 $2 34. Rxf5 $1 gxf5 35. Rg3# {is a mate so rare that every master who saw it mimicked the same thought: "I've never seen that pattern!"}) 33... Rc7 34. g4 { Still wins of course, but now Melekhina has to find one more accurate move...} gxf5 35. gxf5 Rg7+ 36. Rg3 {And she does!} (36. Kh1 $2 Nxe6) 36... Ne2+ 37. Kg2 Nxg3 38. hxg3 {The knight and two pawn combo is simply too much.} Rd8 {Now any normal knight move wins, or the simple 39. Rd1, or even the flashy 39. Rc1! (39...Rxd6 leads another novel mate, this one on the back rank).} 39. f6 $4 { Oh no, but this is too flashy.} Rxd6 40. fxg7 (40. f7+ Kf8 41. e7+ Kxe7 42. f8=Q+ {Was clearly the intent, but the rejoinder 40...Rxf7 spoils everything. Melekhina didn't even have a way to play a pawn-up rook ending.}) 40... Rxe6 41. Rd1 Re2+ 42. Kf3 Rxa2 43. Rd8+ Kxg7 44. Rd7+ Kg6 45. Rxb7 {The on-site crowd clenched while watching the finish.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.16"] [Round "3"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Abrahamyan, T."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C03"] [WhiteElo "2164"] [BlackElo "2342"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 h6 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. O-O g5 9. Qe2 Qb6 (9... cxd4 10. cxd4 g4 11. Ne1 Nxd4 12. Qxg4 {was another way for Black}) 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. Bc2 Bg7 12. h3 Nd7 13. Ba4 $2 {giving White a tough game from here on out} (13. c4 {was begging to be played. Yip said she saw it but feared} d4 (13... Ndxe5 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15. Ba4+ {looks way too dangerous for Black, since keeping the pawn means moving the king}) 14. b3 Ndxe5 15. Ba3 Nxf3+ 16. Nxf3 {seems like the kind of position Larry C. would write books about!}) 13... O-O $1 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Re1 Ba6 16. Qe3 Nc5 17. c4 dxc4 18. Qc3 Nd3 19. Re3 Qb5 20. a4 Qd5 21. Re4 c5 22. Qa5 Bb7 23. Qc3 f5 24. exf6 Bxf6 25. Qxc4 Qxc4 26. Rxc4 Bd5 27. Rc2 Rab8 28. Rb1 Rfc8 29. Nf1 Nxc1 $6 {With every one of her pieces better than her counterparts', Abrahamyan goes pawn grabbing and didn't see that her bishops would get tangled.} 30. Rbxc1 Bxb2 31. Rb1 Ba3 32. Rxb8 Rxb8 33. Ne5 Bb3 $2 {The true mistake. Instead ... Rb1 kept the advantage intact.} 34. Rc3 {Now Black has trouble getting the bishops out of there and preserving the passed pawn. The Ba3 has been reduced to a vizier, only being able to move one square.} Bb2 35. Rxc5 Bxa4 36. Ng4 Bg7 37. Ra5 Bc6 38. Rxa7 {With all pawns on one side, the knight can do just fine.} Rb1 39. Ngh2 Be5 40. g3 Rb2 41. Ng4 Bg7 42. Rc7 Bf3 43. Rc1 Bxg4 44. hxg4 Bd4 45. Ne3 Bxe3 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.16"] [Round "3"] [White "Yu, Jennifer R"] [Black "Bykovtsev, Agata"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E62"] [WhiteElo "2157"] [BlackElo "2219"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bg2 c6 7. O-O Qa5 8. e4 e5 9. h3 exd4 10. Nxd4 Qc5 11. Nde2 Ne8 12. b3 Nd7 13. Be3 Qa5 14. Qc2 a6 15. Rad1 b5 16. e5 Nxe5 17. f4 Bf5 18. Qd2 Nxc4 19. bxc4 bxc4 20. Bxc6 Rd8 21. Nd5 Qxd2 22. Rxd2 Bxh3 23. Rc1 Rb8 24. Ba7 Rb2 25. Rxb2 Bxb2 26. Rxc4 Bg4 27. Nec3 Bxc3 28. Rxc3 Be6 29. Ne7+ Kg7 30. Bd4+ f6 31. Bxe8 Rxe8 32. Rc7 Kf8 33. Bxf6 Bxa2 34. Kf2 Kf7 35. Bg5 Ke6 36. Nc6 h5 37. Ne7 Bb1 38. Ke3 Rb8 39. Kd4 Rb3 40. Nd5 Rd3+ 41. Kc4 Rxg3 42. Re7+ Kf5 43. Ne3+ Rxe3 44. Rxe3 {That's an extra rook! Later on GM Maurice Ashley switched to the game, and thought White was losing, not realizing that that was a rook and not a pawn. He couldn't believe Black would play on, but Bykovtsev saw hope where others didn't!} Be4 45. Kd4 d5 46. Rg3 a5 47. Ke3 a4 48. Rg1 a3 49. Ra1 Kg4 50. Rxa3 h4 51. Ra1 $2 (51. Kf2 { was GM Ray Robson's suggestion.} d4 52. Bf6 {and although it takes a while, Black will eventually be stifled, for example} d3 53. Ke3 d2 54. Ra1 (54. Kxd2 $2 h3) 54... Bg2 55. f5 $1 {separating Black's remaining pawns} gxf5 56. Kxd2 { and White should be able to control the h2-b8 diagonal and infiltrate.}) 51... h3 52. Rg1+ $4 (52. Ra2 {was the last chance to keep playing}) 52... Kf5 53. Rc1 1/2-1/2 [Event "U.S. Championship 2016"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.04.16"] [Round "3.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D40"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "184"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:06:48"] [BlackClock "0:07:21"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. e3 e6 5. d4 d5 6. a3 a6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. b4 Bd6 9. Bb2 O-O 10. cxd5 exd5 {A typical picture for the Semi-Tarrasch. The isolated pawn on d5 might be both strenght and weakness.} 11. Be2 Be6 12. O-O Qe7 {Intending both Ra8-c8 and Rf8-d8. And something more.} ({Another way to play it is the immediate} 12... Rc8 {which gives an additional option of Bd6-b8 followed by battery on the h2-b8 diagonal. This however also leaves more options to White.} 13. Rc1 Qe7 14. Qd3 (14. Na4 {is the other idea.}) 14... Rfd8 15. Rfd1 b5 {Le,Q (2703)-Pelletier,Y (2587) Belfort 2012}) 13. Rc1 { Intending Nc3-a4-c5. But now Black reveals the other ideabehind his Qd8-e7 maneuver.} a5 {The pawn on a3 was left loose and Caruana makes use of it.} ( 13... Rfd8 14. Na4 Ne4 15. Nd4 Nxd4 16. Qxd4 {led to a typical slightly better position for White in Guimard,C (2410)-Agdamus,J (2200) Santos Lugares 1977}) 14. Nb5 {So sacrifices a pawn for initiative. A predecessor saw} (14. b5 Ne5 ( 14... Nb8 $5 {is another route to d7.}) 15. Qa4 Ned7 {and White had problems with his queenside, Lee,F-Sergeant,E Scarborough 1909}) 14... axb4 (14... Bb8 15. bxa5 Nxa5 16. Nbd4 {is good for White.}) 15. Nxd6 Qxd6 16. axb4 Qxb4 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Rb1 Qe7 19. Rb5 {As a result White managed to destroy all the black pawns and he may try to profit from this in two ways- attack the weaken kingside or patiently try to harvest all the crop. The problem with the latter is that if he even wins both "b" and "d" pawns (for free) he will have to trade some pieces and there is a very good chance that Black reaches an endgame four versus three on the same flank which is an easy draw. In fact, the presence of double "f" pawns makes the draw easier!} Rfd8 20. Nd4 {Nothing gives:} (20. Qb1 d4 21. Rxb7 Qa3 22. Nxd4 Nxd4 23. exd4 Rxd4) 20... Kg7 21. Re1 {In the light of the above-mentioned I have the feeling that White should have tried to play for more with} (21. Bd3 Nxd4 22. exd4 {although I do not really see a way for White to capture both "b" and "d" pawns for free.}) 21... Nxd4 22. Qxd4 Bf5 $1 {Now Caruana practically takes away the loss as a possible result from the board. The only one who can play for the win in the endgame is black.} 23. Rxd5 Rxd5 24. Qxd5 Be4 25. Qd1 Qb4 26. Rf1 Ra2 27. Qd7 {There are still problems for White in the line:} (27. Bf3 b5 28. Bxe4 Qxe4 29. Qb3 Qa4 30. Qd5 Ra1) 27... Bg6 {The position of the black king is secured and the "b" pawn is quite fearsome thanks to the support of all the black pieces.} 28. Bf3 b5 29. h4 $1 {So tries to open the king again to saveguard a draw.} (29. Bc6 Rb2 {followed by Rb2-b1 seems bad for White.}) 29... Rd2 (29... Qxh4 30. Qxb5) 30. Qh3 h5 31. Qg3 ({Black still pushing after} 31. g4 hxg4 32. Bxg4 Qc5 (32... Be4) (32... Kh6)) 31... Qd6 {In the coming time trouble Caruana decided to completely secure himself. In the line} (31... Qc5 32. Ra1 b4 33. Qb8 b3 $4 34. Ra8 {Black gets under mating attack all of a sudden.}) 32. Qxd6 Rxd6 33. Rd1 Rb6 {Black's active pieces are his main advantage.} (33... Rxd1+ 34. Bxd1 { is a draw.}) 34. e4 {Since the bishop cannot be blocked, it made sense to bring the white one out first with} (34. Bd5 $5 b4 35. Bb3 Rc6 36. Rd4 Rc1+ 37. Kh2 Rb1 38. Bd5 ({Not} 38. Rxb4 Bc2) 38... Rb2 ({And not} 38... b3 $2 39. Rb4 b2 40. Ba2) 39. Kg3 Bf5) 34... b4 35. Rd2 f5 36. exf5 Bxf5 37. Bxh5 b3 38. Rb2 Bc2 {The white rook is trapped and Black intends Rb6-a6-a2 trapping it.} 39. Bf3 (39. Kf1 $2 {loses to} Ra6) (39. Be2 Rb4 {will win the pawn easier.}) 39... Rb5 $1 {A clever way to win the "h" pawn.} (39... Ra6 40. Bd5 {gves nothing to Black here.}) 40. Be2 Rb4 41. Bf3 Rxh4 42. Bd5 Rb4 {Caruana won the pawn back and managed to keep the rook on b2 locked, but the reduced material allows a chance to So to defend.} 43. Kf1 f5 44. Ke2 Kf6 45. f4 $1 {Stops the black king and fixes the pawn on f5 in order to swap it off.} Ke7 (45... Rxf4 46. Bxb3) 46. Bg8 Kf8 47. Bd5 Kg7 48. Ke3 (48. g3 {is also possible.}) 48... Kg6 49. Bf3 Kf6 50. Bd5 {So is patient and this is good. The hasty} (50. g4 $6 { leads to trouble after} fxg4 51. Bxg4 Re4+ 52. Kf3 $2 Ra4) 50... Kg6 51. Bf3 Rc4 52. g4 {Now it is good. Although White can also hold after} (52. Bd5 Rc3+ 53. Kd4 Rd3+ 54. Ke5) 52... Rc3+ 53. Kf2 Bd3 54. Bd1 Bc4 55. Ke1 Rg3 (55... fxg4 56. Bxg4 Rg3 57. Bd1 {would be similar to the game.}) 56. Kf2 Rh3 57. Ke1 Be6 58. Re2 (58. gxf5+ Kxf5 59. Kd2 {should be OK too.}) 58... Bc4 59. Rb2 Kf6 60. Kd2 Rd3+ 61. Kc1 Rc3+ 62. Kd2 Rg3 63. gxf5 Kxf5 64. Kc1 Kxf4 65. Rh2 Ke3 66. Kb2 {Now that the king made it to the "b" pawn the draw is unavoidable.} Kd4 67. Rh4+ Kc5 68. Ka3 Bd5 69. Rh5 Kd4 70. Rxd5+ {Stirring the game into theoretical draw. The white king is where it is needed-in the correct corner.} Kxd5 71. Bxb3+ Kd4 72. Kb2 Rg2+ 73. Ka1 Kc3 74. Ba2 Rg7 75. Bb1 Rb7 76. Ba2 Kc2 77. Bd5 {The only danger for the defender in this endgame is to keep his bishop too close to the enemy king.} (77. Bc4 $4 Rb1+ 78. Ka2 Rb4 {loses only because the white bishop cannot give a check to the black king.}) 77... Re7 ( 77... Rb1+ 78. Ka2 Rb5 79. Be4+ {is the crucial difference in comparison to the previous line.}) 78. Bg8 Re1+ 79. Ka2 Rh1 80. Bd5 Rh4 81. Bb3+ Kc3 82. Be6 Rf4 83. Bg8 Rf2+ 84. Kb1 Rb2+ 85. Ka1 Kc2 86. Bh7+ Kc1 87. Bg8 Rb1+ 88. Ka2 Rb8 89. Bf7 Rb2+ 90. Ka1 Rb7 91. Bd5 Ra7+ 92. Ba2 Kc2 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.16"] [Round "3.6"] [White "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D10"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2618"] [Annotator "Johannes Fischer"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. e3 Bf5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Qb3 Qc7 6. Nc3 e6 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. Nh4 Be4 9. Bd2 Be7 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. d5 {A seemingly quiet opening suddenly became complicated.} exd5 12. Nf5 g6 13. Nd4 {White is a pawn down but Black is not yet fully developed, the d-pawn is weak and the knight on c6 will soon suffer from an annoying pin.} Qd7 14. Bb5 Bf6 15. Bc3 Kf8 16. O-O Kg7 17. f3 {Black castled "by hand" but his king still is not safe.} Nxd4 18. exd4 Qd6 $6 { Now the engines start to like the white position.} ({After} 18... Qc7 19. fxe4 dxe4 20. Bc4 {the engines evaluate the position as almost equal - which, however, does not mean that it is easy to play for Black.}) 19. fxe4 dxe4 20. Rae1 Rc8 {[#]Black would like to bring his knight on g8 into play but this is just not possible:} ({After} 20... Ne7 {White wins with} 21. Rxf6 Kxf6 22. d5+ Kg5 23. Bd2+ Kf6 24. Qc3+ Qe5 25. Bg5+ $18) ({and after} 20... Nh6 {White has} 21. Rxf6 Kxf6 22. d5+ Ke7 23. Rxe4+ Kd8 24. Bxh8 $18) 21. Rxe4 Rc7 ({Now} 21... Ne7 {fails to} 22. Bb4 Bxd4+ 23. Kh1 {and Black loses, e.g.} Qd5 24. Rxd4 Qxd4 25. Rxf7+ Kh6 26. Qh3+ Kg5 27. Bxe7+ {and Black will be mated soon.}) 22. Bb4 Bxd4+ 23. Kh1 Qb6 {[#]} 24. Rxd4 {White chooses the pragmatic approach. After the game Onischuk explained that he felt that White might have a stronger continuation but that he saw that White was winning after the game move and decided to play it.} ({But Onischuk's feeling did not betray him. As the engines quickly point out} 24. Re6 $1 {wins immediately. After} Qxb5 (24... fxe6 25. Bf8#) 25. Bf8+ Kxf8 26. Qxb5 {White has a queen for two minor pieces and is winning easily.}) 24... Qxd4 25. Bc3 Rxc3 26. bxc3 Qd6 27. Qxf7+ Kh6 28. Qf8+ Qxf8 29. Rxf8 {[#]} Kg7 {Now material is still equal but Black cannot develop and will sooner or later lose some of his pawns.} 30. Rb8 b6 31. Rb7+ Kh6 32. Rf7 g5 33. Bd3 g4 34. Kg1 Kg5 35. Rf8 Kh6 36. Ra8 a5 37. Rb8 Kg7 38. Rb7+ Kf8 39. Rb8+ Kg7 40. Rb7+ Kf8 41. Rxb6 Ne7 42. Rb8+ Kg7 43. Rxh8 Kxh8 { [#] Black finally developed the knight but for the prize of a lost endgame.} 44. Be4 Kg7 45. Kf2 Kf6 46. Ke3 Ke5 47. Bxh7 Nd5+ 48. Kd2 Kf4 49. Kd3 g3 50. hxg3+ Kxg3 51. Be4 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.16"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Shankland, Samuel L"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "2656"] [BlackElo "2615"] [Annotator "Johannes Fischer"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 c5 7. Nxf6+ Nxf6 8. Be3 Qc7 9. Qd2 Nd5 10. c3 c4 11. Bc2 Bd6 12. Qe2 b5 13. Bd2 Bb7 14. O-O O-O 15. Qe4 g6 16. Qh4 Bf4 17. Be4 Bxd2 18. Nxd2 Rab8 19. g3 a5 20. Rfc1 Nb6 21. Re1 b4 22. Qh6 Nd5 23. Rac1 bxc3 24. bxc3 Nf6 25. Bxb7 Rxb7 26. Qg5 Kg7 27. Qe5 Qxe5 28. Rxe5 Nd5 29. Nxc4 {[#]} Rc7 ({White won a pawn but the engines still consider the position as equal. A sample line is} 29... a4 30. Ne3 Nxe3 31. Rxe3 Rb2 32. a3 Rc8 33. c4 Rd2 34. c5 Rxd4 {and Black regained material equality to reach an endgame with equal chances.}) 30. Nxa5 Ra8 31. Nb3 Rxc3 32. Re2 Rd3 ({Another step into the wrong direction. After} 32... Rxc1+ 33. Nxc1 Ra4 34. Rd2 g5 35. Kg2 Kf6 {White is a pawn up but has difficulties to make progress.}) 33. Rb2 {[#]} Nb4 $2 {Perhaps overlooking White's reply.