[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.28"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Thavandiran, Shiyam"]
[Black "Yang, Jingyun (Ryan)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Shiyam Thavandiran"]
[ECO "A36"]
[WhiteElo "2475"]
[BlackElo "2275"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[GameId "495102535170"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

 {The first round is always tense. After taking a quick look at my opponent's repertoire, I decided it was best to skip theory and simply play chess against a lower-rated opponent. I haven't played 1.c4 for many years but felt it would be a safer alternative to my usual 1.e4.} 1. c4 g6 2. g3 Bg7 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nc3 c5 5. e4 Nc6 6. Nge2 d6 7. d3 O-O 8. O-O a6 9. a3 {[#] Apparently 9.h3 is the most played here. To me it was logical to fight for space on the queenside in a symmetrical manner.} Rb8 10. Rb1 b5 11. cxb5 axb5 {[%mdl 32768] So far my opponent had been playing quickly and confidently, making me second-guess my opening decision.} 12. b4 {[#]} cxb4 {The most popular move, but perhaps not the best. Black captures away from the centre, clearing the way for White to push forward with d4. Modern engines show that Black has different options here:} (12... Nd7 {gettting out of the way of the dark-sqaured bishop while preparing ideas such as ...?d4 and ...?b6.}) (12... Bg4 {developing the last minor piece and asking White some tough questions.}) 13. axb4 Bd7 (13... e5 {is a simple and good way to equalize;} 14. Be3 Be6 15. d4 Bc4 $1 $11 {Granda Zuniga,J (2646)-Lopez Martinez,J (2552) Lorca, 2016.}) 14. h3 $14 {[#]} Qc7 $6 {So far, the opening has been normal and it's not clear how I can get some advantage. But this is quite a poor move that wastes time reshuffling the pieces with no clear aim.} (14... e5 {again, this move is logical, getting space in the center.}) 15. Be3 Rfc8 16. Qd2 ({White can try to grab space in the center with} 16. d4 $5 {but has to calculate} e5 $132 {correctly.}) 16... Qd8 (16... e5 17. Rfc1 Be6 $16) 17. f4 {[#]} Ne8 $6 {Black is playing extremely passively.} (17... e6 $5 18. g4 $6 h5 $1 {would allow Black to significantly slow down White's pawn storm.}) (17... h5 $5 18. f5 Ne5 19. Rf2 $14) 18. g4 $1 $16 e6 19. d4 {perhaps not the most precise.} ({After the immediate} 19. f5 $5 {White can double rooks on the f-file with ?f2 and ?bf1. I believe I didn't want to allow ...?e5, which makes sense too.}) 19... Nc7 $2 {The kingside is under fire and the knight moves away from the battle.} (19... Ne7 $1 {stopping the dangerous f4-f5 was Black's best defense in a difficult position.}) {[#]} 20. d5 (20. Rf2 $1 {This patient move to first improve my position would have been classy and the best option.}) 20... exd5 21. exd5 Ne7 22. Bd4 $1 f5 $6 (22... Qf8 $1 {the kingside desperately needs reinforcements.}) 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. Rbe1 fxg4 {[#]} 25. hxg4 {Good enough, but White had much better:} (25. f5 $3 $18 {a computer move that I completely missed. As we will see, I eventually played f5 and considered it on many moves, but here was where it was the strongest. The f-pawn is actually getting in the way.} Nxf5 26. hxg4 {this is the key point, as Black's strong knight gets dislodged.}) 25... Bxg4 26. Nd4 (26. f5 Nxf5 {Black is fine here since the knight on f5 is stable.}) 26... Qd7 {[#]} 27. Nc6 (27. f5 $3 {suddenly it works again! With the queen on d7, White's queen can swoop into g5.} Nxf5 28. Qg5 $18) 27... Nxc6 $2 {Now it really is over. Black could have resisted longer with an exchange sacrifice. A knight on f5 would clearly be more valuable than the dormant rook on b8.} (27... Nf5 28. Nxb8 Rxb8 29. Ne4 {and White will surely win this anyway, but Black need not resign.}) 28. dxc6 Qf7 29. Ne4 (29. Qd4+ $1 Kg8 (29... Qf6 30. Re7+) 30. f5 $1 Bxf5 31. Nd5 $1 {would have been a powerful and elegant way to finish the game.}) 29... Ne8 30. Qd4+ Kh6 31. f5 $1 {[#] It should be said that I was down to a minute here when I played this move. I didn't calculate much, but it felt intuitively that this was the way to go.} gxf5 (31... Bxf5 32. Ng3 $18) 32. Nxd6 Nxd6 33. Qxd6+ Kg5 34. Re7 Qf6 35. Qf4+ Kg6 36. Rfe1 {[#] Black is busted.} Re8 {A shocking move to see.} 37. Rxe8 Rxe8 38. Rxe8 Kf7 39. Re1 Qc3 40. Bd5+ Kg6 {I have to say that it was strange for my opponent to continue playing here. He could (should) have resigned instead of playing 36...?e8 but now that we've reached the time control, there isn't even a pretense of playing for time.} 41. Re6+ Kg7 42. Qh6+ Kf7 43. Re3# {A crushing first round win that put me in a great mood. My only gripe was that this game was not broadcast live and it wasn't until the second half of the tournament when the pgn became available for replay on lichess. I had hoped that my future opponents would see this and prepare for the English Opening!} 1-0

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.28"]
[Round "2.9"]
[White "Noritsyn, Sergey"]
[Black "Thavandiran, Shiyam"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Shiyam Thavandiran"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "2377"]
[BlackElo "2475"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[GameId "2106115308605492"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

 1. e4 e6 {In some sense, this was the scariest moment of the tournament for me. For this 10am game I had slept through my alarm and somehow made it to the tournament hall at 10:26am, only four minutes before forfeited.} 2. Nf3 {An unusual move order to get to the Advance Variation of the French Defense.} d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. d4 Bd7 6. Be2 Nge7 7. O-O {[#] Interestingly, Sergey and I reached this same position in the same building just some months ago in the Hart House Masters training tournament held in November. I did not handle the variation well but I was very fortunate that none other than Kevin Spraggett, widely considered the greatest Canadian chess player ever, suggested 7...?f5!? to me as an improvement some time after I had shown him that game.} Nf5 $5 (7... cxd4 8. cxd4 f6 9. Nc3 fxe5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. dxe5 $14 {Noritsyn, S-Thavandiran,S Hart House Masters, 2023. ( -  after 100+ moves).}) 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. b4 (9. Bd3 {is the most popular move here.}) 9... Bb6 {[#]} 10. b5 {I don't like this move at all as it weakens a lot of squares: b5, c4, and c5. Also, Black can now create pressure along the c-file with the knight moving to a5.} (10. Bd3 Qc7 {was how I played against Cheparinov in the Candidates Blitz soon after this game. editor - that game saw White prudently decline to "win" Black's d5-pawn:} 11. Re1 O-O 12. a4 $1 a6 13. Bxf5 exf5 14. a5 Ba7 15. Be3 {1-0 Cheparinov,I (2638)-Thavandiran,S (2347) Toronto Candidates Blitz op 2024 (7)}) 10... Na5 11. Bd3 Qc7 12. Ba3 Nc4 $1 {[#] One of the main ideas of Black's ...?f5 is sacrificing the d5 pawn. Black gets full compensation and so it is advisable for Whtie to refrain from capturing on f5.} 13. Bxf5 Nxa3 14. Nxa3 {[#]} exf5 (14... Qxc3 $5 {is also interesting.} {During the game I thought 15.?d3 was strong, but Black has a nice trick:} 15. Qd3 $2 (15. Nc2 $142 exf5 16. a4 Rc8 $17) 15... Rc8 $1 16. Bxh7 ({editor -} 16. Qxc3 {is trickier:} Rxc3 17. Nb1 Rxf3 $8 18. gxf3 Bd4 19. Nc3 Bxc3 20. Rac1 Bxe5 21. Bd3 $19 {material is nominally equal, but White has no way to open files for his rooks, while Black's ?s and pawns have an excellent future, and Black can activate his ? with ...h5, ...?h6-f6.}) 16... Qxd3 17. Bxd3 Rc3 $19) 15. Qxd5 Be6 16. Qd2 {[#]} Qc5 $2 (16... Rc8 $1 {I had the idea to castle long, but it was better to prevent White regrouping with ?c2.}) 17. Qb2 $2 {I believe this was the decisive mistake. White did not sense the danger and tries to hold on the pawn, instead of improving the misplaced knight on a3.} (17. Nc2 $142 $1 {White should return the extra pawn to achieve more harmony. The position is about equal after, for example,} Qxb5 18. Ncd4) 17... O-O-O {Not the only move. Both ...?c8 and ...0-0 were both strong as well.} 18. Nd4 {[#]} Kb8 $1 {One of the themes I'm quite proud of in this game is forgoing the recapture of material in favour of piece activity.} (18... Qxe5 $6 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Nc4 $14) 19. Nxe6 $2 {White may be objectively lost after this.} (19. Nac2 Ba5 {again, we see the drawback of 10.b5.}) (19. Rac1 Rc8 20. Nb1 {White's position is passive but the knight on d4 is key to limiting the damage.}) 19... fxe6 20. Qb3 {[#]} Rc8 $1 {The point of 18...?b8. Again, Black delayes the capture of e5 in order to restrict White's knight.} (20... Rd5 21. Nc4 $1 {and White should equalize here.}) 21. Rac1 Rhd8 $1 (21... Qxe5 $2 22. Nc4 $11) 22. Nb1 {Reminiscent of Karpov-Kasparov, Linares 1993 where all of White's pieces were pushed back to the first rank.} Rd5 $1 (22... Qxe5 $6 23. Rce1 Qc5 24. Qxe6 {Black is still better but White's queen is now active. In the game, White had zero active pieces!}) 23. c4 Rd4 $1 $19 {[#] From move 18 to now, each move I played was the computer's top choice. Even during the game I could definitely feel the difference in class of my own chess, especially compared to my last game with Sergey from November.} 24. Qg3 Rg4 25. Qh3 Rd8 26. Qxh7 {[#]} Qxe5 $6 (26... Rxc4 $1 {I'm not sure why I didn't play this.} 27. Rce1 (27. Rxc4 $2 Qxf2+ $1 $19) 27... Rf4 $19) 27. Nc3 $4 {This loses a piece but White's position was quite tough anyway.} ({After} 27. Qh3 $1 {Black should still win, but White survives for the time being.}) 27... Rxc4 28. Qh3 Rdc8 29. Rce1 Qxc3 {[#]} {Somewhere around here, Sergey made a hand gesture which I interpreted as confusion about what unfolded in this game. If so, I don't blame him: the opening was tricky and then I played the middlegame very precisely.} 30. g3 Qf6 {Moreover, despite starting the game with an accidental 26 minute handicap, I was up on time here.} 31. Rd1 Rd4 32. Rc1 Rcd8 {Black's rook guards the 8th rank and helps control the d-file.} 33. Qg2 e5 {A game I'm extremely proud of and put me in a very good mood. I understood I was no longer the same player and had gone up in level. Good results are one thing, but the manner in which I won this game is a different story entirely.} 0-1

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.28"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Thavandiran, Shiyam"]
[Black "Panjwani, Raja"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Shiyam Thavandiran"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2475"]
[BlackElo "2525"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[GameId "2125079177443618"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 {My first mistake in this game was made before it started. Coming into the tournament, I placed a high emphasis on prioritizing rest and minimizing opening preparation, trusting that the games would be decided in the mdidlegame and endgame. However, I wanted to win this game very badly -- I felt that Raja would be one of the main contenders and it would a chance for me to establish myself. So in fact, there were two mistakes that I made here: preparing too much, and not managing my emotions.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 {[#] A surprise. I had expected the Kalashnikov (4...e5) which is what I spent my time cramming before the game. I also arrived 12 minutes late to this game. Not a good start.} 5. Nc3 e5 {The Sveshnikov. Of course, Black could also have played 5...d6 or 5...e6 but the Sveshnikov is a closer relative to the Kalashnikov.} 6. Ndb5 d6 {[#] It didn't take a long time for me to recall the last game I played in this line. It was the 2017 Spice Cup when I played 8.?g5 against GM Vasif Durarbayli. At some point in that game I achieved a winning position, but a draw is all I wanted as it finally put my live rating over 2400 and secured the IM title for me, five years after I scored my third IM norm at the 2012 World Junior Chess Championship. I suspected Raja would be ready for this and I decided to deviate. I played 7.?d5 in my childhood and so it wasn't entirely unfamiliar -- in any case, White can take more liberties in the opening.} 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 Nb8 (8... Ne7 {is the other alternative. Both moves were famously featured in the 2018 World Championship match between Caruana and Carlsen.}) 9. c4 a6 10. Nc3 Be7 11. Be2 O-O 12. O-O Nd7 13. Kh1 {[#] Around here, Raja shook his head as if he was not expecting me to make this move. As it turns out, I'm following one of the mainlines despite playing without any concrete knowledge here. However as we will see, this feeling of playing well led me to believe my position was advantageous.} f5 14. f4 Bf6 15. Qc2 {I was proud of this move. It's nothing spectacular but in fact it's the simple, classical moves that are often surprisingly difficult to make.} exf4 16. Bxf4 Be5 17. Qd2 {Another move I was proud of.} Bxf4 18. Qxf4 Qf6 (18... Ne5 19. c5 {would be what White wants.}) 19. Rae1 Ne5 20. Qd4 {[#] Around here I felt that my position was very good. However, this is entirely mistaken. It's dead equal and understanding this structure is something I need to work on.} Nd7 (20... Bd7 21. Qb6 {this was my main idea but the computer shows Black can simply ignore the threat to the pawn.} Qg6) 21. Qe3 Ne5 22. Qb6 Qd8 23. Qd4 {To me this seemed like a clever maneuver as my queen became more centralized.} Qa5 $5 {[#] An interesting practical attempt that I didn't expect. I was low on time and perhaps Raja thought it was good to play provocatively.} 24. a3 (24. Rb1 $5 {A Karpovian move that Kevin Spraggett suggested to me when we looked at this game after the tournament. I wish I had thought of it! Again, it seems so simple, but like I said earlier, it's deceptive. White moves the rook way from the open file in the center to support the more relevant queenside expansion with b4 and c5.}) 24... b6 {Objectively dubious, but only against computer-like precision.} 25. b4 {This was my main idea with 24.a3, and I thought I was trapping the queen. I so badly wanted to win this game that I started hallucinating!} Qxa3 {[#]} 26. Ra1 (26. Ne4 $3 {Computer chess. White is close to winning after this. It didn't occur to me at all and I've spent quite a lot of time afterwards wondering if it's possible to train this kind of vision.} fxe4 27. Rxf8+ Kxf8 28. Qxb6 {is the idea where Black's queen is out of play, the king is weak, and queenside is not developed. Now, the only move that the computer shows as not losing is} Bg4 $3 {Remarkable stuff.}) 26... Qxb4 27. Na4 Rb8 28. Rfb1 Qa5 {[#]} 29. Rxb6 $2 {More hallucination. I knew that my best was to go for 29. ?xb6 and play that position a pawn down, but at the last second, I outsmarted myself and thought the text was an improvement.} (29. Nxb6 Qc5 30. Qxc5 dxc5 {I felt the position about unclear but balanced. Both sides had their trumps but that the most likely result was a draw.}) 29... Rxb6 30. Nxb6 {[#]} Qb4 {Of course. Now Black has the extra option of ...?b4 instead of ...?c5.} (30... Qc5 31. Qxc5 dxc5 32. Nxc8 Rxc8 33. Rxa6 $11) 31. h3 f4 $2 32. Nxc8 Rxc8 33. Qxf4 {Regaining the pawn but Black still has the more active pieces.} (33. Rxa6 $4 Qe1+ $19) 33... Qb2 34. Qf1 {[#] An ugly retreating move like ?f1 should be avoided if possible; ?e1 would probably make White's life easier.} Rf8 35. Qe1 Nd7 {A strong move, rerouting the knight to c5 and also opening the e-file for the rook.} 36. Bg4 $6 {This was definitely a time scramble and the most precise moves aren't being played.} ({The computer shows} 36. c5 {was a way for White to liquidate. I was just trying to make the time control and not lose on the spot.} Nxc5 37. Bxa6 {and if} Ra8 {simply} 38. Rb1 $11 {or ?c1!?.}) 36... Nc5 37. Rd1 $6 {The rook does nothing on here other than prevent the queen coming to d4. Again, we see that the simple classical logic of ?b1 and taking the open file isn't always obvious.} (37. Rb1 Qf6 38. Rb6 {White is still worse but at least there is counterplay.}) 37... Qf6 38. Be6+ {[#] With this, I complete the rerouting of all my pieces to useless squares.} Kh8 39. Kg1 Qf4 $1 40. Bg4 Qxc4 41. Qe7 (41. Qg3 $5 Qf4 42. Qxf4 Rxf4 43. Rb1 Rf8 44. Rb6 Rd8 45. Be2 a5 46. Rb5 a4 47. Ra5 {and ?b5 is equal.}) 41... Qf4 42. Be2 h6 43. Bd3 $5 {[#] Not an obvious move - it seems like White's pieces are loose but this is compensated by the loose rook on f8.} Kg8 {A good defensive move to neutralize the ?f1 threat.} (43... Nxd3 44. Rxd3 Qf1+ ({editor - SF17 insists Black wins here with} 44... Rc8 $3 45. Rd1 a5 $1 {and while Black's passed a-pawn is a clear advantage, what human would be confident enough to rate this position -3?}) 45. Kh2 Qxd3 46. Qxf8+ $11) (43... a5 44. Rf1 Qd4+ 45. Kh2 $1 Rxf1 $4 46. Qe8+ Rf8 47. Qxf8#) 44. Bb1 $5 a5 $1 45. Qe2 $1 a4 46. Qc2 Qe3+ 47. Kh1 Rf6 48. Qh7+ Kf7 49. Bf5 a3 50. Rf1 $5 Qg5 51. g4 {[#] Around here I noticed a bead of sweat on my opponent's forehead. I took solace in the fight I was putting up despite it still being likely that I would lose the game.} Ne4 (51... a2 $1 {the most natural - passed pawns must be pushed. It's hard for White to keep the game going here.}) 52. Be6+ Ke7 {[#]} 53. Re1 $1 {I made this important defensive move with 1 second on the clock. With e3 now under control it wasn't clear how Black should continue.} (53. Rb1 $4 Ng3+ 54. Kg2 (54. Kg1 Qe3+ $19 {stopping this is the idea of ?e1.}) 54... Qd2+ 55. Kxg3 Qf2#) 53... Nf2+ $4 {Raja still had 7 minutes on the clock. My only guess is he planned to play 54. ?g2 ?d3 but forgot about the queen on h7.} (53... Ng3+ $142 54. Kg1 Ne2+ $1 {However, even here I can resist.} 55. Kh1 {and White will not resign anytime soon.} (55. Rxe2 Qc1+ 56. Kh2 Qf4+ $1 {Both ...?e2+ and ...?f4+ are very tricky moves to find, especially in the context of the psychological situation happening on the board -- what seemed like a certain win has now become a mess. A winning evaluation by the engine doesn't mean much if one can't calculate the lines that it's based on.})) 54. Kg2 {[#]} Qd2 $4 {This was even more shocking than the last move - my opponent still had 4 minutes to try and find a way instead of essentially resigning with this move.} (54... Rxe6 $1 {The engine gives this as equal. I didn't see this at the board, but intuitively I felt that the position was still a mess and that some resources should exist. editor -} 55. Rxe6+ Kf7 $8 (55... Kd7 $2 56. Kxf2 $18) 56. Kxf2 a2 $8 $13) 55. Qxg7+ Ke8 56. Bd7+ (56. Qd7+ Kf8 57. Qd8+ Kg7 58. Qg8# {was a mate in 3 that I didn't see, but it's enough to find just one win.}) 56... Kd8 57. Qxf6+ {Wow. An incredible escape. I still remember the shock and relief I felt as we signed the scoresheets.} 1-0

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.29"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Atanasov, Anthony"]
[Black "Thavandiran, Shiyam"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Shiyam Thavandiran"]
[ECO "C13"]
[WhiteElo "2443"]
[BlackElo "2475"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[GameId "2125077046735162"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 {A surprise on move one. Today there was just a single round to be played, and so I had spent a big chunk of time preparing something for the London System, which my opponent was exclusively playing up to this point.} e6 {[#] In the past, I would have seriously considered deviating from my (narrow) repertoire altogether when faced with such a big surprise on the first move. Perhaps I would have felt that Anthony didn't study all of Black's replies to 1.e4 and I could have played a different opening that I've dabbled in, like the Sicilian Kalashnikov or the Scandinavian. However, that's illogical for a few reasons, and so I decided to stick with my trusted weapon, the French Defence.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 {The most aggressive line, and in line with the aggressive look on my young opponent's face.} Nf6 4. Bg5 (4. e5 {is seen much more often at the top levels and in my own practice too.}) 4... dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 (5... Nbd7 {I've played this most recently and it's quite solid, but I figured that my opponent had mainly prepared for this.}) 6. Bxf6 {[#]} gxf6 {The first time I've ever played this popular move, but it wasn't a complete gamble. Before the tournament and in between rounds, I was reading Nigel Short's instant classic book "Winning". I was inspired by it in general, but specifically he made very insightful comments on playing the French.I had read his notes on 7...a6 but that was more or less the extent of my knowledge.} ({I've also played} 6... Bxf6 {in the past, but with Anthony still looking quite confident, I decided to deviate and play the more dynamic capture for the first time instead.}) 7. Nf3 a6 8. g3 {Anthony definitely stopped looking confident at this point, but his moves are natural enough and so only time would tell who would win the opening battle.} b5 (8... f5 {might be more accurate}) 9. Bg2 Bb7 10. Qe2 Nd7 {[#] All part of the plan I had read about in "Winning".} 11. O-O {I was quite happy to see this as now I get the freeing ...c5 in. I thought 0-0-0 would be much more testing.} (11. O-O-O Bd5 {with a double-edged position. I'm not sure who's better.} (11... c5 {looks risky with the rook glaring down the d-file.}) 12. Nc3 {It looks like White's position is easier to play, but Black should be okay with enough precision.}) 11... c5 {Black desperately seeks space.} (11... f5 {is definitely advised, to kick the knight away from the centre before starting active counterplay.}) 12. a4 {A principled approach.} b4 13. Nh4 $5 {Creative, and something I had not expected. White's knight threatens to hop forward to f5 in some lines, and now ?xf6+ is a threat as well.} (13. Rfd1 $5 Qc7 14. Rac1 $1 {and White has some initiative.}) 13... Qc7 14. dxc5 Nxc5 {[#]} (14... O-O $5 {is more accurate, preventing a ?g4 option by White.}) 15. c3 $2 {A serious mistake, after which White may have ended in a strategically lost position. Even with the second-rate move that I played, only Black could be better. There's not any clear point to c3.} (15. Nxc5 $142 Bxc5 (15... Bxg2 16. Nxe6 $18) 16. Bxb7 Qxb7 {White is better due to the better pawn structure, more potential for attack, and lead in development.}) 15... Nxe4 (15... f5 $4 16. Nxc5 Bxg2 17. Nxe6 $18) 16. Bxe4 {[#]} f5 {I played this move smugly, thinking I was quite smart to turn the tables. Unfortunately, I missed the subtle 16...?e5! when Black forces the queen exchange and enters a better ending where I would have been very optimistic on scoring the full-point.} (16... Qe5 $142 $1 {is somehow obvious... once the computer points it out; but with my king still uncastled it was counterintuitive to leave my bishop hanging and move my queen to the center of the board. Above all, after being on the defensive, it's psychologically difficult to have the gumption to even look for a killer blow.} 17. Rfe1 $1 {an important move, to exchange one pair of bishops.} (17. Bf3 Qxe2 18. Bxe2 {would give Black more chances due to the bishop pair - White can still exchange it with ?f3 but this would just be losing time compared with 17.?fe1.}) 17... Qxe4 18. Qxe4 Bxe4 19. Rxe4 bxc3 20. bxc3 Rc8 $1 $15 (20... f5 $5)) 17. Bxb7 Qxb7 18. Ng2 bxc3 19. bxc3 O-O {[#] I felt only I could be better, but a clear way forward wasn't apparent. I missed my big chance, and so a draw is a fair and satisfactory result.} 20. Nf4 Bf6 21. Nh5 Bxc3 {[#]} 22. Rac1 $1 {I missed this tactical idea.} Bg7 (22... Rac8 $4 23. Rxc3 Rxc3 24. Qe5 {and White wins.}) 23. Rc4 {Things were now getting scary with both of us low on time. I was just looking to bail out with a draw at this point.} Rfc8 24. Rfc1 Rxc4 25. Qxc4 Qf3 {[#]} 26. Qh4 Qg4 27. Nf6+ Bxf6 28. Qxf6 Qxa4 29. Qg5+ {I'm up two pawns and one is a passed a-pawn, but I felt any winning attempt by Black would be insanely risky due to the necessity of exposing my king. I accepted the draw offer.   A short but sharp game, which in the end proved to be between the top two finishers of the tournament.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Thavandiran, Shiyam"]
[Black "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Shiyam Thavandiran"]
[ECO "C49"]
[WhiteElo "2475"]
[BlackElo "2562"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "181"]
[GameId "2125391885498105"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Bxc3 7. bxc3 {[#] A structure that I quite enjoy playing and have significant experience in. White has the bishop pair and a strong center, while Black has the better pawn structure and potential to grab more space with ...a6, ...b5 along with ...h6, ...g5.} d6 8. Bg5 h6 {I hadn't prepared much for this game and wasn't so familiar with the intricacies of this move order. The main move is} (8... Qe7 {followed by ...?d8-e6 was a plan I first saw in the games of Akiba Rubinstein played over 100 years ago. One of the greatest chess thinkers of all time.}) 9. Bh4 Qe7 10. Re1 a6 {[#] Thus far, Bator had been blitzing out his moves. I recalled that I had lost to Joshua Sheng in a Pro Chess League game that had a similiar structure after 11. ?a4 b5 and I remember I did not like my position. I decided to deviate and part with my bishop instead. It turned out to be a good practical decision as Bator was surprised and started spending time to think. Objectively, I think both moves are of similar value.} 11. Bxc6 (11. Ba4 b5 12. Bb3 Na5 {and White must play precisely to avoid the light-squared bishop getting shut out of play after Black's ...c5-c4.}) 11... bxc6 12. Nd2 {A thematic plan to reroute the knight to e3 - this was a plan I first read about in an inspiring article by GM Grigory Serper many years ago: https://www.chess.com/ article/view/are-you-a-giant-of-positional-chess. His weekly column is a wonderful source of chess knowledge, culture, and history that I've gained a lot from over the years.} g5 13. Bg3 Bg4 $1 {[#] A strong move, gaining the h5 square for the knight.} 14. f3 Be6 15. Nf1 Nh5 16. Ne3 {White completes the plan and soon there will be tension in the center as pawns get pushed forward.} Rab8 17. d4 Nf4 18. c4 {[#] A typical idea for White in this structure is to play c4-c5 at some point to undouble the pawns and create weaknesses in Black's position.} Rb2 19. Qd2 Rfb8 {[#]} 20. d5 {The game is very tense and a lot can be said about each move. I'll skip over most of it in order to focus on the exciting time trouble phase, but here I'll say I took this decision in order to stop any c6-c5 ideas by Black.} (20. dxe5 $5 dxe5 21. Qa5 {is a suggestion by the computer that didn't cross my mind at all. White is better here due to the active queen and Black's pawn weaknesses. However, I was fixated on the thematic c4-c5 to soften d6 -- a drawback of playing a pet line is that it's easy to fall into a routine and have biased evaluations.}) 20... Bd7 21. dxc6 (21. Kh1 c5 {and Black is better since White no longer has any active possibilities in the center.}) 21... Bxc6 {[#]} 22. Kh1 {Here I channeled Fischer's 19.?h1 from the famous telex game against Smyslov in Havana 1965. The idea was the same: to sidestep any tactical tricks involving Black's knight; however, c5 may have been objectively strongest.} ({It turns out that} 22. Qc3 Rb1 $6 {doesn't do anything besides the one-move threat of ...?e2+, but during the game it spooked me and the idea of playing like Fischer was too tempting. Similar to my rejection of dxe5 earlier, we see that superficial knowledge of a position can lead to suboptimal moves.}) 22... Ne6 23. Nf5 Qf6 24. Bf2 Bd7 {[#]} 25. Ne3 ({I definitely considered} 25. c5 {here, but I thought the position wasn't favourable after} Ba4 26. cxd6 Rxc2 {. In fact, almost anything here by White is enough to hold the balance, but I believe I most likely rejected this due to a lack of winning chances. I still liked my position despite going a bit astray with the ?e3-f5-e3-f5-e5 pendulum motion.}) 25... Qd8 26. Nf5 Kh7 27. Rec1 Nf4 28. Ne3 Be6 29. Rd1 Qe8 $6 30. c5 $1 {[#] This comes at the perfect time, with Black's misplaced queen (?f6+ forks are looming). This sense of patience and timing comes from my experience in this structure, which in a practical game matters more than what the lichess Stockfish engine says. The main challenge now was that I had 4 minutes to make move 40, versus Bator's 27 minutes.} R2b5 {Played after 10 minutes.} (30... dxc5 31. Qc3 {with excellent pressure on Black's shattered pawn structure with an eye towards the weak dark squares around the enemy king.}) (30... Qc6 {and Black is still ok.}) 31. cxd6 Rd8 32. c4 $1 {A powerful move. All of the momentum was now on my side and I felt very much on the way to a win.} Rxd6 {[#]} 33. Qc3 {As mentioned, I had 4 minutes left and so I didn't spend time to look for better than the natural but second-rate ?c3, but} (33. Nd5 $1 Bxd5 34. exd5 Rb8 {would be Black's only way to avoid losing material but the position remains miserable.}) 33... Rc6 $2 (33... Qc6 $1 {I saw this move and wasn't sure how to continue but instead Black blundered.}) 34. a4 {More pawn power.} Rbc5 {This was played after 8 minutes. We now both had 4 minutes each before the additional 30 minutes after move 40.} (34... Rb8 35. Qxe5 $16) 35. Nd5 $1 {White is winning material due to the aforementioned ?f6+.} Rxc4 36. Qxc4 $1 Bxd5 (36... Rxc4 $2 37. Nf6+ $18) 37. Qb4 Bc4 38. Qa3 g4 {Bator is resourceful and immediately seeks counterplay in a worse position.} 39. fxg4 Be2 {[#] Another resourceful move, forcing me to make an important decision on move 40.} 40. Rdc1 {It was natural to trade pieces and simplify the position, but this is a poor square for the rook. It was critical to guard the key d3 square. Now, Black not only gets control of d3, but also reactivates the misplaced queen.} (40. Rd2 $142 {or}) (40. Re1) 40... Nd3 {Very natural and what I had expected. However, Stockfish shows that ...?d3! essentially equalizes for Black.} 41. Rxc6 Qxc6 {[#]} 42. Bh4 $2 {A terrible case of unnecessary overthinking. I spent 12 of my replenished 30 minutes and went to play for mate on h8, instead of the initially intended and automatic ?g3. This was psychological -- I wanted to end the game as soon as possible against a resourceful player like Bator, but this precisely allowed him to get counterplay and display his defensive skills.} (42. Bg3 Qxe4 43. Qe7 {White is better but I didn't see a clear win here, which made ?h4 more tempting to me.}) 42... Qxe4 43. Qf8 Qd5 $3 {[#] A brilliant find, played after 6 minutes of thought, that completely shocked me.  Black ignores the ?f6 threat due to a double minor piece sacrifice that secures perpetual check. I was very impressed and couldn't believe my eyes.} 44. Qd8 $1 {Played after 8 minutes. Bator has incorrectly rejected draws against me and others in the past, and I had this in mind. In any case, ?d8 is objectively best.} (44. Bf6 Nf2+ 45. Kg1 Nh3+ $3 $11 {The point! White's king has no shelter from the enemy queen.} 46. gxh3 Qd4+ 47. Kg2 Qe4+ 48. Kf2 Qf4+ $1 49. Kxe2 Qe4+ $11 {I desperately checked to see if I can escape, but it's not there.}) 44... Qd4 {The only move.} 45. Rb1 $1 {Instead of playing 44.?f6 and forcing Black to force the draw, this maintains the tension and invites Black to accept or reject the draw -- which I knew has historically been a challenging decision for my opponent.} ({After} 45. Qxd4 exd4 {the comptuer gives White a ? advantage here, but I would think that Black wins this position more often in a practical game.}) 45... Nf2+ 46. Kg1 Ne4+ 47. Kh1 ({Again,} 47. Qxd4 exd4 {is possible, but I still can't calculate like Stockfish. Some positions I can, but not this one.}) 47... Nf2+ 48. Kg1 {[#]} Nxg4+ $4 {Very surprising but also not entirely unexpected: in a similar situation, Bator rejected a repetition against me in the 2008 Thanksgiving Open and promptly lost.} 49. Qxd4 exd4 50. Rc1 {The point. Black's c-pawn falls and White comfortably stops the d-pawn due to the misplaced knight.} d3 51. Be1 Nf6 52. Rxc7 Ne4 53. Rxf7+ Kg6 54. Rf4 {[#]} Nc5 (54... d2 55. Bxd2 Nxd2 56. Rf2 $18 {is a nice trick}) 55. Kf2 Bd1 56. Ke3 Nxa4 57. Kxd3 Nc5+ 58. Kd2 Bb3 59. Bf2 Ne6 {[#] Despite the material advantage, winning this isn't trivial. The key is that White should avoid h2-h3, which becomes a weakness, and certainly not g2-g4 which would allow an exchange of pawns and move Black closer to a draw.} 60. Rb4 Bd5 61. Rb6 Kf5 62. g3 Kg4 63. Rd6 Bc4 64. Kc3 Ba2 65. Kb2 Bc4 66. Kc3 Ba2 67. Rxa6 Bd5 68. Rd6 Ba2 69. Ra6 Bd5 70. Ra4+ Kf3 71. Bb6 Be4 72. Ra2 Kg4 73. Re2 Bf5 74. Re5 Kg5 75. Be3+ Kf6 76. Ra5 h5 77. Kd2 Kg6 78. Ke1 Nf8 79. Kf2 Ne6 80. Ra4 Nc7 81. Ra7 Ne6 82. Ra6 Bh3 83. Rb6 Bf5 {[#] It never gets old to mention Shereshevsky's timeless endgame principle of "do not hurry". White has no need to rush with h3 and g3, tempting as it was. I realized that the way to breakthrough was bringing my king to the center.} 84. Kf3 Bh3 85. Ke4 Kf6 86. Bd4+ Kg5 87. Be3+ Kf6 88. Bd4+ {[#] Do not hurry!} Kg5 89. Ke5 Nf8 90. Be3+ Kg4 91. Rb4+ {Black resigned since after ?f4+ and ?xf8, it's all over.   After he resigned, Bator quipped: "I don't know who is luckier, you or Shawn", presumably referring to my game against Raja, along with Shawn's wins against Dukic and Vettese. I replied "they say good players get lucky".   Normally, I would have liked to analyze this fascinating game with Bator but I knew the next round would be starting shortly and I had to go grab lunch after this long game.    I will say that this win was quite meaningful, since Bator had dominated the local Canadian scene for over a decade, including wins against me in the 2011 and 2017 Canadian Zonals. Moreover, I was happy with the quality of my play against a strong opponent.} 1-0

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.30"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Rodrigue Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Black "Thavandiran, Shiyam"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Shiyam Thavandiran"]
[ECO "C07"]
[WhiteElo "2636"]
[BlackElo "2475"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[GameId "516428183791"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 {Shawn and I shared first with 4.5/5 going into this game. I didn't have high expectations to score a win in this game, and knew that a draw with Black against the top seed would be a great result. This was the only double round day that I didn't have time to go home and rest, and this actually helped me keep a healthy mindset of not expecting too much and instead focus on enjoying the game. At the same time though, I couldn't help but recall a quote from Kawhi Leonard in the 2019 NBA Championship run with the Toronto Raptors, where he famously said "let's get two" in reference to winning not just one, but two critical road games in the hostile arena of the Golden State Warriors. Even beating one of Bator and Shawn was great, but I knew "getting two" would be huge for my championship aspirations. So in the end, I was going to play a normal game but always ready to fight for the win if the opportunity arose.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 {[#] In the 2022 Canadian Zonal in Kingston, we reached this same position in Round 5. Shawn would win the game and go on to have a monster year. I went on to have a very disappointing year that made me seriously consider retirement. So while that seemed like an inflection point, to be back here competing again was already a very special moment for me and to win this game felt like a blessing from Caissa herself.} 4. Ngf3 (4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. g3 {was the only thing I had checked in the little time I had between rounds, as Shawn had used this win a minitature against GM Moradiabadi. I didn't expect 4.?gf3.}) 4... cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. exd5 a6 {[#] A rare third option played by Richard Rapport. The fact that I paid special attention to this move was likely indirectly influenced by GM Eric Hansen. During my sabbatical in 2022, the Chessbrahs hosted me for several nights in Toronto to help me prepare for my GM title pursuit. In particular, Eric offered a lot of invaluable feedback on my games and opening approach, including stressing the idea that opening choices by top players have the "mark of quality." Since Rapport was Ding's second for the World Chess Championship match where Ding got a great position in one game with the French Defence, I knew that 6...a6 was a move I could trust despite it being played very few times. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article-toronto-data-scientist-takes-sabbatical-to-pursue-his-chess-ambition/} (6... Nxd5 {Ding's choice in his game against Nepo in 2023; he lost, but it was not due to the opening.}) (6... Qxd5 7. Nb5 {is annoying, and what I wanted to avoid with 6...a6.}) 7. N2f3 (7. Be2 $5 Nxd5 $11 (7... Qxd5 $6 8. Nc4 $1 $14)) (7. c3 $5 Qxd5 8. Nc4 {is a way that White can try to make Black uncomfortable.}) 7... Qxd5 8. Bd3 {To be honest, I didn't have any preparation beyond seeing that one Rapport game. Fortunately, Shawn was clearly surprised, as he spent 24 minutes on this move and 6 minutes on the previous one. I was content that we were both playing on our own in this position.} (8. c4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Qa5 10. a3 Bxd2+ 11. Qxd2 Qc7 {was how Giri-Rapport, Bucharest 2023 continued.}) 8... Nbd7 {We both were spending oceans of time choosing the right squares for our pieces in this unfamiliar position. Certainly, we didn't want to make any slips due to the high stakes of the game.} 9. O-O Bd6 10. c4 Qc5 11. a3 b6 12. Re1 O-O 13. Bf1 Bb7 14. Bg5 {[#]} Ne5 $1 {I was very happy with this move. Black does not fear doubled pawns after ?xf6 and instead plays actively in the center, fighting for the initiative.} 15. b4 Qc7 16. Rc1 Rad8 (16... Nxf3+ 17. Nxf3 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Bxh2+ 19. Kh1 {wins a pawn, but playing ...?ad8 first is an improved version, winning an important tempo.}) 17. Qe2 Nxf3+ 18. Nxf3 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Bxh2+ 20. Kh1 Be5 21. c5 b5 22. a4 Rd4 23. axb5 {[#] Draw offer from Shawn.} axb5 {Played after not too much thought. I was up a pawn with some initiative, but Shawn defends well here.} 24. Bxf6 $1 Bxf6 25. Re4 $1 {I didn't see this at all and already felt much less optimistic about my winning chances.} Rxe4 (25... Rfd8 26. Rxd4 Rxd4) 26. Qxe4 Rb8 {I wasn't thrilled to play this passive move, but the principled ...?d8 sacrificing b5 was too risky for me.} (26... Rd8 27. Bxb5 Rd4 $44) 27. Rd1 g6 28. Rd6 Kg7 {[#] The first of two draw offers in the entire tournament from me - the second was in the next game against Nicholas. After the draw offer, Shawn gave me a death stare as if to show me he sensed weakness, but I was calm. If anything, it was encouraging for me because any winning attempt by him in this position would be very risky.  I offered a draw for the same reasons I took one against Anthony and why I wouldn't have been upset if I had drawn Bator in that position with the material advantage. My main goal in the tournament was to show the improvement in my chess level, and wanting to win at all costs is usually accompanied by a loss of objectivity and poor moves.   With White's active rook, passed c-pawn, and time pressure for both of us, I didn't want to gamble. A draw would still keep me in =1st. Fortunately, my opponent decided to continue the game.} 29. g3 {Suddenly, I have a clear plan to attack the g3 "hook" (a la Aagaard) and break open the kingside.} h5 $1 {Thematic.} 30. Bd3 h4 31. g4 (31. Rxe6 hxg3 {is crushing.}) (31. gxh4 Rh8 {is not what White wants.}) (31. Kg2 $5 {an interesting alternative suggested by Stockfish 17.}) 31... Qa7 $1 {A strong manuever to bring the queen into the game.} 32. Bb1 (32. Rxe6 Qa1+ $1 {followed by capturing e6 wins, since Black now defends the bishop after ?xg6+.}) 32... Qa1 33. Rd7 Kg8 (33... Rd8 $4 34. Qxg6+ {wins.}) 34. Kg2 Qe5 $2 {Panic. We were both low on time and I wanted to ensure safety. However, the right pieces to trade were the rooks.} (34... Rd8 $1 {and Black is much better.}) 35. Qf3 $6 {White's king is in more danger and so a queen trade is in his favour. A draw would have likely followed.} (35. Qxe5 Bxe5) 35... Rd8 $1 {[#] Black trades White's most active piece.} 36. c6 {Accompanied by Shawn's second draw offer of the game, which is acceptable chess etiquette given that I had offered a draw after his first one. However, with his active rook coming off the board, I risk nothing by playing on. The draw offers during the time scramble certainly added to what was already an intense game, given that we were both fighting for sole position atop the standings.} (36. Rxd8+ Bxd8 37. Bd3 {deserved attention.}) 36... Rxd7 37. cxd7 {The pawn is so close yet so far. The nature of the opposite coloured bishops means that Black will always securely control the d8 queening square.} Kg7 {As mentioned in the Sambuev game, do not hurry! White's threat was ?a8+.} 38. Bd3 Be7 39. Qe4 Qb8 {[#]} 40. Qc6 $2 {Shawn made this move with one second on his clock. It's a serious mistake to move the queen away from the center and weak king.} (40. Be2 {a waiting move like this seems the most practical.}) (40. Qd4+ Bf6 41. d8=Q Qxd8 42. Qxd8 Bxd8 43. Kh3 g5 44. Bxb5 Be7 45. Be8 Bxb4 {The computer gives this as equal, but there was no time to consider this when we were both playing on increment.}) 40... Qf4 $1 41. Qe4 h3+ $1 {Showing great understanding by going after the important f2-pawn protecting White's already weak king.} 42. Kg1 h2+ $1 {Insisting.} 43. Kg2 h1=Q+ {Third time's the charm!} 44. Kxh1 Qxf2 45. Bxb5 {[#] We can take stock of this position. Speaking of, Stockfish 17 evaluates this position as -2.5. Material is equal but White has a bare king, isolated pawns, and the nature of the Queen + opposite bishops endgame ensures that Black will always have mating threats on the dark squares.} Bd6 $2 {A serious inaccuracy and lack of subtlety.} (45... Bd8 $1 {Would have been a wonderful move, once against demonstrating the importance of not hurrying in the endgame. There was no need to rush with the primitive threat of ?h2#. It was important to keep constant control of d8. Moreover, Black can go to the equally dangerous square of b6.} 46. Qe5+ {This is probably what I didn't like.} (46. Be2 Bb6 {and wins.}) (46. Bc6 Qf1+ 47. Kh2 Bc7+ {shows how fast White can get mated in this position.}) (46. Qe2 Qg3 {with very unpleasant pressure, most likely winning.}) 46... Kg8 $1 (46... Kh7 $4 47. Qh2+ $11) 47. Qb8 Qh4+ {and Black picks up g4 with very good winning chances..}) 46. Qe2 $1 Qh4+ (46... Qg3 {It would have been much nicer to play this move to keep the king boxed in, but d8=? is available with the bishop on d6.}) 47. Kg1 (47. Kg2 {The computer rates this as better, but it's hard to decide on this over the board.} Qh2+ 48. Kf1 (48. Kf3 Qg3+ 49. Ke4 {looks too dangerous for a human to play.}) 48... Qh1+ 49. Kf2 Bc7 {This looks very scary but somehow the computer say it's equal. Practically, this type of position is very difficult to defend.}) 47... Bc7 {[#]Critical Position} 48. Qe4 $4 {[%mdl 64] Not an unnatural move as it centralizes the queen and protects b4. However, guarding the f2 sqaure was mandatory. Suddenly it is forced mate.} (48. Bc6 {is a nice move to protect some light squares around the king, but Black should be able to pick up the b4 pawn and press via the ?f4+/?e1+ fork after some clever moves starting with} Qg3+) 48... Bb6+ $1 49. Kg2 (49. Kf1 Qf2#) 49... Qf2+ 50. Kh3 (50. Kh1 Qg1#) 50... Bc7 {White resigned, after writhing in his chair for a bit. It became clear to me how badly Shawn wanted to win the Zonal. The finish would be 51.?g2 ?e3+ 52.?h4 ?h6#.   This statement win against the top seed with Black put me in clear first, with four rounds to go. It was very nice to get several messages from friends congratulating me on my fantastic 5.5/6 start.} 0-1

