[Event "Tata Steel India blitz"]
[Site "Kolkata"]
[Date "2019.11.26"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C44"]
[WhiteElo "2870"]
[BlackElo "2722"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2019.11.25"]
[EventType "tourn (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "18"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d4 exd4 5. Ng5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Kiev"]
[Site "Kiev"]
[Date "1944.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bronstein, David Ionovich"]
[Black "Boleslavsky, Isaak"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C17"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "1944.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. Qg4 c5 6. dxc5 Nbc6 7. Nf3 d4 8. Bb5
Qa5 9. Bxc6+ Nxc6 10. O-O dxc3 11. Qxg7 Rf8 12. a3 cxb2 13. axb4 Qxa1 14. Bh6
Qxf1+ 15. Kxf1 b1=Q+ 16. Ne1 Ne7 17. Qxf8+ Kd7 18. Bg5 Nf5 19. c6+ Kxc6 20.
Qe8+ {[#]} Bd7 21. Qxa8 Qxb4 22. Qxa7 Kc7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Novgorod"]
[Site "Novgorod"]
[Date "1997.06.23"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Short, Nigel D"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B87"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2795"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "1997.06.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. Bb3
O-O 9. f4 b5 10. e5 dxe5 11. fxe5 Nfd7 12. Be3 Nxe5 13. Qh5 Nbc6 14. Nxc6 Nxc6
15. Rf3 b4 16. Rh3 h6 17. Rd1 Qa5 18. Nd5 exd5 19. Rg3 d4 {[#]} 20. Bd5 (20.
Rxg7+ Kxg7 21. Bxh6+ Kh7 22. Bd5 Be6 23. Bf4+ Kg8 24. Rd3 Qxd5 25. Rg3+ Bg5 26.
Bxg5 Qe5 27. Bf6+ {1-0 (27) Azmaiparashvili,Z (2610)-Rashkovsky,N (2550)
Strumica 1995}) 20... Bg5 21. Bxg5 Qxd5 22. Bf6 Qxh5 23. Rxg7+ Kh8 24. Rg6+ Kh7
25. Rg7+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "USA-ch"]
[Site "USA"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Black "Fedorowicz, John P"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2560"]
[BlackElo "2520"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "25"]
[EventDate "1988.10.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c3 e5 2. d3 d5 3. Qc2 Nc6 4. Nf3 f5 5. Qa4 Bd6 6. e4 Nf6 7. Bg5 fxe4 8. dxe4
dxe4 9. Nfd2 Bf5 10. Bb5 O-O 11. O-O Nd4 12. cxd4 exd4 13. Qb3+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "USA-ch"]
[Site "USA"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Black "Wilder, Michael"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2560"]
[BlackElo "2505"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "24"]
[EventDate "1988.10.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. f4 c6 2. d4 Qa5+ 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4 Nf6 5. Bd3 e5 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. fxe5 dxe5 8.
dxe5 Nfd7 9. Bf4 Bb4 10. O-O O-O 11. Nd5 cxd5 12. exd5 Be7 1/2-1/2

[Event "USA-ch"]
[Site "USA"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fedorowicz, John P"]
[Black "Wilder, Michael"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2520"]
[BlackElo "2505"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "24"]
[EventDate "1988.10.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. f4 Qa5 5. Bd3 e5 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. dxe5 dxe5 8.
fxe5 Nfd7 9. Bf4 Bb4 10. O-O O-O 11. Nd5 cxd5 12. exd5 f5 1/2-1/2

[Event "WchT Students 19th final A"]
[Site "Graz"]
[Date "1972.07.28"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Huebner, Robert"]
[Black "Rogoff, Kenneth"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A15"]
[WhiteElo "2590"]
[BlackElo "2430"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "24"]
[EventDate "1972.07.21"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "AUT"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "German Fed Rep"]
[BlackTeam "United States of America"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Ng1 Bg7 4. Qa4 O-O 5. Qxd7 Qxd7 6. g4 Qxd2+ {[#]} 7.
Kxd2 Nxg4 8. b4 a5 9. a4 Bxa1 10. Bb2 Nc6 11. Bh8 Bg7 12. h4 axb4 1/2-1/2

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem I"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1bq1rk1/1p1nppbp/2n3p1/p7/QPPp4/B2P1NP1/P2N1PBP/R4RK1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem II"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2b1r1k1/1p1nqp2/2p3pp/1P1p4/3P2n1/2NBP1P1/1Q1N1PP1/R5K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem III"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r2k1/p4pp1/1p2pq1p/4N3/4R3/PQ1BnP2/1P1r1bPP/2R4K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem IV"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r5/2rkb3/4p1pp/pn1pPp2/p2P1P1P/P2K1NP1/1PN5/2RR4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem V"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r1q2k/p3P1p1/1pn1R2p/8/2Q5/2P5/PP3BPP/6K1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem VI"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/pp1n1pbp/1Nr3p1/4P3/3R3P/5NP1/q2B1PK1/2Q5 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "Skilling Open Finals playoff"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2020.11.30"]
[Round "3.31"]
[White "So, W."]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2862"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2020.11.25"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 h6 6. O-O Ne7 7. a4 a5 8. Nbd2 Nd7
9. Nb3 Bh7 10. Bd2 Qb6 11. h3 Ng6 12. Qe1 Bb4 13. Bxb4 Qxb4 14. Qxb4 axb4 15.
Bd3 c5 16. Nxc5 Nxc5 17. dxc5 Ra5 18. Bb5+ Ke7 19. Rfe1 Rc8 20. c3 bxc3 21. b4
Raa8 22. Rac1 Nf4 23. Rxc3 Be4 24. a5 f6 25. h4 g5 26. g3 Ng6 27. exf6+ Kxf6
28. hxg5+ hxg5 {[#]} 29. Nh2 ({Giving up the exchange with} 29. Rxe4 $1 dxe4
30. Nd2 Ke5 31. Re3 {is nearly winning for White.}) 29... Ne5 30. Rce3 Rh8 31.
f3 $6 Rxh2 32. Kxh2 Nxf3+ 33. Rxf3+ Bxf3 34. c6 d4 $2 ({Black holds the line
with} 34... bxc6 35. Bxc6 Rh8+ 36. Kg1 g4 (36... Ke7 {.})) 35. Rf1 $1 Rh8+ (
35... g4 {loses to} 36. Rxf3+ $1 gxf3 37. cxb7 Rb8 38. a6) 36. Kg1 Rh1+ 37. Kf2
Rxf1+ 38. Bxf1 $1 ({White gives up most of his advantage with} 38. Kxf1 bxc6
39. Bc4 Ke5 {with the idea} 40. a6 Kd6 41. a7 c5 {.}) 38... Bxc6 39. b5 Bd7 40.
a6 bxa6 41. bxa6 d3 42. Bxd3 Ke5 43. a7 Bc6 44. Bf1 1-0

[Event "Online Olympiad For Disabled"]
[Site "Tornelo.com"]
[Date "2020.11.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Aigner, Michael"]
[Black "Barata, Adriano Albiani"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B25"]
[WhiteElo "2006"]
[BlackElo "2144"]
[Annotator "Aigner"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Brazil"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "BRA"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 e5 6. Nh3 Nge7 7. f4 d6 8. O-O
O-O ({Less risky is} 8... Nd4) 9. f5 $5 f6 ({White gets a dangerous attack
after} 9... gxf5 10. exf5 Bxf5 11. Rxf5 $1 Nxf5 12. Be4 Ncd4 13. Qh5) 10. g4 g5
11. Nf2 ({The immediate} 11. Nxg5 {is playable, but without a clear path to
victory:} fxg5 12. Bxg5 Bf6 13. Bxf6 Rxf6 14. g5 Rf7 15. h4) 11... Rb8 12. Be3
b5 13. Qd2 h6 14. h4 $1 {The point of Nf2.} a6 ({Queenside counterplay comes
too slowly:} 14... b4 15. Ne2 a5 16. Ng3 a4 17. Nh3 a3 18. b3 Nd4 19. Nh5) 15.
Nh3 b4 16. Ne2 Nd4 17. Ng3 Nec6 ({Opening the center with} 17... d5 {fails:}
18. c3 bxc3 19. bxc3 Nb5 20. Bxc5) 18. Rf2 $1 {Patience! White prepares the
full army before setting off fireworks.} Bd7 19. Raf1 Be8 20. hxg5 hxg5 21. c3
{Evicting the lone active piece.} bxc3 22. bxc3 Nb5 23. a4 Nc7 24. Bf3 ({After
} 24. Nxg5 fxg5 25. Bxg5 {the attack is already crushing.}) 24... Bf7 25. Bd1
Na5 26. Rh2 {White optimizes all the pieces.} Qe7 {[#]} 27. Nxg5 $1 {Finally!
Now the attack plays itself.} fxg5 28. Bxg5 Bf6 29. Bh6 Rfd8 30. g5 Bh8 31. g6
{What a pawn chain!} Be8 ({If} 31... Bxg6 32. fxg6 Ne6 33. Nf5 Qf6 34. g7) 32.
Nh5 {Black lost on time.} 1-0

[Event "Russian Team Ch"]
[Site "Sochi RUS"]
[Date "2020.11.25"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Antipov, Mikhail"]
[Black "Musalov, Ruslan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "2607"]
[BlackElo "2348"]
[Annotator "Hartmann / Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2020.11.19"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Molodezhka"]
[BlackTeam "Kimmeriya (Respublika Krym)"]

{[%evp 0,70,23,23,23,23,25,8,8,3,-8,3,4,-24,8,10,5,25,41,13,13,2,29,-211,0,0,0,
-211,-204,-210,-194,-257,-285,-352,-325,-406,-386,-384,-261,-497,-485,-583,
-221,-381,-346,-413,-569,-574,-319,-435,-574,-565,-382,-399,-429,-598,-579,
-917,-701,-706,-751,-781,-666,-732,-388,-684,-629,-932,-940,-955,-873,-958,
-951]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c4 g6 7. Nc3 Bg7 8.
Nd5 Nd7 9. Bg5 f6 10. Be3 Ne7 11. Ng5 $2 {!?!?!? This has to be considered a
mistake, as Antipov sacrifices a piece for what is ultimately at best a
perpetual. But what a mistake!} ({The original series of moves relayed by the
organizers was} 11. Nxe5 fxe5 12. Bg5 {, which transposes to the game, but
which also leaves one wondering why Black didn't shut the whole thing down
with 11. ... dxe5, just winning.}) (11. d4 {gives White a long-lasting
advantage. After the inevitable trade on d4, Black will have difficulty
executing the thematic break ... f6-f5 because of tactical problems and a lack
of development. A sample line:} O-O 12. O-O c6 13. Nc3 exd4 14. Qxd4 Ne5 15.
Nxe5 fxe5 16. Qd3 {[%csl Gd6] and the knight needs to be on f7 to hold things
together. See the game Moradiabadi-Bogdan (Satu Marie, 2020) for a clear
example of this theme.}) 11... fxg5 12. Bxg5 Bf8 13. f4 {Keeping the game
alive and avoiding the draw. But now the "burden of proof" falls on Antipov,
who outrates his opponent by 250 points. He has to play increasingly risky 
(and fascinating) moves to keep fighting.} ({White can force a draw after} 13.
Nf6+ Kf7 14. Bxd7 Bxd7 15. Qf3 {with various knight moves.}) 13... c6 $1 {
This may be what Antipov missed. There's no forced draw after Nd5-f6 now as
the pin is broken.} ({If} 13... exf4 14. O-O c6 15. Qf3 $40 {with great
compensation}) (13... h6 14. Bf6 Rg8 15. fxe5 dxe5 16. Qf3 {gives White the
initiative.}) 14. fxe5 ({After} 14. O-O {Black takes control with} cxd5 15.
fxe5 b5 $1) 14... cxd5 15. O-O {Two pieces for two pawns. It is certainly
slightly unpleasant for Black, but this can't be enough compensation for the
material.} b5 $1 {Another solid move, unpinning. Black is up a lot of material
and White has to find a way to ratchet up the pressure.} 16. d4 $5 ({Not} 16.
cxb5 axb5 17. Bxb5 $2 Qb6+) 16... Qb6 17. exd5 bxa4 18. exd6 {[#] Current body
count: three pieces for four pawns.} Bg7 {Simple and smart, developing another
piece and threatening a trade on d4.} ({After} 18... Qxd6 19. Qf3 {(with the
idea of Qf3-f7+, c4-c5, Ra1-e1, etc)} Bb7 20. Qf7+ Kd8 21. Rae1 {White has
pressure, but there's no knockout blow.}) 19. c5 Qxb2 20. Kh1 Qxd4 {All White
has left are tricks. Black doesn't fall for any of them.} 21. Qe1 Qe5 22. Qd2
Qxd5 23. Qe3 Qe5 24. Qf3 Qd5 25. Qe3 Qe5 26. Qf3 Qxg5 ({Another way forward is
} 26... Rf8 27. Qxa8 Rxf1+ 28. Rxf1 Qxg5 29. c6 Nb6 $1) 27. Qf7+ Kd8 28. Rae1
Be5 {Precise till the end, blocking the rook's access to e7.} 29. dxe7+ Qxe7
30. Qd5 Ra7 31. c6 Qc5 32. Qe4 Nf6 33. Qxa4 Re7 34. Rb1 Ke8 35. Rfc1 Qd4 0-1

