Games
[Event "FIDE Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.12"] [Round "1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2652"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. Rb1 Be7 { D35: Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation} 8. Bb5+ Bd7 {LiveBook: 3 Games} 9. Bxd7+ Nxd7 $146 {The position is equal.} ({Predecessor:} 9... Qxd7 10. d5 exd5 11. exd5 O-O 12. Nf3 Bf6 13. O-O b5 14. Bf4 Bxc3 15. Qd3 {1/2-1/2 (48) Aronian,L (2785)-Vallejo Pons,F (2709) Sharjah 2017}) 10. Rxb7 ({White should play} 10. Nf3 $11) 10... cxd4 $1 $15 11. cxd4 Nb6 $1 (11... Qc8 $6 12. Rb2 $14) 12. Qd2 Qc8 ({Black should try} 12... Bf6 $17 {aiming for ...Qc8.} 13. Qf4 Qxd4) 13. Rxe7+ $1 Kxe7 14. Nf3 f6 {Hoping for ...Qc4.} 15. O-O $1 Kf7 16. e5 f5 17. g4 Rd8 18. Qg5 {[#]} Kg8 $1 ({Don't play} 18... fxg4 $6 19. Qh5+ (19. Qxg4 Kg8 $11) 19... Kg8 20. Ng5 $11) 19. Qh5 (19. gxf5 $15 exf5 20. Nh4) 19... Rf8 20. Ba3 {Black must now prevent Ng5.} Qc6 21. Ng5 (21. Bxf8 $17 {was the only defense.} Rxf8 22. Nh4) 21... h6 $19 22. Rc1 {[#]} Qd7 $1 23. Bxf8 Rxf8 24. Nh3 ({Not} 24. Nf3 $2 Nd5 $19) 24... Qxd4 25. gxf5 Qxe5 26. Qg6 Rf6 ({ Don't do} 26... Qxf5 27. Qxf5 Rxf5 28. Kg2) 27. Qg4 Rxf5 28. Qg3 Qd4 29. Re1 ( 29. Qe3 $142 Qxe3 30. fxe3) 29... Rf6 30. Qg2 Nd5 {Strongly threatening ...Qc3. } 31. Kh1 Qd3 32. Rg1 Qf3 33. Rb1 Qf5 34. Rg1 Rf7 35. Re1 (35. Qg4 $142) 35... Rf6 36. Rg1 $1 Qf3 37. Rb1 $1 Qh5 38. Rg1 Rf7 $36 {White is under strong pressure.} 39. Re1 Qf5 40. Qg3 Rc7 41. Ng1 Nf4 42. Rd1 Kh7 43. Qf3 Rc2 44. a3 e5 45. Re1 Qg6 46. h3 Nd3 47. Rf1 (47. Re2 $142 Rc3 48. a4) 47... Rc3 48. Qg4 Qxg4 49. hxg4 Rxa3 {Endgame KRN-KRN} 50. Nf3 Ra4 51. g5 h5 52. Kg2 Rg4+ 53. Kh2 a5 54. Ra1 {Black is clearly winning.} a4 55. Ra2 e4 56. Nd4 Rxg5 57. Rxa4 Nxf2 58. Ra7 Ng4+ 59. Kh3 Re5 60. Nc6 Rd5 {Precision: White = 46%, Black = 77%.} 0-1 [Event "Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.05.12"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2786"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2017.05.12"] [EventType "tourn"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. a3 Nc6 11. Bd3 Bb6 12. O-O Bg4 13. h3 Bh5 14. b4 a6 15. Rb1 (15. Rc1 d4 16. g4 Bg6 17. e4 Re8 18. Re1 Rc8 19. Bc4 Qf6 20. Bg5 Qd6 21. e5 Qd7 {Svidler,P (2741)-Harikrishna,P (2758) Shenzhen 2017}) 15... d4 16. b5 axb5 17. Rxb5 Bxf3 18. Qb1 $146 (18. Qxf3 dxe3 19. Bxe3 Bxe3 20. Qxe3 Re8 21. Qg3 Qe7 22. Rfb1 Rxa3 23. Rxb7 Qf8 24. R7b3 Rxb3 25. Rxb3 g6 26. Bc4 { 1/2-1/2 (26) Matic,D (2243)-Perez,B (2374) Chessfriend.com 2005}) 18... Bc7 19. Bxh7+ Kh8 20. gxf3 Bxf4 21. exf4 Ne7 22. Rh5 Ra5 23. Bf5+ Kg8 24. Bh7+ Kh8 25. Bf5+ Kg8 26. Bh7+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow RUS"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.05.12"] [Round "1.7"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2652"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2017.05.12"] [EventType "tourn"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 {A tricky move order.} ({Most of the people choose the other capture instead:} 4... exd5 {which leads to the famous Carlsbad pawn structure. One recent example runs} 5. Bg5 c6 6. Qc2 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. e3 O-O 9. Bd3 Re8 10. Nge2 Nh5 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 {with approximate equality, Nepomniachtchi,I (2751)-Kramnik,V (2811) Zurich 2017}) 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 { Now the game transposes into the Improved Tarrasch variation.} 7. Rb1 { Nepomniachtchi has already played like this. The idea is to put pressure on b7 and to prevent Black from trading the bishops with Bf8-b4+.} ({However, the majority of the players almost inevitably follow the main line after} 7. Nf3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 {for example} O-O 11. Bc4 Nd7 12. O-O b6 13. a4 Bb7 14. Rfe1 Nf6 15. Bd3 h6 16. a5 bxa5 17. Rxa5 Qc7 {as in the very fresh game Radjabov,T (2710)-Karjakin,S (2783) Shamkir 2017}) 7... Be7 ({ White does not mind repeating the line} 7... cxd4 8. cxd4 Nc6 9. Bb5 a6 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. Nf3 c5 12. O-O Be7 13. Qc2 cxd4 14. Rd1 O-O 15. Rxd4 {with central pressure in Nepomniachtchi,I (2717)-Bacrot,E (2714) Biel 2013}) 8. Bb5+ (8. Nf3 O-O 9. Bd3 {to try and keep more pieces on the board also makes sense although Black is harmoniously developed after} b6) 8... Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Nxd7 $1 $146 {A novelty which should not come as a huge surpise.} ({In the previous Grand Prix both players eye-witnessed the following game} 9... Qxd7 10. d5 exd5 11. exd5 O-O 12. Nf3 Bf6 13. O-O {and they both knew that Vallejo had to suffer to deserve one of his nine draws, Aronian,L (2785)-Vallejo Pons,F (2709) Sharjah 2017}) 10. Rxb7 {Nepomniachtchi goes for it. Hou Yifan called this a blunder.} ({White cannot count on any advantage after} 10. Nf3 cxd4 11. cxd4 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qa6) 10... cxd4 ({Not} 10... Nb6 11. Bf4 cxd4 12. Qxd4) 11. cxd4 Nb6 {The rook is trapped and White's lag in development makes it difficult to save it.} 12. Qd2 ({One line that supports the above-mentioned runs:} 12. Bf4 Bd6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. Qc2 O-O 15. Rc7 Rac8 16. Rxc8 Rxc8 17. Qb1 Na4 {when White might not even have the time to castle...}) (12. Qc2 Rc8 (12... Bb4+ $5 { might be actually even stronger.}) 13. Qb2 O-O {also looks great for Black.}) 12... Qc8 {Hou also goes for it.} ({Since in the line} 12... O-O 13. Ne2 Bd6 14. e5 Bc7 15. Qc2 Rc8 16. Qe4 {Black would not have the time to pick the rook up.}) 13. Rxe7+ Kxe7 14. Nf3 ({One would expect} 14. Ba3+ {instead but after} Ke8 15. Qb4 Qd7 16. Ne2 f6 {followed by Ke8-f7 Black would also castle by hand. }) 14... f6 15. O-O Kf7 {Summing up the opening outcome: Hou won material, and Nepomniachtchi has a strong center and safer king as compensation. Still, the many open files make Black's life easier. Her difficulties are temporary, while the assets are long-term ones.} 16. e5 f5 17. g4 $5 {Nepomniachtchi is in a hurry to create counterplay. In doing so though he also weakens his kingside.} Rd8 ({White would be happy to see} 17... fxg4 18. Qf4+ Kg8 19. Ng5 Qf8 20. Qxg4 Qf5 21. Qxf5 exf5 22. e6) 18. Qg5 ({White cannot push the passers too carelessly:} 18. gxf5 exf5 19. Re1 Kg8 20. e6 Re8 21. d5 Qc4) 18... Kg8 19. Qh5 ({Form a hindsight, it was better to go for} 19. gxf5 exf5 20. Nh4 Rf8 21. Ba3 Rf7 22. Bd6) 19... Rf8 20. Ba3 {Everything seems very logical, but here comes a shocker:} Qc6 $1 {Very nice! Hou is ready to give back the material in return for the initiative. Now the kingside weaknesses and the poor placement of the white pieces become the key factors of the position.} ({The play remains complex after} 20... Rf7 21. Ng5) ({or} 20... g6 21. Qh4 Rf7 22. Ng5 Rg7 23. Bc5) 21. Ng5 {This makes things easier for Black.} ({Hou would have a dangerous initiative after} 21. Bxf8 Rxf8 22. Nh4 ({Surprisingly} 22. Ng5 h6 23. Nh3 Qf3 {traps the white knight after} 24. Qg6 Qxg4+ 25. Qxg4 fxg4) 22... f4 23. g5 f3 24. Qg4 Nd5 25. Nxf3 Nf4 26. Nd2 Qc2 {as well. All the black pieces are very strong and once that the a-pawn drops it will be extremely difficult for White to defend. But this was his best chance.}) 21... h6 22. Rc1 ({We have already seen the beautiful line} 22. Nh3 Qf3 23. Bxf8 Rxf8 24. Qg6 Qxg4+ 25. Qxg4 fxg4 {when the knight is trapped.}) 22... Qd7 23. Bxf8 Rxf8 24. Nh3 {Alas, the knight needs to go on the rim.} ({If} 24. Nf3 Nd5 25. Qh4 Nf4 26. Rc2 fxg4 27. Qxg4 h5 28. Qg3 Qb5 {Black is completely winning due to the back-rank mating threats and the knight forks.}) 24... Qxd4 25. gxf5 Qxe5 { The smoke has cleared. Hou managed to keep extra material, but added the initiative to it.} 26. Qg6 Rf6 {Since it is Black who is attacking now the Chinese GM keeps the rooks on the board.} ({Even better than} 26... Qxf5 27. Qxf5 Rxf5 28. Kg2) 27. Qg4 Rxf5 28. Qg3 Qd4 29. Re1 Rf6 30. Qg2 Nd5 {Next Black simply improves everything that she has.} (30... Qc3 31. Rf1 Kh7 { was faster}) ({If} 30... Kh7 31. Qe4+ {trades the queens.}) 31. Kh1 Qd3 32. Rg1 Qf3 33. Rb1 ({The last chance was} 33. Qxf3 Rxf3 34. Rg3 {but this only shows how gloomy White position is.}) 33... Qf5 34. Rg1 Rf7 35. Re1 Rf6 {Steadily avoiding any time-trouble lapsuses.} 36. Rg1 Qf3 37. Rb1 Qh5 38. Rg1 Rf7 39. Re1 Qf5 40. Qg3 Rc7 41. Ng1 Nf4 42. Rd1 Kh7 43. Qf3 Rc2 44. a3 e5 45. Re1 Qg6 46. h3 Nd3 {Very practical!} ({Black avoids any rook endgames, even if they are two pawns ahead for her} 46... Rc3 47. Qe4 Qxe4+ 48. Rxe4 Nxh3 49. Nxh3 Rxh3+ 50. Kg2 Rxa3 {as she knows very well how tricky these endgames might be.} ) 47. Rf1 Rc3 {Now Nd3-f4 is a strong threat. Hou finally wins a second pawn.} 48. Qg4 Qxg4 49. hxg4 Rxa3 50. Nf3 Ra4 51. g5 h5 52. Kg2 Rg4+ 53. Kh2 a5 54. Ra1 a4 55. Ra2 e4 56. Nd4 Rxg5 57. Rxa4 Nxf2 58. Ra7 Ng4+ 59. Kh3 Re5 60. Nc6 Rd5 0-1 [Event "Moscow RUS"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.05.12"] [Round "1.7"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2652"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. Rb1 { Not only does this develop the rook, but it prevents, after cxd4 cxd4, a check on b4.} (7. Nf3 {is definitely the main line, which transposes to many Kramnik games. The Russian has employed this very successfully in the recent past.}) 7... Be7 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Nxd7 $5 (9... Qxd7 {had been seen earlier this year} 10. d5 exd5 11. exd5 O-O {was one of the many draws in the Sharjah Grand Prix, Aronian-Vallejo Pons.}) 10. Rxb7 {It's the only way to 'punish' black's set-up, but of course it has a drawback} cxd4 (10... Nb6 11. Nf3 Qc8 12. Rxe7+ Kxe7 13. Ba3 {simply does not work for Black, as the two pawns provided more than enough compensation for the exchange.}) 11. cxd4 Nb6 {Black's threat is simple: Qc8 traps the rook. White doesnt really have much in the way of doing something with the extra tempo to thwart Black's threat.} 12. Qd2 (12. Qc2 Bb4+ 13. Kf1 Rc8 {leads to another problem: Black is better developed and White's center is close to falling apart.} 14. Qb2 O-O {And Black's compensation for the pawn is enough for a winning advantage.}) (12. Bd2 {100% computer move} Qc8 13. Rxe7+ Kxe7 14. Bb4+ Ke8 15. Ne2 Qc4 $1 {but even here the silicon brains give the edge to Black.}) 12... Qc8 (12... Bf6 $1 {but Black's move in the game is also good.}) 13. Rxe7+ Kxe7 14. Nf3 (14. Ba3+ Ke8 {has the unfortunate side effect of running into Nc4 next move, so White doesn't have time to develop.}) (14. Qg5+ Kf8 {leads nowhere for White.}) 14... f6 15. O-O Kf7 16. e5 f5 {The question here is if White has enough time to organize an attack against Black's king. Without the initiative, Black's extra exchange (even though it is for a pawn) would easily steamroll over the opponent's pieces.} 17. g4 {only move, White must attack.} Rd8 (17... fxg4 $2 18. Ng5+ Kg8 19. Qf4 {gives White a sizeable initiative}) 18. Qg5 {it is natural to put the queen on the kingside, but it's hard to come up with concrete threats.} (18. gxf5 exf5 19. e6+ Kxe6 (19... Kg8 20. Re1 {and White's passed pawn might give chances, but Black is still much better after} Re8 $1 21. d5 (21. e7 Nd5 22. Ba3 Qd7 $17) 21... Qc4 {is an important double attack.}) 20. Ng5+ Kf6 $13 { might be too much for Black, the king is easily attacked.}) 18... Kg8 19. Qh5 Rf8 20. Ba3 Qc6 $1 {A beautiful idea!} (20... Rf7 21. Ng5 g6 22. Qh6 Rg7 $17 { is awkward but also a good way to continue for Yifan.}) 21. Ng5 (21. Bxf8 Rxf8 $1 {This is more or less Black's point. White doesn't have a good way of defending the knight on f3.} 22. Ng5 (22. g5 g6 23. Qh3 Qc3 {is horrible for White.}) (22. Nh4 f4 $1 {and again the knight looks ridiculous on h4.}) 22... h6 {an the knight is already trapped:} 23. Nh3 Qf3 $19) 21... h6 22. Rc1 Qd7 23. Bxf8 Rxf8 24. Nh3 Qxd4 {Material is even, but now White's king, a-pawn, e-pawn and knight are all in bad shape. The position is already a technical win and the Chinese super star converts without problems.} 25. gxf5 Qxe5 26. Qg6 Rf6 27. Qg4 Rxf5 28. Qg3 Qd4 29. Re1 Rf6 30. Qg2 Nd5 31. Kh1 Qd3 32. Rg1 Qf3 33. Rb1 Qf5 34. Rg1 Rf7 35. Re1 Rf6 36. Rg1 Qf3 37. Rb1 Qh5 38. Rg1 Rf7 39. Re1 Qf5 40. Qg3 Rc7 {With time control reached Black stops shuffling around.} 41. Ng1 Nf4 42. Rd1 Kh7 43. Qf3 Rc2 44. a3 e5 45. Re1 Qg6 46. h3 Nd3 47. Rf1 Rc3 48. Qg4 Qxg4 49. hxg4 Rxa3 50. Nf3 Ra4 51. g5 h5 52. Kg2 Rg4+ 53. Kh2 a5 54. Ra1 a4 55. Ra2 e4 56. Nd4 Rxg5 57. Rxa4 Nxf2 58. Ra7 Ng4+ 59. Kh3 Re5 60. Nc6 Rd5 0-1 [Event "Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.05.13"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2724"] [BlackElo "2772"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r2r4/p1k2ppp/2p2n2/2b2p2/2B5/4P3/PP1B1PPP/R2R2K1 b - - 0 17"] [PlyCount "10"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {[#]} 17... Nd5 18. Ba5+ Bb6 {There is no doubt that White is better. He has the pair of bishops and a safer king. Yeah, there is no immediate win or anything, but why not play on?