[Event "6th Hainan Danzhou"]
[Site "Danzhou CHN"]
[Date "2015.07.03"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Wei Yi"]
[Black "Lazaro Bruzon Batista"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B85"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2669"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2015.07.02"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. Be2 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Qc7 7. O-O Nf6 8.
Be3 Be7 9. f4 d6 10. Kh1 O-O 11. Qe1 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. Qg3 Bb7 14. a3 Rad8
15. Rae1 Rd7 16. Bd3 Qd8 17. Qh3 g6 18. f5 e5 19. Be3 Re8 20. fxg6 hxg6 21. Nd5
{Diagram [#]} Nxd5 22. Rxf7 Kxf7 23. Qh7+ Ke6 24. exd5+ Kxd5 25. Be4+ Kxe4 26.
Qf7 Bf6 27. Bd2+ Kd4 28. Be3+ Ke4 29. Qb3 Kf5 30. Rf1+ Kg4 31. Qd3 Bxg2+ 32.
Kxg2 Qa8+ 33. Kg1 Bg5 34. Qe2+ Kh4 35. Bf2+ Kh3 36. Be1 1-0

[Event "M. Chigorin Memorial 2014"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly"]
[Black "IM Marina Guseva"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2613"]
[BlackElo "2364"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "73"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 b6 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. O-O
Be7 9. b3 dxc4 10. bxc4 c5 11. Ne5 cxd4 12. exd4 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Nd7 14. Bf4 g5
15. Bg3 h5 16. h3 h4 17. Bh2 g4 18. hxg4 Bb4 19. Ne4 h3 20. Qa4 hxg2 21. Nf6+
Ke7 (21... Qxf6 22. exf6 Bd6) 22. Qxb4+ Nc5 23. Rfd1 Rxh2 24. Kxh2 Qd4 25. Kg1
Rh8 26. Be4 Bxe4 27. Nh5 Rxh5 28. gxh5 Qxe5 29. Qd2 Nd3 30. Qe2 {Diagram [#]}
Qf4 31. f3 Ne5 32. fxe4 Qg3 33. Qxg2 Nf3+ 34. Kf1 Nh2+ 35. Kg1 Nf3+ 36. Kf1
Nh2+ 37. Kg1 1/2-1/2

[Event "London Chess Classic (Blitz)"]
[Site "London ENG"]
[Date "2014.12.08"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Hikaru Nakamura"]
[Black "Anish Giri"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D44"]
[WhiteElo "2775"]
[BlackElo "2768"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2014.12.08"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5
9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. g3 Bb7 12. Bg2 Qb6 13. exf6 c5 14. d5 O-O-O 15.
O-O b4 16. Rb1 Qa6 17. dxe6 Bxg2 18. e7 Bxf1 19. Qd5 Bxe7 (19... Bh6 20. Bxh6
Bd3) 20. fxe7 Rdg8 21. Ne4 Bd3 22. Nd6+ Kc7 23. Bf4 Kb6 24. Re1 Qxa2 25. Nxf7
Qa4 {Diagram [#]} 26. b3 Qxb3 27. Qxd7 Qc3 28. Bc7+ Kb7 29. Nd6+ 1-0

[Event "WCCC 2015"]
[Site "Leiden, The[Event "World Youth 2008"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2008.10.30"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Shankland, Sam"]
[Black "Le Quang, Liem"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2436"]
[BlackElo "2583"]
[Annotator "Shankland, Sam"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/1P1P4/8/2p1pk2/8/8/2K4p/4R3 w - - 0 51"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2008.??.??"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.11.23"]
[WhiteTeam "USA"]
[BlackTeam "USA"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{Diagram [#]} 51. Rb1 $3 {In this highly complex endgame, Rb1 is the only way
to win. White's idea is that he threatens b8=Q Rxb8 Rxb1 h1=Q d8=Q, which
would leave him up a rook. As such, black's reply is forced:} (51. Kc3 $2 {
This fails to win because black is able to cut across the dfile.} Ke6 $1 52.
Kc4 (52. Rb1 {Now it's too late for this:} Rb8 (52... e4 53. Kc4 e3 54. Kxc5 e2
) 53. Rd1 h1=Q $1 {And due to the black king's closer proximity to the dpawn,
he can scoop it up and draw the game} 54. Rxh1 Kxd7 $11) (52. Rd1 {This would
be similar to the game but white has lost a very critical tempo:} e4 53. Kc4 e3
54. Kxc5 e2 $1 {And white did not get Kc6 in, so after the rook moves away
black will defend with Kxd7. The tempo means more than just a half point- in
fact white is completely lost here!} 55. Re1 Kxd7 56. Kb6 Rh8 57. Rh1 Kd6 58.
Ka7 Kd5 59. b8=Q Rxb8 60. Kxb8 Ke4) 52... Kd6 $1 $11 {And black can cut across
the dfile to reach b8 with his king, holding a draw} (52... Kxd7 $2 {This does
not work} 53. Rd1+ {And after Rxd8 and b8/Q, white will remain a rook up})) (
51. Rh1 $2 {This is a very tempting move- white collects the highly dangerous
passed hpawn. However, concrete calculation shows that black is able to save
the game.} Ke6 52. Rxh2 Kd6 $1 {And at this point white is unable to prevent
black from retreating back with Kc7-b8, stopping the pawns. His problem is
that his own king is in the way of his rook's ability to reach a2 or b2.} (
52... Kxd7 $2 {Is of course not to be recommended} 53. Rd2+) 53. Kc3 Kc7 54.
Rb2 Kb8 $1 {And black is just in time to stop the pawns}) 51... Rb8 (51... Ke6
52. b8=Q Rxb8 53. Rxb8 h1=Q 54. d8=Q {And white wins with his extra rook}) 52.
Rd1 {White has a similar threat- d8=Q and ending up with an extra rook} Rd8 {
And now we have the exact same position as the starting one, except that white
got to move his rook from e1 to d1 for free. This turns out to be decisive.} (
52... Ke6 53. d8=Q Rxd8 54. Rxd8 h1=Q 55. b8=Q $18) 53. Kc3 $1 {White is now
threatening to play Rh1 followed by Rxh2.} (53. Rh1 Ke6 54. Rxh2 Kd6 (54...
Kxd7 55. Rd2+ Kc7 56. Rxd8 Kxd8 57. b8=Q+) 55. Kc3 Kc7 56. Rb2 Kb8) 53... Rxd7
{This looks like a nice tactic as white has two tempting moves that both fail,
but after the sedate Rf1+, it's all over} (53... Ke6 {This is another
resilient defensive idea, and the main reason white needed to play Rb1 and Rd1.
Here, the king is cut off and cannot use the d6 square to reach b8.} 54. Kc4
Rxd7 {This is similar to the way black played in the game. Now the black king
is safe from Rf1+ (as the game ended) but more exposed to a new queen:} (54...
e4 55. Kxc5 e3 56. Kc6 {White reaches c6 just in the knick of time} e2 57. Re1
{It looks like white is stuck, but fortunately Rxe2 will come with check, and
the black king is unable to leave the efile.} Kf7 58. Kc7 Ke7 (58... Rh8 59.
d8=Q) 59. Rxe2+) 55. b8=Q $1 Rxd1 56. Qe8+ Kf6 {This is the only way to avoid
losing the rook directly} (56... Kf5 57. Qh5+) (56... Kd6 57. Qd8+) 57. Qh8+
Ke6 58. Qh6+ Ke7 59. Qxh2 {Black can still make white work in queen against
rook, but of course he is technically lost. Still it was probably the most
resilient defensive try.}) (53... e4 $2 {This fails to address white's threat:}
54. Rh1 $1 Ke6 55. Rxh2 Kd6 {And previously with the king on c2 this would
have held for black, but here he is too slow:} 56. Ra2 {And Ra8 is next.}) 54.
Rf1+ $1 {White saves his rook, and the pawn crashes through. My distinguished
opponent resigned and I shared first in the World u-18 championship.} (54. b8=Q
$2 {Tempting as it is to immediately reacquire the lady, white is actually
evem losing here:} Rxd1 {h1=Q is next and white runs out of checks
surprisingly fast.} 55. Qf8+ (55. Qc8+ Kf4 56. Qf8+ Ke4 57. Qa8+ Ke3) 55... Ke4
56. Qa8+ Ke3 {And the nice geometry of pieces on c3, c5, and e5 prevent all
further checks. Black wins.}) (54. Rxd7 {This is also tempting, but poor.} h1=Q
55. b8=Q {White is now a rook up as he has been in several other variations,
but unlike those lines the queen and rook don't defend each other along the
eighth rank, and now black will win one of them with a skewer.} Qc1+ 56. Kd3
Qd1+) 1-0

Vranesic"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B13"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "63"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 g6 6. Bf4 Bg7 7. Nf3 Bg4 8.
Nbd2 Nf6 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Nxf3 O-O 11. O-O a6 12. Qe2 Nh5 13. Be3 Qd6 14. Q[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "VI"]
[Black "Fork"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Doe,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1r4k1/6p1/8/q7/P1Pn4/KR2Q3/1R6 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Rxb2+ 2. Rxb2 Nc1+ 0-1

Lone Pine"]
[Site "Lone Pine, CA USA"]
[Date "1975.04.15"]
[Round "3.14"]
[White "Kim S Commons"]
[Black "Hector Decio Rossetto"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D47"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "1975.04.13"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 c6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. d4 Be7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O dxc4 8. Bxc4
Nbd7 9. e4 b5 10. Bd3 b4 11. Na4 Qa5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Qc2 Ba6 14. Bxh7+ Kh8 15.
Re1 g6 16. Bxg6 fxg6 17. Qxg6 Rxf3 18. Qh6+ Kg8 19. Re4 Rf4 20. Qxe6+ Kf8 21.
Bxf4 Qxa4 22. Qxd7 Bc8 23. Bh6+ Kf7 24. e6+ Kg6 {Diagram [#]} 25. Qe8+ Kxh6 26.
Qh8+ Kg6 27. Rg4+ Kf5 (27... Bg5 28. Qg8+ Kf5 29. Qxg5+ (29. Re1)) 28. Qe5+
Kxg4 29. h3+ 1-0

