[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Phil McGhee"]
[Black "Robert Greene"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C55"]
[Annotator "Greene, Robert L."]
[PlyCount "54"]
[SourceDate "2020.05.07"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. a3 Nf6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. d3 d6 7. O-O Kh8 8. Kh1
Ne8 9. Ng1 f5 10. f4 fxe4 11. Nxe4 d5 12. Qh5 dxc4 13. Ng5 Bxg5 14. fxg5 Rxf1
15. g6 Nf6 16. Qh4 Rxc1 17. Rxc1 cxd3 18. Rf1 h6 19. Qc4 Qg8 20. Qxd3 Be6 21.
Qg3 Rf8 22. Re1 Bd5 23. Qh4 Qe6 24. Nh3 Nd7 25. Ng5 Qxg6 26. Nf3 Rxf3 27. c4
Rf1+ 0-1

[Event "Lindores Abbey Stars"]
[Site "Cupar"]
[Date "2019.05.25"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E48"]
[WhiteElo "2861"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2019.05.25"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "SCO"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 190 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.07.15"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nge2 Re8 8.
Bd2 b6 9. O-O Bd6 10. Rc1 c5 11. Nb5 Bf8 12. f3 Nc6 13. Kh1 Bb7 14. a3 g6 15.
Bb1 Rc8 16. Ba2 a6 17. Nbc3 Bg7 18. dxc5 bxc5 19. Be1 d4 20. Na4 Nd7 {[#]} (
20... Qe7 21. Nxc5 dxe3) 21. Bxf7+ (21. Nxc5 Nxc5 22. Rxc5 Qe7) 21... Kxf7 22.
Qb3+ Kf8 23. Qxb7 Rxe3 24. Ng3 Nce5 (24... Ne7) 25. Bd2 Rd3 26. Ne4 Rb8 27. Qd5
Rxd2 28. Nxd2 Nd3 29. Rc2 Qe7 30. Ne4 Nf4 31. Qc4 1-0

[Event "New York Man-Machine m"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "2003.01.26"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Comp Deep Junior"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2847"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2003.01.26"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 094"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.05.26"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. g4 dxc4 8. Bxc4
b6 9. e4 e5 10. g5 Nh5 {[#]} 11. Be3 O-O 12. O-O-O Qc7 13. d5 b5 14. dxc6 bxc4
15. Nb5 Qxc6 16. Nxd6 Bb7 17. Qc3 Rae8 18. Nxe8 Rxe8 19. Rhe1 Qb5 (19... Nf4
20. Bxf4 exf4 21. Nd4) 20. Nd2 Rc8 21. Kb1 Nf8 22. Ka1 Ng6 23. Rc1 Ba6 24. b3
cxb3 25. Qxb3 Ra8 26. Qxb5 Bxb5 27. Rc7 1-0

[Event "Candidates Tournament-05"]
[Site "Curacao"]
[Date "1962.06.16"]
[Round "23"]
[White "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Black "Geller, Efim P"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B88"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "1962.05.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "28"]
[EventCountry "AHO"]
[SourceTitle "Candidates"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Be7 8.
O-O Nxd4 9. Qxd4 O-O 10. f4 b6 11. Kh1 (11. Qd3) 11... Ba6 12. Rf3 d5 13. exd5
Bc5 14. Qa4 (14. Qd1 exd5 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Re8) 14... Bb7 15. Be3 exd5
16. Bd4 {[#]} Re8 (16... a6 17. f5 b5 18. Bxf6 bxa4 19. Bxd8 axb3 20. Bh4 (20.
Na4 Bd6 21. Bb6 bxc2 22. Rc3 Rac8 23. Bc5 d4 24. Rxc2 Rce8) 20... d4 (20...
bxc2)) 17. Rd1 Ng4 (17... a6 18. Bxf6 gxf6) 18. h3 Qh4 19. Rdf1 Bxd4 20. Qxd4
Rad8 21. Nxd5 Bxd5 22. Bxd5 Nf6 23. c4 Rd7 24. Re3 Red8 25. Qe5 h6 26. Bf3 Rd2
27. b4 Rf2 28. Ree1 Rxf3 29. Rxf3 Re8 30. Qxe8+ Nxe8 31. Rxe8+ Kh7 32. c5 Qf6
33. Re1 bxc5 34. bxc5 Qb2 35. Rff1 Qxa2 36. c6 Qa5 37. Rc1 Qc7 38. Rfd1 g5 39.
fxg5 Kg6 40. gxh6 Kxh6 41. Rd6+ Kg7 42. Rd4 Kg6 43. Ra4 1-0

[Event "Wch Rapid"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2019.12.26"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Dubov, Daniil"]
[Black "Piorun, Kacper"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2611"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2019.12.26"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2020 Update 11"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2020.01.02"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Nd5 Bd6 4. g3 c6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bg2 O-O 7. e4 Bc5 8. Nge2
d6 9. O-O Be6 10. d3 a6 11. h3 b5 12. b3 Qb6 13. Qe1 a5 14. Kh2 a4 15. Rb1 axb3
16. axb3 bxc4 17. bxc4 Qc7 18. f4 Na6 19. f5 Bd7 20. Bg5 Rfb8 21. Rxb8+ Qxb8
22. Bxf6 gxf6 23. g4 Be3 24. Ng3 Bh6 25. Nh5 Qd8 26. Qh4 Bg5 27. Qg3 Nc5 28. h4
Bh6 29. Rf3 Kh8 30. Ne2 Ra2 31. Ng1 Nb3 32. Nh3 Nd4 33. Rf2 Ne2 34. Qf3 Nd4 35.
Qd1 Rxf2 36. Nxf2 Kg8 37. g5 fxg5 38. Qd2 Bf8 39. Ng4 Be7 40. f6 Bf8 41. Qxg5+
Kh8 {[#]} 42. Qg7+ Bxg7 43. fxg7+ Kg8 44. Nh6# 1-0

[Event "Wch Rapid"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2019.12.28"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Vishnu, Prasanna V"]
[Black "Ruck, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2493"]
[BlackElo "2530"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2019.12.26"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2020 Update 11"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2020.01.02"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 a6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 Rb8 8. e4
Be7 9. Qe2 b5 10. Rd1 O-O 11. Bf4 Re8 12. a4 b4 13. d5 bxc3 14. dxc6 cxb2 15.
Rab1 Bd6 16. e5 Nd5 17. exd6 cxd6 {[#]} 18. Rxd5 exd5 19. c7 1-0

