[Event "Las Vegas"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2001.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Shulman, Yuri"]
[Black "Ginsburg, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E94"]
[WhiteElo "2568"]
[BlackElo "2400"]
[Annotator "Shulman, Yury"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b2r2/pp1nqn1k/2pp2pb/4Pp1p/2PP1p1N/2N3BP/PPQ1B1P1/3RR1K1 w - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2001.??.??"]
[Source "Chess Informant"]

{Inf 82/520} {When I was asked to write an article for the column "My best
move", my initial thought was 'Should I write this article about my chess
moves?' Or maybe about some other interesting moves I made? For instance,
despite being a chessplayer, some time ago I was able to build a sand
playground for my son Gabriel. From another point, I had so many interesting
moves I had a pleasure to make on a chess board, which I still remember with a
smile on my face (although sometimes my opponents had even a wider smile in
the games against me). Some readers might blame me for not picking either of
two moves 24...Rxg5 or 26...Qe3 in the game against Hikaru in 2010 US
Championship. Joel Benjamin might say: "Comon, Yury, have you forgotten about
28...Be2 and your miraculous save in our 2004 US Championship game?" The move
22...Rg4 in the game against Julio Becerra, was probably the most important
one to bring the US championship title in 2008. I could keep on going on this
list forever, since all chessplayers have general tendency to enjoy their
moves much more than the moves of other great players. Also the very
scrupulous reader might say that I only play good games on a Black side of
French Defence. But if one really has enough time and desire to enjoy more of
great chess moves, I would redirect him/her to an amazing website - http://
timkr.home.xs4all.nl/chess/fant100.htm. This webiste lists 110 best moves 
(surprisingly not including any of them mentioned in this article) ever
played!   Anyway, the move I picked for this article is 20.Qxf5 against Mark
Ginzburg (Las Vegas 2001).  Why was this move picked? As everything great in
our lives, it has no explanation. Or maybe it is up to reader to decide?} 19.
Nxg6 $1 {Some readers would think that this is my best move, but please just
take a second of patience...} (19. Bxh5 $6 {was not a good continuation of
attack, because of} Nh8 $1 {What an amazing defence! Black is just better! If
it happened in the game, probably Mark would have written this article :)})
19... Kxg6 {Diagram [#] And here comes...} 20. Qxf5+ $3 {This is the best
move! Although I was a little disappointed that Mark hadn't taken a Queen.
When I asked him after the game 'why?', he answered with something
philosophical like: 'When GM sacrifices a Queen, checkmate should be there
even if you do not see it"} ({Again} 20. Bxh5+ $4 {did not work:} Kxh5 21.
Qxf5+ Ng5 $19) 20... Kg7 ({Of course most of us are curious what would have
happened if Black have captured the Queen. Here are the lines which were left
behind curtain:} 20... Kxf5 21. Bd3+ Kg5 22. Bxf4+ $3 {another nice sacrifice}
(22. h4+ $2 Kg4 23. Be2+ f3 $1 {would be winning for Black who has a safe King
on g4!}) 22... Kxf4 (22... Kh4 23. g3+ Kxh3 24. Bf5#) 23. Re4+ {Now Black has
three options, but all of them lead to a checkmate by force:} Kf5 (23... Kg3
24. Ne2#) (23... Kg5 24. h4+ Kf5 (24... Kg6 25. Rg4#) 25. Rf1+ Bf4 26. Rexf4+
Ke6 27. Bf5#) 24. Rg4+ (24. Rf1+ $2 Bf4 $3) 24... Ke6 25. d5+ cxd5 26. cxd5+
Kxe5 27. Re1+ Kf6 28. Rg6#) 21. Bd3 {I really hoped that one of the
above-mentioned amazing lines would happen on the board and after the
cold-blooded 20...Kg7 it was time to regroup myself for another battle.} Rh8 (
21... Rg8 {was another option, but} 22. e6 {gives White winning attack}) 22.
Qg6+ Kf8 23. e6 Rg8 $6 (23... Nde5 24. dxe5 Nxe5 25. Rxe5 $1 dxe5 26. Bf5 {
with unstoppable threats}) (23... fxg3 {was probably the best try since it
would require White to find some precise moves:} 24. exf7 Qxf7 (24... Be3+ 25.
Kh1 Qg5 (25... h4 {is a line which will bring another smile on reader's face:}
26. Ne4 Bxd4 27. Ng5 Ne5 28. Nh7+ Rxh7 29. Qg8#) 26. Qxd6+) 25. Qxd6+ Kg8 26.
Re6 $1 Bg7 (26... Nf8 27. Rxh6) 27. Rf1 Bxd4+ 28. Kh1 {with winning attack})
24. Bh4 $1 Rxg6 (24... Bg5 {would force me to find another Kh1! solution} 25.
Bxg5 ({probably} 25. Qxf7+ {is just simpler:} Qxf7 26. exf7 Kxf7 27. Bxg5 Rxg5
28. Ne4 $18 {, but how can we avoid to look at another brilliant line :)})
25... Nxg5 26. exd7 Nf3+ (26... Qxd7 27. Qh6+ Rg7 28. Bg6) 27. Kh1 $1 Nxe1 28.
dxc8=Q+ Rxc8 29. Qf5+ Kg7 30. Qh7+ Kf8 31. Qxe7+ Kxe7 32. Rxe1+ $18) 25. Bxe7+
Kxe7 26. exd7+ (26. Bxg6 {was another win}) 26... Re6 27. dxc8=Q {Mark
resigned since the endgame after} (27. dxc8=Q Rxc8 28. Bf5 Rxe1+ 29. Rxe1+ Kd8
30. Bxc8 Kxc8 31. Re7 {is not much fun. As most of chessplayers, although I
admire this game and the move 20.Qxf5!! a lot, I would hope that my best move
as well as the best move of all readers would be played in the future! Good
luck to everyone in search for beauty in chess!}) 1-0

[Event "Latvia Championship"]
[Site "Latvia Championship"]
[Date "1958.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Aivars Gipslis"]
[Black "Mikhail Tal"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B67"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "1958.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8.
O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 h6 10. Bh4 Nxe4 11. Qe1 (11. Bxd8 Nxd2 12. Bb6 Nxf1) (11. Nxe4
Qxh4 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. Nxd6+ Bxd6 14. Qxd6 Rd8) 11... Nf6 12. Nf5 Qa5 13. Nxd6+
Bxd6 14. Rxd6 O-O-O 15. Rd2 e5 {Diagram [#]} (15... Ne7) 16. Bc4 exf4 17. Bxf6
gxf6 18. Bxf7 Bf5 19. Rf1 Ne5 20. Bd5 Ng6 21. Qf2 Kb8 22. Bf7 Rxd2 23. Qxd2 Rd8
24. Qf2 Rd6 25. Bxg6 Bxg6 26. Qxf4 Qg5 27. h4 Qxf4+ 28. Rxf4 Kc7 29. Rxf6 Rxf6
30. Nd5+ Kd6 31. Nxf6 Ke5 32. Ng4+ Kf4 33. Nxh6 Kg3 34. Ng8 Kxh4 35. Nf6 Bf7
36. Ne4 Bd5 37. g3+ Kh3 38. Nc3 Bf3 39. Kd2 Kxg3 40. Ke3 Kg4 41. Kd4 Kf5 42. a4
Bc6 43. a5 Bf3 44. Na2 Ke6 45. Kc5 Ke5 46. Nb4 Ke4 47. Nd5 Ke5 48. c4 Be2 49.
Ne7 Bd3 50. b4 Bf1 51. Kb6 Kd4 52. c5 Bg2 53. b5 1-0

[Event "URS-ch FL44"]
[Site "Minsk"]
[Date "1976.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Arshak B Petrosian"]
[Black "Vitaly Tseshkovsky"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A42"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "1976.??.??"]

