[Event "2008 Electronic Knights"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wilbur Tseng"]
[Black "Tim Corkum"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E87"]
[WhiteElo "2344"]
[BlackElo "2114"]
[Annotator "Dunne, Alex"]
[PlyCount "104"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 Nh5 (7... c6)
8. Qd2 Qh4+ {Diagram [#]} 9. Bf2 (9. g3 Nxg3 (9... Qe7) 10. Qf2 Nxf1 11. Qxh4
Nxe3) 9... Qe7 10. Nge2 f5 11. exf5 gxf5 12. O-O-O Na6 13. h3 (13. Re1) 13...
f4 14. Rg1 Kh8 15. g4 fxg3 (15... Nf6 16. Kb1) 16. Nxg3 Nf4 (16... Nxg3) 17.
Kb1 Nxh3 18. Bxh3 Bxh3 19. Nh5 Bf5+ 20. Ka1 Bg6 21. Nxg7 Qxg7 22. Rg3 Rf4 23.
Ne4 Qf7 24. Ng5 Qf5 25. b3 Qc2 {Diagram [#]} 26. Qxc2 Bxc2 27. Rh1 Rf6 28. Be3
Re8 29. Rh6 Ref8 30. Rxf6 Rxf6 31. f4 Bg6 (31... Nb4 32. fxe5 dxe5 33. Ne6 c6
34. d6 Rxe6 35. Bc5 Nd3 36. d7) 32. fxe5 dxe5 33. Nf3 Nb4 34. Bg5 Ra6 35. a4
Nd3 36. Bd8 e4 37. Nh4 Kg7 38. Bxc7 Rf6 39. Kb1 Rf3 40. Nxf3 exf3 41. Rg1 f2
42. Rf1 Bf5 43. Bg3 Bh3 44. Rxf2 Nxf2 45. Bxf2 a6 46. Kc2 Kf6 47. Kc3 Bg4 48.
b4 {Diagram [#]} b5 (48... Ke5 49. Bg3+ Ke4 50. b5 axb5 51. axb5 Bd7 52. d6 h5
53. Kb4 Bg4 54. Kc5 Kd3 55. Kd5 Bd7 56. Be5 Kc2 57. c5 Bxb5 58. Ke6 Kb3 59. d7
Bxd7+ 60. Kxd7) 49. cxb5 axb5 50. a5 Ke5 51. a6 Bc8 52. a7 Bb7 1/2-1/2

[Event "36th Cardinal Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.26"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM Andre Diamant"]
[Black "FM Carl Boor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C10"]
[WhiteElo "2535"]
[BlackElo "2382"]
[Annotator "Andre Diamant"]
[PlyCount "61"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. g3 b6 6. Bg2 Rb8 7. Nf3 (7. Ne2)
7... Bb7 8. Qe2 Ngf6 9. Nxf6+ Nxf6 10. O-O Bd6 11. b3 O-O 12. Bb2 Qc8 13. c4
Nd7 14. Rfd1 Re8 15. Rac1 Be7 16. Rc2 Bf6 17. Rcd2 a6 18. h4 b5 19. Rc2 bxc4 (
19... Be7) 20. Qxc4 c5 (20... Be4 21. Rcc1 Qb7 22. Ne5 Bxg2 23. Nxd7 Bh3 (23...
Bd5 24. Qxc7 Qxc7 25. Rxc7) (23... Rbc8 24. Nxf6+ gxf6 25. d5) 24. Qc6 Qxc6 25.
Rxc6 {Diagram [#]}) 21. Qe2 Bd5 22. dxc5 Bxb2 23. Rxb2 a5 (23... Qxc5 24. Qxa6
Nf6) 24. Rc2 a4 25. bxa4 Rb4 26. c6 Nf6 27. Nd4 Rxa4 28. Nb5 Rd8 29. c7 Rd7 30.
Qe3 Rc4 31. Rdc1 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Scheveningen"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B80"]
[Annotator "Pete Tamburro"]
[PlyCount "10"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 {Diagram [#]} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "The Sicilian Taimanov"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B47"]
[Annotator "Pete Tamburro"]
[PlyCount "10"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 {Diagram [#]} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Slay the Sicilian"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B48"]
[Annotator "Pete Tamburro"]
[PlyCount "26"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Be2 a6 8. a3
b5 9. Nxc6 dxc6 10. f4 Bb7 11. O-O {Diagram [#]} Rd8 (11... c5) 12. Qe1 Be7 13.
e5 Nd7 (13... Nd5) *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Dragon"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B78"]
[Annotator "Tamburro, Pete"]
[PlyCount "24"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2
Nc6 9. Bc4 (9. O-O-O) (9. g4) 9... Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8 (10... Rb8) 11. Bb3 Ne5
12. h4 h5 {Diagram [#]} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Keres' Attack"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B81"]
[Annotator "Tamburro, Pete"]
[PlyCount "18"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. g4 (6. Be2) (6. Be3) (6.
Bc4) (6. g3) (6. f4) 6... h6 7. h4 Nc6 8. Rg1 h5 9. g5 Ng4 {Diagram [#]} *

[Event "World Chess Team Championship"]
[Site "Ningbo CHN"]
[Date "2011.07.24"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Yasser Seirawan"]
[Black "Shakhriyar Mamedyarov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A43"]
[WhiteElo "2635"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2011.07.17"]

1. d4 c5 2. d5 f5 3. e4 fxe4 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. g4 h6 6. h3 d6 7. Nge2 e5 8. Ng3 Be7
9. Bg2 Na6 10. Ncxe4 Bd7 11. O-O Nxe4 12. Bxe4 O-O 13. f4 exf4 14. Bxf4 {
Diagram [#]} Bg5 15. Qd2 (15. Bxd6 Rxf1+ 16. Qxf1 Qb6 17. Be5 Re8 18. Bc3 c4+
19. Kg2 Nc5 20. Qxc4 (20. Re1) 20... Nxe4 21. Nxe4 Bb5) 15... c4 16. Bxg5 Qxg5
17. Qxg5 hxg5 18. Bf5 Bxf5 19. Nxf5 Nb4 20. Ne3 Rxf1+ 21. Rxf1 c3 22. bxc3 Nxa2
23. c4 a5 24. Nf5 a4 25. Nxd6 a3 26. Nxb7 Nb4 27. c3 Nd3 28. c5 Nf4 29. d6 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1995.01.04"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Viswanathan Anand"]
[Black "Garry Kasparov"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B85"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. a4
Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. f4 Qc7 11. Kh1 Re8 12. Bd3 Nb4 13. a5 Bd7 14. Nf3 Bc6 15.
Bb6 Qc8 16. Qe1 Nd7 17. Bd4 Nc5 18. Qg3 f6 19. e5 {Diagram [#]} Rf8 (19... dxe5
) 20. Bxc5 (20. exf6 Bxf6 21. Bxh7+ Kxh7 22. Ng5+) 20... dxc5 21. Bc4 Bd5 22.
Nxd5 exd5 23. Bb3 c4 24. Ba4 Nc6 25. c3 fxe5 26. Nxe5 Nxe5 27. fxe5 Qe6 28. Bc2
Rxf1+ 29. Rxf1 Rf8 30. Rxf8+ Bxf8 31. Qf4 g6 32. Bd1 Qf7 33. Qd4 Qf1+ 34. Qg1
Qxg1+ 35. Kxg1 Kf7 36. Bg4 b6 1/2-1/2

[Event "World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"]
[Date "2011.09.07"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Gata Kamsky"]
[Black "Peter Svidler"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2739"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2011.08.28"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. axb5
axb5 9. c3 d6 10. d4 Bb6 11. Be3 O-O 12. Nbd2 h6 13. h3 Re8 14. Qc2 exd4 15.
cxd4 Na5 16. Ba2 Bb7 17. e5 Nd5 18. Bb1 g6 19. Bxh6 Nc6 20. exd6 Qxd6 21. Ne4
Qb4 22. Ba2 Nxd4 23. Nf6+ Kh8 24. Nxd4 Nxf6 25. Nc6 Qh4 26. Nxb8 Re2 (26... Qg3
27. Nc6) 27. Qc3 (27. Qxe2 Qg3) 27... Rxf2 28. Nc6 Rxf1+ 0-1

[Event "Wch Sevilla"]
[Site "11"]
[Date "1987.11.09"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Anatoly Karpov"]
[Black "Garry Kasparov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D87"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "1987.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8.
Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Bg4 11. f3 Na5 12. Bxf7+ Rxf7 13. fxg4 Rxf1+ 14.
Kxf1 Qd6 15. Kg1 Qe6 16. Qd3 Qc4 17. Qxc4+ Nxc4 18. Bf2 cxd4 19. cxd4 e5 20. d5
Bh6 21. h4 Bd2 22. Rd1 Ba5 23. Rc1 b5 24. Rc2 Nd6 25. Ng3 Nc4 26. Nf1 Nd6 27.
Ng3 Nc4 28. g5 Kf7 29. Nf1 Nd6 30. Ng3 Nc4 31. Kf1 {Diagram [#]} Ke7 32. Bc5+
Kf7 (32... Kd7 33. Rf2) (32... Nd6 33. Ke2) 33. Rf2+ Kg7 34. Rf6 Bb6 35. Rc6
Na5 36. Bxb6 Nxc6 37. Bc7 Rf8+ 38. Ke2 Rf7 39. Bd6 Rd7 40. Bc5 Na5 41. Nf1 Rc7
42. Bd6 Rc2+ 43. Kd3 Rxa2 44. Ne3 Kf7 45. Ng4 Nc4 46. Nxe5+ Nxe5+ 47. Bxe5 b4
48. Bf6 b3 49. e5 Rxg2 50. e6+ Kf8 51. d6 b2 52. d7 b1=Q+ 0-1