[Event "Wch Rapid"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2019.12.26"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Atabayev, Maksat"]
[Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2475"]
[BlackElo "2725"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2019.12.26"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2020 Update 11"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2020.01.02"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bxd7+ Bxd7 6. b3 Bg4 7. Bb2 Nf6 8.
d3 e6 9. Nbd2 Be7 10. h3 Bh5 11. Re1 O-O 12. Nf1 h6 13. Ng3 Bg6 14. e5 Nd5 15.
exd6 Bxd6 16. Ne5 Bxe5 17. Rxe5 b6 18. Qg4 Nf6 19. Qf3 Ra7 20. Ne2 Nd7 21. Re3
Qg5 22. Nf4 Bh7 23. Rae1 Re8 24. g3 Qf5 25. Qh5 Qxh5 26. Nxh5 g5 27. Nf6+ Nxf6
28. Bxf6 Rd7 29. Re5 Rc8 30. h4 gxh4 31. Rh5 Rd5 32. Rxh6 hxg3 {[#]} 33. Re3 (
33. Re4) 33... gxf2+ 34. Kf1 1-0

[Event "Wch Rapid"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2019.12.26"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Utegaliev, Azamat"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "2872"]
[BlackElo "2502"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2019.12.26"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2020 Update 11"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2020.01.02"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6 4. d4 c6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nc4 Qc7 8.
a4 a5 9. Qf3 Nb6 10. Bf4 Qd8 11. Be5 Nbd5 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. c3 Nf6 14. Bd3 Be6
15. O-O Bxc4 16. Bxc4 e6 17. Qg3 g6 18. f4 Bg7 19. f5 exf5 20. Bc7 Qc8 21. Qd6
Ne4 22. Rae1 Qd7 {[#]} 23. Rxe4+ fxe4 24. Bxf7+ (24. Qxd7+ Kxd7 25. Rxf7+)
24... Qxf7 25. Rxf7 Kxf7 26. Qd7+ Kg8 (26... Kf6 27. Be5+) 27. Qe6+ 1-0

[Event "Wch Rapid"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2019.12.26"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Samsonkin, Artiom"]
[Black "Ivanisevic, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2428"]
[BlackElo "2593"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2019.12.26"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2020 Update 11"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2020.01.02"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h5 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. Qxd3 Qa5+ 7. Nc3 e6 8. Bg5
Nh6 9. Nf3 Qa6 10. Qd2 Nf5 11. Ne2 c5 12. O-O Nc6 13. c3 Rc8 14. Ng3 g6 15.
Nxf5 gxf5 16. dxc5 Qc4 17. b3 Qxc5 18. Rad1 Be7 19. Rfe1 Bxg5 20. Nxg5 Ne7 21.
c4 Rd8 22. cxd5 Nxd5 23. Rc1 Qb6 24. Rc4 a5 25. Rec1 Nb4 26. Rc8 Nc6 {[#]} 27.
R1xc6 bxc6 28. Rxd8+ Qxd8 29. Qxd8+ Kxd8 30. Nxf7+ 1-0

[Event "Wch Rapid"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2019.12.26"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Suleymanli, Aydin Elshan"]
[Black "Belov, Vladimir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2473"]
[BlackElo "2598"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2019.12.26"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2020 Update 11"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2020.01.02"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. f3
Be6 9. Qd2 h5 10. Be2 Nbd7 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. exd5 Rc8 13. c4 h4 14. Na5 Qc7 15.
b4 Nh5 16. O-O O-O 17. Rfd1 Nf4 18. Bf1 Nf6 19. Qf2 Qd7 20. g3 hxg3 21. hxg3
Nh3+ 22. Bxh3 Qxh3 23. c5 e4 24. Nxb7 exf3 25. cxd6 Ng4 26. Qxf3 Qh2+ 27. Kf1 {
[#]} Rc2 28. dxe7 (28. Qxg4 Qg2+ 29. Ke1 Qh1+) 28... Nxe3+ 29. Qxe3 Qg2+ 0-1

[Event "G120 + 10 sec delay"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.02.09"]
[Round "?"]
[White "thatcher, andrew"]
[Black "herrington, preston"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B53"]
[WhiteElo "1376"]
[BlackElo "1548"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "1/259200:0"]

{[%evp 0,103,19,38,40,41,66,66,66,37,36,47,78,70,96,61,69,47,45,26,28,-20,-39,
-29,-21,-62,-93,-72,-36,-13,0,-44,-43,-49,-51,-60,-60,-53,-45,-51,-62,-63,-92,
-125,-141,-141,-142,-130,-143,-137,-148,-143,-109,-143,-141,-145,-146,-146,
-158,-197,-158,-148,-151,-161,-149,-173,-170,-178,-179,-179,-181,-171,-177,
-181,-181,-181,-149,-153,-75,-99,-74,-67,-112,-135,-107,-113,-78,-78,-84,-79,
-66,-68,-20,-6,737,894,887,903,937,938,992,1002,1012,1016,1049,1116] 600MB,
Fritz11.ctg} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. dxc5 (4. Nc3) (4. Bb5+) 4... Nxe4
5. cxd6 e6 (5... Nc6) 6. Be3 Bxd6 7. Bd3 Nf6 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bb5 (9. Nc3) 9...
O-O {[#]} 10. Bxc6 (10. Nc3) 10... bxc6 11. Nc3 Ba6 12. Bg5 (12. O-O-O) 12...
Be7 (12... Qb8) 13. O-O-O Nd5 (13... Qb6) (13... Qa5) 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. a3 (15.
Kb1 Rab8) (15. Rhe1) 15... Rab8 16. Nd4 (16. h3 Rxb2 17. Kxb2 Rb8+ 18. Nb5 (18.
Ka2 Bc4+) 18... Rxb5+ 19. Ka2) (16. Rhe1 Rxb2 17. Kxb2 Rb8+ 18. Ka2 (18. Nb5)
18... Bc4+) 16... Rfc8 (16... Qb7) 17. Nb3 Bc4 18. Na5 Nxc3 19. Qxc3 Bd5 {[#]}
20. Kb1 Rb5 (20... Rb6) 21. Rd4 (21. Rxd5 exd5 22. Nxc6 Qc7 23. Ne7+ Kf8 24.
Qxc7 (24. Nxc8)) 21... Rcb8 (21... Qg5) 22. Rb4 Rxb4 23. axb4 Qxb4 24. Qxb4
Rxb4 25. Rd1 h6 (25... g6) (25... Kf8) 26. g3 (26. f3) 26... Rb5 27. Nb3 Bxb3
28. cxb3 Rxb3 29. Rd7 (29. Rd8+ Kh7 30. Rd7 Rf3) 29... a6 (29... Rf3) 30. Rd6
Rb6 31. Kc2 Kf8 32. Kc3 Ke7 33. Rd2 (33. Rd4) 33... Rb5 34. Kc4 Rd5 35. Re2 Kd6
(35... g5) 36. f4 a5 37. b3 {[#]} c5 38. Ra2 (38. Rf2) 38... Kc6 (38... Rd4+
39. Kc3 g5 40. Rxa5) 39. Rxa5 Kb6 40. Rb5+ Kc6 41. Ra5 Rd4+ 42. Kc3 Kb6 (42...
g5) 43. Ra2 g5 (43... Rd7) (43... Rd8) (43... Rd5) (43... Re4) 44. fxg5 hxg5
45. Rf2 f5 {[#]} (45... Rd7 46. h4 gxh4 47. gxh4 Kc6) 46. Re2 Re4 (46... f4) (
46... Kb5) (46... Rd6) 47. Rxe4 $2 fxe4 48. h4 gxh4 49. gxh4 Kc6 50. h5 Kd6 51.
h6 Ke7 52. h7 1-0

