[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.29"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Black "Murray, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "1924"]
[Annotator "Alex Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

{[%evp 0,41,19,31,19,0,-3,-3,1,-36,16,17,7,-18,3,-5,26,19,35,-4,11,5,67,67,57,
59,374,388,372,372,419,428,428,425,453,441,442,446,470,459,559,559,551,568] I
cannot believe it's already been exactly a year since the last year's
Washington Open, which interestingly enough was my first ever serious online
event with a slow time control. Back then, it felt a bit unusual, but now
after having played many of such events, I got used to it, and it helped me
win the all-important last year's US Chess Championship qualifier round robin
with a slow time control online. I wasn't able to win last year's event due to
a tough loss to local IM, Georgi Orlov, and this year's event is even much
stronger, with several strong masters and IMs in it. However, I'll give it my
best shot and see if I can do better than last year. My first round opponent
is an A-player David Murray. This game went quite smoothly for me after my
opponent made some mistakes in the opening. Let's see how it went.} 1. d4 d5 2.
c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 b6 $6 {
Up to here, it's a theoretical position, but here my opponent made his first
inaccuracy. In the closed catalan, it is usually important for black to first
play c6, and only then play b6, so that in case of cxd5, black can take with
the c-pawn on d5, which makes the structure more harmonious, and the bishop on
b7 ends up having a bigger impact on the position, for example through direct
pressure on e4, meaning white won't be able to play e4 very easily.} (8... c6 {
Is the main line.}) (8... Ne4 $5 {Is also a very interesting modern line,
which Magnus Carlsen first tried against Eljanov, with some ideas to create a
stonewall structure.} 9. Bf4 g5 $5 10. Bc1 f5 {With very interesting play.}) 9.
Ne5 {An alternative was...} (9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. e4 Nb4 11. Bxb4 Bxb4 12. a3 Be7
13. Nc3 Bb7 14. Rfd1 c5 15. d5 $16 {With a sizable advantage.}) 9... Bb7 (9...
Nxe5 {Black should probably try this.} 10. dxe5 Ng4 (10... Ne4 11. Bxe4 dxe4
12. Rd1) 11. Bc3 Bb7 12. h3 Nh6 $14) 10. cxd5 Nxe5 $2 {And this turns out to
be a blunder. Here, most likely, my opponent only considered an automatic
recapture, dxe5, which brings us the main lesson of the game: In chess, it is
important to always consider intermediate moves in our calculations, both for
ourselves and our opponents, and at least examine what might happen there. In
chess it is important to avoid playing automatic moves and assuming automatic
moves in our calculations.} 11. d6 $1 {Now black loses material.} Bxg2 12. dxe7
{I found this to be quite strange, since now I just have an extra rook. Of
course, the alternative was very unattractive, but it should probably still be
played.} Qxd4 $6 (12... Qxe7 13. dxe5 Bxf1 14. exf6 Qxf6 15. Kxf1 $18 {Here
white has 2 pieces for a rook and a pawn, which materially seems very close.
However, white's pieces are very coordinated, and white should have a winning
position, once he regroups his pieces to best squares. A sample line can be:}
c5 16. Na3 Rad8 17. Nc4 b5 (17... Rd7 18. Bc3 Qg5 19. Qa4 Qd5 20. f3 Rfd8 21.
Qb5 Qb7 22. Kf2 Rb8 23. Be5 Rbd8 24. a4 {With a5 coming up and black cannot
really do anything with his open d-file.}) 18. Ne3) 13. exf8=Q+ Rxf8 14. Kxg2 {
Now I'm simply up a rook, and I just have to be a little bit careful about
black's somewhat active pieces and counterplay.} h5 15. Be3 Qd5+ 16. f3 h4 17.
Nc3 Qc6 18. Bd4 Neg4 19. e4 e5 20. Bg1 Nh6 21. Be3 {AlexanderL won by
resignation. I consolidated. Now black has no attack and his picees are being
pushed back, and I still have the extra rook, so black decided to throw in the
towel.} 1-0

[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.29"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Levine, Joseph"]
[Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C04"]
[WhiteElo "2179"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "Alex Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

{[%evp 0,118,16,28,47,17,3,-36,-11,21,13,12,-8,4,4,1,12,9,20,0,-10,-19,19,-48,
-22,-55,-36,-52,-32,-53,-54,-61,-46,-87,-35,-47,-15,-51,-9,0,-19,0,-65,-113,
-86,-86,-85,-100,-100,-93,-132,-137,-151,-171,-193,-192,-161,-186,-204,-211,
-202,-213,-220,-247,-240,-286,-325,-330,-329,-316,-316,-394,-328,-322,-303,
-303,-412,-412,-412,-427,-416,-416,-417,-410,-410,-410,-420,-487,-508,-508,
-391,-1166,-1212,-1028,-1250,-1347,-1320,-1286,-1728,-1835,-1978,-2008,-1834,
-1698,-1925,-29069,-29982,-29983,-29984,-29985,-29990,-29991,-29992,-29995,
-29996,-29997,-29994,-29995,-29996,-29999,-30000] In the second round, I am
playing against young local player, Joseph Levine, whom I've gotten a chance
to play both in person and online in serious events. He's definitely a
talented player, master level with a GM coach, and he held me to a draw in the
last event. Therefore, I expected a tough battle.} 1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 {
Joseph is quite predictable in this line, and I decided I liked my preparation
there, leading me to the decision of playing the french.} Nf6 4. Ngf3 Nc6 {
This is Anish Giri's recommendation in his chessable course.} 5. e5 Nd7 6. d4 {
Now, this position sometimes arises with white to move in the move order: e4
e6 d4 d5 Nd2 Nc6 Ngf3 Nf6 e5 Nd7. Even that line is considered playable for
black by many people, so it is clear, that this position, with my move has to
be decent enough for me.} f6 7. Bb5 (7. exf6 Qxf6) 7... fxe5 8. dxe5 Be7 9. O-O
O-O 10. Re1 Qe8 11. Nf1 a6 12. Bd3 Nc5 13. Ng3 $6 {probably it is inaccurate
to give me the bishop pair here in a relatively open position.} (13. Be2 {
was what I briefly analyzed, where black can choose between Nd7 where white
has nothing better than Bd3, or a plan like a5-a4, with an unbalanced game,
which the engine evaluates as around equal.}) 13... Nxd3 14. cxd3 Qg6 15. a3
Bd7 16. b4 $6 {This creates a hook for me to eventually open up the queenside
favorably.} (16. d4 $15) 16... Rf7 $6 {Missing a better chance:} (16... a5 17.
b5 Na7 18. a4 c6 $17) 17. d4 Raf8 {I was still hoping to attack him on the
kingside. However, that was probably not the best plan all along.} 18. Kh1 $6 {
This gives me a second chance at queenside play, which I do not miss this time.
} (18. Be3 $1 a5 19. b5 Na7 20. a4 c6 21. b6 Nc8 22. Qb1 (22. Rb1 Bd8 23. Rb2
Be8) 22... Bb4 23. Qxg6 hxg6 24. Bd2 Bxd2 25. Nxd2 Rxf2 26. Nb3 {Is still not
so clear.}) 18... a5 19. b5 Na7 20. a4 c6 21. Ba3 $6 (21. b6 Nc8 22. Ba3 $17 {
Was lesser of the evil.}) 21... cxb5 22. Bxe7 Rxe7 23. axb5 b6 {Maybe Joseph
missed this simple defensive move or underestimated it. Now, I'm just much
better and get to keep my connected passers.} 24. Re3 Bxb5 25. Qb3 Rb7 26. Rc1
Bc4 27. Qa4 Qe8 28. Qa1 Nc6 29. Kg1 b5 30. Qb1 Qg6 31. Qa1 b4 $19 {This is
completely winning. White cannot stop the pawns in the long run.} 32. h4 b3 33.
h5 Qg4 34. Qb2 a4 35. Ra1 Rxf3 $1 36. Rxf3 Qxd4 {Black can win many ways but I
liked this method.} 37. Qa3 Qxa1+ $1 38. Qxa1 b2 39. Qb1 Ba2 $1 {The point of
this combination. I saw this when I played Rxf3, which I was quite happy about.
} 40. Qxa2 b1=Q+ 41. Qxb1 Rxb1+ {Now the spoke has cleared. I'm up a pawn, but
more importantly, I have two very powerful passers, I'll probably win another
one on e5, and white is very poorly coordinated. The rest needs no comment.}
42. Nf1 Nxe5 43. Re3 Nc4 44. Re2 d4 45. Rxe6 d3 46. h6 gxh6 47. Re8+ Kf7 48.
Ra8 d2 49. Ra7+ Ke6 50. Ra6+ Kd7 51. Kh2 Rxf1 52. Rxa4 d1=Q 53. Rxc4 Rh1+ 54.
Kg3 Qd3+ 55. Kg4 Qxc4+ 56. Kf5 Rh5+ 57. Kf6 Qe6+ 58. Kg7 Rg5+ 59. Kh8 Qg8# {
AlexanderL won by checkmate. I was very happy with this win against a strong
young player. That put me in a group of 7 strong players with 2/2.} 0-1

[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.30"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Black "Talukdar, Rohan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2431"]
[Annotator "Alex Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

{[%evp 0,68,22,22,29,28,44,8,2,4,10,-16,-15,-8,11,13,4,0,-4,-15,31,37,33,24,22,
38,27,37,43,23,43,36,59,59,46,47,40,40,44,25,68,74,80,89,68,10,56,48,59,61,48,
42,24,31,45,21,15,15,9,9,50,5,0,0,9,-27,0,0,0,-44,-28] In round 3, I got
paired against a strong canadian FM, Rohan Talukdar, with whom I've played
many times already in the Washington Chess Federation tournaments. While I've
done well against him lately, I knew that in a given day he's capable of
playing like a strong GM. This game felt like one of these games.} 1. d4 Nf6 2.
Nf3 g6 3. Nbd2 {I know he's a Grunfeld player who knows his theory quite well.
I try to keep my opponent off-balance, and keep surprising him with less
theoretical lines. However, this one wasn't a very lucky surprise, since it
seemed like he knew it well, and I surprised myself more.} d5 (3... Bg7 4. e4
d6 {Based on his chess.com games, I expected this setup more from him.}) 4. e3
Bg7 5. b4 O-O 6. Bb2 $6 (6. c4 {Perhaps, it's more accurate to start with this,
and not commit the bishop on b2.}) 6... a5 7. b5 a4 8. c4 c6 {Black is already
more than fine.} 9. cxd5 $6 cxd5 $2 {Black missed a great unexpected
opportunity to immediately seize initiative.} (9... a3 $1 10. Bc1 (10. Bc3 Nxd5
$17) 10... Nxd5 {And white has very poor coordination.}) 10. Bd3 Bf5 11. Bxf5
gxf5 {However, this is still equal, and black shouldn't have big problems.} 12.
Ba3 Re8 13. Qc2 Ne4 14. O-O Qa5 (14... Nd7 15. Rfc1 Rc8 {There was nothing
wrong with the simple development.} 16. Qb2 (16. Qxa4 $4 Nc3) 16... e5 $11) 15.
Rfc1 $5 {Sacking a pawn for an initiative.} (15. Rac1 Qxb5) (15. Rab1 Qc3 16.
Qc1 {Was probably my best chance for an advantage.}) 15... Qxb5 16. Rab1 Qe2 {
This is precise. Black is ok in all lines here.} 17. Nxe4 (17. Nf1 Qxc2 18.
Rxc2 Nc6 19. Rxb7 Rac8 $11) 17... Qxc2 18. Rxc2 (18. Nf6+ Bxf6 19. Rxc2 Nc6 20.
Rxb7 Na5 $11) 18... fxe4 19. Nd2 (19. Nh4 e6 20. Rxb7 Na6 21. g4 Bf8 $11) 19...
e5 20. Rxb7 exd4 21. Rcc7 dxe3 22. fxe3 Ra6 (22... Bf8 {Was the move I
expectected, and is also fine for black.}) 23. Rxf7 Rg6 {This is also a good
rook maneuvre, after which I don't have much.} 24. Rfc7 (24. Nf1 Nc6 25. Ng3
Nd8 26. Rfe7 Rxe7 27. Rxe7 Nc6 $11 28. Rd7 d4) 24... Nc6 25. Bc5 $5 {Setting a
trap} Bc3 {which he doesn't fall for.} (25... d4 $4 26. Nxe4 $1 dxe3 $2 (26...
Rxe4 27. Rc8+) 27. Rxg7+ $1 Rxg7 28. Nf6+ Kh8 29. Rxg7 Kxg7 30. Nxe8+ $18 {
Was a very slight hope, but of course, not very realistic against such a
strong player.}) 26. Nf1 d4 {Now, without Nxe4, this works well for black.} 27.
Rb6 Ne5 28. Rxg6+ Nxg6 29. Bb6 dxe3 30. Nxe3 Rb8 31. Rxc3 Rxb6 32. Rc4 Rb1+ 33.
Kf2 Rb2+ 34. Kg3 Rxa2 {Game drawn by agreement. A rather sloppy opening by me,
with playing Bb2 too early. The moral of the story is, if you want to create
problems to a strong player, every little nuance matters. If you miss a detail
early on, and don't create problems, any decent master can play like a strong
grandmaster. I was happy at least that I didn't miss any big chances in the
middle game and we both played quite well, making a draw a fair result.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.30"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Black "Kulkarni, Ojas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A61"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2216"]
[Annotator "Alex Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