} 19. Bxd5 (19. Be1 {and Black will have to suffer for a while to make his draw.}) 19... Rxd5 20. Rxd5 cxd5 21. Bc3 g5 { Black has really survived the worse and the endgame is probably equal.} 22. Rd1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.05.13"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "173"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. Nf3 (4. d4 {is the main line by quite a margin, but not the only move} Bb4+ {is one of the many lines black has tried recently. }) 4... e4 5. Nd4 d5 6. d3 $5 {almost inexistent} (6. cxd5 Qxd5 (6... cxd5 7. d3 {is already dubious for Black's structure.}) 7. Nc2 Qh5 $1 {with complex play, like Sviderl-Wang Hao from last year.}) 6... exd3 7. cxd5 $5 Bb4+ 8. Nc3 c5 9. Nb3 c4 10. Nd2 {Certainly an unusual position. The White knight has already played fouro times to land on d2, while Black has pushed his pawns forward! It's still hard to asses the position.} O-O 11. O-O (11. Nxc4 { is the computer brave move.}) 11... Bxc3 12. bxc3 Bg4 13. f3 dxe2 {after this Black is worse, but I haven't found a clear improvement on his previous play. Either the line is bad or he has to go for the crazy 13...Nxd5.} (13... Nxd5 $5 14. fxg4 Nxc3 15. Qe1 Nxe2+ 16. Kh1 Nc6 {is quite weird to evaluate. Even if Black allows Ba3 x f8 the position with so many passed pawns is not entirely clear.} (16... c3 $5)) 14. Qxe2 Bf5 15. Nxc4 Qxd5 16. Rd1 Qb5 17. a4 Qa6 { Computers already evaluate this as much better for White. The reason is the pair of bishops and the superior development that White has.} 18. Bf1 (18. Ba3 $1 Re8 19. Qf1 {is a similar idea than the game but with better execution}) 18... Be6 19. Nd6 Qxe2 20. Bxe2 b6 21. Nb5 Bb3 22. Rd6 Nbd7 23. a5 Rfc8 24. Kf2 h6 {Black is simply getting tortured in this position.} 25. Be3 Ne5 26. Bd4 Nc4 27. Rxf6 $1 {A beautiful combination.} gxf6 28. Bxc4 Bxc4 (28... Rxc4 29. axb6 {is winning for White without question}) 29. Nd6 bxa5 (29... Rc6 30. Nxc4 Rxc4 31. axb6 {is again simply unholdable.}) 30. Nxc8 Rxc8 31. Rxa5 {The opposite colored bishop endgame is very unpleasant for Black. With perfect play it's probably a draw, but that's almost impossible to do in these circumstances} Re8 32. g4 a6 33. Rc5 Bd3 34. Bxf6 Re6 35. Bd4 Kf8 36. h4 Ke8 37. Rc8+ Kd7 38. Rf8 Ke7 39. Bc5+ Kf6 40. Rh8 Kg7 41. Bd4+ f6 42. Rd8 Bc4 43. Rd7+ Kg8 44. Ra7 Bd3 45. Kg3 Rc6 46. h5 Bc2 47. f4 Bd1 48. Kh4 Rd6 49. Ra8+ Kf7 50. Rh8 Kg7 51. Rc8 Kf7 52. Rc7+ Kg8 53. Rc5 $6 (53. f5 {would have allowed a quick Be3-xh6 and there is nothing Black can do about it.}) 53... Kf7 54. g5 fxg5+ 55. fxg5 hxg5+ 56. Kxg5 Bc2 57. Rc7+ Ke6 58. h6 Rd5+ 59. Kg4 Rd7 {Black has hope again} 60. Rc6+ Rd6 61. Rc7 Rd7 62. Rc5 Rd5 63. Rc8 a5 64. Re8+ Kd7 $2 (64... Kf7 { keeping the king close to the kingside for now was a better alternative.} 65. Ra8 Bd1+ 66. Kg3 Rg5+ 67. Kf2 Rh5 {and Black doesn't lose his a-pawn.}) 65. Ra8 a4 (65... Bd1+ 66. Kf4 Bc2 67. h7 $18) 66. h7 Bxh7 67. Ra7+ Kc6 68. Rxh7 { Black's a-pawn is not enough. The rest is easy.} Ra5 69. Rh6+ Kd7 70. Kf4 a3 71. Rh1 a2 72. Ra1 Kc6 73. Ke4 Kb5 74. Kd3 Ra8 75. Kc2 Kc4 76. Kb2 Rb8+ 77. Kxa2 Kd3 78. Rh1 Kc2 79. Ka3 Kd3 80. Rh5 Rb1 81. Ka4 Rb8 82. Rb5 Ra8+ 83. Kb4 Rc8 84. Rb7 Rc4+ 85. Kb5 Rc8 86. Bg7 Rd8 87. c4 1-0 [Event "FIDE Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.13"] [Round "2.9"] [White "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B07"] [WhiteElo "2621"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 {The opening choice of Nepomniachtchi indicates his ambitions to fight for more than a draw. He is indeed taking more risks with the Pirc, but it is definitely not easier to win with the Berlin at all... } 4. Be3 c6 5. Qd2 b5 6. e5 {I am not a huge fan of this move. The dark-squared bishop is White's most important piece and he should not have given it that easily.} ({More common is} 6. f3 Qc7 7. g4 h5 8. g5 Nfd7 { and now say} 9. d5 a6 10. dxc6 Nxc6 11. Nd5 Qb7 12. a4 {as in Bortnyk,O (2565) -Onischuk,V (2628) Gjakova 2016}) ({[Another standard reaction is} 6. Bd3 { so that after ...b4 the knight on c3 can hop to e2. - PD]}) 6... Ng4 7. exd6 ({ It is very unlikely for anyone to enter the complications after} 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 dxe5 {without proper preparation.}) 7... Nxe3 8. Qxe3 (8. dxe7 $2 Nxc2+) 8... Qxd6 9. O-O-O {Consistent, but risky. Since Hammer parted with the bishop pair it made sense to try and make use of some other advantages in his positionl} ({One is the lead in the development. He can use it to force some structural commitments by Black after} 9. a4 Bg7 10. Nf3 b4 {White can use some permanent outposts for his knights with} 11. Ne4 Qc7 12. Bc4 {The square play (meaning c5 and e5 spots) would have compensated White for losing the bishop pair.}) 9... Bg7 $146 {A logical novelty. The bishop belongs on the long diagonal. :-)} ({Black's position also looked quite healthy in the only predecessor:} 9... h5 10. Ne4 Qe6 11. Kb1 Bh6 12. Qe1 O-O 13. h3 Qd5 {in Gress, A (1987)-Vijayakumar,P Heusweiler 2007}) 10. g3 Nd7 11. Bg2 Nb6 {Black can be very happy with the opening outcome. The bishop is gorgeous on g7, from where it attacks the center, possibly the queenside and defends the kingside. The b6-knight is great too and the light-squared bishops has good perspectives as well.} 12. Qf3 {Hammer is playing concretely and this makes sense as the long-term advantages are not in his favor.} Bd7 ({There was also the curious computer suggestion} 12... Qd8 {with the idea to use the open file after} 13. Qxc6+ $6 ({White though is not force to grab the pawn and can go for} 13. Nge2) 13... Bd7 14. Qf3 Rc8) 13. Ne4 Qc7 14. Nc5 Rc8 15. h4 Na4 16. Nxd7 $1 {Correct. } (16. Nxa4 {would open the cage for the beasts (pardon, the bishops) after} bxa4 17. Qa3 c5) 16... Qxd7 17. h5 O-O 18. hxg6 {Slightly inaccurate. It made sense to keep the pawn where it is to have a choice to move it or not to move it.} (18. Ne2 Rfd8 (18... Qd6 19. Qb3) 19. c3 a5 (19... b4) 20. h6 Bh8 21. Qe4 b4 22. Qc2 Nb6 23. c4) 18... hxg6 19. Ne2 Qd6 20. c3 $6 {This attempt to block the bishop on the long diagonal is plain wrong as the pawns cannot hold everything.} (20. Qb3 {was mandatory to slow Black down. After} Rfd8 21. Kb1 c5 {Black is better, but White can play on.}) 20... b4 21. c4 (21. cxb4 Qxb4) 21... c5 $1 {Now White's position crumbles on the dark squares.} 22. b3 ({ Worse is} 22. dxc5 Qxc5 23. b3 Qe5 24. Nd4 Nc3 25. Rd2 Qa5 {when White is helpless.}) 22... Nc3 {Strong move! One more defender of the dark squares is taken away and the black bishop rules the board.} ({There is no need to sacrifice anything. After} 22... cxd4 23. bxa4 Rxc4+ 24. Kd2 {Black has compensation for a piece, but nothing concrete.}) 23. Nxc3 bxc3 24. Qxc3 { This is the lesser evil. Both alternatives lose by force:} (24. d5 Qa6 25. Kb1 c2+ $1) ({And} 24. dxc5 Qxc5 25. Kb1 Qa3 26. Qe2 {and once again a nice strike: } Rxc4 $1 27. bxc4 c2+ $1 28. Kxc2 Qc3+ 29. Kb1 Rb8+ {to mate the white king.}) 24... Bxd4 {The opposite-colored bishops are indeed harbingers of the draw in the pure OCB endings. However, in the middlegame they are spelling trouble for the defender. It is very instructive how Nepomniachtchi slowly builds up a decisive attack in the coming moves.} 25. Qd2 Qa6 26. Kb1 {Hoping for a counter-attack with Qd2-h6.} Rb8 {Not only activating the rook but also stopping the counter-threats.} 27. g4 $5 {Hammer defends as teneciously as he can.} ({Since} 27. Qh6 Rxb3+ $1 {leads to a forced mate after} 28. axb3 Qa1+ 29. Kc2 Qc3+ 30. Kb1 Qb2#) ({Play would be similar to the game continuation after} 27. Qd3 Bg7 28. Rd2 Qf6 (28... Qa5)) 27... Bg7 {Black does not mind the bollocks.} (27... Qxc4 {wins a pawn but trades the queens after} 28. Qd3 Qxd3+ 29. Rxd3) 28. g5 $1 {Best is to give the pawn anyway.} ({If} 28. Qd3 Qf6 29. Rd2 e6 $1 {with the unstoppable threat of Rf8-d8 wins for Black.}) 28... Qxc4 29. Bd5 Qg4 {Black has everything: extra material, better pieces, attack. The rest is a piece of cake for him.} 30. Rhe1 ({Or} 30. f4 Rfd8 31. Qd3 c4 $1 32. Qxc4 e6) 30... e6 31. Be4 c4 32. Qe3 cxb3 33. axb3 Rb4 34. Rd3 Rfb8 35. f3 Qg2 36. Re2 Qh1+ ({Nepomniachtchi is not even interested in winning a second pawn after} 36... Rxb3+ 37. Rxb3 Rxb3+ 38. Qxb3 Qxe2 39. Qb8+ Kh7 {since} 40. Qxa7 { is mate} Qb2# {But why to trade the rooks which are checkmating?}) 37. Re1 Qh2 38. Re2 Qe5 39. Ra2 a5 40. Kc2 a4 {White's position is leaking all over the place and Hammer decided to end he suffering after} 41. Rxa4 ({The alternative was no better} 41. bxa4 Qh2+ 42. Rd2 Qh1 43. Rd1 Rb2+ 44. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 45. Kc1 Qg2 {and White has nothing to move.}) 41... Rxa4 42. bxa4 Qa1 43. Rd2 Qb1# 0-1 [Event "Moscow RUS"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.05.13"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2727"] [PlyCount "173"] [EventDate "2017.05.12"] [EventType "tourn"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 d5 6. d3 (6. cxd5 Qxd5 7. e3 Bc5 8. d3 Bxd4 9. exd4 Qxd4 10. dxe4 Qxd1+ 11. Kxd1 O-O 12. f3 c5 {Dubov,D (2660) -Bologan,V (2640) Poikovsky 2017}) 6... exd3 7. cxd5 Bb4+ $146 (7... Nxd5 8. Qxd3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Rd1 Bf6 11. a3 Na6 12. Qb3 Qb6 13. Bxd5 Bxd4 14. Qxb6 Bxb6 15. Bc4 Be6 {Lenderman,A (2582)-Homa,S (2331) Wheeling 2014}) 8. Nc3 c5 9. Nb3 c4 10. Nd2 O-O 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Bg4 $6 (12... Nxd5 13. Nxc4 Nxc3 14. Qxd3 Qxd3 15. exd3 Nc6 16. Re1 {is only slightly better for White.}) 13. f3 dxe2 (13... Nxd5 14. fxg4 Nxc3 15. Qe1 Nxe2+ 16. Kh1 {is probably not enough.}) 14. Qxe2 Bf5 15. Nxc4 Qxd5 16. Rd1 Qb5 17. a4 Qa6 18. Bf1 Be6 19. Nd6 Qxe2 20. Bxe2 b6 21. Nb5 Bb3 22. Rd6 Nbd7 23. a5 Rfc8 24. Kf2 h6 25. Be3 Ne5 26. Bd4 Nc4 27. Rxf6 gxf6 28. Bxc4 Bxc4 29. Nd6 bxa5 30. Nxc8 Rxc8 31. Rxa5 Re8 32. g4 a6 33. Rc5 Bd3 34. Bxf6 Re6 35. Bd4 Kf8 36. h4 Ke8 37. Rc8+ Kd7 38. Rf8 Ke7 39. Bc5+ Kf6 40. Rh8 Kg7 41. Bd4+ f6 42. Rd8 Bc4 43. Rd7+ Kg8 44. Ra7 Bd3 45. Kg3 Rc6 46. h5 Bc2 47. f4 Bd1 48. Kh4 Rd6 49. Ra8+ Kf7 50. Rh8 Kg7 51. Rc8 Kf7 52. Rc7+ Kg8 53. Rc5 Kf7 54. g5 fxg5+ 55. fxg5 hxg5+ 56. Kxg5 Bc2 57. Rc7+ Ke6 58. h6 Rd5+ 59. Kg4 Rd7 60. Rc6+ Rd6 61. Rc7 Rd7 62. Rc5 Rd5 63. Rc8 a5 64. Re8+ Kd7 $6 ({Inarkiev didn't go for} 64... Kf7 65. Ra8 a4 {because of} 66. Ra7+ Kg8 67. h7+ Bxh7 68. Rg7+) ({but instead there's} 64... Kf7 65. Ra8 Bd1+ $1 66. Kg3 Rg5+ 67. Kf2 Rh5 {with chances to hold.}) 65. Ra8 a4 66. h7 Bxh7 67. Ra7+ Kc6 68. Rxh7 Ra5 69. Rh6+ Kd7 70. Kf4 a3 71. Rh1 a2 72. Ra1 Kc6 73. Ke4 Kb5 74. Kd3 Ra8 75. Kc2 Kc4 76. Kb2 Rb8+ 77. Kxa2 Kd3 78. Rh1 Kc2 79. Ka3 Kd3 80. Rh5 Rb1 81. Ka4 Rb8 82. Rb5 Ra8+ 83. Kb4 Rc8 84. Rb7 Rc4+ 85. Kb5 Rc8 86. Bg7 Rd8 87. c4 1-0 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.14"] [Round "3"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2724"] [Annotator "TA"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 d5 9. exd5 {B35: Sicilian: Accelerated Dragon with 5 Nc3: main line} Na5 10. Qd2 Nxb3 11. Nxb3 b5 {LiveBook: 6 Games} 12. Nxb5 {next c4 is good for White.} Qxd5 13. Qxd5 Nxd5 14. Bd4 Rb8 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Na3 Nb4 {[#]} 17. O-O-O $146 Nxa2+ 18. Kb1 Nb4 19. Rhe1 Re8 20. Rd2 Bb7 21. c3 Nd5 22. Kc2 Rec8 23. Rd4 Ba8 24. Nc4 Rc7 25. g3 f6 {Hoping for ...e5.} 26. f4 {The position is equal.} Kf7 27. Nbd2 Rd8 28. Kc1 Rdc8 29. g4 Nb6 30. Nxb6 (30. Ne3 {feels hotter.} a5 31. Kc2 a4 32. Rb4 Rc6 33. Kb1) 30... axb6 31. Rb4 Rb8 32. Kc2 Bc6 33. Nb3 Bd7 34. g5 b5 35. Nd4 Rc5 36. h4 Ra8 (36... h6 $5) 37. Nb3 Rc4 38. Rxc4 bxc4 $11 {KRB-KRN} 39. Nd4 h6 40. gxf6 exf6 41. b4 cxb3+ 42. Kxb3 Ra5 43. Kc4 g5 {Precision: White = 52%, Black = 66%.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.14"] [Round "3"] [White "Hou, Yifan"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2652"] [BlackElo "2773"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. a4 d6 7. c3 a5 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Kg7 {This idea of Kg7 is rather tricky. One of the main points is that the knight on f6 will be defended in certain variations.} 11. Re1 g4 12. Bh4 $5 {White sacrifices a piece, but Black is under no obligation to take it.} Ne7 $1 (12... gxf3 13. Qxf3 Be6 {and the pressure on f6 is annoying and will last quite some time. White can usually bail out with Qg3-f3 if he wants to, to force Kh7-g7.}) 13. Bxf6+ {Dragging the king to the center looks logical, but perhaps it is not best} (13. d4 Ng6 (13... Bb6 14. dxe5 { obviously doesn't work now}) 14. Nxe5 $1 (14. dxc5 gxf3 $17) 14... Nxh4 15. Nxf7 {is just a huge mess}) 13... Kxf6 14. d4 $6 Bb6 15. Nh4 Kg7 {The weird part of this position is that Black is simply better. The pair of bishops, the pressure on d4, the awkward knight on h4. It's just difficult for White to hold everything in an appropiate way. Hou Yifan decides it is time to shed some material to gain compensation.