[Event "8th Norway Chess 2020"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2020.10.15"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A05"]
[WhiteElo "2728"]
[BlackElo "2863"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/5p2/4p2k/4P3/6K1/8/8 w - - 0 62"]
[PlyCount "16"]
[EventDate "2020.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1354"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2020.10.20"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.10.20"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[#]} 62. Kh3 (62. Kf3 Kh4 63. Kf2 Kg4 64. Ke3 Kg3 65. Ke2 (65. Kd3 Kf4) 65...
Kf4 66. Kd3 Kf3) 62... Kh6 63. Kh4 Kg7 {[#]} 64. Kg3 (64. Kg4 Kg6 65. Kh4 (65.
Kf3 Kh5 66. Kg3 Kg5 67. Kf3 Kh4) 65... f5) 64... Kf8 65. Kf2 Ke7 66. Ke2 Ke8
67. Ke3 (67. Kd3 Kf7 68. Ke3 Kg6 69. Kf2 Kh5 70. Kf3 (70. Kg3 Kg5) 70... Kh4) (
67. Kd2) 67... Kd7 68. Kd3 Kd6 {[#]} 69. Kc3 (69. Kd2 $1 Kc6 70. Kc2 $1) (69.
Ke3 Kc5 70. Kd3 Kb4) 69... Kc5 (69... Kc5 70. Kb3 (70. Kd3 Kb4 71. Ke3 Kc4)
70... Kd4) 0-1

[Event "New York op"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Hellers, Ferdinand"]
[Black "Khalifman, Alexander"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B19"]
[WhiteElo "2525"]
[BlackElo "2560"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "1990.04.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 016 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1990.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1990.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5
Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bf4 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qc7 13. O-O-O O-O-O 14. Qe2
Ngf6 15. Ne5 Nb6 16. c4 Rxd4 17. Be3 Rxd1+ 18. Rxd1 {[#]} Rg8 $1 (18... Qxe5
19. Rd8+ Kxd8 20. Bxb6+) (18... Be7 19. Nxf7) (18... Nbd7 19. Nxf7) (18... Bd6
19. Rxd6 Qxd6 20. Nxf7) (18... Ne8 19. Ng6 fxg6 20. Bxb6 Qxb6) (18... Bb4 19.
Nd3) 19. Bf4 (19. f4) 19... Nbd7 (19... Ne8 20. Ne4) (19... Bd6 20. c5 Bxc5 21.
Ng6) 20. Qd2 (20. Ng6 Qa5) 20... Bb4 $1 21. Qxb4 Nxe5 22. Ne2 Nxh5 23. Be3 Rd8
24. Rxd8+ Qxd8 25. Qc3 Qd6 26. Bxa7 c5 27. Qa5 Nd3+ 28. Kb1 Qa6 29. Qc3 Nxb2
30. Qxb2 Qxa7 31. Qe5 Qb6+ 32. Kc2 Nf6 33. Nc3 Qc7 34. Qe3 Ng4 35. Qe2 Ne5 36.
Nb5 Nc6 37. Nxc7 Nd4+ 38. Kd2 Nxe2 39. Ne8 Nf4 40. g3 Nh3 41. Ke3 Kd7 42. Nxg7
Ng5 43. Nh5 f5 44. Nf4 Kd6 45. Nd3 e5 46. f3 Nxf3 0-1

[Event "Staunton Memorial"]
[Site "Groningen"]
[Date "1946.08.16"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Steiner, Herman"]
[Black "Botvinnik, Mikhail"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A95"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6rk/pp1bb2p/2p1p3/3pP2q/1PP3rn/P3NN2/3QPPBP/4R1RK b - - 0 26"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "1946.08.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 26... Nxf3 27. exf3 (27. Bxf3 Qxh2+) 27... Rh4 28. Nf1 Bg5 {[%cal Gg5f4,
Gf4h2]} 0-1

[Event "Staunton Memorial"]
[Site "Groningen"]
[Date "1946.09.03"]
[Round "16"]
[White "Lundin, Erik"]
[Black "Najdorf, Miguel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D94"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "q1r1r1k1/pb1n1p1p/1p1B2p1/1N6/P2PpPNb/4P2P/1P4Q1/R2R2K1 w - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "1946.08.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 24. Nh6+ Kh8 25. Qg4 Bf2+ 26. Kxf2 Rc2+ 27. Kg1 f5 28. Qg5 1-0

[Event "Staunton Memorial"]
[Site "Groningen"]
[Date "1946.08.28"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Najdorf, Miguel"]
[Black "Christoffel, Martin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D28"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1qnk2r/1b2bppp/p7/1ppB4/4QB2/5N2/PP3PPP/R2R2K1 w kq - 0 18"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "1946.08.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 18. Bd6 Qd7 (18... Ne6 19. Bxb7) 19. Bxc5 Rb8 (19... Bxd5 20. Rxd5 Qc7
21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. Re5) 20. Bxf7+ Nxf7 21. Rxd7 1-0

[Event "Staunton Memorial"]
[Site "Groningen"]
[Date "1946.09.07"]
[Round "19"]
[White "Kottnauer, Cenek"]
[Black "O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E01"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1r3k1/3nbppp/1q2pn2/1p6/2pPbB2/N3QNP1/1P2PPBP/R1R3K1 b - - 0 18"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "1946.08.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 18... c3 19. Rxc3 Rxc3 20. Qxc3 b4 21. Qc1 bxa3 22. bxa3 Qa6 23. Ne5 Bxg2
24. Kxg2 Nxe5 0-1

[Event "Staunton Memorial"]
[Site "Groningen"]
[Date "1946.09.05"]
[Round "18"]
[White "Bernstein, Ossip Samuel"]
[Black "Kotov, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B84"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "R1R5/1r3ppk/4p2p/3pP3/1r2qPP1/7P/1P1Q3K/8 w - - 0 49"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "1946.08.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 49. Rh8+ Kg6 50. f5+ (50. f5+ exf5 51. Qxh6+ gxh6 52. Rag8#) 1-0

[Event "Staunton Memorial"]
[Site "Groningen"]
[Date "1946.08.24"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Boleslavsky, Isaak"]
[Black "O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C77"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4rk1/1p3p2/1pqP2p1/p1b1QbNp/P6P/1BP5/1P3PP1/3R1RK1 w - - 0 29"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "1946.08.13"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 29. Qf6 Qd7 30. Rfe1 (30. Rfe1 Rae8 31. Rxe8 Qxe8 32. d7 Bxd7 33. Qxg6+)
1-0

[Event "CCCSA Memorial Day GM"]
[Site "Charlotte USA"]
[Date "2021.05.31"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"]
[Black "Ringoir, T."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "2455"]
[BlackElo "2474"]
[Annotator "Hartmann,John"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2021.05.27"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "8"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1387"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2021.06.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.06.07"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. O-O Be7 7. e5 Ne4 8.
Nxd4 O-O 9. Re1 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Nc5 11. Nc3 d6 12. Bb3 c6 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4
d5 15. Qf3 Qd7 16. c4 dxc4 17. Bxc4 Qg4 18. Qb3 b5 19. Be2 Qe4 20. Qe3 Qg6 21.
Qg3 Qxg3 22. hxg3 Be6 23. Bf3 Rac8 24. Be3 Rfd8 25. a4 Bd5 26. axb5 Bxf3 27.
gxf3 axb5 28. Rec1 {[#] White has a small but stable edge. He has a target -
the c6-pawn - and more active pieces.} h5 29. Ra7 Bf8 30. Rb7 Rd5 $6 {A
pseudo-active move, forcing White to solidify the e5-pawn -- something he
wanted to do anyway! The problem is that it will take another tempo to
properly defend the c-pawn, one that Black doesn't really have.} 31. f4 $1 b4
32. Rb6 f6 33. e6 $5 ({The alternative} 33. exf6 gxf6 34. Rbxc6 Rxc6 (34...
Rd1+ 35. Rxd1 Rxc6 36. Rd5 {is no better}) 35. Rxc6 {nets a pawn, and if Black
goes after the b2-pawn with} Rd1+ 36. Kg2 Rb1 {he loses another "juicer" (as
Hikaru Nakamura calls them) with} 37. Bd4 {.}) 33... c5 34. Rxb4 $1 {Small
tactics like these pay off, even at Grandmaster levels. Now Yoo shows good
technique and earns his first norm.} Re8 35. Rb6 Kh7 36. Rc6 f5 37. Bxc5 Bxc5
38. R1xc5 Rxc5 39. Rxc5 Rxe6 40. Rxf5 Rb6 41. Rxh5+ Kg6 42. Re5 Rxb2 43. Kg2
Kf6 44. Kf3 g6 45. Re2 Rb4 46. Ra2 Rc4 47. Kg4 Rb4 48. Ra6+ Kf7 49. Kh4 Rc4 50.
Rd6 Rb4 51. Kg4 Ra4 52. Kf3 Ra2 53. Ke3 Rb2 54. g4 Ra2 55. f3 Ra3+ 56. Ke4 Rb3
57. Rd3 Rb5 58. Rd5 Rb4+ 59. Ke5 Rb3 60. Rd7+ 1-0

[Event "First Saturday GM May 2021"]
[Site "Chesstempo.com"]
[Date "2021.05.10"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Seemann, Jakub"]
[Black "Mishra, Abhimanyu"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C18"]
[WhiteElo "2288"]
[BlackElo "2424"]
[Annotator "Mishra,Abhimanyu"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Qc7 8. Bd3
$5 c4 ({Here} 8... cxd4 {is playable, but White gets an improved version of
the mainlines with Qg4xg7. After} 9. Ne2 {his light-squared bishop isn't
blocked:} dxc3 10. Qxg7 Rg8 11. Qxh7 {.}) 9. Be2 Qa5 $5 {The point of
including this before ...Ne7-f5 is that in this structure, one of White's plan
is a3-a4 followed by Bc1-a3, activating the bishop. By forcing the bishop to
d2, we stop this plan.} 10. Bd2 Nf5 11. Qf4 Qa4 {Preventing a3-a4 and gaining
a tempo.} 12. Bd1 (12. Ra2 {is also possible, freeing the bishop.}) 12... Nc6
13. Nf3 Bd7 {Black's plan in this position is to castle queenside, and then
prepare to open the kingside with ...f7-f6.} 14. Ng5 $6 {This doesn't make
sense as the knight will just be kicked away. If he wanted to go to h3, he
could have saved two tempi by playing Ng1-h3 instead of Nf3-g5-h3!} ({Better
was} 14. Nh4 {, but Black should be fine after} O-O-O 15. Nxf5 exf5 {with a
plan of ...h7-h6, ...Rd8-g8, and ...g7-g5.}) 14... h6 15. Nh3 ({Maybe} 15. Nxf7
$5 {was what Seeman's original intention, but Black is at least equal after}
Kxf7 16. g4 Nce7 17. gxf5 Nxf5 {.}) 15... Rf8 $5 ({I considered} 15... O-O-O {
, but didn't like it due to} 16. g4 Nh4 17. Qg3 (17. Qxf7 $2 g5 $1 {and the
White queen has no way back!}) 17... Ng6 18. O-O {as ...f7-f6 can be met with
f2-f4 and the g6-knight is a little misplaced.}) 16. g4 Nfe7 17. g5 $2 {
This is a mistake, as now I get the f5-square for my knights.} Nf5 18. gxh6
gxh6 19. Bg4 Nce7 ({Another alternative was} 19... Qxc2 {, but I didn't want
to lose control of the f5-square and double my pawns. The position after} 20.
Bxf5 exf5 21. O-O {is equal.}) 20. Ra2 $2 {White should defend the c2-pawn
with the king, not the rook!} O-O-O {The center is about to blow up. White
should hurry his king to safety.} 21. Qf3 $2 {Wasting more time.} (21. Kd1 $5 {
was really needed.}) 21... f6 $1 22. Qe2 ({Better was} 22. exf6 {, but White's
position remains terrible.}) 22... fxe5 23. Qxe5 Nc6 24. Qe2 {[#]} e5 $1 {
Very thematic. The White king is very weak.} 25. dxe5 Nxe5 26. Bh5 Nh4 27. Nf4
({If} 27. Qxe5 Rfe8 28. Bxe8 Nf3+ {.}) 27... Rf5 $1 28. Be3 (28. O-O {fails to}
Rxh5 29. Nxh5 Bg4 $19) 28... Qc6 $1 {Now ...d5-d4 is unstoppable.} 29. Rg1 d4
30. cxd4 Nef3+ 31. Kf1 Nxh2+ 32. Ke1 N2f3+ 0-1

[Event "US Amateur Team North"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.02.21"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Black "Bodek, Michael"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2358"]
[BlackElo "2497"]
[Annotator "Yu, Jennifer"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[TimeControl "3600+10"]

