[Event "Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2017"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar"]
[Date "2017.01.24"]
[Round "1.16"]
[White "Lombaers, Peter"]
[Black "Short, Nigel D"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E40"]
[WhiteElo "2314"]
[BlackElo "2675"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "2017.01.24"]
[WhiteClock "0:09:54"]
[BlackClock "0:39:13"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bd3 c5 7. Nge2 Nc6 8. a3
cxd4 9. axb4 dxc3 10. b5 Ne5 11. bxc3 O-O 12. O-O Re8 13. Nf4 b6 14. Ra4 Bb7
15. Bb2 Qc7 16. Qc2 Nc4 17. Rfa1 Ne4 18. Rxa7 Rxa7 19. Rxa7 Qc8 20. Ra4 g6 21.
Ba3 Qd7 22. Bxc4 dxc4 23. Rxc4 Ra8 24. Rd4 Qxb5 25. Bb4 Nc5 26. f3 Ba6 27. Rd1
Bb7 28. e4 Qc4 29. Qd2 Bc6 30. Qd4 Qb3 31. h4 h5 32. Qd6 Nb7 33. Qd3 Rd8 34.
Nd5 Bxd5 35. exd5 Nd6 36. Bxd6 Rxd6 37. c4 Qb4 38. Qd4 Kh7 39. Kh2 Rd7 40. d6
Qa4 41. Rb1 Rb7 42. Qd5 Ra7 43. Rxb6 Qe8 {[#] Now it is almost harder to find
a move that doesn't win than one that does.} 44. Rb4 (44. c5 {is the logical
continuation but White was worried by the mirage of} Ra4 {, so doubly protects
aginst the possibility. And yet, had he played it, the computer shows it is an
empty threat, e.g.} 45. Rb1 $1 Rxh4+ 46. Kg3 Ra4 47. c6 {when, despite the
apparently exposed position of the white king, Black actually has nothing and
the joint passed pawns on the sixth rank win automatically.}) 44... Qe1 {
Forking the rook on b4 and the pawn on h4. This time the threat to the h-pawn
does matter.} 45. Qd4 Qxb4 46. Qxa7 Qxd6+ 47. g3 {White has succeeded in
keeping the game going but his chances of winning have evaporated.} Qd2+ 48.
Kh3 Kg7 49. Qa1+ Kg8 50. Qf1 Qc2 51. g4 hxg4+ 52. fxg4 Qc3+ 53. Kg2 Qc2+ 54.
Kf3 f5 55. Qe2 fxg4+ 56. Kf2 Qc3 57. Qxg4 Qd2+ 58. Kf1 Qc1+ 59. Ke2 Qc2+ 60.
Ke3 Qc3+ 61. Kf2 Qd2+ 62. Kg3 Qc3+ 63. Kg2 Qc2+ 64. Kh3 Qd3+ 65. Qg3 Qxc4 66.
Qxg6+ Kh8 67. Qh6+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2017"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar"]
[Date "2017.01.24"]
[Round "1.7"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Paehtz, Thomas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A40"]
[WhiteElo "2739"]
[BlackElo "2365"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[EventDate "2017.01.24"]
[WhiteClock "1:13:30"]
[BlackClock "0:55:51"]

1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 f5 3. Bf4 {It is curious how this sort of line was once
considered to be stodgy club player fare but is now being embraced by
aggressive super-GMs.} Nf6 4. e3 b6 5. Be2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. c4 Ne4 8. Nfd2
Nxd2 9. Nxd2 O-O 10. Bf3 d5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Rc1 c6 13. Qa4 b5 14. Qb3 {[#]}
Nd7 $4 {Black's pawn centre looks impregnable but a tactical shot blows it
wide open.} 15. Bxd5+ $1 cxd5 16. Rc7 $1 (16. Rc7 {Black can't doing anything
about a tactic to win back a piece and secure a two-pawn advantage, e.g.} Rb8
17. Rxb7 Rxb7 18. Qxd5+ {and recaptures on b7.}) 1-0

[Event "Gibraltar Masters"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.25"]
[Round "2.36"]
[White "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"]
[Black "Herman, Matthew J"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2572"]
[BlackElo "2383"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:43:52"]
[BlackClock "0:09:51"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 O-O 8.
O-O Re8 9. Nc2 d6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bd2 Ne5 12. b3 c6 13. Rc1 Be6 14. Nd4 Bc8 15.
h3 Ned7 16. Qc2 Nc5 17. Rcd1 Nfd7 18. Bc1 a5 19. e4 Qb6 20. Be3 {[#]In a
King's Indian Defence type of position, Black opts to move his queen away from
any possible danger on the same diagonal as the bishop on e3.} Qb4 $4 (20... a4
{is a perfectly reasonable alternative, when} 21. Rb1 Qb4 {is only slightly
worse for Black.}) 21. Ncb5 $1 {Now the queen is trapped behind enemy lines.}
cxb5 22. Bd2 bxc4 (22... Qa3 23. Nxb5 {is terminal.}) 23. Bxb4 {and Black
staggered on for a further eight pointless moves.} axb4 24. Nb5 Ne5 25. Nxd6
Be6 26. Nxe8 Rxe8 27. f4 Ned3 28. bxc4 Nb2 29. Rd5 Bxd5 30. cxd5 Ncd3 31. e5
1-0

[Event "Gibraltar Masters"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.25"]
[Round "2.31"]
[White "Batchimeg, Tuvshintugs"]
[Black "Lalith, Babu M R"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B15"]
[WhiteElo "2390"]
[BlackElo "2587"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c6 4. f4 d5 5. e5 Nh6 6. Nf3 Qb6 7. Na4 Qc7 8. Be3 f6
9. Be2 Ng4 10. Bd2 Nd7 11. O-O b5 12. Nc3 Nb6 13. b3 O-O 14. h3 Nh6 15. Bd3 b4
16. Ne2 c5 17. dxc5 Qxc5+ 18. Kh1 Nf5 19. Qe1 a5 20. Ng3 fxe5 21. Nxe5 Qd6 22.
Rd1 Nxg3+ 23. Qxg3 Bf5 24. Rfe1 Nd7 25. Bxf5 Rxf5 26. Nxd7 Qxd7 27. c3 Qd6 28.
cxb4 axb4 29. Qe3 Rxa2 30. Qxe7 Qxe7 31. Rxe7 Bc3 32. Be3 d4 33. Bxd4 Rd5 34.
Re4 Rb2 {[#]} 35. Kh2 {An innocuous looking move but actually a sneaky trick.}
Kf7 $4 36. Bxc3 $1 (36. Bxc3 {White snares a free piece. Black previously had
a defence to this move by virtue of ...Rxd1 being check, but 35.Kh2 had
negated this option.} Rxd1 37. Bxb2) 1-0