{[%evp 0,81,22,22,28,-16,-9,0,31,30,52,71,58,68,130,80,104,82,54,51,113,102,69,
53,59,77,80,69,59,107,113,124,185,146,147,147,155,122,114,57,104,51,87,37,37,
28,22,33,32,26,36,49,58,47,127,123,130,144,135,140,135,130,147,148,164,134,322,
331,332,319,316,313,340,315,336,288,312,310,310,302,322,321,322,325] In this
game I got a double-white against an indian master, whom I have never played
before, or seen in the WCF tournaments. I got a second white in a row because
he had more points than me and he played white previous game, so he had to
change color. I wasn't sure what to expect, since I briefly saw that he plays
many openings. Therefore, I just decided to play what I knew best.} 1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 7. Bf4 Bg7 8. Qa4+ Bd7 9.
Qb3 b5 $5 {A very principled line in the Benoni.} 10. Bxd6 Qb6 11. Be5 O-O 12.
e3 c4 (12... b4 13. Nb1 Bf5 {Is also a line for black, but I think here, white
has good chances for an advantage.}) 13. Qd1 b4 14. Ne2 (14. Nb1 {Nb1 of
course is also possible.}) 14... Rc8 ({Is also possible and is what the engine
prefers at very high depth.} 14... Bb5) 15. Nf4 Qa5 {Here my opponent started
to think. Perhaps, he couldn't recall his analysis, and therefore, made a
slightly inaccurate move.} (15... c3 {This move should be played immediately.})
16. Be2 $6 (16. Qd4 $1 {This was actually very important, to use the fact that
black cannot play Nbd7 to defend the knight on f6. Now, black has to make an
awkward concession.} Qb6 (16... b3+ 17. Nd2 Qxa2 18. Nxb3 $1 Qxb3 (18... cxb3
19. Qd1 $1 Nxd5 20. Rxa2 bxa2 21. Bxg7 Nxf4 22. Be5 (22. exf4 Kxg7 23. Be2))
19. Bxf6) 17. Rc1 $16) 16... c3 17. O-O (17. Qd4 {Here this doesn't work as
well.} Ba4 $1 18. b3 (18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Qxf6 cxb2 20. Qxb2 Rc2 21. Qd4 b3+ 22.
Kf1 b2 $132 {With lots of play for the piece.}) 18... Nbd7 $1 19. Bd6 (19. bxa4
$2 Nxe5 20. Nxe5 Nd7 $17) 19... c2 20. Rc1 Nh5 $132) 17... Ba4 $1 18. b3 Bb5
19. Bxb5 Qxb5 20. Nd4 Qc5 $2 {This was his first real mistake of the game.
Perhaps, he missed my Nd3 move.} (20... Qb7 {Here black should have good
compensation for the pawn. I would've tried} 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Nc2 a5 23. e4
Nd7 24. Nd3 Bg7 {However, I believe black might be ok here.}) 21. Nd3 Qxd5 22.
Bxf6 Bxf6 23. Nxb4 {Now, I should be better due to getting rid of the very
important b4 pawn. The c3 pawn now requires attention for him too.} Qb7 24. Qf3
$1 {Precisely swopping queens off the board to get into a better endgame.} Qxf3
25. Nxf3 Nc6 26. Nd5 Bg7 27. Rac1 Kf8 $6 28. Ng5 $1 {Again, precise! Now black
is going to lose the c3 pawn.} h6 29. Nh7+ Kg8 30. Nhf6+ Kh8 31. Ne4 $18 {
Now I win the 2nd pawn and the rest is simple.} Ne5 32. Rxc3 Nf3+ 33. gxf3 Bxc3
34. Nexc3 Kg7 35. Rd1 Rd8 36. Rd4 Rac8 37. f4 Rc5 38. b4 Rc6 39. b5 Rc5 40. a4
Rd7 41. a5 {AlexanderL won by resignation. This was a nice win for me, where I
was happy that I was able to take advantage of his inaccuracies with some
precise moves. Now, the hard part comes, with potentially 2 blacks in the last
few rounds against potentially, two strong IMs.} 1-0

[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.31"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Guha, Mitrabha"]
[Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2484"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "Alex Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

{[%evp 0,108,19,31,54,61,57,85,106,83,79,107,88,88,83,68,61,-12,-11,-31,-22,
-27,-31,-44,-33,-37,-19,-26,-34,-34,-13,-14,-14,-27,-14,-26,0,-2,-11,-6,-3,-5,
10,-29,13,-30,-30,-65,-11,-47,-37,-43,-16,-1,-26,-39,-39,-57,-54,-46,-88,-69,
-87,-113,-107,-87,-75,-78,-87,-83,-83,-83,-79,-79,-83,-100,-96,-100,-91,-82,
-61,-62,-58,-16,0,0,0,0,0,-3,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] Today
was the decisive day, and I ended up paired against an IM from India,
Mitrabhaa Guha. I've had success with him up to this point, but I knew that
he's a very formidable opponent. Because I might have black last game as well,
potentially against IM Shahinyan, I decided to treat this game as a game where
I should try to push for a win if possible, even with black, thus my opening
choice, d4 d6.} 1. d4 d6 {signaling a fight.} 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. dxe5 {
This move, however shows peaceful intentions from my opponent. I wasn't afraid
of this though, since in my experience, even without queens, this middle game
can be quite complex. I wasn't dissapointed this game, either, as I managed to
create very serious winning chances.} dxe5 5. Qxd8+ Kxd8 6. Nf3 Bd6 7. Bg5 Be6
8. Nd5 $6 {This move signals the intention to trade off more pieces, but I
think that it's also a concession for him, as he is moving the same pieces
twice in the opening, and I end up getting a very comfortable endgame out of
this.} Nbd7 9. Bxf6+ $6 (9. Bc4 {This is more natural, after which the engine
suggests that my best move is h6. Thus, Bxf6 is just a loss of a tempo.}) 9...
Nxf6 (9... gxf6 {I seriously considered this as well, but I thought it was
logical to exchange the d5 knight. After gxf6, I thought that Bc4 followed by
Ne3 plan should equalize for him, and I didn't want to let him keep that d5
knight. However, perhaps that was more accurate.} 10. Bc4 c6 11. Ne3 Nc5 12.
Nd2 b5 $1 $15 {And after this precise move, perhaps, I can fight for a small
advantage.}) 10. Nxf6 gxf6 11. Nd2 {This is what expected, to try to exchange
the bishops. However, it might've not been the best.} (11. Bd3 Ke7 12. Nh4 {
Should be equal.}) 11... Ke7 12. Bc4 h5 13. h4 $6 {Natural, but the engine
really dislikes this.} (13. Bxe6 Kxe6 14. O-O h4 15. g4 $11 (15. h3 Rhg8 16.
Kh1 $11)) 13... Rhg8 14. g3 Bxc4 15. Nxc4 Rg4 $1 {Now I push his pieces back
and get a little initiative.} 16. Nd2 Ke6 17. Ke2 f5 18. exf5+ Kxf5 19. c3 Ke6
20. Rad1 a5 21. Nf1 $6 {Natrual but also not the best plan.} (21. Rhe1) 21...
a4 $6 (21... f5 {Was probably stronger.} 22. Ne3 Ra4 23. Ra1 (23. a3 Rg8) 23...
Bc5) 22. Rd2 $6 (22. Ne3 Rg7 23. Rd5 $1 {Would give white some counterplay.})
22... Bc5 23. Ne3 Re4 24. Kf3 Bxe3 25. Re2 Rc4 {I thought this was good, but
apparently, f5 was a more serious advantage, which I underestimated.} (25... f5
26. Rxe3 Rxe3+ 27. Kxe3 Rf8 28. Rd1 f4+ 29. Ke2 b5 30. a3 fxg3 31. fxg3 c6 {
Black has decent winning chances here, because of the "extra passed pawn",
while the majority on the kingside for white is frozen.}) 26. Rxe3 Rd8 27. Ke2
f5 28. Rd1 {I was happy to see this move, since now, for the first time in
this game, I thought I might be getting serious winning chances.} (28. f3)
28... Rxd1 29. Kxd1 f4 {I thought this was very natural, but perhaps, it
wasn't even the best.} (29... Rg4 $1 30. Ke2 b5 31. Rd3 f4 {The point is that
I don't need to force anything. White is having a very hard time finding moves
here, while I can improve my queenside position to the maximum.} 32. Kf1 a3 33.
b3 (33. bxa3 fxg3 34. fxg3 Ra4 $19) 33... e4) 30. Rd3 e4 {This was super
tempting, and I thought it's winning, but it turned out to be not so easy.} (
30... fxg3 31. fxg3 Rg4 {Again, it was better to be patient, since my
structure is so good here.} 32. Ke2 a3 33. b3 e4 $1 {This forces a rook to an
undesirable square, and black's position is too strong. Both black's king and
rook are more active than white's, white has a weak g3 pawn, as well as the a2
pawn. White should be losing here.} 34. Re3 (34. Rd4 c5 35. Ra4 Rxg3 36. Rxe4+
Kd5 37. Ra4 Rg2+ $19) 34... b5 35. Kf2 Ke5) 31. Rd8 e3 {This was my point, but
it turned out to be not such an easy win.} 32. Ke2 exf2 33. Kxf2 fxg3+ 34. Kxg3
a3 35. bxa3 Rxc3+ 36. Kf4 Rxa3 37. Rb8 $1 {Up to here, white didn't play this
game impressively, and I expected to convert this endgame easily. However,
here, my opponent brought himself together, started to take a lot of time, and
calculated extremely precisely. He found the best practical chances.} b6 38.
Kg5 Rxa2 $6 {This doesn't blow the win, but makes it much harder. I was
calculating a lot here, but it was still very hard for me to figure everything
out.} (38... Ra5+ 39. Kg6 {I saw this, but I couldn't understand what the
point of this was, since I couldn't find a better move than Rxa2. However,
here I can make a useful king move.} Kd7 (39... Rd5 {Is also a possibility.}
40. a4 (40. Kh6 b5) 40... Kd7 41. Kh6 Ra5 42. Kg6 Rxa4 {And only now I take.}
43. Kxh5 Re4 44. Kg5 Re8 {And now, I have this very strong idea!}) 40. Kh6 b5
41. Kxh5 c5 42. Kg5 c4 43. h5 c3 {And here I win.}) 39. Kxh5 Rg2 $2 {And even
though, this is a very natural move, this blows the win. I thought it was
improbable, that my 2 pawns won't queen against his rook with his king so far
away and losing so many tempos, but as my luck was, I was always down a tempo.
Now I just have to minic Kramnik and say, white survives by a miracle in all
the lines :)} (39... Kf5 $3 {This was the only way to win.} 40. Rf8+ Ke4 $1 {
It seemed strange to me to lose a tempo with my king like this, so I didn't
even consider this. However, I am moving his rook away from the ideal square,
and I improve my king. Therefore, I'm not losing a tempo, but rather gain one.
However, this is only the beginning of the fascinating variation.} 41. Kg4 (41.
Re8+ {In this case, I get the king to d5, and I gain a tempo.} Kd5 42. Rb8 Rg2
43. Kh6 Kc5 44. h5 b5 {And I'm up a very important tempo compared to the game,
which proves decisive.}) (41. Rb8 $5 {This is a good try, but black wins with
very subtle play.} Kf4 42. Rf8+ Kg3 43. Rg8+ Kh3 44. Rc8 Rc2 $1 {The only
winning move!} 45. Kg5 Rc5+ 46. Kf4 Kxh4 47. Rh8+ Rh5 48. Rc8 Rh7 {And black
wins.}) 41... c5 42. h5 b5 $1 {The only winning move} (42... c4 $2 43. Rb8 $11
{Misses the win.}) 43. h6 Ra7 $3 {And now this is the only way to win! Black
had to see it all in advance too :)} (43... Rh2 $2 44. Rf4+ $1 Ke5 45. Rf5+ {
misses a win}) 44. Rf5 Kd4 45. Rh5 Rh7 46. Kf5 b4 47. Kg6 Rh8 48. Kg7 Rb8 49.
h7 b3 50. Rf5 (50. h8=Q Rxh8 51. Rxh8 c4 52. Rb8 Kc3 $1 {The only winning line.
} 53. Kf6 Kb2 $1 54. Ke5 c3 $19 {Black is winning by one tempo!}) 50... b2 51.
Rf8 Rb7+ 52. Rf7 Rxf7+ 53. Kxf7 b1=Q 54. h8=Q+ Kc4 {And black should win this
queen endgame, since white has no good checks.} 55. Qh4+ Kb5 $19) (39... Rh2 $2
{I also considered this} 40. Kg5 Kd5 41. h5 Kc5 42. h6 b5 43. Kg6 Kc4 44. h7 {
But here he also draws.}) (39... Kf7 {And this, but this doesn't really
accomplish much.} 40. Kh6 $11) 40. Kh6 {From here white plays very precisely
and never gives me a chance to win anymore.} Kd5 41. h5 Kc5 (41... Kc4 {
Very unfortuntaely, I cannot play this because of} 42. Rb7 $1 $11) 42. Kh7 b5
43. h6 b4 (43... Kb4 {Was also a try, which from far away might've also won,
but in fact, white can draw several different ways here.} 44. Kh8 (44. Rg8 Rh2
45. Kg6 c5 46. h7 $11) 44... c5 45. h7 Rh2 46. Kg7 c4 47. h8=Q Rxh8 48. Rxh8
$11) 44. Kh8 Kc4 45. h7 Rh2 {Necessary if I want to play for a win since} (
45... c5 46. Rxb4+ $11) 46. Kg7 c5 47. Rb6 (47. h8=Q Rxh8 48. Rxh8 {Was also
enough for a draw.}) 47... Rxh7+ (47... b3 48. Rh6 Rxh6 49. Kxh6 b2 50. h8=Q
b1=Q 51. Qg8+ $1 $11) 48. Kxh7 {Even though my pawns are far advanced, and his
king is far away, I am just one tempo short in all the lines. "White is
surviving by a miracle" (Kramnik) :)} b3 (48... Kb3 {Is sadly, also not enough.
} 49. Kg6 c4 50. Kf5 c3 51. Ke4 c2 52. Rc6 Kb2 53. Kd3 c1=Q 54. Rxc1 Kxc1 55.
Kc4) 49. Kg6 Kc3 50. Kf5 c4 51. Ke4 b2 (51... Kb2 52. Kd4 c3 53. Kc4 $11) 52.
Kd5 Kc2 53. Kxc4 b1=Q 54. Rxb1 Kxb1 {Game drawn - insufficient material. What
started as a very boring looking game, where both of us played fasted, and
seemingly not so interested, turned into a great fight and a very exciting
endgame with very interesting variations. This is why, even in equal positions,
it's better to fight them all out to kings. You can learn great things from
the game then, and get your money's worth. Kudos to my opponent, who after
unambitious play early on, gathered himself nicely, and fought like a champion
in a very difficult endgame.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.31"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Shahinyan, David"]
[Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2531"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "Alex Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

