[Event "Rome"]
[Site "Rome"]
[Date "1620.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Greco, Gioacchino"]
[Black "NN"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C53"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "27"]
[EventDate "1620.??.??"]
[EventType "game"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Qe7 5. O-O d6 6. d4 Bb6 7. Bg5 f6 8. Bh4
g5 9. Nxg5 fxg5 10. Qh5+ Kd7 11. Bxg5 Qg7 12. Be6+ Kxe6 13. Qe8+ {[#]} Nce7 14.
d5# 1-0

[Event "Greco"]
[Site "Europe"]
[Date "1620.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Greco, Gioacchino"]
[Black "NN"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "1620.??.??"]
[EventType "game"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. Ng5 O-O 6. d3 h6 7. h4 hxg5 8. hxg5
Nh7 9. Qh5 1-0

[Event "TCh-CHN 2017"]
[Site "China CHN"]
[Date "2017.11.04"]
[Round "18.4"]
[White "Bai, Jinshi"]
[Black "Ding Liren"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E21"]
[WhiteElo "2553"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2017.04.18"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Hangzhou"]
[BlackTeam "Zhejiang"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Bg5 c5 6. e3 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Nc6 8.
Qd3 h6 9. Bh4 d5 10. Rd1 g5 11. Bg3 Ne4 12. Nd2 Nc5 13. Qc2 d4 14. Nf3 e5 15.
Nxe5 dxc3 16. Rxd8 cxb2+ 17. Ke2 Rxd8 18. Qxb2 Na4 19. Qc2 Nc3+ 20. Kf3 Rd4 {
[#]} 21. h3 h5 22. Bh2 g4+ 23. Kg3 Rd2 24. Qb3 Ne4+ 25. Kh4 Be7+ 26. Kxh5 Kg7
27. Bf4 Bf5 28. Bh6+ Kh7 29. Qxb7 Rxf2 30. Bg5 Rh8 31. Nxf7 Bg6+ 32. Kxg4 Ne5+
0-1

[Event "FTX Crypto Cup KO 2021"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.05.26"]
[Round "1.11"]
[White "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C80"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2847"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5k2/5p2/3P2pp/1Q2r1q1/2p5/5P2/P4P1P/3R1K2 w - - 0 36"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2021.05.26"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 36. Qxe5 (36. Qxe5 Qxe5 37. d7) 1-0

[Event "FTX Crypto Cup KO 2021"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.05.30"]
[Round "3.13"]
[White "So, W."]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C53"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2847"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5r1k/pp2q1p1/6Q1/3pPPp1/2nP2P1/7r/P4RN1/5RK1 w - - 0 31"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2021.05.26"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 31. f6 gxf6 32. exf6 Qh7 33. Qg7+ (33. Qg7+ Qxg7 34. fxg7+ Kxg7 35. Rxf8)
1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.07"]
[Round "10.3"]
[White "Carlsen, M."]
[Black "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2862"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/1p3q2/6p1/1Pbp2Bp/p6P/Pn4P1/R1B2PK1/3QrR2 w - - 0 33"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2021.02.06"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 33. Bxg6 (33. Bxg6 Rxd1 (33... Qxg6 34. Rxe1) 34. Bxf7+) 1-0

[Event "Opera Euro Rapid KO 2021"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.02.13"]
[Round "3.14"]
[White "So, W."]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C53"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2862"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7k/p7/1p3p2/2pr1q1p/2Qb2R1/7P/P5P1/4R2K w - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2021.02.09"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 35. Re8+ Kh7 36. Re7+ Kh8 37. Qc1 1-0

[Event "FTX Crypto Cup KO 2021"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.05.30"]
[Round "3.11"]
[White "So, W."]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C53"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2847"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5rk1/p4rp1/2Q5/1p1pBn2/3P3p/2P2qPP/P4P2/4RRK1 b - - 0 30"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2021.05.26"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 30... Nxg3 31. Bxg3 (31. fxg3 Qxf1+ 32. Rxf1 Rxf1+) 31... hxg3 32. Re8 g2
33. Rxf8+ Rxf8 0-1

[Event "FTX Crypto Cup KO 2021"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.05.27"]
[Round "1.32"]
[White "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2847"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1b1rr1k1/6p1/R3b2p/1p1p3n/3P1p1q/1BP1pP1P/1P2N1P1/3QRNK1 b - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2021.05.26"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 35... Bxh3 36. Rg6 (36. gxh3 Qf2+) 36... Bf5 37. Bc2 Bxc2 0-1

[Event "URS-ch27"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Polugaevsky, Lev"]
[Black "Petrosian, Tigran V"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E54"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 {[#]} 7. O-O dxc4
8. Bxc4 b6 9. Qe2 Bb7 10. Rd1 Nbd7 11. d5 Bxc3 12. dxe6 Ba5 13. exd7 Qc7 14. e4
Nxd7 15. Ng5 Rad8 16. Bxf7+ Rxf7 17. Ne6 Qc8 18. Nxd8 Ba6 19. Qe3 Re7 20. Qb3+
c4 21. Qa3 Nc5 22. Be3 Rxe4 23. Bxc5 Qxc5 24. Qf3 {[#]} 1-0

[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/8/5q2/8/1Q6/8/6PP/3n2K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/8/8/8/3qn3/8/6PP/5QRK b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6k1/3b4/8/8/6rP/3R1nPK/6R1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/7k/8/2b5/3q2n1/8/6PP/Q4R1K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7k/7r/8/6bn/8/8/6PP/1R1R3K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "Leningrad"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/8/7r/8/8/4p2n/4Q1P1/7K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana"]
[Date "2021.08.03"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Duda, Jan Krzysztof"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2847"]
[BlackElo "2738"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "148"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {This is probably the most important game of the entire event. It
decided the qualifiers for the Candidates (given that Carlsen is already World
Champion!) and made the third place match rather ceremonial... although I'm
sure Fedoseev was glad to get the fourth place prize money!} c5 2. Nf3 d6 3.
Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. O-O Nf6 6. Qe2 {Carlsen has employed this setup in
past rapid games, so Duda might have expected this. As the game shows, he was
totally prepared for it.} Nc6 7. c3 e6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 d5 10. e5 Ne4 11.
Nbd2 ({The alternative} 11. Be3 Be7 12. Ne1 f6 13. f3 Ng5 14. Nd3 O-O 15. Nd2
Rac8 {is rather harmless according to current practice.}) 11... Nxd2 12. Bxd2
Bb4 $1 {Let me share a personal story here: this is the first pawn structure
that I studied with a GM! GM Igor Zaitsev showed the first generation of
talented Iranian players a game he had played in the 1998 Heart of Finland
open. He said something that still sticks with to me to this day: White's
attack in this setup is underestimated because everybody eases up after
trading off the light-squared bishop. Now, some 23 years later, the engines
want to exchange the other bishop, confirming the old theoretician's ingenious
insight.} 13. Bf4 $1 {Carlsen knows his stuff - of course he won't trade!} O-O
14. Qd3 ({Future players will want to investigate} 14. h4 $5 {, following
Zaitsev's recommendation. Engines love it at depth 50! Not too shabby! The
position after} h6 15. h5 Rac8 {will appear someday at the highest level. Mark
my words!}) 14... Be7 15. a3 Rac8 16. g3 Na5 17. b3 Qc6 18. Bd2 Qb6 19. Rfb1 a6
20. Kg2 Nc6 21. Re1 ({Perhaps Carlsen should have tried} 21. h4 Rc7 22. h5 h6
23. Rh1 Qb5 24. Qe3 Rcc8 $1 ({not} 24... Rfc8 25. g4 $1 {with advantage to
White}) 25. Ra2 {and the position remains complicated.} ({Play is also unclear
after} 25. g4 f5 $1 {.})) 21... Qb5 22. Qb1 Rc7 23. h4 Rfc8 24. Ra2 $6 {
This is a bit slow.} ({More promising for White is} 24. h5 h6 25. Re3 ({
worse is} 25. Be3 $6 Na5 26. b4 Nc4) 25... a5 26. g4 a4 27. Qd1 {.}) 24... a5
25. Rh1 a4 26. b4 $2 {But this is a serious mishap. Duda demonstrates deep
technical skill from here, although most of his moves are rather thematic.} ({
I think Carlsen had to play} 26. Rb2 Bxa3 27. Ng5 g6 28. h5 Bxb2 29. hxg6 hxg6
30. bxa4 Qb6 31. Bc3 Nxd4 ({things are unclear after} 31... Bxc3 32. Qxb6 Bxd4
33. Qb1 Bxe5) 32. Nh7 Nc2 33. Nf6+ Kf8 34. Bxb2 Qb4 35. Rh8+ Kg7 ({not} 35...
Ke7 36. Ba3) 36. Rh7+ {with equality.}) 26... h6 27. Be3 $2 {This second
time-waster leaves Carlsen without any counterplay.} ({He would have put up
fierce resistance after} 27. Rc1 Na7 28. Rac2 {.}) 27... Na7 28. Bd2 $6 ({After
} 28. Ng1 Rc3 29. Ne2 Rb3 30. Qd1 Qa6 $1 31. Nf4 {the engine says Black is
winning, but at least White is going to throw the sink at Black before
throwing in the towel!}) 28... Qe2 ({More precise was} 28... Rc4 {followed by .
..Qb5-a6 and ...Na7-b5.}) 29. Re1 Qc4 30. Re3 Nb5 31. Rd3 Rc6 32. Rb2 Bd8 33.
g4 Bb6 34. Be3 Nc3 35. Qf1 Qb5 36. Rc2 Ne4 37. Rxc6 $6 {Leaving Carlsen
fundamentally worse for a long time.} ({Giving up the Exchange with} 37. Rc5
Bxc5 38. dxc5 Qc4 39. Nd4 R6c7 40. f3 Nc3 41. Rd2 {is a better practical
chance.}) 37... Rxc6 38. Rd1 Rc4 39. Nd2 Nxd2 40. Rxd2 Qc6 41. Qe2 Rc3 42. Ra2
Bd8 43. g5 hxg5 44. hxg5 Qc4 $1 {Heading for a winning endgame.} 45. Qxc4 dxc4
46. d5 exd5 47. Rd2 Rd3 48. Rxd3 cxd3 49. f4 Kf8 50. Kf3 Ke7 51. Bc5+ Ke6 52.
Ke3 Kf5 53. Kxd3 g6 54. Be3 Bc7 55. b5 Bd8 56. Kd4 Bb6+ 57. Kd3 Bd8 58. Kd4 Be7
59. Bc1 Ke6 60. Bb2 Bd8 61. Kc5 Ba5 62. Bc1 Bc3 63. b6 d4 64. Kc4 Kd7 65. Be3
Bb2 66. Bxd4 Bxa3 67. Be3 Bb2 68. Kb4 a3 69. Kb3 Ke6 70. Ka2 Kd5 71. Kb3 Ke4
72. Bd2 Bd4 73. Kxa3 Bxb6 74. Kb4 Bf2 0-1

