[Event "Olympiad Women 2022"]  [Site "Chennai IND"]  [Date "2022.08.06"]  [Round "8"]  [White "Cramling, Pia"]  [Black "Efroimski, Marsel"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "D32"]  [WhiteElo "2459"]  [BlackElo "2456"]  [EventDate "2022.07.29"]  [EventType "team"]  [WhiteTeamCountry "SWE"]  [BlackTeamCountry "ISR"]   1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 $5 ({There are a number of new ways in the  Tarrasch complex where Black aims to get a worse position where the material  is so reduced that White's advantage does not count for enough that White can  win the game. The line} 3... Nf6 4. Nf3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. e4 Nc6  8. Bb5 dxe4 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Ng5 Be6 {has been dubbed "the Berlin defence of  1.d4", due to the difficulties White is facing to break it down (although  Black is definitely a bit worse here).} 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Nxe6+ fxe6 13. Ke2  Bb4 14. Rd1+ Ke7 15. Na4 {Black's position is not quite as miserable as it  might seem, and the reduced material makes it hard to win for White.}) 4. cxd5  cxd4 5. Qa4+ Bd7 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Nf3 $5 {A surprising choice, but Pia does not  want a knife fight in a dark alley, even if she has a knife more than the  opponent, so she steers the game towards a more open situation.} (7. Qxd5 Nf6  8. Qd1 Nc6 9. Nf3 {is known to be better for White, but also very dangerous.  After} Bc5 10. e3 (10. a3 $5) 10... Qe7 11. Be2 O-O-O 12. O-O g5 {, the  street-fight is on.}) 7... Be6 $2 {This is a very weird choice. First you  sacrifice the pawn, and then you decide to protect it? Also, the bishop does  nothing but protect the pawn, and one should generally avoid such one  dimensional moves in the opening.} 8. e4 $1 Nc6 9. Bb5 dxe4 10. Qxe4 $1 Nf6 11.  Bxc6+ bxc6 12. Qxc6+ Bd7 {So, Black got to sacrifice a pawn after all, but Pia  has avoided the unpleasantness of opposite castling.} 13. Qa6 Be7 14. O-O O-O  15. Re1 {There are a-plenty of possible moves here: h3, b3, Bf4, Q-somehwere,  and Rd1. Pia's move is flexible. Perhaps the other rook is better off on d1?!  Perhaps White would rather play the knight to d4 (from where it enters some  kind of mutual domination with the bishop on d7), and follow up with f3 and  Be3, rather than play h3. And, it is probably not a good idea to play both h3  and f3. In the mean time, the queen is not threatened and is also quite  annoying, since the rook must protect the a7-pawn. There is a lot to be said  for Re1.} (15. Bf4 {is the best alternative, taking a strong stance on the  dark squares. Basically, if White is allowed to exchange the dark squared  bishops, then Black has not whiff of compensation.}) 15... Re8 16. Be3 {  I can hear Capablanca sigh with approval. White prepares to place the knight  on d4, where it will now be protected.} (16. Bf4 $5) 16... Bc8 17. Qa4 Bd7 18.  Qf4 $1 Qb8 $1 {Clearly the strongest move. White is a pawn up and is better  developed. It is unrealistic for Black to try to get compensation with the  bishop pair with the queens still on the board. With the exchange of the  queens the mission becomes clear; to exchange a pair of pawns on the queenside  and aim for a position with bishops of different colours. Such a position  might be held.