[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.08.06"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Alekhine's combinations"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tamburro, Pete"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r5k1/1p3pp1/2p2n2/1PNn4/2QN2b1/4r1P1/3RPP2/2R3KB w - - 0 26"]
[PlyCount "0"]

{Diagram [#]}  *

[Event "Tilburg"]
[Site "Tilburg"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Viktor Korchnoi"]
[Black "Anthony Miles"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2630"]
[BlackElo "2570"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "1985.??.??"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O g6 6. e3 Bg7 7. d4 cxd4 8. exd4
Qc8 9. Na3 d5 10. Re1 dxc4 11. Qa4+ Nbd7 12. Qxc4 a6 13. Qe2 O-O 14. Bg5 Bd5
15. Qxe7 Re8 16. Qb4 Qb7 17. Nh4 Bf8 18. Qa4 Ne4 19. Bf4 Rac8 20. Rac1 b5 21.
Qd1 Ndf6 22. f3 Nd6 23. b3 Nh5 24. Bd2 Be7 25. Rxc8 Rxc8 26. Nc2 Bxh4 27. gxh4
Nf5 28. Nb4 Nxh4 29. Nxd5 Qxd5 30. Bh6 Nxg2 31. Kxg2 Ng7 32. Re5 Qd6 33. Re4
Nf5 {Diagram [#]} 34. Bf4 Qxf4 35. Rxf4 Ne3+ 0-1

[Event "Kislovodsk"]
[Site "Kislovodsk"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mikhail Tal"]
[Black "Jiri Fichtl"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D36"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "1964.??.??"]

1. c4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Be7 7. e3 O-O 8.
Bd3 Re8 9. Qc2 c6 10. O-O Nf8 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. b4 Bg4 13. Nd2 Rc8 14. Nb3 Be7
15. a3 (15. b5 cxb5 16. Bxb5 Bb4 17. Bxe8 Qxe8 18. Nc5 Bxc3 19. Qxc3 b6) 15...
Bd6 16. Bf5 Bxf5 17. Qxf5 Re6 18. Nc5 Rf6 19. Qc2 Rc7 20. Rad1 Re7 21. Rfe1 Rh6
22. h3 Qc8 23. e4 Bxc5 24. dxc5 dxe4 25. Nxe4 Qf5 26. Rd8 Rhe6 27. f3 Qf4 28.
Qc4 Qh4 29. Red1 Re8 30. R8d4 Qh6 31. Nd6 Qe3+ 32. Kh1 Rd8 33. R4d3 Qe2 34. Qc3
(34. Nxb7 Rg6 (34... Rd7) 35. g4 Rh6 36. Nxd8 Rxh3+) 34... Rg6 35. R3d2 Qa6 (
35... Qe7 36. Nf5 Qg5 37. Ne7+ Qxe7 38. Rxd8) 36. a4 b6 37. b5 Qxa4 38. cxb6
cxb5 39. b7 Qf4 40. Qc7 1-0

