[Event "Oslo Esports Cup"]
[Site "Oslo"]
[Date "2022.04.22"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Duda, Jan Krzysztof"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2864"]
[BlackElo "2750"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "2022.04.22"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. f3 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e4 Bc5 4. Na4 Be7 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 Nd5 7. Qxd4 Nb4 8.
Qf2 d6 9. a3 N4c6 10. exd6 Qxd6 11. Ne2 O-O 12. Bf4 Qg6 13. O-O-O b5 14. Nac3
b4 15. Nd5 bxa3 16. Nxe7+ Nxe7 17. bxa3 Nbc6 18. Qc5 Ba6 19. Nc3 Bxf1 20. Rhxf1
Qxg2 21. Bxc7 Rfc8 22. Bd6 Ng6 23. Rf2 Qh3 24. Nd5 Nd8 25. Qe3 Ne6 26. f4 Qxe3+
27. Nxe3 Nc5 28. f5 Ne4 29. fxg6 Nxf2 30. Rf1 hxg6 31. Rxf2 Rc6 32. Bb4 Rd8 33.
Rd2 Rxd2 34. Kxd2 g5 35. c4 Rh6 36. Kd3 f6 37. c5 Kf7 38. Nf5 Rxh2 39. c6 Ke6
40. Nxg7+ Kd5 41. c7 Rh3+ 42. Kd2 Rh2+ 43. Kd3 Rh3+ 44. Kc2 Rh8 45. Be7 Rc8 46.
Bd8 g4 47. Kd3 Kc6 48. Ne8 f5 49. Ke3 g3 50. Kf3 f4 51. a4 Kd7 52. Nf6+ Kc6 53.
Nh5 Rxc7 54. Bxc7 Kxc7 55. Nxf4 Kb6 56. Nd3 Ka5 57. Ne5 Kxa4 58. Nc6 a6 59. Nb8
g2 60. Kxg2 a5 61. Nc6 Kb5 62. Nxa5 1/2-1/2

[Event "USA-ch"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1963.12.26"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Addison, William G"]
[Black "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C70"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "1963.12.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Na5 6. d4 exd4 7. Qxd4 Ne7 8. c3
Nxb3 9. axb3 Bb7 10. Bf4 d5 11. e5 c5 12. Qd3 Ng6 13. Bg3 Be7 14. Nbd2 Nf8 15.
O-O Ne6 16. Rad1 g5 17. h3 h5 18. Rfe1 Qb6 19. Nf1 d4 20. N3d2 g4 21. h4 Qc6
22. Qe4 O-O-O 23. Qxc6+ Bxc6 24. c4 Kd7 25. Ra1 Ra8 26. Ne4 Bxe4 27. Rxe4 Ng7
28. Nd2 Nf5 29. Rf4 Ke6 30. Ne4 bxc4 31. bxc4 Rhb8 32. Ra2 Rb4 33. Nd2 Nxh4 34.
Bxh4 Bxh4 35. Re4 Bg5 36. f4 gxf3 37. Nxf3 Be3+ 38. Kh2 Rxc4 0-1

[Event "URS-ch39 Final"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1971.09.16"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Shamkovich, Leonid Alexandrovic"]
[Black "Bronstein, David Ionovich"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E80"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7r/8/1k1p3r/p1pPp3/PpP2p2/1P3Pbq/3QRNRP/7K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "1971.09.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "21"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 1... Qxh2+ 2. Rxh2 Rxh2+ 3. Kg1 Bxf2+ (3... Bxf2+ 4. Rxf2 Rh1+ 5. Kg2
R8h2#) 0-1

[Event "Interzonal-03"]
[Site "Gothenburg"]
[Date "1955.08.16"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Unzicker, Wolfgang"]
[Black "Bronstein, David Ionovich"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B92"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r2k/5pR1/8/p5Qp/P4P2/1N5P/2q3PK/4q3 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "1955.08.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "21"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 1... Qxg2+ 2. Qxg2 Re2 0-1

[Event "Zuerich casual blitz"]
[Site "Zuerich"]
[Date "1965.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Keres, Paul"]
[Black "Bronstein, David Ionovich"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C33"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4rk1/2p2p1p/1p3p1b/8/1K1nPp2/2PP4/PP5P/R1B2B1R b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "1965.??.??"]
[EventType "game (blitz)"]
[EventCountry "SUI"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 1... Ra4+ 2. Kxa4 Ra8+ 3. Kb4 Bf8+ 4. Kc4 b5+ (4... b5+ 5. Kxd4 Rd8#) 0-1

[Event "Moscow-ch34"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1956.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bronstein, David Ionovich"]
[Black "Uusi, Gunnar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C97"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r7/3Qrk1p/p1R2ppB/1q2p3/1p6/nP3P1P/P4P2/4R1K1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "1956.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 1. Rxf6+ Kxf6 2. Bg5+ Kxg5 3. Qxe7+ (3. Qxe7+ Kh6 (3... Kf5 4. f4) 4. Re4
) 1-0

[Event "25th Ch Moscow (sf-group B)"]
[Site "Moscow (URS)"]
[Date "1945.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bronstein, David"]
[Black "Kuptsov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D90"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4rk1/pp3p2/4b2p/q2N2p1/3b4/1Q1B2P1/PP3PP1/4RRK1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "1945.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 1. Rxe6 fxe6 2. Qxb7 Rf7 (2... Rfe8 3. Qh7+ Kf8 4. Bg6 Bg7 5. Nf6) 3.
Qxa8+ Kg7 4. Ne3 1-0

[Event "3rd Ch Lithuania"]
[Site "Vilnius (URS)"]
[Date "1947.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bronstein, David"]
[Black "Barsauskas, Vytautas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C04"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1bq3r/5k1p/p1p1pp2/n1Pp4/8/5N1P/PP2QPP1/R1B1R1K1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "1947.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 1. Ne5+ Ke7 (1... fxe5 2. Qh5+ Ke7 (2... Kg8 3. Bh6) 3. Bg5+) 2. Bd2 (2.
Qh5) (2. Qg4) 2... Kf8 3. Qh5 fxe5 4. Bh6+ 1-0

[Event "Casual game"]
[Site "St Petersburg"]
[Date "1914.03.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nimzowitsch, Aron"]
[Black "Alapin, Simon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C10"]
[Annotator "Tatev"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "1914.03.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,35,28,25,47,47,45,13,59,22,27,34,55,54,53,59,61,44,48,-1,0,7,7,13,96,
31,183,183,1074,1155,29995,29990,29991,29992,29997,29998,29999,-30000]} 1. e4
e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exd5 Nxd5 ({More common is} 4... exd5 {, opening the
diagonal for the c8-bishop. But opening theory is not our main focus here.}) 5.
Nf3 c5 6. Nxd5 Qxd5 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 a6 9. Be2 Qxg2 {This is too greedy.
Black is undeveloped and losing precious time by grabbing pawns.} 10. Bf3 Qg6
11. Qd2 e5 {[#]} 12. O-O-O $3 {Having finished development, White is ready to
bring his rooks into play and hunt the enemy king. Why waste time by moving
the knight?} ({Here's what happens if White plays without gusto. After the
sensible-looking} 12. Nb3 Be7 13. O-O-O {Black has the strong} Qf5 $1 {, an
intermediate move that helps deal with the upcoming Rh1-g1. Play continues} 14.
Bd5 O-O {and Black managed to get his king to safety, with queenside
development to follow. White has no direct threats, although there is quite a
bit of compensation associated with the half-open g-file.}) 12... exd4 ({
Black can try to get his king to safety, but we see why White's move was so
briliant with} 12... Be7 13. Rhg1 $1 {Now that this move comes with tempo,
Black lacks time to safeguard the ruler. Play continues} Qd6 14. Nf5 $1 {
(every move with force!)} Qxd2+ ({note that} 14... Bxf5 15. Qxd6 Bxd6 16. Bxb7
{traps the rook}) 15. Rxd2 g6 16. Ng7+ Kf8 17. Bh6 Kg8 18. Rgd1 {and even with
the queens off the board, Black's troubles continue, i.e,} Nd7 19. Nh5 $1 {.})
13. Bxd4 Nc6 ({After} 13... Be7 {the simple} 14. Rhe1 {is good enough:} O-O 15.
Rxe7 Nc6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. f3 {followed by Rd1-g1. White is already attacking
and targetting the g7 square, while Black is still not developed.}) 14. Bf6 $3
Qxf6 15. Rhe1+ Be7 ({Or} 15... Be6 16. Qd7#) 16. Bxc6+ Kf8 17. Qd8+ Bxd8 18.
Re8# 1-0

[Event "Paris Opera"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1858.11.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Morphy, Paul"]
[Black "Duke of Brunswick, Count"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C41"]
[Annotator "Tatev"]
[PlyCount "33"]
[EventDate "1858.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "30"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bg4 4. dxe5 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 dxe5 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Qb3 Qe7 8.
Nc3 c6 9. Bg5 b5 {[#]} 10. Nxb5 $1 ({The most natural looking move in the
position also gives the advantage away: after} 10. Be2 Nbd7 {the knight is
free to move as there is no longer a b7-pawn under attack. The knight rejoins
the game with tempo after} 11. O-O Nc5 12. Qa3 a5 {and it is now the white
queen that is awkwardly placed. Black is ready to move their queen, then the
bishop, and finally castle. As Black maintains control of the center, there is
no way for White to target the uncastled king}) 10... cxb5 11. Bxb5+ Nbd7 12.
O-O-O $1 {White gets the king to safety and brings another piece into the game.
The d7-knight is now hanging due to the pins.} ({When I show this game to my
students for the first time and ask them how else can White pressure the
d7-knight, their response is usually} 12. Qa4 {. But this move doesn't really
attack d7. White doesn't want to capture the pinned piece, as it is (at least
for now) sufficiently defended. It might look like an attacking move to "pile
on the pin," but it doesn't create any threats, and it allows Black to trade
queens with} Qb4+ 13. Qxb4 Bxb4+ 14. c3 Be7 {followed by ...0-0-0. This
varaition is contrary to our goals in attacking play: we did not create any
threats, and we allowed our opponents to finish their development.}) 12... Rd8
13. Rxd7 $1 Rxd7 14. Rd1 {By giving up the Exchange, White turned the
defending d8-rook into a useless pinned piece. White is creating threats with
every move.} Qe6 ({If} 14... Qb4 15. Bxf6 Qxb3 $2 16. Bxd7#) 15. Bxd7+ Nxd7 16.
Qb8+ {The stunning finish!} Nxb8 17. Rd8# 1-0

[Event "American Cup Champ (Women)"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2023.03.17"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Krush, Irina"]
[Black "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E48"]
[WhiteElo "2432"]
[BlackElo "2294"]
[Annotator "Tatev"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2qr1k1/pp1b1ppp/1b2nn2/3p4/3N4/P2BPP2/1P1BN1PP/2RQ1R1K w - - 0 17"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2023.03.17"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 17. Be1 $1 {Improving her worst placed piece -- always a good idea! The
bishop is headed to h4, where it will pin the f6-knight.} Nc5 18. Bb1 {
Offering the pawn in order to grab the initiative.} Rxe3 19. Bh4 {[#] It's
true that White does not have any direct threats right now, but she has more
active pieces. The d4-knight and the f3-pawn are dominating my light-squared
bishop. There is no good way to deal with the pin on the f6-knight, and the
e2-knight is ready to join the action via the g3-square. And while my
dark-squared bishop is quite good, there isn't much happening on the a7-g1
diagonal.} Re5 ({I should have recognized the danger and taken quick action
with} 19... Ne6 {, challenging the centralized knight. After} 20. Nf5 Bb5 $1 {
is the correct way of handling this position, activating my own pieces and
giving back some material. Now it would be dangerous for White to grab the
Exchange: if} 21. Nxe3 ({better is} 21. Re1 Bxe2 22. Rxe2 Rxe2 23. Qxe2 Nf4 24.
Qe7 {when White maintains the pressure after} Qxe7 25. Nxe7+ Kf8 26. Nf5) 21...
Bxe3 22. Qb3 ({hanging on to the rook is inadvisable, i.e.,} 22. Rc2 $2 d4 $1 {
and Black takes the initiative!}) 22... Bxe2 23. Qxe3 Bxf1 24. Rxf1 {leaves
White with compensation for the pawn via the bishop pair.}) 20. Ng3 Bc6 $2 {
Ceding control of the f5-square was a critical error.} ({After} 20... Rc8 21.
b4 Na4 (21... Ne6 $2 22. f4) 22. Rxc8 Qxc8 23. Bxf6 gxf6 24. Qd3 {the position
looks ugly, but at least the game is not immediately over.}) 21. f4 Re8 22. Nh5
Ncd7 23. Nf5 g6 24. Nh6+ Kf8 25. Nxf6 Nxf6 26. Ng4 Nxg4 27. Bxd8 Ne3 28. Bxb6
1-0

