[Event "Clutch Chess Showdown Int"]
[Site "lichess.org INT"]
[Date "2020.06.14"]
[Round "3.11"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2835"]
[BlackElo "2863"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2020.06.06"]
[EventType "k.o. (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e5 4. O-O Bd6 5. c3 a6 6. Ba4 b5 7. Bc2 Nge7 8. d3
Ng6 9. Be3 O-O 10. Nbd2 Be7 11. Bb3 d6 12. Bd5 Qe8 13. d4 exd4 14. cxd4 Rb8 15.
Rc1 Nb4 16. dxc5 dxc5 17. Bxc5 Nxd5 18. exd5 Bxc5 19. Rxc5 Bb7 20. Nb3 Qd7 21.
Na5 Ba8 22. Nc6 Rbe8 23. Nfd4 Qd6 24. b4 Re4 25. Qf3 Rfe8 26. Nf5 Qd7 27. g3 h6
28. h4 Kh8 29. Ne3 Kg8 30. Rfc1 Nf8 31. Nf5 Nh7 32. Kg2 Kh8 33. Nb8 Qd8 34. Nc6
Qd7 35. Nb8 Qd8 36. Nxa6 Bxd5 37. Nc7 Bb7 38. Nxe8 Re7 {[#]} 39. Qxb7 Rxb7 40.
Ned6 Nf8 1-0

[Event "Candidates sf Spassky-Portisch +4-2=9"]
[Site "Geneve"]
[Date "1977.08.??"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Spassky, Boris Vasilievich"]
[Black "Portisch, Lajos"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B25"]
[WhiteElo "2610"]
[BlackElo "2625"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "1977.07.03"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. f4 e5 7. Nh3 exf4 8. Bxf4
Nge7 9. O-O h6 10. Rb1 O-O 11. a3 Be6 12. Be3 Ne5 13. Nf4 Bd7 14. Kh1 Rc8 15.
Qd2 Kh7 16. h3 Bc6 17. g4 Qd7 18. Rf2 b6 19. Rbf1 Bb7 20. Qe2 Rce8 21. Bc1 Kg8
22. Qe3 b5 23. Qg3 b4 24. axb4 cxb4 25. Nd1 d5 26. d4 N5c6 27. exd5 Nxd4 28. c4
bxc3 29. bxc3 Nb3 30. Ba3 Rc8 31. c4 Na5 32. Re2 Rfe8 33. Rfe1 Bf8 34. Nh5 {[#]
} Nxd5 35. cxd5 gxh5 36. gxh5+ Bg7 37. Bb2 f6 38. Bxf6 Rxe2 39. Rxe2 Qf7 40.
Re6 1-0

[Event "Karlsbad-03 International Masters"]
[Site "Karlovy Vary"]
[Date "1923.04.29"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Reti, Richard"]
[Black "Bernstein, Jacob"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A50"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7k/4Q3/3p2p1/2p2p1p/p1P1n1q1/5RP1/Pr3PK1/4R3 w - - 0 41"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "1923.04.30"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,87,25,19,31,-7,33,32,25,20,46,17,31,18,18,14,20,10,30,26,36,31,91,49,
50,33,27,30,37,45,54,39,23,39,60,3,10,-7,-22,-166,-43,-46,-46,-46,-41,-42,16,
-5,0,20,22,0,0,22,16,25,35,20,53,39,39,66,62,67,106,106,94,104,104,97,97,97,97,
97,105,104,79,109,333,238,304,333,353,342,359,390,390,399,677,734] [#]} 41.
Rxe4 Qxe4 (41... fxe4 42. Rf8#) 42. Qf6+ Kh7 43. Qxb2 g5 44. Qf6 1-0

[Event "Karlsbad-03 International Masters"]
[Site "Karlovy Vary"]
[Date "1923.05.06"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Bogoljubow, Efim"]
[Black "Thomas, George Alan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E76"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/r7/bR1p4/ppkNp3/2P1P3/8/PP1N4/2K5 w - - 0 40"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "1923.04.30"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,85,30,23,23,5,20,20,41,42,38,23,14,9,43,42,40,62,62,62,66,66,61,34,68,
47,55,46,50,41,37,37,58,38,51,13,64,60,64,31,21,67,176,119,245,334,215,224,320,
243,334,320,485,507,530,438,449,476,476,516,530,530,523,534,531,531,991,402,
404,399,396,404,404,417,411,422,419,425,646,652,811,29992,29993,854,29983,
29984,29985,29986] [#]} 40. Nb3+ Kxc4 41. Kd2 ({Faster is} 41. Kc2 Bb7 42. Rc6+
Bxc6 43. Nb6+ Kb4 44. a3#) 41... Bb7 42. Ne3+ Kb4 43. Nc2+ 1-0

[Event "Karlsbad-03 International Masters"]
[Site "Karlovy Vary"]
[Date "1923.05.15"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Yates, Frederick Dewhurst"]
[Black "Treybal, Karel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C75"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3b2k/1p3rp1/p1npNbp1/1q1B2B1/3P4/P6P/1P1Q1PP1/2R1R1K1 w - - 0 29"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "1923.04.30"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,59,19,24,19,13,21,19,18,2,18,18,9,9,34,67,35,28,35,-4,-4,4,19,-11,-15,
-5,19,15,64,42,66,72,88,86,68,61,56,98,73,62,117,105,112,163,195,179,191,179,
207,208,234,266,248,267,314,325,347,335,637,664,745,742] [#]} 29. Bxf6 Rxf6 (
29... gxf6 30. Qh6+) (29... Qxd5 30. Qh6+ Kg8 31. Nxg7) 30. Nc7 1-0

[Event "Karlsbad-03 International Masters"]
[Site "Karlovy Vary"]
[Date "1923.05.15"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Bogoljubow, Efim"]
[Black "Reti, Richard"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D64"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r2k1/5p2/1q2p1pQ/3b4/1P1N1P2/3BP3/r5PP/6RK b - - 0 36"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "1923.04.30"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,70,24,31,30,30,23,-4,9,26,22,22,43,24,43,24,39,35,26,25,58,29,59,56,
46,40,63,71,43,3,51,-11,-13,-23,-29,-23,-23,-3,5,-17,-21,-21,-40,-77,-81,-69,
-34,-63,-20,-3,-29,-21,-4,-14,-38,-87,-18,-33,-4,-93,-104,-105,-100,-107,-105,
-108,-102,-124,-129,-144,0,0,-73] [#]} 36... Bxg2+ (36... Qb7) 37. Rxg2 Ra1+
38. Rg1 Qb7+ (38... Qb7+ 39. e4 Rxg1+ 40. Kxg1 Qa7) 0-1

[Event "Karlsbad-03 International Masters"]
[Site "Karlovy Vary"]
[Date "1923.04.29"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Yates, Frederick Dewhurst"]
[Black "Nimzowitsch, Aron"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A07"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5rk1/8/2p5/3pq2p/R5pK/Q2P4/P5B1/8 b - - 0 42"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "1923.04.30"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,90,24,30,30,22,14,14,42,32,32,18,64,19,62,44,63,-10,58,57,52,45,51,50,
55,8,0,-7,-10,-12,0,-2,52,27,33,40,55,34,44,37,58,58,38,35,35,29,35,62,66,-168,
-170,-161,-126,-161,-167,-185,-130,-144,-145,-194,-168,-250,-205,-223,-235,
-235,-235,-488,-488,-488,-503,-758,-157,-154,-255,-316,-332,-310,-237,-213,
-215,-215,-233,-601,-638,-634,-672,-683,-751,-761,-780,-29993,-29994] [#]} 
42... Rf5 43. Ra8+ Kg7 44. Qa7+ Kh6 45. Qg1 Qf6+ (45... Qf6+ 46. Kg3 Rf3+ 47.
Bxf3 Qxf3+) 0-1

[Event "Karlsbad-03 International Masters"]
[Site "Karlovy Vary"]
[Date "1923.05.09"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Spielmann, Rudolf"]
[Black "Wolf, Heinrich"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C30"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/p1r2p2/5K2/6P1/7P/P1k5/2p5/2R5 b - - 0 41"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "1923.04.30"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,90,30,19,19,-6,13,7,-16,-21,26,2,2,13,82,-68,-45,-95,-29,-54,-44,-44,
-71,-60,-60,-70,-70,-101,-108,-106,-78,-123,-77,-65,-126,-55,-9,-7,-7,-3,-5,0,
0,0,0,0,0,0,16,9,8,-2,0,-11,-4,-43,-49,-49,-54,-70,-68,-70,-70,-54,-74,-74,-45,
-74,-34,-25,-3,-135,-166,-172,-103,-146,-214,-209,-241,-248,-243,-274,-274,
-599,-621,-651,-779,-816,-899,-943,-730,-818,-897] [#]} 41... Kb2 (41... Rc4) (
41... Kd2 42. Rxc2+ Rxc2 (42... Kxc2 43. h5) 43. h5) 42. Rg1 c1=Q 43. Rxc1 Rxc1
44. h5 (44. Kxf7 Rh1) 44... Rh1 45. h6 Rh5 0-1

[Event "44th Olympiad - Women"]
[Site "Chennai"]
[Date "2022.08.09"]
[Round "11.4"]
[White "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[Black "Bhakti, Kulkarni"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C58"]
[WhiteElo "2291"]
[BlackElo "2373"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2022.07.29"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "US of America (W)"]
[BlackTeam "India (W)"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]

{[%evp 0,69,25,20,15,16,16,20,15,-25,-14,-14,3,10,10,3,-11,-49,8,-43,0,0,0,0,0,
-5,-9,5,-15,-14,-3,-3,-6,-5,-8,-4,7,8,65,81,72,66,66,66,111,121,170,146,269,
269,279,275,261,269,290,270,297,292,298,299,325,260,260,230,297,305,301,205,
332,360,398,383]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 {The last time I
played this move in a tournament game was in 2014, so I was fairly sure my
opponent wouldn't expect it.} d5 5. exd5 Na5 (5... Nxd5 {is, of course, a well
known mistake. After} 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. Qf3+ Ke6 {the king has to step into the
center to avoid losing the knight immediately. Play continues} 8. Nc3 Ncb4 9.
O-O c6 {to defend the knight, and after} 10. d4 {White has a very strong
attack to compensate for the piece.}) 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3 {It's
true that the bishop does look a bit funny here, as it blocks the d2-pawn's
forward progress. But by controlling the e4-square, the g5-knight has a
landing square. Meanwhile the dark-squared bishop will develop via b2-b3 and
Bc1-b2.} Nd5 {[#]} 9. h4 {This was our prepared idea.} h6 (9... Qc7 {is the
modern continuation.}) 10. Qh5 Qf6 11. Ne4 Qe6 {My opponent was playing
quickly, and I realized that she knew this line. Meanwhile, I was starting to
mix up my preparation, and I was getting a little frustrated} 12. Nbc3 ({
A new move. Previously seen was} 12. Qf3 f5 13. Nbc3 Nb4 14. b3 Nxd3+ 15. Qxd3
fxe4 16. Nxe4 Be7 17. Bb2 O-O 18. O-O-O {and Black was better, although White
eventually won in Nepomniachtchi - Sadhwani, Chess.com 2022.}) 12... Nf4 13.
Qf3 Nxd3+ 14. Qxd3 f5 15. Ng3 Be7 {In a complicated position, I'm up a pawn,
but my h4-pawn is under attack. The prospect of casting kingside terrified me,
so I decided to change direction.} 16. b3 Rb8 17. Bb2 Rb4 {This surprised me.
I think perhaps Bhakti was eager to win the pawn back.} ({Instead I thought
the idea behind her previous move was} 17... Nc4 {, when I planned to head for
an endgame with} 18. Qxc4 Qxc4 19. bxc4 Rxb2 {and I wasn't sure how to
evaluate this at the board.}) 18. O-O-O Rxh4 19. Rxh4 Bxh4 20. Re1 {By
spending three moves to win the h4-pawn, I managed to develop, castle, and put
a rook in the center where it eyed the d5-pawn. Black's pieces, on the other
hand, are scattered all over the board. The a5-knight is dim on the rim, the
king is in the center, and the future of the c8-bishop is uncertain.} O-O 21.
Na4 {It's not possible to defend the e5-pawn.} Rd8 ({Here} 21... e4 {loses to
the double attack} 22. Qc3 {, threatening mate on f7 and attacking the
a5-knight}) 22. Qc3 Bg5 {[#] While I knew my position was very good, I was
indecisive here. A victory meant a win for the team, so I got excited, but
doing so led me to lose a lot of time on the clock.} 23. Rxe5 {A sane move
that locked in my advantage. Black's next move was another surprise.} ({
After the tempting} 23. Qxa5 Bxd2+ 24. Qxd2 Rxd2 25. Kxd2 {I have a rook and
two minors for the queen, but after} Qd5+ 26. Kc1 Qxg2 {I lose my entire
kingside!}) 23... Qf7 ({If} 23... Qd7 24. Re2 Nb7 25. Nh5 {is very strong for
me.}) 24. Qxa5 {[%emt 0:00:23] I knew this move was commital, but I had to
calm myself down. Compared to the previous position where I could take on a5,
I'm just winning too much material.} Bxd2+ 25. Qxd2 Rxd2 26. Kxd2 {Now Black
doesn't even have a pawn to compensate for the material imbalance, and my rook
dominates the board on e5.} Qg6 27. Ne2 Kf7 28. Nf4 Qg5 29. g3 h5 {An
unpleasant move to face, as I was mentally already wrapping up the game. The
h-pawn moves down the board due to the pin. I had wasted too much time on my
earlier moves, and now my clock was running low.} 30. Nc5 h4 31. Re3 ({After} 
31. Ncd3 h3 {isn't scary as I can use my rook to get the pawn, i.e.,} 32. Re1 {
and now my d3-knight will go to e5 and then f3. Perhaps my nerves were getting
the best of me here.}) 31... Qh6 32. Nce6 {This required some precision, as I
catch the pawn by one move!} Bxe6 33. Rxe6 Qg5 ({If} 33... Qxe6 34. Nxe6 h3 {
I'm fortunate to have} 35. Ng5+ {winning the pawn. Otherwise, the pawn would
simply promote.}) 34. Rg6 {[#]} Qd8+ ({Here's an example of where solving the
Kasparian studies paid off! It's easy to be scared by} 34... Qxg6 {, but again
I can catch the pawn just in time with} 35. Nxg6 h3 36. Ne5+ Ke6 37. Nf3 {.})
35. Ke2 Qe8+ 36. Kf1 Qe4 37. Rxg7+ Ke8 38. Bf6 Qh1+ 39. Ke2 Qe4+ 40. Kd2 {
Having reached the time control, the scary part of the game was behind me. By
this point our top two boards had drawn their games, and I think Carissa had
won hers (or was well on her way to victory). With a likely score of 2-1, I
could play freely.} Qb4+ 41. Kc1 {My king is safe, and her h4-pawn is
neutralized.} h3 42. Nxh3 Qd6 43. Re7+ Kf8 44. Ng5 {Using another common theme
from endgame studies!} Qa3+ ({If} 44... Qxf6 45. Nh7+ Kxe7 46. Nxf6 Kxf6 {
White has a winning endgame.}) 45. Kb1 a6 46. Nh7+ Kg8 47. Rg7+ Kh8 48. Ng5 {
With mate being inevitable, Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA 2022"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2022.10.12"]
[Round "7.6"]
[White "2.1 Dominguez Perez, L."]
[Black "Moradiabadi, E."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2534"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rn1q1rk1/ppp1bppp/8/3p1b2/2PPn3/3B1N2/PP3PPP/RNBQ1RK1 w - - 0 9"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2022.10.05"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,19,20,11,22,17,7,20,29,29,20,-4,-4,12,37,52,62,18,76,66,298,298] [#]} 
9. cxd5 $1 Qxd5 $4 ({Black doesn't see the problem yet. It was better to play} 
9... Nd6 {when} 10. Nc3 {and White has won a pawn.}) 10. Bxe4 $1 {and Black
resigned. After} (10. Bxe4 Bxe4 ({or} 10... Qxe4 11. Re1 {and the bishop on e7
drops}) 11. Nc3 Qf5 12. Nxe4 Qxe4 13. Re1 {, White wins a piece.}) 1-0

