[Event "Tom's River Chess Club"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.04.12"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Milan Haruda"]
[Black "Robert Whiteside"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[BlackElo "1491"]
[Annotator "Whiteside, Robert, Jr."]
[PlyCount "57"]
[SourceDate "2018.07.02"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Ne7 5. Nc3 (5. Nxe5 c6 6. Ba4 (6. Bc4 Qa5+
)) 5... Ng6 6. Bg5 Be7 7. d4 O-O 8. dxe5 Ng4 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. O-O N4xe5 11.
Nxe5 Nxe5 12. Qd2 d6 13. Ne2 c5 14. Ng3 a6 15. Be2 b5 16. c3 Bb7 17. Qe3 g6 18.
b3 Rfe8 19. c4 bxc4 20. bxc4 Qe6 21. Rac1 Nc6 22. h3 Nd4 23. Bg4 Qe7 24. Rfe1
Rad8 25. f3 h5 26. Bxh5 gxh5 27. Nxh5 Qh4 (27... Qe5) 28. Qh6 Ne6 29. Nf6+ 1-0

[Event "Tal - Larsen Candidates Semifinal"]
[Site "Bled YUG"]
[Date "1965.07.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Mikhail Tal"]
[Black "Bent Larsen"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B04"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "154"]
[EventDate "1965.07.23"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 dxe5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 {[#]} 6. Bc4 (6. Nxf7 Kxf7
7. Qh5+ Ke6 8. c4 N5f6 9. d5+ Kd6 10. Qf7 Ne5 11. Bf4 c5 12. Nc3 a6 13. O-O-O (
13. b4)) 6... e6 7. Qg4 h5 8. Qe2 Nxe5 9. dxe5 Bd7 10. O-O Bc6 11. Rd1 Qe7 12.
Nc3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 g6 14. a4 a6 15. Rb1 Qc5 16. Be3 Qxe5 17. f4 Qf5 18. Bd3 Qg4
19. Qf2 Be7 20. Bd4 O-O 21. Be2 Qf5 22. Bd3 Qg4 23. Be2 Qh4 24. g3 Qh3 25. Bf3
Rad8 26. Bxc6 bxc6 27. Be5 Qf5 28. Qe2 Bd6 29. Rd3 Bxe5 30. fxe5 Rxd3 31. cxd3
Rd8 32. Rd1 c5 33. c4 Qg4 34. Qxg4 hxg4 35. Kf2 Rb8 36. Rd2 Kg7 37. Ke3 g5 38.
d4 Rb3+ 39. Kf2 cxd4 40. Rxd4 Kg6 41. Rxg4 Rb2+ 42. Kg1 Kf5 43. Rd4 Kxe5 44.
Rd7 f5 45. Rxc7 Ke4 46. Rd7 Rc2 47. Rd6 e5 48. h4 gxh4 49. gxh4 Rxc4 50. h5 Kf3
51. Rd3+ Kg4 52. h6 Rc7 53. Rd6 e4 54. Kf2 a5 55. Rg6+ Kh5 56. Ra6 f4 57. Re6
Rc2+ 58. Ke1 Rc1+ 59. Kd2 Rh1 60. Rxe4 Kg4 61. Re6 Kg3 62. Rf6 f3 63. Ke3 Re1+
64. Kd3 Re7 65. Rg6+ Kf4 66. Rf6+ Kg3 67. Rg6+ Kf4 68. Rf6+ Kg4 69. Kd4 Kg3 70.
Rg6+ Kh3 71. Rg7 Rxg7 72. hxg7 f2 73. g8=Q f1=Q 74. Qe6+ Kh4 75. Kc5 Qb1 76.
Qc4+ Kg3 77. Qc3+ Kf2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Voronetz"]
[Site "Voronetz"]
[Date "1959.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Vladimir Zagorovsky"]
[Black "Lev Polugaevsky"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B96"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "1959.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5 8. e5
dxe5 9. fxe5 Qc7 10. exf6 (10. Qe2 Nfd7 11. O-O-O) 10... Qe5+ {[#]} 11. Ne4 (
11. Qe2 Qxg5) (11. Be2 Qxg5 12. O-O) 11... Qxe4+ 12. Ne2 Nc6 13. Qd2 Ra7 14.
O-O-O Rd7 15. Nc3 Qb4 16. Bd3 Ne5 17. Kb1 Nc4 18. Bxc4 Rxd2 19. Rxd2 gxf6 20.
Bxf6 Be7 21. Bxb5+ axb5 22. Bxh8 Bb7 23. Bd4 (23. Rhd1) 23... Qa5 24. a3 b4 25.
axb4 Bxb4 26. Re2 Qa6 27. Re3 Bxg2 28. Rg1 Bd6 29. Rd3 Qc6 30. Rd2 Bf3 31. Bf6
Kf8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Aubervilliers rapid,"]
[Site "Aubervilliers rapid,"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Eric Prie"]
[Black "Lev Polugaevsky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B96"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "1992.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5 8. e5
dxe5 9. fxe5 Qc7 10. exf6 Qe5+ 11. Be2 Qxg5 12. Qd3 Qxf6 13. Ne4 Qe5 14. Nf3
Qc7 15. O-O Be7 16. Nfg5 f5 17. Qh3 g6 (17... fxe4 18. Nxe6) 18. Bh5 Qe5 19.
Nxh7 gxh5 20. Qxh5+ Kd8 21. Rad1+ Bd7 22. Neg5 Qe3+ 23. Kh1 Qxg5 24. Nxg5 Rxh5
0-1

[Event "Manhattan CC"]
[Site "New York, NY USA"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Anatoly Lein"]
[Black "Joel Benjamin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B46"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "1980.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 Nge7 7. Nb3 Ng6 8.
O-O Be7 9. a4 O-O 10. Be3 b6 11. Qd2 Qc7 12. Rad1 Rb8 13. f4 Na5 14. f5 Ne5 15.
Bf4 f6 16. Kh1 Rf7 17. Nd4 Bc5 18. Bg3 Re7 19. Nf3 Nac6 20. fxe6 dxe6 21. Nxe5
fxe5 {[#]} 22. Bxe5 Qxe5 23. Qd8+ 1-0

[Event "URS-ch qf"]
[Site "Vilnius"]
[Date "1955.05.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anatoly Lein"]
[Black "Mikhail Tal"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B68"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "183"]
[EventDate "1955.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8.
O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 Be7 10. Nf3 b5 11. a3 b4 12. axb4 Nxb4 13. Bc4 Qc8 14. Qe2 Bc6
15. e5 dxe5 16. fxe5 Bxf3 17. Qxf3 Nfd5 18. Bxe7 Nxe7 19. Rhf1 O-O 20. Qg4 Nbc6
21. Bd3 Qc7 22. Rde1 Rad8 23. Re3 Nf5 24. Bxf5 exf5 25. Qxf5 Qa5 26. Kb1 Rde8
27. Rfe1 f6 28. Rh3 Rxe5 29. Qxh7+ Kf7 30. Rhe3 Rb8 31. Qd3 Qb4 32. b3 Kg8 33.
Rxe5 Nxe5 34. Qd5+ Kf8 35. Rd1 Nc4 36. Rd4 Qxc3 37. Qc5+ Kg8 38. Qxc4+ Qxc4 39.
Rxc4 Re8 40. Kb2 Re6 41. b4 Re2 42. Rc6 Rxg2 43. Rxa6 Kf7 44. b5 Ke7 45. Kb3
Rxh2 46. c4 g5 47. c5 Rh1 48. b6 g4 49. Ra7+ Ke6 50. Kc4 Rc1+ 51. Kb5 g3 52.
Rg7 Kd5 53. Rd7+ Ke4 54. c6 g2 55. Rg7 g1=Q 56. Rxg1 Rxg1 57. c7 Rc1 58. b7
Rxc7 59. b8=Q Re7 60. Kc5 Re5+ 61. Kd6 Kf5 62. Qg8 Re4 63. Qh7+ Kf4 64. Qh4+
Kf5 65. Qf2+ Kg5 66. Qg3+ Rg4 67. Qe3+ Kg6 68. Qd3+ f5 69. Qc3 Re4 70. Qh8 Kg5
71. Qg7+ Kf4 72. Qg2 Re3 73. Qf2+ Ke4 74. Ke6 f4 75. Qf1 Rd3 76. Qe2+ Re3 77.
Qc4+ Kf3+ 78. Kf5 Kg2 79. Kxf4 Rf3+ 80. Ke4 Rf2 81. Qg8+ Kh2 82. Ke3 Rg2 83.
Qb8+ Kg1 84. Kf3 Kh1 85. Qb7 Kg1 86. Qc7 Kh1 87. Qe7 Kh2 {[#]} 88. Qe1 Ra2 (
88... Kh3 89. Qf1) (88... Rg1 89. Qh4#) 89. Qh4+ Kg1 90. Qg5+ Kh1 91. Qh6+ Kg1
92. Qg6+ 1-0

[Event "Hastings 1979/80"]
[Site "Hastings ENG"]
[Date "1980.01.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Yasser Seirawan"]
[Black "Anatoly Lein"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A36"]
[WhiteElo "2485"]
[BlackElo "2535"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "1979.12.??"]

