[Event "New York Man-Machine m"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "2003.02.05"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Comp Deep Junior"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E48"]
[WhiteElo "2847"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "38"]
[EventDate "2003.01.26"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nge2 Re8 8.
O-O Bd6 9. a3 c6 10. Qc2 {[#]} Bxh2+ 11. Kxh2 Ng4+ 12. Kg3 (12. Kg1 Qh4) 12...
Qg5 13. f4 Qh5 14. Bd2 Qh2+ 15. Kf3 Qh4 {[#]} 16. Bxh7+ (16. g3 Qh2 17. Rae1 g6
18. e4 Nd7 19. e5 Ndf6 20. f5 Rxe5 21. dxe5 Nxe5+ 22. Ke3 c5 23. Bc1 Qh6+ 24.
Nf4 Nxd3 25. Qxd3 Bxf5 26. Qd1 d4+ 27. Kd2) 16... Kh8 17. Ng3 Nh2+ 18. Kf2 Ng4+
19. Kf3 Nh2+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Hoogeveen Essent Crown"]
[Site "Hoogeveen"]
[Date "2003.10.12"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Polgar, Judit"]
[Black "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2722"]
[BlackElo "2693"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2003.10.12"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Nc6 8. c4
Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. a3 Nc6 11. cxd5 Qxd5 12. Nc3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Qd6 14. Rb1 b6
15. Re1 Be6 16. Bd3 Rae8 17. Rb5 Na5 18. Rbe5 Nc6 19. R5e2 Bd7 20. d5 Na5 21.
Ne5 Bf6 22. Bf4 Bxe5 23. Bxe5 {[#]} Qxa3 (23... Qxd5 24. Bxh7+) (23... Qh6 24.
Bxc7) (23... Qc5 24. Qc2 h6 25. c4 (25. Re3 $6 Qxa3) 25... f6) 24. Re3 Qc5 $4
25. Bxh7+ (25. Bxh7+ Kxh7 26. Qh5+ Kg8 27. Bxg7 Kxg7 28. Rg3+) 25... Kxh7 26.
Qh5+ 1-0

[Event "Bad Pistyan Breyer Memorial-A"]
[Site "Piestany"]
[Date "1922.04.13"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Hromadka, Karel"]
[Black "Saemisch, Friedrich"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B80"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "1922.04.07"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "CSR"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 d6 8. O-O
Bd7 9. Re1 Be7 10. Qe2 Nc6 11. Be3 Rc8 12. Rad1 O-O 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. Bd4 b5
15. a3 Qb7 16. Na2 a5 17. Bc3 Ra8 18. Nc1 b4 19. axb4 axb4 20. Bd2 d5 21. e5
Ne4 22. Be3 Rfc8 23. Bd4 Ba4 24. b3 Bb5 25. Nd3 Nc3 26. Bxc3 Rxc3 27. Rd2 Ra2
28. Qd1 Qc7 29. Bf1 Rcxc2 30. Ree2 Bxd3 31. Rxd3 Rxe2 32. Bxe2 Qxe5 33. Bf1 Bc5
34. Rd2 Ra1 35. Qc2 {[#]} Qe1 36. Qd3 Rd1 (36... Rd1 37. Rxd1 Qxf2+ 38. Kh1
Qg1#) 0-1

[Event "Bad Pistyan Breyer Memorial-A"]
[Site "Piestany"]
[Date "1922.04.23"]
[Round "15"]
[White "Selezniev, Alexey Sergeevich"]
[Black "Reti, Richard"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A53"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "1922.04.07"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "CSR"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. c4 Bg4 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. e3 e5 6. Be2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. b3
c6 9. Bb2 e4 10. Nd2 Bxe2 11. Qxe2 d5 12. f3 exf3 13. Qxf3 Nb6 14. Rad1 Qd7 15.
h3 Qe6 16. Ne2 Bb4 17. c5 Bxd2 18. Rxd2 Ne4 19. Rdd1 Nd7 20. Nf4 Qe7 21. Nd3
Rae8 22. Qf4 f6 23. b4 Rf7 24. a4 Nf8 25. Rfe1 Ng6 26. Qg4 Qe6 27. Qxe6 Rxe6
28. b5 Rfe7 29. Nb4 Nh4 30. Rd3 f5 31. Kh2 Rg6 32. Re2 Ng3 33. Rc2 Nf1+ 34. Kh1
Nxe3 35. Rxe3 Rxe3 36. a5 f4 37. a6 {[#]} (37. a6 Re1+ 38. Kh2 Rxg2+ 39. Rxg2)
0-1

[Event "Bad Pistyan Breyer Memorial-A"]
[Site "Piestany"]
[Date "1922.04.25"]
[Round "16"]
[White "Spielmann, Rudolf"]
[Black "Johner, Paul F"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C29"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "1922.04.07"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "CSR"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Nf3 Be7 6. d4 O-O 7. Bd3 f5 8.
exf6 Nxf6 9. O-O Nc6 10. Bg5 Bg4 11. Qe1 h6 12. Bxh6 gxh6 13. Qg3 Bd6 14. Ne5
Qe7 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Qxg4+ Qg5 17. Qe6+ Kh8 {[#]} 18. Rf7 (18. Rf7 Qe3+ 19.
Kh1 Rxf7 20. Nxf7+ Kg7 21. Qg6+ Kf8 22. Nxh6) 1-0

[Event "Bad Pistyan Breyer Memorial-A"]
[Site "Piestany"]
[Date "1922.04.27"]
[Round "18"]
[White "Reti, Richard"]
[Black "Johner, Paul F"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A60"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "1922.04.07"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "CSR"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 e5 5. e4 d6 6. Bd3 g6 7. h3 Bg7 8. Be3 O-O
9. g4 Ne8 10. Nge2 f5 11. gxf5 gxf5 12. exf5 e4 13. Nxe4 Bxf5 14. N2g3 Bg6 15.
Qd2 Nd7 16. Ng5 Qf6 17. Bxg6 Qxg6 18. Ne6 Ne5 19. Nxf8 Kxf8 20. Qe2 Nd3+ 21.
Kf1 Nxb2 22. Qf3+ Kg8 23. Nf5 Kh8 24. Rg1 Qf7 25. Bh6 Be5 26. Re1 Nxc4 27. Re4
b5 28. Reg4 Nc7 {[#]} 29. Bc1 (29. Bc1 Z0 30. Nh6 Qxf3 31. Rg8+) 1-0

[Event "Bad Pistyan Breyer Memorial-A"]
[Site "Piestany"]
[Date "1922.04.13"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Gruenfeld, Ernst"]
[Black "Spielmann, Rudolf"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A43"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "1922.04.07"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "CSR"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. d5 d6 4. Nc3 Bf5 5. Nd2 g5 6. e4 Bg6 7. Be2 Bg7 8. O-O
Nbd7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Bf1 Ne5 11. Nf3 Nxf3+ 12. Qxf3 h6 13. Qd1 Nd7 14. Be3 Ne5
15. f3 f5 16. exf5 Bxf5 17. Bf2 Qe8 18. Rc1 Qg6 19. Kh1 Rf7 20. Qd2 Raf8 21.
Be3 Qh5 22. Bg1 Bc8 23. Be3 g4 24. f4 g3 25. h3 Ng6 26. Ne2 Qh4 27. c3 Bg4 28.
Qd3 Ne5 29. fxe5 {[#]} Bxh3 (29... Bf5 $1 30. Qd2 Bxh3 $1) 30. Bg5 (30. gxh3
Rxf1+ 31. Rxf1 $4 (31. Kg2 $1 R8f2+ 32. Bxf2 Rxf2+ 33. Kg1 Qxh3 34. Qxg3 $18)
31... Qxh3+) 30... Bxg2+ 0-1

[Event "Bad Pistyan Breyer Memorial-A"]
[Site "Piestany"]
[Date "1922.04.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Euwe, Max"]
[Black "Spielmann, Rudolf"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A52"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "1922.04.07"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "CSR"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. e4 h5 5. Nh3 Nxe5 6. Nc3 d6 7. Nf4 Nbc6 8.
Be2 g6 9. Nfd5 Be6 10. Nb5 Rc8 11. f4 Ng4 12. Nxa7 Nxa7 13. Qd4 c6 14. Bxg4
hxg4 15. Qxh8 cxd5 16. f5 gxf5 17. exd5 Rxc4 18. dxe6 Re4+ 19. Kf2 Qb6+ 20. Kg3
d5 21. Bf4 Qxe6 22. Rhf1 Nc6 23. Rad1 d4 24. Rd3 {[#]} Rxf4 25. Kxf4 (25. Rxf4
Qe1+ 26. Rf2 f4+) 25... Ne5 $1 (25... Qe4+) 26. Kg3 (26. Qxe5 Bh6+) 26... Nxd3
0-1

[Event "U.S. Chess Championship 2021"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.06"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2800"]
[BlackElo "2645"]
[Annotator "Krykun"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/2pq1pp1/p2p3p/3P1n2/2r2P2/6P1/P2Q1B1P/4RRK1 w - - 0 28"]
[PlyCount "34"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:31:16"]
[BlackClock "0:30:46"]

