[Event "World Senior Teams +50"]
[Site "Struga MKD"]
[Date "2023.09.28"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Kaidanov, G."]
[Black "Sapis, W."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D15"]
[WhiteElo "2549"]
[BlackElo "2375"]
[Annotator "Hartmann,John"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2023.09.19"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "MKD"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "USA"]
[BlackTeam "Poland"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. e3 b5 6. b3 Bg4 7. a4 bxc4 8. bxc4
Nbd7 9. a5 e5 10. Qa4 Bxf3 11. gxf3 exd4 12. exd4 c5 $6 13. Nxd5 cxd4 $2 {
Opening the position against the bishops proves a dubious decision. The king
never finds safety.} 14. Bh3 $1 Be7 15. Nxf6+ $1 Bxf6 16. O-O Ra7 17. Ba3 $1
Qc7 18. Rab1 Qf4 19. Qc6 $1 Kd8 20. Bd6 Be5 {[#]} 21. Qc8+ $1 (21. Qc8+ Kxc8
22. Rb8#) (21. Rb8+ {also works:} Nxb8 22. Qc8#) 1-0

[Event "World Senior Teams +50"]
[Site "Struga MKD"]
[Date "2023.09.28"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Yermolinsky, A."]
[Black "Flis, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A58"]
[WhiteElo "2419"]
[BlackElo "1948"]
[Annotator "Hartmann,John"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2023.09.19"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "MKD"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "USA"]
[BlackTeam "Poland"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6 3. c4 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 Bxa6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. e4
Bxf1 9. Kxf1 d6 10. g3 Nbd7 11. Kg2 O-O 12. a4 {This way of handling the Benko
Gambit has driven Black to despair, and to earlier alternatives (including
postponing the recapture on a6).} Ra6 13. Qc2 Qa8 14. Bd2 Rb8 15. b3 (15. Ra3
$1 {is more precise.}) 15... e6 ({Here} 15... c4 $1 16. bxc4 Rc8 17. Nb5 Nc5 {
gives Black good compensation.}) 16. dxe6 fxe6 17. Rad1 d5 18. exd5 exd5 19.
Rhe1 Kh8 20. Nb5 Rc8 21. Bf4 Qc6 22. Ng5 $1 {With the idea of Re1-e6(e7) and a
dominating position.} d4+ 23. Kg1 Qd5 $2 24. Rxd4 Qg8 25. Rd6 Raa8 26. Re7 Rf8
27. Nc7 Rad8 28. Nce6 Nh5 29. Nxd8 Nxf4 30. Ndf7+ 1-0

[Event "Wch Seniors 65 31st"]
[Site "Terassini"]
[Date "2023.10.28"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Stebbings, Anthony"]
[Black "Nunn, John DM"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E71"]
[WhiteElo "2263"]
[BlackElo "2560"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2023.10.25"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3 Nc6 7. Nge2 a6 8. g4 b5
9. g5 Nh5 10. cxb5 axb5 11. Nxb5 Rb8 12. Nec3 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Be2 c6 15.
Nxd6 Rxb2 16. Nxc8 Qxc8 17. Rc1 Rd8 18. Qa4 Qe6 19. Kf1 f5 20. exf5 Qxf5 21.
Bxh5 gxh5 22. Qe4 Qf8 23. Nd1 Rb4 24. Qg2 Nf3 25. Ke2 Ra4 26. Rc2 Qf5 27. Rc1
Rxa2+ 0-1

[Event "Wch Seniors (Women) 31st"]
[Site "Terassini"]
[Date "2023.11.01"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Pancu, Aureliana Eugenia"]
[Black "Gaprindashvili, Nona"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B10"]
[WhiteElo "1865"]
[BlackElo "2267"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2023.10.25"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 g6 2. g3 Bg7 3. Bg2 e5 4. d3 d5 5. Nbd2 Ne7 6. e4 c6 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1
d4 9. a4 c5 10. Nc4 Nbc6 11. Bd2 b6 12. Qc1 f6 13. Bh6 Be6 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15.
Ncd2 Nb4 16. Bf1 Rc8 17. b3 Qc7 18. Nb1 a6 19. Na3 Rb8 20. c3 dxc3 21. Qxc3
Nec6 22. Nc2 Nxc2 23. Qxc2 Qf7 24. Rab1 Rbc8 25. h3 Nd4 26. Nxd4 cxd4 27. Qd2
Rc3 28. b4 Rfc8 29. Rb2 Qd7 30. a5 b5 31. h4 R8c7 32. f4 h6 33. h5 g5 34. f5
Bb3 35. Qf2 Qd6 0-1

[Event "Wch Blitz"]
[Site "Almaty"]
[Date "2022.12.29"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Kovalev, Vladislav"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "2556"]
[BlackElo "2830"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2022.12.29"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "21"]
[EventCountry "KAZ"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. cxd5 Re8+ 8.
Be2 Nbd7 9. O-O h6 10. Re1 Nb6 11. Ne5 Nbxd5 12. Bf3 c6 13. Qb3 Qb6 14. Nxd5
Nxd5 15. Bxd5 cxd5 16. Qxb6 axb6 17. Bd2 f6 18. Nd3 Rxe1+ 19. Bxe1 Ra4 20. Bc3
Bf5 21. Ne1 Kf7 22. a3 b5 23. Rc1 Rc4 24. Rd1 b4 25. axb4 Bxb4 26. Bxb4 Rxb4
27. Rd2 g5 28. f3 h5 29. Kf2 h4 30. g3 hxg3+ 31. hxg3 Ke6 32. Ng2 Kd6 33. Ne3
Be6 34. Ke2 Rb3 35. Kf2 Rb4 36. Ke2 Ra4 37. Kf2 Bd7 38. g4 Ra1 39. Rd1 Ra2 40.
Rd2 b5 41. Ke2 b4 42. Kd3 Bb5+ 43. Kc2 Bc4 44. Kb1 Ra8 45. Kc2 Re8 {[#]} 46.
Nxc4+ (46. Nf5+) 46... dxc4 47. d5 Re3 48. Rd4 b3+ 49. Kd2 Rxf3 50. Rxc4 Kxd5
51. Rb4 Kc5 52. Ra4 Rf4 53. Ra6 Kd4 54. Rd6+ Ke5 55. Rb6 Rxg4 56. Rxb3 Rg2+ 57.
Ke1 g4 58. Rb8 f5 59. b4 Rb2 0-1

[Event "USA-ch"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1960.12.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Berliner, Hans Jack"]
[Black "Bisguier, Arthur Bernard"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "1960.12.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bg5 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. e3 c5 7. Bd3 c4 8. Bc2
Qa5 9. Bxf6 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 gxf6 12. Ne2 Qa5 13. Nf4 Nc6 14. Rb1 {
[#]} Bd7 (14... Ne7) 15. Rxb7 O-O-O 16. Qb1 Qa6 17. Rb5 Ne7 18. Rc5+ Bc6 19.
Qb4 Qb6 20. Qa3 Rd7 (20... Kb8 21. Ke2 Ka8 22. Rb1 Qc7 23. Ba4) 21. Ke2 Rb7 22.
Rb1 Qc7 23. Qa6 Kb8 24. Nxd5 Nxd5 25. Rxc6 Rxb1 26. Rxc7 Nxc7 27. Qxf6 1-0

[Event "Airthings Masters Play In"]
[Site "Chess.com INT"]
[Date "2023.02.03"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Robson, Ray"]
[Black "Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2607"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "239"]
[EventDate "2023.02.03"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4
c6 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Bg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. g4 Bg6 14. Ne5 b5 15.
Bb3 Nd7 16. Nxg6 hxg6 17. Qf3 Qf6 18. Kg2 Qxf3+ 19. Kxf3 Nb6 20. Be3 Rfc8 21.
a4 a5 22. Rfb1 Kf8 23. Bd2 Rcb8 24. Bc2 b4 25. Be4 Nc4 26. Be1 Rb6 27. Bd3 Na3
28. Rb3 Rab8 29. cxb4 axb4 30. a5 R6b7 31. a6 Ra7 32. Bxb4 Rxb4 33. Raxa3 Rxd4
34. Ra2 Ke7 35. Rc2 Kd7 36. Bc4 f5 37. Rd3 Rf4+ 38. Ke3 Ke7 39. f3 g5 40. Ke2
fxg4 41. hxg4 Bc5 42. Kf1 Rd7 43. Rxd7+ Kxd7 44. Ke2 Kd6 45. Bd3 Ra4 46. Rb2
Bd4 47. Rb7 Ra2+ 48. Kd1 Ra3 49. Kc2 Rc3+ 50. Kd2 Ra3 51. Rf7 Ra2+ 52. Kd1 Ra3
53. Kc2 Rc3+ 54. Kd2 Ra3 55. Rf5 Bf6 56. Bc4 Ke7 57. Be2 Bd4 58. Kd1 g6 59.
Rxg5 Kf6 60. f4 Be3 61. Re5 Bxf4 62. Re4 Be3 63. Bc4 Kg5 64. Kc2 Bf4 65. Kb2
Ra5 66. Re6 Be5+ 67. Kb3 Bd4 68. Rxc6 Ra1 69. Bd3 Bf6 70. Re6 Bd4 71. Rxg6+ Kf4
72. Re6 Bf2 73. Be2 Rb1+ 74. Kc4 Ra1 75. Kb5 Rb1+ 76. Kc6 Rc1+ 77. Kd7 Ra1 78.
Kc7 Rc1+ 79. Rc6 Ra1 80. Re6 Rc1+ 81. Kd8 Ra1 82. Ke8 Kg5 83. Kf7 Bd4 84. Rd6
Be3 85. Rd5+ Kh4 86. Kg6 Ra2 87. Rh5+ Kg3 88. Re5 Kf4 89. Rf5+ Ke4 90. Bf3+ Kd4
91. Bb7 Kd3 92. g5 Ra1 93. Kf7 Bd4 94. g6 Rg1 95. a7 Bxa7 96. g7 Bd4 97. g8=Q
Rxg8 98. Kxg8 Kc4 99. Kf7 Bc3 100. Ke6 Kd4 101. Rd5+ Ke3 102. Kf5 Be1 103. Rd7
Kf2 104. Ke4 Ke2 105. Ba6+ Kf2 106. Rf7+ Kg2 107. Ke3 Ba5 108. Rg7+ Kh3 109.
Kf3 Kh4 110. Bd3 Bc3 111. Rg4+ Kh5 112. Kf4 Bd2+ 113. Kf5 Kh6 114. Be2 Bc1 115.
Rg6+ Kh7 116. Kf6 Bb2+ 117. Kf7 Bc3 {[#]} 118. Bd3 Bd4 119. Re6+ Kh8 120. Re8#
1-0

[Event "Dubai op-A 23rd"]
[Site "Dubai"]
[Date "2023.06.03"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Harsha, Bharathakoti"]
[Black "Ohanyan, Emin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2602"]
[BlackElo "2444"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "186"]
[EventDate "2023.05.27"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "UAE"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Qb6 6. dxc5 Qxb2 7. Rb1 Qc3 8.
Bb5 g6 9. O-O Bg7 10. Nd4 Bd7 11. N2b3 O-O 12. Ne2 Qb4 13. a4 Ne4 14. f3 Nc3
15. Nxc3 Qxc3 16. Qxd5 Rfd8 17. Qc4 Bf5 18. e4 Be6 19. Qxc3 Bxc3 20. Rfd1 Rac8
21. Bxc6 bxc6 22. Rd3 Rxd3 23. cxd3 Rd8 24. Nc1 Bd4+ 25. Kf1 Bxc5 26. Ke2 Bb6
27. Nb3 Bxb3 28. Rxb3 Rd4 29. a5 Bxa5 30. Rb8+ Rd8 31. Rb7 Kf8 32. Rxa7 Bb4 33.
g4 Ke8 34. h4 Rc8 35. d4 c5 36. d5 c4 37. Kd1 Bc5 38. Ra4 Bd4 39. h5 gxh5 40.
gxh5 e6 41. Kc2 exd5 42. exd5 Ke7 43. Ra6 Rd8 44. d6+ Ke6 45. Rc6 Be5 46. Bxe5
Kxe5 47. Rc7 Ke6 48. Rxc4 Rxd6 49. Rg4 h6 50. Rf4 Rd5 51. Ra4 Kf6 52. Rg4 Rxh5
53. Kd3 Re5 54. Rg1 h5 55. f4 Re8 56. Rg5 Rh8 57. Ke3 h4 58. Kf2 h3 59. Kg1 Rh4
60. Kh2 Rxf4 61. Rg3 Rh4 62. Rf3+ Ke7 63. Re3+ Kf8 64. Rb3 Rh6 65. Re3 Kg7 66.
Rg3+ Kf6 67. Rf3+ Ke6 68. Ra3 f6 69. Ra6+ Kf5 70. Ra5+ Kg4 71. Ra4+ Kg5 72.
Ra5+ f5 73. Ra8 f4 74. Rg8+ Kf5 75. Rf8+ Kg4 76. Rg8+ Kf3 77. Ra8 Re6 78. Ra7
Re8 79. Ra6 Kg4 80. Rg6+ Kf5 81. Ra6 Re3 82. Ra8 Kg4 83. Rg8+ Kf3 84. Ra8 Kf2
85. Ra2+ Kf1 86. Ra1+ Re1 87. Ra3 Re2+ 88. Kh1 Kf2 89. Kh2 Kf1+ 90. Kh1 Re3 91.
Ra1+ Re1 92. Ra3 {[#]} f3 93. Kh2 (93. Rxf3+ Ke2+) 93... f2 (93... f2 94. Ra2
Rb1 {[%cal Gf1e1]}) 0-1

[Event "Sigeman & Co 28th"]
[Site "Malmo"]
[Date "2023.05.10"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"]
[Black "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2550"]
[BlackElo "2678"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "250"]
[EventDate "2023.05.04"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[EventCategory "17"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. O-O Nge7 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Ng6 7. Be2 Be7 8.
c4 O-O 9. Nc3 b6 10. Be3 Bb7 11. Nb3 Qc8 12. f4 f5 13. exf5 Nh4 14. fxe6 dxe6
15. Ne4 Nb4 16. Nbd2 Rd8 17. Qb1 Qc6 18. a3 Rxd2 19. Bxd2 Bc5+ 20. Rf2 Bxf2+
21. Kxf2 Na6 22. Bf3 Nxf3 23. gxf3 Qxc4 24. Qa2 Qxa2 25. Rxa2 Bd5 26. Ra1 Bxe4
27. fxe4 Nc5 28. Ke3 Rd8 29. Bb4 Rd3+ 30. Ke2 Rb3 31. Bxc5 bxc5 32. Rc1 Rxb2+
33. Ke3 Rxh2 34. Rxc5 Rh3+ 35. Kd4 Rxa3 36. Ke5 Ra6 37. Rc8+ Kf7 38. Rc7+ Kg6
39. Re7 h5 40. Rxe6+ Rxe6+ 41. Kxe6 h4 42. f5+ Kh7 43. e5 h3 44. f6 h2 45. f7
h1=Q 46. f8=Q Qh3+ 47. Qf5+ Qxf5+ 48. Kxf5 a5 49. Ke6 a4 50. Kd6 a3 51. e6 a2
52. e7 a1=Q 53. e8=Q Qd4+ 54. Kc7 Qa7+ 55. Kd6 Qb6+ 56. Kd5 Qg6 57. Qe3 Qf5+
58. Kd4 Qd7+ 59. Kc3 Qd5 60. Qh3+ Kg6 61. Qg3+ Kf6 62. Qf4+ Qf5 63. Qh4+ Qg5
64. Qh8 Kf5 65. Kd3 Kf4 66. Kc4 Kg3 67. Qe8 Kf2 68. Qf7+ Kg2 69. Qe6 Qf4+ 70.
Kb5 g5 71. Qd5+ Kh2 72. Ka6 g4 73. Qh5+ Kg1 74. Kb7 Qe4+ 75. Kb8 Qb4+ 76. Ka8
Qf8+ 77. Kb7 Qf3+ 78. Kb8 Qf4+ 79. Ka8 g3 80. Qd1+ Qf1 81. Qd4+ Qf2 82. Qa1+
Kg2 83. Qe5 Qf8+ 84. Kb7 Qf7+ 85. Kb8 Kf3 86. Qc3+ Kg4 87. Qc8+ Qf5 88. Qg8+
Kf4 89. Qc4+ Qe4 90. Qf7+ Kg4 91. Qg7+ Kf3 92. Qc3+ Qe3 93. Qc6+ Ke2 94. Qc2+
Ke1 95. Qb1+ Kf2 96. Qc2+ Kg1 97. Qb1+ Kh2 98. Qh7+ Kg2 99. Qc2+ Qf2 100. Qe4+
Kg1 101. Qb1+ Qf1 102. Qb6+ Kh2 103. Qh6+ Qh3 104. Qf4 Qh8+ 105. Ka7 Qh7+ 106.
Kb8 Kh3 107. Qe3 Qg6 108. Ka7 Qd6 109. Ka8 Kh2 110. Qe2+ g2 111. Qh5+ Kg1 112.
Qf5 Qh6 113. Qc5+ Kh1 114. Qd5 Qh4 115. Kb7 Qe7+ 116. Ka8 Qa3+ 117. Kb7 Qb4+
118. Ka7 Qe7+ 119. Ka8 Qf6 120. Qh5+ Kg1 121. Qd5 Kh2 122. Qd2 {[#]} Qc6+ (
122... Kh1 123. Qd5) 123. Kb8 Kh1 124. Qd1+ g1=Q 125. Qh5+ Qh2+ 0-1