{[%evp 0,113,18,18,26,-32,5,4,17,-7,-7,4,18,19,46,26,38,33,24,34,29,9,9,5,7,18,
-7,1,31,31,26,15,23,0,61,56,72,33,87,71,123,87,102,111,212,233,237,110,261,139,
223,241,260,217,214,190,198,131,130,135,129,128,128,142,204,173,215,180,240,
263,259,164,169,157,161,111,116,113,113,112,100,93,93,79,59,21,13,0,0,0,0,0,0,
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] In the fifth round, my team ("a
happy jubilant pawn") was paired on the top board against "The Dartmouth
Keggies." As first board, I played White against IM Michael Bodek. I played a
great positional game, but ultimately failed to convert the point because of
errors in time pressure and my opponent's creative resources.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4
e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 c5 6. Nf3 d6 ({Uncommon. More usual is} 6...
cxd4 7. Nxd4 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Qb3 {.}) 7. O-O Nc6 {At this point, I wasn't
sure how to continue. When I've had positions like these in the past, I found
that it was annoying to continue if Black can take on c3 and get the e6-e5
pawn push in. My c1-bishop gets restricted, so I here made the decision to
trade it off.} 8. Bg5 ({The alternative} 8. dxc5 dxc5 9. Bf4 {is a great way
to continue since it assuages my dark squared bishop concerns, and all of my
pieces are active.}) 8... Bxc3 9. bxc3 h6 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. dxc5 dxc5 12. Qd6 {
I had this in mind when I played 7.Bg5, and I was happy to play out this
position. The position may be equal, but I thought I had good practical
chances to pressure my opponent since I have a slight lead in development.}
Qxc3 13. Qxc5 Qa5 14. Qxa5 Nxa5 15. Rfd1 $1 {Stopping Black from developing at
the expense of the pawn. To me this is a good practical decision. I wasn't
100% sure how it would pan out if my opponent grabbed the pawn, but I figured
I would have enough compensation with my piece activity.} Nxc4 ({Ignoring the
pawn with} 15... b6 {is a viable option:} 16. Ne5 Bb7 17. Bxb7 Nxb7 18. Rd7 Nc5
{with equality.}) 16. Rac1 Nb6 ({After} 16... b5 17. a4 Rb8 ({after} 17... a6
18. Ne5 Ra7 19. Nxc4 bxc4 20. Rxc4 {I get the pawn back}) 18. axb5 Na3 19. Ne5
Rxb5 20. Nc6 Rb7 21. Ra1 Nb5 22. Rdb1 {the position is equal.}) 17. Ne5 {
I loved my position here. Although I'm down a pawn, Black has no way to free
himself and I am ready to infiltrate the 7th rank.} Nd5 18. e4 {I was sad to
block the g2-bishop, but I thought this move was useful as the black knight
has too much control in the center, preventing me from improving my position
further.} ({The other option,} 18. Bxd5 $6 {, released the c8-bishop and ruins
the bind I've been playing for in the last few moves.}) 18... Ne7 19. Rc7 Re8
$2 (19... Nc6 $1 {is the only move to keep the balance. The difficulty in
defending these kinds of positions is that there are often only-move
situations that will keep the game even. After} 20. Nxc6 bxc6 {the black
bishop on c8 must come out!} 21. e5 Ba6 22. Bxc6 Rac8 23. Rdd7 {with a White
edge.}) 20. Bf1 {Activating the worst placed piece and threatening to attack
the e8-rook, this provokes Black into making another weakness in his camp.} a6
21. Nc4 {Now I can use the b6-square! My opponent also has to defend against
Nc4-d6.} Kf8 22. Nb6 Rb8 {[#] All of my pieces are optimally placed, so how do
I continue? I thought about bringing the bishop to a4 and possibly breaking
open the center at some point with f4-f5. It is important to note that my
opponent always has plans of trying to free his position with moves like ...
e6-e5 and manuevering the knight.} 23. f4 {With the idea of preventing ...
e6-e5.} ({When one side has a large positional advantage, there often are
tactics! Here I underestimated} 23. Rdd7 $1 g6 ({if} 23... Bxd7 24. Nxd7+ Kg8
25. Nxb8 Rxb8 26. Rxe7 {and White is winning}) 24. Kg2 {and Black will
essentially end up in zugzwang. Amazing for a position with so many pieces!})
23... Ng8 24. Bc4 (24. Rdd7 $1 {is even stronger now!}) 24... Nf6 25. Bb3 Kg8
26. Rdc1 Nxe4 27. Rxc8 {Black's lack of development finally costs him material.
But this game was far from over -- while my pieces are dominant, he has two
pawns for the piece and I was getting low on time.} Rbxc8 28. Rxc8 ({In
hindsight,} 28. Nxc8 {was perhaps preferable, keeping (at least) one rook on
the board.}) 28... Rxc8 29. Nxc8 b5 30. Bc2 Nc3 31. a3 a5 32. Kf2 a4 {It's
getting complex. Just what I wanted in time pressure!} 33. Nb6 (33. Ne7+ Kf8
34. Nc6 {would have been a good decision, halting the black pawns and giving
me enough time to bring in the king and start causing trouble.}) 33... g5 {
I thought this was a great practical decision. There's a large chance he will
exchange pawns on f4, creating a target down the road.} 34. Ke3 b4 35. Kd3 (35.
Kd2 {was the better square. It avoids checks once the knight heads to a2:} gxf4
36. gxf4 Na2 (36... Nb5 37. axb4 a3 38. Bb1) 37. Bb1 Nc3 38. Bd3 {and so forth.
}) 35... gxf4 36. gxf4 ({Here} 36. axb4 $1 {wins:} fxg3 37. hxg3 Na2 38. b5 a3
39. Bb1 Nb4+ 40. Kc3 a2 41. Bxa2 Nxa2+ 42. Kc4 {and my b-pawn promotes!}) 36...
Na2 {[#]} 37. Bxa4 $2 ({The only chance to keep playing for the win was} 37.
Bb1 Nc3 38. axb4 Nxb1 39. Nxa4 {.}) 37... bxa3 38. Kc2 Nb4+ 39. Kb3 a2 40. Kb2
Kg7 41. Bb3 Kf6 42. Bxa2 Nxa2 43. Kxa2 Kf5 {Here we were both playing
completely on increment and I momentarily panicked, thinking I'd better not
lose this game after the position I had earlier! Fortunately, my king reaches
the kingside in the knick of time.} 44. Kb3 Kxf4 45. Kc4 Kg4 46. Kd4 Kh3 47.
Ke5 h5 48. Kf4 Kxh2 49. Kg5 f5 50. Kxh5 Kg3 51. Kg5 f4 52. Nc4 f3 53. Nd2 f2
54. Ne4+ Kf3 55. Nxf2 Kxf2 56. Kf6 e5 57. Kxe5 {Game drawn - insufficient
material} 1/2-1/2

[Event "US Amateur Team North"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.02.21"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Stearman, Josiah"]
[Black "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2505"]
[BlackElo "2358"]
[Annotator "Yu, Jennifer"]
[PlyCount "158"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[TimeControl "3600+10"]

{[%evp 0,158,18,18,18,17,5,5,2,-3,-5,10,21,9,42,41,26,21,13,15,10,32,34,28,26,
34,54,52,48,48,48,48,48,39,45,42,71,38,45,14,25,25,25,26,39,39,45,45,67,45,67,
60,65,70,82,82,82,82,115,39,16,21,33,9,28,14,30,-5,-5,-13,16,0,0,-57,-83,-64,
-47,-48,-42,-114,-38,-158,-163,-129,-109,-182,-136,-182,-163,-163,-163,-114,
-21,-21,-13,0,-20,-12,0,0,0,0,0,61,61,61,61,61,61,61,83,90,107,107,114,108,113,
66,67,72,67,50,48,73,80,73,76,67,69,67,83,78,99,85,83,75,86,79,74,70,69,60,60,
2,0,0,0,0,60,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] It's the sixth and final round, and my
team was playing for the title!} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. cxd5 exd5 5.
Nf3 Nf6 6. Bg5 Be6 7. e3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 Bd6 9. O-O c6 10. Bf4 Qc7 11. Qd2 O-O ({
Here} 11... Bxf4 $2 12. exf4 {is a positional mistake. A f4-f5 push will
become quite scary with the white knight heading towards e5.}) 12. h3 a5 {
I'm not so sure how I feel about this move. It's a common idea in these kinds
of structures to take some space on the queenside, but it also creates some
weaknesses as well, as shown in the game.} ({Perhaps it's better to play
normally with} 12... Rfe8 13. Rfe1 Nb6 14. b3 Rad8 {.}) 13. Rac1 {This
threatens Nc3-b5. Already the ...a6-a5 decision has become a bit annoying!} Qb8
14. Rfe1 Re8 15. a3 {Here, I was really worried about b2-b4. I didn't like
that he could quickly play b4-b5 and undermine my queenside pawn structure,
and it's not clear how I can stop this.} a4 {Stopping b2-b4, but at a cost: my
a-pawn is now a target.} ({It is possible to play} 15... h6 {, preparing ...
Bd6xf4 ideas and moving the d7-knight, helping to release my passive position:}
16. b4 Bxf4 ({or} 16... axb4 17. axb4 Bxf4 18. exf4 Nb6) 17. exf4 Nb6 18. f5
Bd7 19. Ne5 {and since b2-b4 has been played here, I'm not restricted like
before. For instance,} axb4 20. axb4 Nc4 {.}) ({Here again} 15... Bxf4 $2 {
leads to a dominant position for White after} 16. exf4 Nb6 17. f5 Bd7 18. Ne5 {
.}) 16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. Qc2 $1 {Chaining my knight to the a-pawn.} Nb6 (17... b5
$2 {creates a permanent weakness on c6: after} 18. e4 dxe4 19. Nxe4 Nxe4 20.
Bxe4 {material is dropping.}) 18. Ne5 {With f2-f4 coming and no obvious course
of action, I wasn't too happy with my position and felt like I had to fight
back somehow. In order to move my f6-knight and attack the e5-knight, I had to
solve the problem of White's threat on h7.} g6 19. f4 Nfd7 20. Nf3 ({I like} 
20. g4 {killing all Black's play.}) 20... f5 {My position is still quite ugly,
but at least now I'm not worried about kingside pawn storms!} 21. Ne5 Nxe5 $2 {
I spent quite a bit of time here. I thought I'd have to take the knight on e5
at some point, so I might as well save some time and do it now. However, I
misunderestimated how passive my position becomes.} ({I was heavily considering
} 21... Nf6 {when I'd have to resort to passive defence for the rest of the
game.}) 22. fxe5 Qe7 23. Qf2 Nd7 24. Kh2 Rf8 25. Ne2 Kh8 26. Nf4 g5 $6 {
I wasn't sure about this move, but I thought it gave me the only real
practical chance of saving the game.} ({Better was} 26... Rf7 {with the knight
heading to f8.}) 27. Nxe6 Qxe6 28. Rf1 f4 {[#]} 29. e4 $2 {What I was hoping
for -- this helps me bring my d7-knight into the game.} ({After} 29. g3 fxg3+
30. Qxg3 {the combination of my weak kingside and White's passed e5-pawn make
it miserable to play black here.}) 29... dxe4 30. Bxe4 Nf6 $1 31. Bxc6 bxc6 32.
exf6 Rxf6 33. Qf3 Rb8 {All of a sudden my position is quite pleasant to play!}
34. Rc5 Rb3 35. Qh5 Rh6 36. d5 ({It's equal after} 36. Re5 Rxh5 37. Rxe6 Kg7
38. Rxc6 Rxb2 {.}) 36... cxd5 37. Rc8+ Qxc8 38. Qxh6 Qf5 39. Qh5 Qe5 40. Kh1 $2
{This mistake gives me the initative, allowing me to be the one playing for
the win for the first time in the game!} ({White should have played} 40. Qf7 $1
Rb8 {with equality.}) 40... Rxb2 ({Much more precise was} 40... Kg7 {when
White's position is stuck and, by preventing Qh5-f7, now I'm threatening to
take on b2 and pressure the white king.} 41. h4 (41. Qg4 Re3 42. h4 Re1) 41...
h6 {. This should be winning for Black.}) 41. Qf7 Rb8 42. Qa7 f3 (42... d4 43.
Qxa4 Rd8) 43. Qxa4 ({Not} 43. Rxf3 $4 Rb1+) ({and after} 43. gxf3 Rb2 44. Qg1 {
White is too passive, i.e.} Kg7 45. Rf2 Kf6 46. Rxb2 Qxb2 {. Black has a big
advantage.}) 43... Rb2 44. Qa8+ Kg7 45. Qa7+ {[#]} Kh6 $2 {Whoops.} ({I should
have tried} 45... Kg8 46. Qa8+ Rb8 47. Qa4 {and while it's not much, this is
the only way to avoid what happened in the game.}) 46. Qa6+ Kh5 47. Rxf3 $1 {
I had missed that the a6-queen was defending the f1-square. Now my position
was starting to become uncomfortable.} Rb1+ 48. Rf1 Qe4 49. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 50. Kh2
Qb2 51. Qd6 d4 52. a4 Qd2 53. a5 d3 54. a6 Qf4+ 55. Qxf4 gxf4 56. a7 d2 57.
a8=Q d1=Q {I queen just in time!} 58. Qe4 Qd6 59. Qxh7+ Kg5 60. Qg7+ Kf5 61.
Qg4+ Kf6 62. Qf3 Kg5 63. Kh1 Qe5 64. Qg4+ Kf6 65. h4 Qe1+ 66. Kh2 Qe5 67. Qf3
Kg6 68. Kh3 Kh6 69. Qc6+ Kh5 70. Qf3+ Kh6 71. Qg4 Qe3+ 72. Kh2 Qe5 73. Qf3 Kg6
74. Qf2 Kh5 75. Qc2 f3+ 76. Kh3 Qe6+ 77. Kh2 Qe5+ 78. Kh3 Qe6+ 79. Kh2 Qe5+ {
Game drawn by repetition} 1/2-1/2