} 16. Na3 exd4 17. cxd4 Nc6 18. Nf5+ $5 Bxf5 19. exf5 h5 20. Nc2 Qf6 {The double attack was obvious, but White is hoping to create counterpressure.} 21. Re4 Qxf5 22. Bd3 Qg5 {White is fighting back, trying to create an initiative with active pieces to compensate for the pawn.} 23. g3 f5 24. Rf4 Rae8 25. h4 gxh3 26. Qf3 d5 27. Rd1 $2 (27. Rh4 $1 Kh6 $5 { and the game is still far from over}) 27... Re4 $1 {A typical but obvious sacrifice. White must accept the exchange sac but the resulting endgame is very unpleasant.} 28. Bxe4 fxe4 29. Qe3 Rxf4 30. Qxf4 Qxf4 31. gxf4 Ne7 $6 ( 31... Kf6 $1 32. Kh2 Nb4 $1 33. Nxb4 axb4 {with Kf5 coming and that is simply too many pawns.}) 32. Kh2 Ng6 33. f5 Nf4 34. f3 $6 {this gives Black another passed pawn} (34. b4 axb4 35. Nxb4 c6 36. Nc2 {at least attempts to bring the rook back into the game}) 34... c6 35. fxe4 dxe4 36. Re1 Bc7 37. Rg1+ Kf7 38. Rf1 Kf6 {Now it is really over. Black's pieces dominate and there are too many passed pawns for White to handle.} 39. Kg3 Kxf5 40. Ne3+ Kg5 41. Nc4 h4+ 42. Kf2 Nd3+ 43. Ke2 Bf4 44. Nxa5 h2 45. Nxb7 Nc1+ 46. Kf2 e3+ 47. Kg2 e2 48. Re1 Bd2 49. Rh1 Nb3 50. Kxh2 e1=Q 51. Rxe1 Bxe1 0-1 [Event "FIDE Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.14"] [Round "3"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Salem, A R Saleh"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2633"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/1p2r1k1/2p3n1/5Q2/1PPb1P1q/5R2/7N/5B1K b - - 0 45"] [PlyCount "21"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 45... Rf7 {Clearly it is Black with the initiative, but there is nothing clear yet.} 46. Qe6 $2 (46. Qe4 Rxf4 (46... Bb6 {trying to keep some pressure. White should hold, however.}) 47. Rxf4 Qxf4 {would be just a draw, but Salem could have tried}) 46... Ne5 $1 {Nice! This tempo is crucial as White has no good way of protecting his rook} 47. Rh3 (47. fxe5 Rxf3 {is just an easy win for black, up material with the attack}) 47... Qxf4 {White is getting mated, and he doesn't even have a check} 48. Qe8 Qe4+ 49. Nf3 Rxf3 50. Qh8+ Kf7 51. Rh7+ { White hopes for a perpetual, but Salem calculates accurately that his king escapes with lethal consequences for the opponent} Ke6 52. Qc8+ Kf6 53. Qf8+ Kg5 54. Qh6+ Kf5 55. Qf8+ Kg4 0-1 [Event "FIDE Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.14"] [Round "3"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Adams, Michael"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2747"] [Annotator "alera"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "rrb3k1/4qppp/pnpb4/8/1P1Pn3/3B1N2/2Q2PPP/1RB2RK1 w - - 0 19"] [PlyCount "23"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {[#]} 19. Bxe4 {Something has already gone wrong here for Adams. White's pressure on the entire board is clearly strong, and Black's counterplay is coming a bit late.} h6 $6 20. Re1 Qc7 $6 (20... Qf8 {is sad but necessary.} 21. Bxc6 $16) 21. Bh7+ Kf8 22. Ne5 $1 {White threatens simply Rb3 with a powerful attack on the kingside.} Nd5 $6 23. Nxf7 {A simple but effective combination} Qxf7 (23... Kxf7 24. Bg6+ Kf8 25. Re8#) (23... Nxb4 24. Nxd6 {threatens mate on e8}) 24. Bg6 Bf5 25. Bxf5 Nxb4 26. Qe4 Nd5 (26... Re8 27. Be6 Qf6 28. Rb3 { and Black is againt helpless to the rook transfer}) 27. Be6 {The game is over, the attack is too strong} Qf6 28. Rxb8+ Rxb8 29. Qh7 g5 30. Qg8+ 1-0 [Event "Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.05.14"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Adams, Michael"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E52"] [WhiteElo "2772"] [BlackElo "2747"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2017.05.12"] [EventType "tourn"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. a3 Bd6 10. b4 Nbd7 ({Another game of Mamedyarov saw} 10... a6 {A move that Black usually plays anyway and a move that Adams played one move later. Then after} 11. Qb3 Qe7 12. Ra2 Nbd7 13. Re2 b5 14. Nd2 Ne4 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. Qxd5 Nc3 17. Qc6 Nxe2+ 18. Bxe2 {with compensation for the exchange in Mamedyarov,S (2736)-Karjakin,S (2762) Baku 2015}) 11. Qb3 a6 12. a4 {This is also a move that White plays sooner or later. It makes sense though to do it immediately as the dark-squared bishop may hop directly to a3. White is happy to trade these of bishops as the one on d6 is clearly superior to the one on c1.} ({Another participant of the Grand Prix in Moscow played against:} 12. Bb2 {recently. After} b5 13. a4 c6 14. Rfe1 Re8 15. a5 Ne4 16. Rad1 f5 {Black's position seemed perfectly fine, Le,Q (2718)-Vallejo Pons,F (2711) Almaty 2016}) 12... Qe7 13. Rb1 (13. b5 {is comfortable for Black after} axb5 14. Nxb5 c5 15. Ba3 Ba6) ({If} 13. Ba3 c6 14. b5 {then Black has the standart reaction} axb5 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 16. axb5 c5 {with equality.}) 13... c6 {Now Adams is ready to meet the minority attack with b4-b5 with axb5 and c6-c5.} 14. a5 {This is the other way to play the position. Anatoly Karpov successfully used this idea to defeat Boris Spassky during their match in 1974. The queenside is blocked thus White can open the center with e3-e4.} Rfb8 {The idea is to create counter play along the "b" file. Maybe Black should have defended with:} (14... b5 15. Nd2 h6 16. e4 dxe4 17. Ndxe4 Nxe4 18. Nxe4 Nf6 19. Re1 (19. Nc5 Rad8) 19... Bc8 {as in Giorgadze,G (2610)-Wintzer,J (2351) Sanxenxo 2007}) 15. axb6 (15. Na4 $5 {to put the knight on c5 was interesting as well.}) 15... Bc8 {Consistent, but dubious.} ({Black could have used the rook into the defense after} 15... Nxb6 16. e4 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. Re1 Re8 19. Bxe4 g6 {White is better here as well, but Black may hold.}) 16. Qc2 $146 {A novelty by Mamedyarov. We know that he wants to open up the center and the queen is perfectly placed for that. } ({White also got a much better position in a correspondence game:} 16. e4 Nxe4 17. Re1 Ndf6 18. Na4 Bf5 19. Qc2 Bxb4 20. Re2 {Kalchev,J (2498) -MacKintosh,I (2469) corr. 2005}) 16... Nxb6 17. e4 dxe4 18. Nxe4 {The center is opened and Black has very few defenders left on the kingside.} Nxe4 ({If} 18... Nbd5 19. Re1 Qc7 20. Nxf6+ Nxf6 21. Bg5 {and Black cannot avoid the doubling of the pawns on the f-file:} Be7 22. Bxf6 Bxf6 $4 23. Re8#) ({The pawn capture} 18... Bxb4 {does not help at all after} 19. Nxf6+ (19. Ne5 { is also great.}) 19... gxf6 20. Bxh7+) 19. Bxe4 h6 $6 {Another inaccuracy.} ( 19... g6 {looks more resilent although Mamedyarov retains clear edge after} 20. Re1 Qc7 21. Bh6 $1 {Playing for the attack.} ({But not} 21. Qxc6 Qxc6 22. Bxc6 Bb7 {which gives Black decent survival chances.})) 20. Re1 Qc7 ({In case of} 20... Qd8 21. Bxc6 Bb7 {White can win the queen} 22. Re8+ Qxe8 23. Bxe8 Rxe8 24. Ne5 {and even though some chances for a fortress exist White should be able to convert the advantage.}) ({Probably best was} 20... Qf8 {although after } 21. Ne5 Bxe5 22. dxe5 Bd7 23. Be3 {White is clearly better thanks to his excellent pawn structure and bishop pair.}) 21. Bh7+ Kf8 22. Ne5 {It is so easy to bring all the pieces into the attack for White!} Nd5 {This loses on the spot, but there was no defense anyway.} ({Or} 22... Bb7 23. Rb3 $1 { with the threats of Ne5xf7 and Rb3-f3 and Black is helpless. Say} Bxe5 24. dxe5 Re8 25. e6 $1 Rxe6 26. Rxe6 fxe6 27. Rf3+ Ke7 28. Qc5+) 23. Nxf7 $1 {A neat blow to wrap up the game.} Qxf7 (23... Kxf7 24. Qg6+ Kf8 25. Re8#) 24. Bg6 Bf5 ({Everything drops after} 24... Qd7 25. Re8+ Qxe8 26. Bxe8 Kxe8 27. Qxc6+) 25. Bxf5 Nxb4 ({The choice was constant pain after} 25... Re8 26. Bd2 Rxe1+ 27. Rxe1 Re8) 26. Qe4 {There is no defense against the combined attack on the light squares and the open e- and f-files.} Nd5 (26... Re8 27. Be6) 27. Be6 Qf6 (27... Re8 28. Rb3 $1) 28. Rxb8+ Rxb8 29. Qh7 g5 30. Qg8+ {Adams resigned before the discovered check.} (30. Qg8+ Ke7 31. Bh3+) 1-0 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.15"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Salem, A.R. Saleh"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D71"] [WhiteElo "2633"] [BlackElo "2772"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:38:18"] [BlackClock "0:38:44"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 d5 5. Qa4 dxc4 (5... a6 6. cxd5 b5 7. Qd1 cxd5 8. Nf3 Bg7 9. Bf4 O-O 10. O-O Nc6 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. Be5 e6 { Carlsen,M (2844)-Mamedyarov,S (2747) Wijk aan Zee NED 2016}) 6. Qxc4 Bg7 7. Nf3 O-O 8. O-O Bf5 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. e3 (10. Re1) 10... Qc7 (10... Ne4 11. Rd1 Nb6 12. Qb3 Qc7 13. Bd2 Nxc3 14. Bxc3 Nd5 15. Nd2 Bg4 16. Rdc1 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Rac8 { Yu,Y (2724)-Sengupta,D (2569) Gibraltar 2015}) ({Mamedyarov mentioned that} 10... e5 {doesn't work because of} 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Bd3 13. Qd4) ({ and he probably intended to meet} 10... e5 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Ng4 {with} 13. f4 Bd3 14. Qb3 Bxf1 15. Bxf1) 11. Nh4 $146 (11. b3 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 14. Bb2 Rfd8 15. Rad1 Be6 16. Qe2 Bg4 17. f3 Nd5 {Ankit,R (2467) -Beerdsen,T (2313) Hoogeveen 2015}) 11... Nb6 $1 (11... Be6 12. Qe2 Nb6 13. b3) 12. Qc5 (12. Qe2 Bg4 13. Nf3 e5) 12... Be6 13. b3 a5 14. Ba3 $6 {Salem missed Mamedyarov's next idea.} Nfd7 $5 (14... Nbd7 {might have been even better.}) 15. Qxe7 Rfe8 16. Qg5 a4 17. Rfc1 axb3 18. axb3 h6 (18... Bxb3 19. Nb5 Qd8 20. Qxd8 Rexd8 21. Nd6 {with a slight edge for White.}) 19. Qf4 Qd8 {Mamedyarov didn't want to trade queens.} 20. Nf3 Nf6 21. Ne5 (21. e4 Bxb3) 21... Bxb3 22. g4 Nbd5 23. Nxd5 Bxd5 24. h3 Nh7 25. e4 Be6 26. Bb2 Rxa1 27. Bxa1 Nf6 (27... g5 $5 28. Qg3 Nf8) 28. Rd1 Qa5 ({The players didn't mention the possibility} 28... Nxe4 $5 29. Bxe4 (29. Qxe4 Bxe5 30. Qxe5 Bb3) 29... Bxe5 30. Qf3 Bg7) 29. Bf3 ( {On} 29. d5 {Mamedyarov had planned} Qa4 ({even though} 29... cxd5 30. Nxf7 { doesn't really work because of} Qa4 {now!})) 29... Qa4 30. Kg2 Rd8 31. h4 (31. g5 hxg5 32. Qxg5 Re8 {Salem}) 31... Nxe4 $5 32. Re1 $5 {The start of some amazing complications. White will give a full rook for a truckload of checks.} (32. Qxe4 Bd5 33. Qe2 Bxe5 34. Bxd5 Rxd5 35. Rb1 Rb5 36. Rxb5 cxb5 37. dxe5 Qxa1 38. e6 {and it should be a draw.}) 32... Nf6 33. Nxg6 fxg6 34. Rxe6 Qxa1 35. g5 hxg5 36. hxg5 Nh5 (36... Nh7 $5) 37. Bxh5 gxh5 38. Re7 Rf8 39. Rxg7+ { There you have it!} Kxg7 40. Qe5+ Kg6 41. Qd6+ Kxg5 42. Qg3+ Kh6 43. Qd6+ Kg7 44. Qg3+ Kf7 {Mamedyarov is going to give back his rook to escape the checks.} 45. Qf4+ Ke6 46. Qe5+ Kd7 47. Qg7+ Kc8 48. Qxf8+ Kc7 49. Qe7+ Kb6 50. Qc5+ $6 ( {This queen ending is probably a draw after} 50. d5 $1 cxd5 51. Qd8+ Kc5 52. Qc7+) 50... Ka6 51. f4 $6 (51. Qc4+ Ka7 52. d5) 51... Qa2+ 52. Kg3 Qe2 53. f5 Qg4+ 54. Kh2 Qf4+ 55. Kg2 Qe4+ 56. Kh2 Qf3 57. Qe5 h4 58. f6 b5 59. Qg5 $6 (59. Qe6 $1 h3 (59... b4 60. f7) 60. Qc8+ {was the way to draw here.}) 59... b4 60. Qg7 Qf2+ 61. Kh3 Qe3+ 62. Kg2 $6 ({A better practical chance was} 62. Kxh4 Qxd4+ 63. Kh5 b3 64. Qg6 b2 65. f7 {since after} Qd5+ 66. Kh6 b1=Q 67. Qxb1 Qxf7 {with perfect defense White could stall checkmate for another 100 moves!}) 62... Qe4+ 63. Kh2 Qxd4 64. Kh3 b3 65. Qf7 b2 66. Qa2+ Kb6 67. Qb3+ $6 { Now Black ends up with two extra pawns.} ({However} 67. f7 Qf2 68. Kg4 Qg1+ 69. Kxh4 b1=Q 70. Qxb1+ Qxb1 71. f8=Q {is mate in 56.}) 67... Kc7 68. f7 Qf4 69. f8=Q Qxf8 70. Qxb2 Qf4 71. Kg2 c5 0-1 [Event "Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.15"] [Round "4"] [White "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Dejan"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {Most of the people choose the Rossolimo against Radjabov's Sicilian.} g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. h3 Nf6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Bf4 Nh5 {The Azerbaijani GM had to refresh his knowledge urgently after the defeat against Caruana last year.} ({That game went} 8... b6 9. Qd2 Re8 10. O-O-O a5 11. Ne5 b5 12. Qe3 Qb6 13. Bh6 Bh8 14. f4 a4 15. Rhf1 e6 16. g4 {Caruana,F (2804)-Radjabov,T (2726) Shamkir 2016}) 9. Be3 ({Adams tested} 9. Bh2 {at the previous Grand Prix. After} Bh6 10. Ne5 f6 11. Ng4 Bg7 12. Qd2 e5 13. O-O-O a5 14. Ne2 a4 15. Kb1 {the usual double-edged position emerged in Adams,M (2751) -Eljanov,P (2759) Sharjah 2017}) 9... Qd6 {"Saving a tempo on b7-b6" (Radjabov. )} 10. Qd2 e5 11. O-O-O b5 12. Ne2 b4 13. g4 Nf6 14. Ng3 a5 15. c4 $146 { A novelty. Vallejo wants to close the queenside and this makes perfect sense. His play is on the opposite wing and as long as the black pawns are not traded everything seems cool for White.} ({So far all of this has been seen in a correspondence game. It went} 15. Bh6 a4 16. Rhg1 b3 17. cxb3 axb3 18. a3 Re8 { and now} 19. Nf5 Bxf5 20. gxf5 {Boukal,P (2463)-Standke,W (2524) corr. 2010}) 15... a4 {Radjabov admitted that he had this in his analysis including the defensive idea that followed later.