{[%evp 0,104,21,27,71,66,70,58,58,22,16,7,24,23,25,55,57,29,71,69,62,39,35,17,
20,14,9,14,18,19,24,19,39,20,20,19,21,22,36,36,32,18,36,35,20,29,35,1,-4,6,15,
0,23,53,63,70,76,86,102,76,111,90,106,106,97,66,66,0,110,0,37,22,44,41,33,46,
58,53,51,48,37,37,56,36,31,26,36,0,0,0,0,0,0,-81,-90,-127,-134,-143,-109,-111,
-114,-112,-96,-626,-680,-708,-708]} 1. e4 {After a dissapointing draw last
game, I knew that I was in sort of a must-win game this game if I wanted a
decent prize in this tournament. However, my opponent was half a point behind
and had a tough loss to the leader, Rohan Talukdar. I knew he had to be out
for blood, since only a win would give him the prize. That influenced my
decision.} c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 {My opponent was predictable here.}
Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 Na5 $5 {This is an interesting line, which
isn't so common, but if black wants to equalize, it's a good attempt. The
drawback of this line is that white can now just repeat moves with Qa4 Nc6 Qb3,
etc, where black either has to make a draw or play an inferior line. However,
knowing that my opponent was in a must-win game, I knew that he wouldn't just
play like this. I decided to take the risk.} 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. Nd2 {As expected,
my opponent went for a fight.} (9. Qb3 Na5) 9... e6 10. Ngf3 Bd6 11. Bxd6 (11.
Ba6 $6 {Is interesting, and something I was wondering about during the game,
but it doesn't work well for white.} Bxf4 12. Bxb7 O-O 13. Bxc6 Rb8 $17 {
Is too much initiative for black.}) 11... Qxd6 12. O-O O-O 13. Rae1 {Up to
here, we both played very fast, but here came a critical moment. Unfortunately
the next few moves I started to drift, and quickly got myself into a very
unpleasant position.} Bxf3 (13... a6 14. Ne5 Rfc8 {looks like a better plan
for black.}) 14. Nxf3 a6 15. Qc2 (15. Qd1 {This was probably more accurate.} b5
16. Ne5 b4 17. Qa4 $16) 15... b5 16. a3 Rfc8 (16... Rac8 {In retrospect, it
was more logical to play with the other rook.} 17. Qe2 Na5) 17. Qe2 Qc7 18. Kh1
(18. Ne5) 18... Na5 19. Ne5 Nc4 20. f4 (20. g4 {Starting with this was also an
interesting option.}) 20... Re8 (20... Nd6 {This was more accurate.} 21. f5 {
I wasn't sure what to do here, but I can play exf5.} exf5 22. Bxf5 Rf8 {
Followed by Rae8 and everything is in control.}) 21. f5 (21. g4 Nd6 22. g5 Nfe4
23. Rf3 {Was possibly more challenging for me, with ideas like Rh3 and Qh5 in
the air.}) 21... exf5 22. Rxf5 Re6 (22... Nd6 {I was naturally worried about
Rxf6, but perhaps I shouldn't have been.} 23. Rxf6 gxf6 24. Qh5 Ne4 25. Bxe4
dxe4 26. Ng4 Qf4 27. Kg1 Kh8 28. Nh6 Kg7 29. Nf5+ Kh8 30. Nh6 {With a
potential draw, which was bad for both of us.}) 23. Bxc4 $1 {Only move not to
be worse actually.} bxc4 24. Ref1 {Here the engine says dead equal, but I felt
very uncomfortable. I felt like I was under very serious pressure.} Rf8 25. Qf3
Qe7 $6 {probably not the best.} (25... Rb6 $1 {As it turns out, it's not only
an aggressive attempt going after the pawn on b2, but also a prophylactical
idea, to tie his e5 knight.} 26. g4 Rxb2 27. g5 Ne4 {Turns out this is good
for me, since Nxf7 is impossible due to mate on h2.} 28. Qh3 g6 29. R5f4 Qe7 {
With very murky play.}) (25... h5 {Trying to stop g4 was also possible.}) 26.
g4 h6 27. Qg2 $1 {A strong move, preparing h4-g5, and re-applying pressure.} (
27. h4 Ne4 {[%cal Ge7h4] Was my point, which I thought was good for me. That's
why I played Qe7.}) 27... g6 (27... Nd7 {Was actually playable, based on the
tactic...} 28. Rxf7 $6 (28. Nxd7 Qxd7 29. Qxd5 Qxd5+ 30. Rxd5 Re2 {Black can
probably draw this.}) 28... Rxf7 29. Rxf7 $4 (29. Nxf7 Rf6 $11) 29... Qxf7 30.
Nxf7 Re1+ $19) 28. R5f4 Kg7 $2 {And this was my first big mistake based on an
oversight.} (28... Rxe5 29. dxe5 Ne4 {This had to be played immediately. Then,
white cannot get h4-h5 in, and thus, he cannot park his rook on f5. This means
that white cannot really breakthrough and the position is equal.} 30. Rxe4 dxe4
31. Qxe4 Re8 32. Qxc4 Qb7+ 33. Kg1 Rxe5 $11 {I'm down a pawn but he has a very
weak king, so the position is dynamically equal.}) 29. h4 (29. Qf2 {Was also
possible.}) 29... Rxe5 {This was my idea, and I wanted his pawn on h4, to be a
weakness. I thought he missed this. However, it turned out that I missed a
very important detail.} (29... g5 30. Rf5 $18) 30. dxe5 Ne4 31. Qh2 $1 {
This very strong move, defending h4, and defending indirectly f7, I missed.
Now I realized that I have to grovel for a draw, and probably I should be
losing objectively. However, I was still hoping for the best.} Kg8 32. R4f3 (
32. h5 {Was the most natural choice, which I would meet with g5, and hope that
somehow I can hold the fortress. However, it's very unlikely that this is a
fortress.} g5 33. Rf5 Qe6 {My plan was mainly to just go Qe6-Qe7, and pray :)}
34. a4 {However, after this strong plan, it's clear that black shouldn't be
able to hold the fortress. Here are some lines:} a5 (34... Kg7 35. R1f3 Kg8 36.
a5 Kg7 37. Qe2 Kg8 38. Qe3 {[%cal Ge3b6]}) 35. R1f3 Qe7 36. Qg1 Qe6 37. Qd4 Kg7
38. Kh2 Kg8 39. Kh3 Kg7 40. Qa7 Kg8 41. Qxa5 $18) 32... Qe6 33. Qf4 $2 {
This gives me a big chance that I missed.} Kg7 {I played this automatically,
but} (33... Rb8 $1 {Would create serious counterplay, and white cannot take
any of my pawns under good circumstances. For example:} 34. Qxf7+ (34. Qxh6
Qxg4 35. e6 f5 36. e7 Ng3+ 37. Rxg3 Qxg3 $11) (34. Qh2 Rb7 $11 {And here, I
succesfully active my rook to a much better square where it both attacks his
main weakness and defends mine.}) 34... Qxf7 35. Rxf7 Ng3+ 36. Kg2 Nxf1 37.
Rxf1 Rxb2+ $11) 34. h5 $2 (34. Kg2 {Would still provide white good winning
chances.}) 34... g5 $1 35. Qf5 Qxf5 36. gxf5 {I think that my opponent went
into this position on purpose, perhaps, thinking it's winning for him. However,
I can generate lots of counterplay here.} Re8 $5 {Purposely not taking the
exchange, although Nd2 winning the exchange back was also possible.} (36... Nd2
37. f6+ Kg8 38. Kg2 Nxf1 39. Rxf1 Re8 40. Re1 {I wasn't sure if I can hold
this endgame if his king gets to f5, and his rook attacks d5, but the engine
says I can.} Re6 41. Kf3 Kf8 42. Kg4 Ke8 43. Kf5 Kd7 44. Rd1 Kc6 {And I just
make it in time. It's a fortress. However, I thought it can be a bit risky to
go for this, since if I would miss a detail, I could've just been lost, while
I have no winning chances. In the other line, I thought I might even have
winning chances with my active knight, and some pawns for the exchange. As it
turned out, I made a lucky practical choice.}) 37. Kg2 (37. e6 Kf6 {Didn't
yield much for white, and here I felt like I had lots of counterplay.}) (37.
f6+ Kf8 38. Rf5 $2 Ng3+) 37... Rxe5 (37... Nd2 {Again, I had this move but
once again, I wasn't sure about it.} 38. f6+ Kf8 39. Re1 Nxf3 40. Kxf3 Re6 41.
Kg4 Ke8 42. Kf5 Kd7 43. Rd1 Kc6 {Once again, I'm in time to hold. However,
sometimes, it is a blessing to NOT make the best move.}) 38. f6+ Kf8 39. Rf5 {
I saw this, and planned Re6 where I thought I am hanging on, and maybe even
have not worse practical chances.} Re6 $1 {Of course, the only move.} 40. Rxd5
Nxf6 41. Rc5 Re2+ {A little trick. Now Rf2 loses to rxf2 and Ne4.} 42. Kg1 (42.
Kf3 Rxb2 43. a4 {Was double-edged, but might've been his last chances to play
for a win.}) 42... Nxh5 43. Rxc4 Rxb2 {Now, with his cut-off king, he cannot
really play for a win, and he even has to be the one careful. That's why, when
he offered a draw after Rxc4, I decided to play on.} 44. Rc6 Kg7 45. Rxa6 Nf4
46. Rxf4 {Trying to draw. Otherwise, Nh3+ followed by g4 and g3 can create
dangerous mating ideas in some lines.} gxf4 47. a4 Ra2 48. a5 h5 49. c4 f3 50.
Rb6 $1 h4 {Until here, white defended well and it's a draw. However, finally,
luck came on my side in this tournament, where my opponent, one step away from
a draw, made a losing blunder.} 51. Rb3 $4 (51. Rb1 $1 {Was the only move to
draw. Here, I cannot win. For example,} Rxa5 52. Kf2 Rf5 53. Rg1+ Kf6 54. Rg4
$11) 51... Ra1+ $1 52. Kf2 h3 {AlexanderL won by resignation. This is what my
opponent missed. Now in case of Kg3, I just play h2 or f2, and queen the other
pawn, and easily stop his pawns with my rooks. I cannot believe it's been a
whole year since the last Washington Open. I remember the last one like it was
yesterday, the pain I experienced, losing that game to Georgi Orlov :) If my
last round win against IM David Shahinyan was the last one that I've played in
WCF events, it was very pleasing for me that it ended for me on such a high
note, and that in general, on the last day I was able to provide you readers,
2 very fun fighting games against two strong IMs. This win gave me a nice
1st-3rd share, which was a great result for me, given that I'm trying to
regain my form after studying at university for almost 2 years. I want to
thank Josh Sinanan for the wonderful tournaments that he's organized for the
last year, and for welcoming me with open arms in all his tournaments, and
giving me a chance to do these annotations.} 0-1

