[Event "Candidates qf Fischer-Taimanov +6-0=0"]
[Site "Vancouver"]
[Date "1971.05.18"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Black "Taimanov, Mark E"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B44"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "177"]
[EventDate "1971.05.16"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nb5 d6 6. Bf4 e5 7. Be3 Nf6 8. Bg5
Qa5+ 9. Qd2 Nxe4 10. Qxa5 Nxa5 11. Be3 Kd7 12. N1c3 Nxc3 13. Nxc3 Kd8 14. Nb5
Be6 15. O-O-O b6 16. f4 exf4 17. Bxf4 Nb7 18. Be2 Bd7 19. Rd2 Be7 20. Rhd1 Bxb5
21. Bxb5 Kc7 22. Re2 Bf6 23. Rde1 Rac8 24. Bc4 Rhf8 25. b4 a5 26. Bd5 Kb8 27.
a3 Rfd8 28. Bxf7 Bc3 29. Bd2 d5 30. Rd1 d4 31. Bxc3 Rxc3 32. Kb2 d3 33. Kxc3
dxe2 34. Re1 Nd6 35. Bh5 Nb5+ 36. Kb2 axb4 37. axb4 Rd4 38. c3 Rh4 39. Bxe2 Nd6
40. Rd1 Kc7 41. h3 Rf4 42. Rf1 Re4 43. Bd3 Re5 44. Rf2 h5 45. c4 Rg5 46. Kc3
Kd7 47. Ra2 Kc8 48. Kd4 Kc7 49. Ra7+ Kd8 50. c5 bxc5+ 51. bxc5 Ne8 52. Ra2 Nc7
53. Bc4 Kd7 54. Rb2 Kc6 55. Bb3 Nb5+ 56. Ke3 Kxc5 57. Kf4 Rg6 58. Bd1 h4 59.
Kf5 Rh6 60. Kg5 Nd6 61. Bc2 Nf7+ 62. Kg4 Ne5+ 63. Kf4 Kd4 64. Rb4+ Kc3 65. Rb5
Nf7 66. Rc5+ Kd4 67. Rf5 g5+ 68. Kg4 Ne5+ 69. Kxg5 Rg6+ 70. Kxh4 Rxg2 71. Bd1
Rg8 72. Bg4 Ke4 73. Kg3 Rg7 74. Rf4+ Kd5 75. Ra4 {[#]} Ng6 76. Ra6 Ne5 77. Kf4
Rf7+ 78. Kg5 Rg7+ 79. Kf5 Rf7+ 80. Rf6 Rxf6+ 81. Kxf6 Ke4 82. Bc8 Kf4 83. h4
Nf3 84. h5 Ng5 85. Bf5 Nf3 86. h6 Ng5 87. Kg6 Nf3 88. h7 Ne5+ 89. Kf6 1-0

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2016.03.27"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2794"]
[BlackElo "2757"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "231"]
[EventDate "2016.03.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[EventCategory "22"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4
Bd7 9. c3 O-O 10. Bc2 b4 11. Re1 Re8 12. Nbd2 Bf8 13. a5 g6 14. Bb3 Be6 15. Ba4
Bd7 16. Nf1 h6 17. Ng3 bxc3 18. bxc3 Bg7 19. h3 d5 20. exd5 Nxd5 21. Ne4 Nb8
22. Bb3 Be6 23. Bd2 Nd7 24. Ba4 f5 25. Ng3 c5 26. Bb3 Qc7 27. h4 N5f6 28. h5 f4
29. Bxe6+ Rxe6 30. Ne4 Nxh5 31. d4 Qc6 32. Qb3 c4 33. Qa4 Qd5 34. Rad1 Rae8 35.
dxe5 Nxe5 36. Nxe5 Rxe5 37. Bxf4 Qb5 38. Qxb5 Rxb5 39. Bd6 Kh8 40. g4 Nf6 41.
Nxf6 Rxe1+ 42. Rxe1 Bxf6 43. Re8+ Kg7 44. Bb4 Re5 45. Rc8 Re6 46. Rc7+ Kg8 47.
Rxc4 h5 48. Kg2 Kf7 49. Rc5 hxg4 50. Rc7+ Ke8 51. Rc4 Kd7 52. Rxg4 Be5 53. c4
Bc7 54. Kf3 Rf6+ 55. Ke3 Re6+ 56. Kd3 Rf6 57. Ke3 Re6+ 58. Kd3 Rf6 59. Rg5 Rxf2
60. Rxg6 Rf3+ 61. Kc2 Rf5 62. Rxa6 Kc8 63. Kd3 Rh5 64. c5 Kb7 65. Rg6 Bxa5 66.
Bxa5 Rxc5 67. Bb4 Rc6 68. Bd6 Kc8 69. Kd4 Rb6 70. Kd5 {[#]} Rb7 71. Rg8+ Kd7
72. Bc5 Kc7 73. Rg6 Kd7 74. Rh6 Kc7 75. Rc6+ Kd7 76. Bb6 Ke8 77. Bd4 Kd7 78.
Rd6+ Kc8 79. Ke6 Kc7 80. Ra6 Rb5 81. Ra1 Kc6 82. Rc1+ Kb7 83. Kd6 Ka6 84. Rc6+
Ka5 85. Bc5 Rb7 86. Kd5 Kb5 87. Bd6 Ka4 88. Ra6+ Kb5 89. Ra1 Kb6 90. Rc1 Kb5
91. Rc6 Ka4 92. Bc5 Kb5 93. Rd6 Ka4 {[#]} 94. Kc6 (94. Kc4 Rb4+) 94... Rb8 95.
Rd3 Rc8+ 96. Kd5 Rd8+ 97. Bd6 Rc8 98. Ra3+ Kb5 99. Rb3+ Ka4 100. Rb4+ Ka5 101.
Bc5 Rh8 102. Rb7 Ka4 103. Kc4 Rh4+ 104. Bd4 Rh5 105. Bf2 Rg5 106. Rh7 Rg4+ 107.
Bd4 Rg5 108. Rh8 Rb5 109. Ra8+ Ra5 110. Rb8 Rh5 111. Bf6 Ka5 112. Bc3+ Ka6 113.
Bd4 Rh6 114. Be3 Re6 115. Rb3 Rc6+ 116. Kd5 1/2-1/2

[Event "USA-ch 63rd"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2019.03.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Gareyev, Timur"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D27"]
[WhiteElo "2557"]
[BlackElo "2828"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "250"]
[EventDate "2019.03.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke7 10. Be2 b6 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Nd2 Rd8 13. Nd3 Bd6 14. Nc4
Bc7 15. b3 Nc6 16. Ba3+ Ke8 17. Bf3 Nd5 18. Nf4 b5 19. Nxd5 exd5 20. Nd2 Be5
21. Rab1 b4 22. Bb2 Bc3 23. Nf1 Bxb2 24. Rxb2 Ne5 25. Ng3 Rac8 26. Rbd2 Rc5 27.
Nf5 g6 28. Nd4 a5 29. a3 bxa3 30. Ra2 Nc6 31. h3 Nb4 32. Rxa3 Kd7 33. g4 Kc7
34. Kg2 Kb6 35. h4 Rc3 36. Rda1 Ra8 37. g5 Bc6 38. Rd1 Rd8 39. Rda1 Rc5 40. Rd1
Bd7 41. Kg3 Rdc8 42. Raa1 Be6 43. h5 Rc3 44. Rab1 Rg8 45. Rh1 Nc6 46. Nxc6 Rxc6
47. hxg6 Rxg6 48. Kf4 Rc2 49. Rbf1 Rb2 50. Bd1 a4 51. bxa4 Rb4+ 52. Kf3 Rxg5
53. Ke2 d4 54. Rfg1 Rd5 55. exd4 Rbxd4 56. f3 h5 57. Kf2 Rd2+ 58. Ke3 R5d3+ 59.
Kf4 h4 60. Re1 Rd4+ 61. Ke3 f5 62. Be2 f4+ 63. Kf2 h3 64. Rb1+ Ka7 65. Ke1 Ra2
66. Bf1 Rd5 67. Bxh3 Rh5 68. Bg2 Rxh1+ 69. Bxh1 Rh2 70. Bg2 Rxg2 71. Rb4 Bd5
72. Rxf4 Kb6 73. a5+ Kc5 74. a6 Ra2 75. a7 Rxa7 76. Kf2 Kd6 77. Kg3 Ke5 78. Rf8
Bf7 79. Rb8 Ra3 80. Rb4 Bd5 81. Rf4 Ra8 82. Rg4 Rf8 83. f4+ Kd4 84. f5+ Ke5 85.
Rg5 Be4 86. f6+ Bf5 87. Kf2 Rxf6 88. Ke3 Ra6 89. Rg3 Ra2 90. Rf3 Be4 91. Rg3
Bf5 92. Rf3 Bg4 93. Rg3 Ra4 94. Kd2 Kf4 95. Rb3 Be6 96. Rb6 Bd5 97. Rb2 Ke4 {
[#]} 98. Kc3 Ke3 99. Rb4 Ra3+ 100. Kb2 Ra8 101. Kc3 Rc8+ 102. Kb2 Kd3 103. Ka3
Bc4 104. Rb2 Ra8+ 105. Kb4 Kd4 106. Rd2+ Bd3 107. Rb2 Ra7 108. Rb3 Ra8 109. Rb2
Ra1 110. Rb3 Bc4 111. Rb2 Rd1 112. Ka3 Kc5 113. Rb7 Rd2 114. Rc7+ Kd4 115. Kb4
Rb2+ 116. Ka5 Kd5 117. Rc8 Rb5+ 118. Ka4 Kd4 119. Rh8 Rb1 120. Rh3 Bd3 121. Ka5
{[#]} Kc3 122. Rg3 Rb5+ 123. Ka4 Rh5 124. Rf3 Rh1 125. Ka5 Rh6 0-1

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.06"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2764"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "R7/6pk/7p/7r/pP6/6P1/1P3PK1/8 w - - 0 60"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2021.02.06"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 60. Ra5 1-0

[Event "Caplin Hastings Online"]
[Site "Tornelo INT"]
[Date "2021.01.10"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Flear, Glenn C"]
[Black "Jones, Gawain C B"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E73"]
[WhiteElo "2431"]
[BlackElo "2670"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6r1/8/8/4KQ2/8/6k1/8/8 w - - 0 86"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2021.01.09"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 86. Qd3+ Kf2 (86... Kg4 87. Qc4+) 87. Qc2+ Kg1 (87... Kg3 88. Qb3+) 88.
Qb1+ Kh2 89. Qh7+ 1-0

[Event "Carlsen Inv Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.03.13"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Van Foreest, Jorden"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2701"]
[BlackElo "2847"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6k1/4p3/1b2P2p/1P2R1pP/6K1/3Bp1P1/2r5 b - - 0 50"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2021.03.13"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 50... Rd1 0-1

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.06"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B75"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2862"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/4B1b1/8/1K6/p7/1k6/8 b - - 0 69"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2021.02.06"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 69... Bb1 70. Bd5 Ba2 71. Be4 Bf7 72. Bb1 Bb3 0-1

[Event "Carlsen Inv Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.03.15"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2789"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/p7/4B3/1P4pp/5p2/b4PkP/4K3/8 b - - 0 49"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2021.03.13"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 49... Kg2 50. Bf5 Bc5 (50... g4 51. fxg4 (51. hxg4 h4 52. g5 h3) 51...
f3+) 51. Be6 g4 52. fxg4 f3+ 53. Kd2 f2 54. Bc4 h4 55. g5 f1=Q 56. Bxf1+ Kxf1
57. g6 Bf8 0-1

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.07"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Bluebaum, Matthias"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2781"]
[BlackElo "2670"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6B1/5r2/8/8/8/6k1/8/6K1 b - - 0 79"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2021.02.06"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 79... Rg7 (79... Rg7 80. Bc4 (80. Bd5 Rd7 81. Bb3 Rb7 82. Bc2 Rc7 83. Bd1
Rc1) 80... Rc7 81. Bd3 Rc1+ 82. Bf1 Ra1) 0-1

[Event "Titled Tuesday 17th Aug"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.08.17"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "Ostrovskiy, Al"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A06"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2401"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2021.08.17"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 a6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. d4 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Ne5
b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Bd2 Re8 11. f4 Nbd7 12. Be1 c5 13. Bh4 b5 $2 {[#]} 14. Nxd7
$1 {Taking advantage of the pin to shatter the Black defenses.} Qxd7 15. Bxf6
gxf6 16. Qh5 {Suddenly White has his choice of targets -- both d5 (a knight's
leap away from f6) and h7 are at risk, while a rook lift via the f3-square is
a possibility. Ostrovskiy makes a radical decision to shut down some of these
options, but the cure is just as bad as the poison here.} Re4 17. Bxe4 dxe4 18.
dxc5 Bf8 19. Rad1 {Joining the attack with tempo.} Qe6 20. b4 f5 21. Qg5+ Kh8
22. Ne2 $1 {A very nice rerouting of the knight.} Be7 23. Qh5 Rg8 24. Nd4 Qxa2
25. Rf2 Qa3 26. Nxf5 Bf8 27. Qxf7 1-0

