[Event "Lindores Abbey Final 8"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2020.05.29"]
[Round "2.21"]
[White "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "Carlsen, M.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2863"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2020.05.23"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "Soltis main story"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,65,34,9,13,35,18,13,13,17,22,11,8,15,19,28,47,42,108,105,113,98,92,55,
80,86,45,37,58,41,72,61,39,-27,0,0,-8,-36,-35,-41,-38,-41,-60,-56,0,-49,-76,0,
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,8,766,1074,29977,29978,29979,29980,29981,29982,29989,29990]} 
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. O-O Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8.
g4 Nxg4 9. hxg4 Bxg4 10. Be3 Be7 11. Kh1 f5 12. Rg1 h5 13. Nc3 f4 14. Bd2 g5
15. Nb1 Bc5 16. Bc3 Bxf2 17. Nbd2 Qe7 18. Qf1 Bxg1 19. Qxg1 Bxf3+ 20. Nxf3 g4
21. Nxe5 Rg8 22. Rf1 Qg5 23. Qd4 Qh4+ 24. Kg1 Qg3+ 25. Kh1 Qh3+ 26. Kg1 {[#]}
g3 $4 (26... Qg3+ 27. Kh1 Rd8 28. Qc4 Rd5 $1 29. exd5 Qh3+ 30. Kg1 f3 31. Rf2
g3) 27. Nf3 g2 28. Re1 Qxf3 $4 29. Qe5+ Kd8 30. Qf6+ Ke8 31. Bb4 c5 32. Bxc5
Kd7 33. Qf7+ 1-0

[Event "Online Nations Cup Prelim"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.05.07"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Anand, V.."]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, I.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2784"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "33"]
[EventDate "2020.05.05"]
[EventType "team (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[SourceTitle "Soltis main story"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "India"]
[BlackTeam "Russia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "IND"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]

{[%evp 0,33,34,27,27,-9,31,35,57,51,51,47,23,32,36,43,32,25,33,22,42,40,35,22,
59,38,29,33,39,-1,2,-359,-359,-341,-338,-195]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4.
cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 Bg7 6. e4 Nxc3 7. Bxc3 c5 8. d5 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qd6 10. Qd2 O-O
11. f4 e6 12. Nf3 exd5 13. Bc4 Be6 14. O-O d4 {[#]} 15. f5 Bxc4 16. e5 Qd7 17.
f6 1-0

[Event "Online Nations Cup Prelim"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.05.05"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Caruana, F.."]
[Black "Vidit, S.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2726"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "237"]
[EventDate "2020.05.05"]
[EventType "team (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[SourceTitle "Soltis main story"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "USA"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]

{[%evp 0,222,27,13,18,17,17,8,17,15,22,-29,-10,-10,-10,-15,10,-19,-13,-12,-9,
-5,-11,-7,-6,0,-7,-7,-11,-11,-6,-25,9,17,27,27,39,30,24,18,5,27,19,-19,-6,1,18,
10,-12,-74,27,41,44,45,45,48,68,35,49,42,47,65,58,54,72,58,61,45,61,39,36,30,
36,22,27,22,35,42,35,32,44,48,49,41,54,56,47,40,47,47,64,56,92,85,86,96,91,72,
67,66,63,75,86,42,55,56,57,51,49,50,63,83,69,69,76,77,104,107,104,104,111,111,
101,100,107,107,107,99,111,87,90,92,92,89,92,95,111,119,140,127,143,158,147,
129,150,138,145,133,128,127,111,123,111,111,118,111,111,109,109,98,111,5,5,5,
77,47,53,53,96,87,79,70,127,130,123,124,135,136,186,181,197,204,197,205,207,
202,208,202,199,199,199,199,199,199,199,197,199,205,199,199,199,199,231,221,
236,232,232,232,232,232,232,235,230,637,637,202,268,667,243,243,243,667,677,
687,697]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Ba4 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. c3
Ne7 8. Re1 Ng6 9. Nbd2 c6 10. Nf1 d5 11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Ng3 Re8 13. h3 Bb6 14.
Bc2 h6 15. Bd2 Bc7 16. d4 exd4 17. Rxe8+ Qxe8 18. Nxd4 Bd7 19. Qf3 Qe5 20. Re1
Qd6 21. Kf1 Ne5 22. Qe2 Re8 23. Ndf5 Qf8 24. Qh5 Bxf5 25. Nxf5 Ng6 26. Rxe8
Qxe8 27. g3 Nf6 28. Qf3 Qd8 29. Bc1 Qd5 30. Qxd5 Nxd5 31. Ke2 Kf8 32. h4 Ne5
33. Bb3 Ne7 34. Nxe7 Kxe7 35. h5 Nd7 36. Bd1 Nf6 37. Kd3 Bb6 38. f4 g6 39. hxg6
fxg6 40. Ke2 Nd5 41. Kf3 h5 42. Bd2 Kf6 43. c4 Ne7 44. Bc3+ Ke6 45. b4 Nf5 46.
c5 Bc7 47. Bb3+ Ke7 48. Bc4 b6 49. a4 bxc5 50. bxc5 Ke8 51. a5 Bd8 52. Bd3 Be7
53. Bb4 Bf6 54. a6 Be7 55. g4 hxg4+ 56. Kxg4 Ne3+ 57. Kf3 Nd5 58. Bxg6+ Kf8 59.
Ba3 Nc7 60. Bd3 Ne6 61. Bc4 Nxc5 62. Bc1 Nd7 63. Ke4 Bc5 64. Kf5 Ke7 65. Bb2
Be3 66. Be2 Nb6 67. Bf3 c5 68. Bf6+ Kf7 69. Bh5+ Kf8 70. Be5 c4 71. Ke4 Bc5 72.
f5 Nd7 73. Bc3 Be7 74. Be2 Nc5+ 75. Ke5 Nxa6 76. Bxc4 Nc5 77. Bd2 Nd7+ 78. Ke6
Nc5+ 79. Kd5 Kg7 80. Be2 Kf6 81. Bg4 Nd7 82. Bc3+ Kg5 83. Bh3 Bf6 84. Bd2+ Kh4
85. Bf1 Bg5 86. Bb4 Nf6+ 87. Ke6 Ne4 88. Bd3 Ng3 89. f6 Bxf6 90. Kxf6 Kg4 91.
Ke5 Kf3 92. Ba6 Ne2 93. Bd2 Ng3 94. Bg5 Ne4 95. Bb7 Kg4 96. Be3 Ng3 97. Bf2 a5
98. Bc6 a4 99. Bxa4 {[#]} Kf3 100. Bd4 Kg4 101. Bd1+ Kg5 102. Be3+ Kg6 103.
Bc2+ Kf7 104. Bd1 Kg6 105. Ke6 Nh5 106. Bc2+ Kg7 107. Ke7 Ng3 108. Bd3 Nh5 109.
Bg5 Ng3 110. Ke6 Nh5 111. Kf5 Kf7 112. Bc4+ Kg7 113. Bh4 Kh6 114. Bf7 Ng7+ 115.
Kg4 Kh7 116. Kg5 Kh8 117. Kg6 Ne6 118. Bf6+ Ng7 119. Bxg7# 1-0

[Event "FIDE Steinitz Mem Open"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2020.05.16"]
[Round "12.2"]
[White "Anton Guijarro, D.."]
[Black "Bu Xiangzhi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A06"]
[WhiteElo "2703"]
[BlackElo "2705"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2020.05.15"]
[EventType "tourn (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "18"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "Soltis main story"]
[SourceDate "2020.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,58,27,27,27,-13,6,6,12,1,18,-9,-3,-15,0,-3,8,4,13,13,26,-5,0,-2,19,14,
24,-1,17,-7,22,-5,9,0,-7,-47,-36,-33,-55,-137,-60,-242,-169,-169,-211,-299,199,
-420,-442,-443,-485,-431,-446,-451,-465,-619,-594,-1535,-429,-29989,-1470]} 1.
Nf3 d5 2. b3 c5 3. e3 Nc6 4. Bb5 Bd7 5. Bb2 Nf6 6. O-O e6 7. c4 a6 8. Bxc6 Bxc6
9. Ne5 Qc7 10. cxd5 Bxd5 11. d3 Be7 12. Nd2 O-O 13. Rc1 Rfd8 14. Qe2 Rac8 15.
f4 b5 16. e4 Bb7 17. Ng4 Nxg4 18. Qxg4 g6 19. f5 exf5 20. Rxf5 Rxd3 21. Nf3 Rf8
22. Ne5 Re3 {[#]} 23. Nxf7 (23. Rcf1 Rxe4 24. Nxf7 Bf6 (24... Rxg4 25. Nh6#)
25. Nh6+ Kg7 26. Qg5 Re5 27. Qg3) 23... Rxf7 24. Rxf7 Kxf7 25. Rf1+ Ke8 26. Qe6
Qd6 27. Qg8+ Kd7 28. e5 Qd5 29. e6+ Rxe6 0-1

[Event "Lindores Abbey Final 8"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2020.05.29"]
[Round "2.21"]
[White "Ding Liren"]
[Black "Dubov, Daniil"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A15"]
[WhiteElo "2791"]
[BlackElo "2699"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1q2k1r/pp2pp2/2P3p1/4B1n1/P7/5BPb/2QPPP2/R2R2K1 b - - 0 20"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2020.05.23"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "Soltis quiz"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 20... Nxf3+ 21. exf3 Bg2 0-1

[Event "Online Nations Cup Prelim"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.05.09"]
[Round "10.1"]
[White "Artemiev, V.."]
[Black "Vidit, S.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D03"]
[WhiteElo "2716"]
[BlackElo "2726"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k2r3r/pR2ppbp/3q4/2N5/3np1b1/4P3/P2B1PPP/2Q1KB1R w K - 0 22"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2020.05.05"]
[EventType "team (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[SourceTitle "Soltis quiz"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]

