[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 (28. Bxg6 hxg6 (28... fxg6 29. Rxg6+ hxg6 (29... Kf7 30. Rg7+) 30. Rg3)
29. Rh3 (29. Rxg6+ fxg6 30. Qxg6+)) 28... 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 "Ventnor City"]
[Site "Ventnor City, NJ USA"]
[Date "1941.07.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Albert Pinkus"]
[Black "Robert Durkin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C13"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "1941.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 b6 7. Bg5 Bb7 8.
Qe2 Be7 9. Bxf6 Nxf6 10. O-O O-O 11. c4 Qc8 12. Rad1 Rd8 13. Ng3 Bf8 14. Ne5 c5
15. Nh5 Ne8 16. Nf4 g6 17. dxc5 Qxc5 18. Nxf7 Kxf7 19. Bxg6+ (19. Nxe6 Qe7 20.
Nxd8+) 19... hxg6 20. Qxe6+ Kg7 21. Qxg6+ Kh8 22. Qf7 {[#]} Be4 (22... Bg7 23.
Ne6 Qc6) 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Ne6 Nd6 25. Qf6+ 1-0

[Event "Ventnor City"]
[Site "Ventnor City, New Jersey USA"]
[Date "1942.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Jeremiah F Donovan"]
[Black "Sidney Norman Bernstein"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C86"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "1942.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Qe2 O-O 8. c3
d5 9. d3 d4 10. cxd4 Bg4 11. d5 Nd4 12. Qd1 Nh5 13. Be3 Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 Bh3 15.
Re1 Bg5 16. Kh1 Bf4 17. Bxf4 Nxf4 18. Rg1 Qh4 19. Qd2 Rad8 20. Nc3 Rd6 21. Nd1
Bd7 22. Ne3 {[#]} Qxh2+ 23. Kxh2 Rh6+ 24. Kg3 Rh3# 0-1

[Event "Ventnor City"]
[Site "Ventnor City"]
[Date "1945.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Anthony Santasiere"]
[Black "Robert Eugene Byrne"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C36"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "1945.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 d5 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. Nxd5 Qxd5 7. d4 Bd6 8.
c4 Qe4+ 9. Kf2 Bf5 10. c5 Be7 11. Bb5+ c6 12. Bc4 Qc2+ (12... Be6 13. Re1 Qg6
14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. Qb3) 13. Qxc2 Bxc2 14. Re1 f6 15. Bxf4 Kd7 16. Re2 Bg6 17.
Rae1 Re8 18. Nh4 Bh5 19. Be6+ Kd8 20. g4 {[#]} f5 21. Nxf5 Bxg4 22. Nxe7 Bxe2
23. Rxe2 Na6 (23... Rxe7 24. Bg5) (23... Kxe7 24. Bc8+ Kf7 25. Rxe8 Kxe8 26.
Bxb7) 24. Bd6 Nc7 25. Bf7 Rh8 26. d5 Nb5 27. dxc6 Nxd6 28. cxd6 Rf8 29. cxb7
1-0

[Event "Ventnor City"]
[Site "Ventnor City"]
[Date "1942.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Louis Levy"]
[Black "Albert Pinkus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D60"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "1942.??.??"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. c4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8.
Bxe7 Qxe7 9. e4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 e5 11. Bd3 f5 12. O-O fxe4 13. Bxe4 exd4 14. Re1
Qf6 15. cxd4 c6 16. a4 g6 17. a5 Qd6 18. Qc2 Kg7 19. a6 Nf6 20. axb7 Bxb7 21.
Qb3 Rf7 22. Ne5 Re7 23. Qg3 Nxe4 24. Rxe4 a5 {[#]} 25. Nxg6 1-0

[Event "Ventnor City"]
[Site "Ventnor City, NJ USA"]
[Date "1941.07.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Sidney Norman Bernstein"]
[Black "Ariel Mengarini"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A53"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "1941.07.05"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. d4 Nc6 4. g3 Bg4 5. Bg2 e5 6. d5 Ne7 7. O-O Qd7 8. Qb3
b6 9. Nc3 Ng6 10. Qb5 Be7 11. Be3 O-O 12. Qxd7 Nxd7 13. Ne1 f5 14. f3 Bh5 15.
Nd3 Bf6 16. Bh3 Ne7 17. g4 e4 18. Nf4 Bxc3 19. bxc3 fxg4 20. fxg4 Bf7 21. Bd4
c5 22. dxc6 Nxc6 23. g5 Nce5 24. Ne6 Rfc8 25. Nxg7 Kxg7 26. Bxd7 Rxc4 27. Bb5
Rc7 28. Rf6 Rd8 {[#]} 29. Rxd6 Rxd6 30. Bxe5+ 1-0

[Event "Ventnor City"]
[Site "Ventnor City, NJ USA"]
[Date "1941.07.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Weaver Warren Adams"]
[Black "Robert Durkin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C24"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "1941.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. Qe2 Be7 5. f4 d5 6. exd5 exf4 7. dxc6 Nxc6 8.
Bxf4 O-O 9. Nc3 Re8 10. O-O-O Bg4 11. Nf3 Nd4 12. Qf1 Bb4 13. Bd2 Qb6 14. Nd5
Nxd5 15. Bxd5 Ne2+ 16. Kb1 Bxd2 17. Bxf7+ Kxf7 18. Rxd2 Qe3 19. Ne5+ Kg8 20.
Nc4 Qe7 21. Qf2 b5 22. Na5 Rf8 23. Qe1 Rae8 24. Ka1 Qc7 25. Nb3 a5 26. Nc1 Nd4
27. Qg3 Nxc2+ 28. Rxc2 Qxc2 29. Qxg4 Rf2 30. Qd4 Rc8 31. a3 b4 32. axb4 axb4
33. Qxb4 {[#]} Rd2 (33... Ra8+ 34. Na2 Qxd3 35. Qe1 Qb3 36. Qb1 Rf6) 34. Qa3
Rd1 35. Rxd1 Qxd1 36. Qb3+ Qxb3 37. Nxb3 Kf7 38. Kb1 Ke6 39. Nd2 Kd5 40. Nf3
Rc7 41. b3 Re7 42. Kc2 Re2+ 43. Kc3 Rxg2 44. b4 Rf2 45. Nd4 Rxh2 46. b5 Rh1 47.
Nb3 g5 48. Kb4 Rb1 0-1

[Event "Ventnor City"]
[Site "Ventnor City"]
[Date "1945.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Robert Eugene Byrne"]
[Black "Matthew Green"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B04"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "1945.??.??"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Nb6 5. Bd3 Bg4 6. exd6 cxd6 7. h3 Bh5 8.
O-O e6 9. Nbd2 Nc6 10. c3 Be7 11. Re1 d5 12. Qe2 Qc7 13. Nf1 Bd6 14. Bd2 O-O-O
15. Qe3 Bg6 16. a4 Ne7 17. b3 Kb8 18. Rec1 Nf5 19. Qe2 Bf4 20. a5 Nc8 21. a6
Bxd2 22. N1xd2 Nb6 23. axb7 f6 24. Bxf5 exf5 25. c4 dxc4 26. bxc4 f4 27. c5 Nd5
{[#]} 28. Rxa7 Kxa7 (28... Qc6 29. Rca1) 29. Ra1+ Kb8 30. Ra8+ Kxb7 31. Qa6#
1-0

[Event "Ventnor City"]
[Site "Ventnor City"]
[Date "1945.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Martin Charles Stark"]
[Black "Robert Eugene Byrne"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D29"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "1945.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. Qe2 b5 8. Bb3
Bb7 9. Rd1 Nbd7 10. a4 Be7 11. dxc5 O-O 12. c6 Bxc6 13. Ne5 Qc7 14. Nxc6 Qxc6
15. Bd2 Nc5 16. axb5 axb5 17. Rxa8 Rxa8 18. Bc2 Nfe4 19. Qf3 Rc8 20. Be1 f5 21.
Nd2 Bf6 22. Nxe4 fxe4 23. Qe2 Bxb2 24. Bxe4 Nxe4 25. Qxb2 Qc2 26. Qe5 Nc5 27.
Ra1 Qf5 28. Qxf5 exf5 29. g4 fxg4 {[#]} 30. Rc1 Rc7 31. Ba5 Ra7 32. Bb6 Nb3 33.
Rc8+ 1-0