[Event "Smyslov Region Group Cup"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2021.08.16"]
[Round "6.5"]
[White "Karpov, Ana"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2617"]
[BlackElo "2757"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "141"]
[EventDate "2021.08.16"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 b6 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 Bb7 7. Bg5 h6 8.
Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. Qd3 d6 11. f3 Nxg3 12. hxg3 Nd7 13. g4 Qf6 14. e4 Qg6 15.
O-O-O O-O-O 16. Ne2 h5 17. gxh5 Rxh5 18. Rxh5 Qxh5 19. Qe3 Rh8 20. Nc3 Qh4 21.
b4 Qg3 22. Kb2 Rh1 23. Kb3 a6 24. a4 Kb8 25. a5 bxa5 26. bxa5 g4 27. Ne2 Qh4
28. f4 e5 29. dxe5 Nc5+ 30. Kb2 Nxe4 31. exd6 cxd6 32. Kc2 f5 33. Rb1 Qe7 34.
Nc3 Kc8 35. Nd5 Bxd5 36. cxd5 Qc7+ 37. Kb2 Kd8 38. Qb6 Kd7 $2 39. Qxc7+ ({
Ok, it's blitz, but Karpov missed} 39. Bb5+ $1 axb5 40. Qxc7+ Kxc7 41. Rxh1 {
with an easy win. Somebody get that man started on Puzzle Rush!}) 39... Kxc7
40. Bxa6 Rh2 41. Bf1 Nd2 42. Rc1+ Kb8 43. Kc3 Nxf1 44. Rxf1 Rxg2 {Now watch
how Karpov wins what should be a drawn position.} 45. Rb1+ Ka7 46. Rb6 Rf2 47.
Rxd6 Rxf4 {Not fearing the connected pawns, Karpov presses on. His next move
effectively stops both in their tracks, while supporting his own passer on the
d-file.} 48. Rg6 $1 Rf1 49. d6 Rd1 50. Kc4 Kb7 51. Kc5 Kc8 $2 52. Rg7 Ra1 53.
Kc6 Rc1+ 54. Kd5 Kd8 55. Ke6 Re1+ 56. Kxf5 Ra1 57. Ke6 Re1+ 58. Kd5 Rd1+ 59.
Kc6 Rc1+ 60. Kb7 Rb1+ 61. Ka7 Rb4 62. a6 Kc8 63. Ka8 Rd4 (63... Rb6 $1 {
would be a miracle draw. The point is that after} 64. d7+ Kd8 65. Ka7 Rb2 {
the White king is stuck on the a-file and the d-pawn can't be saved once the
g-pawn starts moving.}) 64. Rc7+ Kd8 65. Kb7 Rb4+ 66. Kc6 Ra4 67. Kb6 g3 68. a7
Ra2 69. Rg7 Rb2+ 70. Kc5 Rc2+ 71. Kd5 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.16"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Shankland, S."]
[Black "Jobava, Ba"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2709"]
[BlackElo "2603"]
[Annotator "Shankland"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r3/2k2pp1/1pp1b2q/1n1pPpNP/1P1P1N1Q/2P2P2/7K/R7 w - - 0 34"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} {A big part of converting edges into wins against strong players is the
transformation of advantages. I had a big space advantage for most of the game,
and I exchanged a lot of that away for a good knight versus bad bishop
scenario. Now I exchanged off the good knight for the bad bishop in order to
crush the g-file.} 34. Ngxe6+ $1 fxe6 35. Rg1 {Black can do nothing about my
intended Rg1-g6 and Qh4-g5. His position will soon collapse.} Kd7 36. Rg6 Qh8
37. Qg5 Re7 38. Nxe6 $1 {The final touch - the knight is immune from capture.}
Nxc3 ({The black king will be forced to the back rank after} 38... Rxe6 39.
Rxg7+ {and then the queen is lost after Rg7-g8+.}) 39. Nxg7 Nb5 40. e6+ {
With Jobava's resignation I was through to the third round.} 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.18"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Shankland, S."]
[Black "Areshchenko, A."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C80"]
[WhiteElo "2709"]
[BlackElo "2687"]
[Annotator "Shankland"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r3rk1/2p1b1pp/p1B1P3/1p5b/1P3p2/2P1B2P/P4Pp1/R3R1K1 w - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} {Obviously, the most critical move in this position is Be3-c5, aiming to
remove the blockader of the e6-pawn and send him through. I spent a long time
calculating here, and while I saw all the right lines, I misassessed a couple
positions really badly and eventually settled for the rather lame} 21. Ba7 ({
After} 21. Bc5 Bxc5 22. bxc5 Rf5 23. e7 {there were a few key points:} Re8 ({
The computer's choice is} 23... Rxc5 {but it is far from impressive. After} 24.
e8=Q+ Rxe8 25. Bxe8 $1 (25. Rxe8+ Bxe8 26. Bxe8 f3 {is anything but clear, as
it's hard to round up the f3-pawn.}) 25... f3 (25... Rxc3 {should be preferred,
but after} 26. Kxg2 {White is surely winning.}) 26. Re3 $1 {White has
everything under control. The c3-pawn is safe, and the f3-pawn will soon fall.
Black is done for.}) ({The natural} 23... Be8 $2 {falls on its face after} 24.
Be4 $1 {when Black is powerless to prevent Ra1-d1-d8, and he will have to lose
an entire rook.}) 24. Bxe8 Bxe8 25. Rad1 Rxc5 26. Kxg2 Kf7 {I thought this
position was totally unclear during the game. I don't have a great way to
activate my rooks, I can't push the e-pawn through, while my remaining pawns
are weak, and all in all, Black seems pretty solid. It was a bitter
disappointment to come back to the room later and find out that Stockfish
evaluates this as +4.}) 21... Rbd8 22. Kxg2 {instead, when Black is fine and
the game was eventually drawn. Let's see what I should have done.} Rf5 23. Bd4
Kf8 24. a4 Be8 25. axb5 axb5 26. Bxe8 Rxe8 27. Kf3 Rh5 28. Kxf4 Rxh3 29. Be5
Bd6 30. Bxd6+ cxd6 31. Ra5 Rxc3 32. Rxb5 Rc4+ 33. Kg3 Ke7 34. Rb7+ Kf6 35. b5
Re7 36. Rd7 Rb4 37. Rxd6 Rxb5 38. f4 Rb3+ 39. Kf2 g6 40. Re5 h6 41. Ra5 Rc7 42.
Ra2 Re7 43. Ra5 Rc7 44. Ra2 Kf5 45. e7 Rxe7 46. Ra5+ Kxf4 47. Rf6+ Ke4 48. Rxg6
Rf7+ 49. Kg2 Rb2+ 50. Kh3 Rf3+ 51. Rg3 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.19"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Areshchenko, A."]
[Black "Shankland, S."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B40"]
[WhiteElo "2687"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Shankland"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1p4k1/p4np1/P2Pq3/2B1r1p1/1P4P1/3Q2KP/5R2 w - - 0 48"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 48. Rd1 $2 {This was a big mistake. Now I'm able to bring my knight back
to blockade the passed pawn with a less valuable piece, and Black is
immediately fine.} ({Already I had managed to get more saving chances than I
deserved, but I still think White should be technically winning after a slow
move like} 48. Qf2 {, preventing the regrouping I executed next.}) 48... Ne8 $1
49. Bf1 {Areschenko chose this to avoid making a draw right away, but now
Black is absolutely fine.} ({Here} 49. d6 {looks tempting, but my tactical
point is revealed:} Nxd6 $1 50. Qxd6 Re2+ 51. Bxe2 Qxe2+ {gives Black a
perpetual check.}) 49... Nd6 50. Kg1 Nf5 {Now ...Re4-d4 is coming next, and
the d-pawn will drop. In fact, he had to be more careful than I did later on,
but the draw was never really in too much doubt.} 51. d6 Rd4 52. Qc3 Qxd6 53.
Re1 Kh6 54. Bg2 b6 55. axb6 Qxb6 56. Kh1 Qd6 57. Qc1+ Kh5 58. Rf1 Rd2 59. Qc3
Rd1 60. Qc2 Rxf1+ 61. Bxf1 a5 62. Bd3 Ne3 63. Qe2 Qe5 64. Kg1 Qd4 65. h3 Kg5
66. hxg4 Nxg4+ 67. Kg2 Ne5 68. Be4 Kh6 69. Bb7 Kg7 70. Qf2 Qd3 71. Qe1 Qc2+ 72.
Kh1 Qc5 73. Qd2 Qb6 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.20"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Areshchenko, A."]
[Black "Shankland, S."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2687"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Shankland"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5bk1/5p1p/6p1/6PP/1r1p1p2/3BqP2/PPQ5/K1R5 b - - 0 33"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 33... gxh5 $5 {Objectively I don't this was a great decision, altough in
practice it does give Black a lot of play. The h-pawn is coming down the board
very fast, but I underestimated the danger to my king.} ({Black is totally
fine against a slow move like} 33... Kg7 {or 33. ...Rb6, defending against the
threat of h5xg6, but I decided to roll the dice and make a huge mess. It could
have come back to bit me, but I found the "only moves" when they were needed.})
34. Bxh7+ Kg7 35. Bd3 h4 $2 ({Prudent was} 35... Rb6 {, when g5-g6 is not
possible.}) 36. g6 $1 h3 37. gxf7 Rb6 {This was the position I had been aiming
for. It felt like Black had to be in good shape - White cannot play Qc2-g2 or
Rc1-g1, while I am ready for ...Rb6-h6 next, and the h-pawn is in a hurry. But
somehow White is just in time to regroup!} 38. Rh1 (38. Be4 Rh6 39. Rh1 h2 40.
Qg2+ Kf6 41. a3 Kxf7 42. Ka2) 38... Rh6 39. a3 h2 40. Qg2+ Kf6 41. Be4 {
Somewhere around here I realized that I was in big trouble. I can't save the
h2-pawn, and my king will be open for the rest of the game. If enough pieces
get traded, his two connected queenside passers would be my undoing.} Kxf7 {
Setting a little trap, which my opponent did not fall for.} 42. Ka2 ({After} 
42. Rxh2 $2 Qe1+ $1 43. Ka2 Qg3 $1 {White is forced to exchange queens,
leaving Black with a powerful passed pawn on g3. The evaluation is difficult,
but Black is certainly not worse.}) 42... d3 $1 43. Rxh2 Rxh2 44. Qxh2 d2 45.
Qh5+ Ke7 46. Qe5+ Kd8 47. Qd5+ Ke7 48. Qe5+ Kd8 49. Qb8+ Ke7 50. Qc7+ Kf6 51.
Bc2 {[#] Black is still holding here, but in practice the position is almost
impossible to play. My next move should have lost the game, but it turned out
to be a brilliant decision.} Kg5 $1 {It's weird to give an exclamation mark to
a losing move in a non-lost position, but I think it was absolutely the right
idea to run the king straight towards the f2-square, where it will be safe,
and can assist in trying to advance my pawns. White has one and only one
winning move, and it is very difficult to find with no time on the clock.} 52.
Qf7 $2 {A very tempting move, and when I first saw it, I thought about
resigning. My f8-bishop is hanging, and White also threatends Qf7-g6-g4 with
mate. With the seconds ticking down, I found the key resource to turn the
tables.} ({I would have been going home after} 52. Qc6 $3 {. The point is that
White threatens Qc6-g6-g4 with mate, and also to win my bishop. Areschenko
tried something similar in the game, but there was a difference - the f3-pawn
was undefended. Here, as the f3-pawn cannot be taken, Qc6-g6 is coming and I
have to resign. The best the engine can find is} Kh4 {allowing} 53. Qf6+ {.})
52... Qxf3 $1 53. Qf5+ Kh4 54. Qxf8 {Areshchenko clearly thought he was
winning here. If I promote my d-pawn, the f4-pawn falls at the end of the key
line. But he missed my next move.} Qd5+ $1 {A criticial intermediate move. Now,
no matter what White does, Black will be able to promote the d-pawn without
losing the f-pawn.} 55. b3 ({White's best defensive try was} 55. Bb3 Qxb3+ $1
56. Kxb3 d1=Q+ {but the f-pawn should still win.}) 55... d1=Q 56. Bxd1 ({
White has to take the queen immediately, as there is no time to pick up the
f4-pawn first:} 56. Qxf4+ Qg4 {and White is just a queen down!}) 56... Qd2+ 57.
Kb1 Qxd1+ 58. Kb2 Qd2+ 59. Kb1 Qd3+ 60. Kb2 f3 {From here the f-pawn cruised
straight through.} 61. Qh6+ Kg3 62. Qg5+ Kf2 63. a4 Ke1 64. Qg3+ Ke2 65. Qg4
Kd2 66. Qf4+ Kd1 67. a5 Qe2+ 68. Ka3 f2 69. Qd4+ Kc2 70. Qc5+ Kb1 71. Qf5+ Qc2
72. Qf6 Qc1+ 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.26"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Shankland, S."]
[Black "Svidler, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2709"]
[BlackElo "2714"]
[Annotator "Shankland"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. h4 $5 {The ultimate Anti-Grunfeld. This move looks
absurdly stupid at first glance, but the main point is that it will be harder
for Black to play ...d7-d5, forcing him to play a King's Indian rather than a
Grunfeld. 3.h4 is surely not the best way to play against the King's Indian,
but I thought there were more chances for an edge here than in Svidler's pet
Grunfeld, which is very forcing and the bane of every 1.d4 player's existence.}
Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 ({One of the key ideas behind this move order is} 4... d5 5. h5
$1 {when Black doesn't really want to play ...Nf6xh5 with the d5-pawn hanging.
White is probably better here.}) 5. e4 Nc6 6. Nge2 O-O 7. f3 {We have ended up
in a Saemisch King's Indian where White has played the weird looking move h4,
but it is not totally atypical for these structures either. Svidler now
changed the character of the game with a pawn sacrifice reminiscent of
Kasparov's famous effort against Lputian.} e5 $5 8. d5 Nd4 9. Be3 c5 {This
move was formally a novelty, but I had also checked it before the game as it
felt like the only way to justify Black's previous moves.} 10. dxc6 bxc6 11.
Nxd4 exd4 12. Bxd4 Rb8 {I think this move is inaccurate, and ...c6-c5 or ...
d6-d5 are better chances to fight for equality.} 13. Qc2 c5 14. Bf2 $1 {
An important move. The point is that in a lot of lines, the bishop may want to
regroup to e1.} Be6 15. O-O-O Nd7 $1 {In for a penny, in for a pound. Black is
down a clean pawn already and will lose the game if White is allowed to slowly
consolidate with Kc1-b1, Bf1-e2, Rd1-d2, Rh1-d1, etc. So Black should play
very energetically and not fear the loss of a second pawn to accelerate his
attack.} 16. Rxd6 Qa5 17. Be1 Ne5 {[#] This was my first critical decision of
the game.} 18. f4 $6 {Very natural and very tempting. I thought giving back
one of my two extra pawns to exchange off his fantastic e5-knight for my dumb
f1-bishop, plus getting the time to blunt the bishop on g7 with e4-e5 next,
would be good news, but the machine is fearless and greedy.} ({Apparently,
after} 18. b3 {White could get away with holding all the pawns. I thought the
position after} Rfd8 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 {Looked absolutely terrifying - manuevers
like ...Ne5-c6-b4 or -d4 look pretty scary! But somehow the computer is
unconvinced.}) 18... Nxc4 19. Bxc4 Bxc4 20. e5 Rfd8 $1 {An important move,
which I underestimated. Black needs counterplay on the d-file.} ({Going
pawn-grabbing with} 20... Bxa2 $2 {is not to be recommended. After} 21. Nd5 Qb5
22. Ne7+ $1 Kh8 23. h5 $1 {Black is immediately checkmated.}) ({At first} 20...
h5 {concerned me a bit, trying to lock up the kingside and prevent h4-h5
before regrouping with ...Be6-f5 later, but then I noticed I can start
throwing stuff with} 21. g4 $1 {, just in time and before the bishop can
return to e6 to prevent it. After} hxg4 22. h5 {Black is facing a vicious
attack.}) 21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. h5 Bxa2 $1 {Svidler is playing very energetically.
Only now he can get away with taking on a2 because Nc3-d5 is no longer scary.}
23. hxg6 ({After} 23. Nd5 $2 Qb5 24. Ne7+ {Black has the critical} Kf8 $1 {
which makes a big difference with the rook vacating the f8-square. Black's
king is safe for at least a few more moves, and he is ready for ...Ba2-b3 next,
when White will collapse.}) 23... hxg6 24. Ne4 {[#] When Svidler was thinking
for awhile here, I started to get optimistic that a mistake might be coming
since I believed the decision was entirely forced.} Qb6 $2 {The wrong square
for the queen, which is now vulnerable to a neat tactic. I suspect Peter
missed the powerful retreat Bh4-f2 back later on, and made this move on more
general considerations that he did not want Ne4-d6 to come with tempo.} ({
Surprisingly,} 24... Qa6 {also holds. I thought Black was busted after} 25. Bh4
{because I am ready to meet ...Rd8-d4 with Ne4-f6+, and he will not be able to
play ...Kg8-f8 because of Qc2xc5+. The computer claims that after the sad,
passive} Rc8 $1 {Black is still fine. This is really inhuman, and 24...Qb5
should have been preferred.}) ({Here I thought that} 24... Qb5 $1 {was
absolutely the only move. It's not easy to play since it walks straight into
Ne4-d6 with a gain of tempo, shutting out Black's pieces, but it had to be
done. I believed White was a little better, but the computer disagrees.}) 25.
Bh4 $1 Rd4 26. Nf6+ $1 Kf8 {And now we see the point. Because Black has placed
his queen on b6, ...Rd4-c4 is not actually a threat because of Nf6-d7+. After
the critical...} 27. Bf2 $1 {Black's position immediately collapses. The rook
is hit and cannot move with the c5-pawn (and a tasty fork) hanging behind it.}
Bxf6 28. exf6 Qxf6 29. Qxc5+ Rd6 30. Qc8+ ({Svidler resigned rather than face
the music after} 30. Qc8+ Ke7 ({or} 30... Rd8 31. Qxd8+ Qxd8 32. Rh8+ Ke7 33.
Bh4+ {. This was probably my best game in Sochi, and it sent me through to the
quarterfinals.}) 31. Bh4) 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.28"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Shankland, S."]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "2709"]
[BlackElo "2757"]
[Annotator "Shankland"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2b4/1p3k2/1P4p1/p1pNPp1p/2Kn1P2/2B3P1/7P/3R4 w - - 0 47"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} {Here I burned half of my remaining 20 minutes calculating, and found a
way to force a winning pawn endgame.} 47. Bxd4 $1 cxd4 48. Rxd4 Rc8+ ({After} 
48... a4 49. Nc7 Rc8 (49... Bxc7 50. bxc7 Rc8 51. Rd7+ Ke6 52. Rg7 {the white
king keeps the a- and b-pawns under control, while the g-pawn will soon fall.})
50. Kb4 {Black is forced into the same pawn ending:} Bxc7 51. Rd7+ Ke6 52. Rxc7
Rxc7 53. bxc7 Kd7 54. Kxa4 {.}) 49. Nc7 Bxc7 ({We also arrive at the same pawn
endgame after} 49... Ke7 50. Kb5 Bxc7 51. Rc4 $1 {.}) 50. Rd7+ Ke6 51. Rxc7
Rxc7+ 52. bxc7 Kd7 53. Kb5 Kxc7 ({Black must take right away. After} 53... b6
54. Kxb6 a4 55. Kb7 {White queens first.}) 54. Kxa5 Kc6 55. Kb4 Kb6 56. Kc4 Kc6
57. Kd4 {[#] Now Karjakin hastened his own demise with a pawn push, but
retreating the king would not have helped. After} b5 (57... Kd7 {the winning
plan involves getting the White king in front of the b-pawn, followed by
pushing h2-h4 to lock the kingside, and then throwing the e-pawn forward to
gain the opposition:} 58. Kc5 Kc7 59. Kb5 Kc8 60. Kb6 Kb8 61. h4 Kc8 62. e6 $1
Kd8 63. Kxb7 Ke7 64. Kc7 Kxe6 65. Kd8 Kd5 ({Black can't keep the king out after
} 65... Kf7 66. Kd7) 66. Ke7 Ke4 67. Kf6 Kf3 68. Kxg6 Kxg3 69. Kg5 $1 {with a
pictureesque final position. I had to calculate all the way here when I took
on d4!}) 58. h3 {Karjakin resigned here as he has to allow Kd4-d5 next, and he
will lose the b-pawn without getting the e-pawn in return.} 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.29"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Shankland, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "2757"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Shankland"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. Ngf3 Be7 5. g3 a5 6. Bg2 a4 7. a3 c5 8. O-O Nc6
9. Re1 O-O 10. e5 Nd7 11. Nf1 b5 12. h4 Bb7 13. h5 h6 14. Bf4 Qb6 15. Qd2 Rfc8
16. g4 Qd8 17. N1h2 Ra6 18. Kh1 b4 19. Rg1 {[#]} {White has a menacing-looking
attacking setup, with g4-g5 clearly on the agenda. I played a very atypical
move for the King's Indian Attack structure here, which allowed Karjakin a
rare resource in this type of position.} Nf8 $6 {My thought was that if I
could bring the knight to h7 next, I would stop g4-g5 forever and I could roll
on the queenside. But the knight being on f8 has a major drawback, as Karjakin
quickly pointed out.} 20. axb4 $1 cxb4 21. d4 Na5 $2 {Completely missing
White's 27th move.} ({Now if} 21... Nh7 {White can play} 22. Bf1 $1 {gaining a
tempo on the rook and readying g4-g5 all the same.}) ({Best was} 21... a3 $1 {
, which is a hard move to play as the queenside gets locked after} 22. b3 {
but the point is that only now can I play} Nh7 23. Bf1 Ng5 $1 {. The inclusion
of ...a4-a3 and b2-b3 means that Black can comfortably give up the exchange. I
was not thrilled about the position after} 24. Nxg5 hxg5 25. Be3 {with some
combination of Bf1-d3, Ra1-f1, and f2-f4 to follow, but the machine that Black
is doing very well.}) 22. g5 Nc4 23. Qc1 hxg5 24. Bxg5 b3 25. Bxe7 Qxe7 26. Bf1
{I was still oblivious to my opponent's idea, calculating moves like Nh2-g4-f6,
Qc1-h6, etc., and none of it being fast enough.} a3 {[#]} 27. Rxg7+ $3 {
Absolutely devastating. This is an extremely rare sacrifice in the King's
Indian Attack because it only works if the black knight is on f8, keeping the
king in the kill zone.} Kxg7 28. Ng4 $1 {Now Qc1-h6+ is coming next, and Black
is absolutely crushed.} f5 29. exf6+ Qxf6 30. Nxf6 axb2 31. Qg5+ Kf7 32. h6 $1
{The mating attack comes one tempo too fast for me to counterbalance with a
queenside breakthrough.} Ng6 33. Nh4 {I decided to allow Karjakin to show the
mate on the board, capping off a brilliant game.} bxa1=Q 34. Qxg6+ Ke7 35. Qg7+
Kd6 36. Qd7# 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.30"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Shankland, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2757"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Shankland"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 Nc6 7. g4 g6 8. Be3
Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Bg7 10. O-O-O {I misremembered my preparation in this position. I
knew that Black was not supposed to castle and instead develop the bishop, but
I did it the wrong way.} Be6 $2 ({Had I remembered to develop via the long
diagonal with} 10... b5 {and 11...Bb7, I suspect I would have advanced to the
next round. The comptuer calls the position equal, but it strikes me as much
easier to play for Black in practice -- moves like ...Bb7, ...0-0, ...Ra8-c8,
and ...Qd8-a5 play themselves. Failed by my memory, it looked suicidal at the
board after} 11. e5 {, but had I slowed down, I would have noticed the resource
} Bb7 $1 12. exf6 Bxf6 $1 {when the h1-rook falls.}) 11. f4 $1 Qa5 ({I should
have preferred} 11... O-O {as a form of damage control, but I really disliked
my position after} 12. Qb4 {. White has a pleasant advantage, but the game
goes on and nothing is falling off the board just yet.}) 12. f5 $1 {Very
energetic. White will not be mated after losing the a2-pawn, and my bishop is
in serious danger of being trapped.} Bxa2 13. Bd2 $1 {An exceptionally nasty
move. I have no choice but to allow the discovered attack on my queen as
moving her will lose the bishop.} O-O 14. Nd5 $1 {Black can already resign,
just four moves out of what would have been a very pleasant position.} Nxd5 ({
After} 14... Qd8 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. Qa4 {the bishop is lost.}) 15. Bxa5 Bxd4
16. Rxd4 Ne3 17. Kd2 Nxf1+ 18. Rxf1 {[#] I cannot save the a2-bishop from
getting trapped after b2-b3. I fought on with two pawns for a piece, but the
result was never in doubt. I suspect this game will haunt me for a long time.}
Rfc8 19. b3 Rc6 20. Ra1 Bxb3 21. cxb3 Rac8 22. Ke3 Rc2 23. f6 exf6 24. Rxd6 Rh2
25. Rxf6 Rxh3+ 26. Rf3 Rh2 27. Rd1 Rb2 28. Rd3 h6 29. Kf4 g5+ 30. Kf5 Re2 31.
Bd8 Kh7 32. Bf6 b5 33. Rd7 Kg8 34. b4 Ra2 35. Rd8+ Rxd8 36. Bxd8 Rd2 37. Bf6
Kf8 38. Rc3 Rf2+ 39. Ke5 Ke8 40. Rd3 1-0