[Event "Plovdiv"]
[Site "Plovdiv"]
[Date "1976.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kim S Commons"]
[Black "Peicho Chonev Peev"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B42"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "1976.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O d6 7. c4 Be7 8. Nc3
O-O 9. Qe2 Nbd7 10. f4 Qc7 11. Kh1 b6 12. Bd2 g6 13. Rac1 Bb7 14. b4 Rac8 15.
a3 Qb8 16. Nf3 Rfe8 17. Rce1 Bf8 18. Ng5 h6 19. Nxf7 Kxf7 20. e5 Ng8 21. Qg4
Ne7 22. Bxg6+ Nxg6 23. f5 Ndxe5 {Diagram [#]} 24. fxe6+ Ke7 (24... Kg7 25. Rxe5
) 25. Qxg6 Kd8 (25... Nxg6 26. Rf7+ Kd8 27. Rd7#) 26. Rxe5 dxe5 27. Bxh6 Rxc4
28. Qxe8+ Kxe8 29. Rxf8+ Ke7 30. Rxb8 Bc6 31. Nd1 b5 32. Kg1 Kxe6 33. Rb6 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mike Giordano"]
[Black "Kipp Alexander Bynum"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "1446"]
[BlackElo "1488"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[PlyCount "74"]

1. e4 d5 2. d4 dxe4 {Diagram [#]} 3. f3 (3. Nc3 Nf6 4. f3) 3... Nf6 (3... e5)
4. Nc3 e3 5. Bxe3 Bf5 {Diagram [#]} 6. Qd2 e6 7. O-O-O h6 (7... Bb4) 8. g4 {
Diagram [#]} Bg6 (8... Bh7 9. h4) 9. Nge2 (9. h4) 9... Bb4 10. a3 Ba5 11. Nf4
Bh7 12. Bc4 {Diagram [#]} Nbd7 (12... c6) 13. d5 exd5 (13... e5) 14. Nfxd5 O-O
15. Qg2 {Diagram [#]} Bxc3 16. Nxc3 Qe7 17. Rhe1 Qd8 18. g5 {Diagram [#]} hxg5
19. Bxg5 Qc8 20. Bh6 Nh5 {Diagram [#]} 21. Rd5 (21. Bxg7 Nxg7 (21... Nf4 22.
Qg5 Ng6) 22. Rg1 Bg6 23. Qxg6) (21. Rg1) 21... Ndf6 22. Rxh5 (22. Rg5) 22...
Nxh5 23. Re5 (23. Rg1) (23. Bxg7) 23... Kh8 24. Bd2 Nf6 {Diagram [#]} 25. Ne4
Nxe4 (25... Bxe4 26. fxe4 Qg4) 26. fxe4 Qd8 27. Bc3 Qh4 {Diagram [#]} 28. Kb1 (
28. Rh5 Qf4+ 29. Kb1 Rg8 30. Qh3) 28... f6 29. Re7 Qh6 30. e5 Qg6 {Diagram [#]}
31. Qxb7 (31. exf6 Qxg2 (31... gxf6) 32. fxg7+ Qxg7 33. Bxg7#) 31... Qxc2+ (
31... fxe5) 32. Ka2 Qb1+ 33. Kb3 Rab8 34. Qxb8 Rxb8+ 35. Ka4 Bc2+ 36. Ka5 Qg1
37. Re6 Qc5+ 0-1

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.08.23"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "Hess, Robert"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2015.08.23"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Ne4 (7...
Nh5 8. Bd3 Nxf4 9. exf4 b6 10. b4 a5 11. a3 c6 12. O-O Qc7 13. g3 Ba6 {is a
variation that has been played many times at the elite level, including
Anand-Nakamura (1-0) in the Zurich Chess Challenge. White tends to apply
pressure, though black often holds tight.}) 8. Rc1 Nxc3 9. Rxc3 {Diagram [#]}
b6 (9... f6 10. Be2 c6 11. O-O e5 12. Bg3 e4 13. Nd2 f5 {is worth a look.
White is slightly better thanks to superior minor piece play and queenside
space, but black's structure is incredibly solid and there are means of
expansion on the kingside.}) 10. c6 (10. cxb6 {is possible, though it allows
black to counter with 10... c5, with a messy game.} c5 (10... cxb6 11. Qb3 {is
quite annoying, making it difficult for black to fully develop on the
queenside.}) 11. Bc7 Qe8 12. Qa4 Bb7 13. bxa7 c4 {this sample line shows that
black's activity makes up for the temporary material deficit.}) 10... Nf6 11.
a3 a5 12. Bd3 Ne4 13. Rc2 f6 {During our commentary, Ben Finegold yelled
"never play f6!" But here it looks pretty reasonable, taking control of the e5
square and allowing for black's 15th move.} 14. Qe2 {Diagram [#]} Bd6 (14... g5
15. Bg3 h5 {looks like a lot of fun. Caruana undoubtedly was concerned about
his king safety, but to me it appears Black is doing quite alright in these
lines.} 16. Nd2 (16. Bxe4 dxe4 17. Nd2 (17. Nxg5 fxg5 18. Qxh5 Rf7) 17... h4
18. Bxh4 gxh4 19. Qg4+ Kf7 20. Qh5+ {leads to a draw by perpetual check.}) (16.
h4 g4 17. Ng1 Nxg3 18. fxg3) 16... h4 17. Qh5 Kg7 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Bxe4 Rh8
20. Bxc7 Qxc7 21. Qg6+ Kf8 {who is better? I don't know! Which probably means
it's just equal.}) 15. O-O g5 $5 ({Not} 15... Bxf4 16. exf4 Nd6 (16... f5 {
leaves black with a gaping hole on e5 and a lost position.}) 17. Re1 {and e6
is forever a target.}) (15... Kh8 {might have been a reasonable waiting move.
Black's structure is very solid, so the onus would be on White to prove he can
break through.}) 16. Bxd6 {The drawback of playing 15...g5 after 14...Bd6. Now
Levon trades bishops and doesn't have to waste time retreating.} Nxd6 17. Re1
a4 (17... g4 18. Nd2 e5 {might have been an improvement, though Caruana may
have been concerned about opening the board too quickly.}) 18. Nd2 ({It likely
was tempting for Aronian to break in the center, but not at the cost of his
bishop. For instance} 18. e4 dxe4 19. Bxe4 Nxe4 20. Qxe4 Qd5 {looks solid for
black.}) 18... e5 19. e4 {Diagram [#]} f5 (19... exd4 20. Rcc1 {I believe
Levon mentioned this move in the post mortem, and it sure is tricky. White
maintains the tension in the center - at the temporary cost of a pawn - and
will try to launch his attack.} (20. e5 {allows too much liquidation after}
fxe5 21. Qxe5 Qf6 22. Qxf6 (22. Qxd5+ Kg7 23. Ne4 Nxe4 24. Qxe4 Bf5 25. Qxf5
Qxf5 26. Bxf5 Rxf5 27. Re7+ Rf7 $11) 22... Rxf6 23. Nf3 Bf5 24. Bxf5 Nxf5 25.
Nxg5 d3 26. Rd2 Rxc6 27. Rxd3 Rd8) 20... Re8 21. Qh5 (21. Qf3 Qe7 22. h3 Kg7
23. exd5 Qxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 25. Kh2 Re5 {and both sides will have chances
with the material imbalance.}) 21... Ba6 22. Bxa6 Rxa6 23. exd5 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1
Ra5 25. Qf3 {and White has the slight advantage due to Black's weakened
kingside.}) 20. f3 $1 {A very smart move, forcing Caruana to figure out
whether or not to release the tension.} (20. dxe5 fxe4 21. exd6 exd3 22. Qxd3 (
22. dxc7 $4 Qf6 $19) 22... Qxd6 23. Qd4 Bf5 24. Rcc1 {White has a better
position because of Black's exposed kingside, but Levon probably was looking
for more.}) 20... dxe4 {Not wise to release the tension here. Better was 20...
Re8} (20... Re8) 21. fxe4 Ra5 $2 {Not very good, though tied to black's 20th
move, which released the tension too soon. Fabiano must not have sensed the
impending danger.} (21... exd4 22. e5 Re8 23. Qh5 Nf7 24. Nf3 {also looks
difficult for black. For example,} g4 25. Nh4 Qg5 26. Qxg5+ Nxg5 27. Nxf5 Bxf5
28. Bxf5 {and White stands quite a bit better. The bishop outduels the knight
on the open board.}) 22. exf5 Nxf5 23. Bc4+ Kg7 24. d5 $1 {Shutting down the
rook on a5, and allowing Aronian to start his onslaught. Caruana can't defend
everything.} Re8 ({Perhaps Caruana should have chosen the safer - and least
bad - option. White is up a pawn, but at least black isn't getting mated!} 
24... Nd6 25. Qxe5+ Qf6 26. Qxf6+ Rxf6 27. Ne4 Nxe4 28. Rxe4) 25. Ne4 Nd4 26.
Qh5 Nxc2 (26... Bf5 27. Rf2 {doesn't help at all. Black would have no material
to show for his ruined kingside.}) 27. Nxg5 Bf5 28. Rf1 Qf6 {Diagram [#]} (
28... Bg6 29. Rf7+ Kg8 (29... Bxf7 30. Qxh7+ Kf6 31. Ne4+ Ke7 32. d6+ {is
deadly.}) 30. Qh6 {leads to mate.}) 29. Ne6+ (29. Rxf5 {was a prettier option,
but Levon cared only about winning smoothly. Here's a sample line of how nice
this finish could have been:} Qg6 (29... Qxf5 30. Ne6+ Kf6 31. Qxe8 {isn't fun
for black.}) 30. Rf7+ Kg8 31. d6 $1 (31. Qh3 {also is easy, but not as
aesthetically pleasing!}) 31... Qxh5 32. d7 $1 Rb8 33. Rxh7+ Kf8 34. Ne6+ Kg8
35. Rxh5 $18 {it's always nice to sacrifice your queen and not recover the
lost material for a few moves :)}) 29... Rxe6 30. Rxf5 Qg6 31. dxe6 (31. Rg5 {
Levon just didn't want to win his opponent's queen, apparently.}) 31... Qxh5
32. Rxh5 Nd4 33. e7 Ra8 34. Rxe5 Re8 35. Re4 Nf5 (35... Nxc6 36. Bb5 Rxe7 37.
Bxc6 $18) 36. Be6 Nd6 37. Bd7 Nxe4 38. Bxe8 Kf6 39. Bg6 {A beautiful finish
and a fine victory.} 1-0

