[Event "Wch Blitz"]
[Site "Samarkand"]
[Date "2023.12.30"]
[Round "17"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Yu, Yangyi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2830"]
[BlackElo "2714"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2023.12.29"]
[EventType "swiss (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "21"]
[EventCountry "UZB"]
[SourceTitle "Mega2024 Update 09"]
[Source "Chessbase"]
[SourceDate "2024.01.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.01.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. h3 d5 6. d3 Nd6 7. c4 Be7 8. cxd5
O-O 9. Nc3 b5 10. a3 Bb7 11. d4 a6 12. Be2 Nd7 13. Ne5 Bf6 14. Nc6 Bxc6 15.
dxc6 Nb6 16. O-O Nf5 17. d5 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Nxd5 19. Bf3 Nb6 20. Bf4 Nd6 21. Bxd6
Qxd6 22. Qxd6 cxd6 23. Rfd1 Rad8 24. Rd4 {[#]} d5 (24... g6 25. Rad1 d5 26.
Bxd5 Nxd5 27. Rxd5 Rxd5 28. Rxd5 Rc8) 25. a4 Nxa4 (25... bxa4 26. Rb1 Nc8 27.
Bxd5) 26. c4 dxc4 27. Rxd8 Rxd8 {[#]} 28. c7 (28. Bg4 f5 29. Bxf5 Ra8 30. c7)
28... Rf8 (28... Rc8 29. Rd1) 29. Bb7 c3 30. c8=Q Rxc8 31. Bxc8 b4 32. Bf5 Nc5
33. Ra5 g6 34. Rxc5 gxf5 35. Kf1 a5 36. Ke2 a4 37. Kd3 b3 38. Kxc3 1-0

[Event "Candidates f Kortschnoj-Spassky +7-4=7"]
[Site "Belgrade"]
[Date "1977.12.28"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich"]
[Black "Spassky, Boris Vasilievich"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A91"]
[WhiteElo "2645"]
[BlackElo "2610"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "1977.11.21"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "18"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[SourceTitle "Candidates"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Nge2 c6 7. d4 d5 8. b3 Bd7
9. Bb2 Be8 10. Nf4 Bf7 11. Nd3 Nbd7 12. Qc2 Rc8 13. c5 b6 14. b4 g5 15. Ne2 Bg6
16. h4 h6 17. hxg5 hxg5 18. Ne5 Bh7 19. f3 bxc5 20. dxc5 Nxe5 21. Bxe5 Nd7 22.
Bb2 Bf6 23. Nd4 Qe7 24. f4 Rf7 25. O-O-O a5 26. a3 axb4 27. axb4 g4 28. Bf1
Bxd4 29. Bxd4 e5 30. fxe5 Nxe5 31. Bd3 Nf3 {[#]} 32. Bxf5 Rxf5 33. Qxf5 Bxf5
0-1

[Event "Kecskemet zt"]
[Site "Kecskemet"]
[Date "1964.01.29"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Prameshuber, Aleksander"]
[Black "Pachman, Ludek"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A32"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "1964.01.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "HUN"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 1998"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.11.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1997.11.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. c4 c5 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. e3 Bb4 7. Bd2 O-O 8.
Be2 d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. O-O Bd6 12. Bf3 Re8 13. Ne2 Ne4 14. Ng3
f5 15. Rc1 Bd7 16. Bc3 Qg5 17. Bxe4 fxe4 18. Qh5 Qg6 19. Qxg6 hxg6 20. Bd4 Reb8
21. Rc2 a5 22. Rfc1 a4 23. Ne2 Ra6 24. h4 Kf7 25. Rd2 Rh8 26. g3 g5 27. hxg5
Bg4 28. g6+ Kxg6 29. Rdc2 Bf3 30. Kf1 Rh1+ 31. Ng1 {[#]} Ra8 32. Rxc6 Rxg1+ 33.
Kxg1 Rh8 34. Rxd6+ Kg5 0-1

[Event "Santiago de Chile International"]
[Site "Santiago de Chile"]
[Date "1959.04.25"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Jauregui Andrade, Carlos"]
[Black "Pachman, Ludek"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D46"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "1959.04.20"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "CHI"]
[SourceTitle "MCD"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2
Bd6 9. Rd1 Qe7 10. h3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 e5 12. Bd3 Re8 13. Ng5 h6 14. Nge4 Bc7 15.
Bd2 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Nf6 17. d5 Nxe4 18. Qxe4 Qf6 19. dxc6 bxc6 20. Be1 Bf5 21.
Qc4 Qg6 22. Kh1 e4 23. Rd2 Qh5 24. Qe2 Qg5 25. Rad1 Re6 26. Qf1 Rg6 27. Rc1 Qh5
28. f4 exf3 29. Qxf3 Bg4 30. Qf1 Qe5 31. g3 Rf6 32. Bf2 Qh5 33. Kh2 {[#]} Bxg3+
34. Kxg3 (34. Bxg3 Rxf1) (34. Kg1 Be5) 34... Qe5+ (34... Rf3+) (34... Bxh3) 35.
Kg2 (35. Kxg4 Qg5#) 35... Bf3+ 36. Kg1 Rg6+ 0-1

[Event "Training Tournament"]
[Site "Teplice CSR"]
[Date "1953.06.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ujtelky, Maximilian"]
[Black "Pachman, Ludek"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C97"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "1953.06.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Bd7 13. Nf1 Rfe8 14. Bg5 Nc4 15.
Rb1 Rac8 16. Bd3 Nb6 17. Rc1 h6 18. Bh4 Bd8 19. Bg3 Bc6 20. Qd2 Nbd7 21. d5 Bb7
22. Nh4 Nh5 23. Nf5 Bg5 24. N5e3 c4 25. Bc2 Nc5 26. b4 cxb3 27. axb3 Nd7 28.
Bd1 Ndf6 29. Bf3 Nxg3 30. fxg3 h5 31. Rc2 Nd7 32. b4 g6 33. Qe2 Nf6 34. h4 Bh6
35. g4 hxg4 36. Nxg4 Nxg4 37. Bxg4 Qb6+ 38. Kh1 Rc4 39. h5 f5 40. exf5 gxf5 41.
Bxf5 Rh4+ 42. Bh3 Rxh3+ 43. gxh3 Bxd5+ 44. Kh2 Kh8 45. Ng3 Rg8 46. Qf2 {[#]}
Rxg3 47. Qxb6 (47. Qxg3 Bf4) (47. Kxg3 Bf4+ 48. Kg4 Qc7) 47... Bf4 48. Rf2 Rg2+
49. Kh1 Rg8+ 0-1

[Event "Interzonal-04"]
[Site "Portoroz"]
[Date "1958.08.27"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Pachman, Ludek"]
[Black "Neikirkh, Oleg"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D41"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "1958.08.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "21"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[SourceTitle "IZT"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e3 Nc6 7. Bc4 Nxc3 8.
bxc3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Qe2 b6 11. Rd1 cxd4 12. exd4 Na5 13. Bd3 Bb7 14. Bf4
Qd5 15. Rab1 Rac8 16. Rb5 Qd8 17. Ng5 Bxg5 18. Bxg5 Qd6 19. Bf6 Qf4 20. Be5 Qg5
{[#]} 21. f4 Qe7 (21... Qh6 22. Bxg7 Qxg7 23. Rg5) (21... Qh4 22. Bxg7) 22.
Bxh7+ (22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. Rg5+ Kh8 24. Bxh7) 22... Kxh7 23. Qh5+ Kg8 24. Bxg7 f5
$1 25. Be5 Nc4 26. Qg6+ 1-0

[Event "Prague (Gambit Tourney)"]
[Site "Prague"]
[Date "1943.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Saemisch, Friedrich"]
[Black "Pachman, Ludek"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C36"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "1943.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d5 4. exd5 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bd6 6. Bc4 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8.
a3 Nb6 9. Ba2 Bg4 10. d4 Qd7 11. Ne2 Nbxd5 12. c4 Ne3 13. Bxe3 fxe3 14. c5 Be7
15. Qb3 Bxf3 16. Rxf3 Rae8 17. Raf1 c6 18. Qd3 Nd5 19. Rf5 g6 20. Bxd5 gxf5 21.
Ba2 Bf6 22. Rxf5 Bg7 23. Bb1 Qe6 24. h4 Qh6 25. h5 Re7 26. g4 Rd8 27. Rf4 Rd5
28. Ba2 {[#]} Qxf4 29. Nxf4 Rxd4 (29... Rxd4 30. Qf5 Rxf4 31. Qxf4 e2) 0-1

[Event "CSR-ch23"]
[Site "Prague"]
[Date "1953.11.22"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Pachman, Ludek"]
[Black "Vesely, Jiri"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D47"]
[Annotator "Soltis"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "1953.11.15"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "CSR"]
[SourceTitle "MCD"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3
Bb7 9. e4 b4 10. Na4 c5 11. e5 Nd5 12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. dxc5 Qa5 14. Qe2 a6 15.
O-O Bxc5 16. Ng5 Qc7 17. Re1 Qd7 18. Bd2 h6 19. Qh5 Rf8 20. Ne4 Be7 21. Qe2 Qc7
22. Ng3 g5 23. Rac1 Qb6 24. Ne4 Rd8 25. Red1 Qd4 26. Ng3 Qb6 27. Nh5 Bc5 28.
Be4 Ke7 29. Nf6 Bd4 30. Rc4 a5 31. Bxd5 Bxd5 {[#]} 32. Rxd4 Qxd4 33. Bxg5 Qxd1+
(33... Qa7 34. Nxd5+ Kd7 35. Qb5+) 34. Qxd1 hxg5 35. Qd4 1-0

[Event "URS-ch18 Final"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1950.12.11"]
[Round "17"]
[White "Petrosian, Tigran V"]
[Black "Bondarevsky, Igor Tsakharovich"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A92"]
[Annotator "Tatev"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "1950.11.12"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[SourceTitle "URS-ch"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.07.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 e6 2. g3 f5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. O-O Be7 5. d4 O-O 6. c4 c6 7. Qc2 Qe8 8. Nbd2
d5 9. Ne5 Nbd7 {[#]} 10. Nd3 $1 {Keeping the knights on the board makes life
difficult for Black, as both black knights want to be on the e4-square. This
is what we call "superfluous knights." The same argument can be made about the
white knights, both of which want to be on e5, but stationing them on f3 and
d3 for the time being does not come with a downside. One further point: the
e5-square is an outpost, whereas e4 is a temporary home for the black knights
due to a possible f2-f3.} Ne4 11. Nf3 $1 {Avoiding exchanging the pair of
knights again.} Nd6 12. b3 b5 13. c5 Nf7 ({Here} 13... Ne4 {feels more natural,
but White can proceed as he did in the game with} 14. a4 bxa4 15. Rxa4 {
and eventually kick the knight out with f2-f3.}) 14. a4 bxa4 15. Rxa4 Bf6 16.
Bb2 a6 17. Nfe5 $5 {Known for his prophylactic thinking, Petrosian must have
foreseen Black's upcoming ...g7-g5 move and decided to ultimately exchange a
pair of pieces on e5.} Nfxe5 18. dxe5 Be7 {[#]} 19. f4 {The exchange on e5
alleviated some of Black's suffering, but his remaining pieces are not exactly
inspiring. White also stopped Black's idea of ...g7-g5, leaving his opponent
with a limited number of squares for his pieces.} Rb8 ({The rash} 19... g5 20.
fxg5 Bxg5 21. Bc1 $1 {would saddle Black with major weakness after the
d3-knight lands on f4.}) 20. Rfa1 Rb5 21. b4 h5 22. Bc3 h4 23. e3 Nb8 24. Ne1
$1 {The beginning of a typical maneuver: the knight is headed to the d4-square.
} Rb7 25. gxh4 Bxh4 26. Nf3 Bd8 27. h4 Qh5 28. Be1 Bd7 29. Qf2 Kf7 30. Bf1 Rh8
31. Bxa6 {Unsurprisingly, Black loses material.} Nxa6 32. Rxa6 Be7 33. Ra7 Rhb8
34. Rxb7 Rxb7 35. Nd4 Qh8 36. Qg3 Qb8 37. h5 Ra7 38. Rc1 Qg8 39. Qg6+ Kf8 40.
b5 Qf7 41. bxc6 Bc8 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2024.03.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Semi Tarrasch Diagram"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Tatev"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2q1rk1/pb1n1ppp/1p2p3/8/2BPP3/5N2/P2Q1PPP/R3R1K1 w - - 0 14"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2024.03.10"]

{[#]}  *

[Event "Linares 11th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "1993.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Black "Salov, Valery"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E18"]
[WhiteElo "2725"]
[BlackElo "2660"]
[Annotator "Tatev"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "1993.02.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 034"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1993.06.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1993.06.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. Nc3 Ne4 7. Bd2 Bf6 8. O-O
O-O 9. Rc1 c5 10. d5 exd5 11. cxd5 Nxd2 12. Nxd2 d6 13. Nde4 Be7 {[#]} 14. f4
Nd7 15. g4 a6 16. a4 {Stopping Black from gaining space on the queenside.} Re8
({Black needs to move quickly for counterplay, even if it comes at the expense
of a pawn:} 16... b5 $1 17. axb5 axb5 18. Nxb5 Nf6 19. Nxf6+ Bxf6 {. Not only
did Black trade a pair of minor pieces, but his bishops are now very active;
he can even try to exploit White's weakened kingside and dark squares. This is
a great example of how to fight back when lacking space.}) 17. g5 {White now
has a solid grip on the position, making it more difficult for Black to find
active play.} Bf8 18. Kh1 b5 19. axb5 axb5 20. Nxb5 {Finally Black sought
counterplay through a pawn sacrifice, but it is too late now, as his
dark-squared bishop can't easily activate. If we compare it to the note to
move 16, this version is more desperate.} Qb6 21. Nbc3 Qb4 ({Not} 21... Qxb2 $4
22. Rb1 {winning the b7-bishop.}) 22. Qd3 Nb6 23. Qg3 {Starting to transfer
the queen to the kingside.} Kh8 ({If} 23... Nxd5 24. Nxd5 Bxd5 25. Nf6+ $1 gxf6
26. gxf6+ Kh8 27. Bxd5 {with a winning position.}) 24. Rcd1 Nc4 25. b3 Nb6 26.
g6 fxg6 27. f5 {Black cannot defend his king, as most of his army is stuck on
the queenside and cannot easily come to its aid.} gxf5 28. Rxf5 Nd7 29. Rdf1
Ne5 30. R5f4 Qb6 31. Ng5 Ng6 32. Nf7+ Kg8 33. Qxg6 $3 {A memorable finish!} 1-0

[Event "Olympiad Women-43"]
[Site "Batumi"]
[Date "2018.10.05"]
[Round "11.3"]
[White "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[Black "Ushenina, Anna"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B19"]
[WhiteElo "2361"]
[BlackElo "2451"]
[Annotator "Tatev"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2018.09.24"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GEO"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2020"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.10.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.10.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States (W)"]
[BlackTeam "Ukraine (W)"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "UKR"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 e6 8. h5
Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Nf6 11. Bd2 Qb6 12. O-O-O Qa6 13. Qxa6 Nxa6 14. Rhe1
Be7 15. c4 O-O 16. Bc3 Rfd8 17. Ne5 Bb4 18. Bxb4 Nxb4 19. a3 Na6 20. Re2 Kf8
21. b4 Nc7 22. a4 a6 23. a5 Nce8 24. Kc2 Nd6 25. f3 Rac8 26. Kc3 Rc7 27. Rh1
Ke7 28. Nd3 Kd7 29. Nf1 Ke7 30. g4 Kf8 31. Ng3 Nc8 32. Ne5 Nd7 33. f4 Ne7 34.
Ne4 Ng8 35. Nc5 Nxc5 36. bxc5 Nf6 37. g5 Nd7 38. Nf3 hxg5 39. fxg5 Ke7 40. h6
gxh6 41. gxh6 Rh8 42. Ng5 e5 43. dxe5 Nxc5 44. h7 Rd7 45. Rf1 Ke8 46. Ref2 Re7
47. Kc2 Ne6 48. Ne4 Kf8 49. Nf6 Ng5 50. Rg2 Nxh7 51. Rh1 Re6 52. Rxh7 Rxh7 53.
Rg8+ Ke7 54. Re8# 1-0

[Event "Olympiad Women-43"]
[Site "Batumi"]
[Date "2018.10.05"]
[Round "11.3"]
[White "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[Black "Ushenina, Anna"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B19"]
[WhiteElo "2361"]
[BlackElo "2451"]
[Annotator "Tatev"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2r1k2/1pn2pp1/p1p1pn1p/4N2P/PPPP4/6N1/4RPP1/2KR4 w - - 0 23"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2018.09.24"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GEO"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2020"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.10.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.10.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "United States (W)"]
[BlackTeam "Ukraine (W)"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "UKR"]

