[Event "Nimzowitsch Memorial"]
[Site "Copenhagen"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrosian, Tigran V"]
[Black "Nielsen, Palle Moeller"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 f5 2. Bg5 g6 3. Nd2 Bg7 4. c3 Nf6 5. e3 d6 6. Ngf3 Nc6 7. Qb3 h6 8. Bxf6
Bxf6 9. e4 e5 10. Bb5 Kf8 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Qa4 Qd6 14. Nb3 Bd7
15. Rd1 Qe7 16. Nc5 Be8 17. b4 Kg7 18. O-O Rf8 19. Qa6 fxe4 20. Nd2 e3 21. Nde4
exf2+ 22. Rxf2 Bg5 23. Rxf8 Kxf8 24. Nxg5 hxg5 25. Qb7 1-0

[Event "ABC-368"]
[Site "Copenhagen"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6k1/8/8/5n2/6nq/5RPN/4Q1K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-368"]
[Site "Copenhagen"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6k1/8/5n2/4n3/7K/6PR/8 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-368"]
[Site "Copenhagen"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2N1k3/QK6/nPP5/8/1Pn5/7q/8/8 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-368"]
[Site "Copenhagen"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6k1/8/1Q6/4n3/1n6/PPP5/1K6 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-368"]
[Site "Copenhagen"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/7P/8/8/8/1k6/4n3/1K3n2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-368"]
[Site "Copenhagen"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/1k6/8/1p6/n1n5/1K6/8/8 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "2021 NAYCC U18"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.08.20"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Mardov, Dimitar"]
[Black "Narayanan, Samrug"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2377"]
[BlackElo "2323"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2rr2k1/2n2q1p/1ppn1p2/p2p2p1/P2P4/1PQNP2P/2R1NPP1/2R3K1 w - - 0 34"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Black has significantly overextended his position, but seems to have covered
all the weaknesses for the moment as 34. Qxc6 appears to be adequately met by
34...Na8. After other moves, Black would activate the c7-knight and gain some
hint of counterplay. How should White continue?} 34. Qxc6 $1 {Played anyway!
It turns out that Dimitar has seen further.} Na8 35. Qxd6 $1 {The big point -
White gets more than enough material for the queen.} Rxd6 36. Rxc8+ Kg7 37.
Rxa8 {White has a material advantage, and the plan Ng3-f5 suggests itself.
White soon won without any adventures. To some extent, this game demonstrates
a flexibility in thinking that is necessary for any player wishing to reach
the next level: freeing oneself from the artificial conception of material and
being ready to give up even the strongest piece when the material obtained in
return is sufficient. The very idea of giving up the queen for some material
balance (say rook and two minor pieces, as in this case) is a typical blind
spot in many players' calculation.} 1-0

[Event "2021 NAYCC Girls U18"]
[Site "Chicago"]
[Date "2021.08.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Lee, Alice"]
[Black "Kumar, Arya"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2215"]
[BlackElo "2030"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r1qr1k1/3b1pbp/2p2np1/2Pp4/NP6/5P2/3QBBPP/R4R1K w - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{A typical position emerging from the King's Indian, where White is slightly
better in view of the queenside bind. Lee's play is logical:} 21. Nb6 Bf5 22.
Bg3 {Now Black has to make an important decision: how to deal with the threat
to the rook?} Rxb6 $2 {A mistake. Black does not get enough compensation for
the exchange.} ({The most natural move is} 22... Rb7 {, but it allows White to
seize control of the a-file with} 23. Ra8 $1 Qe7 24. Rfa1 {and White is
clearly better. The e2-bishop is untouchable due to the pin on the e8-rook.}) (
{Probably the only move to stay in the game was} 22... Nd7 $1 {,
counterattacking the a1-rook. It also allows Black to accomplish one of her
major strategic goals: trading off the powerful b6-knight. The position is
balanced; for example:} 23. Ra7 $5 ({if} 23. Bxb8 Bxa1 24. Rxa1 Qxb8 25. Ra8
Qe5 {is equal}) 23... Be5 {and after trading a few pieces, Black should be
fine, e.g.} (23... Nxb6 $5 24. Bc7 Nc4 25. Bxc4 Qf6 26. Bxb8 dxc4 {, with
compensation, is also possible but not obvious.}) 24. Bxe5 Rxe5 25. Nxd7 Bxd7 {
.}) 23. cxb6 Qxb6 24. Bf2 {Taking control of the dark squares.} d4 $5 {This
must have been the move on which Black based her calculations. In an ideal
world, the knight would come to d5 and create significant counterplay. However,
Alice found a nice refutation deserving of a place in a tactics book.} 25. Bxd4
$1 {Seeing further.} Rxe2 26. Ra8+ Bf8 27. Rxf8+ $1 ({Black had no choice but
to resign, as} 27. Rxf8+ Kxf8 {is met by} 28. Qh6+ {.}) 1-0

[Event "2021 NAYCC U12"]
[Site "followchess.com"]
[Date "2021.08.19"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Adewumi, Tanitoluwa"]
[Black "Han, Johnathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E12"]
[WhiteElo "1895"]
[BlackElo "1805"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3r1k1/1bqn1ppp/p2p1b2/P1pP4/1p2P3/3B1NP1/RP1N1PP1/3Q1RK1 b - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "40"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:32:48"]
[BlackClock "0:01:13"]

{[#]} 19... Ne5 {Black eliminates the "superfluous" f3-knight, which was
fighting the d2-knight for the same outpost (the c4-square).} ({A stronger
plan was} 19... g6 $1 {, intending ...Bf6-g7 followed by ...Nd7-f6 and a
potential doubling of the rooks on the e-file.}) 20. Nxe5 Rxe5 21. Nc4 (21. g4
$5 {deserved consideration.}) 21... Re7 $6 {A mistake. White is allowed to
advance the kingside pawns unrestrained.} ({Better was} 21... Rg5 $1 {and no
clear plan for White is evident.}) 22. b3 Rae8 23. Qf3 Bd4 24. g4 $1 {Slowly
improving the position.} Bc8 25. g3 Bd7 ({Very interesting is} 25... Qd7 {
, intending} 26. Kg2 h5 $1 {leading to many fascinating lines. I will share
one:} 27. Rh1 hxg4 28. Qf4 Qd8 $5 29. Qxd6 Rd7 30. Qb8 Rxd5 $3 31. exd5 Qxd5+
32. Kh2 {Note that ...Bc8-b7 does not work here, which explains the queen's
strange placement on b8.} Qh5+ 33. Kg2 {with a repetition.}) 26. Re2 ({White
should not have allowed the bishop to take up an active position on b5. Better
was} 26. Nb6 $1 Qa7 ({or} 26... Bb5 27. Bxb5 axb5 28. Qd3 $1 {with a solid
advantage for White}) {and now the typical transformation of advantages with}
27. Nxd7 $1 Qxd7 28. Kg2 {and White has a risk-free advantage. He will utilize
it first by fortifying the e4-pawn with Qf3-e2 and f2-f3, forcing Black to
divert resources to the defense of the a6-pawn, and then by probing Black's
kingside for potential weaknesses.}) 26... Bb5 {Now Black has activated all
his pieces, and should be fine.} 27. Nb6 g6 28. Kg2 {It makes sense to first
improve the position before taking on b5.} ({Black is successfully able to
complicate the position after} 28. Bxb5 axb5 29. Qd3 f5 $1) 28... Re5 ({
Black could also have played the typical but non-obvious Benoni strike} 28...
f5 $5 29. gxf5 gxf5 {, and in case of} 30. Bxb5 axb5 31. Qxf5 Rf8 32. Qh5 Ref7
33. f4 Kh8 {Black has dangerous counterplay, especially in view of the
out-of-play b6-knight.}) 29. Bxb5 axb5 30. Qd3 Qe7 ({After} 30... f5 31. gxf5
gxf5 32. Qxb5 fxe4 33. Nc4 $1 {White has time to consolidate the position.})
31. f3 ({The continuation} 31. Qxb5 Rxe4 32. Ra2 Rxg4 33. a6 {seems very
strong, until you see} Bxf2 $3 34. Raxf2 Rxg3+ $1 35. Kxg3 Qg5+ {and Black
draws by perpetual check:} 36. Kh2 Qh4+ 37. Kg1 Qg4+ $1 38. Rg2 Qd4+ $1 {.})
31... f5 $2 {This does not work well.} ({The other method of attacking the
g4-pawn,} 31... h5 {, was better. White should not trade pawns with} 32. gxh5 (
{or} 32. Qxb5 hxg4 {and the e4-pawn becomes weak.}) {as} 32... Rxh5 {followed
by ...Kg8-g7 quickly becomes dangerous for White.}) 32. gxf5 $2 {A mistake in
return. White should not have traded.} ({Instead} 32. Qxb5 $1 fxg4 (32... fxe4
33. f4 {also works much better than it does in the game.}) 33. Nc4 $1 {is
nearly winning for White. After} Rxd5 $5 ({or} 33... gxf3+ 34. Rxf3 Rxe4 35.
Rxe4 Qxe4 36. Nxd6 Qe2+ 37. Qxe2 Rxe2+ 38. Kf1 {and White wins, while}) (33...
Rg5 34. f4 Rh5 35. Nxd6 $1 {is no better.}) 34. fxg4 {Black's rook is trapped,
and in the time it take to extricate it, the a5-pawn will be a few steps
closer to its lifelong dream.}) 32... gxf5 33. Qxb5 fxe4 ({Black can try to
create a mess with} 33... f4 $5 {. White's best reaction is} 34. Qd7 $1 (34.
gxf4 $4 Rh5 35. Qd7 Qxd7 36. Nxd7 Kf7 {should not even be considered!}) 34...
Qxd7 35. Nxd7 Rg5 36. Nb6 $1 {, stopping Black from blockading the a-pawn and
preserving some winning chances.} ({Black should hold after} 36. g4 Ra8 37. Ra2
h5 {.})) 34. f4 $1 {White has to keep the e-file closed.} Rh5 35. a6 {[#]
Completely fearless play, which caused Black to lose his balance.} Rb8 $2 {
The idea of winning the b6-knight is tactically flawed. The black pieces will
become passive on the queenside, when they should have counterattacked on the
kingside.} (35... e3 $1 {was an absolute must.} 36. a7 ({Perhaps Black feared} 
36. Qxe8+ Qxe8 37. a7 {, but after} Qe4+ 38. Rf3 Qb1 39. a8=Q+ Kg7 {white must
acquiesce to a draw with} 40. Rf1 Qe4+ 41. Rf3 {.}) 36... Rf8 $1 {Simply
moving the hanging rook and setting up the familiar idea of ...Qe7-e4+
followed by ...Qe4-b1.} 37. Qd7 $1 (37. a8=Q Qe4+ 38. Rf3 Qb1 $3 {is a draw.} (
{But not} 38... Rxa8 $2 39. Nxa8 Qb1 40. Qe8+)) 37... Qxd7 $1 (37... Qe4+ 38.
Rf3 Qb1 39. Qg4+ {now wins for White.}) 38. Nxd7 Ra8 39. Ra2 c4 $1 {and Back
has some counterplay in a fascinating endgame. Of course, finding this as
Black over the board is nearly impossible, but the task for White is not easy
either.}) 36. Ra2 Qa7 37. Qc6 $1 {With one simple move White completely
nullifies the roles played by the black pieces now huddled on the queenside.
In many of the lines above, we saw just how much the hanging rook on h5
disturbed Black. White exploits the same element here.} Rxb6 {There was no
other option, as white threatened to dislodge the blockade with Nb6-c8 on the
next move.} (37... Qxb6 38. Qxb6 Rxb6 39. a7 {likewise wins.}) 38. Qe8+ Kg7 39.
Qxh5 {From here White duly converted his material advantage.} 1-0