[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "Saint Louis, MO USA"]
[Date "2015.08.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Fabiano Caruana"]
[Black "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2808"]
[BlackElo "2853"]
[Annotator "Hess, Robert"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.08.21"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d3 Be7 8. Nc3
O-O 9. a3 d6 10. Re1 Qd7 11. Ne2 Nd8 12. Ng3 Ne6 13. Ba2 Rfe8 14. Ng5 d5 15.
Nxe6 Qxe6 16. Bg5 h6 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Qf3 c6 19. c4 Rad8 20. cxd5 cxd5 21. Nf5
Bg5 22. h4 Bd2 23. Re2 dxe4 24. dxe4 Qf6 25. g3 Kf8 26. h5 Bg5 27. a4 b4 28. a5
Kg8 29. Bc4 Rd7 30. Ra4 Kh8 31. Rxb4 g6 32. hxg6 fxg6 {[STARTING DIAGRAM HERE]}
33. Qb3 {The only move. Carlsen guessed that Caruana forgot that 33. Rb6? is
answered by 33...Qxf5. Even though Caruana found the right continuation, it
cost him about half of his remaining 90 seconds.} Bc6 34. Ne3 Bxe4 35. Bd5 (35.
Bb5 $1 {is even better}) 35... Bxd5 36. Nxd5 Qc6 37. Nc3 Qf3 38. Qc2 (38. Rb8 {
Trading rooks would have made the remaining moves easier, and may well have
picked up the e-pawn too}) 38... Red8 39. Rbe4 {Right square, wrong piece.
Again, trading is better.} (39. Qe4) 39... Rd2 40. Rxd2 {Tragedy. This "reflex
move" throws away a certain half-point and maybe a whole point. Any queen move
would have been fine - Qb3, Qb1 or Qa4.} Rxd2 {Caruana now had another hour on
his clock, but only needed a few seconds before resigning.} 0-1

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.08.26"]
[Round "4"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[Annotator "Hess, Robert"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2015.08.26"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 c5 (4... d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5
Nxd5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. e4 {is a principled line of the Nimzo-Indian Defense,
Saemisch. For a brilliancy by the White side, see Anand-Wang Hao, Tata Steel 
(2011).}) 5. d5 O-O 6. e4 d6 7. Nge2 a6 8. a4 Ba5 {Diagram [#] This strange
move turns out to be a novelty discovered by Peter Leko. In his post-game
interview, Aronian told Maurice that he credits the Hungarian super
grandmaster with this interesting idea.} 9. Bd2 {Not the most challenging way
to meet the novelty, as it allows Black to unleash a dangerous initiative.} (9.
Be3 exd5 10. cxd5 Nbd7 (10... b5 11. Ng3 {leaves Black with structural
weaknesses.}) 11. Ng3 {is a normal fighting position.}) (9. Ng3 b5 10. cxb5 ({
Not} 10. axb5 axb5 11. cxb5 Bxc3+ {winning material}) 10... exd5 11. exd5 Qb6 {
looks very pleasant for Black.}) 9... exd5 10. cxd5 Nh5 11. g3 (11. Qc2 f5 12.
O-O-O b5 {runs into a vicious Black attack on the queenside.}) (11. Qc1 f5 12.
exf5 Rxf5 13. g4 Qh4+ 14. Kd1 Rxf3 15. gxh5 Qxh5 {does not look particularly
appealing for White.}) 11... Nd7 12. Bg2 b5 13. g4 $2 {This move is too much.
Black had already achvieved everything he could have dreamed of from the
opening, but now the attack rages on.} (13. O-O {is a much safer option,
leaving the position relatively neutral, though Black should be happy with his
activity.}) 13... b4 (13... Qh4+ 14. Kf1 b4 15. Nb1 Ne5) 14. Nb1 (14. gxh5 bxc3
15. bxc3 Qh4+ {is ugly for White. Sure, he's not lost, but his structure is in
shambles.}) 14... Qh4+ 15. Kf1 Ne5 16. Be1 (16. gxh5 f5 17. Be1 Qf6 18. f4 Ng4
19. Qd2 fxe4 20. h3 e3 21. Qc1 Nh6 {is an interesting position. Black only has
one pawn for the sacrificed knight, yet stands much better because White has
no piece past his own second rank.}) 16... Qf6 17. gxh5 {Diagram [#] What a
picturesque position. Black is temporarily down a full knight, but White is
woefully underdeveloped.} Nxf3 18. Bf2 Bg4 (18... Qxb2 19. Bxf3 Qxa1 {leaves
Black well ahead. The rook and two passed pawns on the queenside completely
outmatch the two passive white knights.}) 19. Qc1 (19. Nd2 Nd4 (19... Ne5) 20.
e5 $1 dxe5 21. Ne4 Qh6 22. N4g3 Rac8 {is a clear improvement over the game
continuation, though it is hard to imagine Aronian not standing better here as
well. Too many pawns to deal with!}) 19... Nd4 $1 {Even Anand remarked on how
precise Levon was. Just a beautiful move, opening the c-file for the rook.} (
19... Ne5 20. Nf4 g5 $1 {is an awesome continuation, though not one for us
mere mortals - even those in the top 10 in the world!}) 20. Nxd4 cxd4 21. e5
dxe5 22. Nd2 Rac8 23. Qb1 b3 $1 {Diagram [#] Just a fabulous display of
technique. The pawn sacrifice prevents the knight from heading to e4, as So
can't allow the rook to penetrate via c2.} 24. Nxb3 Bb6 25. a5 Ba7 (25... Rc2
26. Qxc2 d3 27. axb6 dxc2 28. h3 e4 {is also winning for Black, though Levon
was smart to avoid any potential complications.}) 26. Kg1 Bf5 27. Be4 (27. Qe1
e4 28. Rd1 e3 29. Bh4 g5 $1 30. hxg6 Qxg6 {is lights out.}) 27... Qg5+ (27...
d3 {was an unbelievably cool move, but Levon was not feeling as flashy as the
fans hoped.}) 28. Kf1 Qf4 {White resigned, as the position is completely
hopeless.} 0-1

[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2015.08.29"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Maxime Vachier-Lagrave"]
[Black "Veselin Topalov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2816"]
[Annotator "Hess, Robert"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2015.08.23"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 h6 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. Nc3 Ne7 12. Nd4 Ng6 13. f4 Bc5 14. Be3
h5 15. Ne4 Bxd4 16. Rxd4 h4 17. Rad1 Bf5 {[STARTING POSITION HERE AFTER
BLACK'S 17th MOVE]} 18. e6 $1 {This brilliant move either cuts of the
f5-bishop's protection of the seventh rank, or creates a second target for the
white knight coming to f5.} Bxe6 (18... fxe6 19. Nc5 Rb8 20. Nxb7 $1 Rxb7 21.
Rd8+ Kf7 22. R1d7+ Kf6 23. Bd4+ {is not forced, but is the kind of thing
Topalov has to worry about now}) 19. Nc5 Rh5 20. Nxb7 Rd5 21. b3 Rb8 22. Rxd5
cxd5 23. Nc5 c6 {Black's pieces are directionless.} 24. Rd4 Bc8 25. Ra4 Ra8 26.
c4 dxc4 27. Rxc4 Bf5 28. Nb7 Kd7 29. Rd4+ Kc7 30. Nd6 Bb1 31. Nxf7 Re8 32. Kf2
Bxa2 33. f5 Nf8 (33... Ne7 34. Ra4 Bxb3 35. Rxa7+ Kb8 36. Nd6 Rd8 37. Rxe7 Rxd6
38. Bf4) 34. Ra4 Bxb3 35. Rxa7+ Kb8 36. Nd6 Rd8 37. Rxg7 1-0