{[#]} 22. Rxa7+ Kxa7 23. Qa3+ Kb6 24. Qb4+ Kc6 25. Qb7+ Kxc5 26. Bb4# 1-0

[Event "Clutch Champions Showdown"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.05.29"]
[Round "2.11"]
[White "Caruana, F.."]
[Black "So, W.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2770"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2N5/2p3kp/3b1p2/2p2Pp1/2n3P1/1pR2P2/rr3BP1/5RK1 b - - 0 40"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2020.05.26"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[SourceTitle "Soltis quiz"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 40... Rxf2 41. Rxf2 Ra1+ 0-1

[Event "Online Nations Cup Prelim"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.05.05"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Caruana, F.."]
[Black "Vidit, S.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2726"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/7k/5K1n/2B4B/8/8/8 w - - 0 114"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2020.05.05"]
[EventType "team (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[SourceTitle "Soltis quiz"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "USA"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]

{[#]} 114. Bf7 Ng7+ 115. Kg4 Kh7 116. Kg5 Kh8 117. Kg6 Ne6 118. Bf6+ Ng7 119.
Bxg7# 1-0

[Event "Lindores Abbey Final 8"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2020.05.26"]
[Round "1.23"]
[White "So, W.."]
[Black "Carlsen, M.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2863"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4Q3/5ppk/6qp/1R2n3/2p3bP/P3B3/P4PB1/6K1 b - - 0 32"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2020.05.23"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "Soltis quiz"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 32... Nf3+ 33. Kh1 Qd3 34. Bd2 Qxd2 0-1

[Event "Clutch Champions Showdown"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.05.27"]
[Round "1.7"]
[White "So, W.."]
[Black "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3b1k1/ppq1bpp1/4p2P/n3N3/2B1QP2/P1N5/1P3P1P/2KR4 w - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "8"]
[EventDate "2020.05.26"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[SourceTitle "Soltis quiz"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 21. Rd7 Qc5 22. b4 Qxf2 23. Rxe7 Qg1+ 24. Nd1 Qxh2 1-0

[Event "Illinois Class Championships"]
[Site "Chicago"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "NN - Tennessee"]
[Black "Robert Irons"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Irons / Alburt"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "1985.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Alburt"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 c5 5. dxc5 Bxc5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bb5+ Bd7 8.
Qb3 O-O 9. Nge2 Be6 10. Qd1 a6 11. Bd3 Nc6 12. a3 Qd6 13. b4 Ba7 14. Bb2 Rac8
15. Rc1 Rfe8 16. O-O Bb8 17. Ng3 h5 18. Na4 d4 19. e4 h4 20. f4 hxg3 21. e5
gxh2+ 22. Kh1 Nxe5 23. fxe5 Qxe5 24. Bxd4 Rxc1 25. Qxc1 Qxd4 26. Rd1 Qg4 27.
Nb6 Nh5 28. Qc2 Ng3+ 29. Kxh2 Ne2+ 30. Kh1 Qh4# 0-1

[Event "12Ns03"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Buss, Michael"]
[Black "Cross, Gregory"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A87"]
[WhiteElo "2424"]
[BlackElo "2257"]
[Annotator "Dunne"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Dunne Golden Knights"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 d6 7. Nc3 Qe8 8. d5
Na6 9. Rb1 {All this is quite standard with 9. Nd4 or 9. Rb1 vying for most
played.} Bd7 10. b4 c6 11. dxc6 bxc6 12. a3 Nc7 13. Bb2 Ne6 14. c5 {More
conservative is 14. e3 as played in Beliavsky-Kindermann, Frankfurt 1996} d5 {
Black can take the Pawn as in 14...dxc5 but 15. Ne5 Rd8 16. bxc5 Nxc5 17. Qd4
Nce4 18. Nxe4 leaves White in control, Lazarev-Malaniuk, Geneva 1997.} 15. Ne5
Rd8 {Another try for equality is 15...d4 16. Na2 Ne4 as in Lammers-Markgraf,
Germany 2018} 16. e3 Ng4 {Buss notes that a better try here is 16...Ng5} 17.
Nxd7 {Better would apear to be 17. Nd3 Ng5 18. h3 e5!? as in Ivanov-Cabrera
Pino, La Roda 2008, but this is safer.} Qxd7 18. a4 Kf7 {Black forsees
difficulties on the two long diagonals near his King (especially after Qb3).
but 18...Nf6 would seem to make more sense.} 19. b5 $1 {This simplifying
maneuver will be strikingly clear on Move 23 when White will dominate the
queenside.} cxb5 20. axb5 Nxc5 21. Qxd5+ Qxd5 22. Nxd5 Bxb2 23. Rxb2 {After 23.
.Rd7 White's men infiltrate by 24. Nb4 Ne5 25. Ra2 Ne4 26. f4 Nc4 27. Nc6} Ne4
$6 24. Bxe4 fxe4 25. Nc3 Nf6 26. Ra1 Rc8 27. Ne2 {White's Knight is not
retreating, it has found a path to c6.} Rc7 28. Nd4 Rb8 29. Rba2 Rbb7 30. Ra6
Rd7 31. R1a5 Nd5 32. Nc6 Ke8 33. Rxa7 Rxa7 34. Nxa7 $1 {The Rook is needed to
keep the Black King from capturing the b-Pawn for free.} Rb7 35. Nc6 Kd7 36.
Nd4 Nc3 37. Kg2 Kd6 38. Ra6+ Kd5 39. b6 Kd6 40. Nb3 $1 {Diagram # And now
because of the threat of Na5, the Knight shows its agility in capturing h7!}
Kc6 41. Na5+ Kb5 42. Nxb7 Kxa6 43. Nc5+ Kxb6 44. Nd7+ Kc6 45. Nf8 h6 46. Nxg6
Kd7 47. Nf4 Kd6 48. g4 Ke5 49. h4 Nb5 50. Kg3 Nc3 {After the Knight's ballet.
White's King now shows some fancy steps to claim the victory.} 51. g5 hxg5 52.
hxg5 Nd1 53. Kg4 Nxf2+ 54. Kh5 e6 55. g6 Kf5 56. g7 Ng4 57. Ne2 Nf6+ 58. Kh6
Ke5 59. Kg6 1-0

[Event "12Nf01"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Porter, David"]
[Black "Adams, Gary"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B66"]
[WhiteElo "2237"]
[BlackElo "2406"]
[Annotator "Dunne"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Dunne Golden Knights"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8.
O-O-O h6 9. Be3 {The more popular line was shown in Karjakin-Ivanchuk, World
blitz 2016 which continued 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bf4 d5 11. Qe3 which has scored
well for White.} Be7 10. f4 {More agggressive than 10. f3 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 b5 12.
e5 as played in Almasi-Vovk, Bundelsiga 2015.} Nxd4 11. Bxd4 b5 12. Be2 Bb7 {
12...b4 was tried in Lima-Shumyatsky, Vagcomcellos Memorial. 2010 which led to
a White plus after 13. Na4 Nxe4 14. Qe3 Nf6 15. Bf3 Rb8 16. Ba7 Rb5 17. Bb6
Qd7 18. Nc5} 13. Bf3 O-O {Apparently this natural move has been neglected in
the history of this variation. A more popul;ar line has been 13...b4 14, Bxf6
gxf6 13. Ne2 with a White plus as in Zule-Siegel, Vierlaenderkampf 1997.} 14.
a3 Nd7 15. Kb1 Qc7 16. Qf2 e5 17. Be3 Bc6 {Better seems 17...Rab8 to later
enforce ...b4 and get the Rook off the long diagonal.} 18. fxe5 Nxe5 19. Qg3
Rfc8 $6 {Diagram # With the opening play slowly turning against him, Black
either finds a clever Pawn sacrifice to gain time for a counter attack or else
blunders a Pawn.} 20. Bxh6 Bf8 21. Rhf1 {White had better with 21. Rd2! (to
protect c2) and 21...a5 22. Nd5! keeping hs advantage.} a5 22. Bh5 b4 23. Bf4 {
With a crushing threat of 24. Bxe5 and Bxf7+} Ng6 24. Bxg6 fxg6 25. Qxg6 Be8 {
The Knight is immune since 25...bxc3 26. Bxd6 Bxd6 27. Qe6+ Kh7 28. Rd3 would
be fatal.} 26. Qf5 bxc3 27. Qxf8+ {This sacrifice looks impressive, but it
actually benefits Black.} Kxf8 28. Bxd6+ Kg8 29. Rf8+ Kh7 30. Bxc7 Rxc7 31. Rd3
{Threatening perpetual check as the game has shifted in Black's favor.} Rc6 32.
b3 a4 33. Kc1 Rac8 34. b4 Rh6 35. h3 Rf6 36. Rf3 Rxf3 37. Rxf3 Rc4 38. e5 Bc6
39. Rg3 g6 {Black has a number of winning procedures here. 39..g6 frees the
King to advance toward the center.} 40. Kd1 Kg7 41. Ke2 Bb5 42. Kd1 Bd7 43. Rd3
Bc6 44. g3 Kf7 45. Rd6 Be4 46. h4 Bf5 47. Ra6 {Now Black can play for mate.}
Re4 48. e6+ Kg7 0-1

[Event "12Nf01"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Buss, Michael"]
[Black "Adams, Gary"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A59"]
[WhiteElo "2414"]
[BlackElo "2406"]
[Annotator "Dunne"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Dunne Golden Knights"]
[SourceDate "2005.04.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 g6 6. Nc3 Bxa6 7. Nf3 d6 8. e4
Bxf1 9. Kxf1 Bg7 10. g3 O-O 11. Kg2 Nbd7 12. a4 Qb6 13. Qc2 Qb4 14. Bd2 Rfb8
15. Rhb1 Qb3 16. Qd3 Ng4 17. Ra3 Qb4 18. Na2 Qb6 19. Qc2 Qa6 20. Nc3 Rb4 21. h3
Nge5 22. Nxe5 Bxe5 23. Nb5 Rxa4 24. Nc7 {Diagram #} Rxa3 25. Nxa6 R3xa6 26. Be3
Ra2 27. Qd3 R8a5 28. Qb3 Bf6 29. Qb7 Ra7 30. Qc6 Kg7 31. Qb5 h5 32. f4 Bd4 33.
Bxd4+ cxd4 34. Qe2 Nf6 35. f5 gxf5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Chessable Masters GpB"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2020.06.21"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "8.1 Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2764"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r6/p1p3k1/2p2p2/2N1pb2/1r4p1/1P3PP1/P2R2P1/2K4R b - - 0 26"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2020.06.21"]
[SourceTitle "Make Your Move"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 26... Rc4+ $1 {White resigned as he loses the knight on c5 because 27.
bxc4 runs into 27...Rb1#.} 0-1