[Event "St Petersburg (02)"]
[Site "St Petersburg (02)"]
[Date "1914.02.07"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Alexander Alekhine"]
[Black "Aron Nimzowitsch"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C11"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "174"]
[EventDate "1914.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 b6 6. Bb5+ c6 7. Bd3 Be7 8.
O-O Nd7 9. Nxd5 cxd5 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Bf4 Bb7 12. c3 Bf6 13. Rfe1 Qe7 14. Ba6
Bxa6 15. Qxa6 Nb8 16. Qb5 Qb7 17. Re3 Nc6 18. Qd3 g6 19. Bh6 Bg7 20. Bxg7 Kxg7
21. Rae1 Qc7 22. h4 Rac8 23. h5 Qf4 24. Ne5 Nxe5 25. Rxe5 Rc7 26. g3 Qf6 27.
Qe3 Rd8 28. Kg2 Rcc8 29. Rh1 Kf8 30. Rh4 Ke8 31. Qh6 Ke7 32. Rf4 Qh8 33. Re1
Rd7 34. Rh1 Qg8 35. Qg5+ Kd6 36. Qe5+ Kc6 37. a4 Kb7 38. Ra1 Qh8 39. Rf6 Qd8
40. Rf3 Qh8 41. Qe2 a6 42. Qe3 Qg7 43. h6 Qf8 44. Qe5 Qh8 45. Rf6 Qf8 46. Rf3
Qh8 47. Rf6 Qf8 48. Rh1 Qd8 49. Rf3 Qh8 50. Rf6 Qd8 51. Rf3 Qh8 52. Rf6 Qd8 53.
Rf4 {Diagram [#]} Rc4 54. Ra1 (54. Qg7 f5 55. Qe5 Rxa4 56. Qxe6 Re7 57. Qf6 Qd7
) 54... Rc6 55. Rf6 Qf8 56. Qe3 Re7 57. Qf3 Qe8 58. g4 Qd7 59. Re1 Rc7 60. b3
Ka7 61. g5 Qd6 62. Qd3 Qa3 63. Qc2 Qb4 64. Rc1 Qa3 65. Re1 Qb4 66. Rc1 Qa3 67.
Re1 Qb4 68. Rc1 Qd6 69. Qd3 Qa3 70. Rb1 Qa2 71. Rf3 e5 (71... Rxc3 72. Qxc3
Qxb1 73. Qc8) 72. Re3 e4 73. Qd1 f5 74. gxf6 Rf7 75. Ra1 Qb2 76. Rb1 Qa3 77. c4
Rxf6 78. cxd5 Rcf7 79. Re2 Qd6 80. Qc2 Qxd5 81. Kf1 e3 82. Rxe3 Qh1+ 83. Ke2
Rxf2+ 84. Kd3 Qd5 85. Qc8 Rd7 86. Qc4 (86. Qc3 Qf5+ 87. Kc4 Rc7+) 86... Qf5+
87. Re4 Rf3+ 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Team Championship"]
[Site "Antalya TUR"]
[Date "2013.12.03"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Levon Aronian"]
[Black "Alexander Ipatov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A05"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2013.11.26"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 b5 3. Bg2 Bb7 4. O-O e6 5. d3 Be7 6. e4 d6 7. Nd4 a6 8. Nb3 c5
9. e5 Bxg2 10. exf6 Bxf1 11. fxe7 Qxe7 12. Qxf1 Nc6 13. Be3 O-O 14. Nc3 f5 15.
Qg2 Rac8 16. a3 Qf6 17. Rd1 Nd4 18. f4 Rfe8 19. Bxd4 cxd4 20. Na2 Qd8 21. Rf1
Qb6 22. Qf2 e5 23. c3 Qb7 24. cxd4 exf4 25. Nc3 fxg3 26. hxg3 Rf8 27. d5 Rf6
28. Nd4 b4 29. axb4 Qxb4 30. Nc6 Qb7 31. Re1 Kh8 32. Re7 Qb3 33. Rd7 Re8 34.
Nd4 Qb4 35. Ne6 Rg6 36. Rf7 Qg4 37. Ne2 Rf6 38. Rxg7 Qb4 {Diagram [#]} 39.
Rxh7+ Kxh7 40. Qa7+ Kg6 (40... Kh6 41. Qg7+ Kh5 42. Qg5#) 41. Qg7+ Kh5 42. Qg5#
(42. N2f4+) 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Team Championship"]
[Site "Antalya TUR"]
[Date "2013.12.03"]
[Round "7"]
[White "David Baramidze"]
[Black "Varuzhan Akobian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C42"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2013.11.26"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Bf4 O-O
8. Qd2 b6 9. O-O-O Bb7 10. h4 Nd7 11. Nd4 Nc5 12. Re1 Bf6 13. Bb5 a6 14. Nc6
Qd7 15. Ne7+ Qxe7 16. Rxe7 axb5 17. Rhe1 Bxe7 18. Rxe7 Rxa2 19. Qe3 Ra1+ 20.
Kd2 Bxg2 21. h5 Rh1 22. h6 Rh3 23. f3 Rxf3 24. Qd4 {Diagram [#]} Rd3+ 25. Qxd3
(25. cxd3 Nb3+) 25... Nxd3 26. cxd3 Rc8 27. Re3 Bd5 28. Rg3 g6 29. Bg5 Kf8 30.
Re3 Be6 31. d4 d5 32. Re1 Ra8 33. Ke3 Ra2 34. Kf4 Rxb2 35. Ra1 Ke8 36. Ra8+ Kd7
37. Rh8 Rf2+ 38. Kg3 Rc2 39. Rxh7 Rxc3+ 40. Kg2 Rh3 41. Rxf7+ Bxf7 42. Kxh3 Bg8
43. Kg4 b4 44. Bd2 b3 45. Bc3 Ke6 46. Kg5 Bh7 47. Bb2 c5 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Team Championship"]
[Site "Antalya TUR"]
[Date "2013.12.04"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Ian Nepomniachtchi"]
[Black "Yuriy Kryvoruchko"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A29"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2013.11.26"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bc5 5. Nxe5 Nxe5 6. d4 Qe7 7. dxe5 Qxe5 8.
Bg2 d6 9. Bf4 Qe6 10. Rc1 O-O 11. a3 a6 12. O-O Re8 13. Rc2 h6 14. b4 Ba7 15.
Qd3 Qe7 16. h3 Rb8 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. cxd5 Bb6 19. e4 Bd7 20. Rfc1 Ba4 21. Rc3
Rbd8 22. Be3 Bxe3 23. Qxe3 Rd7 24. Qd2 Qd8 25. h4 Rde7 26. Rc4 c6 27. Rd4 cxd5
28. Rxd5 Re6 29. Rd4 Qe7 30. Kh2 Bc6 31. Rcc4 Qf6 32. f3 Qe7 33. Rc2 Ba4 34.
Rc3 Bc6 35. Bf1 Rf6 36. Bc4 Rd8 37. Bd5 Bxd5 38. Rxd5 Re6 39. Rcd3 Qf6 40. Kg2
Qa1 41. Rc3 Rde8 {Diagram [#]} 42. Qc2 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Team Championship"]
[Site "Antalya TUR"]
[Date "2013.11.28"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Yangyi Yu"]
[Black "Ian Nepomniachtchi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2013.11.26"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bc4
O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Bb3 Na5 11. Bg5 Ne8 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. Nd5 Qd8 14. Qd3 Be6
15. Rfd1 Rc8 16. Ne3 Nxb3 17. axb3 Qe7 18. c4 Rc6 19. Nd2 g6 20. Nb1 f5 21. Nc3
Qg5 22. Ned5 Kh8 23. Qg3 Qh6 24. f4 Qg7 25. Re1 Bxd5 26. exd5 exf4 27. Qxf4 g5
28. Qd2 Rc7 29. Re6 Rd7 30. Rae1 Nc7 31. R6e2 b5 32. Re3 f4 33. Re4 Rdf7 34.
Ne2 Ne8 35. Nd4 Nf6 36. Re6 g4 37. Nf5 Ne4 38. R1xe4 Rxf5 39. Rxd6 f3 40. Qd4
f2+ 41. Kf1 Qxd4 42. Rxd4 {Diagram [#]} Rh5 (42... Re5 43. Re6) 43. Rd2 g3 (
43... Rxh2 44. Rxf2) 44. h3 Rxh3 45. gxh3 g2+ 46. Kxg2 f1=Q+ 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Team Championship"]
[Site "Antalya TUR"]
[Date "2013.12.04"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Tigran L Petrosian"]
[Black "Erwin L'Ami"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A11"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2013.11.26"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. c4 g6 5. b3 Bg7 6. Bb2 O-O 7. O-O a5 8. d3 Na6
9. Nbd2 Bg4 10. a3 Bxf3 11. Nxf3 e6 12. Qc2 Nd7 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. Qc3+ Qf6 15.
Qxa5 Nac5 16. Qb4 Ra6 17. d4 Rb6 18. Qc3 Nxb3 19. Rab1 dxc4 20. Qxc4 Na5 21.
Qc3 Rxb1 22. Rxb1 b6 23. Nd2 Kg8 24. Ne4 Qe7 25. h4 Rb8 26. h5 gxh5 27. Bf3 f5
28. Nc5 Nf6 {Diagram [#]} 29. Qxa5 bxa5 30. Rxb8+ Ne8 31. Bxc6 (31. Bxh5) 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Team Championship"]
[Site "Antalya TUR"]
[Date "2013.11.29"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Li Chao"]
[Black "Levon Aronian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E01"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2013.11.26"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 c5 5. Bg2 cxd4 6. O-O Bc5 7. Nxd4 dxc4 8.
Nc2 O-O 9. Be3 Qe7 10. Bxc5 Qxc5 11. Qd4 Qxd4 12. Nxd4 Nc6 13. Rd1 Rb8 14. Nxc6
bxc6 15. Rd2 Ba6 16. Nc3 Rfc8 17. Rc1 Kf8 18. Na4 c5 19. e4 Rb4 20. Nc3 Rcb8
21. Nd1 g5 22. e5 Ng4 23. f4 gxf4 24. gxf4 c3 25. Rxc3 Rxf4 26. Rxc5 Rf5 27.
Rc7 Rxe5 28. Bf3 Rg5 29. Kh1 Rb4 30. Rg2 h5 31. Rxa7 Bf1 32. Rg3 {Diagram [#]}
Nxh2 33. Rxg5 (33. Kxh2 Rh4+ 34. Kg1 Rxg3+) 33... Nxf3 34. Ra8+ Ke7 35. Ra7+
Kd6 0-1

[Event "Bradley Open CT 2009"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "SanClemente, Alexis"]
[Black "Sherry, Chris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "1525"]
[BlackElo "1485"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[PlyCount "40"]
[EventDate "2014.05.30"]

1. e4 e6 (1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3 {Diagram [#]} d6 (4... f5) (4...
Nf6) 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ {Diagram [#]} 7. Bd2 (7. Kf1)) 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5
exd5 4. d4 {Diagram [#]} Nf6 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. O-O O-O {Diagram [#]} 7. Re1 Nc6 8.
c3 Ne7 (8... Nb4) 9. Bg5 Ng6 {Diagram [#]} 10. Ne5 h6 11. Nxg6 fxg6 {Diagram 
[#]} 12. Be3 (12. Bh4 Bxh2+ 13. Kxh2 {Diagram [#]} Ng4+ 14. Qxg4) 12... Bxh2+ {
Diagram [#]} 13. Kxh2 (13. Kh1 Ng4 14. g3 Rxf2 {Diagram [#]}) 13... Ng4+ {
Diagram [#]} 14. Kg1 (14. Kg3 Qd6+) 14... Qh4 {Diagram [#]} 15. f3 Qh2+ 16. Kf1
Qh1+ 17. Bg1 Rxf3+ 18. gxf3 (18. Qxf3 Nh2+) 18... Qh3+ 19. Ke2 Qg2+ 20. Bf2
Qxf2# {Diagram [#]} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.06.15"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ramirez, A."]
[Black "Kamsky, G."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D94"]
[Annotator "Krush, Irina"]
[PlyCount "66"]