[Event "US Senior Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.07.16"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Christiansen, Larry"]
[Black "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E76"]
[WhiteElo "2567"]
[BlackElo "2506"]
[Annotator "Yermolinsky"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2021.07.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f4 O-O 6. Nf3 c5 7. dxc5 Qa5 8. Bd3
Qxc5 9. Qe2 Bg4 10. Be3 Qa5 11. O-O Nc6 12. Rac1 Rfc8 $6 {Perhaps moving that
rook away from defense of the f7-pawn was unwise, particularly against LarryC.}
(12... Nd7 13. Qf2 Bxf3 14. gxf3 Nc5 15. Bb1 Na4 {was seen in Topalov-Kasparov,
Linares 1994, which was drawn after 44 moves of play.}) 13. Kh1 Nd7 14. Qf2 $1
Nb4 {This was Joel's idea, but Larry wasn't much concerned with losing the
c4-pawn.} 15. Bb1 Bxf3 ({The immediate capture,} 15... Rxc4 16. Nd2 Rcc8 {
leaves the g4-bishop stranded, and the tactics work for White after} 17. h3 Be6
18. a3 Na6 19. f5 {.}) 16. Qxf3 Rxc4 {[#]} 17. e5 $3 {What a shot!} ({Joel was
absolutely fine with sacrificing the exchange in case of} 17. a3 Nc6 18. Ba2
Rxc3 19. bxc3 Qxa3 {.}) 17... Nc6 ({After} 17... dxe5 18. Qxb7 Rd8 19. a3 {
Black's task of defending his loose pieces is daunting:} Qa6 (19... Na6 20. f5
Rc7 21. Qf3 Nf6 22. b4 Qxa3 23. Nb5) 20. Qf3 exf4 21. Bxf4 Nc6 22. Bd3 {
and White wins material.}) 18. Rcd1 $1 Re8 19. Qe2 Rxc3 ({If} 19... b5 20. Bd3)
20. bxc3 Qxc3 21. Bg1 {White pulled his bishops back to open files for his
major pieces. Black's coordination cannot be fixed, and to make matters worse,
Joel was getting low on time.} Kf8 22. Rf3 Qa5 23. Rh3 {Larry converts his
advantage with the elegance of a caveman chasing down a wounded mammoth.} Nc5
24. Rxh7 dxe5 25. f5 gxf5 26. Qh5 Kg8 27. Bxf5 e6 28. Qg5 1-0

