[Event "2020 Northwest Chess Winter Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.12.13"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Valentin Razmov (Coach_Valent"]
[Black "Edward Cheng (poocoolpro)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E94"]
[WhiteElo "1986"]
[BlackElo "1738"]
[Annotator "Valentin Razmov"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "1500+5"]

{[%evp 0,55,25,26,18,-17,37,33,33,41,41,42,38,42,63,41,32,32,40,39,86,50,83,37,
27,4,41,-109,31,21,41,31,170,192,213,197,223,194,206,213,238,225,231,164,174,
199,199,147,198,168,475,709,720,735,29997,29998,29999,-30000]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4
g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O exd4 8. Nxd4 Re8 9. f3 c6
10. Bg5 {A rare line of the King's Indian; more common are 10.Kh1 and 10.Nc2,
in both cases avoiding Black's pressure on the d4-knight.} h6 11. Bh4 Nbd7 12.
Kh1 {White has to play this prophylactic move sooner or later in order to
untie their hands from the potential pin (or queen check) along the g1-a7
diagonal.} Nc5 13. Re1 $2 {With an abundance of normal options - Qc2, Nb3, Rc1,
etc. - White goes astray, overlooking a tactic against the overloaded bishop
on h4. White's idea with the rook move was to free the f1-square for the
bishop, thus fortifying the king's defense while activating the rook along the
e-file simultaneously.} g5 $2 {Black doesn't notice the tactical opportunity.}
(13... Nfxe4 $1 14. Bxd8 Nf2+ 15. Kg1 Nxd1 16. Raxd1 Rxd8 {after which Black
would be a healthy pawn up.}) 14. Bf2 Ne6 $6 {Giving the White knight what it
has been hoping for: easy access to the newly weakened f5-square.} (14... Nh7 {
was a better move, opening up the bishops, while keeping an eye on the
f5-square.}) 15. Nf5 d5 $2 {Black loses the thread of play and loses a pawn as
a result. Required was 15... Bf8 to keep things together.} 16. Nxg7 Kxg7 17.
cxd5 cxd5 18. Nxd5 {White seeks to open up the position for its two bishops,
especially because the black king is unsafe.} Nxd5 19. exd5 {Preserving queens
on the board, as the White queen can be useful in the upcoming attack.} Nf4 20.
Bc4 Rxe1+ {Necessary, since White was threatening Rxe8, Qd4+, and Re1,
activating all pieces while Black remains partly undeveloped.} 21. Bxe1 {
With the idea to build a battery on the long diagonal via Bc3 & Qd4.} Bf5 22.
Bc3+ f6 23. Qd4 {Natural and strong. White has to remain alert to Black's
counterplay options, for example...} (23. d6 Rc8 24. Qd4 Rc6 25. Rd1 Bd3 $5 {
an interference that could cause problems if unforeseen} 26. Rxd3 Nxd3 27. Qxd3
Rxd6 28. Qe2 Rd1+ 29. Be1 Rd7 30. Qf2 {and White will be able to consolidate
soon.}) 23... Rc8 (23... Qb6 {was worth considering - to relieve the building
pressure of White's attack.}) 24. Re1 $2 {An obvious developing move, played
automatically - but also a tactical mistake! White's queen is surprisingly
short of squares near the center of the board, yet it is responsible for
defending the bishop on c4! Curiously, the previous tactical mistake by White
was also a Re1 move, on move 13.} Qd6 $2 {Missing the tactical chance that had
just opened up, and in turn falling into a trap.} (24... Ne6 $1 {This
surprising tactic could have offered Black some relief, for example:} 25. Qxa7
Rxc4 26. dxe6 Qe7 27. a3 Rc6 28. Bb4 Rxe6 $1 29. Rxe6 Qxe6 30. Qxb7+ {and,
after securing the backrank next, White should still be able to win this
technical opposite-colored endgame.}) 25. Re6 $3 {With the few minutes left on
the clock, White was able to convince themselves that this interference
sacrifice is indeed a winner and a brilliancy candidate. Ironically, the white
rook lands with great effect on the very square where the black knight could
have jumped to complicate matters on the previous move.} Nxe6 (25... Qd8 26.
Rxf6 {+-}) 26. Qxf6+ Kh7 $4 {This leads to immediate checkmate. The
alternative was also losing for Black, though with considerably more technique
required from White:} (26... Kg8 27. Qh8+ Kf7 28. Qxc8 Ng7 29. Qxb7+ Qd7 {
and White's advantage is sufficient to easily win even by simply exchanging
down into a bishop endgame with extra pawns.} (29... Bd7 30. Bb4 $1)) 27. Qf7+
Ng7 28. Qxg7# {Coach_Valentin won by checkmate} 1-0

[Event "SCC Extravaganza"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.11.14"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Bernadskiy, Vitaliy"]
[Black "Talukdar, Rohan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B23"]
[WhiteElo "2689"]
[BlackElo "2410"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

{[%evp 0,57,25,16,71,44,81,53,54,44,56,35,49,21,6,-14,-8,-8,-16,-19,17,-7,-11,
-37,-11,-38,-38,-49,-25,-6,-20,-12,-8,-4,-5,17,13,4,19,5,132,140,139,161,142,
144,128,164,164,155,228,219,284,313,331,331,342,326,29993,29994]} 1. e4 c5 2.
Nc3 d6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. O-O e6 7. d4 $5 ({A new move, at
least for me. It appears to introduce some complications, a few ways for Black
to overreach, and suggests the d6-pawn is a weakness.} 7. d3 {is the normal
move here, though I've also seen 7.f5 occasionally and even more rarely 7.Qe1.
After 7.d3, play might continue} Nge7 8. Qe1 O-O 9. f5 {, getting in all three
of those moves, though I personally feel} gxf5 {is fine for Black.}) 7... cxd4
8. Nb5 Nge7 ({Very sensible development. Obviously Black can't attempt to hold
the pawn:} 8... e5 $4 9. fxe5 dxe5 10. Ng5 $18 {, and f7 is overwhelmed.}) 9.
Nbxd4 O-O ({Black could get a little frisky in the center now:} 9... d5 10.
exd5 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 O-O $1 {, which must be at least equal.}) 10. Bb3 Na5 11. c3
Nxb3 12. axb3 (12. Qxb3 $5) 12... e5 $1 13. Ne2 d5 $5 ({Black complicates.
Instead, Black could consider} 13... f5 $15 {. Both sides have weaknesses, but
the bishop-pair looks like a reliable small advantage for Black, and the
central tension is not at all uncomfortable. It could prove difficult for
White to effectively utilize the e2-knight.}) 14. exd5 (14. fxe5 dxe4 15. Qxd8
Rxd8 16. Ng5 Bf5 17. Ng3 Bxe5 18. N5xe4 $13) 14... e4 15. Ng5 Nxd5 16. Nxe4 Bg4
(16... Qb6+ 17. Kh1 Rd8 $15 {gives Black plenty of compensation for the pawn,
with the bishop-pair and activity.}) 17. h3 Qb6+ (17... Re8 18. hxg4 (18. N4g3
$2 Nxc3 $1 19. bxc3 (19. Qxd8 Nxe2+ 20. Nxe2 Raxd8 21. hxg4 Rxe2 $17) 19...
Qxd1 20. Rxd1 Bxe2 $15) 18... Rxe4 19. Ng3 {is another possibility.}) 18. Kh2
Bxe2 (18... Rae8 $5 19. hxg4 (19. Qxd5 Bxe2 20. Re1 Qb5 21. Qxb5 Bxb5 22. Bd2 {
, with maybe a slim edge to White.}) 19... Rxe4 20. Qxd5 (20. Ng3 Ne3 21. Bxe3
Rxe3 $13) 20... Rxe2 21. Ra4 $14) 19. Qxe2 Qxb3 $4 (19... Rfe8 20. Qc4) 20. Nc5
Nxc3 (20... Qb6 {is no better:} 21. Nd7 Qc7 22. Nxf8 $18) 21. bxc3 Qxc3 22. Ba3
Rfe8 23. Qb5 b6 24. Nd7 ({White accurately threads the needle.} 24. Na4 {
seems safe and sane.}) 24... Rad8 ({Black can head for a difficult, likely
just lost, endgame here, trying to claim those two passed pawns are worth a
piece:} 24... Rac8 25. Ra2 Qc6 {.}) 25. Bd6 $1 {White aims the bishop at the
e5-square.} a6 ({Perhaps the most interesting try for Black here is} 25... Qxa1
26. Rxa1 Bxa1 27. Qa4 Bg7 {, giving up the queenside pawns to try to defend
the kingside with an equal piece count, albeit a clear quality deficit.}) 26.
Rxa6 Qd2 27. Rxb6 Re2 28. Qc6 {Now Rb8 is coming, and White's extra piece will
rule.} Rxd7 $2 29. Qa8+ {VitaliyBernadskiy won by resignation} 1-0

[Event "SCC Extravaganza"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.11.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Shahinyan, David"]
[Black "Talukdar, Rohan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B23"]
[WhiteElo "2518"]
[BlackElo "2410"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