{[#]} 23. a5 $1 {With this move, White takes full control of the queenside. It
will be hard for Black to create any pawn breakthroughs with ...b7-b6, as it
would leave the c6-pawn extremely weak.} Nce8 ({If} 23... Nd7 24. Ne4 Nxe5 25.
dxe5 {would leave the c7-knight completely dominated. Once the white knight
lands on c5, it will be impossible for Black to hang on to her queenside pawns.
}) 24. Kc2 Nd6 25. f3 Rac8 26. Kc3 Rc7 27. Rh1 {Defending the h5-pawn in order
to improve the g3-knight. I am quite proud of the uncharacteristic patience I
showed in this game!} Ke7 28. Nd3 {Aiming to prevent Black's knight from
getting to f5.} ({We see why this is important after} 28. Nf1 Nf5 29. Rd2 Nd7 {
. Black has fixed her position a bit, as my h1-rook is out of the game.}) 28...
Kd7 29. Nf1 Ke7 ({Now} 29... Nf5 {runs into} 30. g4 {as the d4-pawn is not
under attack.}) 30. g4 Kf8 31. Ng3 Nc8 32. Ne5 Nd7 33. f4 {I have to admit
something: I did not have a specific plan in mind here, but I knew that
marching all my pawns forward would somehow make life unbearable for my
opponent!} Ne7 34. Ne4 Ng8 35. Nc5 $1 Nxc5 36. bxc5 {[#] The change in pawn
structure favors me, as I now have a clear target on b7 as well as the
possibility of creating a passed pawn or weakness after I play g4-g5.} Nf6 37.
g5 Nd7 38. Nf3 $1 {Avoiding exchanging as it would activate her rooks. The
black knight does not have a bright future in this position.} hxg5 39. fxg5 Ke7
40. h6 gxh6 41. gxh6 Rh8 42. Ng5 {The distant passed pawn will prove too much
to deal with.} e5 43. dxe5 Nxc5 44. h7 Rd7 45. Rf1 Ke8 46. Ref2 Re7 47. Kc2 {
Avoiding any knight forks.} Ne6 48. Ne4 Kf8 49. Nf6 Ng5 50. Rg2 Nxh7 51. Rh1
Re6 52. Rxh7 Rxh7 53. Rg8+ Ke7 54. Re8# 1-0

[Event "AVRO"]
[Site "Netherlands"]
[Date "1938.11.22"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Botvinnik, Mikhail"]
[Black "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E49"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1938.11.06"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "NED"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 {
[#] The structure under discussion. Botvinnik loved to play these kinds of
positions: they afforded him the type of schematic play that he really enjoyed.
It would be incorrect to say that Botvinnik was the inventor of this variation
-- Lilienthal had already won several games in the period 1934-1935 -- but he
deserves much of the credit for popularizing this line.} 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Ne2 $1 {
The beginning of a plan which soon became classic. White keeps the f3-square
clear so that he can expand in the center with f2-f3 and e3-e4 at a later
stage. The knight on e2 is well-placed to support this by a later jump to g3,
although it sometimes goes to f4 as well.} b6 {Positionally speaking, this is
the soundest approach: Black intends to trade off White's effective
light-squared bishop by playing ...Bc8-a6. However, this comes at the cost of
some time, which is why Black players have investigated alternatives such as 9.
..Bg4 (Fischer's choice) and 9...Nc6. In this article, I will only investigate
the plan involving the trade of light-squared bishops.} (9... Re8 10. O-O b6
11. f3 Ba6 {is similar. Nearly twenty years later, a young Spassky introduced
a deviation from Botvinnik's plan, choosing to keep light-squared bishops on
the board with} 12. Bc2 $5 {(in 2021, Kuzubov played similarly in blitz).
Spassky's game continued as follows:} Nc6 13. Rf2 Qc7 ({I would prefer the
prophylactic} 13... h5 $1) 14. g4 $5 {(Spassky-Stoliar, URS-ch24 (21), Moscow
1957, and now the best way to diffuse White's kingside play is by eliminating
the dangerous e2-knight, while maintaining the central tension:} ({After} 14.
Ng3 Rad8 {it's very difficult to prepare e3-e4, in view of Black's sound
coordination.}) 14... Bxe2 15. Rxe2 g6 $5 {followed by ...Re8-e6 and ...Ra8-e8,
with a very solid position. We can conclude that losing a tempo in order to
avoid the trade of light-squared bishops is too slow to promise an advantage.
In the actual game, Spassky maneuvered beautifully and won -- but in view of
his superior class rather than his opening play.}) 10. O-O ({Later, Botvinnik
attempted to refine his play with} 10. a4 {against C.H.O.D. Alexander. However,
few players followed in his footsteps (the notable exception is once again
Spassky, against Yukhtman in 1952).}) 10... Ba6 11. Bxa6 (11. f3 {limits
Black's choice of setups and is therefore stronger.}) 11... Nxa6 {[#]} 12. Bb2
$6 {This move is wrong, but not for the reasons often stated by annotators --
see the next note.} (12. Qd3 {would transpose to the modern main line if Black
played 12...Nb8, but instead} Nc7 $5 {leads to very interesting play. In
particular, I'd like to point out a plan introduced by Reuben Fine:} 13. dxc5
$1 ({The standard} 13. f3 {doesn't give White anything.} Re8 ({Benko once tried
} 13... Qe8 {, intending ...Qe8-b5, but after} 14. a4 Qc6 15. c4 $1 cxd4 16.
cxd5 Qxd5 17. e4 Qd7 18. Qxd4 {as in Lilienthal-Benko, Match/City
Moscow-Budapest (Telegraph) 1949. White's position was preferable.}) 14. Ng3 (
14. dxc5 {is less good now that the e3-pawn has been weakened.} bxc5 15. c4 Ne6
16. Bb2 $6 dxc4 17. Qxc4 Nd5 18. Qc1 $2 (18. Bc1 {was necessary.}) 18... Nxe3
$1 19. Qxe3 Nd4 20. Bxd4 Rxe3 21. Bxe3 Qe7 {Olsen-Aagaard, DEN-chT (1), 2019,
and Black was already winning.}) 14... Ne6 {Black's knight is ideally
positioned on e6. Now the naive} 15. Bb2 Rc8 $5 16. e4 $2 {is bad because of}
cxd4 17. cxd4 dxe4 18. fxe4 Nc5 $1 {.}) 13... bxc5 14. c4 $1 {White gains a
structural advantage.} dxc4 15. Qxc4 Qd5 16. Qxd5 Ncxd5 $6 {Black doesn't find
the correct defensive setup.} (16... Nfxd5 $1 {is correct, and after} 17. e4
Nb6 18. Be3 Ne6 {Black's position is solid enough.}) 17. f3 $1 {Restricting
Black's knights.} Rfe8 18. e4 Nb6 19. Ra2 Rac8 20. Rc2 h6 21. Be3 Nfd7 22. Rfc1
{[#] Black will almost surely lose the c5-pawn, but with the right defense he
can still hope to hold.} (22. Ng3 $1 {is better.}) 22... Na4 (22... f5 $1 {
Black should seize the chance to trade off another pair of pawns.}) 23. Nc3
Nxc3 24. Rxc3 Rb8 $2 (24... Re6 $1 25. Bxc5 Nxc5 26. Rxc5 Rxc5 27. Rxc5 Ra6 $1
{was necessary. Since White's rook is passive, Black can hold with precise
play.}) 25. Bxc5 Nxc5 26. Rxc5 Rb3 27. R1c3 {(Fine-Steiner, US Open-41 Final 
(4) Dallas 1940) In this version, White keeps an active rook and should win
routinely. The rest of the game was filled with errors, but it is outside the
scope of this article. I will state only one general guideline (due to Sam
Shankland), which is very relevant to this position: in rook endings with
equal pawns on one side and a one-pawn difference on the other, the player
with the passive rook often loses a half-point.}) 12... Qd7 13. a4 ({
Supposedly, 12. Bb2 was wrong because} 13. Qd3 {now allows} Qa4 {, with the
idea of ...Rac8 and ...cxd4, invading on the c-file. But after} ({The real
problem with 12. Bb2 is that after} 13... c4 {the b2-bishop is out of play.
Sometimes White is willing to allow this if he can at least advance e3-e4
later, but here Black is in time to prevent this:} 14. Qc2 Nh5 $1 {not wasting
any time on repositioning the a6-knight -- prophylaxis against e3-e4 takes
precedence. White's knight is denied its usual g3-square, and after} 15. f3 {
there follows} f5 $1 {This whole idea is even stronger here than on on move 14.
}) 14. f3 Rac8 15. Rf2 $1 {I don't see any obvious way for Black to make use
of the c-file, while White threatens Ne2-g3 followed by e3-e4, taking
advantage of the Black queen's lack of influence on the center and kingside.})
13... Rfe8 {This move is not bad, but perhaps Black should have searched for
ways to exploit White's somewhat slow play.} ({For instance,} 13... Rac8 14.
Qd3 Qb7 $5 {is very interesting, intending to open the c-file with ...cxd4
next.}) ({Botvinnik's old suggestion} 13... cxd4 14. cxd4 Rfc8 {is also
playable, though the a6-knight remains problematic after} 15. Qb3 {.}) 14. Qd3
c4 $1 {[#] Conceptually, the most important moment of the game. Black finally
commits to a clear plan: advancing his queenside pawn majority. However, Black
releases the tension in the center and makes it much easier for White to
prepare e3-e4. So, the evaluation of ...c5-c4 depends on whether Black has the
resources dissipate White's central dynamism; if he does, his long-term
advantage on the queenside can become a major factor. Assessing this properly
is very difficult, and when I revised my annotations to this game for the
present article, I experienced a complete shock. The move 14...c5-c4 -- a move
condemned by all annotators -- is the computer's top choice! 80 years of
analysis, including that of Kasparov, should not be dismissed lightly, but
despite many analytical efforts, I can't help but agree with the computer's
assessment: the cause of Capablanca's defeat was not this move itself, but his
later, overly slow approach to the position.} 15. Qc2 Nb8 $6 {I believe that
this move (or, more precisely, the plan associated with it) is the source of
Black's trouble. Capablanca wants to play ...Nc6-a5-b3 and capture the a4-pawn,
but this plan significantly underestimates the dynamic potential inherent in
White's setup. A more difficult question is what plan should he have chosen
instead.} (15... Nh5 {is reasonable; analogously to the variation after 13.Qd3,
Black prevents Ne2-g3 and prepares ...f7-f5. However, this is less strong here
-- after playing ...f7-f5 later, Black will really want to have a rook on f8!}
16. Bc1 {White has to continue preparing f3-e4. Otherwise, there is no point
to his position.} f5 17. f3 {White now hints at playing h3-g4, using the
f5-pawn as a hook. I tried several moves for Black here. Maybe the most
logical continuation is} Nc7 18. h3 Nf6 (18... g6 $5 19. g4 Ng7 20. Ng3 Rf8 {
is also possible, but Black has had to lose time with his rook.}) 19. Kh2 a6 $5
20. g4 fxg4 21. hxg4 b5 22. Ng3 h6 $1 {with an unclear position.}) (15... h5 $5
{is also possible. As we will see later, this prophylactic move is often very
important in this line.}) ({Finally, the direct} 15... Nc7 {may be the most
convincing, as after} 16. Bc1 a5 17. f3 b5 {Black's effortless play on the
queenside is much faster than White's nascent kingside attack.}) 16. Rae1 Nc6
17. Ng3 {[#]} Na5 $2 {This is the real mistake; Black does nothing to oppose
White's plan. Perhaps the main takeway from this game is that if Black allows
e3-e4 without creating any counterplay, he will almost always get crushed.} ({
Possibly, it was not too late to start queenside play with} 17... Reb8 18. f3
b5 $1 {and Black seems to be just in time.}) (17... Ne4 $5 {, as suggested by
multiple annotators, is not bad either.} 18. Nh1 {Now Black has several
reasonable ways to play, but I cannot resist mentioning the following computer
line:} (18. Nh5 $5 Qf5 19. Nf4 {deserves serious consideration. It turns out
that White is not opposed to the trade of queens.}) 18... a5 $5 ({Lakdawala's} 
18... f5 $6 {is doubtful because of} 19. f3 Nf6 20. Ng3 Ne7 21. Ba3 g6 {and now
} 22. Bc1 $1 {, with the clear intention of e3-e4, is unpleasant for Black.
Sooner or later the weakness of the dark-squares will become noticeable.}) 19.
f3 Nd6 20. e4 Nb4 $3 21. cxb4 axb4 {and the machine alleges that Black has
full compensation for the piece! Of course, no human would play like this, but
it does prove one point: Black must seek counterplay immediately.}) 18. f3 $1 {
Resolute play. Botvinnik correctly judges that the a4-pawn is much less
important than the kingside attack.} Nb3 {The knight on b3 is only visually
impressive.} 19. e4 Qxa4 20. e5 Nd7 21. Qf2 g6 22. f4 f5 {[#] Capablanca tries
to consolidate the position, but he is not in time to do so. From here on
Botvinnik plays with great energy.} 23. exf6 Nxf6 24. f5 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Re8 26.
Re6 $1 {A star move, hitting Black's position where it is weakest.} ({Not} 26.
fxg6 $2 hxg6 $1) 26... Rxe6 (26... Kg7 27. Rxf6 $1 {is decisive.}) 27. fxe6 Kg7
28. Qf4 Qe8 29. Qe5 ({As Kasparov points out,} 29. Qc7+ $1 Kg8 30. Qe5 {
is stronger.}) 29... Qe7 {Black's position is on the verge of collapse; White
adds one more element to the mix, and it falls apart completely.} 30. Ba3 $3 {
Cruel irony -- the dormant bishop becomes the hero of the combination.} Qxa3
31. Nh5+ gxh5 32. Qg5+ Kf8 33. Qxf6+ Kg8 34. e7 {Botvinnik calculated
everything perfectly. Black's checks soon run out.} Qc1+ 35. Kf2 Qc2+ 36. Kg3
Qd3+ 37. Kh4 Qe4+ 38. Kxh5 Qe2+ 39. Kh4 Qe4+ 40. g4 Qe1+ 41. Kh5 1-0

