[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.02.25"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Diagram 1"]
[Black "from Muller / Konoval"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "kb6/7R/1K6/8/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 1. Re7 Bd6 $4 (1... Bh2) (1... Bg3) (1... Bf4) 2. Ra7+ Kb8 3. Rd7 *

[Event "World Blitz"]
[Site "Rishon Le Zion ISR"]
[Date "2006.09.07"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Erenburg, S."]
[Black "Polgar, Ju"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2585"]
[BlackElo "2710"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1B4k1/1N2bp2/4p1n1/6pp/1n6/4P3/5KPP/5B2 b - - 0 40"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2006.09.07"]
[EventType "tourn (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 40... Na6 41. Ba7 Ne5 42. h3 h4 43. Bxa6 Nc6 44. Bc5 Bf6 45. Nd6 Be5 46.
Ne4 f6 47. Bb5 Na5 48. Bb4 Nb7 49. Ba6 Nd8 50. Be7 Nc6 51. Bxf6 Bxf6 52. Nxf6+
Kf7 53. Ne4 Kg6 54. Bd3 Ne5 55. Bc2 g4 56. Nc5+ Kf6 57. Nd3 g3+ 58. Ke2 Nc4 59.
Ne1 Kg5 60. Nf3+ Kh5 61. Bb3 Nd6 62. Bxe6 Ne4 63. Bg4+ 1-0

[Event "Assoc. Max Euwe Match"]
[Site "Monaco MNC"]
[Date "1999.03.01"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Piket, Je"]
[Black "Karpov, Ana"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E12"]
[WhiteElo "2619"]
[BlackElo "2710"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/R2n1p1p/p2rp1kP/1p4p1/3qPP2/P1N1Q1P1/1P6/1K6 w - - 0 38"]
[PlyCount "24"]
[EventDate "1999.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 38. Qe1 Qd3+ 39. Ka1 Qd4 40. Rc7 Qd3 41. e5 Rd4 42. fxg5 b4 43. axb4 Rxb4
44. Qf2 Kxg5 45. Qxf7 Ra4+ 46. Nxa4 Qd1+ 47. Ka2 Qxa4+ 48. Kb1 Qe4+ 49. Rc2
Qe1+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "It A"]
[Site "Stepanakert ARM"]
[Date "2005.10.02"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Ivanchuk, V."]
[Black "Bu Xiangzhi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2748"]
[BlackElo "2637"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/3k4/3p4/8/1p6/1Pb5/P1P5/2K3B1 b - - 0 45"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2005.10.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ARM"]
[EventCategory "17"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 45... Ke6 0-1

[Event "Carlsen Inv Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2020.04.28"]
[Round "6.5"]
[White "Carlsen, M."]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, I."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A48"]
[WhiteElo "2863"]
[BlackElo "2784"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3k4/1P6/2K5/8/4N3/8/7b/8 b - - 0 77"]
[PlyCount "4"]
[EventDate "2020.04.18"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 77... Bb8 78. Nc5 Bh2 79. Ne6+ 1-0

[Event "Sarajevo-10"]
[Site "Sarajevo"]
[Date "1967.04.04"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Kavalek, Lubomir"]
[Black "Pietzsch, Wolfgang"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A25"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2q4/4n1k1/2pNQrp1/pp1P4/5P2/b5P1/3B4/1R2R1K1 w - - 0 30"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "1967.03.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 30. Qxf6+ $1 (30. Qxe7+) (30. Qxf6+ Kxf6 (30... Kh6 31. Kg2 {[%cal Ye1h1]
}) 31. Bc3#) 1-0

[Event "CSR-ch31"]
[Site "Jablonec"]
[Date "1962.07.29"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Alster, Ladislav"]
[Black "Kavalek, Lubomir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E70"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/4ppbp/6p1/r2N1bN1/1RP5/P7/K2p1PPP/7R b - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "1962.07.29"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "CSR"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 24... Bc2 $1 25. Ne3 (25. Z0 Rxa3+ 26. Kxa3 Ra8+) 25... Rxa3+ 0-1

[Event "WchT Students 11th final A"]
[Site "Krakow"]
[Date "1964.07.29"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Kagan, Shimon"]
[Black "Kavalek, Lubomir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A36"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/R2p1pb1/4nqp1/1p6/1P3P2/2NQP1Pp/1B5P/7K b - - 0 30"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "1964.07.18"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Israel"]
[BlackTeam "Czechoslovakia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ISR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "CSR"]

{[#]} 30... Nxf4 31. exf4 (31. gxf4 Qxf4 32. exf4 Re1+) 31... Qxf4 32. Qd2 Qf1#
0-1

[Event "CSR-ch30"]
[Site "Kosice"]
[Date "1961.02.17"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Opocensky, Karel"]
[Black "Kavalek, Lubomir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B95"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/4k3/p3pp2/N2b2bB/nP6/P7/N3R1P1/1K6 b - - 0 31"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "1961.02.07"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "CSR"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 31... Rh8 (31... Rh8 32. g4 Bxa2+ 33. Rxa2 (33. Kxa2 Nc3+) 33... Nc3+)
0-1

[Event "Athens Acropolis Int"]
[Site "Athens"]
[Date "1968.12.04"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Kokkoris, Hristos"]
[Black "Kavalek, Lubomir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E67"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r2k1/4Qpb1/p1p3pp/8/2P1b3/1P2P1P1/P4P1n/2R1K3 b - - 0 28"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "1968.12.01"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 28... Bc3+ (28... Bc3+ 29. Rxc3 Nf3+ 30. Ke2 Rd2+ 31. Kf1 Rd1+ 32. Kg2 (
32. Ke2 Re1#) 32... Rg1+ 33. Kh3 Bf5+ 34. g4 Bxg4#) 0-1

[Event "Olympiad-20 Final A"]
[Site "Skopje"]
[Date "1972.10.12"]
[Round "15"]
[White "Kavalek, Lubomir"]
[Black "Bednarski, Jacek B"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A96"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3b1r1k/5qpp/1r1R4/2p1Q1P1/p1b5/PnB2N1P/1P3PB1/4R1K1 w - - 0 30"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "1972.09.27"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "US of America"]
[BlackTeam "Poland"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

{[#]} 30. g6 $1 hxg6 31. Rxd8 $1 Rxd8 32. Ng5 Qf8 (32... Qf6 33. Qg3) 33. Qe4
1-0

[Event "Israeli Championship 2021"]
[Site "Haifa"]
[Date "2021.03.11"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Mikhalevski, Victor"]
[Black "Kraus, Ohad"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E97"]
[WhiteElo "2552"]
[BlackElo "2363"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2021.03.07"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5. Nf3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5
Ne7 9. b4 a5 10. bxa5 Rxa5 11. a4 b6 ({Very rare.} 11... Nd7 {or}) (11... c5 {
are more common.}) 12. Bd2 Ra8 13. Ne1 Nd7 14. Nd3 f5 15. f3 Nf6 16. Nf2 Re8
17. Nb5 Bf8 $2 18. a5 $1 c6 ({No better is} 18... Ba6 19. axb6 cxb6 20. c5 $1
bxc5 (20... dxc5 21. Bg5 $1) 21. Ba5) 19. dxc6 Nxc6 20. Bg5 {Threatening to
remove the defender on f6 and play Qd1-d5+, winning material.} Kg7 21. exf5
gxf5 22. Bxf6+ Kxf6 23. Qd5 Bd7 24. Qg8 $1 {A mysterious move that turns out
to be not-so-mysterious upon inspection.} Bg7 (24... Z0 {The key idea is} 25.
Ng4+ $1 ({or} 25. Ne4+) 25... fxg4 (25... Ke7 26. Qxh7+ Ke6 27. Qg6+ {and mate
follows}) 26. fxg4+ Ke7 27. Qf7#) 25. Qxh7 Re6 {[#]} 26. Ne4+ $1 ({Here} 26.
Ng4+ {is less precise, but it still does the job.}) 26... Kf7 ({Black can't
accept the piece:} 26... fxe4 27. fxe4+ Ke7 28. Qxg7+ Ke8 29. Qf8# ({or} 29.
Rf8# {.})) 27. Nbxd6+ Kf8 ({After} 27... Rxd6 28. Nxd6+ Kf6 29. c5 $1 {White
is overrunning the Black position.}) 28. Nxf5 Bf6 29. Ng5 ({The key idea is} 
29. Ng5 Bxg5 30. Qg7+ Ke8 31. Qg8#) 1-0

[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.03.14"]
[Round "6.8"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2781"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 d5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 dxc4 $5 8.
e4 g5 9. Bg3 b5 10. e5 Nh5 11. Qe4 Qd5 12. Qg4 Ng7 13. Be2 f5 $2 {Logical
enough, but it turns out this is a blunder.} ({Black holds the balance (at
minimum) with} 13... Nc6 {.}) 14. Qh3 g4 15. Qxh6 gxf3 16. Bxf3 Qxd4 17. O-O $1
(17. Bxa8 $2 {allows} Bxc3+ 18. bxc3 Qxc3+ 19. Ke2 f4 $5 {.}) 17... c6 18. Rad1
Qb6 19. Ne4 $5 ({Winning almost on the spot was} 19. Bh4 $1 {with Bh4-f6 to
follow.}) 19... fxe4 20. Bxe4 Rf5 21. Bxf5 exf5 {[#]} 22. e6 $1 Bf8 23. Be5 {
The threat is 24. e7.} c5 24. Bxg7 Bxg7 25. e7 $1 Bd7 ({Note that} 25... Qxh6 {
fails to} 26. e8=Q+ Kh7 27. Qxc8 {.}) 26. Qh5 Qc6 27. Rfe1 $1 Be8 28. Rd8 $1
Na6 29. Re6 $3 {The star move, trying to deflect the queen from the defence of
the e8-square.} Qd7 ({After} 29... Qxe6 30. Qxe8+ Kh7 31. Qh5+ Bh6 32. e8=Q {
there's no back-rank mate since the new queen covers everything!}) 30. Rxa8 Nc7
31. Rd8 Nxe6 32. Rxe8+ Nf8 33. Rxf8+ ({Again So has it all calculated:} 33.
Rxf8+ Bxf8 34. e8=Q {and the back-rank is still safe, i.e.} Qd1+ 35. Qxd1) 1-0

[Event "Magnus Carlsen Inv Prelim"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.03.15"]
[Round "15.3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C20"]
[WhiteElo "2847"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[PlyCount "12"]
[EventDate "2021.03.13"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Ke2 Ke7 3. Ke1 Ke8 4. Ke2 Ke7 5. Ke1 Ke8 6. Ke2 Ke7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Prelims"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2021.02.06"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2881"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6rk/1R5p/p5q1/3p1p2/P2NnP1Q/1Pr4P/6PK/6R1 w - - 0 41"]
[PlyCount "25"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]

{[#]} 41. Ne6 $1 {Using the threat of mate on h7 (after Ne6-g5) to maneuver
the knight to the kingside.} Rc2 42. Ng5 Rg7 ({White is only helped by} 42...
Nxg5 43. fxg5 {as it allows a check on d4.}) 43. Rb8+ Rg8 44. Rxg8+ (44. Rb6 $1
{looks devastating but White has to navigate Black's tactical resource:} Nxg5 {
(only move)} ({if} 44... Qg7 45. Rh6 Nxg5 46. fxg5 {followed by g5-g6 and
White is winning}) 45. Rxg6 Nf3+ 46. Kg3 $1 Nxh4 47. Rxg8+ Kxg8 48. Kxh4 Kf7
49. Kg5 {and White will win this.}) 44... Kxg8 45. Nxe4 dxe4 46. Kh1 Kg7 {
This must have been a mouseslip. It makes no sense for the black king to stay
on the g-file as White is clearly preparing to play g2-g4.} ({The black king
is still unsafe after} 46... Kf7 {but the game continues.}) 47. g4 Kf7 48. gxf5
Qxf5 49. Rg5 {Now it's game over as the h7-pawn falls. Black must lose
material or be mated.} Rc1+ 50. Kg2 Rc2+ 51. Kf1 Rc1+ 52. Ke2 Rc2+ 53. Ke1 1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Prelims"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2021.02.06"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Shankland, Sam"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E12"]
[WhiteElo "2609"]
[BlackElo "2836"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3nk2/3R1p2/8/1Bp1P1K1/7p/6pP/6P1/8 b - - 0 45"]
[PlyCount "18"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "China"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "CHN"]

