[Event "Seattle Chess Classic"]
[Site "Seattle, WA"]
[Date "2022.08.15"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Singh, Anay"]
[Black "Xu, Zoe"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1110"]
[BlackElo "1353"]
[Annotator "Anay Singh"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2022.08.13"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 {This is the opening I have studied the most, so I decided to play it
because Black was higher rated than I was.} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 {
The Giuoco Piano: Main line.} Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. h3 a6 7. O-O h6 {When I analyzed
the game, I saw stockfish wanted me to play 8.a4 which I didn’t play. At
this point black was playing fast so I thought Black new this opening very
well.} 8. d4 exd4 9. cxd4 {I have gained full control of the center, and I
liked that.} Bb6 {Getting his bishop out of the way.} 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Bf4 {
This takes away all of my advantage because of 11...Nxe4!} Re8 (11... Nxe4 12.
Nxe4 d5 {If you retreat the bishop or knight you will lose a pawn, and the
same if you capture on d5 with the bishop, so you must play} 13. Bd6 {
attacking the rook. Now Black should play either ...dxe4 or ...cxd6. After ...
cxd6, you just play a normal game, so I will show what happens after ...dxe4.}
dxe4 14. Bxf8 exf3 15. Bc5 Bxc5 16. dxc5 Qh4 {attacking the bishop on c4 and
threatening to take the pawn on g2 and then take the pawn on h3.} 17. Bxf7+
Kxf7 18. Qxf3+ {and the computer says you can hold this endgame.}) 12. Qb3 {
I forgot about ...Na5 which would make me loose a pawn, although the engine
finds a way to save the pawn, but that would lead to a damaged pawn structure.}
Na5 13. Qa4 Nxc4 14. Qxc4 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 Rxe4 16. Be3 d5 {This isn't a bad move,
but is the reason he lost.} 17. Qc3 Qf6 18. Ne5 Rh4 19. Kh2 c6 {Preparing to
bishop to c7.} ({Black can win two pawns by playing} 19... Bxh3 20. gxh3 Qe6
21. Bxh6 Bxd4) 20. Rfd1 $4 Bc7 (20... c5 {and if I played} 21. Nf3 (21. Qb3
cxd4) 21... Rxh3+ {and I should move back, but if I played} 22. gxh3 Qxf3 {
then Black will likely win the game.}) 21. f4 Bxe5 22. dxe5 Qg6 23. Rd4 Qh5 24.
Bf2 Bf5 25. Bxh4 Qxh4 {I felt confident I should win the game.} 26. Rf1 Re8 27.
g4 Bxg4 28. f5 Rxe5 29. Rxg4 Qe7 30. Rfg1 Re2+ 31. R1g2 Qe5+ 32. Qg3 Rxg2+ 33.
Kxg2 Qxg3+ 34. Kxg3 Kf8 35. Rb4 c5 36. Rxb7 d4 37. Rc7 c4 38. Rxc4 d3 39. Rd4
a5 40. Rxd3 Ke7 41. Ra3 {and at this position Black resigned the game. I was
very happy that I won this game as it was my first win against a 1350 US Chess
Federation rated player.} 1-0

[Event "Seattle Chess Classic"]
[Site "Seattle, WA"]
[Date "2022.08.14"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Singh, Anay"]
[Black "Vashisht, Aneesh"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "1110"]
[BlackElo "1234"]
[Annotator "Anay Singh"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2022.08.13"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{My second-favorite win from the tournament.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 f5 4.
d3 Bc5 5. Nc3 fxe4 6. dxe4 h6 {Here I could have taken on g8 and then played
Qd5, but I didn’t see it.} 7. O-O Nf6 8. Re1 d6 9. Nd5 Be6 10. Nxf6+ Qxf6 11.
Bxe6 Qxe6 12. Be3 Bb6 13. Nd2 O-O 14. Qe2 Nd4 15. Qd3 Qf7 16. Nc4 Bc5 17. c3
Nc2 18. Qxc2 Qxc4 19. f3 Bxe3+ 20. Rxe3 Qc5 21. Rae1 Rae8 22. Qb3+ Kh8 23. R1e2
b6 24. Kh1 c6 25. h3 d5 26. exd5 Qd6 27. dxc6 e4 28. Rxe4 Rxe4 29. Rxe4 Qxc6
30. Qa4 Qc8 31. Qxa7 Qc5 32. Qe7 Qc8 33. Qe5 {At this is point, I was
confident that I would win the game, although the game did go on for 27 more
moves because it took me that long to convert this game into a win.} Rd8 34.
Rh4 Kg8 35. Re4 Qa8 36. Qe6+ Kh8 37. Qxb6 Rb8 38. Qe3 Rd8 39. Rd4 Rb8 40. Qd2
Qa5 41. b4 Qc7 42. Rd7 Qb6 43. Qd4 Qa6 44. Rd8+ Rxd8 45. Qxd8+ Kh7 46. Kh2 Qe2
47. Qd4 Qxa2 48. c4 Qa4 49. Qd3+ Kh8 50. b5 Qb4 51. Qc2 Qd6+ 52. Kh1 Qe6 53.
Qb1 Qxc4 54. b6 Qc8 55. b7 Qb8 56. Qb5 Kh7 57. Qf5+ Kh8 58. Qc8+ Qxc8 59.
bxc8=Q+ Kh7 60. Qf5+ Kh8 {And I won by resignation. I also liked this game
because Aneesh Vashisht was a 1200-rated player.} 1-0