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.08.30"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B92"]
[WhiteElo "2853"]
[BlackElo "2771"]
[Annotator "Hess, Robert"]
[PlyCount "132"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2015.09.14"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be3
Be6 9. Qd3 {Diagram [#]} Nbd7 ({Two rounds earlier, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
opted for} 9... Nc6 10. a3 d5 11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 13. O-O-O Qxd3 14.
Bxd3 O-O-O 15. Nc5 {as black against Anand. That game ended in a draw, but
Grischuk likely wanted to avoid repeating a line that Carlsen and his team
surely studied at length.}) 10. Nd5 O-O 11. O-O Bxd5 12. exd5 Rc8 13. c4 {
White has achieved a pawn majority on the queenside and two bishops, whereas
Black has good control over the dark squares and a solid center. A typical
transformation stemming from a Najdorf.} Ne8 14. Qd2 b6 (14... f5 {is always a
move Black must consider, but Grischuk probably did not want to make any
concessions yet. Sometimes it is wisest to remain patient.}) 15. Rac1 a5 16.
Na1 g6 (16... f5 {now is especially tempting, since White's pieces have
retreated and Black has full control over the dark squares and center. But
again, Grischuk did not wish to give Carlsen any chances to get active.} 17. f4
Nef6) 17. b4 Ng7 (17... axb4 $2 18. Nc2 Ng7 19. Nxb4 {and Carlsen's knight has
successfully journeyed from a1 and is intending to land on c6.}) 18. bxa5 {
Diagram [#]} bxa5 ({Grischuk took a pause before recapturing on a5, weighing
the benefits of the pawn sacrifice} 18... Nf5 19. Bxb6 Nxb6 20. axb6 Rb8 (20...
Bg5 21. Qb4 Bxc1 22. Rxc1 Nd4 23. Bd1 {is pleasant for White.}) (20... Qxb6 21.
Bg4) 21. Rb1 Rxb6 {where Black is a little worse but has chances to hold the
balance. Compared to the game variation, this line would have been a huge
downgrade.}) 19. Bd3 Nc5 20. Bc2 a4 21. Rb1 e4 {Now Grischuk entices Carlsen
to give up his dark-squared bishop. White wins a pawn, but Grischuk's minor
pieces become very active. Black again could have played} (21... f5 {but
Grischuk was understandably reluctant to commit to this advance.}) 22. Bxc5
Rxc5 23. Bxa4 (23. Qe2 {would have posed more problems for Grischuk, who would
have had trouble gaining quite enough compensation for his sacrificed pawn.}
Qc7 (23... f5 $6) 24. Bxa4 Rxc4 25. Bb5 Rc3 26. Qxe4 Bf6 27. Nb3 $14) 23...
Rxc4 24. Bc6 Nf5 25. Qe2 Rc3 26. Qxe4 Ra3 27. Qe2 (27. Qc4 Bf6 28. Nc2 Rc3 29.
Qa4 Be5 {would have allowed Carlsen to remain up a pawn, but Black is so
active that it's unclear White is even better.}) 27... Bf6 28. Nb3 Qe7 29. Qxe7
Nxe7 30. Nd2 Rxa2 31. Nc4 Rd8 {Diagram [#] In the commentary room, GM Ian
Rogers and I expected the players to split the point here. However, Carlsen
got a bit too adventurous with} 32. g4 $2 {Not quite a losing move, but
unnecessarily weakening. After this push, Carlsen's kingside pawns are more
prone to attack. I blame this move more than any other for Carlsen's loss -
without it, scoresheets could have been signed.} (32. Rfd1 Nf5 33. g3 $11)
32... Bd4 33. Rbd1 Bc5 34. Rd2 Rxd2 35. Nxd2 Nxc6 36. dxc6 Rc8 37. Ne4 Rxc6 38.
Rd1 {Black has won a pawn, but the ending looks extremely difficult to convert.
While a computer can hold such a position, Grischuk's technique was admirable.
Grischuk himself said that he evaluated this position as somewhere between a
win and a draw for him, with slightly more chances for Magnus to hold. However,
he pressed until the World Champion collapsed.} h6 39. h4 Kf8 40. Kg2 Ke7 41.
Rc1 Rc8 42. Kf3 Ke6 43. Rc2 Rc7 44. h5 $2 {GM Rogers and I really did not like
this move. It creates a target for Black to attack in resulting endings.} gxh5
45. gxh5 Bb6 46. Re2 (46. Rxc7 Bxc7 {would have only helped Black. It's easier
for the king to run to the h5 pawn without the disturbance of the rooks.})
46... Bd4 47. Kg3 d5 48. Nd2+ Kf5 49. Kg2 Be5 50. Nf3 Bf6 51. Ra2 Rd7 52. Ne1
Rc7 53. Kf3 Bg5 54. Ra5 Ke5 55. Ke2 Ke4 56. Ra4+ d4 57. f3+ Kd5 58. Ra5+ Kc4
59. Nd3 {Diagram [#]} ({Passive defense with} 59. Ra4+ Kc3 60. Ra3+ Kb4 61. Ra1
{appears to allow White to hold, as Black's king has trouble sticking close to
his passed pawn.}) 59... Re7+ 60. Re5 Re6 (60... Kc3 61. Rxe7 Bxe7 62. Nf2) 61.
f4 Bf6 62. Rxe6 fxe6 63. Nf2 $4 {The losing move. It does not appear possible
for Black to break through after} (63. Kd2 Kd5 64. Ke2 Ke4 (64... Be7 65. Kf3)
65. Nc5+ {Diagram [#] the essential point being that Black has a dark-squared
bishop, which means that it can't help the h-pawn queen. If White is able to
trade his knight and two pawns for the d- and e-pawns, the game is drawn.})
63... Be7 64. Ng4 Kc3 65. f5 exf5 66. Nxh6 Kc2 0-1

[Event "116th US Open 2015"]
[Site "Phoenix USA"]
[Date "2015.08.04"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Shabalov, A."]
[Black "Toolin, C."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2520"]
[BlackElo "2149"]
[Annotator "Shabalov,Alexander"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1Pb1R3/8/7k/4K1p1/7p/8/8 b - - 0 62"]
[PlyCount "10"]
[EventDate "2015.08.01"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2015.08.10"]

{Diagram [#] the perfect run could have easily end up in Rd 4, when both
players were playing on increment, if instead of} 62... Bd6 $4 {Black would
play} (62... h2 63. Kf5 Kh6 $1 {and white cannot avoid the draw} 64. Rxc7 h1=Q
65. b8=Q Qd5+ 66. Kf6 Qd6+ 67. Kf7 Qf4+ {etc. There's no escape for white king}
) 63. Rd7 $1 {now it is all over as 63...h2 falls to 64.Kf5!} Bb8 (63... h2 64.
Kf5) 64. Rd8 h2 65. Kf5 Be5 66. b8=Q h1=Q 67. Rh8+ {Diagram [#] When there're
pawn races on different sides of the board, a bishop is not much worse than
the rook.The difference is that rook can sometimes create mating threats!} 1-0

[Event "116th US Open 2015"]
[Site "Phoenix USA"]
[Date "2015.08.06"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Shabalov, A."]
[Black "Macieja, B."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E25"]
[WhiteElo "2520"]
[BlackElo "2574"]
[Annotator "Lawrence,Al"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2015.08.01"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2015.08.10"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8.
dxc5 Qa5 9. e4 Nf6 10. Be3 O-O 11. Qb3 Nfd7 12. a4 Qc7 13. Qa3 b6 14. a5 Bb7
15. Ne2 bxc5 16. Nf4 Ba6 17. Nd3 Rc8 18. Bf4 Qd8 19. Rd1 Nc6 20. Nxc5 Bxf1 21.
Nxd7 Bxg2 22. Rg1 Bxf3 23. Bg5 Bxd1 (23... Qc7 24. Nf6+ (24. Bf6 g6 25. Rd6
Rab8 26. Nxb8 Qxb8) 24... Kh8) 24. Bxd8 Rxd8 25. Qd6 Ba4 26. Kf2 Kh8 27. Ra1
Rac8 28. Rxa4 Nb8 29. Rb4 Nxd7 30. Rd4 Rxc3 31. Qe7 Rb8 32. Rxd7 Rb2+ 33. Ke1
h6 34. Qxf7 Rc1+ 35. Rd1 Rc8 36. Qxe6 Rcb8 37. Qe5 R2b4 38. Rd7 Rb1+ 39. Ke2
R8b2+ 40. Kd3 1-0

[Event "116th US Open 2015"]
[Site "Phoenix USA"]
[Date "2015.08.07"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Ramirez, Alej"]
[Black "Shabalov, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2586"]
[BlackElo "2520"]
[Annotator "Shabalov, Alexander"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2015.08.01"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2015.08.10"]

{This was a clutch game of the tournament. In exactly the same situation 5
years prior in Irvine,CA Alejandro wiped me off the board and proceeded to win
111 US Open. And it was my first time beating one of the most talented
american players ever despite playing him as a kid in 2003!} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4
Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Qb3 {There were times when this move or 4.Qc2 was considered
to be the way to avoid long lines of Slav theory. Well, this is not a case
anymore.} (4. Qc2) 4... e6 {this is a "slav" way to play this line. Nothing
wrong is with the "gruenfeld" way} (4... dxc4 5. Qxc4 g6) 5. Bf4 ({
Surprisingly, the only way to stop black's setup is an ugly move} 5. Nbd2 {
Otherwise black plays next 6 moves against any other answer.}) ({I was also
very lucky as i spent many hours preparing against} 5. Bg5 {just a week before
this game against Michael Roiz in Calgary. 5.Bf4 is hardly an improvement.})
5... dxc4 6. Qxc4 b5 7. Qc2 Bb7 8. e3 ({it is too late to be agressive, as
white quickly got into trouble in} 8. e4 Nbd7 9. Nbd2 a6 10. a4 Bb4 11. Bd3 c5
12. axb5 axb5 13. O-O c4 14. Be2 Rc8 15. d5 Qb6 16. dxe6 fxe6 17. e5 Nd5 18.
Bg3 O-O 19. Ng5 Rf5 20. Nxe6 Qxe6 21. Bg4 Ne3 22. Bxf5 Nxf5 23. Nf3 Bxf3 24.
gxf3 Nc5 25. Rfd1 h5 26. Ra7 h4 27. Bf4 Qg6+ {0-1 (27) Ponomariov,R (2754)
-Nakamura,H (2774) Saint Louis 2011}) 8... Nbd7 9. Nbd2 Rc8 10. Qb3 {otherwise
black plays c5} a6 11. a4 Qa5 12. Be2 $1 {an excellent concept.White
sacrifices the pawn for some very dangerous initiative.} Nb6 13. O-O Nxa4 {
Diagram [#] black needs to pick up this pawn if he doesn't want to lose right
away} 14. Rfc1 $6 {the turning point of the game. Alejandro spent 50 min here
trying to find clear ways to develop the initiative..... and comes up with
literally waste of the tempo. The critical position would come up after} (14.
Nc4 $1 Qb4 15. Qxb4 Bxb4 16. Bd6 c5 17. Nfe5 {and it is supercomplicated. For
example the natural} Ne4 {runs into trouble} 18. Rxa4 bxa4 19. Bd1) 14... Qb4 {
now white activity gradually dissipates.} 15. Qc2 $6 (15. Qd1 $1 {was much
stronger. White would successfully hunt black queen after} Nd5 16. Nc4 Nxf4 17.
exf4 Be7 $2 18. Nfe5 bxc4) 15... Nd5 16. Be5 Qxb2 {grabbing the this pawn
effectively ends the game. Two bishops and dark squares is not enough
compensation for 2 pawns.} 17. Qxb2 Nxb2 18. Ne4 Na4 19. Bd1 f6 20. Bg3 Ndb6
21. Nd6+ Bxd6 22. Bxd6 Kd7 23. Ba3 (23. Bb4) 23... a5 24. Nd2 Ra8 $1 {it seems
like black steps in white's cunning trap when he getting one of the pawns back
by force. Unfortunately for white his king is too far and R+K are unable to
stop R+B+p.} 25. Ne4 b4 26. Bxa4 Nxa4 27. Bxb4 axb4 28. Rxa4 Rxa4 29. Nc5+ Kc7
30. Nxa4 {this was white's idea. Now he only needs his king on d2 to be
perfectly fine.But.....} b3 $1 {this pawn will cost white a piece.} 31. Kf1 (
31. Rb1 Ra8 32. Nb2 c5 33. dxc5) 31... Ra8 32. Nc3 b2 33. Rd1 Ra1 34. Ke1 Ba6 {
Diagram [#] as usual, in the end, white is one tempo short. 35.Kd2 loses to 35.
..Bd3.} 35. Kd2 Bd3 0-1

