[Event "Dortmund-A"]  [Site "Dortmund"]  [Date "1989"]  [White "Psakhis, Lev"]  [Black "Tolnai, Tibor"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "B76"]  [WhiteElo "2585"]  [BlackElo "2480"]  [Annotator "Tiger"]  [PlyCount "59"]  [SourceDate "2011.03.24"]   1. e4 {This game is no longer theoretically important, but it well illustrates  how a positional sacrifice on g4 (when White has pawns on g4-f3-e4) makes  White's position difficult to play.} c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3  g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. g4 Bxg4 $5 {This sacrifice is of a  positional character. The point is that White will be left with a knight and a  passive white squared bishop, whereas Black keeps the fabulous fianchetto  bishop. Still, White is leading on points and it is not clear that Black's  compensation is enough.} ({Gawain Jones, the great Dragon expert, has played}  9... Be6 {lately, so I presume that's the main line.}) 10. fxg4 Nxg4 {By  giving up the light squared bishop (which was anyway the least active of  Black's minor pieces) Black nets two pawns and puts an end to White's pawn  storm on the kingside. Not a bad bargain.} 11. Bg1 ({The are two more ways for  White to try to claim some advantage:} 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Be2 Nxe3 13. Qxe3 e6  $1 (13... Rb8 14. O-O-O e6 15. Bc4 d5 16. Bb3 {and it is hard for Black to  break down White's defences.}) 14. O-O-O d5 15. Na4 {and White is able to  activate the knight.}) (11. Nb3 {has the best reputation, when} a5 12. a4 d5  13. exd5 Nxe3 14. Qxe3 Bxc3+ 15. bxc3 Qxd5 16. Rg1 Rfd8 {is at least a bit  better for White.}) 11... e6 12. h4 h5 13. Nxc6 bxc6 14. Be2 Bh6 15. Qd3 Ne5 {  This position seems to be a success for Black since basically all White's  minor pieces are passive, whereas Black's pieces dominate the board.} 16. Qg3  Rb8 17. b3 Qa5 18. Rd1 (18. Rh3 {would have kept some advantage for White})  ({and} 18. Bd4 Rb4 19. Rd1 Bg7 {is unclear.}) 18... Bg7 19. Rxd6 {You might  think that this is the beginning of the end for Black, but the last move in  fact makes it harder for White to defend since Black is now able to exchange  one of the few pieces that helped White control the situation on the queenside  (Rd1).} Rbd8 $1 20. Rxd8 Rxd8 {Black has only a pawn for a bishop, but White's  coordination is very bad. Next White has to come up with a way to meet Ne5-g4.}  21. Kf1 Rd2 22. Rh3 Ng4 (22... Qa3 $5) 23. Qb8+ $6 ({White had to play} 23. Nd1  Qxa2 24. Bxg4 hxg4 25. Qxg4 Qa6+ (25... Qxc2 $6 26. Nf2) 26. Rd3 Rxc2 27. Qh3 {  with some advantage.}) 23... Kh7 24. b4 $2 {After this mistake Black is much  better. It is very possible that Psakhis was low on time here, or I doubt he  would have played such a bad move.} (24. Nd1 {or}) (24. Rf3 {was better.})  24... Qa3 25. Qxa7 $2 Qc1+ 26. Kg2 Bxc3 27. Rxc3 Rxe2+ 28. Kg3 Qe1+ 29. Kf3  Qf1+ 30. Kg3 {0-1 Not a perfect game from Psakhis, but I assure you: it is not  easy to play the White side of this position. One moment you are happily  throwing your pawns at the Black king, expecting them to make contact at any  moment. Then, suddenly, those pawns are gone and you have to spend the next  ten-fifteen moves trying to get some semblance of coordination between your pieces.  It is a tough transition to make for a human mind.}   