[Event "Ventnor City"]
[Site "Ventnor City, NJ USA"]
[Date "1939.07.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Olaf Ulvestad"]
[Black "Anthony Santasiere"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B24"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "143"]
[EventDate "1939.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nge2 e6 6. d3 Nge7 7. Be3 Nd4 8. a3
d5 9. Qc1 O-O 10. Nf4 dxe4 11. dxe4 Bd7 12. O-O Qc7 13. Kh1 Nec6 14. Nd3 Ne5
15. Nxe5 Qxe5 16. f4 Qc7 17. e5 Bc6 18. Ne4 Rfd8 19. Rf2 b6 20. Qe1 Rd7 21. Rd2
Rad8 22. Bf2 Qb7 23. h4 Qa8 24. Rb1 Nf3 25. Bxf3 Rxd2 26. Nxd2 Bxf3+ 27. Kh2
Bb7 28. Be3 Qc8 29. Qf2 Qc6 30. Rg1 h5 31. Qe2 Kh7 32. Rf1 Bh6 33. g4 hxg4 34.
Qxg4 Rg8 35. Qe2 Rh8 36. Kg3 Kg8 37. Nf3 Bf8 38. Nh2 Be7 39. Nf3 Kg7 40. Ng5
Rd8 41. h5 gxh5 42. Nxf7 Kxf7 43. Qxh5+ Kg7 {[#]} 44. Rg1 Qf3+ 45. Qxf3 (45.
Kh2+) 45... Bxf3 46. Kxf3+ Kf7 47. Ke4 Rh8 48. f5 exf5+ 49. Kxf5 Rh5+ 50. Ke4
Rh2 51. Kd5 Bf8 52. Rf1+ Ke7 53. Rf2 Rh5 54. Rg2 Rh1 55. Bg5+ Ke8 56. Ke6 Rh5
57. Bf6 Rh7 58. a4 Rc7 59. c4 Rc6+ 60. Kd5 Rc7 61. e6 Rh7 62. Rg8 Rh5+ 63. Bg5
Rh7 64. e7 Rxe7 65. Bxe7 Kxe7 66. Rxf8 Kxf8 67. Kc6 Ke7 68. Kb7 Kd6 69. Kxa7
Kc7 70. Ka6 Kc6 71. a5 bxa5 72. Kxa5 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.06.23"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Burnham, Jud"]
[Black "Anderson, Jesse"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B03"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 (4. Nf3) 4... Nb6 5. f4 (5. exd6) 5... dxe5
6. fxe5 Nc6 {[#]} 7. Nf3 (7. Be3) 7... Bg4 (7... Bf5 8. d5 Nb4 9. Nd4 Bxb1 10.
Rxb1 e6) 8. Be3 (8. c5 Nd5 9. Bb5) 8... e6 9. Nc3 (9. Nbd2) 9... Be7 (9... Bb4)
10. Be2 O-O (10... Bxf3 11. gxf3 Bh4+ 12. Kf1) 11. O-O f6 {[#]} 12. d5 (12.
exf6 gxf6 (12... Bxf6 13. Ne4 Bxf3 14. Nxf6+ Rxf6 15. Bxf3 Nxc4 16. Bg5 Nxd4
17. Bxf6 gxf6) 13. Ne4) 12... Nxe5 (12... Bxf3 13. exf6) (12... exd5) 13. Nxe5
Bxe2 14. Qxe2 fxe5 15. dxe6 {[#]} Rxf1+ 16. Rxf1 Bf6 17. Ne4 Qe7 18. Qg4 Kh8 (
18... Nxc4 19. Nxf6+ (19. Bc5)) 19. Bc5 Qd8 20. Nxf6 gxf6 21. e7 {[#]} (21. Qf3
) 21... Qd7 22. Qd1 (22. Qf3) 22... Qe8 (22... Re8 23. Qxd7 (23. Qf3) (23. Bxb6
Qxd1 24. Rxd1) 23... Nxd7 24. Rd1) 23. Rxf6 {[#]} Nd7 24. Rf8+ Nxf8 25. exf8=Q+
Qxf8 26. Bxf8 Rxf8 27. Qd7 Kg8 28. Qe6+ Rf7 29. Qxe5 1-0

[Event "St Louis Summer A"]
[Site "St Louis, MO USA"]
[Date "2019.06.19"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Jeffery Xiong"]
[Black "Le Quang Liem"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2684"]
[BlackElo "2694"]
[Annotator "Hess, Robert"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2019.06.18"]

