[Event "Gibraltar Masters"]
[Site "Catalan Bay GIB"]
[Date "2019.01.22"]
[Round "1.41"]
[White "Andres Aguilar"]
[Black "Mikhail Antipov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A09"]
[WhiteElo "2307"]
[BlackElo "2589"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2019.01.22"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. b4 g5 4. Bb2 (4. Nxg5 e5) 4... Bg7 5. g3 (5. Nxg5 e5 6.
Nf3 (6. Ne4 f5) 6... e4) 5... e5 6. d3 g4 7. Nfd2 h5 8. h4 f5 9. e3 f4 10. exf4
exf4 {[#]} 11. Bg2 (11. gxf4 Ne7) 11... f3 12. Nxf3 gxf3 13. Bxf3 Nf6 14. Qe2+
Kf7 15. O-O Bg4 16. Nd2 Re8 17. Ne4 Nxe4 18. Bxg4 hxg4 19. dxe4 d3 20. Qxg4
Bxb2 21. Rad1 Nc6 22. e5 Nxe5 23. Qf5+ Qf6 24. Qh7+ Qg7 25. Qf5+ Kg8 26. Kg2
Rad8 0-1

[Event "Gibraltar Masters"]
[Site "Catalan Bay GIB"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "What masters play ..."]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A01"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2019.01.22"]
[SourceDate "2019.05.31"]

1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bd6 5. Na3 Na5 6. Be2 {[#]} *

[Event "Catalan Bay GIB"]
[Site "Catalan Bay GIB"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "... avoids the dangerous ..."]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "C58"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2019.01.22"]
[SourceDate "2019.05.31"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 (5... Nxd5 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7.
Qf3+) 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 {[#]} 8. Bd3 (8. Be2 h6 9. Nh3) 8... Nd5 9. Nf3
Nf4 10. Bf1 *

[Event "27. DSB Kongress"]
[Site "Swinemuende GER"]
[Date "1931.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kurt Paul Otto Joseph Richter"]
[Black "Bruno Moritz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D03"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "1931.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Bd3 d5 6. c3 Bd6 7. Nbd2 Bd7 8. O-O
Qb6 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. b4 Be7 11. b5 Na5 12. Ne5 Qc7 13. Ndf3 O-O 14. Qa4 b6 15.
Qh4 h6 16. Bxh6 gxh6 17. Qg3+ Ng4 18. Qxg4+ Kh8 {[#]} 19. Qf4 1-0

[Event "Berlin"]
[Site "ch"]
[Date "1934.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kurt Paul Otto Joseph Richter"]
[Black "Friedrich Saemisch"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C73"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "1934.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. Bxc6+ bxc6 6. d4 f6 7. Qd3 g6 8. h4
Nh6 9. Nc3 Nf7 10. Be3 Bg7 11. O-O-O O-O 12. h5 exd4 13. hxg6 hxg6 14. Bxd4
Bh6+ 15. Kb1 Kg7 16. Nh4 Qe8 17. Nxg6 Kxg6 18. Qf3 Kh7 19. Qxf6 Rg8 20. e5 Rg6
21. Ne4 d5 22. e6 Bxe6 23. Ng5+ Nxg5 {[#]} 24. Rxh6+ Kxh6 (24... Rxh6 25. Qg7#)
25. Rh1+ Bh3 26. Rxh3+ Nxh3 27. Qh4# 1-0

[Event "Prague ol (Men)"]
[Site "Prague CSR"]
[Date "1931.07.18"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Kurt Paul Otto Joseph Richter"]
[Black "Victor Kahn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C84"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "1931.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d4 exd4 7. e5 Ne4 8. Re1
Nc5 9. Bxc6 dxc6 10. Nxd4 O-O 11. Nc3 Ne6 12. Nf5 g6 13. Nxe7+ Qxe7 14. Ne4 Kg7
15. Nf6 h6 16. Qg4 Rh8 17. Qh4 g5 18. Qh5 Nf8 19. h4 Ng6 20. hxg5 hxg5 21. Qxg5
Qe6 22. Nh5+ Kf8 23. Rd1 Bd7 24. Nf6 Be8 {[#]} 25. Qh6+ Ke7 (25... Rxh6 26.
Bxh6+ Ke7 27. Ng8#) 26. Ng8+ Rxg8 27. Bg5+ 1-0

[Event "It Cafe Koenig"]
[Site "Berlin GER"]
[Date "1928.10.03"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Kurt Paul Otto Joseph Richter"]
[Black "Carl Ahues"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C84"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "1928.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d4 O-O 7. d5 Nb8 8. Qe2
d6 9. h3 Kh8 10. c4 Ng8 11. Nh2 f5 12. f4 exf4 13. Bxf4 fxe4 14. Nc3 Nf6 15. g4
Nbd7 16. Bc2 Nc5 17. Rae1 a5 18. Bd2 Bd7 19. g5 Ng8 20. Nxe4 Qe8 21. Nxc5 dxc5
22. Rxf8 Bxf8 23. Qf3 Ne7 24. h4 Kg8 25. h5 Qd8 26. g6 Nc8 27. Ng4 Nd6 28. Nh6+
Kh8 {[#]} 29. Qf7 Nxf7 30. Nxf7+ Kg8 31. gxh7+ Kxf7 32. Rf1+ Bf5 (32... Qf6 33.
Rxf6+) 33. Rxf5+ Ke8 34. Re5+ Kf7 35. Bg6+ Kf6 36. Re6# 1-0

[Event "Berlin BSG"]
[Site "Berlin GER"]
[Date "1937.10.04"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Kurt Paul Otto Joseph Richter"]
[Black "Gustav Rogmann"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D01"]
[WhiteElo "2043"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "1937.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5 c6 4. f3 Qb6 5. e4 Qxb2 6. Nge2 e6 7. e5 Nfd7 8. Rb1
Qa3 9. Rb3 Qa5 10. Bd2 Qc7 11. Nf4 a6 12. Bd3 Be7 13. O-O O-O 14. Qe1 Re8 15.
Qg3 Nf8 16. Nh5 Ng6 17. f4 Bd8 18. Qh3 b5 19. g4 Qe7 20. g5 Bb6 21. Ne2 c5 22.
Nf6+ gxf6 23. gxf6 Qf8 24. Kh1 cxd4 25. Rg1 Nd7 26. Qh5 Nxf6 27. exf6 Ra7 {[#]}
28. Bb4 Bc5 29. Bxc5 Qxc5 30. Bxg6 fxg6 (30... hxg6 31. Rh3) 31. Rxg6+ Kh8 (
31... hxg6 32. Qxg6+ Kf8 33. Rg3) 32. f7 Rxf7 33. Qe5+ 1-0

[Event "Berlin-ch"]
[Site "Berlin GER"]
[Date "1925.02.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Kurt Paul Otto Joseph Richter"]
[Black "W Kretzschmar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D01"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "1925.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bg5 h6 4. Bh4 Bf5 5. f3 Nbd7 6. Nxd5 Nxd5 7. e4 Bxe4 8.
fxe4 Ne3 9. Qd3 Nxf1 10. Qxf1 g5 11. Bg3 c6 12. O-O-O Qa5 13. Kb1 Bg7 14. Ne2
Rf8 15. h4 f5 16. e5 e6 17. hxg5 hxg5 18. Rh7 Rg8 19. d5 cxd5 20. Nd4 Nf8 21.
Nxe6 Nxe6 22. Qxf5 Qb6 23. Qg6+ Ke7 24. c4 d4 25. Rxd4 Qxd4 26. Qf6+ Kd7 27.
Qf7+ Kc6 28. Qxe6+ Kc5 {[#]} 29. Bf2 Qxf2 30. Qd5+ Kb6 31. Qd6+ Ka5 32. b4+ Ka4
33. Qd7+ Kxb4 34. Qb5+ Kc3 35. Rh3+ Kd2 36. Qb2+ 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "King's Gambit Accepted"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "C33"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[PlyCount "4"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.06.27"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 {[#]} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.04.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Moody, Richard"]
[Black "Fritz 15"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A04"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.04.17"]

1. Nf3 (1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 (3. Bc4) (3. d4) (3. Nc3) (3. Be2) (3. Qf3)
(3. Bb5) (3. Qe2 Qh4+)) 1... g6 2. g3 Bg7 3. Bg2 e6 {(Part of Moody "Universal
System.") It's natural to assume that Black has dark-square weaknesses;
however, I have always been able to deal with them. if needed, by a timely f6
to contest a pawn on e5.} 4. d4 Ne7 5. e4 d5 {Challenging White's center in
this way is one of the pillars of Richard's Universal System.} 6. Nc3 b6 {
(I'd prefer 6.0-0.)} (6... O-O) 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 Nbc6 9. e5 {[#]} h6 10. b3
Bb7 11. Rb1 (11. h4 Qd7) 11... a5 12. a4 Na7 13. h4 c5 {I was pleased with my
game and thought I had the better side of equality. Based on Fritz's response,
it agrees. (Stockfish 10 gives White close to a +1, +/- .83.} 14. h5 (14. Ba3)
14... g5 {(Part of Richard's routine.)} 15. dxc5 (15. Ba3) 15... bxc5 {[#]} 16.
Nxg5 (16. Nh2 Nf5 17. Ng4) 16... hxg5 17. Bxg5 Nac6 (17... Qc7 18. f4 {
Stockfish 10 64 BMI2:1)} Bh8 ({Stockfish 10 64 BMI2:2)} 18... Nf5 19. Qg4 Kh7
20. Nxd5 Qc8 21. Nb6 Qc7 22. Nxa8 Bxa8 23. Qh3 Bxg2 24. Qxg2 Nc6 25. g4 Nh6 26.
Qf3 Nb4 27. Kf2 Rb8 28. c3 Nd5 29. c4 Nb4 30. Rbd1 Kg8 31. Bxh6 Bxh6 {[%eval
298,25]}) ({Stockfish 10 64 BMI2:3)} 18... Kh7 19. Qd3+ Nf5 20. g4 c4 21. Qh3
Nh6 22. bxc4 Kh8 23. cxd5 Rg8 24. Bxh6 Bxh6 25. g5 Rac8 26. Rb3 Ba8 27. Qe3
Bxd5 28. Nxd5 exd5 29. Bxd5 Qd7 30. c4 Bxg5 31. fxg5 Qg4+ 32. Kf2 Rxg5 33. Qe4
Rf5+ 34. Rf3 {[%eval 275,24]}) 19. Qg4 Kh7 20. Bf1 Nf5 21. Bd3 Qb6 22. Bxf5+
exf5 23. Qxf5+ Kg8 24. Be7 Qe6 25. Qxe6 fxe6 26. Bxf8 Rxf8 27. Nb5 Nc6 28. Nd6
Ba6 29. c4 Nd4 30. Kf2 Bg7 31. cxd5 exd5 32. Rbd1 Nc2 33. Rh1 Bxe5 34. Rxd5
Bd4+ 35. Kg2 {[%eval 240,25]}) 18. f4 f6 19. exf6 Bxf6 20. Rxe6 (20. Qg4) 20...
Bxc3 21. Qg4 Bg7 (21... Kf7 {Stockfish 10 64 BMI2:1)} 22. f5 ({Stockfish 10 64
BMI2:2)} 22. h6 Bc8 23. f5 Ke8 24. Rd1 Bxe6 25. fxe6 Qc7 26. Rxd5 Nxd5 27. Qh5+
Rf7 28. h7 Nd8 29. exf7+ Qxf7 30. h8=R+ Bxh8 31. Qxh8+ Kd7 32. c4 Qg6 33. Qe5
Qe6 34. Bh3 Qxh3 35. Qxd5+ Ke8 36. Qe4+ Kd7 37. Qxa8 Qxg3+ 38. Qg2 Qd6 39. Qd2
Nc6 40. Qxd6+ Kxd6 41. Be3 Nd4 42. Bxd4 cxd4 {[%eval 85,27]}) ({Stockfish 10
64 BMI2:3)} 22. Rd1 Bc8 23. f5 Ne5 24. Rxe7+ Qxe7 25. Bxd5+ Ke8 26. Bc6+ Kf7 {
[%eval 0,27]}) 22... Bd4+ 23. Kh1 Bc8 24. h6 Ke8 25. Rbe1 Bxe6 26. Rxe6 Ne5 27.
Qh3 Nf7 28. Qh5 Kd7 29. Bxe7 Qxe7 30. Rxe7+ Kxe7 31. Bxd5 Rae8 32. Kg2 Ne5 33.
Kh3 Kd6 34. Be6 Nd7 35. Qh4 Rh8 36. g4 Rxe6 37. fxe6 Kxe6 38. Qe1+ Kf7 {
[%eval 237,27]}) 22. Bxe7 Nxe7 {[#]} 23. Rbe1 (23. h6 $11) 23... Bc8 (23... Nf5
24. h6 $11 Nxh6 25. Rxh6 Rf6 26. Rxf6 Qxf6 27. Qd7 Qc6 28. Re7 Qxd7 29. Rxd7
Bd4+ 30. Kh2 Rb8 31. Rxb7 Rxb7 32. Bxd5+) 24. h6 Rf7 (24... Nf5) 25. hxg7 (25.
f5) 25... Rxg7 26. Qh5 Bxe6 27. Rxe6 Rh7 28. Qg5+ Rg7 29. Qh5 Rc8 30. Rh6 Kf8
31. Rf6+ {[#]} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Denver Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.04.28"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Rensch, Daniel"]
[Black "Fishbein, Alex"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B62"]
[WhiteElo "2388"]
[BlackElo "2456"]
[Annotator "Hess, Robert"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[EventDate "2016.06.06"]