[Event "Titled Tuesday 9th June"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.06.09"]
[Round "2"]
[White "8.2 Munkhzul, Turmunkh"]
[Black "Sarana, A.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2278"]
[BlackElo "2654"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r1r1k1/q4ppp/5n2/1Q6/1p4PP/pP3P2/P1P5/1K1R1B1R b - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2020.06.09"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[SourceTitle "Make Your Move"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 24... Qd4 $1 {White resigned, as she will get mated, for instance, 25.
Rxd4 Re1+.} 0-1

[Event "Titled Tuesday 9th June"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.06.09"]
[Round "2"]
[White "8.3 Gharibyan, Mamikon"]
[Black "Budrewicz, K.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "2433"]
[BlackElo "2227"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2q2rk/1pp1b2p/3p1n1P/2nPpb2/p1P1N3/2N1BP2/PPQ1B3/2KR3R w - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2020.06.09"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[SourceTitle "Make Your Move"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 21. Nxd6 $1 Bg6 ({The queen cannot be captured:} 21... Bxc2 $4 22. Nf7#)
({and after} 21... cxd6 22. Qxf5 {, White has a large advantage.}) 22. Qxg6 $1
Rxg6 ({Also} 22... hxg6 {is met by} 23. Nf7+ {with large advantage for White.})
23. Nf7+ Kg8 24. Nxd8 Rxd8 25. Rdg1 {and with an extra pawn and the bishop
pair, White should win easily.} 1-0

[Event "Clutch Champions Showdown"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.05.27"]
[Round "1.10"]
[White "8.4 Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "So, W.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2770"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rn2r1k1/1b3pbp/4p1p1/pP4B1/P2N4/1B6/5PPP/3RR1K1 w - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2020.05.26"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[SourceTitle "Make Your Move"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 21. Nxe6 $1 ({Black resigned; after} 21. Nxe6 {, White wins with} fxe6
22. Rxe6 Rf8 ({or} 22... Rxe6 23. Bxe6+ Kf8 24. Rd8#) 23. Re8+ Kh8 24. Rxf8+
Bxf8 25. Bf6+ Bg7 26. Rd8# {.}) 1-0

[Event "Clutch Chess Showdown Int"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.06.09"]
[Round "1.12"]
[White "8.5 Aronian, L.."]
[Black "Grischuk, A.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B53"]
[WhiteElo "2773"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2r2k1/p3bppp/2b1p3/2p5/5N1P/2B1QP2/PPq3P1/3R1RK1 w - - 0 23"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2020.06.06"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "Make Your Move"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 23. Rc1 $1 ({White directs Black's queen away from the action and
potential counterplay. Note that} 23. Rxd8+ $2 {would be wrong due to} Rxd8 24.
Nxe6 ({or} 24. Qe5 Bf8 $1 25. Qc7 (25. Nxe6 $4 Re8 {wins for Black}) 25... Rd1
26. Qxc6 Rxf1+ 27. Kxf1 Qc1+ 28. Ke2 Qxf4 {and Black has an extra pawn.}) 24...
Rd1 $1 25. Nxg7 Rxf1+ 26. Kxf1 Bxh4 27. Kg1 Bg3 {and Black has clearly better
chances.}) 23... Qa4 ({After} 23... Qf5 $4 24. g4 {, Black's queen is trapped.}
) 24. Nxe6 $1 {White wins material.} fxe6 $4 25. Qxe6+ Kf8 26. Bxg7+ $1 {
Now the black king is dragged out in the open.} Kxg7 27. Qxe7+ Kg8 28. Qe6+ Kh8
29. Rc4 {Black resigned as preventing mate will cost him the queen.} 1-0

[Event "Clutch Chess Showdown Int"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.06.06"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "8.6 Carlsen, M.."]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2863"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/p2nrp1p/1p2p1pB/3pP1NP/3P1QP1/bPr1R3/P1q2PK1/3R4 w - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2020.06.06"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "Make Your Move"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 25. Rxc3 $1 ({Or} 25. Nxh7 $1 Kxh7 26. Rxc3 Qxc3 {leads to the same
position as the game continuation.}) 25... Qxc3 26. Nxh7 $1 Kxh7 27. Bg5 $1 {
The first point behind White's sacrifice, the rook cannot move as the f7-pawn
must remain guarded.} Kg8 28. Bxe7 Bxe7 29. Rc1 $1 Qb4 ({Or} 29... Qd3 30. Rc7
g5 31. Qe3 Qb5 32. a4 {and White is winning.}) 30. Rc8+ (30. Rc7 {is also
sufficient to win.}) 30... Nf8 31. h6 g5 32. h7+ $1 Kg7 33. h8=Q+ $1 Kxh8 34.
Qxf7 Qxd4 35. Rxf8+ Bxf8 {Black has survived the attack, but the queen ending
wins very easily for White.} 36. Qxf8+ Kh7 37. Qf7+ Kh8 38. Qh5+ Kg7 39. Qxg5+
Kh7 40. Qe7+ Kh8 41. Qf6+ Kh7 42. Qxe6 Qd1 43. Qf5+ Kg8 44. e6 {and Black
resigned.} 1-0

[Event "Clutch Chess Showdown Int"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.06.14"]
[Round "3.7"]
[White "8.7 Caruana, F.."]
[Black "Carlsen, M.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2863"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5r2/1p4k1/p1np2p1/2p1p1q1/P1B5/2PP1rP1/1P2RPQ1/4R1K1 b - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2020.06.06"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "Make Your Move"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 25... e4 $1 {Very strong.} 26. dxe4 ({The alternatives do not work for
White:} 26. Rxe4 Rxf2 $1 27. Qxf2 Rxf2 28. Kxf2 d5 {or}) (26. Rd1 e3 $1 27.
Rxe3 Rxe3 {, in both cases, Black wins easily.}) 26... Ne5 $1 {The point
behind Black's previous move. The knight invades White's position with
decisive effect.} 27. Be6 ({If} 27. Bd5 {, then} Nd3 28. Rf1 Nxf2 29. Rexf2
Rxg3 30. Rf7+ Kh6 {wins for Black, and}) (27. b3 {is met by} Ng4 $1 28. Rf1
Nxf2 {and White's position collapses, for instance,} 29. Rfxf2 Qc1+ 30. Qf1
Rxg3+ 31. Kh2 Rh8+ 32. Kxg3 Qg5+ 33. Kf3 Rf8+ {with mate.}) 27... Nd3 28. Bf5
Nxe1 29. Rxe1 Rd3 30. f4 Qxg3 31. Qxg3 Rxg3+ 32. Kf2 Rd3 33. Ke2 c4 {and Black
had a large advantage.} 0-1

[Event "Lindores Abbey Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2020.05.19"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "8.8 Aronian, L.."]
[Black "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D05"]
[WhiteElo "2773"]
[BlackElo "2728"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/5pk1/p1b1pqp1/P1P4r/5PN1/4Q1P1/1R1R1K2/7r b - - 0 42"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2020.05.19"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "Make Your Move"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 42... R5h4 $3 ({In the game, Black missed his chance and after} 42... g5
$2 43. Qe5 Qxe5 44. Nxe5 Bd5 45. Ke3 {, he had no more than a modest advantage
but threw that away as well and lost!}) 43. gxh4 ({The knight cannot move:} 43.
Ne5 {or 43.Nxf6 are both met with} R4h2# {.}) 43... Qxh4+ 44. Qg3 Rf1+ 45. Kxf1
Qxg3 46. Nf2 Qxf4 {and Black has a decisive advantage.} 1-0