   [Event "Olympiad"]  [Site "Tromsö"]  [Date "2014.08.05"]  [Round "4"]  [White "Hillarp Persson, Tiger"]  [Black "Kjartansson, Gudmundur"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "A80"]  [Annotator "Tiger"]  [PlyCount "57"]  [SourceDate "2011.03.24"]   1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 {Some consider this as a problem with the Dutch, but I'm  inclined to disagree. Rather, it cannot be right to put the knight in front of  the c-pawn so early. The upside is that White can force Black to adopt a Stonewall pawn structure  and  avoid tons of theory.} Nf6 {There are other alternatives here, but if indeed the lines discussed after move 4 are no good for White, then this seems like a very principled continuation.} 3.Bg5 d5 4. e3 $5 {This move is a bit unusual, but I have spent plenty of time reassuring myself that Black is doing fine after} (4. Bxf6 exf6 5. e3 Be6 6.Bd3 Nc6 $1 {I brought Moskalenko's book "The Diamond Dutch" to the Olympiad and spent part of my preparation for this game tucked up on a hill of  pillows in my bed, reading it through. I found out that M. had come to similar  conclusions as I had concerning 4.Bxf6 and he also turned my attention towards  the move in this game.}) 4... e6 (4... Ne4 $5 {might seem premature, but after}  5. Nxe4 dxe4 (5... fxe4 $5) 6. Nh3 (6. Bc4 Qd6 $5) 6... Qd6 7. c3 Nc6 {things  are far from clear.}) 5. Bd3 (5. Nf3 {is the best move order, when} c5 {can be  met with} 6. Be2 {intending dxc5, Na4 and c4.}) 5... Be7 ({Here Black ought to  try} 5... c5 $1 6. Nf3 Nc6 {, when c5-c4 is a possibility.}) 6. Nf3 Ne4 {After  the exchange of the dark squared bishops the pawn structure ought to be to  White's advantage. So, unless Black gets something tangible in exchange for  giving up the dark squares, White is better.} ({After} 6... c5 7. dxc5 $1 {you  can see why it is better for Black to play c5 before Be7.} (7. O-O c4 $5 8. Be2  Nc6 {is not so clear.})) ({Black should probably try something along the lines  of} 6... O-O 7. O-O h6 8. Bf4 c5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Na4 Be7 11. c4 {when White  keeps a small advantage.}) 7. Bxe7 Qxe7 8. O-O O-O 9. Ne2 $1 {The regrouping  starts. The knight was had no future on c3.} Nd7 ({Moskalenko quotes the game  P.H. Nielsen - M.Gurevich, Germany 2001, when Black managed to equalize after}  9... Nd6 10. Rc1 Bd7 11. c4 dxc4 (11... c6 12. Ne5 Be8 13. Qb3 $14) 12. Bxc4  Nxc4 13. Rxc4 Bc6 14. Nc3 $6 (14. Ne5 $1 Bd5 15. Rc5 c6 16. Nf4 Nd7 17. Nxd7  Qxd7 18. Nd3 Qd8 19. b3 Qg5 20. g3 a5 21. Qe2 $14) 14... Nd7 15. b4 Nb6 16. Rc5  Nd7 {However, White has a much stronger option on move 14 as can be seen above.  I believe it is too late for Black to think about equality. Getting a  defensible position is the first priority.}) 10. c4 c6 11. Rc1 Ndf6 {Black is  planning to develop the bishop but I can stop that.} ({In V.Eingorn - T.  Radjabov, Saint Vincent 2001, Black reacted in the most active manner possible:  } 11... Kh8 12. a3 Nd6 13. Qc2 g5 $5 14. Ne5 Qg7 (14... Nxe5 15. dxe5 Nf7 16.  f4 $16) 15. c5 (15. cxd5 $5 exd5 16. f4 gxf4 17. Nxd7 Bxd7 18. Nxf4 $14) 15...  Ne4 16. f4 gxf4 17. Nxd7 Bxd7 18. Bxe4 fxe4 19. Nxf4 Rf5 (19... e5) 20. Rf2  Raf8 21. Qc3 {with some advantage for White, although Black is not without  counterplay.}) 12. Qb3 $1 {Stopping Black from playing Bd7.} Kh8 (12... b6 13.  cxd5 cxd5 14. Qa3 {is awkward for Black and}) (12... Rb8 13. cxd5 exd5 14. Rxc6  {is even worse.