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Ekaterinburg"]
[Date "2020.03.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "2774"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "Hess, Robert"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2020.03.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "21"]

{This column has always featured a game played by a top American player. With
a global pandemic impacting the entire world, this month felt like the right
time to expand those paramaters. The postponed Candidates Tournament decides
who faces Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship, and while Maxime
Vachier-Lagrave is in the lead by virtue of his head-to-head victory over Ian
Nepomniachtchi, the Russian's tactical battle against world number 3 Ding
Liren deserves our attention.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O
Be7 6. d3 ({The main line} 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 ({In the second round of the
Candidates, Ding Liren attempted} 7... O-O 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. a3 Qd7 11.
Nc3 Rfe8 12. Bd2 Nd8 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 c5 15. a4 f5 16. axb5 axb5 17. Rxa8
Bxa8 18. c4 {but was soundly defeated by MVL.}) 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5
{has been played many thousands of times.}) 6... b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 O-O 9. Nc3
Na5 ({It's possible for play to continue} 9... Bg4 10. Be3 Nd4 11. Bxd4 exd4
12. Nd5 Nd7 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 c6 {which typically results in a position
with a slight pull for White. The line chosen in the game is sharper.}) 10. Ba2
Be6 11. b4 Bxa2 12. Rxa2 Nc6 13. Bg5 Qd7 ({It has been played only a few dozen
times, but} 13... Ng4 14. Bd2 Nf6 {has appeared in games involving big names
such as Anand, Firouzja, and MVL from the white side (and Aronian, Carlsen,
and So on the black side).}) 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Nd5 a5 {[#]} 16. Rb2 {The first
new move of the game, and a very natural one. White needed to sidestep the pin
along the a-file before pressing forward. Nepomniachtchi avoids the direct
approach in favor of one that required his opponent to come up with a proper
strategy.} ({Ding had already faced this exact line against Vachier-Lagrave
and Magnus Carlsen.} 16. c4 Ne7 17. Qb3 ({Carlsen played} 17. Rc2 Nxd5 $2 (
17... axb4 18. axb4 bxc4 {was a necessary inclusion in order to obtain
meaningful play on the queenside, as seen in Hovhannisyan-Kravstsiv, Batumi
2018}) 18. cxd5 axb4 19. axb4 Ra4 20. Qd2 Rfa8 21. Rfc1 Bd8 22. h3 {and won a
quick game over Ding in Saint Louis in 2017.}) 17... bxc4 18. Nxe7+ Bxe7 19.
dxc4 axb4 20. axb4 Qc6 {was a superior position for Black before MVL
eventually held a miraculous draw at the 2019 Grand Chess Tour Finals.}) 16...
axb4 ({Nepomniachtchi took away an important resource from Ding:} 16... Ne7 {
is met by the unpleasant} 17. Nxf6+ gxf6 18. Nh4 {with Qf3 to follow. White
starts amping up the pressure on the kingside, while Black's knight is stuck
covering the f5 square. Objectively the position might be fine, but it is more
comfortable for White, whose king is safe and sound.}) 17. axb4 Bd8 ({Black
can transpose to the aforementioned variation:} 17... Ne7 18. Nxf6+ gxf6 19.
Nh4) 18. c4 Nd4 ({Ding would not have been able to trade the more advanced
knight:} 18... Ne7 19. Ne3 c6 20. cxb5 cxb5 21. d4 {and White is first to the
action.}) 19. Nxd4 exd4 20. Qc2 Re8 21. g3 {This is an exquisite,
multi-purpose, prophylactic idea. Nepo executed this move instantly,
indicating that his opening preparation was quite extensive. White creates
luft for his king, which will allow him to challenge Black's queenside
weaknesses.} ({It's too early to go after the c-pawn, since} 21. cxb5 Qxb5 22.
Rc1 c6 {would allow Black to unwind, as the pawn on c6 is immune to capture
due to back rank checkmate.} 23. Nf4 Bg5 {and Black seizes the advantage.})
21... bxc4 ({Had he inverted the move order, Ding would have had additional
options compared to the game.} 21... c6 22. Nf4 {when capturing on c4 is not
forced. An essential issue for Black is that he can't afford to allow a swap
on b5 and free up the d5 square.} Bg5 {would be a worthy reply if not for the
sacrifice} ({By no means an easy position to play,} 22... Rb8 23. cxb5 Rxb5 24.
Rc1 g5 25. Ne2 c5 {at least provides Black a good deal of hope. The knight as
of yet lacks a direct route to an outpost, and Black's pieces can activate.})
23. cxb5 Bxf4 24. bxc6 Qh3 {when White does not capture the bishop and allow
an immediate draw, instead vying for the full point with} 25. Ra2 Rab8 26. Ra5
