[Event "Tournoi ouvert de Chambly"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.04.03"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Black "Hebert, Jean"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2421"]
[BlackElo "2402"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,129,25,16,58,64,59,37,54,29,63,37,76,27,43,43,24,25,20,14,
22,24,15,47,36,-28,-25,-27,-27,-37,0,0,0,0,0,0,17,46,34,40,55,61,56,56,86,86,
70,79,90,54,39,39,71,13,0,0,0,0,0,-74,0,0,0,0,124,0,0,0,43,13,23,21,21,42,25,
29,25,25,18,25,25,0,38,42,78,71,77,78,83,83,83,92,143,61,61,131,153,62,62,62,
62,62,62,62,67,67,67,67,77,59,65,65,65,65,68,68,68,68,68,68,80,68,68,68,60,68,
60,60,60,60,29995,29996]} 1. e4 c5 {First surprise of the game, as I was
hoping for a French. At that time, I didn't have good knowledge of the
Sicilian!} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 {[#] This move came as a pleasant surprise to
me. In my opinion, g6 and e6 are both better tries than this move, which gives
White many interesting options.} 4. O-O Bg4 ({Black generally plays} 4... Bd7
5. Re1 Nf6 6. c3 a6 7. Bf1 Bg4) 5. c3 a6 6. Be2 {Keeping the Bishop pair.} ({
I knew that} 6. Bxc6+ {was better, but I expected that my opponent would be
familiar with this move, so I wanted to do something different.}) 6... Nf6 7.
d4 {[#]} cxd4 ({editor -} 7... Nxe4 $4 {falls into the trap, since} 8. d5 {
and Qa4+ wins one of the Ns.}) 8. cxd4 d5 9. e5 Ne4 10. h3 (10. Kh1 e6 11. Ng1
{is a very creative idea for White, and it's not easy for Black to save the
e4-Knight.}) 10... Bf5 11. Nh4 Bd7 12. Kh2 {[#] I knew that this was probably
not a great idea, but I wanted to try something creative, to force him out of
his comfort zone. It looks very odd, but I couldn't find a great way for him
to escape.} e6 {editor - turns out to be a French anyway!} 13. g3 Be7 14. Ng2 {
[#] Critical Position What happens if ...Qb6} f6 (14... Qb6 $1 {is a brilliant
way to sacrifice the Knight.} 15. f3 Ng5 16. h4 h6 $3 17. Be3 $1 (17. hxg5 $4 {
White can't afford to open the h-file!} hxg5+ 18. Kg1 Nxd4 19. Be3 Nxe2+ 20.
Qxe2 d4 21. Bf2 Bb5 $19) 17... Qxb2 18. Nd2 Nxd4 19. Rb1 Qc3 20. Rc1 Qb2 21.
Rb1 $11 {with a draw by repetition.}) 15. f3 Ng5 16. Nc3 (16. Be3 {is better,
but I didn't want to lose a tempo in case he eventually plays ...d4.}) 16...
fxe5 (16... Qb6 17. f4 Nf7 18. f5 fxe5 19. fxe6 Bxe6 20. dxe5 $16 {was my idea.
White's pieces will quickly come into the game after an eventual Nf4.}) 17.
dxe5 d4 {[#] I was surprised when he played this move, since I get a great
position after that} 18. Bxg5 dxc3 (18... Bxg5 {gives me a great square for my
Knight after} 19. Ne4 Be7 20. f4 O-O 21. a3 $1 $16) 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. f4 (20.
bxc3 Nxe5 21. f4 {was also possible, but I wanted to keep my e5-pawn.}) 20...
cxb2 21. Rb1 {[#] I felt quite happy with my position here, since I have a
solid pawn chain protecting my King. Black also has many weaknesses, such as
the d6-square.} O-O 22. Rxb2 b5 23. Rd2 Rad8 24. Bf3 $2 (24. Qc1 $16 {is much
better, as it makes ...Na5-c4 less appealing for Black.}) ({I saw} 24. Qc2 {
but I rejected it because of} Nb4) 24... Na5 $1 {I overlooked this idea.
Black's Knight quickly jumps to c4.} 25. Ne3 Bc6 26. Rff2 Bxf3 27. Qxf3 Qc5 28.
Rxd8 Rxd8 29. f5 {[#]} Rf8 (29... Qxe5 30. Ng4 $2 (30. fxe6 Qxe6 31. Nf5 $11 {
maintains the balance.}) 30... Qd5 31. Qc3 exf5 32. Nh6+ gxh6 33. Qxa5 h5 $15 {
is better for Black}) 30. f6 Qxe5 31. Ng4 (31. f7+ Kh8 32. Ng4 Qc7 $4 (32...
Qd6 $1 {prevents Qa3. without allowing Qa3.}) (32... Qc5 $2 33. Qe4 $16) 33.
Qa3 Qd8 34. Ne5 Nc4 35. Qxf8+ Qxf8 36. Nd7 $18 {was another idea I considered.
Unfortunately, Black doesn't have to enter this variation!}) 31... Qc7 $2 (
31... Qd6 {is totally fine for Black. The idea is that} 32. f7+ {can be met
with} Kh8 {without allowing Qa3.}) 32. f7+ Qxf7 (32... Rxf7 33. Qa8+ {[%eval
32764,0]}) (32... Kh8 33. Qa3 $18) 33. Qc3 {With a double-attack on the Q and
N. Black has no choice} (33. Qa3 {doesn't work because of} Nc4) 33... Qxf2+ 34.
Nxf2 Rxf2+ 35. Kg1 Rxa2 {[#] We now have a complex endgame where White is the
one pushing, but Black's position should hold. White has to act quickly before
Black can coordinate their pieces.} 36. Qc8+ Kf7 37. Qxa6 Ra1+ 38. Kf2 Ra2+ 39.
Kf3 Ra3+ 40. Kf4 Ra4+ 41. Kg5 {[#]} Nc4 $6 (41... h6+ $1 42. Kh5 Nc4 43. Qb7+
Kg8 44. Qc8+ {Now White might even lose this game!} (44. g4 $11) 44... Kh7 45.
Qxe6 Ne5 $3 46. g4 (46. Qxe5 $4 g6#) 46... Re4 47. Qb6 $8 Re2 48. Qa7 $8 Rh2
49. Kh4 Rg2 50. Kh5 Rg3 51. Kh4 Rb3 52. g5 Ng6+ 53. Kh5 Rxh3+ 54. Kg4 Rh4+ 55.
Kg3 h5 $15) 42. Qb7+ Kf8 43. Qc8+ Kf7 44. Qd7+ Kf8 45. Qxe6 Ra3 46. Kh4 $6 (46.
Qf5+ Kg8 47. Kf4 h6 48. Qxb5 $16 {gives White some hope, although Black should
still hold.}) 46... Rb3 (46... h6 $1 {is the best way to play for Black.} 47.
Qf5+ Kg8 48. Qxb5 Ne3 {and White has no way to make progress.}) 47. Qf5+ Kg8 {
[#]} 48. Qe4 $2 (48. Qd5+ $142 Kf8 49. g4 h6 50. Kh5 {puts a lot of pressure
on Black, and it's not clear if Black can still hold.} Re3 51. Kg6 Ne5+ 52. Kh7
Nf7 53. h4 Re5 54. Qd7 $16) 48... h6 49. Qe8+ Kh7 50. Qe4+ Kg8 51. Qe6+ Kh8 52.
Kg4 Kh7 53. Qe4+ Kg8 54. h4 Ne3+ 55. Kh5 Nc4 56. Qe8+ Kh7 57. Qg6+ Kg8 58. Qe8+
Kh7 59. Qe4+ Kg8 60. g4 Re3 61. Qd5+ Kh7 62. Qf5+ Kg8 63. g5 Re5 64. Qd7 {
[%mdl 64] The final trick. [#] Critical Position White has just pushed the
g-pawn to break Black's fortress. What can Black do?} hxg5 $4 {And Black fell
for it! After defending well for many moves.} ({An interesting defense was} 
64... Kh8 $5 {after which the natural} 65. Kg6 $4 {loses the game to} Rxg5+ 66.
hxg5 Ne5+ $19) ({editor - repeating with} 64... Kh7 {is the simplest draw}) 65.
Kg6 {This was a very satisfying game. It felt nice winning this important game,
especially this way. That was one of my first wins which gave me more
confidence in endgames and against higher-rated players.} 1-0

[Event "WYCC 2022"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.09.14"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Black "Nogerbek, Kazybek"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2451"]
[BlackElo "2457"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,103,14,25,62,46,45,36,31,23,31,10,29,-11,-3,-27,7,13,-4,9,
9,5,45,37,48,38,34,31,44,51,27,31,33,26,32,34,90,106,106,100,89,32,72,21,50,32,
38,10,11,16,9,9,41,54,39,55,55,69,80,50,128,59,69,69,68,59,53,25,107,99,121,91,
105,104,102,117,143,123,115,131,155,165,188,149,190,188,203,213,262,289,305,
288,308,317,314,307,380,526,648,606,1467,615,843,885,944,938]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. b3 d6 {[#] I suddenly got scared after this move,
since I couldn't remember my preparation! I remembered that I should play 6.e5,
but then I realized that Black could play ...dxe5 Nxe5 with either ...Qd4, ...
Qd5 or even ...Qg5, and I was not a fan of any of these positions. At the end
of the day, I decided to trust my memory and go for it!} 6. e5 dxe5 7. Nxe5 {
[#]} (7. d3 {is an interesting idea tried by Magnus Carlsen at the World Cup a
year later.} f6 8. Nbd2 Nh6 9. Rg1 $5 Ba6 10. g4 $1 Nf7 11. Qe2 Be7 12. Bb2 $14
{(1-0, 43) Carlsen,M (2835)-Abasov,N (2632) Baku, 2023.}) 7... Qd5 {Black has
a lot of options here.} (7... Qd4 $2 {looks amazing for Black, but their Queen
will be in huge danger!} 8. Nc4 (8. Bb2 $5 {is also promising for White after}
Qxb2 $4 9. Nc3 Qa3 10. Qf3 Ne7 11. Qxf7+ Kd8 12. O-O $18 {and Black can't
handle the initiative. 1-0 Tishin,P (2420)-Sevdimaliyev,U (2242) Suvorov 2012
editor - For the piece, White has a pawn, a huge development lead, and weak
squares for the Ns near Black's K.}) 8... Qxa1 9. Nc3 Ba6 10. O-O Bxc4 11. bxc4
Bd6 12. Qe2 Nf6 13. Ba3 Qxf1+ 14. Kxf1 $18 {with a big advantage for White,
since Black's pieces cannot coordinate. (1-0,39) Zhao,J (2434)-Zhang,P (2579)
Moscow Aeroflot op-A 2004 (2) with so many loose pawns the Q is better than RR;
}) (7... Qg5 {is another interesting try, but White can simply defend with} 8.
Ng4 ({editor -} 8. Nf3 Qxg2 9. Rg1 Qh3 10. Rg3 $146 Qf5 11. Bb2 f6 12. d3 g6
13. Nbd2 e5 14. Ne4 Qh5 $2 15. Nxe5 $1 $18 {1-0 Mendes,A (2309)-Naudin,Y (1912)
Reykjavik op 2024 (6) spearing the Rh8.}) 8... Nh6 9. Ne3 Nf5 10. O-O Nxe3 11.
fxe3 Bd6 {editor - and somehow Black's activity makes up for the bad structure,
e.g.} 12. Bb2 (12. Qf3 $5 O-O 13. Qxc6 $2 Qe7 $3 14. Qxa8 $2 Bb7 15. Qxa7 Qh4
$19) 12... O-O 13. Qf3 f5 14. Na3 Ba6 15. d3 Rac8 16. Nc4 Bxc4 17. dxc4 Qh6 $11
{Vidit,S (2719)-Abasov,N (2632) FIDE World Cup Baku, 2023.}) 8. Nf3 Qe4+ 9. Kf1
{This looks scary, but White is still quite solid and can try to target
Black's weaker pawn structure.} (9. Qe2 Qxc2 10. O-O $11) 9... Qf5 {[#]} 10.
Nc3 ({White can also develop the Knight to c4 with} 10. Na3 Nf6 11. d3 Nd5 12.
Nc4 Ba6 13. Qe2 Bxc4 14. bxc4 Qf6 15. Rb1 Nc3 16. Bb2 Rb8 17. Qe1 Bd6 18. Bxc3
Rxb1 19. Bxf6 Rxe1+ 20. Kxe1 gxf6 $11 {½-½ (41) Grischuk,A (2761)-Radjabov,T
(2784) Moscow, 2012.}) 10... Ne7 11. d3 Ng6 12. Ne4 Be7 {[#]} 13. Bg5 $6 (13.
Be3 O-O 14. h4 $1 $16) 13... f6 {I somehow underestimated this move. There was
no need to provoke it, as Black wants to play ...e5 and ...f5 anyway!} (13...
O-O $4 {is what I was hoping for, as White wins after} 14. Nh4 $18 Nxh4 15.
Bxe7) 14. Be3 O-O 15. Qd2 {Looking to attack Black's queenside.} (15. h4 $1 {
is a very strong idea, trying to play h5. White can also activate the Rook via
h3 in the future.}) 15... Rd8 16. Qc3 Qd5 $1 {A strong move, as Black would
love to play e5 without leaving the Queen misplaced on f5.} 17. Nxc5 {[%mdl 64]
[#]Critical Position ...e5 or ...f5 or does it matter?} f5 $2 {I was extremely
relieved to see this move!} (17... e5 $11 {was dangerous, since my Bishop is
now less active. Black's pawns will roll like an avalanche.}) 18. Bg5 $1 {
An extremely effective idea, which he missed. After this forced trade, White's
position becomes much easier to play.} Bxg5 (18... Bxc5 19. Bxd8 e5 20. Qc4 $16
) 19. Nxg5 e5 20. Qc4 $2 {Unnecessary.} (20. Re1 $16 {is better, simply
activating another piece.}) 20... Rb8 21. h4 h6 {[#]} 22. Nf3 $2 (22. h5 $1
hxg5 23. hxg6 Rb5 24. Na4 $16 {is a better way to play, as the g6-pawn proves
to be quite unpleasant for Black to deal with. Black can eventually win the
g6-pawn, but it will require an important loss of time, which White can use to
create quick counterplay. If Black ignores the pawn, the King might soon end
up in a mating net.  editor - at first glance, it looks like the g6-pawn is a
goner after} Rd6 {but White has tactics that keep it alive} 25. Nc3 Qxc4 26.
dxc4 {and no matter where the Rb5 goes White gets active play. Analysis
Diagram [#]} Rb8 (26... Ra5 27. a4 Bd7 (27... Rxg6 $6 28. Rd1 Be6 29. Rd8+ Kf7
30. Rhh8 $18) 28. Rh5 g4 29. Rd1 Rd4 30. Rxd4 exd4 31. Ne2 c5 32. Nf4 $18 {
and Ne3 or Nd5. Black's R and B are useless.}) 27. Re1 $1 e4 28. Rd1 $1 Rxd1+
29. Nxd1 Bd7 30. Rh5 $1 $18 g4 31. g3 {and Ne3, and although Black can win the
g6-pawn with ...Rf8-f6, will cost the f5-pawn, leaving Black with 5 isolated
pawns.}) 22... e4 23. dxe4 Qxc4+ 24. bxc4 fxe4 25. Nxe4 {[#] Even though I'm
up 2 pawns, Black has enough compensation to equalize. However, they must play
actively and accurately.} Rb2 $2 {Winning the c5-pawn, but allowing White to
activate.} (25... Bg4 {was better, forcing me to retreat.} 26. Ned2 Ne7 $11)
26. h5 $1 Ne7 27. Rh4 Rxc2 28. Nc5 {The h1-Rook has finally activated!} Kh7 {
[#]} 29. Rf4 $2 {Trying to play g4, but this runs into a nice tactical idea.} (
29. Kg1 $18) 29... Ng8 $4 (29... Nd5 $1 {allows Black to stay in the game!} 30.
cxd5 Rxc5 31. dxc6 Rxh5 32. Kg1 Rc5 33. Ra4 Rxc6 34. Rxa7 $14) 30. Ne5 $4 (30.
Ne4 $1 $18 {was much stronger, preventing Black from activating.}) 30... Nf6
31. g4 Re8 32. Ncd3 Rd2 {Black's pieces are suddenly active.} 33. f3 Ba6 $6 34.
Re1 Rxa2 {[#]} 35. Nb4 (35. Nxc6 {simply taking the pawn was stronger!}) 35...
Ra4 (35... Nd5 {was a strong move, forcing more trades. Black has great
chances to hold.}) 36. Nbxc6 Bb7 37. Nd4 Ra5 38. Ng6 {[#] Putting the Black
King in a chokehold. It's not easy to escape this mating net.} Rxe1+ 39. Kxe1
Rc5 40. Ne6 Rc8 41. Rd4 Re8 {[#]} 42. Kf2 $1 {Defending everything.} a5 (42...
Rxe6 43. Nf8+ {wins.}) 43. Nc5 Ba8 44. Rd6 Rc8 45. Ne6 Rb8 46. Ra6 Rb2+ 47. Kg3
Bb7 48. Rd6 {[#]} Kg8 ({editor - 48.Rd6! was so much better than the (also
winning) Rxa5: the mating attack leaves Black no time to attack f3, since} 
48... Rb3 49. Rd8 Rxf3+ (49... Ng8 50. Nef8#) 50. Kh4 Ng8 51. Rd7 {is another
mating net.}) 49. Rd8+ Kf7 50. Nc5 (50. Nc7 {led to an even faster checkmate!})
50... Nh7 51. Rd7+ Kf6 52. Nxb7 {This was certainly one of, if not the most
important win of my life. This win allowed me to gain a half-point lead
heading into the final 2 rounds, and it came against one of the most dangerous
players of the tournament. I first played Kazybek in 2013 in the U10 section
of the same tournament, and both games were just as eventful!} 1-0

[Event "WYCC 2022"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.09.15"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Gines Esteo, Pedro Antonio"]
[Black "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "2505"]
[BlackElo "2451"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 8192][%evp 0,98,25,28,28,-6,4,-13,-6,-13,4,6,-5,12,-10,0,30,16,16,-15,
10,-5,7,12,8,15,18,-34,-22,-14,-20,-30,-21,-30,-16,-4,-6,-14,-20,-24,0,-17,-35,
-18,-23,-18,0,0,-1,0,5,7,1,-46,-46,-46,-54,-66,-74,-74,-61,-73,-73,-109,-95,
-92,-73,-106,-91,-91,-87,-91,-91,-91,-98,-98,-20,-196,-186,-187,-191,-241,-237,
-239,-251,-263,-268,-384,-384,-384,-384,-408,-408,-694,-628,-640,-807,-764,
-799,-826,-826] Heading into this game, I was half a point ahead of my rivals.
A draw with Black against the top seed would be a good result, but I wasn't in
the mood to play for a draw!} 1. Nf3 {[%mdl 32768]} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. b3 d5 4.
Bb2 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Nc3 c5 {[#]} 7. cxd5 Nxd5 (7... exd5 {is certainly the
safer approach, but I had looked at ...Nxd5 before the game and felt quite
comfortable in this double-edged position.}) 8. Qc2 Nc6 {[#]} 9. h4 {An
aggressive approach, preparing a kingside attack.} ({editor - A year later,
Shawn got outmaneuvered on the Isle of Man by the 2022 European Chess Champion:
} 9. a3 b6 10. h4 f5 11. Rd1 Bd7 12. Bc4 Nc7 13. h5 h6 14. d4 $1 cxd4 15. exd4
$1 Na5 16. Be2 Rc8 17. b4 Nb7 18. Ne5 Bf6 19. Qb3 Nd6 20. O-O $16 {1-0 (43)
Bluebaum,M (2668)-Rodrigue Lemieux,S (2488) Douglas IoM, 2023.}) 9... f5 {
Positionally risky, but I was still in preparation and found this idea
creative. I usually hate such moves, as I find them weakening, but I knew that
I shouldn't argue with Stockfish!} 10. a3 Bd7 ({editor - Here's a Naka game
which shows just how quickly even a GM can go wrong against White's
modest-looking setup:} 10... Na5 11. Nxd5 $1 Qxd5 12. Rb1 Qxb3 $2 13. Qxb3 Nxb3
14. Bc3 {Black has to immediately give back the pawn to save his N.} c4 15.
Bxc4 Nc5 16. Nd4 f4 17. Bb4 Rf6 18. Nb3 $1 $18 {untangling will cost Black at
least a pawn and the bishop pair; Nakamura,H (2754)-Hess,R (2581) Chess.com,
2019.}) 11. h5 h6 {[#] This was the last move of my preparation. I knew it was
around equal and that both players had chances.} 12. Bc4 Nb6 13. Bb5 Bf6 14.
Ne2 Rc8 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Qc3 {[#]} Nd4 {A very forcing move, which I wasn't
sure about.} (16... a6 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. Qxf6 gxf6 {gives Black a better
endgame than the one I chose. For some reason I was scared and chose to avoid
this line!}) 17. Bxd7 (17. exd4 Bxb5 18. dxc5 Rxc5 $1 {gives Black a small
edge.}) 17... Nxf3+ 18. gxf3 Nxd7 19. Qxf6 Nxf6 {[#] We are now in an endgame
where Black is quite comfortable. White has a weaker pawn structure (doubled
f-pawns, potentially weak h5-pawn) but the position remains relatively
balanced. This is exactly the type of position I was looking for.} 20. Nf4 e5
21. Ng6 Rfe8 {[#]} 22. Ke2 (22. f4 {is an important move for White, fixing the
pawn structure.}) 22... Nd5 (22... f4 {is also an important move for Black,
preventing White from playing f4 themselves!}) 23. Nh4 Ne7 24. Rhg1 c4 25. bxc4
Rxc4 {[#]} 26. Rh1 {Too passive! White must play actively, as in most endgames.
} (26. Ng6 {would've been more natural, but I suspect that my opponent was
afraid of losing h5.} Nxg6 27. Rxg6 (27. hxg6 {is also possible, although this
gives Black a passed pawn.}) 27... Rh4 {may look unappealing at first, but
White has} 28. Rag1 Re7 29. Rxh6 {winning the game. editor - White untangles
with Rg5 then moving the other R, and, ironically, Black never gets to take the h5 pawn,}) 
26... Kf7 27. Rab1 b6 28. Rb5 Kf6 {[#] I
started to feel more confident in my chances here, as my pieces are becoming
more and more active, while White is still not coordinated.} 29. Ng2 Rd8 30. f4
{Another move I was happy to see, as White's Knight is now in jail.} e4 31. Ne1
Rc1 32. Rh2 {Now the Rook is also in jail!} Rdc8 {[#]} 33. Rb2 $6 ({editor -
Another choice between active and passive defence. The game move allows White
to defend a3 after ...Ra1 with Nc2. OTOH,} 33. f3 $142 $1 {creates a passer or
a target for White to attack; e.g.} Ra1 (33... exf3+ $2 34. Nxf3 {solves all
White's problems.}) 34. fxe4 fxe4 35. Rb4 $1 Rcc1 $1 36. Rh1 $8 (36. Ng2 $2 Nf5
$19) 36... Rxa3 37. Rxe4 Raa1 {White is still badly tangled, but might escape
after} 38. f5 $5) 33... Nd5 34. f3 R8c4 35. Rg2 Kf7 36. Rb5 Rc5 37. Rxc5 {[#]}
bxc5 $6 (37... Rxc5 {was much better, but to me it seemed like a difficult
decision during the game.}) 38. Rh2 $2 {This move is simply too slow!} ({
White had to punish ...bxc5 with} 38. Rg6 $1 {threatening to infiltrate} Nf6
39. d3 $15 {since my Knight is now more passive.}) 38... c4 $1 $19 {The idea
behind ...bxc5. White is now completely stuck.} 39. fxe4 fxe4 40. Rh4 c3 41.
dxc3 Rxc3 42. Ng2 Rxa3 {[#]} 43. f5 Ra2+ 44. Kf1 Nf6 45. Nf4 a5 46. Ne6 a4 47.
Nc5 a3 48. Nxe4 Nxe4 49. Rxe4 Rb2 {and White cannot prevent Black from
promoting.   This was most likely the second most important win of my life!
After 10 rounds, I was now a full point ahead of my rivals, with one game
remaining. This meant that I only needed a draw with White in the last round
in order to clinch the title, which I accomplished the next day!} 0-1



[Event "Père Noël"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.12.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Black "Ouellet, Maili-Jade"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2509"]
[BlackElo "2351"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,123,43,11,5,8,33,20,32,23,37,43,20,16,2,13,9,9,28,-23,-7,
-34,-34,-29,-29,-29,-15,-32,-43,-22,-9,-8,-10,-120,-1,-5,18,14,3,16,9,37,44,16,
22,34,35,22,64,42,61,45,52,47,42,43,52,52,52,53,56,43,40,39,35,33,63,31,54,54,
42,46,67,55,59,52,36,37,43,18,39,45,42,44,43,51,45,48,60,58,54,55,48,50,43,50,
75,89,107,75,88,60,69,54,122,127,121,159,236,273,296,412,513,583,613,614,614,
171,816,1016,1126,992,512,512,501,926]} 1. a3 {[#] Without a doubt, one of my
favorite weapons! Playing against a friend of mine, who is extremely
well-prepared, I wanted to avoid theory at all cost. And there is no better
way of doing that than playing 1.a3!} d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. e3 Nf6 4. d4 cxd4 5. exd4
Nc6 6. Bb5 {[#] We transpose into a reversed Ragozin, with the addition of the
move a3.} Bg4 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Qb6 {[#]} 9. Qd3 (9. c4 $5 e6 (9... dxc4 10.
Bxc6+ Qxc6 (10... bxc6 11. O-O $11) 11. Qxc6+ bxc6 12. Nd2 Rd8 13. Nxc4 Rxd4
14. Na5 $11) 10. Nc3 dxc4 11. Be3 O-O-O 12. d5 Ne5 13. Bxb6 Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 axb6
15. dxe6 fxe6 16. Bxc4 Bc5 $11) 9... e6 (9... a6 $5 10. Ba4 (10. Bxc6+ Qxc6 11.
O-O e6 $11) 10... Qa5+ 11. Nc3 b5 12. Bb3 e6 $11) 10. O-O Bd6 11. Nd2 O-O {[#]}
12. Nf3 (12. c3 $5 e5 $6 (12... a6 13. Ba4 $11) 13. Bxc6 Qxc6 (13... bxc6 14.
dxe5 Bxe5 15. Nf3 Bd6 16. c4 $14) (13... e4 $4 14. Nxe4 $18) 14. dxe5 Bxe5 15.
Nf3 $14) 12... Rac8 13. Ba4 Na5 (13... Ne4 $5 14. c4 $4 {this move looks
natural, but it allows a nasty tactic!} Nxd4 $1 $19 15. Nxd4 (15. Qxd4 Bc5 $19)
15... Rxc4 16. Be3 Bc5 $8 $19) 14. c3 Nb3 15. Rb1 Ne4 (15... Nxc1 {is the move
I expected, after which Black is solid.} 16. Rfxc1 a6 $11) 16. c4 $2 {Once
again allowing the same tactic, which we both missed!} (16. Be3 {would've been
preferable.}) 16... Nxc1 $2 (16... Nxd4 $1 17. cxd5 $1 (17. Nxd4 $2 Rxc4 $19) (
17. Qxd4 Qxd4 18. Nxd4 Rxc4 $19) 17... Nxf3+ 18. Qxf3 exd5 $17 {with a clear
pawn advantage for Black.}) 17. Rfxc1 Qa5 (17... Bf4 18. Rc2 Qa6 19. Bb5 Qb6
20. Bd7 Rcd8 21. Ba4 $11) 18. Bd7 $1 {[#] This strange-looking move gives
White a crucial tempo.} Rb8 (18... Rcd8 19. b4 Bxb4 $4 (19... Qc7 20. Bxe6 $1
fxe6 21. cxd5 Nxf2 22. Kxf2 Qe7 23. dxe6 Qxe6 24. Qb3 Qxb3 25. Rxb3 $16) 20.
axb4 Qa2 21. cxd5 Qxf2+ 22. Kh1 exd5 23. Bf5 $18) (18... Rc7 $4 19. b4 $18) 19.
b4 Qd8 20. Ba4 Bf4 21. Re1 {White's position is suddenly more pleasant, mostly
due to the space advantage.} Qc7 {[#]} (21... Rc8 $1 22. Bb3 $14) 22. cxd5 $6 {
Releasing the tension too early.} (22. Rb2 $1 {was better, keeping all the
options available.} Rbc8 (22... Nf6 23. c5 $1 Ne4 24. Rc2 $16) 23. Rc2 Qd8 24.
Bb3 $16) 22... exd5 23. Bb3 {[#] Even though this position is more pleasant
for White, thanks to the weak d5-pawn, Black has great chances to equalize due
to the symmetrical nature of the position.} Rbc8 $6 (23... Rfe8 $1 $11 {
is a nice way to equalize.} 24. Bxd5 Nc3) 24. Rb2 Nf6 (24... Qc3 $1 25. Qb1
Rcd8 26. Bxd5 Nd2 27. Nxd2 Bxd2 28. Rd1 Rxd5 29. Rbxd2 Qxa3 30. Ra2 Qc3 31.
Rxa7 Qc6 $11 {and Black has more than enough counterplay to equalize.}) 25. Rc2
Qd6 {[#]} 26. Ne5 (26. g3 $1 Bh6 (26... Bxg3 27. fxg3 Qxg3+ 28. Rg2 Qxh3 29.
Qe3 $16) 27. Kg2 $16 {also gives White an important edge, as Black's pieces
lack good squares. The d5-pawn will be targeted forever.}) 26... Rxc2 27. Qxc2
Re8 28. Ba4 (28. g3 $1 Bh6 29. Re2 $16) 28... Rd8 29. g3 Bxe5 {[#]} 30. Rxe5 $2
(30. dxe5 $1 {is much stronger, but I was afraid to create an imbalance. With
the Bishop against the Knight, this structure is undoubtedly better for White.}
Qe7 31. Bb3 Ne8 (31... Ne4 $4 32. Rd1 $18) 32. h4 Nc7 33. Kg2 $16 a5 (33... Nb5
$6 34. Qd3 Nxa3 $2 35. Bxd5 $18) 34. bxa5 Ne6 35. Qd2 $16) 30... Nd7 $6 (30...
Qa6 $11 {is very unpleasant for White!}) 31. Re3 $6 (31. Bxd7 $1 Qxd7 32. Qc5
b6 33. Qe7 $14) 31... Nb6 32. Bb3 g6 33. Qc5 Kf8 (33... Qf6 $1 $11) (33... Qd7
$11) 34. Kf1 {[#]} Qxc5 $6 {Trading Queens under favorable circumstances for
White. The symmetrical structure usually favors the Knight, compared to
asymmetrical positions where the Bishops can shine.} (34... Kg7 $11) 35. dxc5
Na8 $6 (35... Nc4 $1 {Black's best chance is to play actively.} 36. Bxc4 dxc4
37. Rc3 Rd4 38. Ke2 f5 $1 39. Ke3 Re4+ 40. Kd2 f4 $11) 36. Ke2 Nc7 37. Kd3 b6 {
[#]} 38. cxb6 $1 {It doesn't seem too natural to trade this strong Pawn, but
it's what White should do in the bigger picture. In such endgames with Bishop
vs Knight, the Knight isn't great at defending against outside passed pawns.
With this trade, White now has the chance to play a4-a5, creating a dangerous
pawn in the long run.} axb6 39. Kc2 $1 Re8 $6 {A bad trade for Black, although
it's hard to be critical of this move.} 40. Rxe8+ Kxe8 41. a4 {We now see the
potential danger of the a-pawn. And with all the kingside pawns on light
squares, Black is in a precarious position.} Kd7 42. Kc3 Kd6 43. f4 $2 (43. Bc2
$1 Ne6 44. h4 $18 {If Black now plays} h5 {there will be too many problems for
Black to deal with, with all the pawns being stuck on light squares.} 45. f4 f5
46. a5 bxa5 (46... b5 47. a6 {White now has time to push the pawn up to a7!})
47. bxa5 $18) 43... Na6 $2 (43... b5 $1 44. a5 f5 $1 45. Bc2 h5 $1 46. Bd3 Kc6
$14 {and somehow Black has a blockade! It was important to start with h4
before playing f4.}) 44. Bc2 Nc7 45. h4 {[#]} Ne6 (45... f5 $5 46. Bd3 $1 Ne6
47. Ba6 Nc7 48. Bc8 Ne8 49. Kd4 Ng7 50. Bb7 Ne6+ 51. Kc3 $18) 46. h5 $2 (46. f5
$1 Nc7 47. Bd3 $18 {wins, since Black will not be able to defend the kingside
and queenside at the same time.}) 46... Ng7 $1 47. h6 {[#]Critical Position}
Ne8 $4 {Too passive!} (47... Nh5 $8 {saves the game for Black!} 48. f5 Nf6 $1 (
48... g5 $4 49. Kd4 Nf6 50. a5 bxa5 51. bxa5 $18) 49. Kd4 (49. fxg6 fxg6 50.
Kd4 Ke6 51. a5 (51. Bd3 Kd6 $11) 51... bxa5 52. bxa5 Kd6 $11) 49... gxf5 50.
Bb3 (50. Bxf5 Ng8 $11) 50... Kc6 51. Bd1 Kd6 52. Bf3 Ne4 53. a5 bxa5 54. bxa5
Kc6 55. a6 Kb6 56. Kxd5 Nf6+ 57. Ke5 Ng8 58. Kxf5 Nxh6+ 59. Kg5 Ng8 60. Be2 Ne7
61. Kf6 Nd5+ 62. Kxf7 Nc3 63. Bd3 Nd1 $11) ({editor -} 47... Nf5 $2 {gives
White a trivially winning pawn ending after} 48. Bxf5 $8 gxf5 49. Kd4 $18) 48.
g4 Nf6 49. Bd1 (49. g5 Nh5 50. f5 Nf4 51. a5 $18) 49... Ng8 50. g5 Ne7 {[#]}
51. Bc2 (51. a5 $1 bxa5 52. bxa5 Kc5 53. a6 $18) 51... Ke6 (51... Nc6 52. Bd3
$18) 52. a5 bxa5 53. bxa5 Nc6 54. a6 {These pawns are too much for Black to
handle.} Na7 55. Kb4 Kd6 {[#]} 56. Bxg6 $1 {A nice touch to finish this game,
showing the Knight's inability to defend efficiently against outside passed
pawns.} fxg6 57. f5 Nc6+ 58. Ka3 Kc7 59. fxg6 Ne7 60. g7 d4 61. g6 {Too many
pawns!} d3 62. Kb2 1-0

