[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)   

   [Event "Golden Sands, Bulgaria"]  [Date "2014.06.18"]  [Round "9"]  [White "Popovic, Dusan"]  [Black "Grandelius, Nils"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "C91"]  [WhiteElo "2537"]  [BlackElo "2587"]  [Annotator "Tiger"]  [PlyCount "88"]  [EventDate "2014.04.10"]  [SourceDate "2011.03.24"]   1. e4 e5 {This game was played in the last round of the Golden Sands  Tournament in Bulgaria and Nils needed to win in order to get any significant  prize money. I usually strive for a position with a asymmetrical pawn  structure in such cases, but Nils has belief in his abilities to create  winning chances anyway.} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5  7. Bb3 d6 ({After} 7... O-O {White has the option} 8. d4 {that leads to very  forced play. Nils is trying to keep the position as complex as possible.}) 8.  c3 ({Now} 8. d4 Bg4 {forces White to enter the same position that soon arises  in the game, with:} 9. c3) 8... O-O 9. d4 $5 {I have forgotten who this line  is named after.} ({The main line Ruy Lopez starts with} 9. h3) 9... Bg4 10. Be3  (10. d5 Na5 11. Bc2 c6 (11... Qc8 {has been doing well lately, intending} 12.  h3 Bd7 {, followed by c6.}) 12. h3 Bc8 13. dxc6 Qc7 {leads to a heavily  analyzed position, that even I have spent some time on (2009). And then, I  never came close to playing it, with neither White nor Black.})  10... exd4 11. cxd4 Na5 12. Bc2 Nc4 13. Bc1 c5 14. b3 Nb6 15. Nbd2 {Theory,  theory, theory...} Rc8 {This move scores well, but both} (15... Nfd7 {and}) (  15... cxd4 {are more common. The exchange on d4 generally leads to positions  where Black is slightly worse, but only so slightly that it can be handled.  Nils is again trying to avoid simplifications. Draw is not on the table. Nils  told me "it was just after 9 in the morning and the odds were 7:1 in favour of  taking a risk". This is the usual case when you are playing for prize money  and Nils continued to carry out this gamble in a truly risky manner.}) 16. h3 (  {Nils mentioned, Ganguly,S (2620)-Azarov,S (2600)/Cappelle-la-Grande Open 2014,  as a source of inspiration:} 16. Bb2 c4 17. bxc4 Nxc4 18. Qb1 $6 {I cannot  explain this...} Qa5 19. Nxc4 bxc4 20. e5 Bxf3 21. gxf3 dxe5 22. dxe5 Rb8 {and  Black had a strong initiative.}) 16... Bh5 17. Bb2 c4 $5 (17... Nfd7 18. Rc1 {  has been played twice by Magnus Carlsen in the mid 00's. White should have  some advantage here.}) ({A somewhat improved version of Nils idea was seen in  Grover,S (2460)-Kravtsiv,M (2565)/3rd Chennai Open 2011:} 17... Re8 18. a4 (18.  e5 $5 {looks better.}) 18... c4 19. bxc4 $6 {This is not bad for White, but  the inclusion of Re8 and a4, must clearly be to Black's benefit.} Nxc4 20.  Nxc4 bxc4 21. Bc3 d5 {This is the idea that Nils was aiming at in his  game.} 22. e5 Ne4 23. Rxe4 $5 dxe4 24. Bxe4 a5 $1 25. Bb7 {It's illogical to  move the bishop from its beautiful position.} (25. g4 Bg6 26. Bxg6 hxg6 27. d5  Bb4 28. Rc1 Rc5 29. d6 {is a better alternative for White.}) 25... Rb8 26. Bc6  Bb4 $1 {and Black took over the initiative.}) 18. bxc4 Nxc4 19. Nxc4 bxc4 20.  