$1 {The rook can swing to f5, where it will cut off the Black queen and help
the pawn promote. Black is in serious trouble.}) 22. Qxc4 c6 {Absolutely
forced, lest White play Rc1 and cement the pawn on c7.} 23. Nf4 Bg5 24. Ne2 d5
25. exd5 cxd5 {[#]} 26. Qb3 {Nepo tends to play very quickly, and here was no
exception. Black's center pawns are vulnerable while White's b-pawn is about
to sprint towards promotion.} (26. Qc2 {doesn't support the passer as in the
game, but it provides White the important option:} h5 27. h4) 26... h5 $1 {
Ding had little choice but to drum up counterplay with an AlphaZero style
approach.} 27. b5 ({White can't contain the wily h-pawn, for} 27. h4 $2 Bxh4
28. gxh4 Rxe2 29. Rxe2 Qg4+ {is winning for Black.}) 27... h4 28. b6 h3 ({
The counterintuitive} 28... Rab8 {was actually best. Although this drags the
rook away from the open file, on which it intended to deliver a back rank
checkmate, it also safeguards the piece in lines such as} 29. Rfb1 (29. b7 h3
30. Kh1 Re7 {scoops up the pawn.}) 29... Qg4 {when 30. Qxd5 loses the knight
on e2.} 30. Qxd5) 29. Kh1 Reb8 ({This incredibly rich game featured many
tactical possibilites, but the following exchange sacrifice fails:} 29... Rxe2
30. Rxe2 Qg4 31. Qxd5 {when White is fully covered on the light squares.} ({Not
} 31. f3 $4 Qxf3+ $1)) 30. Rfb1 Bd8 31. Qb5 {Nepomniachtchi knew that trading
his queen for Black's rooks should generally be an easy technical win, but he
unearthed a concept that eerily resembles a fortress.} (31. b7 Ra7 32. Ng1 g5
$1 (32... Raxb7 33. Qxb7 Rxb7 34. Rxb7 {sees Black drop the h-pawn because the
queen must defend the bishop.}) 33. Qb5 Rbxb7 34. Qxb7 Rxb7 35. Rxb7 Qf5 36.
Rb8 g4 37. Rxd8+ Kg7 {Despite the wealth of material for the queen, White's
king and knight are entombed. This should eventually be a win, but in one's
head it is hard to assess.}) 31... Qg4 {During the round, I was convinced
White was simply winning. The attack did not appear convincing while the
passed pawn does. Looks clearly can be deceiving.} ({Unbelievably, Black wants
to hand White the d4 pawn:} 31... Qf5 32. Nxd4 (32. Nf4 Bxb6 33. Qc6 Bc7 34.
Rxb8+ Rxb8 35. Rxb8+ Bxb8 36. Qe8+ Kh7 37. Qxb8 g5 38. Nxh3 Qxh3 39. Kg1 {
is better for White, but it is hard to picture the advantage being converted.})
32... Qg4 33. Qxd5 (33. b7 Ra7 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Qxf7 Bf6 36. Rb4 Bxd4 37. Qxd5
Ra5 $3 38. Rxd4 Rxb7 $3 {[#] is one of the most incredible positions I have
ever seen. Every single piece is under attack, and, of course, the result
should be a draw} 39. Qxb7 Qxd4 40. Qe4+ Qxe4+ 41. dxe4 Ra2 {since Black will
win the e4 pawn or cut off the white king.}) 33... Bf6 34. Rb4 Bxd4 35. Rxd4 {
[#]} Rxb6 $3 {What in the world! Black jettisons the rook on a8 - with check!
- but threatens both rooks and too many checkmates for White to maintain a
material edge.}) 32. Qxd5 {Nepomniachtchi grabs the wrong pawn.} (32. Qe8+ Kh7
33. Qxf7 Rxb6 34. Rxb6 Bxb6 35. f3 Qg5 36. Nf4 {is a knockout. All of Black's
pawns are vulnerable and his king lacks shelter.}) 32... Ra5 33. Qc6 Rc5 {
Ding misses his final chance to hold the game, but who can blame him? Black's
35th move is hardly human instinct.} (33... Rxb6 $1 34. Rxb6 Qxe2 35. Rb8 Re5
$1 {[#] An amazing resource. When visualizing these variations, few involve
the rook's lateral movement. Black gives up the bishop with check to threaten
mates that can only be stopped by returning a rook.} 36. Rxd8+ Kh7 37. Rh8+ (
37. Rg1 Qxf2 {and somehow, despite a surplus rook and the turn, with the
threat of ...Re1 looming White has no choice but to play 38. Rh8+ Kxh8 39.
Qc8+ Kh7 40. Qxh3+ and make a draw.} 38. Rh8+ Kxh8 39. Qc8+ Kh7 40. Qxh3+)
37... Kxh8 38. Qc8+ Kh7 39. Qxh3+ Kg6) 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Ng1 Rxb6 36. Qxd8 Rxb2
37. Rxb2 Rc1 38. Qh4+ Qxh4 39. gxh4 Rd1 40. f3 {Ding resigned, since the pin
must be released after something like 40...Kg6 41. Rb4 Rxd3 42. Nxh3.} Kg6 41.
Rb4 Rxd3 42. Nxh3 1-0

[Event "Chess Olympiad (Women)"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2.20"]
[White "Shen Yang"]
[Black "Melissa Castrillon Gomez"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A58"]
[WhiteElo "2464"]
[BlackElo "2248"]
[Annotator "Watson, John"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2018.09.24"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 O-O 8. e4
Qa5 9. Nd2 Bxa6 10. Bxa6 Qxa6 11. a4 Ra7 12. Qe2 d6 13. Nb5 Rb7 14. O-O Ne8 15.
Re1 Nc7 16. Nxc7 Rxc7 17. Ra3 Rb7 18. Nc4 Nd7 19. Bg5 Nb6 20. b3 h6 21. Bd2
Nxc4 22. Qxc4 Qxc4 23. bxc4 Rb2 24. Rd1 Rfb8 25. Kf1 Rc2 26. a5 Rbb2 27. Ke2
Bc3 28. Kd3 Bxd2 29. a6 {[#]} Ra2 (29... Bf4 30. a7 Rxf2 31. a8=Q+ Kg7) 30. Ra1
Rc3+ 31. Rxc3 Rxa1 32. Kxd2 Rxa6 33. Ke3 1/2-1/2