[Event "Open de Cannes"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Seemann, Jakub"]
[Black "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2425"]
[BlackElo "2457"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,120,28,24,29,9,20,20,20,20,39,-20,-20,-30,-17,-11,0,10,2,
2,-10,-5,31,14,14,-3,-4,1,29,-5,-5,7,42,14,11,2,0,-26,-18,-27,-13,-25,-11,-15,
-29,-20,-14,-12,-20,-20,18,25,18,-18,-2,-15,-16,0,0,-13,-7,-13,-8,-14,-4,-10,
-12,-11,-17,-17,-14,-15,-18,-21,-31,-19,-19,-33,-4,-50,-67,-61,-73,-82,-154,
-214,-214,-184,-372,-584,-738,-962,-784,-1012,-1013,-1022,-1032,-1332,-1329,
-1425,-1788,-1934,-2377,-26346,-2012,-22830,-29956,-29957,-29958,-29959,-29962,
-29963,-29964,-29965,-29966,-29967,-29968,-29969,-29970,-29971,-29972,-29973,
-29974] I wasn't totally confident against this opponent, as he is an
extremely talented junior player!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5.
Qa4+ Nc6 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Ne4 8. e3 {[#] A modern approach against the
Ragozin, sacrificing a pawn for the initiative.} Nxc3 9. Qc2 Ne4 {This was
pretty much all I knew about this line! Unfortunately my opponent was clearly
better prepared.} 10. Bd3 Nd6 11. c5 Nf5 {[#]} 12. h4 {A more direct move than
Topalov's choice against Anand. It's quite intimidating when the opponent
blitzes out such aggressive moves!} (12. O-O h6 13. Rb1 O-O 14. Qc3 Nfe7 15.
Bd2 b6 16. Rfc1 Na5 17. Qc2 Nc4 18. Bxc4 dxc4 19. Qxc4 {Topalov,V (2760)-Anand,
V (2779) Saint Louis blitz, 2016.}) 12... h5 {This move seemed logical to me,
stopping White from gaining too much space on the kingside. It does weaken g5,
but it feels more important to stop g4 and h5.} 13. Bd2 Qe7 14. Rb1 O-O 15. g3
{[#]} Qf6 (15... f6 {would've been much better, solidifying the kingside and
preparing a future ...e5 break.}) 16. O-O {Unfortunately, Black has no good
discoveries, since all four possible captures would allow White to protect the
Knight!} Rb8 {In such positions, opening the position too early helps White,
who is better developed. Black should be patient and slowly develop while
White has no clear threats.} (16... Nxh4 $4 17. Nxh4 $18) (16... Nfxd4 $4 17.
Nxd4 $18) (16... Nxe3 $4 17. fxe3 $18) (16... Nxg3 $4 17. fxg3 $18) (16... e5 {
fails to} 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Qxe5 19. Bc3 {and White's Bishop is way too
active.}) 17. Kg2 Bd7 18. Bb5 Rfd8 19. Rfc1 a6 20. Be2 e5 {[#] My pieces are
now perfectly positioned for this break. Bc3 won't come with such devastating
effect anymore.} 21. dxe5 Nxe5 22. Bc3 d4 $1 {The key behind ...e5. Black now
gets rid of the strong Bishop, while Black's Bishop will be active on c6.} 23.
exd4 Nxf3 24. Bxf3 {[#]} Nxd4 {Simplifying too much, and White's pieces are
now active.} (24... Qg6 {would've been even stronger, threatening ...Nxh4.} 25.
Kh2 {fails to} Nxd4 26. Bxd4 Bf5 27. Qb2 Bxb1 {with a big advantage for Black.}
) 25. Bxd4 Qxd4 {[#]} 26. Rb4 (26. Rd1 Qe5 27. Rxb7 {was a much better way to
proceed, since White now controls the important d-file.}) (26. Rxb7 Rxb7 27.
Bxb7 Be6 {gives Black a stable position with more active pieces.}) 26... Qe5
27. Rxb7 Rxb7 28. Bxb7 Bf5 29. Qc3 Be4+ 30. Bxe4 Qxe4+ 31. Qf3 {[#]} Qxf3+ {
This endgame seems like a dead draw, and two moves later my opponent offered
me a draw, thinking that the draw would be inevitable... but it's not so easy
for White!} 32. Kxf3 Rd5 33. Ke4 c6 34. Rc4 a5 {All of a sudden, White is now
in big danger of losing. The White Rook must remain passive while Black can
keep improving the position.} 35. f3 f6 36. Kf4 Kf7 37. Ke3 Ke6 38. Ke4 g5 39.
hxg5 Re5+ 40. Kd3 fxg5 {[#]} 41. Re4 $4 {After spending a lot of time (we just
reached move 40), my opponent made a huge blunder. In his defense, the win is
extremely hard to see!} Rxe4 42. Kxe4 {[#]} a4 $1 {Gaining space, fixing pawns,
but most importantly giving White the move and Black the opposition.} (42...
Kf6 {wouldn't work as well, since} 43. f4 $8 $11 h4 $4 (43... g4 $4 44. f5 $18)
44. fxg5+ $18 {comes with check.}) (42... h4 {also gives Black great practical
winning chances after} 43. gxh4 gxh4 44. Kf4 {editor - this line is vastly
more difficult than the win Shawn plays in the game -- without 7 piece
tablebases it is even beyond SF16's ability. Here's the main line:} a4 $8 45.
Kg4 Ke5 46. f4+ Ke4 $8 47. f5 {[#] Analysis Diagram} Ke5 (47... h3 48. f6 h2
49. f7 h1=Q 50. f8=Q Qg2+ $8 {preventing Q checks from f2.} 51. Kh4 $1 (51. Kh5
$6 Qf3+ $19 {is easy.}) 51... Kd4 {is similar. editor -} 52. Qf6+ Kd3 $1 (52...
Kxc5 $2 53. Qc3+ $11) 53. Qd6+ Kc3 54. Qe5+ Kb3 55. Qe1 Kxa3 56. Qc3+ Ka2 {
White can win the a4-pawn, but Black gets a fork on f2, with a winning QP v Q
ending.... if you've studied your Dvoretsky ;) SF16 can't find a mate, but the
7-piece tablebase verifies this is a win for Black.}) 48. Kg5 h3 49. f6 Ke6 50.
Kg6 h2 51. f7 h1=Q 52. f8=Q Qe4+ 53. Kg5 Kd5 {with a winning endgame, although
it will take some time to convert. I did see this position during the game and
it was my first idea, thinking it should be winning. However, there was
something more concrete!}) 43. f4 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position} h4 $8 44.
f5+ (44. gxh4 gxh4 45. Kf3 Kf5 {wins for Black.}) (44. fxg5 hxg3 45. Kf3 Kf5
46. Kxg3 Kxg5 {also wins, although it eventually transposes to the game.})
44... Kf7 $3 {The move missed by my opponent!} (44... Kf6 $4 {is the most
natural move, and the one my opponent expected. The difference is that after}
45. g4 {Black can never gain access to e5.} Ke7 (45... h3 {loses to} 46. Kf3
$18) 46. Kf3 Kf7 47. Ke3 Kf6 48. Ke4 $11 {and neither side can make progress.})
45. Kf3 (45. g4 Kf6 46. Kf3 Ke5 $19 {would also lead to a losing position.}) (
45. gxh4 gxh4 46. Kf4 Kf6 47. Kg4 h3 48. Kxh3 Kxf5 {transposes to the game.})
45... Kf6 {[#]} 46. gxh4 (46. g4 {can now be met by} Ke5 {and Black's King can
collect the c5-pawn without getting too far from the f5-pawn.}) 46... gxh4 47.
Kg4 h3 48. Kxh3 Kxf5 49. Kg3 Ke4 50. Kf2 Kd4 51. Ke2 Kxc5 52. Kd3 {[#] This
endgame is not so easy to win! Black needs to know a specific technique to win
it.} Kd5 53. Kc3 c5 54. Kd3 c4+ 55. Kc3 Kc5 56. Kc2 Kd4 57. Kd2 c3+ 58. Kc1 {
[#] It's not easy for Black to make progress at first glance. If it were White
to move, White would have to choose between Kc2, allowing ...Kc4, and Kd1,
allowing ...Kd3. In case of Kb1, Black can respond with ...Kd3, and White
doesn't have Kd1 in response.} Kc5 $1 {We have to triangulate! We lose a tempo
and get to the same position with the opponent to move.} (58... Kd3 {is met by}
59. Kd1 c2+ $2 60. Kc1 Kc3 $11) (58... Kc4 {is met by} 59. Kc2 {and Black
still needs to play the triangulation maneuver to win.}) 59. Kd1 Kd5 {This is
why I bring Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual to tournaments!} 60. Kc1 Kd4 {It's now
White to move, and his K has to step on a bad square.   Trading Rooks into a
King endgame is extremely risky, and it's usually best to keep the Rooks on
the board when in doubt.} 0-1

[Event "Canadian Closed"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.04.10"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E54"]
[WhiteElo "2514"]
[BlackElo "2539"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,70,18,20,32,0,6,20,34,27,33,26,19,21,20,20,45,27,21,21,46,
25,14,22,24,28,20,18,15,15,15,0,5,26,26,21,28,8,12,-2,13,11,0,-58,-40,-76,-79,
-103,-127,-127,-127,-127,-127,-127,-127,-127,-122,-122,-119,-119,-119,-139,
-208,-310,-332,-330,-324,-335,-324,-346,-338,-341,-316] This game was crucial
for me in this tournament, as Bator was leading with 5. 5/6 while I had 4.5/6.
It was a must-win for me.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6.
Nf3 c5 7. O-O cxd4 8. exd4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b6 {[#] Bator and I have both played
this line many times, and we have analyzed it many times together as well, so
it was a preparation battle.} 10. Qe2 Bb7 11. Rd1 h6 {This move is quite
important, as it prevents Bg5.} ({editor - this is a well-explored position,
where Black's most frequent moves are ...Bxc3 and ...Nbd7. Here are two
prominant examples:} 11... Bxc3 12. bxc3 Qc7 13. Bb2 Bxf3 $5 14. Qxf3 Qxc4 $1
15. Qxa8 Nc6 16. Qb7 Nd5 17. Re1 $6 Rb8 $1 18. Qd7 Rd8 $1 $19 19. Qb7 h5 $6 (
19... Na5 $142 $19) 20. Bc1 $2 Na5 $1 $19 21. Qxa7 Qc6 22. Qa6 Nc4 23. Rb1 Nc7
{0-1 Vladimirov,Y (2612)-Kasparov,G (2838), Batumi (rapid), 2001.}) (11... Nbd7
12. d5 {A drawing line.} Bxc3 13. dxe6 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 (14. gxf3 fxe6 15. bxc3
Qc7 16. Bxe6+ Kh8 17. Qc4 Qb7 18. Bxd7 Nxd7 19. Qd5 Qxd5 20. Rxd5 Nc5 21. Ba3
Rxf3 22. Bxc5 bxc5 23. Rxc5 $11 {with several GM draws from here, including
Ivanchuk,V (2738)-So,W (2812) Leuven, 2017.}) 14... Ne5 15. exf7+ Kh8 16. Rxd8
Nxf3+ 17. gxf3 Raxd8 18. bxc3 Nd5 19. Bg5 Rd7 20. Re1 h6 21. Bxd5 Rxd5 22. Re8
Kh7 23. Rxf8 Rxg5+ 24. Kf1 Rf5 {Sarana,A (2706)-So,W (2757) Chess.com Play In
Match Div 1 rapid 2024 (2.3) 1/2-1/2 also with several GM draws, including:}
25. Ke2 {Tal,M-Gipslis,A LAT-ch22 Riga 1965 (13) 1/2-1/2}) 12. h3 (12. Bf4 {
was chosen by Bator earlier in the same tournament. [#]} Nc6 ({editor - and
several other times in 2023:} 12... Re8 13. Ne5 Nbd7 14. Rd3 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Nxe5
16. dxe5 Nd5 17. Qg4 ({editor -} 17. Bxh6 $5) 17... h5 18. Qg3 Qc7 19. Bh6 g6
20. Bxd5 Bxd5 21. Bg5 Rac8 22. Bf6 $16 Qc4 23. Rad1 Qg4 24. Qxg4 hxg4 25. Rd4
Rc4 26. Rxc4 Bxc4 27. Rd4 Rc8 28. Rxg4 $18 {(1-0, 69) Sambuev,B (2487)-Tanaka,
T (2357) Ottawa, 2023.}) (12... Nd5 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. Bd3 Nd7 15. a3 Be7 16.
Ba6 Nb8 17. Bb5 Bd6 18. Ne5 Qe7 19. Rac1 a6 20. Bd3 Qb7 21. Qg4 (21. Bxh6 $3
$16) 21... f5 22. Qg3 Bxe5 23. dxe5 b5 24. Be2 Kh7 25. Bf3 Bxf3 26. Qxf3 Qxf3
27. gxf3 $32 {1-0 (49) Sambuev,B (2480)-Moses,N (1913) Toronto, 2023.}) 13. a3
Bxc3 14. bxc3 Rc8 15. Ba2 Qe7 ({editor -} 15... Na5 $142 {with the idea ...
Bxf3 and ...Nc4.}) 16. c4 Rfd8 17. Rd3 Nh5 18. Bd2 Nf6 19. Re1 {editor - with
a similar but more effective piece arrangement as in the main game.} Qd6 20.
Bc3 Ba6 21. Qb2 Na5 22. Bxa5 bxa5 23. Ne5 Nd7 24. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 25. c5 Nxc5 $8
26. Rf3+ {[%mdl 64] Analysis Diagram[#] Critical Position} Kg6 $4 ({editor -
Black has a highly tactical save:} 26... Kg8 $8 27. dxc5 Rxc5 $8 28. Rxe6 Qd1+
$8 29. Re1+ Bc4 $8 $13 (29... Kh8 $4 30. Rf8+ $8 $18)) 27. dxc5 Rxc5 28. Bb1+
$18 Rf5 29. Bxf5+ ({editor -} 29. g4 {also wins.}) 29... exf5 30. Rg3+ Kh5 31.
Qxg7 {1-0 Sambuev,B (2433)-Latorre,V (2066) Toronto, Can Ch. 2023.}) {editor -
back to Shawn's notes:} 12... Re8 {[#] A waiting move, making it harder for
White to play d5, which would force a mass liquidation.} 13. Bf4 Nd5 14. Bd2
Nc6 15. Bd3 (15. Bxd5 exd5 16. Qd3 {is a safe way to play for White, but it
gives Black easier play with the pair of Bishops.}) 15... Nf6 {[#] Even though
my opponent is well-known for his mastery of isolated pawn positions, this
variation gives Black very good winning chances. Here, it is not so easy for
White to create attacking chances, while Black easily blockades the isolated
pawn. If White cannot create play quickly, Black is better in the long run due
to the pawn structure.} 16. a3 Bf8 17. Rac1 Rc8 18. Bb5 {This pin is slightly
unpleasant, so I had to look for a way to move my Rook in order to play ...Ne7.
So...} Bd6 $1 19. Be3 {[#]} Rf8 $1 {A counterintuitive maneuver, but an
extremely powerful one. White's pieces aren't perfectly positioned for this
structure, as the b5-Bishop should be on the b1-h7 diagonal. After ...Ne7-f5,
White has no play at all.} 20. Ne5 Ne7 {It's important for Black to prevent d5,
otherwise White would get rid of their weakness.} 21. Rd3 (21. Ba6 Bxa6 22.
Qxa6 Nfd5 {is still slightly better for Black, but White has great chances to
hold. Trading a few pieces stabilizes the position.}) 21... Nf5 22. Bd2 $6 ({
editor - SF16 prefers giving up on the hopes of swinging the R to the kingside
and coordinating with} 22. Rdd1) 22... Bb8 23. Re1 {White's pieces aren't
looking great!} a6 24. Ba4 b5 25. Bb3 {[#]} Nxd4 $1 26. Qd1 Bxe5 27. Rxe5 Qc7
28. Bf4 Nxb3 29. Qxb3 Nd7 30. Re4 (30. Re1 Qxf4 31. Rxd7 Bc6 32. Rdd1 {is
another way to play for White, but Black is simply dominating with the extra
pawn.}) 30... e5 {[#]} 31. Qd1 $4 (31. Nd5 $1 {is a nice move to keep the game
going.} Bxd5 (31... Qd6 32. Qd1 {is the key idea, after which} exf4 $4 {
is met with} 33. Ne7+ $18) (31... Qc2 32. Ne7+ Kh7 33. Nxc8 Qxb3 34. Rxb3 Bxe4
35. Nd6 Bxg2 36. Bxe5 Nxe5 37. Kxg2 Rd8 {wins for Black.}) 32. Qxd5 Rcd8 33.
Rc3 Qb6 34. Be3 Qg6 {is obviously unpleasant for White, but there is no clear
win for Black.}) 31... Bxe4 32. Rxd7 Rfd8 {Forcing even more trades.} 33. Rxd8+
Rxd8 34. Qe2 exf4 35. Qxe4 Qd6 {Probably my best game ever in terms of
precision, and it came at an important moment. After this game, I was tied
with Bator Sambuev and Nikolay Noritsyn, and we all ended up tying for first
place with 7.5/9, with Nikolay winning the national title on tiebreaks.} 0-1

[Event "Transnational Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.06.10"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Black "Woodward, Andy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2469"]
[BlackElo "2466"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "143"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,143,25,18,43,37,73,53,48,41,43,38,30,28,28,17,-5,-5,9,8,0,
-21,-32,-36,-28,-21,-34,-45,-48,-50,-46,-48,-31,-48,-32,-45,-34,-90,-61,-45,
108,99,90,105,88,88,88,74,55,71,70,70,75,68,79,77,76,58,62,71,72,75,75,26,72,
64,53,15,73,0,12,7,63,0,218,203,257,253,387,396,417,423,455,455,469,478,478,
494,485,485,505,487,505,505,505,505,505,505,499,505,513,510,512,512,512,394,
394,384,392,395,401,401,402,408,408,401,401,405,408,461,470,477,474,492,492,
492,962,982,992,992,1002,982,982,982,1002,1032,1032,1032,29991,29992,29993,
29994,29995,29996,29999,29999] After a solid draw with Black against Awonder
Liang in round 6, I was paired against another American prodigy in round 7,
Andy Woodward, this time with the White pieces. I had 4.5/6, and I most likely
needed 1.5/3 in the final rounds to earn a Grandmaster norm.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
d6 3. Bb5+ {[#] Avoiding Najdorf was by far my best chance against such a
strong and fast calculator!} Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Nxd7 5. O-O Ngf6 6. Qe2 e6 7. d4 cxd4
8. Nxd4 {[#] My preparation ended here, and I was satisfied with this position.
White has a space advantage and an easy development, while Black's plans seem
less straightforward.} Rc8 9. c4 {Establishing a Maroczy Bind, one of the most
solid structures in chess. With the light square Bishops already traded, I
thought I was better since my central Pawns don't block my Bishop anymore.} Qa5
{After my opponent blitzed out this move, I started to get worried! I had not
expected this idea, and Andy was clearly still familiar with this position.}
10. b3 Qe5 {[#] The idea behind Black's last move. White will lose the e4-Pawn,
but will get a huge development lead to compensate. My opponent later
confessed that he had played this position before, and that he knew the
position was still equal. Even though I was losing a Pawn, I also knew that
White could not be worse with accurate play, due to the development and space
advantage.} 11. Bb2 Qxe4 12. Qd2 Qg6 13. Nc3 a6 14. f4 {[#] White must create
counterplay as quickly as possible, otherwise Black will simply consolidate
his extra Pawn!} Qh5 15. f5 e5 16. Rae1 Be7 17. Nc2 O-O 18. Re3 {[#]} Qg5 $6 (
18... d5 $1 {is a very powerful move for Black, opening up the center and
threatening ...Bc5.} 19. Rh3 (19. cxd5 $4 {loses to} Bc5 $19) 19... Qg4 20. Qe1
(20. cxd5 $2 {gives Black a solid advantage after} Ne4 21. Qe1 Nxc3 22. Rxc3
Rxc3 23. Bxc3 Rc8 {since Black's pieces join the game extremely quickly.})
20... d4 ({The engine recommends} 20... g5 $5 {an incredible move that
prevents Rh4, trapping the Queen; and somehow White has no way to take
advantage of Black's weakened position!}) 21. Rh4 Qxh4 22. Qxh4 dxc3 23. Bxc3
b5 {Black sacrifices a Queen, but gets a Rook and a Knight for it, as well as
some quick counterplay on the Queenside. With White's poor coordination, the
position is simply equal.}) 19. Qe1 {[#] My opponent forgot about this strong
maneuver. The idea is to play Bc1, and the Queen is quickly running out of
squares to escape!} h5 (19... Nh5 $1 {was a better way to deal with the threat
of Bc1,} 20. Bc1 d5 $1 21. Re2 Bc5+ 22. Kh1 Qd8 23. Nxd5 Nhf6 24. Bg5 h6 25.
Bh4 Be7 26. Nxe7+ Qxe7 27. Ne3 {White has won the Pawn back and maintains a
better position due to his initiative, but Black remains totally in the game.})
({Black does not have time for} 19... b5 {since the Queen is trapped after} 20.
Rg3 Qh5 (20... Qh4 {is impossible due to} 21. Rxg7+ Kxg7 22. Qxh4 $18) 21. Rh3
Qg4 22. Rh4 Qg5 23. Bc1 {and the Queen is trapped.}) 20. Bc1 Qh6 {[#]} 21. Rxe5
$6 {Too materialistic.} (21. Rh3 {would've been a better way to proceed,
forcing the Queen to a passive square:} Qh7 22. Qd1 b5 23. Ne3 bxc4 24. bxc4 {
White is still down a Pawn, but the initiative and activity are overwhelming.})
21... Qxc1 22. Qxc1 dxe5 23. Kh1 b5 {Black suddenly gets a lot of counterplay
very quickly, and I don't have enough time to consolidate my material
advantage.} 24. Ne3 Nb6 $2 {[#]} 25. Qd1 $2 (25. g4 $1 {is a great opportunity
that we both missed during the game. The idea is that White gets a strong
attack without wasting any time, and Black doesn't have time to execute
counterplay on the Queenside!} hxg4 26. Rg1 {is devastating, with Nxg4 coming
next.}) 25... bxc4 26. bxc4 Rfd8 27. Ncd5 Nbxd5 28. Nxd5 Nxd5 29. cxd5 {[#]}
Rc5 $1 ({Holding onto the h-Pawn with} 29... h4 {would be inaccurate, since
White would now be in time to defend his d5-Pawn with:} 30. Qd3 Rc5 31. Rd1 $16
) 30. Qxh5 Rcxd5 31. g4 {[#]} e4 $1 {The idea which I missed. Black generates
counterplay while preventing my attack. The key is that it will take White
some time to play g5 and f6, since the Rook on d5 pins the g-pawn.} 32. g5 e3 {
After this move, I realized that the position was getting tricky and that my
attack was not as powerful as anticipated.} 33. h4 (33. Qf3 $2 {is refuted by
the simple} Bxg5 $17) (33. f6 {is ineffective due to} Bxf6) (33. g6 {most
likely leads to a draw after} fxg6 34. Qxg6 (34. fxg6 $4 {is impossible
because of} Rxh5 $19) 34... Bf6 35. Rg1 Rd1 36. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 37. Kg2 Rd2+ 38. Kf3
e2 39. Qe8+ Kh7 40. Qg6+ {and White has nothing better than a draw.}) 33... Re5
{A strong move, maintaining the pin along the 5th rank.} 34. Re1 Bb4 35. Re2
Rd2 (35... Rxf5 36. Rxe3 g6 37. Qg4 {should be a draw, although Black is
probably the one putting pressure.}) 36. f6 {[#] Trying to create attacking
chances on Black's King.} gxf6 $6 {I was very happy to see this move on the
board, since it gives me legitimate play on Black's King.} ({I was hoping for} 
36... Rxe2 $4 {which loses after} 37. fxg7 Kxg7 38. Qh6+ Kg8 39. g6 fxg6 40.
Qxg6+ Kh8 41. Qf6+ Kh7 42. Qxe5 {with a winning endgame for White, since Black
has an exposed King and a lack of coordination.}) (36... g6 37. Qf3 Rxe2 38.
Qxe2 a5 $11 {was probably the simplest option, where neither side can play for
more than a draw.}) 37. Qg4 $1 {[#]} f5 $2 (37... Bf8 {is the only move to
stay in the game. However, my opponent understandably rejected it in view of}
38. gxf6+ Kh7 39. Rxe3 Rxe3 40. Qf5+ Kh8 41. Qh5+ Kg8 42. Qg5+ Kh8 43. Qxe3 {
but Black is somehow holding after} Rxa2 44. Qb3 Ra1+ 45. Kg2 Kg8) 38. Qxb4 Rb5
{[#] A very resourceful idea that does not work because of one detail.} 39. Qc4
Rb1+ 40. Kg2 Rbb2 41. Qc8+ Kh7 42. Qxf5+ Kg8 43. Qc8+ Kh7 {[#]} 44. g6+ $1 {
The idea missed by my opponent when he played 36...gxf6.} (44. Rxd2 exd2 {
and White cannot stop d1=Q without playing g6, since} 45. Qd7 {fails to} d1=Q+
$19 {with a devastating discovered check.}) 44... fxg6 (44... Kg7 {allows
White to simplify with} 45. Qc3+ Kxg6 46. Qxb2 $18) (44... Kxg6 {also allows
White to simplify, this time with} 45. Qg8+ Kh6 46. Qh8+ Kg6 47. Qxb2 Rxb2 48.
Rxb2 $18) 45. Qc7+ Kh6 46. Qf4+ Kh7 47. Qf7+ Kh6 48. Qf8+ Kh7 49. Qe7+ Kg8 50.
Rxd2 exd2 {[#]The key idea was to give a check on the d-file, in order to move
the King away from the second rank.} 51. Qd8+ Kh7 52. Kg3 Rxa2 53. Qe7+ Kh6 54.
Qd8 Kh7 {[#]} 55. Kf3 $2 ({More accurate was} 55. Qe7+ Kh6 56. Qf8+ Kh7 57.
Qf7+ Kh8 (57... Kh6 58. Qg8 $1 {forces} g5 59. Qxg5+ Kh7 60. Qe7+ Kh6 61. Qd6+
Kg7 62. Kf3 $18) 58. Qd7 $1 {forcing Black's King to the back rank. White's
threat to bring the K to h6 or g6 forces Black to give up the d2-pawn.} Ra5 59.
Qxd2 Rh5 ({Black ideally wants to play} 59... Rf5 {and ...Kg7 in order to make
the win more difficult, but simply doesn't have time to do so because of} 60.
Qh6+) 60. Kg4 {and Black doesn't have enough time to consolidate. It now
becomes clear why it was important to force Black's King to the back rank!})
55... Ra5 $1 56. Qd7+ Kg8 57. Qxd2 Rf5+ {This is the problem with 55.Kg3: the
R gets a safe post with check giving Black time to prevent Qh6!} 58. Ke4 {[#]}
a5 $2 {The final mistake, which allows White to win on the spot.} (58... Rh5 {
would've made White's position much more difficult to convert:} 59. Qd7 Kf8 (
59... Rxh4+ $2 60. Ke5 {and White's King will win the g6-pawn.}) 60. Kf3 Rf5+
61. Kg4 Kg8 62. Qc8+ Kg7 63. Qxa6 Kh7 64. Qb7+ Kh8 65. Qd7 Kg8 66. Qe7 Kh8 (
66... Rh5 67. Qf6 $18) 67. h5 $1 {The only way to make progress.} Rxh5 68. Qf8+
Kh7 69. Qf7+ Kh6 (69... Kh8 70. Qxg6 Rh4+ 71. Kf5 Rf4+ 72. Ke6 {and there is
no stalemate!}) 70. Qg8 Rg5+ 71. Kf4 Rf5+ 72. Ke4 Kg5 {Analysis Diagram [#]
This position is technically winning for White, since the Black King is not on
g8 anymore. Whenever the Queen is behind Black's King like this, the position
is almost always winning, since fortresses are impossible and White can
usually force Black into a zugzwang. I was calculating this during the game
and I knew this position was winning, but I was seriously hoping that I
wouldn't have to convert it!} 73. Qh8 Rf1 74. Ke5 Re1+ 75. Kd5 Rd1+ (75... Rf1
76. Ke6 $18) 76. Ke6 {White's main idea is to get the King behind Black's Pawn,
and then to force Black into a zugzwang.} Rf1 77. Qe5+ Rf5 78. Qh2 Rf6+ 79. Ke7
Rf5 80. Qh3 Rf4 81. Qg3+ {Analysis Diagram [#]} Kf5 (81... Rg4 82. Qe5+ Kh4 83.
Kf6 Kh3 84. Qe6 Kg3 85. Qe2 Kh3 86. Qf3+ Rg3 (86... Kh4 87. Qe3 g5 88. Qe1+ Kh3
89. Kf5 $18) 87. Qh1+ Kg4 88. Kxg6 $18) 82. Kf7 g5 83. Qd3+ Ke5+ 84. Kg6 g4 85.
Kg5 $18) 59. Qh6 $1 Kf7 60. Qh7+ Kf6 61. Qg8 {[#] We now get a similar ending
to the one analyzed, except that White still has a Pawn on h4, which makes the
winning task much easier.} Rh5 62. Kf3 g5 63. Qd8+ Kg6 64. Qd6+ Kf5 65. Qc5+
Kg6 66. Qb6+ Kg7 {[#]} 67. Kg4 (67. Qxa5 $4 {would be a monumental blunder
because of} g4+ 68. Kxg4 Rxa5 $19 {winning the Queen. When I was calculating
this line a few moves prior, I intended to play Qxa5 but luckily I saw ...g4+
before it was too late!}) 67... Rxh4+ 68. Kxg5 Rb4 69. Qc7+ Kh8 70. Kf6 {
Threating mate while preventing all the checks.} Rg4 71. Qc8+ Rg8 72. Qh3# {
After this game, I went on to draw my final 2 rounds and finished in a tie for
2nd place with 6.5/9, earning my 2nd GM norm.   This tournament was truly a
great experience for me, as I got the chance to face my first two opponents
rated over 2600, as well as a future star in Andy Woodward. It was definitely
one of the strongest tournaments in Canadian history!} 1-0