{Rensch's Revelatory Return "Unretiring" is complex. People assume that
commentators can seamlessly transition from talking about chess to competing
in tournaments. After all, chess is chess! Yet, not knowing an opening line or
feeling uncomfortable in a middlegame structure can get you into an
unrecoverable position. In commentary, we have the luxury of backtracking! In
a special to this month's column, I include Rensch's insights.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Bb5 ({Far more common is} 7.
Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 b5 10. Bxf6 gxf6 {with Black's two bishops trying to
compensate for the compromised pawn structure.}) 7... Bd7 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. Qf3 {
[#] This was the only game in the tournament Danny prepared for. He spent time
on the 3 main moves (9...c5, 9...Qb6, 9...h6) and did not look at the game
continuation at all! So sure enough, Fishbein uncorked the sideline...} Qa5 {
"At this point I resolved to continue playing quickly, trusting the ideas I
had reviewed (even if it wasn't exactly the same line), and be aggressive.
Gonna be fun to be White in these positions anyway!"} (9... c5) (9... Qb6) (
9... h6) 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nb3 ({I often state that quality is more important
than quantity. The following greedy move is a clear demonstration:} 11. Qxf6
Rg8 {leaves Black with two open files and a new long diagonal to work with.
White may be fine, but practically it is far easier to play as Black here.})
11... Qg5 12. h4 {In the spirit of a true Sicilian, Rensch commits to castling
long.} Qh6 13. Nd2 Be7 ({In a blitz game,} 13... d5 {might be played without
hesitation. The move expands the center and opens up the dark squares. However,
a major drawback is that a sacrifice looms on d5 and the queenside becomes
loose.} 14. O-O-O O-O-O (14... Bd6 $2 15. exd5 exd5 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Qxd5 Ke7
18. Rhe1+ Be5 19. Qc5+ Kd8 20. Kb1 {is devastating with the king stuck in the
center.}) 15. Kb1 Bd6 16. Nb3 {when sacrifices on d5 are still in the air,
Qe2-a6 is scary, and Na4-c5 is another strong option.}) 14. O-O-O Kf8 {
Fishbein avoids the kingside in light of g4-g5.} ({The issue with something
like} 14... d5 15. Kb1 (15. exd5 $2 {is not timely here as it opens the c-file
for a rook and frees c6 for the bishop.}) 15... d4 16. Ne2 c5 17. g4 {is that
even if the attack does not immediately crash through, White has outposts like
c4 and h5. The dark-squared bishop remains a passive piece.}) 15. Kb1 Rd8 16.
g4 d5 17. Nb3 Bd6 {[#]} ({Since g5 was an idea without the pawn hanging on h7,
} 17... Rg8 {appears counterintuitive. Yet Fishbein desperately needed open
space for his pieces, so it was likely worth exploring moves with secondary
threats such as ...e5.}) 18. Ne2 {As a commentator, Danny gravitates toward
punishing tactics. As a player, he hesitated.} ({He spent a lot of time
looking at} 18. g5 $1 {which he was certain is winning, but did not find a
finishing touch and shied away. He analyzed} fxg5 19. Qe3 {The key idea.} Bf4 (
19... Rg8 20. e5 Be7 21. hxg5 Qxg5 22. f4 {with a clear initiative and control
over the game's vital squares.}) 20. Qc5+ Kg7 21. hxg5 Qg6 22. Rh6 (22. Rdg1 {
actually traps the queen with Rh6 next.} Kg8 23. Qe7 Bc7 24. Nc5 {saves the
queen but loses the bishop.}) 22... Qxg5 23. Rhh1 Kf6 {but couldn't quite
visualize a win here. Of course the engine spits out moves like Nd4 and Rde1
with a colossal advantage.} (23... Qf6 24. Rdg1+ Bg5 25. f4 (25. Qe3 {is even
better, but Danny's calculation is cooler!}) 25... Qxf4 26. Rxg5+ Qxg5 27. Rg1
{Was all spotted at the board. In his words, "Pretty sweet, right?"})) 18...
Qg6 19. Qe3 e5 ({If} 19... Qxg4 {Danny planned} 20. h5 {aiming to trap the
queen with Rdg1. Black's queen and king are both in trouble.}) 20. f3 {"At
this point, there's no reason not to play a little more solid. Black's f5
square, doubled pawns, weak king, etc. mean that the game should basically be
over. I had already calculated the key tactical response."} (20. h5 Qg5 21.
Qxa7 Bxg4 {needlessly complicates matters. It generally is not advisable to go
from a position where every move keeps the edge to one with intense
calculation and potential pitfalls.}) (20. exd5 cxd5 21. Rxd5 {walks into a
skewer and still is great for White!} Bc6 22. Rxd6 Rxd6 23. f3 {Ng3-f5 is just
one of many crushing ideas since Black can't coordinate.}) 20... d4 21. Nexd4
$1 {"His body reaction told me he didn't see this."} exd4 22. Rxd4 Be5 ({
Moving the other bishop does not help.} 22... Be6 23. Rhd1 Bxb3 (23... Ke7 24.
Na5) 24. Rxd6 Rxd6 25. Rxd6 Be6 (25... Ke7 26. Qc5) 26. h5 (26. Rd8+ $4 Kg7 27.
h5 Rxd8 {turns the tables.}) 26... Qg5 27. Rd8+ Kg7 28. Qxg5+ fxg5 29. h6+ {
and the rook on h8 falls.}) 23. Rd3 h5 $1 {The position appears resignable,
but Fishbein shows GM fighting spirit. He entices Danny to open some lines in
a position where Black can't do anything. The queen is completely out of play 
(and has been all game).} 24. gxh5 ({Danny had a chance to pounce immediately,
but only if he realized he did not have to win back his material immediately.} 
24. Nc5 Ke7 25. Nxd7 Rxd7 26. Rxd7+ Kxd7 27. Qxa7+ Ke6 28. Rd1 Bd6 29. f4 $1
Qxe4 30. f5+ Ke5 31. Qa5+ Kf4 32. Qd2+ Kxg4 33. Qxd6 {is winning. Even if
Black avoids getting mated, his pawns are awful.}) 24... Qxh5 25. Qxa7 Kg7 26.
Rg1+ Kh6 27. Rxd7 Qxf3 28. Rxf7 Rd1+ 29. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 30. Nc1 {Danny's thorough
calculation confirmed that there was no ...Bf4 because of Rxf6+ before he
played 24. gxh5.} Qe1 31. Rg7 Qxe4 32. Rg1 Rh7 33. Qc5 Rf7 34. Nd3 Qd4 ({
"I had seen a tricky way to get a good version of this endgame with} 34... Bd4
35. Qc4 Qd5 36. Rg6+ $1 Kh7 37. Qxd5 cxd5 38. h5 {which should be easily
winning for White."}) 35. Qxd4 Bxd4 36. Rg4 Rd7 37. c3 $2 {Danny's nerves got
the best of him. He fooled himself into believing that the f-pawn was more
dangerous than it was and that he needed to eliminate his opponent's bishop in
order to stop its progress. We tend to see ghosts when we haven't played for a
while.} (37. a4 f5 38. Rf4 Kg6 39. b4 {was straightforward.}) 37... Bxc3 38.
bxc3 Rxd3 39. Kc2 Rd5 40. a4 Ra5 41. Kb3 c5 {[#] "I had calculated the rook
ending to here, and felt that this should be winning. I knew that if I ever
trade the h for the f pawn, Black loses because the king cut off on the f-file
allows me to trade the a4 for c5 pawn and convert a simple Lucena. What I
didn't realize is I couldn't really FORCE him to trade the kingside pawns."}
42. Rg8 Kh5 43. Rh8+ Kg6 ({Putting up resistance. Black is completely lost
after} 43... Kg4 44. h5 Kg5 45. h6 Kg6 46. h7 Kg7 47. Rf8 Kxh7 48. Rxf6 Kg7 49.
Rf1 Kg6 50. Kc4 {"This was the type of idea I saw when I went for the rook
endgame. But again, as Fishbein showed, I couldn't really force the trade of f
for h."}) 44. h5+ Kg7 $1 45. Rb8 c4+ 46. Kb4 ({White's remaining pawn is not
fast enough; giving up both rook pawns does not get the job done.} 46. Kxc4 $2
Rxa4+ 47. Kd5 Rh4 48. c4 Rxh5+ 49. Kd6 Rh1 {holds a draw.}) 46... Rxh5 47. a5
Rh1 48. Rb5 {Danny was disappointed in himself, having let a completely
winning position slip into what is looking closer and closer to a draw. The
psychological elements began to play a part: his frustration caused him to do
everything to prevent his opponent from drawing rather than focus on his own
winning ideas. Slowing the f-pawn became the obsession.} ({White's passer is
too quick after} 48. Rb7+ Kg6 49. a6 Ra1 50. a7 f5 51. Kb5 f4 (51... Kg5 52.
Kb6 f4 53. Rb8 {the existence of the queenside pawns allows White to sacrifice
his rook for one and march his king to take the other.}) 52. Rb6+ Kg5 53. Ra6)
48... Ra1 49. Kxc4 Kg6 {[#] Here Danny buckled down and calculated. He won the
game by one tempo, so his technique did not need to be perfect to secure the
win. According to him, "sometimes winning a game twice makes it even more
meaningful."} 50. Kc5 $1 f5 51. c4 Ra4 ({Danny calculated} 51... f4 52. Kb6 f3
53. Rb2 Kg5 ({With Black's king so far from the queenside, swapping passed
pawns is good enough:} 53... Re1 54. a6 Re2 55. Rb1 f2 56. Rf1 Rb2+ 57. Kc6 Ra2
58. a7 Rxa7 59. Rxf2) 54. c5 (54. a6 {also wins.} Kg4 55. a7 Kg3 56. Kb7 f2 57.
Rxf2 Kxf2 58. a8=Q Rxa8 59. Kxa8) 54... Kg4 55. c6 Kg3 56. c7 Rc1 57. a6 f2 58.
Rxf2 Kxf2 59. a7 {all the way to the end.}) 52. Kb6 Rxc4 53. a6 Rc8 54. a7 Kg5
({An instructive ending where the king is cut off is} 54... f4 55. Kb7 Rf8 56.
a8=Q Rxa8 57. Kxa8 {Black can never push without losing the pawn, so White
will rush the king back into the action.} f3 58. Rb3 f2 59. Rf3) 55. Ka6 Ra8
56. Rb8 Rxa7+ 57. Kxa7 f4 ({Here the shouldering technique does not work,
since White is in time to corral the pawn.} 57... Kf4 58. Kb6 Ke3 59. Re8+ Kd3
60. Rf8 Ke4 61. Kc5 f4 62. Kc4 Ke3 63. Kc3 f3 64. Re8+ Kf2 65. Kd2 Kg2 66. Ke3
f2 67. Rg8+ Kf1 68. Rf8) 58. Kb6 Kf5 59. Kc5 Ke4 60. Kc4 Ke3 61. Kc3 f3 62.
Re8+ Kf2 63. Kd2 {All in all, a well-played game by Danny that helped him
claim the Denver Open title. One evident characteristic of his play, though,
was perfectionism as a means to offset rust. When out of practice, players
frequently seek out the safe move if they can't properly evaluate a variation
to its conclusion. Danny outplayed GM Fishbein, but he almost let the win slip
due to excessive caution and not trusting his instincts.} 1-0

