[Event "COQ 2016"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2016.07.25"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Le Siège, Alexandre"]
[Black "Barbeau, Sylvain"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E06"]
[WhiteElo "2494"]
[BlackElo "2313"]
[Annotator "Alexandre Le Siège"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2016.07.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] This is certainly my worst game of the tournament quality wise,
but there were some interesting moments. Sylvain and I had many battles in the
past. He's renowned for his fighting spirit and his endgame proficiency. If am
not mistaken, this is a return to competitive chess for him this year.
Incidentally, there seems to be some kind of a trend going on: in the last
year I've seen at least a dozen players return from long layoffs from chess.
Your guess is as good as mine to pinpoint what sociological phenomenon is at
play here. Since my own return, I've also noticed a new chess landscape with
many young and promising players. 15 years ago, it was hard to tell who would
succeed to the last generation of great players like Spraggett, Hébert, etc.
Hopefully, it seems the future of chess is assured!} 1. Nf3 {Sylvain cherishes
both the Leningrad and the Grunfeld versus 1.d4. With my first move I wasn't
intending to play the English opening, I was mostly giving myself extra
flexibility against 1... f5.} Nf6 2. d4 {According to plan, I am ready to meet
the Grunfeld.} e6 {A big surprise from my opponent, I don't think this is part
of his usual repertoire.} 3. g3 {[#] aiming for the Catalan. This is one of
the openings I've added to my arsenal since my return to chess. It's pretty
trendy right now with great books written by Catalan specialist Boris Avrukh
for the Grandmaster Repertoire series. Independent of fashion, I think it's
very important to learn the Catalan for both colours as many openings will
transpose into it. Otherwise, you might find your openings choices contrived.
For example White can play 3. g3 against the Nimzo-Indian or Nf3, g3 against
the orthodox queen's gambit. As you will see in this game I will make some
mistake due to my inexperience with the opening. The Catalan player is like a
good wine, the more mature he gets the better he is.} d5 4. Bg2 Be7 {The fact
that my pawn is still on c2 prevents many interesting options based on a quick.
.. dxc4. On the other hand Black could try the direct 4... c5.} 5. c4 O-O 6.
Qc2 {Usually White castles right away, but I was attracted by this move that I
just noticed a week ago in some of Nakamura games. It gives White some
independent options to steer the game to a less known territory. I thought
confronting my opponent with fresh problems in an opening he might not feel
comfortable was a good idea. At worst, I could always fall back to the normal
main line.} dxc4 ({My move order offers Black the popular extra option} 6... c5
$5) 7. Qxc4 a6 8. Bf4 $5 (8. O-O b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2 {leads directly to the
main line}) (8. Qc2 $5 b5 9. Ne5 {is playable and is one of those independent
lines Black has to think about even though it's not considered dangerous. The
intention with the move 8. Bf4 is to transpose into some old main line where
Black had to commit to ...Nd5 quickly instead of the superior ...Nc6.}) 8...
Nd5 9. O-O b5 10. Qc2 Bb7 {[#] I did end up in the position I was looking for
but unfortunately didn't remember the theory properly. Dave Ross used to be a
big expert on this line and was telling me when I was a youngster how Black
should be careful about the potential grip after the exchange on f4.
Nevertheless, this line with Bf4 and ...Nd5 is not considered dangerous by
modern theory.} 11. Rc1 $6 {already a bad move. I thought I remembered this
was the best move. This is a case where it would have been beneficial to not
remember anything at all and instead take a fresh look at the position.} (11.
Nc3 $142 $1) 11... Nc6 $2 {Black can solve all his openings problems and then
some with:} (11... Nxf4 $1 12. gxf4 Nd7 13. e3 (13. Qxc7 $2 Rc8 $19 {sorry, no
more Qf4!}) (13. Ng5 $2 Bxg5 14. Bxb7 Bxf4 15. Bxa8 Bxc1 $17) 13... c5 14. Ng5
Bxg5 15. Bxb7 Rb8 {with a super-comfortable position.}) 12. Bd2 $14 {After
this simple retreat Black has the common problem of liberating its position
with ...c7-c5. By all means, his position remains solid, but somewhat passive.}
Rc8 13. a3 {A typical Catalanish little move that takes control of b4 and
allows b2-b4.} Ba8 {[#] I don't like this move. Having been familiarized with
computer play in the past year I was pretty sure the computer wouldn't like it.
There is some kind of disharmony to it. My opponent's rationale, as he told me
after the game, was that on a8 the bishop would be protected in case of a
tactical melee along the long diagonal. Fair enough, but let me offer some
counter-arguments. First, the rook on c8 is no longer well protected. Second,
in the eventual opening of the a-file the bishop will be a tactical target on
a8. Let's not be results oriented, but it turns out that those two points will
play a crucial role in some of the variations that I will show you later.} 14.
e3 g6 $6 {It's better to regroup right away with ...Nb8-d7.} {[#]} 15. Be1 $6 {
It's easy to play this kind of move and think you're playing a great
positional game -- slowly increasing the pressure with Nbd2, Nb3 until your
opponent's position crumbles. But the reality is different, and that's where
my inexperience with the set-up shows. There are a couple of different points.
First of all, after an eventual b2-b4 my bishop will look pretty silly on e1.
Second, the exchange of a pair of knights actually increases my grip on the
position instead of lessening it.} (15. Nc3 $142 $1 Nb8 (15... Nxc3 16. Bxc3
$16) 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. e4 Bb7 18. Be3 $16) 15... Nb8 $1 16. b4 Nd7 {[#]} 17.
Qe2 {Not such a bad move, but an unnecessary precaution against ...a5. For
example, I could simply play} (17. Nbd2 a5 $2 18. bxa5 c5 19. Ne4 $1 c4 (19...
cxd4 20. Qxc8 {remember the point about the rook not being protected after ...
Ba8...?} Qxc8 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Nxd4 $16) 20. Nc3 $16 {Having said that, the
best thing to do for White is simply preventing ...f5 with e4!}) 17... N5b6 (
17... f5 $1 {this move blocks my e1 bishop and both players would then have
their fair control of important squares.}) 18. Nbd2 Re8 19. Nb3 Nc4 20. e4 $14
{[#]} e5 $5 {I thought this move was too ambitious during the game because of
the misplacement of the black queen on the d-file. Turns out it's not really
worse than the alternatives.} 21. dxe5 Bf8 $2 {Black had to play} (21... Ndxe5
22. Nxe5 Nxe5 23. Rd1 Bd6 $14) 22. Rd1 Qe7 23. Bh3 $1 Rcd8 24. e6 $1 fxe6 {
[#] We were down to about 10 min each I think at this moment.   Hello, my name
is Alexandre Le Siège and I am a time trouble addict.   Things have gotten
worse since my return, but I've always been plagued with this bad habit to
some extent in my career. This is something I will have to deal with if I want
to improve my results. I can't count how many points I have dropped because of
it. But the following mistakes that I (we) made can't be explained only by
zeitnot. At this exact moment of the game I had the false impression that I
had lost control and that the position was simply unclear. It was hard to make
the mental shift from playing a slow grinding positional Catalan to a
completely open tactical position. Since I was somewhat pessimistic about my
chances, my brain couldn't find the best moves, which honestly weren't that
hard to find.} 25. Nbd4 $2 (25. a4 $1 $16 {is natural and strong, killing two
birds with one stone: not only do I get rid of my weak pawn, but my rook will
stand beautifully on the a-file.}) 25... Qf6 $2 (25... Bg7 $1 26. Nxe6 Bxa1 27.
Nxd8 Rxd8 28. Rxa1 Nf6 {and Black is still in the game.}) {[#]} 26. a4 $2 {
The second best move but} (26. Bc3 $1 {was simply a killer because after} e5
27. Nxb5 $1 axb5 28. Rxd7 $18 {is decisive. Strangely, I played 26.a4 because
I could reply to... e5 with 27. Nxb5. Sometimes the brain plays tricks on you.}
) 26... Nde5 $6 (26... c5 $1 {is more combative.}) 27. axb5 axb5 $6 28. Bc3 $2
{It's funny, I am playing all the right moves but in the wrong order!} (28.
Nxe5 $1 Nxe5 {and now White has the flashy} (28... Qxe5 29. Bxe6+ $1 Rxe6 30.
Nxe6 Rxd1 31. Qxd1 $18 {see comment about 13... Ba8.}) 29. Rxa8 Rxa8 30. f4 $16
{with tremendous compensation for the exchange.}) 28... Nxf3+ $1 29. Qxf3 Qxf3
30. Nxf3 Rxd1+ 31. Rxd1 Bxe4 {Black appears to be doing well by liquidating to
an endgame with an extra pawn. But White has a little surprise in store.} 32.
Rd8 $1 {[#]} Re7 $2 {Sylvain was down to his last minute and failed to find a
miraculous save.} (32... Rxd8 $4 33. Bxe6#) (32... Bc6 33. Nd4 {I thought this
was winning during the game, but we discovered in the analysis the saving grace
} Be7 $3 {and suprisingly everything holds.}) 33. Ng5 e5 $2 (33... Bd5 {
is more resilient} 34. Bf6 Rf7 35. Nxf7 Kxf7 36. Bc3 {should be a technical
win.}) 34. Nxe4 1-0

[Event "COQ 2016"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2016.07.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Le Siège, Alexandre"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2536"]
[BlackElo "2497"]
[Annotator "Alexandre Le Siège"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2016.07.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] Bator Sambuev has an uncompromising style. He calculated
variations well and always plays for the win. When you play someone like him,
you have to remain calm and alert because he's going to force you to find good
defensive moves. This game is no exception with Bator going early for a
somewhat dangerous but speculative attack. Our personal score up to this game
was 2-0 for him, so I was hoping to put up a good fight and stop the slippery
slope. At that point in the tournament we both had 4 out of 4 so this was a
very important game for the final result.} 1. e4 ({From time to time, Bator
also likes to play his pet system: the Colle:} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3) 1...
e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {First time we met Bator opted for:} (3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6
dxc6 5. Nc3 f6 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 c5 8. Nde2 Qxd1+ 9. Nxd1 Be6 10. Bf4 O-O-O
11. Ne3 Ne7 12. h4 {going straight to a typical exchange Ruy-Lopez endgame
that theory doesn't consider very dangerous: Sambuev,B (2554)-Lesiege,A (2542)
Varennes, 2015 (1-0, 39).}) 3... Bc5 (3... Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 {is an old line that
is still debated at the top level.}) 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 (5. d4 $5 exd4 6. cxd4
Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O {This old gambit brought many quick White victories
after:} Nxc3 $6 9. bxc3 Bxc3 $2 10. Ba3 $1 d5 11. Bb5 Bxa1 12. Re1+ Be6 13. Qc2
$18 {Nowadays 8...Bxc3! has taken much of the strain out of this early assault.
}) {[#]} 5... O-O {There are basically two ways to play this position for
Black. Either with a quick ...0-0, which gives Black the extra option of a
quick ...d5; or by delaying castling by playing ...d6, ...a6, ...Ba7. This
second method is more prophylactic in nature, preventing ideas based on d4 and
b4. Also, by delaying castling Black never has to fear the annoying pin Bg5
because he can simply push ...h6 and ...g5 with impunity.} 6. Bg5 {With 6.Bg5
my opponent wants to give an independent twist to the position, even though
the move has been played frequently.} (6. O-O d5 $5 {is an ambitious option
played by the likes of Aronian. Vs Wesley So at the Sinquefield cup 2016 an
interesting struggle developed after another interesting option :}) (6. O-O h6
7. d4 Bb6 8. dxe5 Nxe4 9. Bd5 Nxf2 $1 $13 {So-Aronian, St.Louis 2016 (1/2-1/2,
29).}) 6... h6 {It's useful to force the white bishop to commit.} 7. Bh4 {[#]}
Be7 (7... d6 {Tolerating the pin is quite OK and was played for instance,
recently by the strong Grandmaster Pavel Eljanov. At some point in the future,
Black intends to play ...g5, ...g4 and ...Nh5. On the other hand, the possible
sacrifices on g5 are quite scary at every junction and I don't have that 2700
level of preparation yet to know the right moment to push ...g5. Even the
computers get confused and it requires very deep analysis of many complicated
line to play this way confidently. 7...Be7 is a simpler option that is quite
sound. Even though I am losing a tempo, the possibility to exchange the
dark-square bishop allows me to free my position.}) 8. Nbd2 {A flexible move
that keeps both castling options available.} d6 9. Bb3 Kh8 (9... Nh5 10. Bxe7
Qxe7 {with a balanced position is more principled, but there is nothing wrong
with my king move that prepares an eventual ...f5.}) (9... Na5 10. Bc2 c5 {
leads to some hybrid d3 Ruy-Lopez.}) 10. Qe2 {This looks a little artificial.}
(10. O-O) 10... a5 {At this point, I was pretty sure Bator was going to long
castle, and ...a5 prepares counterplay on that sector of the board.} 11. a4 {
Of course this natural move prevents Black from gaining space. But now 0-0-0
has become more risky in view of ...b5.} Qe8 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Rg1 $5 {[#]
Typical Bator: he rejects the equilibrium offered by the normal 13.0-0 and is
instead planning to mate my king! This plan is reminiscent of some modern
lines in the anti-Berlin, where White plays Bxc6, d3, Qe2, g4. The motivation
in such a direct attack lies in the position of my h-pawn. It offers a clear
way for White to open my king side with g4-g5. If the pawn was on its original
square such an attack would be ill-advised. Objectively, up to this point,
Black hasn't made any serious mistake and should feel confident to beat off
the attack. In practice, White's position is much easier to play.} Nd8 $5 {
it makes sense to reroute the knight to the king side. The idea is simply ...
Ne6-f4. The only downside of this move is the possible exchange on e6. Another
safer route was possible with:} (13... Ne7 {but I rejected it because after}
14. h4 $1 Ng6 15. g3 {my knight is paralysed while White can still improve his
position with Nf1-e3 or squeeze with h5 and g4.}) {[#]} 14. Nf1 $2 {too slow.
This will be a recurrent theme in Bator's mistakes in this game: he tries to
maximise his advantage instead of simply taking what's offered in the position.
Such a strategy is prone to backfire against correct play, but on the other
hand it puts you in some kind of urgency to refute your opponent's optimism
before he controls the whole board. Here, Bator wants to improve his knight's
position before launching the pawn avalanche. Nevertheless:} (14. g4 $1 {
was the way to go. Black has two completely different ways to react to this
advance.} Ne6 (14... g6 $5 15. h4 Bg7 16. h5 g5 {with a complicated struggle
ahead.}) 15. Bxe6 Bxe6 16. g5 hxg5 17. Nxg5 Bxg5 18. Rxg5 f6 19. Rg2 g5 $1 {
planning ...Rf7-h7; White has to play precisely to secure the draw.} 20. O-O-O
Rf7 21. h4 gxh4 22. f4 $1 Rh7 23. f5 Bf7 24. Qf2 Qxa4 25. Rh2 $11 {and Black
has nothing better than perpetual check.}) 14... b5 15. Ne3 Ne6 16. Bxe6 {
The knight can't be allowed to reach f4.} Bxe6 17. g4 {[#]} g6 {Not the most
precise, I should simply ignore White's threats and play:} (17... bxa4 $1 18.
g5 (18. h4 Be7 19. g5 f5 $1 $17) 18... hxg5 19. Nxg5 Bxg5 20. Rxg5 g6 $17 {
and White's position looks more menacing than it really is.}) 18. g5 Bg7 19.
gxh6 Bxh6 20. h4 bxa4 21. h5 {[#]} g5 $2 {Too frisky. This move is an enormous
positional concession to safeguard my king. A simple calculation reveals that
the attack is not dangerous:} (21... Rb8 $1 22. Nh4 Rg8 $17 {Black is clearly
better, but in practice its scary to let white open the h-file, you don't have
the reassuring evaluation of the computer that is telling you that everything
is going to be OK. Still, a grave misjudgment from my part, because with the
white king stuck in the center I should have been confident in my defensive
and counter-attacking chances.}) 22. Nh2 (22. Nxg5 $2 {going after the
material makes no sense because after} Rg8 23. Nf3 Rxg1+ 24. Nxg1 {my black
bishop is back to life while White lost one of his main attacking piece.})
22... f6 $1 {At least my king side is super solid now.} 23. Nhf1 $2 {Once
again Bator is not satisfied with what the position offered after 23.Nhg4. He
wants the complete domination of the f5 square. This is way too optimistic
with his queenside about to fall apart.} Qb5 24. f3 {A subtle move to defend
b2 with Rg2.} Rab8 25. Rg2 {[#]} Rb7 $2 {What do you know? The simple plan of
tripling on the b-file doesn't get computer's approval! But in a way this
turned out to be a great practical mistake versus Bator's plan of Ng3-f5.  The
essence of the position is that White needs to tie up some of my pieces with
Ng4 as soon as possible. That's why 23.Nhf1 wasn't best and why the computer
is now suggesting:} (25... f5 $1 26. exf5 Bxf5 27. Nxf5 Rxf5 $17) 26. Ng3 $2 {
This allows my bishop to drop back on the perfect f8 square.} (26. Ng4 $1)
26... Rfb8 27. Ngf5 Bf8 $17 {[#] Black is close to winning. Any positional
advantage gained on the kingside doesn't mean much with White's king stuck in
the center.} 28. Qd1 $6 {The human move.} Bb3 $6 {There is no need to block
the b-file. 28...Bd7 keeping an eye on a4 and f5 was more principled. I was
under the false impression that White had to repeat the position, allowing me
to gain some time on the clock. Nevertheless the counter-intuitive:} (28... a3
$1 {was even stronger.} 29. bxa3 d5 $19 {White got rid of his weak b-pawn, but
also lost his counterplay on the a-file. The material is not so important in
this kind of position, the initiative is.}) 29. Qc1 $1 Qxd3 $1 {[#] Brave and
correct.} 30. Rd2 {Bator had a very good practical chance to complicate the
game} (30. c4 $5 d5 $8 31. cxd5 {Forcing me to find an incredible move -- with
little time -- to keep a decisive advantage.} g4 $3 {a brilliant diversion out
of the blue. All three recaptures come with shortcomings:} 32. Rxg4 $1 (32.
Nxg4 $2 Qxf3 $19) (32. fxg4 $2 Qxe4 $19) 32... Bxd5 $1 33. Qd1 (33. exd5 $2
Rxb2 $19) (33. Nxd5 $2 Rxb2 $19) 33... Qxd1+ 34. Nxd1 Bf7 35. Rxa4 Rd8 $19 {
the white king is still under enormous pressure.}) 30... Qa6 31. c4 $2 {
A bad move in a difficult position.} Rb4 32. Rg2 Bxc4 33. Ng4 d5 {[#]} 34. Nxe5
{Bator goes all in, the best practical decision as we were getting low on time.
} fxe5 35. Qxg5 dxe4 {covers g8} 36. Rd1 Qe6 {Prevents Rd8 or Rd7.} 37. Ng7 (
37. Nh4 Kh7 $19) (37. Rd8 Rxd8 38. Qxd8 Qxf5 $19) 37... Qb6 {Repositioning my
queen on a more dangerous diagonal. The unusual ...Qg8 was equally strong.} 38.
Nf5 {[#]} Rb3 $4 {We were both on our 30 seconds increment and probably too
focused only on Rd8, so we both missed the interception Rd6!} (38... exf3 $1
39. Rd8 (39. Rd6 Qxd6 40. Nxd6 fxg2 $19) 39... Rxd8 40. Qxd8 Bg8 $1 {I
overlooked this move} 41. Qxf8 Re4+ $19) 39. Rd8 $4 (39. Rd6 $1 {saves the day}
Qb4+ 40. Rgd2 $1 (40. Kd1 $6 Rd3+ 41. Rxd3 Bb3+ $8 42. Rxb3 Qxb3+ 43. Kc1 Rb6
$1 (43... Qf7 44. fxe4 a3 45. Kb1 a4 46. Qg6 $1 Qxg6 47. hxg6 Rxb2+ 48. Rxb2
axb2 49. Kxb2 {despite the Black material advantage the ending is drawn.}) 44.
Ne3 Qf7 45. Qxe5+ Bg7 46. Qxe4 Re6 47. Qd5 Bh6 {and White is uncomfortable.})
40... Re3+ (40... cxd6 41. Qf6+ $11 {is a draw}) 41. Nxe3 cxd6 42. h6 $1 {
and White has enough resources to secure a draw.}) 39... Rxd8 40. Qxd8 Re3+ {
Mate follows shortly.} 0-1

[Event "Varennes 2016"]
[Site "Varennes"]
[Date "2016.10.08"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Le Siège, Alexandre"]
[Black "Massé, Hugues"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D41"]
[WhiteElo "2559"]
[BlackElo "2280"]
[Annotator "Alexandre Le Siège"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] Last time we played - a long time ago - Hugues played a Grunfeld.
I didn't feel like playing against it, hence my opening choice.} 1. Nf3 {
I've been playing 1.Nf3 on a regular basis lately, but I feel I should switch
back to 1.d4 as my main weapon as it generally gives rise to more complicated
positions. I also plan to add 1.e4 to my repertoire in 2017, but there is an
insane amount of theory to learn. It's great to have many options in your
toolbox to face a different opponent or different tournament situation. Some
players, for example, are extremely hard to beat with 1.d4, but are a little
more shaky against 1.e4} Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 ({Against Daniel Trahan in the
2016 Quebec Open I chose} 3. g3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qb6 $1 6. Nb3 Ne5 7. c5
Qc6 {and ended up in a difficult position after only 7 moves! You can see the
full analysis of this game in Échec+ if you're interested.}) 3... Nc6 4. g3 (
4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 {leads to the most important tabyia of the symmetrical
English. White has been having problems proving any sort of opening advantage
after either 6.g3, 6.a3 or 6.Ndb5.}) 4... d5 5. d4 (5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 {
brings the reverse Maroczy bind.}) {[#]} 5... e6 (5... dxc4 $6 6. d5 Nb4 7. e4
Bg4 8. Bxc4 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nc2+ 10. Kf1 {is a dubious variation seen in my game
Ftacnik - Le Siège, Montréal, 2002. The funny thing is, I did prepare for
that game planning to take the rook, but at the board finally decided to play
10... Nd4. This was clearly a case of irrational preparation since this line
is supposed to be bad for Black.}) 6. cxd5 (6. Bg2 $6 dxc4 $1 {with a
Catalan-like position where White usually has castled instead of having his
knight on c3.}) 6... Nxd5 7. Bg2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 {[#]} Nxc3 {Black has to release
the tension in the center because} (8... Bb4 $2 9. O-O $1 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc3
11. Nxc6 Qxd1 12. Rxd1 Bd7 13. Rb1 Bxc6 14. Ba3 $1 {is simply bad.}) 9. bxc3
Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Qxd4 11. cxd4 Bb4+ {[#] This is the old main line. Nowadays, top
players like Caruana prefer to defend the slightly worse position that arrises
after 11... Bd6. A recent example is the game Kovalyov - Nakamura from the
2016 Olympiad.} 12. Bd2 Bxd2+ 13. Kxd2 Ke7 14. Rac1 Rd8 15. Rc7+ Rd7 16. Rhc1
Kd8 17. Rxd7+ Kxd7 {[#] This is the critical position to evaluate the validity
of Black's whole concept. There are about 30 games in Megabase 2016, many
played by very strong players from both colours. The only advantage White has
is a slight lead in development. Black threatens to play ...Rb8, ...b6 and ...
Bb7 to completely level the position. The question is how White can best use
those extra tempos to gain some positional advantage. There is no definite
answer to that question, but certainly the advance of White's kingside pawns
to gain space is a natural try. Planning for the future, many different
endings are possible: rook endings, bishop endings, or king endings. White's
goal is to gain a favourable version of those endgames by arranging his pawns
in a favorable way. To illustrate my point, check the top level example in the
next note.} 18. f4 (18. g4 h6 19. h4 Rb8 20. f4 b6 21. Bc6+ Kd8 22. e4 Bd7 23.
h5 {[#]Analysis Diagram was Gelfand - Leko, 2014. Here Leko played ...b5 and
went on to lose the Rook ending. But the alternative,} Rc8 24. Bxd7 Rxc1 25.
Kxc1 Kxd7 26. e5 {probably leads to a winning endgame for White, at least
according to Ftacnik. According to the computer Black can defend with perfect
play, but that's beside the point. It mainly shows what White is trying to
accomplish: get a favourable position that may or may not be winning but that
will at least give him some practical chance. I have no doubt that after 17...
Kxd7 Black has a theoretical draw, but he faces great practical discomfort and
a lots of endgames are impossible to evaluate accurately in the time available
in a tournament game.}) ({Another plan is that White can also use his extra
time to harass black kingside pawns. A couple of games have continued with} 18.
Rc5 Rb8 19. Ra5 a6 20. Rh5 h6 21. g4 {with the idea g4-g5. But even in that
case Black can put up a successful defense.}) 18... Rb8 19. d5 $5 {My idea is
to gain some space for my bishop and create weakness on the white squares.
After} (19. e4 b6 20. Ke3 Bb7 {White has a nice space advantage, but the
problem is that after a subsequent exchange of rooks on the c-file the bishop
endgame should be an easy draw. By the way, bishop endgames are probably the
configuration where White has the most difficulty converting a space advantage.
}) 19... exd5 20. Bxd5 f6 {[#]} 21. Be4 (21. Ke3 {Centralising the king looks
natural, but after} Kd6 22. Kd4 (22. Rd1 Ke7 $1 {followed by ...Be6 is about
the same.}) 22... Be6 (22... Bg4 $5 23. e4 Rc8 $11 {if Black is afraid of the
king endgame this is a simpler draw.}) 23. Bxe6 Kxe6 24. Rc7 Rd8+ 25. Ke4 Rd7
26. f5+ Ke7 27. Rxd7+ Kxd7 28. Kd5 h5 {Black's position look lost, but it's
only a draw. editor - Stockfish rates this as high as +4, but at 36 ply it
switches to 0.00. I'll leave it to readers to work out the details for
themselves.}) 21... h6 $1 (21... g6 $6 22. f5 g5 23. h4 gxh4 24. gxh4 {is
highly unpleasant for Black as White can now use the g-file to invade.}) 22.
Bf5+ Kd8 {[#]} 23. g4 $1 {The only practical chance to create an illusion of
pressure.} (23. Rxc8+ Rxc8 24. Bxc8 Kxc8 25. Kd3 Kd7 26. Kd4 Kd6 27. e4 {
is a draw. I can't say I worked out all these variations during the game, but
my general feeling that Black could hold is backed up by computer analysis.
Normally, the side with the outside pawn pawn (Black here) has the advantage
in these types of endgames. But in this case Black is unable to safely create
an outside passed pawn and lacks a clear entry point to attack my pawns. He
actually has to be careful not to lose both of his queenside pawns when my
a-pawn could prove decisive. A sample line could be:} b6 28. g4 a6 29. h4 b5
30. h5 a5 {and now} 31. e5+ fxe5+ 32. fxe5+ Ke6 33. Kc5 Kxe5 34. Kxb5 Kf4 35.
Kxa5 Kxg4 36. Kb4 Kxh5 $11 {leads nowhere for White.}) 23... Bd7 (23... g5 $5
$11) (23... Bxf5 24. gxf5 Rc8 $2 25. Rxc8+ Kxc8 {shows the main point of 23.
g4! The pawn endgame is now easily won for White because he can create a
supported passed e-pawn. For example:} 26. e4 Kd7 27. Kd3 Kd6 28. Kd4 b6 29.
e5+ Kc6 (29... fxe5+ 30. fxe5+ Ke7 31. Kd5 b5 32. Kc5 $18) 30. Kc4 b5+ 31. Kd4
h5 32. h4 a5 33. e6 {Analysis Diagram} Kd6 {[#] Black has the opposition, but
White can triangulate to break through:} 34. Kd3 Kc6 35. Ke4 Kd6 36. Kd4 Kc6
37. e7 Kd7 38. Kc5 $18 {Now White will capture both queenside pawns and either
queen his a-pawn before Black can promote, or use the a-pawn to decoy the
Black's K away from his kingside pawns.}) 24. Ke3 Bxf5 (24... Bc6 $5 25. Be4
Kd7 26. Bxc6+ bxc6 {is objectively drawn, but White still has some practical
chance to create some problems with his better pawn structure and a clear
route for his king to g6.}) 25. gxf5 {[#]} Kd7 $2 {A natural move, but a clear
mistake. After this Black is on the verge of defeat. White has many plusses: a
more active king and rook, a potential passed pawn on the e-file, a nice
target on g7. On top of that, as we've seen, Black can never trade rooks.} (
25... Ke7 $3 {is extremely counterintuitive, but lead to equality according to
the computer.} 26. Rc7+ {seems deadly at first sight, but things are not so
simple} Kf8 {and Black's plan is simple: try to trade the pawns on the
queenside or activate his rook.} 27. Kf3 a5 $1 28. e4 b5 29. Ra7 (29. e5 b4 30.
Ra7 b3 $11) 29... a4 30. e5 Rc8 $1 31. Ke4 Rc4+ $11 {If you compare this
variation to what happens in the game, one of the main points is while Black
is trying to gain counterplay he is also actively defending his 8th rank. This
is really a key point and renders the e5-e6 advance less effective.}) 26. Kd4
$16 Rd8 27. e4 Ke8+ $6 28. Ke3 $18 Rd7 {[#]} 29. h4 {The human way to play and
following the classic endgame principle: Do not hurry! First, I want to lock
the kingside to ensure all kinds of endgames will be clearly winning. This
doesn't spoil the win, but a more direct approach is offered by the computer:}
(29. Rc8+ Ke7 30. e5 Rd5 31. Rc7+ Kf8 32. e6 Rxf5 33. Rf7+ Ke8 34. Rxg7 $18 {
but even this final position doesn't appear completely clear to the human eye,
even if the eventual fall of the f-pawn should decide.}) 29... Re7 30. h5 $6 (
30. Rc8+ $142 $1 Kd7 (30... Kf7 31. h5 {now this move! once the black king is
locked up}) 31. Ra8 a6 32. Kd4 {is the clear win according to the computer; e5
is on the agenda and Black's K and R are getting in each other's way.}) 30...
b6 $1 {[#] The problem I now face is how to make progress. The black rook is
ideally placed on e7 preventing the advance of the e-pawn while defending the
vulnerable a7 and g7 pawns. If I play 31.Kd4, Black simply gives a check on d7
forcing me to go back.} 31. Rc4 {I am defending my e4 pawn so my king can
start heading to Black queenside. Ideally, I would like to provoke a pawn move.
Once a pawn moves, the black rook will become overload preventing both e5 and
protecting its own army.} (31. Rc8+ {This check that was so strong on move 30
is not so effective now.The difference is that after} Kd7 32. Ra8 {Black is
not force to move his a pawn but can activate his king instead with} Kc6 $1)
31... Kd8 32. Kd4 Rd7+ 33. Kc3 Ke8 $2 {Now White implements his plan of
successfully attacking black pawn while threatening e4-e5. 33... Re7!
preventing e5 while guarding c8 was much more logical. White is much better,
but it's unclear how to further progress.} 34. Rc8+ $1 Ke7 35. Kc4 $18 a6 (
35... Rd2 36. Rc7+ Kf8 37. Rxa7 Rf2 38. Kb5 Rxf4 39. Kxb6 Rxe4 40. a4 {and the
passed a pawn decides}) 36. Ra8 Rc7+ 37. Kd3 Rd7+ 38. Ke3 a5 {[#]} 39. Rb8 $2 {
I was very short on time and didn't want to alter the nature of the position
before making time control. Turned out that this mistake lets the win slip
away.} (39. e5 $1 Rd5 40. Ra7+ Kf8 41. Ke4 Rb5 42. e6 Rb2 43. Rf7+ Kg8 {
I saw this position but failed to see how I could make progress...but there's
a way!} 44. Kd5 $1 Rxa2 45. Kd6 a4 46. Ke7 a3 47. Rf8+ Kh7 48. Kf7 $18) 39...
Rd6 $2 {Once again Hugues make the same kind of mistake he's been doing the
whole endgame: playing too passively. What Dvoretsky has shown in his
excellent endgame manuals is that rook activity is paramount in rook endings
even at the cost of material.} (39... Rc7 $3 {Very hard to find as Hugues was
on his 30 second increment at that point} 40. Rxb6 Rc2 41. Rb7+ Kf8 42. e5 (42.
Kd4 Rxa2 43. Kd5 Rf2 $11) 42... Rxa2 43. e6 a4 $11 {White's king dosen't have
time to penetrate the enemy camp.}) 40. Rb7+ Kf8 41. a3 (41. e5 $1 {is more
incisive. Somehow I was very cautious with this pawn advance the whole endgame.
}) {[#]} 41... a4 (41... Rd1 {is more stubborn, but after} 42. Rxb6 Ra1 43. Rb3
{White is still winning. I will eventually pick up the a-pawn, probably giving
a couple of my kingside pawns in the process. The fact that I have a complete
bind with f5 and h5 means that Black won't be in time to gain enough
counterplay.}) 42. e5 Rd1 (42... Rd5 43. Rb8+ Kf7 (43... Ke7 44. Rxb6 fxe5 45.
Re6+ Kf8 46. fxe5 $18) 44. e6+ Ke7 45. Rb7+ Kf8 46. Ke4 Rb5 47. Rf7+ Kg8 48.
Ra7 Kf8 49. Rxa4 $18 {This variation is why I played 41.a3 thus provoking ...
a4.}) 43. Ke4 Ra1 44. Kd5 fxe5 45. fxe5 Rxa3 46. Ke6 {[#] It's all over. The
Black king is boxed and my e-pawn is unstoppable.} Kg8 47. Rxb6 Rb3 48. Ra6 a3
49. Ra8+ Kh7 50. Kd6 Rd3+ 51. Ke7 Rf3 52. e6 Rxf5 53. Kd6 Rf3 54. e7 Rd3+ 55.
Kc5 1-0