[Event "Heart of Finland op 07th"]
[Site "Jyvaskyla"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Zaitsev, Igor A"]
[Black "Keskisarja, Teemu"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2450"]
[BlackElo "2315"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "1997.07.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "FIN"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. O-O Nc6 6. c3 Nf6 7. Re1 e6 8.
d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 d5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 12. Bxd2 Be7 13. Rc1 O-O 14. Rc3
Rac8 15. a3 Rc7 16. Rd3 Rfc8 17. h4 h6 18. Nh2 Bf8 19. Ng4 Qd8 20. Rg3 Kh8 21.
Nf6 Nxd4 22. Bxh6 Nf5 23. Qh5 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana"]
[Date "2021.08.05"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Duda, Jan Krzysztof"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D50"]
[WhiteElo "2738"]
[BlackElo "2757"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Bg5 Be7 8.
e3 O-O 9. Rd1 {This is Duda's improvement over his earlier game against GM
Alexander Grischuk in this event.} ({There, play continued} 9. Bd3 h6 10. Bh4
Nc6 11. Qa4 Bd7 12. Qd1 Bg4 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 d4 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Nd5 Bg5
17. e4 Qa5+ 18. Kf1 {and the game was drawn in 28 moves. (Duda-Grischuk, World
Cup 2021)}) 9... Nc6 10. Qa4 Be6 11. Bb5 Qb6 12. Bxf6 $1 {An important nuance
discovered by Duda and his team.} Bxf6 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. Rxd5 Bxb2 15. Ke2 $1
Bf6 16. Rhd1 {Black has no weaknesses, but White is completely dominant.} Rac8
17. Bc4 $1 {Another strong move - Duda knows what is he doing!} Qb4 18. Qb3
Qxb3 19. Bxb3 {[#] Time to take stock of the position, which is completely
winning for White. He is dominating the d-file and the seventh rank, and he
will target the b7- and f7-pawns while the f6-bishop is hitting air.} Nb8 20.
g4 $1 h6 21. h4 g6 22. g5 hxg5 23. hxg5 ({The engine prefers} 23. h5 {but in
all honest, it is is too fancy!}) 23... Be7 24. Re5 Nc6 25. Rd7 Bd8 26. Rb5 Na5
27. Bd5 ({Here} 27. Rxd8 Rcxd8 28. Rxa5 a6 29. Ne5 {seems simpler.}) 27... Rc7
28. Bxf7+ Kg7 29. Rxc7 Bxc7 30. Bd5 {Tired and disgusted, Karjakin resigned!
This was Duda's easiest win, and it came in the most important match of the
event.} 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup (Women)"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana"]
[Date "2021.07.18"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Dzagnidze, Nana"]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2523"]
[BlackElo "2430"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,72,25,19,30,-10,13,21,19,19,19,14,27,31,18,17,22,-3,37,35,27,-11,22,
-8,-12,-20,24,24,17,17,24,24,22,-1,14,-18,14,0,80,-16,98,97,54,122,122,-108,
-46,-133,-133,-185,26,-44,20,-127,-21,-6,0,-183,-199,-232,-211,-287,-326,-354,
-393,-635,-737,-739,-939,-905,-927,-1000,-1040,-1040,-507]} {To beat a strong
opponent you need to take a risk, seize the moment, and (sometimes) get lucky.
In this game, Carissa followed the right recipe.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2
Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. d4 d6 6. c4 {and we have a King's Indian} Bf5 $5 {
Provocative.} (6... Nc6 {or 6...Nbd7 or 6...c6 are the key mainlines.}) (6...
Ne4 {has even been tried by Grischuk and Firouzja!}) 7. Nh4 ({Black's big idea
is} 7. Nc3 Ne4 {.}) 7... Be4 8. f3 $6 {I don't like this move. It leaves the
h4-knight out of the game for sometime.} Bc6 ({Also interesting was} 8... Bxb1
9. Rxb1 c5 10. f4 Nbd7 {.}) 9. Nc3 ({After the space-gaining} 9. e4 {Black
might consider the new move} b5 $5 {, with a sample variation of} 10. cxb5 Bxb5
11. Rf2 Nc6 12. Nc3 Ba6 13. Qa4 Bb7 14. Be3 e5 15. dxe5 (15. d5 $2 {is met with
} Nd4 $1) 15... Nxe5 16. Rd1 a5 {and an unclear position.}) 9... e5 10. Be3 ({
Grabbing space with} 10. d5 Bd7 11. e4 Nh5 12. Rf2 a5 13. Be3 Na6 14. Bf1 f5 {
looks good for Black.}) 10... Bd7 ({Here the thematic} 10... exd4 11. Bxd4 Bd7
12. e4 Nc6 13. Bf2 Be6 14. Nd5 Re8 15. Qd2 a5 16. Rfe1 {would have gradually
morphed into a typical position for the fianchetto King's Indian.}) 11. Qd2
exd4 12. Bxd4 h6 $2 {Too cute by half. Of course Black wants to play ...g6-g5,
but this is a waste of time.} ({I much prefer} 12... Nc6 13. Bf2 Be6 14. Nd5 ({
not} 14. b3 $4 d5 $1 15. Rad1 dxc4 {with a big Black advantage}) 14... a5 15.
e4 a4 16. Rac1 Na5 17. f4 c5 18. Rfd1 Re8 19. e5 dxe5 20. Bxc5 Bxd5 21. cxd5
exf4 22. Qxf4 Nd7 {and while the engines are calm about this position, I
prefer Black. White's pieces seem out of place due to the awkward placement of
the c5-bishop and the h4-knight. Harmony is a key concept in chess!}) 13. e4 $1
{There goes that ...g6-g5 idea!} Nc6 14. Be3 Kh7 {Now it is Black who is
conceding tempi.} 15. Rad1 Re8 16. Kh1 a6 17. f4 b5 $2 {Bold, and in
accordance with the tournament's knockout format... but entirely wrong!} ({
It was still a tough fight after} 17... Bg4 18. Rc1 Qd7 19. Bg1 Rab8 20. b3 Bh3
{.}) 18. e5 $1 {What else?!} dxe5 19. Nd5 $4 {Now Dzagnidze returns the favor,
but the winning plan was admittedly far from obvious!} ({The right path was} 
19. f5 $1 g5 {[#]} 20. Qxd7 $3 {Pictueresque!} Nxd7 21. Bxc6 gxh4 22. Rxd7 Qc8
({White wins after} 22... Qb8 23. f6) 23. Nd5 $1 {and the white pieces are
totally dominant!} ({Note that the tempting} 23. f6 $2 Re6 $1 24. fxg7 Rxc6 25.
Rfxf7 Qb7 $1 26. g8=Q+ Kxg8 27. Rg7+ {only leads to a draw.})) 19... Ng4 $4 {
The latest in a series of blunders. Luckily, Carissa made the next-to-last
mistake in this sharp position!} ({Only Black can be better after the correct} 
19... Bg4 $1 20. Nxf6+ Qxf6 21. fxe5 Qxe5 22. Bxc6 Rad8 $1 23. Bd4 Bxd1 24.
Bxe5 Rxd2 25. Bxe8 Bxe5 26. Rxf7+ Kg8 {.}) 20. f5 $1 {Nana is back on track.}
e4 21. fxg6+ fxg6 22. Rf7 $4 {The pendulum swings once more.} ({The right move
is} 22. Nxg6 $1 {, proving that 7.Nh4 was the right plan! After} Kxg6 {White
has to find} 23. h3 $1 {which is hard to spot! The idea is} Nxe3 24. Qxe3 Kh7
25. Rf7 Ne5 {and now it is too late for this move because Black has no knight
on g4:} ({no better is} 25... Kh8 26. Nf4) 26. Nf6+ Qxf6 27. Bxe4+ Kg8 28. Rxf6
Bxf6 29. Qxh6 $18 {with a winning position.}) 22... Nce5 $1 {Carissa seizes
the moment!} 23. Rxg7+ Kxg7 24. Bd4 Bc6 $6 {It is not easy to play so
accurately with such a weak king, so we could give Carissa credit for playing
the most natural move relatively fast.} ({Stronger is} 24... g5 25. Bxe4 gxh4
26. Nf4 h3 $1 {but yeah, good luck playing this cold-blooded move when there
is so much at stake!}) 25. Bxe4 Nf6 $4 {Deserving of criticism.} (25... bxc4 {
would have been consistent with Carissa's previous move, especially if Black
blundered with} 26. Nxg6 $4 Bxd5 {.}) 26. Bg2 ({White could have turned the
tables with} 26. Qf4 $1 Bxd5 27. Bxd5 {.}) 26... bxc4 27. Ne3 Kh7 $1 {A strong
prophylactic move. From this point forward, Carissa avoids all the cheapos and
stays on track until the end.} 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+ {Some
might attribute this win to chance, but strong players know better. It is
never easy to take down a powerful and experienced opponent without taking
substantial risks in certain moments. Kudos to the number one American woman
for such a nice victory!} 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Cup (Women)"]
[Site "Krasnaya Polyana"]
[Date "2021.08.01"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Goryachkina, Aleksandra"]
[Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2596"]
[BlackElo "2472"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "126"]
[EventDate "2021.07.12"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 a6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Be3 Nd5 8. Qc1
Nxe3 9. Qxe3 Be7 10. Rc1 O-O 11. Rxc4 Bd7 12. a3 a5 13. Nbd2 a4 14. Ne5 Na5 15.
Rc2 Bb5 16. Re1 Ra6 17. h4 Rd6 18. Qc3 c6 19. e3 f6 20. Nef3 e5 21. b4 axb3 22.
Nxb3 Nxb3 23. Qxb3+ Kh8 24. a4 Ba6 25. dxe5 Rd3 26. Rc3 Rxc3 27. Qxc3 fxe5 28.
Qxe5 c5 29. h5 c4 30. h6 Bf6 31. hxg7+ Bxg7 32. Qh5 Qf6 33. Ng5 Qxf2+ 34. Kh2
Qc2 35. e4 h6 {[#]} 36. Nf7+ $2 {It's not enough to play well to win a World
Cup -- you need to be lucky too!} ({In a winning position, Goryachkina misses
the absolutely crushing} 36. Rd1 $1 Qb2 37. Nf7+ Kh7 38. Rd6 $18) 36... Kg8 37.
Qd5 $4 {Losing the thread entirely.} ({Now} 37. Re2 $1 {is the only winning
move. After} Qxa4 38. Rf2 c3 39. Qg6 Bc4 40. Nxh6+ Kh8 41. Nf5 Qd7 42. Rf4 Rf6
43. Qh5+ Kg8 44. Rg4 c2 {[#] White can allow the pawn to promote, as mate
takes priority!} 45. Nxg7 c1=Q 46. Ne6+ Qg5 47. Rxg5+ Rg6 48. Qxg6+ Qg7 49.
Qxg7#) 37... c3 38. Nxh6+ Kh7 39. Nf7 Qf2 40. Ng5+ $4 {The tragedy of the
fortieth move - a story as old as time.} ({By now Goryachkina had to content
herself with a draw after} 40. Qh5+ Kg8 41. Nh6+ Bxh6 42. Qxh6 $11) 40... Kg6
$1 41. Rh1 Qd4 $6 {Trying to get queens off is understandable, but this is
inaccurate.} ({The fearless} 41... c2 {is stronger.}) 42. Nh3 Qxd5 43. exd5 Bh6
$2 44. Re1 $2 ({Here White missed the saving} 44. Nf4+ $1 Bxf4 45. gxf4 $11)
44... Bd3 $6 ({Hope lives after} 44... Kg7 45. Re7+ Rf7 46. Rxf7+ Kxf7 47. Be4
Bc4 {when Black has good winning chances.}) 45. Nf4+ $1 Bxf4 46. gxf4 Rxf4 47.
d6 Rxa4 48. Bxb7 Rd4 49. Kg3 Bf5 50. Bf3 c2 51. Rc1 Kf6 52. Kf2 Ke5 {[#]} 53.
Ke3 $4 {Goryachkina thought that she had the worst behind her, but this is the
straw that broke the camel's back.} ({She could still have drawn with the
precise} 53. Ke1 Kf4 54. Bd1 $1 $11) 53... Rd3+ 54. Ke2 Rxd6 {The loss of a
single tempo proves to be too much.} 55. Ke1 Kd4 56. Bd1 Ke3 $1 {Now it is
over.} 57. Rxc2 ({Mate follows after} 57. Bxc2 Rg6 58. Bd3 Bxd3 {.}) 57... Bxc2
58. Bxc2 Rd2 59. Bf5 Rf2 60. Be6 Rf6 61. Bd5 Rd6 62. Bb3 Rb6 63. Bc2 Ra6 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"]
[Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2729"]
[BlackElo "2726"]
[Annotator "Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{World Cup winner GM Jan-Kryzstof Duda was the big sensation of the tournament.
Like everyone he had shaky moments, but anyone who beats the World Champion in
a match -- no matter how short -- has achieved something rare. The following
game against Vidit was, according to Duda, "the best game of [his] life." Some
might argue it was rather unambitious to skip the middlegame altogether; I
found it a rich positional fight of great aesthetic value.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. c3 d6 9. d4 Bb6 10. a5
Ba7 11. h3 Bb7 {[#] After the game, Duda explained that he got into trouble on
his way to the venue and was afraid he might miss the start of the game. In
fact, he would have lost the match, given the zero tolerance rule in place.
Understandibly shaken, he decided to go for this known drawish line.} 12. Be3
Nxe4 13. d5 Bxe3 14. dxc6 Nxf2 15. Qe2 Nxh3+ 16. Kh1 Nf2+ 17. Rxf2 Bxf2 18.
Qxf2 Bxc6 ({Risky for Black would be} 18... Bc8 $2 19. Nxe5 O-O 20. Nd3 Qg5 21.
Nd2 {. The knights are strong and the c6-pawn is a strong asset.}) 19. Nxe5
Bxg2+ $1 {[#]} 20. Kg1 $1 ({Here} 20. Kxg2 $2 Qg5+ 21. Kf1 Qxe5 {would give
Black a strong chance of winning the endgame with rook and three pawns against
two minor pieces.}) 20... Qf6 {Duda was out of book here.} 21. Nxf7 Qxf2+ 22.
Kxf2 Rf8 23. Kxg2 Rxf7 24. Bxf7+ Kxf7 25. Nd2 {[#] The opening stage is over
and we have skipped straight into the endgame, bipassing the middlegame. Duda
explained that he considered this a force draw. But reality is different. Only
White has chances of winning this game, even if they are small. The problem
for Black is that although his preparation has been perfect, he will still
have to work out how to make the draw. This is something preparation cannot
provide him with. White has too many options and there are too many variations
to prepare, making it impossible to analyse everything till the end. In
practice, this pressure was not easy to deal with for Vidit, in an already
high-pressure game.} Re8 {Black's main difficulty is the a-pawn. If the b-pawn
was back on b7, he would not have anything to worry about. Now there are many
situations that are unpleasant. White will be looking for shots like Nxc7 or
Nxb5.} ({It is hard to evaluate if} 25... b4 $5 26. c4 Re8 {was more accurate;
I suspect that it is not. The pawns are stuck, and this can only favor White.})
26. Rf1+ {Asking Black to decide whether the king is more useful on the
kingside or the queenside. It is a question without an obvious answer.} Kg6 {
Vidit decides to keep his king close to the pawns. This is a rational choice,
as it does not run the risk of losing them. On the other hand, the a-pawn is
awfully far away now. Conceptually speaking, Black would not have to worry
about a pawn ending where the black king is in the center or on the queenside.
The king can defend the queenside and neither the king or the knight will be
able to overpower the two kingside pawns. A draw would be assured.} 27. Kf2 h5
28. Rg1+ Kf6 {[#] The most natural manoeuvre would be Nd2-f3-d4, but Duda
found a different way to create pressure against the fragile black queenside.}
29. Kf3 $5 g6 $6 {Vidit does not find the best way to organise the pieces.} ({
Stronger was} 29... Re5 $1 30. Ne4+ Kf7 {. For example:} 31. Nf2 Rf5+ $1 32.
Ke2 g5 33. Nd3 c5 {and Black is making a draw. White can try 31.Kf4 and look
for ways to create problems for the opponent.}) 30. Ne4+ {Already Black is
approaching the zone of one mistake.} Kg7 $1 31. Nf2 Rf8+ ({It was stronger to
play} 31... Kh6 $1 32. Nd3 g5 {, mobilising the pawns for active counterplay.})
32. Kg2 Re8 $2 ({Black still had time to play} 32... Rf5 33. Nd3 c5 {, keeping
everything under control. [#] Duda would probably still be able to create some
difficulties for his opponent, but it is worth noticing that the exchange of
rooks would not be a problem.} 34. Rf1 Rxf1 35. Kxf1 Kf6 36. b4 cxb4 37. Nxb4
Ke6 38. Nxa6 Kd7 39. Nb4 Kc7 {Black holds. White cannot make progress on the
queenside, while the king is occupied on the kingside.}) 33. Nd3 $1 g5 (33...
c5 34. Nf4 {was also bad for Black.}) 34. Nb4 Re2+ $2 {[#]} ({Black's last
chance was to follow a forced path:} 34... c5 35. Nxa6 Ra8 36. Nc7 Rxa5 {
, when Black has finally eliminated the a-pawn. But he is still in grave
danger after} 37. Ne8+ Kg6 38. Nxd6 Ra2 39. Rb1 b4 40. c4 {, when Black is
balancing on the edge of destruction.}) 35. Kh1 $3 {Duda was here able to play
a surprising move, worthy of an endgame study.} ({The reasonable looking} 35.
Kf3 {would be inferior, as ...Rxc3 would come with check, as would ...g5-g4,
both giving Black reasonable drawing chances.}) 35... Rxb2 36. Ra1 c5 37. Nxa6
b4 38. Nxb4 $1 {Duda was happy having a forced win, so although the line was
long, it was easy to calculate.} ({White was also winning after} 38. cxb4 cxb4
39. Nc7 $1 {, when he would win the rook after 39...Rc2 40.a6, and eliminate
the b-pawn after} b3 40. Ne6+ $1 Kf6 41. Nd4 $1 {. The black king is not
within the quadrant after} Ra2 42. Rxa2 bxa2 43. Nb3 {, winning.}) 38... cxb4
39. a6 bxc3 40. a7 c2 41. a8=Q Rb1+ 42. Kg2 c1=Q {[#]} 43. Ra7+ Kf6 44. Qf8+
Ke5 45. Re7+ Kd5 46. Qf3+ Kc5 47. Rc7+ Kb4 48. Qb7+ Ka5 49. Qa7+ Kb5 50. Qb8+
1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Jumabayev, Rinat"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D36"]
[WhiteElo "2820"]
[BlackElo "2637"]
[Annotator "Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{GM Fabiano Caruana is one of the strongest players in the history of the game,
but like everyone, he is human and he has his weaknesses. Caruana will at
times miss tactical opportunities for the opponent, and he has a tendency to
go "over the cliff" when attacking, not sensing when he has gone too far, and
when he must push harder. In this game, we shall see the second weakness
expressed in full.} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. Qc2
Be7 7. e3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 {[#]} Nh5 {This system has become popular in the last
few years. Classically} (8... O-O 9. Nf3 Re8 10. O-O Nf8 11. h3 $1 {has been
played, which is considered a bit better for White, although there is all to
play for. Also, 9.Nge2 is played frequently. The upside to this 8...Nh5 system
is obvious. It is solid and avoids endless history of theory. But the
downsides are very visible too. The knight is on h5 and rarely will ...Ng7 and
...Bf5 actually work out. So it will have to return, having spent two tempos
exchanging the good bishop. White has to be better; but how is not so easy to
see. In this game, Caruana shows strong preparation and manages to get an
advantage.}) 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nge2 g6 11. O-O O-O 12. Rae1 Ndf6 13. Nc1 Be6 {
Not a frequently played move and after this game, not one that will win over
many followers.} (13... Ng7 14. f3 {is the current main point for the
theoretical battleground. I believe in White.}) 14. f3 {[#]} b6 ({Played with
the logic that} 14... c5 $6 15. dxc5 Qxc5 16. Nb3 {would give White a
permanent structural advantage.}) (14... Rfd8 {was played in Drasko – Legky,
Metz 2001. At this point White could try a logical novelty.} 15. Qf2 $5 $146
Ng7 16. Bc2 $1 {Amusingly the computer suggests that Black should play 16...
Rf8, which no one would do. White is coming with Nd3, blocking ...c5, so it
would be logical to try} c5 {, but after} 17. Nd3 $1 c4 18. Ne5 {with e3-e4
and even Ba4!? in some lines, White will have a pleasant advantage.}) (14...
Rad8 {looks far more natural and was played in Krzyzanowski – Ahvenjarvi,
Maribor 2012. Again, White shoould probably play on the kingside with} 15. Qf2
$5 $146 Ng7 16. Bc2 {with a slight advantage.}) 15. Qf2 c5 16. Qh4 Qd8 17. g4
Ng7 18. N1e2 {[#] The opening has been a total success for White. All we can
discuss is how great his advantage is.} Rb8 19. a4 $6 {Delaying Black's
counterplay on the queenside.} (19. Bc2 $1 c4 20. b4 {was probably more
accurate, as Stockfish claims, but only marginally. It turns out that the
a2-pawn is not a potential weakness, but a potential anchor for the knight on
a4 (from b3, if Black takes en passant).}) 19... c4 20. Bc2 a6 21. Nf4 b5 22.
axb5 axb5 23. b4 $1 {Blocking Black's counterplay on the queenside, which was
coming quite fast.} cxb3 24. Bxb3 b4 {[#]} 25. Nce2 $2 {Logical, but a serious
mistake. White doubles down on the kingside attack, when no more than equality
is offered.} ({I think} 25. Na4 $1 Bd7 26. Nc5 Bb5 27. Rf2 Bc4 28. Rb2 h5 29.
h3 {was a more flexible and positional approach. White's position is easier to
play, but long term, he would wish that the g-pawn was on g2.}) 25... Bc8 26.
Ng3 $6 {Caruana is going down a risky path.} (26. Ra1 Bd7 27. Ra6 $5 Nge8 28.
g5 Nh5 29. Nxh5 Bb5 30. Ra2 gxh5 {would give a very messy position with
chances for both sides.}) 26... Ba6 27. g5 $6 {[#]} (27. Rf2 Bc4 28. Rb1 {
was still close to equal.}) 27... Bxf1 $2 {We have arrived at the most
interesting moment of the game.} ({I always tell the students of Killer Chess
Training to have two options on all moves. Otherwise, how can you choose? In
this position, Black should have declined the exchange sacrifice the first
time around. After} 27... Nfe8 $1 {Caruana would no doubt have played} 28. Nxd5
$5 {when after} (28. Rf2 Bc4 {with a Black advantage was not in the cards.})
28... Bxf1 29. Kxf1 Rb5 30. e4 Kh8 {White has nowhere enough compensation for
the material.}) 28. Rxf1 $2 {An understandable decision, as the bishop would
quickly escape to c4. But this is hardly forced.} ({After} 28. gxf6 $1 Bc4 {
Caruana no doubt saw that he could create serious threats. So where did he go
wrong?} 29. Qh6 Ne8 $1 {[#] So, this is the critical line. I doubt this is
what Caruana was afraid of.} ({I consider it quite likely that he missed
something in the following variation:} 29... Qxf6 $2 30. Bxc4 $1 (30. Ngh5 $2
Nxh5 31. Nxh5 Qh8 {leads nowhere, but is still everyone's first thought. It is
important to get past those initial ideas to see deeper and more importantly,
wider.}) 30... dxc4 31. Ne4 Qf5 {[#]} 32. Ng5 $2 ({More impressive is} 32. Nd5
$3 {when Black cannot defend against both 33.Nf6+ and 33.Ne7+.}) 32... Rfd8 {
leads nowhere. Here it is easy to see that} 33. Qxh7+ {Kf8 is ineffective. But
much harder to see the option of} (33. Ra1 $1 Rb7 34. Ra6 $1 {with counterplay.
})) 30. Bxc4 dxc4 31. Nf5 {We now have an interesting spread of variations,
but again, I suspect that Caruana calculated all of these correctly.} (31. Nfh5
$2 Rb5 $1) 31... gxf5 $1 {This is a serious move. The following variation
looks promising for White, but ends with a stellar defensive idea by Black.} ({
a)} 31... Qxf6 $2 32. Nd5 {leads to mate.}) ({b)} 31... Rb7 $2 {This is a
serious move, but unfortunately for Black, it is brutally refuted.} 32. Nh5 $3
(32. Nd5 $2 Qxd5 33. Ne7+ Rxe7 34. fxe7 Ng7 {only leads to a draw. Black has
enough counterplay after} 35. exf8=R+ Kxf8 36. Qxh7 Qxf3 $1 {.}) 32... b3 {[#]}
({The direct threat forces Black to take one of the knights.} 32... gxh5 {
loses brilliantly to} 33. Ne7+ $1 (33. Kh1 $2 Qxf6 34. Rg1+ Qg6 {is on the
other hand dead lost.}) 33... Rxe7 34. Qg5+ Kh8 35. fxe7 Qd6 36. exf8=Q+ Qxf8
37. Kf2 $5 {The king will go to the queenside to deal with the pawns, while
the rook comes to g1, to force concessions. Black is passive and has no real
counterplay.}) ({And} 32... gxf5 33. Kh1 {is just mate.}) 33. Qg7+ $3 Nxg7 34.
Nh6+ Kh8 35. fxg7#) 32. Kh1 {[#]} Qxf6 33. Rg1+ Qg6 34. Nxg6 hxg6 35. h4 $1 {
This looks very scary, but Black can hold with both 35...Rb7 ideas and the
enterprising} Nf6 36. h5 Nxh5 $1 37. Qxh5 Kg7 38. Qg5 b3 $1 {[#] The two
connected passers with rooks behind them are enough to guarantee full
compensation. The complications ends in a draw, whichever direction you pursue
them.}) 28... Nfe8 $6 ({It is not easy to find the decisive} 28... Nfh5 $1 {
, but it was entirely decisive. After 29.Nxd5 Rb5, White has nothing. And after
} 29. Ngxh5 Nxh5 30. Nxh5 gxh5 31. Qxh5 Rc8 {[#]} 32. Rf2 Qd6 33. Bc2 Rxc2 $1
34. Rxc2 b3 {Black is winning, returning the exchange for a crushing endgame.})
29. Nxd5 Rb5 30. Qe4 (30. e4 {was maybe the lesser evil, but Caruana has a
dynamic idea in mind.}) 30... Qxg5 31. f4 Qd8 32. f5 {White has managed to
conjure some counterplay which looks frightening as the clock is ticking down.
Unsurprisingly, Black decided to get rid of White's most impressive piece, the
d5-knight.} Nf6 $2 {A simple blunder in time trouble.} ({Black was winning
after both the scary looking 32...gxf5, which no human would play, and the
strategically complex} 32... Nd6 $1 33. Qg2 Ndxf5 34. Rxf5 (34. Nxf5 gxf5 35.
Rxf5 Kh8 {is easier to evaluate. For example:} 36. Rf1 Nf5 $1 37. Qe4 Rg8+ 38.
Kh1 Qg5 {with an overwhelming advantage.}) 34... Nxf5 35. Nxf5 Kh8 {[#] I
showed this position to GM Sam Shankland, who evaluated it as very dangerous
for Black. Curiously, this is not the case at all! Because there is no way for
White to create threats on the dark squares, Black is perfectly safe and
White's long-term problems will be more important. Black is, in other words,
totally winning.}) 33. Nxf6+ Qxf6 34. fxg6 Qxg6 35. Bxf7+ $1 ({Here} 35. Rxf7
$2 Qxe4 36. Rf5+ {looks tricky, but Black does not have to allow checkmate. He
has} Rf7 $1 {, when he will win the f5-rook and cruise to victory.}) 35... Qxf7
{A necessary evil.} (35... Rxf7 $2 {would lose a piece after} 36. Qa8+ Ne8 37.
Qxe8+ Kg7 38. Rxf7+ Qxf7 39. Qxb5 $1 {.}) 36. Rxf7 Rxf7 37. Qd3 Rg5 38. Kg2 Nf5
39. e4 Nh4+ 40. Kh3 Ng6 {[#] We have reached the time control and the position
is as unbalanced as ever, meaning that both sides have equal chances. At this
point Caruana made an unfortunate blunder that sent him out of the World Cup.}
41. Qc4 $2 (41. Qe3 $2 {would drop the queen after} Nf4+ 42. Kh4 Ng2+ {, but
White could have played}) (41. Qd2 $1 {, when after} Nf4+ 42. Kh4 {, the king
is perfectly safe. For example} h6 43. d5 {and Black should consider when it
is time to give perpetual. The chances are equal.}) 41... h5 $1 {Because of
the threat of ...Ng6-f4+ and ...Rg5-g4#, Black now wins a piece. The
conversion of the advantage is not difficult.} 42. Kg2 h4 43. Kh3 hxg3 44. hxg3
Kg7 45. Qxb4 Rf3 46. Qb7+ Kh6 47. Qb8 Re3 48. d5 Rxe4 49. d6 Rd4 50. Qb2 Rxd6
51. Qc3 Rdd5 52. Qe3 Ra5 53. Kg2 Rae5 54. Qd4 Rd5 55. Qe3 Rd3 56. Qe1 Nf4+ 57.
Kf2 Rgxg3 58. Qe4 Rg2+ 0-1