[Event "Norway Chess 3rd"]
[Site "Stavanger"]
[Date "2015.06.24"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2773"]
[BlackElo "2798"]
[Annotator "Hartmann, John"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2015.06.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.07.13"]

{Tukmakov, 256-259} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2
O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Rd1 b6 10. b3 a5 11. Bc3 Bb7 12. Nbd2 c5 13. Ne5
cxd4 14. Bxd4 Nxe5 15. Bxe5 Qc8 16. Rac1 dxc4 17. Bxf6 $5 {[#] "In this line
of the Catalan, as in most of the others, White can, at the most, count on a
minimal advantage. Implementing it is problematical and depends on numerous
nuances. The unobvious exchange of his beautiful black-squared bishop for a
seemingly nondescript knight is one such."} Bxf6 18. Qxc4 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Qb7+
20. Qe4 $1 Rfb8 21. Rc6 Qd7 22. Rcc1 $1 Qb7 23. Qxb7 $1 Rxb7 24. Ne4 Be7 25.
Nd6 Rd7 {[#] "Such positions seem worse but appear quite defensible. The
problem is that up to a certain moment there appear to be no real threats, so
the weaker side doesn't need to look for only moves, but then, when they
suddenly find themselves in such a situation, the necessary concentration has
already been lost."} 26. Nc4 Rxd1 27. Rxd1 b5 28. Ne5 Bf6 29. Nd7 a4 30. Rc1 $1
axb3 31. axb3 Be7 32. Rc7 Rd8 33. Rb7 Bd6 34. g4 $1 h5 $6 35. gxh5 Kh7 36. b4
$1 Bxb4 37. Ne5 Rd5 38. Nxf7 Rxh5 39. f4 $1 Kg6 40. Ne5+ Kh7 41. Nf7 Kg6 42.
Ne5+ Kh7 43. Nf3 $1 Rf5 $2 44. Ng5+ Kh6 45. Kf3 Bd2 46. e3 b4 47. Nxe6 Rh5 48.
Nxg7 $1 Rxh2 49. Nf5+ Kg6 50. Ne7+ Kf6 51. Nd5+ Ke6 52. Ke4 Rh3 53. Rb6+ Kd7
54. Kd3 Bc1 55. Rxb4 Kd6 56. Kd4 {"This victory was achieved in Giri's
trademark style. "} 1-0

[Event "US Chess Final Four 2019"]
[Site "Marshall Chess Club"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Popilski, Gil"]
[Black "Stukopin, Andrey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D36"]
[WhiteElo "2598"]
[BlackElo "2673"]
[Annotator "Lawrence, Al"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[TimeControl "90/20:0"]
[WhiteClock "0:28:35"]
[BlackClock "0:20:14"]

1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:10]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:35]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} c6 {[%emt 0:
01:02]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} e6
{[%emt 0:00:16]} 5. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Nbd7 {[%emt 0:03:48]} 6. cxd5 {
[%emt 0:03:49]} exd5 {[%emt 0:04:32]} 7. Qc2 {[%emt 0:00:38]} Be7 {[%emt 0:09:
14]} 8. e3 {[%emt 0:01:17]} O-O {[%emt 0:03:17]} 9. Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:15]} h6 {
[%emt 0:06:25]} 10. Bf4 {[%emt 0:10:33]} Nh5 {[%emt 0:04:20]} 11. O-O-O {
[%emt 0:03:11]} Nxf4 {[%emt 0:02:31]} 12. exf4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} b5 {[%emt 0:03:
56]} 13. g4 {[%emt 0:05:53]} (13. Kb1) 13... b4 {[%emt 0:06:55]} 14. Ne2 {
[%emt 0:00:19]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 15. dxc5 {[%emt 0:03:32]} Nxc5 {[%emt 0:00:
17]} 16. Rhg1 {[%emt 0:00:56]} Nxd3+ {[%emt 0:11:56]} 17. Qxd3 {[%emt 0:00:05]
[#]} Bxg4 {[%emt 0:04:44]} 18. Ne5 {[%emt 0:05:38]} (18. Rxg4 Qc8+) 18... Qc8+
{[%emt 0:00:55]} 19. Kd2 {[%emt 0:00:10]} (19. Kb1 Bf5) 19... Bxe2 {[%emt 0:10:
26]} 20. Kxe2 {[%emt 0:00:28]} Bf6 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 21. Qxd5 {[%emt 0:05:12]}
Qf5 {[%emt 0:01:26]} 22. Nd7 {[%emt 0:25:55]} (22. Kf3 Rad8 23. Nd7 Qxd5+ 24.
Rxd5 Bxb2) 22... Rfe8+ {[%emt 0:01:24]} 23. Kf1 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Qxf4 {[%emt 0:
02:40]} 24. Nxf6+ {[%emt 0:05:04]} Qxf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 25. Qd4 {[%emt 0:00:
04]} Rad8 {[%emt 0:00:41] [#]} 0-1

[Event "US Chess Final Four 2019"]
[Site "Marshall Chess Club"]
[Date "2019.04.06"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Batitsta, Lazaro Bruzon"]
[Black "Reshef, Omer"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A11"]
[WhiteElo "2752"]
[BlackElo "2566"]
[Annotator "Sadorra, Julio; Lawrence, Al"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,118,29,26,26,-8,-14,-11,-11,-21,23,11,38,27,33,33,27,11,30,11,11,13,
38,48,50,50,64,31,61,58,51,44,84,90,67,83,82,75,108,114,117,109,109,103,128,
107,94,97,98,98,90,62,63,51,64,40,71,32,28,30,26,20,20,20,19,27,36,17,5,6,-3,0,
15,21,34,36,33,-16,-26,-26,-14,-26,-25,-38,-50,-50,-51,-56,-56,-56,-56,-56,-56,
-151,-129,-80,-77,-78,-65,-65,-65,-151,-65,-65,-65,-57,-46,-65,-41,-65,-65,-65,
-65,-65,-65,-65,-65,-65,-65,-65,-65] Before the second round against the
strong Webster team, my players and I came up with a surprise, solid line-up
of 2 GMs and 2 IMs. While all the games mattered, the game on board 2 became
the most important one to follow as it also gave us a chance to overcome the
favorites.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bf5 4. d3 h6 5. c4 {Lazaro is normally
an 1 e4 player and by choosing the Reti opening he conveys that he wants to
simply play for a solid edge.} c6 6. O-O e6 7. cxd5 cxd5 8. Qb3 Qb6 9. Qxb6
axb6 10. Nc3 Nc6 11. Nb5 Kd7 12. Bd2 Be7 {White has clearly gained an
advantage from the opening such as good squares for his pieces and slightly
better structure. The idea plan for White now should be to try to improve his
pieces and aim for the e2-e4 pawn break to open up lines for the g2-bishop.}
13. a3 Bg4 14. Rac1 Rhc8 15. Bc3 Bxf3 $5 {Black gives up the bishop pair to
eliminate a strong piece and to free up the c6-knight for counterplay.} 16.
Bxf3 Na5 17. b4 (17. e4 Nb3 18. Rcd1 Ra4 {The most important thing here is
that Black is OK due to his active pieces and the lack of open lines and
coordination for White's pieces.}) 17... Nc6 18. e4 d4 {Logically closing the
game for the knight, but White is still better due to his space, thus more
good squares for his pieces.} 19. Bb2 Ne8 (19... e5 {Unfortunately, trying to
shut down the light-squared bishop doesn't work due to} 20. Bg2 $1 {[%cal
Gg2h3,Gf2f4] The bishop cannot be contained!}) 20. e5 $1 {Activating the
bishop.} f6 {The only way to hold on to the d4-pawn.} 21. exf6 (21. Bxc6+ bxc6
22. Nxd4 fxe5 23. Nf3 Bf6 24. Rfe1 e4 $1 {Black can keep fighting for equality
due to this tactical idea} 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. dxe4 Rxa3 $11) 21... Bxf6 22. Rc4
Nc7 23. Nxc7 Rxc7 24. Re1 Rac8 25. Bd1 {White has successfully grown his edge
earlier into something more tanglibe; however, there's still work to be done
and Black can keep fighting.} Ne7 $1 {Improving the worst-placed piece
improves Black's entire position!} 26. Bb3 (26. Rxc7+ Rxc7 27. Bb3 Nd5 28. b5)
26... Nd5 27. h4 Kd6 28. Kg2 (28. Rxc7 Rxc7 29. b5) 28... b5 $1 {[%csl Rb2]
Black's main idea is to shut down the b2-bishop-- worsening a piece can worsen
the enemy's entire position, at least his possibilities!} 29. Rxc7 Rxc7 30. Kf3
e5 31. Ke4 Nc3+ 32. Kf5 Na4 33. Bxa4 bxa4 34. Rc1 {[#] This position looks
dismal for Black due to White's more active king and the winning bishop ending
that could arise, don't you think? But Omer found some deep resources in the
position. . .} Rf7 35. Kg6 Re7 36. f3 Re6 $1 37. Kf5 (37. Kf7 Re7+ $11 (37...
g5 $1 38. h5 (38. hxg5 Bxg5 {[%csl Rf3][%cal Re6f6,Rf6f3]}) 38... Be7 $36 {
[%csl Rf3][%cal Re6f6,Rf6f3]})) 37... g6+ {This is the defensive or
counter-attacking resource foreseen by Omer before playing Re7-e6!} 38. Kg4 $6
{White oversteps the bounds of equality here.} (38. Ke4 {looks scary at first
due to} Bxh4 $1 39. gxh4 Rf6 {but it's objectively equal after the forcing} 40.
Bxd4 Rf4+ 41. Ke3 Rxd4 $11) 38... h5+ 39. Kh3 Kd7 40. Kg2 Rc6 $1 {Now it's
Black who wants to go into a bishop ending as there's no longer any danger and
might be able to pressure White's queenside as well.} 41. Kf2 g5 42. Rxc6 bxc6
43. hxg5 Bxg5 44. Kg2 Ke6 45. Kh3 Kf5 46. g4+ {[#] Black to play This is the
part that got me and other UTD players on the edge of our seats. . .} hxg4+ $6
{Black gets a better position here but it won't be enough to win the game a.k.
a. Black has a symbolic advantage. With in all fairness, it's much easier to
play this move with a few minutes left on the clock.} (46... Kf4 {This is the
only way that leads to a win.} 47. Bc1+ (47. gxh5 Kxf3) 47... Kxf3 48. Bxg5
hxg4+ 49. Kh2 Ke2 50. Bf6 (50. Kg3 Kxd3 51. Kxg4 e4 $19) 50... Kxd3 51. Bxe5
Ke4 $19) 47. fxg4+ Ke6 48. Kg3 Kd5 49. Kf3 Bh6 50. Ke2 e4 51. dxe4+ Kxe4 52.
Kd1 Kd3 53. Ba1 {Fortunately for White, his bishop has enough squares to avoid
zugzwang!} Bg5 54. Bb2 Be3 (54... Kc4 {doesn't work due to the timely} 55. Bc1
$1 Be7 56. Kc2 d3+ 57. Kd1 Kb3 58. g5 {Now the only way to make progress is to
sac} Bxg5 59. Bxg5 Kxa3 60. Kd2 Kxb4 61. Kxd3 {but alas, it's a dead draw.})
55. Ba1 Ke4 56. Bb2 Kd3 57. Ba1 Bg5 58. Bb2 Bf4 59. Ba1 Bg5 {[#] Black cannot
make any further progress, thus a draw was agreed. With this strong draw, the
team was able to hold Webster and gain a boost in morale going into the last
round.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "US Chess Final Four 2019"]
[Site "Marshall Chess Club"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Darwin Yang, Darwin"]
[Black "Kamil Dragun, Kamil"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E49"]
[WhiteElo "2564"]
[BlackElo "2665"]
[Annotator "Yang, Darwin"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2r4/p4pkp/2p1N3/1p6/n3P3/P1PpBP2/3K2PP/1R5R b - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "14"]