[Event "Titled Tuesday 2nd June"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.06.02"]
[Round "7"]
[White "8.9 Rozman, Levy"]
[Black "Thipsay, P.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C28"]
[WhiteElo "2343"]
[BlackElo "2376"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2q1rk1/pppb1ppp/6n1/8/2P2N2/1P1P4/1BP3PP/1R1Q1RK1 w - - 0 17"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2020.06.02"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[SourceTitle "Make Your Move"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 17. Bxg7 $3 ({This is best but, of course, the normal} 17. Nh5 f6 18. Qf3
{is also pleasant for White.}) 17... Kxg7 18. Nh5+ Kh8 19. Nf6 {This is part
one of White's plan. The immediate threat is Qh5 and game over} h6 $4 ({
This basically loses on the spot, but in blitz games it can be difficult to
find the correct defense. The best try was} 19... Bc8 20. Qd2 $1 ({also} 20. d4
a5 21. d5 Qe7 22. Qd2 Ra6 23. Rbe1 {is uncomfortable for Black}) ({but note
that after} 20. Qh5 {Black defends with} Qd4+ 21. Rf2 Qh4) 20... Qd4+ ({or} 
20... Rg8 21. Rbe1 Bd7 22. d4 Rg7 23. d5 {and White is clearly better}) 21. Kh1
Be6 22. Rbe1 Rg8 23. c3 Qd8 24. d4 Bd7 25. d5 {and Black is completely
paralyzed, leaving White with a clear advantage.}) 20. Qd2 $1 Kg7 21. Qc3 $1 {
This is undoubtedly what Black had overlooked when he played 19...h6.} Kh8 22.
Nxd7+ {and Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "IM Not a GM"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.04.25"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Magician4MA"]
[Black "deanofchess"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C43"]
[WhiteElo "2458"]
[BlackElo "2438"]
[Annotator "Yip"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "IM Not a GM"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,119,19,38,25,7,8,39,36,8,3,8,3,-13,-13,-13,-14,-2,16,4,16,-1,73,39,33,
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,194,138,363,300,300,300,293,284,324,324,303,301,301,269,508,
180,170,205,221,208,201,206,222,199,202,192,227,240,244,240,260,248,249,247,
282,277,289,252,248,260,256,196,217,215,222,174,247,160,349,321,360,360,379,
318,339,339,379,358,380,380,385,394,401,417,429,452,456,453,459,468,487,487,
511,518,632,909,1016,1016,1016,569,656,715,873,961,1014,1016,1122,1479]} 1. e4
e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nc3 Nxe5 7. dxe5 Nxc3 8. bxc3
Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Be3 Be6 (10... f5 {is more accurate to avoid exf6 tricks.})
11. f4 f5 12. exf6 Bxf6 {[#] After this I get a crushing attack.} (12... Rxf6 {
is the only move but it's already a suspicious position for Black. White has
Bd4, or f5 and Bg5, with both options leading to a strong attack.}) 13. Qh5 $1
g6 14. Bxg6 hxg6 15. Qxg6+ {With the bishop on e6, Bg7 is now impossible.} Kh8
16. Qh6+ Kg8 {Earlier in the match, we already got to this position. But I
struggled to find a clear win, and eventually ended up hanging my queen. This
time though, I had learned from my mistakes and knew what I should've played
instead.} 17. Rf3 $1 ({Our previous game in this line went:} 17. Qg6+ Kh8 18.
f5 Bg8 19. Rf3 Bh7 20. Rh3 Qe7 {And Black is fine here.}) 17... Qe7 18. Rg3+
Bg7 19. Bd4 Rf7 {All forced up to here, and now I bring my last piece into the
game.} 20. Re1 {The bishop cannot be defended.} Bg4 (20... Re8 21. Rxe6 Qxe6
22. Rxg7+ Kf8 23. Rxf7+ Kxf7 24. Qg7#) 21. Rxe7 Bxh6 22. Rxg4+ Kf8 23. Re6 Bxf4
24. Bc5+ (24. Rh4 {Was even better, since Rh8 is unstoppable.} Rf5 25. g4 Rg5
26. Rh8+ Rg8 27. Rf6+) 24... Bd6 25. Rxd6 {Simplifying the position further.}
cxd6 26. Bxd6+ Ke8 27. Rg8+ Kd7 28. Rxa8 Kxd6 29. Rxa7 {My technique gets a
little sloppy from here on out, but in my defense this was a 3 minute blitz
game! My winning plan was to bring my king to the defense of the c3 pawn so my
rook wouldn't be tied down, and if Black tries to win my kingside pawns, he'll
lose his remaining queenside pawns.} Rc7 30. Ra3 Ke5 31. Kf2 Ke4 32. Ke2 b5 33.
Rb3 d4 34. Kd2 Rf7 35. Rb4 Rf2+ 36. Kc1 Rxg2 37. cxd4 Rxh2 38. Kb2 Kd5 39. Kb3
Rh1 40. c3 Rb1+ 41. Ka3 Rc1 42. Rxb5+ Kd6 43. Rc5 Rb1 44. Ka4 Rb8 45. a3 Ra8+
46. Kb3 Rb8+ 47. Kc4 Ra8 48. Kb4 Rb8+ 49. Rb5 Ra8 50. a4 Rf8 51. a5 Rf1 52.
Rb6+ Kc7 53. Kc5 Rf5+ 54. d5 Rf3 55. c4 Ra3 56. Kb4 Ra1 57. Rc6+ Kb7 58. a6+
Ka7 59. d6 Rb1+ 60. Kc5 1-0

[Event "IM Not a GM"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.05.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GregShahade"]
[Black "Magician4MA"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2573"]
[BlackElo "2482"]
[Annotator "Yip"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "IM Not a GM"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. c4 Nc6 6. Nc3 g6 7. d4 cxd4 8.
Nxd4 {The pawn structure is the same as the Maroczy, but White is missing his
light squared bishop. Eventually, if White isn't careful, the light squares
can end up weak.} Bg7 9. Be3 Nf6 10. f3 O-O 11. O-O Rfc8 12. b3 Rab8 13. Qd3 a6
{[%cal Gb7b5] Planning b5} 14. Nd5 $6 {It was a little too soon to be opening
up files, especially since it didn't work out tactically. But moreover,
White's rooks aren't in the game yet.} Nxd5 15. cxd5 $2 (15. exd5 {This was
forced, making sure the c-file is closed. I still have ideas with ... b7-b5,
attacking the pawn chain, but White should still be okay because my rooks
don't have open files yet.} Nxd4 16. Bxd4 Qf5 17. Qc3 Bxd4+ 18. Qxd4 b5 {
Black's position is preferable, but White should still be fine.}) 15... Nxd4
16. Bxd4 {[#]} Qb5 $1 {The key! Now my queen is activated, and my rooks are
headed to the second rank.} 17. Qd2 Bxd4+ 18. Qxd4 Rc2 {Now it's very
difficult for White to defend here, while my play comes naturally. I'll double
along the c-file, and when the time is right, I'll play ... Qe2 and penetrate
White's position.} 19. Rf2 Rbc8 20. Raf1 Rxf2 21. Qxf2 Qd3 $1 22. Qb6 Rc2 23.
h3 Rxa2 {Now I'm planning to play ... Qe2 and force off an exchange of all the
major pieces, leading to a winning king and pawn endgame. White's pieces are
tied down and can't move anywhere.} 24. Rf2 Qb1+ 25. Rf1 Qc2 26. Rf2 Qxf2+ 27.
Qxf2 Rxf2 28. Kxf2 Kf8 29. Ke3 Ke8 30. Kd4 Kd7 31. b4 Kc7 32. Kc4 Kb6 33. b5 a5
34. g3 a4 35. f4 a3 36. Kb3 Kxb5 37. Kxa3 Kc4 38. Ka4 b5+ 0-1

[Event "Blitzing Covid Blitz"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.05.30"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Safarli, Eltaj"]
[Black "Friedel, Josh"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C47"]
[WhiteElo "3016"]
[BlackElo "2583"]
[Annotator "WGM Sabina Foisor"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2r2k1/2p2ppp/1np2b2/1p6/p1b1P3/P1NBBP2/1PPR1KPP/R7 b - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[SourceTitle "Blitzing Covid"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:45"]
[BlackClock "0:00:23"]

{[#]} 21... Rd7 (21... b4 22. axb4 a3 23. e5 Bxe5 24. Rxa3 Rxa3 25. bxa3 Bxc3
26. Bxh7+ Kxh7 27. Rxd8 Bb2 {leads to an unclear but balanced endgamed.}) 22.
Rad1 Rad8 $2 {A natural move, which turns out to give white advantage, though
missed by white} 23. Ke2 $2 (23. Bxb6 $1 cxb6 24. e5 Bxd3 (24... Bxe5 $4 25.
Bxh7+ Kxh7 26. Rxd7 $18) 25. exf6 Bf5 26. Rxd7 Rxd7 27. Rxd7 Bxd7 28. Ne4 Bf5
29. Ke3 gxf6 30. Kf4 Bg6 31. Nxf6+ Kg7 32. Nd7 Bxc2 33. Ke5 $1 $18 {The
endgame is winning for white thanks to the dominant position of his king and
well-placed knight.}) 23... Be6 24. h3 $2 {as it allows b4 once again} h6 $2 {
This one is a bit surprising, as black has a very common theme to employ.} (
24... b4 25. axb4 a3 $1 {Given the usual amount of time on the clock at this
point, this would have sealed the deal in favor of Josh.} 26. f4 axb2 27. e5
Be7 28. f5 Bd5 29. Bxb6 cxb6 30. Nxd5 Rxd5 31. c3 Rxe5+ 32. Kf3 Red5 {and
white will struggle to get rid of that monsterous pawn on b2.}) 25. f4 Nc4 $6 {
beginning of a bad trend.} (25... Bxc3 26. bxc3 Nc4 27. Bxc4 Bxc4+ {would have
ended the game in a draw, even for a blitz game. A few moves earlier Josh was
repeating the moves, thus him declining the draw means that he was better
given all the defining factor of a blitz game's paradigm!}) 26. Bxc4 Bxc4+ 27.
Kf3 Rxd2 28. Rxd2 Rxd2 29. Bxd2 Bxc3 30. Bxc3 f6 {It is still a draw, but
white has at least a better pawn structure.} 31. Ba5 Kf7 32. f5 g6 33. g4 h5
34. gxh5 gxh5 35. Bxc7 {The extra pawn is not that important. Black just needs
to sit tight and wait. White cannot make much of a progress.} Bf1 36. h4 Ke7
37. Bb6 Kf7 38. Bd4 Ke7 39. Ke3 Bg2 40. b3 Kf7 41. bxa4 bxa4 42. c4 Bf1 43. c5
Bb5 44. Kd2 Bf1 45. Kc3 Be2 46. Kb4 Bd3 $2 {This could as well be a mouse slip
or a meltdown in time pressure. I do not see, why black should let go of the
a-pawn.} (46... Bb5 $6 {makes it so hard for black to hold, but it is still
possible to survive this.} 47. Ka5 Ke7 48. Kb6 Kf7 49. Kc7 (49. e5 fxe5 50.
Bxe5 Ke7 51. Kc7 $11) 49... Ke7 50. Bc3 Bd3 $11) (46... Bd1 $1 {and white
cannot make any progress.} 47. Ka5 Bc2 $11) 47. Kxa4 Bxe4 48. Ka5 Bxf5 $4 (
48... Bc2 $1 49. Kb6 Ba4 $11 {still holds by a thread.}) 49. Kb6 $1 {a small
nuance that has been missed. a4 would have been faced with Bc2, but now white
threatens c6 while preparing to finally push the a-pawn.} Bd3 50. a4 Ke6 51. a5
Kd5 52. Bxf6 {this could be devastating for a face to face game. However, such
incidents happen in the online blitz games all the game.} 1-0