[Event "10th Sunway Sitges 2023"]
[Site "Sitges ESP"]
[Date "2023.12.16"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, L."]
[Black "Pranav, Anand"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2745"]
[BlackElo "2520"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r1rbk1/5Bp1/3p3p/8/1p1Nb3/1Q5P/P4PP1/2q1R1K1 b - - 0 28"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[EventDate "2023.12.12"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#] There is a pivotal moment that the two annotators I have seen - Agadmator
and Colin McGourtey for Chess.com - overlooked, and in both cases I suspect it
was because they didn't let the engine run long enough while they did their
work. Here it turns out that} 28... Kh7 {is a clear mistake, allowing White to
stay in the game after} ({Analyzing for Chess Life Online, JJ Lang discovered
that} 28... Kh8 $1 {actually gives Black a significant advantage. The king
placement makes a difference in two variations. After} 29. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 30. Kh2
d5 31. Qg3 (31. Bxe8 $2 {loses to} Bd6+) 31... Rc3 32. f3 Rd8 33. Nb5 ({
if instead} 33. Qg4 Bd6+ 34. g3 Be5 35. fxe4 Bxd4 36. exd5 Be5 {and the bishop
is safe due to the lack of a check!}) 33... Bd3 $1 34. Nxc3 bxc3 35. f4 c2 {
and with the king on h8, White cannot take the d3-bishop with check!}) 29. Rxc1
Rxc1+ 30. Kh2 d5 31. Qg3 Rc3 32. f3 Rd8 33. Nb5 ({compare} 33. Qg4 Bd6+ 34. g3
Be5 35. fxe4 Bxd4 36. exd5 {is equal, but with the king on h8, Black would be
winning.}) 33... Bf5 ({compare} 33... Bd3 34. Nxc3 bxc3 35. f4 Bf5 36. Qxc3 {
and White wins}) 34. Qe1 Rcc8 35. Be6 Bxe6 36. Qxe6 Kh8 37. f4 Bc5 38. f5 d4
39. f6 d3 40. fxg7+ Kxg7 41. Qe5+ Kg8 42. Qe6+ Kg7 43. Qe5+ Kg8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Carlsen Inv Prelim"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2021.03.13"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Anton Guijarro, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "2847"]
[BlackElo "2673"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4R3/1kpr3q/1pp2p2/p3pQ2/P3P3/1P1PP3/1KP5/8 b - - 0 41"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2021.03.13"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{If you were to analyze this game on 365chess.com with the embedded version of
Stockfish 16, you would believe that White was better but not necessarily
winning after either 41...Qg7 (+0.37 at depth 42) or 41...Qxf5 (+0.72 at depth
42). The embedded Stockfishes on Lichess tell a different story: +0.3 and +1.9
at depth 26 for Stockfish 16, +0.5 and +1.7 for Stockfish 16 lite at depth 16,
and +0.7 and +1.7 for Stockfish 11 HCE at depth 34. My 16 core, 32 thread
Ryzen machine -- equipped with tablebases -- is even more critical of the
queen trade, deeming 41...Qg7 to be well within the drawing range at +0.35 
(depth 40), while 41. ... Qxf5 is an egregious mistake at +4.28 (depth 40).} 
41... Qxf5 42. exf5 b5 43. Kc3 Kb6 44. Rf8 Rd6 45. Rf7 Kb7 46. Kb2 Kb6 47. Ka3
Kb7 48. b4 axb4+ 49. Kxb4 bxa4 50. Kxa4 Kb6 51. Kb4 Kb7 52. Kc4 Kb6 53. c3 c5
54. e4 Kc6 55. Rf8 Kb6 56. Ra8 Rd7 57. Re8 Rd6 58. Re7 Kc6 59. Rf7 Kb6 60. Kb3
Kc6 61. Kc2 Kb6 62. c4 Kb7 63. Kd2 Kc8 64. Ke2 Kd8 65. Ke3 Kc8 66. Rf8+ Kd7 67.
Rh8 Ke7 68. Ra8 Kd7 69. Ra5 Kc6 70. Ra3 Kd7 71. Kf3 Ke7 72. Kg4 Kf7 73. Kh5 Rd8
74. Ra7 Rh8+ 75. Kg4 Rc8 76. Ra5 Ke7 77. Rxc5 c6 78. Kf3 Kd6 79. Ra5 Rh8 80.
c5+ Kc7 81. Ra7+ Kb8 82. Rf7 Rh6 83. Ke3 Kc8 84. Kd2 Kd8 85. Kc3 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2024.02.06"]
[Round "5"]
[White "4 vs 3 endgame"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r4/5pk1/6p1/7p/4PP2/4K1P1/7P/R7 w - - 0 5"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2021.03.13"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "59th Groningen Open 2023"]
[Site "Groningen NED"]
[Date "2023.12.30"]
[Round "9.7"]
[White "4.1 Stremavicius, Pijus"]
[Black "Lahaye, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2367"]
[BlackElo "2439"]
[Annotator "cahan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r1qrk1/pb3ppp/1pn1p3/2b5/Q3B3/2P2NB1/PP3PPP/3RK2R w K - 0 15"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2023.12.21"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 15. Bxh7+ {Black resigned.} ({The continuation would have been:} 15.
Bxh7+ Kxh7 16. Qh4+ Kg6 ({or} 16... Kg8 17. Ng5 {and it is curtains.}) 17. Qg5+
Kh7 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. Ng5 {and Black cannot prevent mate.}) 1-0

[Event "5th SCO Teams 2023"]
[Site "Qingdao CHN"]
[Date "2023.12.17"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "4.2 Dubov, Daniil"]
[Black "Orozbaev, Eldiar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2710"]
[BlackElo "2305"]
[Annotator "cahan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2qk2r/pp3ppp/2nbpn2/2pp4/Q2P1Bb1/2P1PN2/PP1N1PPP/R3KB1R w KQkq - 0 8"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2023.12.17"]
[EventType "team (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CHN"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "Kyrgyzstan"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "KGZ"]

{[#]} 8. Ba6 $1 {After this move, it is already over for Black; there is no
satisfactory way to meet White's threat of Bxb7.} bxa6 9. Qxc6+ Ke7 10. Qb7+
Nd7 11. Bxd6+ Kxd6 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. dxe5+ Kxe5 14. Qxf7 Bf5 15. g4 {and Black
resigned.} 1-0

[Event "GM ASK 14 2023"]
[Site "Arandjelovac SRB"]
[Date "2023.12.15"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "4.3 Atalik, S."]
[Black "Ilincic, Z."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E28"]
[WhiteElo "2453"]
[BlackElo "2302"]
[Annotator "cahan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4rk1/p3qppp/bp2p3/n1p1P3/2n1N3/P1PB4/4QPPP/R1B2RK1 w - - 0 17"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2023.12.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SRB"]
[EventCategory "6"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 17. Nf6+ $1 gxf6 18. Qg4+ Kh8 19. Qh4 {and having to give up the queen
to avoid mate, Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "71st ch-HUN 2023"]
[Site "Budapest HUN"]
[Date "2023.12.18"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "4.4 Dudin, Gleb"]
[Black "Vanczak, Tamas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E05"]
[WhiteElo "2545"]
[BlackElo "2422"]
[Annotator "cahan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4rk1/1b2bpp1/pqn4p/1ppBP3/2pP1N2/6P1/PPQ2P1P/R1BR2K1 w - - 0 17"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2023.12.12"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "HUN"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 17. Qg6 $1 {White threatens the devastating Nh5 and Black has no good
way of meeting this threat nor prevent it.} Kh8 18. Bxf7 cxd4 19. Bd5 {and
Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "SPICE Cup Open 2023"]
[Site "Chesterfield MO USA"]
[Date "2023.12.21"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "4.5 Woodward, Andy"]
[Black "Wang, Tianqi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D13"]
[WhiteElo "2481"]
[BlackElo "2347"]
[Annotator "cahan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r3k1/2rn1ppp/ppnqp3/3p4/3P4/1QRNPB2/PP3PPP/2R3K1 w - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2023.12.17"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 19. Qa3 $3 {White has determined that after the exchange of queens,
Black will have no adequate way of defending against the mounting pressure on
the pinned knight on c6.} Qxa3 ({Or} 19... Qf8 20. Qxf8+ Kxf8 {, and now both}
21. e4 ({and} 21. Nb4 {are completely decisive.})) 20. bxa3 f5 ({Also} 20... a5
21. e4 {wins for White.}) 21. Nf4 {with the threat of Nxd5. Black resigned.}
1-0

[Event "European Rapid 2023"]
[Site "Zagreb CRO"]
[Date "2023.12.14"]
[Round "3.11"]
[White "4.6 Ioannidis, Ev"]
[Black "Mamedov, Rau"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E73"]
[WhiteElo "2513"]
[BlackElo "2651"]
[Annotator "cahan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r1q1rk1/p3ppb1/n2pbnp1/6Bp/B2PP2P/2N5/PP1QNPP1/2KR3R b - - 0 13"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2023.12.14"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CRO"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 13... Qa5 $1 14. d5 ({The alternatives were:} 14. f3 Bxa2 15. Nxa2 Qxa4
16. Nec3 Rfc8 {and Black is much better.}) ({Also,} 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Kb1 Rb4
16. Bc2 Nc7 17. b3 Rc8 {is a disaster for White.}) 14... Nxe4 $1 15. Nxe4 Bxb2+
16. Qxb2 Rxb2 17. Kxb2 Qxa4 18. dxe6 Qxe4 {White is completely lost and could
have received at this point, but carries on for some additional moves.} 19. Nd4
Nc5 20. exf7+ Kxf7 21. Ka1 Nd3 22. Be3 Rb8 23. Nf3 Qc4 24. Bd2 Rb2 {and facing
mate in two, White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "European Rapid 2023"]
[Site "Zagreb CRO"]
[Date "2023.12.15"]
[Round "9.7"]
[White "4.7 Gavrilescu, David"]
[Black "Maurizzi, Marc'Andria"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2523"]
[BlackElo "2572"]
[Annotator "cahan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b2rk1/ppp1nppp/2np4/6q1/4PN2/8/P1P1BPPP/BR1Q1RK1 w - - 0 14"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2023.12.14"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CRO"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,39,25,16,10,19,5,23,23,25,35,-18,-9,1,1,-13,6,0,33,6,18,21,15,32,16,
11,7,1,18,-23,-26,25,10,33,85,102,362,212,223,61,491,417] [#]} 14. Nh5 $1 f6 ({
It was stronger to play} 14... Bh3 15. Ng3 Be6 16. Rb5 Qg6 17. f4 f5 18. c4 {
and while White is temporarily distracted from his attack, the advantage is
massive.}) 15. Rb3 $1 {The point behind the previous move; now, the threat is
Rg3.} Ng6 16. Rb5 {This is the secondary point; now, Black's queen is trouble.}
Qh4 17. f4 Re8 18. g3 ({Or} 18. Nxf6+ gxf6 19. Rh5 {and White is winning.})
18... Qh3 19. f5 Kh8 20. Bg4 {and, losing the queen, Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "1000GM Winter IM 1 2023"]
[Site "Sunnyvale USA"]
[Date "2023.12.30"]
[Round "9.5"]
[White "4.8 Dominguez Aguilar, G."]
[Black "Shivakumar, Shawnak"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2319"]
[BlackElo "2307"]
[Annotator "cahan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1nkrr3/pppq1p1p/3p1bp1/2P5/Q3B1b1/2P1BN2/PP3PPP/2KR3R w - - 0 15"]
[PlyCount "7"]
[EventDate "2023.12.26"]
[EventType "schev"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,49,25,16,23,17,17,28,37,26,26,2,21,22,14,3,8,-1,24,-18,-9,0,7,-1,5,9,
20,-20,17,12,83,97,89,45,185,178,201,206,353,376,441,387,428,385,397,390,571,
574,577,623,1330,1330] [#]} 15. c6 $1 bxc6 16. Bd3 $1 {The threat is Ba6 with
mate to follow.} ({In the game, White instead continued:} 16. Bxa7 Bxf3 $4 (
16... Bf5 {would have kept White's advantage to a minimum}) 17. gxf3 Bg5+ 18.
Kb1 f5 19. Bd3 {(White is completely winning)} Qe7 20. Bxb8 Kd7 21. Ba7 Ra8 22.
Bc4 Reb8 23. Rhe1 Qf6 24. Be6+ Kd8 25. Qxc6 {and Black resigned.}) 16... Rxe3
17. fxe3 Kb7 18. Rhf1 {and White is clearly better.} 1-0

[Event "European Rapid 2023"]
[Site "Zagreb CRO"]
[Date "2023.12.15"]
[Round "10.23"]
[White "4.9 Krsnik Cohar, I."]
[Black "Lagarde, Max"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C34"]
[WhiteElo "2331"]
[BlackElo "2640"]
[Annotator "cahan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/ppp3p1/2nq2np/3b2N1/3PB2P/2P5/PPQNr1P1/R5K1 w - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2023.12.14"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CRO"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,48,25,23,23,-2,-21,14,8,34,32,-30,15,28,1,15,26,33,33,48,51,15,32,34,
40,33,49,51,67,77,101,-54,35,-12,-14,-14,29,-24,19,-40,-15,-15,-32,-48,-58,-54,
-41,-199,-207,-207,-205] [#]} 19. Kf1 $3 ({In the game, White crashed and
burned after} 19. Bxd5+ $4 Qxd5 20. Ngf3 Nf4 21. Qb3 Rxg2+ 22. Kf1 Ne7 23. Re1
$4 Qxb3 24. axb3 Nf5 {and White resigned.}) 19... Nf4 ({Or} 19... Rxd2 20.
Bxd5+ Qxd5 21. Qxd2 hxg5 22. Qxg5 {and White has the advantage in the endgame.}
) 20. Bxd5+ Qxd5 21. Qh7+ Kf8 22. Qh8+ Qg8 23. Qxg8+ Kxg8 24. Ngf3 Rxg2 25. Re1
{and White has an edge in the endgame.} 0-1

[Event "Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2023.11.14"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2868"]
[BlackElo "2872"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1k4r1/2pq4/1ppb1p2/7p/1PbPPp1P/2N2Nr1/2PR2PK/1R2Q3 b - - 0 29"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "France"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "FRA"]

{[#] Things did not exactly start in Caruana's favor. Here he succumbed to
Firouzja's kingside attack in an opposite-sided castling Berlin game.} 29...
Rxf3 30. gxf3 $1 Rg3 31. Kh1 Rxf3 32. Rh2 Rf1+ 33. Qxf1 Bxf1 34. Rxf1 f3 35. e5
fxe5 36. Ne4 exd4 37. Nxd6 Qxd6 38. Rxf3 Qxb4 39. Rhf2 Qe1+ 40. Kg2 Qe4 41. Kf1
Qxh4 42. Ke2 c5 43. Kd3 Kb7 44. Rf1 Qg4 45. Rf7 h4 46. R1f4 Qg6+ 47. Kd2 h3 0-1