19... fxe6 {[#] My opponent had lodged a pawn on d3 very early in the opening.
While the game had never gone too far from balance, it nevertheless seemed
quite an unpleasant task to try and grind out the defense. I saw an
interesting idea to quickly activate my pieces and liquidate the position.} 20.
Rhc1 {If White is able to play c4, then he has the advantage. c4 opens the
files for the rooks and exposes the d3 pawn to attack, for example by Rb3.
Black's reply is forced.} (20. Bd4+ Kf7 21. Kxd3 $2 {clearly fails to} e5)
20... Nb6 21. Bxb6 {I cannot let the knight get to c4 either.} axb6 {Black was
counting on this idea; the pawn capture opens up the a-file, forcing a defense.
} 22. Rb3 {This gives Black the time to play...} Ra4 {preventing c4 again. It
is possible that this is still a fortress for White; Black can push pawns and
harass along the two wings, but White's rook on the first rank can swing back
and forth as needed in addition to the d3 pawn needing to always be protected.
Nevertheless, I had no desire to enter such a protracted defense. Instead, I
realized I could use two things: the drawing tendencies of rook endings and...
my seemingly-sad rook on c1!} 23. Rb4 Rxa3 (23... Rda8 24. Rxa4 Rxa4 25. Ra1 {
and the tables are turned: Black loses his d-pawn.}) 24. Rd4 {The main idea.
If Black takes on d4, then the rook on c1 suddenly activates, gaining access
to the pawn on c6 and then all the other queenside pawns. Not trading, however,
entails giving up both the d3 pawn and the d-file, after which the d4-rook can
penetrate to d6.} Rg8 (24... Raa8 25. Kxd3 e5 26. Rxd8 Rxd8+ 27. Kc2 $11) 25.
Kxd3 Kf6 26. Rd6 {With the activation of my rooks, a lot of pawns are being
traded very quickly; despite mutual time trouble, the game steered fairly
quickly to a clear draw.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "US Chess Final Four 2019"]
[Site "Marshall Chess Club"]
[Date "2019.04.07"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Vasif Durarbayli, Yasif"]
[Black "Hovhannes Gabuzyan, Hovhannes"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B96"]
[WhiteElo "2705"]
[BlackElo "2696"]
[Annotator "Lawrence, Al"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[TimeControl "90+30"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:34"]
[BlackClock "0:28:10"]

1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d6 {[%emt 0:
00:00]} 3. d4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} cxd4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 4. Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:00]}
Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 5. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 6. Bg5 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 7. f4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qc7 {[%emt 0:00:00]}
8. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} gxf6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 9. Qd3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nc6 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} 10. Be2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Nxd4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 11. Qxd4 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} Qc5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 12. Qd2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:
00]} 13. O-O-O {[%emt 0:00:00]} O-O-O {[%emt 0:00:00]} 14. Kb1 {[%emt 0:00:00]}
Bc6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 15. Bg4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} h5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 16. Bh3 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} Bh6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 17. Rhf1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Kb8 {[%emt 0:00:
00]} 18. Qe2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} f5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 19. exf5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bg7
{[%emt 0:00:00]} 20. Ne4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Qb4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 21. f6 {[%emt 0:
00:00]} Qxe4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 22. Qxe4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bxe4 {[%emt 0:00:00]}
23. fxg7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rhg8 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 24. f5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rxg7 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} 25. fxe6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} fxe6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 26. g3 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 27. Rde1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bc6 {[%emt 0:00:
00]} 28. Be6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} h4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 29. g4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} h3 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} 30. Kc1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 31. Rf6 {[%emt 0:
00:00]} Kc7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 32. Re3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 33.
Rc3+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} Kd8 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 34. Bxd7 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Kxd7 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} 35. Rg3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Re6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 36. Rxe6 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} Kxe6 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 37. Kd2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:
00]} 38. Ke3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} b5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 39. c3 {[%emt 0:02:13]} a5 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} 40. a3 {[%emt 0:00:16]} b4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. cxb4 {[%emt 0:
02:41]} axb4 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 42. a4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} d4+ {[%emt 0:00:00]} 43.
Ke4 {[%emt 0:03:37]} Rf7 {[%emt 0:00:00] [#]} 44. Rf3 {[%emt 0:08:40]} Rg7 {
[%emt 0:00:00]} (44... Rxf3 45. Kxf3 Kd5 46. a5 e4+ 47. Ke2 d3+ 48. Ke3 Kc5 49.
g5) 45. Rg3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} Rf7 {[%emt 0:00:00] [#] Now, after 46. Rf3, the
ending is equal.} 46. a5 {[%emt 0:01:59] This move loses, but Gabuzyan has to
go for broke. Interestingly, there is another try to give Black a chance to
misstep.} (46. Rf3 Rxf3 $4 (46... Rg7 47. Rg3 $11) 47. Kxf3 Kd5 48. a5 e4+ 49.
Ke2 d3+ 50. Ke3 Kc5 51. g5 {Black's center pawns are hopelessly blockaded and
one of the two widely separated white runners will queen.}) 46... Rf4+ {
[%emt 0:00:00]} 47. Kd3 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Rf2 $1 {[%emt 0:00:00] The only move
to force a win.} 48. Kc4 {[%emt 0:00:58]} (48. b3 Kd5 {leads to a quick loss.})
48... Rxh2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 49. a6 {[%emt 0:00:43]} Rc2+ $3 {[%emt 0:00:00]
Again, the only winning move!} (49... Rxb2 50. Rxh3 Kd6 (50... Ra2 51. Rh6+ Kf7
52. g5 {is equal--but obviously dicey for either side.}) 51. a7 Rc2+ 52. Kxb4
Rc8 53. Rh6+) 50. Kb5 {[%emt 0:01:36]} h2 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 51. Rh3 {[%emt 0:00:
01]} d3 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 52. a7 {[%emt 0:01:21]} Rc8 {[%emt 0:00:00] Again,
the only winning move.} (52... h1=Q) 53. Rxh2 {[%emt 0:00:09]} e4 {[%emt 0:00:
00]} 54. Rh6+ {[%emt 0:03:40]} Ke5 {[%emt 0:01:13]} 55. Rb6 {[%emt 0:00:33]}
Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 56. Kxb4 {[%emt 0:00:28]} Rxa7 {[%emt 0:01:02]} 57. Kc3 {
[%emt 0:00:28]} Rc7+ {[%emt 0:00:07]} 58. Kd2 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Rc2+ {[%emt 0:
00:11]} 59. Kd1 {[%emt 0:00:00]} e3 {[%emt 0:00:24] [#]} 0-1