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.31"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Thavandiran, Shiyam"]
[Black "Vettese, Nicholas"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Shiyam Thavandiran"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2475"]
[BlackElo "2459"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[GameId "520836945870"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{After scoring two monster wins yesterday and taking sole lead of the tournament, I was so excited that I didn't sleep until early in the morning. This lapse in routine was less fatal given that there was only game to played in the evening but this was still far from ideal. I had White and while this seemed like it would be a good chance to further distance myself, I felt a lot of nerves. I was only half a point ahead of my next round opponent who I sincerely considered as one of the pre-tournament contenders. Similar to the Round 2 game with Sergey, I had played Nicholas with the same colour at the Hart House Masters training tournament in November 2023. We drew in a Sicilian Taimanov where I never had chances, and Nicholas went on to win the tournament half a point ahead of me. We also drew in Varennes 2017, where I had a worse position as White (more on this later). My pre-tournament feelings were confirmed given that Nicholas was in clear second and clearly playing high quality chess.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {I had expected Nicholas to deviate from the Taimanov that he played in our previous game. He probably expected me to play my usual 6.h3 here.} 6. a4 {[#] An unpleasant surprise for Nicholas, just as I had also expected and confirmed by the visible disappointment of my opponent. This was the move I had played against him in 2017 and Nicholas now had to decide between repeating the same line or playing something new. He chose the latter.} g6 {A move that's as good as any in this position.} (6... e5 7. Nf3 h6 (7... Be7 {If Magnus Carlsen is unable to put even the slightest of pressure as White (albeit against Wei Yi), it's probably not a good sign for 6.a4: https://lichess.org/broadcast/german-bundesliga-202425/round-6/NffwRqNc/uAxnCkVp}) 8. Nd2 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Bc4 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Be7 12. Qh5 O-O 13. Ne4 Qc7 14. Bd5 {( - , 26) Thavandiran,S (2385)-Vettese,N (2155) Montreal, 2017; I'll leave it to the reader to guess where I would have deviated.}) 7. Be2 Bg7 8. O-O Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 {[#]} Re8 $5 {This move really confused me. I had seen (and played) several games in this position, but none with ...?e8. It had to be second-rate, but I couldn't figure it out and incorrectly treated it like a transposition.} (10... Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Be6 12. a5 {1/2 Thavandiran,S (2420)-Xiong,J (2709) Titled Tuesday intern op 26th Jan Chess.com INT blitz 2021 (2) with a pleasant space advantage for White.}) (10... Ng4 11. Bxg4 Bxg4 12. Nd5 Rc8 13. a5 {(1-0, 30) Kamsky,G (2700)-Granda Zuniga,J (2601) Buenos Aires, 2005. Kamsky is the big hero in this line, as Kevin had shown me when he introduced me to 6.a4 back in 2017.}) (10... Bd7 11. Rfd1 {an improvement suggested by Kamsky in his notes to his win over Dominguez, where he chose 12.f3.} Rc8 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. f3 Nd7 14. a5 {(0-1, 47) Thavandiran,S (2399)-Zherebukh,Y (2636) Chess.com INT 2018, with a complicated middlegame ahead.}) 11. Rfd1 $6 {A serious inaccuracy. I tried to play like I did against Zherebukh but it doesn't work.} (11. Nxc6 $1 {A thematic move in many positions of the 6.a4 line, and not just against the Dragon setup.} bxc6 12. a5 {this almost always follows ?xc6.} c5 13. Rfd1 $14) (11. a5 $5 Nxa5 12. Nd5 {also a thematic pawn sacrifice, see Kamsky's win against Salem Saleh.}) 11... Bd7 (11... Ng4 $1 12. Bxg4 Bxg4 13. f3 Be6 $11 {the difference here with the Kamsky - Granda Zuniga game is that White doesn't have time to get ?d5 in.}) 12. f3 (12. Nxc6 $5) 12... Qc7 13. Nxc6 $1 {[#] It took me a while to come to this move. While it's easy in analysis to make everything look simple, I hadn't expected ...g6 from Nicholas and so I had to spend time recalling/creating plans.} bxc6 (13... Bxc6 14. a5 $14) 14. a5 c5 15. Bc4 Reb8 16. Bg5 {A move I was quite proud of during the game but it appears that the simple b3 may have been just as good if not better. However, these computer lines are very complex and I won't get into them in detail.} (16. b3 $1 Bb5 (16... Be6 $6 17. e5 $1 Ne8 18. exd6 Nxd6 19. Bd5 $5) 17. Bd5 $1) 16... Be6 {[#]} (16... Rxb2 $4 17. e5 $18) (16... Bc6 $5) 17. b3 $6 {Here my nerves failed me: a passive move accompanied by a draw offer.} (17. Bxe6 $1 fxe6 18. e5 $5 {This was what I intended when I played ?c4 and ?g5. It's rarely a good idea to change plans suddenly.} ({For some reason, I did not consider} 18. Na4 $1 {at all. I was fixated on tripling the pawns and I may have also forgotten that ...?d7 is not possible.} Rb5 (18... Nd7 $4 19. Bxe7 $18) 19. Nb6 Re8 {White can play e5 now in what should be a better version.}) 18... dxe5 19. Na4 e4 {I saw my king in danger here and didn't trust myself to navigate the complications. I avoided the principled decision because I was afraid to lose and I nearly paid the price.}) 17... Bxc4 18. bxc4 e6 $1 {[#] I completely missed this move. The d6 pawn is poisoned (or so I thought!) and now I don't have any counterplay associated with ?xf6 and ?d5.} 19. Na4 (19. Bf4 $5 Ne8 20. Ra3 {With the knight on e8, this looks more manageable for White.}) (19. Qxd6 $3 {Wow! Stockfish 17 shows that this equalizes but I thought this was losing.} Qxd6 20. Rxd6 Nxe4 {This is where I ended my calculation.} 21. Nxe4 Bxa1 22. c3 $1 {Amazingly, this position is equal. I can believe it, as White's pieces are very active and there are no immediate weaknesses for Black to attack. Still. it takes a lot of imagination to consider the line past ?xe4 and to find c3.}) 19... Nd7 $1 20. Ra2 Ra7 21. Bf4 (21. Kf1 $5) 21... Bd4+ $1 22. Kh1 ({The computer prefers} 22. Kf1) 22... Rab7 23. c3 Be5 24. Bxe5 Nxe5 25. Nb6 Nc6 $15 {[#] At first, I thought I was losing a pawn by force but noticed that as soon as ...?xa5 happens, I would have ?xd6 since ...?d8 is no longer possible! So I simply had to wait.} 26. h4 $1 {An important move and the best one both practically and objectively. It seems like Black has to respond quickly to this active move, but in fact, patience was required from Black.} Nxa5 $2 (26... Rd8 $1 {Black has to secure d6 first but White can still resist.} 27. Qg5 (27. h5 $5) (27. Rda1 $5)) 27. Qxd6 $11 {Nicholas was visibly disappointed here as he had missed that I can now take d6.} Qxd6 28. Rxd6 Rxb6 29. Rxb6 Rxb6 30. Rxa5 {[#]} Rc6 31. e5 {Here I started to get slight glimmers of hope to win this, but most of all, I was relieved to have escaped a very dangerous position.} Kf8 32. Kh2 Ke7 33. Kg3 h6 34. Kf4 Kd7 35. h5 Kc7 36. hxg6 fxg6 37. Ra1 Rb6 {[#]} 38. Rh1 {Too hasty. Black's rook can't move yet and so I could have taken the opportunity to play g3 and improve my position first. Black can draw but to me it is not trivial.} (38. g3 $1 Rb3 $1 {This is Black's best defense, to sacrifice the a6 pawn.} (38... Kb7 $2 {This natural move loses. I will give some sample lines:} 39. Rh1 a5 40. Rxh6 a4 41. Rh1 a3 42. Kg5 $1 ({The natural move seems to be ?a1 to stop the a-pawn, but that is actually a serious mistake:} 42. Ra1 $2 Rb3 $1 43. Kg5 Rxc3 $11) 42... Rb3 43. Rc1 {The pawn on c3 is key and White does not mind the passed pawn coming to a2.} a2 44. Ra1 $18) 39. Rxa6 Kd7 $11) 38... Rb2 {[#]} 39. Rxh6 (39. g3 {I considered this here but it seemed too risky and unnecessary given the tournament situation.} a5 (39... g5+ $1 $11 40. Kg4 (40. Ke3 Rc2 $11) 40... Re2) (39... Rc2 40. Rxh6 Rxc3 41. Rxg6 Rxc4+ $11) (39... h5 $2 40. Kg5 Rg2 41. Rh3 $1 $18 {White calmly allows Black to run with the a-pawn. Hard to play as a human.}) 40. Rxh6 $16 {It turns out this is actually good for White but computer-level precision is required.}) 39... Rxg2 40. Rh7+ Kd8 41. Rh8+ Kc7 42. Rh7+ Kd8 43. Rh8+ {Not what I wanted before the game, but certainly a good result considering the position I had after I exchanged light-squared bishops.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.01"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Noritsyn, Nikolay"]
[Black "Thavandiran, Shiyam"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Shiyam Thavandiran"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "2590"]
[BlackElo "2475"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[GameId "520837583894"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. a3 {[#] 6.?e2 is by far the more popular move and what Nikolay's younger brother chose in Round 2.} c4 (6... f6 {the main alternative}) 7. Nbd2 Na5 8. h4 {Not the most popular move, but the computer approves} h6 $6 {A move that's not necessary and simply a waste of a tempo as we will see later.  However, since it's a closed position, this inaccuracy is not critical.} 9. Rh3 {Nikolay was playing quickly here but I was happy to see this as now it's not clear where White's king will go.} Qc7 10. Rb1 O-O-O {[#] When we see long castling, excitment usually follows.} 11. b3 cxb3 12. Nxb3 Ba4 13. Nfd2 {I didn't believe in this for White.} f6 {The quintissential French Defense move, trying to break down White's center.} 14. Qg4 {[#] A critical moment where I thought for 16 minutes before finding the right sequence of moves.} Nxb3 $1 {It's important to play this first.} (14... h5 15. Qxe6+ Bd7 16. Qxd5 Bxh3 17. Qxa5 $16) 15. Nxb3 h5 $1 {[#] We see now that Black could have saved a tempo by not playing 8...h6 earlier.} 16. Qe2 (16. Qxe6+ $5 Bd7 {During the game I assumed this was winning, but Stockfish 17 actually evaluates the position as balanced after} 17. Qf7 $1 Bxh3 18. Qxc7+ Kxc7 19. gxh3) 16... fxe5 17. dxe5 (17. Bg5 $5 {Stockfish 17's suggestion: a precise move to take away any ...?e7/?f8 options as we will see later.}) 17... Bxb3 18. Rxb3 Bc5 {[#]} 19. Rg3 $2 (19. Be3 $142 {White had to exchange these bishops at this moment, since after the next move it becomes difficult to achieve this.}) (19. Bg5 Ne7 $15 {this is why 17.?g5 would have been a nice finesse.}) 19... Nh6 $1 {I really liked my position here and felt quite optimistic about my winning chances.} 20. Rg5 (20. Be3 Nf5 $17) (20. Bxh6 gxh6 {was my idea} 21. Qxh5 $2 (21. f4 $5 {with the idea to play ?f3-g3-?h3 to solidify White's loose position.}) 21... Rhf8 $17 {and White will get crushed here.}) 20... Rhf8 {Now Black is objectively better, but the position remains very complex.} 21. Be3 {[#]} Rf7 {This move cost me a lot of time. Objectively, it's not nearly one of the best options but I was happy to find it during the game, and in such a complex position, it's hard to play perfectly.} (21... Bxe3 $5 22. Qxe3 Kb8 {also gives Black a pleasant initiative.}) (21... Ng4 $1 {would have been strongest.} 22. Bxc5 Qxc5 23. f3 {but here Black must find} Rf7 $1 $17 {the key move that I missed in this line.} 24. fxg4 $2 Rdf8 $19) 22. Rxh5 (22. Bxc5 Qxc5 23. Qe3 $1 {White could equalize by forcing a queen trade, but the computer lines here are long and complex after both 23...?a5 and 23...?xe3+.}) 22... Rdf8 {I definitely recalled Kasparov's famous ...?e7 and ...?e8 doubling of rooks in the final game of the 1985 World Chess Championship match that crowned him as the World Champion.} 23. f3 Nf5 24. Bxc5 Qxc5 25. Qf2 d4 {[#] I played inventively to get to this much better position, but it cost me too much time on the clock. Now I had less than 3 minutes to reach move 40, while my opponent had 27 minutes.} 26. Bd3 Qxe5+ 27. Be4 $5 {[#] An unpleasant move to face and therefore a great practical attempt. With so much tension in the center and my own king being aimed at, I didn't have the time or nerves to react well.} Qa5 $4 {Panic, and the position suddenly is equal again after the Queen moves from the center. My idea was to stop cxd4 but this was the wrong way to do it.} (27... Rc7 $1 {redeploying the rook and winning the game. It's hard to suggest a move for White.} 28. cxd4 (28. g4 dxc3 $19) 28... Rc1+ 29. Kd2 Qf4+ 30. Re3 (30. Kd3 Rd1+ 31. Kc3 Qc7+ $1) 30... Ra1 $19 (30... Nxe3 $2 31. Kxc1 $1)) 28. Qd2 {Renewing the threat.} Qa4 29. Qb2 {[#] Now my own king's safety is in question and I reacted with another blunder.} Nd6 $4 30. Rb4 {I simply missed this.} Qe8 (30... Qa6 31. Rc5+ Kb8 (31... Rc7 $5 {this move was invisible to me during the game.}) 32. Rc6 $1 $18 {is why I went for ...?e8.}) 31. Bg6 $2 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position At this point I had 58 seconds left before even writing the move down, and I can't recall everything I felt. While it was unpleasant to have not foreseen this at all, I quickly realized that after 31...e5, the position remains highly complex. Indeed, White has to play with computer-like precision to maintain a big advantage. But I somehow spotted ...?xf3 and of course spent some time rechecking because it's hard to believe it works, but it does.} (31. Rxd4 $142 $1 Nf5 32. Rb4 b6 {is the best White can get, and while there's no doubt that White's on top, the conversion is far from guaranteed due to the dark-squared weaknesses around White's king and the misplaced rook on h5.}) (31. Rc5+ Kb8 32. Rxd4 Qe7 {Amazingly, Stockfish 17 evaluates this position as equal, which coincides with my feelings during the game. While I completely lost the thread the last few moves, I still believed in the dynamic potential of my pieces.}) 31... Rxf3 $3 {Played with 18 seconds left on my clock.} (31... e5 $5 32. Bxf7 (32. Qc2 e4 33. Re5 $3 $18) 32... Rxf7 33. cxd4 exd4+ 34. Kf1 $8 {White's only winning move but even here Black can still create counterplay.} Ne4 $5 (34... Rc7 $5 35. Rd5 Nc4 36. Qxd4 Ne3+ 37. Kg1 Nxd5 38. Qxd5 $18) 35. Qxd4 (35. Kg1 Rc7 36. Qxd4 Qxh5 37. Qxe4 $18) 35... Ng3+ 36. Kf2 Nxh5 37. Qxa7 $18) 32. Bxe8 $4 {Nikolay spent 4 of his 16 minutes before this. I believe he considered ...?e3+ but not what I played in the game.} (32. gxf3 $142 Qxg6 $13) 32... Rf1+ $8 {It was impossible for me to stay seated and I stood up out of pure adrenaline. Nikolay paused for a few minutes now and I could see he realized it was forced checkmate. He was a gentleman to play out the next couple of moves and resign in the most picturesque position.} 33. Ke2 R8f2+ 34. Kd3 Rd1+ {[#] As I exited the playing hall I ran into FM Goran Milecevic, one of my trainers during my formative chess years. I couldn't help but pump my fist while telling him I won the game.} 0-1

[Event "World-ch31-KK2"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1985.11.09"]
[Round "24"]
[White "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B85"]
[WhiteElo "2720"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[GameId "1114898674139136"]
[EventDate "1985.09.03"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "24"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. f4 O-O 9. Kh1 Qc7 10. a4 Nc6 11. Be3 Re8 12. Bf3 Rb8 13. Qd2 Bd7 14. Nb3 b6 15. g4 Bc8 16. g5 Nd7 17. Qf2 Bf8 18. Bg2 Bb7 19. Rad1 g6 20. Bc1 Rbc8 21. Rd3 Nb4 22. Rh3 Bg7 23. Be3 Re7 24. Kg1 Rce8 {[#] The position Shiyam refered to in his notes to N.Noritsyn-Thavandiran, Toronto, 2024.} 25. Rd1 f5 26. gxf6 Nxf6 27. Rg3 Rf7 28. Bxb6 Qb8 29. Be3 Nh5 30. Rg4 Nf6 31. Rh4 g5 32. fxg5 Ng4 33. Qd2 Nxe3 34. Qxe3 Nxc2 35. Qb6 Ba8 36. Rxd6 Rb7 37. Qxa6 Rxb3 38. Rxe6 Rxb2 39. Qc4 Kh8 40. e5 Qa7+ 41. Kh1 Bxg2+ 42. Kxg2 Nd4+ 0-1

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.01"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Thavandiran, Shiyam"]
[Black "Sai, Krishna GV"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Shiyam Thavandiran"]
[ECO "C49"]
[WhiteElo "2475"]
[BlackElo "2447"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "233"]
[GameId "522968063038"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 {Before the game, I grabbed a coffee, even though it meant arriving a late for the game. This proved to be a good choice, as I would need it for this 117 move 6-hour marathon game!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 {[#] Since this was the second game of the day and not much time for my opponent to prepare, I didn't have any concerns about repeating the line I played against Sambuev.} Bxc3 7. bxc3 d6 8. Bg5 Qe7 9. Re1 Nd8 10. d4 Ne6 11. Bc1 c6 {Not the most typical, as Black usually plays ...c5.} 12. Bf1 Qc7 13. a4 {[#] This move cost me 18 minutes on the clock, as I was trying to come up with a good concept of playing. I wanted to go for some ?h4-f5 ideas but ...d5 seemed to be a good response. I vaguely remembered playing a couple of rapid training games against Sai several years ago and not liking my position after allowing a timely ...d5. I believe that memory influenced me in this game to keep the center under constant watch.} Rd8 14. g3 {Objectively, White actually can go for ?h4, but the position becomes very complex. I decided to continue playing slowly, but the computer prefers more direct play here.} (14. a5 $5 {is a pretty natural follow-up to a4! I may have just missed that ...b6 was an idea for Black.}) 14... b6 15. Bg2 {[#]} Ba6 (15... h6 $5 16. Nh4 $6 Ng5 $1 $11 17. f4 $2 Nh3+ $1 $17 {is one nice computer line that shows how Black can respond energetically in this position.}) 16. Bb2 {So far just normal developing moves, but I was eating a lot of time on the clock.} Re8 17. Nh4 {I still liked my position a lot and indeed I am slightly better.} Rad8 18. Nf5 Bc8 19. Qc1 {[#] I was really proud of this move as it was going with one of my tournament goals of playing non-routine chess. I noticed that the queen was better placed on c1 instead of d2 in a lot of lines for tactical reasons due to the d8-rook and f6-knight. The computer does not like this move but in a practical game, this position seems passive and unpleasant for Black.} h6 20. f4 {[#] Played with just just over 16 minutes left to make move 40 while my opponent had 41 minutes here.} Nf8 $4 {A big blunder played after 15 minutes of thought! This was the 9th round of a tough, long tournament and perhaps that can explain it.} ({Somehow Black is supposed to be better now (?), but I think the computer line here is a very unnatural way of playing:} 20... exf4 {Already an unusual move to voluntarily give up the center.} 21. gxf4 Nh5 22. Rf1 d5 23. e5 {it seems like White has improved their pawn structure, but the issue is the dark-squared bishop and a1-rook are not playing at all; so} f6 $15 {The computer line continues after 24.?g3 ?hxf4, but I wanted to show just the first few moves.}) (20... Nh7 $5 {seems like a more human defense.}) 21. Nxd6 $1 {A typical but very nice tactical trick here to collapse Black's center and win material.} Qxd6 22. fxe5 Rxe5 23. dxe5 Qc5+ 24. Qe3 {Precision is very much required as Black has dangerous threats with ...?g4.} Qxe5 {[#]} 25. h3 $1 (25. Rad1 Ng4 $1) 25... Ng6 26. Rad1 Re8 27. Ba1 $1 {Finally preparing to activate the dormant bishop.} Nh5 28. Rd3 $1 (28. Kh2 Nf6 29. c4 Qh5 {seemed annoying, and I correctly avoided this.}) 28... Ba6 29. c4 $1 Qa5 {[#]} 30. Bc3 {Sacrificing a pawn in order to trade queens -- following the classical strategy of simplifying the position when converting a material advantage.} Qxa4 31. Ra1 Qxc4 32. Rd4 {Forcing the queen trade.} Qe2 (32... Qb5 $2 33. Bf1 {and the bishop is lost.}) 33. Qxe2 Bxe2 34. Rxa7 Bb5 35. Rdd7 Bc4 36. Kf2 Nf6 37. Bxf6 gxf6 38. Rd6 Re6 {[#] Thus far I had been displaying great technique, but here I made a serious inaccuracy by not simply trading rooks. I believe I wanted to leave Black with the doubled pawns, but it was far more important to deprive Black of any counterplay.} 39. Rd8+ $6 (39. Rxe6 $142 Bxe6 (39... fxe6 40. Bf1 {and this additional trade would just be an added bonus.}) 40. Ra6 $18) 39... Kg7 40. Bf3 Re5 {I recall that I partly kept the rooks on because I imagined I could make some mating threats with the two rooks. Now that we reached the time control, I realized that this was not possible and I had a lot more work to do.} 41. h4 (41. Raa8 $6 f5 $132) (41. g4 $5 {Prophylaxis against ...f5.}) 41... f5 42. exf5 Rxf5 43. Ke3 Rc5 44. Be4 Be6 45. Rd6 Re5 (45... Rc4 46. Rxe6 $18) 46. Rxc6 {[#] A risky looking move that required a lot of calculation and rechecking.} Bf5 47. Rc4 Re6 48. Rb4 Ne7 49. Kf4 {With this important move (?f3 also worked), White avoids all tactical tricks.} Bxe4 50. Rxe4 Nd5+ 51. Kf3 Rf6+ 52. Kg4 Rf2 53. Re5 Nb4 54. Rf5 Rxf5 55. Kxf5 Nxc2 {[#]} 56. Ke4 {A little finesse to gain some time.} Nb4 57. Rb7 Na6 58. Rxb6 Nc5+ 59. Kf5 Nd7 60. Rd6 {We each had ~3 minutes here but I somehow could not figure out the winning plan. Analyzing later at home, the simplest idea is a timely ?g4+ and eventually invading with ?f6.} Nf8 {[#]} 61. Ra6 (61. Rd4 $1 Ne6 62. Rg4+ Kf8 63. Kf6 Nc7 64. Ke5 $1 {I believe this is the very subtle idea that is not easy to spot over the board. White puts Black in zugzwang after which the decisive breakthrough follows.} Ne8 (64... Ke7 65. Rb4 {and Black will have to concede something (e.g. pushing f6) after which White easily wins.}) 65. Rb4 Nc7 (65... Kg7 66. Rb6 Kh7 67. Rb8) (65... Ke7 66. Rb6 h5 67. Rb7+ Kf8 68. Rb8 Ke7 69. Rxe8+) 66. Rb6 Kg7 67. Kd6 {the human way} (67. h5 Ne8 68. Rc6 Kh7 69. Rc8 {this runs into a bolt from the blue Analysis Diagram} {[#]} Nf6 $3 70. Rc3 (70. Kxf6 {stalemate.}) 70... Nxh5 71. g4 $8 {miraculously, this only move still wins for White.} Ng7 72. Kf6 $18) 67... Ne6 68. Ke7 Nc7 69. Rd6 Nb5 70. Rf6 $18) 61... Ng6 62. Ra7 Nf8 63. Ke5 Ng6+ 64. Kd6 Kf6 65. Ra1 Ne7 66. Rf1+ Nf5+ 67. Kd5 Kg6 68. Ke5 Ne7 69. Rf6+ Kg7 70. Ra6 Nc8 71. Ra3 Kg6 72. Rc3 Ne7 73. Rc7 Ng8 74. Ra7 Kg7 75. Kd6 Kg6 76. Ra5 Kg7 77. Rf5 Kg6 78. Ra5 Kg7 {[#] It should also be said that at some point during this game it became clear due to results on the other boards, that a win would clinch the Canadian Champion title with a round to spare. Now, I was certainly getting frustrated that I may actually draw this ending despite having a winning position since move 20.} 79. Ra8 Nf6 80. Ra4 Ne8+ 81. Ke7 Nf6 82. Rd4 Ng8+ 83. Kd6 Nf6 84. g4 {Played mainly out of fear that I would accidentally fall into a threefold repetition.} Kg6 85. Rf4 Kg7 86. Ra4 Ne8+ 87. Ke7 Nf6 88. Rd4 Ng8+ 89. Kd6 Nf6 90. Rb4 Ne8+ 91. Ke7 Nf6 92. Rd4 Ng8+ 93. Kd8 Nf6 94. Rf4 Nd5 95. Rf2 Nf6 96. Rg2 Nd5 {[#]} 97. Rg1 $2 Nf4 (97... h5 $1 {would draw. I was aware that ...h5 would be Black's best try and was very relieved when my opponent wanted to continue trying to keep a fortress.}) 98. Ke8 Ng6 (98... h5 {was the last chance.}) 99. h5 $1 {Finally I play h5 when I could see the forced win.} Ne5 100. Rf1 f6 101. Rf4 Nd3 102. Rd4 Ne5 103. Re4 Kg8 104. Ke7 Kg7 105. Rf4 Nc6+ 106. Kd7 Ne5+ 107. Ke6 Nf7 108. Rxf6 Ng5+ 109. Kf5 Nf3 110. Rg6+ Kh7 111. Ra6 Nh4+ 112. Kf6 Kg8 113. Ra8+ Kh7 114. Ra3 Kg8 115. Rg3 Kh7 116. g5 hxg5 117. Kxg5 {and with that, I became Canadian Champion! One of the happiest moments of my life.} 1-0

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.02"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Dorrance, Adam"]
[Black "Thavandiran, Shiyam"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Shiyam Thavandiran"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2429"]
[BlackElo "2475"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[GameId "520838677454"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] Unsurprisingly, I didn't get much sleep before this game, simply from pure excitement and receiving a flood of congratulatory messages that made it nearly impossible to unwind. Still, during dinner at home I made sure to watch an interview that Ian Nepomniachtchi gave after his tournament-clinching penultimate round in the 2022 Candidates. He talked about how it was very important to him to remain professional even after securing the tournament win with a round to go. He recalled that in a similar situation in the 2020/2021 Candidates, he lost the last round to Ding and that made him depressed. So I took this lesson seriously and wanted to finish with a good game. As part of my morning routine, I had been listening to a playlist I created and "It Ain't Hard to Tell" by Nas started playing. This was incredibly inspirational to me, as it was the tenth and final song on his debut album, Illmatic, a masterpiece in my favourite music genre of hip-hop. I realized that in some sense this tournament was my personal "Illmatic", and in fact, that this tenth game would be still a chance to show my best chess just as "It Ain't Hard to Tell" was my favourite song on "Illmatic". Amazingly, I believe this final game of the Zonal fit the jazzy, smooth aura of "It Ain't Hard to Tell" that I tried to channel. Now that I think about it, I also wore a suit for the last round to look nice for the photos, and this surely further cultivated the showmanship mindset that I had.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 {I didn't prepare for this game and I'm glad I didn't - Adam usually plays the Catalan.} Bb4 4. f3 {[#] I certainly would not have predicted the 4.f3 Nimzo. Adam told me after the game that he had clinched the FM title and so he decided to try something new.} d5 {After some time, I decided to go for a setup I had seen in a game between the now retired Canadian GM's Mark Bluvshtein and Anton Kovalyov. I liked the setup for Black because it gave me some strategic trumps that I could work with and maneuver around. However, as we will see, it is risky if White knows what to do.} 5. a3 Be7 6. e4 dxe4 7. fxe4 e5 8. d5 {[#]} Bc5 (8... O-O $5 {is possibly more precise, to discourage ?g5.} 9. Nf3 Nbd7 10. Bd3 Bc5 $5 (10... Nc5 11. Bc2 a5 12. O-O $16 {(1-0, 38) Wei,Y (2733)-Yuffa,D (2578) Moscow, 2019.}) 11. b4 Bd4 12. Nxd4 exd4 13. Na4 $14) 9. Nf3 Bg4 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 {[#]} a5 $6 (11... Nbd7 12. Bg5 Bd4 $1 (12... a5 13. O-O-O O-O 14. g4 Be7 15. Be3 Ne8 16. h4 Bc5 17. g5 Nd6 {Bluvshtein,M (2548)-Kovalyov,A (2548) Montreal, 2008 ( - ,49). I didn't consciously recall that Anton used this same manuever of ...?e8-d6, but likely it was subconsciously in my mind when playing this game.}) 13. Ne2 $5 {and White retains an edge.} (13. O-O-O $2 Bxc3 14. Qxc3 Nxe4 $17) 13... Bxb2 $2 (13... c5 $5) 14. Ra2 Bd4 15. Nxd4 exd4 16. e5 $1 {Ganguly,S (2654)-Filippov,A (2607) Khanty-Mansiysk, 2009. The story behind this game is worth reading in the fantastic book "The Anand Files". Apparently, every move from this game this was leftover prep from the 2008 World Chess Championship match between Anand and Kramnik, where Ganguly was one of Anand's seconds.}) 12. Bd3 {Like many variations of the Sicilian where White castles queenside, it is best to keep the bishop on f1 to save a tempo and also sometimes develop to h3.} (12. Bg5 $5 {is more in the spirit of the position but this only became clear to me after the game.}) 12... Nbd7 13. Bd2 (13. Bg5 $5) 13... O-O 14. O-O-O Ne8 $1 {Beginning a nice regrouping of the pieces. White had to have played ?g5 in the opening to stop this.} 15. Kb1 Nd6 {[#]} 16. Rdf1 $2 {The computer does not like this and there is a big change in its evaluation. Indeed, Black's play becomes quite easy after this because in many lines the rook would be better placed on d1 rather than f1, due to a potential opening of the d-file after c6.} (16. Nb5 $5) (16. Be3 $5 c6 17. Be2 $1 {and White is still dominating the center with a kingside attack looming.} a4 18. h4 Qb6 19. dxc6 bxc6 20. Rxd6 $18 {is a sample line to show why ?df1 was a big mistake.}) 16... c6 $1 $11 17. g4 Qb6 $1 18. Qd1 $1 {The best defense under the circumstances.} (18. Na4 Qb3 $1 {and White in in trouble.}) (18. Ka2 a4 $1 (18... Bd4 19. Na4) 19. Qd1 Bd4 $1 {and the a4 pawn is immune because of mate on b2. Black will play ...?c5 next with a dominating grip on the position.}) 18... Bd4 $1 {[#] The only move to keep the advantage.} (18... Bxa3 $2 19. Na4 $18) 19. Qc2 $2 {Incredibly, all of this had been played before -- which I had no idea about. Understandably, I received a couple of messages after the game to ask if this was still part of my opening preparation, but as I had mentioned earlier, the Kovalyov game was my only reference point.} (19. Na4 Qa7 20. Bc3 $1 {and White is still much worse but can fight.} ({The predecessor continued:} 20. Qe2 $2 Rab8 $17 {0-1 (34) Sammour Hasbun,J (2463)-Gareyev,T (2570) Pawtucket 2008} (20... b5 $1 $19))) 19... Nc5 $1 $19 20. Rf3 Nxd3 $1 {[#] Here I couldn't help but recall the famous ?xd7 from the 1971 Fischer-Petrosian Candidates Match, where Fischer unexpectedly traded his good knight for a bad bishop.} 21. Qxd3 Qb3 {The point. Just as Fischer did, I traded in the good minor piece for a different advantage, which in this case is the critical b3 square.} 22. Ka1 Nxc4 23. Bc1 cxd5 24. exd5 Rac8 25. Nd1 {[#]} Qxa3+ $19 {I suppose that this fancy move was due to the aforementioned showmanship mindset. Both ...?xd3 and ...?xb5 are also completely winning.} 26. Qxa3 Nxa3 27. Bd2 Nb5 28. Kb1 b6 29. Ne3 Nd6 30. Nc2 Nc4 31. Bg5 Bc5 32. Rd1 f6 33. Be3 Nd6 34. Bxc5 Rxc5 {[#]} 35. Ne3 a4 36. Rg1 b5 37. Rff1 b4 38. Rc1 Rfc8 39. Rxc5 Rxc5 40. Rc1 Rxc1+ 41. Kxc1 {[#]} g6 $1 {The f-pawn will start rolling.} 42. b3 $5 {A good practical try. I took some time here to think because it seemed like ...axb3 was the natural move, but I eventually realized that sacrificing the b-pawn to keep the passed a-pawn was much stronger.} a3 $1 43. Nc2 f5 {White can't deal with passed pawns on both sides.} 44. gxf5 gxf5 45. Nxb4 f4 46. Nc2 f3 47. Ne3 f2 {A smooth game I was very happy about and one worthy of my newly crowned Canadian Champion title. With this win, I finished the tournament with an undefeated 9/10, two points ahead of second place.} 0-1

[Event "2024 Canadian Women Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.01"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Ouellet, Maili-Jade"]
[Black "Pham, Bich Ngoc"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Maili-Jade Ouellet"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2318"]
[BlackElo "2294"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "140"]
[GameId "2131543500027486"]
[EventDate "2024.03.28"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{This was Round 8 of the Canadian Zonal. I was leading the tournament with a score of 6/7, while two players trailed closely with 5.5/7, and Penny had 5/7. The stakes were high, as this game was crucial for retaining my title, qualifying for the Olympiad, and securing a spot in the Women's World Cup.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 {Penny chose a dynamic opening, as expected. Given the tournament standings, my preparation before the round had heavily focused on reviewing these types of lines (such as the Benko, Dutch, and possibly the King's Indian Defense), anticipating her need to play for a win.} 4. cxb5 a6 5. e3 {[#] This was a line I had in my files for quite some time but had never had the opportunity to play over the board, which caught my opponent by surprise. The idea behind 5.e3 is to delay resolving the queenside structure. The plan usually involves playing ?c3, a4, and eventually e4. The kingside knight can go to f3 or e2, depending on Black's development. In the current position, Black's queenside remains undeveloped, which highlights the advantage of delaying the exchange of a/b pawns, even at the cost of a tempo (e2-e3 followed by e3-e4, rather than e2-e4 at once).} g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. a4 O-O 8. e4 e6 {[#]} 9. dxe6 $5 {A decent move, but an inaccuracy, as} (9. e5 {is much stronger. Unfortunately, due to a lack of experience in the line, I forgot what the best continuation was and did not play it.} Nxd5 (9... Ne8 10. Nf3 Bb7 11. Bc4 {White is up a pawn, while Black's pieces are undeveloped and lack space.}) 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Qxd5 Ra7 12. Nf3 $16 {threatening to take on c5 with a good game for White.}) 9... fxe6 10. e5 Nh5 11. Nf3 Bb7 12. Be2 axb5 13. Nxb5 Nc6 14. Nd6 Ba6 $6 (14... Qb6 {followed by ...?f4 was best.}) {[#]} 15. Bg5 {After considerable thought, I chose this move, as it appeared to be a natural continuation, developing with tempo. However, I failed to foresee that it would lead to a relatively forced sequence, resulting in the loss of my extra pawn and a slightly inferior position. From that point onward, I felt uncomfortable, as I struggled to find optimal placement for my pieces while maintaining any realistic winning chances.} (15. Bxa6 Rxa6 16. Nc4 {[%csl Gc4][%cal Gc4e5,Be1g1] would have allowed me to solidify the center and achieve a better position, with an extra pawn, well-placed pieces, and straightforward development.}) 15... Qa5+ 16. Bd2 Qc7 17. Bxa6 Rxa6 18. Qe2  Qa7 19. Nc4 (19. b3 $4 Nxe5 $19 ) 19... Rxa4 20. Rc1 Nf4 21. Bxf4 Rxf4 22. O-O Qb8 {[%cal Gb8b5] [#] Putting pressure on the b2-pawn and threatening ...?b5 resulting in a very uncomfortable pin.} 23. g3 {Removing the rook from the 4th-rank.} Rf8 (23... Nd4 24. Nxd4 Rxd4 {was possible but not dangerous for White.}) 24. Qe3 Rb4 25. Rc3 Nd4 26. Nfd2 (26. Nxd4 $4 cxd4 27. Qxd4 d5 $1 {winning the knight as the e-pawn is pinned.}) 26... Qa8 27. f4 Rfb8 28. Re1 Qd5 {[#]} 29. Qe4 {Forcing a queen exchange as my king is weak. Also, removing the queens simplifies the position and makes it easier to play under time pressure.} Nb3 30. Nxb3 Rxb3 31. Rxb3 (31. Qc2 Rxc3 32. Qxc3 Rb4 33. b3 {was the easiest way to equalize for White.}) 31... Rxb3 32. Qxd5 exd5 33. Ne3 d4 34. Nc4 {[#]} Rb4 (34... Kf7 35. Rb1 Ke6 36. Nd2 Rd3 37. Nc4 Bf8 38. Kf2 Kd5 39. Nb6+ Kc6 40. Nc4 Kb5 41. Ke2 $17 {was something I calculated and feared as my pieces are uncoordinated and inactive, while Black's king and rook are very active.}) 35. Rc1 Bf8 36. Kf2 Rb3 {[#] Throughout the game, I felt uncomfortable with my position and under pressure, particularly as I believed my opponent was tactically sharper during this game. However, after Black's recent inaccuracies, I felt I had regained control and was confident I would not lose after successfully centralizing my king.} 37. Ke2 Kf7 38. Kd2 Ke6 39. Kc2 Rf3 40. Rd1 Kd5 41. Nb6+ Kc6 42. Nc4 Kb5 {Penny does not repeat.} 43. Rd3 $1 Rf2+ 44. Rd2 Rxd2+ 45. Nxd2 c4 46. b3 c3 47. Nf3 {[#] From this point on, I was the only one with winning chances as Penny has to be very careful.} Bc5 (47... Kc5 $4 48. Kd3 $18) 48. Ng5 h6 49. Nf3 Kc6 50. Kd3 Kd5 51. Nh4 g5 52. Nf5 gxf4 53. gxf4 {[#]} c2 $1 {Not the only move possible, but definitely the simplest and most effective.} 54. Kxc2 Ke4 55. Nxh6 d3+ 56. Kd1 Kxf4 57. Nf7 Bb4 58. h3 Kf5 59. h4 Kg4 60. Ng5 Kxh4 61. Ne4 Kh5 62. Nf2 d2 63. Ne4 Kg6 {[#]} 64. Nf6 (64. Nxd2 $11 {but since I was not risking anything, I tried to keep some chances alive.}) 64... Kf5 65. Nxd7 Ke6 66. Nb8 Bc3 67. Na6 Kxe5 68. Nc5 Kd4 69. Na4 Bb4 70. Kc2 Ke3 {The game could have continued a bit longer, but the position was clearly drawn, and I did not believe either of us would make a losing mistake. We agreed to a draw despite my desire to win to maintain my lead and her attempts to create chances of her own. As a result, there was a three-way tie going into the final round between Yunshan Li, Svitlana Demchenko, and myself. We all won our last round, but I emerged as the national champion due to better tiebreaks.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "2024 Canadian Women Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.30"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Ouellet, Maili-Jade"]
[Black "Golubeva, Oksana"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "D16"]
[WhiteElo "2318"]
[BlackElo "2158"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "143"]
[GameId "2073912958587526"]
[EventDate "2024.03.28"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 {[%mdl 4] [#] Chess wisdom has changed dramatically.  Annotating a game from his 1929 World Championship match against Bogoljubow, Alekhine wrote: "It has been my peculiar luck that this illogical move (instead of the natural 5...?f5) has been adopted against me, with a disastrous effect, no less than four times, namely (besides the present game) by Bogoljubow again (Nottingham, 1936), by Dr Euwe (19th matchgame, 1935) and by the late German master, Helling, in Dresden, 1936."  - Alekhine, "My Best Games of Chess", Russell, 2012, (g.128).  A stickler might note that this move had been played not only "no less than four times", but five times, if we include Alekhine's 1933 loss to P.Brandes. But let's not be so pedantic. :)   To be fair to Alekhine, he continued with 6.e4!?, leading to unbalanced positions where his skill dwarfed his opponents'. Since that time, enough games have been played that a moderately well-prepared mortal would have a good idea of how to play as Black; but that was not until decades later.  5...e6 jumped in popularity after Kramnik used it to score an easy draw in his 2004 match with Leko, and has since been played successfully by Carlsen, Caruana, Anand, Svidler and other top players.} ({For years, the mainline was:} 5... Bf5 6. Ne5 {or e3 and ?xc4} Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Qc7 8. g3 e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Bf4 Nfd7 11. Bg2 {Analysis Diagram [#]  This position appeared three times in the 1935 Alekhine-Euwe World Championship match, where Black suffered a bit after ...f6 or ...?e6 or ...?d8; but it came back to life with a move Morozevich sprang on Kasparov in 2000:} g5 $5 12. Ne3 gxf4 13. Nxf5 O-O-O 14. Qc2 Nc5 (14... Ng4 $6 15. a5 $1 fxg3 16. hxg3 a6 17. Ra4 Ndf6 18. Ne4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 h5 20. Kf1 $16 {1-0 Kasparov,G (2851)-Morozevich,A (2748) Corus Wijk aan Zee 2000 (5) and Black lost the h-pawn and the game in}) 15. O-O Ne6 16. Rac1 Rg8 $5 17. Qe4 {Threatening ?b5+-} Nc5 18. Qxf4 Rg4 $8 $11 {and neither side can avoid the repetition} 19. Qe3 Nc4 20. Qf3 Ne5 {1/2 Haessel,D (2184)-Upper,J (1987) CAN-ch Guelph 2011 (5)   a game which, incidentally, also shows how a moderately well-prepared mortal can fare compared to the giants of even the recent past.}) 6. e3 {This ensures White gets the c4-pawn back smoothly, and after the positionally obligatory ...c5 it transposes into a QGA position where Black hasn't played ...a6 and White has the move a2-a4 "for free". Current chess wisdom is that access to b4 gives Black near-equality.} (6. e4 {is an interesting gambit line, where Black gives up the DSB to keep the extra c-pawn:} Bb4 7. e5 Nd5 8. Bd2 b5 9. axb5 (9. h4 $5) 9... Bxc3 10. bxc3 cxb5 11. Ng5 $13 {where White usually goes ?h5, hoping to soften up Black's kingside, before aiming the ? to d6 via e4. Black is at least equal, but the non-standard positions are tricky.}) 6... c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O cxd4 9. exd4 {[#]} Bb4 {When White has played a2-a4, Black ususally uses the b4 square for the ?, where it helps control d5; for example:} (9... Be7 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Rd1 Nb4 12. Bg5 (12. a5 Bd7 13. Ne5 Rc8 $13 {1/2 Oparin,G (2671)-Caruana,F (2804) American Cup Champ Saint Louis 2024 (1.3)}) 12... Bd7 13. d5 $1 exd5 14. Nxd5 {Analysis Diagram [#]} Nbxd5 $8 (14... Nfxd5 $2 15. Bxe7 $8 $18 Nxe7 (15... Qxe7 16. Qxe7 Nxe7 17. Rxd7 $18) 16. Ne5 $8 Qe8 17. Nxd7 $18 {1-0 Chiku Ratte,O (2206)-Corriveau,P (2031) Elite-ch POM Montreal 2013 (3)}) 15. Bxd5 Nxd5 16. Rxd5 Bxg5 $8 17. Nxg5 h6 $8 18. Qd2 hxg5 19. Rxd7 $14 {White scores about +130 Elo from here!} Qb6 20. a5 Qb3 $6 (20... Qf6 $142 21. Rxb7 Rfd8 $13) 21. Ra3 $1 Qc4 22. h3 $16 {1-0 Sambuev,B (2555)-Kraiouchkine,N (2253) Montreal Pere Noel op 2010 (3)}) 10. Bg5 O-O 11. Qd2 b6 12. Rad1 Bb7 13. Qf4 $1 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position ...?e7, ...h6, or something else?} Be7 $4 {I'm always surprised how intricate and counter-intuitive the maneuvers in these IQP positions can be.} (13... Bd6 $5 14. Qh4 Be7 $2 (14... Nb4 15. d5 $36) (14... Ne7 $14 {is the SF17 suggestion.}) 15. Bd3 $1 g6 (15... h6 $2 16. Bxh6 $1 $18) 16. d5 $1 Nxd5 (16... exd5 17. Rfe1 $18) 17. Bc4 $1 $18 {Analysis Diagram  [#] This is ridiculous... but winning!!  White's last moves were ?c4-d3-c4, and d4-d5, moving a piece twice and giving away a center pawn.... but now White is winning!??! Essentially, White's last moves created a "remove-the-guard" tactic against the ?e7 and Black can't bail with ...?xg5 since ?xg5 comes with a threat.} Bxg5 18. Nxg5 h5 19. Nxd5 $18) (13... h6 $5 {looks wrong on the general principle about not making pawn moves in front of an attacked King, but it's not bad here:} 14. d5 $1 (14. Bxh6 $5 Ne7 (14... gxh6 $4 15. d5 $8 $18 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 exd5 17. Rxd5 (17. Qxh6 $4 Qd6 $17) 17... Qe7 18. Qxh6 $18) 15. Nh4 $13 (15. Bg5 $5) (15. Qg5 $4 Nf5 $19)) 14... hxg5 15. Nxg5 {Analysis Diagram [#]} exd5 $8 (15... Nxd5 $2 16. Qh4 $8 $18) (15... Bxc3 $2 16. dxe6 $18 ({or} 16. dxc6 $18)) 16. Nxd5 $8 Nxd5 17. Rxd5 (17. Qh4 $4 Nf6 $8 18. Rxd8 Raxd8 $19 {White's attack is over and Black has ??? for the ?.}) 17... Qf6 $8 18. Rf5 $1 (18. Qh4 $4 Qh6 $8 $19) 18... Bd6 $1 (18... Qh6 $2 19. Rxf7 $18) 19. Rxf6 $8 Bxf4 20. Rxf4 Ne5 $8 $14 {White's up a pawn, but will have to spend a few moves reorganizing, which gives time for Black to activate the ?s.}) 14. d5 $1 $18 {Black is busted.} (14. Bxf6 {is also strong} Bxf6 15. d5 $8 exd5 (15... e5 16. dxc6 $18) 16. Nxd5 Rc8 17. Rfe1 $1 $18 {Every one of White's pieces is better than every one of Black's; so it should be no surprise that even the computer can't find a decent move for Black.}) 14... exd5 (14... Na5 15. d6 $18 {trapping the ?, or} (15. dxe6 $18 {winning a couple of pawns.})) (14... Nxd5 15. Bxd5 exd5 16. Nxd5 $8 Bxg5 17. Nxg5 h6 18. Ne4 $18 {with too many tactics.}) 15. Nxd5 {[#]} Qb8 (15... Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Bxg5 17. Nxg5 Qf6 18. Qxf6 gxf6 19. Nxf7 $1 Rxf7 20. Bxf7+ Kxf7 21. Rd7+ $18) 16. Qh4 $1 Nxd5 17. Bxd5 $1 {[#]} Bd8 $5 {Resourceful, but White is up to the challenge.} (17... Bxg5 18. Nxg5 h6 19. Nxf7 $1 Rxf7 20. Bxf7+ Kxf7 21. Rd7+ Ke8 (21... Kg8 22. Qg4 $18) 22. Rxg7 $18 {White has a winning attack and a material advantage.}) 18. Qe4 $1 Na5 19. b4 Bxd5 {[#]} 20. Rxd5 $8 {So the ? keeps an eye on h7.} Nc6 (20... Nb3 21. Qc2 $18 {wins the ?.}) 21. Rc1 Qb7 22. Rd6 Na5 23. Qb1 (23. Qxb7 $4 Nxb7 24. Rd7 Bxg5 25. Nxg5 Nd8 $14) 23... Be7 24. Rdd1 $1 {[#] Compared to the diagram at move 13, White's pieces have been driven away from their menacing posts around Black's kingside, but Black's one bad piece will cost the game: if the ?a5 were on almost any other square the position would be equal.  White's last two moves -- both retreats to the back rank -- are very impressive. Retreats like this tend to feel like concessions -- deactivating pieces from previously dominating squares -- but, in fact, Black is still totally busted: materially Black is fine, but White's better development is worth a lot.  How much?  Stockfish rates this position +4.5.} Nc6 25. Qe4 $1 {Double attack on the pinned and overworked ?.} ({Even stronger than} 25. Rxc6 $18 {, which also wins.}) 25... Rac8 26. b5 Bc5 (26... Na5 27. Qxb7 Nxb7 28. Bxe7 $18) 27. bxc6 Rxc6 28. Nd4 Rc7 29. Qxb7 Rxb7 30. Be3 {[#] I can't suggest a good reason why Black is playing on. I suppose it's possible she enjoys playing chess... but enjoying this??} g6 31. g3 Kg7 32. a5 Re8 33. a6 Rbe7 34. Rc2 Re4 35. Rcd2 h6 36. Kg2 h5 37. h4 Bb4 38. Rd3 Bc5 39. Kf3 Kg8 40. Ra1 R4e7 41. Nb5 Rc8 42. Rad1 Kg7 43. Rd7 Re5 44. R1d5 Re6 45. Bxc5 Rf6+ 46. Kg2 bxc5 47. Rxa7 Re8 48. Nc3 Ree6 49. Rxc5 Rxa6 50. Rxa6 Rxa6 51. Rc7 Re6 52. Nd5 Re5 53. Nf4 {[#] If SF is anything to go by, White's advantage has actually increased since the previous diagram.} Rf5 54. Ne6+ Kf6 55. Ng5 Kg7 56. f4 Rf6 57. Kf3 Rf5 58. Ke4 Kg8 {[#]} 59. Nxf7 $1 {Yes, I gave that an ex! SF rates this move as a -70 point blunder -- from +82 to +12 -- even though the pawn ending is an even more straightforward win for a human than the ?? v ? ending. Stockfish is NOT always "something to go by".} Ra5 (59... Rxf7 60. Rxf7 Kxf7 61. Ke5 Ke7 62. f5 $8 $18 {and White wins the h5 pawn or promotes her f-pawn.}) 60. Ng5 Rb5 61. Rc8+ Kg7 62. Rc5 Rb3 63. Rc7+ Kg8 64. Ke5 Rb6 65. Ne6 Rb3 66. Kf6 Rb6 (66... Rxg3 67. Rg7+ Kh8 68. Nd8 {#1}) 67. Re7 Rb8 68. Kxg6 Kh8 69. f5 Rg8+ 70. Kh6 Rxg3 71. Ng5 Kg8 72. Re8# 1-0

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.29"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Plotkin, Mark"]
[Black "Doknjas, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Mark Plotkin + editor"]
[ECO "C47"]
[WhiteElo "2501"]
[BlackElo "2307"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[GameId "496156258881"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{[%mdl 32896] Notes based on a post-game interview with IM Mark Plotkin posted by the Hart House Chess Club.  HHCC  https://youtu.be/Y4ot6SaYwPM?si=3Xaa1y-AAaWGPHOZ    "When I saw that online he sometimes plays 1...e5 and 1...c5, so I decided not to prepare and just play a sideline." - MP} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 {"I know that he knows all the alternatives --- ?b5, ?c4, d4 -- better than me, so..."} 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 {[#]} Bb4 {"In chess, especially when your opponent plays unprincipaled -- like I always do -- you want to punish it by play as principallied as possible. The best way to beat me is to play as basic as possible: develop your pieces and hit the center." - MP} (4... Bc5 $11) (4... d5 $11) 5. Bg2 O-O (5... Bxc3 6. dxc3 Nxe4 7. Nxe5 Nxe5 (7... Nxc3 $4 8. Nxc6 Nxd1 9. Nxd8 $18 {I'm up a piece, and my ? has a way out (b7) and his ? does not. - MP}) 8. Bxe4 {White has the Bishops, which should be worth something.}) 6. O-O Re8 7. d3 $14 {[#] "All the pieces are on the board and White has a lot of ideas: ?g5, ?h4-f5 with f2-f4, ?d5. But it's not a position you would expect an FM to lose in 11 moves." - MP} d5 $6 8. Nxd5 {Trading the ?c3 for a kingside defender.} Nxd5 9. exd5 Qxd5 ({editor - Chessbase MegaBase 2024 continues with this nonsense:} 9... Qd7 $146 10. d6 Qxd6 11. Ng5 Ba5 12. c3 Bb6 {and ends here. Don't trust Chessbase.}) 10. Ng5 {[#]} Qd6 {Blocks his ?b4.} (10... Qd8 $2 {stays out of the way of the ?s, but loses the kingside to} 11. Qh5 $18) (10... Qd7 {Holds, but blocks the LSB.} 11. h3 h6 12. Ne4 f5 13. Nc3 Qf7 14. Nd5 Bd6 15. f4 Be6 $15 {1-0 Kiik,K (2410)-Hartman,C (2320) Rilton Cup 27th Stockholm 1997 (9)}) 11. c3 {Gains a tempo on the ?, and makes ?b3 possible.} Ba5 (11... Bc5 12. Ne4 {gets the ? pair in an open position with a lead in development.}) 12. f4 {Attacking the center and developing the ?f1.} (12. Qh5 Qg6 13. Qxg6 hxg6 14. Bd5 Nd8 15. f4 {MP} (15. a4 $14 {SF})) 12... Bb6+ (12... Bd7 13. Nxf7 $5 Qc5+ (13... Kxf7 14. fxe5+ $4 $18) 14. Kh1 (14. d4 $1 {SF17}) 14... Kxf7 15. fxe5+ Kg8 {with a mess after} 16. b4 ({or} 16. d4)) ({SF shows White doesn't have to go ballistic after} 12... Bd7 {but has a crushing position after the calm} 13. f5 $1 {with threats on both sides of the board: ?h5, or a4+b4.}) 13. Kh1 Nd8 {[#]} 14. f5 $1 {Blocks the ?c8 and prevents the defence ...?g6 after ?h5.} Bd7 15. Qh5 {[#]} h6 (15... Qh6 16. Qxh6 gxh6 17. Ne4 {Xh6, Xf6}) 16. Ne4 Qf8 {[#]} (16... Qxd3 17. Bxh6 Bc6 18. Bxg7 $18) 17. Nf6+ $1 {Not the only winning move, but pretty, thematic, and utterly crushing.} gxf6 18. Bxh6 {"An 18 move game against a FIDE Master today... you just don't expect it... I'm expecting a slugfest.  I want to make it clear that even though I won quickly, but by no means do I believe that this player is very much weaker than me. Everyone has bad days, and he comes from a family that -- he has two brothers that are both incredbily strong -- they're both around 2200 - 2270 level, everyone in his family is very strong -- so I definitely got lucky with the fact that he probably was prepping for the wrong thing, and he was unable to figure out the position over the board." - IM Mark Plotkin} 1-0

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Dukic, Zachary"]
[Black "Plotkin, Mark"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Mark Plotkin interview"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2365"]
[BlackElo "2501"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[GameId "496156258909"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32832] Traditionally, whenever we play Black wins.  If you'd told me [before the game] I would beat a theoretical monster in 24 moves I wouldn't have belived you. It was surprising, because my opponent knows theory about 80x better than I do. - MP} 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 {[#]} 4. Be3 (4. f4 Nf6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be3 c5 (6... a6 $5 7. a4 c5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. Bd3 dxc5 10. Ne5 $14 {0-1 Dukic,Z (2222)-Plotkin,M (2293) CAN-ch University Ottawa 2018 (2)}) 7. dxc5 Qa5 8. Bd3 $14 {0-1 Dukic,Z (2167)-Plotkin,M (2326) Canada zt Kingston 2019 (7)}) 4... a6 $5 (4... Nf6 5. Qd2 $14) 5. h4 h5 6. Qd2 b5 7. O-O-O {[#] Obviously, aesthetically, my position is atrocious. I know I can "get away" with this, but this is not how you develop your pieces. I would never teach anyone to play like this. - MP} Bb7 8. f3 Nd7 9. Nh3 {Now I have my first think of the game. - MP} e6 (9... Ngf6 10. Ng5 c5 $2 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Bxc5 dxc5 13. Qxd8+ Rxd8 14. Rxd8+ Kxd8 15. Nxf7+ $18) 10. Ng5 Qe7 {And this is where chess is going to start being played. Up to now we have been playing rapidly. Here he thought for 20 minutes and played...} 11. d5 Ngf6 12. dxe6 fxe6 13. g3  (13. Ne2 $5) 13... Ne5 {[#] Now White has to start calculating, since the natural move ?h3 seems to give Black a lot of counterplay.} 14. Qf2 (14. Bh3 Nc4 15. Qe2 Nxb2 $5) (14. Bh3 b4 15. Ne2 Nc4) (14. Bh3 {I even considered this...} O-O $5 15. Bxe6+ Kh8 16. Rhf1 d5 17. exd5 Nc4 {... trying to bring everything in to attack the king. Now this [line] is utter nonsense, but in my head it was "maybe!?", and when you have so many options, in my head --- something must work. - MP   editor   it s so close to working, in that last line, after 17 ?c4 White has only one move to keep an advantage:} 18. d6 $8 $18) 14... O-O 15. Bh3 {[#]} Kh8 (15... Nfg4 16. Qe2 Nxe3 {and the e6 pawn hangs with check.}) 16. Nxe6 b4 (16... Rf7 17. Nxg7 Rxg7 18. Bg5 $18) 17. Nxf8 $2 (17. Nd5 $142 {so White will have the option of ?xg7.}) 17... Rxf8 {[#] It turns out he doesn't have any good moves: Black is completely dominating here. - MP} (17... bxc3 18. Ne6 cxb2+ {and any discovery on b2 White could take the ?g7.}) 18. Nd5 (18. Na4 Nxe4 $1 $19) 18... Bxd5 $1 19. exd5 Ne4 $8 20. Qg2 (20. fxe4 Rxf2 21. Bxf2 Nf3 {preventing ?d4 and attacking e4. I have a lot of ideas for an attack, but I had NO idea what was going on in this position... I knew I wasn't losing, but I definitely didn't think I was winning. Whenever I play chess I am typically pessimistic about my position... and... for good reason. :)}) 20... Nxf3 21. Rd3 (21. Rdf1 Qe5 22. c3 bxc3 $40) 21... Qe5 22. Rb3 {[#] "...and this is where the game becomes beautiful." - MP} Nc3 $3 {Threat: ...?xe3+ mating.} 23. Qf2 (23. bxc3 Qxe3+ $19) (23. Ba7 Bh6+ $19) (23. Bg5 Nxg5 24. hxg5) 23... Nd4 24. Qd2 (24. Bxd4 Bh6+ $1 25. Be3 Qxe3+ $1) 24... Nde2+ {Mark discusses this game in an interview during the Zonal, at the Hart House.  https://youtu.be/AGwoGOvKdFo?si=uX1MRjHnLHDuqdjh&t=54} 0-1