[Event "Online Olym KO Stage 2021"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.09.14"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2700"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[Annotator "Donaldson"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2021.09.13"]
[EventType "team"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States of America"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. b3 {This move-order, advocated by Adrien Demuth in the
Modernized Reti (Thinkers Publishing 2018) has recently become popular. White
aims to sidestep a lot of main line theory and in particular the variation 3.
Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nc7 aiming to set-up in a reverse Maroczy
Bind with ...e5.} g6 4. Bb2 Bg7 5. g3 b6 6. Bg2 Bb7 7. O-O O-O 8. d4 cxd4 9.
Qxd4 d6 10. Nc3 Nbd7 11. Ne1 Ne4 (11... Bxg2 12. Nxg2 Qc8 13. Nd5 Re8 14. Rac1
Qb7 15. Nge3 Rac8 16. Rfd1 a6 17. Qd2 {Meier-Baldauf, Dudenhofen 2017, gives
White the small but stable advantage he is hoping for in this line.}) 12. Qe3
Nxc3 (12... Ndc5 13. Nxe4 Bxb2 14. Rb1 Bxe4 15. Rxb2 Bxg2 16. Nxg2 {and again
White has a small but annoying pull due to his space advantage.}) 13. Bxb7 Rb8
14. Bg2 Nd5 {[#]} 15. cxd5 ({This is an interesting decision by Jeffery who
opens the c-file which offers his pieces a potential outpost on c6. The
engines prefer} 15. Qd2) 15... Bxb2 16. Rb1 Bg7 17. Nd3 a5 18. Rfc1 Nc5 19. b4
Nxd3 20. Qxd3 axb4 $2 ({The right defense was} 20... b5 {with the idea of ...
axb4 followed by ...Qa5 targeting the White a-pawn. The text leaves Black's
b-pawn a target and just as importantly he has no active play.}) 21. Rxb4 Rb7
22. Rc6 {The followup to White's 15th move.} Qa8 23. a4 Qa5 24. Qb3 Rfb8 25.
Be4 Bf6 26. Bd3 $1 {White's bishop prepares to take an acive role on the
queenside while Black's bishop looks pretty but does nothing.} Kg7 27. h4 h5
28. Kg2 Qa7 29. Qc2 Rh8 30. Qb1 Rbb8 31. Qb3 Rhc8 32. Rbxb6 $2 (32. Bb5 $1 {
was more precise as} Rxc6 {is met by} 33. Bxc6 Kh7 34. e3 {(to stop the ...
Bd4-c5)} Kg7 35. Rb5 {and there is no defense to the advance a4-a5.}) 32...
Rxc6 33. Rxb8 {[#]} Rc3 $4 ({(to stop White's next move)} 33... Rc5 34. Rb7 Qa8
35. Rb5 {leaves White a pawn up but Black with excellent drawing chances due
to the opposite colored bishops.}) 34. Qb5 $1 {Black's queen and rook are far
from his king.} Kh6 35. Qe8 1-0

[Event "Online Olym KO Stage 2021"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.09.13"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Saduakassova, Dinara"]
[Black "Paikidze, Nazi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A08"]
[WhiteElo "2489"]
[BlackElo "2374"]
[Annotator "Donaldson"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2021.09.13"]
[EventType "team"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Kazakhstan"]
[BlackTeam "United States of America"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "KAZ"]

1. Nf3 (1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. Ngf3 Be7 5. g3 a5 6. Bg2 a4 7. a3 c5 8.
O-O Nc6 9. Re1 O-O 10. e5 Nd7 11. Nf1 b5 12. h4 Bb7 13. h5 h6 14. Bf4 Qb6 15.
Qd2 Rfc8 16. g4 Qd8 17. N1h2 Ra6 18. Kh1 b4 19. Rg1 Nf8 20. axb4 cxb4 21. d4
Na5 22. g5 Nc4 23. Qc1 hxg5 24. Bxg5 b3 25. Bxe7 Qxe7 26. Bf1 a3 27. Rxg7+ Kxg7
28. Ng4 f5 29. exf6+ Qxf6 30. Nxf6 axb2 31. Qg5+ Kf7 32. h6 Ng6 33. Nh4 bxa1=Q
34. Qxg6+ Ke7 35. Qg7+ Kd6 36. Qd7# {1-0 (36) Sergey Karjakin (2757)-Samuel
Shankland (2709) Krasnaya Polyana (Sochi) RUS 2021}) 1... Nf6 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2
d5 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 c5 7. e4 Nc6 8. Re1 Qc7 ({Another,and older,
way to play this position is to rapidly advance the queenside pawns via} 8...
b5 9. e5 Nd7 10. Nf1 a5 11. h4 b4 12. Bf4 a4 {Here Bobby Fischer played the
heretical (don't play on the side of the board where you are weaker) 13.a3
against Myagmarsuren at the Sousse Interzonal in 1967. This line is considered
thereoretically viable but in practice White does well.} 13. a3 {Nazi prefers
a more balanced approach combining queenside play with central action.}) 9. e5
Nd7 10. Qe2 b5 11. Nf1 Bb7 12. Bf4 d4 13. a3 Rab8 14. h4 Rfc8 15. h5 {[#]} c4 {
The engines preference is to stop the h-pawn's advance with 15...h6 but the
human brain fears White then targetting the square with either a sacrifice or
the advance g4-g5.} 16. N1d2 (16. h6 {was an important alternative.
Kamsky-Lenderman, 2014 US Championship, is a model for how to play such
positions for White.}) 16... cxd3 17. cxd3 Nc5 18. Rac1 Qd8 {The return of the
queen is commonly see in this line. Once it allows the king rook to be
activated on c8 it returns to its home square to cover the g5 square and
possibly bolster Black's kingside defense. This manuever is advocated in an
analogous position in Aagaard and Ntirlis' Playing the French. They credit the
idea back to the game Yukhtman-Gipslis, Sverdlovsk 1957. Black tried this plan
in Karjakin-Shankland in this year's World Cup and achieved a promising
position but White went on to win. Note that Shankland met h5 with ...h6 and
Karjakin launched a powerful attack with g4-g5.} 19. h6 g6 20. Rc2 b4 21. Rec1
{The silicon oracles like} (21. Bg5 {with the point that after} Bxg5 22. Nxg5
Qxg5 23. Rxc5 {White has not won any material but that both Ne4 and Nc4 are
difficult to meet.}) 21... Na4 22. Ne4 bxa3 23. bxa3 Na5 {[#]} 24. Nfg5 {
The right square but the wrong piece. Instead Stockfish 14 prefers the thematic
} (24. Bg5 {seeking to gain access to d6 an f6 for White's knight. The idea is
straightforward enough, the difficulty is appreciating the tactical details
with only a few moments on one's clock, particularly that Black's quuenside
pieces are unprotected. For example} Rxc2 (24... Bxe4 25. Bxe7 Rxc2 26. Qxc2
Qxe7 27. Qxa4 Bxf3 28. Bxf3 Nb7 29. Qxa7) (24... Nc3 25. Nxc3 Nb3 26. Bxe7 Qxe7
27. Nd5) 25. Qxc2) 24... Nc3 25. Qe1 $2 {The losing move. White had to bail
out with} (25. Nxc3 Rxc3 26. Rxc3 dxc3 27. Ne4 Bxe4 28. Qxe4 {Now Nazi takes
over.}) 25... Nb3 26. Bh3 $2 (26. Nf6+ {was relatively best although after}
Bxf6 27. exf6 Bxg2 28. Bxb8 Nxc1 29. Rxc1 Bb7 30. Bf4 Qxf6 {Black is close to
winning.}) 26... Bd5 (26... Nxc1 {was perfectly playable, but the "human
choice" to over protect is perfectly understandable with very little time on
the clock.}) 27. Nd6 (27. Rxc3 {The rest of the game is easy to understand as
Nazi gives her opponent no second chances.} dxc3 28. Rxc3 Rxc3 29. Qxc3 {
was a better try to resist but after} Rc8 {Black is on the road to victory.})
27... Bxg5 28. Bxg5 Qxg5 29. Nxc8 Rxc8 30. Rb1 Nc5 31. Rxc3 dxc3 32. Qxc3 Qd8
33. Rc1 Bb7 34. Bg2 Nxd3 35. Bxb7 Rxc3 36. Rxc3 Nxe5 37. Rc8 Qxc8 38. Bxc8 Ng4
39. f4 Nxh6 40. Kf2 Nf5 41. g4 Nd6 42. Ba6 Kf8 43. Ke3 Ke7 44. g5 Nf5+ 45. Ke4
Kd6 46. Bb5 h6 47. gxh6 Nxh6 48. Kd4 Nf5+ 49. Ke4 Kc5 50. Ba4 Kd6 51. Be8 Ke7
52. Bc6 Ng3+ 53. Kf3 Nf5 54. Ke4 Nd6+ 55. Kd4 f6 56. a4 Nf5+ 57. Kc5 g5 58.
fxg5 fxg5 59. Kb5 Nd4+ 0-1