[Event "ch-USA w 2022"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2022.10.14"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "2.2 Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"]
[Black "Foisor, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D46"]
[WhiteElo "2272"]
[BlackElo "2203"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2r2k1/p4qp1/1p2pp1B/2b5/2P1n1NR/8/PP3PPP/2Q2RK1 w - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2022.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "2"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,95,14,29,22,-6,32,32,32,32,43,43,45,55,44,43,51,34,40,51,57,63,50,50,
77,39,32,36,67,79,33,29,24,2,10,-14,10,-5,-5,-12,22,-32,18,7,5,43,56,59,63,43,
114,217,241,266,264,239,318,329,329,339,321,344,337,337,337,328,336,335,352,
324,356,356,352,300,298,306,318,320,327,327,339,338,358,366,389,366,466,465,
536,465,476,781,803,862,1313,1441,28483,29978] [#]} 25. Bxg7 $1 Qxg7 26. Nh6+
Kf8 27. Rxe4 {Yes, the knight was loose.} e5 28. Rg4 {and White has won two
pawns and eventually won the game.} Qh7 29. Rg8+ Ke7 30. Rg7+ Qxg7 31. Nf5+ Kf7
32. Nxg7 Kxg7 33. Qc3 a5 34. Qg3+ Kf7 35. Qf3 Ra7 36. Rd1 Rxd1+ 37. Qxd1 Ke7
38. h4 Rd7 39. Qe2 Rd4 40. g3 Ke6 41. h5 Kf5 42. Kg2 Kg5 43. Kh3 Kh6 44. Qf3
Kg5 45. g4 Rf4 46. Qb7 Rxf2 47. Kg3 Kh6 48. Qf7 1-0

[Event "ch-USA w 2022"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2022.10.11"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "2.3 Foisor, S."]
[Black "Lee, Megan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "2203"]
[BlackElo "2226"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4k3/pp4pp/2p1q1r1/Pb1pPr2/3P1p2/BP3P1P/3R2PQ/4R2K b - - 0 37"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2022.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "2"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,142,17,20,20,20,29,15,45,32,59,27,23,27,27,29,22,23,67,44,48,31,52,41,
41,53,53,8,33,40,49,52,74,60,68,12,5,7,12,13,39,45,47,36,39,36,44,49,51,23,53,
31,42,33,34,5,39,-12,50,53,41,22,36,34,19,-6,11,-10,13,-16,19,16,108,34,33,8,
25,13,-6,-119,-43,-212,-68,-192,-224,-288,-47,-169,-271,-310,-308,-406,-424,
-442,-445,-447,-447,-455,-457,-519,-507,-536,-385,-502,-406,-494,-345,-342,
-352,-347,-347,-368,-396,-395,-415,-425,-443,-445,-438,-443,-535,-659,-669,
-698,-681,-814,-717,-969,-969,-1012,-1012,-1012,-1229,-1251,-1251,-1725,-1934,
-29987,-29988,-29989,-29990,-29991,-29992,-29993,-29982] [#]} 37... Rg3 $1 38.
Bc1 Rh5 $1 39. Ra2 g5 40. Bd2 Bd3 $1 {The bishop is on the way to f5 to hit on
h3.} 41. a6 b6 $1 ({This is better than the game continuation which went} 41...
Bxa6 42. Rc1 Qf5 43. Be1 Rgxh3 44. gxh3 Rxh3 45. Rxa6 Rxh2+ 46. Kxh2 bxa6 47.
Rxc6 Qd3 {and Black eventually won the game.} 48. Kg2 Qxd4 49. e6 Qb2+ 50. Bf2
d4 51. Rd6 Ke7 52. Rxd4 Kxe6 53. Ra4 Qxb3 54. Rxa6+ Ke5 55. Rxa7 Qd3 56. Ra5+
Kf6 57. Ra4 h5 58. Rd4 Qa3 59. Rc4 h4 60. Bd4+ Ke6 61. Rc3 Qa2+ 62. Kh3 Qe2 63.
Ra3 Qf1+ 64. Kh2 h3 65. Ra2 Qxf3 66. Rf2 Qd3 67. Ba7 Kf5 68. Kh1 g4 69. Kg1 g3
70. Rf1 h2+ 71. Kg2 Qxf1+) 42. Bb4 Bf5 {and Black is easily winning.} 0-1

[Event "ch-USA w 2022"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2022.10.13"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "2.4 Abrahamyan, T."]
[Black "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2308"]
[BlackElo "2272"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r1r3/8/2P2Rpk/6np/1p6/4pB2/PP3nPP/1KN1R3 b - - 0 38"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2022.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "2"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,94,17,17,46,46,71,57,52,42,55,36,80,43,36,38,40,28,70,36,60,39,39,37,
41,-16,-3,-18,-13,2,4,-16,-6,-77,-2,1,0,-32,0,28,45,47,61,45,64,-23,140,89,44,
66,12,126,77,90,85,98,88,88,120,82,84,84,84,58,145,134,163,146,155,170,121,78,
74,67,69,45,46,-117,-86,-113,-149,-168,-141,-141,-105,-126,-112,-258,-313,-313,
-196,-220,-228,-276,0,-295,-329] [#]} 38... Nge4 $1 (38... Nfe4 $1 {will
typically lead to the same positions and also win.}) 39. Rf4 ({Or} 39. Bxe4
Nxe4 40. Rf4 Rxc6 41. Nb3 Nd2+ 42. Nxd2 exd2 43. Rd1 Re1 44. Rf1 Rc1+ {with
mate.}) 39... Rxc6 40. Bxe4 Nxe4 41. Ne2 Nd2+ 42. Ka1 Ra8 {Ouch! All of a
sudden, the focus is White's king. Mate is being threatened with ...Rxa2+
followed by ...Ra6#.} 43. Nc1 b3 44. a3 Rac8 45. Nd3 ({The alternatives also
are of no use for White:} 45. Nxb3 Nxb3+ 46. Ka2 Nc1+ 47. Kb1 Nd3) ({or} 45.
Ne2 Rc2 {which is similar to the concluding theme of this game.}) 45... e2 46.
Rf2 Rc2 47. Rfxe2 Ra8 $1 {and White resigned.} (47... Ra8 48. Nc1 ({or} 48. Re8
Rxa3+ 49. bxa3 Ra2#) 48... Rxa3+ 49. bxa3 b2+ 50. Ka2 b1=Q#) 0-1

[Event "ch-USA 2022"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2022.10.14"]
[Round "9.6"]
[White "2.5 Shankland, S."]
[Black "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "2712"]
[BlackElo "2563"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5rnk/1pp3p1/3p2Bq/2rP3P/p1P2p2/P4P2/3KQP2/6RR w - - 0 31"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2022.10.05"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,75,17,-17,-24,-12,18,13,54,39,55,53,38,50,46,49,28,21,36,33,33,27,27,
34,52,48,34,15,19,19,19,17,52,23,62,86,56,-7,73,28,61,81,119,13,56,52,47,112,
115,128,134,23,94,81,96,61,103,72,185,91,60,127,263,349,349,443,456,484,496,
521,559,620,743,754,1202,1210,29987,29988] [#]} 31. Bc2 $1 (31. Qf1 {White
would also win after trying to transpose into the game continuation with his
next move. Similarly,}) (31. Bd3) ({and} 31. Bb1 {following the path of the
game continuation would also win the game.}) 31... Rf6 {Black stops the threat
of Rg6.} 32. Qf1 $1 {White renews the threat by protecting the rook on h1. Now,
Black is simply lost.} b5 33. Rg6 {Black's queen cannot escape.} bxc4 34. Kc1
Rf8 35. Rxh6+ Nxh6 36. Qg2 Kg8 37. Qg6 c6 38. Rg1 {and Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA 2022"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2022.10.15"]
[Round "10.4"]
[White "2.6 Moradiabadi, E."]
[Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E61"]
[WhiteElo "2534"]
[BlackElo "2699"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/1Q2p2q/p4r2/P2P1r2/2P2Npp/6P1/5PP1/5RK1 b - - 0 37"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2022.10.05"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,76,21,14,15,34,55,39,32,48,33,29,36,4,6,-8,9,-14,-7,-17,11,12,9,10,8,
7,12,0,4,2,7,4,4,7,5,-12,-33,-40,-17,-17,-40,-43,12,-2,0,-8,4,3,0,-22,-15,-16,
-42,-42,17,-43,-26,0,-4,19,0,0,0,20,0,0,77,95,102,113,113,103,68,-34,-30,-106,
-95,-262,-272] [#]} {White had just captured on b7, undoubtedly thinking
himself in a good position to winning the game.} 37... hxg3 $1 38. fxg3 $4 ({
White misses what Black had cooking for him. However, also} 38. Qc8+ Kf7 39.
fxg3 Rh6 40. Kf2 Re5 {is extremely unpleasant for White.}) 38... e5 $1 {
Boom! White resigned. There is no saving both the queen and the knight on f4.
In this position captuing Black's e-pawn en passant is possible but then the
queen falls, and if 39.Qxh7+ Kxh7, then White can no longer capture en passant.
} 0-1

[Event "ch-USA w 2022"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2022.10.13"]
[Round "8.6"]
[White "2.7 Lee, Megan"]
[Black "Eswaran, Ashritha"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2226"]
[BlackElo "2365"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2rq1rk1/p4ppp/5n2/Pp1P4/2P5/1P2pP2/6PP/R2QKB1R b KQ - 0 18"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2022.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "2"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,46,25,16,71,35,45,21,10,17,49,55,56,32,53,40,36,36,45,13,27,-10,4,18,
12,-8,58,17,33,14,20,37,9,0,23,-1,14,-3,8,-6,21,-1,-5,-7,-13,-332,-336,-325,
-330] [#]} 18... Nxd5 $3 ({In the game, Black instead went} 18... Qd6 $2 19.
Be2 Qb4+ 20. Kf1 Qc3 $2 21. g3 Ne4 $4 22. fxe4 f5 23. Kg2 fxe4 24. Rf1 {
when Black did not have enough for the piece and eventually lost the game.})
19. cxd5 ({Declining the piece sacrifice does not work either:} 19. Be2 Nb4 20.
O-O Qe7 21. Qb1 Rfd8 22. Qe4 Qxe4 23. fxe4 Rd2 24. Bg4 Rc5 {and Black has a
decisive advantage.}) 19... Qh4+ 20. g3 Qb4+ 21. Ke2 Rc3 $1 22. Rb1 ({Also
after} 22. Bh3 {, Black's attack is irresistible, for instance,} Rxb3 23. Kf1
Rb2 24. Qe1 Qd4 25. Rd1 Rd2 26. Rxd2 exd2 27. Qd1 Re8 28. Kg2 Qd3 {and it is
curtains for White.}) 22... Rfc8 23. Rb2 Rc1 {and White can resign.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA 2022"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2022.10.11"]
[Round "6.6"]
[White "2.8 Aronian, L."]
[Black "Swiercz, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A11"]
[WhiteElo "2755"]
[BlackElo "2652"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3rr1k1/p4pp1/7p/2Qnp2q/2R5/1P2P1R1/PB1P1PP1/4K3 b - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2022.10.05"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,146,20,-23,3,3,3,3,3,13,32,8,18,18,18,15,22,20,24,31,37,34,34,12,37,
-12,-16,-107,-35,-115,0,0,15,-29,-26,-18,-26,-30,0,-15,0,0,0,0,0,7,0,0,0,-142,
-172,-190,-133,-153,0,-347,-347,-365,-369,-344,-344,-425,-356,-356,-356,-356,
-348,-283,-266,-261,-261,-261,-203,-220,-220,-220,-220,-261,-246,-234,-135,
-135,-123,-128,-140,-137,-128,-198,-177,-245,-262,-265,-252,-376,-201,-355,
-356,-382,-395,-395,-194,-343,-442,-478,-248,-248,-248,-248,-248,-248,-196,
-530,-428,-1073,-395,-395,-207,-416,-329,-419,-489,-537,-498,-515,-505,-578,
-724,-852,-982,-982,-1002,-1012,-1012,-1020,-1022,-29977,-29974,-29975,-29976,
-29987,-29988,-29991,-29986,-29989,-29984,-29985,-29984,-29985,-29984] [#]} 
24... Qh1+ $1 25. Ke2 Qb1 {Black has forced White's king forward and controls
the back rank.} ({The immediate} 25... Nf4+ $4 {of course, does not work
because of} 26. Rxf4 exf4 27. Rxg7+ {and White wins.}) 26. Qa3 ({Or} 26. Bc3
Nxc3+ 27. Rxc3 Rxd2+ $1 28. Kxd2 Rd8+ {and White will have to give up the
queen.}) 26... Nf4+ 27. Rxf4 Qd3+ {An important intermediary check; the rook
on f4 still cannot be captured.} 28. Kf3 Qd5+ {The f4-rook is still
untouchable.} 29. Re4 f5 30. Bc3 Qxe4+ 31. Ke2 f4 32. Rf3 Qd3+ {and Black had
a winning position, but it took another 40 moves to secure the full point.} 33.
Ke1 Qb1+ 34. Ke2 Qd3+ 35. Ke1 Rd7 36. Qa4 Qb1+ 37. Ke2 Qd3+ 38. Ke1 Kh7 39. Qc4
Qxc4 40. bxc4 g5 41. Rh3 Rc7 42. d3 Rc6 43. exf4 exf4+ 44. Kd1 Ra6 45. d4 Rxa2
46. c5 Rb8 47. Kc1 Rxf2 48. d5 g4 49. Rh1 g3 50. c6 f3 51. c7 Rc8 52. d6 fxg2
53. Rd1 Rf1 54. Bd4 h5 55. Kc2 h4 56. Bc5 Rf5 57. Bxa7 Kg6 58. Bb6 Rf7 59. Rd2
Kf5 60. Rxg2 Ke6 61. Bc5 Rfxc7 62. dxc7 Rxc7 63. Kd3 Rxc5 64. Ke4 Rc4+ 65. Kf3
Kf5 66. Ra2 Rf4+ 67. Kg2 Kg4 68. Kh1 Rd4 69. Ra1 h3 70. Rb1 Kf3 71. Rb3+ Kf2
72. Rb2+ Ke3 73. Rb1 Ke2 0-1