{Jeffery Xiong is one of the most promising chess players in the world. The
18-year-old broke 2700 at the World Open, which Liem won in armageddon over
the American. Vietnam's top player and Jeffery had a few summer battles,
including this one where the teenager bested his opponent in a game that
featured many critical decisions about active and passive defense.} 1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 {[#]} Nc6 $6 {Liem opts to
place his knight in front of his pawn. Typically, such a decision is frowned
upon because it lessens Black's control over the center, as compared to
playing for ...c5 breaks. At times, straying from mainline theory is wise to
get your opponent out of book. At others, like in this game, it can backfire.
Choosing a path against strong players is never easy!} (6... O-O 7. Rc1 c6 8.
e3 Bd6 {was tried by Hou Yifan against Peter Svidler, but she could never
fully equalize.}) (6... Ne4 7. Rc1 O-O 8. e3 c5 9. dxc5 Qa5 10. Bd3 {both
looks wrong and, for good reason, hasn't been tried much for Black. White's
pieces are all developed while Black's queenside is spectating. The
continuations evidence just how bad it can get for Black:} Nd7 (10... Nxc3 11.
bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Kf1 Bf6 13. h4 {appears to be the start of a blistering attack.}
) 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Ndxc5 13. Bb1 {With the two bishops and a firm
blockade against the IQP.}) (6... c5 {is typical, yet committal. The d5 pawn
will be a target, if not also isolated.}) (6... Nbd7 {can quickly transpose to
a familiar structure. For example:} 7. Qb3 c5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3
Qxc5 11. Qb4 {is Aronian-Eljanov (1-0) from a decade ago.}) 7. Rc1 O-O 8. e3
Ne7 {Already in rare territory, Liem reroutes his knight before White can
build up pressure on the c-file and freeze it on c6.} ({Interestingly, the
immediate} 8... Bf5 9. Bd3 {has clear drawbacks. Allowing White to offer the
exchange of bishops in one turn ensures that he gains back control of the
center. Essential to all this is that Black is not in time for Na5-c4 ideas,
clamping down on the light squares.} (9. Qb3 Ne4 10. Bb5 g5 {is the energetic
approach Black desires.}) 9... Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Ne4 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Na5 {
would look really strong for Black if the knight on e4 was protected!} (12...
g5 $5 {once again requires attention.}) 13. c4 {undermines the knight and
gives White the advantage, since capturing the pawn would result in two minors
for the rook while} c6 14. cxd5 Qxd5 {hands White the massive center.} (14...
cxd5 $4 15. Bc7)) 9. Qb3 a5 ({By playing Nc6-e7, Liem has taken away a very
valuable square. If instead he had gone for the Nbd7-c6 setup, then Be7 would
be a very logical retreat. Now the bishop pair can only be saved with 9...Ba5,
which actually might be a legitimate reply. If} 9... Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Ne4 (10...
Ng6 11. Bg5 c6 12. h4 $1 h6 13. h5 $1 {is overwhelming. Black's kingside is in
trouble.}) 11. Bd3 Ng6 12. O-O {b7 requires defense and a target might appear
on e4, so White stands better.}) 10. a3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 a4 {Liem goes for a
standard plan on the queenside, aiming to seize control of the light squares.
Yet, he's too slow. If the pawn or knight were on c6, it'd be a different
story.} 12. Qb2 Ne4 13. Nd2 {[#]} c6 {Rather than attempt speculative dynamic
play, Liem accepts that his position will be inferior. In the game, it took a
number of loosening pawn moves to corral the bishop pair.} ({This is by no
means a forced variation, but in the following logical sequence Black stands
significantly worse} 13... Nxd2 14. Qxd2 Ng6 15. Bg3 f5 16. Be2 f4 17. exf4 Qf6
18. O-O Nxf4 19. Rfe1 Nxe2+ 20. Rxe2 c6 {The mere existence of bishops of
opposite colors is not enough to claim equality; White is first to the open
file and the bishop has a more active outpost. Not to be overlooked is that
Black's queenside pawn majority is immobilized.}) 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Bg3 ({
Good restraint by Jeffery, considering how tempting} 15. c4 {is to play,
keeping the backward b-pawn in place. But now that the diagonal to the king is
open,} g5 $1 16. Bg3 (16. Bxg5 $2 Qa5+ {picks up the bishop.}) 16... f5 {
allows Black to unleash the kingside and create threats against the bishop.})
15... Nf5 16. Be2 g6 {Liem could have taken on g3 immediately, but that gives
White the h-file. He likely wanted to wait for Jeffery to castle so that he
couldn't use it to launch an attack or play a move like Rh4.} ({There should
always be an internal discussion regarding quality and quantity of pieces. In
order to minimize his disadvantage, Liem could have sacrificed a pawn to
obtain meaningful play for his pieces.} 16... b5 17. O-O (17. c4 bxc4 18. Rxc4
(18. Bxc4 Qa5+ 19. Qd2 Qxd2+ 20. Kxd2 Nxg3 21. hxg3 Be6 {naturally is a
pleasant endgame for White, but Black can create a number of threats to keep
him in the game. An intact pawn structure is not necessary to hold the ending
if concrete counter chances exist.}) 18... Be6 19. Rxc6 Nxg3 20. hxg3 Rb8 {
provides sufficient compensation for the sacrificed pawn.}) 17... Be6 18. c4
Nxg3 19. hxg3 bxc4 20. Bxc4 Bd5 {is an unenviable position, but definitely one
with good chances to hold.}) 17. Bf4 $1 {This bishop just moved to g3, so why
"waste" another tempo saving it? To restrict the bishop, Black must continue
to push pawns and create some more weaknesses. Importantly, Black does not
have f7-f5 as a resource.} (17. O-O h5 {is annoying to deal with, since the
bishop will be trapped unless White pushes the h-pawn, in which case Black can
take on g3 and compromise the pawn structure.}) 17... g5 18. Be5 f6 19. Bg3 Kg7
20. c4 {[#] Considering the critical option available to Black after White's
choice, perhaps it was more prudent to castle here.} Qe7 {A very
understandable move, but after this White gets too much control over the board.
} (20... h5 $5 {might seem unnecessarily risky, but it was the last true hope
of seeking activity. Jeffery probably would not have taken the pawn, but if he
had...} 21. Bxh5 ({Avoiding the complicated lines is probably the way to go,
since} 21. h4 Qa5+ 22. Qd2 Nxg3 23. Qxa5 Rxa5 24. fxg3 {is promising for White.
The vulnerable base pawns belong to Black as b7 is a permanent weakness and h5
requires attention.}) 21... g4 22. Qb4 (22. h3 Nxg3 23. fxg3 Qa5+ {is the
point.}) (22. Bxg4 Nxg3 23. Bxc8 Qa5+ {is an important inclusion, defending
the rook on a8. Black wins the rook without giving up his.}) (22. f3 {seeks to
free the bishop while dropping the e3 pawn. But Black does not have to - and
should not - accept the pawn.} Rh8 23. fxg4 Nxg3 24. hxg3 Bxg4 25. Qxb7+ Bd7 {
is double-edged. White's extra two pawns do not outweigh his lack of
coordination.}) 22... b6 {eliminates White's ideas of capturing b7 in tactical
sequences.} (22... Rh8 23. Bxg4 c5 $1 {either forces the queen to c5, which
means 24. Qxc5 Nxg3 25. Bxc8 Rxc8 comes with a winning tempo on the queen, or
opens up the d-file for 24. dxc5 Nxg3 25. Bxc8 Nxh1 26. Qxb7+ Kh6 27. Qxa8
Nxf2!} (23... Nxg3 $2 24. Bxc8 Nxh1 25. Qxb7+ Kh6 26. Qxa8 {with the knight
trapped on h1, Black will at best end up down several pawns.}) 24. Qxc5 (24.
dxc5 Nxg3 25. Bxc8 Nxh1 26. Qxb7+ Kh6 27. Qxa8 Nxf2) 24... Nxg3 25. Bxc8 Rxc8))
21. Rb1 Qf7 ({One of those moves that is ridiculously hard to play over the
board but looks decent upon reflection is} 21... Kg6 $5 {which supports h7-h5
ideas.}) 22. Qb6 Re8 ({It's too late to try} 22... h5 23. h4 Nxg3 24. fxg3 g4
25. O-O {As there isn't a single weakness for White, Black would be forced to
sit passively and hope that his opponent lacks a knockout blow.}) 23. h4 Nxg3
24. fxg3 Ra6 25. Qc5 ({Preventing the queen trade with the retreat} 25. Qb2 {
might have been optimal, though less concrete.}) 25... Qc7 {Already in a tough
spot, Liem errs. He had one final opportunity to fight on.} (25... Qe7 $1 {
forces the queen exchange. Sure, Black is cramped and White has open files to
work with, but sans queens chances of holding greatly improve.} 26. hxg5 ({
Keeping the structure, and material equality, intact might be the way to go
for White.} 26. Qxe7+ Rxe7 27. c5 Ra8 28. hxg5 fxg5 29. Bc4 {with sustained
pressure.}) 26... Qxc5 27. gxf6+ Kxf6 28. dxc5 Ra5 {The pawn structure is as
ugly as they come. White is up a pawn and is significantly better, but
practically the defense feels easier than the conversion.}) 26. hxg5 Ra5 ({
Black temporarily goes up a pawn but his king is quickly hunted after} 26...
Qxg3+ 27. Kd2 Qxg5 28. Qd6 Kh8 29. c5 Ra8 30. Rh5 Qg7 31. Rxh7+ $1 {(31. Rbh1
does the trick, but this is fancier)} (31. Rbh1) 31... Kxh7 (31... Qxh7 32.
Qxf6+ Kg8 33. Bc4+ Be6 34. Bxe6+ Rxe6 35. Qxe6+) 32. Rh1+ Kg8 33. Bc4+ Be6 34.
Bxe6+ Rxe6 35. Qxe6+ Kf8 36. Rf1 Qxg2+ 37. Ke1 Qg3+ 38. Kd1) 27. gxf6+ Kxf6 28.
Qb4 Rf5 ({The pawn was a nuisance a move later, but capturing it didn't help
either. White liquidates into a winning ending by force:} 28... Qxg3+ 29. Kd2
Rf5 30. Rh6+ Kg7 31. Rbh1 Rh8 32. Rxh7+ Rxh7 33. Qe7+ Rf7 34. Rxh7+ Kxh7 35.
Qxf7+ {and a queen trade is inescapable.}) 29. g4 {[#]} Qg3+ 30. Kd2 Rf2 31.
Rbf1 Kg7 32. Rxf2 Qxf2 33. Qd6 Qf7 34. g5 Kg8 35. Rf1 ({It wasn't too late to
be baited by the skewer} 35. Bh5 $2 {which results in a forced draw:} Qxc4 36.
Bxe8 Qd3+ 37. Kc1 Qc3+ 38. Kb1 (38. Kd1 $4 Bg4#) 38... Qb3+) 35... Qe7 36. c5
Qxd6 37. cxd6 Kg7 38. Bh5 Rf8 (38... Rd8 39. Rf6 {only delays the inevitable
loss.}) 39. Rxf8 Kxf8 40. g6 Bd7 41. gxh7 Kg7 42. Bg6 1-0

[Event "Reykjavik Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.04.14"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Lupulescu, Constantin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2669"]
[BlackElo "2634"]
[Annotator "Hartmann, John"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "190417 Reykjavik"]
[SourceDate "2019.04.17"]

{This was originally published as part of our online coverage of the 2019
Reykjavik Open -- https://new.uschess.org/news/eight-tie-first-reykjavik/ 
Notes based on Lupulescu's post-game interview and a survey of the variation
in NIC 129.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3
Be7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. dxc5 Qa5 $5 {Lupulescu described this as a "tricky" move,
waiting for White to castle before playing ...b6.} 10. O-O-O b6 11. Bb5 (11.
cxb6 axb6 {gives Black serious compensation.}) 11... Nb4 (11... Bb7 12. Kb1 Kh8
13. cxb6 {is another idea discussed in NIC 129. Black can continue with} axb6
$5 (13... Nxb6 14. Qe2 (14. f5 $5)) (13... Bb4 14. Bxc6 Bxc6 15. bxa7)) 12. a3
bxc5 13. Bxd7 (13. Kb1 {was preferable, when Black plays} a6 ({or} 13... Rb8))
(13. f5 Na2+ 14. Nxa2 Qxb5 {0-1 (46) Ponkratov,P (2622)-Volkov,S (2580)
Yaroslavl 2018}) 13... Bxd7 14. axb4 cxb4 15. Nb1 Rfc8 16. Nd4 (16. f5 {
fails to} Ba4 $1 17. Nd4 Rxc2+ 18. Nxc2 Rc8) (16. Rhf1) (16. Qf2) 16... Qa2 {
Still in book!} (16... Qa1 $5) (16... Rc7) 17. f5 (17. Qd3 a5 18. Kd2 (18. b3
Rc3 $1 19. Nxc3 bxc3 20. Qxc3 Bb4 $1) (18. f5 a4 $1 {0-1 (27) Wang,J (2354)
-Santiago,Y (2473) Hanoi 2018}) 18... Qxb2 19. Ke2 a4 20. Nd2 Rc3 {and now
White has the amusing} 21. Rb1 Qa3 22. Ra1 $11) 17... exf5 (17... Ba4 18. Qd3 {
and Lupulescu had trouble assessing the position. Stockfish gives Black a
serious advantage.}) (17... Bc5) 18. Rhf1 (18. Qf2 a5 $1 (18... g6 $2 19. g4 $1
{1-0 (32) Mamedov,N (2596)-Tratar,M (2456) Antalya 2017})) 18... a5 $1 19. Nxf5
({Worse is} 19. Qf2 a4 20. Nxf5 Bxf5 21. Qxf5 a3 22. Bd4 Qc4 (22... b3 $1) 23.
Rf2 a2 24. Qxf7+ Kh8 25. Qxe7 a1=Q $2 (25... b3 $1) 26. e6 Rg8 27. Bxg7+ Rxg7
28. Rf8+ $11 {1/2-1/2 (33) Kryvoruchko,Y (2714)-Sychev,K (2459) Minsk 2017})
19... Bxf5 (19... Bf8) 20. Rxf5 a4 21. Bd4 (21. Qxd5 Rxc2+ $1 22. Kxc2 Rc8+ 23.
Bc5 (23. Nc3 Rxc3+ $1) 23... Rxc5+ 24. Qxc5 Bxc5 25. e6 Qb3+ 26. Kc1 Be3+ $19)
21... a3 22. e6 f6 (22... fxe6 23. Qe3 $13 (23. Rg5 $2 Rxc2+ $1)) 23. Qd3 b3
24. Rf2 (24. c3 $2 Qxb2#) 24... Ra4 (24... Qa1 $2 25. bxa3 Bxa3+ 26. Kd2 Rxc2+
27. Ke1 $1 {and White defends.}) 25. c3 Rxd4 (25... Qa1 $2 26. bxa3) 26. Qxd4
Bc5 (26... Qa1 $2 27. bxa3) 27. Qd2 (27. Qxd5 Be3+ 28. Rdd2 axb2+ 29. Kd1 Qxb1+
30. Ke2 h6 $1 {key move} 31. Kxe3 Qe1+ $19 {[%cal Yb2b1]}) 27... Bxf2 $6 (27...
axb2+ $1 {wins on the spot with} 28. Qxb2 Bxf2) 28. Qxf2 Qa1 {with the idea of
...Rxc3 threats} 29. e7 $2 (29. Rxd5 $1 a2 30. Qf5 g6 {(to nudge the queen)} (
30... Re8 $5) 31. Qd3 Re8 $13) 29... a2 $1 30. e8=Q+ (30. Qf5 Rxc3+ $1 31. bxc3
axb1=Q+ 32. Qxb1 Qxc3+ 33. Qc2 Qxc2#) 30... Rxe8 31. Qf5 d4 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.07.25"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Steinitz 5.Nce2 7.Nf3"]
[Black "DIAGRAM"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hartmann, John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1bqkb1r/pp1n1ppp/2n1p3/2ppP3/3P4/2P2N2/PP2NPPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[SourceDate "2019.07.13"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "2019 World Senior"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.04.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM Alexander Shabalov"]
[Black "GM Rafael Vaganian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C05"]
[WhiteElo "2510"]
[BlackElo "2535"]
[Annotator "Shabalov, Alex"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.07.27"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Ne2 b5 8. a3 b4
(8... Qb6 9. c3 Be7 10. f5 exf5 11. Nf4 cxd4 12. Nxd5 Qb7 13. cxd4 (13. Bxb5
Bd8 14. c4) 13... O-O 14. Nxe7+ Nxe7 15. Bd3 Rd8 16. O-O) 9. axb4 cxb4 10. f5
exf5 11. Nf4 Ndb8 (11... Nb6 12. Bb5 Bd7 13. e6 fxe6 14. Bxc6 Bxc6 15. Ne5 Qc7
16. Qh5+) 12. Bb5 (12. c4) (12. Nh5) 12... g5 {[#]} 13. Nh5 (13. Nxg5 Qxg5 14.
O-O) 13... Be7 14. Nf6+ (14. h4 g4 15. Ng1) 14... Bxf6 15. exf6 h6 16. h4 g4
17. Ne5 Qxf6 18. O-O g3 19. Nf3 O-O 20. Bf4 a5 21. Qd2 Kh7 22. Bxg3 Rg8 23. Bf4
Ba6 24. Bxa6 Rxa6 25. Qd3 Ra7 26. Rae1 Re7 (26... a4) 27. Ne5 Nxe5 28. Rxe5 Qg6
29. g3 Rxe5 30. Bxe5 Nd7 {[#]} 31. h5 Qxh5 32. Rxf5 Nxe5 33. Rxf7+ Kh8 34. Qh7#
1-0