[Event "Blitzing Covid Blitz"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.05.30"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Ramirez, Alejandro"]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffrey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A36"]
[WhiteElo "2772"]
[BlackElo "2920"]
[Annotator "WGM Sabina Foisor"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2q1rk1/p4pb1/1pn1b1pp/2pnp3/8/1PNPPNP1/PB1Q1PBP/2RR2K1 b - - 0 14"]
[PlyCount "34"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[SourceTitle "Blitzing Covid"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:37"]
[BlackClock "0:01:02"]

{[#]} 14... Qd7 $2 (14... Rc8 $1 {Preventing d4 and insuring a pleasant
advantage for black.} 15. d4 Nxc3 16. Bxc3 cxd4 17. exd4 exd4 {and white
cannot take back on d4 because after Rxc1 either piece on d4 will have less
defenders than black's attackers.}) 15. d4 $1 {after which the possition is
about equal} exd4 16. exd4 cxd4 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Nxd4 Bxg2 19. Nxc6 Qxd2 20.
Rxd2 Bxb2 21. Rxb2 Bh3 22. f3 {Fron here on Jefferey, starts overpushing.} Rfe8
23. Kf2 Kg7 (23... Bd7 {and conceding to a draw is a practical decision, but
one's decision at this point has more to do with self-confidence rather than
the accuracy, as all the reasonable candidate moves are equally balanced!}) 24.
g4 h5 25. gxh5 gxh5 26. Rg1+ Kf6 $6 {practically, you are asking for trouble,
though in terms of accuracy the move is perfectly fine.} (26... Kh7 27. Rg5 Kh6
{feels less uncomfortable}) 27. Rd2 {[#]} Re6 $4 {The losing blunder.} (27...
Bf5 {would have kept the balance.}) 28. Nb4 $1 Rc8 29. Nd5+ {and now the king
is trapped.} Ke5 (29... Kf5 30. Rg3 {loses the bishop.}) 30. Rg5+ Bf5 (30...
Kd6 31. Nxb6+ $18) 31. Ne3 (31. Ne3 Rf6 32. Rxf5+ Rxf5 33. Rd5+ Ke6 34. Rxf5
$18) 1-0

[Event "Blitzing Covid Blitz"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.05.30"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Oparin, Grigoriy"]
[Black "Ramirez, Alejandro"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2910"]
[BlackElo "2783"]
[Annotator "WGM Sabina Foisor"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2kr3r/pRp1npb1/6pp/4p3/3nN3/6P1/P3PPBP/2BR2K1 w - - 0 18"]
[PlyCount "18"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[SourceTitle "Blitzing Covid"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:37"]
[BlackClock "0:00:24"]

{[#]} 18. Rxd4 $4 (18. Bd2 $3 {Pictueresque! A very hard to see move, no
wonder after a minute of thinking Oparin threw the towel. This move weaves a
mating net around black's king and the b7 rook is untouchable!} Nec6 (18...
Kxb7 19. Nd6+ Kb6 (19... Ka6 20. Bb7+ Kb6 21. Rb1+ Nb3 22. Rxb3+ Kc5 23. Ne4+
Kd4 24. Rb4#) 20. Rb1+ Nb3 21. Rxb3+ Kc5 22. Nb7+ Kd4 23. Rb4#) 19. Rdb1 f5 20.
e3 fxe4 21. exd4 Nxd4 22. Ba5 $18) 18... Rxd4 19. Rb1 Rd1+ 20. Bf1 Nd5 21. e3
f5 22. Nc5 Nc3 23. Rb7 Rxc1 24. Kg2 Ne4 25. Rxa7 Nxc5 26. Be2 e4 0-1

[Event "Blitzing Covid Rapid"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.05.30"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Shahade, Greg"]
[Black "Bernadskiy, Vitaliy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2665"]
[BlackElo "2408"]
[Annotator "WGM Sabina foisor"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[SourceTitle "Blitzing Covid"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:02"]
[BlackClock "0:05:52"]

{[%evp 0,92,18,18,40,56,77,70,70,36,36,27,55,37,33,27,27,29,49,36,36,40,40,21,
40,9,3,3,3,5,3,3,3,3,5,7,17,17,22,22,22,40,0,0,50,0,12,-22,2,2,2,-5,0,0,0,0,0,
0,0,8,44,37,43,24,15,-8,12,3,3,-2,26,-35,-29,-33,-39,-49,-64,-64,-64,-121,-99,
-194,-210,-235,-273,-413,-395,-919,-933,-928,-936,-940,-940,-2777,-1039]} 1. e4
c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {I am no expert on the Najdorf,
but this seemed like a very deep strategic game.} 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 h5
9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. O-O-O Be7 11. Kb1 O-O $6 (11... b5 {is what most of the top
players play in this position followed by} 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 Nb6 14. Bxb6
Qxb6 15. Na5 {leading to a complex position. Maybe Greg confused this line
with what has actually happened in the game.}) 12. Nd5 $6 (12. Rg1 $5 $146 {
Engines love this move. It makes a lot of sense, though as it prepares g4.} b5
13. g4 hxg4 14. fxg4 b4 15. Nd5 Nxe4 16. Qg2 Bxd5 17. Rxd5 Nef6 18. Rd1 {
and the weakness on light-square and the threat of g5-g6 seems crushing.})
12... Nxd5 13. exd5 Bf5 14. Bd3 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 f5 $5 (15... Bg5 16. Bf2 f5 {
is another option.}) 16. f4 Rc8 17. Rhe1 Qc7 18. c3 {White's usual initiative
is gone, so now it's time to strengthten the position} Qc4 19. Qxc4 Rxc4 20.
fxe5 $6 {missing an important nuance.} (20. Na5 {immediately prevents Rg4.})
20... dxe5 21. Na5 {[#]} Rg4 $1 {Now suddenly black's majority on the kingside
is much faster than white's on the queenside. Black is clearely better.
Despite the topsy-Turvy turn of events, Bernadskiy posted a convincing victory
from this position.} 22. Re2 b6 23. d6 Bf6 24. Nc6 Kf7 25. Bg1 Rc8 26. Nb4 a5
27. Nd5 Rc6 28. h3 Rg6 29. Nc7 Bd8 30. Nb5 Re6 31. a4 g5 32. Rd5 Bf6 33. Red2
Re8 34. Ka2 g4 35. Kb3 gxh3 36. gxh3 Rg8 37. Na7 Rxc3+ 38. bxc3 Rxg1 39. Nc8 f4
40. Rb5 f3 41. Nxb6 Nxb6 42. Rxb6 Rb1+ 43. Rb2 Rxb2+ 44. Kxb2 f2 45. d7 f1=Q
46. Rb7 Bd8 0-1

[Event "Blitzing Covid Rapid"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.05.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Lugovskoy, Maxim"]
[Black "Guseinov, Gadir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2185"]
[BlackElo "2403"]
[Annotator "WGM Sabina foisor"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2rr2k1/6pp/p2P4/1pq2p1b/4pQ1P/1P4P1/P2R1P2/3NR1K1 b - - 0 29"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[SourceTitle "Blitzing Covid"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:46"]
[BlackClock "0:00:09"]

{[#]} 29... Bf3 $4 {It is very tempting to make this move and imagine the
queen would miraculously land on g2, but in fact it is black who has to take
care of his king} (29... Qc1 {would have kept white from improving his
position, and the following line could have happened, leading to ean equal
position} 30. Rf1 g6 31. d7 Rc7 32. b4 Bf3 33. Kh2 Bg4 $11) 30. Ne3 $1 g6 {
a necessary weakness after which white is slowly converting his advantage
though in the game there were a few more mostake on either side, it is only
white who can take advantage of black's weak king.} 31. h5 (31. d7 {would have
been more precise} Rc7 32. Nd5 $18) 31... Rc6 32. d7 (32. b4 Qc3 33. Nxf5 $18)
32... Re6 33. h6 Qe5 34. Qg5 Qf6 35. Qf4 Qe5 36. Qg5 Qf6 37. Qxf6 Rxf6 38. Rc1
Rff8 39. Rc6 a5 40. a4 bxa4 41. bxa4 Kf7 42. Rdd6 Rb8 43. Kh2 Rb1 44. g4 f4 45.
Rf6+ Ke7 46. Nd5+ Kxd7 47. Rfd6+ Ke8 48. Rc8+ Kf7 49. Rf6+ Kg8 50. Rfxf8# 1-0

[Event "Blitzing Covid Rapid"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.05.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Lenderman, Alexander"]
[Black "Ramirez, Alejandro"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D15"]
[WhiteElo "2456"]
[BlackElo "2420"]
[Annotator "WGM Sabina Foisor"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[SourceTitle "Blitzing Covid"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:06:05"]
[BlackClock "0:03:47"]

{[%evp 0,49,17,13,27,13,34,39,37,45,40,54,55,36,66,40,46,29,31,14,14,21,55,77,
92,93,93,93,75,81,94,97,113,107,117,129,143,139,139,125,191,210,222,376,402,
415,414,412,396,396,400,421] I found this game to be interesting as both
players are set to play in this year's US championship, and was interested to
see if they would disclose any analysis.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 c6 3. c4 Nf6 4. Nc3
a6 5. d4 Bf5 6. Ne5 {In this position, Alejandro went for} h6 $6 {which I find
interesting and dubious in the same time. With white already having decided to
play Ne5, black shouldn't fear the losss of the Bf5, but maybe g4 was an idea
Alejandro wanted to avoid in this rapid game.} (6... Nbd7 {is the typical
answer here as followed in Ding-Shankland, 2019} 7. Qb3 Qc7 8. cxd5 Nxe5 9.
dxe5 Nxd5 10. Nxd5 cxd5 11. Bd2 Qxe5 12. Bc3 Qc7 13. Qxd5 e6 14. Qd4 Rd8 15.
Qa4+ Qd7 16. Qxd7+ Rxd7 17. f3 f6 18. e4 Bg6 19. Rd1 Rxd1+ 20. Kxd1 e5 21. Bc4
Bf7 22. Bxf7+ Kxf7 23. Kc2 Ke6 24. Rd1 Bd6 25. b4 {1/2-1/2 Ding,L (2811)
-Shankland,S (2705) 2019}) 7. Qb3 Ra7 8. cxd5 cxd5 9. Bd2 e6 10. Rc1 {Black's
position is already difficult, given the loss of time with h6, but
unfortunately after} Bd6 $4 {[#] it is game over for black} (10... Nfd7 11. Bb5
Be7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bxd7+ Qxd7 14. Na4 b5 (14... Qb5 15. Rc8+ Bd8 16. Qa3 b6
17. Nxb6 {is losing.}) 15. Nb6 Qb7 16. Nc8 Ra8 17. Nxe7 Kxe7 {and black is
still in the game.}) 11. Qa4+ $1 Nc6 (11... Nbd7 12. Nb5 {and white wins.}) (
11... Kf8 12. Nb5 {loses to the same token.}) 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Qxc6+ Qd7 14.
Na4 {and ALex Lenderman went on to converting the game shortly after.} Qxc6 15.
Rxc6 Kd7 16. Rxa6 Rb7 17. f3 Rhb8 18. b3 Rc7 19. Be2 Bb1 20. Nc3 Bb4 21. Nxb1
Rc1+ 22. Bd1 Rxb1 23. Bxb4 Rxb4 24. Kd2 Rb7 25. Kc2 1-0