{[#]} {A pawn down, with a weakened second rank and a dubious f2-bishop, the
position did not look particularly promising for Caruana. However, in this
game, just as in many others, he was not going to give up quickly - or give up
at all.} 28. Qd3 Rxe1 29. Rxe1 Ra4 {Black simplified the game and is now
looking to hunt the weak a2- and d5-pawns.} 30. Rb1 f6 $1 {Making room for the
king on f7, which is good both because it deals with a specific tactical
threat and because moving it to f7 will be good in the upcoming endgame.} ({
Note that Bruzon's move avoids the trap set by Caruana: if} 30... Rxa2 $4 31.
Rb8+ Kh7 32. g4 {, winning a piece due to the pin.}) 31. a3 Ne7 32. Rb8+ Kf7
33. Rb7 Ra5 34. Qc3 {Giving up his d-pawn to take the black c-pawn. However,
Bruzon doesn't mind this trade at all, as he will now have a passed d-pawn.}
Rxd5 35. Rxc7 Rd1+ 36. Kg2 Qb5 ({I think} 36... Qe6 $1 {is an improvement, the
point being to either trade the queens under better circumstances, or, ideally,
to keep them, as the White king is a lot weaker.} 37. Qc4 Rd2 $1 {Black is
ready to play ...d6-d5 to unpin and then attack, while after} 38. Qxe6+ Kxe6 {
he managed to improve his king position. Now, White can temporarily get his
pawn back, but that doesn't help:} 39. Ra7 h5 $1 40. Rxa6 Nd5 $1 41. Kf3 g5 $1
$17 {[%csl Rf2,Rf3][%cal Gg5g4,Ge6f5,Gf5e4,Gd5e3] [#] Here Black is
threatening ...g5-g4, significantly restricting White. The a6-rook is
completely out of play, the white king is in a situation that is rather close
to a mating net, and White's position is nearly lost. However, it is totally
understandable that Black did not want to give up his extra pawn, especially
as he was in time trouble, where you normally want to keep things as clear as
possible.}) 37. Qc4+ $1 Qxc4 38. Rxc4 {Now White has chances to save the game
as the a6- and d6-pawns are somewhat fragile.} a5 39. Ra4 Rd5 40. Bb6 Nc6 41.
Rc4 Ne7 42. Ra4 $1 {[#] Of course, Caruana is happy to draw, and having played
an amazing game, Bruzon takes the draw via repetition in time trouble. However,
he had great chances to play for a win in this position!} Nc6 ({The way to
play on begins with} 42... Rb5 $1 {. Now, if the bishop retreats, the problem
with the a5-pawn is permamently solved and Black is just a pawn up. He can
slowly improve the king and the knight, run his d-pawn, and so on.} 43. Bxa5
Rb2+ $1 {White faces an ugly choice: moving the king to the first rank (or to
h3) is really unappealing, while placing it on the active f3-square abandons
the h2-pawn.} 44. Kh3 $5 ({after} 44. Kf3 Rxh2 {White will struggle to make a
draw, as he's a pawn down.}) 44... Nd5 {[%cal Ge3f1,Gd5e3,Gh6h5,Gf7g6,Gg6f5]
The knight is coming to e3 and then to f1! Surprisingly, White can even end up
in a mating net if he is not careful.}) 43. Rc4 Ne7 44. Ra4 Nc6 {The top seed
got away with a draw.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "U.S. Chess Championship 2021"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.10.11"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C79"]
[WhiteElo "2800"]
[BlackElo "2623"]
[Annotator "Krykun"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{I have originally annotated this game as I was writing tournaments reports of
the event for chess.com, but for the purpose of this article, I have somewhat
reworked and deepened my analysis.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 {
The Improved Steinitz Defense. This turned out to be a rather smart choice by
Naroditsky, who in fact did not have much choice: no matter what theoretical
line he would go for versus Caruana, the latter would be prepared much better.
That's why it made sense to go for a less-researched position.} 5. O-O Bd7 6.
c3 Nf6 {Black opts for a slightly inferior, yet rather solid position. Instead,
... Ng8-e7 and ...g7-g6 are the more ambitious (but riskier) choices, which
Naroditsky thought would not make sense versus Caruana.} ({If you're
interested in something offbeat, you might investigate} 6... g5 $5 {, which
Mamedyarov used in 2017 to beat Harikrishna.}) 7. Re1 g6 ({Note that} 7... Be7
{Is a significantly inferior square for the bishop. Placed on g7, it is not
only adding an extra layer of protection to the king's position, but also
exerts pressure on the long diagonal. It has much less to do on the e7-square!
After} 8. d4 O-O 9. Bc2 {White has reason to be very pleased.}) 8. d4 Bg7 {
Here we reach a bit of a crossroads.} 9. Nbd2 {The most flexible path, as
White is not defining the situation in the center yet, keeping the tension.} ({
Another pawn structure, one commonly found in King's Indian type positions,
emerges after} 9. d5 Ne7 10. Bxd7+ Nxd7 {Most masters would suggests that
Black should play on the kingside with ...f7-f5, ...f5-f4, etc, while White
should pursue the queenside initiative by trying to open the c-file with c4-c5,
etc. This is based on a rather simple rule of thumb: when you have a position
with locked pawn chains, look at the direction at which your central pawns are
aimed to determine the flank on which you should play. Here the black d6- and
e5-pawns are aimed at the white kingside, while the e4- and d5-pawns are
staring at the queenside. Interestingly, Caruana chooses a more flexible
approach in the game, refraining from defining the tension just yet.}) ({Here} 
9. dxe5 {does not make any sense, as it concedes all the extra space White has
been currently enjoying, i.e.} Nxe5 10. Bxd7+ Qxd7 11. Nxe5 dxe5 {and Black is
perfectly fine, as the structure is symmetrical and two pairs of pieces have
been swapped.}) 9... exd4 ({Also possible was} 9... O-O {, but Naroditsky
rushes to release the tension. Possibly he was less comfortable with the
potential of d4-d5 happening, so he eliminates that opportunity right away.})
10. cxd4 O-O 11. h3 $1 {An instructive moment. Caruana is taking his time to
slowly restrict the opponent's pieces, preventing moves like ...Bg4 and ...Ng4.
Let's see why this positional move is strong and important by analyzing the
ignorant alternative.} ({White can try a typical Ruy Lopez motif with} 11. Nf1
$6 {, bringing the horsey on g3, but after} b5 $1 12. Bb3 Bg4 $1 {it is not
entirely clear why White allowed the pin, as Black now threatens to take on f3
and then on d4; more, he gets to trade some pieces and resolve his space
issues.} 13. Be3 {Is a better move, protecting the center, but after} ({Here} 
13. h3 $2 {is a mistake, i.e.} Bxf3 14. Qxf3 $4 (14. gxf3 Qd7 {results in a
position where White has an awful king and a vulnerable center.}) 14... Nxd4 {
and Black is a clean pawn up.}) 13... Na5 $1 14. Bc2 Nd7 $1 {The d4-pawn is
under pressure, ...Na5-c4 is coming with a tempo, attacking the e3-bishop and
the b2-pawn, and ...c7-c5 is underway. White is clearly worse!}) 11... Nb4 {
[#] Players are still following a relatively known road, as many strong
players continued this way as Black, including Fressinet, Jones and Wang Hao.}
12. Bxd7 {Caruana makes the safer choice of trading the bishops right away and
maintaining the center.} (12. e5 $5 {was a very interesting dynamic
opportunity, forcing the f6-knight away.} {After} Bxa4 13. Qxa4 {the b4-knight
is hanging, so Black has no choice:} Nfd5 14. Ne4 {and here the knights are
very loose: for example, Qa4-b3 followed by a2-a4! is a large threat. Black
seems able to maintain the balance with precise moves, but it doesn't look
safe at all.}) 12... Qxd7 13. Qb3 {Caruana keeps making all the challenging
moves, but by now, he had already burned 25 minutes, which cost him dearly at
the end, as we will see.} a5 14. a3 Nc6 15. Nf1 ({The alternative} 15. d5 Nb8
16. Qxb7 {offers White a possibility to win a pawn. However, Black has great
compensation after} Na6 17. Qb3 Nc5 18. Qc4 Qa4 $1 19. Qxa4 Nxa4 {and White's
queenside looks miserable, while ...Ra8-b8, ...Nf6-d7, etc are all about to
put a great amount of pressure on his position.}) (15. Qxb7 $4 Rfb8 {Is, of
course, not something Caruana would be interested in.}) 15... a4 $1 {Creating
an outpost on the b3-square. The opening went extraordinarly well for Black,
who not only got a perfectly decent position, but also got the top seed in
time pressure.} (15... b6 {protects the pawn, but it's a passive move, and it
creates weaknesses on the light squares.}) 16. Qd3 Na5 17. Bg5 Nb3 $6 {Black
chooses to immediately utilize the outpost on b3, winning a tempo. However,
this is not the best decision.} ({Immediately possible was} 17... d5 $5 {
-- see more details on the next move.}) 18. Rad1 h6 ({Black should have tried} 
18... d5 $1 {when after} 19. e5 Ne4 {he is only slighty worse. Black is
winning a tempo by attacking the g5-bishop, and he is about to follow with ...
f7-f6 or ...Ra8-e8, centralizing his pieces. White's space advantage certainly
counts and is not irrelevant, but this seems to be Black's best practical
chance.}) 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. N1d2 ({A potential improvement is} 20. Ne3 {
, intending to play Nf3-e5 followed by e4-e5, Re1-e3, etc., and looking to
attack the king.}) ({Another interesting idea was} 20. h4 $5 {, the point
being to play h4-h5, looking to force ...g6-g5, which would create a gaping
hole on the f5-square for the knight via the Nf1-g3-f5 manuever. Alternatively,
Black can react with ...h6-h5, stopping the h4-h5 threat, but that weakens the
g5-square.}) 20... Na5 {[#]} ({Black could have traded an extra pair of pieces
with} 20... Nxd2 {, but perhaps Naroditsky was afraid of} 21. Nxd2 Bg7 22. f4 {
when White grabs space in the center and on the kingside. With so many pieces
traded, Black shouldn't have any worries, but it does look somewhat
uncomfortable!}) 21. Nb1 $6 {This is where Caruana starts losing his
initiative, slowly letting the opponent take over.} (21. h4 $1 {Seems strong
again.}) ({Another interesting path begins with} 21. e5 $5 {, for example} dxe5
22. Ne4 Bg7 23. Nxe5 Bxe5 $2 ({after the superior} 23... Qd5 24. Qf3 $1 {
threatens Ne4-f6+!} Rad8 25. Nf6+ Bxf6 26. Qxf6 {Black's king is somewhat weak,
h4-h5 is on the way and the a5-knight now appears to be out of play. White is
definitely for choice here!}) 24. dxe5 Qxd3 25. Rxd3 {we reach an awful
position for Black, as the f6-outpost is fantastic, the a5-knight is stranded,
and the queenside pawns -- a4 in particular -- don't look great.}) 21... b5 22.
Qc2 Bg7 23. Nc3 c6 {The key moment. White needs to make a decision: to play
e4-e5, d4-d5, or keep waiting?} 24. e5 ({After} 24. d5 cxd5 (24... c5 $2 25. e5
$1 {gives White a tremendously powerful passed pawn on d5}) 25. Rxd5 Nc4 $1 {
Black is able to generate enough counterplay with his powerful g7-bishop, the
c4-outpost, and the vulnerable White queenside. Together these more than
compensate for the White outpost on d5 and the "theoretical" weakness on d6 --
I call it "theoretical" because it looks weak, but realistically cannot be
attacked or challenged any time soon.}) 24... Rfe8 25. Ne4 {At this point,
Caruana had 25 minutes. Watch what happens in a couple moves.} Nc4 26. exd6
Nxd6 $6 {Imprecise. Now the white knight gets an opportunity to invade via the
e5-square.} ({Black maintains a good position with} 26... Rac8 {. He is by no
means obliged to capture on d6, which means White cannot get the knight to e5
because the c4-knight cannot be chased away.}) 27. Ne5 $1 Qf5 (27... Bxe5 $2
28. dxe5 {And Black loses a piece on the d-file.}) 28. g4 $1 Qe6 {[#]} 29. Nc3
$2 {White gets too ambitious, and worse, he only left himself 7 minutes at
this point!} (29. Nxd6 Qxd6 30. Nxc6 {would have given Caruana an extra pawn,
but Black can hold, for example} Rxe1+ 31. Rxe1 Kh7 {avoiding all the checks
and asking White how he will improve the position. The g7-bishop is very
powerful, and d4-d5 is hardly possible, as the b2-pawn will likely hang.
Black's blockade and better minor pieces should save him half a point rather
easily. Still, this is White's best option.}) 29... Rac8 30. Re2 Qb3 $1 {
The endgame would be fantastic for Black, as the b3-pawn is very advanced,
while White's queenside pawns are extremely vulnerable.} 31. Qxb3 ({Avoiding
the endgame with} 31. Qd3 {looks like a better choice, although after} Red8 {
Black is already clearly for choice. The d4-pawn is a bit loose, and the White
queenside remains problematic.}) 31... axb3 32. Kg2 c5 33. dxc5 Nc4 34. Nxc4 $4
{The key mistake. What did Caruana miss?} ({I originally suggested} 34. Nd3 $2
{as a potential improvement on chess.com, but this is wrong, because after}
Bxc3 $1 35. Rxe8+ Rxe8 36. bxc3 {Perhaps} Rd8 $1 {White runs into an awful pin
and ...Nc4-e5! is about to cost him a piece, while} 37. Kf3 Nxa3 {is also
dead-lost for him.}) (34. f4 $1 {is an actual improvement, when after the
natural} Nxe5 35. fxe5 Rxc5 36. Kf3 $1 {White gets the king in the game,
anticipating the capture on e5, which will be followed by} Rexe5 37. Rd8+ Kh7
38. Rxe5 Bxe5 39. Ne4 $1 {(the c5-rook is hanging!)} Rc2 40. Rd5 Bxb2 41. Rxb5
Bxa3 42. Rxb3 {and White easily draws.}) 34... Rxe2 35. Nxe2 ({I suspect that
Caruana miscalculated in the line beginning with} 35. Nb6 {, when after} Bxc3
36. Nxc8 Bxb2 37. Rb1 Bxa3 38. Rxb3 Bxc5 {Black is much better. Still, White
should draw, despite the misplaced knight, after} 39. Rxb5 Rxf2+ 40. Kg3 {.})
35... bxc4 36. Rc1 ({Now} 36. Nc3 $3 {was the only chance. I am giving this
move two exclamation marks because the position after} Bxc3 37. bxc3 Rxc5 {
looks utterly lost due the powerful b3-pawn, but surprisingly, White can hold
it! After} 38. Kf3 Kf8 39. a4 $1 Ke7 40. Ke4 Ke6 41. Rd8 {it's somehow not a
loss, which is very hard for a human to believe!}) 36... Bxb2 37. Rxc4 Bxa3 {
Black is completely winning as his b-pawn is extremely strong.} 38. c6 b2 39.
Nc3 Bf8 40. Nb1 Bg7 41. Kf3 Kf8 {Time for the black king to get involved!} 42.
h4 Ke7 43. h5 Kd6 44. hxg6 fxg6 45. Rb4 Rxc6 46. Rb7 Be5 47. Nd2 Rc2 48. Ke3
Kc6 49. Rb3 Rc3+ 50. Rxc3+ Bxc3 51. Nb1 Bb4 $1 {The white b1-knight will never
move.} 52. f4 ({White doesn't have time to capture the b-pawn after} 52. Kd3 h5
$1 {.}) 52... Kd5 53. Kd3 h5 54. f5 hxg4 55. fxg6 Ke6 56. Ke4 g3 57. Kf3 Bd6 {
White can't fight against both passed pawns.} 0-1