[Event "World Senior Teams +50"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.04.22"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Yermolinsky, Alex"]
[Black "Gruenfeld, Yehuda"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2508"]
[BlackElo "2428"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Qf3 Bg6 8.
Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 10. Nf3 Nd7 11. Be2 (11. Nh4 Be7 12. Ne2 f5 13. g3 Bxh4
14. gxh4 Nf6) 11... Nb6 12. O-O Nc8 (12... Nc4 13. Bxc4 dxc4 14. Rfc1 b5 15.
Nd2 a5 16. a4 Bb4 17. d5) 13. Nh4 Nd6 (13... a5 14. Rac1 Nd6 15. Na4) 14. b4
Nf5 (14... Nc4 15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. Rfb1 a6 17. a4 Bd6 18. g3 Ke7 19. Bxc4 dxc4
20. a5 Rh5 21. Ra2 Rah8 22. f4) 15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. b5 Bd6 17. g3 Rb8 18. Rab1
O-O 19. a4 Bc7 20. Na2 Ne7 21. Nb4 Ba5 (21... Bd6 22. bxc6 bxc6 23. Na6 Rb6 24.
a5) 22. Nd3 Bb6 23. Rb3 Rfc8 24. Bf3 Kg7 25. h4 Bc7 26. Rfb1 Bd6 27. Kg2 c5 28.
dxc5 Bxc5 29. Rd1 Bd6 30. Nb4 Bxb4 31. Rxb4 Rc5 32. Rbd4 Rd8 33. e4 {[#]} Re8
34. g4 (34. exd5 Nf5 35. R4d3 Nd6) 34... dxe4 35. Rxe4 Rc7 36. Rde1 (36. Red4)
36... f5 37. gxf5 gxf5 38. R4e2 (38. Rd4) 38... Rg8 {[#]} 39. h5 Nc8 (39...
Kf6+ 40. Kf1 Rd8) 40. Rd2 Kf6+ 41. Kf1 b6 42. Red1 Rc3 43. Rd3 Rxd3 44. Rxd3
Ke7 45. Rc3 Kd8 46. Ke2 Nd6 (46... Re8+ 47. Kd3 Nd6) 47. Ke3 Kd7 48. Kf4 Rh8
49. Kg5 Ne4+ 50. Bxe4 fxe4 51. Rh3 Ke6 52. h6 f6+ 53. Kf4 Rh7 (53... f5 54. h7
Kf6 55. Rc3) 54. Kxe4 f5+ 55. Kf4 Kf6 56. Rc3 1-0

[Event "World Senior Teams +50"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.04.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM Joel Benjamin"]
[Black "GM Carlos Garcia Palermo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "2523"]
[BlackElo "2407"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "163"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.07.27"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. c3 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nbd2 a6 8. Ba4
Nd7 9. Bc2 Nb6 10. d4 exd4 11. Nxd4 Bf6 (11... Nxd4 12. cxd4 f5) 12. Nxc6 bxc6
13. f4 a5 14. Nf3 a4 15. e5 {[#]} (15. Qe1 Ba6) 15... dxe5 16. Qxd8 Rxd8 17.
fxe5 Be7 18. Bg5 Re8 (18... Bxg5 19. Nxg5 h6 20. Bh7+ (20. Nxf7) 20... Kh8 21.
Nxf7+ Kxh7 22. Nxd8) 19. Be4 Nd5 (19... Bb7) (19... Bd7) 20. c4 f5 (20... Bc5+
21. Kh1 f5 22. Bxd5+ cxd5 23. cxd5 h6) 21. Bxd5+ cxd5 22. Bxe7 Rxe7 23. cxd5
Bb7 24. Rad1 Rd8 25. d6 cxd6 26. Rxd6 Rde8 27. Nd4 Rxe5 28. Rxf5 Re3 29. h3 (
29. a3 Rd3) 29... a3 30. bxa3 {[#]} (30. b3) 30... Rxa3 31. Rf2 Rea8 32. Nb5
Re3 33. Nc7 Rc8 34. Ne6 Re8 35. Nc5 Bc8 36. Rd3 Re1+ 37. Kh2 h5 38. Rd5 g6 39.
Nd3 R1e7 40. Rg5 Kh7 41. Rf6 Bf5 42. Nf4 Re5 (42... Rg8 43. Nxh5 Ra8) 43. Nxg6
Bxg6 44. Rfxg6 Rxg5 45. Rxg5 Kh6 46. Ra5 h4 47. a4 Re1 48. Rc5 Ra1 49. Rc6+ Kg5
50. Rc5+ Kh6 51. Ra5 Kg6 52. Ra6+ Kg7 53. a5 Kh7 54. Ra8 Kg7 55. a6 Kh7 56. a7
Kg7 57. Rb8 Rxa7 58. Rb4 Ra3 59. Rxh4 Rb3 60. Ra4 Rc3 61. h4 Kh6 62. g3 Rb3 63.
Kh3 Rc3 64. Kg4 Rc6 65. h5 Rc1 66. Ra6+ Kh7 67. Kh4 Rc4+ 68. g4 Rb4 69. h6 Rb1
70. Kh5 Rb5+ 71. g5 Rc5 72. Ra7+ Kh8 73. Re7 Ra5 74. Kg6 Ra8 75. Re6 Rb8 76.
Kf5 Rf8+ 77. Rf6 Ra8 78. g6 Ra5+ 79. Kg4 Ra4+ 80. Kg5 Ra5+ 81. Rf5 Ra8 82. h7
1-0

[Event "World Senior Teams +50"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.04.21"]
[Round "6"]
[White "GM Jaan Ehlvest"]
[Black "GM Margeir Petursson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2521"]
[BlackElo "2492"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.07.27"]

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. O-O-O d5 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bh6 Bxh6 12. Qxh6 Qc7 13. h4 dxe4 14. h5 Nxh5
15. Kb1 exf3 {[#]} 16. Rxh5 gxh5 17. Bd3 f5 18. gxf3 Rf7 19. Bc4 e6 20. Qg5+
Rg7 21. Rd8+ Kf7 1-0