} 19. Qxb8 Raxb8 20. Bd4 (20. Bxa7 {White could also consider}  Rxb2 21. Bd4 Rc2 22. a4 {, when Black will have a hard time to try to save the  position:} Bb4 (22... Be6 23. a5) 23. Bxf6 gxf6 24. Rxe8+ Bxe8 25. Nd5 Bc5 26.  Nxf6+ Kf8 27. Nxe8 Rxf2 28. Kh1 Kxe8 29. a5 $16) ({Capablance would have played  } 20. Re2 {and he would also have given it an (questionably deserved)  exclamation mark. After} Rb7 21. h3 Bf8 22. Rd2 h6 23. Nd4 Bb4 24. Rc1 {  White's pieces are protecting each other, but it is unclear what the next step  is. Black might be almost fine here.}) 20... Be6 21. Ng5 $1 {When commenting  on the game together with Deniz Arman, I was quite critical of this move,  saying "what is the knight doing there?". Indeed, it is not doing a lot there,  but it is part of a series of moves which destroy Black's coordination.} Bf5  22. Re5 $1 {Otherwise the last move makes no sense. Now Black has to make a  choice; either the bishop has to go back to where it once belonged, or White  can force the exchange of a pair of rooks (which will make the bishops less  prone to whip up an attack).} Bd7 (22... Bg6 23. Rae1 Bf8 24. Rxe8 Nxe8 25. Re2  a5 26. Nge4 {and Bc5 is coming next, leaving Black a clear pawn down with no  compensation.}) 23. Rae1 Bd8 $1 {Black is making it hard for Pia to exhange  off the bishops.} 24. R1e2 a5 25. Rxe8+ Nxe8 26. Nf3 f6 {Black has played  quite well and with no way in sight for White to exchange the dark squared  bishops, White's advantage is not that big really.} 27. Be3 {A bit slow, but  not getting into time trouble is one of the traits that make it possible for a  player to score 9,5 out of 11, against decent opponents.} (27. Bc5 a4 28. Rd2  Ba5 29. Rxd7 Bxc3 30. Kf1 Bxb2 31. Ne1 Bc3 32. Nd3 {and although Black has  reached material parity, she is far from equality, since the knight on d8 is a  sorry sight and the a4-pawn is more weak than it is strong.}) 27... Kf7 ({  Black should jump at the opportunity to play} 27... a4 $1 {This freezes  White's queenside pawns, and the ...Ba5/...a3-idea, makes it hard for White to  do without a3 at some stage. It is rather unlikely that White will win such a  position.}) 28. Rd2 Rb7 29. h3 Be7 30. Nd5 $1 Bf8 31. Nb6 Be6 32. b3 Nd6 33.  Na4 {Very systematic play from Pia. Now Black's a-pawn is on a dark square and  can be attacked by the bishop. White's two pawns are more difficult to attack  since they support each other.} Ne4 ({Black should try to be as active as  possible. For instance} 33... Rc7 $1 {,when White has to watch out and not  fall for} 34. Bb6 $2 Rc1+ 35. Kh2 Ne4 36. Re2 Bd6+ 37. g3 Bd5 $1 {, when White  is struggling to find a good way to deal with the threats Nxg3 and Nd2.}) 34.  Rd4 Nc5 35. Nxc5 Bxc5 36. Rh4 Bd6 37. Nd4 Bd5 {The bishop is superficially  more active here. It was better to use it for achieving the a5-a4-plan.} (37...  Bd7 $1 38. Rxh7 a4 {and Black is closing in on the defensive goal, to reach a  position one pawn down, with bishops of different colour:} 39. Rh5 axb3 40. axb3  Be5 41. Rh4 Ra7 42. Kf1 Ra3 43. Ke2 Bxd4 44. Rxd4 Bb5+ 45. Kf3 Rxb3 $14) 38.  