[Event "World Youth Championship"]
[Site "Maribor SLO"]
[Date "2012.11.14"]
[Round "7.7"]
[White "Pouya Idani"]
[Black "Chang Liu"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2462"]
[BlackElo "2336"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2012.11.08"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Bg5 c6 5. Qd2 Qa5 6. f4 Nf6 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. e5
dxe5 9. fxe5 Nd5 10. Bd3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Nb6 12. O-O Be6 13. Qe2 h6 14. Bd2 Qd5
15. a4 Nc4 16. Bf4 g5 17. Bc1 O-O-O 18. Rb1 f6 19. Rb4 Na5 20. Re1 Bg4 21. Be4
Qd7 22. h3 Be6 23. Bd3 f5 24. Be3 Rhf8 25. Reb1 f4 26. Bf2 Bxh3 27. gxh3 Qxh3
28. Rxb7 Nxb7 29. Ba6 Rd7 30. e6 Rc7 31. Bxb7+ Kd8 32. Ba6 Rc8 33. Bxc8 g4 34.
Qa6 gxf3 {Diagram [#]} 35. Qa5+ Ke8 (35... Kxc8 36. Qa6+ Kd8 37. Rb8+) 36. Bd7#
1-0

[Event "World Youth Championship"]
[Site "Maribor SLO"]
[Date "2012.11.18"]
[Round "11.6"]
[White "Gabor Nagy"]
[Black "Daniel Forcen Esteban"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D71"]
[WhiteElo "2408"]
[BlackElo "2479"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2012.11.08"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Nc6 8.
Nc3 Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Bxd4 10. Qc2 Bf5 11. e4 Bd7 12. Bh6 e5 13. Ne2 Ba4 14. b3 Bxa1
15. bxa4 Bd4 16. a5 Nd7 17. Nxd4 exd4 18. e5 c5 19. Qb3 Rb8 20. f4 c4 21. Qxc4
Qc8 22. Qe2 Nf8 23. g4 Rg8 24. Kh1 Qe6 25. Rd1 Rc8 26. h4 Qc4 27. Qf3 Rc6 28.
Rb1 Ne6 29. Rxb7 Rc8 30. Bf1 Qc1 {Diagram [#]} 31. f5 Qxh6 32. fxe6 Qxh4+ 33.
Kg1 Rg7 34. Rxf7 (34. exf7+ Kf8 35. Qa3+) 1-0

[Event "World Youth Championship"]
[Site "Maribor SLO"]
[Date "2012.11.16"]
[Round "9.9"]
[White "William Fisher"]
[Black "Vladislav Kovalev"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C48"]
[WhiteElo "2225"]
[BlackElo "2484"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "2012.11.08"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Nxd4 exd4 6. e5 dxc3 7. exf6 Qxf6
8. dxc3 Qe5+ 9. Qe2 Qxe2+ 10. Bxe2 d5 11. Be3 Be6 12. O-O Bd6 13. Rfe1 O-O 14.
g3 a6 15. Kg2 Rfe8 16. Rad1 Bf5 17. Bd3 Be4+ 18. f3 Bxd3 19. cxd3 b5 20. Bf2 f6
21. Kf1 Kf7 22. Rxe8 Rxe8 23. Re1 Rxe1+ 24. Kxe1 c5 25. Kd2 Ke6 26. b3 c4 27.
dxc4 dxc4 28. b4 Kd5 29. a3 h5 30. Be1 f5 31. Ke2 g5 32. Bd2 g4 33. Ke3 Bc7 34.
Kf2 a5 35. Bc1 Bd8 36. Bd2 a4 37. Ke2 Bf6 38. Kf2 Bd8 39. Ke2 h4 40. Kf2 h3 41.
Ke2 Bc7 42. Kf2 Be5 43. f4 Bb8 44. Ke2 Ke4 45. Be3 Bc7 46. Bc5 {Diagram [#]}
Bxf4 47. gxf4 g3 48. Bg1 (48. hxg3 h2) 48... Kxf4 49. Kf1 gxh2 50. Bxh2+ Ke3
51. Ke1 Kd3 52. Be5 f4 53. Bxf4 Kxc3 54. Kd1 Kb2 55. Bc1+ Kb1 0-1

[Event "World Youth Championship"]
[Site "Maribor SLO"]
[Date "2012.11.12"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Vladimir Fedoseev"]
[Black "Jonathan Westerberg"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C04"]
[WhiteElo "2509"]
[BlackElo "2322"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2012.11.07"]

1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd7 6. Bb5 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1
a5 9. c3 Na7 10. Bd3 b6 11. h4 c5 12. Ng5 Bxg5 13. hxg5 Qxg5 14. Ne4 Qe7 {
Diagram [#]} 15. Nf6+ Nxf6 (15... gxf6 16. Qg4+ Kh8 17. Qh4 f5 18. Qxe7) 16.
Bg5 Qc7 17. Bxf6 gxf6 (17... Re8 18. Qg4 g6 19. Qg5) 18. Bxh7+ Kh8 (18... Kxh7
19. Qh5+ Kg8 20. Qg4+ Kh8 21. Re3) 19. Qh5 Rg8 20. exf6 1-0

[Event "World Youth Championship"]
[Site "Maribor SLO"]
[Date "2012.11.17"]
[Round "10.5"]
[White "Karen H Grigoryan"]
[Black "Jan-Krzysztof Duda"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B25"]
[WhiteElo "2508"]
[BlackElo "2456"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2012.11.08"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nge2 Nf6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. d3 Nc6 8. h3
Rb8 9. f4 Bd7 10. a4 a6 11. g4 b5 12. axb5 axb5 13. Ng3 b4 14. Nce2 Qb6 15. g5
c4+ 16. d4 Nh5 17. Nxh5 Nxd4 18. Kh1 Nxe2 19. Qxe2 gxh5 20. f5 c3 21. Be3 Qb5
22. Qf3 cxb2 23. Rab1 Bc3 24. Qxh5 Ra8 25. f6 exf6 26. Qh4 f5 27. exf5 Bxf5 28.
Bd4 Qc4 29. Rxf5 Qxd4 30. Rf4 {Diagram [#]} Ra1 (30... Qxf4 31. Qxf4 Ra1 32.
Qf1 Rxb1 33. Qxb1 Re8 34. Bd5 Re1+ 35. Qxe1 Bxe1 36. Ba2) 31. Rxd4 Rxb1+ 32.
Kh2 Re1 33. Qxe1 Bxe1 34. Rd1 Bd2 35. Rb1 Bc1 0-1

[Event "World Youth Championship"]
[Site "Maribor SLO"]
[Date "2012.11.12"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Matthias Bluebaum"]
[Black "Vladimir Fedoseev"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A90"]
[WhiteElo "2438"]
[BlackElo "2509"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2012.11.07"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c6 4. g3 Bd6 5. Bg2 f5 6. O-O Nf6 7. Qc2 O-O 8. Nc3
Ne4 9. Rb1 b6 10. b4 Bb7 11. c5 Be7 12. Ne5 Nd7 13. Bf4 Nxe5 14. Bxe5 Ng5 15.
Bf4 Nf7 16. Rfd1 Qd7 17. Na4 Bd8 18. f3 g5 19. Bc1 Nh8 20. e4 Ng6 21. e5 Ba6
22. Nb2 f4 23. Nd3 Bc4 24. a4 Be7 25. Nb2 Ba6 26. Nd3 Rac8 27. Re1 Kh8 28. Bd2
Bc4 29. Nb2 g4 30. Nxc4 gxf3 31. Bxf3 fxg3 32. Bg4 dxc4 33. Qxc4 Rcd8 34. Re4
Rf2 35. Be3 Rxh2 36. Bxe6 Qe8 37. Rg4 Nf4 38. Bf7 Ne2+ 39. Kf1 Qd7 40. e6 Qc8
41. Re1 Rf8 {Diagram [#]} 42. d5 (42. Rxe2 Rxf7+) 42... Rxf7+ 43. exf7 Qf5+ 44.
Qf4 Qxf4+ (44... Nxf4 45. Rg8#) 45. Rxf4 g2+ 46. Kxe2 g1=Q+ 47. Kd1 1-0

[Event "ABC-244-March-2013"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lange vs. Lampert"]
[Black "Berlin 1903"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2013.01.19"]
[SourceDate "2013.01.19"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 {Diagram [#]} 4. c3 (4. b4) (4. Nc3) (4. d3) (4.
O-O) 4... Nf6 (4... d6 5. d4 exd4 (5... Bb6 6. dxe5 dxe5 7. Qxd8+ Nxd8 (7...
Kxd8 8. Bxf7) 8. Nxe5)) 5. d4 (5. d3) 5... exd4 (5... Bb6 6. dxe5 Nxe4 7. Qd5)
6. cxd4 Bb4+ (6... Bb6 7. d5 (7. e5 d5)) 7. Nc3 (7. Bd2) 7... Nxe4 (7... Bxc3+
8. bxc3 Nxe4 9. d5) 8. O-O Nxc3 (8... Bxc3 9. d5) 9. bxc3 Be7 (9... Bxc3 10.
Qb3 (10. Ba3)) 10. d5 Na5 11. d6 Bxd6 (11... Nxc4 12. dxe7 Qxe7 (12... Kxe7 13.
Qe2+) 13. Re1) (11... cxd6 12. Bxf7+ Kxf7 13. Qd5+) 12. Re1+ Be7 (12... Kf8 13.
Bxf7 Kxf7 (13... Qf6 14. Bh5 g6 15. Bh6+ Kf7 (15... Kg8) 16. Qd5+) 14. Qd5+ Kf8
15. Bg5) 13. Bg5 (13. Bxf7+ Kxf7 14. Qd5+ Kf8 15. Ng5 Qe8 16. Qxa5) 13... f6 (
13... Nc6 14. Bxe7 Nxe7 15. Ng5 O-O 16. Qh5 h6 17. Nxf7) 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Ne5
h5 (15... Kf8 16. Qh5 Kg7 (16... Qe8 17. Qh6#) 17. Qf7+ Kh6 18. Ng4+ Kg5 19.
Qg7+ Kh5 (19... Kh4) (19... Kf4 20. g3+ Kf3 (20... Kf5)) 20. Qh6+ Kxg4 21. h3+
Kf5 22. g4#) 16. Qd3 (16. Qd5 Rf8 17. Qd3 f5 18. Qf3 Rh8 19. Qxf5) 16... Rh6 (
16... Kf8 17. Ng6+ Kg7 18. Rxe7+ Kh6 (18... Qxe7 19. Nxe7) 19. Qe3+ Kxg6 20.
Qg3+) 17. Qd5 Rh7 18. Qg8+ Bf8 19. Ng6+ (19. Bf7+ Ke7 20. Nc4#) (19. Qg6+ Ke7
20. Nf7#) 19... Re7 (19... Qe7 20. Qxf8#) 20. Bf7# {Diagram [#]} (20. Qxf8#) (
20. Qf7#) 1-0