[Event "Championnat de la Francophonie"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.07.09"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Black "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C88"]
[WhiteElo "2495"]
[BlackElo "2457"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,77,26,24,13,13,16,-4,20,-1,14,1,13,14,6,9,9,8,45,42,19,28,
16,-7,-7,-7,-7,-7,2,-7,-11,-10,-10,-10,23,13,23,36,41,11,14,25,18,-3,0,14,47,
73,73,0,37,52,52,32,32,49,27,37,106,84,84,84,58,36,45,45,87,69,172,176,733,739,
741,747,749,757,757,761,946,943] Just like in our game at Canadian Closed a
few months earlier, Bator was leading the tournament and I was in a must-win
situation! He was on 5.5/6 while I had 5/6.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4.
Ba4 Nf6 ({Bator usually plays the Delayed Steinitz with} 4... d6 {but it's a
rather risky choice when the opponent has a lot of time to prepare.}) 5. O-O
Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d4 {[#] Not the main move -- (editor - 8.c3 or 8.
a4) -- but I was not expecting this line, so I wanted to avoid main lines. I
had played this move once, but I wasn't familiar at all with any of the lines
or ideas of this variation.} Nxd4 (8... d6 {is a more solid choice, but it
gives White a lot of space in the center after} 9. c3 Bg4 10. Be3 exd4 11. cxd4
$14) 9. Nxd4 (9. Bxf7+ {is an interesting tactical idea, but Black is usually
fine after} Rxf7 10. Nxe5 Rf8 (10... Ne6 $2 {loses to} 11. Nxf7 Kxf7 12. e5 $18
{threatening a fork with Qf3+ if the attacked Nf6 moves.}) 11. Qxd4 c5 12. Qc3
(12. Qd1 Qc7 13. Ng4 Nxg4 14. Qxg4 d5 $13 {Ivanchuk,V (2751)-Leko,P (2753),
Morelia/Linares, 2008.}) 12... Qc7 13. a4 Bb7 14. axb5 $13 {Kamsky,G (2725)
-Anand,V (2791), Nice, 2009.}) 9... exd4 10. e5 (10. Qxd4 {loses to a
well-known trap with} c5 11. Qd1 c4) 10... Ne8 {[#]} 11. Qxd4 (11. c3 {is
certainly the most aggressive attempt, as suggested by my opponent after the
game. As I was not familiar with this move, I decided to keep it simple.} dxc3
12. Nxc3 d6 13. Qf3 (13. Bd5 Rb8 14. Be3 Be6 15. Ba7 Bxd5 16. Bxb8 Bb7 17. Ba7
Qa8 $13 {Dominguez Perez, L (2717)-Aronian,L (2750) Wijk aan Zee, 2009.}) 13...
Be6 14. Nd5 Rc8 15. Bf4 dxe5 16. Nxe7+ $11 {Leko,P (2756)-Aronian,L (2768)
Jermuk, 2009.}) 11... Bb7 (11... c5 12. Qe4 Rb8 13. c4 Bb7 14. Qe2 {leads to
an equal position.}) 12. c4 c5 13. Qg4 bxc4 14. Qxc4 {[#]} d5 $1 {A strong
move by Black, who needs to play actively to maintain the balance.} (14... Rc8
{is too passive and allows White to consolidate with} 15. Nc3) 15. exd6 Nxd6
16. Qxc5 {White wins a pawn, but Black has tremendous compensation. Their
pieces are more active, while my pieces are severly underdeveloped. My Queen
is also vulnerable, and Black will gain time by attacking it.} Rc8 17. Qh5 Ne4
{[#]} 18. Be3 (18. Nc3 {looks strong, but Black can respond with} Nxf2 $1 19.
Be3 (19. Kxf2 Rc5 $5 {deserves attention} (19... Bc5+ 20. Be3 Qd2+ 21. Re2
Bxe3+ 22. Kf1 Qd4 {with a pleasant position.}) 20. Qd1 Rf5+ 21. Kg1 Bc5+ 22.
Be3 (22. Kh1 $4 Bxg2+ $1 {with a winning attack:} 23. Kxg2 Rf2+ 24. Kh1 Qh4 $19
) 22... Qg5 23. Qd2 Rd8 24. Nd5 Bxd5 25. Bxd5 Rfxd5 26. Qf2 {was not something
I wanted to go into!}) 19... Nd3 20. Red1 Bc5 $1 21. Bxc5 (21. Rxd3 Qxd3 22.
Bxc5 Qd2 {gives Black enough play after} 23. Ne2 Rxc5 24. Qxc5 Qxe2 {with
equality.}) 21... Rxc5 22. Qxc5 Nxc5 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 {leads to an equal position.
}) 18... Bf6 {[#]} 19. Qe2 (19. Nd2 {was another option.} Bxb2 (19... Nxd2 20.
Rad1 Bxb2 21. Rxd2 Qf6 22. Red1 {gives White a slight initiative, but nothing
serious.}) 20. Rad1 Qf6 {is equal, but I wanted to keep an imbalance.}) 19...
Be5 20. Na3 Qd6 21. Qh5 {[#]} g6 (21... Bxb2 22. Nc4 Rxc4 23. Bxc4 Bxa1 24.
Rxa1 {is slightly better for White because of the Bishop pair.}) (21... Nf6 22.
Qh3 Bxb2 23. Nc4 Rxc4 24. Bxc4 Bxa1 25. Rxa1 Bd5 {also gives White the Bishop
pair, but Black's activity should be enough to compensate.}) 22. Qh3 Qb4 (22...
Bxb2 23. Nc4 Rxc4 24. Bxc4 Bxa1 25. Rxa1 h5 {restricts White's pieces enough
to equalize. Although it looks risky, Black needs to gain the pawn back.}) 23.
Nc2 Qa5 {[#]} 24. Nd4 $6 (24. Bh6 {was stronger, and it's now difficult for
Black to find compensation for the missing pawn.} Bg7 (24... Rfd8 25. Ne3 Bxb2
26. Rab1 {is strong for White, since all my pieces come into the game in
perfect harmony!}) 25. Bxg7 Kxg7 26. Rad1 Nd2 27. Nd4 Nxb3 28. Qxb3 {is better
for White, although the strong Bishop should give Black good chances to hold.})
24... Rcd8 25. Red1 Rd6 26. Nf3 Bxb2 27. Rxd6 {[#]} Bxa1 {This isn't the best
way to capture a Rook, although it's very natural.} (27... Nxd6 $142 28. Ng5 h5
29. Rd1 Bf6 $1 {was the only way to keep the game balanced.} (29... Nf5 $4 {
loses to} 30. Nxf7 Rxf7 31. g4 $1 hxg4 32. Qxg4 Kg7 33. Bxf7 Kxf7 34. Rd7+ Kf8
35. Rxb7 $18 {with a winning advantage.})) 28. Rd7 $2 {It turns out that White
should vacate the d7-square for the Queen.} (28. Rd1 $1 {was much stronger,
with the idea of playing} Bg7 29. Qd7 Ba8 30. Qe7 {with strong threats such as
Rd7.}) 28... Qb4 $2 (28... Qb5 $1 {is strong because it controls the d5-square.
} 29. Rc7 {can be met with} Bd5 {blocking the strong Bishop.}) {[#]} 29. Qh4 {
Not a bad move, but there was something more direct:} (29. Rc7 $1 {this strong
move threatens Bh6, and it's very difficult for Black to deal with this!} Nf6
30. Bh6 Rd8 31. Rxf7 Bd5 32. Bd2 $16 Qd6 33. Bxd5 Qxd5 34. Re7 $18 {works out
for White, and the pawn advantage will decide the game.}) 29... Bf6 30. Qf4 Bc6
{[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position Attack the B with Rc7 or the pawn with Ra7.}
31. Rc7 $4 {A huge mistake, which I realized as soon as I played it. It looks
natural to attack the Bishop, but it gives Black a way to force a draw.} (31.
Ra7 $1 {is much better, allowing the Queen to infiltrate via c7.} Bb5) 31...
Bg5 $1 {The only way to deal with all the threats.} 32. Qe5 (32. Nxg5 $4 Qe1#)
(32. Bxf7+ Kh8 33. Rxc6 (33. Qxe4 Bxe4 34. Bd4+ Qxd4 35. Nxd4 Rd8 36. f3 Bb1 {
gives Black a lot of counterplay.}) 33... Bxf4 34. Bd4+ Qxd4 35. Nxd4 Rxf7 36.
Rc8+ Kg7 37. Ne6+ Kh6 38. Rc4 Rd7 {doesn't give White any winning chances.}) (
32. Rxf7 Bxf4 33. Rxf4+ Qxb3 34. Rxf8+ Kxf8 35. axb3 {does give White a stable
pleasant position without risk, but the presence of opposite color Bishops
gives Black great drawing chances.}) 32... Bxe3 $4 (32... Bf6 $1 {is the move
that I had missed when I played 31... Rc7. My Queen has no squares! White is
now forced to play} 33. Qf4 $8 Bg5 $8 {and White has to try something from the
previous note or agree to the repetition.}) 33. fxe3 Qb6 34. Nd4 Ba4 {[%mdl 64]
After this move, I spent almost 10 minutes trying to find a solution, as I
couldn't find anything convincing. The solution was right in front of my eyes.
[#]  Critical Postition} 35. Bxf7+ $8 $18 {I was extremely happy and relieved
to spot this sequence, but I was disappointed that I almost missed it.} Rxf7
36. Rc8+ $8 Rf8 37. Qd5+ $8 Kg7 38. Ne6+ $8 Kh6 39. Qxe4 $8 {Threatening Qh4#,
but most importantly, preventing ...Qb1. Black is out of defenses.  This win
allowed me to finish the tournament with better tiebreaks, as Bator and I
finished tied for first place with 7.5/9.} ({Not} 39. Rxf8 $4 {which loses to}
Qxe3+ $19) 1-0

[Event "4th International Mohamed VI Cup"]
[Site "lichess.org"]
[Date "2023.08.16"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Black "Vidyarthi, Vyom"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E09"]
[WhiteElo "2493"]
[BlackElo "2429"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. d4 {[#]}
Nbd7 (6... c6 7. Qc2 b6 8. Nbd2 Bb7 9. e4 Na6 {is a better way to play, in my
opinion. ...Nb4 might come with tempo at some point, and the Knight supports
the c5-break as well. Another important point is that} 10. e5 {can be met with}
Nd7) 7. Qc2 c6 8. Nbd2 b6 9. e4 {[#] After this move, I believe that White's
position is already extremely comfortable.} Bb7 10. e5 Ne8 {Now ...Nd7 was not
possible, since the other knight was blocking this square!} 11. cxd5 cxd5 12.
Re1 Rc8 13. Qd1 Qc7 {[#]} 14. Nb1 $1 {A counterintuitive move, but a very
strong one.} b5 (14... Qc2 {can now be met with} 15. Qxc2 Rxc2 16. Nc3 {
trapping the Rook.}) 15. Bf1 {Another counterintuitive move! I remembered
having analyzed and played this position, but couldn't remember the exact
details. The idea is to bring the Bishop to d3, where it will control an
important diagonal.} ({In a previous game against the talented Ilia Batorshyn,
I chose:} 15. a3 a5 16. Bf1 b4 17. Bd3 (17. axb4 $1 $16) 17... Nb6 18. a4 $16 {
Rodrigue-Lemieux,S (2510)-Batorshyn,I (2164) CEM Mercredi, 2023.}) 15... b4 16.
Bd3 Qc6 17. Bg5 {[#] Trying to trade my Bishop for one of Black's best
defenders.} Bxg5 (17... f6 18. exf6 Nexf6 19. Nbd2 {was also possible, even
though White is still much better thanks to the e-file control. All of White's
pieces are active, and Black doesn't have an easy plan.}) 18. Nxg5 ({The
tempting} 18. Bxh7+ {doesn't work because of} Kxh7 19. Nxg5+ Kg8 20. Qh5 Qc2 {
and Black's Queen saves the day.}) 18... g6 {[#] White's position is now much
better. Black's King is quite weak and lacks defenders, while Black's
queenside attack doesn't seem too dangerous. h4 is one typical idea, and
Qg4-h4 is also typical.} 19. Qg4 $2 {An inexplicable mistake, allowing him to
trade Bishops.} (19. Nd2 $1 {would've been much stronger, intending to meet}
Ba6 {with} 20. Bb1) 19... Ba6 $1 20. Bxa6 Qxa6 21. Qh3 h5 22. g4 {[#] Going
for the immediate attack, but Black seems to have enough defensive resources
for now.} Ng7 (22... f6 23. exf6 Nexf6 {was also interesting, since I cannot
play} 24. Rxe6 {due to} Rc1+) 23. Nd2 Qb6 24. Ndf3 (24. gxh5 Nxh5 25. Qg4 Rc2
26. Nf1 {was a better plan, intending to play} Rxb2 27. Ng3 {and remove the
Knight from h5.}) 24... Rc2 25. Kh1 Rfc8 {Black is already taking over the
initiative!} 26. Rg1 Nf8 27. gxh5 Nxh5 {[#]} 28. Rad1 (28. Nxe6 $1 {was
objectively stronger, but I felt that I would lose some of my winning chances.}
Nxe6 29. Qxh5 Rxf2 30. Rg3 {is still slightly better for Black.}) 28... Rxf2
29. Rg4 Qc6 $2 (29... Rcc2 30. Rdg1 Qb5 {would've been extremely strong,
trying to infiltrate with ...Qd3.}) 30. Rh4 Qc2 31. Rg1 {[#] White's attack is
suddenly dangerous!} Qf5 32. Qxf5 (32. Rxh5 Qxh3 33. Rxh3 Rxb2 {was also
possible, but Black's pawns are suddenly looking dangerous.}) 32... exf5 33.
Rxh5 {[#] I decided to go for this version of the Knight vs 2 pawns endgame.
The main difference is that now I have more ideas, such as e6!} Rxb2 34. Rh6
Rxa2 35. e6 Kg7 $4 {[%mdl 64] A big mistake, which can only be exploited with
a very nice sequence!} (35... fxe6 36. Ne5 Kg7 37. Rh3 Kg8 $1 {would've held
the balance for Black.} (37... Rcc2 $4 {would be a disaster after} 38. Nxe6+
Nxe6 39. Rxg6+ Kf8 40. Rh8+ Ke7 41. Rh7+ $18 {with checkmate soon.})) {[#]
Critical Position Find the best combination of the past year.} 36. e7 $8 $18 {
The only way to break through Black's position.} Kxh6 37. Nxf7+ $8 Kg7 38. Nd8
$8 {The entire idea, blocking Black's Rook and threatening to promote.} Re2 39.
Ne5 $8 {Once again blocking the Rook!} Rcc2 {[#] Critical Position (continued)
This is the move my opponent was counting on.} 40. Ne6+ $8 $18 (40. e8=Q Rxh2#)
40... Kh7 (40... Nxe6 {now fails because of} 41. Rxg6+ Kh7 42. e8=Q $18 {
and Black doesn't have a checkmate.}) 41. exf8=N+ $3 {A third Knight! White
has to keep giving checks.} (41. Nxf8+ Kh8 42. Nfxg6+ Kg7 43. Nf4+ {also wins,
but it's a bit slower, and not as beautiful!}) 41... Kh8 42. Nfxg6+ Kg8 43.
Ne7+ {[#] A beautiful study-like finish!} 1-0

[Event "RA March Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.03.04"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Black "Han, Johnathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2520"]
[BlackElo "2266"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 33472][%evp 0,57,25,16,71,35,89,50,79,75,40,36,32,25,36,12,19,-6,0,22,
29,-33,13,-63,68,-21,-40,51,64,39,32,22,191,104,105,117,149,182,178,163,402,
389,456,473,413,439,390,364,397,594,571,546,549,569,569,570,594,613,1117,1324]
Playing against Johnathan is always a tough challenge, and he's always up for
a fight!} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ {[#] My pet line, trying to avoid
complications against such a young and talented opponent.} Nd7 4. Ba4 Ngf6 5.
O-O a6 6. c4 Nxe4 $6 {Somehow he still managed to enter complications! However,
this is very dubious line for Black, and White gets a massive advantage with
correct play.} (6... g6 {is a safer approach.}) 7. Re1 Nef6 8. d4 {[#]} cxd4 ({
Black can also play} 8... e6 {but White maintains pressure after} 9. d5 e5 10.
Nxe5 Be7 11. Nc6 $5 bxc6 12. dxc6 O-O (12... Ne5 $4 13. c7+ {wins the Queen.})
13. cxd7 Bxd7 14. Nc3 {with a better position due to the activity and
favorable pawn structure.}) 9. Nxd4 g6 10. Nc6 $5 {[#] A very interesting idea
that I knew from analyzing this pawn sacrifice, but this wasn't the correct
position! I had a better (and safer) option at my disposal.} (10. Bf4 $142 e5 (
10... Qb6 11. Na3 Bg7 12. c5 $1 Qxc5 13. Rc1 $18 {and White's initiative is
simply too powerful.}) 11. Nc3 Bg7 12. Nc6 $1 bxc6 13. Qxd6 $18 {is crushing
for White.}) 10... Qc7 $1 {After this move, I started doubting myself and I
realized that my Nc6 idea was actually in a different position.} (10... bxc6
11. Bxc6 Ra7 (11... Rb8 12. Qxd6 {leads to a similar fork, where there are
pins everywhere!}) 12. Qd4 $3 {is the idea behind this sequence! White wins
with a highly unusual fork, as the f6-Knight is surprisingly hanging.} Rc7 13.
Qxf6 $18) 11. Nxe7 {I didn't fully believe in this sacrifice, but what else! I
couldn't retreat with Nd4 at that point. I still thought that White had a lot
of pressure and that I should be able to get enough compensation. As it turns
out, this is objectively very strong for White.} Bxe7 {[#]} 12. Bg5 $2 (12. Bf4
{was stronger, threatening Bxd6.} Kd8 {is the move I was worried about during
the game, but White apparently gets sufficient compensation after the simple}
13. Nc3 Re8 14. Rc1 {and Black is running out of useful ideas!}) 12... b5 $1 {
A very strong defensive resource, giving Black some important time.} (12... Kd8
{fails to a very nice sequence:} 13. Rxe7 Kxe7 14. Nc3 Kf8 15. Bxd7 Nxd7 16.
Nd5 {and despite being down a full Rook, White is completely winning.} Qxc4 17.
Rc1 Qe4 18. Bh6+ Kg8 19. Qd4 $1 {is an example of the danger of Black's
position.}) ({The immediate} 12... Qc5 {doesn't work because of} 13. Bxf6) 13.
cxb5 Qc5 $1 {Another strong move, attacking my Bishop.} 14. Bxf6 Nxf6 15. Qf3 {
[#]} Nd5 $4 {It was extremely difficult to evaluate this position, but Black
should have given up the material in order to gain activity.} (15... O-O $1 {
gives up the Rook, but allows Black to get the initiative.} 16. Qxa8 Ng4 17.
Qf3 Bh4 18. g3 Bf6 {and Black is the one asking questions.} 19. Nd2 Bxb2 20.
Ne4 (20. Rab1 Nxf2 {and White's King isn't feeling so safe anymore!}) 20... Qh5
21. h4 Bxa1 22. Rxa1 axb5 {and Black ends up with a material advantage.}) 16.
Nc3 $18 {Black is still up a piece at the moment, but the King safety is more
important. It is now impossible for Black to castle, and the pressure will
decide the game.} Be6 (16... Nxc3 17. Qxa8 O-O 18. bxc3 $18 {is another way to
sacrifice the exchange, but it's much less convincing than on the previous
move.}) 17. b6+ (17. bxa6+ Kd8 18. Rac1 {is even stronger, but I didn't
necessarily want to activate Black's Rook.}) 17... Kd8 18. Bb3 Nxb6 {[#]} 19.
Na4 $1 {The key behind b6 and Bb3: White is gaining the material back, with
interest.} Qa5 20. Qb7 (20. Nxb6 Rb8 21. Bxe6 fxe6 22. Nc4 {also works.
Black's King is in too much danger to survive.}) 20... Nxa4 21. Qxa8+ Bc8 22.
Qe4 Bf6 23. Bxa4 {[#] With a material advantage and a huge initiative, Black
has no chances of surviving.} Be5 24. Rad1 f6 25. f4 Qb6+ 26. Kh1 Bb7 27. Qe2
Bd4 28. b4 d5 29. Rc1 {With devastating threats.   This opening perfectly
illustrates the danger of grabbing such pawns in the opening. King safety is
the priority!} 1-0

[Event "4th International Mohamed VI Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.08.17"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Guseinov, Gadir"]
[Black "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B15"]
[WhiteElo "2661"]
[BlackElo "2493"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "158"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] This game was very important to me, as he was my highest rated
opponent ever at the time!} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+
exf6 6. c3 Bf5 {[#] My pet line, which has worked very well for me since 2022.}
(6... Bd6 {is the main move, but I like to keep the game more positional and
less theoretical.} 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qc2 Re8+ 9. Ne2 h5 {is the modern approach
for Black, which leads to complex positions.}) 7. Ne2 Bd6 8. Ng3 {The most
challenging line, and the Knight is well placed on g3, eyeing important
squares such as f5 and e4.} Be6 (8... Bg6 {is also possible, but it allows the
unpleasant} 9. Qe2+ Be7 (9... Qe7 10. Qxe7+ Kxe7 11. Bd2 {is also slightly
better for White and doesn't give Black great winning chances.}) 10. h4 h5 11.
Qf3 $14 {with some pressure.}) 9. Bd3 O-O 10. O-O {[#]} g6 {A surprising but
important move.} (10... Nd7 {looks natural but allows} 11. f4 Nb6 12. Qh5 g6
13. Qh6 {with a strong attack for White.}) 11. Ne4 (11. f4 $2 {can now be met
with} f5) 11... Be7 {[#]} 12. Re1 (12. Bh6 {was played twice by Sai Krishna
against me before this game.} Re8 13. f4 f5 14. Ng5 $13 {Analysis Diagram [#]
editor - Both the games Shawn mentioned reached this position, and now
diverged (my notes).} Bxg5 $1 {was Shawn's later improvment} ({editor -} 14...
Bf8 $2 {Actually just loses a pawn!} 15. Bxf8 Kxf8 $8 (15... Rxf8 $2 {makes it
worse} 16. Nxe6 (16. g4 $5) 16... fxe6 17. Qb3 Qd7 18. Rae1 Re8 19. Rxe6 $18)
16. Nxh7+ Kg7 17. Ng5 {and White was just up a pawn, but blundered after move
30 and lost in Sai,K (2396) -Rodrigue Lemieux,S (2465) Waterloo, 2022.}) 15.
Bxg5 Qd6 16. g4 Qd5 17. Qc2 Nd7 18. Rf2 f6 19. Bh4 Kg7 $13 {Black had
equalized, and won when White blundered after move 30 in Sai,K (2385)-Rodrigue
Lemieux,S (2456) Montreal, 2023.}) 12... Nd7 13. Bh6 Re8 14. h4 Qb6 (14... c5 {
is a typical plan, but in this variation it's much harder to achieve because of
} 15. Bb5 cxd4 16. Qxd4 {with strong pressure in the center.}) 15. b4 f5 {[#]}
16. Ng5 (16. Nc5 {seems natural, but gives Black a lot of play after} Nxc5 17.
bxc5 Qa5 {with c3 and h4 hanging.} 18. Rxe6 fxe6 19. Qb3 Bf6 20. Bc4 Kh8 21.
Bxe6 Re7 {is interesting, but it's hard to see how White can make progress.})
16... Bf8 17. Bxf8 (17. Nxe6 Bxh6 {doesn't lead anywhere for White.}) 17...
Nxf8 {The dark squares seem extremely weak, but somehow everything is solid.
It's hard for White to exploit them.} 18. Qd2 a5 19. a3 Qc7 20. h5 b5 21. bxa5
$6 {A surprising move, giving Black long-term play on the queenside. It was
better to keep the queenside closed and prevent c5.} Qxa5 22. h6 {[#]} Qc7 {
An inaccuracy, allowing White to unleash a nice idea.} (22... Bd5 {would've
equalized the position.}) 23. Nxe6 ({The immediate} 23. c4 $1 {was quite
powerful.} Bxc4 (23... bxc4 $2 24. Nxe6 Nxe6 25. Bxc4 {and White's activity is
dominant. The h6-pawn will be tough for Black to deal with.}) 24. Bxc4 bxc4 25.
Rxe8 Rxe8 26. a4 {surprisingly gives White a decent advantage with the outside
passed pawn.}) 23... Nxe6 24. Re5 Qd6 25. Rae1 Rxa3 26. Qb2 Qf8 27. d5 {[#]}
cxd5 28. Bxb5 Rb8 29. Rxd5 Ra7 $1 {A strong consolidating move, after which
White has some coordination problems. h6 is loose, while Nc7 is a dangerous
threat.} 30. Qd2 Nc7 31. Bc4 Nxd5 32. Bxd5 {[#] White is now down an exchange,
but the strong Bishop as well as the h6-pawn seem to give enough compensation.}
Re7 33. Rd1 Rbe8 34. g3 Re2 35. Qf4 Qe7 36. Kg2 Qe5 37. Qf3 {[#] I could sense
that a win was close, but time was getting very low and I couldn't gather my
thoughts and calculate properly!} Rc2 $2 (37... Re1 $1 $19 {is the move I
wanted to play, but I got scared and chose not to go for it.} 38. Rd3 Qf6 {
gives Black a winning position, as the h6-pawn will eventually fall after g5
or Qg5.}) 38. c4 Qe2 39. Ra1 Qxf3+ 40. Kxf3 Rce2 41. Ra6 Kf8 42. Ra7 R2e7 43.
Ra6 Rd7 44. Kf4 {[#]} Red8 $2 (44... Re2 45. Kg5 f4 $1 {was the winning idea,
but it's extremely hard to find under time pressure.} 46. Kf6 {is met with} (
46. gxf4 Rxf2 {prevents Kf6.}) 46... fxg3) 45. Ke5 Ke7 46. Rb6 Rd6 47. Rb7+
R8d7 48. Rb8 {[#]} g5 {editor - !? Black gives up a pawn to get the annoying
one on h6, which reduces White's options. Another choice was ...Rd8, asking
White how he intends to make progress, since trading rooks would end White's
ability to fight for the dark squares and lose the game.} 49. Kxf5 Rxh6 50.
Kxg5 Rg6+ {[#] At this moment I offered a draw, knowing that I had given up
the advantage. To my surprise, he declined!} 51. Kh4 Kd6 52. g4 Re7 53. f4 f6
54. Rb3 {Here I started to think that White had to be careful to avoid a worse
position.} Re1 55. f5 Rh6+ 56. Kg3 Ke5 57. Rd3 {[#] Now I realized that I was
in danger too!} Kd6 {Luckily, White has no good discovery.} ({A natural move
like} 57... Rc1 {loses immediately to} 58. Bg2 Rxc4 59. Rd5#) (57... Ra1 58.
Bg2 Ra5 {also defends, but Black has no coordination whatsoever.}) 58. Ra3 Rg1+
59. Bg2 Kc5 60. Ra4 Rc1 61. Ra6 Rc3+ 62. Bf3 Rh1 {[#] Now I knew for sure that
White was in big danger of losing this game. My h6-Rook finally activated, and
White's pawns are all fixed.} 63. Rc6+ $4 (63. Kg2 $1 {is the only way to hold.
} Rb1 64. Rxf6 Rb2+ 65. Kg3 Rbb3 66. Rc6+ Kb4 67. Rb6+ Kxc4 68. Rxb3 Rxb3 {
with a drawn endgame.}) 63... Kb4 64. Rb6+ Ka5 (64... Kxc4 $4 {loses to} 65.
Rc6+ Kb4 66. Rxc3 {breaking the pin} Kxc3 67. Bxh1 $18) 65. Rb5+ Ka4 66. Kg2
Rhc1 67. Rb6 R1c2+ 68. Kg3 {[#]} Rd2 {White can't really get rid of the pin!}
69. Ra6+ Kb4 70. Rb6+ Ka5 71. Rxf6 Rdd3 72. Rh6 Rxf3+ 73. Kh4 Rxc4 {[#] This
endgame still looks somewhat dangerous, but the Rooks are strong enough to
stop the pawns.} 74. Kg5 Rc7 75. Kf6 Kb5 76. Rh1 Kc6 77. g5 Kd5 78. g6 hxg6 79.
Kxg6 Rg3+ {My highest rated win to this day!} 0-1