1. Nf3 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Nd7 5. Nc3 e5 6. g3 c6 7. Bg2 exd4 8. Nxd4
Ne5 9. Qe2 Qb6 10. Nc2 Bg4 11. f3 Be6 12. Ne3 Nf6 13. f4 Neg4 14. f5 Nxe3 15.
Bxe3 Bxc4 16. Bxb6 Bxe2 17. Bc7 Ba6 18. Bxd6 Ng4 19. Bf1 Bxf1 20. Kxf1 O-O-O
21. Bf4 Rhe8 22. fxg6 hxg6 23. Kg2 Ne5 24. Rhf1 Nd3 25. Bg5 Rd7 26. Rad1 Bxc3
27. bxc3 Rxe4 28. Rd2 Re5 29. Bf6 Ne1+ 30. Kh1 Rxd2 31. Bxe5 Nd3 32. Bd4 c5 33.
Be3 Re2 34. Bg5 f5 35. h4 Nf2+ 36. Kg2 Ne4+ 37. Kf3 Rxa2 38. Kf4 Rc2 39. g4
Nxg5 40. Kxg5 Rg2 41. Kxg6 Rxg4+ 42. Kh5 Rc4 43. Rxf5 Kd7 44. Rf3 a5 45. Kg5 a4
46. h5 a3 47. h6 a2 48. Rf1 Rxc3 49. Ra1 Rh3 50. Rxa2 c4 51. Ra7 Kc6 52. Kg6 c3
53. h7 Rxh7 54. Kxh7 b5 55. Ra8 b4 56. Kg6 Kd5 57. Kf5 {Diagram [#]} b3 58.
Rd8+ Kc5 59. Ke4 (59. Rc8+ Kd4 60. Rd8+ Ke3 61. Rb8 b2 62. Ke5 {Diagram [#]} c2
(62... Kf3 63. Kf5 Ke2 64. Ke4 Kd1 65. Kd3 c2) 63. Rb3+) 59... b2 60. Rb8 c2
1/2-1/2

[Event "Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2009.11.04"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Black "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E36"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. cxd5 Ne4 8.
Qc2 exd5 9. Bf4 Nc6 10. e3 Re8 11. Nf3 g5 12. Bg3 {Diagram [#]} g4 13. Ne5 Nxe5
14. Bxe5 c5 15. Bd3 Bf5 16. Qe2 f6 17. Bxe4 Bxe4 18. Bg3 Qa5+ 19. Qd2 Qxd2+ 20.
Kxd2 c4 21. f3 gxf3 22. gxf3 Bg6 23. h4 Bh5 24. Ke2 Re6 25. Be1 Kf7 26. Kf2
Rae8 27. Bd2 Rb6 28. Bc3 Rb3 29. a4 b6 30. Rhe1 Bg6 31. e4 dxe4 32. d5 a6 33.
fxe4 Bxe4 34. d6 f5 35. Rg1 Ke6 36. Rg7 Kxd6 37. Rxh7 Bd3 38. Kf3 Re4 39. h5
Rh4 40. Rg1 Be4+ 41. Ke3 Rh3+ 42. Kf4 Rf3+ 43. Kg5 b5 44. axb5 axb5 45. Kf6
Rbxc3 46. bxc3 Rxc3 47. Rg8 Rh3 48. Rc8 c3 49. Rhc7 c2 50. Kg5 Rh2 51. Rc3 Ke6
52. Re8+ Kf7 53. Rb8 Rg2+ 54. Kf4 Ke6 55. Re8+ Kd7 56. Rb8 Ke6 57. Re8+ Kf6 58.
Rf8+ Ke6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Candidates match, 1974"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.09.08"]
[Round "?"]
[Event "First Prize"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Benko, Pal"]
[Black "Magyar Sakkelet"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/k7/2R1P1P1/8/8/3r4/8/3b1K2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2013.07.25"]

{# #} 1. e7 (1. g7 Rg3 2. e7 Bh5 3. Rg6 {This idea is known as a novotny.} Rxg6
$1 (3... Bxg6 $2 4. Kf2 {wins.}) 4. e8=Q Rf6+ 5. Ke1 (5. Kg1 Bxe8 6. g8=Q Rg6+
$11) 5... Bxe8 6. g8=Q Bd7 $1 $11) 1... Re3 (1... Rf3+ 2. Ke1 $1 Re3+ 3. Kxd1
Rxe7 4. Rc5 $1 (4. Rf6 $2 Re5 $1 5. g7 Rg5 6. Rf7+ Kb6 7. Ke2 Kc6 8. Kf3 Kd6 9.
Kf4 Ke6 $1 $11) 4... Kb6 5. Rg5 Rg7 6. Ke2 Kc6 7. Kf3 Kd6 8. Kg4 Ke7 9. Kh5 Kf6
10. Kh6 $18 {wins}) 2. g7 Bb3 3. Rc7+ (3. Re6 $2 Rxe6 (3... Bxe6 $2 4. Kf2 {
wins}) 4. g8=Q Bc4+ $1 5. Kf2 Re2+ 6. Kf3 Bxg8 7. Kxe2 Bf7 $11) 3... Ka6 (3...
Kb6 4. Rc3 $1 {wins}) 4. Kf2 {gaining a decisive tempo} Re4 5. Rc6+ Ka5 6. Re6
Rxe6 7. g8=Q Rf6+ 8. Kg1 (8. Ke3 $2 Bxg8 9. e8=Q Re6+ $11) 8... Bxg8 9. e8=Q {
The threat is Qe5+ or Qe7+ if Black's King had moved to the second rank on
move five.} Be6 10. Qd8+ 1-0

 Qf2 Qb1+ 38. Kh2 Qf5 39. Qh4 g5
40. Qg3 Kf8 41. Bc3 Qb1 42. Qf3 b4 43. Qc6 bxc3 44. Qxc8+ Kg7 {Diagram [#]} 45.
Qg8+ Kh6 46. e4 (46. Qxh7+ Qxh7) 1-0

[Event "20th TCh-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Loo RUS"]
[Date "2013.04.13"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Savchenko, Boris"]
[Black "Korobov, Anton"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B94"]
[WhiteElo "2604"]
[BlackElo "2698"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2013.04.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Belorechensk"]
[BlackTeam "Yugra"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. f4 Qc7 8.
Qe2 e5 9. Nf3 h6 10. Bxf6 Nxf6 11. g3 Be7 12. O-O-O O-O 13. Kb1 b5 14. Bg2 b4
15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 exf4 17. Nd4 Bf6 18. Nc6 a5 19. Be4 Re8 20. Qf3 a4 21.
Qxf4 a3 22. b3 Qb6 23. Qxd6 Qe3 24. Bd3 Bg4 25. Qxb4 Bxd1 26. Rxd1 Qf3 27. Qd2
Bg5 28. Nd4 Qxd5 29. c4 Qc5 30. b4 Rab8 31. Nb5 Qe5 32. Qc2 Bf6 33. Qb3 {
Diagram [#]} Rxb5 34. cxb5 Rc8 0-1