[Event "Make Your Move presented by Hennessy"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.10.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GZAxHennessy"]
[Black "RZAxHennessy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D30"]
[Annotator "Ashley"]
[PlyCount "135"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,135,25,23,25,6,6,-15,-3,-3,12,9,34,39,50,69,73,68,50,34,34,11,58,55,
56,49,55,47,46,58,64,55,48,24,100,105,102,58,58,26,58,44,116,116,87,66,148,147,
149,101,107,69,469,36,30,27,53,25,50,42,94,113,642,655,652,606,618,182,186,132,
125,10,6,-38,197,217,221,236,221,221,223,195,279,274,279,257,288,221,389,389,
845,640,845,844,1094,1122,1195,1223,1231,872,873,742,1145,1145,29985,29986,
29987,2136,29999,1118,29999,1076,1092,1058,29987,29986,29989,29990,29991,29986,
29987,29976,29983,29986,29989,29990,29991,29988,29989,29990,29991,29990,29991,
29992,29993,29992,29995,29994] This game was played at the time control of 10
mins + 2 seconds between two longtime rivals who rarely use a clock. The
winner would take on this annonator, so there was added pressure. Some of the
mistakes in the game can definitely be tied to the stress of the moment.} 1. d4
d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. a3 c6 6. Nbd2 Na6 7. e3 Nc7 8. Be2 h6 9.
Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Nb3 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Ne5 Bf6 13. Ng4 b6 14. c5 Bb7 15. Qc2 Be7
16. Bd3 f5 17. Ne5 Qe8 18. Be2 {This last move is intended to stop the queen
from taking up an aggressive post at h5 as GZA has felt the attacking fury of
his main rival countless times.} Bf6 19. Nf3 {More conservative play by White,
looking for the opportunity to strike later on.} Qg6 20. Rac1 Nb5 21. Bxb5 $1
cxb5 22. Qd3 {Capturing on b6 and penetrating on c7 with the Queen would have
led to immediate gains.} bxc5 23. Nxc5 Bc8 24. b4 {White has a picture perfect
setup, but consistently avoids grabbing the material presented to him. There
was no issue whatsoever with 24.Qxb5.} a6 25. Nd2 e5 {[#]} 26. Ndb3 $2 {
More positional play when concrete action was called for. The straightforward
25. dxe5 Bxe5 26.Qxd5+ would have been crunchy.} e4 $1 {Now Black is back in
the game.} 27. Qe2 h5 28. Rfe1 Be7 29. f3 exf3 $6 ({More incisive would have
been} 29... f4 $1 30. fxe4 f3 $1) 30. Qxf3 Qg4 $4 31. Qxd5+ Kh7 32. h3 {
With the clock ticking down White misses grabbing the free rook in the corner.
We commentators (GM Robert Hess and NM James Canty were alongside me) were
bouncing out our chairs!} Qg6 33. Qf3 $2 {Missing the rook again! After the
game, GZA was upset at himself.} Ra7 34. Nd3 Bb7 35. Qf2 Bh4 $1 36. Qf1 Bxg2 $2
{With the clock ticking fast, Black makes an ill-considered move. Taking the
exchange was perfectly fine though White has more than enough compensation as
the knights will park themselves on c5 and e5.} 37. Qxg2 Qxg2+ 38. Kxg2 Bxe1
39. Rxe1 Re7 40. Nf4 Ree8 41. d5 Rf6 42. Nxh5 Rg6+ 43. Kf3 Re4 44. Nf4 Rg5 45.
Nd4 Re8 46. d6 Rc8 47. d7 Rd8 48. Nde6 Rxd7 49. Nxg5+ Kh6 50. Nge6 Rd6 51. Rg1
Kh7 52. Rxg7+ Kh6 53. Rg5 Rd2 54. Rxf5 Rb2 55. Nc5 Rc2 56. Ke4 Rc4+ 57. Ke5
Rxf4 58. Rxf4 Kg5 59. h4+ Kg6 60. Kd4 Kg7 61. e4 Kg6 62. e5 a5 63. bxa5 b4 64.
axb4 Kg7 65. Rf6 Kg8 66. a6 Kg7 67. Ne6+ Kg8 68. a7 {Black flags at the exact
moment when a stalemate chance existed with 68...Kh7 69.a8(Q)?? It was great
to see two legends of the rap game play chess for a charitable cause, and we
hope to see more matchups like these in the future.} 1-0

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.26"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Liang, Awonder"]
[Black "Robson, Ray"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B10"]
[WhiteElo "2592"]
[BlackElo "2673"]
[Annotator "Ramirez"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Qe2 Nxe4 6. Qxe4 Nd7 7. Bc4 Nf6
8. Ne5 e6 9. Qe2 b5 10. Bd3 {One of the many lines of chess that was invented
last year and had a surge of popularity this year.} Qc7 11. a4 (11. Nxc6 Bb7
12. Nd4 a6 {is an overwhelming amount of compensation for Black.}) 11... Bd6 {
Even though this looks like a blunder, it's actually an intrepid sacrifice
that has been played before.} 12. Nxc6 b4 13. Nd4 a6 14. Nf5 Bb7 15. Nxg7+ $2 {
Youthful naivety} (15. Nxd6+ {is correct and played in Martirosyan-Keymer,
September 14th, game 27 of their chess.com match, which I assume means it was
a bullet game. It's important to keep up with your bullet games nowadays!})
15... Kf8 16. Nh5 Nxh5 17. Qxh5 Rg8 $1 {[#] Despite White's two extra pawns,
g2 will soon fall and Black's king on f8 is surprisingly far safer than the
one on e1. The reason? White's pieces are too far away from entering the
action.} 18. Bxh7 {It wins a pawn, but really White's just trying to develop
the bishop on c1.} Rxg2 19. d4 Bf4 $1 {Robson is ultra precise in these types
of positions. This move is important to safeguard the king on f8 from
potential checks and to disrupt White's development. It's surprising to me how
hopeless White's position is.} 20. Qh4 (20. Bd3 Bxc1 21. Rxc1 Qf4 $19) 20...
Bxc1 21. Rxc1 f5 {Suddenly White's bishop on h7 is in danger.} 22. Kd2 Rg4 23.
Qf6+ Qf7 24. Qh8+ Ke7 25. Qe5 Rxd4+ $1 {With the bishop entombed on h7,
eliminating White's only active piece leads to a quick victory.} 26. Qxd4 Rd8
27. Qxd8+ Kxd8 28. Rhd1 Qxh7 29. c3 Qxh2 30. Ke2+ Ke7 31. cxb4 Qe5+ 32. Kf1 Bf3
0-1

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.26"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2709"]
[BlackElo "2649"]
[Annotator "Ramirez"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.
Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 f5 11. c3 Bg7 12. Bd3 Be6 13. Qh5 O-O 14. exf5 Bxd5
15. f6 e4 16. fxg7 Re8 17. Be2 Ne5 18. O-O Qf6 19. Nc2 {[#] Played after a one
minute think, this is the first move to be out of typical theory.} (19. Qh3 {
has been seen in over 50 games, with a strangely huge draw ratio.}) 19... Nf3+
{Played after a 10 minute think. It's difficult to give an evaluation on such
usage of time. On one hand, this position is extremely complex and a decision
like Nf3 cannot be made lightly. On the other, 10 minutes is a lot.} (19...
Nf3+) 20. Bxf3 (20. gxf3 exf3 {just loses for White.}) 20... Re5 21. Qh3 exf3
22. Ne3 fxg2 23. Rfd1 {This sequence is more or less forced from Nf3+ and is
difficult to evaluate. A bit surprisingly, it had been reached in one
FIDE-master level game before!} Be6 $2 {And also surprisingly, in both games
Black makes a crucial mistake.} (23... Bf3 $1 24. Rd4 Rae8 25. Qg3 {Dariusz
told me after the game he reached this position, but fearing Rf4 he decided to
solidify on e6 instead.} Bc6 26. Rf4 Qg6 $15 {is harmless for Black. The
knight on e3 can simply never move.}) 24. Qg3 {Jeffery shows in this game that
he is the type of player in which one wrong idea is enough to lose the game,
even in Rapid.} h5 {Sometimes during a game a realization creeps on you that
things have not gone your way. Black spent 6.5 minutes here, more or less
trying to find some form of counterplay. White's idea to solidify on the
darksquares with Rd4, Rad1, is as unstoppable as it is strong while Black has
difficulties bringing pieces to attack something concretely.} 25. Rd4 Kh7 26.
Rad1 {Starting from this move, the engine will inform you that White misses
many wins. It's true that Jeffery had cleaner alternatives, but it's also true
that Black's position is so strategically hopeless that Jeffery's technique
was good enough.} (26. f4 Rc5 27. Rxd6) 26... Rg8 27. f4 Rc5 28. f5 $6 {
The f-pawn is the last piece of the puzzle. With the bishop booted out of the
defense of d5, the knight jumps to action with decisive effect. The dubious
mark is because Rxd6 and even a6 is a much easier win: the pawn on g2 is a
shield that will never go away.} Bxf5 29. Nd5 Qh6 30. Qf2 Rxd5 31. Rxd5 Be6 32.
Rxd6 Rxg7 33. Rxa6 Rg6 34. Qd2 Qg7 35. Rd6 Rg5 36. Qd3+ Bf5 37. Qd4 Qg8 {
Even after all this, Black hasn't come close to creating a threat against the
king on g1.} 38. Qf4 Be6 39. Qe4+ Rg6 40. R1d2 Kh6 41. Rxg2 Rxg2+ 42. Qxg2 Qc8
43. Qd2+ Kh7 44. Qd3+ Kh6 45. Qe3+ Kh7 46. Qg5 Qc4 47. Qxh5+ Kg7 48. Qg5+ Kh7
49. Rd4 1-0

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.26"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Robson, Ray"]
[Black "Shankland, Sam"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B67"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]
[BlackElo "2691"]
[Annotator "Ramirez"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 {With every generation of
engines, openings and defenses that were long considered dubious by
established theory tend to resurface and become legitimate. The Rauzer
Sicilian seems to be viable for Black once again, even at the top level.} 6.
Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f3 Nxd4 {A modern twist. Caruana had played
it against Robson himself in the PRO-Chess League last year, a game which
Robson won. It really gained popularity online this year with Dubov and
Firouzja playing it. Just blitz games, but that's 2020 chess is, after all.}
10. Qxd4 Be7 11. h4 Qc7 12. Kb1 b5 13. g4 O-O {Following McShane-Grandelius
from last year, Shankland is never one to shy away from a fight. With opposite
side castling, the race is on to get at the opponent's king first.} 14. Qd2 b4
15. Ne2 Rfc8 16. Ng3 $146 {This is a fascinating position, especially for
players of such calibre. Every tempo counts here, and black has very distinct
ideas. White's plan is clear: Knight g3-h5, open up the structure on the
kingside and attack. Black can meet it in a couple of different ways:} (16. Be3
{had been seen in Engineer vs. Cato the Younger, according to my database.})
16... a5 {Trying to blast the game open on the kingside asap.} (16... Ba4 $5 {
is slightly unnatural to me, but the engine suggestion.}) (16... Bb5 {is
logical, the idea being} 17. Nh5 Nxh5 18. gxh5 h6 19. Bxh6 (19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20.
Bxb5 axb5 21. Qxb4 {white emerges up a pawn, but after} Rc5 {the h5 pawn will
fall some day, and the endings should be close to equal even if White retains
a pawn advantage. The kings are too weak for the other to make progress.})
19... gxh6 20. Qxh6 (20. Rg1+ Kf8 {is not very scary}) 20... Qxc2+) 17. Nh5 a4
(17... Nxh5 18. Bxe7 Ba4 19. b3 Qxe7 20. gxh5 $14) 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Nxf6+ gxf6
20. Bd3 a3 {Played after a five minute think. This allows a tactic that
Shankland would never miss in over the board chess.} (20... b3 {is a fight} 21.
cxb3 axb3 22. a3 Bb5 $1 23. Bxb5 $2 Qc2+ 24. Ka1 Rxa3+ $1) 21. e5 {played
almost instantly. The move speaks for itself, Qh6 is coming and Black's
position collapses. a3 is not threatening anything immediately.} Kf8 (21...
dxe5 22. Qh6 e4 23. Bxe4 f5 24. gxf5 Qe5 25. c3 $1 {is hopeless, f6 is too big
of a threat while} (25. Qc1 {is not as accurate but also winning.}) 25... bxc3
26. Bc2 $3 {stops all the threats}) (21... axb2 22. Qh6 f5 23. gxf5 $18) 22.
exf6 Ke8 (22... axb2 23. Qg5 $18) 23. b3 Qb6 24. Bxh7 {Black's position simply
collapsed while creating no threats. Because of the time control and the event
being online, most players played on positions they normally wouldn't.
Sometimes, people saved miracles, but for the most part, like in this game,
things were never in doubt.} d5 25. h5 Bc6 26. Bg8 Kd7 27. Bxf7 Rf8 28. Bg6
Rxf6 29. f4 Raf8 30. f5 e5 31. g5 Rxf5 32. Bxf5+ Rxf5 33. h6 d4 34. h7 Bxh1 35.
h8=Q Be4 36. Qe2 Qc6 37. Qc4 Qxc4 38. bxc4 Rf2 39. Qxe5 Bxc2+ 40. Kc1 1-0