[Event "FIDE Grand Swiss"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Gledura, Benjamin"]
[Black "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E06"]
[WhiteElo "2633"]
[BlackElo "2488"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] After starting off with 0.5/2 against an average opposition of
2640, I wanted to be solid and avoid another loss. I was quite happy to play
against a rather positional opponent who wouldn't try to checkmate me!} 1. d4
Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Ne5 Nc6 {[#] An
extremely solid line, where Black has very little winning chances. With my
tournament situation, I was more than happy to play this way.} 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9.
Nxc6 Qe8 10. Nxe7+ Qxe7 11. Qa4 c5 12. dxc5 (12. Qa3 $4 {loses to} Qb7 $1)
12... Qxc5 13. Be3 Qc7 14. f3 {[#]} a5 ({I had previously played the inaccurate
} 14... e5 {which gives White too many important squares, such as d5.} 15.
O-O-O Be6 16. Qa6 $1 e4 $5 17. Bf4 (17. fxe4 $142) 17... Qc5 $14 {and Black
held the endgame in Meskovs,N (2573)-Rodrigue Lemieux,S (2469) Montreal, 2023.}
) 15. O-O-O {White's plan is simple: to blockade the queenside and slowly
build an attack on the kingside with g4 and h4.} Rb8 16. Rd2 Rb4 17. Qc2 Re8
18. Rhd1 {[#] The main problem in this variation is that Black has virtually
nothing to do. Patience is key, because any active plan would most likely
backfire due to White's active pieces and lack of weaknesses.} h6 ({Attempting
to simplify the position with} 18... Nd5 {fails to} 19. Nxd5 exd5 20. Rxd5 Rxe3
21. Rd8+) 19. Kb1 Bd7 20. Ka1 Nd5 21. Bd4 (21. Nxd5 exd5 22. Rxd5 $2 {fails to}
Ba4 23. b3 Rxe3) 21... Nxc3 22. Qxc3 e5 {[#]} 23. Be3 (23. Bxe5 Qxe5 24. Rxd7
Qxe2 {is perfectly fine for Black.}) 23... Ba4 (23... Be6 {gives Black a very
stable position with a lot of activity.}) 24. Rc1 Qc6 25. f4 Qe4 26. Bc5 Rb7
27. fxe5 Rxe5 28. Bd4 Rd5 29. Qxc4 {[#] I was quite unhappy here, since I lost
a pawn for no reason. I knew that my position should still be totally fine
objectively, but I expected to have a tough defensive task ahead of me. 
editor - This comment is another good example of the difference between a
human GM and a strong computer: the human sees it is drawable but difficult,
while Stockfish doesn't work harder at attacking or defending, and rates it 0.
00.} Rb4 30. Qc8+ Kh7 31. e3 f6 32. Qc7 Bd7 33. Qf4 $6 {Placing the Queen on
an awkward square.} ({I expected} 33. Qc2 {forcing a Queen trade, after which
Black should still be fine but White gets long-term winning chances.} Qxc2 34.
Rcxc2 a4) 33... Qe6 {[#] Despite being down a pawn, I started feeling that I
could get some chances. The White Queen is severely misplaced, and White's
King starts feeling unsafe, especially with ...Be8-f7 on the horizon. b3 will
always be met with a4.} 34. Rc7 $4 {As I wrote down this move, I noticed that
his idea was to meet ...Be8 with Bxf6. And as I looked at the board, I
realized that there was something wrong with White's position... and I
couldn't believe it!} Rf5 $1 {And White simply has no moves due to the
backrank problems.   I was happy to learn that even such strong grandmasters
can make horrific blunders!} 0-1

[Event "FIDE Grand Swiss"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.10.29"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ivanchuk, Vasyl"]
[Black "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E51"]
[WhiteElo "2653"]
[BlackElo "2488"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{I was extremely happy with this pairing! Playing an absolute legend of the
game was a dream come true for me, and I was extremely motivated to face him.} 
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. e3 O-O 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 c5 8. Bb2
Nc6 9. Be2 {[#] Ivanchuk had already played this position earlier in the
tournament, so I was luckily familiar with it.} Na5 {Forcing White to make a
decision in the center.} (9... dxc4 {was the move chosen by Ivanchuk's
opponent earlier in the tournament.} 10. Bxc4 b6 11. Bd3 $14 {Ivanchuk,V (2653)
-Mareco,S (2606) Douglas, 2023.}) 10. cxd5 {[#]} Qb6 $1 {A nice intermediate
move, asking White a difficult question.} (10... exd5 {is also playable, but
it allows} 11. dxc5) 11. Qc2 exd5 12. dxc5 Qxc5 13. Nd4 {[#] Black's position
already seems quite pleasant. Despite having the Bishop pair, White lacks
activity and ideas. Meanwhile, Black's Knights are ready to jump to e4 and c4.}
Nc4 14. O-O Bd7 15. a4 Rfe8 16. Bxc4 {[#] I now had a difficult decision to
make.} dxc4 {I thought this move would give me more winning chances, and I was
ready for a fight in this game.} (16... Qxc4 {is also totally fine, and I felt
that it was the safer option. However, I also thought it might give White a
bit more stability.}) 17. Ba3 Qc7 18. Rfd1 ({editor -} 18. Rfb1 $6 Ng4 19. g3
$8 (19. Nf3 $2 Bc6 $19) (19. h3 $2 Qh2+ 20. Kf1 Rxe3 $1 $19) 19... Rad8 {
or ...Bc6 and Black is clearly better.}) 18... Ng4 $6 {Not such a bad move,
but a bit unnecessary.} ({It was better to start with} 18... Rad8 {activating
my last piece.}) 19. Nf3 Bc6 20. Bd6 {For some reason I completely
underestimated this move. White's Bishop is powerful on d6.} Qa5 21. Nd4 Be4 {
[#]} 22. Qe2 ({White can create problems with} 22. Qb2 Rad8 23. Qb5 Qxb5 24.
Nxb5 $14 {with a slightly unpleasant endgame for Black: a7 is hanging, and Nc7
is a threat as well.}) 22... Ne5 23. Nb5 Nd3 {[#]} 24. Bc7 (24. Nc7 {doesn't
quite work due to} Red8 25. Nxa8 $4 (25. Bg3 $142 Rac8 $15) 25... Rxd6 $19 26.
Qg4 Bxg2 $1 27. Qc8+ Rd8 28. Qxc4 Qg5 29. Qc7 Bc6+ 30. Qg3 Qd5 31. f3 Rxa8 $19)
24... Qa6 $2 {Played too quickly.} (24... b6 {was totally fine for Black after}
25. Nd6 Re6) 25. Bg3 $1 {I completely missed this move! White is now
threatening the unstoppable Nc7, winning an exchange.} (25. Nd6 Re6 {is what I
was counting on.} (25... Bxg2 {is interesting, but doesn't quite work after}
26. Nxe8 Rxe8 27. Kxg2 Qc6+ 28. Qf3 Qxc7 29. Rab1 {with an equal position.}))
25... Qf6 {[#] Luckily, the exchange sacrifice gives me enough compensation.}
26. Qg4 (26. Nc7 Qxc3 27. Nxa8 Rxa8 28. f3 Bc6 29. e4 {is around equal, but I
expected him to go for it.}) 26... Bc6 27. Nd6 (27. Nc7 {doesn't work so well
anymore after} Re4) (27. Qxc4 $4 Nb2 $19 {wins the exchange.}) 27... Re6 28.
Nxc4 Re4 29. Qe2 Rxc4 30. Qxd3 Rxa4 31. Rxa4 {[#] In this position, Ivanchuk
offered me a draw! But I really wanted to win this game, and I thought my
position had a lot of potential.} Bxa4 32. Ra1 Rd8 33. Qc4 Bc6 34. Qh4 $6 {
This Queen trade is in my favour, since White's pieces will be uncoordinated.}
(34. h3 {is a more stable move, keeping the Queens on the board.}) 34... Qxh4
35. Bxh4 Rd3 36. h3 a6 {[#] This outside passed pawn gives me great winning
chances in the long run. My Bishop is also perfectly positioned, while my Rook
is already very active.} 37. Ra3 f6 38. Bg3 Kf7 39. Bc7 Ke6 40. Bb6 Kd5 41. Bd4
Rd1+ {Forcing the King away.} 42. Kh2 Kc4 43. f3 Rb1 44. e4 {[#]} Kb5 (44...
Rb3 45. Ra1 Rxc3 {was an interesting sacrifice which I initially intended to
play.} 46. Bxc3 Kxc3 47. Kg3 Kb2 48. Ra5 {is the move I missed at first!} (48.
Re1 $2 a5 {wins for Black.}) 48... Bb5 $2 (48... Kb3 $142 $11) 49. f4 $1 {
and White now win, e.g.} b6 50. Rxb5+ $1 axb5 51. e5 {and White is faster.})
45. e5 fxe5 46. Bxe5 g6 47. Bc7 Bd5 48. Ra5+ Kc4 49. Be5 Rb5 50. Rxb5 (50. Ra1
Bxf3 {also leads to a winning endgame.}) 50... Kxb5 51. Kg3 Kc4 {[#] I thought
this endgame should be winning, but my opponent seemed quite confident after
the Rook trade, and I started having some doubts.} 52. Kf2 (52. Kf4 Kd3 $1 {
blocks off White's King.}) 52... Kd3 53. Bc7 {Necessary, otherwise it will
become impossible to stop the pawns.} (53. Ke1 Kc2 {also cuts off the King.})
53... Kxc3 54. Bb6 {I completely missed this idea when we traded Rooks, and I
started thinking that this might be a draw.} (54. Ke3 b5 $19 {and the pawns
are quickly rolling down the board.}) 54... Kb4 55. Ke3 {[#]} Kb5 {I wasn't
sure how to win, since this King retreat gives White a lot of time to bring
their own King.} 56. Bd8 Kc4 ({editor - Ivanchuk is playing on because it's
easy for Black to throw away the win; e.g.} 56... Kc5 57. Kd3 b5 $4 {[%mdl
32768]} (57... Kb4 $1 $19) 58. Be7+ $8 {and it's a draw!} Kc6 59. Kd4 $1 a5 60.
Bd8 a4 61. Be7 $11) 57. Bb6 Be6 58. h4 Kb5 59. Bd8 {[#]} Kb4 {Shuffling around
to gain time while thinking about a winning approach.} (59... b6 {might seem
logical to start pushing pawns, but this allows White to blockade everything.}
60. Kd4 a5 61. Kc3 {And Black can never really make progress!} Ka6 62. Kd4 b5
63. g4 b4 64. Kc5 $1 b3 65. Bf6 {and Black can no longer make any progress.})
60. Be7+ $2 {This move allows me to win instantly, as White cannot prevent ...
b5 anymore.} (60. Bb6 {is still losing, but it forces me to come up with a
winning plan.} a5 61. Kd3 a4 62. Kc2 a3 63. Kb1 Kb3 64. Ka1 {Analysis Diagram 
[#] From a distance, I couldn't find a way to make progress here. As it turns
out, I can simply play waiting moves and force White into a zugzwang, where
they have to move their Bishop!} Bc4 65. Kb1 Bd3+ 66. Ka1 Bf1 67. g3 Bg2 68. f4
Bh3 {zugzwang!} 69. Bc5 b5 $19 {and the pawns are coming in.}) 60... Kc4 61.
Bd8 b5 {White simply cannot stop the pawns!   Certainly one of the most
memorable games of my career. Growing up watching Ivanchuk's games, I never
imagined faceing him in a tournament game, let alone beating him!} 0-1

[Event "Pan-American Team Championships"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2024.01.05"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Black "Bharathakoti, Harsha"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2502"]
[BlackElo "2565"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,97,25,16,58,64,59,37,73,22,45,41,39,31,47,47,44,42,34,20,
16,13,44,-1,-12,-13,-3,-17,-11,-12,0,-14,-13,-26,-18,-52,-48,-36,-24,-43,-31,
-46,-25,-31,-28,-37,-27,-8,-13,-34,-34,-28,-32,-14,-16,-16,5,8,15,18,0,16,18,0,
19,21,15,15,40,56,57,81,58,61,78,89,124,126,148,133,131,102,151,133,151,173,
195,195,289,288,288,324,367,376,387,396,434,531,29993,29994] This game was
played during the Pan-American University Championship, which determines which
4 schools will fight for the National Championship later in the year. I was
playing for the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, which is right next
to the Mexican border. I just finished my first of four years, as I'm doing a
bachelors in biomedical sciences.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6
5. d3 Bg7 6. h3 {[#] A strategic opening, where both sides slowly carry out
their plans.} Qc7 7. Nc3 e5 8. Be3 b6 9. a4 a5 {[#]} 10. Nd2 (10. Qd2 {was
most likely the best idea. The plan is to meet} Ne7 ({or} 10... Nf6 11. Bh6) {
with} 11. Bh6 {trading off Black's Bishop pair. f4 is also one of the main
ideas, with the support of Qd2.}) 10... Nf6 11. Nc4 {This looks like a nice
square, but the Knight is in fact vulnerable. It was much more practical to
simply put the Knight on h2 to prepare f4!} Be6 12. Qd2 Nh5 {This strong move
makes f4 much harder to achieve.} 13. b3 (13. Bh6 {is also less efficient now
because of} Bxh6 14. Qxh6 Bxc4 15. dxc4 O-O-O {with a great position for Black.
}) 13... Nf4 14. f3 h5 15. g3 Bxc4 16. bxc4 Ne6 17. Ne2 {[#] This position is
slightly passive for White, but it's also very solid. It's not easy for Black
to breakthrough.} f5 {The only way to create play.} 18. Rb1 O-O 19. O-O f4 20.
Bf2 Bh6 ({Black should probably open up the kingside with} 20... fxg3 21. Bxg3
Rf7 {with heavy pressure on the f-file.} 22. Kg2 Raf8 23. Qe3 {is solid for
White, but Black clearly has the upper hand.}) 21. Kg2 Bg5 {Threatening ...
fxg3 now that the Bishop is defended.} 22. g4 {[#] It now becomes much more
difficult for Black to open the position and create chances.} hxg4 $6 {There
is no reason for Black to release the tension so early!} ({It was more logical
to keep the pressure and prepare an eventual ...hxg4 with} 22... Bf6 23. Rh1
Rf7 24. Rh2 Rh7) 23. hxg4 Kg7 24. Qc3 Rh8 25. Qb2 Rab8 26. Rh1 Rxh1 27. Rxh1
Bf6 28. Rb1 {[#]} Nd4 {This move seems natural, but it somehow gives White
chances.} (28... Be7 29. Be1 Bd6 {was safer for Black, and the game should end
in a draw soon. Neither side can make progress.}) 29. Nxd4 exd4 (29... cxd4 30.
Be1 {is dangerous, since it's difficult to stop Bxa5.} Qa7 {runs into} 31. c3 {
and Black has tough questions to answer.}) 30. Be1 Be5 31. Bh4 $1 {[%mdl 32832]
[#]  Critical Position With the idea of Bg5 and Rh1. Suddenly, Black isn't so
comfortable anymore.} Bf6 $2 {A losing mistake! Black trades Bishops under bad
circumstances.} (31... Kh6 $1 $11 {was the best defensive move, since Black
will now play ...g5 himself.} 32. Rh1 g5 33. Bf2+ Kg6 {and White won't be able
to make any progress.}) 32. Bxf6+ Kxf6 33. Rh1 Kg7 {Black has to spend a lot
of time to occupy the h-file. White can use this time to maneuver the Queen.}
34. Qb1 Rh8 35. Rxh8 Kxh8 36. Qh1+ Kg7 {[#]} 37. Qh4 $2 (37. g5 $1 {would've
been much stronger! This gives White a strong threat with Qh6, and it also
opens the h3-c8 diagonal.} Kg8 38. Qh3 {and White will infiltrate, since Black
cannot control c8, d7, and e6 at once.   editor - Exactly right! If the black
Q controlled these squares (from e8) White would have no advantage at all.})
37... b5 $2 (37... Qd6 $1 {was the only move to maintain the balance.} 38. g5 {
is now met with} b5 $1 {creating just enough counterplay after} 39. cxb5 cxb5
40. axb5 a4 41. b6 Qxb6 42. Qxf4 a3 $11) 38. cxb5 cxb5 39. axb5 a4 {[%mdl 4160]
[#]Critical Position} 40. b6 $8 {The key! Black has to either allow this
dangerous pawn to remain on the board, or allow the Queen to infiltrate and
pick up a4.} Qxb6 (40... Qd6 41. Qg5 (41. b7 a3 42. g5 a2 43. Qh6+ Kg8 44.
b8=Q+ Qxb8 45. Qxg6+ Kh8 46. Qh6+ Kg8 47. Qe6+ Kh8 48. Qxa2 {also wins.}) 41...
a3 42. e5 Qxb6 (42... Qf8 43. Qf6+ Qxf6 44. exf6+ Kxf6 45. b7 a2 46. b8=Q a1=Q
47. Qxf4+ {with a winning advantage.}) 43. Qe7+ $8 Kh6 44. Qf8+ Kh7 45. Qf7+
Kh6 46. e6 a2 47. Qxf4+ Kg7 48. Qf7+ Kh6 49. e7 a1=Q 50. e8=Q $18 {and Black
has no checks!}) 41. Qe7+ Kg8 (41... Kh6 {loses to} 42. g5+ Kh5 43. Kh3 $1 {
and Black cannot stop White's checkmating threat:} a3 44. Qh7+ Kxg5 45. Qh4#)
42. Qe8+ Kg7 43. Qxa4 {[#] White is now up a pawn and has a safer King.} Qb1
44. Qa7+ Kh6 45. Qxc5 Qc1 {Trying to create counterplay, but it's not enough.
Black is losing too many pawns.} 46. Qxd4 Qxc2+ 47. Kh3 Kh7 48. Qd7+ Kh6 49.
g5+ {Forces checkmate:} (49. g5+ Kxg5 50. Qd8+ Kh6 51. Qh8+ Kg5 52. Qh4#) 1-0

[Event "Canadian Zonal 2024"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2024.03.28"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Dukic, Zachary"]
[Black "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B11"]
[WhiteElo "2266"]
[BlackElo "2506"]
[Annotator "Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2024.05.08"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,100,14,30,58,60,47,25,62,46,30,34,64,35,35,11,59,67,53,15,
40,30,24,41,102,79,104,86,86,86,102,79,92,60,75,71,74,60,60,48,76,69,57,52,38,
53,32,31,23,1,4,-3,25,-24,-9,-20,-19,-18,-18,-65,-73,-70,-75,-85,-71,-149,-47,
-44,-38,-44,-32,-35,-40,-43,-15,-23,-24,-32,-28,-42,-45,-43,-45,-40,-48,-49,
-49,-58,-40,-52,-41,-45,-4,-58,-11,-67,0,-98,-104,-171,-166,-667,-675] Playing
against such a dynamic and well-prepared player is never easy! Zachary is
extremely strong in openings, and I always want to stay away from theory
against him. It's quite difficult to do with the Black pieces!} 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3
d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 Nf6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Bc5 8. Rd1 Bd4 {[#]} 9.
Qf4 {I had seen this line before, but I completely forgot about the existence
of this move when I chose to play this variation over the board!} ({I thought
his intention was to play} 9. exd5 cxd5 10. Nb5 Bb6 11. d4 Nc6 12. Qa3 {
with an interesting position.}) 9... e5 {Inferior, but at least it gets the
opponent out of preparation.} ({I was aware of the main line with} 9... Bxc3
10. bxc3 Nxe4 11. Ba3 Nd7 {but I knew that it was extremely dangerous and that
my opponent would be totally ready for this, with many more moves of
preparation. After the game, he showed me his preparation in this line, and it
was a good decision to avoid going into it!}) 10. Qg3 O-O 11. d3 Bxc3 12. bxc3
Nbd7 {[#] Black's position is clearly objectively bad, mainly due to the
Bishop pair and the lack of activity. However, I thought that it was quite
playable, and that I could potentially get a good position if White didn't
play accurately.} 13. Bh6 Ne8 14. exd5 cxd5 15. Bf3 {[#] White needs to play
actively to maintain the advantage, and they are doing exactly that.} Qc7 16.
Rab1 (16. Bxd5 {loses a piece to} Qd6) 16... Nb6 17. c4 $5 {A blunder, which
turned out to be the best move!} dxc4 {[#]} 18. Bd2 $1 {Realizing that he
couldn't play dxc4, he found a new idea which is still very strong for White.
Despite being down a pawn, White's activity is overwhelming.} (18. dxc4 $4 {
was my opponent's initial intention, but this gives Black the advantage after}
e4 $1 19. Bf4 (19. Qxc7 $4 Nxc7 20. Bf4 Ne6 $19 {and both Bishops are hanging.}
) 19... Qxc4 20. Bh5 Nf6 {with a small edge.}) 18... c3 19. Be1 $2 {Keeping
the pressure on c3, but putting the Bishop on a passive square.} (19. Bc1 $1 {
would've been extremely strong, since the Bishop will exert pressure from a3.}
Nf6 20. d4 {is now powerful.}) 19... Rb8 $6 (19... Rd8 20. Rb3 Nd5 21. d4 exd4
22. Qxc7 Nexc7 23. Rxd4 b6 24. Rb1 {can be quite unpleasant for Black, as the
Bishop pair will shine in the open position.}) 20. Rb3 Na4 21. Rdb1 b6 {[#]}
22. Qh4 $6 ({The mysterious} 22. Rb5 $1 f6 23. Rd5 {was the engine's best
suggestion to maintain a strong advantage, but it's safe to say that neither
one of us considered it!}) 22... Nc5 23. Rxc3 Nd6 {[#] White was able to gain
the pawn back, but at what cost? Black's pieces are now activating quickly, as
the Knights are jumping on good squares. Meanwhile, White's pieces are now
inactive and somewhat uncoordinated.} 24. a4 Qd7 25. Ra3 Rfe8 26. Bd2 Ne6 {
Heading towards d4.} (26... Nf5 {I can try to bring this Knight to d4, but I
was afraid of} 27. Qg4 {with a potential Queen trade.}) 27. Re1 Nd4 28. Bd1
Rbc8 {[#] The position is now getting harder and harder to play, and White
keeps making backward moves.} 29. Rxe5 $6 {Sacrificing the exchange, hoping to
get more activity. With time getting lower for both sides, this decision is
hard to criticize.} (29. Ra2 {would've maintained stability.}) 29... Rxe5 30.
Qxd4 Qe7 31. Ra1 Qf6 32. Kh2 {[#]} Re6 $2 {The Queen trade gives White much
more stability. One of my plans going into this game was to enter an endgame
as much as possible, but I should've been more objective!} (32... Nf5 {
would've been very strong!} 33. Qb2 (33. Qf4 Rd5 34. Ra2 Rd4 35. Qf3 Rcd8 {
maintains a grip on White's position.}) 33... Nh4 34. f4 {is what I was
worried about in time pressure, but I simply panicked and decided to be safe.
This position was completely winning, with a move such as} Qc6) 33. Qxf6 Rxf6
34. Kg1 {[#] The Bishop pair and the central pawns are a very dangerous
combination, and Black has to be precise.} Nf5 35. c3 h6 36. Bb3 Ne7 37. Bc4
Nc6 38. Ba6 Rd8 39. Be3 Na5 40. Rb1 Rfd6 {[#] After shuffling a bit to reach
move 40, it was now time to relax and calculate. Unfortunately, calculating
made me realize that I have absolutely no advantage! My best chance was to
keep making normal moves and wait for him to get back in time pressure.} 41.
Kf1 Rc6 42. Bd2 Rc7 43. Ke2 Re7+ 44. Be3 f5 45. g3 Nb7 {[#]} 46. Rb4 (46. Bxb7
Rxb7 47. a5 b5 48. a6 Rc7 49. Rxb5 Rxc3 50. Bxa7 Ra3 51. Rxf5 Rxa6 52. Bc5 {
was another way to play, which would lead to a draw.}) 46... Kf7 47. h4 Kf6 {
[#]} 48. Kf3 $4 {Allowing Black to activate!} ({After a move like} 48. h5 {
White might be the one putting pressure on Black! The Bishop pair controls
everything, and Black lacks any pawn breaks.}) 48... Nc5 $1 49. Bb5 (49. Bxc5
bxc5 50. Rb1 Rd6 51. Bb5 Rde6 {will allow Black to infiltrate, and the Rooks
will prove to be too strong. White is now unable to generate any counterplay.})
49... Nxd3 50. Bd4+ {[#] When he played 48.Kf3, my opponent was relying on
this resource, thinking that he was winning a Knight.} Rxd4 $1 ({After I
played 48...Nc5, he realized that I could save the Knight with} 50... Ne5+ 51.
Kg2 Kg6 {and thought that he still had compensation, which is the correct
judgment. Unfortunately for him, Black had an even stronger option.}) (50...
Rxd4 {and White's King ends up in a mating net! Taking the Rook will lead to
checkmate after} 51. cxd4 Ne1+ 52. Kf4 g5+ 53. hxg5+ hxg5#) 0-1

[Event "Open de Gatineau"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2024.05.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Han, Johnathan"]
[Black "Cova, Ramon J"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B05"]
[WhiteElo "2407"]
[BlackElo "1934"]
[Annotator "Johnathan Han"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2024.05.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "2407"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,101,21,29,40,67,62,43,43,36,44,42,70,25,17,17,17,27,21,21,
34,30,32,32,35,30,52,63,71,46,47,55,37,39,39,30,49,45,52,49,44,22,51,78,69,83,
81,81,82,102,105,87,110,93,129,95,94,101,101,106,102,101,93,13,99,90,73,73,77,
73,73,71,254,280,299,285,625,617,641,641,641,641,641,641,646,646,646,638,1904,
653,653,678,700,713,720,710,728,797,1375,1830,1870,2075,2019,2301]} 1. e4 Nf6
2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Be2 c6 {[#]} 6. h3 $2 {Pretty big mistake for
such a normal move. Before this game, I did not have much time to prepare as
it was the first round of the tournament and pairings usually come out very
late due to people registering last second. I could not remember what the
right move was so I just played h3, which turns out to be a waste of time
since black's plan is to play Bxf3 and ...dxe5 anyways.} (6. c4 Nb6 7. Nbd2 $16
{is probably the most testing line as it prevents black's main idea.}) (6. exd6
exd6 7. O-O $16 {also leads to a slightly better position as white's
development is easier}) 6... Bxf3 7. Bxf3 dxe5 8. dxe5 e6 $14 {Black's plan is
to simply attack e5 as much as possible. If white can activate their pieces,
white should be better.} 9. O-O Nd7 10. Qe2 Qc7 11. Re1 Bc5 12. Nd2 {[#] I
thought a long time on this move because I realized that my pawn on e5 is very
weak and I wasn't sure what to do after black tries to take it.} Nf4 $5 {
Black tries to attack my e5 pawn immediately but playing something simpler was
probably better.} (12... a5 $1 $11 {A very typical idea to:  1. gain space,
and  2. prevent white from expanding on the queenside.}) 13. Qe4 (13. Qc4 Ng6
14. Bh5 {is an interesting way to defend the e5 pawn as if} Ngxe5 15. Qxe6+ $18
) 13... Ng6 14. Nc4 Nb6 15. Be3 $1 {[#] This was my idea when I played 12. Nd2.
Without this move, black's position is very good.} Be7 $1 ({It is way too
dangerous to go pawn-grabbing with} 15... Nxc4 16. Bxc5 Ncxe5 17. Rad1 $16 {
Black's king is stuck in the center.}) 16. Nxb6 (16. Nd6+ {is an interesting
line which leads to a relatively forcing variation:} Bxd6 17. exd6 Qxd6 18.
Rad1 Qe7 {This is why I rejected 16.Nd6+, but apparently now} 19. b4 $1 $14 {
is a very strong move preventing black from castling.} Nd7 20. b5 O-O 21. bxc6
bxc6 $14) 16... axb6 17. Bd4 $14 {[#] Here I felt pretty good about my chances
as even though the position is only slightly better, I have more space which
allows me to have many ideas like expanding on the queenside and kingside.} O-O
({0-0 is not necessarily a bad move but} 17... b5 $1 {is strategically a
better move to prevent a4 creating a weakness on b6.}) 18. a4 $1 {Fixing the
weakness on b6.} Bc5 19. Bc3 Rfd8 (19... b5 {is a more energetic way to play
the position but leaves doubled pawns on the b-file} 20. b4 Ba7 21. axb5 cxb5
22. Bb2 $14) {[#]} 20. h4 $6 {Not a bad move, but I didn't see black could
activate their knight with ...Ne7-d5.} ({I should have started with} 20. b4 Bf8
21. h4 Ne7 22. h5 Nd5 23. Bd2 {with the point being that black does not have ..
.Nxb4 and ...Rd4 since the bishop is on f8.}) 20... Rd7 $2 {This move really
doesn't accomplish much. Black's idea was most likely to play ....Rad8 and ...
Bd4, but white is going to play b4 before that happens. Additionally, black
needs to play quickly and this move is just too slow and allows white to gain
a lot of tempi.} (20... Ne7 $1 {was more consistent with his past few moves.}
21. b4 Nd5 {This idea comes up on the next move as well but it was even better
here as the rooks protect each other. My opponent probably didn't like} 22. Bd2
$2 {but missed that he has} Nxb4 $1 $17 {since} 23. Bxb4 $2 Rd4 $19) (20... b5
{Again, black needs to find a way to play quickly or else his position will be
very passive.} 21. h5 (21. axb5 Qb6 $11 {White's pawns on b5, f2, and h4 are
all super loose}) 21... b4 $1 22. Bxb4 Bxb4 23. Qxb4 Nxe5 $14 {Slightly better
for white, but already black's pieces are very active.}) 21. h5 Nf8 (21... Ne7
22. b4 Nd5 23. bxc5 Nxc3 24. Qe3 Nxa4 25. cxb6 Nxb6 26. Rxa8+ {Now we see why
20... Rd7 was a bad move: the knight is forced to retreat.} Nxa8 27. h6 $16)
22. b4 Be7 23. Be2 {[#] Trying to reroute the bishop to d3 as it doesn't
really achieve much on the h1-a8 diagonal} c5 $2 {Black's position is already
very passive so my opponent tries to create some counterplay. The engine
doesn't like this move but I think practically, it is a good try.} ({The
computer recommends} 23... Rdd8 24. Bd3 $16 {to sit still; but this is very
hard to do as a human.}) 24. b5 c4 25. Qg4 $16 {My idea was to play Bf1,
Re4xc4 and black doesn't have a good way of defending the pawn.} Rc8 26. Bf1
Rd5 {Black's only chance is to activate the knight and attack white's pawns.}
27. Re4 Nd7 28. Rae1 Nc5 29. Rxc4 Qd8 {Black is threatening ...Nxa4.} 30. Bd4
Ra8 {[#]} 31. Be3 $2 {I thought black was getting counterplay so I tried to
play something concrete but this just gives him even more counterplay} ({
I should have just consolidated with} 31. Bb2 {and white is completely winning.
}) 31... Nd7 (31... Rxe5 $142 32. Bh6 Bf6 33. Bxg7 Rg5 34. Bxf6 Qxf6 35. Qh4 h6
$1 $14 {White should still be better but the position is more double-edged
than after what my opponent did in the game.}) 32. Bh6 $18 g6 33. hxg6 hxg6 34.
Bf4 $6 (34. Qg3 $1 {Hard to see why it is better than 34.Bf4, but the bishop
on h6 controls the f8 square which could be important.}) 34... Rc8 $5 {Very
strange. What is the point to take the rook off the a-file?} (34... Qf8 $142 $1
$16 {threatening ...Qg7 and it is hard to defend the e5-pawn.}) {[#]} 35. Re3
$2 {My opponent was low on time so I wanted to make things complicated.
However, even if I get a rook to the h-file it is still very hard to checkmate
black.} ({In hindsight, I should have spent more time to try and consolidate
my position with something like} 35. Bd3 {which also forces black to go
passive with} Nf8 36. Rce4 {and white is able to protect all their pawns.})
35... Rxc4 $4 (35... Rcc5 $1 $11 {makes it very hard for white to defend their
pawns.}) 36. Bxc4 Rd4 ({editor -} 36... Rc5 37. Bxe6 $1 $18 {wins, as in the
game. The problem with 35...Rxc4 was entirely tactical: giving White a tempo
for the skewer combo on e6.}) 37. Bxe6 $8 $18 Rxf4 38. Qxg6+ $8 Kf8 39. Qh6+ $8
Ke8 40. Bxd7+ Qxd7 41. Qxf4 $18 {[#]} Qd1+ 42. Kh2 Qxc2 43. e6 f5 44. Qb8+ Bd8
45. e7 Qc7+ 46. Qxc7 Bxc7+ 47. Kh3 Bd6 48. Kh4 Bxe7+ 49. Rxe7+ Kxe7 50. Kg5 Ke6
51. f4 {Not the best game by me. I played pretty well in the beginning but I
let my opponent have a lot of counterplay.} 1-0