[Event "20th TCh-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Loo RUS"]
[Date "2013.04.11"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ionov, Sergey"]
[Black "Mamedov, Rauf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2540"]
[BlackElo "2662"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "141"]
[EventDate "2013.04.07"]
[WhiteTeam "M.Chigorin Chess Club"]
[BlackTeam "Belorechensk"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 g6 3. Bxf6 exf6 4. c4 Bg7 5. Nc3 f5 6. e3 O-O 7. Nge2 d6 8. g3
h5 9. h4 Nd7 10. Bg2 Nf6 11. O-O Ng4 12. Nf4 Bh6 13. b4 Re8 14. Rb1 Nf6 15. Qc2
g5 16. hxg5 Bxg5 17. Qd1 h4 18. Qf3 Ne4 19. Nxe4 fxe4 20. Qh5 Kg7 21. gxh4 Bxh4
22. Qa5 Bg4 23. f3 exf3 24. Bxf3 Rxe3 25. Bxg4 Rg3+ 26. Kh1 Rxg4 27. Rg1 Rg5
28. Qf5 Qh8 29. Rxg5+ Bxg5+ 30. Nh3 f6 31. Re1 Qh4 32. Re4 Qh5 33. Kg2 Re8 34.
Nf4 Bxf4 35. Qxh5 Rxe4 36. Qd5 f5 37. Qxb7 Rxd4 38. Qxc7+ Kf6 39. Qxa7 Rxc4 40.
b5 Rb4 41. b6 Ke6 42. b7 d5 43. Qc5 Rb2+ 44. Kf3 Bd6 45. Qc8+ Ke7 46. Qxf5 Rxa2
47. Qh7+ Ke6 48. Qg6+ Kd7 49. Qxd6+ Kxd6 50. b8=Q+ Kd7 51. Qb3 Ra7 52. Qxd5+
Kc8 53. Qg8+ Kc7 54. Ke4 Ra6 55. Qf7+ Kb8 56. Kd5 Rb6 57. Kc5 Rb7 58. Qf4+ Ka7
59. Qa4+ Kb8 60. Qa5 Rc7+ 61. Kb6 Re7 62. Kc6 Rb7 63. Qe5+ Ka7 {Diagram [#]}
64. Qa1+ Kb8 65. Qa5 Rh7 66. Qb4+ Ka7 67. Qa3+ Kb8 68. Qb3+ Ka7 69. Qa2+ Kb8
70. Qb1+ Kc8 71. Qxh7 1-0

[Event "20th TCh-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Loo RUS"]
[Date "2013.04.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Jobava, Baadur"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2786"]
[Annotator "Soltos, Andy"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2013.04.07"]
[WhiteTeam "PGMB Rostov"]
[BlackTeam "Malakhit"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 d5 7. Be2 Ne4 8. cxd4
Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Nxd2 10. Nbxd2 O-O 11. O-O f6 12. Rc1 Kh8 13. Nb3 Bg4 14. a3 Be7
15. Re1 fxe5 16. dxe5 Rf4 17. h3 Bh5 18. Nc5 Bxc5 19. Rxc5 d4 20. e6 Bg6 21.
Bd3 Qf6 22. Ng5 Ne7 23. Bxg6 hxg6 24. Ne4 Qxe6 25. Ng5 Qf6 26. Re6 Qf8 {
Diagram [#]} 27. Rxg6 Rh4 28. Ne6 1-0

[Event "20th TCh-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Loo RUS"]
[Date "2013.04.10"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Timofeev, Artyom"]
[Black "Bukavshin, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2616"]
[BlackElo "2522"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2013.04.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Kazan"]
[BlackTeam "Zhiguli"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 c5 5. d5 b5 6. e4 O-O 7. e5 Ne8 8. f4 exd5
9. cxd5 d6 10. Nf3 Nc7 11. Bd3 c4 12. Bc2 f5 13. O-O Nd7 14. Nd4 Nb6 15. Nc6
Bc5+ 16. Kh1 Qh4 17. a4 bxa4 18. Bxa4 Kh8 19. exd6 Bxd6 20. Be3 Bd7 21. Qd4
Ncxd5 22. Nxd5 Nxa4 23. Ndb4 Bxc6 24. Nxc6 Bc5 25. Qxc4 Bxe3 26. Qxa4 Bb6 27.
Ne5 Bc7 28. Qd7 Bxe5 29. fxe5 Qb4 30. e6 Qxb2 31. e7 Rg8 32. Qxf5 Qb4 33. Qe5
a5 34. Rab1 Qc4 35. Rf4 Qd3 36. Rbf1 Qa3 37. h3 Rae8 38. Rf7 a4 {Diagram [#]}
39. Rxg7 Rxg7 40. Rf7 Qc1+ 41. Kh2 Qc7 42. Rf8+ (42. Qxc7 Rxf7) 1-0

[Event "20th TCh-RUS 2013"]
[Site "Loo RUS"]
[Date "2013.04.10"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Makhmutov, Rail"]
[Black "Predke, Alexandr"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2362"]
[BlackElo "2481"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2013.04.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Kazan"]
[BlackTeam "Zhiguli"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b6 7. Nf3 Bb7 8.
e3 d6 9. Be2 Nbd7 10. O-O Ne4 11. Qc2 f5 12. b4 Rf6 13. d5 Rg6 14. Bb2 c5 15.
Rad1 Rc8 16. b5 Qe7 17. g3 Re8 18. Ne1 Ndf6 19. Ng2 Rh6 20. Nf4 exd5 21. cxd5
Ng4 22. Ne6 {Diagram [#]} Rxe6 (22... Nxh2) (22... Nxg3 23. hxg3 Qxe6) 23. dxe6
Ng5 24. f3 Nh3+ 25. Kh1 Nhf2+ 26. Kg1 Nxe3 27. Qc3 Nfxd1 28. Bxd1 Nxf1 0-1

[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "Moscow URS"]
[Date "1971.11.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Robert Eugene Byrne"]
[Black "Yuri Balashov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "1971.11.24"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Qd2
Nbd7 9. f3 Be7 {Diagram [#]} 10. O-O-O Rc8 (10... b5) 11. g4 Nb6 12. g5 Nfd7
13. Rg1 Qc7 14. Kb1 Nc4 15. Bxc4 (15. Qf2 Nxb2 16. Kxb2 Qxc3+) 15... Qxc4 16.
h4 b5 17. Qg2 b4 18. Nd5 (18. Na4 Qc6) (18. Ne2 Qxc2+) 18... Bd8 19. f4 f5 20.
gxf6 gxf6 21. fxe5 dxe5 (21... Rg8 22. Qf3 Qxc2+ 23. Ka1) 22. Bh6 f5 (22... Rg8
23. Qxg8+ Bxg8 24. Rxg8+ Kf7 25. Rg7+ Ke6 26. Ne3) 23. exf5 Bxf5 24. Nd4 Qxd4 (
24... exd4 25. Rge1+ Be7 (25... Kf7 26. Qg7#) 26. Rxe7+ Kd8 27. Rxd7+ Bxd7 (
27... Kxd7 28. Nb6+) 28. Qg5+) (24... Bg6 25. h5 Bf7 26. Nf5) 25. Rxd4 Rxc2 26.
Nc7+ (26. Qxc2 Bxc2+ 27. Kxc2 exd4) 26... Bxc7 (26... Rxc7+ 27. Ka1 exd4 28.
Re1+ Be7 29. Qg7) 27. Qa8+ Ke7 (27... Nb8 28. Ka1 exd4 29. Qd5 Bd3 (29... Bg6
30. Re1+) (29... Bd7 30. Qe4+) 30. Qe6+) (27... Bb8 28. Ka1 exd4 29. Re1+ Kd8 (
29... Kf7 30. Qd5+ Kf6 31. Bg7+ Kxg7 32. Qxf5) 30. Qb7 Rg8 31. Qd5) 28. Rg7+ (
28. Qxh8 Rg2+ 29. Kc1 Rxg1+) 28... Kf6 29. Qxh8 {Diagram [#]} exd4 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.09.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem I"]
[Black "Trapping"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/8/5b1p/6p1/8/5N2/3N2PP/6K1 b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... g4 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.09.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem II"]
[Black "Driving off"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r2nk1/2q3pp/p7/1p6/5P2/2N1Q3/1PP5/2K4R b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... b4 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.09.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem III"]
[Black "Undermining"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r3k1/2q2pp1/3p3p/3P4/2nR4/2N5/1PP5/2KQ4 b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Nxb2 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.09.11"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem IV"]
[Black "Trapping"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/2k5/1p1p2p1/4bb2/Np6/1N6/1PP5/1K6 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... b5 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.09.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem V"]
[Black "Simplification"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2k3r1/1p4q1/p1np4/4p2p/4P3/3PB2b/1PQ5/2R1K1R1 b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Qxg1+ 2. Bxg1 Rxg1+ 3. Kf2 (3. Ke2) (3. Kd2) 3... Rg2+ 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.09.11"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem VI"]
[Black "Fork"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k7/p7/7q/2QP3p/3n4/8/3B4/3K4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Qxd2+ 2. Kxd2 Nb3+ 0-1