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.27"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Shankland, Sam"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E25"]
[WhiteElo "2691"]
[BlackElo "2770"]
[Annotator "Ramirez"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 {In vogue and yielding double edged
positions, it is not surprinsg that Shankland has 4.f3 in his repertoire. So,
of course, shows his very well prepared.} d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5
Nxd5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. e4 Ne7 10. Be3 O-O 11. Qb3 Qc7 12. Bb5 e5 $5 (12... Nec6 {
is almost always played}) 13. Ne2 Be6 14. c4 {A tough choice to make. The
bishop on b5 is unhappy about this last move, and it weakens the d4 square. On
the other hand White will hop that knight to d5 asap.} Nbc6 15. Nc3 (15. O-O {
is safer, but after} Na5 16. Qc2 a6 17. Ba4 Nxc4 18. Bf2 Nc6 {Black gains a
lot of piece play and his pawn back. Still, the position should be close to
equal.}) 15... Na5 16. Qb4 $2 {The start of a sequence that does not work out
for White.} Nec6 17. Qa4 a6 18. Bxc6 {[#]} Nxc4 $1 (18... bxc6 19. Nd5 $1 cxd5
20. cxd5 Bd7 $1 21. c6 Nxc6 22. dxc6 $11 {Might have been something that
Shankland saw, however So goes for an amazing sacrifice}) 19. Bxb7 Nxe3 $1 (
19... Qxb7 20. Nd1 Rfd8 21. c6 Qc7 22. O-O {is not that clear}) 20. Bxa8 Qxc5
$1 {Black is a rook down and it is White to move. White does have two pieces
hanging, and g2 is under attack as well.} 21. Nd5 $1 {The only way to try to
fight.} (21. Ne2 Nxg2+ 22. Kf1 Ne3+ 23. Ke1 Rxa8 $6 {is positionally hopeless.}
(23... Nc2+ $1)) (21. Rc1 Nxg2+ 22. Kd1 Qf2 $1 {and Ne3 is too strong.}) 21...
Nxg2+ $2 {Wesley trusts in his attack, but things are not easy} (21... Nc2+ {
is stronger} 22. Kd2 Nxa1 23. Rxa1 Qf2+ $1 24. Kd3 Rxa8 {and since Qc2 is not
playable due to the hanging rook on a1 after Qd4, the kingside collapses and
the king is never safe.}) 22. Kf1 Nf4 23. Qc6 $1 {An important resource.
Black's queen doesn't have that many great squares to go to and Sam takes
advantage to put the queen in a better place and defend the bishop.} Qa5 {
White is still up a rook and has the move, but with such a weak king on f1 its
tough to find moves.} 24. Rd1 $4 {But this is the game losing blunder. Under
pressure, Sam loses the thread. It is easy to question how such a strong
player let the f4 knight survive, but things are not so easy when you're
staring at a monitor and things get confusing.} (24. Nxf4 exf4 {is "equal" as
Black should always have a way to deliver a perpetual, but likely has no more
than that.} 25. Rc1 Qd2 26. h4 Qd3+ $11) 24... Bxd5 25. exd5 Qxa3 {Sam's
position collapses suddenly. The f3 threat is easy enough to parry, but it is
the black queen's entry on the second rank that comes with fatal consequences.}
26. d6 Qb2 {White's bizzare piece placement comes at a huge cost. Qg2 and Qe2
are devastating, and Sam only has time to prevent one of them.} 27. Qe4 Qg2+
28. Ke1 Qxh1+ 29. Kd2 Qxh2+ {Black's extra three pawns win any endgame, but
the king hunt is far from over.} 30. Kc3 Ne2+ 31. Kc4 Nd4 $1 32. d7 {GMs never
give up hope. Maybe this pawn will promote!} Qa2+ 33. Kc5 Qa3+ 34. Kb6 Qb3+ 0-1

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.27"]
[Round "4.5"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Ramirez"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6 5. Nb3 Nf6 6. Nc3 e6 7. e4 Bb4 {
Jeffery was not afraid to play any kind of position. Long term, short term,
theoretical or brand new side lines, he was ready to play it all.} 8. Bd3 O-O
9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 d6 11. Bg5 Ne5 {Black's plaay is clearly on the dark
squares. The ruined pawn structure on the kingside won't be easy to target,
while the c-pawns will be.} 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Kh1 Bd7 14. f4 Ng6 15. Qh5 {
In the old days, before computers, Black might feel that allowing such
pressure against h7 is unplayable. Nowadays, kids know that if it holds, it
holds, doesn't matter if it's a bit ugly.} Kh8 $1 {Preparing to fianchetto the
rook on g7, where it holds the h7 pawn and puts some nice x-ray pressure on
the g2 pawn.} 16. Qh6 (16. Rf3 Rg8 17. Rh3 Rg7) 16... Qd8 17. Rad1 Qe7 18. Bc2
{A sign that Leinier is running out of ideas. His structure is compromised,
and his attack on the kingside is going nowhere. f5 is never an idea because
of Ne5, and making e5 work seems tactically impossible. The position is
suddenly unpleasant to play.} Rg8 19. Nd2 Rac8 20. Bb3 {An ugly remaneuvering.
Having an idea to play towards is a huge advantage in rapid chess, and Leinier
simply lacks one in the position.} a5 21. a3 Rc5 22. e5 $2 {Pyschological
desperation. With the first day being a let down for Leinier, he feels with
White he needs to make something happen. His position is worsening with every
move, and his time situation is bad. He tried to make the game murky, but it
backfires immediately.} dxe5 23. Ne4 {[#]} Bc6 $1 {Jeffery is quick to spot
such opportunities.} 24. Nxc5 Nxf4 {Black is down a rook, but the double
attack on g2 and c5 guarantees that he will get at least his material back.
This makes it an easy combination to play, and upon further inspection, it is
even clear that White is helpless to defend g2.} 25. Rxf4 (25. Rf2 Rg6 26. Qh4
Nxg2 $19) 25... Bxg2+ 26. Kg1 Qxc5+ (26... exf4 {also wins, but Jeffery plays
the most precise.}) 27. Rfd4 (27. Rf2 Bh3+ 28. Kh1 Qc6+ $1 (28... Qxf2 29. Qxh3
{is still unclear, though very good for Black.}) 29. Rd5 exd5 30. cxd5 Qb6 $19)
27... Rg6 {The perpetual on f6 was really White's last hope.} 28. Qe3 exd4 29.
Rxd4 Qf5 30. Rf4 Qb1+ {Jeffery making it look easy.} 0-1

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.28"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Robson, Ray"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2673"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "Ramirez"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O Qc7 7. Qe2 d6 8. c4
Nbd7 9. Nc3 Ne5 10. f4 Nxd3 11. Qxd3 Be7 12. b3 O-O 13. Bb2 b6 14. Rae1 Bb7 15.
Kh1 Nd7 16. f5 Nc5 17. Qg3 Bf6 {As they say in the books, a critical position.
Black is one tempo away from consolidating: after Qe7 he will cement his
control over the darksquares and it's difficult to find a plan for White.} 18.
Ndb5 $1 {A brilliant tactical solution.} axb5 19. Nd5 exd5 20. Bxf6 g6 {
White's compensation for a full piece lies in the weakened dark squares around
Black's king. It's easy to see that this is dangerous for Black, but it is not
easy to evaluate exactly how bad it is. A piece is a lot, after all!} 21. Qh4
$2 (21. exd5 {is quiet and deadly, but far from obvious to me. For example the
variation} Rfe8 22. Qh4 Nd7 23. Be7 {leaves Black helpless.} f6 (23... bxc4 24.
Qh6) 24. fxg6 hxg6) 21... Nd7 22. Be7 f6 {Here black's f6 pawn is defended and
White has nothing better than to go into a murky material imbalance.} 23. fxg6
hxg6 24. Bxf8 Rxf8 25. exd5 Ne5 26. Rxf6 {The position is equal according to
the engine, but simply a mess in my book. Robson kept pressuring Nakamura
until eventually the defending U.S. Champion collapsed, after many mutual time
trouble blunders.} 1-0

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.28"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Ramirez"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.
Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 Bg5 12. Nc2 Rb8 13. a3 O-O 14. h4 Bh6
15. g4 {Maximum aggression. These types of pawn pushes always lead to
extremely double edged positions.} Bf4 16. Qf3 Bb7 $146 (16... Be6 {is more
standard.}) 17. g5 (17. Nxf4 Qf6 {is black's "trick" to not lose a pawn.})
17... Re8 {A clear disregard of material, in excellent Sveshnikov spirit of
the early 2000s.} 18. Nxf4 exf4 19. O-O-O {The position is chaotic. White
evicts the king from the center asap, but it certainly doesn't feel safe on
the queensisde.} b4 $5 {The start of some fantastic complications.} 20. axb4
Nxb4 21. Nxb4 (21. cxb4 Bxe4 22. Qh3 Qc7 23. Bd3 Bxh1 24. Rxh1 {is complex,
though the engine thinks the two minor pieces should prevail.}) 21... Bxe4 22.
Qxf4 $2 {[#]} (22. Qh3 {it is important to protect the rook on h1, as will
soon be clear} Qa5 23. Bd3 Bxh1 24. Qxh1 $18) 22... Rxb4 {faced with two
tempting options, Jeffery chooses the wrong one.} (22... Qa5 $1 {Is greedy and
strong} 23. Bd3 (23. Nc2 Qa2 {is over since b2 cannot be defended.}) 23... Bxh1
{and the bishop is taboo due to the skewer on the first rank.} 24. f3 $1 Bg2
25. h5 {is a huge mess. The engine claims black is doing well, but in
practical play I don't think this is easy for either side.}) 23. Bd3 Bxh1 24.
Qxb4 Bf3 25. Rd2 {As if by magic, the smoke more or less clears. Black has
another check he can throw in, but surprisingly that will be the end of his
attack. The remaining pawn structure almost guarantees that Black will lose
one of them, but with the weak king on c2 the conversion is far from easy.
From a tactical melee we jump into a tense situation.} d5 26. Bxa6 h6 $5 27.
gxh6 Re4 28. Qc5 Rxh4 {the machine says this is a blunder, but no body cares.
Both kings are in some danger and Wesley tries his luck in the endgame.} 29.
Qc8 Qxc8 30. Bxc8 Rxh6 31. Bb7 Rh5 32. b4 {The pawn is certainly dangerous.
White's freerolling, but Jeffery defends tenaciously.} Kf8 33. Kb2 Rf5 34. Kb3
Ke7 35. Ka4 g5 36. b5 Rf4+ 37. Ka5 Kd6 38. b6 Rc4 $1 {An important move.
White's progress is halted. The b-pawn wants to push forward but it is
difficult to do so without entombing the bishop on a8, after which there is no
guarantee White will gain the b8 square.} 39. Rd3 (39. Ba8 Rxc3 40. b7 Kc7 {
doesn't quite work for White.}) (39. Ba6 Rxc3 40. b7 Kc7 41. Rb2 Kb8 {and it's
surprisingly difficult for White's rook to maneuver to the eigth rank,
meanwhile Black will push the d-pawn.}) 39... Rc5+ $1 40. Kb4 Rc4+ 41. Kb3 Rf4
$1 42. c4 Kc5 43. cxd5 {Exceptionally withstood by Jeffery. He is on the verge
of a draw if he can just eliminate a couple of more pawns.} Rb4+ (43... Kxb6
44. d6 Bg4 $1 {is an immediate draw. White can at most win the bishop, but
will lose both of his last remaining pawns.}) 44. Kc3 Rxb6 $6 (44... Be2 $1 45.
Rd2 (45. d6 {looks like something out of a study} Bxd3 46. d7 Rd4 47. Bd5 $1
Rxd5 48. b7 Rxd7 49. b8=Q {but unlike a study the final position is lifelessly
drawn.}) 45... Rxb6) 45. d6 Rxb7 46. d7 Rxd7 47. Rxd7 {[#] The situation is
still drawn, Black needs to not panic and trust on the following:} f5 $2 {
the losing mistake. Natural with seconds left to find a set up where the
bishop defends everything, but the pawn endgames are not in time for Black.} (
47... Bd5 48. Kd3 Be6 49. Rd8 Bf5+ 50. Ke3 Kc4 {and with a bishop on e6 and a
pawn on g4 black holds.} (50... Be6 51. Ke4 g4 {is not as clean as the main
line, but I'm not strong enough to explain why.})) 48. Kd3 Be4+ 49. Ke3 g4 50.
Kf4 {White's plan is inevitable.} Kc6 51. Rf7 Kd6 52. Rxf5 1-0