} 16. Rhg1 {White is preparing a Ruy Lopez sacrifice. You do not need to come from Spain to know it.} (16. Bh6 Ne8 { would be the answer anyway.}) 16... Kh8 17. Bh6 Ne8 {"As my long-term second Igor Nataf explained there is nothing to worry about. Somehow I did not trust him during the game..." (Radjabov).} (17... Ng8 {is more passive} 18. Bxg7+ Kxg7) 18. Bxg7+ Kxg7 (18... Nxg7 19. Qh6 {is less appealing to Black.}) 19. Nf5+ $5 {This is the sacrifice that I had mentioned earlier. The exclamation mark is for the courage. White usually sacrifices the knight in similar positions for long-term initiative in the Ruy Lopez. "I was going to play this no matter how you have taken on g7." (Vallejo) Apparently, the Spanish GM was sick of the string of 12 draws that he managed to achieve so far in this Grand Prix series.} gxf5 20. gxf5+ Kh8 21. Qg5 ({The other candidate move was} 21. Rg4 {but Vallejo could not see any mate after} Rg8 $1 (21... Ra7 $6 {is indeed less precise and White has nice initiative after} 22. Rdg1 Qf6 23. Ng5) 22. Ng5 (22. Rxg8+ Kxg8 23. Rg1+ Kf8 24. Qg5 a3 ({One nice line runs} 24... b3 25. a3 Qxd3 26. Qg8+ Ke7 27. Qxf7+ $1 Kxf7 28. Nxe5+ Kf8 29. Nxd3 Nd6 {where Black also seems to be doing fine.}) 25. b3 Bd7) 22... Ra7 ({Radjabov's move also seems fine after} 22... Rg7 23. Rdg1 Ra7 24. Nxh7 Kxh7 25. Rxg7+ Nxg7 26. Qg5 Qh6 $1) 23. Nxh7 {Here Black needs to avoid} Kxh7 $2 ({However} 23... f6 $1 { instead repels the attack and gives Black decisive material advantage.}) 24. Rh4+ Kg7 25. Rg1+ Kf8 26. Rxg8+ Kxg8 27. Qg5+ Ng7 28. f6 {and White wins.}) 21... Ra7 {The rooks take care of the back ranks.} 22. Rg4 f6 {The only move.} ({If Black tries to counter-attack with} 22... a3 23. Rdg1 {creates the rude mating threat on g8 and White is faster. For example} h6 24. Rh4 axb2+ 25. Kxb2 Kh7 26. Qxh6+ Qxh6 27. Ng5+ Kg7 28. Ne6+ Kf6 (28... Kh7 29. Nxf8+ Kh8 30. Rxh6# ) 29. Rxh6+ Ke7 30. Nxf8 Kxf8 31. f6 {and White wins.}) (22... Qf6 {is possible though although after} 23. Qe3 {Black might need to repeat the moves.} ) 23. Qh6 Rff7 $1 {Swapping the active rooks.} ({Vallejo expected instead} 23... Rg8 24. Rxg8+ Kxg8 25. Rg1+ Kh8 26. Rg6 $1 {And he even believed he is better. Some lines here run:} Rf7 $6 (26... Qe7 27. Nh2 {(Vallejo)} (27. Nh4 { is also a possibility.})) ({The weird computer suggestion} 26... a3 27. b3 Ba6 28. Nxe5 $1 Bc8 29. f4 Ba6 {when after successfully giving up the pawn the Sili says its equal.}) (26... b3 27. a3 {In any case White does not seem to risk anything here.}) 27. Ng5 $1 {which seems good for White.}) 24. Rdg1 Rg7 25. Rxg7 Nxg7 ({But not} 25... Rxg7 $2 26. Rxg7 Nxg7 27. Ng5 $1 Kg8 28. Qxh7+ Kf8 29. Qh8+ Ke7 30. Qxg7+ {when White wipes all black pieces off the board.}) 26. Ng5 Ne8 {Once again best in conjunction with Radjabov's next idea.} ({ The both looked at the line} 26... Bxf5 27. exf5 Nxf5 28. Ne4 ({when} 28. Qh5 fxg5 29. Qe8+ Kg7 30. Rxg5+ Kf6 {does not work for White.}) 28... Nxh6 29. Nxd6 Rd7 30. Ne4 {leads to a better endgame for Black (Vallejo)}) 27. Nf3 {Brings the rook in.} Ba6 28. Rg6 ({White could have grabbed a lot of pawns after} 28. Nxe5 fxe5 29. Rg6 Qe7 30. Rxc6 Qg7 {but two pieces are too much.}) 28... Rf7 29. Ng5 Bxc4 $1 {Brilliant defense! Just in time.} ({Instead} 29... Rd7 30. f4 $1 {is in fact winning for White. One beautiful line runs} b3 (30... Qxd3 31. Qf8#) 31. fxe5 bxa2 32. exd6 a1=Q+ 33. Kc2 {and Black is mated.}) 30. f4 { The last chance to muddy the waters.} ({White would be mated here after} 30. dxc4 Rd7) 30... exf4 {Black still has to watch out for the tricks.} (30... Qxd3 $4 31. Nxf7+ Bxf7 32. Qf8+ Bg8 33. Qxg8#) 31. e5 Qe7 (31... Qxe5 $2 {is the same mate after} 32. Nxf7+ Bxf7 33. Qf8+) 32. Nxf7+ Bxf7 33. Rg1 Bxa2 { Radjabov prepares the decisive counterattack.} ({He also avoids} 33... fxe5 { that would lead only to a draw after} 34. f6 Qd6 35. Rg7 Qxd3 36. Rg5 $1 Qc4+ 37. Kd1 Qf1+ 38. Kd2 Qf2+ 39. Kd1) 34. e6 f3 35. Qf4 Bd5 36. Qb8 c4 37. Kd2 c3+ {It is Black's turn to attack and he has more weapons to enjoy it.} 38. bxc3 bxc3+ 39. Kc2 ({Or} 39. Kxc3 Qc5+ 40. Kd2 Qxg1) 39... a3 40. Rg4 a2 41. Qg3 a1=N+ $1 {A nice finish of an exciting game.} ({The more prosaic} 41... Bb3+ 42. Kxb3 Qb7+ {would do as well.}) 42. Kd1 (42. Kxc3 Qa3+ 43. Kd2 Qb2+ 44. Ke3 Qe2+ 45. Kd4 Nb3+ 46. Kc3 Qd2#) 42... c2+ 43. Kd2 c1=Q+ 44. Kxc1 Qc5+ 45. Kd2 Nb3+ {Mate is inevitable, so Vallejo resigned.} (45... Nb3+ 46. Ke1 (46. Kd1 Qc1#) 46... Qe3+ 47. Kd1 Qd2#) 0-1 [Event "Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.15"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Adams, Michael"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B91"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2751"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:37:25"] [BlackClock "2:06:49"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 7. Nde2 Be7 8. Bg2 O-O (8... Nbd7 9. a4 b6 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. Qxd5 Rb8 12. Nc3 O-O 13. O-O Bb7 14. Qd1 Rc8 15. Re1 h6 {Giri,A (2773)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2767) Wijk aan Zee NED 2017 }) 9. O-O b5 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. Qxd5 Ra7 12. Be3 Be6 (12... Rb7 13. a4 b4 14. c3 a5 15. cxb4 Rxb4 16. Nc3 Be6 17. Qd2 Nc6 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. Qxd5 Nd4 {Adams,M (2738)-Giri,A (2755) Baku 2016}) 13. Qd3 Rb7 14. b3 Nd7 $146 (14... b4 15. a3 a5 16. axb4 axb4 17. Ra4 Nd7 18. Qd2 Qb8 19. Rfa1 h6 20. Nc1 Nc5 21. Ra5 Rc8 { Adams,M (2745)-Hou,Y (2649) Douglas 2016}) 15. Nc3 Nf6 16. a4 Qd7 17. axb5 axb5 18. Ra6 Rc8 19. Rfa1 b4 20. Na4 Qc7 21. Ra2 (21. Nb6 Qxc2 22. Qxc2 Rxc2 23. Ra8+ Bf8 24. Rd8 Nd7) 21... Nd7 {Nepomniachtchi had prepared until here. He felt Black should be OK because Na4 is slightly misplaced.} 22. Qf1 {Preparing Bh3 and f4.} Rcb8 (22... Bf8 23. f4) 23. Qd1 (23. Bh3) 23... h6 (23... Rc8 24. f4 {Nepomniachtchi}) 24. h4 (24. Nb2 Nf6 {Nepomniachtchi}) 24... Bf8 25. Bf3 $6 (25. Nb2 {was better here.}) 25... Nf6 26. Bg2 Bd7 {Now Black gets some initiative.} 27. Nb2 Bc6 28. Nc4 ({Nepomniachtchi suggested the exchange sac} 28. Qd3 Bb5 29. Nc4 Bxa6 30. Rxa6) 28... Bxe4 {This is just a pawn, and what follows is "a desperate attempt" (Nepomniachtchi).} 29. Ba7 Re8 30. Bb6 Qd7 31. Na5 Bxg2 32. Kxg2 Rbb8 33. Ra7 Qb5 34. Bc7 Ra8 35. Nc4 Rxa7 36. Rxa7 Qc5 37. Qa1 Ng4 38. Bb6 Qc6+ 39. f3 e4 $1 40. fxg4 e3+ 41. Kh2 e2 42. Qe1 (42. Bf2 e1=Q 43. Bxe1 Re2+) 42... d5 43. Be3 dxc4 44. Qxe2 Qe6 45. Qf2 Qxe3 46. Qxf7+ Kh8 47. bxc4 Qe2+ 48. Kh3 Qd1 49. g5 h5 0-1 [Event "Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.16"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2710"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:05:32"] [BlackClock "0:25:51"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. Rb1 Be7 8. Nf3 (8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Nxd7 10. Rxb7 cxd4 11. cxd4 Nb6 12. Qd2 Qc8 13. Rxe7+ Kxe7 14. Nf3 f6 {Nepomniachtchi,I (2751)-Hou,Y (2652) Moscow RUS 2017}) 8... O-O 9. Bc4 Nc6 10. O-O b6 11. Bf4 $146 (11. Be3 Bb7 12. dxc5 Na5 13. Bd3 bxc5 14. Qe2 Qc7 15. Nd2 c4 16. Bc2 e5 {Jochens,A (2274)-Levin,F (2503) Germany 2015 }) 11... Bb7 12. Re1 cxd4 13. cxd4 Nb4 $6 ({After the game Radjabov tweeted that his notes said} 13... Rc8 14. Bf1 Nb4 15. Rb2 Bd6 16. Bd2 Nc6 17. Rb3 Be7) 14. Qd2 Nc6 $5 {A highly unusual maneuver. Radjabov thought he was following his notes.} 15. d5 Na5 16. Bb5 exd5 17. exd5 Bc5 18. Rbd1 Bd6 19. Ne5 a6 20. Bf1 ({Stronger might have been} 20. Bd3) 20... Rc8 $1 {The only move, according to the players.} (20... Re8 21. Nc6) 21. Nc6 (21. g3 $5 {Svidler}) 21... Bxf4 22. Qxf4 Bxc6 23. dxc6 Qc7 24. Rd6 Nxc6 25. Rc1 (25. Bxa6 Rcd8 26. Red1 h6) 25... Qb8 26. Bxa6 Ne5 $1 27. Rcd1 (27. Bxc8 Qxd6) 27... Rc5 28. Qb4 Nc6 29. Qb2 Rd8 30. Rxd8+ Nxd8 31. Rb1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.16"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2785"] [BlackElo "2786"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:37:49"] [BlackClock "0:39:17"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 Ba7 9. Bb3 Re8 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. Bc2 h6 12. Nf1 d5 (12... Ne7 13. d4 Ng6 14. Ng3 c6 15. Be3 Qc7 16. Qd2 Rad8 17. Rad1 b5 18. b3 Bb6 19. Qc1 Bc8 20. Bd3 c5 { Anand,V (2779)-Nakamura,H (2779) Saint Louis 2016}) 13. exd5 Bxd5 14. Ng3 Qd7 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Rxe3 Re7 17. Nh4 g6 18. c4 Be6 19. Qf3 $146 ({Changing the move order from this game, but afterward Giri wasn't sure whether it was an improvement:} 19. Ba4 b5 20. Qf3 Ng4 21. hxg4 Bxg4 22. Qd5 bxa4 23. Nxg6 Ree8 24. Rae1 Qxd5 25. cxd5 fxg6 26. dxc6 Re6 {Degraeve,J (2580)-Arnaudov,P (2486) La Fere 2012}) 19... Kg7 20. Ba4 Qd4 21. Bxc6 bxc6 22. Qxc6 Rae8 23. Nf3 Qxb2 24. Rae1 Qxa2 25. Nxe5 $6 {Missing a neat tactic for Black.} (25. Qc5 {was better. After} Qb2 26. Nxe5 Bc8 27. Qa5 {White still has chances.}) 25... Bd5 $1 26. cxd5 Rxe5 27. Rxe5 (27. Rxe5 {Draw agreed because of} Rxe5 28. Rxe5 Qa1+ 29. Kh2 Qxe5 30. Qxa6 Nxd5 31. Qc4) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.16"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Yifan, Hou"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B91"] [WhiteElo "2652"] [BlackElo "2750"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:01:22"] [BlackClock "0:04:39"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 7. Nb3 (7. Nde2 Be7 8. Bg2 O-O 9. O-O b5 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. Qxd5 Ra7 12. Be3 Be6 13. Qd3 Rb7 14. b3 Nd7 {Adams,M (2747)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2751) Moscow 2017}) 7... Be7 8. Bg2 O-O 9. O-O b5 10. a4 b4 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. Qxd5 Ra7 13. Be3 Be6 14. Qd3 (14. Qd2 Rb7) 14... Ra8 (14... Rb7 15. Rfc1 Qc7 16. c3 Bc4 17. Qc2 Be6 18. Qd1 Qd8 19. Bf1 bxc3 20. Rxc3 Bg5 {Ponomariov,R (2734)-Safarli,E (2620) Istanbul 2012}) 15. f4 Qc7 16. Nd2 $146 (16. Rfc1 Nd7 17. c3 Qb8 18. Na5 Nc5 19. Qd2 exf4 20. gxf4 Bd8 21. Bxc5 bxc3 22. bxc3 dxc5 23. Nc6 Qc8 24. e5 Bh3 25. Qxd8 Qxd8 26. Nxd8 Bxg2 27. Kxg2 Rfxd8 28. Rd1 f6 29. exf6 {½-½ Leemans,R (2348)-Muzyka,Y (2390) corr. 2007}) 16... a5 17. Rf2 ({Black's 16th move has the idea to move the bishop to a6 after} 17. f5 Bc8 {and} 18. f6 Bxf6 19. Rxf6 gxf6 20. Bh6 Be6 { is not even close to mate (Grischuk).}) 17... f6 (17... Ra6 {is a "superambitious" move "but maybe a bad one" (Grischuk).} 18. f5 Bc8 19. g4 (19. f6 Bxf6 20. Rxf6 gxf6 21. Bh6 Be6 22. Rf1 Rc8 {is still not working for White}) 19... Rc6 20. g5 Ba6 21. Qb3 Rxc2 22. f6 {Grischuk}) 18. f5 (18. Rc1 {Grischuk} ) 18... Bf7 19. Rc1 Na6 20. c4 bxc3 ({After} 20... Nc5 21. Bxc5 Qxc5 22. b3 Bd8 23. Rcf1 Bb6 24. Kh1 Qxf2 25. Rxf2 Bxf2 26. Nf3 {White is not worse (Grischuk). }) 21. Qxc3 $6 {This move, which Hou played without thinking, surprised Grischuk.} (21. Rxc3 Qb7 22. Qb5 Rfb8) 21... Qb8 22. Rff1 Nb4 23. Qc7 Qe8 { Threatening 24...d5, which White cannot really prevent.} 24. Qb7 Rb8 25. Qa7 Ra8 26. Qb7 Rb8 27. Qa7 d5 28. exd5 Nxd5 29. Bc5 $2 (29. Bxd5 Bxd5 30. Rc7 Rf7 {Grischuk}) 29... Ra8 30. Qb7 Rb8 31. Qa7 Ra8 32. Qb7 Bxc5+ 33. Rxc5 Rb8 { Black is winning.} 34. Qxf7+ {Desperation.} (34. Qa7 Ne3 35. Bc6 Qd8 {and White's position collapses.}) 34... Rxf7 35. Bxd5 Kh8 36. Rfc1 Rd7 37. Bc6 Qd8 38. Bxd7 Qxd7 39. Ne4 h5 0-1 [Event "FIDE Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.16"] [Round "5"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2785"] [BlackElo "2786"] [Annotator "A. Silver"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [TimeControl "60"] 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nc6 { [%emt 0:00:03]} 3. Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 4. O-O {[%emt 0: 00:00]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:11]} 5. d3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d6 {[%emt 0:00:33]} 6. c3 { [%emt 0:00:03]} a6 {[%emt 0:01:40]} 7. Re1 {[%emt 0:01:16]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:17] } 8. h3 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Ba7 {[%emt 0:00:52]} 9. Bb3 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Re8 { [%emt 0:05:13]} 10. Nbd2 {[%emt 0:00:43]} Be6 {[%emt 0:01:37]} 11. Bc2 { [%emt 0:00:10]} h6 {[%emt 0:01:13]} 12. Nf1 {[%emt 0:00:17]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:47] } 13. exd5 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Bxd5 {[%emt 0:05:02]} 14. Ng3 {[%emt 0:01:00]} Qd7 {[%emt 0:07:12]} 15. Be3 {[%emt 0:03:26]} (15. Nh4 Rad8 16. Nhf5 Kh8 17. d4 exd4 18. Nxg7 Rxe1+ 19. Qxe1 Kxg7 20. Bxh6+ Kh8 21. Qd2 Rg8 22. Qf4 Qd6 23. Qh4 Qxg3 24. fxg3 {1-0 (26) Giri,A (2773)-Anand,V (2804) Stavanger 2015}) 15... Bxe3 {[%emt 0:03:57]} 16. Rxe3 {[%emt 0:00:47] It should be noted that not only is this all theory, with plenty of grandmaster examples to compare notes with, but White's track record has been stellar.