{Alejandro proved to be a tough nut to crack on the way to Gata's 2013 US
Championship title (Gata overcame him in the Armageddon game). In 2014,
Alejandro had Gata on the ropes in their encounter in Saint Louis but Gata
found a nice trick and the game ended in a draw.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. d4 d5
4. Nc3 a6 5. e3 g6 6. Bd3 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. Qb3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Be2 Bf5 11.
Ng5 $1 {a powerful move, preparing e4.} h6 12. e4 hxg5 13. exf5 gxf5 14. Bxg5
Qxd4 15. Rad1 Qc5 16. Rc1 Qa7 17. Qb4 {Diagram [#] When I was following this
game live, I really liked White's position here. White has so much
compensation for the sacrificed pawn: the bishop pair, Black's weakened king,
the offside queen on a7. Let's see how Gata managed to win this so quickly...}
e6 18. Qh4 Nbd7 19. Bh6 $2 {Gata indicated that this attempt to trade bishops
was a mistake. Indeed, because it takes pressure off the Nf6, Black now has an
effective knight maneuver to g6. White should have put a rook on d1 instead.}
Ne5 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. Qg5+ Ng6 {Suddenly Black is just better. The bishop pair
is gone, the king is secure.} 22. h4 Nh7 ({The computer shows a fantastic idea:
} 22... Rh8 $1 23. h5 {Diagram [#]} Rh6 $1 24. hxg6 Rah8 25. gxf7+ Kxf7 26. g3
Rh1+ 27. Kg2 R8h2+ 28. Kf3 Rxf1 29. Rxf1 Ng4 $1 {and mate on f2 is coming.})
23. Qg3 f4 24. Qf3 Nxh4 25. Qxf4 Ng6 26. Qd6 Nf6 27. Qxc6 Rh8 {Gata begins a
straightforward attack on the h-file.} 28. Qf3 Rh6 29. Ne4 Nxe4 30. Qxe4 Rah8
31. g3 f5 $1 32. Qc6 Ne5 33. Qg2 Kf6 $1 {Diagram [#] a quiet move to finish
the game- Qh7 is unstoppable.} 0-1

[Event "21st TCh-RUS 2014"]
[Site "Loo RUS"]
[Date "2014.04.12"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Kamsky, G."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2772"]
[BlackElo "2714"]
[Annotator "Krush, Irina"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1N2k3/2n1p1pp/p3Pp2/Pp3K1P/1P6/6P1/8 b - - 0 44"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2014.04.07"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2014.04.14"]
[WhiteTeam "Malachite (Sverdlovsk region)"]
[BlackTeam "Rook (Kazan)"]

{Diagram [#] This moment was a highlight of the endgame. Gata needs to pass
the move to White. So he undertakes the famous king triangulation idea, that
we typically see only in K+P endgames, but that works in a knight endgame as
well!} 44... Kf8 $1 45. Nc5 Kf7 $1 46. Nb7 Ke7 $1 {Now White is forced to move
the knight, and Black can stop it from going back to b7 and harassing the a5
pawn.} 47. Nc5 Nd8 48. g4 fxg4 49. Kxg4 Nf7 50. Kf4 g5+ 51. hxg5 hxg5+ 52. Ke4
Nd8 53. Kd3 Nc6 54. Kc4 Nxe5+ 55. Kb5 {As Gata explained, this endgame is
still tricky because White gets counterplay with their a-pawn, and knights are
notoriously bad at dealing with flank pawns.} Kf6 56. Ne4+ Kf5 57. Ng3+ Kf4 58.
Nf1 g4 59. Kxa5 {Diagram [#]} Nf3 ({The only way to win the game was} 59... Nd7
$1 {freeing up the e-pawn to advance.} 60. Kb5 e5 61. Kc6 Nb8+ 62. Kb7 e4 63.
Kxb8 e3 64. Nxe3 Kxe3 65. a5 g3 66. a6 g2 67. a7 g1=Q 68. a8=Q Qg8+ 69. Kb7
Qxa8+ 70. Kxa8 Kd3 {now Black wins the pawn endgame- this was the key line
that Gata showed.}) 60. Kxb4 Nd2 61. a5 Nxf1 62. a6 Ne3 (62... g3 63. a7 g2 64.
a8=Q g1=Q 65. Qf8+ {and the king cannot escape checks without losing the e6
pawn along the way.}) 63. a7 Nd5+ 64. Kc5 Nc7 65. Kc6 Na8 66. Kb7 g3 67. Kxa8
g2 68. Kb7 g1=Q 69. a8=Q Qg2+ 70. Kb8 Qxa8+ 71. Kxa8 Ke5 72. b4 Kd5 73. Kb7 e5
(73... Kc4 74. Kc6 Kxb4 75. Kd6 $11) 74. b5 e4 75. b6 e3 76. Ka8 e2 77. b7 e1=Q
78. b8=Q {A very instructive knight endgame.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Spirits of Chess blitz"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.06.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Krush, I."]
[Black "Kamsky, G."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D10"]
[Annotator "Krush, Irina"]
[PlyCount "50"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 {Don't worry, I'm not playing the Exchange Slav
for a draw...} 4. Bf4 e6 5. Nc3 Bd6 6. Bxd6 Qxd6 7. e3 Nf6 8. f4 $1 {This is a
dangerous attacking set up for White.} O-O 9. Bd3 Bd7 10. Nf3 Nc6 11. Ne5 Rfc8
12. O-O Be8 {Diagram [#] Of course, you don't need to be a genius to play this
position as White. The following moves are pretty standard.} 13. g4 Nd7 14. g5
Nf8 {This is rather passive looking, but Black is effectively defending the h7
square.} 15. Rf3 Ne7 16. Rh3 Nf5 17. Qf3 Rd8 {To make sure the d5 pawn is
protected after Bxf5.} 18. Ne2 Qb4 19. Ng3 Qxb2 20. Rb1 Qxa2 21. Nxf5 exf5 22.
Bxf5 Rac8 $5 23. Rf1 (23. Bxc8 Qxb1+) 23... Qb2 24. Bxc8 (24. Bxh7+ $5 Nxh7 25.
Qh5) 24... Rxc8 25. Qxd5 Rc2 {Diagram [#] I have kindly deleted the remaining
moves since they do feature some really awful moves from me :)} 1/2-1/2

[Event "National Open 2014"]
[Site "Las Vegas USA"]
[Date "2014.06.15"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "Lenderman, A."]
[Black "Banawa, Joe"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E52"]
[WhiteElo "2600"]
[BlackElo "2351"]
[Annotator "Krush, Irina"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r5k1/7p/6p1/P2R1p2/8/5P2/5P1P/7K w - - 0 49"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2014.06.13"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2014.06.16"]

