Games
[Event "FIDE Geneva Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.06"] [Round "1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Li, Chao b"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2809"] [BlackElo "2735"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 e6 4. Nc3 c5 5. d5 d6 6. e4 Bg7 7. Nge2 exd5 8. cxd5 Nbd7 9. Ng3 h5 10. Be2 Nh7 11. Be3 h4 12. Nf1 O-O 13. Qd2 Re8 (13... a6 14. a4 f5 15. exf5 gxf5 16. Bh6 Re8 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Ne3 Qf6 19. g4 {favored White in Vidit-Bai, 2017.}) 14. Bh6 Bd4 $1 {Li Chao does well by keeping his best minor piece on the board.} 15. Ne3 $5 {[#]} a6 $1 {Great timing.} ({Aronian was inviting} 15... g5 16. Nf5 Ne5 17. Ng7 Re7 18. Nh5 f6 19. Nb5 $1 {with great complication that might turn out to be favorable for White.}) 16. Nc2 ({ Now, as the b5-square is covered,} 16. a4 g5 17. Nf5 Ne5 18. Ng7 Re7 19. Nh5 f6 {looks for for Black, who plans to answer} 20. f4 {with} Ng4 $1) 16... Be5 17. Bf4 (17. a4 g5 $1 {again traps the white bishop.}) 17... b5 {Black has achived this all-important advance.} 18. O-O Bxf4 19. Qxf4 Ne5 20. Qh6 g5 {[#]} 21. g3 ({The logical} 21. f4 {is a double-edged proposition. Black will be happy to sac the h4-pawn,} gxf4 22. Rxf4 Qg5 23. Qxg5+ Nxg5 24. Rxh4 {to keep full control over the critical e5-square, along with clear Q-side prospects.}) 21... hxg3 22. hxg3 Qf6 23. Qh2 Ng6 24. Ne3 Bd7 25. Kg2 Kg7 26. Rh1 Rh8 27. Qg1 Qe5 28. Qf2 Nf6 29. Raf1 Nh5 30. Rfg1 {[#]White is 100% on the defensive, and Li Chao decided to strike while the iron was hot.} Nhf4+ $5 ({Something has to be sad in favor of} 30... Rae8 {as there isn't much White can with his position.}) 31. gxf4 Bh3+ 32. Rxh3 Nxf4+ 33. Kf1 Nxh3 34. Qg3 Nxg1 35. Qxe5+ dxe5 36. Kxg1 c4 37. Nf5+ Kf6 38. d6 Ke6 39. a4 {[#]In the endgame two rooks usually worth more than three minor pieces, and here Black also has an extra pawn.} Kd7 ({ He needed to stay cool:} 39... Rhb8 $1 {is only a temporary inconvenience.} 40. axb5 $2 (40. Kf2 Kd7 41. Ke3 Kc6 {liberating the rook from its defensive duty.} ) 40... axb5 41. Nxb5 Ra1+ 42. Kf2 Rc1 $1 {this one is very easy to miss. Black keeps his c-pawn alive and because of that he can bury the white bishop.} 43. Na3 Rxb2 $19) 40. axb5 axb5 41. Nxb5 Ra2 (41... Ra4 42. Nc3 Rb4 43. Nd5 Rxb2 44. Bxc4) 42. Bxc4 Rxb2 43. Nc7 Rhh2 44. Bb5+ Kd8 45. Ne3 {Somewhat surprisingly the players agreed to a draw here. Despite his inaccuracy on move 39, Li could have still gone on.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Geneva Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.06"] [Round "1"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2666"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. h3 d6 7. c3 Ne7 8. Nbd2 Ng6 9. Re1 Bb6 10. Bb3 c6 11. Bc2 Re8 12. d4 Bc7 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Nc4 Be6 15. Qe2 h6 16. Qf1 Nh7 17. Ne3 Nf4 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. exf5 Nf6 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. Rad1 Qc8 22. Qc4 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Qf8 24. Bb3 Re8 25. Rxe8 Qxe8 26. Qb4 b5 27. Qd4 Bb8 28. a4 Qe7 29. Qd3 a6 30. Kf1 Qd7 31. Qxd7 Nxd7 32. Nd4 Ne5 33. axb5 axb5 34. Bc2 Ba7 35. b4 {[#]} f3 $6 ({Hou had chances of building a fortress after} 35... Bxd4 36. cxd4 Nd7 37. Be4 Nb8 38. Ke2 Kf8 39. Kf3 Ke7 40. h4 $1 ({ not the greedy and mindless pawn snacking} 40. Kxf4 {as Black then has} Kd6 { followed by Na6}) 40... Kd6 41. Kg4 Nd7 (41... Na6 42. Kh5 $1) 42. Kxf4 Nf6 43. g4 Nd7 {It's going to be very hard for White to break it down.}) 36. g4 Bxd4 37. cxd4 Nc4 $2 (37... Nd7 $142 38. Be4 Nb8 39. Bxf3 Kf8) 38. Ke1 Nb6 39. Be4 Nd5 40. Bxd5 $1 cxd5 41. Kd2 Kf8 42. Ke3 Ke7 43. Kxf3 {The ending is a forced win for White.} Kd7 {Hou was hoping to barricade all possible approaches for the white king.} ({Yet, she would have failed even in case of the most stubborn defense,} 43... g5 44. fxg6 fxg6 45. Kf4 $1 Ke6 (45... Kf6 46. g5+ hxg5+ 47. Kg4) 46. h4 Kd6 (46... Kf6 47. g5+ hxg5+ 48. hxg5+ Ke6 49. Kg4 Kd6 50. f4 Ke6 51. f5+ gxf5+ 52. Kf4) 47. h5 $1 (47. g5 $2 h5 $11) 47... gxh5 48. g5 $3 (48. gxh5 Ke6 $11) 48... hxg5+ 49. Kxg5 Ke6 50. f4 $18) 44. Kg3 $1 { Pavel knows what he's doing: the king ahead of the pawns is the way to play pawn endgames.} (44. h4 Kd6 45. Kf4 f6 46. g5 h5 $1) 44... Ke7 45. Kh4 $1 g6 46. g5 $1 h5 47. f4 Kf8 48. fxg6 fxg6 49. f5 1-0 [Event "FIDE Geneva Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.06"] [Round "1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2724"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 8. Bd3 Nxf4 9. exf4 c6 ({The usual move order is} 9... b6 10. b4 a5 11. a3 c6 12. O-O Ba6 13. Re1 Bf6 14. Ne5 Bxe5 15. fxe5 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Ra7 {Eljanov-Kramnik and Nakamura-Kramnik, both from 2016.}) 10. Qc2 h6 ({Some years ago then young Anish Giri won a nice game against Khuseinkhodzhaev, White Nights 2007:} 10... g6 11. O-O (11. h4 $5 b6 12. h5 {is interesting, and may be the real reason why Black avoids g7-g6.}) 11... b6 12. b4 a5 13. a3 Ba6 $6 (13... Qc7 $142) 14. Bxa6 Rxa6 15. b5 $1 cxb5 16. c6 b4 ({The real purpose of White's 10th is revealed after} 16... Nb8 17. Nxb5 {and the c6-pawn is protected.}) 17. axb4 Nf6 18. b5 Ra7 19. Ne5 Bd6 20. Na4 {with a powerful grip on the position.}) 11. O-O Qc7 $1 {As expected, Radjabov plays the best move order.} 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. fxe5 Bd7 $5 ({With the knight gone from d7, the standard idea} 13... b6 14. b4 a5 {doesn't work on account of} 15. Na4 $1) 14. a3 b6 15. b4 bxc5 16. bxc5 f6 17. f4 Rab8 18. g3 Qa5 19. Ne2 Be8 {[#]} 20. Bg6 $6 {Anish had a plan of hitting the e6-pawn, but it didn't work out too well.} ({As seen from the following line,} 20. Kg2 Bh5 21. Ng1 fxe5 22. fxe5 Rxf1 23. Rxf1 Qxa3 {White's a3-pawn is in danger.}) ({Anish had to prevent the opening of the f-file, and the only way to do that was} 20. exf6 $1 Bxf6 21. g4 Bd8 22. Kg2 $14) 20... Bxg6 21. Qxg6 Qd2 $1 {As it often happens, White's overextended position is vulnerable to counterplay once the opponent's pieces get around the pawn chain. } 22. Rf2 Qe3 23. Qg4 Kh7 ({Radjabov missed a chance to decide the game in his favor with} 23... Rb2 $1 24. Qxe6+ Rf7 25. Qc8+ Bf8 26. Re1 fxe5 27. dxe5 Kh7 { followed by Bxc5.}) 24. Qxe6 Rbe8 25. a4 $2 {I sense time trouble, otherwise White's concern over the a-pawn is misplaced.} (25. Qxc6 fxe5 26. Qxd5 exd4 { is annoying, but perhaps White can hold:} 27. Rd1 Rd8 28. Qe5) 25... fxe5 26. Qxe5 Qd3 $1 {[#] Two pawns up, but Ne2 is a huge liability, and the white king is weak.} 27. Qh5 Bf6 28. Raf1 g6 29. Qg4 h5 30. Qd7+ Re7 31. Qd6 Kg7 $1 32. Nc1 Qf5 33. Rd1 (33. Nb3 Re3 34. Rf3 Rxf3 35. Rxf3 Re8 $19) 33... Rfe8 $19 34. Qxc6 Re1+ 35. Rf1 Bxd4+ $1 36. Rxd4 Rxf1+ 37. Kxf1 Qh3+ 38. Kf2 Qxh2+ 39. Kf1 Qh1+ 40. Kf2 Re1 {Nice finish.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE Grand Prix"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.06"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Adams, Michael"] [Black "Saleh, Salem"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2638"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:06:20"] [BlackClock "0:02:20"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bc1 Nc6 (8... Nf6 9. Bd3 e5 10. Nde2 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Ng3 Nbd7 13. a4 Nc5 14. Be2 Be6 {Grischuk,A (2750)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2795) Moscow 2017}) 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bc4 e5 11. b3 $146 (11. h3 Nf6 12. f4 Be7 13. O-O O-O 14. fxe5 dxe5 15. Qe2 Bc5+ 16. Kh1 Qe7 17. Bd2 Bd4 {Timman,J (2623)-Sammalvuo,T (2510) Sweden 2003}) 11... Be7 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Qe2 Qb6 14. O-O Nf6 15. Kh1 a5 16. Na4 Qc7 17. Rae1 Nd7 18. Qd3 Bb7 19. Qg3 Bg5 20. Rd1 Nf6 21. f3 Rfe8 22. Rfe1 Rad8 23. Bf1 Nh5 24. Qf2 Re6 $6 {"He didn't find a plan." (Adams)} ({Perhaps this was the moment for} 24... d5 {e.g.} 25. exd5 cxd5 26. Qc5 Qb8) 25. g3 Ree8 26. Qb6 $1 { Without the queens, the white knight can become rather annoying in attacking the weak black pawns.} Qb8 27. Bc3 (27. Qxa5 {is fine as well.}) 27... Rc8 28. Bh3 d5 29. Nc5 $1 ({Even stronger than} 29. Bxc8) 29... Ba8 30. Qxb8 Rxb8 31. exd5 cxd5 (31... Rb5 32. Bd4 $1) 32. Bxe5 d4 33. Bxb8 Rxb8 34. Rxd4 Bxf3+ 35. Bg2 Bxg2+ 36. Kxg2 Rc8 37. Rc4 Rd8 38. Nd3 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.06"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Chao, Li"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A50"] [WhiteElo "2809"] [BlackElo "2735"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:30:26"] [BlackClock "0:28:41"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 e6 (3... c5 4. d5 Bg7 5. e4 d6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. Bg5 h6 8. Be3 e6 9. Qd2 exd5 10. cxd5 Nh7 {Najer,E (2682)-Mamedyarov,S (2772) Sochi 2017} ) 4. Nc3 c5 5. d5 d6 6. e4 Bg7 7. Nge2 exd5 8. cxd5 Nbd7 9. Ng3 h5 10. Be2 Nh7 11. Be3 h4 12. Nf1 O-O 13. Qd2 $146 (13. Nd2 f5 14. exf5 Qe7 15. fxg6 Qxe3 16. gxh7+ Kh8 17. Nc4 Bxc3+ 18. bxc3 Qxc3+ 19. Kf2 b5 {Sanikidze,T (2518) -Rodshtein,M (2698) Chartres 2017}) 13... Re8 14. Bh6 Bd4 15. Ne3 a6 16. Nc2 Be5 17. Bf4 b5 18. O-O Bxf4 19. Qxf4 Ne5 20. Qh6 g5 21. g3 hxg3 22. hxg3 Qf6 23. Qh2 Ng6 24. Ne3 Bd7 25. Kg2 Kg7 26. Rh1 Rh8 27. Qg1 Qe5 28. Qf2 Nf6 29. Raf1 {From this moment Li Chao started to play for a win.} Nh5 $5 (29... Rxh1 30. Rxh1 Rh8 {Li Chao}) 30. Rfg1 Nhf4+ $5 31. gxf4 Bh3+ $1 32. Rxh3 Nxf4+ 33. Kf1 Nxh3 34. Qg3 Nxg1 35. Qxe5+ dxe5 36. Kxg1 c4 37. Nf5+ Kf6 38. d6 Ke6 39. a4 Kd7 40. axb5 axb5 41. Nxb5 Ra2 42. Bxc4 Rxb2 43. Nc7 Rhh2 44. Bb5+ Kd8 45. Ne3 (45. Ne3 {Li Chao said that he didn't see a way to continue, and wanted to check with the computer. The engine is trying it with} Rhf2 46. Nd1 Rg2+ 47. Kf1 (47. Kh1 Rh2+ 48. Kg1 Rbg2+ 49. Kf1 Ra2 50. Kg1 Rh3) 47... Ra2 48. Bc4 Rad2 49. Nd5 g4) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.06"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2666"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:46:32"] [BlackClock "0:21:25"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. h3 d6 7. c3 Ne7 (7... a5 8. Re1 h6 9. Nbd2 Be6 10. a4 Re8 11. Bb5 Bd7 12. Nc4 Nb8 13. Bxd7 Nbxd7 14. Bd2 Nb6 {Kramnik,V (2789)-Anand,V (2775) Leuven 2017}) 8. Nbd2 Ng6 9. Re1 Bb6 10. Bb3 c6 11. Bc2 Re8 12. d4 Bc7 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Nc4 Be6 15. Qe2 h6 $146 (15... b5 16. Ne3 h6 17. Nf5 Bb6 18. Be3 Bxe3 19. Qxe3 Qb6 20. Red1 Red8 21. Nd2 Qxe3 22. Nxe3 a5 {Lu,S (2340)-Neelotpal,D (2445) Olongapo City 2010}) 16. Qf1 Nh7 17. Ne3 Nf4 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. exf5 Nf6 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. Rad1 Qc8 22. Qc4 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Qf8 {The position is quite symmetrical but White's queen and rook are much more active, and after the next move the bishop as well.} 24. Bb3 Re8 25. Rxe8 Qxe8 26. Qb4 b5 27. Qd4 Bb8 28. a4 Qe7 29. Qd3 a6 30. Kf1 Qd7 31. Qxd7 Nxd7 32. Nd4 Ne5 33. axb5 axb5 34. Bc2 Ba7 (34... Kf8 {looks safer.}) 35. b4 f3 ({After if Black wants to trade, it's probably better to do it immediately:} 35... Bxd4 36. cxd4 Nd7) 36. g4 Bxd4 37. cxd4 Nc4 38. Ke1 Nb6 39. Be4 Nd5 40. Bxd5 cxd5 {Despite the doubled pawn White is winning here.} 41. Kd2 Kf8 42. Ke3 Ke7 43. Kxf3 Kd7 44. Kg3 Ke7 45. Kh4 g6 (45... Kd7 46. g5 hxg5+ 47. Kxg5 Ke7 48. f6+ $1 gxf6+ 49. Kf5) 46. g5 h5 47. f4 Kf8 48. fxg6 fxg6 49. f5 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.06"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2724"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:56:35"] [BlackClock "0:54:48"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 8. Bd3 Nxf4 9. exf4 c6 (9... b6 10. b4 a5 11. a3 c6 12. O-O Ba6 13. Re1 Bf6 14. Ne5 Bxe5 15. fxe5 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Ra7 {Nakamura,H (2779)-Kramnik,V (2809) London 2016 }) 10. Qc2 h6 11. O-O Qc7 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. fxe5 Bd7 $146 (13... b6 14. Na4 f6 15. f4 Rb8 16. a3 bxc5 17. Nxc5 Bxc5 18. Qxc5 Rxb2 19. Bh7+ Kf7 20. Rac1 Qb6 { Raessler,A (2302)-Pawlowski,W (2153) corr. 2014}) 14. a3 b6 15. b4 bxc5 16. bxc5 f6 17. f4 Rab8 18. g3 Qa5 19. Ne2 Be8 20. Bg6 Bxg6 21. Qxg6 Qd2 22. Rf2 Qe3 23. Qg4 Kh7 $5 {Radjabov said he was complicating matters because his opponent was low on time.} (23... Kf7 {Radjabov}) 24. Qxe6 Rbe8 25. a4 $2 { After this White is losing by force.} ({The best try was} 25. Qxc6 fxe5 26. Qxd5 exd4 27. Rd1 Rd8 28. Qe5 {"He has to think of equality somehow." Radjabov} ) 25... fxe5 26. Qxe5 (26. dxe5 $4 Bxc5) 26... Qd3 27. Qh5 Bf6 28. Raf1 g6 29. Qg4 h5 30. Qd7+ Re7 31. Qd6 Kg7 32. Nc1 Qf5 33. Rd1 Rfe8 $1 {Here Radjabov had calculated everything.} 34. Qxc6 Re1+ 35. Rf1 Bxd4+ 36. Rxd4 Rxf1+ 37. Kxf1 Qh3+ 38. Kf2 Qxh2+ 39. Kf1 Qh1+ 40. Kf2 Re1 0-1 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.07"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C97"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2694"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:13:51"] [BlackClock "0:16:16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. d5 Nc4 13. b3 Nb6 14. a4 Bd7 15. a5 Nc8 16. c4 (16. Nbd2 g6 17. Nf1 Nh5 18. Bh6 Re8 19. Qd2 Bf6 20. b4 Bg7 21. Ng3 Nxg3 22. fxg3 c4 23. Rf1 f6 {Yu,Y (2667)-Zhou,W (2606) China 2014}) 16... b4 17. Nbd2 Bd8 18. Nf1 Kh8 $146 (18... Ne7 19. g4 h6 20. Ng3 Ng6 21. Be3 Nh7 22. Qd2 Nh4 23. Nxh4 Bxh4 24. Nf5 Bg5 25. Qe2 Rfe8 26. Qf3 Bxe3 27. Nxe3 Nf8 28. Qg3 Ng6 29. Ng2 Qd8 30. h4 Qc7 31. Bd1 {½-½ Odeev,H-Litvinenko,N corr. 2004}) 19. Ra2 Qb8 20. Be3 Ne7 21. Ng3 Qc8 22. Nh4 Neg8 23. Rf1 Ne8 24. Nf3 Bf6 25. Nh2 Ne7 26. Nh5 Ng6 27. Bb1 Qd8 28. Qc1 Kg8 29. Kh1 Bh4 30. f4 exf4 31. Nxf4 Ne5 32. Nd3 Nxd3 33. Bxd3 Nf6 34. Bf4 Nh5 35. Bxd6 Ng3+ 36. Bxg3 Bxg3 37. Nf3 Qc7 38. Re2 f6 {Black is ready to put his bishop on e5 and cement the position, so White needs to be quick.} 39. e5 $1 Bxe5 ({In hindsight} 39... fxe5 {was probably better.}) 40. Qc2 $1 {The point. Black needs to weaken the light squares around his king.} h6 41. Bh7+ Kh8 42. Bf5 Be8 43. Nxe5 $1 fxe5 44. Rfe1 Qxa5 45. Rxe5 {White's d-pawn will be much faster than Black's a-pawn, and there are still problems with his king as well.} Qc7 46. Qd2 Qd6 47. Re6 Qg3 48. Rxh6+ $1 Kg8 49. Bh7+ Kh8 50. Bf5+ Kg8 51. Bh7+ Kh8 52. Be4+ Kg8 53. d6 $1 {Grischuk finishes off with powerful moves.