[Event "116th US Open 2015"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.08.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gorovets, Andrey"]
[Black "Hong, Andrew"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A48"]
[Annotator "Gorovets, Andrey"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1k1r2r1/p1q5/1p2bP2/n1p5/8/2P1QBP1/PP1R3P/2KR4 b - - 0 29"]
[PlyCount "18"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]

29... Bxa2 {Diagram [#]} (29... Rxd2 30. Rxd2) 30. Rxd8+ $1 {that wins thanks
to the advanved pawn f6} (30. Qe4 $2 {was a tempting option where white falls
into the trickiest trap} Nb3+ (30... Nb7 $2 31. Rxd8+ Rxd8 32. Rxd8+ Nxd8 33.
Qa8#) 31. Kc2 Rxd2+ 32. Rxd2 {Diagram [#]} Bb1+ $3 33. Kxb1 Nxd2+ {and black
wins}) 30... Rxd8 31. Rxd8+ Qxd8 32. Qe5+ Kc8 33. Bg4+ Kb7 34. Qe7+ Qc7 35. Bh5
$1 {the most presice} (35. Be6 Bxe6 36. Qxe6) 35... Nc6 36. Qxc7+ Kxc7 37. f7 {
Diagram [#]} Bxf7 38. Bxf7 $18 {...} 1-0

[Event "US Open"]
[Site "Phoenix, AZ USA"]
[Date "2015.08.09"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Bartlomiej Macieja"]
[Black "Joel Cholo B Banawa"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2574"]
[BlackElo "2359"]
[Annotator "Macieja, Bartlomiej"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2015.08.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d3 Bc5 8. Nc3
O-O 9. a3 h6 10. Be3 d6 11. Nd5 Nd4 12. Bxd4 Bxd4 13. Nxd4 exd4 14. Qf3 c5 15.
Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Qxf6 gxf6 17. f3 Rfe8 18. Kf2 Rac8 19. Ba2 Rc7 20. Rfe1 Rb8 21.
Re2 Bc8 22. Bd5 Be6 23. a4 b4 24. b3 Re7 25. Bc4 Bxc4 26. dxc4 Rbe8 27. g4 Kg7
28. Rg1 Re5 {Diagram [#]} 29. Kg3 f5 (29... d5) 30. gxf5 Rxf5 31. f4 {Diagram 
[#]} Rf6 32. f5 Rg8 (32... Rxf5 33. exf5 Rxe2 34. Kf3+) 33. Kf4+ Kf8 34. Rxg8+
Kxg8 35. Rg2+ Kh7 (35... Kf8 36. h4) 36. e5 {Diagram [#]} dxe5+ 37. Kxe5 Rc6
38. Kd5 Rc8 (38... Rf6 39. Rf2) 39. f6 d3 40. cxd3 {Diagram [#]} 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tar2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tarjan,James"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r2k1/p1Rn1ppp/P7/8/1r1pB3/4P3/5PPP/R5K1 w - - 0 29"]
[PlyCount "14"]

{Mamedyarov has been better from the opening, and now must choose among very
favorable possibilities, such as 29.Rb7 and simply 29.exd4.  He plays to go
into our featured endgame.} 29. Rxa7 dxe3 ({The unappealing alternative is} 
29... Nc5 30. Bd5 $1 d3 31. Bxf7+ Kf8 32. Bh5) 30. Rxd7 $1 Rxd7 31. a7 exf2+
32. Kxf2 Rxa7 33. Rxa7 {Diagram [#]} {And here we are.  White won in a few
moves, seemingly without difficulty.  As we will see, however, there is still
chess to be played in this position.    Black must avoid back rank mate, while
weakening himself as little as possible.  White will attack the f7 pawn with
bishop and rook, and Black will just have time to get his rook to f6,
protecting the one immediate target on f7.  So, let's see a couple more moves.}
g6 34. Ke3 Rb6 35. Bd5 Rf6 {Diagram [#]} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tar4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tarjan,James"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/R4p1p/5rp1/3B4/8/4K3/6PP/8 w - - 0 36"]
[PlyCount "13"]

{Mamedyarov proceeds straightforwardly.  Push his pawn to g5, sac Rxf7, and
transpose into the winning king and pawn endgame.  There is a little
complication, however.  The h pawns are still on the board.} 36. g4 h6 (36...
Kg7 {is possible, allowing, even encouraging} 37. g5) 37. Ke4 Kg7 38. h4 Rf1
39. Rb7 {Uncertain, White waits one move before playing the crucial g5.  (Or,
is he timing things for the crucial 40th move, the last move of the time
control?)  Now the game ends quickly.} Rf2 40. g5 hxg5 41. hxg5 Re2+ {A
desperate check before resigning.} 42. Kd4 {Black resigns because after 42. ...
Rf2 43.Rxf7+ Rxf7 44.Bxf7 Kxf7 45.Kd5! we have our winning endgame.  42. ...
Rd2+ 43.Kc5 Rc2+ 44.Kd6 Rf2 45.Rxf7+ is the same.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tar5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tarjan,James"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1R3pk1/6pp/3B2P1/4K2P/8/5r2/8 b - - 0 40"]
[PlyCount "9"]

{But do you see what slipped by in the last few moves, probably in time
pressure?  This plan by White should not work so easily with the h pawns set
up as they are.  Going back to Black's 40th move:} 40... Rf5 $1 {As pointed
out to me by John Donaldson, Naka missed an extraordinary opportunity here. 41.
Rxf7+ does not win:} 41. Rxf7+ Rxf7 42. Bxf7 Kxf7 43. Kd5 ({Or} 43. Ke5 hxg5
44. hxg5 Ke7 {draw.}) 43... Ke7 $1 44. Ke5 ({If} 44. gxh6 {White has nothing
left but h pawns and Black draws by running his king back to h8.  He doesn't
even need to worry about losing the g pawn.}) 44... h5 $1 {Simple but lovely,
don't you think?  The extra h pawns give Black the tempo he needs to gain the
opposition, regardless of how White comes with his king.  Draw.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tar6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tarjan,James"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1R3pk1/6pp/3B2P1/4K2P/8/5r2/8 b - - 0 40"]
[PlyCount "11"]

{So, after} 40... Rf5 {, when White realizes his plan of 41.Rxf7+ will not win,
he must try to find some other way.  However, it is rather late, as he has
pushed his pawns up where they can all be traded off, leading to R + B vs. R. 
Donaldson gives the variation:} 41. Be6 Rf1 42. Kd5 Rd1+ 43. Kc5 hxg5 44. hxg5
Rg1 45. Rxf7+ Kh8 {Black eliminates White's last pawn, and even with Black's
king so badly placed, he should hold the resulting R + B vs. R.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tar8"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tarjan,James"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3K4/3R1pk1/6p1/3B1r1p/8/7P/6P1/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "6"]

{Dvoretsky cites two different Gufeld games from this same position.  In the
earlier game, Gufeld vs. Honfi (Kislovodsk 1968), Gufeld patiently manuevered
until Black was forced to move his f pawn, and eventually White won.  In the
later game, however, Gufeld vs. Rahman (Calcutta 1994), White prematurely
advanced his g pawn:} 1. g4 $2 hxg4 2. hxg4 Rf4 3. g5 (3. Rxf7+ {fails, as
White's king is one tempo away from where it needs to be.}) 3... Rg4 $1 {And
now Black wins White's last pawn, forcing R + B vs. R.  Dvoretsky points out
that 3. ...Rf5 4.Rxf7+ Kh8! also draws.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tar10"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tarjan,James"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/6p1/2b2r1p/7P/3k2P1/R4PK1/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "17"]

1. Kg1 Bd4 2. Kg2 Rf6 3. Kg1 Rb6 4. Kg2 Rb2 {The method by which Black could
make progress, if only he had his kingside pawns back on or close to their
original squares.} 5. Rxb2 Bxb2 6. g4 hxg4 7. Kg3 Bc1 8. Kxg4 Bh6 9. f4 {
followed by 10.h5 with a draw.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tar11"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tarjan,James"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/6p1/2b2r1p/7P/3k2P1/R4PK1/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "8"]