{[%evp 0,73,28,35,33,39,81,53,35,39,46,22,22,-3,2,-16,-7,-7,-11,-10,-21,-11,11,
-8,-8,2,88,1,22,22,29,51,15,10,10,21,-9,-9,7,7,14,0,79,77,77,36,46,53,68,54,60,
58,63,63,65,60,79,70,72,74,121,118,98,69,70,99,104,114,131,118,118,128,128,128,
128,130]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. O-O e6 7. d4
cxd4 8. Nb5 Nge7 9. Bb3 O-O 10. Nbxd4 Na5 {Here we are again, a line I've
never seen before, initiated by White, with the same captain of the Black
forces. Either this is the new popular line, or they've been watching each
other's games.} 11. Be3 {I definitely prefer this bishop development to the 11.
c3 chosen by the Grandmaster in the other game.} Bd7 12. Qe1 Bc6 $6 (12... e5
13. fxe5 dxe5 14. Ne2 Nxb3 15. axb3 Bc6 {. Black is not worse.}) 13. f5 ({
White starts evolutionary work on the white squares, but there are some more
revolutionary approaches to consider:} 13. Nxe6 $5 fxe6 14. Bxe6+ Kh8 15. b4
Bxe4 16. bxa5 Nf5 $13) ({Or} 13. Bxe6 $1 Bxe4 (13... fxe6 $4 14. Nxe6 Qd7 15.
Nxf8 Rxf8 16. Qxa5 $18) 14. Ng5 {with complications. One extended possibility:}
Nac6 15. Bxf7+ (15. f5 $5) 15... Rxf7 16. Nde6 Qd7 17. Nxg7 Bxg2 $1 18. Nxf7
Bxf1 19. Nh6+ $1 Kxg7 20. Qc3+ Kxh6 21. f5+ g5 22. Qf6+ Ng6 23. Qxg5+ Kg7 24.
Rxf1 $13) 13... Nxb3 14. axb3 exf5 15. exf5 Nd5 (15... Bxf3 16. Rxf3 Nd5) 16.
Nxc6 bxc6 17. Bd4 (17. fxg6 hxg6 (17... fxg6 18. Bd4 $14) 18. Ng5 {might be
met with} Bd4 $1 19. Bxd4 Qxg5 $13 {.}) 17... Bxd4+ 18. Nxd4 Qb6 19. Qf2 Rae8
20. Rae1 Ne3 $6 (20... Rxe1 21. Rxe1 c5) 21. Rxe3 Qxd4 22. Rc3 ({White can
force Black into a fairly passive rook ending:} 22. Rxe8 Qxf2+ 23. Kxf2 Rxe8
24. Ra1 Re7 25. Ra6 Rc7 26. f6 $16 {.}) 22... Qxf2+ 23. Kxf2 c5 (23... Re5 {
first, perhaps:} 24. Rxc6 Rxf5+ 25. Kg1 Rd5 {.}) 24. Rd1 $1 Re5 25. Rxd6 Rxf5+
26. Rf3 $14 Rh5 27. h3 Re5 28. Rd7 f5 $2 29. Rxa7 ({Opportunity:} 29. Re3 $1
Rxe3 30. Kxe3 Rf7 31. Rd8+ Kg7 (31... Rf8 32. Rxf8+ Kxf8 33. Kf4 {looks
winning for White.}) 32. Rc8 $16 {.}) 29... Rfe8 (29... Rd8 $1 {activates
Black's rooks, and makes it very hard for White to convert the pawn.} 30. Rd3
Rxd3 31. cxd3 f4 $14 {.}) 30. Rd3 $1 Re2+ 31. Kg3 Rxc2 32. Rdd7 Rxb2 33. Rg7+
Kh8 34. Rxh7+ Kg8 35. Rag7+ Kf8 36. Rb7 Kg8 37. Rhg7+ Kh8 38. Rxg6 $6 (38. Rgc7
$16) 38... c4 39. b4 Rg8 (39... Rc8 $1 {Rooks belong behind passed pawns, and
both of Black's rooks are doing their job.}) 40. Rxg8+ Kxg8 41. Rb5 c3 (41...
f4+ 42. Kf3 $18) 42. Rxf5 Rxb4 43. Rc5 Rb3 44. Rc7 Kf8 45. Kh4 Ke8 46. g4 Kd8
47. Rc4 Ke7 48. Kh5 (48. g5 $1 $18 {Advancing the pawn now, while the king
still has cover from checks and the black pawn is two moves away from
promotion, earns White the point.}) 48... c2 $1 49. h4 $2 (49. Rc7+ $1 {
forces the black king to an unfavorable square for the rook versus rook and
pawn ending.}) (49. Rxc2 {also works:} Rxh3+ 50. Kg6 Rg3 51. g5 {, and now} Kf8
52. Rc8+ Ke7 53. Rg8 Rg1 54. Kh7 Rh1+ 55. Kg7 Rg1 56. g6 {is a very well-known
win.}) 49... Rb2 50. g5 Kd6 51. Rc8 {(#Diagram after 51.Rc8} Kd7 $4 ({The king
was in exactly the right place! So} 51... Ra2 $3 {Now how does White try to
make progress?} 52. Z0 (52. Rc3 Kd5 $1 53. Kh6 (53. Rc7 Kd6 54. Rc8 Rb2 $1 {
Notice the black king keeping to d6 and d5, depending on the distance to the
black rook.}) 53... Ra6+ 54. g6 Rc6 55. Rxc2 Rxc2 56. g7 Rg2 57. Kh7 Ke6 58.
g8=Q+ (58. h5 Kf7 59. h6 Rg6 60. g8=Q+ Rxg8) 58... Rxg8 59. Kxg8 Kf5 60. h5 Kg5
) (52. Kg4 Ra4+ 53. Kh5 Ra2 {repeats.}) (52. Rc4 Rb2 53. Rc3 Kd5 54. Rc8 (54.
g6 Kd4 55. Rxc2 Rxc2 56. Kh6 Ke5 57. g7 Rg2 58. Kh7 Kf6 59. g8=Q Rxg8 60. Kxg8
Kg6) 54... Kd6 {. As soon as the white king is exposed, Black can check to
swing the rook to the c-file, then defend rook versus pawns accurately. For
example} 55. Kh6 Kd7 56. Rc3 Rb6+ 57. g6 Rc6 58. Rxc2 Rxc2 59. g7 Rg2 60. Kh7
Ke6 61. g8=Q+ Rxg8 62. Kxg8 Kf6 63. Kh7 Kf7 {.}) (52. Kh6 Kd7 53. Rc5 Ra6+ 54.
g6 Rc6 55. Rxc2 Rxc2 56. g7 Rg2 57. Kh7 Rh2 {or any of the other methods
outlined above.})) 52. Rc3 $18 Kd6 53. Kh6 Kd5 54. g6 Kd4 55. Rc8 Kd3 56. g7
Rb6+ 57. Kh7 Rb4 58. h5 Rb7 59. h6 Kd2 60. Rxc2+ Kxc2 61. Kh8 1-0

[Event "SCC Extravaganza"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.11.14"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Li, Edward"]
[Black "Cluff, Austin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B02"]
[WhiteElo "1733"]
[BlackElo "1726"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

{[%evp 0,56,35,35,59,6,22,51,34,33,42,24,27,12,19,27,23,9,13,24,31,-16,-16,-4,
5,-1,-8,1,31,6,38,40,73,35,34,-14,-18,-12,-5,-23,23,33,25,15,12,-9,13,2,14,
-109,-90,-137,-59,-162,-141,-132,-116,-205,-214]} 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 ({White
scores quite well in the main lines, such as} 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5.
Be2 e6 6. O-O Be7 7. c4 Nb6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Be3 {, but 2.Nc3 is certainly sound,
and contains ample room for transpositions.}) 2... d5 ({Black could choose to
head into symmetric king pawn openings -- the Vienna Game, in this case.} 2...
e5) 3. exd5 (3. e5 {gives Black three choices:} Nfd7 (3... d4) (3... Ne4)) 3...
Nxd5 4. Bc4 c6 5. Qf3 e6 6. Nge2 Nd7 7. d4 Qf6 (7... N7f6 {is also solid.}) 8.
Qxf6 ({I would tend to avoid this queen exchange with} 8. Qg3 {.}) 8... N7xf6
9. Bd2 Bd6 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Bd3 Ne4 12. Bf4 Bxf4 13. Nxf4 g5 $6 ({It's not
easy to justify this kingside lunge. Instead,} 13... Nd6 14. O-O-O Bf5 15.
Rhe1+ Kd7 {looks completely equal.}) 14. Ne2 (14. f3 $1 Nf6 (14... gxf4 $2 15.
fxe4 $16) (14... Nd6 15. Nh5 {and ...Bf5 is no longer an option.}) 15. Ne2 $14
{avoids Black's kingside expansion lines involving ...f5 as well as the ...Bf5
development.}) 14... f5 $6 (14... Bf5 {. If White has an edge here it's very
small.}) 15. f3 $1 Nd6 (15... h6 16. h4 Rg8 17. hxg5 hxg5 18. Rh6 Kf7 19. fxe4
fxe4 20. Bxe4 dxe4 21. Ng3 $14) 16. O-O-O (16. h4 {is a key idea, undermining
the black pawn duo and opening lines for White's quickly-developed rooks.} g4
17. fxg4 fxg4 18. O-O $16) 16... Bd7 17. Ng3 O-O-O 18. Rhe1 h5 19. Ne2 g4 $6 (
19... h4) 20. Nf4 Rdg8 21. Rg1 h4 22. h3 (22. Rde1) 22... gxf3 (22... Rg7 {
maintains the tension until a favorable moment.}) 23. gxf3 Rg3 24. Ng6 $2 ({
It's actually fine to take the rook:} 24. Rxg3 hxg3 25. Kd2 Rh4 26. Ke3 $14)
24... Rh6 25. Ne5 ({Now} 25. Rxg3 hxg3 26. Nf4 Rh4 $15 {and the white king is
too far away to anchor the knight.}) 25... Rh7 $15 (25... f4 $19) 26. Nxd7 $2 (
{Exchanging White's best piece for Black's worst without specific reason can't
be a good idea. Better, and essentially equal, is} 26. Kd2 Rhg7 27. Rxg3 Rxg3
28. Ke3 Ne4 (28... Rxh3 $2 29. Kf4 Rh2 30. Rg1 $16 {White's pieces are very
active.}) 29. Rh1 $13) 26... Kxd7 27. Rxg3 $2 hxg3 {We now get an object
lesson on how a good knight with an advanced outpost utterly dominates a bad
bishop.} 28. Bf1 f4 $19 {Outpost e3.} 29. Bg2 Nf5 30. Rd2 Ne3 31. Re2 Nxg2 32.
Rxg2 Rxh3 {Extra protected passed pawns are good, too.} 33. Kd1 Rh2 34. Rg1 Rf2
35. a3 Rxf3 36. Rg2 Re3 0-1

[Event "Washington Class Championships"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.11.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Valentin Razmov (Coach_Valent"]
[Black "Sophie Szeto (sls701)"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "1986"]
[BlackElo "1755"]
[Annotator "Valentin Razmov"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]