[Event "Varennes 2016"]
[Site "Varennes"]
[Date "2016.10.09"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Chiku-Ratte, Olivier Kenta"]
[Black "Le Siège, Alexandre"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2381"]
[BlackElo "2559"]
[Annotator "Alexandre Le Siège"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] This was the 4th round and Kenta and I were both leading the
tournament with 3/3. Having Black, I was still in a position that a draw
wasn't really a satisfactory result. Let me explain: following a new tend, the
Varennes tournament has adopted the indivisible prize formula. What that means
is prizes can't be shared. For example, if two players win the tournament with
4.5/5, one will get the first prize of $1700 and the other one will get the
second prize of $800. What's worse is that the tiebreaker is left completely
to chance: it consists of the total of the points of your opponents in the
tournament. So, if one of your 'dogs' is having a bad tournament, it's just
too bad for you. As it turned out, I would have finished only second in the
tournament had Kenta won his last game and joined me at 4.5/5 (he would have
edged me at the finish line by a mere half a point on tie-break). Something
seems broken with the system when you don't win a weekend tournament with 4.5/
5. I think this formula has its place, but not in a 5 rounder. The organizer
has acknowledged the shortcoming of this rule and will probably revert to a
more traditional formula next year. Perhaps the non-division of prizes would
be a good thing for prizes under $100. Who likes to win $12.50 after an 8-way
split?} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 {I have been playing the Nimzo-Indian
lately as the Queen Gambit Accepted is a little dry} 4. f3 {[#] This is
Kenta's pet line.} c5 {This is the best option if you're playing for a win.} (
4... d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 (7... exd5 8. e3 c4 $5 {is an
interesting line seen in the 2013 World Championship between Anand and Carlsen.
}) 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. e4 {is solid for Black but tends to lead to drawish position}
) (4... O-O 5. a3 $1 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 {is another interesting option. Usually the
Saemish plan of a quick a3 is not so promising for White, but in this case,
it's completely justified by the fact that Black has castled early, thus
creating a target.}) 5. d5 O-O {The flexible approach. In my first encounter
with Kenta, I chose} (5... b5 6. e4 bxc4 7. Bxc4 {and knowing 0% theory last
year followed it up with} Bxc3+ $2 8. bxc3 $16 {(½-½, 23) Chiku Ratte,O 
(2195)-Lesiege,A (2528) Montreal, 2015.}) 6. e4 d6 {[#]} 7. Nge2 {We've
reached some kind of hybrid Snake Benoni where the bishop has reached b4
without taking the official route via d6 and c7. White has a mighty center,
but is underdeveloped. I don't think he can really hope for an advantage but
more for an interesting struggle. On the other hand, Black has to take
concrete measure otherwise he might simply end up lacking space.} (7. Bd3 {
is another option, but the bishop is exposed to a knight landing on e5.}) 7...
b5 8. Nf4 {This has all been played before, but we can't really call it
mainstream theory.} (8. Ng3 {is another approach.}) 8... exd5 9. cxd5 (9. Nfxd5
Nxd5 10. Qxd5 Qb6 $1) {[#]} 9... c4 $5 {In retrospect, I feel like this move
is too committing. After 10. a4 I will have to sacrifice a pawn. I will
definitely get compensation, but the onus will be on me to prove it with
accurate play; this is always a dangerous situation to put yourself into. I
much prefer the simpler alternative} (9... a6 {which also gives a sharp
situation, but one where I don't have to prove anything.}) 10. a4 Nbd7 {
Losing b5 but establishing a superb knight on e5.} 11. axb5 Ne5 12. Be3 {
It's important to control this diagonal.} Nfd7 $1 {[#] The bulk of my
compensation will come from controlling the dark squares after trading the
black bishops. The pawn structure resembles some kind of Benko gambit, but
with some differences: I don't have the typical pressure without the g7 bishop
and lack the usual a-file pressure. One can argue that b2 will be weak once I
regain the b5-pawn, but my a7-pawn is also vulnerable.} 13. Be2 {Taking on a7
is suicide. Some sample lines to convince ourselves :} (13. Bxa7 $2 Rxa7 $1 14.
Rxa7 Qb6 15. Ra8 Qe3+ 16. Be2 Qxf4 $19) (13. Rxa7 $2 Rxa7 14. Bxa7 Nc5 $1 {
follow by ...Qa5 White is in deep trouble.}) 13... Bc5 14. Qd2 Qb6 {[#]} 15.
Bxc5 $2 {Kenta told me after the game that he rejected the obvious 15.Kf2
because he was afraid of ...f5.} (15. Kf2 $1 Bxe3+ $1 (15... f5 $6 {is not so
convincing after} 16. Ne6 $1 f4 17. Bd4 $1 Nd3+ 18. Kf1 Bxd4 {Of course, I can
understand how this whole line could look extremely scary for White, but he's
OK after} 19. Na4 $8 $16) 16. Qxe3 Nc5 $44) 15... Nxc5 16. Qe3 {[#]} Bd7 $2 {
White's position seems in order as after} (16... Ncd3+ 17. Kd2 {everything is
defended; but here Black has an incredibly deep and unusual maneuver, yet so
simple once you see it:} Nc5 $1 {Threatening ...Nb3+ and forcing the king back}
18. Ke1 {We've now reached the same position as in the game after} Bd7 {
but the fact that White can't castle anymore changes the whole evaluation of
the position. With no safe heaven for his king, the combined pressure down the
b-file and the threat of ...f7-f5 could quickly prove decisive. For example,
after the natural} 19. Kf2 $6 f5 $1 {is decisive.}) 17. O-O {The worst is over
for White. I will regain the b-pawn, but it won't suffice for an advantage.
The rest of the game is still full of adventures, but incredibly the
evaluation will never budge from being close to 0.00.} Rfb8 18. Kh1 {[#]} Nb3 {
I would have like to keep the queens on the board and simply capture the
b-pawn, but I didn't like the fact that White's knight is ready to jump to h5:}
(18... Bxb5 19. Nh5 $1 {suddenly the threat of Qg5 followed by the advance of
the f-pawn is really annoying. Black can certainly maintain the balance, but I
wasn't going to hand the initiative to my opponent so easily.}) 19. Qxb6 Rxb6
20. Ra3 $1 {Kenta tactically defends his b5-pawn because of Rxb3.} (20. Ra6 $6
{trying to ease the pressure is more comfortable for Black after} Rxa6 21. bxa6
Rb8) 20... g6 {It's often good to preemptively prevent the back rank mate.
Besides, White can't do much for the time being.} 21. Rd1 {By preventing ...
Nd2 White is forcing my knight to retreat. In the process he will be able to
double on the a-file if he desires.} (21. Bxc4 $2 Nxc4 22. Rxb3 Nd2 $19) 21...
Nc5 22. g4 {[#] I don't like this move, even if it doesn't disturb the balance.
Weakening the kingside is a big commitment. Understandably, White wanted to
recycle his poor f4-knight via g2 and e3, but Rda1! was simpler.} Rb7 23. Ra5
Rab8 24. Ng2 Bxb5 25. Ne3 Bd7 26. Nxc4 Nxc4 27. Bxc4 Rxb2 {[#] White's
position seems to have become critical, but his next move saves him.} 28. e5 $1
(28. Rxa7 $6 Rc2 29. Ra3 Rbb2 {is no fun}) 28... Rc2 29. exd6 Rc8 30. Ra3 Na4
31. Ne4 R8xc4 32. Nf6+ Kg7 33. Nxd7 Re2 {[#] I will double of the 2nd rank,
but unfortunately the advanced d-pawn will force me to bail out with a
perpetual check.} 34. Ne5 Rcc2 35. Nd3 Rxh2+ 36. Kg1 Rcg2+ 37. Kf1 Rc2 38. Kg1
Rcg2+ 39. Kf1 Rc2 40. Kg1 Rhg2+ 41. Kh1 Nb6 42. d7 Rh2+ 43. Kg1 Rcg2+ 44. Kf1 {
[#] The final critical position of the game; I was trying to calculate if I
had some funky mating idea with my knight.} Rc2 (44... Nxd5 {White has only
one good move, but it's enough} 45. Re1 $1 (45. Ne1 $2 Rf2+ 46. Kg1 Nf4 $19)
45... Rc2 46. Kg1 Rcg2+ $11) (44... Nc4 {is also nothing special after most
knight moves defending along the third rank.}) 45. Kg1 Nxd7 46. Rxa7 {
Unfortunately, after eliminating the dangerous d7-pawn my knight has no way
back into the attack.} Rcg2+ 47. Kf1 Ra2 48. Rxa2 Rxa2 49. Nf2 f5 {[#]} 50.
gxf5 gxf5 51. Re1 Nf6 52. Re5 Kg6 53. Nh3 Ra4 54. Kf2 f4 55. Rg5+ Kf7 {An
exciting and well played draw apart from the pair of mistakes we made in the
opening.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Pere Noel"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2016.12.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Beaulieu, Eric"]
[Black "Le Siège, Alexandre"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D22"]
[WhiteElo "2202"]
[BlackElo "2578"]
[Annotator "Alexandre Le Siège"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2016.12.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] Eric is part of the wave of players who have returned to
competition after a long break. He told me he's been studying a lot of
Dvoretsky lately and really likes his book "Maneuvering: The Art of Piece
Play". And clearly, he made use of the great teacher's lessons, playing some
nice positional moves in this game. It's really a great time to be a student
of the game with so much good literature and the advancement of chess engines.
} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 {I don't see a good reason for this move order if White is
going to play 3.c4 next. Might as well keep more flexibility.} Nf6 3. c4 dxc4
4. e3 Bg4 {[#] It's useful to have a second-tier opening repertoire when you
need to play for the win with Black, especially in a crowded open section with
only 5 rounds. I picked up this ...Bg4 system from the book "Understanding The
Queen's Gambit Accepted" by Alexander Delchev and Semko Semkov. Magnus Carlsen
used it to almost defeat Anish Giri in the 2016 Bilbao Masters.} 5. Bxc4 e6 6.
O-O (6. Nc3 {is a crafty move order. The idea is revealed after} a6 ({or} 6...
Nbd7 7. O-O Bd6 8. h3 Bh5 9. e4 $1 e5 10. g4 Bg6 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe5
13. f4 {with advantage.}) 7. h3 Bh5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Ne5 Nbd7 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Bf1
$1 $14 {To avoid those aforementioned lines, Black is advised to play 6...
Nc6! instead. While committing the knight so early to c6 is not ideal, it's
better once White has committed his own knight to c3.}) 6... a6 {A flexible
move. Black isn't afraid of h3, g4 since the White bishop can't drop back to
f1 anymore.} 7. b3 $5 {White shows some flexibility of his own. It's nice to
have the b1-knight able to go to c4 to rule out one of Black's main ideas: ...
e6-e5.} c5 {Reverting back to the normal QGA set-up because I was unhappy with
:} (7... Nbd7 8. Bb2 Bd6 (8... Be7 $5 {follow by c5.}) 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. Be2 Qe7
11. Nc4 $14) 8. dxc5 $1 {[#] The right decision. White will have a slightly
more pleasant endgame. My opening strategy hasn't been a great success with
the queens coming off the board so early. But I will try to turn the tide next
move with a concept employed by Carlsen in his World Championship against
Karjakin.} Nc6 $5 {I am fighting hard for the control of the d-file. The
obvious drawback is that I might have some trouble regaining the c5-pawn. See
game 7 Karjakin vs Carlsen to see this same ...Nc6 concept apply. The only
'minor' difference is that in Carlsen's case it was all preparation.} (8...
Qxd1 9. Rxd1 Bxc5 10. Bb2 Nc6 11. Nbd2 $14) 9. Ba3 $1 {White is justified in
misplacing his bishop since it's not entirely obvious how to regain the pawn.}
(9. Qxd8+ $6 {doesn't look right. And indeed after} Rxd8 10. Ba3 {Black simply
plays} Be7 $1 $11 11. Nbd2 $2 b5 $17) 9... Ne4 $2 {"Don't move the same piece
twice in the opening" applies here.} (9... Qa5 {is well met by} 10. Qd2 $1 $14
{but}) (9... Be7 $1 {with the idea to regain the pawn later gives Black a fair
chance to reach complete equality. Once again we see that general principles
are often the best policy. Getting tactical is often a dangerous commitment.})
10. Nbd2 $2 {I was relieved when Eric played this move. He missed a nice
chance to get a huge advantage with the paradoxal} (10. Qxd8+ Rxd8 11. Nd4 $1
$16 {The powerful threat f3 puts a stop to Black's ambitions; and regaining c5
doesn't solve the problems:} Nxc5 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Rc1 $16 {On the other hand}
) (10. Qc2 $2 Bxf3 11. gxf3 Nxc5 $13 {is fine for me.}) 10... Bxc5 11. Bb2 Nxd2
12. Qxd2 Qxd2 (12... Bxf3 13. Qxd8+ Rxd8 14. gxf3 Rd2 15. Bc3 Rc2 16. Rfc1
Rxc1+ 17. Rxc1 Ba3 18. Rd1 Ke7 {is equal as well, but offers less chance to
outplay my opponent.}) 13. Nxd2 O-O 14. Ne4 {[#] This Bg4 is a mixed blessing.
On one hand, I am thrilled to control the d1 square. On the other hand, I am
less thrilled that after Ng3 it's getting in trouble.} Ba7 $6 {Obviously the
best move is the harmonious ...Be7, but playing for a win at all cost I was
trying to force complications. After} (14... Be7 $1 {I didn't like the fact
that White can shut down my bishop with} 15. Ng3 h5 $1 16. f3 h4 17. Ne2 Bf5
18. e4 {It's not such a problem for Black, since I can eventually trade it
with the maneuver ...Bh7-g8, f6, e5, but the resulting positions appeared a
little dry to me. This is a typical plan often employed in the Slav Defense.
See the World Championship match between Kramik and Topalov for a good example
of how to deal with such a bishop.}) 15. Ng3 (15. Rfc1 $1 $14) 15... h5 $1 {
As unusual as effective.} 16. h3 h4 17. Ne4 (17. hxg4 hxg3 {is no fun for
White with my Ba7.}) 17... Bh5 18. Rfc1 $1 {A very nice positional move. The
a2 pawn is kept protected and the c4 bishop can drop back to f1.} Rfd8 $5 {
[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position Tell you the truth, I missed both 19.Bxa6 and
19.Bf6. I was so concentrated on creating chances to avoid the draw that I
forgot that my opponent had serious threats. I was mainly analysing 19.Bf1 and
19.Ba3.} (18... Bg6 $1 {I rejected this move because after} 19. Nd6 Nb4 20.
Nxb7 $6 {I couldn't see anything better than a repetition of move after} Nc2 ({
Turned out that I had} 20... Rfb8 $1 21. Na5 Bb6 22. a3 Nc2 $15) 21. Rab1 Nb4 {
In the end White should probably play 19.Ng5.}) 19. Bxa6 $6 {Eric was more
attuned to the truth of the position than me and took a long time deciding
between the two very tempting options 19.Bxa6 and 19. Bf6. He correctly
assessed that the latter would give me nice compensation, but didn't calculate
deeply enough the game's continuation.} (19. Bf6 $1 {was still indeed the best
move} gxf6 20. Nxf6+ Kf8 21. Nxh5 Bb8 $1 22. Bf1 Be5 23. Rab1 Rd2 24. a4 Rad8 {
with decent compensation since I will swap the knight coming to f4.}) 19...
Bxe3 $1 {Before Eric played 19.Bxa6?! I had already worked out the winning
continuation that happened in the game. I went from fearing the move once I
saw it to actually hoping for it.} (19... Nb4 $2 20. Bxb7 Rab8 21. Nc5 $1 $16 {
and the hanging bishop on h5 saves White.}) 20. Bxb7 $2 {Played with tempo.
Perhaps Eric should have recalculated the whole line before committing to it;
what an extra move can do for a player's vision. It was still not too late to
bail out with:} (20. fxe3 Rxa6 21. Nc5 Ra7 22. Nxb7 Rd2 $11) 20... Bxc1 21.
Bxc1 (21. Rxc1 Rxa2 $19) 21... Rd1+ 22. Kh2 Rb8 23. Bxc6 {[#]} Rc8 {Oops,
Black regains a piece! My opponent clearly made some kind of inexperienced
tactical mistake. When you have a rook pinned on the first rank, this should
be a warning sign to calculate more deeply than usual since some unexpected
tactics often occur in those circumstances.} 24. Bb5 Rcxc1 $19 25. Rxc1 Rxc1
26. a4 {The two connected passed pawns look a little scary, but I am in time
to stop them.} Bd1 (26... Bg6 $5 27. f3 Bxe4 28. fxe4 Rb1 29. Bc4 Ra1 $19 {
is a clever way to put White in some kind of Zugzwang. The real problem with
White's position is the poor position of his king. editor - If White's K was
on e3 he'd have decent compensation, and if the K was on b4 he'd be winning.})
27. b4 (27. Bc4 Ra1 (27... Bc2 $5 28. Nc5 Bxb3 $19) 28. Nc5 Ra2 $19) {[#]}
27... Bc2 $1 (27... Rb1 $2 28. Nc3 $1 $17) 28. Nd2 (28. Nc5 Rb1 29. Na6 Be4 $19
{White can't move.}) 28... Rd1 29. Nc4 Be4 $1 30. f3 Bd5 31. Ne5 (31. Ne3 Rb1
32. Nxd5 exd5 $19) 31... Rd4 {[#] The simplest. I just had to make sure I was
in time to stop the pawn after the bishop trade.} 32. Nd3 Bc4 33. Bxc4 Rxc4 34.
b5 (34. a5 Rd4 35. b5 Rxd3 $19 {followed by putting the rook behind the most
advanced passed pawn.}) 34... Rxa4 35. b6 Ra1 36. b7 Rb1 37. Nc5 {[#] White is
pinning his hopes on some kind of geometry; the f8, e5 and f6 squares are all
mined. However, after Black's next, White will be left only with K moves.} Rb2
$1 {The cleanest, White is deprived of g4.} 38. Kg1 Kh7 39. Kf1 Kg6 40. Ke1 Kf5
41. Kd1 e5 42. Kc1 Rb6 {The rook creates an impenetrable barrier, allowing the
Black K to mop up the kingside pawns.} 43. Kd2 Kf4 {The critical moment of the
game was very strange. It seems that 19.Bxa6 should have worked under normal
circumstances, but for some concrete reasons it didn't.} 0-1

[Event "Millionaire Chess Open"]
[Site "Atlantic City"]
[Date "2016.10.09"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Shimanov, Aleksandr"]
[Black "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A47"]
[WhiteElo "2650"]
[BlackElo "2436"]
[Annotator "Aman Hambleton"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "2016.08.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] In Round 7 of the Millionaire Chess Open I was paired against a
2650 GM from Russia, Aleksandr Shimanov. After winning a few games in a row I
found myself playing a much stronger player than I expected. Whatever
preparation I had done was useless once I saw my opponent's opening choice.} 1.
d4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 {[#] The London System, feared by many because of...  
how dull and annoying it can be to play against. After Magnus Carlsen used
this opening, with varied success, it has become incredibly fashionable at all
levels of play.} c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Be7 (5... d5 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O 8. Bd3
b6 9. Ne5 Bb7 $11 {is the main line}) 6. h3 cxd4 7. exd4 b6 8. c3 Bb7 9. Bd3
O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. Re1 d6 {[#] There are many ways to play against this
system, but I always try to avoid playing ...d5, which gives White easy play
with Ne5 and Ndf3.} 12. Bh2 Rc8 13. a4 Bf8 14. Nc4 h6 15. Bf1 Qd7 16. Nfd2 Red8
{[#]} 17. Bg3 ({I had intended to meet} 17. a5 {with} b5 18. a6 bxc4 19. axb7
Qxb7 {but I missed the strong continuation} 20. b3 $1 $16 {when} cxb3 21. Ba6 {
is very good for White.}) 17... Be7 18. Qb3 Na5 $1 {This move doesn't feel
right, giving Black doubled and isolated a-pawns, but it was the trap I
prepared against White's natural move Qb3.} 19. Nxa5 bxa5 20. Qb5 Qc7 21. Rac1
(21. Nc4 Bd5 $1 22. Nxa5 Ne4 23. Bh2 Rb8 $19) 21... Bc6 22. Qc4 Nh5 {[#]
Taking advantage of White's 17th move and activating the pieces with tempo.}
23. Bh2 Bg5 24. Rc2 Qb7 25. Qa2 Nf4 26. f3 e5 $1 {The last five moves have all
come with tempo; Black's position is improving with each move, but I was
spending too much time to find the right plan. Time pressure started to become
a big factor around this point in the game.} 27. dxe5 dxe5 28. Nc4 {[#]} e4 $2
{Based on how badly White's pieces are placed I assumed that any move to open
the position would be in my favour, but I commit an error in time pressure} (
28... Bd5 $1 29. b3 Be6 30. Rxe5 Rd1 $15 {with a big initiative for Black.})
29. fxe4 Bxe4 30. Rf2 Nd3 31. Bxd3 Rxd3 32. Nd6 Rxd6 33. Bxd6 Bd5 {With little
time on the clock I am just trying to reach move 40. The two bishops put up
great resistance.} 34. Qb1 Bh4 35. g3 Qd7 $5 {[%mdl 64] Diagram [#]Critical
Position} 36. Bf4 $4 {My opponent played too quickly; and surprisingly White
is dead lost after this move.} (36. Qd3 $1 Qxd6 37. gxh4 $18 {by no means an
easy conversion ahead, but White is definitely winning.}) 36... Bxg3 $8 (36...
Qxh3 $4 37. Rh2 $8 $18) 37. Bxg3 Qxh3 38. Bh2 Qg4+ 39. Kf1 Bc4+ 40. Ree2 Re8 {
[#]} 41. Qc2 (41. Qe1 Rxe2 42. Rxe2 Qf3+ 43. Qf2 Bxe2+ 44. Ke1 Qxf2+ 45. Kxf2
Bd1 {With 3 connected passed pawns the opposite endgame should be easily
winning.}) (41. Qd1 Bxe2+ 42. Rxe2 Qf3+ 43. Ke1 Qh1+ 44. Kd2 Rd8+ $19) 41...
Rxe2 42. Rxe2 Qf3+ 43. Ke1 Qh1+ 44. Kd2 Bxe2 45. Bb8 Bg4 46. Qb3 {[#]} Qg2+ (
46... Qf3 47. Qb5 Qf2+ 48. Kd3 Be2+ $19) 47. Ke3 h5 48. Qb5 Qf3+ 49. Kd4 h4 50.
Qxa5 (50. Qe8+ Kh7 51. Qe4+ Qxe4+ 52. Kxe4 g5 $19) 50... Qf6+ 51. Be5 Qf2+ 52.
Kc4 Be6+ 53. Kd3 h3 {[#]} 54. Qd8+ Kh7 55. Qb8 f6 56. Bg3 Qf3+ 57. Kd4 Qd1+ 58.
Ke3 Qxa4 59. Qd6 Bf5 60. Qd5 {[#]} Qd7 61. Qa8 Qd3+ 62. Kf2 Qd2+ 63. Kf1 Qc1+
64. Be1 Qf4+ 65. Bf2 h2 {After a long endgame I finally managed to convert
after some good fortune near the time control. Shimanov is one of the highest
rated players I've ever beaten, but despite a solid opening it took some help
from my opponent to win this one.} 0-1

[Event "Millionaire Chess Open"]
[Site "Atlantic City"]
[Date "2016.10.10"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Black "Paragua, Mark"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D90"]
[WhiteElo "2436"]
[BlackElo "2503"]
[Annotator "Aman Hambleton"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2016.08.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] In round 8 of the Millionaire Chess Open, I was originally
paired against IM Andrey Gorovets. I spent the entire night preparing for what
would have been the Dutch Defense. To my surprise, I arrived to the board the
next morning and found GM Mark Paragua sat across from me. In a very unlucky
series of events, the organizer informed me that after posting the pairings,
they were changed and resubmitted 5 minutes later. I never bothered to check
the pairings twice, which meant I was playing against GM Paragua cold turkey.} 
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 {[#] One of my favourite ways
to play against the Grunfeld currently. White avoids a lot of theory, but also
sacrifices some of the advantage he obtains in the main lines.} Nb6 (5... Bg7
6. e4 Nxc3 7. Bxc3 {is the main line, showing the purpose of Bd2.}) 6. Nf3 Bg7
7. Qc1 $5 {The alternative is a move like e3, but I prefer to trade my Bishop
before committing my pawn structure.} Nc6 (7... h6 8. e4 Nc6 9. d5 $14 {
Black can't castle because of the h6 pawn.}) 8. Bh6 O-O (8... Bxd4 9. e3 Bf6
10. Be2 Bg4 11. O-O $14) 9. Bxg7 Kxg7 10. e3 {[#]} Re8 $6 (10... Bg4 {the main
move, followed by a quick ...e5} 11. Be2 e5 12. O-O Bxf3 13. Bxf3 exd4 14. Bxc6
bxc6 15. Rd1 c5 $11) 11. Bb5 Bd7 12. O-O a6 13. Be2 {[#] I feel that White
already holds a significant advantage here, although I had difficulty proving
it during the game.} e5 14. d5 (14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Rxe5 16. Bf3 c6 17. Rd1
Qe7 18. b3 $14) 14... Na7 15. h3 ({Without playing h3 Black's position is too
easy to play with ...Bg4xf3:} 15. a4 Bg4 16. e4 Nac8 17. h3 Bxf3 18. Bxf3 Nd6
19. a5 Nd7 $11) 15... Nac8 16. Rd1 Nd6 {[#]} 17. a4 (17. e4 {was necessary to
stop Black's next move} Na4 18. Nxa4 Bxa4 19. b3 Bd7 $11) 17... e4 18. Nd4 Re5
19. f4 (19. a5 $142 $1 Nxd5 $4 (19... Nbc8 $8) 20. f4 $1 exf3 21. Nxf3 Nxc3 22.
Qxc3 $18) 19... exf3 20. Nxf3 Re8 21. a5 Nbc4 22. Bxc4 Nxc4 23. e4 {[#]} Ne5
24. Rf1 Nxf3+ (24... Qf6 25. Qe3 $14) 25. Rxf3 Re5 26. Qf4 Qe7 {[%mdl 64] [#]
Critical Position} 27. d6 $1 g5 (27... Qxd6 $2 28. Rd1 $18 {overloads the Q.})
(27... cxd6 28. Nd5 Qf8 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30. Qh4 $8 $16) 28. Rg3 Qf6 29. Qxf6+ Kxf6
30. dxc7 Rc8 {[#] I found this position extremely frustrating. It was clear
that I was outplaying my opponent, ahead in material, and very close to a
forced win. However, I couldn't find the winning variation and panicked from
the notion of losing my c7-pawn and ending up slightly worse!} 31. Nd5+ Kg6 32.
Rc1 Bc6 33. Rc5 (33. Rb3 {with the idea of playing Rb6 and Rxc6 was winning on
the spot, although not that easy to see.}) 33... Rxc7 34. Nf4+ (34. b4 $1 Rd7
35. Nf4+ Kf6 36. Nh5+ Ke6 37. Ng7+ Kd6 38. Rd3+ $18 {and we see how the
b4-pawn helps this variation, keeping the Rook defended.}) 34... Kf6 35. Nh5+
Ke6 36. Rxe5+ Kxe5 37. Rxg5+ Kd4 38. Nf6 {[#]} Re7 $2 ({In mutual time
pressure my opponent was scared to play} 38... Bxe4 $1 {in fear of} 39. Rg4 {
but it works tactically:} Ke5 40. Nxe4 f5 $1 $11) 39. Kf2 Re6 40. Rf5 h6 {
Time control was reached, and the position clarifies. Black is losing because
White can easily create a passed pawn on the Kingside.} 41. g4 Kc4 42. Ke3 Kb3
43. h4 Kxb2 {[#]} 44. h5 $1 (44. g5 $2 h5 {is unnecessary: it prolongs the
game and offers Black some valuable tempi which he can use to create
counterplay via a passed pawn on the queenside.}) 44... Rd6 45. g5 {This win
was the second in a row against Grandmasters, and set me up for what I knew
would be a very tough final-round pairing.} 1-0