[Event "Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2023.11.14"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Sevian, Samuel"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A22"]
[WhiteElo "2773"]
[BlackElo "2714"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bb4 4. Bg2 O-O 5. e4 Bxc3 6. bxc3 c6 7. Nf3 d5 8.
cxd5 cxd5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. O-O Nc6 11. Re1 e4 12. Nd4 Nxd4 13. cxd4 Bf5 14. d3
exd3 15. Qf3 Qa5 16. Bg5 Be6 17. Qxd3 {Despite a number of inaccuracies, Black
has navigated the opening successfully. However, Nepo's provocative next move
sets Sevian on the path to brilliancy.} h6 $2 {[#]} 18. Bxh6 $1 {That surely
is the first move that comes to mind!} gxh6 19. Rxe6 $1 Nb4 ({If} 19... fxe6
20. Qg6+ Kh8 21. Qxh6+ Kg8 22. Qxe6+ {followed by taking on d5. White is
winning.}) 20. Rg6+ $5 {Forcing.} ({White could also consider the strong} 20.
Qb1 {here.}) 20... fxg6 21. Qxg6+ Kh8 22. Qxh6+ Kg8 23. Qg6+ Kh8 24. Be4 $1 Qc7
25. a3 $5 Nc6 26. Qh6+ Kg8 27. Bd5+ Rf7 28. Re1 $1 {There is no rush!} Ne7 29.
Bxf7+ Kxf7 30. Qe6+ ({Black resigned in view of} 30. Qe6+ Kf8 31. Qf6+ Ke8 32.
Qh8+ {.}) 1-0

[Event "Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2023.11.15"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Le, Quang Liem"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2803"]
[BlackElo "2868"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1p4pk/pn1r1p1p/Q2p4/P2Pp3/qPR1P2P/5PP1/5NK1 b - - 0 36"]
[PlyCount "21"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Vietnam"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "VIE"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[#] Caissa began to favor Caruana after Le Quang Liem not only failed to win
this winning position, but ended up losing it.} 36... Qb2 37. Qb4 Nc4 $1 38.
Ng3 Rd7 39. Nxe4 Rc7 $1 {Caruana maintains the tension in time pressure.} 40.
Kh2 f5 41. Ng3 a5 42. Rxc4 $4 {Liem succumbs.} ({White has sufficient
counterplay after} 42. Qf8 Qxc3 43. bxc4 Qxc4 44. Qxf5+ Kg8 45. Qe6+ Kh8 46.
Nf5 {.}) 42... axb4 43. Rxc7 Qxf2 44. Rxb7 f4 45. Nh1 Qxe3 46. Rxb4 Qd2 0-1

[Event "Saint Louis Blitz 2023"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.11.18"]
[Round "18.5"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D47"]
[WhiteElo "2795"]
[BlackElo "2734"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/5kp1/R7/4p3/2K5/4r3/3B1b2/8 b - - 0 57"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2023.11.17"]
[EventType "tourn (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "18"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} {Up two pawns, Black is objectively on the path to victory, but anything
can happen in a blitz game. With just seconds on his clock, MVL uncorked a
blunder.} 57... Re2 $2 58. Kd3 $1 {Now the rook is trapped, and Black's
chances are gone.} Rxd2+ 59. Kxd2 Bd4 60. Kd3 g5 61. Ke4 Ke7 62. Rg6 Kf7 63.
Rxg5 Ke7 64. Rxe5+ Bxe5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2023.11.27"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2817"]
[BlackElo "2797"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "155"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,155,22,23,23,23,16,18,18,14,34,20,0,6,7,15,5,13,13,1,14,14,4,33,30,20,
43,7,35,29,77,60,67,101,29,10,25,27,37,37,37,17,17,0,2,10,8,13,16,9,20,13,27,
13,39,37,42,44,47,50,45,40,45,45,42,46,59,45,46,46,82,82,82,78,78,70,84,80,80,
79,103,79,94,102,105,96,104,111,118,110,111,121,133,119,133,133,159,149,144,
154,157,162,165,150,165,162,168,170,173,184,173,173,173,178,178,172,174,178,
178,178,178,166,178,178,178,178,163,166,166,166,166,166,166,166,166,166,166,
166,166,203,203,192,236,184,236,216,289,319,330,335,429,429,429,328,428,606,
732,817]} 1. e4 e5 {Another Berlin, another interesting endgame!} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6
10. Re1 Re8 11. Bf4 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 {This is considered the safest way.} ({
Also known to theory is} 12... Bxd4 13. Bxd6 cxd6 14. Nc3 {and now best is} (
14. c3 Bf6 15. Na3 d5 16. Nb5 g6 17. Qd2 d4 18. Nxd4 d5 $11 {is equal}) 14...
Be5 $1 (14... Bxc3 $6 15. Qxc3 b6 16. Qf3 {was better for White in
Carlsen-Gukesh, Chess.com 2022}) 15. Rd1 b6 16. f4 Bxc3 17. Qxc3 Bb7 18. Rxd6
Bc6 19. Rd2 Qf8 20. b4 a6 21. a3 g6 22. Bd3 Re8 23. Re2 {, draw 
(Ilyasov-Schakel, ICCF 2017)}) 13. Nc3 Bxd4 {Nearly forced. Nc3-d5 is a major
threat.} 14. Nd5 c6 {Aronian chooses a forcing line.} 15. Ne7+ Kf8 16. Nxc8 Qf6
$1 17. Rd1 Rxc8 ({Not} 17... Qxf4 $4 18. Qe7+ Kg8 19. Qxe8#) 18. Qe4 Bxf2+ {
Engines prefer} (18... Bb6 19. Rxd7 Rd8 20. Rxd8 Qxd8 21. h3 ({or} 21. Qxh7 Qf6
22. Bg3 Qxb2 {with equality}) 21... Qf6 22. Qb4+ Qe7 23. Bd2 Bc5 24. Qc3 Nf6 {
when White has two bishops, but Black is not really troubled by them.}) 19.
Kxf2 g5 20. Rxd7 Rc7 21. Rxc7 Nxc7 22. Qe5 Qxf4+ 23. Qxf4 gxf4 24. Kf3 {
[#] The players blitzed their way to this position, making it is fair to
assume that they knew what they were getting themselves into. Theoretically,
Black should be able to hold, but there is not a direct, concrete path to do
so.} Nd5 $2 ({It was better to play} 24... Kg7 25. Kxf4 Kf6 26. Bc4 Ne8 {
and try to build a fortress.}) 25. c4 $2 ({Better is} 25. Bd3 $1 h6 26. Be4 {.}
) 25... Nc7 ({Black missed with a forced draw with} 25... Ne3 $1 {. The
position is equal after} 26. Be2 Ke7 27. g4 fxg3 $1 28. Kxe3 gxh2 29. Bf3 Kd6
30. b4 b6 31. Kf4 a6 32. Ke4 ({no better was} 32. a4 a5) ({or} 32. Be4 c5 33.
a3 b5) 32... f5+ 33. Kxf5 c5 34. a3 b5 {.}) 26. Bd3 h6 27. Kxf4 c5 $4 {This
loses by force.} ({The saving} 27... a5 $1 {is hard to see, but the idea is
that it secures the c5-square for the knight. After} 28. Ke5 Ke7 29. Bf5 Na6 {
and ...Na6-c5 next, Black has excellent drawing chances.}) 28. Ke5 Ke7 29. Bf5
b6 30. h4 {Black is in zugzwang. White should use his tempi to force the
c7-knight to move. For this reason, I would have preferred 30.a3 over 30.h4.}
Ne8 31. Kd5 Nd6 32. Bh3 Ne8 33. Bf5 Nd6 34. Bc2 f6 35. Bg6 {Knights cannot
lose tempi, but bishops can! Wesley So knows that he has his opponent on the
ropes, and he begins to exert psychological pressure.} Nb7 36. b3 Nd8 {The
knight cannot stay on d8 for more than a move!} 37. Bf5 Nf7 38. Kc6 Nd6 39. Bh7
Nf7 40. Kc7 ({Perhaps more direct (per the engines) is} 40. Kb7 Kd6 41. Kxa7
Kc7 42. Be4 Ne5 43. Ka6 {With the idea of a2-a3, b3-b4-b5, and then a3-a4-a5.})
40... Ne5 41. Bf5 Nf7 42. a3 Nd6 43. Bd3 Nf7 44. Kb7 Kd6 45. Kxa7 Kc7 46. Ka6
Nd8 47. Be4 Ne6 48. b4 cxb4 49. axb4 Nd4 50. c5 bxc5 51. bxc5 Ne2 52. Ka5 Nf4
53. Kb4 Ne2 54. Kc4 Nf4 {White is totally winning. Here Wesley chooses one of
many ways to make progress by putting Black in continuous zugzwang..} 55. g3
Ne2 56. g4 Nf4 57. Bf3 Ng6 58. Kd5 Nf4+ 59. Ke4 Ng6 60. Kd5 Nf4+ 61. Kd4 Ng6
62. Be4 Ne7 63. Kc4 Kd7 64. Kb5 Kc7 65. Kb4 Kd7 66. Ka5 Kc7 67. Kb5 Nc8 68. h5
Ne7 69. c6 Nc8 70. Kc5 Ne7 71. Kb5 Nc8 72. Kc5 Ne7 73. Bg2 f5 74. g5 hxg5 75.
h6 Ng6 76. h7 g4 77. Kd5 g3 78. Bh1 {Another example of how opening
preparation can extend all the way to a technical endgame. The things we need
to learn these days!} 1-0

[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2023.11.28"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E42"]
[WhiteElo "2867"]
[BlackElo "2817"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{Not only did this loss cost Wesley his shot at winning the tournament, but it
denied him a spot at the 2024 Candidates as well.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3
Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Nge2 d5 6. a3 Ba5 7. dxc5 dxc4 8. Bd2 Nbd7 {Another
interesting move would have been} (8... b6 9. Ng3 bxc5 10. Bxc4 O-O 11. O-O
Nbd7 {where White has a small plus thanks to his better pawn structure, but
for the most part this advantage is symbolic. Maybe Wesley did not feel
confident in this line, or he felt more confident with the direct approach
embodied by 8...Nbd7.}) 9. Ng3 b6 $2 {It's also possible that he simply mixed
up his lines.} ({After} 9... Nxc5 10. Bxc4 Bc7 {we reach a symmetrical
position where Black needs a bit of accuracy to hold the ensuing middlegame.
Play continues} 11. Qc2 O-O 12. Rd1 Qe7 13. b4 Ncd7 14. Nce4 {and the
correspondence game Amico-Kilichenko (ICCF 2013) shows how Black can hold. To
be fair, it's not that difficult a practical task for a 2700 player.}) 10. Qf3
$1 {Caruana knows how to take advantage of this slip.} Rb8 11. c6 Ne5 12. Qf4
Bxc3 $2 {This loses easily , but it is hard to suggest anything for Black.} ({
Perhaps best is} 12... Nxc6 13. Qxc4 Bb7 14. b4 b5 15. Nxb5 Bb6 16. Rd1 O-O 17.
Bc3 Qe7 18. Be2 {when White is a healthy pawn up, but Black postpones the
coming attack for a bit.}) 13. Bxc3 Nxc6 14. Rd1 Qe7 15. Bxc4 b5 ({Or} 15...
O-O 16. Bb5 Bb7 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. Bb4 {and wins.}) 16. Bxf6 $1 {Timely.} Qxf6 (
{Worse is} 16... gxf6 17. Ne4 $1 {.}) 17. Qd6 $1 e5 18. Bxf7+ $1 Kxf7 ({
Naturally if} 18... Qxf7 19. Qxc6+ {with a crushing position.}) 19. Qc7+ Qe7 ({
If} 19... Kg6 20. Rd6 Be6 21. Qxc6 Rhc8 22. Qe4+ {.}) 20. Qxc6 Bb7 21. Qxb5
Bxg2 22. Qc4+ Kf8 23. Nf5 $1 Qf6 24. Qc5+ Kg8 25. Qc7 {Perfect play by Caruana,
taking advantage of a move-order mishap by So.} 1-0