} Re7 {[%emt 0:14:30]} 17. Nh4 {[%emt 0:01:42]} g6 {[%emt 0:02:32]} 18. c4 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Be6 {[%emt 0:00: 00]} 19. Qf3 {[%emt 0:13:14]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:05:48]} 20. Ba4 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Qd4 {[%emt 0:05:46]} 21. Bxc6 {[%emt 0:02:54]} bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 22. Qxc6 { [%emt 0:00:16]} Rae8 {[%emt 0:06:06]} 23. Nf3 {[%emt 0:05:00]} Qxb2 {[%emt 0: 00:00]} 24. Rae1 {[%emt 0:04:43]} Qxa2 {[%emt 0:01:46]} 25. Nxe5 {[%emt 0:00: 00] The Playchess PGN shows that Giri spent nearly 14 minutes here, trying to decide the best way to proceed. Still, the engines say this was a mistake, and White went from better to slightly worse.} ({Trying to make sense of the engine's evaluations is not always straightforward. Sometimes the matter is one of clear positional aspects, and other times it spouts a main line based on very deep calculations that have one wondering how this could be forced. This is one such case, though quite interesting. White needed to resist the temptation of grabbing the pawn just yet, and play} 25. Qc5 $1 Qb2 {and now taking is correct with} 26. Nxe5 Bc8 27. Qa5 Ng8 {The engine's line showed the unflinching} 28. Kh2 $1 {which could easily go unnoticed.} Qb6 (28... Qxf2 $2 29. Qa1 $1 {and the threat of discovered check will allow White to nab the queen.} f6 (29... Kh7 $2 30. Rf3 Qc2 31. Nxf7) 30. R1e2 $1 Qf4 31. Re4 Qg5 32. h4 {the trap is closed and the queen is lost.}) 29. Qc3 f6 30. c5 Qb5 31. Nf3 Rxe3 32. fxe3 a5 33. e4) 25... Bd5 {[%emt 0:06:14]} 26. cxd5 {[%emt 0:17:41]} Rxe5 {[%emt 0:00:38]} 27. Rxe5 {[%emt 0:07:19] The players called it a day in view of} Rxe5 28. Rxe5 Qa1+ 29. Nf1 Qxe5 30. Qxa6 Nxd5 {and the position's life has been sucked out of it.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.16"] [Round "5"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Salem, A R Saleh"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2633"] [Annotator "A. Silver"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Qe2 Nxe4 6. Qxe4 Qd5 7. Qh4 Qe6+ {Frankly, this move just looks like beginner play one might find in online blitz. It does nothing for Black's development or center, plays the queen for yet another move, and forces White to develop another piece. Oh no.} ({A few weeks before, in the Chinese championship, Black played the more logical} 7... Bf5 8. Bc4 Qd6 9. d3 e6 10. Bf4 Qb4+ 11. Bd2 Qxb2 12. O-O b5 13. Rab1 Qa3 14. Nd4 Be7 15. Qg3 O-O 16. Nxf5 exf5 17. Bb3 Qd6 {1-0 (40) Lu,S (2620)-Fang,Y (2447) Xinghua 2017}) 8. Be2 Qg4 9. Qg3 Qxg3 10. hxg3 Bf5 11. b3 a5 $146 12. Bb2 h6 {A strange move. It is certainly not to prevent Ng5, and if the purpose was to abscond the bishop on g6 or h7, he clearly changed his mind shortly after.} 13. O-O-O a4 14. Nd4 Bc8 15. Rde1 axb3 16. axb3 Nd7 17. Nf5 Nf6 18. g4 Be6 19. f4 Rg8 20. Ne3 g6 21. f5 gxf5 22. gxf5 Bd7 23. Bf3 Kd8 24. Bd4 Bg7 25. Kb2 Ne8 26. Bxg7 Nxg7 27. f6 ({But not} 27. Rxh6 $6 Nxf5 28. Nxf5 Bxf5 $11) 27... exf6 28. Rxh6 Ne8 29. d4 Kc7 30. d5 Rg5 31. Rd1 Ra6 32. b4 Nd6 33. Rxf6 cxd5 34. Rxd5 Rxd5 35. Bxd5 Nc4+ $2 {[#] Black blunders horribly, but he was already possibly lost as it were.} (35... Kd8 $16) 36. Bxc4 1-0 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.18"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B97"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 { "Ian surprised me with this one." (Nakamura)} 8. a3 {"So I decided to just play chess." (Nakamura)} ({The American GM meant that he wanted to avoid the heavy competition of the machines that happens in the Poisoned Pawn variation after} 8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3) 8... Nc6 9. Nb3 Be7 10. Qd2 ({White can also develop the queen in a more Najdorf-way with} 10. Qf3 {although it might be a subject of tempo-gainers for Black after} Qc7 11. O-O-O h6 12. Bh4 g5 13. e5 ({ Black's major idea was} 13. fxg5 Ne5) 13... gxh4 14. exf6 Bxf6 15. Ne4 Be7 16. Qc3 Rg8 17. Nf6+ Bxf6 18. Qxf6 Qe7 19. Qxh6 Bd7 {all of this happened in Yu,Y (2652)-Zhao,J (2580) Xinghua Jiangsu 2011}) 10... O-O 11. O-O-O Rd8 {Now a position typical for the Classical line arises. White tries to attack on the kingside, Black wants to strike in the center as quickly as possible.} 12. Bd3 h6 $146 {A novelty.} ({Only} 12... Bd7 {has been tested before, although it looks a bit slow for Black after} 13. Kb1 Rac8 14. Qe1 Qc7 15. g4 {Sjugirov,S (2444) -Stella,A (2120) Herceg Novi 2006}) ({Nakamura expected} 12... d5 { to which} 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 Rxd5 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 16. Qb4 {looks slightly better for White.}) 13. h4 Bd7 ({Nepomniachtchi believed he should be OK after } 13... Ng4 14. Bxe7 Nxe7 15. Rde1 Bd7 {At some moments h6-h5 to block the kingside is an option. If} 16. Be2 Ne3 {looks good with the idea} 17. Bf3 Nc4 { and the knight is successfully re-deployed for queenside work.}) ({The greedy} 13... hxg5 $2 {is almost never a good idea for Black as the mates on the h-file are for real. Say} 14. hxg5 Ng4 15. Rh4 Nf2 16. Rf1 Nxd3+ 17. Qxd3 e5 18. Rfh1 {and mate.}) 14. Qe2 Kf8 {Black provokes the central push.} (14... Rac8 {is another way to play the position when after} 15. e5 (15. Kb1 $5) 15... dxe5 16. fxe5 Nxe5 17. Qxe5 hxg5 18. hxg5 Ng4 {White's attack seems strong but Black can trade the queens after} 19. Bh7+ Kf8 20. Qf4 Qe3+ {with approximate equality.}) 15. e5 ({Nepomniachtchi was afraid of} 15. Kb1 {when} hxg5 ({On} 15... Ng8 {White attacks for free with} 16. Bxe7+ Ngxe7 17. g4) 16. hxg5 Ng8 { wins a piece but does not stop the step-by-step attack after} 17. Rh8 {The idea is Qe2-h5-h7 and if} Bxg5 18. fxg5 Ne5 19. Qh5 {looks dangerous for Black. } ({Or} 19. Rf1)) 15... dxe5 16. fxe5 hxg5 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. hxg5 Bxg5+ ({ In retrospect Black regretted that he did not capture the knight:} 18... Bxc3 19. bxc3 Ke7 {However, a closer look into the position reveals some problems for the second player after} 20. Rh7 Rg8 21. Bc4 Na5 22. g6 Nxc4 ({Or} 22... fxg6 23. Nxa5 Qxa5 24. Rxd7+ $1) 23. gxf7 {and the black king is not save enough.}) 19. Kb1 Qe3 ({In case of} 19... Bh6 20. Rxh6 $1 {is strong with White's domination after} ({Avoiding} 20. Rdf1 Qe3 $1) 20... gxh6 21. Rf1 Qc7 22. Qh5 Be8 23. Qxh6+ Ke7 24. Nc5) 20. Qh5 Bh6 {It seems as Nepomniachtchi did well. He is a pawn up and has the bishop pair. However, since both the e- and f-file have been opened his king is not feeling comfortable enough.} 21. Rhf1 Be8 22. Rde1 Qg5 23. Qh3 Ne5 {Black believed this to be a mistake. It is funny how differently both players evaluated the position. Nepomniachtchi thought he should be saving this, while Nakamura did not see a defense for his opponent.} ({On} 23... Rxd3 {White intended} 24. cxd3 (24. Qxd3 {is not bad at all neither.}) 24... Kg8 25. Ne4 Qg6 26. Rf3 {with decisive attack.}) ({If} 23... Rac8 24. Ne4 {is also close to won for the attacker. Two lines to prove this:} Qe5 ({If} 24... Qd5 25. Nf6 $1 gxf6 26. Qxh6+ Ke7 27. Qxf6+ Kd7 28. Be4) 25. Nec5) (23... Kg8 {makes things easier for White after} 24. Ne4 Qg6 25. Nf6+) 24. Nc5 {With the clear intention to capture on e6 with the knight. The problem is that Black cannot stop it.} Kg8 {The best defense.} ({Nakamura had seen the win after} 24... Bd7 25. Nxe6+ Bxe6 26. Qxe6 Re8 27. Qb3 $1 Kg8 28. Rxe5 $1 Qxe5 (28... Rxe5 29. Qxf7+ Kh8 30. Qf8+ Rxf8 31. Rxf8#) 29. Qxf7+ Kh8 30. Qg6) ({Also} 24... Ke7 25. Bf5 exf5 26. Rxf5 Qd2 27. Rexe5+ Kf8 28. Ne6+ Kg8 29. Nxd8 Qc1+ 30. Ka2 Rxd8 {looks gloomy for Black (Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura)}) 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. Qxe6+ Nf7 $2 {Now it is lost for Black.} ({ Nepomniachtchi's last chance was to play the endgame after} 26... Bf7 27. Qxe5 Qxe5 28. Rxe5 Re8 {In the Sicilian it is not unusual for Black to save endgames down a pawn thanks to the bishop pair (or a strong bishop). Say} 29. Rxe8+ Rxe8 30. Bh7+ Kxh7 31. Rxf7 b5 32. Ra7 Re6 {and the g2-pawn might be hurt soon.}) 27. Bg6 {Not bad, but there was an even stronger move.} (27. Ne4 $1 {going for the king would have wrapped the game up quicker:} Qe5 (27... Qd5 28. Qg6 {is easier for White.}) 28. Qg6 {the threat is Ne4-f6+ and there is nothing Black can do about it.} Rxd3 (28... Rac8 29. Nf6+) 29. cxd3 Bg5 30. Nc5 Qxc5 31. Rxe8+ Rxe8 32. Qxf7+ Kh7 33. Qh5+ Kg8 34. Qxe8+ {White wins.}) 27... Kh8 28. Bxf7 Bxf7 29. Qxf7 Qxg2 30. Rg1 Qd2 ({Black is mated if the queen moves too far away from the kingside:} 30... Qc6 31. Re6 Qd7 32. Rxh6+ gxh6 33. Qf6+ Kh7 34. Qg6+ Kh8 35. Qxh6+ Qh7 36. Qf6+) 31. Rd1 Qf4 ({Or} 31... Qe3 32. Nd5 Qe5 33. Rge1 (33. Rde1 $1 {is stronger} Qxd5 34. Re8+ Rxe8 35. Qxd5) 33... Qd6 34. Re6 Rf8 35. Qg6 Qh2 36. Re7 {and White will reach the opponent's king one way or another.}) 32. Qxb7 Rdb8 33. Qe4 Qf8 ({The endgame after} 33... Qxe4 34. Nxe4 Bf4 35. Rd7 Be5 36. c3 {should be won for White.}) 34. Rg6 Ra7 $2 { A blunder.} 35. Qd4 {Black resigned due to the double threat.} 1-0 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.18"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2724"] [BlackElo "2750"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:26:14"] [BlackClock "0:39:20"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Bg5 (9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bf4 a5 11. Nc3 Nbd7 12. Qd3 Bb4 13. Rfe1 Re8 14. Qc2 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 c6 {So,W (2822)-Kramnik,V (2811) Shamkir 2017}) 9... Bc6 10. Rd1 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 h6 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. Nxc4 Be4 14. Qc1 $146 (14. Qb3 a5 15. Nfe5 Bd5 16. Rac1 Re8 17. Qc2 c6 18. e4 Bxc4 19. Qxc4 Qb6 20. d5 cxd5 21. exd5 Bb4 {Grischuk,A (2742)-Adams,M (2751) Sharjah 2017}) 14... a5 ({Black should avoid} 14... Bxf3 15. Bxf3 c6 16. a5 {Gelfand}) 15. Nfe5 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 c6 17. Qc2 ({White could perhaps win a tempo compared to the game with} 17. Qf4 $5 Qc7 18. Rac1 Rfd8 19. Qf3 {Gelfand}) 17... Qc7 18. Rac1 Rfd8 19. Qb3 Bf8 ({Often Black has the choice of playing the position with the knight on f6 or b4, but here} 19... Nd5 $6 {fails to} 20. e4 Nb4 21. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 22. Ne5+ {and Hari thought it should be winning for White.}) 20. Qf3 Rac8 (20... Nd5 $5 21. e4 Nb4 {Gelfand}) 21. e4 {White's plan after this move is h2-h4 and g3-g4-g5, so Black needs to do something active.} ({The immediate} 21. h4 {is answered by} c5 (21... Nd5) 22. dxc5 Bxc5 23. g4 Bd4 {Gelfand/Hari}) 21... b5 22. Ne3 Qb7 ( 22... Qb6 $6 23. Nxf7 Kxf7 24. e5 {Gelfand}) 23. b3 (23. axb5 cxb5 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. d5 a4 26. N3g4 Nxg4 27. Qxg4 Qb6 {Gelfand/Hari}) 23... c5 $2 {The following complications are very good for White, so this is a mistake. "Just a bad move," said Hari.} (23... Bd6 $5 24. Nxc6 Rxc6 25. e5 Rb6 {was not enough for White according to the players.}) 24. d5 exd5 25. Nxd5 (25. exd5 $5 Re8 26. d6 Qxf3+ 27. Nxf3 {Gelfand}) 25... Rd6 26. axb5 Qxb5 27. Nxf7 $1 (27. Nc4 Re6 { is not much for White.}) 27... Kxf7 (27... Rxd5 $5 28. Rxd5 Nxd5 29. exd5 Qe8 30. Qf5 $1 Rb8 31. Ne5 {Gelfand/Hari}) 28. e5 Re6 29. exf6 g6 (29... gxf6 30. Qh5+ Kg8 31. Qg4+ Kf7 32. Nf4 {wins quickly.}) 30. Re1 {White is technically winning here.} Qc6 31. Rxe6 Qxe6 32. Ra1 Qf5 33. Rxa5 Qxf3+ 34. Kxf3 Rb8 35. Ke4 Rxb3 36. Ra7+ Ke6 37. Nf4+ Kxf6 38. Ra6+ Kf7 39. Ra7+ Kf6 40. Ra6+ Kf7 41. Nxg6 Bg7 42. f4 Rb2 43. h4 Rg2 ({Black's last chance was} 43... h5 {but after} 44. Kf5 Bd4 45. Ra7+ Ke8 46. Ne5 {it should still be winning for White.}) 44. Kf3 Rg1 45. h5 c4 46. Ra7+ Kg8 47. Ne7+ Kf8 48. Ng6+ Kg8 49. Rc7 Rc1 50. Ne7+ Kf8 51. Nf5 Bb2 52. Rc8+ (52. Rc8+ Kf7 53. Rxc4 $1) 1-0 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.18"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Adams, Michael"] [Black "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2727"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:49:19"] [BlackClock "0:50:45"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 O-O 9. Nc3 Nb8 10. a4 (10. Ne2 Nbd7 11. c3 Bb7 12. Ng3 c5 13. Re1 Rc8 14. Nf5 c4 15. dxc4 Bxe4 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. cxb5 axb5 18. Bg5 Nc5 {Kramnik,V (2811) -Harikrishna,P (2755) Shamkir 2017}) (10. Re1 Nbd7 11. Ne2 Nc5 12. Ba2 Be6 13. Bxe6 Nxe6 14. Ng3 g6 15. c3 c5 16. d4 exd4 17. cxd4 d5 18. e5 Ne4 {Adams,M (2761)-Harikrishna,P (2755) Shamkir AZE 2017}) 10... b4 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. Bxd5 c6 13. Bb3 Nd7 (13... a5) 14. Be3 Bb7 $6 $146 {Adams felt that Black couldn't do without the a6-a5 move.} (14... a5 15. h3 Qc7 16. Nd2 Kh8 17. Kh1 f5 18. exf5 d5 19. f4 Rxf5 20. Qe2 Bd6 21. g4 Rf8 {Morovic Fernandez,I (2572) -Bacallao Alonso,Y (2554) Varadero 2016}) 15. a5 $1 d5 16. d4 $1 dxe4 (16... exd4 17. Nxd4 c5 (17... dxe4 18. Ne6) 18. Nf5 {Adams}) ({Inarkiev had initially planned} 16... c5 {but here he saw} 17. dxe5 dxe4 18. e6 $1 exf3 19. Qxd7 Qxd7 20. exd7 {and Black is not in time:} Bc6 21. Rfd1 Rad8 (21... Rfd8 22. Bd5) (21... Ra7 22. Bxc5 $1) 22. Ba4) 17. Nxe5 Nf6 18. Qe2 $6 (18. f3 $1) 18... Qc7 19. Bf4 Bd6 {Here Black is fine again.