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.27"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Liang, Awonder"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B19"]
[WhiteElo "2829"]
[BlackElo "2397"]
[Annotator "Ramirez"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. e4 c6 {Awonder trusted the Caro-Kann the entire event, and it gave him
pretty good results. It's also been one of the trends of the year.} 2. d4 d5 3.
Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 e6 {My pretty strong stockfish
thinks this is a better move than the very common Nd7, but its been largely
ignored by theory.} 8. Bd3 (8. Ne5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Nd7 11. f4 {
seems to be the test of fire of the line, but either Hikaru didn't know it or
wanted to go into uncharted territory.} (11. Bf4 $5)) 8... Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Nf6 10.
Bf4 Qa5+ 11. c3 Be7 12. Nf1 {Since this was played almost immediately, one can
assume it is some sort of preparation. That being said this is a very strange
move since White can't queenside castle any time soon.} (12. Ne4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4
Nd7 14. O-O {might be a bit too dry for Hikaru's tastes.}) 12... c5 13. N1d2
Qa6 14. Nc4 O-O 15. g4 $6 {The start of unnecessary complications that have no
foundation on general positional principles. White needs to know he can castle
queenside before embarking on such adventures, but with the queen on a6
constantly eyeing that a2 pawn it is clear that White's king will never find a
safe haven. All of White's eggs are on the rip-apart-the-black-king basket.}
Nd5 16. Be5 Nc6 17. g5 h5 18. g6 {[#] You could argue this is the losing move,
but it's such a logical follow up to the previous play. Inertia plays a big
role in our chess decisions.} cxd4 19. Nxd4 Nxd4 20. Qxd4 Rac8 {The start of a
bunch of tempo moves that simplify the position into a winning black advantage.
} 21. Ne3 Bc5 22. Qe4 Bxe3 23. fxe3 fxg6 24. Bd4 (24. Qxg6 Rf7 25. Rg1 (25. Bd4
e5 $5 $17) 25... Nxe3 $1 26. Bxg7 {looks absolutely terrifying for Black, and
yet it all works out!} Rf1+ 27. Kd2 (27. Rxf1 Qxf1+ 28. Kd2 Nc4+ 29. Kc2 Qf2+)
27... Rf2+ 28. Kc1 Rc2+ 29. Kb1 Rg2 $3 {and it is White that gets mated.})
24... Rf5 $1 {White's pawn sacrifice on the kingside has simply closed down
the position on that front. His king remains weak and Black enjoys a massive
light-squared advantage.} 25. a3 {slow, but it is hard to recommend a useful
plan that is not evacuating that king on e1.} Rcf8 26. O-O-O Kh7 27. Rhg1 Nf6
28. Qc2 Ng4 {Black's king is pretty safe, in case you couldn't tell. The next
many moves are not the most accurate by either player, but lets remember that
its a rapid game.} 29. e4 Rf1 30. c4 R1f3 31. e5 Rc8 32. c5 Rcf8 33. Kb1 Rf1
34. Ka2 Rxd1 35. Rxd1 Rd8 36. Rd2 Qc6 37. b4 Rd5 38. Bc3 Ne3 39. Qc1 Nf5 40.
Qe1 Rxd2+ 41. Bxd2 {The position has simplified into a won endgame for Awonder.
His knight is an octopus and White's king is permanently weak, Black's
permanently safe.} Qd5+ 42. Kb2 Qd3 (42... Nxh4 {is a free pawn but everything
wins.}) 43. Bg5 Nd4 44. Qc3 Qe2+ 45. Kb1 Qxe5 {That's two!} 46. a4 a6 47. Kb2
Qe2+ 48. Qd2 Qe4 49. Qc3 e5 50. Qc4 Qg2+ 51. Kb1 Qc6 52. a5 {An awful move to
play. With the impossibility to create a passed pawn on the queenside Hikaru's
chances are doomed.} Nb5 53. Kc1 Qh1+ 54. Kd2 Nd4 55. Qd3 Qg2+ 56. Kc3 Qa2 57.
Qd1 0-1

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.21"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Carissa Yip"]
[Black "Irina Krush"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B81"]
[WhiteElo "2493"]
[BlackElo "2478"]
[Annotator "Yu"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:20"]
[BlackClock "0:00:37"]

{[%evp 0,66,25,30,41,49,85,67,67,31,31,32,67,35,54,0,27,46,38,7,72,12,73,68,68,
72,70,68,131,56,34,4,11,11,11,35,19,-38,-35,-72,46,-110,-120,-242,-211,-226,
-180,-156,-142,-67,-66,-55,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. g4 h6 7. Rg1 g5 {this moves stop the g5
push, but the reason it probably has not been played many times before is
because it also creates a hook allowing white to go h4 and put pressure on g5.}
({more games went} 7... Nc6 8. h4 h5 9. gxh5 Nxh5 10. Bg5 Nf6 11. Qd2) 8. Be3 (
8. h4 {Yip does this idea in the game but it is also possible here without
committing the bishop to e3 (in case black captures on h4)} gxh4 (8... Rg8 9.
hxg5 hxg5 10. Be3 Nc6 11. Qd2 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 {white's position is much more
comfortable due to better piece placement and control over the center}) 9. g5
hxg5 10. Bxg5 Be7 11. Qd3 {and castles queenside with initiative}) 8... a6 9.
h4 Rg8 10. Qd2 Nfd7 11. hxg5 hxg5 12. O-O-O b5 {Here, Yip has a large
positional advantage because of the activity of her pieces and lead in
development. But what to do now? It's not obvious what's the best way to
continue. Yip skillfully demonstrates the feel for dynamics and initiative
that she has used to collect many grandmaster scalps.} 13. Nf3 {a very
sensible move, adding pressure to the g5 pawn to gain a tempo before pushing
the e-pawn and open up the e4 square for the c3 knight.} (13. e5 $1 {the
problem with black's position is the underdeveloped pieces and king in the
center. So when the king is stuck in the center -- blow up the center! This
sac also opens up the h1-a8 diagonal, targeting one unfortunate looking rook.}
Nxe5 (13... dxe5 14. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 15. Bg2 $1 {and the rook falls}) 14. Bg2 d5 (
14... Ra7 15. Nxe6 $1) 15. Rge1 $1 {It's often counterintuitive to look for
moves nonforcing moves improving your position after sacrificing material.
However, this quiet move ends the game. Even though black's central pawns look
stable now, the bomb Re1 ignited is Nxe6 blowing up black's center! Material
doesn't matter when the king is completely exposed. For example} Bb7 (15... Nc4
16. Qd3 Bb7 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bb6 $1 Qxb6 19. Nxd5 $18) 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bd4)
13... Be7 14. e5 $1 dxe5 15. Ne4 ({A cute shot is} 15. Nxg5 $1 Bxg5 16. Bg2 $1
Ra7 17. Ne4 Bxe3 18. fxe3 {and the weak dark squares around the king is
sufficient compensation for the piece. g5 and Nf6 is coming}) 15... Bb7 16.
Nfxg5 Bd5 17. Bg2 Nc6 $6 {[#]} (17... Nb6 18. Rh1 N8d7 {This is the best way
to develop the black pieces since it doesn't allow the Nd6 idea. However,
black is still under a lot of pressure.} 19. Rh7) 18. f4 $2 {Once the black
rook is allowed to develop, Krush creates sufficient counterplay to ease the
pressure away from her own king. After all, one of the best ways to defend is
to attack!} (18. Nd6+ $1 {A king in the center is a breeding ground for
tactics. The bishop on d5 is what is holding together the black position. Once
it is exchanged, the center falls apart, exposing the vulnerable black king}
Bxd6 19. Bxd5 exd5 (19... Bb4 20. Bxc6 Bxd2+ 21. Rxd2 $18) 20. Nxf7 Kxf7 21.
Qxd5+ Kg7 22. Qxc6 $18) 18... Rc8 19. a3 (19. Nd6+ {is no longer as effective
because after} Bxd6 20. Bxd5 {there is} Bb4 {and the c6 knight is now
protected so Bxc6 is no longer possible like before} 21. c3 exd5 22. Qxd5 Rxg5
23. fxg5 Ne7 24. Qh1 $11) ({The best way to continue the attack still is
removing the d5-bishop.} 19. Nxf7 Kxf7 20. Nc3 Bxg2 21. Qxg2 {and the position
is complicated with the material imbalance and soon to be exposed black king})
(19. Nc3 $2 {trying to exchange the d5 bishop while the white knight is on g5
doesn't work} exf4 20. Bxf4 Bxg5 21. Nxd5 {and black can get away with} exd5 {
and is planning the upcoming queen trade with Bxf4 Qg5}) 19... b4 20. a4 $2 {
Krush has been slowly building up her position after Yip dominated the board
since the opening, and she seizes the opportunity to counterattack the white
king. This forces Yip to retreat her pieces to defend, decreasing her control
over the center.} ({I don't blame Yip for not going for the risky} 20. Nd6+
Bxd6 21. Bxd5 bxa3 22. Nxf7 Bb4 (22... exd5 23. Nxd6+ Ke7 24. Qxd5 $18) 23. c3
{because white's king is looking awfully open now. However, this would've been
a better alternative than the game, where Krush's attack is even more dangerous
} (23. Qd3 $2 exd5 24. Nxd8 a2 $1) 23... Qe7 (23... axb2+ $2 24. Kb1 Kxf7 25.
f5 $16) 24. Nh6 exd5 25. Nxg8 axb2+ 26. Kxb2 Qe6 27. cxb4 d4 28. Bf2 $11 {
black has sufficient counterplay with the strong center and weak king on b2.
How the tables have turned. The engine says this is equal but I can easily see
black delivering a crushing blow soon, especially in a rapid game.}) 20... b3
$1 21. Nc3 Bxg2 22. Qxg2 exf4 {it is tempting to go into this variation where
Yip is forced to sacrifice his knight. However, practically, shorter time
controls seem to favor the player who sacrifices material. It is much harder
to defend accurately when low on time, than to attack.} (22... Nb4 $1 {with
the dual threat of Na2 and bxc2 forces white to capture on b3, allowing the
exchange of the knights and opening up the white king. This allow Krush to go
for the same idea of exf4 as she did in the game, but without the counterplay
on Krush's king that Yip used to hold} 23. cxb3 (23. Nxf7 Kxf7 24. fxe5 Na2+)
23... Na2+ 24. Kc2 exf4 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. Bxf4 Qb6) 23. Nxf7 Kxf7 24. Bxf4 bxc2
$2 (24... Nb4 25. cxb3 Ke8 26. Qh2 Qb6 {and there's just enough time for the
black king to escape the d8. Once the king is momentarily safe, black can
afford to start attacking white's weak king again. Although white definitely
has some compensation for the piece, this avoids the perpetual that happened
in the game.}) 25. Qxc2 $11 {Allowing the white queen to enter the black's
kingside hints at an upcoming perpetual} Nb4 26. Qh7+ Rg7 27. Qh5+ Kg8 28. Rh1
{The black king cannot escape Qh8-Qh5 checks} Na2+ 29. Kc2 Nxc3 30. Qh8+ Kf7
31. Qh5+ Kg8 32. Qh8+ Kf7 33. Qh5+ Kg8 {Normal} 1/2-1/2

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.24"]
[Round "11.4"]
[White "Irina Krush"]
[Black "Emily Nguyen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D10"]
[WhiteElo "2478"]
[BlackElo "2348"]
[Annotator "Yu"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:32"]
[BlackClock "0:01:48"]

{[%evp 0,73,36,23,35,-10,31,29,32,30,33,13,34,21,15,16,34,34,34,48,33,52,35,2,
40,4,91,91,75,74,74,74,74,74,74,130,130,130,119,67,103,92,74,92,93,93,100,107,
222,253,253,114,321,337,337,278,216,312,312,156,184,184,184,184,184,184,960,
980,29975,29976,29989,29990,29993,29994,29997,29998]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5
cxd5 4. Bf4 Nf6 5. e3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bf5 7. Nf3 a6 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. O-O e6 $2 (9...
Nh5 {black cannot block the bishop from returning to d7 yet, since the c6 pawn
becomes extremely weak. Now is a good time to exchange the f4 bishop off} 10.
Qa4 Bd7 11. Nc3 Nxf4 12. exf4 $14) 10. Nbd2 (10. Qa4 $1 {took advantage of the
backwards c6 pawn immediately} Qb6 11. Rc1 Rc8 12. Ne5 {and it falls} Nh5 13.
Nxc6 Qb5 14. Nc3 $1 Qxa4 (14... Qxc6 $2 15. Nxd5 Qxa4 16. Rxc8+ Kd7 17. Nb6+
$18) 15. Nxa4 $16) 10... Qb6 11. Nb3 Be7 12. Rc1 O-O 13. Ne5 Rfc8 14. g4 $1 {
while black is preoccupied with the c6-pawn, Krush gains space in the kingside
and provokes more weaknesses. The principle of creating two weaknesses in
action!} Be4 15. f3 Bg6 16. h4 h6 17. Nxg6 fxg6 18. Qc2 Kf7 19. Kh2 ({An
interesting option to go for the same idea as the game with Rf2-Rg2, but
without placing the king on the h-file where it may get in the way and defend
b2 if black ever plays a5-a4} 19. Rf2 Nd7 (19... a5 20. Rg2 g5 21. hxg5 hxg5
22. Bxg5) 20. h5 Nf8 21. Be5) 19... a5 (19... Qd8 20. Rg1 Nd7 21. h5 Nf8) 20.
Rg1 g5 21. hxg5 hxg5 22. Bxg5 Rh8+ 23. Kg2 Nxg4 {[#] this regains the pawn
back, but at a cost. Krush pounces on the open f-file and doesn't let go} 24.
fxg4 Bxg5 25. Rgf1+ Ke7 (25... Bf6 26. Qxc6 $1 (26. g5 $2 Qc7 27. Rf4 e5 $11))
26. Qg6 Bf6 27. g5 Rag8 28. Rh1 Qb5 29. Kf3 (29. Kf2 {goes into the same
variation as the game, but with the subtlety that the white king can run to e1,
preventing Qe2} Rxh1 30. Rxh1 Rf8 31. Ke1) 29... Rxh1 30. Rxh1 Rf8 31. Kg3 Qe2
32. gxf6+ Rxf6 (32... Kd8 {the best try to hold on} 33. Rh7 Qxe3+ 34. Kh2 Qf2+
35. Qg2 Qf4+ 36. Qg3 {there are no more checks}) 33. Qxg7+ Rf7 34. Qg5+ Kd7 35.
Nc5+ Kc7 36. Qe5+ Kb6 37. Qb8+ 1-0