[Event "Warsaw Superbet Blitz"]
[Site "Warsaw"]
[Date "2023.05.24"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Duda, Jan Krzysztof"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2853"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "180"]
[EventDate "2023.05.19"]
[EventType "tourn (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "18"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d4 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. O-O Bc5 6. d3 Nf6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bxf6
Qxf6 9. Nbd2 Qd8 10. Ne1 O-O 11. f4 a5 12. a3 a4 13. Nc2 Bd7 14. Qe1 Na5 15.
Qf2 Bc8 16. Kh1 Ra6 17. Ne4 Ba7 18. Nb4 Rb6 19. Nc5 Rd6 20. Ne4 Rd7 21. c5 Nb3
22. c6 Re7 23. Rad1 b5 24. Nd2 Nxd2 25. Rxd2 f5 26. Bf3 Qd6 27. Rb1 e5 28. fxe5
Rxe5 29. b3 axb3 30. Rxb3 Be6 31. Rb1 Bb6 32. Rdb2 g5 33. Nc2 g4 34. Bg2 f4 35.
gxf4 Rh5 36. Rxb5 Rxf4 37. Qxf4 Rxb5 38. Rf1 Qxf4 39. Rxf4 Rb1+ 40. Rf1 Rb2 41.
Nb4 Rxe2 42. Nd5 Bxd5 43. Bxd5+ Kg7 44. a4 h5 45. Ra1 Ba5 46. Rf1 Bb4 47. h3 g3
48. Bg2 Ra2 49. Rf4 Bd6 50. Rf5 Rxa4 51. Be4 Ra1+ 52. Kg2 Ra2+ 53. Kg1 h4 54.
Rg5+ Kf6 55. Rg4 Bb4 56. Rxh4 Bd2 57. Rg4 Be3+ 58. Kf1 Rf2+ 59. Ke1 Rh2 60. Kf1
Rf2+ 61. Ke1 Bf4 62. h4 Ke5 63. h5 Rh2 64. Rg7 Kd6 65. Kf1 Rxh5 66. Rf7 Be5 67.
Rd7+ Kc5 68. Rh7 Rg5 69. Kg2 Bd6 70. Rf7 Kb4 71. Rf1 Kc3 72. Rh1 Ra5 73. Rg1
Ra2+ 74. Kf3 Rf2+ 75. Kg4 Kd2 76. Kh3 Ke2 77. Rg2 Ke3 78. Rg1 Rh2+ 79. Kg4 Kf2
80. Ra1 Rh8 81. Ra2+ Ke3 82. Rg2 Re8 83. Bf5 Rg8+ 84. Kh5 Kf4 85. Be4 Rh8+ 86.
Kg6 Re8 87. Re2 {[#]} Rxe4 88. dxe4 d3 89. Re1 d2 90. Rd1 g2 0-1

[Event "Airthings Masters Play In"]
[Site "Chess.com INT"]
[Date "2023.02.03"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Haub, Thorsten Michael"]
[Black "Kobo, Ori"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A08"]
[WhiteElo "2414"]
[BlackElo "2548"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "227"]
[EventDate "2023.02.03"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c5 4. O-O g6 5. d3 Bg7 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. e4 O-O 8. c3
e5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nc4 Re8 11. Ng5 h6 12. Ne4 Bf8 13. Ned6 Bxd6 14. Bxd5 Bf8
15. Qf3 Be6 16. Bxe6 Rxe6 17. a4 Qd7 18. Be3 Qxd3 19. Na3 e4 20. Rfd1 Ne5 21.
Qf4 Qe2 22. Rab1 Qh5 23. Kg2 Rc8 24. Rd5 Nd3 25. Rxh5 Nxf4+ 26. Bxf4 gxh5 27.
Rd1 c4 28. Nb5 a6 29. Nd4 Ree8 30. Nf5 Rcd8 31. Re1 Kh7 32. a5 Rd5 33. Ne3 Rxa5
34. Nxc4 Rd5 35. Re2 Re6 36. h4 b5 37. Ne3 Rd3 38. Nc2 Bc5 39. Re1 a5 40. Re2
a4 41. Re1 f5 42. Re2 Re7 43. Ne1 Rd1 44. Nc2 Red7 45. Kh2 Rb1 46. Nd4 Bxd4 47.
Rd2 b4 48. cxd4 a3 49. bxa3 bxa3 50. Ra2 Rb3 51. Bc1 Ra7 52. d5 Rd3 53. d6 Rxd6
54. Rxa3 Rb7 55. Be3 Rb1 56. Ra7+ Kg6 57. Ra2 Rdd1 58. g4 Rh1+ 59. Kg3 Rbg1+
60. Kf4 Rxg4+ 61. Ke5 Rgxh4 62. Ra6+ Kf7 63. Kxf5 R1h3 64. Ra7+ Ke8 65. Ke6 Kd8
66. Bd4 Rd3 67. Bf6+ Kc8 68. Bxh4 e3 69. fxe3 Rxe3+ 70. Kf6 Re4 71. Bg3 Rg4 72.
Be5 h4 73. Rc7+ Kd8 74. Rh7 h3 75. Ke6 Kc8 76. Rc7+ Kd8 77. Rc3 Re4 78. Rxh3
Ra4 79. Rb3 Rc4 80. Bd6 h5 81. Rg3 Rg4 82. Rf3 Rg6+ 83. Kd5 Rg1 84. Kc6 Rc1+
85. Bc5 Re1 86. Rf8+ Re8 87. Rf7 Re1 88. Rh7 h4 89. Rxh4 Re6+ 90. Bd6 Re1 91.
Rf4 Rc1+ 92. Bc5 Re1 93. Rf6 Re2 94. Rf8+ Re8 95. Rf1 Re2 96. Bd6 Rc2+ 97. Bc5
Re2 98. Rf3 Re1 99. Bb4 Rc1+ 100. Bc3 Ke7 101. Kd5 Rd1+ 102. Bd4 Rh1 103. Bc5+
Ke8 104. Kc6 Rh6+ 105. Bd6 Rh8 106. Rf6 Rg8 107. Kd5 Kd7 108. Rf7+ Kc8 {[#]}
109. Ra7 Rg1 110. Kc6 Rc1+ 111. Bc5 Kb8 (111... Rb1 112. Ba3 Kb8 (112... Rb3
113. Bd6 Rc3+ 114. Bc5) 113. Re7) 112. Rh7 Rd1 113. Rh8+ Rd8 114. Rxd8# 1-0

[Event "Dusseldorf WR Masters"]
[Site "Dusseldorf"]
[Date "2023.02.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Esipenko, Andrey"]
[Black "Keymer, Vincent"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2675"]
[BlackElo "2690"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "201"]
[EventDate "2023.02.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c6 6. O-O b5 7. a4 Bb7 8. Ne5 a6
9. b3 cxb3 10. Qxb3 Qxd4 11. Bb2 Qb4 12. Qc2 Qc5 13. Qd3 Be7 14. Nd2 Nd5 15.
Rfc1 Qb6 16. Nec4 bxc4 17. Nxc4 Nb4 18. Qb1 Qc5 19. Bxg7 Rg8 20. Qxh7 Rxg7 21.
Qxg7 Nd7 22. Qh8+ Bf8 23. a5 Rb8 24. Rab1 Bc8 25. Rb2 Qg5 26. Rd2 Nd5 27. e4
Qh6 28. Qa1 N5f6 29. Nd6+ Bxd6 30. Rxd6 c5 31. Rb1 Rb4 32. Rxb4 cxb4 33. Rc6
Kd8 34. Qb2 Ng4 35. h3 Qf6 36. Rc2 Qxb2 37. Rxb2 Nge5 38. Rxb4 Nc6 39. Ra4 e5
40. f3 Ke7 41. Bf1 Nc5 42. Ra3 Be6 43. h4 Nd4 44. Kf2 Bb3 45. Ra1 Bc2 46. g4
Kf6 47. Kg3 Kg6 48. Re1 Ncb3 49. Bxa6 Nxa5 50. f4 exf4+ 51. Kxf4 Ne6+ 52. Ke3
Nb3 53. Bc4 Nbd4 54. Rf1 Ba4 55. g5 Bb5 56. Rf6+ Kg7 57. Bxb5 Nxb5 58. h5 Nf8
59. Rc6 Ne6 60. g6 Nbc7 61. gxf7 Kxf7 62. e5 Nd5+ 63. Ke4 Ne7 64. Rd6 Nc8 65.
Rd1 Ne7 66. Rf1+ Kg7 67. h6+ Kg8 68. Rf6 Ng5+ 69. Kf4 Nh7 70. Rd6 Kf7 71. Kg4
Ke8 72. Kh5 Kf7 73. Ra6 Nf8 74. Rb6 Nh7 75. Rd6 Nf8 76. Kg5 Nh7+ 77. Kg4 Nf8
78. Ra6 Nh7 79. Kf4 Nf8 80. Ke4 Ne6 81. Ra7 Ng5+ 82. Kf4 Nh7 83. Ra6 Nf8 84.
Kg5 Nh7+ 85. Kh5 Nf8 86. Rf6+ Kg8 87. Rf1 Nc6 88. Rf5 Nd7 89. e6 Nf8 90. Rc5
Ne7 91. Rc7 Nd5 92. Rg7+ Kh8 93. e7 Nxe7 94. Rxe7 Kg8 95. Kg5 Nh7+ 96. Kf5 Nf8
97. Rg7+ Kh8 98. Rf7 Kg8 {[#]} 99. Kf6 Nh7+ 100. Kg6 Nf8+ 101. Rxf8+ 1-0

[Event "HUN-chT"]
[Site "Hungary"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Pfeifer, Tamas"]
[Black "Polgar, Judit"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B79"]
[Annotator "Tatev"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r3k1/pp1bppbp/q2p1np1/7P/2r1P1P1/1NN1BP2/PPPQ4/1K1R3R b - - 0 17"]
[PlyCount "29"]
[EventDate "1988.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 17... Bxg4 $1 {An unexpected shot. Black's target is the e4-pawn; by
sacrificing on g4, Polgar is removing one of the defenders.} 18. fxg4 ({
The counterblow} 18. e5 $1 {, blocking the long diagonal, is crucial to
avoiding what happened in the game. After} Bxf3 (18... dxe5 19. fxg4 Rxc3 20.
bxc3 Ne4 {is met with} 21. Qd8+ $1 Rxd8 22. Rxd8+ Bf8 23. Bh6 {with
unstoppable mate}) 19. exf6 Bxf6 20. hxg6 fxg6 {the position remains very
messy.}) 18... Rxc3 $3 {This thematic shot is the point behind the previous
sacrifice. White's position is now falling apart, as the e4-pawn will fall and
the bishop will join the attack.} 19. bxc3 Nxe4 20. Qd3 Nxc3+ 21. Kc1 Qa3+ ({
Even stronger was} 21... Nxa2+ 22. Kd2 Qc6 {with the idea of both ...Qc6-g2+
and ...Na2-b4.}) 22. Kd2 Nxd1 23. Kxd1 Qxa2 24. hxg6 hxg6 {[#] Four pawns and
a rickety king to target are enough to give Black a big advantage.} 25. Rh2 Qa4
26. g5 Rc3 27. Qd2 a5 28. Qf2 Qe4 29. Rh3 a4 30. Nc1 a3 31. Rf3 a2 0-1

[Event "Sarajevo Bosnia 30th"]
[Site "Sarajevo"]
[Date "2000.05.29"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Movsesian, Sergei"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B80"]
[WhiteElo "2668"]
[BlackElo "2851"]
[Annotator "Tatev"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2000.05.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "BIH"]
[EventCategory "19"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,25,25,33,42,44,75,51,51,26,26,34,47,30,74,37,70,43,74,16,16,-9,50,14,
24,0,0,-9]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3
{Inaugurating the very popular English Attack.} b5 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. O-O-O Bb7 {
Black leaves the king in the center for the time being, and instead focues on
creating counterplay on the queenside, where the white king is.} 10. g4 Nb6 {
Black is getting ready to face the income g5 push and does not want to create
a hook by pushing his own pawn to h6.} 11. Qf2 Nfd7 12. Kb1 Rc8 13. Bd3 {[#]}
Rxc3 $1 14. bxc3 Qc7 {With this Exchange sacrifice, Black has created a
long-term weakness in White's camp. He can build an attack slowly, instead of
looking to immediately reap the benefits of the sacrifice. The black knights
are perfectly positioned to take advantage of the weak dark squares, with one
landing on a4 and the other heading to c4. With the c3-knight gone, Black can
easily achieve the biggest goal in the Sicilian: the ...d6-d5 pawn break.} 15.
Ne2 Be7 16. g5 O-O 17. h4 Na4 18. Bc1 Ne5 19. h5 d5 {As all of Black's pieces
are well-positioned, it is the right time for this pawn push to open the
diagonals for the bishops.} 20. Qh2 Bd6 21. Qh3 Nxd3 {Normally, Black wouldn't
capture this bishop that resembles a big pawn, but Kasparov has a specific
idea in mind} 22. cxd3 (22. Rxd3 $2 {runs into a big problem after} dxe4 {.})
22... b4 $1 {Perfectly timed. White lacks time to open files on the kingside
quickly enough to create an attack, as Black does not have any hooks on the
kingside. Meanwhile, the white king looks even more vulnerable now with the
b-file opening.} 23. cxb4 Rc8 24. Ka1 dxe4 25. fxe4 {[#]} Bxe4 $3 26. g6 ({
The point is that} 26. dxe4 {loses to the beautiful} Be5+ 27. Nd4 (27. Kb1 Qc2#
) 27... Bxd4+ 28. Rxd4 Qxc1+ 29. Rxc1 Rxc1#) 26... Bxh1 27. Qxh1 Bxb4 28. gxf7+
Kf8 29. Qg2 Rb8 30. Bb2 Nxb2 31. Nd4 Nxd1 32. Nxe6+ Kxf7 {A stunning game by a
ferocious attacker!} 0-1

[Event "Dortmund Sparkassen"]
[Site "Dortmund GER"]
[Date "1996.07.07"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Huebner, Robert"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B85"]
[Annotator "Tatev"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r2r1k/1b2bpp1/p2p1n1p/qp2pP2/4P3/P1NB3P/1PPR1BP1/3RQ2K b - - 0 23"]
[PlyCount "27"]
[EventDate "1996.07.05"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 23... Rxc3 $1 24. bxc3 Qxa3 {Anand is not afraid of giving up material
in exchange for pawns due to the closed nature of the position. It is not easy
to see how the white rooks will become active in this position. And while
White would love to be able to create some sort of an attack associated with
the g-pawn push, it would carry tremendous risk due to the placement of
Black's light-squared bishop and the potential opening of the center with the .
..d6-d5 break.} 25. c4 ({Here} 25. Re2 Rc8 {and now} 26. c4 $5 {is an
enterprising way of handling this position. White should look for tactical
ways to free his pieces. Now} bxc4 27. Ra1 cxd3 {is more or less forced, as
the queen doesn't have any good squares.} (27... Qb2 $2 {is a mistake: after}
28. Rb1 Qa3 29. Bxc4 {Black's compensation evaporates as White's pieces get
active}) 28. Rxa3 dxe2 29. Qxe2 Bxe4 {and we see an unusual imbalance of two
minors and two pawns versus a queen. Black has well placed pieces and the
safer king, giving him plenty of play.}) 25... bxc4 26. Bxc4 {White decides to
give up a pawn in order to free himself.} Nxe4 27. Rd3 Qa4 28. Rb3 $2 {The
wrong assessment of the position. White needs to keep the bishops on the board
with something like} (28. Bb3 Qd7 {.}) 28... Qxc4 29. Rxb7 Qxc2 30. Bg1 Bg5 31.
Rdb1 Bf4 {The weakness of the white king becomes apparent as the black pieces
swarm it.} 32. R1b3 d5 33. Rf3 Rc8 34. Rxf7 Ng5 35. Rxf4 ({If} 35. Rf2 Qe4 $1
36. Qxe4 Nxe4 37. Ra2 Rc1 {is already nearly winning.}) 35... exf4 36. Re7 f3
0-1

[Event "Edmar Mednis Memorial Norm"]
[Site "Omaha"]
[Date "2023.11.17"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Campos, Augusto Cesar"]
[Black "Oberoi, Shelev"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "2324"]
[BlackElo "2309"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. e5 a6 $6 4. c3 Bd7 5. Bd3 Bb5 {The problem is that the
bishop is just misplaced here. White can gain space on the queenside with
tempo.} 6. Bc2 c5 7. a4 (7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. a4 Bc6 9. b4 Ba7 10. Nf3 $14) 7... Bd7
8. Nf3 cxd4 $6 {I understand why Black played this, but to me, allowing Nb1-c3
without any real penalty means that White has an unearned advantage.} 9. cxd4
Nc6 10. Nc3 Qb6 11. O-O Nge7 12. h4 Rc8 13. g3 h5 $6 {Is the Nf3-h2-g4
manuever so worrisome that this is required?} 14. Kg2 Nb4 15. Bb1 Nec6 16. Ne2
Na5 17. Bg5 Nbc6 18. Nf4 {with the idea of Nf4-g6.} Be7 19. Bxe7 Kxe7 20. Ra3
$5 (20. Ba2 $5 Qxb2 21. Nd3) 20... Qxb2 21. Re3 Nb4 {[#]} 22. Bg6 $6 (22. Ng5
$1 {brings another piece into play, and also frees the queen on the d1-h5
diagonal. Black needs to defend with} Nbc6 23. Re2 Qb4 24. Bg6 $1 Be8 (24...
Nxd4 25. Bxf7 Nxe2 26. Qxe2 {and now only} Rh6 $1 {holds}) 25. Rd2 Nc4 26. Rd3)
22... Rc3 $2 (22... fxg6 23. Nxg6+ Kf7 24. Nxh8+ Rxh8 25. Ng5+ Ke7 $1 {and the
king is perfectly safe}) 23. Rxc3 Qxc3 24. Ng5 $1 {Now White is cooking.} Be8
25. Bxh5 (25. Bxf7 Bxf7 26. Qb1 $1) 25... Qc2 $2 (25... Nb3 26. Ngxe6 $1 fxe6
$2 (26... g6 27. Qg4 $1 {[%cal Gg4g5]} Kd7 28. Nc5+ Kc7 29. e6 $40) 27. Qg4 $1
{[%csl Ge6,Gg7]}) (25... Nac6 26. Qg4 Nxd4 27. Rd1 $18) 26. Qxc2 Nxc2 27. Rc1
$1 $18 Bxa4 28. Bxf7 Rc8 29. Ng6+ Kd8 30. Nxe6+ Kd7 31. Nc5+ Kd8 32. e6 Rxc5
33. e7+ Kc7 34. dxc5 d4 35. Rxc2 Bxc2 36. e8=Q Nc6 37. Nf4 1-0