{This was a last round game in the Class A/B section, where both players were
in contention for 1st place. White needed a win, whereas for Black even a draw
would suffice.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 h6 {
The Exchange variation of Queen's Gambit Declined has been a common guest at
tournaments on all levels in recent years.} 7. Bh4 O-O 8. Bd3 b6 9. Nge2 {
The so-called Botvinnik variation, in which White forgoes the option to land a
knight on e5 in return for an attempt to organize a push through the center
via f3 & e4, in the proper moment. Instead, 9.Nf3 is quite playable and also
normal in this position.} Bb7 10. O-O Nbd7 11. f3 (11. Rc1 {has been a more
frequent choice in recent years among master-level players, with White scoring
well.}) 11... c5 {Black's plan is to organize queen-side pressure led by their
3-vs-2 pawn majority, where the c-pawn goes c7-c5-c4, unless White exchanges
on c5 allowing hanging pawns on c5-d5. White's plan in this line is to press
in the center and on the king-side.} 12. Rc1 Re8 13. Bf2 a6 14. Ng3 {The last
move in this game, known to the opening databases. White's idea is to prepare
e3-e4, while not dismissing the possibility to organize an attack starting
with Ng3-Nf5.} Bd6 {A logical novelty. The position is balanced.} 15. Nf5 {
The knight felt invited and also curious where the bishop will go next.} Bc7 (
15... Bf8 {is more natural. Black likely chose the alternative 15...Bc7 with
an idea to create counter-pressure along the h2-b8 diagonal, perhaps even
causing White to weaken their king-side pawn structure.}) 16. Re1 {Taking over
the support of the e3-pawn from the bishop, so that the latter can meet the
anticipated black battery along the h2-b8 diagonal.} (16. Bb1 {was another
valid idea, stepping back from being chased by c5-c4. Alternatively, there is
also 16. b3, preventing c5-c4 for the time being.}) 16... Qb8 17. Bg3 {Both 17.
h3 and 17. g3 felt like they might be too (unnecessarily) weakening or
limiting for White's position. However, the downside of 17. Bg3 is that it is
more reactive, letting Black dictate the agenda and relieving some of the
pressure (via the bishop exchange) from Black's relatively limited space.} Bxg3
18. Nxg3 Qc7 19. Qd2 Rad8 20. Qf2 c4 21. Bb1 b5 22. a3 {Both sides are
carefully maneuvering, awaiting the right moment to step up the action.} Nb8 {
Reassigning the knight to c6, from where it will press on the d4-pawn and help
against White's ideas for e3-e4. Hence, White felt the need to act now with
the center push, rather than to continue preparing it with 23. Rcd1 Nc6 24. h3.
} 23. e4 dxe4 24. fxe4 $6 {Perhaps not the best recapture, as the central
pawns can be attacked and blockaded. But White never really questioned the
idea of having two connected central pawns as a prelude to a desired king-side
attack. This is also where the calm positional game ends, and the open clash
begins.} Ng4 $2 {In general, the central pawn thrust succeeds if Black cannot
meet it with a challenge to the center via c7-c5 and/or Nf6-Ng4, attacking
White's weak areas such as the e3-square and the h2-pawn. Yet the immediate 24.
.. Ng4 does not accomplish anything useful for Black. Instead...} (24... Qb6 $1
{was promising Black a better game:} 25. d5 (25. Rcd1 Ng4 26. Qd2 Nc6 {and
White's central pawns are experiencing considerable pressure}) 25... Qxf2+ 26.
Kxf2 Ng4+ 27. Kg1 Nd7 {⩱}) 25. Qf3 Nf6 {Admitting the loss of two tempi.} 26.
Nf5 {White senses a moment to start an attack.} Nbd7 $6 ({Paradoxically at a
glance, giving up a king-side pawn (temporarily) would have been a better
option for Black:} 26... g6 27. Nxh6+ Kg7 28. Qe3 Rh8 29. e5 Nh5 30. Ng4 {
- after} Qd7 {the pawn is regained, while the position remains highly
complicated.}) 27. Rcd1 Kh8 $2 {The first, and thankfully for Black, only
serious mistake in this game.} (27... g6 $1 {was again an excellent
continuation for Black, capitalizing on the instability of White's center in
contrast with Black's active pieces, e.g.,} 28. Nxh6+ Kg7 29. Ng4 Nxg4 30. Qxg4
Qb6 {with the idea to pressure both central pawns, as Black threatens both
Nd7-Nf6 and Nd7-Ne5-Nd3}) 28. Qh3 {The maneuver Qf3-Qf2-Qh4 is even stronger
for White, coupled with the threat of sacrificing a knight on h6 and opening
the bishop's diagonal via e4-e5. One difference between 28.Qf2 and 28.Qh3,
showing up deep in some lines, is that with a queen on f2, the white king is
covered, so there are no intermediate checks by the black queen when the
d4-pawn starts rolling.} (28. Qf2 Re6 29. e5 Ne8 {and after Nf5-Ne3-Ng4
White's e5-pawn is well defended, so d4-d5 is possible and strong, winning the
exchange.}) 28... Re6 29. e5 Ne8 30. Ne4 $6 {With the well known idea to
\"bring more pieces to the party\", while counting on Black not to touch the
knight since Black's bishop looks so well on the long diagonal.} (30. Rf1 {
was stronger - improving the position of the rook, while pressing on f7.})
30... Rg6 $6 ({But what if Black eliminates that knight?} 30... Bxe4 31. Bxe4
Nxe5 $1 {The idea of Black giving up a piece for these central pawns while
retaining pressure on the remaining pieces and pawns somehow did not occur to
White during the game. Around this point (after move 30), the clock time
starts to affect decisions -- in this complex position, White had 17 minutes
left, while Black had around 27.} 32. dxe5 Qc5+ $1 {The order of moves matters
a lot, since the queen wants to step on e5 while still threatening b2, i.e.,
without a White piece on d4 covering the main diagonal} (32... Rxd1 $6 33. Rxd1
Qc5+ (33... Qxe5 34. Nd4 Qxe4 35. Nxe6 Qe2 36. Rf1 fxe6 37. Qc3 {±}) 34. Rd4
Rxe5 35. Qe3 {±}) 33. Qe3 Rxd1 34. Rxd1 Qxe5 35. Rd8 $1 Qxb2 36. Nd6 Qa1+ 37.
Kf2 Qf6+ {and Black has good drawing chances with three pawns for the piece
and an exposed white king.}) 31. Nh4 Rb6 32. Ng5 {Black's pieces look visually
disorganized, but in practice it's not easy to see how to break through the
defenses, especially in a low time situation. White spent 5 minutes looking
for a decisive continuation and in finding none decided to just keep bringing
pieces to the party. :-)} (32. Qf5 Nf8 {was another way to play, still with
Black holding the defense on the edge.}) 32... Nf8 {Obviously not falling for
the obvious (and pretty) checkmate trap: 32... hxg6?? 33. Ng6+ Kg8 34. Qh8#}
33. Rf1 Bd5 {Black keeps finding the best defensive moves! The bishop
blockades the d4-pawn and defends the f7-square, all while staying on its
active main diagonal.} 34. Nf5 Kg8 35. Ne4 Ng6 36. Nfd6 $2 {With just 7
minutes left (versus 17 for the opponent) and no decisive attack in sight,
White decides to try a different approach - landing one of the knights on the
outpost square d6, hoping the cut Black's defensive resources in two disjoint
units, while still pressing on f7. However, this move leads to simplifications,
which favor Black.} (36. Ne3 {would have instead kept the position complex and
White's attack ongoing.}) 36... Nxd6 37. Nxd6 Ne7 {Remaining flexible, while
preparing to trade White's knight via Ne7-Nc8.} (37... Rbxd6 38. exd6 Rxd6 {
would have been a fine way to keep the defense strong, yet it would have felt
like a small concession - and a psychological boost for White - to give up the
exchange. Objectively, the resulting position is close to equal.}) 38. Bf5 $6 {
Attempting to prevent Ne7-Nc8 in order to maintain the strong knight outpost.
But this move gives up all of White's small remaining advantage, as Black
continues to simplify effectively.} Nxf5 39. Qxf5 Rf8 {If Black were to play
more ambitiously, they could try 39... b4 instead, since White's king-side
attack is going nowhere and there are fewer pieces (and little time left) to
organize a good defense on the queen-side. But at this point it was clear that
a draw would suffice for Black to share 1st place in the tournament, and
having survived White's attack Black may have felt uneasy about asking for
more.} 40. Rf4 {Mindful not to \"burn bridges\" back to safety, White tries
one last chance.} Qd8 {Black maintains a cool-headed approach and goes for
further simplifications.} (40... b4 $5 41. axb4 Rxb4 42. Ne4 Bxe4 43. Qxe4 Rxb2
44. e6 f6 45. d5 c3 46. e7 Re8 47. d6 Qc5+ 48. Kh1 c2 49. Qe6+ $1 Kh7 $1 50.
Rc1 Rb1 51. Rff1 Rxc1 52. Rxc1 Qd4 $1 53. h3 Qd2 54. Rxc2 Qxc2 55. d7 Qb1+ 56.
Kh2 Qb8+ {would have been a sharp, nearly all forced, and still peaceful
ending - by perpetual check - to this exciting game!}) 41. Rc1 Qg5 {Game drawn
by agreement Effectively forcing queen exchanges and offering a draw that
White could not refuse with 2:30 left on the clock. White's enterprising
attacking effort met an equally resourceful and solid defense by Black - the
main claim to brilliancy of this game - and the resulting draw was well
deserved.} ({After} 41... Qg5 42. Rc2 Rxd6 $1 43. exd6 Qxf5 44. Rxf5 Be4 45.
Rc5 $1 Bxc2 46. d7 Bf5 47. Rxf5 Rd8 48. Rd5 Kf8 49. Rd6 Ke7 50. Rxa6 Rxd7 51.
Rb6 Rd5 52. Kf2 {the rook endgame is almost certainly drawn.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Washington Class Championships"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.11.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Whale, Nicholas"]
[Black "Anand, Vignesh"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E08"]
[WhiteElo "2065"]
[BlackElo "2080"]
[Annotator "Nicholas Whale"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,81,29,20,21,-7,6,-24,-14,-18,9,9,8,12,13,19,17,-5,19,-24,-16,-16,-18,
-19,-19,-16,-6,-12,-10,-9,-7,-39,-46,-33,64,-5,45,11,45,-19,-12,-20,-19,-19,15,
-32,51,67,126,63,152,162,162,150,158,166,195,217,274,268,275,238,217,135,149,
87,191,216,201,211,238,238,698,746,811,828,2343,2045,2476,1139,1197,553,616,
606] I had gotten remarkably lucky thus far in the tournament, winning two
games very quickly due to some unfortunate opponent mouse slips. As nice as
that is when it happens, this game was much more satisfying.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4
e6 3. g3 d5 4. d4 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O c6 {The Closed Catalan.} 7. Qc2 b6 8.
b3 Bb7 9. Ba3 $5 {This maneuver to trade off the dark-squared bishops is more
usually seen against the Stonewall setup, since with a pawn up on f5 Black's
dark squares are more vulnerable. Here, objectively speaking it's probably not
the best, but at least we get a different sort of position than usual, which
is mostly what I was hoping for.} Bxa3 10. Nxa3 Qe7 11. Qb2 {Kind of
awkward-looking, but if Black ever takes on c4 my knight can re-emerge with a
vengeance.} Nbd7 12. Rac1 Ne4 13. Rfd1 f5 {We end up with a kind of
Stonewall-like structure after all.} 14. e3 g5 {Black goes for the direct
kingside attack, but doesn't quite have enough pieces to support it.} 15. Ne5 (
{I didn't find} 15. cxd5 exd5 {all that appealing, since now my knight is
pretty useless on a3.}) 15... Nxe5 16. dxe5 Qg7 $6 {Natural, but apparently
inaccurate.} ({Stockfish claims} 16... g4 {is a slight edge for Black.}) 17. f4
$6 {I thought locking up the pawns basically shut down all of Black's
attacking chances, but this isn't quite true...} (17. f3 $1 {is better to
eject the strong knight.}) 17... Rfd8 $6 {This is the wrong rook to use, as
now the one on a8 has trouble contributing anything.} 18. Bxe4 (18. cxd5 {
is also good, i.e.} Rxd5 ({or} 18... cxd5 19. Nb5) 19. Nc4) 18... fxe4 {
Vignesh offered a draw here. I thought about it for a bit, but decided to keep
trying, since a win would clinch me the sole first U2200 prize...} ({The text
avoids} 18... dxe4 $6 19. c5 $1 {and Black really starts suffering from his
dark square problems.}) 19. Qe2 $2 {...and immediately made a mistake. I
thought I was cleverly switching gears to try and exploit Black's overextended
kingside, but there are multiple good ways to meet this.} gxf4 {The simplest.}
({After a careless move like} 19... Rac8 $2 {I play} 20. Qg4 $1 {and Black's
position becomes quite difficult.}) (19... d4 $5 {is also interesting:} 20.
exd4 gxf4 21. Qxe4 Rf8 {It seems easier for Black to play than White.}) 20.
exf4 Qg6 (20... Rf8 $1 {is pretty good, since my intended} 21. Qe3 $6 {runs
into} c5 $1 22. cxd5 exd5 {with a nasty-looking pawn center.}) 21. c5 {I
thought this was forced, or else Black will play it and get a similar position
to the above line.} d4 $5 {Very bold, weakening both the d- and e-pawns, as
well as finally letting my knight into c4. If he can get the pawns far enough
there would be plenty of compensation, but I was skeptical.} 22. Qb2 {The
pawns are tough to defend, so I tried to pile up on them.} ({I didn't like the
look of} 22. Nc4 Ba6 23. Qf2 e3) 22... d3 $2 {A major step in the wrong
direction, as now I can erect a solid blockade.} ({Instead, Stockfish finds} 
22... bxc5 23. Rxc5 Qh5 $1 {We both probably underestimated this move} 24. Qd2
(24. Rxd4 $4 e3 $1 {And apparently Black is completely winning! There are just
too many threats involving my weak king and various promotion tactics, like}
25. Kg2 Ba6 $1 26. Nc4 Rxd4 $1 27. Qxd4 Qe2+ 28. Kh3 Qf1+ 29. Kh4 e2) 24... e3
25. Qd3 Ba6 $1 26. Nc4 Rac8 {It's very hard to find a move here.}) 23. Qf2 {
Now, on the other hand, I can easily deal with the threats.} Rd5 24. Qe3 Rxc5
$6 (24... Rad8 {is a better try but still insufficient.}) 25. Rxc5 bxc5 26. Nc4
$1 {Much better than retaking the pawn.} Ba6 27. Nd6 {With the knight invading
in such a dominating fashion, I was very confident of victory. Vignesh gamely
tries for counterplay, but it's probably too late now.} Rd8 28. Nxe4 c4 29.
Nf6+ {An even better square for the knight, covering all the squares the black
queen can use to invade. Black sorely misses his other bishop...} Kh8 30. bxc4
Bxc4 31. Rd2 (31. Qc5 {is even better.}) 31... Qf7 32. Qe4 $6 {This gives him
one last chance.} (32. Qc5 {again.}) 32... Bb5 $2 (32... Bxa2 $1 33. Qxc6 (33.
Rxd3 Bd5 $1 {Black's bishop holds things together.} 34. Qb4 Qc7 {White is
still better, but there's more work to do.}) (33. Rxa2 $2 d2 34. Rxd2 Rxd2 35.
Qxc6 {is only a draw.}) 33... Bd5 34. Qc3 Qb7 35. Qxd3 Qb6+ {and at least
Black has some threats.}) 33. a4 $1 {Driving the bishop away from the c6-pawn,
after which things are much clearer.} Ba6 34. Qxc6 Bb7 35. Qc4 Qg6 $4 {This
loses at once, but otherwise I just take the d-pawn as well and Black suffers
a slow death.} 36. Qc7 Rc8 37. Qxb7 Rc2 {Now there are a few ways to win, but
I just went with the simplest one.} 38. Qb8+ (38. Rxd3 $1 Qxd3 39. Qb8+ Kg7 40.
Qg8+ Kh6 41. Qg5#) 38... Kg7 39. Qg8+ (39. Rxd3 $1 {leads to the same line as
above.}) 39... Kh6 40. Qxg6+ hxg6 41. Rxd3 {The endgame is completely hopeless
for Black, down a piece and two pawns; so Vignesh resigned here and I won the
first U2200 prize!} 1-0