} ({ After} 33... Rb8 {the engines still consider the position as equal.}) 34. a4 $1 Nd5 ({Of course, Black cannot take the pawn:} 34... Rxa4 35. Nc5) 35. a5 Rb8 36. Rcb1 Ra8 37. a6 {Now Black has to take the pawn.} Rxa6 38. Nc5 Raa3 39. Rb7 {White does not take the rook but increases the pressure.} Rd2 ({After} 39... Kf6 40. Nxd3 Rxd3 41. Ra1 Rxd4 42. Raa7 {the white rooks are too active.}) 40. Nxe6+ Kf6 41. Nd8 Kf5 42. Rxf7+ Ke4 43. Re1+ Kxd4 44. Ne6+ Kc4 45. Rc1+ Nc3 46. Rxh7 Kb5 47. Rb7+ Kc6 48. Rxc3+ $1 {Liquidating into a won rook ending.} Rxc3 49. Rc7+ Kd6 50. Rxc3 Kxe6 51. Rf3 Rd4 52. h4 Ke5 53. Kg2 Ke6 54. Kh3 Ke5 55. g4 Rd1 56. g5 Rd6 57. h5 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.16"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Melekhina, Alisa"] [Black "Krush, Irina"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B00"] [WhiteElo "2205"] [BlackElo "2465"] [Annotator "Johannes Fischer"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. e4 d6 2. Nc3 c5 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Bb5 Rc8 6. O-O e6 7. Bxc6+ Rxc6 8. d3 Nf6 9. Qe1 Bxf3 10. Rxf3 Be7 11. f5 Nd7 12. Qe2 Ne5 13. Rh3 Bf6 14. Bf4 Qe7 15. Rf1 a6 16. Nd1 g6 17. c3 O-O 18. Nf2 Rcc8 19. Qd2 Bg7 20. Bh6 {[#]After avoiding the sharp theoretical lines of the Sicilian Alisa Melekhina has completely outplayed her much higher rated opponent and is almost winning.} f6 21. fxe6 Rfe8 $6 {Now White is material up and has a strong attack.} (21... Bxh6 {A bit better was} 22. Qxh6 f5 {though White is also clearly better here.} ) 22. b3 Nc6 23. Bxg7 Qxg7 24. d4 cxd4 25. cxd4 Ne7 26. Ng4 Rf8 27. Qf4 f5 28. Nh6+ Kh8 29. Qxd6 {[#]Now White is two pawns up. But both players were already short of time.} Nc6 30. Nf7+ Kg8 31. exf5 Qxd4+ 32. Qxd4 Nxd4 33. Nd6 ({ A pretty way to stop Black's counterplay was} 33. Rd3 {with the idea} Nxf5 $2 34. Rxf5 gxf5 35. Rg3#) 33... Rc7 34. g4 gxf5 35. gxf5 Rg7+ 36. Rg3 {[#]Giving up the exchange is White's best continuation.} ({After} 36. Kh1 Nxe6 {Black wins an important pawn - though after} 37. Rg3 Nc5 38. Rfg1 Rxg3 39. Rxg3+ { the engines still evaluate the position as won for White.}) 36... Ne2+ 37. Kg2 Nxg3 38. hxg3 Rd8 39. f6 $2 {The passed pawns should guarantee the win for White. However, White is too hasty. After} (39. Rd1 {or}) (39. Rc1 {White should win. But in time-trouble and being so close to a fine win against tournament favorite and defending champion Irina Krush Alisa Melekhina shows nerves.}) 39... Rxd6 {After this simple move White can no longer win.} 40. fxg7 ({After} 40. f7+ Rxf7 ({But not} 40... Kf8 $4 41. e7+ {winning.}) 41. Rxf7 Rxe6 42. Rxb7 Re2+ 43. Kf3 Rxa2 {Black managed to save herself.}) 40... Rxe6 41. Rd1 Re2+ 42. Kf3 Rxa2 43. Rd8+ Kxg7 44. Rd7+ Kg6 45. Rxb7 1/2-1/2 [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.17"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B80"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2787"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:05:30"] [BlackClock "0:27:00"] {Arguably the most expected matchup of the tournament did not dissapoint one bit. While yesterday's game between Wesley and Fabiano was not a very thrilling story, after the first opening move of today's game the fans all over the world knew that today's was a different story.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e6 {The Scheveningen! This is clearly a battlecry, as the variations are less forced than the overly theoretical 6... e5 Classical Najdorf.} 7. Be3 h5 $5 {this surely came as a shocker for Fabiano. After the game he confessed to me that he remember 8.Bc4 was the main line but wanted to avoid Hikaru's preparation and chose the "smart looking" a4.} 8. a4 ( 8. Bc4 Nc6 9. Qd2 Na5 10. Bb3 Be7 11. O-O-O b5 12. Kb1 Bd7 13. Rhe1 b4 14. Nce2 g6 15. Nc1 {1/2-1/2 (41) Leko,P (2740)-Topalov,V (2801) Morelia/Linares 2006}) (8. Qd2 {is nevertheless the main line, even 2800+ get confused sometimes} Nbd7 9. O-O-O b5 {black had to wait for white to castle before he could safely play b5, now a4 is much less attractive} 10. a4 b4 11. Na2 d5 12. Nxb4 Qa5 13. Nbc6 Qxa4 14. Qa5 {with a slightly better endgame for white, but nothing convincing} ) 8... Nc6 9. Bc4 Qc7 10. Qe2 Be7 11. O-O Ne5 12. Bb3 Bd7 13. f4 Neg4 14. Kh1 Nxe3 15. Qxe3 Qc5 16. Rad1 {Black surely must have been quite happy with the outcome of the opening, but now starts to err} g6 (16... Ng4 17. Qd2 O-O-O 18. f5 Rdf8 {a nice prophylactic move defending against any invasion on the "F" file. Not sure what white's continuation can be, black still has plenty of moves that will improve his position}) 17. Qe2 O-O-O (17... h4 18. e5 dxe5 19. fxe5 Nh5 20. Qf3 (20. Ne4 Qxe5 21. Nf3 Qc7 22. Nfg5 O-O) 20... O-O 21. Qxb7 Ra7 22. Qe4 Rc7 {Black certainly maintains some counterplay, but white should have the upperhand due to his extra pawn}) 18. f5 (18. e5 $5 {was more accurate} Ne8 19. Ne4 Qb6 20. c4 Kb8 21. exd6 Bxd6 22. Rf3 {white is starting to transfer his pieces on the queen side,and the black king might soon find in a precarious position}) 18... e5 19. Nf3 gxf5 20. Ng5 f4 21. Rd3 {very precise play by Fabiano} (21. Nxf7 Bg4 22. Rf3 Kb8 23. Nd5 Nxd5 24. Rxd5 Bxf3 25. gxf3 Qb6 26. Qd1) 21... Kb8 $6 {an unnecessary sacrifice} (21... Rdf8 22. Nxf7 Rh7 23. Ng5 Rg7 24. Ne6 Bxe6 25. Bxe6+ Kb8 26. Nd5) 22. Nxf7 h4 23. Nxh8 (23. Qf2) 23... Rxh8 24. Qf2 Qb4 $2 {this move is already a serious mistake, and the beginning of Hikaru's downfall} (24... d5 $1 {in the post mortem Hikaru said he spotted this resource but thought he is losing by force. That was not the case!} 25. Qxc5 Bxc5 26. Bxd5 (26. Re1 Nh5 27. h3 Bf2 28. Ra1 Ng3+ 29. Kh2 d4 30. Nd1 Nf1+ 31. Kh1 Ng3+ 32. Kh2 Nf1+) 26... Nh5 27. Ne2 Ng3+ 28. Nxg3 hxg3 29. h3 Bxh3 30. gxh3 Rxh3+ 31. Kg2 Rh2+ 32. Kf3 g2) 25. Nd5 Nxd5 26. Bxd5 Bxa4 $4 (26... Qa5 27. Rb3 Bc8 28. Qb6 Qxb6 29. Rxb6 Rh6 30. Rb3) 27. Ra3 h3 { desperation, nothing else} 28. c3 Qb5 29. b3 Bh4 30. bxa4 Qd3 31. g3 {An almost perfect game by Fabiano, but as he accurately pointed out in his interview after the game, Hikaru had a terrible dat at the office.} 1-0 [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.17"] [Round "4.6"] [White "Chandra, Akshat"] [Black "Shabalov, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "2477"] [BlackElo "2528"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:06:29"] [BlackClock "0:15:50"] {this was the last game to finish, and surely one of the most important one from a theoretical point of view. The players followed one of the main lines of the Caro Cann with Nc3, Chandra knew the position very well and aptly pressured Shabalov} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Bd6 ( 12... Be7 {is the top choice in this position, I don't really see the point to allow Ne4 with tempo, as well as potential rook lifts via h4 in the future} 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Nf6 15. Qe2 Qd5) 13. Kb1 Qb6 (13... Qc7 14. Ne4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Nf6 16. Qe2 {transposes}) 14. Ne4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Nf6 16. Qe1 Qc7 17. Qe2 { its move 17 and more than 260 games have been played, shows to what extent this variation has been analyzed at all levels} O-O-O 18. c4 Rhe8 19. Bc3 Kb8 ( 19... c5 $5 20. Ne5 cxd4 21. Bxd4 Bxe5 22. Bxe5 Qc5 23. f4 (23. f3) 23... Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Rd8 25. Rf1 {1/2-1/2 (41) Becerra Rivero,J (2539)-Cordova,E (2611) Cuernavaca 2015}) 20. Ne5 Ka8 21. g4 {and finally we have the novelty of the game} Nh7 22. Rd3 (22. Rhe1 $5 Nf8 23. f4 f6 24. c5) 22... Nf8 (22... f5 $5 23. Rhd1 Nf6 24. f3 b5 {was an interesting plan for black aimed at weakening the light squares in center and creating a strong outpost for his N}) 23. Rhd1 f6 24. Ng6 $6 (24. c5 $1 fxe5 25. cxd6 Rxd6 26. dxe5 Rd5 27. f4 Nd7 28. Rxd5 cxd5 29. f5) 24... Nxg6 25. hxg6 Qd7 26. Re3 Re7 27. Re1 Rde8 (27... Qe8 {black should have looked to get rid of the g pawn}) 28. Re4 a6 29. Qd3 Kb8 30. R1e3 Kc8 31. Qe2 Kd8 32. Qf3 Kc8 33. Qe2 Kd8 34. a3 f5 $2 {loss of patiente! Black should have continue to stay put} (34... Kc8 35. f3 Kd8 36. Bb4 Bxb4 37. axb4 Kc8 38. f4 Qd6 39. f5 e5) 35. gxf5 exf5 36. Rxe7 Rxe7 37. d5 $1 cxd5 38. cxd5 Bc5 39. Re5 (39. Rxe7 $1 Qxe7 40. Qc2 {it was crucial not to push the b pawn and weaken the king, now black is in real trouble as his king is exposed and his pawns on the kingside are extremely weak}) 39... Qd6 40. b4 $2 {an unnecesarry weakness} (40. Rxe7 Qxe7 41. Qc2) 40... Ba7 41. Rxe7 Qxe7 42. Qxe7+ Kxe7 43. Bxg7 h5 44. Be5 h4 45. d6+ $2 {loses all the advantage} (45. Kc2 $1 { bring the king to the kingside and only after try to push his own pawns, this would have been White's best claim at an advantage} h3 46. Kd3 f4 47. d6+ Ke6 48. d7 Bb6 49. Bxf4 Kf6 50. Ke4 Kxg6 51. Ke5 {white has some extra tempos compared to the game but the win is still in far sight}) 45... Ke6 46. g7 Kf7 47. d7 Bb6 48. Kc2 h3 49. Kd3 f4 50. Bxf4 Kxg7 51. Ke2 Kf7 52. Be3 Bc7 53. Bf4 {a very interesting middlegame in which black, just like in many other games, lost patiente and allowed white to create real chances. A great save in the endgame for Shabalov though!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.17"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2787"] [Annotator "AS"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 (6. h3 e5 7. Nde2 h5 8. g3 Nbd7 9. Bg5 Be7 10. a4 Nc5 11. Bg2 Be6 12. a5 b5 13. axb6 Qxb6 14. b3 O-O 15. O-O a5 16. Qd2 Rfc8 17. Rfd1 a4 18. bxa4 Bc4 19. a5 Qd8 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Qxd6 Qxd6 22. Rxd6 Nb7 23. Rd2 Rxa5 24. Rb1 Nc5 25. Nd5 Bd8 26. h4 Ra3 27. Nec3 Rca8 28. Rdd1 Ba5 29. Nb5 Ra2 30. Bf3 g6 31. Ne7+ Kg7 32. Nc6 Na4 33. Nd6 Be6 34. Rb7 Rxc2 35. Nxe5 Nc5 36. Re7 Kf8 37. Nc6 Nb3 38. e5 Bb6 39. Rb7 Bxf2+ 40. Kg2 Bc5+ 41. Kh1 Raa2 {0-1 (41) Caruana,F (2811)-Nakamura,H (2776) Zuerich 2015 }) 6... e6 7. Be3 h5 ({The immediate} 7... b5 {is more popular.}) 8. a4 { Black stopped White from advancing on the kingside with g4 and White now stops Black from advancing on the queenside with ...b5, quickly reaching unchartered territory.} ({More common is} 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. O-O-O b5) 8... Nc6 9. Bc4 { The novelty comes on move nine.} (9. Be2 d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Qxd5 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. f4 Rb8 14. Bf3 Qc4 15. Qd4 Qxd4 16. Bxd4 Bb7 17. O-O-O c5 18. Be5 Bxf3 19. Bxb8 Bxd1 20. Rxd1 h4 21. Rd3 Rh6 22. Kd2 {1/2-1/2 (22) Hracek,Z (2610) -Georgiev,K (2695) Herceg Novi 2001}) 9... Qc7 10. Qe2 Be7 11. O-O Ne5 12. Bb3 Bd7 13. f4 {Parting with the black-squared bishop.} (13. h3 Rc8 $11) ( 13. Kh1 Rc8 14. f4 Nc4 $11) 13... Neg4 14. Kh1 Nxe3 15. Qxe3 Qc5 16. Rad1 g6 17. Qe2 O-O-O {[#]} 18. f5 $5 {It is not often that you see a Najdorf with 6. f3 in which Black castled queenside and White castled kingside. After completing his development Caruana now initiates complications on the kingside. } ({Worth considering was also} 18. e5 $5 dxe5 (18... Ne8 19. Ne4 $36) 19. fxe5 Ng4 20. Rxf7 Rde8 21. h3 Qxe5 22. Qxe5 Nxe5 23. Rf2 $16) 18... e5 ({Maybe it was better to play} 18... gxf5 $5 19. exf5 e5 20. Nf3 h4 $5 {to answer} 21. Ng5 {with} (21. Bxf7 h3 $13 {leads to an unclear position.}) 21... h3 {.}) 19. Nf3 gxf5 20. Ng5 {Now White can attack f7 immediately.} f4 (20... Rdf8 21. Nxf7 Rh7 22. Ng5 Rg7 23. Ne6 Bxe6 24. Bxe6+ Kb8 25. Rxf5 $16) 21. Rd3 (21. Nxf7 Bg4) 21... Kb8 {Black does not even try to save the exchange.} ({Apparently Nakamura did not like the complications arising after} 21... Rdf8 22. Nxf7 Rh7 23. Ng5 Rg7 24. Ne6 Bxe6 25. Bxe6+ Kb8 {when White has} 26. b4 $5 {and other promising moves.}) 22. Nxf7 h4 23. Nxh8 Rxh8 24. Qf2 {White is an exchange up but the game is not over yet. But Black fails to make full use of his chances.} Qb4 $2 {The b-file is not the place where the black queen should be - as White is quick to demonstrate.} ({An interesting attempt to get counterplay was} 24... d5 $5 {to open lines, e.g.} 25. Bxd5 Qxf2 26. Rxf2 Bc5 {with the idea} 27. Rf1 (27. Rff3 Bg4 28. h3 Bxf3 29. gxf3 $14) 27... Nh5 {and White has to be careful - if he, for example, carelessly continues with} 28. Nd1 $4 {Black has} Ng3+ 29. hxg3 $4 hxg3#) (24... Qc8 {was also better than the text-move.}) 25. Nd5 Nxd5 26. Bxd5 {27.Rb3.} Bxa4 27. Ra3 {Threatening 28.Rfa1 followed by Rb3.} h3 28. c3 Qb5 29. b3 Bh4 30. bxa4 (30. g3 fxg3 31. hxg3 $18) 30... Qd3 31. g3 { Cold-blooded!} (31. g3 fxg3 32. hxg3 Bxg3 33. c4 $1 Qxa3 34. Qb6 Rh7 35. Rf8#) 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.18"] [Round "5.2"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2615"] [Annotator "Johannes Fischer"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. c3 c5 8. Be3 cxd4 9. Bxd4 Be7 10. Bd3 O-O 11. Qc2 h6 12. O-O-O Qa5 13. Kb1 Rd8 14. Ne5 Bd7 15. Qe2 $146 ({A new move. In a previous game White put his faith in the two bishops:} 15. Nxd7 Nxd7 16. Bh7+ Kh8 17. Be4 Qc7 18. Qe2 Bf6 19. Be3 Nc5 20. Bc2 b6 21. h4 Rxd1+ 22. Qxd1 Rd8 23. Qe2 Qb7 24. f3 Qa6 25. Qxa6 Nxa6 26. h5 Kg8 27. Rd1 Rxd1+ 28. Bxd1 Kf8 29. Kc2 Ke7 30. Kd3 Nc7 31. f4 e5 32. Ke4 Kd6 33. Bb3 Ne6 34. fxe5+ Bxe5 35. Kf5 g6+ 36. hxg6 fxg6+ 37. Kxg6 Nf4+ 38. Kf5 Nxg2 39. Bxh6 Nh4+ 40. Kg5 Ng2 41. Kg4 Ne1 42. Kf5 Bg3 43. Ke4 Bf2 44. Bf4+ Kc6 {Lilov,V (2412)-Halldorsson,J (2214) Albena 2011 1-0}) 15... Bc6 16. Rhe1 Bd5 { [#] Black is already in deeper trouble than it seems which is why the engines become ballistic.} ({Fritz 15 gives} 16... Rxd4 {as best and after} 17. Nxc6 bxc6 18. cxd4 Rb8 19. Bc4 Bb4 20. Rf1 {considers the position to be slightly better for White.