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Panjwani, Raja"]
[Black "Atanasov, Anthony"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2525"]
[BlackElo "2443"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[GameId "496156258908"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Bb4+ {This check slightly uncoordinates White's queenside minors.} 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 c6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. O-O {[#] A typical position in the Closed Catalan. White has more space and can try to increase it with an eventual e2-e4. The vast majority of games continue with either ...00 or ...b6 with Black slowly unwinding after capturing on c4. Rather than patiently suffer a cramped position, Black takes the opportunity to either exchange a minor piece or expand on the kingside with...} Ne4 $5 {2700+ GMs Erigaisi and Sarana have both played this regularly in rapid events.} 9. Bf4 (9. a3 a5 10. Nc3 Nxd2 11. Nxd2 O-O 12. Rac1 Rb8 13. Qd3 dxc4 14. Nxc4 b5 15. Nd2 Qb6 16. Nce4 c5 $11 {1/2 Dubov,D (2716)-Erigaisi,A (2702) Global Chess League Dubai rapid 2023 (4.3)}) 9... g5 $5 (9... f5 {transposing to a Stonewall is also possible; OTOH, Black would then be playing a Stonewall.}) 10. Be3 Nd6 11. Nbd2 {[#]} Nf5 (11... h5 $5 {If White's B was back on c1, then e2-e4 would be both obvious and strong; but with the ?e3 preventing a second central pawn break, White's only way through the center is with a piece sac. Luring the ? to a bad square is actually the point of Black playing 4...?b4+ then avoiding the ? exchange.} 12. Rfd1 Nf5 13. Nf1 g4 14. Ne5 Nxe3 15. Nxe3 Bd6 16. Nxd7 $6 (16. Rac1 $5 {threatens to smash open the center with a piece sac: ?xc6 then cxd5 and ?c6!} Nxe5 $2 17. dxe5 Bxe5 18. cxd5 exd5 19. Bxd5 $1 $16) 16... Bxd7 $15 {1-0 Mishra,A (2550)-Van Foreest,J (2680) Sigeman & Co 28th Malmo 2023 (2)}) 12. Qd3 O-O 13. Rfd1 b6 14. Nf1 a5 15. Rac1 Ba6 16. b3 b5 {[#]} 17. c5 (17. cxd5 cxd5 18. Qd2 Bb4 $11) 17... b4 18. Qd2 Nxe3 19. Nxe3 f5 20. Nc2 {[#]Black has more space and a choice of pawn breaks on the kingside.} g4 ({SF slightly prefers} 20... f4 $15 {If White continues as in the game with queenside play,} 21. a3 $2 {then Black gets a strong kingside initiative with} ({The difficulty in playing ...f4 is judging that after} 21. Bh3 $1 Kh8 22. Bxe6 {Black has good comp after ...?e8 or} Bf6 $5 {among other things, threatening ?e8 skewering e2, or the even worse...} 23. Bh3 $2 Nxc5 $3 24. dxc5 Bc3 $19 {trapping the ?.}) 21... g4 22. Ne5 Nxe5 23. dxe5 Bg5 $36) 21. Nfe1 {[#]} Bg5 $6 {This forces e2-e3, which Black might have hoped he could exploit with ...e5. But after dxe5 White has ?d4, with an immediate threat to sac on c6, and White can go back to nibbling at the queenside with a3 as in the game but with Black having a shakier pawn structure.} ({SF suggests regrouping with:} 21... Qe8 $5 22. a3 f4 23. gxf4 bxa3 24. Nxa3 Bd8 {when White has lots of interesting options -- ?c3-g3, or e3 then f3, and even the crazy-looking ?c4 -- but SF17 rates them all as a bit better for Black!?}) 22. e3 h5 ({Again,} 22... Qe8 {is worth considering, and if} 23. f4 Bd8 $1 {and Black can get busy on the kingside.}) 23. f4 Be7 {23 moves and no pawn exchanges!?} (23... gxf3 24. Nxf3 $11) 24. a3 bxa3 25. Ra1 {[#]} Nf6 $2 {After this it is all one-way traffic for White on the queenside.} (25... Qe8 $1 26. Rxa3 Bd8 $1 $13 {White can win the a5 pawn with an eventual b3-b4xa5, but Black should be able to stir up enough kingside play with ...h4 and putting majors on the h-file.}) 26. Rxa3 h4 27. Rxa5 hxg3 (27... h3 $2 28. Rda1 $8 $18 (28. Bf1 $2 Ne4 $17)) 28. hxg3 Qc8 29. Rda1 Qb7 30. Nb4 Bb5 {[#]} 31. Qa2 $8 $18 {White's up a pawn, and I don't see a way for Black to prevent White from trading the ?b5, leaving Black with weak pawns on e6 and either b5 or c6.} Rxa5 32. Qxa5 Rb8 33. Qa7 Ne4 34. Bxe4 ({White even has the bizarre computer move:} 34. Bf1 $1 Bxf1 35. Nxc6 $8 $18) 34... fxe4 35. Kf2 Kf7 36. Qxb7 Rxb7 37. Ra8 Rd7 38. Nec2 {[#]There's no good defence to ?a3xb5, so Black randomizes.} e5 39. fxe5 Ke6 40. Na3 Rb7 41. Nxb5 Rxb5 42. Nxc6 Rxb3 43. Nxe7 (43. Re8 {also wins} Kd7 44. Rxe7+ Kxc6 45. Re6+ $18 {and ?d6 or ?g6.}) 43... Rb2+ 44. Ke1 Kxe7 {[#]} 45. c6 Rc2 46. Ra7+ Ke8 47. c7 Kd7 48. Ra5 Rxc7 49. Rxd5+ Ke7 {[#]} 50. Rc5 $1 Rb7 (50... Rxc5 51. dxc5 Ke6 52. c6 $18 {The ? can stop them, but can't take either.}) 51. d5 Rb3 52. Kd2 Kd7 53. Ra5 Kc7 54. d6+ Kc6 55. Ra4 Rd3+ 56. Ke2 1-0

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.01"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Rodrigue Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Black "Atanasov, Anthony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2636"]
[BlackElo "2443"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "126"]
[GameId "496156259025"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 {[#]There are over 1000 games in the Db from here.} Bf5 12. Bg5 Qa5 13. Nh4 Be6 14. Bxe6 Qxg5 15. Nf3 Qa5 {[#] Cutting edge Petroff theory: 3/4 of the games in my database are from the past 3 years.} 16. Bh3 $5 (16. Qb3 {and}) (16. Bb3 {are reasonable and well-tested alternatives.}) 16... Qc7 ({A week later, at the Candidates match a few blocks away, the world's top Petroff expert continued:} 16... Qxc3 17. Rb1 b6 18. Rb3 Qa5 19. d5 cxd5 20. Ng5 {1/2 Praggnanandhaa,R (2747)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2758) Candidates Tournament Toronto 2024 (5) see: Pragg - Nepo, later in this issue.}) 17. c4 Nd7 18. Rb1 $5 {18.?e1 was played the previous year in Mamedov-Nepo, Airthings Rapid.} Nf6 {[#]} 19. c5 $1 Be7 20. Qb3 Rab8 ({Black has a more direct route to equality, but it doesn't look like it at first:} 20... b6 21. cxb6 axb6 22. Qxb6 Qxb6 23. Rxb6 Rxa2 24. Rxc6 g6 {Analysis Diagram  [#]  White is up a clear pawn, but at 40 ply the computer's top three lines are 0.00!? Seriously. Not even a token 1 centipawn plus.  Readers might be interested in fooling around with this and seeing if they can create any chances for White. I couldn't, which is at least a lesson in how to hold as Black.}) 21. Ne5 Bxc5 22. Nxf7 Rxf7 23. dxc5 {[#]} Kh8 (23... Ne4 $5 24. Be6 Nd2 $11) 24. g3 Re7 25. Rfd1 Qe5 26. Qa3 Rf8 27. Bg2 Ng4 28. Rd2 h5 29. h3 Qg5 $1 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position What should White play: ?bd1, ?db2, or something else?} 30. Rbd1 $4 {This loses to the game continuation. It is not quite the only losing move, but almost every other move is better.} (30. f4 $6 Qf5 $13 {saves the ? by hitting the ?b1 and White has voluntarily softened his kingside.}) (30. Qb2 {is safe and boring and about equal after ...?f6 or ...?h6.}) (30. Rdb2 $5 {leads to the most interesting play} Nxf2 $8 {Anything else loses b7, the initiative, and the game. Analysis Diagram [#]} 31. Rf1 (31. Rxf2 $4 Rxf2 32. Kxf2 Qf5+ $8 33. Qf3 Qc2+ $8 {a crucial intermediate check, ensuring Black captures the rook with check so White has no chance for the fork on f8.} 34. Kg1 Qxb1+ 35. Kh2 Re5 $1 $19 {and Black has an exchange and the initiative.}) (31. h4 $5 {saves the h-pawn from ...?xh3+ tactics, but gives Black other options:} Qg4 32. Rf1 Re2 $1 $13 {with a very complicated position: Black threatens ...?h3+ then ...?d4+, and if White tries to kick out the ?} 33. Rb4 $2 {Black has the shocking} Qh3 $3 {[%mdl 64] threatening ...?h1+ ...?h3#; and there's no saving White.} 34. Rxf2 Re1+ $19) 31... Re3 $5 (31... Nxh3+ {leads to perpetuals:} 32. Bxh3 Rxf1+ 33. Bxf1 $8 Re3 $8 34. Qxa7 (34. Rb3 Qxg3+ $8 $11) 34... Rxg3+ 35. Bg2 Qc1+ 36. Kh2 Qf4 $5 $11 {is a draw, since} (36... Rxg2+ 37. Rxg2 Qf4+ $8 $11 {draws, since the ? can block but not stop the diagonal checks.}) 37. Qa8+ Kh7 38. Be4+ $4 Rg6+ $8 {and mate!}) 32. Qb4 $8 {guards e1 and ?b2} (32. Qxa7 $4 Nxh3+ $19 {there's going to be a mate with ?g3 and ?e1.}) (32. Rb3 $4 Nxh3+ {#4}) 32... Nxh3+ 33. Bxh3 Qxg3+ 34. Bg2 Rxf1+ 35. Kxf1 Rc3 {Black has the initiative and is basically playing with draw odds, since trading majors followed by eliminating White's c-pawn leaves White with no way to win.}) 30... Re1+ $8 $19 {Wins pawns and keeps the initiative.} 31. Rxe1 (31. Bf1 Rxd1 32. Rxd1 Nxf2 $19) 31... Qxd2 32. Qc1 (32. Rf1 Rxf2 $8 $19) 32... Qxf2+ 33. Kh1 {[#]} Nf6 $8 $19 {Black is up a pawn and White is hanging two more on g3 and a2. White tries to create threats against Black's slightly loose King, but Black doesn't relax.} (33... Nh6 $4 34. Rf1 $18 {would be an awful way to throw away the win.}) 34. Re3 Qxa2 35. Ra3 Qf2 36. Kh2 Re8 37. Rf3 Qd4 38. Qg5 Re1 39. Bf1 Qb2+ 40. Kg1 Qd4+ 41. Kh2 b6 42. cxb6 axb6 43. Qf5 Qd2+ 44. Rf2 {[#]} Qd6 ({The crosspin} 44... Rxf1 $4 {fails to the tempo} 45. Qc8+ $18) 45. Ra2 Re8 46. Ra4 b5 47. Rf4 Re5 48. Qc8+ Kh7 49. Rf3 Re8 50. Qf5+ Kg8 51. Bd3 Qe5 52. Qg6 Qb2+ 53. Kg1 Re1+ 54. Bf1 Qd4+ {[#] Black repeats a couple of times here, a sensible policy when playing with increment.} 55. Kh2 Qb2+ 56. Kg1 Qe5 57. Rd3 Qc5+ 58. Kg2 Qc2+ 59. Kg1 Qc5+ 60. Kg2 Nd5 61. h4 Qc2+ 62. Kg1 Qc5+ 63. Kg2 Qf8 $1 (63... Qf8 64. Rf3 Ne3+ $1 $19) 0-1

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.27"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Lin, Leo"]
[Black "Atanasov, Anthony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper (pseudo Chernev)"]
[ECO "C47"]
[WhiteElo "2229"]
[BlackElo "2443"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "34"]
[GameId "496156258790"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{ I liked this game so much that I decided to annotate it twice:  once as a modern opening survey, and here in the style of Irving Chernev.} 1. e4 {This is an excellent opening move. White anchors a Pawn in the center of the board and opens lines for his Queen and a Bishop.} e5 {"Probably the best reply," says Capablanca. Black equalizes the pressure in the center and frees his Queen and a Bishop.} 2. Nf3 {It is good strategy to make developing moves which embody threats, as it cuts down the choice of reply.} Nf6 {A move popularized by the Russian Master Petroff.} 3. Nc3 Nc6 {Both sides have developed their Knights according to the classical principles, and White must decide how to bring out his Bishops.} 4. d4 {[#] The Scotch Four Knights.  While one hesitates to declare a move "bad" when it has been so frequent a choice of Masters such as Tarrasch, Maroczy, and Spielman -- and it is undoubtedly better than 3.d3, which frees the Queen Bishop at the cost of hemming in the King's Bishop -- I will merely note that Capablanca invariably played 4.Bb5, and not without success!} Bb4 {[%mdl 4] In our day, masters from Lasker to Rubinstein and Alekhine all prefer to clarify the center with 4...exd4, but the fact that the incomparable American, Paul Morphy, played this Bishop sortie is enough reason to recommend it.} 5. dxe5 {Pawn-hunting in the opening is rarely a good policy, and Black's play in this game gives us an object lesson in how to punish such greed.} (5. Bb5 {a la Lopez did not turn out well when played against Morphy, who continued:} Nxe4 $1 6. Qd3 d5 $1 7. Nxe5 O-O $1 8. O-O Nxe5 $1 9. dxe5 Bxc3 $1 10. bxc3 c6 $1 11. Ba4 Qa5 $1 12. Bb3 Qxc3 $1 {0-1 Paulsen,L-Morphy,P USA-01 Congress Grand Tournament New York 1857 (4.8) and Morphy was a pawn ahead and went on to win this game, and the first American Championship with it.}) (5. Nxe5 {has been the choice of more modern masters, when play might continue} Qe7 6. Qd3 Nxe5 7. dxe5 Qxe5 8. Bd2 {1-0 Spielmann,R-Bogoljubow,E Stockholm Four Masters 1919 (7) with a fighting middle-game in prospect.}) 5... Nxe4 {[#] Captures a valuable center pawn and creates a double-attack on the pinned ?c3.} 6. Qd3 {Bringing the Queen out in the opening is rarely a good policy, but this natural move is hard to resist when it both attacks the ? and defends ?c3.} (6. Bd2 {also defends the ?, but after} Bxc3 $1 7. Bxc3 Nxc3 8. bxc3 $15 {White has no compensation for his shattered queenside pawns.}) 6... d5 $1 {Black defends his ?e4 and clears the way for the ?c8.} 7. exd6 {[#] Captures a pawn en passant and removes the guard of the ?e4. White may have thought he was winning here; if so, Black's next move was a cold shower.} O-O $1 $17 {The hand of a Master! Black indirectly defends the ?e4 by creating the possibility of a pin on the e-file. He also makes his ? safe and develops the ?h8. Notice how Black continues to strive for rapid development!} 8. Bd2 {White unpins the ?c3 and so renews his threat to the ?e4.} (8. dxc7 $2 {is too greedy!} Qxd3 9. cxd3 Nxc3 10. a3 Ba5 $19 {and White loses a piece as his hard-working b-pawn can't both break the pin and capture the ?c3.}) 8... Bf5 {Again, development above all! White could be more than satisfied with the outcome of the opening after 8...?xd6 and 9.000! Black's energetic move defends the ?, develops the ?, and creates worrisome threats of a discovered attack on the white Queen. [#]} 9. Nxe4 {White tries to simplify his position with exchanges, but it is out of the frying pan and into the fire! Instead, he should return the sacrificed pawn with} (9. d7 {after which he may get out of the opening with his skin. Remember: an extra pawn is of no use when you are being checkmated!}) 9... Bxe4 {Recaptures the piece and attacks the ?. Perhaps White overlooked that the ? is indirectly protected, since 10.?xe4 would be met by the terrible pin ...?e8!} 10. Qc4 {Makes the Queen safe and keeps an eye on both black Bishops; White threatens to win a piece with ?xb4.} Bxf3 {Black captures a piece, opens the e-file, removes a guard of the ?d2, and ruins White's kingside pawns! What more could anyone ask from a single move!} 11. gxf3 (11. Bxb4 {is no better} Re8+ {and the white King is not long for this world.}) 11... Re8+ {[#] Develops the ? with check.} 12. Be2 {Blocks the check and develops a piece, and renews the threat to win a piece with ?xb4.} (12. Kd1 Bxd2 13. dxc7 Re1#) 12... Bxd2+ {Boldly forward! Rather than retreat, Black trades his hanging piece and forces the white king into the open.} ({The insipid} 12... Bxd6 {allows White to fight on with} 13. O-O-O $1) 13. Kxd2 Qxd6+ {[#] Restores material equality, but that is not nearly as important as the fact that White's ? is exposed and he's playing without his ?s.} 14. Ke1 {Disheartened, White allows Black to finish the game with a sparkling combination.} ({White could have struggled on with} 14. Bd3 {but after} Ne5 $1 {the result would never be in doubt.}) 14... Nd4 {Forward! The ? and ? converge on the pinned ?e2.} 15. Rd1 {[%mdl 64] The move White must have counted on. He indirectly defends the ?e2 by pinning an attacker to the ?d6, but Black has another arrow in his quiver. Can you find it? [#] Critical Position} Nxf3+ $1 {The Pawn was free for the taking, but Black is after bigger game.} 16. Kf1 Qxd1+ $3 {A bolt from the blue! One can imagine Capablanca's smile on playing this _petite combinasion_.} 17. Bxd1 Nd2+ {The denoument. Black recovers the queen, and White had seen enough.  Lessons from This Game develop your pieces control the center castle your king to safety when in doubt, play like Capablanca.} 0-1

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.27"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Lin, Leo"]
[Black "Atanasov, Anthony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "C47"]
[WhiteElo "2229"]
[BlackElo "2443"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "34"]
[GameId "496156258790"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 Bb4 $5 {[%mdl 4] [#] A good choice! The most common move in the Scotch Four Knights is 4...exd4, and it is invariably played by Carlsen and Nakamura, so you have to assume White is well prepared for it. The Bishop pin scores just as well but is played only 10% as frequently, and among top players only Mamedyarov plays it regularly. A common middlegame theme is White's ??+bad queenside vs Black's sound structure.   White has lots of reasonable-looking options, but only one testing one.} 5. dxe5 $6 {Black's play in this game shows why this is not good.} (5. Bb5 $6 Nxe4 6. Qd3 d5 7. Nxe5 O-O 8. O-O Nxe5 9. dxe5 Bxc3 $1 10. bxc3 c6 $1 11. Ba4 Qa5 12. Bb3 Qxc3 $17 {0-1 Paulsen,L-Morphy,P USA-01 Congress Grand Tournament New York 1857 (4.8)}) (5. a3 $5 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nxe4 7. Nxe5 Qf6 8. Ng4 Qe7 9. Ne3 $13) (5. d5 Ne7 6. Nxe5 (6. Bd3 d6 7. O-O O-O 8. Na4 c6 $1 $11 {0-1 Andreikin,D (2713)-Mamedyarov,S (2753) Wch Blitz 7th Khanty-Mansiysk 2013 (11)}) 6... d6 $5 (6... Nxe4 $13) 7. Bb5+ Kf8 (7... c6 8. dxc6 O-O 9. Nd7 $1 $14) 8. Nf3 Nxe4 $13) (5. Nxe5 $1 {The only real test.  [#]  Black again has options, which can make it intimidating for a less well-prepared White player.} Qe7 (5... O-O $5 6. Nxc6 dxc6 7. e5 $14 {gambits a pawn for development, which might be uncomfortable for a White player who opted for the Scotch.}) (5... Bxc3+ $5 6. bxc3 Qe7 {forcefully unbalances the position and recovers the pawn, but it's hard to believe White's B-pair won't come good.}) (5... Nxe4 $2 {fails if White goes for the following forcing line:} 6. Qg4 $1 Nxc3 $8 7. Qxg7 $8 Rf8 8. a3 $8 {Analysis Diagram [#]} Nxd4 {Obviously the critical move, but not the best.} (8... Ba5 $142 9. Nxc6 $8 dxc6 10. Qe5+ Qe7 11. Qxe7+ Kxe7 12. Bd2 Bf5 13. bxc3 Bxc2 {material is equal, but Black's ?a5 is misplaced and White can develop with h4 and ?h3. White scores about +100 Elo from here.}) 9. axb4 $8 Nxc2+ 10. Kd2 Nxa1 11. Kxc3 $8 a5 (11... f6 12. Ng6 $3 $18) 12. Bc4 $1 (12. b5 $2 Qe7 $13 13. Bh6 $6 Qb4+ $1 $15 {1/2 Xiong,J (2659)-Christiansen,J (2629) Titled Tuesday intern op 16th Jan Early Chess.com INT blitz 2024 (4)}) 12... axb4+ 13. Kd3 $1 (13. Kd2 $1 Qe7 14. Re1 $8 $18) 13... d5 14. Bb5+ c6 15. Re1 $1 (15. Nxc6 $1 Bf5+ 16. Ke2 $8 $18) 15... Bf5+ 16. Kd2 Qe7 {Analysis Diagram [#]} 17. Nxc6 $8 $18 Nb3+ 18. Kd1 Bc2+ 19. Kxc2 Qxe1 20. Nxb4+ Ke7 21. Bg5+ Kd6 22. Bf4+ Ke6 23. Kxb3 Rac8 24. Qd4 {1-0 Malakhov,V (2515)-Varga,Z (2450) Budapest FS07 GM 1996 (5)}) 6. Qd3 Nxe5 7. dxe5 Qxe5 8. Bd2 O-O 9. O-O-O Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Qf4+ $1 11. Rd2 {Analysis Diagram [#]  This is the reccommended line in Sielecki's "Keep it Simple: 1.e4" repertoire book/Chessable course. White has a the B-pair and a lead in development.} d5 $5 12. exd5 $1 (12. Qf3 $6 Qxe4 13. Bxf6 Qxf3 14. gxf3 gxf6 15. Rxd5 $14 {0-1 Kravtsiv,M (2598)-Mamedyarov,S (2738) ChessKid Cup Div 2 L Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (1.1)}) 12... Re8 13. b3 $1 Bf5 14. Qf3 $1 $16 {and Black's activity evaporates after} Re1+ 15. Kb2 Qxf3 16. gxf3 Bh3 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Bg2 $18 {and f3-f4, with an extra pawn and better pieces.}) 5... Nxe4 {[#]} 6. Qd3 {Attacking the ? and defending c3.} (6. Bd2 Bxc3 $1 7. Bxc3 Nxc3 8. bxc3 $15 {White has no comp for the bad structure.}) (6. a3 Bxc3+ $1 (6... Nxc3 7. Qd3 $8 Na2+ 8. axb4 Nxc1 9. Qc3 $1 $11) 7. bxc3 d5 8. c4 d4 $5 $13 (8... Be6 $15) 9. Bd3 {1-0 Hou,Y (2649)-Azarov,S (2577) Corsica Masters KO 20th Bastia rapid 2016 (1.4)}) 6... d5 {Defending the ?e4 and developing the ?c8.} 7. exd6 $6 (7. a3 $142 Bxc3+ {similar to the Yifan game above, but with the White ? on the not-so-useful d3-square.}) 7... O-O $1 $17 {Makes the ? safe, develops the ?h8, and indirectly defends the ?e8 with a skewer on the e-file.} 8. Bd2 {Unpins the ?c3 and so renews the threat to the ?e4.} (8. dxc7 $2 {loses a piece to} Qxd3 9. cxd3 Nxc3 10. a3 Ba5 $19 {and White's b-pawn can't both break the pin and capture the ?c3.}) 8... Bf5 {Defends the ?, develops the ?, and creates discovered threats to the ?d3. [#]} 9. Nxe4 $2 (9. d7 $142 {doesn't save White, but it is definitely better than the game.} Bxc3 (9... Nd6 $5 10. Qd5 $1 Qe7+ $17) 10. Bxc3 Nxc3 11. Qxc3 (11. Qxf5 Qe7+ 12. Kd2 Ne4+ $19 {and ...?xf2, with a big lead in development and a weak White king.}) 11... Qxd7 12. Bd3 Rfe8+ 13. Kf1 $17 {also with a big lead in development and a weak White king... but not as weak as in the game.}) 9... Bxe4 {Recapures the piece, attacks the ?, and is indirectly protected by the ...?e8 pin.} 10. Qc4 {Makes the ? safe and keeps an eye on both black ?s.} ({It's bad news when the computer prefers the obviously losing} 10. Qxe4 Re8) 10... Bxf3 11. gxf3 (11. Bxb4 Re8+ 12. Kd2 Qg5+ $19 {or ...?e4-+.}) 11... Re8+ 12. Be2 Bxd2+ 13. Kxd2 Qxd6+ {White's ? is exposed and he's playing without his ?s.} 14. Ke1 (14. Bd3 Ne5 15. Qe4 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Qf4+ $19) 14... Nd4 15. Rd1  Nxf3+ 16. Kf1 Qxd1+ $1 17. Bxd1 Nd2+ 0-1

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.01"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Panjwani, Raja"]
[Black "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "B39"]
[WhiteElo "2525"]
[BlackElo "2562"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[GameId "496156259026"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. Nf3 g6 2. e4 c5 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Bg7 {[#]  An accelerated Dragon!? An interesting choice, since Raja wrote the most recent Black repertoire book on it: "The Hyper-Accelerated Dragon", (Thinkers Publishing, 2017, 2022 2nd ed.).} 5. c4 Nc6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Nc3 Ng4 {[#] The Breyer Variation, Chapter 4 in Raja's book. Black trades a pair of ?s, which makes the cramped position a bit more bearable.} 8. Qxg4 Nxd4 (8... Bxd4 $2 9. Bxd4 Nxd4 10. O-O-O $1 Nc6 11. Qg3 $1 O-O 12. h4 $16 {"White's attack is overwhelming." - RP.}) 9. Qd1 {[#]} Ne6 $5 {Departing from Raja's repertoire choice.} ({"Bent Larsen used to prefer 9... ?e6, but I think} 9... e5 {offers more chances for counterplay based on Black's occupation of the center. Computers generally tend to prefer White in the Breyer, but from my experience even 2600+ GMs find it very uncomfortable to 'play round' Black's d4 knight, which (invariably) leads them to mishandle White's position." - RP Against} 10. Nb5 {Raja's book recommended the Novelty pawn sac} d6 $1 {which -- seven years later -- we find is the first choice of SF17! See his book for details.}) 10. Rc1 (10. Be2 Bxc3+ $1 $13) 10... Qa5 {[#] Black's usual development scheme is to control the dark squares with pawns: ...b6, ...d6, and even ...g5, as in the Short-Larsen game in the next note. White's next move cuts across this.} 11. Qd5 ({Here's a Larsen game that shows how Black gets in trouble if White keeps the pieces on:} 11. Be2 b6 12. O-O Bb7 13. f3 g5 14. Rf2 h5 15. Bf1 Qe5 16. Rd2 d6 {[#] Analysis Diagram} {Short played} 17. Nd5 $16 (17. Rd5 $1 $18 {is a terrific exchange sac, creating tactics on the ? and the ? and the c-file; here's the most direct line:} Bxd5 18. cxd5 $8 Nc5 19. Bb5+ $1 Kf8 20. b4 Nb7 21. Bc6 Rb8 22. Bxb7 Rxb7 23. Ne2 $1 $18 {threatens both ?c8# and ?d4, trapping the ?.}) 17... Kf8 18. b4 Bh6 19. Qb3 g4 20. Bxh6+ Rxh6 21. Qe3 Qg7 22. f4 $16 {1/2 Short,N (2620)-Larsen,B (2570) Hastings 8788 1987 (8)}) 11... Bxc3+ $1 {Unbalances the game and forces White to choose between pawn sacs.} 12. bxc3 (12. Rxc3 $5 Qxa2 13. Bc1 $14 {for the pawn, White has the B-pair, a lead in development, space, and a choice of plans.}) 12... Qc7 $5 (12... Qxa2 13. c5 Qxd5 14. exd5 $14 {For the pawn, White has the B-pair and a central pawn blob that will probably require Black to accept some pawn weakening to break down. Not fun for Black.}) 13. c5 $1 {[#]} Rf8 $6 {Clearly hoping to lever open the position with ...f5, but it commits the ? to the center, and ...f5 doesn't solve Black's queenside woes.} (13... O-O $6 {invites an attack with} 14. h4 $40) (13... Rb8 $142 {preparing to unwind the queenside with ...b6 or even ...b5.}) 14. Bb5 $1 {Develops and stops ...f5, which would hang the ?.} Qa5 {[#]} 15. c6 $2 {Trading the iso and breaking open the position for the B-pair is perfectly reasonable, but it fails to Black's next.} ({Instead,} 15. Bc4 $142 $1 {keeps the pieces on and leaves Black horribly contorted; for example} f5 16. f3 $1 (16. Bh6 $16) 16... fxe4 17. O-O $1 $18 {with a winning development advantage against a sitting duck ?.}) 15... Qc7 $1 {This paradoxical retreat -- Black's fourth Queen move of the game and all on the same short diagonal! -- simply threatens to take on c6 and so forces exchanges which minimize White's space and development advantage.} (15... bxc6 $6 16. Bxc6 Qxd5 17. Bxd5 Rb8 18. Bxa7 $16 {gives Black some activity, but it's not enough for White's B-pair and extra pawn.}) 16. cxd7+ Bxd7 17. Bxd7+ Qxd7 18. Rb1 Qxd5 19. exd5 Nd8 {[#] The exchanges have drained White's potential, and even though he can get his ?s into the game faster, there are no useful open lines.} 20. Kd2 (20. a4 $5 {discourages Black's ideal regrouping with ...b6 and ...?b7, since} b6 $6 21. a5 $1 {gives White a passed c-pawn and long-lasting queenside pressure.}) 20... b6 $1 21. Rhe1 Kd7 22. c4 e6 $1 {Leaving White with an isolated pawn on d5 or c4.} 23. Kd3 Re8 24. Rec1 exd5 25. cxd5 Nb7 26. Rc6 Re5 27. Rbc1 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position Can Black take on d5?} Rxd5+ $1 28. Ke4 Rc5 $8 $11 {Saves the ? and prevents the ?c7+ fork by interfering with the defence of the ?c6.} 29. R6xc5 (29. Bxc5 Kxc6 $11) 29... bxc5 30. Bxc5 Re8+ 31. Kd3 Nxc5+ 32. Rxc5 Kd6 33. Ra5 Re7 34. Ra6+ Ke5 1/2-1/2

[Event "2024 Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.03.30"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Derraugh, Geordie"]
[Black "Ivanov, Mike"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Mike Ivanov"]
[ECO "A52"]
[WhiteElo "2189"]
[BlackElo "2374"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[GameId "2139149460933111"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

 1. d4 {Going into this game, I was playing my friend Geordie Derraugh, who decided to completely switch to a d4 repertoire after playing e4 for the last 12 years I've known him.} Nf6 2. c4 e5 $5 {[#] My reasoning was that he probably looked over all the main lines in detail including what I usually played, plus there could be targeted preparation. I thought even if he remembered the Budapest Gambit, it wouldn't be in such detail and we'd get a fresh position that both of us won't know very well. That turned out to be true, although the line he chose is quite dangerous.} 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. e4 Nxe5 5. f4 Nec6 6. Nc3 {[#] When trying to remember the line here, something came to mind from 2017 when I last looked at this. A very weak phone engine was suggesting ...b4 to trade the knight, then ...d6 and after f3 ...g4 to trade off the other knight, bring the b8 knight to d7 and c5, followed by... a5 and a potential ...0-0-0. At the board though, this looked very suspect, and I knew the older engines underestimated the bishop pair.} Bc5 (6... Bb4 7. Bd3 (7. Nf3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 d6 9. Bd3 Bg4 10. O-O Nd7 11. Be3 Qe7 12. Rb1 O-O-O $2 13. Qb3 $1 {Indeed, this wouldn't be too promising either.}) (7. Nge2 $1 {After this or d2, White gets a significant edge according to Leela, so engines have gotten better over time!}) 7... d6 8. Nf3 Bg4 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Nd7 $14) 7. Na4 Bb4+ 8. Kf2 {[#] Here he offered a draw, which was tempting, since I was half an hour down on the clock and had no idea how to treat this position, which is somewhat worse and dangerous. As the higher-rated player with ambitions, my reply to the draw offer was: "I wish I could". I don't want to beat good friends, but sometimes we have to.} b6 $5 {One idea with ...b6 was to trade the bishop with ...c5 at some point, although this felt slightly dubious. What I decided on was a hedgehog type of plan with ...e7, b7, d6, and d7, followed by ...a5 and c5, and the bishop hopefully coming to f6.} 9. a3 Be7 10. b4 d6 11. Be3 Nd7 {[%mdl 64] The move orders matter here. White has to reckon with ...f6-g4 threats, so the c8 bishop isn't in a big hurry to commit himself.  [#] Critical Position Should White go, f3, d3, or something else?} (11... g5 12. Nf3 gxf4 13. Bxf4 $13) 12. Qd3 $2 {Natural, but bad.} (12. Nf3 $6 Nf6 {Xe4 and ...g4.}) (12. Be2 $142 g5 $5) (12. Nc3 $142 g5 $5) 12... g5 $1 {[#] I was already considering this a move earlier, and planned it against most White candidates:  - all my pieces need the space, and the e5 square would be nice too;  - isolating the e4 pawn doesn't hurt;  - any ...f5 break hurts my light squares too much; so I'm left with this weird-looking break.  d3 was meant to prepare 12...f6 h3, but it only helps with 12...g5 because now ...e5 will come with tempo.} 13. g3 gxf4 14. gxf4 Bh4+ 15. Ke2 {[#]} Nde5 $5 {Right idea, but 15...f6 followed by ...de5 would be even stronger. In such positions, if White can consolidate, then the king will be fine and the space advantage will start to tell. This is reminiscent of the French Closed Tarrasch triangle system where Black also plays ...g5 and has to follow it up energetically not to get squeezed completely. I seriously considered going back with 15...f6 but it didn't feel right for this position, even if it's also equal.} (15... Bf6 16. Rd1 Qe7 17. Nf3 a5 (17... Bb7 18. Bh3 O-O-O 19. c5 $36) 18. b5 Nd8 19. Bh3 $14) (15... Qf6 16. Nc3 Nde5 (16... Nce5 {is not as accurate because of...} 17. Qd4 $1 $11 {Sometimes sacrifices are better left ignored.}) 17. fxe5 Nxe5 18. Qc2 c6 $1 19. Kd2 Rg8 20. Be2 Rg2 21. Kc1 Be6 {Black has more than enough positional compensation for the piece.}) 16. fxe5 Nxe5 {[#] At this point a crowd assembled around the board because we were both laughing. The joke is that I've always said Geordie's alter ego was Fritz 7: grab material, run, and hope for the best. This proved to be the case here.} 17. Qc2 {As a result of this sacrifice, my pieces all get good squares (especially the godly knight on e5) and White loses all play. White will have a hard time simply developing because of all the threats in the air.} Rg8 {[#]} 18. h3 $2 {It's hard to find good defensive moves here, but I felt that h3 had to be wrong as it gives me a tempo for the attack when White shouldn't have that luxury.} (18. Nf3 $2 Nxf3 19. Kxf3 Bg4+ 20. Kg2 Bh5+ 21. Kh3 Qd7+ 22. Kxh4 Qg4#) (18. Nc3 c6 $1 {keeps the  off d5 and prepares ...f6 and ...e6 with more than enough comp - editor.}) ({Perhaps a GM would figure out the best defense which was:} 18. Kd2 $1 Qf6 19. Rd1 Ng4 20. Nc3 ({editor - With the  stuck in the center, it is hard to believe that one critical variation depends on allowing a queen exchange and then attacking on the a-file, but it's true:} 20. Qc3 $5 Bd7 $1 21. Qxf6 Bxf6 $1 22. b5 a6 $1 $19 {the a4 has nowhere to go and White's sleeping kingside would make Morphy weep.}) 20... Bf2 (20... Bg5 21. Bxg5 Qxg5+ 22. Ke1 {I was looking forward to these positions, which are at least more pleasant, even if silicon isn't too impressed.}) 21. Bxf2 Nxf2 22. Nd5 Qh6+ 23. Kc3 Nxh1 24. Nxc7+ Kd8 25. Nxa8 Rxg1 {and here Black is only symbolically better, if at all, providing White plays} 26. c5 $1) 18... Be6 19. Kd2 Qf6 20. Qc1 {[#]} Rg3 {If I can get the dark square bishop, White should fall apart.} (20... Bg5 21. Kc2 Bxe3 22. Qxe3 Nxc4 {I thought this was good for me but after} 23. Qe1 Ne3+ 24. Qxe3 Qxa1 25. Ne2 {white is starting to unravel.}) (20... Bf2 {was my first instinct, but I couldn't figure out all the tactical details, which are of course good for Black:} 21. Nc3 (21. Bxf2 Qxf2+ 22. Ne2 Nxc4+ 23. Kc2 Qf3 $19) 21... Rg3 22. Bxf2 Qxf2+ 23. Nge2 Nxc4+ 24. Kc2 Rxc3+ 25. Kxc3 Qf3+ 26. Kc2 Qxe4+ 27. Kc3 Qf3+ 28. Kc2 Qxh1 $19) 21. Kc2 Bxc4 (21... Nxc4 22. Bf4 Rb3 $5 {I saw this far but thought it was unclear at best.}) 22. Be2 (22. Bxc4 Nxc4 23. Bf4 Rg2+ 24. Kb1 Qd4 $19) 22... d5 23. Nc3 {[#]} d4 (23... dxe4 $142 $1 {To be honest, I didn't even consider this. Time was ticking down and I was a bit obsessed about bringing the last rook into the attack.} 24. Nxe4 Qg6 $19) (23... O-O-O $5 $19) 24. Bxd4 O-O-O $2 (24... Rd8 $1 {Only way. The difference is that White's light-square bishop doesn't get to run away in the variations.} 25. Bxc4 Rxd4 26. Nge2 (26. Bb5+ c6 $19) 26... Rxc3+ 27. Nxc3 Nxc4 28. Rf1 (28. Rg1 c6 29. Rg8+ Ke7 {And Black is much better but has to be precise in the ensuing attack.}) 28... Qxf1 29. Qxf1 Ne3+ 30. Kb3 Nxf1 31. Rxf1 c6 $17) 25. Bxc4 Rxd4 26. Ba6+ Kb8 27. Nge2 {[#] Here I was hit with the realization that I wasn't better anymore, and had to be precise not to end up losing. Thankfully, some initiative remains.} Bg5 28. Qe1 (28. Rf1 Nf3 29. Rxf3 Qxf3 30. Qf1 Rd2+ 31. Kb3 Rxh3 32. Qxf3 Rxf3 33. Ng1 (33. Rg1 h6 $15) 33... Rf6 $15 {White can finally breathe, but Black is still better coordinated.}) (28. Nxg3 Bxc1 29. Raxc1 {reaches a weird imbalance that White should probably have gone for. Queen and pawn against Bishop, Knight, and Rook, but the white King is a bit open and the white pieces aren't fully connected yet. editor - Do I have to add that SF17 rates this 0.00?}) 28... Rd2+ 29. Qxd2 Bxd2 30. Kxd2 {Compared to the 28.xg3 line, Black has a bit more initiative here and can pose some coordination problems for White.} Nf3+ {[#]} 31. Kc2 $2 {Understandable, especially in time trouble, but wrong. White had to come up with the incredible 31.d3! to hold the balance.} (31. Kd3 Qd8+ (31... Ne1+ 32. Kd2 $8 Nf3+ 33. Kd3 {and Black can't find a constructive knight check!}) (31... Ne5+ $2 32. Kc2 Rg8 33. Raf1 $16) 32. Ke3 $5 {c2 is also possible, but this is great if you want to irritate your opponent :)} Qd2+ 33. Kf2 Rg6 34. Kxf3 Rf6+ 35. Kg2 $8 Rg6+ 36. Kf2 Rf6+ 37. Kg2 Rg6+ $11) 31... Nd4+ {Now I'm back in control because the white pieces can't protect each other, the rooks don't get the time they need, and the king needed two knight for his defense. Chess can be cruel that way!} 32. Nxd4 Qxd4 33. Ne2 Qxe4+ {[#]} 34. Kb2 (34. Kd2 Qd5+ 35. Kc2 Qb3+ 36. Kc1 Rf3 (36... Re3 37. Rd1 c6 {the problem is White has nothing constructive to do here.} 38. Nd4 Rc3+ 39. Kd2 Qb2+ 40. Ke1 b5 $19) 37. Rd1 c6) 34... Re3 $2 {I give Geordie one last chance to recover. Not sure why I rejected ...g2 which is stronger and also feels more natural.} (34... Rg2 $142 $1 35. Rhg1 (35. Rhc1 b5 $1) 35... Rxe2+ 36. Bxe2 Qxe2+ 37. Kb3 Qf3+ 38. Kb2 Qxh3 $19 {This ending should be winning as the white king is too exposed, allowing the black pawns to be pushed faster than usual due to forks.}) {[#]} 35. Rhe1 (35. Rhc1 $1 {is the best defense, but even then Black should be able to make progress with the pawns.} Rxe2+ (35... b5 {doesn't work anymore because the knight isn't pinned and can hop to c3 with equality.}) 36. Bxe2 Qxe2+ 37. Rc2 Qe5+ 38. Rc3 f5 39. Rd1 a5 40. Rd8+ Kb7 41. Rd7 h5 42. Rh7 axb4 43. axb4 f4 44. h4 b5 45. Kb3 f3 46. Rc5 Qe3+ 47. Rc3 Qf4 {and Black converts.}) (35. Rac1 Rxe2+ 36. Bxe2 Qxe2+ 37. Rc2 Qe5+ 38. Rc3 f5 39. Rhc1 f4 40. R1c2 Kb7 41. Rf2 c6 42. Kc2 Qe4+ 43. Kb3 Qb1+ $18) 35... b5 $1 {What I was hoping for. With the bishop shut out, the rest is easy.} 36. Nc3 (36. Bxb5 Qe5+ 37. Kc2 Qxb5 $19) (36. Rac1 Rxe2+ 37. Rxe2 Qxe2+ 38. Rc2 Qe6 39. Bxb5 Qe5+ $19) 36... Qg2+ 37. Kb3 Qd5+ {With a mate in 4, as ...d2 is coming next.    Overall, a wild game where my instincts were generally right but faulty calculation allowed White to get a second wind. Working with Leela in the last five years made me more comfortable with positional sacrifices like ...de5, which really helped overcome "Fritz 7" this time around!} 0-1

[Event "Edmonton International"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2012.06.28"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Kovalyov, Anton"]
[Black "Pechenkin, Vladimir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Rachel Huang,Mike Ivanov"]
[ECO "A81"]
[WhiteElo "2619"]
[BlackElo "2312"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[GameId "2193463436860461"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{When I started teaching kids chess 15 years ago, I was surprised when my explanations of the Fried Liver Attack fell on deaf ears. Couldn't they tell how exciting the sacrifices were, and how black could steal the initiative with the Traxler counterattack? It took me quite a while to realize the importance of entering their world and imagining the game as kids see it. Instead of explaining how to put pressure on the enemy's position, or how to create two weaknesses, I started talking about eating the Swiss cheese, poking the bear, and using permanent glue to tie two pieces together. I learned that any game can be explained in children's terms, including grandmaster games. That way, they would be better understood and remembered.} 1. Nf3 {In this game, GM Anton Kovalyov defeats FM Pechenkin using positional maneuvering followed by a pretty breakthrough. Would I put it that way when teaching? Of course not! Below is what a child-friendly explanation might look like. The horsie decides to head for the center of the universe, where it can see and touch everything. Knights are very touchy creatures.} f5 {Black decides he wants a piece of the center pie, before white's front teeth start munching everything.} 2. b3 {White's c1 bishop wants to come out the back door, where his eyes will be magnificent.} d6 3. d4 {White wants a piece of the pie too.} g6 {Black's f8 bishop didn't like looking at walls, so it prepares a nice house for itself on g7.} 4. g3 {We need to wake up the f1 bishop if the white king ever wants to find his castle.} Bg7 5. Bb2 Nf6 6. Bg2 O-O {The black king buys his own house, but the window is a bit too big, and he's scared of catching a cold.} 7. Nbd2 {The second knight didn't want to block his relatives on c3, so decides to wake up this way instead.} Qe8 {[#] The queen has dreams of eating more pie by pushing the pawn to e5 one day, but also hopes to visit the white king one day, while covering her own husband.} 8. a4 {White's rook on a1 was feeling left out, so we make sure she's happy too. One day the a-pawn may create trouble for black on the queenside, especially with the help of that sneaky g2 bishop.} h6 {The black pawns want to expand their spaceship, and like alien invaders, make their way into white's camp.} 9. Nc4 {The knight keeps an eye on the center pie, while opening the queen's eyes behind him.} c6 (9... d5 $2 {Isn't the knight asking to get kicked by that d-pawn?} 10. Nce5 $1 {Sure, he'd love to get kicked onto a pile of gold!}) 10. O-O {The white king finds a roof before his old shelter is blown apart.} g5 11. Ne1 {The white knight didn't like the look of those menacing foot soldiers, so he looks for greener fields, and safer squares.} Na6 {[#] Knights on the side are never bright! On the side, they see no light! But he didn't have many better options, and the rooks are longing to meet each other, they're long-lost brothers!} 12. Nd3 {Knights like having this sort of umbrella hat, with the d-pawn shielding it from harm.} Nc7 13. f3 {White prepares the rolling stones that will roll through the center and kick away all defenders.} Qg6 {Black puts more eyes on e4, trying to stop white from stealing the whole pie.} 14. e3 Bd7 {The black rooks must be so happy to see each other!} 15. Qe2 {[#] The white rooks must be jumping for joy too. More importantly, white really wants to push that e-pawn, with the queen pushing it slowly but surely!} Qh5 {The black queen takes a rope to tie the f3 pawn to the white queen.} 16. Rae1 {The white pieces like to keep an eye on each other, and the white rooks are now best friends!} Rae8 {Black brings the last sleeping beauty to the party.} 17. h3 Ne6 {[#] While this knight has great eyes, he doesn't have the umbrella to cover him, like the one his d3 counterpart knight has. Rolling stones don't like being blocked by pieces!} 18. a5 Nd5 {The Black knight longs to touch everything from the top of the center mountain. That being said, he can be kicked away soon, and won't stay the king of the hill forever.} 19. g4 {We didn't like that evil queen looking into our house, and we also get to trade the only black pawn fighting for the pie in the center.} fxg4 20. fxg4 Qg6 21. Nd2 {The knight didn't have a real job on c4, so he looks for new work on the kingside. The cheese holes on f5 and h5 are calling him!} Rxf1+ 22. Nxf1 Rf8 {[#] The black rook gets to the open highway, but it turns out she's only staring at thin air!} 23. Ng3 {The white knight takes the train to his final destination, the swiss cheese on f5!} Qe8 {With a heavy sigh, the black queen goes back home to watch over her weak relatives.} 24. Nf5 {The Loch Ness Monster has arrived! His tentacles are crawling towards the black king, and the pawn on g4 is a great anchor, holding him in place.} Rf7 25. c4 {Shoo horsie, shoo!} Nf6 26. e4 {[#] The rolling stones are finally rolling, and the blocked black pawns can't put up much of a fight.} Bf8 {The bishop is shy, but that won't help his king whose roof is being torn apart.} 27. Qe3 Nc7 28. e5 $1 {The rolling stones clear the way for the sniper bishops, while kicking away the chimney knight on f6. Nothing can stop white now!} Nh7 {He's not happy about being stuck in the closet, but what choice did he have?} 29. d5 {The white bishop on b2 is paving the road right into the enemy castle.} cxd5 30. exd6 Bxf5 31. gxf5 {[#] The Loch Ness Monster might be gone, but the bishop on c8 was the only one guarding the light squares, now the white bishops cut the position like a pair of scissors through paper.} dxc4 32. dxc7 cxd3 33. Qe6 {The white queen ties the black rook and king with a rope, while preparing the princess on c7 for promotion. Black's pieces are in no shape to fight a fly at this point, never mind a menacing army!} d2 34. Rd1 {Black's last hope is gone, and they give up, ashamed at their pieces. Notice the white scissor bishops who finally got the eyes they wanted!} 1-0

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.05"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper +"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2789"]
[BlackElo "2727"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[GameId "496129586181"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{ After four draws in round 1 the Candidates exploded to life with 3 decisive games in round 2.  First, Vidit played an early novelty on the Black side of a Berlin Lopez and followed it with a startling piece sac on move 11 to wipe Nakamura off the board. Notes here include post-mortem comments from the players, and Vidit's analysis for Chessbase Magazine.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 {[#] White avoids the Berlin endgame. Among modern super-GMs there is nothing remarkable about this -- it shows White hopes for a complicated game in slightly less explored territory. But this early choice may help explain some of Nakamura's poor decisions later in the game: trying to avoid opening prep he believed would end in a draw, he stumbles his way into a bad loss.} Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 Ne7 8. d4 {[#]} c6 $5 {"The big novelty! 8...b6 is by far the main move. Engines don't approve it at first sight which makes it even more special :)" - Vidit  A notable point about modern opening prep at the highest level: look for a move the computer initially rejects but rates higher at much longer depths. That means it is playable and more likely to be a surprise for your opponents.} 9. Bd3 {White declines the pawn sac.} ({White can grab the pawn, but doing so doesn't promise an advantage but does promise to walk into Black's prep;} 9. dxc5 cxb5 10. cxd6 ({An even safer way to side-step Black's prep would be} 10. Qxd6 Qxd6 11. cxd6 Nc6 $11 {but playing like this would effectively concede a draw as White -- and if you're going to do that, why avoid the Berlin at move 4?  OTOH, had everything else turned out as it did, the extra half-point would have put Nakamura in a playoff for the qualification spot!}) 10... Ng6 {Naka said he was sure Vidit had prepared this, and the result would be a playable position for Black with much more time on the clock. After} 11. Qd3 Bd7 {Black could continue with ...b6, ...ac8-c6.}) 9... Bb6 {White spent 20 minutes here, and didn't see a refutation, so...} 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxh3 $3 {[#] "A completely out of the blue sacrifice! It's always very pleasing to play such flashy moves." - Vidit  "He did not see that at all!" - GM Robert Hess (chess24 live commentary)  Hikaru did post-mortem streaming on his Twitch channel after every round. He said he had "expected" this sac, and he replied to it in only 4 minutes, which suggests rechecking his calculations rather than starting from scratch, but his next few moves -- and his online explanations -- suggest that he had already been knocked for a loop, and didn't play close to his best after this. You can watch Hikaru's commentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWjAXBjFiVI&t=11s} 12. Nc4 $2 (12. gxh3 Qb8 $1  13. Bf4 (13. Nf3 Qg3+ 14. Kh1 Qxh3+ 15. Nh2 Rad8 $18 {there's no saving the d3, leaving Black up a pawn with a huge lead in development.}) 13... Bc7 {"Here White has various moves like h2/g3/g5 and the game goes on." - Vidit} 14. Bh2 Bxe5 15. f4 Bc7 16. Qf3 {Naka said he'd seen this -- "and the game goes on" -- and couldn't explain why at the last moment he opted for the game line. Four months later we saw this whole line in a GM "game" which -- given the players are sisters and almost always play quick draws -- was not much of a game:} Ng6 17. Na3 Nh4 18. Qg3 Ng6 19. Qf3 Nh4 20. Qg3 Ng6 21. Qf3 Nh4 {1/2 Muzychuk,A (2525)-Muzychuk,M (2508) Tbilisi FIDE GP (Women) 2024 (1)}) 12... Bg4 (12... Qc7 $2 {hoping for ...g3-+, but} 13. e5 $1 {wins, since} Bg4 {only temporarily saves the piece, since} 14. Qa4 $8 $18 {threatens the f6 and if the f6 moves there is xb6 then xg4.}) 13. Qc2 (13. Be2 Qxd1 14. Bxd1 Bxd1 15. Rxd1 Nxe4 {(double attack on f2 stops e1 for now)} 16. Nxb6 axb6 17. Re1 {does not win a piece, because Black has} Nc5 $1 18. Rxe7 Nb3 $17) 13... Bc7 {[#] Nakamura was down to 1hr to make it to move 40, and this was Vidit's first "think" of the game: 32 min on this move!} 14. e5 Nd7 15. Bxh7+ $5 {The computer's top choice.} Kh8 {[#]} 16. Bd3 $2 (16. Bg5 $2 {threatens e4} f6 $8 $19 (16... f5 $2 17. f3 $1 Bh5 18. Bxf5 $13) 17. Bh4 (17. Be3 f5 $1 $19) 17... Qe8 18. Bg3 Qh5 $19) (16. Be4 $2 f5 $3 17. exf6 Nxf6 18. Bg5 Qe8 $8 $19 ) ({Both players saw} 16. Qe4 $1 f5 {and thought it was easily winning for Black; but in fact it is wildly unclear after:} 17. Bxf5 $3 Bxf5 18. Qh4+ Kg8 19. Bg5 $1 Rf7 20. Nd6 {Analysis Diagram [#] What a mess!  If Naka had managed to find his way here there is no telling how this game and the whole tournament might have ended.} Nxe5 $1 21. Bxe7 $1 (21. Nxf7 Kxf7 $19) 21... Qd7 $3 {What a move! - Vidit  Was für ein Zug!} 22. Nxf7 Ng6 $3 {"Black will collect all his pieces back with interest :) The crazy line goes on, and I am just giving it for fun." - Vidit Schwarz wird alle seine Figuren mit Zinsen zurückbekommen :) Die verrückte Variante geht weiter, und ich zeige sie nur zum Spaß.} 23. Ne5 $1 (23. Qg5 Kxf7 $19) 23... Bxe5 24. Qc4+ $8 Be6 25. Qe4 $8 Kf7 $1 26. f4 $8 Bc7 $8 27. Bc5 Bd5 $40 {Vidit.}) 16... b5 $1 ({Engines recommend this crazy line: Engines empfehlen diese verrückte Variante:} 16... f5 $3 17. exf6 Nd5 $8 18. fxg7+ Kxg7 $19 {and despite having no pawns protecting his , Black has a winning attack. "If I had played this crazy sequence, I would have definitely been taken away for anti-cheating check! :)" - Vidit}) 17. Ne3 Nxe5 {[#]} 18. Be2 $2 {Played after 4 seconds.  "My brain stopped working." - HN} (18. Nxg4 $8 Nxg4 19. g3 $1 f5 $40 {material is equal, but Black is way ahead in development, and almost all his pieces are pointed at the white king.}) 18... f5 $1 $19 19. f4 Bb6 $1 {[#]} 20. Kf2 {"I decided to have some fun. Effectively the same as a resignation." - HN} (20. fxe5 Nd5 21. Bxg4 Nxe3 22. Bxe3 Bxe3+ 23. Kh2 fxg4 24. Rxf8+ Qxf8 $18 {with a huge lead in development, a weak white , and equal material. with a huge lead in development and a weak white .}) 20... Nd5 $1 21. Rh1+ Kg8 22. fxe5 Qg5 23. Ke1 Bxe3 24. Bxg4 Qxg4 25. Bxe3 Nxe3 {[#] Amusingly, White's only developed piece is the c2.} 26. Qe2 Qg3+ 27. Kd2 Rad8+ 28. Kc1 Qg5 29. b3 Nf1+ $1 {followed by ...g3 fork. White resigned.  See also: chess24 stream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGofTd6jfCo&t=5287s} 0-1