{Diagram [#] White made a standard move, improving the king with 49.Kg2. Upon
deeper reflection, it would have become clear that White's main winning
attempt- bringing the king to support the advance of the a-pawn- would run
into the problem of Kh5-h4-h3, xh2 and the loss of the entire kingside. So
then the move 49.h4! might have revealed itself with the point 49...Kg7 50.h5!
and White trades off this weakness or in the event of gxh5 51.Rxf5, gets into
a pawn structure with better winning chances.} 49. Kg2 (49. h4 Kg7 50. h5 gxh5
51. Rxf5) 49... Kg7 {Diagram [#] White made a standard move, improving the
king with 49.Kg2. Upon deeper reflection, it would have become clear that
White's main winning attempt- bringing the king to support the advance of the
a-pawn- would run into the problem of Kh5-h4-h3, xh2 and the loss of the
entire kingside. So then the move 49.h4! might have revealed itself with the
point 49...Kg7 50.h5! and White trades off this weakness or in the event of
gxh5 51.Rxf5, gets into a pawn structure with better winning chances.} 50. Kg3
Kh6 51. Kf4 Kh5 {Diagram [#] A key position. White can make the principled 52.
Ke5 or.....not make any progress.} 52. Kg3 (52. Ke5 Kh4 53. Kd6 Kh3 54. Kc7
Kxh2 55. Kb7 Rh8 56. a6 Kg2 57. a7 Kxf2 {Diagram [#] Black has enough play on
the kingside to not fear losing.}) 52... Ra7 53. Rd4 Rxa5 54. Rh4+ Kg5 55. Rxh7
{There is not much to look at after this.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Stavanger Norway Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.06.12"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2815"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "25"]
[EventDate "2014.06.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 $5 {Aiming to play a Botvinnik System (...g6,
Bg7, Nge7) should White play quietly with 4.g3.  This is of course playable
for White, but Aronian chooses the central break which is the most serious
test for 3...e5.} 4. e3 (4. g3) 4... Nf6 5. d4 e4 6. d5 exf3 7. dxc6 bxc6 {[#]}
8. e4 $1 {An astonishing new move, in a position where recapture on f3 has
been automatic.} Qc7 {Caruana decides on discretion. After} (8... fxg2 9. Bxg2
Qc7 (9... d6 10. e5) 10. f4 d6 11. O-O {White has serious attacking chances
and, most importantly, Black lacks a progressive plan.}) 9. gxf3 g6 10. Be3 d6
11. Qd2 Be6 12. O-O-O Nd7 {[#]} 13. f4 {and White has a promising position,
though Aronian later spoilt winning chances and was forced to concede a draw.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Stavanger Norway Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.06.05"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A18"]
[WhiteElo "2792"]
[BlackElo "2815"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "2014.06.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 {[#]} d5 (3... c5 4. e5 Ng8 {is not as bad as it
looks, though Korchnoi - who used this line from the 1950s to the 1980s, could
never decide whether to prefer 5.d4 cxd4 6.Qxd4 or the pawn sacrifice} 5. Nf3 (
5. d4 cxd4 6. Qxd4) 5... Nc6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Nxe5 8. Ndb5) 4. e5 d4 5. exf6
dxc3 6. bxc3 Qxf6 7. d4 {For some time this was thought to be too direct and
the more subtle} (7. Nf3 e5 8. Bd3 $5 {was employed, with some success.}) 7...
e5 8. Nf3 Nc6 (8... exd4 9. Bg5 Qe6+ 10. Be2 {is dangerous for Black.}) 9. Bg5
Qg6 10. d5 Nb8 11. h4 Nd7 {[#]} 12. Bd3 e4 $2 {"I had analysed this move but I
forgot that I had decided that it was bad," admitted Aronian.} (12... Qd6 13.
Nd2 $5 Nc5 {should be satisfactory for Black.}) 13. h5 Qf5 $2 {The only
logical follow-up, but fatal.} (13... Qa6 {was necessary, though still very
tricky for Black after} 14. Bxe4 Qxc4 15. Bd3 $1 {and now both 15...Qxd5 16.
0-0 and} Qxc3+ (15... Qxd5 16. O-O) 16. Kf1 {give White fantastic play for the
pawn.}) 14. Rh4 $3 exd3 {Finally Aronian stopped to think, for 23 minutes, but
it is too late. "I wasn't thinking about resigning," said Aronian, "but I was
thinking about hitting myself!"  Trying to save the queen via} (14... Nc5 {
walks into} 15. Bxe4 $1 Qd7 (15... Nxe4 16. Qe2) 16. Qe2 Be7 17. Kf1 {and
Black's king is going to be stranded in the centre (as well as Black being a
pawn down).}) 15. Rf4 Nc5 16. Rxf5 Bxf5 17. Nd4 Bd7 18. Kf1 {The rest was easy
for Grischuk, who needed only to take due care and attention to reel in the
point. Aronian resigned at the time control on move 40.} 1-0

[Event "Stavanger Norway Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.06.08"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2783"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2014.06.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 c5 6. Nc3 {[#]} cxd4 (6... d6 7.
O-O Nc6 (7... cxd4 8. Nxd4) 8. d5 Na5 {would lead to a main line made popular
more than half a century ago.}) 7. Nxd4 Qc7 8. Qd3 (8. b3) 8... Nc6 9. O-O d6 (
9... Ne5 {does not win a pawn because of} 10. Qe3 $1) 10. b3 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 {[#]
} Ne4 $1 12. Nd5 $1 {The only hope to avoid immediate liquidation and equality.
} Bxd4 13. Nxc7 Bxa1 14. Be3 Bf6 15. Nxa8 Nc3 16. Bxa7 Nxa2 {The tricky} (16...
Bh3 $1 {is more in keeping with Black's play so far and would lead to easy
equality.}) 17. Nc7 Nb4 18. Rd1 Kg7 {[#]} 19. f4 {Due to the weak b7 pawn,
White retains a tiny edge, which Kramnik converted into victory, albeit with a
lot of help from Caruana, in 52 moves.} 1-0