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.02"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Lenderman, Alex"]
[Black "Hamilton, Sam"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E07"]
[WhiteElo "2682"]
[BlackElo "2084"]
[Annotator "Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Before the round, I checked my opponent's rating history. This might have
been a bad idea, as I think I underestimated him. After a seven year layoff,
he played two tournaments this year, with unspectacular results. That gave me
the impression that he should be rusty, but I was in for a huge surprise.
Hamilton is training with a strong grandmaster, and is well on the way to
regaining his form. I was in for a tough ride!} 1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 Nf6 4.
Bg2 Be7 5. c4 c6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. b3 b6 9. Bb2 Ba6 10. a4 $5 {This
was still my preparation - it was played against me, so I wanted to try it!
The point of 10.a4 is to stop ...b6-b5, and also to meet ...d5xc4 with b3xc4
and Nf3-d2, getting the pawn back.} dxc4 11. bxc4 Bxc4 12. Nd2 Ba6 13. Bxc6 Rc8
14. Bg2 Qc7 15. Qb3 Qb8 16. Rfc1 e5 $6 17. Nb5 $6 exd4 18. Nxd4 Nc5 {[#]} 19.
Qe3 $4 {Two question marks might be too harsh, but they are earned: one shows
how the move is objectively wrong, and the other is for how fast I played it,
failing to assess the situation critically. I played this game like I just
wanted to get it over with, and this is never a healthy approach to take!} ({
Of course, I should play} 19. Qa2 {, keeping a small but stable edge. That was
my original intention, but I passed it up for 19.Qe3 without analyzing
properly.}) 19... Rfe8 $1 {I saw this of course, but I thought that 20.Bc6 is
more or less winning, and I thought that even if I missed something with 20.
Bc6, that 20.Nf5 or 20.Nc6 would also be very strong. This is very superficial
thinking.} 20. Bc6 $6 {Played after 30 minutes of thought. I realized after
5-10 minutes that I miscalculated in every line, and the rest of my thinking
was just agonizing over my mistake. Now I had to reset my mind and prepare to
outhustle my opponent.} ({After} 20. Nc6 Qc7 21. a5 $5 {White is not better,
but this was still the better option.}) (20. Nf5 Bd8 21. Qg5 Ne6 22. Nh6+ Kf8
23. Qe3 Nc5 24. Qg5 Ne6 {is fine for White too, but it leads to some
repetitions and I didn't want a draw.}) 20... Bd6 $6 {I wouldn't have worried
had I known he would play this!} ({The key move, which I missed before my 19th
move, is} 20... Ng4 $1 {. The position after} 21. Qf4 Qxf4 22. gxf4 {would be
equal, and I would have to squeeze water from a stone here.}) 21. Bxe8 Rxe8 22.
Qg5 $2 {As soon as I thought that I'm out of the woods, I make an immediate
blunder.} ({The position after} 22. Qf3 Bb7 23. Qf5 Re5 24. Qc2 Rh5 {looks
menacing but I can keep things together with} 25. Nf5 ({or} 25. N4f3)) 22...
Re5 $1 23. Nf5 ({A few minutes into my thinking I suddenly realized to my
horror that my intended} 23. Qh4 $4 {followed by Qh4-h3-g2 idea is met with}
Rh5 {-- a real cold shower!}) 23... Ne6 24. Bxe5 {Sadly, forced.} ({Not} 24.
Nh6+ Kf8 25. Qh4 Rh5 {when Black wins.}) 24... Nxg5 25. Bxd6 Qa8 26. f3 h5 {
I felt like I was much worse here. My king is weak and it is very hard for me
to play constructively. Soon I drifted into a lost position.} 27. Be5 $2 ({
Better was} 27. h4 $1 {to drive that pesky attacking knight away.}) 27... Kh7
28. Bxf6 gxf6 29. Nd4 Qd5 30. e3 Ne6 31. Ne4 Kg6 32. Rd1 Nxd4 33. Rxd4 Qb3 34.
Re1 Bb7 35. Nd2 $6 ({Certainly} 35. Kf2 {was equal, but I felt that if my
knight was exchanged, I lost my winning chances. For me, a loss and a draw
would be similar, since I would likely re-enter into the 4-day schedule if I
didn't win this game.}) 35... Qc3 36. Kf2 Bc6 37. g4 $6 {In pure hustling mode,
I'm trying to play very quickly and put psychological pressure on my opponent
as I thought that my position was already very bad. Objectively I can still
maintain equality with...} (37. h4 $1 Bxa4 38. Rxa4 Qxd2+ 39. Re2 Qd7 40. Ra6
Qd1 {although of course, I don't have any real winning chances.}) 37... h4 38.
Rg1 Bxa4 39. g5 f5 40. Rd6+ Kg7 41. g6 {[#] The turning point.} f4 $2 {This is
very tempting, but I get some counterplay now by opening up his king as well.}
({Winning is} 41... Bb5 $1 42. gxf7+ Kxf7 43. Rd4 Qc2 {with ...Bb5-d3 coming.})
(41... f6 {should also win relatively cleanly.}) 42. gxf7+ Kxf7 43. Re1 {
I was lucky I even had this move, or else I can resign.} Qe5 44. Ne4 fxe3+ 45.
Kxe3 Bc2 46. Rf6+ Ke7 47. Rf4 {Now, I started having hopes I could still win
this game. His king is weak, I still have that tricky knight, and Hamilton was
starting to get low on time.} h3 48. Re2 Bb3 49. Rh4 Bc4 50. Rh7+ Ke6 51. Rc2
Qb5 $6 52. Rxh3 a5 53. Rg2 Bf1 54. Rh6+ Kf7 {Losing right away, but the game
is beyond hope anyway.} 55. Nd6+ {Whew!} 1-0