{This is what should have happened from the above diagram.  However, that is
not what in fact did happen in Tseitlin vs. Finkel.   Tseitlin played:} 1. Kf1
$2 Bxf2 $1 {Simplifying into a different sort of winning king and pawn
endgame!  After} 2. Rxf2 Ke3 3. Rxf5 gxf5 4. Kg2 Ke2 {White loses both his
pawns through the magic of zugzwang.  Tseitlin instead played 2.Kg2 and
resigned in a few moves.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tar13"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tarjan,James"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5k2/5p1p/2B3p1/8/3r4/6P1/2R4P/6K1 b - - 0 34"]
[PlyCount "32"]

{Jussupow vs. Boensch, Bundesliga 2001.  Black to move.} 34... h5 {Having seen
Mamedyarov-Nakamura, I believe Black has more chances to defend with his h
pawn back on h7 or h6.  We will see an example of that formation next.} 35. Bf3
Rd7 36. Rb2 Kg7 37. Kf2 Rd6 38. Rb7 Rd2+ 39. Be2 Rd6 40. Bc4 Rf6+ 41. Ke3 Kf8
42. h3 Kg7 43. g4 {Very similar positions are given by Dvoretsky.} hxg4 44.
hxg4 Kf8 45. Rc7 Kg7 46. Ke4 Rf2 (46... g5 {lasts longer.  With the pawns on
g4 and g5 the pawn endgame after Rxf7+ is a draw.  White instead maneuvers to
win the g5 pawn or else to force Black to play ...f6, after which finally
White's pieces invade easily.}) 47. g5 {All has been prepared.} Rf5 48. Rxf7+
Rxf7 49. Bxf7 Kxf7 50. Kd5 {1-0.  Right out of Dvoretsky.  After all, Jussupow
wrote the introduction to his trainer's book.} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tar15"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tarjan,James"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/3r1p1p/5kp1/8/4R3/4KB2/6PP/8 w - - 0 48"]
[PlyCount "89"]

{Zubov vs. Danin, Voronezh 2012.  The pawns stay home.  Five little people
dance around Black's f pawn: White's rook, bishop, and king, Black's rook and
king.  Eventually the three triumph over the two, attacking f7 and forcing the
pawn forward, breaching the walls of the fortress.  The key weapon for the
offence is the threat of exchanging rooks.  To avoid this, Black's rook must
dash back and forth between the f file and the 7th rank, while also checking
White's king away from e7 or e8.  No matter how skilled a juggler, the Black
rook cannot keep all the balls in the air.  (Yes, obviously I've played too
much chess.)} 48. Rb4 Kg7 49. Rb7 Rd6 50. Be2 Re6+ 51. Kf2 Rf6+ 52. Bf3 Rd6 53.
Ke3 Rf6 54. Bd5 Rf5 55. Be4 Rf6 56. Rd7 Kf8 57. Bd5 Rf5 58. Kd4 Rf4+ 59. Kc5
Kg7 60. Ra7 Rf2 61. h3 Rf1 62. Ra3 Re1 63. Kd6 Kf8 {Diagram [#]} 64. Ra2 ({
Quicker is to insist on bringing the king to e8:} 64. Ra8+ Kg7 65. Ra7 Rf1 66.
Ke7 {intending 67.Ke8 Re1+ 68.Re7} Rf5 {The rook keeps juggling, harassing
White's bishop} 67. Rd7 Re5+ 68. Kd8 Rf5 69. g4 $1 {and 70.Ke8 winning the f
pawn.  All very tricky.}) 64... Rf1 65. Rd2 Rf6+ 66. Kd7 Rf1 67. Rd3 Rf5 68.
Bb3 Ra5 69. Bd5 Ra7+ 70. Kd8 Ra6 71. Kc7 Ra7+ 72. Kd6 Ra6+ 73. Ke5 Kg7 74. Rf3
Ra7 75. Rf1 {White's plan is Kd6, and even not considering the aid of zugzwang,
White then has the threat Rf2 to a2 trading rooks.  If Black's rook checks on
a6 White's king marches to e8.  Note how White's bishop and rook must be used
with great effectiveness, looking backwards as well as forwards.} Rd7 ({If} 
75... Kf8 76. Rb1 $1 {threatening 77.Rb7 and Black has no way to get his rook
around to the f file in time:} Re7+ 77. Kf6) 76. Rb1 Re7+ 77. Kd6 Re2 (77...
Ra7 78. Rb7 Ra6+ 79. Ke7 {forces the f pawn to move because if} Rf6 80. Ke8)
78. Rf1 {The first phase of the dance has come to a close.  The final dance
goes by quickly as Black gets caught in a mating net.} f5 79. Ra1 Kf6 80. Ra7
h6 81. h4 g5 82. Rf7+ ({If you are a computer you will calculate out} 82. h5 g4
83. g3 {to mate.  But if you are a human, at the end of a long hard game,
Zubov's method is more practical.}) 82... Kg6 83. h5+ Kxh5 84. Bf3+ {Black
resigns.  If} Kg6 85. Bxe2 Kxf7 86. Ke5 Kg6 87. Bd3 {White only has to avoid
one last stalemate trick:} Kh5 (87... g4 88. Kf4) 88. Kxf5 Kh4 89. Kg6 h5 90.
Be4 g4 91. Kh6 g3 92. Bg6 $1 *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.30"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tar17"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tarjan,James"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6pp/1R2bk2/8/8/7P/r4PP1/6K1 w - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "54"]

35. Rc6 g6 36. Rb6 Ke5 37. Rb7 h5 38. Rb6 Bf5 39. Rb4 Kd5 ({Or} 39... Rd2 {. 
Black's rook comes over to the c or d file and makes a bridge for the king.})
40. Rf4 Rc2 41. Ra4 ({If} 41. g4 Ke5 {and 42... Be4.}) 41... Rc4 42. Ra6 Kd4
43. Rd6+ ({Another moment for White to lash out with} 43. g4 {.   But after}
Be4 44. f3 Bxf3 45. Rxg6 h4 {is winning because White will be mated if he goes
after the h4 pawn.  For example} 46. Kf2 Bd5 47. Rh6 Rc2+ 48. Ke1 {(even
running away from the corner doesn't help at this point)} Ke3 49. Kd1 Rc3)
43... Kc3 44. Rd8 Rd4 45. Ra8 Kd2 46. Re8 Kd1 47. Re7 Re4 48. Ra7 Re1+ 49. Kh2
Ke2 {Here we are, phase one achieved.  Perhaps White is being overly
cooperative, perhaps he should play f3 sooner or bring the king out to g3.  We
shall see that defensive formation in the next example.} 50. f3 Kf2 51. Ra2+
Re2 52. Ra1 {The final rope-a-dope defense.  White's rook tries valiantly and
alone to stop Black from the final assault on g2.  This final stage is the
most difficult.} Rd2 53. Ra8 Bc2 54. Ra2 ({If White tries to anticipate
Black's later ...h4 by playing 54.h4 himself, he creates a new target: the
pawn h4.} 54. h4 $2 Rd4 55. Kh3 Bf5+) 54... Kf1 55. Ra1+ Bd1 56. Kh1 {Diagram 
[#]} h4 $1 {Finally Black has a clear winning plan: ...Kf2, ...Be2, and then ..
.Rd1 to g1.  White tries to go after Black's pawns but it is too late. 
White's fortress in the corner has turned into a mating trap.} 57. Rb1 Kf2 58.
Rb4 Be2 59. Rxh4 Rd1+ 60. Kh2 Rg1 61. Rg4 Bf1 {Diagram [#]White is not in time.
62.Rxg6 Bxg2 and mate.  Or 62.Ra4 Rxg2+ and wins, even without immediate mate
as Black still has a pawn.  (But not 62. ...Bxg2?? 63.Ra2+)    OK, I managed
to win against myself.  But is the endgame really a forced win?  Or can the
defense, by putting the pieces on just the right squares and dancing
skillfully about, prevent the final breakthrough against g2?  I haven't been
able to convince myself one way or the other, especially after keeping myself
awake at night analysing the final stages of the following, actual game:} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.30"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tar18"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tarjan,James"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1B6/5ppk/7p/8/8/8/r5PP/1R4K1 w - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "95"]