[Event "ABC-244"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "Overload"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqk2r/pp3ppp/2p2n2/2bpp3/4P3/1BNP4/PPP2PPP/R1BQK1NR b KQkq - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2013.01.19"]
[SourceDate "2013.01.19"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... dxe4 0-1

[Event "ABC-244"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "Pin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5rk1/5pp1/8/1q6/8/3p4/2PPR3/2BQK3 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2013.01.19"]
[SourceDate "2013.01.19"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... dxe2 2. Qxe2 Re8 0-1

[Event "ABC-244"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "Pin/fork"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3q1rk1/2p2pp1/5n2/2N5/8/3p4/2PPBPP1/2BQK3 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2013.01.19"]
[SourceDate "2013.01.19"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... dxe2 2. Qxe2 (2. Kxe2 Qe7+) 2... Re8 0-1

[Event "ABC-244"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "Fork"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3q2k1/1pp2pp1/8/2b5/N7/6P1/2PP1P2/3Q2K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2013.01.19"]
[SourceDate "2013.01.19"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Bxf2+ 2. Kxf2 Qd4+ 0-1

[Event "ABC-244"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.01.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "Back rank"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r2k/6pp/1p6/8/q7/5QPb/7P/2B3KR b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2013.01.19"]
[SourceDate "2013.01.19"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Qd4+ (1... Re1+ 2. Kf2 Rxh1 3. Qf8#) 2. Be3 (2. Qf2 Re1#)
2... Qxe3+ 0-1

[Event "ABC-244"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.02.13"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Position 6"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r3/4b3/8/2k5/4n3/5P2/2PP4/3QKB2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[SourceDate "2013.01.19"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Bh4+ 2. Ke2 Nf2# 0-1

[Event "US Chess League"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.09.17"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Akobian, Varuzhan"]
[Black "Molner, Mackenzie"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E10"]
[WhiteElo "2697"]
[BlackElo "2499"]
[Annotator "GM Akobian and William Faulk"]
[PlyCount "155"]

{This game was played in the third week of the US Chess League regular season.
This was my first game so I wanted to help  my team win the match.} 1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 b5 {As I prepared for this game, I noticed that my
opponent prefers to play the Blumenfeld Gambit against 1.d4} 5. Bg5 exd5 6.
cxd5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. Qc2 Be7 9. e4 Qg6 $6 {A better attempt was} (9... Qb6
10. a4 {and White has a slight advantage due to a lead in development and
better control of the light squares.}) 10. Nbd2 Na6 {This is an interesting
move and I believe the best move for Black in this position.} 11. Bxb5 Rb8 12.
Qa4 Qb6 13. Be2 Qxb2 14. O-O Qb4 15. Qc2 Qb2 16. Qd1 O-O 17. Nc4 {This a very
tempting move to make but it would have been more accurate to play.} (17. e5 d6
18. Rb1 Qa3 19. exd6 {and White has a big advantage since Black cannot capture
on d6 because  of Nc4 (fork)}) 17... Qb7 18. d6 Bd8 19. e5 Nb4 20. Rb1 Qa8 21.
a3 Nc6 22. Qd3 {Diagram [#] This is a very rare position given that all of
Black's pieces except the c6 Knight are on the 8th rank.  Also possible was to
play .} (22. Rxb8 Qxb8 23. Qd5 Qb5 24. Bd3 {and White is slightly better})
22... Ba6 23. Qf5 {Activating my Queen and attacking the pawn on d7} Rxb1 24.
Rxb1 Na5 {This is a good move for Black as he pressures the Knight on c4. It
is important in this position for Black to activate his pieces else he remains
in a bind due to the pawn wedge on d6} 25. Nfd2 {This is an important move as
I lack a better means to protect my Knight on c4.} Qd5 {Another active move on
the part of my opponent...} 26. Ne3 $1 {This another nice move---a discovered
attack to win the Bishop on a6 and it is the only means by which I can keep my
advantage} Qxd2 27. Bxa6 c4 {This move is a virtual necessity for Black if he
is to activate his dark-squared Bishop. Another possibility was to play} (27...
Bg5 28. Rd1 Qc3 29. Nd5 Qb3 30. Qb1 $1 {! and White has a nice advantage}) 28.
Nxc4 Nxc4 29. Bxc4 Bb6 30. g3 {Creating luft for the King and planning to
place the King on g2 in order to avoid checks and tactical possibilities on
the dark squares.} Qd4 31. Bb3 (31. Rc1 $1 Qb2 32. Rc2 $18) 31... Qc3 32. Kg2
Qc6+ 33. Kh3 Qc3 34. a4 Qd2 35. Kg2 Qe2 36. Bd5 Qd2 37. Bc4 Qc3 38. Qf4 Qc2 39.
Rc1 Qg6 40. Rc3 Kh8 41. Rf3 f6 42. Bd3 Qf7 43. Qf5 {Here I thought that my
position was winning but I was low on time. Although I saw the winning move,
the time pressure disallowed calculation of the variation in its entirety} (43.
Qe4 $1 Qg8 44. a5 {good move as it deflects the Bishop on b6 from defending
the a7 pawn which is no longer protected.} Bxa5 45. Bc4 Qh7 46. Qb7 {White is
winning, threatening to win the a7 pawn and, more importantly, the pawn on d7.}
) 43... g6 $6 {Another missed opportunity for White to win immediately.} 44.
Qe4 $6 {still another missed opportunity for White to win immediately} (44. Qh3
$1 h5 45. exf6 Bd4 46. g4 Qe6 47. g5 Qd5 48. Qg3 Be5 49. Qh4 {White is just
winning here because of the very strong pawn on f6 and the threat of Bxg6
which results in a clearly winning position}) 44... f5 45. Qh4 Kg7 46. Bc4 Qe8
47. Qe7+ Qxe7 48. dxe7 Re8 49. Rd3 {The exchange of the Queens leads to a very
uncomfortable endgame for Black.} Rxe7 50. f4 Bc7 51. Bb5 Bb6 52. Bxd7 {
Diagram [#] White is technically winning. My plan is to put the Rook on d5 and
bring the King to a6.} h5 53. Kf3 Kf8 54. Rd5 Kg7 55. h3 Rf7 56. a5 Bc7 57. e6
Re7 58. Ke3 Kf6 59. h4 Rh7 60. Rc5 Bd8 61. Kd3 Rh8 62. Rc8 Kg7 63. Ra8 Be7 {
Now White wins the a7 pawn because if} (63... Bxa5 64. Rxh8 Kxh8 65. e7 {and
White will promote the pawn.}) 64. Rxa7 Rb8 65. Rc7 Rb3+ 66. Rc3 Rb1 67. Rc4
Rd1+ 68. Kc2 Rd6 69. Ra4 Ra6 70. Kb3 Kf6 71. Kc4 Bd8 72. Kb5 Ra7 73. a6 Ke7 74.
Rc4 Kd6 75. Rc6+ Ke7 76. Rc8 Bc7 77. Re8+ Kf6 78. Bc6 {I was glad to win my
first game of the season and help my team, the Seattle Sluggers, to win this
match 3-1.} 1-0

[Event "US Chess League"]
[Site "Las Vegas USA"]
[Date "2012.10.24"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Akobian, Varuzhan"]
[Black "Schroer, Jonathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2697"]
[BlackElo "2414"]
[Annotator "GM Akobian and William Faulk"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2009.06.05"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{This game was played in Round 8 of the regular season and my opponent is an
International Master .} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 (3. Nc3 {allows 3...Bb4, the
Nimzo-Indian Defense which I wanted to avoid.}) 3... d5 {and the game
transposed into the Queen's Gambit Declined.} 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 {Another main
move in this position is 5. Bg5} O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 {The main move in this
position is 6...c5 but Black's  move has gained popularity in recent years.} 7.
c5 c6 8. h3 {Usually, White plays 8. Bd3 to which Black may respond 8...Nh5
forcing exchange of the strong dark-squared Bishop.  The move I selected
allows me to keep the Bishop by retreating it to h2. The following few moves
are part of opening theory.} b6 9. b4 a5 10. a3 Ba6 11. Bxa6 Rxa6 12. O-O Qc8 {
Black wants to play Qb7 followed by Rfa8 planning to conveniently double his
Rooks on the a-file} 13. Rb1 axb4 14. axb4 Qb7 15. Qc2 {This is an interesting
position because Black appears to be relatively safe and without any
significant problem. Though he has exchanged his bad Bishop, the presence of
the c5 pawn on the queenside restricts the movement of Black's pieces and
ensures that White will enjoy a long-lasting advantage.} Rc8 {Slightly better
would have been to play} (15... Rfa8 {as doubling Rooks on the open file is
natural and appears preferable here. It seems my opponent believed I would play
} 16. b5 Ra3 17. cxb6 c5 $1 {After this strong move black is doing fine.}) 16.
Rfc1 b5 {closing the queenside.} 17. Ra1 {Here, White is fighting for the a-
file and is only slightly better.} Rca8 {Black hopes that I will capture on a8
but instead I continue fighting for the file.} 18. Qb2 Bd8 {Here, Black hopes
to play Bc7 and exchange his passive Bishop for my active dark-squared
counterpart.} 19. Nd2 {After the exchange of the Bishops, I plan to bring my
Knight to b3 and then to a5 putting pressure on the weak c6 pawn.} Bc7 20. Rxa6
Rxa6 21. Bxc7 Qxc7 22. Ra1 {I continue my fight for the a-file.} Rxa1+ $6 {I
believe this is the first inaccuracy of the game. This capture surrenders the
a-file to White. Black should have played} (22... Qa7 23. Rxa6 Qxa6 24. Nb3 {
White has a slight advantage due to the strong c5 pawn and the pressure soon
to be exerted by White's Knight on the c6 pawn once it occupies a5}) 23. Qxa1
e5 $2 {This is a serious inaccuracy because it allows White to activate his
Queen on a8 and virtually forces Black to play Nb8 which leaves Black in an
awkward position without counterplay and a very weak pawn on c6. Better would
have been} (23... g6 24. Qa8+ Kg7 25. Nb3 Ng8 {White is clearly better though
Black has some defensive resources.}) 24. Qa8+ Nb8 25. Nf3 exd4 {If} (25... e4
$2 26. Ne5 {and there is no way to prevent capture of the c6 pawn which would
precipitate the collapse of Black's position.}) 26. Nxd4 {exerting more
pressure on the c6 pawn.} Nfd7 {Necessary to prevent the capture on c6.} 27. f4
$1 {Diagram [#] gaining more space and restricting the movement of Black's
Knight on d7.} g6 28. g4 {continuing to gain space. Also possible would have
been} (28. Ndxb5 cxb5 29. Nxd5 Qd8 30. Qb7 Nf8 31. e4 {Though White is down a
piece, he is better because he will pick up the b5 pawn giving him strong
connected outside passed pawns.}) 28... Nf8 29. Nce2 {The idea behind this
move is if Black tries to play Ne6 to exchange my strong Knight on d4 after
the exchange, my other Knight will come to the same square keeping the
pressure on the c6 pawn.} Kg7 30. Kf2 {I am improving all of my pieces as
there is no need to rush as Black is virtually without counterplay.} h6 31. h4
g5 $2 {This move loses but Black's position is already very difficult. Better
would have been} (31... Nfd7 32. h5 Nf6 33. hxg6 Ne4+ 34. Kf3 Kxg6 35. Ng3 Nxg3
36. Kxg3 {White is winning due to Black's many weaknesses}) 32. Nf5+ Kh7 33.
Qa1 $1 {Diagram [#]threatening mate on g7.} Ne6 34. Qf6 gxf4 35. Nxf4 {There
is no need to rush the inevitable capture of the h6 pawn.} d4 36. Qxh6+ Kg8 37.
Nxd4 {Black resigns as he is down two pawns without any compensation.} 1-0