[Event "US Amateur Team West"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Pan, Christopher"]
[Black "Costello, Alex"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A01"]
[WhiteElo "2149"]
[BlackElo "2303"]
[Annotator "de Firmian,Nick"]
[PlyCount "135"]
[EventDate "2021.01.30"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]

{[%evp 0,101,25,-4,0,-42,-6,-36,-17,-24,-5,0,1,-40,-1,-78,-64,-58,2,-12,-18,
-14,-25,-27,-34,-8,-15,-15,-11,-14,-17,-21,-27,-25,-20,-15,230,302,344,396,304,
309,309,227,259,184,183,183,203,197,190,194,197,203,208,212,199,194,203,189,
192,192,192,125,215,228,265,244,265,244,285,285,277,275,302,231,303,264,281,
274,305,325,332,347,346,346,345,388,402,318,332,437,456,428,450,349,477,473,
516,531,570,591,594,627]} 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. Nf3 e4 4. Nd4 Qf6 5. e3 d5 6.
Be2 $6 (6. c4 {trying to undermine the black center would be better. e.g.} Bc5
7. Nc3 Bxd4 8. exd4 {with central play for both sides}) 6... Bc5 7. c3 (7. Nb5
Qxb2 8. Nxc7+ Kd8 {works out well for Black}) 7... Qg6 8. g3 Nxd4 9. cxd4 Bd6
10. Nc3 c6 11. d3 Nf6 12. dxe4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Qxe4 14. O-O Bh3 15. Bf3 Qe6 16.
Re1 Bb4 17. Re2 {So far Black has done well and would have the advantage after
17...f5, clamping down on the center. Instead Costello plays a natural move
that is met with a fantastic rejoinder.} Qf5 $2 {[#]} 18. e4 $3 {The best move
of the tournament. White invites Black to take the f3-bishop with mate
threatened on g2. Yet White would win the queen after} Qg6 {Black wisely
declines White's generous offer, but ends up losing two pawns.} (18... Qxf3 19.
exd5+ Kd7 20. Re7+ Kxe7 21. Qxf3 {when White's queen and pawn for bishop and
rook is an easy win.}) 19. exd5+ Kf8 20. dxc6 bxc6 21. Qc2 Rc8 22. Qxg6 {
It makes practical sense to head for the ending two pawns up.} hxg6 23. Rc1 Bd7
24. Rec2 Ke7 25. Bxc6 Rxc6 (25... Bf5 26. Re2+ Kf8 27. d5 {is equally
miserable but more complex and so could offer some slim practical chances}) 26.
Rxc6 Bxc6 27. Rxc6 Ba5 28. d5 Bb6 29. Ba3+ Kd7 30. Bc5 $1 {Christopher
simplifies even more. He gets a rook ending that is hard to go wrong with.} Rb8
31. Bxb6 axb6 32. a4 {[#] Black is tied to the defense of the b-pawn as he
can't allow White two connected passes pawns. If ...b6-b5 at any point then
a4-a5 marches forward. Even Carlsen couldn't hold this ending.} f6 33. Kf1 g5
34. Ke2 b5 35. a5 Re8+ 36. Kf3 Re5 37. Rc5 b4 38. Rb5 Kd6 39. a6 Re8 40. a7 Ra8
41. Ra5 Kc7 42. Ke4 Kb6 43. Ra4 Kc5 ({The win after} 43... Rxa7 44. Rxa7 Kxa7
45. d6 Kb6 46. Kd5 {is trivial}) 44. f4 gxf4 45. gxf4 g6 46. f5 g5 47. h3 Re8+
48. Kf3 Ra8 49. Kg4 {The final touch. The white king invades on the kingside.}
Kxd5 50. Kh5 Ke5 51. Kg6 Rg8+ 52. Kf7 Ra8 53. Ra5+ Kd4 54. Kxf6 Kc3 55. Ke7
Kxb3 56. f6 Kc2 57. f7 b3 58. f8=Q Re8+ 59. Qxe8 g4 60. hxg4 b2 61. Rb5 b1=Q
62. Rxb1 Kd3 63. Qd7+ Ke3 64. Re1+ Kf4 65. Qf5+ Kg3 66. Re3+ Kh2 67. Qf2+ Kh1
68. Re1# 1-0

[Event "US Amateur Team West"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Talyansky, Seth"]
[Black "Eswaran, Ashritha"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D27"]
[WhiteElo "2279"]
[BlackElo "2373"]
[Annotator "de Firmian,Nick"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2021.01.30"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]

{[%evp 0,96,25,25,43,64,86,46,25,41,32,38,35,47,61,63,65,50,50,52,53,47,45,47,
56,12,29,-16,38,10,14,-9,14,-16,-8,-42,-35,0,-16,-8,-10,18,3,10,0,-30,9,-41,
-18,-25,-37,-37,-2,62,17,4,4,18,33,21,-4,-4,14,-22,26,23,43,43,52,-16,6,-127,
-71,-185,-153,-139,-135,-80,-80,-143,0,-235,-235,-235,-131,-212,-195,-173,-173,
-173,-158,-276,-124,-208,-276,-854,-1054,-1072,-1079]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 {
The O'Kelly Variation.} 3. c3 {A good move, getting a nice variation of the 2.
c3 Sicilian. Black does well after the natural} (3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3
e5 $1) 3... d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. d4 Nc6 6. Be2 {This is a little passive.} (6.
dxc5 $1 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 Nf6 8. Nbd2 {is a good ending for White. Black is in a
normal line with the waste of time from ...a6}) 6... cxd4 7. cxd4 e6 8. O-O Nf6
9. Nc3 Qd8 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Rc1 O-O {Now White has only a minor edge as Black
is pretty solid.} 12. Bd3 Bd7 $5 ({Perhaps the natural} 12... b5 {should be
preferred.}) 13. Bb1 Nd5 14. Bxe7 ({White should have maintained the bishop on
its square with} 14. h4 $1) 14... Ncxe7 15. Ne5 Bc6 16. Ne4 Rc8 17. Qf3 Nf5 18.
Rfd1 Nde7 19. Qh3 Bxe4 20. Rxc8 Qxc8 21. Bxe4 f6 $5 {leading to some
complications} (21... h6 {is more solid}) 22. Nf3 Qc4 $1 23. b3 Qe2 24. Re1
Qxa2 25. d5 $6 ({After} 25. g4 Nh6 26. Bxb7 Qxb3 27. Bxa6 Nc6 28. Bf1 {the
position is equal.}) 25... Qxb3 $6 26. g4 Nh6 {[#]} 27. Bxh7+ $1 Kh8 $1 ({
Of course Black avoids} 27... Kxh7 $4 28. Ng5+ fxg5 29. Qxb3 {.}) 28. dxe6 a5 {
Black calmly advances the queenside pawns with the kingside under assualt.} 29.
Bf5 a4 30. Re3 Qb4 31. Nh4 Rd8 $6 ({Better was the calm} 31... Kg8 {with the
idea} 32. Ng6 $6 Nexf5 33. gxf5 Ra8 $1 {and the a-pawn is running.}) 32. Ng6+
Nxg6 33. Bxg6 Qe7 {[#]} 34. f4 $2 ({It's hard to see the winning} 34. Qh5 $1 a3
35. g5 {with little time but it would give White a terrific attack:} a2 (35...
fxg5 36. Bb1 $1) 36. gxh6 $1 a1=Q+ 37. Kg2 {and White wins despite Black's two
queens.}) 34... b5 35. Bf7 $2 {this is too slow} Rd2 $6 ({Better to get the
pawn duo moving with} 35... b4 $1 {.}) 36. Rc3 $6 b4 $6 ({Black had to
withdraw to the back rank with} 36... Rd8 $1 {avoiding the game continuation.
Now White has a narrow path to a draw.}) 37. Rc8+ Rd8 38. Rxd8+ Qxd8 39. Qe3 $2
({The right idea was to attack the pinned piece with} 39. g5 $1 {, when play
might continue} Qd4+ 40. Kh1 Qd1+ 41. Kg2 Qd2+ 42. Kh1 fxg5 43. e7 $1 Qe1+ 44.
Kg2 Qxe7 45. Qc8+ Kh7 46. Qc2+ {is a draw}) 39... Nxg4 $2 ({Here} 39... Qd1+ $1
{is crushing:} 40. Kg2 Nxf7 41. exf7 Qd5+ 42. Kg3 Qxf7 {and Black wins easily.}
) 40. Qh3+ $2 (40. Qe2 {keeps the threat of e6-e7 and would hold the draw after
} Qd4+ 41. Kg2 Ne3+ 42. Kh3 Nf5 43. e7 Qc3+ 44. Kg4 Nh6+ 45. Kh4 Nf5+) 40...
Nh6 41. Qe3 Qe7 {Now Black stops all the threats and the passed pawns win.} 42.
Bg6 b3 43. Qb6 Ng8 44. Bf7 Qf8 45. Qb7 Ne7 46. Qb4 Qd8 47. Qxa4 b2 48. Qc2 Qb6+
0-1

[Event "US Amateur Team West"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.31"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Bharat, Arjun"]
[Black "Virtanen, Teemu"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2275"]
[BlackElo "2400"]
[Annotator "de Firmian,Nick"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5r1k/3q1pbp/3p1n2/2p2P2/1r6/1bN2B1P/1P6/R1B1Q1RK w - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2021.01.30"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[TimeControl "3600+10"]

{[#] White has all the chances after a back-and-forth battle.} 25. Qg3 {
This in fact is good enough.} ({But White missed} 25. Rxg7 $1 Qxf5 (25... Kxg7
26. Bh6+ $1 {leads to mate if taken, else White mops up material.}) 26. Rg3 {
when White steals the bishop, winning.}) 25... Ne8 26. Ra8 {With the idea of
removing the defender on e8.} Be5 ({Chess.com's "analysis" computer thought
this was a mistake, but White is still in the win zone after its preferred} 
26... f6 {with most moves.} 27. Kh2 {is a nice preparatory move,} ({or even} 
27. Qg2)) 27. Qg2 $1 Qxf5 28. Bh6 Rh4 {Black might have been counting on this
move to save him, but White's next beats him to the punch.} 29. Qg8+ $1 ({
A pleasing way to finish out the game. The idea is} 29. Qg8+ Rxg8 30. Rxg8+
Kxg8 31. Rxe8# {Edge of the seat chess is Arjun's game!}) 1-0

[Event "US Amateur Team West"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.02.01"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Finkelstein, Alan"]
[Black "Fong, Nathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E05"]
[WhiteElo "2063"]
[BlackElo "1999"]
[Annotator "de Firmian,Nick"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2021.01.30"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[TimeControl "3600+10"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 {The Open
Catalan makes for fluid, dynamic play early in the opening.} 7. Ne5 Nc6 8. Bxc6
bxc6 9. Nxc6 Qe8 10. Nxe7+ Qxe7 11. Qa4 e5 12. dxe5 Qxe5 13. Qxc4 {[#] White
has won a pawn at the cost of giving up the fianchettoed bishop and a slight
lag in development.} Be6 14. Qc2 Bf5 15. Qc4 Be6 16. Qa6 $6 {This way of
avoiding the repetition is dangerous as the white queen is far from the
kingside.} Bh3 17. Re1 Qd5 18. f3 {Forced.} Qc5+ ({After} 18... Ng4 19. Nc3
Qc5+ 20. e3 Ne5 21. Qe2 Rad8 {Black would have excellent compensation for the
pawn.}) 19. e3 Nd5 $6 (19... Nd7 20. Qe2 Ne5 21. Rd1 Be6 22. Nc3 Rad8 {is
similar to the previous note.}) 20. a3 Rad8 21. Qe2 Rd6 22. b4 Qb6 23. Bb2 $2 {
[#]} ({White would hold the edge after the precise} 23. Nd2 $1 {He didn't see
Black's continuation.}) 23... Nxe3 $1 24. Qxe3 Rd1 $1 {There is no way out.
Black threatens 25. Qe3+ as the rook is pinned. Note that 25. Kf2 Rxe1 26.
Qxf6 Rf1+ is the same as the game.} 25. Qxb6 Rxe1+ 26. Kf2 Rf1+ 27. Ke2 cxb6 {
With the exchange ahead and active pieces Black has an easy time converting
the advantage.} 28. Nd2 Re8+ 29. Kd3 Rxa1 30. Bxa1 Bf5+ 31. Ne4 Rd8+ 32. Bd4 b5
33. Kc3 Bxe4 34. fxe4 a6 35. Kd3 f6 36. h4 Kf7 37. g4 Ke6 38. Ke3 Rc8 39. Bc5
a5 40. Kd4 axb4 41. Bxb4 Rc4+ 42. Kd3 Ke5 43. Bc3+ Kf4 44. g5 fxg5 45. hxg5
Kxg5 46. Bxg7 h5 47. Be5 h4 48. Ke3 Kg4 49. Bd6 h3 50. Kd3 Kf3 0-1