[Event "2019 U.S. Senior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.07.14"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM Joel Benjamin"]
[Black "GM Alex Shabalov"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C78"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.08.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. c3 O-O 7. d4 Ba7 8. Bg5
h6 9. Bh4 exd4 10. e5 g5 11. Bxc6 gxh4 12. Ba4 Ne4 13. cxd4 d5 14. Nc3 h3 15.
g3 Be6 16. Bc2 f5 17. Ne2 f4 18. Nxf4 Rxf4 19. gxf4 Qf8 20. Kh1 Qxf4 21. Rg1+
Kh8 22. Bxe4 Qxe4 23. Rg3 Rg8 24. Qd2 Rxg3 25. Qxh6+ Kg8 26. Qxe6+ Kh7 27. Qf7+
Rg7 28. Qh5+ Kg8 29. Qe8+ Kh7 30. Qh5+ Kg8 {[#]} 31. Qxh3 (31. e6 Qg6 32. Qxg6
Rxg6 33. e7 Re6 34. Rg1+) 31... Bxd4 32. Qe6+ Kh7 33. Qh3+ Kg8 34. Re1 Qg4 35.
Qxg4 Rxg4 36. Re2 Ba7 37. e6 Kf8 38. Ne5 Rg7 39. h4 Ke7 40. h5 Kxe6 41. Nc6+
Kd7 42. Nxa7 Rg5 43. f4 Rxh5+ 44. Kg2 Rh8 45. Kf3 Ra8 46. f5 Rxa7 47. f6 Ra8
48. Re7+ Kd6 49. Kf4 Rh8 50. Re2 d4 51. Kf5 d3 52. Re6+ Kc5 53. Re5+ Kd4 54.
Re4+ Kd5 55. Re5+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "2019 U.S. Senior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.07.12"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Maxim Dlugy"]
[Black "Alex Shabalov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A45"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.08.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 c5 3. e3 Qb6 4. Nc3 a6 5. a3 d6 6. Be2 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Nd2
Be6 9. dxc5 Qxc5 10. O-O O-O 11. Na4 Qc7 12. c4 b5 13. Bf3 (13. cxb5 axb5 14.
Bxb5 (14. Nc3 Nd5 15. Nxb5 Qd7) 14... Nd5) 13... Ra7 14. cxb5 axb5 15. Nc3 Qd7
16. Qe2 Rc7 17. e4 Ng4 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. exd5 Ne5 20. Be4 Rfc8 21. Rad1 Nc4 22.
Nxc4 bxc4 23. Rc1 Qa4 24. Qc2 Qb5 25. b4 {[#]} cxb3 26. Qxc7 Rxc7 27. Rxc7 Nd7
28. Rc8+ Nf8 29. Bg5 b2 30. Rb1 e6 31. h4 exd5 32. Bc2 d4 33. a4 Qe2 34. Bb3 h6
35. Bd8 d3 36. Bb6 d2 37. Bd1 Qe1+ 38. Kh2 Be5+ 39. g3 Qe4 40. Rc2 Qxh4+ 41.
Kg1 Qe4 42. a5 Ne6 43. a6 Nd4 (43... h5 {[#]}) 44. Rc8+ (44. Rcxb2 Ne2+ 45. Kh2
Nxg3 46. fxg3 Qh4+ 47. Kg2 Qxg3+ 48. Kf1 Bxb2 49. a7 Qe1+ 50. Kg2 Qe4+ 51. Bf3
(51. Kf1 Bc3 52. Be3 Kg7 53. Ke2 Bd4 54. Rb3 Bxa7) 51... Qxb1 52. a8=Q+ Kg7 53.
Qd5) 44... Kh7 45. Rxb2 Qe1+ 46. Kg2 Qxd1 47. Rxd2 Qxd2 48. a7 Qb2 49. a8=Q (
49. Rb8 Nc6) 49... Qxb6 50. Qd5 Qb3 51. Rc4 Ne6 52. Qc6 Kg7 53. f4 Bd4 54. Rc2
Bc5 55. Qe4 Nd4 56. Rd2 Nf5 57. Qf3 Ne3+ 58. Kh2 h5 59. Kh3 Qe6+ 60. Kh2 Ng4+
61. Kg2 Qe1 0-1

[Event "2019 U.S. Senior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.07.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM Alexander Fishbein"]
[Black "GM Alexander Shabalov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B18"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.08.01"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Nc5 e5 6. Nxb7 Qc7 7. Nc5 Nf6 8.
Nb3 Nbd7 9. g3 a5 10. Bg2 a4 11. Nd2 exd4 12. Ngf3 Bc5 13. Qe2+ Kd8 14. O-O Re8
15. Qc4 Qd6 16. b4 Bb6 17. b5 Rc8 18. Qxa4 cxb5 19. Qxb5 Bxc2 20. Nb3 d3 21.
Ng5 Re7 {[#]} 22. a4 (22. Bf4) 22... Qe5 23. Qxe5 Nxe5 24. a5 Ba7 25. Nd2 Neg4
26. Nge4 Bd4 27. Ra2 Nxe4 28. Bxe4 Nxf2 29. Rxf2 Bb1 30. Ra4 Rxc1+ 31. Kg2 Bxf2
32. Kxf2 Rc2 33. Ke3 f5 34. a6 Ra2 35. Rd4+ Ke8 36. Nxb1 Re2+ 37. Kxd3 R2xe4
38. Rd5 Ra4 39. Rxf5 Rxa6 40. Nc3 Rd6+ 41. Rd5 Rh6 42. h4 Rhe6 43. Kd2 Kf7 44.
Rd4 Re5 45. Rd3 Rb7 46. Nd1 Ke6 47. Ne3 Rb2+ 48. Kc3 Reb5 49. Rd1 R2b3+ 50. Kd2
Ra5 51. Ke2 Raa3 52. Nf1 Rb2+ 53. Ke1 Kf5 54. Rc1 Kg4 55. Kd1 Kh3 56. Ke1 Rf3
57. Nd2 Re3+ 58. Kf2 Rd3 0-1

[Event "2019 U.S. Senior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.07.14"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM Alex Goldin"]
[Black "GM Alex Yermolinsky"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A47"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.08.02"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O Be7 6. b3 O-O 7. Bb2 c5 8. Nbd2
Nc6 9. a3 Rc8 10. Qe2 d5 11. dxc5 bxc5 12. c4 Re8 13. Rfe1 Bf8 14. Rad1 g6 15.
cxd5 exd5 16. Ba6 Rb8 17. Bxb7 Rxb7 18. Qd3 Bg7 19. Rc1 Ne4 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21.
Nxe4 dxe4 22. Qc3+ {[#]} Qf6 (22... Kg8 23. Red1 Qe7 24. Qxc5 Qxc5 25. Rxc5
exf3 26. Rxc6 Rxb3 27. Ra6 fxg2) 23. Qxf6+ Kxf6 24. Rxc5 exf3 25. Rxc6+ Re6 26.
Rxe6+ fxe6 27. b4 fxg2 28. Rc1 a5 29. Rc4 axb4 30. axb4 Ra7 31. Kxg2 Ra2 32.
Rc8 Rb2 33. Rb8 e5 34. b5 Kg5 35. Kg3 e4 (35... Rb1) 36. h4+ Kh5 37. b6 Rb4 38.
Rb7 h6 39. Rb8 Rb2 40. b7 Rb4 41. f3 exf3 42. e4 f2 43. Kxf2 Kxh4 44. e5 g5 45.
e6 g4 46. e7 g3+ 47. Kf3 Rb3+ 48. Ke2 g2 49. Rg8 1-0

[Event "2019 U.S. Senior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.07.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM Jaan Ehlvest"]
[Black "GM Igor Novikov"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B81"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.08.02"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e6 7. g4 h6 8. f4 b5
9. Bg2 Bb7 10. O-O Nbd7 11. g5 hxg5 12. fxg5 Nh5 13. g6 Nhf6 14. gxf7+ Kxf7 15.
Qg4 Qe7 16. Bg5 Re8 17. Qg3 Ne5 18. Nce2 Bc8 19. c3 Qc7 20. Nf4 Be7 21. h4 Bd8
22. Rad1 Kg8 23. Nd3 Nfg4 24. Bh3 Bxg5 25. hxg5 Nxd3 26. Rxd3 Ne5 27. Rd2 Qe7
28. Rh2 Ng6 29. Nc6 Qc7 30. Nd4 Qc5 31. Kg2 Qe5 32. Qxe5 dxe5 33. Ne2 Bb7 34.
Kg3 Bxe4 35. Rd1 Bd5 36. b3 Rf8 37. Rd3 Kf7 38. c4 bxc4 39. bxc4 Bxc4 40. Rd7+
Ke8 41. Rxg7 Ne7 42. Nc3 Rf4 43. g6 {[#]} Rxh3+ 44. Kxh3 (44. Rxh3 Nf5+) 44...
Bf1+ 45. Rg2 Rf2 0-1