[Event "Washington Class Championships"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.11.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Guha, Mitrabha"]
[Black "Whale, Nicholas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E68"]
[WhiteElo "2445"]
[BlackElo "2065"]
[Annotator "Mitrabha Guha"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,81,19,34,29,1,39,32,29,4,4,12,21,21,23,22,44,14,39,-3,0,-10,-8,2,-19,
-28,-31,-5,5,-7,25,28,21,-1,31,8,12,23,25,24,24,33,45,55,64,58,106,110,110,110,
110,101,142,138,138,118,132,119,119,119,191,154,191,152,208,190,285,285,285,
285,469,450,468,477,627,629,650,650,667,683,1191,1274,1243,1980]} 1. d4 Nf6 2.
c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. h3 Re8 9. e4 exd4
10. Nxd4 Nc5 11. Re1 a5 12. b3 Nfd7 13. Be3 Ne5 14. Qc2 b6 {A slight
positional mistake as it weakens the c6 square and also the bishop is better
placed on c8-h3 diagonal.} (14... Ned3 15. Red1 Nb4 16. Qe2) 15. Rad1 Bb7 16.
Nd5 Nc6 (16... c6 17. Nc3 Qc7 18. f4 Ned7 19. Bf2) 17. Nb5 Nb4 18. Qb1 Nxd5 19.
cxd5 {White is already better.} Re7 20. Bd4 {The black bishop is too strong.}
Bxd4 21. Nxd4 Qd7 22. a3 Rae8 23. b4 axb4 24. axb4 Na6 {Both the minor pieces
are out of play right now.} 25. Qb3 Ra8 26. f4 Nb8 27. Qc3 (27. e5 {was a
direct and a very strong attempt at converting the advantage.} dxe5 28. fxe5
Qa4 29. Qc3 Qa3 30. Nb3 $16) 27... Ra4 28. Ra1 (28. e5 dxe5 29. fxe5 Ra2 30.
Nc2 $16) 28... Rxa1 29. Rxa1 Ba6 $2 (29... c5 {Active play was needed as a
last try to save for Black.} 30. bxc5 bxc5 31. Nc2) 30. Kh2 Qe8 31. Qc2 Qd7 32.
h4 {This brings the last white piece into the game.} (32. b5 Bxb5 33. Ra8 Re8
34. Nxb5 Qxb5 35. Qxc7 Qc5 36. Qb7 Qc8 37. Qxb6 $18) 32... Qe8 (32... Qd8 33.
Bh3 $18) 33. b5 {This wins on the spot.} Bb7 (33... Bc8 34. Ra8 Bd7 (34... Bg4
35. Nc6 Nxc6 36. Rxe8+) 35. Qxc7) (33... Bxb5 34. Ra8 Bd7 35. Qxc7 Bc6 36. Qxe7
Qxe7 37. Nxc6 Qc7 38. Rxb8+) 34. Ra7 Qc8 35. Bh3 Nd7 36. Nc6 Bxc6 (36... Re8
37. Bxd7) 37. bxc6 $18 f5 38. cxd7 Qxd7 39. Ra8+ Kg7 40. Qb2+ Kh6 41. Bxf5 1-0

[Event "WA Winter Classic"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.12.26"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Bell, Harry"]
[Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A88"]
[WhiteElo "2000"]
[BlackElo "2704"]
[Annotator "Aleksandr Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