[Event "Saltsjobaden"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1952.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Kotov, Alexander"]
[Black "Unzicker, Wolfgang"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E49"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2023.11.09"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8.
Bd3 O-O 9. Ne2 b6 10. O-O Ba6 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. f3 {A refinement over
Botvinnik's plan.} Nb8 13. Qd3 Re8 14. Ng3 Nc6 {[#]} 15. Bb2 $1 {Much like the
c8-bishop in the French, all of White's hopes rest on the bad b2-bishop --
even though it temporarily looks quite clumsy.} ({A few years ago, I played} 
15. Ra2 {against IM Jack Peters. However, the text move is stronger: though
the bishop is far from ideally placed on b2, the speed of development takes
precedence. Moreover, after} Rc8 16. Raf2 (16. Re2 {was played in Taimanov -
Ragozin, 1948 -- a fascinating game that is well worth checking.}) 16... Rc7 {
(a classical maneuver!)} 17. Kh1 Qd7 $1 {White will have to play Bb2 anyway if
he ever wants to accomplish e3-e4.} ({This improves on Peters'} 17... Qc8 $6 {
, where White gained an initiative with} 18. e4 $1 {The idea is} cxd4 19. cxd4
Nxd4 $2 20. Bg5 $1 {and the bishop lands on its desired square.})) 15... Rc8 $2
{This is a natural, common, and extremely costly mistake. Black simply cannot
get away with abstract play in this variation. As this move does nothing
constructive to oppose White's plan, it has to be condemned: pieces can never
be developed simply for development's sake; their activation must always be
tied to some concrete idea. This is actually one of the ways in which chess
has really advanced: we often see moves like this in classic games, but much
more rarely in the games today's top players.} 16. Rae1 {[#] Strictly speaking,
an inaccuracy as well -- given the chance to play e3-e4, White shouldn't ask
for a second invitation! All the same, Black's position is worse here as well.}
({After} 16. e4 $1 {White doesn't fear} dxe4 17. fxe4 Ne5 {, since after} 18.
Qe2 cxd4 19. cxd4 Nc4 20. Rae1 Nxb2 21. Qxb2 {(Anton Guijarro-Abdusattorov,
Aeroflot op-A (6),Moscow 2019) he has strong pressure.}) 16... h6 $2 {A
passive move, that in the end, only harms Black's position.} ({Golombek tried} 
16... cxd4 17. cxd4 Qd7 {, but was swiftly overrun:} 18. e4 $1 dxe4 19. fxe4
Ne5 20. Qd1 (20. Qe2 $5 Nc4 21. Rxf6 $1 gxf6 22. Nh5 Qd6 23. Qg4+ Kf8 {is also
strong, although White has no clear win yet.}) 20... Nc4 21. Bc1 {[#] Having
done its duty on b2, the bishop returns to its favored diagonal.} Qc6 22. e5
Nd5 23. Qf3 f6 $2 {A fatal mistake.} (23... Rc7 $1 {was best. The difference
is that after} 24. Nh5 $6 b5 25. Qg3 {Black defends with} Qg6 $1) 24. Nh5 $1
Rf8 25. Qg3 Qc7 26. Bh6 {Eyes on the prize: the entire attack is focused on
the g7-square.} Rf7 27. Qf3 Rd8 28. Nxg7 Rxg7 29. exf6 Rgd7 30. f7+ {
(Averbakh-Golombek, Interzonal (20), Saltsjobaden 1952) and Black resigned, in
view of} Rxf7 31. Qxd5 $3 {.}) ({White is also not concerned by} 16... Na5 17.
e4 Nc4 18. Bc1 {; once again, he does not mind retreating the bishop.} cxd4 19.
cxd4 dxe4 (19... b5 20. e5 Nd7 21. f4 Qb6 22. Kh1 f6 23. Qf3 Qc6 24. Qg4 {
is also bad for Black, as in Shlyakhtenko-Yudasin, San Jose 2022}) 20. fxe4 Ne5
{[#] The next move is worth remembering.} 21. Qd2 $1 {An accurate defense --
White doesn't fall for any tricks.} (21. Qd1 $2 Rxc1 $1 22. Qxc1 Nd3 {allows
Black to simplify the position.}) 21... Ng6 {Black has spent four moves
improving the position of this knight. In the meantime White was able to
consolidate his position in the center, and stands much better.} 22. e5 {
White simply mobilizes his army. It's very difficult for Black to defend in
such a situation: all of White's moves are so easy that it's hard to create
challenges for the first player.} Nd5 23. Nf5 Re6 24. Qf2 Qd7 25. h4 $1 {
[#] Chasing away an important defender.} f6 {As in Averbakh-Golombek, this
move doesn't help Black.} 26. Qg3 fxe5 27. dxe5 {Nd4 is threatened.} Nde7 {
Preparing a desperate sacrifice, which does not succeed in complicating the
game.} 28. Nd6 Rxc1 29. Rxc1 Nxe5 {White could simply retreat the knight with
a winning position, but it's even stronger to continue playing for the attack.}
30. Qf2 (30. Qb3 $1 {is even better. The point is very beautiful:} Qxd6 31.
Rcd1 Qc5+ 32. Kh1 Qc8 33. Qxe6+ $1) 30... h6 31. Qf8+ Kh7 32. Nf5 Nxf5 33.
Qxf5+ g6 34. Qf8 {White has provoked even more weaknesses in Black's position.
The rest is easy.} Re8 35. Qf4 h5 36. Rc3 $1 Re7 37. Re3 {and Black resigned
in Furman-Lilienthal, Moscow 1949.}) ({A more recent game at the GM-level saw} 
16... Rc7 17. e4 $1 dxe4 18. fxe4 Ne5 19. Qe2 cxd4 20. cxd4 Nc4 21. Ba1 Qe7 {
and now White correctlly decided that checkmating Black's king was more
important than the a3-pawn:} 22. Qf2 Qxa3 23. Qf4 Rce7 24. Nf5 $1 Rxe4 25. Rxe4
Rxe4 26. Qg5 Qf8 27. d5 $1 {(activating the bishop; once again, it is this
piece that decides the game!)} Ne3 28. Nh6+ Kh8 29. Rxf6 Qc5 30. Nxf7+ Kg8 31.
Nh6+ Kh8 {[#] And now White concluced the game with a beautiful -- and
necessary -- combination:} 32. Rf8+ $3 Qxf8 33. Bxg7+ $1 Qxg7 34. Qd8+ {
and Black resigned in Gustafsson-Grigorian, Bundesliga 2022-2023.}) ({Kotov
analyzed} 16... c4 {, where} 17. Qb1 $1 {looks strongest, since after} b5 18.
e4 g6 19. Bc1 $1 {(once again this maneuever!) the b5-pawn is hanging.}) ({
The best defense relies on specific tactics:} 16... Nd7 17. e4 $1 dxe4 18. fxe4
Nde5 19. Qd1 Nc4 20. Ba1 Rf8 {and White is only slightly better, since
advancing either central pawn create outposts for Black's knights. The plan ...
Ne7-Rc6 will help Black support his kingside.}) 17. e4 $1 {Now there is no
reason to avoid this break.} cxd4 18. cxd4 dxe4 19. fxe4 Ne5 20. Qd1 Nc4 21.
Bc1 {[#] Kotov summarizes Black's difficulties: "What have Black's efforts led
to? He has no points in the center, the White pawns on d4 and e4 are on the
point of rushing forward, crushing everything in their way. Black has to take
urgent measures to meet the powerful onslaught by all the White pieces.
However, by now no amount of ingenuity can save Black's hopeless position."}
Nh7 22. e5 {White's pieces are temporarily on the back rank, but from now on
they advance on every single move. In these kinds of dynamic positions, Kotov
was unparalleled.} Re6 23. Re4 ({White should probably start with} 23. Nf5 $1)
23... Nf8 $2 (23... Qd5 $1 24. Rg4 Rg6 $1 {was necessary. Taking on g6 would
solve all of Black's problems.}) 24. Nf5 Kh8 25. Qh5 $1 Rc7 26. Rh4 Nh7 27.
Nxg7 $1 {The natural culmination of White's previous play.} Kxg7 28. Bxh6+ Kg8
29. Rg4+ Rg6 30. e6 $1 1-0

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2024"]
[Site "Reykjavik ISL"]
[Date "2024.03.15"]
[Round "1.40"]
[White "5.1 Saine, Zachary"]
[Black "Lu, Miaoyi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B28"]
[WhiteElo "2010"]
[BlackElo "2392"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnb2rk1/2qp1ppp/p7/1p1Pp3/1b6/P1NQ1N2/1PP2PPP/R1B1K2R b KQ - 0 11"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2024.03.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1532"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.18"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.19"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,22,19,38,40,41,78,57,54,49,33,33,27,21,15,42,52,25,0,6,1,8,-4,-222,
-280] [#]} {White resigned, as the queen cannot keep guarding the c3-knight
while successfully getting out of the fork from the e4-pawn.} 11... e4 $1 0-1

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2024"]
[Site "Reykjavik ISL"]
[Date "2024.03.17"]
[Round "4.43"]
[White "5.2 Beisteiner, Joachim"]
[Black "Sachdev, T."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "2079"]
[BlackElo "2393"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1b2r2/ppp3bk/3p1qp1/6Bp/P2pB3/6Qp/1PP2PP1/R3R1K1 b - - 0 19"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2024.03.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1532"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.18"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.19"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,38,43,41,47,13,37,20,20,15,27,19,19,15,35,19,41,17,18,-17,-2,2,2,-3,
14,-53,-49,-85,-85,-149,-141,-156,-137,-181,-163,-174,-174,-190,-180,-200,-178]
[#]} 19... Qxf2+ $1 ({White resigned on account of} 19... Qxf2+ $1 20. Qxf2 h2+
21. Kxh2 Rxf2 {and Black has a winning position.}) 0-1

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2024"]
[Site "Reykjavik ISL"]
[Date "2024.03.18"]
[Round "6.40"]
[White "5.3 Kistrup, Nicolai"]
[Black "Saine, Zachary"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "2324"]
[BlackElo "2010"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2q4r/Qb1nkppp/n1p1p3/1p2N3/3P4/6P1/3NPPBP/5RK1 w - - 0 18"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2024.03.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1532"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.18"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.19"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,45,43,28,23,-8,0,5,46,-12,3,32,32,-34,37,-53,50,29,34,-5,-5,-57,53,-3,
68,51,51,6,-3,-27,0,-20,3,-4,22,51,62,-36,-9,-20,-20,-20,532,527,518,586,586,
624] [#]} 18. Bxc6 $1 {The onslaught begins.} Bxc6 19. Rc1 Nab8 {No choice but
to defend the bishop.} 20. Qa3+ $1 {Suddenly White is hitting Black's king on
the diagonal.} Kf6 ({Or} 20... Ke8 21. Ne4 Qa6 22. Qxa6 Nxa6 23. Rxc6 {and
White is winning.}) 21. Rxc6 Qxc6 ({Or} 21... Nxc6 22. Ne4+ Kf5 23. Qf3#) 22.
Nxc6 Nxc6 23. Qf3+ {and Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2024"]
[Site "Reykjavik ISL"]
[Date "2024.03.18"]
[Round "5.20"]
[White "5.4 Harish, Neeraj"]
[Black "Garifullina, Leya"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2090"]
[BlackElo "2413"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2kr3r/1p3ppp/p2npb2/1bp1N3/q3BB2/1QPP4/PP3PPP/3RR1K1 w - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2024.03.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1532"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.18"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.19"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[#]} 21. Nxf7 $1 Nxf7 ({Or} 21... Qxb3 22. Nxd6+ Rxd6 23. axb3 Rdd8 24. Be3 {
and White has won a pawn, the better pawn structure, and a decisive advantage.}
) ({Also} 21... c4 22. Nxd6+ {wins easily.}) 22. Qxe6+ Rd7 23. Qb6 ({Or} 23. c4
Bc6 24. b3 {, and White wins.}) 23... Rhd8 24. b3 Qa3 25. Bf5 {and Black
resigned.} 1-0

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2024"]
[Site "Reykjavik ISL"]
[Date "2024.03.20"]
[Round "8.19"]
[White "5.5 Cieslak, Patryk"]
[Black "Mammadzada, G."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2325"]
[BlackElo "2449"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3r1k1/bp1q1pp1/2p3np/p2pP3/P2P4/B1P2N1P/5PP1/RQ2R1K1 w - - 0 22"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2024.03.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1533"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.25"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.27"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,77,23,16,13,22,22,15,15,15,15,-13,12,2,7,-3,18,-8,10,-29,-3,-21,47,20,
28,37,20,-21,-16,-47,-48,-16,36,51,33,-15,54,59,68,37,33,60,59,76,122,144,139,
130,139,139,120,120,199,69,127,146,174,155,141,163,176,213,286,251,245,235,237,
235,235,233,231,239,248,262,480,490,484,498,536,580] [#]} 22. e6 $1 {After
this move, Black's position immediately starts crumbling.} Rxe6 ({Or} 22... Qc7
23. Qf5 Nh8 24. Rab1 {and White completely dominates the board.}) 23. Rxe6 Qxe6
24. Qxb7 Qc8 25. Rb1 Nf4 ({It was better to play} 25... Rb8 26. Qxc8+ Rxc8 27.
Rb7 Bb8 28. g3 {and White has a clear advantage thanks to Black's passive
pieces.}) 26. Ne5 $1 ({In the game, White won after} 26. Kf1 f6 27. Bd6 Ne6 28.
Qxc8+ Rxc8 29. Rb7 Ra8 30. Re7 Nd8 31. Re8+ Kf7 32. Rf8+ Ke6 33. Bc7 Ke7 34.
Rg8 Rc8 35. Bxa5 Bb8 36. Nh4 Bc7 37. Rxg7+ Nf7 38. Nf5+ Ke6 39. Bxc7 {and
Black resigned.}) 26... Ne2+ 27. Kh1 Qxb7 28. Rxb7 Nxc3 29. Nxc6 {and White
wins easily.} 1-0

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2024"]
[Site "Reykjavik ISL"]
[Date "2024.03.21"]
[Round "9.25"]
[White "5.6 Karamsetty, J."]
[Black "Thorhallsson, T."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2187"]
[BlackElo "2388"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6rk/p1q1nr1p/1pp1bp1Q/2p1p3/P7/1P1P1NNP/2P2PP1/1R4RK b - - 0 22"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2024.03.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1533"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.25"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.27"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,58,34,15,63,37,37,37,50,45,47,42,39,22,29,23,27,25,31,20,42,24,35,6,
26,14,61,35,46,31,34,38,39,34,20,20,67,18,24,24,37,6,-1,-23,-12,-12,-292,-295,
-355,-396,-217,-208,-224,-236,-243,-243,-258,-258,-243,-239,-223] [#]} 22...
Rxg3 $1 23. Nxe5 ({After} 23. fxg3 {, White's positions completely falls apart:
} Nf5 24. Qc1 Nxg3+ 25. Kh2 e4 {, threatening ...Nf1+ followed by ...Qh2+ and .
..Ng3#.}) 23... Qxe5 24. Rbe1 (24. fxg3 Nf5 {immediately decides.}) 24... Qg5
25. Qxg5 Rxg5 26. Rxe6 Re5 27. Re1 Rxe1+ 28. Rxe1 Nf5 29. c3 Re7 {and White
resigned.} 0-1

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2024"]
[Site "Reykjavik ISL"]
[Date "2024.03.15"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "5.7 Markuszewski, Maksymilian"]
[Black "Xu, Xiangyu"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A50"]
[WhiteElo "2141"]
[BlackElo "2623"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "q3rbk1/pbrp1ppp/1p2nn2/1P1p4/8/P1N1P1P1/QB2NPBP/2RR2K1 b - - 0 20"]
[PlyCount "20"]
[EventDate "2024.03.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1532"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.18"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.19"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,59,25,18,47,-7,30,39,39,37,24,-20,-4,-7,-25,-12,2,-13,11,-7,13,20,9,
-22,-35,-34,-18,-51,-3,-17,-24,-32,-21,-39,-40,-30,3,0,9,1,3,-17,-177,-161,
-183,-150,-164,-373,-341,-293,-298,-298,-298,-298,-159,-146,-376,-510,-637,
-660,-678,-793] [#]} 20... d4 $1 21. Bxb7 Qxb7 22. Nxd4 Ng5 $1 {This was the
point behind the pawn sacrifice: White is hopelessly weak on the light squares
and is lost.} 23. h4 ({Or} 23. e4 Nfxe4 24. Qd5 Nh3+ 25. Kg2 Nhxf2 {and Black
is winning.}) 23... Nh3+ 24. Kf1 Qh1+ 25. Ke2 Qg2 26. Rf1 Nh5 {There is no
good defense against ...Nxg3+.} 27. Ke1 Nxg3 28. fxg3 Rxe3+ 29. Nde2 d5 30.
Qxd5 0-1

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2024"]
[Site "Reykjavik ISL"]
[Date "2024.03.21"]
[Round "9.28"]
[White "5.8 Brackmann, Hendrik"]
[Black "Dauner, Benedikt"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B28"]
[WhiteElo "2037"]
[BlackElo "2366"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r5k1/1p4pp/1q6/1N1pn3/1P1Np1n1/2P1P2P/P4rP1/R2QR1K1 b - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2024.03.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1533"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.25"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.27"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,52,28,15,60,27,58,59,50,2,20,20,39,22,87,71,72,68,44,47,47,1,16,29,39,
-19,2,2,4,-21,-47,-26,49,-4,9,19,19,-75,-15,22,-15,3,194,144,35,86,468,468,468,
87,0,-29991,-29992,-29993,1121] [#]} 21... Qg6 $1 22. hxg4 Rxg2+ $1 {Boom!
Black's attack crashes through with brutality.} 23. Kxg2 Nxg4 24. Qe2 ({Or} 24.
Kf1 Rf8+) 24... Rf8 25. Rf1 Nf2+ 26. Kh2 Qh6+ {and, facing mate, White
resigned.} 0-1

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2024"]
[Site "Reykjavik ISL"]
[Date "2024.03.18"]
[Round "6.7"]
[White "5.9 Sanal, V."]
[Black "Jin, Yueheng"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "2558"]
[BlackElo "2404"]
[Annotator "Hansen"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2Q2bk1/3n1p1p/3Bp1pP/1p2P3/3q4/3pN1P1/1r3P2/3R2K1 b - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2024.03.15"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1532"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2024.03.18"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.03.19"]
[SourceQuality "2"]

{[%evp 0,83,35,21,69,43,92,52,27,-11,-8,-4,-13,-26,-1,4,6,-7,-7,-16,18,-9,-5,
-7,29,7,30,17,23,12,13,-49,-6,-7,-12,-10,-33,-37,-34,-34,-26,-26,-26,-30,-45,
-10,-4,-26,45,41,14,13,-10,15,60,-26,-46,-97,-97,-81,-102,-100,-100,-178,-154,
-236,-44,-21,288,320,320,160,380,368,431,482,769,789,1419,1647,29983,29984,
29989,29990,29991,29992] [#]} 35... Re2 $3 {Only like this does Black manage
to get his counterplay to hit in timely fashion.} ({In the game, Black missed
his chance and lost after} 35... Qa7 $4 36. Bxf8 Nxf8 37. Ng4 Qe7 38. Nf6+ Kh8
39. Rxd3 Qb4 40. Kg2 Ra2 41. Rd8 Rxf2+ 42. Kh3 {and Black resigned.}) 36. Qxd7
Rxe3 37. Qd8 Rxg3+ 38. Kf1 {Is it over?} Rg1+ {Nope!} 39. Kxg1 Qg4+ {with a
perpetual check.} 1-0