[Event "Gibraltar Masters"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.26"]
[Round "3.21"]
[White "Steinberg, Nitzan"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B84"]
[WhiteElo "2486"]
[BlackElo "2748"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Be2 d6 8. O-O
Bd7 9. f4 Be7 10. Nb3 b5 11. a3 O-O 12. g4 Bc8 13. g5 ({Nigel Short played} 13.
Qe1 {and won an important game in the 1997 FIDE World Knock-Out Championship
against Andrei Sokolov.}) 13... Nd7 14. Rf3 Bb7 15. Rg3 Re8 16. Bf1 Bf8 17. Qg4
g6 18. Rd1 Rc8 19. Rh3 f6 {It doesn't look obligatory to make this advance -
if the queen and rook attack down the h-file, Black could play his bishop to
g7 when Qxh7+ doesn't give mate and the king can sit safely on f8 awhile - but
Svidler prefers to defend more actively.} 20. Qh4 Qe7 21. f5 exf5 ({Exposing
the black king to an attack with} 21... gxf5 $2 22. Rg3 {looks inadvisable.})
22. Nd5 Qf7 23. exf5 Nce5 24. Bg2 Rxc2 {[#]The position is getting very messy
and hard to calculate.} 25. Be4 Rc4 ({The nerveless analysis engine goes on
taking material with} 25... Rxb2 {but the human brain fears the power of} 26.
Na5 fxg5 27. Qxg5 Ba8 28. Rg3 {, etc.}) 26. Nd4 fxg5 27. Bxg5 gxf5 28. Bxf5 Ng6
(28... Bxd5 $2 {and Black will soon get mated after} 29. Bxh7+ Kg7 30. Bb1) 29.
Bxg6 Qxg6 30. Rg3 Bxd5 {Black has no option other than to try to get as much
material for the queen as possible should White reveal a pin on the g-file. At
the moment the price for the queen is such that Black should be OK.} 31. b3 ({
If White tries} 31. Bc1 $2 {Black has} Re4 $1 {and gets a rook and two pieces
for the queen.}) 31... Rc3 $6 ({An alternative to this visually attractive but
risky deflection is} 31... Re4 32. bxc4 Rxh4 33. Bxh4 bxc4 34. Rxg6+ hxg6 {
when Black emerges with two pawns for the exchange, but not enough to win.})
32. Rxc3 Re4 ({The computer finds} 32... Nf6 $5 {(or 32...Nc5), getting the
knight to e4 to aid the defence.}) 33. Rg3 Kh8 34. Qh3 $1 {Now Black doesn't
have enough compensation for the exchange.} Bg7 35. Qxd7 Rxd4 {[#]} 36. Qd8+ $2
({After the game Steinberg mentioned} 36. Rc1 {as a possible improvement, but
the computer finds even stronger possibilities}) (36. Bd2 $1 {seems to be a
killer, which Steinberg also mentioned in passing at his post-game interview:}
Qf7 37. Qd8+ Qg8 38. Qxg8+ Bxg8 39. Rxg7 $1 Kxg7 40. Bc3 {is the end.}) 36...
Bg8 37. Rf1 Rd3 38. Rg2 Bd4+ 39. Kh1 {Now Black has to find one more good move
to save himself. He succeeds...} Rf3 $1 40. Rd1 Qf7 {[#]Suddenly the tide
seemed to have turned and Black is threatening mate. But a member of the
audience in the commentary room, Odin Blikra Vea, spotted a saving resource.
Watching Steinberg on the overhead webcam, it seemed as if the Israeli
teenager was worried. But a sense of relief and excitement visibly pulsed
through his body. Commentators Simon Williams and Jovanka Houska were willing
him on - "is he going to play it? Go on, Nitzan!" ...} 41. Rdg1 $1 {Yes! He
found the neat combination which saves a half-point.} Bxg1 42. Bf6+ $1 Rxf6 43.
Rxg8+ Qxg8 44. Qxf6+ Qg7 {Of course it is now an easy perpetual check, with
the white queen swinging back and forth from d8 to f6.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Gibraltar Masters"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.26"]
[Round "3.18"]
[White "Kobo, Ori"]
[Black "Ju, Wenjun"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E25"]
[WhiteElo "2482"]
[BlackElo "2583"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:36:35"]
[BlackClock "1:05:56"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8.
dxc5 f5 9. Nh3 Qa5 10. Bd2 Qxc5 11. c4 Ne3 12. Qc1 Nxf1 13. Kxf1 Nc6 14. Nf4
O-O 15. Rb1 Rd8 16. Nd3 Qd6 17. c5 Qc7 18. Bc3 e5 19. Qe3 f4 20. Qe4 Qf7 {[#]
As Simon Williams pointed out in the commentary room, this is like one of
those retrograde analysis puzzles that appear in chess magazines. How did the
bishop on f1 come to be missing from the board? But, more to the point is the
temptation of the e5-pawn. To take or not to take? White was tempted...} 21.
Nxe5 $4 Nxe5 22. Qxe5 Rd5 $1 (22... Rd5 {Oops. The only move not to lose the
queen is} 23. Qe4 {when} Bf5 {skewers a whole rook.}) 0-1