[Event "Stavanger Norway Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.06.12"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A25"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2881"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2014.06.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 f5 4. d3 {The sharper} (4. d4 e4 5. Ng5 {, an old
Yasser Seirawan favourite, is more testing for Black}) 4... Nf6 5. g3 Bb4 6.
Bg2 Bxc3+ $1 7. bxc3 d6 8. O-O O-O {[#]  Black has a position which is
considered ideal when played with colours reversed via the Spassky Sicilian, i.
e. 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.Nf3 d6 7.0-0 Nf6, a
variation which may also occur via the Grand Prix Attack (2.f4) in the
Sicilian.  With White and an extra tempo, the f4 Scilian lines are considered
to offer serious attacking chances via Qe1-h4, f5, Bh6 and Ng5.  With Black,
Carlsen can employ similar ideas, though the lost tempo should be important.}
9. Rb1 $6 {Not, however, if White wastes time on moves such as this.} Qe8 10.
Qb3 $2 {"A ridiculous move," said Svidler. "I simply forgot that his reply was
possible. I have a position - not better - I misplayed it to a degree earlier
- but perfectly playable - which I can treat in a variety of ways - for example
} (10. c5 d5 {and only now} (10... dxc5 11. Ba3 {is very unclear}) 11. Qb3 {-
but in five more moves I managed to turn it into a position where I can pretty
much resign."}) 10... b6 $1 11. Nh4 $5 {"This was already a form of
desperation," admitted Svidler. "I just didn't see any plan for White. It is
not necessary to commit suicide like I did but I am faced by the threat of ...
Na5 and ...Bb7 and then I will be slightly worse forever; I will never have
any active plan."} Na5 12. Qa3 Rb8 13. Be3 $6 {[#]} f4 $1 14. gxf4 {Extremely
risky but "otherwise Black will just build up and White has nothing whatsoever
to do," said Svidler.} Qh5 15. Nf3 (15. fxe5 $2 Ng4 16. Nf3 Rxf3 $1 {would be
game over immediately and this theme explains why fxe5 cannot be played on
moves 17 and 18.}) 15... Bh3 {Black already has a huge attack  but the course
of the game was so extraordinary that it is worth giving in full (especially
to disabuse readers that the attack plays itself).} 16. Bxh3 Qxh3 17. Kh1 {
Desperate measures such as} (17. c5 $5 {only serve to lose time after} Rbe8 $1
{, threatening 18...exf4.}) 17... Rbe8 $1 {[#]} 18. Qb2 $2 (18. Qa4 {keeping
the c4 pawn covered was absolutely necessary. Black's threat of} exf4 19. Bxf4
Rxe2 20. Ng1 Qxd3 21. Nxe2 Qxe2 {is of course dangerous but after} 22. f3 $1 {
Black can win the c4 pawn but is still a long way from victory.}) 18... e4 $1
19. Ng5 Qh5 20. dxe4 Ng4 21. Nf3 Nxc4 22. Qb3 Rxe4 23. Rg1 d5 $1 {Obvious and
strong.} (23... Rfxf4 $1 {would also have been winning, though after} 24. Bxf4
Nxf2+ 25. Kg2 {Black has to find the tricky} Nh3 $3 {to end any resistance.})
24. Qb5 {[#]  "By now I was as close to giving up as you can get without
actually resigning," admitted Svidler.} Rfxf4 $2 {"[With] ten winning
continuations Magnus chose one which was not winning!" said Svidler.  "I even
took 15 minutes to think about it -I was trying to be professional!" said
Carlsen. "But I still didn't find [the right way]. Almost any move wins here."
Svidler mentioned} (24... Ncxe3 {with the idea} 25. fxe3 Nf2+ 26. Kg2 Nh3 $1 {
and the players also analysed}) (24... Nxf2+ $1 25. Bxf2 Rxe2 {and}) (24... c5
{- all winning. "You can do pretty much whatever you want," said Svidler.  In
fact Carlsen's choice was not quite as trivial as the players and the
computer-aided spectators made out.  On 24...Nxf2+ 25.Bxf2 Rxe2, Carlsen might
have been nervous about 26.Ng5 Rxf2 27.Qxd5+ Kh8 28.Rg2, though it turns out
that 28...R2xf4! leaves White in trouble, while on 24...c5 25.Qd7!? is
annoying (though "then I can even win with 25...Ncxe3 26.fxe3 Nf2+ 27.Kg2 Qg4+,
" added Carlsen).}) 25. Bxf4 Nxf2+ 26. Kg2 Rxe2 {This was the position Carlsen
had thought was trivially winning, but then Svidler played...} 27. Kf1 $1 {"I
had seen this," said Carlsen, "but I just missed 27...Qxf3 28.Rg3!. It wasn't
that hard to see."} Ne4 {[#]} 28. Rxg7+ $1 {White's first moment of aggression
for the game, but enough to save the day.  "The moment I realised I could take
on g7 I realised I must do this, and if it still loses, it loses," said
Svidler.} Kf8 {"After} (28... Kxg7 29. Qd7+ Qf7 30. Qg4+ {I think I have very
decent chances of equality," said Svidler. The players analysed} Kh8 (30... Qg6
31. Qd7+ Kh8 32. Qc8+ Qg8 33. Qxg8+ Kxg8 34. Kxe2 Nxc3+ 35. Kd3 Nxb1 36. Bxc7)
31. Kxe2 Nxc3+ 32. Kf2 Nxb1 33. Qc8+ Qg8 34. Qxc7 {which indeed offers no
problems for White, but neglected the more subtle 30...Qg6! 31.Qd7 Kh8 when
White cannot capture the rook because of 32...Qg2+ and must therefore try to
hold the endgame after 32.Qc8+ Qg8 33.Qxg8+ Kxg8 34.Kxe2 Nxc3+ 35.Kd3 Nxb1 36.
Bxc7 when, despite the two pawn deficit White retains excellent drawing
chances.}) 29. Kxe2 $1 {"I was hoping for} (29. Qd7 {," admitted Carlsen, who
had planned} Qxf3+ 30. Kg1 Qf2+ 31. Kh1 Ng3+ $1 {and mate to follow.}) 29...
Nxc3+ 30. Kf2 Nxb5 31. Rbg1 Nc3 32. Rxc7 {Computer analysis showed that} (32.
Rg8+ Kf7 33. R1g7+ Kf6 34. Rxc7 {might even have given White some winning
chances but Svidler was not keen to allow Carlsen's king to leave the back
rank. "Don't ask me to analyse this stage of the game!" was his plea to the
commentators at the post-game press conference.}) 32... Ne4+ 33. Ke1 Nc5 {"I
thought about} (33... Qh3 {it felt like we might be playing for three results
here," said Carlsen, who then pointed out that after} 34. Rgg7 {"it felt like
we might be playing for three results here," said Carlsen, who then pointed
out that} Qxf3 {would force just one of them - a perpetual check by White.})
34. Rc8+ Kf7 35. Rc7+ Kf8 36. Rc8+ Kf7 37. Rc7+ Kf8 {"I got outrageously lucky
today," confessed Svidler.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Stavanger Norway Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.06.09"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2771"]
[BlackElo "2881"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2014.06.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2014.06.09"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O {If White wants a full-blooded struggle
nowadays he tends to avoid 4.0-0 and go with} (4. d3 {as played by Topalov
against Aronian in the final round.}) 4... Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5
Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 {[#]} Bd7 {The modest move which helped Carlsen win
his World Championship match against Anand last November, the titleholder
findng no way to achieve any advantage in this line.} 10. Rd1 Be7 11. g4 $5 (
11. Nc3 {was Anand's choice.}) 11... Nh4 12. Nxh4 Bxh4 13. Nd2 Kc8 14. Ne4 b6
15. Bg5 Bxg5 16. Nxg5 {[#]} h6 $1 17. Nxf7 $1 Re8 $1 18. f4 {So far all theory;
the players are following a Dominguez-Navara game from 2013 where Black played
18...Rf8!? and had to solve a number of problems after 19.Rxd7! Kxd7 20.f5!. 
However Carlsen has a new idea which makes his life far easier.} Be6 $1 19.
Nxh6 gxh6 {[#]} 20. f5 {"I thought about delaying this with} (20. Kf2 {but} h5
$1 {is annoying," explained Karjakin.}) 20... Bxf5 $1 {Retaining the piece and
allowing 21.e6 would be tempting fate.} 21. gxf5 (21. e6) 21... Rxe5 22. Rf1 (
22. f6 Rf5 23. Rf1 Rxf1+ 24. Rxf1 Kd7 {is no improvement - the f pawn becomes
very weak.}) 22... Kd7 23. Rad1+ Ke7 24. Rfe1 $1 Kf6 25. Rxe5 Kxe5 26. Rd7 {"I
hoped I might have something small here," said Karjakin," but Magnus defended
well." With such an active king Black should have few problems in any case.} c5
$1 27. Kf2 Rf8 $1 28. Rxc7 Rxf5+ 29. Kg3 Rg5+ 30. Kf2 Rf5+ 31. Ke2 Rh5 32. Rxa7
Rxh3 33. Rb7 Rh2+ 34. Kd3 Kd5 $1 35. Rxb6 Rh3+ 36. Kd2 Rh2+ 37. Kd3 Rh3+ 38.
Kd2 Rh2+ {The entire game took 2 hours, most of the time being consumed by
Karjakin. Carlsen admitted to having seen the entire game on his analysis
board prior to the 2013 world title match.  Such are the perils of using 1.e4
against a Berlin Defence player.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Stavanger Norway Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.06.05"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Agdestein, Simen"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2771"]
[BlackElo "2628"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2014.06.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4
Qb6 {[#]} 9. Qd2 {The main alternative to gambitting the b pawn,} (9. Ncb5 $5
a6 10. Nf5 {has not been giving White any advantage after} Bc5 $1 11. Nbd6+ Kf8
12. Qh5 Nd8 13. Nxg7 $1 Bxe3 $1 {when White can obtain a perpetual check after}
14. Nxe6+ fxe6 15. Qe8+ {but not more.}) 9... Qxb2 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. Bb5 Nxd4 12.
Bxd4 a6 13. Bxd7+ Bxd7 14. Rb3 Qe7 15. Rxb7 {[#]} Qh4+ $6 {This turns out to
be rather risky. A few days later Agdestein, playing against Grischuk,
improved with} (15... Qd8 $1 {and the game continued} 16. O-O Rb8 17. Rxb8 Qxb8
18. f5 {. Grischuk had believed this to be very strong for White but after} Qc8
$1 {Agdestein's position was rock-solid and it was later the Norwegian who
missed winning chances before the game was drawn.  Svidler spent four hours
before his round 7 game against Agdestein trying to refute Black's play,
without success; "All lines after 15...Qd8 lead to a draw!," he bemoaned.}) 16.
Qf2 $1 Be7 17. g3 $1 Qh3 18. Kd2 $1 Bd8 19. Rhb1 Bc6 {[#]} 20. Bc5 $3 {The
point behind Karjakin's play; it is worth an exchange to prevent Black from
castling.} Bxb7 21. Rxb7 Rc8 22. Kc1 $2 {Karjakin sees a brilliant idea, but
it turns out not to be winning.} (22. Bd6 $3 {would have placed Black under
intolerable pressure.  The first point is that} Rc6 {is a better try, but after
} (22... Ba5 {can be well met by} 23. Kc1 $3 Rxc3 (23... Bxc3 24. Re7+) 24. Kb2
$3 {when White's queen is ready to invade without allowing any annoying checks.
}) 23. Rb8 Rxd6 24. exd6 O-O {[#]  White has another spectacular combination}
25. Rxd8 $1 Rxd8 26. Qb6 Qxh2+ 27. Ne2 Rc8 {[#]} 28. Qc7 $3 {when the d pawn
will be a winner.}) 22... f6 $1 23. Nxd5 $1 (23. Rxg7 fxe5 24. Bd6 Rxc3 25. Qa7
{is not a winning try because of} Qf1+ 26. Kb2 Qb5+ {forcing} 27. Kc1) 23...
exd5 {[#]} 24. Qe2 $1 Rc7 $1 25. Rxc7 Bxc7 26. e6 $5 {White could still take a
draw with} (26. exf6+ Kd7 27. f7 Bd6 28. Bxd6 Kxd6 29. Qe5+) 26... Bb6 $3 27.
Bxb6 O-O 28. e7 Re8 29. Bd8 {White probably has sufficient compensation for
the exchange but no more and after some subsequent mistakes Karjakin was very
lucky to draw the game 34 moves later.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Stavanger Norway Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.06.03"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A62"]
[WhiteElo "2792"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "30"]
[EventDate "2014.06.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 {One less common way to avoid the Grunfeld Defence.
Instead of venturing a Neo-Grunfeld (3...d5), Caruana chooses to head straight
for a Modern Benoni.} Bg7 (3... d5) 4. Bg2 c5 5. d5 O-O 6. Nc3 e6 7. Nf3 exd5
8. cxd5 d6 9. O-O Re8 {[#]} 10. a4 {Grischuk is hoping that Caruana will head
back to a main line with 10...a6 but Caruana has other ideas.  However} (10.
Nd2 {does not force} a6 {either; Black can venture} (10... b6 $5 {with the c8
bishop eying the a6 square.})) 10... Ne4 $5 (10... a6) 11. Nxe4 Rxe4 12. Nd2
Rb4 $1 13. Ra2 $1 {[#]  Now there is a risk that Black's rook will find itself
stranded after 14.b3 and 15.Ba3, but Caruana finds a remarkable way to rescue
the rook.} a5 $3 {"I had prepared this a long time ago and I remembered that ..
.a5 was quite important," said Caruana. "I think Fabiano played the opening
exceptionally well," agreed Grischuk.} 14. b3 b5 $1 15. axb5 {After the game
the players agreed that} (15. Ba3 bxa4 $1 16. Bxb4 axb4 17. Rxa4 Rxa4 18. bxa4
Ba6 {would offer Black huge compensation for the exchange.}) 15... Nd7 {and
Black soon regained the b5 pawn with a very comfortable position, though
winning only thanks to a Grischuk blunder in time trouble.} 0-1