[Event "St. Louis Rapid & Blitz (Rapid)"]
[Site "St. Louis, MO USA"]
[Date "2017.08.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Levon Aronian"]
[Black "David Navara"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2799"]
[BlackElo "2737"]
[Annotator "Watson, John"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2017.08.13"]
[EventType "blitz"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Bg2
d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. O-O Re8 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Qc2 c5 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Rad1 Qc8
15. e4 Bf8 16. f4 d4 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 f6 {[#]} 19. Rde1 fxe5 20. fxe5 Nd7
21. e6 Nf6 22. Rxf6 gxf6 23. Qf5 Qd8 24. Re4 Re7 25. Rg4+ Kh8 26. Be4 Rc8 27.
Rh4 Kg8 (27... Rcc7 28. Qxf6+ Kg8 29. Rg4+ Bg7 30. Rxg7+) 28. Rxh7 Bxd5 29.
Qg6+ Rg7 30. Qh5 Bxe4 31. Rh8# 1-0

[Event "Zurich Candidates"]
[Site "Zurich SUI"]
[Date "1953.10.14"]
[Round "25"]
[White "Alexander Kotov"]
[Black "Svetozar Gligoric"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E87"]
[Annotator "Watson, John"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1953.08.30"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 c5 8. Bd3 Nh5
9. Nge2 f5 10. exf5 gxf5 11. Qc2 {[#]} e4 12. fxe4 f4 13. Bf2 Nd7 14. Ng1 Qg5
15. Bf1 Ne5 16. Nf3 Qe7 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. O-O-O Nf6 19. h3 Bd7 20. Bd3 a6 21.
Nb1 f3 22. gxf3 Nh5 23. Nd2 Nf4 24. Bf1 b5 25. h4 Kh8 26. Rg1 Bf6 27. Nb3 Rab8
28. Be1 b4 29. Kb1 Ra8 30. Bg3 Rg8 31. Qh2 Rxg3 32. Rxg3 Ne2 33. Qxe2 Qxg3 34.
Nc1 a5 35. Nd3 Bd4 36. h5 Qh4 37. Bg2 Rg8 38. Rh1 Qg3 39. Bf1 a4 40. Kc2 a3 41.
b3 1/2-1/2

[Event "World Senior Teams +50"]
[Site "Prague CZE"]
[Date "2020.03.07"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Fatalibekova, Elena"]
[Black "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "2158"]
[BlackElo "2508"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2020.03.06"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1322"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2020.03.09"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. g3 O-O 7. Bg2 Re8 8.
O-O Bf8 9. h3 Nc6 10. g4 h6 11. Nde2 Rb8 12. f4 Na5 13. Qd3 b5 14. b4 Nc4 15.
Nxb5 Rxb5 16. Qxc4 Rb6 17. b5 {[#]} d5 (17... c6 18. a4 Nxe4) 18. exd5 Bxg4 19.
Nd4 (19. hxg4 Nxg4 20. Nd4 Qh4 21. Nf3 Qg3 22. f5 Bc5+ {[#]} 23. Kh1 (23. Qxc5
Re2) 23... Re1 (23... Bd6) 24. Rxe1 Nf2+ 25. Kg1 Nh3+ 26. Kh1 Nf2+) 19... Bd7 (
19... Bh5) 20. Nc6 Bxc6 21. dxc6 a6 22. a4 axb5 23. axb5 Nh5 24. Bb2 Qh4 25.
Be5 Rxe5 26. Ra7 Rc5 27. Qd3 Nxf4 28. Qf3 Bd6 29. Ra8+ Kh7 30. Qe4+ f5 31. Qe8
Re5 32. Qh8+ Kg6 33. Rg8 Nxh3+ 0-1

[Event "World Senior Teams +50"]
[Site "Prague CZE"]
[Date "2020.03.09"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Yermolinsky, A."]
[Black "Plaskett, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A17"]
[WhiteElo "2487"]
[BlackElo "2401"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2020.03.06"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1323"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2020.03.16"]
[WhiteTeam "India Yogis"]
[BlackTeam "Norway Gnomes"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4 6. d3 O-O 7. e4 d5 8. e5
Nfd7 9. cxd5 Bxd5 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 c5 12. d4 Nc6 (12... h6) 13. Ng5 Bxg2
14. Kxg2 Ndb8 15. Qf3 (15. Qd3 Qd5+ 16. f3) 15... cxd4 16. cxd4 h6 17. Ne4 Qxd4
(17... Nxd4 18. Nf6+ (18. Qg4) 18... Qxf6 19. Qxa8 Qf5) 18. Ba3 Nxe5 (18... Rd8
19. Rad1 (19. Nf6+ gxf6 20. Rad1 Qxe5 21. Rxd8+ Nxd8 22. Qxa8 Ndc6) 19... Qxe5
20. Rxd8+ Nxd8 21. Nf6+ gxf6 22. Qxa8 Ndc6) 19. Nf6+ gxf6 20. Qxa8 Re8 21. Rad1
Qa4 22. Bd6 Na6 {[#]} (22... Qc6+) 23. Rd4 (23. Qb7 Nc5) 23... Qc6+ 24. Qxc6
Nxc6 25. Rg4+ Kh7 26. Rc1 Na5 27. Rc3 f5 28. Rh4 e5 29. Ra4 Re6 30. Bb4 Nxb4
31. Rxb4 Kg6 32. Rc7 Kf6 (32... a6 33. a4 b5 34. axb5 axb5 35. Rxb5 Nc6 36. Rb6
Nd4 37. Rxe6+) 33. Rh4 Kg6 34. Ra4 e4 35. Rxa7 Nc6 36. Rb7 Ne5 37. Rb4 Re8 38.
R4xb6+ Kg7 39. Rb5 f4 40. gxf4 Nd3 41. Rf5 Rf8 42. h4 Kg6 43. Rbb5 f6 44. h5+
Kf7 45. Rb6 Ke7 46. Kf1 Ra8 47. Rfxf6 Rxa2 48. Rbe6+ Kd7 49. Rxe4 Rxf2+ 50. Kg1
1-0