}) 17. c4 Bxg2 ({Inviting White to attack on the g-file but after the retreat} 17... Bc6 {White has} 18. Nxf7 Rxd4 19. Qxe6 {and now Black's best choice according to the engines is} Rxd3 20. Rxd3 Qxe1+ 21. Qxe1 Kxf7 22. f3 {with a clear advantage for White.}) 18. Bc3 Qb6 19. Rg1 Bc6 { [#]Now White smashes Black's position with two strong blows:} 20. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 21. Rxg7+ $1 Kxg7 22. Qxe6 {White is rook and piece down but has an irresistible attack.} Qxf2 ({Even Fritz 15 sees no escape for Black. He gives} 22... Re8 23. Qf5 Kf8 24. Bxf6 Bd7 25. Bxe7+ Kxe7 26. Qh7+ Kf8 27. Bg6 { with a clear advantage for White as best.}) 23. Qxe7+ Kg8 24. Bh7+ {Now Black loses (almost) everything.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.18"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Shankland, Samuel L"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2656"] [Annotator "AS"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. g3 g6 ({The main line is } 6... Nf6 7. Bg2 Nbd7 {z.B.:} 8. Qe2 dxe4 9. Nxe4 Nxe4 10. Qxe4 g6 11. O-O Bg7 12. d4 O-O 13. Rd1 a5 14. a4 Nf6 15. Qe2 Nd5 16. h4 Re8 17. c3 Qb6 18. Bf3 h6 19. Kg2 Rad8 20. Qc4 Rd7 21. Rb1 Red8 22. Bd2 Qc7 23. Be1 Qb6 24. Bd2 Qc7 25. Be1 Qb6 {1/2-1/2 (25) McShane,L (2671)-Anand,V (2811) London 2011}) (6... Nd7 7. Bg2) 7. d4 Bg7 8. Be3 (8. Bf4 Ne7 9. O-O-O f5 10. exf5 exf5 11. Qe3 O-O 12. Re1 Nc8 13. h4 Rf7 14. Bg5 Qd6 15. h5 Nd7 16. hxg6 hxg6 17. Bf4 Qb4 18. Qe8+ Nf8 19. Rd1 Re7 20. Qd8 Qb6 21. Qxb6 axb6 22. Bg5 Re8 23. Bh6 b5 24. a3 Bxh6+ 25. Rxh6 Kg7 26. Rh2 Nd6 27. g4 fxg4 28. Rg2 Ne4 29. Nxe4 Rxe4 30. c3 Nd7 31. Bd3 Rf4 32. f3 Rxf3 33. Rxg4 Nf8 34. Rg2 Re8 35. Kc2 Rf6 {1/2-1/2 (35) Hector, J (2500)-Hakulinen,E (2340) Jyvaskyla 1993}) 8... Nf6 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Na6 11. e5 Nd7 12. Qd1 c5 13. f4 cxd4 14. Bxd4 Nb4 15. Ne2 Qc7 16. c3 Nc6 {The position reminds at a French - though Black here no longer has the "bad" white-squared bishop.} 17. Be3 Rfc8 18. Kh1 b5 19. Rc1 Bf8 20. g4 Bc5 21. Nd4 Qb6 22. Bg1 {[#] Black has to find ways to parry White's advance f4-f5 but that is far from easy.} b4 ({After} 22... Re8 {White plays} 23. b4 (23. f5 Ncxe5 24. Qd2 $13) 23... Bxd4 24. cxd4 {and if} Nxb4 {White has} 25. Qd2 a5 26. f5 {with a strong attack.}) (22... Bxd4 23. cxd4 Ne7 24. Qd2 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Qd8 (25... f5 $5) 26. Bf2 Rc8 27. Bh4 Rxc1+ 28. Qxc1 Qc8 29. Qxc8+ Nxc8 30. Bf1 a6 31. Kg2 {gives White the better endgame.}) 23. f5 bxc3 24. bxc3 ({Also strong was} 24. fxe6 fxe6 (24... Bxd4 25. exd7 Rd8 26. bxc3 Bxg1 27. Qxd5) 25. Nxe6 Bxg1 26. Qxd5 $18) 24... Ncxe5 ({A better try to save the game is} 24... Bxd4 25. cxd4 (25. fxe6 fxe6 26. cxd4 $16) 25... Qd8 26. Be3 $16) 25. fxe6 fxe6 26. Nxe6 Bxg1 (26... Qxe6 27. Bxd5) 27. Rxg1 (27. Qxd5 $18) 27... Kh8 28. Qxd5 Rab8 29. Rge1 Qb2 {[#] The dust has settled and White is a pawn up. A strong pawn:} 30. c4 Rb6 31. c5 Rbc6 32. Rcd1 h6 ({After} 32... Re8 {White plays} 33. Ng5 { with the nice idea} -- 34. Qxd7 Nxd7 35. Rxe8+ Kg7 36. Rxd7+ Kh6 37. h4 { followed by} -- 38. Rxh7#) 33. Nf4 Rf6 34. Nd3 Nxd3 35. Qxd7 Nf2+ 36. Kg1 Rcf8 37. Qd2 (37. Qd2 Qxd2 ({Or} 37... Nxd1 38. Qxh6+ Kg8 39. Bd5+ R6f7 40. Bxf7+ Kxf7 41. Qh7+ Qg7 42. Rf1+ {and White wins.}) 38. Rxd2 {and the knight is trapped.}) 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.18"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Kamsky, Gata"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B03"] [WhiteElo "2618"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Annotator "AS"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. exd6 cxd6 ({The other option is} 5... exd6 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Nge2 Bg4 9. f3 Bh5 10. O-O $14) 6. Nc3 g6 { Black still has to find a way to reach full equality in the exchange variation of Alekhine's Defense - even though this game gives a different impression.} 7. Be3 Bg7 8. Rc1 O-O 9. b3 Bf5 ({The main line is} 9... Nc6 10. d5 Ne5 11. Be2 f5 12. f4 Ng4 13. Bxg4 fxg4 14. Nge2 e5 15. dxe6 Bxe6) ({Black also tried} 9... e5 {in this position.}) 10. d5 $5 ({After} 10. Nf3 d5 11. c5 {Black scored rather well.}) 10... e5 11. dxe6 Bxe6 12. Nge2 (12. Nf3 Nc6 $11) 12... d5 (12... Nc6 $5 13. Nf4 d5) 13. c5 {[#]} Nc6 $1 {Tricky!} 14. Nd4 (14. cxb6 d4 $15) 14... Bxd4 15. Bxd4 Re8 $6 ({The immediate} 15... Qh4 $1 {was stronger:} 16. cxb6 ( 16. Be3 d4) 16... Nxd4 17. g3 Qf6 $17) 16. cxb6 Qh4 17. Ne2 axb6 {Black sacrificed a piece for which he has a lot of compensation, first of all because White has big problems to finish his development.} 18. Qd2 Bf5 19. Kd1 $6 (19. Rd1 {with the idea to play Be3 was the alternative. Black might continue with} Bc2 ({or} 19... Rac8 20. Be3 Nb4) 20. Qxc2 Nxd4 {and White still has to defend carefully.}) 19... Rxe2 20. Bxe2 Nxd4 ({After} 20... Qxd4 21. Qxd4 Nxd4 22. Bf3 Nxf3 23. gxf3 Rxa2 $17 {is an exchange down but has a strong passed pawn on the d-file. The engines see a clear advantage for Black.} ) 21. f3 Qf2 22. Re1 (22. Rf1 {more or less forces Black to liquidate into an equal ending:} Qxe2+ 23. Qxe2 Nxe2 24. Kxe2 Rxa2+ 25. Ke3 Rxg2 26. Rf2 d4+ 27. Ke2 d3+ 28. Ke3 Rxf2 29. Kxf2 d2 30. Rd1 Bc2 31. Rxd2 Bxb3 32. Rd7 b5 33. Rxb7 Bc4 $11) 22... Be6 23. Rc3 Nc6 24. Bf1 Qh4 25. Bb5 Nd4 26. Bf1 {Quietly offering a draw - but Black wants to continue.} Nf5 (26... Nc6 27. Bb5) 27. Rd3 d4 28. g3 Qf6 29. Ke2 Bd7 30. a4 b5 31. a5 Bc6 32. Kf2 Ne3 33. Be2 Rd8 34. Kg1 {It took some time and a lot of effort but White finally managed to bring his king to some reasonably safe place.} Kg7 (34... Bxf3 $4 35. Bxf3 Qxf3 36. Rdxe3 $18) 35. Bd1 {[#]} Bxf3 $4 {A black-out that costs the game.} (35... h5 $13) 36. Bxf3 Qxf3 37. Rexe3 (37. Rxd4 $18) 37... dxe3 38. Qb2+ (38. Qb2+ Kh6 39. Rxd8 e2 40. Qc1+ g5 41. Re8 $18) 1-0 [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2664"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:51:34"] [BlackClock "0:09:21"] {Coming after the rest day, the players were reenergized and ready to put on a show for the fans. Caruana did not only focus on regaining his energy, but also did some massive work on his openings. Unfortunately for Onischuk, he was paired to face him and had to experience the amazing preparation of a 2800 player.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 {the Archangelsk, a very sharp and theoretical option for black. Most probably Onischuk is currently regreting his opening choice} (5... Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 { Caruana is one of the leading experts in pretty much any line of the Ruy Lopez} Bd7 9. c3 O-O 10. Bc2 b4 11. Re1 Re8 12. Nbd2 Bf8 13. a5 g6 14. Bb3 Be6 15. Ba4 {1/2-1/2 (116) Caruana,F (2794)-Svidler,P (2757) Moscow 2016}) 6. c3 b5 7. Bc2 d5 (7... d6 {is the main line} 8. d4 Bb6 (8... Ba7 9. a4 exd4 10. axb5 axb5 11. cxd4 Bg4 12. Be3 O-O 13. Nc3 {1-0 (33) Caruana,F (2727)-Godena,M (2548) Perugia 2011}) 9. a4 Bg4 10. h3 Bh5 11. d5) 8. a4 $5 {this is a fairly unexplored line, but definitely one of the most poisenous choices in the position. The game immediately becomes very sharp and the better prepared player will hold a great edge} (8. d4 dxe4 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. dxe5 Qxd1 11. Rxd1 Ng4 12. Bxe4 {in general black is considered to be ok in this endgame}) 8... dxe4 (8... b4 9. d4 dxe4 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. dxc5 {now that the pawn is on b4, white's dynamic prospects are much more prominent.} Qe7 12. Bg5) 9. axb5 Bg4 ( 9... O-O {might be an interesting try for black, as I believe the game's continuation is clearly in white's favor} 10. Ng5 (10. bxc6 exf3 11. Qxf3 e4 12. Bxe4 Bg4 13. Qd3 Qe7) 10... Bg4 11. Qe1 axb5 12. Rxa8 Qxa8 13. Nxe4 Bb6 14. Nxf6+ gxf6 15. Kh1 {with the idea f2-f4,Qg3. White has the initiative}) 10. bxc6 exf3 11. gxf3 Be6 12. Ra5 $1 Qd6 13. f4 e4 (13... Bh3 {was pointed out by Fabiano as an important line} 14. Qf3 $1 Bxf1 15. fxe5 Qxe5 16. Kxf1 Qe7 17. d4 Bd6 18. Nd2 {Caruana concluded that white is clearly better in this position, I will give him the benefit of the doubt./+/-}) 14. d4 exd3 15. Qxd3 {there is only one correspondence game previously played in this line and Caruana was well aware of it} O-O 16. Qxd6 Bxd6 17. Rd1 {once white finishes his development, black's compensation will start fading away} Bg4 (17... Rfe8 18. Be3 Bg4 19. Rxd6 (19. Rd4 $5) 19... cxd6 20. Nd2 Be6 21. c4 {1-0 (47) Voiculescu,C (2565)-Gavrilakis,N (2475) ICCF email 2009}) 18. Rd4 Bf3 19. Ba4 Rfe8 20. Be3 Ne4 (20... Re4 21. Nd2 Rxd4 22. Bxd4 Be2 23. Be5) 21. Bd1 $1 (21. Nd2 Nxd2 22. Bxd2 (22. Rxd2 Bxf4) 22... Rab8 23. b4 Rb6 {and black regains his pawn}) 21... Bxd1 22. Rxd1 Rab8 (22... Bf8 23. f5 (23. Nd2 Nxd2 24. Rxd2 Re6 25. b4 Rxc6 26. b5 Rxc3 27. Rda2) 23... Nd6 24. Na3) 23. Nd2 Rxb2 $2 {missing Caruana's killed blow, nonetheless the situation on the board is not very encouraging} (23... Nxd2 24. Rxd2 Re4 25. Rxa6 h6 26. Kg2) 24. Nxe4 Rxe4 25. Re5 $3 {a beautiful geometrical motif} Rxe3 (25... Rxe5 26. fxe5 Be7 27. Rd7 Kf8 28. Ba7 $1 {and the c pawn will be unstoppable}) 26. fxe3 Rb8 27. Ra5 Kf8 28. c4 {an impressive show of power from the world s number 2 player as he takes the lead going into the final 5 round of the tournament} 1-0 [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "6.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2787"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:08:39"] [BlackClock "0:12:33"] 1. e4 {So probably had nightmares after his last encounter with Nakamura. The Sinquefield Cup game between the two ended in an immortal King's Indian masterpiece with So being on the bad side of the spectrum. I will leave it here just so you get an idea of what So desperately tried to avoid today} (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 10. f3 f5 11. Be3 f4 12. Bf2 g5 13. Nd3 Ng6 14. c5 Nf6 15. Rc1 Rf7 16. Kh1 h5 17. cxd6 cxd6 18. Nb5 a6 19. Na3 b5 20. Rc6 g4 21. Qc2 Qf8 22. Rc1 Bd7 23. Rc7 Bh6 24. Be1 h4 25. fxg4 f3 26. gxf3 Nxe4 27. Rd1 Rxf3 28. Rxd7 Rf1+ 29. Kg2 Be3 30. Bg3 hxg3 31. Rxf1 Nh4+ 32. Kh3 Qh6 33. g5 Nxg5+ 34. Kg4 Nhf3 35. Nf2 Qh4+ 36. Kf5 Rf8+ 37. Kg6 Rf6+ 38. Kxf6 Ne4+ 39. Kg6 Qg5# {0-1 (39) So, W (2779)-Nakamura,H (2814) Saint Louis 2015}) 1... e6 {No Sicilian today from Nakamura} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 (4. Bg5 Bb4 5. e5 h6 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. bxc3 Ne4 8. Qg4) 4... Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2 O-O (8... a6 9. Bd3 b5 10. O-O Qb6 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. Bxc5 Nxc5 13. Qf2 Nd7 14. a3 Ke7 15. Qxb6 Nxb6 16. Ne2 {1-0 (50) Caruana,F (2787)-Nakamura,H (2793) Saint Louis 2015}) 9. dxc5 Nxc5 10. O-O-O a6 11. Qf2 b6 12. Nd4 Qc7 13. Kb1 Bb7 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. Bd4 Bb7 {this is a novelty} (15... Rfd8 16. Bd3 Be8 {the bishop doesn't seem to be feeling very well on e8, as it doesn't support the knight jump to e4 his defensive role is not influential} 17. f5 $1 Bf8 18. f6 g6 19. h4 {1-0 (74) Salem,A (2627)-Satyapragyan,S (2410) Gibraltar 2016}) 16. Bd3 b5 17. Ne2 (17. f5 exf5 18. Bxf5 b4 19. Ne2 Ne4) 17... b4 18. Ng3 Rac8 (18... Nxd3 19. Rxd3 f5 20. exf6 Bxf6 21. Nh5 e5 22. fxe5 (22. Nxf6+ $4 Rxf6 23. Bxe5 Qxe5) 22... Bxe5 23. Rf3 Rac8 {black should not have any difficulties maintaining the balance}) 19. f5 {white is starting to create some unpleasant threats on the kingside} f6 (19... Nxd3 20. Rxd3 f6 21. Qe2 a5 22. Nh5) 20. exf6 Bxf6 21. Bxc5 $2 (21. fxe6 $1 {was necessary for an advantage} a5 (21... Nxe6 22. Qf5 $1 Ng5 (22... Nxd4 23. Qxh7+ Kf7 24. Rde1) 23. Bxf6 gxf6 24. Qg4 Kh8 25. Qxb4) (21... Nxd3 22. cxd3) 22. Rhe1 Bxd4 23. Qxd4 Rce8 24. Nf5 {black is definitely in big trouble}) 21... Qxc5 22. Qxc5 Rxc5 23. fxe6 Re8 24. Rde1 (24. Nh5 Rxe6 25. Nxf6+ Rxf6 26. Rhf1 Rcc6 27. b3) 24... g6 {now the white N is completely out of the game, a nice example of piece restriction} 25. Rhf1 Kg7 (25... Bg7 {[%cal Rc5c6,Rc6e6] much more precise}) 26. Rf4 a5 27. Rg4 (27. Re3 Rc6 (27... Rf8 28. h4) 28. Nh5+ $1 gxh5 29. Rg3+ Kh8 30. Rxf6 Rcxe6 31. Rxe6 Rxe6 32. Kc1 {white has a superior endgame, almost winning due to his superior structure and much more active pieces}) 27... Kh8 28. Bxg6 hxg6 29. Rxg6 Be7 30. Nf5 d4 31. g4 a4 32. b3 a3 {White doesn't really have anything better but to repeat the moves} 33. Rh6+ Kg8 34. Rg6+ Kh8 35. Rh6+ Kg8 36. Rg6+ {A tense battle in which white could have secured a solid advantage more than once, unfortunately for Wesley, he did not capitalize on his opponent's mistakes and now has to once again trail behind the leader, Caruana.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "US Women's Championship"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "6"] [White "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [Black "Foisor, Sabina"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2342"] [BlackElo "2258"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.04.20"] {It's important to note that Abrahamyan has a monstrous score against Foisor, to the tune of 6 wins, 2 draws, and zero losses. It should be said that Tatev has also had the fortune of the white pieces in seven of the eight contests.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 (6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. d3 { is a fashionable line these days as well. White gives up the two bishops in order to obtain a strong center and pressure againg e5.