[Event "Gibraltar Masters"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.27"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Sutovsky, Emil"]
[Black "Vitiugov, Nikita"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C95"]
[WhiteElo "2628"]
[BlackElo "2724"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Bg5 h6 15.
Bh4 g6 16. N3d2 c6 17. Qf3 Bg7 18. Ne3 Qb6 19. Bxf6 Nxf6 20. dxe5 dxe5 21. b4
c5 22. Nb3 cxb4 23. cxb4 Rad8 24. Nc5 Rd4 25. a3 Red8 26. Ng4 Nxg4 27. hxg4 Bc8
28. Bb3 Qf6 29. Bd5 {[#]} Qf4 ({Engines approve of the text move but,
somewhere beyond their horizon, there prove to be problems. Engines also toy
with} 29... Bxg4 $5 {, which is very tricky, but it may also run in
difficulties after} 30. Qxg4 $5 R8xd5 31. Nb3 Rc4 32. Na5 {, etc.}) 30. Nb3 {
Now Black is obliged to give up the exchange for two pawns.} R4xd5 31. exd5
Bxg4 32. Qxf4 exf4 33. Rac1 Bb2 $6 ({Things start to go wrong after this as
White is now able to defend and maintain his shaky-looking d-pawn.} 33... Rxd5
{probably equalises, though White can still put pressure on the weak a and f
pawns.}) 34. Rc5 Bxa3 35. Re4 g5 36. Na5 {[#]Normally it is undesirable to be
compelled to defend isolated pawns with rooks, and still more so to put the
knight on the edge of the board, but here White's position hangs together
rather well and Black's two bishops aren't that great either.} Bb2 37. Nc6 {A
knight on the rim may sometimes be dim but when it gets to c6, it can deliver
hard kicks.} Rd6 38. Ne7+ Kf8 39. Rc6 Rd7 40. Rxa6 {The threat of Ra8+
indirectly defends the apparently loose knight on e7.} Rc7 41. Nc6 Rd7 42. Re8+
{The point of this pretty tactic (if Black captures, White mates in two) is to
force the black king away from the d-pawn's march forward.} Kg7 43. Rd8 {
Another reversal of usual positional expectations as the rook supports the
advance of the d-pawn from the 'wrong' side.} Rxd8 44. Nxd8 Bf5 (44... Be5 45.
Ra7 Bh5 46. Rb7 {and the b-pawn drops off. Black's two bishops are curiously
impotent in the face of White's threats.}) 45. d6 Bc3 (45... Be5 46. Nc6 {is
equally hopeless since} Bxd6 {loses a piece to} 47. Nd4 {, attaching both
bishops at once.}) 46. Nc6 Kf6 47. Ra7 {Now White simply marches the d-pawn
through.} 1-0

[Event "Gibraltar Masters"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.27"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "Ju, Wenjun"]
[Black "Shankland, Samuel L"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A62"]
[WhiteElo "2583"]
[BlackElo "2674"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Bg2
O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Re1 Nbd7 11. Bf4 Ng4 12. Rc1 (12. h3 Nge5 {was the
continuation in a couple of games in 2016, both involving at least one Chinese
player.}) 12... Nde5 13. Ne4 Bf5 14. Nfd2 h6 15. h3 Nf6 16. Nc3 Rb8 17. g4 Bc8
18. Bg3 b5 19. b3 a6 20. f4 {[#]} Nexg4 $1 {The boldest continuation. Black
gets plenty of positional compensation, as well as two pawns, for the piece.}
21. hxg4 Nxg4 22. Nf3 Ne3 $6 (22... b4 {first looks more forceful. After} 23.
Na4 Ne3 24. Qd2 {Black has the possibility of} c4 $5 {when} 25. bxc4 $2 Qa5 {
would leave White in great difficulties.}) 23. Qd2 Bb7 24. Bf2 Nxg2 25. Kxg2 b4
26. Nd1 Qd7 27. Rc4 a5 28. Ne3 $6 (28. e4 {looks more natural.}) 28... Ba6 29.
Rcc1 Re4 30. Nc4 Bc3 ({It seems a shame to take the exchange since Black comes
to miss the considerable dominance afforded by the dark-squared bishop on the
long diagonal.} 30... Bxc4 31. bxc4 a4 {looks quite pleasant for Black.}) 31.
Rxc3 bxc3 32. Qxc3 Bxc4 33. bxc4 Rxf4 34. Bg3 Rg4 35. Kf2 Qe7 36. e4 {[#]As in
the previous round Ju Wenjun offers her opponent a hot e-pawn and she must
have been both amazed and delighted to see lightning strike twice.} Rxe4 $4 37.
Bxd6 $1 {This barely merits an exclamation mark. I like to think even a player
of my limited powers could have found this shot since there is hardly anything
to calculate.} Qxd6 38. Rxe4 g5 {True, Black has three connected passed pawns
but they do not constitute compensation here since White's advanced d-pawn is
poised to get the job done rather sooner.} 39. Qe5 Qf8 (39... Qxe5 40. Nxe5 Rd8
41. Nd3 {and it is all rather easy.}) 40. Re2 Rd8 {Making White's task a
little easier though there was nothing to be done anyway.} 41. Nxg5 hxg5 42.
Qxg5+ Kh7 43. Re4 1-0