[Event "World Senior Teams +50"]
[Site "Prague CZE"]
[Date "2020.03.09"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Arkell, K."]
[Black "Shabalov, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A88"]
[WhiteElo "2447"]
[BlackElo "2524"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2020.03.06"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1323"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2020.03.16"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway Gnomes"]
[BlackTeam "India Yogis"]

1. Nf3 f5 2. d4 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. c4 Bg7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nc3 d6 7. O-O c6 8. Re1
Na6 9. e4 Nxe4 10. Nxe4 fxe4 11. Rxe4 Bf5 12. Re1 e5 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Qxd8
Raxd8 15. Bg5 Rde8 16. Be3 {[#]} Nb4 17. Bc5 Nc2 18. Bxf8 Rxf8 19. Rad1 e4 20.
Ng5 Nxe1 21. Rxe1 Bxb2 22. Bxe4 Bc3 23. Rd1 Bg4 24. f3 Bc8 25. Kg2 Bf6 26. h4
Kg7 27. Bc2 Rd8 28. Rxd8 Bxd8 29. Ne4 b5 30. cxb5 cxb5 31. Bb3 Bb6 32. g4 Bb7
33. g5 Bc6 34. Nf6 a5 35. Bd5 Bxd5 36. Nxd5 Ba7 37. Kh3 b4 38. Kg4 Bc5 39. Nf4
Kf7 40. Nd3 Bd6 41. Nb2 Ke6 42. h5 Be5 43. Nc4 (43. Nd3) 43... a4 44. hxg6 hxg6
45. f4 Bd4 46. f5+ gxf5+ 47. Kf4 b3 48. axb3 axb3 49. g6 b2 50. Nd2 Kf6 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Senior Team Championship 202"]
[Site "Olympik hotel, Sokolovska 138"]
[Date "2020.03.10"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Kaidanov, Gregory"]
[Black "Hracek, Zbynek"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2546"]
[BlackElo "2572"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "2020.03.06"]
[WhiteTeam "USA1"]
[BlackTeam "CZE1"]

{Greg has always been an excellent theoretician; lately he has been
streamlining his White repertoire to reduce the workload.} 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nf6
3. g3 b6 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O e6 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Re1 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. e4 Nb4 10.
d4 cxd4 11. Nxd4 N8c6 12. Nxc6 Nxc6 (12... Qxd1 13. Rxd1 Bxc6 {has been
preferred in practice. Hracek was taking a lot more time than Greg and may
have been less than optimally prepared.}) 13. Bf4 (13. e5 {has actually almost
always been played first here.}) 13... O-O 14. e5 $146 (14. Qg4) 14... Na5 (
14... Qxd1 {may have afforded an easier life, if not complete equality.}) 15.
Bxb7 Nxb7 16. Qg4 Kh8 17. Red1 Qe8 18. Qe2 $1 {After the feint on the kingside,
White shows Black has problems on the other side.} Qc6 19. Nb5 Rfd8 20. Rxd8+
Bxd8 21. Rc1 Qd5 22. Rd1 Qc6 23. Nd4 Qd7 24. Qf3 $1 {[#] Black has to lose
material, and it's already a technical matter.} Qd5 25. Qxd5 exd5 26. Nb5 Kg8
27. Rxd5 a6 28. Nd6 {Also good to keep the knights on--a matter of taste.} Nxd6
29. Rxd6 Kf8 30. Be3 b5 31. f4 Ke8 32. Kf1 h5 33. Ke2 g6 34. h3 Be7 35. Rb6 Bd8
36. Rc6 Be7 37. Bb6 Kd7 38. Rc7+ Ke6 39. Ke3 a5 40. Ke4 f5+ 41. Ke3 h4 42. gxh4
Rh8 43. Rc6+ Kd5 44. Rxg6 Rxh4 45. Rg3 a4 46. Kf3 {Hracek has done a good job
of resisting, but his next hasty attempt at making an immediate threat
backfires and ends the game.} Bb4 $2 47. Bd8 {It's routine now.} Rh8 48. Bf6
Rc8 49. h4 Rc1 50. Rg2 Rf1+ 51. Rf2 Rg1 52. Re2 Be1 53. Re3 Ke6 54. h5 Bb4 55.
h6 Rh1 56. Bg7 Rh3+ 57. Ke2 Rh4 58. Rd3 Be7 59. Rd1 b4 60. b3 a3 61. Kf3 Kf7
62. Rd7 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Senior Team Championship 202"]
[Site "Olympik hotel, Sokolovska 138"]
[Date "2020.03.11"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Novikov, Igor"]
[Black "Meister, Jakob"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E16"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2020.03.06"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ 5. Qxd2 O-O 6. g3 b6 7. Bg2 Bb7 8.
Nc3 d6 9. d5 exd5 {Meister's idea is pretty dubious.} (9... e5) 10. cxd5 b5 11.
Nxb5 Bxd5 12. Rc1 c6 13. Nc3 Ne4 (13... Bxf3 14. Bxf3 d5 {is less likely to
lose material, but it's a pretty bad version of the Tarrasch Defense.}) 14.
Nxe4 Bxe4 15. O-O Qe7 16. Rfd1 Rd8 17. Qe3 Qe8 {Igor plays in the most direct
manner. Also good was.} 18. Nd4 (18. Qf4) 18... Bxg2 19. Qxe8+ (19. Kxg2 $5
Qxe3 20. fxe3 {might win two pawns, but perhaps White won't hold on to both
e-pawns.}) 19... Rxe8 20. Kxg2 a5 $1 21. Nxc6 Nxc6 22. Rxc6 Rxe2 23. Rcxd6 g6
24. R1d2 Ree8 (24... Rxd2 25. Rxd2 {White brings the king to the queenside.})
25. Rb6 Ra7 26. a4 h5 27. b3 Rc8 28. Kh3 Kg7 29. Kh4 Rc3 30. Kh3 {I think Igor
had a plan to play f4-f5 but decided it wouldn't work.} Re7 31. Rb5 Ra7 32. Kg2
Kf6 33. Rd6+ Kg7 34. Rdb6 Rc2 35. Rb7 Ra6 36. R5b6 Rxb6 37. Rxb6 Rb2 38. h4 f6
39. Rb5 Kh6 40. Kf3 g5 {[#] Black doesn't want to wait too long to get
counterplay going. White is ready to bring the king to the queenside and make
two passed pawns.} 41. g4 $1 {When I saw this move on the computer in my room
I felt much relieved. It looks like White can clean up the kingside before
turning his attention to the a-pawn. But it turns out to be not so simple.}
hxg4+ $2 ({Surprisingly, Black can hold after} 41... gxh4 $1 42. gxh5 (42.
Rxh5+ Kg6 43. Rb5 Rc2 44. Kg2 Rc3 45. Rxa5 Rxb3 46. Rb5 Ra3 47. a5 Ra2 48. Rf5
Ra3 49. f3 Ra1 {and White can't make progress}) 42... f5 $3 43. Rxf5 {nothing
else} Rxb3+ 44. Kg2 Rb4 45. Rxa5 Rg4+ 46. Kh3 Rf4 47. f3 {White has to
acquiesce to this trade, one way or another.} Rxf3+ 48. Kxh4 Rc3 $1 {with a
tablebase draw. Black has to make sure White doesn't get time to reposition
the rook on the fifth rank and push the pawn to a5--then it would be winning.
With proper play Black has a version of the infamous Vancura position.}) 42.
Kxg4 gxh4 43. f3 Kg6 44. Kxh4 Rd2 45. Rxa5 Rd3 46. Rb5 Rxf3 47. a5 Rf4+ 48. Kg3
Rf1 49. Rb4 1-0