[Event "Open de Gatineau"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2024.05.25"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Saha, Ananda"]
[Black "Han, Johnathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E52"]
[WhiteElo "2259"]
[BlackElo "2407"]
[Annotator "Johnathan Han"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2024.05.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[BlackTeam "2407"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,76,25,13,38,3,19,19,33,36,28,22,22,22,25,17,43,37,36,25,
12,4,20,16,9,6,14,-5,-25,-13,12,7,19,-6,-3,-28,-18,-18,-30,-15,-30,-34,-27,-17,
-28,-102,-91,-121,-125,-286,-138,-125,-130,-169,-164,-185,-186,-302,-198,-192,
-190,-207,-217,-212,-179,-212,-166,-240,-248,-261,-271,-284,-366,-532,-577,
-564,-614,-626,-570]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3
{[#]} b6 {I did not expect my opponent to play the Nimzo, as at the time, my
opponent was playing a lot of 1.Nf3; so I decided to go for something slower
than the typical isolated pawn positions after ...dxc4 and ...c5.} (6... c5 7.
O-O cxd4 8. exd4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 {is the main starting position that arises from
these Nimzo positions. Even though I knew the positions pretty well after ...
dxc4 and ...c5, I knew that if my opponent voluntarily played this line, he
would have something prepared.}) 7. O-O Bb7 8. cxd5 $1 {White takes on d5 as
soon as black puts the bishop on the long diagonal to prevent black from
taking on c4 and having a good light-squared bishop} exd5 9. a3 (9. Ne5 {
is white's other idea to go for f4 and some type of kingside attack.}) 9... Bd6
10. b4 {White's main idea is to play b5 and create a weakness on c7. Black
wants to find a way to prevent this for as long as possible to maneuver their
pieces.} a6 11. Qb3 {[#]} Qe7 {I was trying to delay white from playing a4-b5
for as long as possible but maybe it isn't such a big deal.} (11... Nbd7 12. a4
c6 {The computer thinks that this pawn structure is very solid, as if White
ever plays b5, black will play ...axb5 and ...c5. I rejected putting my pawn
on c6 since I thought if White could get a quick e3-e4, the pawn on c6 would
be very weak and my bishop on b7 very passive.}) 12. Rb1 Nbd7 (12... Re8 13. a4
Nc6 $5 {A very interesting idea that I had never seen before; the point being
that if} 14. b5 (14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Qxd5 Nxb4 16. Qxb7 Nxd3 $11) 14... Na5 {
and the knight is more active than on its typical d7 square.}) 13. a4 {[#]} Ne4
$6 {Too rushed, allowing White a very strong exchange sacrifice.} (13... c6 {
again is the computer's top line with the same idea of} 14. b5 axb5 15. axb5 c5
$13) 14. b5 ({I vaguely remembered a line with} 14. Nxd5 Bxd5 15. Qxd5 Nc3 16.
Qb3 Nxb1 17. Qxb1 $14 {but it didn't look too bad for me. White has the
advantage for sure, but it would be a complicated position where I thought I
had chances to win.}) 14... axb5 $11 {[#]} 15. Nxb5 ({White can also play} 15.
axb5 {and try to attack the weakness on c7 to take over the a-file with
Bb2-Ra1.} Ndf6) 15... Rfc8 (15... c5 {is also an option but my pawns seemed
kind of delicate on c5 and d5.}) 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Ba3 {A slight inaccuracy.} (
{The bishop looks strong on a3 but Nd2, getting rid of my e4 knight was a
better plan for white.} 17. Nd2) 17... Qe6 18. Rfc1 {[#]} Ba6 {A very strong
move, eliminating white's bishop pair.} 19. Bxe4 (19. Bc2 {is white's only way
to try and prevent the bishop exchange but black has} Be2 {with the threat of .
..Bxf3 and ...Nd2.}) (19. Bb5 $5 {is an interesting try to get a pawn on b5,
but Black can simply play} c6 {forcing} 20. Bxa6 Rxa6 $15) 19... Qxe4 20. Nd2
Qe6 $15 {At this point, I started to think I had winning chances if I could
get a quick ...c5 in.} 21. Rc3 (21. Bb2 $1 {anticipating c5} c5 22. dxc5 bxc5
23. a5 $11) 21... c5 $15 {[#] Now that white's knight is on d2, even if white
plays dxc5 and I get hanging pawns, these pawns are not so weak anymore as I
can go for a quick c4 and ...Ne5 without worring about white's knight going to
d4.} 22. Nf3 $2 {A bad move but white's position is already very passive.} (22.
Qc2 $142 $1 cxd4 23. exd4 $15 {Black is slightly better due to having more
active pieces but this is better than the game continuation.}) 22... Be2 $1 $17
{A move I didn't even see at first but when I did see it, I played it
immediately as it is a very annoying move for white to deal with. My opponent
was also starting to get low on time so I was trying to put on time pressure
as well.} 23. Nd2 {A sad move to play but there is no way for white to defend
the knight anyways.} (23. Ne1 $1 {is better than Nd2, covering the d3 square.})
23... c4 $19 24. Rbc1 {[#]} Nf6 ({I didn't even see} 24... Nc5 $1 {as I was
blitzing out moves due to my opponent's time pressure, but it pretty much wins
immediately.} 25. Qc2 Nxa4 $19) 25. Qc2 (25. Qb2 $1 {White is going to lose
the a4 pawn anyway, so White should focus on blockading the queenside pawns as
with opposite coloured bishops I thought it could still be somewhat hard to
win.} Rxa4 26. Bb4) 25... Qd7 26. f3 Bd3 {[#] Before taking on a4, I knew that
my opponent wanted to complicate the position so I wanted to prevent white
from playing any e4 nonsense.} 27. Qd1 Re8 28. Kf2 Qe6 {Still completely
winning but I completely missed 29.Nf1, so in hindsight taking on a4 was a lot
simpler.} (28... Rxa4 $19 {with the idea of ...b5-b4.}) 29. Nf1 Qd7 30. Bb2
Rxa4 31. Ra1 {[#] Pretty much anything wins in this position, but since my
opponent was low on time, I didn't want him to get easy moves and blockade my
queenside pawns.} Rb4 $6 {Very strange move.} (31... Rxa1 32. Qxa1 b5 {This
was my plan at first but I didn't like how white could blockade with somethine
like} 33. Ba3 {with Qb2 coming next move. However, I could shift my pieces to
the kingside and Black is completely winning:} Qf5 $19 {editor - Black
threatens both ...Ne4+ and ...Ng4+, and defending with} 34. Ng3 {steps into a
crushing attack:} Ng4+ $1 35. Kg1 Qg5 $1 {and White has no good way to defend
against both ...Nxh2 and ...Nxe3.}) 32. Ba3 Rb5 {This was my plan behind 31...
Rb4 and my idea was to double on the a-file. I thought White was paralyzed but
I missed what White could do on the next move.} (32... Ra4 $142 {I should have
just accepted that ...Rb4 was a bad move and gone back.}) 33. g4 {White misses
an opportunity to try and get back into the game.} (33. Bc1 $142 $1 {and it's
hard to say what my rook is doing on b5. Black is still winning, but it's a
lot harder to find a plan now.}) 33... Ra8 $19 {After this move, White's
queenside is completely paralyzed and I will simply double on the a-file.} 34.
Ng3 Rba5 {[#]} 35. g5 ({White can't play} 35. Bb2 Rxa1 36. Bxa1 Ra2+ 37. Kg1 b5
$19) 35... Ne8 36. Qc1 Nc7 37. Bb2 Rxa1 38. Bxa1 Nb5 0-1

[Event "Open de Gatineau"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2024.05.25"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Han, Johnathan"]
[Black "Sowa, Ryan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2407"]
[BlackElo "2310"]
[Annotator "Johnathan Han"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "2024.05.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "2407"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,131,21,29,34,30,32,25,57,38,25,-12,28,31,35,44,15,13,23,1,
18,6,25,20,22,4,6,-16,-10,-4,-4,1,8,8,14,14,19,-2,20,26,27,26,22,19,25,39,43,
65,77,77,95,87,70,85,120,98,98,106,71,61,68,110,110,110,110,110,110,102,110,
110,105,104,130,52,88,85,94,41,45,39,37,30,30,66,130,116,110,135,118,124,148,
122,102,83,83,83,74,60,56,99,155,48,48,66,72,74,100,100,100,100,100,100,175,
175,191,191,191,191,191,199,214,214,209,182,240,485,485,485,505,507,527,505,
537,547]} 1. e4 e6 {I was already surprised as I didn't know my opponent
played the French.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3
Be7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. dxc5 {[#]} Nxc5 (9... Bxc5 {Is also an option that usually
leads to quick liquidations.} 10. O-O-O Qb6 11. Nd4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bxd4 13. Qxd4
Qxd4 14. Rxd4) 10. O-O-O a6 $14 {At this point, I knew I was still in theory
but I wasn't sure what the right move was} 11. Qf2 $2 {This forces ...b6 and
stops ...b5 for a few moves, but ...b5 itself is not much of a problem.} ({
I could have been more aggresive with} 11. h4) ({or} 11. Kb1 b5 12. Bxc5 Bxc5
13. Bd3 {Setting up Bxh7 ideas}) 11... b6 12. Nd4 $6 {Blockading the d4 square
shouldn't be a priority.} ({The knight on f3 is also on a very good square to
support my kingside attack.} 12. Kb1 Bb7 13. f5) 12... Bb7 {[#]} 13. h4 ({
editor: still in theory!} 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. Bd4 Qc7 15. Qe3 Rfc8 16. Bd3 Nxd3+
17. Rxd3 b5 18. Ne2 b4 19. Rd2 $1 Ba4 $5 20. b3 Bb5 $15 {Robson,R (2656)
-Shankland,S (2661) USA-ch Saint Louis 2015 (8) 1/2-1/2}) 13... f6 ({Black can
also prepare ...b5 with} 13... Rc8 14. Kb1 Nxd4 15. Bxd4 b5) 14. exf6 Bxf6 15.
g3 $6 (15. Nxc6 Bxc6 16. Bd4 {Now, black can't play ...e5:} e5 $2 17. Bxc5 bxc5
18. Qxc5 $18 {and the bishop on c6 is hanging}) {[#]} 15... Bxd4 $2 {My
opponent chooses to simply accept a worse position.} (15... Nxd4 16. Bxd4 e5
17. Bxc5 bxc5 {Now, with the bishop on b7, Qxc5 is less of an issue for black.}
18. Bc4 {I thought this was good for me but somehow after} (18. Qxc5 exf4 $15)
18... exf4 19. Nxd5 Bd4 20. Nxf4+ Kh8 $11 {I think I overestimated my position.
}) 16. Bxd4 $16 Nxd4 17. Qxd4 Qf6 {[#]} 18. Bg2 ({I wanted to prevent any
nonsense on the a8-h1 diagonal, but} 18. Bh3 {puts more pressure on the e6
pawn which is the main weakness in black's position.}) 18... Qxd4 19. Rxd4 Rae8
20. Re1 Bc6 {[#]} 21. Re3 $5 {My idea was to play Ne2.} ({If} 21. Ne2 {
immediately, black might be able to play} e5) (21. h5 $1 {I believe this is
the best move. I should have played this many times during this game as it
essentially stops black from ever playing ...g5. If black plays ...g6, in some
lines, white also can go h6 creating a weakness on h7.} g6 22. h6 $16) ({
I could have also played} 21. Rd2 {The knight probably belongs on d4 instead
of e5 since it will target the e6 pawn} g6 22. Ne2) 21... Kf7 ({This doesn't
accomplish much. Black should've played} 21... g6 {to prevent me from playing
h5}) 22. Ne2 Re7 23. Ng1 h6 $2 {This weakens the g6 square too much.} (23... g6
$142 {again, preventing h5. Black should try to sit still and create as little
weaknesses as possible.}) 24. Nf3 {[#]} Nd7 {I could tell that my opponent was
going full-passive defense.} ({The e6 pawn is a weakness but black shouldn't
require all his pieces to defend it.} 24... Rc7 25. Rd1 Kf6 26. Nd4 Bd7 {
If I ever try to attack the e6 pawn with} 27. Bh3 {at the very least, black
can block the e-file with:} Ne4) 25. Rd1 (25. h5 $142 {again, this is a move
that I should play automatically.}) 25... Bb7 26. Bh3 $6 (26. h5 $1) 26... Bc8
$6 (26... g6 $16 {Now, black has ideas to go ...Kf6 and prepare ...g5. If I
had played h5, all these options are gone.}) 27. Rde1 Rfe8 $18 {[#] The last
few moves have all been improving moves and I've built up my advantage to a
pretty much winning position, but black is preparing to play ...Nc5 with some
counterplay, so I realized I kind of need to do something quick.} 28. Rc3 {
Threatening Rc7.} Nc5 {My opponent chooses to go down the forcing variation.} (
28... Bb7 {prevents Rc7 for the time being and was probably a better defense.}
29. Rc7 Nc5 30. Rxe7+ Rxe7 $14 {trading one pair of rooks would massively
benefit Black as it relieves some pressure.}) 29. Ne5+ Kg8 {This pretty much
leads us down a forcing line.} ({The other option is to move forward with} 
29... Kf6 {but this looks very scary and after} 30. g4 {Threatening checkmate.}
g5 31. fxg5+ hxg5 32. Rf3+ Kg7 33. h5 {This was probably what my opponent saw
since this is what I calculated as well and he probably didn't like it.}) 30.
Ng6 Ra7 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position} 31. b4 {editor - Removing the guards
of e6 wins a pawn and wrecks Black's center.} Ne4 32. Rxc8 Rxc8 33. Bxe6+ Kh7
34. Bxc8 Kxg6 35. g4 $18 Kf6 {[#]} 36. Bf5 $4 {I played a nice combination but
completely squandered my advantage with this move.} (36. h5 {again, this move
stops any nonsense.}) 36... Re7 $4 (36... h5 $1 {and suddenly, there will be a
liquidation into a rook endgame which should be a draw.} 37. Bxe4 dxe4 38. Rxe4
hxg4 $11) 37. h5 Nc3 {[#] At this point, I felt like I should still be winning
but I could not find the best move. I ended up spending a lot of time and
playing the second best line.} 38. g5+ $4 (38. Rxe7 Kxe7 39. Kb2 Ne2 {is what
I was scared of, but after} 40. Bd3 Nxf4 41. Bxa6 $18 {White's a-pawn will win
the game.}) 38... Kf7 39. Bg6+ Kf8 40. Rf1 $16 Nxa2+ 41. Kd2 Nxb4 42. Rb1 a5
43. c3 Nc6 44. Rxb6 Rc7 {[#]} 45. gxh6 $2 ({Black is somewhat out of moves so
I can keep the tension with} 45. Bd3 a4 46. Ra6 $16) 45... gxh6 46. f5 {
If I can get the pawn to f6, I would be winning. My opponent probably didn't
see a way to stop it so he went for the rook endgame} Ne5 (46... a4 $2 47. f6 {
If I can get the pawn to f6, black will be forced to put the rook on the back
rank.} a3 48. Ra6 Rc8 49. Rxa3 $18) 47. Re6 {[#]} Nxg6 $4 (47... Nf3+ 48. Kd3
Rc6 $3 $11 {and suddenly, it's a draw. This was actually the only way to save
the game and of course, we both missed it.} 49. Rxc6 Ne5+) 48. hxg6 $18 {
This endgame is tricky, but I evaluated that it was winning. I thought Black
had to push the h-pawn so it makes the calculation pretty straightforward, but
apparently Black has many tricky ideas.} Kg7 49. Ra6 h5 50. Rxa5 Kf6 51. Rxd5 {
[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position What happens after 51...Rc8?} h4 (51... Rc8 $5
{Very strange idea. The rook wants to go to h8 and then distract the rook from
defending the pawns. At first, the computer isn't even sure if White is
winning, and it turns out White somehow has to find a lot of only moves to win
the game.} 52. Kd3 $8 {Bringing the king to defend the f5 pawn is apparently
the only way to win.} h4 53. Rd4 $8 (53. Ke4 $2 {trying to get the R to h7
only draws vs} Rc4+ $11 ({or} 53... Kg5 $11)) 53... Rh8 (53... Kxf5 {
transposes to the game:} 54. Rxh4 $8 Kxg6 55. Rf4 $8 $18) 54. Ke4 $8 h3 55.
Rd6+ $8 Kg7 56. Rd7+ Kf6 (56... Kh6 57. Kf4 h2 58. Rd1 $8 Kg7 59. Kg5 $1 $18)
57. Rf7+ $1 Kg5 58. g7 $1 (58. Rh7 $18) 58... Rg8 59. Kf3 $8 $18) 52. Rd4 Kxf5
53. Rxh4 Kxg6 {[#]} 54. Rf4 $8 {In rook endgames, you always want to cut of
the opponent's king.} Kg5 55. Rf1 Rc8 56. Kd3 Rd8+ 57. Ke4 Re8+ 58. Kd4 Rd8+
59. Ke5 Re8+ 60. Kd6 Rc8 61. Rc1 $8 (61. Rf3 $2 Kg4 $11) 61... Kf6 62. c4 Rd8+
63. Kc7 Rd4 64. c5 Ke6 65. c6 Rh4 66. Kc8 {Not the best game. I missed many
chances to potentially win in a quicker or easier way and I allowed a lot of
counterplay that my opponent luckily missed.} 1-0

[Event "Open de Gatineau"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2024.05.26"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Han, Johnathan"]
[Black "Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B15"]
[WhiteElo "2407"]
[BlackElo "2634"]
[Annotator "Johnathan Han"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "2024.05.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "2407"]

{[%mdl 32768] Going into this round, we were the only two players on 3/3. The
last few times we had played. Shawn had surprised me with different openings
so I somewhat expected him to go back to the caro-kann.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3.
Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Ne2 Re8 {[#]
Obviously, there are many different ways white can play here. Shawn and I have
played many times in positions with 0-0-0 so I decided to castle kingside.} 9.
O-O Nd7 10. Ng3 {Black has many options here, but the game continuation
requires black to be very precise in the following moves and they aren't easy
to see.} Nf8 ({Black can also play} 10... g6 {with the idea of if white plays}
11. f4 (11. Bh6 f5 $14) 11... f5 {with the idea of ...Nf6-e4.}) {[#]} 11. f4 {
If I can get f4-f5, black's position is going to be very passive and white
also has chances at a kingside attack with ideas like Nh5 and Qg4.} (11. a4 {
The engine really likes this move and says that white is slightly better.
White's plan is to create a bind on black's queenside structure.} Qc7 12. a5
Bd7 13. b4 $14) 11... c5 $1 {Practically an only move. Black needs to generate
counterplay immediately. I was pretty surprised that my opponent spent around
20-30 min since this is still somewhat theory.} ({To illustrate how quickly
black's position can collapse, if black plays a normal move like} 11... g6 {
after} 12. f5 $16 {Black's position is almost paralyzed and most likely, black
has to go for c5} c5 13. Bf4 Bxf4 14. Rxf4 $16) 12. d5 g6 $11 {Again, pretty
much forced. Black has to challenge white's idea of playing c4-b3-Bb2 by
preparing ...f5 and ...Be7-f6.} 13. c4 f5 14. b3 Be7 15. a4 {My preparation
ended on the next move but this was my main idea. The point is that my rook
will go from a2 to e2 in the future, and a4 also prevents some ...b5 ideas.} (
15. Bb2 {is a simpler alternative,} Bf6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Ne2 $11) 15... Bf6
16. Ra2 $11 {[#] This position is equal but I thought it was easier to play
with white because of my pawn on d5.} Bd7 {A slight inaccuracy. My opponent
wanted to go for b5 but probably should have kept the position as is.} (16...
Qd6 {saves a tempo for black over the game line} 17. Kh1 Bd7) 17. Re2 $6 {
This allows black to play a quick ...a6-b5.} (17. Kh1 {I should have started
with a useful waiting move, and Kh1 is a move I probably want to play anyway
to get off the open diagonal. This also vacates the g1 square for a possible
Ne2-g1-f3 maneuver if black doesn't do anything about it.}) 17... Rxe2 (17...
a6 18. Rxe8 Qxe8 19. a5 Qd8 20. Bd2 b5 21. axb6 Qxb6 {and without a rook on
the a-file, black can go for a quick ...a5-a4.}) 18. Nxe2 a6 19. Be3 Qe7 20.
Bf2 {[#]} Qd6 ({Black needs to prevent white from playing a5 by either playing
} 20... b6) ({or} 20... a5 {My opponent probably didn't like how passive this
position is for him.}) 21. a5 $1 $14 {A very important move and now the c5
pawn is a permanant weakness} b5 $2 {A bad move but my opponent was already
commited to this plan} 22. axb6 Qxb6 23. Bc2 $16 a5 24. Nc1 $1 {[#] Rerouting
to d3} Bc8 $2 ({I was mostly scared of} 24... a4 25. bxa4 Qb4 26. Nd3 Qxc4 27.
Bb3 Qc3 28. Nxc5 Rc8 {I got to this pretty much forcing line and I wasn't sure
what to play.  I thought at the very least I had} 29. Nxd7 ({The right move was
} 29. Qc2 $1 Qb4 30. Nxd7 $1 Rxc2 31. Nxf6+ Kh8 32. Bxc2 $16 {White should be
able to win. editor - Black gets a piece back with the fork} Qc3 {but the
passed a- and d-pawns are too strong when supported by White's pieces; e.g.}
33. d6 Qxf6 34. Rd1 $8 Qe6 35. Rd4 $1 (35. a5 {also wins, but is much more
computerish.}) 35... Qa2 36. Bd3 $1 $18 {with excellent coordination.
Importantly,} Ne6 {fails to} 37. d7 $8 $18) 29... Nxd7 30. d6 $16) 25. Nd3 $16
Nd7 26. Re1 Bb7 27. Ne5 Rd8 28. Qf3 {[#]} Nb8 $2 $18 {My last few moves have
all been pretty natural, so I'd played them quickly and accumulated a very big
time advantage. I knew I was a lot better here, so I had to find a way to
convert my advantage.} (28... Qd6 $142 {when it still might take more work
from White to win.}) 29. Qe3 {A good move, but I still wasn't sure what to do
after. I saw this move forced ...Rc8, so I thought it couldn't be bad.} ({
The computer already recommends} 29. Bxf5 gxf5 30. Qh5 Qc7 31. Qxf5 Bg7 32. Bh4
Rf8 {I saw up to here and I wasn't sure how easy this position is. It turns
out White has a brute-force win:} 33. Bf6 Bxf6 34. Qxf6 Qd8 35. Qh6 Nd7 (35...
Bc8 36. Re3 $8 $18) 36. Nxd7 $8 Qxd7 37. Re3 $18) 29... Rc8 ({If} 29... Na6 30.
Nd7 Qd6 31. Nxf6+ Qxf6 {Without the dark squared bishop, black is completely
lost.}) 30. Qg3 $2 {A step in the wrong direction. My pieces are already in
great positions so I should try to open up the black king.} ({I wasn't sure
about opening my king's position with} 30. g4 $1 {but my pieces are so well
placed I should have spent more time to realize that my king isn't in danger.}
fxg4 31. Nxg4 Bg7 32. f5 $18) 30... Bg7 {[#]} 31. Nd3 $4 {Way too slow and
allowing black to reactivate. I played 31.Nd3 as I thought black would play ...
Re8 otherwise. But after} (31. h4 Re8 32. Kh2 Qd6 33. Nd3 {the c5 pawn is
still very weak.}) 31... Nd7 32. Re7 Qd6 33. Qe3 {[#]} Bd4 $4 {Missing the
infiltration with 35.Qe7.} (33... Bf6 34. Re8+ Rxe8 35. Qxe8+ Kg7 $16 {
Suddenly, black's pieces are starting to activate and this position is not
clear.}) 34. Re8+ Kg7 35. Qe7 $18 Bxf2+ 36. Kxf2 Qb8 37. Rxc8 Bxc8 {[#]} 38.
Ke2 $1 {The top computer choicen but not for the reason I thought.} ({I wanted
to play} 38. Ne5 {but I was scared of} Qb4 39. Qxf7+ Kh6 {I completely missed
that} 40. Nf3 {protects the d2 square.}) ({Additionally, 38.Ke2 sidesteps} 38.
Nxc5 $4 Qb6 $19) 38... Qb6 39. Kd1 $2 ({I should have played the pretty obvious
} 39. Ne5 Qf6 40. Qxf6+ Nxf6 41. Nc6 {and this endgame is completely winning:}
Ba6 42. Bd3 $18 {I thought maybe black had some holding chancesm but it should
be completely winning.}) 39... Qf6 40. Qe8 Nb6 {[#] At this point, there are
many ways to win. We were both almost playing off increment at this point, so
I went for a zero risk approach. In hindsight, I gave black many opportunities
with this approach.} 41. Qe5 ({For example. in this position} 41. Nxc5 Qd4+ 42.
Nd3 Qg1+ 43. Qe1 Qxg2 44. Qc3+ {White is completely winning, but I didn't go
for it since I thought black had some counterplay.}) 41... Nd7 42. Qe3 $4 (42.
Qc7 Qa1+ 43. Nc1 Qd4+ 44. Bd3 {White will win either the bishop or the knight.}
) 42... Qd6 $2 {Missing a chance} ({Immediately after I played Qe3, I saw that
Black could go} 42... a4 $1 43. bxa4 Qc3 $16 {and suddenly, there is only one
move where white keeps an advantage.} 44. Qe8 $8 Nf6 45. Qe5 (45. Qxc8 $4 Ne4
$19) 45... Qxc4 46. d6 {White is still better but this is definitely not what
I wanted.}) 43. Qe8 Qf8 44. Qe3 Ba6 {[#]} 45. Ne5 $2 ({I could have won a pawn
immediately with} 45. Qd2 Qd8 (45... a4 {fails to} 46. bxa4 Bxc4 $2 47. Qc3+
$18) 46. Nxc5 Nxc5 47. Qd4+ $18) 45... Nf6 $2 {This move basically paralyzed
his knight for the rest of the game.} (45... Qe7 $1 46. Qc3 Nxe5 47. fxe5 {
I thought this pawn structure would be hard for black to defend, but the white
pawns are somewhat blockaded since advancing them opens the position and gives
Black some counterplay.} Bc8 48. e6+ Kg8 49. exf7+ Kxf7 50. Qh8 $1 {Only move
where white has a big advantage, but this was not an easy move to see.}) 46.
Qc3 $18 {Now, I win the a5 pawn.} Qd8 47. Nc6 Qc7 48. g3 a4 49. bxa4 {[#] The
next few moves, I just shuffled my pieces and tried to think of a plan.} h6 50.
a5 Bc8 51. Kc1 Bd7 52. Ne5 Bc8 53. Qa1 Ba6 54. Qa4 {I was trying to infiltrate
with Qc6, but obviously black shouldn't let that happen.} Qd8 55. Qa3 Qc7 56.
Qa1 Qd8 57. Nc6 Qe8 58. Ne5 Qd8 {[#] At this point, I saw that it was
difficult to break through on the queenside, so I focused on playing g4-g5.}
59. h3 Qc7 60. Qc3 Qd8 61. g4 Bc8 {[#]} 62. Nc6 ({The immediate} 62. g5 {
also wins, but I didn't want to allow any counterplay with:} hxg5 63. fxg5 Ne4
64. Bxe4 Qxg5+ 65. Kb2 fxe4 66. d6 $18 {is still winning, but there's no
reason to allow this.}) 62... Qc7 63. Qe5 Qxe5 64. fxe5 Ne8 65. gxf5 gxf5 66.
Ne7 Ba6 67. d6 1-0

[Event "Open de Gatineau"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2024.05.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Batorshyn, Ilia"]
[Black "Han, Johnathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2241"]
[BlackElo "2407"]
[Annotator "Johnathan Han"]
[PlyCount "140"]
[EventDate "2024.05.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[BlackTeam "2407"]