}) 6... b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. Nbd2 Nb8 (9... Na5 10. Bc2 c5 {is definitely my preferred path. Black is much more active than the game continuation in this line.}) 10. Re1 Nbd7 11. Nf1 Bb7 (11... Nb6 12. d4 Bb7 (12... exd4 13. cxd4 c5 14. e5 dxe5 15. Nxe5 Bb7 {and Black is fine.}) 13. Ng3 exd4 14. cxd4 c5 15. Nf5 {looks favorable for White. The pawn on e4 is actually untouchable:} Bxe4 16. dxc5 dxc5 17. Rxe4 $1 Nxe4 18. Qe2 Re8 19. Qxe4 Bf6 20. Qg4 c4 21. Bh6 {leaves White clearly ahead.}) 12. Ng3 Nc5 13. Bc2 Re8 14. d4 {The right time, White has a tremendous center and a strong initative.} Ncd7 {If you stop to think about it, you realize that Black has lost an important tempo. In the typical lines, White's knight would be on d2 rather than g3 and her pawn on h3. The opening stages of this game have gone very wrong for Black. If you're looking for a famous game, see game 10 of Fischer-Spassky 1972.} 15. h3 (15. Nf5 exd4 16. cxd4 Bf8 17. d5 c6 {seems alright for Black. White's center quickly collapses.} 18. dxc6 Bxc6 19. Qd4 Qb6 {with easy equality.}) 15... Bf8 16. a4 $1 {Thematic, very smart play by Tatev. She does well to contend and expand on both sides of the board. Black is stuck hoping that her defensive resources are enough, but never will Foisor seek active counterplay.} c5 {Apparently a new one, but not one that I particularly like.} (16... g6 {has been played before, and I prefer this noncommittal move.} 17. Nh2 c5 18. d5 c4 19. a5 h5 20. Bg5 Be7 21. Rf1 Nc5 22. f4 exf4 23. Rxf4 Nxd5 24. Bxe7 Qxe7 25. Rf3 Nf6 26. Qd4 Ncxe4 27. Re1 Qe5 28. Qxe5 Rxe5 29. Nxe4 Bxe4 30. Rxf6 Bxc2 31. Rc1 Re2 32. Rxd6 Be4 33. Nf3 Rxb2 34. Rd2 Rxd2 35. Nxd2 Bc6 36. Kf2 Rd8 37. Nf1 f5 38. Re1 Kf7 39. Re2 f4 40. h4 Rd3 41. Rd2 Rxc3 42. Rd6 Rc2+ {0-1 (42) Renteria Becerra, J (2323)-Roa Alonso,S (2402) Collado Villalba 2013}) 17. d5 (17. dxe5 dxe5 ( 17... Nxe5 18. Nxe5 (18. Nf5 Ng6 19. Bg5 h6 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 {looks pleasant for White, though really Black is holding solid.}) 18... dxe5 19. Qf3 g6 {is just slightly better for White, but Black is solid.}) 18. c4 $1 {looks wonderful for White. The d4 square is surprisingly far from that d7 knight, and now Black's common plan of c5-c4 is out of the question.}) 17... c4 18. Nf5 (18. Be3 {might seem to be a better starting point, 'preventing' Black from trotting the knight to c5. Though, on closer inspection, White does not really want to capture on c5. So, in fact, it is better to keep the bishop at home on c1 and wait for the proper time to unleash its potential.} Nc5 19. Bxc5 dxc5 { is actually quite comfortable for Black, who now can play g7-g6 and not worry about the loose dark squares.}) 18... Nc5 19. Nh2 {Starting with this move, Tatev plays perfectly over this critical sequence.} Kh8 $6 {I don't entirely comprehend this move's purpose. If her plan was to play g7-g6, Foisor was misguided in that the knight will still hop into h6. So this move simply wastes a move and accomplishes little.} (19... Bc8 {was a much better move.} 20. Qf3 Bxf5 21. Qxf5 Qc8 22. Qf3 {still is superior for White, but Black has room to breathe.}) 20. Bg5 Bc8 (20... h6 21. Bh4 g5 22. Bg3 Bc8 23. Qf3 (23. Ng4 Bxf5 24. exf5 Bg7 {is not the easiest setup to crack, though Black's position is ugly.}) 23... Bxf5 24. Qxf5 Bg7 {Could result in Black praying she's in a "bend-but-don't-break" position. I hate the light-squared weaknesses, so huge advantage White (with the simple Nf1-e3 coming, I don't see what Black can do).}) 21. Ng3 $1 {Black does not have time to move her light-squared bishop:} Rb8 (21... Bb7 22. axb5 axb5 23. Rxa8 Bxa8 24. Ng4 Be7 25. Nf5 {is no fun for Black.} Ng8 26. Nxe7 Nxe7 27. Nf6 $1 {wins easily.}) ( 21... Bd7 22. axb5 axb5 23. Rxa8 Qxa8 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Qh5 {is also horrible for Black. The kingside is far too exposed, and control over the open a-file is just an illusion, since the Black queen will be forced to return to the king's defense.}) 22. axb5 axb5 23. Ra7 Bd7 (23... Be7 {was clearly a superior option. I imagine Foisor was nervous about departing with her f7 pawn, but Abrahamyan would not achieve much by grabbing it:} 24. Bxf6 (24. Qf3 {and the positional battle continues, though now Black has} Rb7 {with a reasonable game. The key point as compared to the variation on Black's 21st move is that here she was able to include Be7 and Qf3 (rather than Ng4). Still, White is better, though Black should be happy with her gains.} 25. Rxb7 Nxb7) 24... Bxf6 25. Rxf7 Rf8 26. Rxf8+ Qxf8 27. Qd2 Ra8 {and Black is truly fine, if not preferred. This is an important lesson as to why pawn counting often works against us!}) 24. Qf3 Be7 (24... b4 25. Bxf6 (25. Ng4 Be7 26. Nxf6 Bxf6 27. Bxf6 (27. cxb4 Rxb4 28. Qc3 Rb5 29. Be3 Bg5) 27... Qxf6 28. Qxf6 gxf6 29. Nh5 b3 30. Bb1 Ra8 31. Rc7 Rec8 32. Rxc8+ Bxc8 33. Nxf6 Na4 34. Re2 Nc5 {at the very worst, Black should have a draw. White's queenside is totally stuck, as the bishop on b1 will never be able to move.}) 25... Qxf6 26. Qxf6 gxf6 27. Ng4 Bxg4 28. hxg4 b3 29. Bb1 Ra8 30. Rxf7 Ra1 {Should not be bad for Black. White's bishop is completely entombed on the queenside, and b2 will forever be a target. A tense position that is difficult to play for both sides!}) 25. Be3 Ra8 26. Rxa8 Qxa8 27. Ng4 (27. Bxc5 dxc5 28. Nf5 Qa2 {actually leaves Black a bit better!}) 27... Nxg4 28. hxg4 Qc8 $2 {A bad move based on a serious oversight.} (28... Kg8 29. Nf5 Bf8 (29... Bxf5 30. exf5 e4 31. Bxe4 Nxe4 32. Qxe4 Bf6 (32... Bg5 33. Qd4 h6 34. Qd1 Bxe3 35. Rxe3 Rxe3 36. fxe3 {also gives Black decent drawing chances, but it surely is an uphill battle.}) 33. Qb1 h6 {might have given Black better chances.})) 29. Qxf7 Bxg4 30. Bd1 $1 {The move of the round! Caruana also put this bishop trade to good use in his win over Onischuk. Tatev wisely removes the only Black piece that can defend the f5 square.} (30. Bxc5 dxc5 31. Ra1 Qd8 32. Ra7 Bf8 33. Nf5 Bxf5 34. Qxf5 {is a disaster for Black. Material is equal and there are opposite colored bishops on the board, yet Black's position is atrocious. The pawn on b5 will quickly come under fire, White has a passed d-pawn, and the c2 bishop will make its presence felt in the very near future. Technically winning for White.}) 30... Bxd1 (30... Bd7 31. Nh5 Bf8 32. Bg5 Nd3 33. Nf6 {is simply painful to watch.} Be7 34. Re3 { and the attack is too swift and brutal.}) 31. Rxd1 Bf6 32. Bxc5 Re7 33. Qh5 Qxc5 34. Ra1 Qc8 35. Qg4 $1 {By far the best move, giving White access to the very important a6 square.} Qf8 (35... Qb7 36. Nh5 (36. Nf5 Rd7 37. Ne3 { results in your classic amazing knight versus tragic bishop middlegame. That knight can make its way to c6 via b4 and White will sit her queen on e6. Black, frankly, has no activity to speak of. This is the type of position that collapses in just a few moves.}) 36... Re8 37. Nxf6 gxf6 38. Qf5 Qe7 39. Ra6 { should spell trouble for Black.}) 36. Ra6 Re8 37. Nf5 Rd8 38. Ra7 Re8 (38... g6 39. Qh3 h5 40. g3 {Black legitimately has no moves:} Re8 (40... Bg5 41. Ng7 { heading to fork the house on e6. Black's last cheapo attempt with} Qxg7 (41... Qf3 42. Ne6 Be3 43. fxe3 Qxe3+ 44. Kh2 Qxa7 45. Nxd8 {is fruitless.}) 42. Rxg7 Kxg7 43. Qe6 {with a decisive edge.}) 41. Rd7 Rd8 42. Nxd6 {nets a free, very important pawn.}) 39. g3 Be7 {Not even worthy of a question mark, since the position is so hopeless.} (39... Rb8 40. Rd7 Rb6 41. Qh5 {leaves Black with no moves.}) 40. Rxe7 Rxe7 41. Nxe7 {A masterful performance by Abrahamyan, who is on form this US Women's Championship.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "6.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2787"] [Annotator "AS"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2 O-O (8... b6 $5) 9. dxc5 (9. O-O-O $2 c4 {with an attack.}) (9. Be2 a6 {e.g.} 10. O-O b5 11. Kh1 Qc7 12. a3 Bb7 13. Rad1 Rac8 14. Qe1 cxd4 15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16. Bxd4 Bc5 17. Qh4 Bxd4 18. Rxd4 f6 19. Bd3 h6 20. exf6 Rxf6 21. f5 Rcf8 22. Rg1 Nc5 23. fxe6 Nxe6 24. Rg4 Nf4 25. Qg3 Qe7 26. Rxf4 Rxf4 27. Ne2 Rf1 28. Nd4 Rxg1+ 29. Kxg1 Re8 30. h4 Qe1+ 31. Kh2 Qxg3+ 32. Kxg3 Kf7 33. Kf2 Kf6 34. g3 Bc8 35. c3 Bg4 36. Bc2 g5 37. hxg5+ hxg5 38. Bb3 Ke5 39. Bc2 Rf8+ 40. Kg2 Bd7 41. Nf3+ Kf6 42. Bb3 g4 43. Nd4 Ke5 44. Bc2 a5 45. Bd1 Ke4 {0-1 (45) Karjakin, S (2720) -Carlsen,M (2810) Wijk aan Zee 2010}) 9... Nxc5 10. O-O-O a6 11. Qf2 b6 {The young German GM Matthias Blübaum played this line a couple of times.} (11... Qa5) 12. Nd4 (12. f5 Ra7 13. Qg3 Kh8 14. Be2 Rd7 15. fxe6 Nxe6 16. Nd4 Ncxd4 17. Bxd4 Bc5 18. Bg1 Bb7 19. Bf3 d4 20. Ne4 Be7 21. h4 b5 22. Ng5 Bxf3 23. Nxf3 d3 24. cxd3 Rxd3 25. Bh2 Qd5 26. Qe1 Rxd1+ 27. Qxd1 Qxa2 {0-1 (27) Jarmula,L (2395)-Bluebaum,M (2589) Karpacz 2015}) 12... Qc7 13. Kb1 Bb7 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. Bd4 Bb7 16. Bd3 b5 17. Ne2 b4 (17... Rac8 18. Bxc5 Qxc5 $11 ({ After} 18... Bxc5 $6 19. Qh4 g6 (19... h6 20. g4 $40) 20. Qg3 Rfe8 21. h4 { White's prospects on the kingside seem to be promising:} h5 22. Qh3 Kg7 23. g4 Rh8 24. gxh5 Rxh5 25. Ng3 Rh6 26. Qg4 $16)) 18. Ng3 (18. Bxc5 Qxc5 $11) 18... Rac8 19. f5 {[#]} f6 $5 {Defuses White's slight initiative.} ({Perhaps} 19... Nxd3 20. Rxd3 f6 {was more precise.}) 20. exf6 Bxf6 21. Bxc5 $6 ({After} 21. fxe6 $5 a5 ({after} 21... Nxe6 $2 22. Qf5 Ng5 23. Bxf6 gxf6 24. Qg4 Kh8 25. Qxb4 $18 {White wins a pawn and has a good position.}) 22. Rhe1 {White is slightly better.}) 21... Qxc5 22. Qxc5 Rxc5 23. fxe6 Re8 24. Rde1 g6 25. Rhf1 Kg7 26. Rf4 a5 27. Rg4 Kh8 28. Bxg6 $5 {So is trying.} hxg6 29. Rxg6 Be7 30. Nf5 d4 31. g4 a4 32. b3 a3 33. Rh6+ Kg8 34. Rg6+ Kh8 35. Rh6+ Kg8 36. Rg6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.20"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Onischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2664"] [Annotator "AS"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 {The Arkhangelsk variation is a specialty of Onischuk.} ({More common is} 5... b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6) 6. c3 b5 7. Bc2 d5 $5 {Black wants to exploit the fact that White's bishop is on c2 and not on b3.} (7... d6 8. d4 Bb6 {is another possibility that is often played.}) 8. a4 ({The main line is} 8. d4 dxe4 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. dxe5 Qxd1 11. Rxd1 Ng4 12. Bxe4 Nxf2 13. Bc6+ Ke7 14. Rd5 Bb6 15. Bxa8 Nd3+ 16. Kf1 Nxc1 17. Na3 Be6 18. Rxc1 {with a well-known position which occurred in almost 30 games of the Megadatabase. One example is} Rxa8 19. Rd3 Bf5 20. Rdd1 Be3 21. Ra1 Bf4 $14 {1/2-1/2 (78) Shirov,A (2751)-Onischuk,A (2637) Germany 2000}) (8. exd5 Qxd5 9. d4 exd4 10. Re1+ Be7 11. cxd4 Bg4 {does nothing to pose Black problems. }) 8... dxe4 ({After} 8... Bb7 9. exd5 Qxd5 {White has} 10. d4 {which is good for him:} exd4 11. axb5 axb5 12. Rxa8+ Bxa8 13. Re1+ Be7 14. cxd4 O-O 15. Nc3 Qd7 16. Nxb5 $16 {and White is a pawn up.}) 9. axb5 Bg4 10. bxc6 (10. Bxe4 Nxe4 11. bxc6 O-O 12. d4 exd4 13. cxd4 Bb6 14. Nc3 Re8 15. Be3 Qd6 16. d5 Bxe3 17. fxe3 Rad8 18. Rxa6 Nxc3 19. bxc3 Qxd5 20. Qxd5 Rxd5 21. Nd4 g6 22. Rf4 Bf5 23. Ra7 Rxe3 24. c4 Rc5 25. Rxc7 Re4 26. Rxe4 Bxe4 27. Re7 Bf5 28. c7 Kf8 29. Nxf5 gxf5 30. Rd7 Kg7 31. Rd4 Rxc7 32. Kf2 Kf6 33. Ke3 Ke6 34. g3 f6 35. Kd3 Ra7 36. Kc3 Ke5 37. Rh4 Rb7 38. Rf4 Rb1 39. Rf2 Rc1+ 40. Kb4 Ke6 41. Kb5 Kd6 42. Rxf5 Rb1+ 43. Ka4 Rb2 44. Rxf6+ Kc5 45. Rh6 Kxc4 46. Rh4+ Kd5 47. Rxh7 Ke5 48. Ka3 Rb8 49. Rh5+ Kf6 50. Rh4 Kg5 51. Rb4 Rh8 52. h4+ Kh5 53. Rb5+ Kh6 54. g4 Re8 55. Rb4 Kg6 56. Rb6+ Kf7 57. Rb7+ Ke6 58. Rh7 Rb8 59. g5 Kf5 60. Rh6 Ke5 61. h5 Kf5 62. g6 Kf6 63. Rh7 Rg8 64. Kb3 {1-0 (64) Anand,V (2762)-Shirov,A (2746) New Delhi/Teheran 2000}) 10... exf3 11. gxf3 Be6 12. Ra5 Qd6 13. f4 e4 14. d4 exd3 15. Qxd3 O-O 16. Qxd6 Bxd6 17. Rd1 $14 {[#] After the complications are over White is a pawn up. And though White's structure on the kingside is shattered the pawn f4 will later play an important role.} Bg4 ({Here a correspondence game continued with} 17... Rfe8 18. Be3 Bg4 19. Rxd6 cxd6 20. Nd2 Be6 21. c4 Bh3 22. Nf3 Rab8 23. b3 d5 24. c5 Ne4 25. Bxe4 dxe4 26. Nd4 Ra8 27. f5 f6 28. c7 g6 29. b4 gxf5 30. Bf4 Kh8 31. Ra3 Rg8+ 32. Rg3 h5 33. f3 e3 34. Bxe3 f4 35. Bxf4 h4 36. Rxg8+ Kxg8 37. Kf2 Re8 38. Ne2 Kf7 39. Nc3 Bc8 40. Nd5 Ke6 41. Nb6 Kf5 42. Bd6 Kg5 43. c6 Kf5 44. Bc5 Kg6 45. f4 Bh3 46. Nc4 Rc8 47. Bb6 {1-0 (47) Voiculescu,C (2565)-Gavrilakis,N (2475) ICCF email 2009}) 18. Rd4 Bf3 19. Ba4 Rfe8 20. Be3 Ne4 21. Bd1 Bxd1 22. Rxd1 Rab8 ({More stubborn was } 22... Reb8 23. b4 Bf8 24. Kh1 Nd6 $16) 23. Nd2 Rxb2 $2 ({The engines propose } 23... g5 $5 {as an attempt to get counterplay:} 24. fxg5 Rxb2 25. Nxe4 Rxe4 { and after e.g.} 26. Rxa6 {Black can try to stir the waters with} Bxh2+ { However, White is still better.} 27. Kh1 $16 (27. Kxh2 $2 Rxe3)) ({After} 23... Nxd2 24. Rxd2 Ra8 {White simply plays} 25. b4 $18) 24. Nxe4 Rxe4 {[#]} 25. Re5 $1 {A fine move that exploits Black's back rank weakness and wins material.} ({ After} 25. Rxa6 Re8 {things would be fine for Black.