} Ra7 54. Re6 Raf7 55. Kg1 Rf2 56. Qd1 Bf7 57. Bd5 $1 g6 (57... Bxe6 58. Bxe6+ Kh7 59. Qh5#) 58. R6e3 Qg5 59. Bf3 Ra2 60. d7 Rd8 61. Re8+ Kg7 62. Rxd8 Qxd8 63. Qd6 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.07"] [Round "2"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2761"] [BlackElo "2694"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. d5 Nc4 13. b3 Nb6 14. a4 Bd7 15. a5 Nc8 16. c4 b4 17. Nbd2 Bd8 18. Nf1 Kh8 19. Ra2 Qb8 20. Be3 Ne7 21. Ng3 Qc8 22. Nh4 Neg8 23. Rf1 Ne8 24. Nf3 Bf6 25. Nh2 Ne7 26. Nh5 Ng6 27. Bb1 Qd8 28. Qc1 Kg8 29. Kh1 Bh4 {[#] Classic positional battles in the Closed Ruy Lopez often come to a head when White finally pushes f2-f4.} 30. f4 {Right here, right now.} exf4 31. Nxf4 Ne5 32. Nd3 $1 Nxd3 33. Bxd3 Nf6 {Rapport is seeking activity - perhaps a misdirected approach in such positions.} ({The thematic} 33... Bg3 { keeps an eye on the key e5-square.} 34. Bf4 $1 (34. Bf2 Be5 35. Nf3 f6 { is what Black has to be content with.}) 34... Bxf4 35. Qxf4 Qf6 36. Qg3 Qe5 37. Qh4 {White is better here, no doubt about that.}) 34. Bf4 (34. Rf3 Nh5 35. g4 Nf6 36. Bf4 Ne8 37. e5 {would be more clinical.}) 34... Nh5 $1 35. Bxd6 Ng3+ 36. Bxg3 Bxg3 37. Nf3 Qc7 38. Re2 f6 {[#] It seems Black might succeed in holding his dark square blockade, but Grischuk's next move cuts to the chase.} 39. e5 $3 Bxe5 40. Qc2 h6 41. Bh7+ Kh8 42. Bf5 {Strategically speaking, the battle has been decided, but White still has to be accurate putting the game away.} Be8 43. Nxe5 fxe5 44. Rfe1 Qxa5 45. Rxe5 Qc7 46. Qd2 Qd6 47. Re6 Qg3 48. Rxh6+ Kg8 49. Bh7+ Kh8 50. Bf5+ Kg8 51. Bh7+ Kh8 52. Be4+ Kg8 53. d6 $1 Ra7 54. Re6 Raf7 55. Kg1 Rf2 56. Qd1 Bf7 57. Bd5 g6 58. R6e3 Qg5 59. Bf3 Ra2 60. d7 Rd8 61. Re8+ Kg7 62. Rxd8 Qxd8 63. Qd6 {I don't know what makes this dated system of defending the Ruy Lopez attractive to Richard, but games like this can make anybody look bad. See Deep Blue-Kasparov (Game 2), 1997 or Anand-Carlsen, Norway Chess 2015 among numerous examples. There's simply no way a player of Grischuk's level would let Black get away with this.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE Geneva Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.07"] [Round "2"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Adams, Michael"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "user1"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {Harikrishna is off to a good start, scoring 1.5 out of 2 in his 1st two games. He is a very versatile players who can open with 1.e4 or 1.d4. In this game he faces the English No.1 Micky Adams.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {The current tabiya in top level chess, the quiet Italien has existed since the 1900s, but only at the turn of the century did people start to take notice. But this really exploded only in the 2010s, and is played in more than half of the white games opened with e4. Top GMs prefer this as white as it helps avoid the Berlin, and is a theoretical gold mine.} Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O {Adams prefers to castle and complete his development quickly. There are other viable alternatives.} (5... d6 {is the most common move in this position. Here, there are many moves for white, but I will mention only the main line} 6. Bb3 a6 7. h3 Ba7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Nf1 d5 10. Qe2 Be6 {was Tiviakov-Sargassian, that ended in a draw.}) 6. Bg5 {A relative sideline compared to Bb3 and Nbd2, but with the most scope of innovation.} h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. a4 {Hari chooses another unexplored move. The game now turns very interesting.} ({There are 33 games of } 8. Nbd2 {in the Live Database. One of the top level games continued} d6 9. Bb3 Nh5 10. Bg3 Na5 11. Bc2 f5 {1-0, Vachier Lagrave-So, Paris GCT Blitz}) 8... a5 {Adams prevents a space gaining a5 and renders b4 implausible for the moment, but the a5 pawn might turn out to be a weakness.} 9. Nbd2 d6 10. Bg3 Nh7 {This move's purpose is to exchange knights with Ng5, as done in the game. It also can reach f4 via e6 and f8, and it frees the f pawn, which can be advanced to f5 after Kh8. But there were alternatives.} (10... Be6 {is one, aiming to exchange the Bc4. But I am not sure who benifits more after the exchange.} 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. Qb3 Qd7 13. O-O Rad8 14. h3 Nh5 15. Bh2 Nf4 16. Bxf4 Rxf4 17. Rfe1 {and white maintains a nagging edge.}) 11. Qb3 {Hari stops Be6 for now, and prevents the Kh8 and f5 plan previously mentioned. He is also delaying castling as long as possible.} Ng5 12. Nxg5 Bxg5 {Adams too completes his plan.} 13. Nf3 Bf6 14. h3 Rb8 15. Rd1 Bd7 16. O-O {Now that Hari has played Rd1, he has improved all his pieces to their current best positions. Also, 0-0-0 is no longer possible. So he finally castles, and completes his development.} Qe8 {A multipurpose move. It provides extra protection to f7 and e5, and possibly prepares a b5 break after Ne7.} 17. Bb5 Qe6 18. Qc2 Rfd8 19. Nh2 {The past few moves have been made with a purpose for both players- White to support d4, and black to prevent it.} Bg5 {I'm not sure about this move, even though the engines recommend it.} 20. Qe2 {I'm not sure about this move, even though the engines recommend it. Also, I believe that allowing the queen to b3 as Hari did in the games only makes matters harder.} ({I would play} 20. f4 exf4 21. Bxf4 Bxf4 22. Rxf4 Ne5 23. Bxd7 Rxd7 24. d4 Ng6 25. Rf2 Re7 26. Re1 {and White remains slightly better.}) (20. Nf3 {The engine's recommendation. After} Bf4 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. d4 Qg6 23. Qd3 Re8 24. Rfe1 $16 {Black is looking at a hard game ahead.}) 20... Ne7 21. Bxd7 $5 {An interesting decision to exchange the good Bb5 for the slighly bad Bb7.} ({I would retain the bishop with} 21. Bc4 {and after} Qg6 22. d4 $14 {White has the better chances.}) 21... Rxd7 22. h4 $5 {A move that doesn't make sense on first glance, but it is made clear after the next 3 moves.} Bf6 23. Ng4 Ng6 24. h5 $5 Nf4 25. Bxf4 exf4 26. d4 {[%csl Rf6,Gg4] that White wanted this position the moment he exchanged the LS Bishops and played h4. Hari wanted to play along the lines of good knight vs bad bishop. Still, I see this manuever as something that reduced his advantage.} Bg5 27. e5 $5 Re8 $1 {[%csl Re5] Now the position becomes a slugfest of tactical ideas, and Hari's pleasant advantage ceases to exist.} 28. Qf3 Qb3 $1 {Adams is quick to pounce on Hari's lacklustre play to gain counterplay against white's fragile queenside.} 29. Rde1 {[%csl Re8][%cal Re5d6] Hari takes aim at the undefended Re8 and threatens exd6.} Rde7 {Adams calmly defends his rook and again threatens to start munching the queenside.} ( {Obviously,} 29... Qxb2 {can't be played, as after} 30. exd6 $1 $18 {White is clearly winning.}) 30. Rb1 Re6 31. g3 dxe5 (31... fxg3 32. Qxg3 dxe5 33. dxe5 Qb6 34. b4 Rc6 35. Kh2 $13 {is very complicated. With both players low on time, Adams decides to keep it simple.}) 32. dxe5 Qxa4 33. b4 {Hari now finds the right moves and liquidates.} Qc6 $5 {very interesting choice by Adams, accepting the virtual draw offer.} (33... f5 {was possible, aiming to play for the win, but after a long computer line} 34. exf6 Bxf6 35. Nxf6+ Rxf6 36. Qxb7 Qd7 37. bxa5 f3 38. Rfe1 Rxe1+ 39. Rxe1 Qh3 40. Qd5+ Kh7 41. Qd3+ Rf5 42. Qf1 Qxf1+ 43. Kxf1 Rxa5 44. Re3 Rxh5 45. Rxf3 Rc5 {the position becomes equal.}) 34. Qxc6 Rxc6 35. gxf4 Bxf4 36. bxa5 Bxe5 37. Rfe1 Rce6 38. Re3 b6 {Both players decide to call it a draw. A good game by the Englishman Adams, who played well and got rewarded with some chances to push. Though he didn't take it, it a was a great effort. Harikrishna on the other hand will be disappointed that he dindn't make the most accurate moves in a better position, and making suspicious plans and exchanges. Still, it is a long tournament, and I feel he will definitely fancy his chances.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.07"] [Round "2"] [White "Hou, Yifan"] [Black "Riazantsev, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2666"] [BlackElo "2654"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 Bd6 7. Bg3 Ne7 8. Bd3 Bf5 9. Nge2 O-O 10. a3 a5 11. Rc1 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Na6 13. Na4 Nc8 14. Nc5 Qe7 15. Qc3 Ra7 16. O-O Nc7 17. Nf4 Bxf4 18. Bxf4 Ne6 19. Bb8 Ra8 20. Bg3 Nb6 21. a4 Rfe8 22. b3 Nxc5 23. dxc5 Nd7 24. Rfe1 Nf8 25. h3 f6 26. Re2 Qf7 27. Rb2 Ng6 28. b4 axb4 29. Rxb4 Ne5 30. Rcb1 Re7 31. e4 Rd8 32. Rd1 h6 33. Qb3 Red7 34. exd5 cxd5 35. Rb1 Nc4 36. Rxb7 Nd2 37. Qb6 Nxb1 38. c6 Nc3 39. cxd7 Rxd7 40. Rxd7 Qxd7 41. a5 d4 42. a6 d3 {[#] A good, consistent game from Hou up to this point.} 43. Qb3+ $2 {A bad mistake, throwing away the win. Keep in mind, this was played after the time control. With this move, she loses her a-pawn and advantage.} (43. a7 d2 44. a8=Q+ Kh7 45. Qbb8 d1=Q+ 46. Kh2 Q1d5 {is just equal,}) ({but} 43. Bf4 $1 {would crown her efforts:} Nb5 (43... Ne2+ 44. Kh2 Nxf4 45. a7 d2 46. a8=Q+ Kh7 47. Qb1+ f5 48. Qf3 {etc.}) 44. Qb7 Qf5 45. Be3 { winning the knight and the game.}) 43... Kh8 44. a7 Ne2+ 45. Kh2 Qxa7 46. Qxd3 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Grand Prix"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.07"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Jakovenko, Dmitry"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2703"] [BlackElo "2809"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:41:52"] [BlackClock "0:45:39"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 {The Giuoco Piano is incredibly popular at top level these days.} 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. c3 a6 7. a4 (7. h3 Ba7 8. Re1 d6 9. Bb3 Kh8 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Rxe3 Nd7 12. d4 Qf6 13. Na3 Nb6 {Kramnik,V (2789) -Aronian,L (2780) Leuven 2017}) 7... Ba7 8. Re1 d6 9. h3 b5 10. Bb3 (10. axb5 $2 axb5 11. Ba2 Be6 {is bad because of the discovered check on f2.}) 10... b4 11. a5 Rb8 12. Nbd2 Be6 13. Bxe6 $146 (13. Bc4 Qc8 14. Bxe6 Qxe6 15. Nc4 Rb5 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. Nxe3 bxc3 18. bxc3 Rxa5 19. Rxa5 Nxa5 20. Qa4 {½-½ Shankland,S (2676)-Tari,A (2593) Khanty-Mansiysk 2017}) 13... fxe6 14. Nc4 Qe8 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Rxe3 Qg6 17. Ncd2 Nh5 18. Qf1 Rb5 (18... Nf4 19. g3 bxc3 20. bxc3 Rb2 21. Rd1 Nxa5 22. d4 exd4 23. cxd4) 19. Kh2 (19. d4 $5) 19... Qh6 20. Kg1 Qg6 21. Kh2 Qh6 22. Kg1 {Jakovenko is happy with a draw...} Kh8 {...but Aronian isn't.} 23. d4 Nf4 24. h4 g5 $5 {A remarkable pawn sacrifice that keeps chances for an attack on the kingside.} 25. hxg5 (25. Nxg5 $2 Qxh4) 25... Qh5 {One idea is 26...Qg4 and 27...Nh3+ to pick up the pawn, or just ...Rg8 and ...h6 somewhere.} 26. Qc4 exd4 27. cxd4 Nxa5 28. Qf1 h6 29. e5 d5 30. Rc1 c6 31. Ne1 $2 ({The only move was} 31. g6 $1 {when} Rg8 32. Nh2 Rxg6 33. g3 { is a good defensive setup.}) 31... hxg5 32. Nd3 g4 {Now, with threats like ... Rb5-b7-h7, this are already very uncomfortable for White.} 33. Nxf4 Rxf4 34. Rd3 $2 {And after this move White is lost.} (34. g3 Rxd4 35. Rd3 Rxd3 36. Qxd3 {was better.}) 34... g3 $6 ({Missing} 34... Rb7 $1 {and the threat of ...Rh7 is killing.}) 35. Rxg3 Rh4 36. f4 Rh1+ 37. Kf2 Rxf1+ 38. Rxf1 {White lost the queen, but will always win it back.} Nc4 39. Nb3 $2 (39. Nxc4 dxc4 40. Rh3 Qxh3 41. gxh3 a5 {looks completely hopeless but maybe it isn't, e.g.} 42. Ke3 a4 43. Kd2 Rd5 44. Ra1 Rxd4+ 45. Kc1 Rxf4 46. Rxa4) 39... Qh4 $1 {Now Black wins some important tempi when the endgame is winning.} 40. Kf3 a5 41. Ra1 Qh5+ 42. Kf2 Nxb2 43. Rh3 Qxh3 44. gxh3 a4 45. Nc5 b3 46. f5 exf5 47. e6 Nc4 48. e7 Nd6 49. Nxa4 Kg7 50. Nc3 Rb8 51. Ra6 Kf7 0-1 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.07"] [Round "2"] [White "Jakovenko, Dmitry"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2703"] [BlackElo "2809"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Re1 d6 9. h3 b5 $5 {An active move, first played in Shankland-Tari, 2017.} ({ Routine is} 9... Ne7 {played by Nakamura at least five times. Also, Carlsen, Karjakin and Leko tried their hand at it.}) 10. Bb3 b4 11. a5 Rb8 12. Nbd2 Be6 {[#]} 13. Bxe6 $6 {I'm far from being an expert on this structure, but it seems to be White shouldn't take on e6 unless he can immediately follow up with d3-d4.} ({In the above mentioned game Sam played} 13. Bc4) 13... fxe6 14. Nc4 Qe8 15. Be3 (15. d4 Qg6 16. dxe5 {fails to} Nxe4 $1) 15... Bxe3 16. Rxe3 Qg6 17. Ncd2 Nh5 18. Qf1 Rb5 19. Kh2 Qh6 20. Kg1 Qg6 21. Kh2 Qh6 22. Kg1 Kh8 { Levon says no to Dmitry's silent draw offer.} 23. d4 Nf4 24. h4 {[#]Move of the Day coming up.} g5 $3 {Directed against White's intended g2-g3, but how does one come up with such an idea. Simply put, Aronian is a genius.} 25. hxg5 Qh5 26. Qc4 (26. c4 Rbb8 27. dxe5 (27. d5 Nd4) 27... dxe5 28. g3 Nh3+ 29. Kg2 Rbd8 30. Rd1 Qg4 {puts White under considerable pressure.}) 26... exd4 27. cxd4 Nxa5 {Action all over the board.} 28. Qf1 {Jakovenko is not exactly brimming with confidence these days. Lots or rating points have been lost since his glory days of finishing third in the Grand Prix cycle two years ago.} ({ Perhaps, Dmitry could have survived} 28. Qxc7 Rxg5 29. Nxg5 Qxg5 {based on} 30. Rg3 Ne2+ 31. Kh2 Nxg3 32. fxg3 Qxd2 33. Rxa5 {and the open black king keeps Rf8 from joining the party.}) 28... h6 29. e5 d5 30. Rc1 c6 {[#]} 31. Ne1 $2 { More backward moves.} ({While} 31. gxh6 Rg8 32. g3 Rb7 33. Nh2 Rh7 {is indeed, bad for White,}) ({the right move,} 31. g6 $1 Rg8 32. Nh2 Qxg6 33. g3 {keeps him fighting on equal terms.}) 31... hxg5 32. Nd3 g4 33. Nxf4 Rxf4 34. Rd3 g3 $6 {Levon overdid it a bit.} ({There was no need for fireworks, when} 34... Rb7 35. g3 Rh7 {was there. After} 36. Qg2 {Black has a killer shot in} Qf5 37. Qf1 Rxf2 38. Qxf2 Rh1+) 35. Rxg3 Rh4 36. f4 Rh1+ 37. Kf2 Rxf1+ 38. Rxf1 {Suddenly it transpires Black is going to lose his queen back.} Nc4 {[#]} 39. Nb3 ({ The rook endgame after} 39. Nxc4 dxc4 40. Rh3 Qxh3 41. gxh3 c3 {is no picnic for White, but he can fight on with} 42. b3 $1 (42. Ke2 b3 43. Kd3 ({no time for} 43. bxc3 b2 44. Rb1 a5 45. Kd2 a4 46. Kc2 a3 $19) 43... c2 44. Kc3 a5 45. h4 a4 {has this hopeless look of gloom and doom.}) 42... a5 43. Ke3 Rd5 44. f5 exf5 45. Rxf5 Kg7 46. Rf1 c5 {is probably winning for Black though.