g4 (20. Bc3 d5 21. e5 Ne4 22. Rxe4 dxe4 23. Bxe4 {is similar to  Grover-Kravtsiv above.}) 20... Bg6 ({After} 20... c3 $5 21. Bc1 Bg6 22. d5 {  Black needs to get some counterplay before White plays Nf3-d4 and f3, turning  Bg6 into a big pawn.} Rc4 23. Nd4 Re8 24. Qd3 (24. f3 {, cutting the bishop on  g6 out of the game, looks better.}) 24... Qc8 25. Nf5 $6 Bxf5 $6 ({Black loses  his calm. Instead} 25... Bf8 26. f3 Bxf5 27. gxf5 g6 {is a bit better for  Black.}) 26. exf5 Rc5 27. Bb3 {and White was in control and eventually won, in  Kalod,R (2442)-Malinovsky,K (2202)/Czechia 2003.}) 21. d5 $1 Nd7 22. Nd4 {  According to Nils White's play here puts Black out of business (from a  theoretical point of view).} Ne5 $5 {Pressing the "chaos button". A rather  good choice as the alternatives are simply worse without the complexity.} 23. f4  $1 Bh4 $5 (23... Qa5 $5) 24. Re3 ({There is nothing wrong with White's move  here, but it looks safer to play} 24. Rf1 $5 h6 25. Rb1 c3 26. Ba1 Nc4 27. Nc6  Nb2 28. Qf3 $1 {with a big advantage.}) 24... Qf6 $5 {If you say "a", you have  to go "b".} 25. Ne2 h5 $5 ({Here} 25... Nxg4 26. Bxf6 Nxe3 27. Bxh4 Nxd1 28.  Rxd1 {is similar to what could have happened in the game later.}) 26. Bd4 hxg4  27. hxg4 Nxg4 ({Black can also consider to fish in murky waters with} 27... Qe7  $5 28. fxe5 dxe5 29. Bc3 Qa7 30. Qc1 Bg5 31. Kf2 f6 {, intending Kg8-f7,  followed by Rh8. White should be able to defend somehow, but the bind on the  rook is nasty.}) 28. Rh3 $2 {This is completely unnecessary. White should just  keep things simple. Usually you play such a move when the alternatives are bad,  but the only other alternative is good!} (28. Bxf6 $1 {Pretty  obvious, no?} Nxe3 29. Bxh4 Nxd1 30. Rxd1 Rb8 (30... Bh5 31. Kf2) 31. Nc3 Rb2  32. Ba4 {is one of many ways for White to get a huge advantage after 27...Nxg4.  }) 28... Qe7 29. Ng3 f5 $6 {Objectively speaking, this shouldn't work, but  there might have been some additional time trouble involved?!} ({The best move  is} 29... Bf6 {although} 30. Kg2 {, intending to double on the h-file, looks  very dangerous for Black. A possible continuation is} Bxd4 31. Qxd4 f5 $1 32.  Rah1 fxe4 33. f5 {with a balanced chaos. I have analyzed this position another  ten moves without being much the wiser. In the end it seems that one side or  the other will force a repetition of moves.}) 30. exf5 Ne3 31. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 32.  Kg2 $1 Qxf4 33. fxg6 Rce8 34. Bf5 $4 {A grave blunder that loses by force. The  only move was} (34. Nf5 $1 {when} Qf2+ 35. Kh1 Re2 36. Nxh4 (36. Qf1 $1 Rxc2  37. Qxf2 Rxf2 38. Nxh4 $18) 36... Rf3 $3 {wins beautifully for Black (as Nils  pointed out to me). The only problem is that 36.Qf1 wins for White.}) 34...  Bxg3 {The gamble has paid off and Black is on the road to victory.} 35. Be6+  Rxe6 36. dxe6 Qe4+ 37. Kg1 Bf2+ 38. Kh2 Bh4 39. Kg1 Qxg6+ 40. Kh1 Qe4+ 41. Kg1  Bf2+ 42. Kh2 Bd4 43. Qe1 Rf2+ 44. Qxf2 Bxf2 { 0-1 Maybe not the best game, but a  clear sign that Nils has become one of those players who are prepared to go  "all in" in the last round. In the long run this will surely be to his  advantage.}