{[%evp 0,140,20,23,15,-14,25,28,30,30,34,15,22,-8,6,2,-14,-28,-29,-23,-17,-34,
-28,-52,-46,-48,-48,-36,-28,-37,-45,-31,-47,-27,-28,-23,-28,-87,-52,-49,-58,
-58,-31,-22,-30,-39,-39,-39,-15,-23,-39,-35,-15,-15,-17,-15,-24,-14,-44,-44,
-45,-50,-41,-38,-46,-53,-41,-65,-53,-67,-67,-77,-73,-83,-94,-90,-95,-96,-88,
-82,-86,-81,-81,-72,-80,-82,-100,-95,-106,-79,-95,-115,-101,-109,-126,-119,
-118,-139,-102,-108,-95,-105,-95,-86,-94,-72,-73,-77,-77,-86,-33,-35,-35,-67,
-74,-113,-136,-174,-249,-249,-351,-360,-497,-497,-507,-507,-497,-507,-517,-527,
-527,-527,-527,-557,-557,-1012,-1022,-1022,-1032,-1469,-28664,-29971,-29976]
Going into the final round, my opponent was on 3.5/4 and I was on 4/4. There
was another player on 3.5/4, but lost pretty quickly so I knew that a draw
would win the tournament.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. c3 {[#]
} d5 ({The main line is} 5... d6 6. Bd3 e5 (6... Qg5 7. Nf3 Qxg2 8. Rg1 Qh3 {
The alternative is this line but I wanted to play it safe as I thought I could
easily lose in this position.}) 7. Ne2 {but White goes for a quick castles and
f4 which I didn't really like.}) 6. e5 (6. Bd3 {Keeping the tension is better
since 6.e5 turns into a good French defense for black.} c5 7. Nf3 $11) 6... Qd8
7. Nf3 c5 $15 {[#] Since there has already been a minor piece trade, black's
development is very natural as the bishop and the knight usually fight for the
e7 square in a normal French.} 8. Be2 Nc6 9. O-O Qb6 10. Na3 {[#]} Be7 (10...
cxd4 {Black usually should play this move after white moves the b1 knight,
since the knight now can't go to c3. This also prevents white from playing
dxc5 which an interesting pawn structure that black doesn't have to allow.}) ({
Of course, don't play} 10... Qxb2 $2 11. Nb5 $16) 11. Qd2 (11. dxc5 Bxc5 12.
Qd2 {Now, instead of a good french, it is a completely different pawn
structure that is more imbalanced.}) 11... cxd4 {Now I see white has the
option of playing dxc5 if I castle immediately.} (11... O-O 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13.
Nb5 $15 {Black is slightly better but there's no reason to allow this pawn
structure with the knight coming to d4.}) 12. cxd4 O-O 13. Nc2 {[#]} f6 $2 (
13... Bd7 14. Ne3 {I was scared of some quick Ng4 and possibly Nxh6 so I
decided to open the position with 13... f6. However, I have enough queenside
counterplay that it shouldn't be a problem.} Rfc8 15. Ng4 Qb4 16. Qe3 h5 17.
Nh6+ Kf8 $17 {and there shouldn't be that much danger.}) 14. exf6 Bxf6 $11 15.
Rfd1 {My opponent was trying to go for a kingside attack.} ({White can also
try to expand on the queenside with} 15. b4 Bd7 16. a4 {and black has to
prevent a5 and b5 with something like} a6) 15... Bd7 {With the idea of a quick
...Be8-g6.} 16. Ne3 Be8 17. Ng4 Bg6 18. Bd3 $2 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical
Position: Is ...Bh5 any good?} Be4 {I thought white was forced to trade off a
lot of pieces and I knew it would be at least a draw.} (18... Bh5 $142 $1 $17 {
I immediately rejected this move because of} 19. Nxh6+ {but after} Kh8 $8 $19 {
White's pieces are extremely uncoordinated and white also has many loose pawns.
}) 19. Bxe4 ({White could've tried to keep more pieces on the board with} 19.
Qe3 Bxf3 20. Qxe6+ Kh8 21. gxf3 Nxd4 22. Qxd5 Ne6 $11 {is still equal, but
this could be scary for me.}) 19... dxe4 20. Nxf6+ ({Not} 20. Nfe5 $2 Bxe5 21.
Nxe5 Nxe5 22. dxe5 Rad8 23. Qe2 Rd3 $15 {and suddenly black's pieces are very
active.}) 20... Rxf6 21. Ne5 $11 Nxe5 22. dxe5 Rf5 23. Qd4 Qxd4 24. Rxd4 Raf8 {
[#]} 25. Rf1 $6 (25. Rd2 Rxe5 26. Re1 $11 {white will be able to win back the
pawn and it should be equal. The game continuation is still equal but I
definitely have some chances to win.}) 25... e3 26. f4 (26. f3 {may have been
an easier draw.} Rxe5 27. Rc1 {White should be able to bring the king to e2
and win the pawn.}) 26... g5 27. g3 gxf4 {[#]} 28. gxf4 ({There was probably
an easier way to draw the game with} 28. Rdxf4 Rxf4 29. Rxf4 Rd8 30. Kf1 Rd2
31. Rb4 b6 32. h4 h5 $11 {Looks somewhat scary with the pawn on e3, but black
has no way to make progress.}) 28... e2 29. Re1 Rxf4 30. Rxf4 Rxf4 31. Rxe2 Kf7
{With best play, this endgame should be a draw, but I have the more active
rook and king black should have some chances.} 32. Rc2 Kg6 33. Rc7 {[#]} Rf7 ({
I should have stayed active with} 33... Rb4 34. b3 h5 $15 {and it remains hard
for white to defend e5}) 34. Rc3 $6 ({Right idea, but} 34. Rc2 {prevents my
next move} Kg5 35. Rg2+ {and the black K can't go to the f-file without Rf2+.})
{White should give up a pawn to keep there rook active} 34... Kg5 $1 $15 {
Threatening ...Kf4 and white will lose a pawn at least. Again, with best play,
it was probably _still_ a draw, but now I know I might have some chances.} 35.
Rc2 Rd7 36. Rf2 $1 {White's only chance of creating counterplay.} Rd5 37. Rf7
Rd1+ 38. Kf2 Rd2+ {[#]} 39. Kg3 (39. Ke3 $1 {also should lead to a draw} Rxb2
40. Rf6 Rxh2 41. a3 $3 {If my opponent saw this move, I believe he would have
played it because it is much simpler to calculate than the game continuation.
The point being that after} ({not} 41. Rxe6 $4 Kf5 42. Re7 Rxa2 $19) 41... Rh3+
42. Kd4 Rxa3 43. Rxe6 {Black can't play} Kf5 {due to} 44. Rf6+ {and white's
e-pawn should be able to at least draw the game.}) 39... Rxb2 40. h4+ Kh5 41.
Rf6 Rb6 $15 {[#] I was able to win a pawn but I saw how white could draw the
game.} 42. Kf4 $4 (42. a4 $1 {White needed to stop me from pushing my pawns on
the queenside.} Ra6 43. a5 $1 b5 (43... Rxa5 44. Rxe6 $11 {Even though white
is down a pawn, the e5 pawn is so advanced that black has no winning chances.})
44. axb6 Rxb6 45. Rf7 a5 46. Ra7 Rb5 47. Kf4 Kxh4 48. Ra6 $11 {White will win
the e6 pawn and most likely trade it for one of black's pawns.}) 42... Ra6 $19
{Even thought my position is somewhat paralyzed, it also means that if white
ever moves his rook, I should be able to play ...Kxh4.} 43. Ke3 b5 44. Kd4 Rc6
45. Rf7 {[#]} a6 ({Not sure why I didn't go for} 45... Kxh4 46. Rxa7 Rc4+ 47.
Ke3 Kg5 $19) 46. Rf6 b4 47. Kd3 a5 48. Kd2 a4 49. Rf4 {[#]} Rb6 $4 {I wasn't
too low on time, but I mssed 53.Rf6 in the game continuation, which is why I
played this whole variation. It might still be winning, but I should have
spent some more time and seen the much simpler 49.b3:} (49... b3 $1 50. axb3
axb3 51. Rb4 Rc2+ $1 52. Kd3 Rh2 $19 {is much more trivial.}) 50. Kc2 b3+ $4 {
Again, I simply thought this move was winning.} (50... Rb5 51. Kb2 a3+ 52. Kb3
Rxe5 53. Kxb4 Re3 $19) 51. axb3 axb3+ 52. Kb2 Rb5 {[#]} 53. Rf6 $8 $11 {
The move I'd missed.} Rxe5 (53... Rb6 54. Rf4 $8 $11) 54. Kxb3 Kxh4 (54... Re4
55. Kc3 e5 56. Kd3 Rxh4 57. Rf5+ $11 {White is just in time to win back a pawn.
}) 55. Rxh6+ Kg5 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position} 56. Rh8 $4 (56. Rh1 $1 $11
Rc5 57. Re1 {White's rook should go in front of the pawn. Black's pawn is too
little advanced and the white king is close enough that white will continue
keeping pressure on the e6 pawn. If black ever puts there rook behing the pawn,
then white will bring in their king.} Kf6 58. Kb4 Rc8 59. Rf1+ Kg5 60. Re1 Kf5
61. Rf1+ Kg4 62. Re1 Re8 63. Kc4 $11) ({editor - the even less natural} 56. Rh2
{is the only other move that draws} Rc5 57. Re2 e5 58. Kb4 $8 $11) 56... Rc5 $8
$19 {Just like in game 3 against Ryan Sowa, the same idea wins: cutting off
the king. Now white is too slow if he tries to go Rh1-e1.} 57. Rf8 (57. Rh1 e5
58. Re1 Kf4 $19 {and now the pawn is too advanced} 59. Rf1+ Ke3 60. Re1+ Kf2
61. Re4 Kf3 62. Re1 e4 $19) 57... e5 58. Rf1 e4 59. Rg1+ Kf4 60. Rf1+ Kg3 61.
Re1 Kf3 62. Rf1+ Ke2 63. Rf7 {[#] editor - the rest is the Lucena win.} e3 64.
Re7 Kd2 65. Rd7+ Ke1 66. Re7 e2 67. Kb2 Kd2 68. Rd7+ Ke3 69. Re7+ Kd3 70. Re8 (
70. Rd7+ Ke4 71. Re7+ Re5 {is the textbook Lucena finish.}) 70... Rc4 {With
this win, I was able to win the tournament with 5/5. This last game was
definitely not very good, but due to the tournament circumstance, I think I
played it safe once I knew I didn't have any chances to lose.} 0-1

[Event "Maplewood Qualifier"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2024.05.31"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Atanasov, Anthony"]
[Black "Libersan, Thierry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B45"]
[WhiteElo "2489"]
[BlackElo "2026"]
[Annotator "Anthony Atanasov"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2024.06.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,49,39,36,51,41,34,34,34,55,55,20,47,20,56,58,48,29,64,43,
60,51,48,55,66,61,74,75,71,82,83,52,64,48,74,52,33,37,44,41,152,43,79,71,511,
525,612,588,693,693,693,693] In round 1, I had the white pieces vs a 1950 FIDE.
I knew in order to finish in the top 3 I'd need to score wins against the
lower rated players, so I decided to take a fairly ambitious approach to the
opening.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. a3 $5 {[#] A rare move,
but it has a point. Delaying Nc3 allows white to choose between c4, Nc3, or
even Nxc6 based on black's response. Perhaps if black plays something critical
here they could achieve a decent game, but the more natural moves (e.g. the
game continuation) seem to let White get what they are hoping for with 5. a3.}
({To better understand 5.a3, let's see what happens if White plays the same
way as in the game, but without inserting a3:} 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. f4 b5 $1
{In the game (move 8), this move wouldn't have been any good due to e4-e5,
hitting the knight on f6. But here, black gets away with ...b5, and gets a
fine position.}) 5... Nf6 (5... Qc7 6. Be3 a6 (6... Nf6 7. Nc3 {Transposes to
the game}) 7. c4 $14) 6. Nc3 Qc7 7. Be3 a6 8. f4 {[#]} d6 {Black has now
entered a Scheveningen-like position, which may be unfamiliar to a Taimanov
player.} (8... Nxd4 {can be punished by} 9. Bxd4 $1 Qxf4 10. g3 {when e4-e5
and Ne4 will come next.}) 9. Qf3 Bd7 10. Bd3 {The engine prefers to instead
castle queenside and go for the attack, which is even more deadly. However, I
think this approach is totally fine as well.} (10. O-O-O {and g4 next puts
black in a lot of trouble.}) 10... Be7 11. O-O h5 $6 12. h3 h4 {[#] Black has
prevented g4, but in doing so has created a major weakness. The h4 pawn is
going to be indefensible in the long run.} 13. Qf2 Nh5 $2 {Allows Nf3, after
which black is borderline lost.} (13... Nxd4 {is probably a better try, though
it's not too appealing either} 14. Bxd4 Bc6 15. e5 Nh5 {Black can at least
hold on for the time being.}) 14. Nf3 Ng3 15. Rfe1 b5 {[#]} 16. a4 $2 (16. Ne2
$1 {After this simple move black's position is dreadful.} Nxe2+ 17. Rxe2 {
Black's king will have nowhere to go, as the h4 weakness prevents 0-0, whereas
0-0-0 runs directly into an attack.}) 16... b4 $2 {Black misses a chance to
recover.} ({The counterintuitive} 16... bxa4 $1 {didn't really occur to me
until after I played a4. After} 17. Rxa4 Qb7 {suddenly b2 is hit and ...Nb4 is
coming. If anyone's pressing now, it's probably black!}) 17. Nd5 $2 {A pretty
standard idea in these positions, but Ne2 was a lot better.} (17. Ne2 Nxe2+ 18.
Rxe2 $18) 17... exd5 18. exd5 Na7 $2 ({Simply giving back the material was
black's best choice:} 18... O-O $1 {Now white's advantage is minimal.} 19. dxc6
Qxc6 {A possible ...Bf5 could be good for black in the future.}) 19. Bd4 {
Black's pieces have very poor coordination.} Kf8 {[%mdl 64] [#]  Critical
Position White has played a standard Nd5 sac against a Sicilian, but now what?
White now has two tempting options: Bxg7+ followed by Rxe7, or Rxe7 followed
by Bxg7.} 20. Bxg7+ $4 {The wrong choice - although black's defense is not
obvious at all.} (20. Rxe7 $8 $18 Kxe7 21. Bxg7 Bf5 (21... Rhg8 22. Qe1+ $1 Kd8
23. Bf6+ Kc8 24. Bxa6+ Kb8 25. Qxb4+) 22. Re1+ Kd7 23. Qxg3 $3 hxg3 (23... Bxd3
24. Qg4+ f5 25. Qg6 $18) 24. Bxf5+ Kd8 25. Bf6+ $18) 20... Kxg7 $8 $11 21. Rxe7
{[#]} Nc8 $4 (21... Kf8 $8 {Moving the king back to its previous square was
Black's only defense, parrying the Qd4+ threat while hitting the rook on e7.
This move didn't occur to either of us during the game.} 22. Qd4 Rh6 $8 (22...
Kxe7 $2 23. Re1+ Be6 24. Rxe6+ $18) 23. Ng5 ({editor -} 23. Rae1 Nc8 $8 24. Bh7
$3 {threat: Qh8 mating} Rxh7 25. Ng5 $8 Nxe7 26. Nxh7+ $11 Kg8 27. Nf6+ Kf8 $8
28. Nh7+ $11) 23... Kxe7 24. Qg7 $8 Qb6+ 25. Kh2 Qe3 $13) 22. Qd4+ Kg8 23. Rxf7
Qa7 24. Rg7+ $1 {[#] Now the h8 rook hangs. It was important to see this idea
before playing 20. Bxg7+.} Kf8 25. Rxd7 {White gets the piece back with a huge
material and positional advantage. Black resigned. A shaky start to the
tournament, despite obtaining an opening   advantage.} 1-0

[Event "Maplewood Qualifiier"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2024.06.01"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Emannuel, Kot"]
[Black "Atanasov, Anthony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2245"]
[BlackElo "2489"]
[Annotator "Anthony Atanasov"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2024.06.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,80,18,18,10,11,23,29,32,37,34,28,55,50,90,94,113,35,35,33,
26,14,14,-10,31,1,0,-17,-17,-25,-25,-21,-21,-21,12,-56,-43,-56,-17,1,3,-8,6,
-54,-43,-49,-61,-61,-65,-65,-65,-34,-33,-41,-46,-29,-31,-35,-44,-46,-46,-122,
-120,-126,-121,-120,-120,-183,-185,-174,-134,-182,-141,-165,-178,-192,-194,
-219,-223,-258,-260,-315,-298] In this game I had the black pieces vs another
lower rated player. My strategy was to generally keep pieces on the board and
to try to outplay my opponent in the middlegame.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {In my
opnion, the Petrov -- despite its reputation -- is actually a surprisingly
good choice for must-win games. I find that the resulting positions are
usually complex enough for the stronger player to outplay their opponent.} 3.
Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nf6 (5... Nxc3 {is the main move here, and for good
reason - it's generally considered to be more accurate than ...Nf6, though
both moves are playable.}) 6. d4 {[#]} g6 {A fairly uncommon move. It has been
played by GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov a couple times with relative success. I
played this move hoping to get White out of book.} (6... Be7 {is perhaps a
better choice if Black is fine with a draw.}) 7. Bd3 ({editor - here, the
computer suggests this odd-looking maneuver:} 7. Qe2+ Qe7 8. Be3 Bg7 9. O-O-O
O-O 10. Qd2 $14 {when White's "triangulation" with the Q has put it on a
useful square while luring the Black Q to a less useful one. It's not a
maneuver that would likely occur to someone who hadn't seen this opening, but
11 days after this game was played it was used against a GM who regularly
plays this ...g6 Petroff line:} Bg4 11. h3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 d5 13. h4 c6 14. f4 (
14. Ne2 $142) (14. Bg5 $142) 14... Nbd7 15. f5 $14 {Vokhidov,S (2624)-Indjic,A
(2602) Tashkent UzChess Challengers 2024 (7) 1-0 Black later equalized, but
blundered in time pressure in:}) 7... Bg7 8. O-O O-O 9. h3 {[#] This is
totally fine, but ...Bg4 wasn't really a big concern since after h3 black
would either have to retreat or give white the two bishop advantage.} (9. Re1 {
might have been a tiny bit more accurate.}) 9... a6 {Playing the waiting game.
With this move I was hoping to provoke a4, which I thought would be slightly
weakening. That said, this move is not objectively best, since black doesn't
really want to play b5 anyway, as it is rather comittal.} 10. Ne2 (10. Bg5 h6
11. Bxf6 $1 {works for concrete reasons:} Bxf6 12. Nd5 Bg7 13. Re1 Nc6 14. c3 {
Black's position is quite miserable, as there is no clear way to develop the
rest of the pieces.}) 10... Re8 11. Ng3 c5 12. c3 Nc6 {[#] I already started
to prefer my position here. White's last few moves haven't done a whole lot
and now black will complete devlopment with no problems.} 13. dxc5 (13. Be3 {
isn't a very fun move to play as it runs into ...Nd5 ideas, but it was perhaps
white's best approach.}) 13... dxc5 14. Be3 b6 15. Qc2 Qc7 16. Rfe1 {[#]} Nd5
$6 {A small innacuracy, as I overlooked a possibility that white had.} 17. Bd2
(17. Bg5 Bb7 18. Qd2 $1 {prevents the bishop from being kicked out with ...h6.
The g5 bishop is quite annoying for black, as it prevents ...Rad8. editor -
and guarding d8 with} f6 $2 {loses to} 19. Bc4 $1 $18) 17... Bb7 18. Be4 Nf4 (
18... Nf6 {I don't remember why I didn't just play this move (maybe I
overlooked it?). White now has to either give up the bishop pair or go back to
d3.} 19. Bd3 Ne7) 19. Rad1 Re7 20. Qc1 Bh6 {[#] My last few moves have been
quite dubious. This type of overly ambitious play would get punished at higher
levels.} 21. Nh2 {Misses a chance for an advantage.} (21. h4 $1 {followed by
Ng5 and black's position is higly uncomfortable.}) 21... f5 {Forced, otherwise
Ng4 would come.} 22. Bd5+ Nxd5 23. Bxh6 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Ne5 {[#]} 25. Qd2 (25.
c4 $5 {Was an interesting alternative that would force black to enter
complications.} Nd3 26. Qd2 Nxe1 27. cxd5 {Analysis Diagram [#]  Regardless of
what black does here, the complications seem to end with either a repetition
or an equal ending:} Nxg2 (27... Qe5 28. Nxf5 gxf5 29. Qg5+ Kf7 (29... Kh8 30.
Ng4 $8 Rg8 $8 $11) 30. Qh5+ Kg8 31. Qg5+ $11) (27... Re8 28. Nxf5 gxf5 29. Qg5+
Kh8 30. Qf6+ Kg8 31. Qg5+ $11) (27... Qe7 28. d6 Qe5 29. d7 Qd5 30. Qxd5+ Bxd5
31. Bg5 Bxa2 32. d8=Q+ Rxd8 33. Bxd8 {Quite a strange endgame. White has a
piece for two pawns, but very poor piece coordination. Though the engine gives
0.00, in practice this is anyone's game.}) 28. Nxf5 Qf7 (28... gxf5 29. Qg5+
Kh8 30. Qf6+ Kg8 31. Qg5+ $11) 29. Nd6 Qxd5 30. Nxb7 Qxd2 (30... Qxb7 $2 31.
Qc3 $16) 31. Bxd2 Nh4 32. Bg5 Nf5 33. Ng4 {Another equal ending, though it
could be argued that white's pressing. Black has a hard time actvating the
rook for tactical reasons.}) 25... Nf7 26. c4 Nxh6 27. cxd5 Nf7 28. Ne2 Re8 29.
Nf3 Qd6 {[#]} 30. Rd1 $4 {Loses material.} (30. Nc3 $8 Rxe1+ (30... Rd8 31. Re6
$14) 31. Nxe1 $11 b5 32. b3 $1 b4 33. Na4 Bxd5 34. Nd3 $11) 30... Qxd5 31. Qxd5
Bxd5 32. Rxd5 Rxe2 $19 {[#] This endgame should be easily winning. If white
had counterplay it would have been more difficult, but the knight on f7 does a
good job at preventing that.} 33. Nd2 Re1+ 34. Kh2 Rd1 35. Kg3 Kf8 36. Kf3 Ke7
37. Ke2 Ra1 38. a3 Ra2 39. Nc4 b5 40. Nd2 c4 {White resigned.  Apart from a
couple dubious decisions in the early middlegame, my play in this game was
more or less fine.} 0-1

[Event "Maplewood Qualifier"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2024.06.01"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Atanasov, Anthony"]
[Black "Guillemette, Hugo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B48"]
[WhiteElo "2489"]
[BlackElo "2171"]
[Annotator "Anthony Atanasov"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2024.06.01"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] In the third round I had the white pieces against another lower
rated. I wasn't fooled by my opponent's rating - he had just defeated an IM in
the previous round.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 {[#]} 5. Nc3 ({
I didn't really have any reason not to repeat the move order that I went for
in round 1. This order would have in fact avoided what happened in the game.} 
5. a3 Qc7 6. Be3 Nf6 (6... a6 7. c4) 7. Nc3 a6 8. f4 b5 $2 9. e5 $1 $16) 5...
Qc7 6. a3 a6 7. Be3 b5 {The main point of a3 is to prevent ...b5 happening
entirely, so I'm not exactly sure what I was going for with this move order.}
8. f4 Bb7 9. Nxc6 {[#] To be honest I didn't really know what I was doing here.
I didn't   want to allow ...Nxd4, but in this case I could have just moved the
knight away instead of trading. Now Black is totally fine.} Bxc6 ({I prefer
black's position after} 9... dxc6 {The computer says the only way for white
not to be worse involves giving up a piece, and I'm not surprised.} 10. a4 Rd8
11. Bd3 c5 12. axb5 c4 13. bxa6 Ba8 14. Ra4 cxd3 15. cxd3 $11) 10. Qd4 {
Quite unnecessary, perhaps better would have been just Bd3 and 0-0.} Rc8 (10...
Nf6 {This was a strong alternative} 11. Be2 Be7 12. O-O O-O 13. Rad1 Rfd8 $15 {
...d5 and ...Ne4 comes next, with advantage to black.}) 11. Be2 Nf6 {[#]} 12.
g4 $2 {This move loses material.} (12. O-O Be7 13. e5 Nd5 14. Nxd5 Bxd5 15. c3
$11) 12... d5 $2 (12... Qb7 $1 13. Bf3 b4 14. axb4 Bxb4 $17 {The e4-pawn will
fall.}) 13. e5 $2 {Once again giving black an advantage.} (13. exd5 $142 {
To be fair, this move doesn't look pleasant for white   either.} Nxd5 14. Nxd5
Bxd5 15. Rf1 {This is white's only way to remain equal, and it's quite
difficult to see in advance. 0-0 would have run into ...Qc7 setting up ...Bc5
or even ...Bc5 outright. With the king still on e1, ...Bc5 can be met with
Qxg7 hitting the R and ...Bxe3 is not check.}) {[#]} 13... Ne4 $6 {This came
as a pleasant surprise.} (13... Nd7 {While the position may look fine at first
glance, white is   in serious trouble here.} 14. Rf1 Be7 {A major issue for
white here is where to put the king. 0-0-0 runs into an attack with ...Rb8 and
...b4, while Kf2-g1 would run into pawn breaks like ...g5 or ...f6.}) 14. Nxe4
dxe4 15. O-O Bd5 $6 {I was happy to see this move. Now white will get a
pleasant endgame. I think the normal developing 15...Be7 would've been more
accurate. Probably followed by ...0-0 and ...Rfd8 next.} 16. a4 Bc5 {[#]} 17.
Qxc5 Qxc5 18. Bxc5 Rxc5 19. c3 $14 {White's has an edge here due to the
control of the dark squares, and   black having a couple weak pawns.} O-O 20.
axb5 axb5 21. Kf2 {[#]} f6 {Instead of this, black had a nice concrete way of
undermining white's pawns with} (21... Bc4 22. Ra5 e3+ $1 23. Kxe3 Bxe2 24.
Kxe2 g5 $11) 22. Ke3 b4 23. Kd4 $2 {Unnecessary. The simple} (23. cxb4 {
gives white a clear advantage.} Rc2 24. Rfc1 Rxb2 25. Rab1 $16) 23... Rfc8 {[#]
} 24. Rfc1 $2 {I totally overlooked my opponent's next move.} (24. Ba6 {
Inserting this move first before Rfc1 was my initial consideration, but I
ended up dismissing it after finding several ways for black to equalize. If it
weren't for ...g5, Rfc1 would have given White an advantage.} R8c7 25. Rfc1 g5
26. fxg5 fxe5+ 27. Kxe5 bxc3 28. bxc3 Rxc3 29. Rxc3 Rxc3 $11) 24... g5 $1 {
Undermining the f4 pawn - now white's structure falls apart. After this
elementary oversight, white is the one fighting for a draw.} 25. fxg5 {Note
that I can't switch back to the Ba6 move order:} (25. Ba6 gxf4 {the rook can't
be captured in view of ...Rc4#.}) 25... fxe5+ 26. Ke3 bxc3 27. b4 R5c7 {
[#] Black's tripled pawns are actually incredibly strong here.} 28. Ra3 c2 29.
b5 {All of white's pieces are tied down here, so black's best course of action
is probably to just activate the king.} Rf7 30. b6 Rcf8 {[#] This allows the b
for c pawn trade which is exactly what white wants.  Had the rook stayed on c8
I don't see a way for white to achieve this, since the a3 rook has a hard time
getting to the c2 pawn: Ra4-b4-b2 is too slow and would've allowed ...Rc3+.}
31. Rc3 Rb8 32. R1xc2 Rxb6 33. h4 {The tripled pawns aren't as useful now, in
fact they sort of cut off black's bishop from the defense on the kingside.} Rb1
34. h5 Kg7 35. Rc1 Rbb7 36. Ra3 Rb2 37. Rc8 {[#]} Rfb7 $2 {Things were already
getting tricky for black to defend.} (37... h6 {was required.} 38. g6 Rd7 {
White still has a couple ways of trying to press this position. It seems the
way for Black to defend here is bringing the king to g5 to stop white from
breaking through with g5, and then keeping the rooks on the seventh rank.} 39.
Rac3 Rbb7 40. Kf2 Kf6 (40... Ra7 $2 41. g5 hxg5 42. Kg3 $18) 41. Rf8+ Kg5 42.
Kg3 Ra7 43. Bf1 Rab7 44. Rh8 Ra7 45. Rf8 Rab7 46. Re3 Ra7 47. Rf2 {It's still
not easy. Black can't defend the e4 pawn, so the defense involves meeting the
eventual Bxe4 with ...Rf4.} Rd8 48. Bg2 Ra4 49. Rfe2 Rf8 50. Bxe4 Rf4 $11) 38.
h6+ Kf7 39. Rh8 R7b3+ 40. Rxb3 Rxb3+ 41. Kd2 (41. Kf2 $2 e3+ 42. Kg3 Be4 $11)
41... Rb2+ (41... e3+ 42. Kc2 {Preventing Be4.}) 42. Ke3 $2 {I repeated moves
here to gain extra time, but missed a win.} (42. Ke1 $1 Rb1+ 43. Bd1 Bb3 44.
Rxh7+ Ke8 {Otherwise Rd7.} 45. g6 Rxd1+ 46. Ke2 $18 {The extra bishop is
useless here as white is going to promote.}) 42... Rb3+ 43. Kd2 Rb2+ {[#]} 44.
Kd1 $4 {Allows black a drawing resource.} (44. Ke1 Rb1+ 45. Bd1 $18 {Same line
as shown above.}) 44... Bb3+ $4 ({After a long series of only-moves, black can
salvage a draw here, starting with:} 44... e3 $1 45. Rxh7+ $8 {(editor -
otherwise ...Bb3+ wins easily)} Kg8 46. Rg7+ Kh8 $8 47. g6 Rb1+ $8 48. Kc2 Be4+
$8 49. Bd3 e2 $8 50. Re7 {Analysis Diagram [#]} Rc1+ $8 {Note the importance
of getting the king further from the e2 pawn:} (50... Bxg6 $4 51. Bxg6 Rb8 (
51... Rc1+ 52. Kd3 $18) 52. Kd2 $18) 51. Kb2 Bxg6 $8 52. Bxg6 Rc8 $8 {
Promotion cannot be stopped. Note that all three of black's tripled pawns play
a key role here: e2 promotes, and e6 and e5 block the rook from getting to the
e2 pawn (if either of them weren't there, the other pawn would be taken,
winning for White).} 53. Rh7+ Kg8 54. Rg7+ Kh8 55. Rh7+ $11) 45. Ke1 Rb1+ 46.
Kd2 $8 {[#]} (46. Kf2 $4 e3+ $8 47. Kxe3 Bc2 $8 $11) 46... Rb2+ (46... e3+ {
This was a more interesting try, but it still loses.} 47. Kd3 $1 {The only
move that wins: staying close to the e3 pawn without allowing the ...Bc2
defense.} (47. Kxe3 $4 Bc2 {=}) (47. Kc3 $4 Bd1 $1 {This line is quite
fascinating, as all black's moves are only-moves.} 48. Rxh7+ Kg8 49. Rg7+ Kh8
50. Bd3 e2 51. Kd2 e1=Q+ 52. Kxe1 Bc2+ 53. Kd2 Bxd3 54. Kxd3 Rb4 55. Ke3 Rxg4 {
Interestingly, this endgame is holding for black only due to a stalemate
involving the white rook on g7. White can win both of     black's pawns by
putting black in zugzwang.} 56. Ke2 Rg2+ 57. Kf3 Rg1 58. Kf2 Rg4 59. Ke3 e4 60.
Kf2 e5 {Both of these pawn pushes were forced.} 61. Ke3 Rf4 62. Re7 Rg4 63.
Rxe5 Kh7 64. Re7+ Kg8 65. Rg7+ Kh8 66. Kd4 e3+ 67. Kxe3 Re4+ $11)) 47. Ke3 Bd5
48. Rxh7+ Kg8 {[#]} 49. g6 ({editor - White has another way to win, but apart
from Karpov it is unlikely to occur to any human with the R on the 7th: trade
Rs and win the same colour B endgame! e.g.} 49. Rc7 Rb3+ {Black has to stop
White getting two pawns on the 6th with g5-g6} (49... Rb7 50. Rxb7 $8 $18) 50.
Kf2 Rh3 {eyeing h6 stops g5-g6} 51. Kg2 Rh4 52. Rc1 $1 {threatening to win the
R with Kg3} e3+ $8 {saving the R} 53. Kg3 Rh1 54. Rxh1 Bxh1 55. Bf3 $1 {
simplest} e2 $8 56. Bxe2 $18 {and the weakness of the tripled pawns tells,
since White's K can't be kept out for long,}) 49... Rb3+ 50. Kf2 Rh3 {A
resourceful trick - setting up ...e3+} 51. Kg2 Rh4 52. Rg7+ Kh8 {[%mdl 64] [#]
Critical Position} 53. g5 $4 {Threatens to move the rook and give mate, but it
allows a draw.} (53. Rh7+ $8 Kg8 54. Kf2 Rh3 55. g5 $1 {looks like it walks
into a mating net, but White wins with precise play:} e3+ 56. Ke1 Rh1+ 57. Bf1
Bc4 58. Rf7 e2 59. h7+ Rxh7 (59... Kh8 60. Rf8+ Kg7 61. Rg8# {thank you,
doubled g-pawns!}) 60. gxh7+ Kxf7 61. Bxe2 $18 Kg7 62. Bxc4 Kxh7 63. Bd3+ $8
$18) 53... e3+ $8 54. Kg3 Ra4 $4 {Both my opponent and I completely overlooked
black's drawing resource here!} (54... Rh1 $8 $11 {and the ...Rg1-h1 perpetual
check is unstoppable. editor - ... though it's not a simple perp if White
risks playing with fire:} 55. Bf3 $5 Rg1+ 56. Kh4 (56. Kh2 Rxg5 $11) 56... Rh1+
$8 57. Bxh1 e2 $11 {White can't stop the e-pawn from promoting, but Stockfish
sees only 0.00:} 58. Rh7+ Kg8 59. Rg7+ Kf8 60. Rf7+ Ke8 61. Bxd5 e1=Q+ 62. Kh3
exd5 63. h7 $11 {and Black has to give the perpetual}) 55. Rf7 Ra8 56. g7+ Kh7
57. Rf8 {A chaotic game with a lot of blunders from both sides.} 1-0