[Event "ch-USA 2022"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2022.10.12"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "2.9 Swiercz, D."]
[Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2652"]
[BlackElo "2699"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "q1r2rk1/1b2bppp/1p2p3/p1nnP3/2N5/1P3NP1/PB3PBP/1QRR2K1 w - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2022.10.05"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,55,20,20,24,5,4,-19,10,10,19,-8,5,7,8,0,24,21,21,-2,0,0,23,5,20,-2,14,
12,5,-7,19,15,13,17,4,11,25,37,42,-13,73,46,65,70,83,51,79,87,229,283,262,289,
295,297,323,321,327,397] [#]} 21. Nd6 $1 Bxd6 $6 ({Or} 21... Rcd8 22. Nxb7 Qxb7
23. Nd4 Rd7 24. Qc2 {and White has a clear positional advantage on account of
the bishop pair.}) 22. Ng5 $1 ({White cannot recapture on d6:} 22. exd6 Nf4 $1
23. gxf4 Bxf3 24. Bxf3 Qxf3 25. d7 Rcd8 {and Black is at least equal.}) 22...
g6 {Now, this weakenening of the dark squares gives White a decisive advantage.
} ({It was better to play the ugly} 22... f5 23. exf6 g6 {when Black can
continue to fight, evne if White is much better.}) 23. exd6 $1 {Now is the
right time to recapture.} Qb8 24. Rc4 h6 $2 25. Nxe6 $6 (25. Rh4 $1 {was even
stronger.}) 25... Nxe6 26. Bxd5 Bxd5 27. Rxd5 Qb7 28. d7 {and Black resigned.}
1-0

[Event "13th World Teams Pool B"]
[Site "Jerusalem ISR"]
[Date "2022.11.20"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Akobian, V."]
[Black "Gumularz, Szymon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2591"]
[BlackElo "2561"]
[Annotator "Donaldson"]
[PlyCount "135"]
[EventDate "2022.11.20"]
[EventType "team (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Poland"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

{Varuzhan has a lot of experience and success playing for the US team. He was
a member of the bronze medal US Olympiad teams from 2006 and 2008 and the
silver medal team from the 2010 World Team Championship.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3.
Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Qc2 Re8 10. Nf3
Ne4 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. O-O Nd7 13. Rab1 Ndf6 14. b4 Nxc3 15. Qxc3 Ne4 16. Qc2
Nd6 17. a4 Be6 18. Rfc1 Rac8 19. Ne5 a6 20. Qc5 Qd8 21. h3 f6 22. Ng6 Qd7 23.
Qc2 Bf5 24. Bxf5 Nxf5 25. Nf4 Nd6 26. Qd3 Qf7 27. Ne2 {[#] Black has defending
perfectly against White's minority attack,having exchanged off his light
squared bishop and positioned his knight on d6, its perfect post.There  it not
only stops b5, but eyes c4 and e4. However, now he makes an instructive
mistake.} b5 $2 {This move, often recommended in similar positions in Carlsbad
pawn formations where a knight can shield the backward c-pawn with ...Nc4, is
a mistake. It stops White's advance b5, but only at the cost of activating
White's rooks on the a-file. Var knew this from his game against Frode Elsness
from the 2017 World Team Championship. White is not winning after 27...b5?,
but he does have an advantage and more importantly clear and easy play which
is particularly important when playing at a fast time control.} 28. Ra1 Nc4 29.
Qc2 Qe7 30. Qc3 (30. Nf4 Qxb4) 30... Rb8 31. Nf4 a5 32. Nd3 axb4 33. Nxb4 Qd6
34. axb5 Rxb5 35. Na6 $6 (35. Nd3 {was more precise.}) 35... f5 36. Nc5 Rb2 $2
{Black should have played 35...f4 seeking counterplay on the kingside, the
reason why White's knight should have been on d3 already.} ({After} 36... f4
37. e4 Qg6 38. e5 Rb2 39. Qf3 Nd2 40. Qxf4 Rf8 41. Qg4 Qxg4 42. hxg4 Nb3 {
Black should hold the ending.}) 37. Nd3 Rb7 38. Rab1 Rf7 39. Rb3 g5 40. Nb2
Nxb2 41. Rxb2 {[#]} Rf6 {Obectively Black's position is defensible, but his
pawn on c6 is a lasting weakness and his king is potentially vulnerable. This
is not an easy position to defend short on time.} 42. Rb6 Ree6 $2 ({This
proves to be the losing move. Black could have reached a drawn rook and pawn
ending after} 42... f4 43. Qxc6 Qxc6 44. Rcxc6 Rxc6 45. Rxc6 fxe3 46. fxe3 Rxe3
47. Rxh6 Re4 48. Rg6+ Kf7 49. Rxg5 Rxd4 {For example} 50. Kf2 Kf6 51. Rh5 Rd3
52. g4 d4 53. h4 Rh3 54. Kg2 Re3 {followed by ...d3.}) 43. Qb3 {Black now
wishes his kingside pawns were back on their original squares. The rest is
self explanatory as White's heavy pieces creep into Black's position.} Qd7 44.
Rb7 Qd6 45. Ra1 Re7 46. Rxe7 Qxe7 47. Qb6 Qe6 48. Qc7 Rf7 49. Ra8+ Kg7 50. Qd8
Kg6 51. Qg8+ Kh5 52. Rf8 Re7 53. Qxe6 Rxe6 54. Rxf5 Kg6 55. g4 Re8 56. Re5 Rxe5
57. dxe5 Kf7 58. f4 Ke6 59. Kf2 gxf4 60. exf4 d4 61. h4 c5 62. h5 c4 63. Ke2
Kd5 64. g5 d3+ 65. Kd2 Kd4 66. e6 c3+ 67. Kd1 d2 68. Kc2 {Amazingly (and sadly)
this was the only game the US team won in this event.} 1-0

[Event "13th World Teams Pool B"]
[Site "Jerusalem ISR"]
[Date "2022.11.21"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Quesada Perez, Yu"]
[Black "Postny, E."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "2583"]
[BlackElo "2588"]
[Annotator "Donaldson"]
[PlyCount "173"]
[EventDate "2022.11.20"]
[EventType "team (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Israel"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ISR"]

{Yuniesky Quesada was the most consistent performer for the US team and never
had a bad position in the four games he played. Unfortunately he also didn't
have any luck with the draw margin in chess just stopping him from converting
several favorable positions. The following game is a good example.} 1. e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O d6 6. a4 Na5 7. Ba2 c5 8. c3 Nc6 9. Na3 O-O
10. Nc2 a6 11. b4 cxb4 12. cxb4 d5 13. b5 axb5 14. axb5 Nb4 15. Nxb4 Bxb4 16.
Bb2 Bg4 17. h3 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 {[#]} d4 $2 ({Black, a veteran member of the
Israeli team, has played well so far, but here he resolves the central tension
in the wrong way.The text is a mistake, correct was} 18... dxe4 19. dxe4 Qe7 {
when White has the two bishops but Black's position is fine.}) 19. Bc4 Rxa1 20.
Rxa1 Bc3 $2 {This is the consistent followup to Black's 18th move, but 20...
Nd7 was better.} 21. Bxc3 dxc3 22. Qd1 Qd4 23. Qb3 {White prepares to round up
Black's c-pawn while keeping Black's rook tied up.} Ne8 $2 ({Black prepares to
reroute his knight to d6. This looks logical but better chances to resist were
offered by} 23... g5 24. Rc1 Kg7 25. Qxc3 Qxc3 26. Rxc3 Rc8) 24. Rc1 (24. Ra4
$1 {was even stronger with one line continuing} Qc5 25. Qxc3 b6 26. Qa3 Qxa3
27. Rxa3 Nd6 28. Ra7 {with a winning ending.}) 24... Nd6 25. Rxc3 Ra8 26. Rc1 (
{Here White might have considered} 26. g3 {as the king will be better placed
on g2 (not h2) where it protects the f-pawn.}) 26... Ra1 27. Rxa1 Qxa1+ 28. Kh2
Qd4 29. Qa2 g6 30. g3 Kg7 ({Stockfish 15 believes Black is holding after} 30...
Nxc4 31. dxc4 Qxe4 32. c5 Qb4 33. c6 bxc6 34. Qa8+ Kg7 35. Qxc6 e4 36. b6 e3
37. fxe3 Qd2+ 38. Qg2 Qb4 39. b7 Qb5 {but this would have been hard for a
human to see, especially with little time.}) 31. Kg2 h5 32. h4 Kf6 33. f4 {
This is a very tricky position to play with both players having less than five
minutes on their clocks. Stockfish 15 points out} (33. Bd5 $1 {was very strong
with the idea} Qxd3 34. Qa5 Nxe4 35. Qd8+ Kg7 36. Qd7 {and f7 is falling.})
33... Kg7 34. Qf2 Qc3 35. Bd5 Qxd3 36. fxe5 Nf5 $1 {Postny is defending
brilliantly with no time.} 37. Kh3 Qxb5 38. Ba2 Qc6 (38... Nh6 {Also held, but
remarkably White has no realistic winning chances in the piece up ending which
soon transpires.}) 39. exf5 Qh1+ 40. Qh2 Qf1+ 41. Qg2 Qxf5+ 42. Kh2 Qxe5 43.
Qxb7 {[#] Despite White being a piece up for a pawn the ending is drawn. Jim
Tarjan analysed a related ending (rook and bishop and two vs. rook and three)
from Mamedyarov-Nakamura, Tromso Olympiad 2014, that should also have been
drawn. See Chess Life, November 2015, pages 40-45.} Qe2+ 44. Qg2 Qe3 (44...
Qxg2+ 45. Kxg2 f6 46. Kf3 {is winning for White. Trading queens is one
potential winning plan for White. Another would be capturing the f7 pawn in a
way that lead to a winning pawn ending. A third plan would be attacking the f7
pawn with queen, bishop and king. The problem with all of these is White has
no way to force them. Black is often saved by repeatedly checking with his
queen. The second player is also helped by White's rook pawn being the wrong
color.}) 45. Qc2 Qe5 46. Qf2 Qe7 47. Bd5 Kg8 48. Kg2 Kg7 49. Qf3 Kg8 50. Qe4
Qf6 51. Qf4 Qe7 52. Qd4 Qe2+ 53. Qf2 Qe7 54. Qf3 Kg7 55. Qc3+ Kg8 56. Kf3 Qd6
57. Ke4 Qe7+ 58. Qe5 Qd7 59. Ke3 ({Another try is} 59. Kd4 {but even if
White's King reaches e8 he can't win. For example:} Qa7+ 60. Kc4 Qa6+ 61. Kc5
Qa7+ 62. Kb5 Qd7+ 63. Kb6 Qd8+ 64. Kc6 Qc8+ 65. Qc7 Qf5 66. Qd7 Qf6+ 67. Qd6
Qf5 68. Kc7 Qc2+ 69. Kd7 Qf5+ 70. Ke8 Qc8+ 71. Qd8 Qxd8+ 72. Kxd8 Kg7 73. Ke7
g5 $1 74. hxg5 Kg6 {with ...Kxg5 and ...h4 to follow. Something very similar
happens in the game.}) 59... Kh7 60. Bc4 Qa7+ 61. Kf3 Kg8 62. Qf6 Qb7+ 63. Kf2
Kf8 64. Qh8+ Ke7 65. Qd4 Kf8 66. Bd5 Qd7 67. Qe5 Kg8 68. Kf3 Kh7 69. Ke3 Kg8
70. Bc4 Qa7+ 71. Ke4 Qd7 72. Ke3 Kf8 73. Qh8+ Ke7 74. Qg7 Qf5 75. Qd4 Kf8 76.
Qd8+ Kg7 77. Qd5 Qf6 78. Qd4 Qxd4+ 79. Kxd4 g5 80. hxg5 Kg6 81. Bxf7+ Kxg5 82.
Be6 h4 83. g4 h3 84. Ke3 h2 85. Bd5 Kxg4 86. Kf2 h1=N+ 87. Bxh1 1/2-1/2