} 20. Bg3 c5 21. c3 Rac8 22. Rfd1 g6 $6 (22... bxc3 23. bxc3 cxd4 (23... c4 $5 24. Bc2 Bd5) 24. cxd4 Bd5 { and now Adams didn't like} 25. Bxd5 Nxd5 26. Qxa6 f5 {but White has} 27. Nd7 $1 f4 28. Nxf8 fxg3 29. hxg3 Rxf8 30. Rdc1 {with an advantage.}) 23. Qe3 cxd4 $6 { After this it goes downhill for Black.} (23... bxc3 $5 24. Qg5 $5) 24. cxd4 Nd5 25. Qh6 Qe7 26. Re1 f5 27. f3 Bxe5 28. Bxe5 exf3 29. gxf3 {White's bishops are just way too strong.} Rfe8 30. Rac1 Qf8 31. Qg5 Qf7 32. Kf2 h5 33. Bd6 Rxe1 34. Rxe1 Re8 35. Rc1 Re6 36. Bxd5 Bxd5 37. Rc8+ Re8 38. Rc7 Qe6 39. Be5 Rc8 40. Rg7+ Kf8 41. Qh6 Rc2+ 42. Kg1 1-0 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.19"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Liren, Ding"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2773"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "1:22:24"] [BlackClock "1:12:26"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 O-O 11. Be2 (11. Bc4 Nd7 12. O-O b6 13. a4 Bb7 14. Rfe1 Nf6 15. Bd3 h6 16. a5 bxa5 17. Rxa5 Qc7 18. Ne5 Rfc8 {Salem,S (2633) -Yifan,H (2652) Moscow 2017}) 11... b6 12. O-O Bb7 13. Qe3 Nc6 14. Rfd1 Rc8 15. Rac1 Qd6 16. h4 $146 (16. h3 Rfd8 17. a3 Na5 18. Ne5 Rxc1 19. Rxc1 f6 20. Nf3 Qd7 21. Qf4 Rc8 22. Bd3 Rxc1+ 23. Qxc1 Qd6 {Mazzilli,P (2358)-Gilevich,A (2423) Gallipoli 2017}) 16... Rfd8 17. a3 h6 18. h5 Ne7 19. Rxc8 (19. Bc4 {or even}) ( 19. g4 {are options. "It's very hard to make a move like this." Nakamura}) 19... Rxc8 20. Ne5 Rc7 21. Bf3 b5 22. Qb3 a6 (22... Nc6 23. Nxc6 Bxc6 24. d5 exd5 25. exd5 Bd7 26. Qb4 Rc5 {(Nakamura) is better for White.}) 23. Qb4 Nc8 24. Nd3 Rc4 25. Qxd6 Nxd6 26. Nc5 Bc8 (26... Bc6 {is risky after} 27. Rd3 Kf8 28. e5 Bxf3 29. exd6 Bxh5 30. d5 {although Black is not losing yet if he goes} e5) 27. Be2 Rc3 28. a4 bxa4 29. Nxa4 Rc7 30. Nc5 (30. f3 Bd7 31. Nc5 Bb5 32. Bxb5 axb5 33. Rb1 Ra7 {should also be a draw (Nakamura).}) 30... Nb5 31. Bxb5 axb5 32. f4 {White is one tempo short.} ({The move you wanna play is} 32. Ra1 { but then Black has} e5 $1) 32... Ra7 33. Rb1 Bd7 34. d5 exd5 35. exd5 Bg4 36. d6 Ra2 37. Rxb5 Rd2 38. Rb8+ Kh7 39. Rd8 Bxh5 40. Nd7 Rxd6 41. Nf8+ Kg8 42. Nd7+ Kh7 43. Nf8+ Kg8 44. Rxd6 Kxf8 45. f5 Bg4 46. f6 gxf6 47. Rxf6 h5 48. Kf2 Kg7 49. Rb6 f6 50. Ke3 Kf7 51. g3 Ke7 52. Kd4 Kf7 53. Kd5 Bf3+ 54. Kd6 Bg4 55. Rb7+ Kf8 56. Ra7 Ke8 57. Re7+ Kf8 58. Ra7 Ke8 59. Re7+ Kf8 60. Ra7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.19"] [Round "7"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Salem, A R Saleh"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2785"] [BlackElo "2633"] [Annotator "Bojkov Dejan"] [PlyCount "131"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nd2 {According to Giri this is a rare line as it allows the quick c6-c5 advance.} e6 5. Nb3 c5 ({Another possibility is} 5... Nd7 6. Nf3 Qc7 7. Be2 c5 8. O-O c4 {as in Rublevsky,S (2689)-Fedoseev,V (2673) Novi Sad 2016}) 6. dxc5 Bxc5 7. Nxc5 Qa5+ 8. c3 Qxc5 9. Be3 Qc7 10. f4 { A slightly unusual French pawn structure arises with White having the bishop pair and Black an active bishop.} Ne7 11. Be2 O-O 12. Nf3 Nbc6 ({Salem was not sure if} 12... Nd7 {was better.}) 13. O-O {All of this was part of Giri's prep but now Salem made a new move:} Na5 $146 ({The only game so far in this line ended in a quick draw after} 13... Be4 14. Nd2 Bg6 15. Nb3 Na5 16. Nxa5 { ½-½ Rublevsky,S (2688)-Dreev,A (2654) Warsaw 2012. However Giri believed that White did not have to trade the knights to play for the advantage.}) ({"The computer suggests"} 13... f6 14. exf6 Rxf6 {"but does not like Black here" (Giri)}) 14. Bf2 a6 15. Rc1 Rac8 16. b3 Nac6 {The knight weakened slightly the queenside and can leave.} 17. Qd2 Rfd8 {But this is inaccurate. The rook will be a subject of skewering here.} ({Normal seems to be } 17... Be4 18. Rfd1 f6 {with counterplay in the center.}) 18. b4 $1 {The idea is to push the a-pawn all the way to a5 and make use of the tempo threat Bf2-b6.} ({This is better than the standart} 18. Rfd1) 18... Be4 19. a4 Nf5 { The only way to seek counterplay but Black is one move short.} 20. g4 {This stops Black's idea.} ({In case of} 20. a5 d4 $5 {is a perspective pawn sacrifice which will either bring the knights into life or will force the white pawn on d4 from where it will block the bishop-} 21. cxd4 $6 ({Or} 21. Nxd4 Ncxd4 22. cxd4 Qd7 {when "I never, never win this, because I never win my positions. And because it is blockade" (Giri).}) (21. Ng5 $1 {is best when after} dxc3 22. Qxc3 Bd5 23. Bb6 Qe7 24. Bxd8 Rxd8 {Black does not have enough for the exchange.}) 21... Bxf3 22. Bxf3 Nfxd4 {and Black is fine.}) 20... Nfe7 21. Ng5 {Once again Giri prevents Black's activity.} ({If} 21. a5 d4 {is still the best practical chance for Black after} 22. Nxd4 Nd5) 21... Bg6 22. Bc5 { White is no longer afraid of the d5-d4 advance with the active bishop.} Rd7 { The rook moves away from the dark-squared bishop.} (22... Na5 23. Bxe7 Nb3 24. Bxd8 {loses material.}) (22... b6 {drops a pawn after} 23. Bxe7 Nxe7 24. Bxa6) 23. Nf3 {A trap, which was played quickly to increase the psychological effect. ..} Na5 $2 {...and Salem falls into it!} ({However, Black's position is objectively much worse no matter what he plays. Say} 23... h5 24. h3 Na5 25. Nd4 Nc4 26. Bxc4 dxc4 27. f5) 24. Nd4 {This is what Black missed.} Nc4 ({ There is no way back.} 24... Nac6 25. f5) 25. Bxc4 dxc4 26. Bxe7 Rxe7 27. f5 { White is winning. His super knight is laughing at the black bishop which is about to get trapped any second now.} exf5 28. gxf5 Bh5 ({There is not enough for the piece after} 28... Rxe5 29. fxg6 hxg6) 29. Qg5 g6 30. e6 $2 {Just a move away from the win Giri blunders.} ({He saw the winning line:} 30. f6 Qxe5 31. Nf5 $1 Re6 (31... Ree8 32. Rce1 Qxc3 (32... Qxe1 33. Qh6 {is mate}) 33. Rxe8+ Rxe8 34. Nh6+ Kh8 35. Nxf7+ Kg8 36. Nh6+ Kh8 {all the way to here and got afraid of the checks on d4. But the simple} 37. Qc5 {, which he found quickly during the post-mortem, would have put an end of Black's suffering.} ( 37. f7 Qd4+ {is indeed a draw.})) 32. Rce1 Qxc3 33. Rxe6 fxe6 34. f7+ Kh8 35. Qe7 {and White wins (Giri, Salem)}) ({In fact} 30. Qh6 {After} Qxe5 ({Best is} 30... f6 31. exf6 Re4 (31... Rf7 {and this is much better version of the game continuation for White.}) 32. Rc2 {although White should win here.}) 31. Rce1 Qxe1 (31... Qf6 32. fxg6 Rxe1 33. gxh7+ $1 {wins for White.}) 32. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 33. Kf2 {there is no escape from f5-f6 (Giri).}) 30... f6 31. Qxf6 Rg7 $1 { Rebooting...} 32. Rc2 ({Or} 32. Kh1 Qd6 ({or even} 32... gxf5 33. Qh4 $2 Be8 { when Black may go into counterattack.})) 32... Bg4 ({The other defense seems less precise:} 32... Rf8 33. Qh4 ({The sacrifice} 33. Qxf8+ Kxf8 34. f6 { does not work after} Rg8 $1) 33... gxf5+ 34. Rg2 Rxg2+ 35. Kxg2 Bg6 {the super-knight still gives Black hard time.}) 33. Qh4 Bxf5 34. Rg2 Re8 35. Re1 a5 {Salem managed to both save the bishop and avoid being checkmated. Fantastic job!} (35... Bd3 $5 36. a5) 36. bxa5 Qxa5 37. Nxf5 Qxf5 38. Qxc4 {OK, White won a pawn but there are only heavy-lifters left and this should give Black excellent drawing chances.} Rge7 39. Rf2 (39. Rge2 Rf8 {is indeed unpleasant for White.}) 39... Qa5 $1 ({Avoiding the trick} 39... Qh3 40. Rf7 Rxe6 41. Rf6) 40. Rf7 Qb6+ 41. Kg2 $1 {Now White avoids the tricks.} (41. Kh1 Rxe6 {is safe for Black as if} 42. Rf6 $4 Qc6+ $1 43. Qxc6 Rxe1+ {comes with a check.}) ({ Also} 41. Kf1 Rxe6 42. Rf6 $2 Qa6 $1 {is similar.}) 41... Qc6+ $6 {None of the players mentioned the more natural way to trade the queens with:} (41... Qa6 $1 {Why to allow a distant passer to White?! After} 42. Qd5 (42. Qxa6 bxa6 43. c4 Rxe6 44. Rxe6 Rxe6 45. Ra7 Rc6 {is a draw.}) 42... Qxa4 43. Kg3 Qc6 44. Qxc6 bxc6 45. Rxe7 Rxe7 46. Kf4 Kf8 47. Ke5 Ra7 48. Rf1+ Ke8 {Black is very close to holding this.}) 42. Qxc6 bxc6 43. Rxe7 ({The other way to play for the win was} 43. a5 Rxe6 44. Rxe6 Rxe6 45. Rb7 Re2+ 46. Kg3 Ra2 47. Ra7 Ra4 48. a6 g5 49. c4 h5 50. Kf3 c5 {when it is not certain if Black can survive (or if White can win...)} (50... Kf8) (50... g4+ $2 51. Kg3 $1)) 43... Rxe7 {The rook endgames are famous for their drawing tendencies. In this case Black's survival chances should be high, but White also has a fair share of winning chances. Let's call it 50-50.} 44. Kf3 Kf8 45. a5 Ra7 46. Re5 ({White tries to avoid the line} 46. e7+ Ke8 47. Re5 c5 48. Rxc5 Kxe7 49. Ke4 Kd6 50. Kd4 Rf7) 46... Ke7 47. Ke4 Rb7 ({Giri was hoping for} 47... c5 48. Rxc5 Kxe6 49. Rd5 Rc7 50. Kd4 Rxc3 51. Re5+ $1) ({None of the players could find a win after} 47... Ra6 {with the waiting strategy} 48. Kd4 Ra8 49. c4 Ra6 50. Kc3 Ra8 51. Kb4 Ra6 {Perhaps some of our readers will? Or maybe this was the moment in which Black could have survived?}) 48. Kd3 Rb1 ({White should be winning after} 48... Rb2 49. Re2 Rb5 (49... Rb7 50. Kc4) 50. Ra2 Kxe6 51. a6 Rb8 52. a7 Ra8 53. Kd4 (53. Kc4 Kd6) 53... Kd6 54. Ke4 (54. c4 g5) 54... h6 55. Kd4 c5+ 56. Kc4 Kc7 57. Ra6 ) 49. Kc2 Ra1 (49... Rh1 {loses to} 50. a6 Rxh2+ 51. Kb3 Rd2 52. a7 Rd8 53. Ra5 Ra8 54. Kc4 Kxe6 55. Kc5) 50. Kb2 Ra4 51. Kb3 Ra1 52. Kb2 Ra4 53. Kb3 Ra1 54. c4 {Mysteriously, the black rook is misplaced on a1 in comparison to a6.} h6 55. Kb4 g5 56. Re3 {That is the problem. The rook is ready to build a bridge for the a-pawn. White is winning again.} c5+ 57. Kb5 g4 58. h3 gxh3 59. Rxh3 Kxe6 60. Rxh6+ Kd7 61. a6 Kc7 62. Rh8 ({Not the hasty} 62. a7 $2 Kb7 63. Rh7+ Ka8) 62... Kd6 63. a7 Rxa7 64. Rh6+ $1 {Cutting the king along the sixth rank. The game is over.} Ke5 65. Kxc5 Ra8 66. Kb6 1-0 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.19"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Yifan, Hou"] [Black "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2652"] [BlackElo "2621"] [PlyCount "159"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:13:16"] [BlackClock "0:03:21"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qa4 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2 Be4 11. Qc1 c6 12. Rd1 Nbd7 13. Nc3 Bg6 14. a3 (14. Ne5 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Nd5 16. Be3 Rc8 17. a4 Qc7 18. axb5 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 cxb5 20. Rxa6 b4 21. Na4 Qc2 {Dominguez Perez,L (2720)-Kryvoruchko,Y (2693) Monzon 2016}) 14... c5 $146 {A novelty, but perhaps not a good one.} (14... Nd5 15. b4 Nxc3 16. Qxc3 Be4 17. Bf1 Nb6 18. Ne5 Na4 19. Qe3 Bd5 20. Rdc1 Rc8 21. Rc2 f6 22. Nd3 Nb6 {Jakovenko,D (2737)-Naroditsky,D (2628) Doha 2015}) 15. Be3 Qc7 16. Ne5 cxd4 {Sacrificing the exchange.} (16... Rac8 17. Nc6 Rfe8 18. Nxe7+ Rxe7 19. Bf4 Qb6 (19... Qa7 20. Bd6 Ree8 21. dxc5 Nxc5 22. Qe3) 20. dxc5 Nxc5 21. Qe3 { is also very good for White.}) 17. Nxg6 hxg6 18. Bxa8 dxe3 19. Nd5 $1 {If it wasn't for this move, Black would actually be on top.} exf2+ 20. Kf1 Qc5 21. b4 Qxc1 22. Nxe7+ Kh7 23. Raxc1 Rxa8 {The smoke has cleared, and with the extra exchange White keeps winning chances.} 24. Kxf2 (24. Rc8 $5 {Hou Yifan}) 24... a5 25. Rd4 g5 26. h4 g4 27. Rc8 Ra6 28. Rc7 axb4 29. axb4 Ne5 30. Rc5 Nc4 31. Rxb5 Nd6 32. Ra5 Rb6 33. Kg2 g6 34. Rc5 Nb5 35. Rdc4 Kg7 36. Nc8 Rb8 37. Rc6 Na3 38. Rc3 Nb5 39. R3c4 Na3 40. Rc3 Nb5 41. Rc1 Nd5 42. Kf2 Na3 43. Ra1 Nb5 44. Rc5 f5 45. Kf1 Kf6 46. Ra6 Nbc7 47. Rac6 Rxc8 48. Rxd5 Nxd5 49. Rxc8 Nxb4 { Hou Yifan considered this to be "very equal."} 50. Kf2 Nd5 51. Ke1 Ne3 52. Rb8 Ke5 53. Rb5+ Kf6 54. Rb3 Nc4 55. Rb4 Nd6 56. Kd2 Ke5 (56... Ne4+ 57. Rxe4 fxe4 58. Kc3 Ke5 59. Kc4 e3 60. Kd3 Kd5 61. Kxe3 Ke5 {would be a draw.}) 57. Kd3 Kd5 58. Ra4 Ke5 59. Ra5+ Kf6 60. Kd4 Ne4 61. Ra3 Nf2 62. Rb3 Ne4 63. Re3 Nd2 64. Rd3 Nf1 65. Ra3 f4 $2 66. gxf4 Kf5 ({Hammer missed that after} 66... g3 { White has} 67. Ra5 {winning.}) 67. Ra1 Nd2 ({Hou Yifan suggested} 67... Nh2 68. Ke3 g3 {but it doesn't work after} 69. Ra6 Kg4 70. Rxe6) 68. Kd3 Nb3 69. Rb1 Nc5+ 70. Ke3 e5 71. Rb5 Nd7 72. fxe5 Nf8 73. e6+ Kf6 74. Kf4 Nxe6+ 75. Kxg4 Nd4 76. Rb6+ Kf7 77. e4 Kg7 78. e5 Kf7 79. Rf6+ Kg7 80. Kg5 1-0 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.20"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Liren, Ding"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2785"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:29:30"] [BlackClock "0:22:52"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 c6 9. Rd1 b6 10. b3 a5 11. Bc3 Ne4 (11... Bb7 12. Nbd2 Qc7 13. Rac1 c5 14. Bb2 dxc4 15. Nxc4 b5 16. Nce5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Qb7+ 19. e4 Rfc8 { Inarkiev,E (2727) -Jakovenko,D (2718) Poikovsky 2017}) 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. Bxe4 f5 {Ding missed this move in his preparation.} 14. Bxd5 $146 (14. Bg2 Nf7 15. Nd2 Ba6 16. e3 Qd7 17. a4 Rac8 {Mesaros,F (2373)-Martinovic,S (2550) Germany 2017}) 14... exd5 15. dxe5 f4 16. cxd5 cxd5 17. Bd4 Ba6 18. Qc6 ({Giri expected} 18. Nc3 Rc8 19. Qd2) 18... Bxe2 19. Re1 Qc8 20. Qxd5+ Kh8 21. Nc3 (21. e6 Rd8 22. Qe4 Ba6 23. Qxf4 Bb7 {looks dangerous but in fact White can force a draw here with} 24. Bxg7+ Kxg7 25. Qf7+ Kh8 26. Qxe7 Qc6 27. Qf6+ Kg8 28. Qf7+ {which is similar to the game.