[Event "US Amateur Team West"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.01.31"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Wolff, Patrick"]
[Black "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "2592"]
[BlackElo "2366"]
[Annotator "de Firmian,Nick"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "2021.01.30"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]

{[%evp 0,123,21,24,24,19,29,24,26,29,24,22,22,22,19,15,15,-4,31,31,33,35,59,35,
51,51,54,51,53,40,65,71,80,73,111,96,101,79,76,76,80,62,62,62,66,66,62,65,65,
63,64,60,77,78,94,97,89,87,117,112,111,114,111,105,110,110,110,110,98,98,110,
102,112,108,108,116,116,95,173,116,117,83,173,188,202,96,97,119,138,0,148,120,
120,0,1002,1102,1188,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,2308,2017,1934,919,941,946,982,982,
1819,1766,1906,1913,2131,22212,2023,2034,23981,1395]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3.
Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d3 {Former U.S. Champion Patrick Wolff had the Petroff
Defense in his own repertoire, where he knew it could be capable of some sharp
lines. That he chooses one of the most congenial systems is probably to avoid
anything dangerous and current.} ({In the classical main line,} 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3
Bd6 7. O-O O-O {, you could think Black had a free move ...Ne4, but it really
means White can use that premature situation to undermine the center a bit with
} 8. c4) 5... Nf6 6. d4 d5 7. Bd3 Bd6 8. Qe2+ {Maybe there's more to this than
anyone wants to admit.} Qe7 (8... Be6 $1 9. Ng5 {at the very least grabs the
two bishops and a better pawn structure;} Qe7 {but it's nothing significant
for White.}) (8... Be7 {costs time.}) 9. Qxe7+ Kxe7 10. O-O Re8 11. Re1+ Kf8
12. Rxe8+ Kxe8 13. Nc3 c6 14. Bg5 Be7 $6 ({Better is} 14... Nbd7 15. Re1+ Kf8 {
and ...h6, when Black will put things in order shortly.}) 15. Re1 Be6 16. Bxf6
gxf6 $6 {The cure is worse than the illness.} (16... Bxf6 17. Bxh7 Kf8 (17...
g6 $2 18. Bxg6) 18. Bd3 Nd7 {White is squarely better, but there's still a lot
of work to do to claim a win.}) 17. Nh4 $1 ({or} 17. Bxh7 f5 18. Ne2 $1) 17...
h6 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. Bxf5 {Bishops of opposite colors are no salvation when
there are rooks and knights around as well; meanwhile Black's weak pawns only
go away one way (when they're taken).} Na6 20. Ne2 ({Similar is} 20. Nd1 Kf8
21. Ne3 Nc7 22. Bg4 {when the f5-square might well like a knight on it.}) 20...
Nc7 21. Ng3 Nb5 22. c3 Kf8 23. Bd3 Nd6 24. Re3 Re8 25. Kf1 {[#]} f5 {Yu is
willing to sacrifice a pawn for some freedom, but it won't come close to
equalizing, and Wolff's technique is quite up to the task.} 26. Bxf5 Bh4 27.
Rxe8+ Kxe8 28. Bd3 Bxg3 $6 {Now even the hope of some
bishops-of-opposite-colors salvation is gone.} 29. hxg3 Ke7 30. g4 ({Stockfish
is wary of putting pawns on the same color as the bishop, and it (slightly)
prefers bringing the king up first with} 30. Ke2 {.}) 30... Kf6 31. f4 Ne8 32.
Kf2 a5 33. a4 Nd6 34. Ke3 ({Perhaps stronger was} 34. b4 $5) 34... b6 35. b3
Ke6 36. g5 hxg5 37. fxg5 Nf5+ 38. Kf4 Ne7 (38... Nh4 {sends the knight on a
suicide mission:} 39. Kg3 Nf5+ 40. Kg4 Ne3+ 41. Kf3 Nd1 42. c4) 39. g3 {
White's extra pawn might not seem like much but it's enough. The plan is the
end-run with the king on the h-file. First he shuts off f4 for the knight.}
Ng6+ 40. Kg4 Ne7 {White has both material and temporal advantage. Wolff had
over 20 minutes here, while Yu was under a minute!} 41. b4 $1 Kd6 {[#] Yu
steps to the d-file, preparing a surprise counter -- which Wolff overlooks or
underestimates:} 42. Kh5 $6 {Trading, pausing, returning all were easier on
the nerves.} (42. bxa5) (42. Bc2) (42. Kf4) 42... b5 $1 43. bxa5 $1 (43. axb5
a4 44. b6 a3 45. Bb1 Nf5 {isn't so clear}) 43... bxa4 44. Kg4 $2 {Here
returning is just too far to go for the win.} ({The right idea begins with} 44.
g4 $1 a3 45. Bb1 Kc7 46. a6 $1 {(for some reason this move is critical!)} Kb6
47. Kh6 $1 Nc8 48. g6 fxg6 49. Kxg6 Kxa6 50. g5 {and here, White is winning.
Definitely a computer line, but it can be understood with analysis.}) 44... a3
$2 {Too soon! Yu used 40 seconds here, leaving herself just 20 more! White
wants to get his bishop to a2 and play c4, so this just encourages him. Two
paths to equality:} ({(a)} 44... Kc7 45. Bc2 a3 46. Bb3 Nc8 47. c4 c5 $1 {
An echo of the earlier break on move 42!}) ({(b)} 44... Nc8 45. Bc2 a3 46. Bb3
Kc7 {(so that dxc5 won't be check!)} 47. c4 c5 $1 {with equality.}) 45. Bb1 Nc8
46. Kf5 $2 ({White wins after} 46. Ba2 $1 {, setting up c3-c4.}) 46... Na7 $2 {
The wrong way for the knight.} ({Black had to use the king to stop the a-pawn,
while saving the knight for other adventures:} 46... Kc7 $1 47. Ba2 Nd6+ 48.
Ke5 Nc4+ 49. Kf6 Nd6 50. Ke7 Ne4 51. Kxf7 Nxg5+ $1 {Not the sort of precarious
ending to play on increment!}) 47. Kf6 {Now Black wins the bishop *and* also
queens, while White takes on f7 and runs one of those g-pawns. At the end of
it all, White is winning...} Nb5 48. a6 $2 {... or not! This is no time to
smell the flowers! Get that g-pawn going!} ({White had to play} 48. Kxf7 $1 c5
49. g6 {.}) 48... Kc7 $1 49. Kxf7 Nxc3 50. g6 Nxb1 51. g7 a2 52. g8=Q a1=Q {
Now there's no CHECK at b8!} 53. Qa8 {[#]} Qxd4 $4 {How easy it is to spot the
blunders with time and a computer!} ({The stunning} 53... Qb2 $1 {prevents
White from promoting the a-pawn, while the knight is still able to stop the
g-pawn if White trades queens on b7.}) 54. Qb7+ Kd8 55. Qb8+ (55. Qe7+ Kc8 56.
a7 {is the fastest and smoothest mate (queening with check helps).}) 55... Kd7
56. a7 Qf2+ 57. Kg8 Qf5 58. Qb7+ Kd6 59. a8=Q Qg6+ 60. Qg7 Qe6+ 61. Kh7 Qh3+
62. Qh6+ {What a difficult, wonderful ending! Yu really tested Wolff, fighting
back again and again, but in the end it was the not-quite-retired Grandmaster
who prevailed.} 1-0

[Event "NIC Classic Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.04.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "Christiansen, Johan Sebastian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B45"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2618"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2qr1k1/1p3ppp/p3bn2/8/1PnpP3/P2B2RP/1BPQN1P1/R5K1 w - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2021.04.24"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 27"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.02"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 19. Rxg7+ $3 {Certainly a surprise for Christiansen, who was probably
expecting 19.Qg5 Ng4! when Black loses a pawn but manages to trade queens.} Kf8
({The main point of the sacrifice is} 19... Kxg7 20. Qg5+ Kf8 21. Bxd4 {
and the f6-knight has no good escape:} Nd7 (21... Nxe4 22. Qh6+ Ke7 23. Bxe4 {
and White is winning}) 22. Bg7+ Kg8 23. Bf6+ Kf8 24. Qg7#) 20. Bxc4 Bxc4 21.
Nxd4 $1 Rxe4 ({The rook is still poisoned:} 21... Kxg7 22. Nf5+ Kh8 23. Qh6 {
and mate is unavoidable.}) 22. Qh6 Ke8 23. Nf5 {White is not even down
material, while his attack rages on.} Re6 24. Bxf6 $1 Qxf6 25. Rg8+ Kd7 26.
Rd1+ Kc7 27. Qf4+ Kb6 28. Qf2+ Kc7 29. Rxa8 Be2 30. Re1 1-0

[Event "NIC Classic Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.04.26"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Jones, Gawain C B"]
[Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2670"]
[BlackElo "2758"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/7k/8/6p1/2q5/5R1P/3K1P2/8 b - - 0 72"]
[PlyCount "135"]
[EventDate "2021.04.24"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 27"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.02"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#] If White's king were on g1, he could simply oscillate his rook between e3
and g3, with an unbreachable fortress. However, since it is Black's move, he
can prevent this setup.} 72... Qf1 $1 {The queen's most disruptive position is
behind the pawn, where it ties down one of White's pieces to its defense.} 73.
Rf5 Kg6 74. Rf8 Kg7 ({After} 74... Qxh3 $1 {White does not have time to get
his king to g1 and his rook to e3/g3 before Black forces a trade of pawns:} 75.
Ke2 g4 76. Re8 Qh5 $1 77. Kf1 Qb5+ 78. Re2 Qd3 79. Ke1 g3 {and Black wins.})
75. Rf5 Kh6 76. Rf6+ Kh5 77. Rf8 Qc4 78. Rf3 Kh4 $2 {The first of many
back-and-forth mistakes.} ({Black's only winning move was to retrace his steps
with} 78... Qf1 $1) 79. Re3 $2 ({Correct was} 79. Ke1 $1 {as White plays a few
moves later.}) 79... Qf1 $1 80. Rf3 Qc4 $2 (80... g4 $5 {was now winning:} 81.
hxg4 Kxg4 {and White will eventually lose his pawn, e.g.} 82. Rf8 Qc4 83. Rd8
Kf3 84. Rf8+ Kg2 {and White must either abandon the pawn or allow checks
leading to a fork of his king and rook.}) 81. Ke1 $1 {Now White is back to
having a fortress, and Jones defends steadily for a while as Dominguez tries
various ideas.} Qc1+ 82. Ke2 Qb1 83. Rg3 Kh5 84. Re3 Kg6 85. Rg3 Qh1 86. Rf3
Kg7 87. Rg3 Kf6 88. Rf3+ Ke5 89. Re3+ Kf4 90. Rg3 Qb1 91. Rf3+ Ke4 92. Rg3 Qb5+
93. Ke1 Qa6 94. Re3+ Kf4 95. Rg3 Kf5 96. Rf3+ Kg6 97. Rg3 Kh5 98. Re3 Kh4 99.
Rg3 Qb5 100. Re3 Qb1+ 101. Ke2 Qg1 102. Ra3 Qc1 103. Re3 Qc4+ 104. Ke1 Qa6 105.
Rg3 Qa1+ 106. Ke2 Qh1 107. Re3 Qg1 108. Rd3 $2 {Finally Jones cracks.} (108.
Rg3 $2 {is impossible due to} Qxg3 $1 109. fxg3+ Kxg3 110. h4 Kxh4 $1 111. Kf2
Kh3 $19) ({But} 108. Rf3 $5 g4 109. hxg4 Qxg4 110. Ke3 {was still safe, e.g.}
Qe6+ 111. Kd2 $1 Kg4 112. Re3 Qc4 113. Rg3+ Kf4 114. Ke1 $1 {with equality.})
108... g4 $1 109. hxg4 Qxg4+ $1 110. Ke1 ({Crucially,} 110. Kf1 {can be met
with} Qc4 $1 {forcing} 111. Ke2 {after which} Kg4 112. Ke3 Kh3 $1 {invades
White's position as later in the game.}) ({But} 110. Rf3 {would be the most
tenacious defense:} Kg5 $1 111. Ke3 Qc4 $1 112. Rg3+ Kf5 113. Rf3+ Ke5 114. Rg3
Qc2 $1 115. Rg5+ Kf6 116. Rg3 Kf5 $1 117. Rf3+ Ke5 118. Rg3 Qd1 $1 119. Rg5+
Kf6 120. Rg3 Kf5 121. Rf3+ Ke5 122. Rg3 Qe1+ $1 {winning the pawn, as 123.
Kf3?? would allow 123...Qe4#!}) 110... Qb4+ 111. Ke2 Qc4 112. Kd2 Qb5 113. Rg3
Qe5 $2 ({Correct was} 113... Qf1 $1 114. Ke3 Qd1 $1 {as later in the game.})
114. Kd1 Qe4 115. Kd2 Qe6 116. Kd1 Qa2 117. Ke1 Qb1+ 118. Ke2 Qh1 119. Ke3 $2 (
{White should simply sit tight with} 119. Re3 $5) 119... Qf1 $2 ({Again} 119...
Qd1 $1 {as later in the game.}) 120. Kf3 $1 Kh5 121. Ke3 Qd1 122. Rg2 Qb3+ 123.
Ke2 Qc2+ 124. Ke3 Kh4 $4 {[#] An enormous blunder, allowing a shocking tactic.}
125. Rg3 $4 {Obliviously continuing to defend.} ({Both players missed that
after} 125. Rh2+ $1 {[%csl Rc2][%cal Gf2f3,Gf2f4] White will play 126.f3+ or
126.f4+ next, winning Black's queen and the game - what a tragedy this would
have been for Dominguez!}) 125... Qd1 $1 {Finally Dominguez gets the right
idea - playing for zugzwang. The position is in fact a rare mutual zugzwang,
where Black to move would only draw.} 126. Rg2 Kh3 $1 127. Rg3+ Kh2 $1 {
The Black king infiltrates White's camp, and will continue to push itself all
the way to the f2-pawn.} 128. Rf3 Kg2 $1 129. Rf4 ({Or} 129. Rg3+ Kf1 $1 {
as in the game.}) 129... Qb3+ 130. Ke4 Qe6+ 131. Kd4 Kf1 $1 {The Black king
has reached its ideal square, where it both attacks White's pawn and helps to
create threats against White's king.} 132. Kd3 Qe5 133. Re4 Qf5 134. f4 {
The pawn is forced to advance, but now its moves are numbered.} Kf2 135. Kd4
Kf3 136. Re5 Qxf4+ {Finally the pawn falls.} 137. Kd5 Qb4 138. Ke6 Qc4+ 139.
Kf5 $4 {Undoubtedly tired from a long defense, Jones blunders and allows an
immediate win.} ({The best try was} 139. Kd6 {after which White would have to
demonstrate some real technique to overcome perfect defense - but as this
practical example shows, good defense is often even more difficult than good
winning technique!}) 139... Qf7+ $1 {and Jones finally resigned, since 140.Kg5
Qf4+ wins the rook. An epic struggle, and by far the longest game of the
tournament.} 0-1