[Event "2019 U.S. Senior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.07.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM Alex Yermolinsky"]
[Black "GM Gregory Kaidanov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D36"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.08.02"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Bg5 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bd3 Bd6 8.
Nf3 O-O 9. Qc2 h6 10. Bh4 Re8 11. O-O-O Qa5 12. Kb1 Bb4 13. Nd2 Bxc3 14. Qxc3
Qxc3 15. bxc3 Ne4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Be2 Nb6 18. c4 Be6 19. Rc1 c5 20. Rhd1 Rac8
21. d5 Bf5 22. Rc3 Nd7 23. g4 Bh7 24. Kb2 f6 25. Bg3 Kf7 26. Rb3 b6 27. Kc3 Ra8
28. a4 a5 29. Bc7 Ra6 30. Rdb1 Ke7 31. h4 g5 32. h5 Rc8 33. Bxb6 Kd6 34. Rb5
Rca8 35. R1b2 f5 {[#]} 36. Bxc5+ Nxc5 37. Kd4 Rc8 38. Rb6+ Rxb6 39. Rxb6+ Kd7
40. Rxh6 Bg8 41. gxf5 Nxa4 42. f6 Nc5 43. Bg4+ Ne6+ 44. dxe6+ Bxe6 45. Rh7+ Kd6
46. c5+ Rxc5 47. Bxe6 1-0

[Event "womens"]
[Site "followchess.com"]
[Date "2019.06.12"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Saikhanchimeg, Tsogtsaikhan"]
[Black "Lee, Megan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2033"]
[BlackElo "2115"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 a6 6. Nbd2 d6 7. Nf1 {White
wants to get the knight to g3 before castling} (7. Bb3 {is the main move in
this position} Na5 8. Bc2 {and the bishop stays alive}) 7... O-O (7... Ba7 8.
Bb3 {White has to play this now if she doesn't want to part with her bishop
after Na5} Ne7 9. Ng3 Ng6 {copying White's idea is the most popular
continuation. It also gives Black the option to play c6-d5}) 8. b4 Ba7 9. Bg5 {
I'm not a big fan of this sequence. White's moves seem all over the place and
she's not finishing her kingside development} Be6 10. Bb3 h6 11. Bh4 Re8 (11...
g5 {I don't think Black should be afraid of this move. White is behind the
development and can't really launch an attack with her own king in the center}
12. Bg3 (12. Nxg5 hxg5 13. Bxg5 {doesn't work for a very beautiful reason} Nxe4
$3 14. Bxd8 Bxf2+ 15. Ke2 Bg4# {the kind of checkmate we see in tactics books})
12... d5 {Black can try opening up the center, which will make the White king
vulnerable} 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Bxe5 Bxf2+ 15. Kxf2 Ng4+ {the tactics work in
Black's favor}) 12. Ne3 (12. Ng3 {looks more natural to me, but White does
have to worry about g5 at some point} g5 {isn't possible now because after} 13.
Nxg5 hxg5 14. Bxg5 {Nh5 is coming}) 12... Nb8 13. O-O Nbd7 14. Nf5 Nf8 15. Kh1
{For me, this move is a sign of White not having a clear plan} Ng6 16. Bc2 $2 {
allows a sequence that loses a pawn[#]} Bxf5 17. exf5 Nxh4 18. Nxh4 Nd5 19. Qh5
Nxc3 20. Bb3 d5 21. Rac1 Bd4 22. Rc2 Qg5 (22... e4 23. dxe4 Nxe4 {Bringing the
knight back into action looks even better. White's knight and queen are really
misplaced, and I don't think Black has to go out of her way to improve them})
23. Qxg5 hxg5 24. Nf3 g4 25. Ng5 (25. Nxd4 exd4 {the knight vs the useless
bishop ending looks completely lost for White}) 25... c6 26. f3 gxf3 27. Rxf3
e4 28. dxe4 Nxe4 29. Nxe4 Rxe4 {the rest is just a matter of time} 30. Rf1 Rae8
31. g3 Re2 32. Rfc1 Bb2 33. Rb1 Ba3 34. Ba4 Rxc2 35. Bxc2 Re2 36. Bb3 Rf2 (
36... Bxb4 37. Bxd5 cxd5 38. Rxb4 b5 {a lot of players steer clear of rook
endgames but the a2 pawn is indefensible} 39. a4 {loses on the spot because of}
Re4) 37. Re1 Kf8 38. g4 Bxb4 39. Rb1 Bd6 40. Kg1 Rxh2 41. Rd1 Rh4 42. Kf2 Rxg4
43. Bc2 Rh4 44. Ke3 Rh3+ 45. Ke2 Rh2+ 46. Kd3 c5 47. Re1 c4+ 48. Kc3 d4+ 49.
Kxc4 Rxc2+ 50. Kd5 Bb4 51. Rb1 Rc5+ 52. Kd6 Rb5+ 53. Kd7 d3 54. f6 gxf6 55. a3
Bxa3 56. Rh1 Rd5+ 57. Kc7 d2 0-1

[Event "Las Vegas National op"]
[Site "Las Vegas"]
[Date "2019.06.14"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ramirez Alvarez, Alejandro"]
[Black "Sorokin, Aleksey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2574"]
[BlackElo "2536"]
[Annotator "Ramirez, Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2019.06.12"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CB25_2019"]
[SourceDate "2019.06.19"]

{The chess world has been keeping me busy, but I somehow have not been playing
much. Feeling a bit rusy and with a two round a day schedule, I was already
feeling a bit worn out by this round, especially after I tried to grind out
Nieksans in round four in a very long game. However, I felt in a bit of a
fighting mood and tried to see what happened.} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5
4. g3 e5 5. Bg2 Nb6 6. d3 {Sorokin is one of the newer additions to Alexander
Onischuk's team at Texas Tech University, and I didn't feel like testing him
in the main lines. I tried to come up with some clever move order over the
board, but as usual, it's a better idea to just play normal moves.} (6. e3 $5 {
leads to interesting, double-edged positions.}) (6. Nf3 {is what most mortals
play.}) 6... Be7 (6... Nc6 7. Bxc6+ {is "the point" but it isn't entirely
clear that this leads to an advantage for White, despite the crippling of the
queenside.}) 7. Be3 O-O 8. Rc1 {I remembered that this delaying of the
development of the knight on f3 is something that some super-GM had played
against Hammer in the Norway super tournament of a few years ago, but I
couldn't remember any of the details. I figured it couldn't be too bad.} Re8 (
8... f5 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. O-O Be6 11. b4 a6 12. a3 Kh8 13. Na4 Nxa4 14. Qxa4 {
is probably what I was trying to reach, but in a second look this doesn't look
all that great for White, despite the eventual result. 1-0 (36) Anand,V (2804)
-Hammer,J (2677) Stavanger 2015}) 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. O-O Bf8 {I knew that by
transposition we get to a reverse dragon with the extra tempo of Rc1. I had
analyzed this position, with the rook on a1 and the colors reversed, in my
days before I was a grandmaster, the top engines was Fritz 5.32, and the
Batsford Chess Openings book was still relevant.} 11. a4 {This move is really
weird, but I'm glad that I'm not the only grandmaster that came up with it 
(Mamedov, Lagno and Berkes have all essayed it). With the rook on a1 the point
is that a5 is a bit of a threat, but since that isn't possible you might be
wondering why I played this move. Black wants to stick a knight on d4, and it
seems that he has set up fully to do this. If he doesn't take care of a5 first,
Nd4 is difficult to play, but if he does, I thought I would get some extra
ideas.} a5 {At this point I figured I'm playing that childhood dragon up a
tempo.} 12. Bxb6 (12. d4 $1 Nc4 13. Nb5 Nxe3 14. fxe3 {is a strong way of
playing, but I'm too much of a classical player to disrupt my pawn structure
and give up my pair of bishops like this.}) 12... cxb6 13. Nb5 {White wants to
play d4 at some point, and if Black can prevent it he is simply better, but he
shoudln't have enough resources to do so. That being said, it shouldn't be a
scary position for Black as his pair of bishops will always be strong in open
positions.} Be6 14. d4 {A bit impatient, but I had some interesting ideas.} (
14. e3 Rc8 15. d4 exd4 16. Nfxd4 Bd7 {was also playable.}) 14... e4 (14... exd4
15. Nfxd4 Bg4 {is a decent way of exploiting the pair of bishop advantage to
get equality, even though taking on d4 seems a bit unnatural.}) 15. Ne1 {
The knight takes its sweet time to hop to e3, where it will be a monster, but
for now it's kind of sidelined.} (15. Ne5 Nxe5 (15... Bd5 16. Nc4 {was
something I found to be very happy with, since Ne3 is coming and the center
for black is suprisingly unstable.}) 16. dxe5 Qxd1 17. Rfxd1 Bb3 18. Rd4 Rxe5
19. Rc3 Ba2 {was not clear to me during the game. The engine seems to think
it's equal but I wasn't happy about Black's bishops being so alive.}) 15... f5
(15... Bd5 16. Nc3 {seems to play a bit into White's hands.}) 16. f3 Bd5 $2 {
I was honestly shocked at this move. The opening of the f-file can only be
good for White, and Black's king becomes a bit unsafe. I was jotting down exf3
as an automatic reply for Black. It's an instructive moment: with the pair of
bishops and the weakness on e3 being accessible via g6 and Bh6, it seems that
this can't be bad for Black, but upon deeper inspection White's pieces gain
very obvious squares for themselves; a fact that I exploit quickly.} (16...
exf3 17. Bxf3 $1 {The e1 knight has a future on f4 or e3, but on f3 it just
gets on the way of the other pieces.} Bf7 {with complex play. Black will be
happy to give up a pawn for my light-squared bishop, and I might not have much
of a choice but to pick up the gauntlet.}) 17. fxe4 fxe4 18. e3 {I was
debating between playing this move first or Bh3, but during the game I felt it
wasn't too much of a difference.} g6 19. Bh3 Bh6 20. Ng2 {With the knight
coming to f4, the bishops are not scary and White retains the pluses of the
better structure and the sweet knight on b5. I was happy with my position here,
but did not expect it to be as clear of an advantage as what the engines
suggest it to be.} Re7 {This move I did not understand, but its a typical
sympton of bad positions: without a clear plan and the annoyance of the lack
of squares for Black's pieces, especially that rook on a8, my opponent starts
to lose patience.} 21. Nf4 (21. Rf6 {with the threat of Rd6 is very strong,
but sometimes such basic threats with incursions into the enemy camp with
relatively lonely pieces are easily missed.}) 21... Nb4 22. Qg4 Nd3 $2 {
I had seen in advance that this move loses, so I was very surprised to see it
played.} (22... Bxf4 {was the move I was expecting, and I was debating giving
up the exchange with} 23. Qxf4 (23. gxf4 {which keeps a nice advantage with
future threats of f5.}) 23... Nd3 24. Qf6 {with obvious but perhaps
unnecessary compensation, or}) 23. Nxd5 Nxc1 {[#]} (23... Qxd5 24. Rc8+ Rxc8 (
24... Re8 25. Nc7 {wins the house.}) 25. Qxc8+ {gets mated}) 24. Qh4 $1 {
I was very proud of this move. Somehow I felt it wasn't the only winning move,
but it's very clean.} Qxd5 {Any other move drops massive amounts of materials.}
25. Qxe7 {Material is even for now, but Black's king simply has no cover. It
is well known that with opposite colored bishops, the attacking side has a
huge advantage.} Bxe3+ 26. Kh1 {The computer announces mate in 10 but knowing
that winning the queen with Be6+ is more or less unstoppable was good enough
for us humans.} 1-0