[Event "Online Olym KO Stage 2021"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.09.15"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Liang, Awonder"]
[Black "Esipenko, Andrey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2590"]
[BlackElo "2720"]
[Annotator "Donaldson"]
[PlyCount "161"]
[EventDate "2021.09.13"]
[EventType "team"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States of America"]
[BlackTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 d6 5. O-O a6 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. Re1 c5 (7...
Be7 8. d4 exd4 9. Nxd4) 8. c3 Be7 9. d4 cxd4 10. cxd4 exd4 11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Nc3
O-O 13. Qd3 Re8 14. Bf4 Qb8 15. b3 Qb7 16. Rad1 Rad8 17. Nc2 h6 18. h3 Bf8 19.
Bg3 Bc6 20. f3 {[#]} Nd7 $2 {This retreat is the start of the wrong plan.
Correct was} (20... d5 $1 {with the point that the natural sequence} 21. e5 Nh5
22. Bh2 {is meant by the powerful} (22. Bf2 d4 23. Nxd4) 22... d4 $1 {followed
by ...Bb5 and the advance of the d-pawn. White has better moves in 21.exd5 or
21.e5 Nh5 22.Bf2} 23. Ne4 (23. Nxd4 Bc5)) 21. Ne3 {Black's opportunity to
break in the center has passed.} Ne5 22. Qc2 Bd7 23. Kh2 c5 {Esipenko wants an
outpost for his knight on d4 but creates weaknesses in his pawn structure with
this advance.} 24. Ncd5 Nc6 25. Qf2 Be6 26. f4 Nd4 27. f5 Bxd5 28. Nxd5 {[#]}
Rxe4 {Rather than sit and wait Black offers the exchange for two pawns but
Awonder maintains his advantage in the resulting endgame.} 29. Rxe4 Qxd5 30.
Ree1 Qxf5 ({Maybe} 30... Qb7 {followed by ...d5 offered more practical chances.
}) 31. Qxf5 Nxf5 32. Bf2 {Material is equal but the threats of Bxc5 and g4
demand more concessions from Black.} g5 33. g4 Nh4 34. Bxh4 gxh4 35. Kg2 {
Centralizing the king and exchanging rooks after doubling on the e-file spells
doom for Black. Espipenko continues to resist but the final result is never in
doubt.} d5 36. Re5 d4 37. Kf3 Rd6 38. Rxc5 Re6 39. Rc8 Re3+ 40. Kf4 Rxh3 41.
Rxd4 Kg7 42. Rdd8 Bb4 43. Kf5 Rf3+ 44. Ke4 Rf2 45. Rg8+ Kf6 46. Rc6+ Ke7 47.
Rxh6 Rxa2 48. Rxh4 Rb2 49. Rh3 a5 50. Kd5 Rd2+ 51. Kc4 Rc2+ 52. Kb5 Rf2 53.
Re3+ Kf6 54. Rd3 Rf4 55. g5+ Kf5 56. Rg7 Ke6 57. Rh3 Rf5+ 58. Ka6 Bf8 59. Rg8
Bb4 60. Rh6+ Ke5 61. Rb6 Rf3 62. Re8+ Kd5 63. Rf6 Rxb3 64. Rxf7 a4 65. g6 a3
66. g7 a2 67. Rf1 Rg3 68. g8=Q+ Rxg8 69. Rxg8 Bc3 70. Rgg1 Kc4 71. Rh1 Kb4 72.
Kb6 Kc4 73. Kc6 Bb2 74. Kd6 Bc3 75. Ke6 Bb2 76. Kf5 Bc3 77. Ke4 Bb2 78. Rd1 Bc3
79. Rc1 Kb4 80. Kd3 Bb2 81. Kc2 1-0

[Event "Online Olym KO Stage 2021"]
[Site "chess.com INT"]
[Date "2021.09.14"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Black "Robson, Ray"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E01"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2673"]
[Annotator "Donaldson"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2021.09.13"]
[EventType "team"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "India"]
[BlackTeam "United States of America"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "IND"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8.
Qc2 c6 9. Rd1 b6 10. Bf4 Bb7 11. Ne5 Nh5 12. Bd2 Nhf6 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Nc6 Qe8
15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Qc7 Ba6 17. Nc3 Rfc8 18. Qf4 Nf8 19. h4 h6 20. Bf3 Ng6 21.
Qe3 Qd8 22. Rac1 Rc4 23. b3 Rc7 24. a4 Rac8 25. Na2 Bb7 26. Rxc7 Rxc7 27. Nc3
Ba6 28. h5 Nf8 29. Rc1 N8h7 30. Qe5 Qc8 31. Na2 Rxc1+ 32. Nxc1 Nd7 33. Qd6 Ng5
34. Bxg5 hxg5 35. Na2 Nf6 {[#] Ray,who like Nazi, played extra Blacks for the
good of the team, has held his ground against Vidit, one of the top 25 players
in the world. Here it was time for White to bail out.} 36. g4 $2 {This answers
Black's threat of ...g4 but loses immediately. The only way to avoid losing
was with active defense:} (36. Qe5 g4 37. Bg2 {and now} Qc2 38. Nb4 Qd1+ 39.
Bf1 Ne4 {can be answered by} 40. Nxd5 $1 (40. Nxa6 $2 Nd2) 40... exd5 (40...
Nd2 41. Ne3) 41. Qe8+ Kh7 42. Qxf7 {and White draws by perpetual check.
Needless to say this was not easy to see with little time left.}) 36... Qc2 $1
37. Qb8+ (37. Nb4 Qd1+ 38. Kg2 Bxe2 39. Bxe2 Qxe2 {fares no better for White.})
37... Kh7 38. Qxa7 Bxe2 39. Bxe2 Qxe2 40. Qxf7 Qxg4+ 41. Kf1 Qd1+ 42. Kg2 Nxh5
43. Nc3 Qg4+ 44. Kf1 Qh3+ 45. Ke2 Nf4+ 46. Kd2 Qd3+ 0-1

[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.08.17"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Svidler, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2714"]
[Annotator "Vachier-Lagrave"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2021.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This was a very interesting game, with both sides showing deep preparation in
the trendy 3. h4 line against the King's Indian / Grunfeld complex. It all
came down to one poor retreating move by the knight, which gave me the
opportunity to show a very elegant zugzwang!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. h4 Bg7 4.
Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 c5 7. d5 b5 8. cxb5 a6 9. a4 axb5 10. Bxb5 Ba6 11. Bd2
Bxb5 12. axb5 Nbd7 13. Nf3 Rxa1 14. Qxa1 Qb6 15. O-O Rb8 16. Qa6 Ne8 17. Ra1
Kf8 18. h5 Nc7 19. Qa4 Ra8 20. Qd1 Rxa1 21. Qxa1 Ne5 22. h6 Nxf3+ 23. gxf3 Bxc3
24. Bxc3 Qxb5 25. b4 Ne8 26. bxc5 dxc5 27. Bg7+ Kg8 {[#]} 28. Qa8 $1 c4 ({If} 
28... f6 29. Qc8 $1) ({The zugzwang idea is found after} 28... Qd7 29. e5 $1 {
and I calculated} c4 (29... e6 30. d6 c4 31. Bf6 $1 {with 32.Qd8 to follow})
30. e6 fxe6 31. dxe6 Qb5 32. f4 g5 33. f5 g4 34. Kg2 {and Black has run out of
moves@!}) 29. Qd8 Qa4 30. Kg2 Qb5 31. Bb2 $1 ({Note that} 31. Qxe7 {was more
spectacular, but also more difficult:} Nxg7 32. hxg7 Kxg7 33. d6 Qc5 34. e5 c3
35. Qf6+ Kh6 36. d7 c2 37. Qf4+ $1 Kg7 38. d8=Q c1=Q 39. Qdf6+ {and mate
follows quickly.}) 1-0

[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.08.18"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Rapport, R."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2021.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 O-O 7. Nc3 Qc7 8.
Qd3 Nc6 9. O-O d6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bf4 Nh5 12. Bg5 Rb8 13. b3 h6 14. Bd2 Nf6
15. Rac1 a5 16. h3 Rd8 17. e4 Nd7 18. Rfd1 Nc5 19. Qe2 e5 20. Kh2 Kh7 21. Qf1
h5 22. Bg5 Re8 23. Qe1 Ne6 24. Bd2 Ra8 25. Be3 h4 26. Na4 hxg3+ 27. fxg3 c5 28.
Qd2 Nd4 29. Rf1 Be6 30. Rf2 Reb8 31. h4 Qd7 32. Rcf1 Ra7 33. Qd1 Bg4 34. Qd2
Be6 35. Qd1 Bg4 36. Qd2 Be6 1/2-1/2

[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.08.19"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Shankland, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C53"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Vachier-Lagrave"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2021.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{After a complex, if unspectacular, draw against Rapport, I had to deal with
some very precise opening preparation from Shankland. Unfortunately for him, a
miscalcuation led him into a losing king and pawn endgame!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O a6 7. a4 h6 8. Re1 Ba7 9. Nbd2 Be6 10.
Bxe6 fxe6 11. Nf1 a5 12. Ng3 Qd7 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Rxe3 g5 15. d4 O-O-O 16. d5
exd5 17. exd5 Ne7 18. c4 Ng4 19. Rb3 Rdf8 20. Qe1 b6 21. Rb5 Nxf2 22. Qxf2 g4
23. Nxe5 Qxb5 24. axb5 Rxf2 25. Kxf2 dxe5 26. Ke3 Rf8 27. Rf1 Rxf1 28. Nxf1
Nf5+ 29. Kd3 Kd7 30. Nd2 Nd6 31. Ne4 {[#]} Ke7 $2 ({The position is fully
equal after} 31... Ne8 {.}) 32. Nxd6 cxd6 ({No better is} 32... Kxd6 {:} 33. b3
Kc5 34. Ke4 Kb4 35. Kf5 Kxb3 36. c5 e4 37. Kxe4 a4 38. d6 cxd6 39. cxb6 a3 40.
b7 a2 41. b8=Q a1=Q 42. Qxd6 {and the b-pawn will decide matters.}) 33. Ke4 Kf6
34. b3 Kg6 35. c5 dxc5 36. d6 Kf7 37. Kd5 e4 ({After} 37... Ke8 38. Kc6 Kd8 39.
Kxb6 {White is still faster, e.g.} a4 40. bxa4 c4 41. a5 c3 42. a6 c2 43. a7
c1=Q 44. a8=Q+ Kd7 45. Qc6+) 38. Kc6 e3 39. d7 e2 40. d8=Q e1=Q 41. Kxb6 {
Here the advanced b-pawn is more than enough to win, as the game shows.} Qe6+
42. Ka7 c4 43. bxc4 a4 44. b6 a3 45. b7 a2 46. Qc7+ Kg6 47. Qa5 1-0

[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.08.20"]
[Round "4.5"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, L."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2021.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3
Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. g5 Nh5 13. Kb1 Nb6 14. Na5 Rc8 15.
Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 Bxd5 17. Qxd5 Qxa5 18. c4 Nf4 19. Bxf4 exf4 20. h4 Qa4 21.
Bd3 bxc4 22. Qe4 g6 23. Bc2 Qd7 24. h5 Qe6 25. hxg6 hxg6 26. Qxf4 Qe5 27. Qh4
Qg7 28. Rd2 Rc5 29. f4 f6 30. Rdh2 fxg5 31. Qe1 Bf6 32. Rh6 Qb7 33. Qe6+ 1-0

[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.08.21"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Swiercz, D."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C53"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2655"]
[Annotator "Vachier-Lagrave"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2021.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{In one of the most fashionable lines of the Italian Game, Swiercz tossed off
some home preparation, culminating in his novelty 17...Qh4.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3
Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 Bg4 9. Nbd2
Nb6 10. h3 Bh5 11. Bb3 Kh8 12. Ne4 Nd7 13. Bd5 Bb6 14. Ng3 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 f5 16.
d4 f4 17. Ne4 Qh4 {[#]} {After} 18. Nd2 ({I quickly understood that if I
played the natural} 18. Nc5 {I would be met with 10 more moves of preparation,
a fact that was confirmed by my opponent after the game! So I found an
alternative with this Ne4-d2-c4 manuever, which has two things going for it:
it changes the character of the position, and it takes Swiercz out of his
preparation.}) 18... exd4 19. Nc4 {he made a mistake with} Rad8 $2 {,
underestimating the strength of} ({Instead of 19...Rad8?, he should have
exchanged queens with} 19... dxc3 20. bxc3 Qg3 $1 {when the bishop pair gives
White some compensation for the pawn, but nothing more than that.}) 20. Bxc6
bxc6 21. Bd2 $1 {. In his defense, it was not easy to anticipate that Black
was already worse in this position.} Nf6 22. Nxb6 cxb6 23. cxd4 c5 24. Re7 Rxd4
25. Bc3 Nd5 26. Rxa7 Nxc3 27. bxc3 Rdd8 28. Re1 c4 29. Re4 b5 30. a4 Rd3 31.
Qxf4 Qxf4 32. Rxf4 Rg8 33. axb5 Rxc3 34. Rc7 Rb3 35. Rc5 c3 36. Rfc4 h6 37.
Rxc3 Rb1+ 38. Kh2 Kh7 39. Rg3 Rb2 40. f4 g6 41. f5 g5 42. Rd3 Re8 43. Rd7+ Kg8
44. Rc6 Rxb5 45. Rg6+ Kf8 46. Rxh6 Kg8 47. f6 1-0