{[%evp 0,72,19,29,68,51,38,37,58,76,78,63,63,67,24,44,67,27,59,51,50,46,34,-1,
-14,-14,-10,-10,-29,-29,-29,-33,-34,-76,-79,-79,-84,-168,-26,-93,-70,-161,-169,
-154,-172,-232,-177,-195,-204,-251,-261,-327,-319,-331,-332,-347,-346,-336,
-340,-347,-312,-327,-335,-359,-335,-335,-330,-327,-328,-337,-337,-337,-374,
-374,-396]} 1. Nf3 {In round 1 I am playing an experienced player, Heath Bell,
rated 2000. I've played him before twice where I did not have easy games.
Therefore, I decided to spice it up this time, playing a more dynamic Dutch
defense.} f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 (3... e6 {This move is also logical,
transposing into the Stonewall Dutch, where the knight on c3 isn't always well
placed.} 4. g3 d5 5. d4 c6) 4. d4 Bg7 5. g3 {One of the main lines against the
Leningrad Dutch.} O-O 6. Bg2 d6 7. O-O c6 {The new main line.} (7... Qe8 {
Is the old main line.}) (7... Nc6 {This is also an interesting move which
Hikaru Nakamura used to beat Jeffrey Xiong to become the US Champion in 2019.})
8. d5 e5 9. dxe6 Bxe6 10. Bf4 $6 (10. b3 {This is the main line here. The
point is that white should not be afraid of Ne4 because of...} Ne4 11. Nxe4
Bxa1 (11... fxe4 12. Nd4 $14) 12. Nxd6 {And white has huge compensation for
the exchange as black's pieces are loose and discoordinated.}) 10... Bxc4 11.
Qxd6 Qxd6 12. Bxd6 Re8 {Here I have a comfortable position.} 13. Rfe1 $6 (13.
Ne5 {This is the move I expected, after which the position is still around
equal.}) 13... Ne4 {Now I am seizing the initiative.} 14. Nxe4 fxe4 15. Ng5 (
15. Nd2 Bd5 16. Red1 $15 {Was perhaps lesser of the evil.}) 15... Bd5 16. Rac1
$2 {I wasn't sure what was the purpose of this move. Besides, it just loses a
pawn. White should probably try to create immediate counterplay with f3.} (16.
f3 exf3 17. exf3 {Creating counterplay along the e-file}) 16... h6 17. Nh3 Bxa2
18. b4 a6 $2 {A knee-jerk reaction since I already relaxed a bit too early up
a pawn with a better game. I wanted to stop b5 and keep lines closed. However,
now white can surprisingly make my life hard with...} (18... Na6 {Completing
development and attacking the b4 pawn was the best course of action here.} 19.
b5 cxb5) 19. Red1 $6 {Missing the best practical chance.} (19. Nf4 $1 Bf7 20.
Bh3 $1 {And now, it is hard for me to actually complete my development. Black
should still be winning but it's not nearly as winning as it could've been.})
19... Nd7 20. Bc7 Nf6 21. f3 Nd5 22. Bd6 exf3 23. Bxf3 Bb2 {And this wins the
exchange.} 24. Rc2 Bb3 25. Rxd5 Bxc2 26. Rd2 Rad8 {The tactics work out for me.
} 27. Rxc2 Bd4+ 28. Kg2 Rxd6 {The rest is a matter of technique as they say :)}
29. Nf4 Re3 30. Nd3 Kg7 31. Nf4 Rb3 32. Rc4 Kf7 33. Be4 Rc3 {I saw he can play
Bxg6+ but I wasn't worried about it since I saw that I force a rook trade, win
the b-pawn and will just promote the pawns on the queenside.} 34. Bxg6+ Ke7 35.
Bd3 b5 36. Rxc3 Bxc3 {AlexanderL won by resignation. A good start for me.} 0-1

[Event "WA Winter Classic"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.12.26"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Black "Shubin, Daniel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D36"]
[WhiteElo "2704"]
[BlackElo "2161"]
[Annotator "Aleksandr Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

{[%evp 0,105,29,20,20,-11,0,4,6,-15,-11,7,0,-19,16,19,23,30,51,33,40,35,54,60,
63,38,159,158,167,160,160,160,177,162,193,204,198,207,200,188,200,186,215,208,
200,205,211,220,267,217,210,218,246,237,233,208,211,214,214,212,280,253,262,
256,259,260,259,259,289,286,311,311,324,350,378,378,404,428,460,498,1048,1065,
1065,1130,1133,1105,1496,1694,2108,2537,2598,29986,29987,29980,29981,29986,
29987,29988,29991,29992,29993,29994,29995,29996,29997,29998,29999,-30000] In
the 2nd round I am playing a promising young player, Daniel Shubin, who came
very close to drawing me in a July event. I was also beaten by his coach,
Georgi Orlov in a May event. Therefore, I took this game seriously and wasn't
going to be messing around :)} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5
c6 6. Qc2 Be7 7. e3 O-O 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. Nf3 Re8 10. h3 Nf8 11. O-O {I saw he
was playing this line all the time on chess.com so I was able to prepare a bit
here.} Ng6 (11... g6 {This is probably slightly more common.}) 12. Ne5 {
I knew that this is probably a slight advantage for me, but this was the
extent of my preparation. However, here my opponent helped me out by
blundering a relatively simple tactic immediately.} Qc7 $4 {That was a bit
unexpected :)} 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nxd5 Qd6 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. f4 {Now I'm up a
pawn (central pawn) with a much better position. It's hard for him to even
complete the development.} Nxe5 {He decided to sac the 2nd pawn.} 17. Bxh7+ Kh8
18. dxe5 Qe7 19. Bd3 Be6 20. Qe2 Qh4 21. Qf2 {I thought going into the endgame
is the simplest here.} Qxf2+ {It's also hard for him to resist the endgame.
For example,} (21... Qe7 22. f5 Bd5 23. f6 Qxe5 24. Qh4+ {Is a quick mating
attack.}) 22. Kxf2 Rad8 23. Rfd1 Rd7 24. Be2 Red8 25. b3 Kg8 26. Rxd7 Rxd7 27.
Rd1 {Two pawns up, of course I just force trades. Black is just lost.} Rxd1 28.
Bxd1 Kf8 29. e4 f5 30. exf5 Bxf5 31. b4 Be6 32. a3 b6 33. Ke3 c5 34. bxc5 bxc5
35. g4 Ke7 36. h4 a5 37. f5 Bd5 38. g5 Kf7 39. h5 Ke7 40. h6 gxh6 41. gxh6 Bg8
42. Bh5 Bh7 43. Bg6 Bxg6 44. fxg6 Kf8 45. e6 c4 46. Kd4 c3 47. Kxc3 a4 48. h7
Kg7 49. e7 Kxg6 50. h8=Q Kg5 51. e8=Q Kg4 52. Qe4+ Kg3 53. Qhh4# {AlexanderL
won by checkmate} 1-0

[Event "WA Winter Classic"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.12.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Guha, Mitrabha"]
[Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D27"]
[WhiteElo "2445"]
[BlackElo "2704"]
[Annotator "Aleksandr Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "136"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