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.05"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Praggnanandhaa, R.."]
[Black "Gukesh, Dommaraju"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2743"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[GameId "2215956910524100"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 $5 {Very rare.  [#]The point of the bishop check is to uncoordinate White's development with d2 -- which is 30x more common than Pragg's move -- as other ways to block the check allow Black to either take and keep the c4 pawn or get easy equality while White spends moves recapturing. The game line leads to some fascinatingly unbalanced positions, where White has excellent attacking chances, which is why the next 10 moves have so many embedded games and Analysis Diagrams.} dxc4 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nc6 8. a3 {[#] White's attacking chances in this game attracted top GMs to repeat it, including two games in Prague 2025.} Be7 ({Conceding the bishop-pair and trading a potential kingside dark square defender looks like asking for trouble, but Black _can_ take the :} 8... Bxc3 $5 9. bxc3 Na5 10. Bg5 {Trying to exploit the dark squares,} c5 11. e4 h6 12. Bh4 $1 {[%mdl 64] Analysis Diagram [#] Critical Position} e5 $1 (12... g5 $4 13. Nxg5 $18 hxg5 14. Bxg5 $18 {the f6 is a goner.}) (12... Qc7 $6 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. d5 $1 {the a5 is offside and the black king is weak.}) 13. Bxf6 $1 (13. dxe5 $4 Qxd1 14. Rfxd1 Nxe4 $19 {threatening ...g5 and preparing to gobble the queenside pawns.}) (13. d5 $6 Bg4 $1 $15 {threatens ...g5 and so forces exchanges.}) (13. Nxe5 $5 g5 14. Bxg5 $8 hxg5 15. d5 $8 $13 {Analysis Diagram A position worth studying for anyone who goes into these lines. [#]  White has only a pawn for the piece, but SF and leela say White has full compensation!?}) 13... Qxf6 14. Qa4 $4 (14. dxe5 $142 $11) 14... Nb3 $8 $19 15. Nxe5 ({When he played 14.a4, did Shankland miss that} 15. dxe5 {loses since} Qe6 $8 {traps the a4 by either ....d7 or by ...a6 and ...b5?}) 15... Be6 16. Rad1 cxd4 17. Nxc4 b5 $1 {Saves the .} 18. Qxb5 Rab8 19. Qa4 dxc3 $19 {The c-pawn is a winning asset, and Black pushes it home in model fashion.} 20. e5 Qe7 21. Nd6 c2 22. Rde1 Rfc8 $1 {Strong and stylish.} 23. Nxc8 Rxc8 24. Rc1 Nxc1 25. Rxc1 Qd8 26. Qb5 Qd1+ $1 27. Qf1 Rd8 $1 {0-1 Shankland,S (2670)-Wei,Y (2755) Prague Masters 7th 2025 (5)}) 9. e4 a6 $1 (9... Rb8 {Black goes ...a6 anyway, so this turns out to be a wasted tempo.} 10. Bf4 b5 11. Re1 a6 12. d5 {Analysis Diagram [#]} Na5 (12... exd5 $6 13. exd5 Na5 14. Rxe7 $1 Qxe7 15. d6 $1 $16 {leaves White with a strong pawn on c7 and squares for the minor pieces behind it.}) 13. Qc2 Nh5 $6 (13... Nb3 14. Rad1 Nd7 $13 {SF17}) 14. Be3 f5 $2 15. dxe6 $18 f4 16. Rad1 Qe8 17. gxf4 Nxf4 18. Bxf4 Rxf4 19. Nd5 Rg4 20. Nd4 $1 $18 (20. Nxe7+ $16 Qxe7 21. Qd2 {forking a5 and d8.} Nb7 $1 {parries both White threats, now} (21... Bb7 $2 22. Ne5 Rg5 23. f4 Rxe5 24. fxe5 Nc6 25. Qd7 $18 {1-0 Praggnanandhaa,R (2741)-Nguyen,T (2668) Prague Masters 7th 2025 (3)}) 22. Ne5 Rxg2+ $1 23. Kxg2 Bxe6 24. Nc6 Qh4 $8 {saves the b8 by threatening a perpetual, but} 25. Qe3 $1 $16 {White should win.})) 10. Be3 (10. Bf4 b5 11. Qd2 Na5 12. Rad1 c5 13. Qc2 Qb6 $2 {[%mdl 64] Analysis Diagram [#] Critical Position} (13... Bb7 $15) 14. d5 $2 (14. dxc5 $1 $18 {sets up winning tactics with g5: threatening h7 and activating the g2. This was "only a blitz game", but this is a very common tactic in the Catalan, so I'd guess the players underestimated White's chances in this line:} Qxc5 $5 ({They wouldn't miss this:} 14... Bxc5 15. e5 $1 Nd5 16. Ng5 g6 17. Bxd5 $1 $18 {and xd5-f6+.}) 15. e5 $1 Nd5 16. Ng5 $1 Bxg5 (16... g6 17. Nge4 $1 $18 {with a winning attack, possibly starting with xd5.}) 17. Bxg5 Bb7 18. Nxd5 $8 Bxd5 19. b4 $1 $18 {is an unusual tactical punchline.}) 14... Bb7 $11 15. d6 Bd8 16. e5 Nd7 $1 17. Rfe1 Nb3 {Analysis Diagram [#] A weird position: White's center pawns look like a suffocating advantage, but SF rates the position as about equal (!), and Aronian shows how to get counterplay, starting with the threat of ...d4.} 18. Be3 Rc8 19. Ne4 h6 {Stopping g5 and preparing ...f5.} 20. g4 $1 f5 $1 21. exf6 (21. gxf5 $2 Rxf5 22. Bh3 $1 Qc6 $3 $17) 21... Nxf6 22. Ne5 $2 {Loses tactically.} (22. Ng3 $142 Bxf3 $1 $13 ({The g4 pawn is poisoned:} 22... Nxg4 $4 23. Qg6 $18)) 22... Bxe4 23. Bxe4 Nd4 $8 24. Qb1 Qxd6 $8 $19 25. Bg2 Bc7 26. f4 Nd5 27. Qg6 Nxf4 28. Bxf4 Rxf4 29. g5 Ne2+ {0-1 Radjabov,T (2765)-Aronian,L (2781) Paris GCT Blitz 2021 (8)}) 10... b5 11. Qe2 Bb7 12. Rad1 Na5 $1 {[#]} 13. d5 $5 {This and the next pawn push are a maneuver Hans Kmoch, in his classic book "Pawn Power", called the "sealer-sweeper". Attracting the opponent's pawn to d5 and then not taking but pushing past it "seals" the d5 square and opens the d4 square for White's pieces.} (13. Bf4 Nh5 14. Be5 f6 $1 {[#] Analysis Diagram} 15. Ng5 $1 $15 fxg5 16. Qxh5 Nc6 (16... Bd6 17. Bh3 $13) 17. Qg4 Qd7 18. h4 Rad8 19. hxg5 Nxe5 20. dxe5 Qc6 $13 21. Nd5 $2 (21. g6 $142 $13) (21. Bh3 $142 $13) 21... exd5 22. exd5 Qd7 $1 23. e6 Qd6 $8 24. Kh2 Qc5 25. d6 Rxf2 $1 26. dxe7 Rxg2+ $8 27. Kh3 Qxe7 $8 $19 28. Rxd8+ Qxd8 29. Qf5 Qe8 $8 (29... Qe7 $4 30. Qe5 $11) 30. g6 hxg6 31. Qe5 Qc6 32. Kg4 Qd5 33. Qxd5 Bxd5 34. e7 Bf7 35. Re1 Be8 36. Rf1 Bd7+ {0-1 Li,C (2710)-Tkachiev,V (2631) Jakarta Indonesia op 1st 2011 (4)}) 13... exd5 14. e5 $5 {Technically, the first OTB Novelty of the game.} Ne8 $1 15. e6 $1 {[#]  Pragg had played at blitz speed up to here, and Gukesh was way behind on the clock.} f5 {In the postmortem press conference Guksh said: "After this move he started thinking, which means ...f7-f5 is not a great move."  This remark tells us a lot about opening prep at the top levels: 1) he believed Pragg was not bluffing with his fast moves, but was in his opening prep; 2) he is sure his opponent's prep is thoroughly computer-checked, and that in any sharp position the computer prep will include more than just the best line(s); 3) the fact that his opponent started to think for himself means that Gukesh had finally made a seriously sub-optimal move.  All of this turns out to be very close to the truth: - Pragg was now out of his prep; and - the computer rates both 15...fxe6 and 15...c6 as better than the move he played; but, - the computer rates all these continuations as slightly better for Black!?.  So, we could say Pragg was semi-bluffing: his moves don't lose, and they put his opponent under tremendous pressure to find the best and often "only" moves to survive, while even if his opponent works it out then Pragg is only a little worse: still within the drawing margin. High reward, low risk.  Is this an example of the computer "killing chess by making it all about opening prep", or the reverse: showing the range of playable openings/middlegames is much wider than we imagined?} (15... c6 $15 16. exf7+ Rxf7 $1 17. Ne5 Rf5 $1 18. Bd4 Bd6 $1 (18... c5 $2 19. Qg4 $1 Rg5 20. Qe6+ {mates.}) 19. Bh3 Rf6 $1 20. Nd7 Rh6 $1 21. Rfe1 {the h3 is defended tactically.} Nb3 $1 22. Bb6 Nc7 $8 $19 23. Bg4 Qe8 {Black won in the correspondence game: Hunger,H (2402) - Laurenc,P (2415) ICCF, 2014.}) (15... fxe6 {would still be an OTB Novelty, even a year later, although this whole line is in a 2021 HiARCS Opening Book/Database, which continues:} 16. Bf4 c6 $5 17. Qxe6+ $1 Kh8 $1 18. Ne5 $5 Nd6 $5 19. Rfe1 $5 Bf6 $5 20. Qh3 $1 Bxe5 $1 21. Bxe5 $1 Nb3 $1 22. Ne4 $1 Nf7 $1 23. Qh5 $1 Nxe5 $5 $15 {the "!?" notations indicate places where the variation might be improved. I'll leave it up to dedicated students to find them :D}) 16. Ne5 Nf6 {Not the only way to defend d5: ...c6 and then ...b3 is attractive too. [#] White is down two pawns but has the initiative and a wide range of continuations... which makes the position difficult for both players. Not surprsingly, neither one fully copes with the complications, but it turns out that Gukesh's oversights -- as shown in his post-mortem comments -- underestimated his resources, while the moves he played always kept his position at least within the drawing margin.} 17. Qc2 $2 {"This move I completely missed, and it is quite interesting if not best of all."  - Gukesh} (17. Bg5 $5) (17. Rfe1 $5) 17... c6 $5 {Gives up f5 to secure the center and gain a tempo for the kingside defense. Now the only way for White to attack with his pieces -- the c3, g2, and his s -- is with a sac on d5.} (17... g6 {weakens the dark-squares around the king, though it's not clear how to exploit this: with the extra pawns in hand, Black would happily trade a  for White's DSB or e5.}) ({The computer prefers} 17... c5 $1 {creating tactics with ...d4 that work for Black.}) 18. Qxf5 Qe8 $1 ({Gukesh: "during the game I could not go clearly through all the mess."} 18... Bc8 $5 19. Qh3 $2 (19. Rfe1 $142 $13) 19... Qd6 $8 20. Nxc6 Nxc6 $8 (20... Bxe6 $2 21. Nxe7+ Qxe7 22. Nxd5 $14) 21. Nxd5 Bxe6 $8 $19) {[#]} 19. Nf7 $2 {After this, Black's path gets much wider, no longer requiring a string of "only moves", though that's not something either player knew at the time.} ({Gukesh was more worried about} 19. Qh3 {preparing a pawn storm with f4 and g4, and intended to bail with} Qh5 $1 (19... Bc8 $5 20. Nxc6 $1 Nxc6 21. Nxd5 Nxd5 22. Bxd5 h6 $13) 20. Qxh5 Nxh5 21. f4 {"This is very hard to evaluate, but I was at least happy that I am not getting checkmated directly."  - Gukesh}) 19... Bc8 $1 {[#]} (19... Rxf7 $1) (19... Nb3 $1 {planning ...c5xe6.}) 20. Rfe1 ({Gukesh saw} 20. Bd4 $5 Nb3 $1 $19 {which wins, but only if he finds...} 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Nxd5 $5 cxd5 23. Bxd5 {... the following only move:} Qe7 $8 {defends the f6 to allow ...g6.} (23... Ra7 $2 24. Ng5 $16) 24. Bxa8 (24. Be4 g6 $8 $19 (24... Qxe6 $2 25. Nh6+ $8 $18)) 24... Bxe6 $19 {when White hangs pieces on f5, a8 and f7.}) 20... Nb7 $5 {[#] Heading for d6 to dislodge the f7.} ({Gukesh rejected} 20... Nb3 {due to a beautiful -sac he saw:} 21. Bd4 Nxd4 22. Rxd4 Bc5 (22... Rxf7 $1) 23. Qxf6 $5 {when} gxf6 $2 {loses to} ({missing} 23... Bxe6 $8 $19) 24. Rg4# {Gukesh missed that instead of ...gxf6, the inbetween ...xe6 wins for Black.}) 21. Bg5 ({As before, both players needed to calculate the sacs on d5:} 21. Nxd5 $5 {leads to a complete mess} cxd5 22. Rxd5 $1 {Black has three ways to keep the balance:} {the prosaic} Rxf7 $11 ({the tricky} 22... Bxe6 23. Nh6+ $8 Kh8 $8 (23... gxh6 $4 24. Qxe6+ Kh8 25. Bd4 $18) 24. Qxe6 Nxd5 $11) ({the flashy} 22... Bb4 $5 23. Bd2 Nxd5 24. axb4 $13)) 21... Ra7 $1 {Gets off the long diagonal and prepares to defend the 7th.  "I thought this is a brilliant idea, practically." - Gukesh.  The computer agrees, ranking only one move higher.} (21... Nd6 $6 22. Qe5 Nxf7 $8 23. exf7+ Rxf7 $1 24. Nxd5 $1 cxd5 25. Bxf6 $1 gxf6 26. Qc7 $8 $13 Bg4 27. Bxd5 Kf8 $8 (27... Bxd1 $2 28. Rxe7 $18) 28. Bxa8 Bxd1 29. Bc6 Qd8 $8 30. Qxd8+ $8 $11) (21... Nc5 $1 {is the computer's top choice} 22. Bxf6 {Analysis Diagram [#]} Bxe6 $1 (22... Bxf6 23. Nxd5 $8 cxd5 24. Qxd5 (24. Nd6 Qc6 $1 (24... Qe7 25. Qxd5 {"White is winning." - Gukesh}) 25. Bxd5 Qxd6 26. e7+ $8 (26. Bxa8 $2 Nd3 $19) 26... Kh8 27. exf8=Q+ Qxf8 28. Qh5 $8 Bb7 $8 29. Bxb7 $8 $11) 24... Bxe6 $8 25. Qxc5 $8 Qxf7 26. Rxe6 $1 Rac8 $13) 23. Nh6+ Kh8 $8 24. Bxg7+ Kxg7 25. Rxe6 $3 Nxe6 $1 (25... Rxf5 $2 26. Nxf5+ Kh8 27. Rxe7 $14) 26. Qxe6 Kh8 $3 {gets out of the checks and threatens to trade down with ...c5.} (26... Rf6 $4 27. Nf5+ $8 Kf8 28. Qe5 $18 {with a small material advantage and a much safer .})) 22. Bxf6 Bxf6 {Threatening ...xc3 then ...d8.  [#]} 23. Bxd5 $8 {The only way to get his pieces into the attack.} (23. Ne4 $2 Qxe6 $1 ({Black said he intended} 23... Qe7 24. Nxf6+ $14) 24. Qxe6 Bxe6 25. Nxf6+ Kxf7 26. Nxh7 Re8 $1 27. Ng5+ Kf6 28. Nh7+ Kg6 $19 {there's no perpetual and Black's pawn blob wins every endgame.}) 23... cxd5 (23... Bxc3 24. Nh6+ $1 {leads to a crazy-looking but balanced endgame after:} (24. Be4 $2 Qxe6 $8 $19) 24... gxh6 $8 25. e7+ cxd5 26. exf8=Q+ Qxf8 27. Qxd5+ Qf7 $8 (27... Kh8 28. bxc3 $18) 28. Re8+ (28. Qxf7+) 28... Kg7 29. Rxc8 Qxd5 30. Rxd5 Bxb2 31. Rd7+ Kf6 32. Rc6+ Ke5 $11) 24. Nxd5 Be7 {[#] The culmination of the game. Both players were already severely low on time.} (24... Bxb2 {is the only other move, and SF rates it 0.00 after:} 25. Qc2 Bxa3 26. Nc7 $8 Qe7 $8 27. Nd5 $8 Qe8 $1 28. Nc7 $8 $11) 25. Qg4 $2 (25. Rd4 $2 Nc5 $19 {Gukesh}) (25. Nh6+ $8 $11 {Or Black could have kept on playing with} gxh6 ({would have forced/allowed a draw after} 25... Kh8 26. Nf7+) 26. Qg4+ Bg5 27. Qd4 Nd8 $1 ({Not} 27... Ra8 28. e7 $3 Rf7 29. Nc7 {which wins for White.}) 28. Qxa7 Nxe6 29. h4 Bd8 30. Nb6 {with a mess.}) 25... Nd8 $8 $19 {Keeping everything coordinated and developing his worst piece (a7).} (25... Nc5 {doesn't lose, although Black thought it did lose after:} 26. Nh6+ Kh8 27. Nf5 Bd8 ({Gukesh can be forgiven for missing two computer defences:} 27... Nxe6 $1 28. Rxe6 Qf7 $1 29. Rxe7 Rxe7 30. Ndxe7 Qxe7 31. Nxe7 Bxg4 $11) (27... Rg8 $1 28. Qd4 $8 {threating the  and skewering the a7.} Nxe6 $1 29. Qxa7 $8 Bc5 $8 $13) 28. e7 $8 $18) 26. Nxd8 ({After the game, Gukesh said he thought White was equal after} 26. Qd4 $5 Nc6 (26... Rb7 $2 27. Nxe7+ Qxe7 28. Nxd8 $18 {Gukesh}) 27. Qg4 Nd8 28. Qd4 {But in this position (or on move 26) Black comes out on top with a pseudo-sac:} Nxe6 $1 29. Nh6+ (29. Qxa7 Rxf7 $19) 29... gxh6 30. Qxa7 Bc5 (30... Bd8 $19) 31. Nf6+ Rxf6 32. Qxc5 Qf8 $1 $19) 26... Bxd8 $19 {[#] White's remaining pieces are beautifully placed, but he doesn't have enough of them.} 27. Qd4 Rb7 28. Re4 Bf6 29. Qe3 Be7 30. h4 Qc6 31. h5 $6 Bc5 {It's over.} 32. Qg5 Bxe6 33. h6 Rxf2 0-1

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.06"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Black "Praggnanandhaa, R.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper +"]
[ECO "C70"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[GameId "2032146785021952"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{ "After my tough loss in the 2nd round, I wanted to have a fight in this game." - Pragg} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 f5 $5 {[%mdl 32768] [#] The Deferred Schliemann  A type of reversed King's Gambit (Falkbeer) -- is rare enough when White can play it a tempo up -- but extremely rare at the top level. Apart from chess.com's Titled Tuesday blitz events there are no recent games by top players. Photos of the other competitors show their astonishment.  "I am absolutely flabbergasted by this opening... it is sooo risky to play this." - GM Daniel King.  https://youtu.be/CYuEcmR06To?si=F5pFm8ec8O63s37d} 5. d4 $1 exd4 6. e5 b5 7. Bb3 {[#]} Na5 $5 {A game of seconds. Pragg said one of his Candidates seconds (unnamed) advised playing the Deferred Schlieman; and this particular continuation seems to have been chosen because of one of Vidit's coaches:} (7... Bb7 {"is the mainline and has been tried many times by Surya Ganguly, the trainer of Vidit." - Pragg} {Not only would this mean it was more likely Vidit has seen it, but it's believed to be better for White after} 8. a4 $1 {which preserves the LSB, after which Black's best would be the illegal ...f5-f7.}) {This rare sideline clearly caught Vidit unprepared, and he spent 17 minutes here before he played...} 8. Nxd4 Bb7 9. Nxf5 Nxb3 10. axb3 d6 $1 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position What happens if xg7?} (10... Bxg2 $4 {is what one of Morphy's amateur opponents would have tried:} 11. Rg1 Bc6 12. Qh5+ g6 13. Rxg6 $18) 11. Qe2 (11. exd6 Qd7 $3 {is the deeper idea here: the f5 will have to retreat and if the black  goes to f7 Black will be ready to play a8-e8.} 12. Qe2+ Kf7 13. Ne3 Bxd6 14. O-O Nf6 {[%cal Yh8e8] Black has excellent development and the  pair in return for the f-pawn. Schwarz bekommt eine schnelle Entwicklung.}) ({With xg7 White initiates a line where Black can take a forced draw with:} 11. Nxg7+ Bxg7 12. Qh5+ Kf8 13. Qf5+ Ke8 (13... Ke7 $4 14. Bg5+ $18) 14. Qh5+ Kf8 15. Qf5+ {... though if Black wants to play for more, SF rates this:} Nf6 $1 16. exf6 Qxf6 17. Qxf6+ Bxf6 {as slightly better for Black!?}) 11... Qd7 12. e6 $5 (12. exd6+ Kf7 $32) 12... Qc6 {[#]} 13. Bg5 (13. Nxg7+ $2 {doesn't work anymore:} Bxg7 14. Qh5+ Kd8 15. Qf7 Bf6 $19 ) ({Pragg said he expected:} 13. f3 Ne7 $1 14. Ng3 d5 15. O-O Ng6 16. c3 Bc5+ 17. Kh1 O-O-O $13 {"It is easier to play with Black here." - Pragg}) 13... g6 {Not yet threatening to take the , but saving the g7 pawn solidifies the kingside and threatens to take on g2.} (13... Qxg2 $4 14. Nxg7+ $8 {and h5+-f7#.}) 14. Ne3 {Defends g2.} h6 15. Bf4 (15. Bh4 Qe4 $1 16. Bg3 O-O-O 17. O-O Ne7 18. c4 b4 $1 19. Nd2 Qxe6 $13) {[#]} 15... Ne7 $1 (15... Qe4 $5 16. Nc3 Qxe6 (16... Qxf4 $2 17. Ncd5 $18) 17. Ncd5 (17. Nxb5 $2 axb5 18. Qxb5+ Qd7 $1 $17 {White can't take both a8 and b7.}) 17... O-O-O 18. c4 {I felt White should be okay here. - Pragg}) 16. c4 b4 17. Qg4 Qc5 {Unblocks the b7 to stop d5.} 18. O-O Bg7 19. Nd2 O-O-O $2 {[#] A really risky move - King Dies wirft nicht nur den Vorteil weg, sondern ist bereits schlecht f r Schwarz.} (19... O-O $142 $1 $15 {[%cal Yb7g2,Yg7b2] "was my initial plan, then got very excited about long castling! Black's pieces are well placed compared to White's pieces." - Pragg} 20. Rad1 Rf6 21. Nf3 Qh5 $1 $15) 20. h4 $2 {Here is Pragg's analysis:  This stops ...g5 and ...h5 ideas, but it was more important to be direct here.} (20. Nd5 $142 $1 $132 Nxd5 21. e7+ Rd7 22. Ne4 $1 {According to comp this is stronger, but the lines are difficult in practical play.} (22. cxd5 {less strong, but may be possible to spot in a game.} Qxd5 23. Nc4 Qf5 {I stopped my analysis with} 24. Qg3 $1 $16 {This seems strong with xd6 coming. Das scheint stark zu sein, wenn Lxd6 kommt.} Kb8 25. Rae1 Re8 26. Bxd6 $18) 22... Nf6 {I thought this was winning for Black during the game... [editor - but tactics which neither of the Indian super-GMs saw OTB leave White better!]} 23. Nxf6 Bxf6 24. Rfe1 $8 {Analysis Diagram [#]} Be5 $2 (24... Bxe7 $1 {Black has to do this. Schwarz muss dies tun.} 25. Rxe7 Qf5 26. Qxf5 gxf5 27. Re3 $16 {This means suffering for Black.}) 25. Rad1 $8 Bc6 (25... Qc6 26. Bxe5 dxe5 27. Rd5 $8 Re8 28. Rexe5 $8 $18 {Black is totally stuck and lost here.}) 26. Be3 $8 Qa5 27. Ra1 $18 {Amazing line to trap the  on a5. Because of this, the whole line with 22.e4 works!}) 20... Rde8 21. Rad1 Bxb2 $1 {[#]Wins a pawn, but also allows Black to block the c-file with c3, which takes some of the sting out of d5.} 22. Nd5 $5 {Anyway!} Nxd5 23. cxd5 Bxd5 24. e7+ $2 {Makes the e-pawn easier for Black to round up.} (24. Rfe1 $142 $1 {White gets more counterplay with the pawn on e6.} Bc3 25. Ne4 Bxe4 26. Rxe4 Qh5 $8 27. Qxh5 gxh5 28. Bd2 {Black is slightly better, but rook endgames always provide chances. - Pragg}) 24... Kb8 25. Be3 (25. Rfe1 Rh7 $1 {Black gets the e7 pawn:} 26. Qd7 Qc6 $19) 25... Qb5 26. Nc4 Bc3 27. Bd4 {[#]} Rhg8 $6 ({I was planning to go for this...} 27... Bxc4 $2 28. bxc4 Qxc4 {...until I saw:} 29. Ba7+ $1 $18) ({Here is the main line of Pragg's analysis, which has multiple branches:} 27... Rh7 $1 {The only move which wins, but the lines are not easy:} 28. Bxc3 bxc3 29. Qxg6 Rhxe7 30. Nxd6 {Black has to make only moves from here to win:} Qc6 $8 31. Rxd5 c2 $8 32. Kh2 Re6 $8 33. Qd3 Re1 $8 $19 34. Nxe8 Rxf1 35. Rd8+ Kb7 $8 36. Qxf1 c1=Q $8 $19) 28. Bxc3 $1 bxc3 {[#]} 29. Qd4 $6 ({Again, the computer finds a maneuver Pragg couldn't imagine OTB:} 29. Na3 $142 $1 $13 {"A difficult move to spot and understand the idea...} Qb7 30. Rd4 $1 {Provoking ...c5 is much more important than the c3 pawn.} c5 31. Rd3 $1 Rxe7 32. Qg3 {White gets so much counterplay." - Pragg}) 29... Bb7 (29... Ba8 $142 $1 {"According to the comp this is better to avoid a5xb7. Hard to understand during the game." - Pragg} 30. Qxc3 Rxe7 31. Rd4 Qc6 $17) 30. Qxc3 Rxe7 31. Na5 Re5 {[#]} 32. b4 $2 {Stablilizes the , but unless the  is going to take on b7 it is not doing much on a5.} (32. Nxb7 $142 $1 Qxb7 33. Rd4 Rb5 {Black is up a pawn, but positions with 6 major pieces give tremendous scope for resistance... and blunders.}) 32... g5 $1 $17 33. h5 $6 g4 34. Rfe1 g3 $1 $19 {Black's minority attack strikes home.} 35. Nxb7 gxf2+ 36. Kxf2 Qxb7 37. Qf3 {[#]} Reg5 38. Qxb7+ Kxb7 39. g4 Rxg4 40. Re6 Rh4 41. Rxh6 Rg5 42. Rh7 Rhxh5 43. Rd7 Kc8 44. Re7 Re5 45. Rg7 Rhf5+ {Black with force off a  with ...g5+, and keep the white  cut off with e5, making the win trivial.} 0-1

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.09"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Praggnanandhaa, R.."]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2758"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[GameId "2220577503252492"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

1. e4  e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 {[#] Nepo playing the Petroff was one of the sure bets of the Candidates. He has had this position as Black 23 times, scoring +3 =17 -3 against world-class opponents, and he's had it 7 times as White (mostly rapid and blitz) scoring +5 =1 -1. This makes Nepo a tempting target for some deep and high-risk opening prep, but it also means he has a strong feel for what is important in these middlegames. So, even if he can be lured into deep waters, Nepo is no sitting duck.} 9. Nc3 ({In round 7, Nakamura continued with:} 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. c5 (11. Nh4 Be6 12. Qc2 Na6 13. a3 f5 $11 {1/2 Caruana,F (2783)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2766) Candidates Tournament Madrid 2022 (9)}) 11... Bc7 12. g3 a5 13. Nbd2 Be6 {[#]It is odd that the Petroff had/has a reputation for being a dull opening when tactics abound. Fireworks commence!} 14. Qxb7 Nxf2 15. Bxh7+ Kxh7 16. Qxa8 Nh3+ 17. Kg2 Bg4 18. Qb7 Re8 $11 {[#]} 19. Qb3 Rxe1 20. Nxe1 Qe6 21. Qd3+ Bf5 22. Qf1 $8 Nd7 23. Nef3 Nf6 24. Ng1 Kg8 25. Qe2 (25. Ndf3 $142) 25... Ne4 26. a4 {[#] More fireworks incoming! The next sequence is forced, leading to a position where White has a huge material advantage but cannot develop the c1 and d2 in time to avoid a repetition.} Bxg3 $5 27. hxg3 Nf4+ $8 28. gxf4 $8 Qg6+ $8 29. Kf1 $8 Ng3+ $8 30. Ke1 Nxe2 31. Nxe2 Bg4 32. Ra3 $1 $11 Bxe2 33. Kxe2 Qg1 34. Nb3 Qg2+ 35. Kd1 Qf3+ 36. Kc2 Qe4+ 37. Kc3 Qf3+ 38. Kc2 Qe4+ 39. Kc3 Qf3+ 40. Kc2 Qe4+ {1/2 Nakamura,H (2789)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2758) Candidates Tournament Toronto 2024 (7)}) 9... Nxc3 10. bxc3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Bf5 12. Bg5 {[#] Nepo introduced this in 2017 in a game where he beat Li Chao, and it is now the main line.} Qa5 13. Nh4 Be6 14. Bxe6 Qxg5 15. Nf3 Qa5 16. Bh3 $5 {[#] Before this game, b3 was the main move by far. Pragg's g3 leaves the b-file unblocked and stops the black  from developing smoothly. Obviously, it also reduces pressure on Black's kingside, but as we will see, it can return there faster than Black would like.} Qxc3 $5 {Improves over a previous Nepo game.} ({A week earlier at the Canadian Zonal saw:} 16... Qc7 17. c4 Nd7 18. Rb1 (18. Re1 Rfe8 19. Qb3 (19. c5 $14) 19... Nf6 20. c5 $14 {1-0 Mamedov,R (2646)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2793) Airthings Play In Match Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (1.2)}) 18... Nf6 19. c5 $1 {0-1 Rodrigue Lemieux,S (2506)-Atanasov,A (2407) Canadian zt Toronto 2024 (9) was}) 17. Rb1 b6 18. Rb3 {Another plus from not playing b3.} Qa5 19. d5 $1 {[#] Pragg played this instantly, and it's another piece of his dangerous prep: the second pawn sac cuts the black  from the kingside when White has four pieces ready to pounce with sacs-a-plenty on f7 and h7.   Black has several reasonable-looking replies, and they all cross minefields of tactics.  Nepo thought for 40 minutes and played the computer's top choice:} cxd5 $1 $13 (19... Qxd5 $4 {Obviously gives up the d6, but that's not the real problem:} 20. Rd3 Bxh2+ 21. Nxh2 Qxa2 {leaves Black with a nominal material advantage -- 4 v  -- but so far behind in development that White can force through a winning attack; e.g.} 22. Bf5 $5 ({or} 22. Ng4 {threatening f6+}) 22... g6 23. Qc1 $1 $18) (19... Rd8 $5 20. Rd3 cxd5 (20... Be7 $2 21. d6 $18) (20... c5 $4 21. Ng5 $18 {with takes on f7 or h7 or even e6.}) 21. Ng5 h6 22. Qh5 $40 (22. Nxf7 $5)) (19... Qxa2 $5 {is OK, but it may be imprudent to give White his widest range of challenging continuations:} 20. Rd3 (20. Ng5 Bf4 $1 $11) (20. Bf5 $1 {SF} g6 21. Ng5 Be5 $8 22. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 $8 23. Bb1 $1 Qa1 $8 $14) 20... cxd5 21. Ng5 Nc6 22. Nxh7 $1 Rfe8 $1 (22... Ne5 $6 23. Rd2 $1 $16) (22... Kxh7 $4 23. Qh5+ Kg8 24. Bf5 $18) 23. Qh5 Bf4 $8 $13) 20. Ng5 h6 (20... g6 $5 21. Ne6 $5 (21. Rd3 $5)) (20... d4 $2 21. Nxf7 $8 Rxf7 22. Be6 $8 $18) 21. Nxf7 $3 {[#]} (21. Ne6 $6 fxe6 22. Bxe6+ Kh8 23. Bxd5 Na6 $1 (23... Nc6 24. Bxc6 Rad8 $13) 24. Bxa8 $8 Qe5 $8 $15 25. g3 $8 Rxa8 $15) 21... Kxf7 $8 $11 {SF rates all of White's top 5 moves here as 0.00.  Equal, but far from boring.} (21... Rxf7 $4 22. Be6 $8 Nc6 23. Bxd5 $8 Qc5 (23... Bc5 24. Rf3 $18) (23... Rd8 24. Bxf7+ Kxf7 25. Qf3+ $18) 24. Bxf7+ $8 Kxf7 25. Qf3+ $8 Kg8 26. Rc3 $8 Qe5 27. g3 Bc5 28. Qxc6 $18 {White's up an exchange.}) 22. Rd3 Nd7 {Nepo gives back the  for a tempo to connect the s.} (22... g6 23. Qa1 $5 $13 {keeping the  from running away.}) (22... Kg8 23. Be6+ $8 Kh8 24. Bxd5 $18 {h3 keeping the  stuck in the corner paid off.}) 23. Rxd5 {[#]} (23. Bxd7 Kg8 $8 $13) 23... Nc5 $4 {After only two minutes a losing blunder. Nepo is often criticized for rushing critical decisions, but here the reason his move loses mightn't be found by any super GM in under an hour... and it wasn't by either of the super GMs playing this game.} (23... Bc5 $2 24. Qb3 $8 $18 Kg6 25. Qd3+ Kf7 26. Qc4 $1 (26. Rxd7+ $2 Kg8 27. Qg6 Bxf2+ $3 $11) 26... Kg6 27. Qe4+ Kf7 28. Qe6#) (23... Bxh2+ $8 {This wins a pawn, but the reason it is the difference between a draw and a loss is an impossible-to-see tactical resource shown in the note to White's 26th move.} 24. Kxh2 Nc5 $8 $13 25. Qh5+ (25. Rd6 $5) 25... Kg8 $8 26. Be6+ Kh8 $8 27. Bf5 (27. Qg6 Rf6) 27... Rf6 $13) 24. Rxd6 $18 Kg8 (24... Qxa2 25. g3 $1 {and g2, threatening d5+ royal fork and hitting the a8.}) 25. Qd5+ Kh8 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position} 26. Bf5 $2 {Wrong move order!} (26. Qe5 $142 $1 $18 {or d4, both threatening xh6+} Qxa2 $1 {[%cal Ba2g8] the trickiest defence, requiring some beautiful moves to defeat.} (26... Kh7 27. Bf5+ $18 Kg8 {and White has a choice of attacking finishes:} 28. Qd5+ (28. Rg6 Rf7 29. Rxg7+ Rxg7 30. Qd5+ $18) 28... Kh8 29. Qc6 $18) (26... Kg8 27. Rg6 Rf7 28. Rxg7+ $1 Rxg7 29. Qd5+ Rf7 30. Qxa8+ Kg7 31. Qd5 $18) 27. Bf5 $1 $18 {+-, and the game might end like this:} (27. Rxh6+ Kg8 $16) 27... Kg8 ({or this:} 27... Rae8 $4 28. Rxh6+ Kg8 29. Bh7+ Kf7 30. Bg6+ Kg8 31. Rh8+ {mating}) 28. Bb1 $8 {Retreating the  to attack is difficult to see, but Tal played like this.} Qf7 {Analysis Diagram [#]} 29. Qb2 $3 $18 {Threatening both a2 and c2 wins.  This would not have been possible after 23 ...xh2+ and xh2 because here Black would win with ...f4 check!} Qf4 (29... Qe7 30. Ba2+ Kh7 31. Qc2+ Qe4 (31... Kh8 32. Bb1 $18) 32. Qxe4+ Nxe4 33. Bb1 $8 $18) 30. Qa2+ $1 Kh8 (30... Rf7 $18 31. Qd5 (31. Rfd1 $18)) 31. Qc2 $8 Kg8 32. Qh7+ Kf7 33. Rg6 Qe5 34. Ba2+ $18 {returning to the a2-g8 diagonal after all.}) 26... Nb7 $1 27. Qxa5 (27. Qxb7 Qxf5 $14) 27... Nxa5 28. g4 $14 {[#] And Nepo escaped another losing position in another Candidates tournament...!} Nc4 29. Rd5 Rae8 30. h3 Ne5 31. Kg2 g6 32. Bc2 g5 {[#]Black has secured a choice of outposts for his  and White has no realistic chances.} 33. Bf5 Re7 34. Rd6 Kg7 35. Re1 Rf6 36. Rd5 Ng6 37. Rxe7+ Nxe7 38. Rd7 Kf8 39. Be4 a5 40. Kg3 Ng6 41. Bxg6 {[#]} Rxg6 42. h4 Rc6 43. hxg5 hxg5 44. Rb7 a4 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.21"]
[Round "14.2"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2803"]
[BlackElo "2758"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "217"]
[GameId "497385737991"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

 {Going into the final round Gukesh led Caruana, Nepo, and Nakamura by 1/2 a point, and all four were paired against each other! This meant that a draw in this game would guarantee neither player could qualify for a playoff. Clearly, a "must win" for both.  Quotations from Fabi and Nepo are from a 90 minute conversation on the C-Squared podcast, posted 2024.05.07, about three weeks after the Candidates:  https://youtu.be/gh8xiGKiPXQ?si=tWTKl-u_GsQyco3a&t=703} 1. d4 $1 {No Petroff for you! This was the only time Fabi played 1.d4 in the Candidates.} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Bb4 $5 {[#]Unusual, but both Nepo and Gukesh had played it a few times, so you might expect Fabi should be well within his prep. But, as he said on a podcast discussion with Nepo, he had so many other lines to prepare for -- a Carlsbad (with 5...c6), or a Nimzo, or even the Grunfeld -- that he felt "a little stretched thin", so while he knew he would go c2 and f3 here, the full details were not prepped.  Nepo was even less prepared! His seconds -- Jan Gustafsson, Nikita Vitugov, and MVL -- told him to prep for 1.e4, so Nepo was going into a line he hadn't played for two years without reviewing his notes!?  Now 6.f3 would transpose to a complex but well-known line of the Ragozin, but Fabi goes for the more complex central play with ge2 and f2-f3.} 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 {[#] This is relatively unexplored, with about half the games in the database having been played after this one; an excellent start for a must-win game.} Ne4 (8... h5 9. Qb3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 h4 11. Be5 Nbd7 12. Nf3 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 h3 $1 14. Rg1 $1 {White's  is staying in the center anyway.} c6 15. g4 $1 $14 {1-0 Caruana,F (2784)-Aronian,L (2737) Saint Louis Rapid 2025 (6)}) 9. Qc2 {Transposing to a line in the c2 Nimzo.} (9. Nge2 h5 10. h3 Nxg3 11. Nxg3 h4 12. Nh5 $1 c6 13. Be2 Nd7 $14 {0-1 Carlsen,M (2847)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2789) Carlsen Inv KO chess24.com INT rapid 2021 (2.32)}) 9... h5 10. f3 {[#]} Nxg3 11. hxg3 Be6 12. Bd3 (12. O-O-O Nd7 13. a3 Bd6 (13... Bxc3 $1 14. Qxc3 Qf6 $13) 14. e4 $14 {0-1 Giri,A (2764)-Gukesh,D (2732) Aimchess Rapid Prelim chess24.com INT 2022 (4)}) 12... c6 13. O-O-O Nd7 $11 14. f4 Bg4 15. Nf3 {[#]} Qe7 (15... gxf4 {is prudent, but takes a lot of dynamism out of the position, which mightn't be desireable for either player in a must-win game.}) 16. e4 $1 {This strong move surprised Nepo.} Bxc3 17. Qxc3 Bxf3 ({White is not hanging the e-pawn:} 17... dxe4 18. Bxe4 $1 {since} Qxe4 $4 19. Rhe1 $18) 18. gxf3 dxe4 19. Bxe4 $1 {Keeps the e-file open, so the black  will almost certainly have to go queenside, and the  will be a terror if White gets in d4-d5.} (19. fxe4 {is good too, but may give Black some hopes for pressure against the white center.}) 19... gxf4 {[#]} 20. g4 $1 ({Caruana: "Here I thought about} 20. d5 {but} Qc5 $1) ({And} 20. Qa5 {stops you from castling, but doesn't really work} fxg3 $1 $15) ({And then I realized that after} 20. g4 h4 21. Kb1 $1 {setting up d4-d5, and at least it is totally safe for White and dangerous for Black, so it felt like an ideal solution."}) 20... O-O-O $6 {Nepo: "I'm not sure exactly why I castled here rather than going for ...h4. I kept calcuating different variations which all ended up in similar bad positions, and I thought if nothing else works I had ...000 and [on d5] ...c5 and hope for the best... but, as it turned out, there was not much to hope for."} 21. d5 h4 (21... Qc5 {kills the attack on the , but concedes a terrible endgame after} 22. dxc6 Qxc3+ 23. bxc3 bxc6 24. Rxh5 $1 $16 {Black's pawns are trash, and conceding a passed h-pawn after ...xh5 is hopeless.}) 22. dxc6 Nc5 23. Bf5+ Kb8 24. Kb1 $18 {[#]} b6 $6 ({Nepo:  "I had hoped for} 24... Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Qxd8 27. Qxc5 ({but the problem, of course, is that you play} 27. Qe5+ {first:} Ka8 28. Qxc5 Qd1+ 29. Qc1 Qxc1+ 30. Kxc1 h3 31. c7 $18) ({Fabi: or} 27. c7+ $18 {Nepo: oh yes, this is more than enough. Normally in such positions there is more than one way to lose. [laughs]} Qxc7 28. Qh8+ $18) 27... Qd1+ 28. Qc1 Qxc1+ 29. Kxc1 h3 $19 {and I promote.}) 25. Rd7 $1 $18 ({White has so many good choices here. Even better is:} 25. Bd7 $1 {keeps the pawn on c6 -- maybe going to c7 -- and prepaes he1 with a huge attack.} {Importantly,} Nxd7 {fails to} 26. c7+ $18) 25... Rxd7 (25... Nxd7 26. c7+ $8 $19 Kb7 27. cxd8=Q Rxd8 28. Be4+ $8 Kb8 29. Qc6 $8 $18) 26. cxd7 Rd8 27. Qd4 Nxd7 {[#]} 28. Rd1 $1 (28. Qxf4+ {also wins, but the f4 pawn isn't worth giving up the bind. e.g.} Ne5 $1 29. Re1 $2 (29. Rxh4 $2 $11) (29. a3 $1 $16) 29... Qc7 $1 $13 30. Qxe5 $4 Rd1+ $19 {oops.}) 28... Qc5 29. Qxf4+ Qc7 30. Qd2 {Of course you keep the s on with the opponent's king so exposed and his pawns loose.} h3 31. Be4 a5 32. Qd5 Ka7 33. Qxf7 h2 {[#]} 34. Qh7 {"I really like this move, making sure there are no miracles." - Giri} (34. f4 $1 {pushing the pawns and adding the  to the defence of h1 is one of several moves that win -- and it's the computer's top choice -- but for any human under the pressure of this must-win game, any move that undefends a piece and a pawn will feel "loose".   Nepo: "To be honest [here] my only "hope" was that Fabi would win the tiebreak.... If it wasn't for the time-control I would probably give up. I had only some hopes of ...c8, ...c2 and some random tactics."}) 34... Kb8 35. a3 {Weakens the king's shelter, but still well within the drawing margin.} (35. Rd2 $142 $1 {looks risky to give up the back rank, but xh2 comes with check or pins the black :} Rc8 (35... Qg3 36. Qxh2 $8 $18) 36. Qxh2 $18) 35... Qe5 36. Qh6 Qc7 37. g5 $6 ({Again} 37. Rd2 $1 {and Black really could resign.}) 37... Rg8 38. Rh1 Nc5 {[#]} 39. Bh7 $2 {Giri gives this a ??, and says: "This is quite insane, giving Black some hopes is absolutely uncalled for."  That's totally fair. White is still winning, but Black's response dramatically narrows the route to victory.} (39. Qc6 $2 Nxe4 $11) (39. g6 $2 Nxe4 40. fxe4 Qg3 $11) (39. Qxh2 $2 Qxh2 40. Rxh2 Nxe4 41. fxe4 Rxg5 {gives no winning chances.}) (39. Bc2 $1 {keeps the , contains the , and followed by taking on h2 wins more simply.}) 39... Rxg5 $3 {Strong, but essentially forced -- on anything else White takes on h2 with a trivial win.} 40. Qxg5 Qxh7+ {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position Three squares to escape the check.} 41. Ka1 $2 {This is the first move after the time contol, but Fabi blunders away the win, dropping from +3.5 to near equal.  But Nepo has a few blunders left in him, and Fabi gets (several) more chances...  This shows that the drawing/winning mechanisms of this  combo against the semi-exposed  are not part of either GMs basic "chess vocabulary".} (41. Kc1 $2 Nb3+ 42. Kd1 {and Black has several routes to a draw.}) (41. Ka2 $8 $18 Qf7+ 42. Ka1 Nb3+ 43. Kb1 Qxf3 (43... Qh7+ 44. Ka2 $18 {and the b3 is the umbrella White needs.}) 44. Qe5+ $8 $18 {and finally takes h2.}) 41... Qc2 42. Qg8+ Ka7 43. Ka2 a4 44. f4 {[#]} Nb3 $2 {Threatens to draw with ...c1+, but blocking the checking diagonal lets the draw slip and Fabi plays the next sequence perfectly:} ({Black draws with the absurdly calm} 44... Ka6 $8 $11 {for example:} 45. Qa8+ (45. Qh8 $4 {heading for h2 or c4 hangs the  to} Qc4+ $19) 45... Kb5 46. Qf3 Nd3 $1 47. Rb1 (47. Rxh2 Nc1+ 48. Ka1 Nb3+ 49. Ka2 Qxh2 50. Qd3+ $8 $11 {and White gives a perp.}) 47... Qc4+ 48. Ka1 Nc1 $8 $11) 45. Qg7+ $8 $18 Ka6 46. Qc3 $8 {Covering c1.} Qg2 47. Qc4+ $1 Kb7 {[#]} 48. Re1 $1 {Saves the  by threatening a mating attack.} (48. Qf1 $2 Qd5 49. Qd1 Nd2+ $11) 48... Nc5 (48... h1=Q $4 49. Re7+ {mates.}) 49. Qf1 $8 {Stops the h-pawn.} Qd5+ 50. Kb1 $8 (50. Ka1 $4 {drops the  to} Nb3+ $19) 50... Qf5+ 51. Ka1 Qc2 52. f5 $1 Nd3 53. Rb1 Nc5 {[#]} 54. f6 $1 Nb3+ 55. Ka2 Nd2 56. Qh1+ Ka7 57. Rc1 Qb3+ 58. Ka1 Qe6 {[#]White has only two moves to win.} 59. Rc7+ $2 {This draws, but only because it allows an amazing perpetual that neither player saw OTB.} ({e1 and d1 were the only draws,} 59. Rd1 $1 $18 Nb3+ 60. Kb1 $8 Qf5+ 61. Ka2 $8 {and White escapes the checks for one move, and will play f7 to force off the passers.}) 59... Ka6 {Fabi: "Here I felt I had lost control many times during this game; but then I thought 'it's a miracle, f7 and ...b3 b1 and I'm winning' -- which wasn't even true, because I missed ...d2+, but I thought ...d2 c2 king runs or whatever, and on ...c5 I have checks I have a pawn on the 7th rank, I have a ... somehow I should win... but I didn't see the way, and there is only one way."} 60. f7 Nb3+ 61. Kb1 {[#]} Qf5+ $2  (61... Nd2+ $8 $11 {Amazingly saves the game:} 62. Kc2 Qf5+ $1 63. Kxd2 {Analysis Diagram [#] There is no way for the  to escape the checks without hanging the  or the  and the ... which is still a draw after f8=. Here are some of the more amusing lines:} Qf4+ ({Giri likes this:} 63... Qf2+ 64. Kd3 Qg3+ 65. Ke4 Qxc7 $8 $11 {is equal, since} 66. f8=Q $4 {loses to the skewer} Qb7+ $19) 64. Ke2 (64. Kc2 Qxc7+ $11) 64... Qg4+ 65. Kf2 (65. Qf3 Qxf3+ $8 66. Kxf3 h1=Q+ $11) 65... Qf4+ 66. Kg2 Qg5+ 67. Kxh2 Qh5+ 68. Kg2 (68. Kg1 Qd1+ $8 69. Kg2 Qd5+ $11 {the white  and  are perfectly useless.}) 68... Qd5+ $8 69. Kg1 Qd1+ 70. Kf2 $5 Qxh1 71. f8=Q Qh2+ 72. Ke1 Qxc7 $11) 62. Ka2 Nc5 63. Qa8+ $1 Kb5 64. Qc6+ {Gaining time with the 30s increment.} Ka6 65. Qa8+ Kb5 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position Not so trivial.} 66. Qc6+ $4 (66. Qe8+ $8 $18 {"Fabi must have missed the e2 back check. Not really hard, but I guess his brain was melting at this point." - Giri.} Ka6 (66... Nd7 67. Qe2+ $1 {and a7#.}) 67. Qe2+ $8 {Analysis Diagram  [#]  "Black is losing trivially." - Giri  I don't think Giri did due diligence here. The win is far from trivial, requiring a sequence of "only moves" from White.  In contrast, more than a month after the game, Nepo admitted to Caruana that even at that point he didn't know what the win was after e2+.  Here it is:} b5 (67... Ka5 $2 68. Ra7+ {#1}) 68. Rc6+ $8 {forcing the  back} Ka7 $1 (68... Kb7 69. Qxb5+ $18 {is trivial.}) 69. Qe7+ $8 {forcing the  back} Nb7 70. Qe3+ $8 {forcing the  to the back rank so the f-pawn promotes with check.} Kb8 71. Qe6 $3 $18 {controls the checking diagonal and forces the exchange of passers, leaving White with pp v pp.  If Giri finds that sequence "trivial", maybe we should expect his rating to go way up very soon.  At least Nepo knows what he doesn't know.}) 66... Ka6 $8 $11 67. Re7 ({In PuzzleRush} 67. Qa8+ {would still win; but in this OTB game Black can claim a threefold repetition draw by telling the Arbiter he intends to play the only legal move.}) 67... Qf1 $1 {[#] Fabi:  "I played some random move with my , and after you played ...f1 I was thinking "I can't repeat [for a draw], but if I don't repeat probably I could lose -- which, in this situation, I guess, doesn't make a difference for me [ed. - qualifying for the World Championship match] , but maybe if I lose this game maybe I get murdered on my way out of the playing hall by someone [laughs]. And then I got excited by e4... but this h-pawn which I hadn't captured for like 50 moves was still there... so this one moment of joy was like... but I had nothing else to do with a few seconds left on my clock.... Of couse, it's impossible to win this endgame."  Nepo: "Didn't you win the same or almost-the-same queen endgame against Maxime Vaschier-Legrave in the Sinquefiled Cup?"  Fabi: [thinks]  "Um, well... without the b6 pawn..."  Nepo: [laughs] "Ah! I know it's also a draw, but without the b6-pawn it would be a bit more challenging for Black."  Fabi: "Yes, [laughs] although it is somehow a theoretical draw."} 68. Qa8+ Kb5 69. Qe8+ Ka6 $8 70. Qa8+ Kb5 71. Qe8+ Ka6 $11 {[#]} 72. Re4 $5 {Nepo: "I was completely shocked by e4. Of course, I was completely sure you won't repeat, but I didn't see [the] e4 resource."} Nxe4 $8 (72... h1=Q $4 73. Qa8+ Kb5 74. Rb4#) ({Nepo: "I even tried to look for another way to fight...} 72... Qa1+ 73. Kxa1 h1=Q+ 74. Ka2 $18 {but no."}) 73. Qxa4+ Kb7 74. Qxe4+ Ka7 75. Qa4+ Kb7 76. Qd7+ Ka6 77. Qc8+ Ka7 {[#]Fabi has run out of tricks, and simplifies into a pp v p which is easily held by Nepo.} 78. f8=Q Qxf8 79. Qxf8 h1=Q 80. a4 Qd5+ 81. Ka3 Qd3+ 82. b3 Qd4 83. Qf7+ Kb8 84. Qe8+ Ka7 85. Qe7+ Kb8 86. Qe1 Qd6+ 87. Qb4 Qf6 88. Qd2 Qe7+ 89. b4 Qe6 90. Qd3 Ka7 91. Qc3 Kb8 92. Qb3 Qf6 93. Qe3 Qd6 94. Kb3 Qd5+ 95. Kb2 Qd6 96. Qe8+ Ka7 97. Qf7+ Kb8 98. Kc3 {[#]Still going....} Qe5+ 99. Kd3 Qd6+ 100. Kc4 Qc6+ 101. Kb3 Qd6 102. Qf3 Qd4 103. Qe2 Qd5+ 104. Ka3 Qd6 105. Qb5 Qd4 106. Kb3 Ka7 107. Qe2 Qd5+ 108. Ka3 Qd4 109. Kb3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sinquefield Cup 9th"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2022.09.05"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2757"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "183"]
[GameId "1821686338560000"]
[EventDate "2022.09.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "21"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. g5 Nh5 13. Kb1 Nb6 14. Na5 Rc8 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 Bxd5 17. Qxd5 Qxa5 18. c4 Nf4 19. Bxf4 exf4 20. h4 Qa4 21. Rc1 Rc5 22. Qe4 Re5 23. Qxf4 f6 24. Qh2 Rc5 25. Qe2 Re5 26. Qh2 Rc5 27. Qd2 bxc4 28. Bxc4+ Kh8 29. Qe2 Re5 30. Qd3 d5 31. f4 dxc4 32. Rxc4 Re3 33. Qxe3 Qxc4 34. Qxe7 Kg8 35. Qe3 fxg5 36. fxg5 Rf1+ 37. Rxf1 Qxf1+ 38. Kc2 Qc4+ 39. Kd2 Qb4+ 40. Kd3 Qb5+ 41. Kc3 Qc6+ 42. Kd2 h6 43. gxh6 Qd5+ 44. Kc2 Qg2+ 45. Qd2 Qc6+ 46. Qc3 Qxh6 47. Qc4+ Kf8 48. b4 Ke7 49. Kb3 Kd7 50. Ka4 Qh5 51. a3 g6 52. Qxa6 Qxh4 53. Qxg6 Kc7 54. Kb5 $1 Kb7 55. a4 $1 Qe7 56. Qc6+ Kb8 57. Qd5 Qe8+ 58. Kb6 Qe3+ 59. Ka6 Qa7+ 60. Kb5 Qe7 61. Qc6 Qe2+ 62. Ka5 Qe7 63. Qc5 (63. b5 $2 Qa7+ $8 $11) 63... Qf7 64. Qc6 Qa7+ 65. Kb5 Qe7 66. Qb6+ Ka8 {[%mdl 36864] [#] This is from the pp v  endgame Nepo and Fabi referred to in their podcast analysis.  The current position is winning, but there are many positions -- including some that happen in this game -- where + connected-pp v  are drawn.  I'm not going to analyze this in any depth -- neither Fabi nor Nepo think it is worth learning to table-base perfection -- I'll just show some of the (many) ways this can go wrong.  Interested readers can study this position using the online syzygy table bases: https://syzygy-tables.info/?fen=8/k3q3/2Q5/1K6/PP6/8/8/8_w_-_-_0_1} 67. Qc5 $2 (67. Qc6+ $1 Kb8 68. Qd5 $1 $18) 67... Qb7+ $8 $11 68. Ka5  Qc7+ $1 69. Kb5 Qb7+ 70. Kc4 $11  Qe4+ 71. Kc3  Qe1+ 72. Kb2 Qd2+ 73. Kb3 Qd1+ 74. Qc2 Qd5+ 75. Kb2 Qd4+ $11 76. Qc3 Qf2+ 77. Ka3 Qf7 78. Qd3 Qf6 79. a5 {[#] Only  moves and ...c6 or ...e6 draw, but not...} Qa1+ $2  80. Kb3 $18 Qe1 81. Kc4 Kb8 82. Qd6+ Ka7 83. Qd4+ Kb7 84. Qd7+ Kb8 85. Qd4 Kb7 86. Qd7+ Kb8 {[#]Only  moves to d8, d6, d5, b5 or f5 win.} 87. a6 $2 Qe2+ $1 $11 (87... Qf1+ $11) 88. Qd3 Qe6+ $2 {The last mistake.} (88... Qe7 $8 $11) 89. Kc5 $8 $18 Qe5+ 90. Qd5 $8 Qe3+ 91. Kb5 Qe7 92. a7+ $1 {forces a winning p ending:} (92. a7+ Qxa7 (92... Kxa7 93. Qc5+ Qxc5+ 94. Kxc5 $8 $18) 93. Qg8+ Kc7 94. Qf7+ Kb8 95. Qxa7+ Kxa7 96. Kc6 $18) 1-0