} 26. c4 Rc2 27. c5 Bxc5 28. Bxc5 Rxc5 29. Rd7 Re1+ (29... Rc8 $2 30. Rxc7) 30. Kg2 g6 31. Rxc7 Re6 $11) 25... Rxe3 26. fxe3 Rb8 (26... Bf8 27. Rd8 g6 28. Ree8 $18) 27. Ra5 Kf8 28. c4 1-0 [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.21"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Shabalov, Alexander"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2528"] [BlackElo "2773"] [Annotator "GM Cristian Chirila"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:46:34"] [BlackClock "1:04:42"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 (9. Ne5 {this is one of the lines I fancy much more than the game continuation, Ding Liren is one of the main proponents of it} Nbd7 (9... Bb7 10. Qf3 Nbd7 11. Rd1) 10. Nxd7 Qxd7 (10... Nxd7 11. h4) 11. Be5 Bg7 12. Qf3 Qe7 13. h4 {1/2-1/2 (34) Ding,L (2702)-Le,Q (2703) Saint Louis 2012}) 9... Bb7 10. Qc2 Nbd7 11. Rd1 Nh5 12. d5 cxd5 (12... Nxg3 13. hxg3 cxd5 14. exd5 exd5 15. Nxd5 Bg7 {transposes}) 13. exd5 exd5 14. Nxd5 Nxg3 15. hxg3 Bg7 16. Ne3 Qa5+ 17. Kf1 Nf6 $6 {this is a pretty bad move by Wesley. During the press conference he admitted he forgot his preparation and was worries wether or not he was much worse in the upcoming complications. He was right...} (17... Rd8 18. Nf5 Kf8 19. N3d4 Nf6 20. Bf3 Bc8) 18. Qf5 $2 (18. Nf5 $1 Kf8 19. Nd6 Bd5 ( 19... Bxf3 20. gxf3 {the king goes to g2 and the position becomes extremely difficult for black to defend}) 20. Rxd5 Nxd5 21. Qf5 $1 Qc7 (21... Nf6 22. Nxf7) 22. Ne5 $1 Bxe5 23. Qxe5 f6 24. Qxd5 Rd8 25. Nxb5 Rxd5 26. Nxc7 Rd7 27. Nb5) 18... Qb6 19. Qe5+ (19. Nd4 O-O 20. Qxb5 Rfd8 21. Nxc4 Qxb5 22. Nxb5 Rxd1+ 23. Bxd1 Rd8) 19... Kf8 20. Rd6 Qc7 21. Nf5 $4 (21. Rd2 Qxe5 22. Nxe5 Ne4) 21... Ne8 22. Nxg7 Qxd6 23. Ne6+ Kg8 0-1 [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.21"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2615"] [Annotator "GM Cristian Chirila"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:30:40"] [BlackClock "1:05:30"] {You can never count Nakamura out of the title contention. He wins games, and that puts a lot of pressure on his rivals, even when they have a huge 1.5 point lead in the standings. With 4 more rounds to go, Naka is only trailing by one point, let's see how he finished his strong opponent today.} 1. e4 e5 { an early surprise by Akobian. He is an expert in the French but hasn't played e5 since his early teens days.} 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Nc6 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 {up to this point the players are following one of the oldest and most analyzed variations of the Petroff} 14. Ra2 $5 {a very rare move, one that has been analyzed by the duo Nakamura-Sam Shankland during the 2014 Tromso Olympiad} Na5 15. cxd5 Qxd5 16. Rb2 c6 {the correct response by Akobian. Despite the bad score for white, this line has a tremendous amount of venom and will surely be seen at top level in future games} (16... a6 17. Ne5 Bxa3 18. Bf3 Qd6 19. Rbe2 (19. Ra2 $5 Bxc1 20. Rxa5 Bf4 21. Bxb7) 19... Bxc1 20. Qxc1 Nc6 21. Qb2 Nxe5 22. Rxe5 Rxe5 23. Rxe5 {1/2-1/2 (30) Shankland,S (2634) -Robson,R (2631) Saint Louis 2014}) 17. Ne5 (17. Qa4 Qd8 18. c4 Bf6 19. Be3 Be4 20. Rd2 b6 {0-1 (52) Kasimdzhanov,R (2677)-Gelfand,B (2733) Elista 2007}) 17... Bxa3 18. Bf3 Qd6 19. Rbe2 Bxc1 20. Qxc1 Be6 21. Be4 {black is a pawn up but it is very difficult to coordinate your pieces. The K on a5 is completely out of the game and white's attack on the kingside will become extremely acute in no time} Rad8 (21... f6 22. Qb1 fxe5 23. Bxh7+ Kf8 (23... Kh8 24. Bg6 Nc4 25. Bxe8 Rxe8 26. Qxb7 Bd5 27. dxe5 Qe6 28. Qxa7 Bxg2 {seems to be one of the many forced lines leading to a draw, I am convinced that Naka had some peculiar trumps in his preparation}) 24. dxe5 Qc5 25. Qc1 Rad8 26. Qg5 {white maintains a strong initiative and I have a feeling the American's number two had something up his sleeves}) 22. Qb1 g6 23. f4 $1 {now the attack becomes irresistible} c5 (23... f5 24. Bd3 Kg7 (24... c5 25. Nc4) 25. g4) 24. f5 cxd4 $2 {missing white's main resource} (24... Bb3 {was an interesting try but white had an incredible move to get a good advantage} 25. Bd3 $1 cxd4 (25... Rf8 26. Qc1 $1 cxd4 (26... Kg7 27. Ng4) (26... Nc6 27. Qh6) 27. c4 {Qh6 followed by Ng4 and other sacrifices on g6 is very difficult to pary}) (25... b6 26. Nc4 Qb8 27. Nd2 $1 Rxe2 28. Rxe2 c4 (28... Bd5 29. c4 Bb7 30. fxg6 fxg6 31. Bxg6) 29. Be4 {black is a pawn up but both his B and N are completely out of the game}) 26. Nc4 Bxc4 (26... Qd7 27. Nxa5 Rxe2 28. Bxe2 Ba4 29. fxg6 hxg6 30. Bc4 Kg7 31. Qe4 dxc3 32. Qe5+ Kg8 33. Qxc3 Qd4+ 34. Qxd4 Rxd4 35. Ra1 Bd7 36. Bf1) 27. Rxe8+ Rxe8 28. Rxe8+ Kg7 29. f6+) (24... Bc4 25. Nxc4 Nxc4 26. fxg6 hxg6 27. Bxg6) 25. fxe6 Rxe6 26. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 27. Bd5 (27. Qa2 Kg7 28. Qxa5 Rde8 29. c4) 27... Qxd5 28. Rxe6 dxc3 (28... Qxe6 29. Rxe6 Kxe6 30. Qe4+ Kd6 {if black manages to get a blockade he might be able to save himself. This would have been Akobian's best chance at survival, especially due to his dangerous time situation} 31. Qxd4+ Kc7 32. Qxa7 Nc6) 29. R6e5 Qd4+ 30. Kh1 b6 (30... Rd5 31. Qa2 Nc4 32. Rxd5 Qxd5 33. Qf2+ Qf5 34. Qe2) 31. Qa2+ Kg7 32. Re7+ Kh6 33. Qf7 Nc4 34. Qxh7+ Kg5 35. R7e6 Qd3 36. h4+ Kf4 37. Qh6+ {An impressive win by Nakamura. The title fight is heating up!} 1-0 [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.21"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Shabalov, Alexander"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2528"] [BlackElo "2773"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:46:34"] [BlackClock "1:04:42"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 (9. Ne5 {this is one of the lines I fancy much more than the game continuation, Ding Liren is one of the main proponents of it} Nbd7 (9... Bb7 10. Qf3 Nbd7 11. Rd1) 10. Nxd7 Qxd7 (10... Nxd7 11. h4) 11. Be5 Bg7 12. Qf3 Qe7 13. h4 {1/2-1/2 (34) Ding,L (2702)-Le,Q (2703) Saint Louis 2012}) 9... Bb7 10. Qc2 Nbd7 11. Rd1 Nh5 12. d5 cxd5 (12... Nxg3 13. hxg3 cxd5 14. exd5 exd5 15. Nxd5 Bg7 {transposes}) 13. exd5 exd5 14. Nxd5 Nxg3 15. hxg3 Bg7 16. Ne3 Qa5+ 17. Kf1 Nf6 $6 {this is a pretty bad move by Wesley. During the press conference he admitted he forgot his preparation and was worries wether or not he was much worse in the upcoming complications. He was right...} (17... Rd8 18. Nf5 Kf8 19. N3d4 Nf6 20. Bf3 Bc8) 18. Qf5 $2 (18. Nf5 $1 Kf8 19. Nd6 Bd5 ( 19... Bxf3 20. gxf3 {the king goes to g2 and the position becomes extremely difficult for black to defend}) 20. Rxd5 Nxd5 21. Qf5 $1 Qc7 (21... Nf6 22. Nxf7) 22. Ne5 $1 Bxe5 23. Qxe5 f6 24. Qxd5 Rd8 25. Nxb5 Rxd5 26. Nxc7 Rd7 27. Nb5) 18... Qb6 19. Qe5+ (19. Nd4 O-O 20. Qxb5 Rfd8 21. Nxc4 Qxb5 22. Nxb5 Rxd1+ 23. Bxd1 Rd8) 19... Kf8 20. Rd6 Qc7 21. Nf5 $4 (21. Rd2 Qxe5 22. Nxe5 Ne4) 21... Ne8 22. Nxg7 Qxd6 23. Ne6+ Kg8 0-1 [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.21"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"] [Result "*"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2615"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:30:40"] [BlackClock "1:05:30"] {You can never count Nakamura out of the title contention. He wins games, and that puts a lot of pressure on his rivals, even when they have a huge 1.5p lead in the standings. With 4 more rounds to go, Naka is only trailing by one point, let's see how he finished his strong opponent today.} 1. e4 e5 {an early surprise by Akobian. He is an expert in the French but hasn't played e5 since his early teens days.} 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Nc6 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 {up to this point the players are following one of the oldest and most analyzed variations of the Petroff} 14. Ra2 $5 {a very rare move, one that has been analyzed by the duo Nakamura-Sam Shankland during the 2014 Tromso Olympiad } Na5 15. cxd5 Qxd5 16. Rb2 c6 {the correct response by Akobian. Despite the bad score for white, this line has a tremendeous amount of venom and will surely be seen at top level in future games} (16... a6 17. Ne5 Bxa3 18. Bf3 Qd6 19. Rbe2 (19. Ra2 $5 Bxc1 20. Rxa5 Bf4 21. Bxb7) 19... Bxc1 20. Qxc1 Nc6 21. Qb2 Nxe5 22. Rxe5 Rxe5 23. Rxe5 {1/2-1/2 (30) Shankland,S (2634) -Robson,R (2631) Saint Louis 2014}) 17. Ne5 (17. Qa4 Qd8 18. c4 Bf6 19. Be3 Be4 20. Rd2 b6 {0-1 (52) Kasimdzhanov,R (2677)-Gelfand,B (2733) Elista 2007}) 17... Bxa3 18. Bf3 Qd6 19. Rbe2 Bxc1 20. Qxc1 Be6 21. Be4 {black is a pawn up but it is very difficult to coordinate your pieces. The K on a5 is completely out of the game and white's attack on the kingside will become extremely acute in no time} Rad8 (21... f6 22. Qb1 fxe5 23. Bxh7+ Kf8 (23... Kh8 24. Bg6 Nc4 25. Bxe8 Rxe8 26. Qxb7 Bd5 27. dxe5 Qe6 28. Qxa7 Bxg2 {seems to be one of the many forced lines leading to a draw, I am convinced that Naka had some peculiar trumps in his preparation}) 24. dxe5 Qc5 25. Qc1 Rad8 26. Qg5 {white maintains a strong initiative and I have a feeling the American's number two had something up his sleeves}) 22. Qb1 g6 23. f4 $1 {now the attack becomes irresistible} c5 (23... f5 24. Bd3 Kg7 (24... c5 25. Nc4) 25. g4) 24. f5 cxd4 $2 {missing white's main resource} (24... Bb3 {was an interesting try but white had an incredible move to get a good advantage} 25. Bd3 $1 cxd4 (25... Rf8 26. Qc1 $1 cxd4 (26... Kg7 27. Ng4) (26... Nc6 27. Qh6) 27. c4 {Qh6 followed by Ng4 and other sacrifices on g6 is very difficult to pary}) (25... b6 26. Nc4 Qb8 27. Nd2 $1 Rxe2 28. Rxe2 c4 (28... Bd5 29. c4 Bb7 30. fxg6 fxg6 31. Bxg6) 29. Be4 {black is a pawn up but both his B and N are completely out of the game}) 26. Nc4 Bxc4 (26... Qd7 27. Nxa5 Rxe2 28. Bxe2 Ba4 29. fxg6 hxg6 30. Bc4 Kg7 31. Qe4 dxc3 32. Qe5+ Kg8 33. Qxc3 Qd4+ 34. Qxd4 Rxd4 35. Ra1 Bd7 36. Bf1) 27. Rxe8+ Rxe8 28. Rxe8+ Kg7 29. f6+) (24... Bc4 25. Nxc4 Nxc4 26. fxg6 hxg6 27. Bxg6) 25. fxe6 Rxe6 26. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 27. Bd5 (27. Qa2 Kg7 28. Qxa5 Rde8 29. c4) 27... Qxd5 28. Rxe6 dxc3 (28... Qxe6 29. Rxe6 Kxe6 30. Qe4+ Kd6 {if black manages to get a blockade he might be able to save himself. This would have been Akobian's best chance at survival, especially due to his dangerous time situation} 31. Qxd4+ Kc7 32. Qxa7 Nc6) 29. R6e5 Qd4+ 30. Kh1 b6 (30... Rd5 31. Qa2 Nc4 32. Rxd5 Qxd5 33. Qf2+ Qf5 34. Qe2) 31. Qa2+ Kg7 32. Re7+ Kh6 33. Qf7 Nc4 34. Qxh7+ Kg5 35. R7e6 Qd3 36. h4+ Kf4 37. Qh6+ {An impressive win by Nakamura. The title fight is heating up!} * [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.22"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "*"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2663"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:23:48"] [BlackClock "1:30:56"] {A thrilling encounter between once of the leaders and the runner-up, with Caruana clearly being the favorite going into this game. Up until this point the second ranked player in the world won all of this games as white and was surely looking forward to keep that victorious streak going. Let's see how the game fared!} 1. e4 e6 {The French makes another appearance in the elite games, we can arguably say this is the opening of the tournment!} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6 9. Qd2 Qxb2 {this move leads to the longest and most forced line of this variation. A line in which black is supposed to be fine, but the theoretical knowledge required to play it is not trivial} 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. Bb5 (11. Ncb5 Qxa2 12. Rd1 (12. Rb3 Kd8)) 11... Nxd4 12. Bxd4 a6 13. Bxd7+ Bxd7 14. Rb3 Qe7 15. Rxb7 Qd8 {a line played by Shimanov, a colleague of Robson at Webster! Coincidence?} (15... Qh4+ { is the main line} 16. Bf2 Qd8 17. Bb6 Qc8 18. Rc7 Qd8 19. Qd4 Ba3 (19... Rc8 20. Rc6) 20. Nb1 Be7 21. c4 Rc8 22. Rb7 Bb4+ 23. Kf2 Qxb6 24. Rxb6 Bc5 25. Qxc5 Rxc5 26. cxd5 {white enjoys a risk free endgame. Players have stopped playing this line for black due to the difficult defensive task ahead}) 16. O-O Rb8 ( 16... Qc8 17. Rfb1 Bc6 18. R7b3 Be7 19. f5 $1 exf5 20. Ne2 Bb5 21. Nf4 Bg5 22. Rg3 {1-0 (28) Brkic,A (2562)-Martinovic,S (2537) Porec 2014}) 17. Rxb8 Qxb8 18. f5 (18. Qe3) (18. Rb1 Qc8 (18... Qc7 19. Qe3) 19. Qe3) 18... Qc8 {Robson was blitzing out his moves and was surely still in his preparation. Outpreparing any opponent is difficult, outpreparing the number 2 in the world is a different animal} 19. f6 (19. Qe3) (19. Rb1) 19... gxf6 20. exf6 (20. Rxf6 h5 21. Rf3 Qc4 22. h3 Be7 23. a3 Rg8 (23... Bxa3 $6 24. Ne4 dxe4 25. Rxa3 Rg8 26. Rb3 {1/2-1/2 (49) Grischuk,A (2792)-Agdestein,S (2628) Stavanger 2014}) 24. Ne2 h4 25. Rc3 Qa4 26. Rb3) 20... Qc4 21. Qf4 Rg8 {black was still in his preparation, Caruana had already spent almost an hour up to this moment} 22. Nxd5 $5 {an experienced decision based on the time situation and the familiarity with the position that his opponent was showing, an interesting try to keep more pieces on the board would have been. Now white is going for a perpetual as he realizes black's preparation has been a crucial factor and a potential time trouble could be fatal} (22. Nd1 Qxc2 (22... Bh6 23. Qb8+ Qc8 24. Qb6 Qc6 25. Qb8+ Qc8 26. Qa7) 23. Ne3 Qc6 24. Qb8+ Bc8 (24... Qc8 $2 25. Rb1 Ba3 26. h3 Kd8 27. Ng4) 25. Qb1) (22. Rb1 $6 Bc8 $1 {black's idea is to go Kd7-Bd6 and claim an advantage due to his bishop pair and potential attack on the white king}) 22... exd5 23. Re1+ (23. Qe5+ Kd8 24. Qb8+ Bc8 25. Bb6+ Kd7 26. Qa7+ Kd6 (26... Kc6) 27. Qxf7 Rxg2+ 28. Kxg2 Qg4+) 23... Kd8 24. Qb8+ Bc8 25. Qa7 (25. Bb6+ Kd7 26. Qa7+ Kc6 (26... Kd6 27. Qxf7 Rxg2+) 27. Qc7+ (27. Qxf7 Rxg2+ 28. Kxg2 Qg4+ 29. Kh1) 27... Kb5 28. a4+ Kb4 29. Qxf7 Rxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Qg4+) 25... Be6 (25... Bd6 26. Re7 $1 {only move} (26. g3 $2 Bb7 $1 27. Re3 Qb4 ) 26... Rxg2+ 27. Kxg2 Bh3+ 28. Kf3 Qf1+ 29. Bf2 Qd1+ 30. Ke3 Qc1+ 31. Kf3 Qf4+ 32. Ke2 Bg4+ 33. Kf1 Bh3+ 34. Ke2) ({Robson said he saw} 25... Bb7 26. Bb6+ Kc8 27. Re8+ Kd7 28. Rxf8 {but here Black can still draw with} Rxg2+ $1 29. Kxg2 Qxc2+ 30. Bf2 Qe4+ {with a perpetual.