{[#]} 45... Ng7 $4 ({It's crucial for Black to find a way to defend the
f7-pawn:} 45... Rc8 46. Bc4 Rc7 47. Rxc7 Nxc7 {gives some fighting chances})
46. Bc4 Ne6+ 47. Kf6 Nd8 48. Bxf7 Nxf7 49. Rxf7+ Ke8 50. Rh7 Ra2 51. Rh8+ Kd7
52. e6+ Kc6 53. e7 Rf2+ 54. Kg5 1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Prelims"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2021.02.07"]
[Round "10.3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2881"]
[BlackElo "2829"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/1p3q2/4r1p1/1Pbp2Bp/p6P/Pn4P1/R1B2PK1/3Q1R2 b - - 0 32"]
[PlyCount "6"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[#]} 32... Re1 $4 33. Bxg6 $1 {Nakamura resigned as the loss of an exchange
is inevitable.} Rxd1 ({No better is} 33... Qxg6 34. Rxe1 Rxe1 35. Qxe1 {.}) 34.
Bxf7+ Kxf7 35. Rxd1 1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Prelims"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2021.02.08"]
[Round "13.1"]
[White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"]
[Black "Dubov, Daniil"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D48"]
[WhiteElo "2774"]
[BlackElo "2770"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Poland"]
[BlackTeam "Russia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "POL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]

{[%evp 0,111,26,40,28,-3,4,6,13,28,53,42,45,47,60,61,22,22,42,7,11,3,20,-41,40,
-112,11,12,44,-174,-192,-137,11,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,22,44,42,38,38,45,61,0,0,0,0,
69,48,45,-29,6,0,1,24,-10,-41,0,-40,0,0,200,287,346,346,312,192,196,189,206,
182,182,181,182,182,262,257,321,413,445,118,118,113,113,0,57,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,246,
244,247,249,299,306,333,248,333,344,388,417,417,417,427,446]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4
e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. O-O a6
10. e4 c5 11. e5 Nd5 12. Ng5 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Be7 {[#]} 14. Nxe6 $5 {The
beginning of the fireworks!} fxe6 15. Qh5+ g6 ({After} 15... Kf8 16. f4 Kg8 {
the engine thinks the king is safe, but the position looks very scary for
Black to human eyes!}) 16. Bxg6+ hxg6 17. Qxg6+ Kf8 18. Bh6+ Rxh6 19. Qxh6+ Kg8
20. Qg6+ Kh8 21. Qh6+ Kg8 22. Qxe6+ Kg7 23. Rad1 {We have reached a position
with an unusual material imbalance: rook and four pawns for three pieces.} Nf8
24. Qg4+ Kh8 25. d5 Nh7 26. d6 Bh4 27. e6 Qf6 28. e7 Bc6 29. g3 Rg8 30. Qh5
Qxc3 31. Rd5 ({It's mate in four after} 31. Qxh4 $2 Qf3 {.}) 31... Bxd5 32.
Qxd5 Nf6 {[#]} 33. Qxg8+ $3 Nxg8 34. e8=Q Bf6 35. Qh5+ Kg7 36. Rd1 Nh6 37. d7
Nf7 38. Qg4+ Kf8 39. Qe6 c4 40. Rd5 b4 41. Rf5 Kg7 42. Kg2 b3 43. axb3 cxb3 44.
Qxa6 b2 45. Qb6 Bd8 46. Rxf7+ Kxf7 47. Qxd8 Qc6+ 48. f3 {[#]} b1=Q $4 {A
natural move, but a mistake!} ({White has to settle for a draw with} 48... Qc2+
49. Kh3 Qh7+ 50. Kg2 ({If White tries to win with} 50. Kg4 {he loses! The key
line runs} Qg6+ 51. Kh4 Qh6+ 52. Kg4 Qe6+ {(covering the e8-square prevents
White from getting a second queen)} 53. Kh4 b1=Q $19) 50... Qc2+ $11) 49. Qe8+
Kg7 50. Qe5+ Kh7 51. Qh5+ Kg7 52. Qg4+ Kh6 53. Qf4+ Kh5 54. g4+ Kg6 55. d8=Q {
How often do we see a position with 4 queens?} Qcc2+ 56. Qdd2 1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Prelims"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2021.02.06"]
[Round "1.8"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2784"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "Netherlands"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NED"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Kf1 {Of course, White meant to play 4.0-0.
The game ended in a draw on move 52.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Prelims"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2021.02.06"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B75"]
[WhiteElo "2786"]
[BlackElo "2881"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2rr4/1b3pk1/4pPp1/p1npP3/1p4p1/1B3P2/PPPRN3/1K1R4 b - - 0 27"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]

{[#]} 27... Kh6 $4 ({The king needs to go back with} 27... Kg8 {.}) 28. Rh1+ {
Dominguez missed an opportunity but the win is very difficult to spot.} (28.
Rd4 $3 {covers the e4-square and threatens checkmate with 29. Rh1+ Kg5 30. f4+
Kf5 31. Ng3 mate. Black is forced to give up material with} Ne4 (28... gxf3 {
loses to} 29. Rg4 Kh5 30. Rg3 {followed by a checkmate on the h-file.}) 29.
fxe4 Kg5 30. exd5 {and White has a winning advantage.}) 28... Kg5 29. f4+ Kf5
30. Rf1 g5 31. Nd4+ Kg6 {Black eventually went on to win the game but it turns
out he had a better move here.} (31... Ke4 $3 {is a terrifying move to play in
an actual game, but the king survives in the middle of the board!} 32. fxg5 ({
White fares no better after} 32. Re2+ Kxd4 33. Rd1+ Nd3 34. Rxd3+ Kc5 {and now}
35. fxg5 {is bad due to} Ba6 {winning an exchange.}) 32... Kxe5 {and now the
king will run safely to the queenside.}) 32. f5+ exf5 33. Nxf5 g3 34. Rg2 Ne4
35. Nxg3 Re8 36. Nxe4 dxe4 37. e6 fxe6 38. f7 Rf8 39. Bxe6 Rc5 40. Rg3 Re5 41.
Bg4 e3 42. Kc1 Rxf7 43. Rxf7 Kxf7 44. Kd1 Kf6 45. Ke1 Bd5 46. a3 bxa3 47. bxa3
Be4 48. Rxe3 Bxc2 49. Kd2 Rxe3 50. Kxe3 Ke5 51. Bf3 Bf5 52. Bc6 Kd6 53. Bf3 Kc5
54. Be2 Bg6 55. Bf1 Bh5 56. Ke4 Bd1 57. Ke3 g4 58. Ba6 Bf3 59. Bf1 Bc6 60. Kf4
Kd4 61. Kxg4 Kc3 62. Kf5 Kb2 63. Ke5 Kxa3 64. Kd6 Be8 65. Kc5 a4 66. Bc4 Kb2
67. Kb4 a3 68. Bd5 Bg6 69. Be6 Bb1 70. Bd5 Ba2 71. Be4 Bf7 72. Bb1 Bb3 0-1

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Prelims"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2021.02.07"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2786"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r2r1k/pp1q1ppp/2pn1b2/3p4/5B2/3P2P1/PPP1RP1P/R3QBK1 b - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[#]} 19... Bxb2 $2 {The position is uncomfortable for Black as White
maintains the bishop pair, but this pawn grab proves to be quite costly.} 20.
Rb1 Bf6 21. Bh3 $1 {Dominguez finds a way to exploit the back-rank issues.} Nf5
22. Bxf5 Qxf5 23. Bd6 Rfd8 24. Rxb7 Bd4 ({The bishop is of course untouchable:
} 24... Rxd6 25. Re8+ Rxe8 26. Qxe8#) 25. Be5 Bb6 26. Bc7 $1 {Exchanging the
bishops by using the same back-rank tactic. White goes on to collect more
pawns on the seventh rank.} Bxc7 27. Rxc7 h5 ({If} 27... Rxc7 28. Re8+ Rxe8 29.
Qxe8#) 28. Rxa7 Rb8 29. h4 d4 30. Re5 Qf3 31. Kh2 Kg8 32. Re4 Rf8 33. Ra5 Rb5
34. Rxb5 cxb5 35. Rxd4 Ra8 36. Rf4 Qd5 37. a3 Qc5 38. Qb4 Qxc2 39. Qxb5 Qa2 40.
a4 Rd8 41. Qc4 Qxc4 42. dxc4 Rc8 43. Kg2 Kf8 44. Rf3 Ke7 45. a5 Ra8 46. Ra3 1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Prelims"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2021.02.08"]
[Round "15.4"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Shankland, Sam"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B67"]
[WhiteElo "2829"]
[BlackElo "2609"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4nk2/Nb2q1pQ/1B2pp1p/pB1pP2P/1b4P1/5P2/1P6/1K6 w - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[#]} 35. Qh8+ $2 {Nakamura choses the wrong move order.} (35. Bd3 $1 {first
was more accurate as it precludes Black's defensive resources.}) 35... Kf7 36.
Bd3 Qf8 $1 37. Qh7 ({Here} 37. Bg6+ Ke7 38. Bd8+ {doesn't work as after} Kxd8 {
the black queen is defended by the bishop.}) 37... fxe5 38. Bd8 e4 39. fxe4 Qd6
{Now Black is the one playing for a win.} 40. Bh4 dxe4 41. Bc2 Qa6 42. g5 hxg5
43. Bxg5 Qxa7 44. Qg6+ Kf8 45. h6 Qg1+ 46. Ka2 Bd5+ 47. b3 Qf2 48. Kb1 Bc3 49.
Bc1 gxh6 50. Qxh6+ Kg8 51. Qg5+ Ng7 52. Qd8+ Qf8 53. Qc7 Bf6 54. Qxa5 Nf5 55.
Ba3 Qc8 56. Bc5 Nd4 57. Bd1 Nxb3 58. Bxb3 0-1

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Knockout"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.10"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Dubov, Daniil"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "2881"]
[BlackElo "2770"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b2rk1/ppp2pp1/7p/n2qp3/4N3/2PP4/P1P2PPP/R1BQ1RK1 w - - 0 13"]
[PlyCount "26"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "Russia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]

{[#]} 13. Bxh6 {Carlsen started laughing on camera after playing this move.
Later, when asked what was so funny, he stated that he did not recall!} f5 ({
Of course not} 13... gxh6 $4 14. Nf6+ Kg7 15. Nxd5 {.}) 14. c4 Qc6 15. Bd2 fxe4
16. Bxa5 Qg6 17. Qe2 Rf4 18. Bd2 $2 {It appears that the World Champion missed
the point of Black's previous move.} ({After} 18. f3 exf3 19. Rxf3 Bg4 20. Rg3
Bxe2 21. Rxg6 {White will enjoy his extra pawn for a long time.}) 18... Bg4 19.
f3 {White has no real choice.} ({The alternative} 19. Qe3 Bf3 20. g3 Qh5 {
leads to checkmate on the light squares.}) 19... Bxf3 20. Qf2 Rg4 21. g3 Rf8
22. Rae1 Rf6 23. dxe4 Qh5 24. Re3 Bxe4 25. Qe2 $2 {A rare collapse by Carlsen,
but the position was already tough. 25. Qe1 was mandatory.} Rxg3+ $3 (25...
Rxg3+ 26. Rxg3 (26. hxg3 Qh1#) 26... Qxe2 {is crushing.}) 0-1