[Event "Las Vegas National op"]
[Site "Las Vegas"]
[Date "2019.06.17"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Nyzhnyk, Illya"]
[Black "Gareyev, Timur"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C70"]
[WhiteElo "2649"]
[BlackElo "2584"]
[Annotator "Ramirez, Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2019.06.12"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CB25_2019"]
[SourceDate "2019.06.19"]

{With a big tie coming into the last round, seven players were gunning for
that coveted $8000 in the last round. A win would secure a handsome amount of
money, a draw would split the prize amongst a large number of players, and a
loss guarantees going home basically empty handed. Despite the hard fought
games, only Nyzhnyk had the class to overpower his opponent in the final game.
} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 g6 {Personally I wasn't too happy to
see Timur play this line, as I don't consider it to be particularly solid and
I wanted all the top games to draw :)} 5. d4 exd4 6. Nxd4 Bg7 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8.
Nc3 Ne7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 {By this point Bruzon had split his point with
Gabuzyan, and my position wasn't looking too hot against Antal. Kovalenko and
Quesada were fighting it out hard, and Nyzhnyk's opening success certailny put
pressure on the remaining players to try to get something out of their
positions.} d5 11. O-O-O Rb8 {It's not a bad time to take stock. White has a
better structure but it seems that black has chances with the open b-file and
that powerful bishop on g7. Unfortunately for fans of the Blindfold King,
that's about the end of the good news. A closer inspection reveals that
Black's position is atrocious: the g7 bishop can be traded whenever White
wants, the knight on e7 has no good squares and the same can be said of the c8
bishop. The rook is lonely in its queenside pressure and can always be blocked
by Bb3, which only leaves Black with a big bunch of weaknesses.} 12. Bh6 Qd6
13. Bb3 dxe4 14. Bxg7 Qxd2+ 15. Rxd2 Kxg7 16. Nxe4 {[#] Nyzhnyk wasn't playing
at his usual blitz pace in this game, but he did get a wonderful position. I
had already drawn with Antal and Kovalenko was down a pawn but in an almost
unbreachable position by this point. If Nyznhyk could conver this nice
structural edge, the tournament very likely was his.} Rb5 17. Re1 Nf5 18. Nc3
Rc5 19. Re4 h5 20. Na4 Ra5 21. Rd3 {Slow but steady improvement. Black needs
to find activity, but that is easier said than done. Nyzhnyk's last moves are
designed to prevent the development of the black rook on f8 or bishop on c8.}
Nh6 22. Re2 (22. Re7 {Perhaps last round nerves and tiredness prevented
Nyzhnyk from going for this obviously winning variation.} Ng4 23. Rf3 {doesn't
come close to working for Black.}) 22... h4 23. Rc3 Rf5 24. f3 Rd8 {Black
wants to get counterplay with h3, and gives up the pawn on c6 to do it. The
computers recommend to just nom nom on c6, but I personally like the practical
approach to just keep the pressure and not give you opponent any active ideas.}
25. Nc5 (25. Rxc6 h3 26. Rxc7 hxg2 27. Rxg2 Rxf3 28. Bc4 $1 {is surely winning.
}) 25... a5 26. Ba4 Ng4 {A cheeky move, but it doesn't solve Black's issues.}
27. h3 (27. fxg4 Rf1+ $19) 27... Ne5 28. Ne4 g5 29. Rd2 Rxd2 30. Kxd2 Be6 31.
Bb3 Bd5 32. Nf2 {Black has made good progress in the activity of his pieces,
but his queenside is kind of falling apart.} Rf4 $2 (32... Bxb3 33. axb3 c5 {
still makes White win the game.}) 33. Rc5 a4 34. Bxd5 cxd5 35. Rxd5 Nc4+ 36.
Kc3 Ne3 37. Re5 $1 {A superb detail that Gareyev must have missed when going
for this variation.} (37. Rxg5+ Kh6 38. Rc5 Nxg2 {is winning, but now White
has to be very precise as his kingside is badly damaged and the h-pawn might
be a problem.}) 37... Nf1 {g2 was of course taboo.} 38. Rxg5+ Kf6 39. Rc5 {
The rest is trivial for a player of Nyzhnyk's caliber. Congratulations to the
National Open winner!} Ne3 40. Ng4+ Nxg4 41. hxg4 h3 42. gxh3 Rxf3+ 43. Kb4
Rxh3 44. Kxa4 Rh4 45. Kb5 Rxg4 46. a4 Ke6 47. a5 Kd7 48. a6 Kc8 49. a7 Kb7 50.
Rxc7+ Ka8 51. c4 f5 52. c5 Rd4 53. b4 f4 54. Ka6 Rd8 55. b5 1-0

[Event "Las Vegas National op"]
[Site "Las Vegas"]
[Date "2019.06.15"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Li, Ruifeng"]
[Black "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2546"]
[BlackElo "2657"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rr6/4k1p1/1ppnp3/p1n1p1p1/P1PpP2P/NP1P1P2/3KN1P1/1R5R b - - 0 32"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "2019.06.12"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2019 Update 35"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2019.06.21"]

{[#]} 32... Rh8 $1 {the pawn structure on the queenside is locked, so Black
uses the h file to penetrate} 33. hxg5 Nxb3+ 34. Kc2 (34. Rxb3 Rxh1 35. Rxb6
Nf7 {White can try defending this endgame, but it doesn't look fun. The white
king will start feeling uncomfortable once the a8 rook joins the action}) 34...
Rxh1 35. Rxh1 Nc5 36. f4 $2 {White collapses, giving up the central pawn. It's
already hard to offer a good alternative as the a4 will fall at some point}
Ndxe4 37. Rb1 Nf2 {black knights will simply collect all the pawns} 38. fxe5
Nfxd3 39. Nxd4 Rf8 40. Rxb6 Rf2+ 41. Kb1 Rf1+ 42. Kc2 Rf2+ 43. Kb1 Ne4 44. Ka1
Nc3 45. Rb7+ Ke8 46. Ndc2 Rf1+ 47. Nb1 Nb4 48. Nca3 Nxa4 49. Rb8+ Kd7 0-1