}) 26. Bb6+ Kc8 27. Qa8+ (27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. f7 Rxg2+ 29. Kxg2 Qxc2+) 27... Kd7 28. Qb7+ Kd6 29. Ba7 (29. g3 $5 d4) (29. Qb8+ Kc6 30. Qc7+) 29... Rxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Qg4+ 31. Kh1 Qf3+ 32. Kg1 Qg4+ 33. Kh1 Qf3+ {An impressive preparation by Robson helps him annihilate one of the most dangerous players in the world. The fight at the top is definitely heating up as we enter the last 3 rounds of the 2016 U.S. Championship!} * [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.22"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Shabalov, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B42"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2528"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:05:45"] [BlackClock "0:26:35"] {Nakamura has a clear goal in mind, he needs to defend his title at all costs despite his slow start. Two rounds ago he was 1.5p behind the leaders and only a devoted fan would have placed him in the title contention. Now he is only half a point behind and his chances are resurfacing. Never count out the defending champion!} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O Qc7 7. Qe2 d6 8. c4 g6 9. Nc3 Bg7 10. h3 {this is a very rare line (only 12 games in the database) but one in which White scores over 70%. A stat that Nakamura was surely aware} O-O 11. Rd1 (11. Nf3 Nc6 12. Bf4 Nd7 13. Rac1 Nde5 14. Rfd1) 11... Nfd7 12. Nf3 Nc6 13. Be3 Nde5 14. Rac1 Qe7 (14... Rb8 15. Bb1 Nxf3+ (15... Rd8 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. b3) 16. Qxf3 Ne5 17. Qe2 Nxc4 18. Bf4) 15. Bb1 Bd7 (15... f5 {immediately would have been interesting} 16. exf5 gxf5 17. Nh2 Bd7 18. f4 Nf7 19. Nf3 Kh8 20. Bf2) 16. Nh2 f5 17. f4 Nf7 {Nakamura got what he wanted out of the opening. A complex middlegame in which white's better structure and piece placement should play an important role} 18. Qd2 Be8 19. Nf3 Rd8 20. exf5 gxf5 21. Bf2 (21. g4 $5 Nh6 22. Bb6 (22. Qg2 Bg6 23. g5 Nf7) 22... fxg4 23. Ng5 Bg6 24. Bxg6 hxg6 25. Bxd8 Rxd8 26. hxg4 Nxg4 27. Qe2) 21... Rc8 22. Re1 Qf6 23. Qe2 Ncd8 24. Bh4 Qh6 25. Be7 Bd7 (25... Qxf4 26. Bxf8 Bxf8 (26... Kxf8 27. Nd5 $1 {would have been decisive} Qg3 28. Bxf5) 27. Nd5 Qh6 28. Bxf5 Bc6 29. Nb6) 26. Bxf8 Bxf8 27. Qf2 $6 {A misjudgement which upset Nakamura quite seriously. He confessed after the round that he should have given up the c pawn and not the f pawn} (27. Qd2 $1 Rxc4 28. Ne2 Rxc1 29. Rxc1 {black does not get the same counterplay}) 27... Qxf4 28. b3 Bg7 {now black's pieces are starting to feel quite comfortable} 29. Ne2 Qh6 30. Rcd1 Nc6 31. Qb6 Nfe5 $2 (31... Ncd8 {defending the pawn was necessary, it is never easy to move back with a piece you just moved} 32. Kh1 Bc6 {with a very complicated position. This position is vey much one in which whoever makes the first commital move will get into trouble}) 32. Nh2 (32. Ned4 $1 Nxf3+ 33. Nxf3 Bc3 34. Qxb7 Rd8 35. Re2) 32... Bf8 33. Qxb7 Be7 (33... Qe3+ $1 34. Kh1 Qc5 35. Qxa6 (35. Nf4 Rb8 36. Qxa6 Nd4) 35... Nb8 $1 36. Qb7 Bc6 37. Qxc8 Bxg2+) 34. Kh1 Kh8 35. Ng1 Rg8 36. Nhf3 Be8 37. c5 Ng4 38. Rd2 dxc5 39. Bxf5 Qxd2 $4 { a terrible blunder on the last move before the time control} (39... exf5 40. Rxe7 Nxe7 41. Qxe7 Nf6 $1 {its important to reroute the N towards e4} 42. Rd8 ( 42. Qxc5 Ne4 43. Qe5+ Qg7 44. Qxg7+ Rxg7 45. Rd4 Ng3+ 46. Kh2 Nf1+) 42... Ne4) 40. Nxd2 Nf2+ 41. Kh2 Bd6+ 42. g3 Bxg3+ 43. Kg2 Ne7 44. Bxe6 1-0 [Event "2016 U.S. Women's Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.23"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Black "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E01"] [WhiteElo "2470"] [BlackElo "2342"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:24:12"] [BlackClock "0:20:41"] {This was the most important match in round 9 of the 2016 Women's U.S Championship, but what a surprise result it was!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 c5 4. Nf3 (4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 {leads to the Fianchetto Benoni}) 4... cxd4 5. Nxd4 d5 6. Bg2 e5 7. Nb3 d4 (7... Bb4+ 8. Bd2 dxc4 9. Bxb4 Qxd1+ 10. Kxd1 cxb3 11. axb3 Nc6 12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. Nd2 {white has a better endgame}) 8. O-O Nc6 9. f4 exf4 (9... e4 {this is the main line, but Tatev might have been surprised and chose the less accurate continuation} 10. f5 g6 (10... a5 11. e3 a4 (11... d3 12. Nc3 {Black's pawns are strong but vulnerable}) 12. Nxd4 Bc5 13. Nxc6 Qxd1 14. Rxd1 bxc6 15. Rf1) 11. Bg5 Be7 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Bxe4 O-O) 10. Bxf4 Be6 11. Na3 Rc8 12. Rc1 (12. c5 d3 13. exd3 Nd4 14. Kh1 Nxb3 15. axb3 Bxc5 16. b4 Be7) 12... Be7 13. Nb5 Nh5 (13... O-O 14. N5xd4 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 Rxc4 16. Nxe6 Qb6+ 17. Kh1 Rxc1 18. Qxc1 Qxe6 19. Bxb7) 14. N5xd4 Nxd4 15. Qxd4 $4 {arguably the blunder of the tournament, given the standing situation of each of the players involved.} (15. Nxd4 {is forced and would have given white a serious advantage} Nxf4 16. Rxf4 O-O (16... Qb6 17. e3 O-O 18. Qe2 {is probably best try to keep some extra pieces on the board}) 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Rxf8+ Bxf8 19. Qxd8 Rxd8 20. c5 {white is simply a pawn up, and there is not much she can do about it in previous moves}) 15... Bc5 16. Qxc5 Rxc5 17. Nxc5 (17. Rfd1 Qc8 18. Bxb7 Qxb7 19. Nxc5 Qc6) 17... Qd4+ 18. Kh1 Qxc5 19. Bd2 O-O 20. b4 Qe7 21. Bf3 Nf6 22. a3 Rc8 23. c5 Bd5 24. Bf4 Qxe2 0-1 [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.23"] [Round "9.2"] [White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2618"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:36:27"] [BlackClock "0:41:07"] {As we will look back at the tournament, this round will definitely be a crucial one when assessing the key moments of the tournament. Both leaders were playing Black and knew that a win would almost mean winning the title. Let's see what Caruana had in store for his opponent.} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. g4 Be6 8. h4 Nd7 9. g5 (9. Bg3 Nb6 10. f3 Bd6 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. Qc2 h5 13. g5 Ne7 {1/2-1/2 (50) Nakamura,H (2764) -Caruana,F (2844) Baku 2014}) 9... h6 10. g6 f5 {In the press conference after his game, Nakamura said that after he saw this move he knew Caruana would win. This statement shows how confident these 2800 are that they can beat any 2600+ in an unbalanced position. Computer gives white as slightly better...} 11. Bg3 Ngf6 12. Nh3 Nb6 13. Nf4 Bd7 14. f3 O-O 15. Kf2 Rc8 {Black's king is much safer than his counterpart and Fabiano is preparing to open the center in order to take advantage of that} 16. Bd3 (16. a4 a5 {Now after c5 the b5 square will be weaker, this might be an improvement for white over the game} 17. h5 (17. b3 c5 18. Nb5 c4) 17... c5 18. Nb5 Kh8 19. Rc1) 16... c5 17. Kg2 ( 17. Nce2 {Had to be played} Bd6 18. dxc5 Bxc5 19. Nd4 (19. b3 Ne4+ 20. fxe4 fxe4) 19... Nc4 20. Bxc4 dxc4 21. Rc1 b5) 17... cxd4 18. exd4 Bd6 {As Caruana accurately pointed out in the confessional booth, white's king is chronically ill.} 19. Qb3 $2 (19. Qd2 Nc4 20. Bxc4 dxc4 21. Rae1 Qa5) 19... Kh8 $1 (19... Ne4 $5 {Was interesting also} 20. fxe4 Bxf4 21. e5 (21. Nxd5 Nxd5 22. Qxd5+ Kh8 23. Rae1 (23. Bxf4 fxe4) 23... Bxg3 24. Kxg3 Qc7+) 21... Bxg3 22. Kxg3 Rc6) 20. Bb5 {After achieving an almost decisive advantage, Caruana turns his engine mode on and does not give absolutely any chance to his opponent. As Lawrence Trent would put it, he became "unplayable".} (20. Qc2) 20... Bxf4 21. Bxf4 Nh5 22. Be5 Bxb5 23. Qxb5 Nc4 24. Rae1 Nxe5 25. Rxe5 (25. dxe5 d4 26. Rd1 a6 27. Qb4 Qe8 28. Qxd4 Qxg6+ 29. Kf2 Qg3+) 25... Qf6 26. Kf2 Qxg6 27. Rg1 (27. Ne2 Rc2 28. Rg1 Qf6) 27... Qf6 28. Rh1 Nf4 29. Ke3 Ng6 30. Rxd5 Nxh4 31. Rd7 (31. Rg1 f4+ 32. Kf2 Nf5 33. Rh1 Nxd4) 31... Qg5+ 32. Kd3 Nxf3 33. Rd1 Qg2 34. Rxb7 Rfe8 (34... f4 35. Re7 Rfd8 36. Re4 a6 37. Qb4 Rxd4+ 38. Rxd4 Ne5#) 35. Rc7 ( 35. Qxf5 Qd2+ 36. Rxd2 Ne1#) 35... Rb8 (35... Qg3 36. Rxc8 Ne1+ 37. Kc4 Rxc8+ 38. Kb3 Rb8) 36. Qc6 Red8 37. Kc4 Rxd4+ 38. Kc5 Rxd1 39. Nxd1 Qg1+ 40. Kc4 Qd4# {A dominant performance by Caruana that propels him to first place} 0-1 [Event "US Chess Championships"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.24"] [Round "10"] [White "Hikaru Nakamura"] [Black "Jeffery Xiong"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2618"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] {Entering this game, Hikaru Nakamura trailed fellow super GM Fabiano Caruana by a point. After a horrid 2/4 start - including a loss to Caruana in their direct encounter - the reigning US Champion has been on a rampage, scoring an impressive 5/6. Xiong, previously undefeated in his first US Championship, became Nakamura's latest victim.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 {A good decision by Nakamura and his second, Kris Littlejohn. Why enter the Grunfeld against a young, solid player who has scored well in the opening? I believe that these 3. f3 can really help White achieve an out-of-book position quickly, allowing the stronger player to take charge in the early stages.} Nc6 (3... d5 {is a more fashionable line, but perhaps Xiong was afraid to venture into this variation since Nakamura has had a successful history in it, including a smashing win over Caruana.} 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O Qd6 10. h4 Rd8 11. Nb5 Qd7 12. h5 a6 13. Nc3 Nxd4 14. hxg6 hxg6 15. Bxd4 Qxd4 16. Qe1 Qxd1+ 17. Nxd1 Na4 18. b3 Nc5 19. e5 Bf5 20. f4 a5 21. Nf3 a4 22. b4 Nb3+ 23. axb3 a3 24. Qc3 e6 25. Ne3 a2 26. Qa1 Bf8 27. Nxf5 gxf5 28. b5 c6 29. bxc6 Rdc8 30. Bc4 Rxc6 31. Nd4 Rcc8 32. Kc2 Bb4 33. g4 fxg4 34. f5 {1-0 (34) Nakamura,H (2772)-Caruana,F (2779) Elancourt 2013}) 4. d5 Ne5 5. e4 d6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Be2 O-O 8. f4 Ned7 9. Be3 {As Nakamura stated in his interview with Maurice Ashley, it's not that Black's position is particularly poor here. The real issue is that White achieves a harmonious setup with ease, whereas Xiong will find it quite difficult to gain active counterplay. White's path to improvement is certainly much simpler than Black's.} e6 ({I'm curious if a move like} 9... Re8 {is an improvement. The essential question is if capturing on e6 with the rook is better than taking back with the pawn.} 10. Nh3 e6 11. dxe6 Rxe6 12. Bf3 {looks quite questionable for Black. The e-pawn is not hard to defend, and White has obtained complete central control with ease. Black remains cramped and with no pawn breaks in the foreseeable future.}) 10. dxe6 ( 10. Nh3 exd5 11. cxd5 Re8 {leads to problems down the e-file for White.}) 10... fxe6 11. Nh3 Qe7 12. O-O b6 13. Bf3 Rb8 (13... Bb7 $4 14. e5 Bxf3 15. exf6 Bxd1 16. fxe7 {wins a piece for White.}) 14. Qc2 Bb7 15. Rae1 Kh8 {Apparently a novelty, but I'm sure it was played merely because Xiong didn't know what to do here. The position is already quite difficult.} (15... a6 {didn't help Black escape Wesley So:} 16. Kh1 Kh8 17. Bc1 Ng8 18. b3 Nh6 19. Bb2 Nf7 20. g3 Nd8 21. Bg2 Nc6 22. Nd5 Qd8 23. Ng5 Nc5 24. b4 h6 25. Nf3 Nd7 26. Nh4 exd5 27. exd5 Nxb4 28. Nxg6+ Kg8 29. Ne7+ {1-0 (29) So,W (2755)-Perez,R (2332) Las Vegas 2014}) 16. Ng5 Bh6 (16... h6 17. Nh3 {only creates another weakness, this time on g6.}) 17. Nb5 (17. h4 {is the move the engines scream for, probably just to secure the knight's position and prepare an eventual f4-f5 break.}) 17... Bxg5 (17... e5 {was more ambitious and would have given Xiong more of a puncher's chance. I still much prefer White after} 18. f5 (18. Nxc7 { gives Black ample counterplay for the lost pawn:} exf4 19. Bxf4 Ne5 20. Nce6 Bxg5 21. Nxg5 h6 (21... Rbc8 {might be a safer method of seeking equality.}) 22. Nh3 g5 23. Bxe5 dxe5 {Black may be down a pawn, but White has a long way to go before that material edge proves enough for victory. It will be difficult for White to maneuver his minor pieces to their optimal squares (namely the knight from h3-f2-d1-e3-f5), since the e4 pawn is forever a target. Certainly an edge for White, but this is a huge improvement over the game continuation.}) 18... gxf5 19. exf5 Ng4 20. Bxg4 Bxg5 {becomes very complex. White may gain one of those queenside pawns, but the open g-file and strong Black center would have provided Xiong good counter chances.}) 18. fxg5 Ne8 19. Nxa7 $1 {A free pawn is a free pawn, but it does take precision to gobble one up when the knight appears to be trapped on a7. Nakamura had this calculated out, though:} Ne5 {This move just doesn't challenge Nakamura at all. Xiong's position was hovering somewhere in between very unpleasant and horrible, especially against someone of Nakamura's caliber, but Ne5 is inexplicable. If I'm being a bit harsh on the talented youngster, it's because I know he's capable of better. In order to hang with these super elite players, you must set up obstacles and hope they trip up somewhere along the way. From here on out, the win became simple.} (19... c6 20. Qb3 {appears to cause White far less difficulty:} (20. Qa4 Ne5 (20... Ra8 21. Nxc6 Rxa4 (21... Qg7 22. Qb5 Nc7 23. Qb4 Bxc6 24. Qxd6 {Black's knight on c7 and bishop on c6 are both en prise. Black's last hope falls flat:} Ne5 25. Bd4 Rad8 26. Bxe5 Rxd6 27. Bxg7+ Kxg7 28. e5 Rd2 29. Bxc6 Rxf1+ 30. Rxf1 Rxb2 {White is two pawns ahead. The ending isn't completely trivial, but with a few accurate moves the position collapses. }) 22. Nxe7 Rf7 {appears to trap the knight, but the nice shot} 23. Bd1 { ends the game immediately.