[Event "US Senior Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.07.16"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Sokolin, Leonid"]
[Black "Kaidanov, Gregory"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C49"]
[WhiteElo "2497"]
[BlackElo "2547"]
[Annotator "Yermolinsky"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/p1p1rr1k/1p5p/2pP1npQ/5p2/1P1P2qP/P1PB1RP1/5RK1 w - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2021.07.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{After 34 moves of quiet play, it seemed on first blush that Black was getting
the upper hand. [#]} 35. Re2 {Being short of time, Sokolin played it safe.} ({
Could he have cut the Gordian knot?} 35. Bxf4 $5 {was good enough for a draw:}
gxf4 36. Rxf4 Qe3+ 37. Kh2 ({but not} 37. R1f2 {on account of} Nd6) 37... Qg3+
38. Kg1 Qe3+ {etc.}) 35... Ng7 36. Rxe7 Rxe7 37. Qg4 Qxg4 38. hxg4 Ne8 39. g3
$1 {No hesitation! Sokolin knew he had to get his bishop into play.} fxg3 40.
Re1 Rxe1+ 41. Bxe1 Nf6 42. c4 Nxg4 43. Bxg3 Kg6 44. Bxc7 Kf5 {[#] This endgame
is far from trivial.} 45. a4 $6 ({The right plan was to hit the pawns right
away with} 45. Bb8 {. If Black decides to imprison the bishop with} Ne5 (45...
a6 46. Ba7 Ne5 47. Bxb6 Nxd3 {looks almost the same position as it was reached
later in the game, only White has his a-pawn, which helps him to survive. Best
is to put it to work right away:} 48. a3 h5 49. Ba5 h4 50. b4 g4 51. bxc5 Nxc5
52. Bb6) 46. Bxa7 Nd7 47. a4 Ke5 48. Kg2 h5 49. Kf3 {then he won't be able to
make progress:} Kd4 (49... Kd6 {is met by} 50. a5 bxa5 51. d4 $1 {and the
bishop is free at last!}) 50. Kg3 {because} Kxd3 $2 {spectacularly loses to}
51. Bxb6 $1 Nxb6 52. a5 {.}) 45... Ne5 $1 {Despite his opponent's expectations,
Kaidanov wasn't interested in a pawn race. His kingside pawns remained a decoy,
while the real targets were the white pawns on the other side of the board.}
46. a5 ({It's a bit late to switch to} 46. Bb8 {. After} a6 47. Bc7 Nxd3 48.
Bxb6 h5 49. Kf1 h4 {White cannot prepare b3-b4 and is therefore forced to seek
salvation in troubled waters:} 50. d6 Ke6 51. Bd8 g4 52. Bxh4 Nc1 53. Be1 Nxb3
54. Ke2 {etc.}) 46... bxa5 47. Bxa5 Nxd3 48. Bd2 Ne5 $1 49. Kg2 ({No better is
} 49. Be3 Nd7) 49... Ke4 {The picture becomes clear: Black is winning.} 50. Kg3
Kd3 51. Ba5 Kc2 52. Bc7 Nd7 53. Kg4 Kxb3 54. Kf5 Kxc4 55. Ke6 Nf8+ 56. Ke5 g4
57. Ke4 Nd7 58. d6 Kb5 59. Kf4 c4 0-1

[Event "US Senior Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.07.17"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Kaidanov, Gregory"]
[Black "Tarjan, James"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A95"]
[WhiteElo "2547"]
[BlackElo "2381"]
[Annotator "Yermolinsky"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4r1k/pp4pp/1np2q2/4Nb2/3P4/1Q4P1/PP4BP/3RR1K1 b - - 0 22"]
[PlyCount "32"]
[EventDate "2021.07.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 22... Rad8 {After some troublesome moments in a Stonewall Dutch, James
finally brought his last piece into play with his last move. I imagine he must
have breathed a sign of relief.} 23. Qa3 $1 {It's not quite over yet.} Nc8 ({
After} 23... a6 24. Qb4 {hits the b-pawn.}) 24. d5 {While objectively not the
best, this move is characteristic of Kaidanov's style. He likes to go forward
with natural and powerful moves, posing practical problems and staying ahead
on the clock.} ({Some of us would have considered avoiding early tactics that
might lead to simplifications.} 24. Re2 $5 {is an interesting attempt to
deploy the rooks on both e- and f-files, trying to embarrass the black queen,
but such decisions are time-consuming and rarely produce a decisive effect on
the position.}) 24... cxd5 25. Bxd5 h6 $2 {White is quickly rewarded.} ({
In order to solve his tactical problems Black had to restrict the white
queen's access to the f8-square. Here} 25... Ne7 $1 {is tactically flawless,
because in the endgame after} 26. Qxe7 Qxe7 27. Ng6+ Bxg6 28. Rxe7 h6 {White
cannot take the b7-pawn. A likely continuation would have been} 29. Bb3 (29.
Rxb7 $2 Be4 30. Rb5 Rf5 {and Black wins}) 29... Rxd1+ 30. Bxd1 Rf7 {with
equality.}) 26. Nf7+ $1 Rxf7 27. Bxf7 {Mate is in the air with Qa3-f8-g8
should Black attempt to trade rooks, so White stays up the exchange.} Qb6+ 28.
Kg2 Qc6+ 29. Kg1 {Repeating moves to make sure his calculations were correct.}
({Tarjan would be let off the hook after} 29. Qf3 Rxd1 30. Rxd1 Be4 31. Rd8+
Kh7 32. Bg8+ Kg6 33. Bf7+ Kh7 {with a repetition.}) 29... Qb6+ 30. Kg2 Qc6+ 31.
Kf2 $1 {This is it.} Nd6 ({Not} 31... Qb6+ 32. Qe3 Qxb2+ 33. Re2 {.}) 32. Bd5
Qb6+ 33. Qe3 Qxb2+ 34. Kg1 a6 35. Qf2 Qb4 36. Bg2 Rf8 37. Rd4 Nc4 38. Rf4 1-0

[Event "US Senior Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.07.20"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Shabalov, Alexander"]
[Black "Kaidanov, Gregory"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2521"]
[BlackElo "2547"]
[Annotator "Yermolinsky"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2021.07.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 {
[#]} 8. h4 $5 {So hot right now. Morozevich started this trend and many strong
players followed suit.} Qe6 {Kaidanov never shies away from a theoretical
battle.} ({White welcomes the endgame after} 8... d6 9. c4 Nb6 10. exd6 cxd6
11. Nc3 Qxe2+ 12. Bxe2 Be6 13. b3 d5 14. cxd5 Nxd5 15. Bd2 {where he can count
on small advantage.}) (8... f6 {is a principled reply. There may follow} 9. c4
(9. exf6 Nxf6 {is totally fine for Black}) 9... Ba6 10. Rh3 fxe5 11. Bg5 Nf6
12. Re3 {with great complications.}) ({I don't have much to say about} 8... g6
{. I suppose White then proceeds with} 9. Bg5) 9. Nd2 a5 $1 ({One game to
illustrate Black's problems was Tsydypov - M.Petrosyan, PNWCC Online G/60,
2021:} 9... Nb4 10. Nf3 Ba6 11. c4 d5 $2 ({better is} 11... c5) {and here my
student from Buryatia found a strong idea in} 12. a3 $1 Bxc4 13. Qd1 Na6 14. b4
{. One might say that the fate of the black knight is the key to this whole
variation. Sometimes it gets stuck on b6, and here it ended up on even a worse
square. The game continued} Bxf1 15. Kxf1 Be7 16. Nd4 $1 Qd7 ({or} 16... Qxe5
17. Ra2 {with a big attack in the air.}) 17. Qe2 Nb8 18. e6 $1 {and White
broke through.}) 10. g3 Nb4 $1 {After the game Shabalov expressed his
astonishment at the speed and accuracy of his opponent's play. Alexander
studied this line before the tournament, but Greg went deeper! His last move
was an improvement over battles between GMs Ivan Cheparinov and Rasmus Svane
that took place at the World Cup just three days prior to this game.} ({
The young German played} 10... Ba6 {first, then after} 11. c4 Nb4 {their games
deviated. For the Armageddon game Cheparinov prepared the strong} 12. Bh3 {
, a move made possible by the inclusion of ...Bc8-a6 for Black and c2-c4 for
White. After} Qg6 {White no longer needed to protect his e5-pawn and was able
to try} 13. Ne4 h5 14. a3 Nd5 {. Look at the acrobatics required to keep that
knight alive!} {After} 15. O-O Nb6 16. Qf3 {Ivan moved in for the kill. The
conclusion is that Svane's 10th move was a serious mistake. Kaidanov wasn't
going to repeat it.}) 11. Nf3 ({Obviously, White doesn't have} 11. Bh3 $2 {
on account of} Nxc2+ 12. Kd1 Qd5 $1) 11... Ba6 {Only now!} 12. c4 Qg6 13. h5
Qc2 $1 {Black's high wire act is fully justified tactically and keeps his
knight active. The threat is to trade queens, when White won't have any good
recapture.} 14. Nd2 $2 {Going back with the knight is depressing in itself,
and it also happens to be a blunder.} ({In the above mentioned
Cheparinov-Svane rapid game, Ivan found the right move: after} 14. Rh4 $1 Be7
15. Bg5 {he only stood slightly worse. I bet Kaidanov knew all of this before
the game. Such is the quality of preparation required in modern chess.}) 14...
Qf5 $2 ({By mutual admission both players missed} 14... Nxa2 $1) 15. g4 $2 (15.
Bh3 Qd3 16. Kf1 $1 d5 {still favors Black, but it was White's best chance.})
15... Qe6 {The black queen returned to her post, and now White is in trouble.}
16. Kd1 {A sad admission of guilt. Any other reasonably move would be strongly
answered by ...d7-d5.} ({For example,} 16. Nb3 d5 $1 17. Nd4 Qd7 {, or}) (16.
Qe4 d5 17. exd6 Bxd6 {.}) 16... c5 17. Bg2 Nc6 {The position is very complex,
and now it's Greg's turn to go wrong.} ({Better was} 17... O-O-O $1 18. Qe4 Nc6
{preventing} 19. f4 $2 {due to} Qxg4+ {.}) 18. f4 Nd4 19. f5 Qb6 20. Qe4 c6 21.
b3 O-O-O 22. Bb2 Bb7 23. Kc1 $2 ({After the game Shabalov found the right move:
} 23. Rc1 $1 {, as the idea is to prepare for the Black's d-pawn strike.} d6 ({
Not} 23... d5 24. cxd5 cxd5 $4 25. Qxd4) 24. Bxd4 cxd4 25. c5 dxc5 26. Nc4 {
and White stands better. Perhaps this was the decisive point of the entire
tournament.}) 23... d6 24. Nf3 dxe5 25. Nxe5 Re8 26. f6 g6 $6 ({Kaidanov
avoided} 26... gxf6 27. Bxd4 cxd4 28. Qf5+) ({but} 26... Kc7 $1 {would have
served the same purpose in a far more effective way.}) 27. hxg6 fxg6 28. g5 Qc7
29. Qg4+ Kb8 30. Nf3 (30. Nxg6 {loses to} Bc8 $1 31. Qh4 hxg6 32. Qxh8 Qf4+) ({
but there was the miraculous} 30. Nd7+ $1 Ka8 31. Bxd4 cxd4 32. c5 {keeping
the game going.}) 30... Bc8 {It's all over now, as White is unable to get his
rook on a1 into play, and the king lacks shelter.} 31. Qh4 Ne2+ 32. Kd1 Nf4 33.
Bf1 Bd6 34. Bc3 Bf5 35. Bd2 Rd8 36. Rc1 Nh5 37. Rg1 Bg3 38. Qh1 Rhe8 39. Rc3
Rxd2+ ({Play might continue} 39... Rxd2+ 40. Kxd2 Bf4+ 41. Kd1 Qd6+ 42. Bd3
Bxd3 {when the White position is overrun.}) 0-1

[Event "US Senior Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.07.22"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Kaidanov, Gregory"]
[Black "Fishbein, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B63"]
[WhiteElo "2547"]
[BlackElo "2417"]
[Annotator "Yermolinsky"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2021.07.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Before switching to closed openings, Gregory Kaidanov was quite a
fearsome 1.e4 player. He prepared for this particular encounter on the
assumption that Alex Fishbein would play his old Classical Sicilian lines.} c5
2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd3 {A little twist
in an old tale.} Be7 8. O-O-O Nxd4 {Fishbein takes the game into main
theoretical waters.} 9. Qxd4 O-O 10. h4 $1 {This is the most flexible move.
White keeps the option of moving his f-pawn one or two squares, depending on
Black's responses.} Qa5 $6 {I'm not a fan of this move, but there is no easy
solution to Black's problems.} ({For example, in case of} 10... h6 {White may
play} 11. f3 ({avoiding old theoretical lines after} 11. f4 hxg5 12. hxg5 Ng4
13. Be2 e5 14. Qg1 exf4 15. Bxg4 Bxg5) {where} 11... e5 12. Qf2 hxg5 13. hxg5
Ng4 14. fxg4 Bxg5+ 15. Kb1 Bxg4 16. Be2 {offers good compensation for a pawn.})
({while} 10... a6 11. e5 $5 dxe5 12. Qxe5 Bd7 13. Rh3 $1 {is another major
point of the early h-pawn move.}) 11. Kb1 h6 {It's easy to criticise this move
unless you look at alternatives.} ({One of the early proponents of the h2-h4
move was my good friend German GM Thomas Luther. His game with Miroshnichenko,
Capelle 2008, went as follows:} 11... Rd8 12. Qd2 b6 13. f3 Bb7 14. Qf2 Rac8
15. Nb5 $1 {Suddenly the black queen is trapped, and Miro's remedy} a6 16. Bd2
Rxc2 {turned out to be no solution at all after} 17. Bxa5 Rxf2 18. Bxb6 {.}) ({
Safer seems} 11... a6 {but then White may switch gears to} 12. f4 $5 Rd8 13.
Bd3 {.}) 12. Bd2 $1 Qc7 ({White's position is structurally superior after} 
12... Qc5 13. Qxc5 dxc5 14. f3 {.}) 13. f3 d5 $5 {[#] Having seen no remedy
against g2-g4-g5, Fishbein decided to pitch a pawn to liberate his game. Such
deparate measures usually don't work against Gregory Kaidanov, who always
welcomes tactical melees when he feels he has a superior position. He believes
in his ability to find the best moves and he is never afraid of calculation.}
14. exd5 Bc5 15. d6 $1 {Case in point.} Bxd4 16. dxc7 Be5 17. Nb5 {Keeping the
c7-pawn alive is the key to success.} Bd7 ({The alternatives are no better:} 
17... Nd5 18. f4 Nxf4 19. Bb4 Nd5 (19... Re8 20. Rd8) 20. Bxf8 Kxf8 21. Bc4
Nxc7 22. Nxa7 {,}) ({and} 17... a6 18. f4 axb5 19. fxe5 Nd5 20. Bxb5 Nxc7 21.
Be2 {.}) 18. f4 Bxb5 19. fxe5 Bxf1 20. exf6 Be2 21. fxg7 Rfc8 22. Rde1 Bg4 23.
Re4 h5 24. Rc4 Kxg7 25. Re1 ({Perhaps} 25. Bb4 Re8 26. Be7 {was worth a look.
Perhaps Kaidanov didn't want to give Black a chance to sacrifice the exchange
for the c-pawn.}) 25... f6 26. Re3 {In retrospect, the rook lift wasn't very
effective.} ({I'm not sure why White rejected the natural} 26. a4 e5 27. a5 {.}
) 26... e5 27. Rd3 Kf7 {The best chance under the circumstances. Black's short
pawn chain in the center fights for control of the dark squares, and his
bishop is nicely anchored.} 28. Rc5 $6 {A moderate inaccuracy.} ({White need
not fear a trade of one pair of rooks, as long as his queenside play develops
in time. One possibility is} 28. Rcc3 Bf5 29. Rg3 Rg8 30. Rxg8 Rxg8 31. b3 Ke7
32. Be3 b6 (32... a6 33. Bb6) 33. a4 $1 Kd7 34. a5 {with a strong edge.}) 28...
Bf5 29. Re3 Bd7 30. g3 Bc6 31. Ba5 Be8 $2 {The wrong idea.} ({Fishbein needed
to keep his bishop on the long diagonal:} 31... Bh1 32. Rcc3 b6 33. Bb4 a5 34.
Bd6 (34. Ba3 Ra7) 34... Ke6 {and Black is very close to saving the game.}) 32.
Rcc3 Bb5 33. b3 b6 34. a4 $1 {As Alex Shabalov famously said, you can discern
a player's strength by how he counterattacks instead of retreating.} Be8 35.
Bb4 a5 36. Bd6 b5 37. axb5 Bxb5 38. Bxe5 $1 {The icing on the cake! White gets
four pawns for the bishop and coasts to victory.} fxe5 39. Rxe5 Be8 40. Rxh5
Ke6 41. Rh6+ Kd5 42. g4 Ra7 43. Rh8 Raa8 44. h5 Ke6 45. g5 Bd7 46. Rh7 Be8 47.
g6 Bb5 48. Rf7 Rh8 49. Re3+ Kd6 50. g7 Rxh5 51. Rf8 1-0