[Event "World Senior Teams"]
[Site "Prague"]
[Date "2020.03.09"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Arkell, Keith C"]
[Black "Shabalov, Alexander"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A88"]
[WhiteElo "2447"]
[BlackElo "2524"]
[Annotator "Rambaldi, Francesco"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2020.03.06"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "CB12_2020"]
[SourceDate "2020.03.18"]
[WhiteTeam "England 50"]
[BlackTeam "US of America 50"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{The World Senior Team Championship is a tournament that abunds in experience,
so it's no surprise that it featured several instructive endgames. The
strongest players are able to couple their excellent understanding of the
position with an acute sense for dynamic play.} 1. Nf3 f5 2. d4 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4.
c4 Bg7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nc3 d6 7. O-O c6 8. Re1 Na6 9. e4 Nxe4 10. Nxe4 fxe4 11.
Rxe4 Bf5 12. Re1 e5 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Qxd8 Raxd8 15. Bg5 Rde8 16. Be3 Nb4 17.
Bc5 Nc2 18. Bxf8 Rxf8 19. Rad1 e4 20. Ng5 Nxe1 21. Rxe1 Bxb2 22. Bxe4 Bc3 23.
Rd1 Bg4 24. f3 Bc8 25. Kg2 Bf6 26. h4 Kg7 27. Bc2 Rd8 28. Rxd8 Bxd8 29. Ne4 {
[#] In a crucial round, and against one of the strongest teams in the
competition, Shabalov displayed excellent technique to claim the full point
from a superior position.} b5 $1 {This move is critical, and it paves the way
for Black to activate his position. It was important to recognize that Black
should immediately strike on the queenside and seek to mobilize his pawn
majority.} ({Without this move, Black's pawn majority would not be as
dangerous. For example:} 29... Be7 30. a4 $1 {and Black is unable to make
progress, at least in the short-term.}) 30. cxb5 cxb5 $17 {Black is now able
to further advance his queenside pawns, and the bishop pair will truly burst
into life.} 31. Bb3 Bb6 32. g4 Bb7 33. g5 Bc6 34. Nf6 a5 35. Bd5 $5 {White
decided that his chances of survival would be thin if he allowed Black to keep
the bishop pair. The problem, however, is that Black's dark-squared bishop
dominates the white knight: it supports the queenside advance and it forces
White to worry about his kingside pawns.} Bxd5 36. Nxd5 Ba7 37. Kh3 b4 38. Kg4
{[#]} Bc5 $2 {This is Black's only mistake, but it could have been quite
costly. Black underestimated White's chances for counterplay and did not take
the time to prevent it.} (38... Kf7 $1 {is the best move, and leads to a win.
The idea it to prevent White from pushing his kingside pawns before proceeding
on the queenside. Now,} 39. f4 {is met by} Ke6 {and Black's pawn will promote.}
) 39. Nf4 $2 {Now White is simply too slow:} ({White could now have salvaged a
draw with} 39. f4 $1 {since he is able to tie up the kingside before Black can
make any progress:} a4 40. f5 a3 $1 {Black threatens to play . ..b3 and
promote the a-pawn.} 41. Nxb4 Bxb4 42. fxg6 Kxg6 (42... hxg6 43. h5 {leads to
a draw:} gxh5+ 44. Kxh5 Kh7 45. Kg4 Kg6 46. Kf3 Kxg5 47. Ke2 Kf4 48. Kd1 Ke3
49. Kc2 Kd4 50. Kb1 {Black has no way of chasing the White king out of the
corner.}) 43. h5+ Kg7 44. g6 $1 h6 45. Kf5 {Although Black has kept the
h6-pawn alive, he is unable to make progress since his king is boxed into the
corner.}) 39... Kf7 $1 40. Nd3 Bd6 $19 {The bishop completely dominates the
knight, and White has no counterplay:} 41. Nb2 Ke6 42. h5 Be5 43. Nc4 a4 44.
hxg6 hxg6 45. f4 Bd4 46. f5+ gxf5+ 47. Kf4 b3 48. axb3 axb3 49. g6 b2 50. Nd2
Kf6 {White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "World Senior Teams"]
[Site "Prague"]
[Date "2020.03.07"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Ernst, Michael"]
[Black "Levin, Felix"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2155"]
[BlackElo "2480"]
[Annotator "Rambaldi, Francesco"]
[PlyCount "126"]
[EventDate "2020.03.06"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[WhiteTeam "Austria"]
[BlackTeam "Germany"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "AUT"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