[Event "U.S. Chess Championship 2021"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.16"]
[Round "9"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2778"]
[BlackElo "2623"]
[Annotator "Krykun"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3k2r/ppp1qp2/2nbb2p/4p3/2B1PnpP/2P1N1P1/PP3P2/RNB1KQ1R b KQkq - 0 14"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#] Black's position is objectively very good - and in fact, considerably
better - but the path advantage is by no means simple} 14... O-O-O $1 {A
brilliant concept!} 15. Nd5 ({Taking the knight is verböten:} 15. gxf4 $2 exf4
16. Bxe6+ Qxe6 {and the e4-pawn falls next. The white king is awfully weak and
the queenside is undeveloped, so Black is completely winning.}) 15... Bxd5 $5 {
Objectively, this lets White off the hook, but practically, this bold move
forces White to play very precisely.} ({Better was the quiet retreat} 15... Qe8
{keeping a large advantage as} 16. gxf4 $2 exf4 {opens the position too much:
now ... Nc6-e5 is on the way, coming to d3 or f3, along with the ...f7-f5
lever.}) 16. exd5 Na5 $1 {Black is going after the bishop, ignoring the
hanging knight.} 17. gxf4 ({After} 17. Bb3 $2 Nxb3 18. axb3 Nxd5 {Black is
winning without the sacrifices.}) 17... exf4+ 18. Kd1 Nxc4 19. Qxc4 {The
position is very murky, as White is a piece up, but his coordination and
development are rather terrible. Eventually Wesley worked his way to a winning
position, but Naroditsky escaped with a draw.} g3 20. fxg3 fxg3 21. Re1 Qf6 $2
22. Nd2 Kb8 23. Ne4 Qf5 24. Be3 $2 Rhe8 25. Nxd6 Rxd6 26. Bxa7+ Kxa7 27. Qa4+
Kb6 28. Qb4+ Ka6 29. Qa4+ Kb6 30. Qb3+ Ka7 31. Qa4+ Kb6 1/2-1/2

[Event "U.S. Chess Championship 2021"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.10.17"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2607"]
[BlackElo "2800"]
[Annotator "Krykun"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2rq1rk1/1p1b1pbp/n2p1np1/p2Pp1N1/P3P3/2N1B1PP/1P3PB1/R2Q1RK1 w - - 0 15"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]Needing to win, Fabiano chose the complex King's Indian Defense, as
opposed to more solid Ragozin or Queen's Gambit lines. Here Lenderman played a
move that gave Caruana an amazing opportunity.} 15. Nf3 $6 ({After the game,
Caruana said that he was expecting} 15. Qb3 {, analyzing} Qe7 16. Qxb7 Nc5 17.
Bxc5 Rxc5 {. Here he correctly believed that Black had great compensation for
the pawn due to his bishop pair and fantastic piece activity.}) 15... Rxc3 $1
16. bxc3 Nxe4 {What does Black have for the exchange? Pressure on the backward
c-pawn, a potential passer on the a-file, and of course, a pawn. When
sacrificing an exchange, it's important to consider how active the rooks will
be. Here the white rooks can't do much, so Black's position is easier to play
despite things being objectively balanced.} 17. Qc2 Nec5 18. Nd2 Qc7 19. Ra3 f5
$1 {With kingside strength, Black starts to advance his pawns. He has full
compensation for the exchange with the a4- and c3- weaknesses and White's poor
rooks. From here the game was exciting and complex, with Caruana eventually
winning to join the leaders. (For more on this game, see WGM Jennifer Yu's
analysis in our Chess Life Online report. ~ed.)} 20. f4 Re8 21. fxe5 Bxe5 22.
Bf2 b5 23. axb5 Bxb5 24. Rfa1 Nd3 25. Qb1 Nab4 26. Rxa5 Qxc3 27. Be3 Bd4 28.
Bxd4 Qxd4+ 29. Kh2 f4 30. g4 Re2 31. Ra8+ Be8 32. Qg1 Qb2 33. Nf3 Kf8 34. R1a7
h6 35. Rb7 Ne5 36. Kh1 Nxf3 37. Bxf3 Re5 38. Rc8 Qd2 39. Rc1 Re3 40. Rf1 Nd3
41. Qg2 Qc3 42. Qh2 g5 43. Bg2 Ne5 44. Rbb1 Bf7 45. Rbc1 Qd4 46. Rcd1 Nd3 47.
Rd2 Kg7 48. h4 Qc4 49. Rfd1 Ne5 50. hxg5 hxg5 51. Rd4 Qc3 52. Qg1 Nxg4 53. R1d2
Qc8 54. Qa1 Qh8+ 55. Kg1 Qh2+ 56. Kf1 Rf3+ 57. Bxf3 Ne3+ 58. Ke1 Qg1+ 59. Ke2
Qxa1 0-1

[Event "U.S. Chess Championship 2021"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.10.19"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2775"]
[BlackElo "2766"]
[Annotator "Krykun"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1p1bkpp1/1N3nnp/rPpPp3/pN2P3/P2BP2P/6P1/4R1K1 w - - 0 33"]
[PlyCount "27"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#] After a complex fight in the 4.e4 English, Caruana burnished his growing
advantage with this killer shot.} 33. Nc6+ $3 {Black is forced to accept the
sacrifice, but the queenside pawns are now too powerful.} bxc6 34. bxc6 Bxc6 {
Black is forced to return the piece.} ({After} 34... Be8 35. d6+ $1 {the pawns
promote, because} Kxd6 $2 36. Nc4+ {wins the rook.}) 35. dxc6 Kd8 36. Nd5 $6 {
Allowing So to escape.} ({The right way was} 36. Rb1 $1 {, the point being that
} Kc7 37. Nd5+ $1 Kxc6 38. Rb6+ {wins as White collects all the kingside pawns,
while the Black rook is useless and stuck.}) 36... Nxd5 37. exd5 Ne7 38. e4 Nc8
39. Rb1 Nd6 {Now Black built a perfect blockade and is safe. In fact, White is
now in danger, because the pawn chain is quite vulnerable. Both ...f7-f5 and ..
.c5-c4 are possible.} 40. Kf2 c4 41. Bc2 f5 $1 {Chipping away at the fragile
pawn center.} 42. Ke3 Kc7 43. Rb4 fxe4 $1 44. Bxe4 c3 {It's difficult for
White to deal with the c-pawn without losing all of his central pawns.} 45. Bc2
Rxd5 46. Rxa4 {And here, trying to capture the a4-pawn, Caruana lost on time
in a hopeless position.} 0-1