Nf5 Bf8 39. Rd4 Ke6 (39... Rd7 $1 40. Kf1 Kg6 41. Ng3 Bc6 {and in the ensuing  endgame, the bishop pair make up for White's extra pawn.}) 40. Rd1 g6 41. Nd4+  Kf7 {The position has stabilized. Now we get to see Pia at her best. Watch how  her pieces bit but bit reaches better squares than the opponents:} 42. Ne2 Bc6  43. Rc1 Bd7 44. Bc5 Bh6 45. Rc3 Bf5 46. Be3 Bf8 47. Nd4 Bb1 48. a4 $1 Be4 (  48... Ba2 $1 {, followed by Bf8-d6-e5xd4, was the best option here.}) 49. Nb5  Bb4 50. Rc4 Bd5 51. Rd4 Ke6 52. Rd3 Rd7 (52... Be4 $1) 53. Bd2 {White has  looked for this opportunity for the last thirty moves, and finally it has  become reality. If only the queenside pawns were not on light squares...} Bxd2  54. Rxd2 Rb7 (54... Bxb3 $2 55. Nd4+ Kf7 56. Nxb3 Rxd2 57. Nxd2) 55. Rd3 f5 56.  f3 ({In the studio, I thought} 56. f4 {, keeping Black's king away from the  queenside, was the right choice here. I was delusional. After} Be4 57. Rd6+ Ke7  {the weakness of Black's queenside pawn is now quite problematic, as there are  also weaknesses on the kingside. Pia's choice is much more sensible; she takes  the e4-square away from the bishop.}) 56... g5 57. Kf2 f4 58. Ke1 h5 59. Kf2  Ke5 60. Rc3 Kf6 61. Rc5 $1 {If White is to win the game, one must get active.}  Bxb3 62. Nd6 $1 Rb4 $2 {The losing move. Black had to hold on to the a-pawn:} (  62... Ra7 63. Ne4+ Kg7 64. Rxg5+ Kh6 65. Rf5 Bxa4 66. Rxf4 Be8 {and the a-pawn  is strong enough to keep the balance. For instance:} 67. Nd6 Bd7 68. Nc4 a4 69.  Rf7 h4 $1 70. g4 hxg3+ 71. Kxg3 a3 72. Nxa3 Rxa3 73. Rxd7 Ra1 {and although  this endgame is unpleasant for White, it should not be hard to hold for  someone above 2400 in rating.}) 63. Ne4+ Ke7 64. Re5+ Kf7 65. Rxa5 {Now the  pawns fall, one after another.} g4 66. Rxh5 g3+ 67. Ke1 Rxa4 68. Rf5+ Ke6 69.  Rxf4 Ra1+ 70. Kd2 Ra2+ 71. Ke3 Bd5 (71... Rxg2 72. Nc5+ Ke5 73. Re4+ Kf6 74.  Nxb3 $18) 72. Nd2 Ra3+ 73. Ke2 Ra1 74. Rg4 Bb7 75. Rxg3 Kf5 76. Ne4 Ra2+ 77.  Ke3 Ra3+ 78. Kf2 Ra2+ 79. Kg1 Bxe4 80. fxe4+ Kxe4 81. Rf3 Rb2 82. Kh2 Ra2 83.  h4 Ra5 84. Kh3 Ra1 85. Kg4 Ra2 86. g3 Ra8 87. Rf4+ Ke5 88. h5 1-0   

   [Event "Chennai Women's Chess Olympiad"]  [Site "chess24.com"]  [Date "2022.08.06"]  [Round "8.2"]  [White "Belenkaya, Dina"]  [Black "Agrest, Inna"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "C45"]  [WhiteElo "2256"]  [BlackElo "2217"]  [WhiteTeamCountry "ISR"]  [BlackTeamCountry "SWE"]   1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Nd2 {An uncommon  move.} (6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. c4 {is the old main line,} ({with} 8. h4 {  being prefered among top players lately.})) 6... Bc5 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O Re8 9.  Nb3 {Tarrasch - probably jokingly - said that the knight is always misplaced  on b3 (and perhaps also g3, I cannot remember), but if only chess was that  easy. White's move is not common here, but it is logical. White tries to make  the bishop leave the long diagonal, and will try to box it in with c4-c5 next.