[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.08.23"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2806"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[Annotator "Vachier-Lagrave"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2021.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{As in the Candidates Tournament, Caruana and I had a real theoretical fight
in one of the main lines of the Najdorf.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4
Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4
b5 12. g5 Nh5 13. Kb1 Nb6 14. Na5 Rc8 15. a3 g6 16. h4 Ng3 17. Rg1 Nxf1 18.
Rgxf1 Na4 19. Nxa4 bxa4 20. h5 Qc7 21. Rh1 Rfe8 22. Qh2 Bf8 23. c4 Re7 24. Bd2
Bxc4 25. Bb4 Rd7 26. f4 Bb5 27. hxg6 fxg6 28. f5 Rg7 29. f6 Rf7 30. Qd2 Qd7 31.
Qd5 Be2 32. Rc1 Rxc1+ 33. Rxc1 h5 34. Nc4 Bxc4 35. Rxc4 h4 36. Rc2 h3 37. Ka2 {
[#]} {After more than thirty (!) moves of preparation, we got to the following
position. Here I hesitated for a long time, trying to decide whether to
exchange queens or support the h-pawn by bringing my rook to the h-file. I
decided to try the second plan.} Kh8 ({So I should have opted for} 37... Qb5 $1
{, which I avoided because of a calculation error at the end of a lnog
variation. Here we see the hidden randomness that exists in chess: I could
have lost this game for having missed a hidden resource at the end of a
12-move variation! The line runs} 38. Rh2 (38. Qe6 Qd7) 38... Qxd5+ 39. exd5
Rh7 40. Bd2 Rh4 {(with the idea of 41...Rd4)} 41. Be3 Kf7 42. Kb1 Rh5 43. Kc2
Bh6 $1 {(otherwise, White's king creeps up the board)} 44. gxh6 Kxf6 45. Kd3 g5
46. Ke2 Rxh6 (46... g4 $2 47. Kf2 Rf5+ 48. Kg1 $1 {followed by 49.Rf2)}) 47.
Kf3 Kf5 48. Kg3 {and from the position at move 37, you would need to see} Rh7
$1 49. Rxh3 Rb7 {with enough counterplay to draw.}) 38. Rd2 ({Stockfish claims
that White would have a winning position after} 38. Rh2 Rh7 39. Qc4 $1 {
, an assessment that is probably objectively true, but hard to prove in
practice.}) 38... Rh7 39. Bxd6 {Here I decided to force a draw.} Qxd6 ({
I was tempted to play} 39... h2 {which would have forced him into a difficult
decision on his fortieth move! I saw that} 40. Bxf8 ({I thought he might be
tempted by} 40. Qa8 $2 {which loses to} Qf7+ 41. Rd5 h1=Q 42. Bxf8 Qg8 $1 {
, or by}) (40. Bxe5 $2 Qxd5+ 41. Rxd5 h1=Q 42. f7+ {, or even}) (40. Qxe5 $2
Qf7+ $1 {But I thought that the "juice wasn't worth the squeeze," as they say,
and that I'd look ridiculous if I missed something in one of these variations!}
({but not} 40... h1=Q 41. f7+ Rg7 42. Rh2+ Qxh2 43. Qxh2+ Rh7 44. Be5+ Bg7 45.
f8=R#)) 40... Qxd5+ 41. Rxd5 h1=Q 42. Rd8 Kg8 43. Bh6+ Kf7 44. Rd7+ {forces
the draw, but}) 40. Qxd6 Bxd6 41. Rxd6 Kg8 42. Rd8+ Kf7 43. Rd7+ Kg8 44. Rd8+
Kf7 45. Rd7+ Kg8 46. Rd8+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.08.24"]
[Round "7.5"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2710"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2021.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[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. h3 Bd7 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Nc3 Ke8 12. g4 Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14.
Bf4 Rd8 15. Kg2 Be7 16. Be3 a5 17. f4 h5 18. f5 hxg4 19. hxg4 g6 20. Rh1 Rf8
21. f6 Bb4 22. Ne4 Be6 23. c3 Bd5 24. Kf3 Bd6 25. c4 Bxe4+ 26. Kxe4 Bb4 27. a3
Bd2 28. Bc5 Rg8 29. e6 1-0

[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.08.25"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "So, W."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2772"]
[Annotator "Vachier-Lagrave"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2021.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{In this penultimate round game, I wanted to play for a win. It was a good
opportunity to put some pressure on my opponent and challenge him for the top
spot in the Grand Chess Tour standings. But I needed to avoid burning all my
bridges, as I wanted to keep my lead in this tournament! So my team and I
decided to trot out a very specific sub-variation against the Berlin, one that
the Russian GM David Paravyan had played against me in the 2021 World Cup.} 1.
e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8.
Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. d4 Bf6 11. Re1 d5 12. b3 {Here, So played} c6 ({
while I had preferred} 12... Be6 {against Paravyan:} 13. Ba3 Nd6 14. Nb5 Be7
15. Nxd6 Bxd6 16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. Re5 f6 18. Re3 Rfe8 19. Qf3 Bf7 20. Rae1 c6 21.
Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. Rxe8+ Bxe8 23. c4 dxc4 24. Bxc4+ Kf8 {1/2-1/2 (63) Paravyan,D 
(2625)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2749) Krasnaya Polyana 2021}) {I remembered that
during the Paravyan game, I hadn't liked 12...c6 because of 13.Ba3 Nd6 14.Qd2,
threatening 15.Qf4, but I forgot that 14...Bg5 was completely fine for Black.
After So's 12...c6, I unfurled my prepared line} 13. Ba3 Nd6 14. Qf3 {Now came
the ultra-solid} Be6 ({The game would have taken a completely different turn
if he had chosen the tempting exchange sac} 14... Nf5 15. Bxf8 Nxd4 {when after
} 16. Qd1 ({But I had cooked up the spectacular} 16. Qxf6 $1 gxf6 (16... Qxf6
$2 17. Re8) 17. Be7 {and the fun begins!}) 16... Qxf8 {the compensation is
obvious.}) 15. Qf4 Be7 16. Bd3 {Here White has a slight edge, but I was not
able to grow my advantage, and we quickly exchanged everything and headed for
a draw.} Ne8 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Re5 g6 19. Rae1 Ng7 20. Ne2 Rae8 21. Ng3 Qd6 22.
Qf6 Qd8 23. Qxd8 Rxd8 24. h4 Rfe8 25. h5 f6 26. R5e3 Bf7 27. hxg6 hxg6 28.
Rxe8+ Rxe8 29. Rxe8+ Nxe8 30. f3 Nd6 31. Kf2 Kg7 32. Ke3 Be6 33. Ne2 g5 34. g4
f5 35. f4 Kf6 36. fxg5+ Kxg5 37. gxf5 Bxf5 38. c4 Bxd3 39. Kxd3 dxc4+ 40. bxc4
Kf5 41. Nc3 Ke6 42. a4 b6 43. a5 bxa5 44. d5+ cxd5 45. Nxd5 Nxc4 46. Kxc4 a4
47. Nf4+ Kf5 48. Kb4 a5+ 49. Kxa4 Kxf4 50. Kxa5 1/2-1/2

[Event "8th Sinquefield Cup 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.08.26"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Mamedyarov, S."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2751"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2021.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8.
Rb1 O-O 9. Be2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qa5+ 11. Bd2 Qxa2 12. O-O Bg4 13. Rxb7 Bxf3 14.
Bxf3 Bxd4 15. e5 Na6 16. Rxe7 Rad8 17. e6 fxe6 18. Qe1 Nc5 19. Bc3 Nd3 20. Bxd4
Nxe1 21. Rg7+ Kh8 22. Rd7+ Kg8 23. Rg7+ Kh8 24. Rd7+ Kg8 25. Rg7+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Champions Showdown 9LX"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.09.08"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "So, W."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2778"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Variant "chess 960"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "qnrbbnkr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/QNRBBNKR w HChc - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2021.09.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. b4 d6 2. c4 e5 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qb2 Ne6 6. Ne3 Bg5 7. Nd5 Bxc1 8.
Qxc1 O-O 9. b5 Ncd8 10. Nf6+ gxf6 11. Qh6 f5 12. Qf6 Ng7 13. Bc3 Nde6 14. h4
Bxb5 15. h5 Rce8 16. h6 Qd8 17. hxg7 Qxf6 18. gxf8=Q+ Nxf8 19. Bxf6 Bxc4 20.
Nc3 b5 21. Rh4 Re6 22. Bd8 c5 23. Bb3 Bxb3 24. axb3 b4 25. Nd5 Ng6 26. Rh3 Rxe2
27. Re3 Rd2 28. Re8+ Kg7 29. Bf6+ Kh6 30. Ne3 f4 31. Nc4 Rd3 32. Ra8 f3 33. g4
Nf4 34. Rg8 Ne6 35. Ne3 1-0

[Event "Champions Showdown 9LX"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.09.08"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Mamedyarov, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "Vachier-Lagrave"]
[Variant "chess 960"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "nbrkbnrq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NBRKBNRQ w GCgc - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2021.09.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{In this position, Caruana and I discovered the importance of the b4-square 
(and the b5-square for Black) during our pre-game analysis. On b4, my bishop
prevents castling, controls the dark squares, and best of all, it's completely
unattackable! After the fourth move, I was already almost winning.} 1. d4 d5 2.
g3 e6 3. Nb3 Nb6 4. Bb4 $1 Ng6 5. Nfd2 O-O-O 6. O-O h5 7. h4 c6 8. c4 Bc7 9.
Bxg6 fxg6 10. Be7 Rd7 11. Bg5 Rf7 12. Nc5 Bd7 13. Nxd7 Nxd7 14. e4 dxc4 15.
Nxc4 Re8 16. d5 e5 17. dxc6 bxc6 18. Rfd1 Kb8 19. Qh3 Nf6 20. Bxf6 Rxf6 21. Qd7
Qf8 22. Rd3 Re7 23. Rb3+ Ka8 24. Qd2 Ref7 25. Rf1 Qc5 26. Rc3 Rf3 27. Kg2 Rxc3
28. Qxc3 Rd7 29. Rc1 Rd4 30. Qc2 Kb8 31. b4 Qe7 32. Ne3 Qf7 33. a4 Rxb4 34.
Qxc6 Rb2 35. Rc2 Rxc2 36. Qxc2 Bb6 37. Nd5 Bd4 38. Qb3+ Qb7 39. Qf3 a5 40. Qf8+
Ka7 41. Qd8 Bb6 42. Qxb6+ Qxb6 43. Nxb6 Kxb6 44. f4 exf4 45. gxf4 Kc5 46. Kf3
Kd4 47. e5 Kd5 48. Ke3 g5 49. hxg5 g6 1-0