[Event "Millionaire Chess Open"]
[Site "Atlantic City"]
[Date "2016.10.10"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Shankland, Samuel L"]
[Black "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C07"]
[WhiteElo "2678"]
[BlackElo "2436"]
[Annotator "Aman Hambleton"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "2016.08.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] In the final round of the Millionaire Chess Open in Atlantic
City, I played on board three against GM Samuel Shankland, rated around 2680
FIDE at the time. He has a 2-0 lifetime score against me; we played most
recently at the 2014 Olympiad where he won that game in the French Tarrasch.
After a rocky start to the tournament, I beat two GM's in a row and went into
this game with a lot of confidence.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 {Admittedly,
although I prepared against this variation, I did not expect Shankland to
repeat the exact line from our previous encounter.} c5 4. exd5 (4. Ngf3 cxd4 5.
Nxd4 Nf6 6. exd5 Qxd5 7. Nb5 Na6 $14 {is another very double-edged variation.
I played a game against Ivanchuk in Edmonton 2015, which ended as a draw.})
4... Qxd5 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. Bc4 {[#]} Qd7 (6... Qd6 {is perhaps a more common
move, although ...Qd7 is becoming more fashionable. Both are very reasonable
and offer a different way to play. From what I have studied, ...Qd7 is very
direct and contains much less theory.} 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nb3 Nc6 9. Nbxd4 $11) 7.
O-O Nc6 8. Nb3 Nf6 {[#]} 9. Qe2 {We are still following our game together from
the Olympiad in 2014. When I saw Qe2 I was extremely surprised -- I really
expected my opponent to test my French in one of the Tarrasch main lines after
Nbxd4.} (9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 a6 11. Bf4 {is the most natural way to play
against the Qd7 setup. Shankland is well-known for his strong preparation, so
I was certainly expecting him to prepare something concrete for me here.}) 9...
a6 10. a4 Bd6 11. Rd1 O-O 12. Nbxd4 {[#] I was very excited at this point,
because we had been following our game up until this point, and now I was
ready to unleash the improvement that I had been practicing and preparing. My
feeling was that Shankland was planning to deviate from 2014 on one of the
next moves, but I beat him to the punch.} e5 $1 (12... Nxd4 13. Rxd4 Qc7 14.
Bg5 e5 15. Rh4 Bf5 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Bd3 Bg6 18. Rg4 Rfe8 19. Nh4 e4 $1 $11 20.
Bxe4 Bxh2+ 21. Kh1 Bf4 22. Qf3 Bg5 $11 {(1-0, 94) Samuel Shankland (2624)-Aman
Hambleton (2458) Tromso Ol, 2014.}) 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. b3 (14. Bg5 {still gives
White serious chances for an advantage, although Black should be fine. The e5
pawn cannot be taken because of the hanging Bishop on c4.} Bc7 15. Bxf6 Qxf6
16. Bd5 $14) 14... e4 (14... Bg4 $5 15. h3 Bh5 16. g4 Bg6 17. Rxd6 Qxd6 18. Ba3
$14) 15. Nd4 Qe8 $1 {[#] Another move I had prepared on my computer, with the
help of one of my training partners in Montreal. This move, which appears
crazy at first glance, intends ...Qe5 and ...Bg4, creating immense pressure
against the White kingside out of nowhere.} 16. f3 $6 {Perhaps not the best
move, but it's hard to recommend an alternative. To my credit, I forced my
opponent to think for what was now more than 30 minutes in the opening phase
of the game. This is an accomplishment considering my opponent is nearly 2700,
and also known as one of the best theoreticians, especially dangerous in
preparation.} exf3 17. gxf3 Bh3 18. Ba3 Bxa3 {[#]} 19. Qxe8 ({Neglecting to
trade the Queens by playing} 19. Rxa3 $6 {allows Black to gain the upper hand
and exploit the weak Kingside with the major pieces still on the board, e.g.}
Qb8 $1 20. Raa1 Nh5 $15) 19... Rfxe8 20. Rxa3 Rad8 21. Raa1 Nd5 {[#] The Nd5
must be captured, giving Black a very minimal, but lasting advantage with a
better pawn structure, slightly better placed pieces, and a Bishop vs. Knight.}
22. Bxd5 (22. Re1 Ne3 23. Bd3 Kf8 $15 {maintains an advantage.}) 22... Rxd5 23.
Kf2 Red8 24. c3 Rg5 25. Rg1 Rc5 26. Rac1 f6 {[#] After my rook dances along
the fifth rank fighting for the best square available, Black finally starts an
active plan. I intended ...Kf7 followed by ...g5.} 27. Ke3 Kf7 28. Rgd1 Re5+ {
[#]} 29. Kd2 (29. Kf2 {staying on the Kingside where I am trying to create a
passed pawn seemed much more consistent.} Rh5 $15) {[#]} 29... g5 $1 {Starting
an important plan: fixing the pawn on f3 as a weakness on a light square, and
then pushing the h and g-pawns to create a passed pawn on the f-file.} 30. Kc2
f5 31. Re1 Rde8 {Keeping control of the important open file.} 32. Rxe5 Rxe5 {
[%mdl 4096]} 33. Kd2 f4 {[#]} 34. c4 ({The major alternative is:} 34. Re1 Rxe1
35. Kxe1 Kf6 36. a5 Ke5 $15 {I feel that White can hold a draw, but it is a
long and arduous task ahead.}) 34... h5 35. Rc3 Kf6 36. Ne2 (36. c5 $2 {
does not work with my Bishop on h3 because of} Rd5 37. Rd3 Bf1 38. Ne2 Rxd3+
39. Kxd3 Ke5 $19 {This tactic is important to remember for later in the game.})
36... Bf1 37. Nd4 {[#]} a5 $5 (37... g4 {probably just wins on the spot. I
tried to be way too fancy here instead of realizing that it's time to start
creating a passed pawn.} 38. fxg4 hxg4 39. Rc1 Bg2 40. Ne2 f3 41. Ng3 f2 $19)
38. c5 Rd5 39. Ke1 Bh3 (39... Rxd4 40. Kxf1 Rd2 41. c6 $11 {should be enough
counterplay to draw.}) 40. Rc4 Bd7 41. b4 {[#]} Ke5 (41... axb4 42. Rxb4 Re5+
43. Kf2 Rxc5 44. Rxb7 Bxa4 45. h4 $5 {with Ne2 coming next I couldn't be sure
that this would be enough to win.}) 42. c6 bxc6 43. Nxc6+ Bxc6 44. Rxc6 axb4 {
[#] Going into this forced sequence, I was completely sure that the endgame
was winning for Black.} 45. Rb6 Rd3 46. Rxb4 (46. Rb5+ Kd4 47. Rxb4+ Ke3 48. a5
Ra3 $19 {and everything falls.}) 46... Rxf3 47. a5 {[#]} g4 (47... Ra3 {
appears a much easier win, but somehow I convinced myself that} 48. Rb5+ Kf6
49. Kf2 {might be difficult to win with my King cut off. editor - Black wins
with ...h4 and ...h3, and can bring the K around past the R via h5.} h4) 48.
Ra4 g3 49. hxg3 fxg3 50. Ke2 Rf2+ 51. Ke3 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position
Even though 47 ...Ra3 may have been more simple, I did calculate this
variation very thoroughly, and saw it right until the end. Unfortunately, I
chose another move at the very last moment that I considered to be winning as
well, and got tricked.} Rf8 $4 (51... Rf1 $1 52. Ra2 h4 53. a6 h3 54. a7 g2 55.
a8=Q g1=Q+ {queening with check and leading to mate in a few moves.}) ({
editor - The unnatural} 51... Rf5 $1 {prevents the saving maneuver White uses
in the game, and is the only other move that wins.}) 52. a6 (52. Rh4 {This
move scared me as I was debating between ...Rf8 and ...Rf1. Although I knew ...
Rf1 was winning, I thought that this move offered me the chance to win the
brilliancy prize as well as my game! A case of being overly and unnecessarily
fancy -- a real shame.} g2 53. Rxh5+ Kf6 $1 54. Kf2 Kg6+ $19) 52... g2 53. Ra5+
$8 {The in-between move that somehow slipped my calculation because the pawn
used to be on the a5 square. Very sloppy in the last moment of this game.} Kd6
{We agreed to a draw because White simply plays Rg5 and collects my g-pawn.
Instead, ...Kf6 was no better because of Kf2.   I was very proud of my opening
preparation, especially against a player as strong as Shankland -- but to not
finish off the game properly and collect the full point was definitely a sour
taste to end the tournament.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "2016 Saint Louis GM Invitational"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2016.06.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Liang, Awonder"]
[Black "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C07"]
[WhiteElo "2406"]
[BlackElo "2442"]
[Annotator "Keith MacKinnon"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/847   IM Aman Hambleton is
currently finishing off a GM norm tournament in the chess mecca of the United
States (St. Louis of course!). Though we typically focus on wins by Canadian
players, this week, we're looking at a game he lost in the third round. After
a bad opening in which he went down a pawn, his young opponent, fresh off a GM
norm, makes one or two inaccuracies to let Aman back into the game. Just after
everything is under control, Aman makes a big mistake in a 3-2 rook endgame.} 
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 {Fashionable, yet I am convinced White gets good
play in a number of lines here.} 4. exd5 Qxd5 (4... exd5 {heads to a different
sort of game in which White plays against Black's isolated queen's pawn (IQP)
after the inevitable exchange of the d4 for c5 pawn.}) 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. Bc4 Qd7
{[#]} 7. O-O {The main move. White will soon recover the d4 pawn.} (7. Qe2 {
is also interesting and something I have played a few times. Here, Black may
try and hold on to d4 but is generally ill advised to do so, as White can get
quick development with moves like Nb3, Bg5, and 0-0-0.}) 7... Nc6 8. Nb3 Nf6 9.
Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 a6 11. Re1 b5 {Everything is still very normal here, and
the position has been played many times. I suspect Aman was aiming for this
position with his choice of opening; however, I would prefer to play White
here.} 12. Bb3 Bb7 13. Bf4 Be7 14. a4 $1 {[#] White activates his least active
piece (the rook on a1).} Bd5 $6 {A big decision.} (14... b4 {runs into the
strong-looking} 15. a5 {after which Ba4 is a very serious threat which cannot
easily be parried, as Black cannot castle due to Nxe6.}) (14... O-O {looks
impossible on account of} 15. Nxe6 (15. Rxe6 $13 Bc5 (15... Nd5 16. Re4 $11)
16. Be3 Bxd4 17. Rxf6 gxf6 18. Bxd4 $13 Qc6 $4 19. Qg4+ Kh8 20. Bd5 $1 $18)
15... Qxd1 16. Raxd1 fxe6 17. Rxe6 {where the threat of a discovered check as
well as the attack on the e7 Bishop seems to guarantee White his piece back.
However, Black is actually OK here!} bxa4 18. Ba2 (18. Rxe7+ $4 axb3 19. Rxb7
bxc2 $19) 18... Bd5 $1 19. Bxd5 Nxd5 20. Rxd5 Rxf4 21. Rxe7 Rf7 {and Black
should have little trouble in holding the draw.}) 15. axb5 Bxb3 $2 ({Aman may
have been worried about} 15... axb5 16. Bxd5 Rxa1 17. Bc6 (17. Qxa1 Nxd5 18.
Qa8+ Bd8 $11) 17... Rxd1 18. Rxd1 b4 19. Be5 $14) 16. cxb3 Bc5 {Otherwise
Black is just down a pawn for nothing.} (16... Bb4 17. Qf3 $18) 17. Be5 Bxd4 {
Black must accept the inferior ending} 18. Qxd4 Qxd4 19. Bxd4 {[#] These
positions are always a pleasure to play when you are on the advantageous side.
White's chances of losing are slim to none, and he has a very real chance of
bringing home the win, even without having done anything too special up to
this point.} a5 20. Bc3 $6 {White's first inaccuracy.} (20. b4 a4 21. b6 Kd7
22. Ra3 {is an idea.}) (20. Be5 {with the idea Rec1 was strong as well.}) 20...
Ke7 21. Bxa5 Nd5 22. Bc3 Rxa1 ({editor -} 22... f6 {blunts the B, but it finds
high-paying work on another diagonal after} 23. Bd4 $1 {threatening both Ba7
and Bc5.}) 23. Rxa1 Rb8 {[#] The loss of g7 is necessary as ...f6 or ...Rg8
run into Ra7+. Black cannot trade minor pieces either, as that exchange would
repair White's tripled pawns, leaving him with connected passers.} 24. Bxg7
Rxb5 25. Ra3 {This is what Black had counted on - forcing White's rook into
passivity. However, White soon finds a way to make progress.} f6 26. Bh6 Kf7 {
[#]} 27. Bd2 $6 {with the idea of playing perhaps Kf1 (to avoid back rank
problems) and b4 (followed by Rb3 if Black were to capture the pawn with the N)
.} (27. h4 $1 Rc5 28. h5 {the point of playing h4. Now Black cannot play ...
Rc2 due to Ra7+.}) 27... Rc5 {Black tries to get active and use White's back
rank problems to his advantage} 28. Ra1 Rb5 29. b4 {The only way to play for a
win.} Nxb4 30. Bxb4 Rxb4 31. Rb1 {[#] My initial feeling when considering this
position was that it should be a draw; but, having won a similar position in a
tournament last month, I now realize that the defender's task is far from easy.
} e5 32. Kf1 Ke6 33. Ke2 f5 34. b3 Kd5 35. Rd1+ {A clever way of bringing the
rook to the more active d3 square.} Kc5 36. Rd3 e4 37. Rh3 Kd4 38. Rxh7 Rxb3
39. Rd7+ Ke5 40. g3 Rb2+ {[#] It's important to note the time control at the
event: only 90 + 30s with no additional time after the 40th move. This
position looks very holdable to me, but Aman strays, and things get out of
control.} 41. Rd2 Rb5 42. Rd8 Rb2+ 43. Kf1 Kf6 44. h3 Rb3 45. Kg2 {[#]} e3 $4 {
The crucial error. Black should try and sit still, as the onus is on White to
improve his position.} (45... Rb2 {with the threat of ...e3 was the correct
way to continue:} 46. h4 ({White cannot prevent ... e3 with his rook:} 46. Re8
Kf7 47. Re5 Kf6 48. Re8 $11) 46... e3 47. Kf3 exf2 48. Kg2 $11) 46. Rf8+ $1 Kg6
47. f4 $8 $18 e2 48. Re8 {The e2 pawn, though far advanced, becomes a sitting
duck.} Rb2 49. Kf3 Rb3+ 50. Kf2 Kh5 51. Rxe2 Ra3 52. Re5 Ra2+ 53. Kf3 Ra3+ 54.
Re3 Ra1 55. g4+ fxg4+ 56. hxg4+ Kh4 57. g5 Rf1+ 58. Ke4 Kg4 59. Ke5 Rxf4 60. g6
Rf8 {[#]} 61. g7 {Awonder must have felt very confident about the Q vs. R
ending. I would have been tempted to simply move my rook off the e-file and
push g7 later:} (61. Rc3 Kg5 62. Rg3+ Kh6 (62... Kh4 63. Rg1 Re8+ 64. Kf6 Rf8+
65. Ke7 $18) 63. g7 Rg8 64. Kf6 $18 ({or} 64. Kf5 $5)) 61... Re8+ 62. Kf6 $8
Rxe3 63. g8=Q+ Kf3 64. Kf5 Ke2 65. Qg2+ Ke1 {Aman must have felt that Awonder
knew the technique for winning this position -- but breaking the third rank
defense is actually not so easy. I'd encourage you to look it up, as it is an
important position to know!} 1-0

[Event "CCSCSL Autumn GM Invitational"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2016.11.17"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Black "Sachdev, Tania"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E46"]
[WhiteElo "2445"]
[BlackElo "2431"]
[Annotator "Aman Hambleton"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:06:19"]
[BlackClock "0:01:15"]

{[%mdl 32768] In round one of the Saint Louis Autumn Invitational I found
myself playing against IM Tania Sachdev, from India. As it was a closed
tournament, the players and even the specific pairings were known weeks in
advance. I had prepared to play a new variation in the Nimzo-Indian at some
point this tournament; this game gave me the perfect opportunity.} 1. d4 Nf6 2.
c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 {[#] After looking briefly at my opponent's games, it became
very clear that I should expect a Nimzo. Tania has a very narrow repertoire
with the Black pieces -- something I share in common with my opponent.} 4. e3 {
The Rubinstein variation. I usually play 4.Qc2, so this must have been a
surprise to my opponent, but certainly nothing abnormal.} O-O 5. Nge2 d5 6. a3
Be7 (6... Bd6 {is the only other option, but it is very hard to play for a win
with Black in this variation, e.g.} 7. c5 Be7 8. b4 $11 {It's certainly not
very ambitious.}) 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Nf4 (8. g3 c6 9. Bg2 Re8 10. O-O $11 {
is another line, where White aims to play f3-e4 and expand in the center. If
Black meets f3 with ...c5, he normally has sufficient counterplay.}) 8... c6 9.
Bd3 {[#] Black has an enormous choice of moves here: ...Na6, ...Re8, ...Nbd7, .
..b6, ...Bd6, and the move played in this game.} a5 10. O-O Na6 11. f3 {
Continuing with a standard plan in the Nimzo: controlling the g4 square and
preparing f3-e4 to control the whole center.} Nc7 12. Bd2 c5 (12... Ne6 13.
Nxe6 Bxe6 14. Be1 c5 15. Bf2 $14) 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Kh1 {[#]} d4 {This was the
first time that my opponent deviated from the game So - Van Wely. I knew that
the computer did not agree with ...d4, so I checked a few moves further to see
the ideas, but essentially ended my preparation here.} (14... Ne6 15. e4 dxe4
16. Nxe4 Bd4 17. Qc2 h6 18. Rad1 Bd7 (18... Nxf4 19. Bxf4 Qb6 $11) 19. Ne2 Rc8
20. Qb1 Be5 21. Bc3 Bxc3 22. N2xc3 Bc6 $2 23. Nd6 $1 Rc7 24. Rfe1 Nd4 25. Nc4
Qa8 26. Ne5 Rd8 27. Bc4 Be8 28. Ne4 Nh5 29. Qd3 b5 30. Ba2 b4 31. Bb1 Bb5 32.
Qe3 Ne6 33. Nd6 Ba4 34. Nexf7 Nhf4 35. Nxd8 Qxd8 36. Rd2 bxa3 37. Ba2 Qf6 38.
Qxa3 Bc6 39. Bxe6+ Nxe6 40. Qa2 Bxf3 41. gxf3 Qxf3+ 42. Rg2 {(1-0, 42) So,W 
(2706)-Van Wely,L (2693) Hoogeveen, 2013.}) 15. exd4 Bxd4 16. Qc2 Bd7 17. Ne4 (
17. Rad1 Rc8 18. Bc1 $14 {removing the two Bishops from the d-file and
exerting pressure on the open file was also very logical and perhaps better.})
17... g6 {[#]} 18. Ne2 $5 {I retain an advantage with this move, but Rad1 was
begging to be played and yet I refused. I was following plans from the game I
prepared, perhaps a little too closely.} (18. Rad1 Nce8 19. Bc3 Bxc3 20. Qxc3
$14) 18... Nxe4 19. Bxe4 Bg7 (19... Bb5 20. Bh6 Bxe2 21. Qxe2 Re8 22. Rad1 $11
{is equal, but White has the two Bishops and both the Nc7 and b7-pawn appear
targets.}) 20. Bc3 {From this point on, I thought that I converted the
position very effectively. I was happy with the way I turned a small visual
advantage into a full point.} Bxc3 21. Nxc3 Rb8 22. Rad1 Qe7 23. Rfe1 Be6 {
[#] My last few moves have been very obvious, but now Black is very close to
playing ...Rfd8 and ...Qf6 and being completely equal. I have to act fast...}
24. Nd5 $1 Nxd5 (24... Bxd5 25. Bxd5 Qd7 26. Be4 Qc8 $14 {looks pretty bad for
Black.}) 25. Bxd5 Rbd8 26. Bxe6 fxe6 {[#] My only advantages are the
weaknesses on a5 and e6, and the large time advantage I had accumulated over
the course of the game. Added together, they prove more dangerous than you
might think.} 27. Rc1 Rd6 28. Qb3 {preparing to target and pressure all the
weaknesses in Black's position.} Qd7 29. h3 $1 {I give this an exclamation
mark only to remind and encourage everyone to create an escape square for
their King as early as possible in a slightly better position. Playing h4
would be too commital, as after ...Rf4 or ...Qe7 suddenly Black has a target.}
Rc8 30. Rxc8+ Qxc8 31. Qb5 {[#]} b6 (31... Rd5 32. Qa4 b6 33. Qf4 $14 {heading
to the f6 square.}) 32. Qe5 $1 {A multi-purpose square: controls the
all-important h2-b8 diagonal against the possible checks, protects the
vulnerable b2 pawn, and places incredible pressure on e6.} Rc6 33. Re4 Rc2 (
33... Qc7 34. Qxc7 Rxc7 35. Rxe6 Rb7 $14 {Black is in a Rook endgame down only
a single pawn, but is also doomed to passivity. If the Rook was on b5 this
type of endgame would be easily drawn, but I believe this is winning for White.
}) 34. Kh2 Rc6 (34... Rc5 35. Qg3 (35. Qxe6+ {would be a mistake as discussed
above e.g.} Qxe6 36. Rxe6 Rb5 $11) 35... Rc6 36. b4 axb4 37. axb4 $14 {looks
like it will transpose to the game.}) 35. b4 axb4 36. axb4 {[#]} Rc4 $2 {
A miscalculation caused by the pressure of the White pieces and the time
pressure that was now very severe. The rest of the game is just converting a
winning Queen endgame.} ({editor - the game move trades Rs, which makes the
win simpler, but Black is in terrible trouble anyway, with two weak pawns and
an exposed K; e.g.} 36... Qd7 37. b5 Rc5 (37... Rd6 38. Ra4 $18) 38. Qb8+ $8
Kg7 39. Rf4 $18) 37. Rxc4 Qxc4 38. Qb8+ Kf7 39. Qxb6 $16 Qf4+ 40. Kh1 Qc1+ 41.
Qg1 {[#] Perhaps what my opponent missed. After this move, Black can give up
on any ideas of perpetual check and White just has to cautiously escort the
b-pawn down the board.} Qb2 42. Qc5 Qa3 43. Qc7+ Kf6 44. b5 e5 45. b6 Qa5 46.
Qd6+ Kf5 47. b7 Kf4 48. Kh2 {After covering the g3 square my opponent resigned.
There are no more perpetual check ideas and it is clear that the b-pawn will
become a second Queen.   Not a bad start to the tournament for myself,
especially considering I played this opening for the first time. I was pleased
with the result and optimistic for the following rounds.} 1-0

[Event "CCSCSL Autumn GM Invitational"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2016.11.20"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Chandra, Akshat"]
[Black "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D27"]
[WhiteElo "2509"]
[BlackElo "2445"]
[Annotator "Aman Hambleton"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:07:18"]
[BlackClock "0:00:32"]

{[%mdl 32768] In round six of the Saint Louis Autumn Invitational I was paired
against IM Akshat Chandra, another participant chasing a GM-norm in this event.
Since 6.5/9 points was necessary for a norm, it was clear that the winner of
this game would have great norm-chances moving forward, and the loser would
miss out on the norm altogether. An important round!} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 {
[#] An opening I've been playing recently, with mixed success. I manage to
avoid all of the main line Queen's Gambit theory, but also concede the center
and give White very easy moves to play.} 3. Nf3 ({Chandra played} 3. e3 e5 4.
Bxc4 exd4 5. exd4 Bd6 $11 {against me in our last encounter earlier this year,
which eventually leads to equality with very precise play by Black. I was able
to demonstrate that and we drew the game.} 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Qe2+ Qe7 8. Qxe7+ Kxe7
9. O-O Be6 10. Re1 Kd7 11. Bxe6+ fxe6 12. Nc3 Re8 13. Bg5 Nc6 14. Ne5+ Bxe5 15.
dxe5 Nd5 16. Rad1 h6 $1 17. Bh4 Nce7 18. Bxe7 Kxe7 19. Nxd5+ exd5 20. Rxd5 Rad8
21. Rdd1 Ke6 $11 {(½-½, 36) Chandra,A (2464)-Hambleton,A (2439) Saint Louis,
2016.}) 3... Nf6 4. e3 e6 ({Trying to hang on to the pawn this early is not
advised:} 4... b5 5. a4 c6 6. axb5 cxb5 7. b3 $14) 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 {[#]}
7. Nc3 {Not a move that I expected, and perhaps I played too quickly here. I
am not used to being given a free tempo with ...b5.} (7. Bb3 cxd4 8. exd4 Nc6
9. Nc3 Be7 10. Bg5 O-O 11. Qd2 $14 {is the main line, with a classical
isolated Queen-pawn position. White plays for activity and an attack on the
Kingside using the open lines for his pieces. Black plays to exchange pieces
where possible and control d5 in an attempt to prove the isolated pawn on d4
is a weakness.}) (7. dxc5 Qxd1 8. Rxd1 Bxc5 9. Be2 $14 {is a very popular line,
with no risk for White. The idea of Be2 is to play Nfd2-b3 and Bf3 to control
the long diagonal. Black should continue with ...b6 here and not ...b5, which
is a critical difference compared to the game.}) 7... b5 8. Be2 Bb7 9. dxc5 {
[#]} Qxd1 $6 {I decided to take the Queen, launching myself into a poor
version of the transposition I mentioned above after dxc5. On this exact same
day, the World Championship was taking place and this exact variation took
place! Magnus, with the Black pieces, played ...Nc6 and showed precise
preparation, earning a draw.} (9... Nc6 $1 10. Nd2 Bxc5 11. Nde4 Nxe4 12. Nxe4
Be7 13. b3 Nb4 14. Bf3 O-O 15. Ba3 Rc8 (15... Bd5 $11) 16. Nf6+ Bxf6 17. Bxb7
Bxa1 18. Bxb4 Bf6 19. Bxf8 Qxd1 20. Rxd1 Rxf8 21. Bxa6 b4 {one stops two, and
the opposite Bs make this an easy draw, (1/2 -1/2, 33) Sergey Karjakin-Magnus
Carlsen, World Championship g7, New York, 2016.}) 10. Rxd1 Bxc5 11. Nd2 {
White intends Nb3 where a difficult choice is presented. Playing ...Bb6 and
staying on the a7-g1 diagonal means White plays a4, and playing ...Be7 and
remaining on the f8-a3 diagonal means White can play Na5.} Be7 (11... O-O 12.
Nb3 Bb6 (12... Be7 13. Na5 Bc8 14. Bf3 Ra7 15. e4 $14) 13. a4 bxa4 14. Nxa4 Bc7
15. Nac5 $14) 12. Nb3 Nc6 {[#] The only move that prevents Na5 reasonably.} 13.
f3 $1 {Such a calm move, but one that gives White a near-decisive advantage in
my opinion. The idea is to play e4 and permanently lock out the b7 Bishop from
the action.} O-O (13... e5 $6 14. e4 Nd4 15. Nxd4 exd4 16. Nb1 $14 {is what
the computer gives to try to keep the balance, but I believe this is much
better for White.}) 14. e4 Rac8 15. Be3 Ne5 {[#]} 16. Rac1 ({I spent a long
time calculating} 16. a4 Nc4 17. Bc1 b4 18. Na2 {when incredibly, it feels
like I am out of good moves. I cannot play ...Rd8 or ...a5 without losing a
pawn, and the Nf6, Be7, and Bb7 have no useful squares. Essentially a zugzwang
on move 18.}) 16... h6 {I really did not know what to do, and White's
advantage is slowly accumulating with every move. At this point I'm just
waiting for a4 so that some forced variations will occur.} 17. a4 Nc4 (17... b4
18. Na2 Bc6 19. a5 Ba4 20. Rxc8 Rxc8 21. Rc1 $16 {a6 will fall or Black will
have to give up the c-file.}) 18. Bxc4 bxc4 19. Na5 Ba8 20. Na2 {[#]} Rfd8 (
20... Bc5 {fails unfortunately to} 21. Bxc5 Rxc5 22. b4 $1 $18) 21. Rxd8+ Bxd8
22. Nxc4 Be7 {Nb4 and Nd6 have to be prevented.} 23. Kf1 (23. Nb6 Rxc1+ 24.
Nxc1 Bc6 25. b3 Nd7 $16 {and some chances for a draw with the two Bishops.})
23... Ne8 24. b4 {[#]} f5 $1 {The correct way to search for counterplay,
although my time was disastrously low as a result of how easy my opponent's
position has been to play.} 25. Bc5 Bg5 26. Rd1 Bc6 (26... fxe4 27. Nb6 Rb8 28.
Nxa8 Rxa8 29. fxe4 Rc8 {was an interesting attempt, intending ...a5. However,
after White plays,} 30. a5 Nf6 31. Nc3 $18 {I think the position starts to
look closer and closer to losing.}) 27. Nc3 fxe4 28. fxe4 Nf6 29. Ke2 {[#]} Nd7
(29... Nxe4 30. Nxe4 Bxe4 31. Nd6 $18) 30. Be3 Bxe4 $4 {Just an outright
blunder with extreme time pressure. The game cannot be saved at this point
anyway, so at least I'm not spoiling any good chances.} 31. Nxe4 {This was a
fairly crucial game as we were both chasing a GM-norm and, with this loss, my
chances were ruined for this event. My opponent, Akshat Chandra, went on to
share first place in the tournament and earn his final GM-norm and GM title
all at once.} 1-0