[Event "Amateur Team East"]
[Site "Parsippany"]
[Date "2024.02.20"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Stern, Kevin"]
[Black "Stripunsky, Jane"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D10"]
[WhiteElo "1948"]
[BlackElo "1581"]
[Annotator "Stern"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,51,15,-23,26,24,30,10,26,15,33,27,23,25,26,17,24,12,15,2,26,23,26,15,
93,99,292,158,158,182,293,86,112,98,154,115,246,281,765,797,795,821,1451,704,
698,812,895,720,760,795,1472,1451,1648,1962]} 1. c4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. cxd5 cxd5
4. d4 Nf6 5. Bf4 e6 6. e3 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. Bd3 O-O 9. f4 $5 {Entering a
Stonewall structure makse sense now that my dark-squared bishop is gone.} Nc6
10. Nf3 a6 11. O-O Ng4 $2 {[#] This move is so natural. Black wants to shut
out the light-squared bishop with ...f7-f5, but White now has a tactic!} 12.
Bxh7+ $3 Kxh7 ({If} 12... Kh8 13. Ne5 {attacks the knight. After} Ngxe5 ({
much worse is} 13... Nxe3 $4 14. Qh5) 14. fxe5 {the queen will slide to h5
with a winning position.}) 13. Ng5+ Kg8 14. Qxg4 {Regaining the knight,
leaving White a pawn up.} f6 15. Nf3 $2 {Again, a natural move, but I had much
better!} ({After} 15. Qh5 $3 fxg5 16. fxg5 {the threat is g5-g6 and Qh5-h7
mate. Black cannot stop it without giving material back.}) 15... Ne7 16. Nh4 e5
17. f5 {Locking out Black's pieces out.} ({White also has a winning ending
after} 17. fxe5 Qxe5 18. Qxg7+ Kxg7 19. dxe5 fxe5 {.}) 17... e4 $2 {I don't
think that resolving the tension in the center while I am attacking is a good
idea.} 18. Qh5 Rf7 19. Ng6 Nxg6 20. fxg6 Rc7 21. Qh7+ Kf8 22. Qh8+ Ke7 23.
Qxg7+ Ke8 24. Qg8+ Kd7 25. Nxd5 Rc2 26. Rxf6 {A clean victory that eventually
won the match for our team.} 1-0

[Event "Amateur Team East"]
[Site "Parsippany"]
[Date "2024.02.18"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Adebayo, Adegboyega"]
[Black "Shuman, Nate"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "2345"]
[BlackElo "2193"]
[Annotator "Shuman"]
[PlyCount "124"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Bf5 3. Bf4 c6 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 Bd6 {Purposefully trying to
create an imbalanced pawn structure to generate chances. I am also looking to
stop White from breaking the position open with e3-e4, and also potentially
plunking my knight there.} 6. Bxf5 exf5 7. Qf3 g6 8. h3 Qc7 ({Perhaps stronger
is} 8... h5 {to stop the g2-g4 break, despite it looking unnatural.}) 9. Nge2
Nd7 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. g4 fxg4 12. hxg4 O-O-O 13. O-O-O Ngf6 14. Nf4 ({White
should have played} 14. g5 Nh5 15. e4 {, trying to open the center while he
can.}) 14... Qe7 {Now e3-e4 is stopped.} 15. g5 Ne4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Qg4 Kb8
18. d5 {White is creating chances, but my pieces are more active.} Ne5 19. Qg3
Ka8 $1 {[#] Moving away from the potential pin from the queen on g3.} 20. Ne6
$1 Nd3+ $1 {I was careful to look for in-between moves here.} ({White is
better after} 20... fxe6 21. Qxe5 cxd5 22. Rxd5 {.}) ({I investigated} 20...
Nc4 {, but unfortunately it does not work:} 21. Nxd8 Qb4 22. Rd4 Qxb2+ 23. Kd1
Qb1+ 24. Ke2 Qxc2+ ({or} 24... Qxh1 25. dxc6 bxc6 26. Nxc6 Qh5+ 27. Kf1 Qh1+
28. Qg1 {with a significant advantage}) 25. Kf1 Rxd8 {and White should win.})
21. cxd3 ({If} 21. Rxd3 exd3 22. Nc7+ Kb8 {White has no strong moves for the
knight, which necessitates a repetition with} 23. Na6+ Ka8 24. Nc7+ Kb8 {.})
21... fxe6 22. d6 $1 {An extremely sharp move by my opponent; however, he
missed the next move which would have gave him a slight advantage.} Rxd6 23.
dxe4 ({The right way was} 23. Qe5 $1 Rhd8 24. dxe4 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 26.
Kxd1 {with a minimal endgame advantage for White.}) 23... e5 24. Rxd6 Qxd6 25.
Rd1 Qe6 26. Kb1 Rf8 27. Qf3 Qc8 28. Qg3 Qe6 {A draw was very good for my team
at this point, so I was offering a repetition.} 29. Qf3 Qc8 30. Qe2 a6 {
Creating luft for my king, thereby freeing my rook from its post on the
back-rank.} 31. Rf1 Qe6 32. f4 exf4 33. exf4 Rd8 34. a3 Rd4 35. Re1 Qd6 {
Tempting my opponent to push his e-pawn.} 36. e5 Qe6 37. Qe3 ({Also equal is} 
37. Rd1 Qf5+ 38. Ka1 Rxd1+ 39. Qxd1 Qxf4 40. e6 Qxg5 41. Qd6 Qc1+ {.}) 37...
Qf5+ 38. Ka2 Qxf4 39. Qxf4 Rxf4 40. e6 Rf8 41. a4 Re8 42. Kb3 {[#] Here my
opponent offered me a draw. At this point in the match, we were up 1.5-0.5,
and our fourth board had a very drawish rook endgame. Rather than accept the
draw immediately, and because I was up on time (42:00 vs 17:00), I decided to
stall for 30 minutes to see how his match would play out. If he ended up
losing, I would try to go for the win. If he drew, I would accept the draw
offer and we would win the match 2.5-1.5. After 30 minutes, my teammate ended
up winning his game, giving us the match victory. Now, with nothing to lose, I
tried to go for the win...} Kb8 43. Kb4 Kc7 44. Re3 Kd6 45. Ka5 Kc7 {Hoping
for anything other than the game continuation, so that I could check him with .
..b7-b6+, as Ka5xa6 gets checkmated by ...Rd8-a8.} 46. Kb4 Kd6 47. Ka5 {
Now it's a pawn race.} Rxe6 48. Rxe6+ Kxe6 49. Kb6 h5 50. gxh6 Kf7 51. Kxb7 a5
({After} 51... g5 52. Kxa6 g4 53. Kb7 g3 54. a5 g2 55. a6 g1=Q 56. a7 {the
c6-pawn stops any checks. So I played the game continuation, which I thought
was winning. In fact, I missed White's saving idea, which was to run their
king back to the other side of the board!}) 52. Kxc6 $3 ({I thought that I was
"in time" after} 52. Kb6 g5 53. Kxa5 g4 54. Kb6 g3 55. a5 g2 56. a6 g1=Q+ {
, but this is a win for Black!}) 52... g5 53. Kd5 Kg6 54. Ke4 Kxh6 55. b4 axb4
56. a5 {The white king is the perfect distance between the two pawns. Now I
had to find the draw.} b3 57. Kd3 g4 58. a6 b2 $1 ({White also holds after} 
58... g3 59. a7 b2 $1 (59... g2 $2 60. a8=Q g1=Q 61. Qh8+ Kg6 62. Qg8+ {
wins the queen}) 60. Kc2 g2 $1 {.}) 59. Kc2 b1=Q+ $1 {Now the game will end in
a draw.} 60. Kxb1 g3 61. a7 g2 62. a8=Q g1=Q+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Amateur Team East"]
[Site "Parsippany"]
[Date "2024.02.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Peterson, Ryan"]
[Black "Shadiev, Murodjon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D26"]
[WhiteElo "2200"]
[BlackElo "2004"]
[Annotator "Peterson"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Bxc4 e6 6. O-O b5 {Less popular
than the solid ...c7-c5, Black seeks to create a more dynamic position with
fast development.} 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. a4 b4 9. Nbd2 c5 10. Qe2 Nbd7 11. Nc4 Qc7 12.
Rd1 Be7 13. e4 {A very important pawn push. The goal is to advance the e-pawn
one more square, taking space, and gaining control of the d6- and f6-squares.}
cxd4 14. e5 ({Worse is} 14. Nxd4 $2 Nc5 {.}) 14... Nd5 ({After} 14... Bxf3 $2
15. Qxf3 Nd5 16. Qg3 {Black does keep the pawn, but the knight is ready to
jump into the d6-square, and White has kingside pressure.}) 15. Nxd4 Nc5 {[#]}
16. Bc2 ({I missed the incredible} 16. Nd6+ $1 Bxd6 17. exd6 Qxd6 18. Nf5 $1
Qf8 19. Bb5+ $1 Nd7 ({or} 19... axb5 20. Qxb5+ Kd8 21. Be3) 20. Bf4 {with
tremendous pressure.}) 16... O-O-O 17. a5 $2 {This move fixes the pawn
structure, but doesn't do much more.} Kb8 18. Nb3 g5 19. Nxc5 Bxc5 20. Be4 $1 {
The only move for White to maintain an advantage. It is necessary to counter
the b7-bishop. If Black gets the opportunity to play ...f7-f5, the b7-bishop
would terrorize the kingside.} ({To wit:} 20. Bd2 f5 21. exf6 Nxf6 {.}) 20...
Nc3 $2 {[#] Attempting to win the bishop pair fails tactically.} 21. Rxd8+ Qxd8
22. bxc3 Bxe4 23. Bxg5 Qd3 ({Worse is} 23... Qxg5 24. Qxe4 {, while White also
keeps the advantage after}) (23... Bd3 24. Qf3 Qd5 25. Qf6 $1 Rg8 26. Nb6 {.})
24. Qxd3 Bxd3 25. cxb4 {A key intermezzo.} Bxb4 26. Nd6 Bg6 27. Bf6 ({I wanted
to play} 27. Nxf7 Rc8 ({or} 27... Bxf7 28. Rb1) {but missed the key idea} 28.
Nd8 $1 Bc3 29. Rd1 Bxe5 30. Nxe6 $18 {with an excellent position.}) 27... Rg8
28. h4 Kc7 29. Ra4 Rb8 {Any White advantage has evaporated in these last few
moves. Black's bishops are very strong, and there are no clear targets in his
position.} 30. Be7 Kc6 31. Ra1 Kd5 32. Rd1+ {Setting up a checkmating trap
that, with just seconds on his clock, Black unfortunately falls into.} Kxe5 $2
33. g3 Bh5 $4 34. f4# 1-0

[Event "Amateur Team East"]
[Site "Parsippany"]
[Date "2024.02.17"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Zhang, Roger"]
[Black "Huston, Gus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B57"]
[WhiteElo "2245"]
[BlackElo "2450"]
[Annotator "Huston"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 Qb6 {One of a few
options in this position. Both 6...Bd7 and 6...e6 are also very playable, but
I decided to pull out a less mainstream line. The idea is to push the knight
back to the b3-square, where it occupies the space that the bishop would
ideally like to occupy.} 7. Nb3 e6 8. Be3 {Black does lose a tempo by allowing
the queen to be attacked, but in return disrupts the coordination between
White's pieces.} Qc7 9. Be2 a6 10. Qd2 {A slight inaccuracy. Usually White
should not allow Black to gain space with ...b7-b5, and plays a2-a4 to prevent
this. In this case, Black usually elects to play ...b7-b6 and ...Bc8-b7,
potentially using the weak b4-square in the future.} b5 11. a3 Bb7 12. f4 Be7
13. Bf3 Rc8 14. O-O O-O {[#]} 15. Nd4 {This move looks natural, but is
actually a grave positional mistake. The knight lacks prospects after my next
move.} Na5 $1 {Taking advantage of the weak c4-square. Compare the knights on
a5 and d4!} 16. Qf2 Nc4 17. Bc1 {Allowing the trade of the dark-squared bishop
would cripple White's position in the long run.} Rfd8 {Preparing ...d6-d5.
Pushing the d-pawn immediately is an option, but there is no need to rush.} 18.
Kh1 Bf8 {White doesn't have a clear plan, so Black can continue to make small
improvements until the time is right to break with ...d6-d5.} 19. Nde2 d5 {
The time has come!} 20. exd5 exd5 ({It may look strange to self-inflict an
isolated pawn, but it keeps more pieces on the board than after} 20... Nxd5 21.
Nxd5 Bxd5 22. Bxd5 Rxd5 {. White's position is cramped, so keeping pieces on
the board favors Black.}) 21. b3 Bc5 22. Qg3 Nd6 23. Bb2 d4 24. Bxb7 Qxb7 25.
Nd1 Nf5 26. Qd3 Ne3 27. Nxe3 dxe3 28. Qf5 {[#]} Qe4 ({Slightly more precise is
} 28... Ne4 {, but here Black already has a winning advantage.}) 29. Qg5 h6 30.
Qg3 Qf5 ({Here} 30... Be7 {is also interesting, as it protects the knight,
attacks the c2-pawn, and threatens ...Rd8-d2.}) 31. Qf3 Ne4 32. Ng3 Nxg3+ 33.
Qxg3 g6 34. Qh4 h5 35. Rfe1 Qe4 ({More forceful is} 35... Rd2 36. Bc1 Bd4 $1
37. Rb1 Rxg2 $3 {, but the game continuation works too.}) 36. Qf6 Bd4 37. Bxd4
Rxd4 {[#] After trading off White's most active piece, the b2-bishop, Black
has an easy game with the centralized queen, the passed pawn, and active rooks.
} 38. f5 {A desperate attempt at counterplay.} Rxc2 39. Qg5 e2 40. fxg6 fxg6
41. h3 Rd3 {The easiest way to force a queen trade and go into a winning
double rook endgame.} 42. Kh2 Rd5 43. Qf6 Qe5+ 44. Qxe5 Rxe5 45. Kg3 Rf5 {
With the King cut off and the rooks doomed to passivity, Black can activate
the King easily.} 46. Kh4 Kg7 47. g4 g5+ 48. Kxh5 {Hastening the end. However
the alternative isn't much better:} (48. Kg3 h4+ 49. Kg2 Rf4 {and wins.}) 48...
Re5 {This game sealed our victory, allowing us to move on to round three with
two wins under our belt.} 0-1

[Event "Amateur Team East"]
[Site "Parsippany"]
[Date "2024.02.17"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Melekhina, Alisa"]
[Black "Rouven, Essig"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2274"]
[BlackElo "1967"]
[Annotator "Melekhina"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