[Event "Washington Open 2021"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.31"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Talukdar, Rohan"]
[Black "Shahinyan, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2434"]
[BlackElo "2500"]
[Annotator "Rohan Talukdar"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{An important round for me against IM Shahinyan from Armenia! It was a very
complicated game that required a lot of calculation} 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3
e5 {My opponent uses this move order to play a Philidor setup without letting
white have special tricks with an early Nf3} 4. Nge2 {My pet line that is
extremely easy to play. White will simply fianchetto the bishop and then will
typically create a kingside pawnstorm} c6 5. a4 {Played to avoid any b5
counterplay} g6 6. g3 Bg7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O exd4 {Deviating from our 1st game
in this variation} (8... Qc7 {is what my opponent played against me before. We
played a really tactical game and I have added the game below} 9. h3 b6 10. Be3
Ba6 11. Re1 Nbd7 12. g4 Rfe8 13. Ng3 Nf8 14. Qd2 Ne6 15. d5 cxd5 16. exd5 Nd4
17. Rec1 Rac8 18. Ra3 Qc4 19. g5 Nh5 20. Nxh5 gxh5 21. Qd1 e4 22. Qxh5 Qb4 23.
Bxd4 Bxd4 24. Rb3 Bxf2+ 25. Kh1 Qc4 26. Bf1 Qxf1+ 27. Rxf1 Bxf1 28. Nxe4 Rxe4
29. Rf3 Re7 30. Rxf2 Bc4 31. Kh2 Rc5 32. b3 Bxd5 33. b4 Rc4 34. g6 hxg6 35.
Qxd5 Rxb4 36. Qxd6 Rbe4 37. c4 Kg7 38. a5 R7e6 39. Qb8 bxa5 40. Qxa7 Re7 41.
Qb6 R7e6 42. Qb5 R6e5 43. c5 a4 44. Qb2 f5 45. c6 {1-0 (45) Talukdar-Shahinyan
Seattle Classic 2020}) 9. Nxd4 Na6 (9... a5 {is really logical to fix the
structure so that Na6 Nb4 is allowed}) 10. h3 {A logical move in this opening
where white denies black to use the g4 square and often plays g4 themself} Nb4
{Typically, this is the best square for the knight once white plays a4 but
here black has not secured the knight yet} (10... Re8 {is the main move when
after} 11. a5 Nc5 12. Re1 {with a playable position for both sides}) 11. a5 $5
{Taking advantage that my opponent has not played a5 and planning Ra4 to kick
the enemy knight out!} Re8 12. Ra4 {the most direct move which asks the knight,
"where are you going?"} (12. Re1 {I rejected this since black equalizes easily
with} d5 13. e5 Nd7 14. f4 f6) (12. Kh2 $5 {is a prophlyactic move played both
by Bologan and Ivanchuk!} d5 (12... Bd7 13. Be3 Re5 14. Nb3 Rh5 15. f3 Qc8 16.
h4 d5 17. Nc5 dxe4 18. N3xe4 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 Rd5 20. Qe2 {Bologan-Peralta}) 13.
exd5 Nfxd5 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. a6 Qb6 16. c3 Rb8 17. Qa4 {Ivanchuk-Nikolic})
12... c5 {My opponent played this quite fast} (12... Na6 {was what I was
expecting and I was thinking of playing} 13. Nde2 Nc5 (13... d5 14. exd5 Nxd5
15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. Be3 {black has an isolated pawn}) 14. Rd4 {a very cool move
to play} Bf8 (14... Nfxe4 $5 15. Nxe4 Bxd4 16. Qxd4 Nxe4 17. Bxe4 Qxa5) 15. b4
{and the rook on d4 is pretty active}) 13. Ndb5 d5 {The idea! It took me a
while to comprehend this position. I had planned for a calm opening but chaos
has errupted! Here I spent a long time trying to find the best idea} 14. Bf4 {
I calculated this line and thought that it was rather interesting} (14. exd5 {
and black's idea is} a6 {White's pieces are awkwardly placed} 15. Na3 Bd7 {
and the rook is trapped!} 16. d6 {this is quite unclear but engine notes that
black should not take the enchange but play} Na2 $1 17. Rh4 Nxc3 18. bxc3 Qxa5
$13) (14. e5 $6 {is also what I considered so that I get Bf4 with tempo} Rxe5
15. Bf4 Rf5 $1 {Although it is strange, the rook on f5 is very active and will
sacrifice itself in many variations}) 14... d4 (14... Nh5 {is a move that the
computer points out which I didn't even consider} 15. Bd6 Bd7 16. Bxc5 Bxc3 $1
17. Nxc3 Na6 $1 18. Be3 Bxa4 19. Nxa4 dxe4 20. Qxd8 Raxd8 21. Bxa7 $13) 15. Nc7
dxc3 16. Nxa8 cxb2 17. Nc7 Qxd1 18. Rxd1 {I had seen this position when I
played 14.Bf4 and I thought that both sides have chances} Bd7 $6 {This may
seem like a logical move to gain a tempo on the rook on a4. However, I have an
extremely clever idea here} (18... Re7 $1 {was the best although it is a bit
counterintuitive that Rd8 ideas might happen. However, the pawn on b2 is a
monster} 19. Ra3 Rd7 $1 {the idea} 20. Rb1 Nh5 21. Nd5 Nxf4 22. gxf4 Nxc2 $13)
19. Rxb4 $1 (19. Nxe8 $2 Bxa4) 19... cxb4 20. e5 $1 {I think that my opponent
missed this move. The idea is to misplace the knight, block the long diagonal,
and discoordinate black's pieces} (20. Nxe8 $2 {allows} Nxe8 $1 {and now due
to the active bishop on g7, the pawn on b2 restricts my rook from any activity}
21. Bf1 (21. e5 g5 $1) 21... Bc3 $17) 20... Bf5 $2 {My opponent offered a draw
here but I accurately calculated that white is winning here! I think this is
the only big mistake of the entire game} (20... Rf8 $3 {Is the correct engine
move!! I had not anticipated this at all. This is the safest square for the
rook!} 21. exf6 Bxf6 22. Nd5 Bc3 23. Rb1 Ba4 24. Nxb4 {and now} Rd8 $1 (24...
Bxb4 25. Rxb2 Bxa5 26. Rxb7) 25. Be4 Bxb4 26. Rxb2 Rd4 {and black has
miraculously equalized!}) (20... Rc8 $6 21. exf6 Bxf6 22. Nd5 {now the bishop
cannot stay on the a1-h8 diagonal since it has to guard e7}) (20... Rd8 $2 21.
exf6 Bxf6 22. Nd5 Bc3 {now white has} 23. Bg5 Re8 24. Nf6+ {and black has to
give up the important dark squared bishop}) (20... Rb8 $2 21. exf6 Bxf6 22. Nd5
) (20... Nh5 21. Nxe8 Nxf4 22. gxf4 {and now the bishop on g7 is blocked so
white is better}) 21. exf6 Bxc2 22. Nxe8 {it is very important that the knight
protects f6} Bxd1 23. Be4 Bf8 (23... b3 {planning Bc2 doesn't work} 24. Be5 Bc2
25. Bxb2 Bxe4 26. fxg7 $18) (23... Bh6 {trying to slow down Be5 ideas doesn't
work} 24. Bxh6 b3 {now white has a cool idea of} 25. Nd6 Bc2 26. Bd5 b1=Q+ 27.
Kh2 {and mate with Bxf7 and Bg7 is inevitable}) 24. Be5 Bf3 {trying to
distract my bishop} 25. Bd3 $1 {It is very important to force the black bishop
to e2 since that is the worse diagonal} Be2 (25... Bc6 26. Nc7 Bc5 27. Bxb2 Bd6
28. Nb5 {the knight gets out because of the bishop on d3}) 26. Bb1 Bc5 27. Bxb2
{Finally I have gotten rid of the b2 monster!} b6 28. axb6 Bxb6 {Now white
needs to make sure that the bishops and the knight is active} 29. Ba2 $1 {
threatening Nd6} Bc5 30. Be5 {supporting Nd6} Bd1 (30... a5 31. Nd6 a4 {
is too slow} 32. Bxf7+ Kh8 33. Be6 $18 {and f7 is coming}) 31. Bc4 $1 {It is
important that the bishop is used for attacking purposes and defending
purposes at the same time. Here, it keeps an eye on both f7 and b3.} b3 32. Nd6
b2 33. Bd3 (33. Bxf7+ Kf8 34. Ba2 {was more accurate because after} Bc2 35.
Bxb2 Bxd6 {now there is} 36. Bc1 $1 {and then Bh6 with f7 is game over} a5 37.
Bh6+ Ke8 38. f7+ $18) 33... a5 34. Nc4 {Now my knight is back into the game
and the pawn on b2 falls} a4 35. Bxb2 {Now white should win without too much
difficulty} Bb3 36. Na3 g5 37. g4 Bd1 38. Nb5 Bb3 39. Kg2 {improving the king}
Bd5+ 40. f3 h6 $6 (40... Bb3 41. Ba3 Bb6 {and now there are a couple winning
plans but I really like the following} 42. Be7 Be3 43. Nd6 $1 a3 44. Nf5 a2 45.
Nh6+ Kh8 46. Bf8 {and Bg7 will be mate!} a1=Q 47. Bg7#) 41. Bc2 {Now the
a-pawn falls as well so it is game over! An extremely fun game to play that
was full of calculation!} 1-0