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.03"]
[Round "4.7"]
[White "Zeltsan, Joseph"]
[Black "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2389"]
[BlackElo "2734"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Kc8 11. b3 Be7 12. Bb2 h5 13. Ne2 a5 14. a4 c5
15. Nf4 Ra6 16. Rd3 c4 17. bxc4 Rc6 18. Rxd7 Kxd7 19. e6+ Rxe6 20. Nxe6 fxe6
21. Rd1+ Kc8 22. Re1 Rh6 23. Bc1 Rg6 24. Ne5 Rf6 25. Bg5 Bb4 26. Re4 Rf8 27.
Nd3 Bc3 28. c5 Nd4 29. h4 Rf5 30. Bd2 Bxd2 31. Rxd4 Bc3 32. Rc4 Bf6 33. Kf1 c6
34. Ke2 Kd7 35. f3 Rd5 36. Re4 Rd4 37. Rxd4+ Bxd4 38. g4 e5 {[#]} 39. c3 Bxc3
40. Ke3 Ke6 41. Ke4 g5 42. hxg5 h4 43. f4 exf4 44. Nxf4+ Kf7 45. g6+ Kf6 46. g7
Kxg7 47. Ne6+ Kf6 48. Nd8 h3 49. Kf3 Be5 50. Nxb7 Bc7 51. Kf2 Kf7 52. Kg1 Ke6
53. Kh1 Kf6 54. Kg1 Ke6 55. Kh1 Kd7 56. g5 Ke6 57. g6 Kf6 58. Nd6 Kxg6 59. Nc8
Kf6 60. Na7 Ke6 61. Nxc6 Kd5 62. Nxa5 Bxa5 63. Kh2 Kxc5 64. Kxh3 Kb4 65. Kg4
Kxa4 1/2-1/2

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.05"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Zeltsan, Joseph"]
[Black "Lenderman, Alex"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C16"]
[WhiteElo "2389"]
[BlackElo "2682"]
[Annotator "Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "136"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 b6 {I trotted out this relatively rare line,
trying to surprise my opponent. Unfortunately for me, Zeltsan seemed to have
done his homework, and knew the refutation.} 5. h4 $1 Qd7 6. h5 h6 7. Qg4 Bf8
8. Be3 ({Amazingly, after} 8. b4 $3 {the engine tells me that I'm borderline
lost! Just goes to show how far chess has evolved! Since ...Bc8-a6 is
prevented, it's very hard for me to find a good way to complete my development.
} Bxb4 $2 ({Black's best is the unfortunate} 8... f5 9. Qg6+ Qf7 10. Qxf7+ Kxf7
11. a3 c5 12. Nce2 cxb4 13. Nf4) 9. Qxg7 Bxc3+ 10. Bd2 {with a tremendous
advantage for White.}) 8... Ne7 9. Nf3 Ba6 10. O-O-O Bxf1 11. Rhxf1 Nbc6 12.
Nh4 O-O-O {Despite getting most of what I aimed for in this system, my
position is still inferior. This is probably the last time I'm going to play
this system in a serious tournament game!} 13. Qh3 Na5 $6 14. g4 $6 Nec6 $6 15.
Kb1 Bb4 16. Bc1 Nc4 17. f4 {Originally I thought I be fine here, but the more
I looked at it, I started to realize just how bad my position is. I have no
counterplay on the queenside, and I cannot stop his kingside onslaught. I
started to look for tricks.} Bxc3 18. Qxc3 Qe7 19. Ng2 Kb7 20. f5 a5 21. fxe6
fxe6 22. Nf4 Rhe8 23. Ng6 Qb4 24. Qxb4 axb4 {[#] Now at least I had a glimmer
of hope with access to the a-file.} 25. Rf7 Ra8 26. Rxg7 $6 Ra5 27. Rd3 Rea8
28. a3 bxa3 29. b3 Nb2 30. Bxb2 $6 axb2 31. Kxb2 Ra2+ 32. Kc3 Na7 33. Nf4 Nb5+
34. Kd2 Rf8 $1 {If nothing else, I was doing a good job of continuing to
create practical chances and trying to force my opponent to make a mistake in
time pressure. Sometimes that's all you can do in a lost position.} 35. Ke3 $6
Rxc2 36. Nxe6 Rf1 $1 {Now things become very tricky for White.} 37. Rd2 $2 Rc3+
38. Rd3 Rc2 $2 39. Nf4 $2 ({As on move 37,} 39. Rf7 {was again strong, while})
(39. Rd2 {would have effectively forced a draw.}) 39... Re1+ 40. Kf3 {[#]} Nc3
$5 {Playing for a win!} ({The alternative was} 40... Rf1+ 41. Kg3 (41. Ke3 Re1+
{would have forced a draw.}) 41... Nc3 42. Ne6 Ne4+ 43. Kh4 Rh2+ 44. Rh3 Rfh1
45. Nf4 Kc8 {with unclear chances.}) 41. g5 ({Also playable was} 41. Ne6 {.})
41... hxg5 42. Rxg5 Rf1+ 43. Kg4 Ne4 44. Rg6 ({I think we both missed the
interesting} 44. Kf5 $5 Nxg5 45. Kxg5 {when White has compensation.}) 44...
Nf2+ 45. Kg5 Nxd3 46. Nxd3 Rg2+ 47. Kh6 Rd2 48. Rg3 Rfd1 49. e6 $2 {A mistake.
During the game I thought this was the only move that gives any practical
chances, but it turns out that White has the superior} (49. Nf4 $1 Rxd4 50. Ng6
$1 {when the white pawns are so strong that, even though I'm up an Exchange,
I'm not better! One line runs} Rh1 51. e6 Re4 52. e7 d4 53. Rf3 c5 54. Kg5 {
[%cal Gf3f8,Gh5h6] with counterplay.}) 49... Rxd3 $1 50. e7 Rxg3 51. e8=Q Rxd4
{I wasn't 100% sure if I was winning, but I had no losing chances and I
thought it would be hard for White to defend.} 52. Qe5 Rgg4 53. Kh7 Rd2 54. Qf5
Rh4 55. Kg6 Rd1 $6 56. Qf3 Rd2 57. Qf5 Rdd4 $2 58. Kg5 $2 ({It's a draw after} 
58. h6 Rd2 59. Kg7 Rg2+ 60. Kf7 {.}) 58... Rh1 59. Qe5 Rdh4 60. Qxd5+ Ka7 {
Now I win the h-pawn and the rest is relatively simple.} 61. Qc6 Rxh5+ 62. Kg4
R1h4+ 63. Kg3 Rc5 64. Qf6 Rb4 65. Qa1+ Kb7 66. Qh1+ c6 67. Qh7+ Ka6 68. Qd3+
Rcb5 0-1

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.03"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Liang, Awonder"]
[Black "Kumar, Aravind"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C03"]
[WhiteElo "2678"]
[BlackElo "2354"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. O-O
g5 9. Nb1 h5 10. Be3 cxd4 11. cxd4 f6 12. Bg6+ Kf8 13. Nxg5 fxg5 14. Bxh5 Rh7
15. f4 Kg8 16. Qg4 Rg7 17. fxg5 Ndxe5 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. Qf4 Bd6 20. Qh4 Bd7 21.
Rf6 Qe7 22. Nd2 Be8 23. Rh6 Bg6 24. Bxg6 Nxg6 25. Qh5 Bc5 26. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 27.
Kh1 Qc2 28. Nf3 Rf8 29. Nh4 Qf2 30. g3 Qe3 31. Rxg6 $2 Qe4+ 32. Kg1 Qd4+ 33.
Kg2 $4 Qxb2+ 34. Kh3 Qxa1 35. Rxg7+ Qxg7 36. Qg4 Qf7 37. Qd4 Qf1+ 0-1

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.06"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Lenderman, Alex"]
[Black "Niemann, Hans"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "2682"]
[BlackElo "2690"]
[Annotator "Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 $5 {The good old Trompowsky! I avoid main lines for this game
because Hans plays just about everything, and I wanted to limit my preparation
to something where he was a bit more predicatble.} d5 3. e3 c5 4. Bxf6 gxf6 5.
dxc5 e6 6. Nf3 Bxc5 7. Be2 {GM Alex Shimanov played like this against me with
white, and I decided to try it for myself.} Qb6 $5 {This is a very principled
move.} 8. c4 dxc4 ({White has compensation for the pawn after} 8... Qxb2 9.
Nbd2 {.}) 9. Nbd2 c3 $1 {Giving back the pawn but spoiling my pawn structure.}
({Now} 9... Qxb2 $2 10. Rb1 Qc3 {is too ambitious for Black.}) 10. bxc3 Be7 11.
Nd4 a6 12. Rb1 Qc7 {At the board I thought I was better here because of my
lead in development, but in truth, my long-term structural problems and his
bishop pair meant I had to be careful not to be worse.} 13. Qa4+ Nd7 14. N4f3
$6 f5 15. e4 Qxc3 {I was surprised to see this move - I didn't think Black
could get away with this, given that he's behind in development. Now it seems
unnecessary to me to play this way, as Niemann could have gotten an advantage
by normal means, i.e.} (15... fxe4 16. Nxe4 (16. Qxe4 Nf6 $15) 16... b6 (16...
O-O $15)) 16. exf5 exf5 17. O-O O-O 18. Rfc1 $6 Nc5 ({Here} 18... Nb6 $1 19.
Qf4 Nd5 $1 20. Qg3+ Qg7 $17 {was very strong for black. So 18.Qf4 immediately
was the right idea.}) 19. Qf4 Qg7 20. Nc4 Be6 21. Ne3 Qf6 22. Nd4 Rfd8 23.
Ndxf5 Bf8 {[#] Here I had a deep think. I thought my opponent had a fine
position, and that he was better in the long run if he has time to play ...
Kg8-h8 and ...Ra8-c8. I had an idea to change the game, but it was risky;
still, I decided to trust my calculation and intuition and played...} 24. Rxc5
$5 (24. h4) (24. Rb6) (24. a4 {Were all solid alternatives leading to a
roughly equal position.}) 24... Bxc5 25. Ng4 Qg6 {Forced.} (25... Qh8 $4 {
loses to} 26. Qg5+ Kf8 27. Qh6+ Kg8 28. Nf6+ {.}) ({Only marginally better is} 
25... Qc3 $2 26. Nfh6+ Kf8 (26... Kh8 27. Ne5) 27. Nxf7 Bxf7 28. Ne5 {.}) 26.
Rxb7 $1 {My original intention was} (26. Ngh6+ $6 Kf8 27. Rxb7 ({the tempting} 
27. Qe5 $2 {doesn't work in light of} Bd4 28. Nxd4 Qxb1+ 29. Bf1 Rxd4 30. Qxd4
Rc8 {when Black wins}) {and while I was afraid of} 27... Bd5 $6 {here White is
fine:} (27... Rac8 $1 {when Black survives and may thrive}) 28. g3 $1 Qf6 $11 (
{and not} 28... Bxb7 $4 29. Qe5 $1 {when Black cannot defend mate without huge
material loss!})) 26... Bf8 27. Nfh6+ $1 {Confession time: I got lucky here in
two ways. Yes, my opponent made a losing blunder, but there was also an
important variation that I missed... although I still had resources, even
there!} Kh8 $4 ({I expected} 27... Bxh6 28. Nxh6+ Kg7 {and, honestly speaking,
I was at a bit of a loss with what to do here. I thought I had to play 29.Ng4,
when I'm fighting for a draw, but it turns out that I have a brilliant
tactical combination. Also, 29.Ng4?? Bxg4 30.Bxg4 Ra7! would be terrible for
me!} ({correct, by the way, was} 28... Kf8 $1 29. g3 (29. Qe5 Bd7 $1 30. Qh8+
Ke7 31. Qe5+ {leads to a forced draw}) 29... Rac8 {with a complex game.} (29...
Bd5)) 29. Rxf7+ $3 Bxf7 30. Nf5+ Kf8 31. Qb4+ $18 {and I am winning in all the
lines!}) 28. Nxf7+ $1 Bxf7 29. Ne5 $1 ({Hans must have expected} 29. Rxf7 Bg7 {
when he's equal. But now Black is losing -- what a turnaround! Just a few
minutes earlier I was thinking I was much worse and that a draw would be great,
and now I was alone at 7/7!}) 1-0

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.06"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Burke, John"]
[Black "Schmakel, Sam"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2655"]
[BlackElo "2475"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 gxf6 7. Qd2 f5 8.
Nc3 a6 9. g3 b5 10. Bg2 c6 11. Nf3 Nd7 12. O-O-O Bb7 13. Qf4 h5 14. Kb1 Qb6 15.
Ng5 Rg8 16. h4 Rg7 17. Bf3 Nf6 18. Qe5 Qd8 19. Rhe1 Qd6 20. Qe2 Ng4 {[#]} 21.
d5 cxd5 22. Nxd5 $1 exd5 23. Bxd5 $1 Bxd5 24. Rxd5 Qc7 25. Rxf5 O-O-O 26. Nxf7
Rd7 27. a4 Bf6 $4 28. Qe8+ Kb7 29. Rc5 $1 Qxc5 30. Qxd7+ Qc7 31. Qd5+ Ka7 32.
Re8 bxa4 33. Nd6 1-0

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.06"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "Nyzhnyk, Illia"]
[Black "Homa, Seth"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "2769"]
[BlackElo "2399"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 c6 4. Qc2 Nf6 5. g3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 b5 7. Qc2 Bb7 8. Bg2
Nbd7 9. Ne5 Nxe5 10. dxe5 Nd5 11. O-O Be7 12. Nd2 Qb8 13. Nf3 h6 14. Qe4 c5 15.
a4 a6 16. axb5 axb5 17. Bd2 O-O 18. Qg4 Kh7 19. Qh5 Nb6 20. Bf4 Ra4 21. Rxa4
Nxa4 22. Rd1 Qc7 23. Rd2 c4 24. g4 $1 c3 $1 25. bxc3 Nxc3 26. Bf1 Qc4 27. e3
Qc6 28. Bg2 Qc4 29. Bf1 Qc6 30. Bg2 Qc4 31. Bf1 1/2-1/2

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.06"]
[Round "7.10"]
[White "Rosenthal, Nicholas"]
[Black "Fishbein, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2243"]
[BlackElo "2556"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Nxd7 5. O-O Ngf6 6. Re1 e6 7. c4 Be7 8.
d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 O-O 10. b3 a6 11. Nc3 Qa5 12. Bb2 Rfc8 13. Qd2 Rab8 14. a4 Nc5
15. Qc2 Qb6 16. Re3 h6 17. h3 Bf8 18. Nb1 d5 19. exd5 exd5 20. a5 Qd8 21. Nd2
Nce4 22. Nxe4 Nxe4 23. Rd1 Bc5 24. Ne6 $5 fxe6 25. Rxe4 Bf8 26. Rxe6 Qd7 27.
Re5 Qf7 28. Rf5 Qe6 29. Rfxd5 Re8 30. Qc3 Qg6 31. Qd3 Qxd3 32. R1xd3 Re1+ 33.
Kh2 Rbe8 34. Rd7 R8e6 35. Rd8 R1e2 36. Ba3 Re8 37. Rxe8 Rxe8 38. Bxf8 Rxf8 39.
Rd7 Rxf2 40. Rxb7 Kf8 41. b4 Ra2 42. c5 Rc2 43. Kg3 Rc4 44. Kf3 g5 45. Ke3 Ke8
46. Kd3 Rf4 47. b5 Kd8 48. bxa6 Kc8 49. c6 1-0