[Event "63rd ch-USA 2019"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2019.03.20"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Samuel Shankland"]
[Black "Ray Robson"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2667"]
[Annotator "Shankland, Sam"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. h3 Bh5 6. g4 Bg6 7. Ne5 e6 8. Nd2
Nbd7 9. h4 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Ne4 12. h5 Nxd2 13. Bxd2 Bd3 14. Qb3
Bxc4 15. Qxc4 Qd5 16. Qxd5 cxd5 17. Ke2 Be7 18. e4 O-O-O 19. Be3 Kb8 20. Kd3 b6
21. Rac1 Rd7 22. Rc2 Rc8 23. Rxc8+ Kxc8 24. f4 dxe4+ 25. Kxe4 Rc7 26. Rh2 Kd7
27. b3 Ke8 28. f5 Rc3 29. Kd4 Rc6 30. Kd3 Rc7 31. Rf2 Bb4 {[#]White has a nice
space advantage and good winning chances. I played a very thematic move that
looked strong, but in fact allowed Black a surprising saving resource.} 32. f6
$6 {The move is not that bad since I don't think White would have won against
best defense anyway, but it does allow Black to calculate a forced variation
that ends in a draw.} ({White did not need to rush and would maintain good
winning chances after the simple} 32. Ke4 $1 {The point is that if Black tries
to transpose to the game continuation with} Rc3 $2 {He will be hit by} (32...
Bf8 $1 {A passive move like this one keeps the position reasonably solid and
secures good drawing chances}) 33. h6 $1 {When something will fall.} g6 34.
fxg6 fxg6 35. Rf6 $1 {Black is powerfuless to stop the multiple threats of
Rf6xe6, Rf6xg6 followed by g6-h7, or Be3-d2.} Ke7) 32... gxf6 $1 33. exf6 Rc3+
$1 34. Ke4 Rxe3+ $1 {When Ray was trading all the pieces, I was sure the pawn
ending was winning. But he had seen a resource I had missed.} 35. Kxe3 Bc5+ 36.
Ke2 Bxf2 37. Kxf2 Kd7 38. Kf3 {Despite the protected passed pawn, Black will
routinely lose if White is allowed to get to e5 with his king. The lingering
threat of g4-g5-g6 making a passed pawn confines the black king to the
kingside and he cannot stop White from taking the queenside. This is a
textbook winning plan and this pawn structure is well known to be winning for
White. But Ray changed the nature of the game immediately by advancing his
protected passer.} e5 $1 39. Ke4 (39. g5 Kd6 40. Ke3 {[#]Black also
miraculously holds this position with} Kd7 $1 {He will simply shuffle Kd6-d7
forever and always meet Ke4 with Ke6. White cannot win.}) 39... Kd6 $3 {
This is the move I had missed. I had only counted on the king coming to e6,
but Black triangulates and loses a tempo to be on the right side of a
reciprocal zugzwang. I was very displeased to find out the position is drawn.}
({The natural} 39... Ke6 $2 {Would promptly lose. Following} 40. g5 {The pawn
moves on the queenside will exhaust themselves and Black will be forced to
allow Ke4-f5.} a6 41. a3 b5 42. b4 Kd6 43. Kf5 Kd5 44. g6 {I have an extra
tempo compared to the game, and White wins.} fxg6+ 45. hxg6 hxg6+ 46. Kxg6 e4
47. f7 e3 48. f8=Q e2 49. Qf2) 40. Kf5 {I tried racing with the pawns, but
Black is one tempo faster since I did not get g4-g5 for free as he shuffles
Ke6-d6.} ({If I tried to get g5 in, now and only now Black goes for} 40. g5 Ke6
$1 {When it will be White to move when the queenside pawn moves run out. He
should be careful not to lose even as Ke6-f5 is a real plan.} 41. a3 a6 42. b4
b5 43. h6 Kd6 44. Ke3 $11 {Black can't advance to d5 due to g5-g6, so the
position is drawn.}) 40... Kd5 41. g5 e4 42. g6 hxg6+ 43. hxg6 fxg6+ 44. Kxg6
e3 45. f7 e2 46. f8=Q e1=Q 47. Qa8+ Kd6 48. Qb8+ Kc6 49. Qc8+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "63rd ch-USA 2019"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2019.03.22"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Shankland, S."]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2663"]
[Annotator "Shankland, Sam"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qf6 5. Nb3 Qg6 6. f3 Nf6 7. Bf4 Bb4+ {
[#]} 8. Kf2 $1 {A strong novelty, and one that I think more or less busts the
early 4...Qf6 line.} O-O {And here I remembered the key position was with
White playing Bd3 and meeting Ne8 with with Nc3-d5, attacking the e7 bishop.
But I confused my move order.} 9. a3 $4 {I cannot possibly give myself enough
question marks for this move. White is immediately lost, as Jeffery
demonstrated.} ({Instead,} 9. Bd3 $1 {Leaves Black in a very bad way- his
position is somewhere between clearly worse and borderline lost. The point is
that Nh5 does not work and Black instead has to play Ne8.} Ne8 (9... Nh5 10.
Bxc7 $1 {And unlike the game, Black cannot trap my bishop so easily since} d6 {
Is well met by} 11. a3 $1 {highlighting the importance of leaving the bishop
on b4 for the time being. Black is in big trouble.}) 10. a3 Be7 11. Nc3 {
This is the position I had reached in my preparation, where White is much
better. It's extremely rare to get a position this good against a player of
Jeffery's calibur right out of the opening, which made it even more painful to
have lost the game in one move instead.}) 9... Be7 10. Bd3 Nh5 $1 {It was at
this moment I realized what I had done. Nh5 is not supposed to work, but here
it does because I was so unbelievably stupid to play a3 before Bd3, getting
his bishop out of the way. White's position makes no sense and he is
completely lost already. This was by far the most punishing preparation mix-up
of my career, going from much better to dead lost in one careless moment.} ({
I was expecting} 10... Ne8 {When I would get back to the position I had
analyzed after Nc3.}) 11. Bxc7 d6 {Without a bishop on b4 to harass with a2-a3,
White is just lost. My bishop on c7 is getting trapped and my king will soon
feel the pain of Be7-b4+. While Jeffery was obviously very lucky to get such a
winning position instead of a really unpleasant one, I have to give him
credit- he played very well to close out the full point.} 12. e5 Bh4+ 13. Kf1
Qh6 14. exd6 Re8 15. Nc3 Ne5 16. Nc5 {[#]} Nxf3 $1 {I wanted to resign already.
} 17. N3e4 (17. Qxf3 {would lose to} Re3 $1 {when I cannot stop a check on the
f-file form the queen.}) 17... Bg4 18. d7 Re5 19. Bxe5 Nxe5 20. Qd2 Qc6 21. h3
Bxd7 22. Nxd7 Nxd7 {Another excellent decision. Black keeps his queen on the
long diagonal is ready for f7-f5.} ({Taking with the queen would be much less
appealing. After} 22... Qxd7 23. g4 $1 {White is very much in the game}) 23.
Qc3 (23. g4 f5 $1 24. gxf5 Re8 {White is done for.}) 23... Qh6 24. g4 f5 25.
gxf5 Re8 26. Qc4+ Kh8 27. Rg1 Qe3 28. Rg2 Nf4 29. Rh2 Nxh3 30. Kg2 Nf4+ 31. Kh1
Qf3+ 32. Kg1 Qg4+ 33. Kh1 Qf3+ 34. Kg1 {[#]A final elegant move finishes the
game in style.} Bd8 $1 35. Rf1 Bb6+ 36. Nf2 Qg3+ 37. Kh1 Qf3+ 38. Kg1 Nh3+ 39.
Rxh3 Qxh3 40. Qf4 Nf6 41. Bb5 Re4 0-1

[Event "63rd ch-USA 2019"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2019.03.27"]
[Round "7.6"]
[White "Shankland, S."]
[Black "Liang, Awonder"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2590"]
[Annotator "Shankland, Sam"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 d5 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O b6 7. Bxd6 cxd6 8. c4
dxc4 9. Bxc4 Bb7 10. Nc3 Nc6 11. Rc1 Ne7 12. Bd3 Ned5 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. Qa4 a6
15. Nd2 b5 16. Qa3 Qb6 17. Rc2 e5 18. Qb4 exd4 19. Qxd4 Qxd4 20. exd4 Rfc8 21.
Rfc1 Rxc2 22. Rxc2 Kf8 23. a3 Ke8 24. f3 Kd7 25. Kf2 g6 26. Ne4 Nxe4+ 27. fxe4
Bb7 28. Kg3 Rc8 29. Rxc8 Bxc8 30. Kf4 f6 31. e5 Ke7 32. h4 Bd7 33. b4 d5 34.
exf6+ Kxf6 35. g4 Be8 36. g5+ Ke6 37. Be2 Kd6 38. Bg4 Bf7 {[#]I knew this was
a critical moment, and indeed White is winning. But the win is very difficult.
I thought myself from 19 minutes down to 2 and thought I found a solution, but
it was flawed. If this moment happened to have come 2 moves later when I had
more time, I'd have probably won the game.} 39. Bd1 $2 {Now it's a draw.} ({
The most obvious move was the correct one, but for very subtle reasons.} 39.
Bc8 $1 Be6 {And now White does not take the pawn, but rather waits for a move
with} 40. Bb7 $3 {Black now has to move his bishop, gaining White a critical
tempo.} (40. Bxa6 $2 Kc6 {White's bishop is lost and his pawns will not be
enough to win the game}) 40... Bh3 (40... Kc7 $2 41. Ke5) 41. Ke3 $1 Be6 42.
Bxa6 $1 {[#]White could have reached this position with the king on f4, but
then his bishop would be trapped by Kc6-b6. Here, the king on e3 is close
enough to the queenside that the bishop can be broken out with a3-a4 and
White's king is in time to stop the passed a-pawn.} Kc6 43. a4 $1 bxa4 44. Kd2
$1 {White wins.}) 39... Be6 40. Bc2 Bf7 41. h5 Be8 42. h6 {I thought bringing
my pawn to h6 should gaurantee victory. Black's king is stuck on d6 since
Kd6-e6 will always allow Bd1-g4-c8 when Black is not in time to stop it with
Bd7 due to the check on g4. And the threat of Bxg6 means Black's bishop must
permamently stay on f7 or e8. I thought now I can simply play a4, axb5, and
then put the bishop on d3. Black then can't move his bishop on pain or losing
a pawn.} Bf7 (42... Ke6 {Bringing the king to e6 loses routinely as after} 43.
Bd1 {Black can no longer stop Bd1-g4-c8 by means of Be8-d7.}) 43. a4 Be8 {
But here I realized with horror that the position is actually still a draw.}
44. a5 ({Following through with my plan does not gaurantee victory.} 44. axb5
axb5 45. Bd3 {[#]This is the zugzwang I was looking for. But I had always just
forgot about Kd6-e6 since it loses to Be2-g4-c8, taking the a6-pawn. But that
pawn has been exchanged! So, Ke6 is now a totally fine move, and White can't
win.} Ke6 $11) 44... Bf7 45. Bb1 Be8 46. Bd3 Bf7 47. Be2 Be6 48. Bd3 Bf7 49.
Bc2 Be8 50. Bd1 Bf7 51. Bg4 Be6 52. Bf3 Bf7 53. Bd1 Be6 54. Be2 Bf7 55. Bd3 Be8
56. Bf1 Bf7 57. Be2 Be6 58. Bd3 Bf7 1/2-1/2

[Event "63rd ch-USA 2019"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2019.03.24"]
[Round "5.5"]
[White "Shankland, S."]
[Black "Lenderman, A."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D53"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2637"]
[Annotator "Shankland, Sam"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. Rc1 dxc4 8. Bxc4
c5 9. Nf3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Bd7 11. O-O Nc6 12. Nf3 a6 13. Be2 Nh5 14. Bxe7 Qxe7
15. Ne4 Rfd8 16. Qd6 Qxd6 17. Nxd6 Rab8 18. Rfd1 Nf6 19. Rd2 Be8 20. b3 Kf8 {
[#]Black's position looks very flimsy. His pawns on a6 and b7 are under
pressure, his pieces are loose, and it feels like something should hang. But,
he is close to equalizing with Kf8-e7 next. I saw the most challenging move,
but for some reason did not pull the trigger.} 21. Kf1 $2 ({White has a
tactical shot at his disposal:} 21. Bxa6 $1 {I saw the best way for Black here
and realized it would be a draw. But the game continuation was a draw as well,
and this way would have forced Black to find the best moves.} bxa6 $1 (21...
Nb4 $2 {It might be tempting to try to grab the a2-pawn, but it allows White
to invade on the 7th rank.} 22. Bf1 $1 Nxa2 23. Rc7 $1 {Black is in a very bad
way}) 22. Nxe8 Rxd2 23. Nxd2 Rd8 $1 {A very important move. Black needs to
attack the knight on d2 before it can be defended by Rc2.} (23... Kxe8 $2 24.
Rxc6 Rd8 25. Rc2 $1 {Just leaves White with an extra pawn.}) 24. Nf1 Kxe8 25.
Rxc6 Rd1 {Black's activity should be enough to hold the draw without much
trouble. But would Alex have found his way here? He is a good chessplayer, he
certainly could have, but he also could have missed something. We will never
know. While Bxa6 would not have gauranteed me victory, it is a good example of
how I was not putting as much pressure on my opponents as normal. By contrast,
after the lame move I played in the game, Black holds with no effort.}) 21...
Ke7 22. Nxe8 Rxd2 23. Nxd2 Nxe8 {This Black will hold easily. Alex managed
with no stress at all.} 24. Ne4 Nd6 25. Nc5 Ne5 26. f4 Nd7 27. Nxd7 Kxd7 28.
Bf3 Rc8 29. Rxc8 Kxc8 30. Ke2 Kc7 31. Kd3 f6 32. g3 1/2-1/2