[Event "ch-USA Senior 2020"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.10.17"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Kaidanov, Gregory"]
[Black "Wolff, Patrick"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A49"]
[WhiteElo "2549"]
[BlackElo "2552"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2020.10.17"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. d4 b5 7. O-O Bb7 8. Nbd2
Nbd7 9. c4 bxc4 10. Nxc4 c5 11. Rc1 a5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Nd4 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 Qd7
15. f3 Rfb8 16. Qd2 Nd5 17. e4 Nb4 18. Bc3 Qb7 19. Rcd1 Qa6 20. h4 {[#]} h5 21.
Nf5 gxf5 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. Qg5+ Kf8 24. Qh6+ Kg8 25. Qg5+ Kf8 26. Qh6+ Kg8 27.
Nxd6 exd6 28. Rxd6 Qxd6 (28... Qa7 29. Qg5+ Kf8 30. Rh6 Ke8) (28... Qe2+ 29.
Rf2 Qe1 30. Qg5+ Kf8 31. Rh6 Qc3) 29. Qxd6 Ne6 30. exf5 Rd8 31. Qe5 Nf8 32. Qe3
f6 33. Qh6 Nd5 34. Re1 Re8 35. Rxe8 Rxe8 36. Qxh5 Re2+ 37. Kf1 Re5 38. Kf2 Ne3
39. f4 Re7 40. Qf3 Nd7 41. g4 Nc5 {[#]} 42. Qxe3 Rxe3 43. Kxe3 Na6 44. Kd4 Nb4
45. a4 Nc2+ 46. Kc5 Kf7 47. h5 Ne3 48. g5 Nxf5 49. Kb5 Nd4+ 50. Kxa5 f5 51. Kb6
Ne6 52. a5 Nxf4 53. a6 Nd5+ 54. Kb7 f4 55. a7 f3 56. a8=Q f2 57. Qa6 Ke7 58.
Qe2+ 1-0

[Event "ch-USA Senior 2020"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.10.18"]
[Round "4.5"]
[White "Gurevich, Dmitry"]
[Black "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A11"]
[WhiteElo "2399"]
[BlackElo "2506"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2020.10.17"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. c4 e6 6. d3 Nbd7 7. Be3 Bxf3 8.
exf3 dxc4 9. dxc4 Bc5 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Nc3 Qe7 12. f4 Bxe3 13. Qxe3 Qc5 14. Qxc5
Nxc5 15. b4 Nd3 16. Rab1 Rad8 17. Rfd1 Rd4 18. Rd2 Rfd8 19. Rbd1 R4d7 20. b5
cxb5 21. cxb5 Nc5 22. Rxd7 Rxd7 23. Rxd7 Nfxd7 24. Kf1 Kf8 25. Ke2 Ke7 26. Ke3
Kd6 27. Kd4 Nf6 28. h3 Ne8 29. Bf3 Nc7 30. h4 h6 31. h5 f6 32. Bg2 b6 33. Bc6
a6 34. a4 {[#]} Nxa4 $4 (34... Nb3+ 35. Kc4 Na5+) 35. Ne4+ (35. Nxa4 axb5)
35... Ke7 36. bxa6 b5 37. a7 Nb6 38. Kc5 Na4+ 39. Kb4 Nb6 40. Nc3 Kd6 41. Bb7
Kd7 42. Nxb5 Nca8 43. Bxa8 Nxa8 44. Kc5 1-0

[Event "ch-USA Senior 2020"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.10.18"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Black "Wolff, Patrick"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B50"]
[WhiteElo "2506"]
[BlackElo "2552"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2020.10.17"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Nxd7 5. O-O Ngf6 6. d3 g6 7. Re1 Bg7 8.
c3 O-O 9. d4 cxd4 10. cxd4 e5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 dxe5 13. Nc3 Qb6 14. Qe2
Rfc8 15. Bg5 Bf8 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Nd5 Qe6 18. Rac1 Rxc1 19. Rxc1 Rc8 20. Rc4
Kg7 21. Qc2 Rxc4 22. Qxc4 Qc6 {[#]} 23. Qxc6 bxc6 24. Ne3 Kf6 25. Nc4 Ke6 26.
Kf1 Bc5 27. Ke2 Bd4 28. f3 h5 29. b3 h4 30. h3 Bc5 31. Kd3 Bb4 32. a3 Bc5 33.
b4 Be7 34. Na5 Kd6 35. Kc4 Bg5 36. Kb3 Kd7 37. Ka4 (37. Nc4 Ke6 38. Ka4 Bd8 39.
b5 cxb5+ 40. Kxb5 Be7 41. a4 f6 42. Kc6 Bb4 43. Kb7 Bc5 44. Na5 Kd6 45. Nc6 Kd7
46. Nxa7 Bxa7 47. Kxa7 Kc7 $11) 37... Be3 38. Nc4 Bd4 39. Ka5 Kc7 40. Ka6 f6
41. a4 Bf2 42. b5 Bd4 $2 (42... cxb5 43. axb5 g5 44. Na5 Kd6 45. Nc6 Kc5 46.
Nxa7 Kc4 47. Nc6 Kd3 48. b6 Bxb6 49. Kxb6 Ke2 50. Kc5 Kf2 51. Kd5 Kxg2 52. Ke6
Kxh3 (52... Kxf3 53. Kxf6 Kxe4 54. Kxg5) 53. Kxf6 g4 $3 {[#]} 54. fxg4 Kxg4)
43. Na5 cxb5 44. axb5 Kb8 (44... Kd6 45. Nc6 Kc5 46. Nxa7 Kc4 47. Nc6) 45. Nc6+
Ka8 46. Nxa7 Bxa7 47. b6 f5 (47... Bb8 48. b7#) 48. bxa7 1-0

[Event "ch-USA Senior 2020"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.10.19"]
[Round "8.5"]
[White "Yermolinsky, Alex"]
[Black "Novikov, Igor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "2486"]
[BlackElo "2554"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2020.10.17"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. e3 Nf6 4. b3 c5 5. Bb2 Nc6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Be2 Bd6 8. O-O
O-O 9. d4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Re8 11. Nd2 a6 12. N2f3 Ne5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. h3 Bd7
15. Qd3 Rc8 16. a4 Qe7 17. Ba3 Bd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Bf3 h6 20. Rfc1 Rxc1+ 21.
Rxc1 Rc8 22. Rxc8+ Bxc8 23. Qc3 Bd7 24. a5 Kf8 25. b4 Ke7 26. Nb3 Be6 27. Nc5
Qc7 28. Qd4 Kf8 29. Kf1 Qc6 30. Ke1 Nd7 31. Kd2 Nxc5 32. Qxc5+ Qxc5 33. bxc5
Ke7 34. Kc3 Kd7 35. Bd1 Kc6 36. Kb4 Kc7 37. Ba4 Bd7 {[#]} 38. Bc2 (38. Bxd7
Kxd7 39. Kc3 Kc6 40. Kd4 Kb5 41. Kxd5 Kxa5 {Black has sufficient counterplay
to draw. But note that White would win if his kingside pawns were more
advanced, so the pawn endgame hangs over Black's head.}) 38... Kc6 39. f4 g5 {
This blunder accelerates the end, but I am sure stouter defense would have
just treated us to Yermo's beautiful endgame technique.} (39... Bc8 40. Ba4+
Kc7 41. Be8 f6 42. g4 Be6 43. Kc3 Kd8 44. Bg6 Kc7 45. Kd4 Kc6 46. Be8+ Kc7 47.
f5 Bg8 48. Ba4 Bf7 49. Bb3 Kc6 50. e4) 40. fxg5 hxg5 41. Ba4+ Kc7 42. Bxd7 Kxd7
43. Kc3 (43. Kc3 Kc6 44. Kd4 Kb5 45. g3) 1-0

[Event "ch-USA Senior 2020"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.10.19"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "Getz, Shelby"]
[Black "Kaidanov, Gregory"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2298"]
[BlackElo "2549"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2020.10.17"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. a3 Nf6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 e6 4. Bg5 c5 5. e4 cxd4 6. Qxd4 Nc6 7. Bb5 Be7 8.
exd5 exd5 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Qc5 {[#]} Qb6 11. Qxb6 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 axb6 13. Ne2
O-O 14. a4 Bd7 15. O-O-O Be6 16. Nf4 Rfd8 17. Rhe1 Rd6 18. Re3 Rad8 19. Rde1
Bd7 20. Rd3 Be6 21. Rde3 Bd7 22. Rd3 Be6 23. Rde3 1/2-1/2

[Event "ch-USA Senior 2020"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.10.19"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Getz, Shelby"]
[Black "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2298"]
[BlackElo "2506"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2020.10.17"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. a3 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Bg7 5. Qd2 h6 6. Bf4 c5 7. e3 O-O 8. O-O-O
(8. dxc5 Nbd7 9. O-O-O Nxc5 10. Nf3 Nce4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Qxd5 Qb6 {0-1 (27)
Getz,S (2298)-Novikov,I (2554) Lichess.org INT 2020}) 8... Nc6 9. f3 Nh5 $1 10.
Be5 (10. dxc5 Nxf4 11. exf4 d4) 10... Nxe5 11. dxe5 Bxe5 12. Nxd5 (12. Qxd5
Qxd5 13. Nxd5 e6) 12... Be6 13. Ne2 $6 Bxd5 14. Qxd5 Qc7 15. f4 $2 Bg7 (15...
Bxb2+ 16. Kxb2 Rad8) 16. Ng3 Rad8 17. Qb3 Rxd1+ (17... Nxf4 18. Rxd8 Rxd8 19.
exf4 (19. Bc4 $1) 19... Qxf4+ 20. Kb1 Rd1+ 21. Ka2 Qc1) 18. Kxd1 Rd8+ 19. Kc1
Nxg3 20. hxg3 Rd6 21. c3 Qc6 {[#]} 22. Qc2 $2 (22. Bc4 e6 23. Rd1 Rxd1+ 24.
Qxd1 Qxg2 25. g4) 22... Qd5 23. e4 (23. Kb1 Re6 (23... Qd1+)) 23... Qa2 24. Bd3
c4 25. Qb1 (25. Be2 Bxc3 26. bxc3 (26. Qxc3 Qa1+ 27. Kc2 Qxh1) 26... Qa1+ 27.
Qb1 Qxc3+ 28. Qc2 Qxa3+ 29. Qb2 Qe3+ 30. Kb1 Rb6) 25... Qb3 26. Bc2 Qb6 27. Qa2
Bxc3 {[#]} 28. Rd1 (28. bxc3 Qe3+ 29. Kb2 Rb6+ 30. Ka1 Qxc3+) (28. Kb1 Rd2 29.
Rd1 Rxd1+ 30. Bxd1 Qd4) 28... Qe3+ 29. Kb1 Rxd1+ 30. Bxd1 Qd3+ 31. Bc2 Qf1+ 32.
Bd1 Qxd1# 0-1

[Event "U.S. Junior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.14"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Burke, John M"]
[Black "Sevian, Samuel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2538"]
[BlackElo "2660"]
[Annotator "Burke"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2q3k1/4b1p1/1rpp3p/Q3p1PP/3pP3/3P1N2/2P2P1K/R7 b - - 0 31"]
[PlyCount "36"]
[EventDate "2020.10.13"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Sevian has to play accurately to survive, as his king is quite weak. I have
the pleasant option of being able to decide between opening the g-file with
g5xh6, or creating back rank problems for him with g5-g6.} 31... Rb8 ({Black
has a neat saving idea with} 31... Qg4 $1 32. Qxb6 Qf4+ $1 33. Kg2 Qg4+ 34. Kf1
Qxf3 {and he should have enough to deliver a perpetual here.}) 32. Qa2+ Kh8 (
32... d5 $3 {looks insane, but once I take the pawn with e4xd5 he has ...
Qc8-f5 in many lines. Play continues} 33. exd5 Kh8 34. dxc6 e4 $1 {which cuts
off the queen's ability to defend my knight from d5. After} 35. dxe4 Qg4 {
it's still super sharp, but it seems like black is holding his own.}) 33. gxh6
gxh6 34. Rg1 Qf8 35. Qe6 {Now the attack is at full steam, and Sevian makes a
decisive mistake.} Qf4+ $2 ({Sevian could have fought on with} 35... Rb2 {.})
36. Rg3 {With the bishop undefended, he is forced to transition to a losing
endgame.} Qf6 37. Qxf6+ Bxf6 38. Rg6 Rf8 39. Rxh6+ Kg7 40. Rg6+ Kf7 41. Kg3 Rb8
42. Kg4 Rb1 43. Kf5 Be7 44. h6 Rh1 45. Rg7+ Kf8 46. Rh7 Ke8 47. Ke6 Bf8 48. Ng5
Rg1 49. Ra7 1-0