[Event "Champions Showdown 9LX"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.09.08"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Shankland, S."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2720"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Variant "chess 960"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnqnkrbb/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNQNKRBB w FAfa - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "2021.09.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Rxf4 g6 4. Ne3 d6 5. c3 Ne6 6. Rf1 f5 7. exf5 gxf5 8. d4
f4 9. Nd5 Nc5 10. dxc5 Bxd5 11. Rxf4 Qe6+ 12. Kd1 Rxf4 13. Qxf4 Nc6 14. Nd2 Qg6
15. cxd6 O-O-O 16. dxc7 Rd7 17. Bxa7 Rf7 18. Qa4 Qd3 19. Kc1 Bxc3 20. bxc3
Qxc3+ 21. Kd1 Qxa1+ 22. Kc2 Nxa7 0-1

[Event "Champions Showdown 9LX"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.09.09"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Aronian, L."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2782"]
[Variant "chess 960"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "nbrknqbr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NBRKNQBR w HChc - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2021.09.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 f5 2. e5 f4 3. f3 c5 4. d4 c4 5. c3 d6 6. O-O-O O-O-O 7. d5 dxe5 8. Qxc4+
Nac7 9. Qa4 a6 10. Nd3 Nxd5 11. Nc5 Nd6 12. Nab3 Qe8 13. Qxe8 Rxe8 14. Bf2 Ne3
15. Bxe3 fxe3 16. Rhe1 Ba7 17. Nd3 e4 18. Ne5 Bxb3 19. axb3 Rhf8 20. fxe4 Rf2
21. Ng4 Rxg2 22. Nxe3 Rxh2 23. e5 Nf7 24. Ng4 Rh4 25. Rh1 Rxh1 26. Rxh1 Nh6 27.
Bxh7 Rf8 28. Nxh6 Be3+ 29. Kd1 gxh6 30. Ke2 Bg5 31. b4 Rd8 32. Bf5+ Kc7 33. Rd1
Rxd1 34. Kxd1 Bf4 35. e6 Kd6 36. Bg4 Ke5 37. Ke2 Bc1 38. b3 Kf4 39. Bf3 b6 40.
Bb7 a5 41. bxa5 bxa5 42. Bc6 Ba3 43. b4 axb4 44. cxb4 Bxb4 45. Be8 Bc5 46. Kf1
Ke5 47. Bf7 h5 48. Bxh5 Kxe6 49. Bg4+ Ke5 50. Bh3 e6 51. Bxe6 Kxe6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Champions Showdown 9LX"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.09.09"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2800"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Annotator "Vachier-Lagrave"]
[Variant "chess 960"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "nrqbbnkr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NRQBBNKR w HBhb - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2021.09.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Here's another game where I found another good idea during the brief
preparation. My second move allowed me to equalize and even take the advantage
with Black in the opening.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c5 3. dxc5 Qxc5 4. cxd5 Qxd5 5. Bb3
Qc6 6. Nc2 e6 7. h4 h5 8. Nfe3 Bf6 9. g3 Nd7 10. O-O Nc5 11. Bb4 Nxb3 12. axb3
Rh6 13. Na3 Nb6 14. Nac4 Nxc4 15. Qxc4 Qxc4 16. Nxc4 Bc6 17. f3 Rh8 18. Rfd1
Kh7 19. e4 Bd8 20. Bc5 b6 21. Be3 Be7 22. Ne5 Be8 23. Rbc1 Rb7 24. Kf2 Rf8 25.
f4 Bb5 26. Nf3 Kg8 27. Nd4 Bd7 28. Nc6 Bxc6 29. Rxc6 Rd8 30. Rxd8+ Bxd8 31. Rc8
Rd7 32. e5 {[#]} f6 {hoping to encourage him to continue as he did in the game.
} ({Here I tried to provoke Caruana because I really wanted to play for the
win. I knew that I could draw without difficulty by playing} 32... f5 {, but I
preferred}) 33. f5 Kf7 34. Rc6 Re7 {This was my goal in my provocation - here
I could begin to imagine scenarios that worked out well for me. Unfortunately,
I underestimated} 35. exf6 gxf6 36. Bd4 $1 {which was a bit unpleasant. After}
e5 37. Bc3 {now I decided to force a bishop endgame with} Rc7 38. Rxc7+ Bxc7
39. Ke3 ({Here I had only considered} 39. g4 hxg4 40. Kg3 {which wasn't enough
for White to win. But instead Fabiano played}) 39... e4 40. Be1 $1 {The move I
missed! Now it's difficult to defend because after} Be5 41. Kxe4 Bxb2 42. Bf2
Ke7 43. Kf3 Ba3 $2 ({it was necessary to find the arcane} 43... Be5 $1 44. g4
hxg4+ 45. Kxg4 Bc7 $1 {followed by ...a7-a5, activating the queenside majority.
In the game, after the faulty}) 44. g4 hxg4+ 45. Kxg4 {I'm short a tempo; for
instance,} Kf7 (45... Bd6 46. Kf3 Bc7 47. Ke4 a5 48. Kd5 $1 {and White wins
because the black pawn is not yet on b5.}) 46. Kf4 Kg7 47. Ke4 Kh6 48. Bd4 $1
Kh5 49. Bxf6 b5 50. Bd8 a5 51. Bxa5 Kxh4 52. Ke5 Kg4 53. Ke6 Kf4 54. f6 Kg5 55.
f7 1-0

[Event "Champions Showdown 9LX"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.09.09"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Svidler, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2701"]
[Variant "chess 960"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "brknqrnb/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/BRKNQRNB w FBfb - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2021.09.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Ne2 b6 3. Ndc3 f5 4. exf5 Rxf5 5. g4 Rf8 6. Bxa8 Rxa8 7. O-O-O g6
8. f4 exf4 9. Nxf4 Qxe1 10. Rdxe1 Kb7 11. b3 Nc6 12. Bb2 Rf7 13. Nfd5 Raf8 14.
Rxf7 Rxf7 15. Nb5 Bxb2+ 16. Kxb2 d6 17. g5 a6 18. Nbxc7 Rxc7 19. Nxc7 Kxc7 20.
Re8 Nge7 21. Rh8 Kd7 22. Rxh7 Ke6 23. h4 d5 24. h5 gxh5 25. Rxh5 Kf5 26. c3 Ng6
27. Rh7 Nce7 28. Rf7+ Kxg5 29. a4 Nc8 30. Rc7 Nge7 31. a5 bxa5 32. Ka3 Kf6 33.
Ka4 Ke6 34. Kxa5 Kd6 35. Rb7 d4 36. Kxa6 dxc3 37. dxc3 Nd5 38. c4 Nc7+ 39. Ka5
Kc6 40. Rb8 Nd6 41. Rb6+ Kd7 42. c5 Ne4 43. b4 Nc3 44. Rd6+ Kc8 45. Rd3 N7d5
46. b5 Kb7 47. Rh3 Ne4 48. c6+ Kc7 49. Rh7+ Kd6 50. b6 1-0

[Event "Champions Showdown 9LX"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.09.10"]
[Round "7.5"]
[White "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Annotator "Vachier-Lagrave"]
[Variant "chess 960"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "nnqrkrbb/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NNQRKRBB w FDfd - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2021.09.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Finally, let's look at a rather spectacular sequence in my game against
Nakamura.} 1. b4 f5 2. Nb3 e5 3. g3 Nb6 4. d3 g6 5. c4 d5 6. Na5 c6 7. f4 dxc4
8. Bc5 cxd3 9. Bxf8 Kxf8 10. Qc5+ Ke8 11. fxe5 N8d7 12. Qe3 Nxe5 13. Rxd3 Nd5
14. Bxd5 cxd5 15. Qxa7 Nxd3+ 16. exd3 Qc1+ 17. Kf2 Qb2+ 18. Kf3 {[#]} Qxb4 {
which is less radical, but still should have proved sufficient after} ({
Here I saw the forced winning line:} 18... Bd4 $1 19. Qxb7 Kf8 $1 {, freeing
the e8-square for the rook. Play continues} 20. Nc6 Re8 21. Nxd4 Qxd4 {and
unfortuately I completely misunderstood how winning this is for Black! Ok,
it's certainly not obvious at first sight, but when you look closer, you
realize that the d3-pawn is en prise, the b1-knight is offside, the white king
can't flee to g2 because of ...Re8-e2+, the g8-bishop can get into the game
via the d5-square after a timely ...d5-d4, and finally, my king (despite
apperances) is completely safe! Instead I played}) 19. Nxb7 Bd4 $2 ({I missed} 
19... Rc8 $1 {, keeping the attack rolling. Instead I opted for}) 20. Qa5 Qxa5
21. Nxa5 {when, after the exchange of queens, the bishop pair still gives me
an advantage, but the position is much more difficult and I could not convert.
After the game, Caruana told me that he had checked my position during the
round, and thought I was losing with my king on e8! In his defense, positions
in Chess 960 are often very difficult to decipher after eight to ten moves.}
Bb6 22. Nb3 d4 23. Rc1 Bd5+ 24. Kf2 Ra8 25. Rc2 Bd8 26. N1d2 Bg5 27. Nxd4 Rxa2
28. Rxa2 Bxa2 29. N2f3 Bf6 30. h4 Kd7 31. Ke3 Bd5 32. Ne2 Kd6 33. Nf4 Bf7 34.
d4 h6 35. Ne5 Bxe5 36. dxe5+ Kxe5 37. Nd3+ Kf6 38. Kf4 g5+ 39. hxg5+ hxg5+ 40.
Ke3 f4+ 41. Nxf4 gxf4+ 42. gxf4 Kf5 43. Kd2 Kxf4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Champions Showdown 9LX"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.09.10"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, L."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2760"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Variant "chess 960"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "bnqbrknr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/BNQBRKNR w HEhe - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2021.09.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. b3 e5 4. O-O d6 5. c3 Nf6 6. d4 cxd4 7. cxd4 Ba5 8. dxe5
dxe5 9. Bc3 Bxc3 10. Nxc3 O-O 11. Nd5 Qd8 12. Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. Be2 Rd8 14. Rd1 b6
15. Rxd8 Rxd8 16. Rd1 Rxd1+ 17. Qxd1 Nd4 18. Nxd4 exd4 19. Qc2 Qc6 20. Bd3 Kf8
21. Qxc6 Bxc6 22. f4 f6 23. Kf2 h6 24. h4 g5 25. hxg5 hxg5 26. g3 Ke7 27. b4 a5
28. a3 Kd6 29. Ke2 Bb7 30. Kd2 Bc6 31. Kc2 Ba4+ 32. Kc1 Bd7 33. Kd2 Bc6 34. Bc2
Bb5 35. Bd1 Ba6 36. Bf3 Bb5 37. Be2 Bc6 38. Bd3 Ke7 39. Bc2 Bb5 40. Bd1 Kd6 41.
Be2 Bc6 42. Bd3 Ke7 43. Bc2 Bb5 44. Bd3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Champions Showdown 9LX"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.09.10"]
[Round "9.5"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Kasparov, G."]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2812"]
[Variant "chess 960"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rbbknnrq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RBBKNNRQ w GAga - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2021.09.08"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. g4 h5 2. g5 g6 3. c3 c6 4. e4 c5 5. d3 Ne6 6. Bc2 Be5 7. Nf3 d6 8. Nxe5 dxe5
9. Qf3 Nd6 10. Bd2 Nf4 11. Ne3 O-O 12. O-O-O Bd7 13. Kb1 Rac8 14. Bb3 b5 15. d4
Bc6 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 e4 18. Qh3 c4 19. dxc6 cxb3 20. axb3 Rxc6 21. Bf4 Rd8
22. Be5 Qh7 23. d5 Rcc8 24. Qe3 a5 25. Qa7 f5 26. gxf6 exf6 27. Qxh7+ Kxh7 28.
Bxf6 Re8 29. Rg5 Rc7 30. Rdg1 Rg8 31. Re5 Rd7 32. Re6 Ne8 33. Re7+ 1-0