[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2023.11.27"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B20"]
[WhiteElo "2833"]
[BlackElo "2816"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Netherlands"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NED"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,108,18,-10,4,0,20,22,9,11,12,10,1,-22,-27,-28,26,19,29,-9,31,1,20,31,
60,58,70,70,73,73,79,73,73,16,31,20,20,13,44,12,37,48,34,6,-2,6,0,1,1,-56,-44,
-46,-67,-68,-42,-53,-66,-103,-103,-137,-146,-115,-124,-159,-124,-141,-117,-113,
-113,-133,-133,-226,-98,-296,-176,-296,-106,-127,-175,-179,-17,-149,-86,-111,
-48,-64,-92,-93,-221,-260,-245,-256,-290,-305,-309,-317,-309,-309,-317,-323,
-231,-293,-322,-322,-322,-322,-309,-337,-343,-389,-380] Giri decided to go a
bit off the beaten path against Dominguez, obtaining a small edge before
things backfired!} 1. g3 c5 2. Bg2 Nc6 3. e4 g6 4. d3 Bg7 5. f4 {Transposing
to the Closed Sicilian. The last time this opening was prominent at elite
levels was the 1968 Spassky-Geller match, where Spassky scored 3½/4 with the
variation despite being lost in all of the games!} d6 6. Nh3 h5 $5 {This move
dismisses the knight from h3.} 7. Nf2 ({White is in trouble after} 7. O-O $2
Bg4 8. Qd2 h4 {.}) 7... e5 ({Here} 7... b5 {is worthy of attention. Black has
counterplay after} 8. Nc3 ({not} 8. e5 $2 Bd7 {when the e5-pawn is weak}) 8...
b4 9. Ne2 Qb6 10. O-O Rb8 {.}) 8. Nc3 Nf6 9. h3 ({The aggressive} 9. f5 gxf5
10. Bg5 f4 11. O-O Bh6 {leads to a complex position which is not in either of
the two player's styles.}) 9... Bh6 10. Ne2 {[#]} ({If} 10. Nd5 exf4 11. Bxf4
Bxf4 12. Nxf4 h4 13. g4 Nh7 14. O-O Qg5 15. Qd2 ({or} 15. Nd5 O-O) 15... Nd4
16. Rae1 O-O 17. Nd1 {with counterplay.}) 10... Nd4 $6 {I'm not sure that I
like this move.} ({After} 10... Nh7 11. c3 O-O 12. O-O Be6 13. Be3 h4 14. g4 a5
15. Qd2 a4 16. f5 Bxe3 17. Qxe3 Bc8 18. Nd1 b5 19. Qf2 a3 20. b3 b4 {Black's
queenside play is in time, but just two moves earlier things looked pretty
scary. It's hard to see this non-forcing position from so far in advance.}) 11.
O-O Ne6 12. fxe5 $6 {This makes Black's life much easier.} ({After the stronger
} 12. f5 $1 gxf5 13. Bxh6 Rxh6 14. exf5 Ng7 15. g4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Ng8 17. Nh3
Qh4 18. Rf3 Bd7 19. Qe1 Bc6 20. Qxh4 Rxh4 21. Rg3 {White has a more pleasant
position, despite the fact that objectively things are balanced.}) 12... Bxc1
13. Qxc1 dxe5 14. Nd1 h4 15. g4 g5 16. Ne3 Nf4 17. Qe1 Be6 18. Nxf4 gxf4 19.
Nf5 Bxf5 20. exf5 Qd4+ 21. Kh1 O-O-O 22. Qa5 Kb8 23. Rae1 Rhe8 {[#] So far, so
good for both players. Now Giri slips and loses control over the board.} 24. c3
$2 Qxd3 $1 {Dominguez rightly calls Giri's bluff!} 25. Qxc5 Qg3 $1 {The key
move. Black is in control.} 26. Qf2 ({If} 26. Qb5 e4 {followed by ...f4-f3 and
Black wins.}) ({Relatively best was} 26. Rd1 {but Black is still winning after}
Rd3 $1 27. Rxd3 (27. Qb5 $4 f3) 27... Qxd3 28. Qf2 Nd5 $1 29. Re1 f6 30. Qxh4
f3 {.}) 26... Qxf2 $1 27. Rxf2 Nh7 $1 {Here g4-g5 was a threat, so Dominguez
prevents it. His technique is instructive and worth studying..} 28. f6 Ng5 29.
Be4 Rd6 30. Kg2 Kc7 31. Bf5 Kd8 {Patience!} 32. b4 Rxf6 33. Rd2+ Kc7 34. Rd7+
Kb8 35. c4 e4 36. c5 e3 37. Kf1 a6 38. Rd6 Rxf5 {Not the only way to win it,
but the classiest for sure!} 39. gxf5 Nf3 40. Re2 Re4 41. a3 Ne5 42. Rc2 f3 43.
Rc1 Rc4 44. Re1 Rc3 45. Rd8+ Kc7 46. Re8 e2+ 47. Kf2 Nd3+ 48. Kxf3 Nxe1+ 49.
Kxe2 Ng2 50. Re7+ Kc6 51. Rxf7 Nf4+ 52. Kd2 Rxh3 53. Rf6+ Kd5 54. Rd6+ Ke5 55.
f6 Rf3 56. f7 Ne6 0-1

[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2023.11.21"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2816"]
[BlackElo "2867"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

{First round games are often lackluster, the players getting into the event
and feeling each other out. Not here! This pairing between the eventual winner
and runner-up was critical to the final result. Dominguez obtained some
chances in a technical English Attach, but Caruana's resourcefulness was
enough to save the day.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6.
f3 {Dominguez is a master of the English Attack. He plays it masterfully with
both colors.} e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 ({Currently} 8... Nbd7 9. Qd2 h5 10. Nd5
Bxd5 11. exd5 g6 {is the most popular continuation.}) 9. Qd2 h5 {Based on
extensive testing in correspondence play, we know know that this h-pawn push
is good after the inclusion of ...Bf8-e7. Beginning in the 90s -- Kasparov was
the pioneer -- the ...Nb8-d7 and ...h7-h5 setup has been the main trend in
this line.} 10. Nd5 $1 {Now ...Be6xd5 makes no sense, as Black's bishop is
committed to e7, meaning that ...g7-g6 and ...Bf8-g7 is no longer in the cards.
As a result Black loses a tempo with his light-squared bishop.} Nxd5 11. exd5
Bf5 12. Be2 a5 $1 {Another essential move. White wants to play c2-c4 and
Qd2-a5 at some point.} 13. a4 Bh4+ {Flicking in a check to dissuade White from
casling kingside.} 14. g3 Be7 15. Bb5+ ({Largely untested but worth
considering is} 15. f4 Nd7 16. Bd3 exf4 17. Bxf4 Bh3 18. O-O-O {. We might see
this being played at the highest levels in the near future.}) 15... Bd7 16. Qe2
O-O {[#]} 17. Nd2 $1 {A beautiful move by White! Dominguez improves his worst
piece before castling queenside.} Bxb5 18. Qxb5 Bg5 $1 {And Caruana trades his
worst minor piece as well!} 19. Bxg5 Qxg5 20. O-O-O ({The pawn is untouchable.
If} 20. Qxb7 $4 Na6 21. Qb3 Rab8 {White is faced with an decisive attack due
to the lost tempi with the queen.}) 20... Rc8 21. Kb1 Na6 ({Here} 21... Qe7 {
is probably more accurate because after} 22. Ne4 (22. Rhe1 Qc7 23. Rc1 {
is probably the way to go}) 22... f5 23. Nc3 Na6 {the f5-pawn is hardly a
weakness while White's c3-knight is a target for an Exchange sacrifice.}) 22.
Ne4 Qd8 23. f4 $1 {Accurate play.} Nc5 ({We see one of the points behind
White's last move after} 23... f5 24. Ng5 Nc5 25. Rhe1 e4 26. Re3 {with an
edge for White.}) 24. Rhe1 Nxe4 25. Rxe4 f5 26. Re3 e4 27. Qe2 Qd7 28. Qxh5 ({
After} 28. Rd4 Rab8 29. Rb3 g6 {Black will play ...Rc8-c5 and the position is
pretty much locked up.}) 28... Qxa4 29. Rd2 {[#]} Rf8 $2 {After near-perfect
moves, Caruana makes the first mistake at a critical juncture.} ({The right
move was} 29... Qb5 $1 30. Qxf5 ({or} 30. Rd1 Qa4) 30... Qf1+ 31. Ka2 Qc4+ 32.
b3 Qb4 33. c3 Rxc3 34. Rxc3 Qxc3 35. Qe6+ {with equality.}) 30. g4 $1 {A
natural response.} Qe8 $1 31. Qg5 Qd8 32. Qh5 ({I believe} 32. gxf5 {is more
testing. After} Qxg5 33. fxg5 Rxf5 34. Rxe4 Rxg5 35. Re7 Rb8 36. Rd7 Rg6 37.
Ka2 b5 38. Rd3 Rc8 39. c3 Rc5 {Black has enough play to make a draw , but the
endgame is surely unpleasant.}) 32... Qe8 33. Qh3 Qg6 34. Rg2 Qh7 $1 {A timely
trade offer.} 35. Qxh7+ ({After} 35. Qg3 Rf7 36. g5 g6 {followed by ...Qh7-h5,
Black should be fine here.}) 35... Kxh7 36. gxf5 Rxf5 37. Rxe4 Raf8 38. Rg4 b5
$1 {Accurate defense by Caruana.} ({The greedy} 38... Rxd5 $4 {is met by} 39.
Re7 {.}) 39. b3 b4 40. Rd4 Rh5 {[#] Black is active, making the extra pawn
pretty much irrelevant. Now Dominguez forces Caruana to prove he can manage
the position before splitting the point.} 41. h4 Rf6 42. Re4 Rxd5 43. Rg5 Rdf5
44. Re7 Rxg5 45. fxg5 Rf4 46. h5 Rf5 47. h6 Rxg5 48. hxg7 Rxg7 49. Re1 Rg5 50.
Rd1 d5 51. Re1 Kg7 52. Re6 Kf7 53. Ra6 d4 54. Rd6 Rg1+ 55. Kb2 Rd1 56. Rd5 d3
57. cxd3 Ke6 58. Rxa5 Rd2+ 59. Kc1 Rxd3 60. Ra4 Rxb3 61. Kc2 Rc3+ 62. Kb2 Rc4
63. Kb3 Rd4 64. Rxb4 Rxb4+ 65. Kxb4 {A neat game. Dominguez was never close to
any real chances , but he missed the chance of exerting a little more pressure
on Caruana.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2023.11.25"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2816"]
[BlackElo "2817"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi"]
[PlyCount "162"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {I was only fifteen when Kramnik famously
employed the Berlin Defense against Kasparov in their 2000 World Championship
match. With its strategic clarity, the opening had a profound effect on me. It
is like listening to Mozart!} 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 b6 11. Rd1 Bb4 12. Ne2 Bb7 13. Ned4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4
Rg8 $5 ({Here} 14... Bc5 {seems easier. Here's a summary of top-level practice:
} 15. Nf5 Rg8 16. Be3 (16. g4 h5 17. Be3 g6 18. Nh6 Rh8 19. Bxc5 bxc5 20. g5
Bc8 21. h4 Ke7 22. f4 Be6 23. Rf1 Rad8 $11 {was equal in Anand-Topalov, Saint
Louis 2016}) 16... Bc8 $1 17. Nd4 Bxd4 (17... Bd7 18. Rd3 Bxd4 19. Rxd4 c5 20.
Rd2 Bc6 21. Rad1 {was a bit better for White in Vachier-Lagrave-Anand, Saint
Louis 2018}) 18. Rxd4 c5 19. Rd2 Be6 20. Rad1 h6 $1 {. Here the extra tempo
dries out White's play; after ...Ke8-e7 and ...Rg8-d8 , it's time to shake
hands in peace.}) 15. Bf4 g5 16. Bg3 Rd8 $6 {[#] Asking for trouble.} 17. e6 $1
{Now or never!} Bc5 18. c3 Bxd4 19. exf7+ Kxf7 20. cxd4 Rd7 {Now Black has
some issues to deal with.} 21. Be5 h5 22. Re1 ({After} 22. b4 g4 23. h4 Ra8 $1
{followed by ...a7-a5 equalizes. Perhaps ...Rg8-a8 is not a hard move to find,
but I consider this more testing than the game continuation.}) 22... Re8 23.
Re3 c5 $1 {This pawn sacrifice is correctly timed.} 24. dxc5 Kg6 25. Rc1 Bd5
26. a3 g4 27. cxb6 cxb6 28. Kh2 {White is a healthy pawn up, but the
opposite-colored bishop ending offers Black excellent drawing chances.} Kf5 29.
Bd4 Re4 ({More to the point was} 29... Rxe3 30. Bxe3 Be6 {.}) 30. Rxe4 Kxe4 {
[#]} 31. Be3 ({I don't really understand why, but after} 31. Bh8 $3 {the
engines give White excellent winning chances. I believe it is because this
move denies ...Bd5-e6 and does not give Black time to regroup his pieces for a
fortress, but it's a bit of a mystery!} Rd8 ({the point: if} 31... Be6 $2 32.
Re1+ Kd5 33. Re5+ {and White should win}) 32. Re1+ Kf4 33. Bf6 Rd7 34. Re5 Bf7
35. h4 Bg6 (35... Rd2 $2 36. Re7) 36. Re3 (36. Rg5 Bf7) 36... Be4 37. Bg5+ Kf5
38. Rc3 {and while White can't do much, Black doesn't have a fortress either.
I think White has solid winning chances in this position.}) 31... Be6 {Now
Black has achieved the optimal set up. The rest is "basic" technique for
Wesley!} 32. hxg4 hxg4 33. Kg3 Rd3 34. Rc7 Rb3 35. Rxa7 Rxb2 36. Ra6 Rb3 37.
Kh4 Bc8 38. Ra8 Be6 39. Ra6 Bc8 40. Ra8 Be6 41. a4 Rb4 42. Kg5 Kd5 43. g3 Bd7
44. Ra7 Ke6 45. Bf4 Rxa4 46. Rb7 Ke7 47. Rxb6 Ra5+ 48. Kg6 Bf5+ 49. Kg7 Be4 50.
Bd6+ Kd7 51. Bb4 Rf5 52. Rd6+ Kc7 53. Rd4 Bf3 54. Kg6 Rd5 55. Rf4 Kc6 56. Kf6
Bd1 57. Kg6 Bc2+ 58. Kh6 Bd1 59. Ba3 Kd7 60. Re4 Bf3 61. Re7+ Kc6 62. Bc1 Kd6
63. Re1 Kc5 64. Re8 Kc4 65. Bg5 Kd4 66. Kh5 Re5 67. Rd8+ Rd5 68. Rf8 Kd3 69.
Re8 Ra5 70. Re3+ Kd4 71. Kh4 Ra2 72. Re7 Kd3 73. Be3 Ke2 74. Re5 Kf1 75. Kg5
Kg2 76. Rc5 Ra8 77. Re5 Rg8+ 78. Kf4 Rf8+ 79. Kg5 Rg8+ 80. Kf4 Rf8+ 81. Kg5
Rg8+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "10th Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.11.27"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Caruana, F."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C58"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2795"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2023.11.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8.
Bd3 Nd5 9. h4 h6 10. Qh5 Qf6 11. Ne4 Qe6 12. b3 g6 13. Qe2 f5 14. Nec3 Bg7 15.
Bb2 O-O 16. Na3 e4 17. Bc4 Nxc4 18. Qxc4 Rb8 19. O-O-O Rb4 20. Qe2 a5 21. Rhe1
a4 22. g3 axb3 23. axb3 Qd6 24. f3 Qc5 25. Nab1 Re8 26. fxe4 fxe4 27. Ba3 Qa5
28. Bxb4 Nxb4 29. d4 e3 30. Kb2 h5 31. Na3 Bg4 32. Qc4+ Kh7 33. Qf7 Rf8 34. Qe7
Bxd1 35. Rxd1 Rf2 36. Ne4 Rxc2+ 37. Kb1 Rf2 38. Ng5+ Kh8 39. Qe8+ Rf8 40. Qxg6
Qf5+ 41. Qxf5 Rxf5 42. Re1 Bxd4 43. Nc2 Bc3 44. Nxe3 Rxg5 0-1