[Event "Edmar Mednis Memorial Norm"]
[Site "Omaha"]
[Date "2023.11.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Xie, Bryan"]
[Black "Fedorowicz, John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2302"]
[BlackElo "2444"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2
Nbd7 9. g4 Nb6 10. a3 Bb7 11. O-O-O Rc8 12. Kb1 Be7 (12... Nfd7 {is more
typical, but it may transpose}) 13. g5 Nfd7 14. h4 Ne5 15. Qe1 Nec4 16. Bc1 Qc7
17. Nde2 $6 $146 (17. Nce2 e5 18. Bh3 $5 exd4 19. Bxc8 Bxc8 20. b3 Ne3 21. Rd2
f5 $1 $13) 17... Qc5 ({With the e-file blocked,} 17... d5 $1 {becomes viable.})
18. Rh3 b4 19. axb4 Qxb4 20. b3 $6 (20. Nd4 Na3+ 21. Ka2 $8 e5 22. Nf5 Nxc2 23.
Qd2 Na4 (23... Rxc3 24. Qxc3 Qa4+ 25. Kb1 Nb4 26. Bc4 $8 Nxc4 27. Qxc4 d5 {
and White has to bail out with} 28. Rxd5 Bxd5 29. exd5 Kd7 30. Nxe7 Kxe7 31.
Qc7+ Ke8 32. Qc8+ Ke7 33. Qc7+ $11) 24. Qxc2 Nxc3+ 25. bxc3 Rxc3 26. Qd2 $1 {
hanging on}) 20... Na3+ 21. Bxa3 Qxa3 22. Rd4 $1 {[%cal Gc3a4] [#]} Qc5 {
Black has pressure, but it's not clear how the breakthrough will occur. White
must conjure counterplay to stay in the game.} 23. f4 O-O 24. Qd1 Rfe8 {
With the opening of the e-file in mind.} 25. Rf3 Bf8 26. f5 exf5 27. Rxf5 Re5
$1 28. Bh3 Rce8 29. Qf1 Qc7 30. Qf3 Rxf5 31. Qxf5 Re5 32. Qf3 Rc5 33. Qd3 (33.
Nd5 $3 Bxd5 34. exd5 Rxc2 (34... g6 35. Qd3 a5 $36) 35. Bf5 $1 $13) 33... g6
34. Bg2 Re5 35. Nf4 h5 $5 36. Bh3 $2 (36. gxh6 Bxh6 37. Nxg6 fxg6 38. Rxd6 Bg7
$15) 36... Qc5 ({Even stronger is} 36... Bg7 $1 {[%csl Rc3] , hitting the weak
c3-knight. Black is vastly better after} 37. Rxd6 Rc5 38. Rd8+ Kh7 {.}) 37.
Ncd5 Nxd5 38. Nxd5 Bxd5 39. Rxd5 Rxd5 40. exd5 Bg7 {The position has
transformed from a tactical morass to one with permanent weakneses for White.
Now "Fed" shows good technique.} 41. c3 a5 42. Kb2 Qf2+ 43. Ka3 Be5 44. Qc4 Qe3
45. Qc8+ Kg7 46. Be6 Qxc3 47. Qxc3 Bxc3 48. Bc8 Kf8 49. Ka4 Ke7 50. Kb5 Be1 51.
Bb7 Bxh4 52. Kxa5 Bxg5 53. b4 Bd2 54. Kb5 h4 55. Bc8 f5 56. Kc6 Bxb4 0-1

[Event "Edmar Mednis Memorial Norm"]
[Site "Omaha"]
[Date "2023.11.17"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Canty, James"]
[Black "Yanayt, Eugene"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D01"]
[WhiteElo "2259"]
[BlackElo "2203"]
[Annotator "Hartmann"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 Be7 5. Bd3 c5 {Uncommon, but viable.} (5...
O-O 6. Nf3 c5) 6. dxc5 (6. Nb5 Na6) 6... Nc6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. Bg3 Nxc5 9. e4 $6 {
This is premature, but perhaps Canty felt it had to be played now, before
castling (as can be seen in the analysis).} (9. Nb5 O-O 10. Nc7 Rb8 11. Nb5 Ra8
$11) (9. O-O O-O 10. e4 $2 (10. Re1 Bf6 $15) 10... dxe4 11. Bxe4 Nxe4 12. Nxe4
f5 {[%csl Rg3]} 13. Qxd8 Rxd8 14. Nc3 g5) 9... dxe4 10. Bxe4 Qb6 11. Rb1 O-O
12. O-O Rd8 13. Qe2 Bd7 {[#] Now comes a memorable repositioning of the
light-squared bishop.} 14. Bd5 $5 (14. Rfd1 $15) 14... Be8 (14... exd5 15. Nxd5
Qa6 16. Nxe7+ Nxe7 17. Qxe7 $14) (14... Bf6 $1 15. Bc4 Ne7 {maybe slightly
better for Black?}) 15. Bc4 Na5 16. Bb5 $1 {With the idea of b2-b4 and/or
squeezing the queen.} Na6 17. Bxe8 $6 (17. b4 Nc6 (17... Bxb5 18. Nxb5 Nc6 19.
c4 $16) 18. Na4 Nd4 19. Nxd4 Qxd4 20. Bxe8 Rxe8 21. Rfd1 Qf6 22. a3 {with
advantage}) 17... Rxe8 18. b4 Qc6 19. bxa5 Qxc3 20. Rxb7 Nc5 21. a6 $5 (21. Rc7
Qxa5 22. Nd4 {[%cal Gd4b5]}) 21... Qa3 22. Ne5 Qxa6 23. Qxa6 Nxa6 24. Nc6 Bc5
25. Rd1 Bb6 26. Bd6 Red8 $2 {It's not clear why this was deemed necessary.
Without clear tactics for White, why such drastic measures?} (26... Nc5 $1 27.
Bxc5 (27. Ne7+ Kh8 {and White has nothing}) 27... Bxc5 28. Rdd7 {looks a bit
frightening, but Black plays} Rac8 (28... Rf8 29. Rb5 Ba3 30. Rb3 Rac8 $1 31.
Rxa3 Rxc6 32. Raxa7 Rxc2 $11) 29. Rxf7 Rxc6 30. Rxg7+ Kh8 31. Rxh7+ Kg8 32.
Rbg7+ Kf8 $11) 27. Nxd8 Rxd8 28. Rd2 $1 {Perhaps this is what Yanayt missed?}
g5 (28... Bc5 {is met by} 29. Bf4 {, easily winning.}) 29. Kf1 Nc5 30. Rb8 Rxb8
31. Bxb8 f6 32. f3 e5 33. Bd6 Ne6 34. c4 Kf7 35. Rd5 Nf4 36. Rb5 Bd4 37. c5 Ke6
38. Ra5 h5 39. Rxa7 h4 40. a4 Nd5 41. a5 Ne3+ 42. Ke2 Nxg2 43. a6 Nf4+ 44. Kf1
Nd5 45. Re7+ Nxe7 46. a7 Nd5 47. a8=Q Ne3+ 48. Ke2 1-0

[Event "Qatar Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.12"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Suleymenov, Alisher"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E12"]
[WhiteElo "2512"]
[BlackElo "2839"]
[Annotator "Kaidanov"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Kazakhstan"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "KAZ"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]

{[%evp 0,61,19,16,24,18,15,24,20,22,26,20,26,24,22,0,0,0,-5,0,26,27,32,20,23,
20,23,23,13,17,20,19,25,19,38,40,84,56,90,69,153,157,179,169,270,278,403,395,
390,380,388,377,374,385,388,375,581,429,569,565,965,571,604,614]} 1. d4 Nf6 2.
c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Ba6 5. Qc2 Bb7 6. Nc3 c5 7. e4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 9. Nf3
Nc6 10. b4 Be7 11. Bb2 Qb8 12. Rd1 O-O 13. Be2 d6 14. O-O Rc8 {I didn't like
this move, because all Black's major pieces are now boxed in the corner, but
the engine says it is OK.} 15. Rfe1 ({My move} 15. Qb1 {was not worse.}) 15...
Bf8 $6 {Playing every game for a win means that you have to take risks. Here
Magnus tried to maintain the tension and avoid trades, but in this particular
situation, the strategy backfired.} ({Instead} 15... Ne5 {is equal.}) 16. Bf1
Ne7 $2 {[#] Magnus played these two moves very quickly; he clearly didn't
sense the danger in the position.} ({White's advantage is managable after} 
16... Ne5 {or}) (16... Rd8 {.}) 17. Nb5 $1 ({I was attracted to the Exchange
sacrifice beginning with} 17. Rxd6 $2 {, but it does not work. After} Qxd6 18.
e5 Qd7 19. exf6 gxf6 {White has nothing.}) 17... Ne8 $2 ({Black could limit
the damage with} 17... Ng6 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Qd3 {when White has a significant
advantage. Instead White's attack blossoms.}) 18. Ng5 $1 Ng6 19. e5 d5 20. Qb3
Be7 21. Nxf7 ({I guessed} 21. cxd5 {with the same idea. It works as well:} Bxd5
22. Rxd5 exd5 ({after} 22... Bxg5 23. Rd7 Nf8 24. Rdd1 $18 {White still has a
huge advantage}) 23. Nxf7 {transposes to the game.}) 21... Kxf7 22. cxd5 Bxd5
23. Rxd5 exd5 24. Qxd5+ Kf8 25. Nd4 Nf4 26. Qf3 Kg8 27. Qxf4 Qb7 28. Nf5 b5 29.
Bxb5 ({My move} 29. Nd6 {is also winning. Indeed, White's position is so good
that many paths lead to Rome.}) 29... Bf8 30. Bc4+ Kh8 31. Nh6 1-0

[Event "Qatar Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.18"]
[Round "7.8"]
[White "Kaidanov, Gregory"]
[Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D47"]
[WhiteElo "2554"]
[BlackElo "2707"]
[Annotator "Kaidanov"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Be7 {This is a little bit unusual.
Normally Black plays 5...Nbd7, and while I knew that Jordan had played 5...Be7
in the past, I didn't look at it before the game. There were many problems in
other openings which required more attention!} 6. Bd3 ({One of the ideas of 5..
.Be7 that in case of} 6. Qc2 {the black knight might find a better square than
d7, as can be seen in the following variation:} O-O 7. b3 dxc4 8. bxc4 c5 9.
Be2 Nc6 {with equality.}) 6... dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 b4 9. Ne4 Nbd7 {Now the
game transposes to "normal" Meran variations, though I did not remember much
of the theory.} 10. Nxf6+ Nxf6 11. e4 Bb7 12. O-O O-O 13. e5 Nd7 {Up to this
point I just played moves which made sense to me. But here I had the oddest
flashback in my mind! What I realized was that if I played 14.Be4, we would
transposes into Polugaevsky-Mednis (Riga interzonal 1979).   Memory is a very
strange thing. Sometimes you can't remember the lines you looked at right
before the game, and sometimes, like in this case, you recall what you saw in
a chess magazine 44 years ago!} 14. Be4 Qb6 $2 {I was surprised, and on high
alert. I knew that this was the move Mednis played, but since I hadn't look at
the game since then, I was not sure as to its evaluation. What if Jordan had
analyzed this position with an engine and overturned the old theory?} ({
I am sure Jordan had} 14... Rb8 {on his computer, but just could not remember
it. Now Black would equalize without many problems. What follows is just a
sample line, as the moves are not forced:} 15. Qc2 h6 16. Be3 Qc7 {and White
can not prevent Black from playing ...c6-c5. Even if White wins a pawn, Black
wins it back, e.g.,} 17. Rac1 c5 18. Bxb7 Qxb7 19. dxc5 Bxc5 20. Bxc5 Rfc8 {
with equality.}) 15. Bg5 Bxg5 $2 {[#]} ({The Polugaevsky-Mednis gamen went} 
15... Rfe8 16. Bxe7 Rxe7 {Polugaevsky played in abovementioned game} 17. Qc2 ({
stronger is} 17. Rc1 $1 Rc8 18. Qd2 Ba6 {as in Zugic-Novikov, Montreal 2004})
17... h6 18. a3 b3 19. Qc3 c5 20. Bxb7 Qxb7 21. dxc5 Rc8 22. Qb4 Nxc5 23. Rac1
{and now Mednis could have had equality with} Qb6 $1 {.}) {And here I sat down
and took my time to think. I knew that there was no way to calculate
everything perfectly, but I wanted to make sure that this "Greek gift"
sacrifice at least didn't lose for me!} 16. Bxh7+ Kxh7 17. Nxg5+ Kg6 {Looking
back at Informant 28, Byrne and Mednis recommend this line, calling the
position "unclear." There is no such word in today's chess!} 18. Qg4 f5 19. Qg3
({The computer suggests} 19. Qh4 {instead, and the difference is found only
with reference to the placement of the rook. To understand why this should be
preferred is extremely difficult.. After} Rh8 20. Qg3 c5 21. Rad1 cxd4 22.
Nxe6+ Kf7 23. Nxd4 {we begin to recognize Stockfish's "reasons." With a rook
on f8, Black has ...Kf7-g8 here, and without it we play Nd4xf5. It looks like
a typical computer line, which we can understand after the game, but have no
chance to find at the board.}) 19... Qxd4 $2 {Played relatively quickly. Black
wants ...Qd4-g4 when the White attack is gone.} ({Instead the best defense is} 
19... c5 {. I was going to play} 20. dxc5 Nxc5 {and I was not sure whether to
play Ra1-c1 or Ng5xe6+ next. The engine says both moves win.} ({The computer's
top choice is} 20... Qc6 {, which I have to admit that I did not consider.
Fortunately White still has a big advantage after} 21. Nxe6+ Kf7 22. Nd4 Qxg2+
23. Qxg2 Bxg2 24. e6+ Ke7 25. Rfc1 $3 {. True, I am not sure I would find this
last move, but White is still much better after 25.Kxg2.})) 20. Ne4+ {And now
it became clear that Jorden missed something, because he sank into a long
think here.} ({Note that} 20. Rad1 $2 Qg4 21. Qxg4 fxg4 22. Rxd7 Bc8 {
completely ruins the position for White.}) 20... Kh7 21. Qh4+ $1 ({Maybe he
was expecting} 21. Qh3+ Kg6 22. Qg3+ {with a draw? I have to admit that from
far away I also saw this line, and only when we got closer did I find 21.Qh4.})
21... Kg6 ({Or} 21... Kg8 22. Nf6+) 22. Qg5+ Kf7 23. Rad1 Qxe5 24. Rxd7+ Kg8
25. Rxb7 {And the knight on e4 can not be taken.} Qxb2 26. Nc5 Rf7 27. Rxf7
Kxf7 28. Rd1 Qe5 29. Rd7+ Kg8 30. h4 Re8 31. Qg6 1-0