[Event "Gibraltar Masters"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.28"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Hou, Yifan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A33"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2651"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "139"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. a3 Bc5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. e4
O-O 9. Be2 b6 10. O-O Bb7 11. Be3 (11. f4 {was played against Hou Yifan by
Inarkiev in a blitz game in 2016 so Adams would still have been in his
preparation. The text move has been played more frequently than 11.f4.}) 11...
d6 12. f4 {It has actually transposed back to the Inarkiev game but now Hou
Yifan varies from the 12...a6 she played on that occasion.} Rc8 13. Rc1 Nb8 14.
Qd3 a6 {Finally departing from known paths.} 15. Nd4 Nc6 16. b4 Nxd4 17. Bxd4
Nd7 18. Qg3 Bf6 19. Rfd1 Qc7 ({After this White develops a considerable
initiative. Stockfish recommends} 19... e5 20. Be3 exf4 21. Bxf4 Be5 {, etc.})
20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. e5 dxe5 22. fxe5 Nd7 23. Rd6 {Now Black is in danger of
being enmeshed in a typical Adams web (he's not called 'the Spider' for
nothing) so she has to react, even though it means weakening her e6-pawn.} f6
24. exf6 (24. Bg4 $5 {looks quite dangerous.}) 24... Rxf6 25. Bd3 Rcf8 ({One
wonders what Adams had in mind after} 25... e5 {. Perhaps} 26. Rxf6 (26. Bxh7+
Kxh7 27. Qh3+ Kg8 28. Rxd7 Qxc4 {is tempting but there is no obvious follow-up
for White}) 26... Nxf6 27. Re1 {gives him a small edge}) 26. Rd1 g6 27. Be2 {
[#]} Nc5 $5 (27... Rf2 {is hard to calculate at the board. There could follow}
28. Rxd7 $5 Qxg3 29. hxg3 Rxg2+ 30. Kh1 {- it would take nerves of steel for
White to play into a line where Black threatens to unleash a horrendous
discovered check, but here White can successfully walk the tightrope -} Bc6 31.
Rc7 Ba8 32. Ra7 Rxg3+ {- seemingly the only move -} 33. Kh2 Rxc3 34. Rdd7 {and
the complexities are still far from over though the analysis engine would have
us believe White is better. Few human players would risk entering such a
labyrinth of complexity. Instead Hou Yifan prefers to conjure up a slightly
different tactical melee, which she probably thought might give her the edge
over an opponent who generally prefers quieter, more positional paths.}) 28.
Qe3 (28. bxc5 Qxc5+ 29. Kh1 Rf2 30. Rg1 Bxg2+ 31. Rxg2 Rf1+ 32. Bxf1 Rxf1+ 33.
Rg1 Rxg1+ 34. Qxg1 Qxd6 {and Black has two pawns for the knight, with the near
certainty of gaining a third. Adams, typically, prefers to apply a little more
positional pressure, forcing Black's reply.}) 28... Rf2 29. Qxf2 Rxf2 30. Kxf2
{White has two rooks for his queen but he expects to win more material since
the knight has no good move (if it goes to b3, the rooks will fork the black
queen after a check).} Kg7 (30... Bd5 $5 {may be good now, when analysis
engines consider the position to be about equal, though White can get rook and
two minor pieces for the queen. However, Black will gain a number of pawns by
way of compensation and the white king won't be safe from checks. If} 31. bxc5
Qxc5+ 32. Kf1 Qxd6 33. cxd5 Qxa3 34. Ne4 exd5 35. Rxd5 Qc1+ 36. Kf2 Qf4+ 37.
Bf3 Qxh2 {, etc. But the position reached is similar to the game, which of
course Adams managed to win.}) 31. bxc5 Qxc5+ 32. R1d4 $2 ({After} 32. Kf1 {
the Bd5 idea doesn't work as White checks on d7 and grabs the material. As
played, White has to do something about the loose rook left on d4.}) 32... Bd5
$1 33. Rd7+ Kh6 34. Ke3 Bc6 35. Ne4 Qxa3+ 36. Kf2 Qf8+ 37. Bf3 Bxd7 38. Rxd7
Qc8 39. Ra7 Qxc4 40. h4 Qd4+ 41. Kg3 Qe5+ 42. Kh3 Qf5+ 43. Kg3 Qe5+ 44. Kh3
Qf5+ {Quite a lot of spectating GMs thought Adams might go for the repetition
at this point but not so.} 45. Kh2 Qf4+ {[#]} 46. g3 $1 {A big decision, based
on a little combination leading to a N+PP versus PPPPP endgame which is by no
means easy to evaluate.} Qxf3 47. Rxh7+ Kxh7 48. Ng5+ Kg7 49. Nxf3 a5 50. g4 {
[#]} a4 ({This could well be the final error. Instead} 50... Kf6 {is much
harder to break down.}) 51. Nd4 {Threatening to immobilise the queenside pawns
with Nb5 so Black must continue the advance.} a3 52. Nxe6+ $1 {White just has
time to snaffle this pawn.} Kf6 53. Nd4 Ke5 54. Nc2 Kf4 55. Kh3 a2 56. g5 b5
57. Na1 b4 58. Nb3 Ke5 {[#]} 59. h5 $1 {The only winning move, but by now a
reasonably easy one to find.} (59. Kg3 $2 Kd5 $1 60. h5 Kc4 {is only a draw.})
59... gxh5 60. Kh4 Kd5 61. g6 (61. Kxh5 $2 {only draws, as per the previous
note.}) 61... Kc4 62. Na1 Kc3 63. g7 Kb2 64. g8=Q Kxa1 65. Qc4 {Threatening
mate in one so the king must move.} Kb2 66. Qxb4+ Kc2 67. Qa3 Kb1 68. Qb3+ Ka1
69. Kg5 {Black's h-pawn is the instrument of her own destruction. Without it
on the board the position would be a draw.} h4 70. Qc2 1-0

[Event "Gibraltar Masters"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.28"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E18"]
[WhiteElo "2785"]
[BlackElo "2652"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Bd2
Bf6 9. Rc1 d6 10. d5 Nxd2 11. Nxd2 e5 12. b4 a5 13. a3 axb4 14. axb4 Na6 15.
Qb3 Bg5 16. e3 f5 17. f4 Bf6 18. fxe5 Bxe5 19. Nf3 Kh8 20. Nxe5 dxe5 21. Nb5
Qd7 22. Qc3 Rae8 23. Rcd1 Rf6 24. e4 fxe4 25. Bxe4 {[#]Black, to play, has
little scope for his minor pieces so he tried to challenge the cramping
d5-pawn with a tactic. But he hadn't seen to the end of the variation.} c6 $4
26. dxc6 Rxf1+ 27. Rxf1 Bxc6 28. Qf3 $1 {The killer blow, threatening a mate
in two on f8 and also doubling the attack on the c6 bishop.} 1-0