[Event "Blitzing Covid Rapid"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.05.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Black "Zatonskih, Anna"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "2717"]
[BlackElo "2388"]
[Annotator "WGM Sabina Foisor"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[SourceTitle "Blitzing Covid"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:05:06"]
[BlackClock "0:00:06"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. Qe2+ Qe7 {Be6 is the
most played line in this position, but when playing against a top player we
are all tempted to want to trade pieces.} (6... Be6 {I hope the reader will
enjoy this game from Magnus Invitational in this same line} 7. Ng5 Qe7 8. Nxe6
fxe6 9. c3 O-O 10. f4 c5 11. O-O Nc6 12. Be3 Rae8 13. Nd2 e5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15.
Bb5 Neg4 16. Bxe8 Rxe8 17. Rf3 Nxe3 18. Re1 Nf5 {0-1 Vachier Lagrave, M (2778)
-Nepomniachtchi,I (2784) 2020}) 7. Qxe7+ Kxe7 8. O-O Re8 9. Re1+ Kf8 10. Rxe8+
Kxe8 11. Nc3 c6 12. Bd2 Kf8 13. Re1 Bd7 14. Ne5 Be8 15. f4 $6 {is dubious as
it weakens the a7-g1 diagonal and allows black to play c5 after which the
position becomes equal} (15. h3 {would have been a nice improvement move} h6
16. Bf4 Be7 17. Ng4 Nxg4 18. hxg4 Nd7 19. f3 $14 {and black should still find
a purpose for the rook.}) 15... Nbd7 $6 {unfortunately Anna missed the
opportunity to play c5 and will have to suffer in an inferior position} (15...
c5 16. Be3 ({as the reader will see further, this doesn't work now as} 16. Nb5
$2 Bxb5 17. Bxb5 a6 18. Bd3 cxd4 {followed by Nc6 and black has a balanced
position where white's pair of bishops isn't very strong}) 16... c4 $1 17. Be2
Nc6 $11) 16. h3 Bc7 (16... c5 {now would not be the same as the Be8 is closed,
so white would continue} 17. Nb5 Be7 18. Nc7 Rc8 19. Nxe8 Rxe8 20. c3 Nb6 21.
Kf2 $14 {with advantage for white}) 17. a3 Bb6 18. Be3 a6 19. Nf3 Ba7 20. g4
Nb6 21. b3 Rd8 22. Bd2 {Given black's decison to defend instead of the more
aggressive c5, black's position has become more uncomfortable as there doesn't
seem to be a way for black's pieces to improve, from white has time to imrpove
step by step} Nc8 23. Na4 Nd6 24. Ba5 Rc8 25. Nb6 Bxb6 {Forced} (25... Rb8 $4
26. Bb4 Rd8 27. Bxd6+ Rxd6 28. Nc8 $18) 26. Bxb6 Nfe4 27. Bc5 Kg8 {[#]} 28. Ng5
$6 {wasn't necessary as} (28. c4 $1 {would have pushed to advantage immediately
} h6 (28... Rb8 29. Bb6 Bd7 30. Ne5 {and white's advantage is close to
decisive.}) 29. Bxd6 Nxd6 30. c5 Nb5 31. a4 $18) 28... f6 29. Nxe4 Nxe4 30.
Bxe4 dxe4 31. Rxe4 h5 $2 {a final mistake after which it is difficult for
black to defend} (31... Bg6 {could have posed white difficulty to convert,
though after} 32. Re7 (32. f5 Re8 {Could have saved Anna, however}) 32... Bxc2
33. Rxb7 h5 34. gxh5 Kh7 35. Kf2 Kh6 36. Ke3 {and white still has good
practical chances to win.}) 32. Re7 b5 33. Kf2 Bf7 34. Ra7 Bd5 35. Rxa6 Re8 36.
a4 bxa4 37. bxa4 Re4 38. Ra8+ Kh7 39. a5 Rxf4+ 40. Ke1 Re4+ 41. Kd2 hxg4 42.
hxg4 Bc4 43. a6 1-0

[Event "Blitzing Covid Blitz"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.05.30"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Guseinov, Gadir"]
[Black "Foisor, Sabina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C68"]
[WhiteElo "2876"]
[BlackElo "2274"]
[Annotator "WGM Sabina Foisor"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/6p1/1pk2p2/p2N1P2/1bPP4/5KP1/8/1R6 b - - 0 33"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[SourceTitle "Blitzing Covid"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:37"]
[BlackClock "0:00:13"]

{After my nice win against Tatev Abrahamyan, I was paired against the strong
Azeri Grandmaster Gadir Guseinov. I played a good game overall, but in the
endgame, my highly rated opponent and I both made several blunders due to the
time pressure. Unfortunately I was the one who made the last mistake.} 33... b5
$4 ({Instead I could have played the following typical exchange sacrifice} 
33... Rxd5 $1 {when it is White who has to fight for a draw, i.e.} 34. cxd5+
Kxd5 35. Ke3 Bc3 36. g4 (36. Rb5+ $4 {during the game I saw this check and
only considered ... Kc6, but} Kc4 {wins on the spot as the b6 pawn is
untouchable due to ... Bxd4.}) 36... Bxd4+ 37. Kd3 Bc5 {and while the position
is objectively drawn, Black has decent winning chances taking the clock into
account. In such a short time control anything can happen.}) 34. Nxb4+ axb4 35.
Rxb4 bxc4 ({In my mind I could have played this, but forgot that} 35... Rxd4
36. cxb5+ {comes with check, after which Black is clearly lost due to} Kc5 37.
Rxd4 Kxd4 38. b6) 36. Rxc4+ Kd5 37. Rc7 Kxd4 38. Kf4 $4 {Here White gave up
momentarily the win.} (38. Kg4 $1 {would have been the correct continuation,
keeping an eye on g7, but also bringing the king to g6 to win the pawn.} Rg8 {
wouldn't help as after} (38... Ke5 {wouldn't help much either as the typical}
39. Re7+ {cutting off the king followed by the capture of the g7 pawn wins
pretty easy for white} Kd6 40. Rxg7 $18) 39. Kh5 Ke4 40. Kg6 Kf3 41. Rxg7 {
and Black has no chance left against the advanced f pawn}) 38... Kd5 $4 {
In a blitz game anything can happen indeed; both my opponent and I might have
thought that the pawn on g7 is doomed however, I could have had some chances
to save the game here} (38... Rg8 $1 {would have saved the game as follows} 39.
g4 (39. Kg4 {of course has to be considered, but the difference now is that
Black is in time for} g6 {and after trading the g-pawn for the White f-pawn,
the position is a draw.}) 39... Kd5 40. Rd7+ {This is a thematic check to cut
off black's king, but it is still not sufficient as the king will quickly
return.} Kc6 41. Ra7 Kd6 42. Rf7 {[#] Now there is a thematic idea that is
worth remembering.} g5+ $1 (42... Kd5 $4 {would lose immediately to} 43. g5
fxg5+ 44. Kxg5 {and White captures the g-pawn, winning with the Lucena idea.})
43. Ke4 Re8+ $1 {another important idea to remove white's king from its
proximity to the g pawn} (43... Ra8 $4 {would lose to} 44. Rxf6+ Ke7 45. Rg6 {
and with two connected passed pawns, White will soon win.}) 44. Kd4 ({or else} 
44. Kf3 Ke5 {and White has made no progress.}) 44... Ra8 45. Rxf6+ Ke7 46. Rg6
(46. Re6+ {is another try, but after} Kf7 47. Rc6 Ra4+ 48. Rc4 Ra3 {the game
should end in a draw because White has to keep the rook or king tied to the
g-pawn.}) 46... Ra4+ 47. Ke5 Rxg4 {Here White can still try to use the black
g-pawn as a shield and try to advance into a Lucena position, but with good
technique, Black is able to hold as follows:} 48. Rg7+ Kf8 49. Kf6 Ra4 50. Rf7+
Ke8 $1 {the only drawing move. One must be careful and avoid falling for} (
50... Kg8 $4 51. Kg6 $1 g4 52. Rb7 Ra8 53. f6 g3 54. Rg7+ Kf8 55. Rh7 {when
White wins.})) 39. Rxg7 {Though I tried to hold for as long as possible, after
losing my last pawn I only kept playing in hopes that the clock would force an
error by my opponent. Alas...} Rb8 40. Rd7+ Kc6 41. Rf7 Rb4+ 42. Kf3 Kd6 43.
Rxf6+ Ke5 44. Rf8 Rc4 45. g4 Rc3+ 46. Ke2 Kf4 47. Rg8 Rc6 48. Kd3 Ke5 49. Ke3
Rc3+ 50. Kf2 Ra3 51. Rg6 Kf4 52. Ke2 Re3+ 53. Kd2 Ra3 54. f6 Ke5 55. g5 Rh3 56.
f7 Rf3 57. Rf6 Rxf6 58. gxf6 Kxf6 59. f8=Q+ 1-0