1. c4 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. a3 d6 6. e3 Nh6 7. Nge2 Nf5 8. Rb1
a5 9. b3 Bd7 10. Bb2 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Nb5 Na7 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. a4 Qb6 15.
d4 Rac8 16. dxc5 Rxc5 17. Nec3 Bc6 18. e4 Nh6 19. Qd4+ f6 20. Rbd1 Nc8 21. f4 {
[#]} e5 22. Qd2 (22. Qf2 Ng4) 22... Rxb5+ 0-1

[Event "Lone Pine"]
[Site "Lone Pine, CA USA"]
[Date "1977.03.27"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Anatoly Lein"]
[Black "Mark Diesen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B52"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "1977.03.20"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. a4 Nc6 5. O-O Nf6 6. Re1 e6 7. Nc3 Be7 8. Bf1
O-O 9. h3 Nd4 10. d3 Bc6 11. Nxd4 cxd4 12. Ne2 e5 13. Ng3 d5 14. Bg5 Nd7 15.
Bd2 Bg5 16. b4 b6 17. exd5 Bxd5 18. c4 dxc3 19. Bxc3 Rc8 20. Bd2 Bxd2 21. Qxd2
Qf6 22. a5 Rc7 23. Rac1 Rfc8 24. Rxc7 Rxc7 25. d4 exd4 26. Nh5 Qh4 27. Nf4 Bc6
{[#]} 28. b5 Bb7 29. a6 Bc8 30. Re8+ Nf8 31. Nd5 (31. Qxd4) 1-0

[Event "Ch New York ( open )"]
[Site "Ch New York ( open )"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Maurice Ashley"]
[Black "Anatoly Lein"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A28"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "1989.??.??"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e4 d6 5. h3 g6 6. g3 Bg7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O
Nd7 9. d3 Nc5 10. Be3 Ne6 11. Rb1 a5 12. Qd2 Ncd4 13. Ne2 Nxe2+ 14. Qxe2 f5 15.
exf5 gxf5 16. Bd2 Bd7 17. Bc3 Bc6 18. Rbd1 Qf6 19. Rfe1 Rae8 20. b3 f4 21. g4
h5 22. gxh5 Qf7 23. Ba1 Qxh5 24. Kh2 Ng5 25. Nxg5 f3 26. Nxf3 Bxf3 27. Qf1 Bh6
28. Bxf3 Rxf3 29. Qg2+ Kf7 30. Qg4 {[#]} Rxh3+ 31. Qxh3 Bf4+ 32. Kg2 Rg8+ 33.
Qg3 Rxg3+ (33... Bxg3 34. fxg3 Rh8) 34. fxg3 Qg4 0-1

[Event "Hastings (1981/82)"]
[Site "Hastings ENG"]
[Date "1982.01.04"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Anatoly Lein"]
[Black "Murray Chandler"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B13"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "1981.12.28"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 g6 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. O-O Nh6 8. Re1
O-O 9. h3 Qc7 10. Na3 Nf5 11. Nc2 f6 12. c4 dxc4 13. Bxc4+ Kh8 14. d5 Rd8 15.
g4 Nd6 16. Bf4 Ne5 17. Bb3 a5 18. a4 Nxf3+ 19. Qxf3 f5 20. g5 Ra6 21. Na3 Bxb2
22. Nb5 Qd7 23. Ra2 Bg7 24. Nxd6 exd6 25. Rae2 Bf8 26. Bc4 Ra8 27. Bb5 Qf7 28.
Be8 Qg8 {[#]} 29. Re7 Bxe7 30. Rxe7 Qf8 31. Qc3+ Kg8 32. Bf7+ Qxf7 33. Rxf7
Kxf7 34. Qf6+ Ke8 35. Qh8+ Kd7 36. Qxh7+ Ke8 37. Qxg6+ Ke7 38. Qg7+ Ke8 39. g6
1-0

[Event "3rd Annual Stamford Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.11.05"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Stephen Wefer"]
[Black "Christina Jin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E24"]
[WhiteElo "1592"]
[BlackElo "1421"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2018.04.13"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. cxd5 exd5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 {Diagram [#]} Nf6
7. Bg5 Nbd7 8. e3 O-O 9. Bd3 b6 10. Ne2 Bb7 {Diagram [#]} 11. O-O Qe7 12. Ng3
Rfe8 13. Re1 {Diagram [#]} Qf8 14. f3 c5 15. e4 Re6 16. e5 h6 17. Bc1 Ne8 18.
Ra2 cxd4 19. cxd4 Rc8 20. Rf2 {[#]} Nc7 21. f4 Ba6 22. f5 Rc6 23. Bb2 Bxd3 24.
Qxd3 Rc4 25. Nh5 Nb5 26. e6 {Diagram [#]} Nf6 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 28. e7 Qe8 29.
Qg3+ Kh7 30. Qh4 R8c6 31. Rf3 Rc2 32. Rh3 Rxg2+ 33. Kxg2 Rc2+ 34. Kh1 Rxh2+ 35.
Rxh2 Qf8 36. exf8=Q Nxd4 37. Qhxh6# 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D31"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rn1q1rk1/p4ppp/bp3n2/2pp4/3P4/P1PBP3/4NPPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2018.04.22"]

{Diagram [#]}  *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik"]
[Black "Capablanca"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3r1k1/p1pq1ppp/1p3n2/3p4/P1pP4/1nP1PPN1/1BQ3PP/4RRK1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2018.04.22"]

{Diagram [#]}  *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "botvinnik"]
[Black "capablanca"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D31"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3r1k1/p2n1ppp/1p6/3pP3/q1pP4/1nP2PN1/1BQ3PP/4RRK1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2018.04.22"]