{Whereas Shabalov showed us how to add the finishing touches, the following
game shows us how to play an endgame when there is no end in sight, and with
many pieces on the board. The key is to be patient and make small improvements
to the position.} 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 c5 3. e3 cxd4 4. exd4 Nc6 5. c3 f6 6. Nf3 g5
7. Bg3 Bg7 8. Bb5 Bf5 9. h3 e6 10. Na3 Nge7 11. Nc2 Qb6 12. Qe2 a6 13. Bxc6+
Qxc6 14. Nb4 Qb5 $5 {Black's bishop pair and his greater piece coordination
give him an enduring edge, which will persist well into the endgame. With the
text move, Black allows White to double his pawns on the b-file, but he gains
access to the a-file and establishes control over White's queenside pawns.} 15.
Qxb5+ axb5 16. O-O Kd7 17. Rfe1 h5 $1 {Black continues to play on both sides
of the board, restricting White's options further.} 18. a3 Ng6 19. Nd2 g4 20.
h4 Bh6 $2 {This move is quite logical, but it lacks a clear purpose, and it
gives White time to reorganize his pieces.} (20... Bf8 $1 {would have been a
better continuation, as ...Bxb4 would favor Black. For example:} 21. Nb3 b6 22.
Rec1 Bxb4 23. axb4 Ra4 $1 $17 {and Black is attacking on all fronts.}) 21. Nb3
b6 22. Nc1 $1 Be4 23. Ncd3 Ne7 24. Nf4 {White has activated his pieces,
whereas Black has made little progress over the last few moves.} Bxf4 $5 {
This is an interesting positional decision: Black gives up the bishop pair to
transform his advantage. By removing the f4-knight, Black eliminates any
source of counterplay and reaffirms his domination on the light squares.
However, Black struggles to find a way forward in the resulting position
because of White's solidity.} 25. Bxf4 Ng6 26. g3 Rhg8 27. Be3 Ne7 28. Rad1
Rge8 29. Nd3 $2 {This only helps Black, as he can now bring his knight to the
queenside via c6.} ({Although Black clearly has the more comfortable position,
I don't see any way to make progress after a simple move like} 29. Rd2) 29...
Bxd3 30. Rxd3 Nc6 31. Bc1 Na5 32. Kg2 Nc4 33. f3 $2 {White should have
continued to defend passively. Opening the position only helps Black.} gxf3+
34. Rxf3 f5 35. Re2 Nd6 36. Bf4 Ne4 37. Re1 {[#]} b4 $1 {Black gives up a pawn
to open the position and bring his rooks into the game. Such moves can be
extremely difficult to deal with during a game, especially so late in the game.
} 38. axb4 Ra2 39. Bc1 $2 {Too passive. White should have played 39.Re2.} (39.
Re2) 39... Kc6 $1 40. Kh3 Kb5 $1 {The king penetrates White's position, and
White has no counterplay.} 41. Rg1 Kc4 42. Re3 Rg8 43. Rf3 Ra1 44. Rff1 Kb3 45.
Kh2 Rg4 $19 {[#] This is total domination. White's pieces are tied up, and
Black can slowly tighten the screws.} 46. Kh3 Rb1 47. Kh2 Nd6 48. Re1 Re4 49.
Rxe4 Nxe4 50. Kh1 Kc2 51. Bf4 Rxg1+ 52. Kxg1 b5 $1 {This move is not necessary
at all, but it brings the game to a fitting end: all of White's pieces are on
the dark squares whereas all of Black's pieces are on the light squares.} 53.
Bc7 Kxb2 54. Bb6 Kxc3 55. Bc5 Nxg3 56. Kf2 Ne4+ 57. Ke3 Kc4 58. Kf4 Kd3 59. Ke5
Nd2 60. Kf4 Nb3 61. Kg5 Ke3 62. Bd6 Nxd4 63. Kxh5 Nf3 {White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "VAM Hoogeveen op 1997"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.04.07"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bronstein, David"]
[Black "Vedder, Richard"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E16"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 {[#]}
8. O-O (8. Nc3) 8... O-O 9. Nc3 Ne4 10. Qc2 f5 11. Rad1 Nxd2 12. Rxd2 a6 13. a3
Qc7 14. Rfd1 Be7 (14... d6 15. b4) 15. Qb3 Rc8 16. c5 Bc6 (16... Qxc5 17. Na4)
(16... bxc5 17. Rxd7) (16... Bxc5) 17. cxb6 Qb7 18. Ne5 Bxg2 19. Rxd7 Bd5 (
19... Nxd7 20. Qxe6+ Kh8 (20... Kf8 21. Qf7#) 21. Nf7+ Kg8 22. Nh6+ Kh8 23.
Qg8+ Rxg8 24. Nf7#) 20. R1xd5 Rxc3 21. Rd8+ Bf8 (21... Bxd8 22. Rxd8#) 22.
Rxf8+ Kxf8 23. Qb4+ Ke8 (23... Qe7 24. Rd8#) (23... Kg8 24. Rd8#) 24. Rd8+ Kxd8
25. Qf8# 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM I"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/8/2q5/1k6/3P1N2/2QK4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]

{[#]} 1... Qf1# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM II"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1k6/6q1/8/8/n5Q1/PN5P/K1R5 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qb1+ 2. Rxb1 Nc2# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM III"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/7k/8/1b6/2q3Q1/6R1/5PPP/r2R2K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qf1+ 2. Rxf1 Rxf1# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM IV"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2k4b/r7/5q2/8/8/1Q6/R1P5/1K1R4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qa1+ 2. Rxa1 Rxa1# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM V"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/5rk1/2Q5/8/8/6p1/q5B1/4B2K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Rf1+ 2. Bxf1 Qh2# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM VI"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/8/3q3b/7n/8/8/6PR/1Q1N3K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{[#]} 1... Qxd1+ 2. Qxd1 Ng3+ 3. Kg1 Be3# 0-1

[Event "GE-Lemoyne College"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.02.09"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Strenzwilk, Denis"]
[Black "Lerman, Harvey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C64"]
[WhiteElo "2200"]
[BlackElo "1950"]
[Annotator "Lerman, Harvey"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2k3rr/1pp1np2/pb6/3Pp1qp/2p1P2N/1N4Pb/PP2B2P/2RQ2RK w - - 0 26"]
[PlyCount "28"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]

26. Bxc4 Bxg1 27. Qxg1 Bg4 28. Qa7 Ng6 {[#]} 29. Bxa6 Nxh4 30. Qxb7+ (30. Bxb7+
Kd8 31. Rxc7) (30. d6) 30... Kd8 31. Qxc7+ Ke8 32. Qb8+ Ke7 33. Qb4+ Kf6 34.
Qc5 Bf3+ 35. Kg1 Bxe4 36. Rf1+ Nf3+ 37. Kg2 Qf4 38. Be2 Nd4+ 39. Kg1 Nxe2# 0-1