{I shook off the pre-tournament jitters after a five-hour first round victory.
In round two, I found myself playing against an opponent Raja had recently
faced at the National Chess Congress. I knew going in that my opponent was an
accomplished physics professor and had recently taken to chess.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4
d5 3. e5 c5 {The more common move is 3...Bf5. The idea behind 3...c5 is
similar to that in Advanced French structures, which tend to transpose: to
undermine the e5-pawn and get activity around the c5-square. However, I don't
find these lines particularly challenging for White because at the end of the
day, Black is down a tempo (compared to playing the French and playing ...
c7-c5 immediately) in an already potentially cramped opening.} 4. dxc5 e6 {
[%cal Gf8c5]} 5. Be3 Nd7 {[%csl Gc5,Ge5]} 6. Bb5 {[%cal Gb5d7] Challenging
Black to untangle.} Ne7 7. Nf3 {So far, White's development has been simple
and intuitive.} Nc6 8. c4 {[%cal Gc4d5] [#] I spent more time calculating this
move than I would have liked to admit. Here c2-c4 is a typical idea to
undermine Black's center before he can consolidate. Now the onus is on Black
to sift through the numerous captures available.} Nxc5 ({I think} 8... Bxc5 {
is the best option, going for either an isolated pawn or sacrificing the pawn
altogether to regain development and space. Interestingly, the computer
analyzes to an unclear / equal position despite White being a clear pawn up.
To wit:} 9. cxd5 ({or} 9. Bxc5 Nxc5 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Nc3 O-O 12. Qxd5 Qb6 13.
O-O Bg4 {with compensation}) 9... exd5 10. Qxd5 Bxe3 11. fxe3 O-O 12. Bxc6 bxc6
13. Qxc6 Rb8 14. Nbd2 Rxb2 15. Qc3 Rb5 {with compensation for the pawn.}) 9.
cxd5 exd5 10. Nc3 {[%cal Gc3d5]} a6 11. Be2 ({While I would prefer to not lose
further time, here} 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 {would merely reinforce Black's center.})
11... Be6 12. O-O Ne4 $6 {This is not an obviously bad move, but it is the
beginning of the end. The opening has been a success for White, with quick and
active development and a clear target on d5. Black cannot afford to lose any
more time, and should consolidate as soon as possible with ...Bf8-e7 and ...
0-0.} 13. Na4 b5 $2 {While allowing Na4-b6 would be uncomfortable, Black again
had the opportunity to consolidate with 13...Be7. After 13...b5, there are too
many weaknesses in Black's position.} 14. Rc1 $1 {[%cal Gc1c6]} Rc8 ({White is
winning after} 14... bxa4 15. Rxc6 {[%csl Ga4,Ga6] .}) 15. Nb6 Rc7 16. a4 {
[%csl Gb5] [#] This is the key to unlocking this position, as the b5-pawn is
one of the few elements still holding things together.} Na7 ({Here} 16... bxa4
17. Qxa4 {only makes matters worse.}) 17. Rxc7 Qxc7 18. Nxd5 {The pawn falls
in an ideal scenario.} Qb7 19. Nf4 Bc4 20. Bxc4 bxc4 21. e6 ({Even more
precise per the computer was} 21. Bxa7 Qxa7 22. Qd5 $1 Nc5 23. e6 fxe6 24. Nxe6
Nxe6 25. Qxe6+ Qe7 26. Qxa6 {. But I saw no drawback to striking with 21.e6
while the black king was stuck in the center.}) 21... Nf6 22. exf7+ Qxf7 {[#]}
23. Re1 {[%cal Ge1e8,Ge3c5] White's last piece is developed with flare.} Nc6
24. Bc5+ Be7 25. Ng5 {Black resigned in a hopeless position. A possible finish
would have been:} (25. Ng5 Qf8 26. Bxe7 Nxe7 27. Nfe6 Qg8 28. Qd8# {Our team
ended up winning the match 3-1, giving us a strong finish to the first day.})
1-0

[Event "Amateur Team East"]
[Site "Parsippany"]
[Date "2024.02.19"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Bock, Dan"]
[Black "Ayyappan, Santhosh"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1932"]
[BlackElo "2128"]
[Annotator "Bock"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. b4 {The Dubov Gambit,
named after GM Daniil Dubov, who used it to defeat GM Sergey Karjakin in the
2020 Russian Championship. I have found that it's very rare for players to be
prepared to face this.} Bb6 7. e5 d5 8. exf6 dxc4 9. Qe2+ Be6 10. b5 Na5 11.
fxg7 Rg8 12. cxd4 Bxd4 {Black grabs a pawn, but is going to regret not having
a dark-squared bishop.} 13. Nxd4 Qxd4 14. Bb2 Qd3 {[#] I got this exact
position in a tournament game less than two months before this one. In that
game, I played 15.Qxd3, and while I did go on to win, I had to fight off some
queenside counterplay for Black. Now I get to show off a bit of my homework.}
15. Bf6 {The engine thinks White is winning. Of course, I have to prove it!}
Qf5 16. Qf3 Qxf3 17. gxf3 {With big plans for my rook, I am very happy about
the opening of the g-file.} Kd7 18. Nc3 Rae8 19. O-O-O+ Kc8 {Black has gained
a certain amount of king safety. But his h7-pawn is weak, his knight is out of
the game, and his rooks are tied down by the presence of the white pawn on g7,
which is invulnerable for the foreseeable future.} 20. Rhg1 {I had a lot of
good options to choose from here. I could have gone with a plan of maneuvering
the knight to f6 or h6. I played 20.Rhg1 because Rg1-g5-h5xh7 looks
unstoppable (if ...Be6-f5 then Nc3-d5 threatening Nd5-e7+), and because it
could also potentially support a Nc3-e4-f6 plan by protecting the g7-pawn.} b6
21. Rg5 Nb7 22. Rh5 Nc5 23. Rxh7 Nd7 {[#] White has spent the past four moves
winning an important pawn and threatening to infiltrate with the rook all the
way to the back rank. Black has spent the past four moves getting his knight
to d7.} 24. Bd4 {I spent 20 minutes on this move, because I really didn't want
to retreat the bishop from the amazing f6 square, and it *felt* like the right
time for an Exchange sacrifice. But I calculated} (24. Rxd7 Kxd7 25. Ne4 Bf5
26. Rh8 Ke6 {and decided I'd have to retreat the bishop anyway, so the
sacrifice wouldn't get me anything I didn't already have. Of course White is
still winning here after} 27. Rh6 $1 {but the path is much harder.}) 24... Bf5
({Now that the f-pawn is blocked, I expected} 24... f6 {now or on the next few
moves.}) 25. Rh8 {Black is in a bind. Neither rook can move!} Bd3 26. h4 {
Commencing the final winning plan.} Nc5 27. Nd5 {Threatening Nd5-e7+.} Kd8 28.
h5 ({I thought that} 28. Nf6 {was a slip after} Rxh8 {, but White can calmly
play} 29. Bxc5 bxc5 30. Nxe8 Rxe8 31. h5 {and the pawns will race home.}) 28...
Be2 {It's not hard to find the right moves from here on out.} 29. h6 Nd3+ 30.
Kd2 Bxd1 31. Rxg8 Rxg8 32. h7 Re8 33. g8=Q Rxg8 34. hxg8=Q+ Kd7 35. Kxd1 f5 36.
Qf7+ 1-0

[Event "Amateur Team East"]
[Site "Parsippany"]
[Date "2024.02.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ardito, Andrew"]
[Black "Bryant, Todd"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C44"]
[WhiteElo "2224"]
[BlackElo "2228"]
[Annotator "Bryant"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 {This was only my second time playing 1...e5 over the board! My
opponent showed some disappointment, as he had clearly prepared for my usual
Sicilian.} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. g3 {But he sends anti-preparation back over the net.
Now we both are out of book. I had prepared for some sharp Italians.} Nf6 4. d3
Bc5 ({The other path to equality begins with} 4... d5 {.}) 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O a5
{Gaining space, restricting b2-b4, and creating a refuge for the bishop.} 7. c3
Ba7 {But this retreat wasn't really necessary yet, and now the bishop gets
needled by Nb1-a3-b5.} ({With} 7... O-O {we transpose back into a number of
high-level games.}) 8. Na3 O-O 9. Nb5 Bb6 10. Qc2 Ne7 {A common repositioning
in 1...e5 structures, sending the knight to the kingside and preparing ...
c7-c6. But here, the knight on g6 is restricted by the pawn on g3.} 11. Bg5 Ng6
12. d4 Qe7 13. Nd2 Bd7 14. dxe5 $6 Qxe5 {Now Black picks up the two bishops.}
15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. a4 {[#]} c6 $6 {Totally overlooking White's tactics,
although fortunately I am still okay.} ({Better was} 16... Ne5 {, improving
the knight and preparing to expand on the kingside with something like} 17.
Rae1 h5 {.}) 17. Nc4 Bc5 18. Nbxd6 {Oops. I hadn't seen this at all. White is
trying to snatch a pawn with a skewer on the d-file. Luckily, I took a think
here and was able to find some counterpunches.} Bxd6 19. Rad1 ({I thought} 19.
Qd3 {was his best choice was. I intended} Bc5 (19... Bg4 $1 {is even better, i.
e.,} 20. Qxd6 Be2 21. Qxf6 gxf6 22. Nb6 Bxf1 23. Bxf1 Rad8 {and compensation
is an open question}) 20. Qxd7 Ne5 21. Nxe5 Qxe5 22. Rad1 {with advantage to
White.}) ({After} 19. Qd1 Be6 $1 20. Nxd6 Rfd8 {the pin is very hard to deal
with.}) 19... Bc5 20. Rxd7 Qe6 {This was my point -- a fork at the end of the
line. But White still has a strong resource we both discounted!} 21. Qd3 $2 ({
With the strong} 21. Rd4 $1 Bxd4 22. cxd4 {White's monster center is good
compensation for the Exchange.}) 21... b5 {Now this wins a piece, as if the
knight moves, ...Ng6-e5 will pick up a rook.} 22. axb5 cxb5 23. Rd5 bxc4 24.
Qxc4 {[#] Time to take stock. We're up a piece, and Stockfish is screaming
that Black is crushing. But I think this position is not so easy to win. Why?
White has two pawns. Our f4-knight isn't playing yet, and won't be for a long
time. White has a clear idea of rolling the f- and e- pawns; this isn't so
easy to resist. And White can also eventually make a passed queenside pawn!}
Be7 $6 {Already a little off. This allows f2-f4 and gets in the way of my
knight.} ({The correct} 24... Bb6 {restrains f2-f4 and allows ...Ng6-e7-c6.})
25. f4 Qb6+ 26. Kh1 Rfc8 27. Qe2 Rab8 28. Rd2 Rd8 29. Rfd1 Rxd2 30. Rxd2 Rd8
31. e5 Rxd2 32. Qxd2 {We've traded more material and it's still -3 per
Stockfish, but it's certainly not over yet! White is ready to move forward,
and it's hard to find even a slow maneuver that meaningfully attacks something
in White's position.} Nf8 ({The metal friend suggests} 32... Bf8 33. h4 Ne7 34.
Be4 h5 35. Kg2 g6 {, intending the gradual untangling ...Kg8-g7 and ...Ne7-g8
with a very gradual untangling. I don't find this very obvious at all.}) 33.
Be4 g6 34. Kg2 Qc5 {Nearing time control, I start to shuffle.} 35. h4 h5 36.
Bd5 Kg7 37. Qd3 Qc8 $6 {The engine thinks this is fine, but to me, this
shuffle makes things a little worse. Now White gets an unpleasant battery
against the weak pawn.} ({The stronger} 37... Ne6 {resisted this idea.}) 38.
Qb5 Qd8 39. Qc4 {I was not thrilled to be dropping this pawn a move before
time control.} Qb6 40. Bxf7 Qxb2+ {Time control reached!} 41. Kf3 a4 42. Be8 {
[#] The dust has settled. We're out of time pressure, but a big check is
looming on f7 and there is only one way for Black to maintain a winning
advantage.} Qb3 $2 ({The only move was} 42... Qb7+ $1 43. Kf2 $1 (43. Bc6 Qc8
44. Qxa4 Qh3 $1 {was the more difficult point: ...Be7xh4 is threatened, as
well as many checks against White's king}) 43... a3 {and the checks gets
nowhere:} 44. Qf7+ Kh8 45. f5 a2 $1 46. Qxa2 Bc5+ {with a queen skewer
incoming.}) 43. Qc7 $2 ({With} 43. Qxa4 $1 Qxc3+ 44. Kg2 Qd2+ 45. Kh3 {Black
will never be able to make progress, despite the extra piece.}) 43... Qd5+ 44.
Ke2 Qg2+ 45. Kd1 Qf1+ 46. Kd2 Qf2+ 47. Kd1 Qc5 $1 48. Qxc5 $1 {I actually
thought trading queens was impossible, but White still has ways to resist:}
Bxc5 49. Bxa4 Bf2 50. Ke2 Bxg3 51. Kf3 Bxh4 {[#]} 52. f5 $1 {An excellent
practical choice. Black is still winning here, but he will have to hold onto
his remaining pawn and restrain White's passers carefully. Nearing time
pressure again, I promptly fail to do that.} gxf5 ({Here} 52... Kh6 {is
favored by the computer, but} 53. f6 {was very scary to allow.}) ({I also felt
the position after} 52... g5 53. f6+ Kh6 {was one I could even lose in a
scramble.}) 53. Kf4 Be1 54. c4 h4 55. Kxf5 h3 56. Bc6 {So far so good!} Bb4 $2
{Played with a minute on the clock; now, all winning chances are gone.} ({
So how does Black win here? We begin:} 56... h2 57. e6 Ng6 58. Ba8 Ne7+ 59. Kg4
Bc3 60. Kh3 Be5 61. c5 Kf6 {[#] With the bishop supporting the h2-pawn and
restraining the c-pawn, we can carefully scoop the white pawns and steer
toward bishop and knight versus king.} 62. Kg2 Kxe6 63. Kh3 Nf5 64. Bh1 Nd4 65.
Bb7 Nb3 66. Bh1 Nxc5 67. Kg2 Nd3 68. Kf1 Kf5 69. Ke2 Nf4+ 70. Kf3 Nh3 71. Bg2
Kg5 72. Bh1 Bf4 73. Bg2 Kh4 74. Bh1 Bg3 75. Bg2 Nf2 76. Ke2 h1=Q 77. Bxh1 Nxh1
{The tablebase makes it look easy, and now all Black has to do is convert one
of the longest bishop and knight versus king positions theoretically possible!
It's mate in 31!}) 57. Kg4 h2 58. Kg3 Kg6 59. Kxh2 Kf5 60. Bd5 Kxe5 {Black can
make no progress whatsoever.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "National HS Ch"]
[Site "Baltimore"]
[Date "2024.04.06"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Wang, Jason"]
[Black "Lu, Maximillian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D83"]
[WhiteElo "2543"]
[BlackElo "2439"]
[Annotator "Davis Zong"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,133,25,16,28,2,33,41,66,22,26,23,93,81,24,65,79,81,91,56,70,50,61,70,
28,69,69,31,31,46,38,59,59,32,90,86,90,90,116,106,106,95,95,110,126,134,116,
121,129,88,102,76,99,102,90,100,95,105,150,154,171,171,138,70,147,153,160,117,
165,158,163,164,170,172,165,162,174,146,254,146,165,169,174,172,172,172,155,
155,149,146,143,143,143,143,153,133,128,178,173,304,338,334,334,334,341,341,
337,380,337,547,547,547,547,547,547,547,547,547,557,567,567,567,577,577,577,
577,577,577,805,1012,1022,1032,1032,29972,1032,1032]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3
d5 4. Bf4 {The opening choice itself promises an exciting matchup. Wang has
been playing this line with good results, while Lu is an experienced Grunfeld
player.} Bg7 5. e3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Rc1 O-O 8. cxd5 Nbd7 {In what seem a
miraculous series of moves to someone seeing ghis variation for the first time,
Lu delays capturing both central pawns to accelerate his development.} 9. f3
Nxc5 10. e4 b5 $1 11. b4 $1 $14 {[#] A strong series of twin b-pawn thrusts by
the two IMs. In this position, time is key, and both sides are sacrificing
pawns for extra tempi.} ({The natural pawn grab} 11. Bxb5 {would lead to a
long series of trades which promise comfortable equality for Black:} Nfxe4 $1
12. fxe4 Bxc3+ 13. Rxc3 Qxb5 14. Qe2 Qxe2+ 15. Nxe2 Nxe4 {.}) 11... Qxb4 12.
Bd2 Qb2 $5 13. Rc2 Qa3 14. Be2 Nfd7 15. Nxb5 Qa4 16. Bc3 Bxc3+ $6 ({The correct
} 16... Ne5 $1 {would have maintained the balance. By opening lines for the
c8-bishop, Black disincentivizes Ng1-h3, and he keeps more pressure by
avoiding trades.} 17. Qd2 a6 18. Nd4 Rb8) 17. Nxc3 $1 Qa5 18. Nh3 Nb6 19. Nf2
Bd7 20. O-O {Wang has consolidated the pawn advantage. Winning this is far
from easy, but now he's no longer behind in development, and holds a clear
advantage.} Rfc8 21. Qd2 Nca4 22. Nxa4 Qxd2 23. Rxd2 Nxa4 24. e5 a5 25. f4 $6 (
{Restricting the a4-knight with} 25. Ne4 $1 {was more precise. White doesn't
fear trading pieces because every trade brings him closer to a simpler,
winning endgame.}) 25... Nc3 $1 26. Bf3 Rab8 27. d6 exd6 28. exd6 {[#]} a4 $2 {
The final turning point. The push is natural, advancing a potential passed
pawn for Black, but it turns out to be the decisive blunder. Now White can
simply into a winning bishop versus knight ending.} ({More stubborn was} 28...
Rc4 $1 {as after} 29. Ng4 Bxg4 30. Bxg4 Rd8 {the active c4-rook gives better
drawing chances.}) 29. Ng4 $1 Bxg4 30. Bxg4 Rd8 31. d7 Kf8 32. Bf3 {Both sides
are under 20 minutes now, but with a star like the d7-pawn on the board, Wang
doesn't let the win slip away.} f5 33. Rc1 Ne4 34. Bxe4 fxe4 35. Kf2 a3 36. Ke3
Ke7 37. Rc7 Rb4 38. g4 Ke6 39. Rc8 Ke7 40. f5 gxf5 41. gxf5 Rb6 42. Rxd8 Kxd8
43. Kxe4 Rb2 44. Ke3 Rb5 45. f6 Rf5 46. Rd6 Rf1 47. h4 h5 48. Ke4 Rf2 49. Ke5
Re2+ 50. Kf5 Rxa2 51. f7 Rf2+ 52. Kg6 a2 53. Ra6 Rg2+ 54. Kxh5 Rf2 55. Kg6 Rg2+
56. Kh6 Rf2 57. Rxa2 Rxf7 58. Rd2 Rf1 59. h5 Rg1 60. Rd5 Rg2 61. Kh7 Rg3 62. h6
Rg2 63. Rd6 Rg3 64. Rg6 Rd3 65. Kg8 Rxd7 66. h7 Kc7 67. Rg7 1-0