[Event "2013 U.S. Junior Closed Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.06.14"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffrey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2574"]
[BlackElo "2498"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Qe7 5. g3 Nc6 6. Nc3 {Diagram [#]} d6 (
6... O-O 7. Bg2 Bxc3 (7... Na5 8. b3 b6) 8. Bxc3 Ne4 (8... d6 9. d5 Nb8 10. O-O
e5 11. Nd2) 9. Rc1 d6 10. d5) 7. d5 (7. Bg2 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 Ne4 9. Rc1 O-O (9...
Nxc3 10. Rxc3 e5)) 7... Bxc3 8. Bxc3 Nb8 9. Bg2 e5 (9... Ne4 10. Bxg7) 10. Nd2
(10. O-O Ne4) 10... O-O 11. O-O b6 (11... c6 12. Rc1 cxd5 13. cxd5 Na6 14. Nc4)
12. b4 (12. e4 a5 13. f4 Na6 14. f5 Nc5) 12... Bb7 13. Qb3 (13. a4 c6 (13... a5
14. bxa5 bxa5 15. Nb3) 14. e4 (14. Ne4) 14... Nbd7 15. a5) 13... c6 14. Rfc1
Rc8 15. Bb2 (15. e4) 15... Nbd7 16. e4 {Diagram [#]} b5 (16... c5 17. b5 a6 18.
a4 Ra7) 17. dxc6 Bxc6 18. cxb5 Bxb5 19. a4 Bc6 20. Qd3 Qe6 {Diagram [#]} (20...
Bb7 21. Nc4 Ne8 22. Na5) 21. Qa6 Nb8 (21... d5 22. b5 Nb8 23. exd5 Nxd5 24.
Bxd5) (21... Rc7 22. Qc4 (22. Rxc6 Nb8) 22... Rac8 23. Qxe6 fxe6 24. Nc4 Ne8)
22. Qc4 Nbd7 23. Qxe6 fxe6 24. b5 Bb7 25. Nc4 Nxe4 (25... Ne8 26. Ba3 d5 27.
Na5) (25... Bxe4 26. Nxd6 Rxc1+ 27. Rxc1) 26. Bxe4 Bxe4 27. Nxd6 Rxc1+ (27...
Rc2 28. Ba3 (28. Rxc2 Bxc2) 28... Bg6 29. Rxc2 Bxc2 30. a5) 28. Rxc1 Bf3 29.
Rc7 (29. Rc3 e4 30. Rc7 {Diagram [#]} Rd8 (30... Nf6 31. a5 (31. Bxf6 gxf6 32.
Nc8) 31... Ne8 32. Rc8 Rxc8 33. Nxc8 Be2 34. Nxa7 Nd6 35. b6 Nb7) 31. Nb7)
29... Rd8 30. Nb7 (30. Rxa7 Nf6 31. Bxe5 Ne8) (30. a5) (30. Ba3) 30... Rb8 (
30... Bxb7 31. Rxb7) 31. Na5 Nb6 32. Rxg7+ Kxg7 (32... Kf8 33. Rxh7 Kg8 34.
Rh8+) 33. Bxe5+ Kf7 34. Bxb8 a6 (34... Nxa4 35. Bxa7 Ke7) 35. bxa6 Nxa4 36. Nc4
Ke7 37. Bd6+ Kd8 38. Bf4 Kc8 39. Nd6+ Kb8 40. Nf7+ Ka7 41. Ng5 {Diagram [#]}
Bd5 42. Nxh7 Kxa6 43. Nf6 Bf3 44. h4 Nc3 45. h5 Nd5 46. Nxd5 exd5 47. h6 Be4
48. Be5 (48. g4 d4) 48... Kb5 49. f4 Kc6 50. g4 Bh7 51. Bd4 1-0