}) 21. Bd4 (21. h4 {also looks very reasonable, but I'm reluctant to further expand on the kingside.}) (21. Bxb6 c5 {is not what White is looking for. Black has sacrificed two pawns for tremendous activity, as White's forces are distracted and stuck on the queenside.}) 21... c5 22. Bxe5+ dxe5 23. Qb3 Ba8 24. Nb5 Qxg5 25. Rd1 {is a position with equal material, but the position is anything but equal. White has a clear edge, thanks to the superior pawn structure and open d-file.}) 20... Ra8 21. Bxb6 c5 22. a4 Qxg5 23. a5 {allows White to escape, unscatched and up a pawn.}) 20. Be2 Rxf1+ 21. Rxf1 Ra8 22. Nb5 Rxa2 23. Na3 {That rook regains the lost pawn, but immediately the knight digs its hooves into a3 and entombs it.} Qg7 24. Bd2 Nc6 (24... Rxb2 {was the tactical shot Xiong hoped Nakamura would miss, but White's last move covers it.} 25. Qxb2 Nf3+ 26. Rxf3 Qxb2 27. Bc3+ {picks up the queen, with White ahead a full rook.}) 25. Bc3 Nd4 26. Bd3 {Cute. Black had a cheapo in mind, and Nakamura not only calls, but raises with a better cheapo of his own.} (26. Qd3 $4 Nxe2+ 27. Qxe2 Qxc3 {would have been tragic. Amazingly, White is not completely lost here (though he is much worse), but this would have been a silly blunder.} 28. Rf8+ Kg7 29. Nc2 Qe5 30. Qf1 Nf6 $1 31. Rxf6 Ra8 {and Black is now much better, but White can fight on. Regardless, this would have been an amateur blunder in a masterfully played game.}) 26... Kg8 27. Qf2 (27. Qa4 {was also easy, but when you're winning, how you win is unimportant.}) 27... c5 28. Bb1 Ra1 29. Nc2 Rxb1 (29... Ra8 30. Nxd4 cxd4 31. Bxd4 e5 32. Bxb6 {allows the rook to survive, but White has a two pawn lead and a completely dominating position.}) 30. Rxb1 Bxe4 {This would work if not for...} 31. Nxd4 Bxb1 32. Nf5 $1 {The only winning move, but an elementary one to spot.} (32. Nxe6 $2 Qf7 {is equal.}) 32... exf5 33. Bxg7 Kxg7 34. Qe3 { Xiong tips his king, understanding that his b-pawn falls first, then the h-pawn, then Nakamura can do whatever he pleases en route to victory. This game can be summed up as smooth sailing for Nakamura, who wisely picked an opening that limited Xiong's active resources. Xiong can learn a ton from this encounter with one of the world's top ten players.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2016"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.24"] [Round "10"] [White "Caruana, F."] [Black "Kamsky, G."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2016.04.13"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 d6 7. e5 dxe5 8. Nxe5 Qc7 9. d4 cxd4 10. Qxd4 Nf6 11. Nc3 Be6 12. Qc5 Rc8 13. Bf4 Qb7 14. Na4 O-O 15. Qa3 Qa6 16. Nd3 Bf5 17. Ndc5 Qc4 18. Be5 Rfd8 19. c3 Rd2 20. Qb4 Qxb4 21. cxb4 Rcd8 22. Bc3 Rc2 23. h3 h5 24. a3 h4 25. Rxe7 Nd5 26. Rd1 Ra8 27. Bxg7 Nxe7 28. Bf6 Nd5 29. Bxh4 Re8 30. b5 cxb5 31. Rxd5 bxa4 32. Bf6 Rc4 $2 33. Bc3 {A move criticized by both players. Allow Black to sac the exchange back gives him good winning chances.} Rc8 34. Nd7 Rxc3 35. bxc3 Rxc3 36. g4 Bxd7 $6 (36... Be6 {Keeping the minors would have given White fits. The bishop helps shepherd the a-pawn. Perhaps Black though the g5, Nf6 combo would create mating nets, but Black's king can walk to e7 without issue.} 37. Rd4 Rxa3 38. Nf6+ Kf8 39. g5 Ke7) 37. Rxd7 Rxh3 38. Rxa7 Rxa3 39. g5 Ra1+ 40. Kg2 Kf8 41. Kf3 a3 42. Kf4 Ra2 43. Kg3 Ke8 44. Kf3 Ra1 45. Kf4 Kd8 46. Rxf7 Rf1 47. Ra7 Rxf2+ 48. Kg3 Ra2 49. Ra6 Ra1 50. Kg2 a2 51. Ra8+ Kc7 52. Ra7+ Kb6 53. Ra8 Kb5 54. Rb8+ Kc4 55. Rc8+ Kd3 56. Rd8+ Ke3 57. Ra8 Kf4 58. Ra5 {According to GM Maurice Ashley, the endgame is drawn even if White loses his g-pawn.} Kg4 59. Kh2 Kf3 60. Ra3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.24"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Kamsky, Gata"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2678"] [Annotator "Christian Chirila"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:22:19"] [BlackClock "1:14:31"] {What a terrible blow this would have been for Fabi if only Gata had been a bit more careful in the endgame...Caruana was coming into this round as the clear favorite, and with Wesley having a difficult battle and Nakamura a point behind, he could have entered the final round with a one point advantage. However, he was facing Gata Kamsky, five-time U.S. Champion and an incredible player overall.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {In the game against Nakamura he chose the open Sicilian. In the media room after the game Gata jokingly hinted at the idea that he was much better prepared against that scenario} g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 d6 (6... Nh6 {is the main line} 7. c3 f6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 O-O 10. Nc3 Nf7 {White has the lead in development but only by a slight margin. If Black manages to get his pieces out and exchange the queens, the endgame will be clearly in his favor thanks to his powerful bishop pair}) 7. e5 dxe5 8. Nxe5 Qc7 9. d4 (9. Qe2 Be6 10. d3 Nf6 11. h3 Nd5 12. Na3 O-O 13. Nac4 { 0-1 (41) Leventic,I (2499)-Zelenika,S (2292) Sibenik 2007}) 9... cxd4 10. Qxd4 Nf6 11. Nc3 Be6 12. Qc5 Rc8 13. Bf4 Qb7 (13... Nh5 $5 14. Bg5 h6 15. Bh4 g5 16. Bg3 Nxg3 17. hxg3 Qd6) 14. Na4 (14. Nd3 $1 {Would have been the right retreat} Nd7 (14... O-O 15. Qa3 Nd5 16. Nc5 Qb6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bg3 Bd4 19. Nd1 { White will consolidate and the superior pawn structure will be a critical factor in the long run}) 15. Qa3 c5 16. Be3 (16. Bg5 h6 17. Be3 Qc6 18. Rad1 O-O) 16... Qc6 17. Nf4 Bc4 18. Rad1) 14... O-O (14... Nd5 $5 15. Bd2 O-O 16. Qa5 Rfd8 17. Nc5 Qxb2 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Rab1 Qxc2 20. Rbc1) 15. Qa3 Qa6 16. Nd3 Bf5 17. Ndc5 Qc4 18. Be5 Rfd8 (18... Qxc2 19. Nc3 $1 Rfd8 20. Nb3 (20. Rac1 Qd2 21. Qxa7 Bf8 22. Qb7) 20... Ne4 21. Re2 Qxe2 22. Nxe2 Bxe5) 19. c3 Rd2 20. Qb4 (20. h3 $1 {was necessary as White needs to control the Ng4 jump, as well as create a safe haven for the king.} Qh4 21. Bg3 Qg5 22. Qb4) 20... Qxb4 21. cxb4 Rcd8 22. Bc3 (22. Nb3 R2d5 23. Bc3 Bf8 24. h3 {If black doesn't follow up with strong moves to keep his initiative rolling, White will get the advantage due to his better structure}) 22... Rc2 23. h3 h5 24. a3 h4 25. Rxe7 (25. Nb7 $5 Rd7 26. Nac5 Rc7 27. Be5 Rc8 28. Rac1) 25... Nd5 26. Rd1 Ra8 27. Bxg7 $2 { the overly ambitious move that could have costed Fabiano the championship} (27. Ree1 Nxc3 28. bxc3 Bxc3 (28... a5 29. Rd6 axb4 30. cxb4 Ra2) 29. Nxc3 Rxc3 30. Re3 Rxe3 31. fxe3 a5) 27... Nxe7 28. Bf6 Nd5 29. Bxh4 Re8 30. b5 (30. g4 Bc8 31. Nc3 Nxc3 32. bxc3 Kg7 (32... Rxc3 $2 33. Ne4) 33. Rd6) 30... cxb5 (30... Nb6 $1 {the first moment Fabiano escapes almost untouched} 31. Nc3 cxb5 32. g4 Be6 33. Nxe6 Rxe6) 31. Rxd5 bxa4 32. Bf6 Rc4 33. Bc3 Rc8 34. Nd7 (34. Nd3 Rxc3 35. bxc3 Rxc3 36. Nb4 Rxa3 37. Ra5 Be6 38. Rxa7 Kg7) 34... Rxc3 35. bxc3 Rxc3 36. g4 Bxd7 $2 {The ensuing endgame is just a draw} (36... Be6 {This is the natural move and one that Kamsky otherwise would make without any thought. Still not sure whether he thought he is winning the rook endgame or simply couldn't assess the upcoming endgame} 37. Rd4 Rxa3 38. Nc5 Bb3 39. Rd3 (39. Kg2 Ra1) 39... Ra1+ 40. Kh2 Bd1 41. g5 Bc2 42. Rd8+ Kg7 43. Rd7 Bf5 44. Rxa7 a3) 37. Rxd7 Rxh3 38. Rxa7 Rxa3 39. g5 Ra1+ 40. Kg2 Kf8 41. Kf3 a3 42. Kf4 Ra2 ( 42... a2 43. Kf3 Ke8 44. Kf4 Kd8 45. f3 Kc8 46. Ra8+ Kb7 47. Ra3 Kc6 48. Ra8 Kc5 49. Ra7 Kd4 50. Ra8 Kd3 51. Rd8+ Ke2 52. Ra8 Kf2 53. Ra3 Kg2 54. Kg4) 43. Kg3 Ke8 44. Kf3 Ra1 45. Kf4 Kd8 46. Rxf7 Rf1 47. Ra7 Rxf2+ 48. Kg3 Ra2 49. Ra6 Ra1 50. Kg2 a2 51. Ra8+ Kc7 52. Ra7+ Kb6 53. Ra8 Kb5 54. Rb8+ Kc4 55. Rc8+ Kd3 56. Rd8+ Ke3 57. Ra8 Kf4 58. Ra5 Kg4 59. Kh2 Kf3 60. Ra3+ {A great escape by Caruana who can now count out one of his 9 lives and go into the final round with a smile on his face. The final round will offer the spectators a dramatic end to this exciting event!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "US Chess Championships (Women)"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "11.2"] [White "Irina Krush"] [Black "Nazi Paikidze"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2465"] [BlackElo "2346"] [Annotator "Hess, R"] [PlyCount "128"] [EventDate "2016.04.14"] {Before I begin my chess analysis, I must make a few remarks. First, it must be noted that being in a must-win situation with the black pieces against a significantly higher-rated opponent is one of the hardest predicaments life can offer. As Paikidze stood at an impressive 7.5/10, she needed to score to catch up or (in the best case) surpass Tatev Abrahamyan, who blitzed out to 8/ 10. Second, Paikidize had played the absolute best chess at the 2016 US Women's Championship. I'm not sure if she ever was worse for more than a couple of moves in any of her games. And third, and perhaps most important, she had defeated Krush in their 2015 encounter. Paikidze has not lost a game in the US Women's Championship, and she sure wasn't going to break that streak in this game.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 (1... d5 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 Nd7 4. d3 e6 5. Nbd2 Bd6 6. O-O Ne7 7. b3 {what's the relevance of this variation? It's what happened in the matchup between these two women in 2015, with colors reversed.}) 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. d3 Nbd7 6. h3 Bh5 7. Qe1 {An odd-looking move, but the idea is clear: play e4.} (7. g4 {could backfire if White is not extra careful, since overextending one's kingside tends not to be a great idea.} Bg6 8. Bf4 h5 (8... e6 {is more principled, and likely will allow Black to neutralize White's space advantage in the near future. But since Paikidze had to win (or so she thought), the main line will have to be an aggressive one!}) 9. g5 Nh7 10. h4 f6 11. d4 e6 12. Bh3 Be7 13. Qd2 {with a true fight, though I like White here.}) 7... e5 8. e4 dxe4 9. dxe4 Bc5 10. a4 {Thematic. White tries to gain space on both sides of the board before finishing her development. Black isn't doing so badly, though.} a5 ({By move 20 in the following game, Wesley So had a nice edge with the black pieces against Anish Giri} 10... O-O 11. Nh4 a5 12. Nd2 Qc7 13. Kh1 Rfe8 14. Nb3 Bb4 15. Bd2 Bxd2 16. Qxd2 Red8 17. Qc3 Bg6 18. Nxg6 hxg6 19. Rfd1 b6 20. Bf3 Nf8 21. Kg2 Ne6 22. h4 g5 23. hxg5 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Nxg5 25. Qe3 Nxf3 26. Qxf3 Rd8 27. Rxd8+ Qxd8 28. Qe2 g6 29. c3 Qd6 30. Nd2 b5 31. Nb3 bxa4 32. Nxa5 Qc5 33. Nc4 Qb5 34. Kf1 Kg7 35. Ke1 Nd7 36. f3 Qc5 37. Kf1 Qb5 38. Ke1 Qc5 39. Kf1 Nb6 40. Na3 {Giri,A (2784)-So,W (2775) Doha 2015 1/2-1/2 (62)}) 11. Na3 O-O 12. Nc4 Qc7 13. Bd2 b6 14. Nh4 Rfe8 15. Kh1 { Aiming to play f4. This helps explain why White moved the queen to e1 rather than the rook, which better supports the pawn thrust from f1.} Bg6 16. Nxg6 { Apparently this is a novelty? Not significant, but hey, a new move is a new move!} (16. Qe2 {would have been my choice here, if not only because the square is newly accessible. White is ever-so-slightly better, but Black is incredibly solid.}) 16... hxg6 17. f4 b5 $1 {I'm a big fan of this move. Paikidze has a great feel for the game, sacrificing her a-pawn for a tremendous initiative. The sign of a very strong player, she realizes that the action will heat up on the kingside, so forcing her opponent's pieces away from right half of the board is a phenomenal practical decision.} (17... Nh5 18. f5 gxf5 19. Rxf5 g6 20. Rxh5 $1 {would frighten me away from this variation. Black might escape with the aid of a laptop and engine, but over the board the last thing you want is for your kingside to be ripped open.} gxh5 21. Qe2 Re6 22. Qxh5 Rg6 23. Rf1 {with great play for the sacrificed material, a rook for a bishop and pawn.}) 18. Bxa5 (18. Nxe5 {is not a move White wants to play. Krush correctly discerns that the bishop on g2 will be much worse than the knight on f6.} Nxe5 19. fxe5 Qxe5 20. axb5 cxb5 21. Bf4 Qxb2 22. e5 Rac8 {with a preferable position for Black (even if the engines suggest equality).}) 18... Qc8 19. axb5 cxb5 20. Nd2 exf4 21. gxf4 Nd5 {making use of the pin on the e-file.} 22. Rf3 ({We're often told that when we're up material but in a difficult spot, one of our first thoughts should be to return the material. Krush likely wanted to win at all costs, but her position was already quite uncomfortable. Returning the pawn would have made her life much more pleasant.} 22. b4 Nxb4 23. Qb1 Nc6 24. Bc3 {is just a smidgen better for Black, though the position is level.}) 22... f5 $5 {ferocious play by Paikidze! There are clear benefits to this move: White's center is fragile and her king is open. Yet, there are also huge drawbacks: the golden pawn can never move backwards, so now Black's king is also exposed. Moreover, Black lacks a light-squared bishop to compete for the h1-a8 diagonal. Still, a fantastic decision in a must-win game.} (22... N7f6 {was safer and the engines prefer it, but I'm not sure it is a better practical option. At the end of most of these lines, White has a bunch of relatively obvious moves that should allow the game to fizzle out into a drawn ending. See some of the following examples, which admittedly have not been throroughly checked with engines (I prefer to focus on the practical aspects, since we will never be able to play like Komodo).} 23. Qf1 Nxe4 (23... Ne3 24. Qxb5 Nxe4 25. Nxe4 Rxe4 26. Re1 Re7 27. Bc3 Rb8 (27... Nxg2 28. Kxg2 Rxe1 29. Bxe1 Ra1 30. Bf2 Bxf2 31. Rxf2 Qa8+ 32. Rf3 Rd1 33. Qe2 Qa1 34. Rf1 Rxf1 35. Qxf1 Qxb2 36. Qd3 {is equal.