[Event "10th Sinquefield Cup"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2023.11.30"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Rapport, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2795"]
[BlackElo "2748"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2023.11.21"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 g6 6. Bd3 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. e4
dxe4 9. Bxe4 b5 10. Bd3 bxc4 11. Bxc4 Ba6 12. Bxa6 Nxa6 13. Qa4 Qb6 14. Bf4
Rfd8 15. Be5 Nb4 16. Rfd1 Nbd5 17. Qc2 Bf8 18. Ng5 Ng4 19. Bg3 Bg7 20. Nf3 Rac8
21. Ne4 c5 22. dxc5 Qxb2 23. Qxb2 Bxb2 24. Rab1 Bg7 25. Rdc1 Bh6 26. Rc4 Bf8
27. c6 f5 28. Neg5 Re8 29. Rb7 Ne7 30. h3 Nf6 31. Nd4 h6 32. Ngxe6 Nxc6 33.
Nxf8 Nxd4 34. Rxc8 Rxc8 35. Nxg6 Rc1+ 36. Kh2 Nc6 37. Bf4 Rc2 38. Bxh6 Ne8 39.
Ne7+ Kh7 40. Be3 1-0

[Event "2023 K-12 Grade Championships: Georgiev"]
[Site "lichess.org"]
[Date "2023.12.16"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Generous GM"]
[Black "Legal's Mate Draw"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2qkb1r/ppp1nppp/2np4/4p1N1/2B1P3/2PP4/PP3PPP/RNBbK2R w KQkq - 0 7"]
[PlyCount "8"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

7. Bxf7+ Kd7 8. Be6+ Ke8 9. Bf7+ Kd7 10. Be6+ Ke8 1/2-1/2

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.17"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Lu, Maximillian"]
[Black "Huston, Gus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A09"]
[WhiteElo "2436"]
[BlackElo "2481"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/1pqb1p2/6pp/p7/2Pb4/1P1n2P1/P1NQ2BP/R5K1 w - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "6"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

25. Nxd4 Bf5 $1 {With this move Gus finds a clever way to (in effect) offer a
draw.} 26. Nxf5 Qc5+ 27. Kh1 Nf2+ {The knight will bounce back and forth
between f2 and h3 for the repetition.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.17"]
[Round "6.13"]
[White "Reiss, Aiden"]
[Black "Yao, Jerry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B11"]
[WhiteElo "2260"]
[BlackElo "2004"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r6/2r2kpp/2P2p2/p2P1P2/1bR5/4RB1P/2K5/8 w - - 0 49"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Aiden Reiss's 6th round win put him on Board 1 in the final round.} 49. Re6
Rd8 50. Rh4 $2 ({White leaves no doubt with} 50. Rxb4 $1 axb4 51. d6 Rcc8 52.
Kb3 g6 53. Kxb4 gxf5 54. Re7+ Kg6 55. Kc5 Kg5 56. d7 Rc7 57. Kd6 {.}) 50... Kg8
51. Rd4 Rd6 $4 52. Rxb4 $1 Rxe6 53. Rb8+ Re8 54. Rxe8+ Kf7 55. d6 Rxc6+ 56.
Bxc6 a4 57. d7 1-0

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.17"]
[Round "7.13"]
[White "Zhao, Erick"]
[Black "Kesireddy, Saikarunya"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B41"]
[WhiteElo "2441"]
[BlackElo "1901"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/3rkpbp/pB1p2p1/2nR4/PpB1P3/1P3PP1/7P/6K1 w - - 0 36"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 36. Bxc5 $1 {Indicating that White is confident that he can win the
resulting Bishops of Opposite Colors endgame.} dxc5 37. Rxd7+ Kxd7 38. Bxf7 Kd6
({It initially looks like Black could have put up more resistance with a setup
that would prevent f3-f4 and also keep White's king from getting to the fifth
rank, but after} 38... g5 39. Kf2 Be5 40. Ke3 Bd4+ 41. Ke2 Be5 42. Kd3 Kc6 43.
Kc4 h6 44. Bd5+ Kb6 45. Ba8 Ka7 {we see an idea that reminds me of the fourth
game of the Fischer - Taimanov match from 1971:} 46. Kxc5 $3 {and wins.}) 39.
f4 Ke7 40. Bc4 a5 41. e5 g5 42. Kf2 {At first glance, White's resignation
looks premature, but looking ahead a few moves you can see that the e- and
f-pawns will roll as White's king marches up the board.} 1-0

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.17"]
[Round "7.15"]
[White "Liu, Eric Chang"]
[Black "Vemparala, Nikash"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2377"]
[BlackElo "2232"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 a6 7. O-O d6 8. Bb3
Ba7 9. h3 Be6 10. Bc2 Qd7 11. Re1 Rfe8 12. Nf1 d5 13. exd5 Bxd5 14. Ng3 h6 15.
Nh4 Rad8 16. Nhf5 {White has achieved exactly what he intended. From here,
most tactical themes involve the knight sacrificing at either g7 or h6, as you
will see!} Qe6 {My databases have not seen this move, and despite the result
maybe they should!} 17. d4 Qc8 $2 ({I'd prefer} 17... e4 {, cutting off the
bishop that supported the invading knight. After} 18. Ne3 Bxa2 $1 19. b3 $2
Nxd4 $1 20. cxd4 Bxd4 21. Rxa2 Bxe3 {play looks imbalanced and fun for both
sides!}) 18. Bxh6 $3 gxh6 ({Putting up a bit more of a fight is} 18... g6 19.
Bg5 Qe6 {but White is still winning.}) 19. Qd2 Re6 20. Qxh6 Ne8 {[#] White to
move and Mate in 5} 21. Ne7+ Nxe7 {White will now execute a textbook "Bishop
Back-out Mate." (I also call it a Yates Mate after a famous Alekhine -- Yates
win by the underdog in 1923).} 22. Bh7+ Kh8 23. Bg6+ {Sometimes this thematic
retreat guards the f7/f2 escape square. Sometimes it supports a mate there,
and sometimes it blocks attacks against the queen on the 6th/3rd rank. Here it
does two out of three jobs. Nice!} 1-0

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.16"]
[Round "5.17"]
[White "Jiang, Andrew"]
[Black "Zhang, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2314"]
[BlackElo "1834"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1rrb2k1/5ppp/4p3/pRPn3P/P7/N4P2/3BKP2/2R5 b - - 0 24"]
[PlyCount "24"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} 24... Rxb5 $2 {Unfortunately we must call this a mistake even though it
looks like the next move by White simply loses a pawn.} ({Better was the simple
} 24... Kf8 {, activating the king.}) 25. axb5 Be7 $2 {Black plays along, not
seeing the zinger coming.} 26. b6 $1 {Here is the point of White's previous
move.} Rb8 ({The originally-planned move} 26... Bxc5 {would have been
destroyed by} 27. b7 $1) 27. Bxa5 Nf4+ 28. Ke3 Bg5 29. Rc4 Rd8 30. Rxf4 $1 {
Nice simplification. At first glance, you might think that White did not see
that he would not net Black's bishop, but the connected passers are the only
important story line here.} e5 31. b7 Bxf4+ 32. Ke2 Rb8 33. c6 e4 34. Nb5 exf3+
35. Kxf3 Be5 36. Bc7 1-0

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.17"]
[Round "7.19"]
[White "Wang, Kyle Y"]
[Black "Ji, Yuze Luke"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B94"]
[WhiteElo "2078"]
[BlackElo "1952"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[PlyCount "25"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Board 1. Round 7. A title on the line. Nerves? ... Black overlooks a "biggie"
on the 10th move of the game and White closed it out nicely from there.} 1. e4
c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bc4 b5 8. Bd5 Nxd5
9. Nxd5 Bb7 10. O-O h6 $4 {[#]} 11. Ne6 $1 Bxd5 ({A quick death would have
been the punishment if the knight had been captured.} 11... fxe6 $4 12. Qh5+ g6
13. Qxg6#) 12. Nxd8 hxg5 13. Qxd5 {Black resigned on move 37.} 1-0

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.16"]
[Round "5.22"]
[White "Chen, Alan"]
[Black "Yue, Tariq"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "1943"]
[BlackElo "2047"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/5pk1/p6p/3p1q1P/7b/1PK1Q3/3B4/8 b - - 0 55"]
[PlyCount "2"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{In Round 5, eventual co-champion, Tariq Yu finished this game quickly with a
nice two-move tactic.} 55... d4+ $1 56. Kxd4 {and White resigned before seeing
Black's response.} (56. Kxd4 Bf6+ 57. Kc4 Qb5#) (56. Qxd4+ Bf6) 0-1

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.16"]
[Round "4.21"]
[White "Nemiroff, Samuel"]
[Black "Paragua, Megan Althea"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D41"]
[WhiteElo "1840"]
[BlackElo "2173"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r1nk1/1b4p1/4pp1p/ppR5/3rP3/4N1PP/P5PK/1B1R4 w - - 0 29"]
[PlyCount "28"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{After Black's 28. ... Rxd4, another 5th Grade co-champion, Megan Paragua
benefitted from an oversight by White.} 29. Rxb5 $4 Rxd1 30. Nxd1 Ba6 $1 {
Call it a zwischenzug, intermezzo, or simply an in-between move, but the
result is the same - a free piece for the young WFM.} 31. Rxa5 Rxd1 32. Rxa6
Rxb1 33. Ra7 Rb4 34. a4 Rxe4 35. a5 Ra4 36. a6 Kh7 37. Rf7 Ng6 38. a7 h5 39.
Kg1 Ra2 40. Kf1 e5 41. Ke1 e4 42. Kf1 e3 0-1

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.16"]
[Round "5.12"]
[White "Zhao, Erick"]
[Black "Hardaway, Brewington"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C60"]
[WhiteElo "2441"]
[BlackElo "2457"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/7p/8/5P1k/5Qnb/1P6/P5q1/3K1R2 b - - 0 73"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Black eventually won this game, BUT he played over 30 more moves to do it. 
(White resigned on move 107.) Black played} 73... Ne3+ ({instead of} 73... Bg5
$1 {and now White must give up the queen, the rook, or be mated.}) 74. Qxe3
Qxf1+ 75. Kc2 Qxf5+ 76. Kd1 Qb1+ 77. Ke2 Qxa2+ 78. Kf1 Qb1+ 79. Kg2 Qc2+ 80.
Kh3 Qf5+ 81. Kh2 Qg4 82. Qc5+ Bg5 83. Qe5 Qf3 {[#]} 84. Kg1 Kg4 85. Qe6+ Kh4
86. Qe1+ Kh5 87. Qe8+ Kh6 88. Qe6+ Bf6 89. b4 Kg5 90. Qg8+ Kh6 91. Qe6 Qg3+ 92.
Kf1 Qd3+ 93. Ke1 Qb1+ 94. Kf2 Qb2+ 95. Kf1 Qa1+ 96. Kf2 Qd4+ 97. Kf1 Qd3+ 98.
Ke1 Kg5 99. Qg8+ Kf4 100. Qb8+ Be5 101. Qf8+ Ke4 102. Qa8+ Ke3 103. Qa7+ Kf3
104. Qf2+ Kg4 105. Qe2+ Qxe2+ 106. Kxe2 Kg3 107. Kf1 Bd4 0-1

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.16"]
[Round "5.21"]
[White "Paragua, Megan Althea"]
[Black "Li, Mason"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D05"]
[WhiteElo "2173"]
[BlackElo "1980"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/5pp1/p1bP3p/1p2r3/2B5/4P3/P4PPP/3R2K1 w - - 0 27"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{White actually won this game by resignation after just six more moves, but
Black could have put up more resistance. White played} 27. Bb3 {which could be
answered with an activation of the Black king (this did not happen!)} ({
instead of} 27. Bd5 $1 Bd7 28. e4 Kf8 29. f4 Re8 {(blocking Black's king from
helping out)} 30. Rc1 {, etc.}) 27... Bd7 28. Rc1 Re8 (28... Kf8 29. Rc7 Ke8
30. Bxf7+ Kxf7 31. Rxd7+ Kf6) 29. Bd5 Rd8 30. e4 Kf8 31. Rc7 Rc8 32. Bb7 Rxc7
33. dxc7 1-0

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.17"]
[Round "7.25"]
[White "Manchanda, Advik"]
[Black "Schaefer, Sasha"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "1695"]
[BlackElo "1754"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/k7/6p1/2p2p2/5RP1/2P5/7K/4r3 b - - 0 38"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Black was victorious after 37 more moves and some inaccurate moves by White.
Here Black played the automatic recapture} 38... fxg4 $2 ({instead of} 38...
Re4 $1 {winning either the g-pawn or the resulting pawn race after the
exchange of rooks. After} 39. Rxe4 fxe4 40. Kg3 Kb6 {Black promotes in time to
stop White from doing so.}) 39. Rxg4 Re6 40. Kg2 Kb6 41. Kf2 Kb5 42. Kf3 c4 43.
Rd4 Re1 44. Kg4 (44. Rg4) 44... Re3 45. Kg5 Rxc3 46. Kxg6 Rd3 47. Re4 Rd5 48.
Kf6 Rc5 49. Re1 c3 50. Rc1 c2 51. Ke6 Kb4 52. Kd6 Rc3 53. Kd5 Kb3 54. Kd4 Kb2
55. Re1 c1=Q 56. Rxc1 Rxc1 57. Kd3 Kb3 58. Kd4 Rc3 59. Kd5 Rc4 60. Kd6 Kb4 61.
Kd7 Kb5 62. Kd6 Rc5 63. Kd7 Rc6 64. Ke7 Kc5 65. Kd7 Kd5 66. Ke7 Rd6 67. Kf7 Re6
68. Kf8 Ke5 69. Kf7 Kf5 70. Kg7 Rf6 71. Kh7 Rg6 72. Kh8 Kf6 73. Kh7 Rg1 74. Kh8
Kf7 75. Kh7 Rh1# 0-1