}) 21... Ba6 22. e6 Rd8 23. Qe4 Bb7 24. Qxf4 Qc6 25. Bxg7+ Kxg7 26. Qf7+ Kh8 27. Ne4 Qe8 28. Ng5 (28. Ng5 Bxg5 29. Qxb7 Rab8 30. Qc7 Qe7 31. Rac1 {is almost equal.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.20"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2772"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [WhiteClock "0:02:18"] [BlackClock "0:18:01"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. Nc3 d6 (7... O-O 8. Nd5 h6 9. a4 b4 10. a5 Rb8 11. Be3 d6 12. Bxc5 dxc5 13. Ne3 Qe7 14. O-O Rd8 15. Re1 Be6 {Adams,M (2761)-Ding,L (2759) Shenzhen 2017}) 8. Nd5 h6 9. c3 O-O {"You're not supposed to castle here." (Svidler)} 10. Nxf6+ Qxf6 11. Bd5 Bd7 12. Rg1 Ne7 $146 (12... Qd8 13. g4 Kh8 14. g5 g6 15. gxh6 Rb8 16. b4 Bb6 17. Ng5 Qe7 18. h4 f6 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2789)-Giri,A (2782) Paris 2016}) 13. Bxa8 Rxa8 14. g4 $5 ({An alternative was} 14. Be3 Ng6 15. d4 (15. Qe2 $5) 15... exd4 16. Bxd4 Qe6 17. Bxc5 dxc5 18. Qd5 Qxd5 19. exd5 Nf4 20. Kd2 Nxd5 {Svidler }) 14... Qe6 15. Nh4 $6 ({And here Mamedyarov was worried about} 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. fxe3 d5 17. exd5 (17. g5 $5) 17... Nxd5 18. Qe2 e4 19. dxe4 Qxe4 20. O-O-O) 15... d5 16. Nf5 Bc6 17. Qe2 dxe4 18. dxe4 Ng6 {"It looks weird what I did here but I started running out of moves here." (Svidler)} 19. Kf1 Nf4 (19... b4 20. Kg2 bxc3 21. bxc3 Bb5 (21... Rd8 $5) 22. Qc2 Rd8 23. Rd1 Rxd1 24. Qxd1 Qc4 {can be answered by} 25. a4 $1) 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. Re1 Re8 22. b4 Bb6 23. f3 $1 Bxg1 {This move came with a draw offer.} 24. Kxg1 Bd7 $1 {Missed by Svidler. White cannot keep his knight.} 25. Rd1 Qb6+ 26. Qf2 Bxf5 27. gxf5 Qxf2+ 28. Kxf2 a5 29. a3 axb4 30. axb4 Ra8 31. Rd7 c6 32. Rc7 Ra2+ 33. Kg1 Ra1+ 34. Kg2 Ra2+ 35. Kg1 Ra1+ 36. Kg2 Ra2+ 37. Kh3 h5 38. Rxc6 (38. Kh4 Rxh2+ 39. Kg5 h4 40. Rxc6 h3 41. Kg4 Rh1 42. Rc5 h2 43. Kh3 Rf1 44. Kxh2 Rxf3 45. Rxb5 Rxc3 { is also equal.}) 38... f6 $1 {Missed by Svidler.} 39. c4 (39. c4 bxc4 40. Rxc4 Rf2 41. Rc3 Rb2) 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A18"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "110"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 {The Flohr-Mikenas system.} d5 4. e5 d4 5. exf6 dxc3 6. bxc3 Qxf6 7. d4 e5 8. Nf3 exd4 9. Bg5 Qe6+ 10. Be2 Be7 11. cxd4 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 Qg6 ({Harikrishna decided to avoid the move} 12... Qf6 13. Qd2 O-O 14. O-O Nc6 15. d5 Nd4 16. Ne4 Nxe2+ 17. Qxe2 Qg6 18. Rfe1 {which led to a position which even Kramnik could not hold, Aronian,L (2807)-Kramnik,V (2791) Moscow 2011}) 13. f4 O-O 14. O-O Nc6 15. Rb1 $146 {A novelty, which Nepomniachtchi considered interesting. The rook could be quite useful along the half-open file. It prevents the black bishop from going out and various rook lifts along the third or the fifth file are on the agenda.} ({The main theory runs} 15. d5 Ne7 16. Qd2 Qb6+ 17. Kh1 Nf5 {as in Grachev,B (2669)-Wojtaszek,R (2721) Lublin 2011}) 15... h6 (15... b6 $5) 16. Nf3 Qd6 17. d5 Ne7 ({This is better than} 17... Na5 18. Qd4 b6 19. c5 {with some advantage for White.}) 18. Nd4 {With the clear intention to destroy the kingside with f4-f5-f6.} c6 19. f5 ({ White has nothing after} 19. dxc6 Nxc6 20. Nxc6 Qxc6) 19... Qf6 {The first critical moment of the game.} ({Harikrishna disliked the positions after f5-f6: } 19... cxd5 20. f6 $1 Nc6 (20... gxf6 21. c5 Qxc5 22. Kh1 {For the pawns White huge initiative on the kingside.}) 21. fxg7 Re8 22. Bh5 {Rightly so, as White is close to winning here.}) 20. Ne6 $1 {The point behind White's play. Nepomniachtchi needs to make use of the space and his active pieces somehow because if Black consolidates he may have the long-term trumps in his favor (better bishop and eventually a weak isolated pawn on d5.)} fxe6 21. fxe6 Qe5 { Practically best.} (21... Qg5 22. Rxf8+ Kxf8 23. Qf1+ Qf6 {might transpose to the same.}) ({The human eye hardly even considers the self-pin after} 21... Nf5 22. Bd3 Qe5 {although the computer states it should be OK for Black.}) 22. Rxf8+ Kxf8 23. Qf1+ Qf6 $6 {Objectively, a mistake.} ({Correct was} 23... Kg8 $1 {when I could not find anything more than a draw for White. For example:} 24. Qf7+ Kh8 (24... Kh7 {gives the additional resource} 25. Bd3+ {although this might be irrelevant.}) 25. Qxe7 Qxe2 {Now anytime that White wants he can force perpetual with:} 26. Qf8+ Kh7 27. Qf5+ ({But there are some winning tries. One is:} 27. Rf1 {Then} cxd5 {is precise} ({Not} 27... Bxe6 $2 28. Qxa8) 28. e7 {Now the key resource is} ({White also has to be careful as} 28. cxd5 $2 Bxe6 29. Qxa8 Bxd5 {allows all the fun to his opponent.}) 28... Bh3 $1 { when White cannot avoid the perpetual after} 29. gxh3 Qe3+ 30. Rf2 Qe1+ 31. Kg2 Qe4+ 32. Rf3 Qe2+ 33. Kg3 Qe1+ {and draw.}) ({The other winning attempt is the immediate pawn push} 27. e7 {when again} Bh3 $1 {is very strong with a possible draw after} 28. gxh3 Qe3+ 29. Kg2 Qe4+ 30. Kf2 Qxb1 31. Qxa8 Qb2+ 32. Ke1 Qe5+ {but then we would not talk about this game most likely.}) 27... Kh8 28. Qf8+ Kh7) 24. d6 $1 {Black's position became critical. The pawns are running fast and Nepomniachtchi has excellent piece coordination.} b6 ({ Harikrishna admitted that in the line:} 24... Bxe6 25. dxe7+ Kxe7 {be missed the simple} 26. Rxb7+ (26. Qxf6+ gxf6 27. Rxb7+ Kd6 {is what the Indian GM saw from afar.}) 26... Kf8 27. Qxf6+ gxf6 28. Rc7 {Then he did not want to test if} Rb8 29. Rxc6 Rb6 30. Rxb6 axb6 31. Kf2 Ke7 32. Ke3 Kd6 33. Kd4 {will be a fortress or not (most likely not.)}) ({After} 24... Ng6 25. Bg4 Kg8 26. Qxf6 gxf6 {White can play for the win with either} 27. d7 ({Or even} 27. c5 Ne5 28. Bf5 b6 29. cxb6 axb6 30. Rxb6 Kf8) 27... Bxd7 28. exd7 b6 29. c5 bxc5 30. Rb7 { in both cases with serious advantage for the first player.}) 25. Bg4 $1 { Very strong.} (25. d7 Bb7 26. Qd1 Nf5 27. Bg4 Ke7 {is what Black was hoping for.}) 25... Ng6 ({Black also considered} 25... Ng8 $1 {but here} 26. c5 bxc5 27. Qc4 {is winning for the first player.}) 26. Re1 {Critical moment two. Nepomniachtchi misses a win.} (26. d7 $1 {was very strong when the blockade from the above-mentioned line after} Bb7 (26... Bxd7 27. exd7 Ne5 28. Qe2 { is a prosaic win for White.}) 27. Qd3 Ke7 {is no longer working due to the beautiful tactic after:} ({Or} 27... Ne5 28. Qd6+ Kg8 29. Rf1 {and White wins.} ) 28. Rf1 Nf4 29. Qe4 Rf8 30. Rxf4 $3 Qxf4 (30... Qa1+ 31. Kf2 {and the king escapes the checks.}) 31. d8=Q+ $1 {The point.} Kxd8 32. e7+ $1 Ke8 ({Or} 32... Kc7 33. Qxf4+ Rxf4 34. e8=Q) 33. exf8=Q+ {and White would have taken the brilliancy price.}) ({Harikrishna was afraid of} 26. Rb3 Qxf1+ ({Worse is} 26... Nf4 27. e7+ Ke8 28. Rf3 $1 ({The better move order in comparison to} 28. Qxf4 Qxf4 (28... Bxg4 $1 {spoils White's win.}) 29. Bh5+ Kd7 30. e8=Q+ Kxd6 31. Re3 $1) 28... g5 29. Rxf4 $1 {and wins.}) (26... Kg8 27. Qxf6 gxf6 28. Rg3 { also looks scary for Black.}) 27. Kxf1 {with the idea} Ne5 28. e7+ $1 {The correct move order} ({Weaker is} 28. Rf3+ {with the idea} Nxf3 $2 (28... Kg8 $1 {is a spoiler though.}) 29. e7+ Kf7 30. Bh5+ g6 31. Bxg6+ Kxg6 32. e8=Q+) 28... Ke8 29. Rf3 $1 {and White wins.}) 26... Bxe6 27. Bxe6 ({Or} 27. Rxe6 Qxf1+ 28. Kxf1 Kf7 29. d7 Rd8 30. Rxc6 Ne5 31. Rc8 Ke7 {with equality (Harikrishna)}) 27... Rd8 28. g3 $2 {This lets the win slip away.} ({Nepomniachtchi saw the strong} 28. c5 $1 {but did not play it! Black's defensive task is still very difficult. For example:} bxc5 29. g3 (29. Qc4 Qd4+ 30. Qxd4 cxd4 31. Rf1+ Ke8 32. Bf7+ Kd7 33. Bxg6 Kxd6 {and White should convert the extra piece.}) 29... Rxd6 30. Qe2 Qc3 {as in the game now loses to} 31. Bc4 $1) 28... Rxd6 29. Qe2 Qc3 $1 {The only move. This leads us to critical moment number 3.} 30. Kh1 $2 { Nepomniachtchi felt that he is losing control of the situation but the tournament situation urged him to risk.} ({Objectively, White needed to force a draw with} 30. Qf2+ Qf6 (30... Ke7 31. Qf7+ Kd8 32. Qg8+ Ke7 {is also a draw. }) 31. Qe2 Qc3) ({After} 30. Bd5 Ne5 31. Bg2 Re6 {Black consolidates (Harikrishna)}) ({Equality is achieved also after} 30. Bf5 Kg8 31. Qe8+ Kh7 { (Harikrishna)}) 30... Rd2 31. Rf1+ ({It is late for} 31. Qf1+ Qf6) 31... Ke7 32. Qe4 Ne5 33. Bh3 Kd6 34. Qf5 Kc5 $1 {Harikrishna was very low on time but instinctively knew where his king is safer.} (34... Kc7 $2 {"Or else this bishop mates me"} 35. Qc8+ Kd6 36. Qf8+ Kc7 37. Qxg7+) 35. Bg2 Qd4 (35... Kb4 $1 {would be more accurate.}) 36. Qf8+ ({In time trouble Nepomniachtchi misses a chance to retain the balance with} 36. Rf4 $1 Qa1+ 37. Bf1 Kd6 (37... Kb4 $6 38. c5+ Kxc5 39. Qf8+ Rd6 40. Qxg7) 38. Qf8+ Kc7 39. Qxg7+ Rd7 40. Qxh6) 36... Qd6 37. Qf4 Qd4 38. Qf8+ Qd6 39. Qf4 Re2 (39... Nxc4 {is good too.}) 40. Qc1 Qd3 {The time trouble is over and Black converts the extra pawn.} 41. Qf4 g5 42. Qf8+ Qd6 43. Qf5 Qd2 44. Bxc6 $1 {Playing for tricks.} Rxh2+ $1 (44... Kxc6 $2 45. Qc8+ Kd6 46. Rf6+ Ke7 47. Qe6+ Kd8 48. Rf8+ Kc7 49. Qc8+ Kd6 50. Rd8+ { would have won for White instead.}) 45. Kg1 Re2 46. Bb7 ({Or} 46. Bf3 Re1 47. Qf8+ Qd6 $1 48. Qxd6+ Kxd6 49. Rxe1 Nxf3+ {(Harikrishna)}) 46... Qe3+ 47. Kh1 Re1 {The simplest.} (47... Rxa2 48. Qf8+ Kd4 {wins as well.}) 48. Qf8+ Kd4 49. Qd6+ Kc3 50. Qa3+ Kc2 51. Qxe3 Rxe3 52. Rf2+ Kc3 53. Kg2 Nxc4 54. g4 Rd3 55. Rf6 Ne3+ 0-1 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2785"] [Annotator "A. Silver"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 c6 9. Rd1 b6 10. b3 a5 11. Bc3 Ne4 (11... Bb7 12. Nbd2 Qc7 13. Rac1 c5 14. Bb2 dxc4 15. Nxc4 b5 16. Nce5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 {0-1 (55) Inarkiev,E (2727)-Jakovenko,D (2718) Poikovsky 2017}) 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. Bxe4 f5 14. Bxd5 $146 (14. Bg2 Nf7 15. Nd2 Ba6 16. e3 Qd7 17. a4 Rac8 18. Qb2 {1-0 (90) Mesaros, F (2373)-Martinovic,S (2550) Germany 2017}) 14... exd5 15. dxe5 f4 $1 16. cxd5 cxd5 17. Bd4 Ba6 $1 18. Qc6 Bxe2 {[#]} 19. Re1 ({The tempting looking} 19. Bxb6 $2 {would be a serious mistake after} Qc8 $1 20. Qxc8 Rfxc8 {and suddenly the white rook has nowhere to go. Ex:} 21. Re1 Bb4 22. Rxe2 f3 $1 {and White will lose material to protect against the back rank mate threats.}) 19... Qc8 20. Qxd5+ Kh8 21. Nc3 ({Not} 21. Bxb6 $2 Ra6 $19) ({nor} 21. Rxe2 $2 Qc1+ 22. Kg2 f3+ 23. Qxf3 Rxf3) 21... Ba6 22. e6 Rd8 $1 23. Qe4 Bb7 $1 {Both players had calculated the final sequence well before, making for a swift, though spectacular pas-de-deux.} 24. Qxf4 Qc6 {[#]} 25. Bxg7+ $1 Kxg7 26. Qf7+ $1 Kh8 27. Ne4 Qe8 28. Ng5 $1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Grand Prix"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.05.20"] [Round "8"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Aleksandr Lenderman"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {Hello Everyone! This is GM Aleksandr Lenderman with Moscow Grand Prix round 8 game of the day. I decided to choose the draw between Svidler and Mamedyarov because I thought it was a good complex battle amongst the leaders of the tournament.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 { According to my database this is the first time Mamedyarov has played this line in the Ruy Lopez. In general though Mamedyarov plays many different options even on move 1.} 7. Nc3 {When Mamedyarov chose 6...Bc5, he was probably basing his preparation on Svidler's recent game against Ding Liren, in which he replied with 7. c3, and Black got a good position in that game.} ( 7. c3 O-O 8. O-O d6 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Ba7 12. Nbd2 Na5 13. Bc2 Nh5 14. Kh1 Nc6 15. Bb3 Na5 16. Bc2 Nc6 17. Bb3 Na5 18. Bc2 Nc6 {1/2 (18) Svidler, P (2741) -Ding Liren (2759) Shenzhen CHN 2017}) 7... d6 (7... O-O {Ding chose this against Adams.}) 8. Nd5 h6 9. c3 O-O 10. Nxf6+ Qxf6 11. Bd5 Bd7 (11... Bb7 $6 12. g4 $36) 12. Rg1 Ne7 $5 {Up to here it was all played before but this interesting exchange sacrifise is a novelty according to my database. Before that a few other moves were tried.} (12... Qd8 13. g4 Kh8 14. g5 $40 {was very dangerous in Vachier Lagrave,M (2789)-Giri,A (2782) Paris FRA 2016 (drawn in 36 moves)}) (12... Rae8 13. g4 $36 {Is also very good for White.}) (12... h5 $5 {Is the engine suggestion but of course this move might be very dangerous and I'm not sure if this move will have many followers. I guess it remains to be seen whether 12. h5!? withstands deep home analysis.}) 13. Bxa8 Rxa8 14. g4 Qe6 {Black is just down an exchange but he has positional compensation in the two bishops, soon control of the center, and also very importantly Black was able to neutralize White's attack.} 15. Nh4 {A possible move but not sure if it's the best move.} (15. Be3 $5 {Perhaps it deserved attention to just exchange Black's strong bishop and trade off some pieces.