[Event "Qatar Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.19"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Kaidanov, Gregory"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2839"]
[BlackElo "2554"]
[Annotator "Kaidanov"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,87,23,15,20,10,27,19,19,3,3,12,17,13,25,28,29,25,33,2,1,1,5,4,-1,1,16,
13,13,9,26,5,9,3,3,5,29,23,16,24,8,-5,40,38,69,69,76,79,84,75,75,57,66,57,62,
61,145,143,136,90,90,109,144,144,135,158,155,158,226,225,209,139,151,141,139,
119,137,120,388,388,446,442,457,462,462,470,472,479,478,478]} 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 {
One of many openings in Magnus' repertouire.} c5 3. e3 Nc6 4. c3 {I spent a
few minutes here, because I was debating which system to play.} Nf6 5. Nd2 e6
6. Ngf3 cxd4 7. exd4 Nh5 8. Be3 Bd6 9. Bd3 Nf4 10. Bxf4 Bxf4 11. O-O O-O 12.
Re1 Bd7 13. Nb3 b6 14. Qe2 g6 15. a4 f6 16. Bb5 Qc7 17. a5 Rae8 {Up to this
point Magnus was playing very quickly. After the game I asked him whether he
knew all of this theory. With a smile, he answered, "This is all more less
standard."} 18. g3 {This was the first move Magnus really thought about,
spending 11 minutes.} Bh6 ({After the game Magnus told me he thought} 18... Bd6
{was better. I felt that I needed to control the c1-square, not allowing the
white rook to land there. As so often happens, the difference between the two
moves is miniscule, with the engine preferring the game continuation by the
slimmest of margins.}) 19. axb6 axb6 20. c4 dxc4 {This was still OK, but
Stockfish says I could ignore the c-pawn. At the board I didn't want to allow
c4-c5.} (20... Kh8 21. c5 e5 {is equal according to the machine.}) 21. Qxc4 Qd6
({I considered} 21... Rc8 {but I wasn't sure about} 22. d5 {. Things are equal
after} exd5 23. Qxd5+ Kh8 24. Ra4 Rfe8 {.}) 22. Ra6 Rb8 {[#]} 23. Nc5 $1 {
This was a complete shock, so it took me awhile to find my next move.} Nxd4 $1
{Forced.} 24. Nxd4 Qxc5 25. Ra7 $1 {And this is another move I missed. At
first I thought I was completely lost, but seeing that Magnus remained at the
board (he usually walks around quite a bit) gave me a hint that perhaps there
was something to find.} Rbd8 $1 {Burning lots of time, but I correctly landed
on another "only move."} 26. b4 $1 Qxc4 27. Bxc4 Rfe8 $6 ({Right after the
game Magnus told me about the magnificent} 27... b5 $3 {. If I had seen his
plan with b4-b5, I might have found it, but to see 28.b5! was hard for me.
Peter Leko approached me at the closing ceremony and praised Magnus' play in
our game, specifically noting that 28.b5! was a great move, hard to anticipate
at the board. This made me feel better. Play continues} 28. Bb3 ({or} 28. Bxe6+
Bxe6 29. Nxe6 Rfe8 30. Ra6) 28... Rfe8 {with equality in both cases.}) 28. b5
Bc8 29. Nc6 Rd6 30. Rc7 Bd7 $4 {Played with just a few minutes on the clock.} (
{I considered the necessary} 30... Kh8 $3 {but as I didn't see his next move,
I thought that the bishop shift was fine. After} 31. Ra1 Rd7 32. Rxc8 Rxc8 33.
Bxe6 Rcd8 34. Bxd7 Rxd7 35. Ra8+ Kg7 36. Rb8 Bc1 37. Rxb6 Ba3 {Black has good
drawing chances.}) 31. Ra1 $1 {Strong. I saw this only after making my move!}
Bf8 32. Raa7 Bxc6 33. bxc6 Rd1+ 34. Kg2 Rc1 35. Ra4 $6 ({Even better was} 35.
Bb5 Rc5 36. Ba6 {.}) 35... b5 36. Bxb5 Rc5 37. Bc4 $6 (37. Rb4 $1 {is more
precise.}) 37... Bd6 $2 ({Black's last chance was} 37... f5 $3 {although the
task is still difficult, especially against a world champion.}) 38. Rb7 Kh8 39.
Bxe6 Re7 40. Rxe7 Bxe7 41. Ra8+ Kg7 42. Ra7 Rxc6 43. Rxe7+ Kf8 44. Rf7+ 1-0

[Event "Qatar Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.20"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"]
[Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2716"]
[BlackElo "2712"]
[Annotator "Kaidanov"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/4kp2/8/5K2/p1B5/2B5/P6r/8 b - - 0 48"]
[PlyCount "2"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 48... Rh4 $4 {Here any reasonable move would draw the game, allowing
Erigaisi to tie with Yakubboev for the place. However...} 49. Bf6+ 1-0

[Event "Qatar Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.15"]
[Round "5.8"]
[White "Yakubboev, Nodirbek"]
[Black "Adhiban, Baskaran"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D24"]
[WhiteElo "2616"]
[BlackElo "2551"]
[Annotator "Kaidanov"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,73,26,22,24,24,26,24,14,14,36,42,38,38,44,47,47,47,48,36,41,40,52,39,
47,19,22,21,21,22,12,22,21,16,0,0,-10,-22,-5,-52,42,42,35,42,40,40,36,43,38,28,
88,91,83,87,87,84,94,90,339,358,358,326,316,324,332,317,1093,1148,1170,1195,
1260,1232,1178,1158,1225,1273]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4
b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. Nxb5 Nb6 8. Be2 Be7 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 Rb8 11. Nc3 O-O 12. a3
Bb7 13. Qc2 Na5 14. Rad1 h6 15. Nd2 Qd7 16. Nde4 Nd5 17. Bd2 ({After} 17. Bf3 {
White would be on the better side of equality.}) 17... Rfd8 18. Na4 $6 ({
Better is} 18. Rfe1 Nb3 19. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 20. Bxc4 Nxc3 21. bxc3 Bd5 $1 22. Bd3
{when White has compensation in a complex position.}) 18... Nb3 19. Qxc4 Nxd4 (
{More precise is} 19... Bc6 $1 {with a slight edge.}) 20. Qxd4 Nf4 21. Nf6+ ({
If} 21. Qxd7 $6 Nxe2+ 22. Kh1 Rxd7 23. Nec5 Rd5 {and White can not win the
knight on e2.}) 21... Bxf6 22. Qxf4 Bg5 23. Qc4 ({The position is equal after} 
23. Qg3 Bxd2 {.}) 23... Bxd2 24. Nc5 {[#]} Qc8 $2 {Looking at the move times
from the broadcast, Adhiban spent more than 20 minutes on this move. As it
often happens, such long thoughts can result in a mistake. The reason? Before
making a move you feel tired and confused. Sometimes you can't even remember
all the variations you looked at!} ({Better is} 24... Qe7 {with equality.}) 25.
h4 $1 {A very good prophylactic move. The black bishop can no longer retreat
to g5.} ({Less impressive is} 25. Qc2 $6 Bg5 {when Black is fully equal.})
25... Ba5 {Forced; otherwise White will play b2-b4 and the bishop will be
trapped.} ({If} 25... Bd5 $2 26. Qc2 Ba5 27. Ba6 {.}) 26. Rxd8+ Qxd8 27. Nxb7
Rxb7 28. Rd1 Qe7 $4 {This loses by force, but by now Adhiban did not have much
time.} ({The queen has to stay on the back rank: after} 28... Qf8 $1 {Black
has very good chances to equalize.}) 29. Qa6 Rxb2 {[#]} 30. Qc8+ {White's
position is so winning that there are alternatives.} (30. Bd3 {wins, as does})
(30. Qxa5 Rxe2 31. Qb5 $1 {and, suddenly, the rook is trapped:} Rc2 ({similar
is} 31... Re4 32. Qb8+ Kh7 33. Qb1) 32. Qb8+ Kh7 33. Qb1 {.}) 30... Kh7 31.
Bd3+ g6 32. Bxg6+ $1 Kxg6 ({Or} 32... fxg6 33. Rd7 {.}) 33. Qg8+ Kf5 (33... Kh5
{is met by} 34. Rd4 $1 {.}) 34. Qh7+ Kxe5 35. Qg7+ (35. Qg7+ {and Black
resigned in view of} Qf6 36. f4+ Kf5 37. g4+ {and he loses the Queen.}) 1-0

[Event "ch-USA 2023"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.10.16"]
[Round "10.6"]
[White "01.1 Tang, Andrew"]
[Black "Swiercz, D."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A40"]
[WhiteElo "2496"]
[BlackElo "2620"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r3k1/3r1pp1/p3p2p/p2p3q/1P1P1QR1/2P2R1P/5PP1/6K1 w - - 0 39"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2023.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 39. Rfg3 $1 f5 ({Black decided to avoid} 39... g6 40. Rh4 Qf5 41. Qxh6) (
{or} 39... g5 40. Rxg5+ hxg5 41. Rxg5+ Qxg5 42. Qxg5+ Kh7 43. bxa5 {and White
has a winning position.}) 40. Rh4 $1 ({This is much stronger than the game
continuation, which went} 40. Rg6 Kh7 $2 (40... Rxc3 {was a better try}) 41.
Qe5 Rcc7 42. Rxe6 axb4 43. cxb4 Rb7 44. Re8 Rxb4 45. Rc3 Qg6 46. Rcc8 Rb1+ 47.
Kh2 {and White was winning.}) 40... Qd1+ 41. Kh2 Kf8 ({Or} 41... h5 42. Qh6 $1)
42. Rxh6 gxh6 43. Qxh6+ {and Black will not survive.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA w 2023"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.10.16"]
[Round "10.6"]
[White "01.2 Paikidze, N."]
[Black "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2316"]
[BlackElo "2303"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1q2r2/4ppk1/n5p1/3PP1Np/2p3n1/2N4R/PP1Q4/2K3R1 w - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2023.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,57,31,15,17,6,45,0,1,0,45,61,61,40,41,40,52,26,34,-7,-7,-15,-14,-47,
-72,-78,-76,-53,-54,-78,-78,-78,-78,-70,-75,-104,-106,-93,-52,-61,-51,-47,-17,
-56,-31,-10,57,58,225,-80,207,161,814,827,776,879,1059,1051,29993,29994] [#]} 
24. Rxh5 $1 ({In the game, White instead continued} 24. Nce4 Qf5 $4 ({Black
should played led the attackers away from the kingside with} 24... c3 $1 25.
Rxc3 Qb8 {and Black survives}) 25. Ng3 Qd3 26. Nxh5+ gxh5 27. Rxd3 cxd3 28.
Ne6+ fxe6 29. Qg5+ {and Black resigned before she would get mated.}) 24... gxh5
25. Ne6+ $1 {Another clearance sacrifice.} Kh7 26. Qc2+ Kh6 27. Qd2+ Kh7 28.
Rh1 {and Black will not survive.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA w 2023"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.10.07"]
[Round "3.6"]
[White "01.3 Krush, I."]
[Black "Pourkashiyan, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2437"]
[BlackElo "2288"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r1r3/pp2qpk1/2p3pR/3pN1n1/3P2PQ/P3P3/1P5P/5RK1 w - - 0 28"]
[PlyCount "25"]
[EventDate "2023.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,79,19,17,17,0,6,6,-4,-15,-15,-19,6,3,8,12,16,18,28,31,31,31,34,34,32,
37,32,17,21,21,21,11,46,35,28,-18,-20,-12,10,-4,0,14,0,0,0,8,-5,-4,51,51,51,53,
125,115,128,112,175,198,264,267,231,227,228,238,239,243,243,181,207,189,391,
382,382,220,1190,1345,1418,1418,1466,1843,29997,1594] [#]} 28. Kg2 $1 ({
Rather than going for the immediate strike with} 28. Rxf7+ Qxf7 29. Rh7+ Nxh7
30. Nxf7 {that allows Black survival chances after} Re6 $1 {. After the text
move, Black is utterly defenseless.}) 28... Rc7 ({Or} 28... Rh8 29. Rxf7+ Qxf7
30. Qxg5 {and White is winning easily.}) ({Also,} 28... Rf8 29. Rh7+ {ends the
fun for Black.}) 29. Rxf7+ Qxf7 30. Rxg6+ Qxg6 31. Nxg6 {White is winning and
soon took home the full point.} Nf7 32. Qg3 Rd7 33. Nh4 Nd6 34. Qf4 Rf8 $2 (
34... Re6 {was a better defense, but White is still winning.}) 35. Qe5+ Kf7 36.
g5 Rdd8 37. g6+ Kg8 38. Qe7 Nf7 39. Nf5 Rb8 40. gxf7+ {and Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA w 2023"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.10.08"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "01.4 Eswaran, Ashritha"]
[Black "Abrahamyan, T."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "2273"]
[BlackElo "2262"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1k1r2r1/pp2q3/P3p3/1Pb1Pn2/3pQ1p1/8/4BPPB/R1R3K1 b - - 0 26"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2023.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 26... d3 $1 {This opens for so many threats, the immediate ones being to
the bishop on e2 and ...g4-g3, as the f2-pawn is now pinned; finally, ...Rd4
is also in the air.} 27. Rxc5 ({Or} 27. Bxd3 Bb6 {and White has no good way of
meeting ...g4-g3.}) 27... Rd4 28. Qxb7+ {White tries to get material off the
board, but it is too little, too late.} Qxb7 29. axb7 dxe2 {There is no
helping White's issues on the back rank.} 30. Rcc1 Rgd8 31. Re1 Rd1 32. f3 Rxa1
33. Rxa1 Rd1+ {and White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "ch-USA w 2023"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.10.13"]
[Round "8.6"]
[White "01.5 Pourkashiyan, A."]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "2288"]
[BlackElo "2372"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7k/1b5q/p3rn2/Pp1p1Nr1/1P1Qp3/1B4NP/5PP1/4R1K1 w - - 0 38"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2023.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 38. Rxe4 $1 ({In the game, White missed her opportunity and played} 38.
Qa7 $2 Rc6 39. Qb8+ Rg8 40. Qe5 Qc7 41. Qd4 Rd8 42. Nh5 Qf7 {, and here the
best continuation would have been} 43. Nf4 {and White would have had a large
advantage.}) 38... Qd7 ({Nothing works for Black, e.g.,} 38... Rxe4 39. Qxf6+)
({or} 38... dxe4 39. Bxe6 {and Black's position falls apart.}) 39. Rh4+ Kg8 40.
Qf4 Rg6 41. Bc2 {and White is winning.} 0-1

[Event "ch-USA w 2023"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.10.07"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "01.6 Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim"]
[Black "Abrahamyan, T."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2350"]
[BlackElo "2262"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1q2k2r/1b4p1/p3p3/1p6/1QpPp3/5PP1/1P4K1/R6R b k - 0 26"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2023.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,79,19,17,17,6,6,-17,-19,-6,0,-14,-1,4,13,-1,-8,-17,26,26,29,29,42,18,
17,-14,116,95,93,100,100,93,99,82,82,82,99,64,75,54,78,32,66,63,90,59,63,-51,
-49,-161,-52,-54,-39,-46,-55,-33,-20,-12,3,0,30,36,30,39,37,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
0,0,497,500,588,657,29989,29990] [#]} 26... Kd7 $3 {Black creates coordination
between his queen and rook, and thus, all of Black's pieces are participating
in the attack.} ({This is much stronger than the game continuation which went} 
26... exf3+ 27. Kf2 Rxh1 28. Rxh1 Kf7 29. Rh4 Qd8 30. Qc5 Bd5 {The chances are
about even according to the engines, but in real life, Black's king is quite
vulnerable.} 31. Qa7+ Kg8 32. Rf4 Qe8 33. Rg4 Qf8 34. Qd7 Qf7 35. Qd8+ Qf8 36.
Qg5 a5 37. Rh4 Qf6 $4 (37... Qe8 {would have kept the chances balanced.}) 38.
Qh5 g5 39. Qe8+ Kg7 40. Qh8+ {and Black resigned.}) 27. Qc5 ({The alternatives
also have issues, for instance,} 27. Kf2 Rf8 28. Ra3 {and now Black can afford
to exchange the queens to seal the deal:} Qd6 29. Qxd6+ Kxd6 30. Rh7 b4 31. Re3
Bd5 32. Rxg7 c3 33. bxc3 b3 {and Black is winning.}) ({Or} 27. Rxh8 exf3+ 28.
Kf2 Qxh8 {and Black is winning.}) 27... Qf8 28. Rxh8 ({Or} 28. Qxf8 Rxf8 {
and Black wins.}) 28... exf3+ 29. Kg1 f2+ 30. Kf1 Qxh8 {and Black is clearly
better.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA 2023"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.10.10"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "01.7 Robson, R."]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C43"]
[WhiteElo "2699"]
[BlackElo "2693"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1bqr3/pp2k3/2p3Q1/3p4/3B3b/6N1/PPP3PP/5RK1 b - - 0 20"]
[PlyCount "6"]
[EventDate "2023.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,57,18,10,16,13,38,35,35,17,17,17,15,6,-6,6,10,0,6,6,-1,30,24,11,6,9,9,
-11,4,0,-5,-13,-23,-24,-63,-54,-69,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,225,157,169,178,182,182,182,
182,182,305,664,711,742,742,731] [#]} 20... Kd7 $1 {This is the only way for
Black's king to survive the attack.} ({In the game, Black went wrong and lost
after} 20... Be6 $4 21. Qg7+ Kd6 22. Be5+ Kc5 23. Bd4+ Kd6 24. Be5+ Kc5 25. Bc7
Bf6 26. Rxf6 Rg8 27. Ne4+ Kb5 28. a4+ Kb4 29. Qh6 {and Black resigned.}) 21.
Rf7+ ({Or} 21. Qg7+ Kd6 {and somehow the king is safe.}) 21... Re7 22. Qg4+ Kd6
23. Qf4+ {and White has no more than a perpetual check.} 1-0

[Event "ch-USA w 2023"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.10.07"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "01.8 Lee, Alice"]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E92"]
[WhiteElo "2388"]
[BlackElo "2372"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r5k1/2p3rn/1p1p4/p2Pp2q/2P2p2/1PNQ1P2/P5PP/R4R1K b - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2023.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,82,20,13,17,-4,36,29,46,46,46,45,46,44,28,32,41,24,34,45,40,10,24,9,
24,16,9,-2,-18,-24,-24,-15,-14,-33,6,-26,-34,-16,55,32,45,48,48,48,0,13,9,12,3,
3,-2,2,53,33,34,51,43,17,28,-67,30,37,41,41,55,51,66,8,0,-203,0,-448,-470,-632,
-644,-671,-699,-757,-795,-795,-831,-831,-888,-899,-911] [#]} 24... Kf7 $1 {
Clearing the path to h-file for Black's remaining piece, the rook on a8.} ({
In the game Black eventually won after} 24... Ng5 25. Ne4 Nh7 26. a3 Rg6 27.
Ra2 Kh8 28. Kg1 {If anyone, White is better in this position.} Rag8 29. g4 fxg3
30. hxg3 Rh6 31. Rg2 Rf8 32. Kf2 Nf6 33. Nxf6 Rhxf6 34. g4 Qh3 35. Rg3 Qh2+ 36.
Ke3 Kg7 37. g5 Rf4 38. Rfg1 Rxf3+ 39. Rxf3 Qxg1+ 40. Kd2 Qg2+ 41. Qe2 Qxf3 {
and White resigned.}) 25. Ne4 Rh8 26. h3 Nf6 27. Qd2 Nxe4 28. fxe4 Rhg8 {
and Black is much better.} 0-1