[Event "Edmonton 11th"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2016.06.24"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Ganguly, Surya Shekhar"]
[Black "Wang, Richard"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2654"]
[BlackElo "2341"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2016.06.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7
7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O {[#] White's main moves are Bc4 and 000. The former was
Fischer's favourite, putting the B on an active square, preventing ...d5, and
aiming for h4-h5 "sac-sac-mate"; but the latter move has become the modern
mainline as Black's defences -- ...h5! -- to the Yugoslav attack have been
more thoroughly worked out.} 9. O-O-O d5 10. Qe1 $5 {First played in the late
1980s, this has become White's top choice. The Q retreat creates an X-ray from
the Rd1 to the Qd8.} e5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. exd5 {[#]} cxd5 $6 (12... Nxd5 $1 {
see Carlsen-Jones, in Appendix.}) 13. Bg5 $1 Be6 14. Bc4 Qc7 {[#] White has a
choice: take on f6 and keep a small advantage against Black's weak pawns, or
take on d5 to win a pawn while opening lines at the Kc1.} 15. Bxd5 {Ganguly
plays the more dynamic move.} (15. Bxf6 {see Leko-Carlsen (in Appendix).})
15... Nxd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Rxd5 {[#] White is up a pawn, but Black has two
half-open files and a B pointed at White's K. White is up a pawn, but Black
has two half-open files and a B pointed at White's K.} Rab8 18. b3 Rfc8 19. c4
Qb7 {[#] threatening ...Qxd5 and ...Rxc5.} 20. Qe4 (20. Qa5 Rxc4+ 21. bxc4 Qb1+
22. Kd2 Qxh1 (22... Rb2+ $4 23. Ke3 $18) 23. Rd8+ Rxd8+ 24. Qxd8+ Bf8 25. Be7
Qxg2+) 20... Qb4 {Threatening ...Qc3.} 21. Kd1 f5 22. Qe1 $2 (22. Qc2 $16)
22... Qa3 $2 {Black misses his chance.} (22... Rxc4 $1 $14 23. bxc4 $2 Qa4+ $1
{and ...Qxc4.}) 23. Rd7 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position} h6 $2 ({In his notes
to the game for ChessBase, Ganguly says he'd seen the following lines:} 23...
Qb2 $2 24. Qd2 Qb1+ 25. Ke2 $8 Qxh1 26. Rxg7+ $8 Kxg7 27. Qd7+ Kg8 28. Qe6+ Kg7
29. Qxe5+ Kf7 30. Qe7+ Kg8 31. Qe6+ Kg7 32. Bf6+ Kh6 33. Qe3+ Kh5 34. Qg5#) (
23... Qxa2 $1 24. Rxg7+ Kf8 $8 $11 25. Bh6 Qxb3+ $8 (25... Rd8+ $4 26. Rd7+ $18
) 26. Ke2 Qxc4+ 27. Kf2 Qh4+ $19) 24. Qd2 $3 $18 {Suddenly White has a
crushing attack.} Rb6 $2 ({If Black takes the B then White can push his h-pawn
to overload the defence:} 24... hxg5 25. Qd5+ Kh7 26. h4 g4 (26... Kh6 27.
hxg5+ Kxg5 28. Qd2+ Kf6 29. Rd6+ Kf7 30. Qd5+ $18) 27. h5 $1 Kh6 (27... g5 28.
h6 $18) 28. Qf7 $18) 25. Rxg7+ $1 1-0

[Event "Edmonton 11th"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2016.06.19"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Haessel, Dale"]
[Black "Findlay, Ian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2234"]
[BlackElo "2257"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2016.06.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 {
[#]} 7. Qb3 (7. e3 {is more common, usually leading to IQP positions after ...
c5.}) 7... Nc6 {Both sides avoid the IQP.} (7... c5 {is more common, and
better-scoring, though it can be hard for Black to scare up winning chances
after} 8. cxd5 exd5 9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3) 8. cxd5 (8. e3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 O-O 10.
O-O Bd6 11. Ne4 (11. Rac1 Na5 $11) 11... Qe7 $14 {Bu,X (2656)-Zhang,Z (2621)
China, 2007 (½-½, 29).}) 8... Nxd4 9. Nxd4 (9. Qxb4 $4 Nc2+ $19) 9... Qxd4
10. Rd1 {[#]} Bxc3+ $1 $15 {Now Black will be ahead in development with pawn
targets on the queenside.} (10... Qb6 11. a3 Bxc3+ 12. Qxc3 {gains a tempo on
g7.} O-O $11 {Rabinovich,I-Ragozin,V USSR ch. Tbilisi, 1937 (0-1, 65).}) (10...
Qc5 {loses a tempo over the game line (compare with the next note)} 11. e3 O-O
12. a3 Bxc3+ 13. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 14. bxc3 exd5 15. Rxd5 Be6 16. Rc5 c6 17. Bc4 Rfe8
18. Ke2 Rad8 19. Bxe6 {½-½ Khismatullin,D (2643)-Lastin,A (2656) St
Petersburg, 2009.}) 11. bxc3 (11. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 12. bxc3 exd5 13. Rxd5 Be6 {
(compared with the Lastin game above, White's pawn is still vulnerable on a2).}
14. Rd2 Ke7 $15 {again, with a lead in development and weak queenside pawns to
target.}) 11... Qb6 12. e3 (12. e4 O-O $15) 12... exd5 $15 13. Qxd5 (13. Rxd5
Be6 14. Qa4+ c6 15. Rd2 $15) 13... Be6 14. Qe4 (14. Qe5 O-O 15. Be2 Rfe8 $17)
14... Qa5 $15 {[#]} 15. Bd3 $6 {gives up a pawn to finish developing and maybe
get queenside pressure.} (15. Qb4 Qxb4 16. cxb4 Bxa2 (16... a5 $1) 17. b5) (15.
Qxb7 $2 Qxc3+ 16. Rd2 O-O $17) 15... Qxc3+ 16. Ke2 O-O-O $17 17. Rb1 $2 {
[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position} Bd5 $6 {Defends b7 and keeps a big advantage,
but a big miss nevertheless, and maybe a sign that Black was not calculating
well that day.} (17... Rxd3 $142 $19 {is just winning} 18. Qxb7+ (18. Qxd3 Bc4
$19) 18... Kd8 19. Qb8+ (19. Rhd1 {is nothing} Rxd1 (19... Bc4 $1) (19... Qc2+
20. Ke1) 20. Rxd1+ Ke7 $19) 19... Ke7 $1 (19... Bc8 {keeps the material and
also wins, e.g.} 20. Rhc1 Rd2+ 21. Kf1 Rc2 $19) 20. Qxh8 Rd2+ 21. Kf1 (21. Kf3
Qf6+ 22. Kg3 Qxf2#) 21... Qd3+ 22. Kg1 Rd1+ 23. Rxd1 Qxd1#) 18. Qf4 {
Threatening Rhc1, skewering the Q and c7.} Qf6 19. Bf5+ Kb8 20. Rhc1 Qd6 21.
Qa4 Bxg2 $1 (21... b6 {is good too, but this wins a pawn and threatens mate on
d2.}) 22. Rc2 Rhe8 23. f3 {[#]Is White trapping the Bg2?} Qxh2 $4 {Missing
White's only good move...} ({The B isn't trapped, and Black can even "give it
up" with} 23... Bh3 $1 24. Bxh3 $140 Qxh2+ $19) (23... g6 24. Be4 b6 $8 $19) (
23... b6 24. Kf2 Qxh2 $19) 24. Rxb7+ $8 $18 {forcing mate.} (24. Rxb7+ Kxb7 25.
Qc6+ Kb8 26. Rb2#) 1-0

[Event "Edmonton 11th"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2016.06.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Shankland, Samuel L"]
[Black "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "2646"]
[BlackElo "2540"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "143"]
[EventDate "2016.06.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Be2 Nc6 5. O-O O-O-O 6. d3
e5 7. h3 Bf5 8. Be3 Qd7 9. Nbd2 Nge7 10. Ne4 Nd5 11. Ng3 Bg6 12. Nh4 Kb8 13.
Bf3 Be7 14. Nxg6 hxg6 15. Bd2 f5 16. Re1 Bf6 17. Bxd5 Qxd5 18. Bc3 Rh4 19. Qe2
Qd7 20. Rad1 a6 21. a3 g5 22. Qf3 Rf4 23. Qh5 Nd4 24. Rd2 Rh4 25. Qd1 g6 26.
Bxd4 Rxd4 27. Qe2 Qb5 28. b3 Qc5 29. a4 Rh8 30. Qe3 {[#] Black has completely
outplayed White and has a winning advantage with a straightforward plan: play .
..g4 then attack down the h and or g-files.} Qb4 $4 (30... f4 $2 31. Qf3 $8 $15
(31. Ne4 fxe3 32. Nxc5 exd2 $19)) (30... Qf8 31. Qe2 g4) 31. c3 $8 $13 {
Decoy tactic and White is suddenly back in the game!.} Qxc3 32. Ne2 Qb4 (32...
Qxb3 33. Nxd4 exd4 34. Qe6 {and White forces off the Qs.}) 33. Nxd4 exd4 34.
Qe2 $8 g4 35. Rdd1 $1 gxh3 36. Qe6 Qf8 $1 37. g3 {[#]} Qg7 $2 (37... f4 $1 {
keeps Black in the game} 38. gxf4 Bg5 $3 39. fxg5 $2 Qf3 $19) 38. Kh2 $1 f4 39.
gxf4 Bh4 40. Qe5 Qh6 41. Rc1 $18 Rc8 42. Qxd4 {White went on to win.} Rd8 43.
Qe5 Qh7 44. Rc3 Qf7 45. Qe3 g5 46. Rc4 g4 47. Rg1 Qd7 48. Re4 Rg8 49. Qe2 Ka7
50. a5 Bf6 51. Qe3+ Kb8 52. b4 c6 53. Re1 Bd8 54. Re6 Kc8 55. Qe4 Qg7 56. Qf5
Qd7 57. R6e5 Qxf5 58. Rxf5 Bh4 59. Ree5 Rd8 60. Rf7 Rg8 61. Rh5 Bxf2 62. Rg5
Rd8 63. Rxg4 c5 64. f5 cxb4 65. Rc4+ Kb8 66. Rxb4 Rxd3 67. Rbxb7+ Kc8 68. Rfc7+
Kd8 69. Rg7 Kc8 70. Rbf7 Rd8 71. Kxh3 Bd4 72. Rg6 1-0

[Event "Edmonton 11th"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2016.06.24"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A11"]
[WhiteElo "2540"]
[BlackElo "2682"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2016.06.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 c6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. b3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7.
Bb2 O-O {[#]} 8. h3 (8. d4 {transposes to a semi-Slav, more commonly reached
by 1.d4, where Black has been doing fine after both ...Qe7 and the more direct}
e5 9. cxd5 (9. Be2 e4 10. Nd2 Re8 {with a reversed French, where White's b3
and Bb2 aren't helping.}) 9... cxd5 10. dxe5 (10. Nb5 Bb4+ $11) 10... Nxe5 $11
{with a reversed QGA.}) (8. Be2 b6 9. Rg1 Bb7 10. g4 e5 11. g5 Ne8 12. h4 Nc7
13. Bd3 {[#]Analysis Diagram This game, and the Grandelius game in the next
note, show why Shirov tries ...Nh5.} g6 (13... e4 $4 {shows one attacking idea}
14. Nxe4 $18 dxe4 15. Bxe4 g6 16. Qc3 f6 17. h5 $18) 14. h5 Nc5 15. Be2 e4 16.
Nxe4 $1 Nxe4 17. d3 Bb4+ (17... Nc5 18. Qc3 $18) 18. Kf1 Bc8 19. dxe4 Bh3+ 20.
Rg2 Ne6 21. a3 $1 dxe4 22. Qxe4 Bxg2+ 23. Kxg2 Nxg5 24. Qf4 $1 Nxf3 25. axb4
Ng5 26. hxg6 fxg6 27. Qe5 {Black is still up an exchange, but White's B slice
him apart, and Black's edge-Rs are terrible defenders.} Kf7 28. f4 Ne6 29. Bg4
Qe7 30. Rh1 Nxf4+ 31. exf4 Qxe5 32. Bxe5 h5 33. Bf3 Rad8 34. Bxc6 Rd2+ 35. Kf3
Rd3+ 36. Ke4 Rxb3 37. Ra1 Rxb4 {Giri,A (2776)-Michiels,B (2536) Montpellier
2015 1-0}) (8. Rg1 $5 {is recommended in David Cumming's "The English" 
(Everyman, 2016); going for the same idea we see in the Giri game, but hoping
to save a move with the h-pawn.}) 8... a6 9. g4 b5 10. g5 {[#]} Nh5 $146 (10...
Ne8 11. h4 e5 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Bd3 Bb7 (13... g6 $6 14. h5 $1 {with a strong
initiative.}) (13... e4 $4 {fails for the same tactics we saw in the Giri game:
} 14. Nxe4 $1 dxe4 15. Bxe4 Rb8 16. Bxh7+ Kh8 17. h5 $18 {with three pawns and
an attack for the N.}) 14. Bxh7+ Kh8 15. Bf5 Rc8 $14 {White has a pawn, but
Black has some comp in the center and development.} 16. Qd1 g6 17. Bb1 {
[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position Should Black push in the center with ...d4 or
improve his worst-placed piece with ...Ng7?} Ng7 $4 18. Ne2 $4 ({Both players
miss an immediate win. The cascade of sacrifices might have been difficult to
believe, but they work:} 18. h5 $1 $18 gxh5 (18... Nxh5 19. Rxh5+ gxh5 20. Nxe5
$1 {threatening Qxh5+} Qxg5 21. Nxf7+ $1 Rxf7 22. Ne4+ $18) 19. Nxb5 $1 axb5
20. Rxh5+ $1 Nxh5 (20... Kg8 21. Bh7+ Kh8 22. Rh6 $18) 21. Nxe5 Qxg5 22. Nxf7+
$18) 18... Nh5 $2 19. Nf4 $1 Nxf4 $8 20. exf4 d4 21. f5 Kg7 22. Qe2 Rh8 23. Rh3
Qc7 24. fxg6 fxg6 25. Qd3 Nf8 26. Nxd4 Qd7 27. Ne2 Kg8 28. h5 Rxh5 29. Rxh5
gxh5 30. Ng3 Qe7 $4 (30... e4 31. Qd4 Bxg3 $14) 31. Nf5 $18 Qxg5 32. Nxd6 Rd8
33. Ba3 h4 34. Qf5 Qxf5 35. Bxf5 {1-0 (35) Grandelius,N (2562)-Grover,S (2516)
Athens, 2012.}) 11. Be2 Bb7 (11... g6 12. d4 bxc4 13. bxc4 Rb8 14. h4 dxc4 15.
O-O Qa5 16. Rab1 Bb7 17. Nd2 Qc7 18. Nce4 (18. Nxc4 $4 Bh2+ 19. Kg2 c5+ $19)
18... c5 19. Bf3 (19. Nxd6 $142 Qxd6 20. dxc5 Qxc5 21. Qc3 $18) 19... cxd4 $13
20. Bxd4 Bh2+ 21. Kg2 Be5 22. Bxh5 Bxd4 23. Bf3 Bg7 24. Qxc4 Qa5 25. Rfc1 Rfc8
26. Rxb7 Rxc4 27. Nxc4 Qd8 28. Ncd6 Rxb7 29. Nxb7 Qb6 30. Rc8+ Nf8 31. Nbc5 h6
32. Nd7 Qb4 33. Nef6+ Kh8 34. Nxf8 Bxf8 35. h5 hxg5 36. Nd7 g4 37. Bc6 gxh5 38.
Nxf8 Kg7 39. Nd7 Qd6 40. Nb6 h4 {0-1 (40) Gareyev,T (2611)-Corrales Jimenez,F 
(2530) Indianapolis 2016}) 12. O-O-O g6 13. Nh2 Bxh2 14. Rxh2 Qxg5 15. h4 Qh6
16. Rg1 Ndf6 {[#]White is down a pawn, but has loads of comp due to the bad
Bb7 and rediculous Qh6.} 17. c5 ({I can't imagine why Bator didn't play} 17. f4
$1 {which is obvious and desirable.}) 17... e5 $1 18. Qf5 Rfe8 19. Qg5 Qxg5 20.
hxg5 Nd7 21. Bxh5 gxh5 22. b4 a5 23. a3 axb4 24. axb4 Nf8 {[#]} 25. Ne2 $6 {
Starts a sequence which, in effect, lets Black give his e5 pawn to keep his h5
pawn.} (25. Rxh5 $142 Bc8 26. Rh6 Ng6 27. Rgh1 Bf5 $1 28. f3 $1 (28. Rxh7 $2
Nf4 $1)) 25... Bc8 $1 26. f4 (26. Rxh5 Ra4 $15) 26... Bg4 27. fxe5 (27. Bxe5 $4
Bxe2 28. Rxe2 Rxe5 29. fxe5 Ra1+ $19) 27... Ng6 28. d4 Ra4 $19 {[#] Now White
has the horrible B and his Rs have no play, while Black's B rules the light
squares and his Rs have the only open file.} 29. Kc2 (29. Bc3 {saves the
b-pawn, but leaves Black in total control after} Rea8 30. Kc2 Bf5+ 31. Kc1 h4
$19) 29... Rxb4 30. Ra1 Bf5+ 31. Kc1 h4 32. Ng1 $2 Rc4+ 33. Kd1 b4 (33... Ra4
$1) 34. Ra6 b3 35. Ke1 h3 36. Rb6 Rc2 {[#]White could have resigned here, but
may have been hoping against Black's time trouble. Shirov does not oblige, and
converts smoothly.} 37. Rxc2 bxc2 38. Nxh3 Bxh3 39. Rxc6 Bf5 40. Rf6 Ne7 41.
Kd2 Rc8 42. Ba3 Be4 43. e6 fxe6 44. Rxe6 Nc6 45. Kc3 Kf7 46. Rf6+ Ke7 47. Bc1
Nd8 48. Ra6 Nc6 49. Bb2 Kf7 50. Ra1 Kg6 51. Rg1 Rb8 52. Rg4 Nb4 53. Ba3 Na2+
54. Kd2 Rb3 55. Rxe4 dxe4 56. Kxc2 Rxa3 0-1

[Event "Edmonton 11th"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2016.06.26"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Sethuraman, SP."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B82"]
[WhiteElo "2540"]
[BlackElo "2653"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2016.06.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. f4 Be7 7. Bb5+ $5 {
[#] A tricky move which was played a few times by Dutch GM John Van der Weil
in the 1990s, but has nearly disappeared since Black now usually plays 6...a6,
which is what Kasparov always played.} Bd7 (7... Nbd7 $2 {lets White gain a
tempo on the Nf6 to smash through the center:} 8. e5 $1 $18 dxe5 9. fxe5 Nd5
10. Nxd5 exd5 11. e6 $18) (7... Nfd7 8. f5 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position} e5
$2 {Allows a typical Sicilian tactic:} (8... O-O 9. fxe6 Ne5 10. exf7+ Rxf7 11.
Rf1 Bh4+ 12. g3 Bf6 13. Nf5 $14 {Black didn't get enough for the pawn in: Van
der Wiel,J (2526)-Sokolov,I (2624) Rotterdam, 1999 (1-0, 26).}) (8... a6 $5
$146 9. fxe6 axb5 10. exf7+ $5 (10. exd7+ $14) 10... Kxf7 11. Qh5+ g6 12. Qd5+
Ke8 13. Ne6 {and White can force a draw with Ng7-e6, or look for more.}) 9. Ne6
$1 $18 fxe6 10. Qh5+ Kf8 11. fxe6 Qe8 12. O-O+ Bf6 13. exd7 Nxd7 (13... Bxd7
14. Rxf6+ $1 gxf6 15. Qh6+ Kf7 16. Nd5 Qe6 17. Be2 {there's no good defence to
Bh5+; 1-0 Semeniuk,A (2417)-Kurnosov,I (2660) Vladivostok, 2012.}) 14. Rxf6+ $1
gxf6 15. Qh6+ Ke7 16. Nd5+ Kd8 17. Bxd7 $18 {and a fork on f6 wins in:
Schneider,L (2435)-Cebalo,M (2495) Eksjo, 1982 (1-0, 49).}) 8. e5 Nd5 $2 (8...
dxe5 $1 9. fxe5 Nd5 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Bxd7+ (11. e6 $6 Bxb5 (11... fxe6 12.
Nxe6 $2 Bb4+ 13. c3 Qh4+ {and Black is calling the shots.}) 12. exf7+ Kxf7 13.
Nxb5 Bb4+ $1 14. c3 Re8+ $15 {(1-0, 60) Van der Wiel,J (2531)-Ulybin,M (2583)
Hoogeveen, 2000.}) 11... Qxd7 12. O-O (12. Qf3 $5) 12... Bc5 13. Be3 Nc6 14.
Nf5 Bxe3+ 15. Nxe3 O-O 16. Qxd5 Qxd5 17. Nxd5 Rad8 18. Rad1 {½-½ Timman,J 
(2635)-Salov,V (2715) Madrid, 1995.}) 9. Nxd5 {[#]} exd5 $2 (9... dxe5 $142 10.
Nxe6 (10. Nxe7 $5 exd4 11. Qxd4 $14 Bxb5 12. Qxg7 Kxe7) 10... fxe6 (10... Qa5+
$2 11. Bd2 $18 {the fork on c7 defends the Bb5.}) 11. Qh5+ g6 12. Qxe5 $14 {
with an advantage at no cost.}) 10. e6 $1 $18 {If we take off the pawns on f4
and d6 this would the same postion as in Van der Wiel - Ulybin (above). The
difference is that here the d6-pawn does not allow the black Q to defend d5
after ...Bxb5, and that matters.} Bc6 (10... Bxb5 11. exf7+ Kxf7 12. Qh5+ g6
13. Qxd5+ Ke8 {and takes on b5 with an extra pawn and a winning advantage.}) (
10... fxe6 11. Nxe6 $18 Bh4+ 12. g3 Qe7 13. Bxd7+ (13. O-O $1) 13... Kxd7 14.
f5 Bf6 15. Qxd5 Nc6 16. O-O Rae8 17. Bf4 g5 18. Rfe1 gxf4 19. Nc5+ {1-0
Klinger,J (2450)-Ammann,P (2220) Velden, 1994.}) 11. exf7+ Kxf7 12. Bxc6 bxc6
13. Nxc6 Nxc6 14. Qxd5+ Kf8 15. Qxc6 $18 {[#] White is up two pawns for
nothing and converted with no drama.} Rc8 16. Qe4 Bh4+ 17. g3 d5 18. Qf5+ Bf6
19. O-O Qb6+ 20. Rf2 Re8 21. Kf1 Qc6 22. Bd2 Re4 23. Bc3 d4 24. Bb4+ Kf7 25.
Qc5 Qa6+ 26. Kg1 Rd8 27. Ba5 Rd7 28. Re1 Rxe1+ 29. Bxe1 Kg8 30. Qf5 Rd8 31. Ba5
Re8 32. Qd5+ Kh8 33. Bc7 h6 34. Be5 Rd8 35. Qe4 Re8 36. b3 Qxa2 37. Qc6 Rf8 38.
Qc5 Kg8 39. Qxd4 Bxe5 40. Qxe5 Qa6 41. Rd2 Qb6+ 42. Kg2 Rc8 43. c4 Rb8 44. Rd3
Kh7 45. Qe4+ Kh8 46. f5 Qf6 47. Kh3 Rf8 48. Rd5 Rb8 49. c5 a5 50. Re5 Qf7 51.
c6 Rd8 52. Qf3 Qc7 53. Re6 Qf7 54. Qg4 Qf8 55. Qg6 Qg8 56. c7 Rf8 57. Re7 Rc8
58. f6 1-0

[Event "Edmonton 11th"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2016.06.22"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Sethuraman, SP."]
[Black "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D46"]
[WhiteElo "2653"]
[BlackElo "2682"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "2016.06.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[EventCategory "9"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] While SP got caught in the opening by Sambuev, he had clearly
done his homework in a very topical line of the Semi Slav, demonstrating it --
and a sharp tactical eye -- against Semi Slav stalwart, Alexei Shirov.} 1. d4
d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Bb7
9. a3 Bd6 10. O-O O-O 11. Qc2 Rc8 {[#]An important positon for the Meran
Semi-Slav. Black is obviously preparing for ...c5. Five years ago, the
consensus was that if White played b2-b4 to prevent it, Black had a pawn and
piece sac which would guarantee equality (see Topalov-Kasimdzhanov in the note
to move 14). So White looked for other ideas -- one of which led to the
fantastic Aronian-Anand game in the next note -- but none of which have shown
an advantage for White. So top players have gone back to trying to make b2-b4
work.} 12. b4 ({Here's Aronian - Anand, one of the Great Games of the 21st
Century:} 12. Ng5 $5 {Attacks h7, but White's idea is to play Ne4, gaining a
tempo off the Bd6 and helping control c5.} c5 $1 13. Nxh7 Ng4 $1 14. f4 cxd4
15. exd4 Bc5 $1 16. Be2 Nde5 $3 {[#]Analysis Diagram} 17. Bxg4 $1 {White can
capture four different black pieces, but this is the only one that doesn't
immediately lose.} ({Taking the Rf8 or the Ne5 loses to a smothered mate:} 17.
fxe5 Qxd4+ 18. Kh1 Qg1+ $1 19. Rxg1 Nf2#) (17. Nxf8 Qxd4+ $19 {followed by ...
Qg1+ is the same smothered mate.}) ({Taking the Bc5 loses in one of two ways,
depending how White reacts:} 17. dxc5 Qd4+ 18. Kh1 Nf2+ 19. Rxf2 Qxf2 {and
White gets mated on g2 or on the back-rank.}) (17. dxc5 Qd4+ {if White tries
to shore-up the back-rank with} 18. Be3 {then after} Qxe3+ 19. Kh1 {Black
switches the point of attack with} Qh3 {and White gets mated on h2 or g2.})
17... Bxd4+ 18. Kh1 Nxg4 19. Nxf8 f5 $3 {"This move I am very proud of. To
find it over the board is very nice." - Anand} (19... Nxh2 $4 20. Qh7+ $18) 20.
Ng6 Qf6 21. h3 Qxg6 22. Qe2 Qh5 23. Qd3 Be3 $1 {0-1 Aronian,L (2802)-Anand,V 
(2772) Wijk, 2013. (for complete notes, see Chess Canada 2013.12).}) 12... c5
13. bxc5 Bxf3 {[#]} 14. cxd6 (14. gxf3 Nxc5 $1 15. dxc5 Rxc5 {Analysis Diagram
[#]Black has sacrificed a piece, but has two threats:  1) pile up on the
c-file to win back the piece on c3,  2) sac the B on h2 for a perpetual.
White's only choice is which threat to stop:} {If White defends h2, then Black
wins back the piece on c3 with equality:} 16. f4 ({If White defends the piece
with:} 16. Bb2 Bxh2+ $1 {forces a draw} 17. Kxh2 (17. Kg2 Rg5+ 18. Kh1 Rh5 $11
{/\...Nd7, ...Qh4.}) 17... Rh5+ $8 {with a repetition} 18. Kg2 (18. Kg3 Rg5+ $8
$11 {going for more loses:} 19. Kf4 $4 Qc7+ 20. Kxg5 h6+ 21. Kh4 Qh2#) 18...
Rg5+ 19. Kh3 Rh5+ {(1/2-1/2, 22) Malakhatko,V (2558)-Khismatullin,D (2638) St
Petersburg, 2012.}) 16... Nd5 17. Bb2 Nxc3 18. Bxc3 Qc7 19. Rfc1 Rc8 20. Bxh7+
Kh8 21. Bd3 Rxc3 {trading down to a dead drawn R and opposite B ending.} 22.
Qxc3 Qxc3 23. Rxc3 Rxc3 24. Bxb5 Bxa3 $11 {(½-½, 37) Topalov,V (2752)
-Kasimdzhanov,R (2684) London, 2012.}) 14... Nd5 15. gxf3 {[#]Shirov has been
here before.} Qg5+ (15... Nxc3 16. f4 (16. Bxh7+ $5 {see: Miton,K (2604)-Duda,
J (2610) Havana, 2015 (though the end of that game in the dB makes no sense).})
16... Nf6 17. Qb2 Qd7 $1 18. Bd2 e5 $3 {(threatening ...Qg4+ with a perpetual
and/or breaking up White's center and giving the Ns some decent squares)} 19.
f3 $1 exd4 {This is what I'd suggested in my 2013 notes to Aronian-Anand, but
it doesn't seem to be good enough.} (19... e4 $5 $146 20. Bxc3 exd3 21. Qb3 Rc4
22. Bd2 Rfc8 23. Qxd3 Qxd6 $14 {White's center and space look more promising,
and the extra pawn doesn't hurt.}) 20. e4 a5 21. Rae1 Rc5 22. Bc1 Nh5 23. e5
$16 {White's center and B's are too strong.} g6 24. Qf2 b4 25. axb4 axb4 26.
Qxd4 Rd5 27. Qe3 $18 {(1-0, 51) Wojtaszek,R (2734)-Shirov,A (2715) Skopje,
2015.}) 16. Kh1 Qh5 17. Be2 $1 (17. Bxh7+ Kh8 $8 18. Be4 Nxc3 19. Bb7 Nd5 (
19... Nf6 $1 $11 20. Bxc8 $4 Qxf3+ 21. Kg1 Ne2+ $19) 20. Qd1 Rc2 21. e4 Nc3 22.
Qd3 $8 Ne2 $4 23. e5 $1 Qh3 24. Rg1 (24. Bd2 $142 $18) 24... Nxg1 25. Qxc2 $16
Nxf3 26. Bf4 Nxd4 27. Qc7 Ne2 28. Bg3 $4 Nxg3+ 29. fxg3 Nxe5 30. Bg2 Qg4 31.
Qe7 Kg8 32. Qxa7 Qe2 33. Qd4 {(½-½, 33) Nyzhnyk,I (2622)-Sheng,J (2397)
World Open, 2016.}) 17... Nxc3 18. Rg1 {[#]} Nf6 $6 (18... Rfd8 $1 19. e4 e5
20. Be3 Nxe2 21. Qxe2 exd4 22. Bxd4 (22. Rg5 $5 Qh6 23. Bf4 Qf6 24. Rf5 d3 25.
Qe1 d2 $13) 22... Ne5 23. Qe3 Rxd6 $6 (23... g6 $1 $11 {makes g7 safe before
taking on d6.}) 24. Rg5 Qxf3+ 25. Qxf3 Nxf3 26. Rxg7+ Kf8 27. Rxh7 Rc4 28. Bxa7
$14 {(1-0, 65) Gustafsson,J (2629)-Smirnov,A (2479) Bangkok, 2016.}) 19. Bb2
Na4 20. Qd2 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position Can Black win the d6-pawn with ...
Rfd8xd6, or does that maneuver lose a piece to e4-e5?} Rfd8 (20... Rc6 $4 21.
d5 $18 {with a double attack on Rd6 and the undefended Nf6.}) 21. e4 Rxd6 22.
e5 ({Winning a piece! The point, which Shirov now noticed, is that after the
move he had counted on} 22. e5 Qxe5 23. Qh6 $1 {unpins the d-pawn and
threatens mate. Opening Summary: the lines in the Nyznhyk and Gustaffson games
should keep Black afloat, but the tactics in these complex lines are a
challenge even for 2600+ GMs, so there's plenty of scope for the better player
to win.}) 1-0