[Event "US Senior Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.07.24"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Kaidanov, Gregory"]
[Black "Yermolinsky, Alex"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D94"]
[WhiteElo "2547"]
[BlackElo "2478"]
[Annotator "Yermolinsky"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2021.07.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 {I'm no big expert on the Slav, but I know better than to
play my usual garbage openings against Gregory Kaidanov.} 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 {
Oh, no.} ({My prep was focused on} 4. Nf3 dxc4 {!}) 4... g6 {The Schlechter
makes a bit more sense once White leaves his dark-squared bishop behind the
e3-pawn.} ({I didn't think I could match my wits with Greg in the Semi-Slav
Meran Variation he played as Black throught his entire career, so} 4... e6 {
was ruled out.}) 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Be2 $5 {Played quickly and confidently.} ({
I was more familiar with the main move} 6. Bd3 {which I had played with White
on many occasions.}) 6... O-O 7. O-O b6 $5 {I settled on this rare move
because I didn't like the alternatives.} ({Perhaps a better move order is to
start with} 7... e6 {to make sure Black can recapture on d5 with the e-pawn.})
8. b3 {Here I realized Greg was out for blood.} (8. cxd5 {is safe and sound
for White.}) 8... e6 9. a4 $5 Bb7 ({In retrospect I would be better off
stopping White's expansion with} 9... a5 $1) 10. Ba3 Re8 11. b4 Nbd7 12. Qb3
Rb8 $6 {I played slowly and tentatively.} ({Even here it wasn't too late for} 
12... a5 $1 13. bxa5 Rxa5 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Bd6 Re6 16. Bg3 Ba6 {with
complicated equality.}) 13. Rac1 Ne4 {Suddenly I found myself down to 24
minutes on the clock, and without having made any headway.} ({The idea behind
12...Rb8 was to insist on} 13... c5 {but I didn't like my prospects after} 14.
cxd5 Bxd5 ({worse is} 14... Nxd5 15. bxc5 bxc5 16. Nb5) 15. Nxd5 exd5 {with an
edge for White.}) 14. Rfd1 {Played instantaneously, but I considered it
inaccurate.} ({I thought this was the time to fix the pawn structure with} 14.
cxd5 $1 Nxc3 15. Rxc3 exd5 16. Rfc1 {. I was going to play} a6 {and hope for
the best.}) 14... Nxc3 15. Rxc3 {Again, a bit too quick.} ({Against} 15. Qxc3 {
I was thinking of going back to my Grunfeld roots and offering a speculative
pawn sacrifice with} c5 16. bxc5 bxc5 17. cxd5 Bxd5 18. Bxc5 Rc8 19. Qa3 Nxc5
20. dxc5 Qe7 21. Nd4 Bf8 {but realistically, Black is just trying to survive.})
15... c5 $1 {Finally I was able to play one move quickly and confidently,
regardless of its objective value. Greg started to take his time.} 16. Qc2 ({
I figured} 16. cxd5 Bxd5 17. Qc2 cxb4 18. Bxb4 Nf6 {would be a passable
Grunfeld position. At least I have seen worse!}) 16... cxd4 ({I have no idea
why I didn't look at} 16... cxb4 17. Bxb4 Nf6 {.}) 17. Nxd4 dxc4 $2 {This
could have been a very costly error.} ({I had to get my knight out first} 17...
Nf6 $1 {with a perfectly playable position.}) 18. b5 $6 {I suspect Greg
thought he was winning, but it was not to be that easy for him.} ({There was
no real need for fireworks, as the simple} 18. Rxc4 Qg5 19. Nc6 Bxc6 20. Rxc6
Nf6 21. b5 {would guarantee White a sizeable advantage.}) 18... Qg5 19. Nc6 ({
The quiet} 19. g3 Nc5 20. Rxc4 Be4 21. Qc1 Bd5 {is no longer convincing.})
19... Bxc3 20. Rxd7 Bxc6 21. bxc6 {[#]} Qa5 $1 {Greg missed this because of
some optical hallucination (the fifth rank was closed just a move ago), and it
turns the game around for me. Black manages to keep his bishop active, holding
some white pieces back. The move ...b6-b5 now becomes an valuable resource,
not only in attack, but also in bringing the queen to help fight against the
white passed pawn. And there's this third thing -- the possible mate on e1.
Objectively speaking, White is still fine, but Greg was shaken up and started
burning time.} 22. c7 ({If White wanted a draw he could have found it in a
piece sacrifice:} 22. Bxc4 b5 23. Bxb5 Rxb5 24. axb5 Qxa3 25. g3 Be5 26. c7 Qf8
27. f4 Bf6 28. Kg2 Rc8 29. Qc4 {as Black has no way of ever improving his
position.}) ({Also,} 22. Qe4 Be5 23. Qf3 f5 24. g4 {was a pretty strong idea,
which should promise White a ton of chances.}) 22... Rbc8 23. Bxc4 b5 $5 {
I had analyzed this already, and decided to execute my moves quickly. It was
sort of a gamble, because I wasn't sure I would be winning in the end.} ({
The promising alternative} 23... Be5 {was left unattended.}) 24. Bxb5 a6 25.
Bc6 $2 {Again, multiple choices for White, and Greg goes terribly wrong.} (25.
Bxa6 $2 {was bad on account of} Rxc7 26. Rxc7 Qxc7 27. Bb2 {and Black unpins
easily:} Ra8 28. Bb5 Rc8 {.}) ({but} 25. Qe4 $5 {was good:} axb5 26. Qf4 Bf6
27. Bb4 $1 {covers the e1-square.} Rxc7 28. Rxc7 Qxa4 29. g3 Kg7 30. Qe4 {
gives strong compensation.}) ({There was also a cute tactic,} 25. Bd3 Rxc7 26.
Bb4 $1 {which would help White stay materially even. I saw} Rxd7 27. Bxa5 Bxa5
28. Bxa6 Rb8 29. Bb5 Rd2 30. Qb3 Rc8 {and correctly judged this position
promising, as the rooks can possibly line up against the f2-pawn, while the
black king is perfectly safe. Taking in account Greg's serious time trouble,
it would be hard for him to defend.}) 25... Bb2 $6 {My big, flashy shot, and a
bad choice at that.} ({I missed that after} 25... Be5 26. g3 Rxc7 27. Rxc7 Qxc7
{his c6-bishop is pinned.}) 26. Rd1 $4 {The final act in the horror show this
game had deteriorated into.} ({White holds the draw after} 26. g3 Bxa3 27. Bb7
Bc5 28. Bxc8 Rxc8 {because of} 29. Qb2 $1 ({I thought White would have to go
into a queen ending down a pawn:} 29. Rd8+ Rxd8 30. cxd8=Q+ Qxd8 31. Qxc5 Qd1+
32. Kg2 Qxa4) 29... Bb6 30. Qf6 Qf5 31. Rd8+ {and this version of a queen
ending is dead even.}) 26... Qxc7 27. Qxb2 Qxc6 28. h4 Qxa4 29. Rd4 Rc4 30. Rd2
Rxh4 31. Bd6 e5 32. g3 Rh5 33. Bc7 Qc6 0-1

[Event "US Senior Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.07.25"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Tarjan, James"]
[Black "Christiansen, Larry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "2381"]
[BlackElo "2567"]
[Annotator "Yermolinsky"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/5kpp/p4b2/8/2p1p3/4P1PP/P4PK1/2B5 w - - 0 48"]
[PlyCount "8"]
[EventDate "2021.07.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#] Black just traded rooks on c4.} 48. f3 $2 ({After} 48. Kf1 Ke6 49. Ke2 {
I cannot quite see how to break White's defenses.}) 48... Ba1 $1 {A study-like
maneuver.} 49. Ba3 ({Black's point is seen after} 49. fxe4 c3 50. Kf2 Bb2 {.})
49... c3 50. Bc5 Ke6 51. Bd4 {The final error.} ({However, even the more
stubborn} 51. fxe4 Ke5 52. Kf3 c2 53. Ba3 {would not have saved White, as} Bc3
$1 54. Bc1 h5 55. g4 h4 56. g5 g6 57. a3 Ba1 58. a4 Bc3 $1 {would bring about
the deadly Zugzwang.}) 51... c2 $1 0-1

[Event "U.S. Junior"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.07.18"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Niemann, Hans"]
[Black "Checa, Nicolas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C10"]
[WhiteElo "2571"]
[BlackElo "2552"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2021.08.11"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nf3 Be7 7. Nxf6+ Nxf6
8. Bd3 c5 9. dxc5 Qa5+ 10. c3 Qxc5 11. Qe2 O-O 12. O-O-O {This aggressive
continuation scores a massive 76.8% in my database. White has mobilized his
pieces as quickly as possible and prepares a kingside attack.} Ng4 $2 {A
misguided move. Black is trying to trade pieces to ease the defense, but this
only accelerates white's attacking momentum. Theory has yet to reach a clear
consensus about this position. Some alternatives:} (12... Rd8 $6 {is bad due to
} 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Bxh7+ $1 Kxh7 15. Rxd8 Bxd8 16. Qd3+) (12... Bd7 $6 {
fails to the same trick:} 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Bxh7+ Kxh7 15. Rxd7) ({In view of
the above variations, in which all of black's problems were based on the weak
h7-pawn, it might be worth considering} 12... h6 $5 13. h4 (13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14.
Qe4 g6 {gives white nothing.}) 13... Bd7 {and the development problem is close
to being solved. However, I don't doubt that Niemann had something prepared
here; for example,} 14. g4 {is an interesting possibility.}) 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14.
Qe4 Nf6 15. Qh4 {White has won several tempos and brought his strongest piece
into the game.} Re8 {Stepping out of Bxh7+.} ({If} 15... g6 {, then} 16. Ne5 $1
(16. g4 $6 Bd7 17. g5 Nd5 18. Ne5 h5 $1 {is a better version compared to the
game, because the rook is better placed on f8 than e8.}) 16... Nd5 17. Qxe7
Nxe7 18. Be4 {, with a clear endgame advantage.}) 16. g4 $1 {This is the sort
of move any grandmaster makes instantly. White forces black to weaken his
position with ...g6.} g6 17. g5 Nd5 18. Ne5 ({A better way to develop the
attack was} 18. Rhe1 Bd7 19. Be4 Qd6 {Black cannot avoid this awkward move.} (
19... Ba4 20. Rxd5 $1 exd5 21. Bc2 $1) 20. Bc2 $1 {Preparing Nd2-Ne4-Nf6+.
Black has nothing, e.g.} Rac8 21. Nd2 Rxc3 22. Ne4 Rxc2+ 23. Kxc2 Qc7+ 24. Kb1
$18) 18... f6 $2 {This is wrong just for conceptual reasons. Black is opening
the position for all of white's attacking forces.} ({Black absolutely had to
play} 18... h5 {, keeping the kingside closed. White has to find a new
attacking plan; for example, I like the idea of Bc2-Rd3-Rf3. However, black
maintains some defensive chances.}) 19. Nxg6 $1 {This move is asking to be
played.} hxg6 20. Bxg6 fxg5 21. Qh6 Bd7 ({An incredible variation was pointed
out by Hans in the post-game interview:} 21... Qf6 22. Rhg1 Re7 23. Rxd5 $1
exd5 24. Bh7+ Kf7 25. Bg8+ $1 {Study-like. Hans: "As soon as I saw Rxd5, I was
like 'Oh, I'm going to win this tournament.'"}) ({There is no salvation in} 
21... Rf8 22. Rhg1 Qg7 23. Qxg5 {either.}) 22. Bxe8 Qxe8 23. Rhg1 {White has
"equalized" the material and the rest is easy for a player of Niemann's
calibre. White just takes everything on the kingside.} Kf7 24. Rxg5 Qh8 25.
Qg6+ Ke7 26. Rh5 $1 Qf8 27. Rh7+ Kd8 28. Rf7 Qh8 29. Rxd5 $1 {A nice finish.}
exd5 30. Qd6 {Black resigned, as there is no way to stop mate on d7 without
losing the queen (30...Qe8 31. Rf8).} 1-0