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.29"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Sutovsky, Emil"]
[Black "Anton Guijarro, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C96"]
[WhiteElo "2628"]
[BlackElo "2650"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Nd7 12. Nbd2 exd4 13. cxd4 Nc6 14. d5 Nce5 15.
a4 Bb7 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. f4 Ng6 18. Nf3 Bf6 19. g3 Qd7 20. Kg2 Rfe8 21. Ra3 Bd8
22. h4 Nf8 23. h5 h6 24. f5 Bf6 25. Nh2 Nh7 26. Ng4 Bd4 27. axb5 axb5 28. Rxa8
Rxa8 29. b4 Ra2 30. bxc5 dxc5 31. Be3 Bxe3 32. Nxe3 Nf6 33. Kh3 Qd6 {[#]
Material is level but White's pawn structure is creaking and he faces a coming
onslaught from Black's connected passed pawns on the queenside. He decided it
was time to mix things up tactically but the young Spaniard was ready for him.}
34. e5 $5 Qxe5 35. d6 Rxc2 $1 ({Black's last hope was for Black to blockade
the d-pawn with} 35... Nd7 $2 {when he can draw with} 36. Nd5 $1 Qxd5 37. Re8+
Kh7 38. f6+ g6 39. hxg6+ {but instead Black lands a powerful tactical
counterstroke.}) 36. d7 (36. Qxc2 {loses to} Ne4 {, etc}) (36. Nxc2 Qxf5+ 37.
g4 Qf2 {leads to mate or huge material loss.}) 36... Nxd7 ({Good enough to win
comfortably but engines find a spectacular way to victory:} 36... Ne4 $3 37.
d8=Q+ Kh7 {when, despite the possession of two queens, White is unable to
defend against the four-piece attack against his king, e.g.} 38. Qh4 Nf2+ 39.
Kh2 Qxe3 $1 {, leading to mate, though the blizzard of complications ensuing
probably explain why Black rejected this line}) 37. Nxc2 (37. Qxd7 Rg2 $1 38.
Nxg2 Bxg2+ 39. Kxg2 Qxe1 {and Black will soon be two or more pawns up, with a
very safe king.}) 37... Qxf5+ 38. g4 Qd5 39. Qxd5 Bxd5 {There is still a
technical task to win but with three pawns for the exchange, Black is assured
of ultimate victory.} 40. Re8+ Kh7 41. Rc8 b4 42. Ne3 Be6 43. Rc7 g5 44. hxg6+
Kxg6 45. Kg3 Kf6 46. Kf4 Ke7 47. Rc6 b3 48. Nd1 {Allowing a mini-tactic but
there is nothing to be done.} Bxg4 $1 49. Nc3 Be6 50. Rc8 c4 51. Ke3 Kf6 52.
Ne4+ Kg7 53. Rc7 Nf6 54. Nc3 Nd5+ 55. Nxd5 Bxd5 56. Kd2 Be6 0-1

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.30"]
[Round "7.20"]
[White "Ider, Borya"]
[Black "Hou, Yifan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E61"]
[WhiteElo "2463"]
[BlackElo "2651"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. Bf4 Bb7 4. e3 g6 5. h3 Bg7 6. Be2 d6 7. c4 Nbd7 8. Nc3
O-O 9. O-O e6 10. Qc2 Nh5 11. Bh2 f5 12. d5 (12. b4 {, 12.Nd2 and 12.Rfd1 have
all been played here before.}) 12... e5 13. g4 {Very provocative and ruining
the pawn structure in front of his castled king.} fxg4 14. hxg4 Nhf6 15. Ng5 {
[#]Not a particularly riveting game so far but now the fun really starts.} Nxd5
$5 16. Ne6 Nxc3 17. Nxd8 Nxe2+ 18. Qxe2 Bf3 19. Qd3 Nc5 20. Qa3 Rfxd8 {Black
has only secured two minor pieces and a pawn for the queen but she has a few
additional positional pluses, including control of the light squares on the
long diagonal, and domination of the weak h2 bishop. Even so it is not
entirely obvious that Black has genuine compensation.} 21. e4 ({White hopes
Black takes the bait but she is not tempted since Bxe4 would mean ceding
control of 3. Instead the more natural} 21. b4 Ne4 22. Rac1 {might be worth a
try, even though it looks as if Black will ultimately be able to launch a
kingside attack without White being able to mount a strong enough defence.})
21... Rf8 22. Rae1 Bh6 23. b4 Ne6 (23... Nxe4 {allows the exchange sacrifice}
24. Rxe4 Bxe4 {when} 25. f3 {allows the white king to breathe a little easier.}
) 24. c5 Nd4 25. Qd3 b5 {Black increases her vice-like grip on the position.
It is difficult to see how White can ever open up the position in order to
exploit his material advantage.} 26. Bg3 Bg5 27. a4 a6 28. Qa3 Bxg4 29. Rd1 {
White offers another exchange sacrifice in his keenness to shake Black's
all-board blockade but Hou Yifan is still not biting.} Nf3+ 30. Kg2 dxc5 31.
bxc5 h5 {Black reveals part of her simple plan: to advance the h-pawn in order
to win back material or perhaps give mate.} 32. Qa2+ Kh7 33. Qd5 Rae8 34. Qc6
Re7 35. Rd3 (35. axb5 axb5 36. Qxb5 h4 37. Bh2 {loses to} h3+ 38. Kh1 Nxh2 {,
etc.}) 35... h4 36. Bh2 bxa4 37. Qxa4 Kh6 {Black is in no hurry, feeling that
she has White where she wants him.} 38. Qa3 Ref7 39. Qb2 Re7 40. c6 a5 41. Rb3
Kg7 42. Rb5 ({A mistake but, even after looking at the position with a
computer for a long while, it is barely possible to say why.} 42. Rxf3 Bxf3+
43. Kg1 $5 {is one computer suggestion but it also looks risky in the long
term with the white king so vulnerable to a mating attack.}) 42... h3+ 43. Kh1
{[#]Now Black goes all in.} Nxh2 $1 44. Rxe5 Bf3+ 45. Kg1 (45. Kxh2 {allows
mate after} Bf4+ 46. Kxh3 Rxe5 {, etc.}) 45... Nxf1 $3 {[#]A position to
savour. Black has nerves of steel, simply allowing White what looks like a
devastating double check, winning a rook and setting up a queen check on g7.
But Hou Yifan has calculated it all through to a remarkable conclusion in
which Black's greatly depleted forces triumph over White's larger but
strangely impotent heavy pieces.} 46. Rxe7+ Kh6 {Black had taken seven minutes
over her 44th move but her subsequent series of moves came after only a few
seconds each, suggesting that she had calculated all the way through to the
win.} 47. Qg7+ Kh5 48. Qh7+ Kg4 49. Re8 (49. Rxc7 h2+ 50. Kxf1 h1=Q+ 51. Qxh1
Bxh1 {is simple enough.}) ({And after} 49. Kxf1 {the killer move is} Rb8 $1 {
when White can do nothing about the threat to his back rank.}) 49... Rxe8 50.
Qd7+ Kh4 51. Kxf1 (51. Qh7+ Bh5 52. Kxf1 Rb8 {is hopeless.}) 51... Rd8 52. Qh7+
Kg4 0-1