[Event "U.S. Junior Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.15"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Balakrishnan, Praveen"]
[Black "Burke, John M"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2485"]
[BlackElo "2538"]
[Annotator "Burke"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5k2/1b2bp2/1q1p1npp/1p2p3/1B2P3/1P2N2P/P1QN1PP1/6K1 w - - 0 27"]
[PlyCount "16"]
[EventDate "2020.10.13"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

27. Kf1 {The problem for White is that it's not easy for him to make a neutral
move here. The king on f1 will prove to be a target a few moves down the road.}
Qd4 28. Bc3 Qc5 29. b4 Qc6 {Everything comes with tempo. My threat of ...
Nf6xe4 forces him to weaken the g1-a7 diagonal, which I immediately occupy
with my bishop.} 30. f3 Bd8 31. Qd3 Bb6 32. Nb3 Nh5 {Objectively, I should
have kept control of the d5 square, but I was too impatient to create threats
and keep him under pressure, especially as he was down to less than 20 seconds.
} 33. Na5 $4 {The king on f1 finally becomes a factor.} ({Balakrishnan is okay
after} 33. Nd5 {but defending the rest of the game with little time would
still have been a difficult task.}) 33... Bxa5 34. bxa5 b4 {The threat of ...
Bb7a6 wins a piece and the game.} 0-1

[Event "U.S. Junior Championship playoff"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.10.15"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Black "Burke, John M"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2709"]
[BlackElo "2538"]
[Annotator "Burke"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4b3/p6p/2ppk1p1/8/1PPKBP2/8/P5P1/8 b - - 0 31"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2020.10.15"]
[EventType "match (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

31... h6 $2 {Trying to play ...g6-g5 and get my pawns off the light squares
looks natural, but this gives White a chance to advance his pawns.} 32. c5 (32.
a4 $1 c5+ {is what I want to play, but it doesn't work as my g6 pawn hangs at
the end:} (32... Kd7 33. a5 Kc7 34. g4 {looks like a win for White.}) 33. bxc5
dxc5+ 34. Kxc5 Bxa4 35. Bxg6 {and White wins.}) 32... g5 {Xiong's win is gone,
and I'm able to hold with passive defense.} 33. fxg5 hxg5 34. Bf3 Ke7 35. a4
Bd7 36. Be4 Ke6 37. Bd3 Ke7 38. Be2 Be8 39. Bg4 Bf7 40. Bf3 Be8 41. Be4 Bd7 42.
Bd3 Be8 43. Ba6 Bd7 44. Bb7 Be8 45. Ke4 Bd7 46. Ba6 Be6 47. Kd4 Bd7 48. Bc4 Be8
49. Bd3 Bd7 50. Be4 Be8 51. Bf3 Bd7 52. Be2 Be8 53. Bd3 Bd7 1/2-1/2

[Event "U.S. Girls' Junior Championship"]
[Site "lichess.org"]
[Date "2020.10.11"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2493"]
[BlackElo "2426"]
[Annotator "Cervantes"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This is one of the games by the winner of the US Junior Girls, IM Carissa Yip.
She is an incredible player and one of the top females in the country.} 1. e4
e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. Re1 Bc5 8. c3 d6 9.
a4 O-O 10. d4 Bb6 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bh4 g5 $5 {[#] This may look like a really
scary move to make, and right now, I think it is! Usually when Black makes
this move it is to get rid of the annoying pin of white's bishop, forcing it
to go back to g3 while we gain some space on the kingside. In considering
whether to sacrifice the knight on g5 to open the king's defenses, or any kind
of attacking sacrifice really, there are usually some general factors that can
help us with our decision. The main consdieration of course is how fast can
the rest of white's pieces join the attack, and then we start considering
smaller elements like "how long does it take for the queenside knight to join
the attack?" or "can my rooks get into the game?" I am sure both players had
all of these kinds of questions in mind going into the variation.} ({Sometimes
Black prefaces the ...g7-g5 push by exchanging on d4:} 12... exd4 13. cxd4 (13.
axb5 axb5 14. Rxa8 Bxa8 15. Na3 dxc3 16. bxc3 g5 {and here the knight sac
doesn't work, as evidenced by Sjugirov's correct decision against Matlakov:}
17. Bg3 Re8 18. Qb1 Ne5 19. Nxe5 dxe5 20. Nxb5 h5 21. h4 Ng4 22. hxg5 Qxg5 23.
Qc1 Qf6 {0-1 (23) Sjugirov,S (2675)-Matlakov,M (2685) Cheliabinsk 2020}) 13...
g5 14. Nxg5 hxg5 15. Bxg5 Nxd4 16. Bd5 Ne6 17. Bh4 Bxd5 18. exd5 Ng7 19. Qf3
Re8 20. Nc3 Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 Bd4 {and here GM Niklas Huschenbeth chose} 22. Ne4 {
in a 2019 draw against GM Sam Shankland, although there are other options like
22. h3 and 22. Re4.}) 13. Nxg5 hxg5 14. Bxg5 Kg7 $2 {This is the usual move
after the sacrifice on g5, but here it is a bit slow.} ({Much more effective is
} 14... exd4 $1 {transposing to the line shown above.} 15. Bd5 (15. cxd4 Nxd4
16. Bd5) 15... d3 16. Qf3 (16. Bh4 {is another idea, trying to play Qd1-c1-h6.}
) 16... Kg7 17. Nd2 Rb8 18. e5 Nxe5 19. Rxe5 dxe5 20. Bxb7 Qd6 21. Be4 Rh8 22.
a5 Ba7 23. Rd1 Rbg8 24. h4 Nh5 25. Bf5 f6 26. Ne4 Qc6 27. Rxd3 fxg5 28. Rd7+
Kh6 29. hxg5+ Rxg5 30. Nxg5 Bxf2+ 31. Kxf2 Qc5+ 32. Kf1 e4 33. Nf7+ Kg7 34.
Nxh8+ {1-0 (34) Perez Ponsa,F (2540)-Krysa,L (2474) Asuncion 2015}) 15. Re3 $1
{The rook is ready to swing to the kingside to help the attack and put more
pressure on the pinned f6-knight.} Ne7 ({After} 15... Rh8 $2 16. Rf3 {none of
the black pieces are in time to defend the knight.}) 16. Rg3 {Maybe this move
gives Black enough time to defend, but practically speaking it is very tough
to hold on.} ({Perhaps better is} 16. a5 Ba7 17. Rh3 Ng6 (17... Rh8 $2 18.
Bxf6+ Kxf6 19. Qf3+ {leads to mate}) ({and after} 17... Bxe4 18. Bh6+ Kg8 19.
Nd2 Bg6 20. Qf3 {Black can't defend everything at once on the kingside.}) 18.
Qf3 Rh8 19. Rxh8 Nxh8 20. Qh3 {and White wins.}) 16... Bxe4 17. Qd2 $2 {
This move shifts the evaluation, as it allows Black to cover the king with the
bishop. It's hard to be completely accurate in a rapid game!} Rg8 $2 {Now
White regains her chances.} ({Yu had to play} 17... Bg6 $1 18. Bh6+ Kg8 19.
Bxf8 Qxf8 {and Black has withstood the attack.}) 18. Bxf6+ Kxf6 19. Qh6+ Bg6 ({
Relatively best is} 19... Rg6 20. Qh4+ Kg7 21. Qxe4 {giving White a big edge,
while}) (19... Ng6 20. a5 {(this can be played in a lot of variations here)}
Ba7 21. Nd2 Bc6 22. dxe5+ dxe5 23. Rd1 Qe8 24. Nf3 {leaves Black in serious
trouble.}) 20. Nd2 d5 21. Re1 Ke6 22. Rxe5+ {The position is really tough to
defend for black.} Kd7 23. Rge3 Re8 24. Bxd5 (24. Qh3+ f5 25. Bxd5 {would have
been an improvment over the game continuation.}) 24... c6 25. Bf3 Nf5 ({
More resilient was} 25... Bc7 {but the position is already lost:} 26. Rxe7+ $1
Rxe7 27. Bg4+ f5 (27... Kd6 28. Qf4+ Kd5 29. Bf3+ Re4 30. Bxe4+ Bxe4 31. Qxf7+
Kd6 32. Nxe4# {is a pretty mate in the middle of the board.}) 28. Qxg6 fxg4 29.
Qxg4+ Ke8 30. Ne4 {and the knight is threatening to jump to e6 while the black
king is stuck in the center.}) 26. Rxf5 $1 Rxe3 ({It's mate in one with} 26...
Bxf5 $2 27. Qxc6#) 27. fxe3 Bxf5 28. Qxc6+ Ke7 29. Qxa8 {White has four pawns
more in a simple endgame. It's more than enough to win.} bxa4 30. Nc4 Bd3 31.
Nxb6 Qxb6 32. Qb7+ Qxb7 33. Bxb7 Kd6 34. Kf2 f5 35. Ke1 Kc7 36. Bd5 Kd6 37. c4
a5 38. Kd2 Bf1 39. h4 {And black resigned. This was a very tactical and
attacking game by the winner of the tournament Carissa Yip.} 1-0