}) 39... Qh4 40. Kf3 a5 41. Ra1 Qh5+ 42. Kf2 Nxb2 43. Rh3 (43. Nxa5 Nd1+ 44. Kg1 Qe2 { blocks the other white rook form ever reaching h1.}) 43... Qxh3 44. gxh3 a4 { It's over.} 45. Nc5 b3 46. f5 exf5 47. e6 Nc4 48. e7 Nd6 49. Nxa4 Kg7 50. Nc3 Rb8 51. Ra6 Kf7 0-1 [Event "FIDE Grand Prix"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.07"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2800"] [BlackElo "2707"] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:30:12"] [BlackClock "0:02:03"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Bg5 Bb4+ 5. Nbd2 dxc4 6. e3 (6. a3 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 Nbd7 8. a4 c5 9. e3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 h6 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. Bxc4 O-O {Akobian, V (2645)-Naroditsky,D (2646) Saint Louis 2017}) 6... b5 7. a4 c6 8. Be2 Nbd7 9. O-O Qb6 $146 (9... O-O 10. b3 c3 11. Ne4 Bb7 12. Nxf6+ Nxf6 13. axb5 cxb5 14. Bxb5 Qb6 15. Bc4 Ne4 {Taboas Rodriguez,D (2394)-Aranda Marin,C (2352) Madrid 2016}) 10. Qc2 Bb7 11. b3 c3 12. Nb1 c5 (12... bxa4 $5) (12... O-O) 13. Nxc3 cxd4 14. Nxb5 Rc8 (14... O-O) 15. Qb2 a6 16. a5 Qc5 17. exd4 Qf5 $6 {This turns out to be a rather unfortunate square for the queen.} ({Safer was} 17... Qe7) 18. Bd2 $1 Be7 (18... Bxd2 $4 19. Nd6+) 19. Nc3 {White is clearly better because he has a strong threat here, which Inarkiev misses completely.} O-O 20. Nh4 {The queen has no squares.} 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.07"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E16"] [WhiteElo "2724"] [BlackElo "2739"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:51:21"] [BlackClock "0:52:20"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 c6 8. e4 d5 9. exd5 cxd5 10. Ne5 O-O 11. O-O Nc6 12. Bf4 (12. cxd5 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Nxd5 14. Rc1 Nxc3 {½-½ Mamedyarov,S (2772)-Grischuk,A (2750) Moscow 2017}) 12... Na5 13. Rc1 dxc4 14. Bxb7 Nxb7 15. Nxc4 Bb4 $6 $146 (15... Na5 16. Ne3 Rc8 17. d5 exd5 18. Ncxd5 Rxc1 19. Nxe7+ Qxe7 20. Qxc1 Qe6 21. Rd1 Rc8 {Dzagnidze,N (2550)-Bojkovic,N (2425) Tromsoe 2014}) 16. Bg5 Nd6 $6 17. Nxd6 Bxd6 18. d5 exd5 19. Nxd5 Be5 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. b4 Qd6 22. Qf3 Rac8 23. Rcd1 Rfe8 24. b5 Be7 25. Rd4 Bf8 26. Rfd1 Rc5 27. a4 Qe6 28. Rg4 Kh8 29. Rf4 Kg8 30. h4 Rc2 31. Kg2 h6 32. h5 Rcc8 33. Rdd4 Bc5 34. Rde4 Qd7 35. Rg4 Kf8 36. Ref4 (36. Rxg7 $1 {was already possible:} Kxg7 (36... Qxd5 37. Rxe8+) (36... Rxe4 37. Rg8+ Kxg8 38. Nf6+ Kg7 39. Nxd7 Re6 40. Qb7) 37. Qc3+ f6 38. Nxf6 {and wins}) 36... Bd6 37. Rd4 ({Here} 37. Rxg7 {was also possible but it's not as clear as in the game.}) 37... Qb7 $2 (37... Rc5 38. Rge4 {is also good for White, but not yet winning.}) 38. Rxg7 $1 Be5 (38... Kxg7 39. Rg4+ Kf8 40. Rg8+ $1 Kxg8 41. Nf6+ { wins the queen and also an exchange, because} Kh8 42. Qxb7 Rf8 {is met by} 43. Qe4 Kg7 44. Qd4 {and wins.}) 39. Rg8+ $1 Kxg8 40. Nf6+ Bxf6 41. Rg4+ 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.06"] [Round "1"] [White "Riazantsev, Alexander"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E34"] [WhiteElo "2654"] [BlackElo "2737"] [Annotator "Tanmay Srinath"] [PlyCount "167"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {This 1st Round Encounter between the Indian No 2 Harikrishna and Russian Champion Riazantsev was an interesting struggle. The Russian GM got an early advantage, but Hari defended well, and in time trouble started taking advantage of Riazantsev's mistakes. On move 64 the Russian GM cracked and tried to complicate the issure, but Hari was upto the task and got a big edge. The fatal blunder occured on move 74, and Riazantsev resigned on move 84.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 {The Nimzo is the one of best ways for black to fight against the Queen's Gambit.} 4. Qc2 {The Classical System. White prevents doubling of his pawns at the cost of his kingside development.} d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 {This is the famed Romanishin System.} 6. e3 c5 7. Bd2 Bxc3 8. bxc3 { Riazantsev makes a very interesting decision, crippling his queenside, but strengthening his centre.} (8. Bxc3 {is more commonly seen at the top level.} cxd4 9. Bxd4 Nc6 10. Bc3 O-O 11. Nf3 Rd8 12. Be2 Qe4 13. Rc1 Qxc2 14. Rxc2 { is Nakamura,H (2785)-Karjakin,S (2781) Stavanger 2017, that ended in a draw.}) 8... O-O 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. c4 {Riazantsev seeks to gain a tempo and open his bishops, but creates hanging pawns in the centre.} (10. Bd3 $6 c4 11. e4 cxd3 12. exd5 dxc2 13. dxc6 bxc6 14. Rc1 Ba6 15. Rxc2 Bd3 {and only black can claim a better game.}) (10. Be2 {can transpose to the game after} cxd4 11. exd4 b6 12. c4 Qd6 {But black has an improvement with} (12... Qe4 $1 {with rough equality.})) 10... Qd6 11. Bc3 (11. dxc5 Qxc5 12. Rb1 e5 13. Ng5 h6 14. Ne4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Rd8 {is an old game: Alekhine,A-Euwe,M Netherlands 1937, that ended in a draw.}) 11... cxd4 12. exd4 b6 13. Be2 Bb7 14. O-O Rac8 {an improvement over a previous game.} (14... Ne7 15. Ne5 Rac8 16. Qb2 Qc7 17. Rac1 Rfd8 18. Rfd1 Ng6 19. Nxg6 hxg6 20. Qa3 $14 {1-0 (36) Garcia,J (2324)-Garcia Vasquez,J (2237) Lima 2004}) 15. Rfd1 Ne7 {Seeks to stop d5 once and for all. Once the pawns are rendered immobile, they become targets.} 16. Qb3 Rfd8 { Riazantsev is stopped from playing d5, and he now seeks a different plan, trying to use b6 as a hook to open the b-file.} 17. Ne5 Ng6 18. Bb2 Nd7 $6 { Hari successfully forces the exchange of the pesky e5 knight. However, he wastes too much time.} ({Houdini 5 suggests instead} 18... Qc7 19. Qe3 Nxe5 20. dxe5 Ne4 21. a4 a5 22. Bd4 Nc5 $11) 19. Nxg6 hxg6 20. a4 $1 {[%cal Ra4a5] Now Riazantsev executes his a4-a5 ideas.} Nf6 {Now we see why Nd7 was dubious- it has to return to f6 and fails to prevent a5.} 21. a5 $16 Qc7 22. axb6 axb6 23. Rab1 {Very unnatural. I understand that b6 is weak, but this is too materialistic.} (23. Ra7 {What is wrong with this move? I think Riazantsev feared exchanges down the a-file, but I seriously believe he didn't go deeper. After} Ne4 24. Qe3 Qb8 25. Rda1 Nd6 26. Qe5 $16 {Black is in a bind, and white has a much better position.}) 23... Ne4 24. Rbc1 {[%cal Rc4c5,Rd4d5] The hanging pawns start flexing their muscles.} Qf4 $1 {A good move by Hari, seeking counterplay on the white monarch.} (24... Ra8 {is considerably weaker, as after} 25. Qe3 Ra2 26. Rc2 Qc6 27. f3 Qa4 28. Rdc1 $16 {White has a commanding position.}) 25. f3 Nf6 $6 {Wrong retreat.} (25... Nd6 {and black is slightly worse at most.} 26. d5 Re8 27. Bf1 Nf5 28. d6 Nxd6 29. Qxb6 Nf5 $14) 26. Rc2 {A good move, but there was a better one.} (26. Ra1 $1 {[%cal Ra1a7] it is, as after} Qc7 27. Bc1 Ra8 28. Be3 Ra5 29. Rdb1 Ba6 30. Rc1 Rc8 31. Qb2 Rh5 32. g3 $16 {b6 is very weak, and white claims a big advantage.}) 26... Qc7 27. Bc1 $6 {I don't understand this move. I felt the bishop was fine on b2. I guess White plans Be3 and d5 in some lines, but I am not entirely sure it is the best plan.} (27. Rcd2 $16 {[%cal Rd4d5] is a simple move, planning d5.}) 27... b5 $1 {A very strong move by Hari, who is showcasing his defensive skills.} 28. c5 $2 {A bad reposte by the Russian.} ({Ofcourse not} 28. cxb5 $4 Qxc2 $19) ({But} 28. Rb2 {deserved a shot as after} Rb8 29. cxb5 Rdc8 30. Bd2 Nd5 31. Be1 Qb6 $16 {I don't see a bright future for black.}) 28... Bd5 $1 $11 {The position has stabilised, and both players now make meaningful additions to their positions.} 29. Qb4 Bc6 30. Bg5 Nd5 31. Qb2 Re8 32. Ra1 Ra8 33. Rcc1 Qb7 34. Bd2 Rxa1 35. Rxa1 Ra8 36. Ra5 $2 {The Russian GM loses the thread in time trouble.} (36. Rxa8+ Qxa8 37. Bd3 Qa4 38. Kf2 $11 {was the simplest path to equality.}) 36... Rxa5 37. Bxa5 b4 $1 {Riazantsev has clearly miscalculated, as he now finds himself worse.} 38. Bc4 Ne3 39. Be2 b3 40. Bd2 Nf5 41. Bc3 Bd5 42. Qc1 Ne7 43. Bb2 Nc6 44. Qc3 Kf8 45. Kf2 Ke7 {An okay move, although I would play} (45... g5 $1 $17 {Preventing h4 and some play on the kingside.}) 46. Qd2 Qb8 47. h3 Kf8 48. Bd3 Kg8 49. Qe1 Qf4 {Hari is better, but the Russian GM defends well.} 50. Qe3 Qh4+ 51. Kg1 Qd8 52. Kf2 Qa5 53. Qe1 Nb4 54. Bb1 Qb5 55. Qc3 Qa4 56. Kg1 Kf8 57. Kf2 Nc6 58. Kg1 Ke8 59. Kf2 Kd7 60. Qd2 Kc8 61. Qc3 Na5 62. Bd3 Bc4 63. Bb1 Nc6 {Till now Hari has put a lot of pressure, and it starts to tell on Riazantsev.} 64. d5 $6 {An unecessary effort to force the issue. Riazantsev snaps under pressure, and loses a pawn.} (64. Qe3 Nb4 65. Qf4 f5 66. Qe5 Qd7 $15 {and I see no immediate loss for white here, though his position remains unpleasant.}) 64... Bxd5 $17 65. Qxg7 $2 {An error in judgement. Why undouble black's g pawns and give up h3? Clearly, Whte missed the fact that he gets just 1 check at the the black king.} ({Houdini suggests} 65. Bd3 f6 66. Bxg6 Ne5 67. Bd3 Kd7 68. Bf1 Kc6 69. Kg3 Nd7 70. Be2 e5 $17 { as a possible improvement, but I feel Black is close to winning here as well.}) 65... Qh4+ $1 $19 {Black gets the h3 pawn, and stays a pawn up. Now it is almost over} 66. g3 Qxh3 67. Qg8+ Nd8 68. Qh8 Qxh8 69. Bxh8 Nb7 {[%cal Rb7c5]} 70. Ke3 Kd7 71. f4 Nxc5 72. g4 $2 {The last mistake. White now loses quickly.} f5 $1 $19 73. gxf5 exf5 74. Bd3 Kc6 75. Be2 Na4 76. Bd1 Kc5 $1 {[%cal Rb3b2] Threathening b2.} (76... b2 $4 {is an unnecessary rush of blood that loses after} 77. Bxa4+ $1 $18) 77. Bd4+ Kb4 78. Bg7 Be4 79. Bf8+ Kc4 80. Be2+ Kd5 81. Bd1 b2 82. Bb3+ Kc6 83. Bxa4+ Kb7 84. Kd4 {and Riazantsev threw in the towel. A great game by the Indian GM, who weathered the early storm and took advantage of his opponent's mistakes to secure an edge. It shows the value of patience at the top leve, as Riazantsev just cracked after a long and arduous defense.} 0-1 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.07"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Saleh, Salem"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2638"] [BlackElo "2775"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:48:23"] [BlackClock "0:55:40"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 a6 8. a4 Ba7 9. Nbd2 Qe7 (9... g5 10. Bg3 Nh7 11. O-O O-O 12. Kh1 Kh8 13. b4 f5 14. exf5 Bxf5 15. b5 Ne7 {Sethuraman,S (2619)-Yu,Y (2750) Fufeng 2017}) 10. b4 Bd7 $146 (10... g5 11. Bg3 Nh5 12. Nf1 Be6 13. Bxe6 Qxe6 14. Ne3 Bxe3 15. fxe3 a5 { Vocaturo,D (2574)-Romanov,E (2641) Gjakova 2016}) 11. Rb1 g5 12. Bg3 Nh5 13. b5 axb5 14. axb5 Na5 15. Bd5 Nxg3 16. hxg3 Qf6 17. Qe2 O-O 18. Nh2 c6 19. bxc6 ( 19. b6 $5 cxd5 20. bxa7 dxe4 21. Nxe4 Qg6 22. Qe3 f5 23. Nd2 f4 24. Qe4 Kg7) 19... bxc6 20. Ba2 Kg7 21. Ndf1 Rfb8 22. Ne3 Bxe3 23. Qxe3 Be6 24. Qe2 Bxa2 25. Rxb8 Rxb8 26. Qxa2 Qe6 27. Qa1 $6 (27. Qxe6 fxe6 28. Kd2 Rb2+ 29. Ke3 {offered better chances.}) 27... Nb3 28. Qd1 Nc5 29. O-O Rb3 30. Qc2 Ra3 31. Rb1 Qa2 32. Qxa2 Rxa2 33. Ng4 Rd2 34. Ne3 Rxd3 35. Nf5+ Kf6 36. f3 g4 37. Kf2 gxf3 38. gxf3 d5 39. Rb6 dxe4 40. Ne3 Rd2+ 41. Ke1 Rd6 42. fxe4 Nxe4 43. g4 Kg5 0-1 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.08"] [Round "3"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2800"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 a6 6. O-O d6 7. a4 {[%emt 0:00: 05] C4: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3} Ba7 8. Re1 O-O 9. h3 {LiveBook: 43 Games} b5 (9... Ne7 10. d4 Ng6 11. Nbd2 c6 12. Bd3 Re8 13. Bc2 h6 14. Nf1 exd4 15. cxd4 {1-0 (40) Kramnik,V (2808)-Carlsen,M (2832) Stavanger 2017}) 10. Ba2 $146 ({Predecessor:} 10. Bb3 b4 11. a5 Rb8 12. Nbd2 Be6 13. Bc4 Qc8 14. Bxe6 Qxe6 15. Nc4 Rb5 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. Nxe3 bxc3 18. bxc3 Rxa5 19. Rxa5 Nxa5 20. Qa4 {1/2-1/2 (20) Shankland,S (2676)-Tari,A (2593) Khanty-Mansiysk 2017}) 10... b4 11. Bg5 Rb8 12. Nbd2 h6 13. Bh4 Be6 14. Bc4 ( 14. Bd5 $5 Bd7 15. d4 $11) 14... g5 15. Bg3 Na5 16. Bxe6 fxe6 17. d4 bxc3 18. bxc3 Nh5 19. Bh2 exd4 20. cxd4 Nc6 21. Rc1 Qd7 22. Re3 {Hoping for Rec3.} Rb7 ( 22... Nxd4 $142 23. Nxd4 Bxd4 24. Qxh5 Bxe3 25. fxe3 Qh7) 23. Nb3 $16 {Rec3 is the strong threat.} e5 24. Nxe5 dxe5 (24... Nxe5 $16 {might work better.} 25. Qxh5 Qf7 26. Qxf7+ Rxf7) 25. Qxh5 $18 Kh7 $2 (25... Rf6 {was worth a try.}) 26. Rec3 Nxd4 {White must now prevent ...Rxf2!} 27. Bxe5 (27. Na5 $142 Rxf2 28. Kxf2 Nb3+ 29. Kf1 Nxa5 30. Bxe5) 27... Rxf2 $2 (27... Nxb3 28. Rc6 $1 $18) ( 27... Ne6 28. Rf3 Qe8) 28. Kh2 $2 (28. Kxf2 Nxb3+ 29. Kg3 Nxc1 $17) (28. Nc5 $18 {is the precise move to win.} Qf7 29. Qxf7+ Rxf7 30. Bxd4) 28... Ne6 $16 ({ But not} 28... Nxb3 $2 29. Rc6 $18) 29. Rd1 (29. Qg4 $16 c5 30. Bg3) 29... Qe7 ({Avoid the trap} 29... Qxa4 $2 30. Rf3 $18) (29... Qf7 $1 $11 30. Qxf7+ Rxf7) 30. Qg4 ({White should try} 30. Rcd3 $1 $16 Nf8 31. Bg3) 30... Qf7 $11 31. Rc6 h5 32. Qg3 $1 (32. Qxe6 {[#] leads to mate.} Rxg2+ $3 33. Kh1 Rh2+ $3 34. Kxh2 Qf2+ 35. Kh1 Qf3+ 36. Kh2 Qe2+ 37. Kh1 Qxd1+ 38. Kg2 Qg1+ 39. Kf3 Qf2#) 32... Rf1 33. Qd3 Rxd1 34. Qxd1 {Precision: White = 47%, Black = 38%.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.08"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B92"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2742"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:59:46"] [BlackClock "0:34:02"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {Together with MVL, Nepomniachtchi is one of the players still remaining faithful to the Najdorf. Perhaps, after Kasparov's participation in St. Louis in August, more will follow?} 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be3 Be6 9. Nd5 Nbd7 10. Qd3 O-O 11. a4 (11. O-O Bxd5 12. exd5 Ne8 13. a4 Bg5 14. a5 Bxe3 15. Qxe3 Nef6 16. c4 Rb8 17. Rfb1 Qc7 {Carlsen,M (2838)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2803) Karlsruhe 2017}) 11... Bxd5 12. exd5 Nc5 13. Nxc5 dxc5 14. c4 Qc7 $146 (14... e4 15. Qd2 Bd6 16. O-O Qc7 17. g3 Nd7 18. f4 exf3 19. Bxf3 Rae8 20. Rae1 Ne5 {Vehi Bach,V (2381)-Carlsson,P (2514) Plovdiv 2008}) 15. Qc2 Rae8 16. g4 {"I'm just trying to play interesting chess." Eljanov} e4 17. O-O-O Bd6 18. g5 Nd7 19. Kb1 Ne5 20. h4 Nf3 21. Rh3 Qd7 22. Rhh1 Qe7 23. Bxf3 exf3 24. h5 b5 $6 (24... Qe4 $5 {Eljanov}) 25. cxb5 axb5 26. axb5 Qd7 27. Qd3 Rb8 28. h6 g6 29. Bd2 $1 {There's a much better diagonal available for the bishop.} Rxb5 30. Bc3 Rb3 31. Rhe1 Qg4 32. Re4 Qxg5 (32... Qf5 $5) 33. Qxf3 Be5 34. Rxe5 $1 {Definitely a strong idea. Eljanov thought this was winning, but is it?} Qxe5 35. d6 f6 36. d7 Rxc3 37. Qxc3 Qe7 $2 ({What did the players miss here?