[Event "US Chess League"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.10.29"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Akobian, Varuzhan"]
[Black "Bhat, Vinay S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D13"]
[WhiteElo "2697"]
[BlackElo "2555"]
[Annotator "GM Akobian and William Faulk"]
[PlyCount "81"]

{This game was played in the ninth round of the regular season. We faced a
formidable opponent in the San Francisco Mechanics. My opponent is also a
Grandmaster.} 1. d4 {This game was played in the ninth round of the regular
season. We faced a formidable opponent in the San Francisco Mechanics. My
opponent is also a Grandmaster.} d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 {After
approximately ten minutes, I decided to play the Slav Defense Exchange
Variation in order to obtain a slight but stable advantage. My decision was
made over the board and not prior to commencement of the game. I was also
acting upon my estimation that my opponent would be surprised by my choice as
I play this variation only infrequently, perhaps 25% of the time.} cxd5 5. Nf3
Nc6 6. Bf4 Nh5 {This came as somewhat of a surprise because the move is
uncommon. By playing this move, my opponent avoids all of the main lines of
this defense.} 7. Bd2 Nf6 8. e3 e6 9. Ne5 {I am virtually compelled to play
this move for if I play anything else, White is without any discernible
advantage. This move also helps prepare f4 which will support the Knight on e5.
} Nxe5 10. dxe5 Nd7 11. f4 {Forced, else I lose the pawn.} Nc5 $6 {Black has
moved this Knight five times in his first eleven moves. While violation of
opening principles is not necessarily always wrong, movement of single piece
this often in the opening is probably almost always inviting trouble.  I
believe this move was an inaccuracy because it unnecessarily loses a tempo
while continuing to delay development. A better idea is for Black to play} (
11... Bc5 12. Bd3 a6 13. O-O b5 14. b4 Be7 (14... Bxb4 15. Nxb5 $1 {very strong
}) 15. a4 {and White has a slight advantage due to better development and the
e5 pawn which confers a space advantage.}) 12. b4 $1 {and Black must move the
Knight for exactly one half of his twelve total opening moves. The move also
allows me to gain the initiative.} Ne4 ({If Black plays} 12... Na6 13. a3 {and
White has a nice advantage as Black's  Knight is misplaced.}) 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14.
Qc2 Bd7 {a good developing move for Black.} 15. b5 $1 {Diagram [#]  This move
is very important because  I must prevent Black's Bishop from reaching c6. If
I allow the Bishop to this square, his otherwise passive Bishop becomes very
active. If} (15. Qxe4 $6 Bc6 16. Qd3 Qh4+ {and Black has activated his pieces
and is obtains good counterplay}) 15... f5 {This is necessary to keep the e
pawn.} 16. exf6 {e.p.} Qxf6 17. Rd1 $1 {This is another important move which
is necessitated if White is to retain any advantage.} Qf5 18. Qc7 {This is
still another important move. I must delay completion of development in order
to prevent Black from playing Rc8 and diminishing White's advantage.} b6 19.
Be2 {Stronger would have been} (19. Bc3 $1 Qf7 20. Be2 Rc8 21. Qe5 {and White
has a big advantage because of the huge lead in development and Black's weak
pawns.}) 19... Qc5 20. Qb7 Qd5 21. Qa6 {Thought the move looks awkward, it is
the means by which White can keep a significant advantage} Rc8 22. Bc3 $6 {
This is inaccurate. Better was} (22. O-O $1 Rc2 23. Bc3 Qxa2 (23... Qa8 24.
Bh5+ Kd8 25. Rxd7+ Kxd7 26. Rd1+ Bd6 27. Qa3) 24. Qb7 {White is winning in
both variations.}) 22... Qc5 23. Bd4 $6 {At this point , I nearly lost my
advantage. Stronger was} (23. Bd2 {and White retains his slight edge}) 23...
Qb4+ 24. Kf2 Rc7 $2 $138 {Here, Black misses an opportunity to play} (24... Rc2
$1 25. Rhe1 Bxb5 26. Qxa7 Bxe2 27. Qa8+ (27. Rxe2 $4 Rxe2+ 28. Kxe2 Qc4+ 29.
Ke1 Bb4+ 30. Kf2 Qc2+ 31. Kg3 Qxd1 {black is winning}) 27... Kf7 28. Qb7+ Ke8
29. Qa8+ $11 {Had Black played this line, he could have drawn. However, the
line is quite lengthy and very difficult to find in time trouble.}) 25. Rc1 $1
{Diagram [#]White is ready to sacrifice his Queen in exchange for a Bishop,
Rook and a very dominating position. Black would still be far behind in
development and his uncastled King would face serious dangers.} Bc8 26. Rxc7
Bxa6 27. bxa6 Bd6 {This loses the Rook on h8 but a better move is hard to find
because White threatens to capture the a7 pawn and White's pawn on a6 is very
strong as it threatens to promote.} ({If} 27... Be7 28. Rc8+ Bd8 29. Bxg7 Rg8
30. Bf6 {and White is winning}) 28. Rc8+ Kf7 29. Rxh8 Bxf4 30. Rc1 $1 {This is
still another important move. White brings his last piece into the game.
Activation of this Rook helps guard against movement of the e5 pawn} e5 31.
Rc7+ Kg6 32. Bc3 {Gaining a tempo on Black's Queen and the Rook on c7 is
covering the c5 square disallowing occupation by Black's Queen. Black had
wanted this square for his Queen in order to attack on e3 pawn.} Qb1 33. Rg8
Bxe3+ {Black sacrifices his Bishop in order to attempt to create some
counterplay.} 34. Kxe3 Qc1+ 35. Kxe4 Qc2+ 36. Bd3 Qxg2+ 37. Kxe5+ Kh6 38. Rgxg7
Qxh2+ 39. Kd5 Qh5+ 40. Be5 Qh1+ 41. Kd6 {Black runs out of checks and resigns.
I was happy to help my team to win this match and clinch a playoff berth} 1-0

[Event "World Cities Team Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.12.22"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Kisuze, Stephen"]
[Black "Finegold, Ben"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A10"]
[Annotator "Finegold, Ben"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2012.12.22"]
[SourceDate "2012.12.22"]

1. c4 b6 {Unusual, but I play it against lower rated players often, with good
success.} 2. g3 Bb7 3. Nf3 Bxf3 4. exf3 c5 {Black tries to take control of the
d4 square.} 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. O-O g6 7. d3 Bg7 8. Nc3 Rc8 {Diagram [#] This move
is a bit odd, but I wanted to play Nh6-d4. I thought if I played Nh6 straight
away, that he would take it, but he would be less likely to do so if he
already moved his bishop. Maybe I think too much?} 9. Be3 Nh6 10. Qd2 Nf5 11.
Rad1 O-O 12. a3 e6 13. g4 $2 {A postional (k)nightmare! My opponent, for some
reason, really wanted to play Bh6, but this is too much.} Nfd4 14. Bh6 $2 {
Losing a pawn.} Ne5 15. Qe3 Nexf3+ 16. Bxf3 Nxf3+ 17. Qxf3 Bxh6 18. Nb5 a6 19.
Nc3 f5 20. Qh3 Qg5 21. f3 Bg7 22. Qg3 h5 23. gxh5 Qxh5 24. Kh1 f4 25. Qg2 Bd4
26. Ne4 Kg7 27. b3 d5 28. Nf2 b5 29. Ng4 bxc4 30. bxc4 Rb8 31. Rb1 dxc4 32.
dxc4 Qf5 33. Qa2 e5 34. Rfe1 Qd3 35. Rf1 {Diagram #} Rb2 $1 36. Rbd1 Qxf1+ 37.
Rxf1 Rxa2 0-1

[Event "World Cities Team GpE"]
[Site "Al-Ain UAE"]
[Date "2012.12.23"]
[Round "2.7"]
[White "Hungaski, R."]
[Black "Golizadeh, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A38"]
[WhiteElo "2469"]
[BlackElo "2476"]
[Annotator "Finegold, Ben"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r2r2/2Nb1pkp/3pp1p1/1P6/P3n3/6P1/2R2P1P/2R2BK1 b - - 0 28"]
[PlyCount "14"]
[EventDate "2012.12.22"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2012.12.24"]
[WhiteTeam "Chicago"]
[BlackTeam "Tehran"]

{Diagram [#]} 28... Nc5 {Hungaski played a nice positional game and was
pushing his passed pawns to victory. Black tries to stop him by attacking the
Nc7 and Pa4, but Robert continues forth!} 29. Rxc5 $1 dxc5 30. Rxc5 Rfd8 31. a5
{Black is helpless against the pawn duo, so tries one last tactical trick. But
Robert is up to the task.} Bxb5 32. Bxb5 Rd5 33. Ne8+ $1 Rxe8 34. Rxd5 Ra8 35.
Bc6 $1 1-0