}) 13. Rc2 $1 {This move prepares to move the knight from f3,  without allowing a fork on d2.} Nd6 $6 (13... a5 $1 {is Black's best chance.  The knight should stay on f6 in order to meet Ne5 with Nd7:} 14. h3 $5 {and  Black has to keep waiting as} (14. Ne5 Nd7 $1) 14... Qb4 (14... a4 $6 15. Qa3  $1 {and an exchange of queens would leave Black's queenside horribly weak.})  15. c5 g5 16. Ne5 Nd7 17. f3 Nef6 18. Qc3 {and the a5 pawn will be a source fo  regret later for Black. Still, this is Black's best chance.}) 14. Nf4 Nfe4 $2 {  This move allows me to access the e5-square without worrying about my knight  being exchanged.} 15. Ne5 Rf6 $2 {This makes things go from bad to worse.} (  15... Kg8 16. Qa3 Re8 17. Rfc1 Nf6 18. Be2 g5 19. Nh5 {with a clear advantage  for White.}) (15... Nf7 $4 16. Neg6+) 16. c5 $1 Ne8 ({Black is forced to place  the knight here since} 16... Nf7 17. f3 g5 18. Ne2 Nxe5 19. dxe5 Rf7 20. fxe4  fxe4 21. Rxf7 Qxf7 22. Bxe4 dxe4 23. Rd2 {is completely hopeless.}) 17. Bxe4 ({  I spent quite some time calculating} 17. f3 Ng5 18. h4 {, before I played 16.  c5, but came to the conclusion that} Nf7 19. g4 Nxe5 20. dxe5 Rh6 (20... Rf8 $1  21. g5 Nc7 22. Rff2 Rb8 {is just clearly better for me.}) 21. h5 g5 {was  unclear. However, I missed that} 22. hxg6 hxg6 23. Rh2 {is just winning for me.  My move in the game is winning in a more simple manner.}) 17... fxe4 $6 ({  Black's position is almost as awful after} 17... dxe4 18. f3 exf3 19. Rxf3 Nc7  20. g4 $1) 18. f3 exf3 19. Rxf3 Rh6 20. Rh3 $5 ({Here it was easier to play}  20. Nf7+ Qxf7 21. Ng6+ Kg8 22. Rxf7 Kxf7 23. Ne5+ {, but I managed to miss it  among all the attractive possibilities.}) 20... Kg8 21. Rxh6 gxh6 22. Nh5 Qh4  23. g4 $1 b6 24. Rf2 bxc5 25. Qa3 $1 Qe7 $2 {From a practical point of view,  if you are completely losing, you should play the move that involves a trap  even if it is worse than the alternative.} ({After} 25... Nd6 $1 {White has to  watch out.} 26. Nf6+ {win, but} (26. Qxc5 $2 {gives Black the opportunity to  play} Qxf2+ $1 27. Kxf2 Ne4+ $15)) 26. Nxc6 Qc7 ({After} 26... Qd6 27. Qxc5  Qxc5 28. dxc5 {there is no defence against Ne7+, followed by Rf8 check mate.})  27. Qxc5 Nd6 28. Nf6+ Kh8 29. Ne8 ({1-0})   

   [Event "Politiken Cup"]  [Site "Helsingör"]  [Date "2014.07.24"]  [Round "5"]  [White "Haubro, Martin"]  [Black "Hillarp Persson, Tiger"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "B06"]  [Annotator "Tiger"]  [PlyCount "84"]  [SourceDate "2011.03.24"]   1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3 a6 5. h4 h6 ({This move is less accurate  than} 5... Nf6 6. f3 b5 {which is what I recommend in soon-to-be-published  "The Modern Tiger".}) 6. Qd2 b5 7. O-O-O Bb7 ({After h6 it is not so  attractive to place the knight on f6:} 7... Nf6 8. f3 Nbd7 9. g4 Nb6 10. d5  Nfd7 11. Bd4 {and Black's set-up does not make sense.}) 8. f3 Nd7 9. Nh3 Ngf6  $5 ({This is more ambitious than} 9... Rc8 {(a move that doesn't work when  Black has played h5 and White can play Ng5 and e4-e5!)} 10. Kb1 c5 11. dxc5  Nxc5 12. Bd4 Bxd4 13. Qxd4 Nf6 {, with approximate equality.}) 10. Kb1 Nb6 11.  g4 $2 {A rather grave positional error. Instead} (11. Bd3 Nfd7 12. h5 g5 13. f4  b4 14. Ne2 c5 {leads to a nice mess.}) 11... b4 $1 12. Ne2 Nc4 13. Qc1 $5 {  Tricky move as it gives me choice of not taking on e3.