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.07"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "2402"]
[BlackElo "2344"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {Carissa usually plays 3. Nd2 so this alarmed me a bit.
} c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 {I had faced the Advanced variation in the World Cup
in July, and was running through the game to try to think of what she could
have prepared, but as it turned out, she had something else in mind!} 6. Bd3 {
I haven't looked at this line in a while and was not aware of any new
developments} (6. a3 {is the main line, played by WGM Viktorija Radeva against
me in the World Cup:} Nh6 7. b4 cxd4 8. Bxh6 gxh6 9. cxd4 Bd7 10. Be2 Rc8 11.
O-O Bg7 {in Radeva - Abrahamyan, Krasnaya Polyana 2021.}) 6... cxd4 7. O-O {
This move has come into fashion lately. GM Magnus Carlsen played it in 2020,
while GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave used it recently in the Grand Swiss against tk
Ponkratov.} Bd7 8. Re1 (8. cxd4 Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 {would transpose to the main
line}) 8... Nge7 9. h4 a6 10. h5 h6 11. Qe2 {I think this move loses the
thread a bit. White wants to always threaten taking on d4, forcing Black to
play ...d4xc3, so the knight can recapture and develop. The problem is that
White has also run out of useful moves. At the same, it's very difficult for
me to finish my development. Either way, I was already so low on time that a
future mistake in a key moment was inevitable.} f5 12. exf6 {Played quickly,
this frees my pieces.} ({Better would have been keeping the structure closed
with something like} 12. Na3 {(with the idea of Na3-c2) asking me to develop
my pieces and find safety for my king.}) 12... gxf6 13. cxd4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Qxd4
15. Be3 Qe5 {This looks natural, but the correct move (and the one I wanted to
play) is} (15... Qh4 {making it difficult for White to get Nb1-d2-f3 as the
h5-pawn will hang. To be fair, it's a difficult move for me as well, as my
queen might get stranded.}) 16. Nd2 Rg8 17. f4 Qd6 18. Qf2 Rc8 19. Rad1 {
The main problem in the position is that, regardless of the evaluation, her
moves are easy to find, while it's not super clear what I should be doing with
my pieces.} Bc6 $4 {[#] This loses the game immediately. The move that I
wanted to play, but managed to talk myself out of, is} (19... f5 $1 {which
stops any piece from landing on the e4-square while also keeping control of
the center.}) 20. Bh7 $3 Rg7 ({After} 20... d4 21. Bxg8 dxe3 22. Qxe3 Nxg8 23.
Ne4 Qc7 24. Nxf6+ Nxf6 25. Qxe6+ Be7 26. Qxf6 {I lose my entire kingside.}) 21.
Ne4 Qc7 22. Bb6 ({Cleaner was} 22. Nxf6+ Kf7 23. f5 $3 {when} e5 {runs into
mate:} 24. Bg6+ Kxf6 25. Qh4#) 22... dxe4 23. Bxc7 Rxh7 24. Bd6 Rg7 25. Rc1 {
While I don't have enough for the queen, I can still fight. Unfortunately I
immediately collapsed:} Nf5 26. Bxf8 Kxf8 27. Rxe4 Rd8 28. Rxc6 bxc6 29. Rxe6
Ng3 30. Rxf6+ Ke7 31. Qc5+ Kxf6 32. Qe5+ Kf7 33. Qc7+ 1-0

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.09"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2402"]
[BlackElo "2429"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1r3k1/pp1R1pp1/2n1p2p/4P3/4bP2/2R1B3/PP4PP/5BK1 b - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "4"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[#]} 21... Nb4 $4 22. Rxc8+ Rxc8 23. Rd4 {Those pesky backwards moves are
easily overlooked!} 1-0

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.11"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim"]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D76"]
[WhiteElo "2322"]
[BlackElo "2402"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,109,19,31,14,-14,43,38,37,19,18,13,6,26,30,23,21,20,8,12,25,7,56,48,
43,-2,7,-11,14,-20,24,6,21,25,56,35,25,25,29,43,65,38,37,44,44,-20,9,12,5,52,
128,112,145,134,126,81,74,74,80,69,88,132,120,103,104,109,127,138,143,96,167,
177,164,190,217,260,259,225,454,264,272,235,235,292,314,317,282,264,245,260,
260,265,386,421,421,421,524,577,555,570,567,554,620,527,527,500,457,555,547,
641,915,1042]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6
7. Nf3 Nc6 8. e3 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. h3 {A sideline in this position that has
been played a few times by Begim's teammate at Mizzou, GM Grigoriy Oparin.} (
10. Re1 {and}) (10. d5 {are more common.}) 10... e5 11. d5 Na5 {This is the
standard square for the knight in this line, but Black must be vigilant to
ensure that both knights aren't stranded on the edge of the board!} 12. Qc2 Bd7
{This feels slow.} ({More usual is} 12... c6 {as Black should fell a sense of
urgency to break in the center:} 13. b4 Nac4 14. dxc6 bxc6 15. Rd1 Qe7 16. Nd2
Bf5 17. Nce4 {as found in the games of Grischuk and Ragger.}) 13. Rd1 Qc8 14.
Kh2 c6 15. dxc6 Bxc6 $2 ({It's time for the knight to return home with} 15...
Nxc6 {.}) 16. e4 Qe6 17. b4 {A very concrete move. After} (17. b3 {Black has
to figure out what to do with her minor pieces on the queenside.}) 17... Nac4
18. a4 a5 19. b5 Bd7 20. Nd5 {The Black pieces are starting to face some
serious problems.} Rec8 ({Of course} 20... Nxd5 $2 21. exd5 {loses the
c4-knight.}) 21. Ng5 Qe8 22. Nxb6 Nxb6 23. Qd3 Rd8 24. Qe3 Nc8 25. Bb2 Bh6 26.
h4 Bg7 {Black's last few moves expose her lack of a plan, but even now, it is
hard to suggest one. White enjoys a space advantage and has the superior
pieces.} 27. Bf1 {Very nice maneuvering to improve the only bad piece.} h6 28.
Nf3 Qe6 29. Ba3 Qe8 30. Bc4 {[#] That bishop pair is aimed right at the king!}
Bg4 31. Bd5 Rd7 32. Bb3 Rd8 33. Kg2 Ne7 34. Rxd8 Rxd8 35. Nh2 Bc8 36. Rc1 Qd7
37. Nf3 Re8 38. Kg1 {White is in no rush, as her opponent's pieces are all
tied down and her position will eventually collapse.} Rd8 39. Bc5 Rf8 40. Rd1
Qe8 41. Bb6 Bd7 42. Bxa5 Kh7 43. Bc3 Bg4 44. Rc1 f6 45. Bb4 f5 46. Rc7 {
The loss of material is inevitable.} f4 47. gxf4 exf4 48. Qd3 Ng8 49. Bxf8 Qxf8
50. Ne5 Nf6 51. Nxg4 Nxg4 52. Qd7 Ne5 53. Qe7 Nf3+ 54. Kh1 Qh8 55. Rxb7 1-0

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.13"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Zatonskih, Anna"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "2402"]
[BlackElo "2422"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,57,26,16,40,36,39,7,11,-9,-2,10,10,-16,3,-31,0,0,14,-29,-3,-49,-2,1,
18,17,12,-12,0,-14,-11,-36,-20,-14,5,-43,-37,-40,-35,-49,-46,-60,-60,-60,-61,
-50,-37,-40,-19,-20,-21,-38,30,58,58,84,85,56,308,331]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5
c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. O-O {Repeating the same line she played
against me in the first round.} dxc3 {Anna deviates, though I am not a fan of
this capture. It seems to give White everything she wants.} 8. Nxc3 Ne7 9. h4
h6 10. h5 Qd8 {As in my game with Carissa, Black has to figure out how to
complete development. It's even harder now that the white knight is on the
c3-square.} 11. Be3 Nec6 12. Rc1 Be7 13. Bb1 {Preventing Black from castling;}
Na5 ({after} 13... O-O 14. Qd3 {presents major problems for Black.}) 14. Qd4
Nbc6 {Tempting and natural, but Black's knights are now superflous.} (14... Nc4
15. Qg4 Nxe3 16. Qxg7 Nxf1 17. Qxh8+ Bf8 {is some kind of insane computer line
that would never happen in a game, but Stockfish thinks that Black is finally
doing OK here.}) 15. Qg4 Kf8 {[#]} 16. b3 $1 {Keeping the a5-knight out of the
game. This reminds me a bit of the Begim-Carissa game from round five.} Rc8 17.
Ne2 b6 18. Rcd1 Rc7 19. Qg3 Bc8 20. Nfd4 {Now that the king is on the
f8-square, White's plan of opening the f-file is very logical.} Nxd4 21. Nxd4
Nc6 22. Nb5 Rd7 23. f4 d4 24. Bf2 Bc5 25. f5 exf5 26. Bxf5 Re7 27. Be4 Nxe5 {
[#]} 28. b4 $1 Bxb4 29. Rxd4 {In an echo of the game against Irina, here a
rook on d4 wins material with a double attack!} 1-0

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.13"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Lee, Megan"]
[Black "Paikidze, Nazi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2211"]
[BlackElo "2374"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r6/8/7k/q3bQpN/6P1/2P2P2/1PK1R1P1/8 w - - 0 56"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[#]} 56. Rxe5 $4 {A blunder that gives away a half-point.} Qa4+ $4 {Black
returns the favor immediately. Psychology is a funny thing: if this position
was given to Nazi as a puzzle, she would doubtless have found the correct} (
56... Rxb2+ $3 {Here the key idea is that the Black king is stalemated. All
she has to do is give away her remaining pieces.} 57. Kxb2 ({or} 57. Kd3 Rd2+
58. Kxd2 Qxc3+ 59. Ke2 Qd2+ 60. Kf1 Qf2+ 61. Kxf2 {stalemate}) 57... Qxc3+ 58.
Kb1 Qb2+ 59. Kxb2 {a miraculous draw!}) 57. Kc1 Qa1+ 58. Qb1 Qa6 59. Ng3 Rd8
60. Nf5+ Kh7 61. Nd6+ Kh8 62. Nf7+ Kg7 63. Nxd8 Qf1+ 64. Kc2 Qf2+ 65. Kd3 1-0

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.16"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Nemcova, Katerina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A87"]
[WhiteElo "2429"]
[BlackElo "2331"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/P5k1/2nr2p1/3p1p1p/4p2P/4P1P1/3RBPK1/3R4 w - - 0 38"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[#]} 38. Rxd5 $1 {Taking advantage of the overworked rook.} Rxd5 39. Rxd5 Ra8
({The rook can not be captured, of course:} 39... Rxd5 40. a8=Q {.}) 40. Rc5 $1
Nxa7 41. Ra5 {Black cannot move her pieces, and the king doesn't have time to
run to the queenside because White will simply capture all the kingside pawns!}
Kh6 42. Ra6 {Black is in zugzwang.} Kg7 43. Bc4 Rc8 44. Rxa7+ Kf6 45. Ra6+ Kg7
46. Bb5 Rb8 47. Ba4 Kf7 48. Rd6 Kg7 49. Kf1 Kf7 50. Ke2 Rb4 51. Bc2 Rb2 52. Kd2
Kg7 53. Kc3 Ra2 54. Rb6 Ra1 55. Rb1 Ra2 56. Rb2 Ra3+ 57. Bb3 Ra1 58. Ra2 Rb1
59. Bc4 Rd1 60. Ra6 Rd8 61. Bb5 Kf7 62. Ra7+ Ke6 63. Rg7 Kf6 64. Rd7 Ra8 65.
Kd4 Ke6 66. Kc5 Ra5 67. Rd6+ Kf7 68. Ra6 1-0