[Event "2016 Toronto Closed"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2016.04.04"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Barron, Michael"]
[Black "Ivanov, Mike"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C63"]
[WhiteElo "2342"]
[BlackElo "2363"]
[Annotator "Keith MacKinnon"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/830  The 2016 Toronto Closed is
a round-robin event played over two months, with one game per week. Mike
Ivanov raced to lead with 4.5/5, but lost to Mark Plotkin, allowing Mark's
father, and Canadian Olympiad Captain FM Victor Plotkin to finish =1st with
Mike at 5.5/7. Mark was 3rd with +5 =0 -2.  Here is Mike Ivanov's first round
win (featuring the Schliemann Attack) with the Black pieces against
newly-minted IM Michael Barron.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 {[#] The
Schliemann allows Black to play for the win straight out of the opening but it
involves major risks.} 4. Nc3 {not as common as it once was} (4. d3 fxe4 5.
dxe4 Nf6 6. O-O $14 {has been the choice of a number of top players. White
gets a comforable position with a small edge while avoiding some fairly
dangerous theory} Bc5 {[#] Analysis Diagram} 7. Bxc6 {the positional approach}
(7. Qd3 Nd4 {is the, let's say, non-positional approach (editor)} 8. Nxd4 Bxd4
9. Nd2 a6 $14 {(½-½, 49) Grischuk,A (2752)-Kamsky,G (2670) Sochi, 2016.})
7... bxc6 8. Nxe5 {led to a convincing win at the highest level back in 2013}
O-O 9. Nc3 d6 10. Na4 Qe8 11. Nd3 Nxe4 12. Naxc5 Nxc5 13. Nxc5 dxc5 14. Be3 Qg6
15. Qd3 Bf5 16. Qc4+ Be6 17. Qe2 c4 18. f3 a6 19. Bd4 Rae8 20. Kh1 Bd5 21. Qd2
Re6 22. Bc3 h6 23. Rf2 Kh7 24. Raf1 $5 Rf5 25. Re1 $1 Rd6 26. Be5 Rd7 27. Qc3
$16 {White consolidated the kingside and took enough of Black's weak pawns to
win the game.} Qg5 28. Rfe2 Rdf7 29. Re3 h5 30. R1e2 Qg6 31. h3 Qg5 32. Kh2 h4
33. Qd4 Re7 34. Qg4 Kg8 35. Bc3 Rxe3 36. Rxe3 Kf7 37. Be1 Qf4+ 38. Qxf4 Rxf4
39. Ra3 Rd4 40. Rxa6 g5 41. Ra7 $18 Rd1 42. Rxc7+ Ke6 43. Bb4 c3 44. Bxc3 Rc1
45. Rg7 Bxa2 46. Rxg5 Rxc2 47. Rg6+ Kd7 48. Rg4 Bd5 49. Kg1 Rc1+ 50. Kf2 Rc2+
51. Kf1 Be6 {1-0 (51) Caruana,F (2772)-Radjabov,T (2793) Zug, 2013.}) 4... fxe4
5. Nxe4 d5 {The critical test.} (5... Nf6 6. Qe2 d5 7. Nxf6+ gxf6 8. d4 e4 9.
Nh4 Be6 10. c3 Qd7 11. Qh5+ Bf7 12. Qf5 Be6 13. Qh5+ Bf7 14. Qf5 Be6 {½-½
Deac,B (2543)-Radjabov,T (2710) Bastia, 2016.}) 6. Nxe5 dxe4 7. Nxc6 Qg5 (7...
Qd5 8. c4 Qd6 9. Nxa7+ Bd7 10. Bxd7+ Qxd7 11. Qh5+ g6 12. Qe5+ Kf7 13. Nb5 $1
$16 (13. Qxh8 $6 Nf6 14. Nb5 Rd8 15. O-O Bc5 $13 {and the Queen is trapped.}))
{[#]} 8. Nd4+ {A good move, but perhaps not as testing as the alternative} (8.
Qe2 $1 Nf6 (8... Qxg2 $4 {loses on the spot} 9. Qh5+ Qg6 (9... g6 10. Qe5+ $18)
10. Ne5+ $18) 9. f4 (9. Nxa7+ $5 {very wild but needs more testing, as the
main line doesn't feel extremely convincing to me anymore.}) 9... Qxf4 10. Ne5+
c6 11. d4 {is another popular continuation, in which White scores an
impressive 65%} Qh4+ 12. g3 Qh3 13. Bc4 Be6 {An unclear situation arises where
it seems Black is doing OK - as can be seen in the following game. In
Nisipeanu's analysis, he mentions that the evaluation of this line depends on
the strength or weakness of the e4 pawn...} 14. Bg5 O-O-O 15. O-O-O Bd6 16.
Rhf1 Rhe8 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Rxf6 Bxe5 19. Rxe6 Rxe6 20. Bxe6+ Qxe6 21. dxe5 $11
{(1/2-1/2, 32) Carlsen,M (2813)-Nisipeanu,L (2672) Medias, 2010.}) 8... c6 9.
Bf1 Qe5 10. c3 Bc5 (10... Nf6 11. d3 exd3+ 12. Be3 {and White should have some
edge, but Black has enough activity that he has compensation for his pawn
deficit} Nd5 13. Qxd3 g6 $44) {[#]} 11. Nb3 (11. Nc2 Bf5 12. Qe2 Bd6 13. Ne3
O-O-O 14. b3 $6 Nf6 15. Bb2 Bg6 16. O-O-O Rhf8 $13 {(½-½, 41) Bluvshtein,M 
(2449)-Malinovsky,K (2179) Heraklio, 2002.}) (11. d3 $5 Bxd4 (11... exd3+ 12.
Be3 Nf6 13. Bxd3 O-O (13... Ng4 14. Qe2 Nxe3 15. Qxe3 Qxe3+ 16. fxe3 $14)) 12.
cxd4 Qxd4 13. Qb3 {offers White dynamic play with his two Bishops} Nf6 14. Be3
Qe5 15. dxe4 $14) 11... Bd6 12. d4 $1 exd3+ 13. Be3 Nf6 14. Qxd3 Bg4 15. h3 {
A useful move, as now Black does not have g4 for his Knight.} Bh5 16. Qd4 {
[#] White tries to exchange Queens, as he is up a pawn.} Qe7 17. g4 (17. Bd3
Rd8 18. Qh4 Be5 {and White needs to move the d3 Bishop. This line was a valid
alternative, however. The Bishop likely belongs on the b1-h7 diagonal as
opposed to h1-a8 in order to put some pressure on Black's King, which will be
castled shortly}) (17. Bc4 Rd8 $1 {a7 is immune due to ...Qe4.}) 17... Bg6 (
17... Bf7 {seems a little more natural.}) 18. Bg2 Rd8 19. O-O-O $1 O-O 20. Rhe1
$14 {[#] When first browsing through this game, I was quite happy with White's
position here. He has played the opening phase well, and Black must try and
prove compensation for his sacked pawn.} Be5 $6 (20... Bb8) 21. Qxa7 Ra8 (21...
Nd5 22. Bxd5+ cxd5 23. Qc5 $16) 22. Qb6 $2 {And, just like that, White's
advantage has disappeared!} (22. Qc5 $142 $1 Qxc5 {Black doesn't have a good
way to avoid the Queen trade} (22... Qc7 23. a3 {and White is now up two pawns}
) 23. Bxc5 Bf4+ 24. Be3 Bxe3+ 25. Rxe3 Rxa2 26. f4 $16 ({or} 26. Rd4 $16))
22... Rxa2 {[#]} 23. Nd4 $2 {Mistakes come in bunches} (23. Bc5 Bf4+ 24. Re3 $1
{the point - White is not afraid of losing this exchange since he will pick
off the f8 rook} Bxe3+ 25. fxe3 Qe5 26. Bxf8 Qg3 $8 ({otherwise} 26... Kxf8 27.
Qb4+ Kg8 28. Qc4+ Kf8 29. Qf4 $16) 27. Qxb7 Qxe3+ 28. Rd2 Qe1+ 29. Rd1 Qe3+ $11
) 23... Ra1+ 24. Kd2 Ne4+ $6 (24... Ra6 $1 25. Qb3+ Bf7 $17 26. c4) 25. Bxe4
Rxd1+ 26. Kxd1 Bxe4 27. Bd2 $11 {[#]} Bxd4 28. Qxd4 Bf3+ 29. Kc2 Qf7 30. Re5
Qg6+ {[#]} 31. Qd3 $4 {My guess is that White was very low on time here due to
the complex game.} (31. Kc1 Ra8 32. Ra5 $1 Rxa5 33. Qd8+ Kf7 34. Qxa5 {editor
- White has an extra pawn, but the weak light squares should be good enough
for a draw after} Qd3) 31... Bd1+ {and the Queen drops.   I found the game
exciting and felt White had the upper hand out of the opening, but just when
the position was getting critical (move 22) he went wrong and allowed Black
some big counterplay. Mike Ivanov could have obtained a very nice position
with 24... Ra6 which would have put White under serious pressure. After
missing this chance, the game probably should have been a draw; however, IM
Barron blundered leading to his defeat.} 0-1

[Event "McGill Open"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2016.05.01"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Yu, Zong Yang"]
[Black "Hirschberg, Valerian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2342"]
[BlackElo "2317"]
[Annotator "Keith MacKinnon"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2016.04.28"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/825  From the final round of the
2016 McGill Open, I present you with an attacking masterpiece that is worthy
of books on how to play the English for an attack.   The tournament situation
was such that FM Valerian Hirschberg was on 4/4 -- having beaten yours truly
in the second round -- playing his nearest competitor, FM Zong Yang Yu, with 3.
5/4 (who took a first round bye). Zong Yang, needing a win, capitalized on one
or two mistakes by Valerian in a complex opening leading to a quick 25-move
win. Be sure to have a look!} 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 {a principled
decision to counter in the centre; however, sharp lines may ensue. The game
continuation demonstrates that the English isn't always such a boring opening}
4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 {[#] A bold move leading to dynamic play.} (5. d4 {is a
high-scoring alternative (60%).}) (5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Nc7 7. O-O e5 8. d3 {
is a quieter continuation.}) 5... Nb4 6. Bc4 (6. Bb5+ {a less successful
alternative} N8c6 7. d4 cxd4 8. a3 dxc3 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. axb4 $11) 6... Nd3+
7. Ke2 {One should only play openings like this after careful preparation!}
Nf4+ (7... Nxc1+ 8. Rxc1 Nc6 {is pretty reasonable too.}) 8. Kf1 Ne6 9. b4 $1 {
The correct way to follow up -- White must continue with enterprising play, as
otherwise Black will consolidate control of d4, and White will feel silly as
he will need to castle manually.} cxb4 10. Nd5 {[#]} Nc6 {The first deviation
from the main line, yet still played by strong players} (10... g6 11. Bb2 Bg7 {
and the advantage of having the Knight on e6 can be appreciated. Black scores
well here, but White's position shows promise as he will recover the pawn on
b4 and then push d4 with strong central control. One major proponent of this
system was GM Yasser Seirawan who won the following instructive game:} 12. Bxg7
Nxg7 13. Nxb4 Nd7 14. d4 Nb6 15. Bb3 a5 16. Nd3 a4 17. Bc2 O-O 18. h3 Qc7 19.
Rc1 Bd7 20. g3 Nc4 21. Kg2 $14 {editor - White has more centre control and
Black's a-pawn is weak. Black should either push on the queenside with ...b5
or try to make something happen on kingside with ...f5:} Bb5 $6 (21... f5 $5
22. Nde5 $14) (21... b5 $5) 22. Nc5 Qb8 23. Rb1 ({editor - you have to be
careful when your instincts make you (in Yasser's own words) "a dirty pawn
grubber"; e.g.:} 23. Nxa4 $2 Bxa4 24. Bxa4 Nb2 $17) (23. Bxa4 $5 Bxa4 24. Nxa4
b5 25. Nc5 $6 Rxa2 26. Nd7 $4 {leads to a funny finish} Ne3+ 27. Kg1 Qxg3+ $1
28. fxg3 Rg2#) 23... Na3 24. Rb2 b6 25. Nxa4 Rc8 $1 26. Bb3 Qa7 27. Qd2 $1 Bxa4
28. Qh6 Bxb3 29. Ng5 f6 30. Qxh7+ Kf8 31. Rxb3 fxg5 32. d5 $18 (32. Rf3+ $18)
32... Nc4 33. Qh8+ Kf7 34. Rf3+ Nf5 35. Qh7+ Kf6 36. exf5 Ne5 37. Re1 g4 38.
hxg4 Qd7 39. g5+ {1-0 Seirawan,Y (2600)-Kuligowski,A (2435) Wijk aan Zee, 1983.
}) 11. Bb2 (11. d4 g6 12. Be3 Bg7 13. Qd2 O-O 14. Rd1 a5 15. h4 h5 16. Bh6 Kh7
17. Bxg7 Nxg7 18. Ng5+ Kg8 19. Qf4 {1/2-1/2 Piket,J (2605)-Van Wely,L (2635)
Escaldes, 1998.}) 11... Nc5 {[#]} 12. Qc2 ({The computer points out a crazy
looking move} 12. Be5 $1 {and after the natural looking} Nxe5 $2 ({Black would
do best to go back and cover c7} 12... Ne6 13. Rb1 {and perhaps play d4 and
drop the Bishop back to g3 if attacked with ...f6}) 13. Nxe5 e6 14. Qh5 $18 {
the game will be over after} g6 15. Qf3 f5 16. Bb5+ $8 Bd7 17. Nxd7 Nxd7 18.
exf5 $8 exd5 19. Re1+ $18) 12... e6 13. d4 $1 b3 $2 {I don't really understand
the idea behind this intermezzo. It seems to be a mistake which begins Black's
relatively quick decline from this point on} (13... Nd7 14. Ne3 $14) 14. axb3 {
[#]} Nd7 ({editor -} 14... Nxb3 {might have been Black's idea when he played ..
.b3, but it doesn't help} 15. Qxb3 exd5 16. exd5 $18 {with a crushing attack
for free.}) 15. Ne3 (15. Nf4 {is marginally more active and would likely have
been my preference} Qc7 16. g3 Na5 17. Kg2 Nxc4 18. bxc4 $16) 15... Be7 $2 16.
d5 $1 {Opening up White's dangerous b2 Bishop. The end is near.} exd5 17. exd5
Nb4 18. Qe4 {[#]} Nf6 {One of only two moves which doesn't lose immediately.} (
18... O-O {a hard move to make when I'm sure he saw} 19. Bxg7 $1 {and now if}
Kxg7 (19... Nf6 {prolongs the battle somewhat and was likely Black's best} 20.
Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Rd1 Qd6 22. h4 {and White's attack continues.}) 20. Nf5+ Kh8 21.
Nxe7 {which is easily winning for White}) (18... Nc5 $2 19. Bb5+ $18 {picks up
the b4 Knight.}) 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Rd1 (20. Nd4 {targeting f5 was likely a
little easier, as it prevents Black from castling due to the devastation of
either Knight going to f5; for example} O-O (20... Kf8 $8) 21. Nef5 Bxf5 22.
Nxf5 $18 {But after seeing what White had planned, what he did was equally
good.}) 20... O-O {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position} 21. d6 $1 {A beautiful move
which adds to White's attacking potential and forces Black's Bishop to d6,
where it will be in trouble once a Knight gets to f5.} (21. Nh4 {does not
quite have the same power due to} Bd6 22. Nhf5 Kh8 {and White is clearly
better, but the win is a long way off.}) 21... Bxd6 22. Nh4 {And again, it is
getting a Knight to f5 that matters.} Qc7 23. Nhf5 Bf4 24. Ne7+ Kh8 25. N7d5 {
Winning a full piece.  An exemplary display by FM Zong Yang Yu who is the
deserving champion of the 2016 McGill Open!} 1-0

[Event "2016 Canadian Open"]
[Site "Windsor"]
[Date "2016.07.11"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Vettese, Nicholas"]
[Black "Tarjan, James"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2147"]
[BlackElo "2447"]
[Annotator "James Tarjan"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2016.07.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {In this event I faced quite a number of talented, very young
players. Clearly they had me, and my old man rating points, in their bombsites.
Well then, turnabout is fair play and I prepared for them and researched them
carefully. I learned that Vettese at age ten had become the youngest National
Master in Canadian history, though, if I am not mistaken, by the time of our
game he had matured to the age of 12. He beat me there by a few years: I think
I must have been 14 before I was master strength. A late bloomer, by today's
standards.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 {[#] Really an odd idea, moving the
c-pawn twice. 3. ...Bf5 of course is the more common, and more logical
approach. As opposed to the French, Black gets his bishop out in front of his
pawn chain, where, presumably at least, it is better placed.  However, if
these matters were so simple and straightforward, chess would be a much more
trivial game, and we wouldn't be so willing to spend our time on it.  If you
go back, you will see Botvinnik using 3. ...c5 against Tal in their second
World Championship match.} 4. Nf3 {Not the only move of course, but a popular
one in this tournament. 4.dxc5 also makes sense, as does 4.c4.} cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6
({Against Kaiqi Yang in the fourth round, I played the alternative:} 5... Nc6
6. c4 e6 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. Nxc6 bxc6 9. Qa4 {and then the interesting pawn
sacrifice} Rb8) 6. c4 {After 5. ...e6 White has a great deal of leeway. He
could play practically any developing move. His 6.c4 is logical. 6.Bd3; or 6.
Nd2 with the idea 6. ...Nc6 7.Nd2-f3.} Bb4+ 7. Nc3 ({Sharper here would be} 7.
Bd2 Bxd2+ 8. Qxd2 Ne7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. O-O-O) 7... Ne7 {[#] It is pleasant for
Black that he has delayed ...Nc6, and is already set to castle. Now 8.Qa4+
makes little sense because after 8. ...Nc6 9.Nxc6 Black can play 9. ...Nxc6.}
8. Qb3 Nbc6 9. Nxc6 Nxc6 10. cxd5 Qxd5 11. Qxb4 Nxb4 12. Nxd5 exd5 13. Bb5+ {
[#] I believe that had if we had played this game in another year or two,
Vettese would not even consider this move. The exchange of bishops resolves
the position in Black's favor. His remaining bishop is classically bad,
blocked by his own pawns, especially after an f2-f4. Black's N has promising
outposts. The passed d-pawn is a plus, and Black still has a lead in
development, getting his rook to the open c-file first.  13.Kd1 is much more
double-edged and unclear. White keeps his two bishops. There are still enough
pieces on the board that White's king on d1 might be uncomfortable; but things
could also swing the other way and the centralized king could end up
well-positioned for the endgame.} Bd7 14. Bxd7+ Kxd7 15. O-O Rac8 16. Bd2 Nc6
17. Bc3 Ke6 18. Rfd1 Rhd8 19. f4 d4 20. Bd2 d3 21. Kf2 ({editor - fighting for
the c-file with} 21. Rac1 $1 {looks better. Now, N-move Rxc8 will deflect the
Rd8 from defending d4, giving White time to bring over his K and the black
d-pawn may have advanced a bit too soon; e.g.} Nd4 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Kf2) 21...
Nd4 22. Rac1 Rc2 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position What happens after 23.Rxc2?}
23. Rb1 ({editor - there are some very sharp tactics here after} 23. Rxc2 $5
dxc2 $1 (23... Nxc2 $11) 24. Rf1 $8 (24. Rc1 $2 Nb3 $8 $19 {and ...Rxd2.})
24... Nf3 $1 (24... Nf5 25. Ke2 $13) 25. f5+ $8 (25. Bc1 Nxh2 $19) (25. Kxf3
Rxd2 26. Rc1 Kd5 $19) 25... Kxe5 (25... Kxf5 $4 26. Kxf3 Rxd2 27. Ke3+ $18) 26.
Bc3+ Kxf5 (26... Nd4 $2 27. Ke3 $18) 27. Ke2 $8 c1=Q 28. Rxc1 $15 {and Black
can go into a nominally better R ending after ...Nd4+.}) 23... h5 24. Ke3 Nf5+
25. Kf3 Rd5 {White is clearly in trouble. He comes up with a nice trap.} 26.
Bc3 Nh4+ 27. Kg3 {[#]} Nf5+ (27... Nxg2 $2 28. Bd2 $1 {Trapping the N.}) ({
After the game Vettese pointed out the possibility of} 27... g5 28. fxg5 Nxg2
29. Bd2 Rxe5 $19 {Seems convincing, though I don't see how he holds the
position anyway, as the game went.}) 28. Kf3 Nh4+ 29. Kg3 Ng6 30. Rd2 Rxd2 31.
Bxd2 Rc5 32. Rc1 Rc2 33. Rxc2 dxc2 34. Kf2 Kf5 {[#]} 35. g3 ({The only hope is
to keep Black's king out of e4 with} 35. Kf3 {but after} Ne7 {it is lost anyway
}) 35... Ke4 36. Ke2 h4 37. Bc1 h3 38. b4 $6 b5 39. a3 Ne7 40. g4 Nc6 41. Kd2 {
[#] I gather that young players now are trained never to resign, or at least
not until things are very very over. It was annoying the first time, seemed
disrespectful, but now I am OK with it. And I have come around to agree that
it is a good practice for them. After all, it was Tartakower, was it not, who
said, "No one ever won a game by resigning." And people will indeed blunder...
but not this time.} Kxf4 {Various ways to win I am sure, but always good in
practice to choose the way that offers the opponent absolutely no chance
whatsoever.} 42. Kxc2+ Kxg4 43. Be3 Kf3 44. Kd2 a6 45. Bc5 Nxe5 46. Bf8 g5 0-1

[Event "2016 Canadian Open"]
[Site "Windsor"]
[Date "2016.07.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Ivanov, Mike"]
[Black "Tarjan, James"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2260"]
[BlackElo "2443"]
[Annotator "Mike Ivanov"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2016.07.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] Going into this game, I prepared the Caro-Kann, hoping to play
the sharp Karpov variation as White. However, James rightly sidestepped my
preparations. In round 9 however, Andrew Peredun got the chance to show
exactly why the Karpov variation (4.... Nbd7) is so fun for White (Nxe6!).} 1.
e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bb4+ $5 {[#] Even though I was aware that
he'd played the Scotch in the past, I wasn't expecting this particular
variation from him. Thankfully, I recently read an article by Rublevsky
showing how to get an advantage here for White.} 5. c3 Bc5 6. Be3 Bb6 7. Nf5 {
The main move which allows White to get a solid position with a small plus due
to the space advantage and bind on Black's counterplay.} Bxe3 (7... g6 8. Bxb6
axb6 9. Ne3 Nf6 10. f3 O-O 11. c4 d5 $1 {is interesting.}) 8. Nxe3 Nf6 9. f3
O-O 10. c4 {[#] Getting a Maroczy Bind without dark-square bishops, which
normally benefits Black, but in this case Black has a less chance of a ...b5
or ...d5 breakthrough than in usual hedgehog structures.} d6 11. Nc3 Nd7 12.
Qd2 Nc5 13. Be2 {[#]} a5 $6 {Although this natural move can't be bad, I think
Black should consider ...Qh4+ here weakening White's kingside. After the text
move, Black slowly gets pushed back, while the c8 bishop has trouble
developing.} (13... Qh4+ 14. g3 Qd8 15. O-O Bh3 16. Rfe1 Re8 17. Rad1 a5 {
with a bit more breathing space for Black than in the game.}) 14. O-O Be6 15.
Rae1 {[#] The rook might be better placed on d1, in view of the eventual f4,
e5 push. I wanted to keep the option of Bd1-c2 open, not being the biggest fan
of my e2 bishop.} f6 16. Kh1 Ne5 17. b3 {The second the knight leaves c5, b3
is playable since ...a4 can be met with b4.} Re8 18. Rb1 {Switch in plans.
Since Black has no play, it doesn't make sense to give him a target on e4 by
pushing f4. More reasonable is to gain space on the queenside before comitting
to anything.} c6 $1 {[#]} 19. f4 (19. Rbd1 Qb6 20. Qxd6 Rad8 {is where I
stopped calculating, but the line might not even stop here :)} 21. Ncd5 $1 Bxd5
22. Nxd5 Rxd6 ({editor -} 22... Qa7 23. Ne7+ Kf7 $8 24. Qc7 $8 Qb8 $8 25. Qxb8
$14) 23. Nxb6 Red8 24. Rxd6 Rxd6 25. Rd1 Rxd1+ 26. Bxd1 Ned3 {and even though
White is up a pawn, Black's well-positioned knights and White's bad d1-bishop
fully compensate.}) 19... Nf7 20. Bd1 Qb6 21. a3 {Creating the threat of b4,
and if the knight dares to retreat to d7, f5! traps the bishop} Bc8 22. Bc2 Qc7
23. Rf3 {Diagram [#] White can now slowly develop a kingside attack, bringing
in the rooks and knights. At the same time Black's position is rock solid.
This position is analogous to King's Indian Defenses where Black plays ...exd4
at some point, except there is no Black bishop on g7 to give any hope for
counterplay.} Nd7 24. Rbf1 Nf8 25. Rg3 Kh8 26. Qd1 $2 {A waste of time since
the queen is scarier from d3.} Nh6 27. Qd3 Be6 28. Ne2 Bf7 {[#]} 29. Rh3 (29.
Nd4 Bg6 $1 {tempting the pawn forward to get the e5 square} 30. f5 Bf7 31. Nf3
Nd7 32. Qd4 Ne5 (32... d5 $5)) 29... Bg6 30. Ng3 $1 {This way White doesn't
have to lock the structure with f5 which immobolizes the pawns while giving
black knights outposts.} Rad8 31. Qc3 (31. Rxh6 $1 gxh6 32. Qc3 Nd7 33. Ngf5 h5
34. Rd1 {looked interesting but Black has enough rooks to cover the important
squares.}) 31... Ng8 32. Rf3 Qb6 {Diagram [#]} 33. Rh4 $6 {Going for the wrong
idea of doubling rooks, against which Black can always insert ...h6 and hold.}
(33. Ngf5 Qc7 34. Rf1 Rd7 35. b4 axb4 36. axb4 Ra8 37. g4 {Slowly pressing on
all sides was better, but I'm still convinced that Black can hold since
everything is defended}) 33... Rd7 34. f5 $2 {[#] impatience in action, as I
got annoyed that Black's "sleeping beauties" could still ward off my pieces
which are almost perfectly placed. The thinking behind it was to give up the
e5 square for the f4/g6/e6 squares and double up with Rh3.} Bf7 35. Ne2 Rde7 (
35... d5 36. exd5 cxd5 37. c5 Qc7 38. Nd4 {looked pleasant for White.}) (35...
h6 36. Nf4 Nh7 37. b4 Ng5 {gave more counterplay for Black, and is probably
better than what happened in the game.}) 36. Nf4 h6 37. Rg4 Ra8 (37... Nh7 38.
h4) 38. Rfg3 Be8 {[#]} 39. Rh4 {Not wanting to make any big decisions before
the time control. Ironic, because I ended up making one anyway.} (39. Ne6 $1
Nxe6 40. fxe6 $18 {would have been awesome to find, but I had only 30 seconds
left. Black is in practical zugzwang since he can't take on e6 and Nf5 is
coming. editor - At the end of this line Black might be able to untangle by
scrambling White's Rs with ...h5, but it's hard to believe that this won't
leave White with other ways to crack the kingside.}) 39... Nd7 {[%mdl 64]
Diagram [#]Critical Position} 40. Ng6+ $2 {The problem is that ...d5 is a
potential threat plus ...Ne5 is coming, so I felt I had to do something fast,
despite needing one move to reach that sacred time control. Another addition
to the series of "Mistakes Played on the 40th Move".} (40. Ne6 $1 {once again
should be the way to go, and White can start to look for the final blow such
as Nxg7.} Ne5 (40... Rxe6 41. fxe6 Ne5 42. Rf4 Rd8 43. Nf5 $18) (40... Nc5 41.
Nxg7 Rxg7 42. Rxh6+ Nxh6 43. Qxf6 Qc7 44. Qxh6+ Kg8 45. Ng4 $18) 41. c5 $1 dxc5
42. Nc4 $1 Qa6 43. Kg1 Nxc4 44. Rxg7 $1 Rxg7 45. Rxh6+ $1 Nxh6 46. Qxf6 {#2.})
40... Bxg6 41. fxg6 Qc5 42. Qd2 Re5 43. Nf5 {My plan when playing Ng6 was
simple: put all the pieces on h6 and sac the knight. Too bad the rook got in
the way...} Rxf5 $1 44. exf5 Re8 {Diagram [#]} 45. h3 $1 {Avoiding many
annoying back-rank tricks. Although white is up an exchange, a3 is falling,
and the bishop on c2 isn't much of a bishop. The knights can start to dominate
the position if white's not careful} (45. b4 axb4 46. axb4 Qe5 47. Kg1 $16 (47.
Re4 $4 Qa1+ $19)) 45... Qxa3 46. Rd4 Ne5 47. Kh2 Rd8 {Diagram [#]} 48. Re3 $2 {
Here I missed the last easy win, a neat simplifying tactic} (48. b4 $1 Qxb4 49.
Qxb4 axb4 50. c5 $18) 48... Qc5 49. Re1 Ne7 50. Rh4 Ng8 {Diagram [#]} 51. Rd4 {
Because of the texture of the position I decided to repeat moves, yet it turns
out that because of the d6 weakness coupled with threats on h6, White can
force ...d5, after which he has great winning chances. Although at the time,
looking at that bishop on c2 didn't inspire too much confidence in my winning
chances.} (51. Rd1 $1 d5 52. Qd4 Qd6 53. Kh1 a4 (53... Qb8 54. Qd2 (54. c5 Nd7
55. b4 axb4 56. Qxb4 Qa7 57. Bb3 Nxc5 $13) 54... b6 $16) 54. cxd5 axb3 55. Bxb3
c5 56. Qa4 {With more chances to win than to draw.}) 51... Ne7 52. Rh4 Ng8 53.
Rd4 Ne7 54. Rh4 {And here we agreed on a draw, partially due to the respect I
had for my experienced opponent. Nevertheless, the lesson that can be taken
from this game is summed up by a Nigel Short quote:  If your opponent offers
you a draw (or a 3-fold repetition!) figure out why he thinks he's worse!}
1/2-1/2