[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.31"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Kulkarni, Ojas"]
[Black "Guha, Mitrabha"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2216"]
[BlackElo "2484"]
[Annotator "IM Mitrabha Guha"]
[PlyCount "222"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]
[WhiteClock "0:07:34"]
[BlackClock "0:21:11"]

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-202,-202,-202,-202,-202,-202,-202,-202,-203,-202,-209,-202,-205,-212,-212,
-214,-203,-209,-206,-308,-307,-303,-325,-328,-326,-260,-314,-328,-308,-317,
-325,-338,-338,-341,-341,-341,-341,-341,-341,-341,-330,-341,-330,-378,-383,
-767,-862,-899,-899,-1753,-1878]} 1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:00] Very interesting game
where i managed to win from being a queen down for 2minor pieces and a pawn.}
c6 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 2. d4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 3. exd5 {
[%emt 0:00:02]} cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 4. c3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:
02]} 5. Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} (5. Bd3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3) 5... Bf5 {[%emt 0:
00:08]} 6. Nd2 {[%emt 0:00:04]} e6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 7. Ngf3 {[%emt 0:00:02]}
Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 8. Be2 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:02]} (8... Bd6 9.
Bxd6 Qxd6 10. O-O O-O {[%cal Ya8b8,Yb7b5]}) 9. O-O {[%emt 0:00:01]} O-O {
[%emt 0:00:01]} 10. Nh4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Bg6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} (10... Be4 11.
Nxe4 dxe4 {[%cal Gf6d5,Ge7h4]}) 11. Nxg6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} hxg6 {[%emt 0:00:01]}
12. Re1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 13. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:15]} (13.
Bxd6 Qxd6 14. Nf3 Rab8 15. a4 a6) 13... Rb8 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 14. a4 {[%emt 0:
00:13]} Qc7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 15. g3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 16.
Kg2 {[%emt 0:09:00]} b5 {[%emt 0:00:53]} 17. axb5 {[%emt 0:01:36]} axb5 {
[%emt 0:00:02]} 18. h4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Nh7 {[%emt 0:00:23]} (18... b4 19. Bxf6
gxf6 20. h5 g5) 19. Be3 {[%emt 0:00:49]} Ne7 {[%emt 0:00:46]} 20. Bd3 {[%emt 0:
02:52]} (20. h5 gxh5 21. Bd3 g6) 20... Nf5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} (20... b4 21. c4
dxc4 22. Nxc4 Nf5) 21. h5 {[%emt 0:00:38]} b4 {[%emt 0:13:29]} (21... gxh5 22.
Qxh5 Nf6 23. Qh3 {[%cal Re1h1]}) (21... Nxe3+ 22. Rxe3 g5 23. Qg4 {[%cal Gd2f3]
}) 22. hxg6 {[%emt 0:46:46]} fxg6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 23. c4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Qf7
{[%emt 0:11:00] This provokes Qf3 which allows a tempo after Qb7} (23... Qb7
24. c5 Bxc5 25. dxc5 d4+ 26. Be4) (23... dxc4 24. Bxc4 Qc6+ 25. Kg1 Nxe3 26.
Rxe3 Ng5 27. Qg4) (23... Nf6 24. c5) 24. Qf3 {[%emt 0:06:44]} Qb7 {[%emt 0:01:
16]} 25. Qe2 {[%emt 0:01:47]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:02:23]} (25... dxc4+ 26. Be4) 26. c5
{[%emt 0:03:52]} Bxc5 {[%emt 0:04:29]} 27. Ba6 {[%emt 0:12:30]} (27. dxc5 d4+
28. Qf3 dxe3) (27. Bxf5 exf5 28. dxc5 d4+ 29. Nf3 (29. Qf3 Qxf3+ 30. Nxf3 dxe3
31. fxe3) 29... dxe3 30. Qxe3 {Engine show this is clearly winning for white
but thought this was equal during the game}) 27... Qa8 {[%emt 0:07:20]} 28. Bd3
{[%emt 0:00:07]} Qb7 {[%emt 0:05:44]} 29. Ba6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Qa8 {[%emt 0:00:
55] Draw is very good for black as he is clearly minus but I a draw would mean
slipping of the joint first position} 30. Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Ba7 {[%emt 0:00:
36] Maybe a too brave descion as black is just clearly lost here but my
opponent doestn play accurately} 31. Bxf5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} (31. Rh1 Qb7 32. Nf3
{[%cal Rf3g5,Rf3e5]}) (31. Nf3 Qb7 32. Rh1 Nxe3+ 33. fxe3) 31... exf5 {[%emt 0:
00:10]} (31... gxf5 32. Bf4 {[%csl Re6]}) 32. Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} (32. Qa6 Bb6
) 32... Rbe8 {[%emt 0:01:03]} 33. Qa6 {[%emt 0:00:03] My opponent already
offered draw 2 times till now} Bxd4 {[%emt 0:01:24]} 34. Qd3 {[%emt 0:02:07]}
Ba7 {[%emt 0:01:05]} 35. Rxe8 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rxe8 {[%emt 0:00:10]} 36. Qa6 {
[%emt 0:02:30]} d4+ {[%emt 0:02:03]} (36... Re7 37. Bd6 Re6) 37. Nf3 {[%emt 0:
00:19]} (37. Kg1 d3 $3 38. Qxa7 (38. Rf1 Bxf2+ 39. Rxf2 Qxa6) (38. Nf3 Qxf3) (
38. Nf1 Bxf2+ 39. Kxf2 Re2+ 40. Kg1 Qg2#) 38... Re1+ 39. Rxe1 Qxa7) 37... Re7 {
[%emt 0:02:17]} 38. Bd6 {[%emt 0:05:12]} Rd7 {[%emt 0:01:39]} (38... Rf7 {
I had planned to play this but Rc1 Rh1 forces a draw so again had to play the
worse Rd7 for a win} 39. Rc1 Kh7 40. Rc6 (40. Rc8 Qe4) 40... Ne4) 39. Bc5 {
[%emt 0:05:36]} (39. Bxb4) (39. Rc1 Kh7) 39... g5 {[%emt 0:06:10] I completely
missed Qe6 here when I played Rd7 . When i saw after g5 i was in complete
shock and offered a draw which my opponent rejected now} 40. Qe6+ {[%emt 0:00:
31]} (40. Qc4+ Kh7 41. Rh1+ Kg6) 40... Kh7 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 41. Qxf5+ {[%emt 0:
02:03]} Kg8 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 42. Qe6+ {[%emt 0:04:46]} Kh7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 43.
g4 {[%emt 0:04:59]} d3 {[%emt 0:04:43]} 44. Rh1+ {[%emt 0:04:10]} Kg6 {[%emt 0:
00:03]} 45. Qf5+ {[%emt 0:00:01]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 46. Kg1 {[%emt 0:00:01]}
(46. Rh8 {We both missed the remarkable Rh8 which instantly wins}) 46... Qxf3 {
[%emt 0:07:07]} 47. Qxf3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Bxc5 {[%emt 0:00:01] This is not
that bad for black as all his pieces are protected and has the d3 passed pawn}
48. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Rd4 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 49. Qb7+ {[%emt 0:01:11]} (49.
Rc1 d2 50. Rd1) 49... Kg6 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 50. f3 $2 {[%emt 0:00:07] This
weakens the e3 square} d2 {[%emt 0:00:56]} 51. Rd1 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Bd6 $1 {
[%emt 0:01:19][%cal Gd6f4]} 52. Qc6 {[%emt 0:00:46]} Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:28][%csl
Yf4,Yg5][%cal Gf6d5,Gd5e3,Gd4c4,Gc4c1] Everything is protected black now need
to bring his rook to C1 or knight to e3} 53. Qc5 {[%emt 0:00:34]} Rd6 {[%emt 0:
05:48]} 54. Qf5+ {[%emt 0:00:12]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:04][%csl Gf7] Blacks king is
very safe here while whites rook is tied down} 55. Kf1 {[%emt 0:00:11]} (55.
Kf2 $1 g6 56. Qc8 Nd5 57. Rh1) 55... g6 {[%emt 0:00:23]} 56. Qc8 {[%emt 0:00:
51]} Nd5 {[%emt 0:00:41]} 57. Ke2 {[%emt 0:00:41]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:07:04]} 58. Rh1
{[%emt 0:01:31]} Re6+ {[%emt 0:03:34]} 59. Kd3 {[%emt 0:00:17]} Kd6 {[%emt 0:
01:16]} 60. Rd1 {[%emt 0:01:32]} (60. Qb8+ Kc5 61. Qa7+ Kc6 62. Qa8+ Kd6 63.
Qb8+) (60. Qd8+ Kc5) 60... Re3+ {[%emt 0:02:50]} 61. Kc2 {[%emt 0:00:02]} (61.
Kxd2 Rc3+) (61. Kd4 Be5+ 62. Kc4 Nb6+) 61... b3+ {[%emt 0:00:03]} 62. Kb1 {
[%emt 0:00:01]} Re1 {[%emt 0:08:27]} 63. Qb8+ {[%emt 0:00:02]} Kd7 {[%emt 0:01:
50]} 64. Qb7+ {[%emt 0:01:42]} Ke8 {[%emt 0:01:08]} 65. Qxb3 {[%emt 0:00:02]}
Ne3 {[%emt 0:00:08] I was trying to get to f6 without going to e7 first} 66.
Qe6+ {[%emt 0:00:15]} (66. Qb5+ Kf7 67. Qd7+ (67. Qb3+ Kf6 68. Qc3+ Be5 69.
Rxe1 Bxc3 70. Rxe3 {There is no check now as the king is on f6}) 67... Kf6)
66... Kd8 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 67. Qb6+ {[%emt 0:00:21]} Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:39]} 68.
Qb5+ {[%emt 0:01:23]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:03:51]} 69. Qb4+ {[%emt 0:00:13]} Bd6 {
[%emt 0:00:04]} 70. Rxe1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} d1=Q+ {[%emt 0:00:02] This is the
point of the whole variation starting from Re3.I think my opponent missed this
intermediate move without this white is clearly winning} 71. Rxd1 {[%emt 0:00:
13]} Bxb4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 72. Rd3 {[%emt 0:00:50]} Ng2 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 73.
Rd4 {[%emt 0:00:22]} (73. Kc2 Ne1+) 73... Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 74. Re4+ {
[%emt 0:00:45]} Kd7 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 75. Kc2 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Kc6 {[%emt 0:00:
11]} 76. b4 {[%emt 0:00:16]} Nh4 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 77. Re3 $2 {[%emt 0:00:08]}
Bxb4 {[%emt 0:00:16] Now black will keep on grinding but my opponent blunders
in the next move} 78. Kd3 {[%emt 0:00:37]} Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:43]} 79. Re6+ {
[%emt 0:00:02]} Kd5 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 80. Rf6 {[%emt 0:00:34]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:
10]} 81. Ra6 {[%emt 0:00:09]} (81. Rf7 Ke6 82. Rg7 Nxf3 83. Rxg6+ Bf6 84. Rg8
Ne5+ 85. Ke4 Nxg4) 81... Nxf3 {[%emt 0:00:13]} 82. Ke2 {[%emt 0:03:21]} (82.
Rxg6 Ne5+) 82... Ne5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 83. Kf1 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Bd6 {[%emt 0:05:
19]} (83... Nxg4 84. Rxg6 Ke5 85. Ra6 Bf6 86. Ra5+ Kf4 87. Ra4+ Kf5 88. Ra5+
Be5 {[%cal Gg4f6,Gg5g4]}) 84. Ra4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Bc5 {[%emt 0:00:32]} 85. Kg2
{[%emt 0:00:03]} Bd4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 86. Kg3 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Ke4 {[%emt 0:00:
02]} 87. Ra6 {[%emt 0:00:20]} Ke3 {[%emt 0:00:24]} 88. Re6 {[%emt 0:00:41]} Ke4
{[%emt 0:00:15]} 89. Ra6 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Nd3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 90. Ra4 {
[%emt 0:00:53]} Ke3 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 91. Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:39]} Be5+ {[%emt 0:00:
02]} 92. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Nf4+ {[%emt 0:00:03]} 93. Kg3 {[%emt 0:00:02]}
Ne2+ {[%emt 0:00:26]} 94. Kg2 {[%emt 0:00:11]} Kf4 {[%emt 0:00:40]} 95. Ra4+ {
[%emt 0:00:05]} Bd4 {[%emt 0:00:38]} 96. Kf1 {[%emt 0:00:24]} (96. Kh3 Kf3 97.
Ra3+ Be3) 96... Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 97. Ra3+ {[%emt 0:00:12]} Be3 {[%emt 0:00:
16]} 98. Ra4 {[%emt 0:00:45]} Nf4 {[%emt 0:00:19]} 99. Ra3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Ne2
{[%emt 0:00:17]} 100. Ra4 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Ng3+ {[%emt 0:00:02]} 101. Ke1 {
[%emt 0:00:03]} Bf4 {[%emt 0:00:17]} 102. Ra6 {[%emt 0:00:31]} Kxg4 {[%emt 0:
00:04]} 103. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:06]} (103. Rxg6 Kf3 {[%cal Gg3e4,Gg5g4,Gf4e3,
Gg4g3]}) 103... Kh5 {[%emt 0:00:21]} 104. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:38]} Nf5 {[%emt 0:00:
15]} 105. Ra5 {[%emt 0:00:21]} Nh4+ {[%emt 0:00:02]} 106. Kf2 {[%emt 0:00:01]}
Kg4 {[%emt 0:00:27]} 107. Ra3 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Kf5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 108. Ra8 {
[%emt 0:01:09]} g4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 109. Rf8+ {[%emt 0:00:03]} Kg5 {[%emt 0:00:
01]} 110. Ra8 {[%emt 0:00:06]} g3+ {[%emt 0:00:02]} 111. Kg1 {[%emt 0:00:01]}
Be3+ {[%emt 0:00:03] mitrabhaa won by resignation} 0-1