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.15"]
[Round "2.10"]
[White "Gao, Marvin"]
[Black "Wang, Kalia"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C88"]
[WhiteElo "2306"]
[BlackElo "1810"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r3rk1/5np1/p4q1p/2QPR3/PpP3b1/1P4N1/1B4PP/R5K1 w - - 0 29"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} {Here White played} 29. Re2 {with a winning game. The engine's choice
seems superficial until an innocuous-looking pawn push reveals the evil nature
of this continuation.} (29. Re8 $1 {(threatening 30.Qxf8+)} Qd6 30. Qxd6 Nxd6
31. Rxb8 Rxb8 {and now} 32. h3 $3 {with 33.Be5 coming, and all lines win big
for White.}) 29... Qg6 30. Rf2 h5 31. Raf1 Rfc8 32. Qd4 Nh6 33. Ne4 Rb7 34. Rf6
Qh7 35. Ng5 Qh8 36. Rc6 Re8 37. d6 Nf7 38. Qd5 Rf8 39. Rc7 Rxc7 40. dxc7 1-0

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.17"]
[Round "7.28"]
[White "Zhou, Abigail"]
[Black "Alluri, Samanyu"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1701"]
[BlackElo "1651"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/1p3pp1/p6p/3q4/PPrN2Q1/2n4P/5PP1/4R1K1 w - - 0 28"]
[PlyCount "6"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[#]} {This game continued} 28. Re8+ ({If found, White’s clever resource
would have led play into a very equal-looking endgame:} 28. Nf5 $1 {,
threatening mate and the fork on e7. A likely line:} Rxg4 29. Ne7+ Kf8 30. Nxd5
Rc4 {with equality.}) 28... Kh7 29. Qf5+ Qxf5 30. Nxf5 Rxb4 {and Black won on
the 54th move of this final round showdown.} 0-1

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.17"]
[Round "6.18"]
[White "Sukhiashvili, Alexander"]
[Black "Qian, Bobby"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1785"]
[BlackElo "2131"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/7p/p1p5/P2p4/1P1P2k1/4K3/7P/8 b - - 0 39"]
[PlyCount "14"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Here Black was likely low on time and blundered away the win with} 39... Kh3
$4 ({Winning rather easily was} 39... h6 $1 {and Black would have outflanked
or outraced White.}) {The game finished} 40. Kf4 Kxh2 41. Ke5 Kg3 42. b5 cxb5
43. Kxd5 h5 44. Kc5 h4 45. d5 h3 46. d6 {with a draw on move 61.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.16"]
[Round "5.11"]
[White "Ngo, Bach"]
[Black "Wu, William"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D54"]
[WhiteElo "2446"]
[BlackElo "2144"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "R7/6k1/5p2/6p1/P5Pp/7P/5PK1/r7 b - - 0 42"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{This is a very common pattern that requires vastly different winning/drawing
plans depending on the kingside pawn structure. Now after} 42... Ra3 {White
skillfully won by leaving the a7-square open and getting his king to b5 via b1.
} ({Black’s king missed his opportunity to sprint for the f4-square with} 
42... Kf7 {followed by ...Kf7-e6-e5-f4, changing the game into a three pawn
versus two pawn situation on the kingside. White's king is as useful as an
icepick in a desert.}) 43. a5 Kg6 44. a6 Kg7 45. Kh2 Ra2 46. Kg1 Ra1+ 47. Kg2
Ra3 48. Ra7+ Kg6 49. f3 Ra2+ 50. Kf1 Kh6 51. Ke1 Kg6 52. Kd1 Kh6 53. Kc1 Kg6
54. Kb1 Ra5 55. Kb2 Ra4 56. Ra8 Ra5 57. Kb3 Ra1 58. Kb4 f5 59. gxf5+ Kxf5 60.
Rf8+ Ke5 61. Kb5 Kd4 62. Rf5 Ke3 63. Rxg5 Kxf3 64. Rg4 Re1 65. a7 Re5+ 66. Kb4
Re8 67. Rxh4 Kg3 68. Rh7 1-0

[Event "2023 National K-12 Grade Championships"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida, United Stat"]
[Date "2023.12.16"]
[Round "5.5"]
[White "Chasin, Nico Werner"]
[Black "Kaplan, Avi Harrison"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A67"]
[WhiteElo "2514"]
[BlackElo "2306"]
[Annotator "Stallings,Jay"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r7/1R4bk/Q2P2p1/2p2p2/4p3/5nP1/3qB2P/5R1K w - - 0 36"]
[PlyCount "4"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{White's defensive task looks impossible If Black's rook is captured, ...
Qd2xe2 threatens mate at f1 and h2. White played} 36. Qb5 ({White had a
geometric-looking win with} 36. Rxg7+ $1 Kxg7 37. Qb7+ $3 {and Black's king
has to cooperate one way or another, i.e.,} Kh6 38. Qxa8 Qxe2 39. Qh8+ Kg5 40.
Qh3 {and the white king is safe, while the passed d-pawn decides matters.})
36... Ra2 37. Qd7 Qh6 {and a draw was agreed.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Zagreb"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.11.24"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vasyl"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2659"]
[BlackElo "2653"]
[Annotator "Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Hans Niemann had a career-best result in the "Tournament of Peace," held in
Zagreb, Croatia. With a score of 8/9 and a touranment performance of 2946 -
the best performance of the year - the wind was in his sails as never before. 
Niemann's opponents were predominantly older players, many of whom have moved
from active playing into coaching. With their solid, technical playing styles,
they allowed his strengths to show in full - just as Magnus Carlsen did at the
Sinquefield Cup in 2022. These strengths include strong opening preparation
and a great feeling for natural moves, coming from his long hours of chess
study each day. His weaknesses were not probed, and thus did not cause him
problems.  It is almost inevitable that a 2700-level player will have a great
result if he plays 30+ tournaments a year. That Niemann is at this level is
not in doubt; but as with most people, he plays above and below his typical
stregnth from time to time.  Hans started well, scoring 1.5/2 with Black,
before playing a great technical game against one of the greats of yesteryear.
} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8.
Nbd2 {This has proven to be the most consistent way to play against the
Petroff lately. No doubt Hans was well prepared here.} Nxd2 9. Bxd2 Bg4 10. c3
O-O 11. h3 Bh5 $1 12. g3 Qd7 13. Kg2 Bg6 14. Bf4 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Bd6 {[#]} 16.
Ng5 $5 $146 {A small novelty. It's not something that should put great fear
into Petroff players, but a good practical chance.} (16. Bxd6 {had previously
been played.}) 16... g6 $1 17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. Rae1 Rae8 19. h4 Nd8 20. h5 Ne6
21. Nf3 c6 $6 ({My friend IM Renier Castellanos has pointed out the great
frequency with which even strong grandmasters are reluctant to play a move like
} 21... gxh5 $1 {. In this case White is slightly better after} 22. Re5 Ng7 23.
Qb5 $5 {, but Black's position is quite defensible all in all.}) {[#]} 22. Rh1
$6 {This move keeps the pressure on, but stronger was:} (22. hxg6 $1 hxg6 $5 (
22... fxg6 {is positionally undesirable, yet still what Black would have to
play.}) 23. Ne5 {. Now White is ready to Rf1-h1 with a winning attack. Black
has to play} Kg7 {, when it would be quite fantastical to play} 24. f4 $1 f5
25. g4 $1 {, with a winning attack. The computer line continues:} Nd8 26. Re3
fxg4 27. f5 gxf5 28. Rxf5 {and so on.}) 22... g5 $2 {This leaves the Black
position full of weaknesses.} ({Instead} 22... Ng7 $1 {was necessary. After}
23. hxg6 fxg6 24. Ne5 {White's position is pleasant, but Black's position is
not too uncomfortable.}) 23. Ne5 h6 24. Qf5 $1 {A logical move, invading the
Black position.} ({Stockfish wants} 24. b4 {, but who would decide to play on
the queenside at this moment?}) 24... Ng7 25. Qd7 Qxd7 26. Nxd7 Rxe1 27. Nf6+
$1 {[#] Keeping Black tied down.} Kh8 28. Rxe1 Ne6 29. Re5 a5 30. Ng4 Kh7 $6 ({
Here} 30... Kg7 {would invite} 31. Ne3 {, which is indeed very unpleasant for
Black. But what happened in the game is even worse.}) 31. Rf5 $1 Kg7 32. Rf6
Rh8 {[#]} 33. a4 $5 {This looks like a natural technical move, fixing the
a5-pawn. In truth, it exposes the pawn for counterplay.} ({The strongest plan
would be to bring the king to a better square with} 33. Kf1 $1 {.}) 33... b6 $2
({Black misses his last chance to fight with:} 33... c5 $1 34. dxc5 d4 {
, when White would have to prove his advantage with} 35. Rf3 $1 (35. cxd4 $2
Rd8 $1 {would offer Black great counterplay.}) 35... Rd8 {[#]} 36. c6 $3 bxc6
37. Ne5 f6 38. Nxc6 Rd6 39. Ne7 $1 {and White wins.  It's not clear that
Niemann would have found this continuation at the board. Given how he got into
trouble against Bartel later in this article, we can see that it is in such
complexities that he becomes most prone to errors.}) 34. f4 $5 (34. Kf1 $1 {
was strongest again. There is no reason to act immediately, as Black is devoid
of counterplay.}) 34... gxf4 35. gxf4 Rc8 $6 ({White would also be winning
after} 35... b5 $5 36. f5 Nf4+ 37. Kf3 Nxh5 {, where taking on c6 is most
natural, but Stockfish gives the odd} 38. Rd6 $1 bxa4 39. Rxc6 $1 {as even
stronger. Black is in a surprising Zugzwang.}) 36. f5 {White wins easily now.}
Ng5 ({Of course} 36... Nf4+ 37. Kf3 Nxh5 38. Rxh6 {is entirely hopeless.}) 37.
Rxh6 Ne4 38. Kf3 Rc7 39. Kf4 Nd2 40. Rd6 Nc4 41. h6+ Kh7 42. Rd8 1-0

[Event "Zagreb"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.11.27"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Cheparinov, Ivan"]
[Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2649"]
[BlackElo "2659"]
[Annotator "Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Nd5 e4 6. Nh4 O-O 7. a3 Bc5 8. Bg2
d6 9. O-O Re8 {[#] I have the feeling that Hans was slightly surprised in the
opening and risking falling into danger. Unfortunately for Cheparinov, it
appears that he was no better prepared here, quickly getting into trouble.} 10.
d3 $6 {This allows Black to get active.} ({A famous game went:} 10. e3 g5 11.
b4 Bb6 $2 (11... gxh4 12. bxc5 Ne5 $5 {with a complex game was needed}) 12. Bb2
Nxd5 13. cxd5 Nd4 14. d3 $3 gxh4 15. dxe4 Ne6 16. dxe6 Rxe6 17. e5 hxg3 18.
hxg3 Qg5 19. exd6 Rxd6 20. Qb3 h5 21. Rad1 Rh6 22. Rd5 Qe7 23. Qc4 Bg4 24. Qf4
Rg6 25. Re5 Qd6 26. Be4 {and Black resigned in Nakamura-Anand, Moscow 2016.}) (
{But even stronger is probably} 10. b4 $1 Bd4 (10... Bb6 $5) 11. Rb1 g5 12. e3
gxh4 13. exd4 Nxd4 14. Bb2 {where White is fighting for an advantage.}) 10...
exd3 11. Qxd3 Ne5 12. Qc2 c6 {[#]} 13. Nc3 $2 {The root of all of White's
problems in this game. After} (13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 14. Ra2 $5 a5 15. b3 {White
would still be fine.}) 13... Nxc4 14. Na4 Be6 $1 15. Rd1 {Walking into a
simple tactic.} ({But White would also be a clear pawn down after} 15. Nxc5
dxc5 16. b3 Nd6 {.}) {[#]} 15... Bxf2+ $1 {Amusingly Stockfish suggests that
the unnatural 15...Bb6 is just as good, if not better!} 16. Kxf2 Ng4+ {A
natural follow-up, but} (16... b5 $1 {was stronger, leaving White in the
utmost trouble.}) 17. Ke1 $2 ({White misses the chance to fight with} 17. Kg1
$1 b5 18. Bxc6 bxa4 19. Nf3 $1 {and although Black's game is easier, it does
not provide him with an overwhelming advantage.}) 17... b5 18. Rd4 Nce3 19.
Bxe3 Nxe3 20. Qc3 {[#]} Bd5 $1 {A nice solution.} 21. Be4 ({White would also
have to resign after} 21. Bxd5 cxd5 22. Rd3 d4 $1 {.}) 21... Bxe4 22. Qxe3 Bd5
23. Qd2 bxa4 24. Rxa4 Re5 {Setting up a simple threat of trapping the white
knight.} 25. Rd4 $6 g5 {A game played below Cheparinov's usual level, making
it easier for Hans than it would be later in London.} 0-1