[Event "World Cities Team Championship"]
[Site "Al-Ain UAE"]
[Date "2012.12.23"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Niaz Murshed"]
[Black "Nigel Short"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A43"]
[WhiteElo "2464"]
[BlackElo "2692"]
[Annotator "Finegold, Ben"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2012.12.22"]

1. d4 e6 2. g3 c5 3. Nf3 b5 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. c3 Na6 6. O-O Be7 7. Na3 Qb6 8. dxc5
Nxc5 9. Be3 a5 10. b4 axb4 11. cxb4 Rxa3 12. bxc5 Qa6 13. Ne5 Nf6 14. Bxb7 Qxb7
15. Qc1 Ra6 16. Bd4 O-O 17. Qb2 Rfa8 18. Nd3 Ra4 19. Be5 h5 20. Rfb1 Qe4 21.
Qd2 Qc6 22. Qb2 Ng4 23. Bc3 Bxc5 24. Nxc5 Qxc5 25. e3 f6 26. h3 Nh6 27. Rd1 Qf5
28. Rxd7 Qxh3 29. Bxf6 {Diagram [#]} gxf6 30. Qxf6 Qh2+ 31. Kf1 (31. Kxh2 Ng4+
32. Kg2 Nxf6) 31... Qh1+ 32. Ke2 Rxa2+ 0-1

[Event "World Cities Team GpE"]
[Site "Al-Ain UAE"]
[Date "2012.12.24"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Akobian, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2711"]
[BlackElo "2622"]
[Annotator "Finegold, Ben"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2012.12.22"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2012.12.24"]
[WhiteTeam "Paris"]
[BlackTeam "Chicago"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h6 5. g4 {Maxime is very much a fighting
player.} Bd7 6. h5 e6 7. Nf3 c5 8. c3 Qb6 9. Be2 Nc6 {Now the position looks
more like Var's beloved French Defense.} 10. O-O f6 11. Nh4 Nge7 12. Na3 cxd4
13. exf6 gxf6 {Diagram [#]} 14. Nb5 {The position was so complicated, so early,
that Var used up tons of time. Already he was in mild time trouble!} Rg8 15.
cxd4 O-O-O 16. Be3 a6 17. a4 Kb8 $2 {Black would have the advantage after the
unusual 17.. .Be8! This treatens the h5 pawn, and in some instances allows
black to play axb5, since the Kc8 has the d7 flight square.} 18. a5 Rxg4+ 19.
Bxg4 Qxb5 20. Qd2 e5 21. Bxd7 Rxd7 22. Rfc1 Nc8 23. Ng6 Bb4 24. Qd1 Nd6 25.
dxe5 fxe5 26. Qg4 {White is only slightly better here, but VAr had less than
one minute to get to move forty, and simply cannot figure out all the tactics.}
Rd8 $2 27. Bxh6 Ne4 28. Be3 Nd4 29. Nxe5 Ne2+ 30. Kg2 {Diagram [#]} Nxc1 $2 {
Var had to try either 30...d4 or 30...Nf6. Now it's over.} 31. Rxc1 Bxa5 32. h6
Qe8 33. h7 Ka8 34. Nf7 {The h pawn decides. If 34...Qxf7 then 35.Rc8+ and
white checkmates.} 1-0

[Event "Al Ain 2012"]
[Site "Al Ain"]
[Date "2012.12.25"]
[Round "4.8"]
[White "Smeets, Jan"]
[Black "Finegold, Benjamin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B39"]
[Annotator "Finegold, Ben"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6r1/3pk3/1Nb1pp2/p1P4p/3RPn1p/PP3P2/5KP1/5B2 b - - 0 32"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]

{Diagram [#]} 32... e5 {I was slightly/clearly worse the whole game. Now Jan
gives me a chance.} 33. Rd6 $6 Rb8 34. Rd1 Ne6 $2 ({I should have played} 34...
d6 $1 35. cxd6+ (35. Rxd6 $2 Rxb6) 35... Kd8 36. Nc4 Rxb3 37. Nxa5 Rb2+ 38. Kg1
Bd7 {and black has good drawing chances with his active rook and knight.}) 35.
b4 axb4 36. axb4 Nd4 37. Bc4 d6 38. Rh1 dxc5 39. bxc5 Ne6 40. Bxe6 Kxe6 41.
Rxh4 Rd8 42. Rxh5 Rd2+ 43. Kg3 Rc2 {Diagram [#]} 44. Rh7 $1 {I completely
missed this excellent move.} Rxc5 45. Nc8 Bxe4 (45... f5 46. exf5+ Kxf5 47. Rc7
Ke6 48. Na7 $18) 46. Re7+ Kd5 47. fxe4+ Kxe4 48. Nd6+ Kd5 49. Nf5 Ke4 50. Kg4
Rc2 51. g3 Rc6 52. Rd7 Ra6 53. Rd6 Rxd6 54. Nxd6+ Kd5 55. Ne8 Ke6 56. Ng7+ Kd5
57. Kf5 e4 58. Ne6 e3 59. Nf4+ 1-0

[Event "North American Open"]
[Site "Las Vegas"]
[Date "2012.12.28"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "GM Chao LI"]
[Black "GM Timur Gareev"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2670"]
[BlackElo "2660"]
[Annotator "Gareev, Timur"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2012.12.??"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceDate "2011.05.31"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb7 6. Bg2 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 c5 8. Bxb4
cxb4 9. O-O O-O (9... a5 {is proactive} 10. a3 Na6) 10. a3 Nc6 (10... Na6 11.
Ne5 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 $14) 11. Ne5 a5 12. e3 d5 {I was happy with the
straightforward nature of black's moves. Black's strategy would be to set the
key pawns on black squares playign d6 followed by e5. That is due to having
the dark square bishop swap earlier. Black is now going with the dynamic of
the position. White's b1 knight is restricted. Black must keep up the pace to
utilize the edge in development.} 13. Nd3 Qe7 14. Nd2 (14. a4 Rad8 15. f4 dxc4
16. bxc4 Nxd4 $1) 14... Rac8 $2 {Major strategic mistake allowing white to
restrict black's counterplay.} (14... bxa3 15. Qc1 (15. Nb1 a2 16. Rxa2 Nb4)
15... Nb4 16. Qxa3 dxc4 17. Bxb7 (17. Nxc4 $2 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Qb7+) 17... Qxb7
18. Nxb4 c3 $1 {was the move I missed in my calculation} (18... axb4 19. Qxb4
cxb3 20. Nxb3 Nd5 {is about even, but seemed better for white})) 15. a4 $1 Ba6
16. f4 dxc4 17. bxc4 Nb8 18. Nb2 {Diagram [#] Nice technical decision,
preserving the pieces from being attacked or exchanged. Right about here I
considered my position strategically lost. The computer says black is a little
better.} (18. Ne5 Ne8 19. Qb3 Nd6 20. Rfc1 Rc7 {Black has an opportunity to
later target the e5 knight.}) 18... Ne8 19. Rc1 f5 {Black restricts white's
potential central takeover with e4.} 20. Nd3 Nd7 21. Qb3 Nef6 22. Ne5 Rc7 (
22... Nxe5 23. fxe5 Ng4 {seems playable for black}) 23. Rc2 Rfc8 24. Rfc1 Bb7 {
Even after we swap the bishops white's holes are not so easy to exploit. White
directs the central knight to cover those nicely. Although black is happy to
exchange pieces having less space.} 25. Bxb7 Rxb7 26. Nd3 $1 Rbc7 27. Nf2 {
Computer supports my play throughout and gives black a little edge after 27...
Qd6. The evaluation is not correct. White has more opportunities to maneouver
and build up pressure. Black on the other hand has resources to maintain
balance.} Kh8 28. h3 Ne8 29. g4 Nd6 30. g5 Qf7 31. Kg2 Qh5 {Black is creating
some activity and slowing down white's expansion.} 32. Qd3 Nb7 {nice computer
move getting proactive vs. c5 break and potentially having knight going to c5
sac.} 33. Nf3 Rd8 34. Qb3 Nf8 {Multipurpose move covering e6 and potentially
transferring the knight to g6} (34... Rdc8) 35. Kg3 (35. Nd3 {followed by c5
break is computer's preferred way}) 35... Nd6 {White can not conveniently
advance on the kingside. This is about time to break on the queen side.} 36. c5
bxc5 37. Rxc5 Rxc5 38. Rxc5 Ne4+ 39. Nxe4 fxe4 40. Ng1 {This is the first time
computer suggests tangible edge for white.} Ng6 {We now hit the 40 move time
control. I noticed a couple ways black was penetrating. I now felt like I
finally seized the initiative in the game.} 41. Rc1 {My opponent missed his
golden opportunity. White gets on the defensive. Black must act fast.} (41.
Qxe6 $1 Qd1 42. Kh2 Nh4 43. Qxe4 b3 44. Re5 g6 45. Re7 Qc2+ 46. Qxc2 bxc2 47.
Rc7 Nf5 {Black reatains some drawing chances}) 41... Rf8 (41... e5 {is a
thematic break.} 42. dxe5 h6 $1 (42... Qh4+ 43. Kg2 Rd2+ 44. Kh1 {Is good for
white due to black's 8th rank weakness.}) 43. Qf7 hxg5 44. f5 Qh4+ 45. Kg2 Nf4+
{with complications apparently leading to a draw}) 42. Qc2 {White continues
with his cautious strategy covering the essential points of penetration. Past
few defensive moves took Li Chao a lot of effort. I was now ahead on time 20
vs. 8 minutes with 30 sec per move increment.} Qh4+ 43. Kg2 {Diagram [#]} Nxf4+
$1 {is a natural sac for pawns and initiative.} 44. exf4 Qxf4 45. Re1 $2 {
Right about here Li Chao was offering a draw. That certainly did not seem to
be an option. White is down on time and has got a wide open king. My e & b
pawns are dangerous.} (45. Qc5 {seemed like the best continuation.} e5 46. dxe5
e3 47. e6 Qe4+ {where black is satisfied with a perpetual check.}) 45... e3 $1
46. Qe2 $2 {Second mistake allowing black to break through white's guard.} (46.
Kh1 {was the best defense.} b3 47. Qd3 (47. Qxb3 Qe4+ 48. Kh2 Rf2+) 47... b2 {
The computer is still holding on. Even then white would have faced a
challenging task saving this game.}) 46... Qxg5+ 47. Kh1 $2 (47. Qg4 Qd5+ 48.
Nf3 Qa2+ 49. Kh1 Qf2 $19) 47... Rf2 {Irina mentioned she wanted to focus on
the most competitive battles. I have a clear feeling as to what chess battle
represents to me. There has hardly been a time that I had a good feeling about
making a draw without discovering the truth behind the position. In order to
truly tap into your potential, you must let go of the outcome and immerse
yourself in the game as it is unfolding. Killer 8/9 result was a combination
of focus, flow, and lots of good luck. Each one of the games I wanted to win
more than my opponents. Even stronger than my desire to win was my curiousity
to explore the game.} (47... Rf2 48. Qg4 Qd5+ $19) 0-1