} 37... Qxc3 38. bxc3 Rd8 39. Kb2 Kf8 40. Kb3 Ke7 41. Kc4 Rxd7 42. Rxd7+ Kxd7 43. Kxc5 g5 {looks like a drawn pawn endgame.}) 38. Qb3+ Kh8 39. Qd5 Rd8 40. Rd3 {There's nothing Black can do against 41.Re3, 42.Qc6 and 43.Re8. The pawn on h6 is the hero indeed.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE Grand Prix"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Adams, Michael"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2736"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:54:11"] [BlackClock "0:03:25"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Qc2 c5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. Bd3 Qa5+ (10... h6 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. O-O Bg4 13. Bf5 Bxf3 14. gxf3 Ne6 15. Bg3 Qb6 16. Rfd1 Rfd8 {Fedoseev,V (2690)-Jakovenko,D (2718) Minsk 2017}) 11. Qc3 Qb6 12. a3 cxd4 $146 (12... c4 13. Bc2 Bd6 14. Bg3 Re8 15. O-O Bxg3 16. fxg3 Qd6 17. Rae1 Nf6 {Mandiza,F (2355)-Tang,A (2466) Las Vegas 2016}) 13. Qxd4 Nc5 14. Bc2 Qb5 15. Be5 f6 16. Bg3 {"Pretty unclear." (Svidler) } Qc4 $2 {"A very unfortunate decision by Mickey." (Svidler)} 17. Rc1 $1 { Now Black is more or less forced to take on d4 when White has a dream position. } Qxd4 18. Nxd4 a5 19. Nb5 $1 {The d-pawn is doomed.} Rd8 20. Nc7 Ra7 21. Rd1 Kf7 22. Nxd5 b5 23. O-O Bf8 (23... g6 24. Nxe7 Kxe7 25. Rxd8 Kxd8 26. Bd6 Na4) 24. Bxh7 g5 ({Black cannot try and trap the bishop with} 24... g6 {because of} 25. Bxg6+ Kxg6 26. Nf4+) 25. h4 Be6 26. e4 gxh4 27. Bxh4 Bxd5 28. Rxd5 Rxd5 29. exd5 Na4 30. Rc1 Rd7 31. Rc6 Rxd5 32. Rxf6+ Kg7 33. Bc2 Nxb2 34. Rg6+ Kf7 35. Rf6+ Kg7 36. Rb6 Bc5 37. Rb7+ Kf8 38. Bg6 Bd4 39. Be7+ Kg8 40. Bf6 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2666"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:20:40"] [BlackClock "0:47:58"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 (6. O-O Qe7 7. Nbd2 Bg4 8. Nc4 Nd7 9. a3 a5 10. Be3 f6 11. Bxc5 Nxc5 12. Ne3 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 O-O {Anand,V (2786)-Carlsen,M (2832) Leuven 2017}) 6... O-O 7. Qe2 Re8 8. Nc4 Nd7 9. Bd2 Nb6 10. Na5 $146 {"Very unbalanced, very unclear position." (Nepomniachtchi)} (10. Ne3 a5 11. h4 Bd4 12. O-O-O Be6 13. Kb1 f6 14. g4 Bxe3 15. Qxe3 Bxg4 16. Rdg1 Bxf3 17. Qxf3 Kh8 {Howell,D (2663)-Adams,M (2727) Bournemouth 2016}) 10... Qe7 11. a3 $6 (11. O-O-O {Nepomniachtchi}) 11... Bd6 12. h4 Na4 13. h5 $5 Qf8 ({Did Hou Yifan get outbluffed? After} 13... Nxb2 { Nepomniachtchi thought Black was OK or even better.}) 14. Nc4 b5 15. Nxd6 cxd6 16. b3 Nc5 17. Nh4 Ne6 18. Nf5 c5 19. O-O ({Here Nepomniachtchi preferred} 19. O-O-O) 19... Nf4 20. Qf3 g6 21. g3 Bxf5 (21... gxf5 $5 22. gxf4 f6) 22. gxf4 Bd7 23. Kh2 f6 (23... f5 $5) 24. Rg1 Kf7 25. Rg3 Qe7 26. Rag1 Rg8 27. R1g2 Rh8 28. Kg1 Rag8 29. b4 c4 30. Be3 Bc6 31. Rh2 a6 32. Kf1 Qe8 33. Rh4 Qe7 34. fxe5 $1 dxe5 35. d4 $1 {White is breaking through.} exd4 36. Bg5 $1 {"At some point I managed to trick her." (Nepomniachtchi)} Rf8 37. Rf4 Ke6 38. Qg4+ Kd6 39. e5+ $1 Kc7 (39... Qxe5 40. Rxd4+ {wins the queen on the next move.}) 40. Bxf6 Rxf6 41. exf6 Qf7 42. Rxd4 Qxf6 43. Qf4+ Qxf4 44. Rxf4 gxh5 45. Rg7+ Kb6 46. Rf6 h4 47. Rh6 Rd8 48. Rf7 h3 49. Rff6 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Saleh, Salem"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B28"] [WhiteElo "2638"] [BlackElo "2694"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:51:01"] [BlackClock "0:50:31"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c4 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e5 6. Nf5 $1 {The best move. Rapport had faced two other replies before:} (6. Nxc6 dxc6 7. Qxd8+ Kxd8 8. Be3 Kc7 9. Nc3 Nf6 10. f3 Be6 11. c5 g6 12. Na4 Nd7 {Socko,B (2622)-Rapport,R (2701) Budapest HUN 2014}) (6. Nc2 Bc5 7. Bd3 d6 8. O-O Nge7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Be3 Be6 11. Nd5 Bxe3 12. Ncxe3 Nd4 13. Nxe7+ Qxe7 {Reinhart,E (2344)-Rapport,R (2716) Basel SUI 2015}) 6... d6 7. Nc3 g6 ({Giving up the bishop with} 7... Bxf5 8. exf5 {cannot be recommended.}) 8. Ne3 Bh6 (8... Nge7 9. h4 h5 10. Ned5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Bh6 12. Bg5 Bxg5 13. hxg5 Be6 14. Nf6+ {½-½ Szabo,K (2510) -Hujbert,F (2464) Hungary 2016}) 9. g3 $146 (9. Bd3 Be6 10. O-O Nge7 11. b3 O-O 12. Bb2 Rb8 13. Qe1 Nd4 14. Ne2 Nec6 15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16. Rd1 b5 {Sanchez Enriquez,O (2374)-Bogner,S (2603) Barcelona 2014}) 9... Nf6 10. Bg2 O-O 11. O-O b5 12. f4 {"A crazy mess." (Salem)} exf4 13. gxf4 Bb7 {Salem was surprised how quickly Rapport played his last two moves, as "it looks so promising for White. "} 14. e5 $1 {Salem goes for it, and rightly so.} dxe5 15. fxe5 Nd7 (15... Qxd1 $6 16. Rxd1 $1 {gives White a clear advantage.} (16. Nexd1 Ng4 $1 (16... Bxc1 17. Bxc6 $1 Bxc6 18. Rxf6) 17. Bxh6 Nxh6 18. cxb5 axb5 19. Nxb5 Rab8 {is less clear})) (15... Qb6 $5 16. exf6 Bxe3+ 17. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 18. Rf2 Na5 19. Bxb7 Nxb7 20. Nd5 Qg5+ 21. Rg2 Qh4 {might be OK for Black.}) 16. Ng4 Bxc1 17. Rxc1 Ncxe5 18. Nxe5 Bxg2 19. Nxd7 Bxf1 20. Kxf1 Qh4 (20... Re8 21. Qd4 $1 Re6 22. Re1 $1) 21. Nxf8 $1 Qxh2 22. Nd7 $1 {Salem keeps playing the best moves. There is no perpetual.} Qh3+ 23. Kf2 Qh2+ 24. Ke3 Re8+ 25. Kd3 Rd8 26. Nd5 Rxd7 27. Kc3 Rd6 28. b3 a5 29. Rc2 Qg3+ 30. Qd3 Qe1+ 31. Kb2 {White has consolidated and is winning now.} bxc4 32. bxc4 Re6 33. Qc3 Qf1 34. Qxa5 Re1 35. Ka3 h5 36. Qc3 Re6 37. Rb2 Ra6+ 38. Kb4 h4 39. Kc5 Qg1+ 40. Qe3 Ra5+ (40... Ra5+ {and resigned because of a line like} 41. Kb4 Qxe3 42. Nxe3 Ra8 43. Rh2 g5 44. c5) 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.10"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2761"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:04:46"] [BlackClock "0:00:51"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Bc5 ({Standard is} 6... Nb6 {e.g.} 7. O-O Be7 8. Rb1 a5 9. d3 O-O 10. Be3 Be6 11. Bxb6 cxb6 12. a3 f5 {So,W (2812)-Karjakin,S (2781) Paris 2017}) 7. O-O O-O 8. d3 Bb6 9. Na4 $6 $146 (9. Bd2 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 f6 11. a4 a5 12. Qb3+ Kh8 13. Nd2 Nd4 14. Qd1 Bg4 15. Bxd4 Bxd4 16. Bxb7 Rb8 17. Bf3 Be6 18. Rb1 Bxb2 {½-½ Jarabinsky,M (2164) -Liamtsau,V (2184) corr. 2012}) 9... Re8 10. Bg5 Qd6 11. Nd2 Qg6 12. Ne4 Bg4 13. h3 Be6 14. Bd2 Rad8 15. Kh2 Kh8 16. a3 f5 17. Nec5 Bc8 18. b4 $6 (18. e4 $5 ) 18... e4 19. e3 Bxc5 20. Nxc5 b6 21. Nb3 Ba6 22. Nc1 Ne5 23. Qa4 Bxd3 24. Nxd3 Nxd3 25. b5 h5 26. Qc2 Qd6 27. h4 Qe5 28. Kg1 Re6 29. a4 Kh7 30. Ra3 Rdd6 31. a5 c5 32. bxc6 Rxc6 33. Qd1 Nf6 34. axb6 axb6 35. Qb1 (35. Qb3 $5) 35... Red6 36. Rb3 Ng4 37. Bb4 Rd5 38. Be1 Rc1 0-1 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.10"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Hou, Yifan"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2666"] [BlackElo "2694"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:51:18"] [BlackClock "0:51:19"] 1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 e5 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 g6 7. Re1 Bg7 8. h3 O-O 9. d4 (9. Bb3 Qe7 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. Nf1 Rae8 12. Ng3 Kh8 13. Bxe6 Qxe6 14. d4 Qe7 {Leko,P (2693)-Radjabov,T (2710) Doha 2016}) 9... Nd7 $146 (9... Qe7 10. Na3 Bd7 11. Bd3 Rae8 12. Bd2 Qd8 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Be3 Qe7 15. b4 b6 {Geller,J (2488)-Savenkov,K (2351) Moscow 2016}) 10. Na3 Nb6 11. Bb5 Bd7 12. Be3 Kh7 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Nc4 Qe7 15. a4 Rad8 16. Qe2 Nxc4 17. Qxc4 Qf6 18. Bxc6 Qxc6 19. Qxc6 Bxc6 20. Bxa7 Rg8 21. a5 f5 22. exf5 gxf5 23. Red1 $6 ({The computer has no fear and goes} 23. Nxe5 $1 Bxe5 24. Rxe5 Rxg2+ 25. Kf1 Rd2 26. Re7+ Kg8 27. Rxc7 {which looks dangerous, but Black has no way to profit from his active rooks. In fact,} Rg6 {is the only move to keep the balance!}) 23... Ra8 (23... Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Bf6 25. Kf1 Ra8 {was also strong.}) 24. Be3 f4 25. Bd2 Bf6 26. Ne1 Rg7 27. c4 Rag8 28. Kf1 $2 {A blunder in early time trouble.} ({Again White should not be afraid:} 28. a6 $1 bxa6 29. Rxa6 Bxg2 30. Nxg2 Rxg2+ 31. Kh1 {and White is fine.}) 28... Bxg2+ 29. Nxg2 f3 $1 {This is a big problem now.} 30. Be3 e4 31. Ra3 Be5 32. Rb3 c6 ({The text move doesn't spoil the win, but Rapport could have finished the game with the beautiful} 32... Rd8 $3 { and White can actually resign here. The main point is} 33. Rxd8 fxg2+ 34. Kg1 Bh2+ 35. Kxh2 g1=Q#) 33. Bd4 fxg2+ 34. Kg1 Rd8 35. Rbd3 Rgd7 36. Bxe5 Rxd3 37. Re1 Rg8 38. h4 Rh3 39. Bh2 Rxh4 40. Rd1 Rg7 41. b4 e3 42. fxe3 Rxc4 43. Be5 Rgg4 44. Bd6 h5 0-1 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.10"] [Round "5"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B81"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2742"] [Annotator "Tanmay Srinath"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {This 5th Round Game was an interesting pairing. On one hand we have the solid Harikrishna, who's unbeaten this tournament, and on the other hand we have Ian Nepomniachtchi, a super aggressive 'risk it all' player. This game lived up to the hype, and we had an uncompromising struggle.} 1. e4 {Hari has stuck to e4 in this tournament. He is one of the few really good ambidextrous players, being able to play both e4 and d4 really well. I guess he predicted Nepo's opening choice, and decided he wanted to go all out today.} c5 {The Sicilian has always been a popular opening at the top level for aggressive players like Kasparov, Topalov etc. Nepo continues this trend.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 {This time, we don't see a Rossolimo, that happens after Bb5. It is now a fight of good opening preparation.} (3. Bb5+ {This is becoming more and more popular at the top level for people who don't want to enter 20 moves of prepared theory. Nepo himself faced it twice this year against Najdorf expert Vacher Lagrave, and lost both. One of those games continued} Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bd3 b5 6. Re1 Bb7 7. a4 b4 8. Bc4 Ngf6 9. d3 e6 10. Nbd2 Be7 11. Nf1 O-O 12. Ng3 $13 {with an unclear position, though Maxime eventually won.}) 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {The Najdorf is the most common Sicilian at the top level, due to its blend of tactical and positional themes. It is also Nepo's favourite.} 6. h3 { This move is the tabiya of modern chess. White refuses to commit to any DS Bishop moves, and plans to fianchetto the bishop after g4. His main aim is to control the light squares that Black will weaken if he plays e5. His idea is to play Nde2 after e5.} (6. Be2 {was a move that was frequently used, but has now been relegated, due to the efforts of Maxime and other Najdorf experts. The point is that the bishop is well placed to reach f3 if black plays e6, allowing white to expand unhindered on the kingside with f4. However, after e5, it is clear that the bishop is slightly misplaced. A playable variation nevertheless, but it has lost some trust at the top level. I will mention a sample line now. After} e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Qd3 Nc6 {and black faces few difficulties, and eventually drew, Ponomariov-Shankland. It speaks volumes of the variation if white has scored only 51% in it.}) (6. Be3 {is the English Attack. Here too white will play g4, but after f3. However, this move order has a disavantage. After} e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 {Black has been doing very well recently with the move} h5 {The point is to prevent the freeing g4. Topalov-Vachier Lagrave continued} 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. Nd5 Bxd5 11. exd5 g6 12. Be2 Bg7 {and black is doing fine.}) (6. Bg5 {A once popular variation, that went under the cloud because of the forced Poisoned Pawn lines. This is white's most aggressive way to fight the Najdorf. Parimarjan Negi has written an excellent book on the subject, and I won't be surprised if the variation is revived at the top level, partly due to Fabiano's recent efforts. Caruana-Nakamura continued} e6 7. f4 h6 8. Bh4 Qb6 9. a3 Be7 10. Bf2 Qc7 11. Qf3 Nbd7 12. O-O-O b5 13. g4 g5 14. h4 gxf4 15. Be2 b4 16. axb4 Ne5 17. Qxf4 Nexg4 18. Bxg4 e5 {and here Fabi unleased the fantastic} 19. Qxf6 $3 {and won later}) 6... e6 {Nepo chooses to play the Scheveningen today.} (6... e5 { is slightly more popular at the top level. Play continues} 7. Nde2 h5 8. Bg5 Be6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Nd5 Qd8 11. Nec3 {and white has slightly better chances, Anand-Bologan.}) 7. g4 {This is the reason the Scheveningen has disappeared from the top level- the aggressive Keres Attack. So unless Nepo has cooked up something new, he is staring at trouble.} Be7 8. g5 Nfd7 9. h4 b5 10. a3 Bb7 11. Be3 Nc6 12. Qd2 O-O 13. O-O-O Nc5 14. f3 Rb8 {Both sides complete their development in standard fashion. I feel the assesment of the position will depend on who crashes through first.} 15. Kb1 $146 {A natural move that is also a novelty.} (15. Rg1 {is its predecessor. But after} b4 16. Nxc6 Bxc6 17. axb4 Qb6 $132 {Black finds immediate counterplay, and white has to be careful here.}) 15... Nxd4 16. Bxd4 Bc6 17. Bh3 $6 {A very questionable decision, but a human one after all. I guess Hari was out of his preparation at this point.} ({It was necessary for Karpovian prophylaxix with} 17. b4 $1 {physically stopping black from playing the same. White is taking a risk here, as a timed a5 might shatter his structure, but then, why play the sicilian if you don't want to take risks? After} Qc7 18. h5 a5 19. g6 $14 {White is crashing through first, though black still has chances.}) 17... a5 {Nepo takes the chance offered to him, and the game now turns very sharp.} 18. b4 $6 {I think this is one move too late, and allows back to improve his c5 knight and open the a-file.} (18. Qe3 {Was necessary, to threathen Bxc5. After} b4 19. Bxc5 bxc3 20. Qxc3 Rc8 21. e5 Bxf3 22. Qxf3 Rxc5 {White has somewhat stabilised the situation.}) 18... axb4 19. axb4 Nd7 {A bad move by Nepo. Why retreat when you can advance} (19... Na4 $1 {was possible, to cover important squares on the queenside. After} 20. Nxa4 bxa4 21. Ka1 Qc7 22. h5 e5 $1 $17 {Black is calling the shots.}) 20. g6 $1 {Hari takes the gift presented to him, and attacks gleefully.} e5 21. gxf7+ Rxf7 22. Be3 Kh8 23. Rhg1 Nb6 24. Be6 $2 {A bad move. White hurries through with his plan, forgetting that there was a better move to me made.