[Event "ch-USA w 2023"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.10.17"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "01.9 Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Yan, Ruiyang"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B45"]
[WhiteElo "2372"]
[BlackElo "2206"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/5pk1/3R4/2P1p3/1P6/7R/r4r1P/1K6 w - - 0 51"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2023.10.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "3"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,120,19,19,52,58,55,26,32,35,25,32,42,13,65,1,9,9,19,6,15,15,24,14,35,
3,-1,16,15,14,29,14,38,14,36,43,40,29,28,6,32,27,46,29,26,-19,23,-13,-13,-11,
38,-8,-16,-9,-23,-9,-20,-20,-20,-20,-20,-31,-8,-45,-45,-48,30,24,28,38,34,23,
21,24,37,32,43,82,73,66,31,43,43,61,61,77,61,26,16,25,17,19,3,21,19,0,2,2,90,
108,99,103,93,93,121,67,116,90,120,120,120,120,120,-228,-404,-451,-471,-469,
-496,-504,-406,-370,-500] [#]} 51. Rg3+ $3 {The only move to an advantage for
White.} ({In the game, White went wrong multiple times and even ended up
losing, but the king on the back rank facing two rooks on the second rank is
scary situation.} 51. Rb3 e4 52. Rd1 e3 53. Re1 Rad2 54. c6 e2 55. Kc1 Rd6 56.
b5 $4 ({This loses, but there were several ways to save the draw, for instance,
} 56. Rb2 Rxc6+ 57. Kd2 Rxh2 58. Rxe2 {and the chances are equal.}) 56... Rf1
57. Rg3+ Kf6 58. Rf3+ ({or} 58. Rg1 Rd1+) 58... Rxf3 59. Rxe2 Rc3+ 60. Kb1 Rb3+
{and White resigned.}) 51... Kh7 ({Or} 51... Kf8 52. Rb3 Ke7 53. b5 e4 54. Rd1
{and White is winning.}) 52. Rb3 e4 53. Rf6 {With the king on g7, this move
wasn't available for White.} e3 ({Or} 53... Rxh2 54. Rf1 e3 55. c6 {and White
is winning.}) 54. Rxf2 exf2 55. Rf3 Re2 56. c6 Re1+ 57. Kc2 f1=Q 58. Rxf1 Rxf1
59. c7 {and the c-pawn cannot be stopped.} 0-1

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.08"]
[Round "4.5"]
[White "Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2470"]
[BlackElo "2430"]
[Annotator "Yip"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8.
h4 a5 9. c4 Nb6 10. Nc3 Ba6 11. b3 O-O-O 12. Rh3 f6 13. exf6 Qf7 14. Bb2 Re8
15. Re3 Bc5 16. Re4 Rxe4 17. Nxe4 Bb4+ 18. Kd1 gxf6 19. Qf3 Rf8 20. Kc2 d5 21.
cxd5 Bxf1 22. Rxf1 cxd5 23. Qf5+ Kb7 24. Ng3 Qe7 25. Qd3 f5 26. f4 Rg8 27. Kb1
Qxh4 28. Nxf5 Qh2 29. g3 a4 30. a3 Bf8 31. bxa4 Qg2 {[#] While I entered a
slightly better endgame for White with the game continuation, I missed a much
stronger move.} 32. Rd1 ({While} 32. Re1 {does not at first glance look
threatening, the point is that the rook will infiltrate on the eighth rank and
render Black's pieces immobile. The black king is suddenly now very vulnerable.
Some sample lines:} Nxa4 (32... Nc4 {is natural, but White has a string of
brilliant moves to refute this:} 33. Qb3+ Ka7 34. Bd4+ c5 35. Ka1 $3 Rg6 (35...
cxd4 36. Rb1 {wins for White}) 36. Ne7 $3 {is crushing, as it stops ...Rg6-b6.}
) 33. Qb5+ Nb6 34. Re8 {and White is completely winning here, as a3-a4-a5 is
unstoppable. To wit:} Qh3 ({alternatives:} 34... Qd2 35. a4 Qd1+ 36. Ka2 Qxa4+
37. Qxa4 Nxa4 38. Ba3 c5 39. Kb3 Nb6 40. Bxc5) (34... c6 35. Rb8+ $3) (34...
Bxa3 35. Rxg8 Qe4+ 36. Ka2 Bxb2 37. Nd6+ cxd6 38. Kxb2 $18 Qg2+ 39. Kc3 Qf3+
40. Kd2 Qf2+ 41. Kd1 Qg1+ 42. Ke2 Qg2+ 43. Ke3 Qg1+ 44. Kf3 {and the king runs}
) 35. Nd4 Qd7 36. Nc6 Qxc6 37. Rb8+ Kxb8 38. Qxc6) 32... Nxa4 33. Qxd5+ Qxd5
34. Rxd5 Bxa3 35. Ba1 Nb6 36. Rd2 Bb4 37. Rh2 Be1 38. Rh3 Nc4 39. Ng7 Ne3 40.
Bd4 h6 41. f5 c5 42. Bxe3 Rxg7 43. Bf4 Rh7 44. Kc2 c4 {Another key position.
White to play and win?} 45. Kd1 $2 ({The bishop ending is holdable as the
black king gets involved. The correct plan was to immediately start my pawn
with} 45. f6 $1 {. The point is that, instead of taking on h6 with one of our
pieces, we want to get in b3-g4-g5 to win the pawn. But we must play f5-f6
first, as g3-g4 will be met with ...Rh7-g7. Play continues} Kc6 46. g4 Kd5 47.
g5 Ke6 (47... Rf7 48. Rxh6) 48. g6 {and the pawns will win the day after} Rh8
49. f7 {.}) 45... Bf2 46. Rh2 Bd4 47. Rxh6 Rxh6 48. Bxh6 Kc6 49. g4 Kd5 50. Kc2
Ke4 51. Bd2 Kf3 52. Bc3 Kxg4 53. Bxd4 Kxf5 54. Kc3 Ke4 55. Kxc4 1/2-1/2

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.10"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E73"]
[WhiteElo "2370"]
[BlackElo "2470"]
[Annotator "Yip"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,56,21,21,15,-11,38,37,35,41,41,43,23,9,38,2,22,5,19,-20,1,6,6,0,36,52,
56,-9,29,4,42,-8,-35,-55,-37,-20,-29,-34,-34,-64,-64,-64,-15,-446,-65,-65,-436,
-444,-434,-708,-353,-926,-1213,-1213,-1251,-1382,-1564,-2692,-2894]} 1. d4 {
An opening surprise, as Tatev has until very recently favored 1.e4. I expected
her to have some very good prep against my King's Indian, but I felt that my
structural understanding of the opening should lend me an advantage regardless
if I could somehow deviate from theory.} Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5.
Be2 d6 6. Be3 {A line that has grown increasingly popular in recent times.
Instead of allowing Black the classic kingside attack against White's pawn
race on the queenside, White seeks to develop quick kingside play of their own
with h2-h4 and g2-g4.} e5 {I think this is best, although 6...c5 is also
viable. The point is that after d4-d5, Black gets the c5-square.} 7. d5 Na6 8.
h4 Nc5 9. Qc2 h5 {A bit of a concession, as White now gets the nice g5-square
for either the knight or bishop. But it had the intended effect of getting
White out of theory. Now Black focuses on the queenside after defending the
kingside.} ({The main line is} 9... c6 10. h5 cxd5 11. cxd5 Qa5 12. h6 Bh8 13.
f3 Nh5 {and it's just a game, though White's h6-pawn is quite annoying.}) 10.
f3 a5 {Black's plan is to open up the queenside with ...c7-c6 soon, finish
development with ...Bc8-d7, and resolve the tension in the center with ...
c6xd5 when it can be followed up with an immediate ...b7-b5.} 11. Nh3 c6 12.
Nf2 Bd7 13. g4 {A bit hasty.} ({Instead exchanging off Black's sole active
piece with} 13. Nd3 {would have been best.}) 13... cxd5 14. cxd5 {[#]} a4 {
The point of this move was to open the a5-square for the queen, where I could
play for ...b7-b5 as well as ...a4-a3 and ...Rf8-c8 to pressure the knight on
c3. White definitely doesn't want to castle to either side, so Black has to
figure out a way to take advantage of the king in the center.} 15. Bg5 {
White wants to break the standstill on the kingside, so the intent is to take
on f6 and then h5. But this is already a bit misguided; now White's dark
squares will be weak, and her attack too slow.} ({Probably closing the
kingside with} 15. g5 {is best, playing for a pure space advantage. But this
is a hard plan to get behind, as all dynamic potential is killed on the
attacking front.} Ne8 {Knight reroutes and will make itself useful on the
queenside}) 15... Qa5 ({The immediate} 15... b5 {break was already possible.
Taking the pawn leads to complications which favor Black:} 16. Bxb5 (16. Nxb5
$2 {is met by} Bxb5 17. Bxb5 Qa5+) (16. gxh5 b4 17. Ncd1 b3 18. Qc3 bxa2 19.
hxg6 fxg6 20. Rxa2 Qe8 $17 {and here, despite being down a pawn and with
limited pawn cover for the king, Black is doing very well. There are ideas of .
..Nc5-b3-d4, as well as ...Nf6-h5-f4. Meanwhile, White's pieces are awkwardly
placed, especially the knights on f2 and d1.}) 16... Bxb5 17. Nxb5 hxg4 18.
fxg4 Qa5+ 19. Nc3 a3 $36 {with initiative on the queenside. Moving the b-pawn
leads to a tactic on e4; for example,} 20. b3 Nfxe4 21. Nfxe4 Nxe4 22. Qxe4
Qxc3+ {with a tremendous advantage.}) 16. Qd2 Rfc8 ({Black could also have
continued with the attack on the queenside via} 16... b5 {, resolving to allow
White a kingside pawn in exchange for the two bishops and full control over
the dark squares. After} 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. gxh5 Kg7 19. hxg6 fxg6 20. h5 Rh8 {
the king is perfectly safe. It is difficult to get the a1-rook into the game,
and even then, Black has all the entry squares covered.}) 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18.
gxh5 a3 {[#]} 19. Rb1 $2 {A mistake.} ({The only move that keeps the balance is
} 19. b4 $3 {, i.e.,} Qxb4 20. Rb1 Qa5 21. hxg6 fxg6 22. h5 Na4 23. Nxa4 Qxd2+
24. Kxd2 Bxa4 $11 {.}) ({Even worse is} 19. b3 $4 Nxb3 20. axb3 Qxc3 21. Qxc3
Rxc3 {.}) 19... axb2 20. Rxb2 gxh5 $1 {The white queen cannot immediately join
the attack, as the c3-knight would hang (as we see in the game). Black's next
move will be ...Kg8-h7, when the king is safe as the bishop pair covers the
holes in Black's position and the rooks will play on the g-file. The white
king is vulnerable in the center, and the black pieces are more active.
Already, Black is winning.} 21. Qh6 $2 {A move borne of desperation, and
played in time trouble.} Qxc3+ 22. Kf1 Bg7 23. Rg1 Bg4 $1 {This is a
hammer-blow, blocking the g-file. White doesn't have time to take as the queen
is hanging, and with White's attack paused, Black will have time to grab
material while also defending the king.} 24. Qg5 f6 25. Qg6 Qxb2 26. Nxg4 hxg4
27. Rxg4 Rc7 {Killing off the final bits of the White attack.} 28. h5 Nd3 (
28... Nd3 {The idea is} 29. Bxd3 ({or} 29. h6 Rc1+ 30. Kg2 Qxe2+) 29... Rc1#)
0-1