[Event "World Open"]
[Site "Arlington, VA"]
[Date "2013.07.07"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Erenburg, Sergey"]
[Black "Negi, Parimarjan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2615"]
[BlackElo "2634"]
[Annotator "Erenburg, Sergey"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2013.07.??"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{This game is from last round, where no fewer than 8 players went into it as
leaders. Throughout the tournament, the top players proved themselves very
solid with outstanding opening preparation, which explains the high amount of
draws on top boards. As for me, I was pretty lucky with the pairing at the
first four rounds, since there were very few players in my section. The
interesting thing is that everyone cared to mention how lucky I am with the
two-weekend schedule, whereas, when I was extremely unlucky with the schedules
in the last two World Open I played, (Last year Iplayed 8 players with 2500+
ELO rating,among which 7 GM's and 3 2600+ ELO rating), no one cared. But as GM
Magesh Panchanathan said to me: "That's how life is." But anyways, back to
round 9. It was reasonable to assume that there will be results in the first
four games and it is likely to be the case that players with half a point less
would reach the leaders should we draw our games. Those were some of the
reasons for my decline of Negi's draw, which was offered before the game. The
other reasons were obvious and clear as well: I had White pieces and was
motivated to win the tournament. Let me talk a little bit about my opponent.
He is a very talented young individual and very well known for his deep
opening preparations. This is why I chose the strategy of avoiding the very
well known theoretical lines, but rather drag my opponent into a more
positional long game.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 {Trying to avoid
the main avenues of Berlin variation.} Bc5 {Black develops his bishop to an
active position with the possible idea of trading the nights with Nc6-d4.
Another alternative is} (4... d6 {with the following possible fianchetto on g7.
}) 5. Bxc6 {Again not the most popular continuation. I figured that with
different pawn structure and material in a not very explored position, would
give me change to outplay my opponent.} dxc6 6. Nbd2 {The pawn structure is
very similar to the one from Sicilian Rossolimo, where usually black's bishop
is "fianchettoed" on g7. Comparing to it, it is hard to say if White has any
better chance for opening advantage in this particular line. White is usually
better off with any trade of pieces and generally wants to carry out the f2-f4
or d2-d4 advances in the future. Black, on the other hand, wants to prevent
from White to taking control over the center and one of his typical plans is
to develop initiative on the kingside using active pieces.} O-O 7. Nc4 Ng4 {To
my surprise, Negi kept playing fast with very aggressive and not obvious moves.
I was caught off guard with his 7...Ng4, which turned out to be a new concept,
very strong and deeply analysed by him. In the preceding games, the top
players chose one of the two more conventional options:} (7... Nd7 8. Bd2 (8.
O-O Re8 9. Bd2 Bf8 10. b4 {This is another typical idea to freeze black's
queenside.} f6 11. a4 Nb6 12. Ne3 Be6 13. Qb1 Qd7 14. Rd1 Bf7 15. h3 Rad8 16.
Be1 Bh5 17. g4 Bf7 18. c4 c5 19. b5 Nc8 20. Qc2 Re6 21. Kf1 Ne7 {Although
White got a slight advantage, Black was able to hold in 1/2-1/2 Anand,V (2775)
-Kramnik,V (2795)/London 2012/CB00_2013 (40)}) 8... Re8 9. a4 f6 10. O-O Nf8
11. Be3 Ne6 12. Bxc5 Nxc5 13. Ne3 Ne6 14. Nh4 a5 15. b3 Qd4 16. Nhf5 Qc5 17.
Qd2 Nd4 18. Nxd4 Qxd4 19. Qe2 Be6 20. Kh1 Rad8 $11 {1/2-1/2 Anand,V (2783)
-Karjakin,S (2767)/Sandnes 2013/CB20_2013 (57)}) ({White got nothing after} 
7... Re8 8. Bg5 b5 9. Ncd2 h6 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. fxe3 c5 12. b3 a5 13. a4 c6 14.
Qe2 Ba6 15. c4 Ra7 16. O-O Rd7 17. Ne1 b4 18. Rf3 Rd6 19. Nf1 Bc8 $11 {0-1
Kurnosov,I (2680)-Bartel,M (2609)/Lublin 2010/EXT 2011 (60)}) 8. O-O f5 $5 {
Diagram [#] After 8.0-0 and his fast reply 8...f5, I realized that I was
dragged into his preparation, whereas, I saw that position for the first time
in my life... The list of the moves considered by me were as follows: 9.exf5,
9.Be3, 9.Ne3, 9. Qe2, 9.Qe1, 9 .Nfxe5 and 9.Bg5. All of those lead to very
long variations where both sides can deviate on every move playing a number of
different continuations.} ({I expected a more standard} 8... Be6 {, which
would be replied by} 9. b3 ({But not} 9. Ncxe5 $2 Nxf2 10. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 11. Kxf2
f6 $17) ({and not} 9. Nfxe5 $2 Nxf2 10. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 11. Kxf2 f6 $17)) 9. Bg5 {
I realized that my main problem is the discoordination among heavy pieces
along the first row. The disadvantage of this move is that it helps to bring
black's queen to a more active position and bishop on g5 is vulnerable because
of black's possible f5-f4 advance. Here are some of the variations I
calculated during the game:} (9. Nfxe5 Nxf2 10. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 11. Kxf2 fxe4+ ({
During the game, I did not see the 12...Qf6 resource, but I did see} 11... b5
12. Ne3 f4 13. Kg1 fxe3 14. Bxe3 Qe8 $15 {, which gives Black a slight edge.})
12. Kg1 Qf6 $1 (12... b5 {is not good, in view of} 13. Ne3 Qf6 14. N3g4 Bxg4
15. Nxg4 Qd4+ 16. Be3 $14) 13. Be3 b5 14. Bc5 bxc4 15. Bxf8 cxd3 $1 $15 {
Diagram [#]}) ({Of course not} 9. h3 $4 Nxf2 10. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 11. Kxf2 fxe4 $19)
({Similarly, not} 9. Ncxe5 Nxf2 $19) ({For a long time, I considered
sacrificing an exchange and going into the endgame with} 9. exf5 e4 (9... Bxf5
{is an option as well. Black's pawn structure is horrible, but his pieces are
so active, which makes it possible for him to either carry out e5-e4 or get
dangerous initiative:} 10. Qe2 (10. h3 {is playable as well, but Black is not
worse here too:} Nxf2 11. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 12. Kxf2 e4 13. Bg5 Qe8 14. dxe4 Qxe4 $13)
10... Qd5 $1 11. h3 {What else?} Nxf2 12. Rxf2 e4 (12... Bxf2+ 13. Qxf2 e4 14.
Ne3 Qd7 15. Nxf5 exf3 16. g4 Rae8 17. Be3 h5 $13) 13. Be3 exf3 14. Qxf3 Be7 15.
Raf1 Bxd3 16. Qxd5+ cxd5 17. cxd3 dxc4 18. dxc4 $11) 10. dxe4 Qxd1 ({Over the
board, I was convinced that} 10... Bxf2+ {is the best.} 11. Kh1 Qxd1 12. Rxd1
Bc5 13. Rf1 Re8 (13... Nf2+ 14. Rxf2 Bxf2 15. g4 {and White is not worse
because of the strong center.}) (13... b6 $5) 14. h3 Nf2+ 15. Kh2 Nxe4 16. g4
b6 $13) 11. Rxd1 Nxf2 12. Be3 Nxe4 $1 ({After} 12... Bxe3 13. Nxe3 Nxd1 14.
Rxd1 $14 {White should be better, since it will take some time for Black to
activate his pieces. White can use that time to advance his pawns and bring
the knights to ideal positions.}) 13. Bxc5 Nxc5 $15 {Diagram [#] and Black is
slightly better, because} 14. g4 {is met by} g6) ({I could have simplified the
matters with} 9. Ne3 fxe4 (9... f4 $5 10. Nc4 Qe8 $13) 10. dxe4 Qxd1 11. Rxd1
Nxe3 12. Bxe3 Bxe3 13. fxe3 Bg4 $11) (9. Be3 $6 Nxe3 10. fxe3 b5 $15) ({
Another logical continuation which I had at my disposal was to move away the
queen from the opposition with black's queen:} 9. Qe2 fxe4 (9... f4 $2 10. h3)
10. dxe4 (10. Qxe4 Bf5 11. Qe2 Qd5 {would lead to the 9.exf5 Bxf5 line.}) 10...
Be6 $1 {with the idea} 11. Ncxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Rxf2 13. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 14. Qxf2 (
14. Kxf2 Qd4+ $17) (14. Kh1 Qf6 $15) 14... Qd1+ 15. Qf1 Qd4+ $15) ({Not too
many human players would go back with the knight to d2, but engines have no
problems making such decisions...} 9. Ncd2 f4 (9... Nf6 $5) 10. h3 h5 $5 11.
hxg4 hxg4 12. Nxe5 f3 $1 {[%cal Yf3g2,Yd8h4]} (12... g3 13. Ndf3) 13. g3 Qe8
$44 {[%cal Ye8h5,Yh5h3]}) (9. Qe1 {[%cal Yb2b4]} fxe4 10. dxe4 $4 (10. Qxe4 Bf5
{leads to the 9.Qe2 line.}) 10... Rxf3 $1 11. gxf3 Qh4 $1 12. fxg4 Qxg4+ 13.
Kh1 Qf3+ 14. Kg1 Bh3 $19) 9... Qe8 {Now Black is ready to bring his queen to
h5 and at the same time, to push the "f" pawn locking white's bishop on the
kingside.} 10. exf5 {I thought playing this is a must.} ({It turned out that
there was one preceding game, where White continued} 10. h3 fxe4 11. dxe4 b5 $6
(11... Be6 {is probably better.}) 12. hxg4 bxc4 13. Qe2 Bxg4 14. Qxc4+ Kh8 15.
Qxc5 Rxf3 16. Rfd1 $14 {1/2-1/2 Baghdasaryan,V (2348)-Andriasian,S (2214)/
Jermuk 2010/CBM 138 Extra (25)}) ({To my surprise, Houdini recommends} 10. Bh4
fxe4 ({Somehow, White is fine after} 10... f4 11. c3 Be6 12. b4 Bd6 13. Re1)
11. dxe4 Be6 (11... b6 $5) 12. Ncxe5 (12. Ncd2 Qh5) 12... Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bc4 14.
Nxc4 Qxe4 $11) 10... e4 {Black got the desired breakthrough in the center, and
it became clear that White has to be careful to equalize. Black's bishops are
too active now.} (10... Bxf5 11. h3 (11. Qe2 e4 12. dxe4 Bxe4 $15) 11... Nxf2
12. Rxf2 Bxf2+ (12... e4 13. d4) 13. Kxf2 e4 14. dxe4 Qxe4 15. Ncd2 Qxc2 $11)
11. dxe4 Qxe4 12. Qd3 {Diagram [#] Probably the best. Nothing else gives equal
chances:} (12. Ncd2 Qxf5 13. Bh4 Be6 $15) (12. b3 Bxf5 $15 {[%cal Ya8e8]})
12... Qxd3 {Looks like a logical choice, but apparently, taking on f5 was even
better.} (12... Bxf5 13. Qxe4 Bxe4 14. Ncd2 {Here Parimarjan and I were both
sure that White is fine, but Houdini finds a way to keep black's initiative
alive!} (14. h3 Nxf2 15. Rxf2 Bxf3 $15) 14... Bxf3 $1 15. Nxf3 Rae8 16. Bh4 ({
Maybe better} 16. h3 Ne5 $15 (16... Nxf2 17. Rxf2 Re2 18. Bh4 Rxc2 19. b4 $13))
16... Re2 17. Rac1 g5 $1 18. Bg3 h5 19. h4 gxh4 20. Bxh4 a5 $36 {and although
Black has no immediate threats, white's position is unpleasant...}) 13. cxd3
Bxf5 14. d4 Bb6 15. Rfe1 {Preventing immediate black's transfer of the bishop
to d5 via e4 or e6.} Nf6 {This was the moment to realize that I can not really
play for a win here. Objectively speaking, the endgame is equal: Black will
occupy the d5 outpost, and I will take control over e5. With the opposite
colored bishops, the outcome of the game would have been predictable. But I
decided to try my luck by playing} 16. Bxf6 (16. a4 Rad8 17. Nxb6 axb6 18. h3
$11) 16... gxf6 $1 {This is the point! I lost control over the e5 spot.} 17.
Re7 (17. Re3 Rf7 {[%cal Yf7d7]} 18. h3 Rd7 19. Nxb6 axb6 20. a3 $11) 17... Rf7
18. Rae1 $6 {This was some kind of a blunder. I simply forgot that my rook can
be driven away from e7 after we trade rooks.} ({Better was} 18. Re3 $11) 18...
Rxe7 19. Rxe7 Kf8 {Now that I can't take on b6, I have to be extra careful to
hold this endgame.} 20. Re1 $6 {Diagram [#]} (20. Nxb6 $2 axb6 21. Rxc7 Rxa2
22. h3 Rxb2 23. d5 c5 (23... cxd5 24. Nd4) 24. d6 Rb1+ 25. Kh2 Rd1) ({It was
important to keep the f3 knight protected:} 20. Re3 Rd8 (20... Bg4 {gives
nothing:} 21. h3 $1 Bxf3 22. Nxb6 axb6 23. Rxf3 Rxa2 24. Rxf6+ Kg8 25. Re6 $11)
21. Nxb6 axb6 {and here Black has some chances, although, objectively, White
should gradually neutralize his inititiative.}) 20... Kf7 $6 {Negi missed the
chance to get a slight better position here.} (20... Bg4 $1 21. Nxb6 ({
Unfortunately,} 21. Nh4 Bxd4 22. Re4 {is refuted by} Re8) 21... axb6 22. a3
Bxf3 23. gxf3 Kf7 $15 {Here I would have to defend this unpleasant endgame.})
21. a3 Be6 22. Nxb6 axb6 23. Re3 Ra4 {setting up a trap for me.} ({Probably,
black's last chance to fight for the win was} 23... Rd8 $5 24. h3 c5 25. dxc5
bxc5 26. Rc3 Rd1+ 27. Kh2 c4) 24. Rc3 {With the following b2-b4, I planned to
make my opponent's rook very passive. Now Black has to exchange his bishop for
my knight and go into equal rooks endgame.} (24. b4 $2 {would have been a
mistake, due to} c5 25. bxc5 bxc5 26. dxc5 Rc4 $15 {and black's connected
pawns will cause a lot of trouble.}) 24... Bd5 {If I chose to proceed, the
game would likely continue as follows:} (24... Bd5 25. b4 {[%cal Yf3d2,Yd2f1,
Yf1e3]} Bxf3 26. Rxf3 c5 27. dxc5 bxc5 28. bxc5 Rc4 29. Kf1 Rxc5 {with dead
draw endgame.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "41st Annual World Open"]
[Site "Arlington USA"]
[Date "2013.07.06"]
[Round "7.5"]
[White "Ray Robson"]
[Black "Tamaz Gelashvili"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "2628"]
[BlackElo "2572"]
[Annotator "Gelashvili, Tamaz"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2013.07.01"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Nxd4 Be7 6. g3 O-O (6... d5) 7. Bg2
Re8 8. O-O c6 9. a4 a5 10. Re1 Bf8 11. h3 Nbd7 12. g4 (12. Bf4) 12... g6 13.
Bf4 Nc5 14. Qd2 Qb6 15. e5 (15. b3 Qb4 16. Rad1) 15... dxe5 16. Bxe5 Ncd7 17.
Bf4 (17. Bxf6 Nxf6 18. Qf4 Bd7 19. Qxf6 Bg7 20. Nd5 Qxd4 21. Qd6) 17... Rxe1+
18. Rxe1 Qxb2 19. g5 Nh5 20. Bc7 Ng7 (20... Bb4 21. Re8+ Nf8 22. Qe1 (22. Nce2
Ng7 23. Rd8 Be7) 22... Ng7 (22... Bxc3 23. Rxf8+ Kxf8 24. Bd6+ Kg7 25. Qe5+) (
22... Qxc3 23. Rxf8+ Kxf8 24. Bd6+ Kg7 25. Qe5+) (22... h6 23. Qe5 Qxc3 24. Bd6
) 23. Rd8 Qa3 (23... Qxc3 24. Qxc3 Bxc3 25. Bd6 Nge6 26. Nxe6 fxe6 27. Rxf8+
Kg7 28. Re8) 24. Nb1 Bxe1 (24... Qb2 25. Nc3) 25. Nxa3 Bb4 26. Nc4 Be7 27. Nb6
Bxd8 28. Bxd8 Ra6 29. Nxc8 Ra8 30. Ne7+ Kh8 31. Bc7) 21. Rb1 (21. Ne4 Bb4)
21... Qa3 22. Ne4 Qxa4 (22... Ne8 23. Bxa5 Nd6 (23... Qxa4 24. Bc3) 24. Nxd6
Qxd6 25. Bb4 Qc7) 23. Re1 {Diagram [#]} Qa2 (23... Qa3 24. Re3 (24. Nf6+ Nxf6
25. gxf6 Ne6) 24... Qb2 25. Bd6 a4) 24. Bd6 Qb2 (24... Bxd6 25. Nxd6 Nf8 26.
Qc3) 25. Bxf8 (25. Nf6+ Kh8 (25... Nxf6 26. gxf6 Be6 (26... Bxd6 27. Qh6 Bf8
28. fxg7 Bg4 (28... Bd7 29. gxf8=Q+ Rxf8 30. Re4) 29. gxf8=Q+ Rxf8 30. Nxc6
bxc6 31. hxg4 Qxc2 32. Qf4) 27. Bxf8 Rxf8 28. fxg7 Rd8 29. Re4 c5 30. Qe1 Rxd4
31. Rxe6 fxe6 32. Qxe6+ Kxg7 33. Qe7+) 26. Nf3 Bxd6 27. Qxd6 Qb4 28. Qd1 Nxf6
29. gxf6 Bf5 30. fxg7+ Kg8) 25... Nxf8 26. Qf4 (26. Nf6+ Kh8 27. Re7 Be6 28.
Nxe6 Nfxe6 29. Rxf7 Qd4 (29... a4 30. Qe3 a3 31. Bf1 (31. Qxe6 Qc1+ 32. Kh2
Qf4+ 33. Kg1 Qc1+ 34. Bf1 Qxg5+) 31... a2 32. Qxe6 a1=Q 33. Rxg7) 30. Qc1 (30.
Qxd4 Nxd4 31. Rd7 (31. Rxb7 a4) 31... Ne2+ (31... Nxc2 32. Be4 Nb4 33. Rxb7)
32. Kf1 Nf4 33. Rxb7 a4 34. Rb2 a3 35. Ra2 Ra6) 30... a4 31. Rxb7 a3 32. c3 Qf4
) 26... Be6 27. Nf6+ Kh8 28. Qh4 a4 29. Re4 a3 30. Qh6 a2 31. Rh4 a1=Q+ 32. Kh2
Nh5 33. Rxh5 (33. Nxh5 Qxd4 34. Nf6 Qxh4 35. Qxh4 Qe5+) 33... gxh5 34. Nxh7
Nxh7 35. Be4 {Diagram [#]} Qg1+ 36. Kxg1 Qc1+ 37. Kh2 (37. Kg2 Qxg5+) 37...
Qf4+ 0-1