{Diagram [#]}  *

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis, MO USA"]
[Date "2018.04.29"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Samuel Shankland"]
[Black "Awonder Liang"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B13"]
[Annotator "Klein, Mike"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2018.04.18"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 e5 8. h3
$1 {[#] a product of Shankland's secret helper.} (8. dxe5 Nh5 9. Be3 Nxe5 10.
Bb5+ Nc6 11. h3 Be6 12. Qd1 Nf6 {and the position stabilized into normalcy
earlier this year in a tiebreaker game of the Wei Yi-Navara match in China,
although Black went on to win.}) 8... exf4 (8... Na5 {forced, according to
Shankland's prep.} 9. Qc2 exf4 10. hxg4 Nxg4 11. Kf1 $1 {and although
Shankland thinks he has compensation, at least Black gets a pawn in this
variation, unlike in the game.} (11. Qe2+ Qe7 {saves the knight})) 9. hxg4 Qe7+
10. Kf1 O-O-O (10... Nxg4 {was still playable, and then Black needs to hurry
up to castle to not get pinned on the e-file.}) 11. Nd2 g6 12. Re1 Qc7 13. g5 {
Shankland said this was similar to his analysis at home, except with an extra
g-pawn.} Nh5 14. Be2 Ng7 15. Ngf3 {That "extra" pawn on g5 proves very useful.
It keeps the f-pawn from coming to f6 and removes the foothold on e5. It also
ensures the h7-pawn remains backward. All of these elements come into play.}
Ne6 16. Bb5 Bg7 17. Qa4 Rd6 18. Nb3 {Shankland has the time for such luxuries.}
b6 19. Nc1 Nb8 20. Nd3 Kb7 21. Nb4 Qd8 22. Ne5 Qc7 23. Qb3 Rhd8 24. Rxh7 a6 25.
Bd3 Ka7 26. Qa4 a5 27. Bb5 Kb7 28. Nbd3 {Threatening Nxf4 since the Ne6 is
overworked.} Rg8 29. Nf3 Rh8 30. Rxh8 Bxh8 31. a3 Nc6 32. Bxc6+ {[#] Cashing
in the light-square pressure for a queen invasion. Simple endings are also the
way to calm the nerves before the biggest win of one's life.} Rxc6 33. Nde5
Bxe5 34. Nxe5 Rd6 35. Qe8 Rd8 (35... Nxg5 36. Nxf7 Nxf7 37. Re7) 36. Qxf7 Nxg5
37. Qxc7+ Kxc7 38. Nxg6 f3 39. Nf4 Kc6 40. gxf3 Nxf3 41. Re6+ Kb5 42. Ke2 Ng1+
43. Kd3 {Black is down two pawns with a wayward knight and loose d-pawn. Liang
shook Shankland's hand. The winner got up, punched the air, and circled around
his area. Then Shankland returned to shake Liang's hand a second time, just to
make sure he'd really won.} 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis, MO USA"]
[Date "2018.04.20"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Zviad Izoria"]
[Black "Samuel Shankland"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D41"]
[WhiteElo "2599"]
[BlackElo "2671"]
[Annotator "Klein, Mike"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2018.04.18"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 c5 6. e3 cxd4 7. exd4 Nxc3 8.
bxc3 Qc7 9. Bb2 Nd7 10. Bd3 Be7 11. O-O b6 12. d5 O-O 13. dxe6 fxe6 14. Qc2 h6
15. Bh7+ Kh8 16. Be4 Rb8 17. c4 Bf6 18. Ba3 Nc5 19. Rad1 Bd7 20. Bxc5 bxc5 21.
Rb1 Rb4 22. Qe2 Rfb8 23. Bc2 Rxb1 24. Bxb1 Kg8 25. h4 Kf8 26. Qe3 Rb2 27. g4
Qd6 28. g5 hxg5 29. hxg5 Bd4 30. Nxd4 Qxd4 31. Be4 Rxa2 32. Qf3+ Ke7 33. Rd1
Ra1 34. Bb1 {[#]} Bc6 35. Qh5 (35. Qe2 Qh4 36. f3 Qg3+ 37. Qg2 Qxf3) 35... Rxb1
36. Rxb1 Qe4 0-1

[Event "ch-USA 2018"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2018.04.23"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Akobian, V."]
[Black "Shankland, S."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E36"]
[WhiteElo "2647"]
[BlackElo "2671"]
[Annotator "Shankland, Samuel"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2018.04.18"]

{Going into this game, Akobian was tied for first with me. There have not been
so many decisive games of ours in the past (2 wins for me and 1 for him, all
won by White) but every time we play, even the draws, it feels like White is
running the board. I've saved several lousy positions with Black against him,
and he has done the same. So, playing the black pieces, I knew I had a
challenge in store for me.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+
6. Qxc3 dxc4 7. Qxc4 b6 8. Nf3 Ba6 9. Qa4+ Qd7 10. Qc2 h6 $5 {[#] A very
interesting move. Black simply prevents Bg5 and avoids all the lines with a
high drawish tendency.} (10... O-O 11. Bg5 c5 {In general I think this
position should just fizzle to a draw very quickly, as has been seen in
several high level over the board and correspondence games. But White runs no
risk and if he has a new idea, he can randomly just get a huge position if
Black is caught off gaurd. In a higher sense Black must be fine, but it is not
really my style to play chess like this.}) 11. g3 $6 {Not the best reaction.} (
11. Rg1 $1 {Oddly enough, the toughest move is to just throw g4 at Black as
soon as possible! He does not have anywhere good to go with the king. Still, I
thought his position is tenable (if a bit risky) and that no human would play
Rg1 if they had not analyzed it before.}) 11... Bb7 12. Bg2 $2 (12. Ne5 {
Was more critical since} Qxd4 $2 {Fails to} (12... Qe7 $1 13. Rg1 O-O 14. g4
Be4 $1 $13 {With a very complex position}) 13. Qxc7) 12... Be4 $11 {I think
part of the reason for my later grief was that I believed Black is better here.
Indeed, the computer gives him some egde at low depths, and I was too married
to its evaluation. But Var played a bunch of good moves in a row, and then I
started to get frustrated for not finding an edge when there simply was not
one there! This led to poor decisions.} 13. Qd1 Nc6 14. O-O Rd8 15. Be3 O-O (
15... Bxf3 {In hindsight, just forcing a draw would not have been a bad
decision.} 16. Bxf3 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 Qxd4 18. Qc2 O-O 19. Qxc7 Rd7 {I expect a
draw on move 30.}) 16. Rc1 Qd5 $2 {A bad move. I thought Qa4 could be well met
by a5, but I missed a key idea.} 17. Qa4 $1 Ng4 (17... a5 18. Rc3 $1 {When I
played Qd5, I thought I am basically winning by playing e5 here. But then I
noticed that after} e5 19. dxe5 b5 {White's queen is not trapped after all!}
20. Qb3 $1 $16) 18. Rc3 {[#]} Nxe3 $2 {A big mistake. Black should have taken
the tempo with Qh5 first.} (18... Qh5 $1 19. h3 Nxe3 20. fxe3 (20. Rxe3 b5 21.
Qd1 (21. Qb3 Nxd4 22. Nxd4 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 Rxd4 24. Rc1 $11) 21... Qd5 $11) 20...
Ne7 $1 {And I get a much better version of the game. The knight gets to d5
pretty fast.}) 19. fxe3 $1 Qd6 $2 {A really bad move based on a very basic
oversight.} (19... e5 $1 {Black might be a bit worse but he is not without
counterplay}) 20. Nh4 $2 (20. Rfc1 $1 {Simple and strong. I completely missed
that after} Ne7 21. Rxc7 Nd5 {he has access to the c6 square since my bishop
on e4 is blocked! As such, I do not win the e3 pawn, and I am basically just a
pawn down.}) 20... Bxg2 21. Nxg2 Ne7 22. Qxa7 Nd5 23. Rc2 Ra8 $2 {Based on a
basic oversight.} (23... e5 $1 24. Qa4 exd4 25. exd4 Rfe8 {I somehow was not
sure if I had enough for a pawn here during the game, but looking back now, it
seems very obvious that I do. Sometimes it's harder to evaluate without a
computer...}) 24. Qb7 c5 {[#]} 25. dxc5 (25. Rxf7 $1 {I wish I could say
allowing Rxf7 was a sacrifice, but it wasn't. It was a blunder! Luckily, Black
still has some counterplay.} Rxf7 26. Qxa8+ Rf8 27. Qb7 Qd8 $1 {With the queen
coming to f6, the game is far from over.}) 25... bxc5 26. Qb5 $2 {Now Black
very quickly takes over the initiative. White was getting low on time too.} (
26. Rxf7 $1 {This was the best moment for it, but White had to calculate well
and not see any ghosts.} Rxf7 27. Qxa8+ Rf8 28. Qa5 $1 Qe5 29. Qd2 Qf5 $1 30.
Nf4 Nxe3 $1 (30... g5 31. e4 $1 $18 {Not easy to see from afar!}) 31. Rc3 Qb1+
32. Qc1 Qxc1+ 33. Rxc1 Rb8 $16 {White lost one pawn back and Black definitely
has drawing chances, but he will suffer, and possibly suffer unsuccessfully.})
26... Rfb8 27. Qd3 Qe5 28. Rxc5 $2 (28. e4 {Was the cleanest way to maintain
the balance. Improving the worst placed piece on g2...} Nf6 29. Ne3 Qxe4 30.
Nc4 $11) 28... Qxb2 29. Rfc1 Rd8 $1 (29... Qxa3 $2 30. Rc8+) 30. Qe4 $2 (30.
R5c2 Qxa3 $15 {This would not be fun for White, but he probably should hold
with accurate play.}) 30... Qxe2 $1 {The a-pawn is not going anywhere.} 31.
R5c2 Qb5 32. Nf4 Nf6 $1 {Refusing to straighten White's pawns or trade pieces.}
(32... Nxf4 33. exf4 Rxa3 34. Rc8 {Offers White much more saving chances.}) 33.
Qb4 Qe5 {White is in awful shape. He understandably tried to force the queens
off at all costs, but the pawn down rook and knight ending offered no hope of
salvation with the pawn on e3.} 34. Qc5 Qxc5 $1 35. Rxc5 g5 36. Ne2 Rxa3 37.
Rc8 Rxc8 38. Rxc8+ Kg7 39. Rc3 Ra1+ $1 40. Kg2 Ra2 $1 {White's king gets
frozen on the back rank.} 41. Kf1 (41. Kf3 {Loses material} g4+ 42. Kf2 Ne4+)
41... Ne4 42. Rd3 g4 {[#] Now White is not only down a pawn but also entirely
paralyzed. The king is stuck defending the knight, the knight cannot move
without h2 dropping, and none of White's pawns can move. The rest requires no
commentary.} 43. Rd4 f5 44. Rd3 Kf6 45. Rd8 Ng5 46. Rh8 Ra1+ 47. Kg2 Nh3 48.
Rb8 Re1 49. Rb2 Ke5 50. Ra2 Ke4 51. Ra4+ Kxe3 52. Ra3+ Ke4 53. Ra2 Ke5 54. Rb2
Kf6 55. Ra2 e5 56. Ra6+ Kg5 57. Ra2 Kh5 58. Rb2 f4 59. gxf4 Rxe2+ {This was
definitely a back and forth affair, full of sloppy mistakes from both sides.
It was the only game I was ever really in trouble in the entire tournament and
one could say I got lucky to walk away with the full point, but a big part of
winning events is taking chances when they come. Once I did not have to face
the strongest continuations, I was very happy with how I played to
subsequently take over the game. After winning, I took the clear lead for the
first time in the tournament, and really started to believe I might have a
chance to fight for first.} 0-1