[Event "Candidates (Women)"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.10"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Tan, Zhongyi"]
[Black "Muzychuk, Anna"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "D05"]
[WhiteElo "2521"]
[BlackElo "2520"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[GameId "2073892314541173"]
[EventDate "2024.04.04"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[EventCategory "11"]

 {Tan Zhongyi won the Women's Candidates with +5 =8 -1, a full 1.5 points ahead of Humpy, Lei, and Vaishali. Here is a wonderful and complex attacking game by her.} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Bd3 c5 5. b3 Nc6 6. O-O {[#] The Colle-Zukertort is a deceptive opening: it looks passive, but we might call it "strategically aggressive". White creates no short-term threats, which gives Black more freedom, but after finishing development with b2 and bd2 and if Black doesn't make concessions by trading in the center, White has middlegame choices of playing for a kingside attack with e5 and f4, or c2-c4 with central pawn conflict that can be resolved into very different pawn structures.} b6 {This recently-popular choice is 10x less frequenly played than the main move 6...d6.} ({Here's a recent miniature where Caruana give's Norway's #2 a lesson in the Zukertort's attacking chances:} 6... Bd6 7. Bb2 O-O 8. Nbd2 b6 9. Ne5 Bb7 10. f4 Rc8 11. a3 Ne7 12. Qf3 Rc7 13. Qh3 b5 $2 14. dxc5 Bxc5 {[%mdl 64] Analysis Diagram [#] Critical Position} 15. Nc6 $3 $18 {Attacking the  and the only defender of the mate threat on h7.} (15. b4 {first and then c6 also wins.}) 15... Rxc6 16. Bxf6 h6 17. Qg4 {Lures the pawns into a rigid structure before creeping through the cracks.} g6 18. Qh3 h5 (18... Kh7 19. Rf3 {threat: xh6+.}) 19. b4 Bd6 20. Qh4 Re8 21. Qg5 Qb6 22. Qh6 Nf5 23. Qh8# {1-0 Caruana,F (2792)-Tari,A (2660) Chess.com Rapid Wk3 Swiss Chess.com INT 2022 (1)}) 7. Bb2 Bb7 8. Nbd2 Rc8 9. a3 {Stops ...cxd4 then ...b4.} Be7 (9... cxd4 10. exd4 g6 $5 {Analysis Diagram  [#]  Allowing e3xd4 gives White better control over e4 and e5, so this trade on d4 has long been regarded as good for White; but this line can take White out of his comfort zone, which may be why Magnus has tried it:} 11. Qe2 (11. c4 Bg7 12. c5 a5 13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 Nxb4 15. Bb5+ Nd7 16. cxb6 Nc6 $1 17. Ba3 $1 Bf8 18. Qb3 Bxa3 $6 19. Qxa3 $16 {1-0 Sambuev,B (2497)-Narayanan,S (2348) Ottawa Eastern Ontario 2022 (4)}) 11... Bg7 12. Ne5 O-O 13. Rac1 Ne7 14. a4 Nf5 15. c3 Re8 16. Ba3 Qc7 17. Rc2 $6 Ne4 $1 {cutting White's connection to e5 works tactically} 18. Bb2 ({the tactics work for Black.} 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Bxe4 Bxe4 20. Qxe4 Nxd4 $17) 18... f6 (18... Nc5 $1) 19. Nef3 e5 $1 $15 {0-1 Bluebaum,M (2670)-Carlsen,M (2862) Opera Euro Rapid Prelim chess24.com INT 2021 (3)}) 10. Ne5 {[#] White opts for the kingside attack with f2-f4 we saw in the Caruana miniature.} cxd4 $6 {Simply ...00 looks better.} (10... Nxe5 $6 11. dxe5 Nd7 $14 {and White still has a happy choice of playing on the kingside with g4 and f4, or in the center with c2-c4.} (11... Ne4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Bb5+ $14)) 11. exd4 Nxe5 $6 12. dxe5 {[#]} Nd7 (12... Ne4 $5 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Bb5+ Bc6 15. Bxc6+ Rxc6 16. Qg4 O-O 17. Qxe4 Rc7 $1 $14 {White's up a pawn, but SF rates this position only +.3; presumable because Black's c-file pressure (or d-file play) and White's e5 pawn blocking the  count as compensation.}) 13. Qg4 g6 14. b4 $1 $16 {Now all of Black's minors are bad. Compare with Blubaum - Carlsen above: the black DSB would be better on g7.} a5 15. Nf3 O-O 16. Rae1 $6 {Not bad, but the subtle} (16. Rab1 $1 {supports b4 before continuing on the kingside and so avoids the decent pawn sac in the next note.}) 16... axb4 17. axb4 {[#]} Ra8 $2 {Misses her chance.} (17... d4 $3 {Is a very practical pawn sac. It doesn't equalize, but it forces White to change gears from the familiar kingside attack underway.} 18. Nxd4 $5 (18. Qxd4 Nb8 $14) 18... Bxb4 19. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 $8 20. Qxe6+ $5 (20. Qxb4 Qg5 $1 21. Be4 Ba6 $1 $13) 20... Kh8 21. Qh3 Qe7 $1 $13) 18. h4 $1 $16 Ra4 {Attacks and pins b4, maybe hoping for ...c5xd3.} (18... h5 19. Qf4 Ra2 (19... f5 20. Qh6 $18) (19... Kg7 20. Ra1 {White is winning on both sides of the board.}) 20. Bc1 $18 {and g4.}) 19. h5 $1 Rxb4 {[#]} 20. Nd4 $1 {White has three pieces ready to take on g6 followed by a  lift, which explains Black's next.} g5 $5 (20... Qe8 {supports g6, but the black pieces are so passive that after} 21. Bc3 {White has a choice of ways to build a crushing attack: e3, or g3 & g2.} Ra4 22. hxg6 hxg6 23. Re3) ({Is it a "sacrifice" when both players are easily good enough to see that taking the  loses?} 20... Rxb2 $2 21. hxg6 $8 $18 fxg6 22. Bxg6 $8 hxg6 (22... Kh8 23. Qh5 $18) 23. Qxg6+ Kh8 24. Nxe6 $18) 21. Bc3 {Saves the  with a tempo on the .} Ra4 22. f4 $1 Qc8 {Hits the  and reinforces e6.} 23. Bb2 $8 (23. Ba1 $2 Rxa1 $1 $13) 23... Nc5 {[%mdl 64] [#] Is it possible to have too many good options? It certainly defeats the "method of elimination"!  Here White has several continuations which look good -- f4-f5, fxg5, xh7+, e3/f3, and even h6 -- how to choose?  Calculate first, then choose.} ({If} 23... Rb4 {simply} 24. Ba3 ({or violently} 24. fxg5 $18) 24... Rxd4 25. Bxe7 $18) 24. f5 $6 $16 {Threatens f6 then xg5. It's thematic and strong, but not the best.} (24. fxg5 $142 Nxd3 25. cxd3 Qc2 {looks like a refutation, but White wins with the counter-attacking deflection} 26. Ra1 $3 {wins;} Rb4 27. Ba3 $18) (24. Bxh7+ $142 $1 {Use it or lose it?} Kxh7 25. fxg5 $8 {threatening g6+ and the s join in:} Qe8 (25... Kg7 26. g6 fxg6 27. Qxg6+ Kh8 28. Rf6 $18) 26. Rf6 $1 (26. Re3 $18) 26... Bxf6 27. exf6 $8 Rg8 28. Re5 $1 {A wonderful way of getting a major piece to the h-file: White threatens g6+ and if takes takes White gets h5 or h5.}) (24. Bb5 $142 {redirecting the LSB from the kingside is weird, but it wins too:} Rb4 25. fxg5 Rxb2 26. g6 $8 $18 fxg6 27. hxg6 Rxf1+ 28. Rxf1 {White threatens to tear open the light squares with h5 and the b5 prevents ...e8!?}) 24... exf5 25. Bxf5 $1 (25. Nxf5 $2 {is so tempting, but there's a Black stinger at the end of this line:} Rxg4 26. Nxe7+ Kh8 $1 27. Nxc8 d4 $8 $13 {opens one long diagonal for Black and closes the other for White and Black stays afloat in the tactics after} 28. Nd6 Rxg2+ $13) 25... Qd8 $2 (25... Qe8 $142 {looks like it asks for trouble on the e-file, but it is better than ...d8 for the easy-to-miss fact that in lines with e6 f6!, White cannot continue with xh7+, f7+ then g6.}) 26. h6 (26. e6 $142 $1 f6 27. Bxh7+ $1 {(other moves win too)} Kxh7 28. Qf5+ Kh8 29. Qg6 $18) (26. Bxh7+ $142 Kxh7 27. Qf5+ Kh6 28. e6 $18) 26... Bc8 {[#]} 27. e6 $8 $18 f6 (27... Nxe6 28. Rxe6 $1 $18) (27... fxe6 28. Rxe6 $1 $18 {Black can't bail out with ...xd4 since xd4 reloads.}) 28. Bxh7+ $3 Kxh7 29. Qf5+ Kh8 (29... Kxh6 30. Re3 Kg7 31. Rh3 Rh8 32. Nc6 $8 $18 {hits the  and threatens xg5+.}) 30. Nc6 $1 {The  hits the  and opens the diagonal for the deadly b2... just like the Caruana-Tari game!} Qe8 31. Qxg5 $1 Rg8 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position White has played several sub-optimal moves, and now her path to victory is only one move wide...} 32. Rxf6 $4 {And that's not it.} (32. Bxf6+ $8 $18 Bxf6 (32... Kh7 33. Qf5+ $8 {the e7 drops, White will be up a pawn, and the  is no safer.}) 33. Qxf6+ Kh7 34. Qf7+ Qxf7 (34... Kh8 35. Ne7 $18) 35. exf7 $8 Rf8 36. Re8 $8 Ne6 {Saves the  and threatens ...d7} (36... Nd7 37. Ne5 $18) 37. Nd8 $8 $18 Bd7 38. Nxe6 Rxe8 (38... Bxe8 39. Nxf8+ {it's check.}) 39. f8=Q $1 Rxf8 40. Nxf8+ Kxh6 41. Nxd7 $18 {A long sequence, but not too many branches.}) 32... Bxf6 $1 $11 (32... Rxg5 $4 33. Rf8+ $8 Kh7 34. Rxe8 $18 {down a piece, but threatening h8# and both s.}) (32... d4 $1 33. Qe5 Bxf6 $8 34. Qxf6+ Kh7 35. Ne7 $13) 33. Qxf6+ $8 (33. Bxf6+ $2 Kh7 34. Bg7 Nxe6 $19) 33... Kh7 34. Ne7 {[#]} Re4 $4 (34... Bxe6 $8 $11 35. Nxg8 Qxg8 36. Qe7+ Qf7 (36... Bf7 37. Rf1 $18) 37. Rxe6 Qxe7 38. Rxe7+ Kxh6 $11) (34... Rag4 $2 35. Qf5+ Kxh6 (35... R4g6 36. Nxg8 $8 Kxg8 37. h7+ $1 Kxh7 38. Qh5+ $18) 36. Nxg8+ Qxg8 37. Bc1+ $8 $18) 35. Rxe4 $1 (35. Qf5+ Kxh6 36. Bc1+ {also wins.}) 35... Nxe4 {[#]} 36. Nxg8 $1 {Creates a study-like finish.} Qxg8 (36... Nxf6 37. Nxf6+ Kxh6 38. Nxe8 $18 {with an extra piece.}) 37. Qf7+ $8 (37. Qf7+ Qxf7 38. exf7 {when none of Black's three pieces can do anything to stop f8=.  Canadian WIM Svitlana Demchenko analyzed this game on the PowerPlay Chess channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seeIIAN-QYw&t=2s}) 1-0

[Event "Candidates (Women)"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.13"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Salimova, Nurgyul"]
[Black "Muzychuk, Anna"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "E01"]
[WhiteElo "2432"]
[BlackElo "2520"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "240"]
[GameId "496719163885"]
[EventDate "2024.04.04"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qa4+ Bd7 7. Qxd4 Nxd5 8. Bg2 Nc6 9. Qd1 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. a3 Qb6 12. e4 Nf6 13. Nc3 Rfd8 14. Qe2 Be8 15. Be3 Qa6 16. Qxa6 bxa6 17. h3 Nd7 18. Rfd1 Na5 19. Bf1 Nb3 20. Rab1 Ndc5 21. Nd4 Nxd4 22. Rxd4 Rxd4 23. Bxd4 a5 24. b4 axb4 25. axb4 Nb7 26. Ba6 Nd6 27. Bc5 Kf8 28. Rd1 Nc8 29. Nb5 Bxc5 30. Nc7 Bxb4 31. Nxa8 Nb6 32. Rb1 Ba5 33. Nc7 Bc6 34. f3 Nd7 35. Bb5 Bxc7 36. Bxc6 Ne5 37. Kg2 Nxc6 38. Rc1 Bxg3 39. Kxg3 Nd4 40. Rc8+ Ke7 41. Rc7+ Kf6 42. Rxa7 g5 43. Ra2 Nc6 44. h4 h6 45. f4 gxf4+ 46. Kxf4 Ne5 47. Ra5 Nd3+ 48. Kg4 Kg6 49. Rb5 h5+ 50. Kf3 f6 51. Ke3 Ne5 52. Rc5 Ng4+ 53. Kd4 $1 {[%mdl 36928] [#] Critical Position Find the only move. Extra credit: show why all other moves lose. ----- White is pressing, but Black's pawns and  control a lot of squares. If all the pawns were gone it's a draw. Black can force off the e4 pawn with ...e5 and ...f5, so any White winning attempt must preserve the h4 pawn, and the most direct way Black can play for a draw is to tie one white piece to defending the h4 pawn. On its own, that should guide you to finding Black's saving line, even though it does little to show how White wins against everything else.} Ne5 $4 (53... Nh2 $8 $11 {draws by immediately tying White to the defence of the h4 pawn.} 54. Rc3 (54. Ke3 e5 55. Rc2 Ng4+ $11) 54... Ng4 $8 55. Rg3 Kf7 $11) (53... Kh6 $2 54. Rc6 $8 e5+ 55. Kd5 {aiming for f5, even at the cost of a pawn.} Kg6 56. Ke6 Nf2 57. Rc2 (57. Rc4 Nd3 58. Rc8 Nf4+ 59. Ke7 Kg7 60. Rc1 Ng6+ 61. Ke6 Nf4+ 62. Kf5 $18) 57... Nxe4 58. Rg2+ Kh6 59. Kf5 $18) (53... Nh6 $2 {commits the  to defence, and challenges White to prove the win.} 54. Rc6 $8 $18 {playing to force the e6-pawn forward,} Kf7 (54... f5 $2 55. Rxe6+ Kg7 56. Rxh6 $1 {simplest} Kxh6 57. exf5 $8 $18) 55. Rc7+ (55. Kc5 {also wins} f5 $5 56. e5 $8 f4 $5 57. Kd6 $8 Nf5+ 58. Kd7 Nxh4 59. Rxe6 f3 60. Rf6+ Kg7 61. Kd6 $1 $18 (61. Rf4 $2 Ng6 $11)) 55... Kg6 56. Re7 {Analysis Diagram[#]} e5+ (56... f5 57. Rxe6+ Kg7 58. Rxh6 $1 {as above.}) 57. Kd5 $18 Ng8 58. Ra7 Nh6 59. Ke6 f5 $5 (59... Ng4 60. Rf7 Kh6 61. Rxf6+ $18) 60. exf5+ Nxf5 61. Ra4 $8 $18 {saves h4. White wins by taking the e-pawn and then squeezing Black away from the h5-pawn.}) (53... f5 $2 54. exf5+ $8 exf5 {Analysis Diagram [#] White must preserve the h4-pawn to have any chance to win. Ideally, White would get the  to g5 where it defends h4 and attacks the black pawns; but there's no direct way to do that, since Black can cover the approach squares with ...f6, ...e5-g6/f7. One winning maneuver is to get the  to g5, where it restricts Black's pieces.} 55. Rc8 Kg7 56. Ra8 {pass.} Kh7 (56... Nh2 57. Ke3 $18) 57. Rf8 Kg6 58. Rg8+ Kf6 59. Rg5 Ne5 60. Ke3 $8 (60. Rxh5 $2 Nf7 $11 {traps the .}) 60... Nf7 61. Rg8 $1 (61. Rxh5 $2 Kg6 $11 {also trapping the .}) 61... Ne5 62. Rh8 $1 {pulling the  to g6 takes away a support for the  and prevents ...g6+} Kg6 63. Kf4 Nd3+ 64. Kf3 Ne5+ {Analysis Diagram  [#]} 65. Kg3 $1 {playing for zugzwang} Nd3 66. Rd8 {harrassing the unstable } Ne5 (66... Ne1 67. Rd2 $18) 67. Kf4 Nf7 68. Rd5 $18 {Getting the white  from d4 to f4 has taken 15 moves (!) -- s are tricky pieces -- but obviously White has made a lot of progress.}) 54. Rc3 $4 {White misses her only chance, and from here on the game is objectively drawn.} (54. Rxe5 $8 $18 {the pawn ending wins.} fxe5+ 55. Kxe5 $8 Kf7 {Analysis Diagram [#] White wins by attacking the e6 pawn from the d-file. This fails if White allows Black to play ...f5 after White goes d4, but White can lose a tempo by triangulating to prevent this one Black hope.} 56. Kf4 $8 $18 (56. Kd6 $2 Kf6 $8 $11 57. Kd7 (57. e5+ $4 Kf5 $19) 57... Ke5 $8 58. Ke7 $8 $11 {Black wins both white pawns, but the white  gets to f1 in time.}) 56... Kg6 $1 (56... Kf6 57. e5+ $1 Kg6 58. Ke4 $8 $18 {is similar, but simpler.}) 57. e5 {simplest.} Kh6 58. Ke3 $1 (58. Ke4 Kg6 59. Kd4 $4 Kf5 $19) 58... Kg6 59. Ke4 $1 {[#] shows the point of taking two moves to go from f4 to e4: the black  has to step back from f5, eliminating counterplay.} Kf7 60. Kd4 Kg6 61. Kc5 Kg7 (61... Kf5 62. Kd6 $18 {mutual zugzwang.}) 62. Kd6 Kf7 63. Kd7 $18) 54... Kf7 55. Kc5 Ng6 56. Kd6 Nxh4 57. Rh3 Ng6 58. Rxh5 Nf4 59. Rh7+ Kg6 60. Rh1 {[#]} Kf7 (60... f5 $11 61. Rg1+ Kf7 $1 62. exf5 exf5 63. Rf1 Nh5 64. Rxf5+ Kg6 $11) 61. Rg1 Nh3 62. Rf1 e5 63. Kd5 Nf4+ 64. Kd6 Nh3 65. Ra1 Ng5 66. Kd5 Nh3 67. Rh1 Ng5 68. Rf1 Nh3 69. Rf3 Ng5 70. Re3 Kg6 71. Kd6 {[#]} f5 $5 72. exf5+ Kxf5 73. Rxe5+ Kf4 {A known draw. White pushed for nearly 50 moves, but didn't manage to push the Black  even one rank or file closer to the edge of the board.} 74. Ra5 Ne4+ 75. Kd5 Nf6+ 76. Kd4 Ng4 77. Ra6 Kf5 78. Ra1 Nf6 79. Re1 Ng4 80. Rf1+ Ke6 81. Rf4 Nf6 82. Rh4 Kf5 83. Rh1 Ke6 84. Rf1 Nd7 85. Re1+ Kd6 86. Ra1 Ke6 87. Ra6+ Kf5 88. Rd6 Nf6 89. Rc6 Ng4 90. Rc1 Nf6 91. Re1 Ng4 92. Re2 Nf6 93. Re5+ Kf4 94. Ra5 Ng4 95. Ra1 Kf5 96. Rf1+ Ke6 97. Rf3 Nf6 98. Rf4 Nd7 99. Re4+ Kd6 100. Re1 Nf6 101. Re5 Nd7 102. Ra5 Ke6 103. Ra7 Nf6 104. Ra6+ Kf5 105. Rd6 Ng4 106. Rd7 Nf6 107. Re7 Ng4 108. Re4 Nf6 109. Re5+ Kf4 110. Ra5 Ng4 111. Rh5 Nf6 112. Rh1 Kf5 113. Re1 Ng4 114. Ra1 Nf6 115. Ra6 Ng4 116. Ra5+ Kf4 117. Kd5 Ne3+ 118. Ke6 Ke4 119. Ra4+ Kd3 120. Ke5 Nc4+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.09"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2760"]
[BlackElo "2789"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "126"]
[GameId "496298534138"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 h6 6. b4 Be7 7. Qb3 O-O 8. a4 d6 9. Nbd2 Nb8 10. d4 exd4 11. cxd4 a5 12. e5 Nh5 13. b5 Nf4 14. g3 d5 15. Bf1 Ne6 16. Bg2 c6 17. O-O Nd7 18. Bb2 Nb6 19. bxc6 bxc6 20. Bc3 c5 21. Rfb1 Ra6 22. dxc5 Bxc5 23. Qb5 Qc7 24. Rc1 Qa7 25. Qe2 Bd7 26. Bf1 Nc4 27. Nb3 Bb6 28. Rd1 Qa8 29. Bg2 Nc5 30. Nxc5 Bxc5 31. Nh4 Nb6 32. Bd4 Bxd4 33. Rxd4 Ra7 34. h3 Rc7 35. g4 Qc8 36. Qd2 Rc5 37. Qf4 Re8 38. Nf5 Bxf5 39. gxf5 Qc7 40. Re1 Nd7 41. e6 Qxf4 42. Rxf4 Nf6 43. Rd4 Kf8 44. Rd2 fxe6 45. fxe6 Ke7 46. Rb2 Rec8 47. Bf1 Ne4 48. Bd3 Nc3 49. f4 d4 50. Rg2 g5 51. f5 Nd5 52. Re4 Nb4 {[#] An exceptionally accurate middlegame has resulted in this tricky endgame. Alireza is a very combative player, and chooses to force a very unbalanced endgame, giving up his e and f-pawns for an exchange.} 53. f6+ $5 (53. Rxd4 {leads to a realtively simple draw.} Nxd3 54. Rd7+ Ke8 55. Rxd3 Rxf5 $11) 53... Kxf6 $8 54. Rf2+ Rf5 $8 55. Rxf5+ Kxf5 56. e7 (56. Rxd4+ $2 Nxd3 $15) 56... Nxd3 (56... Re8 $2 57. Bb5 $8 Kxe4 58. Bxe8 Nd5 59. Bc6 $18) 57. e8=Q Rxe8 58. Rxe8 Nf4 59. Kf1 {[%mdl 4096] [#] If Black's a-pawn was off the board then White would be winning, but with it on the board -- or with the tempi it would take for White to capture it -- the computer rates this position as 0.00.} d3 (59... Nxh3 60. Ra8 $1 d3 61. Rxa5+ Ke4 $8 62. Ra6 {White would be winning if he didn't have to spend this tempo to get checking distance behind the Black ; here that tempo is worth a 1/2 point.} (62. Ke1 $2 g4 $8 $19) 62... Nf4 63. Rxh6 d2 64. Rd6 Ke3 {Analysis Diagram [#]  Black shoulders the White  away and prepares to cut off the  with ...d3.} 65. a5 Nd3 {This is as close as Black can get, but White draws by checking the  away from defending e2.} 66. Re6+ $8 Kf3 67. Rf6+ $8 $11 Ke3 68. Re6+ Kd4 69. Rd6+ (69. Ke2 $2 Nf4+ $19) 69... Ke3 $11) 60. Kf2 Nxh3+ 61. Ke3 g4 {[%mdl 36928] [#] Critical Position xd3 or a8?} 62. Kxd3 $4 {[%mdl 12288] After the time control.... but no adjournment.} ({Any move keeping the  on the 8th rank draws, though it is as close as can be; e.g.} 62. Ra8 g3 63. Rxa5+ Kg4 64. Rb5 g2 65. Rb1 $8 g1=Q+ 66. Rxg1+ Nxg1 67. a5 $8 $11 Nf3 68. a6 Ne5 69. a7 Nc4+ 70. Kxd3 {Analysis Diagram [#] Notice how White didn't take the d3 pawn until all the other issues were sorted. White has two ways to draw this specific ending:  - with the black h-pawn so far back, White has time to cross the board to force a double-promotion, - more generally, and if Black's h-pawn was a little further advanced, White could draw by putting the king on h1, or (if Black prevents h1) by trapping the black king against the edge of the board.} Nb6 $11 {Here's the more instructive/amusing line:} 71. Ke2 ({Here's the double-promotion line:} 71. Kd4 h5 72. Kc5 Na8 73. Kc6 h4 74. Kb7 h3 75. Kxa8 h2 $11) 71... Kg3 72. Kf1 Kh2 73. Kf2 h5 74. Kf1 h4 75. Kf2 h3 76. Kf1 Kh1 77. Kf2 h2 {Analysis Diagram [#] Here's a trick that's worth knowing, and hard to figure out in time trouble:} 78. a8=Q+ {This would be stupid here, but the position is still a draw! The key is that if the  and  are on the same colour square, then -to-move is a draw, while -to-move is a loss. It's a draw because the  must alternate between light and dark squares, and with  and  on the same colour square a -to-move can give check but can never move to prevent the  from moving to the second defensive square.} (78. Kf1 {is an obvious draw if f1 and a8 oscilate; but there are still some silly tricks:} Nd5 $5 (78... Na8 $1 $11) 79. a8=R (79. a8=Q $11 {stalemate.}) 79... Ne3+ $8 80. Kf2 (80. Ke2 Kg2 $11) 80... Nd1+ $8 $11 {and it's still a draw. :)}) 78... Nxa8 79. Kf1 $11 Nb6 80. Kf2 Nc4 81. Kf1 Nd2+ 82. Kf2 Nf3 83. Kf1 $8 $11) 62... g3 $8 $19 63. Rf8+ (63. Re1 g2 $19 {White has to give up the , but unlike the variation above, does not have a passed a-pawn.}) 63... Ke6 (63... Ke6 64. Rg8 g2 {the fork on f4 defends the pawn, which will promote next.}) 0-1

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.09"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Gukesh, Dommaraju"]
[Black "Abasov, Nijat Azad"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "C43"]
[WhiteElo "2743"]
[BlackElo "2632"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "173"]
[GameId "496298534162"]
[EventDate "2024.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. dxe5 Nc5 6. Be2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 c6 9. Nbd2 Nbd7 10. h3 a5 11. Nb3 f6 12. exf6 Nxf6 13. Be3 Nce4 14. Nbd2 a4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. a3 Bc5 17. Bd3 Bxe3 18. Rxe3 Qf6 19. c3 Bf5 20. Qe2 Nd6 21. Bxf5 Nxf5 22. Re6 Qf7 23. Re1 h6 24. Qc2 Qd7 25. c4 d4 26. c5 Qf7 (26... d3 $142) 27. R6e4 Qd5 28. Re5 Qf7 29. R5e4 Qd5 30. Re5 Qf7 (30... d3 $142 $16) 31. R1e4 Rad8 32. Rf4 d3 33. Qxa4 Qa2 34. Kh2 g6 35. Qb4 Qf7 36. Re1 Rfe8 37. Rfe4 Rxe4 38. Rxe4 Rd5 39. Nd2 Ng7 40. Kg1 Ne6 41. Re3 Nxc5 42. Qc4 Ne6 (42... g5 $142 $14) 43. Rxd3 b5 44. Qc3 Nf4 45. Re3 Rg5 $2 {[#]} 46. Ne4 $2 $14 (46. Qxc6 $142 {wins, but looks insane:} Rxg2+ 47. Kf1 Rh2 (47... Rxf2+ 48. Kxf2 Nxh3+ (48... Nd3+ 49. Ke2 $8 $18) 49. Ke2 $18) (47... Nxh3 $2 48. Qxg2 $18) 48. Re8+ Kh7 49. Rb8 $1 $18 {the  guards h1, and b7 wins.}) 46... Rxg2+ 47. Kh1 Nd5 48. Nf6+ Nxf6 49. Kxg2 Nd5 50. Qxc6 Nxe3+ 51. fxe3 Qf5 52. b3 h5 53. a4 bxa4 54. bxa4 Qg5+ 55. Kf2 Qf5+ 56. Kg2 Qg5+ 57. Kf2 Qf5+ 58. Ke2 g5 59. e4 Qxh3 60. Qg6+ Kh8 61. Qh6+ Kg8 62. Qxg5+ Kh8 63. Qh6+ Kg8 64. Qg5+ Kh8 65. a5 h4 66. Qh6+ Kg8 67. Qg6+ Kh8 68. a6 Qh2+ 69. Ke3 Qh3+ 70. Ke2 Qh2+ 71. Kd3 Qh3+ 72. Kc4 Qc8+ 73. Kd5 Qd8+ 74. Qd6 Qa5+ 75. Ke6 h3 76. Kf7 Qa2+ 77. Qe6 Qxe6+ 78. Kxe6 h2 79. a7 h1=Q 80. a8=Q+ Kg7 81. Qa7+ Kh6 82. Qe3+ {[#]Critical Position} Kh5 $4  ({The e4 pawn prevents the black  from crossing the diagonal for checks, and it supports f5 blocking checks.} 82... Kg7 $2 83. Qg5+ Kh7 84. Kf7 $1 Qf3+ 85. Qf5+ $8 $18) (82... Kg6 $2 83. Qg3+ $8 Kh6 84. Qf4+ $1 (84. Kf6 $2 Qf1+ $8 $11) 84... Kg6 85. Qf6+ Kh7 86. Kf7 $1 Qh5+ 87. Kf8 $8 Qc5+ (87... Qg4 88. Qf5+ $8 $18) 88. Qe7+ $8 $18) (82... Kh7 $8 $11 83. Qa7+ (83. e5 Qc6+ $11) 83... Kh6 $8 $11) 83. Kf5 $2 (83. Qc5+ $8 $18 Kh6 (83... Kh4 84. Qf2+ $18) 84. Qf8+ Kh7 (84... Kg5 85. Qg7+ {and skewers h1.}) 85. Qf7+ Kh6 86. Qf6+ Kh7 87. Kf7 Qh5+ 88. Kf8 $8 $18) 83... Qf1+ $4 (83... Qg2 $8 $11 84. Qf4 (84. e5 $4 Qg6+ 85. Kf4 Qg4#) 84... Qg6+ $8 $11) 84. Qf4 $8 $18 Qb5+ (84... Qh3+ 85. Kf6 $8 $18) 85. Qe5 $8 Qd7+ 86. Kf6+ Kh4 87. Qg5+ $1 {and f5+ forces off the s.} 1-0

[Event "Candidates (Women)"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.04"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Lei, Tingjie"]
[Black "Tan, Zhongyi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2550"]
[BlackElo "2521"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[GameId "496129591267"]
[EventDate "2024.04.04"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[EventCategory "11"]

 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Bg4 8. Qc2 O-O 9. h3 Be6 10. Nf3 Ne4 11. Nxe4 Bxh4 12. Nc5 Bc8 13. Nxh4 Qxh4 14. Be2 c6 15. b4 Re8 16. O-O Qg5 17. Kh1 Nd7 18. b5 Nxc5 19. Qxc5 Re6 20. bxc6 Rg6 21. Bf3 bxc6 22. Qa5 h5 23. Qc7 Qh4 24. Qf4 Qxf4 25. exf4 Rf6 26. Rfe1 Kf8 27. Rac1 g6 28. Kh2 Rxf4 29. Rxc6 Rxd4 30. Rd1 Rxd1 31. Bxd1 a5 32. Kg3 Be6 33. Kf4 Ke7 34. a3 Rb8 35. Rc5 Rb2 36. Rxa5 Rxf2+ 37. Bf3 Kf6 38. Ra6 Rf1 39. h4 Rh1 {[%mdl 4160] [#]Critical Position} 40. Kg3 $2 (40. Bxd5 $8 $11 Rxh4+ 41. Kg3 $8 (41. Kf3 $4 g5 $19) 41... Rd4 $11 (41... Rg4+ $11)) 40... Ke5 41. a4 Kd4 $1 42. Ra8 Ke3 $1 {[#] Trapping the g3. A pawn check from f4 or h4 is mate, so White must give up the exchange to merely prolong the game.} 43. Re8 (43. Rg8 f5 44. Rf8 g5 $1 {#1}) 43... g5 $1 44. Rxe6+ $8 (44. hxg5 h4#) 44... fxe6 45. hxg5 h4+ 46. Kg4 h3 47. g6 Kf2 $1 48. Kf4 {[#]} Ra1 $19 (48... hxg2 $1 49. Bxg2 Rg1 $1 $19 {as spotted during live online commentary by GM Naroditsky}) 49. g7 Rxa4+ 50. Kg5 Ra8 51. gxh3 Kxf3 52. h4 Rg8 0-1

[Event "Candidates (Women)"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2024.04.07"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Muzychuk, Anna"]
[Black "Lei, Tingjie"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "2520"]
[BlackElo "2550"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "150"]
[GameId "496129591280"]
[EventDate "2024.04.04"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[EventCategory "11"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. O-O O-O 7. Bg5 Re8 8. Nbd2 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. c4 dxc4 11. Nxc4 Nc6 12. g4 Bg6 13. Bxg6 hxg6 14. Qb3 Qd7 15. Bxf6 gxf6 16. d5 Ne5 17. Nfxe5 Bxe5 18. Qxb7 Rab8 19. Nxe5 fxe5 20. Qxa7 Qxd5 21. b3 c5 22. Rfe1 Ra8 23. Qc7 Qd3 24. Qxc5 Qxh3 25. Qc4 Kg7 26. Qe4 Ra3 27. Re3 Qh4 28. Kg2 Qg5 29. Rh3 Qd2 30. Qe3 Qxe3 31. Rxe3 f6 32. b4 Ra4 33. a3 Rb8 34. Rc1 Kh6 35. Kg3 Rba8 36. Rcc3 Kg5 37. f3  Rd8 $2 (37... R4a7 $142) 38. Red3 ({Or} 38. Rc5 $1 {as she plays at move 40.}) 38... Rda8  39. Re3 $2 (39. b5 $142 R4a5 40. Rb3 Rb8 41. b6 $18) 39... Rd8 40. Rc5 $1 Rda8 41. f4+ $8 $18 Kh6 42. fxe5 Rxa3 43. Rxa3 Rxa3+ 44. Kf4 g5+ 45. Ke4 Rg3 {[#]} 46. e6 $1 $18 (46. Kf5 $1 Rf3+ 47. Ke6 fxe5 48. Rc4 Rf4 49. Kd5 $8 $18) 46... Rxg4+ 47. Kd5 $8 $18 (47. Kf5 $4 Rf4#) 47... Rxb4 48. e7 $8 Rb8 49. Ke6 $8 Kg6 50. Rd5 $8 Re8 51. Rd8 $8 Rxe7+ 52. Kxe7 Kf5 {[%mdl 4096] [#]Critical Position White has played a long sequence of "only moves" to reach this position. Now what?} 53. Rd5+ $2 {After this, White can prevent Black from queening, but not from drawing.} (53. Kf7 $18 {and}) (53. Rg8 $18 {are the only moves that win.}) 53... Kf4 $8 (53... Ke4 $2 54. Rd1 $8 f5 55. Kf6 g4 56. Kg5 Kf3 57. Kh4 $1 $18 (57. Kxf5 $2 g3 $11) 57... Kg2 58. Rd5 (58. Kg5 g3 59. Kf4 $8 $18) 58... f4 59. Rd2+ $8 (59. Kxg4 $2 f3 $11) 59... Kf3 60. Ra2 g3 61. Kh3 $18) 54. Kxf6 g4 55. Rd4+ Kf3 56. Kf5 g3 57. Rd3+ Kf2 58. Kg4 g2 59. Rd2+ Kf1 60. Kf3 {[#]} {Black can't safely queen, but draws...} g1=N+ $8 $11 (60... g1=Q $4 61. Rd1#) 61. Ke3 Nh3 62. Rh2 {So long as the  isn't in the corner or a long way from the  it's a relatively simple book draw... but it's not always drawn: In a mirrored position, Steinitz won a tournament game when his opponent played g5?? (Baden-Baden, 1870);   Kramnik once lost this in a rapid game.   shockingly, Topalov actually lost this to Ding in a classical OTB game (Shamkir, 2019).} Ng1 63. Rf2+ Ke1 64. Rf6 Nh3 65. Rf3 Ng1 66. Rg3 Kf1 67. Rg6 Nh3 68. Rg7 Ng1 69. Rg3 Ne2 70. Rf3+ Ke1 71. Rf7 Ng1 72. Kd3 Nh3 73. Rh7 Nf2+ 74. Ke3 Nd1+ 75. Kd3 Nf2+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.02"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Reti, Richard"]
[Black "Bogoljubow, Efim"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "E01"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[GameId "284996885186"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 {This is the most famous game from New York 1924. It won the brilliancy prize, and has all the features annotators look for when compiling games: it's short, it's free of obvioius blunders, it has a memorable final combination, its positional story-line can be told simply.  That "story-line" is that Reti invented a new Hypermodern way of playing, where pieces are developed to the flanks (g2, b2) and only later is the center attacked and occupied with pawns.   As Alekhine noted in his tournament book, Bogoljubow's milquetoast opening play helps Reti considerably in implementing this grand plan, and Black is never in danger of equalizing. Even so, Reti's road to victory could have been much twistier had Bogo played more dynamically at moves 12 and 16, or posed some seriously difficult tactical problems at move 20.} 1. Nf3 {Reti opened all his White games in NY24 with this, so by this game in round 12 Bogoljubov must have expected it.} d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Bd6 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 {[#] Reti played this set-up with f3,c4, g2 and b3 against ...d5 four times in NY1924, scoring +2 =2 -1, his only loss coming to tournament winner Lasker in round 16.} Re8 7. Bb2 Nbd7 {Black is making things too easy for White; he should think about developing the c8 by defining the center with:} (7... e5 $142) (7... c5 $142) (7... dxc4 $142 8. bxc4 e5 $1) 8. d4 c6 $6 (8... b6 $142) 9. Nbd2 Ne4 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. Ne5 f5 {[#] Having developed all his minors, and with Black playing without the a8 and c8, White chips open some files for his majors.} 12. f3 $1 exf3 (12... Nxe5 $5 13. dxe5 Bc5+ 14. Kh1 exf3 (14... e3 15. f4 {the c8 is no closer to useful employment, and the e3 pawn is a target.}) 15. Rxf3 $14) 13. Bxf3 Qc7 14. Nxd7 $1 {A tough decision, since it voluntarily unscrambles Black's congested queenside, but a little better than d3.} Bxd7 15. e4 e5 {[#] Black is on the verge of breaking out, and if it was Black's move then ...fxe4 would leave him better, but it's White's move...} 16. c5 $1 {Uncoordinating Black's s and leaving White in charge in the center.} ({Not} 16. d5 $2 Rad8 $15 {and suddenly all Black's pieces make sense and no Anthologies for you!}) 16... Bf8 17. Qc2 $14  exd4 $2 (17... g6 $142 18. dxe5 Bg7 (18... Qa5 $5)) 18. exf5 Rad8 19. Bh5 Re5 $1 20. Bxd4 $8 {[#]} Rxf5 $6 {This invites Reti's memorable winning combo.} (20... Rd5 $1 {forces White to find even harder "only moves" for much longer than the game line, and so was a better practical try.} 21. Qc4 $8 $18 Kh8 22. Bf3 $8 (22. Bf7 $4 Rxd4 23. Qxd4 Be8 $19) 22... Rxf5 23. Be4 $8 Rxf1+ (23... Rg5 24. Rf7 $18) 24. Rxf1 Bh3 $5 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position} 25. Bb1 $8 $18 (25. Rf4 $2 Qd7 $14) 25... Bxf1 (25... Qd7 26. Qd3 $8 Bf5 27. Rxf5 $8 $18) 26. Qc2 $8 Kg8 27. Qxh7+ $8 Kf7 28. Bg6+ Ke7 29. Qh4+ Kd7 30. Qg4+ $1 {and it's mate-in-3.}) 21. Rxf5 $8 Bxf5 22. Qxf5 Rxd4 23. Rf1 $8 {[#]} Rd8 (23... Qd8 $2 24. Qf7+ Kh8 25. Qxf8+ {is PuzzleRush 900.}) (23... Qe7 {is similar to the game, but a little trickier:} 24. Bf7+ Kh8 25. Bd5 $1 {attacking f8 and interfering with the 's defence of the back rank.} (25. Bc4 $2 Rd8 $11) 25... g5 {or ...h6 or ...g6} (25... Qf6 26. Qc8 {or e6+- wins an exchange.}) 26. Qxf8+ Qxf8 27. Rxf8+ Kg7 28. Rg8+ $18 {and the  saves itself, leaving White up a piece.}) 24. Bf7+ $8 Kh8 25. Be8 $8 {A memorable interference combo. Black can take on c5 with check, but there's still mate on f8.} 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.03"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Reti, Richard"]
[Black "Alekhine, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "A48"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[GameId "272191607533"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. Nf3 {Before this round, Reti had played 1.f3 followed by c4/g3/b3(b4) in five of his previous games, scoring a fantastic 4.5 points. The only game that differed was two rounds earlier, where Tartakower played...} g6 $5 {.. and this was the only time Alekhine ever played this. [#]} 2. d4 $5 {Reti varies too!?} ({Against Tartakower, Reti continued:} 2. e4 c5 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 Bg7 {1-0 Reti,R-Tartakower,S New York International Masters-01 1924 (11) transposing to a Classical Dragon, where Black was OK.}) 2... Nf6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. h3 c5 5. e3 b6 6. Nbd2 Bb7 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O {[#] What's in a Name? Alekhine plays the Reti System (reversed) against Reti, who counters with the London System in New York.  If we flipped the board and reversed the colours -- putting the white s on g2 and b2, and the black s on f5 and d6 -- Black's setup would be called "The New York System" against the Reti, no matter where the game was played.} d6 9. c3 Nbd7 10. Qe2 Rc8 11. a4 Re8 12. Ba6 Qc7 13. a5 cxd4 14. exd4 {SF17 would opt for cxd4, keeping the e-file closed, with equality. [#] Having fianchettoed both s, Alekhine continues in Reti-style: trying to push through the center with his pawns.} e5 (14... Bxa6 $1 15. Qxa6 Nd5 16. axb6 axb6 $13) 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Be3 Nd5 17. axb6 axb6 18. Bxb7 Qxb7 19. Rfd1 e4 {"Hallucination!" - AA Best move, and equal. - SF17} 20. Nd4 {[%mdl 32832] [#]Critical Position Can Black steamroll White with ...f5-f4?} f5 $2 {"Suicide!" - AA You said it. - SF17} (20... Nxe3 $142 21. fxe3 (21. Qxe3 Nc5 22. Nc4 $11) 21... Bxd4 (21... Ne5 $1 $15 {SF}) 22. cxd4 f5 $11) 21. Nb5 $1 $16 {Threatening both a7 and a  fork on d6.} f4 $2 {A "once you've said 'A' you must say 'B'" moment.} (21... Nxe3 22. fxe3 $1 $16 Re6 (22... Qd5 23. Nf1 $1 $18 {and d6 anyway.}) 23. Ra7 Qc6 24. Nb3 $18) (21... Be5 22. Nc4 $18) (21... Re6 22. Ra7 Qc6 23. Nb3 $18) 22. Nd6 $1 $18 (22. Bd4 $2 f3 $1 23. gxf3 Nf4 $1 $13 {was probably what Alekhine was hoping for.}) 22... Qc6 23. Nxe8 {[#]} Rxe8 (23... fxe3 24. Nxg7 exd2 {White's  is trapped, but Black's s and  are vulnerable, so White comes out ahead:} (24... exf2+ 25. Qxf2 {Simplest - AA} e3 26. Qf3 exd2 27. Rxd2 N7f6 28. Ra7 $18) 25. Qxd2 N5f6 (25... N7f6 26. Ra7) 26. Ra7 $18 {Analysis Diagram [#]} Kxg7 (26... Rd8 27. Qf4 (27. Qh6 $18 {AA}) 27... Kxg7 28. Rd6 $18) (26... Rc7 27. Rxc7 Qxc7 28. Ne8 $1 $18) 27. Rxd7+ Nxd7 28. Qxd7+ Qxd7 29. Rxd7+ $18 {White is up only one pawn, but there is no way to save e4 and b6 and h7.}) 24. Qc4 $8 $18 {Forks c6 and d5, exploiting the instability of the two s on the d-file.} Ne5 (24... Qxc4 25. Nxc4 fxe3 26. Rxd5 $18) 25. Qxc6 $18 Nxc6 26. Nc4 $1 Nxc3 27. bxc3 fxe3 28. Nxe3 Bxc3 29. Rac1 {[#] Black's minors have no way to save themselves.} Nd4 30. Kf1 Nb5 (30... Bb2 31. Rb1 Bc3 32. Nd5 $18) 31. Rd5 ({The tactics initiated by 21...f4 might end like this:} 31. Rd5 Bb2 32. Rc2 Nc3 33. Rxb2 Nxd5 34. Nxd5 $18) 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.06"]
[Round "15"]
[White "Reti, Richard"]
[Black "Marshall, Frank James"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "D06"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[GameId "272191607542"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 d5 $6 {This is certainly one way to cut across Reti's system, but not an objectively good one. OTOH, it leads to the kind of cut-and-thrust positions that Marshall enjoyed and played better than Reti.} 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. d4 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Qb3 Nc6 $6 {[%mdl 64] Better was ...b4. [#] Critical Position A position that looks like it might come from a modern blitz game between players who are out of book. It's complicated enough that both Reti, and 2900+ lichess players have gone wrong very quickly as White.} 7. e4 $1 (7. Qxb7 $2 {is bad, but it takes some impressive gymnastics to refute:} Ndb4 $1 {threatens to trap the  and maybe win with ...c2+} (7... Na5 $2 8. Qa6 $1 $18) (7... Ncb4 8. e4 $1 a6 $1 (8... Nc2+ $2 {gives White two minors and an attack for the a1.}) 9. exd5 (9. Bxa6 $13) 9... Rb8 10. Qa7 Ra8 $11) 8. Qb5 $1 Rb8 9. Qa4 Nc2+ 10. Kd1 Qd7 $1 (10... N2xd4 $6 11. Nxd4 Qxd4+ 12. Qxd4 Nxd4 13. e3 $1 $11 {and the game might end with a repeptition} Nc2 14. Rb1 Na3 15. Ra1 Nc2 $11) 11. e4 $8 N2xd4 $1 (11... Nxa1 $2 12. exf5 Rb4 $1 {is complicated, but better for White.}) 12. Nxd4 Rb4 $8 $15 {and takes on d4 with check. Who would find all that OTB? Reti very reasonably did not take that chance against Marshall.}) 7... Nxc3 8. exf5 $1 Nd5 9. Bb5 $6 (9. Qxb7 $6 Bb4+ $132 10. Bd2 $6 Bxd2+ 11. Kxd2 Ndb4 $6 (11... Nde7 $1 $13) 12. a3 $4 (12. Qb5 $8 $16) (12. Bb5 $2 O-O $3 $19) 12... Rb8 $19 {0-1 ominous_octopus (2959)-QuarterPawn (2788) Rated blitz game lichess.org 2023}) (9. Bd2 $142 $1 $16 {Analysis Diagram  [#] This prophylactic move is the real solution to the previous Critical Position. It's not mentioned by AA, but it is close to winning: it eliminates Black's counterplay and leaves White with much better development and structure, and an attack on b7. For example:} Rb8 (9... exf5 $2 10. Qxb7 Ncb4 11. Bb5+ $18) (9... b6 $2 10. Bb5 $18 {and e5/a4.}) (9... Bb4 $5 {Develops and eliminates the -pair, but White gets a huge positional advantage after} 10. Bxb4 Ncxb4 (10... Ndxb4 11. fxe6 $16) 11. a3 $1 (11. fxe6 Qe7 $5 12. a3 $1 {is also good, but unnecessarily complex.}) 11... Nc6 {and White should win after} 12. Qxb7 {or fxe6.}) 10. fxe6 fxe6 11. Bb5 (11. Bc4 $1) 11... Bd6 12. Ng5 $1 $18 Ke7 13. Qd3 Qg8 14. O-O Kd7 15. Rae1 Re8 16. Bc4 Qf8 17. Qh3 {1-0 Bareev,E (2633)-Cibulka,V (2259) EU-Cup 25th Ohrid 2009 (7.6)}) 9... Bb4+ $1 $132 {Suddenly it's a knife fight!} 10. Bd2 Bxd2+ 11. Nxd2 exf5 $13 12. Bxc6+ bxc6 13. O-O O-O {[#] Marshall's boldness has paid off: he's at least equal and Reti has no chance for a positional squeeze in this mess.} 14. Qa4 Rb8 15. Nb3 Rb6 16. Qxa7 $6 {[#] White's pieces are all on the wrong side of the board, and Marshall never needed an invitation to attack.} Qg5 17. Qa5 c5 $1 {Clearing the 6th rank for the .} 18. Qxc5 $2 {Alekhine praised this capture, but overlooked a winning improvement for Black on move 19.   Some early reproductions of this game continue with a transcription error here: 18.dxc5. Based on the handwritten game scores this is the move that was actually played. OTOH, later defensive resources with c2 would not have been possible after dxc5, which may explain what now appear to be errors by Reti in the game and Alekhine in his notes.   see: Edward Winter https://www.chesshistory.com/winter/extra/1924.html} ({The computer prefers to grovel with} 18. Qd2 Qxd2 19. Nxd2 {and Black takes one of the pawns with a clearly better endgame.}) 18... Nf4 $1 $19 19. g3 {[%mdl 32832] [#]Critical Position ...h6 or ...e2+, or does it make any difference?} Rh6 $2 {This give White his only chance to defend.} ({Alekhine doesn't mention it, but there is no defence after:} 19... Ne2+ $8 $19 20. Kg2 Rh6 {Analysis Diagram [#]} 21. Qc2 (21. f4 $2 Rxh2+ $1 {#2}) (21. h3 $2 Nf4+ $19) (21. Qe5 Qg4 $19) (21. Rfe1 Qg4 22. Qe5 Qh3+ 23. Kf3 Qh5+ 24. Ke3 Re6 $19) 21... Qh5 22. Rh1 (22. h4 Nf4+ $1 {with a variety of standard mating patterns, including:} 23. Kh2 Qf3 24. Rg1 Rxh4+ 25. gxh4 Qh3#) 22... Qh3+ 23. Kf3 Re8 24. Qxc7 g5 $1 $19 {is an odd but effective way to get all the pieces into the attack. Amusingly, Black has no pieces on the queenside, and White's king has no future on the kingside.}) 20. Qxc7 $4 {Reti knew Marshall was one of the best attackers of the era, so he wasn't simply grabbing another pawn rather than defending: the c7 guards f4 and g3, so Black's attacking options are more limited... but not limited enough.} (20. Qc4 $2 {guards against ...e2 but Black wins with} Qh5 21. h4 Qf3 $19) (20. Qc2 $8 $13 {guards across the second rank, prevents ...e2 (which is why Black had to play it on the previous move), and now} Rxh2 {only draws} (20... Qh5 21. f3 $8 $11 {shows the point of c2: White guards h2 and f3.}) 21. Kxh2 Qh5+ 22. Kg1 Ne2+ (22... Qh3 $2 23. f3 $1 $18) 23. Kg2 Nf4+ $11) 20... Ne2+ $1 21. Kg2 Qg4 {[#]} 22. Rh1 (22. h4 f4 $1 $19 (22... g5 $4 23. f3 $13 {thanks to the c7!})) 22... f4 {Not the only win.} (22... Qh3+ $1 23. Kf3 Re8 {and ...g5-g4 as in the note at move 19.}) 23. f3 Qh3+ 24. Kf2 Rc8 $1 {[#] Very nice. Black brings his last piece into the attack on the file White's pawn grabbing just opened for him!} 25. Qa5 Nxg3 26. Rhg1 Qxh2+ (26... Ne4+ {was more efficient, but not more winning.}) 27. Rg2 {[#]} Qh4 ({Weakening the back rank with} 27... Rc2+ $5 28. Nd2 {still wins, but only if Black finds the absurd:} g6 $3 $19) 28. Rc1 Re8 {Closing the exits. To plagiarize a previous note: Black has no pieces on the queenside, and White's king has no future on the kingside.} 29. Qb5 Ne4+ 30. Kf1 Qh1+ 0-1