[Event "2016 Canadian Open"]
[Site "Windsor"]
[Date "2016.07.17"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Antal, Gergely"]
[Black "Banerjee, Bitan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C06"]
[WhiteElo "2545"]
[BlackElo "2368"]
[Annotator "Upper,John"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2016.07.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7.
Ne2 cxd4 8. cxd4 {[#] A familiar sequence from Tarrasch French. The next few
moves are about trying to establish piece control over e5.} f6 9. exf6 Nxf6 10.
O-O Bd6 11. Nf3 Qc7 12. Bg5 O-O 13. Bh4 Nh5 {[#] The Nh5 discourages Bg3. Now
White tries to show that Black's kingside is getting porus.} 14. Qc2 h6 15.
Bh7+ (15. Bg6 {is also played, but the check is a useful finesse, since it
makes Black's king vunlerable to back rank mates, and so rules out some
equalizing tactics.}) 15... Kh8 16. Bg6 Rxf3 $1 {[#] The necessary "sac",
removing a defender of d4 and giving White a chance to wreck his kingside.} 17.
Bxh5 {The prudent line.} (17. gxf3 $5 Bxh2+ 18. Kg2 Nf4+ 19. Nxf4 (19. Kxh2
Nxg6+ 20. Bg3 Qf7 $15) 19... Qxf4 $13 {this is the sort of mess Black is
hoping for.}) 17... Rf8 {Also the prudent choice. Black can insist on giving
up the exchange with ...Rf5 or ...Bxh2+.} (17... Bxh2+ $5 18. Kh1 Rf5 19. Bg6
Bd6 20. Bxf5 exf5 21. Rae1 {[#]Analysis Diagram} Qf7 (21... Kg8 $5 22. Bg3 f4
23. Nxf4 Bxf4 24. Re8+ Kf7 25. Qh7 $3 Bxg3 (25... Nxd4 26. Qg8+ Kg6) (25...
Kxe8 26. Qg8+ Kd7 27. Qxg7+ Ne7 28. Re1 $18) 26. Qg8+ Kg6 27. fxg3 Qxg3 28.
Qxd5 Qh4+ 29. Kg1 Nxd4 {1-0 Matsenko,S (2435)-Arslanov,S (2365) Serpukhov,
2009.}) 22. Bg3 Bb4 (22... f4 $2 23. Nxf4 Bxf4 24. Bxf4 Qxf4 25. Re8+ $18) 23.
Rd1 Bd7 24. a3 Ba5 (24... Be7 25. Rfe1 Bf6 26. Qb3 b6 $2 27. Nf4 Bxd4 28. Qxd5
$16 {1/2-1/2 (46) Antal,G (2447)-Michielsen,J (2314) Pardubice 2007}) 25. b4
Bb6 26. Rfe1 Re8 27. Nf4 Rxe1+ 28. Rxe1 g5 $11 {(1-0, 66) Boruchovsky,A (2536)
-Williams,S (2429) Douglas, 2015.}) 18. Bg3 Bd7 {[#]There are over 100 games
in the MegaBase from here, with no clear consensus on White's best try.
Strategically, both sides have weak pawns (d4 and e6) which tie down their
minor pieces. White has succeeded in opposing DSBs to fight for e5, but he's a
long way from being able to use that square. At some point White usually tries
to dislodge the Nc6 by advancing his queenside pawns, but this is easier said
than done.  Emanuel Berg's "GM Repertoire 16: The French" (vol.3) for Quality
Chess considers five moves for White here: Rad1, Rac1, a3, Bxd6, Qd2, and b4!?}
19. a3 ({Here's one amusing little line from Berg:} 19. b4 $5 Rac8 20. Rac1 Qb6
$1 21. Bxd6 Nxd4 22. Qg6 Nxe2+ 23. Bxe2 Qxd6 24. Bd3 Kg8 25. Qh7+ Kf7 26. Qg6+
Kg8 $11 {and White should repeat.}) (19. Rac1 Rf6 20. Qd2 Raf8 21. Rc3 (21. a3
Be8 22. Bxe8 Rxe8 23. Rc3 Ref8 24. b4 a6 25. f3 Bxg3 26. hxg3 Qd6 27. Rfc1 $14
{(1-0, 52) Tan,J (2448)-Berg,E (2573) Oslo, 2017.}) 21... Be8 22. Bxe8 Rxe8 23.
b4 Qb8 24. a3 Ref8 25. Qe3 a6 26. Rcc1 Re8 27. Rfe1 Ref8 28. Rf1 $11 Re8 29.
Rce1 Rff8 30. Bxd6 Qxd6 31. f4 a5 {½-½ Vachier Lagrave,M (2696)-Ganguly,S 
(2614) Gibraltar, 2009.}) 19... Rac8 ({Berg's repertoire recommends trading
the bad B with} 19... Be8 20. Bxe8 Raxe8 21. b4 a6 $1 $11) 20. Rac1 Qb8 21. Qd2
Rf6 22. Rc3 Rcf8 23. Re3 {[#]} b6 $6 {Black's Nc6 is crucial for control over
e5, so destabilizing it with ...b6 and then sending it on a hike doesn't seem
right.} (23... Be8 $5 24. Bg4 (24. Bxe8 Rxe8 25. Re1 Kg8 26. Nc3 Bxg3 27. hxg3
Qd6) 24... Bf7 25. Bh4 g5 (25... Bxh2+ {looks like a worse version of the
exchange sac lines shown above.}) 26. Bg3 {Black's kingside looks a littly
ropey, but I don't see a way to break it down.}) 24. Bg4 Na5 25. b3 Nb7 26. a4
b5 27. a5 b4 28. Be5 $1 Rg6 (28... Bxe5 29. dxe5 Rg6 30. Qxb4 Nxa5 31. Qxb8
Rxb8 32. Bh5 Rg5 33. g4 {Traps the R to win an ex.}) 29. Bh5 Rg5 30. Rh3 {
[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position Suddenly Black is in big trouble. White
already threatens Qxg5!} Rff5 $2 {White is attacking the kingside with his
minors and Black is defending with his Rs, so it shouldn't be surprising that
Black's saving options all involve giving up an exchange, but it's hard to say
which one is best.} (30... Rgf5 $4 31. Qxh6+ Kg8 32. Qxg7#) (30... Rxe5 $6 31.
dxe5 Bxe5 32. Bg6 Kg8 $1 {and White can play for an attck with f4 or simply
take on b4.} (32... Bf4 $2 33. Nxf4 Qxf4 34. Qxf4 Rxf4 35. Rc1 $18)) (30... Kg8
$5 31. f4 Rxh5 32. Rxh5 Nxa5 33. Rh3 {Black has some comp for the ex, but what
should he do with his N?}) (30... Bxe5 $5 31. dxe5 (31. Qxg5 Bxh2+ 32. Kh1 Kg8
$14) 31... Kg8 (31... Rxe5 $2 32. Bg6 Rf6 33. Rxh6+ $3 Kg8 34. Bh7+ $18) 32. f4
Rxh5 $14 {Black has some comp for the ex, but it doesn't feel like enough.})
31. Ng3 {Now White wins an exchange while leaving Black with no play.} Bxe5 (
31... Rxe5 32. dxe5 Rxe5 (32... Bxe5 $4 33. Qxg5 hxg5 34. Bf7#) 33. Bg6 {
threatening Rxh6+-.} Bf8 34. Bb1 $18 {and Qd3 with a deadly attack on the
light squares.}) 32. dxe5 Rxg3 33. hxg3 {[#]} Nc5 (33... Qxe5 34. Qxb4 $18) (
33... Rxe5 34. Bg6 {and Rxh6.}) 34. Bg6 Qxe5 35. Bxf5 {White simplifies to win.
} exf5 36. Qf4 Qe2 (36... Qxf4 37. gxf4 {leaves Black down two exchanges.}) 37.
Qd6 1-0

[Event "Reykjavik Open"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "2016.03.09"]
[Round "3.22"]
[White "Dougherty, Michael"]
[Black "Marin, Mihail"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E94"]
[WhiteElo "2169"]
[BlackElo "2597"]
[Annotator "Keith MacKinnon"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/804  Trust me, this one doesn't
disappoint! From the third round of the Reykjavik Open (a tournament which
attracts a number of Canadians each year), FM Michael Dougherty found himself
playing the White pieces against an experienced Grandmaster who was playing
for the win with Black. The game was back and forth, with Marin eventually
emerging the victor. There's a lot about strategy to learn from this one!} 1.
d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 {Committing to the King's Indian Defense. It's a
good opening for when you want to play for a win (often at all cost).} 4. e4 d6
5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Na6 $5 {[#] I give the interesting annotation
because this is the first time that GM Marin has played the move (at least
according to Mega 2015). An experienced professional, Marin knows that in
playing lower-rated opponents, it is important to avoid long prepared lines.
He has essayed the more common 7...Nc6 and 7...Nbd7 in the past.} 8. Be3 c6 (
8... Ng4 {likely the most testing variation, but I suspect Marin did not want
to enter forcing lines - as would occur after} 9. Bg5 Qe8 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. h3
h6 ({or} 11... f6)) 9. d5 (9. Re1 {is another reasonable option, and less
committal than d5;} Ng4 10. Bg5 Qe8 11. h3 f6 12. Bc1 Nh6 13. Bf1 {and we
reach a strange situation where both White bishops return to their starting
squares, yet White is in the driver's seat here and scores about 65%; e.g.
Gelfand,B (2733)-Movsesian,S (2637) Fuegen, 2006 (1-0, 41).}) 9... Ng4 10. Bg5
f6 11. Bh4 c5 {[#]} 12. Nd2 (12. Ne1 {is played more often and would likely be
my preference; however, the following game shows that here, too, Black can get
a strong position:} h5 13. a3 Nh6 14. h3 Nf7 15. Nd3 Bh6 16. b4 Bd7 17. Rb1 b6
18. bxc5 Nxc5 19. Nxc5 dxc5 20. a4 Nd6 21. Qd3 Kg7 22. Rb2 Bg5 23. Bg3 h4 24.
Bh2 Qe8 {Wojtaszek,R (2744)-Ding,L (2732) Wijk aan Zee, 2015 (0-1, 65).}) 12...
Nh6 (12... h5 {looks more natural to me and has been played a number of times.
I'm not a big KID expert though and I'm sure Marin had his reasons for the
Knight retreat.}) 13. f3 {Probably the first move I disagree with. I
understand FM Dougherty's desire to support e4 and have an escape route for
his Bishop on h4, but this just seems somewhat passive to me.} (13. a3 Nf7 14.
Rb1 {would probably be how I would like to continue here. As is typical for
the KID, White's plan revolves around putting pressure on Black's queenside
while parrying an attack on the kingside.}) 13... Nf7 {[#]} 14. Bd3 $146 ({
Chess Canada editor, John Upper, points out the following crushing win for
Black by GM Shabalov back in 2010:} 14. a3 Bd7 15. Rb1 Bh6 16. Bf2 f5 17. b4 b6
18. Nb5 Bf4 19. bxc5 Nxc5 20. Nb3 fxe4 21. Nxc5 dxc5 22. fxe4 Bxb5 23. cxb5 Nd6
24. Bf3 Nc4 25. Ra1 Nd2 26. Re1 c4 27. Ra2 c3 28. Rc2 Rc8 29. Qe2 Qg5 30. Bg4
Rc4 31. h4 Qf6 32. Qd3 $2 Bh2+ $1 $19 33. Kxh2 Qxf2 34. Qg3 Qxg3+ 35. Kxg3 Rxe4
36. Rec1 Nb3 37. Bf3 Rd4 38. Re1 Rd3 {0-1 (38) Shankland,S (2507)-Shabalov,A 
(2585) Philadelphia 2010}) 14... Bh6 15. Qe2 Kg7 16. a3 Qe8 {[#] The Black
queen moves off the h4-d8 diagonal in order to play an ...f5 break} 17. g4 $2 {
this just seems like a major strategic error and overreaction. It was not so
serious to allow Black to get ...f5 in. White should have continued with the
aforementioned plan of attemping to play b4.} (17. Bf2) 17... Bf4 $1 {White
has created dark-squared weaknesses in his camp and has to contend with ideas
of ...Rh8 and ...h5 coming very shortly.} 18. Kh1 {[#]} Rh8 (18... h5 $1 19.
gxh5 Rh8 20. Rg1 Rxh5 21. Bg3 Bd7 $15 {and Black is firmly in the driver's
seat. He will aim to play ...Qe7 and ...Rah8.} ({Note that if Black goes with
the natural move, ...Ng5, bringing an extra attacker into the position, White
has an unbelievable resource (which I cannot take credit for - Komodo found it
in about 5 seconds):} 21... Ng5 $2 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. e5 $3 dxe5 24. Nde4 $14 {
the pawn sacrifice in order to open up the d3 bishop and put the Knight on the
very powerful e4 square offers more than enough compensation. Black's king
position now begins to feel slightly suspect.})) 19. Rg1 h5 20. Bg3 (20. gxh5
Rxh5 21. Bg3 {would transpose to the variation above.}) {[#]} 20... Rh6 $6 {
I believe that both players made a number of inaccuracies starting around here.
They both seemed reluctant to do anything about the tension on g4.} (20... hxg4
21. fxg4 Bxd2 22. Qxd2 Bxg4 {is very tempting, but I guess Marin preferred to
keep the pressure up. The loss of the g4 pawn does ease White's task to some
extent, however I don't see very much compensation for White} 23. Raf1 Ng5 24.
Be2 Bxe2 25. Qxe2 Nh3 $17) 21. Nf1 $6 (21. gxh5 $1 {While this move does open
up the h-file, that will happen anyway, and here there is a tactical
justification:} Rxh5 $2 (21... Bxg3 22. Rxg3 Rxh5 23. Rag1 Ng5 24. Qe3 {
and, although Black has some pressure, the position should be fairly equal.
The computer even recommends Black repeat moves after} Qh8 25. R1g2 Bh3 26. Rg1
Bd7 27. R1g2 Bh3 $11) 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. e5 $1 {I wonder if White didn't see
this resource. Here, White is almost winning} f5 $8 24. e6 Ne5 25. Nb5 $18)
21... Bd7 (21... hxg4 22. fxg4 Ng5 $40 {looks very strong.}) 22. Ne3 Qe7 (22...
Bxe3 23. Qxe3 hxg4 24. fxg4 Bxg4 {looks like a clear advantage to Black. There
may be nuances to the position that I don't understand, but I really don't
know why Marin didn't take the material.}) 23. gxh5 $1 {[#]} g5 $6 {Surely,
this is taking it too far. Now White has the option of plopping a Knight on e4
after Nf5+ and Black captures.} 24. Ng4 {A strange place for the Knight} (24.
Nf5+ $142 Bxf5 25. exf5 Qd8 {The Queen needs to get off the e-file as the
Bishop would otherwise be hanging on f4 due to the two pins.}) 24... Rxh5 25.
Bxf4 $2 (25. Nd1 {heading for e3 could have been an idea.}) 25... exf4 {[#]}
26. e5 $5 {Not as effective as in some of the lines previously, but probably
still a decent try to mix up the position.} Nxe5 (26... dxe5 {may have been
more difficult to handle. A Black Knight landing on d6 would be tough to deal
with. As a general rule, Knights do well blockading passed pawns.}) 27. Nxe5
dxe5 {[#]} 28. d6 {Wow. Double pawn sacrifice to get some play -- it's bold,
but I doubt it's completely sound.} Qf7 $6 {Marin probably wanted to win
cleanly, but I suspect that taking on d6 was safe enough. A sample line is as
follows:} (28... Qxd6 29. Rad1 Qe7 30. Be4 Rah8 $19) 29. Be4 Be6 (29... Rah8
30. Bxb7 Rxh2+ 31. Qxh2 Rxh2+ 32. Kxh2 Qh5+ 33. Kg2 Qh4 34. Kf1 Nb8 $19) 30. b3
Rah8 31. Rg2 {[#]} Nb8 $1 {A strong prophylactic move against Nb5, and it
prepares to improve the Knight's position.} 32. Rd1 b6 (32... Qd7 {with the
idea of ...Nc6 and ...Nd4 looks good as well.}) 33. Nb5 Qd7 34. Qd3 Bh3 35. Re2
{[#] At first blush, it might be tricky to see that this is a mistake, but
White needed to act swiftly with Rb2 and b4.} a6 $6 {A bit of an inaccuracy
since now the White Knight gets to the d5 square} (35... Nc6 $1 36. Rb2 (36.
Bxc6 {wins a pawn but collapses on the light squares} Qxc6 37. Nxa7 (37. d7 Rd8
$19) 37... Qb7 38. Nb5 Bg4 39. Rf2 Rh3 $19) 36... Nd4 37. b4 f5 38. Bd5 Nxb5 (
38... g4 $1) 39. cxb5 Qxd6 $17) 36. Nc7 {White starts playing quite well here.}
Nc6 37. Bxc6 Qxc6 38. Nd5 {[#]} R5h6 (38... Qxd6 $2 {would be a good way to
throw the win away!} 39. Nxf4 Qxd3 40. Nxh5+ Rxh5 41. Rxd3 $14 {and now Black
fights (although not too hard) for the draw.}) 39. Ne7 Qd7 40. Rg1 Qe6 {
The dreaded 40th move.} (40... Be6 {was preferable.}) 41. b4 Rd8 42. Rd2 Rd7
43. Rgd1 Kf7 44. bxc5 bxc5 45. Qe4 f5 46. Qa8 Kg7 {[#]} 47. Rd5 $4 {The losing
mistake. White would have liked to put pressure on e5 with Re1 instead.} (47.
Re1 Rxd6 $4 48. Rxd6 Qxd6 49. Qg8+ Kf6 50. Nd5+ $19) 47... Rh8 $1 {Forces the
Q into a losing pin.} 48. Qc6 Rxe7 49. Qxc5 {[#]} Rd7 (49... Rc8 $2 {would
have bungled it!} 50. Qxc8 Qxc8 51. dxe7 g4 52. Kg1 $1 {and, somehow, this is
a draw, as White is threatening Rxe5 or e8=Q and then checks with the rooks.} (
52. e8=Q Qxe8 53. Rd7+ Kf8 54. Rd8 gxf3 $19 {would be a painful way to go down
as White.})) 50. Rxe5 Qh6 51. Re2 Rhd8 52. Qe5+ Qf6 53. c5 Qxe5 54. Rxe5 Kf6
55. Rde1 g4 56. fxg4 Bxg4 {[#]} 57. h4 $2 (57. Re6+ Kf7 58. Kg2 {and I'm not
completely sure the Black position is won. However, White's margin for error
would certainly be very slim.}) 57... Bf3+ {What a topsy-turvy game!} (57...
Bf3+ {FM Dougherty didn't need to see:} 58. Kg1 Be4) 0-1

[Event "Reykjavik Open"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "2016.03.09"]
[Round "3.21"]
[White "Haessel, Dale"]
[Black "Stefansson, Hannes"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E12"]
[WhiteElo "2212"]
[BlackElo "2600"]
[Annotator "Michael Kleinman"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/798  A game played at the
Reykjavik Open played by Alberta's Dale Haessel against GM Hannes Stefansson.
This game has an interesting pawn structure that dictates the flow of the game
and features missed opportunities by both players.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3
b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 g6 {[#] The double fianchetto leads to interesting
positions.} ({More common is:} 5... d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Qc2) 6. d5 Bg7 7. g3 O-O
8. Bg2 Na6 (8... exd5 9. cxd5 c6 10. O-O cxd5 11. Bg5 Na6 12. Rc1 Nc7 13. Qd2
Ne6 14. Bh6 Bxh6 15. Qxh6 Rc8 16. Rfd1 Rc5 17. Nd4 Qe7 18. b4 Rc4 19. Nb3 d4
20. Nb5 Rxc1 {0-1 (29) Georgiev,K (2636)-Vallejo Pons,F (2706) Khanty-Mansiysk
2013}) 9. O-O Nc5 {[#]editor - Dale has the only two games in the MegaBase
from this position in the past 20 years.} 10. Bf4 (10. Nd4 a5 11. Ndb5 Ne8 12.
Be3 c6 13. dxc6 dxc6 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Bxc5 bxc5 16. Rad1 Rc8 $11 {Piket,J 
(2495)-Gelfand,B (2585) Adelaide, 1988 (½-½, 41).}) 10... d6 11. Ne1 $146 (
11. Rc1 a5 12. b4 axb4 13. axb4 Nce4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Qd3 $11 {Haessel,D 
(2262) -Xiong,J (2575) Las Vegas, 2015 (0-1, 29).}) 11... a5 12. Nd3 exd5 13.
cxd5 Nfd7 {[#] This position somewhat resembles a Benoni; the main difference
being the black pawn lies at c7 here instead of c5. This has the disadvantage
of being a backward pawn, but does protect the d6 pawn, which is typically
weak. This makes the bishop on f4 look somewhat misplaced.} 14. Rc1 Ba6 15. b4
Nxd3 16. exd3 axb4 17. axb4 Ne5 18. b5 Bb7 19. Qc2 Ra5 {[#]} 20. d4 Ng4 21. Ne2
Rxb5 22. Qxc7 Bxd5 23. Bxd6 Bxg2 24. Kxg2 Qe8 $6 {[#]} 25. Qc2 (25. Bxf8 $1 {
leads to a crazy computer variation which is difficult to figure out over the
board:} Qe4+ 26. Kg1 Nxh2 27. Bc5 $1 {(editor - stopping ...Rh5 and creating
threats on the back rank)} Nf3+ 28. Kh1 bxc5 29. Qc8+ Bf8 30. Nc3 Qb7 $8 31.
Qxb7 Rxb7 32. dxc5 Bxc5 {White emerges with an advantage, though converting
this is another story.}) 25... Qa8+ 26. Qc6 Qxc6+ 27. Rxc6 Re8 28. Rfc1 Rf5 29.
Nf4 h5 30. h3 Nxf2 31. Kxf2 g5 {[#]} 32. Rd1 ({It's important to exchange one
pair of rooks.} 32. Rc8 Rxc8 33. Rxc8+ Kh7 34. Ke3 gxf4+ 35. gxf4 Rb5 36. Ke4
$14) 32... gxf4 33. Bxf4 Rd8 34. Ke3 Rfd5 35. Rc4 b5 36. Rb4 {[#]This endgame
is equal, but more pleasant for Black.} Bf8 37. Rb3 b4 38. g4 f6 39. Ke4 Kf7
40. gxh5 {This move is pretty committal; I don't know if it's needed.} (40.
Rbd3 $1) 40... Rxh5 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position Does Black have a threat,
and (if so) what should White do?} 41. d5 $4 ({editor -} 41. Rf3 $142 $1 {
gets the R on the other side of the K, so that after} f5+ (41... Bc5 42. Bc7
Rd7 (42... Rh4+ 43. Rf4 $11) 43. Bg3 Rxh3 44. Rdd3 {White should be able to
stop the pawns from crossing the light squares.}) 42. Kd3 {the h3-pawn is
defended.}) 41... Re8+ $19 ({Or} 41... f5+ 42. Kd4 Rh4 43. Rf1 Bd6 44. Rbf3 Rc8
$1 {and White is paralyzed! It's a nice Zugzwang; e.g.} 45. Kd3 Rc3+ 46. Kd2
Rxf3 $19 {wins a piece.}) 42. Kd4 Rxd5+ $6 {editor - wins a pawn, but it's
neither the best nor the most beautiful move.} (42... Rh4 $142 $1 43. Rf3 Bd6
44. Rdf1 Rc8 $1 {Same Zugzwang as above.}) 43. Kxd5 Rd8+ 44. Kc4 Rxd1 45. Rf3
Be7 {[#]} 46. Bg5 Rb1 47. Bd2 Rb2 48. Rd3 f5 49. h4 Kg6 50. Rd5 Rc2+ 51. Kb3
Rc5 52. Rd7 Re5 53. Bf4 Re4 {[#]} 54. Bd6 $2 (54. Bd2 $8 Re6 55. Rd5 {and
White should draw, though it's slightly unpleasant.}) 54... Bxd6 55. Rxd6+ Kh5
$19 56. Rf6 f4 0-1