[Event "ch-USA 2018"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2018.04.26"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "Shankland, S."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A01"]
[WhiteElo "2787"]
[BlackElo "2671"]
[Annotator "Shankland, Samuel"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2018.04.18"]

{The most interesting game from my US Championship run was probably the one
with Hikaru. I did not manage to win the game in the end, but I was very happy
with my play in the early middlegame, outplaying one of the strongest players
in the world, and with the black pieces.} 1. b3 {I had expected Hikaru might
play some kind of sideline, and I checked basically every non-mainstream first
move in preparation for the game.} e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb5 e4 $5 {
An interesting new trend.} (4... Bd6 {Is the main move. Black is probably fine
but this was not what I was in the mood for.}) 5. f3 a6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 {Up to
here was my preparation. I had not checked Qe2, but I was well aware of what
Black's main plan was.} 7. Qe2 (7. Nc3 {Was the mainline of my analysis. After}
Bb4 8. Qe2 Qe7 9. Qf2 Bf5 10. O-O-O Ba3 {I knew the plan to go for a5-a4. The
variation is far from forced, but knowing in general what Black should be
trying to do definitely helped me get a good position.}) 7... Bf5 8. fxe4 Bxe4
$1 {[#] After the game, Hikaru told me he had only checked Nxe4, but this one
looks much more natural to me.} 9. d3 Bg6 10. Nc3 (10. Nf3 {This was White's
only chance to castle short, but I was not particularly worried.} Bc5 $1 11.
O-O Qe7 12. Kh1 O-O-O {Black looks fine to me. For instance, after} 13. e4 h5
$5 {He has the primitive but not senseless plan of h5-h4 followed by Nh5-g3.
As long as he castles on the opposite side of White, he will always have the
safer king and some attacking chances.}) 10... Bc5 $1 {White has some
positional trumps in his pawn structure, the g6-bishop being a bit passive,
and the b2 bishop being very well placed. But he will struggle to find a good
home for his king.} 11. O-O-O (11. Nf3 Qe7 $1 {Black will not allow short
castling.} 12. e4 O-O 13. O-O-O a5 {Black's attack looks very dangerous though
of course the game remains double edged.}) 11... Qe7 12. e4 Ba3 $1 {Both
preparing to take on b2 whenever it is convenient and also freezing the pawn
on a2 so that nothing can be done about the coming a5-a4.} 13. g4 a5 $1 14. g5
{I am sure Hikaru was not thrilled to make this move since now he will never
open any kingside lines, but he did not have a ton of choice. Counterplay was
needed right away.} (14. Nh3 {Continuing slowly is not to be recommended.} a4
15. Nf4 Bxb2+ 16. Kxb2 Qe5 $1 {Black's attack is very strong, and the threat
of a4-a3 compels White to drop the g4 pawn.} 17. Qd2 axb3 18. axb3 Nxg4 $17) (
14. h4 h5 15. g5 Ng4 {Is a much worse version of the game for White. he still
has no hope to open the kingside and the knight is much better on g4 than it
would be on h5.}) 14... Nh5 $6 {Not best, and the first major error. Of course
I understood the knight would be sidelined, but I counted on my ability to
break it out with an eventual f6, while in the meantime, White has absolutely
no counterplay on the kingside and Black can slowly but surely get his
queenside attack going. Still, later on, I really wished I had more firepower
to finish off the white king.} (14... Nd7 {It was more principled to not
sideline the knight. But here I was worried about White's counterplay after}
15. h4 h6 16. Rh3 $1 {When h5 is a serious threat all of a sudden. But I
completely missed the very strong resource} h5 $1 {Keeping the kingside locked,
but without stranding my knight! Black just looks much better to me.} (16...
hxg5 $6 17. hxg5 Qxg5+ 18. Kb1 Rxh3 19. Nxh3 Qe7 20. Bxa3 Qxa3 21. Nf4 {
White gets a lot of counterplay})) 15. Qe3 O-O 16. Nge2 b5 $1 {Black has all
the time in the world to get a4 through. White has no counterplay.} 17. Bxa3
Qxa3+ 18. Kb1 (18. Kd2 {I was expecting Hikaru to keep his king in the center,
where it looked safer to me, but he correctly pointed out after the game that
Black can simply put his rooks on e8 and d6 and play for either f6 or c5-c4.
It may well be the best move, but it does not solve White's problems either.}
Rad8 $15) 18... a4 {[#]} 19. Nc1 $6 {A sad move.} (19. Nd4 $1 {Black will soon
triple on the a-file and White still has no counterplay, but there atre no
crushing threats just yet and the knight is much more active in the center.}
Ra6) 19... Rfb8 $1 {Preparing for c5-c4. White's king could really be taken
for a ride in the next few moves.} 20. Rhe1 c5 $1 {Not fearing Nd5.} 21. Ka1 $1
{Hikaru finds the most resilient defense.} (21. Nd5 $2 c4 $1 22. Nxc7 $2 (22.
dxc4 bxc4 23. Nxc7 (23. Re2 $17) 23... axb3 24. cxb3 cxb3 25. axb3 Bxe4+ $1 {
Is a nice variation} 26. Qxe4 Rxb3+ 27. Nxb3 Qxb3+ 28. Kc1 Qc3+ 29. Kb1 Ra1#)
22... c3 $1 {Oops!}) 21... axb3 22. cxb3 c4 23. Nb1 $1 Qa6 24. Rd2 {White was
able to keep the b-file closed and has overprotected the a2 pawn. Black will
not be able to give mate, but he can now switch gears and try to get his
kingside pieces back into play, making use of the tenderness of the e4 pawn.
This is the right plan, but I chose the wrong execution.} f5 $2 {Tempting but
poor.} (24... f6 $1 {Black should not have allowed the e4-pawn to be exchanged
since it will be a serious weakness in the future.} 25. h4 Bf7 $1 {The bishop
has woken up. White still has a lot of problems to solve.}) 25. exf5 Bxf5 {[#]}
26. b4 $6 (26. Nc3 {Would have just about equalized} c6 27. Qc5 Bg6 28. dxc4
bxc4 29. Qxc4+ Qxc4 30. bxc4 Nf4 $15 {Black's activity promises a slight edge
depsite the pawn down, but it's nothing too impressive.}) 26... Qg6 27. Rf1 (
27. Nc3 $1 {Again, this was best} Re8 28. Qf3 $1 {The point. I missed this
move.} (28. Qf2 cxd3 $19)) 27... c6 28. Nc3 Re8 29. Qf3 Bxd3 $2 {I started to
drift around here. Black still had very good winning chances.} (29... Qxg5 $1 {
This was simple and strong.} 30. Rg2 Qf6 31. Kb2 {I missed the rather obvious
Bg6 here, though it is also not even the only move!} Bg6 $17) 30. Nxd3 Rf8 $2 {
Too fancy.} (30... cxd3 $1 31. h4 {Otherwise Qxg5 would just be a pawn up.} (
31. Rxd3 Rf8 32. Qd1 Rxf1 33. Qxf1 Nf4 $1 $17) 31... Rad8 32. Rfd1 Rf8 $1 {
Another oversight. When the knight gets to f4, Black should just win.}) 31. Qd1
cxd3 32. Rxf8+ Rxf8 33. Rxd3 Qxg5 34. Rd6 {[#]} Qf4 $2 {Missing my last chance.
} (34... Rf6 {Black still has very good winning chances here, though I was
understandably worried about} 35. Qb3+ Kf8 36. Rd8+ Ke7 37. Qg8 {Still, with
veins of ice, the machine gives} Rf1+ $1 38. Kb2 Rf2+ $1 39. Kb3 Qg6 $1 {
When Black has everything under control and threatens Qc2 with mate. After} 40.
Ka3 Qf7 41. Qh8 Nf6 {Black is much better and retains good winning chances,
but one look at his king is enough to know that White has some counterplay and
the position is not without risk.}) 35. Rxc6 Qxb4 36. Qd5+ $1 {Well spotted.
Without this move White would still be worse.} Kh8 37. Qxb5 $1 {and much to my
chagrin, I realized I do not have mate on f1. Now the position is equal.} Qf4
38. Qc5 {I was a bit annoyed with myself for not putting Hikaru away 
(especially given the number of opportunities I had) but one has to give him
credit for making my life as difficult as possible and defending extremely
well. You don't get many chances as good as this one against players as strong
as him, so letting one slide is painful. Still, I can be very relieved that it
did not come back to haunt me this time! If this missed half point had gotten
me into a tie for first, I don't know if I ever would have forgiven myself.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "ch-USA w 2018"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2018.04.21"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Paikidze, N."]
[Black "Sharevich, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B11"]
[WhiteElo "2352"]
[BlackElo "2281"]
[Annotator "Paikidze, Nazi"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2018.04.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "4"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1224"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2018.04.23"]