[Event "13th World Teams Pool A"]
[Site "Jerusalem ISR"]
[Date "2022.11.22"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Santos Ruiz, Miguel"]
[Black "Mhango, Banele"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2587"]
[BlackElo "2210"]
[Annotator "Donaldson"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2022.11.20"]
[EventType "team (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "ISR"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "Spain"]
[BlackTeam "South Africa"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ESP"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RSA"]

{[%evp 0,49,38,17,46,59,86,70,67,36,36,26,43,33,67,21,34,14,21,25,51,46,92,92,
92,88,93,80,76,75,93,57,57,-60,111,93,100,122,121,190,197,214,192,191,280,175,
477,494,517,515,529,392]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6
6. h3 e6 7. g4 h6 8. a3 Be7 9. Be3 g5 10. h4 Rg8 11. hxg5 hxg5 12. f3 Nfd7 13.
Qd2 Ne5 14. O-O-O Nbd7 15. Rh6 Nb6 {[#]} 16. Nf5 Nbc4 ({Black declines the
gift. On} 16... exf5 {White has huge compensation for the piece. For example:}
17. exf5 Bd7 18. Ne4 Nbc4 19. Bxc4 Nxc4 20. Qe2 Bb5 21. Bd4 {with threats of
Nf6+, f6 and a4. If} Ne5 {then} 22. Qe1 Qc7 23. Nxd6+ Bxd6 24. Rxd6 Qxd6 25.
Bxe5 Qe7 26. Qc3 Rd8 27. Re1 {is decisive.}) 17. Bxc4 Nxc4 18. Qd4 Nxe3 19.
Qxe3 Qc7 20. Nxe7 Kxe7 {[#]} 21. Rd5 $1 Bd7 22. Rxg5 Qc4 23. Nd5+ $1 exd5 24.
exd5+ Be6 25. Rxe6+ 1-0

[Event "9th Sinquefield Cup 2022"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2022.09.04"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Carlsen, M."]
[Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2861"]
[BlackElo "2688"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2022.09.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 dxc4 8.
Nf3 c5 9. O-O cxd4 10. Qxd4 Nc6 11. Qxc4 e5 12. Bg5 h6 13. Rfd1 Be6 14. Rxd8
Bxc4 15. Rxa8 Rxa8 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Kf1 Rd8 18. Ke1 Na5 19. Rd1 Rc8 20. Nd2
Be6 21. c4 Bxc4 22. Nxc4 Rxc4 23. Rd8+ Kg7 24. Bd5 Rc7 25. Ra8 a6 26. Rb8 f5
27. Re8 e4 28. g4 Rc5 29. Ba2 Nc4 30. a4 Nd6 31. Re7 fxg4 32. Rd7 e3 33. fxe3
Ne4 34. Kf1 Rc1+ 35. Kg2 Rc2 36. Bxf7 Rxe2+ 37. Kg1 Re1+ 38. Kg2 Re2+ 39. Kg1
Kf6 40. Bd5 Rd2 41. Rf7+ Kg6 42. Rd7 Ng5 43. Bf7+ Kf5 44. Rxd2 Nf3+ 45. Kg2
Nxd2 46. a5 Ke5 47. Kg3 Nf1+ 48. Kf2 Nxh2 49. e4 Kxe4 50. Be6 Kf4 51. Bc8 Nf3
52. Bxb7 Ne5 53. Bxa6 Nc6 54. Bb7 Nxa5 55. Bd5 h5 56. Bf7 h4 57. Bd5 0-1

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2022.10.05"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Liang, Awonder"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C47"]
[WhiteElo "2697"]
[BlackElo "2845"]
[Annotator "Liang"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2022.10.04"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,67,19,38,25,7,30,13,13,10,10,-13,18,12,18,9,15,13,26,-9,-3,7,14,6,4,
11,3,27,26,21,23,23,18,29,25,24,33,36,28,35,26,26,30,14,4,11,16,13,14,10,9,12,
4,12,0,0,6,2,0,9,12,6,6,6,0,6,13,14,14,13] I'm always a little jittery for the
first round game of a tournament. Here I decided to play one of the safest
lines in modern opening theory.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5.
Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O d5 9. Bd2 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 dxe4 11. Bxf6
Qxf6 12. Bxe4 Qxb2 13. Bxc6 Rb8 14. Rb1 Qxb1 15. Qxb1 Rxb1 16. Rxb1 Rd8 17. Bf3
Kf8 18. Rb8 Re8 19. h4 {[#] All of this has been seen before, with one of the
notable games being So-Carlsen (Wijk aan Zee, 2020)! Needless to say, a player
of Wesley's caliber held this position effortlessly.} Ba6 20. Rb4 Re1+ 21. Kh2
Re5 22. Ra4 Be2 23. Kg3 Bxf3 24. Kxf3 Rc5 25. Rxa7 Rc3+ 26. Ke2 Rxc2+ 27. Ke3
h5 28. g3 Ke7 29. a4 g6 30. Ra8 Rc3+ 31. Ke4 Rc2 32. Ke3 Rc3+ 33. Ke4 Rc2 34.
Ke3 1/2-1/2

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2022.10.06"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Moradiabadi, Elshan"]
[Black "Liang, Awonder"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C92"]
[WhiteElo "2627"]
[BlackElo "2697"]
[Annotator "Liang"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2022.10.04"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,61,19,38,25,16,14,23,25,0,4,0,9,7,7,4,14,-24,-20,-15,-15,-12,9,9,15,1,
14,9,31,20,12,3,14,54,30,55,55,44,55,68,67,71,101,104,108,118,98,123,132,111,
111,159,159,165,177,195,195,201,204,204,204,202,210,214] Before the game I
decided to play for a win against Elshan, one of the lower seeds in the event.
This plan backfired spectacularly against GM Timur Gareyev in 2019, and here
too I took a series of rash decisions, leading to a swift defeat.} 1. e4 e5 2.
Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7
10. a4 $5 {Elshan told me after the game that he had mixed up his preparation,
instead planning to play a2-a4 after ...Rf8-e8.} Nb8 11. d3 Nbd7 12. Na3 c5 {
This move is fine, but probably a little too ambitious, as there is a
weakening of the d5-square coming.} ({A safer option was} 12... c6 13. Nc2 Re8
14. Ne3 Bf8 {, with a good game ahead}) 13. Bg5 Qb6 $6 {A little too
telegraphed. The idea is to have ...c5-c4 and ...Nf6xe4 with a target on f2,
but it is easily parried.} ({Better was} 13... Bc6 14. Nc2 h6 {.}) 14. Nc2 c4
$6 {Consistent, and also bad...} ({After} 14... h6 15. Bh4 g6 16. Ne3 Kg7 {
the queen is a bit odd on b6, but the position is basically safe for both
sides.}) 15. dxc4 Nc5 {[#]} 16. Bxf6 $1 Bxf6 17. a5 $1 {The key intermezzo,
shutting down the a-file. Unfortunately, White's control over the d5-square is
unavoidable now, with Nc2-e3, c4xb5, and Bb3-d5 or Ne3-d5 coming.} Qc7 18. Ne3
Nxb3 ({Better was} 18... bxc4 19. Bxc4 Nxe4 {, as I'm at least not losing
material.}) 19. Qxb3 Bxe4 20. cxb5 axb5 21. Qxb5 Bxf3 22. gxf3 Rfb8 23. Qc4 Qd7
24. b4 {Around here I realized I was just dead lost, without any hint of
counterplay after just 20 moves, and without posing any problems to my
opponent either. Elshan didn't convert the game in the most efficient manner,
but the result was never in doubt.} e4 25. Nd5 Qxh3 26. Qxe4 Be5 27. f4 Bxc3
28. Re3 Qg4+ 29. Rg3 Qxg3+ 30. fxg3 Bxa1 31. Qd3 Bf6 32. a6 Bd8 33. b5 h6 34.
Kg2 Bb6 35. f5 Bc5 36. f6 gxf6 37. Nxf6+ Kg7 38. Nd7 Re8 39. Qc3+ Kh7 40. Nf6+
Kg6 41. Nxe8 Rxe8 42. Qd3+ Kg7 43. Qf3 Re3 44. Qb7 Rb3 45. Qc6 Kg6 46. Kh3 Kg7
47. Qe8 Re3 48. Qc8 Ra3 49. Qg4+ Kf8 50. Qf4 Kg7 51. Kg4 Re3 52. Qa4 Re5 53.
Qa5 Bf2 54. Qc3 Bc5 55. Qc4 Kf6 56. Kh3 Rh5+ 57. Kg2 Re5 58. Qg4 Re3 59. Qa4
Ba7 60. Qb4 Bc5 61. Qb2+ 1-0

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2022.10.09"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Liang, Awonder"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C44"]
[WhiteElo "2697"]
[BlackElo "2830"]
[Annotator "Liang"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2022.10.04"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,63,23,23,23,23,25,33,20,-18,-12,-31,-15,-49,-27,-51,-66,-39,-39,-39,
-57,-72,-52,-47,-41,-12,-22,-45,0,-29,44,53,116,17,81,112,123,191,172,155,282,
231,233,193,358,375,406,406,403,355,449,457,450,527,693,690,690,644,687,752,
752,752,752,752,1023,1085]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 {An opening
choice inspired by Professor Nick Polson of the UChicago Business School! Nick
was kind enough to make the trip down to St. Louis, and he pushed me for the
better half of an hour to play a gambit against Aronian. Even after the game,
I couldn't believe my luck!} Bc5 5. Ng5 Nh6 6. Nxf7 Nxf7 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8. Qh5+
g6 9. Qxc5 d5 10. c3 dxe4 11. O-O {[#] A well known line from the 1800s.
Unbeknowst to me, Mamedov had tried this against Anand just a few days before
this game! Here, Aronian keeps things complicated.} Re8 ({Instead} 11... Qd6
12. Qxd6 cxd6 13. cxd4 Nxd4 14. Nc3 Bg4 15. Nxe4 Nc2 16. Nxd6+ {promises
fairly easy equality for Black, with all the pieces coming off the board.
Levon said afterwards that he knew this line, which makes it very hard to take
any credit for this victory.}) 12. cxd4 Qxd4 13. Qg5 Nb4 $2 {The knight more
or less belongs here, but this move allows a hidden resource for White.} ({
The position after} 13... Bf5 14. Nc3 Nb4 15. Be3 Qf6 16. Qg3 {is still
difficult for Black from a practical perspective, as he is saddled with long
term weaknesses.}) 14. Bd2 $1 {The idea is that white prepares Bd2-c3, rather
than Nb1-c3. This is only possible because the b4-knight hangs in many lines,
and now Black has to spend another tempo dealing with the Bd2-c3 threat.} Qd6
$2 {Faced with a tough position, Aronian slips again. He probably thought
there was no difference between 14...Qd6 and 14...Kg8, but again I switch tack:
} ({He should have played} 14... Kg8 15. Bc3 Qd6 16. Na3 {when White has the
initiative.}) 15. Nc3 $1 {White goes back to putting a knight on c3! This move
is not intuitive, but now there is a massive threat of Nc3-b5, forcing Black
to burn another critical tempo. His whole position falls apart now.} c6 {
A sad move - Black would much rather get his king to safety, but there is no
time. Alternatives:} ({(a)} 15... Nd3 16. Qh4 $1 {and with Nc3xe4 and Bd2-c3
coming, Black is toast. Unfortunately, the b4-knight will be hanging for
another move.}) ({(b) White wins after} 15... Re5 16. Nb5 $1 Rxg5 17. Nxd6+
cxd6 18. Bxg5 {.}) ({(c) after} 15... Qf6 16. Qg3 c6 17. a3 Nd5 18. Nxd5 cxd5
19. Rac1 $1 {Black is far too weak on the dark squares.}) 16. Rad1 Bf5 $2 {
A third mistake, after which there is no saving the game. It was clearly an
off-day for Levon, whose enterprising chess was not rewarded in this case.} ({
More resilient was} 16... Qe7 17. Qh6 Kg8 18. Nxe4 Nd5 19. Nc3 Bg4 20. f3 {
, although with long-term kingside weaknesses, the position remains difficult.}
) 17. g4 $1 {The most natural move, simply kicking the bishop back.} h6 18. Qh4
Bc8 19. Bxh6 Nd3 20. Bg5 Qe5 21. f3 $1 {The last important move. With all five
White pieces attacking, Black has little chance.} Rh8 22. fxe4+ Kg8 23. Bh6
Qd4+ 24. Kh1 Be6 25. Qg5 Bf7 26. Rxf7 Rxh6 27. Rxd3 Qxd3 28. Qf6 Rxh2+ 29. Kxh2
Qd2+ 30. Kg1 Qc1+ 31. Kf2 Qh6 32. g5 1-0