[Event "2021 WA Open tournament, Open section"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.31"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Chow, Alex"]
[Black "Razmov, Valentin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "1786"]
[BlackElo "1935"]
[Annotator "Valentin Razmov"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

{[%evp 0,99,27,33,33,45,64,56,56,54,88,85,89,81,87,80,79,63,94,42,42,40,40,20,
20,26,210,201,214,214,206,206,177,212,220,143,120,120,128,137,143,148,137,72,
84,67,76,77,72,72,72,82,88,93,95,95,95,94,94,86,88,88,88,84,91,97,105,92,98,
101,101,93,106,102,102,97,101,92,100,97,97,56,96,67,89,80,107,89,102,95,109,
100,111,111,111,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 c6 5.
Bd2 {A rare and sharp move that requires precision; Black has to watch out for
discovered attacks on the queen.} Nf6 (5... Bf5 6. g4 Bg6 7. f4 e6 8. Qe2 Ne7 {
illustrates why Black has to be precise.}) (5... Qb6 $6 {does win a pawn for
Black, but who wants to lag far behind on development as a result?}) 6. Bd3 Bg4
7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. h3 Bh5 9. Qe2 e6 10. g4 Bg6 11. Bxg6 hxg6 {Both sides have been
looking for the right time and direction to castle, depending on the
opponent's choices, yet without revealing anything with certainty.} 12. O-O-O
O-O-O $2 {A simple tactical oversight that defines the course of the game from
here onward. Black loses the traditionally weak f7-pawn without compensation.
Being pushed to the edge of defeat and surviving requires mental and emotional
perseverance, clarity of vision, creativity, and deep knowledge in conducting
the defense - precisely the qualities for the display of which from this point
onward I am submitting this game for a brilliancy prize.} (12... Be7 13. Kb1
Qc7 {would have been a normal course of play instead.}) 13. Ng5 Re8 14. Nxf7
Rg8 15. Kb1 {Avoiding threats of ...Qxa2 and thus freeing the knight on c3.} e5
$6 {Standing before a major strategic decision about the course of the game,
Black needs to take care of their two weak pawns on e6 and g6 without losing
more material. The first concrete decision is to exchange the weak e6-pawn and
to activate a piece in the process. If it wasn't for a brilliant potential
refutation of this idea - which both players missed and which even a chess
engine requires a full minute (!) of computation to \"see\" - this would have
been a great move. In practice, it is still a great idea since not many humans
would have found the best continuation for White here. I challenge the reader
to look for another sensible move for White besides the obvious capture(s) on
e5.} (15... Qc7 16. Rhe1 {is \"correct\" in the objective sense, but leaves
White with a stable advantage and puts no particular challenges on their
forward path.}) 16. dxe5 $6 (16. Rhe1 $3 {The reason why this positional queen
sacrifice makes any sense is revealed once you see five moves deep...} exd4 17.
Qxe8+ Nxe8 18. Rxe8+ Kc7 19. Bf4+ Kb6 20. Rxd4 {± Black has no good moves
here, it turns out, since all black pieces are poorly placed, resulting in a
hopeless situation, both strategically and tactically. In reality, who in
White's shoes would have a desire to sacrifice material - a queen, nonetheless
- without a checkmate in sight, especially at a time when White is up a solid
pawn and feels in command of the position! Psychologically such decision tend
to be very difficult.}) 16... Nxe5 17. Ne4 $2 {After a surprisingly long
thought, White emerges with a surprise, ironically one that hurts them more
than it helps in the end. As White shared after the game, they were hoping to
somehow capitalize on the tactical energy of the white knights near the center.
I had only seriously considered the exchange of knights on e5:} (17. Nxe5 Rxe5
18. Qd3 {±}) 17... Qd5 $1 {After a long thought in turn, in the choice
between 17...Qc7 and 17...Qd5, Black opts for the more active move, intending
to put White under some pressure and also laying a hidden tactical trap.} (
17... Qc7 $6 18. Nfg5 Nf7 19. Qd3 {±}) 18. Nxf6 {A precise decision!} (18.
Nfg5 $2 {was the start of the elaborate trap Black had laid.} Nxe4 19. Nxe4 $2
({If} 19. Qxe4 Qxe4 20. Nxe4 Nxg4 21. hxg4 Rxe4 {and Black restores the
balance.}) 19... Nc4 {Now Black even wins owing to elegant tactics!} 20. f3 $4
(20. Rhe1 {doesn't save White due to} Rxe4 $1 21. Qxe4 Nxd2+ 22. Rxd2 Qxd2 23.
Qe6+ Kc7 {∓ The black rook on g8 is invulnerable due to White's back-rank
weakness.}) (20. Rde1 $2 Rxe4 21. Qxe4 Nxd2+ {-+}) 20... Qb5 $1 {and White has
a choice between being checkmated and losing the queen to a discovered attack.}
) 18... gxf6 {Even though the trap didn't \"snap\", Black still emerged with
another small victory - now their second weak king-side pawn has also been
fixed.} 19. Nxe5 Rxe5 20. Be3 {In a challenging situation, White makes a
slippery decision - the bishop is now pinned to the queen, which sets the
stage for Black's endgame plan.} (20. Qf1 Qf3 {is apparently the better choice
for White, according to the engine, but once again difficult to make due to
White's passive-looking queen on f1, in contrast to Black's active queen on f3.
}) 20... Qe6 21. Rhe1 $2 {This logical looking move only simplifies Black's
defensive job, as it allows an easy exchange of bishops. Black had already
pre-meditated to transition into a rook endgame or a queen endgame as a path
toward rescuing the draw. Both of these types of endgames offer considerable
drawing chances when defending a pawn down and often even with two pawns down.
White's only realistic chance for continuing to play for a win was to keep the
bishops on board, if possible, or to create some weakness in Black's camp.} (
21. Qd2 Bc5 22. Bf4 $2 ({or} 22. Bxc5 Rxc5 23. Rhe1 Re5 24. Rxe5 fxe5 25. Qe3 {
± looks like White's best chance forward due to Black's weakened central
pawns.}) 22... Rd5 {= Even though the bishop survives the exchange, Black gets
back their pawn (on f2).}) (21. Qd3 $5 Bc5 22. Bxc5 Rxc5 23. Rhe1 ({or} 23. Qa3
Qc4 24. Rc1 a5) 23... Re5 24. Rxe5 fxe5 25. b3 {and White similarly retains
winning chances due to weaknesses in Black's position.}) 21... Bc5 22. Qd2 (22.
Rd3 Bxe3 23. fxe3) 22... Bxe3 23. Rxe3 (23. fxe3 Rd5 {⩲ was possible too,
keeping more material. Still, the weakened, isolated white e3-pawn, coupled
with no clear targets in Black's position and no passed pawn for White,
suggests that a draw is the most likely result here.}) 23... Rxe3 24. fxe3 (24.
Qxe3 $6 {Black could force the draw by} Qxe3 25. fxe3 Rh8 (25... Re8 {should
still work, but is a bit less clear after} 26. Rd3 Rh8 27. e4 Re8 28. Re3 Kd7 {
=}) 26. Rh1 Re8 27. Re1 ({If} 27. h4 $5 Rxe3 28. h5 gxh5 29. gxh5 Re7 {= Black
blockades the passed pawn and then centralizes their king, while White's rook
is passive due to the need to constantly defend its h-pawn.}) 27... Rh8 {
= with a logical repetition.}) 24... Re8 25. b3 {Calling Black's bluff attack
on e3.} Qd5 $1 {A nice touch, forcing further exchanges into a choice of
technically drawn endgames.} (25... Qxe3 $2 {The e3-pawn is invulnerable due to
} 26. Qd7+ Kb8 27. Qd6+ Kc8 28. Qxf6 {± and suddenly White is close to
creating a king-side passed pawn, giving them plausible winning chances.}) 26.
Qxd5 (26. Qe2 $5 {but then suddenly} Rxe3 $1 27. Qxe3 Qxd1+ 28. Kb2 {and
seemingly White wins back their extra pawn, either on a7 or on g6 (via a queen
check on e8), except...} Qd6 $1 {and Black manages to maintain equal material
or else delivers a perpetual check, since White's queen would be outside of
the action on a7 or g6, unable to help its own king avoid the black queen's
checks or avert a further loss of a pawn. Other options are much worse for
Black:} (28... Qf1 $6 29. Qe8+ Kc7 30. Qf7+ Kc8 31. g5 $1 {±}) (28... Qh1 $2
29. Qe8+ Kc7 30. Qe7+ Kc8 31. Qxf6 Qxh3 32. Qxg6 Qh8+ 33. Ka3 Qf8+ 34. b4 {±})
29. Qxa7 {should be drawn after} (29. Qe8+ {is equal too after} Kc7 30. Qxg6
Qe5+ 31. c3 Qh2+ {=}) 29... Qe5+ 30. c3 Qh2+ {=}) 26... cxd5 27. Rxd5 Rxe3 28.
Rd6 Rf3 $1 {Avoiding a trap - both f6- and g6-pawns were in danger.} 29. Rd3
Rf1+ {The king-and-pawn endgame would, expectedly, be lost for Black with a
pawn down, so there's no reason to want to exchange rooks.} 30. Kb2 Kc7 {
Activating the king and restricting the white rook's options.} 31. Kc3 f5 {
Time to exchange pawns and simplify the position. Black's goal is to eliminate
all king-side pawns, while keeping the king close to its minority (2 vs 3
pawns) on the queen-side.} 32. gxf5 Rxf5 {Not allowing White to have a passed
h-pawn.} 33. Kd2 $6 (33. Rg3 Rf4 34. a4 Rh4) 33... Rf2+ 34. Kc3 Rg2 {
\"Sticking\" to the c2-pawn, thus restricting the white king's movement also.}
35. a4 a5 {Limiting the queen-side pawns' movement too, or at least demanding
that it happen at the cost of more simplifying pawn exchanges.} 36. h4 $5 {
Setting a creative trap for defenders who may be overly eager to exchange
pawns quickly.} b6 $1 (36... g5 $2 37. h5 Rh2 38. Rd5 Rxh5 39. Rxa5 {and White
may have renewed winning chances deep in the endgame due to the 3 vs 1
majority on the queen side.}) 37. Rd4 g5 {Now White cannot avoid the king-side
pawn exchanges.} 38. Rc4+ Kb7 {Staying close to the pawns for a further
reassuring defense.} 39. hxg5 Rxg5 40. Kd4 Rh5 41. Kc3 Rg5 {Black declares a
\"no-crossing zone\" along the 5th rank.} 42. Rd4 Rg2 {Back to the
\"sticking\" defense - limiting the white king's mobility.} 43. Rc4 Rh2 44. Re4
Rg2 45. Kd3 Rg3+ 46. Kc4 Rg2 47. Kb5 $6 {White finally gives up trying to move
forward all queen-side pawns together.} (47. c3 Rg5 (47... Rb2 {should be
drawn in all cases})) 47... Rxc2 48. Re7+ Rc7 {Just in time!} 49. Rxc7+ ({
Of course, not} 49. Re6 $4 Rc5#) 49... Kxc7 50. b4 {Game drawn by agreement
and after just over 4 hours of play, the game ended peacefully. A good
accomplishment by Black, steering the ship to safety from what looked like a
stormy ocean after the early loss of a critical pawn.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "2021 WA Open tournament, Reserve U1600 "]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.30"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Betz, Parker"]
[Black "Razmov, Gabriel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "1588"]
[BlackElo "1495"]
[Annotator "Gabriel Razmov"]
[PlyCount "140"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