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.07"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Robson, Ray"]
[Black "Mishra, Abhimanyu"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E01"]
[WhiteElo "2776"]
[BlackElo "2677"]
[Annotator "Yip"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. g3 dxc4 6. Bg2 Nbd7 7. O-O b5 8. e4
Bb7 9. e5 Nd5 10. Ng5 h6 {This is the main line, allowing the piece sacrifice.
Nothing else is better, as White will get a strong initative if the knight can
stay on g5 unopposed.} ({The dark squares are weak after} 10... Be7 11. Qh5
Bxg5 12. Bxg5 {, while White is quite happy after}) (10... Nxc3 11. bxc3 Nb6
12. Ne4 {, as the center is shored up with the exchange of knights. Meanwhile,
Black has trouble developing his pieces; if the bishop moves to e7, then
Qd1-g4 will be unpleasant, and h2-h4-h5 is coming. It's hard to come up with a
very good plan for Black. Here ...c6-c5 is hard to get in, especially after
White plants the queen on g4 and stares down the g7-pawn.}) 11. Nxe6 ({Here} 
11. Nge4 {is also an option, if White doesn't want to play the piece sacrifice.
It has been a bit trendy recently, although I think Black feels a lot better
about the position with the c3- and d5-knights on the board and the b-file
still closed.}) 11... fxe6 12. Qh5+ Ke7 13. Ne4 {Threatening mate after Ne4-d6
comes; Black rushes to defend.} Qe8 14. Bg5+ hxg5 15. Qxh8 Kd8 16. Nxg5 Qe7 17.
Qh5 Kc7 18. Qg6 {[#] Both players have been blitzing the top opening and
engine lines to this point. Now Mishra takes his first think of the game.} Re8
{With the intention of bringing the king to safety and manually castling
queenside.} 19. a4 Kb8 20. Ra3 Nc7 $1 {The best move for Black. White has
ideas of taking on d5, forcing ...e6xd5 and leaving the sixth rank opened up
to the queen. For example, if Black tries to shore up the queenside with ...
a7-a6, White's attack suddenly becomes very strong:} (20... a6 21. axb5 cxb5
22. Bxd5 exd5 ({of} 22... Bxd5 23. Rxa6) 23. Rfa1 {and Black cannot stop
Ra3xa6.}) 21. Rf3 {After Robson's first think of the game, he swings the rook
around to the kingside. If Black does nothing, White's plan is to push the
h-pawn as far as possible, drop the knight onto d6 to force the dark-squared
bishop off the board, and then pick up the g7-pawn. Another idea is to play
Ng5-h7, with the same intention to exchanging off the dark-squared bishop,
thereby weakening the g7-pawn. Black must be precise with his defense.} bxa4 {
A typical idea to pick up the pawn after the rook has left; Black will be able
to hang on to it for quite a while, thanks to ...Nd7-b6. Despite the atypical
implementation, Black closes up the a- and b-files with this capture.} 22. h4
Qd8 ({Here} 22... Qb4 {was equally good, and slighty more active. But it is
very double-edged, as the queen can't take on b2 quite yet, and this leaves
the kingside at the mercy of White's pieces. Play continues} 23. Rf7 (23. Nh7
$2 c5 $1) 23... Re7 24. Rf4 {(now White wants Ng5-h7)} c5 $1 {and Black gets
the key break in.} (24... Qxb2 $4 {Doesn't work because now White's other rook
gets into the game} 25. Rb1 Qa2 26. Bxc6 {And White is winning}) {After} 25.
Bxb7 Qxb7 {[#] we have a sharp position. If Black can coordinate and activate
his minor pieces, then he is doing well; if White can win the g7-pawn, then he
is very happy as well. If both sides can achieve their plans, then the
position will become extremely complex and double-edged. A sample line is:} 26.
dxc5 Re8 27. Nf7 Bxc5 28. Qxg7 Nd5 29. Rxc4 Qxb2 30. Rxa4 Qe2 {White's knight
is a bit misplaced on f7, while Black is stopping h4-h5. Both kings are facing
weaknesses; White can't take advantage of the passed pawns on the kingside
because of this, meanwhile Black's pieces must stay around the queenside/
center because of open files in front of Black's king. It's extremely
complicated, with much play for both sides.}) 23. Rf7 ({Note that} 23. Nh7 {
immediately doesn't work because Black's} c5 {comes with tempo on White's rook.
}) 23... Re7 24. Rf4 {Now Ng5-h7 is properly threatened, and will be played if
Black tries to repeat.} Qe8 25. Qh7 ({If} 25. Qxe8+ {Black is happy trading
into an endgame and getting one of White's most dangerous pieces off the board.
Now White can still try to go after the g-pawn, but Black's pieces can
activate themselves quickly:} Rxe8 {(forced; the d7-knight is freed from
defending the bishop)} 26. Ra1 (26. Rc1 Nb6) 26... Nb6 27. Rf7 g6 28. Rf6 c5 $1
{giving up the g-pawn to play this pawn break at the optimal moment, i.e.,} 29.
dxc5 Bxc5 30. Rxg6 Bd4 {with a great position for Black.}) 25... g6 26. Rf7 $2
{The wrong way to block the attack.} ({After the correct} 26. Nf7 $3 {White
has a solid advantage. The point is that Black's plan in the game, with ...
c6-c5 to free his position, no longer works thanks to the knight's jump to d6
after exchanging bishops. With that main break taken care of, White will
continue with taking on g6 and then pushing the h pawn. It is difficult for
Black to coordinate his pieces, especially with the knight on f7 restricting
the queen and rook. For example:} Nb6 {(best, activating the knight)} (26... c5
$6 27. Bxb7 Kxb7 28. Qxg6) 27. Qxg6 Nbd5 28. Bxd5 $3 {[#] The only move to
keep an advantage. Otherwise, Black's knights grow quite annoying.} (28. Rf3
Nb5 29. Rd1 c3) 28... Nxd5 29. Rf3 c5 30. Qg8 {The break does not come in time,
and Nf7-d6 is unstoppable. Black is losing the queen. Play will continue after
...Nd5-c7, but Black is definitely not pleased.}) 26... c5 {Black's key break!}
27. Bxb7 Kxb7 28. Qxg6 {White must give up the d-pawn, as taking on c5 is not
possible. White would be happy if it were the knight on f7 instead, ready to
hop into d6 as well as threatening d4xc5 (as the e5-pawn is now defended). But
with the rook instead, Black can carry on with the counterplay in the center} (
28. dxc5 $2 {fails to} Nxe5 {.}) 28... Rxf7 ({Here} 28... cxd4 {lets White
back into the game with} 29. Qe4+ {.}) 29. Nxf7 cxd4 {Already, Black is quite
happy. White's active rook has been traded for Black's passive one, and the
d4-pawn has been picked up! It proves very difficult for White to actually
pick the central pawns off.} 30. Qe4+ ({If} 30. Rd1 d3 31. Qe4+ Nd5 32. Ng5
N7b6 {and Black is cruising.}) 30... Nd5 {[#]} 31. Nd6+ $6 {Another inaccuracy,
though once again it is not quite clear at first glance how the alternative is
better. Mishra seizes upon the opportunity to simplify a bit and let the
knights dominate the board.} ({The right move is} 31. Ng5 {, bringing the
knight back in order to properly attack the d4-pawn. In the game, Robson tries
this same idea, but there is a nice tactical refutation which holds on to all
the pawns in the center. Here, that same tactic is no longer viable. Though
the line is still good for Black, it does lead to a complex and unclear
endgame--not at all clear to human eyes.} Bc5 32. Nf3 Qh5 $3 {Key, eyeing the
d1-square. This will prove important in some critical lines, such as after
White plays Rf1-c1 here.} 33. g4 (33. Nxd4 Bxd4 34. Qxd4 Nxe5 $19) (33. Rc1 d3
34. Rxc4 Nxe5 $3 {this is the point of 32...Qh5; the knight is untouchable,
because Black has control over the queening square.}) 33... Qh6 34. Nxd4 Qf4 $3
35. Qxf4 Nxf4 36. Nf3 a3 {. Black needed to find a lot of good moves to reach
this position, and he is definitely pressing. But the game is not quite over
yet; White still has two connected passers on the kingside, and Black will
have to fight for the full point.}) 31... Bxd6 32. exd6 Qh8 {Black holds on to
the pawn via the long diagonal!} 33. Rd1 Ne5 {The point: if White takes on d4
with any piece, it will be met with ...Ne5-f3. White cannot stop Black's next
move, ...Ne5-c6, which defends the d4 pawn.} 34. d7 ({Most forcing, and
therefore necessary to explore, is} 34. f4 {. After} Nc6 35. Qxe6 Nb6 {White's
passers are coming, but Black has his own as well; further, the knights prove
effective in stopping White's pawns.} 36. f5 a3 {wins, though it does require
a bit of calculation. The tactics work out for Black; for example:} (36... Qe5
{is better and simpler}) 37. bxa3 c3 38. f6 c2 39. Rc1 d3 40. Qe3 Qh7 41. f7
Nc4 $1 {and while White can promote, ...d3-d2 is coming:} 42. Qf4 d2 43. Qxd2
Nxd2 44. f8=Q Nb3 {with a winning position.}) 34... Nxd7 $6 {[#] Surprisingly,
this very natural move is an inaccuracy. Black needs the knight on c6, and so
would rather retake the pawn with another piece.} ({Black is totally winning
after} 34... Kc7 $1 {.}) 35. Qxd4 $2 {Returning the favor. The endgame is lost
for White.} ({After} 35. Kg2 {Black no longer has Nd7-e5-f3 tactics. After} Nc5
$2 (35... a5 $1 36. Qxd4 Qxd4 37. Rxd4 a3 $1 {keeps the win in hand}) 36. Qxd4
Qxd4 37. Rxd4 {we reach a position that resembles the game, but now the
tactics no longer work because the knight is on c5 instead of d7.}) ({The
alternative} 35. Rxd4 {is also much better than entering the endgame; White
retains chances, and Black must play precisely to retain the advantage:} Nc5 ({
or} 35... N7b6 36. Rd2 a3 37. bxa3 c3 38. Rc2 {when White is holding on, and
Black cannot push the pawn any further}) 36. Qg4 Kb6 $1 {Black defends the
c5-knight, so after Rd4xc4 the queen is allowed to take on b2.} ({if} 36... c3
37. bxc3 a3 38. Qd1 Nxc3 {the game is unclear, as White has many hidden
resources, includign the surprising} 39. Rd7+ $1 {.}) 37. h5 (37. Rxc4 Qxb2)
37... c3 38. bxc3 a3 39. Rd2 Qxc3 40. Qd1 {and the game continues. Both sides'
passers are strong.}) 35... Qxd4 36. Rxd4 a3 37. bxa3 (37. Rxc4 $2 {loses on
the spot to} axb2 {.}) 37... c3 {[#] White will be forced to give up the rook
in exchange for this pawn. The kingside pawns are neither fast nor strong
enough to provide effective counterplay.} 38. Rd1 ({Alternatives are no better:
} 38. Rc4 Ne5 39. Rc5 Kb6 40. Rc8 Nc6 {and Black wins.}) (38. Re4 Nc5 (38... c2
$4 39. Rc4 {flips the script}) 39. Re2 Nb3 40. h5 (40. Kg2 Nd4 41. Re1 c2 42.
Rc1 Nf6) 40... Nd4 41. Re1 c2 {and Black is winning.}) 38... Nc5 39. h5 Nd3 {
Since the knight is untouchable, promotion is imminent.} 40. h6 c2 41. Rf1 Nf6
{Black's knights are effective at stopping the pawns} 42. g4 Nh7 43. Kg2 c1=Q
44. Rxc1 Nxc1 45. f4 Kc6 46. Kf3 Kd5 47. g5 Nf8 48. Kg4 Nd3 49. f5 Ne5+ 50. Kf4
Nfg6+ {A nice sacrifice to get rid of all complications.} 51. fxg6 Nxg6+ 52.
Kg4 Ke4 53. a4 a5 54. h7 Ke5 55. Kh5 Kf5 56. Kh6 e5 0-1

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.15"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2732"]
[BlackElo "2861"]
[Annotator "Yip"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 a5 6. O-O d6 7. Re1 Ba7 8. Nbd2
O-O 9. h3 Be6 10. Bb5 {White seeks to take advantage of the hole on b5 to
force a quick d3-d4. Meanwhile, Black will try to drop a piece on the
f4-square.} Ne7 11. d4 Ng6 12. Ba4 {Prophylaxis against a coming ...c7-c6.} ({
Also viable is} 12. Nf1 {.}) 12... Nh5 13. Nf1 Nhf4 14. Ng3 exd4 15. Nxd4 ({
The alternative} 15. cxd4 d5 16. e5 f6 {results in nearly the same position as
in the game, but Black keeps the dark-squared bishop, which may prove
dangerous in the long run. White is better exchanging this off.}) 15... Bxd4
16. cxd4 ({Also reasonable is} 16. Qxd4 Qg5 {, securing the hold on the dark
squares and opening up d8 for the rook. Black has plans of a quick ...d6-d5.
Black's piece coordination is actually quite good, despite the pin of the
knight to queen, as White has no good way to take advantage of this.} (16...
Nxg2 {is interesting if Black feels frisky:} 17. Kxg2 Nh4+ 18. Kh1 Nf3 19. Qe3
Nxe1 20. Qxe1 Qh4 {is slightly better for White}) 17. Qd1 Rad8 18. Qf3 d5 {
and Black is generating good play; for instance:} 19. e5 $2 f6 $1 {.}) 16... d5
{[#]} 17. e5 ({The only other move that has been played in this position is} 
17. Qf3 {, when Black has a choice of nice moves, but simplest is} Qh4 {
when e4-e5 will always be met with ...f7-f6. The rooks will come to d8 and e8 
(once the light-squared bishop's diagonal is blocked). Black is pretty happy.})
17... f6 {Allowing White to simplify a bit, while also maintaining the space
advantage with the pawn on e5.} ({It appears that} 17... Qh4 {stronger. It
stops Ng3-h5 first, before playing ...f7-f6 on Black's terms, after which the
half-open f-file will be very good for a kingside attack. Without this
simplification available, White is not very happy.}) 18. Bxf4 Nxf4 19. Nh5 Nxh5
20. Qxh5 {All forced.} f5 $6 {Refusing the immediate simplification. While
this may not have been objectively best, it does mean there are more dynamical
possibilities in the air.} ({After} 20... fxe5 21. Rxe5 Bf7 22. Qe2 {there's
definitely still play left, but White will have the e-file and especially the
e5-square. It will be hard for White to lose this position.}) 21. f4 Qe7 22. a3
c5 23. Rac1 c4 ({White is better after} 23... cxd4 24. Qd1 {.}) 24. Qd1 Kh8 25.
Bb5 $6 {[#] White probably completely missed Black's next move. If White had
time to get in b2-b3 without any intervention on Black's end, then he would be
better with the strong center, better bishop, open-file, and clear weaknesses
to play against. But Black has a surprise up his sleeve!} ({White needed to
prepare for Black's idea with} 25. Rc3 g5 26. fxg5 Qxg5 27. Rf1 Rg8 28. Rf2 {
and White is in time to defend everything. With the attack at a standstill,
White is very happy indeed.}) 25... g5 $1 {An unusual idea, but an incredible
move! Black is opening up his king, destroying his pawn structure, etc., but
somehow, he has enough initiative on the kingside to keep White on his toes.
Despite the lack of minor pieces, the attack proves dangerous!} 26. b3 {
White correctly recognizes that taking on g5 is not best, but that means that
the pieces should be readying for defense -- there is not much time for
aggression.} ({After} 26. fxg5 Qxg5 27. Rc3 {is important! The third-rank will
be crucial to Black's attack, either with some ...f5-f4-f3 push or some ...
Be6xh3 tricks. The queenside rook swinging around will take care of those
problems.} ({on} 27. Rf1 Rg8 28. Rf2 f4 29. Kh1 f3 {the white kingside will
not hold together for long}) 27... Rg8 28. Re2 f4 29. Ba4 Qh6 30. Qf1 (30. Kh1
Bg4) 30... Raf8 31. Kh2 Bf5 $1 {the bishop prepares to jump into d3 or e4, and
provoking White's light squared bishop to return. Black has a dominating
position.}) 26... gxf4 27. bxc4 Rg8 {Again, at first glance, it does not seem
that this position is particularly good for Black. But White has a very hard
time defending. The g-file proves to be a particular source of trouble because
White's light-squared bishop is so far away; were it on f3, it would be a
different story.} 28. Rc3 $2 ({The only move to hold the balance is} 28. Rf1 {
as the pawn cannot be allowed to come to f3, lest the kingside ecosystem be
poisoned:} Rg3 ({after} 28... Qxa3 29. Rf3 Qb2 30. Rf2 Qa3 {neither side has
more than a repetition}) 29. Rf3 Rag8 30. Rc2 Qh4 {and while Black is pressing,
White can hold with careful play.}) 28... dxc4 {Taking the opportunity to win
a pawn.} 29. Bxc4 ({Not} 29. d5 $4 Qc5+ {.}) 29... Bxc4 30. Rxc4 Qxa3 {Now
Black is winning and perfectly placed to initiate some shenanigans on the
third rank. For instance, ...f4-f3 is coming while the h3-pawn is hanging. It
is very hard for White to deal with both threats.} 31. Rc2 {[#]} f3 $6 {
Inaccurate.} ({Picking up a clean pawn with} 31... Qxh3 {was best, thanks to a
tactical idea:} 32. Rf2 ({if} 32. Rf1 Qe3+ 33. Rcf2 Rad8 {a third pawn is
incoming}) 32... Rxg2+ $3 {this move looks crazy, but it works! After
recapturing, White's rook has to stay on the g-file to stop ...Ra8-g8 and mate,
but there are too few safe squares available on the g-file for the rook, so
Black wins it back!} 33. Rxg2 f3 34. Rg5 (34. Ra2 Rg8+ 35. Kf2 Rg2+ 36. Ke3 f2+
{And mate soon}) 34... Qh4 35. Qd2 f4 {Now the rook is trapped. If it leaves
the g-file, mate is incoming.}) 32. e6 $6 {Returning the favor.} ({Required was
} 32. Rf2 {which may feel like a waste of time, but White has to be ready to
defend the h3-pawn once g2 falls. After} fxg2 33. Rf3 Qb4 34. e6 {White's
kingside is stabilized and he can start pushing central pawns. This is enough
for equality.}) 32... fxg2 {Now h3 is hanging, and the position is nearly
impossible to defend.} 33. Qe2 ({If} 33. Qh5 Qd3 {, while}) (33. Rxg2 {is not
possible, because White is just out of defenders after} Rxg2+ 34. Kxg2 Rg8+ {
and wins.}) 33... Qxh3 34. Qe5+ Rg7 35. Rcc1 Qh1+ 36. Kf2 Qh4+ 37. Ke2 f4 {
A second passer comes in to further harass White's king.} 38. Rg1 Qg4+ 39. Kd2
f3 40. Ke3 Kg8 41. Rc2 Rf8 42. Rf2 h5 43. Qd5 Re8 0-1

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.16"]
[Round "10.3"]
[White "Zatonskih, Anna"]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2433"]
[BlackElo "2470"]
[Annotator "Yip"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nbd2 {This was already a surprise to me, although of
course it is a solid option. White wants an immediate e2-e4. Since my King's
Indian setup had been serving me well, I decided to utilize it one last time.}
Bg7 ({If Black plays} 3... d5 {, the idea is} 4. b4 Bg7 5. e3 {with a
stronghold over the queenside dark squares. Typically Black retaliates with a
quick ...a7-a5 or ...c7-c5, but I wasn't in the mood for slow chess that day!})
4. e4 d6 5. Bd3 O-O 6. O-O Nc6 7. c3 e5 8. dxe5 Nxe5 ({Another option is} 8...
dxe5 {, keeping more pieces on the board. But the knight on c6 is a bit
awkwardly placed, and it's typically a good idea to get it exchanged off if
possible.}) 9. Nxe5 dxe5 {The position is solid for both sides. Black will
need to take some risks to induce some concessions from White.} 10. Nc4 Nh5 11.
g3 Qe7 12. Qe2 h6 {A waiting move, aiming to see how White plans to deploy her
pieces.} 13. a4 a5 14. Rd1 Nf6 {Now that the knight is no longer useful on h5 
(with the f4-square being defended), a re-route is needed, either to c5 (via
d7), or to h7 followed by the ...f7-f5 push.} 15. b3 Re8 16. Ba3 Qe6 17. Rab1
Qh3 {Trying to convince White to move some more pawns in front of her king.}
18. f3 h5 19. Qf2 Bh6 $4 {[#] This allows White a very nice shot.} 20. Bf1 ({
The point of the previous move is that} 20. Ne3 {is not viable due to some
tactics on h4, i.e.,} h4 21. g4 $2 Bxg4 22. Nxg4 Nxg4 23. fxg4 Be3 {.}) ({
Anna and I both missed} 20. Qc5 $3 {when all of the pawns are hanging, and
Black has no way to cover e5 or c7. To make matters worse, there's no play on
the kingside. Play continues} c6 (20... h4 21. Bf1) 21. Nd6 Rf8 22. Bf1 Qe6 23.
Nc4 {and White is clearly in the driver's seat. Pawns are hanging, and with ...
c7-c6 provoked, Black has made significant weaknesess on the queenside for
White's pieces to take advantage of.} (23. Bc4 {is also very good, winning
material})) 20... Qe6 21. Ne3 ({Here again} 21. Qc5 {would have been very good,
as Black is forced to enter into a bad endgame. After} Qc6 22. Qxc6 bxc6 {
White is the one playing for the win, but it must be said that despite Black's
pawn structure, it's not hopeless. White has no way to attack the doubled
pawns, and at least the pawns cover the central d5 and d6 squares.}) 21... h4 {
Here, I think Anna panicked with her next move. Though things are getting a
little scary, with ideas of taking on g3 and some sort of doubling on the
h-file, White will be okay if she just leaves her kingside pawns where they
are and focuses instead on queenside expansion. Here c3-c4-c5 is both typical
and good for White in this position.} 22. gxh4 $6 {The engine does not fully
reject this move, but in practical terms, it gives Black something substantial
to play against. The dark squares (such as f4) are weakened. Black will soon
be loading up on the h-file and focusing on winning back the h-pawn. Here Anna
was already getting low on time in a position that is extremely hard to defend
as a human.} Kg7 {[#]} 23. Ng2 ({The best move to fight for an advantage is} 
23. Bc4 Qh3 24. Bc1 {as White absolutely needs to exchange off the
dark-squared bishops. The h6-bishop is far more useful for Black than the
bishop on a3.} (24. Bf1 $2 Nxe4 $1) 24... Rh8 25. Ng2 Bxc1 26. Rbxc1 {Here
White is doing alright with another pair of minor pieces off the board. It is
difficult for Black to pick up the h4-pawn, and the f4-outpost is nicely
covered by the knight -- Black does not want to exchange the knights and have
to take back on f4 with a pawn. Of course Black would love it if the bishop
were on h3 right now, but it's impossible for the queen to go to any other
square.}) 23... Nh5 24. Bb5 ({Here the same plan of exchanging the bishops with
} 24. Bc1 {no longer works as well, because the black queen is much better
placed and therefore lends itself to superior coordination with the pieces.
For instance:} Bxc1 25. Rdxc1 Qf6 $19 {followed by ...Bc8-h3, removing White's
last defender of the dark squares.}) 24... Rh8 25. Bc4 {Black is placing the
pieces where they want to be without resistance.} Qf6 {Now ...Bc8-h3 or ...
Nh5-f4 are real threats, with the h4-pawn dropping soon.} 26. Qc5 {White goes
for her last shot at activity amidst time trouble, lest she wait and just get
steamrolled on the kingside. Unfortunately (for her!) the tactics do not work
out.} Bh3 27. Qe7 Qxf3 {The white kingside is falling apart, with all of
Black's pieces involved.} 28. Qxe5+ Kh7 29. Bf1 Nf4 30. Rd2 ({The knight is
untouchable: if} 30. Nxf4 Bxf4 {, threatening the queen and mate on e3.}) 30...
Bxg2 31. Rxg2 ({Or} 31. Bxg2 Qe3+ 32. Rf2 Qxf2+ (32... Nd3) 33. Kxf2 Nd3+)
31... Nh3+ 32. Kh1 Be3 {Getting the last minor piece into the attack. White
cannot defend against the upcoming deadly discovered check.} 33. Qxc7 Nf2+ 34.
Kg1 Nd1+ 0-1