[Event "2022 Back 2 School Quads"]
[Site "Coeur d'Alene, ID"]
[Date "2022.08.27"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Porth, Adam"]
[Black "Moore, Craig"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "1284"]
[BlackElo "1500"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2022.08.27"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "3"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 h6 5. e5 Bc5 6. c3 dxc3 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.
Qd5+ Ke8 9. Qxc5 cxb2 10. Bxb2 Qe7 11. Qc1 Nf6 12. O-O Ng4 13. h3 Qe6 14. hxg4
Qxg4 15. Nbd2 h5 16. Nh2 Qf5 17. Ndf3 Rg8 18. Qc5 g5 19. Ba3 b6 20. Qd5 Qe6 21.
Qe4 Bb7 22. Qh7 Qg6 23. Qxg6+ Rxg6 24. Rac1 Kf7 25. Rfd1 Ke6 26. Bb2 Rc8 27. a3
g4 28. Nh4 Rg5 29. f4 Rgg8 30. g3 Ne7 31. Nf1 c5 32. Rd6+ Kf7 33. Rxd7 1-0

[Event "US Open"]
[Site "Palm Springs, CA"]
[Date "2022.08.02"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Cooke, Eric"]
[Black "Gupta, Anand"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D87"]
[WhiteElo "2200"]
[BlackElo "1777"]
[Annotator "Anand Gupta"]
[PlyCount "128"]
[EventDate "2022.08.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 O-O 8.
Ne2 c5 9. Be3 Nc6 10. O-O Bg4 11. f3 Bd7 {Normal Gruenfeld Theory where we go
Bg4 to provoke f3 which can weaken the g1-a7 diagonal.} 12. Qd2 cxd4 13. cxd4
Rc8 14. Rac1 a6 15. Rfe1 Na7 {Na7 to reroute the Bishop on d7 to b5 and
hopefully trade my inactive Bishop for either the excellent c4 Bishop or the
Knight. I wanted to play b5 but that would shut doors on my Bishop so I played
Na7 to allow a beneficial trade} 16. d5 Bb5 17. Bb3 Bxe2 18. Rxc8 Nxc8 19. Qxe2
Nd6 20. Rc1 Qd7 21. Rc5 Rc8 22. Qc2 Rxc5 23. Qxc5 Qb5 24. Kf2 Qxc5 25. Bxc5 {
Following through with my plan of trading pieces to hold a draw with a
National Master} Kf8 26. Ke3 f5 {A well timed move to disrupt the White pawn
chain. Taking f5 would be a terrible idea as White's pawns would be weakened.}
27. g4 Bh6+ {Probably better to trade pawns and play Be5, but I thought I
could plant my Bishop on f4} 28. Kd3 fxe4+ 29. fxe4 Bf4 30. Bg1 Nf7 31. Bd1 Ke8
32. h4 {This position should be a draw after Be5, Nd6 and b5. I saw this idea
but thought it was risky with the move a4 coming in to attack my pawns but the
game should still be a draw} Kd7 33. Kc4 Bd6 34. Bb6 {Allowing the Bishop to
enter my position on b6 was a mistake as White can harrass my King with Ba4+}
Bg3 35. h5 Ne5+ 36. Kc3 Be1+ 37. Kd4 {Best move was to play Bf2+ and take b6
Bishop to hold an opposite colored Bishop endgame. However I thought White
would have too much activity with their king going to take the kingside pawns}
Nf7 38. Ba4+ Kc8 39. Ke3 Nd6 40. Bd4 gxh5 41. gxh5 Bh4 42. Kf4 b5 43. Bc2 h6
44. e5 Bg5+ 45. Kg4 Nc4 46. Bf5+ Kd8 {White is able to get more activity and
will push their center pawns for a win} 47. Be6 Ne3+ 48. Kf3 Nc2 49. Bb6+ Ke8
50. d6 exd6 51. exd6 Bd8 52. Bc5 Kf8 53. Bf5 Ne1+ 54. Ke4 Ng2 55. Be6 Ne1 56.
Be3 Kg7 57. Bd4+ Kf8 58. Be5 Nc2 59. Kf5 Nb4 60. Kg6 {White threatens Bf7 and
mate.} Nc6 61. Bf4 Bg5 62. Bxg5 hxg5 63. h6 (63. Kf6 $142 Ne5 64. h6 Ke8 65.
Kxe5 Kf8 66. Kf6 Ke8 67. h7 Kf8 68. h8=Q#) 63... Ne7+ 64. dxe7+ Kxe7 {Should
have been a draw from an interesting and maybe dubious middle game trade.
However, I pushed too hard and missed a couple of simplifying ideas to
eventually lose the game.} 1-0