[Event "North American Open"]
[Site "Las Vegas USA"]
[Date "2012.12.29"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "GM Chao Li"]
[Black "GM Giorgi Kacheishvili"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2670"]
[BlackElo "2602"]
[Annotator "Gareev, Timur"]
[PlyCount "166"]
[EventDate "2012.12.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2012.12.31"]

{We looked at the game briefly when it was over, so my notes incorporate some
of Giorgi's comments.} 1. e4 {Apparently, Li Chao can open with either hand;
he played 1.d4 against Timur.} c5 {Aha, the pawn moves up a square further
than usual.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ {a favorite line of the Chinese.} Bd7 4. Bxd7+
Qxd7 5. O-O Nf6 6. Qe2 Nc6 7. Rd1 e6 $6 {Giorgi was very hard on himself for
this positional lapse, calling it "unforgivable." He underestimated the bind
he was about to get into.} (7... Rc8 $1 {is the move he realized he should
have played. The main point is that Black hasn't committed himself to ...e6,
so 8.d4 is not a problem at all- Black will take and play ...g6, getting a
very comfortable position. And on} 8. c3 e6 9. d4 cxd4 10. cxd4 d5 11. e5 Ne4 {
again we see the power of the rook on c8, because the typical} 12. Ne1 {fails
to} (12. Be3 Be7 13. Ne1 f6 14. f3 Ng5 {Black is also totally fine.}) 12...
Nxd4 $1 {I'm sure not everyone will appreciate the tragedy of substituting a
normal looking move like 7...e6 for 7...Rc8, but these types of decisions are
normally his bread and butter and this one misstep led to many moves of
passive suffering.}) ({The computer shocked us by suggesting} 7... g5 $5 {with
the point that on} 8. Nxg5 {Black follows with} Nd4 {and ...Qg4 winning. Umm
well, this ...g5 wasn't taught in any positional handbooks from the last
century :) Maybe in some from the twenty-first..}) 8. d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Rc8 10.
Nf3 $1 {White avoids the exchange of pieces before setting up a Maroczy bind
structure. Also 11.e5 is now a threat.} Qc7 11. c4 {Giorgi said he didn't
think White would be able to hold this setup with the pawn on c4 (after all,
there are already two potential attackers on the c-file), but by move 15 it
becomes clear that White can indeed hold his space advantage.} a6 12. Bf4 Nd7
13. Nc3 Nce5 14. Rac1 Be7 (14... Qxc4 15. Nd5 $18) (14... Nxc4 15. Nb1 $18 {
with b3 to follow.}) 15. b3 O-O 16. Nd4 {Diagram [#] Here's the outline of
what we will be seeing for the next twenty moves. We're going to skip over the
subtle hedgehog maneuvering and pick up when the action accelerates closer to
the time control.} Qb8 17. Bg3 Rc7 18. h3 Rfc8 19. Qe3 h6 20. Kh1 Bf8 21. Rc2
Qa7 22. Qe1 Nc5 23. Rcd2 Qb6 24. Nc2 Ncd7 25. Ne3 Qc6 26. f4 Ng6 27. Nc2 Nb8
28. Nd4 Qe8 29. Nf3 Nd7 30. a4 Rc6 31. Bh2 Rb6 32. Rb1 Rbc6 33. Qe3 R6c7 34.
Rbd1 Rc6 35. Ne2 R6c7 36. g4 $5 {Pushing those kingside pawns is a double
edged strategy.} Nc5 {I'd say the past couple of moves have seen more useful
maneuvering from Black than from White. White's made himself vulnerable to the
...b5 and ...f5 breaks.} 37. Re1 (37. a5 f5 $132) 37... b5 38. cxb5 axb5 39. a5
b4 40. h4 {Diagram [#] Yes, White's definitely overextended himself a bit, but
Black's natural final move before the time control largely forgives him.} Qc6 {
The computer recommends 40...Ra7 with advantage to Black.} 41. Ned4 Qb7 {
Another small mistake, 41...Qa8 was stronger, but it's a human instinct to
want to control the b5 square.} 42. f5 exf5 43. Nxf5 Re8 44. Rd4 Ne6 (44... Ne5
{or 44...Rc6 were alternatives to giving the d6 pawn away.}) 45. Nxd6 Bxd6 46.
Rxd6 Rc3 47. Rd3 Rc5 {This move seemed strong to me after Giorgi played it,
but now Li Chao finds a powerful continuation.} ({I was thinking about} 47...
Rec8 $5 {, for example, on} 48. Red1 {Black has} Nc5 $1) 48. h5 $1 {never
underestimate the usefulness of pushing back your opponent's pieces.} Ngf8 49.
Ne5 $1 {Diagram [#] This was the nice find from Li Chao- using the h-pawn to
gain the e5 square for the knight. I didn't like how things were going,
because it looked like White would either get to keep the a5 pawn or Black
would lose the exchange. Well, technically that's not the case, but the idea
is still tricky.} Qa8 ({It looked like} 49... Rxa5 {was impossible because of}
50. Nc4 {but Black can slip away from the loss of material with} Ra2 51. Nd6
Qb8 $1 {and the pin to the Bh2 keeps White from capturing on e8. This is of
course how Black should have played to keep the balance, but Giorgi missed the
...Qb8 idea.}) 50. Nc4 {The knight got to such a good outpost, and Black is
down a pawn. The only source of hope is those overextended pawns on the
kingside...there is always hope when the king is weak. The comp suggests the
Nh7-g5 maneuver and says that Black has compensation. But Giorgi made an
unusual decision to lodge the rook there instead.} Rg5 $5 51. Qf3 Nc5 52. Rde3
Nfe6 53. Rd1 {Through these last moves, you can feel that Black is close to
the edge, that he's holding on, but not by much...} Rd8 54. Bd6 Qc6 55. Ree1 $1
{Putting the rook on a safe square, and defending against Black's ...Nxb3 idea.
} f6 56. Kh2 Rc8 {Renewing the ...Nxb3 idea.} 57. Nb6 Rd8 58. Nc4 Rc8 {Well,
it was unlikely that White would repeat moves here. However, what the computer
shows as his only try to retain an advantage is nearly impossible to find,
especially with little time. The comp suggests taking on c5 and then some Qg3
move, but it's still unclear. So practically speaking, Black is back in the
game.} 59. Kg3 Nxb3 {Finally Black carries out this idea.} 60. Nb6 {White was
counting on this move, but it happens to lose...It was time to bail out with
60.Qxb3.} Ned4 (60... Nbd4 $1 {was the right knight:} 61. Nxc8 Qxc8 62. Qe3 Nc2
{but honestly it's hard to tell the difference with a few minutes on the clock.
}) 61. Nxc8 Qxc8 62. Qf4 Qc3+ 63. Qe3 Qc8 64. Qf4 Qc3+ 65. Qe3 Qc8 66. Qf4 {
Diagram [#] So here's an interesting moment. The position is super sharp, but
Black has the initiative. They were both down to a minute or two, and Giorgi
gave some checks to gain time. They actually repeated the position thrice, and
White offered a draw (he missed his chance of claiming it). I kind of thought
maybe Giorgi had had enough of excitement, and since there was nothing clear
and no time, he'd take it. But he used his remaining time and found a way to
play on for a win. Proving that he's a real wolf!} Nc2 $1 67. Re2 {The comp
says 67.e5 and White can make a draw. It's really like the game with Gareev-
White has some defense but it's basically impossible to find.} Nbd4 {this
knight dance was the point. Now Black forces White's rook to leave the e-file,
and we shall soon find out why this is important...} 68. Red2 {Diagram [#]}
Qc3+ $2 (68... Ne3 $1 {was the simple winning move that Li Chao pointed out
after the game. Just a little deflection, and attacking the most juicy square
in White's position. Everything falls apart because White can't hold g4.    
Alas, in the heat of battle these simple things are missed...}) 69. Kf2 {Well,
Black would have had an advantage after 69.Rd3, but Giorgi blundered this
simple king retreat, and his initiative is starting to run out. It was clear
that things had turned in the wrong direction.} b3 $1 {Black is no longer
better, but this counterplay at least keeps the balance.} 70. Rd3 Qc4 {Ok,
this is a big mistake, let's just say it's not a good idea to get yourself
pinned on the fourth rank. Li Chao immediately seizes his opportunity.} (70...
Qxa5 {was possible and good, because Black is winning after} 71. Rxd4 Nxd4 72.
Rxd4 Qa2+ 73. Rd2 b2 {the b-pawn marches on.}) 71. e5 $1 {It was looking bad.
I didn't think Black could recover.} b2 $1 {Counterplay with the b-pawn is the
only chance.} 72. exf6 gxf6 73. Qe4 $1 {I kind of prefer giving exclams to
question marks. But really, these guys had no time, and there was a lot of
resourcefulness in the attack/defense.} Qc8 {I liked this move. Turns out it's
completely losing in more ways than one-White can just take the knight on d4-
but it entices White to try a plausible winning plan that...doesn't win.} 74.
a6 {White deflects the queen with the idea of Qe8+.} Qxa6 75. Qe8+ {Finally
Black is no longer losing. 75.Rc3 would've won for White.} Kh7 76. Bf8 {
Diagram [#] Still looking dangerous, but Black has} Qxd3 $1 77. Rxd3 b1=Q 78.
Qe7+ Kg8 79. Bxh6 {After all is said and done, White has enough to make a draw.
} Rxg4 80. Qe8+ Kh7 81. Qd7+ Kxh6 82. Qxg4 Qe1+ 83. Kg2 Qe2+ {Diagram [#]
Black offered a draw as after 84.Qxe2 Nxe2 85.Rd6 Nf4 86.Kf3 Nxh5 87.Rxf6
Black can't win with two knights versus king.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "North American Open"]
[Site "Las Vegas USA"]
[Date "2012.12.30"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "GM Jon Ludvig Hammer"]
[Black "FM John Daniel Bryant"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A61"]
[WhiteElo "2633"]
[BlackElo "2416"]
[Annotator "Gareev, Timur"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "2012.12.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2012.12.31"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nf3 g6 7. Bf4 a6 8. a4
Bg7 9. h3 O-O 10. e3 Qe7 11. Be2 Nbd7 12. O-O b6 $5 {John mentioned that this
move, stopping White from playing a5, had been an important inclusion. Later
on Black is able to push his queenside pawns.} 13. Qb3 Rb8 14. Rfe1 Ne8 15. Bh2
f5 16. Nd2 Ne5 17. f4 Nf7 18. Bd3 Nf6 19. Qc2 Qb7 20. Nf3 b5 {Diagram [#]
Black has clearly seized the initiative.} 21. axb5 axb5 22. Nxb5 Nxd5 23. Bf1
Qb6 24. Qd2 Nf6 25. Ng5 d5 26. Rec1 c4 27. Nc3 Rd8 28. Na4 Qb4 29. Qxb4 Rxb4
30. Nc5 Re8 31. Ra8 Bf8 32. Nd3 cxd3 33. Rcxc8 Rxc8 34. Rxc8 d2 35. Be2 Rxb2
36. Ne6 Nd7 37. Bg3 Rb6 38. Nxf8 Nxf8 39. Bh4 Kg7 40. Be7 Ne6 41. Kf2 Rb7 42.
Re8 Rb1 43. g4 h6 44. Ba3 Nc7 45. Rc8 Nb5 46. Bf8+ Kh7 47. Rc5 fxg4 48. Bxg4 h5
49. Bf3 d4 50. h4 Nc3 51. Rc7 dxe3+ 52. Kxe3 d1=Q 53. Bxd1 Nd5+ 0-1