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2022.10.12"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2828"]
[BlackElo "2603"]
[Annotator "Liang"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2022.10.04"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,101,23,-5,33,18,40,42,51,-8,6,22,12,-5,10,17,17,6,43,17,34,28,10,0,0,
-19,-14,-34,-11,-24,-26,-38,-31,-22,-12,0,8,-15,-3,-6,-20,-29,-18,-14,-10,-9,
-21,-29,13,4,0,0,0,0,0,-5,42,29,38,33,140,180,180,176,267,247,241,222,222,221,
218,229,229,229,229,232,311,274,311,311,311,266,281,293,335,329,359,295,329,
335,330,254,253,390,395,401,469,473,512,520,537,593,584,584]} 1. c4 c6 2. d4 d5
3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Qc2 dxc4 5. e4 $5 {An interesting gambit. Caruana said in his
post-game interview that he'd drawn inspiration from a game with Firouzja in
this line.} ({In round three I had tried the more solid} 5. Qxc4 {against
Lenderman.}) 5... b5 6. b3 cxb3 7. axb3 e6 8. Bd3 a6 $6 {Very natural, but
somewhat passive. Instead, Black could have uncorked a surprising sequence.} ({
With} 8... a5 $1 {Black takes advantage of White's surprising awkwardness:} 9.
Nc3 (9. O-O Na6 10. Qxc6+ Bd7 11. Qc2 Nb4 12. Qe2 Nxd3 13. Qxd3 Be7 {was equal
in Carlsen - Harikrishna, chess24.com, 2022}) 9... Na6 10. Qe2 Bb4 $1 11. Bd2
e5 $1 12. Nxe5 Qxd4 13. Nxc6 Qxc3 14. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 15. Kd1 Bxa1 {with good
compensation for the missing queen. Of course, without having analyzed this
line at home, it would be nearly impossible to reach this position.}) 9. O-O
Be7 10. Nc3 Bb7 11. Rd1 h6 12. Qe2 $1 {A good regrouping: the queen heads to
the g4-square in many lines.} (12. h3 {was played in the aforementioned
Firouzja game. Black took over after:} Nbd7 13. Be3 Rc8 14. e5 Nd5 15. Nxd5
cxd5 16. Qd2 Nb8 17. b4 Rc4 $1 $17 {(Firouzja-Caruana, chess24.com, 2020)})
12... Nbd7 13. e5 Nd5 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. Ne1 Qb6 16. Qg4 g6 {[#] Time to take
stock. White is down a pawn on the queenside, but Black's kingside will be
eternally weak, especially on the dark squares. Black's pieces are also quite
passive. However, outside of Bd3xg6, which appears speculative, it is
difficult to see a clear breakthrough.} 17. Bd2 $6 {A step in the wrong
direction. In complicated positions, even the top guys can make mistakes!} (17.
h4 $1 {was both natural and strong. Black should initiate counterplay on the
queenside anyway - for lack of a better move!} a5 (17... Nb8 18. Be3 Nc6 {
tries to provoke b3-b4, but it is much too slow:} 19. Bxg6 $1 fxg6 20. Qxe6 {
and White crashes through}) 18. Be3 b4 19. Rdc1 Ba6 20. g3 {with a similar
structure to the game, but where White doesn't waste a tempo.}) 17... b4 18.
Be3 a5 19. Qe2 Kf8 20. g3 Ba6 21. h4 h5 22. Nf3 Kg7 23. Bg5 $1 {Black has
finally managed to connect his rooks, but the long term problems on the
kingside endure.} Rhe8 24. Rdc1 Bxd3 25. Qxd3 Bxg5 26. Nxg5 {[#]} Rac8 $2 {
Lenderman's first real mistake of the game. Although this moves appears to
contest the c-file, in fact, after Qd3-f3, Black is forced to play ...Rc8xc1
and then defend the f7-pawn. Instead, it was better to go after the terrible
g5-knight, but even then, Black is just barely holding on.} ({Preferable was} 
26... Nf8 $1 27. Qf3 Qb7 {and Black holds, although White has some dangerous
tries:} 28. g4 $5 (28. Qf6+ Kg8 29. Rc5 Nh7 30. Nxh7 Kxh7 {is equal}) 28...
hxg4 29. Qf6+ (29. Qxg4 Nh7 30. Kg2 Qe7 31. Rc5 Rh8 {and it appears that
Black's king is safe enough}) 29... Kg8 30. h5 Qe7 31. Rc7 Qxf6 32. exf6 Nh7
33. Nxf7 gxh5 34. Nh6+ Kh8 {with equality.}) 27. Kg2 {A devilish idea: now
Qd3-f3 cannot be met with ...Rc8xc1 as there is no check!} f6 28. exf6+ Nxf6
29. Qe2 Kg8 $2 {The decisive mistake. The game still could have been saved by
a well timed exchange of pieces:} (29... Ne4 $1 30. Nxe4 dxe4 31. Qxe4 Rc3 32.
Rxc3 bxc3 33. Qe5+ Kg8 34. Rxa5 Rc8 $1 {and white will probably have to go for
perpetual check soon, e.g.} 35. Qf6 (35. Ra7 Qxa7 36. Qxe6+ Kg7 37. Qxc8 Qxd4 {
is equal}) 35... Qxa5 36. Qxg6+ {.}) 30. Rxc8 Rxc8 31. Rxa5 $1 {A nasty detail.
Now all of White's pieces start crashing through, and material loss is
inevitable. A testament to how difficult it is to play these guys! All it
takes is one mistake, and the game can end just like that.} Re8 32. Ra6 Qxd4
33. Rxe6 Rf8 34. Qc2 Ne4 35. Rxg6+ {White cleans up the kingside.} Kh8 36. Rh6+
Kg8 37. Nxe4 dxe4 38. Rxh5 Qf6 39. Rg5+ Kh8 40. Qe2 Qf3+ 41. Qxf3 exf3+ 42. Kh3
Rc8 43. Rg4 Rc2 44. Rxb4 Rxf2 45. Kg4 Rf1 46. Rb7 Kg8 47. b4 Kh8 48. b5 Kg8 49.
b6 Kh8 50. Rb8+ Kg7 51. b7 {What I really enjoyed about this game was the
concept of long-term compensation for the pawn. It wasn't until nearly 20
moves later that the material balance was restored! Meanwhile Black was under
great pressure until he finally cracked.} 1-0

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2022.10.12"]
[Round "7.5"]
[White "Robson, Ray"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E50"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2845"]
[Annotator "Liang"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2022.10.04"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,69,26,26,26,-4,-10,-5,28,26,21,18,33,28,28,23,28,7,20,14,49,52,66,52,
35,32,32,32,26,19,9,20,6,17,-5,-11,-10,-67,-65,-107,-100,-131,-101,-67,-67,-53,
-53,-48,-47,26,75,180,219,246,246,238,174,62,77,222,215,236,236,236,236,216,
253,260,482,565,567,552]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nf3 Bxc3+
6. bxc3 d6 {So plays a relatively rare line, looking for imbalances as Black.
Unfortunately, Ray plays the most critical reply.} 7. Bd3 e5 8. e4 $1 Re8 9.
O-O exd4 10. cxd4 Nxe4 11. Re1 Nf6 12. Rxe8+ Qxe8 {Just like Caruana, Robson
sacrifices a pawn for dynamic compensation. White has a slight lead in
development, as well as the bishop pair, although it is not at all clear how
to continue the attack.} 13. h3 $1 {Very sophisticated! White keeps options of
Bc1-b2 and Bd3-b5 open, and plays a generally useful move.} ({After} 13. Bg5
Nbd7 14. Qc2 Qf8 15. Re1 h6 16. Bh4 b6 {Black is able to finish his development
}) 13... Nbd7 {For now, Black has to play it safe.} ({Worse is} 13... d5 14.
Bg5 Nbd7 15. Qc2 h6 16. Re1 Qf8 17. Bh4 {and with all White's pieces developed,
the pressure is unbearable.}) 14. Qc2 b6 ({Better was} 14... Qd8 $1 {avoiding
the Ra1-e1 idea. But given White's resources in this position, I doubt we'll
see this repeated at top levels:} 15. Bb2 d5 16. Re1 Nf8 17. Ba3 Ng6 {. This
looks safe for Black, but White's possibilities are far from exhausted.} 18.
Ng5 Bd7 19. cxd5 (19. Nxf7 $5) 19... Nxd5 20. h4 Qf6 21. Qb3 (21. Re5 $5) 21...
Nb6 22. Re3 {The engine gives the dreaded triple zeros here, but it feels
nearly impossible to play over the board.} (22. Nxh7)) 15. Bb2 Bb7 ({After} 
15... Qf8 16. d5 Nc5 17. Re1 Bd7 18. Ng5 Nxd3 19. Qxd3 h6 20. Bxf6 hxg5 21. Be7
Qc8 22. Bxg5 {White keeps good pressure.}) 16. d5 Qf8 17. g4 $1 h6 18. Kh2 $1 {
[#]} ({Not the hasty} 18. g5 $2 hxg5 19. Nxg5 Qe7 {when Black prepares ...
Nd7-f8 or ...Kg8-f8, and it is remarkably hard to break through.}) 18... c6 $2
{Believe it or not, this is already the decisive mistake.} ({The engine gives} 
18... b5 $3 19. g5 (19. Bf5) 19... bxc4 $1 {when the key difference is that
Black avoids Bd3-h7+. Play continues} (19... hxg5 20. Nxg5 bxc4 21. Bh7+ Kh8
22. Bf5 Ne5 23. f4 {would be very similar to the game}) 20. Bf5 (20. gxf6 cxd3
21. Qxd3 Ne5 (21... Nxf6 $2 22. Bxf6 gxf6 23. Rg1+ Kh8 24. Qf5 {and wins}) 22.
Nxe5 ({worse is} 22. Bxe5 dxe5 23. Rg1 e4 $1) 22... dxe5 23. Rg1 g5 24. Bc1 (
24. h4 Qb4 25. hxg5 Qh4+) 24... e4) (20. Qxc4 Bxd5 21. Qh4 Bxf3 22. gxf6 d5 23.
Rg1 Qd6+ 24. Rg3 Re8 25. fxg7 Be4 $1 26. Bxe4 dxe4 27. Bc1 Qf6 {and White is
struggling to find a knockout blow}) 20... hxg5 21. Nxg5 g6 $3 22. Bxd7 (22.
Rg1 Bxd5 23. Nh7 Kxh7 24. Bxg6+ Kh8 25. Qf5 Qg7 26. Bh5 Qh6 27. Bg6 {is equal})
22... Nxd7 23. Qxc4 Qe7 $3 {and Black hangs on, i.e.,} 24. Qh4 (24. Rg1 Ne5 25.
Qb3 (25. Qh4 $2 f6 {and Black is winning!}) 25... Ba6 26. f4 Nd3 27. Ne6 Kh7
28. Qc3 fxe6) 24... f6 25. Ne6 Qh7 26. Qg3 Qh5 27. Rg1 Kf7 28. Nxc7 Rh8 29. Nb5
Bxd5 30. Nxd6+ Ke7 31. Re1+ Be6 {.}) (18... Re8 19. g5 hxg5 20. Rg1 b5 21. Nxg5
Qe7 22. Bh7+ Kh8 23. Bf5 Qe2 {and White has compensation but no clear win.})
19. g5 hxg5 20. Nxg5 cxd5 21. Bh7+ $3 {The key resource: the black king is
stuck in the killzone now.} ({Black lives after} 21. Bf5 g6 $1 22. Bxg6 fxg6
23. Qxg6+ Qg7 24. Qf5 Rf8 {.}) 21... Kh8 22. Bf5 Ne5 ({Or} 22... g6 23. Bxd7 {.
}) 23. f4 $1 Ng6 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Nxf7+ Qxf7 26. Bxg6 $1 {Black is just dead
in the water here} Qe7 27. Qf2 f5 28. Rg1 Rg8 29. Rg5 Rg7 30. Qh4+ Kg8 {
An ingenious defensive idea - Black builds a shield for his king, but it is
just not enough.} 31. Qh5 Bc8 32. cxd5 a5 33. Qh6 b5 34. Bh7+ Kf8 35. Rg2 $1 {
Threatening the unstoppable Bh7xf5 and Qh6-h8. A flawless game by Ray that
left him within an inch of the lead!} 1-0

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2022.10.14"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Liang, Awonder"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2828"]
[BlackElo "2697"]
[Annotator "Liang"]
[PlyCount "153"]
[EventDate "2022.10.04"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,153,26,14,14,12,20,20,87,40,40,73,71,46,46,53,53,65,106,75,63,71,101,
101,97,89,89,75,81,76,99,27,56,64,86,80,88,82,94,74,75,73,101,75,86,58,65,59,
52,50,69,83,81,60,88,89,101,76,82,83,89,90,98,84,141,113,107,107,113,94,103,90,
113,97,81,90,89,64,64,61,64,64,72,64,59,73,72,53,55,60,56,49,46,35,35,35,56,72,
73,27,27,3,37,37,37,19,19,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,8,8,8,0,8,0,8,0,8,8,8,8,8,0,0,0,0,0,0,
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5
Nxe4 $5 {[#] An opening that I probably won't repeat, but this wasa highly
entertaining move to essay over the board - probably one that Caruana hadn't
seen since he was six! The latest analysis suggests it may be objectively
sound, but the ensuing endgames tend to be rather depressing. However, against
Fabiano's opening prowess, I was satisfied to reach a slightly worse yet
survivable endgame.} 4. Qe2 Qe7 5. Qxe4 d6 6. d4 dxe5 7. dxe5 Nc6 8. Bb5 $5 {
Not the critical try, but over the board it is difficult to assess.} ({Theory
prefers} 8. Nc3 Qxe5 9. Qxe5+ Nxe5 10. Nb5 {and White has serious pressure
here, although I had prepared a decent amount.}) 8... Bd7 9. Nc3 O-O-O 10. Bf4
Qb4 11. O-O-O Qxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe5 13. Bxd7+ Nxd7 14. Ng5 Be7 $1 {The critical
trick, after which Black equalizes: I'm able to defend f7 with tactics.
Against almost anyone else I would expect the game to end in the next 10 moves,
but the nervousness of playing the former world championship challenger caused
me to go almost immediately astray.} 15. h4 $1 {A very good practical try,
keeping the pieces on the board} ({After} 15. Nxf7 Rdf8 16. Nxh8 Rxf4 17. Rhe1
Kd8 18. Re6 Rf8 19. Ng6 hxg6 20. Rxg6 Bf6 {the endgame looks a little
dangerous, but Black equalizes with accurate play:} 21. h4 Kc8 22. h5 Ne5 23.
Rg3 Nc4 24. c3 Be5 25. Rgd3 Bd6 26. f3 g6 $1 {. Here it will be very difficult
to make progress on the kingside, and Black can always harass White's
queenside pawns.}) 15... Bxg5 $2 {Trying to simplify too early, and missing a
key tactical resource.} (15... Nc5 $1 {is the safest, trading a pair of rooks.
Both pawns are immune} 16. Rxd8+ Rxd8 17. Re1 (17. Nxh7 $2 Ne6 18. Re1 Bxh4 {
and the h7-knight is trapped}) 17... Bf6 18. b3 Rd5 19. g3 h6 20. Nxf7 Rf5 21.
Re8+ {, and a draw was agreed in Ilyasov-Rashitov, ICCF 2012.}) 16. hxg5 f6 17.
Rde1 $1 fxg5 18. Bxg5 Rdf8 19. Re7 Nb6 $1 {The only defensive try for Black:
now I avoid the mating ideas on the back rank.} (19... Rxf2 $2 20. Rxh7 $1 {
was a cold shower, when White will clean up on the seventh rank.}) 20. Rxg7
Rxf2 {[#] At this point I was trying to calculate whether Black was fine or in
trouble. Then I realized it was completely futile: if White has a win here,
Caruana was sure to find it; if not, then I would most likely hold a draw.
With this in mind, I went for a relaxing walk and let Fabi do the hard work at
the board!} 21. Bh4 Rff8 22. Be7 Re8 23. Rhxh7 Rxh7 24. Rxh7 Nd5 $2 {I had
seen a draw with a pawn-down rook endgame, but I wanted to find something more
immediate. Fortunately, I wasn't punished for my error, but this impulsive
decision could have cost me dearly!} ({The draw is in hand after} 24... Rg8 25.
Rh2 Nd5 26. Bh4 Ne3 27. g3 Nf5 28. Rf2 Nxh4 29. gxh4 Rg1+ 30. Kd2 Rh1 31. Rf4
Rh2+ 32. Ke3 b5 {.}) 25. Bg5 Re2 26. Rh2 {Black has no clear continuation here,
and White kicks the rook out of the second rank.} b5 27. Kd1 Re4 28. Bd2 Kd7
29. g3 Rg4 30. Rh3 a5 31. Ke2 Nb4 32. Bf4 $2 ({After the correct} 32. Rh7+ $1
Kc6 33. Bf4 Nd5 34. Kf3 {White would have a techincal win.}) 32... Rg7 33. Rh5
Kc6 34. a4 $2 {Fortunately, time trouble saved me in this game. Now White
trades too many queenside pawns, and I felt relatively safe again.} ({After} 
34. c3 Nxa2 35. Kd3 a4 36. Kc2 b4 37. Ra5 $1 {White collects the house on the
queenside.}) 34... bxa4 35. Rxa5 Nxc2 36. Rxa4 Kd5 37. Kd3 Ne1+ 38. Kc3 Ng2 39.
Ra5+ Ke4 40. Ra4+ Kd5 41. Ra5+ Ke4 42. Rg5 Rd7 43. Bd2 Rd3+ 44. Kc2 Ne3+ 45.
Kc1 Nf5 46. g4 Nd4 47. Bc3 c5 48. Kb1 c4 49. Bxd4 Kxd4 50. Rg8 Rd1+ 51. Ka2 Ke5
52. Re8+ Kf4 53. Re2 Rc1 54. Ka3 Kxg4 55. Kb4 Kf5 56. Kc5 Kf6 57. Kd4 Kf5 58.
Kc5 Kf6 59. Kd5 Kf7 60. Kd6 Rd1+ 61. Kc5 Rc1 62. Kb4 Kf6 63. Re3 Rc2 64. Ka3
Kf5 65. Rc3 Rxc3+ 66. bxc3 Ke6 67. Kb4 Kd6 68. Kxc4 Kc6 69. Kd4 Kd6 70. c4 Kc6
71. c5 Kc7 72. Kd5 Kd7 73. c6+ Kc7 74. Kc5 Kc8 75. Kb6 Kb8 76. c7+ Kc8 77. Kc6
1/2-1/2