[Event "National HS Ch"]
[Site "Baltimore"]
[Date "2024.04.07"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Slate, Kent"]
[Black "Clasby, Derek"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "2219"]
[BlackElo "2393"]
[Annotator "Davis Zong"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,78,25,25,20,25,25,12,55,7,4,0,-10,-46,6,17,0,19,16,17,20,20,25,8,8,23,
54,55,75,68,73,79,75,42,48,48,34,48,55,48,90,70,73,68,128,131,121,100,100,78,
56,114,104,106,103,131,115,125,121,95,112,88,131,34,76,94,87,110,119,44,57,107,
124,109,153,120,138,43,9,28,21]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d4 {Slate's
opening choice shows that he is ready for a fight. Despite being only the
sixth most popular move per the database, this ambitious central thrust shoves
a pawn into the fire of three pieces and promises a sharp game no matter how
Black captures.} Bxd4 {Clasby opts to win the pawn safely at the cost of the
bishop pair. Both of the other captures are playable too.} 5. Nxd4 exd4 6. O-O
Nge7 7. Nd2 O-O ({Here} 7... d6 $1 {would have hewn closer to equality. Black
wants to get as much as possible before White takes the pawn back, i.e.,} 8.
Nb3 Ne5 9. Qxd4 Nxc4 10. Qxc4 O-O) 8. Nf3 d6 9. Nxd4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Be6 11. Be2
{[#] The bishop pair promises Slate a pleasant position.} Nc6 12. Qc3 Kh8 ({
It was essential to strike with} 12... f5 $1 {before White gets his bishops
set up. Clasby had the right idea, but perhaps he wanted to sidestep checks on
the a2-g8 diagonal. White is a bit better after} 13. exf5 Rxf5 14. b3 Qf6 {.})
13. b3 f5 14. Bb2 Qd7 15. exf5 Rxf5 16. Bd3 Rc5 17. Qd2 Bf5 18. Rae1 a5 19. Re3
Rg8 20. Bc4 d5 21. Ba3 {[#]} Rxc4 $6 ({The lesser evil was} 21... Nb4 $1 {
, when Black loses a pawn instead of the Exchange:} 22. Bxb4 axb4 23. Qxb4 b6
24. Bd3 {with advantage to White.}) 22. bxc4 {It would be easy to call it
quits after losing an Exchange by move 22, but Clasby doesn't give up and
instead defends stubbornly.} d4 23. Rb3 b6 24. Rb5 Be6 25. Qd3 Re8 26. Re1 Bf7
27. Rxe8+ {Good technique by Slate. Trading off a pair of rooks eliminates the
difficulties significantly.} Qxe8 28. Rb1 h6 29. c5 $6 ({Stronger was} 29. Bb2
$1 Qe6 30. Bxd4 Qxc4 31. Qxc4 Bxc4 32. Rd1 {with a big advantage.}) 29... Bxa2
$1 {Grabbing a pawn here and there may not seem like much, but it can add up.}
30. Rd1 Qe5 31. Qb5 Qd5 32. Qd3 bxc5 33. Re1 Qh5 34. Qg3 Nb4 35. Bxb4 axb4 36.
Qxc7 Kh7 37. h3 Qg5 {[#]} 38. Kh2 $4 ({The engine does not immediately approve,
but strongest here is} 38. Re4 $1 {. This is a hard move to find, as it seems
to run into a skewer after ...Ba2-d5 and a fork after ...Qg5-c1+. But Re4-g4
is a strong threat, and Black lacks time to grab any pawns. Play might continue
} Bd5 ({if} 38... Qc1+ 39. Kh2 Qxc2 40. Rg4) 39. Rg4 Qf6 40. Qxc5 {and White
is winning.}) 38... Bd5 39. f3 Bxf3 $1 {All of a sudden, another pawn grab,
and Clasby has equalized!} 40. Qg3 ({Of course the bishop is taboo in light of
} 40. gxf3 $4 Qd2+ $1 {.}) 40... Bh5 41. Qxg5 hxg5 42. Re5 c4 43. Re4 d3 44.
cxd3 cxd3 {[#]} 45. g4 $4 {This natural move, cutting off the promotion square,
turns out to be a decisive blunder!} ({Now White had to find the
counterintuitive} 45. Rd4 $1 {, not taking the b-pawn but instead attacking
the more dangerous d-pawn. Now White is barely in time to stop the passers,
and it would be Black who would have to play precisely to draw! A sample line
is} Be2 46. Kg1 b3 47. Kf2 b2 48. Rb4 g4 $3 {Only but not obvious! Black must
use the initiative granted by the passed pawns to the fullest. The g-pawn push
prepares simplifying trades that ensure equality:} 49. h4 g3+ 50. Ke3 Kh6 51.
Rxb2 Kh5 {and the draw is in sight.}) 45... d2 $4 {Both sides must have
thought that Black's bishop and passed pawns would decide.} ({Humorously,
Black's pawns can waltz to victory without help from the bishop after} 45... b3
$1 46. gxh5 d2 47. Rd4 b2 {.}) 46. Rd4 Bg6 47. Rxd2 b3 48. Rb2 $4 {The rook
gets locked now, and Black is effectively up a bishop!} ({Here the correct} 48.
Kg1 $3 {is studyesque! Black's king is trapped on h7 because any move allows a
horizontal rook check to get the rook behind the passed pawn. It seems that
Black can win with ...Bg6-c2 and promoting the pawn, but White sets up an
impregnable fortress with the rook on f2 and king on g2/h2! We see this
clearly after} Bc2 49. Kh2 b2 50. Rxc2 b1=Q 51. Rf2 {and we reach a fortress
draw.}) 48... Bc2 $1 {A nice finishing touch by Clasby, sealing the deal after
a roller coaster of a game.} 49. Kg3 Kg6 50. h4 Kf6 51. hxg5+ Ke5 0-1

[Event "National HS Ch"]
[Site "Baltimore"]
[Date "2024.04.07"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Liu, Ethan"]
[Black "Huston, Gus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C07"]
[WhiteElo "2131"]
[BlackElo "2489"]
[Annotator "Davis Zong"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,54,25,40,42,37,38,38,26,35,22,60,46,52,15,25,39,22,51,54,37,12,29,9,
29,-7,-8,-2,-20,-12,-38,-36,-30,-18,-26,-12,-41,-70,16,0,-22,-8,-27,-65,-112,
-111,-41,-92,-92,-219,-300,-1406,-1406,-1406,-1599,-1599,-2027]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4
d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nb3 a6 9. Nbxd4
Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Qc7 {[#] This position has been reached hundreds of times in the
database, but things quickly go downhill for the first player here.} 11. Be2 {
Rare, and perhaps with good reason.} ({More precise was} 11. Bb3 $1 {to
discourage the typical freeing thrust ...e6-e5, which would free Black's
light-squared bishop. Play can continue} Bd6 12. h3 Ne7 13. Re1 O-O {with
equality.}) 11... Bd6 12. h3 Ne7 13. c4 O-O 14. Be3 e5 15. Nb3 ({Offence is
often the best defense. Therefore, I think the right move was} 15. c5 $1 {
Admittedly this is a hard move to play over the board, but the pawn thrust
gives White the necessary activity to maintain the balance:} Bxc5 16. Rc1 Rd8
17. Nb5 axb5 18. Rxc5 Rxd1 19. Rxc7 Rxf1+ 20. Bxf1 {and now} Nd5 $1 {.}) 15...
Nf5 $1 {Huston conducts the attack flawlessly from here.} 16. Bd2 e4 17. Qc2 $6
({Again the best chance to hold was} 17. c5 $1 {to eliminate the dark-squared
bishop before ...e4-e3 occurs. Black is slightly better after} Be5 18. Bc3 Bxc3
{.}) 17... Qe7 {Notice how c4-c5 doesn't work anymore, because the
dark-squared bishop can simply retreat.} 18. Bc3 Nh4 19. Qd2 Rd8 20. Qe3 Nf5
21. Qc1 Bc7 22. c5 e3 23. Bf3 Bf4 {[#]} 24. Kh1 $6 ({Here} 24. Qc2 $1 Qg5 25.
Be4 {offered more resistance. White is prepared to sacrifice the Exchange to
neutralize Black's attack if needed. If Black grabs it immediately with} exf2+
$2 ({much better is} 25... Be6 $1 26. Rae1 h5 {with a winning attack}) 26. Rxf2
Be3 27. Re1 Bxf2+ $2 28. Qxf2 {the attack completely fizzles out.}) 24... Qg5
25. g3 Nxg3+ $1 {A brilliant sacrifice by Huston to finish off the game.} 26.
fxg3 Qxg3 27. Qc2 Rd2 $1 {Quoting a famous chess streamer, "he sacrifices THE
ROOK!"} 0-1

[Event "National HS Ch"]
[Site "Baltimore"]
[Date "2024.04.06"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Wang, Jason"]
[Black "Oh, James"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "2543"]
[BlackElo "2241"]
[Annotator "Jason Wang"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,119,26,18,15,6,7,7,7,-20,8,-8,7,6,17,-18,26,21,25,22,14,15,13,8,8,5,8,
13,47,46,0,-23,-45,-77,-33,-38,-4,-14,51,61,62,62,156,124,124,124,140,141,141,
141,125,133,122,116,113,113,153,156,156,163,153,175,179,170,250,106,103,105,
103,101,108,110,105,106,109,104,201,201,197,197,197,167,196,157,134,131,205,
205,204,208,214,198,200,215,284,287,293,282,292,297,313,332,342,342,342,358,
369,366,376,381,378,375,380,376,375,380,425,498,558,600,591,444]} 1. d4 Nf6 2.
c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 c6 $5 {Black opts for
a rare sideline in the Catalan, which turns out to be interesting and
objectively sound.} 8. Qxc4 (8. a4 {is also possible, delaying the pawn
capture. White has the standard edge after} b6 9. Qxc4 {.}) 8... b5 9. Qc2 Bb7
10. Rd1 Nbd7 11. Nc3 Qb6 {[#]} 12. e4 $5 {This seems like the principled move,
gaining space in the center as Black is playing on the flank.} ({In truth,
however,} 12. Ne5 $1 {is probably the way to play for an advantage. After} Rfd8
13. Bg5 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Rxd1+ 15. Nxd1 Nd5 16. Bxe7 Nxe7 17. a4 {White is
probing weaknesses and should have a long-term advantage via the strong bishop
on g2.}) 12... c5 13. d5 $6 {This move is also typical, but ineffective due to
a lack of concrete resources on White's end.} ({Stronger was} 13. e5 Nd5 14.
Bg5 Nb4 15. Qb1 Bxf3 16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Bxe7 Bxd1 18. Qxd1 $14) 13... b4 ({
Perhaps Black should have played} 13... c4 {, opening up the c5-square for the
bishop. White's pawns in the center look strong, but he lacks a way to use
them to his advantage. The computer line is} 14. Be3 (14. Bg5 Bc5 {is a bit
better for Black}) 14... Bc5 15. Bxc5 Nxc5 16. b4 cxb3 17. axb3 b4 18. e5 bxc3
19. exf6 exd5 20. fxg7 Rfc8 {with dynamic equality.}) 14. Na4 Qa6 15. Ng5 $2 ({
The right move was} 15. Bg5 $1 Rfe8 ({alternatives: (a)} 15... h6 16. Bxf6 Nxf6
17. d6 Bxd6 18. e5 Be4 19. Rxd6 Qxd6 20. Qxe4 Nxe4 21. exd6 {and two pieces
for the rook and pawn is much better for White.}) ({(b)} 15... exd5 $2 16. e5 {
wins a piece.}) 16. Bf1 Qa5 17. dxe6 fxe6 18. Re1 {is a dynamic position, but
White's control of the c4-square, coupled with the weak black pawn on e6,
should give White the advantage.}) 15... h6 {[#]} 16. Nh3 $6 ({Here} 16. dxe6
$5 fxe6 17. Bf1 Qc6 18. Nxe6 $5 {is very interesting, and I saw it during the
game. Now} Rf7 $1 (18... Nxe4 {is what I had calculated.} 19. Bc4 $1 Rf7 20.
Bd5 Qxd5 21. Rxd5 Bxd5 {and now} 22. Bf4 $1 {is the only move to maintain
White's advantage, cutting off Black's attack on the f2-square.} ({the
position after} 22. Nc7 Bc6 {is wild. White has a queen for bishop and rook,
but the engine returns 0.00!})) 19. Nf4 Qxe4 20. Qxe4 Bxe4 21. Bg2 {and
objectively Black should draw.}) 16... Rfd8 ({After} 16... exd5 17. exd5 c4 {
White again lacks concrete dynamics that might justify his awkwardly placed
knights.}) 17. b3 Rac8 ({Or} 17... exd5 18. exd5 Nb6 {with an edge to Black.})
18. dxe6 $1 Qxe6 19. Nf4 $1 Qa6 ({After} 19... Bxe4 $5 20. Nxe6 {was my
intention. The position is approximately equal after} (20. Qe2 Qf5 21. f3 Bc6
22. Qxe7 Re8 23. Qd6 Ne5 {and Black has compensation for the piece.}) 20...
Bxc2 21. Nxd8 Bxd1 22. Nc6 Bf8 {.}) 20. Bb2 Bd6 $2 ({Correct per the computer
was} 20... c4 $1 21. e5 c3 ({if} 21... Ng4 22. e6 $1 {with counterchances}) 22.
exf6 Bxf6 23. Bc1 Ne5 {and White's queenside looks handicapped. Play might
continue} 24. Nd5 Bxd5 25. Rxd5 Rxd5 26. Bxd5 Qd3 27. Qxd3 Nxd3 28. Be4 c2 29.
Bxd3 Bxa1 30. Kf1 Bd4 {when Black has the winning chances.}) 21. Rxd6 $1 Qxd6
22. e5 Nxe5 23. Bxb7 Rc7 24. Re1 Re7 25. Bxe5 Rxe5 26. Rxe5 Qxe5 27. Kg2 {
[#] White has liquidated and should be in a technically winning position.} Qe1
28. Nd3 Qe7 29. Ndxc5 h5 30. h4 Ng4 31. Bf3 Qe1 32. Qe2 $2 {Losing the
advantage; now the endgame is drawn.} ({Simple and winning was} 32. Ne4 {
, with Qc2-c7 coming.}) 32... Qxe2 33. Bxe2 Rd2 34. Bxg4 hxg4 35. Na6 Rxa2 36.
Nxb4 Ra3 37. Nc5 a5 $2 {Black perilously pushes his pawn onto a weaker square.}
({After} 37... Ra1 {Black's constant ability to threaten the b3-pawn, combined
with the locking in of White's king, renders this position drawn.}) 38. Nc2 Ra2
39. Ne3 Rd2 40. Nc4 $2 ({I think} 40. Nb7 {is the easiest way to win.}) 40...
Ra2 41. Na4 $2 Kf8 42. Nxa5 Ke7 $2 ({With the stronger} 42... Ra3 $1 {White's
queenside is suddenly locked! Still, White should win after} 43. Nc4 (43. Kf1
g6 44. Ke2 Kg7 45. Ke3 f5 $14 {is a bit better for White}) 43... Rxb3 44. Ne3 {
with good technique.}) 43. Nc4 Ke6 44. Nc3 Ra1 45. Ne2 Rb1 46. Ne3 Rb2 47. Nd4+
Kd7 48. Nxg4 Rd2 49. Ne5+ Ke7 50. Kf3 f6 51. Ke3 Rd1 52. Nd3 Rb1 53. b4 g6 54.
Nf4 g5 55. hxg5 fxg5 56. Nd3 Kf6 57. Ke4 Kg6 58. b5 Kf6 59. Kd5 Ke7 60. Ne5 1-0