[Event "NIC Classic Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.04.26"]
[Round "13"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Christiansen, Johan Sebastian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2618"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2r2k1/ppq1ppbp/2p1n1p1/6Bn/3P4/N1P2N2/PP3PPP/R2QR1K1 w - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[EventDate "2021.04.24"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 27"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.02"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 19. Rxe6 $5 {A remarkable positional sacrifice - White does not even get
a pawn for the exchange, but Black's shattered structure and inactive minor
pieces will still provide full compensation.} fxe6 20. Qe2 Qd7 ({Given how
much trouble Black's knight ends up causing him later in the game, he might
have traded it off immediately with} 20... Nf4 $5 21. Bxf4 Qxf4 22. Qxe6+ Qf7 {
with chances for both sides.}) 21. Nc4 Bf6 22. g4 $1 Ng7 23. Nce5 Qd5 24. c4
Qd6 25. Bf4 Qb4 ({Again Black could have addressed the passivity of his knight
with} 25... c5 $5 26. Nxg6 e5 $1 27. Ngxe5 (27. dxe5 $2 Qe6 $1) 27... Ne6 {
with counterplay.}) 26. Rc1 Qa5 27. a3 c5 28. dxc5 Qxc5 29. b4 Qc8 30. c5 $5 {
So simply plays normal positional moves, ignoring his material deficit.} Rd5
31. h3 Ne8 32. c6 bxc6 33. Nxc6 Qd7 34. b5 g5 35. Bg3 Ng7 $2 {After this the
knight remains here for another twenty moves!} ({Once again Black needed to
find some active role for this piece:} 35... Nd6 $5 36. a4 Rc8 {is unclear.})
36. a4 $1 h5 37. Nb4 $1 {Winning back the exchange, as the d5-rook is trapped.}
hxg4 38. hxg4 Rc8 39. Rxc8+ Qxc8 40. Nxd5 exd5 {Material is now equal, with
White retaining a large positional advantage.} 41. Ne5 $6 ({After} 41. a5 $1 {
White's queenside majority should prove decisive, e.g.} Qxg4 42. b6 axb6 43.
axb6 Qc8 44. Qa2 e6 45. Qa7 {.}) 41... Qc1+ 42. Kg2 Qa1 43. Qf3 Qxa4 44. Qxd5+
Kh7 45. Qd3+ Kg8 46. Qd5+ Kh7 47. f3 Qc2+ 48. Bf2 Qb2 $2 ({The best defense was
} 48... Qe2 $1 49. Nd7 Ne8 $1 {after which Black manages to just barely hold
everything together.}) 49. Nc4 Qa2 50. Nb6 $1 {Another neat positional tactic
- Black cannot afford to trade queens, as then the a7-pawn would simply fall.}
Qc2 51. Nd7 Qc7 52. Qc6 $1 Qf4 53. Qe4+ $1 {Forcing the issue.} Qxe4 54. fxe4 {
Now White's b-pawn will cost Black a piece.} Ne8 55. e5 $1 Nc7 56. exf6 exf6
57. Nxf6+ Kg6 58. b6 $1 axb6 59. Bxb6 {Black can still hope to sacrifice his
knight for White's last pawn, but So had already demonstrated his knowledge of
how to checkmate with bishop and knight in a 2019 game against Navara.} Ne6 60.
Ne4 Nf4+ 61. Kf3 Ne6 62. Be3 Kh6 63. Kg3 Kg6 64. Kh3 Nc7 65. Bxg5 Nd5 66. Bd2
Ne7 67. Kg3 Nc6 68. Bc3 $5 {Making it difficult for Black's knight to even
reach White's pawn.} Ne7 69. Nd6 Nd5 70. Bd4 Ne7 71. Kh4 Nd5 72. Nc4 Nf4 73.
Ne5+ Kh7 74. Bb2 Ng2+ 75. Kh5 Nf4+ 76. Kg5 Ne6+ 77. Kf6 Nf4 78. g5 Nd5+ 79. Kf7
Nf4 80. Nd7 Ng6 81. Nf8+ $1 1-0

[Event "NIC Classic KO"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.04.27"]
[Round "1.11"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2781"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3q1r1k/1p3pp1/p1r1pb2/3p3b/Q7/2PB4/PP1N1PPP/R3R1K1 w - - 0 20"]
[PlyCount "12"]
[EventDate "2021.04.27"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 28"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 20. Re2 $4 ({So obviously intended to play} 20. Re3 {but the rook
somehow ended up on the wrong square. The live commentators assumed that White
would be much better here, but in fact after} Kg8 21. Rh3 Bg6 22. Bxg6 fxg6 $13
{things are not so clear, with Black's bishop well-placed to cover most of the
important central and kingside dark squares.}) 20... Bxe2 21. Bxe2 {
Unfortunately White has absolutely no compensation for the exchange, and soon
abandons the struggle.} g6 22. Nf3 Kg7 23. h4 e5 24. Rd1 e4 25. Nd2 Qb6 0-1

[Event "NIC Classic Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.04.25"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2781"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/2p3p1/1p3pn1/7p/4P3/P1Bq1P1P/1P4P1/2Q4K w - - 0 33"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2021.04.24"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 27"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.02"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} {White is up a clear pawn with a better position and an advantage on the
clock. Of course he should win, but Nakamura makes things as difficult as
possible.} 33. Kg1 Kf7 34. Qd2 Qb5 $1 (34... Qxd2 $2 35. Bxd2 {would eliminate
Black's chances for active counterplay.}) 35. Kf2 h4 $1 {Establishing a wedge
which could support later counterplay against White's king.} 36. f4 Ne7 37. Qd4
Qb3 38. Qd3 Qe6 39. f5 Qb3 40. Kf3 $6 ({It was better to immediately target
the h4-pawn with} 40. Qe2 $1 Kf8 41. Qg4 {and White has all the play.}) 40...
c5 $1 41. Kg4 b5 $1 {Perfectly timed - the threat of ...b5-b4 disrupts White's
careful progress.} 42. Qd7 Qc2 $1 {Keeping White occupied with counterthreats.}
43. Kf3 Qb3 44. Ke3 Qc2 45. Qd2 Qb3 $1 {Again Black keeps the queens on,
making it difficult for White to undertake active operations.} 46. Qd3 Ke8 47.
Kd2 Qa4 48. Ke3 Qb3 49. Qd6 Qc4 50. Qd1 Kf7 51. Qe2 Qb3 52. Qh5+ Kf8 {Black's
h4-pawn remains indirectly defended due to the threat of ...b5-b4, which
indeed is threatened in any case. By this point Aronian's struggle in vain to
convert his material advantage had put him significantly behind on the clock,
and he decides to cut his losses and accept a perpetual.} 53. Qh8+ Kf7 54. Qh5+
Kf8 55. Qh8+ Kf7 56. Qh5+ {An impressive defensive achievement by Nakamura.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "NIC Classic KO"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.04.29"]
[Round "2.12"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E21"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2021.04.27"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 28"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Bg5 c5 6. Rc1 cxd4 7. Nxd4 h6 8.
Bh4 d5 9. cxd5 g5 10. Bg3 Qxd5 11. e3 Qxa2 12. Bd3 $5 Qxb2 13. O-O $1 Bxc3 14.
Rc2 Qb4 15. Nb5 $1 e5 {[#]} 16. Rxc3 ({In the first game of the second set
Mamedyarov tried} 16. Nxc3 $5 {instead. Play continued} Nc6 17. Qc1 Rd8 18. Rb2
Qc5 19. Bb1 Be6 20. Rb5 Qc4 21. Ba2 Qd3 22. Bxe6 fxe6 23. Rxb7 {and White
maintained pressure deep into the endgame, eventually winning in 61 moves. 
(Mamedyarov - Nakamura, NIC Classic KO, 2021.)}) 16... Nc6 17. f4 $1 {White's
two-pawn deficit is fully compensated by his large development advantage,
bishop pair, and strong attack against Black's weakened kingside.} Bg4 18. Qc2
Qe7 {The first new move of the game.} ({Previously seen in Topalov - Ding,
Wenzhou 2018, was} 18... exf4 {which Nakamura decided to follow in the fourth
game of the first set:} 19. exf4 {and now after} Nd5 $5 ({Ding had played} 
19... Rac8) {Mamedyarov went too sac-happy with} 20. fxg5 $2 Nxc3 21. Nxc3 Rad8
{when Nakamura was eventually able to fend off the attack and consolidate. 
(Mamedyarov - Nakamura, NIC Rapid KO 2021)}) 19. fxe5 Nh5 $6 ({Better was} 
19... Nxe5 {when White retains excellent compensation but has no clear
breakthrough.}) 20. Be1 a6 $2 21. Nd4 $2 ({Both players apparently
underestimated} 21. Rxc6 $1 bxc6 22. Nd6 {with a huge advantage; the main
point is that} Qxe5 $2 {runs into} 23. Bh7+ {followed by the crushing 24.Bc3.})
21... Nxe5 $2 ({Preferable was} 21... Nxd4 22. exd4 {when White's central
pawns actually impede his own unopposed dark-squared bishop.}) 22. Rc7 Qd6 23.
Bh7+ Kh8 24. Bf5 Ng7 25. Bg3 $1 {White's pieces coordinate perfectly, and his
attack is now irresistible.} Bh5 26. Qc3 Rae8 27. Ne6 $1 {Forcing Black to
return material, but this doesn't solve his problems either.} Rxe6 28. Bxe6 f6
29. Bxe5 $1 fxe5 30. Rxf8+ Qxf8 31. Qxe5 Kh7 32. Bf5+ Bg6 33. g4 $1 a5 {
and Nakamura resigned before Mamedyarov could play 34.Bxg6+ Kxg6 35.Rxg7+!
Qxg7 36.Qf5#.} 1-0