[Event "Maplewood Qualfiier"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2024.06.01"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Preotu, Razvan"]
[Black "Atanasov, Anthony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2532"]
[BlackElo "2489"]
[Annotator "Anthony Atanasov"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2024.05.31"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,100,18,15,26,-10,7,9,23,25,17,19,19,26,26,10,7,7,6,5,7,9,
10,-23,7,18,25,26,32,26,35,35,79,59,59,21,66,53,59,65,39,47,29,23,43,30,33,21,
102,102,100,110,103,115,181,178,185,197,218,218,229,242,225,247,230,253,247,
253,262,287,293,300,313,233,242,232,231,231,231,231,278,231,242,224,410,417,
424,429,435,505,666,681,1136,521,645,0,0,-29993,-29994,-29995,-29996,-29997,
-29998] In round 4 I had the black pieces vs GM Razvan Preotu. I wasn't
planning on taking too much risk in this game, as was the last game of a
3-round day and I felt like I wasn't going to play very well.} 1. Nf3 {I
noticed higher rated players tend to avoid playing 1. e4 against me,
presumably due to wanting to avoid the Petrov.} d5 2. g3 e6 {In the Candidates
Rapid 2024, I played 2...Bf5 against him in this position. I quickly achieved
a good position, so his repetition of this line suggested he had reviewed it
and prepared a response if I played the same way. So, I decided to change
things up with 2...e6.} 3. Bg2 c5 4. O-O Nf6 {[#]} 5. d3 (5. d4 {I was more
worried about this move, after which I'd have to remember some theory to avoid
getting into a dangerous position.}) (5. c4 {I think this is generally
considered to be white's best move here.} d4 6. e3 Nc6 7. d3 Bd6 8. exd4 cxd4
9. Bg5 {With a balanced game.}) 5... Nc6 6. Bf4 $5 {A pretty unique move in
this position, I am now out of book.} Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. Nbd2 e5 9. e4 d4 {
We've now reached a Kings Indian structure, but with colours reversed and no
dark squared bishops. With best play black should be slightly better, but I
quickly misplayed the position.} 10. Nc4 Qc7 11. c3 {[#]} Be6 $2 {This move is
just too slow, and allows white to immediately pose   black some concrete
problems.} (11... Bg4 {was the correct move. Black needs to avoid cxd4 cxd4 at
all costs, as black's pieces are poorly placed for an open c-file. But if now}
12. cxd4 $6 Bxf3 $1 13. Bxf3 Nxd4 {Black has a clear positional advantage.})
12. cxd4 cxd4 (12... Bxc4 13. dxe5 {If it wasn't for this move, black could
keep the c-file closed and would be doing well after dxc4 Nxd4.}) 13. Rc1 Nd7
14. b4 $1 {It's important for white to start posing problems before black
castles and consolidates.} Bxc4 15. Rxc4 b5 (15... Qd6 16. b5 {is not too fun
for black either.}) 16. Rc2 Qd6 {[#]} 17. Qb1 $2 {The position demanded that
white play a bit faster.} (17. Bh3 $1 O-O 18. Bxd7 Qxd7 19. Rc5 Qe6 20. Qb1
Rab8 {Despite equal material for the time being, black is pretty much lost
here. White has full control over the only open file, and black is stuck to
passively defending weak pawns. If white finds a few precise moves, black's
position should fall apart.}) 17... Nxb4 18. Rb2 Na6 19. Rxb5 Nac5 $2 {I
underestimated how powerful Bh3 is going to be here.} (19... Ndc5 {would have
been better, as this avoids Bh3. The knights are actually quite nice here, as
they guard quite a few key squares.}) 20. Bh3 O-O 21. Bxd7 Nxd7 22. Rd5 {
[#] Here is where I realized my position was indefensible and I should just go
for counterplay.} Qf6 23. Kg2 Rab8 24. Qe1 $1 {Now the queen is threatening to
go to a5, where black will not be   able to defend all the pawns.} Qc6 25. Qc1
$1 {Another precise move.} Qa4 26. Qc7 $18 {At this point, I am just playing
for tricks. It's the end of a 3-round day though, so I knew anything could
still happen.} Nf6 27. Ra5 {[#] I found a way to lose both the e5 and a7 pawns
for nothing in return.   To make matters worse, white still had about 20
minutes here.} Qb4 28. Rxa7 Qb5 29. Nxe5 Rbc8 30. Qa5 Qb2 31. a4 h5 {[#]
White's pieces are quite far from the king, so I knew my best shot   here was
to try to create counterplay with ...h5-h4-h3.} 32. h3 Qe2 33. Re1 Qa2 34. Qb4
h4 35. g4 Rcd8 {[#] Up to this point, white's technique has been excellent,
giving Black little to no chances at counterplay. Now white should simply play
Qc4 and force a winning endgame.} 36. Nc6 (36. Qc4 Qxc4 37. Nxc4 {There is no
counterplay left for black -- white will certainly win.}) 36... Nd5 $1 {
Now black starts to get some counterplay,} 37. Qb1 {While this move is
objectively best, I think it takes unnecessary risk that moves like Ne7+ or
exd5 wouldn't have allowed.} (37. exd5 Qxd5+ 38. Re4 Qxc6 39. Qb5 {is still
totally winning, and it doesn't take much risk. Black's rooks are very passive,
and white's king is very safe.}) 37... Nf4+ 38. Kf3 {The idea of Qb1: now
black either loses material or trades queens.} Qd2 39. Qd1 Qa2 40. Qb1 Qd2 (
40... Qe6 41. Ne7+ Kh8 42. Kxf4 $18 {and black has nothing. The knight will
return to f5 and white's king can safely retreat.}) 41. Qc1 {[#]} Qxd3+ {
Both sides have 1 minute left here. Although completely lost, black now has
some pretty serious chances at pulling off a swindle, due to White's
vulnerable king.} 42. Kxf4 Rd6 43. Ne7+ Kh7 44. Nf5 {Unfortunately for me, he
found the best defense here. The knight on f5 shields the king very well, so I
had to get desperate.} g5+ {There wasn't really another choice for black, as
if white gets even one move to consolidate, it's game over.} 45. Kxg5 Qf3 {
[#] When I played this move (with 3 seconds left) I believed the rook on d6
could not be captured due to 46...Rg8+ 47.Kxh4 Kg6, with ...Rh8 to   follow.
However, this is not the case for multiple reasons:  1) ...Rg8+ can simply be
met with Kh5,    2) ...Kg6 can be met with Kg5+, both winning for White.} 46.
Rf1 $2 {Still winning, but a step in the wrong direction, as Nxd6 ended the
game. White didn't take the rook on d6 because he didn't notice that the rook
was hanging. This is actually a pretty easy mistake to make, because Nf5 had
other purposes besides attacking the rook. We were also both pretty tired
after a long day, so mistakes like these can happen.} (46. Nxd6 Rg8+ 47. Kh5
$18 {The engine is keen to announce that white also has mate in 8 here... :D})
46... Rg6+ 47. Kxh4 $4 {Now the position is equal, and only because of white
having a resource that's difficult to find.} (47. Kh5 $1 {ends the game} Rh8
48. Rxf7+ Kg8+ 49. Kxg6 $18 {is the point of having the king on h5.}) 47... Rh8
{[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position} 48. Ng3 $4 {Now black has mate! White's
defense wasn't obvious:} ({editor - Black is threatening ...Kg8, and doesn't
need the hint} 48. Rxf7+ $2 Kg8+ $19) (48. Ra6 $8 {Amazingly, this move still
holds for white.} d3 (48... f6 49. Rxf6 Rxf6 50. Qg5 Rg6 51. Qh5+ Kg8 52. Ne7+
Kg7 53. Nf5+ Kg8 54. Ne7+ $11) (48... Kg8+ 49. Nh6+ Rhxh6+ 50. Qxh6 Rxh6+ 51.
Rxh6 Qe2 52. Rb1 Qxf2+ 53. Kh5 $11) (48... Rxa6 49. Qg5 Rg6 50. Qh5+ Kg8 51.
Ne7+ Kg7 52. Nf5+ Kg8 $11) 49. Ra8 Rxa8 50. Qe3 $1 {The only reason 48...d3
didn't win is because it carved out the e3 square for the queen. But White
still has to find quite a few only-moves to save the game.} Qg2 51. Rd1 $8 Rh8
52. Ng3 $8 Rhg8 53. Qf4 $8 Rxg4+ 54. Qxg4 $8 Rxg4+ 55. Kxg4 $8 (55. hxg4 $2 Qf3
$19) 55... Qxf2 56. Rxd3 $11) 48... Kg7+ 49. Nh5+ Rxh5+ 50. gxh5 (50. Kxh5
Qxh3#) 50... Qf6+ {One of the most chaotic games I've played, though the move
quality left much to be desired.} 0-1

[Event "Maplewood Qualifier"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2024.06.02"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Atanasov, Anthony"]
[Black "Noritsyn, Nikolay"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A50"]
[WhiteElo "2489"]
[BlackElo "2569"]
[Annotator "Anthony Atanasov"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2024.05.31"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,99,27,25,22,1,-3,-19,-7,-30,-26,-21,-9,-31,-31,-31,-16,-2,
-13,-9,-9,-7,0,-8,1,10,-12,3,-4,2,10,-13,-9,20,-2,4,-1,-1,26,-12,-42,-42,-18,
-12,-28,-19,10,8,7,13,14,13,24,-1,13,-20,-19,-10,14,27,29,39,36,42,45,50,63,63,
73,81,70,96,84,93,97,96,93,126,118,122,135,135,133,148,140,145,208,210,237,242,
428,459,499,528,756,830,1113,1169,1189,1178,1262,1336] In round 5 I had the
white pieces vs my coach, rated 2450. After the chaotic games on the previous
day I decided to play things a bit safer with 1. d4.} 1. d4 Nf6 {I was
expecting either 1...d5 or 1...e6, so this came as a slight surprise.} 2. c4 e6
3. Bf4 {[#] A pretty rare line -- probably because it's not very good for
white if Black plays precisely. That being said, it's not a bad to have as a
surprise weapon. IM Noritsyn is my coach, so he was aware of my fondness for
this 3.Bf4 idea, but I didn't think he'd ever taken it seriously. He told me
afterward that he only knew that the engine likes Black's position after 4...
Nxd5. After that move he was playing on his own.} d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 (4... exd5 5.
e3 {I think white gets a pleasant version of the Carlsbad structure here. The
advantage is nothing serious of course.}) 5. Bg3 c5 6. e4 Nf6 7. Nd2 {[#]
Black has played critically so far, here the more dangerous moves are ...cxd4
and ...Qxd4, after which white plays for compensation. The position is equal
with best play after both moves.} Nc6 {Not the most ambitious move, but still
quite fine for black.} 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. e5 Nd5 10. Ngf3 O-O 11. a3 {Stops a
potential ...Nb4 or ...Bb4 in the future.} Nd4 12. Rc1 Nxf3+ {[#]} 13. Nxf3 $2
{Both sides had played well up to this point, but here I made an error in
evaluating the position after ...Qa5+ b4.} (13. Qxf3 Bd4 14. Rc2 Bd7 15. Bd3
$14 {White should get a nice position here.}) 13... Be7 (13... Qa5+ 14. b4 Nxb4
15. axb4 Bxb4+ 16. Nd2 Rd8 17. Bf4 Bd7 18. Bd3 {I got this this far in my
calculations and came to the conclusion that I should be able to castle. But
looking a little futher...} Ba4 19. Qe2 Rxd3 $1 20. Qxd3 Rd8 $8 21. Qe2 Bb5 $8
22. Qd1 Ba6 $19 {Black is winning due to white's inability to castle.}) 14. Bd3
Qa5+ 15. Nd2 {[#]} Bd7 (15... Bg5 {This move seems to cause a lot of problems
for white, but it turns out white is fine after giving away a-pawn:} 16. Rc2
Nf4 (16... Bd7 17. O-O Ba4 18. b3 Bxd2 19. Qxd2 Qxd2 20. Rxd2 Bxb3 21. Rb1 Ba4
22. Rxb7 $11) 17. Be4 Qxe5 18. O-O $11 {Black's pieces are quite clumsy, so
white has decent compensation.}) 16. O-O Bb5 17. Nc4 Qa6 18. b3 Nb6 {[#]} 19.
Qh5 (19. Nxb6 {was more accurate, but it leads to a drawish position after}
Qxb6 20. Bxb5 Qxb5 21. a4 $1 {where I thought if anyone had chances, it was
Black.}) 19... g6 (19... h6 20. a4 Bxc4 21. Bxc4 $11) 20. Qf3 Nxc4 (20... Bxc4
21. Bxc4 Qxa3 $1 {Neither of us really considered this, but Black is doing
really well here.} 22. Qxb7 Nxc4 23. bxc4 a5 $17) 21. Bxc4 Rac8 22. Bxb5 Qxb5
23. a4 {[#]} Qd5 (23... Qb4 24. Bf4 {is what I was expecting to happen, and I
liked my position here. Black's king isn't very safe, so having the queens on
should give me some chances.}) 24. Qxd5 exd5 25. Rfd1 d4 26. Bf4 (26. Kf1 {
was my initial consideration, but I dismissed it due to} Rc3 {but it turns out
white is still doing well here.} 27. Rxc3 dxc3 28. Ke2 Rc8 29. Kd3 $14 {
I didn't see a concrete problem with this in my calculations, but it felt a
bit risky.}) 26... g5 {[#]} 27. Rxc8 $6 (27. Bd2 $14 {White's king will come
to d3 next.}) 27... Rxc8 28. Rc1 {Despite dismissing Kf1 a couple moves ago
due to ...Rc3, I simply forgot about the possibility of ...Rc3 here.} Rd8 $2 {
So did he, it seems.} 29. Bd2 Rd5 $2 (29... Rd7 {Black is still worse here,
but it's not as bad as the game.}) 30. Rc7 Rxe5 31. Kf1 {[#] I saw this
position a few moves prior and thought this could be very good for me -
Black's pieces aren't well placed, and the b and a- pawns are going to fall
soon.} a6 (31... d3 {Black was relying on this move in his calculations ---
but it doesn't work due to the following tactic:} 32. Rc8+ Kg7 (32... Bf8 33.
Bb4 d2 34. Bxd2 $18) 33. Bc3 $18) 32. Rxb7 Re6 33. a5 Kg7 34. b4 Kf6 $6 (34...
d3 {with the idea ...Re2 was Black's best try. Offense is the best defense.})
35. b5 axb5 36. Rxb5 h6 37. Rd5 {[#]} Rd6 $2 {The bishop endgame is lost for
black, so keeping the rooks on the board would've been a better try.} (37...
Rc6 38. Rxd4 Rc2 {White needs to show some very good technique to win here.})
38. Rxd6+ Bxd6 39. a6 Bc5 40. Ke2 Ke5 41. Kd3 Kd5 {[#]} 42. Bb4 {editor - !}
Ba7 43. g4 {Fixing the pawns. The rest is easy.} Kc6 44. Bf8 Kb5 45. Bxh6 Kxa6
46. Bxg5 Kb5 47. h4 Kc5 48. h5 Bb8 49. Bf6 Bf4 50. g5 {Black resigned here and
the kings were put on light squares, so the DGT board and the databases
include ...Kd5.  Although I made several mistakes this game, it was probably
still my best game of the tournament.} 1-0

[Event "Maplewood Qualifier"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2024.06.02"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Vettese, Nicholas"]
[Black "Atanasov, Anthony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2501"]
[BlackElo "2489"]
[Annotator "Anthony Atanasov"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2024.05.31"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768][%evp 0,108,27,27,20,-10,-10,-3,-10,-1,15,-38,-31,-37,-37,-49,-46,
-38,-36,-38,-38,-42,-24,-38,-41,-77,-80,-75,-70,-72,8,6,14,-78,48,28,27,27,18,
26,9,23,46,58,40,27,89,97,75,85,90,76,69,69,76,64,95,19,109,97,93,89,112,87,
124,122,106,140,243,78,178,117,139,55,64,15,72,0,62,9,0,-53,-52,-177,-171,-194,
-166,-198,-184,-210,-196,-210,-224,-224,-229,-236,-234,-270,-311,-310,-310,
-317,-313,-313,-337,-455,-455,-460,-449,-490,-448] Going into the last round I
was a full point ahead of the rest of the field, but with a loss and some
unlucky results on the other boards I could actually still have missed top 3.
I had the black pieces vs a 2250, and I decided to play a normal game.} 1. Nf3
{Another 1. e4 man avoiding the Petrov -- given his tournament situation
requiring a win, a logical decision. We quickly ended up getting an imbalanced
position.} d5 2. g3 Bf5 (2... g6 {Maybe considering I just needed a draw, I
should've done this -- symmetrical positions are a lot harder to lose.} 3. Bg2
Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 $11) 3. c4 dxc4 4. Na3 e5 {[#] White has succeeded in getting an
interesting position. I had this same position against Preotu in the
Candidates Rapid and did pretty well, so I was happy to repeat it.} 5. Bg2 $6 (
5. Nxc4 {is the correct move, if I'm not mistaken.} e4 6. Ne3 Bd7 7. Nh4 Nc6 8.
Bg2 Nf6 9. d3 Be6 $13 {I think Black is pretty comfortable here.}) 5... Bxa3 6.
Qa4+ Qd7 7. Qxa3 Nc6 {White has to waste a couple tempi taking the c4 pawn
here.} 8. Qc5 f6 9. Qxc4 Nge7 10. O-O h5 {[#] I thought I was much better here,
and I was. The attack against White's king is pretty quick, with ...Bh3 and ...
g5+h4 coming.} 11. b4 Be6 12. Qc5 b6 13. Qc3 Nd5 14. Qb2 {[#]} Bh3 $2 (14...
Ndxb4 {I really can't understand why I didn't just take this pawn. For some
reason I just didn't feel like taking it --- not a good reason to avoid
winning material!}) 15. Bxh3 Qxh3 16. Qc2 Qe6 $2 {I once again could have won
material but chose not to, for no apparent reason.} (16... Ncxb4 17. Qg6+ Kf8
$15) 17. b5 e4 $6 {[#] This time I'm losing material, although there is at
least some pretty clear compensation afterwards. ...Na5 would've been fine too.
} 18. bxc6 exf3 19. Qg6+ Kf8 20. exf3 Rh6 $2 {Though natural, this move is
wrong. It was best to focus on the   attack with ...h4.} (20... h4 21. Ba3+ Kg8
) 21. Ba3+ Kg8 {[#]} 22. Qe4 ({After} 22. Qc2 $1 {White can actually hold on
to the pawn - interestingly, there's no actual way for Black to win it,
despite it being very weak.} f5 23. Rae1 {c6 hangs but so does f5.}) 22... f5
$2 {I should've just taken the c6 pawn instead. With this move, the f5-pawn
becomes a pretty serious target, and this move also weakens the a1-h8 diagonal
-- something that will almost prove decisive later on.} 23. Qd3 {I definitely
misevaluated this position during the game. I felt like I was close to equal,
but in fact White is much better.} Qf7 24. Rfe1 (24. Rae1 {While the game move
is more natural, using this rook would've been more precise, as ...Re6
wouldn't work due to Qxd5, after which ...Rxe1 is not check.}) 24... Re6 25.
Rxe6 Qxe6 26. Bb2 Re8 27. Rc1 Qf7 {[#]} 28. f4 {Not a bad move, but it gave me
more time - Rc4-d4 instead looked crushing.} (28. Rc4 Kh7 29. Rd4 Rd8 30. Qe2 {
+- The queen will come in to e5 next.}) 28... h4 ({The engine's choice here is
to go pawn-grabbing with} 28... Nb4 {but this feels way too dangerous in a
human game.}) 29. Be5 a5 30. a3 $1 {Putting an end to ...Nb4 possibilities.
Neither side really wants to do much here -- ...a5 and a3 are mostly just
waiting moves.} h3 31. f3 g5 32. Kf2 Kh7 33. Rg1 {[#] I couldn't really find a
move here! It doesn't feel like white has a   threat, but somehow every move I
looked at seemed to allow white to do   something.} Re7 $2 {Removing the
Rook's access to g8 proves critical in some lines, for example after Rb1 gxf4
gxf4.} (33... Qe6 {is Black's "least bad" move. But then} 34. Re1 {and this
does feel pretty easy for White, which is why I avoided it in the game.}) 34.
Bb2 Kg6 35. fxg5 $2 {White's first serious misstep here.} (35. Be5 $142 {
The bishop was good on this square. Rb1-b5 was White's winning plan.}) 35...
Qe6 36. Rc1 Kxg5 {Now I felt like I was in the game again.} 37. f4+ Kh6 {[#]}
38. Qf1 $4 {Allowing a tactic that both of us missed in the game.} (38. Be5
$142 $11) 38... Kg6 $11 (38... Ne3 $142 $8 $19 39. Qxh3+ Kg6 $19 {No more
checks! White's king is too vulnerable here, and white's pieces have a hard
time coming to the defense.}) 39. Be5 Nf6 40. Kg1 ({editor - SF16 identifies
this as White's losing move, losing to the game continuation and nothing else.
} 40. Bxf6 $142 $11) 40... Ng4 $1 41. Qxh3 ({After} 41. Qd3 Nxe5 42. fxe5 Qxe5
43. g4 {the resulting endgame is probably still losing, but it requires good
technique on Black's part.}) 41... Rh7 42. Qf1 Rxh2 43. Qc4 Qxc4 44. Rxc4 Rxd2
{[#] White is lost here for tactical reasons: Bxc7 allows ...Rd1+ and ...Ne3+
winning the rook, while Rd4 runs into ...Nxe5.} 45. Rc3 Nxe5 46. fxe5 Kf7 $19
47. Rf3 Ke6 48. g4 fxg4 49. Rf6+ Kxe5 50. Rf7 Ra2 51. Rxc7 Kd6 52. Rc8 Rxa3 53.
Kf2 g3+ 54. Kg2 Rc3 {Not a good game! After getting a nearly winning position
out of the opening, I messed it up with some very inaccurate moves and ended
up getting a worse/lost position for a large portion of the game. While   the
final result was fortunate for me, I didn't play at a very high level.} 0-1

[Event "Calgary 14th"]
[Site "Calgary"]
[Date "2023.12.29"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Wu, Jonathan"]
[Black "Findlay, Ian T"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B78"]
[WhiteElo "2015"]
[BlackElo "2126"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2023.12.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[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. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Nxc6 $1 {[#] To call this
rare would be an understatement: it is 100x less common than the main line
with 11.Bb3, and it isn't even mentioned in the Quality Chess GM repertoire
books by Gwain Jones (on the Dragon) or Negi in his 1.e4 reptertoire. This is
even more remarkable because at low ply, SF16 rates Nxc6 as best, and at 40
ply SF16 rates it worse than Bb3 by an insignificant 0.04.  This combination
of sound but very rare makes it an excellent choice in the very well-trodden
Dragon main lines.} ({The more common line goes} 11. Bb3 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13.
Bxa7 b4 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Qa5 {and here, unlike the game, the move} 16. Bd4
$2 {is bad because} Rxc2+ $3 17. Bxc2 Qxa2 $8 $36 {Bakre,T (2492)-Zawadzka,B 
(2298) Pardubice Skanska op 2004 (6) 0-1}) 11... Bxc6 12. Bb3 b5 {This is the
main move in lines with ...Nxd4 Bxd4, but that depends on both the c-file
tactics in the previous note, and not losing a tempo to the attack on the Bc6
after exd5.} 13. Bxa7 $1 {[#]} {Ian faced this position twice in the same day!}
b4 $1 {A move order improvement, which doesn't allow White to simply trade the
Dragon B with Bd4.} ({In the previous round that morning, Ian played the weaker
} 13... Qa5 14. Bd4 b4 15. Nd5 $16 Nxd5 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. exd5 Ba4 {[%mdl 64] 
[#]Critical Position} 18. c4 $3 {This move might not occur to players whose
heads are ringing with the old saws about "not making pawn moves around your
king unless necessary", or "not moving pawns on the area of the board where
your opponent is stronger"; but this move kills all of Black's play and
essentially ends the game.} (18. Qd4+ {is also good, so long as White plays c4
next.}) 18... Rc7 (18... bxc3 $2 19. Qd4+ $8 $18 {wins the B and a black pawn
on b2 will protect White's K long enough to consolidate.}) (18... Bxb3 19. axb3
$18 {gives White a safe K on c2 and targets on b4 and e7.}) 19. Bxa4 Qxa4 20.
b3 Qa6 21. Kb1 {[#]White is up a pawn, with a safer king and a better
structure. Notice how c2-c4 allows both lateral defence of a2 while killing
any hope for play on the c-file. In the morning round, Neil Doknjas wrapped up
smoothly with:} Ra8 22. Rhe1 Kg8 23. Re2 Qb6 24. h4 Rca7 25. Qf4 Ra3 26. Rxe7 {
Doknjas,N (2255)-Findlay,I (2126) Calgary int. 2023 (6) 1-0}) 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15.
exd5 (15. Bxd5 $4 Bxd5 16. exd5 Qa5 $19) 15... Qa5 $8 {[#] Here we see the
point of Black's improved move order.} 16. Qe3 ({Trying to transpose to
Doknjas - Findlay from the morning round with} 16. Bd4 {fails tactically to}
Bxd5 $1 17. Bxd5 (17. Bxg7 $4 Bxb3 $19) 17... Qxd5 18. Bxg7 Qxa2 $1 19. Qxb4 $8
Kxg7 $17 {with equal material but White's king is much less safe.}) 16... Ba4
$8 17. Bd4 $8 $11 Bxd4 18. Rxd4 Rc5 19. Rhd1 {[#] Critical Position ...Ra8, ...
Rfc8, or ...Bxb3.} Ra8 $2 {Going for play on the a-file; but we've already
seen a clever and non-standard defence to this.} (19... Bxb3 $142 20. Qxb3 Rfc8
$11 {with standard play.}) (19... Rfc8 $142 $5 {invites complications after}
20. c4 $1 Bb5 21. Qd3 Bxc4 22. Rxc4 (22. Bxc4 Qxa2 $8 23. b3 $8 $13) 22...
Rxc4+ $8 23. Bxc4 Qxa2 $8 24. b3 Qxg2 $13) 20. Kb1 $2 $11 ({As in the Doknjas
game,} 20. c4 $8 $18 {just kills all Black's play.   Having suffered against
this in the morning round, and then overlooking it in the afternoon, shows
just how hard it is to see such "unnatural" looking moves!}) 20... Rac8 {[#]}
21. R1d2 $2 {White is mezmerized into thinking all the play is on the
queenside.} (21. Qh6 $142 $18 {and White gets the typical (and crushing)
anti-Dragon h-file attack... without even having to play h2-h4-h5 etc.}) 21...
Bxb3 22. Qxb3 $8 Qb5 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position Black threatens ...Qf1+,
and maybe even ...Rxc2.} 23. Qd3 $6 {Stops Black's threats, but there was much
better.} ({Once again, the winning move is a non-standard pawn push in front
of the king:} 23. a4 $3 {Either wins the b-pawn or trades it off and ends
Black's queenside play.} bxa3 24. Qxb5 Rxb5 25. b3 $1 $16 {Ka2 will either win
the pawn or tie a Black rook to its defence, leaving White clearly better
everywhere else on the board.}) 23... Qb6 24. Qb3 Qb5 25. Qd3 Qa5 26. Qb3 Qb5
1/2-1/2

[Event "Fraser Valley Rapid 10"]
[Site "Langley CAN"]
[Date "2024.02.03"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Nunez Asencio, Jorge"]
[Black "Doknjas, Neil"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E61"]
[WhiteElo "2251"]
[BlackElo "2245"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2024.02.03"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,61,18,17,69,68,65,24,33,47,72,79,69,58,39,36,36,45,41,27,27,8,-2,7,36,
27,73,69,69,49,46,61,128,152,375,350,352,358,367,374,396,402,402,412,412,413,
403,294,304,317,348,371,388,367,670,694,782,845,1091,1137,1123,1433,29989,
29990]} 1. d4 d6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 g6 4. Nc3 Bf5 5. h3 Ne4 6. Nxe4 Bxe4 7. Ng5
Bc6 8. d5 Bd7 9. Qd4 f6 10. h4 Bg7 11. h5 O-O {[#]} 12. Nf3 (12. Nxh7 $5 {
"with attacking chances" is obviously very tempting, but with little time to
calculate in a rapid game, you'd have to be very confident of your evaluation
skills to go into this when White has only one pawn for the piece.  In fact,
White does have a winning attack:} Kxh7 13. Qd3 $1 (13. hxg6+ $4 Kg8 $19) 13...
f5 (13... Bf5 14. hxg6+ Kxg6 15. e4 $18) (13... Qe8 14. hxg6+ Kg8 15. Bh6 $18)
14. hxg6+ $8 Kxg6 15. Qg3+ Kf7 16. Rh7 Rg8 17. Bh6 Qf8 18. e3 {Black is so
tied up there is no time to defend against Be2-h5, winning the Bg7 with a
continued attack; e.g.} f4 19. Qg5 $1 $18) 12... e5 13. dxe6 Bxe6 14. hxg6 (14.
Qe4 Qe8 $1 $14) 14... hxg6 15. Bh6 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position Which is
better: bringing a piece to defend with ...Qe7-g7, or ...Bxh6 then ...Kg7 to
fight for the h-file.} Bxh6 $2 (15... Nc6 16. Qe3 $1 (16. Qh4 $6 g5 $1 $13 17.
Nxg5 fxg5 18. Bxg5 Qd7 (18... Rf6 $5) 19. Qh7+ Kf7 20. Qh5+ $11) 16... Qe7 17.
Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Qh6+ Kf7 19. Qh7+ Ke8 20. Qxg6+ Kd7 21. Rh7 Rf7 $16) (15... Qe7
16. Bxg7 Qxg7 $1 17. Qe4 {forking e6 and b7} Re8 $8 18. Qxb7 Nd7 $14) 16. Rxh6
Kg7 {This loses, but only if White finds the next two moves:} 17. Ng5 $8 (17.
Qh4 $2 Rh8 $8 $13) 17... Bg8 (17... Kxh6 $2 18. Qh4+ Kg7 19. Qh7#) (17... Qe8
18. Rh7+ Kg8 19. Qh4 {mates more slowly.}) 18. Rh7+ $8 $18 Bxh7 19. Ne6+ Kf7
20. Nxd8+ $18 Rxd8 21. Qd5+ $1 Ke7 22. Qxb7 Nd7 23. O-O-O Rdc8 24. g3 Nc5 {[#]}
25. Qh1 $1 {Always flashy to play the Q to the corner; even better when it's a
strong move.} Bg8 26. Bh3 Rcb8 27. Bg2 $1 {the Ra8 is a goner.} Rb4 28. Bxa8
Bxc4 29. Qh7+ Ke6 30. Qxc7 Bxa2 31. Rxd6+ 1-0

[Event "Germain Laplante op"]
[Site "Chambly CAN"]
[Date "2024.04.28"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Migot, Tangi"]
[Black "Duong, Thanh Nha"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2467"]
[BlackElo "2293"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2024.04.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nc6 3. d4 Bf5 4. Bg2 Nb4 {[#]This looks like a beginner's
lunge, but it's actually the main move, and has been played by Carlsen, Ding,
and Kramnik, to mention only the World Champions. Even though the Nb4 will go
back to c6 (or sometimes a6), Black's idea is that the two moves White gets
"for free" -- Na3 and c2-c3 -- are not very useful in general, and are utterly
worthless for White's usual strategy here: to improve the Bg2 by fighting for
the long diagonal with c4 and Nc3. Amusingly, 4...Nb4 is SF16's top pick, and
after the forced...} 5. Na3 {... SF opts for the as-yet-unplayed 5...Nc6, with
a small plus for White.} e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. c3 Nc6 8. Qb3 Rb8 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. e4
$1 {[#]White has the two bishops and an open center, which has to be +/- in
the long run.  Over the next few moves Black trades his Nf6 for the Na3, in
effect, trading White's worst minor piece for a piece that was guarding the
place his king is going to go.} dxe4 11. Bxe4 Nf6 12. Bg2 Be7 13. Nc4 Nd5 14.
Ne3 Nxe3 15. Bxe3 Bf6 16. h4 {[#]} a6 $6 (16... Ne7 $142 $16 {and White may
have to give up the B-pair to push d5.}) 17. d5 $1 exd5 18. Bxd5 {Material is
equal, but after a few seconds SF16 rates this position +2.5; and at 30 ply it
is up to +3.} O-O 19. O-O-O Qc8 20. h5 gxh5 21. Rxh5 Qg4 22. Rdh1 g6 23. Rh7
Bg7 24. Bc5 {[%mdl 32832] [#] Critical Position Hitting the best defender of
f7, which can't move without allowing Bxf7#. But what happens after ...Na5?}
Na5 25. Bxf7+ $1 {Best and simplest. From here to move 30 both sides play the
best -- and only -- moves.} ({White has other ways to win, but they are less
direct, with side branches that make them harder to calculate.} 25. Qa3 Qg5+
26. f4 Qxd5 27. Rxg7+ $8 (27. Bxf8 $4 Rxf8 $8 $19) 27... Kxg7 28. Bd4+ $8 f6 $6
29. Qe7+ Qf7 30. Bxf6+ Kg8 31. Rh8#) 25... Rxf7 26. Rxg7+ Kxg7 27. Rh7+ Kxh7
28. Qxf7+ Kh6 29. Be3+ g5 {[#]} 30. f4 Rg8 $1 {Best. Otherwise fxg5+ wins the
Q.} 31. Qxg8 Qxg3 32. fxg5+ {All that for an extra pawn? No: it's an extra
passed pawn, and an exposed K to attack, and B vs N.} Kh5 33. Qf7+ Kg4 34. Qe6+
Kh5 {[#]} 35. Bd2 $1 {Tidying up: putting the B on a safe square and guarding
the K from checks.} Nc6 36. Qf5 Qe5 37. Qf7+ (37. Qxe5 $4 Nxe5 $11) 37... Kh4
38. g6 Qe4 39. Qf6+ Kg3 40. Qg5+ Kf2 {[#]} 41. b3 $1 (41. g7 {also wins, but
why worry about the checks on the light squares when you can simply make a
safe space on b2?}) 41... Ne5 42. Qe3+ $1 {Nice finish.} Qxe3 43. Bxe3+ 1-0