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.30"]
[Round "7.5"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Short, Nigel D"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2748"]
[BlackElo "2675"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:13:30"]
[BlackClock "0:31:55"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2
O-O 9. a3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Nb8 12. Bd3 Nc6 13. Bf2 a6 14. O-O f6 15.
exf6 Bxf6 16. Na4 b5 17. Nb6 Rb8 18. Nxc8 Qxc8 19. c3 g6 20. Qe2 Qd7 21. Rae1
e5 22. Bc5 Rf7 23. fxe5 Bxe5 24. Rxf7 Qxf7 25. a4 bxa4 26. Bxa6 Qc7 27. Kh1
Bxh2 {[#]Black has just played 27...Bxh2 and the game continuation was} 28. Bb5
({Instead the computer plays} 28. Qe6+ Kg7 (28... Kh8 {meets the same reply})
29. Bb5 $3 Rxb5 {- not much choice other than to accept the sacrifice since
otherwise White gains the d4 square for a lethal check with his bishop on the
long diagonal -} 30. Bf8+ $3 Kxf8 (30... Kh8 31. Bh6 {and mate in a further
three moves}) 31. Qf6+ Qf7 32. Qh8+ Qg8 33. Rf1+ Ke7 34. Qxg8 {and White will
win easily.}) 28... Ne5 29. Bd4 Bg3 30. Bxe5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.30"]
[Round "7.6"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Maze, Sebastien"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2721"]
[BlackElo "2613"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Qa4 Bd7 8. Qxc4
b5 9. Qc3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Rc8 12. Bf4 Bc5 13. Qd3 Qb6 14. Nd2 O-O
15. Ne4 Rfd8 16. Nxc5 Bc6 17. Qb3 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Rxc5 19. Rac1 Rxc1 20. Rxc1 Nd5
21. Bg5 f6 22. Bd2 f5 23. Qc2 Rd7 24. Qc8+ Rd8 25. Qc5 Qb7 26. Qc6 Qxc6 27.
Rxc6 Ne7 28. Rc2 Kf7 29. Bb4 Nd5 30. Ba5 Rd7 31. Kf3 Ne7 32. e4 a6 33. Ke3 fxe4
34. Kxe4 h5 35. Bc7 Rd1 36. Bf4 Nd5 37. Bg5 Nf6+ 38. Kf3 Rd5 39. Bd2 g5 40. Ke2
h4 41. Rc7+ Kg6 42. gxh4 gxh4 43. Rc6 Ng4 44. Rxe6+ Kf5 45. Rxa6 Nxf2 46. Rh6
Kg4 47. Be1 Nd3 48. h3+ Kxh3 49. Rxh4+ Kg2 50. Rg4+ Kh2 51. b3 Nc1+ 52. Kf1
Rf5+ 53. Bf2 Rh5 54. Rg2+ Kh1 55. Rg4 {[#]Here White had set a deadly trap by
checking with his rook on g2 and returning to g4. Black has a choice of
returning to h2 with his king to h2 or equalising the material. He makes the
wrong choice.} Nxa2 $2 ({After} 55... Kh2 56. a4 Nxb3 57. axb5 Nd2+ 58. Ke2
Rxb5 59. Kxd2 {is a drawn R+B v R endgame according to the tablebase. The text
leads to a win for White.}) 56. Bg3 $1 Nc3 (56... Rh3 57. Be5 $1 Rf3+ 58. Ke2
Rf5 59. Bf4 {and White mates (or wins material) as in the game.}) 57. Bf4 (57.
Bf4 Ne2 {is the only way to stop the immediate mate but White has} 58. Kxe2 Rc5
59. Kf1 {and soon mates anyway.}) 1-0

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.31"]
[Round "8.15"]
[White "Hou, Yifan"]
[Black "Ju, Wenjun"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2651"]
[BlackElo "2583"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2
O-O 9. dxc5 Nxc5 10. O-O-O a6 11. Qf2 b6 12. Nd4 Qc7 13. g3 (13. Kb1 Bb7 14.
Nxc6 Bxc6 {was the continuation in So-Nakamura, US Championship 2016, which
ended in a draw. Hou Yifan prefers something more aggressive.}) 13... Bb7 14.
Bg2 Na5 15. f5 Qxe5 16. Bf4 Qf6 17. h4 e5 18. Nxd5 $5 ({An alternative was} 18.
Bg5 Qd6 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 {but this might only be a change of move order since} 20.
Nxd5 {looks like the best try anyway.}) 18... Bxd5 19. Bg5 Qd6 20. Bxe7 Qxe7
21. Bxd5 exd4 22. Bxa8 Rxa8 {Black is now nominally ahead on material, with
two knights for a rook but actually the smoke hasn't quite cleared yet.} 23.
Rhe1 Qc7 24. b4 (24. Rxd4 {is playable, but not 24.Qxd4?? since that would
cost White her queen after either Nb3+.}) 24... Nc6 25. bxc5 bxc5 {Now it is
clear that White is up by an exchange for a pawn but that Black has a slight
positional compensation, making the overall assessment close to equal.} 26. Qf4
Qb6 27. Qd6 h5 28. Re5 (28. Qd7 {looks like a way to play for a draw, with
Re8+, a capture on f7 and a possible perpetual check, but perhaps White is
still playing for more.}) 28... c4 29. Rde1 c3 {With nasty threats at both
ends of the board, play gets decidedly sharp.} 30. Re8+ Rxe8 31. Rxe8+ Kh7 {[#]
} 32. Qd5 $2 ({The outcome of the game centres on this choice of move by Hou
Yifan. Instead} 32. f6 {leads to a draw. White threatens tricks such as Rh9+!
followed by Qf8+ and mate on g7, but Black can proceed with} Qb2+ 33. Kd1 Qb1+
34. Ke2 Qxc2+ {and take perpetual. After the text move, suddenly analysis
engines were flagging up a winning line for Black. But it wasn't easy to
calculate in the seven minutes remaining to Black. Would she play the winning
line? Five minutes ticked by...}) 32... d3 $3 {... and she played it. (I
supposed it helped that it threatened a fairly obvious mate in two but the
subsequent play also had to be weighed up.)} 33. Qxd3 Nb4 $1 (33... Qg1+ $4 34.
Qd1 {would lose, of course. Having played A,, Black must play B and she does.})
34. Qe4 Qg1+ 35. Qe1 Qg2 $1 36. Qe4 ({The refutation of} 36. Qe2 {is perhaps
the hardest to see:} Qh1+ 37. Qe1 ({Not} 37. Qd1 Nxa2+ {, etc}) 37... Qb7 $3 {
and White has a curious shortage of viable defences.}) 36... Qd2+ {It is mate
next move.} 0-1