[Event "63rd ch-USA 2019"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2019.03.29"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Robson, R."]
[Black "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B77"]
[WhiteElo "2667"]
[BlackElo "2746"]
[Annotator "Shankland, Samuel"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2
Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rb8 11. Bb3 Na5 12. Bh6 Bxh6 13. Qxh6 b5 14. Nd5 Nxb3+
15. Nxb3 e5 16. Nxf6+ Qxf6 17. h4 Rb6 18. h5 Qe7 19. hxg6 fxg6 20. Qe3 Be6 {
Hikaru made the ambitious and risky choice to play the Dragon in such a
critical game. But you have to risk it to get the biscuit! And the risk paid
off. Black is comfortably equal now, and White's next move let him take over
the initiative.} 21. Rhf1 $2 {Too slow.} (21. Kb1 {A prophylactic move like
this one should maintain the balance.}) 21... Rc6 $1 22. f4 Qc7 $1 {All of a
sudden Black's pieces are springing to life. Black gains a tempo by
threatening the c2-pawn and is ready to launch a7-a5 next.} 23. Rd2 (23. c3 $2
{This shows why White needed to play Kb1.} b4 $1 {The pin is decisive.} 24. c4)
23... a5 $1 24. Kb1 a4 25. Nc1 b4 {[#]The position has changed a lot in the
last few moves. White's queenside is under assault.} 26. Rdf2 $2 ({Good or bad,
White had to get counterplay by throwing} 26. f5 {and hoping for the best.})
26... exf4 $1 27. Rxf4 Rc8 $1 {White cannot prevent a disaster on c2.} 28. Rf6
Rxc2 $1 {Anyway! Time is often more important than material in opposite side
castling situations.} 29. Rxe6 Qc4 30. Ref6 a3 $1 {White cannot prevent a
devastating breakthrough.} 31. bxa3 (31. b3 {Trying to avoid the pawn exchange
leads to a very pretty mate.} Rb2+ $1 32. Ka1 Rb1+ $1 33. Kxb1 Qc2+ 34. Ka1
Qb2#) 31... bxa3 {Rb2-b1 followed by Qc2-b2 can only be stopped by} 32. Qxa3 {
But now Hikaru cashes in, taking his piece back while keeping a lot of extra
pawns.} Rxc1+ $1 33. Rxc1 Qxe4+ 34. Kb2 Qe5+ 35. Rc3 Rb8+ 36. Kc2 Qxf6 {
Black is easily winning, and Hikaru put the game away in fine style.} 37. Rf3
Qd4 38. Rb3 Qe4+ 39. Kc1 Qe1+ 40. Kc2 Qe2+ 41. Kb1 Qd1+ 42. Qc1 Rxb3+ 43. axb3
Qxb3+ 44. Ka1 Qa4+ 45. Kb2 Qb5+ 46. Ka1 Qc5 47. Qd2 h5 48. Kb1 Kg7 49. Qb2+ Qe5
50. Qb7+ Kh6 51. Kc1 d5 52. Kd1 Qe4 53. Qb2 Kg5 54. Qd2+ Kg4 55. Qh6 g5 0-1

[Event "63rd ch-USA 2019"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2019.03.31"]
[Round "11.3"]
[White "Shankland, S."]
[Black "Caruana, F."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2828"]
[Annotator "Shankland, Samuel"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. e4 d5 7. cxd5 exd5 8.
e5 Ne4 9. Bd3 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 Nc6 {[#]At this point I was pretty happy with my
position, but it was only because I missed a key move.} 11. O-O $2 {I was
nearly certain that f7-f6 was coming and was very surprised by Black's reply.}
(11. Rd1 $1 {My computer suggests this move. White is probably better after}
Bg4 12. Qf4 Bxf3 13. gxf3 {Had I realized Black's plan was Bg4, I might have
figured this out. But given the form I found myself in, I wouldn't trust
myself not to mess this position up.}) 11... Bg4 $1 {Caruana was still
blitzing out his prep, but I was confused. White just looked better.} (11... f6
{My plan was} 12. Rae1 {When I would take White, but the position is very
messy.}) 12. Qf4 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 Nxd4 14. Qxd5 {[#]I had calculated this far
when I played e2-e4, and thought White was clearly better. He has good play on
the light squares, and Qd5-e4 comes next, followed by Rad1, f2-f4, etc. I went
to the bathroom and was unpleasantly surprised by what I found when I got back.
} Qxd5 $1 15. Nxd5 Bd8 $1 {Somehow I had missed this simple and incredibly
obvious move. White's activity looks impressive but he is not in time to make
anything of it as Black is soon to expel the knight by means of c7-c6 and he
will be totally fine. I was very annoyed with myself for missing this resource,
and even more annoyed that the position is immediately dead equal without much
chance for either side to outplay the other. Unsurprisingly the game was drawn
without much further discussion.} 16. Rad1 c6 17. Nc3 Bb6 18. Rfe1 Rfe8 19. Kf1
Rad8 20. f4 Ba5 21. g3 g6 22. a3 Bxc3 23. bxc3 Nb3 24. Kf2 Nc5 25. Bc2 Kf8 26.
Kf3 a5 27. Rxd8 Rxd8 28. Rd1 Rxd1 29. Bxd1 h5 30. Ke3 Ke7 31. Kd4 Ne6+ 32. Ke3
Nc7 33. Be2 b5 34. Kd4 Ne6+ 35. Ke3 Nc5 36. Bd1 Kd7 37. Bc2 Ke7 38. Bd1 Kd7 39.
Bc2 1/2-1/2

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "St Louis, MO USA"]
[Date "2019.03.31"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "Jeffery Xiong"]
[Black "Hikaru Nakamura"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A89"]
[WhiteElo "2663"]
[BlackElo "2746"]
[Annotator "Ramirez, Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]

{Hikaru presented the argument that this was a must win game: with a three-way
tie, Leinier Dominguez was the favourite against Timur Gareev, while Fabiano
Caruana did have an extra 100 points on Sam Shankland. Hikaru had to take
matters into his own hands.} 1. d4 f5 {Good old Hikaru! The Dutch might not
have the best reputation at the top level of chess, but it leads to
interesting an unbalanced games. Hikaru used to to great effect on several
ocassions in the past, but it had faded away somewhat from his repertoire.} 2.
Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Nc3 Nc6 (7... c6 {could be
considered the main line nowadays, but besides some rapid and blitz games by
Nepomniachtchi the line is largely abandoned.}) (7... Qe8 {is the old way of
playing, but nowadays it is even less popular than 7...c6}) 8. d5 Na5 9. b3 {
There are alternatives, but 9.b3 is a good move. Tactically, black cannot
exploit the weakness on the diagonal.} c5 (9... Ne4 10. Nxe4 Bxa1 (10... fxe4
11. Nd4 {and black will eventually lose that e4 pawn.}) 11. Neg5 {Practical
play has proven that Black's position is untenable. The computers also hate it
for Black, so there is no point in delving too much into the position. Black's
pieces are bad, White's are good, and Black will get mated somehow.}) 10. Bb2 (
10. Bd2 $1 {I find this paradoxical move quite annoying for Black. It is
mainly aimed at crippling the opponent's coordination based on the a5 knight,
but it also has some hidden ideas. For example:} a6 11. Rc1 Rb8 12. e4 $1 {
This move would not be possible with the bishop on b2.} fxe4 13. Ng5) 10... a6
11. Ng5 {Adventurous, and certainly with ideas, but the leap to g5 is, in my
point of view, the start of Jeffery's problems.} (11. Qd3 {transposes to some
old games, but the queen is probably better on d2 than on d3.}) (11. Qd2 Rb8
12. e4 {is still the way I like playing this position.}) 11... Rb8 12. Qd3 Qe8
13. Nd1 {Without a concise plan, Jeffery remaneuvers his pieces. The position
is quite complex as both sides have plans but no real way to execute them:
White would like to take control over the e6 square with his knights, Black
wants to blast open the b-file and utilize his pieces on that side. As we will
see, things are not so easy for either side.} b5 14. Qd2 Nb7 {The knight is
pushed back from the queenside, but on d8 it will have an important defensive
role.} 15. Ne3 Nd8 16. Nh3 {The knight wants to go to greener pastrues: on f4
it will be more stable and it will permanently threaten e6 as well as the
kingside. The caveat is that this is only true if White can prevent the g5
pawn push.} (16. h4 f4 $5 17. gxf4 h6 {is a big mess, but apparently not good
for White.}) 16... Bd7 {Hikaru slowly improves his position, keeping the
tension. White has not posed any threats or real improvements to his piece
placement yet.} 17. Rad1 {It isn't clear to me what the idea of this move is.
Black didn't want to break in the center at any point.} (17. Nf4 g5 {will
always give Black adequate play on the kingside.}) (17. Rab1 b4 (17... h6 {
might be a better idea.}) 18. a3 $1 bxa3 (18... a5 19. a4 {is not the position
you want in a must-win game with Black.}) 19. Bxa3 {And White is suddenly
happier than Black about the opening of the queenside.}) 17... b4 $1 {[#]
DIAGRAM. I really like this move. Hikaru foresees the a5-a4 break as a source
of counterplay. Despite how "simple" these last two moves were, Hikaru took
over 26 minutes to make them!} 18. Qc2 (18. Ra1 {Admitting your mistake is one
of the hardest things in chess.} a5 19. a4 bxa3 20. Rxa3 a4 {and the position
simplifies a bit, though Black is completely fine.}) 18... a5 19. Nf4 a4 (19...
g5 20. Ne6 {is disastrous for Black, so for now g5 is unavailable for Hikaru.}
Nxe6 21. dxe6 Bxe6 22. Nxf5 $18) 20. h4 {White has established his knight on
f4. Indeed, I rather love White's position if he can achieve the e4 break.
However, he is quite far away from that because in essence, his knight on e3
is trapped!} Ra8 21. Qb1 Ra6 {One of those grandmaster multi-purpose moves in
a closed position. The rook isn't hit by the g2 bishop on x-ray in case of a
trade on e6, the rook also protects d6 in case something compels Black to play
e5, and it poses the question to White on what his plan is.} 22. Bf3 Qf7 23.
Neg2 $6 {An inaccuracy when the position was already going downhill. The move
isn't great for two very different reasons.} Ng4 $1 {The strategical counter.
Black trades off the light-square bishop and starts operations all over the
board. Hikaru has to be careful that he has enough resources against White's
ideas, but his calculation has it all covered.} (23... h6 {This was the
tactical counter, taking advantage of the trapped bishop on f3, but it is far
from clean:} 24. Ne3 $1 {Going back is always difficult, but here it might be
necessary,oherwise g5-g4 wins a piece by trapping the bishop.} g5 25. hxg5 hxg5
26. Ne6 Nxe6 27. dxe6 Qxe6 (27... Bxe6 28. Nxf5 $16) 28. Rd5 $3 $13 {And White
seems to have counterplay based on the weaknesses on g5 and f5. Not sure that
this was in anyone's mind during the game, though, and I have a feeling that
both players missed the h6 resource.}) 24. Bxg4 fxg4 25. e4 {White's idea is
clear: If he successfully controls e5 he will be in a g ood position. That,
however, is not going to happen.} Bxb2 26. Qxb2 Qg7 27. Qxg7+ (27. e5 Nf7 28.
Nd3 Bf5 {And White's position simply does not hold.}) 27... Kxg7 28. e5 {
White achieves his desired break, but without queens it lacks a strong punch,
and Black's pieces simply dance around the ambitious expansion.} Bf5 {With the
dust settled, it is time to take stock. White is in trouble. It will be
impossible to prevent a rook from penetrating on the a-file at Black's desired
timing, while the center pawn on e5 cannot be held there (pushing it to e6
does not help the position - White needs some sort of counterplay). More
importantly for a practical game, it is difficult to come up with a useful
plan. Still, tacticallythings are not so easy. The e6 square is very weak and
Jeffery starts exploiting this.} 29. exd6 exd6 30. Rfe1 Nf7 {[#] DIAGRAM. The
knight jumps to its dream square: Once it reaches e5, Black's advantage plays
itself out. However, there is still one tempo until that happens.} (30... Kf6
31. Ne3 {still does not feel very clear.}) 31. Re7 $2 {A tough choice in some
time pressure, Jeffery misses his chance.} (31. Ne6+ Bxe6 32. dxe6 Ne5 33. Re4
$1 axb3 34. axb3 Rfa8 35. Ne3 {And Black still has the upper hand, but the e6
pawn is tricky to reach, g4 is sometimes hanging and bringing the king in is
not so easy:} Ra1 (35... h5 36. Kg2 {binds Black to the d6 square, for example:
} Ra1 37. Rxd6 Nf3 38. Nxg4 $5 (38. Nf1 $11) 38... hxg4 39. Rxg4 {and all
three results are possible.}) (35... Kf6 36. Nd5+ {and taking the e6 pawn
loses the exchange. This is the crucial trick. Even then White isn't winning,
but he shouldn't have any losing chances.}) 36. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 37. Kg2 Kf6 38.
Nxg4+ Kxe6 (38... Nxg4 39. e7 $18) 39. Re3 {with a likely draw.}) 31... Kf6 $6
32. Rb7 (32. Re6+ $1 {This pawn on e6 is worth that much.} Bxe6 33. dxe6 Ne5
34. Nd5+ Kg7 35. e7 {The pawn crashes through, though Black is still much
better:} Re8 36. Nc7 Raa8 37. Nxe8+ Rxe8 38. Rxd6 axb3 39. axb3 Nf3+ 40. Kf1
Rxe7 41. Ne3 Nd4 {but White at least has chances to hold this game.}) 32...
axb3 33. axb3 Rfa8 {Material is even, but White's position is hopeless. The
key difference is that b3 will fall within moves, and White simply cannot
create threats againt any meaningful pawn of Black.} 34. Ne3 Ra1 35. Kf1 Ne5
36. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 37. Ke2 Nf3 {The mating threats are cute, but they make the
conversion more difficult.} (37... Be4 $1 {Keeping the bishop alive speeds the
process up as the knight on e3 is particularly useless, not to mention that
Bf3+ might win something at some point.}) 38. Nxf5 Kxf5 39. Ke3 Re1+ 40. Kd3
Ne5+ {Move 40 is reached, and White's position is still unsalvageable. His
pawns on f2 and b3 are too far apart to be defended simlutaneously, but again
the main problem is the lack of a real threat at any point.} 41. Kd2 Ra1 (41...
Rb1 42. Kc2 Rf1 43. Nd3 Ke4 {would go into an obviously won rook endgame:} 44.
Re7 (44. Nxe5 Rxf2+ 45. Kd1 Kxe5 46. Rxh7 Rf3) 44... Kd4 45. Nxe5 Rxf2+ 46. Kd1
dxe5 {the d-pawn is insufficient counterplay, Black is just winning. However,
during a game sometimes you don't want to allow even this.}) 42. Ne6 h6 43. Rb6
Ra3 44. Kc2 Ra2+ 45. Kd1 Nd3 46. Rxd6 Nxf2+ 47. Ke1 Nd3+ 48. Kd1 Ke4 {Ke3 is
forced mate unless White defends against it.} 49. Nc7 Nf2+ 50. Ke1 Kd3 {
The difference of strenght in the pieces is enormous. The knight on c7 does
not have a job, and White is getting mated. It's interesting that Hiakru
finishes the game without touching the b3 pawn.} 51. Rxg6 Ne4 52. Kf1 Nxg3+ 53.
Kg1 Ne2+ 54. Kh1 Ke3 55. Rf6 Ra1+ 56. Kg2 Rg1+ 57. Kh2 g3+ 58. Kh3 Rh1+ {
The g-pawn promotes. An excellent victory by Hikaru, a game in which Black had
clearer plans and better ways of executing them, but was nonetheless filled
with nuances and details that were handled expertly.} 0-1