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.06"]
[Round "15"]
[White "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Black "Janowski, Dawid Markelowicz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "A09"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[GameId "272191607540"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 {Before the end of the tournament, even Capablanca gave Reti's opening a try.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. O-O e5 5. c4 d4 6. d3 Bd6 7. e3 Nge7 8. exd4 cxd4 {[#]  A reversed Benoni!  Well-known for decades to us, but -- apart from a few Blackburn games at the turn of the century -- it was virtually unplayed and unknown in 1924.   The usual strategy for both sides is to advance their pawn majorities: in the reversed case it is White's on the queenside and Black's in the center. Capa -- of course -- does exactly this; but Janowski seems content to stablize his center and sit, beginning central play only after Capa has made serious progress on the queenside.} 9. a3 a5 10. Nbd2 Ng6 11. Re1 O-O 12. Qc2 Re8 {[#]} 13. b3 $5 {After 13.b3 Alekhine writes: "It is very difficult for White to establish himself promisingly on the queenside, for, until he is ready for c5, his pawn superiority there is quite illusory. That move, moreoever, could quite easily be prevented by Black."  Alekhine has hit on the critical idea for White (c4-c5, and b4) but oddly he does not seem to notice that White can play it immediately. Like Capablanca in the game, he seems to have thought White's queenside play required a pawn duo on c4 and b4, which would also explain why Capa played to prevent ...a5-a4.   Decades of testing the Benoni has shown that even without the b & c pawn duo that there will be sufficient play on the half-open b-file.} ({Even White's least positionally sophisticated route} 13. Rb1 a4 14. b4 axb3 15. Rxb3 $13 {gives adequate play on the b-file.}) ({In fact, Stockfish rates 13.b3 as a slight mistake, giving the advantage to Black, and says the immediate} 13. c5 $1 {is White's best.  Analysis Diagram [#] Note that if the g6 were on f6, as in a normal Benoni, then c4-c5 would have the drawback of allowing (even inviting) that  to d5.  The only way to try to prove that White is not "ready to play c5" is to keep the DSB attacking it with f8 or d6, but neither succeed:} Bf8 (13... Be7 $5 {hoping to double up on the c5 pawn with ...f8-e6!?} 14. h4 f6 15. h5 Nf8 16. Nc4 (16. Rb1 a4 17. b4 axb3 18. Qxb3+ Kh8 19. Ne4 $14) 16... Bxc5 17. Ncxe5 $14) 14. Rb1 (14. h4 {Black can't simply round up the c5 pawn with} Qd5 $2 15. h5 $1 Nh8 16. Nxe5 $18) 14... a4 15. h4 Ra5 16. Ne4 $14 Bf5 (16... f5 $2 17. Nfg5 $3 $18) 17. Nfd2 $16) 13... h6 (13... Qe7 $142 14. Ne4 Bc7 $15) 14. Rb1 Be6 {[#]} 15. h4 {If this was a 21st century game (and if I was a hack), I suppose I'd feel obliged to say something like "as Alpha Zero has shown..." If I was (still) a Capablanca fan-boy I'd be sure to point out that the great Cuban understood all this on his own and that there is no explaining Genius...  Instead, I'll just say that here, as on many of the previous moves, White should have played c5!} Rc8 $6 (15... Qe7 $142 {stopping White's next.}) 16. c5 $1 {[#]} Bb8 (16... Nce7 $5 {not mentioned by Alekhine, leads to some characteristically Benoni tactical and positional craziness:} 17. b4 (17. Ne4 $13 Bb8 (17... Nd5 $2 18. Nxd6 Qxd6 19. cxd6 Rxc2 20. Nxd4 $3 $18) 18. b4 axb4 19. axb4 b5 $11) 17... axb4 18. axb4 b6 19. h5 Nf8 20. Nc4 $1 (20. Nxe5 bxc5 $13) 20... bxc5 (20... Bxc4 $2 21. cxd6 Be6 22. dxe7 $18) 21. b5 $1 {and d2 is a promising pawn sacrifice.}) 17. Nc4 f6 18. Bd2 Kh8 {[#]} 19. b4 {White has methodically managed to get his queeside rolling, while Black has made his kingside slightly more porous.} (19. Nb6 $1 Rc7 20. b4 axb4 21. axb4 Na7 22. b5 $1 Qe7 23. Na4 $1 $16) 19... axb4 20. axb4 Na7 21. Qc1 Nb5 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position What happens if xh6?} 22. Nh2 $5 {Rather than sac on h6, Capa opts for continuing his positional masterclass. Exposing the  hits b7 and increases his conrol over the light squares.} ({Alekhine praised Janowski's defensive play, saying his previous move was "Parrying the threat (} 22. Bxh6 $2 Nc3 23. Ra1 e4 {)."}) ({In fact,} 22. Bxh6 $5 {is far trickier than Alekhine's notes indicate:} Nc3 23. Ra1 ({SF17 prefers White after the exchange sac} 23. Bd2 $5 $14) 23... e4 {Alekhine's note ends here, but now White has} 24. Nxd4 $8 $13 {not mentioned by Alekhine, but a move he certainly would have found had he been playing this game.} Qxd4 $8 25. Be3 $8 Qxd3 $8 26. Bf1 $8 $13 Qd5 27. Qxc3 Ne5 $1 {and SF17 rates the game as balanced after} 28. Nd2 $13 {or even another exchange sac with xe5.}) 22... Qe7 ({It is interesting to note how frequently modern engines suggest exchange sacs which do not seem to have occurred to the classical World Champions. Here we have one that might not occurr to a modern GM. SF17 prefers:} 22... Ne7 $5 {and after} 23. Bxb7 {offering an exchange with} Nd5 $14 {in return for lots of good squares for the material.}) 23. Ra1 Rc7 24. Ra5 Bd7 25. Nb6 Bc6 26. Qc4 Na7 {[#] Heading for c8!??} 27. Nd5 Bxd5 28. Qxd5 f5 29. Qf3 Qf6 30. h5 Ne7 {[#]} 31. g4 $1 {Not the computer's top choice -- 31.b5 -- but strong and thematic: no matter how Black responds, White's pieces will flood through on the light squares.} f4 (31... e4 $5 {tries to randomize} 32. dxe4 Nac6 33. Raa1 Ne5 34. Qg3 $8 $18) (31... fxg4 32. Nxg4 $1 Qxf3 33. Bxf3 Nec6 (33... Nac6 34. Ra8 $18) 34. Rxa7 $1 {not the only winning move, but a nice way to show the power of White's minors:} Nxa7 (34... Bxa7 35. b5 $18) 35. Nxe5 $18) 32. Qe4 Nec6 33. Raa1 Rce7 34. Qg6 Qf8 35. Nf3 Re6 {[#] White finishes with a stylish display of light square domination.} 36. Nh4 $1 Rf6 37. Be4 $1 Qg8 38. Bd5 $1 Ne7 {[#]} 39. Qxf6 gxf6 (39... Qxd5 40. Ng6+ (40. Qxe7 $4 Rxe7 41. Ng6+ Kh7 42. Nxe7 Qf3 $8 $19 {gives mate or wins pawns and traps the }) 40... Nxg6 41. Qxg6 $18) 40. Bxg8 Rxg8 41. f3 f5 {[#]} 42. Bxf4 $1 ({Deflecting the b8 with the nominal exchange sac} 42. Rxa7 $1 Bxa7 43. Rxe5 {also wins.}) 42... Nec6 43. Ng6+ Kh7 44. Bxe5 Nxe5 45. Rxe5 Bxe5 46. Rxa7 {Fittingly, the queenside pawns White so carefully advanced in the early middlegame are unstoppable in the endgame.} 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.09"]
[Round "16"]
[White "Reti, Richard"]
[Black "Lasker, Emanuel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "A12"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[GameId "284996885187"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

 {At the start of this round Lasker and Capablanca were tied for the lead with 9.5 and Lasker was due to face the opening that had defeated Capablanca and Alekhine. Lasker's common sense response -- a London System reversed, followed by central play -- did a lot to take the shine off Reti's opening.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 c6 3. b3 Bf5 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 Nbd7 6. Bb2 e6 7. O-O Bd6 8. d3 O-O 9. Nbd2 {[#] "Reti tended to play this system with the idea of delaying any action in the centre for a considerable time, but these days players are aware that central activity by e4 is often an effective strategy. Over the next few moves White has several chances to play e4, but both players appear to underestimate the significance of this advance." - John Nunn, "John Nunn's Chess Course", (Gambit, 2014).} e5 $6 (9... Qe7 {[%cal Ye6e5,Yd6a3] "is the best move. This flexible option connects Black's rooks and prepares a possible ...a3, while keeping his solid pawn-structure intact. In this case the position would be very close to equality."  - Nunn, "JNCC".}) 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Rc1 (11. e4 $1 dxe4 (11... Bg4 12. exd5 $1 Nxd5 13. Nc4 $36) (11... Bg6 12. d4 $5 $13) 12. dxe4 Bxe4 $4 (12... Be6 $14) 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Nh4 Ndf6 15. Qe2 $18 {White plays f5 and brings his s to the middle: Black gets cut to ribbons.}) 11... Qe7 {[#]} 12. Rc2 $6 ({Again} 12. e4 $142 dxe4 13. dxe4 Be6 (13... Bxe4 $4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Nh4 $8 $18) (13... Nxe4 $4 14. Nh4 $18) 14. Nc4 $14 {Nunn}) 12... a5 $6 (12... h6 $1 {enables ...h7 in preparation for e2-e4.}) 13. a4 h6 $1 {[#] "This is generally a key move in the New York System since it secures the important light-squared bishop from exchange. After the bishop has dropped back to h7, Black will be threatening ...e4-e3 (...e4 is bad if the reply d4 attacks the bishop, which is why the bishop must retreat first)."  - Nunn, JNCC.} 14. Qa1 Rfe8 15. Rfc1 Bh7 16. Nf1 Nc5 $1 {[#]} 17. Rxc5 {The annotator of this game in the Chessbase Megabase 2025, Andre Schulz, gives this both and exclam and a  -- "only move". Nunn is less impressed: "A rather desperate measure as White does not obtain sufficient compensation for the exchange. However, there is no really tempting move since both [variations], are clearly favourable for Black:"} (17. Qa2 d4 {followed by ...d5-b4.}) ({and} 17. N3d2 Na6 {with ...b4 to come." - Nunn.}) ({SF17 agrees that Black is clearly better on all lines, but at 30 ply it does not rate xc5 among White's top 6 moves!?  Instead, it offers the following as White's best:} 17. Bxe5 $1 Bxe5 $1 (17... Nxb3 $6 18. Bxf6 Qe6 19. Qb2 Nxc1 20. Rxc1 Qxf6 21. Qxf6 gxf6 22. Ne3 $15) 18. Qxe5 $8 Qxe5 19. Nxe5 Nxb3 $8 20. f4 $8 Nxc1 21. Rxc1 Bf5 22. Ne3 Be6 23. Rb1 $17 {Black's up a full exchange, but White has some pressure on d5 --(f4-f5 currently ties down the e8)-- and two good squares for the s if he can manage c2-d4.}) 17... Bxc5 18. Nxe5 {[#] "At first sight it appears that White might have decent compensation for the exchange. He has an extra central pawn and Black's bishop on h7 is now somewhat out of play as he no longer has the move ...e4 which would liberate it. However, there are a number of factors which work against White. The e2-pawn is undefended, so his e5-knight is in a way pinned. Moreover, this knight is by no means secure since the only move that would support it is d4, and this would have the twin defects of activating Black's light-squared bishop and blocking in White's own b2-bishop. In fact, Black has a large advantage in this position." - Nunn, JNCC} Rac8 19. Ne3 Qe6 20. h3 Bd6 $2 ({As Alekhine noted, better was} 20... b6 $1 $17 {keeping the  attacking e3 keeps the e5 where it is and denies White his chance for an advantage at move 22.}) 21. Rxc8 $1 {[#]} Rxc8 $6 {Natural, but tactically wrong.} (21... Qxc8 $11 {so that after 5g4 trades the main defender of d5, xd5 will not come with a tempo on the .}) 22. Nf3 $2 (22. N5g4 $142 $1 {Alekhine} Nxg4 23. hxg4 $1 {and White wins the d5-pawn next with a clear plus. This would not have been possible with if Black's  was still on c5.}) 22... Be7 {Very human, but perhaps not best.} ({Both Nunn and SF prefer "The apparently suicidal..."} 22... Bxg3 $5 23. Bxf6 gxf6 $8 24. Ng4 Bd6 (24... Bb8 $1 {SF}) (24... Be5 $6 25. Nfxe5 fxe5 26. Bxd5 $1 $13) 25. Nxf6+ Kg7 {with comp for the exchange. - Nunn}) 23. Nd4 Qd7 {[#] "With one pawn for the exchange and well-placed minor pieces, White has sufficient play for the exchange but in order to maintain the balance he must continue accurately. The game continuation is particularly instructive because Reti aims to gain material at the cost of allowing Black an initiative. At the moment, Black's rook has little scope since White has no trouble covering the squares along the c-file, but if the position opens up and tactics start to fly around then the rook could become a far more effective piece. Lasker plays consistently for activity and in particular to expose the white king, even if this costs him a pawn or two." - Nunn, JNCC} 24. Kh2 (24. g4 $142 {and f3 keeps the kingside tight.}) 24... h5 25. Qh1 $6 {[#] "Even for Reti himself this is almost too "original"." - Alekhine  White's second  battery of the game wins the d5 pawn, but the  is not well placed here, and -- to anticipate another theme from NY1924 -- Black's d5 pawn is a useful umbrella fot the d4, and White will regret removing it.} (25. Nb5 $1 $13 {"the threat of d4 followed by c3 etc., would have forced Black, after ...f5-e6, to permit the exchange of that bishop, thereby strengthening the power of the hostile pair of bishops." - Alekhine}) 25... h4 26. Nxd5 (26. Bxd5 hxg3+ $1 $17 {now, so White has to take with the f-pawn and taking away a central support for a white  and opening the center a bit more for the black s.}) 26... hxg3+ 27. fxg3 Nxd5 28. Bxd5 Bf6 $1 {[#]} 29. Bxb7 $2 (29. e4 $4 Bxd4 30. Bxd4 Rc2+ $19) (29. Qf3 $8 $13 {gets the  to a safe square and prepares e4, when White's  is a match for Black's .}) 29... Rc5 $17 {[#]} (29... Rd8 $142 {forces} 30. e3 {and} Bxd3 {wins a pawn and brings the h7 back to life.}) 30. Ba6 $138 {The possibility of a8+ tactically defends the d4, but Black can deal with that and White's minors are left uncoordinated.} ({Nunn and Kasparov both suggest} 30. Be4 Bxd4 31. Bxh7+ Kxh7 32. Qe4+ f5 33. Qh4+ $1 Kg8 34. Qxd4 Qxd4 35. Bxd4 Rc2 {with drawing chances. - Kasparov and Nunn.}) ({But SF says that after} 30. Be4 {Black improves with} Bxe4 $1 31. Qxe4 Re5 $1 $19 {When Black keeps a strong attack before allowing White to escape to an ending.}) 30... Bg6 31. Qb7 Qd8 (31... Qd6 $142 32. Ba3 $5 Bxd4 33. Bxc5 Bxc5 34. Bc4 $19 {- Kasparov, MGP v.1.}) 32. b4 Rc7 33. Qb6 Rd7 $1 $19 {This wins, though I wonder if Lasker had worked out all the tactics at move 35.} 34. Qxd8+ Rxd8 {[#]} 35. e3 (35. Nc6 $5 {forces Black to find a series of only moves:} Rd6 $8 36. Bb5 $1 (36. Bxf6 Rxc6 $19) 36... Bxb2 $8 37. bxa5 Re6 $8 38. a6 Rxe2+ 39. Kh1 Re8 $8 40. a7 {threatens both b8 and e7+} Ra8 $8 41. Ba6 Bd4 $8 42. Nxd4 Rxa7 43. Bb5 Bxd3 $1 44. Bxd3 Rd7 $19 {Nunn continues this line for another 11 moves, concluding that after the  gets behind the a-pawn Black's  can advance and will win the white kingside pawns.}) 35... axb4 36. Kg2 Bxd4 {[#]} 37. exd4 (37. Bxd4 Rxd4 $2 {is so tempting, but it only draws:} 38. exd4 b3 39. Bc4 b2 40. Ba2 Bxd3 41. a5 $11) (37. Bxd4 Bf5 $1 38. Bc4 Be6 $19 {Nunn}) 37... Bf5 $1 38. Bb7 Be6 39. Kf3 Bb3 40. Bc6 Rd6 41. Bb5 {[#] "Throughout his career, Lasker's play was marred by imprecise play in technically winning positions and there are many cases in which he overlooked simple wins and allowed his opponents unnecessary chances." - Nunn, JNCC} Rf6+ $6 (41... Re6 {, cutting the king off, followed by ...d1+ and ...e2, again with a straightforward win. - Nunn}) 42. Ke3 Re6+ 43. Kf4 $6 {Lets the fox into the henhouse.} (43. Kd2 $5 Rg6 44. d5 Bxd5 $8 45. Be5 Bc6 $1 $19) 43... Re2 44. Bc1 Rc2 45. Be3 Bd5 {There's no stopping the b-pawn.  This win kick-started Lasker's fantasic tournament finish: 6.5/7 to finish a full 1.5 points ahead of World Champion Capablanca.} 0-1

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.03.20"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Tartakower, Saviely"]
[Black "Maroczy, Geza"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[GameId "272191607487"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Apart from Reti's very successful system, the only other opening that raised eyebrows at NY24 was this one...} 1. b4 {[#] "An old move, the chief drawback of which is the fact that White discloses his intentions before knowing those of his opponent. He need not necessarily be at a disadvantage thereby, but is not that altogether too small a satisfaction for the first player?" - Alekhine .. What a wonderfully modern assessment! Nothing about how this move is "unpricipled" or "an ugly attempt to provoke the opponent" or "concedes the center (or initiative) to Black".   Rather, Alekhine points out that White is not objectively worse after this move, but that it prematurely commits White and gives Black early information about how to set up. Probably all true, though I believe Reti said the same things about 1.e4.} Nf6 ({Contrary to the stories I was told when learning chess -- that 1.b4 was inspired by a between-round inspiration on seeing an Orangutang at a NY zoo -- this opening had previously been played by and against World Champions (in sumuls, to be fair), but also five years earlier by Tartakower himself:} 1... e5 2. Bb2 f6 $5 3. e4 $2 (3. b5 d5 4. e3 Bd6 5. c4 c6 {1-0 Bugaev,N-Steinitz,W Steinitz sim Moscow 1896}) 3... Bxb4 4. Bc4 Ne7 5. f4 d5 $1 6. exd5 Bd6 7. fxe5 fxe5 8. Qh5+ Ng6 9. Nf3 Nd7 10. O-O O-O 11. Nc3 Rf4 $1 $17 12. d3 Nf6 $19 13. Qg5 h6 14. Qg3 e4 $2 (14... Kh7 $142 {Defends the g6 and threatens ...xc3 then ...e4, getting  and  for .}) 15. Nxe4 $8 $14 {1-0 Tartakower,S-Reti,R Match Tartakower-Reti +3-2=5 Vienna 1919 Of course, our ability to fact-check these stories is due to easily searched computer databases, which weren't in wide use for 60+ years after the first words were written about this tournament.}) 2. Bb2 e6 3. b5 ({Even Capablaca had previously tried 1.b4, unsuccessfully:} 3. a3 d5 4. e3 c5 5. bxc5 Bxc5 6. d4 Bd6 $11 7. c4 dxc4 8. Bxc4 O-O 9. Nd2 a6 10. Ngf3 b5 11. Bd3 Bb7 12. O-O Nbd7 {0-1 Capablanca,J-Van Hoorn,P Netherlands Tour Capablanca 1911 with a QGA/Meran type position.}) 3... d5 4. e3 Be7 5. f4 O-O {[#]} 6. Bd3 {"Why post the bishop on a bad spot when first of all the knight may be developed to a good one (6.f3)?" - AA} (6. Nf3 a6 7. a4 axb5 8. axb5 Rxa1 9. Bxa1 c5 10. bxc6 bxc6 11. Be2 c5 $15 {0-1 Khalikian,O (2325)-Andersson,U (2518) Yerevan Vaganian Cup Blitz 2024 (7)}) 6... a6 {"More energetic utilization of the adversary's eccentricities here would have been 6... c5 ..." - AA} 7. a4 axb5 8. axb5 Rxa1 9. Bxa1 Nbd7 10. Nf3 Ne4 11. O-O {[#]} f5 12. Be2 Nd6 13. Qc1 Bf6 14. Na3 c6 15. bxc6 bxc6 16. Ne5 Bxe5 17. fxe5 Nf7 18. d4 Ng5 {[#]} 19. c4 Ba6 20. Re1 Qa8 21. Bc3 Rb8 22. Qc2 Ne4 23. Bd3 Rb7 24. Rc1 Nb6 25. Be1 h6 26. Bxe4 {[#]} dxe4 $2 ({Alekhine comments: "Correct would have been} 26... fxe4 27. cxd5 ({if} 27. c5 Bd3 {and the black pieces would force an entrance.}) 27... Qf8 $1 {[hits the a3 and threatens mate on f1 - editor]} 28. Bf2 Qxa3 {whereupon neither:} 29. dxc6 (29. dxe6 Bb5) (29. Qxc6 exd5) 29... Rc7 {need have been feared by Black. The text move not alone (sic) permits the victory to slip out of hand, but even affords the opponent a chance in the center, which, with a little care, however, attains no decisive significance." - AA  Once again, Alekhine's analysis is correct in both detail and overall evaluation, if only understating Black's advantge: virtually winning in all lines after 26 ...fxe4.}) 27. Qc3 Nd7 28. Rb1 Rxb1 29. Nxb1 Qb7 30. Na3 Qb6 31. Bd2 Kf7 32. g3 Nf8 33. Qb4 Qxb4 34. Bxb4 Nd7 35. Ba5 g5 36. Kf2 Ke8 37. Ke2 {[#]} c5 $5 {Black takes risks to play for a win. The position is equal and Black could just try to sit. Exchanging on d4 gives Black a chance to create a passer with ....f5-f4, but it also allows White to improve the  to d6 where it will combine with the c4-pawn to dominate the a6.} 38. Nb5 Kf7 39. Kd2 cxd4 40. exd4 f4 41. Nd6+ Kg6 42. Kc3 e3 43. Kd3 Nb8 44. Ke4 Nc6 45. Bc3 {[#]} e2 $2 {Black overpresses, but the refutation eluded both the players and the future World Champion annotator.} (45... fxg3 $142 $1 46. hxg3 Ne7 47. Kxe3 Nf5+ 48. Nxf5 Kxf5 $8 $11) 46. gxf4 $8 gxf4 {[%mdl 4160] [#]Critical Position} 47. Bd2 $2 ({Alekhine:  "White, who until now has conducted the interesting ending faultlessly, permits victory to slip from him here. Correct would have been} 47. Be1 $1 {, whereupon the advance of the center pawns would have been decisive:} f3 48. d5 exd5+ 49. cxd5 Ne7 50. e6 Kf6 51. Bh4+ Kg6 52. Ke5 Kh5 53. Be1 Kg6 54. Nf7 $18 {With the text move the opponent is presented with the tempo he needed for a draw." - AA}) ({This is one of Alekhine's relatively rare analytical mistakes; and (as usual) it's due to unusual tactics in a complex ending. Alekhine's reccommended move} 47. Be1 {actually allows Black to draw by activating the  to create play against h2, which keeps the white  tied down:} Kg5 $1 (47... f3 $4 48. d5 $8 $18 {loses, as per AA's analysis.}) 48. d5 Ne7 $8 49. dxe6 Kg4 $8 50. Kd3 $5 Kf3 $5 {shows the idea behind the  advance} ({Simpler is} 50... f3 51. Ke3 Ng6 $11 {and Black can hold by oscillating the  across e7.}) 51. Kd2 Ng6 52. Nf5 $1 Bc8 $8 (52... Bxc4 $4 53. e7 $8 $18) 53. e7 Bd7 $8 54. e6 Ba4 $8 {Controlling e8 while staying out of reach of any  hops. If White does nothing Black will attack the f5 and take on e7.} 55. Nd4+ Kg2 $8 $11) (47. Kxf4 $2 {keeps the black  out, but leaves the  overloaded:} Nxd4 $11) ({White has only one move that wins:} 47. d5 $8 $18 {kicks the  away from its attack on d4 and e5 and so frees White's  and .} f3 (47... Ne7 {does not transpose to Alekhine's analysis, since} 48. dxe6 Kg5 49. Kf3 $1 $18 {stops the pawns and prevents Black's  from getting to h2 before losing e2 and f4.}) 48. Be1 $8 (48. Kxf3 Nxe5+ $11) 48... Ne7 (48... exd5+ 49. cxd5 Ne7 50. e6 $18 {transposes to AA's note.}) 49. dxe6 Nc6 50. Bg3 {Analysis Diagram [#] Black's pieces are all on their best squares: the  can't move safely, if the  moves then e5 is safe and xf3 wins, and any Black  move gives White tempi to either capture f3 and e2 or to promote the e-pawn by moving the  to f2 to stop Black's pawns and using his minors to support the e-pawn.} Kg7 (50... h5 51. Bh4 $1 {Domination!}) 51. e7 $1 Nxe7 52. Kxf3 $18 {Black's passers disappear and his  is cut off and unable to help attack e5.}) 47... f3 {...h5 also draws.} 48. Kxf3 (48. Be1 Kg5 49. d5 exd5+ 50. cxd5 Nb4 $8 $11) 48... Nxd4+ 49. Ke3 Nf5+ 50. Kxe2 {[#]} Nxd6 51. exd6 Bxc4+ {Trading down to an opposite-coloured  ending with a check!} 52. Ke3 Bb5 53. Kd4 h5 54. Kc5 Ba4 1/2-1/2

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.11"]
[Round "18"]
[White "Marshall, Frank James"]
[Black "Bogoljubow, Efim"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "D52"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[GameId "272191607555"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{The following earned the Second Brilliancy Prize with its spectacular attack featuring a double  sac, a  sac, and a  hunt. FWIW, chess.com rates Marshall's overall accuracy at 98.6%, and SF17 finds no improvements for White between move 22 and the mate on move 42.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 d5 4. e3 Nbd7 5. c4 c6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Nc3 Qa5 8. Bd3 Ne4 9. Qc2 Nxg5 10. Nxg5 h6 11. Nf3 {[#]The Carlsbad structure, common then and now.} Be7 {Unnecessarily passive.} (11... Bd6 {was Alekhine's -- and every modern master's -- automatic first choice.} 12. O-O O-O 13. a3 Qd8 14. b4 {Playing for the minority attack to leave Black with a weak queenside pawn... but Marshall is not Reshevsky.} a6 15. Rab1 Re8 16. h3 Nf6 17. a4 Qe7 18. b5 axb5 19. axb5 c5 $13 {0-1 Sarana,A (2654)-Moranda,W (2605) Titled Tuesday intern op 9th June Chess.com INT blitz 2020 (4)}) 12. O-O O-O 13. a3 Qd8 14. Rae1 a5 15. Qe2 Nf6 16. Ne5 Bd6 17. f4 c5 18. Bb1 Bd7 19. Qc2 Bc6 {[#]} 20. dxc5 {At 32 ply, SF17 rates this, h1, and g4 as its equal first choices, +0.24.} (20. Ng4 $5 g6 $1 (20... Re8 $14) (20... Ne4 $2 21. dxc5 $1 $18 Bxc5 22. Nxe4) 21. Nxh6+ {looks strong, but computers don't sweat:} Kg7 22. Nxf7 $8 Rxf7 $8 (22... Kxf7 $2 23. Qxg6+ Ke7 24. e4 $8 $18) 23. Qxg6+ Kf8 $15) 20... Bxc5 21. Kh1 Re8 22. e4 $1 {[#]} Bd4 $2 ({Black should have accepted the inferior structure with} 22... dxe4 23. Nxc6 bxc6 24. Nxe4 Nxe4 25. Rxe4 Rxe4 26. Qxe4 Kf8 $1 {White wins a pawn (c6 or g7) but, maybe because of the opposite s, the computer says White is only slightly better, despite the extra pawn, after something like:} 27. Qxc6 (27. Qh7 Bd4 $14) 27... Rc8 28. Qe4 Qd4 $11) 23. Nxc6 $1 {[%mdl 32896] Marshall plays the rest of the game with energy and computer-level precision.} bxc6 24. e5 $8 Ng4 (24... Bxc3 25. exf6 $1 $19 {with the king's escape square on e7 now attacked (twice!), Black has no time to take on e1, and goes down a piece.}) 25. Qh7+ $1 Kf8 {[#]} 26. g3 $1 (26. Bf5 {is also good, but White must be aware of Black's threats:}) (26. Z0 Qh4 27. h3 Qg3 28. hxg4 Qh4# {a basic mating pattern.}) 26... Qb6 27. Bf5 Nf2+ 28. Rxf2 (28. Kg2 {wins too, since} Qxb2 29. Rb1 $1 Qxc3 30. Rb7 $18 {mates.}) 28... Bxf2 29. Qh8+ Ke7 30. Qxg7 {[#]An unusual double rook sacrifice.} Kd8 (30... Bxe1 {loses to one of two basic checkmate patterns:} 31. Qf6+ Kf8 32. Qxh6+ Kg8 (32... Ke7 $2 33. Qd6#) 33. Bh7+ Kh8 34. Bg6+ Kg8 35. Qh7+ Kf8 36. Qxf7#) 31. Qf6+ $1 Re7 32. e6 $1 Bd4 {[#]} 33. exf7 $8 {A temporary queen sac that also brings the  into the attack.} Bxf6 34. f8=Q+ Kc7 35. Rxe7+ Bxe7 36. Qxa8 {Did the ever-optimistic Bogoljubov think he could magic his way out of this, down a piece and a pawn... or was he willing to let Marshall finish in style?} Kd6 (36... Qxb2 37. Qc8+ {and White can simply win a loose piece or calculate to mate.}) 37. Qh8 $3 {There's the move of a guy who had solved a lot of Sam Lloyd's!} Qd8 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position Mate in 5.} 38. Qe5+ Kc5 39. Na4+ Kc4 (39... Kb5 40. Qe2+ $1 Kxa4 41. Bc2#) 40. Qc3+ Kb5 41. Bd3+ Kxa4 42. Qc2# {Not all opposite Bishop endings are drawn.} 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.10"]
[Round "17"]
[White "Bogoljubow, Efim"]
[Black "Alekhine, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "C12"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "170"]
[GameId "272191607547"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. Nge2 dxe4 6. a3 Be7 7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. Nxe4 b6 9. N2c3 f5 10. Ng3 Bb7 {[#]} 11. Bb5+ $2 (11. d5 $1 $14) 11... c6 $1 $15 12. Bc4 Nd7 13. Qe2 Nf6 14. O-O-O Qd6 15. Rhe1 Nd5 $6 16. Nxd5 cxd5 17. Bb5+ Kd8 (17... Bc6 $4 18. Nxf5 $18) 18. Kb1 {[#]} h5 19. Nxh5 $1 Qxh2 $2 {[#]} 20. Ng3 $6 (20. Rh1 $1 Qxg2 21. Qe5 $18) 20... Qh4 21. Rh1 Qf6 22. Nh5 Qg5 23. f4 $1 Qg6 24. Rd3 $2 (24. Qe5 $3 $18 Rxh5 25. g4 $8 $18) (24. g4 $1 $18) 24... a6 25. Rg3 $2 {[%mdl 1] [#]Critical Position What happens if ...xh5?} Rxh5 $1  (25... Qh6 26. Bd3 $14 {Black's LSB is a long-term liability.}) 26. Qxh5 $4 {This loses, but only if Black finds the resouce Alekhine missed in the game, but found when annotating this game for his tournament book.} (26. Rhh3 {the only other good move transposes to the main line after} Rxh3 27. Rxg6 $8 Rh1+ $17) (26. Rxg6 $1 Rxh1+ 27. Ka2 axb5 {simplest - AA Analysis Diagram [#]} {There are two problems with this analysis.   First, Alekhine missed a finesse on the second-last move in this line which gives White a big attack:} 28. Rg7 $142 $1 {not trading the active  for the passive one on a8 gives White significant attacking chances.} (28. Rg8+ Kc7 $19 {with an easy win. - AA} {A second problem is that the final position in Alekhine's not is not at all "an easy win". Yes. Black is way up in material, but his LSB is junk and the white  has targets; e.g.} 29. Qe5+ $1 Kd7 (29... Bd6 30. Qg7 $1 $132) 30. Rxa8 Bxa8 31. Qb8 $132) 28... Bc6 (28... b4 $2 29. Qb5 $18) (28... Ke8 {holds the center, but loses the queenside pawns to} 29. Rg8+ $1 Kd7 30. Rxa8 Bxa8 31. Qxb5+ Bc6 (31... Kc7 $4 32. Qe8 $18) 32. Qxb6 Rh8 $1 $11 {It's hard to imagine how Black might coordinate to cause White any difficulties, and almost as hard to see how White might safely advance his queenside pawns.}) 29. Rxf7 Kd7 (29... Bd7 $2 30. Qe5 $18) 30. Qe5 {threatening g2-g4[#]} Rg1 (30... Rg8 $4 {wrong rook: that one is needed to defend the e7} 31. g4 $3 Rxg4 (31... fxg4 32. f5 $18) 32. Qf6 $18) 31. Rg7 Re8 $13) 26... Qxh5 $4 (26... Qxg3 $8 $19) ({"Black overlooked in the variation} 26... Qxg3 27. Qxf7 axb5 28. Rh7 {the recourse of} Qe1+ $8 29. Ka2 Qb4 $8 30. Rh8+ Kd7 31. Rxa8 Qc4+ $8 {whereupon White would naturally have to give up. The exchange of queens, on the other hand, leads to a certain draw." - AA  It's worth noting that Alekine gave no punctuation to any of these moves, though several deserve "!!" since they are "only moves" that are hard to see in advance.}) {After this double blunder the two sides play the remainder perfectly, and the game does end in a draw.} 27. Rxh5 $11 axb5 28. Rh7 $11 Kd7 29. Rxf7 Rf8 30. Rh7 Re8 31. Rg6 Bc8 32. c3 Kc7 33. Kc2 Bd7 34. Rgg7 Kd6 35. Kd2 Bc6 36. Rg6 Rf8 37. Ke3 Bf6 38. Ra7 Bd7 39. Kf3 Bd8 40. Rg7 Bc7 41. Rh7 Rd8 42. g3 Bb8 43. Rb7 Bc7 44. Ra7 Kc6 45. a4 bxa4 46. Rxa4 b5 47. Ra1 b4 48. Ke3 Bb6 49. Ra4 bxc3 50. bxc3 Rg8 51. Kf2 Rc8 52. Ra3 Kd6 53. Rh1 Rb8 54. Raa1 Bb5 55. Ke3 Rg8 56. Rhg1 Kc6 57. Kd2 Bc4 58. Rae1 Kd6 59. Ra1 {[#]} Bc7 60. Ke3 Kc6 61. Kd2 Bd8 62. Rae1 Rg6 63. Ra1 Be7 64. Rae1 Bd6 65. Kc2 Kd7 66. Ra1 Bc7 67. Kd2 Kc6 68. Rae1 Bd6 69. Kc2 Kc7 70. Kd2 Kd7 71. Ra1 Kc6 72. Rae1 Kc7 73. Ra1 Rg8 74. Rae1 Kd7 75. Ra1 Bc7 76. Rab1 Ra8 77. Ra1 Rh8 78. Rh1 Rg8 79. Rhg1 Bd8 80. Rae1 Be7 81. Rb1 Kc7 82. Rbe1 Bd6 83. Ra1 Kc6 84. Rae1 Kc7 85. Ra1 Kd7 1/2-1/2

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.14"]
[Round "20"]
[White "Yates, Frederick Dewhurst"]
[Black "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "C91"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[GameId "272191607565"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. d4 Bg4 10. Be3 exd4 11. cxd4 Na5 12. Bc2 Nc4 13. Nbd2 Nxe3 14. Rxe3 c5 15. Qe1 Nd7 16. h3 Bh5 17. dxc5 Nxc5 18. Rd1 Rc8 19. e5 {[%mdl 32833] [#] Critical Position ...d5 or ...g5?} Bg5 $4 {"The beginning of the winning maneuver..." - AA} (19... d5 $142 $11) 20. Rc3 $4 ({Alekhine says best was:} 20. Re2 Bxd2 21. Qxd2 Bxf3 22. gxf3 dxe5 23. Qxd8 Rcxd8 24. Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Rxe5 Ne6 {with a "winning endgame." - AA  This was definitely one of Alekhine's worst analyses: he misses White's winning tactic here, and what he calls a "winning endgame" offers no real winning chances -- SF rates it equal after a4, or f5 or e4 -- and there are even more mistakes to come.}) ({In fact, White gets a huge advantage after} 20. Nxg5 $1 $18 {as pointed out in RECS.} Bxd1 {gives White a winning attack after} (20... Qxg5 21. g4 $8 {Threatening to win the  by breaking the pin with f3 (or others).} Bg6 22. Nf3 $8 Qd8 23. Bxg6 hxg6 24. exd6 $18 {with a material and positional advantage.}) 21. Bxh7+ $8 $18 Kh8 22. f4 $1 (22. Nxf7+ $1 Rxf7 23. Bg6 $18) 22... f6 23. Bg6 fxg5 24. Qxd1 $18) 20... b4 21. Rc4 d5 22. Rxb4 Qe7 (22... Be7 $142 $15) 23. Nxg5 $5 {[#]} Bxd1 $4 {A second game-losing blunder from The Chess Machine. This time Yates pounces...} (23... Qxg5 $142 24. f3 $14) 24. Bxh7+ $1 $18 Kh8 {[#]} {Only to immediately go wrong.} 25. Rh4 $4 {"The point of the sacrifice of the exchange." says Alekhine. But he and Yates missed a second win for White:} (25. Qxd1 $1 $18 Qxg5 (25... g6 26. Bxg6 Qxg5 27. Nf3 Qxg6 28. Rh4+ Kg8 29. Rg4 $18) (25... Ne4 26. Bxe4 Qxg5 27. Bd3 {White has the material and the attacking compensation.}) 26. Nf3 $1 Qe7 27. Rh4 Ne6 {White could toss in some discovered checks to reach the time control, but the direct route is:} 28. Qd3 $1 Rc4 29. Rh5 $1 Nf4 30. Bg8+ $18) 25... Qxg5 $8 $11 26. f4 $1 Qe7 {Black's  guards h4, so White doesn't have a combo with g6+h8+h4; so, down a , he forces the draw.} 27. Bc2+ Kg8 28. Bh7+ Kh8 29. Bc2+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.03.22"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Maroczy, Geza"]
[Black "Bogoljubow, Efim"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "D05"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[GameId "272191607491"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3 Nc6 6. O-O Bd6 7. Bb2 O-O 8. Ne5 Ne7 9. Nd2 b6 10. f4 Bb7 11. Qf3 Rc8 12. Ng4 Nxg4 13. Qxg4 Ng6 14. Nf3 f5 15. Qh5 Be7 {[#]} 16. g4 $6 (16. c4 $142 $11) 16... c4 $1 17. gxf5 $2 (17. Be2 $15 cxb3 18. Bd3 (18. cxb3 Rc2 $19) 18... bxc2 19. Rf2 (19. Rac1)) 17... Nxf4 $3 $17 18. exf4 cxd3 19. Ng5 (19. fxe6 $17) 19... Bxg5 $8 $19 20. fxg5  Rxc2 $4 {[%mdl 64] This gives White an amazing game-saving resource.} ({As AA noted,} 20... Rxf5 $142 $19 {was winning.}) 21. g6 $4 {AA thought White's g6-pawn gave sufficient counterplay for a draw, but it doesn't. White's miracle resource is:} (21. fxe6 $8 $11 g6 $8 ({Taking the  loses} 21... Rxb2 $4 22. Rf7 $8 $18 Re2 (22... d2 23. e7 $18) 23. Raf1 $8 $18) 22. Qh4 $8 {Keeping an eye on h7, so f7 can be a threat. Analysis Diagram [#]} Rxb2 (22... Rxf1+ 23. Rxf1 Re2 $8 (23... Rxb2 $4 24. Rf7 $18 h5 25. e7 $8 (25. Qf4 $4 d2 $8 $19) 25... Qd7 26. Rf8+ Kg7 27. e8=Q Rb1+ 28. Kg2) 24. Rf7 (24. Qh6 $5) (24. Ba3 $5) 24... h5 $8 25. Rf6 $13) 23. Rf6 $8 $11 Bc8 24. Raf1 $8 Re8 (24... Rxf6 $4 25. gxf6 Bxe6 26. f7+ {wins the .}) 25. Qh6 Bxe6 26. Rxg6+ $8 $11 {A wild line, which (incidentally) shows how unimportant the fianchettoed s are when blocked by their own pawns.}) 21... h6 $19 22. Ba3 {[#]} Rxf5 $4 (22... Qf6 $8 $19 23. Qg4 (23. fxe6 Qxd4+ $19) (23. Bxf8 Qxd4+ 24. Kh1 Qe4+ 25. Qf3 d4 $19) 23... exf5 $19 {simplest, White can't defend d4 and g6.} (23... d2 $1)) 23. Rxf5 $8 $15 exf5 24. Qxf5 {[#] Critical Position What happens if ...c8? What happens if ...f6?} Qf6 $1  ({Just for fun, here's a crazy line of cat-and-mouse:} 24... Qc8 $5 25. Qf7+ Kh8 26. h3 $8 $11 Qd8 $8 27. Kh1 $1 (27. Be7 Qg8 $11) 27... Qb8 28. Bd6 $8 Qc8 29. Kg1 $8 Rc1+ $8 30. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 31. Kg2 Qd2+ $11) 25. Re1 $4 {[%mdl 64] This attempt to exploit Black's back rank loses immediately.} (25. Rf1 $142 $8 Qxf5 26. Rxf5 Rc8 $15) 25... Re2 $2 {But not to this move, which AA said was "Clearly forced."} ({Black wins with the Puzzle Rush-style:} 25... Rc1 $3 {not in AA or the CS Either capture of the  ends the mate threat on f8 and so hangs the ; leaving White a choice of losing endings:} 26. Qxf6 (26. Rxc1 Qxf5 $19) (26. Bxc1 Qxf5 27. Re8+ Qf8 28. Rxf8+ Kxf8 29. Kf2 Bc8 $19 {saves the d3-pawn and wins the one on g6. Black probably wins this, but it is opposite s, so it's not trivial.}) 26... Rxe1+ 27. Qf1 d2 $19) 26. Rf1 $4 {The final blunder.} (26. Rxe2 $8 dxe2 27. Qxf6 $8 gxf6 28. Kf2 $1 Ba6 29. Bd6 $1 $11) 26... Qxd4+ $19 27. Kh1 Qf6 $8 $19 0-1