[Event "U.S. Junior"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.07.24"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Yoo, Christopher"]
[Black "Niemann, Hans"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D90"]
[WhiteElo "2474"]
[BlackElo "2571"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r5k1/5p1p/4p1p1/8/2Nb1P1P/2Nb2P1/P4P2/3R2K1 b - - 0 26"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2021.08.11"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{In this position, black can take on c4 and a2 and make a draw. However,
Niemann made an unjustified decision to play on and gave white a passed pawn
for free.} 26... Bxf2+ $6 {The a2-pawn is obviously much more important than
the f2-pawn. This is nothing more than a winning attempt in a position where
no winning attempt should exist.} ({After} 26... Bxc4 27. Rxd4 Bxa2 28. Nxa2
Rxa2 {the game would have been agreed drawn and Niemann would have had a
full-point lead heading into the last round.}) 27. Kxf2 Bxc4 28. a4 {Now black
needs to play quite accurately. The a-pawn is very dangerous!} Bb3 {Niemann is
defending the endgame very actively. This approach should not lose, but I
would have been wary of allowing the a-pawn any further.} ({A good setup was} 
28... Ra5 29. Ke3 Bd5 30. Kd4 Kg7 31. Ra1 Kf6 32. Nxd5+ $5 exd5 $1 {and white
cannot make progress.}) 29. Ra1 Rc8 30. Ne4 Kg7 31. Ra3 Bd5 32. Nd2 Kf6 33. a5
Rc2 34. Ke3 Kf5 35. a6 Kg4 36. Ne4 Ba8 37. Kd4 Re2 ({The best defense was} 
37... h6 38. Nf6+ Kf5 39. Ne8 Rc6 40. a7 h5 {and white cannot make progress as
the knight is limited.}) 38. Nf6+ Kf5 39. Ne8 ({There is probably nothing
wrong with} 39. Nxh7 {, simply taking a pawn.}) 39... Rc2 $2 {allowing white
to complete the knight regrouping.} ({Black's best chance by now was to give
up the bishop for the a-pawn and try to win the kingside pawns in the meantime.
} 39... e5+ $1 40. fxe5 Re4+ $1 41. Kd3 Rxe5 42. Nc7 Bg2 43. a7 Kg4 44. Kd4 Rf5
45. a8=Q Bxa8 46. Nxa8 Rf3 $11) 40. Nd6+ Kf6 41. Nc4 {Now Black's position is
very dangerous. White's knight is perfectly placed, preparing Kc5 in some
variations and also threatening Nb6.} h5 ({Maybe a better try was} 41... Rc1
42. a7 Rd1+ 43. Kc5 h5 {, with the idea of} 44. Nb6 Bb7 45. a8=Q Bxa8 46. Nxa8
e5 $1 {and black trades an important pair of pawns.}) 42. a7 Rg2 43. Nb6 Bb7
44. Rb3 {Good technique -- white wants to improve his position as much as he
can before capturing the bishop.} Rd2+ 45. Ke3 Rd8 ({The position can no
longer be saved, since after} 45... Rd1 46. Rb5 $1 {black no longer has the ...
e5 resource and white can queen next move.} ({But not} 46. Nd7+ $2 Rxd7 47.
Rxb7 Rxb7 48. a8=Q Rb5 {with chances to create a fortress.}) 46... Ra1 {
loses to} (46... Rd8 {is similar to the game.}) 47. Nd7+) 46. Nc4 Bh1 47. Rb8
Ke7 48. Rxd8 Kxd8 {After rooks are traded, the game is essentially over.} 49.
Nb6 Kc7 50. a8=Q Bxa8 51. Nxa8+ Kc6 ({or} 51... Kb7 52. Kd4 Kxa8 53. Ke5 {
and the king comes to f6.}) 52. Ke4 f6 53. Kd4 Kb7 54. Kc5 {A stunning loss
from an equal position.} 1-0

[Event "U.S. Junior"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.07.25"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Brodsky, David"]
[Black "Balakrishnan, Praveen"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "2455"]
[BlackElo "2507"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5rk1/p4qb1/Ppp1b1n1/4p2p/1N2n1p1/1PP1B3/2Q1B1PP/2NR2K1 b - - 0 27"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2021.08.11"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This position arose out of an Italian where white met black's early ...g5-g4
with a similar pawn push on the queenside, via a4-a5-a6. The execution did not
really work out and now white is fighting desperately in a bad position.
However, the tactics are far from simple and from this moment on the game
devolved into complete chaos.} 27... Nc5 $2 {The knight turns out to be
ineffective on this square.} ({Correct was} 27... Nf6 $1 28. Nxc6 Nd5 $1 {
and white has to defend passively after} 29. Qd2 h4) 28. Nxc6 Bf5 ({It's
possible that Balakrishnan originally missed that} 28... Nxb3 $2 {loses to} 29.
Nd8 $1) 29. Qa2 Kh7 30. b4 {Of course white would love to play any endgame,
where the a6-pawn will have its say.} Ne6 ({A crazy line is} 30... Be6 31. c4 (
31. Qc2 $2 Bh6 $1 32. Bxh6 Qf2+ 33. Kh1 Bd5 $3 {is the brilliant point. Black
wins after} 34. Rg1 Kxh6 35. bxc5 Nf4 $1) 31... Ne4 32. Qc2 Bh6 $1 33. Bxh6 (
33. Qxe4 $2 Bf5 $1) 33... Qf2+ 34. Kh1 Bf5 $1 35. Nd3 $1 Qh4 {and, in view of
the threat of ...g3, white has to find} 36. Bxg4 $3 (36. Bxf8 $2 g3 37. h3 Bxh3
38. Kg1 Bg4 $1 {wins.}) 36... Bxg4 37. Bxf8 Ng3+ 38. Kg1 Ne2+ {with...a draw
by perpetual check!}) 31. Bc4 {Now there is some point to white's position.
Black has to play accurately.} Qc7 $1 32. Nxa7 (32. Bxe6 Qxc6 33. Bxf5 Rxf5 34.
Ne2 Qe4 35. Qd2 h4 36. Qd3 Qxd3 37. Rxd3 Rf7 {does not give white much, as he
has to be very careful in advancing the queenside pawns due to black's
counterplay with ...Nf4.}) 32... Qxa7 33. Bxe6 Bxe6 34. Qxe6 Qxa6 35. Qxb6 ({
A centralizing move like} 35. Qd5 $5 {might have been safer.}) 35... Qc4 {
White has won a pawn, but black's queen is suddenly very active and white has
coordination issues.} 36. Qc5 $2 {Trying to keep the pawn, but this allows too
much counterplay.} (36. Nd3 Qxc3 37. Nf2 {maintains rough equality. I would be
casually optimistic here as white, due to his long-term trumps (control of the
e4-square and the passed b-pawn).}) 36... Qe4 $1 {This turns out to be
incredibly difficult for white to meet. The main point is that he cannot
activate his knight.} 37. Bg5 (37. Nd3 $2 {loses to} Rd8 $1) 37... h4 $2 ({
White's position collapses after} 37... Qc2 $1 38. Re1 Rf5 $1 {, in view of}
39. Qe3 ({or} 39. Be3 Nf4 40. Bxf4 exf4) 39... Rxg5 $1 40. Qxg5 Nf4) 38. Qd5 $1
{Now white is getting coordinated.} Qf5 39. Be3 h3 40. Ne2 hxg2 41. Qxg2 Qc2
42. Rf1 Rxf1+ 43. Kxf1 {White has survived the onslaught and now it's time for
black to seek a draw, in view of white's passed pawns on the queenside. He has
just enough counterplay to do so.} Qb1+ 44. Nc1 Qf5+ 45. Qf2 Qe4 46. b5 Nf4 47.
Bxf4 exf4 48. Qh4+ Bh6 49. Qxg4 Qh1+ 50. Qg1 Qf3+ 51. Qf2 Qh1+ 52. Qg1 {
A drawn result just means that both players were equally deserving of victory.
To play such an exciting game in the last round, with time pressure
omnipresent, is a remarkable accomplishment.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "U.S. Girls Junior"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.07.17"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Morris-Suzuki, Sophie"]
[Black "Wang, Annie"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B69"]
[WhiteElo "2043"]
[BlackElo "2384"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r6/k1q4p/pn1N1p2/4p3/1p4P1/1P1Q3P/PKPR4/8 w - - 0 43"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2021.07.17"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#] Black's position is passive and full of weaknesses. It's hard to imagine
that in just a few moves white will be dead lost.} 43. Rf2 $2 {This move wins,
but is a bit careless from a practical perspective. The position was good
enough to be won without excess calculation of variations, whereas now white
suddenly gives black some resources.} (43. Kc1 {is simply winning for white.
All the pieces are defended.}) 43... Rd8 $1 {Black finds a great practical try.
} ({Also possible was} 43... e4 {and white has to find} 44. Qg3 $1 {in order
to keep black's counterplay under control.}) 44. Rxf6 Kb8 $1 {[#] Threatening .
..Nc8. This was the critical moment of the game.} 45. Qd2 $2 ({The only
winning move was} 45. Re6 $3 {with the idea of} Nc8 ({or} 45... a5 46. Re8) 46.
Ne8 $1) 45... a5 {All of a sudden black is fine. The pin on the d6-knight is
very difficult to dislodge.} 46. Qd3 (46. Re6 Nc8 47. Ne8 {no longer works,
because white's queen is not defended.}) ({The best defense was to defend the
queen with} 46. Kc1 {, and then} e4 47. Nb5 Rxd2 48. Nxc7 e3 $1 49. Rxb6+ Kxc7
50. Re6 Re2 $1 {is a drawn rook ending.}) 46... e4 47. Qg3 $2 ({White had
saving chances after} 47. Qxe4 Rxd6 48. Rxd6 Qxd6 49. Qxh7) 47... Nd5 48. Re6
Qc3+ $2 {Both players were low on time, which explains the series of mistakes.}
(48... Qg7+ 49. Kc1 Qa1+ 50. Kd2 Nc3 {was immediately winning. For instance,}
51. Qe5 {is met by} Qg1) 49. Qxc3 bxc3+ 50. Kc1 Nc7 51. Rh6 e3 52. Kd1 Nb5 53.
Ke2 Nxd6 {Black is up a piece, but it is not over yet.} 54. Rxh7 $2 ({It was
more logical to take the dangerous passed pawn with} 54. Kxe3 {, and after} Rd7
55. a4 {black's knight cannot penetrate. White should hold a draw.}) 54... Re8
$2 (54... Nb5 $1 {was correct, with the idea of} 55. Kxe3 Na3) 55. Rh5 $2 ({
The only move to save the game was} 55. Rd7 $3 Ne4 56. Rd3 Ng3+ 57. Kd1 {
, and white wins back one of the pawns.}) 55... Ne4 $1 {It is smooth sailing
from here on.} 56. Rb5+ (56. Kxe3 Nf6+) 56... Kc7 57. Rxa5 Ng3+ 58. Ke1 Rf8 59.
Rf5 Nxf5 60. gxf5 Rxf5 61. Ke2 Re5 62. h4 Kc6 63. a4 Kc5 64. h5 Kd4 65. b4 Rxh5
66. b5 Rh2+ 67. Ke1 e2 68. b6 Ke3 69. b7 Rh1# 0-1

[Event "U.S. Girls Junior"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.07.19"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Wu, Rochelle"]
[Black "Wang, Annie"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D58"]
[WhiteElo "2138"]
[BlackElo "2384"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/5B1k/6p1/p3Pn2/4pP1p/7P/5KP1/8 b - - 0 49"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2021.07.17"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{After many twists and turns, this position was reached. Black has two passed
pawns and should be winning. But the excitement was not over just yet...} 49...
a4 50. Ke2 a3 51. Bc4 Kg7 {This misses the key idea. White always has some
saving chances as long as the f4- and e5- pawns stay together.} ({Thus, black
should have played} 51... g5 $1 52. fxg5 Kg6 {with a simple win.}) 52. Kd2 Kf8
53. Ba2 Ke7 54. Kc3 {White gained enough time to activate her king, and now
it's unclear if black can even win.} Ne3 $6 {Black is able to force white to
sacrifice the bishop for both passed pawns, but this essentially gives up any
hopes of winning the game.} 55. Kd4 $1 Nd1 56. Bb3 e3 57. Kd3 e2 58. Kxe2 Nc3+
59. Kf3 a2 60. Bxa2 Nxa2 61. Kg4 Nc3 62. Kxh4 {Now we reach the final phase of
this game. White is clearly the one playing for a win, but the position is
still objectively a draw.} Ne4 63. Kg4 Ke6 64. h4 Nc5 65. Kg5 Kf7 66. f5 Ne4+
67. Kf4 gxf5 68. Kxf5 Ng3+ 69. Kg4 Nf1 $2 {A mistake -- Black allows the
knight to be cut off. It should be mentioned that both players low on time.} (
69... Ne4 70. h5 Nc5 $1 71. Kf5 Ne6 {still holds the draw, though it's still
easy to imagine white winning this in a time scramble.}) 70. Kf4 (70. h5 {
was simpler. Again, black cannot bring back the knight in time:} Ne3+ 71. Kg5
Nc4 72. e6+ $1 Kxe6 73. Kg6 Ne5+ 74. Kg7) 70... Nd2 {[#]} 71. h5 $2 ({The only
winning move was} 71. Kf5 $3 {, intending} Nb3 72. e6+ Ke7 73. Kg6 {and wins,
as we saw before.}) 71... Nc4 $2 {The final mistake.} ({The knight had to make
its way to the blockading square e6.} 71... Nb3 $3 72. Kg5 (72. Kf5 Nd4+ 73.
Kg5 {does not achieve anything, unlike the game, because black's knight can
give another check on e6.}) 72... Nd4 73. h6 Ne6+ 74. Kh5 Nf8 $11) 72. Kf5 $1
Ne3+ 73. Kg5 $1 {Black's knight is coralled and cannot reach a useful square
in time.} Nc4 74. e6+ $1 {The big point, as we have seen before. As soon as
white gets the king to g7, the position is winning.} Kxe6 75. Kg6 Ne5+ 76. Kg7
Kf5 77. h6 Ng6 78. h7 Kg5 79. g4 $1 {The final point. Black is in zuzgwang.}
Nh8 80. Kxh8 Kh6 81. Kg8 Kg6 82. h8=Q {A dramatic game, where the result was
unclear till the very end. Even 25 moves earlier, it would have been
impossible predict that the blockaded pawn on h3 would be the one to promote!}
1-0