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 {I have played this opening dozens of times, but
this was my first time with the white pieces!} Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 d4 {
A rare move.} ({The most common continuation is:} 5... e6 {after which white
needs to choose their strategy for the rest of the game. There are three
interesting ways to continue:} 6. d3 (6. d4 dxe4 7. Qxe4 Nf6 8. Qd3) (6. g3 Nf6
7. Bg2 Nbd7 8. O-O) 6... Nd7 7. Bd2 Ngf6 8. g4 h6 9. O-O-O {;}) 6. Ne2 e6 ({
I expected} 6... e5 {after which, I was planning to play} 7. Ng3 Nf6 8. Bc4 {
followed by 0-0, and eventually pushing f2-f4 to break black's central pawn
chain.}) 7. d3 (7. c3 {was interesting.} c5 8. cxd4 cxd4 9. Qb3 Nc6 (9... b6 $2
10. Qa4+ $16) 10. Qxb7 Rc8 {white has an extra pawn but is behind in
development. I believe black's compensation is sufficient.}) 7... Nf6 8. g4 {
A typical move for this opening. White is not necessarily planning to push g5,
but black still needs to keep an eye on it. Meanwhile, white's plan is to
fianchetto the bishop, castle, and attack the kingside with a pawn storm 
(after f2-f4).} Na6 {This was a very surprising move for me. I expected 8...c5
and next Nc6.} ({It's worth mentioning that the 'normal' development does not
look very good for black:} 8... Nbd7 9. g5 Ne5 10. Qg2 Nfd7 11. f4 $36) 9. Bg2
Qa5+ ({I was not afraid of} 9... Nb4 {White can simply ignore the hanging pawn
on c2 and continue with their original plan:} 10. O-O Nxc2 11. Rb1 $44) 10. c3
({Also possible was} 10. Bd2 Qb6 11. O-O-O $14 {but my mind was set on a
short-side castle.}) 10... Rd8 (10... dxc3 11. bxc3 Nc5 12. O-O Rd8 {
transposes to the game}) 11. O-O dxc3 12. bxc3 Nc5 {[#] From afar, I did not
think it was a good idea for black to go after a pawn while their kingside is
still undeveloped and the king is in the center. After some closer analysis, I
realized it's not easy for white to take advantage of black's delayed
development. This was a critical moment in the game - I had to make a decision
regarding which pawn to give up:} 13. d4 (13. Rd1 $5 Ncxe4 (13... Nb3 $5 14.
Rb1 Qxa2 15. Bg5 $44) 14. Bb2 Nd6 {White has two good bishops in exchange for
a pawn, but it is not enough compensation in my opinion.}) (13. Nf4 Qxc3 14.
Rb1 Nfd7 $1 (14... Nxd3 $4 15. Rb3 $18) 15. Bb2 Qa5 16. d4 Na4 $13) 13... Ncxe4
14. c4 {This move was not an easy one to make. I was hoping for something more
forcing and considering several candidate moves. I decided to settle on a
simple, non-threating move, it continues to keep the tension on the board.} ({
I spent a lot of time calculating} 14. g5 $5 Nxg5 15. Qe3 h6 {the only move}
16. f4 Ngh7 17. f5 {after a series of forced moves, it looks like white is
about to open the e-file, which would justify sacrificing two pawns. However,
I was disappointed when I found this strong continuation for black:} Be7 18.
fxe6 O-O $15 {White only got one pawn back and did not manage to weaken
black's king. On the contrary, white's king is weakened, now that the f and g
pawns had vanished.}) 14... Nd2 (14... Nd6 15. g5 Nd7 16. c5 $44) 15. Bxd2 Qxd2
16. Rfd1 Qg5 (16... Qa5 17. Qb3 Rd7 18. d5 $13) {Black is up a pawn, but still
behind in development. In addition, the queenside pawns are left slightly
weakened and alone, which explains my next move -} 17. Qb3 Rd7 (17... Bd6 18.
Qxb7 $14) 18. d5 $1 {I am generally happy to sacrifice pawns if it means the
opponent's king stays in the center.} cxd5 19. cxd5 e5 {black wants to keep
the e-file closed, of course.} (19... Nxd5 20. Bxd5 exd5 (20... Rxd5 21. Qxb7
$14) 21. Rac1 $36) 20. Rac1 $1 {Always try to include all your pieces in the
attack.} Be7 {[#] Here white has two good looking options: win material, but
allow black some counter-play, or continue to play down material and keep
black's king in the center. I chose the latter.} 21. Rc8+ (21. d6 Bd8 22. Bxb7
h5 $1 (22... O-O 23. Bc6 Bb6 24. Bxd7 Nxd7 25. Ng3 Qf4 $16) 23. Bc6 hxg4 24.
Bxd7+ Nxd7 25. hxg4 Qxg4+ 26. Ng3 Qh3 27. Qf3 {White's king is safe for now,
but I still was not comfortable with black's chances.}) 21... Bd8 22. Qa3 ({
I did not choose} 22. Qb4 {because of} a5 23. Qc5 b6 24. Qa3 $18 {but as it
turns out, this would have been a slightly better version of my position in
the game. I was worried that at some point, black would have a chance to push
b6-b5-b4 and cut off the a3-f8 diagonal from my queen.}) 22... h5 $1 {The only
chance to defend this position for black is to counter attack.} 23. f4 $1 {
Finally opening up the e-file, even if it means sacrificing yet another pawn.}
exf4 {The last critical moment for me in the game. White's goal is to check
black on the e-file (via Re1) which leads to an immidiate checkmate, but there
are few different ways white could try to do this:} 24. Nd4 {[#]} ({I was very
tempted to start with} 24. Re1 Qe5 {and win with a brilliant} 25. Kf1 $1 {
unfortunately, it's not the end. Black has a killer defense:} Re7 26. d6 Re6
$13) (24. Nxf4 {looked just as good as the move I made in the game, but I am
no 'pawn-grabber.'}) (24. Nc3 Qe5 25. Kf1 Re7 26. d6 Re6 27. Qa4+ Nd7 $13)
24... Qe5 ({Apparently, black can still survive this position, but only if
they play like a computer:} 24... Ng8 $3 {I must say, it is a very
counterintuitive move. Black's biggest problem is that they are behind in
development and cannot castle. This move makes it even worse... but it works!}
25. Re1+ (25. d6 hxg4 $13) (25. Nf5 $2 Ne7 26. Re1 O-O 27. Rxd8 Rfxd8 28. Nxe7+
Kh7 $17) 25... Ne7 26. d6 O-O 27. dxe7 Bxe7 28. Rxf8+ Kxf8 $13) 25. Nf5 {
Threatening a mate on g7! Black has no more defensive resources.} Nxd5 26. Bxd5
Rxd5 27. Qa4+ {Anna resigned here. I really wish she let me finish this game
in style:} b5 28. Qxb5+ Rxb5 29. Rdxd8# 1-0