[Event "NIC Classic Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.04.26"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Duda, Jan Krzysztof"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2847"]
[BlackElo "2729"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2qk2r/1p1n1pb1/p2p1np1/3Pp2p/8/1N2BP2/PPPQB1PP/R3K2R w KQkq - 0 13"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2021.04.24"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 27"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.02"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 13. O-O-O $5 {The normal move is 13.0-0.} O-O {Somewhat risky; instead
Black could begin queenside play with 13...b5!?<=> as in 0-1 (45) Wei,Y (2732)
-Giri,A (2763) Chess.com INT 2020.} 14. g4 a5 15. a4 hxg4 $2 {A dubious
novelty, perhaps suggesting that Duda was not prepared for Carlsen's 13.
0-0-0!?.} ({Preferable was} 15... Nb6 {as in Wang Hao - Darini, Sharjah 2019.})
16. fxg4 b5 $5 17. Bxb5 Nxg4 18. Bg5 Qc7 19. h4 $1 {With his queenside
relatively secure, Carlsen goes for a direct attack on the kingside.} e4 20. h5
Nde5 21. h6 Bf6 22. Bxf6 Nxf6 23. Qf4 Nfg4 24. Nd4 $2 ({It was safe to grab a
pawn with} 24. Qxe4 $1 {since} Nf2 $2 25. Qf4 {threatens 26.Qf4 with
unstoppable mate on g7.}) 24... f5 {Now matters are not so clear, and Black
ends up generating counterplay.} 25. Rh3 Qe7 26. Ne6 Rfc8 27. Kb1 Rab8 28. Rb3
Qh4 29. Qd2 Qh2 $1 30. Qxa5 $2 ({White needed to absorb some pressure with} 30.
Qxh2 Nxh2 {after which} 31. c4 $1 {[%cal Gc4c5] would be unclear.}) 30... Qxc2+
31. Ka2 Ra8 32. Qe1 {Here Duda misses his big chance.} Rc4 $2 ({An improved
version of this idea was} 32... Nf3 $1 33. Qh1 Rc4 $1 {with a decisive attack.}
) 33. Rd4 $1 Rxd4 34. Nxd4 {The worst has passed for White, and he soon seizes
control.} Qc5 35. Ne6 Qa7 36. Rc3 Nd3 37. Bxd3 exd3 38. b3 Qf2+ 39. Qxf2 Nxf2
40. Rc7 $1 Ng4 (40... d2 $2 {runs into} 41. Rg7+ Kh8 42. Nf4 $1 {with
unstoppable mate.}) 41. Kb2 Nxh6 42. Kc3 Ng4 43. Kxd3 Rb8 44. Kc3 Ne3 45. Rg7+
Kh8 46. Rxg6 Nxd5+ 47. Kb2 Re8 $2 ({The last chance to defend was} 47... Kh7
48. Rg5 Ne3 {, although White should win.}) 48. Nd4 {Winning a pawn, after
which Carlsen smoothly converts the endgame.} f4 49. Rxd6 Nb4 50. Kc3 Na2+ 51.
Kc4 Re3 52. Rf6 Rc3+ 53. Kb5 Nc1 54. Rxf4 Nxb3 55. Nxb3 Rxb3+ 56. Rb4 Ra3 57.
a5 Kg7 58. a6 Kf6 59. Ra4 Rb3+ 60. Kc4 1-0

[Event "NIC Classic KO"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.04.28"]
[Round "1.22"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E36"]
[WhiteElo "2847"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b1r1k1/1pqnnppp/8/pPP1p3/P1PpP3/B4N2/2Q2PPP/R3KB1R w KQ - 0 16"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2021.04.27"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 28"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 16. c6 $1 {White's extra pawn was lost anyway, but by returning it in
this way he creates a passed pawn.} bxc6 17. c5 $1 Nf6 18. b6 $1 {This
advanced pawn cramps Black's entire queenside and forces the a8-rook to remain
defending the artificially isolated a5-pawn.} Qb7 19. Bc4 Ng6 20. O-O Qd7 21.
Ne1 Ba6 22. Bxa6 Rxa6 23. f3 Nf4 {The battle shifts to the kingside, but there
Black will effectively be fighting with a rook less.} 24. Rd1 Raa8 25. Bc1 N6h5
26. g3 Ng6 27. Nd3 Nf6 28. Bg5 h5 29. Bxf6 gxf6 30. f4 exf4 31. Nxf4 Qg4 32.
Rxd4 h4 33. Qd1 Qg5 34. Qh5 Qe5 35. Rd7 hxg3 36. hxg3 Qxe4 37. Nxg6 Qe3+ 38.
Kh2 Qe2+ 39. Qxe2 Rxe2+ 40. Kh3 fxg6 41. Rxf6 {A seemingly effortless win by
Carlsen.} 1-0

[Event "NIC Classic KO"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.04.30"]
[Round "2.24"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2847"]
[BlackElo "2781"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2qkbnr/pp1b1ppp/2np4/1Bp1p3/4P3/2P2N2/PP1P1PPP/RNBQR1K1 b kq - 0 6"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2021.04.27"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 28"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 6... g5 $6 {A desperate attempt to unbalance the position.} 7. d4 g4 8.
Nfd2 exd4 9. Na3 $5 Qf6 10. cxd4 cxd4 11. e5 $5 dxe5 12. Nac4 O-O-O 13. Bxc6
Bxc6 14. Nxe5 Bd5 15. Qxg4+ {White has won back both of his sacrificed pawns
and retains more active pieces and a safer king.} Qe6 16. Qxe6+ Bxe6 17. Ndf3
Bb4 18. Rd1 Rd5 19. Bf4 Bc5 $2 {Missing White's threat.} 20. Rac1 Kd8 21. Nxf7+
$1 Bxf7 22. Be5 {White ends up with an extra exchange and an easily winning
position.} Ne7 23. Bxh8 Nc6 24. Rxc5 Rxc5 25. Nxd4 Kc7 26. Nxc6 Kxc6 27. a3 Rd5
28. Rxd5 $5 {Carlsen is not afraid of an opposite-colored bishop endgame,
since his connected pawns on the kingside will not be easy for Black to
blockade.} Kxd5 29. f3 Kc4 30. Kf2 Kd3 31. Bc3 b5 32. g4 a6 33. Kg3 Ke3 34. f4
Ke4 35. f5 h5 36. h3 hxg4 37. hxg4 {Aronian resigned in view of White's simple
plan Kh4-g5-h6-g7 followed by advancing the f-pawn.} 1-0

[Event "NIC Classic KO"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.05.01"]
[Round "3.13"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2847"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1q6/3k1bp1/p2r4/P3Q3/1P1R4/2P2P2/5K2/8 b - - 0 46"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2021.04.27"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 28"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 46... Qf8 $2 {From here the queen is vulnerable to both a pin and a
skewer.} ({Black had many moves to maintain approximate equality, e.g.} 46...
Kc6 $5) 47. Qf5+ $1 {Black can no longer block this check with his bishop,
which is now pinned.} Kc6 48. Qc5+ Kd7 49. Qf5+ Kc6 50. Rxd6+ $1 Qxd6 (50...
Kxd6 $2 {loses the queen after} 51. Qc5+) 51. Qxf7 {White is up two pawns for
nothing and gradually converts his material advantage.} Qd2+ 52. Kg3 Qxc3 53.
Qe8+ $1 Kc7 54. Qe4 Kd6 55. Kg4 Qa1 56. Qd3+ Ke7 57. Qe3+ Kf7 58. Qc5 Kg8 59.
Kf4 Qd1 60. Ke5 Kh7 61. Qd5 Qa4 62. Qe4+ Kh8 63. Kd6 Qb5 64. Kc7 Kg8 65. Qe6+
Kh7 66. Qd6 Qe2 67. f4 Qb5 68. Qc5 Qf1 69. Qh5+ Kg8 70. Qd5+ Kh7 71. Qe4+ Kh8
72. Kb6 Qb5+ 73. Ka7 Qf1 74. Qe8+ Kh7 75. Qh5+ Kg8 76. Qd5+ Kh7 77. f5 Qb1 78.
Qd6 Qxf5 79. Kxa6 g5 80. b5 Qf1 81. Kb6 Qf2+ 82. Qc5 Qf6+ 83. Ka7 Qf7+ 84. Ka6
g4 85. b6 g3 86. b7 Qf1+ 87. Ka7 Qf2 88. Qb6 Qf7 89. Qb1+ Kh6 90. Qe4 Qg7 1-0

[Event "NIC Classic KO"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.05.02"]
[Round "3.21"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E35"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2847"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5r2/1p1rNppk/3P4/1P2B1n1/2Q1b1qp/4P3/3R2PP/5RK1 w - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "29"]
[EventDate "2021.04.27"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 28"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 35. Bf4 $2 ({Nakamura could have won further material with} 35. Rf4 $1
Nh3+ 36. Kh1 Nxf4 37. Qxe4+) 35... Nh3+ $2 ({Here Carlsen could actually
turned the tables with} 35... Rxd6 $3 36. Bxd6 (36. Rxd6 $2 Qxg2#) 36... Nh3+
37. Kh1 Bxg2+ $1 38. Rxg2 Qxc4 {and Black wins!}) 36. Kh1 f5 37. Qe6 Nxf4 $2 {
After this White is back to being simply up material with a winning position.}
({Instead} 37... Rfd8 $5 {would challenge White to find a way to make progress.
}) 38. Rxf4 Ra8 39. Kg1 $5 Ra1+ 40. Rf1 {Black's counterplay has now dried up.}
Rxf1+ 41. Kxf1 Rd8 42. h3 Qg5 43. d7 Qxe3 44. Qg6+ Kh8 45. Qh5+ Qh6 46. Qe8+
Kh7 47. Qxd8 Bxg2+ 48. Ke2 Bf1+ 49. Kd1 1-0

[Event "NIC Classic KO"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.05.02"]
[Round "3.23"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2847"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3r1k1/1pq2p1p/p1p2n2/3pNP1n/3P2pP/4P3/PPB3P1/2R1QRK1 b - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "30"]
[EventDate "2021.04.27"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 28"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 24... Rxe5 $1 {Eliminating White's only good piece. Black's material
investment will be only temporary, as White has several weak pawns that will
inevitably drop off.} 25. dxe5 Qxe5 26. Qc3 Qg3 27. Qe1 Qd6 28. Qf2 Re8 29.
Rcd1 Qe5 30. Rd4 c5 31. Rd2 Ng3 32. Rfd1 Kf8 33. Rd3 Nfe4 34. Qe1 $2 ({A
better try was} 34. Rxd5 $5 {hoping for} Qxb2 ({Even stronger is} 34... Qf6 $1)
35. Bxe4 Qxf2+ 36. Kxf2 Nxe4+ {but after 37...Nc3 Black has a winning rook
endgame anyway.}) 34... Qf6 $1 {Beginning the final attack against White's
king.} 35. Rxd5 Qxh4 36. Bxe4 Qh1+ 37. Kf2 Nxe4+ 38. Ke2 Qxg2+ 39. Kd3 {
and Nakamura resigned without waiting to see which winning move Carlsen would
play, e.g. 39...b5!?.} 0-1

[Event "NIC Classic KO"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.05.02"]
[Round "3.24"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B27"]
[WhiteElo "2847"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "King,Alex"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2q4k/2r3b1/3Q1n2/1B1p1pp1/P2P3p/5P1P/4NP2/4R1K1 b - - 0 43"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2021.04.27"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2021 Update 28"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.07"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 43... Ra7 {His situation hopeless, Nakamura could be seen on camera
gesturing in disgust as he offered a draw, effectively resigning the match.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "New York/Los Angeles m"]
[Site "Los Angeles"]
[Date "1961.08.03"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Black "Reshevsky, Samuel Herman"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B36"]
[Annotator "Donaldson"]
[PlyCount "158"]
[EventDate "1961.07.16"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Nxd4 7. Qxd4 d6 8.
Be2 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 Be6 11. O-O Qa5 12. Rac1 (12. f4 Rfc8 {1/2-1/2
Fischer-Benko, US Championship /New York 1961} (12... Rac8 13. b3 b5 14. f5 {
and now either 14...Bd7 or 14...b4 give Black an improved version of the
normal line as Black has managed to play ...b5 without the preparatory ...a6
which means White is missing Rac1. Also ...Rac8 maybe better than the routine .
..Rfc8 as the f7 square is not only protected by the king.})) 12... Rfc8 13. b3
a6 14. f4 Bg4 {Improvisation by Reshevsky who borrows a well-known idea from
the Dragon Sicilian - one example being 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6
5.Nc3 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.Be3 0-0 8.0-0 Nc6 9.Nb3 Be6 10.f4 Qc8 11.Kh1 Bg4. The
text is much less common than 14...b5 but still quite playable.} (14... b5 15.
f5 Bd7 (15... b4) 16. fxg6 hxg6 17. c5 (17. e5 b4) 17... Be6 18. Bf3 dxc5 19.
e5 Ng4 20. Bxa8 Bxe5 (20... Rxa8 21. Nd5 Qxd2 22. Nxe7+)) 15. Bd3 Bd7 16. h3
Bc6 17. Qf2 Nd7 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. exd5 {[#] The structure reached after 19.exd5
is known to favor White if Black cannot achieve ...b5 (for example he is
already committed to ...a5). This is particularly true with the queens
exchanged. Two good examples of White's chances in such positions are
Gelfand-Malisauskas, Moskow 1989 and Gelfand-Andersson, Polanica Zdroj 1997.}
b5 {This thematic break against the Maroczy Bind gives Black adequate
counterplay.} 20. Rfe1 Nc5 (20... Bf6) (20... Rab8) 21. Bb1 bxc4 (21... Bf6)
22. Rxc4 Nd7 23. Bd2 Qb6 {Reshevsky's shows excellent judgement here as} (23...
Qd8 24. Rc6 {would be unpleasant.}) 24. Rxc8+ Rxc8 25. Qxb6 Nxb6 26. Rxe7 Bc3 (
26... Nxd5 27. Rd7 Bc3 28. Bxc3 Nxc3 {transposes.}) 27. Bxc3 Nxd5 28. Rd7 Nxc3
(28... Rxc3 $1 29. Rxd6 Rc1+ 30. Kh2 Ne3 31. Bd3 Rd1 32. g4 Nc2 33. Rc6 Rd2+
34. Kg1 Nd4) 29. Bd3 d5 (29... Nxa2 30. Bc4 {would have been just what Fischer,
noted for his skill in rook and bishop versus rook and knight endings, would
have been looking for.}) 30. Bxa6 Ra8 31. Rd6 Nxa2 32. Bb7 Rb8 (32... Ra7 33.
Bxd5 Nc3 34. Bc4) 33. Bxd5 Nc1 (33... Nb4 34. Bc4 Rb7) 34. f5 (34. Rd7 Nxb3 35.
Rxf7 Kh8) 34... gxf5 35. Rf6 Nxb3 36. Rxf5 Kh8 37. Rxf7 Nc5 38. Rc7 Na6 39. Rc4
Rd8 40. Be6 Rd6 41. Bf5 Rf6 42. Bd3 h6 43. Kh2 Kg7 44. Kg3 Nb8 {[#]} 45. Be4 $4
(45. Rc7+ Rf7 46. Rxf7+ Kxf7 47. Bb5) 45... Rf7 46. Bd5 Rd7 47. Bf3 Rf7 48. Bh5
Ra7 49. Rg4+ Kh8 50. Re4 Kg7 51. Re6 Na6 52. Rg6+ Kh7 53. Rd6 Nc5 54. Bg6+ Kg7
55. Bf5 Ra6 56. Rd5 Ne6 57. Re5 Ra3+ 58. Kf2 Nf4 59. Re4 Nd5 60. Rg4+ Kf6 61.
Be4 Ne7 62. Rf4+ Kg7 63. Bf3 Ra5 64. Rc4 Re5 65. Kg3 Re6 66. Rc7 Kf6 67. Kg4
Re5 68. h4 Rb5 69. Rc4 Rb6 70. Be4 Kf7 71. Rc7 Kf6 72. Kh5 Rb5+ 73. Kg4 Rb4 74.
Kf3 Rb3+ 75. Kf2 Rb4 76. Ke3 Rb3+ 77. Kf4 Ng6+ 78. Kg4 Rb4 79. Rc6+ Kf7 1/2-1/2