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2022.10.06"]
[Round "2"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Yoo, Christopher"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2845"]
[BlackElo "2655"]
[Annotator "Yoo"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2022.10.04"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,96,34,31,31,31,53,26,26,44,33,14,12,10,54,60,58,58,59,54,58,57,71,10,
10,6,-14,-14,16,0,45,45,51,52,52,51,51,52,51,25,29,39,52,36,46,17,132,141,136,
45,45,42,25,-6,0,-43,98,71,67,-12,104,70,84,75,10,0,0,0,0,-8,-90,-90,0,-54,-90,
-65,0,0,0,0,0,0,139,0,0,0,0,0,-14,-101,-149,-310,-215,-215,-215,-445,-445,-841,
-1018]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {A surprise for So. The Petroff is very solid, and
I hadn't played it much befor ethis game.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6.
Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qb3 {An ambitious path forward,
keepign the pieces on the board.} (10. Nc3 {is a more tame line.} Nxc3 11. bxc3
Bxd3 12. Qxd3 dxc4 13. Qxc4 Nd7 {with an equal position.}) 10... Qd7 11. c5 Bc7
12. Qc2 Na6 13. a3 Bg6 {Going for ...f7-f5, to cement the knight on e4.} 14.
Nc3 f5 15. Ne2 Bh5 16. Ng3 Bg6 17. Ne2 Bh5 18. Ng3 Bg6 19. b4 {Avoiding the
repeittion, and rightfully so, as White is a bit better due to my misplaced
a6-knight.} Rae8 20. Bb2 ({Better was} 20. Ne5 {, forcing me to give up the
bishop pair with} Bxe5 21. dxe5 {.}) 20... Re6 $6 {Trying to attack, but it's
a bit unsound.} ({I should have played} 20... Qe7 $1 21. Ne5 Qh4 {with
equality.}) 21. Ne2 $1 {Preparing Nf3-e5 followed by Ne2-f4 in some cases.} Qe7
22. Ne5 f4 {I think this is the best practical option, but So can repulse the
attack if he is accurate.} 23. Nxg6 Rxg6 24. f3 Qh4 25. Nc3 Rh6 {[#] White now
has a critical decision to make: should he allow ...Qh4xh2+, calling the bluff,
or should he playing h2-h3 and making sure he isn't mated? It turns out that
my attack was in fact a bluff, but he was overestimated my chances.} 26. h3 ({
After} 26. Nxe4 $1 dxe4 27. Bxe4 Qxh2+ 28. Kf1 Bd8 29. d5 {...Qh2-h1+ is not a
problem, as White can escape with Kf2-e2-Kd3.}) 26... Ng5 27. Qf2 {This gave
me an interesting tactical possibility, but I wanted to keep the Queens on the
board.} Qh5 $5 ({Worth considering was} 27... Qxh3 28. gxh3 Nxh3+ 29. Kg2 Nxf2
30. Kxf2 Rh2+ 31. Kf1 Rxb2 32. Re7 {with an unclear position. I thought White
had compensation for the pawns due to the active rook and coordinated pieces.})
28. b5 Nb8 29. a4 Bd8 {Getting the bishop off the lacklustre c7-square, where
it was being blocked by the f4-pawn. It can also go to f6 or h4 in the future.
Meanwhile, it's tough to find a good plan for White.} 30. Re2 Qf7 {With
threats of ...Rh6xh3 or ...Ng5xh3.} 31. Kf1 $2 {He needed to control the
h3-square to make it harder to sacrifice.} ({Correct was} 31. Qf1 $1 {
preventing both sacrifices on h3. The position is equal after} Ne6 32. Nd1 Bf6
33. Qf2 Bh4 34. Qf1 Bf6 {.}) 31... Nd7 32. a5 {[#]} Nxh3 $1 {Breaking through!
I had to act fast before he got his queenside counterplay. With this move I
have serious initiative with my rook and queen attacking on the h-file.} 33.
gxh3 Rxh3 34. Qg2 Qh5 35. Rf2 Rg3 36. Qh2 Rh3 37. Qg2 Re8 $1 {Avoiding the
repetition! I felt like my pieces were more than strong enough to play for the
win, despite not being able to calculate one at this point.} 38. Ne2 Re3 39.
Ra3 Rh1+ $2 {A bit of a miss from me in time trouble.} (39... Bxa5 $1 {would
have won on the spot. After} 40. Rxa5 Rexf3 $1 {the attack is simply too
strong:} 41. Nxf4 Rh1+ 42. Ke2 Rxf4+ {and Black is crushing.}) 40. Ng1 Nf6 $2 (
{Once again I had} 40... Bxa5 $1 {but overlooked it due to time pressure:} 41.
Be2 Rxa3 42. Bxa3 Nf6 {and Black should win.}) 41. Bc1 Qh4 $1 {Sacrificing an
Exchange, but with good reason - ...Nf6-h5-g3 is very powerful.} 42. Bxe3 fxe3
43. Bxh7+ Qxh7 44. Rxe3 Bc7 45. Re7 $4 {The final mistake. There was a saving
move, but it was admittedly very difficult to find: after} (45. Rb3 $3 Rh2 46.
Qg5 Rxf2+ 47. Kxf2 Qc2+ 48. Ne2 Qxb3 49. Qf5 Bxa5 50. b6 {White somehow has a
perpetual check here. This is a bit hard to believe, but it's a very a very
nice resource.}) 45... Qb1+ 46. Re1 Qd3+ 47. Rfe2 Rh2 48. Qg5 Nh5 {White
cannot stop ...Nh5-g3+, so he resigned. Winning against Wesley So (and with
Black) is a huge achievement for me, and I am even happier to have done it in
a chaotic fashion!} 0-1

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2022.10.07"]
[Round "3.6"]
[White "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[Black "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2308"]
[BlackElo "2297"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,75,5,16,56,39,28,20,25,25,31,0,36,25,42,-6,5,-15,7,-50,-17,-22,6,-36,
-17,-44,-18,-29,-9,-40,5,-6,-15,-18,-15,-52,-46,-52,62,76,21,3,0,-37,-2,-2,41,
-19,97,110,109,109,109,109,119,-54,208,257,257,284,284,306,306,344,491,124,124,
326,332,229,762,923,930,958,951,1043,1025,788]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 {I was
expecting a Petroff, but Yu is versatile in the opening.} 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6
5. d3 h6 {There are so many move orders in the Italian that it's difficult to
explain all the intricacies!} 6. O-O d6 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 a6 9. Bb3 Re8 10. Nbd2
Be6 11. Bc2 Ba7 {We have ended up in a common tabiya.} 12. Nf1 d5 {While White
manuevers the knight to the kingside and builds an attack there, it's the
right time for Black to challenge the center.} 13. exd5 ({I had played} 13. Qe2
{many times before but decided to play something new this time.}) 13... Bxd5
14. Ng3 Nh7 {Uncommon, and only played a few times previously.} ({More common
is} 14... Qd7 15. Nh4 Rad8 16. Nhf5 {with an unclear position.}) 15. Qe2 {
This move felt awkward to me during the game.} ({I think} 15. Be3 {,
challenging the bishop, seems like a logical way of handling this position.})
15... Qd7 16. Nh4 Be6 17. Qh5 Nf6 18. Qf3 Bd5 {We were both spending quite a
bit of time on these moves - perhaps an indication that neither of us were
quite sure how to handle this position.} 19. Ne4 Nh7 20. Qh5 Ne7 21. Be3 {[#]}
f5 $6 ({More accurate is} 21... Bxe3 22. Rxe3 ({during the game I was
considering this anti positional capture} 22. fxe3 {During the game I was
considering the anti-positional recapture} Bxe4 23. dxe4 {. I thought my
strong light-squared bishop and the open f-file gave me enough compensation
for the weak pawn structure, but the engines disagree.}) 22... f5) 22. Bxa7
Rxa7 $4 {This leads to tactical problems for Black, as the e8-rook is now
loose.} ({After} 22... fxe4 23. Bc5 exd3 24. Bxd3 $14 {White is doing well due
to her bishop pair and superior pawn structure.}) 23. Nc5 Qc6 24. Rxe5 Nf6 25.
Qe2 Qxc5 26. Re1 {Now I will simply win the piece back and remain a pawn up.}
g5 {a bit of a desperate attempt} 27. Nxf5 Nxf5 28. Rxe8+ Nxe8 29. Qxe8+ Qf8
30. Qg6+ Ng7 31. d4 {Black's extra piece is irrelevant.} Ra8 32. Qxh6 Qf4 {
[#] I missed this move, and panicked a bit. I thought the game was over, but
suddenly she has a threat of ...Qf4-d2.} 33. Bh7+ $2 ({Correct was} 33. Qh7+
Kf7 (33... Kf8 34. Qh8+ Bg8 35. Bb3 {and White wins}) 34. Bg6+ Kf6 ({or} 34...
Kf8 35. Qh8+ Bg8 36. Re3) 35. Bd3 {and White is in the driver's seat.}) 33...
Kf8 34. Bd3 Bf7 $4 {Returning the favor.} ({With} 34... Re8 {things get very
complicated:} 35. Rxe8+ Kxe8 36. Qxg7 Qc1+ 37. Bf1 (37. Kh2 Qf4+ {will lead to
a perpetual}) 37... Bc4 38. Qxc7 Qxf1+ 39. Kh2 {and matters aren't so clear,
even with all the extra pawns!}) 35. Qh8+ Bg8 36. Bc4 Qf7 37. Bxf7 Kxf7 38. Qh6
1-0

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2022.10.09"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B62"]
[WhiteElo "2336"]
[BlackElo "2432"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,74,42,23,53,52,114,86,86,53,53,40,66,40,85,31,43,36,51,6,8,9,67,79,63,
32,35,29,31,-9,4,-4,-1,-28,-43,-36,-43,-50,-24,-116,-172,-143,-136,-153,-139,
-122,-132,-152,-158,-199,-92,-249,-191,-214,-194,-180,-192,-192,-124,-132,-146,
-163,-170,-186,-157,-197,-211,-923,-945,-945,-1173,-1132,-1325,-1625,-2567,
-1944,-2831]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 {
Challenging Krush in her pet Richter-Rauzer!} e6 7. Qd3 Bd7 8. Be2 {It's not
necessary to develop this bishop here.} ({More standard is} 8. O-O-O a6 9. f4
Be7 10. Nf3 {.}) 8... a6 9. f4 Be7 10. O-O-O b5 11. Bf3 Rc8 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13.
a3 {This is always a difficult move to make in opposite-side castled positions,
as it creates a hook and makes Black's ...b5-b4 move a lot scarier.} O-O 14. g4
Qc7 15. h4 a5 {White's attacking chances are nebulous, while Black is ready to
break through with ...b5-b4.} 16. Ne2 ({I think it was necessary to change the
course of the game with something like} 16. e5 {, as "normal" moves will lead
to a disaster. Play could continue} dxe5 17. Bxc6 Qxc6 18. fxe5 b4 19. exf6
gxf6 20. Bh6 bxc3 21. Bxf8 cxb2+ 22. Kb1 Bxf8 {with an unclear position.})
16... b4 17. Nd4 Bd7 18. axb4 axb4 {[#]} 19. Rhe1 {Optically, it looks like
White has put her pieces on very natural squares, but the Black attack is
coming very fast here.} h6 20. Rh1 e5 21. Nf5 Bxf5 22. Bxf6 Bxf6 23. exf5 exf4
{Opposite-colored bishops are very dangerous during attacks as they cannot be
tamed by their absent counterparts.} 24. Rh2 Qa7 25. Qb3 Rfe8 26. Re2 Re3 27.
Rxe3 fxe3 28. Kb1 Bxh4 {Grabbing another pawn.} 29. Rxd6 Qe7 30. Qd3 Bf6 31.
Rd5 Re8 {Now White also has to worry about the passed e-pawn.} 32. Be2 Ra8 33.
Rb5 Qa7 34. c3 bxc3 35. Qd5 cxb2 36. Bc4 Qa1+ 37. Kc2 Qc1+ {A smooth victory
for Krush.} 0-1