[Event "USA-ch (Women) 59th"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2019.03.22"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "2279"]
[BlackElo "2377"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3rk2r/pp1bbpp1/1qn1p3/2p1Pn1p/3pBP2/1PPQ1N2/PBNP2PP/R3K2R b KQk - 0 13"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "2"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2019 Update 24"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2019.04.08"]

{[#]} 13... c4 $3 {the beginning of trouble for Carissa} 14. Qxc4 Nxe5 $3 15.
Nxe5 ({doesn't help the matters much} 15. Qf1 {doesn't help the matters much}
dxc3 16. Bxc3 Bb5 17. Qf2 Bc5 18. d4 Nxf3+ 19. Qxf3 Nxd4 $19) 15... Bb5 {
[#] the queen is trapped!} 16. Bxf5 Bxc4 17. Nxc4 Qc6 $1 {the only move that
gives me winning advantage. White lacks coordination and has a weak king,
which makes the Black queen completely dominant against the three minors} 18.
Bh3 b5 19. Ne5 Qe4+ 20. Kd1 dxc3 21. Bxc3 b4 22. Bb2 Qxf4 23. Nc4 Bf6 {trading
her only good piece} 24. Kc1 Bc3 (24... Bxb2+ 25. Kxb2 Qf6+ 26. Kb1 (26. d4
Rxd4 27. Nxd4 Qxd4+ {during the game I didn't realize how strong this is} 28.
Kc2 Qc3+ 29. Kb1 g5 $19) 26... g5 27. g3 Qf2 28. Bf1 g4 $19 {White can't move
any of her pieces and can't defend against the threat of h4}) 25. Kb1 Bxd2 26.
Bxg7 Bc3 $1 {[#]} 27. Bxc3 (27. Bxh8 Bxh8 {grabbing the material doesn't help
White as she is completely paralyzed}) 27... bxc3 28. a3 Qf2 29. Rc1 O-O 30.
Ra2 Qc5 31. Ka1 Rb8 32. Nb4 a5 33. Na6 Qg5 34. Rxc3 Qf6 35. Kb2 Rbc8 36. g4
Rfd8 {both Rd2 and Rd3 are lethal.} 0-1

[Event "USA-ch (Women) 59th"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2019.03.22"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Yu, Jennifer R"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2451"]
[BlackElo "2273"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2nr3r/pp1q1pk1/4bppb/PPPp3p/3P3P/2N2N2/4BPP1/R2QK2R w KQ - 0 17"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "2"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2019 Update 24"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2019.04.08"]

{[#] I saw this position in passing and thought it must be lost for Black.
Jennifer felt that she would always have some kind of counterplay agaisnt the
h4 pawn} 17. b6 {I'm not sure this pawn push is the way to go. Perhaps Irina
thought that her opponent has no play of her own and she can take her time} (
17. a6 b6 18. c6 {I prefer this pawn structure for White}) 17... a6 18. Na2 Ne7
19. Nb4 Qc8 20. Ra3 Rde8 21. Rc3 {the battle is around the c6 square. White
would love to push c6 trading the c pawn with the a6 pawn, thus getting two
connected passed pawns} Bd7 22. O-O Bc6 {Jennifer has successfully stopped
White's idea, but her c6 bishop is a big pawn. In addition, one of her pieces
have to guard the bishop as she does not want to allow an exchange where she
has to recapture with the b pawn} 23. Ne1 Nf5 24. Nxc6 Qxc6 25. Nc2 {the
second knight joins the action. Irina sacrifices a pawn hoping to breakthrough
on the queenside} Nxh4 26. Nb4 Qe6 27. Bd3 Bf4 28. c6 $2 {rushed and doesn't
work tactically} (28. Bc2 {with the idea of Bb3 or Nd3 is much stronger. Black
still has to prove her counterplay on the king side}) 28... Bd6 29. Rc5 $6 {
when it rains, it pours. Irina either panicked or had too much faith in her
queenside pawns} (29. Nc2 bxc6 30. Rxc6 Bh2+ 31. Kxh2 Qxc6 32. Qd2 $13 {
was the better version of the exchange sacrifice, as it doesn't allow the
black queen to activate}) 29... Bxc5 30. dxc5 bxc6 31. Nxa6 Qe5 32. Nc7 $2 (32.
b7 {was a better try} Qg5 33. g3 d4 {threatening Re3, which forces White's hand
} 34. b8=Q Rxb8 35. Nxb8 Rxb8 {and unfortunately for White, her strong
queenside pawns will fall in addition to her king being vulnerable}) 32... Re7
33. Qa4 $2 {going to the wrong side of the board. The white king is completely
alone now} Qg5 34. g3 Nf3+ 35. Kg2 Ne1+ 36. Rxe1 Rxe1 37. Qf4 Qg4 $1 38. f3 Qd7
39. a6 Qe7 40. Qd2 Ra1 0-1