} (24. Bxb6 $1 {Was the move required to maintain equality. After} Rxb6 {now it is right to play} 25. Be6 Rf6 26. Bd5 Qf8 27. Kb2 {and white can look forward to a long and interesting game.}) 24... Nc4 $1 25. Qe2 Rf6 $6 { Now, this is a clear inaccuracy. Why force the bishop back when that is all it can do?} (25... Qf8 $1 {is the best move here, improving the queen. After} 26. Nd5 (26. Bxf7 {Note that Bxf7 is clearly bad after} Qxf7 27. Qf2 Ra8 28. f4 Bf6 $40 {Threathening the queen transfer to a7 and mate on a1. Black is close to winning.}) 26... Bd8 27. Rdf1 Ra8 $17 {Black can start thinking on how to win this position.}) 26. Bxc4 $1 {Hari sees light at the end of the tunnel, and quickly liquidates.} bxc4 27. Qxc4 Qa5 $4 {A blunder at this level. Black is playing 'normal' attacking moves, and doesn't care if he loses a piece. However, he is getting just one or two checks.} (27... Qe8 {is the way to go according to Houdini, and play on both flanks. After Houdini 5.01 Pro x64:} 28. Kc1 Rxf3 29. Rd3 Bf8 30. h5 Bd7 31. h6 g6 32. Bg5 Rf2 $17 {Black retains his advantage.}) 28. Kc1 $2 {Again, Harikrishna falls to a bluff by the black player! A timid move by a really strong player. I guess he was already in slight time trouble at this point.} (28. Qxc6 {and Black is close to lost, the point being that after} Qxb4+ 29. Kc1 d5 30. Qc7 d4 31. Nd5 Qb2+ 32. Kd2 dxe3+ 33. Ke2 $18 {White escapes to the kingside, and starts creating strong threats} ) 28... Qa3+ {Nepo is not the one to give another chance!} 29. Kd2 d5 30. exd5 Bxb4 31. dxc6 Bxc3+ 32. Ke2 Bd4 33. Rd3 Qa8 {The last few moves have been more or less forced. However, Nepo's last move allows Hari to sack an exchange succesfully.} ({Better to play} 33... Qd6 {here and stop Rxd4 ideas. After} 34. c7 Rc8 35. f4 Qf8 36. Bxd4 exd4 37. Rxd4 Qe7+ 38. Re4 Qd7 {Black holds the balance, but only just.}) 34. Rxd4 $1 {A really good move, the best in the position. Hari gets a strong passer and two pawns for this exchange sac. Also, the black king is now exposed on the long diagonal.} exd4 35. Bxd4 Re8+ 36. Kf2 Qxc6 {Nepo tries his best, and exchanges queens to halt the assault} 37. Qxc6 Rxc6 38. Rxg7 Rxc2+ 39. Kg3 Rc4 40. Rg4+ Rxd4 $1 {The final good sacrifice of the game. Black directs the game into a pawn down rook ending that he should draw.} 41. Rxd4 Kg7 42. Kg4 Re1 43. Rd7+ Kh6 44. Rd6+ Kg7 45. f4 Rg1+ 46. Kf5 h5 47. Rd7+ Kg8 48. Ke6 Rg6+ 49. Ke5 Rg4 50. f5 Rxh4 51. Rd8+ Kf7 {And the players agree to a draw. Another volatile game by Nepo, where he had the chances, but failed to take advantage of them. Hari on the other hand will be left fuming after missing another glorious chance(Qxc6). Also, I feel that he should really reduce his inaccuracies in critical moments. Once he improves his conversion rate, no one can stop him.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Geneva Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.12"] [Round "6"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2809"] [BlackElo "2737"] [Annotator "Tanmay Srinath"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {This 6th Round game pitted the in form Levon Aronian, the latest re-entry into the 2800 club, and the Indian No.2 Pentala Harikrishna. It was a complex battle, and both players gave it their all. It produced a decisive result, that could potentially have a huge impact on the standings.} 1. c4 {Levon is a stragecially oriented player, and plays closed openings almost all the time. To see him play c4 is not a surprise.} e5 {1...e5 is the reason many top players avoid the 1.c4 move order nowadays. Black has a multitude of good lines at his disposal , such as the Reversed Rossolimo, the Reversed Dragon etc. Also, since Hari plays e4 as white, this is not a new structure for him.} 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 {The most principled continuation.} (4... Bb4 { Leads to the reversed Rossolimo, popularised by Karpov and Anand. This is the line Levon essayed against Nepo as black this year. After} 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O e4 7. Ne1 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Re8 9. f3 d5 {Black had an acceptable position, though he went on to lose later.}) 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 {We have now arrived at the main line of the Reversed Dragon, with some subtle differences, the main one being the knight's placement on b6.} 7. O-O Be7 8. d3 O-O 9. Be3 Be6 {The opening phase is almost over, and both sides have developed meaningfully.} 10. Rc1 {Levon essays a line that has scored heavily in the recent past. By developing the rook to the half open c-file, white plans to start operations on the queenside. There are also some lines where the LS bishop is traded for the knight to weaken black's queenside. Interestingly, Nakamura played the same line last year against Hari, and went on to lose as well.} (10. a3 { has been the main move in this position till now. After} a5 11. Rb1 Nd5 12. Nxd5 Bxd5 13. Qa4 Qc8 {Black has an equal position and went on to win, Carlsen-Karjakin.}) 10... f5 {A queenside assault is best met by counterplay in the center or on the kingside. Hari plans a quick and timely f4 or e4 break. } 11. a3 {An interesting continuation, and a favourite among the top players.} ({When Vishy had white against Hammer in Norway 2014, he had gone for} 11. b4 $5 {The game continued} a6 ({The point is Nxb4 isn't really possible as after} 11... Nxb4 12. Nxe5 $14 {White grabs a center pawn and is better.}) ({The move } 11... Bxb4 {is even worse. After} 12. Ng5 $1 Bf7 13. Nxf7 Rxf7 14. Qb3 Bxc3 15. Rxc3 f4 16. Bxb6 axb6 17. Bd5 $16 {White is much better.}) 12. a3 Kh8 13. Na4 Nxa4 14. Qxa4 Bd5 15. Bc5 Bd6 16. Qc2 Qf6 17. e4 $1 $14 {and white eventually won.}) 11... Kh8 {Hari puts his king out of harm's way, and allows a possible g5-g4 thrust.} ({It was possible to immediately go} 11... g5 { and after} 12. d4 f4 13. d5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 Qxd5 15. Qxd5 Bxd5 16. Bc5 Rae8 $13 { an unclear position arises, with chances for both sides.}) 12. b4 a6 13. Re1 Qe8 14. Qd2 {Both sides have started carrying out their respective plans, and now is the time to accurately assess the position as black- whether to further the kingside assault or play in the center on the half open d-file.} Bd6 $6 { An unnecessary move. While not a blunder, it worsens the situation.} (14... Rd8 $1 {was called for, with equality after} 15. Qb2 Bf6 16. Bg5 Bxg5 17. Nxg5 Bg8 18. Red1 Qg6 $11) 15. Bxb6 $1 {White now gets an opening, that Levon exploits.} cxb6 16. d4 exd4 17. Nxd4 Rd8 18. Nxe6 Qxe6 19. Qa2 Qh6 20. f4 $2 {Levon has played well till this point. He has a good LS bishop, against black's slightly bad DS bishop, he has real pressure on the queenside, and Black's assault on the kingside not a reality yet. But now, he falters.} (20. e3 $1 {is the correct way to blockade the dark squares further. By stopping f4 for now, white can start thinking about the d-file and the queenside. After} g5 21. Ne2 Be5 22. Red1 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 f4 24. exf4 gxf4 25. gxf4 Bxf4 26. Nxf4 Qxf4 27. Qb2+ Qf6 28. Qxf6+ Rxf6 29. Be4 $16 {White has a tangible edge, and black has a small mountain to climb in order to save the game.}) 20... a5 $1 {Hari finds the right move, attacking the b4 square multiple times, and equalises.} 21. b5 $2 {Now, I believe this is the move that lost Levon his point. It is seriously anti positional, vacating control of c5, and begging the bishop to improve itself to an already weakened diagonal (drawback of f4).} ({It was time for damage control with} 21. Red1 {and after} axb4 22. axb4 Bxb4 23. Nd5 Bc5+ 24. Kh1 Qe6 25. Qb2 Ne7 26. Nxe7 {White manages to hold fort.}) 21... Bc5+ $15 { The bad dark square bishop transforms into a monster. Black is now better.} 22. e3 $6 {Another inaccuracy. White is providing targets for black to hit.} (22. Kh1 {going off the dangerous diagonal, and avoiding potential x-rays and discoveries, was clearly better. After} Bf2 23. Red1 Bxg3 24. h3 Bxf4 25. bxc6 bxc6 26. Rxd8 Rxd8 27. e3 Bxe3 28. Rd1 Rxd1+ 29. Nxd1 $15 {Black is better, but only a little.}) 22... Ne5 $1 $17 {A cute move, that takes advantage of lack of support to e3 to improve the knight to a better square.} 23. Rcd1 $4 { A blunder in a bad position.} ({Ofcourse not} 23. fxe5 $4 {as after} Bxe3+ 24. Kh1 Bxc1 25. Nd5 f4 $19 {Black cleans house.}) (23. Nd5 {had to be played, strengthening e3 and blocking the d-file, though after} Nd3 24. Ra1 Nxe1 25. Rxe1 Rd6 26. Bf3 Qe6 $19 {Black has all the trumps.}) 23... Ng4 $1 {Now it is almost over. Hari adds decisive pressure to e3 and h2.} 24. h3 Nxe3 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Kh2 g5 $1 {Forcing more lines open. Hari smells blood, and goes after it.} 27. fxg5 Qxg5 28. Qe6 f4 $1 {Another strong move. Now, it is all over.} 29. Ne4 Qg7 30. g4 Nc2 31. Rf1 Nd4 $1 {Forces the exchange of queens, after which black will mop up the a3 pawn and queen his a-file passer.} 32. Qf6 Qxf6 33. Nxf6 Bxa3 34. Bxb7 Bd6 35. h4 a4 36. g5 a3 37. Kh3 Be5 38. Kg4 Nc2 { And Aronian saw no further use of continuing the game. A great game by Harikrishna, who now joins the leaders on +2, and greatly increases his chances of winning this Grand Prix. He took the chances offered today and clinically demolished one of the world's best players in style. A better conversion rate with white will go a long way in improving his chances of qualifying for the Candidates. As for Levon, his chances are almost completely spoilt, and he now finds himself under pressure to win more than half of his remaining games to stand a chance.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE Geneva Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.12"] [Round "6"] [White "Li, Chao b"] [Black "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E12"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2739"] [Annotator "A. Silver"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. Qc2 dxc4 7. e4 c5 8. Bf4 $146 (8. d5 exd5 9. exd5 a6 10. Bxc4 Bd6 11. O-O O-O 12. Bg5 Nbd7 13. a4 Qc7 14. h3 h6 15. Bxf6 Nxf6 {1/2-1/2 (35) Sokolov,I (2650)-David,A (2579) Saint-Quentin 2014}) 8... a6 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bb3 cxd4 11. Rd1 Qb6 12. Nxd4 Bc5 13. Nf3 Nbd7 14. O-O Rc8 15. Qe2 Qc6 $2 {[#] Black is just begging for trouble, leaving his king in the center like that, and White is all too happy to oblige. } (15... Be7 $14) 16. Bd5 $1 $18 Qb6 17. Bxb7 Qxb7 {[#]} 18. e5 $1 Ng4 19. Ne4 Be7 (19... O-O {wouldn't change much.} 20. h3 f5 (20... Nh6 21. Bxh6 gxh6 22. Rxd7 {and if} Qxd7 23. Nf6+) 21. Nd6 Bxd6 22. Rxd6 $18) 20. Nd6+ Bxd6 21. Rxd6 Nc5 22. Nd2 h5 23. b4 Na4 24. Ne4 O-O 25. h3 Rc4 26. Re1 f5 27. exf6 $1 ({Not} 27. hxg4 $2 Rxe4 28. Qd2 Rxe1+ 29. Qxe1 fxg4 $11) 27... Nxf6 28. Nxf6+ Rxf6 29. Rd8+ Rf8 (29... Kh7 30. Qxh5+ Rh6 31. Bxh6 gxh6 32. Rxe6) 30. Qxe6+ Qf7 31. Rxf8+ Kxf8 32. Qd6+ Kg8 33. g3 Nc3 34. Re7 Qf5 35. Be5 1-0 [Event "FIDE Grand Prix"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.12"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2809"] [BlackElo "2737"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:00:34"] [BlackClock "0:13:39"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. d3 O-O 9. Be3 Be6 10. Rc1 f5 11. a3 Kh8 12. b4 a6 13. Re1 (13. Na4 Nxa4 14. Qxa4 Bd5 15. Bc5 Bd6 16. Qc2 Qf6 17. e4 Be6 18. exf5 Bxf5 19. Be3 a5 {Anand,V (2804)-Hammer,J (2677) Stavanger 2015}) ({Hari expected} 13. Bc5 {e.g.} Bg8 14. e3 Bxc5 15. bxc5 Nd5 16. Qd2 Qe7 17. Ne2 Rab8 {Caruana,F (2791)-Giri,A (2752) Stavanger NOR 2014}) 13... Qe8 $146 ({Hari also mentioned the move} 13... Bg8 14. Qd2 Nd4 15. Nxe5 Nb3 16. Qc2 Nxc1 17. Rxc1 Bd6 18. f4 c6 19. Bf2 Bxe5 20. fxe5 Nd7 21. d4 Nb6 22. Qd3 {½-½ Gluhov,A-Trebizan,D (2134) corr. 2008}) 14. Qd2 Bd6 15. Bxb6 cxb6 16. d4 exd4 17. Nxd4 Rd8 18. Nxe6 Qxe6 19. Qa2 Qh6 20. f4 $6 {Before looking at it with the computer, Hari thought that this was the critical mistake but it's not so bad yet.} a5 21. b5 $2 {But this is wrong. Aronian misses an important tactic here.} (21. Nb5 {was still equal, e.g.} axb4 22. Nxd6 Qxd6 23. axb4 Qxb4 24. Qb1 $1 {and one of Black's pawns on the queenside will drop.}) 21... Bc5+ 22. e3 $6 ({White had to go for} 22. Kh1 Bf2 23. bxc6 Bxg3 24. h3 bxc6 25. Red1 Bxf4 {although it doesn't look very attractive either.}) 22... Ne5 $1 23. Rcd1 (23. fxe5 {is impossible because of} Bxe3+) ({but perhaps} 23. Nd5 Nd3 24. Rcd1 Nxe1 25. Rxe1 {was more resilient.}) 23... Ng4 24. h3 Nxe3 ({Even stronger was} 24... Bxe3+ $1 25. Kf1 (25. Kh1 Nf2+ ) 25... Nh2+ 26. Ke2 Bxf4 $1 {with a winning attack.}) 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Kh2 g5 27. fxg5 Qxg5 28. Qe6 $6 ({White had to try} 28. Nd5) 28... f4 $1 {Hari is finishing the game with energetic play.} 29. Ne4 Qg7 30. g4 Nc2 31. Rf1 Nd4 32. Qf6 Qxf6 33. Nxf6 Bxa3 34. Bxb7 Bd6 35. h4 a4 36. g5 a3 37. Kh3 Be5 38. Kg4 Nc2 0-1 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.12"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Chao, Li"] [Black "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E12"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2739"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:29:52"] [BlackClock "0:06:49"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 (4... Ba6 {is the other main line.}) 5. Nc3 d5 6. Qc2 ({Li Chao was inspired by this game:} 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Qc2 Nxc3 8. bxc3 c5 9. e4 Nd7 10. Bd3 Qc7 {Mamedyarov,S (2800)-Eljanov,P (2739) Geneva 2017 }) ({Another move is} 6. Bg5) 6... dxc4 (6... Be7) 7. e4 c5 8. Bf4 $146 (8. d5 {and}) (8. dxc5 {were the only moves played in this position so far.}) 8... a6 9. Bxc4 b5 {From here Li Chao couldn't remember his preparation.} 10. Bb3 cxd4 11. Rd1 Qb6 12. Nxd4 Bc5 13. Nf3 Nbd7 14. O-O Rc8 15. Qe2 {White already has the more pleasant position, but Black's next move is easily refuted.} Qc6 $2 { At this level you may call this a blunder. Black loses valuable time.} 16. Bd5 $1 Qb6 17. Bxb7 Qxb7 18. e5 Ng4 19. Ne4 {Black is in deep, deep trouble.} Be7 ( 19... O-O 20. h3 f5 21. Nd6 Bxd6 22. Rxd6 Qe4 23. Re1 $1) 20. Nd6+ Bxd6 21. Rxd6 Nc5 (21... O-O 22. h3 Nh6 23. Bxh6 gxh6 24. Qd2 {is a double attack.}) 22. Nd2 h5 23. b4 Na4 24. Ne4 {The position plays itself.