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.07"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Lenderman, Alex"]
[Black "Burke, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E14"]
[WhiteElo "2682"]
[BlackElo "2655"]
[Annotator "Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. e3 b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 6. O-O Bd6 7. b3 O-O 8. cxd5
exd5 9. Ba3 c5 10. Nc3 Nbd7 11. Nb5 $5 Bb8 12. Rc1 Ne4 13. Qe2 Re8 14. Nc3 cxd4
$6 15. Nxd4 Qh4 $6 {John Burke is a dynamic player who really likes attack and
initiatve. Here this tendency backfires, primarily because his a8-rook and
b7-bishop are out of play.} 16. f4 $1 {A very important move, which my
opponent admittedly missed. It's not a pretty move to make but it blocks all
of black's pieces from the attack, and he cannot really maintain the e4-square,
his only real trump in the position. White is much better, perhaps almost
winning.} a6 17. Bxe4 $1 dxe4 18. Nf5 Qf6 19. Qg4 $1 {This strong sequence of
moves leads to a winning position for white. It was very important to play
energetically here, before black is able to complete his development.} Nc5 20.
Bxc5 bxc5 21. Nxg7 $1 {Taking advantage of black's lack of harmony.} Qxg7 22.
Qd7 Ba7 23. Qxb7 c4 24. Nd5 $1 {White is a pawn up with a better position. but
there is still work to do. My technique left something to be desired.} Reb8 25.
Qc6 $6 cxb3 26. axb3 Kh8 27. Kh1 Rg8 28. Rc2 Rad8 29. Nf6 $6 Rgf8 30. Nxe4 Bxe3
31. Qxa6 Bxf4 $1 {[#] Here I realized that I had lost the lion's share of my
advantage. Now a decision loomed: do I take on f4, allowing him to regain my
knight and leading us into a queen and rook versus queen and rook ending, or
do I ignore the bishop, and play with the knight versus the bishop? After
regaining my composure, I realized that the first option should still give
good winning chances because of my extra passed pawn and his weak king. Both
features are accentuated if the minor pieces are traded, and because I believe
in Capablanca's principle of two weaknesses, I made my move.} 32. Rxf4 $1 Rd1+
33. Rf1 Qg6 34. Qe2 Rxf1+ 35. Qxf1 Qxe4 36. Rc4 $1 Qe5 37. b4 Rb8 38. h3 Kg7
39. Rg4+ Kf8 40. Rf4 Rb7 41. b5 {I want to play Rf4-b4 now to put the rook
behind the pawn.} Ra7 {The pawn on b5 was immune.} (41... Qxb5 $2 42. Rxf7+ $18
) (41... Rxb5 $2 42. Rxf7+ Kg8 43. Rd7 $1 $18 {[%cal Gf1f7,Gf1c4,Gd7d8]}) 42.
Rb4 Ra3 $1 {[#]} 43. Qd1 $6 {I thought this was very clever, stopping all the
tricks, but Black has an amazing defensive try.} ({The engine might not agree,
but} 43. Rb1 $1 Qe4 44. Kh2 Qe5+ 45. Kg1 Qd4+ 46. Qf2 {was cleanest.}) ({
The neat point of 42...Ra3 was} 43. b6 $2 Rxh3+ $1 44. gxh3 Qd5+ 45. Qg2 Qd1+
46. Kh2 (46. Qg1 Qd5+) 46... Qd6+ {with a draw.}) 43... Ra1 $6 {Missing the
best chance.} (43... Ke7 $3 {might not save the game, but it poses big
problems for me.} 44. b6 (44. Rb1 Qe4 $1) 44... Rd3 $3 45. Qxd3 Qe1+ 46. Kh2
Qxb4 47. Qe3+ Kd7 {Where black is still alive and kicking, and it's not so
easy to win for me.}) ({Other ideas don't work as well:} 43... h5 44. b6 Re3
45. Rb1 Qe4 46. Qd8+ {is winning, and}) (43... Rd3 {also fails after} 44. Qxd3
Qe1+ 45. Kh2 Qxb4 46. Qd8+ Kg7 47. Qb8 {[%cal Gb5b6,Gb8c7,Gb6b7] .}) 44. Rb1
Ra3 45. b6 Rxh3+ {Desperation, but everything else loses anyway.} 46. gxh3 Qe4+
{This looks menacing, but I calculated that I can get out of checks here.} 47.
Kg1 Qe3+ 48. Kg2 Qe4+ 49. Kf2 Qh4+ 50. Ke3 Qh6+ 51. Kd4 Qd6+ 52. Kc4 Qc6+ 53.
Kb4 Qxb6+ 54. Ka3 Qc5+ 55. Rb4 Qc3+ 56. Rb3 Qa5+ 57. Kb2 Qe5+ 58. Rc3 Qb5+ 59.
Qb3 Qe2+ 60. Rc2 1-0

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.07"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Matviishen, Viktor"]
[Black "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E10"]
[WhiteElo "2575"]
[BlackElo "2734"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bd6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. Bg5 Be7 8.
Bxf6 Bxf6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bg2 c6 11. O-O a5 12. e3 Nd7 13. Ne1 Be7 14. Nd3 Nf6
15. Na4 Bd6 16. Rc1 Re8 17. Nac5 h5 18. h4 Re7 19. a3 Bf5 20. Nf4 g6 21. b4
axb4 22. axb4 Ra2 23. Qb3 Qa8 24. b5 Bxf4 25. exf4 cxb5 26. Qxb5 Kg7 27. Qb6
Ree2 28. Rce1 Rxe1 29. Rxe1 Ra1 30. Rf1 Rxf1+ 31. Bxf1 Qa1 32. Qxb7 Qxd4 33.
Qb6 Qa1 34. Nb3 Qb2 35. Qe3 Qb1 36. Nd2 Qd1 37. f3 Bh3 38. Kf2 Bxf1 39. Nxf1 d4
40. Qd2 Qa4 41. f5 Qc4 42. fxg6 fxg6 43. Qe2 Qc5 44. Nd2 d3+ 45. Qe3 Qc3 46.
Qe7+ Kg8 47. Qe6+ Kg7 48. Ke3 g5 49. hxg5 Qc5+ 50. Kf4 Nd5+ 51. Ke4 Qe3+ 52.
Kxd5 Qxd2 53. Qf6+ Kg8 54. Kd6 Qb4+ 1-0

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.07"]
[Round "8.11"]
[White "Vanapalli, Vishnu"]
[Black "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "2208"]
[BlackElo "2577"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 d5 6. cxd5 Qxd5 7. e3 Qe5 8. d3
Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Nxd2 exd3 11. O-O O-O 12. Nc4 Qc5 13. Rc1 Rd8 14. Qxd3
Na6 15. Rfd1 Bg4 16. f3 Bh5 17. Qa3 Qxa3 18. bxa3 Rab8 19. Rb1 Nd5 20. Rd2 Bg6
21. Rc1 f6 22. Bf1 Ndc7 23. a4 Nc5 24. a5 Bf7 25. Kf2 g6 26. e4 Kf8 27. Ke3 Na4
28. Nb2 Nxb2 29. Rxb2 Ne6 30. Nxe6+ Bxe6 31. Rcb1 Rd7 32. Ba6 Rbd8 33. Rxb7
Bxa2 34. Rc1 Rxb7 35. Bxb7 Rd7 36. a6 Rc7 37. Kd4 Ke7 38. Rxc6 Rxc6 39. Bxc6
Kd6 40. Bd5 Bb1 41. Bb3 Kc6 42. e5 fxe5+ 43. Kxe5 Kb5 44. f4 Kxa6 45. g4 Kb6
46. Kd6 a5 47. Be6 h5 48. f5 Bxf5 49. Bxf5 a4 50. g5 1-0

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.08"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Gledura, Benjamin"]
[Black "Lenderman, Alex"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "2714"]
[BlackElo "2682"]
[Annotator "Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 {A real surprise. I definitely didn't expect my
opponent to play the Exchange variation in a must-win game.} exd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5.
Bd3 Bd6 6. Qe2+ {The modern approach, tried by Carlsen in several games, after
which it became more popular.} Be7 ({The main line these days is} 6... Be6 {
, but I didn't know the theory deeply here. After} 7. Ng5 Qe7 8. Nxe6 fxe6 9.
c3 {White can play for a small edge with the bishop pair.}) ({Carslen beat
strong players like Akobian and Meier after} 6... Qe7 7. Qxe7+ Kxe7 (7... Bxe7
8. O-O) 8. O-O {.}) 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 Re8 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Nbd2 {I didn't really
want to get into this kind of passive position, but I was happy to find good
ways to solve my small problems early on.} h6 $5 {Putting the question to his
bishop, and I will choose my plan based on how he answers it.} 11. Bh4 {
The alternatives pose no problems for Black:} (11. Be3 Bd6 {[%cal Gb8d7]}) (11.
Bf4 c5) 11... Nc6 $5 {I liked this idea too, which harbors a deep idea.} ({
My original intention was to force the exchange of bishops with} 11... Nh5 12.
Bxe7 Qxe7 {but after} 13. Qe3 {[%cal Gc2c3] I realized that he still has
unpleasant pressure.}) (11... c5 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Nb3 {also felt wrong to me
as I give up the d4-square.}) 12. Bb5 {Played after long thought.} ({We see
the point of 11...Nc6 after the natural} 12. c3 Nh5 13. Bxe7 (13. Bg3 $5 Nxg3
14. hxg3 Bf8 15. Qd1 {might be something for White, since my pieces lack
harmony.}) 13... Rxe7 {[%cal Gc6e7] and because my e7-rook is protected, I
will be able to activate or exchange my bad bishop with ...Bf5 or ...Bg4 ideas.
}) 12... Bd7 13. Bxc6 Bxc6 14. Ne5 Bd7 15. Qf3 Be6 16. c3 c6 17. Ng6 {Trying
to change the course of action, but perhaps not ultimately best.} Bd6 18. Bxf6
Qxf6 19. Qxf6 gxf6 20. Nh4 {[%csl Gf5][%cal Gd2f1,Gf1e3] [#] Gledura finds an
interesting way to unbalance the game in a must-win game, but I was also happy
with this, as I generally believe in two bishops in an endgame.} f5 $1 {
I knew his plan was Nf1-e3, so I tried to prevent that. The idea is 21.Nf1 f4!.
} 21. Re2 f6 22. Rae1 Kf7 23. Nb3 b6 24. Nc1 c5 $1 {Not waiting for White to
play Nc1-d3, g2-g3, and Nh4-g2 to start pressing. I wanted to make sure I
played principled chess, to play for a win and not a draw, even if a draw
would win me the tournament.} 25. dxc5 $6 bxc5 26. Nd3 f4 27. g3 fxg3 28. hxg3
a5 $1 {Stopping White's only active idea, the b2-b4 push.} 29. a3 $6 a4 {
Now I fix the pawns on the queenside.} 30. Ng2 Bf5 31. Rxe8 $2 (31. Rd2 {
I wasn't sure why white didn't at least try this move, which is both
objectively better, and also keeps more winning chances on the board.}) 31...
Rxe8 32. Rxe8 Kxe8 33. Ngf4 Kd7 34. Kf1 {Here Gledura offered a draw. I spent
about seven minutes trying to see if I could play for a win, but while I
figured I was better, I didn't realize just how good this position is for me.
In hindsight, I was already thinking too much about the result, and I forgot
to do a real candidate search and consider all my options. I was too focused
on the king going to the queenside, and I totally forgot about the ...h7-h5
idea, which simply wins. It's a shame that I couldn't make history with an
undefeated score, but on the whole, I couldn't be more pleased with this game
and with the tournament as a whole.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.08"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Niemann, Hans"]
[Black "Liang, Awonder"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2678"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nd2 e6 5. Nb3 Nd7 6. Nf3 h6 7. Be2 Qc7 8. O-O g5
9. a4 Bg7 10. a5 Ne7 11. Bd2 c5 12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. dxc5 O-O 14. b4 Nc6 15. Ra3
a6 16. h3 Rad8 17. Bd3 Be4 18. Re1 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Qxe5 20. Bc3 Qf4 21. g3 Qf5
22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. Bxe4 dxe4 24. Qe2 Qxh3 25. Qxe4 Rd7 26. Rd3 Rfd8 27. Red1
Rxd3 28. Rxd3 Rxd3 29. cxd3 Qh5 30. g4 Qh3 31. Qe5+ Kf8 32. Qb8+ Ke7 33. Qxb7+
Kd8 34. Qb8+ Kd7 35. Qd6+ Ke8 36. Qg3 Qxg3+ 37. fxg3 Kd7 38. d4 1-0

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.08"]
[Round "9.7"]
[White "Shabalov, Alexander"]
[Black "Schmakel, Sam"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "2589"]
[BlackElo "2475"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 Qb6 6. Nc2 d5 7. O-O dxc4 8. Nc3
h5 9. d3 h4 10. Be3 Qa5 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. dxe4 hxg3 13. fxg3 Nd7 14. Qd4 Qh5
15. Rf5 Qxe2 16. Na3 Nb6 17. Raf1 Bxf5 18. exf5 Rd8 19. Qe4+ Be7 20. h4 Nd5 21.
Nxc4 b5 0-1

[Event "121st U.S. Open"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.08"]
[Round "9.8"]
[White "Gorman, Dov"]
[Black "Jacobson, Brandon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2348"]
[BlackElo "2578"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2021.07.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nd7 3. d4 Nb6 4. Bg2 Bf5 5. O-O e6 6. b3 c6 7. Bb2 h6 8. Nbd2
Nf6 9. c4 Be7 10. Ne5 O-O 11. e3 Nbd7 12. f4 Bb4 13. Ndf3 Ne4 14. Nd3 Be7 15.
Qe2 Qb6 16. Rfd1 a5 17. c5 Qb5 18. Bf1 a4 19. Qg2 a3 20. Bc1 Qa5 21. Bd2 Nxd2
22. Qxd2 Qa7 23. Nde5 Nf6 24. Bd3 Ne4 25. Qc2 f6 26. Nd7 Rf7 27. Nb6 Re8 28.
Nd2 Nxd2 29. Rxd2 Bxd3 30. Rxd3 e5 31. b4 Qa6 32. Rb1 Qb5 33. Rxa3 exd4 34. Ra5
Qxa5 35. bxa5 dxe3 36. Re1 Bf8 37. Kg2 Rfe7 38. Re2 Re4 39. Nd7 R8e7 40. Nxf8
Kxf8 41. Kf3 f5 42. h3 g5 43. Qd3 d4 44. a6 bxa6 45. Qxa6 R7e6 46. a4 Kg7 47.
a5 Re7 48. Qd3 gxf4 49. gxf4 Kf6 50. Qa6 R4e6 51. Qd3 Re4 52. a6 Rg7 53. Qa3 h5
54. a7 h4 55. Re1 1-0