[Event "North American Open"]
[Site "Las Vegas USA"]
[Date "2012.12.28"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "GM Jon Ludvig Hammer"]
[Black "IM Zhanibek Amanov"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E43"]
[WhiteElo "2633"]
[BlackElo "2359"]
[Annotator "Gareev, Timur"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2012.12.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2012.12.31"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O c5 8. Qe2
Bxc3 9. bxc3 Bxf3 $5 {Diagram [#] An unorthodox decision that Zhanibek felt
paid off. Since Hammer was playing the opening quickly, Zhanibek didn't want
to play a standard move like ...Ne4 or ...Be4. After thinking for a while, he
came up with the idea of giving up another bishop.} 10. Qxf3 Nc6 11. Qh3 e5 12.
dxe5 $5 {White is planning a pawn sacrifice.} Nxe5 13. Bc2 Re8 (13... Nxc4 14.
e4) 14. e4 Nxc4 15. Bg5 Na3 16. Bd3 h6 17. e5 $1 {Diagram [#] White is setting
some tricky problems here.} hxg5 $1 ({The point is that on} 17... Rxe5 18. f4
Re8 19. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 20. Qxh6 {White's attack looks very dangerous.}) 18. exf6
g6 19. f4 Qxf6 20. f5 Qg7 21. Qg4 Re5 22. fxg6 fxg6 23. Qa4 c4 24. Bxc4+ Nxc4 {
A solid effort by Black. I can see why it gave him confidence. He neutralized
White's bishop pair and initiative quite easily, despite his opponent's
inventive play.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "North American Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.12.30"]
[Round "9"]
[White "IM Irina Krush"]
[Black "GM Dmitry Gurevich"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D41"]
[Annotator "Gareev, Timur"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4rr1k/pb3pp1/1p5p/2qpPN2/2n2P2/3B4/P3Q1PP/3RR2K b - - 0 22"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[SourceDate "2011.05.31"]

22... Re6 {Diagram [#] I thought White must be winning here, and all I had to
do was calculate it out. The most natural move is 23.Nxg7 but I couldn't find
more than a draw there. Finally, I had to give it up and decided to make a
'clever' preparation for this sacrifice.} 23. Qh5 (23. Nxg7 Kxg7 24. f5 (24.
Qg4+ Rg6 25. Bxg6 fxg6) 24... Rxe5 25. Qg4+ Kh8 26. f6 (26. Qh4 f6 27. Qxh6+
Kg8 28. Bxc4 dxc4 $11) 26... Rg8 27. Qh4 Qf8 $19) 23... Nb2 {Obviously this
was the drawback of Qh5, but I was planning on..} 24. Nxg7 {!??} Nxd3 ({I
thought it was impossible for Black to take the rook because of} 24... Nxd1 25.
Rxd1 (25. Qxd1 Kxg7 26. f5 Qd4) (25. Nxe6 Nf2+ 26. Kg1 Nh3+ 27. Kh1 Qg1+ 28.
Rxg1 Nf2#) 25... Kxg7 26. f5 Rxe5 27. f6+ Kxf6 28. Rf1+ {and Black was
supposed to be losing the e5 rook, but what about} Ke6 {? I am just down a
rook here!! Oh, how awful to miss ...Ke6!}) 25. Rxd3 Qf2 {I also saw this move
too late...I wasn't so happy about how my attack was working out, but there's
a lot of life in White's position still.} 26. Rg1 Rg6 {Diagram [#]} (26... Kxg7
27. f5 Rxe5 28. Rg3+ Qxg3 (28... Kh7 29. Qg4 $1 Qxg3 30. Qxg3 $18) 29. hxg3 $16
) 27. Rf3 {The idea is to defend the f4 pawn before retreating the knight.} ({
My planned} 27. f5 {fails to} Rxg2 $3 28. Rxg2 Qf1+ 29. Rg1 d4+ {and mate.})
27... Qd2 28. Nf5 d4 29. Nh4 (29. Rg3 Qxf4) 29... Kg7 {This exchange sacrifice
is a little extravagant, and definitely not forced.} ({I was expecting} 29...
Re6 {which was probably a better idea. The position is dynamically balanced.})
30. Rg3 Be4 31. Nxg6 (31. Nf5+ Bxf5 32. Qxf5 Rxg3 33. hxg3 Qe2 34. Rc1 d3 {
looked fine for Black.}) (31. f5 Rxg3 32. hxg3 Qg5 {was also not tempting.})
31... fxg6 {Diagram [#] It looks like Black has good compensation for the
exchange with the strong bishop and d-pawn, but with correct play I could've
come out with an advantage. Instead, in time trouble I let it all slide
downhill.} 32. Qg4 $2 (32. e6 $1 Qxf4 33. Qd1 $1 {appreciating, or even
noticing, this move requires some help from the comp.} Qe5 (33... d3 34. Rg4
Qf5 35. e7 Re8 36. Rf1 Qe5 37. Re1 $18) 34. Qa4 $16) 32... Qxf4 {Here I
noticed that the intended 33.Qd7+ Rf7 34.Qxd4 loses to Bxg2. Well, that is a
big oversight. I'm still not worse though. I could have exchanged queens and
played Re1 with the idea of Kg1. Even what I played, 33.Qd7+ is okay.} 33. Qd7+
Rf7 34. Qd8 (34. Qe8) (34. Qxd4) 34... h5 {Diagram [#]} ({It seems like Black
could've just taken this pawn.} 34... Qxe5) 35. Qg5 $2 {Horrible move,
indicating total panic. I just avoided the queen trade a few moves ago, now I
am offering it in much worse circumstances. 35.e6 was necessary.} (35. e6)
35... h4 36. Qxf4 Rxf4 37. Ra3 a5 38. h3 Bc2 $1 {nice idea just to run the
d-pawn down the board.} 39. Rf3 Rxf3 40. gxf3 d3 {White can stop d2 with Rg2,
but there is no way to stop the plan b5-b4-a4, etc. An uninspiring end to an
inspiring beginning.} 0-1

[Event "2011 Golden Knights"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tom Chromczak"]
[Black "Brian Davis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E90"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2012.12.06"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 c6 {Diagram [#]} 3. c4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. h3 O-O 7. Bd3
{Diagram [#]} e5 8. d5 (8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Nxe5 Nxe4 10. Nxf7 (10. Nxe4 Bxe5)
10... Nxc3 11. Nxd8 Nxd1 12. Kxd1 Rxd8) 8... cxd5 9. cxd5 {Diagram [#]} Nbd7
10. Be3 Ne8 11. O-O Kh8 12. Qd2 f5 13. exf5 gxf5 14. Bg5 Bf6 (14... Ndf6 15.
Nh4 e4) (14... Ndf6 15. Nh4 e4 16. Bc2) 15. Bh6 {Diagram [#]} (15. Bxf5 Bxg5
16. Nxg5 Rxf5) 15... Bg7 (15... Ng7) 16. Bxg7+ Nxg7 17. Bc2 Qf6 18. Ne2 Rg8 19.
Qg5 {Diagram [#]} f4 (19... Qxg5 20. Nxg5 Rf8 21. Ng3 (21. Ne6 Rf7 (21... Nb6)
22. Ng3 (22. Nc7 Rb8 23. Nb5) 22... Nb8) 21... Nb6) (19... Rf8) 20. Nc3 Ne8 (
20... h6 21. Qxf6 Nxf6 22. Nh4) 21. Qh5 Qg7 {Diagram [#]} 22. Ng5 Rf8 23. Nxh7
0-1