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2022.10.18"]
[Round "12.6"]
[White "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E76"]
[WhiteElo "2297"]
[BlackElo "2432"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/p2q3p/1p1p2p1/2pPb3/2P4P/5QP1/P1B3K1/5R2 w - - 0 31"]
[PlyCount "16"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,16,27,-459,-459,-489,-501,-665,-436,-433,-434,-742,-742,-743,-751,
-29983,-29984,-29985,-29986]} {Spoiler alert: this won't be the last time we
see a bishop donation in this event!  More seriously, Yu completely
hallucinated here and forgot that after capturing the bishop, the black queen
sitll defends the e8-rook.} 31. Ba4 $4 ({Instead} 31. h5 $1 {(which she was
planning on playing) is quite strong, posing some serious questions to Black.
The opposite-colored bishops, as we saw in the previous game, favor White as
the Black king is weaker.} gxh5 32. Qxh5 {looks disastrous for Black}) 31...
Qxa4 32. Qf7+ Kh8 {The game is over.} 33. h5 gxh5 34. Rf5 Bd4 35. Rg5 Qc2+ 36.
Kh3 Qe4 37. Rxh5 Qh1+ 38. Kg4 Re4+ 0-1

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2022.10.19"]
[Round "13.2"]
[White "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"]
[Black "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E17"]
[WhiteElo "2272"]
[BlackElo "2297"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r6/5k1p/1pp2r2/p2p2p1/N2Pp3/1P1nP1P1/1P1R1P1P/5RK1 b - - 0 27"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,61,-102,-102,-115,-126,-152,-152,-154,-162,-166,-171,-157,-178,-151,
-151,-145,-126,-143,-143,-182,-185,-174,-174,-169,-146,-182,-174,-200,-201,
-279,-40,-218,-197,-209,-225,-277,-183,-183,-223,-207,-340,-496,-365,-408,-408,
-420,-393,-404,-420,-442,-420,-470,-517,-722,-880,-1011,-1012,-1244,-1287,
-1606,-1812,-29983,-29984]} {[#] Black is doing really well due to the strong
knight and better structure, but now she goes on to dominate the board.} 27...
Rf3 28. Rc2 Nb4 29. Rd2 Ke7 {The king marches to the queenside to defend the
b6-pawn and free the b8-rook.} 30. Rc1 Kd6 31. Rf1 {White doesn't have any
active ideas, and is just marking time. One of her rooks will always be tied
down, defending the weak f2-pawn.} Kc7 32. Nc3 Rbf8 33. Ne2 h5 34. Kg2 c5 {
Playing on both sides of the board.} 35. h4 {Perhaps Cervantes Landeiro ran
out of patience here and wanted to go active, but the weakness on h4 will
prove crucial.} gxh4 36. gxh4 Rg8+ 37. Ng3 {Played to activate the knight, but
unfortunately for Whtie, the h5-pawn will never become a problem for Black.}
Rg4 38. Rh1 Kd6 39. dxc5+ bxc5 40. Ra1 Nc6 ({Here Yu passed up the winning} 
40... Nd3 $1 41. Rxd3 Rfxg3+ $1 42. fxg3 exd3 43. Rxa5 Rb4 {.}) 41. Rc1 d4 ({
I think} 41... Ne7 {with the threat of either ...Ne7-f5 or ...Ne7-g6,
attacking the h4-pawn and the g3-knight, is much stronger.}) 42. exd4 cxd4 43.
Rc4 d3 {[#]} 44. Ra4 ({Now} 44. Rxe4 {doesn't work because of} Rfxg3+ 45. fxg3
Rxe4 {and Black wins.}) 44... Ne5 {The game will end quickly once the knight
arrives on the kingside.} 45. Rxa5 Ng6 46. Ra6+ Kc7 47. Ra4 Nxh4+ 48. Kh3 Nf5 {
Black collects another pawn, and the passed e- and d-pawns will be unstoppable.
} 49. Rc4+ Kd6 50. Kh2 Nxg3 51. fxg3 Kd5 52. Ra4 Rgxg3 53. Ra5+ Kd4 54. Rxh5
Ke3 55. Rd1 Ke2 56. Ra1 d2 57. Rh4 e3 0-1

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship Playoff"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2022.10.20"]
[Round "14.1"]
[White "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E72"]
[WhiteElo "2297"]
[BlackElo "2432"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r4rk/3q3p/3p4/p2Pbp2/P7/1P3RPP/5QBK/4R3 w - - 0 38"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,17,87,84,84,61,648,720,732,800,1178,1257,29983,800,1306,1400,29983,
29984,29999,-30000]} {[#]} 38. Rxe5 $1 {With just 15 seconds on her clock, Yu
makes the correct decision to sacrifice the Exchange and get rid of Black's
annoying dark-squared bishop.} dxe5 39. Rxf5 Rxb3 $2 {Krush immediately errs,
but it is difficult to manage this position with no time on the clock.} ({
Best was} 39... Qg7 {as Black needs to be ready for the Rf5-f7 threat. Here}
40. Rf7 Rgf8 {keeps the position very unclear.}) 40. Rf7 Qd6 41. Be4 Rg7 42.
Rf8+ Rg8 43. Rf7 Rg7 44. Rf8+ Rg8 {[#]} 45. Qf7 {Now mate is unstoppable!} Qxf8
({After} 45... Rb2+ 46. Kh1 {Black runs out of checks as the b1-square is
covered by the bishop.}) 46. Qxh7# 1-0

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship Playoff"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2022.10.20"]
[Round "15.1"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D10"]
[WhiteElo "2432"]
[BlackElo "2297"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1n2r1k1/5p2/p5pp/1bPqn3/1P1B4/2Q2P2/6PP/R3R1K1 b - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "26"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,26,-65,128,146,140,164,146,87,95,95,97,72,78,79,78,86,151,78,396,151,
242,205,203,371,404,435,839,875]} {[#]} 35... Nc4 $4 {With a mere five seconds
left on the clock, Yu moves the wrong knight. On the broadcast video, we can
see her hesitating after grabbing the piece, as she realizes that there is no
good square for it to land on.} ({Black keeps the advantage after} 35... Nbc6 {
, challenging the d4-bishop and trying to either force its exchange or chase
it off the a1-h8 diagonal. For instance:} 36. Be3 Nd3 37. Bxh6 Rxe1+ 38. Rxe1
Nd4 {and Black is cruising.}) 36. Rxe8+ Bxe8 37. Bh8 {Now the necessity of
neutralizing the bishop becomes clear.} f6 38. Qxf6 Qf7 39. Qc3 Bb5 40. Rd1 Nc6
41. Bf6 Qe6 42. Re1 Qd7 43. h4 Nd2 44. Be5 Nxe5 45. Qxe5 Nc4 46. Qf6 Qf7 47.
Qd8+ Kg7 {The final blunder, losing immediately.} ({The only way to keep the
game going is} 47... Qf8 {as Re1-e8 is not possible. The computer evaluates
the position as completely lost for Black, but anything could have happened in
the time scramble.}) 48. Re7 1-0

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship Playoff"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2022.10.20"]
[Round "16.1"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2432"]
[BlackElo "2297"]
[Annotator "Abrahamyan"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,94,25,19,22,-10,12,11,21,16,10,-11,-3,13,12,5,7,-30,-16,-15,365,365,
407,356,394,378,421,410,424,399,401,396,403,405,406,400,408,402,434,425,451,
425,436,423,429,387,547,43,56,13,23,15,45,91,104,97,109,137,149,108,115,124,
132,143,147,145,181,175,264,277,303,327,337,232,295,303,316,364,838,838,838,
876,908,28,31,45,55,34,106,45,58,41,58,41,86,50,68]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2
Bg7 4. O-O e5 5. d3 Ne7 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. e4 d4 8. Ne1 Nbc6 9. f4 {[#]} Bg4 $4 {
Yu thought she had a knight on f6, and didn't realize that this move leaves
her bishop en prise. Instinctively she tried to take the move back, only to
realize that she had let go of the piece.} 10. Qxg4 {With an extra piece and
an extra minute on the clock, the commentators were ready to call the game for
Krush, but Yu soldiered on.} f5 11. Qe2 Qd7 12. Nef3 Rae8 13. fxe5 Nxe5 14.
Nxe5 Bxe5 15. exf5 Nxf5 16. Ne4 b6 17. Bd2 c5 18. Rf2 Re7 19. Raf1 Rfe8 20. Bh3
Rf7 21. g4 Nd6 22. Nxd6 {[#]} Bxh2+ {An opportunity presents itself.} 23. Kxh2
Qxd6+ 24. Kh1 Rxe2 25. Rxe2 {Objectively, the position is lost for Black, but
now at least things are murky. Black has a queen, and the white king is
exposed. And Yu was a minute ahead on the clock.} Qd5+ 26. Kg1 Rxf1+ 27. Bxf1
Qf3 28. g5 Qg4+ 29. Rg2 Qd1 30. Bf4 Qf3 31. Rf2 Qg4+ 32. Bg2 Qd1+ 33. Kh2 Qe1
34. Bd5+ Kg7 35. Bg3 Qe8 36. Kg2 h5 37. Rf7+ Kh8 38. Kf1 Qe3 39. Rf8+ Kg7 40.
Rf7+ Kh8 41. Bf2 Qc1+ 42. Be1 Qxg5 {It's important to note here that there was
no increment until move 60. With just five seconds left on the clock, and 18
moves until the increment kicked in, Krush was in dire straits.} 43. Be4 Qg4
44. Bf2 Qd1+ 45. Kg2 Qg4+ {[#] Krush played the illegal move 46.Kg1, leaving
her king in check, and a sign that her nerves had completely given up. Yu
correctly made the claim and had one minute added to her clock, while Krush
had to make 14 moves in two seconds to get to move 60 and the two-second
increment - a physically impossible task.} 46. Kh2 Kg8 47. Rf3 h4 {Now came
the inevitable - Krush ran out of time.} 0-1

[Event "Daugavpils"]
[Site "Daugavpils"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Lapinski, Jerzy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C37"]
[WhiteElo "2500"]
[BlackElo "2200"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[PlyCount "33"]
[EventDate "1990.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 {[#]} 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. O-O gxf3 6. Qxf3 Qf6 7. e5
Qxe5 8. Bxf7+ Kxf7 9. d4 Qxd4+ 10. Be3 Qf6 11. Bxf4 Ke8 12. Nc3 Nc6 13. Nd5 Qg6
14. Rae1+ Be7 15. Bd6 Kd8 16. Qf8+ Bxf8 17. Bxc7# {[#]} 1-0

[Event "ABC-381"]
[Site "Daugavpils"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4k3/4r3/8/8/3nb3/8/3P1Q2/2BK4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1990.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-381"]
[Site "Daugavpils"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7r/6k1/7q/8/8/5bN1/5Q2/4R1K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1990.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-381"]
[Site "Daugavpils"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/1qk5/1b6/8/4b3/8/4R3/2K1Q3 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1990.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-381"]
[Site "Daugavpils"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6r1/4bq2/8/8/4k3/8/3PPP2/3QKB2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1990.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-381"]
[Site "Daugavpils"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/5b2/6q1/5kP1/5N2/4PKB1/5QB1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1990.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

 0-1

[Event "ABC-381"]
[Site "Daugavpils"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7r/6k1/8/7b/8/6PQ/4n3/4b2K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1990.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