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.01.31"]
[Round "8.14"]
[White "Huzman, Alexander"]
[Black "Howell, David W L"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A38"]
[WhiteElo "2557"]
[BlackElo "2655"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 c5 5. g3 d6 6. Bg2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nc3
O-O 9. e3 Bf5 10. d3 Qd7 11. Ng5 Rab8 12. Nge4 Bh3 13. Nxf6+ Bxf6 14. Ne4 Bg7
15. Bxh3 Qxh3 16. Nxd6 f5 17. Qe2 a6 18. b4 f4 19. Rfd1 Nxb4 20. Ne4 b6 21. Bc3
Nc6 22. Rab1 f3 23. Qf1 Qd7 24. h4 Bf6 25. Kh2 h5 26. Qh3 Qg4 27. Ba1 Bd8 28.
Nc3 Rf7 29. Nd5 Rfb7 30. d4 exd4 31. Qxg4 hxg4 32. exd4 cxd4 33. Bxd4 b5 34. c5
g5 35. Ba1 gxh4 36. gxh4 Bxh4 37. Rg1 g3+ 38. Kh3 Rh7 39. Kg4 gxf2 40. Rh1 Kf7
{[#]A very unusual position. Black has two extra pawns but they should drop
off, or at least be neutralised, if White finds the right continuation. But
instead he tried to be clever.} 41. Nf6 $4 (41. Rbf1 Rd8 42. Nf4 {and White is
still in the game.}) (41. Rxh4 $4 {would be as bad as the game move since} Rg8+
42. Kxf3 Rxh4 {wins a major slice of material.}) 41... Rg7+ 42. Kxh4 Ne7 (42...
Rh8+ $4 43. Nh5 {would be fine for White, but Huzman must have missed Howell's
devastating intermezzo, preparing the rook check on h8.}) 43. Nh5 ({Of course
if White moves the knight to e4 it will be mate in one. And if} 43. Ng4 Nf5+
44. Kh3 Rh8+ {and mate next move.}) (43. Ne8 {is an imaginative try but then}
Nf5+ 44. Kh3 Rg3+ 45. Kh2 Rxe8 {and White is soon mated.}) 43... Nf5+ 44. Kh3
Rg5 45. Rhd1 (45. Nf4 Rg3+ 46. Kh2 Rg4 47. Be5 Rxf4 $1 {wins.}) 45... Rbg8 46.
Rd7+ Ke6 47. Rh7 Rxh5+ (47... Rxh5+ 48. Rxh5 Rg1 {and Black will soon have a
new queen.}) 0-1

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.02.01"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Anton Guijarro, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C96"]
[WhiteElo "2739"]
[BlackElo "2650"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Nd7 12. Nbd2 exd4 13. cxd4 Nc6 14. d5 Nce5 15.
a4 Bb7 16. Qe2 (16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. f4 Nd7 18. Nf3 Re8 {was Topalov's choice
against Adams in the Cap d'Agde rapidplay in 2003. The text appears to be new,
and more circumspect.}) 16... Rb8 17. Nxe5 Nxe5 18. axb5 axb5 19. Nf1 ({
Topalov's 2003 plan with} 19. f4 {seems more his style.}) 19... Re8 20. Ne3 Bf6
21. Bd2 Bc8 {[#]After the game Anton thought he had been given an easy ride at
the start of the game. White doesn't appear to have got much from the opening,
indicating a lack of preparedness.} 22. Ba5 {Anton thought the plan of Ba5
followed by Bc3 was "too slow as he didn't have enough time to play g3 and f4".
} Qe7 23. Bc3 Ng6 {"I controlled f4 and e5 and it seemed very easy for me to
play" )Anton)} 24. Qf3 Bxc3 25. bxc3 Qg5 26. Kh2 h5 27. Ra7 Re7 28. Rxe7 Nxe7
29. Ra1 Ng6 30. Qg3 $6 {This allows Black to attack the c-pawn with his queen
and more or less force an advantageous exchange of minor pieces.} Qf6 {The
threat now is not Qxc3 (which would allow Qxd6) but b4, exploiting the loose
rook on a1.} 31. Nf5 ({White's instincts are to go forward but} 31. Nd1 {might
be more prudent, despite giving rather an ugly impression.}) 31... Bxf5 32.
exf5 {Black is now a virtual pawn up on the queenside.} Ne5 33. Rb1 h4 34. Qf4
g5 35. Qe3 Nc4 36. Qc1 Kg7 37. Bd3 Ne5 38. Be4 g4 39. hxg4 Nxg4+ 40. Kg1 Qh6
41. Qxh6+ Kxh6 42. Kf1 Kg5 {[#]White resigned. A little surprisingly, since
material is still level and the winning plan not yet absolutely clear. "I was
a bit surprised [by his resignation] - it seems completely winning, [the
material is equal] but it is very easy for me to play, Kg5 and b4, and he's
playing for nothing." (Anton) Even so one could hardly envisage the Topalov of
ten years ago not giving it everything to save the game.} 0-1