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Knockout"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.10"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Dubov, Daniil"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E16"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2881"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5rk1/1r3ppp/1p1Q1n2/p7/1pP5/4N1P1/Pq3P1P/3RR1K1 w - - 0 22"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]

{[#] Black went pawn hunting with his last move, leaving his kingside quite
vulnerable.} 22. Rd2 Qc3 23. Nd1 $3 {A venomous move, containing a double
threat to the queen and back-rank!} Re8 ({If Black tries to save the queen with
} 23... Qa3 {the game is over:} 24. Qxf8+ Kxf8 25. Rd8+ Ne8 26. Rdxe8#) 24.
Rxe8+ {Good enough, but} (24. Qd8 {would pick up more material.}) 24... Nxe8
25. Nxc3 ({Note that White could stumble at the finish with} 25. Qc6 {. It
looks like all of Black's pieces are hanging but he has a miraculous save:} Qe5
$3 26. Qxb7 Qe1+ 27. Kg2 Qxd2 {and Black is doing quite well here!}) 1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Knockout"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.10"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E94"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2b2q1k/2n1r1b1/1p1p3p/1PpPp3/2P3n1/2N2N2/2QB1P1P/3B2RK w - - 0 32"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Poland"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

{[#]} 32. Nh4 Nxf2+ 33. Kg2 Bh3+ 34. Kg3 Qf7 35. Ng6+ Kh7 36. Nxe7+ e4 37. Nxe4
Be5+ 38. Kh4 Bf5 39. Nxf5 Qxf5 40. Nxf2 1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Knockout"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.11"]
[Round "12.2"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2758"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r2k1/1q1rbbp1/2pp1p1p/4pP2/p1P1P1PP/1PNRBQ2/P7/3R3K w - - 0 31"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "AZE"]

{[#]} 31. g5 {So decides it's time to start operations on the kingside.} axb3
32. axb3 hxg5 33. hxg5 fxg5 34. Qg4 Bf6 35. Bxg5 Kf8 {Black feels that the
king will find safe haven on the e7-square.} 36. Rh3 Ke7 37. Rh7 Qxb3 {
Radjabov seeks counterplay on the queenside, targeting the knight and the rook
as there is not much he can do on the kingside.} 38. Bxf6+ $2 {I can't blame
So for playing this move after some thought. Given the nature of the position,
it feels as though White should have some kind of winning blow.} ({According
to the engines} 38. Qg3 {is winning. White defends everything and is ready to
take on g7, destabilizing the f6-bishop.}) 38... gxf6 39. Rxf7+ Kxf7 40. Qg6+
Kf8 41. Qxf6+ Ke8 42. Qh8+ {White at least has a draw. The burden falls on
Black to avoid blundering into a loss!} Kf7 43. Qh5+ Kf8 $4 {Giving the game
away.} ({Black holds the draw after} 43... Kg8 44. Rg1+ Rg7 {and here we see
the difference with the game, where this move is impossible!} 45. Rxg7+ Kxg7
46. Qg5+ Kf7 47. Qxd8 Qxc3 48. Qd7+ Kg8 49. Qe6+ Kh8 {and neither side can
play for the win.}) 44. Rg1 $1 Rf7 45. f6 $1 {A nice tactical motif! White
takes away the e7-square.} Rxf6 46. Qh7 1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Knockout"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.11"]
[Round "14.2"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2758"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2k5/4Q3/2p3p1/P1Bp3p/1P6/6q1/8/6K1 w - - 0 44"]
[PlyCount "27"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "AZE"]

{[#]} 44. Kf1 Qd3+ 45. Kf2 Qd2+ 46. Kf3 Qd1+ 47. Kf4 Qg4+ 48. Ke5 Qe4+ 49. Kf6
{The endgame works out perfectly for White as he just in time.} Qxe7+ 50. Kxe7
h4 51. Kd6 h3 52. Bg1 d4 53. Kxc6 d3 54. a6 Kb8 55. b5 d2 56. a7+ Ka8 57. b6
1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Knockout"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.11"]
[Round "14.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2881"]
[BlackElo "2860"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r3k/2R4p/4B3/8/r1p5/2P1BK2/1b4PP/8 w - - 0 34"]
[PlyCount "33"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "France"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "FRA"]

{[#]} 34. Bd4+ $2 {So tempting! But MVL saw further.} ({Carlsen missed that} 
34. Rc8 $3 {wins on the spot. The rook is untouchable, i.e.} Rxc8 35. Bd4#)
34... Rxd4 35. cxd4 Bxd4 36. Bf5 Ra7 37. Rxc4 Bf6 38. h4 Kg7 39. Kg4 {White
went on to win the game, but it was not an easy task.} Be7 40. Kh5 Ra5 41. g4
Ra7 42. Rc6 Bf8 43. g5 Rb7 44. Bc2 Bb4 45. Kg4 Bd2 46. Rh6 Kg8 47. Rd6 Bc1 48.
Be4 Rc7 $2 49. Rd8+ $1 Kf7 (49... Kg7 {is impossible as it runs into} 50. Bd5
h6 51. Rg8+ Kh7 52. g6#) 50. Bxh7 1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Knockout"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.13"]
[Round "26.1"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2881"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4rk1/ppb3pp/2p2p2/3qP3/3P4/3QPN1P/P5P1/R4RK1 w - - 0 22"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]

{[#]} 22. exf6 gxf6 {Ugly and forced, this is a move that Carlsen didn't like
playing.} (22... Rxf6 23. e4 $16) 23. e4 Qd7 24. Rad1 Rad8 25. Nh4 $1 {The
knight is headed to f5 where it will make a nuisance of itself.} Kh8 26. Nf5 c5
27. d5 Be5 28. Rb1 b6 29. Qc4 Rfe8 30. Kh1 Bd4 31. Rf4 Rxe4 32. Rxe4 Qxf5 33.
Rbe1 Rxd5 $4 {Total collapse.} (33... Be5 {closes the entry of the rooks on
the e-file. The position is still bad but Black has a fighting chance.}) 34.
Rg4 $1 h5 ({If} 34... Rd8 35. Qf7 {leads to mate.}) 35. Re8+ Kh7 36. Re7+ Kh8
37. Qc1 $1 1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Knockout"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.14"]
[Round "3.23"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2862"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1q2rk1/1p3ppp/2ppb1n1/p7/3QPn2/1BP1B2P/PP3PP1/R3RNK1 b - - 0 18"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 18... Bxb3 $2 {Carlsen spent several minutes on this move calculating
the possible sacrifices but couldn't make any of them work} ({It's surprising
that} 18... Nxg2 {is the killer as sacrificing on h3 feels more natural. Play
continues} 19. Kxg2 Bxh3+ 20. Kh2 Nh4 21. Qd1 {and now Carlsen missed} Bg2 {
in his analysis. The threat of ...Qc8-h3 is lethal.}) 19. axb3 d5 20. Qd2 Nxh3+
21. gxh3 Qxh3 22. f4 Nh4 23. Nh2 dxe4 24. Qf2 Rfe8 25. Qf1 Qg3+ 26. Kh1 Nf5 27.
Qg2 Qxg2+ 28. Kxg2 Nxe3+ 29. Rxe3 f5 30. Nf1 Red8 31. Ree1 Kf7 32. Red1 Kf6 33.
Rxd8 Rxd8 34. Rxa5 g5 35. fxg5+ Kxg5 36. Kf2 h5 37. Ne3 b5 38. Nf1 h4 39. Ra7
Rh8 40. Rf7 h3 41. Ng3 h2 42. Rxf5+ Kg4 43. Rf6 h1=N+ 44. Nxh1 Rxh1 45. Rxc6
Kf4 46. Rf6+ Ke5 47. Rf8 Rh2+ 48. Ke3 Rxb2 49. b4 Rh2 50. Re8+ Kd5 51. Rd8+ Ke5
52. Re8+ Kd5 53. Rd8+ Ke5 54. Re8+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid | Knockout"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.14"]
[Round "30.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2881"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2q1rk1/1pp2p2/1b6/3pP2b/p2P3p/1B1Q1P2/PP3P1B/R3R1K1 w - - 0 23"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[#]} 23. Bd1 ({Crushing was} 23. Kh1 $3 axb3 24. Rg1+ Kh8 {and} 25. e6 $3 {
was the key move that Carlsen missed in his calculation. The threat is to play
Bh2-e5 and if} f6 26. Qf5 {the h5 bishop can no longer slide back to g6, so
Black has to try something like} Qe8 27. Be5 $1) 23... Qg5+ 24. Kh1 Bg6 25. Qe2
{The position still looks scary for Black. The rook is coming to g1 and the
black queen will get kicked around.} Bxd4 26. Rg1 Qh5 27. Qd2 (27. Rg4 {
was another missed move:} c5 28. Bc2 {This pins the bishop and quickly brings
the other rook into the game. Essentially, 27. Rg4 was a quick way for White
to double the rooks. Play continues} Kh8 29. Bxg6 fxg6 30. Rag1 {with a strong
attack for White.}) 27... c5 28. f4 Qh6 29. Rg5 {[#]} f6 $1 {Turning the
tables. Now it is White's king that will come under fire.} 30. exf6 Bxf6 31.
Qxd5+ Kh8 32. Bf3 a3 $1 {Striking on the other side of the board.} 33. Rag1
axb2 34. Rxg6 Qxg6 35. Rxg6 b1=Q+ 36. Rg1 Qh7 37. f5 Rg8 38. Re1 Rae8 39. Re6
Rxe6 40. Qxe6 Qh6 {Threatening ...Qh6-c1. Black is winning.} 41. Bd1 Qg5 42.
Qe4 Qd2 43. Bg4 Qg5 {So offers a repetition as only a draw is needed to secure
the match win.} 44. f3 Qc1+ 45. Kg2 h3+ 46. Kxh3 Qh6+ 47. Kg3 Rd8 48. Bh3 Qg5+
49. Bg4 Qh6 (49... Qh4+ {would have been checkmate after} 50. Kg2 Rd2+ {.}) 50.
Bg1 Qh4+ 51. Kg2 Rd2+ 52. Kf1 Rd1+ 53. Kg2 Rd2+ 54. Kf1 Rd1+ 55. Kg2 Rd2+
1/2-1/2

[Event "2021 Pan Am Intercollegiate ch"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.05"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Shtembuliak, Evgeny"]
[Black "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A22"]
[WhiteElo "2681"]
[BlackElo "2725"]
[Annotator "de Firmian"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2021.01.04"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 6. bxc3 {Shtembuliak
takes doubled pawns to discourage Black's 6...e4.} d6 7. d3 O-O 8. Be2 h6 9.
O-O Ne7 $5 10. e4 Ng6 {Black is fully equal, having proceeded with a very
logical plan of development with knights on the kingside and the c-pawn now
ready to join the battle for central squares.} 11. Ne1 c6 12. f4 $6 {This
allows Black to trade away the one plus White has in the position - the bishop
pair.} exf4 13. Bxf4 Nxf4 14. Rxf4 Re8 15. Qd2 d5 $1 {Opening the game right
away keeps White a little off-balance.} 16. exd5 cxd5 17. Nc2 dxc4 18. Rxc4 {
[#]} Ne4 19. Qe1 Qb6+ 20. Nd4 Nd6 21. Rb4 Qc5 22. Kh1 Bd7 23. Qd2 Rac8 24. Rc1
b6 {Black has a more solid and compact pawn structure. He has only a slight
edge, but that's enough for White to suffer against such a strong grandmaster
as Bruzon Batista.} 25. Bf3 Qg5 26. Qxg5 hxg5 {In the endgame the black
kingside pawns are mobile and will restrict the white pieces.} 27. c4 g4 28.
Bd5 g6 29. Kg1 Kg7 30. Kf2 f5 31. a4 Re5 32. Ra1 f4 33. a5 b5 34. a6 Rce8 35.
Rb2 bxc4 36. dxc4 Re3 37. c5 ({White could try the exchange sacrifice with} 37.
Rb7 Nxb7 38. axb7 g3+ 39. hxg3 fxg3+ 40. Kf1 a5 {and Black is still better in
a sharp position.}) 37... Ne4+ $6 ({Both} 37... Nf5 {and}) (37... g3+ 38. hxg3
fxg3+ 39. Kf1 R3e5 40. Bf3 Nc4 {would keep a clear advantage for Black.}) 38.
Bxe4 R8xe4 39. Rd1 $2 ({White needed to try the tactical} 39. Rb7 $1 g3+ 40.
hxg3 fxg3+ 41. Kf1 Rxd4 42. c6 {which should hold the draw with best play.})
39... g3+ 40. hxg3 fxg3+ 41. Kf1 Rh4 {Now the black pieces and the g3-pawn
create mating threats that White cannot defend.} 42. Nf3 Rh1+ 43. Ng1 Be6 44.
Rc1 {[#]} Bc4+ $1 45. Rxc4 Rxg1+ 46. Kxg1 Re1# 0-1