{Loek Van Wely vs. Igor Ivanov, World Open, Philadelphia 1994.  Played in
Round 7 of this strong 9 round Swiss.  In Round 6 (probably played earlier
that day, assuming the usual schedule of the U.S. Swiss System) Igor had
beaten GM Azmaiparashvili.  Van Wely went on from here to tie for first.  So
this is yet another example of this endgame appearing at a crucial moment,
between two top players.} 35. h4 {In my hypothetical analysis I assumed both
sides should refrain from pawn moves unless required.  White will need his
pawns on h4 and g3, making a chain and with the base at g3 guarded by the
bishop, once White's king begins his journey to e7.  So it seems that no harm
is done by 35.h4.  However, there is a very real practical problem which will
manifest after Black's 39th move.} Ra4 36. g3 Ra2 37. Rb6 f6 {Igor voluntarily
accedes to this move and, as we shall see, also to ...h5, and then tries to
hold the resulting formation.} 38. Rb5 Kg6 39. Bf4 h5 {Diagram [#]So what is
White's practical problem here?  It is that there are no more neutral pawn
moves to be made, and White has a very long road ahead of him.  He must bring
his king down to e7 or thereabouts, and then to f7 or f8 working against the
g7 pawn.  Not a simple task in its final phases, assuming it can be done at
all.  And as of now, after Black's 39...h5, the 50 move rule clock starts. 
When I first played over this game, I wondered why Igor voluntarily pushed his
pawns ...f6 and ...h5.  But now I see: if he waits, he will have to defend
that much longer.    On the other hand, White really should have waited before
making his pawn moves.  Gotten his king up to f3 at least.} 40. Be3 Re2 41. Bf4
Rc2 42. Rb7 Ra2 43. Bd6 Ra6 44. Bc5 ({If} 44. Bf8 Ra8 $1 {45.Bxg7 Rg8; 45.
Rxg7+ Kh6 with a draw as the discovered checks do not help.  Nice.}) 44... Rc6
45. Rb5 Kf5 46. Kg2 Kg4 47. Rb4+ Kf5 48. Be3 Re6 49. Kf3 Re8 50. Rb7 Kg6 51.
Rd7 Re5 52. Ke2 Re4 53. Kd3 Ra4 54. Bf4 Rb4 55. Ra7 Kh7 56. Bd6 Rb6 57. Rd7 Rb5
58. Kc4 Ra5 59. Bf8 Ra8 {Same monkey business, even with Black's king on h7:
60.Bxg7? Kg6 and ...Rg8.  White is slowly making progress towards the goal of
Kf8.  Too slowly?} 60. Bc5 Kg6 61. Kd5 Ra2 62. Bf8 Ra8 63. Bd6 Ra1 64. Kc6 Ra8
65. Rb7 Ra6+ 66. Kd5 (66. Kd7 {seems more direct to me, aiming for Kf8.  But
then White must work out} Kf7 67. Kd8+ {: is this progress?}) 66... Ra2 67. Re7
Ra8 68. Ke6 Rg8 {This certainly looks wrong, but Black manages to get his rook
out and active again.} 69. Bc7 Rc8 70. Kd7 Ra8 71. Re4 Kf7 {The final
rope-a-dope defense.} 72. Rc4 Ra3 73. Bd6 Re3 74. Rc5 Kg6 75. Kd8 Re6 76. Rd5
Re3 {Diagram [#]Igor is still resisting here, cutting off Black's king and
attacking the weakness on g3.  White has come up with the idea of Rd5
attacking h5 and thus forcing Black's king to stay up on g6.  White only needs
to jump his king over to f8, without losing g3 or letting Black's king back to
f7 or g8.  Not clear how he can achieve that, though one feels there must be a
way.  White's pieces get in each other's way in this final stage.    And the
50 move rule draw is coming at move 89...} 77. Bc7 {Simply waiting, to force
Black to give ground.} Ra3 $2 ({Ivanov weakens at the final stage.  How many
hours had he played that day?   If Black keeps the rook on the e file,} 77...
Re4 {, Houdini and I cannot figure out a way to break the blockade, certainly
not in time to prevent the draw at move 89.  For example} 78. Rd7 Kh7 $1 {(the
point: Black gets his king back to g8, holding White's king at bay)} 79. Re7
Rd4+ 80. Ke8 Kg8 {.  Or in this line 79.Bb6 Re2 80.Bc5 Re4 and if 81.Bf8 Rg4. 
White would need to regroup to attempt further progress.}) 78. Ke8 {Now,
however, White gets his king to f8 and the fortress crumbles.} Ra8+ 79. Rd8 Ra4
80. Kf8 Kh7 81. Rd7 Rg4 82. Bf4 {White is in zugzwang and Rd5 will be the end.}
*

[Event "Riga Technical University Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.08.13"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[Black "Hovhannisyan, Robert"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2631"]
[BlackElo "2612"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2015.04.20"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 Be7 11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 13. Nge4 g5 14.
b4 a6 15. a4 Nh4 16. Nc5 b6 17. Nb3 Ng6 18. Nd4 Bd7 19. Re1 a5 20. b5 c5 21. e6
cxd4 22. exd7+ Kxd7 23. Rad1 Rad8 24. Rxd4+ Kc8 25. Red1 Rxd4 26. Rxd4 Rd8 27.
Nd5 Rd6 28. Kf1 Nf4 29. c4 Ne6 30. Rd3 Nc5 31. Ra3 Re6 32. Rf3 Ne4 33. Ke2 f5
34. Kd1 Nd6 35. Re3 Rxe3 36. Nxe3 Kd7 37. Kc2 Ke6 38. Nd5 Kd7 39. Nf6+ Kd8 40.
Kd3 Nb7 41. Ng8 h5 42. Kd4 Nc5 43. Nh6 Nxa4 44. Nxf5 Nc5 45. h4 gxh4 46. Nxh4
Ke7 47. Nf5+ Kf6 48. Ne3 Ne6+ 49. Ke4 a4 {Diagram [#]} 50. Nd5+ (50. Kd3 Nf4+ (
50... Ke5 51. Kc3 Ke4 (51... a3 52. Kb3) 52. Nd5 h4 53. Nf6+ Ke5 54. Nd5 a3 55.
Kb3 Kd4 56. Ne7 Nc5+ 57. Kxa3 Kxc4 58. Nf5 Kxb5 59. Nxh4) (50... h4 51. Kc3 (
51. Nd5+ Ke5 52. Kc3) 51... Nf4) 51. Ke4 Nxg2 52. Nxg2 a3 53. Ne3 a2 54. Nc2
Kg5 (54... h4 55. Kf4 h3 56. Kg3 Ke5 57. Kxh3 Ke4 58. Kg4 Kd3 59. Nb4+) 55. Kf3
h4 56. Na1 Kf5 57. Nc2) 50... Kg5 51. Kd3 (51. f4+ Nxf4 52. Nxf4 a3) (51. Ke5
a3 52. Nc3 Nf4) 51... Nf4+ {Diagram [#]} 52. Kc3 (52. Nxf4 Kxf4 53. Kc3 Ke4 54.
Kb4 Kd4 55. g3 (55. f4 h4) 55... a3 56. Kxa3 Kxc4 57. Ka4 Kc5 58. f3 Kc4 59. f4
Kc5 60. Ka3 (60. f5 Kd5) 60... Kxb5) 52... Nxd5+ (52... Nxg2 53. Nxc7 h4 54. c5
bxc5 (54... h3 55. cxb6 h2 56. b7 h1=Q 57. b8=Q) 55. b6 h3 56. b7 h2 57. b8=Q
h1=Q 58. Qg8+) 53. cxd5 Kf4 54. d6 cxd6 55. Kb4 h4 56. Kxa4 Ke4 57. Kb3 Kd3 58.
Kb4 d5 59. Kb3 d4 0-1

[Event "New York Europa Chess Rooms"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1869.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wernich, H."]
[Black "Mackenzie, George Henry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "1869.??.??"]
[EventType "game"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.11.20"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Bxd2+
8. Nbxd2 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. O-O O-O 11. h3 Be6 12. Ne4 h6 13. Nc5 b6 14. Nxe6
fxe6 15. Re1 Qf6 16. Bxd5 exd5 17. Qd2 Rae8 18. Re3 Re4 19. Rd1 Rf4 20. a3 Qg6
21. Qd3 Qh5 22. b4 a6 23. Rc1 R8f6 24. Rc2 Qg6 25. Qxg6 Rxg6 26. Ne5 Nxe5 27.
dxe5 d4 28. Rd3 c6 29. Kh2 Re4 30. f3 Rxe5 31. Rxd4 a5 32. Rdc4 axb4 33. axb4
Rb5 34. g4 Rgg5 35. h4 Rgd5 36. Kg3 c5 37. bxc5 Rdxc5 38. Rxc5 bxc5 39. Rc4 Kf7
{Diagram [#]} 40. Kf4 (40. Ra4 Ke6 41. Ra7 c4 42. Kf2 g5 43. hxg5 hxg5 44. Ke3)
40... Rb4 41. Rxb4 (41. Re4 {Diagram [#]} Rxe4+ 42. Kxe4 Ke6 43. f4 g6 44. f5+
gxf5+ 45. gxf5+ Kf6 46. h5 (46. Kd5 Kxf5 47. Kxc5 Kg4 48. Kd4 Kxh4 49. Ke3 Kg3)
46... c4 47. Kd4 Kxf5 48. Kxc4 Kg5 49. Kd3 Kxh5 50. Ke3) 41... cxb4 42. Ke3 g5
43. hxg5 hxg5 44. Kd3 Ke6 45. Kd4 b3 46. Kc3 Ke5 47. Kxb3 Kf4 48. Kc3 Kxf3 49.
Kd3 Kxg4 50. Ke4 Kg3 0-1

[Event "AUS-ch"]
[Site "Adelaide"]
[Date "1887.08.26"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Gossip, George Hatfeild"]
[Black "Tullidge, William"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C40"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "137"]
[EventDate "1887.08.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "AUS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2002.11.25"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Nf6 4. exf5 d6 5. Nf3 Bxf5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. Qe2+ Qe7 8.
Qxe7+ Bxe7 9. Ba4 O-O 10. d3 d5 11. O-O Nbd7 12. Nc3 Nc5 13. Be3 a5 14. Bxc5
Bxc5 15. Bb3 b5 16. a4 b4 17. Nd1 Rae8 18. d4 Bb6 19. c3 bxc3 20. bxc3 Bc7 21.
Ne3 Be4 22. Nd2 Bd3 23. Rfe1 Kh8 24. Bc2 Rxe3 25. Rxe3 Bxc2 26. Re7 Rc8 27. Ra2
Bd3 28. Rb2 Re8 29. Rxe8+ Nxe8 30. Rb7 Kg8 31. Nb3 Bc2 32. Nc5 Bd6 33. Rb2 Bxc5
34. Rxc2 Ba7 35. Rb2 Nd6 36. Kf1 Kf7 37. Ke2 Ke6 38. Kd3 Kd7 39. g4 g5 40. f3
h6 41. h4 c5 42. hxg5 hxg5 43. Rh2 c4+ 44. Ke3 Nf7 45. Rb2 Nd6 46. f4 gxf4+ 47.
Kxf4 Kc6 48. g5 Bb6 49. g6 Ne8 50. Kf5 Bd8 51. Ke6 Bh4 52. Kf7 Nd6+ 53. Kf8 Kd7
54. g7 Be7+ 55. Kg8 Bf6 56. Kh7 Bxg7 57. Kxg7 Ne4 58. Rc2 Ke6 59. Kg6 Kd6 60.
Kf5 Ng3+ 61. Kf4 Ne4 62. Ke3 Kc6 63. Rc1 Nd6 64. Kd2 Nc8 65. Rh1 Nb6 66. Rh6+
Kb7 {Diagram [#]} 67. Rxb6+ Kxb6 68. Ke3 Kc6 69. Kf4 1-0