} Bxe3 16. fxe3 d5 17. Nd2 $16 {And neither me, nor my engine see enough compensation here for Black.}) 15... d5 16. Nf5 Bc6 17. Qe2 (17. Nxe7+ Bxe7 18. Qe2 {Was also a try for an advantage, not allowing the Black knight to be strong on g6 and controlling the f4 square.}) 17... dxe4 18. dxe4 Ng6 19. Kf1 $6 {This is probably already an inaccuracy.} (19. Rg2 $3 {This brilliant, albeit clumsy looking move is simply a prophylaxis against Nf4, to be able to prepare the move f3, unpinning the f-pawn, currently protecting the rook on g1 from Bc5} Nf4 (19... b4 20. c4 $16) 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. f3 $16) 19... Nf4 (19... b4 $5 {was also possible.}) 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. Re1 {It also deserved attention here to give up material but Black also seems to have sufficient play then.} (21. f3 $5 Bxg1 22. Kxg1 Rd8 $11) (21. Nd4 $5 Bxd4 22. cxd4 f3 $1 23. Qxf3 Bxe4 24. Qe2 Re8 25. f3 Qf6 $36) 21... Re8 (21... b4 $5 {Is probably even a bit stronger.} 22. Kg2 Rd8 $1 { Prophylaxis against Nd4.} 23. Kh1 g6 24. Nd4 Bxd4 25. cxd4 Rxd4 26. f3 Bb5 $44) 22. b4 Bb6 23. f3 $1 {Otherwise Black has a very strong initiative. Possibly Black underestimated this reply.} Bxg1 24. Kxg1 Bd7 25. Rd1 Qb6+ 26. Qf2 Bxf5 27. gxf5 Qxf2+ 28. Kxf2 a5 {Now the game will end peacefully from here.} 29. a3 axb4 30. axb4 Ra8 31. Rd7 c6 32. Rc7 Ra2+ 33. Kg1 Ra1+ 34. Kg2 Ra2+ 35. Kg1 Ra1+ 36. Kg2 Ra2+ 37. Kh3 h5 38. Rxc6 f6 39. c4 {After bxc4 Rxc4 Rb2, White can't make any further progress with his king stuck on h3 and never being able to get into the game. Therefore draw agreed. A short but very interesting and instructive battle on the top board at the Moscow Grand Prix.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Moscow Grand Prix"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.05.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Aleksandr Lenderman"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {Hello everyone! This is GM Aleksandr Lenderman presenting you the final Game of the Day of Moscow Grand Prix! And the choice is easy here. The fight for first place ended with Ding Liren winning a decisive game against Boris Gelfand. So, without further ado, let's get to it.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. a4 a5 9. Qc2 c6 10. Na3 Ne4 $5 {A very rare move already. In an earlier game betwen Gelfand and Tomashevsky, 10...Bd6 was played and Black had to suffer a bit before eventually getting a draw.} (10... Bd6 11. Ne1 Qe7 12. Nd3 e5 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Bxd5 cxd5 15. Nb5 e4 16. Nf4 Nf6 17. Rfc1 {[%emt 0:00:04] Gelfand-Tomashevsky Moscow Grand Prix round} (17. Qb3 $5 {Was maybe an improvement.})) 11. Bf4 $146 {The only other game I could find after 10...Ne4 in my database was with 11.Be3!? in a game between two very strong players.} (11. Be3 f5 12. Ne1 g5 13. f3 Nd6 14. Nd3 Qe8 15. c5 Nf7 {Was a very complex battle in Hertneck,G (2572)-Bareev,E (2719) Germany 2002}) 11... g5 {The typical logical follow up after the Ne4 idea is to play on the kingside.} 12. Be3 (12. Bc1 $5) 12... f5 13. Rad1 Bf6 14. Nb1 Qe7 {I think Black is already happy here. He got a very interesting unbalanced position with Black with play for 3 results. And Ding is extremely good in positions like this too.} 15. Nc3 b6 16. Ne5 $5 {A very interesting, ambitious move, and probably not the only one.} (16. b3 $5) 16... Nxe5 17. dxe5 Bxe5 18. Bxb6 Qb4 {Not the only move in the position but the most direct.} (18... Nxc3 19. bxc3 Ba6 20. cxd5 cxd5 21. Bxa5 Rfc8 $44 {was also a possible sample line.} ) (18... Bxc3 19. bxc3 Ba6 20. Bxe4 $14) (18... Ra6 19. Bd4 Bxd4 20. Rxd4 { Is also roughly equal.}) 19. Nxe4 fxe4 20. cxd5 $2 {So far both sides have played good precise and principled chess. However, now, Gelfand seems to miscalculate or misevaluate something because he doesn't quite seem to have enough for the sacrifised material. Sometimes last rounds can be tricky even for the most experienced players. Gelfand was probably really hoping to win this game to tie for 1st since the difference between tying for first and tying for 3rd in a massive tie is huge in terms of Grand Prix points. So maybe he decided to take a gamble in this game he normally wouldn't have. It didn't work in his favor in this game though.} (20. Be3 Qxb2 21. Qxb2 Bxb2 22. Bxg5 Ba6 23. cxd5 (23. Rd2 {This first might be a bit more accurate though.} Bc3 24. Rc2 {And no more Rac8}) 23... cxd5 (23... Bxe2 $2 24. dxc6 $16) 24. Rd2 $15 { Seems more or less normal for White and very close to equal.}) 20... Qxb6 21. Qxe4 Qxb2 (21... Qc7 22. dxe6 Rb8 {Is also good for Black, but what Ding did was better.}) 22. dxc6 Bc7 $17 23. Rd7 Bxd7 24. cxd7 Qf6 $19 {Honestly speaking I'm not totally sure what exactly Gelfand missed since in each move Black seemed to have other alternatives to get a good position.} (24... Ra6 { Also wins.}) 25. Bh3 Rab8 26. Qxe6+ Qxe6 27. Bxe6+ {Trying to save in the endgame thanks to many pawns for the rook but White's problem is that Black's rooks are too active and the d7 pawn isn't going anywhere thanks to the bishop and rooks stopping it.} Kg7 28. Rc1 Kf6 29. Bg4 Bd8 30. Rc6+ Kg7 31. Bh5 Rb2 32. Rc8 Rd2 33. Be8 Bb6 34. Rb8 Rf6 35. e3 g4 {And with that, Ding wins the Moscow Grand Prix clear first. Congrulations to him! Congrulations also to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov for a very strong clear 2nd place with +2 and continuing his monsterous form and also now being in excellent position to get one of the top 2 spots in the overall Grandprix Standings.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE Moscow Grand Prix 2017"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2652"] [Annotator "A. Silver"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 {(0s)} e5 {(5s)} 2. Nf3 {(0s)} Nc6 {(5s)} 3. Bc4 {(0s)} Bc5 {(8s)} 4. O-O {(0s)} Nf6 {(5s)} 5. d3 {(0s)} d6 {(22s)} 6. c3 {(27s)} a6 {(9s)} 7. Re1 { (116s)} O-O {(218s)} 8. Bb3 {(14s)} h6 {(99s)} 9. Nbd2 {(27s)} Ng4 {(873s) A surprise no doubt for Inarkiev. While the databases do have this as the third most played move, it bears mentioning: not by grandmasters! The most common here are Ba7, Be6, or Re8.} 10. Re2 {(26s)} Kh8 {(6s) Hou Yifan is hardly camouflaging her intent. Kh8 is to free the f-pawn from its pin. Which begs the question, why did White choose to force Black's hand with...} 11. h3 $6 { (0s) The engines can say this move is fine, but I don't like it on principle. Why not let Black show her hand first, and instead continue development with Nf1?} ({If after} 11. Nf1 {Black still plays} f5 {then} 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. d4 $1 {is fine for White.}) 11... f5 {(112s)} 12. exf5 {(321s)} Nxf2 {(63s)} 13. Rxf2 {(7s)} Bxf2+ {(28s)} 14. Kxf2 {(4s)} Bxf5 {(9s) Black definitely has compensation, and the question is now who will be able to make the most of this imbalanced position?} 15. Qe2 {(301s)} d5 {(287s)} 16. Kg1 {(0s)} Qd6 { (129s)} 17. Bc2 {(1146s)} Rf7 {(1605s)} 18. b4 {(972s)} a5 {(680s)} 19. Bb2 { ( 1680s)} axb4 {(0s)} 20. cxb4 {(150s)} Nxb4 {(284s)} 21. Nxe5 {(0s)} Re7 { (368s)} 22. Ndf3 {(13s)} Kg8 {(439s)} 23. Qd2 {(467s)} Nxc2 {(348s)} 24. Qxc2 { (5s)} c5 {(2s)} 25. Qb3 {(161s)} Kh7 {(96s)} 26. Kh1 $2 {(0s) A blunder! Now Black is winning.} d4 $1 {(88s)} 27. Bc1 {(511s)} ({The point is that after a move such as} 27. Nc4 {Black continues} Qg3 28. Ng1 Rae8 {and clearly the extra rook is far stronger than White's two pieces}) 27... Rxe5 {(61s)} 28. Bf4 {(15s)} Qd5 $1 {[#] (38s)} 29. Rb1 {(180s)} ({The idea is that after} 29. Bxe5 Qxb3 {wins since the pawn is pinned to protect the rook on a1}) 29... Qxb3 { (16s)} 30. Rxb3 {(3s)} Rd5 {(32s)} 31. Ne5 {(62s)} Rxa2 {(49s)} 32. Rxb7 {(10s) } Re2 {(0s)} 33. g4 {(86s)} Be6 {(46s)} 34. Nc4 {(56s)} Rd8 {(63s)} 0-1 [Event "Moscow"] [Site "Moscow"] [Date "2017.05.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2724"] [BlackElo "2773"] [Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. a4 ({Similar positions to the one that we shall see later in the game can arise after} 8. Qc2 Ne4 9. Bf4 c6 10. Nc3 g5 11. Bc1 f5 12. b3 b6 13. Bb2 Bb7 { as in So,W (2822)-Nakamura,H (2793) Saint Louis 2017}) 8... a5 9. Qc2 c6 10. Na3 Ne4 {Apparently, the Chinese GM was very well prepared to meet this line as Gelfand had used it earlier in the tournament.} ({That game went} 10... Bd6 11. Ne1 Qe7 12. Nd3 e5 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Bxd5 $1 cxd5 15. Nb5 e4 16. Nf4 Nf6 17. Rfc1 {and White tortured his opponent for very long time, Gelfand,B (2724) -Tomashevsky,E (2696) Moscow 2017}) 11. Bf4 $146 {A novelty. White lures the black pawn to g5 but this seems useful for Black.} ({Previously White always developed the bishop to e3 at once} 11. Be3 f5 12. Ne1 g5 {You see what we are talking about...} 13. f3 Nd6 14. Nd3 Qe8 15. c5 {with a slight advantage for White in Hertneck,G (2572)-Bareev,E (2719) Germany 2002}) 11... g5 $1 { "Critical move" (Ding)} 12. Be3 f5 {Now the position resembles the Stonewall Dutch with the white knight peculiarly placed on a3. Since Black is usually attacking on the kingside the inclusion of the g7-g5 move should be positive for him.} 13. Rad1 Bf6 ({Black wants to fianchettoe the light-squared bishop but it does not work immediately:} 13... b6 $2 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Qc6 {and Black is in trouble (Ding)}) ({In case of} 13... Bd6 14. Nb1 Qe7 15. Nc3 { the pawn on g5 is hanging and if} g4 16. Ne1 {followed by Ne1-d3 and Be3-f4 (Ding). This will give White clear domination on the dark squares.}) 14. Nb1 { The knight is useless on a3 and White sends it back into the game.} ({But maybe } 14. Ne1 $5 {was more needed now following Hertneck's plan from above} Qe7 ( 14... b6 $2 {is still not good} 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. Qc6) 15. f3 Nd6 16. c5 Nf7 17. f4 {with a roughly equal, but stable position.}) 14... Qe7 15. Nc3 b6 { "Black is fine here." (Ding) "Black is very good." (Gelfand)} 16. Ne5 {After a long thought White decided to open the position.} ({Gelfand disliked} 16. cxd5 cxd5 {as he lost a lot of tempoes for maneuvers with his queenside knight.}) ({ Ding on the other hand suggested the curious line that he had investigated during Gelfand's thinking:} 16. Nxe4 fxe4 17. Nd2 (17. Ne1 {might also be an idea with f2-f3 to follow.}) 17... Ba6 18. cxd5 cxd5 19. Nb1 Rac8 20. Nc3 Nb8 21. Qb3 Qb4 22. Qxb4 axb4 23. Nb5 Rc2 24. Rd2 b3 {with unclear position.}) 16... Nxe5 17. dxe5 Bxe5 18. Bxb6 ({The sacrifice} 18. Nxe4 fxe4 19. cxd5 cxd5 20. Bxe4 {does not work due to} dxe4 21. Qxe4 Bb8 $1 22. Qxa8 Bb7 23. Bc5 Qf7 { when the white queen is trapped.}) ({Both players spent a lot of time calculating the line} 18. cxd5 cxd5 19. Bxb6 Rb8 20. Bd4 (20. Bxa5 $2 Qc5 { drops a piece for White.}) (20. Nxe4 Rxb6 {is clearly better for Black.}) 20... Bxd4 21. Rxd4 Qc5 {"I was not quite happy with this position." (Gelfand)}) 18... Qb4 $1 ({This is better than} 18... Rb8 19. Bxa5 Qc5 {as White can save the bishop here with} 20. Nxe4 fxe4 $6 21. b4 {(Ding)}) 19. Nxe4 ({Or} 19. Bd4 Bxd4 20. Rxd4 e5 (20... Qc5 {is an important finesse according to Gelfand.}) 21. Na2 Qc5 22. Rdd1 {When Black seems fine (Ding)}) 19... fxe4 20. cxd5 { The culmination of the battle. Unhappy with his position the Israeli GM goes for a piece sacrifice.} ({Gelfans was unhappy with the position after} 20. Be3 Qxb2 21. Qxb2 Bxb2 22. Bxg5 Ba6 23. cxd5 cxd5 {which his opponent considered slightly better for Black. Gelfand disliked his bishop on g2. It was Mikhail Botvinnik who first realized that a fianchettoed bishop on g2 might be worse than the seemingly horrible black bishop on a6. He won a modal game against his great rival Paul Keres on this theme.}) ({White comes short for just a move in the line:} 20. Bd4 Bxd4 21. Rxd4 Rb8 22. Qc1 h6 23. h4 Qxb2 {(Ding)}) 20... Qxb6 21. Qxe4 Qxb2 22. dxc6 ({In case of} 22. f4 gxf4 23. gxf4 Bf6 24. dxe6 Ra7 {Black retains coordination and keeps the extra piece.}) ({The Chinese GM had accurately calculated the forcing line after} 22. dxe6 Bxe6 23. f4 Bb3 24. fxe5 ({Black also keeps his extra piece in the line} 24. Rd7 Bg7 25. Rb1 Qc3 26. Rd3 Qc5+ {(Ding)}) 24... Bxd1 25. Rxd1 {is simly good for Black (Ding)}) 22... Bc7 {"Black's play is very easy: move the queen back and Ra8-b8. " (Ding)} 23. Rd7 $5 {A practical chance, but Ding is merciless.} ({Moves like } 23. h4 gxh4 24. Qxh4 Qf6 {"are only weakening my king in his favor" (Gelfand) }) 23... Bxd7 24. cxd7 Qf6 25. Bh3 ({Or} 25. Qc4 Ra7 26. Qc5 Bb8 27. Rd1 Rd8 28. Qb6 Rc7 29. Bh3 Kf7 {and Black consolidates (Gelfand, Ding)}) 25... Rab8 { White does not have enough for the rook.} ({But not} 25... Ra6 $2 26. Qb7) 26. Qxe6+ {Desperation.} ({Or} 26. Bxe6+ Kg7 27. Bd5 Rb4) 26... Qxe6 27. Bxe6+ Kg7 28. Rc1 Kf6 29. Bg4 Bd8 30. Rc6+ Kg7 31. Bh5 Rb2 32. Rc8 Rd2 33. Be8 Bb6 34. Rb8 Rf6 (34... Rxd7 35. Rxb6 Rxe8) 35. e3 g4 {Congrats to Ding for his wonderful achievement!} 0-1