[Event "Stavanger Norway Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.06.08"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2881"]
[BlackElo "2815"]
[Annotator "Rogers, Ian"]
[PlyCount "36"]
[EventDate "2014.06.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 {[#]  Aronian's favourite Ragozin
system, now considered so annoying that even Carlsen has taken it up on
occasion.} 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 {The old Ragozin system saw the immediate} (
6... Nbd7 7. e3 c5 {with the idea that after ...Qa5, a later ...Ne4 would hit
the bishop on g5.  Nowadays, however, 6...h6 is considered a useful
interpolation, though the positions after 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 can become rather dry. 
(That plan suited Kramnik down to the ground when he played Aronian later in
the tournament, with Aronian struggling to hold a draw.)}) 7. Bh4 (7. Bxf6 Qxf6
) 7... Nbd7 {In the blitz game between the two at the start of the tournament,
Aronian played the immediate} (7... g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 {which prompted a pawn
sacrifice similar to the game with} 9. Nd2 $5) 8. e3 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 {[#]} 10.
Nd2 $1 (10. Qc2 Nb6 {is considered harmless as Aronian confirmed against Lysyj
in 2013.}) 10... Nxg3 {Grabbing the pawn with} (10... Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3 {is
not fatal but after} 12. Rc1 Bxd2+ (12... Ba5 13. h4 $1) 13. Qxd2 c6 14. Bd3 {
White has plenty of compensation for the pawn and a much easier position to
play.}) 11. fxg3 $5 {Diagram [#] An extraordinary novelty.} (11. hxg3 Nb6 {is
very unclear - Black will often go ...Bf8-g7 to shore up the kingside - but
Carlsen is happy to wreck his pawn structure for immediate pressure.}) 11...
Nb6 12. Bd3 Qe7 13. Qf3 Be6 14. a3 Bxc3 15. bxc3 O-O-O 16. a4 $5 {At first
sight this looks scary for Black but Aronian came up with an excellent
solution.} Bd7 $1 17. a5 {[#]} (17. O-O Nxa4 18. c4 {was more testing for
Black.}) 17... Na4 $1 18. a6 Rhe8 $1 {and Black generated enough counterplay,
later outplaying Carlsen, reaching a near-winning position, before the world
number one fought back and won.} 1-0