[Event "25th Chicago Open"]
[Site "Wheeling, IL"]
[Date "2016.05.28"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Shetty, Atulya"]
[Black "Song, Terry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A39"]
[WhiteElo "2366"]
[BlackElo "2215"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2016.05.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. c4 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. d4 cxd4 7.
Nxd4 O-O 8. O-O {[#]A Tabiya of the Symmetrical English. White has a little
more space (due to c4) and no weaknesses, but lots of GMs are happy to defend
Black's position, which has more room for creative play than it may appear.} a6
(8... Nxd4 {has long been the main move. It trades a minor piece in a position
where Black has a bit less space, and brings the White Q to a square where it
will (eventually) have to escape from the Bg7. On the other hand, it scores
decently for White, and is a well known position which an experienced IM like
White probably knows well.}) (8... d6 $5 {is an interesting gambit for fast
queenside activity; it has been tried successfully by dynamic players like
Topalov and Mamedyarov... but only in rapid games!?} 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bxc6 Rb8
11. Qa4 (11. Bg2 $1 Qa5 12. Qd2 $14) 11... Bh3 (11... a5 $5) 12. Bg2 Bxg2 13.
Kxg2 Qd7 $5 14. Rb1 Qxa4 15. Nxa4 Rfc8 $132 {Kramnik,V (2740)-Topalov,V (2725)
Monte Carlo, 1997 (½-½, 39).}) (8... Ng4 $5 9. e3 d6 10. Nde2 (10. Nxc6 $6 {
is a better version for Black of the gambit line above} bxc6 11. Bxc6 Rb8 12.
Bg2 Bxc3 $5 (12... Ne5 $5)) 10... Qa5 11. Nd5 $1 Qc5 12. Bd2 e6 13. b4 $1 Qxc4
14. Rc1 Qxa2 15. Nec3 {and White was winning in Kasparov,G (2815)-Kramnik,V 
(2780) Moscow (blitz) 1998 (1-0, 27).}) (8... Qa5 $5 {has been the most
popular move among top players the last few years. The goal is not a hacker's
attempt at mate with ...Qh5, ...Bh3 and ...Ng4 (though that can happen if
White is very careless), but it's more of an attempt to interfere with White's
most natural developing scheme (e4, b3, Be3/b2) with space and solidity.} 9. e3
(9. Nb3 Qh5 (9... Qb4 10. c5 $14) 10. Nd5 {preparing Nf4} d6 (10... e5 $2 11.
h4 $1 {and Black's Q has to start looking for a way out.}) 11. Nf4 Qe5 {
with games by Michael Adams and Wang Hao as models.}) 9... d6 10. h3 Bd7 11.
Qe2 Rfc8 12. Rd1 Rab8 13. Bd2 Qe5 14. Nc2 a6 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. cxd5 Na7 17. Bc3
Qg5 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Nd4 (19. a4 $5 {would help shut out the Na7.}) 19... Nb5
20. Nf3 Qf6 21. Rac1 Rc5 22. a4 Nc7 23. e4 Bxa4 24. e5 $1 {with a complicated
position where Black outplayed White in: Ding,L (2764)-Svidler,P (2742) EU
Team Cup, 2016 (0-1, 44).}) 9. c5 $1 {[#] A good move, which gives White a
choice of whether and how to disrupt Black's pawns after ...b5 or ...d6.} h6
10. Nb3 b5 (10... d6 {is the computer's choice, though White has a
trouble-free advantage after} 11. cxd6) 11. cxb6 Qxb6 12. Be3 Qb8 13. Bf4 e5
14. Be3 Re8 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 {[#]If Black does nothing, White will go Qd2
(Xh6) and Nc5 with an overwhelming advantage, so...} Ne7 $1 ({Black doesn't
want to give up the exchange, but this gives him practical chances, while} 
16... Bb7 17. Nc5 {threatening Qb3 is much worse for Black.}) 17. Bxa8 Qxa8 {
For the exchange, Black has the B pair, more pawns in the center, and the
possibility of attacking the light squares around White's K. Is it enough?
Objectively, probably not: at 25 ply, Stockfish rates the position +1 after
normal moves like Rc1 or f3.} 18. Qd6 Nf5 19. Qb6 {[#]} Nxe3 {Not the only
move (...d5, which leaves a White piece on the board where it can be hit by ...
d4, is also good) but now both Black's Bs are unopposed.} 20. fxe3 $6 {I
imagine Terry was surprised and pleased to see this recapture, which is more
creative than sound. White activates his f-rook, which attacks f7 and can
defend g2 from f2, and White has an "extra" center pawn to slow Black's
advance, but the e3-pawn is a target, and Black might even have ...h5-h4 as a
way to switch the attack to the dark squares.} (20. Qxe3 {Should be better for
White, but things can go bad quickly if Black's center pawns start to roll; e.
g.} d5 21. Rac1 $6 Bh3 22. Rfd1 d4 23. Qf3 $8 e4 24. Qh1 $8 (24. Qf4 $2 e3 25.
f3 g5 26. Qd6 g4 $19) 24... Qd5 $15) 20... d5 21. Nc5 Bh3 22. Rf2 d4 23. Qb3
Kh7 24. e4 Rc8 25. Qc2 f5 26. b4 a5 $11 {[#] Compare this with the previous
diagram: Black's center pawns are marching forward, both Bs are creating
threats, while White's Rs are purely defensive and his N is about to start
scrambling for a supported square.} 27. Qb3 $2 (27. exf5 $1 gxf5 $1 (27... Bxf5
$4 28. Rxf5 $18) 28. e4 $1 {it looks completely wrong to concede two connected
passed pawns to Black, but stabilizing the pawn structure makes it easier for
the N to defend against the B-pair.} fxe4 (28... dxe3 29. Rxf5 $8 $13) 29.
Qxe4+ Qxe4 30. Nxe4 axb4 {Black has the more fun side of equality.}) 27... fxe4
28. Rf7 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Positon} e3 $1 (28... Qc6 $142 $1 {is even
better: attacking the Nc5 and staying on the g2 side of the long diagonal
before White can block it with a piece; now ...e4-e3 is a winning threat.} 29.
Qa4 {trades the Qs to save the K, but loses the game after} (29. e3 axb4 30.
Nb7 d3 $19) 29... Qxa4 30. Nxa4 axb4 $19 {with the offside N and weak back
rank, there's no good defence to ...Rc2. For example,} 31. Rb7 Rc2 32. Re1 e3
$1 (32... h5 $1 {so that Rxb4 allows ...Bh6.}) 33. Rxb4 e4 34. Rb2 Rxb2 35.
Nxb2 d3 {and the pawns and Bs rule.}) 29. Rb7 $5 (29. Nb7 $1 {has the same
idea (blocking the long diagonal) but leaves the Rf7 to fight for the f-file
and to sacrifice itself on g7.  Black still wins with best play, but necessary
balance of attack and defence skills would have been much more challenging,
and probably too hard during an OTB game.} axb4 $1 30. Qd5 $1 (30. Re1 Qa6 $19
{threatens both ...Qxe2 and ...Qc6.}) 30... Rf8 $1 (30... b3 $2 31. Rxg7+ $1
Kxg7 32. Rf1 $3 Bxf1 33. Qxe5+ $11 {with a perpetual.}) 31. Rc1 {[%mdl 64] [#]
Analysis Diagram Critical Position} h5 $8 {A wonderful move, which might be
found by one player in 1000. Black "simply" creates a safe square for the K on
h6, after which White's counter-attack is gone.} 32. Rcc7 (32. Rxg7+ Kxg7 33.
Rc7+ Kh6 $19 {Black's mate threat on f1 comes first.}) 32... Kh6 $8 $19 {
Rxg7 is no longer check, so the Bg7 is immune due to the mate-in-one on f1,
and White has no good defence to ...Qa4 or ...Qa6, attacking White's
defenceless K.} 33. Rxf8 Qxf8 34. Rf7 $1 (34. Qf7 {White can't exchange Qs in
any of these lines as the Black pawns are too strong, though it's worth seeing
exactly how they win:} Qxf7 35. Rxf7 d3 $1 36. exd3 e4 $1 37. dxe4 Bd4 $1 $19 {
once again, showing the wisdom of unpinning the B with ...Kh6.}) 34... Qc8 $8
35. Nc5 d3 $8 36. Nxd3 Qc2 $8 $19 {and Black gets to the back rank.}) 29... Rf8
$2 (29... Rc7 $8 $19 {The Rb7 is double-attacked and pinned to the mate on g2,
so the only way to save it is} 30. bxa5 {which loses the N} Rxc5 $19) {[#]} 30.
bxa5 $4 {I have to assume both players were in serious time trouble here.} (30.
Qd5 $8 $11 {contests the long diagonal and stops} Rf2 $4 {which now loses to}
31. Rxg7+ {winning the Qa8.}) 30... Rf2 $1 $19 31. Rxg7+ (31. Qd5 Qf8 $8 $19)
31... Kxg7 32. Qb7+ Qxb7 33. Nxb7 {[#]White has stopped mate at the cost of a
totally lost endgame. Black's next few moves are not the most efficient, but
they're safe and purposeful and never put the win in jeopardy.} Bg2 (33... Rg2+
$142 $1 34. Kh1 (34. Kf1 $4 Rxg3+ {and mate on g1.}) 34... Rxe2 35. a6 d3 36.
a7 Bg2+ {stops the promotion, while} (36... d2 {forces mate.})) 34. Nd6 (34. a6
Bd5 35. Rb1 Rg2+ 36. Kf1 Rxh2 {and mate.}) 34... Bd5 35. Ne8+ Kf7 36. Nc7 Rg2+
37. Kf1 Bc6 {[#]} 38. Rc1 Be4 39. Nb5 Rf2+ 40. Kg1 Rg2+ 41. Kf1 {[#]} Rxh2 42.
Nd6+ Ke7 43. Nxe4 Rh1+ 44. Kg2 Rxc1 45. Kf3 Rf1+ 46. Kg2 Rf8 47. a6 d3 $1 48.
Nc3 dxe2 {Black promotes or wins the N and stops the a-pawn promotion with ...
Ra2. FWIW, this tactic would not work if White's a2-pawn was on a3.} 0-1

[Event "Saint Louis IM Invitational"]
[Site "St Louis"]
[Date "2016.06.12"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Hua, Lefong"]
[Black "Brooks, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A42"]
[WhiteElo "2277"]
[BlackElo "2410"]
[Annotator "Elias Oussedik"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/855   At long last, the return
of FM Lefong Hua! It has been nearly ten years since Lefong's last tournament.
Lefong used to be a chess prodigy himself representing Canada at the U10 World
Youth Chess Championships competiting with the likes of Grischuck, Aronian,
Bacrot, McShane, Vallejo Pons, Ganguly etc..} 1. d4 {Even ten years later,
Lefong still hasn't changed his openings. He has stayed loyal to his queen
pawn.} g6 {IM Michael Brooks was the top seed of this Closed tournament. He's
known for his offbeat openings.} 2. c4 d6 3. e4 e5 {[#] Already an interesting
choice by Black. Insider information tells me that Lefong was expecting this
opening and had received some outside help before the game. Who was his secret
second? The "Gohan" of Canadian Chess: Aman Hambleton.} 4. Ne2 {With this move,
White is hoping to transpose into a Saemich. This was unchartered waters for
Lefong, as he usually opts for the four pawns attack in the KID.} Nd7 5. Nbc3
Bg7 6. Be3 Nh6 $6 {[#] Creative! Typically ...Nf6 is played. However, this
isn't a new move and many games have gone ...Nh6.} 7. f3 {White's idea here is
to play Qd2 and long castle. White then has many different ideas in this
position, he can either chose to play on the queenside or the kingside.
Considering Black has played ...Nh6, he might be aiming for an ...f5 type of
break. This might be dubious as it might weaken Black's kingside.} f5 8. Qd2
Nf7 9. O-O-O O-O {[#] In my eyes, this is a critical part of the game. White
must decide on a plan. Will he play on the queenside or kingside. If he
chooses to play on the queenside, he will continue with Kb1, Nc1-b3, Rc1, d5
and break with c5. If White wants to play on the kingside, he will take on f5
and try to blast Black on the kingside. Lefong plays the Benoni as Black, so
he's the type of player who likes to tango. One can already guess what type of
position he decided to play.} 10. exf5 $1 {Concrete and great preparation! I
am sure Lefong had already looked at this position before the game.} gxf5 11.
dxe5 Ndxe5 {White has a gorgeous position here. Two key squares have opened up
for White's pieces. The f4 and d4 sqaure will soon be launching squares for
White's knights.} 12. Nf4 c5 $2 {An unnecessary weakening move. Black
deliberately weakens his light squares and the d5/d6 squares. A hard move to
understand.} 13. Nh5 Bh8 14. Kb1 {A prophylactic move. Simply putting the king
away from danger.} a6 {Black is in need of desperate counterplay. Hoping for a
potential b5 in the future.} 15. h4 {[#] White is hoping for a potential rook
lift in the near future and controlling the g5 square if he chooses to play
Bg5. White's plan is clear here. He is improving his pieces and bringing them
closer to Black's king move by move. Nd5 will follow and sooner or later a
tactic will appear. What can Black do to create counterplay?} Re8 $2 {Too
slow! Black needs to counterattack! ...b5 was a must!} (15... b5 16. cxb5 axb5
17. Bxb5 Be6 $16 {Even though White still has a very nice position, this was
the type of counterplay Black should be looking for.}) 16. Nd5 Be6 17. Bg5 {
Threatening Nf6+ winning the exchange on e8 or threatening to open the h-file
for White's rook.} Nxg5 18. hxg5 Nd7 19. Nhf6+ $6 {Even though this move is
still strong, Lefong had a calmer continuation. What piece isn't part of the
attack and needs to be better placed? The bishop on d3! Hence, Bd3 was a more
eloquent way of playing the position.} (19. Bd3 $18 {White will continue with
g4 and target the h7 pawn.}) 19... Nxf6 20. gxf6 Bxf6 21. Qh6 {[#] This is the
continuation that Lefong had seen after playing 19.Nhf6+. He is attacking the
h7 pawn and the Bf6 simultaneously.} Bg7 $2 (21... Bxd5 $1 {Black missed his
chance to remove White's powerful knight on d5. The idea of this move stems
from the fact that the check on h7 doesn't bring White too much. With bishops
of opposite color and Black's monster bishop on f6, he might have some chances
of his own in this position.} 22. Qxh7+ (22. cxd5 Qe7 23. Bd3 Qg7 24. Qd2 Qg5)
22... Kf8 23. cxd5 Qb6 {As we can see, Black's counterplay has potential.} 24.
Qh6+ (24. b3 $2 Qb4 $1 {Black infiltrates on the dark squares.} 25. Qxf5 Qc3 {
White has nothing better than a perpetual here.} 26. Rh8+ Kf7 27. Rh7+ Kf8 28.
Rh8+ $11) 24... Bg7 25. Qd2 $14 {White is forced to retreat to protect b2.
Even though Black's king is slightly weaker than White's king, Black still has
a fully playable position.}) 22. Qxh7+ Kf8 23. Rh5 {Brooks lets Lefong loose,
who is known to be dangerous in these tactical positions. Lefong is thirsty
looking for ways to make his mark in St.Louis.} b6 24. Bd3 {[#] Finally the
final piece joins the show!} Ra7 (24... Bxd5 {This powerful knight should be
removed even at the cost of the f5 pawn. It might seem that Black's king will
succumb to White's attack if the f5 square falls into White's hands, but it
isn't the case.} 25. cxd5 Re5 $1 26. Rxf5+ Rxf5 27. Bxf5 Qf6 {Again, a
powerful battery is formed between queen and bishop.} 28. Rd2 Qh6 29. Qxh6 Bxh6
30. Re2 $16 {Bishops of opposite colour give Black holding chances though
White's two connected passed pawns on the kingside make Black's defense
difficult.}) 25. Qg6 Rf7 26. Bxf5 Bxd5 {Finally!} 27. cxd5 {[#]} Rf6 (27... Re2
{Lefong had a trap up his sleeve if ...Re2 had been played.} 28. Be6 Rf6 $2 (
28... Qf6 $1 29. Qxf7+ Qxf7 30. Bxf7 Kxf7 31. b3 Rxg2 $14 {with potential
drawing chances for Black.}) 29. Rh8+ $1 Bxh8 30. Qg8+ Ke7 31. Qh7+ Ke8 32.
Qxh8+ Rf8 33. Qh5+ Ke7 34. Qg5+ Ke8 35. Qg6+ Ke7 36. Rh1 $18 {With mate in
five!}) 28. Qg4 Re2 29. Rdh1 $1 {The rook is eyeing h8!} Kf7 30. Rh7 Qf8 31.
Rxg7+ Qxg7 32. Rh7 Qxh7 33. Bxh7 Ke7 34. Bf5 {And Brooks resigned. As a
professional chess coach, Lefong Hua showed us some professional level opening
preparation. Hopefully this is the start of something and the former chess
prodigy can finally achieve the IM title he entirely deserves!} 1-0

[Event "44th World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia"]
[Date "2016.07.03"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Preotu, Razvan"]
[Black "Ludwig, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2462"]
[BlackElo "2348"]
[Annotator "Keith MacKinnon"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2016.07.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/860  This week, it is my
pleasure to show you a spectacular win by IM Razvan Preotu en route to his
final GM norm at the World Open. His seventh round win against a slightly
younger opponent named John Ludwig (now rated 2373) appears elementary, but
the hours of preparation that go into games such as this one are what allow
the win to look so easy. Don't miss this one.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4.
Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 {[#] This position should
be quite familiar to many a Sicilian player. It is the starting point for the
Dragon Yugoslav Attack. Here, White has two major moves: Bc4 and 0-0-0.
However, Razvan decides to play a less popular continuation leading to similar
attacking play.} 9. g4 $5 Be6 {This move may look somewhat strange to many
amateur players. Why allow White to exchange his Knight for the Bishop and
double the pawns? Black gains some advantages from the exchange as well. He
has more central control (d5 specifically) and his f8 rook becomes more active.
} (9... Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Be6 {is the continuation I've chosen previously as Black.
White has a small edge, but his attack should not be as strong as in the main
lines}) 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. O-O-O (11. Bc4 Qc8 $13 {with ...Na5 next.}) 11... Ne5
12. Be2 {[#]} Qc8 {Neat. Instead of using the rook on the c-file (most common
in these Yugoslav positions) the Queen will support a Knight jump to c4. This
will increase pressure on a2 and have the added bonus of defending e6.} (12...
Rc8 13. Nb5 {with White scoring strongly. Here's a sample game by one of the
strongest creative players around:} Qd7 14. Nd4 Nc4 15. Bxc4 Rxc4 {editor -
notice how White's next three moves are all defensive; he knows that when if
he stifles Black's queenside play then he's better.} 16. Kb1 Rfc8 17. c3 b5 18.
Rc1 a5 19. h4 b4 $6 20. cxb4 Rxb4 21. a3 Rbc4 22. Rxc4 Rxc4 23. Qxa5 Rc5 (23...
Nxg4 $2 24. fxg4 Bxd4 25. Bxd4 Rxd4 26. Qa8+ Kg7 27. Rf1 $18) 24. Qb4 $18 {
editor - White is up a pawn, has two protected passed pawns, and Black's
attack is over before it got started.} Kf7 25. Rd1 Qc8 26. Nxe6 Qxe6 27. Bxc5
dxc5 28. Qb5 c4 29. e5 Ne8 30. f4 c3 31. Qd5 Nc7 32. Qxe6+ Kxe6 33. a4 Nd5 34.
a5 h5 35. g5 cxb2 36. a6 Nb6 37. Rd8 {1-0 (37) Vallejo Pons,F (2705)-Carlsson,
P (2476) Caleta, 2010.}) 13. h4 Nfd7 14. h5 (14. f4 {is the more common
alternative} Nc4 15. Bxc4 Qxc4 16. e5 {but Black seems to be doing fairly OK
after} Rad8 $11) {[#]} 14... Nc4 (14... Nxf3 {seems too dangerous} 15. Nd5 $1 {
out of nowhere!} (15. Bxf3 Rxf3 16. hxg6 hxg6 $13 {Objectively, Black might
even be better here}) 15... Nxd2 (15... Qe8 16. Bxf3 exd5 17. Be2 $16) 16.
Nxe7+ Kf7 (16... Kh8 $2 17. hxg6 h6 18. Bxh6 Bxh6 19. g5 $18 {a very brutal
finish.}) 17. Nxc8 Raxc8 18. hxg6+ hxg6 19. Rxd2 $14 {Grandmaster Cvitan
successfully defended this position with the Black pieces twice in 2013 and
2014, but White is clearly superior here.}) 15. Bxc4 Qxc4 16. hxg6 hxg6 17. f4
{[#]} Bxc3 {As an occasional Dragon player myself, I know it's never fun to
give up the g7 Bishop. Here, however, it's necessary, as otherwise White's
pawns advance too quickly.} (17... b5 18. f5 $1 b4 19. Qh2 $3 Nf6 (19... bxc3
20. Qh7+ Kf7 21. Qxg6+ Kg8 22. Rh7 Rf7 23. Bh6 cxb2+ 24. Kb1 $18) 20. Rd4 Qc5
21. Nd1 $16) 18. bxc3 Qxa2 (18... Qxe4 19. Rde1 $18 {nearly winning almost on
the spot with the threat of Bd4 in the air.}) 19. Qh2 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical
Position Since I have no knowledge of the clock times, it's tough to say
whether either player had this position in his preparation, but I would hope
so, because going for this position unprepared is crazy!} Nf6 $4 {A very
natural looking move... which answers my own question: John Ludwig had not
prepared deeply enough.} (19... Kf7 $8 {played twice in 2014. White is only
slightly better after} 20. Qh7+ Ke8 21. e5 (21. Qxg6+ Kd8 22. Qg7 {KM}) 21...
dxe5 22. Qxg6+ Kd8 $13 23. Bc5 (23. Qe4 Qa1+ 24. Kd2 Qa5 $13 {1-0 (56)
Iljiushenok,I (2499)-Kanter,E (2375) Kazan, 2016.}) 23... Kc7 24. Bxe7 Rxf4 25.
Qd3 Qa1+ 26. Kd2 Qa6 27. Qxa6 $11 {½-½ (66) Sivuk,V (2532)-Jones,G (2657)
Gjakova, 2016.}) 20. Bd4 $1 e5 {Black puts up the best defence, but it's too
late.} ({editor - nowhere to run and nowhere to hide} 20... Kf7 21. Bxf6 $8
exf6 22. Qh7+ $8 Ke8 23. Qxb7 $18 {threatening Qxa8 and Rh7, both mating;
those edge-Rs are useless defenders.}) 21. fxe5 dxe5 {[#]} 22. Qxe5 $8 ({
editor -} 22. Bxe5 $2 Qa1+ 23. Kd2 Rad8+ 24. Bd4 Rxd4+ 25. cxd4 Qxd4+ $11 {
White's edge-Rs are no help against the perpetual checks.}) 22... Qa3+ (22...
Qa1+ 23. Kd2 {makes no real difference}) 23. Kb1 Qd6 24. Qg5 Nxe4 25. Qh6 Kf7
26. Rhf1+ {[#]} Nf6 (26... Ke6 27. Qxg6+ Kd7 28. Qxe4 $18) 27. Bxf6 Qb6+ 28.
Kc1 exf6 29. Qh7+ {Games such as this one can sometimes look easy for the
victor, but the margin for error is very small. In this one, Razvan made no
errors and played a perfect game.} 1-0

[Event "2016 NC Open"]
[Site "North Carolina"]
[Date "2016.08.28"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Cunningham, Robin"]
[Black "Oussedik, Elias"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2286"]
[BlackElo "2234"]
[Annotator "Elias Oussedik"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "8.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {This game was played in Greensboro, North Carolina. The
tournament was held in conjunction with the US Masters, a strong norm
tournament. This year, there were two Canadians playing, Raja Panjwani and
myself. Raja was playing in the US Masters (2200+ FIDE only) and I was playing
in the NC Open. Even though I was invited to play in the US Masters, the time
commitment only allowed me to partake in the NC Open. Being a five round
tournament, there are no opportunities for hickups. I was seeded #3 for this
tournament. #1 was IM Irine Sukandar from Indonesia and #2 was FM Robin
Cunningham, a statistics professor at UNC Chapel Hill. In the fourth round
Robin was on 2.5/3 and so was I. IM Sukandar was leading the tournament with 3/
3. We were both playing for the win.} 1. e4 {Robin is known as a positional e4
player. He reminds me of Michael Adams.} e6 2. Nf3 {This move caught me by
surprise. I was expecting my opponent to follow Adam's repertoire a la Nd2.} (
2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 $14 {the Tarrasch is a solid positional approach vs the French.
I've noticed many of England's top Grandmasters prefer this setup as White.})
2... d5 3. Nc3 {[#] Sidelines! I am not too familiar with this opening and
hadn't looked at it recently. For a slight second, I thought I was playing FM
Hans Jung as he tends to play these kind of openings albeit with 1.Nc3.} Nf6 {
Timid! I should be challenging White and be playing the critical 3...d4.
However, I wasn't too familiar with the ensuing positions so decided to play
it safe.} (3... d4 4. Ne2 c5 5. c3 Nf6 $1 {This is a critical move that Berg
in his Grandmaster Repertoire series advocates. Black sacks the d4 pawn for
great compensation.} 6. cxd4 cxd4 7. Nexd4 Nxe4 8. Nxe6 {the point!} Bxe6 9.
Qa4+ Nc6 10. Qxe4 Qd5 $1 {Berg's suggestion.}) 4. e5 Nfd7 5. d4 c5 6. dxc5 Nc6
7. Bf4 Bxc5 8. Bd3 {[#] We have now transposed to a sideline of the 3.Nc3
French. This position can be very tricky to play for Black. Ian Nepomniachtchi
is a practicioner of this line.} a6 {This is a sideline I like. The main move
is ...f6, but I didn't want to enter my opponent's theory.} (8... f6 9. exf6
Nxf6 10. Qe2 O-O 11. O-O-O a6 12. Ne5 $14 {This position is known to be quite
good for White. He usually continues with g4 and mounts a Kingside attack.}) 9.
Qe2 h6 {The idea of the moves ...a6 and ...h6 are to continue with ...g5 and ..
.b5. I don't know where White intends to castle, so I don't hurry with a move
like ...b5 yet. I first want to see where White intends to put his king.} 10.
h4 {[#] Preventing ...g5 - a typical move in these structures. If Black can
play ...g5, he can sometimes play ...g4 and remove a defender of the e5-pawn.}
Nd4 {A strong thematic move. The move ...Nd4 has the same effect as the move ..
.Nh4 in the advanced French. Black is happy to exchange the Nf3, the defender
of the e5-pawn.} 11. Nxd4 Bxd4 12. Kf1 Qc7 {Putting pressure on e5 and c3.} 13.
Re1 {[#]} Bxc3 $6 {A dubious decision, giving up the key dark squared bishop.
However, as mentioned earlier, I felt this was a must win game so I was eager
to create some imbalances. The conservative approach would have me continue 13.
..b5.} (13... b5 14. Rh3 Kf8 15. Kg1 Bb7 $13) 14. bxc3 Nc5 {I need to exchange
White's bishop, if not, I might be in big trouble. I plan here to develop my
pieces as fast as possible and long castle.} (14... Qxc3 $2 15. Qg4 Kf8 16. Rh3
$16 {For the pawn, White has tremendous kingside pressure.}) 15. Qg4 {[#]
Surprinsingly enough, White offered me a draw here. He told me after the game
he felt as if he was a little worse. I would consider this position
dynamically equal.} Nxd3 {The point of this move is to remove White's powerful
light squared bishop. Thing could get murky if White were able to swing his
rook to h3-g3 and have the light squared bishop help him mount a kingside
attack.} 16. cxd3 (16. Qxg7 Nxf4 17. Qxh8+ Kd7 18. Qxh6 Qc4+ 19. Kg1 Ne2+ 20.
Kh2 Kc7 $17) 16... g6 $5 {In hindsight, such a move might be a mistake and ...
Rg8 might be better. Playing ...g6 weakens my dark squares. However, by
playing ...g6 myself, I prevent White from playing h5 and fixing my g7
weakness.} (16... Qxc3 $2 17. Qxg7 Qxd3+ 18. Kg1 Qh7 19. Qf6 $16) (16... Rg8
17. Bxh6 Qxc3 $13 {double-edged - with bishops of opposite colour, the
position is unclear.}) 17. Bd2 Bd7 {My idea is to long castle as Black and
then try to control the c-file or break with ...g5.} 18. Qf4 Bb5 19. Rh3 O-O-O
20. Rc1 {[#]} Qe7 {A one-threat move in a way. I want to bring my queen to a3.
If my queen can get to a3, it might hinder White's queenside attack that
starts with a4.} (20... g5 $6 21. Qe3 g4 22. Rg3 h5 $14 {This was another
possible variation. However, Black's pwan structure becomes static.}) 21. c4
dxc4 22. a4 Bc6 (22... Bxa4 $2 23. Bb4 $1 Qxb4 (23... Qd7 24. Bd6 $16) 24.
Rxc4+ Qxc4 25. Qxc4+ Bc6 {as Black, I might be able to hold this, but it's
uncomfortable.}) 23. Rxc4 Kb8 (23... Qa3 $2 24. Qxf7 Rxd3 25. Qxe6+ Kb8 $16)
24. Bb4 Qd7 25. Bd6+ Ka8 {[#] A critical position to understand and quite a
complex one. White has a powerful bishop on d6 which is restricting Black's
pieces. However, Black has a nice bishop himself on c6. The a4- pawn will
always be a weakness for White, while the f7-pawn is a weakness for Black.
Black's queenside pawn majority is also something to look out for. Overall,
this is a dynamically equal position with chances for both sides. The perfect
position one wants when playing for a win with either side.} 26. Re3 {White is
trying to activate his rook and bring it to c1 or b1.} Rc8 {I was getting low
on time here. I had about 15 minutes while my opponent had 30 minutes. The
time control also included a 5 second delay. These American tournaments are
quite interesting considering they prefer a delay rather than an increment.} (
26... g5 $5 27. Qd4 (27. Qg4 f5) (27. Qg3 f5) 27... Bd5 28. Rc7 (28. Rc2 Rc8)
28... Qxc7 29. Bxc7 Bxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Rxd4) 27. Re1 g5 {And so I try to break!}
28. Qe3 (28. hxg5 hxg5 29. Qxg5 Rcg8 30. Qe7 Bxa4 $11 {This position is
probably equal.}) {[#]} 28... Bxa4 {After taking the a4-pawn, I knew there
would be a decisive result - no draws. Either Black would win with his passed
pawns, or White would be able to breakthrough and checkmate me with his rooks
and bishop. As Black, I was ready for a fight!} 29. hxg5 hxg5 30. Rxc8+ Qxc8 $6
{The start of a risky plan. I had ideas of swinging my Queen over and
checkmating the White king. I was vacationing in fantasy land. With White's
dark squared bishop, he has his own threats too! The conservative 30...Rxc8
would have been the better approach.} (30... Rxc8 31. Qxg5 Qb5 32. Qd2 Bc2 33.
Re3 $17 {Black has tremendous winning chances here thanks to his connected
passed pawns on the queenside.}) 31. Kg1 {[#]} Qg8 $2 {Terrible plan! Albeit
not losing, Black shouldn't be leaving his queenside bare.} 32. Qb6 $1 {
We each had around five minutes left with a 5 second delay. Kudos to my
opponent for finding the most critical moves.} Qh7 $2 (32... Qd8 $1 {The only
move that gives me a chance to keep on fighting.}) 33. f3 Qh2+ 34. Kf2 Qh4+ 35.
Ke2 {[#]} Qg3 $2 (35... g4 {only move that saves the day!} 36. Bc5 gxf3+ 37.
Kd2 (37. Kxf3 Bc6+ 38. Ke2 Kb8 39. Bd6+ Ka8 40. Bc5 $11) 37... Kb8 $1 38. Qa7+
Kc8 39. Bd6 Bc6 {If White isn't careful he might get into some trouble himself.
} 40. Rb1 (40. Qb8+ $2 Kd7 41. Qc7+ Ke8 42. Qc8+ Qd8 43. Qxd8+ Kxd8 44. gxf3
Bxf3 $17) 40... fxg2 41. Qb8+ Kd7 42. Rxb7+ Bxb7 43. Qxb7+ Kd8 44. Qb8+ Kd7 45.
Qb7+ $11) (35... Rc8 36. Bc5 Rxc5 37. Qxc5 g4 {I had this option to sacrifice
the exchange, and it was probably something I should have done. However, I
decided to gamble with 35...Qg3 hoping it would lead to something. I call this
Hope Chess -- not recommended at any age.}) 36. Bc5 $18 Qxe5+ (36... Kb8 37.
Qa7+ Kc8 38. Qa8+ Kc7 39. Bd6+ {is mating.}) 37. Kf2 Qb8 {[#] For a split
second I though I was in time to play ...Rc8 and ...Rc6, but...} 38. Ra1 $3 {
Only move and a crushing blow.} Bb5 (38... Rh4 {doesn't change anything:} 39.
d4 $18) (38... Bc6 39. Rxa6+ $18) 39. Qxb5 Qc8 40. Qb6 Kb8 41. Rxa6 Rd8 42.
Ra8+ {Kudos to Robin -- he played a nice game.   I learned a lot from this
game. With bishops of opposite colour, don't keep your king naked!  I ended up
finishing the tournament with 3.5/5 which was good enough for =7th and some
Benjamins. IM Irine for Indonesia lived up to expectations and captured clear
first with a fantastic 5/5.} 1-0