{[%evp 0,136,38,19,14,-10,33,28,43,43,35,35,40,46,48,46,54,54,53,41,41,77,77,
60,83,89,69,0,0,0,-13,-15,-16,-11,-11,-13,-15,-14,-21,-23,-18,-13,-7,-27,-22,
-18,-18,-22,20,26,30,23,37,0,-19,-29,-34,-29,-34,-29,-26,-38,-36,-53,-53,-42,
-46,-46,-51,-47,-47,-44,-43,-43,-57,-58,-60,-62,-63,-69,-57,-57,-42,-53,-53,
-79,-89,-85,-86,-133,-136,-133,-137,-142,-146,-149,-146,-153,-153,-157,-148,
-149,-146,-151,-149,-142,-142,-142,-134,-134,-113,-106,-92,-157,-165,-163,-163,
-171,-169,-179,-189,-182,-173,-197,-194,-222,-219,-240,-282,-292,-292,-1166,
-1243,-1412,-1438,-1528,-1226,-1279,-1299]} 1. d4 {In round I was playing a
young strong IM from India, Guha Mitrabhaa. It turned out he was in a peaceful
mood since he offered me a draw on move 3. However, I wanted to play a
fighting game with some content so I wanted to play the position out even
though it was equal. I was happy to create some chances in an equal position,
though I think it helped me that he was playing the game during his night time
:)} d5 2. c4 dxc4 {The solid queens gambit accepted. I was also in a
relatively peaceful mood and wasn't going to go crazy this early in the
tournament.} 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 {The main line of the
QGA.} (6... Nc6 {This is also one of the important lines. I decided not to
play it, since I was worried that he would prepare for it, since I played it
twice recently in important games.}) 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke7 10.
Be2 {Here my theoretical knowledge sort of ended, so I was improvising.} Nbd7
11. Nbd2 Rd8 12. Nb3 Bd6 13. Nbd4 $6 {My opponent was playing quickly but
seemed to lack depth to his play. I decided to spend my time since I knew that
I can catch him on a deep idea if I do so. Nd4 was the right idea but he
should've kept the knight on a good b3 square since it pressures my queenside
there.} (13. Nfd4 {Would give white chances for an advantage. This move has an
idea of at some point playing Bf3 or f3 and e4. Also, if Nc5, now Na5 can be
annoying. I still have to figure out how to complete my development in the
best way.} Nc5 14. Na5 $1 $14) 13... Nc5 {Now I just get e5 in, and only I can
be slightly better now.} 14. Bd2 e5 15. Nb3 Nxb3 {Here I sort of lucked into
the right move since I didn't see why my alternative candidate move Na4 was
bad and rejected Na4 for a wrong reason actually.} (15... Na4 $2 {I was
actually calculating this. Thankfully I did not go for it. I didn't play it
since I didn't see anything special after Bc1. However, in fact, white is much
better after Na5!} 16. Na5 $1 {Indrectly defending b2 and also heading towards
c4.} (16. Bc1 {This however allows b6 with a clear advantage for black.}) 16...
Nxb2 17. Rdb1 Na4 18. Nxb7 $16) 16. axb3 Be6 17. Ba5 Rdc8 18. Nd2 b5 {I think
only I can be better here because of a better pawn structure and central
control.} 19. Bf3 Rab8 20. Rac1 (20. g4 $1 {Apparently after this strong move
it is equal, but it is not an easy move for a human to find.}) 20... Bf5 21.
Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Bb7 Rb8 {Also possible was} (22... Rc2 23. Bxa6 Bd7 24. Bc3 b4
25. Bd3 bxc3 26. Bxc2 cxd2 27. Rxd2 e4 {With an interesting unbalanced endgame.
}) 23. Bc6 Bd7 $6 {Not the most ambitious move. Apparently I had better
options.} (23... g6 24. h3 Bd3 {Here it is hard for him to find moves.}) 24.
Bxd7 Kxd7 25. Nf3 {Honestly speaking, I missed this move.} Ke7 {Now this is
the only move to keep the balance.} 26. Rc1 $6 {Natural but not best.} (26. Bc3
Nd7 27. b4 {Here white can create counterplay against the weak a6 pawn via Ra1.
I am not better here.}) 26... Ne4 27. g3 (27. Nd2 {I think this was better.})
27... Kd7 28. Rd1 Ke6 29. Rc1 (29. Nd2) 29... f6 $2 {This is a serious mistake
where I missed a big chance.} (29... b4 $1 {Stops his main defensive idea, Nd2,
and almost traps the bishop. Now it is very dificult for him to find moves.
For example,} 30. Rc6 Kd5 31. Rxa6 Rc8 {I don't win the bishop but my pieces
are super active, especially my knight on e4. Now I play Rc1 and Rc2 and crush
the kingside while his pieces are off-side.}) 30. Rc6 $2 (30. Nd2 {Again, this
was a must. He was probably afraid of Nc5. However,} Nc5 31. b4 Nd3 (31... Nb7
32. Ne4) 32. Rc6 {nets him enough counterplay}) 30... Ra8 {The problem for him
is that the rook on c6 is actually misplaced.} 31. Rb6 Ra7 $6 {Again, I missed
a chance to play for domination.} (31... Kd5 $1 32. Rb7 Rc8 33. Rxg7 b4 34.
Rxh7 Rc1+ 35. Kg2 Rc2 $19 {Amazing position. Currently I'm down 2 pawns but
I'm completely winning since white's whole position just totally collapses.})
32. Rc6 Kd7 33. Rc2 Ra8 34. Kf1 Nc5 35. Nd2 Nb7 36. Bb6 Rc8 {this transposes
into an endgame which I thought was winning or at least with good winning
chances.} 37. Rxc8 Kxc8 38. Ke2 Kd7 39. e4 Kc6 $1 {This is a precise move. I
was thinking of playing Bc5 right away. However, then I thought he can defend
with} (39... Bc5 40. Bxc5 Nxc5 41. Kd1 $1 Nd3 (41... Ke6 42. Kc2) 42. Ke2 $1 {
Black is still better but he's definitely holding here. I don't think I can
risk taking the b2 pawn.} Nxb2 43. Nb1 Kc6 44. Kd2 Kc5 45. Nc3 {Maybe I don't
lose the knight but during the game this looks risky.}) 40. Be3 Bc5 $1 41. Kd3
Bxe3 42. fxe3 (42. Kxe3 Kc5 {Here I should also be winning with Kb4 followed
by Nc5.}) 42... Nc5+ (42... Kc5 43. Kc3 b4+ 44. Kc2 Kc6 45. Kd3 Kb5 46. Kc2 Nc5
47. Kd1 Nd3 48. Kc2 Nf2 49. Kc1 Ng4 50. Nf1 a5 {Was apparently also winning in
the long run.}) 43. Kc3 a5 44. b4 (44. Kc2 Kb7 (44... b4 45. Nc4 Nxe4 46. Nxa5+
Kd5 {Was winning for me.}) 45. Kc3 Kb6 46. Kc2) 44... Na4+ 45. Kc2 axb4 46. Nb3
h5 47. Kc1 g6 48. Kc2 Kb6 (48... Nc5 $4 {For a long time I was calculating
this pawn endgame. Thankfully I didn't go for it. I was just not sure it was
winning and I thought I had other ways to play for a win. Indeed, it turns out
it's a draw.} 49. Nxc5 Kxc5 50. Kb3 f5 51. Kc2 $1 {He simply can give up the
e4 pawn! Amazing! It's just a fortress.} (51. exf5 gxf5 52. Kc2 {Is also a
draw.})) 49. Kc1 Kc7 50. Kc2 Kd6 51. Nd2 (51. Kc1 Nb6 {Here I finally saw the
winning plan to play Nb6-c4.}) 51... Nc5 52. b3 Ke6 53. Kd1 f5 54. exf5+ Kxf5
55. Ke2 Ne4 $1 {Here I calculated correctly that the pawn endgame is winning.}
(55... Kg4 56. Kf2 Kh3 57. Kg1 e4 58. Kh1 {Wasn't as clear for me whether it
was winning.}) 56. Nf3 (56. Nxe4 Kxe4 57. h4 (57. h3 g5 58. g4 h4 $19) 57... g5
$1 {The only winning move which I saw.} (57... Kf5 $4 {Would only be a draw.}
58. Kf3 e4+ 59. Kf2 g5 60. hxg5 Kxg5 61. Kf1 h4 62. Kg2 $1 $11) 58. hxg5 (58.
g4 gxh4 59. gxh5 Kf5 60. Kf3 Kg5 61. h6 Kxh6 62. Kg4 Kg6 63. e4 h3 64. Kxh3 Kh5
65. Kg3 Kg5 66. Kf3 Kh4 $19) 58... Kf5 59. Kf3 Kxg5 60. e4 (60. Kf2 Kg4 61. Kg2
(61. e4 h4) 61... e4) 60... h4 $19) 56... g5 {Now I just win because of
zugswang. He either allows Kg4-h3, or he has to lose the b3 pawn.} 57. Kf1 (57.
Ke1 Kg4 58. Nxe5+ Kh3 59. Nf3 g4 60. Nd2 Nxd2 61. Kxd2 Kxh2 62. e4 h4 {Would
win routinely.}) 57... g4 58. Ne1 Nd2+ 59. Ke2 Nxb3 60. Nd3 Ke4 61. Nxb4 Nc5 {
From here it's relatively simple with a passed pawn and a more active king.
Now I just have to be careful not to fall for tricks.} 62. Na2 Kd5 63. Nb4+ Kc4
64. Nc6 Kc3 {The simplest.} 65. Nxe5 b4 66. Kd1 b3 67. Kc1 b2+ 68. Kb1 Ne4 {
AlexanderL won by resignation. There were a few mistakes as expected for such
a rich game. However, overall, I was quite happy with the game, especially
with the technique. Very instructive endgame.} 0-1

[Event "WA Winter Classic"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.12.26"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Black "Talukdar, Rohan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A01"]
[WhiteElo "2704"]
[BlackElo "2402"]
[Annotator "Aleksandr Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

{[%evp 0,57,19,-32,-4,-14,-31,-20,-20,-18,-20,-25,-7,-6,-1,-23,-15,-24,10,-23,
0,-7,-19,-20,-35,-21,-7,1,14,-12,5,5,-1,6,6,-9,26,-32,38,13,3,-2,37,28,261,277,
268,255,254,260,510,525,525,521,577,584,1021,1065,1119,1155] In round 4 I am
playing a talented young player, Rohan Talukdar. I've already had many battles
with him in the WCF events. I know that he is quite knowledgable in openings,
so I decided to play my new blitz weapon, 1)b3, which I also sometimes use in
longer games if I am not sure what to play or if I want to get my opponent out
of heavy theory.} 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 {My opponent started
thinking here, so he probably wasn't expecting this as much. However, I
believe Nf3 to be no less venemous than the main move, Bb5.} (4. Bb5 {This is
more common.}) 4... e4 5. Nd4 Nxd4 6. Bxd4 Be7 7. c4 {So far, we are following
my prep, but now my opponent played a new move to me.} b6 (7... O-O 8. Nc3 c5
9. Be5 d6 10. Bg3 Bf5 {would be more traditional. Position is equal, but it's
unbalanced.}) 8. Be2 {I stopped for about 5 minutes here trying to figure out
the best plan, and most likely I did not manage. I should've probably tried to
be more aggressive trying to win the e4 pawn.} (8. Nc3 Bb7 9. Qc2 c5 (9... O-O
10. Rd1 {The engine likes this setup.} c5 11. Be5 d6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Nxe4)
10. Be5 d6 11. Bg3 O-O 12. Rd1 Qd7 {And here for some reason, don't ask me why,
the engine really prefers a3, over a developing move, claiming a slight
advantage :)} 13. a3) 8... Bb7 9. O-O O-O 10. f3 $6 {I was really unsure about
this, and the engine definitely disapproves of this plan.} c5 11. Bb2 d5 $1 12.
cxd5 Qxd5 $5 {A very ambitious move, which I didn't expect. However, I don't
think this was necessary. Black is at the very least fine with the natural} (
12... exf3 13. Bxf3 Bxd5 {Here I wasn't actually sure what to do since} 14. Nc3
Bxf3 15. Qxf3 (15. Rxf3 Qd3) 15... Qxd2 {hangs the pawn on d2 while after Rxf3
he plays Qd3, and is probably better since I have no threats and he pressures
my weak d2 pawn.}) 13. Nc3 Qd7 14. Bb5 $5 {nothing special, but at least this
gives him something to think about.} Qd6 15. fxe4 Nxe4 (15... Rad8 $5 {Also
deserves attention.} 16. Qf3 a6 17. Be2 Qxd2 18. Rab1 c4 19. Rfd1 Qc2 20. Rdc1
Qd2 {with a funny repetition.}) (15... a6 {The inclusion of a6 here was
interesting.} 16. Be2 (16. Bc4 b5) 16... Nxe4) 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. Rf4 $6 {
The engine doesn't love this either. However, I thought this is the only way
to try to create chances.} (17. Qg4 Qg6 $11) (17. d3 Bg6 $11) 17... Bg6 $6 {
Now, at least I have some initiative and it might be easier for me to play.} (
17... f5 $1 {Looks risky since it makes my bishop open, but this is a mirage.
In fact, he wants to quickly play Rad8, then Bf6, and his pieces are just
better than mine, as well as his pawn structure.}) (17... Bd3 {Would also be
solid.} 18. Qg4 g6 (18... f6)) 18. h4 h6 19. Bc4 Rad8 (19... Kh8 {This was
more accurate.}) 20. Bc3 Bd3 $6 {Now, black is really drifting. Black could've
played this move several moves ago, when it would make more sense, without
losing a tempo.} 21. Qg4 Qg6 $4 {Now came a big blunder. I thought I was
already better after Qg4, but I couldn't quite see how I win after g6. In fact,
I am only slightly better after g6, which was at this point the absolutely
only move.} (21... g6) 22. Qxg6 Bxg6 23. Rg4 $1 {Now it is totally over. Black
cannot spot my two threats, Rxg6 and h5. However, black's position was bad
even after Raf1. Therefore black's play last few moves was definitely strange,
and can probably be due to tiredness after 3 tough games.} Kh8 24. h5 Bxh5 25.
Rxg7 {The cleanest of course.} (25. Bxg7+ Kh7 26. Bxf8 Bxf8 {Would still keep
the game going.}) 25... Rd4 26. Rg3 Bd6 27. Rh3 Bg4 28. Rxh6+ Kg7 29. Rxd6 {
AlexanderL won by resignation. A nice way to end a good day for me. However,
what's interesting is that chess.com gave me 99.3% accuracy for this game. In
fact, in this game, I've made at least a few serious inaccuracies, and black
could've been better several times in this game. So it was far from a flawless
game for me, and it just goes to show that this chess.com evaluation bar
shouldn't always be trusted.} 1-0