[Event "USA-ch (Women) 59th"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2019.03.30"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Zatonskih, Anna"]
[Black "Yu, Jennifer R"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D17"]
[WhiteElo "2430"]
[BlackElo "2273"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "2"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2019 Update 24"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2019.04.08"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 {last time Anna went for this line was in
2014.} dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Qc7 8. g3 e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Bf4
Nfd7 11. Bg2 f6 12. O-O {So far, both players are following theory. Anna has
never played this line before, but her husband GM Daniel Fridman has. Anna had
mentioned that Daniel just finished played in the European Championship and
was available to prepare her for this game. I think this position suits
Jennifer's style better than Anna's.} (12. Ne3 Be6 13. O-O O-O-O {happened in
the game between Zhukova-Yu during the last round of the 2018 Olympiad. The
painful lost that cost Jennifer the gold medal on her board served her well
for this game}) 12... Rd8 13. Qc1 Be6 14. Ne4 Bb4 15. Rd1 O-O {The players
blitzed out the opening moves to reach this position. Anna takes her first
deep think} 16. Rd4 (16. a5 {was tried by Shankland in 2014 with the idea of
now allowing Black to stabilize the bishop on b4}) 16... a5 17. h4 Nc5 {
the critical moment of the game as White has a lot of options [#]} 18. Rxd8 (
18. Nxe5 {leads to crazy complications} Nb3 {only move} (18... Rxd4 19. Nxc5
Bxc5 20. Nd3 $1 {winning a piece} Rxf4 $18) (18... fxe5 19. Rxb4 $1 {all of
Black's moves drop some material} axb4 (19... Nxe4 20. Rxe4 exf4 21. Rxe6 $18)
(19... Nb3 20. Rxb3 Bxb3 21. Bd2 $18) 20. Nxc5 $18) 19. Nxc6 $1 {the engine
points the way, but over the board these are extremely difficult moves to find}
Qxc6 (19... Nxc1 20. Bxc7 Nxe2+ 21. Kh2 Rxd4 22. Nxd4 Nxd4 23. Rd1 {with
chances for both sides}) 20. Qxc6 bxc6 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Rb1 Nd4 $13) 18...
Qxd8 {this move must have really startled Anna as she spent another 30 minutes
here after spending 14 minutes on the previous move. Sometime we have these
blindspots where we assume a move isn't possible and move on, without much
objectivity behind these assumptions.} 19. Nxc5 Bxc5 20. Nxe5 {[#]} Bxf2+ $1 {
what an unpleasant surprise for Anna! She must have expected} (20... fxe5 {
and after} 21. Be3 {the game remains balanced}) 21. Kh2 {only move at this
point} (21. Kxf2 fxe5 {White's kingside will fall apart after the pawn
recapture on f4. For example.} 22. Kg1 exf4 23. gxf4 Qxh4 {it's hard to
imagine the king will survive this}) 21... fxe5 22. Bxe5 Bd4 23. Bf4 Qb6 24.
Qc2 Bb3 25. Qc1 $2 {Anna had a chance to salvage the game but she was probably
already low on time} (25. Qd3 {Anna probably rejected this move because of} Rd8
{but} 26. Bc7 $3 {saves the game tactically} Qxc7 27. Qxb3+ {the resulting
opposite color bishop position is still very pleasant for Black, but it gives
White excellent defensive chances}) 25... Qb4 26. Bd2 Qd6 27. Bf4 Qb4 {always
repeat the position once!} 28. Bd2 Qe7 29. Bc3 Be3 30. Qe1 Bf2 31. Qd2 Bxg3+ $3
{mate is coming [#]} 32. Kxg3 Qc7+ 33. Kg4 Be6+ 0-1

[Event "Varna ol (Men) fin-A"]
[Site "Varna BUL"]
[Date "1962.10.07"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Boris Spassky"]
[Black "Larry Melvyn Evans"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E81"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 c6 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 b5 8. O-O-O
bxc4 {[#]} 9. Bxc4 O-O 10. h4 d5 (10... h5) 11. Bb3 dxe4 12. h5 exf3 (12...
Nxh5) 13. hxg6 hxg6 (13... fxg2 14. gxh7+ (14. Bxf7+) 14... Kh8 15. Qxg2) 14.
Bh6 fxg2 15. Rh4 Ng4 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qxg2 Nh6 (17... Ne3 18. Qh2 Nxd1 19.
Rh7+ Kg8 (19... Kf6 20. Qe5#) 20. Rh8+ Kg7 21. Qh6+ Kf6 22. Ne4+ Kf5 23. Ng3+
Kf6 (23... Kg4 24. Qh4#) 24. Nh5+ Kf5 25. Qf4#) 18. Nf3 Nf5 19. Rh2 Qd6 (19...
Ne3 20. Qh1) (19... e6) 20. Ne5 Nd7 (20... Nxd4 21. Qg5) 21. Ne4 Qc7 (21... Qb4
) 22. Rdh1 Rg8 23. Rh7+ Kf8 24. Rxf7+ Ke8 25. Qxg6 Nxe5 (25... Rxg6 26. Rh8+)
26. Rf8+ Kxf8 (26... Kd7 27. Nc5# (27. Be6#) (27. Qe8#)) 27. Qxg8# 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM I"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/6k1/3p4/8/5KP1/5Q2/4q3 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{[#]} 1... Qe4# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM II"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/1nP3B1/1K6/8/q2Q4/6k1/4b3 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]

{[#]}  0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM III"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2q5/8/8/3N4/5K1n/6Q1/3k4/8 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{[#]} 1... Qf5# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM IV"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/4B3/8/4k3/4b3/1q6/2rRQ3/2NK4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Rxc1+ 2. Kxc1 Qb1# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM V"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/1b6/4n3/5k2/2P5/2Q1Pr2/3K4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Rf1+ 2. Kd2 Be3# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM VI"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/8/8/4n2r/2PKPk2/2RQ4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{[#]} 1... Nc4# 0-1

[Event "GRENKE Chess Classic"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.04.22"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2693"]
[BlackElo "2845"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "147"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.05.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. c3 O-O 7. d4 Ba7 8. dxe5
Nxe4 9. Bc2 d5 10. exd6 Nxd6 11. Bg5 f6 12. Bf4 g5 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. Qxd6 cxd6
15. Nbd2 g4 16. Nh4 d5 17. Nf5 d4 18. Nc4 Bxf5 19. Bxf5 h5 20. Rad1 Rfd8 21. a4
Ne7 22. Be6+ Kg7 23. Rfe1 f5 24. Na5 Rab8 25. Kf1 Kf6 26. Bb3 Ng6 27. Re6+ Kg5
28. g3 dxc3 29. bxc3 Rxd1+ 30. Bxd1 Rd8 31. f4+ gxf3 32. Bxf3 h4 33. Nc4 hxg3
34. hxg3 Bb8 35. Kg2 b5 36. axb5 axb5 37. Ne3 Rd2+ 38. Kh3 {[#]} Rd3 (38... f4
39. Nf1 Rf2 (39... Rd3 40. Rxg6+) 40. Be4 Ne5 41. gxf4+ Rxf4 (41... Kxf4 42.
Rf6+) 42. Re8 Bd6 43. Rg8+) 39. Be2 (39. Bc6 Rxc3 {[#]} 40. Be8 Nf8 41. Re7 b4
42. Rg7+ Kf6 (42... Kh6 43. Nxf5#) 43. Rf7+ Ke5 44. Re7+ (44. Rxf8 Rxe3 45. Bd7
Bd6 46. Re8+) 44... Ne6 45. Bf7 Rxe3 46. Rxe6+ Kd4 47. Rxe3 Kxe3) 39... Rxc3
40. Bxb5 f4 41. Be8 Nf8 42. Rb6 {[#]} Be5 (42... fxe3 43. Rxb8 e2 44. Rb1 Re3
45. Re1 Rxe8 46. Kg2) 43. Nf1 (43. gxf4+ Kxf4) 43... fxg3 44. Rc6 Ra3 45. Rb6 (
45. Rc4 Ne6 46. Rg4+ Kf6 47. Nxg3 Nf4+ (47... Ke7 48. Bb5 Nf4+ 49. Kh2 Nh5 50.
Re4) 48. Kh4 Ke7 49. Nh5 Ne6 (49... Rh3+ 50. Kg5 Ne6+ 51. Kf5)) 45... Ra2 46.
Rb4 (46. Nxg3 Ra3) 46... Ne6 47. Rg4+ Kf6 48. Bc6 g2 49. Bxg2 (49. Rxg2 Nf4+)
49... Nf4+ 50. Rxf4+ Bxf4 51. Bf3 Bb8 52. Ng3 Kg5 53. Ne2 Bc7 54. Kg2 Kh4 55.
Kf2 Bb6+ 56. Ke1 Be3 57. Kd1 Kg5 58. Be4 Kf6 59. Bf3 Ke5 60. Bg2 Kd6 61. Be4
Kc5 62. Bf5 Rd2+ 63. Ke1 Rd8 64. Be4 Kc4 65. Kf1 (65. Ng3 Rg8 66. Nf5) 65...
Rf8+ 66. Ke1 (66. Kg2 Rf2+) 66... Bf2+ 67. Kd2 Rd8+ 68. Kc2 Be3 69. Bf3 Rd2+
70. Kb1 Kb3 71. Nc1+ Ka3 72. Ne2 Rb2+ 73. Ka1 Rb8 74. Be4 0-1

[Event "63rd ch-USA 2019"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2019.03.30"]
[Round "10.6"]
[White "Gareyev, Timur"]
[Black "Robson, Ray"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2557"]
[BlackElo "2667"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]
[SourceDate "2019.05.01"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nbd2 Bf5 5. Nh4 Be4 6. Qb3 Qb6 7. f3 Qxb3 8.
Nxb3 Bc2 9. Bd2 h6 10. g4 e6 11. Rc1 Bxb3 12. axb3 Be7 13. Ng2 Nbd7 14. e3 e5
15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Kf2 Ned7 17. Bc3 O-O 18. Nf4 Nc5 19. h4 Ne6 20. g5 hxg5 21.
hxg5 Nxg5 22. Bd3 Ne6 {[#]} 23. Bxf6 gxf6 (23... Bxf6 24. Bh7+ Kh8 25. Bf5+ Kg8
26. Nxe6 fxe6 27. Bxe6+ Rf7 28. cxd5) 24. Bh7+ Kg7 25. Nxe6+ (25. Rcg1+ Ng5)
25... fxe6 26. Rcg1+ Kf7 27. Bg6+ 1-0

[Event "Russian Premier League"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.05.01"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Artemiev, Vladislav"]
[Black "Bocharov, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2754"]
[BlackElo "2568"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]
[SourceDate "2019.05.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Nbd2 d5 6. Bg2 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. b3
Nbd7 9. e4 dxe4 10. Ng5 Be7 11. Ndxe4 Rb8 12. a4 Bb7 13. Be3 h6 14. Nxf6+ Bxf6
15. Bxb7 Bxg5 16. Bc6 Bxe3 17. fxe3 Qe7 18. b4 Rbd8 19. Qb3 e5 20. b5 Nf6 21.
Qc3 Ng4 22. Rae1 Qg5 23. Kg2 h5 24. Rf3 h4 25. h3 Nh6 26. dxe5 Nf5 27. g4 Ng3
28. Bd5 Rde8 29. a5 Qxe5 30. Qxe5 Rxe5 31. e4 g6 32. Rf6 Kg7 33. Rc6 Re7 34. e5
Kh6 35. Rf6 Kg5 36. a6 Rd7 37. Re3 Re7 38. Rff3 Kh6 39. Kf2 Kg5 40. Ke1 Kh6 41.
Kd2 Rd8 42. Kc2 Rdd7 {[#]} 43. Bxf7 Rxf7 44. e6 Rxf3 45. exd7 Rxe3 (45... Rf8
46. Re8) 1-0

[Event "Portland Chess League"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.01.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Avi Gupta"]
[Black "Kabir Rathore Muthu"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C06"]
[Annotator "Gupta, Avi"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.06.06"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Qb6 7. Ne2 Nc6 8. Nf3
Be7 9. O-O {Theory. Though the development of the knight to e2 may look
awkward, it’s useful to free up the f3 square for the d2 knight.} f6 $2 {
[#] Here, I took a long think, and eventually settled on an aggressive move.}
10. Nf4 $1 {This is my best move! Black’s premature pawn push weakened e6,
forcing an opening of the center for which his uncastled king is unready.} fxe5
(10... Nf8 11. dxc5 Qxc5 12. Be3 Qa5 {looks scary.}) 11. Nxe6 Bf6 12. Nfg5 e4
13. Re1 (13. Nxg7+ $3 {I missed this, but it wins immediately.} Bxg7 14. Qh5+
Kd8 15. Ne6+) 13... cxd4 14. cxd4 Nf8 15. Nf4 {Seeing that I would regain the
piece, I coordinated my attackers more effectively.} Bxg5 16. Nxd5 Qd8 17. Qh5+
g6 18. Qxg5 Qxg5 19. Bxg5 Ne6 20. Rxe4 Kf7 21. Be3 Bd7 22. Nc3 Rhe8 $4 23. d5
1-0