[Event "New York Challenge sim"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "2016.09.22"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Wiebe, Isaac"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A96"]
[WhiteElo "2857"]
[BlackElo "2017"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2016.09.22"]
[EventType "simul (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "1"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. Nf3 e6 2. c4 f5 {Hard to believe, but there are no Carlsen
games from this position in the MegaBase!} 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 $5 5. O-O O-O
6. b3 d6 7. d4 Ne4 8. Bb2 {[#]} a5 (8... Bf6 9. Nbd2 (9. Ne1 c5 10. Nd2 d5 {
White is a little ahead in development, so ought to welcome this break, but
it's not easy to keep control, and Black can equalize even against strong
opponents; for example:} 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Ndf3 Nc6 13. e3 b5 $5 {(0-1, 42)
Zhao,X (2567)-Reinderman,D (2593) Wijk aan Zee, 2014.}) 9... Nc6 10. Nxe4 (10.
Ne1 $1 d5 11. e3 $14 {followed by Nd3 and f3 when White has a very comfortable
set up vs Black's Stonewall.}) 10... fxe4 11. Ne1 d5 12. Nc2 Rf7 13. Qd2 $5 Bg5
14. Qc3 Bf6 15. Rad1 Bd7 16. Qd2 Bg5 17. Qe1 $5 {was White trying to be
provocative?} a5 18. f3 Nb4 $1 19. Nxb4 axb4 $11 {(1-0, 37) Shabalov,A (2538)
-Song,M (2316) Arlington, 2015.}) 9. Nfd2 Nxd2 10. Nxd2 Bf6 (10... f4 $5 11.
gxf4 Rxf4 12. e3 Rf8 13. f4 $14 {Salomon,J (2452)-Dahl,T (2201) Fagernes, 2016
(1-0, 55).}) 11. e4 {[#]} e5 $2 {Black is way behind in development, so
opening the center asks for trouble.} (11... Nc6 $142) 12. dxe5 dxe5 $2 13.
exf5 $1 Bxf5 (13... c6 14. g4 $18 {White has an extra pawn and the e4 square,
and is still ahead in development.}) 14. Bxb7 $18 Ra7 15. Be4 Bxe4 16. Nxe4 Nc6
{[#]} 17. Qd5+ $6 {Not the best, but transposing into a hugely advantageous
endgame is a sensible decision in a clock simul.} (17. Qg4 Nd4 18. Rad1 {
and f2-f4 would be a maximialist approach.}) 17... Qxd5 18. cxd5 Nb4 19. Ba3
Rd8 20. Bxb4 axb4 21. Rfd1 Ra5 22. Rac1 {[#]} Raxd5 23. Rxd5 Rxd5 24. Rxc7 Ra5
(24... Rd4 25. f3 Rd1+ 26. Kf2 Rh1 27. g4 $5 (27. Kg2 Rb1 $16) 27... Rxh2+ 28.
Kg3 Rh1 (28... Rxa2 29. g5 $18 {wins the B.}) 29. g5 Bd8 30. Rc8 Rd1 $16) 25.
Rb7 Rxa2 26. Rxb4 Kf7 27. Kg2 Ke6 28. h4 Rb2 {[#]Magnus went straight to this
position in the postmortem (see photo), but analyzed it as though it was
Black's move: "You need to take control over the light squares on the kingside.
Once I get in this [h4-h5], my king will come here [g4], my rook will... 
[check your king away], and my king will come in [g4-f5]. So you need to play .
..g6 and ...h5."} 29. h5 (29. Z0 {"Once you get this,} h5 {I think I still
have excellent winning chances, but it's much more difficult.... Once I get
control over the light sqaures it becomes very easy to play." - Magnus Carlsen}
) 29... Be7 30. Rb7 Rb1 31. Kf3 Rb2 32. Kg4 Re2 33. f3 Rb2 34. Rb6+ {Notice
that keeping the pawn on b3 restricts the activity of Black's R.} Kd5 35. Kf5
Rh2 36. Rb7 Ba3 37. Kg4 g6 {[#]} 38. Rd7+ $1 {Pushing the black K either away
from the e5-pawn or to where it will be exposed to a check which enables
White's R to gain a tempo to get back to the queenside.  Even in a simul
Magnus finds the most accurate finesse!} (38. Rxh7 gxh5+ 39. Rxh5 Rb2 {is
winning, but trickier} 40. Nc3+ Kc5 41. Rxe5+ Kd4 42. Ra5 $8 $18 Bb4 43. Nb5+
Kc5 44. Nc3+ $8 Bxa5 45. Na4+ $8 $18) 38... Ke6 39. Rxh7 gxh5+ 40. Rxh5 Rb2 41.
Rh6+ Kd5 (41... Ke7 42. Rb6 {saves the b-pawn with none of the fuss of the
variations above.}) 42. Nc3+ Kd4 43. Nb5+ Kd3 44. Nxa3 Rxb3 45. Ra6 e4 46. fxe4
Kxe4 {[#]This would be a draw, if it weren't for that stubborn g-pawn.} 47.
Ra4+ Ke5 48. Nc4+ Kf6 49. Ra6+ Kg7 50. Ne5 Rb5 51. Kf5 Rb1 52. Ra7+ Kh8 53. g4
Rb6 {[#]It's a trivial win, but Magnus plays it computer-perfect for the
minimum moves to mate.} 54. g5 Rb1 55. Kg6 Rb6+ 56. Kf7 Rb8 57. Ng6+ Kh7 58.
Kf6+ Kg8 59. Rg7# 1-0

[Event "Opening Intro"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.01.21"]
[Round "?"]
[White "9.000 10.Qe1"]
[Black "Dragon"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B76"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "32"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2
Nc6 {[%mdl 32772] [#] White's main moves are Bc4 and 000. The former was
Fischer's favourite, putting the B on an active square, preventing ...d5, and
aiming for h4-h5 "sac-sac-mate"; but the latter move has become the modern
mainline as Black's defences -- ...h5! -- to the Yugoslav attack have been
more thoroughly worked out.} 9. O-O-O {Allows ...d5, which was long thought to
give Black equality, but that's not so clear, and White has scored well by
allowing ...d5 and then playing against Black's ragged center pawns.} d5 10.
Qe1 $5 {[#] First played in the late 1980s, this has become White's top choice.
The Q retreat creates an X-ray from the Rd1 to the Qd8.} ({The older line goes:
} 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bd4 (12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Qxd5 {the Dragon
would be losing if not for the following sequence:} Qc7 $1 14. Qxa8 $6 (14. Qc5
Qb7 $13) 14... Bf5 {Threatening mate and attacking the Q.} 15. Qxf8+ Kxf8 16.
Rd2 {computers say 0.00, but in practice Black scores around Elo +80. Even so,
this might be a good choice for older club players who want to take their
eager young Dragon-loving opponents into a complex near-endgame.}) 12... e5 13.
Bc5 Be6 14. Ne4 (14. Bxf8 $5 Qxf8 15. Nxd5 cxd5 {Black's center and B pair and
lack of open files for the White Rs are reckoned to give Black the better game.
}) 14... Re8 15. h4 $14 {with around 500 games in the MegaBase.}) 10... e5 (
10... e6 {is also possible, but White has to know what to do on the more
forcing ...e5.}) (10... dxe4 $4 11. Nxc6 $18) 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. exd5 {[#]} Nxd5
$1 (12... cxd5 $6 13. Bg5 $16 {Black's center cannot hold.} Be6 (13... d4 $2
14. Qxe5 Ng4 15. Qxg7+ $8 {White wins a piece.} Kxg7 16. Bxd8 dxc3 (16... Nf2
17. Rxd4 $18) 17. fxg4 cxb2+ 18. Kxb2 $18 {(1-0, 40) Zhou,Q (2239)-Qiao,C 
(1741) Ottawa, 2016.}) 14. Bc4 $1 $16 {is Rogovoi-Sambuev, 1998, and
Leko-Carlsen, 2008, both below.} (14. Qxe5 $2 {opens the long diagonal and
hands Black an attack; e.g.} h6 $1 15. Bh4 (15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Qe1 Rb8 $19)
15... g5 16. Be1 Ne4 $5 (16... Nh5 $1) 17. Qxe4 $8 $13) (14. Kb1 $2 Rb8 $17 {
Black has the center, two Bs pointing at the White K, and two half-open files.}
15. g4 $2 {Too slow. Stockfish says: -3.5.} (15. Bc4 {transfers a piece to
defend the K.}) 15... Qb6 $1 ({or} 15... Qc7 $1 $19) 16. b3 Rfc8 $4 (16... Qc5
$19) 17. Bxf6 $8 Bxf6 (17... Rxc3 $5 18. Bxg7 Re3 $13 19. Bxe5 $5 Rxe1 20. Rxe1
$13) 18. Nxd5 $8 $13 Bxd5 19. Rxd5 Rxc2 $4 (19... e4 $1) (19... Rc7 $4 20. Rb5
$18) 20. Kxc2 Rc8+ (20... Qc6+ 21. Bc4 {is what Black overlooked.}) 21. Bc4 e4
22. Qxe4 Qb4 23. Kd1 Qc3 24. Ke2 Kf8 25. Rd7 {1-0 Zhou,Q (2104)-Kalra,A (2145)
Ottawa, 2013.})) 13. Bc4 (13. Bc5 $2 Bh6+ $1 14. Kb1 Nxc3+ 15. bxc3 Qa5 $17 {
leads to a position Jones evaluates as clear advantage for Black.}) 13... Be6 {
[#]} 14. Kb1 (14. Ne4 Qc7 15. Ng5 $2 (15. Bc5 Rfd8 $13 {Jones's 2017 reperoire
book on the Dragon for Quality Chess has a lot more analysis here, one main
line continuing:} 16. h4 Nf4 $1 17. Bxe6 Rxd1+ $1 18. Qxd1 Nxe6 19. Be3 f5 $1
20. Ng5 Nxg5 21. hxg5 f4 22. Bd2 e4 $1 23. fxe4 Qe5 24. Bc3 Qxg5 25. Qd7 $1
Bxc3 26. Qxh7+ Kf8 27. Qb7 $1 Bxb2+ 28. Kxb2 $11) 15... Nxe3 $1 16. Nxe6 Qb6 $8
$19 17. Nxf8 Nxc4 18. Qc3 Qa6 $1 19. Qb3 ({Saving the N costs the K:} 19. Nd7
Qxa2 20. b3 Bh6+ $19) 19... Rxf8 $19 20. Kb1 e4 21. c3 e3 22. Ka1 Nd2 23. Qc2
Re8 24. Rhe1 Re5 25. a3 Qc4 {0-1 Timman,J (2629)-Fedorov,A (2575) Wijk aan Zee,
2001.}) (14. Bc5 $6 Qg5+ $1 15. Kb1 Rfd8 $15 {brings the R to d8 in one move.})
14... Re8 (14... Rb8 15. Ne4 f5 16. Ng5 Bc8 17. h4 h6 18. Ne4 {(½- ½, 52)
Edouard,R (2659)-Jones,G (2661) London, 2014.}) {[#]} 15. Ne4 (15. h4 Qc7 16.
Nxd5 cxd5 17. Bxd5 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 e4 19. fxe4 Rxe4 20. Qd2 Bxb2 21. Kxb2 Qb7+
22. Ka1 Rxe3 23. h5 Qe7 24. h6 Re8 $11 {Navara,D (2735)-Edouard,R (2641)
Drancy, 2016 (½-½, 54).}) 15... f5 $146 (15... Qc7 16. Bc5 h6 17. g4 Nf4 18.
Bd6 Qb6 19. Bxe6 Rxe6 20. Bc5 Qb5 21. b3 Ree8 22. h4 Qe2 23. Qxe2 Nxe2 24. g5
$16 h5 25. Rd6 a5 26. Rxc6 a4 27. Re1 Nf4 28. b4 $1 $18 {(1-0, 36) Leko,P 
(2709)-Trent,L (2463) Douglas, 2016.}) 16. Ng5 Bc8 {see Carlsen,M (2834)-Jones,
G (2640) TATA, 2018.} *

[Event "Chigorin Memorial 06th"]
[Site "St Petersburg"]
[Date "1998.11.09"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Rogovoi, Mark"]
[Black "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2225"]
[BlackElo "2340"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "1998.10.31"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7
7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O d5 10. Qe1 e5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. exd5 cxd5 $2 13.
Bg5 Be6 14. Bc4 Rc8 {White has scored +4 =0 -1 from here, with Elo +220.} (
14... Qc7 {Is Leko-Carlsen, 2008, and Ganguly-Wang Edmonton, 2016.}) 15. Bxd5 {
[#]} Nxd5 $5 {Preposterous, right? Against a skilled opponent -- and White was
over 2200 -- this "has to" lose in a long game.... right? OTOH, this looks
like it would be FUN to play in a blitz game: Black gets active piece play, a
safe K, two Bs, compact pawns... and psychologically all the pressure is now
on White, who "knows" he's winning.} (15... Qb6 $16 {is the computer's top
pick, but Black saw no prospects -- for points or fun -- in that position.})
16. Bxd8 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Rfxd8 18. Rxd8+ Rxd8 19. Qe3 {[#] White has a Q and
pawn for two Bs. Stockfish 9 says +4 Komodo says +3.4 What could go wrong?} Rb8
20. Rd1 (20. Qxa7 $4 Bh6+ $19 {and ...Rb1 wins the R.}) 20... h5 21. Kd2 Rb2
22. Qxa7 Rxa2 23. Qb8+ Kh7 24. Rb1 Bh6+ 25. Kd1 Ra5 26. Ke1 Rc5 27. Qb4 (27.
Rb6 {aiming to kill the B-pair looks like a good idea.}) 27... Rc4 28. Qa5 {[#]
} e4 {Gets rid of the iso, leaving all Black's pawns safe and freeing both Bs.
The rest of this game plays like a bad dream for White: a long, slow,
nightmarish slide into a hopeless position.} 29. Ke2 $2 exf3+ 30. gxf3 (30.
Kxf3 $4 Rf4+ 31. Ke2 (31. Kg3 h4#) 31... Bc4+ $19 {and White gets mated on
loses the Q to a discovered check.}) 30... Bg7 31. Kd3 Rf4 {Stockfish says +1.
7 Komodo: +1.} 32. Qa8 Bf5+ 33. Kd2 Bh6 34. Ke2 Rh4 35. Rh1 Rc4 36. Qe8 Be6 {
[#]} 37. Rd1 (37. Kd3 Bg7 $14 38. Qxe6 $4 Rxc3+ $19) 37... Rxc3 {Stockfish: 0.
00} 38. Qa4 Rc4 {Komodo: 0.00} 39. Qb3 Rh4 40. Qb8 Bf4 41. Qf8 Rxh2+ $15 42.
Kd3 Rf2 $1 43. Kc3 Be5+ 44. Kd3 Bg7 45. Qa8 Bf5+ 46. Kc4 Rxc2+ {[#]} 47. Kd5 $2
Rc8 $17 48. Qa5 Bf6 49. Rh1 Rc3 50. f4 Rd3+ 51. Kc5 $2 Be4 $1 {wins the Q or
the R.} 52. Qa6 Rd5+ 0-1

[Event "Miskolc m"]
[Site "Miskolc"]
[Date "2008.05.31"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Leko, Peter"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2008.05.28"]
[EventType "match (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "HUN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] Carlsen played the Dragon regularly in his early teens. This is
a rapid game where Peter Leko gives Magnus a lesson in the kind of play
against weak pawns which Carlsen would later deal out as World Champion.} 1. e4
c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O
9. O-O-O d5 10. Qe1 e5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. exd5 cxd5 $2 (12... Nxd5 {see
Carlsen-Jones, 2018.}) 13. Bg5 Be6 14. Bc4 $1 Qc7 {[#] White has a choice:
take on f6 and keep a small advantage against Black's weak pawns, or take on
d5 to win a pawn while opening lines at the Kc1.} 15. Bxf6 {Leko takes the
safe route.} ({Ganguly played the more dynamic move:} 15. Bxd5 Nxd5 16. Nxd5
Bxd5 17. Rxd5 {White is up a pawn, but Black has two half-open files and a B
pointed at White's K. See: Ganguly-Wang, Edmonton, 2016 in this issue.}) 15...
dxc4 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 Rfe8 19. Qc3 $14 {[#] Compared to
Ganguly-Wang: material is equal, and Black has less pressure on the queenside,
but White has a better structure; and with open lines and major pieces, that
better structure is likely to turn into an extra pawn.} Kg8 20. Qa5 Qe7 21. Re1
Qh4 22. Rdxe5 Rxe5 23. Qxe5 $16 {[#] White is up one safe pawn.  The rest has
hardly anything to do with opening analysis, but the players reach a very
complex, interesting and instructive rook ending.} Rd8 24. h3 c3 $5 25. Qxc3
Qg5+ 26. f4 $1 Qxg2 27. b3 Qf2 28. Re4 Qg2 29. Rc4 $1 $18 {[#] White is up a
protected passed pawn, his K is safe and his pieces are coordinated. Stockfish
says: +2.2 Komodo says: +1.3} Qd5 30. Kb2 Qf5 31. a4 h5 32. Qe3 a6 33. Rc5 Qf6+
34. Qe5 {[%mdl 4096]} Kg7 $5 {Rather than leave White's Q to dominate the
board, Carlsen allows the trade so that he might get some counterplay with his
K.} 35. Qxf6+ Kxf6 $18 {[#]} 36. Rc4 $2 {Peter Leko: Safety first.} (36. a5 $1
$18 {is simplest, White's R is already perfectly placed and the time it would
take for ...Rd4xf4 (and the position it would leave Black's R) would give
White an easy win.}) (36. Rc6+ $1 {Gives Black dangerous-looking counterplay,
but White is fast enough to win. Gives Black counterplay, but it is too slow.}
Kf5 37. Rxa6 Kxf4 38. Rf6+ Kg3 39. Rxf7 Kxh3 (39... g5 40. Rg7 g4 41. hxg4 h4 (
41... hxg4 42. b4 $18) 42. Rh7 $18 {is a much better version of the kind of
ending we see in the game.}) 40. Rg7 Rd6 (40... h4 41. Rxg6 $19 {White's pawns
will be way up the board before the Black K gets off the edge.}) 41. b4 $18)
36... Kf5 37. b4 f6 38. Kc3 g5 39. fxg5 fxg5 {[#]} 40. Rc7 $1 (40. b5 $2 axb5
41. axb5 g4 42. Rb4 g3 $11 {and the race is tied.}) (40. Rc6 $2 g4 $8 41. hxg4+
(41. Rc5+ Kf4 42. Rxh5 g3 $11) 41... hxg4 42. Rxa6 g3 43. Ra7 Kf6 $1 {prevents
the R from coming back.} (43... Rg8 44. Rf7+ Ke4 45. Rf1 g2 46. Rg1 $16 {
only White has winning chances.}) 44. Ra6+ $8 Kf5 45. Ra5+ $8 Kf6 46. Ra6+ $8
$11) 40... Rg8 (40... g4 41. hxg4+ hxg4 42. Rg7 $1 Kf4 43. b5 $18) 41. Rh7 $1
h4 42. b5 $1 (42. Rf7+ $1 Ke4 (42... Ke6 43. Ra7 $18) 43. b5 g4 44. hxg4 h3 45.
Rh7 $18) 42... axb5 43. axb5 Kf4 {[#]} 44. Rd7 $8 (44. b6 $2 Kg3 45. b7 Kxh3
46. Rg7 Rb8 $11) 44... g4 45. hxg4 h3 (45... Rh8 46. Rd1 $18 {is similar to
the ending in the note to move 51.}) 46. Rh7 $2 (46. Kb4 $8 $18) {[#]} 46...
Kxg4 $2 (46... Kg3 $8 $11 {this would enable ...Rxg4 with check, then ...Rh4,
drawing. The extra tempo on ...Kxg4-g3 leaves Black one move short and could
have cost him the full point.}) 47. Kb4 $18 (47. Rh6 $1 $18) 47... Kg3 48. c4
Rg6 $1 {[%mdl 64] Poses the hardest problem for White.} (48... h2 $2 49. Rxh2
$18 (49. b6 $18) (49. c5 $4 Rg4+ 50. Ka5 Rh4 $19)) {[#] Critical Position} 49.
Ka5 ({On} 49. c5 $1 $18 {Leko must have been worried about Black bridging with
the R:} Rg4+ 50. Ka5 Rh4 {But White's R can get back to defend h1 just in time:
} 51. Rd7 $1 (51. Rxh4 Kxh4 $11 {leads to a drawn QP v Q ending.}) 51... h2 52.
Rd1 h1=Q (52... Rf4 53. b6 Kg2 54. b7 Rf1 55. Rxf1 Kxf1 56. b8=Q h1=Q 57. Qb1+
$18) 53. Rxh1 Rxh1 54. b6 $8 $18 (54. c6 $2 Rc1 $8 $11 55. Kb6 Kf4 56. c7 Ke5
57. Kb7 Kd6 58. b6 Kd7 59. Kb8 Rc6 $11) 54... Ra1+ 55. Kb5 Rc1 {if Black's K
was on f4 this would be a draw, but it's one square too far.} 56. b7 $18 ({or} 
56. c6 $18)) 49... Rg5 $1 50. Kb4 (50. Ka6 $2 Rc5 $8 $11) 50... Rg6 {[#] White
has a winning position, but it's not remotely trivial, and Carlsen himself
might be the only player who would know this ending cold enough to play at
blitz tempo.} 51. Rxh3+ $2 $11 {Peter Leko: Safety first. 51.c5 would have won,
as in the note to move 49.} Kxh3 52. c5 Rg4+ $8 {Carlsen plays the rest
perfectly, no small trick when it's a long way into a rapid game and any
inaccuracy loses.} 53. Ka5 Rc4 $8 54. Kb6 Kg4 55. Kc6 Kf5 {[#]} 56. Kd5 (56.
Kd6 Rc1 57. c6 (57. b6 Rb1 58. Kc7 Ke6) 57... Rd1+ $8 58. Kc7 $11 (58. Ke7 $11)
(58. Kc5 $4 Ke6 $19) 58... Ke6 59. b6 Rb1 $8 60. b7 Kd5 $11 {reaches the game.}
) 56... Rc1 (56... Rb4 $11 57. b6 Kf6 58. c6 Rb5+ $1 $11) 57. b6 Rd1+ (57...
Rb1 $11) 58. Kc6 Ke6 59. b7 Rb1 $8 60. Kc7 Kd5 61. c6 Rb2 $1 62. Kd7 Rb6 63. c7
Rxb7 $8 64. Kd8 Rxc7 $8 65. Kxc7 1/2-1/2

[Event "TATA Steel"]
[Site "Wijk"]
[Date "2018.01.21"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Jones, Gawain"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2834"]
[BlackElo "2640"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2017.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.04.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7
7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O d5 10. Qe1 $5 e5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. exd5 Nxd5 $1 (
12... cxd5 $2 13. Bg5 Be6 14. Bc4 $1 $16 {See: Leko-Carlsen, and
Lugovoi-Sambuev}) 13. Bc4 Be6 14. Kb1 {[#]After the game, Carlsen said he was
surprised that Jones chose to play the Dragon! That seemed preposterous to
everyone, since Jones has published a two-volume repertoire for Quality Chess
on the Dragon and plays it regularly (see notes).} Re8 (14... Rb8 15. Ne4 f5
16. Ng5 (16. Nc5 Bf7 {and the Bf7 attacks and defends.}) 16... Bc8 17. h4 h6
18. Ne4 fxe4 $5 (18... Be6 19. Nc5 Bf7 20. Na6 Rb7 21. Bb3 Qf6 22. Nc5 Re7 23.
c3 $13 {½-½ (52) Edouard,R (2659)-Jones,G (2661) London, 2014.}) 19. fxe4 {
White gets the piece back due to the pin, but here} Rf4 $1 {is a good try for
Black.} 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. c3 (21. exd5 $4 Rxb2+ 22. Kc1 Qb6 $19) 21... Qb6 22.
Qd2 Qc5 23. Bb3 Kh7 24. exd5 Bf5+ 25. Kc1 (25. Ka1 $4 Rxb3 $19) 25... Rxb3 26.
axb3 Qa5 27. Qe2 $8 Bxc3 $1 28. Qe7+ $8 Bg7 29. Qa3 Qb6 $11 {½-½ (61)
Lampert,J (2442)-Jones,G (2643) Wunsiedel, 2015.}) 15. Ne4 (15. h4 Qc7 16. Nxd5
cxd5 17. Bxd5 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 e4 19. fxe4 Rxe4 20. Qd2 Bxb2 $1 21. Kxb2 Qb7+ 22.
Ka1 Rxe3 $13 {(½-½, 54) Navara,D (2735)-Edouard,R (2641) Drancy, 2016.})
15... f5 $146 16. Ng5 Bc8 {[#]} 17. g4 $4 {.. It is a sign of how much respect
GMs have for Carlsen that during the live commentary, both GM Ivan Sokolov and
GM Eric Hansen were not sure this was a blunder: Sokolov said there is no way
Carlsen could have overlooked ...f4, and Hansen speculating that giving the
piece for positional domination by his minors might be some sort of
AlphaZero-level preparation by Carlsen. .. Watching the live video, Carlsen's
sister -- not fooled by her little brother's Great Chess Reputation -- tweeted
that it was obvious to her that he must have blundered since his body language
was "painful" to watch. .. How does the World Champion make a blunder like
this? After the game, Sambuev told me he thought the problem is that Carlsen's
positional evauation is SO strong and so reliable that it prevented him from
seeing the positionally awful move ...f4, it just wasn't on his radar. That
idea was also expressed by GM Jonathan Rowson, who tweeted:  17...f4 would be
positionally catastrophic for Black if it didn't win a piece.  One difference
between humans and computers is that our strategic filters often trump our
tactical filters at the worst possible moments.  ..} (17. h4 h6 18. Ne4 {
as in Jones's games against Edouard and Lampert (above).}) 17... f4 18. h4 fxe3
19. Qxe3 h6 $1 {[#] Black wants to play ...Be6 and wants to meet any pawn push
on the kingside with an adjacent push of his own, keeping the g and h-files
closed. White has only a pawn for the B. Stockfish says: -2.2 Komodo says: -1.6
} 20. Qc5 $1 {Attacks c6 and so pulls Black's LSB onto an inferior diagonal
which also blocks the b-file. Carlsen played this, and most of his next moves
much more quickly than Jones.} Bb7 (20... hxg5 $2 21. Qxc6 Be6 22. Bxd5 Bxd5
23. Rxd5 Qb6 $17 {and White can keep Qs on with Qc4 or try to hold with three
pawns for the B by exchanging and taking on g5. Black is clearly better in
either case as the f-pawn is a long term weakness.}) 21. Ne4 Re6 $5 {Prevents
Qd6! -- a move which is unnatural (trading Qs when down material) but
tactically strong.} (21... Bf8 $142 {also prevents Qd6, and gets the B out
from behind the e5 pawn.} 22. Qe3 Kg7 {was Sokolov's suggestion.} (22... Kh8 {
is Stockfish8.})) 22. h5 {[#]} Qb6 $2 {The right idea -- trading Qs -- but
tactically flawed.} (22... g5 $142 {as Eric Hansen said several moves earlier,
and as everyone said after, Black responds to any kingside push by closing the
kingside, and only then worrying about developing and trading pieces.}) 23. g5
$1 {White doesn't have to move his Q since a trade on c5 gives him winning
tactics (see next note). If this was a normal position -- add a White Bc1 and
a Black f4-pawn -- White would be clearly winning. Down a piece for a pawn,
White is not winning, but has very strong play against the Black K. Stockfish
says: -.7 Komodo says: -.5} hxg5 (23... Qxc5 $4 {loses:} 24. Nxc5 Re7 (24...
Bc8 25. Rxd5 $1 $18) 25. Nxb7 Rxb7 26. Rxd5 cxd5 27. Bxd5+ $18 {White wins one
of the Rs with an overwhelming material advantage.}) (23... Bf8 24. Qg1 $1 Qxg1
25. Rdxg1) 24. Qa3 $1 $13 {Black is up a whole piece, but Stockfish9 rates the
position 0.00.} Rb8 $1 25. b3 Qd8 (25... g4 $5 {gives the pawn back on the
g-file to keep it closed.}) 26. Qxa7 $1 {[#] Around here, Sokolov and Hansen
were predicting a Carlsen win.} gxh5 $2 (26... Bh6 27. hxg6 Rxg6 28. Rd2 {
and White is ready to double on the h or d-files with advantage.}) 27. Rxh5 Rg6
28. Rxg5 $1 Rxg5 29. Nxg5 Qc8 (29... Qxg5 $2 {loses the R and B to} 30. Qxb8+
$18) 30. Rg1 $1 Ra8 31. Qb6 $1 Ra6 {[#]} 32. Qc5 {The first time since move 20
that the computer suggests a better move for White:} (32. Qe3 $5 $18 {either
way, White is winning. Materially, Black is up a B for two pawns, but his K is
very exposed and his Bb7 and Ra6 are both very poorly placed.}) (32. Bxa6 $4 {
unpins the N, so} Nxb6 $19 {when Black would once again have good chances
against the World Champion ;)}) 32... Qd7 33. Ne4 Kh8 34. Qf2 {Threatens
Q-h-file check, then Nf6+.} Qe7 35. Bxa6 Bxa6 36. Qh2+ Kg8 37. Qh6 Qa7 38. Qe6+
{[#]} Kf8 (38... Qf7 39. Qxc6 Bb7 40. Qd6 $18) 39. Rg5 (39. Qd6+ $1 {is more
ruthless, but White has found a simpler win.}) 39... Ne3 40. Qd6+ Kf7 41. Nc5
Bc8 42. Rxg7+ (42. Rxg7+ Kxg7 43. Qxe5+ Kf7 44. Qxe3 $18 {with the better
minor piece, safer K, and (for those irredeemable materialists), three extra
pawns. .. Jones was a good sport after his loss, and discussed it with Eric in
the official feed.}) 1-0