[Event "74th ch-RUS 2021"]
[Site "Ufa RUS"]
[Date "2021.10.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Goryachkina, A.."]
[Black "Motylev, A.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2602"]
[BlackElo "2624"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2021.10.08"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. b3 O-O 8. Be2
b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Bb2 Qe7 11. Rfe1 Rfe8 12. e4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Qxe4 Bb4
15. Red1 Ba3 16. Bxa3 Qxa3 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Rad8 19. Bf3 Ba8 {[#]} 20. Qh4
Qf8 21. h3 h6 22. Be4 f5 $5 (22... Re7 23. Rxd8 Qxd8 24. b4 $16) 23. exf6 Qxf6
24. Qg3 (24. Qxf6 gxf6 25. c5 $1 {playing against the a8-bishop}) 24... c5 25.
Bg6 Rf8 26. Rab1 Bc6 27. Rxd8 Qxd8 28. Re1 Rf6 29. Re3 Qe7 30. a4 Rf8 31. Qe5
Rf6 32. Rg3 (32. Bf5 $1 Kf7 33. Bg4 $5 {and Black is beginning to run out of
moves.}) 32... Rf8 33. Bc2 Rf6 34. Rd3 Rf8 35. Rd6 Bd7 36. a5 $1 {Creating
another weakness!} bxa5 37. Qxc5 Bc8 38. Rc6 Qd8 39. Rc7 a6 40. Kh2 Bd7 41. Qa7
1-0

[Event "71st ch-RUS w 2021"]
[Site "Ufa RUS"]
[Date "2021.10.11"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Bivol, A.."]
[Black "Galliamova, A.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C80"]
[WhiteElo "2392"]
[BlackElo "2421"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2021.10.08"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 Nc5 7. Bxc6 dxc6 8.
Nxe5 Be7 9. d4 Ne6 10. c3 O-O 11. Be3 f6 12. Nd3 Re8 13. Nd2 a5 14. Qf3 a4 15.
Rad1 {From here Galliamova weaves a flawless positional masterpiece.} Qd5 16.
c4 Qxf3 17. Nxf3 Nf8 18. Bf4 Be6 19. Rc1 Bf5 20. Red1 Ne6 21. Be3 Rad8 22. Nf4
g5 23. Nxe6 Bxe6 24. h3 b6 25. Nd2 f5 26. f4 gxf4 27. Bxf4 Rxd4 28. Bxc7 Bb4
29. Nf3 Rxd1+ 30. Rxd1 Bc5+ 31. Kh1 Bxc4 32. Ne5 Bxa2 33. Nd7 Re7 34. Bf4 Bf2
35. Rd6 Re6 36. Rd3 b5 37. Be5 Bh4 38. Rd4 Be7 39. g4 Bd5+ 40. Kh2 Rxe5 0-1

[Event "71st ch-RUS w 2021"]
[Site "Ufa RUS"]
[Date "2021.10.12"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ovod, E.."]
[Black "Voit, Daria"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B10"]
[WhiteElo "2331"]
[BlackElo "2357"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "151"]
[EventDate "2021.10.08"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d3 dxe4 4. dxe4 Qxd1+ 5. Kxd1 Nf6 6. Nbd2 Nbd7 7. Ne1 Nc5
8. f3 g6 9. a4 Bg7 10. a5 Be6 11. Nd3 Nfd7 12. Nf4 Ne5 13. Nxe6 Nxe6 14. c3 Bh6
15. Kc2 Rd8 16. Nc4 Bxc1 17. Rxc1 Nxc4 18. Bxc4 Nc7 19. f4 e6 20. g4 Ke7 21.
Rce1 f6 22. h4 h6 23. b4 e5 24. f5 g5 25. Rh2 gxh4 26. Rxh4 Kf8 27. Rb1 a6 28.
Rbh1 Kg7 29. R4h3 Ne8 30. Rd3 Rxd3 31. Bxd3 Nd6 32. Rd1 Rd8 33. Bc4 Kf8 34. Be6
Ke7 35. Re1 Nb5 36. Rh1 Rh8 37. Rh3 Nc7 38. Bb3 Nb5 39. Be6 Nc7 40. Bc4 Ne8 41.
Kd3 Nd6 42. Be6 Rh7 43. Rh2 Rh8 44. Rh1 Rh7 45. Ke3 Rh8 46. c4 Nf7 47. Bxf7
Kxf7 48. b5 cxb5 49. cxb5 axb5 50. Rb1 Rd8 51. Rxb5 Rd7 52. Rb6 Ke7 53. Rb3 Ke8
54. Rb2 Kf8 55. Rb1 Kf7 56. Ra1 Kf8 57. Ra2 Kf7 58. Rh2 Kg7 59. Rd2 Rc7 ({
The pawn endgame after} 59... Rxd2 60. Kxd2 Kf7 (60... h5 $4 61. gxh5 Kh6 62.
Kd3 Kxh5 63. Kc4 Kg4 64. Kc5 Kf4 65. Kb6 {loses}) 61. Kc3 Ke7 62. Kc4 Kd6 63.
Kb5 Kc7 {is equal}) 60. Kd3 Rc5 61. Rb2 Rxa5 62. Rxb7+ Kg8 63. Kc4 Ra4+ 64. Kd5
Rd4+ $2 65. Ke6 Rxe4 {[#]} 66. g5 $1 {A memorable breakthrough which only
works because the king is sheltered from attack!} fxg5 (66... hxg5 67. Kxf6)
67. f6 Rf4 68. Rb8+ Kh7 69. f7 g4 70. f8=Q Rxf8 71. Rxf8 e4 72. Kf5 g3 73. Rf7+
Kh8 74. Rf6 e3 75. Rxh6+ Kg7 76. Rg6+ 1-0

[Event "74th ch-RUS 2021"]
[Site "Ufa RUS"]
[Date "2021.10.12"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Matlakov, M.."]
[Black "Chigaev, M.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2682"]
[BlackElo "2639"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2021.10.08"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{A very nice attacking game in the Open Sicilian by the second-place finisher.
} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Be3 Be7 8.
Bb3 b5 9. a3 O-O 10. Qe2 Bb7 11. f3 Nbd7 12. O-O-O Rc8 13. Qe1 Nc5 14. Ba2 Qc7
15. Kb1 Ba8 16. g4 Nfd7 17. h4 Nb6 18. g5 Nca4 19. Nxa4 bxa4 20. g6 hxg6 21. h5
g5 22. Rg1 Qc5 23. Qd2 Nc4 24. Bxc4 Qxc4 25. Bxg5 f6 26. Bh6 Rf7 27. Bxg7 Rxg7
28. Rxg7+ Kxg7 29. Qg2+ Kf8 30. h6 Ke8 31. h7 Kd7 32. Qg7 f5 33. h8=Q Rxh8 34.
Qxh8 Bb7 35. exf5 1-0

[Event "74th ch-RUS 2021"]
[Site "Ufa RUS"]
[Date "2021.10.13"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Vitiugov, N..."]
[Black "Andreikin, D..."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E10"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2728"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2021.10.08"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Bg2 dxc4 7. O-O Nc6 8.
Re1 Be7 {A very rare continuation here, but one of Stockfish's top choices. As
such, Vitiugov was loaded for bear - his preparation ended on White's 23rd
move!} 9. e4 Nb4 10. Ne5 c5 11. d5 exd5 12. exd5 Bf5 13. Nxc4 Nc2 14. Re5 Bg6
15. d6 Bxd6 16. Nxd6 Nxa1 {[#] White has immense compensation for the Exchange
and pawn.} 17. Bg5 Nc2 18. Nd5 Kh8 19. Ne4 Qb8 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Re7 Nb4 22.
Nxb4 cxb4 23. Qd4 {Black has been walking a tightrope for many moves. Here he
finally cracks.} Qd8 ({The computer gives} 23... Rd8 24. Qxf6+ Kg8 25. h4 {
(with the threat of 26.h5 Bxh5 27.Qh6!)} Re8 (25... Rd5 $5 {also seems to hold}
) 26. Rxe8+ (26. h5 $2 Rxe7 27. Qxe7 Bxe4 28. Qxe4 {and Black will consolidate
his material advantage}) 26... Qxe8 27. h5 $1 Bxe4 28. h6 Qf8 29. Bxe4 Rd8 {
and White's best is a perpetual.}) ({There is a tricky tactical defense after} 
23... Re8 24. Nxf6 (24. Rxe8+ Qxe8 25. Nxf6 Qf8 $1 {and Black survives}) 24...
Rxe7 25. Nd7+ Kg8 26. Nxb8 Re1+ $1 27. Bf1 Rxb8 {when the two rooks are a
match for the queen.}) 24. Qxf6+ Kg8 25. Nd6 $1 {Now the bishop can come into
play on d5. Black is forced to give back material to avoid the worst.} Rc8 26.
Nxc8 Qd1+ 27. Bf1 Rxc8 28. Rxb7 a5 29. h4 Qd8 $2 ({Vitiugov offered} 29... Re8
$5 {in the livestream post-mortem, and indeed, it's hard to see exactly how
White breaks through, although he surely has a solid advantage.}) 30. Qe5 $1 {
The h2-h4-h5 threat has been in the air for many moves, but now Black must
weaken his kingside to prevent it.} h5 31. Be2 Qf8 32. Bf3 Rc5 33. Bd5 Kh7 34.
Rd7 Qc8 35. Qe7 Rc1+ 36. Kg2 Qa6 37. Bxf7 Qf1+ 38. Kf3 Qh1+ 1-0