[Event "U.S. Girls' Junior Championship"]
[Site "lichess.org"]
[Date "2020.10.10"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Cervantes, Thalia"]
[Black "Yan, Ruiyang"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2342"]
[BlackElo "2242"]
[Annotator "Cervantes"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8.
e3 Bd7 ({The main move is} 8... O-O {and it's what I expected from my opponent.
} 9. Rc1 (9. Be2 {is also a move}) 9... Qg6 {and here the idea is to not allow
the white bishop to come out. A sample line:} 10. Qc2 Qxc2 11. Rxc2 Rd8 12. a3
Bf8 13. Nb5 Rd7 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Bd3 {has been played by strong grandmasters,
and I probably would have played this way in the game.}) 9. Qb3 ({I liked the
move I played more, but} 9. Qc2 {is an option. In the game Moradiabadi-Blatny
there were tactical tricks that favored White:} dxc4 10. Bxc4 O-O 11. O-O e5 $2
({better is} 11... Bd6) 12. Nd5 $1 Qd8 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxb4 (14. dxe5 $1 {
is an improvement}) 14... Nxc4 15. Qxc4 c6 16. Nd3 {and White won in 27 moves
in GM Moradiabadi (2549)-GM Blatny (2344), Las Vegas 2018.}) 9... dxc4 10. Bxc4
O-O 11. O-O Qe7 12. Be2 {Not allowing any ... Nc6-a5 ideas.} Bd6 13. Ne4 {[#]}
Nd8 $6 {This is a strange move, and in general one should be skeptical about
making moves that are not pretty. The position is a little uncomfortable to
play for Black here since White has a space advantage, so maybe finding the
right plan was hard.} ({A possible alternative is} 13... a5 14. Rfd1 a4 15. Qc4
e5 {as it feels like ... e6-e5 is the pawn break they should play.}) 14. Nxd6 {
This move is not technically precise, because I am making trades while having
the space advantage. In general when you have a space advantage you want to
keep pieces on the board, and especially minor pieces. As this was a rapid
game, I just wanted to get rid of my opponent's pair of bishops so it would
become an issue in the future. Moves like Rf1-c1, Ra1-c1 or Nf3-e5 were all
better.} Qxd6 ({If she takes with pawn, we do get in an almost symmetrical
pawn structure, but my pieces are better located and I already dominate the
c-file.} 14... cxd6 15. Rfc1 Bc6 16. Nd2 Bd5 17. Qd3 $14) 15. Ne5 c6 $6 {
This is another move that I found dubious, as it shuts down the only square
available to the d8-knight, and limits the d7-bishop's possibilites. It keeps
the position closed but makes White's space advantage even greater.} ({Looking
for trades with} 15... Nc6 16. Nxd7 Qxd7 17. Qxb7 Rab8 18. Qa6 Rxb2 19. Bf3 {
would have been a better option for Black but White is still better here.}) 16.
Rac1 f6 {I am guessing my opponent disliked the limited space for her pioeces
so she played 16. ... f6 with the idea of getting the knight out. The tradeoff
is that it leaves weaknesses behind in the process.} (16... Be8 {first would
have been better so there are less weaknesses after ... f7-f6.}) 17. Nd3 ({
A better option was} 17. Ng6 Rf7 18. f4 {.}) 17... Rb8 18. Rfd1 Be8 19. Nc5 Bf7
20. a4 {Restricting possibilities on the queenside.} Qe7 21. a5 Rc8 22. Bc4 Re8
23. Qc2 b6 24. axb6 axb6 25. Nd3 $6 ({Better was} 25. Ne4 f5 26. Ng3 Nb7 27.
Ba6 {tying down Black's pieces.}) 25... Rc7 26. Nf4 {I think at around this
point we were both trying to move quickly, as we were under 3 or 4 minutes on
our clocks.} Nb7 27. Ba2 f5 ({I think Yan needed to try} 27... Rec8 {to try
and break with ... c6-c5 as soon as possible.}) 28. Nd3 Nd6 29. Ne5 Rec8 30.
Qb3 b5 31. h3 Kf8 $6 {Another strange move, but we are low on time and the
increment is only 5 seconds so we can't afford to think much!} ({After} 31...
c5 32. dxc5 Rxc5 33. Ng6 $1 {White has this nice idea:} Qf6 34. Rxc5 Rxc5 35.
Qa3 {with a big advantage.}) 32. Rc2 Qe8 33. Rdc1 g5 $2 {Black is weakening
her position too much.} ({Relatively best was another waiting move like} 33...
Kg8 {.}) 34. Qb4 Ke7 {The king on e7 is under a lot of pressure, and it makes
it really easy to play for White. With the rapid time control we have to move
fast so there is not much time to find the killer blow, but making natural
aggressive moves works.} 35. f3 {Trying to open the center.} Bg6 ({Black has
no chance after} 35... Qf8 36. e4 Be8 37. Qb3 Qg8 38. Re1 {.}) 36. Rc5 Kf6 37.
Nxg6 Kxg6 38. Re5 $1 {Usually if there are too many weaknesses in the
opponent's position sooner or later there will be simple tactics that we need
to spot.} Nc4 39. Bxc4 bxc4 40. Qxc4 Kf6 41. e4 f4 42. Rc5 Rb7 43. Qc3 ({
Easier is} 43. d5 exd5 44. exd5 Kg7 45. b4 {.}) 43... Kg6 44. d5 exd5 45. exd5
Rcb8 46. Rxc6+ Kh5 ({Black is busted after} 46... Kh7 47. Re1 Qf8 48. Ree6 {.})
47. Qf6 Qf8 48. Qe6 Rxb2 49. Qg4# {Well, this was one of my nicer games. I
hope it was enjoyable.} 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Puzzle #1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r5k1/1pr1ppbp/3p2p1/p1nP4/4P3/1P3P2/P1RBB1PP/1R3K2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "Titled Tuesday 6th Oct"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.10.06"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Shahade, G."]
[Black "Priasmoro, Novendra"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B36"]
[WhiteElo "2476"]
[BlackElo "2502"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2020.10.06"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,46,24,18,46,46,46,19,19,19,91,17,17,22,22,27,4,28,28,28,28,-3,49,20,
40,20,27,28,27,20,20,33,51,46,60,47,69,42,74,42,49,41,54,49,31,-256,-268,-327,
-346]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. f3 Nxd4
8. Qxd4 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 a5 11. Na4 Be6 12. Nb6 Rb8 13. Be2 Nd7 14. Nd5
Nc5 15. O-O Bxd5 16. cxd5 Qb6 17. Rab1 Qb4 18. Rfc1 Rfc8 19. Kf1 Ra8 20. b3 Rc7
21. Rc2 Qxd2 22. Bxd2 {[#]} Nxb3 $1 ({Black exploits White's loose pieces. If
White now captures 2.Rxc7, then 2...Nxd2+ followed by 3...Nxb1 wins a piece
for Black. Noth that Black has an excellent alternative in} 22... Nxe4 $1 {
with the same plan as above and after} 23. Bc4 {, then} Nxd2+ 24. Rxd2 a4 $1 {
Black doesn't let White play a2-a4, securing the bishop, and intends to follow
up with ...a4-a3 with a decisive advantage.}) 23. Rbc1 ({Or} 23. Rbb2 Bxb2 24.
Rxc7 Nxd2+ 25. Ke1 {, and here Black untangles his pieces with} Nb1 26. Rxb7
Bc3+ 27. Kf1 Bb4 {, with a decisive advantage.}) 23... Nxd2+ {and Black
resigned.} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Puzzle #2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r2k1/1pp1rppp/p1pq4/4nR1P/4P3/2NP2Q1/PPP3PK/5R2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "Titled Tuesday 6th Oct"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.10.06"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Zubarev, Al1"]
[Black "Rakotomaharo, Fy Antenaina"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C68"]
[WhiteElo "2422"]
[BlackElo "2422"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2020.10.06"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,46,24,18,18,12,12,29,29,29,29,8,31,29,29,29,31,27,46,37,32,5,39,27,30,
22,46,51,36,30,28,30,36,30,38,19,24,17,28,-18,0,-167,-163,-168,-165,-163,-163,
-166,-167]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. Nc3 Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 7.
Qxf3 Nf6 8. d3 Nd7 9. Qg3 Qf6 10. f4 exf4 11. Bxf4 Bd6 12. O-O Bxf4 13. Rxf4
Qd4+ 14. Kh2 O-O 15. Raf1 Ne5 16. Rf5 Rae8 17. R5f4 Re7 18. Rf5 Rd8 19. h4 Qd6
20. h5 {[#]} Ng4+ $1 {Black exploits that White's queen cannot move to deliver
a nasty 1-2 punch that wins material.} 21. Kh3 Qxg3+ 22. Kxg3 Ne3 {The point
behind the previous knight move: Black wins an exchange.} 23. R5f3 Nxf1+ {
and White resigned, perhaps a little prematurely, but White's dejection is
easy to understand.} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Puzzle #3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b1r1k1/1p3p1p/p5p1/4b3/8/2NP1QPq/PP3P1P/R1B2RK1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "Titled Tuesday 20th Oct"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.10.20"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"]
[Black "Dubov, Daniil"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A16"]
[WhiteElo "2455"]
[BlackElo "2699"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "2020.10.20"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,44,24,24,24,6,24,33,31,32,81,84,81,88,69,25,73,81,86,101,109,20,3,6,9,
0,0,0,-4,-38,-49,-59,-38,-56,-41,-88,-52,-172,-173,-164,-145,-156,-183,-187,
-182,-183,-182]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 e5 5. Nxe5 O-O 6. Nf3 Re8
7. Bd3 d5 8. cxd5 c6 9. O-O cxd5 10. e5 Nfd7 11. Bb5 d4 12. Nxd4 a6 13. Bxd7
Nxd7 14. Nf3 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. d3 Qh4 17. g3 Qh3 18. Qf3 {[#]} Bxc3 $1 {
Clearing the e-file and setting up the the next barrage of moves.} 19. bxc3
Qxf1+ $1 20. Kxf1 Bh3+ 21. Qg2 ({White has to choice as} 21. Kg1 Re1# {ends
the game immediately.}) 21... Bxg2+ 22. Kxg2 Re1 {White resigned as the
endgame is trivially won for someone like Dubov: Black forces White to put his
central pawns on the dark squares, allowing Black's king to easily penetrate
the queenside, for instance,} (22... Re1 23. h4 Rd8 $1 {(forcing hte pawn
forward)} 24. d4 Rc8 25. Bb2 Rxa1 26. Bxa1 b5 {(fixing the pawns on dark
squares)} 27. Kf3 Re8 {(cutting off White's king)} 28. Bb2 f6 {, and Black's
king will decisively join the fun.}) 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Puzzle #4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1rb1r1k1/Q1p2pb1/3q1np1/3p3p/3P4/P3PB2/3N1PPP/R1B2RK1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "Titled Tuesday 6th Oct"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.10.06"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Bhakti, K."]
[Black "Diaz Villagran, R."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2391"]
[BlackElo "2305"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "40"]
[EventDate "2020.10.06"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nbd2 d5 4. e3 Bg7 5. b4 O-O 6. Bd3 Re8 7. O-O Nc6 8. a3
e5 9. b5 e4 10. bxc6 bxc6 11. Be2 exf3 12. Bxf3 Rb8 13. c4 h5 14. Qa4 Qd6 15.
cxd5 cxd5 16. Qxa7 {[#]} Ba6 $1 ({In the game, Black failed to see the much
bigger prize that could be picked up at relatively little effort and isntead
went for} 16... Ng4 17. g3 $4 Rb6 (17... Ba6 $1 {was again the way to go}) 18.
Qa5 $2 ({here, White should have played} 18. a4 Qc6 19. Qa5 Be6 20. Ba3 {
and White survives}) 18... h4 $2 (18... Ba6 $5 {was once more better although
not as good as on the prvious two moves)}) 19. Qxd5 hxg3 20. hxg3 Qe7 21. Qe4
Qd8 22. Qf4 $4 (22. Qd5 Rd6 23. Qb3 {is playable for White}) 22... Bh6 {
, trapping the queen and Black soon won.}) 17. Re1 Nd7 {The trap is being shut
around White's queen; now both ...Ra8 and ...Rb7 threatens.} 18. Bxd5 {Saves
the queen but not the game.} Bd3 $1 19. Qa5 Bxd4 $1 {Black exploits that the
e-pawn is pinned. If Black played the immediate} (19... Rb5 $2 {, then} 20. Qc3
Rxd5 21. Qxd3 Bxd4 22. Ra2 {would be playable for White.}) 20. Ra2 Rb5 {
, and Black wins a piece.} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Puzzle #5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r1rk1/pp2q3/1bb1p1pp/2N1np2/1P6/PN2P3/4QPPP/1BR2RK1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "ch-USA Women 2020"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.10.24"]
[Round "10.4"]
[White "Nguyen, Emily"]
[Black "Samadashvili, Martha"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2280"]
[BlackElo "2215"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2020.10.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,52,21,21,21,6,6,6,-6,10,22,-10,17,27,27,27,35,26,45,62,79,25,65,68,79,
8,39,-6,-9,-5,2,1,24,5,20,0,4,-119,-126,-118,-67,-76,-67,-66,-73,-370,-368,
-443,-443,-481,-486,-486,-515,-766,-819]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3
Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11.
Qc2 Bd7 12. a3 Bb6 13. Ba2 Bc6 14. Bb1 g6 15. Qe2 Nd7 16. O-O Ne5 17. Nd2 Qh4
18. Nce4 f5 19. Nc5 Qe7 20. b4 Rad8 21. Ndb3 {[#]} Nf3+ $1 {Black violently
breaks open White's king shelter.} 22. gxf3 ({Everything loses, for instance,
ignoring the knight doesn't help:} 22. Kh1 Qh4 $1 23. h3 Nd4 $1 24. exd4 Qxh3+
{with mate on the next move courtesy of the bishop on c6.}) 22... Qg5+ 23. Kh1
Qh5 $1 ({Keeping the pawn on f3 pinned two ways: c6-h1 and h5-e2. Black cannot
allow herself to be careless. After} 23... Qg4 24. e4 $1 {, White not only
saves herself, she is winning.}) 24. Ne4 Bc7 $1 {This is the second arrow in
Black's precise attack, the inidividual attacks can be defended rather easily,
but the combined force of the queen and both bishops is unstoppable.} 25. Ng3 {
Stopping the attack against h2, but reopening the diagonal for the bishop on
c6.} Bxf3+ 26. Kg1 Bxg3 {and White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Puzzle #6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4rk1/ppb3pp/2pn3q/4p3/8/2P1R1P1/PPBP1P1P/R1BQ2K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "Texas Collegiate Finals"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2020.10.17"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Reshef, O."]
[Black "Dragun, K."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C48"]
[WhiteElo "2495"]
[BlackElo "2561"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2020.10.17"]
[EventType "team (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "8"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "UTD - Team B"]
[BlackTeam "UTRGV - Team B"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bb5 Nd4 5. Ba4 Bc5 6. Nxe5 O-O 7. Nd3 Bb6 8.
e5 Ne8 9. Nd5 c6 10. Ne3 d6 11. c3 Nf5 12. O-O Bc7 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh6 15.
Bc2 Nxe3 16. Rxe3 Bf5 17. exd6 Nxd6 18. Ne5 f6 19. Bxf5 fxe5 20. Bc2 {[#]} Rxf2
$1 {Black takes advantage of White's lack of development to send the white
king on a run.} 21. Kxf2 Qxh2+ 22. Ke1 ({White accepts the invitation but
strictly speaking, a better, albeit insufficient try was} 22. Kf1 e4 $1 ({
but not} 22... Rf8+ $4 {when White survives after} 23. Rf3 $1 Qh1+ 24. Kf2 Bb6+
25. d4 Qh2+ 26. Ke3 {and Black has nothing better than a perpetual check.}) 23.
Bxe4 Nxe4 24. Qb3+ ({or} 24. Rxe4 Rf8+ 25. Rf4 Bxf4 {and Black forces mate})
24... Kh8 25. Qf7 Nxg3+ 26. Rxg3 Bxg3 {and Black has a winning advantage.})
22... Qg1+ 23. Ke2 Qg2+ 24. Kd3 ({Or} 24. Ke1 Rf8 {and White's king will not
survive for long.}) 24... e4+ 25. Kd4 Bb6+ 26. Ke5 Nc4+ 27. Ke6 Qh3+ 28. Ke7
Bc5# {Nice conclusion.} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Puzzle #7"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6rk/1p1bqp1p/4ppnQ/p1r1p3/2P1NP2/PBP5/6PP/3R1R1K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "ch-USA 2020"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.10.27"]
[Round "4.5"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, L."]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A31"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2020.10.26"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCategory "17"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,60,28,-13,11,11,11,-35,-3,-31,11,-4,18,4,20,9,20,3,32,23,13,12,12,10,
25,40,45,51,47,45,61,11,76,73,79,74,74,81,67,39,12,12,36,31,25,31,-161,-229,
-239,-239,-258,-250,-262,-267,-219,-586,-586,-660,-768,-1044,-1083,-29991,
-29992]} 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6 5. Nb3 Nf6 6. Nc3 e6 7. e4
Bb4 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 d6 11. Bg5 Ne5 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Kh1 Bd7
14. f4 Ng6 15. Qh5 Kh8 16. Qh6 Qd8 17. Rad1 Qe7 18. Bc2 Rg8 19. Nd2 Rac8 20.
Bb3 a5 21. a3 Rc5 22. e5 dxe5 23. Ne4 {[#]} Bc6 $1 {Zeroing in on the weakest
spot in White's camp: the g2-square.} 24. Nxc5 ({Nothing really works for
White, so accepting Black's sacrifice will at least force Black to prove he
has something, for instance,} 24. Bc2 Bxe4 25. Bxe4 f5 26. Bc2 Nxf4 {easily
wins for Black.}) 24... Nxf4 $1 ({A further threat to g2, but even} 24... Qxc5
$5 {wins, e.g.,} 25. fxe5 Bxg2+ $1 26. Kxg2 Nxe5+ 27. Kh1 Qc6+ 28. Rd5 $1 Ng4
$1 {(everything else is much less convincing)} 29. Qf4 exd5 30. cxd5 Qxc3 {
and Black has a decisive advantage.}) 25. Rxf4 Bxg2+ 26. Kg1 Qxc5+ 27. Rfd4 Rg6
$1 {Not allowing an inconvenient check on f6.} 28. Qe3 exd4 29. Rxd4 Qf5 30.
Rf4 Qb1+ {and White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Puzzle #8"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r2rk1/p4pp1/1p2bn1p/4q3/Q2b3B/2N2B2/PP3PPP/R1R3K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "Titled Tuesday 6th Oct"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2020.10.06"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Esipenko, Andrey"]
[Black "Khusnutdinov, R."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2682"]
[BlackElo "2491"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2020.10.06"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. dxc5 Nf6 6. Bg5 Bxc5 7. e3 Nc6 8.
Nf3 O-O 9. Be2 d4 10. exd4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Bxd4 12. O-O h6 13. Bh4 Be6 14. Bf3
Rc8 15. Re1 b6 16. Qc2 Qc7 17. Rec1 Qe5 18. Qa4 {[#]} b5 $1 ({Black can win a
pawn with} 18... Bxc3 19. bxc3 Rxc3 20. Rxc3 Qxc3 {but he has a bigger prize
in sight.}) 19. Qa5 ({Or} 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Qa6 Rfd8 {when Black's pieces are
far more ideally placed than their white counterparts, for instance,} 21. Re1
Qc5 22. Ne4 Qc2 23. h3 f5 24. Re2 Qa4 {when Black despite his odd pawn
structure has an overwhelming positional advantage.}) 19... b4 $1 20. Qxb4 $2 (
{A mistake; after} 20. Qxe5 Bxe5 21. Na4 Rxc1+ 22. Rxc1 Bxa2 {, Black has a
large advantage but White can still put up a fight.}) 20... Qf4 $1 {Suddenly,
there are a lot of loose pieces in White's camp: the bishop on h4 is hanging
and ...Bxf2+ is threatened.} 21. Be4 $5 Rc4 $1 {and it is game over for White.}
({In the game, Black played the mistake} 21... Nxe4 $2 {but ws rewarded when
White here resigned prematurely, as} 22. Qxd4 Rc4 23. Ne2 Qxh4 24. Rxc4 Bxc4
25. Ng3 Qf6 26. Qxc4 Qxf2+ {would have given Black a significant advantage,
but White could still fight.}) 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.11.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Puzzle #9"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4rk1/p4ppp/4bnq1/1Q6/2PPp3/P5PP/4BP2/R1B1K2R b KQ - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "TCh-SWE Elitserien"]
[Site "Sweden SWE"]
[Date "2020.10.19"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Bator, R."]
[Black "Arman, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2360"]
[BlackElo "2333"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2019.10.18"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "SK Rockaden, Sthlm"]
[BlackTeam "Stockholms SS"]