[Event "Barber"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.08.02"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Vidyarthi, Vyom"]
[Black "Cavanah, Troy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A06"]
[WhiteElo "2284"]
[BlackElo "2168"]
[Annotator "Vidyarthi"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 {This was my 4th round game in the Barber Middle School Tournament of
Champions against Troy Cavanah of Michigan. At this point, I had 2.5 out of 3,
and with this win, I jumped into a tie for first.} d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. b3
Nbd7 5. Bb2 c6 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Nc3 {Until here, both of us were playing theory
in a position that has been played over 1000 times.} e5 {In an attempt to take
more space and gain control of the center, my opponent aggressively decided to
strike with e5. However, he failed to realize that he must recapture with the
knight after cxd5 and quickly found himself in an unpleasant situation.} 8.
cxd5 cxd5 9. Nb5 {Attacking the bishop while simultaneously applying more
pressure on the e5 pawn, my pieces now begin to coordinate as they aim to
undermine black's overextended center.} Bb8 10. Rc1 {Now, black is faced with
many problems as he has no good way to deal with Nc7 while saving his c8
bishop.} O-O 11. Nc7 Bxc7 12. Qxc7 Qxc7 13. Rxc7 {After many exchanges, we
reach this endgame where white continues to apply pressure on the black center
while exerting the dominance of the bishops and taking advantage of his lead
in development.} Ne8 14. Rc2 f6 15. Bb5 Rf7 16. O-O Nd6 17. Be2 Nb6 {By this
point, it seems as though my opponent has escaped the worst and may be able to
successfully develop his position. However, with my next move d4, I forced the
closed center so that I could use my advantage on the c-file.} 18. d4 e4 19.
Nd2 Bd7 20. Rfc1 Bc6 21. a4 a6 {At this moment, black is trying to claim a
fortress and attempting to lock down the only open file. If it weren't for my
next sacrifice on c6, my opponent very well may have been able to successfully
score a 1/2 point.} 22. Rxc6 bxc6 23. Rxc6 Ndc8 24. a5 Nd7 25. Ba3 {Although I
am currently down a piece and a pawn for a rook, the a6 pawn will fall shortly
and my minor pieces will begin to coordinate as they dominate the black
knights.} Na7 26. Rxa6 Nb8 27. Rb6 Nac6 28. b4 {I have now secured my two
passed pawns on the queenside and the black knights are paralyzed, trapping
the a8 rook as well. From here, my simple plan includes maneuvering my knight
by b3 to c5 and my bishop from g4 to e6.} Rc7 29. Bg4 Kf7 30. Nb3 h5 {With a
last-ditch effort to remove my bishop from the h3-c8 diagonal, I simply
ignored the pawn with Bh3 and continued my idea of Nc5 Be6.} 31. Bh3 f5 32.
Bxf5 g6 33. Bh3 g5 34. Bf5 {Now, I have simply won an extra pawn, and no
longer have anything stopping me from completing my plan. Black pieces are
practically stuck, and the coordination of my pieces are unstoppable.} Ne7 35.
Be6+ Kg7 36. Nc5 Rc6 37. Rb7 Kf6 {At this point, I decided that it was time to
cash in and simply claim a two pawn advantage. With my next move b5, I trade
down a bunch of pieces and end up in a completely winning endgame.} 38. b5 Rxa5
39. bxc6 Rxa3 {[#]} 40. g4 {Importantly, I stop the threat of back rank
checkmate and end up with a two pawn advantage. From here, I comfortably
converted the full point to put myself at 3.5/4 going into the final two
rounds.} Nbxc6 41. gxh5 Rc3 42. Bd7 Na5 43. Rb6+ Kg7 44. h6+ Kh7 45. Rf6 Nc4
46. Rf7+ Kxh6 47. Rxe7 Rc1+ 48. Kg2 Nd2 49. Bf5 g4 50. Ne6 {1-0} 1-0

[Event "Haring"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.08.01"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Yan, Ruiyang"]
[Black "Hoesley, Aria"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2245"]
[BlackElo "2077"]
[Annotator "Yan"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,93,19,31,80,70,92,50,72,71,85,40,43,39,41,0,44,54,57,51,58,55,41,38,
76,36,90,70,105,96,129,95,144,156,143,154,179,140,154,155,155,146,150,128,150,
141,130,127,132,138,207,176,176,179,179,179,172,171,171,171,238,240,252,255,
238,156,165,149,171,133,147,143,177,145,163,163,176,172,169,152,174,325,320,
349,399,526,526,654,678,740,771,807,852,915,939,964] This is the first time I
have played in the WIM Ruth Haring Invitational. The tournament was
magnificently held, and it greatly exceeded my expectations of what I had
expected. I would like to thank all the organizers and sponsors for
contributing to this!} 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 {I don't usually play this
line, but under the recommendation of my coach, I decided to give this line a
go.} (3. Nc3 {with the idea to go Be3, Qd2, 0-0-0, and attack on the kingside})
3... d6 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Qe2 O-O 6. O-O Bg4 ({I was expecting} 6... c6 {this is
probably Black's main idea here, to go Qc7, Nbd7, and e5. In some cases, Black
can have some ...d5 ideas.}) 7. Rd1 c6 8. Bb3 Qc7 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Nbd7 11.
Nc3 h6 12. Be3 e5 13. dxe5 ({I was considering} 13. Qe2 {or a variation of
this move, but I soon realized the resulting position did not look very good
for white...} exd4 14. Bxd4 Rae8 {[%csl Re4]}) 13... dxe5 14. a4 a5 15. Rd2
Rad8 16. Rad1 b6 17. Bc4 Kh7 18. h4 $5 {My idea here was to go Qh3, and put
pressure on the d7 knight. My friend later suggested to me another plan for
white: to go g4!? and g5...} Nc5 {Although this just gives up a pawn, there
isn't really anything else Black can do.} ({For example,} 18... Rde8 19. Rd6 $1
{[%csl Rd7,Rf6] and none of Black's pieces can move around easily.}) 19. Rxd8
Rxd8 20. Rxd8 Qxd8 21. Bxf7 Qe7 22. Ba2 h5 23. Bg5 Qd6 24. g3 {At this point,
I knew I was better, but I felt that if she just "held" on, and didn't do
anything drastic, I will still have a lot of work to do.} Ng4 $2 {This however,
just allowed my Queen to go into the 7th rank, which is usually never a good
thing.} ({For example,} 24... Ncd7 {would be just fine. I don't have an easy
way to break through her defences.}) 25. Qf7 Qf8 (25... Nf6 $5 {I thought this
was a better defence, but my position is a great improvement from two moves
ago.} 26. Bxf6 {and Qg8 ideas doesn't quite work, as} Qxf6 27. Qg8+ ({The
computer recommends} 27. Qc7 {, but at this point Black would have a lot more
chances to try to create some counterplay.} g5 $5 28. hxg5 Qxg5 29. Qxb6 {
White is still winning, but I prefer to keep the position closed and under
control.}) 27... Kh6 {and Black's king is not so easy to attack.}) 26. Qxf8
Bxf8 27. f3 Nh6 28. Kf1 $18 Nb7 29. Be6 Bb4 30. Bd7 Bxc3 31. bxc3 Nf7 32. Be3 (
{Here I have to be careful not to play} 32. Bxc6 {, as} Nxg5 33. hxg5 Nc5 {
and Black gets some counterplay.}) 32... c5 33. Be6 Kg7 34. c4 Kf6 35. Bd5 $18
Nbd6 36. f4 Ke7 37. Ke2 Ne8 38. Bd2 Nf6 39. Bc3 Ng4 40. Bxf7 Kxf7 41. Bxe5 Nxe5
42. fxe5 Ke6 43. Kf3 Kxe5 44. Ke3 Ke6 45. Kf4 Kf6 46. e5+ Ke6 47. Ke4 {1--0}
Kf7 (47... Ke7 48. Kd5 Kd7 49. e6+ Ke7 50. Ke5) 48. Kd5 1-0

[Event "Denker"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.08.01"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Liang, Awonder"]
[Black "Ladan, Nicholas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C60"]
[WhiteElo "2674"]
[BlackElo "2199"]
[Annotator "Lawrence"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,94,19,38,25,16,14,23,71,49,62,29,19,31,48,37,39,36,67,50,50,43,45,-4,
-24,17,3,42,7,9,12,-4,-41,-29,-29,-30,-27,-32,-53,-51,39,34,34,-125,-100,-70,
-55,-142,-128,-92,-85,-82,-95,-86,-59,-68,-49,-61,50,47,62,105,266,270,270,202,
213,182,171,140,100,126,245,243,243,254,253,242,459,493,493,544,506,705,733,
732,738,741,1029,1184,1468,1468,1596,1652,1682,1836,2157]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 g6 4. d4 exd4 5. c3 a6 6. Ba4 Bg7 7. cxd4 b5 8. Bc2 Nf6 9. e5 Nd5 10.
Bg5 f6 11. Bh4 Bb7 12. Be4 Nf4 13. O-O d5 14. exd6 Qxd6 15. a4 O-O 16. axb5
axb5 17. Rxa8 Bxa8 18. Nc3 f5 19. Nxb5 {[#]} fxe4 20. Nxd6 exf3 21. g3 (21.
Qb3+ Kh8 22. Nf7+ Rxf7 23. Qxf7 $2 (23. Qxf3 $1 Rf8 24. Ra1 Bb7 25. Rd1 Ba8 26.
Qe3 Nb4) 23... Ne2+ 24. Kh1 fxg2+ 25. Kxg2 Ne5+) 21... Ne2+ 22. Kh1 cxd6 23. d5
(23. Qb3+ Kh8 24. Qa3 Nexd4 25. Qxd6 (25. g4)) 23... Ncd4 24. Be7 Rc8 25. Qa4
Bxd5 26. Bxd6 h6 27. Qa5 Be6 28. h4 g5 29. hxg5 hxg5 (29... Nf5) 30. Qxg5 Kh7
31. Qh5+ Kg8 32. Ra1 Bf7 33. Qg4 Re8 34. Ra6 Re6 35. Bc7 Nc6 36. Ra8+ Kh7 37.
Qf5+ Rg6 38. Qxf3 Rh6+ 39. Kg2 Bh5 40. Qe4+ Rg6 41. Ra1 Bh6 42. Rh1 Bg4 43. f3
Bxf3+ 44. Qxf3 Ned4 45. Qf7+ Rg7 46. Qh5 Rg6 47. Bf4 Ne2 1-0

[Event "Denker"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.08.03"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "Liang, Awonder"]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2674"]
[BlackElo "2506"]
[Annotator "Lawrence"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d3 Be7 8. c4
O-O 9. Nc3 bxc4 10. Bxc4 d6 11. Be3 Na5 12. Bd5 c6 13. Bxf7+ Rxf7 14. b4 Bc8
15. bxa5 Bg4 16. Kh1 Nh5 17. Qb3 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Qd7 19. Ne2 Raf8 20. Rab1 Bd8
21. Ng1 Bxa5 22. Qa4 Bc3 23. Rfc1 Bd4 24. Qxc6 Qa7 25. Re1 Qe7 26. Qxa6 Nf4 27.
Rec1 Qg5 28. Bxf4 Qxf4 29. Rc8 h6 30. Rbb8 Rxc8 31. Qxc8+ Kh7 32. Qg8+ Kg6 33.
Qe8 Kh7 34. Qg8+ Kg6 35. Rd8 Bxf2 36. Rxd6+ Kh5 37. Qc8 Qg5 (37... Bxg1 38.
Kxg1 (38. Qh3+ Qh4 (38... Kg5 39. Kxg1 Qe3+ 40. Kg2 Qe2+) 39. Qxh4+ Kxh4 40.
Kxg1 Rxf3 41. a3 Re3 42. Kf2 Rh3)) 38. Nh3 Qc1+ (38... Qh4 39. Qe6 Rf6 40. Qe8+
g6 41. Qxe5+ Rf5) 1-0