[Event "71st ch-RUS w 2021"]
[Site "Ufa RUS"]
[Date "2021.10.14"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Guseva, Marina"]
[Black "Kashlinskaya, A.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2394"]
[BlackElo "2493"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2021.10.08"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 O-O 5. a3 Be7 6. e4 d6 7. Be2 c5 8. d5
e5 9. b4 Nbd7 10. O-O a5 11. bxa5 Rxa5 12. Qc2 Ne8 13. Nb3 Ra6 14. a4 g6 15.
Bh6 Ng7 16. Bd3 Nf6 17. a5 Ng4 $1 18. Bd2 f5 19. exf5 (19. h3 Nf6 20. Rfe1 $5 (
20. Bh6 f4) 20... f4 $140 21. Nxc5 dxc5 22. Nxe5 $13) 19... gxf5 20. Ne1 e4 21.
Be2 Bf6 22. Ra3 Qe7 23. Qc1 Be5 (23... Nxh2 $5 24. Kxh2 Be5+ 25. Kg1 f4) 24. g3
f4 25. gxf4 (25. Bxf4 Bxf4 26. gxf4 Qh4 27. Bxg4 Qxg4+ 28. Kh1 Qxf4 29. Nd2 $1)
25... Nxh2 $1 26. Kxh2 $4 (26. fxe5 Nxf1 27. Bxf1 dxe5 {and the computer says
White can survive, but it looks like a difficult task in practice.}) 26... Rxf4
27. Kg1 Qg5+ 0-1

[Event "74th ch-RUS 2021"]
[Site "Ufa RUS"]
[Date "2021.10.18"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Chigaev, M.."]
[Black "Ponkratov, P.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C18"]
[WhiteElo "2639"]
[BlackElo "2659"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2021.10.08"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nc6 $5 7. Bd3 Qa5 8.
Bd2 c4 9. Qg4 Nge7 10. Be2 Rg8 11. h4 Bd7 12. h5 O-O-O 13. Nf3 f6 14. Qf4 g5 $1
15. Qxf6 ({White finds no solace in} 15. hxg6 Nxg6 16. Qxf6 Rdf8 17. Qg5 Ngxe5
18. Qh4 Ng4 $1) 15... Rdf8 16. Qh6 Nf5 17. Qxh7 Rg7 18. Qxg7 Nxg7 19. Nxg5 Nf5
20. g4 $2 Nfe7 $2 ({Black missed the killing} 20... Nfxd4 21. cxd4 Qb6 $1 {
with the idea} 22. c3 Nxd4 23. cxd4 Qxd4) 21. Nh7 Rh8 22. Nf6 Qa4 23. Kd1 $2 {
Either 23.Rc1 or 23.Bd1 would have held steady. Now White's poor piece
coordination dooms him.} b5 $1 24. Kc1 b4 25. Bd1 bxa3 26. h6 a2 27. Bg5 Qa3+
28. Kd2 Qb2 0-1

[Event "71st ch-RUS w 2021"]
[Site "Ufa RUS"]
[Date "2021.10.20"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Gunina, V...."]
[Black "Shuvalova, Polina"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A58"]
[WhiteElo "2462"]
[BlackElo "2509"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2021.10.08"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 g6 $5 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. e4 O-O 8.
Nf3 ({Here in this new variant of the Benko Gambit (defined by postponing the
capture of the a6-pawn) Gunina passes up the theoretically approved} 8. a7 Rxa7
9. Nf3 e6 10. Be2 exd5 11. exd5 d6 12. O-O {when Avrukh gives White a healthy
plus, something confirmed by game statistics.}) 8... Qa5 9. Bd3 $2 {Allowing
Black the following continuation.} ({Forced were} 9. Bd2) ({or} 9. Nd2) 9...
Nxd5 $1 10. exd5 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 $5 ({Choosing to complicate instead of heading
into the insipid} 11. Bd2 Bxd2+ 12. Qxd2 Qxd2+ 13. Kxd2) 11... Qxc3+ 12. Qd2
Qxa1 13. O-O Qg7 $1 ({Not} 13... Bxa6 $6 {(as played by Carlsen) when White has
} 14. Bb2 Qxa2 15. Bb1 $1 $13) 14. Re1 f6 15. h4 {Down the exchange but true
to her fighting style, Gunina attacks!} d6 16. h5 Nd7 17. hxg6 ({Better is} 17.
Re3 $1 Bxa6 18. Bxa6 Rxa6 19. Qe2 Raa8 20. Nh4 {with the idea of Re3-g3} (20.
Rxe7 $2 Rf7)) 17... hxg6 18. Qc2 Ne5 $2 ({Black can restrict the White pieces
with} 18... g5 $1 19. Re3 Ne5 20. Nxe5 fxe5 21. Rg3 g4 $1) 19. Nxe5 fxe5 20.
Bxg6 Rf6 21. Be4 Kf7 22. Re3 Rf4 23. Rb3 ({After} 23. Rg3 $6 Rg4 24. Rf3+ Ke8 {
the king is safe.}) 23... Rg4 24. Qe2 Rxa6 25. Rb8 Ra4 26. f3 Rgxe4 $2 ({
Shuvalova missed her chance with} 26... Ba6 $1 {, trying to deflect the queen.
The idea is that after} 27. Qf2 (27. Qb2 {is similar}) 27... Raxe4 $1 28. fxe4+
Qf6 $1 {[%csl Gf1] White can't avoid a queen trade and has to go into a losing
endgame.}) 27. fxe4 Bg4 28. Qf1+ Kg6 29. Qe1 Kf7 30. Qh4 Rxe4 31. Rb7 Ke8 32.
Bg5 Bf3 33. Qh3 Bg4 34. Qh4 Bf3 35. Qh3 Bg4 36. Qh4 Bf3 37. Qh3 Rf4 1/2-1/2

[Event "US On/L Collegiate Rapid"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2021.09.25"]
[Round "5.117"]
[White "12.1 Malicka, Maria"]
[Black "Vazquez, Guillermo"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2311"]
[BlackElo "2534"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "40"]
[EventDate "2021.09.25"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley"]
[BlackTeam "University of Texas at Dallas"]

{[%evp 0,40,22,22,67,67,54,27,-2,-4,-8,-17,41,46,1,2,120,119,70,93,60,109,109,
114,112,78,82,65,51,63,63,65,85,63,79,76,49,-193,-240,-254,-267,-1844,-29990]} 
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 dxe4 4. fxe4 e5 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Bc4 Nd7 7. c3 Bd6 8. Qb3
Qe7 9. Qxb7 Rb8 10. Qxc6 Bxf3 11. gxf3 Ngf6 12. Nd2 O-O 13. Bb3 Rfc8 14. Qa6
exd4 15. cxd4 Bb4 16. Qd3 Nh5 17. Qe3 Qh4+ 18. Qf2 {[#]} Rxc1+ $1 {Black
removes an essential defender to make the king overburdened with defensive
tasks.} 19. Rxc1 Bxd2+ {The bishop cannot be recaptured.} 20. Ke2 ({Or} 20. Kf1
Qf4 {and Black has a decisive material advantage.}) 20... Nf4+ ({White
resigned as} 20... Nf4+ 21. Kf1 Qh3+ 22. Kg1 Be3 23. Qxe3 Qg2# {is mate.}) 0-1

[Event "US On/L Collegiate Rapid"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2021.09.25"]
[Round "7.113"]
[White "12.2 Hakobyan, Aram"]
[Black "Arribas Lopez, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2621"]
[BlackElo "2436"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2021.09.25"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Webster University"]
[BlackTeam "University of Texas at Dallas"]

{[%evp 0,53,22,22,38,31,31,29,43,39,28,13,13,21,-17,-1,43,38,22,-4,-11,-8,-8,
-11,-9,-7,67,5,59,19,13,-8,52,-52,-50,-42,-22,146,74,130,385,-79,424,361,789,
790,29987,29988,29991,432,29985,29986,29987,29988,29989,29990]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4
d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. dxc5 Bxc5
10. Bxc5 Nxc5 11. Bd3 Qb6 12. O-O-O d4 13. Ne4 Na4 14. b3 Nb4 15. Kb1 Nd5 16.
Ka1 Nac3 17. Nxc3 dxc3 {[#]} 18. Bxh7+ $1 {The Greek Gift sacrifice and here,
it works.} Kxh7 19. Ng5+ Kh6 ({A better defense was} 19... Kg8 {when} 20. Qd3 {
will lead to large advantage for White after} Re8 21. Qh7+ Kf8 22. Rd3 Qc5 ({or
} 22... Ke7 23. Qxg7 Rf8 24. Rhd1 Bd7 25. f5 Qb4 26. fxe6 Bxe6 27. Nxe6 Rg8 28.
Nc7 $1 {and White is winning}) 23. Ne4 Qa3 24. Nxc3 Nxc3 25. Rxc3 {and White
should be winning.}) 20. Qd3 ({The fastest win, but also} 20. Qe1 Nxf4 21. Qh4+
Nh5 22. g4 g6 23. gxh5 {wins.}) 20... Nxf4 21. Qh7+ Kxg5 22. Qxg7+ ({White can
force mate with} 22. h4+ Kg4 23. Qxg7+ Ng6 24. Qh6 Qd8 25. Rd4+ Kg3 26. Qe3+
Kxg2 27. Rg1+ Kh2 28. Qg3# {.}) 22... Ng6 23. h4+ Kg4 24. Qf6 Qe3 25. Rd4+ Kh5
26. g4+ Kh6 27. h5 {and Black resigned before he would get mated.} 1-0

[Event "4th Sharjah Masters 2021"]
[Site "Sharjah UAE"]
[Date "2021.09.23"]
[Round "7.29"]
[White "12.3 Zaibi, A."]
[Black "Khader, Sam"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2398"]
[BlackElo "2378"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2021.09.17"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,57,19,19,30,13,18,15,15,-17,-4,-39,-26,-16,-13,-11,3,3,10,-45,6,-14,
-16,-46,29,-39,-31,-45,-72,-94,-69,-95,-68,-55,-65,-201,-205,-266,-243,-331,
-193,-232,-245,-240,-15,15,31,31,-30,-30,-67,0,122,472,472,496,404,554,29997,
29998]} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Nbd2 dxc4 6. Bg2 b5 7. O-O
a5 8. a4 c6 9. Qc2 Ra7 10. Rd1 O-O 11. Ne5 Qb6 12. Ndf3 Rd8 13. Be3 Nd5 14. Ng5
g6 15. Bc1 f6 16. e4 fxe5 17. exd5 exd4 18. Qe4 cxd5 19. Qh4 e5 20. axb5 Bf5
21. Nf3 Bc2 22. Bg5 Re8 23. Nxd4 exd4 24. Bxd5+ Kg7 25. Rxd4 Rd7 {[#]} 26. Qh6+
{Sending the king to the corner.} Kh8 27. Rf4 {Threatening Bf6+.} Rg7 ({
Black is trying to preempt White's threats. If} 27... Be7 {then} 28. Bxe7 Rdxe7
29. Rf8+ {leads to mate.}) 28. Bf6 Ree7 {Defending the rook, but allowing a
pretty conclusion.} 29. Qxh7+ $1 ({Black resigned as} 29. Qxh7+ Kxh7 30. Rh4# {
ends the game.}) 1-0

[Event "36th ECC Open 2021"]
[Site "Struga MKD"]
[Date "2021.09.20"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "12.4 Esipenko, Andrey"]
[Black "Dudin, Gleb"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2720"]
[BlackElo "2434"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2021.09.18"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "MKD"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Mednyi Vsadnik"]
[BlackTeam "Prilep"]