[Event "Paul Keres mem (48th)"]
[Site "Surrey CAN"]
[Date "2024.05.19"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Doknjas, Neil"]
[Black "Cheng, Bindi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B80"]
[WhiteElo "2363"]
[BlackElo "2443"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2024.05.18"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 40960]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7.
f3 b5 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. g4 {[#]} Nb6 $6 {Kasparov and Anand both played this as
Black 20 years ago, but it has completely disappeared from top level chess due
to the maneuver we see in the game. Top players now try to slow White down
with:} (9... h6 {or}) (9... b4 10. Na4 (10. Nce2 h6 11. O-O-O Qc7 12. h4 d5 $1
$13 {Akopian,V (2638)-Inarkiev,E (2693) FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss 2019 (9) 1/
2-1/2}) 10... h6 11. O-O-O Ne5 $1 {Analysis Diagram [#] Reaches a famous
Topalov pawn sac idea that lead to one of Kramnik's shortest ever defeats:} 12.
Qxb4 (12. b3 Bd7 13. Nb2 d5 $13 {Carlsen,M (2839)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2727) AI
Cup Div 1 W rapid 2023 (3.3) 1-0}) 12... Bd7 13. Nb3 $6 (13. Nc3 $13) 13... Rb8
14. Qa3 Nxf3 15. h3 Nxe4 $19 16. Be2 Ne5 17. Rhe1 Qc7 18. Bd4 Nc6 19. Bc3 d5
20. Nbc5 Qa7 {Kramnik,V (2754)-Topalov,V (2757) Corus Wijk aan Zee 2005 (2) 0-1
}) 10. a4 $1 Nc4 11. Bxc4 bxc4 {[#]} 12. g5 ({White can also play on the
queenside with:} 12. a5 $5 Bb7 13. Na4 d5 14. g5 Nd7 15. O-O-O dxe4 16. f4 $1
Rb8 17. Qc3 $1 Qe7 18. Nf5 $6 (18. Nb6 $16) 18... exf5 19. Rxd7 $1 Qxd7 20.
Qe5+ Be7 21. Qxb8+ Qc8 $11 {Leko,P (2734)-Shirov,A (2718) EU-Cup 28th Eilat
2012 (3.2) 0-1}) 12... Nd7 {[#] Black has no developed pieces, having spent 4
moves to get his b-pawn to c4, but the open b-file looks like it might give
Black a deadly attack should White be daring enough to castle long...} 13.
O-O-O $3 $146 {... which he does! A Novelty, and the computer's top choice.
All the older games continued with kingside pawn storms, which is also good; e,
g,} (13. f4 Bb7 14. f5 $1 Nc5 15. Qg2 $1 $16 g6 16. fxe6 (16. O-O-O $1 {e.g.}
gxf5 17. Nxf5 exf5 18. Bxc5 $18) 16... fxe6 17. Rf1 Qd7 18. Nde2 Bg7 19. O-O-O
$16 {Areshchenko,A (2710)-Shirov,A (2718) EU-Cup 28th Eilat 2012 (6.2) 1-0})
13... Bb7 {Of course, the bishop interferes with Black's play on the b-file,
but the attempt to pile up on the b-file is too slow, and going after the
a-pawn with ...Qa5 and ...Nb6 traps and loses the Q to Nc6!  If you're going
to try this as White, it will be reassuring to know that the most direct
b-file counterattack does not work, so long as White plays accurately and
boldly:} (13... Rb8 $2 {is obviously too soon} 14. Nc6 $18) (13... Qc7 14. Rhe1
$8 $16 Rb8 {Analysis Diagram [#] If it was Black's move, ...Qb7 would give him
a large advantage, but White strikes first with} 15. Nf5 $3 $18 {A typical
strike, and the only move that gets an advantage. Here are two illustrative
lines:} exf5 (15... Qb7 16. Nxd6+ Bxd6 17. Qxd6 Qxb2+ 18. Kd2 $18 {Material is
equal, and both kings are in the center, but White's rooks and minor pieces
are ready to pounce.}) 16. exf5 Ne5 (16... Qb7 17. Bb6+ $1 $18) 17. Nd5 Qb7 18.
Bb6 Be7 {[%mdl 64] Analysis Diagram [#] Critical Position White to play and
win in the old style.} 19. Rxe5 (19. f4 $4 Nd3+ $19 {and takes on d5.}) 19...
dxe5 20. Nc7+ $1 Kf8 21. Qd8+ $1 Bxd8 22. Bc5+ $8 Be7 23. Rd8# {I gotta
believe this whole line, right to its pretty finish, has been played in
skittles at least once.}) 14. h4 Qa5 15. h5 Nb6 {[#] Without ...Bb7, Nc6 would
trap the black Q.} 16. g6 Nxa4 17. gxf7+ Kxf7 18. Nxa4 Qxa4 {[#] The last few
moves have been perfectly sensible: White has opened lines on the kingside and
Black has won the a4-pawn and threatens mate on a1. What should White do with
his K?} 19. Qh2 $6 $14 ({We've transposed to a game between a couple of strong
players where White continued optimally before going wrong in complications:} 
19. Kb1 $142 $18 {Analysis Diagram [#]} a5 (19... Rc8 20. Qh2 {or} (20. Qc3)) (
19... c3 $2 {goes nowhere} 20. Qxc3 Rc8 21. Qb3 $2 (21. Qd2 $18) 21... Qxb3 22.
Nxb3 Be7 $13) 20. Rhg1 Qd7 21. Bg5 (21. h6 $142 $1) 21... a4 22. h6 $1 g6 23.
Qc3 $1 e5 24. Qxc4+ $18 (24. f4 $1 $18 exd4 25. Qxc4+ $18) 24... d5 25. exd5
Bxd5 26. Qc3 (26. Nb5 $4 Bxc4 $11 27. Rxd7+ Ke6 28. Rb7 $13 {Doluhanova,E 
(2334)-Lagarde,M (2521) Avoine op 29th 2014 (4) 0-1}) 26... Rc8 27. Nc6 $1 Qxc6
28. Qxe5 $18 {forking the Bd5 and Rh8 and rooting out the exposed K; Black's
check on c2 is utterly useless.}) 19... c3 $1 ({Black's not going to fall for
this:} 19... Qa1+ 20. Kd2 Qxb2 21. Rb1 $18) 20. bxc3 {[#]} Rc8 $2 {Chess is a
hard game. This was obviously the point of ...c3, but it's second best, and in
wild positions second best loses.} (20... e5 $142 $14 {looks crazy, since it
hands White g5, but the computer shows White is too slow to use it.} 21. Nf5
Bc8 $1 $13 {Black will take the N, and d6 is defended by ...Qa3+.} (21... Rc8
$2 {leads to a ridiculous computer line that looks totally lost, until you see
the last move:} 22. Rd3 $1 a5 23. Rg1 $1 Ba6 24. Qh3 $8 Bxd3 {Black threatens
mate on c2 and the Bd3 is untouchable, but} 25. Nxd6+ $8 $18 {and suddenly all
of White's pieces make sense.})) 21. Rd3 $1 $16 {Good.} ({Even better is} 21.
h6 $3 $18 {White wants to play this, but giving up c3 with check is unhuman.}
Qa3+ (21... Qa1+ 22. Kd2 Qxc3+ 23. Ke2 g6 24. Qf4+ $18) (21... g6 {notice how
many of White's moves exploit the weakened dark squares:} 22. Qf4+ $8 Kg8 23.
Qf6 {threat Qxe6#.} Qa1+ 24. Kd2 Qxc3+ 25. Ke2 Qc7 26. Nxe6 Qf7 27. Qxf7+ Kxf7
28. Ng5+ Ke8 29. Bd4 $18 {White's advanced h-pawn will cost Black a piece.})
22. Kd2 Rxc3 23. hxg7 Bxg7 (23... Rxe3 24. gxf8=Q+ {and Qf4+ and White's up a
R.}) 24. Qh5+ Ke7 25. Bg5+ $18) 21... Be7 (21... e5 $1 {transposes to a
previous note.}) 22. Rg1 Qd7 {[#]} 23. e5 $6 (23. Qf4+ $142 {is better, but
this is a hard combo to see:} Bf6 24. e5 $3 dxe5 25. Rxg7+ $3 Kxg7 26. Nf5+ $18
) 23... Rhe8 24. Bg5 Bf8 {[#]} 25. Qf4+ $6 (25. Bh6 $142 $3 dxe5 (25... Kg8 26.
Bxg7 Bxg7 27. h6 $18) (25... gxh6 26. Qf4+ Ke7 27. Qf6#) 26. Qxe5 gxh6 27. Nf5
$1 $18 {threatening the Q and mate with Rg7.}) 25... Kg8 26. Bf6 $1 Qf7 27.
exd6 $8 {[#]} Bxd6 (27... e5 28. Nf5 $1 (28. Bxe5 $18 {wins too.}) 28... Qxf6
29. Nh6+ Kh8 30. Qxf6 gxf6 31. Rg8#) 28. Qh4 $4 {Allows Black a weird but
saving resource.} (28. Qg5 $142 $1 Rc7 $5 (28... Bf8 29. Bxg7 Qxg7 30. Qe3 $1
$18) (28... Be7 29. Qxg7+ $18 {is the big difference between Qh4 and Qg5.}) 29.
Nb5 $1 $18 {attacking the B the R and guarding against ...Ba3+. This wins, but
it has a "random tactics" feel to it at the end.} (29. Bxg7 $4 Bf4+ $19) 29...
axb5 30. Rxd6 Bxf3 31. Qe5 Qxh5 32. Bxg7 Qxe5 33. Bxe5+ Kf8 34. Rd3 {double
attack on c7 and f3.} Rf7 $8 35. Bd6+ $18 {wins an exchange.}) 28... Be7 $1 $11
{Which he finds! Defending g7 by pinning the B to the Q! Black is equal.} ({
White certainly saw this:} 28... Bf8 $4 29. Bxg7 Bxg7 30. h6 $18) 29. Bxe7 (29.
Rxg7+ $4 Qxg7 $19 {oops.}) 29... Rxe7 30. f4 {[%mdl 32] [#]Critical Position}
Rf8 $4 {If his bishop was on d5 Black would be fine, but here it loses to the
exact line White plays in the game.} (30... Rd7 $8 $11 {frees the Q from
defending the R.} 31. Rdg3 Qf8 $8 $11 {Defending g7 with the R and hitting a3:
White won't like what happens to his K if he takes on e6.}) ({Reversing the
move order doesn't work:} 30... Qf8 31. f5 $18 exf5 32. Nxf5 Rec7 (32... Re4
33. Qg5 $18) 33. Nxg7 Rxg7 34. Rxg7+ Qxg7 35. Rg3 $18 {Funny how White's only
defensive move (Rd3) turns out to be part of the winning attack.}) 31. f5 $8
$18 Qf6 (31... Bd5 32. h6 $1 $18) (31... exf5 32. Nxf5 $18 {threatens the Re7
and Nh6+, which can both be covered by} Re6 {but that loses to} 33. Rxg7+ $18)
32. Qxf6 $8 Rxf6 33. Nxe6 $1 {[#] Exchange sacs don't save Black because of
the skewers along the 7th.} Rxf5 34. Rd8+ Kf7 35. Ng5+ $8 Kf6 36. Rf8+ Ke5 37.
Re1+ {Black will have too many bits hanging after Rxd7.} 1-0

[Event "Ontario op"]
[Site "Toronto CAN"]
[Date "2024.05.20"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Vettese, Nicholas"]
[Black "Stevens, Christian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2247"]
[BlackElo "2252"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2024.05.18"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 40960][%evp 0,49,25,25,53,32,58,48,41,43,69,47,64,41,58,48,54,42,57,35,
48,37,56,7,15,21,41,11,13,11,17,6,12,-10,9,0,10,14,31,18,35,41,1,0,135,13,236,
244,244,243,241,253]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6.
Nb3 Be7 7. Qg4 g6 8. Qe2 Qc7 {[#]White's Q maneuver to g4 induced Black to
play checkers with his pawns, leaving White with potential play against the
dark squares.} 9. h4 $146 {Hard to believe, but this natural move seems to be
a novelty. Maybe chess isn't fully "played out"?} (9. O-O d6 10. c4 Nc6 11. Nc3
Ne5 12. h3 h5 $6 13. Be3 Nf6 14. Bg5 h4 $6 15. f4 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Rh5 17. Qd4 $18
{Licznerski,L (2439)-Stevens,C (2260) Titled Tuesday intern op 03rd May Late
blitz 2022 (1) 1-0 Black gets pummelled on the dark squares.}) 9... h5 $14 10.
Bg5 {Developing and trading the best defender of the dark squares.} d6 11. Bxe7
Qxe7 12. Nc3 Nf6 13. O-O-O Nc6 {[#]If the Nb3 was on f3, then the immediate e5
would be strong. Here, White has a choice of sensible deployments, including
Qd2 (vs d6) and Rhe1 (looking for Nc3-d5).} 14. Qe3 b5 15. Be2 Bb7 16. f4 b4
17. Na4 $14 {[#]} Kf8 $5 {Keeping the R on h8 discourages g4 and h5 breaks.} ({
The computer prefers} 17... O-O $14 {, but it requires good nerves -- and the
ability to correctly judge the position in the next diagram.} 18. g4 $5 (18. e5
Nd5 $13) 18... Nxg4 $1 (18... hxg4 $2 19. h5 $18 gxh5 20. e5 Nd5 21. Rxd5 $8
exd5 22. Rxh5 $18) 19. Bxg4 hxg4 20. h5 {[%mdl 64] Analysis Diagram [#]
Critical Position Is Black busted?} g5 $8 {Not if he plays this.} 21. fxg5 Ne5
$13 {the pawns on g-file look like they should be the opposite colours.
White's g- and h- pawns look dangerous, but g5-g6 is met by ...f5!, and the
difference in quality between the Na4 and Ne5 gives Black full equality.
Black's pawn sac with g7-g5 to get the e5 outpost is common in this structure,
but unusual to see when White's kingside play seems so far advanced.}) 18. Nb6
Rd8 $13 19. e5 (19. Rhf1 Kg7 $13) 19... dxe5 {[#]} 20. Rxd8+ Nxd8 (20... Qxd8
$2 {doesn't look terrible, but the white pieces are too active.} 21. fxe5 Nd5
22. Nxd5 Qxd5 23. Bf3 $18 Qb5 (23... Qd7 24. Nc5 $18 {and Qc5+ wins the Nc6.})
24. Qf4 $18 {aiming for Qf6 and Rd1-d7/8. Black will have to pay to activate
his R.}) 21. Qxe5 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position ...Kg7 or ...Bg2?} Bxg2 {
Playbable, but obviously dangerous with the rikety kingside. Any mistake now
will be fatal.} ({Black can slow play to equality with} 21... Kg7 {which looks
dangerous, but ...Nc6 will break the pin by forcing the Q off the diagonal.}
22. Rd1 Nc6 23. Qe3 (23. Rd7 $4 Qxd7 $19) 23... Rd8 $11) 22. Rg1 {[%mdl 64]}
Bd5 $4 {A fatal mistake.} (22... Bb7 $2 23. Nc5 $1 {threat Nbd7+} Rg8 {putting
the R on a safer square.} (23... Kg7 24. f5 $8 $18 Re8 25. fxg6 $8 fxg6 26.
Bxh5 $18) 24. Nxb7 Qxb7 25. Qxf6 $18 Qxb6 26. Rd1 $8 Qe3+ 27. Kb1 $8 $18) (
22... Kg7 $8 23. Rxg2 Qb7 {forking the R and N recovers the piece. Black still
has a lot of holes, but also an extra pawn; e.g.} 24. Rg3 Qxb6 25. Nc5 Qc6 $8 (
25... Nc6 $4 26. Qxf6+ $18) 26. Bf3 $1 {Taking on a6 with either piece loses
to ...Qh1+ followed by a fork from h2 or ...Nc6 and activating the Rh8.} Qb5
27. Be2 Qc6 $11) 23. Nc8 $8 $18 {Deflecting the Q and winning the Nf6 with a
tempo on h8.} Nc6 24. Nxe7 Nxe5 25. Nxd5 1-0

[Event "Eastern Ontario Open"]
[Site "Ottawa, Canada"]
[Date "2024.06.15"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Gordon, David"]
[Black "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A25"]
[WhiteElo "2167"]
[BlackElo "2561"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:48:05"]
[BlackClock "0:41:42"]

{[%mdl 40961]} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. e4 d6 6. Nge2 {
[#]The Botvinnik System. This is a kind of "formula" opening, since White's
setup --- c4, e4, d3, g3, Nc3, Bg2, Ne2 -- can be played almost without
looking at what Black does. White also gets a safe position without conceding
space. All of which make it an appealing repertoire choice for White.   Even
so, strong players should not be unhappy to face it as Black: unlike other
formula openings -- the London, Colle, King's Indian Attack, Hippo -- the
Botvinnik creates a more strategically complex middlegame, since the central
pawn tension can be resolved in different ways by both sides, and because the
only likely piece exchanges -- knights on d4 or d5 -- also dramatically change
the pawn structure. So there is plenty of scope for the better player to prove
it... on both sides.} Nh6 $5 7. h4 $5 f5 8. d3 Nf7 {[#]  SF16 rates this
postion at around +0.25 after several moves -- h5, Be3, b4, exf5 -- but Black
outscores White from here in performance rating: Elo+50 vs Elo-40.  Does the
wider range of decent options for White make it more likely that White will go
wrong over the long run, giving the higher-rated Black players a better chance
of winning? Or maybe White players who opt for the Botvinnik System
underestimate the complexity of the middle games they reach?} 9. Be3 (9. Nd5
Ne7 10. h5 Nxd5 11. hxg6 hxg6 12. Rxh8+ Bxh8 13. cxd5 $14 Bd7 14. Qb3 b5 15.
Be3 a5 16. Rc1 b4 17. Qc4 f4 18. Bd2 Ra7 19. a3 Qf6 $2 20. f3 $2 ({Both
players overlook a fantastic tactic:} 20. Bh3 $3 $18 Bxh3 21. Qb5+ Ke7 22. Qb8
$18) 20... Bg7 21. axb4 axb4 22. Qxb4 Nd8 $1 $16 {Kostenko,P (2466)-Short,N 
(2664) Kolkata GM op 2nd 2015 (4) 0-1}) 9... Nd4 10. Qd2 ({Bator had been here
before:} 10. h5 g5 11. h6 Bf6 12. Nd5 $2 (12. exf5 $142 $14) 12... Nxe2 13.
Qxe2 f4 $1 $15 {Rodrigue Lemieux,S (2303)-Sambuev,B (2504) Quebec-ch Montreal
2021 (2.1) 0-1}) 10... c6 11. O-O-O {[#]} Be6 (11... h5 $5) 12. h5 Qa5 13. hxg6
hxg6 14. Rxh8+ Bxh8 15. Kb1 O-O-O 16. f4 Kb8 {[#]} 17. Nxd4 $1 {Creating a
fork on d4 seems stupid, but after...} exd4 18. Ne2 {... the N is safe and the
black Q is attacked, so there's no time to take the B.  The exchange on d4 has
reduced the pawn tension in the center -- which makes things easier for the
lower-rated player -- and the Bh8 means White will get to enjoy the h-file for
one move before Black can contest it with his R.} Qb6 $5 {Keeping the queens
on and defending d4, but Black's Q is not well-placed here.} (18... Qxd2 19.
Bxd2 Bf6 20. Rh1 $11) 19. Bf2 Nh6 (19... c5 {shoring up d4 is better in
compter terms, but Black would be very hard-pressed to create any winning
chances after:} 20. Rh1 $14) 20. Rh1 $1 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position
Black's Nh6 is attacked. Which of these moves should Black NOT play: ...Bg7, ..
.Ng4, or ...fxe4?} Bg7 $4 {9min 45 sec on this -- Black's longest think of the
game so far -- and it's a lemon. White is better in all lines, but the other
two options were not forced losses:} (20... fxe4 $142 21. dxe4 (21. Bxe4 $5 Nf5
22. g4 Ne3 23. g5 $16) 21... Nf7 (21... Ng4 $2 22. Rxh8 $18) 22. Bxd4 Bxd4 23.
Nxd4 Bxc4 24. Qc3 $1 $16) (20... Ng4 $142 21. Rxh8 $8 $16 Rxh8 22. Bxd4 Qd8 23.
Bxh8 Qxh8 $16 24. Qc3 Qh2 25. Bf3 $16 {Black's Q activity looks tremendous,
but there's a snag: if} Qf2 $2 26. Qd4 $3 $18 {and White wins!}) 21. Rxh6 $8
$18 {Some fish have teeth.} Bxh6 22. Nxd4 $8 {[#]} Bxc4 {Desperado.} (22... Bd7
23. Nxf5 $18 {with a double attack on b6 and h6.}) 23. dxc4 Qa6 24. Ne6 $1 {
One mistake and it was all over for Black.} (24. Ne6 Rd7 {saves the R and d6,
but} 25. Nc5 {is fini.}) 1-0

[Event "Eastern Ontario Open"]
[Site "Ottawa, Canada"]
[Date "2024.06.16"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Moses, Neil"]
[Black "Chiku-Ratte, Olivier Kenta"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2225"]
[BlackElo "2455"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada '24.08"]
[Source "CFC/John Upper"]
[SourceDate "2024.08.27"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2024.08.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteClock "0:32:31"]
[BlackClock "0:18:12"]

{[%mdl 40960]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 b6 3. Bg2 Bb7 4. d4 e6 5. O-O Be7 6. c4 c5 7.
d5 $1 {[#]A pseudo-sac which turns the game into a Benoni where both of
Black's Bs are misplaced: Black's LSB concedes f5 and imagining some of the
following postiions with the black B on g7 will show you how much better it
would be there.  This line is so good for White that the strongest Black
players do not risk 6...c5 against their closest rivals, but go for ...00 and .
..Ne4, or ...d6. I'll assume the IM playing Black knows all this, but hoped
he'd be able to outplay his lower-rated opponent in the complications....
which he does.} exd5 8. Nh4 O-O 9. cxd5 ({Here's the first game in the
database with this d4-d5, Nh4 sac idea. It leaves a very Capablanca-like
impression:} 9. Nc3 Re8 10. Nf5 {Analysis Diagram} d6 11. Nxd5 (11. Ne3 $5 {
is a neat way to redirect the Nfrom f3 to d5.}) 11... Nxd5 12. Bxd5 $1 {
[%mdl 64] [#]Analysis Diagram Critical Position ...Bxd5 or ...Nc6} Bxd5 (12...
Nc6 $2 13. Bxf7+ $3 $18 {leads to a winning king hunt where litterally every
one of White's moves is the only way to win.} Kxf7 14. Qd5+ $8 Kf6 $1 (14...
Kf8 $2 15. Nh6 $3) 15. Bg5+ $8 Kxg5 16. Qf7 $8 Bf6 17. Nxg7 $8 Bxg7 18. h4+ $8
Kh6 19. Qf4+ $8 Kg6 20. h5+ $8 Kxh5 21. g4+ $8 Kh4 22. Kg2 $8 Nd4+ 23. e4 $8
Bxe4+ 24. f3 $8 Bxf3+ 25. Rxf3 $8 Re2+ 26. Rf2 $8 Rxf2+ 27. Kxf2 $8 {and Rh1#.}
) 13. Qxd5 Nd7 14. Rd1 $1 (14. Nxd6 $2 Bxd6 15. Qxd6 Rxe2 16. Rd1 {looks like
trouble, but Black escapes with} Qf6 ({or even the clever} 16... Re8 $5)) 14...
Nf6 15. Qf3 $1 Bf8 16. Bg5 $1 Re6 $1 17. Rd3 Qe8 {[#]Analysis Diagram} 18. Nh6+
$1 {The "petite combinaison".} gxh6 (18... Kh8 19. Nxf7+ {overloads the Q.})
19. Bxf6 Bg7 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. Rad1 $18 {Frydman,P-Kohn,S POL-ch02 Lodz 1927 
(9) 1-0 and White converted his huge positional advantage.}) 9... d6 10. Nc3
Re8 11. e4 Bf8 {[#]} 12. f4 $6 {Here, and on the next few moves, SF would play
Nf5 as White, and prevent it with ...g6 as Black.} (12. Nf5 $142 $1 {White
threatens to clamp with a4 or attack with g4-g5, and ...b5 now fails with the
N on f5:} b5 $2 13. Nxb5 $1 Nxe4 14. Qg4 $18 {Forking e4 and g7, which is the
big difference between Nf5 and f2-f4. Black can squirm, but ends up in with a
fatally weak K.} g6 (14... Nf6 15. Nh6+ $1 $18 {and the Bb7 hangs at the end.})
15. Bxe4 Bc8 16. Bd3 Kh8 (16... Qd7 17. Nh6+ $1 Bxh6 18. Qxd7 Bxd7 19. Nc7 $18)
17. Nfxd6 Bxd6 18. Nxd6 Qxd6 19. Qf3 $18 {White's up only a pawn, but the dark
square weaknesses around the black K are worth a couple more.}) 12... Nfd7 (
12... b5 $142 $1 $13 13. e5 b4 14. exf6 bxc3 $13) 13. Re1 Na6 14. Nf3 c4 {[#]}
15. Bf1 $6 {The beginning of a sequence that sees White trade his e4 pawn for
Black's a and c-pawns -- a good trade for Black.} (15. Nd4 $142 Nac5 16. b3 $1
$16) (15. e5 $2 {doesn't work, and the reasons why show why some players love
the Benoni:} dxe5 16. fxe5 Nb4 $1 17. Bf1 (17. e6 $2 fxe6 18. dxe6 Bc5+ 19. Be3
(19. Kh1 Nd3 $19) 19... Nd3 $19) 17... b5 $1 {threatening ...Nc5 and ...Nbd3,
when Black's Ns attack White's advanced center from the rear.} 18. a3 $5 Nxd5
$3 (18... Qb6+ {aiming for ...Nxd5 and doubling on the diagonal works too!})
19. Nxd5 Nc5 $19 {and suddenly the Bb7 makes sense: one of the white Ns will
drop.}) 15... Rc8 (15... b5 $5 {another Benoni like sac for rapid development.}
) 16. Nb5 Ndc5 17. Nxa7 Ra8 18. Nb5 Nxe4 $13 {[#]} 19. Bxc4 Qc8 $6 {The Q is
not well placed here: ...Qc5 is not really a threat, and Black will lose time
if his Ne4 has to move. There are lines where Black gets ...Nxd5xf4 and ...
Qg4+, but White can avoid them.} (19... Nf6 $142) 20. b3 Nb4 {[#]} 21. Be3 $2 {
Chess is hard. SF rates this completely normal looking move as nearly -2
points worse than a2-a4!  The reasons -- as in many Benoni positions -- are
highly tactical, and can only be understood through variations:} (21. a4 $142
$16 {makes the a-pawn safe and gives the DSB a good square on a3. The tactics
work for White, since the double attack created by ...Qc5+ always fails to a N
fork on c7:} Bxd5 $2 (21... Nxd5 $2 22. Bxd5 Qc5+ 23. Be3 Qxd5 24. Qxd5 Bxd5
25. Nc7 $18) ({And if Black continues as in the game} 21... Nf6 22. Rxe8 Nxe8
23. Ba3 $1 $16 {chases a N that is menacing d5 back to the edge of the board.
Once again, the double-attack with} Qc5+ {fails to} 24. Nfd4 $1 {now Black can
win the d5 pawn at the cost of fatally tangling his pieces:} Nf6 25. Rc1 Nfxd5
26. Qd2 {tying Black to the Nb4 and now moving the Bc4 wins.}) 22. Bxd5 Qc5+
23. Be3 Qxd5 24. Nc7 $1 $16 {is a triple fork, so exchanging on d1 doesn't
save Black.}) 21... Nf6 $1 {Suddenly Black is better!} 22. Bxb6 $6 ({SF prefers
} 22. Bd4 $15 {since taking the b-pawn loses a tempo in a volitle position
after ...Nxd5. I'll leave it to readers to pursue this.}) 22... Nfxd5 $6 {[#]}
({Again, SF rates} 22... Nbxd5 {as +1 better. Giving up pressure on a2 for
kingside tactics using the Nf6, maybe?}) 23. Rxe8 $2 (23. Bf2 $142 Rxe1+ 24.
Nxe1 $13) 23... Qxe8 {The loose Bb6 now costs White. Had he played 22.Bd4
instead of taking on b6 he could now go Qd2 with equality.} 24. Bf2 Ne3 $1 $19
{[#]White's king will be so exposed that he is now lost no matter which white
B gets traded for the N.} 25. Bxe3 {This speeds things up due to the pretty
tactic Black plays in the game, but the best alternatives were trickier but
not objectively better: after exchanges Black has a winning attack on the
light squares.} (25. Nc7 $2 Nxd1 26. Nxe8 Bxf3 $19) (25. Qd2 {(makes the Q
safe and forks the Ns)} Nec2 $1 26. Rc1 Bxf3 27. Nc7 Qb8 $1 {very important,
and much better than ...Qc6: Black will recapture on a8 with the B, and then
put the Q on the tip of the spear.} (27... Qc6 $2 28. Nxa8 Qxa8 29. Rxc2 Nxc2
$44 {White will be a pawn up, but his K is very exposed.}) 28. Nxa8 Bxa8 29.
Rxc2 Qb7 $19) (25. Qe2 {changes the tactics, but the fundamental idea is the
same: Black wins by keeping the queen and LSB on.} Nxc4 $8 26. Qxc4 (26. Qxe8 {
hangs f3.}) 26... Bxf3 27. Qxb4 Rb8 $8 28. Nc7 $5 (28. a4 Ba8 $19) (28. Qc3 Bb7
$1 $19) 28... Qc8 29. Qc3 Qb7 $19) 25... Qxe3+ 26. Kg2 {[#]} Nc2 $1 ({After} 
26... Nc2 {White can save the R with} 27. Rc1 {but just like the Vettese -
Stevens game, a N on the rim is a grim reaper:} (27. Qxc2 Qxf3+ $19 {wins the
Ra1.}) 27... Ne1+ $1 28. Qxe1 (28. Kh3 Nxf3 $19 {with an extra piece and a
massive attack.}) 28... Qxf3+ 29. Kh3 Qh5#) 0-1