[Event "Rig Janos"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.06.21"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Horvath, Adam"]
[Black "Guo, Arthur"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2472"]
[BlackElo "2445"]
[Annotator "Guo"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,91,29,29,21,25,29,18,15,-3,-4,6,19,8,26,14,35,8,32,2,2,1,6,2,11,7,2,2,
-1,-13,-8,-6,12,-5,3,-11,-3,-9,0,-7,-14,-26,61,61,61,61,67,49,49,49,69,66,20,
14,109,104,102,100,161,178,184,187,194,193,193,282,273,253,253,223,225,250,354,
251,274,240,319,285,290,220,246,145,284,284,521,488,503,522,535,533,574,512,
541,563]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O h6 7. a4 a6
8. Nbd2 Ba7 9. Re1 Be6 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Nf1 $6 {Harmless.} a5 $1 {The right
counter. With prophylaxis against b2-b4, Black has equalized.} 12. Be3 Bxe3 13.
Rxe3 O-O 14. Ng3 Qd7 15. h3 b6 16. Qb3 Rf7 17. Rd1 Raf8 18. d4 exd4 19. cxd4
Nb4 {[#] I blitzed out my moves to here and accumulated a considerable time
advantage. I felt confident I could outplay my opponent. Black has the
half-open f-file, the outpost on the b4-square, and potential breaks with ...
d6-d5 and ...c7-c5 at any given moment. Meanwhile, White has to deal with his
hanging pawn center and the awkward positions of his major pieces.} 20. d5 exd5
$4 {Impatient and immature. I don't know why I rushed to play this move. White
has only two options, and I didn't care to evaluate one of them. So take heart,
readers: even good chess players get impulsive sometimes!} ({Of course the
only viable option was} 20... e5 {. After} 21. Rc3 Na6 22. Qb5 Nc5 23. Qxd7
Nfxd7 {Black will press for the win.}) 21. e5 {We played many more moves, but
the game is now as good as lost.} dxe5 22. Nxe5 Qc8 23. Nxf7 Rxf7 24. Rde1 Qd7
25. Qd1 d4 26. Rf3 Qd5 27. Nf5 Nc6 28. Qe2 Kh7 29. Qd3 Kh8 30. Nxh6 Re7 31.
Rxe7 Nxe7 32. Ng4 Nd7 33. Rf4 c5 34. Re4 Qf5 35. f3 Kh7 36. b3 Qg6 37. h4 Nf5
38. h5 Qg5 39. h6 gxh6 40. Qb5 Nf8 41. Qxb6 d3 42. Qxc5 d2 43. Nf2 Ng6 44. Qxa5
h5 45. f4 d1=Q+ 46. Nxd1 1-0

[Event "Sparkassen A-Open"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2023.06.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Guo, Arthur"]
[Black "Prohaszka, Peter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2445"]
[BlackElo "2585"]
[Annotator "Guo"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,65,19,38,60,60,55,57,69,56,56,40,37,41,43,41,32,43,43,60,44,65,59,51,
56,41,59,51,47,45,29,42,23,9,-6,-20,-4,-30,-28,-44,-62,-49,-53,-52,-44,-71,19,
39,62,92,57,16,189,141,238,132,364,470,689,1111,29989,29990,29991,29992,29993,
29994,29995,29996]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. O-O a5
7. a4 f6 $5 {An uncommon move order.} 8. Bd3 $6 {Not the most testing.} ({After
} 8. Be3 Qc7 9. c4 fxe5 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Nxe5 {Black needs to be careful to
develop his pieces quickly.}) 8... Bxd3 9. Qxd3 fxe5 10. dxe5 Nc5 11. Qd4 Qd7
12. Be3 Nh6 {Inviting an interesting imbalance.} 13. Bxh6 gxh6 {[#]} 14. Nbd2
Rg8 15. c3 h5 16. h3 {I felt like I was already losing the thread here.
Black's king is safe and his pieces are active, while he has a clear plan of
targeting the fragile White kingside.} Qf7 17. Qe3 Be7 18. Kh1 Qg6 19. Ne1 {
Too passive.} O-O-O $6 {The first mistake, allowing counterplay.} ({Instead} 
19... Kd7 $1 {is what I was expecting. The king's station in the center is
well-protected , and the a8-rook serves to enforce prophylaxis against any
b2-b4 break.}) 20. b4 axb4 21. cxb4 Ne4 22. b5 {[#]} Bg5 $4 {My opponent slips
in time pressure.} ({The natural} 22... Bc5 {kept the edge after} 23. Qe2 Rdf8
24. Nxe4 Qxe4 25. Qxe4 dxe4 {.}) 23. f4 Bh4 24. Nxe4 Qxe4 25. Qd2 {A quiet
sidestep by the queen reveals how quickly White is able to consolidate his
position.} d4 26. Nf3 {How the tables have turned! Now Black's king is in
severe danger.} Bg3 27. bxc6 bxc6 28. Rab1 Bxf4 29. Qb4 Kd7 30. Qd6+ Ke8 31.
Qxe6+ Kf8 32. Qf6+ Ke8 33. Rb7 1-0

[Event "Sparkassen A-Open"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "2023.06.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Black "Guo, Arthur"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2664"]
[BlackElo "2445"]
[Annotator "Guo"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,102,25,16,10,31,43,8,15,0,10,-8,8,3,5,15,16,-18,-9,20,11,11,16,16,24,
28,27,11,23,21,35,35,35,33,33,24,24,36,30,14,22,8,0,-5,18,26,36,42,32,24,24,23,
36,30,49,24,33,27,45,32,35,36,36,35,36,36,38,31,32,31,31,31,32,42,36,35,36,49,
78,32,35,37,32,32,26,26,17,17,17,17,16,3,0,31,20,29,20,4,9,5,4,0,4,0,0]} 1. e4
e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 {This is second time I
played the Archanglesk. My opponent, a former world champion, was ready for it.
} 7. a4 Bb7 8. c3 d6 9. d4 Bb6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Bd5 O-O 13. Na3
Rfb8 $1 {[#] Here my opponent's prep had ended, but I was still firmly in book,
guided by human assistance and that of Leela.} 14. Nc2 exd4 15. cxd4 bxa4 16.
Rxa4 a5 17. Re1 Ne7 18. Bxb7 Rxb7 19. Ne3 Rab8 20. h3 c6 21. Nc4 Qe6 22. Qc1 {
Here, an equal position arises with both sides having weak pawns. This was the
end of my pre-game preparation.} Bc7 23. Nxa5 Bxa5 24. Rxa5 Rxb2 25. Ra8 Rxa8
26. Qxb2 {[#] Liquidation. The rest is balanced.} Qd7 27. Rc1 Qc7 28. g3 Qa7
29. Kg2 Rb8 30. Ra1 Qc7 31. Qa3 Rc8 32. Rc1 Qd8 33. Nd2 Ra8 34. Qb3 Rb8 35. Qc3
Qb6 36. Rb1 Qc7 37. Ra1 Qb7 38. Nc4 d5 39. Nd6 Qd7 40. e5 Nf5 41. Ra6 Nxd6 42.
exd6 Qxd6 43. Rxc6 Qd7 44. Rc5 Rd8 45. Qf3 Qe6 46. g4 g5 47. Rc3 Qe4 48. Qxe4
dxe4 49. Rc4 Ra8 50. d5 Rd8 51. Rxe4 Rxd5 {Getting a draw as Black against a
very strong grandmaster not grew my confidence, but it also ensured I'd get
even more favorable pairings (for norm purposes) in the final rounds.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Nottingham International Masters"]
[Site "Nottingham"]
[Date "1936.08.22"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Lasker"]
[Black "Reshevsky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "1936.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,44,19,31,19,-16,30,23,12,15,51,35,44,34,57,6,5,-4,39,35,30,19,38,15,
15,-15,-27,-13,-8,-37,-34,-41,-9,-31,23,-73,-83,-80,-73,-128,-133,-144,-144,
-492,-493,-1089,-1146]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 {[#]} e6 5. Bxc4
c5 6. Nc3 a6 7. O-O b5 8. Bd3 cxd4 9. exd4 Bb7 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Qe2 O-O 12. Rad1
Nbd7 13. Ne5 Nd5 14. Bc1 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Nf6 16. a4 Qd5 17. Nf3 Rfc8 18. Bb2 Ne4
19. Rc1 Ng5 20. axb5 axb5 21. Bxb5 Nxf3+ 22. gxf3 Qg5+ {[#]} 0-1

[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "Nottingham"]
[Date "1936.08.22"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r1q1rk1/5p2/5p2/6p1/8/5P2/1B4Q1/1K5R w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1936.??.??"]

 1-0

[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "Nottingham"]
[Date "1936.08.22"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k1r1q3/p1p5/P1p5/8/8/5Q2/3r2B1/1R4K1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1936.??.??"]

 1-0

[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "Nottingham"]
[Date "1936.08.22"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5rk1/3q1ppp/5B2/5N2/4n3/6P1/6PK/2Q5 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1936.??.??"]

 1-0

[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "Nottingham"]
[Date "1936.08.22"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5rkr/1q3ppp/8/8/8/8/8/K1Q3R1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1936.??.??"]

 1-0

[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "Nottingham"]
[Date "1936.08.22"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rkq2b2/ppp5/3N4/8/8/K7/1Q6/1R6 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1936.??.??"]

 1-0

[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "Nottingham"]
[Date "1936.08.22"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5qkr/5ppp/8/5N2/8/2Q5/KB4r1/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "1936.??.??"]

 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "**Keymer Reti 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3"]
[Black "...d5 and ...c5 for article"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "E60"]
[Annotator "Watson et al"]
[PlyCount "28"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,38,26,27,11,20,25,6,-13,-6,40,37,37,23,23,23,32,31,33,27,51,23,55,50,
61,55,31,67,39,25,25,30,13,17,17,17,19,17,17,27,30]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 c5 {
Kuljasevic calls this popular setup the 'principled approach' against the
Keymer system.} 3. b3 ({Curiously Albin played} 3. Ne5 $5 {here in a couple of
his games versus elite players.}) 3... Nf6 (3... Nc6 4. Bb2 ({or} 4. Bb5) 4...
Nf6 (4... a6 5. d4 {is a reversed Queen's Indian}) 5. Bb5 {is a reversed
Nimzo-Indian defense, which, while playable, isn't much fun for Black. Both
authors cover it, Kuljasevic in great depth.}) (3... a6 4. Bb2 Nc6 5. d4 {
is a reversed Queen's Indian with plenty of play and more chances for Black to
go wrong, as the authors show.}) 4. Bb2 g6 {This trails} (4... Nc6 {and}) (4...
e6 {in popularity by a good margin, but it's arguably the best way to play and
both authors treat it with respect.}) 5. c4 dxc4 (5... Bg7 6. cxd5 Qxd5 7. Nc3
{turns out nicely for White.}) 6. Bxc4 Bg7 7. d4 {Keymer points out that} (7.
O-O {allows} Nc6 $1) 7... cxd4 8. Nxd4 O-O 9. O-O {[#] A position that has
been well-tested in grandmaster play. With his better minor pieces, White has
a tiny edge. It is probably only temporary, but the positive aspect is that
most pieces will remain on the board for some time to come.} Bd7 ({Kuljasevic
analyses} 9... a6 10. Be2 b5 11. a4 b4 12. Nd2 Bb7 13. Bf3 Nd5 $1 14. Nc4 Nd7
15. Nc6 Bxc6 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Bxd5 Bxd5 18. Qxd5 Qc7 19. Rac1 Nf6 $11 {
He says: 'This is one of the few lines in this repertoire where I couldn't
find too much for White to play for out of the opening. That's the reality of
modern chess. Still, this shouldn't deter us from playing the Keymer system
since it's possible to outplay your opponent from an equal middlegame or
endgame.'}) 10. Nd2 Nc6 11. N2f3 {Kuljasevic says that White still has a
slight positional pressure in this middlegame and shows various super-GM
examples.} ({Mendonca stops here with} 11. Rc1 Rc8 12. N2f3 {and gives White a
small edge.}) 11... Rc8 {Black seems safely placed; indeed, Robert Ris is his
repertoire for Black versus 1 Nf3 gives analysis to show this position as
equal. That's fine, and needn't deter either player from entering into it.
Kuljasevic cites several games, including} (11... Qb6 12. h3 Rac8 13. Rc1 Rfd8
14. Qe2 a6 (14... Na5 15. Bd3 Nd5 {was equal}) 15. Rfd1 (15. e4 $1 $14) {
Keymer-Mamedyarov, chess24.com 2022, and here Black should try} 15... Na5 16.
Ne5 Nxc4 17. Nxc4 Qa7) 12. Qe2 Qa5 13. Rfd1 (13. Rac1 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Bc6 15. Ne5
Bd5 $11) 13... Nxd4 (13... Rfd8 $11) 14. Nxd4 Rfd8 {, which led to a draw in
Potkin-Gelfand, Chess.com 2020} *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "*Keymer Reti 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3"]
[Black "QGD 2...Nf6 3 c4 e6"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A13"]
[Annotator "Watson et al"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,35,25,26,30,20,5,0,0,6,12,-1,4,4,11,6,17,17,10,10,7,-28,7,-23,10,12,
29,37,40,28,156,146,173,173,173,173,173,173]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 {
The Queen's Gambit Declined order, a favorite among Black players.} ({The
Semi-Slav setup} 3... c6 4. Nc3 e6 {is also very popular, when White can delay
d4 by} 5. b3 {, wit some surprisingly tactical consequences, for example, one
line goes} Bd6 6. Bb2 Nbd7 7. Qc2 {[#]} O-O (7... e5 8. cxd5 cxd5 $2 9. Nb5 {
with the idea} Bb8 10. Ba3 $16) 8. Rg1 $5 {(going for the king!)} a6 9. g4 b5
10. g5 Ne8 11. h4 bxc4 12. bxc4 Rb8 13. h5 e5 $1 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Nxd5 Bb7 16.
Bc4 Nb6 $1 17. Nf6+ $1 gxf6 18. gxf6+ Kh8 19. Nxe5 Nxc4 $5 20. Rg7 $1 Nxg7 21.
fxg7+ Kxg7 22. Nc6+ Nxb2 23. Nxd8 Ba8 $1 24. Rb1 Rfxd8 25. Rxb2 {with White
having slightly better chances due to Black's exposed king.}) 4. Nc3 Be7 5. b3
O-O 6. Bb2 {[#] One of the main lines of the Keymer.} c5 {My database has over
1200 games here. There are 870 with} (6... b6 {, when White can choose} 7. cxd5
exd5 8. d4 (8. g3 $5 Nbd7 9. Ne2 {is an interesting alternative}) 8... Bb7 {
(Kuljasevic and Mendonca give numerous options for Black here)} 9. Bd3 Nbd7 10.
O-O c5 11. Rc1 Re8 12. Ne2 $1 Ne4 $6 13. Ne5 Bd6 14. f3 Nef6 15. f4 a6 16. Ng3
Bf8 17. Qf3 {with an old-fashioned and very dangerous Pillsbury Attack in
Keymer-Shuvalova, Chess.com 2022.}) 7. cxd5 Nxd5 (7... exd5 8. d4 Nc6 9. Be2 {
is a promising version of the Tarrasch Queen's Gambit.}) 8. Qc2 {Eyeing both
h7 and c5.} Nc6 9. a3 b6 $5 {Usually played, alhough both authors are careful
to analyse possible improvements for Black, especially the recently popular} (
9... Bd7 {, which can lead in exciting directions, e.g.,} 10. Bd3 (10. h4 $5)
10... h6 11. g4 (11. Rg1) 11... Rc8 $6 (11... Nxc3) 12. Rg1 $1 Be8 {Keymer-Le
Quan, Biel 2022, when} {the variation's namesake missed the remarkable} 13. g5
$1 hxg5 14. Nxd5 Qxd5 15. Rg3 $1 g6 16. Ke2 {and Black is helpless.}) 10. h4 $1
{Karjakin's idea from 'way back' in 2016, threatening the brutal Ng5. It is
still White's favorite option.} f5 $1 (10... h6 $6 11. g4 $1 {with the idea}
Nxc3 12. g5 $3 {leads to a great attack, e.g.,} Nd5 13. gxh6 f5 $1 14. Bxg7 Rf7
15. Rg1 Kh7 16. O-O-O {with a great attack.}) 11. Rd1 ({This is a rich
position with many possibilities.Kuljasevic likes} 11. Nxd5 $5 exd5 12. d4 {
best, with a small positional advantage afer, e.g.,} Be6 ({he points out} 12...
f4 {as a way to muddy the waters, when} 13. dxc5 fxe3 14. fxe3 bxc5 15. O-O-O
Bf5 16. Bd3 {seems best}) 13. Ba6 $1 Rb8 14. O-O $14) ({Mendonca gives} 11. d4
cxd4 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 13. Bc4 {, when I think} Qd6 14. Rd1 Na5 15. Rxd4 Qc6 {
should equalize.}) 11... Qe8 (11... Bb7 $5 {may improve, when} 12. Nxd5 exd5
13. Bd3 {is complex.}) 12. Bc4 $1 Nc7 13. h5 Bb7 $6 (13... h6 14. Ne2 $14) 14.
h6 $1 {with a clear advantage. Keymer-Loiseau, Reykjavik 2021 finished quickly:
} g5 $2 15. Nb5 $1 Nxb5 16. Bxe6+ Rf7 17. Qxf5 {winning, in view of} Kf8 18.
Nxg5 $1 *