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.16"]
[Round "10.2"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E51"]
[WhiteElo "2513"]
[BlackElo "2430"]
[Annotator "Yip"]
[PlyCount "141"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 d5 6. Nf3 Re8 7. Rc1 a6 8. Bd3
dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nbd7 10. O-O h6 11. Ne5 c5 12. Bb3 Qe7 13. Qe2 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Nd7
15. f4 Bxc3 16. Bxc3 b5 17. Rfd1 Bb7 18. Rd6 Rac8 19. Rcd1 Nb8 20. Bc2 Bc6 21.
Qd3 g6 22. e4 b4 23. Be1 Bb5 24. Qh3 Nc6 25. Qxh6 Nd4 26. Bd3 Qf8 27. Qh3 Bxd3
28. Qxd3 Qh6 29. Bd2 Qh5 30. Be3 Nb5 31. Rd7 c4 32. Qc2 c3 33. b3 Na3 34. Qd3
c2 35. Rc1 a5 36. Bb6 Qg4 37. Qf3 Qxf3 38. gxf3 Ra8 39. Kf2 a4 40. Bc5 axb3 41.
axb3 Rec8 42. Bxb4 Nb1 43. Ke3 Rab8 44. Rd4 Rb7 45. Kd3 Na3 46. Ke2 {[#]} Nb1
47. Kd3 Na3 48. Ke3 Nb1 49. Kd3 Na3 {Instead of claiming the draw and calling
the arbiter, Begim played the repetition on the board, invalidating her claim.
Not interested in the peace offering, Irina spurned the repetition and was
soon rewarded for her bravery.} 50. f5 Nb5 $2 {Dropping a second pawn, and
soon, the game.} ({Instead Black would have held with} 50... Rcb8 51. Bxa3
Rxb3+ 52. Kxc2 Rxa3 {due to the active rooks.}) 51. Rxc2 Re8 ({Black also
loses after} 51... Rxc2 52. Rd8+ Kh7 53. fxg6+ Kxg6 54. Kxc2 {.}) 52. Rdc4 exf5
53. Rc8 fxe4+ 54. Kxe4 Nc3+ 55. R2xc3 Rxb4+ 56. R3c4 Rxc8 57. Rxb4 Rc2 58. h4
Kg7 59. Rc4 Rb2 60. b4 Rb3 61. f4 Kh6 62. Kd5 Kh5 63. Kc6 Kxh4 64. b5 Kg4 65.
b6 Kf5 66. b7 Rb1 67. Kc7 g5 68. fxg5 Kxg5 69. b8=Q Rxb8 70. Kxb8 Kf5 71. Rc5
1-0

[Event "U.S. Women's Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.17"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Yan, Ruiyang"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B45"]
[WhiteElo "2470"]
[BlackElo "2351"]
[Annotator "Yip"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 Bc5 7. Nd6+ Ke7 8.
Bf4 e5 9. Nf5+ Kf8 10. Bg5 d6 11. Ne3 Be6 12. Qd2 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Ncd5 Qd8
15. Bc4 Rc8 16. Bb3 Kg8 17. c3 Kh7 18. Bc2 Ne7 19. O-O-O b5 20. Kb1 a5 21. f4
b4 22. Qe1 Qe8 23. Nxe7 Qxe7 24. f5 Bxe3 25. Qxe3 Bc4 26. b3 bxc3 27. bxc4 Qb7+
28. Bb3 a4 29. Qxc3 axb3 30. axb3 Rb8 31. Kb2 Qxe4 32. Qc2 Qxc2+ 33. Kxc2 Rb6
34. Rd3 Ra8 35. Kb2 g6 36. Rhd1 Raa6 37. fxg6+ Kxg6 38. Rg3+ Kh7 39. Rf1 Rb7
40. Rf6 Rc6 41. Kc3 Rcb6 42. Kc2 Ra6 43. Rh3 Kg7 44. Rfxh6 Ra2+ 45. Kc3 Ra3 46.
Kc2 Ra2+ 47. Kb1 Rxg2 48. Rxd6 {[#]} Rf2 49. c5 {Allowing Black to get the
doubled rooks on the second in order to push my pawns.} Ra7 50. b4 Raa2 51. Rb3
e4 52. Rd1 e3 53. Re1 Rad2 {I'd seen this position in my calculations; Black
is just in time to advance her passer one more square, while also stopping my
connected pawns.} 54. c6 (54. Rbxe3 {would allow Black a perpetual.}) 54... e2
55. Kc1 Rd6 {Here is the critical moment:} 56. b5 $4 ({Here} 56. Kc2 {would
have just led to a simple draw, as White will be picking up the e2-pawn
shortly, i.e.,} Rxc6+ 57. Kd2 Rd6+ 58. Rd3 {.}) 56... Rf1 57. Rg3+ Kf6 ({
I had planned} 57... Kf8 58. Rg1 {expecting 58. ...Rdf6. But once I played 58.
b5, I suddenly noticed Black had} Rd1+ {and the rook is untouchable!} (58...
Rdf6 59. c7 Rxg1 60. c8=Q+)) 58. Rf3+ Rxf3 59. Rxe2 Rc3+ 60. Kb1 Rb3+ {Black
picks up the pawns or forces a rook exchange, and it's time to resign.} 0-1

[Event "U.S. Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.17"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E61"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]
[BlackElo "2818"]
[Annotator "Mishra"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]

{In this game, I was playing against one of the legends of the game. I was
looking forward to a complicated fight!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2
O-O 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. e3 {There are many move order subtleties in the King's
Indian. Here the main idea is to play Nf1-e2 to keep the g2-bishop open.} d6 7.
Nge2 e5 8. d5 Ne7 9. b3 $5 {Not committing to e3-e4. The plan of this setup is
to instead potentially push f2-f4.} Nd7 {This move is quite common in these
KID positions. The idea is to play f7-f5 next.} 10. Bb2 f5 {[#]} 11. f4 $5 {
An interesting positional decision. Black wanted to play ...e5-e4 to restrict
the g2-bishop, and I am allowing it. My purpose for putting the pawn on f4 is
to prevent Black from accessing the e5-square. I judged that my g2-bishop
would not be bad forever, as I could always play Bg2-f1-e2 at some point in
the future.} e4 12. Nd4 Nf6 {White's position is better statically as he has
more space. Black should therefore have tried to change the character of the
game immediately.} ({The critical test of White's plans was} 12... Nc5 $1 {
, trying to open the game. Here} 13. Bf1 $1 {is needed to prevent ...Nc5-d3.
After} c6 $5 14. b4 {the piece sacrifice with} cxd5 $1 {had to be forseen. Now}
15. bxc5 $6 (15. Nxd5 {is safer, with a complex game ahead}) 15... dxc5 16. Nb3
d4 {gives Black a huge pawn center! The engine claimes White is fine if he
gives back the pieces, but I don't think this is what White should aim for.})
13. O-O c5 14. dxc6 bxc6 15. Qd2 a6 {Preparing ...c6-c5.} ({Here} 15... c5 {
immediately failed due to} 16. Ndb5 {hitting the d6-pawn.}) 16. Rfd1 Qc7 ({Now
} 16... c5 17. Nde2 {is not optimal for as Black has to play ...Nf6-e8 to
defend d6.}) 17. Nde2 {I liked this solution as I improve my structure.} ({
The alternative} 17. b4 $5 c5 18. bxc5 dxc5 19. Nb3 Be6 20. Bf1 {looks a bit
strange, but it has a point: the c5-pawn is quite weak after Nc3-a4.}) 17...
Rd8 18. c5 $1 Ne8 19. Na4 {Trading off the g7-bishop, a key defender of
Black's king.} Bxb2 20. Qxb2 Nd5 21. Qc1 {Reserving the d4-square for the
knight.} Nef6 22. Nd4 Ng4 23. Nb6 $1 {The point. White does not passively
defend e3.} Nxb6 24. cxb6 Qxb6 25. h3 {[#]} Nf6 $2 {Aronian desperately needed
to get rid of my d4-knight.} ({Correct therefore was} 25... c5 $1 26. hxg4 cxd4
27. Rxd4 d5 {with a complicated game where White is to be slightly preferred.})
26. Qxc6 Qxc6 27. Nxc6 Rd7 28. Rac1 {This endgame is very unpleasant for Black,
as my pieces are better coordinated and I have the better pawn structure.} Bb7
29. Na5 $1 {Keeping the weak a6-pawn in place.} d5 30. Bf1 {At last, improving
the bad bishop.} Kf7 31. b4 Rg8 $5 {An interesting attempt to change the
character of the game, but here it is too late.} 32. Kf2 g5 33. a3 {Good
enough, threatening Na5xb7 and Bf1xa6 as the b4-pawn does not hang.} ({I
considered} 33. Nb3 {immediately, but I did not want to allow} h5 34. Nd4 h4 {
when it seems that Black is creating counterplay. Naturally the engine laughs
and gives} 35. Be2 $3 {, claiming Black is completely busted!}) 33... gxf4 34.
gxf4 Rg6 {[#]} 35. Nb3 $1 {Bringing the knight to d4, where it pressures f5.} (
{The direct} 35. Nxb7 Rxb7 36. Bxa6 Ra7 (36... Ng4+ 37. hxg4 Rxa6 38. Rxd5 {
also works}) 37. b5 {is winning in the long run, but I didn't want to give up
my knight for such a dead bishop.}) 35... Rh6 {This position reminds me of a
quote: "In a bad position, all moves are bad!"} 36. Nd4 Rh5 37. Rc5 Ng8 38.
Rdc1 Ne7 39. a4 {Slowly preparing a breakthrough.} Rh6 40. a5 Kf8 {[#]} 41. b5
{Time to strike!} axb5 42. Bxb5 Rdd6 43. Rc7 Ba6 44. Bxa6 Rxa6 45. Rb1 {
The black pieces are too uncoordinated to prevent Rb8+ followed by Rb7. A
great game!} (45. Rb1 {After} Rxh3 {the black pieces are too uncoordinated to
prevent} 46. Rb8+ Kf7 47. Rbb7 Rh2+ 48. Kg3 Rah6 49. Rxe7+ {with the end being
near. A great game!}) 1-0

[Event "Bolshevik-ch"]
[Site "Odessa "]
[Date "1949.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Evseev, Nikolay Petrovich"]
[Black "Flohr, Salo"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B17"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "1949.08.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Ng3 e6 7. Bd3 Be7 8.
O-O O-O 9. Qe2 c5 10. c3 b6 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. f4 cxd4 13. cxd4 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Ng4
15. Bxh7+ Kxh7 16. Qxg4 Qd4+ 17. Kh1 Rac8 18. Nh5 g6 19. Qh3 Rh8 20. Nf6+ Kg7
21. Qe3 Rc2 22. Qg3 Qd3 23. Qxd3 Rxg2 24. Ng4 Rgxh2+ 0-1

[Event "Odessa"]
[Site "Odessa"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r2k/6Rb/5Bp1/8/8/8/8/6K1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  1-0