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.17"]
[Round "10.4"]
[White "Paikidze, Nazi"]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2374"]
[BlackElo "2402"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1q1k2r/2pb1pb1/p2p1nn1/Pp1Pp1pp/4P3/2N1B1PP/1PP2PBK/R2QRN2 w kq - 0 22"]
[PlyCount "28"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[#]} 22. f4 $4 {An apparent hallucination; I think Nazi thought she could
take on f4 twice with a pawn.} ({White would have had a big edge after} 22. Na2
{with the idea of c2-c4 and opening the queenside.}) ({Nazi did manage to
avoid a trick: after} 22. Bxg5 h4 23. g4 Bxg4 24. hxg4 $2 Nxg4+ $1 {the
f2-pawn is not defended, i.e.} 25. Kg1 h3 26. Bf3 h2+ {when Black wins.}) 22...
gxf4 23. gxf4 exf4 24. e5 {Black has many options here, including taking
another pawn on e5!} Ng4+ 25. hxg4 hxg4+ 26. Kg1 dxe5 27. Bc5 Qd8 28. Ne4 f5
29. d6 c6 {Black's pawns will roll down the board and overwhelm the white king.
} 30. Bb6 Qh4 31. Bf2 Qh5 32. Qd3 fxe4 33. Bxe4 Nf8 34. Bd4 f3 35. Bxf3 gxf3 {
With this resignation, a new champion was crowned.} 0-1

[Event "2021 U.S. Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.11"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Lenderman, Alexander"]
[Black "Sevian, Samuel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E53"]
[WhiteElo "2705"]
[BlackElo "2728"]
[Annotator "Lenderman"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/1b1n1pp1/7p/8/3B4/2P5/4BPPP/6K1 w - - 0 31"]
[PlyCount "219"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} {White has an extra pawn and two bishops against a bishop and knight. It
looks like this should lead to a fairly easy win, but things aren’t nearly
that simple! Black is still very solid. He has no pawn weaknesses, no bad
pieces, and there aren’t a lot of pawns left on the board. All of this
complicates the win a bit. At the board, I thought that the game would somehow
slowly win itself, but this was optimistic.   In this position I had to find
the correct plan here to maximize my winning chances; unfortunately, I
didn’t discover the best way forward, which allowed Sevian to fight bravely
for a very long time. The defense was ultimately too taxing, although he did
have a few drawing opportunities along the way.} 31. Bb5 $6 {This is very
natural, trying to ask the knight where he wants to go. On the other hand, the
knight probably wants to go to the e6-square anyway!} ({As it turned out, I
think my best plan began with} 31. f4 $1 {During the game, I didn't want to
rush with this move - pawns can't go backwards, and I wanted to keep the
option of restricting his b7-bishop. But the bishop is aquite active and
cannot easily be restricted, and it's not clear that it's really necessary to
restrict it. Instead, I should focus on trying to get space on the kingside,
and try to create a second weakness. Black has several defensive ideas, but
none of them are successful. Here are a few sketches:} Nf8 ({After} 31... g6 {
I can damage his pawn structure with} 32. Kf2 h5 33. f5 $18) (31... f5 $2 {
fails to} 32. Bc4+ {[%cal Gc4e6] when Bc4-e6 is crushing.}) ({and after} 31...
f6 {White slowly advances with} 32. Kf2 Kf7 33. g3 Be4 34. Ke3 Bf5 35. c4 $18 {
and White should win.}) 32. Kf2 Ne6 ({or} 32... f6 33. Bc4+ Kh7 34. g3 Kg6 35.
Ke3) 33. Be5 f6 34. Bd6 {. Here it's very difficult for Black to activate his
king and coordinate his pieces.}) 31... Nf8 32. Bc5 Ne6 33. Bd6 g6 34. f3 Kg7
35. Kf2 h5 36. h4 $6 {Imprecise. This allows ...f7-f6 and ...g6-g5, which
exchanges more pawns. It also limits my pawn mobility.} ({Better was} 36. Ke3
h4 37. c4 ({or} 37. Bd7 Bd5 38. Bb5 {and c3-c4 anyway}) 37... Kf6 38. Bd7 Ng7
39. Kd3 Nf5 40. Bb4 h3 41. g4 Nh4 42. f4 Nf3 43. g5+ {when White wins.}) 36...
Bd5 ({Black should try} 36... f6 {followed by ...g6-g5, as above.}) 37. c4 Bb7
38. Ke3 Kf6 39. Bb4 ({Better is} 39. Bd7 Ng7 40. g4) ({or I can turn to the
queenside with} 39. c5 Nd8 40. Kd4 Nc6+ 41. Kc3 Kg7 42. Ba4 Kf6 43. Kc4 {.})
39... Nd8 40. Bc3+ Ke7 41. Be1 Nc6 42. Bg3 Ke6 {[#] Compare this position with
the initial diagram. Black’s chances of holding now are much better than
they were at move 30. But I doubt that anyone predicted that the game would
last almost 100 more moves! With both of us in time pressure, the follow moves
are certainly not precise. I missed several winning plans, while Sam had
multiple drawing opportunities. But in the end, the continual pressure wore
him down, and I was able to break through.} 43. Bf2 Kf5 44. Ba4 Ke6 45. Be1 Kd6
46. Bb5 Ke6 47. Kd3 Kd6 48. Bg3+ Ke6 49. Kc3 f6 50. Ba4 Ne7 51. Bf2 Nc6 52. Be3
Ne7 53. Bf2 Nc6 54. Bc2 Ne7 55. Kb4 g5 56. Kb5 Kd7 57. Kb6 Bc6 58. Kc5 Ke6 59.
Be1 Kd7 60. Bg3 Bb7 61. Be1 ({One key improvement would have began with} 61.
Ba4+ {. More generally, I should have also been willing to exchange bishop to
enter a winning bishop versus knight ending.}) 61... Bc6 62. hxg5 fxg5 63. Bd2
g4 64. fxg4 hxg4 65. g3 Bf3 66. Bf4 Ke6 67. Bh7 Be2 68. Be4 Bf3 69. Bd3 Nc6 70.
Bc2 Ne5 71. Kd4 Nc6+ 72. Kc3 Ne7 73. Bh7 Kf7 74. Bc2 Ke6 75. Bb3 Nc6 76. Ba4
Kf6 77. Bc2 Ke6 78. Be3 Ke5 79. Bh7 Ne7 80. Bd4+ Ke6 81. Bd3 Nc6 ({Here Sevian
might have tried to tie my bishop to the defense of the g3-pawn with the
thematic} 81... Nf5 {.}) 82. Bc5 Ne5 83. Bf1 Nc6 84. Be3 Ke5 85. Bd3 Ke6 86.
Bc2 Ke5 87. Bh7 Ne7 88. Kb4 Ke6 89. Kb5 Be2 90. Bf4 Kf7 91. Bc2 Ke6 92. Kc5 Nf5
93. Be4 Ne7 94. Bb7 Bf3 95. Ba6 Be2 96. Kb6 Ng6 97. Bc7 Ne5 98. Bc8+ Nd7+ 99.
Kc6 Bf3+ 100. Kb5 Be2 101. Bf4 Ke7 102. Kc6 Nf6 103. c5 Bf3+ 104. Kb5 Kd8 105.
Bf5 Nd5 106. Bd6 Be2+ 107. Ka5 Ne3 108. Be4 Nc4+ ({After the correct} 108...
Bf3 {Sevian would have continued to put up very strong resistance. In the game
I was eventually able to convert, despite missing some quicker wins.}) 109. Kb4
Bf3 110. Bd3 Ne3 111. Kc3 Nd5+ 112. Kd4 Ne7 113. Ke5 Nc6+ 114. Kf4 Nd4 115. Ke3
Ne6 116. Bf5 Ng5 117. Kd4 Nf7 118. Bg6 Ng5 119. Ke5 Kd7 120. Bf5+ Kc6 121. Kf4
Nh3+ 122. Ke3 Ng1 123. Bd3 Bd5 124. Bc2 Nf3 125. Ba4+ Kb7 126. Bd7 Nh2 127. Kf4
Bf3 128. Kg5 Bd5 129. Bxg4 Nxg4 130. Kxg4 Kc6 131. Kf5 Kd7 132. g4 Be6+ 133.
Kg5 Kc6 134. Kh5 Kd7 135. g5 Bc4 136. Kh6 Bb3 137. g6 Bc4 138. Kg7 Bd3 139. Kf7
Bc4+ 140. Kf8 1-0