[Event "86th Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2024.01.27"]
[Round "12.7"]
[White "Warmerdam, Max"]
[Black "Ding Liren"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2625"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "128"]
[EventDate "2024.01.13"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qa4 Bb7 6. Bg2 c5 7. dxc5 bxc5 8. O-O
Be7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Rd1 Qb6 11. Bf4 Rd8 12. Rd2 d6 13. Rad1 h6 14. g4 Nxg4 15.
Qb3 Nf6 16. Qxb6 axb6 17. Bxd6 Rxd6 18. Rxd6 Bxd6 19. Rxd6 Nbd7 20. Ne1 Bxg2
21. Kxg2 Kf8 22. b3 Rc8 23. Rd2 Ke7 24. Nc2 Ra8 25. Ne1 g5 26. Nd3 h5 27. Rb2
Ne8 28. Nb5 f5 29. f4 g4 30. b4 cxb4 31. Nxb4 Rc8 32. Rc2 Nd6 33. Nxd6 Kxd6 34.
Kg3 h4+ 35. Kxh4 Nf6 36. Kg3 Nh5+ 37. Kf2 Nxf4 38. e3 Ng6 39. Nd3 Ne5 40. Nxe5
Kxe5 41. a4 Ke4 42. Rb2 Rc6 (42... Rh8 43. Kg2 (43. Rxb6 Rxh2+ 44. Kg1 Ra2 45.
Rxe6+ Kf3 {Black's g-pawn produces decisive mating threats.}) 43... Kxe3 44.
Rxb6 e5 45. a5 f4 46. Rb3+ Ke4 (46... Kd4 47. a6 e4 48. a7 e3 49. Rb8 (49. Rb1
f3+ 50. Kg3 e2 51. Ra1 Ke3 52. Ra3+ Ke4 53. Ra1 Rh3+ 54. Kxg4 Rh8 55. a8=Q+
Rxa8 56. Rxa8 f2 $19) 49... f3+ 50. Kg3 e2) 47. a6 f3+ 48. Kg1 (48. Kg3 Rh3+
49. Kxg4 Rh7) 48... Ra8 49. Ra3 Kf4 50. c5 g3 (50... e4 $2 51. c6 g3 $2 (51...
Rd8 52. Ra1 e3 53. c7 Rh8 54. a7 e2 55. Ra4+ $11) 52. hxg3+ Kxg3 53. c7) 51.
hxg3+ Kxg3 52. a7 e4 53. c6 (53. Kf1 e3 54. Rxe3 Rxa7 55. c6 Rh7 56. Kg1 Rh6
57. Rc3 Rd6 58. Rc1 Rd2 59. c7 Rg2+ 60. Kf1 Rh2 61. Ke1 f2+ 62. Ke2 f1=Q+ 63.
Kxf1 Rh1+ 64. Ke2 Rxc1) 53... Rd8 54. Ra1 e3 55. a8=Q e2 $3) 43. Rb3 (43. Ke2
Rxc4) (43. Rb4 Kd3) 43... Rxc4 44. Rxb6 e5 (44... Rc2+ 45. Kg3 e5 46. a5 $1 (
46. Rb3 Ra2 $19) 46... Ra2 (46... Kxe3 47. Rb3+ Ke4 (47... Kd4 48. Ra3 f4+ 49.
Kxg4 Rxh2 50. Ra4+ Kc5 51. a6 {and stopping the a-pawn will lead to Black's
passers dropping.}) 48. Rb4+) 47. Rb5 Ra3 48. Kh4 (48. Kf2 Ra4 49. Kg3 Ra2 50.
Rc5 Ra3 51. Kf2 f4 52. exf4 exf4 53. Rc4+ Ke5 54. Rc2) 48... Kxe3 49. Kg5 $1)
45. Rb2 (45. a5 Rc2+ 46. Kg3 Ra2 (46... Kxe3 47. Rb3+ Ke4 48. Rb4+ Kd5 49. Ra4)
47. Rb5 Ra4 48. Kf2 Ra3 (48... f4 49. exf4 exf4 50. Rb2 Rxa5 51. Rb4+) 49. Kg2)
45... Rxa4 46. Ke2 Rc4 47. Ra2 Rb4 48. Rc2 Rb1 49. Ra2 (49. Rc4+ Kd5 50. Ra4
Rb2+ 51. Kd3 e4+) 49... Rh1 50. Ra4+ Kd5 51. e4+ (51. Ra5+ Ke6 52. Ra6+ Kf7 53.
Ra7+ Kf6 54. Ra6+ Kg5) 51... fxe4 52. Ke3 Rxh2 $4 (52... Re1+ 53. Kf2 Rd1) 53.
Ra5+ Ke6 (53... Kd6 54. Rd5+) 54. Rxe5+ Kf6 (54... Kxe5 $11) 55. Ra5 (55. Rxe4
Kg5 56. Re8 Kh4) 55... g3 56. Kf4 (56. Kxe4 g2 57. Ra6+ Kg5 58. Ra8 Rh6) 56...
g2 57. Ra6+ Kf7 58. Ra7+ Ke6 59. Rg7 Kd5 60. Ke3 Rh3+ 61. Ke2 (61. Kf2 Rf3+ (
61... g1=Q+ 62. Kxg1 Kd4 63. Ra7) 62. Kxg2 Rf8 63. Ra7 $11) 61... Ra3 62. Rd7+
$4 (62. Kf2 Ra2+ (62... Rf3+) 63. Ke3) 62... Ke5 63. Rg7 Kf4 64. Kf2 g1=Q+ (
64... Ra2+ 65. Kg1 e3 66. Rf7+ Kg5 67. Re7 e2) 0-1

[Event "USATE"]
[Site "Parsippany"]
[Date "2024.??.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Fishbein"]
[Black "Benjamin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A21"]
[Annotator "Benjamin"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,94,26,-24,-27,-5,0,26,47,57,38,16,22,26,34,24,26,9,76,40,10,35,41,19,
-3,-23,-32,-51,-51,-27,-38,-69,-79,-79,-79,-121,-99,-85,-126,-94,-94,-143,-115,
-195,-162,-208,-192,-213,-182,-213,-109,-118,-103,-121,-117,-117,38,-124,-116,
-132,-108,-148,-162,-155,-163,-163,-163,-169,-166,-186,-166,-184,-184,-191,
-192,-199,-161,-171,-175,-169,-180,-183,-202,-223,-253,-245,-239,-250,-295,
-319,-313,-333,-348,-323,-369,-381,-366]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Nd5 Bc5 4. e3
Nf6 5. b4 Nxd5 6. bxc5 Nf6 7. Nf3 Qe7 (7... e4 8. Nd4 Na6 (8... O-O 9. Ba3 Re8
10. Be2 b6 11. O-O bxc5 12. Bxc5 d6 13. Ba3 c5 14. Nb5 a6 15. Nc3 Bf5) 9. Ba3
O-O 10. c6 d6) 8. Be2 O-O (8... Qxc5 9. d4 exd4 10. exd4 Qe7 11. O-O O-O 12.
Re1 Qd8 13. Bd3 d6 14. Bg5) 9. d4 (9. O-O Re8 10. Bb2 Nc6 11. d4 d6 12. cxd6
cxd6 13. Ba3 e4 14. Ne1 Bf5 15. Nc2 Qd7 16. Rb1 Rac8 17. Rb5 d5 18. Qb1 b6 19.
c5 Bg4 20. Bxg4 Qxg4 21. cxb6 axb6 22. Bd6 Na5 23. Na3 Nd7 24. Bb4 Nc4 25. Rxd5
Nf6 26. Rb5 Qe2 27. Re1 Qd3 28. Nxc4 Rxc4 29. Rd1 Qe2 30. Rd2 Rc1+ 31. Qxc1
Qxb5 32. Rb2 Nd5 33. Be1 Qd7 34. Rc2 h6 35. Qa3 Rc8 36. Qb3 Rxc2 37. Qxc2 f5
38. Qc4 Kf7 39. f3 Qe6 40. Bd2 g5 41. Bc1 h5 42. a4 Kf6 43. Kf2 Ke7 44. Qc2 Kf6
45. fxe4 fxe4 46. Qc4 Ke7 47. h3 Kf7 48. Bd2 Ke7 49. Qe2 Qf7+ 50. Kg1 Qe8 51.
Qa6 Qd7 52. Qa8 h4 53. Bc1 Kf7 54. Ba3 Qe6 55. Qf8+ Kg6 56. Bc1 Qc6 57. Qg8+
Kf6 58. Ba3 Qc3 59. Qf8+ Kg6 60. Qe8+ Kf6 61. Qe5+ Kg6 62. Qxe4+ Kg7 63. Qe5+
Kg6 64. Qe6+ Kg7 65. Qd7+ Kg6 66. Qe8+ Kf6 67. Qf8+ Kg6 68. Qg8+ Kf6 69. Bd6
Nxe3 70. Be5+ Ke7 71. Qxg5+ Kd7 72. Qg7+ Ke8 73. Qg6+ Kd7 74. Qd6+ Ke8 75. Qe6+
Kf8 76. Qh6+ Ke8 77. Qg6+ Ke7 78. Bf6+ Kd7 79. Qf7+ Kc8 80. Qe8+ Kb7 81. Qe4+
Ka7 82. Bxh4 Qc1+ 83. Kf2 Nd1+ 84. Kf3 Nc3 85. Qh7+ Ka6 86. Qd3+ Ka5 87. d5
Nxa4 88. Bf2 Nb2 89. Qa3+ {Krzyzanowski,M (2523)-Godena,M (2442) Cannes op
35th 2022 (8) 1-0}) (9. Bb2 e4 (9... Nc6 10. d4 exd4 11. Nxd4 (11. exd4 Re8)
11... Qxc5 (11... Nxd4 12. Qxd4 b6) 12. Nb5 a6 13. Ba3 Qe5 14. Bxf8 axb5 15.
cxb5 Qc3+ 16. Kf1 Kxf8 17. bxc6 dxc6) 10. Nd4 Na6 11. Nf5 Qxc5 12. g4 Ne8 13.
a4 d6 14. Bd4 Qa5 15. Bc3 Qc5 16. Ne7+ Kh8 17. Qb1) 9... exd4 10. exd4 Re8 11.
Be3 b6 12. O-O Ng4 13. Bd3 (13. Bg5 Qxe2 14. Qb3 Bb7 15. Rae1 Bxf3) (13. Bd2
Qxe2 14. Qc2 Bb7 (14... Qe7 15. Rae1 Qf8 16. Rxe8 Qxe8 17. Re1 Qf8 18. Qe4 d5
19. cxd6) 15. Rae1 Bxf3 16. gxf3) 13... Nxe3 14. fxe3 Nc6 15. Qb1 (15. d5 Nb4
16. Bxh7+ Kxh7 17. Qb1+ Kg8 18. Qxb4 Qxe3+ 19. Kh1 Qxc5) 15... g6 16. d5 Ne5
17. d6 Nxf3+ (17... cxd6 18. Be4) 18. Rxf3 Qe5 19. dxc7 Bb7 20. e4 (20. Rg3
Qxc5) 20... f5 21. Qe1 (21. exf5 Bxf3 22. gxf3 gxf5 23. Bxf5 Re7 24. Be4) 21...
Qxc5+ 22. Kh1 Bxe4 (22... Qxc7) 23. Bxe4 Rxe4 24. Qd2 {I managed to deal with
White's aggressive opening play and reach a position close to technically
winning.} Qd4 $2 (24... Rc8 25. Qxd7 {and either capture on c7 should win
without many problems.} Rxc7) 25. Qxd4 Rxd4 26. c5 $1 {The first snag.} b5 (
26... Rc8 27. cxb6 axb6 28. Rc3 Kf7 {maintains excellent winning chances,
though far from a knockout.}) (26... bxc5 27. Rb1 {is right out, but}) 27. Ra3
$1 {I whiffed on this move, and committed a move order howler.} Rc4 $4 (27...
Rc8 28. Rxa7 Rc4) 28. Rxa7 ({It's counterintuitve, but after} 28. Rd3 $1 {
the c7-pawn, which had been sitting awaiting capture for so many moves,
decides the game.}) 28... Rc8 29. h3 ({At the time, i wondered about} 29. g4 $5
{and indeed it produces similar, if not even easier variations than we could
have seen in the game.} Rxc5 (29... fxg4 $4 30. Rd1 Rxc5 31. Rxd7) 30. gxf5
R8xc7 (30... gxf5) 31. Rxc7 Rxc7 32. fxg6 hxg6) 29... Rxc5 30. Rb1 $4 {Alex
was not satisfied with this move, but with both sides feeling time pressure he
couldn't work out the right path. White needs to remove the d-pawn, and there
are surprising ways to do it.} (30. Rd1 d5 31. a4 (31. Ra6 R8xc7 32. Rd6 {
probably should hold, too}) 31... bxa4 32. Rxa4 R8xc7 (32... Kf7 33. Ra6 Ke7
34. Re1+ Kd7 35. Ree6 R8xc7 36. Rad6+ Kc8 37. Re8+ Kb7 38. Red8) 33. Ra8+ Kf7
34. Rd8 {and Black cannot defend his pride and joy on d5.} Ke6 35. Re1+ Kf6 36.
Rd6+ Kg5 37. Rd1) 30... R8xc7 31. Rxc7 Rxc7 32. Rxb5 Ra7 33. Rb2 (33. Rd5 Kf7
34. a4 Ke6 35. Rd4 d5 {the a-pawn will drop.}) 33... Kf7 {White's outside
passed pawn is actually a negative, as Black can support and advance his
inside passer. There weren't any pitfalls to avoid in the time scramble.} 34.
Re2 d5 35. Kg1 Kf6 36. Kf1 d4 37. Ke1 Ra3 38. Kd1 d3 39. Rb2 Ke5 40. Kd2 Kf4
41. g4 fxg4 42. Rb4+ Kf3 43. hxg4 g5 44. Rb7 h6 45. Rb6 Rxa2+ 46. Kxd3 Rh2 47.
Rb4 Rh4 0-1

[Event "2nd Sunday Mini-Swiss"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1993.06.13"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Miller, Michael"]
[Black "Miller, Peretz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "1793"]
[BlackElo "2212"]
[PlyCount "53"]

1. g4 h5 2. g5 e5 3. h4 Ne7 4. d3 Ng6 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nc3 c6 7. e4 Be6 8. Nce2 Bd6
9. Ng3 Nf4 10. Bxf4 exf4 11. Nxh5 Kf8 12. Bf3 Nd7 13. Ne2 Ne5 14. Nexf4 Qa5+
15. c3 Re8 16. Nxe6+ Rxe6 17. Ng3 Nxf3+ 18. Qxf3 Bxg3 19. fxg3 dxe4 20. dxe4
Qa4 21. O-O f6 22. e5 Rxe5 23. gxf6 g5 24. f7 Rh6 25. hxg5 Rxg5 26. Qe3 Re6 27.
Qxg5 1-0

[Event "2nd Sunday Mini-Swiss"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1993.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Miller, Michael"]
[Black "Miller, Peretz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1793"]
[BlackElo "2212"]
[Annotator "Miller"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5k1r/pp3pp1/2p1r3/6P1/q3P2P/2P2QP1/PP6/R3K2R w KQ - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "13"]

{[#]} 21. O-O $1 f6 22. e5 $1 Rxe5 23. gxf6 g5 {Now comes MY BEST MOVE,
opening a space for a possible queen advance.} 24. f7 $3 Rh6 25. hxg5 Rxg5 26.
Qe3 $1 {Attacking both rooks and the king!} Re6 {Black offers both rooks,
hoping to wriggle out of the situation. Which one to take?} 27. Qxg5 $1 {
The right capture. The win is much easier this way than if I had taken the
rook on e6.} (27. Qxe6 {is met with} Rxg3+ 28. Kf2 Qf4+ 29. Ke1 Re3+ 30. Kd2
Rxe6+ 31. Rxf4) 1-0