[Event "2021 Pan Am Intercollegiate ch"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.05"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Hakobyan, Aram"]
[Black "Bok, Benjamin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2667"]
[BlackElo "2668"]
[Annotator "de Firmian"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2021.01.04"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O e5 5. d3 Nc6 6. e4 dxe4 7. dxe4 Qxd1 8.
Rxd1 Bg4 9. c3 {[#] White's play looks unambitious, allowing the queen trade
into an even ending. It was around here that Benjamin Bok offered a draw, but
Hakobyan refused as he likes to play this type of structure.} Nf6 10. Re1 O-O
11. Na3 h6 12. Nc4 Rfe8 13. a4 a6 $6 (13... a5 $1) 14. Nfd2 Be6 15. b4 Red8 16.
Bf1 b5 $2 {Just losing a pawn. It's a little hard to figure out what Bok was
thinking.} 17. axb5 axb5 18. Rxa8 Rxa8 19. Na3 Na7 20. Nf3 c6 $6 ({Black would
have some compensation for the pawn after} 20... Ne8 21. Nxb5 Nxb5 22. Bxb5 Nd6
23. Bd3 Ra2 {.}) 21. Nxe5 Nd7 22. Nxd7 Bxd7 ({Not} 22... Bxc3 $2 23. Re3 {.})
23. e5 Re8 24. f4 {Now White's extra pawn is strong, controlling important
squares. Black tries to break out.} f6 25. Rd1 Bf5 $6 ({Better is} 25... Bg4
26. Rd6 fxe5 27. Be3 $1 Nc8 28. Rxg6 Bf3 29. Bc5 {when White keeps a clear
edge, but at least it's messy.}) 26. Be3 fxe5 ({Black avoids} 26... Nc8 27. Bc5
fxe5 28. Nxb5 $1 cxb5 29. Bxb5 {winning back the material with an easy
conversion.}) 27. Bxa7 Ra8 28. Nxb5 cxb5 29. Bc5 exf4 30. gxf4 Bxc3 31. Bxb5
Rb8 32. Bc4+ Kh7 {[#]} 33. b5 $1 {This pawn runs down the board now. There is
no good way to stop it.} Rc8 34. b6 $1 Rxc5 35. b7 Rc8 ({The computer suggests
there are hopes of a fortress after} 35... Rxc4 36. b8=Q {but practically
speaking, it's just a different way to lose.}) 36. bxc8=Q Bxc8 37. Rd6 Bf5 38.
Bd3 {The exchange ahead is a technical win.} Bb4 39. Rd5 Bxd3 40. Rxd3 Kg7 41.
Kg2 Kf6 42. Kf3 Be7 43. Ke4 Ke6 44. Rg3 Kf7 45. Rb3 Bf6 46. Rb6 Ba1 47. h3 h5
48. Ra6 Bc3 49. Rc6 Bb2 50. f5 $1 {Simplifying more, but to a clear win.} gxf5+
51. Kxf5 h4 52. Rc7+ Kf8 53. Rh7 Bc1 54. Kg6 Kg8 55. Rxh4 1-0

[Event "2021 Pan Am Intercollegiate ch"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.06"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Bartel, Mateusz"]
[Black "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2711"]
[BlackElo "2725"]
[Annotator "de Firmian"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2021.01.04"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "UTRGV_A"]
[BlackTeam "WEBSTER_A"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nf6 {A Bruzon specialty; not
as principled as the more common move (giving White doubled pawns with 5. ...
Nxc3 and saving time), but still solid.} 6. d4 Be7 7. h3 O-O 8. Be3 a6 9. g4 $1
{8...a6 was a new move, but now it's definitely a new position! White commits
his pawn but not much else.} d5 10. Qd3 $5 Nc6 ({Stockfish 12 prefers} 10... c6
{intending ...Nbd7, ...Re8, .. .Nf8, regrouping a la the Queen's Gambit.}) 11.
a3 Re8 12. Ne5 Bd6 {Bruzon took a huge chunk of his time on this move! It
could well have been some external factor like a loss of connection. In any
case, now he's got the clock to worry about as well.} 13. f4 {Is it clear yet
what White is up to? In the style of Botvinnik and later Korchnoi, he is
pushing forward more for space than an actual attack.} Ne7 14. Bg2 c6 15. O-O {
White: 8:50 Black: 2:59.} Nd7 $6 ({Enough already. Black could make it a fight:
} 15... h5 $5 {but} 16. Bf3 $1 (16. g5 Nh7 17. f5 Bxe5 18. dxe5 d4 $1) 16...
hxg4 17. hxg4 Ng6 $5 (17... Bxe5 18. fxe5 Nxg4 19. Bg5 {is slightly better for
White}) 18. g5 Bxe5 19. fxe5 Ng4 20. Bd2 c5 $1 {saves the knight by taking out
e5.}) 16. Ne2 Qc7 $6 (16... a5 {thinks about ...b6 and . ..Ba6} 17. c4 $5) 17.
Rae1 {Sometimes one gets caught up in the Grand Plan and forgets other
possibilities.} ({Both} 17. c4 $5) ({and} 17. Nxd7 $5 Bxd7 18. f5 {could well
be stronger.}) 17... f6 {[#]} 18. c4 $5 {Ultimately a pawn sacrifice for just
sufficient compensation as Black is still undeveloped and way behind on the
clock.} ({But} 18. Nxd7 Bxd7 19. f5 {is again a simple advantage.}) 18... fxe5
19. fxe5 Nxe5 20. dxe5 Bxe5 21. Nf4 d4 $6 {Impatient, but Black is still under
pressure even after White wins the pawn back.} ({Better is} 21... Bd7 22. cxd5
Kh8 ({if} 22... cxd5 23. Nxd5 Nxd5 24. Qxd5+ Be6 25. Qxb7 Qxb7 26. Bxb7 Rab8
27. Bc6 Rec8 28. Bc5 $5 {with an edge.})) ({Another idea is} 21... Kh8) 22. Bd2
Bd7 {Finally!} (22... c5 $2 23. Qe2 {is horrible.}) 23. c5 (23. Be4 $1) 23...
Kh8 24. Ba5 $5 {Tossing some confusion Black's way in his time trouble.} (24.
Nh5 $6 Ng6 $1 {sees Black getting organized, when White's porous kingside
starts to matter.}) 24... Qxa5 $2 {[#]} (24... Qb8 $1 {was cool,
"undeveloping" for a change but keeping the balance.}) 25. Rxe5 {Suddenly and
finally, White's preponderance of forces on the kingside appear to matter.} Ng8
$6 ({After} 25... Nd5 $5 26. Rh5 Nf6 27. b4 Qb5 28. Qxd4 {seems to win as well,
but with more complication.} Be6 29. Nxe6 Nxh5 30. Nc7 Ng3 31. Qd6 {catches
Black out.}) 26. Qxd4 $2 ({Bartel missed the crushing} 26. Rg5 $1 {(actually
threatening 27.Rxg7!)} Re7 27. Rh5 $1 Nh6 (27... Nf6 $2 28. Ng6+ Kg8 29. Nxe7+)
28. Qxd4 {is mundane destruction.}) (26. Rh5 Nf6 27. b4 {is good too.}) 26...
Rxe5 27. Qxe5 Re8 {Black completes development! White has a solid advantage
still, in space and the still slightly awkward minor pieces.} 28. Qd4 Qc7 29.
Nh5 Bc8 (29... Re7 $2 30. Nxg7 Qe5 31. Qxe5 Rxe5 32. Rf7 Re7 33. Rxe7 Nxe7 34.
Nh5 {is a happy ending for White.}) 30. b4 {37 seconds vs. 37 seconds. May the
faster mouse win.} Qe7 31. Rf2 Rf8 32. Rxf8 Qxf8 33. Qe5 Nf6 $6 34. Nxf6 gxf6
35. Qc7 Qe8 36. Kf2 Qd7 $6 {This turns out to be a lost bishop ending that
moves into a lost pawn ending.} 37. Qxd7 Bxd7 38. Ke3 Kg7 39. Kf4 h6 40. Be4
Kf7 41. Bd3 Be6 42. Bf5 Ke7 43. Bxe6 Kxe6 44. Ke4 Ke7 45. Kf5 Kf7 46. a4 Kg7
47. Ke6 (47. h4 {is good, too.}) 47... Kg6 48. Kd7 h5 49. Kc7 hxg4 50. hxg4 Kg5
51. Kxb7 Kxg4 52. b5 {Bartel maintained remarkable control and sustain to take
a point from Bruzon and the eventual winners, Webster A.} ({Perhaps he didn't
notice that after} 52. Kxc6 {he queens with check -- but as played it's won as
well.}) 1-0