[Event "J.Vancura 1924"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.05.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "9-43"]
[Black "Vancura"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Dvoretsky"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "R7/6k1/P7/8/8/5K2/8/r7 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Dvoretsky DEM5"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 1... Rf1+ (1... Kf7 $2 2. Ke4 (2. a7 $2 Kg7 {would have been premature})
2... Ra5 {is also hopeless. See DEM 9-38 for the details.}) 2. Ke4 Rf6 $1 {
Dvoretsky: "This is the so-called “Vancura position.” Black follows the
same “pawn in the crosshairs” method found in endings with bishops of
opposite colors. The rook attacks the pawn in order to prevent the enemy’s
rook from leaving a8. What can White do? If a6-a7, Black always has Ra6 (his
king will obviously never leave the g7- and h7-squares). If White defends the
pawn with his king, a series of checks follows, and then the rook returns to
f6. For example,"} 3. Kd5 Rb6 4. Kc5 Rf6 $1 {(the best place for the rook!)} 5.
Kb5 Rf5+ $1 *

[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 "Hartmann (based on Benjamin)"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/5p1k/pR4pp/P6P/1P3KP1/1r3P2/8 w - - 0 41"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2020.03.06"]
[SourceTitle "Dvoretsky DEM5"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 41. g4 $1 {Benjamin gives this an exclam in his analysis, as it is
White's best chance. It doesn't work if Black finds the correct defence.} hxg4+
$2 {The wrong capture.} ({Benjamin correctly notes that} 41... gxh4 $1 {
leads to a Vancura-style draw with best play, i.e.} 42. gxh5 (42. Rxh5+ Kg6 43.
Rb5 Rc2 44. Kg2 Rc3 45. Rxa5 Rxb3 46. Rb5 Ra3 {should be drawn, following
Benjamin.}) 42... f5 $3 {(the key move?)} 43. Rxf5 Rxb3+ 44. Kg2 Rb4 45. Rxa5
Rg4+ 46. Kh3 Rf4 47. f3 {(Benjamin recognizes that the pawn must fall at some
point if White wants to continue)} Rxf3+ 48. Kxh4 Rc3 $1 {and we eventually
reach a version of Vancura with a- and h-pawns. Incredible.}) 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 "St Petersburg 1909"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "9-251"]
[Black "Spielmann-Rubinstein"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "DEM 5"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r3k2/5pp1/3p2p1/8/3P4/P6P/2R2P1K/8 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[SourceTitle "Dvoretsky DEM5"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#] A positional disadvantage that occurs often is an abundance of “pawn
islands. ” White now has four islands against two; this means that White has
more vulnerable pawns that cannot protect each other. Therefore his position
is inferior.} 1... Ra8 $1 ({The first stage of Black’s plan is to attack
White’s pawns so that the white rook will be chained to their protection.
Chasing after material gain with} 1... Rb3 $2 {would have been a grave error,
because after} 2. Ra2 Rd3 3. a4 Rxd4 4. a5 Rc4 5. a6 {, the white rook is
actively placed behind a passed pawn while the black rook must stand passively
on a8.}) 2. Rc3 (2. Ra2 {is a passive placement for the rook, for example:} Ra4
3. Kg3 Ke7 ({not} 3... Rxd4 $2 4. a4 $11) ({but} 3... g5 {comes strongly into
consideration as it fixes the weak white kingside pawns}) 4. Kf3 (4. h4 $1 {
is more precise}) 4... Ke6 5. Ke4 g5 $1 6. Ra1 f6 7. Ra2 f5+ {[#]} 8. Ke3 $1 {
An improvement over Levenfish and Smyslov's} (8. Kd3 $2 Kd5 9. Kc3 g6 $1 {
[Müller 2019]} 10. Kb3 Rxd4 11. a4 Rh4 $19) 8... Kd5 9. f3 {, and White still
has a difficult defense but should probably hold. After the move played, the
rook’s position on the third rank offers counterchances that, however,
Spielmann fails to exploit.}) 2... Ra4 3. Rd3 Ke7 {The second stage: the king
goes to the center.} 4. Kg3 (4. d5 {is met with} g5 $1 (4... Kf6 5. Rf3+) 5.
Kg2 Kf6 6. Rf3+ Kg6 7. Rc3 f6 {[%cal Gg6f5] with the idea of ...Kf5, although
White should not lose here either.}) 4... Ke6 {[#]} 5. Kf3 $2 {An obvious
positional error. Letting the black king pass to d5, White condemns himself to
a passive defense that, as we know, forebodes gloom in rook-and-pawn endings.}
({He could draw with} 5. Re3+ Kd7 (5... Kd5 6. Re7) 6. Rf3 $5 ({or} 6. Rd3 Kc6
7. Rc3+ Kd5 8. Rc7 Rxa3+ 9. Kg2 Ke6 10. d5+ Kf6 11. Rd7 Ra6 12. h4) 6... f6 7.
d5 $1 Rd4 8. Rb3 $11) 5... Kd5 6. Ke2 $2 {Another mistake, and a fatal one now
(although demonstrating that in a game requires the highest degree of mastery).
} ({It was necessary to restrain Black’s pawns on the kingside by means of} 
6. h4 $1 {. It is worth mentioning that here, as well as later on, White is
not afraid of} Rxd4 {because he has a distant passed pawn in the ensuing pawn
endgame after} 7. Ke3) 6... g5 $1 {The third stage of the plan: it is
important to improve the pawn structure on the kingside.} 7. Rb3 {[#]} f6 $1 {
Another precise move!} ({After} 7... Kxd4 $2 8. Rg3 $1 (8. Rb7 $2 {loses to} f6
$1 9. Rxg7 Rxa3 10. h4 gxh4 11. Rg4+ Kc3 12. Rxh4 Ra2+ {and Kasparov correctly
evaluated this as winning for Black}) 8... Ra5 9. Rg4+ $1 Kc3 10. Rg3+ Kc2 11.
f4 {draws. The player fighting for a win should avoid pawn exchanges.
Rubinstein’s move keeps White in a bind.}) ({not} 7... Rxd4 $2 8. Rd3) 8. Ke3
(8. Rb7 $2 {can be met with} Rxa3 9. Rxg7 Rxh3 (9... Kxd4 {transposes to an
above-mentioned variation which also wins}) 10. Rg6 Ke6 11. Rg8 Rh4 12. Ke3 Kd5
{, winning a second pawn and soon the game.}) 8... Kc4 9. Rd3 (9. Rb7 Rxa3+ 10.
Ke4 d5+ 11. Kf5 Rxh3 12. Rxg7 Rf3+ $19 {is hopeless.}) 9... d5 {Black has
improved his pawn structure and optimally placed his king. Now it is time for
the rook. It has completed its mission on a4 and may find a new application
for its talents.} 10. Kd2 Ra8 11. Kc2 (11. Ke2 $2 {would lose quickly to} Rb8
12. Kd2 Rb2+ 13. Ke3 Rb3 $1 ({or} 13... Rxf2 $1)) 11... Ra7 $1 12. Kd2 Re7 $2 {
Rubinstein has hit upon the right idea of placing his opponent in zugzwang,
but he implements it inaccurately.} ({As Karsten Müller discovered in 2019,
Black should first play} 12... Rb7 $1 13. Kc2 (13. a4 Rb2+ 14. Ke3 Ra2 $19) (
13. Rc3+ Kxd4 14. a4 Rb2+ 15. Rc2 Rb3) 13... Re7 $1 {(now Black is threatening
the check on e2)} 14. Kd2 Re4 15. a4 Kb4 $19 {and White’s pieces are much
more passive compared to the game. This single mistake by Rubinstein, not
detected by analysts, including world champions, for 110 years after the game
was played, and found with the help of modern technology, in no way detracts
from this game. On the contrary, it helps establish a level of endgame
virtuosity that we, as humans, can hope to approach.}) 13. Rc3+ $1 {White must
take this opportunity to activate his rook.} ({To that end, perhaps even
simpler is} 13. a4 $1 Ra7 14. Ra3 Kb4 15. Rc3 Rxa4 (15... Kxa4 16. Rc5 Ra5 17.
Rc7 Kb4 18. Ke3 Ra3+ 19. Ke2 Rxh3 20. Rc5) 16. Rc7 Ra3 17. Ke2 Rxh3 {and now}
18. f3 {with a draw} ({or} 18. Rc5) ({but not} 18. Rxg7 $2 {, letting the
black king back in with} Kc3 $1)) ({But a continued passive policy would have
led to an inglorious demise:} 13. Kc2 $2 Re2+ 14. Rd2 Rxd2+ 15. Kxd2 Kb3 $1) ({
or} 13. Re3 $2 Rxe3 $1 14. fxe3 (14. Kxe3 Kb3) 14... f5 15. Kc2 g6 $22 16. Kd2
(16. Kb2 g4 $19) 16... Kb3 $19) 13... Kxd4 14. a4 $1 Ra7 15. Ra3 Ra5 $1 {
The pawn needs to be stopped as soon as possible. Black intends to approach it
with his king, either simply to win or block it, releasing the rook from its
passive position.} 16. Ra1 Kc4 {[#]} 17. Ke3 $2 {White had another opportunity,
at the cost of a pawn, to push the black king to the edge while making his own
pieces more active.} ({Levenfish and Smyslov correctly recommended} 17. Rc1+ $1
Kb4 18. Rb1+ Kxa4 19. Kd3 {. This position is drawn with correct defense:} Rc5
20. Kd4 $1 (20. Rb7 $2 Rc4 $1 21. Rxg7 Kb5) 20... Rc2 21. Rb7 $1 Rxf2 22. Rxg7
Rd2+ 23. Kc5 Kb3 24. Rf7 $1 (24. Rg6 $2 f5 25. Rxg5 d4 26. Rxf5 Kc3 $1 $19)
24... Kc3 25. Rxf6 d4 {[#] Now White saves himself with} 26. Ra6 $1 d3 (26...
Kd3 27. Kd5 Ke3 28. Re6+ Kf4 29. Rf6+ Kg3 30. Rg6 $11) 27. Ra3+ Kb2 28. Kb4 Rd1
29. Rb3+ (29. Rc3) 29... Kc2 30. Kc4 d2 31. Rc3+ Kb2 32. Rb3+ Ka2 33. Kc3 $11 {
But after White’s mistake, Black is again winning.}) 17... d4+ 18. Kd2 Rf5 $1
{Black’s precise 15th move tells: the rook may leave the blockade position.}
19. Ke1 ({If} 19. a5 {then} Rxf2+ 20. Ke1 Rb2 ({rather than} 20... Rh2 $2 21.
Ra4+ Kb5 22. a6 $1) 21. a6 Rb8 22. a7 Ra8 23. Kd2 Kc5 24. Kd3 Kb6 25. Rb1+ Kxa7
26. Kxd4 Rh8 $1 27. Rb3 Rh4+ 28. Kc5 g4 $19) 19... Kb4 $6 ({More forceful is} 
19... Rf3 $1 {Letting the White passed pawn advance looks scary, but the black
rook can capture the h-pawn and return home in time:} 20. a5 Kb5 21. a6 Rxh3
22. Kd2 Rh8 23. Kd3 Ra8 24. Rb1+ Kxa6 25. Kxd4 Re8 $1 {, cutting off the white
king and quickly winning.}) 20. Ke2 Ka5 {[#] White now has a trick whereby he
can cut off the black king without immediately losing a pawn.} 21. Ra3 $6 {
Missing a good practical chance.} ({After} 21. Rc1 $1 {, while Black is still
winning, perhaps only Akiba could win this in an actual game. We continue with}
d3+ (21... Kxa4 $2 22. Rc4+ $11) 22. Ke3 d2 23. Rd1 Re5+ 24. Kd3 Rd5+ 25. Kc3
$1 (25. Ke3 Kxa4 26. Rxd2 Rxd2 27. Kxd2 Kb4 28. Ke3 Kc4 29. Ke4 g6 $1 $19)
25... Rf5 $1 {(returning to the f2-pawn after the white king had to abandon it.
)} (25... Rd7 $2 26. Rxd2 Rxd2 27. Kxd2 Kxa4 28. Ke3 {, and now, unlike the
previous line, White is in time to draw the pawn ending.}) (25... Kxa4 $4 {
loses to} 26. Kc4 $1 {with mate coming.}) 26. Rxd2 Rf3+ 27. Rd3 Rxf2 28. Kb3
Rf5 $1 {[#] More work is still required to win here, but it can be done 
(analysis by Müller and Fishbein, 2019).}) 21... Rf4 22. Ra2 ({If} 22. Kf1 Kb4
$1 23. Ra1 Re4 24. a5 d3 $1 25. a6 d2 26. a7 Re8 $1 {and Black wins.}) 22...
Rh4 23. Kd3 (23. Ra3 Kb4) 23... Rxh3+ 24. Kxd4 Rh4+ 25. Kd3 (25. Ke3 Rxa4 26.
Rd2 Kb6 $1 {and if} 27. Rd7 {, then} Ra7) 25... Rxa4 26. Re2 {With the idea of
Re7.} Rf4 (26... Kb6 $2 {is wrong:} 27. Re6+ $1 {and 28. Re7}) 27. Ke3 Kb6 28.
Rc2 Kb7 $1 {Another accurate move. Black prevents the maneuver Rc8-g8 and
prepares to cross the c-file with his king after ...Ra4-a6-c6.} 29. Rc1 Ra4 30.
Rh1 Kc6 31. Rh7 Ra7 32. Ke4 Kd6 33. Kf5 g6+ $1 34. Kxg6 Rxh7 35. Kxh7 Ke5 36.
Kg6 g4 37. Kh5 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.05.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Benoni"]
[Black "Bf4 lines"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A61"]
[Annotator "Watson,John"]
[PlyCount "40"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Books"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 7. Bf4 Bg7 8. Qa4+
Bd7 9. Qb3 {[#]} b5 10. Bxd6 Qb6 11. Be5 O-O 12. e3 c4 13. Qd1 b4 14. Ne2 Rc8
15. Nf4 c3 16. Bd3 Qa5 17. O-O Ba4 18. b3 Bb5 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. Bxb5 Qxb5 *