 0-1

[Event "2022 Haring K-12"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.08.01"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Yan, Ruiyang"]
[Black "Prasanna, Gracy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2311"]
[BlackElo "2224"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "157"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3
O-O 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. Be3 Nd4 11. Bxd4 exd4 12. Nd5 c5 13. a4 Be6 14. Nxf6+ Bxf6
15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Qe2 Qd7 17. e5 dxe5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. Qxe5 bxa4 20. Qxc5 Rfc8
21. Qb4 Rxc2 22. Rxa4 Rxb2 23. Qc4 a5 24. h3 Rb5 25. Re1 Rd5 26. Qb3 h6 27. Re4
Qd6 28. f4 Rb8 29. Qa2 Rbb5 30. Rc4 Rbc5 31. Rxe6 Qxe6 32. Rxc5 Rd6 33. Rxa5
Qxa2 34. Rxa2 {[#]} Rf6 $1 (34... Kf7 35. Ra4 (35. Re2 {[%cal Ge2e4]})) 35. Rf2
(35. g3 Re6 {the threat of Re3 will force White to defend passively or trade a
pair of pawns,neither of whichwill provide much in the way of winning chances.}
) 35... Re6 36. Rf3 Kf7 (36... Re2 {Rooks belong on the seventh rankis
something most of us learned early on, and this is a prime example why.} 37.
Kf1 Rd2) 37. f5 (37. Kf2) 37... Re1+ (37... Re2 38. Rf4 Kf6 39. Rxd4 Kxf5) 38.
Kf2 Rd1 39. Ke2 Rg1 40. Rg3 {[#] White is reorganizing her pieces to more
usefulsquares.} Kf6 $2 ({Admitting you need to change course is one of the
harder jobs in chess.} 40... Ra1 41. Rg4 (41. Rg6 Ra5 42. g4 Re5+) (41. Kf3 Re1
) 41... Kf6 $145 $1 (41... Ra5 42. Rf4 $145 $1 (42. Rxd4 Rxf5) 42... Kf6 (42...
Re5+ 43. Kf2 Kf6 44. g4 Rd5 45. Kf3) 43. g4 h5 44. Kf3) 42. Rg6+ (42. Rf4 Ke5
43. Rf3 Ra2+) 42... Kxf5 43. Rxg7 Ra2+) 41. Rg6+ Kxf5 42. Rxg7 {That pawn
trade is very favorable for White. Black's remaining pawns are isolated and
vulnerable. White can potentially make a passed pawn on the kingside, or seek
to trade her d-ppawn for the h-pawn to get connected passers.} Kf4 43. Rg4+ Ke5
44. Rg6 Kf5 45. Rg3 Kf4 46. Rf3+ {White presents a difficult dilemma;
whichever way the king goes, it will be cut off from the other direction.} Ke5
(46... Kg5 47. Rf2 Ra1 48. Kf3 Kf5 49. g4+ Kg5 50. Ke4 Kh4 51. Rf3 Rh1 (51...
Ra4 52. Rf5 (52. Rf6 Kxh3 53. Kf3 {is also good enough}) 52... Kxh3 53. Kf3)
52. Rf6 (52. Kxd4 $2 Rxh3) 52... Re1+ 53. Kxd4 Kxh3 54. Rxh6+ Kxg4 55. Kd5 (55.
Rh8 Kf5 56. Rf8+) 55... Re8 56. d4) 47. Kf2 Rd1 48. g4 Rd2+ 49. Kg3 Re2 50. h4
(50. Rf5+ Ke6 51. Rh5 Re3+ 52. Kf4 Rxd3 53. Rxh6+ Kd5 54. h4 $2 (54. Rh8 Rd1
55. h4 d3 56. Rd8+ Kc4 57. h5) 54... Rh3 $11) 50... Re1 51. Kf2 Rd1 52. g5 hxg5
53. hxg5 Rd2+ 54. Kg3 Rd1 55. Kg4 Rg1+ {[#]} 56. Rg3 (56. Kh5 {This is how you
win. Better to go for this then what you did...It is more likely that you work
out a win from here, all you need is one tempo.} Rh1+ (56... Re1 57. g6 Re3 58.
Rxe3+ dxe3 59. g7 e2 60. g8=Q e1=Q 61. Qe8+) 57. Kg6 Re1 58. Rf5+ Ke6 59. Rf6+
Ke5 (59... Ke7 60. Rf4 Re6+ 61. Kg7 Rd6 62. g6) 60. Kf7 Re3 61. g6 Rxd3 62. g7
Rg3 63. Rg6 Rf3+ 64. Ke7 (64. Ke8 $2 Ra3 $11) 64... Ra3 65. Re6+ (65. Rg5+)
65... Kf5 66. g8=Q) 56... Re1 57. g6 $2 Kf6 58. Kh3 Kg7 59. Kg2 Re6 60. Kf3 Re5
(60... Rxg6 61. Rxg6+ Kxg6 62. Ke4 Kf6 63. Kxd4 Ke6 64. Kc5 {When White takes
the d4-pawn, Black's king has to land on d6.}) 61. Kf2 Re6 62. Rg4 Rxg6 63.
Rxd4 Re6 {[#] This doesn't hurt anything, but the first priority is to put the
king in front of the pawn.} (63... Kf7 64. Re4 Re6 65. Ke3 Rxe4+ 66. Kxe4 Ke6
$11) 64. Rf4 Re7 (64... Rf6 65. Ke3 Rxf4 66. Kxf4 Kf6) 65. Kf3 Re1 $6 {This
placement is a bad sign, though it does not yet move the needle on the engine.
Putting a rook behind a passed pawn is a fundamental principle, put not in
rook& pawn v. rook. The rook belongs in front of the pawn, to harrass the
approaching king and offer rook swaps when appropriate.} (65... Rf7 66. Rxf7+
Kxf7 67. Ke3 Ke7 $1 {maintains the opposition}) (65... Re6 66. Re4 Rd6 (66...
Kf6 $4 67. Rxe6+ Kxe6 68. Ke4 Kd6 69. Kd4) 67. Ke3 Kf6 68. d4 Re6) 66. Re4 Rd1
67. Ke2 Ra1 68. Rf4 Kg6 69. Ke3 Ra5 $4 {Finally falling down the slippery
slope.} (69... Ra7 70. d4 (70. Kd4 Rd7+ 71. Kc4 Rc7+ 72. Kb5 Rd7 73. d4 Kg5 74.
Re4 Kf5 75. Re5+ Kf6 76. Kc5 Rd8) 70... Rf7) 70. d4 $4 (70. Ke4 $1 $18 Ra8 71.
d4 {the pawn has advanced far enough ofr the king to advance.} Kg5 (71... Re8+
72. Kd5 Rd8+ 73. Kc5 Rc8+ 74. Kb6 Kg5 75. Rf1 Rd8 76. Rd1 Kf6 77. Kc7 Rd5 78.
Kc6 Rd8 79. d5 {and the pawn cannot be stopped.}) 72. Rf1 Re8+ 73. Kd5 Rd8+ 74.
Kc5 Rc8+ 75. Kb6 Rd8 76. Rd1) 70... Rf5 {Suddenly it's a draw again, though
not as trivial as before.} 71. Re4 Kf6 72. Kd3 {[#]} Rh5 $4 (72... Ra5 $8 73.
Kc4 Ra8 $1 74. d5 {Otherwise White's king will be forced back} Ra4+ 75. Kd3
Rxe4 76. Kxe4 Ke7 $11) 73. Kc4 Rh1 {Again, this is a flawed strategy, but} (
73... Rh8 74. d5 {the rook gets fatally squuezed.}) 74. d5 Rd1 75. Kc5 Rc1+ 76.
Kd6 Rd1 77. Rf4+ Kg5 78. Rf2 Kg6 79. Ke6 (79. Ke6 Re1+ 80. Kd7 Kg7 81. d6 Rd1
82. Ke7 Re1+ 83. Kd8 Rd1 84. d7 Rc1 85. Rf4 Rc2 86. Ke7 Re2+ 87. Kd6 Rd2+ 88.
Ke6 Re2+ 89. Kd5 Rd2+ 90. Rd4) 1-0

[Event "WchT Students 09th final A"]
[Site "Marianske Lazne"]
[Date "1962.07.20"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "*Gufeld, Eduard"]
[Black "Kavalek, Lubomir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C64"]
[Annotator "Kavalek -Watson"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "1962.07.13"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]
[WhiteTeam "Soviet Union U26"]
[BlackTeam "Czechoslovakia U26"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "URS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "CSR"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3 f5 {The Cordel Gambit.} 5. d4 fxe4 6. Ng5
{A very rare try.} (6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Nxe5 {is the traditional and most popular
line.}) 6... Bb6 7. d5 $6 (7. Nxe4 $1 {has the idea} d5 8. O-O $1 dxe4 9. d5
$14) 7... e3 $1 ({Attacking g5 and f2, while avoiding} 7... Nce7 $4 8. Ne6 $1)
8. Ne4 $2 ({The computer finds that} 8. Bxe3 $1 Bxe3 9. Ne6 $1 dxe6 10. dxc6
Qxd1+ 11. Kxd1 {survives, with near-equality.}) 8... Qh4 9. Qf3 Nf6 $6 (9...
Nge7 $1 10. dxc6 bxc6 {followed by ...exf2+ and ...d5 is very strong for Black.
}) 10. Nxf6+ gxf6 11. dxc6 $2 (11. Bxe3 $1 Bxe3 12. dxc6 dxc6 13. Bxc6+ bxc6
14. Qxe3 $1 {is equal}) 11... exf2+ 12. Kd1 $6 (12. Kf1 {defends better. Emms
gives the pretty sample line} dxc6 13. Be2 Rg8 14. Qh5+ Qxh5 15. Bxh5+ Ke7 16.
Nd2 Bf5 17. Be2 Rxg2 $3 18. Kxg2 Rg8+ 19. Kf3 Bg4+ 20. Ke4 Bxe2 {and wins})
12... dxc6 13. Be2 (13. Bxc6+ bxc6 14. Qxc6+ Kf7 15. Qxa8 Bg4+ 16. Qf3 e4 $1
$19) 13... Be6 {Black has three pawns for the piece and open lines against the
White king.} 14. Qh5+ Qxh5 15. Bxh5+ Ke7 16. b3 Bd5 17. Ba3+ Ke6 18. Bg4+ f5
19. Bh3 Rhg8 {Black gets a fourth pawn for the piece, with a powerful passed
f-pawn.} 20. Nd2 Bxg2 21. Bxg2 Rxg2 22. Rf1 {The options all lose as well.} Rd8
23. Ke2 {[#]} Rxd2+ $3 {Beautiful. Black prevents Nc4.} 24. Kxd2 e4 {Now Black
is a rook down, but the pawns are killers.} 25. Bf8 f4 26. b4 {Cleverly
preparing Bc5 to neutralized the powerful bishop on b6.} Rg5 $1 27. Bc5 {[#]}
Rxc5 $1 {The bishop is more valuable than a rook.} 28. bxc5 Bxc5 29. Rab1 f3
30. Rb4 {Again trying to divert or cut off the bishop.} (30. Rxb7 e3+ 31. Kd3
e2 32. Rbb1 Kf5 $1 {threatens ...Kg4-h3-g2! Then} 33. Rh1 Be7 $1 34. Rhf1 Bh4 {
wins both rooks after 35...e1Q.}) 30... Kf5 31. Rd4 Bxd4 32. cxd4 Kf4 {Kavalek
has Gufeld resigning here. The point is} (32... Kf4 33. Rxf2 e3+ 34. Ke1 exf2+
35. Kxf2 {and any passed queenside pawn wins, e.g.,} b6 36. h3 c5 37. dxc5 bxc5
38. h4 c4 {, etc.}) 0-1

[Event "Hoogovens"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "1975.01.27"]
[Round "11"]
[White "*Portisch, Lajos"]
[Black "Kavalek, Lubomir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E80"]
[Annotator "Kavalek- Watson"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "1975.01.14"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "12"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 c6 6. Be3 a6 7. Bd3 b5 8. e5 $1 {
Remarkably, this has been played in fewer than 1/4 of the hundreds of games
with this position, and only a few times in the past several years.} Nfd7 ({
Kavalek had lost to Spassky six years earlier after} 8... dxe5 $2 9. dxe5 Ng8
10. f4) 9. f4 {here or on the next move would give Black more room in which to
maneuver.} O-O ({Here or on the next move} 9... bxc4 {would give Black more
room in which to maneuver.}) 10. Nf3 Nb6 $6 11. b3 {'!' (Kavalek), restricting
the knight. In fact,} (11. c5 $1 {is even stronger.}) 11... N8d7 {Black gets
more and more cramped.} (11... Bg4 {was worth a try.}) 12. a4 $1 {Threatening
to win the knight with a5.} bxc4 13. bxc4 c5 $1 {Criticized by annotators, but
Kavalek intuitively recognizes that the time has come to play for broke,
because} (13... a5 14. c5) ({and} 13... Rb8 14. a5 Na8 15. c5 $1 {are just
awful for Black.}) 14. a5 cxd4 15. Nxd4 dxe5 {Continuing with his ingenious
idea.} (15... Bb7 16. e6 Nc5 17. axb6 {is hopeless.}) 16. Nc6 Qe8 17. axb6 {[#]
} exf4 $3 18. Nd5 (18. Bd4 $4 e5 $17) 18... fxe3 $1 {The point. Kavalek:
"During the game I considered this pawn to be very strong, as it ties up the
white position to some extent. It is the key to the queen sacrifice...Timman
pointed out that 'White's dark-squared bishop is a vital piece in the Saemisch
Variation of the King's Indian Defense."} 19. Nc7 Bc3+ $1 20. Kf1 (20. Ke2 $4
Nxb6 21. Nxe8 Bg4+) 20... Bb7 21. Nxe8 Bxc6 22. Nc7 Rad8 {[#] Kavalek: "Simple
counting shows that Black has only a bishop for the queen, but it will take
White a long time to consolidate on all fronts. That was encouraging."} 23. Rc1
$5 {Kavalek calls this the critical point, because although White is still
better, it's no longer easy. The computer finds} (23. Ra3 $1 {and after much
analysis eventually spoils the party, but this was a real game with a huge
number of tempting ways to go wrong.}) 23... Bd2 24. Nd5 $6 Bxd5 25. cxd5 Nxb6
$5 26. Rc5 Nxd5 27. g3 Rd6 28. Kg2 Rfd8 29. Rxd5 $6 {Understandable, with the
pressure mounting.} ({Kavalek analyses the better try} 29. Bc4 {at great length
}) 29... Rxd5 30. Bc4 Rf5 31. Qb3 Rf2+ 32. Kh3 Rd6 $1 {contemplating ...g5 and
...Rh6+.} 33. Qb8+ Kg7 34. Qa7 g5 $1 35. Qxe7 g4+ 36. Kxg4 Rg6+ 37. Kh3 Rh6+
38. Kg4 Rg6+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Four Rated Games Tonight"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "2008.09.11"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Rabin, Evan"]
[Black "Pressman, Leif"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A38"]
[WhiteElo "2146"]
[BlackElo "2165"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Life Jan 2023"]
[SourceDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2023.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. d3 e6 8. e4 d6
9. Re1 e5 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Nd5 Qd8 13. Qd2 Be6 14. a3 Rb8 15. b4 b6
16. Rac1 f5 17. exf5 gxf5 18. Nh4 Nd4 19. Ng6 Re8 20. f4 Bf7 21. Nh4 Kh7 22.
Kh1 Bxd5 23. Bxd5 Bf6 24. Nxf5 Nxf5 25. Be4 d5 26. cxd5 Kg7 27. Bxf5 Qxd5+ 28.
Be4 Qd4 29. Qe2 Kh8 30. Qh5 Bg7 31. fxe5 Rxe5 32. Qg6 Rxe4 33. Qxe4 1-0