}  Bb6 10. c4 d6 $1 11. Qc2 a5 $5 {While commenting on this game together with  Deniz Arman, before I had a chance to look at the position with an engine, I  said that White only has two candidate moves here: c5 and a4. It feels good to  see the engine confirm this. The point is that White cannot allow a5-a4, since  Black will get total domination on the dark squares...} (11... Ng4 $5 12. h3  Ne5 13. Be2 Qh4 14. c5 dxc5 15. Nxc5 Bxh3 16. gxh3 Qxh3 17. a4 $1 Re6 18. Nxe6  Qg3+ {with perpetual checks.}) 12. Bg5 h6 (12... a4 $1 13. Nd2 h6 {was a more  precise move order.}) 13. Bh4 (13. Bxf6 $1 Qxf6 14. c5 Ba7 (14... Bxc5 15. Nxc5  dxc5 16. Rac1 Be6 17. b3 Qd4 $132) 15. Nxa5 Bxc5 16. Nxc6 Bd7 17. Bb5 {would  have been about balanced.}) 13... a4 14. Nd2 g5 $1 15. Bg3 Nh5 $1 {When the  bishop on g3 is exchanged, Black's control of the dark squares will be  crushing.} 16. Nf3 $2 Bg4 $5 (16... Nxg3 17. hxg3 g4 $1 ({While commenting  together with Deniz, I missed that White can block the long diagonal after}  17... Ra5 $6 18. Qc3 $1 h5 19. b4 axb3 20. axb3 Rxa1 21. Rxa1 {and White is  playing b4/c5 next.}) (17... Qf6 18. e5 $1) 18. Nh4 Qf6 (18... Bd4 19. Rae1 Qf6  {is also very good for Black.}) 19. Rad1 Ra5 {with an attack. Still not clear  how Black will break through though.}) 17. Nd2 $2 ({White need to throw a  stick into Black's wheel before she the pawns start rolling on the kingside.}  17. e5 $1 Bxf3 18. gxf3 dxe5 19. Be4 Bd4 20. Bxc6 Rb8 21. Bxe8 Qxe8 22. b3 Bxa1  23. Rxa1 Ng7 {followed by f7-f5-f4, or just f7-f6; playing with a piece up on  the rest of the board, is better for Black, but White is not yet lost.}) 17...  Nxg3 18. hxg3 Qf6 {There is no defence against h6-h5-h4.} 19. Kh1 h5 20. f4 (  20. f3 Qh8 21. Kh2 Bd4 22. Rac1 Be5 23. Kg1 Bxg3 $19) 20... h4 21. gxh4 (21.  fxg5 Qh8) 21... gxf4 22. Nf3 Ra5 $1 {The reservs are brought in, so that every  Black piece gets to participate.} 23. g3 fxg3 24. Qg2 Bxf3 25. Qxf3 Qxh4+ {  and facing mate in one, White resigned. Another great game by Inna.} 0-1   

   [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad Open"]  [Site "Chennai"]  [Date "2022.08.02"]  [Round "5"]  [White "Giri, Anish"]  [Black "Hansen, Eric"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "E11"]  [WhiteElo "2760"]  [BlackElo "2606"]   1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bb4+ (4... Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2  b5 8. a4 b4 9. Nfd2 {is the main line here, and it explains my comment to move  8.}) 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O dxc4 {It is rather uncommon to take on c4 in  this position. I presume Eric's choice of line is an expression of ambition.} (  {The idea behind the Bf8-b4-e7 maneuver, is usually to leave the bishop on d2  in a bad place, further away from its ideal square on b2, thus forcing it to  move early on.} 7... c6) 8. Qa4 (8. Qc2 b5 9. a4 b4 {and Bd2 is in the way of  the knight (see comment on move 4.).}) 8... Bd7 (8... a6 9. Qxc4 b5 10. Qc2 Bb7  11. Rc1 {would give White and extra tempo in a famous line (here Bd2 is a very  good move to have played).