} Nd7 ({The simple  solution is} 13... Nxe3 14. Qxe3 Nd7 15. h5 g5 {when Black can be very happy  with the opening. White will dearly miss his dark squared bishop.}) 14. Bf2 a5  $4 {I totally lost focus here and played a losing move. After} (14... Ndb6 15.  Ng3 e6 16. h5 g5 17. f4 gxf4 18. Qxf4 a5 {White's pieces are not cooperating  well and Black is a bit better.}) 15. Ng3 $1 Ndb6 16. h5 $1 {Ouch, now White  gains control of f5.} g5 17. Nf5 Bf8 ({I tried to calculate the consequences of  } 17... Bf6 18. e5 e6 19. exf6 exf5 {and came to the conclusion that 20.Re1+  Kd7 21.Re7+ Kc8 was OK for Black. But still, I sensed there was something  better for White. Indeed:} 20. Bxc4 $1 Nxc4 21. Rhe1+ Kd7 22. Re7+ Kc8 23. Nxg5  $3 hxg5 24. Qxg5 fxg4 25. fxg4 {and White has a clear advantage.}) 18. d5 c5 ({  Not} 18... e6 $2 19. Bxb6 Nxb6 20. Bb5+) 19. f4 $1 {My young opponent plays  energetically and I had to come to terms with what a complete mess my position  is.} f6 $1 {Ouch no. 2. Everything else loses rapidly.} 20. Ne3 Nxe3 21. Qxe3  Bg7 $2 {This is a second blunder, but I felt I was so much worse that I did  not have the time to play anything but developing moves.} (21... Qd7 {stopping  Bb5+ is better, but leaves me with a horrible position anyway.}) 22. Bb5+ Kf7  23. Rdf1 ({Here} 23. fxg5 $1 hxg5 24. Nxg5+ fxg5 25. Qxg5 {is completely  winning for White. Qg6+ is a huge threat and} Rh6 26. Qe3 Kg8 27. g5 Rh7 28. h6  Bd4 29. Rxd4 cxd4 30. Qxd4 {is just devastating.}) 23... Kg8 24. f5 (24. fxg5 {  still wins.}) 24... a4 25. Rc1 Kh7 {Now things have calmed down a bit around  my king, but I am still very much lost. The bishop on g7 has no hope of  getting out and White should probably take it really easy, walk the king to  the kingside (Petrosian-style), followed by c2-c3, in order to get a passed  pawn on the a-file.} 26. a3 $6 bxa3 27. Qxa3 {White is still better here, but  it is unlikely that White will get a passed pawn, which means that my chances  of survival just improved.} Nd7 28. Bxd7 $6 {My opponent was in time trouble  and it is easy to understand that he thought reducing the amount of material  would help him. In fact this move makes White quite vulnerable on the light  squares and e7-e6 becomes a possible future theme.} Qxd7 29. Rhd1 {This move  loses time.} (29. Ng1 $1 {is clearly better and the last chance for White to  keep some advantage.}) 29... Rhb8 30. c4 $6 {This gives me a weak pawn to  attack and also weakens the b3-square.} Ba6 31. Rd3 Rb4 32. Rdc3 Rab8 33. Ng1 {  Break out time.} e6 $1 34. Nf3 (34. fxe6 Qb7 (34... Qd8 $1 35. Be1 f5 36. exf5  Rxb2+ 37. Qxb2 a3) 35. R1c2 f5 36. exf5 Bxc4 37. Rxc4 Rb3 $1 38. Qxa4 Rxb2+ 39.  Kc1 Rb1+ 40. Kd2 Qxd5+ {and White's position falls apart.}) (34. dxe6 Qb7 {and  the double attack on b2 and e4 is a winner.}) 34... exd5 35. exd5 Qe7 {I'm in  a bit of time trouble myself and missed} (35... Rb3 $1 36. Qa2 Bxc4 37. Rxc4 a3  {with a direct win.}) 36. Re1 Qb7 $2 {This throws away my advantage, but it is  hard to spot why.} (36... Rxb2+ $19) 37. Rc2 $2 ({The fantastic} 37. Nd2 $3  Rxb2+ 38. Kc1 {is actually quite unclear since White controls all the squares  on the b-file whereas I'm still left with a daft bishop on g7. For instance}  Rb4 39. Qa1 Qc7 40. Re6 Bc8 41. Re8 {and White has enough counterplay.}) 37...  Rb3 38. Qxa4 Rxf3 39. Re6 Rb3 40. Rxd6 Rxb2+ 41. Kc1 Rxc2+ 42. Qxc2 Bxc4 ({and  White resigned because of} 42... Bxc4 43. Qxc4 Qb2+ 44. Kd1 Qxf2 0-1)