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.03"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Marshall, Frank James"]
[Black "Janowski, Dawid Markelowicz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "D20"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[GameId "272191607532"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nc3 e5 4. e3 exd4 5. exd4 Nc6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Bxc4 Bd6 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 Bg4 10. Nd5 Be7 11. Nxe7+ Qxe7 12. Bd5 Rfd8 13. Re1 Qd6 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. h3 Bh5 16. Rc1 {[%mdl 32832] [#]Critical Postion Which  should Black activate: ...ab8 or ...e8?} Rab8 $2 {sets up a  fork on c6, which White immediately exploits.} (16... Re8 $142 $1 17. g4 Rxe1+ 18. Qxe1 Bg6 19. Bxf6 (19. Qc3 Be4 $11) 19... Qxf6 20. Ne5 $14) 17. g4 Bg6 18. Ne5 $1 c5 (18... Qxd4 19. Qxd4 Rxd4 20. Nxc6 $18) (18... Rb6 19. Nc4 $18) (18... Be4 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Nxf7 $18) 19. dxc5 $18 {Black has no comp for the pawn and bad queenside.} Qa6 20. Qf3 Rxb2 21. Nc6 {[#] There are no safe squares for the d8!} Be4 (21... Ra8 22. Ne7+ Kf8 23. Qxa8+ $18) (21... Rf8 $2 22. Bxf6 gxf6 23. Qxf6 $18 {threatens mate and a winning discovery on the .}) (21... Re8 22. Bxf6 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 gxf6 24. Qxf6 $18 {threatens a back rank mate, e7+h8#, the b2, and a winning discovery on the .}) 22. Ne7+ Kh8 23. Rxe4 Nxe4 24. Qxe4 Re2 25. Be3 Rxa2 26. Nc6 Rg8 27. Qd5 Ra4 28. Ne5 h6 29. Qxf7 Qf6 30. Qxf6 gxf6 31. Nf7+ Kh7 32. Nxh6 Rd8 33. Nf5 a5 34. c6 Re4 35. Rc5 Re5 36. Rc4 Re6 37. Bf4 Rc8 38. Rd4 $1 {[#]} Kh8 (38... Rxc6 39. Ne7 {and there's no check on c1!}) 39. Rd7 a4 40. Ne7 Rxe7 41. Rxe7 a3 42. Bh6 $1 {Ruthless.} a2 43. Bg7+ Kh7 44. Bxf6+ Kg6 45. Bc3 Rb8 46. Rxc7 {[#] I can't imagine any 21st century GM playing this out in anything other than a bullet game.} Rb3 47. Rg7+ Kh6 48. g5+ $1 Kh5 49. Bf6 Ra3 50. c7 a1=Q+ 51. Bxa1 Rxa1+ 52. Kg2 Rc1 53. f4 Rc3 54. Kf2 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.05"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Alekhine, Alexander"]
[Black "Maroczy, Geza"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "D55"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[GameId "270423996203"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Ne4 7. Bxe7 Qxe7 8. Qc2 Nxc3 9. Qxc3 c5 10. cxd5 cxd4 11. Nxd4 exd5 12. Be2 Nd7 13. O-O Nf6 14. Rac1 Be6 15. Qa5 Rfc8 16. Rxc8+ Bxc8 17. Rc1 Bd7 18. a3 g6 19. h3 Rc8 $4 (19... h5 $16) 20. Rxc8+ $18 Bxc8 21. Qxa7 Qc7 22. Bf1 Bd7 23. Ne2 Bb5 24. Nc3 Bxf1 25. Kxf1 Ne4 (25... Qc4+ 26. Kg1 Qb3 27. Qb8+ Kg7 28. Qe5 Qxb2 29. g4 $8 $18) 26. Qd4 Nxc3 27. Qxc3 Qh2 28. f3 Qh1+ 29. Kf2 Qd1 30. Qc8+ Kg7 {[%mdl 36928] [#]Critical Position} 31. Qxb7 $4 {Made during 1st session. In his book Alekhine says he was distracted by the Capablanca - Lasker game.} (31. Qc3+ $8 $18 Kg8 32. Qd4 $1 $18 {White has both an extra pawn, and targets on d5 and b7 -- if the d5 pawn was on c6 it would be nearly equal.}) 31... Qd2+ $1 (31... d4 $11) 32. Kg3 (32. Kg1 Qxe3+ $11) 32... d4 $8 $11 {"This simple move was overlooked by White." - AA} 33. exd4 Qg5+ {Black has a perpetual.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.05"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Black "Lasker, Emanuel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "D13"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[GameId "272191607535"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] Capablanca defeated Lasker for the World Championship in 1921. NY1924 was the first time they'd played since then. Their round 2 game, played while Capa was recovering from a cold, was an uneventful 30 move draw. This game won Capa the 3rd Brilliancy Prize.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bf4 {[#] An exchange Slav?  How could this win a so-called Brilliancy Prize?} e6 (6... a6 {and}) (6... Bf5 {are the modern remedies.}) 7. e3 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Nh5 {Alekhine: "The logical consequence of the chosen system of development which leads to a middle game very difficult to be handled by both sides. Although White will retain the initiative a long while, nevertheless the entire line of play is neither disadvantageous nor devoid of chances for Black and cannot be deemed in any way the cause of his defeat."} 10. Be5 {[#]} f5 {Alekhine says this throws away a whole tempo over ...f7-f6-f5, though he misses a crucial tactical detail.} (10... f6 {gives White an extra option} 11. Ng5 $5 {which AA says is bad because of} (11. Bg3 f5 12. Be5 Nf6 {Black is a tempo up on the game.}) 11... Qe8 {but AA overlooked or underestimated} 12. Nb5 $8 {winnng for White.} fxg5 13. Nc7 {1-0 Euwe,M-Landau,S NED-ch11 Netherlands 1939 (8)}) ({In fact} 10... f6 11. Ng5 $5 {Analysis Diagram [#]  This is not bad at all, but it is more Marshall (or Pragg?) than Capablanca, since the attacks on h5 and h7 force the following:} g6 $8 (11... fxe5 $2 12. Bxh7+ Kh8 13. Nf7+ $3 Rxf7 14. Qxh5 $18 {Vigus, "Play the Slav", (Everyman, 2008).}) 12. Nxh7 $8 fxe5 $8 (12... Kxh7 $4 13. Qxh5+ {#2}) 13. Qg4 $1 $146 {with several variations leading to the familiar 0.00, the simplest being:} exd4 (13... Ng7 $5) 14. Qxg6+ Ng7 15. Ng5 Bxg5 $8 {with a forced repetition.} 16. Qh7+ Kf7 17. Qg6+ $11 {There is certainly more to be found in here with the help of the newer NNUE engines.}) 11. Rc1 Nf6 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Nh4 Kh8 14. f4 Rg8 15. Rf3 Bd7 16. Rh3 Be8 17. a3 Rg7 18. Rg3 {[#] Alekhine: "White decides upon an exchange of rooks which probably increases his offensive possibilities but, at the same time, cedes a counter-initiative to his opponent, who thereby will be able to effect a correctly timed regrouping operation for defensive purposes."} Rxg3 19. hxg3 Rc8 20. Kf2 Na5 21. Qf3 (21. g4 $142 $16) 21... Nc4 22. Qe2 Nd6 23. Rh1 Ne4+ 24. Bxe4 fxe4 25. Qg4 f5 {[#]} 26. Nxf5 $1 {Alekhine: "White obtains three pawns in return for the knight, and a permanent offensive against the exposed hostile king. The correctness of the sacrifice for that reason is unquestionable."} exf5 27. Qxf5 h5 28. g4 $1 (28. Rxh5+ $5 {is not as crazy as it looks:} Bxh5 29. Qxh5+ Kg7 30. Qg4+ {Black can obviously take the repetition, but it's not clear he has better:} Kf8 31. Qf5+ Bf6 $5 32. g4 $1 $36) 28... Rc6 {Now all the black pieces help defend the . [#]} 29. g5 (29. Nxd5 $142 Bh4+ 30. g3 Rc2+ 31. Kg1 Rc1+ 32. Kg2 Rc2+ 33. Kh3 hxg4+ 34. Kxg4 Bd7 35. Rxh4+ Qxh4+ (35... Kg8 36. Nf6+ $18 {and xd7.}) 36. gxh4 Bxf5+ 37. Kxf5 $18 {with a winning endgame. - AA}) 29... Kg8 30. Nxd5 $6 (30. g4 $142) 30... Bf7 $1 $13 31. Nxe7+ Qxe7 32. g4 $13  hxg4 $4 ({Alekhine devoted a lot of attention to this high-profile game between his two great predecessors, and his analysis of this complicated position is tactically perfect:  "Again Dr. Lasker selects a somewhat difficult continuation. It is indeed doubtful if after the plausible} 32... Bg6 33. Qd5+ Bf7 34. Qe5 $5 Qxe5 35. dxe5 hxg4 36. f5 Rc5 $8 $13 37. Kg3 Rxe5 38. Kxg4 {although White would have obtained thereby only two pawns for his piece, he would have commanded quite such easy drawing chances as in the actual game, for in that case the weakness of his e-pawn, as well as the entrance of the rook to the seventh row, would have caused him fresh troubles.}) ({A simpler drawing variation would have been} 32... Rc2+ 33. Kg3 $8 (33. Kf1 $2 Qc7 {Black would actually obtain a mating attack}) 33... Re2 $8 34. g6 h4+ $8 35. Rxh4 $8 Rxe3+ $8 36. Kg2 $8 Re2+ 37. Kf1 Re1+ {and White could not have escaped perpetual check."}) 33. Qh7+ $8 $18 Kf8 {[#]} 34. Rh6 $4 {Alekhine doesn't comment, but SF says this gives away the win.} (34. Qh8+ $142 Bg8 35. Kg3 $8 $18 {As I understand it, this improves on the game line by improving the  (getting out of 2nd rank checks and ready to march across the light squares) while Black has no corresponding way to improve.}) 34... Bg8 $1 ({Alekhine: "Black might have safely taken this rook for instance:} 34... Rxh6 35. Qxh6+ Kg8 36. g6 Bb3 (36... Be6 $2 37. g7 $1 $18) 37. f5 Qc7 $1 {and, after} 38. f6 {he would again have had perpetual check;} ({SF agrees with all that, but finds a winning improvement: instead of 38.f6, White wins with} 38. Qh4 $8 $18 {which does three things: the white  to take on g4 without allowing the  check from e6, if the black  chases the white  it creates a bridge for the  to hide on the h-file, and (if Black passes) White goes f6+-, threatening f7+ and h7+ if xf7.}) 38... Qc2+ 39. Kg3 Qc7+ 40. Kf2 (40. Kxg4 $2 Be6+ $18) 40... Qc2+ $11) 35. Qf5+ Kg7 36. Rxc6 bxc6 37. Kg3 {[#]} Qe6 $4 {Lasker's worst move of the tournament.} ({With} 37... Bd5 $142 $11 {Lasker would have finished 2.5 points ahead of Capablanca, instead of "only" 1.5.}) 38. Kxg4 $8 $18 {Alekhine: "It may almost be assumed that Dr.Lasker for the moment had forgotten the possibility of this capture. Now the exchange of queens, under circumstances very unfavorable to him, can no longer be avoided, inasmuch as his queen dared not abandon the protection of the f6-square on account of a mate in two moves."} Qxf5+ 39. Kxf5 Bd5 40. b4 a6 {[#]It's a sign of how bad the  is that White has more than one way to win this.} 41. Kg4 (41. Ke5 $18 {also wins, either with a4 and b5 to exploit the unstable , or strolling over and taking the a-pawn.}) 41... Bc4 42. f5 Bb3 43. Kf4 Bc2 44. Ke5 Kf7 45. a4 Kg7 46. d5 Bxa4 47. d6 c5 48. bxc5 Bc6 49. Ke6 a5 50. f6+ {Rather a lot of game-changing mistakes, which may explain why this game is so rarely anthologized, despite featuring the two World Champions who topped the table at this great tournament.} 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.03.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Lasker, Emanuel"]
[Black "Lasker, Edward"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "C99"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "206"]
[GameId "272191607496"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 {This game climaxes with a fortress --- where a  holds vs , -- that makes it's ending almost as famous as the much-anthologized Capablanca - Tartakower, played in the same round.  Even though he didn't win it, the whole game, not just the ending, illustrates the qualities that made Emmanuel Lasker the longest-reigning World Champion:  1) the fine judgement and strong nerves to create positions that put his opponents under maximal pressure (e.g. 30.e3!?, 51.xh6); 2) the sharp tactical eye to find his way through those minefields (21.c2!, 35.h2!); and 3) the endgame skill that allowed him to find a draw in a position all his competitors thought was lost.   Notes here borrow mainly from two books:   Edward Lasker's "Chess for Fun & Chess for Blood" (Dover, 1942), and  Sadler & Giddens' "Re-Engineering the Chess Classics: A Silicon Reappraisal of Thirty-Five Classic Games" (NiC, 2022).  Their titles perfectly convey their different styles and strengths:   Lasker's book is fully human -- all the excitement and confusion of OTB chess told by a man who loved the game and played very well.  Sadler's book tries to steal fire from the silicon gods by subjecting critical positions of classic games to computer v computer test matches, and reassembling the results into digestible text and fantastic variations.   In their completly different ways, both books are excellent.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Bd7 {[#] A standard Chigorin Lopez with the rare ...d7 -- this game being only the second one in the Megabase after Schlechter - Chigorin, 1907 -- though it has been tried a few times by Nigel Short. The idea is simply to connect the s while realizing that any other square for the  leaves it misplaced after d4-d5.} 14. Nf1 Rfc8 15. Re2 $5 Nh5 $5 {[#] Discouraging g3 and challenging the former World Champion to an early tactical skirmish!? Not prudent, but bold enough to create something memorable!   Ed.Lasker:  "when I met Emanuel Lasker in the sixth round, I was certainly anything but hopeful of my chances. But I was thrilled by the thought of a serious game with the greatest Chess master of all times whose name was accidentally also my own; and I was determined to do that name honor no matter what the outcome of the battle might be."} 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. Nxe5 {Challenge accepted!} Bxh3 {Desperado 1.} 18. Nxf7 {Desperado 2.} Be6 19. Ng5 Bc4 {[#]} 20. Bd3 (20. Re1 $1 Nf4 $8 (20... Bxf1 $4 21. Qd5+ {with a smothered mate.}) 21. Bxf4 Qxf4 $8 22. Nf3 {White's up a passed e-pawn, but it looks like Black can perpetual the e1 with} Bb4 23. Re3 Bc5 {Here, SF prefers White after either giving the  back with b2-b4 or giving the exchange with e4-e5, neither of which is at all obvious here, let alone at move 20.}) 20... Rd8 {[#]} 21. Rc2 {Ed.Lasker:  "This almost humorous counter-pin I had not taken into consideration. ...but I still have quite an advantage in mobility and I control the Queen's file, so that my positional superiority should be worth the Pawn I lost in the mix-up. Encouraging myself with these considerations I continued..."} ({Sadler: "It's funny -- and quite typical of analyzing with engines -- that such a sharp-looking positoin is actually balanced, with multiple equivalent ways of playing} 21. Re1 Nf4 22. Bxc4+ bxc4 23. Bxf4 Qxf4 24. Nh3 Rxd1 25. Nxf4 Rxa1 26. Rxa1 Bf6 {once again gives Black plenty for the pawn, (1/2-1/2, 37) Dragon 3.1-Stockfish." - Sadler, RETCC.}) 21... Nf4 22. Bxf4 Qxf4 23. Nh3 Qe5 24. Bxc4+ Nxc4 25. Qe2 Rd4 $1 {Stops f4 and prepares to double s.} 26. f3 Rad8 27. Rac1 {[#]} {Ed.Lasker: "I had only about five minutes left within which to complete my thirtieth move, and realizing that breaking in at d2 was the only forceful plan at my disposal I decided to go into it."} Bc5 28. Kh1 Bb4 29. b3 Nd2 $1 {[#] Sadler: "This looks a bit crazy at first and even at second sight! What on earth is the knight achieving on d2?... The logic isn't bad, but tactics and lunatic activity is enough to keep Black afloat!"} 30. Ne3 $5 {[#] Sadler: "Objectively inferior, but typical Lasker. With Black's flag hanging (the time control for this event was at move 30), he dangles before him the tempting knight sacrifice on e4."  . editor - Here is a long selection from Edward Lasker's "Chess for fun & Chess for Blood". It gives as accurate a description as I have ever read of time-trouble panic and the he-goes-there-I-go-there calculation that every chess-player knows. Here and elsewhere I have changed Lasker's original descriptive notation to algebraic.]   Edward Lasker: Only one more move to make before time control. I went over the only two moves which White could make if he wanted to avoid the exchange of the Knight, either Nh2 or Ne3. In the latter case, why could I not sacrifice my Knight on e4 and regain the piece after fxe4, ...Rxe4, since his Knight was pinned? Well, I did not suppose White would make _that_ move. But I awoke from my musings with a start...  He did make that move! Had he made it to complicate things so that I would not have enough time left to calculate the consequences of the sacrifice Nxe4? Or had I made a mistake in my calculation? In feverish haste I went over the combination again. What could he do after 31.fxe4 Rxe4? Perhaps 32.Rc8? Then I could not exchange Rooks because after 33.Rxc8+ and 34.Qf3+ I had no defence. But what about 32...Re8? Would that not defend the first rank and still win back the Knight? After exchanging Rooks White could not protect the Knight with the other Rook because my Bishop held both White's e1-square and Qc3. Or could he perhaps play for a mating attack with 34.Qd3? Tick, tick went the clock... fifteen seconds left... after ...RxN he would continue with 35.Qd5+. Why not interpose the Queen on d6 or even go in the comer with the King? Or could he play 34.Ng1 and answer ...RxN with Qg4, attacking my Bishop and threatening Rc8? ...Bf8 should do in that case... Three seconds left! I had to move. I was so excited by that time that the pieces began to dance in front of my eyes! Was there perhaps a move which maintained my threat... which did not spoil anything, so that I could squeeze in my thirtieth move before the flag fell and then analyze the consequences of the Knight's sacrifice in peace? . . . . Ah! ...Ba3! His Rook must move and... quick!} ({Ed.Lasker: "A careful analysis of the combination with Emanuel Lasker himself last year [1940 - editor] brought out that if he had played...} 30. Rc8 {instead of Ne3, the game would have ended in a draw, and so I feel somewhat consoled today. After} Nxf1 31. Rxd8+ Rxd8 32. Qxf1 Bd6 33. f4 Qxe4 {would have been the likely continuation."}) 30... Ba3 $2 {I made the move just in time to avoid forfeiting the game, but immediately realized I had thrown away my opportunity to win, for after..."} (30... Nxe4 $8 $11 31. Nf1 $8 (31. fxe4 $2 Rxe4 32. Rc8 Rf8 $1 {"a very difficult resource to spot" - Sadler. Indeed: 18 years later, both Lasker's thought the (weaker) ...e8 was winning.} (32... Rxc8 $4 33. Rxc8+ Bf8 34. Qf3 $18) 33. Rxf8+ Bxf8 34. Qf1 Rxe3 35. Rc8 Qe7 36. Ng5 h6 $17) 31... Ng3+ 32. Nxg3 $8 Qxg3 $8 33. Rc8 Bf8 34. Rxd8 Rxd8 $11) {[#]} 31. Rd1 $8 $18 {Ed.Lasker:  "...my Rook on d8 would be en prise if, after sacrificing my Knight on e4, I played Rxe4...  I was worn out by the harassing time pressure and disconsolate when finding out, upon figuring through the combination again slowly, that in answer to 32.Rc8 I would really have won through ...Re8."} {"I had to seal my next move, the game being adjourned until the evening session. Having completed the first thirty moves within. the two hours allotted for them I had plenty of time to survey the situation."} Bb4 {[#] Ed. Lasker: "When the game was resumed two hours later Emanuel Lasker made the next three moves which I had expected:"} 32. a3 (32. Nf2 $1 R4d7 33. Nfg4 Qe6 34. a3 $18) 32... Ba5 33. b4 Bc7 $6 (33... Nxe4 $142 34. fxe4 Bc7 35. Rxc7 $1 $16 {gets the same materially imbalanced endgame as the actual game, without allowing White better options along the way.}) 34. f4 Nxe4 {[#]Ed. Lasker: "My opponent again did not think very long... most disconcerting... before he made a reply I had not considered at all and which proved to refute my beautiful combination."} 35. Kh2 $3 Rxd1 (35... Nc3 {also loses:} 36. Rxc3 Rxf4 37. Nxf4 (37. Rxd8+ $2 Rf8+ $8 $19) 37... Qxf4+ 38. g3 $8 Qxg3+ 39. Kh1 $18) 36. Nxd1 (36. fxe5 $4 Bxe5+ 37. g3 R1d2 $19) 36... Qe7 {[#]} 37. Rxc7 $2 ({Ed. Lasker:  "An error of a type the old Russian Champion Ossip Bernstein used to describe as the "equalizing injustice of Chess". Emanuel Lasker made the move without a moment's hesitation. Evidently he had planned it far ahead, at the time he played Kh2, and as he saw he won the exchange, he did not bother looking around for other possibilities. With} 37. Ndf2 {he would have won a whole piece and the game.} Rd4 {would not have helped me because of} 38. Qe3 Bb6 39. Rc8+ Kf7 40. Nxe4 Rxe4 41. Qxe4 {followed by g5+."}) (37. Ndf2 Bxf4+ {doesn't help either:} 38. Nxf4 Qh4+ 39. N4h3 Qg3+ 40. Kg1 Nf6 41. Rc8 $1 {simplest.}) 37... Qxc7 38. Qxe4 {[#] The next phase of the game is extraordinarily complicated, and I won't even try to give a detailed analysis of it -- there is much more in RTCC, if you are interested. Instead, I will give one long extract from Sadler which illustrates his ability to expertly combine verbal explanation with computer-backed analysis, but also shows a world-class GM and annotator running up against the limits of chess complexity.   .  Sadler: "Two minor pieces for the rook should be a winning advantage for White in principle. The engines certaintly think so, and every game from this position ends in a white win. However, the specific material balance -- two knights for the rook with pawns on both wings -- does add some complexity to White's task. In particular, since there are pawns on both wings, the exchange of queens is something that White should avoid: the short-range knights will be unable to cover the queenside pawns. This means that Black has some scope to disrupt a white set-up offering the exchange of queens. White's primary task, of course, is to establish a knight on the e5-outpost -- most likely the knight on d1 since the knight on h3 performs the important task of defending f4 -- which creates threats against the black king and helps restrain the activity of the black major pieces. We now enter a phase of the game in which we ran hundreds of engine games. We do not propose to include them in the notes -- even we can have too many engine games! We propose rather to focus on the basic struggle in the position: White's desire to activate the knights and Black's attempts to prevent this, mostly by offering a queen exchange."  - Sadler, RETCC.} Qc4 (38... Rxd1 $4 39. Qe8#) (38... h6 {produced an engine game that illustrated the struggle described above beautifully:} 39. Ndf2 {(preparing f2-g4-e5)} Qd7 40. Qe2 Qe8 {(offering the queen exchange)} 41. Qf3 Rd4 42. Ng4 {(White aims for the e5-square with the knight)} Qe4 {(and again!)} 43. Qb3+ Qd5 {(and again!)} 44. Qg3 Kh7 45. Ne5 Qe6 46. Qf3 Qf5 {White has achieved a lot by establishing a knight on e5, but the win is far from automatic.} 47. Qe3 Qe4 48. Qc1 Rd8 49. Nf7 Rd5 50. Qc6 Qd4 51. Ne5 (51. Nhg5+ hxg5 52. Nxg5+ Rxg5 $8 $11 {- editor}) 51... Qe4 52. Nf3 Qd3 53. Qxa6 {Analysis Diagram [#] Not quite sure how that happened, or why it had to happen, but White has won a pawn. The win still requires a lot of patience however, since Black's position remains completely intact even without the a6-pawn. [Sadler concludes with a sample computer game from this position - editor]} Rh5 54. Qe6 Rd5 55. Qe7 Qc2 56. Qb7 Qf5 57. Qa8 Qe6 58. Ne5 Rd4 59. Qb8 Rd5 60. Qb7 Qd6 61. Qf7 Rd2 62. Qe8 Rd5 63. Qh5 {(the threat of g5+ forces a weakening of Black's kingside which helps White a lot)} g6 64. Qg4 Qf6 65. Qc8 Rd2 66. Qb7+ Kg8 67. Qxb5 {Another pawn drops and it's curtains, (1-0, 85) Stockfish-Dragon 3.1, 2022 - Sadler, "Re-Engineering the Chess Classics".  editor: Did that help?   Yes... when top-class engines can't hold a position I am sure that position is objectively lost...  But... Sadler's not the only one who doesn't understand that maneuvering between moves 47 to 63, which makes as much sense to me as the tablebase-proved maneuving in a 70+ move  v  ending.   Believe but not understand?}) 39. Qe7 Qc8 40. Ndf2 h6 {[#]} 41. Qa7 $6 (41. Ng4 $142 $18 {heading to e5.}) 41... Qe6 42. Qb7 Qd5 $6 43. Qb6 (43. Qxa6 $142) 43... Rd6 44. Qe3 Re6 45. Qc3 Qc4 $6 (45... Rg6 $142 $132) 46. Qf3 Qc6 47. Qd3 Rd6 48. Qb3+ Qd5 49. Qb1 Re6 50. Ng4 $2 (50. Ng1 $142 $16 {guarding e2 before swiching the s with fh3 then f3 heading to e5.}) {[#]} 50... Re2 $1 {Ed.Lasker: "In permitting the sacrifice I practically offered a draw, because White's Queen will hardly have any difficulties in enforcing a perpetual check. However, from a psychological standpoint, I felt I had winning chances because White would try for a win with the Knight and two passed Pawns against my Rook. I did not think I had much to fear from such an attempt, as the White King was bound to become exposed to attack as soon as the Pawns advanced. I might otherwise have tried ...Re4 and played ...Re2 only after White's Ne5."} ({This is psychologically astute, but the chess isn't right: computers rate e2 as Black's only move to draw. Had he instead played} 50... Re4 51. Ne5 Re2 {as he suggests, then White has} 52. Qg6 $8 $18 {defending g2 and threatening to win the  with: e8+, g5+, h5+. If Black defends the  and the light squares with} Qe4 {then} 53. Qg4 {followed by g1-f3 and White gets both s to their best squares with very good winning chances.}) 51. Nxh6+ {Sadler says this is, "Desperation from White to force something from the position, sacrificing a knight for two pawns and the chance for evil checks against the open black king." - RECC  I'd quibble with the word "desperation", which suggests White felt he was in trouble and had to lash out.  Rather, IMO, the former World Champion has been maneuvering for a dozen moves, testing his weaker opponent's vigilance. Finding him up to that challenge, White changes the material balance and dynamics and tries posing some different questions. With the exposed black king White still has a draw in hand, but maybe Black will go wrong here...?  This isn't "desperation", it is good practical fighting chess: White fights for the win by testing his opponent in a tricky but still objectively drawn position.   BTW: SF rates three other moves as equally good:} (51. Qf1) (51. Ngf2) (51. Qg1) 51... gxh6 52. Qg6+ Kf8 53. Qxh6+ Ke8 54. Qg6+ Kd8 55. Qg3 Re8 56. Qf2 Rg8 57. Qb2 Qd6 58. Qc3 Kd7 59. Qf3 Kc7 60. Qe4 Rg7 61. Qf5 Re7 {[#]  Ed.Lasker: "White here sealed his move. A third four-hour session was in prospect as the ending was evidently going to be extremely difficult for both sides."} 62. Ng5 Re3 63. Ne4 Qe7 {Threat: ...h4+-+.} 64. Nf6 {[#] Blocks the mating threat and threatens a family fork on d5.} Kb8 $1 {A nice echo of White's 35.h2, which also preempted a  fork and left his opponent in a precarious position.} 65. g3 {Guards h4 and so unpins the .} Rxa3 66. Kh3 Ra1 67. Nd5 Rh1+ 68. Kg2 {[#]} Qh7 69. Qxh7 Rxh7 70. Kf3 Kb7  71. g4 $4 (71. f5 $142 $11 {If you want to see the variations which prove this, read Nunn's "John Nunn's Chess Course" or Sadler's "Re-Engineering...". The key idea is that the  is best placed on d3, and pushing the f-pawn enables f4-d3.}) 71... Kc6 $8 $19 72. Ke4 {[#]} Rh8 $4 {Right idea -- force the  away (by threatening ...e8+) -- but wrong execution.} (72... Rd7 $8 $19 73. f5 (73. Nc3 a5 $8 74. bxa5 b4 $19) (73. Nf6 Rd8 {and the  and  are cut off from Black's soon-to-be passed b-pawn:} 74. g5 a5 $8 $19 75. g6 (75. bxa5 b4 $19) 75... a4 $19) 73... Rxd5 74. f6 Rd1 $1 $19 {simplest.} (74... Rd8 {also wins, but is way trickier:} 75. g5 Kd6 (75... Rf8 $4 76. Kf5 $8 $18) 76. Kf5 Kd7 $8 77. g6 Ke8 $8 $19) 75. g5 Kd6 76. Kf5 Rf1+ 77. Kg6 Ke6 78. Kg7 Rf4 $19) 73. Ne3 $11 Re8+ 74. Kd4 Rd8+ {[#]} 75. Ke4 $4 {As we'll see in several variations below, allowing the white king to get cut off leaves the  alone and unable to cope with Black's passed b-pawn.} (75. Kc3 $11) 75... a5 $8 $19 76. bxa5 b4 77. a6 Kc5 $1 ({Here's a beautiful line that leads to a study-like finish discovered by Dvoretsky:} 77... b3 $2 78. Nc4 Kb5 79. Nb2 Kxa6 80. Ke3 $2 (80. f5 $1 $11) 80... Rd7 $1 {(Dvoretsky)} 81. g5 {[%mdl 64] Analysis Diagram [#] Critical Position} Kb7 $8 $19 {"it seems incredible, but this retreating move is the only winning continuation; Black's king must cross to the other side of the board to hold up White's pawns, but at the same time the king must never block the c7-square, as Black may need to play ...c7 in order to cut off the white king from the b-pawn."  - Nunn, JNCC.} 82. f5 Kc8 $8 83. g6 Kd8 84. f6 Ke8 {Black's king arrives just in time. - Nunn} 85. Nd3 Rd6 86. g7 (86. Kd2 b2 $8 $19) 86... Kf7 $8 87. Ne5+ Kg8 $8 88. Ng4 Rd8 89. Nh6+ Kh7 90. g8=Q+ Rxg8 91. Nxg8 b2 $8 $19) 78. a7 {[#] Ed.Lasker:  "Here is the surprise, which demonstrates how important a difference the position of my Rook on the eighth row constitutes. If the Rook had gone to d7 on the 72nd move, he could now simply capture the Pawn. As it is, he must lose a move for this purpose, and that is enough to secure a draw!"  Again, half-right: Black actually has enough time to play ...a8 and win.} b3 $4 {Sadler: "Back to a draw -- passed pawns shouldn't be pushed after all! How can move like this be wrong? The problem is that the pawn is harder for Black to defend against attack from the white king, so White gets a choice of destinations for his king according to Black's play: help the kingside pawns push through or run back to attack the b-pawn."} (78... Ra8 $8 $19 79. Nd1 ({Sadler gives a long, multi-branching analysis of this defence, concluding that Black wins after} 79. Nf1 Rxa7 80. Nd2 Ra2 81. Kd3 Kd5 {see RECC for more.}) 79... Rxa7 80. g5 Re7+ 81. Kd3 Rd7+ 82. Ke2 (82. Kc2 b3+ 83. Kc1 Kb4 $19) 82... b3 (82... Kd4 $18) 83. g6 Kd4 {Analysis Diagram [#] "This is the difference from the game continuation [editor - after move 81]-- the white king has been forced back and the black monarch can come over and deal with the passed kingside pawns more easily:} 84. Kf3 Rd6 85. f5 Ke5 $19 {" - Sadler, RECC.}) 79. Nd1 Ra8 80. g5 Rxa7 81. g6 Rd7 82. Nb2 Rd2 {[#]} 83. Kf3 $1 {Preventing g2 saves the . There is one other drawing move:} (83. g7 Rg2 84. f5 $8 Rxg7 85. f6 $8 Rg1 (85... Rf7 86. Ke5 $8 $11) 86. Kd3 $8 (86. Ke5 $2 Re1+ $8 87. Kf5 Kd6 $1 $19) 86... Kb4 87. Kd4 $8 Rf1 (87... Ka3 88. Nc4+ Ka2 89. Ke5 $11) 88. Ke5 $8 $11 {the  and  both die stopping their opponent's passers.}) 83... Rd8 84. Ke4 Rd2 85. Kf3 Rd8 86. Ke4 Kd6 87. Kd4 {[#] Sadler: "Compared with the note to move 78, here the black b-pawn is vulnerable and the white king immediately moves to attack it."} Rc8 88. g7 Ke6 89. g8=Q+ Rxg8 90. Kc4 Rg3 {[#] Ed.Lasker: "This is the move I had calculated would win my game after all. The other contestants also believed I had now a fairly easy win as White could not capture my Pawn. I remember I left the room at this stage to stretch a little and was congratulated upon my victory by Bogoljuboff and others who were in the Press room and told me the story of the game was ready to be released. However, when I returned to the table, a rude shock awaited me."} 91. Na4 Kf5 92. Kb4 Kxf4 {[#] Ed.Lasker: "It would take White three more moves, I had calculated, to capture the Pawn: Ka3, Nc5 and Nxb3. But at that moment my King would reach the square c4 and the Knight would be lost because the Rook pins it! It never occurred to me that White need not capture the Pawn at all and could still draw the game. Emanuel Lasker actually discovered a new end-game position in which a Rook and a Pawn cannot win against the Knight, and this position has since become a classic."} 93. Nb2 $1 {Ed.Lasker: "I was certainly surprised when I saw this move. Examining the position carefully, I soon realized that I had no way of driving White's King away. And I could not cross the sixth rank without exposing the Pawn to cap­ture! The first thing I did was to rush back to the Press room and tell the reporters that they shouid kill their story. I was afraid they might have already released it, for everyone had been telling them I had an easy win. Then I returned for another analysis of the position. If I could reach d2 with the King by playing him in back of my Rook, I could still win. And I made a last attempt..."} Ke4 94. Na4 Kd4 95. Nb2 Rf3 96. Na4 Re3 97. Nb2 Ke4 98. Na4 Kf3 {[#]} 99. Ka3 {Ed.Lasker: "This foils my plan. After ...e2 White would play Kb2 and I could never approach."} Ke4 (99... Ke2 100. Nc5 Kd2 101. Kb2 $8 $11) 100. Kb4 Kd4 101. Nb2 $8 {[#]} Rh3 102. Na4 $8 Kd3 103. Kxb3 Kd4+ {Ed.Lasker: "...and we called the game a draw. It was generally considered the most exciting game of the tournament.  I felt quite discouraged, naturally, at seeing the win slip through my hands after more than thirteen hours of hard struggle. But when the excitement had subsided I came to regard this game as one of my best efforts; and whenever I think of it I smile, remembering the "equalizing injustice of Chess."  - Edward Lasker, "Chess for fun & chess for blood".} 1/2-1/2

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.05"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Bogoljubow, Efim"]
[Black "Lasker, Edward"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "C60"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[GameId "272191607534"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Qf6 4. Nc3 Nge7 5. d3 Nd4 6. Nxd4 exd4 7. Ne2 c6 8. Ba4 d5 9. O-O g6 10. b4 Qd6 11. a3 Bg7 12. Bb2 b5 13. Bb3 c5 14. bxc5 Qxc5 15. Rc1 O-O 16. c3 dxc3 17. Nxc3 d4 18. Nd5 Qd6 19. f4 Nxd5 20. Bxd5 Rb8 21. Rc6 Qd8 22. Qb3 Bb7 23. Rc5 Qd6 24. Qc2 Rfc8 25. Rc1 Bf8 26. Bxd4 {[#]} Qxf4 $4 (26... Qb6 $11) 27. Rf1 $1 $18 Bxc5 28. Bxc5 Qe3+ 29. Bxe3 Rxc2 30. Bxf7+ Kg7 31. Bb3 {[#]} Rc7 {...b2 or c3 get forked, and} (31... Re2 32. Rf7+ Kh8 33. Bd4+ {is mating.}) 32. Bf4 Rbc8 33. Be6 $5 {This wins, but} (33. Bxc7 {leaves same-colour 's and makes and  trade an easy win for White.}) 33... Re7 34. Bxc8 Bxc8 35. Rc1 Bb7 {[%mdl 36928] [#]Critical Position White is up a pawn and has connected passers in the center. Should he trade down with c7 or play something else?} 36. Rc7 $4 {Almost anything is better than trading s, which allows Black to set up a blockade -- such a common theme in opposite-colour  endings that it is ludicrous that Bogo not only allowed it, but walked directly into it!} ({Simply} 36. Kf2 $18) 36... Kf7 $4 (36... Rxc7 $8 $11 37. Bxc7 b4 $3 ({or} 37... Ba6 {then ...d4.}) 38. axb4 Ba6 $8 39. d4 Bd3 40. e5 Kf7 $11 {or ...c4 and Black has a fortress, as noted by AA.}) 37. Rxe7+ Kxe7 38. Bd2 $1 {now pushing the b-pawn drops it with check and gives the white king time to support the center pawns.} Ke6 39. Kf2 Kd6 40. Ke3 Kc5 41. Ba5 Bc8 42. Bd8 Bd7 43. Ba5 g5 44. Bc3 h5 (44... a6 45. Bb4+ Kb6 46. d4 a5 47. Be7 b4 48. axb4 a4 {and b5 or d5 keeps White's  in touch with the a-pawn.} 49. b5 $1 $18 {simeplest} (49. d5)) 45. Bd4+ Kd6 46. Bxa7 h4 47. Bd4 Ke6 48. Bc3 Kf7 49. d4 Kg6 50. d5 Bc8 51. Ba5 Bd7 52. Bd8 h3 53. gxh3 Bxh3 54. Kd4 Bd7 55. e5 Kf5 56. e6 Be8 57. Bxg5 {if xg5, d6-d7 wins.} 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.03.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Black "Tartakower, Saviely"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "A85"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[GameId "272191607495"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{ This game may be the most anthologized from NY24, almost exclusively for the memorable maneuver Capablanca plays in its  ending; the first 30 moves are usually truncated -- skipped over as an unnecessary delay before the good stuff.} 1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 f5 3. c4 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. e3 b6 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. O-O Qe8 9. Qe2 Ne4 10. Bxe7 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Qxe7 12. a4 Bxf3 $5 13. Qxf3 Nc6 14. Rfb1 Rae8 15. Qh3 Rf6 16. f4 Na5 $11 {[#]A Classical Dutch has produced a Nimzo-Indian type structure.  White has a bit more space, but there are no open files and with all 16 pawns still on the board the  is no worse than the .  Neither side currently has any exploitable weaknesses, but Black creates some of his own.} 17. Qf3 (17. g4 $2 Rh6 $1 18. Qg3 fxg4 $15) 17... d6 $6 (17... c5 $142 $11 {and ...c8 would be the standard Nimzo way to go after the doubled c-pawns.}) 18. Re1 Qd7 19. e4 $1 $14 fxe4 20. Qxe4 g6 21. g3 Kf8 22. Kg2 {[#]} Rf7 (22... e5 $142 $1 $11) 23. h4 $1 $14 d5 $6 24. cxd5 exd5 25. Qxe8+ Qxe8 26. Rxe8+ Kxe8 27. h5 $1 $14 {Now there's play on both sides, and the  is better than the .} Rf6 28. hxg6 hxg6 29. Rh1 Kf8 {[#]} 30. Rh7 $6 {If the analysis below is correct, then this move gives away White's advantage.} (30. Rh8+ $142 $1 Kg7 31. Rd8 $14) 30... Rc6 $1 31. g4 Nc4 32. g5 Ne3+ 33. Kf3  Nf5 $4 {A losing blunder, which does not seem to be recognized as such. Both Tartakower and Alekhine analyzed Black's saving line, but overlooked defensive improvments.} ({Tartakower:} 33... Nd1 34. Rh6 Kg7 35. f5 Nxc3 {(?)} 36. Kf4 $1 Ne4 37. Bxe4 dxe4 38. f6+ Rxf6+ 39. gxf6+ Kxh6 40. Kxe4 Kh7 41. Kd5 $1 Kg8 42. Kc6 g5 43. Kxc7 g4 44. d5 $18 {Black wins the race, but White promotes with check and can force off the s with a check on g7, leaving a winning p ending.}) ({Alekhine:} 33... Nd1 34. Rh6 Kf7 35. f5 Rxc3 36. fxg6+ Kg8 37. Ke2 Nb2 {(?)} 38. Bf5 {"with an easy win." - AA. For those, like me, who don't find it as easy as Alekhine, it might end like this:} Rg3 39. Rh7 Rxg5 40. Be6+ $8 Kf8 41. Rf7+ $8 Ke8 42. g7 $18) ({Stockfish:} 33... Nd1 $8 $11 34. Rh6 {threatening g6, Black must defend with g7 (Tartakower) or f7 (Alekhine). As it happens, both moves draw.} Kg7 (34... Rxc3 $2 35. Ke2 $1 $18 {White gets the g6 pawn and the connected passers win easliy.}) (34... Kf7 35. f5 Rxc3 $8 36. fxg6+ Kg8 $8 37. Ke2 $8 {Analysis Diagram [#] Here, instead of Alekhine's ...b2 f5+- which wins as shown above, Stockfish shows that Black draws with any of three moves: ...b3, ...a3, and ...f2, each of which takes advantage of White's cut off  and isolated pawns. For instance:} Nf2 $1 38. Bf5 (38. Kxf2 Rxd3 $11 {is trivial.}) 38... Ne4 $8 {hits g5 and forks on g3.} 39. Be6+ (39. Rh7 Nxg5 $11) 39... Kg7 40. Bxd5 (40. Bf7 $4 Nxg5 $19) 40... Nxg5 $11) 35. f5 {Tartakower showed one way ...xc3 loses. But Black saves the game with:} Nb2 $8 $11 {Hitting the  before it has any good squares and unpinning g6 by enabling ...xc3 with check.} 36. Ke2 (36. f6+ Rxf6+ $8 $11) (36. Bb5 Rxc3+ 37. Kf4 gxf5 $11) 36... Nxd3 $1 37. Kxd3 Rd6 $1 $11 {threatening ...gxf5 with an easy draw.-}) 34. Bxf5 $8 $18 gxf5 {[#] This is one of the most analyzed endgames of all time, with new ideas proposed and refuted for over 80 years after it was played by players from Alekhine to Kasparov and endgame experts from Pervakov to Dvoretsky.  I will present this endgame twice: once as played, to illustrate it's most famous lesson -- the umbrella pawn -- and a second time in the Appendix with only the main lines of alternate defensive tries.  Full analysis can be found in Steve Giddins's "Greatest Ever Chess Endgames", (Everyman, 2012) and Daniel Naroditsky's "Mastering Complex Endings", (NiC, 2014).} 35. Kg3 $8 {"Decisive! White sacrifices material in order to obtain the classical position with king on f6, pawn on g6 and rook on h7, whereupon the black pawns tumble like ripe apples." - Alekhine.  "It is extremely instructive to see how Capablanca is no longer in the least concerned about material equality but thinks only of supporting his passed pawn." - Reti, "Masters of the Chessboard". "In a simplified ending, where Pawns are worth their weight in gold, Capablanca gives away two of them! Furthermore, he lets Black capture them with check!" - Chernev, "Capablanca's Best Chess Endings".} Rxc3+ (35... Kg8 $5 {improving the position of the  before taking on c3 is analyzed in the longer version.}) 36. Kh4 Rf3 $6 {Black has more challenging defences --- ...a6, ...c5, ...c1 -- all in the Appendix.} 37. g6 $1 Rxf4+ 38. Kg5 Re4 {[#]} (38... Rxd4 39. Kf6 $8 Ke8 (39... Kg8 40. Rd7 $1 {mates.}) 40. Rxc7 $1 {mopping up some pawns before winning the  for the g-pawn.}) 39. Kf6 $1 {The star idea of this ending: White has sac'ed two pawns to get his  to dominant positions and uses the opponent's pawn as an "umbrella" to shield the  from checks.} (39. Kxf5 $2 Rxd4 $11 {and Black has checks that prevent the white  supporting the passed g-pawn.}) 39... Kg8 40. Rg7+ {Not necessary, but good technique: pushing the  gives White a tempo for both back-rank mate threats and makes g6-g7+ a possibly useful tempo gainer.} Kh8 41. Rxc7 Re8 {[#]} 42. Kxf5 (42. Kf7 Rd8 43. Rc1 $1 {changing the direction of the mating threats also wins, but is less direct.}) 42... Re4 43. Kf6 Rf4+ 44. Ke5 Rg4 45. g7+ Kg8 (45... Rxg7 46. Rxg7 Kxg7 47. Kxd5 $18 {Black can't stop the d-pawn.}) 46. Rxa7 Rg1 47. Kxd5 Rc1 48. Kd6 Rc2 49. d5 Rc1 50. Rc7 Ra1 51. Kc6 Rxa4 52. d6 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.11"]
[Round "18"]
[White "Lasker, Edward"]
[Black "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "B27"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[GameId "510325111078"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. Bc4 c5 4. O-O Nc6 5. c3 Qb6 6. Re1 d6 7. Bb3 Nf6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 O-O 10. h3 Nh5 11. Be3 Na5 12. Nc3 Nxb3 13. axb3 $18 Qd8 14. e5 f5 $18 15. Bg5 d5 16. Qc1 Be6 17. Ne2 Rc8 18. Qd2 a6 19. Qb4 Qd7 20. Qxe7 Qxe7 21. Bxe7 Rfe8 22. Bb4 Rc2 23. Bc3 $2 Bh6 24. g3 Bd7 25. Rad1 Bb5 26. Nc1 Ng7 27. Nh2 $11 Ne6 28. Nd3 Bxd3 29. Rxd3 Bc1 30. Nf1 Ng5 31. Kg2 Ne4 32. Rf3 Kf7 33. g4 Ke6 34. Ne3 Bxe3 35. Rexe3 Rc8 36. Kf1 b5 37. gxf5+ gxf5 38. Rf4 $2 h5 $2 39. Re2 $6 Rc1+ 40. Re1 Rxe1+ 41. Bxe1 Rc1 42. Rh4 Rb1 43. Rxh5 f4 {[#]} 44. Ke2 {Alekhine: "A deplorable mistake, because of which the instructive ending comes to an untimely end."  Stockfish disagrees, and actually counts 44.e2 as one of only two moves that save the game, the other being the one shown in Alekhine's analysis.   White's losing move is still to come, and careful computer analysis shows that this instructive ending is actually only beginning.} ({"Necessary was...} 44. Rh6+ Kf5 $1 45. f3 Ng3+ 46. Kg2 Rxb2+ (46... Rxe1 $2 {would have led to defeat after} 47. Rf6+ Kg5 48. h4+ $8 Kh5 49. Rxf4 {Analysis Diagram [#]} Nf1 ({SF improves by showing that Black has a highly tactical draw here:} 49... Ne2 $142 $8 50. Rf5+ Kxh4 $8 51. Kf2 Nxd4 $8 52. Rf4+ Kg5 $8 53. Rxd4 (53. Rg4+ Kf5 54. Kxe1 Nxf3+ 55. Kd1 $8 $11 {taking the  loses (!!) so White will drops the e-pawn and is left with the better side of what should be a draw.}) 53... Rb1 $1 (53... Rxe5 $4 54. f4+ $18) 54. Rxd5 Rxb2+ $11) 50. Kf2 $18 {AA ends here, though there are still a few more tactical adventures, since Black can save the piece (but not the game) with} Ne3 $5 51. e6 $1 $18 (51. Kxe1 $4 Ng2+ $19) 51... Nc2 52. Rf5+ $8 Kg6 $1 {[%mdl 4160] Analysis Diagram [#] Critical Position} 53. Re5 $8 (53. Rxd5 $2 Rxe6 $11) 53... Rxe5 54. dxe5 Nd4 {(or ...b4)} 55. h5+ $8 $18 {Black can't catch 'em all! Another pretty line.}) 47. Bf2 Kg5 $1 48. Rxa6 Nf5 {"with a superior position." - Alekhine  But in the final position, SF17 gives 10 moves for White that are all 0.00.}) 44... f3+ 45. Kxf3 Rxe1 {[#] Critical Position   In fact, had White not blundered here, this ending would have continued to be not only instructive, but a wonderful sequel to Capablanca's "umbrella" maneuver in his endgame against Tartakower from round 6.} 46. Rh6+ $4 (46. Kf4 $1 $11 {The umbrella on f2 shields the white  just long enough to get in front of his e6 pawn. After this, Black needs to reconcile himself to the draw.} Nxf2 47. Rh6+ $8 Ke7 48. Kf5 $11 {Black's pieces are almost comically unprepared to cope with h7+ and e6: now the f2 is the umbrella!} Rd1 49. Rh7+ {Analysis Diagram [#] Black can accept the repetition, or tempt fate by allowing the White  in with:} Kf8 (49... Ke8 $4 50. Ke6 $18) (49... Kd8 50. Ke6 Rxd4 51. h4 Ne4 52. Ra7 Nc5+ 53. Kd6 Ne4+ 54. Ke6 Nd2 $6 {might not lose, but it would be insane} 55. Rd7+ Kc8 56. Rxd5 $11) 50. Ke6 Ne4 (50... Rxd4 $4 51. Rf7+ $18) 51. Kxd5 {only White can be playing for a win.}) 46... Kf5 $8 $19 47. Rxa6 ({The RECS says White still had good drawing chances here with} 47. h4 $1 {This is true: the game move leaves Black with a relatively trivial win, while h4 poses much more serious problems. However, with a clever maneuver and precise play, Black can still win.} Nd2+ 48. Kg2 Ke4 49. Rg6 Kxd4 50. e6 Ke5 51. e7 Kf5 52. Rg5+ {Analysis Diagram [#]} {Here, SF finds this win:} Kf4 $8 $18 {supporting ...f3 gives tactics which win if White takes the d-pawn now, and time enough to advance the d-pawn if White saves his e-pawn:} ({The Rybka3 RECS continues with:} 52... Kf6 53. Rxd5 Nxb3 54. Rd6+ Kxe7 55. Rxa6 $11 {when White does draw; but computers have improved tremendously since then, and even in positions with relatively few pieces the new engines find much more.}) 53. Rg7 (53. Rxd5 Nf3 $8 $19 54. Rd3 (54. Rh5 $2 Kg4 $19 {White has to give the exchange to avoid mate.}) 54... Nxh4+ $8 55. Kh2 Rxe7 56. Rd6 Nf3+ 57. Kg2 (57. Kh3 Re6 $1 $19 {simplest.}) 57... Rg7+ $1 58. Kh3 {Black has several ways to win, including simply saving the b-pawn with the  and mopping up the white pawns with the  and ; but the computer shows a shorter tactical win with:} (58. Kf1 Rg1+ $19 {wins the  with a skewer.}) 58... Ng5+ 59. Kh2 Kf3 60. Rf6+ Ke2 61. f4 Nf3+ 62. Kh3 Kf2 {and ...g3 mate.}) 53... d4 {More or less zugzwang.} 54. h5 {Analysis Diagram [#] White's best chance, but Black is just in time.} Kf5 $8 55. h6 (55. Rg6 Rxe7 56. Rxa6 Rg7+ $19 {and push the d-pawn.}) 55... Kf6 $8 {Stops the pawns and prepares to activate the .} 56. Rg4 (56. b4) 56... Rxe7 $8 57. Rxd4 Ne4 $8 (57... Nxb3 $2 58. Rd6+ $11) 58. f3 Ng5 $19 {So, Capablanca was winning all along!?  WIth perfect play, yes. But this is obviously not at all trivial, so 47.h4! would have been a much better defensive try than the game move.}) 47... Ng5+ $1 48. Kg2 Ne6 $1 {[#] After this tidy  maneuver the rest is mopping up.} 49. h4 (49. Rd6 Re4 $1 {since the  fork protects d5.}) 49... Re4 50. Rb6 Rg4+ 51. Kf1 Nxd4 52. e6 Re4 53. h5 Rxe6 54. Rb8 Rh6 55. Ke1 Rxh5 56. Kd2 Rh3 57. Rf8+ Ke5 58. b4 Rb3 59. Re8+ Ne6 60. f4+ Kf5 0-1