[Event "7th Sunway Sitges"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.12.22"]
[Round "9.8"]
[White "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Black "Maze, Sebastien"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E47"]
[WhiteElo "2478"]
[BlackElo "2557"]
[Annotator "Niemann"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This game was the ultimate test of my ability to maintain emotional control
after a very disappointing loss. In the past I have struggled to maintain
equilibrium after a loss, but I had a different mindset during this tournament.
Ignoring the fact that the GM title was in my reach, I was solely focused on
proving that my improvement efforts would pay off over-the-board.} 1. d4 Nf6 2.
c4 e6 {A slight surprise: I prepared for the King's Indian for about 5 hours. 
(There's lots of time to prepare in tournaments with one round a day!) However,
I was still ready for the Nimzo, as I noticed that he often employed the
opening against lower rated youngsters, hoping to avoid heavy prep.} 3. Nc3 Bb4
4. e3 {I got the sense that he didn't really do any preparation at all, so I
was out for blood in the opening. You have to try to make reads on your
opponent in the opening and fully punish gaps in their theoretical knowledge.}
O-O 5. Bd3 b6 {Inaccurate. Combining 4. ... 0-0 and 5. ... b6 allows for White
to take space in the center.} 6. Nge2 Bb7 7. a3 Be7 $6 {Black cannot afford to
give White this much space.} ({Instead} 7... Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 {was necessary,
and I did some prep here. There are many options, but the two bishops provide
a long-term advantage. Both} (8... Bxg2 9. Rg1 Bb7 10. e4 {when White's attack
is decisive.}) 9. O-O ({and} 9. b3 {look reasonable.})) 8. e4 d6 9. O-O c5 ({
A simple move like} 9... Nbd7 {has significant consequences because after} 10.
f4 {the space advantage is too much.} {Black is forced to play} e5 {,
otherwise White will play e4-e5.} (10... c5 {is another possibility, but the
position will become locked and White will control all of the key pawn breaks.}
11. d5 e5 12. f5 {Now a kingside push will be decisive as the queenside can be
shutdown by playing a2-a4 and preventing the ... b6-b5 break forever. Without
that break, White's space advantage will suffocate the black pieces while I
slowly expand on the kingside.})) 10. d5 e5 {In this move order, I do not get
f4-f5.} 11. Ng3 ({If I play} 11. f4 {I give up the e5-square. This is crucial:
Black can setup a blockade on e5 with.} exf4 12. Bxf4 Nbd7) 11... Ne8 {[#]
This position reminded me of the positions I was studying in GM Jacob
Aagaard's Grandmaster Preparation: Positional Play, which I highly recommend
you check out. I read the book when I was travelling to Italy and I feel that
it really helped me properly evaluate the position. Here I immediately
understood that if I could prevent the exchange of the dark-squared bishops,
his dark squares would become very weak.} {Preventing this trade was quite
difficult, so I decided to play} 12. Nf5 {. If my opponent wants to trade the
bishops, he's going to have to give up a lot of time doing so.} Bf6 {I was
beginning to feel like the game was already over here. Maze's pieces are on
awful squares.} 13. g3 Bc8 ({These bishops are never going to be traded, as I
can respond to} 13... Bg5 {with} 14. f4 exf4 15. gxf4 {.}) 14. h4 g6 15. Nh6+
Kh8 16. Kg2 {I'm not going to pretend that it takes a genius to look at the
pieces on the eighth rank and conclude that the black position is already lost.
} Bg7 17. h5 g5 18. Ng4 ({Another option was} 18. Nf5 {, but I didn't want to
let him trade off a single piece.}) 18... Qd7 ({It's true that} 18... Bxg4 19.
Qxg4 {would have ruined my "win without taking a single piece" theme, but I
would have the f5-square for my knight!}) 19. f3 h6 20. Rh1 {Now I'm preparing
to play Ng4-e3 and then eventually break with b2-b4. Black has no pawn breaks
himself, so I control all the tension in the position and I have the time to
place my pieces to prepare for the final assault.} a6 21. Ne3 {I had briefly
considered this move and noticed its flaw. Imagine my surprise when it
appeared on the board!} Nc7 $2 {I had briefly considered this move and noticed
that it was game over. But I didn't think he would play it.} 22. Na4 (22. Na4 {
just wins material. If} Ra7 (22... b5 23. Nb6 {picks up the Exchange}) 23. Nxb6
Qe7 24. b4 {White is dominating the entire board.}) 1-0

[Event "Charlotte CCCSA Fall GM"]
[Site "Charlotte"]
[Date "2020.10.04"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"]
[Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "2342"]
[BlackElo "2465"]
[Annotator "Niemann"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2020.09.30"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "8"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{With 5.5/7, I only needed to draws to get my third and final grandmaster norm.
I could have easily decided to play solid chess and "draw out," but I wanted
to win. I believe my recent uptick in results comes from my refusal to think
about rating or titles, and my choosing to focuse solely on improving my play.
With an opponent who was having a tough tournament, I wanted to pounce, and
from an initially quiet opening, things got complicated quickly!} 1. e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 {If you look at my recent games in the database,
I've played this quite a lot, so I assumed he had prepared. But I trust my
knowledge of the variation, and it has been successful for me.} 5. c3 d6 6. O-O
({After} 6. Nbd2 g5 7. Nf1 g4 {is the move here, which is important because
white has not castled yet.}) 6... g5 7. Nbd2 {My arrogance in this opening
variation -- thinking I knew it all better than Mishra -- was actually my
saving grace!} g4 {I played this confidently, like it was my preparation, but
it turns out I had confused my lines. I remembered the correct position but
forgot the order, as a transposition is possible.} 8. Ne1 h5 {Here I began to
realize that I had messed up my preparation. Luckily my "bluff that I didn't
realize was a bluff" worked out!} 9. f4 ({The alternative is} 9. Nc2 Bh6 10.
Ne3 (10. Bb3) (10. f3) (10. Nb3) 10... h4 {and this was as far as I remembered,
but of course White is not forced to play this way.}) 9... exf4 10. Rxf4 ({
According to the computer} 10. d4 {is the only way to gain an advantage. But
this move is not human at all, and allows Black to get a dangerous attack.
After a deeper analysis of this position, I'm convinced that Black is
practically equal.}) 10... Bh6 11. Rf1 Qe7 12. Nb3 Ne5 13. Bxh6 Rxh6 14. Nd2
Bd7 ({I should have played} 14... g3 {immediately, as 14. ... Bd7 gives White
crucial time to prepare against ... g4-g3. I think my opponent underestimated
the strength of this idea, though.}) 15. Bb3 g3 16. h3 Nfg4 17. Qe2 Nh2 18. Qe3
Rh7 19. Rf4 h4 20. d4 Ng6 21. Nd3 O-O-O {[#] I calculated to this position
when deciding to play 15. ... g3. The h2-knight is an amazing piece -- it
restricts the king's movement, something that was crucial in the endgame, and
covers the key f1- and f3-squares.} 22. Re1 Re8 ({The computer suggests I
should take immediately with} 22... Nxf4 23. Nxf4 Qg5 {; I saw this idea but
misevaluated the position.}) 23. e5 Nxf4 24. Nxf4 c6 25. Nc4 d5 26. Nd6+ ({
After} 26. Nd2 {the computer says that Black is just slightly better here but
I really don't get it. From a human perspective it seems like I'll play ...
f7-f6 at some point and the white position will collapse.}) 26... Qxd6 27. exd6
Rxe3 28. Rxe3 Rh6 29. Ne2 Re6 {I assume he missed this move, which forces the
trade of rooks and leads to a completely winning endgame for me. I'm pleased
that I went one step further in my calculation to forsee this. The
relationship between (depth of) calculation and evaluation is something I'm
constantly working on.} 30. Rxe6 Bxe6 31. Bc2 Kd7 32. Nf4 Kxd6 33. b4 b5 {
This move left a sour taste in my mouth. Up to here, I was really happy with
my play, but I pushed the pawn forward too quickly and without proper
consideration of long-term structural weaknesses.} 34. a4 bxa4 ({I thought
that I could respond to 34. a4 with} 34... a6 {but after} 35. a5 {the a6-pawn
will be very weak, especially if the knight reaches the c5-square.}) 35. Bxa4
Bf5 36. Bb3 Be6 37. Ba4 Bc8 38. Bd1 Ba6 {Once my bishop reaches this diagonal
the game is over. I put the bishop on the b5-square and run the king up.} 39.
Be2 Bxe2 40. Nxe2 Ke6 ({I would have had a smoother win had I walked the king
the other way around with} 40... Kc7 {, but I calculated everything precisely
and correctly.}) 41. Nc1 Kf5 42. Nb3 Ke4 43. Na5 f5 44. Nxc6 f4 45. b5 f3 46.
gxf3+ Nxf3+ 47. Kf1 Ng5 48. Ne5 Nxh3 49. Ng6 g2+ 50. Kxg2 Nf4+ 51. Nxf4 Kxf4
52. Kh3 Ke4 53. Kxh4 Kd3 54. Kg4 Kxc3 55. Kf5 Kxd4 56. Ke6 Kc5 0-1

[Event "Tata Steel 83rd"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2021.01.22"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Van Foreest, Jorden"]
[Black "Anton Guijarro, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2671"]
[BlackElo "2679"]
[Annotator "Van Foreest"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2021.01.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,73,22,22,22,22,22,22,28,12,12,12,20,-4,22,17,11,-19,-13,-20,-5,-13,6,
-31,-35,-22,-4,-6,-3,0,7,-3,-9,-9,-10,-11,-10,-10,-27,-18,-22,-16,-1,-17,14,7,
8,-8,21,-12,-10,-9,7,0,80,-21,-22,-22,53,62,69,69,75,80,69,69,72,85,79,38,53,
48,50,43,711,755]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 {
Anton usually opts for the Open Spanish with 5...Nxe4, but it seems that for
this tournament he had other intentions.} 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 {
I had prepared this subtle move before the tournament. If Black isn't booked
up he can easily drift and end up in a slightly worse position.} h6 {A decent
move, but I think that 9...Bb7 offers Black an easier game.} 10. a4 Bd7 11. Bc2
{Prophylaxis vs . ... Nc6-a5 and ... c7-c5, which is Black's main idea.} b4 {
This move, in combination with 10...Bd7, seems rather odd to me. If you want
to play 11...b4 why not play it one move earlier?} 12. Nbd2 Re8 13. a5 {
This is a typical idea, fixing the pawn on a6 and grabbing some space as well.
Sometimes the a5-pawn can become a weakness, but more often than not it is a
strength.} Bf8 14. Re1 Rb8 15. d4 $1 {Although I was already out of my
preparation I was still playing quite quickly and confidently. The White moves
come quite easily and I liked my position.} ({The alternative is} 15. Nc4 $5 {
opting for a slower and more strategical struggle. I was looking for more
dynamic positions instead.}) 15... bxc3 16. bxc3 exd4 17. cxd4 Nb4 18. Bb1 {
[#] After 15. d4 this position is reached almost by force. It has a strong
resemblance to the Zaitsev system, and I knew some of the classic
Kasparov-Karpov games which featured the opening frequently. In general with
his strong centre White is aiming for an attack, while Black should be trying
to undermine the White centre.} g6 19. Ra3 {This is a common idea.The rook
will find itself useful on the third rank, with possible rook lifts to the
kingside being among the plans.} Bg7 $6 ({It was probably better to clarify
the situation in the center with} 19... c5 {instead.}) 20. Nf1 Rb5 {Activating
the rook on the fifth rank seems good to me.} ({This is particularly true since
} 20... c5 {now doesn't work out for Black after} 21. Bf4 $1) 21. Ng3 Nh5 $2 {
With this move Black is completely on the wrong track and immediately finds
himself in a dreadful position.} ({Much better was} 21... Nh7 $1 {, intending
to play ...Nh7-g5 and start putting the White center under pressure.}) 22. Nxh5
Rxh5 23. d5 $1 {It was this strong move that my opponent had underestimated.
The rook is stuck on the edge of the board with no clear aim. Perhaps my
opponent was dreaming of ...Bd7xh3 sacrifices, but these are just dreams.} c5
24. Bf4 Bb2 $5 {An interesting try in a bad position. Intending to harass the
White pieces on the queenside and hope for counterplay with the c-pawn. It is
hard to believe that things will work in Black's favor, saddled as he is with
the h5-rook.} 25. Rae3 Qf6 26. Bg3 c4 27. Qe2 Bb5 28. e5 $6 {It was this
natural breakthrough that I had been envisioning for some time now. But what a
beautiful sacrifice I had missed!} ({After} 28. Bxd6 $1 c3 {I stopped my
calculations, since I am about to lose my queen. What is amazing is that White
is in fact completely winning after} 29. Qxb5 axb5 30. Bxb4 $1 {with complete
domination over the board. Notice how out of play the black rook and bishop
are. White has the simple intention of pushing his pawns and there is nothing
to do for Black. Chess can be truly beautiful at times!}) 28... Bxe5 29. Nxe5
dxe5 30. Bxe5 Rexe5 $1 {The only try, and it was this that I had been
calculating for some time.} ({Other moves such as} 30... Qd8 {lose swiftly:}
31. Bc3 $1 Rxe3 32. Qxe3 Nxd5 33. Qd4 {and the threats along the long diagonal
can't be parried.}) 31. Rxe5 c3 {[#] The last critical moment in the game has
appeared. At first, I thought there was no real difference between Qe2-e4 and
Qe2-e3. In my calculations I had been mostly counting on Qe2-e4, thinking it
would be more forcing, but luckily I noticed one of Black's resources in time.}
32. Qe3 (32. Qe4 Rh4 $1 {It was this funny move that I had not seen at first.
There is one more idea which saves the day for black however. And it is simply
stunning!} (32... c2 $1 33. Rxh5 Nd3 $3 {Not taking any piece, and at the
moment while Black is down a rook and an exchange. Still the evaluation is 0.
00 :-) A sample line is as follows:} 34. Bxc2 Qxf2+ 35. Kh2 Nxe1 36. Rxh6 Nxg2
37. Rxg6+ fxg6 38. Qxg6+ Kf8 39. Qxg2 $11)) 32... c2 {The other defence
doesn't yield much hope either.} (32... Rxe5 33. Qxe5 Qxe5 34. Rxe5 f6 $5 {
the best try.} (34... c2 35. Bxc2 Nxc2 36. d6 $18) 35. Re7 c2 36. Bxc2 Nxc2 37.
d6 Kf8 38. Re6 $1 {and White should win without too much difficulty.}) 33. Rxh5
gxh5 34. Bxc2 Nxc2 35. Qe5 Kg7 36. Re4 Bd3 $2 {A blunder in a tough position.}
({Black would have had somewhat better hopes of defending after} 36... Qxe5 37.
Rxe5 {although the final result shouldn't be in doubt. Threats to the weak
kingside pawns in combination with the passed d5-pawn are too much for Black
to deal with.}) 37. Qg3+ 1-0