[Event "2021 U.S. Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.14"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Swiercz, Dariusz"]
[Black "Lenderman, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2730"]
[BlackElo "2705"]
[Annotator "Lenderman"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r5k1/p5bp/2pBRn2/5pp1/8/2N4P/PP3PP1/6K1 w - - 0 23"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,138,19,31,41,48,30,43,70,34,29,8,8,13,28,43,20,-2,8,23,23,8,17,9,1,16,
39,18,24,31,40,40,24,42,75,38,28,38,31,24,37,32,94,91,64,90,80,57,37,69,44,38,
46,39,87,86,86,94,101,103,102,82,93,93,102,82,102,82,93,102,108,108,113,104,
103,103,110,119,116,116,124,124,129,129,129,129,129,123,139,128,123,94,144,159,
152,120,119,116,95,81,81,98,112,131,128,122,115,104,98,67,98,79,89,85,82,48,48,
44,33,1,17,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] [#]} {After an
unsuccessful opening, I ended up here, in a very unpleasant endgame. This is
the first critical moment, and Swiercz had a chance to make me suffer for a
long time.} 23. Be7 $6 {Very tempting and not unexpected, but objectively not
the best move.} ({I calculated} 23. Be5 $6 {but it doesn't yield anything after
} Re8 $1 24. Rxf6 Rxe5 25. Rxc6 Re1+ 26. Kh2 Bd4 $1 {when Black gets enough
counterplay.}) (23. Re5 $2 {Is just a blunder due to} Ne4 {.}) ({The very
strong} 23. Ba3 $3 {secures serious winning chances. It defends the b2-square 
(in case of ...Nf6-d5, ...Nf6-e4, or ...Ra8-b8) and it creates threats like
Re6xc6 and Re6-e5. I end up down a pawn, but in this case, without much
compensation. The honest truth is that I missed this move! After} Re8 ({or} 
23... Rc8 24. Re5 Ne4 25. Rxf5 {with a big advantage}) 24. Rxc6 {White is
better.}) 23... Kf7 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. Rxc6 Rd8 {Here I thought I was out of
the woods thanks to my counterplay, but Swiercz found a very good idea to pose
some problems.} 26. g4 $5 {A good practical try.} ({After the alternative} 26.
Rc7+ Kg6 27. Rxa7 Rd2 28. Ra6 Kg7 {I thought I should make an easy draw thanks
to ...Rd2xb2 and ...Bf6-d4 ideas.}) 26... Bxc3 $6 {This condems me to suffer
for a long time.} ({Instead} 26... Rd2 $1 {was a pretty simple draw, i.e.} 27.
gxf5 Bxc3 $1 ({not} 27... Bd4 $2 28. Ne4) 28. Rxc3 Rxb2 29. Ra3 Kf6 30. Rxa7
Kxf5 {and Black easily holds this endgame. My king and rook are very active, a
pair of pawns have been exchanged on the kingside, and the a2-pawn is very
easily stopped.}) 27. Rxc3 fxg4 28. hxg4 Rd2 29. Rc7+ Kg6 30. Rb7 {[#]} a5 $6 {
Very natural , but a serious inaccuracy. My position has gone downhill and I'm
on the brink of being lost.} ({I didn't consider} 30... Rd4 $3 {, but it
should lead to a draw with best play. White has several winning tries, but
they do not yield anything special.} 31. Rxa7 {Here I have enough counterplay
against the two connected passers thanks to my h-pawn.} ({It looks like} 31. f3
{is another winning attempt but there is a drawback:} Rd2 $1 {White is facing
two problems: the f3-pawn became a hook and the king is cut off.} 32. a3 (32.
Rxa7 Rxb2 {Is also a fairly easy draw.}) 32... h5 $1 {and here I'm able to
exchange a pair of pawns, which wasn't possible in the game.} 33. gxh5+ Kxh5
34. b4 Kh4 35. Rxa7 Kg3 {. Black has enough counterplay for a draw.}) 31...
Rxg4+ 32. Kf1 {The king cannot stay on the g- or h-files without being checked
endlessly.} (32. Kh2 h5 33. Ra6+ Kf5 34. a3 Rh4+ 35. Kg2 Rg4+ 36. Kf1 h4) 32...
h5 {But now the king is cut off, and the h-pawn will be enough counterplay for
Black to make a draw. One sample variation is} 33. Ra8 h4 34. Rd8 Rc4 35. Kg2
g4 36. Rd2 Rc1 37. b4 Rb1 38. a3 Kf5 39. Rd4 h3+ 40. Kh2 Rb2 41. Kg1 Rb1+ {
with equality.}) ({I did consider} 30... h5 $2 {right away, but it fails due to
} 31. Rxa7 hxg4 32. Rb7 {. The difference between this line and that after 30..
.Rd4 is that the doubled g-pawns are useless, unable to help drum up
counterplay. Worse, activating the king will cost me a pawn.}) 31. Rb6+ Kf7 32.
Rb5 Kf6 33. Kg2 a4 $6 {Another surprising inaccuracy.} ({The correct} 33... Rd4
$1 34. Kg3 Ra4 35. a3 Rd4 {is a very obscure idea, one that I don't even fully
understand to this day!}) 34. a3 $2 {Stopping ...a4-a3, this is a very natural
move to make, especially in time pressure.} ({As it turns out, Swiercz had to
play} 34. Rb6+ $1 {, prophylaxis against the idea that was available on move
34.}) 34... Rd4 $2 {But I don't take advantage of an unusual opportunity, one
that admittedly didn't even occur to me!} ({The correct move was} 34... Rd6 $3
35. Rb4 Ra6 {[#] . Amazing! If someone were to have shown Tarrasch this, he'd
say that it was a sign that the player didn't understand basic endgames! How
much things have changed with Stockfish 14!  It turns out that I really need
my place rook on this passive square in order to play ...Kf6-g6 and ...h7-h5,
generating counterplay on the kingside without fear of a side check. Black is
holding this position with best play.}) 35. Kf3 {White is back in business.}
Rf4+ 36. Kg3 Rd4 37. Rb6+ Kf7 38. Rb7+ Kg6 39. Rb6+ Kf7 40. Rb7+ ({Not} 40. Rb4
$4 Rxb4 41. axb4 Ke6 {with equality.}) 40... Kg6 41. Rb4 {White played very
accurately here. First, he repeated moves twice to make the time control on
move 40. He also forced my king to the g6-square, so that he could play Rb7-b4
without my being able to transpose into a pawn endgame.} Rd3+ 42. Kg2 Rd2 43.
Kf3 Rc2 44. Ke3 {Here I was getting seriously worried about the possibility of
losing the game. Indeed, I'm now only hanging on by a thread.} h6 45. f3 $6 ({
The correct path was} 45. Rb6+ Kg7 46. f4 {with excellent winning chances.})
45... Kg7 $6 {[#]} ({After} 45... Rg2 $1 {, stopping f3-f4, I would still be
within the drawing margin.} 46. Kd4 Rf2 47. Ke4 Kf7 48. Ke5) 46. Rxa4 $2 {
After Sweircz thought for a long time, this move came as a relief for me. I
can survive here, and in many lines by just one tempo.} ({The correct} 46. f4
$1 {was probably winning, or, better put, it would have been practically
impossible for me to defend against. The idea is a bit strange, as you don’t
want to generally trade pawns when you’re up material. But Black’s main
problem is that the liquidation of the kingside pawns doesn’t guarantee the
draw - the a4-pawn is still very weak. In fact, White can easily collect it
with the king. My only hope is potential counterplay against his kingside
pawns if he shifts his king to the queenside. The f3-f4 idea rids him of his
only weakness:} gxf4+ 47. Kxf4 Kf6 48. Rb6+ Kg7 49. Ke5 Rc5+ 50. Kd6 Rg5 51.
Rb4 Ra5 52. Kc7 Kf6 53. Kb6 Ra8 54. Kb5 Kg5 55. Re4 Ra7 56. Kb4 {and here
White should win.} Rb7+ $1 {The most tenacious.} (56... Ra8 $6 57. b3 axb3 58.
Kxb3 {[%cal Ga3a4]} h5 59. gxh5 Kxh5 60. a4 Kg5 61. Kb4 Kf5 62. Re1 Rb8+ 63.
Kc5 Ra8 64. Kb5 Rb8+ 65. Kc6 Ra8 66. Ra1 {is winning for White.}) 57. Kxa4 Rxb2
58. Rb4 Re2 59. Kb5 Kf6 60. a4 Ke6 61. Kc6 Rc2+ 62. Kb7 Ra2 63. Kb6 Kd7 64. a5
Kc8 65. Rc4+ $1 Kb8 66. Rc6 Rb2+ 67. Kc5 Rg2 (67... Rh2 68. Rg6 Kb7 69. Kd4) (
67... Ra2 $6 68. Rxh6 Rxa5+ 69. Kb6 $18) 68. Rg6 Rg1 69. Kd4 Rg3 70. Ke5 Rg1
71. Kf4 Rh1 72. Kf3 Kb7 73. a6+ Ka7 74. Kg3 Ka8 75. Kg2 Rh4 76. Rg7 Kb8 77. Kg3
Rh1 78. a7+ Ka8 79. Rh7 Rg1+ 80. Kf3 Rf1+ 81. Kg2 Rf6 82. Kg3 {[%cal Gg3h4,
Gh4h5] and eventually White breaks through.}) 46... Rxb2 47. Rb4 Ra2 48. Rb3 h5
$1 {This was the last big calculation I needed to make, as I had to be sure
that I'm in time to exchange all the kingside pawns AND return with my king to
the drawing zone.} 49. gxh5 Kh6 50. Kd4 Kxh5 51. Kc5 g4 52. fxg4+ Kxg4 53. Kb4
({After} 53. Rb4+ Kf5 54. a4 Ke6 55. Kb6 Kd7 56. a5 Kc8 $1 {I make a draw by
one tempo!}) 53... Kf4 54. Rh3 Ke5 55. Rh6 Kd5 56. a4 Rb2+ 57. Ka5 Kc5 58. Ka6
Rb8 {The rest is relatively easy.} 59. Ka7 Rg8 60. a5 Rg7+ 61. Ka6 Rg8 62. Kb7
Rg7+ 63. Ka6 Rg8 64. Rh7 Ra8+ 65. Ra7 Rxa7+ 66. Kxa7 Kc6 67. a6 Kc7 68. Ka8 Kb6
69. a7 Kc7 {An epic endgame!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "2021 U.S. Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.18"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"]
[Black "Lenderman, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A05"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2705"]
[Annotator "Lenderman"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1n4k1/4ppnp/p2p2p1/2p5/2P1PP2/3P1NPP/P5K1/5N2 w - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "185"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,253,34,20,23,1,39,16,22,0,0,-44,-13,-11,58,69,71,69,69,48,47,52,68,33,
33,22,22,8,17,12,11,1,-2,4,-22,-31,-28,-1,-5,-5,-1,-19,-3,-8,10,-2,6,0,3,6,-1,
7,5,9,4,5,17,3,19,19,12,15,21,26,32,31,33,36,32,17,17,16,16,19,37,39,28,37,64,
77,67,54,42,31,30,45,53,40,46,42,42,19,45,36,36,38,37,37,37,22,49,67,66,72,66,
72,69,69,69,79,79,77,77,77,77,85,79,79,87,67,66,93,93,93,93,93,93,55,58,58,58,
58,120,135,145,145,145,153,153,153,166,173,178,178,209,209,216,204,199,189,295,
307,309,314,318,316,316,316,316,316,316,321,321,342,344,337,337,337,337,332,
337,329,328,313,328,275,284,314,314,301,314,301,314,328,328,272,328,328,328,
301,328,286,328,272,328,269,277,272,280,262,271,262,262,262,262,271,271,271,
271,271,271,271,271,271,271,241,271,255,271,271,271,255,271,271,271,271,271,
271,271,206,224,217,227,227,221,232,242,242,242,227,242,242,242,242,242,242,
242,242,242,242,242,242,242,242,242,240] [#]} {In this position I thought that
the endgame was roughly equal, but I also believed that I might be the only
one with winning chances due to my control of the d4-square. This is a
misevaluation, and in truth, I have to be careful here. I do have the
d4-square, but he has more central control, and he can activate his king more
easily.} 35. Ne3 Nc6 36. Nd5 Ne8 $6 {Already a step in the wrong direction.} ({
Everything stayed under control with} 36... f6 {, with ...e6-e5 to follow,
while making sure there is no e4-e5 for White.}) 37. Kf2 Kf8 38. Ke3 Na5 $6 {
Another mistake, misplacing the knight. I was trying to stop d3-d4, but I
could have discouraged it without misplacing my piece.} ({The position after} 
38... Ng7 39. d4 cxd4+ 40. Nxd4 Nxd4 41. Kxd4 Ne6+ {should still be equal.})
39. e5 Nc6 $6 {[#]} (39... f6 {is still a good idea.}) 40. a3 ({Now} 40. d4 $1
{leads to a very serious advantage for White. Luckily, we were at move 40, and
it's hard to make such a commital decision while trying to make the time
control. After both} dxe5 ({and} 40... cxd4+ 41. Nxd4) 41. dxe5 {White is
firmly in the driver's seat.} (41. Nxe5 $5)) 40... f6 41. exd6 ({While not as
strong as on the previous move,} 41. d4 {is still good.}) 41... exd6 42. g4 Kf7
{The endgame is very unpleasant for Black. I was very happy to find a way to
reach a defendable queen and pawn against queen endgame.} 43. Ke4 Ne7 44. Nxe7
Kxe7 45. d4 Nc7 46. dxc5 dxc5 47. f5 Kd6 48. h4 Ne8 49. g5 fxg5 50. hxg5 Ng7
51. Nh4 Nxf5 52. Nxf5+ gxf5+ 53. Kxf5 Ke7 {[#] After some serious calculation,
I realized that the best White can do here is reach an endgame with a queen
and a-pawn against a queen. This should be a theoretical draw. I had some
experience with this kind of position in the 2021 U.S. Championship, where I
was the one trying to win the game against GM and endgame specialist Dmitry
Gurevich. Now that experience was helping me more than a decade later in the
same tournament!} 54. Ke5 Kf7 55. Kd5 Kg6 56. Kxc5 Kxg5 57. Kb6 h5 58. c5 h4
59. c6 h3 60. c7 h2 61. c8=Q h1=Q 62. Qc5+ Kf4 63. a4 Qa8 64. Qd6+ Ke4 65. a5
Kf5 ({My task would have been a bit easier after} 65... Qd5 66. Qe7+ Kd4 67.
Qb4+ Ke5 68. Kxa6 Qa8+) 66. Qe7 Qc8 67. Qb7 Qe6+ 68. Ka7 Qd6 69. Qb6 Qa3 70.
Kxa6 Kg4 $1 {[#] Moving my king as far from the pawn as possible in order to
shield my king from cross-checks that would force queen exchanges. This is a
typical idea in these kinds of positions.} 71. Qd4+ Kh3 72. Kb5 Qb3+ 73. Qb4
Qd5+ 74. Ka4 Kh2 {The idea here is to be able to give a check on a2, without
allowing Qb4-a3+, which would force a queen exchange.} ({Of course} 74... Qa2+
$4 75. Qa3+ {would be a very sad way to end a good U.S. Championship!}) 75. a6
Qa2+ 76. Kb5 Qd5+ 77. Qc5 Qb3+ 78. Kc6 Qa4+ 79. Kb7 Qb3+ 80. Qb6 Qd5+ 81. Qc6
Qb3+ 82. Kc8 Qg8+ 83. Kc7 Qf7+ 84. Qd7 Qc4+ 85. Qc6 Qf7+ 86. Kd6 Qf6+ 87. Kd5
Qf3+ 88. Kc5 Qe3+ 89. Kd6 Qf4+ 90. Ke6 Qh6+ 91. Kd7 Qg7+ 92. Kd6 Qf6+ 93. Kc7
Qe7+ 94. Kc8 Qf8+ 95. Kb7 Qb4+ 96. Qb6 Qe4+ 97. Ka7 Kh3 ({After} 97... Qe7+ 98.
Ka8 Qe4+ 99. Qb7 {I run out of checks in light of} Qe8+ $4 100. Qb8+ {.}) 98.
Qd6 Qe3+ 99. Kb7 Qb3+ 100. Kc7 Qc4+ 101. Qc6 Qf4+ 102. Qd6 Qc4+ 103. Kb6 Qb3+
104. Ka5 Qa2+ 105. Kb4 Qb2+ 106. Kc4 Qc2+ 107. Kd4 Qd2+ 108. Ke5 Qg5+ 109. Ke4
Qg2+ 110. Kf5 Qg4+ 111. Kf6 Qh4+ 112. Kg6 Qe4+ 113. Kg7 Qg4+ 114. Qg6 Qd7+ 115.
Qf7 Qd4+ 116. Qf6 Qa7+ 117. Kg6 Qg1+ 118. Kf7 Qa7+ 119. Kf8 Qb8+ 120. Ke7 Qa7+
121. Kd8 Qb8+ 122. Kd7 Qa7+ 123. Kc8 Qa8+ 124. Kd7 Qa7+ 125. Ke8 Qa8+ 126. Kf7
Qa7+ 127. Kg8 {Here I invoked the 50-move rule - no pawns have moved since
move 75 - and was relieved to earn the draw.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Moscow International-B"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1985.04.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lerner, Konstantin Z"]
[Black "Kaidanov, Gregory S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D44"]
[WhiteElo "2520"]
[BlackElo "2415"]
[Annotator "Kaidanov"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "1985.04.12"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[EventCategory "8"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. a4 Qb6 8. Bxf6
gxf6 9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O a6 11. b3 cxb3 12. Qxb3 Nd7 13. d5 cxd5 14. exd5 Nc5 {
[#]} 15. Qb4 Nd7 $2 (15... Nxa4 $1 16. Nxa4 Qxf2+ $1 17. Kxf2 Bxb4) 16. Qh4 b4
17. dxe6 fxe6 18. Ne4 Bg7 19. Rfd1 Bd5 20. a5 Qb8 21. Qh5+ Ke7 22. Rxd5 exd5
23. Qxd5 Rc8 24. Rd1 Nf8 25. Nd6 Ne6 26. Nd4 1-0