[Event "US Championship (Women, Tiebreaks)"]
[Site "St Louis, MO USA"]
[Date "2018.04.30"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Nazi Paikidze"]
[Black "Annie Wang"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "2352"]
[BlackElo "2321"]
[Annotator "Klein, Mike"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2018.04.30"]

1. Nf3 e6 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 c5 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. e4 b6 8. e5
Nd7 9. Re1 Qc7 10. Qe2 Bb7 11. c4 d4 12. Nf1 h6 13. h4 O-O-O {[#]} 14. N1h2 {
Now in almost the exact same position, Paikidze improves upon her play from
the previous game.} g5 15. h5 Rdf8 16. Ng4 {And in nearly the exact same
position as in the sideline to the previous game, if you need to understand
why White is better, just go a little further backward in the article!} Kb8 17.
Bd2 f5 {with White beginning to organize queenside expansion, Wang realizes
that she can't have a repeat of the second rapid game, so she offers her
e-pawn to get going.} (17... a5 {and holding on for dear life was the other
option.}) 18. exf6 Nxf6 19. Nge5 (19. Nxf6 Rxf6 20. Nh2 {Was also playable,
but Black partially stabilizes and White wants more pieces on the board in a
must-win situation anyway.}) 19... g4 $2 (19... Re8 {passively stopping the
fork on g6 was needed.}) 20. Nxc6+ Bxc6 21. Ne5 (21. Qxe6 $1 gxf3 22. Bf4 {
[#] was best but White still wins easily with the text.}) 21... Bxg2 22. Kxg2
Qb7+ 23. Kg1 Re8 24. Ng6 Rh7 25. Qxe6 Nxh5 26. Qxg4 (26. Qe5+ {White passed up
the fork, but it hardly matters.}) 26... Nf6 27. Qf4+ Ka8 28. Nxe7 Rf7 29. Nf5
Rxe1+ 30. Rxe1 Rf8 31. Re7 Qc6 32. Qxh6 Rc8 33. Rf7 Qf3 {and Wang ran out of
time, literally and figuratively.} 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis, MO USA"]
[Date "2018.04.28"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Alexander Onischuk"]
[Black "Samuel Shankland"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2672"]
[BlackElo "2671"]
[Annotator "Hess, Robert"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2018.04.18"]

{By now, every reader knows that the 2018 U.S. Championship was the tournament
of GM Sam Shankland's life. Shankland, 26, is no stranger to chess sucess -
the California native won an Olympiad gold for his individual play in 2014 and
then another for top team in 2016. But despite his renowned preparation and
talent, Shankland generally struggled in previous national championships. With
three of the world's top 10 players, there was no reason to believe that this
year would be Shankland's to win. After all, GM Fabiano Caruana was red hot,
earning the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship in
November and then outpacing Carlsen in Grenke. Yet, as fortune would have it,
Shankland etched his name in the history books.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5
4. Nc3 Bb4 {Onischuk had proved a tough opponent for Shankland in years past,
but 2018 was a miserable event for Onischuk. The 2007 U.S. Champion could not
convert his advantages and failed to hold when under pressure. Shankland's
opening choice - the Ragozin - was one he'd prepared for three different
opponents, though not for this game. His analysis clearly paid off.} 5. cxd5 ({
Considering that Onischuk had no reason to anticipate this variation, it would
have been unnecessarily risky to enter the well-trodden path after:} 5. Bg5
dxc4 6. e4 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 {Levon Aronian
demonstrated what can happen to White if he's unfamiliar with (or forgets) the
line; in the Candidates he won a pretty straightforward game against Sergey
Karjakin.}) 5... exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 ({Onischuk decides to retain his bishop
pair by playing the main continuation. Aleksey Dreev has often captured here,
with the intention of leaving Black with a backward c-pawn. Carlsen defeated
Aronian back in 2015 in a game that stemmed from this variation.} 7. Bxf6 Qxf6
8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. e3 O-O 10. Be2 Be6 11. O-O a6 12. Rfc1 Bd6) 7... O-O ({More
ambitious and loose is} 7... c5 {Shankland, a half point ahead in the
standings entering the penultimate round, did not need to take early
structural risks against an opponent with such technical prowess.}) 8. e3 Bf5 {
[#]} 9. a3 {Already an important structural moment. Perhaps this is a minor
inaccuracy, permanently compromising the queenside light squares. At the very
least this move does not directly challenge Black's setup.} ({Developing the
queen is in the spirit of the position.} 9. Qb3 {is of course multi-purpose:
it defends c3, applies pressure on d5, and does not require an additional pawn
move that can't be taken back in the event squares become vulnerable (an
important theme in Shankland's new book!).} Bxc3+ (9... Nc6 10. Be2 ({Pawn
grabbing with} 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. Qxd5 {deserves attention, though Black should
have ample compensation after} Rfe8) 10... g5 11. Bg3 Ne4 12. Nd2 Bxc3 13. bxc3
Nxd2 14. Kxd2 Na5 15. Qb4 b6 {requires further testing, though Black won in
0-1 (40) Smirnov,A (2543)-Ni Hua (2670) PRO Chess League 2018}) (9... c5 {
is thematic in similar positions, but feels wrong here. White can just take}
10. dxc5 {and leave Black with an isolated pawn and lacking the typical
compensation. White is ready to play Be2, Rd1, etc. while the pinned knight on
f6 remains an issue.}) 10. bxc3 Nbd7 11. Be2 c5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Qb4 Nce4 14.
Nd4 Bh7 15. O-O g5 16. Bg3 Qb6 17. Qxb6 axb6 18. Rfc1 {eventually led to
victory in 1-0 (48) Grischuk,A (2742)-Eljanov,P (2759) Sharjah 2017}) 9...
Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Nbd7 11. Be2 c5 {This move seems counterintuitive, but it is
good. When your opponent has the pair of bishops, you tend to prefer the
position being closed. However, without pushing pawns Black's pieces have no
room with which to operate. The c3 pawn appears to be the target, but in fact
it is the vulnerable squares that are more important than a particular pawn.}
12. O-O ({Compared to the Grischuk-Eljanov game included above,} 12. dxc5 {
looks less appealing. White shatters his own pawn structure and has a more
exploitable weakness on the queenside. Yet Onischuk could have used the
vacated d4 square for his knight and played for Rc1 and c4.} Nxc5 (12... g5)
13. Nd4 Bh7 14. O-O) 12... g5 $1 {In this QGD setup, White often has the
bishop behind the pawn chain. Since it is on the outside and pinning the
knight, it is both an asset and a target. Shankland rids himself of the
annoying pin.} 13. Bg3 Ne4 ({The immediate} 13... c4 {is thematic, limiting
White's pieces. White hardly has time to play the typical Nd2, f3, e4 because
Black simply plays ...Re8. Of course, White can maneuver with Nd2, Qc1, Re1,
Bd1, but this takes time.}) 14. c4 dxc4 ({A misunderstanding of the position
would lead one to play} 14... Nc3 {in order to secure bishops of opposite
color. White is handed an abundance of space, rapid development, and a number
of previously controlled access points.} 15. Qe1 Nxe2+ 16. Qxe2) 15. Bxc4 Rc8 (
{Onischuk likely hoped for} 15... Nb6 16. Bd3 c4 17. Bc2 {which is completely
fine for Black, but there are some longterm weaknesses due to the overextended
kingside. Moreover, with the major pieces on the board, an expanding center
can help initiate an attack.}) 16. Rc1 Qe7 {[#]} 17. Bd3 ({Although it appears
to be a decent move here, White typically does not want to push} 17. d5 {
The pawn is easily blockaded and it is not reinforced by another pawn.}) 17...
Rfd8 18. Qe2 Nb6 19. Bxe4 $2 {An uncharacteristic mistake by Onischuk.} (19.
Rfe1 {is a simple tempo up on the game continuation:} Bg6 (19... Nxg3 20. hxg3
Bxd3 21. Qxd3 c4 22. Qf5) 20. Bxe4 Bxe4 21. Ne5 cxd4 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. exd4 Bf5
24. Qf3 {is pleasant for White. That extra rook move is very useful.}) 19...
Bxe4 20. Ne5 cxd4 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 (21... Nxc8 22. exd4 Rxd4 {looks strange, but
White has no immediate knockout blow.}) 22. exd4 Bf5 23. Qh5 ({Significantly
better than the game continuation was} 23. Qf3 {which Shankland planned to
respond to with} Qe6 (23... Be6 24. Qh5 f6 {with the idea of trading queens on
g7 is met by the blast} (24... Nd5 25. Qxh6 f6 {followed by Qg7 is no worse
for Black.}) 25. f4 $1 {and White has legitimate attacking chances.}) 24. Qxb7
f6 25. Nf3 {and Black has ample compensation for just a pawn.}) 23... f6 $1 {
[#]} 24. Ng4 ({In hindsight, Onischuk had better chances after} 24. Qxh6 Qg7 (
24... fxe5 25. Bxe5 {is not what Black has in mind, since the king will not
find shelter.}) 25. Qxg7+ (25. Qh5 fxe5 26. Bxe5 Qg6 {leaves White without a
check and a lost position.}) 25... Kxg7 {is strategically much better for
Black, but at least White has a pawn for his difficulties.}) 24... Bxg4 25.
Qxg4 Qd7 26. Qf3 {Taking steps in the wrong direction. In order to maximize
his chances, Onischuk had to activate his pieces as quickly as possible. For
instance,} (26. Qh5 Nd5 (26... Kg7 27. Re1) 27. Qg6+ (27. Qxh6 Qh7 {again
gives Black a great endgame despite the pawn deficit.}) 27... Qg7 28. Qf5 Rd8
29. Re1) 26... Nd5 27. Qh5 ({A better try was} 27. h4 {though it remains
uncomfortable.}) 27... Kg7 28. f4 $4 Qe8 {Both players overlooked a simple
tactic. Shankland didn't even really look for it, opting to simplify into a
position with great winning chances.} (28... Nxf4 29. Bxf4 Qxd4+ 30. Kh1 (30.
Rf2 Rc2 31. Bg3 Rc1+) 30... Qxf4 {with back rank mate.}) 29. Qf3 Qe3+ 30. Qxe3
Nxe3 {[#] In this Capablanca-like ending, Shankland stood significantly better.
His knight could not be ousted from d5, and White's bishop is a passive minor.
Black's king dashes to the queenside to pressure the weak White pawns and
support his own majority.} 31. Rf3 Nd5 32. fxg5 hxg5 33. h4 gxh4 ({Shankland
had no interest in allowing Onischuk to keep an outside passer as a decoy.} 
33... g4 34. Rb3 b6 35. Rb5 Rd8 {remains good for Black, but White certainly
has improved chances here.}) 34. Bxh4 Kf7 35. Be1 b6 36. Bd2 Rc2 37. Rd3 Ke6
38. g4 Kd6 39. Kf1 Kc6 40. Ke1 Kb5 41. g5 fxg5 42. Bxg5 Kc4 43. Rg3 {[#]} Nc3 (
{It was all too easy to ruin what to this point had been an almost perfect
game. The rushed} 43... Rc3 $2 44. Rxc3+ Kxc3 45. Ke2 {allows White the
counterplay he needs to survive.} Kxd4 (45... Kb3 46. Kd3 Kxa3 47. Kc4 {
is simply a draw, since the d-pawn runs.}) 46. Kd2 Kc4 47. Kc2) 44. d5 Nxd5 45.
Kd1 $2 ({Mandatory was} 45. Bd2 {to prevent Black's next move. White still
faces an uphill battle to draw the game, but here there are plausible drawing
chances.}) 45... Rc3 46. Rg4+ Kb3 47. Rd4 Ne3+ 48. Bxe3 Rxe3 49. Kd2 Rh3 {
Losing a second pawn, Onischuk tipped his king. Like any champion, Shankland
received a bit of luck but made the most of his opportunities throughout the
tournament. You don't get to "plus six" by accident; poise, precision, and
preparation earned Shankland his first national title and a superGM rating.}
0-1