{[%evp 0,140,21,19,37,40,71,64,64,47,54,34,54,65,69,43,20,25,29,20,34,52,26,
-15,28,11,19,28,20,33,22,11,29,0,13,7,9,12,20,0,21,4,5,-3,5,-7,-4,-6,-1,-1,-4,
-79,-79,-99,-82,-97,-77,-119,-110,-110,-111,-126,-128,-128,-129,-179,-183,-159,
-73,-88,-84,-101,-101,-100,-63,-148,-85,-106,-108,-79,-65,-61,-68,-140,-76,-78,
-98,-130,-121,-120,-14,-23,-81,-113,-81,-113,569,566,561,-26,-46,-44,-56,-36,0,
0,0,0,0,-470,0,-65,-50,-464,-463,-478,-472,-502,-254,-257,-314,-322,-327,-330,
-324,-324,-324,-323,-323,-502,-502,-557,-567,-607,-604,-633,-645,-676,-619,
-673,-687,-29983,-29984]} 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Bc4 Bf5
(5... Nc6 {is a weird move to play in an opening like a Scandinavian, since
usually you would play ...c6, but for some reason, the computer likes it.}) 6.
Nf3 c6 7. Bg5 ({In some cases, an earlier} 7. Ne5 {could end up benefiting
White. Apparently, here it is good to do so. In my experience, in the
Scandinavian, I have seen Ne5 played by White, but almost always around move
10.}) 7... Nbd7 8. O-O ({The computer points out the interesting alternative} 
8. Bd2 {, which seems counterintuitive because you just put the White Bishop
on g5, and now you are retreating it. The idea is to create a discovered
attack like Nd5 or Ne4, which would force the Black Queen to retreat to c7 or
d8, depending on where the Knight lands.}) 8... e6 9. h3 $6 {A bit premature.}
(9. Bf4 {Again, Komodo suggests a retreating Bishop move, which further
supports Ne5 and removes the c7-square from use of the Black Queen. It also
runs away from a h7-h6 tempo later on. Often, you might play Qc7 early, just
to stop Bf4 from happening, since playing g3 to play Bf4 is a weakening.}) 9...
Be7 (9... Bd6 {developing the Bishop was also good here.}) 10. Re1 O-O {
Up to here, I have pretty much been blitzing out the opening, because I have
experience with it. After around move 10, I always start thinking, though I
still know some general middlegame plans/ideas for Black.} (10... h6 {is
another possibility.}) 11. Ne5 $6 (11. Bf4) 11... Qd8 $6 (11... Nxe5 {here was
better, for instance} 12. dxe5 Nd5 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Qe2 Rfd8) 12. Bf4 (12. g4
{was also possible.} Bg6 13. Nxg6 hxg6 {with approximate equality.}) 12... Nb6
13. Bb3 (13. Bf1 {is another possibility.}) 13... Nbd5 (13... h6 {was also
good, even though it no longer gets a tempo on the Bishop.}) 14. Nxd5 cxd5 {
Opening the c-file.} 15. c3 (15. g4 {was again possible.} Bg6) 15... Rc8 $6 {
Rushing a bit too much. 15... h6 would have still been good.} 16. Bc2 $6 {
Returning the favor, but at the same time trying to trade the Bishops.} Bxc2 {
I oblige.} (16... Ne4 17. Qe2 Nd6 {trying to get to c4, is a worthwhile
alternative idea.}) 17. Qxc2 Bd6 (17... Ne4 {was again good here.}) 18. Bg5 h6
19. Bh4 ({The engine also likes} 19. Bxf6 {, doubling the pawns.}) 19... Be7 {
Unpinning.} 20. Qa4 a6 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Nd7 Re8 23. Nc5 Qc7 24. Qb3 Rb8 25.
Na4 $2 {Handing the advantage over to Black.} (25. Nd3 {getting out of any
possible trouble was better.}) 25... b6 $1 26. Rac1 $6 (26. Qd1 {was almost
forced here, to play b3 and give the b2-square to the Knight as an escape
route.}) 26... Rec8 $6 {I should have played ... Bg5, attacking the Rook on c1,
followed by going back ... Be7.} 27. Qd1 {My opponent finds the escape on
second chance.} Be7 28. b3 $2 {Losing. I was 100\% expecting b4 from my
opponent.} Ba3 $1 {I had foreseen this win of a pawn.} 29. Rc2 b5 30. Nc5 Bxc5
31. dxc5 Qxc5 32. Qg4 d4 33. c4 bxc4 $2 {Giving away a lot of my advantage. 33.
.. Rd8 was much better than taking.} 34. Rxc4 $1 {Of course! Now I don't get
to push my pawn home, and I had to find some creative ideas not to give away
my advantage.} Qa5 $1 35. b4 Qxa2 36. Rxd4 {Trading Rooks on c8 and then
playing Qxd4 was also good.} Rb5 37. Rf4 Rcb8 $6 {Ok, but 37... Qd2 was even
better.} 38. Qf3 e5 39. Rfe4 Rxb4 (39... Qe6 {was better, since} 40. Qc3 Rc8)
40. Rxe5 Rb1 41. Qd3 $6 {Handing Black even stronger advantage.} Rxe1+ $6 (
41... Qa1 {was better, since} 42. Re8+ $6 Rxe8 {the White Rook is pinned.} 43.
Rxb1 Re1+ 44. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 45. Kh2) 42. Rxe1 a5 43. g3 $6 (43. Re7 {trying to
counterattack was a better choice, though still advantageous for Black.}) 43...
a4 44. Kg2 $6 (44. Re7 {still had to be played.}) 44... a3 $2 {Losing
everything I had worked for!} (44... Qb3 {was still winning, but I think I was
a bit too confident. Too overconfident, to be precise.}) 45. Re2 Qa1 46. Qd6 $1
Ra8 47. Qd5 Ra4 $4 {Losing!} (47... Rb8 {would have kept a slight edge for
Black, though the most likely result here would be a draw.}) 48. Re8+ Kh7 49.
Qf5+ $4 {Equal again! The evaluation bar must have been having a heart attack
around here. :)} (49. Qxf7 {was winning, since} a2 50. Qf5+ g6 51. Re7+ {
. Both of us missed this!}) 49... g6 50. Qxf7+ Qg7 51. Qa2 Ra7 52. Rb8 h5 53.
h4 Qe5 54. Rb3 $4 {Losing again!} (54. Qg8+ {, and my plan was} Kh6 55. Qf8+ $2
(55. Rb6 Qg7 {was still equal.}) 55... Qg7 {, winning!}) 54... Qc5 $4 {And as
soon as I played this, I almost slapped my forehead for missing a simple win.}
(54... Qd5+ $1 {wins, since} 55. Kh2 Qxb3 $3 {. I utilized a similar idea to
win the game, but I missed it here!}) 55. Re3 Qd6 56. Re6 $4 (56. Re1 {and a
lot of other moves were still equal.}) 56... Qxe6 $3 {Finally!} 57. Qxe6 a2 58.
g4 hxg4 $6 {Making a Queen right away was also good, and probably better.} 59.
h5 $1 {Now, I have to dodge persistent checks from White's Queen.} a1=Q 60.
Qxg6+ Kh8 61. Qe8+ $6 (61. Qh6+ {was a better try, but still lost for White.})
61... Kg7 62. Qg6+ Kf8 63. Qf5+ Rf7 64. Qc5+ Kg8 65. Qg5+ Qg7 66. Qd8+ Kh7 67.
Qd3+ Kh6 68. Qd6+ Rf6 69. Qd2+ Qg5 {After this, the checks are done.} 70. Qd8
$2 Rxf2+ {Gabriel Razmov won by resignation Here, my opponent decided to
resign, since he would be down a full Queen, and he knows I am good enough to
engineer a checkmate. Overall, a very good game and good ideas for counterplay
by White around moves 45-50. I feel like the part I really got the advantage
in was when his Knight was almost trapped on the side of the board. After that,
he valiantly fought back to winning on move 49 but missed the chance, after
which the only reason I won this game was his final game-changing blunder (56.
Re6??). Otherwise, I'm almost positive we would have split the point.} 0-1

[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.31"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Whale, Nicholas"]
[Black "Bell, Harry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A36"]
[WhiteElo "2080"]
[BlackElo "2000"]
[Annotator "Harry Bell"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

1. e4 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. Nge2 d6 7. O-O e5 {
The computer says that launching the h pawn (7... h5) at this point is
indicated instead.} 8. d3 O-O 9. h3 Nd4 10. Be3 Be6 {No need to play h6 first
before moving the bishop here since the knight cannot harrass it on g5.} 11.
Rb1 a5 12. f4 Ne8 13. Nd5 Nc7 {The computer hates this knight manuever,
preferring exchanging both white knights followed by and moving the knight
back to f61} (13... Nxe2+ 14. Qxe2 Bxd5 15. cxd5 exf4 16. Rxf4) 14. Nec3 {
white missed a cruhing f5 push with:} (14. Nxc7 Qxc7 15. f5 gxf5 16. Bxd4 cxd4
17. exf5) 14... Nxd5 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. cxd5 Qe7 17. Bxd4 exd4 18. Qb3 Qd7 19.
Rbe1 Rfe8 20. g4 f6 21. Qd1 b5 22. h4 h6 23. g5 hxg5 24. hxg5 fxg5 25. f5 {
Now my bishop can come to e5 and block the e and f files.} Be5 26. fxg6 Bf4 27.
Qh5 Qg7 28. Bh3 Qh8 29. Qxh8+ Kxh8 30. Bd7 Reb8 31. Kf2 Kg7 32. Rh1 Rh8 33.
Bxb5 Kxg6 34. b3 g4 {I think I realized here that my g pawn would wind up on
h2 protected forever by my unopposed dark bishop.} 35. Kg2 g3 36. Ref1 Be5 37.
Bd7 Rh2+ 38. Rxh2 gxh2 39. Bf5+ Kh5 40. Be6 Kg6 41. Bf5+ Kg7 42. Be6 a4 43. Bd7
axb3 44. axb3 Ra2+ {Now nothing can be done about the ensuing mate on g1.} 45.
Kh1 Kg6 46. Bf5+ Kg5 47. Bd7 Kh4 48. Be8 Rb2 49. Ba4 Kg3 50. Bb5 Rxb3 51. Bc4
Rb2 52. Ba6 Rd2 53. Bc4 Bf4 54. Bb5 Be3 55. e5 Rg2 {hbell11 won by resignation
Game may have continued...} (55... Rg2 56. Rf3+ Kxf3 57. Bd7 Kg3 58. Bg4 Rg1# {
[%eval -32761,0]}) 0-1