[Event "Lucerne Olympiad "]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1982.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kasparov, G..."]
[Black "Nunn, J..."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A67"]
[Annotator "Watson,John"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "1982.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Books"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. Bb5+
Nfd7 9. a4 Na6 10. Nf3 Nb4 11. O-O a6 {[#]} 12. Bxd7+ Bxd7 13. f5 O-O 14. Bg5
f6 15. Bf4 gxf5 16. Bxd6 Bxa4 17. Rxa4 Qxd6 18. Nh4 fxe4 19. Nf5 Qd7 20. Nxe4
Kh8 21. Nxc5 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.06.16"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Modern Main Line"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A70"]
[Annotator "Watson,John"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Books"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nf3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. h3
O-O 9. Bd3 *

[Event "Karlsbad-02 International Masters"]
[Site "Karlsbad"]
[Date "1911.09.14"]
[Round "18"]
[White "Teichmann, Richard"]
[Black "Schlechter, Carl"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "1911.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Pandolfini"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. d3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. Nbd2 Qc7 12. Nf1 Nc6 13. Ne3 Bb7 $6 (13... Re8)
14. Nf5 Rfe8 (14... Bd8 $1 {Riumin}) 15. Bg5 Nd7 16. Bb3 $1 Nf8 17. Bd5 Ng6 18.
Bxe7 Ngxe7 19. Bxf7+ $1 Kxf7 20. Ng5+ Kg8 21. Qh5 Nxf5 22. Qxh7+ Kf8 23. Qxf5+
Kg8 24. Qg6 Qd7 25. Re3 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.06.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/r6k/8/7p/1n6/1qB5/1P6/1K1Q1R2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Pandolfini"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.06.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/5p2/4q3/8/8/4p1P1/1BP1P1Pr/1Q4K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Pandolfini"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.06.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1k6/1p6/8/1Q4nq/7P/3B2P1/6K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Pandolfini"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.06.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k7/p7/Q7/1R6/4rq2/6n1/5PPP/5RK1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Pandolfini"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.06.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6k1/8/8/1nq5/8/1P1Q4/1K1R4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Pandolfini"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.06.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/5r1p/8/8/7n/6qP/1Q2R1P1/5BK1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Pandolfini"]
[SourceDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.07.30"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "42ND NASSAU FIDE FUTURITY"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.10.08"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Karen, Brian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B27"]
[WhiteElo "2121"]
[BlackElo "2024"]
[Annotator "Karen,Brian"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4rk1/pp2n1bp/1q1N1pp1/3pPp2/3P4/4BQ2/PP3PPP/1R3RK1 b - - 0 17"]
[PlyCount "21"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "My Best Move"]

{[#] Brian Karen has been a successful chess teacher since the 1990s. He was
one of the pioneers of Chess on the internet. He currently manages numerous
Chess groups on Facebook, including the popular Chess Book Collectors group.
Who knew the Nassau Chess Club in Long Island, NY would allow me to compete
against first, Hikaru Nakamura, and later Fabiano Caruana? At the time, such
opportunities happened in places like Moscow. With Hikaru you knew you were
facing something special and frightening. I recall Hikaru crying after I beat
him. His dad FM Sunil Weeramantry consoled him. Realizing they were paired the
next week, Sunil offered his 500 point lower rated son a draw. Hikaru declined.
“I have something prepared for you!” he stammered. Fabiano was different.
He had the air of a professional even at 5 years old. I recall Fabiano losing
a game on time. Fabiano, winning easily, shook his opponent’s hand and left
the board expressionless. Now, that is impressive! Fabiano had set the record
the week prior to this game as the ‘youngest player to defeat an
International Grandmaster in a USCF sanctioned tournament’. As I shook the
petite Fabiano’s hand. I recalled a friend said, “It is like shaking hands
with air.”} 17... f4 $1 {It is now or never for Black!} 18. Qg4 (18. Bxf4
fxe5 $19) 18... fxe3 19. Qe6+ Kh8 20. Qxe7 exf2+ 21. Rxf2 fxe5 22. Rbf1 Rxf2 $2
{Both sides have played stockfish's top moves since 17..f4! But this is an
error.} (22... Qxd4 $1 23. Nf7+ Rxf7 24. Qxf7 Rf8 25. Qe7 Rxf2 26. Rxf2 h6 $11)
23. Rxf2 Qxd4 $4 24. Nf7+ {In the line given above the rooks have not been
exchanged and Rxf7 is possible which makes a huge difference.} Kg8 25. Qe6 $2 (
25. Nd8 $1 {Qe8 is threatened.} h5 26. Ne6 e4 27. Nxd4 $18) 25... Qxf2+ $1 {
I have more spectacular moves but how often can you sacrifice a queen to
secure the draw against a future World Championship Candidate. It is My Best
Move!} (25... h6 26. Qxg6 Qe3 27. g4 $11 {The computer evaluates this line as
equal. White has good practical chances, esp. as I was in time pressure.}) 26.
Kxf2 Rf8 27. Qxd5 Rxf7+ {Draw agreed. The Computer favors White with a 1.5
advantage. If you extend the analysis 40 moves it drops down to .5 without
showing progress. No sooner had I arisen from the board, when a parent of one
of my students rushed up and said, "What happened?" I said "draw" She replied,
"But you were down a queen!" I patiently explained that I have R+B+P for the
queen. She shook her head and said "Lucky." The next morning, I went to teach
a class and my 1500 rated co-instructor said, "What happened?" I said "draw"
He replied, "But you were lost!" I explained the position, he contemplated
what I said, then replied "You were lost." Playing prodigies is tough. They
win even when they draw.} 1/2-1/2