[Event "Warsaw"]
[Site "Warsaw"]
[Date "1934.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Miguel Najdorf"]
[Black "Pilz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E38"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "1934.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 Bxc5 6. Nf3 d5 7. Bg5 dxc4 8.
e3 O-O 9. Bxc4 Nbd7 {Diagram [#]} 10. O-O (10. O-O-O) 10... h6 11. Bh4 Qa5 (
11... g5 12. Bg3) 12. a3 Be7 13. b4 Qb6 (13... Qc7 14. Nb5) (13... Qd8 14. Rfd1
) 14. Rfd1 a5 15. Rab1 (15. b5) 15... axb4 16. axb4 Kh8 (16... Bxb4 17. Na2)
17. Nb5 Nb8 18. Bg3 Na6 19. Bd6 Ng8 (19... Bxd6 20. Rxd6) (19... Re8 20. Bxe7
Rxe7 21. Rd6) (19... Qd8 20. Ne5) 20. Ne5 g6 21. Bxe7 (21. Nxg6+ fxg6 22. Qxg6)
21... Nxe7 22. Rd6 Nc6 23. Nxg6+ fxg6 24. Qxg6 Naxb4 25. Qxh6+ Kg8 26. Rxe6 (
26. Bxe6+ Bxe6 27. Qxe6+ Rf7 28. Rd7 Raf8 29. Qg6+ Kh8 30. Rxf7 Rxf7 31. Rxb4)
26... Bxe6 (26... Rf7 27. Re8#) 27. Bxe6+ Rf7 28. Qg6+ Kh8 (28... Kf8 29. Qxf7#
) 29. Bxf7 {Diagram [#]} Ne5 30. Qxb6 Nxf7 31. Qd4+ 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.07.27"]
[Round "?"]
[White "#1"]
[Black "Get Out of Check"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1p6/p1k5/5p2/Q1K2P2/8/8/8 b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "1"]

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

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.07.27"]
[Round "?"]
[White "#2"]
[Black "Pin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r6/5pk1/2n1p3/1B6/5P2/4P3/1R3K2/8 b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Na7 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.07.27"]
[Round "?"]
[White "#3"]
[Black "Trapping"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1p2q1k1/6b1/1p6/1n1p4/RQ2P3/1P3P2/6K1 b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Bc2 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.07.27"]
[Round "?"]
[White "#4"]
[Black "Trapping"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/5pk1/8/pp6/1n6/1Q6/1P3PK1/8 b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Rd3 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.08.07"]
[Round "?"]
[White "#5"]
[Black "Fork"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/6p1/5p1k/8/8/3n4/6PP/1Q5K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Nf2+ 2. Kg1 Rd1+ 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.07.27"]
[Round "?"]
[White "#6"]
[Black "Smothered Mate"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6pp/8/8/4n3/1k1n1R2/6PP/6NK b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Nef2+ 2. Rxf2 Nxf2# 0-1

[Event "ch-USA 2014"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2014.05.18"]
[Round "10.4"]
[White "Onischuk, Al"]
[Black "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E19"]
[WhiteElo "2668"]
[BlackElo "2543"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "147"]
[EventDate "2014.05.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.19"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. Nc3 Ne4 7. Qc2 Nxc3 8.
Qxc3 O-O 9. O-O c5 10. Rd1 d6 11. d5 e5 12. e4 Nd7 13. Rf1 Bf6 14. Be3 g6 15.
Bh6 Re8 16. Qc2 a6 17. Nd2 b5 18. a4 b4 19. Rae1 Bg5 20. Bxg5 Qxg5 21. f4 Qh6
22. Qd3 Re7 23. Rf2 Rae8 24. Qf3 exf4 25. gxf4 f5 26. Rfe2 Qg7 27. exf5 gxf5
28. Rxe7 Rxe7 29. Rxe7 Qxe7 30. Qg3+ Kh8 31. Bh3 Qe2 32. Qg5 Qd1+ 33. Bf1 Qxd2
34. Qd8+ Kg7 35. Qxd7+ Kg8 36. Qe6+ Kg7 37. Qe7+ Kg8 38. Qg5+ Kh8 39. Qd8+ Kg7
40. Qg5+ Kh8 41. Qxf5 Qe3+ 42. Kg2 Kg8 43. Bd3 Qd2+ 44. Kh3 Qe3+ 45. Kh4 Qf2+
46. Kg5 Qg2+ 47. Qg4 {Diagram [#]} h6+ (47... Qxb2 48. Qe6+ Kh8 49. Qe8+ Kg7
50. Qe7+) (47... Qxg4+) 48. Kh4+ Qxg4+ 49. Kxg4 a5 (49... Kg7 50. a5 Kf6 51.
Kh5 Kg7 (51... Bc8 52. Kxh6 Bg4 53. Kh7) 52. Bf5 Kf6 53. Be6 Kg7 54. f5) 50. b3
Kg7 51. Bf5 Kf6 52. Be6 {Diagram [#]} (52. Bd7 Ba6 (52... Kg6 53. Kh4 Ba6 54.
Bg4) 53. Kh5 Bxc4 54. bxc4 b3 55. Be8 b2 56. Bg6) 52... Ba6 53. h4 (53. Kh5
Bxc4 54. bxc4 b3 55. Bg8 (55. Kg4 b2 56. Bf5 h5+) 55... Kg7 56. Be6 Kf6) 53...
Kg6 (53... Bxc4 54. bxc4 b3 55. h5) 54. Kg3 (54. Bd7 Kf6 (54... h5+ 55. Kf3
Bxc4 56. bxc4 b3 57. Ke4 b2 58. Bf5+ Kf6) 55. Kh5 Kg7 56. Bg4) 54... Kf6 55.
Bh3 Bb7 56. Bd7 (56. Kg4 Bc8+) 56... Ke7 57. Be6 Kf6 58. Kg4 Ba6 {Diagram [#]}
59. Bd7 (59. Kh5 Bxc4 60. bxc4 b3 61. Bg8 Kg7) 59... Ke7 60. Bf5 Kf6 61. Be6
Kg6 (61... Bb7 62. Kh5 Kg7 63. f5) 62. Kf3 Kf6 (62... h5 63. Ke4 Kf6 64. Bd7
Bb7 65. Be8 Bc8 66. Bxh5 Bf5+ 67. Ke3 Bc2) 63. Ke3 Ke7 {Diagram [#]} (63... Bb7
) (63... h5) 64. Ke4 Kf6 65. Bd7 Ke7 66. Bh3 Kf6 67. Kf3 Bb7 68. Bd7 Ba6 69.
Kg4 Ke7 70. Bf5 Kf6 71. Bc2 Bc8+ 72. Kh5 Kg7 73. f5 Bd7 74. Kg4 (74. f6+ Kxf6
75. Kxh6 Bg4 76. Kh7 (76. h5 Be2 77. Bd3 Bd1 78. Bc2) 76... Kf7 77. Bg6+ Kf8 (
77... Kf6 78. h5 Bd1 79. h6 Bxb3 80. Kg8 Bxc4 81. h7 Bxd5+ 82. Kf8) 78. Bc2 Kf7
) 1/2-1/2

[Event "ch-USA 2014"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2014.05.13"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "Friedel, J."]
[Black "Gareev, T."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2505"]
[BlackElo "2653"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "149"]
[EventDate "2014.05.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.19"]