[Event "USA-ch"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2003.01.16"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Donaldson, John W"]
[Black "Kudrin, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E14"]
[Annotator "Donaldson"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2003.01.09"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,61,19,29,55,19,42,38,40,57,34,32,46,37,53,24,27,35,32,16,13,20,13,-10,
64,59,78,131,87,106,103,92,74,67,76,65,80,50,50,76,65,98,108,37,62,75,143,145,
200,104,114,259,370,358,332,374,394,411,370,409,1058,1113,1279,1284]} {A
smooth win over a quality opponent (Sergey played in 21 US Championships
between 1981 and 2010) is always satisfying.} 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4.
e3 {This modest looking move packs more punch that one might suspect at first
glance. It typically leads to isolated queen's pawn positions more commonly
reached via 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 and 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.e3.} Nf6 5.
d4 cxd4 6. exd4 e6 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O d5 ({Black needs to play this now as} 8...
O-O {is strongly met by} 9. d5) 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Ne5 {This move and the
following one are not common in IQP positions. They are specifically aimed at
taking advantage of Black's early queenside fianchetto and the lack of a
knight on f6.} O-O 11. Qg4 {This line was not so well known in 2003, but has
scored well the past decades. Mega Database 2021 has close to 200 games where
it was played with White scoring roughly 65 percent.} Nxc3 $6 {Black best move
here is not entirely clear, but likely it is not the text.} (11... Nf6 12. Qh4
Nbd7 (12... Ne4 13. Qh3 Qxd4 14. Bf4 Nf6 15. Ne2 Qa4 16. Rfc1 {with Rc4 to
follow leads to difficult play for Black.}) 13. Rd1 Re8 {might be Black's best
try.}) ({Some of the venom behind 11.Qg4 can be seen in the line} 11... Nd7 $4
12. Bh6 Bf6 13. Qe4 {and White is already winning.}) (11... f5 {solves some
tactical issues but at the cost of creating a weakness on e6. After} 12. Qe2
Bf6 13. Bc4 {White has a small but stable advantage.}) 12. bxc3 Bf6 $6 (12...
Nd7 13. Bh6 Bf6 14. Rfe1 {is better for White but superior to the game
continuation.}) 13. Ba3 $6 ({More precise is} 13. Qh3 $1 g6 14. Ng4 Nd7 (14...
Bg7 15. Nh6+ Kh8 16. Ba3) 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Qg3 {with Bg5 to follow leaves
Black weak on the dark squares.}) 13... Bxe5 $2 ({Black should have played} 
13... Be7 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Rae1 Nd7 16. f4 {which Kopec and Ftacnik give as a
slight advantage for White in their book Winning the Won Game on U.S.
Championship brilliancy prize games. After} f5 {Black actually looks pretty
equal. Probably 14.Bc1 is best hoping for a retry after 14...Bf6.   The game
continuation is a serious mistake and ultimately the losing move.}) 14. Qh3 $1
{[#]} (14. Qh5 g6 15. Qxe5 Nc6 16. Qf4 {is better for White but not nearly as
convincing as the text.}) 14... h6 ({The best try as} 14... g6 15. dxe5 Re8 16.
Rad1 {is even more difficult for Black as seen in the following variation:} Qc7
17. Bd6 Qxc3 18. Rc1 Qd4 19. Rc7 Bd5 20. Bxg6 hxg6 21. Rxf7) 15. dxe5 {Clearly
the right choice playing for the initiative. White would certainly better after
} (15. Bxf8 Bxd4 16. cxd4 Kxf8 {but with a pawn for the exchange, no
weaknesess and the use of the d5 square Black would have practical chances to
resist.}) 15... Re8 (15... Nd7 {was of course possible but after} 16. Bxf8 {
Black would not have a pawn for the exchange.}) 16. Rfe1 Nd7 17. Rad1 Rc8 ({
Kopec and Ftacnik offer the alternative} 17... Qc8 18. Re3 Ba6 {but after} 19.
Bc2 {White is ready to start the attack a decisive attack with Rg3 as Black
has no defenders around his king.}) 18. Bb5 {White aims to restrict any Black
activity before initiating actions on the kingside. The direct} (18. Re3 {
was also quite good.}) 18... Bc6 19. Ba6 Rb8 20. Bd6 Ra8 21. Bc4 ({The direct} 
21. Rd4 {was also possible.}) 21... Qc8 {[#]} 22. Rd4 $1 {A fine idea as the
attacking rook will be much more dangerous on the 4th rank. White's queen is
usually strongest as the last piece in a heavy piece battery - in our game Qg3,
Rg4. Usually when an attack gets to the point of a rook lift such as here, it
spells the final phase and doom for the defender - Kopec and Ftacnik.} Nf8 23.
Rg4 Ng6 24. Qg3 Bd5 25. Bd3 Rd8 (25... Qxc3 26. Rd1 Red8 27. Rxg6 $1 {leads to
a finish similar to the game continuation.}) 26. c4 Bc6 {[#]} 27. Rxg6 $1 fxg6
28. Qxg6 Rxd6 (28... Qd7 29. Qh7+ Kf7 30. Bg6# {mate.}) 29. exd6 Qe8 ({Or} 
29... Qf8 30. Rxe6 Qf7 31. Qh7+ Kf8 32. Re7) 30. Qh7+ Kf8 31. Bg6 1-0

[Event "Schlesischer SV-13 Kongress Meister"]
[Site "Bad Altheide"]
[Date "1926.10.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kramer, Adolf"]
[Black "Ruester, Otto"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "1926.??.??"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. e4 Nxc3 5. bxc3 e5 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. Qb3 Bxf3
8. gxf3 Bd6 9. Rg1 O-O 10. d3 Kh8 11. Bh3 Nd7 12. Rg3 Nc5 13. Qc2 Qe7 14. Be3
c6 15. Ke2 f6 16. Rag1 Rf7 17. Qd2 Bc7 18. Bxc5 Qxc5 19. Be6 Re7 20. Qh6 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.07.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r6/k7/1r6/8/q3B3/8/PP6/KR5Q b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1926.??.??"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.07.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1rk/R7/8/8/4q3/8/6PP/5Q1K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.07.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6r1/2R5/k7/3Q4/3b2q1/7P/3nP1P1/7K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.07.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r6/1q4k1/8/6P1/2bP4/8/PP6/KR4Q1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.07.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1b1q3k/8/5n2/8/8/1Q4PP/6RK b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2020.07.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5q2/2Q5/8/2n3R1/8/8/PP5r/KRn2k2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

 0-1

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"]
[Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"]
[Date "2021.04.27"]
[Round "14.4"]
[White "07.01 Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Wang Hao"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2020.03.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1382"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,57,23,23,15,25,25,31,15,11,49,33,59,42,68,58,55,55,55,60,54,55,60,55,
77,24,29,31,13,3,0,0,0,0,-5,0,6,1,4,4,1,-14,60,31,31,54,32,41,55,51,46,48,54,
54,52,62,109,67,213,239]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6
6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Ne2 b6 12. Bg5
c5 13. Nc3 Bb7 14. Rfd1 Bxf3 15. gxf3 c6 16. f4 Be7 17. Ne4 Bxg5 18. fxg5 Ke7
19. Nd6 Ke6 20. Rd3 Rhd8 21. Re1 a5 22. f4 c4 23. Rdd1 b5 24. Kf2 a4 25. a3 g6
26. Kf3 Ng7 27. Rd2 Ne8 28. Red1 Nc7 {[#]} 29. Nxb5 $1 ({This is the most
effective way to win, but it should be mentioned that} 29. Ne8 Nd5 30. Nc7+ {
also wins for White.}) ({Here Black resigned because after} 29. Nxb5 Rxd2 30.
Nxc7+ Ke7 31. Rxd2 Ra7 32. Nb5 cxb5 33. c3 {, White has an easily won endgame.}
) 1-0

[Event "Titled Tuesday 27th Apr"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.04.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "07.02 Indjic, A."]
[Black "Villegas, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D39"]
[WhiteElo "2607"]
[BlackElo "2367"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2021.04.27"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1382"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,47,18,18,14,6,6,6,6,-18,-14,25,48,1,80,96,33,13,-1,9,21,9,11,11,11,9,
0,-11,0,-73,1,0,-14,-5,10,-16,93,-36,-39,-29,-13,-9,-4,-32,-26,-95,38,-26,578,
604]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 c5 7. e5 cxd4
8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. exf6 Qxg5 11. fxg7 Qxg7 12. Qd2 O-O 13. Bxc4 b6
14. h4 Bb7 15. Rh3 Kh8 16. Rg3 Qe5+ 17. Kf1 Nc6 18. Nf3 Qf6 19. Re1 Rad8 20.
Qc2 Ne7 21. Bd3 Rg8 22. Ng5 Ng6 23. Qe2 Nf4 {[#]} 24. Qe5 $1 ({Black resigned
because after} 24. Qe5 Rg6 ({or} 24... Qxe5 25. Nxf7#) 25. Nxf7+ Kg7 26. Qxf6+
Kxf6 27. Nxd8 Rxg3 28. fxg3 Nxd3 29. Rxe6+ {and White easily wins the endgame.}
) 1-0

[Event "Titled Tuesday 27th Apr"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.04.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "07.03 Aditya, Mittal"]
[Black "Storme, Isak"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2438"]
[BlackElo "2397"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2021.04.27"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1382"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,39,23,19,19,6,36,36,78,69,65,38,54,16,20,20,23,12,39,46,54,26,40,27,
34,17,70,45,78,74,101,93,90,90,97,71,252,274,274,269,1163,1276]} 1. d4 Nf6 2.
c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 Bg7 6. e4 Nxc3 7. Bxc3 O-O 8. Qd2 c5 9. d5
Qd6 10. f4 e6 11. Bc4 exd5 12. Bxd5 Qe7 13. Nf3 Nc6 14. O-O Rd8 15. Bxg7 Kxg7
16. Qc3+ Kg8 17. Rad1 Nb4 {[#]} 18. Bxf7+ $1 Kxf7 {The queen cannot capture
the bishop because it is busy protecting the rook on d8.} 19. Ng5+ Ke8 $2 ({Or
} 19... Kg8 20. Rxd8+ Qxd8 21. Qc4+ Nd5 22. Rd1 b5 23. Qxb5 {and White is
winning.}) 20. Qh8+ {Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "Mitropa Online Cup 2021"]
[Site "Tornelo INT"]
[Date "2021.05.09"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "07.04 Rogic, D."]
[Black "Lagarde, Max"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C63"]
[WhiteElo "2492"]
[BlackElo "2638"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2021.05.04"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1383"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.10"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "Croatia"]
[BlackTeam "France"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "CRO"]
[BlackTeamCountry "FRA"]