[Event "USCL Week 3"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2015.09.09"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Cornejo, Max"]
[Black "Lee, Andy"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C69"]
[WhiteElo "2524"]
[BlackElo "2392"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "141"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2015.04.20"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O f6 6. d4 Bg4 7. c3 Bd6 8. h3
Bh5 9. Be3 Ne7 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Qb3+ Kh8 12. c4 exd4 13. Nxd4 Qd7 14. Qa4 Rfd8
15. Rac1 c5 16. Qxd7 Rxd7 17. N4f3 Nc6 18. g4 Bf7 19. b3 Nb4 20. a3 Nd3 21. Rb1
a5 22. Rfd1 Nf4 23. e5 fxe5 24. Bxf4 exf4 25. Re1 h6 26. a4 Re8 27. Rxe8+ Bxe8
28. Re1 Re7 29. Rxe7 Bxe7 30. Ne4 Bc6 31. Nfd2 Kg8 32. f3 Kf7 33. Kf2 Ke6 34.
Ke2 Ke5 35. Kd3 Be8 36. Kc3 b6 37. Nf2 Bd6 38. Nd3+ Ke6 39. Ne4 Bg6 {Diagram 
[#]} 40. Ndf2 Be5+ 41. Kd2 Bd4 42. Kd1 Be3 43. h4 Ke5 44. h5 Bh7 45. Ke2 Kd4
46. g5 hxg5 47. Nxg5 Bc2 48. Ne6+ Ke5 49. Nxg7 Bxf2 50. Kxf2 Bxb3 51. h6 Kf6
52. Ne6 Kg6 53. Nxc7 Bxa4 54. Nd5 Bb3 55. Ke1 a4 56. Kd2 a3 57. Kc3 a2 58. Kb2
Bxc4 59. Nxb6 Be6 60. Na4 c4 61. Nc3 Kxh6 62. Kxa2 Kg5 63. Ka3 Bh3 64. Kb4 Bf1
65. Nd5 Kf5 66. Ne7+ Ke5 67. Ng6+ Kd4 68. Nxf4 Ke3 69. Nd5+ Kxf3 70. Nb6 Ke3
71. Nxc4+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Zuerich sim"]
[Site "Zuerich"]
[Date "1919.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Emanuel Lasker"]
[Black "W Rivier / Walter Henneberger"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C48"]
[Annotator "Doe,John"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "1919.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {Diagram [#]} 4. O-O (4. d3) (4. d4) (4. Bxc6)
4... Bc5 5. Nc3 d6 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 (7... Bxd4) 8. Nb3 (8. Nf5) 8... Bb6
9. Bg5 Ne5 10. a4 (10. Bxd7+) 10... Bxb5 11. axb5 h6 12. Bxf6 (12. Bh4 Ng6)
12... Qxf6 13. Nd5 Qd8 14. Nd4 O-O (14... Bxd4 15. Qxd4) 15. Nf5 Kh7 16. Ra3 f6
17. Rg3 Rf7 18. Nf4 Qd7 19. Qh5 Rh8 20. Ne6 Rg8 (20... Qxe6 21. Rxg7+ Rxg7 22.
Qxh6+ Kg8 23. Qxg7#) 21. Nfxg7 {Diagram [#]} Rgxg7 (21... Rfxg7 22. Rxg7+ Rxg7
23. Nf8+) 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "I"]
[Black "Pin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Doe,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r7/5pk1/6p1/n7/8/1B6/PP6/R5K1 b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Nxb3 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "II"]
[Black "Trapping"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Doe,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/5pp1/6n1/5r1p/5P2/6B1/5R1P/6K1 b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... h4 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "III"]
[Black "Pin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Doe,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3q2k1/5p2/2n5/3p4/6b1/1B1P1NP1/5PK1/3Q4 b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Nd4 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "IV"]
[Black "Double Threat"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Doe,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/4qpp1/7p/8/5n2/8/3Q1PPP/5RK1 b - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Qg5 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "V"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Doe,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/5k2/6r1/8/5n1q/4QP1P/5RPK/7R b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Rxg2+ 2. Rxg2 Qxh3+ 3. Kg1 Qxg2# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "VI"]
[Black "Fork"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Doe,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1r4k1/6p1/8/q7/P1Pn4/KR2Q3/1R6 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Rxb2+ 2. Rxb2 Nc1+ 0-1

[Event "World Youth 2008"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2008.10.30"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Shankland, Sam"]
[Black "Le Quang, Liem"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2436"]
[BlackElo "2583"]
[Annotator "Shankland, Sam"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/1P1P4/8/2p1pk2/8/8/2K4p/4R3 w - - 0 51"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2008.??.??"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2006.11.23"]
[WhiteTeam "USA"]
[BlackTeam "USA"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{Diagram [#]} 51. Rb1 $3 {In this highly complex endgame, Rb1 is the only way
to win. White's idea is that he threatens b8=Q Rxb8 Rxb1 h1=Q d8=Q, which
would leave him up a rook. As such, black's reply is forced:} (51. Kc3 $2 {
This fails to win because black is able to cut across the dfile.} Ke6 $1 52.
Kc4 (52. Rb1 {Now it's too late for this:} Rb8 (52... e4 53. Kc4 e3 54. Kxc5 e2
) 53. Rd1 h1=Q $1 {And due to the black king's closer proximity to the dpawn,
he can scoop it up and draw the game} 54. Rxh1 Kxd7 $11) (52. Rd1 {This would
be similar to the game but white has lost a very critical tempo:} e4 53. Kc4 e3
54. Kxc5 e2 $1 {And white did not get Kc6 in, so after the rook moves away
black will defend with Kxd7. The tempo means more than just a half point- in
fact white is completely lost here!} 55. Re1 Kxd7 56. Kb6 Rh8 57. Rh1 Kd6 58.
Ka7 Kd5 59. b8=Q Rxb8 60. Kxb8 Ke4) 52... Kd6 $1 $11 {And black can cut across
the dfile to reach b8 with his king, holding a draw} (52... Kxd7 $2 {This does
not work} 53. Rd1+ {And after Rxd8 and b8/Q, white will remain a rook up})) (
51. Rh1 $2 {This is a very tempting move- white collects the highly dangerous
passed hpawn. However, concrete calculation shows that black is able to save
the game.} Ke6 52. Rxh2 Kd6 $1 {And at this point white is unable to prevent
black from retreating back with Kc7-b8, stopping the pawns. His problem is
that his own king is in the way of his rook's ability to reach a2 or b2.} (
52... Kxd7 $2 {Is of course not to be recommended} 53. Rd2+) 53. Kc3 Kc7 54.
Rb2 Kb8 $1 {And black is just in time to stop the pawns}) 51... Rb8 (51... Ke6
52. b8=Q Rxb8 53. Rxb8 h1=Q 54. d8=Q {And white wins with his extra rook}) 52.
Rd1 {White has a similar threat- d8=Q and ending up with an extra rook} Rd8 {
And now we have the exact same position as the starting one, except that white
got to move his rook from e1 to d1 for free. This turns out to be decisive.} (
52... Ke6 53. d8=Q Rxd8 54. Rxd8 h1=Q 55. b8=Q $18) 53. Kc3 $1 {White is now
threatening to play Rh1 followed by Rxh2.} (53. Rh1 Ke6 54. Rxh2 Kd6 (54...
Kxd7 55. Rd2+ Kc7 56. Rxd8 Kxd8 57. b8=Q+) 55. Kc3 Kc7 56. Rb2 Kb8) 53... Rxd7
{This looks like a nice tactic as white has two tempting moves that both fail,
but after the sedate Rf1+, it's all over} (53... Ke6 {This is another
resilient defensive idea, and the main reason white needed to play Rb1 and Rd1.
Here, the king is cut off and cannot use the d6 square to reach b8.} 54. Kc4
Rxd7 {This is similar to the way black played in the game. Now the black king
is safe from Rf1+ (as the game ended) but more exposed to a new queen:} (54...
e4 55. Kxc5 e3 56. Kc6 {White reaches c6 just in the knick of time} e2 57. Re1
{It looks like white is stuck, but fortunately Rxe2 will come with check, and
the black king is unable to leave the efile.} Kf7 58. Kc7 Ke7 (58... Rh8 59.
d8=Q) 59. Rxe2+) 55. b8=Q $1 Rxd1 56. Qe8+ Kf6 {This is the only way to avoid
losing the rook directly} (56... Kf5 57. Qh5+) (56... Kd6 57. Qd8+) 57. Qh8+
Ke6 58. Qh6+ Ke7 59. Qxh2 {Black can still make white work in queen against
rook, but of course he is technically lost. Still it was probably the most
resilient defensive try.}) (53... e4 $2 {This fails to address white's threat:}
54. Rh1 $1 Ke6 55. Rxh2 Kd6 {And previously with the king on c2 this would
have held for black, but here he is too slow:} 56. Ra2 {And Ra8 is next.}) 54.
Rf1+ $1 {White saves his rook, and the pawn crashes through. My distinguished
opponent resigned and I shared first in the World u-18 championship.} (54. b8=Q
$2 {Tempting as it is to immediately reacquire the lady, white is actually
evem losing here:} Rxd1 {h1=Q is next and white runs out of checks
surprisingly fast.} 55. Qf8+ (55. Qc8+ Kf4 56. Qf8+ Ke4 57. Qa8+ Ke3) 55... Ke4
56. Qa8+ Ke3 {And the nice geometry of pieces on c3, c5, and e5 prevent all
further checks. Black wins.}) (54. Rxd7 {This is also tempting, but poor.} h1=Q
55. b8=Q {White is now a rook up as he has been in several other variations,
but unlike those lines the queen and rook don't defend each other along the
eighth rank, and now black will win one of them with a skewer.} Qc1+ 56. Kd3
Qd1+) 1-0