} O-O 25. h3 Rc4 26. Re1 f5 27. exf6 Nxf6 28. Nxf6+ Rxf6 29. Rd8+ Rf8 30. Qxe6+ Qf7 31. Rxf8+ Kxf8 32. Qd6+ Kg8 33. g3 Nc3 34. Re7 Qf5 35. Be5 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.12"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2707"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:44:25"] [BlackClock "0:01:08"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 d6 7. c3 O-O 8. h3 Re8 9. Re1 Bf8 10. Nbd2 b5 11. Bc2 h6 (11... Ne7 12. d4 Ng6 13. Nf1 exd4 14. cxd4 c5 15. d5 Nd7 16. Ng3 a5 {Topalov,V (2754)-Grandelius,N (2649) Stavanger 2016}) 12. a4 b4 13. a5 Rb8 14. Nc4 g6 $146 (14... Bd7 15. Bd2 bxc3 16. bxc3 Qc8 17. Nh2 Be6 18. Ba4 Qb7 19. Ng4 Nxg4 20. hxg4 Red8 {Naiditsch,A (2689) -Lenic,L (2625) Reykjavik 2015}) 15. Bd2 bxc3 16. bxc3 Bg7 17. d4 exd4 18. cxd4 Nb4 ({Maybe} 18... d5 {immediately was better:} 19. exd5 Rxe1+ 20. Qxe1 Qxd5 21. Nce5 Bb7) 19. Bb1 d5 20. Nce5 Re6 21. exd5 Nfxd5 22. Qc1 Qf8 23. Be4 { Now White is clearly better.} Rb5 24. Rb1 c6 25. Qc4 Qd6 26. Rb3 Bf8 27. h4 c5 $2 (27... Nf6) 28. h5 g5 29. Bf5 (29. Bxg5 hxg5 30. Nxg5 {was also strong (and winning).}) 29... Ne7 30. dxc5 Rxc5 31. Bxb4 Nxf5 32. Bxc5 Qxc5 33. Qxc5 Bxc5 34. Rc3 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.12"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Riazantsev, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A01"] [WhiteElo "2694"] [BlackElo "2654"] [PlyCount "116"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:22:24"] [BlackClock "0:11:54"] 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bd6 5. Ne2 a6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. d3 Qe7 (7... O-O 8. Nd2 Re8 9. h3 c5 10. g4 b5 11. Ng3 Bb7 12. Rg1 Re6 {Caruana,F (2823) -Anand,V (2779) Saint Louis 2016}) 8. Nd2 Be6 9. a4 O-O-O $146 (9... h5 10. Nc4 Nd7 11. h4 O-O-O 12. Nxd6+ Qxd6 13. Ba3 c5 14. Qd2 Qc6 15. e4 f5 {Larino Nieto, D (2474)-Seps,M (2266) Madrid 2015}) 10. a5 h5 11. Ra4 h4 12. h3 Nd7 13. Qa1 Nc5 14. Ra2 Rh5 15. Bc3 Rg5 16. Rg1 f6 17. Rb2 Qf7 18. b4 Nd7 19. Ne4 Rg6 20. Qa3 Qf8 21. Nc5 $6 ({Black is also slightly better after} 21. Nxd6+ cxd6 (21... Qxd6)) 21... Nxc5 22. bxc5 Bxc5 23. Bb4 Bxb4+ $6 (23... Bd6) 24. Rxb4 c5 $6 ( 24... Bd5 $1 25. e4 c5 26. Rb2 Bc6) 25. Rxh4 {Now it's not so clear anymore.} f5 26. Rh5 Kb8 27. g4 fxg4 28. Rxe5 Qf6 29. Qxc5 gxh3 30. Rxg6 Qxg6 31. Qe7 Re8 32. Qh4 Bc8 33. Qh5 Qxh5 34. Rxh5 g6 $1 {The white rook now either has to stop protecting a5 or let go of the h-pawn.} 35. Rg5 (35. Rh7 Re5) 35... h2 36. Ng3 Rh8 37. Nh1 Rh5 $1 38. Rg2 Rxa5 39. Kd2 (39. Rxh2 Rh5 40. Rxh5 gxh5) 39... Rh5 40. Rxg6 a5 {The time control has been reached, and White is basically playing with a piece down.} 41. Kc1 Rh4 42. f3 Rh3 43. Rf6 c5 44. Kb2 Kc7 45. e4 Bd7 46. Rf7 Kd8 47. f4 c4 48. d4 c3+ 49. Ka3 b5 50. f5 Re3 51. Rh7 Rxe4 52. Rxh2 b4+ 53. Kb3 Rxd4 54. Ng3 Bc6 55. Ne2 a4+ 56. Ka2 Bd5+ 57. Kb1 Rd1+ 58. Nc1 a3 0-1 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.12"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Saleh, Salem"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2638"] [BlackElo "2666"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:00:31"] [BlackClock "0:01:02"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. Bg5 Be7 (6... h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Nbd2 d6 9. a4 Nh5 10. Bg3 Nxg3 11. hxg3 Nb8 12. Nf1 c6 {Vachier Lagrave, M (2783)-Kramnik,V (2789) Leuven 2017}) 7. a4 d6 8. Nbd2 h6 $146 (8... a5 9. O-O h6 10. Bh4 Nh7 11. Bg3 Ng5 12. h3 Ne6 13. Re1 Bg5 14. Nf1 Bf4 {Demchenko,A (2629)-Nestorovic,N (2506) Sarajevo 2017}) 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Nf1 Ne7 11. Ne3 c6 12. Qb3 Rb8 13. Qa2 Ng6 14. Rd1 Bg5 15. O-O Bxe3 16. fxe3 Qe7 17. d4 Kh8 18. Qa3 Bg4 19. Ba2 Rbd8 20. h3 Bxf3 21. Rxf3 f5 22. dxe5 Qxe5 23. Qb4 f4 24. Qd4 Qg5 25. exf4 Nxf4 26. Qd2 Rf6 27. Kh2 Rdf8 28. Rg3 Qe5 29. Qd4 Qh5 $6 (29... Ng6 {keeps the advantage.}) 30. Qd2 $2 (30. Rf3 Nxg2 $1 31. Rxf6 Rxf6 32. Kxg2 Qe2+ {wins.}) (30. Bc4 c5 31. Qd2 Qe5 {is also close to winning.}) ({With the only move} 30. e5 $3 {White solves all his problems:} Rg6 $1 (30... Ne2 31. exf6 Nxd4 32. fxg7+ Kh7 33. gxf8=N+ Kh8 34. Rg8#) (30... dxe5 31. Qd7 {and g7 is not so easy to defend, e.g.} g5 32. Rd6 Qg6 33. Qe7 {and White wins at least one pawn back.}) (30... Qxe5 31. Qxe5 dxe5 32. Rd7 {is a good endgame.}) 31. Rxg6 Qxg6 32. Rd2 d5 33. c4 Ne6 34. Qh4 d4 35. c5) 30... Ne2 31. Rf3 Rxf3 0-1 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.13"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Eljanov, Pavel"] [Black "Saleh, Salem"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A78"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2638"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:48:56"] [BlackClock "0:47:04"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 7. Nd2 Bg7 8. e4 O-O 9. Be2 Re8 10. O-O Na6 11. Kh1 Nc7 12. f3 Nd7 13. a4 b6 14. Nc4 (14. Nb5 Nxb5 15. Bxb5 Rf8 16. a5 bxa5 17. Nc4 Ne5 18. Nxa5 f5 19. Nc6 Qb6 {Wojtaszek,R (2715)-Dubov,D (2614) Dubai 2014}) 14... Ne5 15. Bf4 Nxc4 $146 (15... Qe7 16. Bxe5 Bxe5 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. f4 Qe7 19. Qd2 f6 20. Rae1 Bd7 {Kuhne,D (2409) -Nepustil,F (2376) Chessfriend.com 2005}) 16. Bxc4 a6 17. Qe1 h5 $6 ({After analysing the players concluded that Black had to try} 17... g5 18. Bd2 f5) 18. h4 $1 Rb8 19. Qg3 Bf8 20. Rfe1 ({The immediate} 20. e5 $6 {is met by the exchange sac} dxe5 21. Bxe5 Rxe5 22. Qxe5 Qxh4+ {with ample compensation.}) 20... b5 (20... Be7 21. Qh2 $1 Bxh4 22. Bxd6) 21. e5 $1 {Just in time. It all works for White.} dxe5 (21... bxc4 22. exd6 Na8 23. d7) 22. Rxe5 Rb6 (22... bxc4 23. Rxe8 Qxe8 24. Bxc7) 23. Rg5 bxc4 24. Bxc7 Qf6 25. Ne4 {Black has to give an exchange but here it's not enough.} Rxe4 26. fxe4 Rb3 27. Be5 $1 { If you're material up, trade.} Rxg3 28. Bxf6 Re3 29. Re5 Bd7 30. d6 $1 Rd3 31. Rd5 $1 {If you're material up, trade.} Rxd5 32. exd5 Bxd6 33. a5 Kf8 34. Rc1 Bb5 35. Re1 Ba4 36. Kg1 Bd7 37. Kf2 Bc8 38. Be5 {If you're material up, trade.} Ke7 39. Bxd6+ Kxd6 40. Re8 Bb7 41. Ke3 Kd7 (41... Bxd5 42. g3 {and White will soon pick up either f7 or a6.}) 42. Rf8 Bxd5 43. g3 c3 44. bxc3 Bc4 45. Rb8 Kd6 46. Ke4 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.13"] [Round "7"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B81"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2761"] [Annotator "Tanmay Srinath"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {This 7th Round Game pitted the two of the 3 leaders against each other, as Harikrishna had white against Grischuk. A win here would see Hari take sole lead in the tournament, and he gave it his all in a sharp Sicilian encounter.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {Grischuk plays his pet Sicilian, the Najdorf. It is clear that he has come to the board in a fighting mood.} 6. h3 {Hari again responds with 6.h3, the move he used against Nepo with some success. Judging by this game, it seems he has prepared this line very carefully.} e6 {An interesting choice by Grischuk, allowing the Keres Attack with g4.} (6... e5 {is the main line, and after} 7. Nde2 h5 8. Bg5 Be6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Nd5 Qd8 11. Nec3 {we reach a balanced position, with chances for both sides.}) 7. g4 {Judging by the reappearance of the Scheveningen at the top level, I feel white should find a new idea in the Keres Attack. Otherwise, black has acceptable positions to play.} Nfd7 {A prophylactic move, planning b5, Bb7, and Nbc6, but not the main move.} ({Players in the past have preferred the developing} 7... Be7 {but after} 8. g5 Nfd7 {white plays the interesting} 9. Be3 $5 b5 ({Note that Bxg5 is bad, as after} 9... Bxg5 { White plays the strong} 10. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 11. Qh5+ g6 12. Qxg5 Qxg5 13. Bxg5 Ne5 14. O-O-O $16 {and has the much better game.}) 10. a3 Bb7 11. h4 Nc6 12. Rg1 $14 {and white is to be preferred, Ganguly-Salem Saleh.}) ({The prophylactic} 7... h6 {can also be considered, trying to prevent the g5 advance. But if white plays it anyway, why bother with such a waste of time? After} 8. f4 Nc6 9. Be3 Qc7 10. Bg2 Be7 11. Qe2 $14 {White has acres of space and free development, and looks forward to increasing his substantial advantage.}) 8. g5 b5 {Grischuk plays principled chess, trying to get counterplay on the queenside.} 9. a3 {Here, the prophylaxis makes much more sense, as white buys time to play f3 later, and close the diagonal.} Be7 10. h4 Bb7 11. Be3 Nc6 12. Qd2 Rc8 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. h5 $146 {A novelty by Hari, and a logical one as well. White plans to storm the castle with g6.} O-O 15. O-O-O $16 {Both sides have completed their development logically. My assesment is that white is better, due to his faster play on the kingside. Black must seek counterplay soon.} Nc5 16. f3 a5 17. Bxc5 $6 {A questionable exchange. The bishop was doing fine on e3, and the knight was not that powerful.} ({It was time for the prophylactic advance} 17. b4 $1 $16 {Somehow, Hari keeps missing this in his games this tournament. Sure, this might look risky, but then, it prevents b4, and blocks off the b-file. After} axb4 18. axb4 Na4 19. Nxa4 bxa4 20. Ba6 Qc7 21. h6 g6 22. Qc3 $16 {White holds all the trumps.}) 17... dxc5 18. Qxd8 $6 { A negative mindset by Hari, wanting to exchange queens and draw as soon as possible.} ({On any other day, he would have gone} 18. Qe3 {and after} Qb6 19. g6 Rfd8 20. h6 $36 {White retains some chances.}) 18... Rfxd8 {The players now play a few more moves, and then agree to a draw.} 19. Bxb5 Bxg5+ 20. Kb1 Ba8 21. Na4 Be7 22. b3 Rb8 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Nb2 Bf6 25. Nd3 Bd4 26. Rd1 Rd6 27. Rc1 f5 28. c3 Be3 29. Re1 Bd2 {and the players drew. A good result for the Russian Grandmaster, who maintains his +2 score, and keeps sight of Rajdabov, who again won today. As for Hari, I am upset that he failed to find the right pawn push(b4). Had he done so, he would have pushed his opponent harder, and could have caught up with Rajdabov on +3. He really needs to improve his performance with white in this tournament if he needs to stand a chance.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.13"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2724"] [BlackElo "2749"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:15:39"] [BlackClock "0:11:56"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e3 Nxc3 (5... Nc6 6. Bb5 Nxc3 7. bxc3 Bd7 8. Rb1 e6 9. d4 cxd4 10. exd4 Be7 11. Bd3 Qc7 12. O-O O-O 13. Re1 Rac8 {Ipatov,A (2662)-Xiong,J (2652) Saint Louis 2017}) 6. dxc3 $5 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 Bf5 $5 (7... Nc6 8. e4 Bd7 (8... g6 9. Be3 b6 10. Bb5 Bd7 11. a4 Bg7 12. Kc2 Ne5 13. Nd2 Ng4 14. Nc4 Nxe3+ 15. Nxe3 O-O-O 16. Rhd1 Be6 17. a5 Rxd1 18. Rxd1 Rd8 19. Nd5 Kb7 20. a6+ {½-½ Andersson,U (2545)-Timman,J (2585) Buenos Aires 1978 }) 9. Be3 e6 10. Kc2 Be7 11. Rd1 O-O-O 12. Be2 f6 13. Nd2 Ne5 14. f3 Kc7 15. Nc4 Nxc4 {½-½ Miles,A (2555)-Tal,M (2620) Las Palmas 1977}) 8. Nd2 Nc6 9. e4 Be6 $6 $146 (9... Bd7 10. Kc2 O-O-O 11. Nb3 e6 12. Be3 b6 13. Ba6+ Kc7 14. a4 Ne5 15. f3 Bd6 {Andersson,U (2560)-Browne,W (2540) Banja Luka 1979}) 10. Kc2 g6 11. Bc4 Bd7 12. Nb3 b6 13. a4 Ne5 14. Bb5 a6 15. Bxd7+ Nxd7 16. Be3 e6 17. Rhd1 O-O-O 18. Nd2 Be7 19. Nc4 Kb7 20. a5 Rhf8 21. axb6 Nxb6 22. Na5+ Kc7 23. Bf4+ Bd6 24. Bh6 ({Radjabov had seen} 24. Rxd6 Rxd6 25. Rd1 Rfd8 26. Bxd6+ Rxd6 27. Rxd6 Kxd6 28. Nb7+ {and the knight endgame is probably winning}) ({but instead Black goes} 24. Rxd6 Rxd6 25. Rd1 Nc8 $1 {when he looked at} 26. b4 cxb4 27. c4 $5 {and decided that he shouldn't risk calculating that might be inaccurate. And indeed, Black has something here:} g5 $1 28. Bg3 e5 $1 29. Bxe5 f6 30. Bg3 f5 31. exf5 (31. Bxd6+ Nxd6 32. e5 {is still a decent try}) 31... Rxf5 { with equality.}) 24... Rfe8 25. Nb3 Ra8 26. Be3 Nd7 27. Ra5 Kc6 28. Rda1 Kb6 29. R5a4 Rec8 (29... Reb8 {(Radjabov)} 30. Na5 Be7 31. Bf4 e5 32. Nc4+) 30. Na5 {Black is strategically lost. At least a pawn will drop, but after Svidler's move, Black loses even more material.} Be7 $6 (30... Kc7 31. Nc4) 31. Rb4+ (31. Rb4+ Kc7 32. Rb7+ Kd8 33. Rd1 Rc7 34. Nc6+ Kc8 35. Rxc7+ Kxc7 36. Nxe7 Re8 37. Bf4+) 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.13"] [Round "7"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2724"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e3 Nxc3 (5... e6 6. Nxd5 exd5 7. b4 c4 8. Bb2 Bxb4 9. Bxg7 Rg8 10. Be5 Nc6 11. Bg3 Bf5 12. Be2 Be7 13. O-O h5 { 1/2-1/2 (79) Nepomniachtchi,I (2767)-Harikrishna,P (2766) Wijk aan Zee 2017}) 6. dxc3 {A34: Symmetrical English: 2 Nc3, lines with ...d5} Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 { LiveBook: 8 Games} Bf5 8. Nd2 {White has an edge.} Nc6 9. e4 Be6 $146 ({ Predecessor:} 9... Bd7 10. Kc2 O-O-O 11. Nc4 f5 12. Be3 e5 13. g3 {1/2-1/2 (54) Margvelashvili,G (2548)-Georgescu,T (2396) Kazan 2013}) 10. Kc2 g6 11. Bc4 Bd7 12. Nb3 b6 13. a4 Ne5 14. Bb5 a6 15. Bxd7+ Nxd7 16. Be3 e6 17. Rhd1 O-O-O 18. Nd2 Be7 {[#]} 19. Nc4 $1 Kb7 20. a5 Rhf8 {intending ...b5.} 21. axb6 Nxb6 22. Na5+ Kc7 23. Bf4+ Bd6 24. Bh6 {Threatens to win with Nb7!} (24. Rxd6 Rxd6 25. Rd1 Nc8 $1 $15 {This is a strong move, after which Black is alright.} (25... Rfd8 26. Rxd6 Rxd6 27. Bxd6+ Kxd6 28. Nb7+ Kc6 (28... Kc7 29. Nxc5) 29. Nd8+ $18) 26. b4 $5 cxb4 27. c4 g5 $1 (27... Kb6 28. c5+ Kxc5 29. Nb7+) 28. Bg3 e5 29. Bxe5 f6 30. Bg3 f5 $5 31. Bxd6+ (31. exf5 Rxf5 $13) 31... Nxd6 32. e5 { And White is better here, but it is already a mess (Aditya Pai).}) 24... Rfe8 25. Nb3 Ra8 26. Be3 Nd7 27. Ra5 Kc6 28. Rda1 Kb6 29. R5a4 Rec8 30. Na5 Be7 $2 { [#]} (30... Kc7 $16 {is a better chance.} 31. Nc4 Nb6) 31. Rb4+ {Precision: White = 97%, Black = 55%.} 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.14"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Chao, Li"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D30"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2737"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:33:43"] [BlackClock "0:09:31"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Qb3 (8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Bd3 Nc6 14. Nb3 Na5 {Radjabov,T (2710)-Harikrishna,P (2755) Shamkir AZE 2017}) 8... c5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. dxc5 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 12. bxc3 Nd7 13. Rd1 Nxc5 14. Rxd5 b6 15. Rd4 (15. c4 Be6 16. Rd4 Rac8 17. Be2 Rc7 18. Kd2 Rfc8 19. Rb1 Nb7 20. Kc3 Kf8 21. Nd2 Ke7 {Vorobiov,E (2591)-Fernandez,F (2416) Montcada 2017}) 15... Ne6 $6 $146 (15... Be6 16. c4 Rfc8 17. g4 Rc7 18. g5 hxg5 19. Nxg5 {Kramnik,V (2759)-Khalifman,A (2612) Zuerich 2009 and now with} Bf5 {Black is close to equality.