{[%evp 0,42,21,21,56,21,21,32,30,31,26,3,16,16,17,26,26,17,17,17,11,11,22,14,
14,16,34,24,30,9,88,89,45,138,138,137,110,-311,-264,-424,-428,-597,-634,-634,
-845]} 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. e3 Nf6 5. d4 cxd4 6. exd4 e4 7. Ne5 Bb4
8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Nxc6 dxc6 11. Qb3 O-O 12. Be2 Qf5 13. h3 Qg6 14. g3
b5 15. cxb5 Be6 16. c4 cxb5 17. Qxb5 {[#]} e3 $1 {White has an extra pawn and
the bishop pair but Black has a lead in development and White's king is
uncastled. The text move addresses the weaknesses in White's camp by providing
access to more weak squares.} 18. Bxe3 $1 ({In the game, White collapsed
rapidly:} 18. O-O $2 Bxh3 19. Kh2 Bxf1 20. Bxf1 Ng4+ 21. Kg2 Qe4+ {and White
resigned.}) 18... Rab8 $1 19. Qa4 Rb2 $1 {For the time being, this rook
prevents White from caslting.} 20. Qd1 ({Or} 20. Rd1 Re8 $1 {(slowly improving
the position of all of the pieces)} 21. d5 ({also} 21. Kf1 Bxh3+ $3 22. Rxh3
Rxe3 $1 23. fxe3 Qf5+ 24. Kg1 Qxh3 {wins for Black}) 21... Bd7 22. Qxa7 Qc2 23.
Rd2 Qc1+ 24. Rd1 Rxe2+ 25. Kxe2 Qxc4+ 26. Ke1 Bb5 {(after the departure of the
e2-bishop, the light squares are fatally weak)} 27. Rd2 Ne4 28. Qd4 Qc1+ 29.
Rd1 Qc2 30. Rd2 Nxd2 31. Qxd2 Qb1+ 32. Qd1 Qb2 {and White will not survive for
long.}) 20... Re8 $1 21. Qd3 Bf5 22. Qc3 Rc2 23. Qb3 h5 $1 {and White is in a
vice-like grib that is difficult to get untangled from, for instance,} 24. Rg1
({or} 24. Kf1 Ne4 $1) 24... Bxh3 25. Bd3 Bf5 26. Qxc2 Bxd3 {and Black has a
decisive attack.} 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Burgess - Review notes,  ."]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B01"]
[Annotator "Watson"]
[PlyCount "36"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,36,20,23,44,44,65,43,43,43,43,57,80,50,28,37,31,31,44,-18,0,0,0,-33,
-13,-13,2,4,-8,-1,15,8,-6,-22,0,0,23,40,36]} 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6
4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6 6. Ne5 {This is by far the most popular move here (and the
most successful one), eliminating Black's ...Bg4 and preparing either Bf4 or
f4, among other ideas.} Nbd7 7. Bf4 (7. f4 {[#] is a very dangerous move which
has discouraged Black's move order, intending 7...e6 8. g4! or 7...Nb6 8. g4!,
both of which have a tremendous winning record for White. Instead, Burgess
recommends} a6 $1 {, the merits of which he explains as follows:   "Despite
being virtually untested, this may well be the correct move. One key idea is
that in some lines Black would like to play ... c5, gaining central
counterplay and undermining the support for the e5-knight. With b5 covered,
this move is far more likely to work. Meanwhile, Black keeps options of
set-ups with either ... e6 or ... g6, and the fact that he hasn't yet plumped
for one or the other makes it harder for White to find moves that are equally
useful against both -and that don't fall foul of ... c5." Then there may follow
} 8. g4 (8. Be2 e6 {, when} 9. g4 {isn't as dangerous after} Qc7 10. g5 Nd5)
8... Qc7 9. g5 (9. Qe2 Nxe5 10. fxe5 Nxg4 11. h3 Nh6 12. Bxh6 gxh6 13. O-O-O
Bf5 14. h4 e6 {is roughly equal}) 9... Nd5 10. Ne4 (10. Nxd5 cxd5 11. Bd3 Nxe5
12. fxe5 Bh3 $1) (10. Qf3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 $6 Nxe5 12. fxe5 Be6) 10... Nxe5 11.
fxe5 Bf5 12. Bg2 O-O-O 13. O-O e6 14. Qe2 c5 (14... Qb6 $5 15. Qf2 Nc7 16. c3
h6 {is an interesting alternative}) 15. c4 $1 Nb6 16. Nd6+ Rxd6 $1 17. exd6
Bxd6 {with interesting compensation for the exchange. Burgess continues the
analysis of this position for another 10 moves to illustrate where both sides'
chances lie.}) 7... Nd5 8. Nxd5 (8. Nxf7 $4 Qe6+) (8. Nxd7 $6 Nxf4) (8. Bg3
Nxc3 9. bxc3 Nxe5 10. Bxe5 Qd5) 8... Qxd5 {White has to get his pieces out
while Black completes his development.  [#]} 9. Be2 $5 {Sacrificing a pawn.} ({
The main alternative is} 9. Nf3 Nb6 (9... Nf6 10. Be2 Bf5 {probably favours
White slightly after 11. c3, but Black stands solidly, and if White plays the
routine} 11. O-O $2 {instead, Black has} Qe4 $1 {with a double attack on f4
and c2}) 10. Be2 Bf5 $1 11. Bg3 (11. O-O $2 Qe4 $1) 11... e6 ({or} 11... Qa5+
12. c3 Qa4 $5 13. b3 Qa3 14. O-O e6) 12. O-O Be7 13. a4 a5 14. Ne5 Qd8 15. c3
Nd5 16. Bf3 Ra6 {This kind of position doubtless gives White a small
theoretical advantage, but Black has no weaknesses and the player who plays
best will usually win such games.}) 9... Qxg2 10. Bf3 Qh3 11. Qe2 {with some
compensation for the pawn. This looks dangerous, but after} Qf5 {, Black
should be fine, for example,} 12. Nd3 (12. Bg3 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 $6 f6 14. Bg3 Qe6
$1 $15) 12... g6 13. O-O-O Nb6 14. Rhe1 (14. Kb1 Bg7 15. Rhe1 O-O $1 16. Qxe7
Bxd4 $17) 14... Qe6 $1 {, White has to exchange queens, and} 15. Qxe6 Bxe6 16.
Nc5 Bd5 17. Bg4 f5 18. Bh3 O-O-O $15 {gives White only limited pressure for
his pawn.} *

[Event "Morphy Casual Games"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1859.03.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy, Paul"]
[Black "Schrufer, F..."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C56"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "1859.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {1)Lawson: Paul Morphy. Game 50, p.367.} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4
exd4 5. O-O Nxe4 {[#]} 6. Re1 d5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5 8. Nc3 Qh5 9. Nxe4 Be6 10. Neg5
Bb4 11. Rxe6+ fxe6 12. Nxe6 Qf7 13. Nfg5 Qe7 14. Qe2 Bd6 (14... Kd7) 15. Nxg7+
Kd7 16. Qg4+ Kd8 {[#]} 17. Nf7+ Qxf7 18. Bg5+ Be7 19. Ne6+ Kc8 20. Nc5+ Kb8 21.
Nd7+ Kc8 22. Nb6+ Kb8 23. Qc8+ Rxc8 24. Nd7# 1-0

[Event "Paris"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1859.03.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6k1/8/1q6/8/8/4nPPP/1Q2RK1R b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1859.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Paris"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1859.03.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/7k/7q/8/2n5/8/PPP3Q1/RKR2N2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1859.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Paris"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1859.03.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/8/8/5k1b/6n1/4QKR1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1859.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Paris"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1859.03.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/8/8/2k5/rn6/1RK1R3 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1859.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Paris"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1859.03.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/3k4/8/8/r2n4/8/5PP1/5RKR b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1859.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Paris"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1859.03.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/7k/7b/8/3n2p1/5b2/5P2/5RKQ b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1859.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Chicago Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.05.23"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Keating, Robert"]
[Black "Richter, Alex"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C99"]
[WhiteElo "2191"]
[BlackElo "2266"]
[Annotator "Keating"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life 2021.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3
d6 9. c3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Nc6 14. d5 (14. Nb3
a5) 14... Nb4 15. Bb1 a5 16. Nf1 Bd7 17. Bd2 (17. a3) 17... Na6 18. Bd3 Nc5 19.
Rc1 Qb7 20. Bb1 b4 {[#]} 21. Rxc5 $1 $146 (21. Ng3) (21. Bg5) (21. g4) 21...
dxc5 22. Nxe5 Bb5 23. Ne3 Nd7 24. N5g4 c4 25. Nf5 Nc5 26. d6 (26. Bh6 gxh6 27.
Qd4 f6 28. e5) 26... Bd8 27. Nxg7 Nd3 28. Bxd3 cxd3 29. Bh6 Qc6 30. Nf5 f6 31.
Bg7 Kf7 32. Ngh6+ Ke8 33. Qh5+ Kd7 34. Nd4 d2 35. Qf5+ Ke8 36. Qe6+ Be7 37.
Qxe7# 1-0