[Event ".c Shakhmatny Listok#336 (v)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1928.12.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Sarychev=A Sarychev=K"]
[Black "(=0030.11d7f3)"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1pPK3b/8/8/8/5k2/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "1928.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Kc8 $1 (1. Ke6 $2 Ke4 $1) (1. c8=Q $2 Bf5+) 1... b5 2. Kd7 $1 b4 (2... Bf5+
3. Kd6 $1 b4 4. Ke5 Kg4 5. Kd4 $1) 3. Kd6 (3. Ke6 $2 Ke4 4. c8=Q Bf5+) 3... Bf5
4. Ke5 Kg4 5. Kd4 1/2-1/2

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.04.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "04.01"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r1r2/R1Q5/1p3qpk/7p/8/8/5PPP/5RK1 b - - 0 28"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,56,23,23,28,-16,0,-17,-11,6,35,11,26,32,51,1,23,44,47,26,25,36,48,16,
21,11,57,-2,18,21,16,26,30,14,14,12,40,-56,-73,-74,-66,-38,-60,-46,-55,-58,-58,
0,0,-104,14,41,13,8,6,15,79,-29995,-29996] [#]} 28... Qxf2+ $1 {White resigned.
} ({He gets mated after} 28... Qxf2+ 29. Rxf2 Rd1+ 30. Rf1 Rdxf1# {.}) *

[Event "Titled Tuesday 2nd Feb"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.02"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Leenhouts, K."]
[Black "Gumularz, Szymon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2414"]
[BlackElo "2516"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2021.02.02"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,56,23,23,28,-16,0,-17,-11,6,35,11,26,32,51,1,23,44,47,26,25,36,48,16,
21,11,57,-2,18,21,16,26,30,14,14,12,40,-56,-73,-74,-66,-38,-60,-46,-55,-58,-58,
0,0,-104,14,41,13,8,6,15,79,-29995,-29996]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3
c5 5. e3 cxd4 6. exd4 Bb4 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bd2 O-O 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. O-O Nf6 11.
Bg5 Be7 12. Rc1 b6 13. d5 exd5 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Nxd5 Bb7 16. Nxf6+ Qxf6 17.
Be4 Rad8 18. Qc2 Nb4 19. Qb1 Bxe4 20. Qxe4 Nxa2 21. Ra1 Qxb2 22. Ng5 g6 23. Qh4
h5 24. Nxf7 Kxf7 25. Qc4+ Kg7 26. Rxa2 Qf6 27. Rxa7+ Kh6 28. Qc7 {[#]} Qxf2+ $1
{White resigned.} ({He gets mated after} 28... Qxf2+ 29. Rxf2 Rd1+ 30. Rf1
Rdxf1# {.}) 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.04.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "04.02"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5rk1/1r3ppp/1p1Q1n2/p7/1pP5/2q1N1P1/P2R1P1P/4R1K1 w - - 0 23"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,49,16,13,30,-10,-10,3,17,-4,6,-1,6,14,24,23,23,30,28,34,34,34,42,32,
40,40,28,31,63,59,95,70,71,64,57,32,15,13,18,22,26,28,24,7,37,54,364,374,1190,
490,498,342] [#]} 23. Nd1 $1 {The World Champion could have resigned at this
point, but he carries on for a few more moves.} Re8 ({If} 23... Qxc4 {then} 24.
Qxf8+ Kxf8 25. Rd8+ Ne8 26. Rdxe8# {ends the fun. A nice parallel to the first
puzzle.}) 24. Rxe8+ Nxe8 25. Nxc3 {and Black resigned as he will end up with a
piece less.} *

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.10"]
[Round "1.23"]
[White "Dubov, Daniil"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E16"]
[WhiteElo "2710"]
[BlackElo "2862"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2021.02.09"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,49,16,13,30,-10,-10,3,17,-4,6,-1,6,14,24,23,23,30,28,34,34,34,42,32,
40,40,28,31,63,59,95,70,71,64,57,32,15,13,18,22,26,28,24,7,37,54,364,374,1190,
490,498,342]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 c5 7.
Bxb4 cxb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Nbd2 a5 10. Re1 d6 11. e4 Nfd7 12. Qe2 e5 13. Rad1 Nc6
14. Nf1 Qf6 15. Ne3 Nxd4 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. e5 Qxe5 18. Bxb7 Ra7 19. Qg4 Nf6 20.
Qxd4 Rxb7 21. Qxd6 Qxb2 22. Rd2 Qc3 {[#]} 23. Nd1 $1 {The World Champion could
have resigned at this point, but he carries on for a few more moves.} Re8 ({If
} 23... Qxc4 {then} 24. Qxf8+ Kxf8 25. Rd8+ Ne8 26. Rdxe8# {ends the fun. A
nice parallel to the first puzzle.}) 24. Rxe8+ Nxe8 25. Nxc3 {and Black
resigned as he will end up with a piece less.} 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.04.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "04.03"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k6r/1p1r1p2/p7/3q3p/3n1Qp1/6P1/PP1N1PP1/2R1R1K1 w - - 0 27"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,58,23,23,23,23,28,17,37,29,63,21,19,8,2,-8,31,42,44,13,67,32,27,27,31,
-15,-23,-8,-23,14,9,17,21,34,34,34,33,20,8,17,9,-4,-6,11,28,11,41,18,18,12,7,
35,90,27,102,137,206,23,44,-1208,-1200] [#]} 27. Nc4 $1 {Threatening a nasty
family check on b6.} Ka7 28. Nb6 $1 {Anyway!} ({In the game, White went in a
different direction:} 28. Ne5 Re7 29. Qf3 $4 {(a mouse slip)} (29. Kh2 Rhe8 {
would have kep the chances about even}) 29... gxf3 {and White, of course,
resigned.}) 28... Kxb6 29. Qf6+ {The point behind the previous move.} Ka7 30.
Qxh8 {and White has won the exchange and should win.} *

[Event "Titled Tuesday 2nd Feb"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.02"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Spyropoulos, Nikolaos"]
[Black "Eljanov, P."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D03"]
[WhiteElo "2425"]
[BlackElo "2672"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2021.02.02"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,58,23,23,23,23,28,17,37,29,63,21,19,8,2,-8,31,42,44,13,67,32,27,27,31,
-15,-23,-8,-23,14,9,17,21,34,34,34,33,20,8,17,9,-4,-6,11,28,11,41,18,18,12,7,
35,90,27,102,137,206,23,44,-1208,-1200]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 c5 4. e3 d5
5. Nbd2 Nc6 6. c3 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Nh5 9. Bd3 Qb6 10. Rb1 Nxg3 11. hxg3 Bg7
12. Qe2 Bd7 13. O-O g4 14. Nh4 h5 15. e4 O-O-O 16. exd5 exd5 17. dxc5 Qxc5 18.
Bf5 Bf6 19. Bxd7+ Rxd7 20. Nf5 d4 21. Nxd4 Bxd4 22. cxd4 Nxd4 23. Qe3 Kb8 24.
Rbc1 Qd5 25. Rfe1 a6 26. Qf4+ Ka8 {[#]} 27. Nc4 $1 {Threatening a nasty family
check on b6.} Ka7 28. Nb6 $1 {Anyway!} ({In the game, White went in a
different direction:} 28. Ne5 Re7 29. Qf3 $4 {(a mouse slip)} (29. Kh2 Rhe8 {
would have kep the chances about even}) 29... gxf3 {and White, of course,
resigned.}) 28... Kxb6 29. Qf6+ {The point behind the previous move.} Ka7 30.
Qxh8 {and White has won the exchange and should win.} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.04.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "04.04"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b1r1k1/1p3pbp/2pp1np1/q1n3B1/p1PNP3/2N2P2/PP1QB1PP/2RR3K b - - 0 15"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,60,30,30,30,23,55,37,38,6,15,-10,5,8,19,11,23,31,35,15,15,18,47,22,28,
19,28,16,69,34,50,37,-26,-20,-10,-27,-18,-34,-28,-28,0,-11,6,12,0,-28,2,-10,
-19,-48,-32,-34,-34,-138,-118,-124,-105,-101,0,0,0,-341,-346] [#]} 15... Nfxe4
$1 {A classical and typical theme. The queen on d2 is overburdened with
defensive tasks.} 16. fxe4 Bxd4 17. Qxd4 Ne6 18. Qxd6 Qxg5 {Black has not won
material but has a significant positional advantage thanks to the weak dark
squares in White's position as well as the isolated pawn on e4. The rest of
the game went as follows.} 19. Bf3 a3 {A further attack on the dark squares.}
20. b4 Rd8 21. Qg3 Qxg3 22. hxg3 f6 23. c5 Kf7 24. Be2 Ke7 25. Bc4 Rd4 $1 26.
Nd5+ $2 {A desperate attempt to create counterplay, but this quickly fails.}
cxd5 27. exd5 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Nf8 29. d6+ Kd8 30. b5 Be6 {and White resigned.} *

[Event "Eesti Masters 2021"]
[Site "Tornelo INT"]
[Date "2021.02.07"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Ehlvest, J."]
[Black "Kulaots, K."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E61"]
[WhiteElo "2517"]
[BlackElo "2548"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2021.02.05"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,60,30,30,30,23,55,37,38,6,15,-10,5,8,19,11,23,31,35,15,15,18,47,22,28,
19,28,16,69,34,50,37,-26,-20,-10,-27,-18,-34,-28,-28,0,-11,6,12,0,-28,2,-10,
-19,-48,-32,-34,-34,-138,-118,-124,-105,-101,0,0,0,-341,-346]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3
g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. Be2 d6 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nc3 e5 8. e4 exd4 9. Nxd4 Nc5
10. f3 c6 11. Kh1 Re8 12. Bg5 a5 13. Qd2 a4 14. Rfd1 Qa5 15. Rac1 {[#]} Nfxe4
$1 {A classical and typical theme. The queen on d2 is overburdened with
defensive tasks.} 16. fxe4 Bxd4 17. Qxd4 Ne6 18. Qxd6 Qxg5 {Black has not won
material but has a significant positional advantage thanks to the weak dark
squares in White's position as well as the isolated pawn on e4. The rest of
the game went as follows.} 19. Bf3 a3 {A further attack on the dark squares.}
20. b4 Rd8 21. Qg3 Qxg3 22. hxg3 f6 23. c5 Kf7 24. Be2 Ke7 25. Bc4 Rd4 $1 26.
Nd5+ $2 {A desperate attempt to create counterplay, but this quickly fails.}
cxd5 27. exd5 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Nf8 29. d6+ Kd8 30. b5 Be6 {and White resigned.}
0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.04.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "04.05"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r1k2r/1p1b1ppp/pq2pn2/2b5/3N1B2/1BP3P1/PP2QP1P/R4RK1 w k - 0 16"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,51,28,28,41,40,40,-8,21,34,34,33,50,47,76,20,10,10,7,9,20,24,22,-17,
11,12,38,44,44,38,51,37,51,-75,135,108,164,155,207,101,89,0,0,0,0,0,401,462,
678,678,678,245,1006,1225] [#]} 16. Nf5 $1 {White attacks Black's sole
unguarded pawn.} O-O ({Black can defend more stubbornly with} 16... Rg8 {
but White has an overwhelming an advantage because all of Black's pieces are
passive spectators to White's assault.} 17. Rad1 Qb5 18. Qe1 Bxf2+ {(an
attempt to find relief by exchanging some pieces)} 19. Rxf2 Qxf5 20. Rd4 Qc5
21. Bd6 Qb6 22. Ba3 Rc7 23. Qe5 Kd8 24. Rxf6 gxf6 25. Qxf6+ Kc8 26. Qxf7 {
with a decisive advantage for White.}) 17. Nxg7 Kxg7 $2 ({Or} 17... Bb5 18. c4
Bc6 19. Nh5 {and White is winning.}) 18. Be5 {Through this pin White will, at
minimum, win the piece back.} Be7 19. Qg4+ ({The game continued} 19. Rfd1 Rfd8
20. Qg4+ (20. Qh5 $1 {wins}) 20... Kf8 21. Qh4 Ng8 22. Qxh7 f6 $4 (22... Bf6 {
would have saved Black, e.g.,} 23. Bd6+ Be7 24. Be5 Bf6 {with a repetition of
moves}) 23. Rd4 Be8 24. Rg4 Bf7 25. Bf4 Qc6 26. Rg7 {and Black resigned.})
19... Kh8 20. Qh4 {and White is winning.} *