[Event "Moscow International-B"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1985.04.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tseshkovsky, Vitaly"]
[Black "Kaidanov, Gregory S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C80"]
[WhiteElo "2505"]
[BlackElo "2415"]
[Annotator "Kaidanov"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "1985.04.12"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[EventCategory "8"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5
Be6 9. Be3 Be7 10. Nbd2 Nc5 11. c3 {[#]} Nd3 12. Qc2 Ndxe5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14.
Bd4 f6 15. Rfe1 Qd6 (15... Bf7 16. Bxe5 fxe5 17. Rxe5 O-O) 16. Rad1 Rd8 $2 (
16... O-O 17. Ne4 Qc6 (17... dxe4 18. Bxe5 Qxe5 19. Rxe4) (17... Qd7 $1) 18.
Bxe5 fxe5 19. Ng5 Bxg5 20. Rxe5) 17. Bxe5 fxe5 18. c4 Bg4 19. cxd5 Bxd1 20.
Qxd1 c5 21. dxc6 g6 $2 (21... Qxc6 22. Qh5+ g6 (22... Kd7 $3) 23. Qxe5) 22. Qe2
Bf6 23. Nf3 Kf8 24. g4 e4 25. Qxe4 Kg7 26. g5 Bxb2 27. Qc2 1-0