[Event "WA Winter Classic"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.12.27"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Guha, Eshan"]
[Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2129"]
[BlackElo "2704"]
[Annotator "Aleksandr Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

{[%evp 0,100,19,29,74,38,36,-3,4,-3,1,-15,-16,-16,-15,-35,-36,-40,-29,-36,-26,
-25,-10,-20,-15,-37,-42,-2,18,-19,0,-5,17,1,40,33,45,12,37,26,34,21,34,30,34,
30,63,68,56,36,38,42,46,37,35,27,45,32,42,29,42,52,40,35,81,76,90,76,72,50,62,
66,79,73,84,74,85,35,51,45,53,16,18,28,27,33,24,36,38,29,52,47,48,39,43,38,22,
22,22,24,26,24,24]} 1. Nf3 {After having an excellent day 1 when everything
that can go well went well for me, I went into today very confident and felt
like today would be cruise control. Boy, was I wrong. Today's humbling day
just went to show how one should never let his guard down and how chess is a
very humbling and can be a very frustrating game. I thought this will be my
first time to win clear first in a WCF classical event, but once again, the
win escaped me :) It all started with the game against my student, Eshan Guha,
who after a tough first round loss to a lower rated, came back very strong,
winning his next 3 games and was gaining confidence. Again me, he chose to
play a new opening, and very quickly we reached uncharted territory in the
opening. That set for a very interesting battle, where my student never failed
to impress! :) I felt like I was just totally outplayed this game.} d6 {
I was hoping this would surprise him and it did.} 2. b3 $5 e5 3. d3 {Now this
is very unusual. I have never seen this setup with b3 and d3 before. I think
he was improvising here.} f5 4. e4 Nf6 5. Nbd2 Nc6 6. Bb2 Be7 7. g3 O-O 8. Bg2
Qe8 {Typical idea in Grandprix attack style. I thought I was already much
better here, but I probably overestimated my position.} 9. O-O {Here was
probably the first critical moment. The moves I considered here were fxe4, f4,
and Qh5. I probably didn't choose the right plan here.} fxe4 $6 (9... f4 {
I was thinking of playing f4 but I wasn't sure what to do against d4. However,
I am probably better here with} 10. d4 exd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Ng4 $15) (
9... Qh5 {Immediately was another idea, but I didn't like him playing Nh4 here.
} 10. Nh4) 10. dxe4 Qh5 {Here I thought I was comfortably better, but now he
started playing phenominal chess.} 11. Ne1 $1 {I only expected} (11. Nh4 Ng4 {
Here I would be better.} 12. h3 Bxh4 13. hxg4 Bxg4 14. f3 Bxg3 {Is the point.})
11... Qh6 (11... Bg4 12. f3 Be6 13. Nd3 {Felt like solid for him.}) 12. Nc4 Be6
13. Ne3 Rae8 14. Bc1 Qg6 15. f3 Bd8 16. c3 Bc8 17. Nd3 h5 18. Kh1 Qh7 $6 {
This was probably a mistake, since I allowed h4, a move I underestimated. Then,
he gets control of the g5 square and I am not in time in getting in g5.} (18...
h4 19. g4 {Here I wanted the queen on h7 to play h3. I couldn't find how to
continue here however.} Nh7 20. Nf5 h3 $5 21. Bxh3 Ng5 {I guess it deserved
attention to sac the pawn to get control of the dark squares.}) 19. h4 Kh8 20.
Nf2 $1 {The knight is heading to g5.} Ng8 21. Nh3 Qg6 22. Kh2 Nh6 23. Nd5 Ne7
24. Nxe7 Bxe7 25. Be3 a6 26. Qd2 Nf7 27. Rh1 Rg8 28. Raf1 Ref8 29. Ng5 {
White is all of a sudden much better here. My bishop on e7 isn't great.} Nh6
30. Bh3 Bxh3 31. Kxh3 Rf6 32. Kg2 Rgf8 {Here my opponent started to play
solidly for a draw. However, he can definitely try to make progress on the
queenside with a plan like c4 and b4.} 33. Rf2 (33. c4 $16) 33... Bd8 34. Kf1
c6 35. Kg2 Be7 36. Rff1 $6 (36. c4) 36... Bd8 $6 {Missing my best chance in
the game.} (36... d5 37. exd5 Rd8 38. Ne4 Nf5 $1 39. Qe1 Rxd5 $5 40. Nxf6 Rd3
$44) (36... Rd8 37. Rf2 d5 38. Qc2 Kg8 {Is still fine for white but would
definitely improve my position compared to before.}) 37. Rf2 Kg8 38. Rff1 Nf7
39. Rf2 Nxg5 (39... d5) 40. Bxg5 R6f7 41. Rd1 Rd7 42. c4 Bb6 43. Be3 Bxe3 44.
Qxe3 Rf6 45. Rfd2 Rdf7 $2 46. Rf2 $6 (46. Qg5 $1 Qxg5 47. hxg5 Rxf3 48. g6 R7f6
49. Rxd6 {gave white good winning chances unexpectedly.}) 46... Rf8 47. Rd3 Kh7
48. Rd1 Qf7 49. Rd3 Qg6 50. Rd1 Qf7 {Game drawn by agreement. At this point I
didn't see how I can try to make progress here without overpressing and given
the tournament standings I didn't want to go crazy. Little did I know, that
some bad news awaited me later in the event :(} 1/2-1/2

[Event "WA Winter Classic"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.12.27"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Black "Chang, Eddie"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D20"]
[WhiteElo "2704"]
[BlackElo "1887"]
[Annotator "Aleksandr Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

{[%evp 0,63,29,34,24,-16,34,-16,-16,-16,2,-49,-59,-31,-10,-35,-28,-28,-34,-75,
-53,-48,-26,-30,-2,0,5,-30,-39,-19,-2,0,33,65,54,-23,25,36,87,57,51,27,93,93,
112,112,123,112,112,112,112,111,147,145,203,203,218,166,166,187,354,368,754,
761,770,789]} 1. d4 {In this game I am playing against a talented and creative
young player, Eddie Chang, who is coming off a big win in a PNWCC U2200 event.
I have seen him do well against higher rateds before, so I knew he would be
dangerous. Thankfully I played well against him.} d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3
exd4 5. Bxc4 Nc6 6. O-O Be6 {My opponent surprised me with a sharp line in the
queens gambit accepted.} 7. Bxe6 (7. Bb5 {Is also a main line.}) 7... fxe6 8.
Qb3 Qd7 9. Qxb7 Rb8 10. Qa6 Bd6 11. Nbd2 e5 12. a3 Nf6 {I didn't know this
line well, so I probably played inaccurately here.} 13. Qd3 (13. b4 O-O 14. Ne1
{It is better for the knight to be on d3 rather than the queen (rule 101) :)})
13... O-O 14. b4 Nd8 (14... Ne7 15. Nc4 Ng6 {I thought this was more natural.})
15. Nc4 Qe6 $6 {This was inaccurate however. Too creative, simple Nf7 was
better.} (15... Nf7) 16. Ng5 Qe7 17. Bd2 $6 (17. f4 {I calculated this, but
today was just not my day, I wasn't seeing things great today unlike yesterday.
} exf4 18. e5 Bxe5 19. Re1 Nc6 {I sort of stopped here, but of course BXf4
just wins here.} 20. Bxf4 $18) 17... Ne6 18. Rac1 Nh5 19. Nxe6 $6 (19. Nxd6
cxd6 20. Qb3 {Was better.}) 19... Qxe6 20. Nxd6 Qxd6 $2 {This was a mistake.
cxd6 was more natural.} (20... cxd6 21. Qc4 {My idea was to go for this
endgame, but it's probably close to a draw after} Nf4 22. Bxf4 Qxc4 23. Rxc4
Rxf4 24. f3 g5) 21. Rc5 Rf7 22. Rfc1 Qf6 23. f3 Nf4 24. Bxf4 Qxf4 25. Rxc7 Rd8
26. R1c5 $2 {Inaccurate.} (26. Qb3 Rdf8 27. R1c5 $18 {Was total domination.})
26... Qe3+ $2 {This just transposes into a lost endgame.} (26... Rxc7 27. Rxc7
h5 {Amazingly enough, here it is very hard for white to actually make progress.
For example,} 28. g3 Qg5 29. Rxa7 Rc8 $132) 27. Qxe3 dxe3 {Of course not} 28.
Kf1 (28. Rxf7 $4 Rd1#) 28... Rxc7 29. Rxc7 a5 30. bxa5 Rd3 31. a6 Rxa3 32. a7 {
AlexanderL won by resignation. Black resigned because of Rc8+ coming. I was
happy to win here and still maintain a full point lead over my 2 nearest
competitors. But then came the nightmare round 7 :(} 1-0