{[%evp 0,39,19,14,14,17,14,5,5,5,3,-25,-13,-6,26,12,30,-16,-27,-11,-24,-23,-29,
-34,-22,0,-65,-65,-65,-30,-49,-65,-57,0,0,99,99,99,230,70,321,404]} 1. e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb6 6. Nc3 Nge7 7. a4 a6 8. Nd5 Nxd5 9.
exd5 Qf6 10. Qe2+ Ne7 11. h4 h6 12. Bd2 O-O 13. a5 Ba7 14. Bc3 Qd6 15. O-O-O
Nxd5 {[#]} 16. Rxd5 $1 {Removing a potential defender and forcing the queen to
a less ideal square.} Qxd5 17. Qg4 g6 ({Or} 17... f6 18. Bc4 {and the queen
drops.}) 18. Qf4 {Threatening both Qf6 and Qxh6.} Kh7 19. Bd3 ({Preparing Qf6
and h4-h5. White also wins with} 19. Qf6 Rg8 20. Bd3 Qe6 21. Qf4 Re8 22. Nd4 {
and it is over for Black.}) 19... f5 20. Bd2 $1 ({Black resigned as} 20. Bd2
Rf6 21. Qxh6+ Kg8 22. Bc3 {is completely winning for White.}) 1-0

[Event "4th Sharjah Masters 2021"]
[Site "Sharjah UAE"]
[Date "2021.09.24"]
[Round "8.27"]
[White "12.5 Adnani, M."]
[Black "Bernadskiy, V."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B81"]
[WhiteElo "2428"]
[BlackElo "2611"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2021.09.17"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,48,18,18,51,51,53,48,62,28,28,24,51,32,58,22,37,34,35,39,51,23,-1,12,
20,25,17,23,23,-13,-6,-2,-3,-22,-29,-29,-14,-11,-16,-5,41,0,-121,-121,-121,
-373,-386,-691,-691,-691,-708]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5.
Nc3 a6 6. h3 e6 7. g4 h6 8. Bg2 Be7 9. Be3 Nc6 10. Qe2 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 e5 12. Be3
Be6 13. O-O-O Rc8 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Bd7 16. f4 exf4 17. Bxf4 O-O 18. Kb1
Bf6 19. Qf2 Ba4 20. Be4 {[#]} Bxb2 $1 {Ripping White's king shelter open.} 21.
Kxb2 Rc4 $1 {Threatening the bishop on e4 but also setting up the next threat..
.} 22. Rhe1 ({A tougher defense was} 22. Qf3 f5 $1 ({or} 22... Re8 23. Bf5 Qf6+
24. c3 Bxd1 25. Rxd1 g6 {and Black is winning}) 23. gxf5 Re8 24. Rde1 Qb6+ 25.
Kc1 Qc5 $1 26. Rh2 Rexe4 27. Rxe4 Rxc2+ {and Black is winning.}) 22... Qf6+ 23.
Kb1 ({If} 23. Kc1 {then Black wins with} Qa1+ 24. Kd2 Qc3+ 25. Kc1 Qa3+ 26. Kd2
Bxc2 27. Bxc2 Rxc2+ 28. Kxc2 Qxa2+ 29. Kd3 Qxf2 {.}) 23... Rb4+ 24. Kc1 Rc8 {
and White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "Indy FIDE - Premier 2021"]
[Site "Indianapolis USA"]
[Date "2021.09.26"]
[Round "4"]
[White "12.6 Kaidanov, G."]
[Black "Gareev, T."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2560"]
[BlackElo "2587"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2021.09.24"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,59,22,22,49,41,41,28,32,32,73,75,75,72,62,54,84,50,48,44,57,44,56,58,
57,48,39,22,39,50,40,45,61,62,55,34,36,17,15,17,14,17,46,17,28,-17,-24,-102,
144,172,150,151,219,215,304,381,602,617,617,617,29985,29986]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6 5. Nb3 Nf6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Bd3 d6 8. O-O Be7 9. Be3 Qc7
10. f4 a6 11. Qf3 O-O 12. Rae1 Nb4 13. a3 Nxd3 14. cxd3 Bd7 15. Rc1 Bc6 16. Nd4
Rac8 17. f5 e5 18. Nde2 Qa5 19. b4 Qd8 20. d4 exd4 21. Bxd4 Re8 22. Qg3 Bf8 23.
Nf4 Nxe4 24. Nxe4 Rxe4 {[#]} 25. Bxg7 $1 Bxg7 26. Nh5 {Thus far, things are
pretty straight-forward.} Qb6+ 27. Rc5 $1 ({Essential. If} 27. Rf2 $4 {then}
Qd4 $1 28. f6 Rg4 {wins for Black!}) 27... Kf8 28. Qxd6+ Re7 {Now everything
wins for White.} 29. f6 Bxf6 30. Qxf6 {and Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "Primorsko Open 2021"]
[Site "Primorsko BUL"]
[Date "2021.09.21"]
[Round "9.5"]
[White "12.7 Maerevoet, Sim"]
[Black "Tilicheev, V."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D24"]
[WhiteElo "2366"]
[BlackElo "2509"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2021.09.13"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "BUL"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,54,22,13,9,9,9,9,21,12,60,40,61,73,67,67,85,57,52,54,46,52,62,52,57,
63,27,23,70,68,99,62,51,29,29,1,-4,0,28,0,0,0,0,0,39,54,168,146,260,0,-238,
-117,-265,-168,-273,-338,-294]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4
b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. Nxb5 Nb6 8. Be2 Nc6 9. O-O Be7 10. Qd2 Bb7 11. Qf4 Qd7 12. Rd1
g5 13. Qg3 O-O-O 14. b3 cxb3 15. axb3 Nd5 16. Bd2 Kb8 17. Ra4 Nb6 18. Ra2 g4
19. Qxg4 Rhg8 20. Qh5 a6 21. d5 Nxd5 22. Nc3 {[#]} Nd4 $1 {Clearing the path
for the bishop on b7 to join the attack.} 23. Nxd4 Nxc3 $1 24. Bxc3 Bxg2 $1 ({
Threatening ...Bf3. But not} 24... Rxg2+ $4 {as} 25. Kf1 Rdg8 26. Bxa6 $1 {
wins for White.}) 25. Bg4 Bf3 $1 26. Nxf3 Qxd1+ 27. Kg2 Rd3 $1 ({White
resigned. The immediate threat is ...Qxf3+ but White cannot do anything to
survive, for instance,} 27... Rd3 28. Ng5 ({or} 28. Qh3 h5) 28... Qb1 {and
Black is winning.}) 0-1

[Event "4th Sharjah Masters 2021"]
[Site "Sharjah UAE"]
[Date "2021.09.23"]
[Round "7.23"]
[White "12.8 Baskin, R."]
[Black "Romanishin, O."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C58"]
[WhiteElo "2392"]
[BlackElo "2403"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2021.09.17"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,56,22,18,10,17,13,12,12,-14,3,-14,-16,-11,55,50,31,6,26,54,55,30,58,
31,63,50,66,70,73,54,68,45,52,61,8,37,31,36,182,33,-42,-42,0,0,162,181,181,153,
161,110,54,-123,-123,-428,-405,-29997,-29998,-29999,-30000]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3
Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Qe2 Be7 8. Nf3 e4 9. Ne5 c6
10. dxc6 bxc6 11. Nxd7 Qxd7 12. Ba6 O-O 13. Nc3 Rfe8 14. b3 Nd5 15. Bb2 Nf4 16.
Qf1 Qg4 17. Ne2 Nxg2+ 18. Kd1 Rad8 19. Rg1 {[#]} Rxd2+ $3 {Inviting his
majesty out to dance and he will not make it home again in one piece.} 20. Kxd2
Bg5+ $1 ({The only way to continue the attack. If} 20... Qg5+ $4 {then} 21. Kd1
Bb4 22. Nc3 {wins for White.}) 21. Kc3 Bf6+ $1 22. Kb4 ({If the king tries to
escape back with} 22. Kd2 {then} Qg5+ {wins:} 23. Kd1 Bxb2 24. Qxg2 Rd8+ 25.
Nd4 Rxd4+ 26. Ke2 Qxg2 27. Rxg2 Bxa1 {and Black is a piece up.}) 22... Bxb2 $1
{Now the king is not able to move backwards.} 23. Qxg2 Qe6 {The bishop on b2
guards the g7-pawn.} 24. Ka4 c5 $1 {The only winning move. Black threatens the
bishop on a6.} 25. c3 g6 $1 {Otherwise mate on g7 was threatened.} 26. Bb5 a6
$1 27. Bxe8 ({Or} 27. Kxa5 axb5 {and White will have to give up material to
delay mate.}) 27... Qxe8+ 28. Kxa5 Qb5# {Nice conclusion.} 0-1

[Event "Meltwater Tour Final 2021"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.09.27"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "12.9 Aronian, L."]
[Black "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C24"]
[WhiteElo "2782"]
[BlackElo "2736"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2021.09.25"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL Dec 2021"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,78,22,22,17,17,21,15,15,15,16,16,3,9,22,22,-4,-42,30,-30,35,26,26,10,
21,21,-4,-15,-3,-75,-53,-44,-52,-123,-66,-157,-179,-167,-152,-178,-185,-192,
-141,-122,-110,-142,-82,-81,-75,-85,-81,-102,-99,-67,-92,-115,-105,-92,-90,
-113,-86,-72,-83,-94,-103,-117,-155,-155,-120,-183,-189,-205,-201,-275,-275,
-365,-468,-548,-378,-368,-374]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3
O-O 6. h3 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 Be6 9. c3 h6 10. b4 Bb6 11. b5 Na5 12. Bxd5
Bxd5 13. Nxe5 Re8 14. Nd2 {[#]} Bxf2+ $3 15. Kxf2 Rxe5 $1 16. Kg1 ({Or} 16.
Rxe5 Qf6+ 17. Nf3 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Qxe5 19. Bf4 Qxb5 {, Black has an extra pawn
and a clear advantage.}) 16... Qe7 $1 17. Rf1 ({Also} 17. Ne4 f5 18. Bf4 fxe4
19. Bxe5 Qxe5 20. c4 Qd4+ 21. Kh1 exd3 22. cxd5 d2 23. Re2 Nc4 {wins for Black.
}) 17... Qc5+ ({It may have been even better to play} 17... Re8 $1 {, for
instance,} 18. Kh1 Bxg2+ 19. Kxg2 Re2+ 20. Rf2 Qg5+ 21. Kf1 Rxf2+ 22. Kxf2 Qe3+
23. Kg2 Qxd3 {and Black is winning.}) 18. d4 Qxc3 19. dxe5 Qxa1 20. Nb3 Qxa2
21. Qxd5 Qxb3 {and Black had an extra pawn, which he eventually converted to a
full point.} 22. Qd7 Qe6 23. Qxc7 b6 24. Bf4 Nb3 25. Qb7 Qc8 26. Qf3 Nd4 27.
Qd5 Qd8 28. Qb7 Qc8 29. Qd5 Ne6 30. Be3 Rb8 31. Qf3 Qd7 32. Qg3 Qd3 33. Rf3 Qg6
34. Qe1 Rd8 35. Kh2 Qe4 36. Qa1 Rd3 37. Qxa7 Qxe5+ 38. Kg1 Rxe3 39. Qxf7+ Kh7 {
and White resigned.} 0-1