}) 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Rc1 (10. Nc3 {has been played a  number of times, and Giri's move order, might just be a way to give the  opponent something extra to think about.}) 10... Nbd7 11. Nc3 a6 12. Bf4 Rc8  13. a3 Nd5 14. b4 (14. Nxd5 Bxd5 15. Qc2 Bd6 16. Ng5 Nf6 17. Be5 g6 18. e4 {  also looks better for White.}) 14... N7b6 {At this stage there is nothing  wrong with Black's position.} 15. Qd3 Nxc3 (15... Nxf4 16. gxf4 f5 {, followed  by Kh8 and g5, has been played in similar situations, and here it seem quite  good.}) 16. Rxc3 Nd5 $6 {This invites a promising sacrifice. I wonder what mad  Eric Hansen go for this line; if he thought it gave him chances?} (16... Bb5 $1  17. Qe4 c6 18. h4 {is a suggestion from the engine. With an equal game.}) 17.  Rxc6 $1 {Clearly, yes, there are no longer any pieces in Black's position that  can fight properly for the light squares.} Nxf4 (17... bxc6 18. Bd2 a5 19. Ne5  {is even worse.}) 18. gxf4 bxc6 19. Rc1 (19. Qxa6) 19... Bd6 (19... a5 20. bxa5  Ra8 {, looks like a good alternative, not allowing White to build a solid  chain of pawns.}) 20. e3 h6 21. Qxa6 $2 {Giri did not produce his best level  today. This pawn is not urgent to take, and the queen is needed on the  kingside.} (21. Rxc6 g5 22. fxg5 hxg5 23. Qe4 $16) 21... Ra8 22. Qd3 g5 $1 23.  fxg5 hxg5 24. h3 f5 25. Rxc6 {Eric is back in the game!} Qf6 $1 26. Nd2 g4 27.  hxg4 fxg4 28. Ne4 Qf5 $2 {I am guessing there was time trouble involved. It is  rarely a good idea to double the heavy pieces with a queen in front, and here  it is really quite puzzling.} (28... Qh4 $1 29. Rc2 Qh2+ 30. Kf1 g3 31. Ng5)  29. Rc2 Ra7 30. Rd2 (30. Qb3 $1) 30... Be7 31. Ng3 Qg5 ({Black could have  fought on in a depressing endgame with} 31... Qxd3 32. Rxd3 Bd6 33. Ne4 e5) 32.  Qb3 Kh8 33. d5 Rd8 34. Rd3 exd5 35. Bxd5 Qe5 36. Qc4 (36. Be4 $1 {wins for  White since the rook on a7 is out of the game after the exchange of the of the  d-rooks:} Rxd3 37. Qxd3 Bd6 38. Qd1 $1 Rxa3 39. Qxg4 {and Black will soon have  to give up material.}) 36... Bh4 37. Ne2 $2 {The amount of mistakes at this  stage of the game surprise me somewhat. I would certainly not have committed  less myself, but I expect more of these guys. Again, time trouble is the  likely explanation.} Bg5 $2 (37... Qf6 $1 38. Nf4 g3 {and the game is once  again balanced, although it is in no way easy to explain why.}) 38. Kg2 Rd6 39.  Nf4 Bxf4 40. exf4 Qf6 {Perhaps Black lost on time, and perhaps he realized  that he is playing without his rook on a7, and resigned. (I got a complaint  that I did not explain properly why Peralta resigned against Mamedyarov, two  rounds ago. Perhaps it is so that you can learn something from trying to grasp  it yourself. Perhaps I am just lazy.)} 1-0   