[Event "ch-USA 2018"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2018.04.27"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Shankland, Samuel"]
[Black "Zherebukh, Yaroslav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D63"]
[WhiteElo "2671"]
[BlackElo "2640"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "147"]
[EventDate "2018.04.18"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Nbd7 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. Rc1
c6 9. a3 a6 10. c5 e5 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Nd7 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Qd4 Nxe5 15.
Be2 Qg5 16. g3 Qe7 17. O-O Bh3 18. Rfe1 f5 19. f3 Rae8 20. Nd1 Qf7 21. Nf2 Qh5
22. Qh4 Qxf3 23. Qxh3 Qxe3 24. Bh5 Nf3+ 25. Bxf3 Qxf3 26. Qg2 Qb3 27. Nh3 Re4
28. Qd2 b6 29. Nf2 Rxe1+ 30. Qxe1 bxc5 31. Rxc5 Qxb2 32. Qc3 Qb8 33. Nd3 Qb1+
34. Kg2 f4 35. Nxf4 Qe4+ 36. Kg1 g5 37. Ng2 Qf5 38. Qe1 Qf6 39. Rc1 d4 40. Qe2
c5 41. Ne1 Rc8 42. Nd3 c4 43. Qe4 Qd6 44. Ne5 c3 45. Nd3 Kg7 46. Kg2 Rc7 47.
Re1 c2 48. h4 Qc6 49. Qxc6 Rxc6 50. Kf3 gxh4 51. gxh4 Rc3 52. Ke4 Rxa3 {[#]}
53. Rc1 (53. Kxd4 Ra4+) 53... Rc3 (53... Ra2 54. Nb4 (54. Ne1 Kg6) 54... d3 {
[#]} (54... Ra3 55. Rxc2 Rh3 56. Rg2+) 55. Nxa2 (55. Nxd3 Ra4+) (55. Kxd3 Ra4
56. Kc3 a5 57. Nxc2 Rxh4) (55. Rg1+ Kh7 56. Nxa2 (56. Kxd3 Ra4 57. Rg4)) 55...
d2 56. Rg1+ Kh7) 54. Kxd4 Rc8 55. Nc5 Kg6 56. Rxc2 Kh5 57. Rh2 Rg8 (57... a5
58. Ne4 a4 59. Nf6+ (59. Ke5 Kg4 60. Rg2+ Kxh4) 59... Kg6 60. Ke5 Rc5+ 61. Nd5
a3 62. Ke4 Ra5) 58. Ne4 {[#]} Rg1 (58... Rg4 59. Ke5 Rxh4 60. Nf6+ Kg5 61. Rg2+
) (58... Rb8 59. Nf6+ Kg6 60. Ke5 Rb5+ 61. Nd5 Kh5 62. Ke4 a5 63. Nf4+ Kg4 64.
Rg2+ Kxh4 65. Kf3 Rb3+ (65... h5 66. Rh2+ Kg5 67. Rxh5+)) 59. Nf6+ Kg6 60. Ke5
{[#]} Re1+ 61. Ne4 Kh5 62. Kf4 Rf1+ 63. Kg3 Re1 64. Nf6+ Kg6 65. Nd5 Rd1 66.
Nf4+ Kf5 67. Ra2 Rg1+ 68. Ng2 {[#]} Rb1 69. Rxa6 Rb3+ 70. Kh2 Kg4 71. Rxh6 Rh3+
72. Kg1 Rb3 73. Rg6+ Kh3 (73... Kh5 74. Rg5+) 74. h5 1-0

[Event "ch-USA 2018"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2018.04.18"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Onischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A90"]
[WhiteElo "2672"]
[BlackElo "2647"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2018.04.18"]

1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 d5 5. Bg2 c6 6. Nh3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2
dxc4 9. e4 e5 10. exf5 exd4 11. Ne2 c5 12. Qxc4+ Kh8 13. Ng5 Nc6 14. Bf4 Bxf5
15. Nf7+ Rxf7 16. Qxf7 Rb8 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. Rfe1 d3 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. Nc3 d2
21. Re7 Rg8 22. Rxa7 Bg4 23. Qe7 Qxe7 24. Rxe7 Nd5 25. Re2 {[#]} d1=Q+ (25...
Bxe2 26. Nxe2) (25... Nxc3 26. Rxd2) 26. Rxd1 (26. Nxd1 Bxe2) 26... Nxc3 0-1