[Event "Arlington, VA"]
[Site "Arlington, VA"]
[Date "2013.07.05"]
[Round "4.17"]
[White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Black "Kaufman, Lawrence"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A01"]
[WhiteElo "2548"]
[BlackElo "2325"]
[Annotator "Kaufman, Larry"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2013.07.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bd6 5. d3 (5. Na3 Na5) 5... O-O (5... Ne7
6. d4 e4 7. Be2 c6 8. Nh3 Bc7 9. O-O d5 {Diagram [#]}) 6. Nd2 Re8 (6... Ne7) 7.
Ne2 Bf8 8. d4 {Diagram [#]} exd4 (8... e4) 9. Nxd4 Nxd4 10. Bxd4 a6 11. Be2 d5
12. O-O c5 13. Bb2 Bf5 14. Nf3 {Diagram [#]} Ne4 (14... Be7) 15. c4 dxc4 16.
Bxc4 Qxd1 (16... Qc7) 17. Rfxd1 Nd6 18. Bd5 Be4 (18... Rad8) 19. Ne5 Rad8 20.
Rac1 (20. Bxe4 Nxe4 21. Nd7) 20... Bxd5 21. Rxd5 f6 22. Nf3 c4 (22... Ne4 {
Diagram [#]}) 23. Nd4 cxb3 24. axb3 Rc8 25. Rxc8 Rxc8 26. f3 Nf7 (26... b6) 27.
Ne6 (27. Kf2) 27... Bd6 28. f4 Re8 29. f5 Rc8 30. Bd4 Rc1+ 31. Kf2 Rc2+ 32. Kf3
h5 33. h4 Rc1 34. g3 Kh7 35. Nf4 Bxf4 36. gxf4 Nh6 37. Bc5 Ng4 38. b4 Rf1+ 39.
Kg2 Re1 {Diagram [#]} 40. Rd7 Nxe3+ 41. Kf2 {Diagram [#]} Rd1 42. Rxb7 Nxf5 43.
Ra7 Ra1 44. Bf8 Ra2+ 45. Kf3 Kg8 46. Ra8 Kf7 47. b5 Nd4+ 48. Ke4 Nxb5 49. Bc5
Ra4+ 0-1