[Event "Chess Olympiad Qualifying Group 2"]
[Site "Skopje MKD"]
[Date "1972.09.21"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Milan Matulovic"]
[Black "Asfary"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C66"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "1972.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O d6 5. d4 exd4 6. Nxd4 Bd7 {[#]} 7. Nc3 (
7. Nxc6) (7. Bxc6) 7... Be7 8. Bxc6 (8. Nxc6 bxc6) 8... Bxc6 9. Nf5 (9. Nxc6)
9... O-O 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bh4 Kh7 12. f4 (12. Re1) (12. Qd4) 12... Ng8 13. Qg4 g6
14. Nxe7 Nxe7 15. Bf6 (15. f5) 15... Qc8 16. f5 Ng8 17. Bd4 Qd8 (17... Qd7) 18.
fxg6+ fxg6 19. Rxf8 Qxf8 20. Rf1 Qe7 21. Qf4 (21. Qf3) 21... Be8 (21... h5) 22.
Nd5 Qd8 (22... g5 23. Qf5+) 23. Qf7+ Bxf7 24. Rxf7# 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM I"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r4b/1k6/8/8/8/RP6/K7/1N6 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{[#]} 1... Rc2# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM II"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k7/2Q5/8/3q4/8/6BP/5p1K/6N1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{[#]} 1... f1=N# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM III"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7k/8/8/2q1r3/2B5/PPb5/K1Q5/1R6 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qxa3+ 2. Kxa3 Ra5# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM IV"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1k6/1b2q3/1Q6/2P5/8/3R2PP/1P5K/r5N1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qe2+ 2. Nxe2 Rh1# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM V"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r5/2k5/2n5/8/8/PPp5/K1B5/RR6 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Nb4+ 2. axb4 Ra8# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM VI"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/1b6/8/6n1/3Q4/4N2q/7P/5RKR b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qg2+ 2. Nxg2 Nh3# 0-1

[Event "Netanya Masters"]
[Site "Netanya"]
[Date "2019.07.01"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Postny, Evgeny"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C90"]
[WhiteElo "2737"]
[BlackElo "2601"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4
b4 9. a5 O-O 10. c3 Rb8 11. d3 h6 12. Nbd2 bxc3 13. bxc3 Be6 14. Nc4 Qc8 15.
Qc2 Rd8 16. Ba3 Bf8 17. Nfd2 Ne7 18. d4 Ng6 19. d5 Bd7 20. Ne3 Ng4 21. Nxg4
Bxg4 22. Rab1 Nf4 23. Bc4 Ra8 24. Bf1 Bd7 25. Nc4 h5 26. Bc1 Be7 27. Bxf4 exf4
28. e5 dxe5 29. Nxe5 Bf6 30. Qd2 Be6 31. c4 c6 32. d6 c5 33. Rb6 Rb8 34. d7 Qc7
35. Rc6 Bxe5 36. Rxc7 Bxc7 {[#]} 37. Rxe6 (37. Qa2 Rxd7 (37... Bxd7 38. Qa3 Bd6
39. g3) 38. Qa3 Bd6 39. Qf3 Bg4 40. Qc6 Bf8 41. Qxa6 (41. h3)) 37... fxe6 38.
g3 Kf7 39. Bh3 (39. gxf4 Ke7 40. f5 exf5 (40... Rxd7 41. Qg5+ Kf8 42. fxe6 Re7
43. Qxc5) 41. Qg5+ Kxd7 42. Qxf5+ Ke7 43. Qxc5+ Bd6 44. Qg5+ Kf8 45. Qf5+ Kg8
46. c5) 39... Ke7 (39... g5 {[#]} 40. Qd3 Rh8 41. gxf4 g4 42. Bg2 Bxf4 43. Bb7
Bc7 44. Bc8 Bd8 45. Qd6 Rb1+ 46. Kg2 h4) 40. Qe2 Rb1+ 41. Kg2 f3+ 42. Qxf3 Rf8
43. Qxh5 Bd6 44. Bxe6 Rb2 (44... Kxe6 45. Qe8+) 45. Qg5+ Kxe6 {[#]} 46. d8=N+
Kd7 47. Qxg7+ 1-0

[Event "Netanya Masters"]
[Site "Netanya"]
[Date "2019.06.27"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Postny, Evgeny"]
[Black "McShane, Luke"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A90"]
[WhiteElo "2601"]
[BlackElo "2688"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "175"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ 3. Bd2 Bxd2+ 4. Qxd2 f5 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. g3 O-O 7. Bg2 d6 8.
Nc3 Qe7 9. O-O c6 10. Rad1 Nbd7 11. Qc2 d5 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Rc1 Ne4 14. Qb3 a6
15. e3 Rb8 16. Ne2 Ndf6 17. Qb6 Bd7 18. Nf4 g5 19. Nd3 Bb5 20. Nfe5 Qd6 21. Qc7
Bc4 22. Qa5 b6 23. Qe1 Bxd3 24. Nxd3 g4 25. Ne5 Rfc8 26. Qe2 b5 27. Rc2 Rc7 28.
Rfc1 Rbc8 29. a4 bxa4 30. Rxc7 Rxc7 31. Rxc7 Qxc7 32. Qxa6 Ng5 33. Nc6 Nd7 34.
Qa8+ Kg7 35. Qxa4 Kf6 36. Qb5 Nf7 37. Bf1 Nd6 38. Qa4 Nb6 39. Qc2 Ne4 40. Bd3
Ng5 41. Qc5 Nf7 42. b3 Qb7 43. Na5 Qb8 44. Bb5 Nc8 45. Be8 Nfd6 46. Bc6 Na7 47.
Bd7 Ne4 48. Qa3 Kf7 49. Nc6 Nxc6 50. Bxc6 h5 51. b4 h4 52. b5 hxg3 53. hxg3 Nd2
54. Qa8 Qxa8 55. Bxa8 Ke7 56. Bc6 Kd6 57. Be8 Nc4 58. Bf7 Ke7 59. Bg8 Nb6 60.
Kf1 Nd7 61. Ke2 Kd6 62. Bf7 Ke7 63. Bg6 Nb6 64. Kd3 Nc4 65. Kc3 Kd7 66. Kb4 Nd6
67. Ka5 Kc7 68. Ka6 Kb8 69. Kb6 Ne4 70. Bf7 Nxf2 71. Bxe6 Nd1 72. Bxf5 Nxe3 73.
Bd3 Nd1 74. Kc5 Nc3 75. Bf5 Kc7 76. Bxg4 Ne4+ 77. Kxd5 Nf6+ 78. Ke6 Nxg4 79. d5
Nf2 80. d6+ Kd8 81. b6 Nd3 82. g4 Nc5+ 83. Kd5 Nb7 84. g5 Kd7 {[#]} 85. g6 Nxd6
86. b7 (86. g7 Nf5) 86... Kc7 87. b8=B+ Kxb8 88. Kxd6 1-0

[Event "Grand Chess Tour"]
[Site "Zagreb"]
[Date "2019.07.05"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D24"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2764"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "CRO"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bxc4 Nxe4 7. O-O Nf6 8.
Qa4+ Nc6 9. Bg5 Bxc3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Rfe1 Ne7 12. Bd3 Nf5 13. Rad1 h6 14. Bc1
b6 15. c4 Re8 16. Bb2 Bb7 17. Ne5 Ne7 18. Bb1 c5 19. Qc2 Qc7 20. dxc5 Rad8 21.
cxb6 axb6 22. Ng4 Ne4 23. f3 Qc5+ 24. Kh1 h5 25. Nh6+ gxh6 26. fxe4 e5 27. Rd5
Bxd5 28. exd5 Ng6 29. Rf1 Re7 30. Qc1 Ra7 31. h3 Rd6 32. Qxh6 Re7 33. Qc1 b5
34. Ba3 b4 35. Bb2 Ra6 36. Rf5 f6 37. Qh6 Nf4 38. Bxe5 {[#]} Rxe5 (38... Qf2
39. Qxf4 (39. Rxf4 Qe1+ 40. Kh2 Qxe5) (39. Bxf4 Re1+ 40. Kh2 Qg1+ 41. Kg3 Ra3+
42. Kh4 Qxg2) 39... Qe1+ 40. Kh2 Rxe5 41. Rxf6 Rxf6 42. Qxf6 h4) 39. Rxe5 fxe5
40. Qxa6 Qf2 41. Qc8+ Kf7 42. Qf5+ Kg8 43. Qg5+ Kf8 44. Kh2 h4 45. Bf5 1-0

[Event "Noel Skelton Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.08.31"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Tverstol, Zachary"]
[Black "Bartholomew, John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2077"]
[BlackElo "2493"]
[Annotator "Bartholomew, John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1b2kppp/p3p3/1pp1P3/2n2P2/3Q2P1/PPP1N2P/4qBK1 b - - 0 26"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]

{One of the many things that chess has taught me is that you can always apply
knowledge forward. Here, I wanted to play the seemingly crushing 26...Nd2,
threatening 27...Qxf1+ and 27...Nf3+. However, I saw that White would reply
with 27.Qd6+ Ke8 28.Qb8+, picking up the bishop with check. This piece of
information was helpful, because it then occurred to me that I can first deal
with the Qd6+ issue in unexpected fashion.} 26... Ke8 $1 {[#] Prophylaxis! 26..
. Bd5 also came to mind, although it's weaker due to 27.Nc3, when capturing on
d5 will slow Black down.} (26... Nd2 27. Qd6+ Ke8 28. Qb8+) (26... Bd5 27. Nc3)
27. Nc3 {Even with advance warning of Black's threats, White is helpless.} Nxb2
{Now 28.Qd6 doesn't come with check and is neatly met by Qe3#, so White
resigned. 27...Nd2 is also decisive. How often do you see a quiet king retreat
enabling a decisive attack?} (27... Nd2) 28. Qd6 Qe3# 0-1