[Event "Irwin"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.08.03"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Khmelnitsky, Igor"]
[Black "Eckert, Doug"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C68"]
[WhiteElo "2488"]
[BlackElo "2266"]
[Annotator "Khmelnitsky"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{I haven't been playing much since 1996. My family and my professional career
would not allow me to commit 6+ hours per day that I felt were needed to
maintain and possibly improve my 2600 USCF rating. But chess is my love, so I
managed to stay involved - I continue with private coaching, wrote and
published 3 best-selling books in Chess Exam series aimed to help readers to
assess their skills, get an estimated rating and use a proven training
template. Occasionally, I would play - initially to satisfy my own craving,
but in the last 5 years, just to be able to hang out with my daughter Nikki,
who is a strong player. On a few occasions we would win Mixed Double prizes at
CCA events. My last event was in New Jersey in February 2020 at USATE, were
myself, my daughter, my student Jack Lieberman and their long-time friend Ram
Singh had tons of fun, including winning 2nd place in the talent competition.
During pandemic, I didn't take part in any official online events. When I was
offered to represent PA in the 2021 US Open Irvin Invitational. I literally
said "it would be my honor." While this may sound corny, I was truly excited
to get out of the house for a few days and compete against strong players that
were my contemporaries and no my daughter's :). The tournament was going well,
still it all came down to the last round, were I was paired against FM Doug
Eckert - both on 4.5/5. Right next to us, IM Doug Root was battling IM Alex
Matross - both on 4/5. My opponent had an incredible event with victories over
titled players GM Finegold, IM Enkhbat, FM Ferreiro. His only draw was against
GM Fedorowics. Thus, going into last round, Doug was way ahead on tiebreaks.
Hence, a draw was never an option for me. On the other hand, it would be
extremely disappointing to come that far and lose in the last round. So, my
plan for the last game was to get somewhat low risk, balanced position and see
what happens.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5.
O-O Qf6 {[%emt 0:00:00] The first surprise - before the game, I reviewed more
popular Black's responses, including a number of sharper lines, such double
edged 5... Bg4. The move 5...Qf6, is probably 5th by the number of games
played, but, as I later learned, has one of the better winning percentages for
Black.} 6. d4 exd4 7. Qxd4 {I knew that the main line was 7.Bg5, but didn't
feel like I am ready for an opening dispute. Hence I decided to settle for a
less ambitious offer to trade the Queens.} Qxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 9. Be3 O-O-O {
[%emt 0:02:36]} 10. Nc3 Re8 {This is approximately equal position - White has
better pawn structure and should prevail if the majority of pieces is traded
off, especially the Rs. Then, the White K will be able to advance and support
his pawns on the K-side. Black has a bishop pair, well protected Q-side and
ability to attack white's K-side, specifically the Pe4.} 11. Nde2 {Diagram #
Th is move appears to be a novelty. There is nothing earth shattering here -
just a prophylactics - N on c3 is over protected in case of ...Bb4. Also, ...
c5 is no longer a concern. P on e4 is a easy target for Black. Protecting it
with Pf3 is not that attractive due to Pf5. Hence, I am prepared to play
Ne2-g3 in the near future. The position is equal.} (11. Rfe1 Bb4) 11... Ne7 12.
h3 f5 {Black makes an excellent decision to start attacking the P on e4.} 13.
Ng3 fxe4 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 14. Ncxe4 b6 15. Rfe1 Nd5 16. Bd2 {The B looks find
on d2. It covers b4 and f4 and allows potential Rook trades along the e-file.}
Be7 17. a3 {Another quiet move, aiming to restrict the Black pieces} Rhf8 18.
Bg5 {Diagram # First success - I trade the Bs removing one of Black's
advantages and inching closer to the endgame I want.} Bxg5 19. Nxg5 Nf6 20. Nf3
{The N is heading to e5 where it will dominate the B.} Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 Re8 22.
Rxe8+ Bxe8 23. Ne5 {Diagram # For the 1st time I was able to relax and tell
myself that, barring a blunder, I will not lose this game.} c5 24. Nf5 {
Trying to entice ...g6, which will restrict the B even more. There was a sharp
line 24...Nd7 that I considered. I would have a choice to make between a sharp,
but somewhat risky exchange of blows followed by a pawn race, and retreating
my knight, or making another trade (maybe even with a tiny chance of making a
cute checkmate). I am sure I would spent some time there. Instead, after 24...
g6, I spent no time at all.} g6 (24... Nd7 25. Nxg7 {White don't have to go
for this exchange of blows and subsequent pawn race. I could have traded the
Ns. I am sure I would have spent some time here making a decision.} (25. Ne7+
Kb7 (25... Kd8 $4 {Black could have walked into an odd checkmate.} 26. N5c6# {
Diagram #}) 26. Nxd7 (26. N5c6 $14) 26... Bxd7 27. Kh2 $14) 25... Nxe5 26. Nxe8
Nc4 27. Nf6 Nxb2 28. Nxh7 {It is hard to assess this position. it looks like
White should a step or two faster.}) 25. Ne3 Kd8 26. g4 {[%emt 0:00:49]} Ke7
27. f4 Ke6 28. Kg2 Ne4 29. h4 Nd2 30. Kh3 {This odd looking move is the best
way to advance the K to help the pawns while avoiding annoying checks from the
N} Ne4 31. Nf3 Bc6 32. Ng5+ Nxg5+ 33. hxg5 Be4 {We are down to the last piece.
One more trade and it is over. White is aiming at a standard setup - pawns a3,
b2 and c3, which would prevent any pawn breaks. The N will restrict the Black
K from entering. The only question remains - how to get the White K inside the
Black's position.} 34. Kg3 b5 35. c3 $6 {The physical and emotional fatigue is
beginning to set in. With the victory in sight, I am beginning to make
inaccurate moves. This was the first move I was really disappointed with.
White had a nice opportunity to advance his pawn f.} (35. f5+ gxf5 (35... Ke5
36. f6 $18 {Securing the pawn and tying the Black K.}) 36. Kf4 Bxc2 $5 (36...
Bc6 37. gxf5+ $18) 37. Nxc2 fxg4 38. Kxg4 $18 {White should be able to win.})
35... Bd3 36. Kf3 Bb1 37. Ke2 Be4 38. Nf1 {The plan was to get the N to g3, K
to e3 and play Ne4. If the Black K goes to d5, then f5} c4 39. Ke3 Bd3 40. Ng3
Bc2 (40... Kd5 $16 {This move offers more resistance. White has a choice
between 41.b4, 41.f5 and 41.Kf3 aiming at sneaking to g4 after 42.f5 gxf5 43.
gxf5 Ke5.}) 41. Ne4 Bd1 42. Nf2 {[%emt 0:01:12]} Bc2 {[%emt 0:00:56]} 43. Kd4
Kd6 {[%emt 0:02:31] The oddest ng happened here - I made this obvious great
move and then saw "a ghost." I thought, wow, instead I should have played 43.
Kd2 with the idea to take the B out of the game completely. 43...Bb1 44.Kc1
Ba2 45.Ne4 and 46. Nf6 +- . So, instead of moving forward, I moved backwards
with the goal to repeat the position. First of all, I missed the unexpected 44.
..Bf5 (instead of 44...Ba2) with difficulties for White to convert his
advantage. But that was not the worst...} 44. Ke3 $4 {[%emt 0:01:34] White
should be winning fairly easily after 44.Ne4+ either heading to f6 or c5.
Black can pickup the pawn on g4, but it should not be enough.} (44. Ne4+) 44...
Kd5 {[%emt 0:01:00] Diagram # And I realized that the entrance to the Black's
pawns was closed again.} 45. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:11] I had to calm down and look
for a different idea. I noticed that Black is in a sort of a zugzwang. The
Black K can't move when Ne4 is playable. The Black B on c2 controls both - e4
and d1 (with direct attack on g4). My new plan was to make Black run out of
moves, so the Bc2 leaves its optimal post.} a5 {[%emt 0:01:06]} 46. Ke3 c5 {
[%emt 0:00:48]} 47. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:39]} b4 {[%emt 0:01:07] I must admit that
when Doug started aggressively moving the pawns, I got a little nervous. I
checked and rechecked my lines. And all looked fine. Perhaps, Black assumed
that my shuffling back and forth was a sign of weakness. At any right, I think
Black started overplaying his hand.} 48. Ke3 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Bb1 {[%emt 0:02:
09] Finally, the B leaves c2 and my N is free to start looking for better
squares.} 49. Nh3 {[%emt 0:01:07] Heading to e5} bxa3 {[%emt 0:01:13]} 50. bxa3
{[%emt 0:00:27]} Kc6 $2 {The Black K goes in the wrong direction. Black
overestimated ability of the B on b1.} 51. Nf2 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Kb5 $4 {
[%emt 0:00:00] Completely missing White's threat. After 51...Kd5, White still
need to exhibit accuracy and patience, but should find a way to overcome the
defense.} (51... Kd5 52. Nh1 Bc2 53. Ng3 Bb1 54. f5 gxf5 55. gxf5 Ke5 56. f6
Bg6 57. Ne4 {Black is trying to hold. The game may go for another 20+ moves. I
will show one sample line} Kd5 58. Kf4 Bf7 59. Nf2 Be6 60. Ng4 Kd6 61. Nh6 $18
{Practice this endgame with a friend or a computer}) 52. Ne4 $18 {[%emt 0:01:
08] Diagram # It is over - the Black K is in "no man's land" - too slow to
help the a-pawn and too far to protect the k-side pawns.} Ka4 {[%emt 0:00:38]}
53. f5 {[%emt 0:00:55] Black resigned and I felt this incredible rush of
excitement of winning an important game and tournament. I missed that
wonderful feeling! I want to give kudos to the US Chess Federation. From the
opening ceremony to the closing to the games in between - everything was top
notch! The participants were great. I met some old friends and made new ones.
Time to hit the books and start getting ready to 2022 US Senior Championship.}
1-0

[Event "Irwin"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.08.01"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Eckert, Doug"]
[Black "Finegold, Benjamin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A56"]
[WhiteElo "2266"]
[BlackElo "2538"]
[Annotator "Eckert"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,51,18,27,25,-9,37,43,37,39,46,53,52,28,30,35,66,75,135,124,126,118,
116,113,118,128,123,92,194,80,140,135,138,129,129,117,105,121,109,101,101,167,
211,217,265,344,210,174,300,272,326,376,479,532] A56: Czech Benoni [Ben has
been a difficult opponent for me over the years. I won a game against him many
years ago in the 1984 U.S. Junior Championship. Since then 6 straight losses
in classical chess and others in rapid game. I had some psychological hurdles
to get over playing Ben given that history.]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e5 4.
Nc3 d6 5. e4 Be7 6. g3 O-O 7. Bg2 Ne8 8. Nge2 g6 9. Bh6 Ng7 10. Qd2 Nd7 11. O-O
f5 12. exf5 (12. f4 {[Before the game, I had looked at set-ups with f4. During
the game, I became concerned about 12...exf4 for Black. But it is not very
good. Ben plays lots of openings, so it is not possible to prepare too deeply
for him. Therefore, this preparation was more of glancing at some ideas rather
than looking at anything very deeply.]} exf4 13. Nxf4 Ne5 14. Ne6 Nxe6 (14...
Bxe6 15. dxe6 Nxc4 16. Qe2 Ne5 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. exf5 gxf5 19. Nd5 $18) 15.
dxe6 Rf6 (15... Nxc4 16. Qe2 Ne5 17. Bxf8 $18) 16. Nd5 Rxe6 17. exf5 $18) 12...
gxf5 13. f4 Nf6 $146 (13... e4 14. g4 fxg4 $6 15. Ng3 $18) 14. h3 $2 ({14 h3
was a reflex action and is a mistake. White should immediately inflict hanging
pawns on Black.]} 14. fxe5 dxe5 15. Rad1 Bd6 $18) 14... Kh8 $2 {[Black gives
White another opportunity.]} (14... e4 {[With the knight already on f6, White
has much more difficulty achieving the g4 break.]} 15. Nd1 $11 (15. g4 fxg4 16.
f5 $13 {[This is a crazy suggestion by the computer that I would not have
played. After it thinks for a while, it does not think White is doing that
great.]})) 15. fxe5 $18 {[The on-line commentators thought this move was
controversial. They felt the Black pawn duo on e5 and f5 was fine and Black
has a blockading square on d6. However, Black is not in time getting to d6
with the knight and after losing the dark squared bishop, Black has decisive
weakness on the Black squares.]} dxe5 16. Rad1 Bd6 (16... Nfe8 17. Qe3 Nd6 (
17... Bf6 18. d6 $18) 18. Qxe5 $18 {Its that simple, Black is not in time.})
17. Nb5 Rg8 $2 (17... Nfe8 18. Qe3 Rf7 19. g4 f4 20. Nxf4 exf4 21. Nxd6 Nxd6
22. Bxf4 {[Even a piece down, Stockfish thinks White is +5. Black cannot move.
A sample finish is.]} Nxc4 23. Qc3 Nd6 24. Bxd6 Rxf1+ 25. Rxf1 Qxd6 26. Rf7 $18
) 18. Bg5 a6 $6 (18... Ngh5 {[Is stronger resistance, but the computer
believes White still has a decisive advantage.}) 19. Nxd6 Qxd6 20. g4 $1 {
[Whenever an opponent has hanging pawns, this attack has to be considered.
When the opponent is behind in development, it is often decisive as it is here.
]} Nfe8 {[After the game, Ben told me he thought he had tricked me into making
a bad weakness with 20 g4.]} 21. Ng3 fxg4 22. h4 $1 {[The live commentators
liked my position, but did not come to grips with just how strong it is.
White's idea is Rf7, Be4 followed by h5 and h6 winning. The Black pawn on g4
just blocks the bishop on c8 and rook on g8. As attractive as Ne4 looks, and
it is probably also winning, it is better to leave the knight on g3 and
prevent Black from putting a piece on f5. Black is totally helpless. I
expected his next move, Qd7, since it is the only way to stop the deadly Rf7.
The only other alternative for him to try is e4.]} Qd7 (22... e4 23. Bf4 Qe7
24. h5 e3 25. Qc3 e2 26. Nxe2 Qxe2 27. Rde1 $18) 23. Qc3 Qd6 24. Rde1 {[Simple
chess, Black cannot defend the dark squares or the pawn on e5.]} h6 25. Bd2 Nf6
26. Rxe5 {[Ben's time ran down to about 20 seconds here before he resigned.
The commentatories were surprised he did. The plan for White is very simple,
play Qe3 and attack the newly created weakness on h6. If Nfe8 in response, Re6
is an interference move that mates. Black's only way to stop mate is to play
Re8 but after Bf4, Black is going to shed lots of material.] 1-0} b5 {1-0} (
26... Re8) (26... a5 27. Qe3 Nfe8 28. Re6) 27. Qe3 Nfe8 (27... Re8) 28. Re6 1-0

[Event "14th Philadelphia Int"]
[Site "Philadelphia USA"]
[Date "2021.06.27"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "11.1 Cordova, E."]
[Black "Repka, C."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A17"]
[WhiteElo "2590"]
[BlackElo "2496"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2021.06.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,48,23,23,18,5,27,-11,0,6,22,5,-17,14,23,13,30,5,-14,-45,-52,-62,-68,
-61,-80,-69,-60,-60,-60,-82,-86,-49,-111,-132,-103,-139,-101,-98,-124,-89,-82,
-127,-128,-128,-159,-159,-196,-495,-497,-805,-849]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4
e6 4. Nc3 Bd6 5. b3 O-O 6. Bb2 Re8 7. Qc2 c5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bb5 Nc6 10. Na4
Bd7 11. Bxc6 Bxc6 12. Nxc5 Rc8 13. d4 b6 14. Nd3 Bb5 15. Qd1 Qd7 16. a4 Ba6 17.
b4 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 Bxb4+ 19. Ke2 Qg4 20. g3 Ne4 21. h3 Qf5 22. Rac1 h5 23. Rxc8
Rxc8 24. Rd1 {[#]} Rc2+ {Several moves win but this check is the most path.
White resigned as after} (24... Rc2+ 25. Qxc2 Nxg3+ {, Black decisively wins
material.}) 0-1

[Event "49th Annual World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia USA"]
[Date "2021.07.03"]
[Round "5"]
[White "11.2 Chandran, Kapil"]
[Black "Andriasian, Z."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2383"]
[BlackElo "2581"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2021.07.01"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,58,17,29,42,50,76,57,57,29,26,28,57,29,83,25,20,19,7,7,7,1,7,25,9,25,
67,-56,-29,-17,14,3,3,-2,-29,0,0,0,31,31,-30,-50,-19,-26,-41,-69,-69,-69,-70,
-70,-38,-74,0,-25,-61,-330,-331,-639,-648,-623,-629]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4
cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 g6 7. g4 Bg7 8. Bg2 O-O 9. Be3 Nc6 10. Qd2 Bd7
11. O-O-O Rc8 12. f4 b5 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 Nxd4 15. Bxd4 Bxd4 16. Qxd4 Qa5
17. Kb1 Rc4 18. Qe3 Ra4 19. a3 b4 20. Rd4 Rb8 21. Qb3 Rb6 22. Ka2 bxa3 23. Rxa4
Bxa4 24. Qxa3 Rb5 25. Kb1 Qb6 26. Be4 Rb4 27. Re1 {[#]} Rxe4 $1 28. Rxe4 Qg1+ {
The point: the back rank is cleared to attack the king.} 29. Ka2 Bxc2 {
Threatening mate on b1 as well as the rook on e4. White resigned on account of}
(29... Bxc2 30. Qe3 Qb1+ 31. Ka3 Bxe4 {, winning the rook.}) 0-1

[Event "49th Annual World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia USA"]
[Date "2021.07.03"]
[Round "4"]
[White "11.3 Park, Evan"]
[Black "Cordova, E."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B61"]
[WhiteElo "2274"]
[BlackElo "2581"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2021.07.01"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,60,25,21,56,47,47,34,27,27,21,40,29,46,43,19,58,43,48,49,49,24,30,30,
38,20,23,28,45,19,29,55,28,54,54,55,55,47,64,36,39,39,52,18,15,5,-17,-324,-342,
-367,-362,-362,-377,-654,-752,-801,-801,-809,-593,-811,-828,-845,-845]} 1. e4
c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Qd2 Rc8 8. O-O-O
Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Qa5 10. f4 h6 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. g3 Qc5 13. Qd3 f5 14. e5 Bg7 15.
Bh3 O-O 16. Rhe1 Rfd8 17. Bxf5 Bxf5 18. Qxf5 dxe5 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. fxe5 e6
21. Qf4 b5 22. Nd1 b4 23. Nf2 {[#]} b3 $1 24. c3 ({The only move to continue
the game. If} 24. axb3 {then} Qa5 {creates the dual threat of ...Qa1# and ...
Qxe1#. After} 25. Nd3 Rxd3 {, it is curtains for White.}) 24... bxa2 {The
passed pawn on a2 provides Black with a decisive advantage but White fights on
for a few more moves.} 25. Kc2 Qb5 26. Ng4 $2 ({Or} 26. Qe4 Rb8 27. Qb4 a1=Q {
28.Rxa1 Qe2+, winning material.}) 26... Qd3+ 27. Kb3 Qb1 28. Nf6+ Bxf6 29. exf6
a1=N+ {Another knight promotion!} 30. Ka3 Nc2+ {White resigned as after 31.Kb3
Nxe1 32.Qg4+, Black has 32...Qg6, ending the fun.} 0-1