   [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad"]  [Site "Chennai"]  [Date "2022.08.01"]  [Round "4"]  [White "Barrish, Daniel"]  [Black "Hillarp Persson, Tiger"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "E39"]  [WhiteElo "2283"]  [BlackElo "2516"]  [Annotator "tiger"]  [PlyCount "68"]  [EventDate "2022.??.??"]  [EventCountry "IND"]  [SourceVersionDate "2011.03.24"]  [WhiteTeam "South Africa"]  [BlackTeam "Sweden"]  [WhiteTeamCountry "RSA"]  [BlackTeamCountry "SWE"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. Nf3 (6. a3 {is more  ambitious.}) 6... Na6 7. a3 (7. g3 Nxc5 8. Bg2 Nce4 {is normal.}) 7... Bxc3+ 8.  Qxc3 Nxc5 9. b4 Nce4 10. Qd4 {This position is also know without the moves Nf3  and 0-0 being played. The added move favours Black. I am happy to have castled,  and the knight on f3 makes it harder for White kick the strong knight on e4  away.} d6 $1 ({I vaguely remembered having seen someone saying that} 10... d5 {  is fine for Black, but then I felt that} 11. cxd5 Qxd5 12. Qxd5 Nxd5 13. Ne5  Nd6 14. f3 {was equally fine for White.}) 11. Bb2 ({I expected} 11. Ng5 e5 12.  Qb2 {, but Black is much better here too, after} a5 ({, or} 12... h6)) (11. g3  e5 12. Qd3 Be6 13. Ng5 Nxg5 14. Bxg5 Rc8 15. Rc1 b5 {with an initiative for  Black.}) 11... e5 {Now White must keep attacking the knight on e4, so that I  cannot play ...Ng4.} 12. Qe3 (12. Qd3) {I calculated a few lines involving b5,  a5 and Be6, but then I thought I could get a "free" developing move. I forgot  that h3 will actually help White with his development.} 12... Bf5 $2 {  Immediately after I had played the move, I regretted it.} (12... b5 $1 13. Rd1  (13. c5 Bb7 14. h3 a5) (13. cxb5 Bb7 14. h3 Rc8 $19 {and Black is just too far  ahead in development.}) 13... bxc4 14. Bxe5 a5 15. Bxf6 Nxf6 16. b5 d5 17. Qc5  Re8 18. e3 Bf5 {with a huge advantage for Black.} 19. Be2 Bc2 20. Rc1 (20. Rd2  Ba4 {and Ne4 is coming next.}) 20... Ne4 21. Qd4 Bb3 {and Black will continue  with a4 and pick up the b-pawn.}) 13. h3 $1 (13. Nh4 $2 Ng4 $19) 13... b5 $5  14. g4 Bg6 15. Rd1 $2 (15. g5 Nh5 (15... Nd7 $1 {might be better, but I  intended to go to h5.}) 16. c5 a5 17. Rd1 axb4 18. axb4 Ra2 19. Qb3 Ra6 {  would have been sharp, but balanced!}) 15... bxc4 $1 16. Nxe5 (16. Bxe5 dxe5  17. Rxd8 Rfxd8 18. Bg2 c3 19. O-O c2 20. Qb3 Rac8 21. Rc1 Nd2 {is even worse.})  16... dxe5 17. Rxd8 Rfxd8 18. Bxe5 $1 (18. f3 $5 c3 19. Bxc3 Nd5 20. Qc1 Nexc3  (20... Ng3 $5) 21. e4 Nxe4 22. fxe4 Rac8 23. Qxc8 Rxc8 24. exd5 Be4 {is  winning for Black too.}) 18... c3 19. Bg2 c2 20. O-O Rd1 21. Bb2 (21. Bxf6 $2  gxf6 22. Bxe4 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 Rc8 $19) 21... h6 {I was not happy with this move  during the game, and it comes as a relief to see the engine giving it the  thumbs up.} ({Even stronger was} 21... Rad8 $1) (21... Re8 22. Bxe4 Nxe4 23. f4  Red8 24. f5 Nd2 25. Qc5 {is unclear. It feels a bit like luck that I did not  go down that rabbit hole.}) 22. f4 (22. Bc1 Rad8 {followed by Nd2, wins.})  22... Re8 $5 23. f5 (23. Qb3 Nd2) (23. Bxe4 Bxe4 24. Qc3 Red8 25. g5 hxg5 26.  fxg5 Nh5 27. Kf2 Bg6 {and it is just a question of time before Black combines  the threats to the king and the threats to queen, in such a way that White  cannot deal with it.}) 23... Nd2 24. Qc3 Bxf5 25. gxf5 Nxf1 26. Bxf1 Rxe2 {  White has no defence against Ree1.} 27. Qc4 Ree1 28. Qxc2 Rxf1+ 29. Kg2 Nd5 30.  Qc8+ Kh7 31. f6 Nf4+ 32. Kg3 Rd3+ 33. Kg4 Ng6 (33... g6 {forces mate in seven.}  ) 34. fxg7 (34. Qc4 Rg1+ 35. Kf5 Rf3+ 36. Ke4 Rf4+ 37. Kd5 Rg5+ $19) 34... Rf4+  {It is check mate on the next move, so White resigned.} 0-1