[Event "London Chess Classic"]
[Site "London ENG"]
[Date "2012.12.03"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[Black "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A37"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[PlyCount "124"]
[EventDate "2012.12.01"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O Nge7 7. a3 a5 8. Ne1
d6 9. Nc2 O-O 10. d3 Rb8 11. Rb1 Be6 12. b4 axb4 13. axb4 cxb4 14. Nxb4 Nxb4
15. Rxb4 d5 16. cxd5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Rb5 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 {Diagram [#]} Qd7
20. Qb3 Rfc8 21. Bb2 Qd6 (21... Qc6+) 22. Rb1 Rc5 23. Rb6 Rc6 24. Rxb7 Rxb7 25.
Qxb7 Rb6 26. Qc8+ Qf8 27. Qd7 h5 28. e4 (28. Rc1 Rxb2 29. Rc8 Rxe2 30. Rxf8+
Bxf8) 28... Qd6 29. Qe8+ Qf8 30. Qd7 Qd6 31. Qxd6 Rxd6 32. Rd1 f5 33. f3 fxe4
34. fxe4 {Diagram [#]} Rb6 35. Bc3 Rb3 36. Ba1 Kf7 37. Kf3 Ke6 38. h3 Bh6 39.
Ke2 Bg5 40. Rg1 Bh6 41. h4 Kd6 42. Rd1 (42. g4 Bf4) 42... Ke6 43. Rf1 Rb4 44.
Rd1 Rb3 45. Rg1 Kf6 46. Rh1 Ke6 47. Rd1 Kf6 48. d4 Re3+ 49. Kf2 Rxe4 50. dxe5+
Kf5 51. Rd7 Kg4 52. Rd6 Be3+ 53. Ke2 Bf4+ (53... Bc5+ 54. Kd3 Re3+ 55. Kd2) 54.
Kd3 Re3+ 55. Kc4 Bxe5 56. Rxg6+ Kf3 57. Bxe5 Rxe5 58. Rg5 Re4+ 59. Kd5 Rg4 60.
Ke5 Kxg3 61. Rxh5 Rxh4 62. Rxh4 Kxh4 1/2-1/2

[Event "London Chess Classic"]
[Site "0:00:33-0:38:33"]
[Date "2012.12.10"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Black "Viswanathan Anand"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C48"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2012.12.02"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nc3 d6 6. Na4 Bb6 7. Nxb6 axb6 8.
c3 Bd7 9. Ba4 Ne7 10. Bc2 Ng6 11. h3 O-O 12. O-O h6 13. Re1 Re8 14. d4 Bc6 15.
dxe5 dxe5 16. Qxd8 Rexd8 17. g3 Nd7 18. Be3 Nc5 19. Nd2 Nf8 20. f3 Nfe6 21. h4
Bb5 22. a3 Rd7 23. b4 Nd3 24. Reb1 Ba4 25. Bxa4 Rxa4 26. Kf1 b5 27. Ke2 Ra6 28.
h5 {Diagram [#]} c5 (28... f6 29. Rb3 Rc6 (29... Rad6)) 29. bxc5 Ndxc5 30. Rxb5
Na4 31. Rc1 Rc7 32. Nb1 f6 33. c4 b6 34. Rd5 Nac5 35. Rc2 Rc6 36. Rb2 Kh7 37.
Rb4 g6 38. hxg6+ Kxg6 39. Rd2 h5 40. Nc3 Rxa3 41. Nd5 Kf7 42. Nxb6 Nb3 43. Rd7+
Ke8 44. Rb7 Nbd4+ 45. Bxd4 Nxd4+ 46. Kd1 Kd8 (46... Ra1+ 47. Kd2 Nxf3+ 48. Kc3
Ng5) 47. Rd7+ Ke8 48. Rb7 Kd8 49. Nd5 (49. Kc1 Nxf3 (49... Rxf3 50. Ra4) 50.
Rg7) (49. f4) 49... Ra1+ 50. Kd2 Ra2+ (50... Nxf3+ 51. Kc3 Ra3+ 52. Kb2 Raa6
53. Rf7) 51. Rb2 (51. Kc1) 51... Rxb2+ 52. Rxb2 Nxf3+ 53. Kd3 Ng5 54. Rb8+ (54.
Rb7) (54. Rb5) 54... Kd7 55. Rb7+ Kd6 56. Nxf6 Ra6 57. Ne8+ Kc5 58. Rc7+ Kb4
59. Rb7+ Kc5 60. Rc7+ Kb4 61. Rb7+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "SportAccord World Mind Games (Men's Rap"]
[Site "Beijing CHN"]
[Date "2012.12.14"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Levon Aronian"]
[Black "Hikaru Nakamura"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E21"]
[WhiteElo "2815"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[PlyCount "208"]
[EventDate "2012.12.14"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. Bf4 Ne4 6. Qc2 Bb7 7. e3 O-O 8. Be2
f5 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 d6 11. Rab1 Nd7 12. c5 dxc5 13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. Bxe5 Qe7
15. f3 Nf6 16. Rfe1 cxd4 17. exd4 Nd5 18. Bc4 f4 19. Bxd5 Bxd5 20. c4 Bb7 21.
Qa4 Rf5 22. Rb2 a6 23. Qb4 Qd7 24. Rbe2 Re8 25. h3 h6 26. Rc1 Bc6 27. Rce1 Ref8
28. Qa3 Bb7 29. Rc2 R8f7 30. c5 Qc6 31. Qc3 b5 32. d5 Qxd5 33. Rd2 Qc4 34. Rd8+
Kh7 35. Qxc4 bxc4 36. Bc3 Bd5 37. Rc8 Rd7 38. Re5 Rff7 39. Rb8 Rfe7 40. Rb4 Rd8
41. Kf2 g5 42. h4 Kg6 43. Rb1 Ree8 44. Rbe1 Rf8 45. Rh1 Rb8 46. Ke2 Rb5 47.
hxg5 hxg5 48. Rg1 Rf5 49. Rxf5 Kxf5 50. Rh1 e5 51. Rh8 Rxc5 52. Rf8+ Kg6 53.
Re8 {Diagram [#]} e4 (53... Kf6 54. Bxe5+ Kf7 55. Bd4 (55. Rc8 Bxf3+ (55... Ra5
))) 54. fxe4 Bf7 55. Re7 g4 (55... Rc6) 56. a3 (56. a4) (56. Kf2) 56... Rb5 57.
Rxc7 Rb3 58. Rc6+ Kh7 (58... Kh5 59. Bd2 f3+ 60. Kf2 g3+ 61. Kxg3 fxg2+ 62. Kh2
Rg3) 59. Be5 (59. Bd2) 59... Re3+ 60. Kd2 Rxe4 61. Rf6 {Diagram [#]} Bh5 (61...
Kg7 62. Bc3 Kg8 63. Rxa6 f3 64. gxf3 gxf3 65. Rf6 Re2+ 66. Kd1 Bh5) (61... Bd5)
62. Bxf4 Kg7 63. Bg5 g3 64. Rxa6 Re2+ 65. Kc3 Rxg2 66. Bf4 Bf7 67. Be5+ Kf8 68.
Bd6+ Ke8 69. Bc5 Rh2 70. Ra7 g2 {Diagram [#]} (70... Rh7) 71. Re7+ Kf8 72. Re3+
Kg7 73. Rg3+ Kf6 74. Bg1 Rh1 75. Rxg2 Rh3+ 76. Kb4 Rb3+ 77. Kc5 Rxa3 78. Bd4+
Ke7 79. Re2+ Kd7 80. Re3 Ra8 81. Rh3 Rc8+ 82. Kb5 Kd6 83. Kb4 (83. Rh8) 83...
Rb8+ 84. Ka3 Be6 85. Re3 Kd5 86. Bg7 Bf7 87. Re5+ Kc6 88. Re3 Bg8 89. Rh3 Rb7
90. Bh8 Bh7 91. Rh6+ Kd5 92. Rh5+ Ke4 93. Rh4+ Kd5 94. Rh5+ Ke6 95. Rh6+ Kf5
96. Rh4 Rb3+ 97. Ka4 Bg8 98. Rh5+ Ke4 99. Rc5 Bd5 100. Ka5 Rb8 101. Bg7 Rg8
102. Bf6 Rg6 103. Bh8 Rc6 104. Rxc6 Bxc6 1/2-1/2

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.02.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem I"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1K6/3k3r/P7/3p4/8/4P3/2P5/8 w - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "23"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. a7 Rh8+ (1... d4 2. exd4 Kc6 3. d5+ Kb6 4. a8=N+) 2. Kb7 Ra8
3. Kxa8 Kc8 4. c3 Kc7 5. e4 dxe4 6. c4 e3 7. c5 e2 8. c6 Kb6 9. c7 e1=Q 10.
c8=Q Qe4+ 11. Kb8 Qe7 12. a8=N+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.02.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem II"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3R4/5b2/8/8/8/6pp/4k3/7K w - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "8"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Rd4 (1. Kg1 h2+ 2. Kg2 (2. Kh1 Bg6 3. Rd4 Ke3) 2... Bh5 3. Rh8
(3. Rf8 Bf3+ 4. Rxf3 h1=Q+) 3... h1=Q+ 4. Kxh1 Kf2) 1... Bh5 2. Rh4 Kf2 3. Rg4
g2+ (3... Kf3 4. Rh4 (4. Rg8 Bg4 5. Rf8+ Ke2 6. Rh8 Kf2 7. Rf8+ Bf3+) 4... Kf2
5. Rg4 Kf3 6. Rh4 Bg4 7. Kg1 Be6 8. Rh8) 4. Kh2 Bxg4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Berkeley International"]
[Site "Berkeley USA"]
[Date "2011.01.05"]
[Round "7"]
[White "GM Timur Gareev"]
[Black "GM Anatoly Bykhovsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2510"]
[Annotator "Gareev, Timur"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2011.01.02"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8.
Rb1 O-O 9. Be2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qa5+ 11. Bd2 Qxa2 12. O-O Bg4 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bh4
g5 15. Bg3 Nc6 16. d5 Rad8 17. Rxb7 e6 18. Bc7 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 Rd7 20. Qb1 Qxb1
21. Rfxb1 exd5 22. Bg4 f5 23. Bxf5 Re7 24. exd5 Rxf5 25. dxc6 Re6 26. Rb8+ Kh7
27. Bd6 Bd4 28. c7 Rxf2 {Diagram [#]} 29. Bc5 (29. c8=Q Rfe2+ 30. Kf1 (30. Kh1
Re1+) 30... Rf2+ 31. Kg1 Rfe2+) 29... Bxc5 (29... Rc2+ 30. Bxd4 Rxc7 31. R8b7)
(29... Rb2+ 30. Bxd4 Rxb1+ 31. Rxb1) 30. c8=Q Rf8+ (30... Rfe2+ 31. Qxc5) 31.
Qxc5 1-0