[Event "Zagreb"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.11.28"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2659"]
[BlackElo "2588"]
[Annotator "Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Towards the end of the tournament there were some strange, half-spoken
accusations made towards Niemann. Statistics of his playing at "98% accuracy"
were thrown around, and the organizers made public statements about a player
giving "indications of cheating." Let me begin my comments by noting that I
was not in Zagreb, and it's hard to speak with authority on something you have
not witnessed first-hand. I am also friends with some of the players raising
concerns about the integrity of the event, and I trust their judgment
immensely. That said, the tournament had a 15-minute delay from its start,
which was later expanded to 30 minutes. A study of the games themselves shows
that Hans' play was not marked by single moments of brilliance, but continuous,
high-level consistency. To cheat in such a way, a stream of moves would have
to be fed to the player. Another friend of mine - one even closer to those
concerned about the integrity fo the event - came to a similar conclusion.
These were entirely human games. When there was only one good move, Hans would
find it, unless it was too difficult. The games were all contested on his home
court of simple positional play, an area of the game where (as he displayed in
a training camp with me two years ago) he has great feeling and talent.  In
situations where there were many good options, his choices were a bit random,
and at times not all that inspired. The only thing missing from his play were
big mistakes - there were certainly little ones. Take the following game,
where Hans failed to exert maximum pressure on moves 15 and 16. Sokolov then
made a horrible mistake on move 21, losing the game.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O h6 7. Nbd2 a5 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nf1 Ne7 10. d4
exd4 11. cxd4 Bb6 {I suspect that Hans was out of preparation around here.} 12.
h3 d5 13. e5 Ne4 14. Bd3 c5 {[#]} 15. Ng3 $6 {An odd decision. The doubled
pawns do not look well.} ({Either} 15. N1d2 $5 {or}) (15. dxc5 $1 Nxc5 16. Be3
{would both put the onus on Black to prove the viability of his position.})
15... Bf5 $6 ({Here the correct} 15... Nxg3 16. fxg3 Bf5 {provided Black with
easy equality.}) 16. Nxf5 $6 {A clumsy move order.} ({It was stronger to play} 
16. Bxe4 $1 dxe4 17. Nxe4 cxd4 18. Nd6 d3 19. Nh4 Bh7 20. Qg4 {with some
pressure.}) 16... Nxf5 17. Bxe4 dxe4 18. Rxe4 Qd5 19. Rg4 Kh8 (19... cxd4 $1 {
was simpler. Black is however still fine as it came in the game.}) {Now Hans
thought for 40 minutes in this position, trying to find a path forward. He
came up with an interesting idea.} 20. Qd3 $5 Nxd4 21. Ng5 $1 {[#]} hxg5 $4 {
A tough mistake.} ({Finding the path for Black was not easy, but the first
move was} 21... g6 {. The position looks porous after} 22. Ne4 $1 {and Black
has to find} h5 $1 23. Rg5 Bd8 $1 24. Nf6 Bxf6 25. exf6 Qd6 {when things would
be level after something like} 26. Qe3 Qxf6 27. Rxc5 Rad8 {.}) 22. Bxg5 Nf3+ {
Played after five minutes. It appears Sokolov might have had other plans, but
lost his faith in them.} ({Here} 22... f5 23. exf6 Kg8 24. Bh6 {ends with
Black's death as well.}) 23. Qxf3 Qxf3 24. gxf3 Bd8 $6 ({The last chance to
provide resistance was} 24... Bc7 $1 25. f4 f6 {.}) 25. Be3 Be7 26. Kh1 Rfe8
27. f4 Bf8 28. a4 $1 {A nice technical move, but not a difficult one.} Ra6 29.
Bd2 $1 {A sound rerouting of the bishop. Black's position is hopeless.} c4 30.
Bc3 Rh6 31. Kh2 Bb4 32. Rag1 g6 33. Rd1 Bxc3 34. bxc3 Re7 35. Rd5 b6 36. Rd4
Rc7 37. Rd6 1-0

[Event "Zagreb"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.11.30"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Black "Korobov, Anton"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2659"]
[BlackElo "2667"]
[Annotator "Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{The final game of the tournament was probably Niemann's best; at the same
time, it was the one where his moves found the least affection from Stockfish!
His strategic play was focused and sharp.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4.
O-O a6 5. Bd3 Ngf6 6. Re1 e6 7. Bf1 b6 8. c4 Bb7 9. Nc3 Ne5 10. d4 Nxf3+ 11.
gxf3 g6 12. Be3 {A natural looking move, but not the most testing according to
the digital overlords.} Bg7 13. Qd2 O-O 14. Rad1 Bc6 $1 {Brilliant play by
Korobov. Now Niemann took a long think. [#]} 15. Bg5 ({We see the point of
Black's last move with} 15. d5 exd5 16. cxd5 Bb5 $1 {and great counterplay.})
15... Qb8 $2 ({Black had to solve his problems, before they became structural.
After} 15... cxd4 16. Qxd4 h6 $1 17. Qxd6 Qxd6 18. Rxd6 hxg5 19. Rxc6 Nd7 {
Black would by no means be worse. His play on the dark squares is venomous.})
16. d5 exd5 17. cxd5 Bd7 ({Now} 17... Bb5 $6 {no longer works, as} 18. Nxb5
axb5 19. Bxb5 Rxa2 20. e5 $1 dxe5 21. d6 {would give White a winning
positional advantage.}) 18. Ne2 $1 ({More aggressive is} 18. f4 $5 {but this
is a move that can feel somewhat risky. Niemann is not a natural attacking
player, and decides to manuever his pieces into position before taking such
risks.}) 18... Re8 19. Bg2 b5 20. Kh1 $6 (20. Ng3 $1 {was stronger, but
Niemann's way of playing also makes sense.}) 20... a5 21. Ng3 h5 $6 {This
creates extra weaknesses in the black position.} ({Preferable was} 21... Qd8 {
, bringing assistance to the kingside.}) 22. Rg1 Ra7 $2 {It is not easy to see
how this should help Black.} 23. Bf1 $5 {Niemann cautiously regroups before
initiating the attack.} ({Stockfish highly recommends} 23. Nf5 $1 {, and it
also quite likes}) (23. f4 $5 {, both with potent attacks.}) 23... c4 24. Be2 (
24. Nf5 $1 {was still strong.}) 24... Bc8 25. Bxf6 Bxf6 26. Nxh5 Bh8 27. Qh6
Qb6 28. Rg2 Ree7 {[#]} 29. f4 $1 Rxe4 30. Rxg6+ $1 fxg6 31. Qxg6+ Kf8 32. Qh6+
$1 ({The position after} 32. Qxe4 $2 Qxf2 {is totally unclear.}) 32... Bg7 ({
After} 32... Kf7 33. Rg1 {White wins.}) {[#]} 33. Nxg7 $1 Rxg7 34. Rg1 Bg4 ({If
} 34... Qd4 35. Qh8+ Kf7 36. Bh5+ {and mate is imminent.}) 35. Bxg4 $1 {
Not a difficult move to find.} ({Now} 35. Rxg4 $2 {would fail to} Qd4 $1 {.})
35... Qd4 36. Be6 Qxb2 37. Qh8+ Ke7 38. Rxg7+ Kf6 39. Qh6# 1-0

[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Black "Bartel, Mateusz"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2667"]
[BlackElo "2659"]
[Annotator "Aagaard"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r3rk/1p3q2/p3b1n1/P2p2n1/1RPPp1p1/4N1Pp/1PB1RP1P/3QN1K1 b - - 0 32"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{In London Niemann faced another type of opposition. The players were younger
and stronger. They did not seek to play in the classical style that suits
Niemann so very well, but instead, they put difficult problems to him that he
resolved according to his strengths, but without the glorious outcomes of
Zagreb. Here, in a really complex Giuoco Piano, GM Mateusz Bartel did what he
did in every game of the London Classic - he lept off the deep end. His
fascinating play led to four wins, four losses and a sedated (not really) draw
in the last round with Black.} 32... Nh4 $5 {Not correct, but White has to
play a lot of accurate moves to refute the attack.} 33. gxh4 Nf3+ 34. Kh1 Nxh2
35. cxd5 $1 g3 36. dxe6 g2+ 37. N3xg2 $1 hxg2+ {[#]} 38. Kg1 $1 ({After} 38.
Nxg2 $2 Qf3 39. Bxe4 Qh3 $1 {White is mated. For example:} 40. Kg1 Nf3+ 41.
Bxf3 Qxf3 42. Kf1 Rxg2 $1 43. Qd2 Qh3 {and mate cannot be postponed for long.})
38... Qf4 39. Rxe4 $1 ({The other recapture} 39. Bxe4 $2 {would allow Black to
play} Ng4 40. Nf3 Nxf2 $1 {, where there is enough counterplay to make a draw.}
(40... Rc1 $2 41. Qxc1 Qxc1+ 42. Re1 Qf4 43. Rxb7 {is hopeless for Black.}))
39... Qxf2+ 40. Kxf2 g1=Q+ 41. Ke2 Nf1 42. Qc1 $5 ({Stronger was} 42. d5 $1 {
, with the key idea being a queen check on d4.}) 42... Rg2+ 43. Kd1 Rcxc2 {[#]}
44. Qxc2 $2 {Played after just over two minutes of thought White had two
winning continuations. Neither can really be calculated to the end, which is
part of the problem for White. Instead Hans went for what seemed like the
simplest win.} ({After} 44. e7 $5 Rxc1+ 45. Kxc1 Rg8 46. e8=Q Rxe8 47. Rxe8+
Kg7 48. Rxb7+ Kf6 49. Nf3 {White is winning, but there is a lot of work left.})
({The most convincing win was:} 44. Qh6+ $1 Kg8 45. e7 Rgd2+ 46. Qxd2 Rxd2+ 47.
Kc1 {, but even here, it is easy to think you may have missed something. After}
Rd1+ 48. Kxd1 Ne3+ 49. Kd2 Qf2+ 50. Kc3 $1 Nd5+ 51. Kc4 Ne3+ 52. Kb3 Qf7+ 53.
Ka3 {White wins.}) 44... Rxc2 45. Nxc2 ({Hans definitely intended to play} 45.
e7 $2 {but would only now have seen that Black has} Qg4+ $3 46. Rxg4 Ne3#)
45... Ne3+ 46. Kd2 Qf2+ 47. Kd3 Nxc2 {[#]} 48. d5 $2 ({White had a fantastic
draw with} 48. Rxb7 $1 Qf3+ 49. Kd2 $1 Qxe4 50. e7 Qg2+ 51. Kc1 $1 Qg8 52. Kxc2
Qc8+ 53. Kb1 Kg8 54. Rb3 $1 {[#] The position is a theoretical draw. You can
remove the a5-, d4-, and h5-pawns. White will still shuffle Rb3-a3-c3, and
there is no Zugzwang!}) 48... Nxb4+ 49. Rxb4 Qc5 $2 ({Black could have won
with something like:} 49... Qf3+ 50. Kc4 Qf4+ $1 {, where the winning idea is
rather exceptional:} 51. Kc5 Qc7+ 52. Kd4 Qe7 53. Kc4 Kg7 54. h5 Kf6 55. h6 Ke5
{and the Black king is eliminating the pawns. The key point is that the
b7-pawn remains. There are no fortresses on the horizon.}) 50. Rd4 Qd6 51. Ke4
Kg7 52. Rd3 $2 ({The engine suggests that} 52. h5 {, but the practical
difficulty looked too difficult for Hans.}) 52... Qh2 {The white pawns get
picked off, one by one. The game could have ended now.} 53. Rc3 ({Here} 53. d6
Qe2+ 54. Re3 Qc4+ 55. Kf3 Qd5+ 56. Ke2 Kf8 $1 {is another winning line for
Black.}) 53... Qxh4+ 54. Kf5 Qh5+ 55. Ke4 Qh4+ 56. Kf5 Qh2 57. Ke4 Kg6 58. Rc8
Qd6 59. Rc2 Qg3 60. Rc8 Kg7 61. Kd4 Qf4+ 62. Kd3 Qd6 63. Kc4 Kf6 64. Rh8 Qc7+
65. Kd4 Qg7 66. Rh1 Ke7+ 67. Kc5 Qg6 68. Rc1 Qd3 69. Rc4 Qe3+ 70. Rd4 Qc1+ 71.
Rc4 Qxb2 72. Re4 Qb5+ 73. Kd4 Qxa5 74. Ke5 Qc7+ 75. Kf5 0-1

[Event "London"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.12.10"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Niemann, Hans Moke"]
[Black "Gukesh"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2667"]
[BlackElo "2720"]
[Annotator "Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{A last-round triumph saved the tournament for Niemann.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Re1 ({In this position} 8. a5
h6 9. Be3 {might be better, although admittedly I am not a great expert in the
complexities of the Italian Game.}) 8... h6 9. a5 {[#]} g5 $1 {The variations
with ...g7-g5 have proven to be just as dangerous for White as for Black. For
players looking to win, it's worth the risk.} 10. Be3 g4 11. Nfd2 Bxe3 12. fxe3
$6 {This move does not make sense after having put the rook on e1. White had
to play} (12. Rxe3 h5 {and now something like} 13. d4 $5 {, with a complicated
game, where Black's advance on the kingside is double-edged.}) 12... Nh7 13.
Nf1 $6 {This manuever looks a bit odd.} (13. Rf1 Ng5 14. d4 {was probably
better, but Black's position is quite comfortable.}) 13... h5 14. Ng3 {[#]} Qg5
$2 {This is the moment that Gukesh errs.} ({I don't think Hans would have
missed} 14... h4 $1 {with a simple advantage after} 15. Nf5 Bxf5 16. exf5 d5
17. Bb3 Nf6 $1 {. This is the type of play he excels at.}) 15. Nd2 Ne7 16. Qa4+
c6 17. Qb4 $1 {Creating counterplay.} h4 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. exf5 d5 20. Bb3 {[#]}
O-O $2 ({Black should have played something like} 20... O-O-O {, when the
position is rather messy.}) 21. Ra4 $1 {Not a difficult move... if you see it!
Apparently Gukesh had missed this idea, or something connected to it. White is
winning.} g3 ({It's true that} 21... Nf6 {would defend the pawn, but it also
lets the e7-pawn hang.}) 22. Qxh4 Qxh4 23. Rxh4 gxh2+ 24. Rxh2 f6 25. e4 Rf7
26. Nf3 Rg7 27. d4 exd4 28. Nxd4 Ng5 29. exd5 Nxd5 30. Rh6 Kf7 31. Kf1 Rag8 32.
c4 Nc7 33. c5+ Nd5 34. Bxd5+ cxd5 35. Ne6 1-0