[Event "U.S. Girls Junior"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.07.20"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ulrich, Susanna"]
[Black "Wu, Rochelle"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E36"]
[WhiteElo "1974"]
[BlackElo "2138"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2021.07.17"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,85,25,26,18,-17,3,2,30,-14,0,-11,-4,-25,9,-26,16,40,5,-12,16,7,40,36,
14,-1,66,38,38,42,42,48,60,61,61,61,63,55,61,49,105,106,127,106,81,88,110,111,
116,116,123,114,114,121,133,134,125,139,149,149,137,138,287,300,303,173,204,
207,223,199,244,292,328,308,344,348,348,371,370,299,370,373,439,446,644,653,
684,686]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7.
Nf3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 b6 9. h4 $5 {This was Kasparov's idea, which he played twice
after his return in 2017. Coincidentally, both games were also played in...St.
Louis! White judges that her center is solid enough and starts probing for
kingside weaknesses.} c5 {The most natural reaction.} 10. dxc5 Ba6 11. Qc2 bxc5
12. h5 Nc6 $2 {A very serious mistake in an unfamiliar position. Weakening the
kingside dark squares like this is a huge commitment.} ({In the only previous
game to reach this position, black played the correct} 12... h6 $1 {but still
lost:} 13. g4 $1 {(the most energetic)} Nxg4 14. Rg1 f5 15. Bh3 Qe8 $2 (15...
Nc6 {was better, with an unclear position.}) 16. Bxg4 fxg4 17. Bxh6 $3 {
The only refutation, and a beautiful one.} Qxh5 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Qe4 $18 {
1-0 (27) Sarkar,J (2366)-Park,E (2207) Charlotte 2021}) 13. h6 g6 {White has a
positional advantage because black lacks a dark-squared bishop to protect the
kingside, reminiscent of a Grunfeld gone wrong. This absence means that the
c5-pawn also becomes very weak. Thus, white is clearly better as long as she
manages to keep black's knights at bay and coordinate the pieces. Urlich
accomplishes all of these things with powerful play.} 14. Bg5 $1 {Of course
there is no sense in taking the c5-pawn without any development. White focuses
on developing the pieces first.} Qa5+ ({Black's situation is not improved by} 
14... Nd4 15. Nxd4 cxd4 16. Rh4 $1 {, targetting the d4-pawn and creating
ideas of Rf4.}) 15. Bd2 Qb6 16. e3 {Controlling the d4-square, which was the
only possible basis for black counterplay.} Bxf1 17. Kxf1 $1 {The correct
recapture. As we have seen, the rook will be activated via the fourth rank,
and white's king will be very safe on g1.} Rfd8 18. Rc1 Rac8 ({Nothing much is
changed by} 18... Rab8 19. Rh4 {and black cannot capture on b2 because of the
exchange of queens followed by Bc3.}) 19. Rh4 $1 {After great play in the
early middlegame, white is already virtually winning. All the pieces come into
play and white's positional advantages are still there.} e5 {Trying to create
counterplay with ...e4. There was little choice, as after other moves black
would have slowly been squeezed; but in the end black only creates more
weaknesses.} 20. Rc4 e4 21. Ng5 ({Even more accurate was} 21. Bc3 $1 exf3 22.
Bxf6 fxg2+ 23. Kg1 Rd6 24. Qc3 {with a won position.}) 21... Ne5 22. Rxc5 {
Black would be alright if not for this move, which shows another benefit of
h5-h6 -- black's back rank is permanently weak.} Rxc5 23. Qxc5 Qxb2 24. Qb4 $1
Qa2 25. Qd6 $1 {Good calculation. Black's pieces are pushed back.} Ned7 26. Qc7
$5 {Preparing to trade queens on c4, thereby eliminating all counterplay.} Re8
({or} 26... Rf8 27. Bb4 Re8 28. Qc4) 27. Qc4 Qxc4+ 28. Rxc4 {[#] Despite the
equal material, the endgame is completely winning for white. Black has four
weaknesses (a7, e4, f7, and h7) and no way to deal with them all.} Nb6 29. Rc7
Nfd7 30. Ba5 {With the trade on b6 white eliminates a defender and wins a pawn.
} (30. Rxa7 f6 {is less accurate.}) 30... Re5 31. Bxb6 Nxb6 32. Nxf7 {More
than sufficient.} ({But} 32. Rb7 $1 {was a bit nicer.}) 32... Rd5 33. Rxa7 Nc4
34. a4 Rf5 35. Nd8 Nxe3+ 36. Kg1 Ng4 37. Rg7+ Kf8 38. Ne6+ Ke8 39. Nc7+ {
White was very low on time and repeats moves to reach the time control.} Kd8
40. Ne6+ Ke8 41. Rxh7 Ra5 ({or} 41... Rxf2 42. Rh8+ Ke7 43. h7 Rc2 44. Rf8 $1)
42. Rh8+ Ke7 43. h7 {A great win to shake up the standings.} 1-0

[Event "U.S. Girls Junior"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.07.24"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Morris-Suzuki, Sophie"]
[Black "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2043"]
[BlackElo "2226"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5q2/1PR5/6Q1/1k1bp1P1/4p3/8/1KP5/8 w - - 0 53"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2021.07.17"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{White has been completely winning for a long time, but black has one last
hope -- the threat of perpetual check. It worked:} 53. c4+ $4 {The pawn is
immune, since 53...Bxc4 is met by 54. Qc6+. It seems that white is just
winning the bishop, but improbably, black has a saving resource.} (53. b8=Q+
Qxb8 54. Qd6 $1 {was one way to win, sacrificing the passed pawn for a mating
attack.}) ({Another possibility was the defensive move} 53. Rc3 {, intending
to meet} Qb4+ {with} 54. Rb3 $1) 53... Ka5 $3 {The only move. Suddenly white's
king is much more open than a move ago; the threat of ...Qb4+ is impossible to
meet.} 54. cxd5 Qb4+ 55. Kc2 Qa4+ $1 {Once again this is the only move, but it
is sufficient.} 56. Kc1 Qa3+ 57. Kd2 Qd3+ 58. Kc1 Qa3+ 59. Kc2 Qa4+ 60. Kd2
Qd4+ $1 61. Ke1 Qe3+ 62. Kd1 Qd3+ 63. Ke1 Qe3+ 64. Kf1 Qf3+ 65. Kg1 Qg3+ 66.
Kh1 Qh3+ 67. Kg1 Qg3+ 68. Kf1 Qf3+ 69. Ke1 Qe3+ 70. Kd1 Qd3+ 71. Kc1 Qa3+ 72.
Kc2 {Draw!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Correspondence"]
[Site "Bethlehem"]
[Date "1919.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Heinrich Wagner"]
[Black "Wilhelm Schoenmann"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "1919.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 f6 6. e6 Bxe6 7. a3 a5 8. b3 f5
9. Bb2 Bc5 10. Qc2 Qe7 11. g3 O-O-O 12. Qd3 Nh6 13. Bg2 Ng4 14. O-O h5 15. b4
axb4 16. axb4 Nxb4 17. Qb3 Nc6 18. Qb5 Bb6 19. Bxd4 Bxd4 20. Nxd4 Rxd4 21.
Qxb7+ Kxb7 22. Rfb1+ Kc8 23. Bxc6 Qa3 24. Rb8+ Kxb8 25. Rxa3 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1919.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3k3/8/8/4b3/8/8/2P5/1KB1R3 b q - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1919.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "bk6/8/1b6/8/8/7r/5N2/1R4K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1919.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r7/6k1/6b1/8/8/rBb5/P1P5/1KR3R1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1919.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6rr/k7/P1P4Q/8/8/5b2/5P2/R1R2K2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1919.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4k2/8/5b2/8/8/2N5/1qP1Q3/3K1R2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1919.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Probelm 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "b4k2/1r6/8/8/3Q2P1/5q2/5P2/4R1K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Candidates qf2"]
[Site "Brussels"]
[Date "1991.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich"]
[Black "Timman, Jan H"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A18"]
[WhiteElo "2610"]
[BlackElo "2630"]
[Annotator "Watson"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "1991.08.??"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "BEL"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 d5 4. e5 Ne4 5. Nf3 Be7 6. Qc2 $1 Ng5 $6 7. Nxg5 Bxg5
8. cxd5 exd5 9. d4 Be7 10. Be3 O-O 11. O-O-O Nc6 12. a3 Na5 13. Bd3 h6 {
[#] This game is from a Candidates match. Timman has played the opening poorly,
and White has both space and excellent kingside prospects.} 14. Qe2 {The idea
is simply Bc2 and Qd3. Timman ignores this and opts for activity at all costs:}
(14. f4 {with the idea f5 is also very promising.}) 14... b5 $1 15. Bc2 Rb8 $1
16. Qd3 g6 $1 {Sacrificing material. In fact,} (16... f5 17. exf6 Rxf6 18. Qh7+
Kf7 {isn't so bad, but White keeps the initiative.}) 17. Bxh6 b4 $1 18. axb4
Rxb4 19. Qg3 ({Timan doesn't even mention} 19. Bxf8 Bxf8 {in his notes. The
bishop pair will be extremely strong in attacking Black's king.}) 19... Bh4 20.
Qf4 c6 {With the idea of bringing Black's queen to bear against White's king.}
(20... c5 {was also possible.}) 21. Rde1 $2 (21. Bxf8 Bg5 $1 {is strong, but})
(21. Rd3 {was safer.}) 21... Be6 $1 22. Re3 c5 23. Bxf8 Bg5 $1 24. Qg3 Kxf8 25.
h4 Bh6 26. h5 {[#] White is happy to give back the exchange in order to
counterattack.} g5 $1 {Rejecting the rook, but now Black's king is completely
safe and he is free to pursue a powerful queenside attack.  [[Originally:]
With the king defended, Black's queenside threats grow. Both sides were in
time trouble.]]} 27. Na2 Rb8 (27... Rxd4 $1 {was objectively stronger, "but I
didn't want to lose any speed in the attack" (Timman).}) 28. dxc5 g4 29. Kb1
Nc4 $6 {What follows isn't perfect, but Black brings home the point:} (29... d4
$1) 30. Rb3 Nd2+ 31. Ka1 Nxb3+ 32. Bxb3 Qa5 33. Rd1 Qb5 $1 34. Rd3 Bf5 35. Rxd5
Qxb3 36. Qxb3 Rxb3 37. c6 Rd3 38. Nb4 Rxd5 39. Nxd5 Ke8 40. Nf6+ Kd8 41. f3
gxf3 42. gxf3 Be6 43. Ng8 Bf4 44. h6 Bxe5 45. h7 Kc7 46. f4 Bg7 47. Nh6 Kxc6
48. f5 Bb3 49. Kb1 Kd6 50. Ng4 Bd5 51. Nh6 Ke5 52. Kc2 Kf4 0-1