{[%evp 0,50,19,13,13,13,13,13,85,47,56,44,44,50,118,66,-2,-19,27,-13,-30,-15,
113,28,16,-17,-17,-10,-14,-14,-6,-6,-6,16,45,0,-3,7,6,9,15,3,-3,-14,0,0,0,0,50,
-29987,-29988,-29995,-29996]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. Nc3 fxe4 5. Nxe4
Nf6 6. Qe2 d5 7. Ng3 Bd6 8. Nxe5 O-O 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. O-O h5 11. d4 h4 12. Nxc6
Qe8 13. Qxe8 Rxe8 14. Nh1 Ba6 15. Rd1 Re2 16. Bd2 Rf8 17. Bb4 Bb5 18. Bxd6 cxd6
19. Nxa7 Bd7 20. a4 Ne4 21. Rdc1 h3 22. Nb5 hxg2 23. Kxg2 Nxf2 24. Nc3 {[#]}
Bh3+ $1 25. Kg1 Nd1 $1 ({White resigned because the will get mated in two, for
instance,} 25... Nd1 26. Ng3 (26. Rxd1 Rg2#) 26... Rg2+ ({or} 26... Re1+ 27.
Nf1 Rexf1#) 27. Kh1 Nf2# {. Neat}) 0-1

[Event "Titled Tuesday 11th May"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.05.11"]
[Round "2"]
[White "07.05 Stefansson, Vignir Vatnar"]
[Black "Zhigalko, S."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2340"]
[BlackElo "2572"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2021.05.11"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1384"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.17"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,48,33,15,28,6,3,11,30,11,24,-25,5,6,30,30,13,23,18,15,44,36,36,46,44,
27,58,59,41,38,46,22,34,27,50,33,38,51,46,34,51,-279,-266,-285,-270,-462,-473,
-495,-495,-508,-523]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2
Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. e4 d5 9. cxd5 Bxf1 10. Kxf1 exd5 11. e5 Ne4 12. Kg2 Nxc3 13.
Bxc3 Qd7 14. Re1 Nc6 15. Ng1 Nd8 16. f4 f5 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. Nf3 Ne6 19. Qd2
Rae8 20. Re2 {[#]} Nxf4+ $1 21. gxf4 (21. Qxf4 {is obviously met by} Rxe2+ {
and Black is winning.}) 21... Qg4+ 22. Kf2 ({Or} 22. Kh1 Qxf3+ 23. Rg2 Re3 24.
Bb2 Rfe8 {and Black's domination of the board along with White's weaknesses
will suffice for Black to win the game.}) 22... Bh4+ $1 (22... Re4 {also wins,
but the the text move is more direct.}) 23. Nxh4 Rxf4+ 24. Qxf4 Rxe2+ {and
White resigned. After} (24... Rxe2+ 25. Kf1 Qxf4+ 26. Kxe2 Qxh2+ 27. Kd3 Qxh4 {
, Black will win without too many problems.}) 0-1

[Event "TCh-RUS HL 2021"]
[Site "Sochi RUS"]
[Date "2021.05.01"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "07.06 Alikhanov, F."]
[Black "Drygalov, Andrey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B86"]
[WhiteElo "2449"]
[BlackElo "2517"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2021.05.01"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1382"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "Country of Mountains (Republic of Dagestan)"]
[BlackTeam "South Ural (Chelyabinsk region)"]

{[%evp 0,68,22,22,56,36,72,75,67,66,51,26,49,67,74,36,53,30,34,0,-9,-31,-31,
-24,-36,-46,-43,-47,-40,-35,-35,-75,-87,-88,-71,-75,-76,-90,-122,-207,-61,-97,
-90,-92,-93,-101,-90,-82,-52,-71,-78,-72,-78,-78,-50,-61,-61,-53,-59,-63,-56,
-54,-55,-55,-60,-73,-127,-699,-703,-729,-736]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.
d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Nbd7 8. Bg5 Nc5 9. Qe2 Be7 10. f4 h6 11.
Bxf6 Bxf6 12. O-O-O Qc7 13. Kb1 Bd7 14. Rhe1 O-O 15. g4 b5 16. e5 dxe5 17. fxe5
Bh4 18. Rg1 b4 19. Nf3 Be7 20. Ne4 Nxe4 21. Qxe4 Bc6 22. Qc4 Qb7 23. Nd4 Bd5
24. Qe2 Rfd8 25. Bxd5 Rxd5 26. Rd3 Qc7 27. Nf3 Rxd3 28. Qxd3 a5 29. h4 Rd8 30.
Qe2 Qc5 31. g5 hxg5 32. hxg5 {[#]} Bxg5 $1 {While very effective, this
tactical solution isn't strictly necessary, both 32...g6 and 32...a4 are very
good for Black. The text move, however, wins a pawn.} 33. Rxg5 $2 {White
doesn't have to capture the pawn but if not Black has won a pawn for nothing.}
Qf2 $1 {Exploiting White's weak back rank.} 34. Ng1 {Only move.} Rd2 $1 {
White resigned as he either loses the queen or gets mated on the back rank.}
0-1

[Event "TCh-RUS Premier 2021"]
[Site "Sochi RUS"]
[Date "2021.05.04"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "07.07 Samusenko, M."]
[Black "Pershin, Denis"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B11"]
[WhiteElo "2469"]
[BlackElo "2391"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2021.05.01"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1383"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.10"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "Ladya (Republic of Tatarstan)"]
[BlackTeam "SSHOR in chess and checkers - St Pet."]

{[%evp 0,53,21,13,61,47,47,36,103,57,16,8,54,14,30,26,104,55,66,41,70,34,-1,0,
0,13,63,37,62,53,63,0,0,0,0,-15,-24,128,144,141,135,110,110,31,153,135,161,86,
697,701,701,656,674,682,682,544]} 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5.
Qxf3 e6 6. Be2 Nf6 7. O-O Bc5 8. Rd1 Bd4 9. Qf4 dxe4 10. d3 exd3 11. Bxd3 Bxc3
12. bxc3 Qe7 13. Qg3 O-O 14. Rb1 b6 15. Bg5 Nbd7 16. Rb4 Rfd8 17. Rf4 e5 {[#]}
18. Bxh7+ $1 Kf8 ({If Black accepts the sacrifice it is quickly over:} 18...
Kxh7 19. Rxd7 $1 Rxd7 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. Rxf6 gxf6 22. Qh4+ Kg7 23. Qg4+ {
and White wins a rook.}) 19. Rh4 (19. Rf3 {is similarly nasty for Black, for
instance,} e4 20. Rxd7 Qxd7 21. Bxf6 gxf6 22. Rxf6 Qd5 23. Qf4 Rac8 24. Bxe4
Qc4 25. Kh2 Re8 26. Qh6+ Ke7 27. Qh4 {and White is winning. There are many
alternatives for Black along the way but all of them loses. A good exercise is
to analyze them without the use of a computer and then compare your analysis
with the computer's analysis afterwards.}) 19... Qe6 20. Be4 (20. Bd3 $1 {
is slightly more accurate but the text move more than suffices.}) 20... Nc5 21.
Re1 Ncxe4 22. Rexe4 Re8 23. f4 ({Inaccurate move order; it was better to play} 
23. Bxf6 gxf6 {and then} 24. f4 {and Black is busted.}) 23... exf4 $2 {Now
Black loses quickly.} 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Rh8+ Ke7 26. Rxe6+ Kxe6 27. Rxe8+ {
and Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "ch-RUS Junior 2021"]
[Site "Loo RUS"]
[Date "2021.04.26"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "07.08 Lobanov, Sergei"]
[Black "Murzin, Volodar"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2520"]
[BlackElo "2478"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2021.04.21"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1382"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,69,27,15,74,74,70,83,74,59,51,47,59,32,56,2,35,-2,60,43,59,39,62,52,
62,59,54,23,17,-26,8,0,0,-24,-8,8,24,11,33,62,49,35,31,47,47,61,63,-5,23,23,14,
30,27,12,123,119,116,-5,29,0,0,0,-2,11,36,36,0,-90,-1,-71,-10,-94]} 1. e4 c6 2.
d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O h6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3 Bh7 9. a4 Ng6
10. g3 Be7 11. h4 O-O 12. h5 Nh8 13. a5 f6 14. c4 a6 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. Be3 Nf7
17. exf6 Bxf6 18. Rc1 Nd6 19. Bf4 Nc4 20. Bxc4 dxc4 21. Rxc4 Be4 22. Rc3 Bd5
23. Ne5 Bxe5 24. Bxe5 Nxe5 25. dxe5 Qg5 26. f4 Qe7 27. Nc5 Rf5 28. g4 Rf7 29.
Kh2 Rc8 30. b4 {[#]} b6 $1 {Black sacrifices a pawn to exploit the fact that
the rook on c3 is overburdened with two defensive duties: the knight on c5 and
the the white kingside. All of a sudden, White position becomes overly loose.}
31. axb6 a5 $1 {The point behind the previous move, now White queenside
collapses.} 32. Rd3 $2 ({Or} 32. Rh3 axb4 33. b7 Rd8 {and the b7-pawn will
fall, leaving Black with a substantial advantage.}) 32... axb4 33. b7 Re8 $1 ({
The game continued much less acccurately:} 33... Rb8 $4 34. Rxd5 exd5 35. Qxd5
$4 {and White resigned at the same time as Black has 35...Qh4+, cleaning up on
the kingside.} (35. e6 {was the way to go, bringing White fully back into the
game})) 34. Qc2 Qh4+ 35. Rh3 Qxg4 {and Black is winning.} 0-1

[Event "NIC Classic KO 2021"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.05.01"]
[Round "3.11"]
[White "07.09 Mamedyarov, S."]
[Black "Aronian, L."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D39"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2781"]
[Annotator "Hansen,Carsten"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2021.04.27"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1382"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.05.03"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,48,25,14,23,-23,7,-5,6,6,26,-18,48,25,68,35,58,25,6,32,37,0,0,0,38,34,
38,-5,-10,-6,-27,67,42,42,161,0,127,0,0,0,0,-132,-177,-217,-189,-208,-195,-533,
-534,-754,-758]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 c5
7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qa5 9. Bxf6 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 gxf6 12. Rc1 Qa5
13. Qf3 Ke7 14. a4 Qxa4 {[#]} 15. e5 $1 {The h4-d8 diagonal needs to be opened
to expose the black king to unpleasant checks.} fxe5 16. Qh5 Nc6 ({The knight
on d4 cannot be captured:} 16... exd4 17. Qc5+ Kf6 18. Qxd4+ Ke7 ({or} 18... e5
19. Qh4+ Kg7 20. Qg5+ Kf8 21. Qf6 {and White is winning}) 19. Qxh8 Nd7 20. h4 {
, making room for the h1-rook to join the battle and leaving White with a
clear advantage.}) 17. Nf5+ $3 ({The game continuation was a lot less
convincing:} 17. Qg5+ $2 Kf8 18. Nf5 Rg8 19. Qh6+ Ke8 20. Qf6 $4 ({White loses
his way; it was necessary to accept the draw after} 20. Nd6+ Ke7 21. Ne4 Rg4
22. Qf6+ Ke8 23. Qh8+) 20... Qb4 21. h4 Rg6 22. Qh8+ Qf8 23. Qxh7 exf5 24. h5
Rh6 {and White resigned.}) 17... Kd8 ({Or} 17... exf5 18. Qxf7+ Kd6 19. Qf6+
Be6 20. Bxe6 {and White is clearly better}) 18. Qxf7 exf5 19. Qf6+ {and White
has a clear advantage and excellent winning chances.} 0-1

[Event "Boris Spassky Simul"]
[Site "Billerica, MA"]
[Date "1987.02.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky, Boris"]
[Black "Zuppa, Tom"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C18"]
[BlackElo "1913"]
[Annotator "Zuppa,Tom"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "1987.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Qc7 8.
Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4 10. Ne2 Nbc6 11. f4 dxc3 12. Qd3 Bd7 13. Nxc3 a6 14. Ne2
O-O-O 15. g3 Na5 16. Nd4 Nec6 17. Be3 Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Nc4 19. Kf2 Bb5 20. Qc3 Kb8
21. a4 Bc6 22. Bd3 Rh8 23. h4 Rdg8 24. h5 Rh6 25. Be2 Kc8 26. a5 Bb5 27. Rhg1
Kd7 28. g4 f6 29. g5 fxg5 30. fxg5 Rhh8 31. g6 Qd8 32. Qg3 Qf8+ 33. Ke1 {[#]}
Qf5 34. Qf3 Qxf3 35. Bxf3 Ke8 36. c3 Nb2 37. Kf2 Nd3+ 38. Ke3 Nb2 39. Rg3 Nc4+
40. Kf4 Nd2 41. Kg5 Nxf3+ 42. Rxf3 Be2 43. Raf1 Bxf1 44. Rxf1 1-0