[Event "ch-USA w 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.17"]
[Round "10.1"]
[White "01.01 Eswaran, Ashritha"]
[Black "Zatonskih, A.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2244"]
[BlackElo "2422"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r4r/4bkpp/p3R3/3p1p2/2q5/PR6/2PQ1BPP/6K1 w - - 0 27"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 27. Rxe7+ $1 {Without this bishop, Black's king is defenseless.} Kxe7 28.
Qg5+ $1 ({The most accurate continuation. The alternatives are:} 28. Qe3+ $4
Kd7 {allows Black to defend.}) ({White also gets an advantage after} 28. Qe1+
Kf6 29. Bh4+ g5 30. Bxg5+ Kxg5 31. Qe7+ Kg6 32. Qd6+ Kg5 33. Rg3+ Qg4 34. h3
Qxg3 35. Qxg3+ {with a clear advantage, or}) (28. Rb7+ Rc7 29. Qg5+ Ke6 30.
Rb6+ Rc6 31. Rb1 Qg4 32. Re1+ Kf7 33. Re7+ Kf8 34. Qe3 {and White should win.})
28... Ke6 29. Re3+ Kd6 30. Qe7+ Kc6 31. Re6+ {and facing mate in a few moves,
Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA w 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.11"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "01.02 Cervantes, Thalia"]
[Black "Paikidze, N.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A86"]
[WhiteElo "2175"]
[BlackElo "2374"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r3/pp2r2k/2p3np/3P4/3b1Bq1/1P1N2P1/P1Q4P/4RR1K b - - 0 34"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 34... Re2 $1 {The obvious first move.} 35. Rxe2 Rxe2 36. Qd1 Qh5 $1 {
Threatening mate on h2.} 37. g4 Qxd5+ {Oh yes, that was the second threat.
White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "ch-USA w 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.09"]
[Round "4.6"]
[White "01.03 Foisor, S.."]
[Black "Abrahamyan, T.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D24"]
[WhiteElo "2205"]
[BlackElo "2344"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4rqk1/5ppp/Bp2n3/2p1PQ2/3P3B/1bP5/6PP/5RK1 w - - 0 27"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 27. Qb1 $1 (27. Bb5 $5 Rb8 $2 ({Black does not defend accurately; the
best was} 27... cxd4 28. Qb1 Bd5 {when White is clearly better but Black is
still alive}) 28. Qb1 $1 c4 29. Bd7 Qa3 30. Qf5 Rf8 31. Bxe6 fxe6 32. Qxe6+ Kh8
33. Rxf8+ Qxf8 34. Qxb6 {and White was winning and eventually converted.})
27... c4 {Now the bishop on b3 is disconnected from the kingside.} 28. Bb5 {
Kicking the rook away as well.} Rb8 29. Bd7 Qa3 30. Qf5 Rf8 {and now} 31. Bc6 {
or 31.Bxe6, which transposes to the game continuation, both win for White.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA w 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.13"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "01.04 Cervantes, Thalia"]
[Black "Sharevich, A.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2175"]
[BlackElo "2276"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/1p3qp1/p1p3r1/P1Nb1p1p/1P1Pp2n/4P1NP/3Q1PP1/2R1R1K1 b - - 0 31"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 31... f4 $1 ({The most direct approach, but also} 31... Rf8 {followed by
...f5-f4 and .. .Nxg2 should win for Black.}) 32. exf4 Nxg2 $1 ({Also winning
but not as precise is} 32... e3 33. Rxe3 Rxe3 34. Qxe3 Nxg2 35. Qe5 Nxf4 {
and Black is winning.}) 33. f5 Nxe1 34. fxg6 Nf3+ 35. Kh1 {The king cannot go
to f1 because of ...Nxd2+ and Kg2 is met in the same fashion as the game
continuation.} Qxg6 36. Qe3 h4 37. Ne2 Rf8 38. Ng1 Qd6 {Game over!} 39. Nxf3
Rxf3 40. Nxe4 Rxe3 {and White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "ch-USA w 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.16"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "01.05 Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Eswaran, Ashritha"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B15"]
[WhiteElo "2402"]
[BlackElo "2244"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1br1r1k1/p4pp1/2p1b1n1/1pP2pP1/q2P3p/P2BB2P/1P1QNP2/1K1RR3 w - - 0 22"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 22. d5 $1 {A brilliant stroke that rips Black's position apart.} Bxd5 ({
Or} 22... cxd5 23. Nd4 Bd7 24. c6 Bxc6 25. Bxf5 Bb7 26. f4 Rc7 27. Bd3 {
and White has a large advantage}) 23. Nc3 $1 Qa6 ({The alternatives are no
better:} 23... Qb3 24. Bc2 Qc4 25. b3 {traps Black's queen while}) (23... Qa5
24. Nxd5 Qxd2 25. Bxd2 cxd5 26. Bxf5 Rxe1 27. Rxe1 {and White is winning.}) 24.
Nxd5 cxd5 25. Bxf5 {Material balance has been restored but White has the
bishop pair, a guarded passed pawn, and the better coordinated pieces, in
other words, White has a winning position. The eventual US champion expertly
converts her advantage.} Rcd8 26. Bd4 Be5 ({Or} 26... Rxe1 27. Rxe1 Qc6 28. Qc3
{with a decisive advantage for White.}) 27. Bxe5 Rxe5 28. Rxe5 Nxe5 29. Qf4 Ng6
30. Qc7 Re8 31. Qd6 (31. c6 $1 {sends the pawn forward to its eventual
destination: the c8-square.}) 31... Qa4 32. Bc2 Qa5 33. Qxd5 Re1 34. Rxe1 Qxe1+
35. Ka2 Nf8 36. Bb3 Qe7 37. c6 Ne6 38. g6 Kf8 39. Qf5 Nc7 40. Qc8+ {and Black
resigned.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA w 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.16"]
[Round "9.5"]
[White "01.06 Zatonskih, A.."]
[Black "Foisor, S.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2422"]
[BlackElo "2205"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5rk1/1bq4p/4p1p1/p2pN3/1p1P4/1Pn2PP1/P1Q4P/1B2R1K1 w - - 0 29"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 29. Nxg6 $1 ({In the game, White played the weaker and more careful} 29.
Kg2 Qg7 30. Qd2 Ba6 31. a4 g5 32. Bc2 h5 33. Ng6 Rf6 34. Qxg5 {and White had a
decisive advantage which eventually was converted.}) 29... hxg6 30. Rxe6 $1 Qf7
({Or} 30... Rf7 31. Qxg6+ Kf8 32. Qh6+ Rg7 33. Qf6+ Qf7 34. Qd8+ {with mate to
follow.}) 31. Rxg6+ Kh8 32. Qd2 $1 {White has a lethal attack.} Rg8 33. Qh6+
Qh7 34. Rxg8+ {and White is winning.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.06"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "01.07 Swiercz, D.."]
[Black "Burke, John M"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "2647"]
[BlackElo "2554"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r1r2/bk1qn3/p1p1bp1p/1p1pP3/P2P2pN/3QN1P1/1PB2PP1/R3R1K1 w - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 24. axb5 $1 ({In the game, White did not find the best continuation} 24.
exf6 $2 Rxf6 25. axb5 cxb5 26. Qa3 Qd6 27. Nxg4 Qxa3 28. Rxa3 Bxg4 29. Rxe7+
Rd7 30. Rxd7+ Bxd7 {and Black had an advantage and eventually won the game.})
24... axb5 ({Or} 24... cxb5 25. Qa3 {and Black cannot defend the a6-pawn, for
instance,} Kb8 26. Qxa6 Nc6 27. Bf5 Bxf5 28. Nexf5 fxe5 29. dxe5 {and White
has a decisive advantage.}) 25. Rxa7+ $1 ({White also wins after} 25. exf6 Rxf6
26. Nxg4 Bxg4 27. Rxa7+ Kxa7 28. Qa3+ Kb7 29. Rxe7 {, picking up Black's queen.
}) 25... Kxa7 26. exf6 Rxf6 27. Qa3+ Kb6 28. Qc5+ Kb7 29. Nxg4 $1 {and White
wins in the same fashion as in the previous note.} 0-1

[Event "ch-USA 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.17"]
[Round "10.4"]
[White "01.08 Lenderman, A.."]
[Black "Caruana, F.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E62"]
[WhiteElo "2607"]
[BlackElo "2800"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4bk2/1R6/3p2pp/3P4/5pP1/3nrB1P/3q2Q1/5R1K b - - 0 41"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 41... Qc3 $1 {White is tied up, almost without counterplay. Black needs
to move forward with precision to finish White off.} 42. Qh2 ({Or} 42. g5 h5 $1
({Black could also win with} 42... Ne1 43. Qg4 Qc4 44. Bg2 Nxg2 45. Qxg2 hxg5 {
, but 42...h5 is more precise}) 43. Rbb1 Kg7 44. Rb7+ Bf7 45. Qh2 Qc8 46. Rb3
Qc4 47. Rxd3 Qxd3 {when d5-pawn will fall and once the bishop on f3 is gone,
White's last defensive line is gone.}) 42... g5 ({Also} 42... Bf7 43. g5 hxg5
44. Qg2 Qc8 45. Rfb1 Qf5 {gives Black a winning position, but Caruana focuses
on not letting White have a single a chance of counterplay.}) 43. Bg2 Ne5 ({
Several moves win, e.g.,} 43... Bf7) ({and} 43... Kg8 {.}) 44. Rbb1 Bf7 45.
Rbc1 Qd4 46. Rcd1 {White is hopelessly tied up, Black now just need a way
through.} Nd3 47. Rd2 Kg7 ({Or} 47... Bxd5 48. Bxd5 Qxd5+ 49. Kg1 Qd4 50. Qf2
Ke7 51. Rfd1 Rg3+ 52. Kf1 Nxf2 53. Rxd4 Nxd1 54. Rxd1 Rxh3 {and Black is
winning.}) 48. h4 {This looks like a bad idea but White is out of good moves.}
Qc4 49. Rfd1 Ne5 50. hxg5 hxg5 51. Rd4 Qc3 52. Qg1 Nxg4 53. R1d2 Qc8 54. Qa1
Qh8+ 55. Kg1 Qh2+ 56. Kf1 Rf3+ 57. Bxf3 Ne3+ 58. Ke1 Qg1+ 59. Ke2 Qxa1 {
and Black resigned.} 0-1

[Event "ch-USA 2021"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2021.10.18"]
[Round "11.6"]
[White "01.09 Burke, John M"]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2554"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1q1r1k1/bp1b1p2/3p2pp/p1p1P3/P2P1n2/1B1Q1N1P/1P3PP1/RN2R1K1 w - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2021.10.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 19. Qe4 $1 Ne6 20. Qh4 c4 21. Nbd2 $3 ({In the game, White played less
accurately:} 21. Nc3 $2 dxe5 $4 ({Black immediately returns the favor; with} 
21... Ng5 $1 {Black could have put up a defense}) 22. Qxh6 $1 Bc6 23. d5 cxb3
24. Ne4 Qd8 25. dxe6 {and Black resigned as their was no good way of
preventing Ng5, deciding the game.}) 21... Ng5 {Now, this move has less of an
effect because the knight on d2 can replace the other knight on f3 when it
gets captured.} ({None of Black's alternatives would have saved him:} 21...
Nxd4 22. Bxc4 Nxf3+ 23. Nxf3 dxe5 24. Rac1 Qd8 25. Qxh6 Qf6 26. Ng5) ({or} 
21... cxb3 22. Qxh6 Bc6 23. Ne4 Bxe4 24. Rxe4 Qd8 25. Rh4) ({or} 21... d5 22.
Bxc4 dxc4 23. Qxh6 {followed by Ne4, in all cases with a decisive advantage
for White.}) 22. Qxh6 Nxf3+ 23. Nxf3 cxb3 24. Ng5 {Threatening both Ne4 and
Nh7.} Be6 25. Nh7 {with Nf6+ to follow.} 1-0

[Event "PCA/Intel-GP"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1995.04.28"]
[Round "1.7"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Speelman, Jonathan S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2630"]
[BlackElo "2610"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 h6 {[#]} 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bc4
Nxc3 8. bxc3 Qc7 9. Qd3 Nc6 10. Nf3 e6 11. O-O Bd6 12. Re1 a6 13. a4 Na5 14.
Ba2 Bd7 15. Ne5 Rc8 16. Bd2 b6 17. Qg3 Bxe5 18. Rxe5 Kf8 19. d5 f6 (19... Nc4)
20. dxe6 fxe5 (20... Qxe5 21. exd7 Rd8 22. Bf4) 21. e7+ {[#]} (21. e7+ Ke8 (
21... Kxe7 22. Qxg7+) 22. Qg6+ Kxe7 23. Qxg7+ Ke8 (23... Kd8 24. Qf6+) (23...
Kd6 24. Qf6+ Be6 (24... Kc5 25. Be3#) 25. Qxe6+ Kc5 26. Be3#) 24. Qf7+ Kd8 25.
Qf6+ Ke8 26. Bf7+ Kf8 27. Bg6+ Kg8 28. Qf7#) 1-0

[Event "ABC-369"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1995.04.28"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/4b2b/8/7k/5K1N/3q4/5Q2/7R b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-369"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1995.04.28"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7k/4Q3/6b1/8/8/1Nq5/4B3/R2K4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-369"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1995.04.28"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4k3/6b1/2q5/8/8/8/8/1Q3KR1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-369"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1995.04.28"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/4k3/8/7r/2qQKR2/5P2/8 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-369"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1995.04.28"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/4qk1b/8/8/6PQ/5K1R b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-369"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1995.04.28"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/8/qk6/4n3/R7/Q1K5 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 0-1

[Event "NE State Ch"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.24"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Polacek"]
[Black "Nelson"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E67"]
[Annotator "Nelson"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2021.10.23"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[SourceTitle "CL 2022.01"]
[SourceDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. c4 d6 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nc3 c6 8. b3
e5 9. Bb2 e4 10. Nd2 d5 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Rc1 a6 13. Na4 Re8 14. e3 Nb6 15.
Nxb6 Qxb6 16. Rc3 Bg4 17. Qc2 Rac8 18. Rc1 h5 19. Nb1 Rxc3 20. Nxc3 Qe6 21. Na4
Qf5 22. Qc7 {[#]} Bh6 23. Qd6 Bf3 24. Bf1 Ng4 25. Rc3 Be2 26. f4 exf3 27. Bh3
f2+ 28. Kg2 Qf3# 0-1