}) (27... Nf5 28. Rxe7 Bxe7 29. Qd3 {is no fun for White. The material count is meaningless: Irina's extra pawn is peanuts compared to the onslaught possible on the White king.}) 28. Qd3 Qe8 29. Bd4 Nxc2 30. Rxe7 Qxe7 31. Bxc5 Qxc5 32. Qc3 {is nothing concrete, White holds.}) 24. Nxe4 Rxe4 25. Rd3 Rxf4 26. Qe2 Bb6 27. Rxd5 Rxa5 28. Rxa5 Bxa5 29. Qxb5 {gives slight winning chances for Black because of White's airy kingside, but objectively White should be totally fine. }) 23. e5 g5 {Of course! Undermining White's center is a must.} 24. fxg5 (24. Qd1 {poses Black some real problems. The move looks very strange, since it invites the move Ne3 (which can't be played for now, since after sacrificing the exchange on e3 the idea of Bd5+ and Qh5 would prove catastrophic for Black. The idea is that a knight or a kingside rook move opens up a discovered attack on the knight on d5. So what is Black to do? Paikidze would have been left with some tough choices, but perhaps she would have opted for} Nf8 25. Ne4 $1 ( 25. Rg3 Ne3 26. Rxe3 Bxe3 27. Bd5+ Ne6 28. fxg5 g6 {is so double-edged, I don't know who is better. So that probably means it is equal.}) 25... Nxf4 26. Rxf4 gxf4 27. Qd5+ Ne6 28. Nd6 Bxd6 29. exd6 {and White has an intriguing position:} Qd7 30. b4 {I would hate to defend this for Black, but perhaps Paikidze would find the accurate moves to hold.}) 24... Nxe5 {Now Black's position is just dominant. The three minors on the fifth rank are imposing.} 25. Rf2 $4 {I just don't comprehend this move at all. Sure, White avoids her rook being en prise if Black goes Ne3, but this invites a killer shot.} (25. Rf1 Ne3 26. Qg3 Nxf1 27. Nxf1 {is favorable for Black, but it's anything but easy. Black's king is no less open than White's.}) (25. Qe2 Nxf3 26. Qxf3 Re5 { is problematic. White is tied up, and Black is now well-defended.}) 25... Ne3 ( 25... Nd3 $1 {the commentators (who were joined by Garry Kasparov) were hoping for this move. As the legendary champion stated, inviting the capture of a free piece with check is, psychologically, immensely difficult. While this is undoubtedly true, it also is a winning idea here! However, one can hardly blame Paikidze for missing the win, mostly because the killer shot is ridiculous:} 26. Bxd5+ Kh7 27. Qf1 Nxf2+ 28. Kg2 Rxa5 $3 (28... f4 {is also winning, but not nearly as entertaining.}) 29. Rxa5 Qd8 {White can resign, since a5, d5, and g5 are all under attack. A superb triple attack!}) 26. Nb3 Nxg2 (26... Nd3 $1 {was again winning! White's queen does her no favors.} 27. cxd3 (27. Qd2 Nxf2+ 28. Qxf2 f4) 27... Nxg2 28. Qf1 Bxf2 29. Qxf2 Ne3 {is over. }) 27. Rxg2 f4 28. Qc3 $1 {A good defensive find by Krush, who is doing all she can to stay in the game. Black is still much better, but she needs to tread carefully.} Nc4 (28... Be3 29. Qxc8 Rexc8 {despite being down a pawn in an ending, Black is cruising. Saving the game will be very difficult for White, who must contend with that quickly advancing f-pawn. It seems that, at very best, White will have to sacrifice her rook for a piece and the pawn, after which she'll face an uphill battle surviving. For instance, the ending after} 30. Bd2 Rxa1+ 31. Nxa1 f3 32. Bxe3 fxg2+ 33. Kxg2 Kf7 {teeters somewhere in between winning for Black and White fighting tooth and nail (and I mean after one of the worst struggles) to gain a half point. I think Black wins most of the time.}) 29. Qf3 Qf5 30. Nxc5 (30. Qd3 {doesn't work out for White} Qxd3 31. cxd3 Rxa5 $1 {the only winning move, and what a shot it is!} 32. Nxa5 (32. Rxa5 f3 33. Ra6 (33. dxc4 Re1+ 34. Kh2 Bd6+ 35. Rg3 Re2+ 36. Kh1 Bxg3 37. Ra1 bxc4 { is completely winning.}) 33... fxg2+ 34. Kxg2 Ne3+ 35. Kf3 Bf8 {Black ends the complications with a simple reality: she's up a piece for just two pawns, and thus should be winning.}) 32... Nxa5 33. Rxa5 Re1+ 34. Kh2 f3 35. Rg3 Bd6 { decides matters.} 36. g6 Kf8 37. Ra7 Re2+ 38. Kg1 Bxg3 39. Rf7+ Ke8 40. Rxf3 Bh2+ 41. Kf1 Rxb2 {White is hopeless, and might as well resign.}) 30... Qxc5 31. b4 Qf5 32. Rf2 Re4 $1 {Krush had no time here, but Paikidze was calm, cool, and collected even with the title on the line.} (32... Rf8 {is tempting, since it requires four fewer squares for the rook to travel. However, White now survives with minimal effort after} 33. Rd1) 33. Rg1 Rae8 34. Bc7 $2 {The final straw. With time dwindling and a tough defensive task ahead, Krush had one last chance here to put up a fight:} (34. Kh2 Re3 35. Qg4 Qe5 36. Rd1 f3+ 37. Qg3 {Black remains much better, but the path to victory is uncertain.}) ( 34. Rg4 Re1+ 35. Kh2 Ne3 36. Rg1 Rxg1 37. Kxg1 Qxg5+ 38. Kh2 Nd5 {at least allows White to keep kicking, though the position is awful. The culprit is that stupid bishop on a5, which has precisely zero moves.}) 34... Re3 35. Qxf4 Rxh3+ 36. Kg2 (36. Rh2 Qd5+ 37. Rgg2 Re1+ 38. Qf1 Rxf1# {is an amusing checkmate, as both of White's rooks are pinned and smother the king.}) 36... Ne3+ 37. Qxe3 Qg4+ 38. Qg3 {A sad necessity. Black scoops up the queen, and the rest is merely a matter of precision.} Rxg3+ 39. Bxg3 Re3 40. Kh2 Qh5+ 41. Kg2 Qxg5 42. Kh2 {In all honesty, the win from here is not that simple. Black is ahead a queen for a rook and bishop, and at least one of White's queenside pawns will be taken in the near future. If White can coordinate her rooks, she stands a chance. Unfortunately for Krush, Paikidize had no interest in letting her back in the game.} Re6 43. Rgg2 Qh5+ (43... Rh6+ {was more direct:} 44. Kg1 Qe3 {leaves White completely out of moves. White's rooks will need to remain together, and Black's queen simply yoyos on the vulnerable light squares. The optimal line is actually quite instructure, teaching us how a queen can overpower rook and bishop.} 45. c3 (45. Bf4 Qe1+ 46. Rf1 Rh1+ 47. Kxh1 Qxf1+ 48. Rg1 Qxf4) 45... Rf6 46. Kh1 Qe1+ 47. Rg1 Qe4+ 48. Rgg2 Qb1+ 49. Rg1 Qh7+ 50. Kg2 Qe4+ 51. Kf1 Rg6 52. Rf4 Qe3 {and White can't keep all her pieces. Game over.}) 44. Kg1 Qd1+ 45. Rf1 Qd4+ 46. Rff2 Re1+ 47. Kh2 Qd1 48. Bf4 Qh5+ 49. Kg3 Rh1 50. Rh2 Rg1+ 51. Rhg2 Rh1 52. Rh2 Qg6+ 53. Kh3 Qe6+ 54. Kg3 { Over the past 10 moves, Paikidze has made minimal progress. To Krush's chagrin, Black has all the time in the world to make progress, so she need not find the quickest route to victory; she just needs to find a line that works.} Re1 55. Rhg2 Qg6+ 56. Kh2 Qe4 57. Bg5 Qxb4 {Might as well grab this pawn now. The 50-move and three-time repetition counters must be restarted, and it's not like White has anything going for her.} 58. Bf4 Qe7 59. Kg3 Re6 ({The only thing to be careful about is too quickly playing the move} 59... g5 {because} 60. Bxg5 {is a free pawn. Note the rook on g2 spying on the king on g8.}) 60. Kh3 Qd7 61. Kh2 Re4 62. Kg3 Qf5 63. Rf3 g5 64. Bxg5 {Hoping for Qxg5+, after which Kf2 draws.} (64. Bd2 Rg4+ 65. Kf2 Rxg2+ 66. Kxg2 Qxc2 67. Rf2 Qc5 { leads to an easy finish. White won't even be able to get rook versus queen, since Paikidze never has to give up the g-pawn.} 68. Kf1 b4 69. Rg2 b3 70. Rxg5+ (70. Bxg5 Kf7 71. Rf2+ Qxf2+ 72. Kxf2 b2) 70... Qxg5 71. Bxg5 {is one move too slow.} b2 {The pawn promotes.}) 64... Rg4+ {With this win, Nazi Paikidize became the deserved winner of the 2016 US Women's Championship. Although I feel for Tatev Abrahamyan, I cant think of a more worthy champion. From start to finish, Paikidize outplayed her opposition, even throwing away several half points. With outstanding play, she becomes the first champion not named Zatonskih or Krush since 2005.} (64... Qxg5+ 65. Kh2 (65. Kf2 $4 Re2+ 66. Kxe2 Qxg2+) 65... Rh4+ 66. Rh3 Rg4 67. Rxg4 Qxg4 68. Rg3 {with a miracle draw.} ) 0-1 [Event "2016 U.S. Women's Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "11.1"] [White "Eswaran, Ashritha"] [Black "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B92"] [WhiteElo "2225"] [BlackElo "2342"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:39:16"] [BlackClock "0:00:50"] {What a finale for the history books we had in the women's section! As we were going onto this round, Tatev was in the pole position and only a series of very unpredictable results would have dethroned her. Unfortunately for her, it all went downhill for her today.} 1. e4 c5 {A big surprise for everybody. As it turned out, for Tatev also. She is usually a very experienced French player and I am not sure what her thought process was when she picked her opening.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {We have a Najdorf on the board, a good choice for the fans but as it turned out a very bad opening for Tatev.} 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg5 Nbd7 (8... Nc6 {was the world champion's choice in his game against Duda from Qatar} 9. Bxf6 (9. Qd3 Nb4 10. Qd2 h6 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. Qxd5 Qc7 14. O-O-O Be7 15. Kb1 Be6 16. Qd3 O-O {0-1 (42) Duda, J (2663)-Carlsen,M (2834) Doha 2015}) 9... Bxf6 10. Nd5) 9. a4 b6 (9... h6 10. Bh4 b6 11. Nd2 Bb7 12. Nc4 Qc7 13. Ne3 {This is simply a difficult position to play for black, as he is always facing complete positional domination if white manages to setup a bind on the d5 square}) 10. Nd2 Bb7 11. Nc4 Qc7 12. Ne3 O-O 13. O-O Rfe8 14. Bc4 Rac8 15. Bxf6 Nxf6 16. Qd3 {White is playing a perfect game, and all her moves are very natural. It is difficult for black to do anything active} Ra8 (16... a5 17. Rad1 g6 18. Bb5 Red8 19. Ba6 {White will ultimmately get the good N against bad B and a very long and stable positional dominance}) 17. Rfd1 Red8 18. Bd5 Rac8 19. Ra3 Rd7 20. Rb3 Bd8 21. Bc4 Ra8 ( 21... a5 22. Bb5 Bc6 23. f3) 22. Ncd5 Nxd5 23. Bxd5 Bxd5 24. Qxd5 Rc8 $2 (24... Rb8 25. Rc3 Qa7 26. Ng4 (26. Rc6 b5 27. Ng4 bxa4 28. Nxe5 Rb5 29. Nxd7 Rxd5 30. Rxd5) 26... Rbb7 27. Rc8) 25. Rc3 Qb8 26. Rxc8 Qxc8 27. Nc4 h6 28. Nxe5 Rc7 29. Qxd6 Bf6 (29... Be7 30. Qd5 Qe8 31. c3) 30. c3 Bxe5 (30... Re7 31. Nd7 Rxe4 32. Nxf6+ gxf6 33. h3) 31. Qxe5 Rd7 32. Rd5 b5 33. Qf5 1-0 [Event "2016 U.S. Championship"] [Site "Saint Louis, Mo"] [Date "2016.04.25"] [Round "11.1"] [White "Chandra, Akshat"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2477"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "mycomputer"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:07:48"] [BlackClock "0:27:36"] {Fabiano was coming into this round as the clear favorite to win the title. Playing black is not a pleasant way to finish a tournament, but playing black against the lowest seed in the tournament, while your main rivals are also having black but against much stronger opposition surely isn't that bad. Young Chandra had a few things to prove but he was also facing a champion ready to write history.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 {No Berlin! Fabiano sticks to his guns as he chooses the topical Ruy Lopez.} 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4 b4 (8... Bd7 9. c3 (9. Nc3 Na5 10. Ba2 c5) 9... Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qb8 {is one of the main lines of this variation}) 9. d4 (9. a5 O-O 10. c3 Rb8 (10... bxc3 11. dxc3 Nb8 12. Nbd2 Nbd7 13. Nf1 Nc5 14. Bc2 Re8 15. Ng3 g6 16. h3 Ne6 17. Be3 Bf8 18. Qd2 Bg7 {0-1 (49) Nunn,J (2630)-Ivanchuk, V (2700) Monte Carlo 1995}) 11. Bc4 Be6 12. Bxa6 Ra8 13. Bb5 Nxa5 14. cxb4 Nb3 15. Rxa8 Qxa8 16. Nc3 Nd4 (16... c6) 17. Nxd4 exd4 18. Ne2 {0-1 (60) Ulibin,M (2553)-Postny,E (2628) Trieste 2013}) 9... O-O 10. dxe5 dxe5 {Fabiano is not afraid of the endgame. The healthiest way to play in these tournament situations is by playing what you know best} 11. Nbd2 Bc5 12. a5 (12. Qe2 Qe7 ( 12... h6 $5 13. h3 Qe7 14. Nc4 Be6 15. Be3 Nd7 16. a5 {0-1 (62) Dominguez Perez,L (2732)-Karjakin,S (2762) Berlin 2015}) 13. a5 Be6 14. Bxe6 Qxe6 15. Nb3 Nd4 16. Nfxd4 Bxd4 17. h3 c5 {1-0 (69) Negi,P (2645)-Kasimdzhanov,R (2700) Tromso 2014}) 12... h6 13. Bc4 Bb7 14. c3 Qd6 15. Qe2 Rad8 16. Nf1 Ne7 17. Ng3 Ng6 (17... bxc3 18. bxc3 Ng6 {was a bit more accurate as it does not allow 19. Rad1! which would have caused some problems in the game}) 18. Be3 bxc3 19. bxc3 (19. Rad1 $1 Qc6 20. Bxf7+ $1 Kxf7 21. Qc4+ Qe6 22. Qxc5 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Qb3 ( 23... Qc6 24. Nxe5+ Nxe5 25. Qxe5 Re8 26. Qxc3 Qxc3 27. bxc3 Bxe4 28. Bf4 { this is a game with only two results, certainly not what Fabi would have wanted })) 19... Bxe3 20. Qxe3 Qc6 21. Bf1 Bc8 22. h3 Be6 23. Reb1 Nd7 24. Rb4 (24. Nd4 $1 exd4 25. cxd4 Rfe8 26. d5 Bxd5 27. exd5 Qxd5 28. Qa7) 24... Kh7 25. Rab1 Qc5 26. Bxa6 Qxa5 (26... Ra8 27. Bc4 Bxc4 28. Qxc5 Nxc5 29. Rxc4 Rxa5 30. Nf5 Rd8 {white should be able to hold}) 27. Bf1 Qc5 28. Qxc5 Nxc5 29. Bc4 $2 (29. Rb5 Nd7 30. Rb7 Rb8 31. Nd2 Rxb7 32. Rxb7 Rc8 33. Ra7 Nc5) 29... Nd3 30. Ra4 Ngf4 {now the position becomes extremely uncomfrotable for White,add a slight time pressure on top of that and you can see why Chandra fell apart so easily in the next moves} 31. Ne1 Nxe1 32. Rxe1 Rd2 33. Bf1 $2 (33. Nf1 $1 Rc2 34. Bxe6 Nxe6 35. Ra3 Rb8 36. Ne3 Rcb2 37. Nc4) 33... Rb8 34. Rb4 (34. Ra5 f6 35. Rc5 Rbb2 36. Nh1 Rb7) 34... Ra8 35. Rb7 Raa2 36. Nh1 c5 37. Rc7 Ra5 38. Ng3 Rc2 39. c4 (39. Nf5 {was necesarry but would have not saved the game entirely} Raa2 40. Rxc5 Rxf2 41. Ne3 f6) 39... g6 40. Rb1 Kg7 41. Rcb7 Raa2 42. Nh1 Bxc4 43. Bxc4 Rxc4 {From now on the execution is just a formality} 44. Re7 Rb4 45. Rd1 Rd4 46. Rb1 Ne6 47. Rbb7 Nd8 48. Rbc7 Kf6 49. f4 Rd1+ 50. Kh2 exf4 51. e5+ Kg5 52. Rxc5 Ne6 53. Rc3 Rdd2 {Cool, calm, and collected! Fabiano didn't give his rivals any chance to catch him up and becomes the 2016 U.S. Champion in his first year playing under the American flag, Chapeau Sir!} 0-1