[Event "Titled Tuesday 2nd Feb"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.02"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Shahade, G."]
[Black "Kostenko, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C07"]
[WhiteElo "2476"]
[BlackElo "2437"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2021.02.02"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,51,28,28,41,40,40,-8,21,34,34,33,50,47,76,20,10,10,7,9,20,24,22,-17,
11,12,38,44,44,38,51,37,51,-75,135,108,164,155,207,101,89,0,0,0,0,0,401,462,
678,678,678,245,1006,1225]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3
cxd4 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nb3 Nc6 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Bd7 11. c3 Qc7 12.
Qe2 a6 13. g3 Rc8 14. Bb3 Bc5 15. Bf4 Qb6 {[#]} 16. Nf5 $1 {White attacks
Black's sole unguarded pawn.} O-O ({Black can defend more stubbornly with} 
16... Rg8 {but White has an overwhelming an advantage because all of Black's
pieces are passive spectators to White's assault.} 17. Rad1 Qb5 18. Qe1 Bxf2+ {
(an attempt to find relief by exchanging some pieces)} 19. Rxf2 Qxf5 20. Rd4
Qc5 21. Bd6 Qb6 22. Ba3 Rc7 23. Qe5 Kd8 24. Rxf6 gxf6 25. Qxf6+ Kc8 26. Qxf7 {
with a decisive advantage for White.}) 17. Nxg7 Kxg7 $2 ({Or} 17... Bb5 18. c4
Bc6 19. Nh5 {and White is winning.}) 18. Be5 {Through this pin White will, at
minimum, win the piece back.} Be7 19. Qg4+ ({The game continued} 19. Rfd1 Rfd8
20. Qg4+ (20. Qh5 $1 {wins}) 20... Kf8 21. Qh4 Ng8 22. Qxh7 f6 $4 (22... Bf6 {
would have saved Black, e.g.,} 23. Bd6+ Be7 24. Be5 Bf6 {with a repetition of
moves}) 23. Rd4 Be8 24. Rg4 Bf7 25. Bf4 Qc6 26. Rg7 {and Black resigned.})
19... Kh8 20. Qh4 {and White is winning.} 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.04.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "04.06"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4rrk1/pp4p1/2p4p/3n1pq1/3P4/4PpPP/PPQ2P2/1BR2RK1 b - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,56,18,18,15,3,25,34,36,-3,16,-16,6,31,31,17,32,-4,8,13,62,49,40,44,27,
16,24,37,24,-31,-16,-15,-5,-32,-11,4,12,0,29,-2,-4,-24,-27,-31,-34,-22,-40,-40,
-64,-48,-44,-72,-74,-220,-380,-29993,-29994,-29995,-29994] [#]} 25... Re4 $1 {
Black prepares to switch the rook to h4.} 26. Kh2 ({If} 26. Qd1 {(to answer 26.
..Rh4 with 27.Qxf3), then} Rxe3 $1 27. Qd2 f4 {(crashing through White's
defensive lines)} 28. g4 Qh4 29. fxe3 fxe3 30. Qh2 f2+ 31. Kg2 e2 {and Black
is winning.}) 26... Rh4 27. Rh1 Rxh3+ $1 {The breakthrough. The rook cannot be
captured.} 28. Kg1 Rxh1+ {and with mate in a few moves looming, White resigned.
} *

[Event "Titled Tuesday 2nd Feb"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.02"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Gasanov, E."]
[Black "Andreikin, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D60"]
[WhiteElo "2481"]
[BlackElo "2725"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2021.02.02"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,56,18,18,15,3,25,34,36,-3,16,-16,6,31,31,17,32,-4,8,13,62,49,40,44,27,
16,24,37,24,-31,-16,-15,-5,-32,-11,4,12,0,29,-2,-4,-24,-27,-31,-34,-22,-40,-40,
-64,-48,-44,-72,-74,-220,-380,-29993,-29994,-29995,-29994]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6
3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Qb3 e6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 O-O 7. Nc3 Nbd7 8. Rd1 h6 9. Bh4 Ne4 10.
Bxe7 Qxe7 11. Bd3 Nxc3 12. Qxc3 dxc4 13. Qxc4 e5 14. Bb1 e4 15. Nd2 Nf6 16. Qc2
Bg4 17. Rc1 Rae8 18. h3 Bh5 19. Nc4 Nd5 20. Ne5 f6 21. Nc4 f5 22. Ne5 Qg5 23.
O-O Bf3 24. Nxf3 exf3 25. g3 {[#]} Re4 $1 {Black prepares to switch the rook
to h4.} 26. Kh2 ({If} 26. Qd1 {(to answer 26...Rh4 with 27.Qxf3), then} Rxe3 $1
27. Qd2 f4 {(crashing through White's defensive lines)} 28. g4 Qh4 29. fxe3
fxe3 30. Qh2 f2+ 31. Kg2 e2 {and Black is winning.}) 26... Rh4 27. Rh1 Rxh3+ $1
{The breakthrough. The rook cannot be captured.} 28. Kg1 Rxh1+ {and with mate
in a few moves looming, White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.04.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "04.07"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1r2n2/1b5p/1p3kp1/pB1p1p2/P2pn3/1P1NPNP1/2R2P1P/2R3K1 w - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 24. Bc6 $3 {A strong intermediary move.} ({In the game, White did not
spot the opportunity available to him and instead continued:} 24. Nxd4 Rxc2 25.
Rxc2 Rc8 26. Rxc8 Bxc8 {with about equal chances even if Carlsen eventually
managed to win the game.}) 24... Rab8 ({Or} 24... Bxc6 25. Rxc6+ Rxc6 26. Rxc6+
Ke7 27. Nxd4 {and Black's position is falling apart.}) 25. Bxb7 Rxc2 26. Rxc2
Rxb7 27. Rc6+ Kf7 28. Nxd4 {White has won back the pawn and has a decisive
positional advantage.} *

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.08"]
[Round "11.7"]
[White "Vidit, S."]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A84"]
[WhiteElo "2726"]
[BlackElo "2862"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2021.02.06"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c6 4. e3 f5 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O Bd6 7. b3 Qe7 8. Bb2 O-O
9. Qc1 b6 10. Ba3 Bb7 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. Qa3 Qxa3 13. Nxa3 g6 14. Rfc1 Nbd7 15.
cxd5 exd5 16. Nc2 a5 17. a4 Ne4 18. g3 Kg7 19. Nce1 Rfc8 20. Rc2 c5 21. Bb5 Nf8
22. Rac1 Kf6 23. Nd3 cxd4 {[#]} 24. Bc6 $3 {A strong intermediary move.} ({
In the game, White did not spot the opportunity available to him and instead
continued:} 24. Nxd4 Rxc2 25. Rxc2 Rc8 26. Rxc8 Bxc8 {with about equal chances
even if Carlsen eventually managed to win the game.}) 24... Rab8 ({Or} 24...
Bxc6 25. Rxc6+ Rxc6 26. Rxc6+ Ke7 27. Nxd4 {and Black's position is falling
apart.}) 25. Bxb7 Rxc2 26. Rxc2 Rxb7 27. Rc6+ Kf7 28. Nxd4 {White has won back
the pawn and has a decisive positional advantage.} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.04.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "04.08"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r3/kp1r4/p3p2R/B2n1p2/3n2p1/P5P1/KP3PB1/3R4 b - - 0 55"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,172,24,24,24,24,24,18,55,22,40,3,29,28,36,-17,17,-1,7,-10,38,8,23,-4,
42,42,41,50,41,37,31,31,31,27,30,44,53,17,65,34,49,36,51,28,27,25,25,-16,-9,-9,
-8,-8,22,-29,-29,-38,-19,-14,-21,-89,41,41,40,34,24,9,9,54,25,5,18,-39,1,-115,
-101,-101,-110,-110,-101,-81,-104,-117,-92,-131,-143,-132,-102,-136,-114,-118,
-88,-133,-108,-123,-91,-114,-76,-77,-76,-98,-70,-62,-62,-89,-92,-79,-79,-98,
-84,-78,-75,-81,-108,-121,-126,-161,-161,-91,-91,-84,-67,-96,-83,-127,-106,
-117,-102,-138,-101,-108,-107,-175,-179,-159,-159,-147,-142,-140,-128,-154,
-156,-218,-140,-140,-140,-169,-169,-171,-126,-140,-121,-121,-79,-155,-206,-134,
-134,-127,-205,-205,-232,-234,-232,-309,-445,-481,-476,-476,-476,-476,-519,
-547,-547,-682,-773] [#]} 55... Nc6 $1 {Black exploits White's loose pieces.}
56. Bd2 ({Or} 56. Bxd5 Nxa5 57. Bb3 ({also} 57. Bc6 Rxd1 58. Bxe8 Rd2 {wins
for Black}) 57... Rxd1 58. Bxd1 Rd8 59. Ba4 Rd2 60. Rxe6 Rxf2 {and Black has a
won endgame.}) ({Also} 56. Be1 {loses after} Ndb4+ {and the rook on d1 falls.})
56... Nb6 $1 {Preparing to leap to c4.} 57. Bxc6 bxc6 58. Kb1 Red8 59. Kc1 Rd6
{The pin on the d-file, combined with the extra pawn guarantees Black a
certain victory. Nakamaru converts the advantage flawlessly.} 60. b3 R8d7 61.
a4 Kb7 62. Kc2 c5 63. Rhh1 Kc6 64. Rhe1 Nd5 65. Re2 ({Or} 65. Ba5 Nb4+ 66. Bxb4
Rxd1 67. Rxd1 Rxd1 68. Kxd1 cxb4 {with a won pawn ending for Black.}) 65...
Nb4+ 66. Kc1 e5 67. Rh1 Nd3+ 68. Kc2 f4 69. gxf4 exf4 70. Bc3 Nb4+ 71. Bxb4
cxb4 72. Rg1 f3 73. Re4 Rd2+ 74. Kc1 R7d4 75. Rexg4 Rxg4 76. Rxg4 Rxf2 77. Rxb4
Ra2 78. Rf4 f2 {White loses because of his king's unfortunate position on the
back rank.} 79. Kd1 a5 80. Rf5 Kd6 81. Rf3 Kd5 82. Rf4 Ke5 83. Rf8 Kd4 84. Rf3
Ke4 85. Rf8 Ke3 86. Re8+ Kd3 {and White finally resigned.} *