[Event "ch-USA w 2018"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2018.04.23"]
[Round "6.5"]
[White "Foisor, Sabina-Francesca"]
[Black "Sharevich, Anna"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D66"]
[WhiteElo "2308"]
[BlackElo "2281"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "142"]
[EventDate "2018.04.18"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. Rc1
c6 9. Bd3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 a6 11. a3 b5 12. Ba2 Bb7 13. O-O a5 14. Re1 b4 15. Nb1
Ne4 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 c5 19. f3 Rfd8 20. Qc2 Ng5 21. e4 a4
22. Bc4 Rd4 23. Bf1 Rc8 24. Qf2 Rcd8 25. Rc2 b3 26. Rcc1 Nh7 27. Nc3 Nf8 28.
Qe3 Ng6 29. Nb5 Rd2 30. Nd6 Rxb2 31. Qxc5 Ba8 32. Qd4 Ra2 33. Qxa4 Nxe5 34.
Qxb3 Qa7+ 35. Kh1 Rxa3 36. Qb2 Nxf3 37. gxf3 Rxd6 38. Ra1 Rxa1 39. Rxa1 Qb7 40.
Qb5 Rd8 41. Qxb7 Bxb7 42. Rb1 Bc6 43. Kg2 g5 44. Kg3 Kg7 45. Rb6 Ba4 46. Rb4
Bd1 47. f4 Rd2 48. fxg5 hxg5 49. e5 Rd5 50. Re4 Bc2 51. Re3 Rd4 52. Bg2 Bf5 53.
h3 f6 54. exf6+ Kxf6 55. Bf3 e5 56. Rb3 e4 57. Rb6+ Ke5 58. Rb5+ Rd5 59. Rxd5+
Kxd5 60. Be2 Kd4 61. h4 Ke3 62. Bb5 gxh4+ 63. Kxh4 Kd2 64. Kg5 Bh7 65. Bc6 e3
66. Bf3 Be4 67. Bg4 Bd3 68. Kf4 {[#]} Be2 69. Bh3 (69. Bc8 Bd1 70. Ba6 Bc2)
69... Bd1 70. Bf1 Bc2 71. Kf3 Bd3 0-1

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2018"]
[Site "Berlin GER"]
[Date "2018.03.12"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Aronian, L."]
[Black "Kramnik, V."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2794"]
[BlackElo "2800"]
[Annotator "Hartmann,John"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2018.03.10"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1218"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2018.03.12"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. O-O Qe7 {Diagram [#]}
7. h3 $2 (7. Nbd2 Bg4 {is standard. Aronian wanted to avoid the pin, but it
turns out that there is a cost to such 'prophylaxis.'}) 7... Rg8 $1 {Kramnik's
intent is clear - tear open the kingside with g7-g5-g4, using the h3 pawn as a
'hook.'} 8. Kh1 {If only Aronian could play h3-h2! In lieu of such a retreat,
vacating the g-file seems logical, as it avoids the aforementioned tactical
ideas.} ({Black's idea is clear: play} 8. -- g5 {and if} 9. Bxg5 ({Worse is} 9.
Nxg5 h6 10. Nf3 Bxh3) 9... Bxh3 10. gxh3 h6 $40) (8. Nbd2 g5) 8... Nh5 $146 (
8... h6 {was played in three correspondence games.}) 9. c3 (9. Nc3 {seems to
improve:} g5 10. Nxe5 g4 11. d4 Bd6 12. g3 $13) 9... g5 10. Nxe5 g4 11. d4 Bd6
12. g3 Bxe5 13. dxe5 Qxe5 {Kramnik stands much better. Play continued:} 14. Qd4
Qe7 15. h4 c5 16. Qc4 Be6 17. Qb5+ c6 18. Qa4 f5 $1 19. Bg5 Rxg5 20. hxg5 f4
21. Qd1 Rd8 22. Qc1 fxg3 23. Na3 Rd3 24. Rd1 Bd5 25. f3 gxf3 26. exd5 Qe2 27.
Re1 g2+ 0-1

[Event "RUS-chT"]
[Site "Togliatti"]
[Date "2003.05.23"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Dreev, Alexey"]
[Black "Jakovenko, Dmitrij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E12"]
[WhiteElo "2695"]
[BlackElo "2562"]
[Annotator "Hartmann, John"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2003.05.16"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 094 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.07.09"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bd2 Nd7 8.
Nxd5 Bxd5 9. Qc2 c5 10. e4 Bb7 11. d5 exd5 12. exd5 Bd6 13. O-O-O O-O 14. Bb5
Qc7 15. Bc3 Rfd8 16. Kb1 Nf8 17. Qe4 a6 18. Bd3 b5 19. Qg4 Ng6 20. Ng5 {
Diagram [#] Shankland writes: "The position is extremely double edged, but I
prefer Black. He is more prepared to open lines on the queenside with ...b5-b4
(a little throwback to the section on hooks!) than White is to make anything
happen on the kingside, plus White’s d5-pawn could be a target. But
Jakovenko clearly underestimated the danger to his position, and let White
show just how troublesome doubled pawns can be." (245-6)} b4 $2 (20... Bf4 $1 {
"The point is that the knight on g5 cannot be tolerated, if White wants to
take on g6 and place his queen on h4. By removing one of the key attacking
pieces, the doubled pawns will be much less of a big deal. Black is better in
all lines." (249)} 21. Bxg6 hxg6 {and if} 22. Qh4 (22. d6 $1 Rxd6 23. Rxd6 Qxd6
24. Rd1 {is only slightly better for Black}) 22... Bxg5 $1) 21. Bxg6 $1 hxg6 (
21... fxg6 $2 22. Qe6+ $18) 22. Qh4 $1 {"The deficiency of Black’s doubled
pawns is on display. If he had a healthier structure with his pawn back on h7,
he could simply advance ...h7-h6. By doing so, he would expel the knight and
clog up the h-file. As is, Black’s lack of an h-pawn means he will promptly
be mated on h7. Dreev finished the game in style." (246)} bxc3 23. Rhe1 $1 Be5
24. Qh7+ Kf8 25. Qh8+ Ke7 26. Qxg7 Kd7 27. Qxf7+ Kc8 28. Qe6+ Rd7 29. Qe8+ Rd8
30. Qxe5 Qxe5 31. Rxe5 cxb2 32. Kxb2 Kd7 33. Ne4 Rf8 34. Kc3 Rac8 35. Rb1 Ba8
36. Rb6 1-0

[Event "Stockholm"]
[Site "Stockholm SWE"]
[Date "1961.01.05"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Mikhail Tal"]
[Black "Martin Johansson Sr"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B94"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "1961.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {[#]} 6. Bg5 (6. Bc4) (6.
Be2) (6. f4) (6. Be3) 6... Nbd7 7. Bc4 Qa5 8. Qd2 (8. f4 Nxe4) 8... e6 9. O-O-O
b5 10. Bb3 Bb7 11. Rhe1 Be7 12. f4 Nc5 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Kb1 b4 15. Nd5 Nxe4
16. Rxe4 Bxd5 17. Bxd5 Qxd5 18. Qe2 Qb7 19. Re3 d5 (19... Rc8) (19... h5) 20.
Qh5 Kf8 21. Rxe6 (21. Nxe6+) 21... fxe6 (21... h6) 22. Nxe6+ Kg8 23. Rd3 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM I"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6k1/8/5Q2/q7/3n4/B7/1K6 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{[#]} 1... Qd1# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM II"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/7Q/8/3n2k1/8/7K/7R/4q3 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{[#]} 1... Nf4# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM III"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k7/1p6/3r4/8/q1p5/2Pn4/P7/KR5Q b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qxa2+ 2. Kxa2 Ra6# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM IV"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/3b3k/2q5/8/8/2Q1bP2/4N1P1/4RK2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qxf3+ 2. gxf3 Bh3# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM V"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r5/7k/8/8/8/5n2/N7/R6K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{[#]} 1... Rc2 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM VI"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "q2b4/6k1/8/4R3/8/4P3/4Q3/5K2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qh1+ 2. Kf2 Bh4# 0-1

[Event "1993 U.S. Amateur Team East"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1993.12.02"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Scott Jay Stoudt"]
[Black "Dan O'Hanlon"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2097"]
[BlackElo "1787"]
[Annotator "O'Hanlon, Dan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnb2rk1/ppq3bp/2p1p1p1/3pn3/5B2/2N2N1P/PPPQBPP1/R4R1K b - - 0 13"]
[PlyCount "0"]

{[#]}  *