[Event "49th Annual World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia USA"]
[Date "2021.07.04"]
[Round "7"]
[White "11.4 Salinas Herrera, P."]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2514"]
[BlackElo "2430"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2021.07.01"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,75,25,25,25,25,51,2,-6,9,12,-13,-1,-26,19,13,64,64,79,79,112,118,111,
112,110,108,117,32,32,17,5,7,7,19,30,41,37,55,58,61,78,38,39,3,60,24,80,14,15,
13,112,101,106,128,133,129,124,124,124,114,118,117,334,309,247,247,260,260,360,
372,382,432,495,543,550,555,560,554]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nbd2 d5 4. e3 Bg7
5. b4 O-O 6. c4 b6 7. Bb2 c5 8. dxc5 bxc5 9. bxc5 Qa5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Bxg7
Kxg7 12. Rc1 Rd8 13. Qb3 Nc6 14. Qb2+ Kg8 15. Bc4 Rb8 16. Qa1 Nf6 17. Rc3 Bg4
18. O-O Bxf3 19. Nxf3 Ne4 20. Rcc1 e6 21. h4 h5 22. Bb3 Nxc5 23. Qf6 Nd7 24.
Qf4 Nde5 25. Ng5 Rf8 26. Ne4 Rb4 27. Nf6+ Kg7 {[#]} 28. Nxh5+ $1 gxh5 29. Qg5+
Ng6 ({Black decides to hand back the piece immediately as} 29... Kh7 {loses
after} 30. Qxh5+ Kg7 31. Qg5+ Kh7 32. f4 ({but not the immediate} 32. Bc2+ $4 {
when} f5 {would have been fine for Black}) 32... f6 33. Bc2+ f5 34. Bb3 {
and White wins back the piece while Black's king position is a wreck.}) 30.
Rxc6 Qa3 ({A better chance was} 30... Qxg5 31. hxg5 Rg4 (31... Nh4 32. f4 {
wins for White}) 32. Rc5 Nh4 {and now White should find} 33. Kh2 $1 {, winning
the game.}) 31. Bxe6 {White has won two pawns. The rest is unnecessary.} Rb6
32. Rxb6 axb6 33. Bb3 f6 34. Qxh5 Rh8 35. Qd5 Rxh4 36. Qg8+ Kh6 37. Bc2 Rg4 38.
Bxg6 {and Black finally resigned.} 1-0

[Event "14th Philadelphia Int"]
[Site "Philadelphia USA"]
[Date "2021.06.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "11.5 Paragua, M."]
[Black "Andersen, Gunnar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2529"]
[BlackElo "2194"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2021.06.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,77,28,28,28,-12,-1,12,45,-3,42,13,35,40,25,-18,-17,-17,-5,-21,-7,12,
-28,-6,-10,-21,-24,-45,-7,-26,-39,-35,-36,-82,-58,-74,-80,-67,-38,-17,-26,-37,
-22,-73,-30,-78,-53,-54,-79,-78,-63,-96,-19,-31,-6,-23,56,46,58,22,80,124,124,
124,130,184,220,207,226,183,482,482,482,408,435,435,435,443,462,500]} 1. d4 Nf6
2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 c5 4. d5 Qb6 5. Nd2 Qxb2 6. Nxe4 Qb4+ 7. c3 Qxe4 8. e3 g5 9.
Bg3 Bg7 10. Rc1 d6 11. Nf3 Qg6 12. h4 h6 13. h5 Qf6 14. Nd2 O-O 15. Bd3 e5 16.
dxe6 Qxe6 17. O-O Rd8 18. e4 d5 19. Re1 Nc6 20. Bc7 Rf8 21. exd5 Qxd5 22. Bc4
Qd7 23. Bg3 Na5 24. Qc2 b5 25. Bd3 Bb7 26. Bf5 Qd8 27. Ne4 Qd5 {[#]} 28. Bh7+
$1 Kh8 ({Of course, the bishop cannot be captured} 28... Kxh7 29. Nf6+ Kh8 30.
Qh7# {.}) 29. Rcd1 $1 Qc4 30. Bc7 ({Also} 30. Nd6 {wins for White, e.g.,} Qxc3
31. Re7 Bc6 32. Nxf7+ Rxf7 33. Rxf7 Qxc2 34. Bxc2 {and White has a decisive
advantage.}) 30... f5 31. Nd6 $1 {Black's awkwardly-placed pieces are no match
for White's invading trooops.} Qg4 32. Nxb7 Nxb7 33. Bg6 Qc4 34. Rd7 Nd8 ({Or} 
34... Qxc3 35. Qxc3 Bxc3 36. Be5+ Bxe5 37. Rxe5 Na5 38. Ree7 {and the rooks on
the seventh rank decide.}) 35. Ree7 {The invasion is unstopable.} Ne6 36. Rxg7
Nxg7 37. Be5 Qe6 38. Bxg7+ Kg8 39. Qd2 {Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "49th Annual World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia USA"]
[Date "2021.07.04"]
[Round "7"]
[White "11.6 Wang, Tianqi"]
[Black "Shetty, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2336"]
[BlackElo "2453"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2021.07.01"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,58,25,18,50,36,34,-3,24,38,33,-9,15,15,23,30,43,40,30,19,34,14,16,5,
24,23,23,23,16,2,44,16,-33,2,1,-16,-16,-49,-52,-53,-9,-53,-54,-72,-59,-82,-32,
-82,-79,-56,-57,-45,-63,-171,-171,-495,-530,-530,-479,-884,-884]} 1. e4 e6 2.
d4 d5 3. Bd3 c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. h3
O-O 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. Nb3 Bb6 12. Re1 Ne4 13. Be3 Bc7 14. Nbd4 Qf6 15. Bf1 a6
16. g3 Na5 17. Qc2 Bd7 18. Bg2 Nc4 19. Bc1 Rad8 20. Rd1 h6 21. Qd3 Bb8 22. Qf1
Re7 23. Rd3 Rde8 24. b3 Ncd6 25. Bb2 {[#]} Ba7 $1 ({A clever move that sets up
long-range threats against White's kingside. However, also note that Black can
play} 25... Nxf2 $1 {, for example,} 26. Qxf2 ({or} 26. Kxf2 Ne4+ 27. Kg1 Nxg3
28. Qf2 Qg6 29. Rad1 Ne2+ 30. Kh1 Nf4 {and White will not be able to defend
for long}) 26... Ne4 27. Qc2 Nxg3 28. Rd2 Ba7 29. Rf2 Re2 $1 {and White's
defensive ranks are rapidly collapsing.}) 26. Rc1 Bb5 $1 {The point behind the
previous move: White will have to open the diagonal for the bishop on a7 to
avoid losing material.} 27. Nxb5 Bxf2+ 28. Kh2 Bxg3+ 29. Kg1 Bf2+ {and,
standing to lose the queen, White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "49th Annual World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia USA"]
[Date "2021.07.02"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "11.7 Chandran, Kapil"]
[Black "Theodorou, Nikolas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E91"]
[WhiteElo "2383"]
[BlackElo "2584"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2021.07.01"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,72,28,23,27,6,42,41,40,40,40,34,31,34,38,38,51,15,48,59,51,50,87,76,
78,83,76,51,90,94,90,101,125,83,83,88,143,98,88,81,103,54,116,80,81,43,186,193,
630,202,311,320,493,467,420,354,332,252,291,233,198,-705,233,-243,-259,-495,
-703,-29991,-29992,-29993,-29994,-29995,-29996,-29997,-29998]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4
g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 b6 7. O-O e5 8. Be3 Nc6 9. d5 Ne7 10.
Ne1 h5 11. f3 Nh7 12. b4 f5 13. c5 f4 14. Bf2 g5 15. a4 a6 16. cxb6 cxb6 17.
Nd3 Rf6 18. Nb2 Rg6 19. Nc4 Rb8 20. a5 bxa5 21. bxa5 g4 22. Bb6 Qf8 23. Bc7 g3
24. Nxd6 Bd7 25. Bxb8 Qf6 26. Nf5 Nxf5 27. exf5 Qh4 28. h3 Bxf5 29. Bd3 {[#]}
Bxh3 $1 {Black has already sacrificed a rook and this sacrifice is necessary
to break through to White's king. However, this is not the only thing Black
needed to have calculated.} 30. Ra2 (30. gxh3 Qxh3 31. Qd2 e4 $1 ({but not} 
31... g2 $4 32. Bxg6 {and White is winning}) 32. Ba7 ({if} 32. Qg2 {then} Bd4+
{wins for Black}) 32... g2 33. Rfb1 e3 $1 ({or} 33... Qh1+ 34. Kf2 Qh2 35. Rg1
Qg3+ 36. Ke2 Qxf3+ 37. Ke1 exd3 {and Black is winning}) 34. Bxe3 Ng5 $3 35.
Bxg6 Nxf3+ 36. Kf2 Nxd2 37. Rb8+ Bf8 38. Bxd2 Qh2 39. Rg1 Qg3+ 40. Ke2 f3+ {
and Black wins.}) 30... e4 {Opening up for the bishop on g7.} 31. Bxe4 ({Also} 
31. Ba7 Ng5 32. Re1 Bxg2 33. Rxg2 Nxf3+ {wins for Black.}) 31... Bd7 {
Threatening mate on h2.} 32. Rff2 Bxc3 33. Bxg6 Qh2+ 34. Kf1 Bb5+ 35. Bd3 Bxd3+
36. Qxd3 Qh1+ {and facing mate on the next move, White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "49th Annual World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia USA"]
[Date "2021.07.01"]
[Round "1"]
[White "11.8 Cordova, E."]
[Black "Kropff, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D40"]
[WhiteElo "2581"]
[BlackElo "2156"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2021.07.01"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,65,27,25,27,27,27,2,12,6,23,7,20,11,25,23,25,14,23,4,0,21,36,-4,-19,
-39,-30,-26,4,21,24,-38,50,30,40,-27,-37,-6,-15,-15,-7,1,50,50,146,10,22,36,39,
44,56,48,48,44,43,43,173,160,206,212,407,412,583,595,631,635,629,633]} 1. d4
Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. e3 c5 5. a3 cxd4 6. exd4 Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Bd3 dxc4
9. Bxc4 Nc6 10. O-O b6 11. Qd3 Bb7 12. Ba2 Rc8 13. Re1 Qd6 14. Bg5 Rfd8 15.
Rad1 h6 16. Bh4 Nh5 17. Nb5 Qb8 18. Bb1 g6 {[#]} 19. Bg3 $3 {At first glance,
this may not look like anything special, but its purpose is to remove a key
defender from the black kingside: the h5-knight.} Nxg3 ({If} 19... Nf4 {then}
20. Qe3 Bg5 21. Nxg5 ({or} 21. Be4 Rd7 22. Nxg5 hxg5 23. h4) 21... hxg5 22. h4
Nd5 23. Qxg5 {and White is winning.}) 20. hxg3 Bf6 ({Also} 20... Bf8 {is met by
} 21. Rxe6 $1 Ne7 22. Ne5 fxe6 23. Nxg6 Nxg6 ({or} 23... Nf5 24. g4 Rc5 25.
gxf5 Rxf5 26. Nh4 {and White is winning}) 24. Qxg6+ Bg7 25. Qxe6+ Kh8 26. Qg6
Kg8 27. Qh7+ Kf8 28. Ba2 Bd5 29. Qf5+ {and it is curtains for Black.}) 21. Rxe6
$1 Kg7 ({Black cannot capture the rook, for instance,} 21... fxe6 22. Qxg6+ Bg7
23. Qxe6+ Kh8 ({or} 23... Kf8 24. Ba2) 24. Qg6 Kg8 25. Ba2+ Rd5 26. Bxd5+ {
and it is over.}) 22. d5 $1 ({The game continued less accurately:} 22. Re4 $2
Ne7 23. Rxe7 Bxe7 24. Ne5 Qxe5 25. dxe5 Rxd3 26. Bxd3 Rc5 27. f4 f6 $4 ({after
} 27... a5 {, White's win would have been far from a certainty}) 28. b4 Rd5 29.
Nc7 Rd7 30. exf6+ Kxf6 31. Ne8+ Ke6 32. Bc4+ Bd5 33. Bxd5+ {and Black resigned.
}) 22... Rxd5 ({Or} 22... Ba6 23. Rxf6 Kxf6 24. d6 Bxb5 25. Qc3+ Ke6 26. Ba2+
Kd7 27. Qf6 {and White is winning.}) 23. Qxd5 Ne5 24. Qd6 Bxf3 25. gxf3 fxe6
26. Qxe6 {and White has a winning position.} 1-0

[Event "14th Philadelphia Int"]
[Site "Philadelphia USA"]
[Date "2021.06.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "11.9 Maiti, Milind"]
[Black "Jacobson, Brandon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A61"]
[WhiteElo "2068"]
[BlackElo "2491"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2021.06.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 11.2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.11.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,62,25,25,17,-11,-11,-11,60,56,50,78,82,79,95,76,89,48,57,44,325,40,68,
68,91,0,-20,-3,7,-5,0,-63,-81,-39,-101,-113,-85,-94,-97,-99,-108,-133,-174,
-182,-111,-308,-294,-374,-435,-442,-450,-456,-288,-296,-296,-345,-357,-356,
-368,-29971,-29982,-29983,-29984,-29985,-29986]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5
4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nf3 g6 7. Bf4 Bg7 8. Qa4+ Bd7 9. Qb3 O-O 10. e4 Re8
11. Nd2 Na6 12. Bxa6 bxa6 13. O-O Bb5 14. Nxb5 axb5 15. Qxb5 Nxe4 16. Nc4 Bd4
17. Be3 Bxe3 18. Nxe3 {[#]} Nxf2 $3 ({Black forces the white king forward. The
alternative was} 18... Rb8 19. Qe2 Nf6 {when Black has the better chances but
White can defend.}) 19. Kxf2 Qf6+ 20. Ke2 Qg5 $1 21. Qd3 Rab8 $1 {Introducing
another attacker to the party.} 22. Kf3 ({If} 22. b3 {then} Rb4 $1 {and White
cannot stop Black's heavy attackers, for instance,} 23. Rae1 Rd4 $1 24. Qc3
Qxg2+ 25. Rf2 Qh3 26. Rg1 f5 27. Rg3 Qh5+ 28. Rgf3 f4 {and it is soon over for
White.}) 22... Rxb2 23. Rab1 Rxe3+ $1 24. Qxe3 Qxg2+ 25. Kf4 Rb4+ {Not the
only move to win, but the text move forces a won endgame on the board.} ({After
} 25... Qxh2+ 26. Kf3 Qg2+ 27. Kf4 Rb4+ {, Black would have had an additional
pawn.}) 26. Rxb4 Qxf1+ 27. Kg5 Qf5+ 28. Kh4 cxb4 29. Qxa7 Qf4+ 30. Kh3 Qf3+ 31.
Kh4 h6 {and White resigned as preventing mate will cost the queen.} 0-1