[Event "World Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.08.24"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kazim Gulamali"]
[Black "Varuzhan Akobian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B01"]
[Annotator "Akobian, Varuzhan"]
[PlyCount "38"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. f3 (3. Nc3) 3... d5 4. exd5 (4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 e6 6. Nf3
c5) 4... Nxd5 5. c4 Nb6 6. Nc3 e5 7. dxe5 (7. d5 Bc5 (7... Nxc4 8. Qa4+ (8.
Bxc4 Qh4+ 9. g3 Qxc4))) 7... Qxd1+ 8. Nxd1 Nc6 9. f4 Be6 10. b3 O-O-O 11. Ne3
Bc5 12. a3 Rhe8 13. Nf3 f6 14. exf6 (14. Be2 fxe5 15. fxe5 Nd7) 14... Bg8 {
Diagram [#]} 15. Ke2 (15. Kf2 Rd1) 15... gxf6 16. g3 Na5 {Diagram [#]} 17. Rb1
(17. b4 Bxe3 18. Bxe3 Naxc4) 17... Nxb3 18. Rxb3 Bxc4+ 19. Kf2 Bxb3 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.08.27"]
[Round "?"]
[White "A Benko favorite"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4k1rr/1R1R3p/8/8/8/2K5/7P/8 w k - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "21"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Rd2 Rf8 2. Kc2 Rhg8 3. Kb2 h6 4. h3 h5 5. h4 Rh8 6. Ka2 Rhg8
7. Ra7 Rf4 8. Rb2 Rd4 9. Rb8+ Rd8 10. Rxd8+ Kxd8 11. Ra8+ 1-0

[Event "Alekhine Mem"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2809"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5k2/8/1R6/pP6/8/5p2/6r1/5K2 b - - 0 47"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[EventDate "2013.07.24"]

{# #} 47... Ke7 48. Rc6 (48. Ra6 Ra2 49. b6 (49. Rc6) 49... Kd7 50. b7 Kc7 51.
Rf6 f2) 48... Rb2 49. Rc3 Rxb5 50. Rxf3 Re5 51. Ra3 Kd6 52. Kf2 Kc6 53. Re3 $1
Rd5 54. Ke2 a4 55. Ra3 Kb5 56. Rd3 Rc5 57. Kd2 Kb4 58. Rd8 a3 59. Rb8+ Rb5 (
59... Ka4 60. Ra8+ Kb3 61. Rb8+ Ka2 $11 {Diagram [#]}) 60. Rxb5+ Kxb5 61. Kc1
a2 62. Kb2 a1=N 1/2-1/2

[Event "35th Tringov Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Danov, Lyubomir"]
[Black "Petrov, Marij"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2158"]
[BlackElo "2518"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/5k1p/4p3/5p2/3P1R2/1r6/6K1/8 w - - 0 38"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2013.07.24"]

{# #} 38. d5 exd5 39. Rxf5+ Ke6 40. Rh5 Rb7 $2 (40... d4 41. Kf2 Re3) 41. Kf3
Rd7 42. Kf4 $2 (42. Ke3) 42... d4 43. Ke4 Kf6 $1 44. Rh1 {# #} Kg7 $2 (44...
Kg5 $1 45. Rg1+ Kh4 46. Rh1+ Kg4 $1 47. Rg1+ Kh3 48. Kf3 Rf7+ 49. Ke4 Kh2 {wins
}) (44... Kg6 45. Kd3 $11) 45. Rd1 Re7+ 46. Kf5 Rf7+ 47. Ke4 Re7+ 48. Kf5 Rf7+
49. Ke4 h5 50. Rxd4 Kg6 51. Rd1 h4 {# #} 52. Rd5 (52. Rd8) (52. Ke3 Kg5 53. Ke2
h3 54. Rf1) 52... h3 53. Rd1 $4 (53. Rd3 Rh7 54. Rg3+ Kf6 55. Rg1 $11) 53...
Kg5 54. Rg1+ Kh4 55. Rg8 h2 56. Rh8+ Kg3 57. Rg8+ Kf2 58. Rh8 Kg1 59. Rg8+ Kf1
60. Rh8 Rf2 61. Ke3 Kg1 62. Rh7 Rg2 0-1

[Event "Tal Memorial Moscow"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Carlsen, M."]
[Black "Caruana, F."]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2864"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5k2/1R3p2/1pr5/6Pp/5K1P/8/8/8 w - - 0 41"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "2013.07.24"]