[Event "WA Winter Classic"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.12.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Black "Shahinyan, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "2704"]
[BlackElo "2580"]
[Annotator "Aleksandr Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "132"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

{[%evp 0,132,34,34,32,-11,8,43,43,43,35,35,34,50,52,54,77,81,71,66,93,62,60,56,
109,95,161,158,153,149,149,138,147,93,148,150,159,161,162,142,142,141,151,141,
224,235,235,235,199,174,174,217,478,272,272,211,333,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,24,20,
25,20,30,17,12,10,10,12,0,0,0,10,0,0,-67,0,0,-43,-50,-47,-54,-92,-101,-84,-104,
-115,-109,-115,-115,-115,-107,-131,-123,-77,-154,-155,-141,-124,-124,-123,-192,
-120,-173,-167,-199,-163,-163,-105,-312,-312,-346,-139,-158,-78,-106,-125,-130,
-123,-130,-150,-332,-403,-413,-425,-490,-516]} 1. d4 {In this game I am
playing IM David Shahinyan who after a tough first day where he lost two games,
was making a comeback today with two wins. I knew that most likely just a draw
would be good enough for me to win the event. Therefore, I played the most
theoretical line. However, my opponent to his credit played a rare sideline
where he guaranteed a sharp fight.} Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. e4 d6
6. h3 O-O 7. Nf3 e6 8. Bd3 {This was all expected. However, now he put in a
wrinkle, something I have never seen before. My Armenian friend then told me
that Aronian has played this before. Not a surprise that my opponent knew
about this.} Nbd7 (8... exd5 {I was hoping for this main line in the Benoni} 9.
cxd5 b5 10. Bxb5 Nxe4 11. Nxe4 Qa5+ 12. Nfd2 Qxb5 13. Nxd6 Qa6 14. N2c4 Nd7 15.
O-O Ne5 16. Nxc8 Raxc8 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. Re1 {Where white practically has no
risk of losing.}) 9. O-O (9. dxe6 {I was considering this, but I thought if I
don't win d6 quickly, in the long run, I abandon dark squares.} fxe6 10. O-O
Ne8 11. Bg5 $14) 9... e5 {Now he keeps pieces on the board and the game
becomes sharp.} 10. Bg5 {The idea of this is to induce h6 and so that f5 will
potentially weaken g6. However, my opponent used this to his advantage by
playing with Nh7, which I never saw before.} h6 11. Be3 Nh7 (11... Nh5 12. g3)
12. Qd2 f5 {Here he was still playing very quickly, which told me he's
probably still in prep.} 13. Bxh6 $6 {I thought this is the safe way to play,
given that I thought I can lock up the game and not risk losing too much.
However, I should've just tried to forget about the result and play what I
think is the most principled even if I wasn't sure.} (13. exf5 $1 gxf5 14. Bxh6
e4 15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. Bxe4 Ndf6 17. Bg6 $16 {And here white is better with 3
pawns for a piece because white's pieces are active and black has a bad king.})
13... f4 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Be2 Rh8 16. Qd1 Ndf6 17. a3 Bd7 $6 (17... g5 $1 {
Was best. We both assumed Nh2 is fine here, but in fact g4 just crashes
through. I really misjudged this position somehow.} 18. Nh2 g4 19. Nxg4 Ng5 20.
Nxf6 Qxf6 21. Bg4 f3) 18. b4 b6 19. bxc5 bxc5 20. Rb1 Qc8 21. Re1 Bxh3 $5 {
Objectively maybe not sound but the only way to cause a mess.} 22. gxh3 Qxh3
23. Bf1 Qh5 24. Rb7+ Kg8 25. Bg2 {Here I really thought I was out of danger
and thought I'll win the game. However, somehow I misjudged some dynamics and
missed some tricky lines from his opponent and the game became messy.} Ng4 26.
Qe2 $6 {I thought this was the most natural but I could've already moved
towards decisive actions with} (26. Nb5 Ng5 27. Nc7 Rc8 28. Nxg5 Qxg5 29. Ne6)
26... Ng5 27. Reb1 $2 {And this is a mistake based on a miscalculation.} (27.
Nxg5 Qxg5 28. Rd1 (28. Nb1 {Is also winning bringing the knight to f3.}) 28...
Nh2 29. Rd3 {Was missing for me.} (29. f3 Rh3 30. Rd3)) 27... Nh2 $1 {Only
here I suddenly to my horror realized that Nxg5 Qxg5 f3 which I planned is met
by} 28. Nxh2 (28. Nxg5 Qxg5 29. f3 (29. Rb8+ Kg7 30. R1b7+ $2 {Is even worse
because of} Kf6 31. Rxa8 f3 $1) 29... Rh3 $3 {And suddenly it is very tricky
for me.}) 28... Qxh2+ 29. Kf1 f3 $1 {And now black is fully back in the game.}
30. Bxf3 Rf8 31. Rb8 Qh3+ 32. Bg2 Qxc3 33. R8b3 Qa5 {I thought I was sort of
out of danger here. However, he managed to create problems to me here and
played the rest of the game incredibly well.} 34. Qe3 Rh5 35. Rb8 Qa6 36. Rxf8+
Kxf8 37. Qb3 {Objectively this was ok but Bf3 probably forced the desired draw.
} (37. Bf3 Qxc4+ (37... Nxf3 38. Qxf3+ Kg7 39. Rb8 Qxc4+ 40. Kg2 Rg5+ 41. Kh2 {
Black has to repeat here.}) 38. Be2) 37... Nf7 $1 {As it's well known,
backward knight moves are often missed, and I definitely missed this move. I
thought queens are definitely coming off the board. However, after Nf7 I was
starting to really worry about this game for the first time in this game.
Position was equal but harder for me to play :(} 38. Qc3 $6 (38. Bh3 Kg7 39.
Kg2 {I should've stopped the queen from going to c8.} Qa5 40. Qe3 {I'm able to
keep his queen at bay here.}) 38... Kg7 39. Rb5 Rh4 40. Kg1 Qc8 $1 41. Qe3 Kf6
$3 {Ng5 is now coming and I cannot stop it.} 42. Qf3+ Rf4 43. Qg3 Ng5 44. f3
Qa6 45. Qh2 Kg7 46. Qg3 Nf7 47. Qe1 Qxa3 {Now it is just lost for me.} 48. Ra5
Qd3 49. Rxa7 Qxc4 50. Qe3 Qb4 51. Bf1 Kf6 52. Ra8 Qb1 53. Kg2 Qb2+ 54. Kg1 Qb7
55. Rg8 Qb1 56. Kf2 Qb2+ 57. Be2 Ng5 58. Rf8+ Ke7 59. Rxf4 exf4 60. Qd3 Qd4+
61. Qxd4 cxd4 62. Kg2 Nf7 63. Kh3 Ne5 64. Kh4 Kf6 65. Kh3 d3 66. Bd1 Nc4 {
Shahinyan_ChessMood won by resignation. Perfect technique for him. Ever since
Nh2 he played very well, and took maximum advantages of all his chances.
Painful and frustrating game for me. What to do though :)} 0-1

[Event "WA Winter Classic"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.12.27"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Luo, Ethan"]
[Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "1469"]
[BlackElo "2704"]
[Annotator "Aleksandr Lenderman"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]
[TimeControl "2700+5"]

{[%evp 0,72,34,23,71,71,91,75,77,75,75,89,89,89,105,81,70,58,190,122,123,78,67,
23,23,23,64,-27,-33,-36,-30,-57,-22,-40,11,-1,79,-56,-62,-91,-33,-77,-62,-155,
-151,-152,-140,-133,-160,-140,-167,-193,-200,-162,-180,-172,-188,-233,-237,
-227,-229,-237,-243,-292,-305,-305,-255,-329,-347,-354,-378,-491,-545,-952,
-823] In the last round I was playing a player about 1500 but very under-rated
as I saw he beat some higher rated players in this tournament. I just wanted
to finish the tournament on a good note and at least salvage a share first.} 1.
e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. dxe5 dxe5 5. Qxd8+ Kxd8 6. Nf3 Bd6 7. Bc4 Ke7 8.
Bg5 c6 (8... Nbd7 9. Nd5+ Kf8 {might be more accurate.}) 9. O-O-O Bc7 10. h3 (
10. Nh4 {Was probably better to create some problems for me.}) 10... Nbd7 11.
Be3 b5 12. Bb3 a5 (12... b4 {I was thinking about this here but I was worried
that the e4 pawn was poisioned.} 13. Na4 Nxe4 14. Rhe1 Re8 15. Ng5 Nxg5 16.
Bxg5+ f6 17. Bd2 a5 18. Be3 {with good compensation.}) 13. a4 (13. a3 {was
safer}) 13... b4 14. Ne2 Nxe4 15. Ng5 Nxg5 16. Bxg5+ f6 (16... Nf6 {was more
accurate.}) 17. Be3 Bb6 $4 {As soon as I played it, my heart almost stopped :)
What a blunder! Reminded me of the game I lost to the 1500 Shapiro in July due
to a huge blunder. Thankfully, my opponent played fast and missed the simple
tactic.} 18. Bxb6 $4 (18. Rxd7+ Bxd7 19. Bxb6 Be6 {I would play this and hope
for the best. Of course, I should be lost :)}) 18... Nxb6 19. Ng3 c5 20. Bd5
Ra7 21. b3 Rc7 22. f4 Nxd5 23. Rxd5 Be6 24. Rd2 exf4 25. Nh5 g5 26. Re1 Kf7 27.
Rd6 Re8 28. Ng7 Kxg7 29. Rexe6 Rxe6 30. Rxe6 c4 31. Kb2 c3+ 32. Kc1 Rc5 33. Kd1
Rd5+ 34. Ke1 Re5+ 35. Rxe5 fxe5 36. Ke2 e4 {AlexanderL won by resignation. A
good result in the last game but some ugly games for me on the last day. At
least I salvaged a share of 1st-3rd which wasn't terrible.} 0-1