[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.30"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Perez, Igancio"]
[Black "Bell, Harry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D15"]
[WhiteElo "2229"]
[BlackElo "2000"]
[Annotator "Harry Bell"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 a6 5. Bg5 Ne4 6. Bf4 Qa5 7. Rc1 e6 8. e3
Bb4 9. Be2 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc3+ 11. Kf1 Nd7 12. c5 {Around here I realized I
might have difficulty extricating my bishop and queen.} Bb4 13. Bd3 Qd8 14. h4
Ba5 15. Qc2 h6 16. Rh3 Bc7 17. Bxc7 Qxc7 18. Rg3 Kf8 (18... O-O) 19. Re1 f5 20.
Rg6 Kf7 21. h5 Nf6 (21... Rf8) 22. Ne5+ Kf8 23. f3 Bd7 24. g4 Be8 25. Qh2 (25.
gxf5) 25... Kg8 {Avoiding the loss of my queen} (25... Bxg6 26. Nxg6+) 26. gxf5
Bxg6 27. fxg6 Nd7 28. Kf2 Nxe5 29. dxe5 Qe7 30. Bf1 Kf8 31. Rb1 Ke8 32. f4 Rf8
33. Qg3 Kd8 34. Bh3 Kc7 35. f5 Qxc5 36. Kg1 Qc2 37. Rf1 Rxf5 38. Bxf5 exf5 39.
e6+ Kb6 40. Qe5 Qe4 41. Qxe4 dxe4 {Now if 42. Rxf5 my rook has time to capture
the e and h pawns} 42. Rd1 Re8 43. Rd7 c5 44. Kf2 Rxe6 {It looks like I was
technically lost after this move. 44...c4 was necessary.} 45. Rxg7 c4 46. Ke2 (
46. Rh7 c3 47. g7 Re8 48. Rxh6+ Kb5 49. Rg6) 46... Rd6 47. Rf7 c3 48. Rxf5 Rd2+
49. Ke1 Rg2 (49... Rd7) 50. Kd1 Kc6 51. Re5 b5 52. Rxe4 Kc5 53. Re8 Kc4 54. Rd8
a5 55. e4 b4 56. e5 a4 57. e6 b3 58. axb3+ axb3 59. e7 c2+ {hbell11 won by
resignation} 0-1

[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.30"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Bell, Harry"]
[Black "Yadav, Arjun"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A36"]
[WhiteElo "2000"]
[BlackElo "553"]
[Annotator "Harry Bell"]
[PlyCount "152"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]
[TimeControl "6000+30"]

{[%evp 0,88,19,-12,11,10,10,-8,7,13,7,-27,-12,-19,-7,0,9,-5,-12,-27,0,-20,0,
-18,-24,-16,-18,-12,26,0,39,-34,48,-34,1,-14,-69,-22,-42,-55,-23,-34,0,-28,-2,
-3,20,13,4,6,2,-19,0,0,13,7,17,21,6,0,42,0,25,-3,-7,-7,30,14,26,18,34,28,46,
-20,68,68,75,73,96,103,125,123,101,39,120,112,117,118,119,117,111]} 1. c4 c5 2.
Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. e4 d6 6. Nge2 a6 7. O-O Rb8 8. a4 Nf6 9. d3 h5
10. h3 Bd7 11. Nd5 O-O 12. Be3 e6 13. Ndc3 Nb4 14. Qd2 $2 (14. e5 dxe5 15. Bxc5
{wins the exchange for a pawn.}) 14... Bc6 15. e5 $2 {Now this is not good.}
Nh7 16. exd6 Qxd6 17. d4 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 cxd4 19. Nxd4 Rfd8 20. Rfd1 Bxd4 $2 (
20... Qc5 21. Nf3 Rxd2 22. Bxc5 Rxb2 {puts white a clean pawn ahead}) 21. Qxd4
Qxd4 22. Rxd4 Rxd4 23. Bxd4 Rd8 24. Rd1 Nc2 25. Bb6 Rxd1 26. Nxd1 Kf8 27. Bc5+
{Now the knight on c2 will be hard pressed to escape} Ke8 28. Ne3 Ne1+ 29. Kf1
Nd3 30. Bd4 Kd7 $2 (30... e5 $2) 31. Nc2 Kd6 32. Ke2 Nc1+ 33. Ke3 e5 34. Bc3
Na2 35. Bd2 Kc5 36. Kd3 $2 (36. b3) 36... Nf6 $2 (36... e4+) 37. b4+ Kc6 38. f3
Nd7 39. Ne3 b5 40. axb5+ axb5 41. c5 Nb8 42. Kc2 Na6 43. Kb3 N2xb4 44. Bxb4
Nxc5+ 45. Kc3 Ne6 46. Be7 Nd4 47. f4 exf4 48. Kxd4 fxe3 49. Kxe3 Kd5 50. Kf4
Ke6 51. Bb4 f6 52. Ke4 g5 53. Kd4 Kf5 54. Be7 Ke6 55. Bd8 $2 (55. Bb4) 55... g4
$4 56. h4 {Now the win is easy.} f5 57. Bc7 Kd7 58. Bf4 Ke6 59. Kc5 Kf6 60.
Kxb5 Ke6 61. Kc5 Kf7 62. Kd6 Kg6 63. Ke6 Kg7 64. Kxf5 Kf7 65. Kg5 Kg7 66. Kxh5
Kh7 67. Kxg4 Kg6 68. h5+ Kg7 69. Kf5 Kh8 70. g4 Kh7 71. g5 Kg8 72. Kg6 Kh8 73.
h6 Kg8 74. h7+ Kf8 75. h8=Q+ Ke7 76. Qf6+ Kd7 {hbell11 won by resignation Game
may have continued...} (76... Kd7 77. Kf7 Kc8 78. Qc6+ Kd8 79. Qc7# {[%eval
32762,0]}) 1-0

[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.29"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Gajcowski, Hannah Nami"]
[Black "Johnson, Cleveland"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E21"]
[WhiteElo "608"]
[BlackElo "1379"]
[Annotator "Hannah Nami Gajcowski"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]

{[%evp 0,63,19,31,14,1,16,15,21,-10,11,13,32,4,-2,-16,26,18,15,-11,-8,48,48,35,
38,39,24,115,129,-45,245,-118,-83,108,111,124,128,128,133,134,289,284,268,272,
406,415,428,450,620,762,29995,388,29995,436,436,311,303,300,359,375,401,422,
422,433,433,407]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bg5 O-O 5. Nf3 b6 6. a3
Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Ba6 8. e4 {Here, I wanted to take control of the d5-square since
my opponent hadn’t moved their pawn to take over that center square. I was
also preparing e5, which would win the pinned f6-knight.} h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Nxg5
{Since Black was castled kingside, I wanted to break open the pawn structure
as well as keep the pin on the knight.} hxg5 11. Bxg5 d6 {This is the best
move here to prevent e5, which would win the knight.} 12. Bd3 Nbd7 13. O-O e5
14. d5 ({Right here I could've played} 14. f4 $1 exd4 15. cxd4 {getting the
ultimate pawn structure.}) 14... Nc5 15. Re1 Bc8 16. Re3 Bg4 17. Bxf6 {Instead
of trading queens coming out a bishop ahead, I could’ve kept the queens on
the board because of the open black king.} Bxd1 18. Bxd8 Nxd3 19. Rxd3 Be2 20.
Rg3+ Kh7 21. Bxc7 Rac8 22. Bxd6 Rfe8 23. Re1 Bxc4 24. Ree3 Rcd8 25. Bb4 $4 {
Here I could’ve gone Rh3+, followed by a check on the g-file and a mate on
the h6 square.} ({Here I could've gone} 25. Rh3+ Kg6 26. Reg3+ Kf6 27. Rh6#)
25... a5 {Here I saw the mate! However, I thought that I had found a faster
mate.} 26. Rg4 Re6 {I had missed this move! If I took the rook, then I would
suffer from a back rank mate.} 27. h3 {This was to stop the mate.} Rg6 28. Rxg6
Kxg6 29. Be7 Rd7 30. Rg3+ Kh7 31. Bf6 Kh6 32. Bxe5 1-0

[Event "Washington Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.05.29"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Van Weerdhuizen, Lane"]
[Black "Ackerman, Ryan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C21"]
[WhiteElo "1878"]
[BlackElo "1922"]
[Annotator "Lane Van Weerdhuizen"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "2021.05.29"]

{[%evp 0,43,19,38,25,5,3,-51,2,-70,-55,-21,-40,-79,-88,-156,-123,-120,-126,
-126,-126,-163,-119,-153,41,19,11,11,131,117,122,81,35,36,52,0,248,248,483,483,
1278,1278,2366,2365,2403,2593] Ackerman and myself were playing a rematch.
Having just played against each other in the Washington Invitational back in
February. This time I had the white pieces. I think this is the first time
Northwest Chess will ever have a Danish Gambit game submitted to them! I just
started using chess engines recently and I’m noticing engines really dislike
my gambits. But I enjoy forcing my opponent to continually find the best move
to refute a gambit!} 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 dxc3 {One of the best ways to
neutralize this gambit is ...d5 instead of ...dxc3. If I played Nxc3, this
turns into the Goring Gambit. My next move is what turns this into the Danish
Gambit.} 4. Bc4 cxb2 5. Bxb2 {This is such a fun opening having a really
strong pair of bishops targeting some key diagonals. Along with my queen
controlling a half-open d-file, my development and center control are superb.}
Nf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Bxf7+ (7. e5 {is also playable but can turn into some
counter attacking with} d5) ({Analysis prefers} 7. Qb3 {here instead of Bxf7+.}
{This forces} Bxc3+ {followed by} 8. Qxc3 {and some strong diagonal control. I
didn’t want to let Ackerman castle and saw an opportunity to win a pawn back!
}) 7... Kxf7 8. Qb3+ d5 {...d5 is a great move here as it lets Black gain some
center control.} 9. Qxb4 Nc6 10. Qb3 Nd4 11. Qa4 {Black has done a great job
here developing his knight with tempo. Analysis shows Black at a 3.3 advantage
here until Black’s next move. Black’s best move here was ...c5. This move
gives black more space, protects the Knight on d4, and limits white’s Queen
movement.} dxe4 {This mistake turns analysis into +0.0, which is fantastic for
a position where White is technically down two pawns. My next move was bold
and felt, perhaps, too aggressive. But ended up being the best move!} 12. O-O-O
c5 {Pinning the knight and forcing Black to play ...c5 sets up my next plan of
trying to remove the new defender for the knight.} 13. Qc4+ Kg6 $2 {This move
was questionable. Black needs to develop his bishop to e6. Analysis just went
from +0 to +3.3.} 14. Qxc5 Ne6 $1 {Ackerman found a move that really shocked
me here. I looked at Rxd8, Rxh8, but I saw Black could play ...Nxc5, ...Nd3+,
and ...Nxf2 trapping my Rook. Ackerman and I actually looked at this line, and
it ended up with a +3 advantage for White. I missed this and thought Ackerman
had found a genius escape. I elected to avoid trading pieces to keep my attack
going.} 15. Qe5 Qc7 {Black tries to trade queens while getting his queen to a
stronger square. We are now back at +0.4 as I missed the previous move of Rxd8,
anticipating Qc7, I already had my next move planned out.} 16. Rd6 Re8 17. f4 {
This move looks kind of crazy but my goal here is to develop my g1-knight and
also keep my initiative while threatening f5+. Analysis thought this move and
Qg3+ were equal.} exf3 {This move was a blunder and turned my advantage to +3.
8. My knight is now really strong and my rook is now able to get into the game.
Black’s best move here was a hard-to-find ...Qc5.} 18. Nxf3 Qc4 $2 {The goal
of this move was to try to play ...Qf4+ and force a queen trade. Unfortunately,
this move gave my knight a key square to move to and cause a couple of forks
with potential Ne5+.} 19. Qg3+ Kh6 20. Rxe6 g6 21. Qg5+ Kg7 22. Qxf6+ 1-0