{##} 41. Kf5 Kg7 42. Rb8 Rc5+ 43. Kf4 Rb5 44. Ke4 Rb1 45. Kf5 Rb2 46. Kf4 Rb4+
47. Ke5 (47. Kf5) 47... Kg6 48. Rg8+ Kh7 49. Rf8 $2 (49. Rb8 {Diagram [#]})
49... Rxh4 50. Rxf7+ Kg6 51. Rf6+ Kxg5 52. Rxb6 {# #} Ra4 53. Rb8 Kg4 54. Rg8+
Kf3 $1 (54... Kh3 55. Kf5 h4 56. Rb8 $11) 55. Rf8+ Kg3 56. Rg8+ Kh2 $1 57. Kf5
h4 58. Rb8 h3 $1 59. Kg5 (59. Rb2+ Kg3 60. Rb3+ Kh4 61. Rb2 Ra1 62. Kf4 (62.
Rb4+ Kg3 63. Rg4+ Kf3 64. Rf4+ Kg2 65. Rg4+ Kh1) 62... Rf1+ $19) 59... Re4 60.
Kf5 Re2 61. Rg8 Rg2 62. Rd8 Rf2+ 0-1

[Event "Alekhine Mem."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Aronian, L."]
[Black "Kramnik, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2809"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/5ppk/p2P2p1/1pR1P3/8/7P/P4KP1/8 b - - 0 36"]
[PlyCount "32"]
[EventDate "2013.07.25"]

{# #} 36... f6 37. Rc6 (37. Rc8 Rxc8 38. d7 Rc2+ (38... Rd8 39. e6 a5) 39. Ke3)
37... fxe5 38. Ke3 Kg8 39. Ke4 Kf7 40. Kd5 (40. Kxe5 Re8+ 41. Kd5 Re2) 40... a5
(40... e4 41. Rxa6 e3 42. Ra3) 41. Rc5 b4 42. Rxa5 Kf6 43. Ra7 Rb8 44. Kc6 {# #
} b3 (44... Rc8+ 45. Kd7 Rc2 46. Kd8 e4 47. d7 Kf7 48. Rb7 e3 49. Rxb4 Rxa2 50.
Rf4+ Ke6 51. Ke8) 45. axb3 Rxb3 46. Ra8 Rc3+ 47. Kd7 e4 48. Rf8+ Kg5 (48... Ke5
49. Ke7 e3 50. d7 Rc7 51. Ke8) 49. Ke7 e3 50. d7 e2 51. d8=Q e1=Q+ 52. Kd6+ 1-0

[Event "OREGON"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Dougles, A."]
[Black "Bevan, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5kq1/P2b4/7K/7N/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "28"]
[EventDate "2013.07.25"]

{# #} 1. a8=Q+ Kf7 2. Qf3+ Bf5 (2... Ke7 3. Qf6+ Ke8 4. Ng7+) (2... Ke6 3. Qb3+
) (2... Ke8 3. Nf6+) 3. Qxf5+ Ke7 4. Qc5+ Kf7 (4... Kd8 5. Qa5+ Ke7 6. Qc7+ Kf8
) 5. Qc7+ Kf8 6. Qd8+ Kf7 7. Qd7+ Kf8 8. Nf4 (8. Nf6 $2 Qg6+ 9. Kxg6) (8. Ng7
Qh7+ 9. Kxh7) 8... Qh8+ (8... Qf7 9. Ng6+ Kg8 10. Qd8+) 9. Kg6 Qg8+ 10. Kf6 (
10. Kf5 Qf7+ $11) 10... Qh8+ 11. Kf5 Qc3 (11... Kg8 12. Kg6) (11... Qh6 12.
Ng6+ Kg8 13. Qe8+ Kg7 14. Qf8+ Kh7 15. Qh8#) 12. Ne6+ Kg8 13. Qe8+ Kh7 14. Ng5+
Kg7 1-0

[Event "Land of the Sky XXV"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Featherston, Matt"]
[Black "Blantyon, Gary"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C44"]
[WhiteElo "1584"]
[BlackElo "1913"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2013.07.04"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bb4+ 5. c3 dxc3 6. bxc3 (6. O-O) 6... Ba5
7. O-O d6 8. Qb3 Qe7 {Diagram [#]} 9. Ba3 (9. e5) 9... Bb6 10. e5 Na5 11. Qa4+
Kf8 (11... Bd7 12. Bb5 c6 13. Bd3 c5 14. Qf4) 12. exd6 cxd6 13. Re1 Be6 {
Diagram [#]} 14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. Qf4+ Qf7 16. Qxd6+ Ne7 17. Qxe6 Nac6 18. Nbd2 {
Diagram [#]} h6 (18... Qxe6 19. Rxe6 Kf7 20. Ng5+ (20. Rae1)) 19. Nc4 Rd8 20.
Nxb6 axb6 {Diagram [#]} 21. Rab1 (21. Nd4 Nxd4 (21... Rxd4) (21... Qxe6)) 21...
Qxe6 22. Rxe6 Kf7 23. Ree1 Nc8 24. Rbd1 N8a7 25. Rb1 b5 26. Bc5 Rd5 27. Bxa7
Nxa7 {Diagram [#]} 28. Nd4 (28. c4) 28... Rc8 29. Rb3 Rdc5 {Diagram [#]} 30.
Kf1 (30. Re3) 30... R8c7 (30... Rxc3 31. Nxb5 Nxb5 32. Rxb5 R8c7) 31. Ne6 Rxc3
32. Nxc7 Rxc7 33. Rf3+ Kg6 34. Rb1 b4 35. Rxb4 Rc1+ 36. Ke2 Rc2+ 37. Kd3 Rxa2
38. Rxb7 Ra3+ 39. Ke4 Ra4+ 40. Ke3 Ra3+ 41. Kf4 Ra4+ 42. Kg3 Kh5 43. Rxg7 Ra5 {
Diagram [#]} 44. Rf4 (44. Kh3 Rg5 45. Rf5 Rxf5 46. g4#) 44... Rg5+ 45. Rxg5+
hxg5 46. Rf8 Nc6 47. Rh8+ Kg6 48. h4 gxh4+ 49. Rxh4 Ne7 50. Ra4 Nf5+ 51. Kf4
Ne7 52. g4 Nd5+ 53. Ke5 Ne7 54. f4 Nc6+ 55. Ke4 Ne7 56. Ra6+ Kf7 57. Ra7 Kf8
58. Rxe7 Kxe7 59. Ke5 1-0

[Event "2012 U.S. Cadet Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.09.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "James Black"]
[Black "Michael Bodek"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Bodek, Michael"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1br2k1/pp3p1p/4Pp2/4n2Q/3qP3/1B5R/P5PP/2R2K2 b - - 0 23"]
[PlyCount "25"]

{Diagram [#]} 23... b6 (23... Bxe6 24. Bxe6 fxe6 25. Qxh7+ Kf8 26. Rg3 Nf7 27.
Qg8+ Ke7 28. Rc7+ Kd6 29. Qxf7) 24. exf7+ (24. Qxh7+ Kf8 25. Qh8+ Ke7 26. Rc7+
Bd7 27. Qg7 Rg8 28. Qh6 fxe6 29. Qh7+ Kd6) 24... Kf8 25. Qh6+ Ke7 26. f8=Q+
Rxf8 27. Qg7+ Ke8 28. Ba4+ Qxa4 29. Rxh7 Qd7 30. Qh6 Nf7 31. Qf4 Qd6 32. Qf3
Qd4 33. Qe2 Bd7 34. g3 Rc8 35. Rd1 Qc4 0-1