}) 16. Rd6 Bb7 17. Nd4 Nxd4 {Here Harikrishna offered a draw, but Li Chao saw his plan with Rg1 and decided to try a bit more.} 18. Rxd4 Rac8 19. Kd2 Rc5 20. Rg1 Rfc8 21. Bd3 Kf8 22. Rd7 Bd5 $6 ({Li Chao pointed out that} 22... Bc6 $1 {was better, with the idea} 23. Rxa7 Rd8 $1 24. Kc2 Rcd5 25. Bc4 Rd2+ 26. Kc1 (26. Kb3 b5 $1 27. Bxf7 Bd7 28. Bg6 Be6+ 29. Kb4 Rc8 {gives too much counterplay}) 26... Rxf2 27. Rf1 Rxf1+ 28. Bxf1 Rd6 {and Black has better drawing chances than in the game.}) 23. Rxa7 Rxc3 24. e4 Be6 25. Rb1 R3c7 26. Rxc7 Rxc7 27. a4 Bd7 28. Bc2 Rc6 29. f4 Ke7 30. Rb4 h5 31. g3 Kd8 32. Bb3 f6 33. h4 Kc7 34. Kd3 f5 35. e5 Rg6 36. Kd4 Rxg3 37. e6 Be8 38. Ke5 Rc3 39. Kxf5 Rc5+ 40. Ke4 Bc6+ 41. Kd3 Rc1 42. Bc2 g6 43. Kd2 Rg1 44. e7 Be8 45. Re4 Rg2+ 46. Kc3 Rg3+ 47. Bd3 Kd6 48. Kd4 Bxa4 49. e8=Q Bxe8 50. Rxe8 Rg4 51. Ke3 Rg3+ 52. Ke2 Kd5 53. Rg8 Rg4 54. Kf3 Rxh4 55. Be4+ Kd4 56. Rd8+ Kc3 57. Bxg6 Rh1 58. f5 Rf1+ 59. Ke2 Rf4 60. Rd3+ 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.14"] [Round "8"] [White "Chao, Li"] [Black "Harikrishna, P."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2735"] [BlackElo "2737"] [Annotator "Tanmay Srinath"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {This 8th Round Game was an interesting pairing, between the Chinese Super GM Li Chao and Pentala Harikrishna. For Chao, a win here would mean a +2 score and a chance to catch Rajdabov in the final round.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 { Chao plays the 3.Nf3 move order, thus denying Black the chance to play the Nimzo. However, it doesn't allow white to play the Exchange variation and the Botvinnik plan with f3, Nge2, Bd3 etc, a trade off of this move move order.} d5 4. Bg5 Bb4+ {We enter the Ragozin Defense of the QGD, a line that is always hotly debated at the top level.} 5. Nc3 h6 6. Bxf6 {Li decides to exchange bishop for knight in this position, and it is not a bad idea. Firstly, black's DS bishop will find it hard to get an active diagonal. Secondly, black often exchanges on c3, so it isn't a bad trade.} Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Qb3 c5 {Hari protects his bishop, and launches a counterattack in the center. But, there were options.} 9. cxd5 {Li Chao decides to liquidate in the center, and it isn't a bad choice.} (9. Be2 {is one, trying to keep black guessing. After} cxd4 10. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 b6 13. Nb5 Qxc3+ 14. Nxc3 $11 { we reach an equal endgame, though I slightly prefer white, as his king is better placed in the center.}) (9. Rd1 {is another, improving the rook. After} Nc6 10. Be2 cxd4 11. Nxd4 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nxd4 13. Rxd4 Bxc3+ 14. Qxc3 Rd8 15. Rxd8+ Qxd8 16. O-O {We reach an equal middlegame.}) 9... exd5 10. dxc5 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 12. bxc3 {Both players have traded queens, and one can only assume a draw is near. But, Li Chao has other ideas.} Nd7 13. Rd1 Nxc5 $5 { An interesting decision to give up a pawn.} (13... Nf6 {is a serious candidate, and after} 14. Bd3 Be6 15. Nd4 Rac8 16. Rb1 Rc7 17. Rb5 Ne4 $11 {Black is close to equal, as the doubled extra pawn is not really an asset.}) 14. Rxd5 b6 15. Rd4 Ne6 $5 {A mysterious move. The knight was well placed on c5.} ({ I would prefer bringing the pieces out quickly with} 15... Be6 {After} 16. Bc4 Rac8 17. Nd2 Bxc4 18. Rxc4 b5 19. Rd4 Ne6 20. Rd3 Nc5 $11 {White has no choice but to repeat moves.}) 16. Rd6 {Chao finds himself better, and doesn't let go.} Bb7 17. Nd4 Nxd4 18. Rxd4 $5 {Another one of those captures that don't feel right.} (18. cxd4 {Feels so good. White removes his only weakness and transforms it into a strong passer. After} Rfc8 19. Kd2 Kf8 20. Bb5 Bxg2 21. Rc1 Rxc1 22. Kxc1 Ke7 23. Rd7+ Ke6 24. Rc7 $14 {White has a risk free edge. The rook is immobile for the moment, and so is the king.}) 18... Rac8 19. Kd2 Rc5 20. Rg1 Rfc8 21. Bd3 {So far Hari has played well, keeping his disadvantage to a minimum, and restricting Li Chao. Now, he starts to go slightly wrong.} Kf8 $6 {I give it a dubious mark, because black allows some activity along the 7th rank, and we can never be careless in a plawn down position.} (21... Bd5 22. e4 Be6 {is a slightly better version, improving the bishop, and keeping an eye on the a-pawn. After} 23. f4 f6 24. f5 Bf7 25. Rc1 Kf8 $14 {Black should have few problems drawing this game.}) 22. Rd7 Bd5 $6 { Generally, trading pawns or pieces when you are down material is a bad idea. Here, it is even worse, as the bishop is badly placed on d5, and white can safely pouch a7.} (22... Bc6 $1 {is the right move, but the follow up is difficult. After} 23. Rxa7 {Black exploits the king on d2 with} Rd8 $1 $14 { Threathening Bb5 or Rd5. White has to be careful here, and he can only claim a modest edge.}) 23. Rxa7 Rxc3 {Why trade a potentially good pawn for a weak one? Hari makes a bad decision, and White is now substantially better.} 24. e4 Be6 25. Rb1 R3c7 $6 {Another inaccuracy. Exchanging is good, but the timing is very important!} (25... R3c6 $1 {maintaining the position, and after} 26. f4 Bc4 27. Bxc4 Rxc4 28. Rxb6 Rc2+ 29. Kd3 R8c3+ 30. Kd4 Rc4+ 31. Ke5 Rc5+ 32. Kd6 Rc8 $14 {White should forever worry about perpetuals. Black is only slightly worse here.}) 26. Rxc7 Rxc7 27. a4 Bd7 28. Bc2 Rc6 {Now with fewer pieces on the board, it is difficult to find counterplay. White now slowly transforms his advantage. Step 1: Create a passer to divert Black's forces.} 29. f4 Ke7 30. Rb4 h5 31. g3 Kd8 32. Bb3 {Notice how Li Chao doesn't hurry. He is near the time control, and doesn't want to risk blundering.} f6 (32... Be6 $2 { here is simply bad, as after} 33. Bxe6 Rxe6 34. Kd3 $18 {white will plow through in the center.}) 33. h4 {Preventing any counterplay with g5. White stops Black's ideas first, then goes on to execute his own.} Kc7 34. Kd3 f5 $2 {Hari blinks first. I don't understand why he gifts white a passer.} (34... Rc5 35. Rc4 Kd6 36. Rxc5 Kxc5 37. Bd1 Be8 $18 {and Black still has a long torture session awaiting him. Still, this was the lesser evil.}) 35. e5 $18 {White is now winning, and Li Chao converts with minimal fuss. Stage 2 - Push the passer, and isolate the bishop, then, target the weakened kingside pawns.} Rg6 36. Kd4 Rxg3 37. e6 Be8 38. Ke5 Rc3 39. Kxf5 $6 {Unfortunately, this move is an inaccuracy, as it helps black prolong the battle.} (39. Rc4+ $1 Rxc4 40. Bxc4 Bxa4 41. Kxf5 Be8 42. Ke5 $18 {and even an earthquake can't stop white from winning.}) 39... Rc5+ 40. Ke4 Bc6+ 41. Kd3 Rc1 $6 {Hari spoils the last chance given to him.} ({There was still hope with} 41... b5 42. a5 Rc1 {and after} 43. Rd4 Ra1 44. Bd5 Be8 45. Ke4 Rxa5 $16 {White still need to be accurate and hope for black committing a mistake.}) 42. Bc2 $18 g6 $2 {A blunder in a bad position.} (42... Rf1 {Preventing f5, was a way of prolonging the battle, but after} 43. Ke2 Rg1 44. Be4 Bxe4 45. Rxe4 Kd8 46. f5 $18 {White should win.}) 43. Kd2 Rg1 44. e7 Be8 45. Re4 Rg2+ 46. Kc3 Rg3+ 47. Bd3 $18 {The checks stop, and the white king decisively enters the fray. Final Stage- Win the bishop, and force the black king into a bad position, then push the f-pawn.} Kd6 48. Kd4 Bxa4 49. e8=Q Bxe8 50. Rxe8 Rg4 51. Ke3 Rg3+ 52. Ke2 Kd5 53. Rg8 Rg4 54. Kf3 Rxh4 55. Be4+ Kd4 56. Rd8+ Kc3 57. Bxg6 Rh1 58. f5 Rf1+ 59. Ke2 Rf4 60. Rd3+ {and Hari resigned. A great game by Li Chao, who milked blood from a rock, and never let go of his extra pawn. He now stands a chance of winning the tournament, should Rajdabov slip. As for Hari, I hope he will now come out all guns blazing in the final round, as his chances of winning the tournament are gone.} 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.14"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2809"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:11:49"] [BlackClock "0:00:32"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. a3 a5 9. d3 O-O 10. Be3 Be6 11. Rc1 a4 12. Nd2 (12. Bxb6 cxb6 13. Nxa4 e4 14. Ne1 Nd4 15. Nc3 Bg5 16. e3 Nb3 17. Bxe4 Nxc1 18. Qxc1 Qd7 {Nepomniachtchi,I (2730)-Bocharov,D (2609) Apatity 2011}) 12... f5 13. Bxb6 cxb6 14. Nxa4 $146 ( 14. Re1 Bg5 15. e3 Qxd3 16. Bf1 Qd7 17. Nc4 Qf7 {Recasens Sanchez,J (2048) -Gudkov,A corr. 2012}) 14... Bg5 15. Nc3 e4 16. Rb1 Ne5 {Aronian goes "all-in. " (Nepomniachtchi)} ({An interesting mini-plan was} 16... Rf7 17. Nc4 Rd7) 17. Nb3 Ng4 18. Qc2 $6 Be3 $1 19. dxe4 ({The problem is that after} 19. fxe3 Nxe3 { the white queen also has to let go of Nb3.}) 19... Qg5 $2 ({The way to go was} 19... Nxf2 $1 20. Rxf2 fxe4 21. Rbf1 {and now} (21. Nxe4 $2 Rc8) 21... Qc7 $1 { with the point} 22. Bxe4 Rxf2 23. Rxf2 Qf7 {when Black will be an exchange up for a pawn.} 24. Bf3 Bxf2+ 25. Kxf2 Bxb3 26. Qd3) 20. fxe3 Qxe3+ 21. Kh1 Qh6 22. h3 {The human move.} ({The computer points out that good for White was} 22. h4 $1 f4 23. Qd2 Ne3 24. Rf3 Bxb3 25. gxf4 Ng4 (25... Qxh4+ 26. Rh3) 26. Rbf1 Qxh4+ 27. Bh3 $1) 22... Ne3 23. Qd2 f4 24. gxf4 Nxf1 $6 ({Black should play} 24... Nxg2 25. Kxg2 Qxh3+ 26. Kf2 Qh4+ (26... Rad8 $5) 27. Ke3 Bxb3 28. Qd6 b5) 25. Rxf1 Bxb3 26. e5 Rae8 27. Ne4 Kh8 28. Kh2 Bg8 29. e3 Re6 30. Nd6 Qh4 31. Qd4 Rg6 32. Rf3 Qe1 33. f5 Rg5 34. h4 Rh5 35. Rg3 Be6 36. fxe6 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.14"] [Round "8"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2809"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. a3 a5 9. d3 O-O 10. Be3 Be6 11. Rc1 a4 {4 LiveBook: 5 Games. A29: English Opening: Four Knights Variation with g3} 12. Nd2 (12. Bxb6 cxb6 13. Nxa4 e4 14. Ne1 Nd4 15. Nc3 Bg5 16. e3 Nb3 17. Bxe4 Nxc1 18. Qxc1 Qd7 19. d4 Qxd4 {1-0 (36) Nepomniachtchi,I (2730)-Bocharov,D (2609) Apatity 2011}) 12... f5 13. Bxb6 cxb6 {The position is equal.} 14. Nxa4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 14. Re1 Bg5 15. e3 Qxd3 16. Bf1 Qd7 17. Nc4 Qf7 18. Nxb6 Rad8 19. Qe2 {1/2-1/2 (28) Recasens Sanchez,J (2048)-Gudkov,A ICCF email 2012}) 14... Bg5 $1 {[#] White must now prevent ... Bxd2.} 15. Nc3 e4 16. Rb1 Ne5 17. Nb3 Ng4 18. Qc2 (18. h3 $16 Ne5 19. Qc2) 18... Be3 $11 19. dxe4 (19. Bh3 $11 Nxf2 20. Rxf2) 19... Qg5 $2 (19... Nxf2 $1 $15 {stays ahead.} 20. Rxf2 fxe4) 20. fxe3 $16 Qxe3+ 21. Kh1 Qh6 22. h3 (22. h4 $16 {Threatens to win with Nd4.} Ne3 23. Qd2) 22... Ne3 $1 $14 23. Qd2 f4 $1 24. gxf4 Nxf1 (24... Rxf4 $11 {remains equal.} 25. Nd5 (25. Rxf4 Qxf4 26. Nd4 Bxh3 $11) 25... Rxe4 26. Nxe3 (26. Bxe4 Qxh3+ 27. Kg1 Qg3+ 28. Kh1 Qh4+ 29. Kg1 Qg3+ 30. Kh1 Qh4+ 31. Kg1 Qg3+ $11) (26. Nxb6 $2 Bxh3 27. Bxe4 Bf5+ 28. Kg1 Bxe4 $19) 26... Rxe3) 25. Rxf1 $16 {Hoping for Nd4.} Bxb3 26. e5 Rae8 27. Ne4 Kh8 (27... Ba4 $16 {was worth a try.}) 28. Kh2 $18 Bg8 29. e3 Re6 30. Nd6 Qh4 31. Qd4 ({Inferior is} 31. Bxb7 Rxe5 32. Bg2 Re6 $11) 31... Rg6 {[#] ( -> ... Qg3+)} 32. Rf3 $1 Qe1 $2 (32... Rh6 33. f5 (33. Qxb6 Bd5 $16) 33... Qxd4 34. exd4 Rxd6 35. exd6 Rd8) 33. f5 Rg5 34. h4 Rh5 35. Rg3 Be6 36. fxe6 {Precision: White = 79%, Black = 25%.} 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.15"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2724"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:58:45"] [BlackClock "0:40:09"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 O-O 8. h3 h6 9. Re1 Ba7 (9... Re8 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. Bxe6 Rxe6 12. b4 Ba7 13. Qc2 Qd7 14. Nf1 d5 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Nxe3 Rd8 {Anand,V (2786)-So,W (2812) Leuven 2017}) 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. d4 Ng6 12. Bf1 Re8 13. Qc2 Nh7 14. dxe5 $146 (14. Nb3 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Qxh4 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. Be3 Ng5 18. Bxa7 Rxa7 19. Re3 Bd7 {Dragnev,V (2515)-Zilka,S (2523) Stara Lubovna 2017}) 14... dxe5 (14... Nxe5 $5 {Radjabov}) 15. Nc4 Qf6 16. Ne3 Ne7 17. Ng4 Bxg4 18. hxg4 Ng6 19. Bc4 Rad8 20. a5 $6 {Radjabov thought this was bad, and with his next move he offered a draw.} Nf4 $1 21. Nh2 { Considering the tournament situation it's logical for Nepomniachtchi to play on.} (21. Be3 Bxe3 22. Rxe3 Qg6 23. Nh2 h5 {Nepomniachtchi}) 21... Rd7 22. Be3 {Now it was time for Nepo to offer a draw, but here Radjabov declined!} ({ When deciding to decline the draw, Nepo missed that after his intended} 22. g3 Nh3+ 23. Kg2 Qxf2+ 24. Qxf2 Nxf2 25. Be3 Bxe3 26. Rxe3 Rd2 27. Be2 {Black has} Nd3 $1) 22... Bxe3 23. fxe3 (23. Rxe3 Red8 {is not much either.}) 23... Ne6 24. Rf1 Qe7 25. b4 Nhg5 26. Nf3 Nxf3+ 27. gxf3 Qg5 28. Rae1 Red8 29. Qh2 Rd2 30. Re2 Rd1 31. Bd5 Rxf1+ 32. Kxf1 c6 33. Bxe6 Rd1+ 34. Kf2 fxe6 35. Qh5 Qxh5 36. gxh5 Kf7 37. Rb2 Rc1 38. Rd2 Ke7 39. Rd3 Rh1 40. Kg2 Rxh5 41. c4 Rg5+ 42. Kh2 Rh5+ 43. Kg2 Rg5+ 44. Kh2 h5 45. b5 h4 46. Kh3 Rg3+ (46... Rg1 $5 { Nepomniachtchi}) 47. Kxh4 Rxf3 48. bxa6 bxa6 49. c5 Rf1 50. Rd6 Ra1 51. Rxc6 Rxa5 52. Kg5 Kd7 53. Rd6+ Ke7 54. Rc6 Kd7 55. Rd6+ Ke7 56. Rc6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.15"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Yifan, Hou"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2666"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:51:10"] [BlackClock "0:00:57"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. Rb1 Be7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. Bc4 Nc6 10. O-O b6 11. d5 (11. Bf4 Bb7 12. Re1 cxd4 13. cxd4 Nb4 14. Qd2 Nc6 15. d5 Na5 16. Bb5 exd5 17. exd5 Bc5 {Svidler,P (2755)-Radjabov,T (2710) Moscow 2017}) 11... Na5 12. Bd3 c4 13. Bc2 exd5 14. exd5 Bb7 15. Re1 Bf6 $146 (15... Re8 16. Ba4 Rf8 17. Bf4 Bd6 18. Bg5 f6 19. Be3 Bc7 20. Nd4 Qxd5 21. Qg4 f5 22. Qh3 f4 23. Bc1 {½-½ Matlakov,M (2714)-Shimanov,A (2642) Minsk 2017 }) 16. d6 Re8 (16... Bxc3 $2 17. Bxh7+ Kh8 18. Bg5 {loses but}) (16... Bxf3 { was possible when White can choose} 17. gxf3 $5 Qd7 (17... Bxc3 18. Re3 Bf6 19. Ba3 Re8 20. Rxe8+ Qxe8 21. Qd5 {and the threats of 22.d7 and 22.Qf5 are killing }) 18. Ba3) 17. Rxe8+ Qxe8 18. Bf4 Rd8 19. Bf5 g6 $2 ({Black had to play} 19... Qc6 $1 20. d7 g6 21. Bh3 Bxc3 {but after} 22. Qe2 {White is still better.}) 20. d7 Qf8 21. Bh3 Be4 22. Rc1 Qc5 23. Qe2 Bf5 24. Rd1 Bxh3 25. gxh3 Kg7 26. Rd6 $1 {White is winning.