[Event "Bayerischer Kongress Casual Games"]
[Site "Augsburg"]
[Date "1893.07.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Haeusler, Hugo"]
[Black "Tarrasch, Siegbert"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C50"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "1893.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Be3 Bb6 7. h3 h6 8. Nc3
g5 9. Bxb6 axb6 10. Qd2 g4 11. hxg4 Bxg4 12. Nh2 Qd7 13. Nd5 Nh5 14. Bb5 Rg8
15. f3 Bh3 16. Rf2 O-O-O 17. Nf1 Rg6 18. Kh2 Rdg8 19. gxh3 Rg1 20. Qxh6 Rh1+
21. Kxh1 Qxh3+ 22. Nh2 Ng3+ 0-1

[Event "Augsburg"]
[Site "Augsburg"]
[Date "1893.07.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pando"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r1q1r1k/5pR1/7p/8/8/8/6Q1/2K3R1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1893.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1-0

[Event "Augsburg"]
[Site "Augsburg"]
[Date "1893.07.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pando"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7k/5bR1/1r3n1p/5q2/8/6Q1/8/K5R1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1893.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1-0

[Event "Augsburg"]
[Site "Augsburg"]
[Date "1893.07.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pando"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "bR6/k1B5/p1P2r2/8/8/P1q1p3/K7/5Q2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1893.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1-0

[Event "Augsburg"]
[Site "Augsburg"]
[Date "1893.07.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pando"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2kr4/pRnp4/8/8/4Q3/5Bq1/8/7K w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1893.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1-0

[Event "Augsburg"]
[Site "Augsburg"]
[Date "1893.07.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pando"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3kn3/2Rr2q1/N5b1/4Q3/5K2/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1893.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1-0

[Event "Augsburg"]
[Site "Augsburg"]
[Date "1893.07.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pando"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5R2/5ppk/7r/5R1P/5Q2/q7/P1r5/K7 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1893.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1-0

[Event "Chicago Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Black "Chudnovsky, Jacob"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A27"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. g3 Ne7 8.
Bg2 O-O 9. O-O d6 10. Bg5 Rb8 11. Qd2 Be6 12. b3 c5 13. Rad1 Qd7 14. Ne4 f6 15.
Nxc5 dxc5 16. Qxd7 Bxd7 17. Rxd7 fxg5 18. Rxe7 Rbe8 19. Rxe8 $1 {Sometimes it
is better not to take things because your opponent will do the same and get a
more active position.} (19. Rxc7 Rxe2 20. Rxa7 Bd4 21. Ra8 Rxa8 22. Bxa8 Rxa2)
(19. Bd5+) 19... Rxe8 20. e3 Rd8 (20... Bf6) 21. Bd5+ Kf8 (21... Kh8 22. f4
gxf4 23. gxf4) 22. f4 g4 (22... gxf4 23. Rxf4+ Ke8 24. Rh4 h6 25. Re4+ Kd7 26.
Re6) 23. f5 g5 (23... Bh6 24. fxg6+ Kg7 25. gxh7 Bxe3+ 26. Kg2 Kxh7 27. Re1 (
27. Rf7+ Kg6 28. Rxc7 Rf8) 27... Bd4 28. Re4 Rf8 29. Rf4) 24. f6 ({With
bishops of opposite colors, it is especially important not to let pawns get
blocked.} 24. e4 Rd6 25. Re1 Be5) 24... Bh8 25. Rf5 (25. e4 c6 26. Bxc6 Rd6 27.
Bd5 $2 (27. Bb5 $1 Rxf6 28. Rd1) 27... Rxf6) 25... c6 (25... Rd6 26. Rxg5 (26.
f7 h6 27. e4 Rf6 (27... c6 28. e5) 28. Re5 Rf1+ $1 {Very important: IN BISHOPS
OF OPPOSITE COLOR POSITIONS, THE PLAYER THAT IS BEHIND ALMOST ALWAYS WANTS TO
TRADE ROOKS.} 29. Kxf1 Bxe5 {I'm blocked again}) 26... Bxf6 27. Rxg4 c6 {
I've been forced to give up my strong passed pawn, but I am two pawns up now.})
26. Bxc6 Rd1+ (26... Rd6 27. Rxc5 Bxf6 28. Bd5) 27. Kg2 Rd2+ 28. Kf1 Rxa2 29.
Ba4 $1 ({Tactics--} 29. e4 $1 Ra6 $1 30. Bd5 Rxf6) 29... Ra1+ (29... Rxh2 30.
e4) 30. Ke2 Ra2+ 31. Kd3 Rxh2 32. e4 Rg2 33. e5 Rxg3+ 34. Ke4 Rf3 35. Rxg5 (35.
Rxf3 gxf3 36. Kxf3 Kf7 37. Ke4 Ke6 38. Bc6 {is good enough to win, but it is
easier to eliminate more pawns first.}) 35... Kf7 36. Rxg4 Rh3 (36... Rf1 37.
Bc6 Re1+ 38. Kf5 Rf1+ 39. Rf4) 37. Kf5 (37. Bc6 Bxf6 38. exf6 Kxf6) 37... Rf3+
38. Rf4 Rxf4+ 39. Kxf4 Ke6 40. Bc6 {Black resigned. Here are some things that
could have happened so you see how White can win pretty easily.} Bxf6 ({
The pawns are too strong if you push them right} 40... h5 41. Bd5+ Kd7 42. Kf5
h4 43. e6+ Kd6 44. e7 (44. f7 $4 Ke7) 44... Kd7 45. Bf7) 41. exf6 Kxf6 42. Kg4
(42. Ke4 Kg5 (42... Ke6 43. Bd5+ Kd6 44. Bf7 Ke7 45. Bh5 Ke6 46. Bg4+ Kd6 47.
Kf5 Kc7 48. Kg5 Kb6 49. Bd7) 43. Kd5 h5 44. Kxc5) 42... Ke5 (42... Kg6 43. Be4+
Kg7 44. Kg5 h6+ 45. Kh5) 43. Kg5 Kd4 44. Kh6 Kc3 45. Ba4 {Not in my house!} 1-0

[Event "13th London Classic 2023"]
[Site "London ENG"]
[Date "2023.12.09"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Volokitin, And"]
[Black "Bartel, Mat"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C18"]
[WhiteElo "2660"]
[BlackElo "2651"]
[PlyCount "153"]
[EventDate "2023.12.01"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 cxd4 8.
Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 Qc7 10. Ne2 Nbc6 11. f4 dxc3 12. Nxc3 Nd4 13. Bb2 Bd7 14.
O-O-O Qc5 15. Qd3 Ndf5 16. Nb5 Rc8 17. Qb3 Nc6 18. g3 Na5 19. Qc3 Qb6 20. Qb4
Qe3+ 21. Kb1 Nc4 22. Bxc4 Rxc4 23. Nd6+ Nxd6 24. Qxd6 Rc6 25. Qb8+ Rc8 26. Qxb7
Qe4 27. Ka1 Ke7 28. Rhe1 Qc4 29. f5 exf5 30. Rxd5 Rc7 31. Qb3 Be6 32. Qxc4 Rxc4
33. Ra5 Ra8 34. Re2 a6 35. Bc1 Kd7 36. Be3 Kc6 37. Rd2 Rc3 38. Bd4 Rf3 39. Rd1
Kd7 40. Be3+ Ke8 41. Bg5 Kf8 42. Bf6 Kg8 43. Kb2 Rf2 44. h4 Kh7 45. Rc5 Kg6 46.
Rd8 Rxd8 47. Bxd8 Rg2 48. Rc3 Re2 49. Bg5 Rxe5 50. Bf4 Rb5+ 51. Kc1 Kh5 52. Re3
Rc5 53. Kd2 Rc4 54. Rd3 Ra4 55. Bd6 Rc4 56. c3 Rc8 57. Rd4 Bc4 58. Bf4 Bf1 59.
Rd7 Bc4 60. Rc7 Rd8+ 61. Kc2 Bd5 62. c4 Be6 63. Kc3 Kg4 64. Rc6 a5 65. Rc5 Ra8
66. Rb5 Rc8 67. c5 a4 68. Bd6 Ra8 69. Rb8 Ra7 70. Rg8+ Kf3 71. h5 f6 72. Re8
Bf7 73. Rh8 Rb7 74. c6 Rb3+ 75. Kd4 Ke2 76. c7 Be6 77. Re8 1-0

[Event "ch-USA 2013"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2013.05.10"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Black "Bryant, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C66"]
[WhiteElo "2534"]
[BlackElo "2442"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2013.05.03"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O d6 5. Bxc6+ bxc6 6. d4 exd4 7. Qxd4 Be7
8. e5 dxe5 9. Qxd8+ Bxd8 10. Nxe5 Bb7 11. c4 O-O 12. Nc3 Be7 13. Be3 a5 14. Na4
Bd6 15. Nd3 Bc8 16. h3 Bf5 17. Ndc5 Rfb8 18. b3 h6 19. Rad1 g5 20. Rfe1 g4 21.
Bd4 Nh7 22. hxg4 Bxg4 23. f3 Bf5 24. Be5 Re8 25. Bh2 Rxe1+ 26. Rxe1 Ng5 27. Rd1
Bxc5+ 28. Nxc5 Ne6 29. Na4 (29. Nxe6 Bxe6 30. Bxc7 a4 31. bxa4) 29... h5 30.
Be5 Kh7 31. Kf2 Kg6 32. g3 f6 33. Bc3 Ng5 34. Rd2 Nf7 35. Re2 Ng5 36. Nc5 Kf7
37. Rd2 Ne6 38. Na4 ({here my engine advocated} 38. Nd7 {which seemed
problematic to me for two reasons. First, it lifts the blockade on the a-pawn,
allowing} Rd8 (38... a4 39. b4 (39. Bxf6 axb3 40. axb3 Ra3 {is not out of the
question, but Black has achieved some annoying activity.}) 39... Rd8 {would
prevent my knight from leaving.} 40. Ke3 Nd4 41. Nc5) 39. Ke3 (39. Bxa5 $2 Ke7)
) 38... Ke7 39. Ke3 Kf7 {I've been nursing a substantial advantage in pawn
structure for quite some time. But with opposite colored bishops and even
pawns, I have a lot of work to do to win the game. It's been particularly
frustrating that twice my knight had to retreat from the proud c5-square,
because a knight trade is unthinkable for me unless I've won material or made
some other kind of substantial progress. I felt that I could potentially break
with g3-g4 and attack the f6-pawn. But it seemed that my king would always be
a problem. On e3 or d2 it will be harrassed by his rook, and on f2 it would be
in the way of my rook. So I eventually realized that I needed to run my king
to b2 to have the freedom to execute my plan.} 40. Rd7+ Ke8 41. Rd1 Kf7 42. Rd2
{The reader will notice that my rook seems to move around randomly. There are
good reasons for the indirect route I take in this ending. 1) It's sudden
death, and every move puts thirty seconds back on my clock. 2) Confuse my
opponent, who will have a hard time deciding if a move is shuffling or part of
the plan. 3) I get insight into how my opponent is trying to defend. 4) I'm
trying to make sure he doesn't have a chance to activate his rook.} Ke7 43. Rh2
Bg6 44. Kd2 $1 {it's not quite Petrosian-level thinking, but I realized that
my centralized king was in the way, exposed to checks and preventing me from
using the open e-file.} Kf7 45. Kc1 Ng5 46. Rf2 (46. Nc5 Ne6 47. Nxe6 Kxe6 48.
a4 {Stockfish14, but you can understand my reluctance to trade knights before
a single pawn has dropped.}) 46... Ne6 47. Kb2 Ra7 48. Rh2 Ng5 49. Rf2 ({
I should have taken the opportunity for} 49. Nc5 Ne6 50. Nd7) 49... Ne6 50. Rd2
Ra8 51. Rd7+ Ke8 52. Rd1 Kf7 53. Re1 Ra7 54. Rh1 Ng5 $2 ({On} 54... Ra8 {
I intended} 55. g4 {finally getting the ball rolling.}) 55. Nc5 Ne6 56. Nd7 {
The first pawn drops without Black getting any counterplay, and the collapse
is swift.} a4 57. Bxf6 axb3 58. axb3 {Another benefit of my king maneuver is
that my queenside is now perfectly defended.} Nc5 {Waiting will not help Black
any longer, but now I can forget about opposite colored bishops!} 59. Nxc5 Kxf6
60. Re1 Bf7 61. Nd7+ Kg5 62. Re5+ Kh6 63. Rc5 Kg7 64. Ne5 1-0

[Event "Minnesota Senior Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.24"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hortillosa, Andres"]
[Black "Mulford, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B18"]
[Annotator "Mulford"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "CL March 2024"]
[Source "US Chess"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,54,11,11,66,76,76,23,26,23,46,46,24,39,20,34,26,3,0,9,5,-9,-13,-8,-7,
-3,-3,-3,8,-48,-6,-29,-12,-4,-5,-16,-32,-39,0,-16,-5,-8,0,-70,-42,-42,-4,-48,
-27,-58,-38,-105,-104,-204,-201,-29997,-29998]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4
4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. h5 Bh7 8. Bc4 e6 9. N1e2 Nf6 10. c3 Nbd7 11.
Bf4 Nb6 12. Bd3 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Bd6 14. Bd2 c5 15. O-O-O c4 16. Qf3 Nbd5 17. Rde1
Qa5 18. Kb1 O-O-O 19. Ne4 Nxe4 20. Qxe4 Kb8 21. f4 Nf6 22. Qf3 Qf5+ 23. Ka1 Bc7
24. Rb1 Rd5 25. Ng3 Qc2 26. Rhd1 Ra5 27. Qe2 Rxa2+ 0-1