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.02.01"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Sethuraman, S.P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2637"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. d4 e4 4. Nc3 d5 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Bg5 Nbd7 8. Qb3
Bd6 9. Nh3 h6 10. Bf4 Nb6 11. Be5 {So far Mickey Adams is following the moves
of a game played by an English amateur player, Andrew Stone, in a tournament
in Austria last year.} Ng4 {Taking the game out of the book} 12. Bxg7 Rg8 13.
Be5 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Bxe5 15. Rd1 Be6 {[#]} 16. Nxe4 $5 {This move involves the
calculation of a long line leading to an exchange sacrifice. There is a flaw
in the execution, however, but both players were oblivious to this until
informed of it after the game by those who had access to computer analysis.}
Qc8 17. Nf4 dxe4 (17... Bxf4 18. Nf6+ Ke7 19. Nxg8+ Qxg8 20. a4 {and the
computer prefers White.}) 18. Qb5+ Nd7 19. Rxd7 $2 {[#]} ({A move order
mistake by White. In fact, after} 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Rxd7 Qxd7 21. Qxe5 {, his
plan remains on course and he has enough compensation for the exchange
sacrifice.}) 19... Qxd7 $2 ({Here Black had the chance to play} 19... Bxf4 {
and the computer is satisfied that Black emerges with a material advantage. It
forms a remarkable twin with Hou Yifan's win in round seven where she allowed
her opponent a visually devastating double check opportunity with queen and
rook on a diagonal. As regards this game, it is quite understandable that the
players should have overlooked it since some of the sub-variations would
require the sort of computing power that is beyond the capability of the
organic brain, e.g.} 20. Rc7+ (20. Rd1+ Bd7 21. Qb4 Bc6 22. Bxe4 a5 23. Qc4 Be5
{is probably winning for Black}) 20... Bd7 21. Rxc8+ Rxc8 {and White is faced
with an attack on his queen and the threat of Rc1 mate.}) 20. Qxe5 O-O-O 21.
O-O {White has thus sacrificed rook for knight and pawn, but he also has
compensation by way of pressure against the e4-pawn and the immediate threat
of Rc1+. In fact, a second pawn must go.} Qc7 22. Qxe4 Kb8 (22... Bxa2 {allows}
23. Qa4 {and the capture of the a7-pawn, while various other bishop moves
allow Nd5 and Ne7+ regaining the exchange.}) 23. Nxe6 fxe6 24. Qxe6 h5 25. Qf6
Rdf8 26. Qh4 {Not the sort of position Black would want to have against a
player of Adams' style and calibre.} Rf5 27. Bf3 Rd8 28. Kg2 Rc5 29. b4 Rc4 30.
Qxh5 Rxb4 {Now White has a potential array of four connected passed pawns
though, typically, White is in no hurry to deploy them all as some of them are
better used to protect his king.} 31. Qg5 Qd6 32. Rc1 a6 33. h4 Rb5 34. Qg7 Rd7
35. Qh8+ Rd8 36. Qc3 a5 37. h5 a4 38. h6 {A small tactical device designed to
exchange the h-pawn for Black's a-pawn and also to gain more activity for the
white rook.} Qxh6 39. Qc7+ Ka7 40. Rc4 {With his d8 rook attacked, Black can't
hold the a-pawn.} Rd6 41. Rxa4+ Ra6 42. Rh4 Qf8 43. a4 Rb4 44. Rf4 $1 {[#]An
unusual trick, effectively forking queen and rook with a rook, since the b4
rook cannot move off the b-file because of the threat of mate on b7.} 1-0

[Event "Gibraltar Masters 2017"]
[Site "Caleta Hotel"]
[Date "2017.02.01"]
[Round "9.7"]
[White "Cheparinov, Ivan"]
[Black "Fridman, Daniel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "2689"]
[BlackElo "2594"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "171"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. b3 Be7 5. Bb2 O-O 6. Nc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Qc2
Nc6 9. h4 b6 10. a3 f5 11. Nxd5 exd5 12. d4 Be6 13. Ng5 Bxg5 14. hxg5 c4 15. g6
hxg6 16. bxc4 Rc8 17. c5 bxc5 18. dxc5 Qa5+ 19. Qc3 Rf7 20. Be2 Qa4 21. O-O Rb8
22. Rac1 g5 23. Ba1 Rfb7 24. Bd1 Qh4 25. Bc2 Rd7 26. Rb1 Rf8 27. Qb3 g4 28. Qa4
Rc7 29. Qf4 Rd7 30. Ba4 g5 31. Qh2 Qxh2+ 32. Kxh2 Rh7+ 33. Kg1 Rc8 34. Bf6 f4
35. Bxg5 f3 36. Rfd1 fxg2 37. Bc2 Rh5 38. Bf4 Ne5 39. Kxg2 Rxc5 40. Rb8+ Kf7
41. Ba4 Kf6 42. Rf8+ Ke7 43. Re8+ Kf6 44. Bxe5+ Rxe5 45. Rh1 Ra5 46. Bc2 Rxa3
47. Rh7 Rc3 48. Rf8+ Kg5 49. Rg7+ Kh4 50. Bg6 Rc8 51. Rh7+ Kg5 52. Be8 Bf7 53.
Rg7+ Kh4 54. Rh8+ Rh5 55. Rxg4+ Kxg4 56. Bd7+ Kg5 57. Rxc8 Kf6 58. f4 Rh7 59.
Rc6+ Ke7 60. Bf5 Rg7+ 61. Kf2 Rg8 62. Ra6 Ra8 63. Ke1 Be8 64. Bd3 Bd7 65. Kd2
Bc8 66. Ra5 Kd6 67. Kc3 a6 68. Kd4 Bb7 69. Ra1 a5 70. Rb1 Kc7 71. f5 Bc6 72.
Rc1 {[#]} Kd6 $4 ({With care it looks as if Black should be able to draw from
this position, and he probably would have done had he played} 72... Rb8 {but
the very natural looking text move is savagely punished.}) 73. e4 $3 a4 ({The
point is that} 73... dxe4 {loses to} 74. Rxc6+ $1 Kxc6 75. Bxe4+ {skewering
the rook on a8, with an easy. Since Black cannot capture the e4-pawn, it means
that it will advance to become a passed pawn. Worse still for Black, White
will have a connected passed pawn spearhead to which there is no defence.}) 74.
e5+ Kd7 75. f6 a3 76. Bf5+ Kc7 77. f7 a2 78. Ra1 Ra4+ 79. Ke3 d4+ 80. Kf4 Ra8 (
80... d3+ 81. Kg5 Ra8 82. Rxa2 $1 {is equally hopeless.}) 81. Rxa2 Rf8 82. e6
Kd6 83. Ra6 d3 84. Ke3 Rd8 85. Rxc6+ Kxc6 86. e7 1-0