1. Nf3 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. Nc3 a6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. O-O e6 7. Bg5 Ne7 8. Qd2
h6 9. Be3 Nf6 10. h3 b5 11. Bd3 Bb7 12. b4 Bc6 13. Rfe1 Qd7 14. Rad1 Bb7 15. a3
Kf8 16. Bf4 Kg8 17. Bh2 Nh7 18. Ne2 Nc8 19. h4 Nb6 20. Qc1 Nf6 21. Nf4 Ng4 22.
Bg3 h5 23. c3 Qe7 24. Qc2 Rd8 25. Nh3 e5 26. dxe5 dxe5 27. c4 bxc4 28. Bxc4
Rxd1 29. Rxd1 Nxc4 30. Qxc4 Bf6 31. Nfg5 Kg7 32. Rc1 Rd8 33. f3 Nh6 34. Qc5 Rd7
35. Qxe7 Rxe7 36. Nf2 Kg8 37. Rd1 Bc6 38. Rd8+ Re8 39. Rxe8+ Bxe8 40. Nd3 Be7
41. Kf2 Bd6 42. Ke3 f6 43. Ne6 Bb5 44. Nec5 Nf7 45. Kd2 Bxc5 46. Nxc5 Nd6 47.
a4 Bf1 48. Ke1 Bc4 49. f4 exf4 50. Bxf4 Kf7 51. Kd2 Ke7 52. Kc3 Bf1 53. g3 c6
54. Bxd6+ Kxd6 55. Kd4 Be2 56. a5 Bb5 57. Nb3 Bf1 58. Na1 Be2 59. Nc2 Bd1 60.
Ne3 Bf3 61. Nc4+ Ke6 62. Nd2 Be2 63. Kc5 Ke5 64. Kxc6 g5 65. Kc5 g4 {Diagram 
[#]} 66. Nb1 Kxe4 (66... Ke6 67. Nc3 Bd3 68. b5 axb5 69. a6) 67. Nc3+ Kf3 68.
Nxe2 Kxe2 69. b5 axb5 70. a6 Kf3 71. a7 Kxg3 72. a8=Q Kf2 73. Kd4 g3 74. Qa2+
Kf3 75. Qd5+ 1-0

[Event "ch-USA w 2014"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2014.05.08"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Ni, V."]
[Black "Eswaran, Ashritha"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D53"]
[WhiteElo "2206"]
[BlackElo "1979"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "166"]
[EventDate "2014.05.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "1"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.12"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 Be7 4. e3 d5 5. c4 c6 6. Nc3 Nbd7 7. Qc2 b6 8. Bd3
Bb7 9. O-O O-O 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Ne5 h6 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bf4 Re8 14. Bf5 Bf6
15. Rfd1 Nf8 16. e4 Ne6 17. Bxe6 Rxe6 18. e5 Bg5 19. Bg3 Bh4 20. f4 Bxg3 21.
hxg3 Rg6 22. Kh2 Qd7 23. Rf1 Qg4 24. Rf3 Bc8 25. f5 Rg5 26. Ne2 Bxf5 27. Qxc6
Rc8 28. Qxd5 Qh5+ 29. Kg1 Bg4 30. Rc3 Rxc3 31. Nf4 Rxg3 32. Nxh5 Bxh5 33. Rf1
Bg6 34. Qa8+ Kh7 35. e6 fxe6 36. Rf8 Rxg2+ 37. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 38. Kxg2 Be4+ 39. Kg3
Bd5 40. b3 Kg6 41. Kf4 Kh5 42. Kg3 Kg6 43. Kg4 Be4 44. Rd8 Bb1 45. a3 Bc2 46.
b4 b5 47. Rd7 h5+ 48. Kg3 Kf6 49. Rxa7 g5 50. Ra5 Ba4 51. Ra6 Bb3 52. Rc6 h4+
53. Kh3 Bc4 54. Rc5 Kg6 55. Re5 Kh5 56. a4 bxa4 57. b5 a3 58. b6 a2 59. Ra5 Bd5
60. Kh2 g4 61. Ra3 Kg5 62. Ra5 Kh5 63. Ra3 g3+ 64. Kh3 Kg5 65. Ra5 Kh5 66. Ra3
Kg5 67. Ra5 Kh5 68. Ra3 Kg5 69. Ra5 Kh5 70. Ra3 e5 {Diagram [#]} 71. dxe5 (71.
b7 Bxb7 72. Rxa2 (72. dxe5 Bd5 73. Ra5 Be6+ 74. Kg2 Kg4 75. Ra4+ Kf5) 72...
Bc8+ 73. Kg2 exd4 (73... Kg4 74. dxe5 h3+ 75. Kg1) 74. Ra4 d3 75. Rd4 Bf5 76.
Kf3) 71... Bc4 72. Kg2 Kg4 73. b7 Bd5+ (73... h3+ 74. Kg1 h2+ 75. Kg2 Bd5+) 74.
Kf1 Bxb7 75. Ra4+ Kf3 76. Rxa2 h3 77. Kg1 Bd5 78. Rd2 Bc4 79. Rc2 Be2 80. Rc3+
Kg4 81. e6 h2+ 82. Kg2 Bf1+ 83. Kh1 Kh3 0-1

[Event "2014 U.S. Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis, MO, USA"]
[Date "2014.05.19"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Melekhina, Alisa"]
[Black "Zenyuk, Iryna"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2251"]
[BlackElo "2352"]
[Annotator "Melekhina, Alisa"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 Nf6 6. d4 {mixing things up in
the usually tame Rossolimo} cxd4 7. cxd4 Nxe4 ({rejecting the gambit would
lead to a massive pawn center for White} 7... O-O 8. e5) 8. d5 Na5 9. Qe2 Nd6
10. Bd3 O-O 11. Bf4 {White's plan is to play against the minor pieces
awkwardly grouped on the Queenside. Confining the bishop to c8 would be ideal.}
b6 12. Be5 {inducing a key tempo before capturing the knight} f6 13. Bxd6 exd6
14. Nc3 Nb7 15. b4 a5 16. a3 f5 17. Rac1 Qf6 18. Na4 {The extra d6 pawn is a
curse rather than a blessing. Black's pieces are in a bind.} Bh6 {Diagram [#]}
19. Nxb6 $1 {The temporary exchange sacrifice is executed for positional
rather than attacking compensation. Black's pieces were already constricted;
this opens up additional files to take full advantage of the geometry of the
position.} Bxc1 20. Rxc1 (20. Nxa8 Bxa3 21. Nb6 Bxb4 {and black escapes}) 20...
Rb8 21. Ba6 axb4 22. axb4 Nd8 {releasing the tension in the (admittedly
disheartening position) too quickly. After coming away with two pieces for the
rook, White's optimal piece coordination dimnishes any chances by Black.} 23.
Nxc8 Rxb4 24. Bb5 Re4 25. Qd2 Nb7 26. Nb6 Nc5 27. Nxd7 Nxd7 28. Bxd7 Kh8 29.
Qh6 Re7 30. Be6 f4 31. h4 Qg7 32. Qg5 Ra7 33. h5 gxh5 34. Qxh5 h6 35. Nh4 Rfa8
36. Nf5 Qg5 37. Qxg5 hxg5 38. Nxd6 Kg7 39. Ne4 Kg6 40. d6 Rh7 41. f3 Rah8 42.
Kf2 Rh1 43. Rxh1 Rxh1 44. d7 Rd1 45. Nc5 Kf6 46. Bg4 Ke7 47. Nb7 1-0