[Event "Odessa"]
[Site "Odessa"]
[Date "1949.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "kr1r2q1/pRK5/8/3B4/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1949.08.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.11.21"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k1r3r1/pRp5/8/8/8/8/K5B1/7R w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.11.21"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5rqk/6Rp/5B1K/8/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.11.21"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/kbq5/8/N2K4/8/8/Q7/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.11.21"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5r1k/5b2/8/8/8/8/6KB/7R w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.11"]
[Round "?"]
[White "**Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Sevian, Samuel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2786"]
[BlackElo "2698"]
[Annotator "Watson"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,75,32,-12,-12,-2,1,1,1,-29,-39,-34,-35,-18,8,8,8,-4,-1,-1,0,-15,-4,-4,
8,8,-2,-20,-12,-15,-15,-7,12,12,39,38,12,-17,15,15,15,11,6,11,11,-1,6,0,5,-19,
-17,-12,-8,-13,-6,-5,-1,-1,21,3,5,-2,14,0,4,-2,-16,-15,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1.
c4 e5 2. Nc3 ({The actual order of this game was} 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5
Nxd5 5. Nc3 Nb6 6. Nf3 Nc6 {, but I've adjusted the order to show Ntirlis'
repertoire.}) 2... Nf6 {Black move orders involving an early ...f5 have been
played by strong players for years. Ntirlis finds two unique move orders that
avoid the kingside play Black often achieves:} ({a)} 2... Nc6 3. Nf3 f5 {
is a traditional and respected order, when Ntirlis suggests the rare but clever
} 4. e3 $1 {, intending} Nf6 5. d4 e4 6. Ne5 $1 {Of course this is playable
for both sides, but avoids some forcing theoretical lines.}) ({b) the idea
versus} 2... d6 3. Nf3 f5 4. d4 e4 {is} 5. Ng1 $1 {with the idea Bf4, e3, and
in many cases h4 and Nh3.} (5. Ng5 {is normal, but it's well worked out and
years of experience indicate that Black can be satisfied})) 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5
({A whole chapter is devoted to} 4... Bb4 5. Nd5 {, a position with a good
deal of flexibility. Naturally I think that Black can equalize at various
points, for example, in the line} e4 6. Nh4 O-O 7. Bg2 d6 8. Nxb4 Nxb4 9. a3 {
both 9…Nc6 and 9….Na6 are equal and fairly easy to play. This is
nevertheless a good practical choice for White because there is plenty of
action ahead.}) 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 {[#] Ntirlis points out
that for many players, this is the first position that comes to mind when they
hear "English Opening". In my most recent games download, it is the most
popular main line after 1 c4.} 8. b3 {Ntirlis gives this an '!'. Arguably it's
main advantage is that it bypasses the overanalysed lines which often lead to
too many simplifications.} ({Ntirlis also supplies a deep analysis of his
second recommendation} 8. d3 {A recent elite game in his main line went} O-O 9.
Be3 Re8 10. Rc1 Bf8 11. d4 exd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 c6 {, and here White
chose} 14. Qd3 (14. e4 {is Ntirlis recommendation; I'm not convinced that
White should get any advantage, but it's a rich position}) 14... Be6 (14... Bf5
15. Qxf5 Qxd4 {is also equal}) 15. Rfd1 Qg5 16. h4 Qa5 17. Qc2 Rad8 $11 {
Ponomariov-Firouzja, FIDE Grand Swiss 2023}) 8... O-O 9. Bb2 Bg4 {One of 6
moves that Ntirlis analyses. In the very old days when I was trying to find a
weapon against this reversed Dragon, I remember that when White didn't play
the main lines (which back then involved d3, a3, and b4), ...Bg4 was, as a
rule, an effective move for Black. Although 9...Be6 and 9...Re8 are somewhat
more popular, I rather like the idea here as well.} 10. Rc1 ({After} 10. h3 {
, both 10...Bh5 and 10...Be6 (intending ...Qd7 with tempo) score well.}) 10...
Qd7 11. Ne4 Bh3 {[#]} 12. Nc5 ({A key decision. Ntirlis suggests the more
dynamic course} 12. d4 Bxg2 13. Kxg2 Qg4 ({he says that} 13... exd4 14. Nxd4
Nxd4 15. Qxd4 Qxd4 16. Bxd4 {'gives us a pleasant edge'; in fact, it's a
standard ending which poses few problems after} c6 {, but White has a safe
position and no reason not to play on.}) 14. Nc5 Bxc5 (14... e4 15. Nd2 $1 Bxc5
16. dxc5 Nd5 17. Rc4 $1 {'puts Black under some pressure', according to
Ntirlis. Okay,} Rfe8 {will equalize with care, but again, there's something to
play for.}) 15. Rxc5 e4 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 c6 18. Qc2 {. Ntirlis analyses
this position in some depth. I don't think that White has much here but it's
full of possibilities, e.g.,} Rfe8 19. a4 Rad8 20. h3 Qg6 (20... Qe6 $1) 21. a5
Nd7 22. Rc4 Nxe5 23. Rxe4 c5 $11 {with the idea} 24. Rc1 $5 Rd2 $1 25. Qxd2
Qxe4+) 12... Bxc5 13. Bxh3 Qxh3 14. Rxc5 f6 15. b4 Qe6 $11 ({Or} 15... Rf7 16.
Qb3 a5 $11) 16. b5 Nd8 17. Qc2 c6 18. Ba3 Rf7 $2 (18... cxb5 $1 19. Rxb5 (19.
d4 Nc4 $1) 19... Rc8 20. Qb1 Re8 $11) 19. Rb1 $6 (19. d4 $1 {gives White a
clear advantage. This is extremely hard to spot, however, since it depends
upon the tactic} e4 20. Ng5 $1 fxg5 21. Re5 Qd7 22. Qxe4 {and surprisingly,
Black is lost.}) 19... Rd7 20. d3 Qf7 21. bxc6 Nxc6 22. Bc1 Nd5 {Black stands
solidly and equal here. The game was drawn.} 23. Bd2 Nde7 24. a4 Rad8 25. Rc4
Nf5 26. Be3 Nd6 (26... h5 $11) 27. Rc3 Nf5 28. Bc5 h5 29. e4 Nfe7 30. Be3 Ng6
31. h4 Nf8 32. Rb5 Ne6 33. Qb3 Kh8 34. Rd5 Nf8 35. Rcc5 Ne6 36. Rc3 Nf8 37.
Rcc5 Ne6 38. Rc3 {½-½} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Internet Blitz 2020"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.16"]
[Round "?"]
[White "**Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "So \[Symm with 5 Nf3 e6 \], Wesley"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A37"]
[Annotator "Watson"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 ({Already an important choice. This avoids certain issues with
} 2. Nc3 {, but also commits the king's knight, so that setups with e3 or e4
and Nge2 are not available.}) 2... Nc6 ({After} 2... Nf6 3. g3 {, one
traditional line goes} d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nc6 {, and in order to avoid the
extensive theory that follows 6 Nc3 g6 (or 6...Nc7, the Rubinstein Variation)
7 0-0 Bg7, which tends to lead to some extremely drawish lines, Ntirlis wants
to play} 6. d4 cxd4 (6... Nf6 {isn't mentioned, but is another decent solution}
) 7. Nxd4 Ndb4 8. Nxc6 Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 Nxc6 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. Nc3 {[#] This
line is very safe, but it has been analyzed and played by grandmasters for 50
years or more, with a preponderance of draws and better-than-normal overall
results for Black. A bit of analysis shows that Black's activity and bishops
compensate for his lone weakness on c6 after} e5 {with the idea ....Be6,} ({or
} 11... h5 12. h4 e5 13. Be3 Bf5) ({or} 11... Bf5 {intending} 12. f3 e5 13. e4
Be6 {. In practice, I think it is just as easy for White to go wrong as Black.}
)) 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nc3 e6 {This move, famously played by Fischer, is
worth looking at because the ideas are so simple and White has failed to make
progress against it for decades.} (5... e5 {and}) (5... d6 {terribly
convincing either.}) 6. h4 {Ntirlis likes to use slightly irregular moves that
Carlsen has played, which seems a reasonable idea. The more traditional lines
are worked out in great depth.} h6 7. e3 Nge7 ({With White's knight on f3
instead of e2, d5 is not a target, so} 7... d5 {is logical. Then Ntirlis
recommends} 8. O-O {('!') [#] But I find Black's play easy here. Ntirlis main
line is} dxc4 (8... Nge7 {is natural:} 9. cxd5 exd5 ({I think} 9... Nxd5 {
is also fine, e.g.,} 10. d4 cxd4 11. exd4 O-O 12. Re1 Qb6 {, e.g.,} 13. Na4 Qc7
14. Bd2 Rd8 $11) 10. d4 b6 11. dxc5 bxc5 12. Na4 c4 13. Bd2 {Ntirlis: "White
stands better, as Black'spawns have lost their dyamism and Black's dark
squares may become weak after the exchange of bishops." . But it's dead equal,
e.g.,} O-O 14. Bc3 Bg4 (14... Rb8 $11) 15. Qd2 Qd6 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Nh2 Be6
18. b3 cxb3 19. axb3 Rab8 $11) 9. Qa4 Qa5 10. Qxc4 Nge7 11. d4 ({Ntirlis shows
and the engines confirm that} 11. Ne4 O-O {is equal, whichever way White
captures on c5.}) 11... cxd4 12. Nxd4 O-O 13. Rb1 $1 Nxd4 ({or} 13... Bd7 14.
b4 Qd8 $11) 14. exd4 Bd7 $5 (14... Nf5 $1 $11) 15. Bxb7 Rab8 16. Qa6 {Ntirlis
gves a typical assessment for the Symmetrical lines: "White can claim a tiny
edge", and concludes about this lne that that "the positions are generally
more difficult to handle for Black in practical play". I don't blame him for
being encouraging, but I think that Black has it easy in practice and it's
hard to go wrong. Even in the final position,} Qxa6 17. Bxa6 Bc6 $11 {gives
active play and plenty of compensation.}) 8. d4 (8. O-O O-O (8... Nf5 9. Ne2
O-O 10. d4 cxd4 11. Nfxd4 Nfxd4 12. Nxd4 d5 13. cxd5 exd5 14. Qb3 Nxd4 15. exd4
Be6 16. Qxb7 Qa5 17. Bf4 Bxd4 18. Rad1 Qc5 19. Rd2 a5 20. Rfd1 Ra7 21. Qb3 a4
22. Qf3 Bg7 23. Be3 d4 24. Rxd4 Qc8 25. Rb4 Ra5 26. Qe2 Bxa2 27. Ra1 Bd5 28.
Bxd5 Rxd5 29. Rbxa4 Qb7 30. Qf3 Rb5 31. Qxb7 Rxb7 32. Bd4 Bxd4 33. Rxd4 Rxb2
34. Rad1 h5 35. Rd8 Rxd8 36. Rxd8+ Kg7 37. Kg2 Ra2 38. Rd7 Rb2 39. Rc7 Ra2 40.
Rd7 Rb2 {½-½ (40) Tyurin,A (2349)-Saydaliev,S (2376) Budapest 2022}) 9. d4
cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. exd4 d5 12. cxd5 exd5 13. Qb3 Nf5 14. Qxd5 Qb6 15. Qc5
Nxd4 16. Qxb6 axb6 17. Bf4 Ne6 18. Be3 Nc5 19. Nd5 Na4 20. b3 Nc3 21. Nxc3 Bxc3
22. Rac1 Bg7 23. a4 Be6 24. Bxb6 Bxb3 25. a5 Ba4 26. Bxb7 Bb5 27. Bxa8 Bxf1 28.
Bb7 Rb8 29. Rc8+ {1-0 (29) Perez Bolanos,D (2071)-Larranaga Juaristi,A (1903)
Salobrena 2023}) 8... cxd4 9. Nxd4 d5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 ({Black should be fine
after} 10... exd5 11. O-O O-O {as well. Ntirlis gives} 12. Re1 Re8 13. Bd2 Nxd4
(13... Ne5 $1 $11 14. Qb3 Nc4 15. Qc2 Nxd2 16. Qxd2 Bg4) 14. exd4 Be6 {(called
'=' by Svidler)} 15. Bf4 Qd7 16. Be5 {and concludes that "White is more
comfortable." After} Rac8 {, it's hard to believe that White can drum up
chances against natural moves.}) 11. O-O O-O 12. Bd2 Nxd4 13. exd4 Ne7 {
Not the only move, but Black attacks the d4 pawn and forces matters. [#]} 14.
Bf4 ({Here Ntirlis tries to improve upon Carlsen with} 14. Re1 $1 Nf5 15. d5 $1
{"with a healthy initiative for White". Black's pieces are active, however,
and I don't see what Whire has. For example} Bd7 16. Bf4 (16. Qb3 Nd4) (16.
dxe6 Bxe6 $11) 16... Qb6 17. Qd2 Rfe8 18. Rad1 Rad8 19. dxe6 Bxe6 20. Nd5 Qb5
$11 {, a possible finish being} 21. Nc7 $5 Rxd2 22. Rxd2 Qa4 23. Re4 $1 Qc6 24.
Re1 Qa4 25. Re4 $11) 14... Nf5 15. Ne2 (15. d5 Qb6 $1) 15... Qb6 16. Qb3 Bd7 ({
or} 16... Nxd4 $11) ({or} 16... Qxb3 17. axb3 Nxd4 $11) 17. Bxb7 {, and here
easiest was} Bb5 18. Bxa8 Rxa8 19. Rfe1 (19. Qf3 Bc6 $11) 19... Bxe2 20. Qxb6
axb6 21. Rxe2 Nxd4 22. Re4 $1 (22. Re3 $6 e5 $1) 22... f5 23. Rxd4 $1 Bxd4 24.
Bxh6 Bxb2 25. Re1 Rxa2 26. Rxe6 Bd4 $11 *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Owen 1 c4 b6--7 a3!"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A10"]
[Annotator "Watson"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 b6 2. Nc3 Bb7 3. e4 e6 4. g3 f5 5. d3 Nf6 6. Bg2 fxe4 7. a3 {[#]} d5 8.
cxd5 exd5 9. Nh3 Nbd7 10. dxe4 dxe4 11. O-O Nc5 12. b4 Qxd1 13. Rxd1 Nb3 14.
Rb1 Nxc1 15. Rbxc1 Rd8 16. Re1 Rd7 17. Nxe4 Bxe4 18. Bxe4 Nxe4 19. Rxe4+ Kd8
20. Ng5 Bd6 21. Rce1 Kc8 22. f4 *

[Event "NY State Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2023.09.04"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Black "Sarkar, Justin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C77"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2023.07.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bc5 6. O-O b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a4
Bg4 9. axb5 Nd4 10. d3 axb5 11. Rxa8 Qxa8 12. Be3 Bxf3 13. gxf3 Nxb3 14. cxb3
b4 15. Ne2 Bxe3 16. fxe3 c5 17. Ng3 Qa2 18. Nf5 O-O 19. Nxd6 Qa6 20. Nc4 Nd7
21. Qa1 Qe6 22. Qa7 f5 23. Qb7 f4 24. exf4 Rxf4 25. Ne3 Rf7 26. Qd5 Qxd5 27.
Nxd5 Nf6 28. Ne3 Nh5 29. Nc4 Nf4 30. Rd1 Ne2+ 31. Kf2 Nd4 32. Nxe5 Re7 33. f4
Nxb3 34. Ke3 Ra7 35. Rg1 Ra2 36. Nc4 Na5 37. Nxa5 Rxa5 38. Rg5 h6 39. Rd5 Ra2
40. Rxc5 Rxb2 {[#]} 41. h4 b3 42. Rb5 Rb1 43. Kd4 b2 44. f5 (44. h5 Rf1 45.
Rxb2 Rxf4 46. Rb5) 44... h5 45. Kc3 (45. Rb7 Kf8 46. e5 Kg8 47. Rb6 Kf7 48. Rb8
Ke7 49. Rb7+ Kf8 50. Kd5 Rd1 51. Rxb2 Rxd3+ 52. Ke6) (45. Ke5 Rd1) 45... Rh1
46. Rxb2 Rxh4 47. Kd4 Rh3 48. Rg2 Kf7 49. Rg5 h4 (49... Kf6 50. Rg6+ Kf7 51. e5
) 50. e5 Rh1 51. Kd5 h3 52. Rh5 (52. d4 h2 53. Rg2) 52... h2 53. d4 Ke7 {[#]} (
53... Rf1 54. Rxh2 Rxf5 55. Kd6) 54. Rh7 Kf8 (54... Kf7 55. f6 Ra1 56. Rxh2
Ra5+ 57. Kd6 Ra6+ 58. Kd7 Ra7+ 59. Kc6) 55. e6 Kg8 56. Rh3 Kf8 57. Kd6 (57. Kd6
Kg8 58. d5) 1-0

[Event "NY State Championship"]
[Site "Albany"]
[Date "2023.09.03"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Zhixin Su, Jasmine"]
[Black "Sarkar, Justin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5k2/R5p1/5p2/5P2/p4KP1/8/8/r7 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "21"]
[EventDate "2023.07.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "10"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 1. g5 (1. Kg3 a3 2. Kg2 Kg8 (2... a2 3. Kh2 (3. g5 {[#]} fxg5 (3... Ke8
4. gxf6 (4. g6 Kd8 5. Rxg7 Rg1+) 4... gxf6)) 3... Ke8 4. Kg2 Kd8 5. Kh2 Kc8 6.
Kg2 Kb8 7. Ra4 Kb7 8. Ra3 Kb6 9. Ra4 Kb5 10. Ra8 Kc4 11. Ra4+ Kd3 12. Ra7 (12.
Kh2 Ke2 13. Kg2 Ke3) 12... Ke4 13. Ra4+ Ke3 {[#]} 14. Ra7 (14. Kh2 $4 Kf3)
14... Kf4 15. Ra4+ Kg5 16. Kh2 Kh4 17. Kg2 Rb1 18. Rxa2 Rb4 (18... Kxg4 19. Ra7
) 19. Kf3 Rxg4 20. Ra7 (20. Ra1 Kg5 21. Ra7 Kxf5 $2 22. Ra5+)) 3. Kh2 Kh7 4.
Kg2 (4. g5) 4... Kh6 5. Kh2 Kg5 6. Rxg7+ Kh4 7. Kg2 a2 8. Ra7 Kxg4 9. Ra5 $11)
1... fxg5+ 2. Kxg5 a3 3. f6 $1 gxf6+ (3... a2 4. Ra8+ Kf7 5. Ra7+ Ke6 (5... Kg8
6. Ra8+ Kh7 7. f7) 6. fxg7) 4. Kxf6 Ke8 5. Ke6 Kd8 6. Kd6 Kc8 7. Rc7+ (7. Kc6
Kb8 8. Rb7+ Ka8 9. Rb3 Ka7 10. Kc5 a2 11. Rc3 Kb7 12. Rc2) 7... Kb8 8. Rc2 $1
a2 9. Kc5 {[#]} Kb7 10. Kc4 Kb6 11. Kb3 0-1

[Event "World Senior Teams +50"]
[Site "Struga MKD"]
[Date "2023.09.23"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Kaidanov, G.."]
[Black "Emms, J.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2549"]
[BlackElo "2448"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "145"]
[EventDate "2023.09.19"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "MKD"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "USA"]
[BlackTeam "England 1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. b4 Be7 7. O-O d5 8. exd5
Nxd5 9. b5 Na5 10. Bxd5 Qxd5 11. c4 Qd8 12. Bd2 b6 13. Nxe5 Bf6 14. Bxa5 bxa5
15. d4 Bxe5 16. dxe5 Be6 17. Qe2 Qd4 18. Nd2 Rad8 19. Nb3 Qxc4 20. Qxc4 Bxc4
21. Rfc1 Bxb3 22. axb3 Rd5 23. Rxa5 Rxe5 24. g3 g6 25. Rxc7 a6 26. Rb7 axb5 27.
Raxb5 Rxb5 28. Rxb5 Rc8 29. Re5 Rc2 30. g4 Rb2 31. Re3 h5 32. g5 f6 33. gxf6
Kf7 34. Rf3 g5 35. h3 g4 36. hxg4 hxg4 37. Rd3 Kxf6 38. Kg2 Ke5 39. Kg3 Kf5 40.
Rd5+ Ke6 41. Rb5 Kf6 42. Rb4 Ke5 43. Rb8 Ke6 44. b4 Kf7 45. Rb6 Ke7 46. Rb5 Kf6
47. Rb7 Kg6 48. Rb8 Kf7 49. b5 Kg6 50. Rg8+ Kf6 51. Rb8 Kg6 52. b6 {[#]} Kg7
53. Kxg4 Rxf2 54. Kg5 {[#]} Rb2 55. Rb7+ Kf8 56. Kf6 Ke8 57. Ke6 Re2+ 58. Kd6
Rd2+ 59. Kc7 Rc2+ 60. Kb8 Rb2 61. Kc8 Rb1 62. Rb8 Ke7 63. Kb7 Kd7 64. Rh8 Rb2
65. Rh1 Ra2 66. Rd1+ Ke7 67. Kb8 Rb2 68. b7 Ra2 69. Rd4 Ke6 70. Kc7 Rc2+ 71.
Kb6 Rb2+ 72. Kc6 Rb1 73. Re4+ 1-0

[Event "U.S. Amateur Team East"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.02.20"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Wang, Wesley"]
[Black "Nakada, Akira"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C07"]
[WhiteElo "2251"]
[BlackElo "2252"]
[Annotator "Wang"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[SourceTitle "CL Jan 2024"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. O-O Nf6 8.
Nb3 Nc6 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 a6 11. Bb3 Qc7 12. Qf3 Bd6 13. h3 O-O 14. Bg5
Nd7 15. c3 h6 16. Be3 b6 17. Rad1 Bb7 18. Qe2 Nf6 19. a4 Rfd8 20. Kh1 Nd5 21.
Qg4 Nxe3 22. fxe3 Bc8 23. Rf2 Ra7 24. Rdf1 Qc5 25. Qe4 Bb7 26. Qh4 Rf8 $2 {
[#] This natural-looking move actually allows me to find a beautiful
combination. Under the pressure-filled circumstances, with a prestigious
championship and history on the line, this next move was undoubtedly “my
best move.”} 27. Rxf7 $3 {Not only my best move for its initial flash of
brilliance, but also for my foresight in how none of Black’s possible
defensive resources work.} Rxf7 28. Qd8+ Kh7 29. Bc2+ $1 {An important
insertion.} (29. Rxf7 $2 {would lose to} Bxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Rxf7 {.}) 29... Be4 $1
30. Bxe4+ g6 31. Bxg6+ $3 {The second firework.} Kxg6 32. Qg8+ Rg7 33. Rf6+ $3
{The final blow, and possibly the most satisfying move I’ve ever played. The
key here is to lure the king away from its escape square on h7.} Kh5 ({
Satisfying is} 33... Kxf6 34. Qxe6+ Kg5 35. Nf3+ Kh5 36. g4+ {, leading to
mate.}) 34. Qxe6 Kh4 35. Qe4+ Kg5 36. h4+ Kh5 37. Rf5+ Qxf5 38. Qxf5+ Kxh4 39.
Nf3+ Kg3 40. Kg1 $1 {The final finesse, trapping the king and preparing 41.
Qh3 mate.} Rg4 41. Qh5 1-0