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.15"]
[Round "21"]
[White "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Black "Reti, Richard"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "C14"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[GameId "272191607567"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. Qd2 O-O 8. f4 c5 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. Bd3 f6 12. exf6 Qxf6 13. g3 Bd7 14. O-O Nxd3 15. cxd3 Be8 16. Rfe1 Bg6 17. Nb5 e5 18. Nc3 d4 19. Ne4 Bxe4 20. Rxe4 exf4 21. Rxf4 Qd6 22. Re1 Rxf4 23. Qxf4 Qxf4 24. gxf4 Kf8 25. Re4 Re8 26. Kf2 h6 27. Ne5 Nxe5 28. fxe5 Kf7 29. Kf3 Rd8 30. Rg4 g5 31. h4 {[%mdl 36928] [#] Critical Position ...g6, ...g8, or something else?} Kg6 $4 {Black has two moves which draw: ...e6 and ...g8.} (31... gxh4 $2 32. Rxh4 Kg6 33. Ke4 h5 34. Rh1 $18 {Black can't indefinitely keep defending d4, the h-pawn, and preventing f5.}) (31... Ke6 $1 32. hxg5 h5 $8 $11 33. Re4 $5 Rg8 $8 (33... Kf5 $4 34. g6 $8 Kxg6 35. Rh4 $8 $18 {as above.}) 34. Kf4 Rf8+ $8 35. Kg3 Rf1 $8 36. Re2 Rg1+ $8 $11 {since g2?? xg2+ would be a winning pawn ending.}) (31... Rg8 $1 32. Ke4 (32. Rxd4 Ke6 $8 $11) 32... Ke6 33. Kxd4 (33. hxg5 Rxg5 $1 $11 {simplest.}) 33... Kf5 $8 34. Rg1 g4 $1 $11 (34... Rd8+ $11)) 32. hxg5 hxg5 33. Ke4 $8 Kh5 34. Rg1 Kh4 35. e6 g4 36. e7 Re8 37. Kf4 {[#]} Kh5 (37... Kh3 38. Rg3+ Kh2 39. Rxg4 Rxe7 40. Kf5 $18 {White is playing with an extra .} Re2 41. Rxd4 Rxb2 42. Ra4 $18) 38. Kf5 {And f6 will support the e-pawn and win the .} 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.09"]
[Round "16"]
[White "Bogoljubow, Efim"]
[Black "Yates, Frederick Dewhurst"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "D65"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "179"]
[GameId "272191607544"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. Qc2 a6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bd3 Re8 11. O-O Nf8 12. a3 Ng6 13. Ne5 Ng4 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. h3 Nh6 17. Ne2 Qh4 18. Qc5 g5 19. Qd6 g4 {[#]} 20. g3 Qe7 (20... Qxh3 $4 21. Nf4 $18) 21. Qxe7 Rxe7 22. h4 $11 Bd7 23. Nf4 g6 24. b4 Bf5 25. a4 Bxd3 26. Nxd3 a5 27. b5 cxb5 28. axb5 Nf5 29. Ne5 Kg7 30. Rc5 f6 31. Nxg4 Rd7 32. Rfc1 Kf7 33. Rc7 Rad8 34. b6 Ke6 35. R7c5 $2 (35. Ra1 $142 $16) 35... Ra8 36. Rc7 Rxc7 37. bxc7 Nd6 38. f3 a4 39. e4 a3 {[%mdl 4160] [#] If this game had been played in the past 50 years it would be reasonable to think that the next moves were both blunders in time pressure while making their last moves before the time control. But in NY24 the time control was at move 30, with an extra 1hr for each additional 15 moves.} 40. Nxf6 $4 (40. Ne3 $142) (40. exd5+ $142) 40... a2 $4 {Did Yates just believe him, or could he not resist throwing in this "surprise" intermediate move? Either way, it turns the game from a win to a draw.} (40... Kxf6 41. e5+ Ke7 42. exd6+ Kd7 43. Kf2 b5 $8 $19 {with a long line, as shown by AA.  Black wins here because the b-pawn will gain a tempo on the c1, while in the game line White's  is on a1 and his  can defend b2.}) 41. Ra1 $8 {[%mdl 4160] [#]Critical Position Take on f6 or take on e4?} Kxf6 $4 {Not remarked on by AA, but this is a decisive blunder.} (41... dxe4 $8 $11 42. fxe4 (42. Nxe4 Nc8 $8 $11 (42... Nxe4 $4 43. Rxa2 $8 $18) 43. g4 (43. Kf2 Ra3 $11) 43... Kd7 44. h5 gxh5 45. g5 $11) 42... Kxf6 43. e5+ Ke6 44. exd6 Kd7 $8 {guarding c8 prevents tactics with xa2, and threatens to win with ...b7-b5-b4 etc.} (44... Kxd6 $4 {allows White to win by trading the queenside pawns to reach a 2v1 ending where Black's king is too far to defend.} 45. Rxa2 Rc8 46. Rc2 Kd5 47. Kg2 b5 48. Rc5+ Kxd4 49. Rxb5 Rxc7 50. Rb6 $18 {White's  can attack the g-pawn and Black's  can't help.}) {Analysis Diagram  [#]} 45. Kf1 {White's  has to get close enough to stop Black's b-pawn, and staying off the second rank allows xa2 tricks; but the king walk pulls it far enough from the kingside for Black to draw.} (45. g4 $4 b5 $19) 45... b5 46. Ke1 (46. Ke2 Kxd6 $11 {With White's  on the second rank there are no xa2 tricks:} 47. Rxa2 $4 Rxa2+ $19) 46... b4 47. Kd1 b3 48. Kc1 Kxd6 49. Kb2 Kxc7 50. Kxb3 Kc6 $11 {Analysis Diagram [#]  Saved by one tempo!  If White trades s on a2 the black king can win d4 and still be in the square of the h-pawn; otherwise, the best White can do is a drawn  v  ending. If Black's d5 pawn was still on the board this would be a win for White, since the d5-pawn would guard White's d4 pawn, and xa2 would win. This is why 41... dxe4 was necessary: the empty square d5 would leave the d4-pawn exposed to attack.}) 42. e5+ Ke6 43. exd6 Kd7 (43... Kxd6 44. Rxa2 $1 Rc8 45. Rc2 $18 {a  exchange leaves a +- pawn ending.}) 44. Kf2 b5 45. Ke1 b4 {[#]} 46. Kd2 $4 {I doubt Bogoljubow missed that this hangs d6, since now xa2 fails to the recapture check. Rather, I suspect he misevaluated the position at move 48, thinking Black's three isos were losing.} ({After} 46. Kd1 $1 b3 {both sides have a protected passer on the 7th; but all four pawns are doomed, and White's kingside wins whether or not the s get traded.} 47. Kc1 {The white  can approach this way only because Black earlier inserted ...a2 a1.} Kxd6 48. Kb2 Kxc7 49. Kxb3 $18) 46... Kxd6 $1 47. c8=Q (47. Rxa2 $4 Rxa2+ {is now check.}) 47... Rxc8 48. Rxa2 {[%mdl 4160] [#] Critical Position  Here both sides trade blunders by overestimating the importance of the g6 pawn.} Rc6 $4 {Again, no comment from AA, but this is another game-losing blunder. Black's move defends g6 and keeps the white king cut off from the b-pawn, but , but it loses.} (48... Rc4 $8 $11 49. Ra6+ Kc7 $8 {preventing b6.} (49... Rc6 $4 {steps into a losing pawn ending.}) 50. Rxg6 b3 51. Re6 {hurrying back to stop the b-pawn from e1} Rc2+ $8 52. Kd1 Rc3 {(...g2 also draws)} 53. Kd2 {Analysis Diagram [#]} Rc2+ $11 (53... Rxf3 $5 54. Rg6 Rf2+ 55. Kc1 (55. Kc3 $6 $11 {draws, but White is the one who could go wrong.} b2 $8 56. Rg7+ $8 $11 {White stops the b2 pawn by either getting to the b-file or threatening to skewer b1 with a8+-b8+... and underpromotions with check leave the  too far to help with the kingside.}) 55... Rc2+ 56. Kb1 Rh2 $8 $11) 54. Kd3 (54. Kd1 Rc3 $11) 54... Rf2 $8 55. f4 Rf3+ $11 {wins the g-pawn to cripple White's passers.}) 49. Ra7 $2 $11 {Gives up the win.} (49. g4 $18 {Improves on the variations above since now ....f3+ will not fork the g-pawn, leaving White with connected passers.} Rc4 50. Ra6+ $1 Kc7 51. Rxg6 b3 52. Re6 $1 Rc2+ 53. Kd3 Rf2 54. Kc3 (54. Re1 $2 Rxf3+ $11) 54... b2 (54... Rxf3+ 55. Kb2 $18 {White can set up g6-g4-h5 and this triangle defends itself and moves up the board to promotion.}) 55. Re1 Rxf3+ 56. Kxb2 Rh3 (56... Rf4 57. Re7+ Kd6 58. Rg7 $8 $18) 57. h5 Rg3 58. Re7+ Kd6 59. Rg7 $18) 49... Ke6 $4 {The final blunder.} (49... Rc4 $8 $11 50. Ke3 Rc3+ (50... Kc6 $1 $11) 51. Kf4 Kc6 $8 $11 {and the black  supporting the b-pawn draws.}) 50. Rb7 $18 {Black's b-pawn is no longer a threat and White wins with no difficulties.} Rc3 (50... Rc4 51. Ke3 $18) 51. Ke2 b3 52. g4 Kf6 53. Rb6+ Kf7 54. g5 {Not the only way to win.} Kg7 55. Rb5 {[#]} Rc2+ (55... Kf7 $5 56. Kf2 (56. Rxd5 $2 Rc4 $8 $11) 56... Ke6 57. Kg3 Rd3 58. Rb4 Kf5 59. Rb6 $1 Rxd4 60. Rxb3 $18) 56. Kd3 Rh2 57. Rxb3 Rxh4 58. Rb7+ Kg8 59. Rd7 Rf4 60. Ke3 Rf5 61. f4 {[#]Now White maneuvers to put the  on e5.} Kf8 62. Kf3 Kg8 63. Kg4 Kf8 64. Ra7 Kg8 65. Re7 Rf8 66. Re5 Rd8 67. Re6 Kf7 68. Rf6+ Kg7 {[#]} 69. f5 gxf5+ 70. Kxf5 Rd7 71. Ke6 Ra7 72. Ke5 Ra1 73. Rd6 Re1+ 74. Kf5 (74. Kxd5 {would have been much quicker:} Kf7 (74... Rg1 75. g6 $18) 75. g6+ Ke7 76. Ra6 $18) 74... Rf1+ 75. Ke6 Kg6 76. Rxd5 Rd1 77. Kd6 Kh5 78. Kc5 Rc1+ 79. Kb4 Rb1+ 80. Kc3 Rc1+ 81. Kd2 Rg1 82. Re5 Rg3 {[%mdl 4160] [#]Critical Position Passed pawns must be pushed?} 83. Re3 $1 (83. d5 $4 {this passed pawn must not be pushed!} Rxg5 $11 84. Rxg5+ Kxg5 85. Ke3 Kf6 $8 $11) 83... Rxg5 84. Kd3 Ra5 85. Ke4 Kg6 86. Rf3 $1 Kg7 87. d5 Ra7 88. Ke5 Re7+ 89. Kd6 Ra7 90. Ke6 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.05"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Tartakower, Saviely"]
[Black "Marshall, Frank James"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[GameId "272191607537"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 O-O 5. g3 c5 6. Bg2 Nc6 7. O-O e6 8. d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 d5 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Nd2 Re8 12. N2f3 Bg4 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Ne5 Bd7 15. Nxd7 Nxd7 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Rc1 Qf6 18. e3 Rad8 19. Rc2 Re6 20. Qd2 Rd6 21. Rd1 Ne5 22. Qd4 R8d7 23. Rdc1 {[#]} Kg8 $2 (23... Re7 $142 {discourages f2-f4 by preparing counterplay against e3}) 24. f4 Ng4 25. Qxf6 Rxf6 26. Bh3 h5 27. Rxc6 Rxc6 28. Rxc6 d4 $5 29. Bxg4 hxg4 {[%mdl 36928] [#]Critical Position} 30. Kf2 $2 {[%mdl 64] "Winning an important tempo." - AA In fact, this is the first of pair of unnoticed blunders that could have changed the game to a draw.} (30. exd4 $1 $18 {c8+ then exd4 also draws, but there's no good reason to bring the black  forward.} Rxd4 31. Rc2 Kg7 (31... Re4 32. Kf2 $18) 32. Kf2 Kf6 33. Ke3 Rd1 34. Rd2 $1 $18 {makes a bridge for the white  to cross to attck a7 while the d2 protects the base of both pawn chains and cuts off Black's .}) (30. Rc2 $2 d3 (30... dxe3 $2 31. Kf1 $19) 31. Rd2 Rc7 32. Kf1 Rc1+ 33. Kf2 Rc2 34. Ke1 Rc1+ $11) 30... dxe3+ $4 (30... d3 $8 31. Ke1 (31. Rc1 f5 32. Rd1 (32. Rb1 Rh7 $11) 32... Rc7 $1 $11) 31... Rd5 $8 32. Kd2 (32. Rc3 Rh5 33. Rxd3 Rxh2 34. Rd2 Rh1+ 35. Ke2 Rh3 36. Kf2 Rh2+ $11) 32... Rh5 $8 33. Kxd3 Rxh2 34. Rc2 (34. Ra6 Rg2 $11) 34... Rh1 $1 $14) 31. Kxe3 {"A pawn plus on the queenside easily turned to account, the better position of his rook, the preferable king's position -- more than this surely no one could expect!" - AA True, and Tartakower doesn't give Marshall a second chance.} Re7+ 32. Kd3 Rd7+ 33. Kc2 Kg7 34. b4 Re7 35. Kb3 Re2 36. Rc2 Re3+ 37. Kc4 Ra3 38. b5 Ra4+ 39. Kb3 Re4 40. Rc7 Re3+ 41. Kb4 Re4+ 42. Kb3 Re3+ 43. Rc3 Re1 44. Rc2 Kf6 45. Kb4 Ke6 46. Ka5 Re4 47. a4 Kd7 48. Rc6 Kd8 49. Rf6 Ke8 50. Rd6 {[#]} Re2 51. Ka6 Rxh2 52. Kxa7 Ra2 53. Rd4 Ra3 54. b6 Rxg3 55. b7 Rb3 56. b8=Q+ Rxb8 57. Kxb8 f5 58. a5 g5 59. a6 g3 60. a7 gxf4 61. a8=Q 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.05"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Janowski, Dawid Markelowicz"]
[Black "Yates, Frederick Dewhurst"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "A48"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "162"]
[GameId "272191607536"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{Apart from Alekhine's relatively short notes I can't find this game analyzed anywhere. That's not surprising -- the game is full of mistakes and neither player was a contender -- but it means the instuctive rook endgame has also passed under the radar.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. h3 O-O 5. e3 d6 6. Bc4 Nc6 7. O-O Nd7 8. Nc3 {[#]} h6 9. Qd2 e5 10. Bg3 Kh7 11. Rad1 Nb6 12. Be2 Qe7 13. Rfe1 Bd7 14. Bd3 $2 (14. dxe5 $14) 14... Rae8 (14... f5 $142 $15) 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. e4 $14 Nb4 17. Bf1 Rd8 18. Qc1 f6 19. a3 Nc6 20. Nd5 {[#]} Nxd5 $2 {After this White has a huge advantage, with every minor piece better than its black counterpart.} (20... Qf7 $142 21. Nxc7 $140 Bxh3 $14) 21. exd5 Nb8 22. c4 b6 $2 (22... Qf7 $142 $14) 23. Bd3 $1 Be8 {[#] Black's passive play has allowed White to build a wining advantage; but for the remainder of the game Janowski invariably avoids the most dynamic ways to play for the win, and when (at last) confronted with a Black threat he retreats into what he hopes will be a fortress.} 24. Qc2 (24. Nd4 $142 Bf7 25. f4 $18) 24... Nd7 (24... c6 $142 $132) 25. b4 a5 26. Nd4 $1 Rc8 27. Ne6 Rg8 28. c5 bxc5 29. bxc5 Bf7 {[#]} 30. c6 (30. f4 $142 $1 Bxe6 (30... c6 31. Nxg7 Rxg7 32. d6 $18) 31. dxe6 Qxe6 32. Bxg6+ $18) 30... Nf8 31. f4 $6 (31. Nc5 $142 Bxd5 (31... f5 32. Nb7 $18) 32. Bxg6+ $18) 31... Nxe6 32. dxe6 Qxe6 33. f5 Qe8 34. Be4 gxf5 35. Bxf5+ Bg6 36. Rd7 Bxf5 37. Qxf5+ Qg6 38. Qf3 Kh8 39. Re4 Rce8 40. Rg4 $1 Qb1+ 41. Kh2 Re6 42. Qd5 $1 Qf5 {[#]} 43. Rxc7 (43. Rdxg7 $142 $1 {wins the c7-pawn and will leave Black hopelessly tangled after d7, and dramatically simplifies the position.}) 43... h5 44. Rh4 Bh6 {[#]White has had a big advantage for 20 moves -- ranging from +1.5 to +5.5 in this position -- but at and b7 and Black has no time to go after the f4-pawn the first sight of black counterplay (...xg3!?) -- and the last move of the second time control -- he plays a panicky defensinve move which gives it all away. White has several wins here -- even 45...e1 -- but the two best are:} 45. Qf3 $4 (45. Rd7 $1 Rxg3 46. Kxg3 Bf4+ 47. Kf2 $8 Qc2+ 48. Kf1 Qc1+ 49. Qd1 $18 {blocks the check and attacks h5, ending any Black hopes.}) ({and the one Alekhine noted:} 45. Rxh5 $1 {wins, but requires some calculation to be sure:} Qxh5 46. Qxe6 Rxg3 $5 {looks frightening, but top class players should be able to identify the defensive saves with little effort:} (46... Qg5 47. Qg4 $18 {AA}) 47. Kxg3 $1 (47. Qxf6+ $1 {wins, but is more of a tightrope:} Rg7 48. Rxg7 Bxg7 49. Qd8+ $8 Kh7 50. c7 $8 $18) 47... Qg6+ (47... Bf4+ 48. Kf2 Qh4+ 49. Kf1 {no checks and Black gets mated.}) 48. Qg4 Bf4+ 49. Kf2 Qc2+ 50. Qe2 $18 Qc5+ 51. Kf1 Qc1+ 52. Qe1 Qc4+ 53. Kg1 Qc5+ 54. Kh1 $18 {a long line, but the attacking geometry for Black clearly doesn't work: the  attacks only dark squares and White blocks checks with the  until the  hides behind the light-square-guarding pawns.}) 45... Qxf3 $1 46. gxf3 Rd6 $8 $11 {[#] Black creates counterplay against the  and  just in time.} 47. Rxh5 Rd2+ 48. Kh1 Rxg3 49. Rxh6+ Kg8 50. Rd7 Rdg2 $1 {[#]} 51. Rd1 Kg7 52. Rh4 Rc2 53. Rg1 $5 {A weird choice.} (53. Rg4+ {and recapturing with either pawn fixes White's structure.}) 53... Rxg1+ 54. Kxg1 Rxc6 55. Ra4 Rc5 56. Kf2 f5 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position  to the e-file or g-file?} 57. Kg3 $4  (57. Ke2 $1 Kg6 58. Kd3 $8 $11 Rd5+ (58... f4 59. Rc4 Rb5 60. a4 Rb3+ 61. Rc3 $11) (58... Kh5 59. Rc4 Rd5+ 60. Ke2 $8 (60. Ke3 Rb5 $8 $19) 60... Rb5 61. a4 $8 $11) 59. Ke2 $8 (59. Kc4 $4 Rd4+ 60. Kb5 Rxa4 61. Kxa4 e4 62. fxe4 f4 $8 $19) (59. Ke3 f4+ $19) 59... f4 60. Rc4 $8 Kh5 61. Rc8 $1 Kh4 62. Rh8+ Kg3 $11) 57... Kf6 $1 $18 58. f4 ({Alekhine: "A dreadful move, which allows the adversray a supported passed pawn and at the same time endangers his own f-pawn. A draw was still to be had by:} 58. Kf2 Kg5 59. f4+ exf4 60. Kf3 Rc3+ 61. Kg2 Rg3+ 62. Kh2 $11 {etc." FWIW, SF rates 58.f4 as losing, but still Black's best!! That's because although the final position in Alekhine's variation is equal, Black has a winning improvement on the very first move:}) ({after} 58. Kf2 {Black wins with} f4 $1 $19 {Black wins by going after the h-pawn with his , and then the f3 pawn with  and . White's  can go to the second rank to prevent his  from being checked back, but also has to defend the a-pawn, and it can only sit on a2 for one move before zugzwang.}) 58... e4 $8 $19 59. Kh4 Ke6 60. Rd4 {[%mdl 64] [#] The next sequence includes a string of blunders from both players, who repeat the position without noticing White's drawing counterplay.} Rb5 $4 (60... Rc3 $1 61. Ra4 Rf3 $19 {- Alekhine.} 62. Kg5 Rxh3 63. Rxa5 Rg3+ $8 64. Kh5 Rg4 $19 {transposes to the game.}) 61. Ra4 $4 {Either Janowski believes it's a fortress or that Yates wouldn't be able to figure out how to break it.} ({Black gets drawing counterplay by going after the f5-pawn with:} 61. Rd8 $1 {or}) (61. a4 $1 {e.g.} Rb4 62. Rd8 Rxa4 63. Kg5 $8 $11) 61... Kd5 $4 $11 (61... Rc5 $19 {transposing to a previous line} 62. Kg5 $2 {loses to} e3 $8 $19 {exploiting the terrible immobility of the a4, and showing why the black  is best placed on the c-file.}) 62. Kg3 $1 $11 Rc5 63. Kf2 Ke6 {[%mdl 36928] [#] Critical Position} 64. Kg3 $4 (64. Ke2 $2 Kf6 65. Kf2 Kg6 66. Kg2 Kh5 67. Kg3 Rc3+ 68. Kg2 Kh4 $18) (64. h4 $8 $11 {This looks like a pointless distraction -- surely the black  can walk over and take the h-pawn and then either invade on g4 or cross back to the queenside? No! White's point is to make a pocket for the king on h4.} Kf6 65. h5 $8 (65. Ke3 $4 Rd5 $8 $19) 65... Kg7 66. Kg3 $8 Kh6 67. Kh4 $8 $11 {Analysis Diagram [#] White can oscille the  to draw and it's a fortress. To make progress Black must give up the a-pawn.} Rd5 (67... e3 68. Kg3 $8 $11 (68. Rd4 $2 Rc6 $8 $19)) 68. Rc4 $8 Rd6 69. Rc3 (69. Rc5 $4 Re6 $19) 69... Re6 70. a4 $8 $11 (70. Re3 $4 Re7 $8 71. a4 Rg7 $8 $19) 70... e3 71. Rxe3 $8 Rxe3 $8 $11 {stalemate: another bonus of having the  pocketed on h4.}) 64... Rc3+ 65. Kh4 Rf3 66. Kg5 Rxh3 67. Rxa5 Rg3+ $8 68. Kh5 Rg4 69. Re5+ Kf6 70. Re8 Rxf4 {[#] The rest needs no comment.} 71. a4 Rf3 72. Kh4 Ra3 73. Ra8 Ke5 74. Kg5 Rg3+ $1 75. Kh5 e3 76. a5 Kf4 77. a6 Rg1 78. a7 {[#]} Ra1 79. Kg6 Ra6+ 80. Kh5 e2 81. Re8 Kf3 $1 0-1

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.04.06"]
[Round "15"]
[White "Bogoljubow, Efim"]
[Black "Tartakower, Saviely"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[ECO "A90"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[GameId "272191607539"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 1. d4 f5 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. c4 d5 5. Nf3 c6 6. O-O Bd6 7. Nc3 Nbd7 8. Qc2 O-O 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Nb5 Bb8 11. Bf4 Bxf4 12. gxf4 Nb6 13. Nc7 Rb8 14. Ng5 Qd6 15. Qc5 Rd8 16. Qxd6 Rxd6 17. Nb5 Rd8 18. a4 h6 19. Nf3 Bd7 20. Ne5 a6 21. Nc3 Rdc8 $11 {[#]} 22. Rfc1 Bxa4 23. Nxa4 Rxc1+ 24. Rxc1 Nxa4 25. b3 Nb6 26. Rc7 Nc8 27. Nd3 Nd6 28. e3 b6 29. Rc6 Nfe8 30. Bf3 Kf7 31. Bh5+ Ke7 32. h4 Nf6 33. Be2 Nd7 34. Ne5 Nxe5 35. fxe5 Nb5 36. Bxb5 axb5 37. Rc7+ Kf8 38. b4 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position  Another fascinating rook ending.   White is a pawn down, but has a  on the 7th and targets on b6, e6 and g7 as compensation. If Black does nothing White can go f4, f3, e4, and after exchanges d4-d5 will create a central passer supported by the , which wins.   This means Black must do something to create counterplay, but what?  Rook activity, of course!} Ra8 $2 {This loses. The idea is right, but the move-order is wrong.} (38... g5 $2 {is terrible -- making the white  even more active -- and loses to several moves, including} 39. h5 $1 $18) (38... f4 $8 $11 {Only move to draw. The idea is that Black's  will get pawn targets no matter what White does about the f4-pawn: either on d4 or e3 and h4, depending on what White does about the f4 pawn.  The difficult-to-understand point is that Black must do this now -- before ...a8 -- because how White responds to ...f4 makes a difference to whether Black must spend a tempo defending e6:  - if White takes on f4 then Black can drop the e6-pawn and draw with counterplay across the 4th rank; - if White ignores f4 and allows ...fxe3 then Black must defend e6 or White's central clump wins, but Black draws with counterplay against the e- and h-pawns.  In the game line, Black is forced to spend a tempo defending e6 before White has to make a choice about ...f4.  In the game, both players miss this critical difference, and Alekhine didn't mention it in his book.} 39. exf4 (39. Rc6 fxe3 40. fxe3 Kf7 $1 $11 {defending e6 keeps d5 safe. Black next goes ...a8 and attacks the e3 and h4 (the b4-pawn can wait).}) 39... Ra8 $8 40. Rc6 {Analysis Diagram [#] Black doesn't have to defend e6 now that the fourth rank is littered with targets:} Ra4 $1 (40... Kf7 $2 41. Rxb6 $18 {transposes to the game.}) 41. Rxe6 (41. Rxb6 Rxb4 $8 $11) 41... Rxb4 $8 $11) 39. Rc6 $8 $18 ({Alekhine: "After} 39. Rb7 f4 40. Rxb6 Kf7 {f7, the play, except for transposition of moves, would be identical."  It would be identical, but in this line, instead of Alekhine's ...f7, Black has the drawing ...fxe4, as explained in the previous note.}) 39... Kf7 {Dropping e6 leaves d5 hopelessly weak and makes the win relatively easy:} (39... Ra4 40. Rxe6 $8 Rxb4 41. Rxb6 f4 42. Kg2 $1 $18 {the d5 pawn will fall and the central white pawn clump is too strong.}) 40. Rxb6 $8  (40. h5 $2 Ra4 $11) 40... f4 $5 {[%mdl 64] [#] The same idea analyzed at move 38, but now Black is one move too slow to tear open the 4th rank.} 41. Rb7+ $4 {Gives away the win.} (41. exf4 $8 $18 Ra1+ 42. Kg2 Rd1 43. Rxb5 Rxd4 {Analysis Diagram[#]} 44. Kg3 $8 $18 {is similar to the game, and is correctly given by Alekhine as superior to 41.b7+.} (44. Kf3 $2 Kg6 $8 $11 {threatening ...f5 and taking on f4 with check, leaving White without the tactical defense with a  skewer from f7.} 45. Kg4 h5+ $8 46. Kg3 Kf5 47. Rb7 Ke4 $1 $11) {But his note continues with} 44... Kg6 45. Rb7 {"after which the pawn would decide in the long run." - AA} Kf5 $2 46. f3 $1 $18 {SF disagrees, and rates 45.b7 as giving away the win to 45...d1. Instead, it says White wins with either 45...b6 or 45...b8. I'll leave it to any interested readers to explain (or refute) its assessment. :)}) 41... Kf8 $4 {Gives away the draw.} ({Alekhine:  "As a matter of course,} 41... Kg6 {was essential . Black evidently was afraid of} 42. h5+ {, yet this very line of play, after} Kf5 43. Rf7+ Ke4 44. Rxf4+ Kd3 {would have given him splendid chances, for instance:} 45. Rf7 Kc4 46. Rxg7 {[editor - SF says this tempo-loss gives away the win; claiming a win in lines where White brings the  to the queenside and goes after the e-pawn with a stutter step e7 (forcing ...a6) and then d7-d6.]} Kxb4 47. Rg6 ({or} 47. Re7 Ra6) 47... Re8 $1 {and the black b-pawn becomes very powerful.}) ({White, therefore, after} 41... Kg6 {would have done best by selecting the variation,} 42. exf4 Ra1+ 43. Kg2 Rd1 44. Rxb5 Rxd4 45. Kg3 {after which, however, he would have had a full tempo less than with the move mentioned in the other variation. This circumstance would have tended to make the attainment of victory much more difficult. After the ultra-careful retreat of the king, the not too difficult endgame is wound up by Bogoljubow in irreproachable fashion." - Alekhine}) ({Alekhine is right that} 41... Kg6 $8 $11 {the  uses the light squares and has enough counterplay to draw.} {But after AA's} 42. h5+ {SF opts for a move AA didn't mention, presumably because after} (42. exf4 Rf8 $11 ({or} 42... Kf5 $11)) (42. Re7 fxe3 43. fxe3 Kf5 $11 {...a2 draws too; the well centralized  and active  hold the draw; similiar to a defence we'll see in the game at move 49.}) 42... Kxh5 $1 $11 {SF} 43. Rxg7 {the black  seems hopelessly out of the game. It's true that White can keep the black  sidelined by leaving the  on the g-file, but White can't make any progress without taking the e-pawn, and only the  can do that, which would allow the black  back into the game.  That may help us understand why SF says Black has more than 10 moves which leave this position at 0.00! Here is the most forcing:} (43. exf4 $6 Kg4 {and Black is playing for the advantage.}) (43. Re7 $4 {actually loses to} fxe3 44. fxe3 Kg4 $8 $19 {going after the base of the pawn chain:} 45. e4 $5 Kf3 $1 {a passer on e5 might look strong now, but not after d4 and b4 fall.}) 43... fxe3 44. fxe3 Ra4 45. Re7 Rxb4 ({or} 45... Ra6 46. Rb7 Kg4 $11) 46. Rxe6 Rb2 47. Rd6 Kg5 48. Rxd5 b4 49. e6+ Kf6 50. Re5 Ke7 51. d5 Rd2 $11) 42. exf4 $18 Ra1+ 43. Kg2 Rd1 44. Rxb5 Rxd4 45. Kg3 h5 46. Rb7 g6 47. b5 Rb4 48. b6 Rb3+ {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position  This is crazy-hard.} 49. f3 $2 {Gives away the win. Pushing the f-pawn cuts off one path for the white  to the center (through f3!), it also opens the 2nd rank which makes ...b2 a drawing resource.} (49. Kg2 $2 d4 $8 $11 {the main dawing resource: trading the d-pawn for the b-pawn.} 50. Kf1 Rb2 51. Ke1 d3 $11 52. Rb8+ Ke7 $8 53. b7 Kd7 $8 $11) (49. Kh2 $8 $18 {Despite both players having s on a mostly-open board, the solution requires zugzwang! Passes the move to Black: - ...-moves allow White to trade the b-pawn for the g- or e- pawns, winning; -} d4 (49... Ke8 $2 {is the easiest to refute:} 50. Rg7 Rxb6 51. Rxg6 Kf7 52. f5 $1 $18) (49... Kg8 50. Rb8+ Kg7 51. b7 d4 52. Kg2 $8 d3 53. Kf3 $8 d2+ 54. Ke2 Rb2 55. Kd1 $1 Kh7 (55... Kf7 $2 56. Rh8 $18 {is the skewer trick.}) 56. Re8 Rxb7 57. Rxe6 Rf7 {Analysis Diagram [#]} 58. Rf6 $8 $18 {A key resource in several lines. White wins the pawn ending... instructively (of course):} Rxf6 (58... Rd7 59. Rd6 Rf7 60. Rd4 $18) 59. exf6 Kg8 60. Kxd2 Kf7 61. Ke3 Kxf6 62. Ke4 Ke6 63. f5+ $1 gxf5+ 64. Kf4 Kf6 65. f3 $1 {another reason to keep f2-f3 in reserve.} Kg6 66. Ke5 $18) ({Black has no time to win either white f-pawn:} 49... Rb4 50. Rb8+ $18 {is similar to the game.}) (49... Rb2 $5 50. Rb8+ Kf7 51. b7 Kg7 (51... Rxf2+ $2 52. Kg3 Rb2 53. Rh8 $18 {the skewer trick.}) 52. Kg2 Rb3 53. Re8 Rxb7 54. Rxe6 Rb3 55. Rd6 Rd3 {Analysis Diagram [#]Is this obviously winning? White does win, but has to find the idea of f4-f5 -- a temporary pawn sac that undoubles the f-pawns and leaves Black with two weak pawns, and clears a path for the white  to advance.} 56. f3 Rd1 57. f5 $1 gxf5 58. Kg3 Rd4 59. Rf6 $8 $18) 50. Kg2 $22 {Analysis Diagram [#]  Zugzwang? -- ... moves leave the black e- or g-pawn exposed to the white ; - pushing the d-pawn or  moves on the b-file allow f3 to round up the d-pawn, which was not the case with a white pawn on f3, when ...b2 would control the white  and b-pawn.} Kg8 (50... Ke8 51. Rg7 $8 $18 {with the pawn on f3 this is a draw: Black goes ...b2+ then ...d3. With the pawn on f2 there is no 2nd-rank check and on ...d3 White has f3.}) 51. Kf1 Rb2 52. Rb8+ $1 Kg7 {Or ...h7, both avoiding h8-h7+.} 53. b7 {Tying the  to the b-file.} d3 54. Ke1 {heading for c1.} Kh7 55. Kd1 Kg7 56. Kc1 d2+ 57. Kd1 $8 Kh7 {Analysis Diagram [#] If Black's  was now on g7 White would only draw with e8, but White could lose a tempo with either f2-f3 or e2, when a black  move would allow White the essential defensive resource of e6-f6.} 58. Re8 $18 {White gets the e- and d-pawns for the b-pawn, and} Rxb7 59. Rxe6 Rf7 60. Rf6 $18 {was shown above to be a win.}) 49... Rb4 $4 {The final blunder.} (49... d4 $8 $11 {the only move to draw. If White continues with the line that wins in the game...} 50. Rb8+ {Analysis Diagram [#]} Ke7 $8 ({Staying on g7 and h7 to avoid the "skewer trick" -- h8-h7+ to control c7 -- doesn't draw:} 50... Kf7 $2 51. b7 $8 Kg7 52. Kf2 (52. f5 $1 {also wins.}) 52... Rb2+ 53. Ke1 d3 54. Kd1 $8 d2 55. Ke2 $8 Kh7 56. Re8 Rxb7 57. Rxe6 Rf7 58. Rf6 $8 $18 {transposes to an earlier note.}) (50... Kg7 $2 51. b7 Rb2 52. f5 $8 {could this  ending be any more instructive?} gxf5 53. Kf4 $8 d3 54. Kg5 d2 55. Rd8 Rxb7 56. Rxd2 $18) 51. b7 Kd7 $8 52. Rg8 Rxb7 53. Rxg6 Rb4 $1 $11 {avoids the  exchange and prepares ...d3 with an advanced passer and play against the doubled f-pawns.} (53... d3 $4 54. Rg7+ $18 {trades s and wins the d-pawn.})) 50. Rb8+ $1 $18 Ke7 51. b7 Kd7 52. Rg8 Rxb7 53. Rg7+ $8 Kc6 54. Rxg6 $8 $18 {[#] Compared to the note at move 49, Black does not have the d5 square for the } Kc5 (54... Re7 {loses in several ways.} 55. f5 ({or} 55. Rh6) ({or} 55. Kf2)) ({Alekhine gives the following line with a very pretty finish:  "The e-pawn cannot be saved, for instance:} 54... Kd7 55. f5 $1 ({After} 55. Rg7+ {followed by exchange of rooks, the pawn-ending would end in a draw)}) 55... exf5 56. e6+ ({[editor -} 56. Rd6+ Ke7 57. Kf4 $8 {is the workmanlike win.]}) 56... Kd6 57. e7+ $8 Kd7 58. Rg8 $8 f4+ 59. Kh3 $8 {and wins. An instructive variation, which enhances considerably the total merit of this game (it was honored with a special prize)."}) 55. Rxe6 d4 56. f5 Rd7 57. Kf2 Kd5 58. Re8 Ra7 59. f6 Rc7 60. Re7 Rc8 61. f7 1-0

[Event "New York 1924"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1924.03.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Capablanca, Jose Raul"]
[Black "Tartakower, Saviely"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper +"]
[ECO "A85"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5k2/p1p4R/1pr5/3p1pP1/P2P1P2/2P2K2/8/8 w - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[GameId "272191607495"]
[EventDate "1924.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "22"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada Toronto"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2025.11.04"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

 35. Kg3 $8 Rxc3+ ({Goldin:} 35... Kg8 $5 {improving the position of the  before taking on c3.} 36. Rd7 Rxc3+ 37. Kh4 Rf3 38. Kh5 $1 ({now the game continuation only draws:} 38. g6 $2 Rxf4+ 39. Kg5 Re4 40. Kf6 Re8 $11 {Goldin} 41. Rg7+ Kf8 $8 42. Rxc7 f4 $8 $11) 38... Rxf4 39. Kg6 Kf8 40. Kf6 Re4 41. Rf7+ Kg8 42. Rxc7 Re8 43. Kxf5 Re4 44. Kf6 Rf4+ 45. Ke5 Rg4 46. Rxa7 Rxg5+ 47. Kd6 Rg6+  48. Kc7 $1 {Zaitsev, (sort of) improving on Goldin's 2023 analysis showed another way to win:} (48. Kxd5 Kf8 {Goldin claimed this was a draw, but here} 49. Rc7 $8 $18 {threatening c6 wins; e.g.} Rg5+ 50. Kc6 Ra5 51. d5 $1 Rxa4 52. d6 Rc4+ 53. Kb7 Rd4 54. d7 Ke7 55. Kc8 $18 {promoting with a discovered check!}) 48... Rg4 (48... Kf8 49. Rb7 $1 $18) 49. Kxb6 Rxd4 50. a5 $8 Rb4+ 51. Kc5 Rc4+ {[%mdl 64] Analysis Diagram  [#] Critical Position} 52. Kb5 $3 (52. Kxd5 $2 Rg4 {The 5th rank skewer leaves White no time to get the  off the a-file. WIthout the umbrella there is no escape from the lateral checks, and Black is saved by is the Vancura draw, also discovered in 1924!? Black draws by continually attack the pawn from the side (tying down the ) and when the  approaches the pawn the side checks force it away: no umbrella, no win.} 53. Re7 (53. a6 Rg6 $1 $11) 53... Ra4 $8 54. Ra7 Rg4 $8 55. Kc5 Rg5+ $8 $11) 52... Rc1 53. Rd7 $1 $18 {[#] The black  is cut off, and -- importantly -- if Black were to check the white  away (to d8, not a6) then put the  behind the a5-pawn, xd5 protects it. If we take the diagram position and move the white pawn one square back to a4 this would be a draw!} (53. Rb7 Rb1+ 54. Ka6 $8 Ra1 55. Rb4 $8 $18 {building a bridge.}) 53... Rb1+ 54. Kc6 $18 (54. Ka6 $2 Kf8 $8 $11)) 36. Kh4 {[#]} Rf3 $6 {This makes the win much simpler. Three alternatives have been seriously analzyed: ...a6, ...c5, and ..c1. They all recognize the usefulness of the black  on the c-file and particularly on the 6th rank, and try to create counterplay without sidetracking the  as much as Tartakower did.} ({Goldin:} 36... a6 $1 37. Kh5 $1 (37. g6 $2 b5 38. axb5 axb5 39. Kg5 b4 40. Rf7+ {(Kasparov)} Kg8 $11 {Black's  is perfectly placed; with much more analysis published.}) 37... b5 {Analysis Diagram [#]} 38. Kg6 $1 {(Zaitsev. 38.a5 also wins)} (38. axb5 $2 axb5 39. Kg6 Kg8 40. Rg7+ Kf8 41. Rf7+ Kg8 42. Rf6 b4 43. Ra6 Ra3 $8 {What a resource!} 44. Rc6 Rc3 $1 45. Re6 Kf8 $8 $11 {the b-pawn will force the white  to defend.}) 38... Kg8 (38... bxa4 39. Kxf5 a3 40. Rh6 $8 c6 41. Rh8+ Ke7 42. Ra8 $18 {stops the a-pawn from behind, and White's g-pawn is better supported and more advanced than Black's d5-pawn.}) 39. Rg7+ $1 Kf8 40. Rf7+ Kg8 41. Rf6 $1 $18 {where the  stops lateral checks, and if Black tries to save the a-pawn with} c6 {his  can't defend} 42. Rd6 $18) ({Naroditsky:} 36... c5 $1 37. g6 cxd4 38. Kg5 a6 39. Rd7 b5 40. axb5 axb5 41. Rxd5 d3 {now} 42. Rxf5+ {looks way simpler to me,} ({but Naroditsky continues with} 42. Kh6 {leading to a winning  v  ending. Naroditsky, "Mastering Complex Endings", (NiC, 2014).})) ({Van der Steren:} 36... c5 $1 37. dxc5 Rxc5 38. g6 Rc6 39. Kg5 Rd6 40. Kxf5 d4 {Analysis Diagram [#] It's a race!} 41. Kg5 $8 d3 42. f5 $8 (42. Rh1 $2 d2 43. Rd1 Kg7 44. f5 Rd5 $11 (44... a6 $11)) 42... d2 43. f6 $8 Rd5+ 44. Kh4 $1 (44. Kh6 $4 Rh5+ $8 $11 {and after promoting with check the  will give a perpetual.}) (44. Kf4 {also wins, but the White King will have to run to the h-file as in the main line, and gains nothing from delay.}) 44... Rd4+ 45. Kh3 $1 (45. Kg3 $2 Rg4+ $11) 45... Rd3+ 46. Kg2 Ke8 47. Re7+ Kd8 48. g7 $18 {Van der Steren, "Kings of the Chessboard" (Thinkers, 2019)} Kc8 49. g8=Q+ Rd8 50. Qc4+ $1 $18 {mating.}) ({Dvoretsky & Meuller:} 36... Rc1 37. Kh5 $8 (37. g6 $2 Rh1+ 38. Kg5 Rxh7 39. gxh7 Kg7 40. Kxf5 c5 $8 $11) 37... c5 (37... Rh1+ 38. Kg6 $18) 38. Rd7 $1 cxd4 (38... c4 39. Kg6 $18) 39. Rxd5 $8 Rd1 40. Kg6 (40. Rxf5+ $18 {wins too.}) 40... d3 41. Kf6 Ke8 42. g6 $18) 37. g6 $1 Rxf4+ 38. Kg5 Re4 {[#]} (38... Rxd4 39. Kf6 $8 Ke8 (39... Kg8 40. Rd7 $1) 40. g7 Rg4 41. Rh8+ $18) 39. Kf6 $1 {The famous idea of this ending: using the opponent's pawn as an "umbrella" to shield the  from checks.} (39. Kxf5 $2 Rxd4 $11 {and Black has checks that prevent the white  supporting the passed g-pawn.}) 39... Kg8 40. Rg7+ Kh8 41. Rxc7 Re8 42. Kxf5 Re4 43. Kf6 Rf4+ 44. Ke5 Rg4 45. g7+ Kg8 (45... Rxg7 46. Rxg7 Kxg7 47. Kxd5 $18 {Black can't stop the d-pawn.}) 46. Rxa7 Rg1 47. Kxd5 Rc1 48. Kd6 Rc2 49. d5 Rc1 50. Rc7 Ra1 51. Kc6 Rxa4 52. d6 1-0

[Event "Deutsch Osterreichische Tageszeitung"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1921.09.11"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Reti, Richard"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7K/8/k1P5/7p/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[GameId "2228894143697275"]
[EventDate "1921.??.??"]

{[%mdl 36864] Probably the best known endgame study of all time. It's in every endgame textbook and is the first position in both "Karpov's Endgame Arsenal" and Timman's "100 Endgame Studies You Must Know", (NiC, 2025).  If we mentally divide the board into kingside and queenside then Black should be winning easily -- Black stops the white pawn on the queenside, and Black wins on the kingside because the black passer has a big headstart on the white king.} 1. Kg7 $8 {by chasing on the diagonal White creates the threat of supporting the c-pawn, and the tempi it takes Black to prevent this gives White just enough to catch the h-pawn.} h4 (1... Kb6 2. Kf6 $1 {is similar to the main solution.}) 2. Kf6 $1 Kb6 (2... h3 3. Ke6 h2 4. c7 $11) 3. Ke5 $1 {[#] The white  is one step outside "the square" of the h-pawn: if Black doesn't push ...h3 it will be caught.} h3 (3... Kxc6 4. Kf4 $11 {catches the h-pawn.}) 4. Kd6 $8 h2 5. c7 $8 Kb7 6. Kd7 $8 $11 {A stunning study: - a preposterous-seeming result,  - a demonstration of the uneasy fact that -- on a chess board if not in the physical world -- a straight line is somehow not shorter than a zigzagging diagonal; - all with the minimal material.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Nerodny Listy#15"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1928.06.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Reti, Richard"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3b4/5k2/3P1p1P/3K4/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[GameId "2228962885867055"]
[EventDate "1928.??.??"]

{Things look hopeless for White.  As in the famous pawn study, Black seems to have White's promotion threats on (double) lockdown while White has no way to take Black's passer. Of course, it wouldn't be any kind of a study if those appearences weren't totally wrong...} 1. Kc6 $8 $11 Ba5 (1... Kg6 2. Kd7 Ba5 3. Ke6 $8 f5 4. h7 $8 $11 Bc3 $4 5. d7 $18) (1... f5 2. Kd5 $8 Kg6 (2... Bf6 3. d7 $8 Ke7 (3... Kg6 4. Ke6 $8 $11) 4. d8=Q+ $1 Kxd8 5. Ke6 $11) 3. Ke5 $8 Bf6+ 4. Ke6 $8 (4. Kf4 $2 Bg5+ $8 $19 {and ...xh6-g5 wins one pawn and stops the other.}) 4... f4 5. h7 $8 (5. d7 $2 Bd8 $8 $19) 5... f3 (5... Kxh7 6. Kxf6 f3 $11 {White promotes second, but it's with check.}) 6. d7 $8 $11) 2. Kd5 $1 (2. Kb5 $2 Bc3 $8 3. Kc4 Ba1 $1 (3... Bd2 $19) 4. Kd5 (4. h7 f5 $8 $19) 4... f5 $8 $19) 2... Bc3 {The most useful diagonal, where it can guard h8 or swing back to cover d8.} (2... Bb4 3. h7 $8 Kg7 $8 4. Ke6 $8 $11 {and h8=+ deflects to win the black .}) (2... f5 3. Ke5 (3. h7 $11) 3... Kg6 4. h7 $8 $11 Bc3+ 5. Ke6 $5 Kxh7 (5... Bf6 $4 6. d7 $18) 6. d7 Ba5 $8 $11) (2... Kg6 3. Ke6 $8 $11) 3. h7 $8 (3. d7 $2 Ba5 $8 4. h7 Kg7 $8 5. Ke6 Bd8 $8 $19) 3... f5 (3... Kg7 4. Ke6 $8 $11) 4. d7 $8 Ke7 {[#]} 5. d8=Q+ $1 {A fantastic deflection & decoy: deflecting the black  allows White's next move, and decoying it to the back rank avoids a skewer after double promotions...} Kxd8 {Black to move would win with any  move off the back rank, or any  move on the long diagonal out of the reach of the white . But White to move draws with...} 6. Ke6 $8 {Forcing Black to push the pawn beyond the support of its .} f4 {[#]} 7. Kd5 $8 {As in the famous pawn study, the defending  catches the pawn that has a headstart by taking a bent line to create one threat to gain a tempo.} f3 8. Kc4 $8 {Threatens to draw by taking the  and promoting. This would lose to the f1-a1+ skewer, but White promotes with check! If Black's  had not been decoyed to the 8th rank, then ...f2-f1=-a1+ would win.} Bf6 9. Kd3 $8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Hastings and St.Leonards Post (v)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1922.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Reti, Richard"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/4K3/8/3pk3/3R4/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[GameId "2228956928562480"]
[EventDate "1922.??.??"]

{Another Reti endgame study that has made its way into the endgame manuals.} 1. Rd2 $1 {or d3 then d1. The key is that White must lose a tempo to force the black  to choose the d- or e-file to approach d1, at which point the white  takes the other file and arrives in the nick of time.} (1. Rd1 $2 d4 $1 2. Kd7 (2. Rd2 Ke4 3. Kd6 Ke3 $11) 2... Kd5 $8 $11 {Black shoulders away the white .} 3. Rd2 {moving closer to the pawn gives Black one extra tempo when the  attacks the  while supporting the :} (3. Ke7 Ke5 $8 $11) (3. Kc7 Kc5 $8 4. Kb7 Kc4 5. Kc6 d3 $8 $11) 3... Kc4 4. Ke6 Kc3 5. Rd1 d3 6. Ke5 d2 7. Ke4 Kc2 $11) 1... d4 2. Rd1 $8 Kd5 3. Kd7 $8 {[#] A mutual zugzwang. The pawn can't move safely, so Black's  has to give way.} (3. Kf6 $2 Ke4 $8 $11) 3... Kc4 (3... Ke4 4. Kc6 $8 $18 {is a mirror.}) 4. Ke6 {the "opposition" approach feels right, but d6 also wins.} d3 5. Ke5 Kc3 6. Ke4 d2 7. Ke3 1-0

[Event "28 Rijen#206"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1925.08.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Reti, Richard"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7R/4r2P/1p6/5p2/1K6/2P1k3/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "29"]
[GameId "2224280763579722"]
[EventDate "1925.??.??"]

{[%mdl 36928] Reti published this study a year after NY1924, and can be thought of as variations on the umbrella theme from Capablanca - Tartakower.  If the white  can check then the pawn promotes and White wins. The umbrella e7 currently prevents that check and keeps the white  tied to defending the h7. The solution is to nudge the umbrella on e7...} 1. Kb5 $8 f4 2. Kc6 $8 (2. Kxb6 $2 f3 $8 $11 3. c4 (3. Ra8 $11 {is another of many ways to draw.}) 3... f2 4. Rf8 Rxh7 5. c5 Rh4 6. c6 $11 (6. Rxf2 $11)) 2... Kf2 $1 {Best defence: using the pawn as an umbrella frees the e7 from double-duty; but blocking the f4 gives White one extra tempo to..} (2... f3 $6 3. Kd6 $8 $18 {and the black  cannot both keep attacking h7 and prevent e8+.}) 3. Kxb6 $8 {...create a second passed pawn.} (3. Kd6 $2 Rg7 $11) 3... f3 {[#]  Like Reti's famous pawn study, the defending  can save the day by combining threats to support his own passed pawn with threats to catch the opponent's passer: if it were Black to play, then ...e2 or ...e3 -- both possible because of the umbrella on e7 -- would allow the black  to get close enough to stop White's c-pawn and draw. But it's not Black's move...} 4. Kc6 $1 {Black's pawn cannot promote unless the  steps out of its way, and that would allow a winning check from the White rook, so the white  heads back to nudge the umbrella.} (4. c4 $2 Ke2 $11 {the umbrella on e7 is safe for just long enough to shelter the  and draw.} 5. Kc6 f2 6. Kd6 $4 {tempting, but loses.} (6. Rf8 $1 $11) 6... f1=Q $8 (6... Rxh7 $2 7. Re8+ $11) (6... Rf7 $2 7. Re8+ Kd3 $8 $11) 7. Kxe7 {[#] Black has no checks and it looks like White is the only one with winning chances, but} Qf5 $1 $19 {zugzwang! The white  is now the umbrella and every White move loses a pawn with check or loses the . For completeness, if the white  defends the pawn and rook Black wins by creating one more zugzwang:} 8. c5 Qxc5+ 9. Kf7 Qd5+ 10. Kf8 Qf5+ 11. Kg7 Qe5+ 12. Kg8 Ke3 $22 $19) 4... Rf7 (4... Ke2 5. Kd6 $18 {and the e7 is overworked.}) (4... Rg7 {this umbrella doesn't shield the g-file because of the g8 pin.}) (4... Kf1 5. Rf8 {is similar to the mainline.}) 5. Kd6 $1 Rf6+ (5... Kf1 6. Ke6 $8 Rc7 7. Rf8 Rxh7 8. Rxf3+ Ke2 9. Rg3 $18 {as in the mainline solution.}) 6. Kd5 Rf5+ (6... Rf7 7. c4 $1 $18) 7. Ke6 $1 Rh5 {The only way to keep an eye on the h7. [#]} 8. Kd6 $8 {Preventing the white  from being an unwitting umbrella.} (8. c4 $2 Ke2 $11 {Black uses the white  as an umbrella and draws.}) (8. Kd7 $2 {enables ...xh7+ tricks.} Rh6 $1 $11 (8... Kf1 $1 $11)) 8... Rh6+ 9. Kc5 Rh5+ 10. Kb4 {And White's c-pawn is the final umbrella, strolling up the board with the  to promotion.} Kf1 11. Rf8 $1 Rxh7 12. Rxf3+ Ke2 13. Rg3 $1 {creating a bridge with f4 or f5 are the only other winning moves. [#]  The black  is too far to help stop the pawn... AND -- in one last bit of supernatural perfection in this study -- the black  is too close to the white  to give a perpetual: if there were one more rank of checking distance between the black  and white  (e.g. if the  was somehow on h8) then Black draws with checks from the front, and any attempt to block those checks with the  would allow the Black  to approach the white pawn.} Kd2 14. c4 Rb7+ 15. Kc5 {if ....c8+ was possible it would draw.} 1-0

[Event "Hastings and St.Leonards Post (v)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1922.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Reti, Richard"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/2k4b/P7/8/8/2N2PKp/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[GameId "2228895240655269"]
[EventDate "1922.??.??"]

 1. Nd4+ $8 Kc5 (1... Kb7 2. Kxh2 Ka6 3. Nb3 $8 Kb5 4. Kh3 Kb4 5. a6 $18 ({even} 5. Kg4 $5 $18 {and the  still has no way to guard a7.})) 2. Kh1 $8 {zugzwang! On a nearly empty board the  dominate the  and .} 1-0