} Bxc3 (26... Qf5 27. Rxf6 $1) 27. Ng5 Qf5 28. Qe7 h6 29. Ne6+ Kh7 30. Nxd8 Qxf4 31. Nxf7 1-0 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.15"] [Round "9"] [White "Harikrishna, P."] [Black "Jakovenko, Dmitry"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2703"] [Annotator "Tanmay Srinath"] [PlyCount "230"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {This 9th Round Game was a battle of pride. For Harikrishna, this might be a retribution, after a painful loss ruined his chances for 1st place. For Jakovenko, the former 3rd Place Finisher, a win here might serve as a confidence booster. [#]} 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 2. Nf3 { [%emt 0:00:00]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 3. Bc4 {0 No surprises here, as the players arrive at the current tabiya of modern chess, the quiet Italian.} Bc5 { [%emt 0:00:04]} 4. c3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 5. d3 {[%emt 0:00: 00]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 6. O-O {202} d6 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 7. a4 {14 One of the main moves in this position. White prevents b4 and creates a retreat square for his bishop.} Ba7 {32 The point of this curious retreat is to prevent a tempo loss after an eventual d4.} 8. Re1 {[%emt 0:00:19]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:48]} 9. h3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Ne7 {7 One of the two best moves in this position. The point is to reroute the knight to g6, where it keeps an eye on f4 and h4. Black can additionally play c6-d5, but I am not sure if he equalises after that.} (9... h6 {is another logical move, preventing the pin Bg5. After} 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. b4 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. Qc2 $13 {an unclear situation arises. White is surely better on the queenside, where he plans an eventual b5, but Black's forces are a compact bunch, and moves such as d5 are in the air. Also, d4 will be a problematic move to execute. The assesment of the position will depend on white's ability to carry out a successful queenside assault, or Black's speed in creating counterplay.}) 10. Nbd2 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Ng6 { [%emt 0:00:09]} 11. d4 $14 {34 So white again carries out the typical idea in these Italian positions- a timely d4 advance. White is now slightly better.} c6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 12. b4 $5 {65 I am not sure if this move is the best in this positon. Sure, white grabs space, but his pawn center is rendered unstable.} ( 12. Bb3 $1 {Would be more in the spirit of the position, as white prevents his bishop being hit with tempo after d5. He can also conserve this piece with Bc2. After} exd4 13. cxd4 d5 14. e5 ({It is possible here to play} 14. exd5 { and after} cxd5 15. Bc2 Re8 16. Nb3 $14 {I prefer white here, as his LS Bishop is a great piece, his b3 knight can hop to c5, and he has the better co-ordination.}) 14... Nh5 15. Nf1 f6 16. Bc2 Nhf4 17. Ra3 $13 {Another unclear position arises, with chances for both sides.}) 12... exd4 {744} 13. cxd4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} d5 $5 {3 Jakovenko plays principled chess, though there were other moves available to him.} ({One of them is} 13... Re8 {and after} 14. Bb3 h6 15. Bc2 Nh5 16. Nc4 Nhf4 17. Bxf4 Nxf4 18. Qd2 g5 19. e5 $16 {White is better, though black is not without his chances.}) 14. Bd3 $146 {10 A novelty by Hari. He is clearly well prepared.} ({He could of course try} 14. exd5 { and after} Nxd5 15. Ne4 h6 16. Bd2 $14 {white is better here, but it is an unbalanced position, and black sure has chances here.}) 14... dxe4 {447} 15. Nxe4 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nxe4 {126} 16. Bxe4 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Be6 {[%emt 0:00:53]} 17. b5 $1 {31 Hari strikes when the iron is hot. White now steadily improves his position. It is hard to pinpoint where Jakovenko went wrong, but it is clear he has not equalised.} axb5 $6 {1230 A clear inaccuracy. Black had a better option here.} (17... Bd5 {is the right move, inviting white to resolve the tension. After} 18. bxc6 bxc6 19. Qc2 Bxe4 20. Rxe4 Qd5 21. Ba3 $14 { White has the better chances, as he has free development.}) 18. axb5 {[%emt 0: 00:19]} Bd5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 19. Bxd5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Qxd5 {361} 20. bxc6 { [%emt 0:00:09]} bxc6 {1060 Now is the time to take a real good look at the position. White has an IQP, and black has an open d-file to take aim at it. He has 2 pieces staring at it already, and can add more fire. But, his trumps stop there. White has control over 2 open files, freer development, and of course, he is to move in this position. One can argue all he wants about c6 being as weak as d4, but now Hari shows otherwise, as the c6 weakness is easier to target.} 21. Ra6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Qb5 {94} 22. Qe2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Rfb8 {221} 23. Qxb5 {2009} cxb5 $16 {15 Again, lets take stock. After the queen exchange, it is made clear that black is suffering here. His b-pawn can easily be blockaded, his rook on a8 is temporarily dead, and he doesn't own an open file. All these factors are exploited by white, as he now claims a tangible advantage.} 24. Bd2 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Bb6 {77} 25. Rxa8 {[%emt 0:00:05] } Rxa8 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 26. Rb1 {7 Now it is made clear. Black has to lose a pawn.} Bc7 {876 There was another move I'm sure Jakovenko considered.} (26... f6 {with the idea to bring the king to the center, in order to blockade the d-pawn, is a slightly better plan. After} 27. Rxb5 Ra1+ 28. Kh2 Ra6 29. g3 Ne7 30. Be3 Kf7 $16 {Black is not dead yet.}) 27. Rxb5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Ra1+ { [%emt 0:00:08]} 28. Ne1 {84} Rd1 {213} 29. Rb2 {84} Nf4 {501} 30. Kf1 {387} Kf8 {181} 31. Rc2 {292} Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 32. g3 {[%emt 0:00:50]} Nd5 {[%emt 0: 00:24]} 33. Ke2 {107 White has slowly unravelled his position, and now Black must suffer.} Ra1 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 34. Rb2 {306} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:34]} 35. Nc2 { [%emt 0:00:41]} Ra4 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 36. Kd3 {[%emt 0:00:56]} Ke6 {104} 37. Rb5 {118} g6 {396} 38. Ne3 {215} Ra3+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} 39. Ke2 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Nxe3 {[%emt 0:00:38]} 40. Bxe3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Ra2+ {205} 41. Kf3 {232} h5 { 831} 42. Ke4 $6 {182 An inaccuracy. There was a better move here.} (42. d5+ Kd7 43. Rb7+ Ke8 44. Ra7 Rb2 45. Ra4 h4 46. Rxh4 $18 {And white can start thinking about different ways in which he can win in this position.}) 42... Ra4 { 431 Jakovenko plays a good move, but it is not the best move in this position.} (42... f5+ {was more accurate, and after} 43. Kf3 Ra3 44. h4 Ke7 45. Kg2 Rd3 46. Rb2 Ke6 $16 {White is still better, but Black has reasonable chances to draw this position.}) 43. g4 {77} hxg4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 44. hxg4 {[%emt 0:00: 04]} Bc7 {476} 45. f4 {134} Ra1 {177} 46. Bd2 {607} (46. f5+ gxf5+ 47. gxf5+ Ke7 48. Rc5 Bd6 49. Rc1 Rxc1 50. Bxc1 $16 {and white can keep trying to win here. This was another option.}) 46... Ra2 {131} 47. Be3 {532} Ra1 {[%emt 0:00: 12]} 48. g5 {54 Hari is playing a waiting game here. He is forcing black into a cocoon, and hopes he will blunder soon.} Kd7 {281} 49. Rb7 {338} Kc6 50. Rb2 {[%emt 0:00:17]} Ra4 {290} 51. Rb1 {469} Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:21]} 52. f5 {267} gxf5+ {[%emt 0:00:09]} 53. Kxf5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Ra5+ {78} 54. Ke4 {[%emt 0:00: 26]} Ra4 {231} 55. Rf1 {166} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 56. Bd2 {62} Ra2 {118} 57. Kd3 {134} Bd6 {64} 58. Bc3 {129} Rg2 {75} 59. d5 $6 {380 The past few moves have good, but Hari messes up here. He had a much better option.} (59. Bd2 Rg3+ 60. Be3 Rg2 61. Ke4 Ra2 62. Rf2 Ra1 63. Rb2 $16 {and white keeps trying. Black has to suffer for a long time here.}) 59... Rg4 {[%emt 0:00:27]} 60. Bf6+ { [%emt 0:00:00]} Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 61. Ra1 {464} Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:40]} 62. Ra6 Rg1 {123 Now all Hari has to show here is a small plus due to an extra pawn. Jakovenko defends well here, and prolongs the fight.} 63. Rc6 {240} Ba3 {376} 64. Rb6 {390} Bc1 {97} 65. Rb1 {236} Rg3+ {62} 66. Ke4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Bxg5 { 66} 67. Be5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Re3+ {89} 68. Kd4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rf3 {73} 69. Ke4 {87} Re3+ {70} 70. Kf5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:20]} 71. Rb7+ { [%emt 0:00:33]} Ke8 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 72. d6 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Bxd6 $1 {6 An excellent move by Jakovenko. By liquidating to a R+B vs R endgame, where white has no pawns remaining, he correctly assesses that he can draw by showing some good endgame technique.} 73. Bxd6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Re1 {116} 74. Bf4 {85} Re7 { [%emt 0:00:36]} 75. Rb8+ {[%emt 0:00:29]} Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 76. Kf6 { [%emt 0:00:18]} Re1 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 77. Kxf7 {104} Kc6 {3 Hari can try all he wants here, but this is a theoretically drawn endgame, and it is just a matter of the 50 move rule now.} 78. Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Kd5 {[%emt 0:00:54]} 79. Kf5 {[%emt 0:00:32]} Re7 {[%emt 0:00:59]} 80. Rd8+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kc6 {[%emt 0: 00:08]} 81. Rd6+ {[%emt 0:00:19]} Kc5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 82. Be5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rh7 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 83. Rd1 {[%emt 0:00:17]} Rh6 {[%emt 0:00:44]} 84. Ke4 { [%emt 0:00:11]} Rh4+ {[%emt 0:00:34]} 85. Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Kc4 {[%emt 0:00: 08]} 86. Rc1+ {[%emt 0:00:06]} Kb4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 87. Ke5 {[%emt 0:00:15]} Kb3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 88. Rc8 {[%emt 0:00:40]} Rg4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 89. Be3 { [%emt 0:00:46]} Rc4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 90. Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:27]} Kc3 {[%emt 0:00: 17]} 91. Bd4+ {[%emt 0:00:15]} Kd3 {[%emt 0:00:57]} 92. Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Rc6 {[%emt 0:00:51]} 93. Kd5 {[%emt 0:00:19]} Rg6 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 94. Ra3+ { [%emt 0:00:06]} Ke2 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 95. Kc4 {75} Rc6+ {[%emt 0:00:13]} 96. Bc5 Re6 97. Kd4 {[%emt 0:00:18]} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:14]} 98. Ra2+ {67} Kf3 {[%emt 0: 00:05]} 99. Kd3 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Re5 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 100. Bd4 {[%emt 0:00:25]} Rf5 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 101. Ra1 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Kf4 {[%emt 0:00:21]} 102. Re1 { [%emt 0:00:05]} Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:46]} 103. Be5 {[%emt 0:00:38]} Kf2 {[%emt 0:00: 10]} 104. Re2+ $1 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 105. Re3+ {[%emt 0:00: 03]} Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:24]} 106. Bg3+ {[%emt 0:00:16]} Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:16]} 107. Ke4 {219} Rf8 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 108. Be5 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 109. Ra3 {[%emt 0:00:46]} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 110. Ra2+ {[%emt 0:00:19]} Ke1 { [%emt 0:00:04]} 111. Rb2 {[%emt 0:00:41]} Re7 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 112. Kd4 { [%emt 0:00:30]} Kf1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 113. Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Re2 {[%emt 0:00: 03]} 114. Rb3 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 115. Be3+ {[%emt 0:00:54]} Kf3 {5 and the players call it a draw. A very good defensive effort by Jakovenko, who never let the evaluation change much, and took his chances. As for Hari, he tried his best, but could not break the Russian's defense. He ends the tournament on +1, and I am sure his performances will improve in coming tournaments.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Geneva"] [Site "Geneva"] [Date "2017.07.15"] [Round "9"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2724"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 O-O 8. h3 { [%emt 0:00:05] C4: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3} h6 ( 8... Be6 9. Bxe6 fxe6 10. b4 Ba7 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. fxe3 Ne7 13. Nbd2 Ng6 14. d4 Qe7 15. Qb3 Kh8 {1/2-1/2 (63) Carlsen,M (2832)-So,W (2812) Stavanger 2017}) 9. Re1 Ba7 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. d4 Ng6 12. Bf1 Re8 {LiveBook: 5 Games} 13. Qc2 Nh7 { [#]} 14. dxe5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 14. Nb3 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Qxh4 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. Be3 Ng5 18. Bxa7 Rxa7 {0-1 (69) Dragnev,V (2515)-Zilka,S (2523) Stara Lubovna 2017}) 14... dxe5 15. Nc4 Qf6 16. Ne3 Ne7 17. Ng4 Bxg4 $1 18. hxg4 Ng6 19. Bc4 Rad8 20. a5 Nf4 21. Nh2 (21. Rf1 $15) 21... Rd7 $17 22. Be3 Bxe3 23. fxe3 Ne6 24. Rf1 Qe7 25. b4 Nhg5 (25... Nf6 $19 26. Rf5 Qd6) 26. Nf3 Nxf3+ 27. gxf3 Qg5 28. Rae1 Red8 29. Qh2 Rd2 30. Re2 Rd1 31. Bd5 Rxf1+ 32. Kxf1 c6 33. Bxe6 $1 { [#] aiming for Bb3.} Rd1+ 34. Kf2 {Hoping for Ba2.} fxe6 35. Qh5 Qxh5 36. gxh5 $15 {Endgame KR-KR} Kf7 37. Rb2 Rc1 38. Rd2 Ke7 39. Rd3 Rh1 40. Kg2 Rxh5 41. c4 Rg5+ 42. Kh2 Rh5+ (42... Rg6 $15) 43. Kg2 $11 Rg5+ (43... g6 $11) 44. Kh2 $1 $15 h5 {next ...h4 is good for Black.} 45. b5 $1 h4 46. Kh3 Rg3+ 47. Kxh4 { The position is equal.} Rxf3 {White must now prevent ...Rf1.} 48. bxa6 bxa6 { Threatens to win with ...Rf2.} 49. c5 $1 Rf1 {[#] And now ...Rc1 would win.} 50. Rd6 Ra1 51. Rxc6 Rxa5 52. Kg5 Kd7 53. Rd6+ Ke7 54. Rc6 Kd7 55. Rd6+ Ke7 56. Rc6 {Precision: White = 74%, Black = 73%.} 1/2-1/2