[Event "Tata Steel-B 74th"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2012.01.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Timman, Jan H"]
[Black "Ernst, Sipke"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A11"]
[WhiteElo "2571"]
[BlackElo "2606"]
[Annotator "Watson"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2012.01.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. O-O Nbd7 6. Qc2 Nb6 7. Na3 Qd5 8.
b3 cxb3 9. axb3 Be6 10. b4 Qb3 11. Qxb3 Bxb3 12. b5 c5 13. d3 {White is a pawn
down, but the power of his g2 bishop overrides all other considerations.} Nfd7
(13... Bd5 14. e4 Be6 15. Be3 Nfd7 16. d4 cxd4 17. Nxd4) 14. Nd2 Bd5 15. e4 Be6
16. f4 f6 {[#]} 17. e5 Bd5 18. e6 $1 Bxe6 19. Bxb7 Rb8 20. Bc6 g6 21. Nac4 Nc8
22. Ne4 Kf7 23. Ne5+ $1 Nxe5 (23... fxe5 24. Ng5+) 24. fxe5 Bf5 25. Nxc5 Bg7
26. d4 Rd8 27. Rxf5 $1 gxf5 28. e6+ Kg6 29. Nd7 Nd6 30. Nxb8 Rxb8 31. Rxa7 Nxb5
32. Rxe7 Bh6 33. Be8+ 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.13"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "10.1 Henriquez Villagra, C."]
[Black "Goh Weiming"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2606"]
[BlackElo "2478"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3rr1k1/1pq3p1/p3pp2/2p1n1pQ/2P1P3/1P1P2R1/PB4PP/5R1K w - - 0 27"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,55,25,21,41,38,67,37,39,41,41,33,31,32,32,17,15,21,15,-1,14,19,2,-6,
-8,-7,-9,-15,-12,-15,-16,-12,0,-12,-13,-26,-21,-37,-38,-35,-23,0,-7,-7,5,-11,
18,0,20,0,0,-9,-14,-17,232,188,29987,29988] [#]} 27. Rh3 $1 Nd7 (27... Rf8 {
is a better defense, but still fails after} 28. Qh7+ Kf7 29. Rh6 {(threatens
Rxf6+)} Ke7 30. d4 $1 {and Black loses material.}) 28. Bxf6 $1 ({Black
resigned. A possible continuation was} 28. Bxf6 Nxf6 29. Rxf6 gxf6 30. Qh8+ Kf7
31. Rh7+ Kg6 32. Rh6+ Kf7 33. Qxf6+ Kg8 34. Rh8# {.}) 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.19"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "10.2 Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Black "Grandelius, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2709"]
[BlackElo "2661"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/p4p2/6pp/8/2qb4/1R2QPBP/P5PK/r7 w - - 0 30"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,63,30,25,17,25,52,37,37,37,46,51,51,51,51,41,41,41,30,29,65,20,51,31,
31,36,47,47,56,34,46,38,40,45,50,45,84,-3,34,45,38,29,25,20,68,59,57,42,44,36,
35,15,17,15,11,5,-9,-23,118,113,830,774,859,859,871,904] [#]} 30. Rb8+ ({
Note that White could also win with} 30. Be5 Qxb3 ({or} 30... Bxe3 31. Rb8+)
31. Qxd4 {and White is winning.}) 30... Kh7 ({Or} 30... Kg7 31. Be5+ Bxe5+ 32.
Qxe5+ f6 33. Rb7+ {and game over.}) 31. Be5 $1 {The move Black had overlooked
when playing ...Bd4 entering our starting position.} Bxe5+ ({Of course,} 31...
Bxe3 32. Rh8# {ends the game.}) 32. Qxe5 {and Black resigned in disgust.} 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.14"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "10.3 Fier, A."]
[Black "Pechac, Jergus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2569"]
[BlackElo "2523"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b4r/bp4k1/p3Bpn1/q1p3pR/3P1pP1/1QP2N2/1P1N1P2/2K4R w - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,53,25,17,13,17,17,5,5,18,7,9,4,-25,-15,-34,2,5,0,6,11,11,5,5,5,-32,5,
-16,-9,-9,11,30,7,-10,-10,-9,0,0,101,123,156,160,195,62,149,215,194,497,744,
821,1290,853,1357,1486,1484,664] [#]} 25. Bg8 $1 {The most direct way to the
full point, threatening Qf7#.} c4 ({Or} 25... Rxg8 26. Rh7+ Kf8 27. Qf7# {.})
26. Qxc4 Be6 27. Bxe6 {and Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.14"]
[Round "1.8"]
[White "10.4 Delgado Ramirez, N."]
[Black "Murshed, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "2622"]
[BlackElo "2404"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b1k2r/p1q2pb1/2pp2p1/2n3Bn/3NP2P/1BN5/PP1Q1P2/1K1R2R1 w kq - 0 20"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,45,20,20,83,64,71,62,66,54,64,18,22,15,18,21,61,-1,86,40,86,54,99,106,
125,92,117,131,109,119,158,132,287,156,102,111,237,127,138,117,223,175,175,166,
713,711,752,741] [#]} 20. Ndb5 $1 ({Or} 20. Ncb5 {leading to the same.}) 20...
cxb5 21. Nxb5 Qb6 ({Also} 21... Qc6 22. Nxd6+ Kf8 23. Qc2 Rb8 24. Be3 {and
Black's position collapses.}) 22. Nxd6+ Kf8 23. Qd5 {Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.15"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "10.5 Brkic, A."]
[Black "Kryvoruchko, Y."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2592"]
[BlackElo "2699"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r1rk1/1pp1nppp/3q1n2/pPb1pb2/P1B5/1QPP1N2/3N1PPP/R1B2RK1 w - - 0 15"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,47,23,23,17,13,18,16,19,19,10,-2,27,-30,9,1,1,1,-5,-19,8,0,-14,2,48,6,
17,17,27,-24,-18,85,85,108,107,114,113,118,242,231,267,225,289,325,327,337,328,
332,455,397] [#]} 15. Nxe5 $1 {White initiates some exchanges through this
initial sacrifice.} Qxe5 16. d4 Bxd4 $6 ({Logical because it wins a pawn but
it is not the best. Black should have opted for} 16... Qf4 {when} 17. Nf3 Qg4
18. Ne5 Qh5 19. dxc5 {when White has an extra pawn and the bishop pair.}) 17.
cxd4 Qxd4 18. Ba3 $1 {This is what Black had failed to properly account for
when entering this line. Now Black is struggling to safely coordinate his
pieces.} Rd7 19. Nf3 Qf4 20. Rad1 $1 {Black cannot avoid losing material.} Rd6
21. g3 Qh6 22. Bxd6 cxd6 23. Rxd6 Be4 24. Re1 {Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.14"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "10.6 Nikolov, Mo"]
[Black "Perez Ponsa, F."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2547"]
[BlackElo "2554"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r3rk1/3n1ppp/q3pn2/2pp4/2P5/PRQ1P1P1/3N1PKP/B2R4 b - - 0 20"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,58,24,20,20,-9,0,-4,10,-20,27,-4,-20,-20,-12,-15,-30,-20,-17,-3,-9,7,
26,-7,1,1,0,-10,-29,-20,-21,-43,-20,-68,-42,-80,-74,-93,-106,-88,-71,-140,-141,
-131,-128,-285,-292,-292,-292,-297,-297,-347,-229,-328,-291,-385,-387,-419,
-354,-1041,-1042] [#]} 20... d4 $1 ({Black could also consider} 20... Rxb3 21.
Qxb3 Rb8 22. Qa2 e5 23. cxd5 Qe2 {with a clear advantage but the text move is
so much better, exploiting White's poor coordination, which is, in fact, much
worse than it appears.}) 21. exd4 ({Also} 21. Qd3 {wins for Black after} Ne5
22. Qb1 Qa8+ 23. f3 Rxb3 24. Qxb3 Rb8 25. Qc2 Nfg4 {and White cannot stop
Black from penetrating his position.}) 21... cxd4 22. Qxd4 ({Or} 22. Qb2 Rxb3
23. Qxb3 e5 {when Black's central pawns are overwhelmingly better than White's
split queenside pawns and the same can be said about the minor pieces; in
other words, Black is winning.}) 22... Rxb3 23. Nxb3 Qb7+ {Black wins material.
} 24. Kg1 Qxb3 25. Rd3 Qb6 26. Qc3 Nc5 27. Rf3 Qb1+ 28. Kg2 Qe4 29. Qb4 Nd3 {
White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.15"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "10.7 Andreikin, D."]
[Black "Can, E."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A17"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2569"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4r1k/1b1q2pp/pp3p2/n3nR2/Pbp1PB1N/2NP2Q1/BP4PP/R5K1 w - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,49,20,23,23,20,9,-4,6,12,54,41,29,21,14,16,12,-15,5,-8,-7,-13,-24,-31,
-40,-38,-33,-49,4,-60,-5,-38,-18,-147,-119,-119,-52,-74,-81,-17,-23,-23,192,
199,241,241,241,263,287,323,419,334] [#]} 21. Bxe5 $1 {Otherwise Black is
actually better!} fxe5 22. Ng6+ $1 {The point behind the previous move.} Kg8 ({
Or} 22... hxg6 23. Qh3+ Kg8 24. Rxf8+ {and Black's queen falls.}) 23. Nxf8 {
White has won the exchange.} Bxf8 24. Raf1 Re8 25. Kh1 {Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.15"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "10.8 Adhiban, Baskaran"]
[Black "Delgado Ramirez, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2660"]
[BlackElo "2622"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnb2rk1/pp4pp/2p5/q4pN1/2Pp4/P1PB4/3Q2PP/R4RK1 w - - 0 15"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,43,23,13,29,6,6,10,17,-44,-42,-20,-22,-22,-6,-47,-36,-6,39,40,33,32,
24,19,15,2,34,-1,3,-52,36,19,28,0,57,208,341,358,359,368,362,434,1052,1046,
29993,29994] [#]} 15. c5 $3 {Opening the a2-g8 diagonal which is a major
problem for Black.} Kh8 ({Or} 15... dxc3 16. Qa2+ Kh8 17. Nf7+) ({Similarly,} 
15... Qxc5 16. Qa2+ {wins for White.}) 16. Qe2 $1 (16. Qa2 {is still an option,
e.g.,} Qc7 17. Rae1 $1 h6 18. Bxf5 $1 {(exploiting Black's weak back rank)}
Bxf5 19. Rxf5 Nd7 20. Ne6 {and White is winning.}) 16... Nd7 17. Nxh7 $1 dxc3 (
{Or} 17... Kxh7 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. Bc4+ {and it is curtains.}) 18. Qh5 Qxc5+ 19.
Kh1 Kg8 20. Bxf5 Qd5 ({Also} 20... Ne5 21. Ng5 {ends the game.}) 21. Ng5 Nf6
22. Qh7+ $1 {Black resigned.} ({A possible conclusion was} 22. Qh7+ Nxh7 23.
Bxh7+ Kh8 24. Rxf8+ {with mate.}) 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup Women 2021"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana RUS"]
[Date "2021.07.18"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "10.9 Dzagnidze, N."]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2523"]
[BlackElo "2430"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2qr3/2pb1pbk/p1np1npp/1p6/2P1PP1N/2N1B1P1/PP1Q2BP/3R1R1K w - - 0 18"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,72,19,30,13,3,28,12,12,-2,11,11,24,13,34,17,25,14,24,25,29,-1,54,-15,
-7,-7,-21,39,16,21,16,24,13,4,11,0,14,-7,-7,-14,-14,20,40,40,111,-108,-110,
-135,-130,-196,26,-94,74,-81,-118,-157,-61,-195,-197,-211,-216,-263,-299,-372,
-358,-635,-641,-698,-736,-817,-865,-905,-966,-969,-547] [#]} 18. e5 $1 dxe5 19.
f5 $1 ({White now breaks through Black's defensive lines. The game continued
in wild fashion with} 19. Nd5 $2 Ng4 $2 (19... Bg4 $1) 20. f5 $1 e4 $5 21.
fxg6+ fxg6 22. Rf7 $4 (22. Bg1 $1 {wins}) 22... Nce5 $1 {(Now Black is winning)
} 23. Rxg7+ Kxg7 24. Bd4 Bc6 $2 (24... g5 $1) 25. Bxe4 Nf6 $6 (25... bxc4 $1)
26. Bg2 bxc4 27. Ne3 $2 Kh7 28. Qf2 Bxg2+ 29. Kxg2 Qd6 30. Bc3 Qc6+ 31. Kg1 Ne4
32. Qf4 Ng5 33. Qf1 Nef3+ 34. Nxf3 Nxf3+ 35. Kf2 Rf8 36. Ke2 Nd4+ {and White
resigned.}) 19... g5 ({Or} 19... Nd4 20. fxg6+ fxg6 21. Nxg6 $1 {(A can opener
move, inviting Black's king out to tango)} Kxg6 22. Bxd4 exd4 23. Qc2+ Kf7 24.
Nd5 Bc6 25. Nxf6 Bxg2+ 26. Kxg2 Bxf6 27. Qh7+ Ke6 28. Rde1+ Kd6 29. Rxe8 Qxe8
30. Rxf6+ Kc5 31. Qxc7+ {and White is winning.}) 20. Qxd7 $3 {An amazing move,
sacrificing the queen for a couple of pieces, but with interest to be
collected shortly.} Nxd7 21. Bxc6 Re7 22. f6 $1 {An excellent clearance move.}
Bxf6 23. Nf5 $1 Re6 24. Bxd7 Qh8 25. c5 $1 ({Or} 25. Bxe6 fxe6 26. Rd7+ Kg6 27.
Ne7+ Bxe7 28. Rxe7 Qg8 29. Ne4 {and White has a positionally winning position.}
) 25... Rd8 26. c6 e4 27. Nd5 Bxb2 28. Bc5 Be5 29. Nfe3 {and Black is
completely tied and will eventually lose.} 0-1

[Event "MA State Ch"]
[Site "lichess.org"]
[Date "2018.05.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Tang, Jason"]
[Black "Solon, Nate"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2118"]
[BlackElo "2355"]
[Annotator "Solon"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/6pp/2qB2r1/p2pPp2/P1b2P2/2P2R1P/6PK/1R1Q4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL October 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1... d4 $1 {This move brings my bishop to life and lets me take aim at White's
king. It doesn't yet change the evaluation, but it creates the conditions for
luck.} 2. cxd4 Bd5 3. Rg3 $2 {The rook should have taken one for the team.} (3.
Rb5 $1 Bxf3 4. Qxf3 Qxf3 5. gxf3 {White may be down the exchange, but he's up
47 pawns. #datascience}) 3... Rxg3 4. Kxg3 Bxg2 {Now he has to constantly
worry about king safety.} 5. Kh2 Bf3 6. Qb3+ Bd5 7. Qd1 Rc8 {Declining the
repetition, of course! My attack against the exposed White king is worth more
than a pawn.} 8. Bc5 h6 9. Rb6 Qe8 10. Rd6 Be4 11. h4 $2 {The h-pawn was the
fig leaf covering White's naked king. It's not much, but that's all the more
reason to leave it where it is.} Rb8 12. Bb6 {At this point we were both quite
low on time. I was eyeing a sacrifice on b6, but saw that if I went for it
right away he could save himself with a queen check.} Kh7 $3 {My best move!
Preparation for the killer blow, posing as an innocuous king move in time
pressure.} (12... Rxb6 $2 13. Rxb6 Qd8 14. Qb3+ Kh7 15. Kh3 {would have let
him off the hook.}) 13. d5 {I don't think my opponent saw my idea, but he
didn't have a good defense anyway. For example,} (13. Kh3 Qc8 14. Bc5 Rb1)
13... Rxb6 $1 14. Rxb6 Qd8 {Now there's no answer to the double attack on b6
and h4.} 15. Qb3 Qxh4+ {Now it's forced mate.} 16. Kg1 Qe1+ 17. Kh2 Qh1+ 18.
Kg3 Qg2+ 19. Kh4 Qg4# 0-1