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.08"]
[Round "14.5"]
[White "Bluebaum, Matthias"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D05"]
[WhiteElo "2670"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "172"]
[EventDate "2021.02.06"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,172,24,24,24,24,24,18,55,22,40,3,29,28,36,-17,17,-1,7,-10,38,8,23,-4,
42,42,41,50,41,37,31,31,31,27,30,44,53,17,65,34,49,36,51,28,27,25,25,-16,-9,-9,
-8,-8,22,-29,-29,-38,-19,-14,-21,-89,41,41,40,34,24,9,9,54,25,5,18,-39,1,-115,
-101,-101,-110,-110,-101,-81,-104,-117,-92,-131,-143,-132,-102,-136,-114,-118,
-88,-133,-108,-123,-91,-114,-76,-77,-76,-98,-70,-62,-62,-89,-92,-79,-79,-98,
-84,-78,-75,-81,-108,-121,-126,-161,-161,-91,-91,-84,-67,-96,-83,-127,-106,
-117,-102,-138,-101,-108,-107,-175,-179,-159,-159,-147,-142,-140,-128,-154,
-156,-218,-140,-140,-140,-169,-169,-171,-126,-140,-121,-121,-79,-155,-206,-134,
-134,-127,-205,-205,-232,-234,-232,-309,-445,-481,-476,-476,-476,-476,-519,
-547,-547,-682,-773]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 c5 4. Nbd2 Nc6 5. c3 cxd4 6.
exd4 Bf5 7. Nh4 Bg4 8. Ndf3 e6 9. h3 Bh5 10. Bd3 Bd6 11. Qe2 Bg6 12. Nxg6 hxg6
13. Bg5 Qc7 14. g3 O-O-O 15. O-O-O Kb8 16. Kb1 Rc8 17. h4 Na5 18. Ne5 Ka8 19.
Bf4 Rhd8 20. Rc1 Nc6 21. Rhe1 Bxe5 22. dxe5 Nd7 23. h5 gxh5 24. Qxh5 g6 25. Qe2
Rh8 26. c4 d4 27. c5 Nb4 28. a3 Nd5 29. Rc4 Nb8 30. Rxd4 Qxc5 31. Rc4 Qb6 32.
Bd2 Nc6 33. Rec1 Rh2 34. Be1 Rd8 35. Be4 a6 36. Rd1 Nxe5 37. Rcc1 Nc6 38. Qf3
Ne5 39. Qe2 f6 40. Ka1 g5 41. Qd2 Nc6 42. Qd3 Rhh8 43. Kb1 Ne5 44. Qe2 g4 45.
Bg2 Rhe8 46. Qe4 Qb3 47. Qc2 Qxc2+ 48. Kxc2 f5 49. Kb1 Nc6 50. Bd2 Rg8 51. Rh1
Nd4 52. Ba5 Rd7 53. Ka2 Ka7 54. Rh6 Re8 55. Rd1 {[#]} Nc6 $1 {Black exploits
White's loose pieces.} 56. Bd2 ({Or} 56. Bxd5 Nxa5 57. Bb3 ({also} 57. Bc6 Rxd1
58. Bxe8 Rd2 {wins for Black}) 57... Rxd1 58. Bxd1 Rd8 59. Ba4 Rd2 60. Rxe6
Rxf2 {and Black has a won endgame.}) ({Also} 56. Be1 {loses after} Ndb4+ {
and the rook on d1 falls.}) 56... Nb6 $1 {Preparing to leap to c4.} 57. Bxc6
bxc6 58. Kb1 Red8 59. Kc1 Rd6 {The pin on the d-file, combined with the extra
pawn guarantees Black a certain victory. Nakamaru converts the advantage
flawlessly.} 60. b3 R8d7 61. a4 Kb7 62. Kc2 c5 63. Rhh1 Kc6 64. Rhe1 Nd5 65.
Re2 ({Or} 65. Ba5 Nb4+ 66. Bxb4 Rxd1 67. Rxd1 Rxd1 68. Kxd1 cxb4 {with a won
pawn ending for Black.}) 65... Nb4+ 66. Kc1 e5 67. Rh1 Nd3+ 68. Kc2 f4 69. gxf4
exf4 70. Bc3 Nb4+ 71. Bxb4 cxb4 72. Rg1 f3 73. Re4 Rd2+ 74. Kc1 R7d4 75. Rexg4
Rxg4 76. Rxg4 Rxf2 77. Rxb4 Ra2 78. Rf4 f2 {White loses because of his king's
unfortunate position on the back rank.} 79. Kd1 a5 80. Rf5 Kd6 81. Rf3 Kd5 82.
Rf4 Ke5 83. Rf8 Kd4 84. Rf3 Ke4 85. Rf8 Ke3 86. Re8+ Kd3 {and White finally
resigned.} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.04.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "04.09"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2rr4/1b2qpk1/4p1p1/p1npP1Pp/1p3Q2/1B3P2/PPPRN1P1/1K1R4 w - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 25. Bc4 $1 ({In the game, both sides struggled to find the right moves:} 
25. g4 $4 hxg4 $2 (25... Rh8 $1 {gives Black a large advantage}) 26. Qf6+ Qxf6
27. gxf6+ Kh6 $4 ({now Black is losing; after} 27... Kf8 {, the chances would
have been even}) 28. Rh1+ $4 ({White misses his chance; with} 28. Rd4 $1 {
, he would have been winning, e.g.,} g5 29. Rxg4 $1 {and Black's king is
hopelessly stuck on the frying pan.}) 28... Kg5 29. f4+ Kf5 {and Black has a
clear advantage in the endgame and eventually won the game.}) 25... Rh8 ({
Getting the rook out of the pin. The bishop cannot be captured:} 25... dxc4 26.
Qf6+ Qxf6 27. gxf6+ {and White is winning.}) 26. Bb5 $1 Kg8 27. Rh1 {and with
the bishop safe from harm, White will follow up with Nd4 and g2-g4, breaking
through on the kingside while Black does not have adequate counterplay against
White's king.} *

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.06"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B75"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2862"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2021.02.06"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 a6 8. Qd2
h5 9. Bc4 Nbd7 10. O-O-O b5 11. Bb3 Nc5 12. Kb1 Bb7 13. Rhe1 Rc8 14. Bg5 O-O
15. Nd5 e6 16. Nxf6+ Bxf6 17. h4 Bxg5 18. hxg5 Kg7 19. Qe3 Qc7 20. Rd2 b4 21.
Red1 Rfd8 22. Qf4 Qe7 23. Ne2 a5 24. e5 d5 {[#]} 25. Bc4 $1 ({In the game,
both sides struggled to find the right moves:} 25. g4 $4 hxg4 $2 (25... Rh8 $1
{gives Black a large advantage}) 26. Qf6+ Qxf6 27. gxf6+ Kh6 $4 ({now Black is
losing; after} 27... Kf8 {, the chances would have been even}) 28. Rh1+ $4 ({
White misses his chance; with} 28. Rd4 $1 {, he would have been winning, e.g.,}
g5 29. Rxg4 $1 {and Black's king is hopelessly stuck on the frying pan.}) 28...
Kg5 29. f4+ Kf5 {and Black has a clear advantage in the endgame and eventually
won the game.}) 25... Rh8 ({Getting the rook out of the pin. The bishop cannot
be captured:} 25... dxc4 26. Qf6+ Qxf6 27. gxf6+ {and White is winning.}) 26.
Bb5 $1 Kg8 27. Rh1 {and with the bishop safe from harm, White will follow up
with Nd4 and g2-g4, breaking through on the kingside while Black does not have
adequate counterplay against White's king.} 0-1

[Event "Astana"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2001.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Sadvakasov, Darmen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. a4 Nc6 8. Qe2
Qc7 9. Rd1 Bd6 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. b3 O-O 12. Bb2 e5 13. Nc3 e4 14. Ng5 Bd6 15.
Nd5 Nxd5 16. Rxd5 Bxh2+ 17. Kh1 Be5 18. Qh5 Bf5 19. Nxf7 Rxf7 20. Qxf5 g6 21.
Bxe5 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.02.11"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/2b3k1/3r4/8/4Q1PP/6K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.02.11"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/6b1/7P/8/1k1r4/1PR5/1K6 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.02.11"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1k2r1r1/1b6/6q1/8/8/5B2/2R2PPP/1Q3RK1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.02.11"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1kq5/8/8/8/n7/8/PPP5/RKR5 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.02.11"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "bbk3r1/8/3q4/8/8/1Q3N2/5PPP/1R3RNK b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.02.11"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "Q7/b5k1/1r6/5q2/6n1/8/5PPP/5RK1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "U.S. Open"]
[Site "Hawaii"]
[Date "1998.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Dyson, P.."]
[Black "Kacheishvili, Georgi GM"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D04"]
[WhiteElo "2135"]
[BlackElo "2565"]
[Annotator "Dyson"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "1998.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 04.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.04.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 c5 4. c3 Qc7 5. Bd3 Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Qxf3 Nc6 8. Nd2
e6 9. O-O cxd4 10. exd4 Bd6 11. Re1 Bf4 12. Nf1 Bxc1 13. Raxc1 O-O 14. Ne3 Rab8
15. Ng4 Nd7 16. Bb1 b5 17. Qd3 g6 18. Qd2 Rfc8 {[#]} 19. h4 h5 {Happiness! I
already worked out my next 5 moves.} 20. Nh6+ Kg7 21. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 22. Bxg6+ $1
{A small crowd from the top boards gathered to see what was going on. After
the game, GM Gufeld asked, "how many ways were there to win!?".} Kxg6 23. Rxe6+
Kf7 24. Qh6 {This was as far as I had calculated. With my major pieces
descending on the naked Black Monarch, if I didn't mate him, it should not be
too hard to drum up a perpetual.} Nf8 25. Qf6+ $6 (25. Rf6+ $1 {is the winning
path.} Kg8 26. Qg5+ Kh8 27. Qxh5+ Kg7 28. Qg5+ Kh8 29. Re1 Re8 (29... Nh7 $2
30. Qh5 Rf8 31. Rxc6 $1 Qxc6 $2 32. Re7 {leads to Mate.}) 30. Qh5+ Kg7 31. Rxe8
Rxe8 32. Qxe8 Kxf6 33. Qxf8+ {With 4 pawns for the piece.}) 25... Kg8 26. Re3
Nxd4 $6 {After the game, Kacheishvili said it was "the only move".} 27. Qxd4
Qd6 28. Rce1 Rc4 29. Qxa7 $2 $11 {In time pressure I played this too quickly.}
(29. Rg3+ $1 Ng6 30. Qd1 Rxh4 31. Rxg6+ $1 Qxg6 32. Qxd5+ Kf8 33. Qe5 $3 {
Almost impossible to spot 3 moves earlier, and completely winning. White will
win one of Black's Rooks.}) 29... Ra4 30. Qe7 Qxe7 31. Rxe7 Rxa2 32. R1e5 Ng6
33. Rg5 Rb6 34. Rd7 Rxb2 35. Rdxd5 {White needs only eliminate the pawns to
draw.} Kf7 36. g3 (36. Rxh5 $1 $11) 36... Ne7 37. Rc5 Rf6 38. Rxb5 Rbxf2 {
Here Black is threatening mate. But the simple Rxh5 creates an escape square
on g4, and eliminates the last Black pawn. After the game, Kacheishvili agreed
this would be an easy draw.} 39. Rb1 $4 R2f3 40. Rc1 $2 R6f5 {Kacheishvili
made the time control with 2 seconds to spare. With his last pawn secure, he
converted the win on move 72.} 0-1