[Event "US Open"]
[Site "Palm Springs, CA"]
[Date "2022.08.03"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Gupta, Anand"]
[Black "Aronian, Laurel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "1777"]
[BlackElo "1286"]
[Annotator "Anand Gupta"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2022.08.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,73,28,16,30,-11,49,37,45,33,33,23,37,36,49,31,75,82,118,34,46,36,47,
30,20,-4,26,22,37,25,56,30,53,22,22,39,52,44,30,-1,5,-1,42,48,93,100,99,84,216,
221,428,352,706,720,718,767,772,407,581,708,1003,1003,1373,1538,1552,1654,
29981,29982,29983,1754,29985,29988,29995,29996,29999,-30000]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4
g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Nf3 Re8 7. Bg5 a5 {Better would have been
to stick with theory and play e5, but I think my opponent was too scared of
the pin} 8. Be2 Na6 9. g4 {To stop any kinds of f5 by Black to open up the
kingside} Nd7 10. Qd2 f6 11. Be3 e5 12. d5 Nac5 13. O-O-O {Since Black didnt
attempt to attack on the Kingside and is now focusing on the Queenside, I
thought best to attack the kingside myself by castling long} b6 14. Rdg1 Nf8
15. Rg2 Qd7 16. Rhg1 Na4 17. Nxa4 Qxa4 18. b3 {Usually trading in a Kings
Indian is known to be better for Black, but here I set up a trap in case black
went Qb4 which would lead to a trapped queen.} Qd7 19. a4 {Closing down the
Queenside to finally breakthrough on the Kingside} Qd8 20. Nh4 g5 21. Nf5 Nd7
22. h4 {g5 by Black was probably a bad move since I could get an outpost and
open the position up with h4} Nc5 23. Qc2 Bb7 24. Rh2 Kf7 25. hxg5 Rh8 26. gxf6
Bxf6 27. g5 Bg7 28. Bh5+ Kg8 29. Bxc5 {Traded Bishop for Knight to stop any
kinds of counterplay on the queenside. Now I should be winning by getting my
Queen out as my plan of attacking the kingside is coming to fruition.} bxc5 30.
Qe2 Qd7 31. Qf3 Kf8 32. Nxg7+ Kxg7 33. Qf6+ Kg8 34. Bg4 Rf8 35. Be6+ Qf7 36. g6
Bxd5 37. gxh7# {Beautiful pawn mate from a position where I just attacked the
Kingside and where my opponent failed to stop my play against their king which
eventually led to the downfall of Blacks King. Anand beats Aronian.} 1-0

[Event "US Open"]
[Site "Palm Springs, CA"]
[Date "2022.08.03"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Qin, Vincent"]
[Black "Gupta, Anand"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B19"]
[WhiteElo "2086"]
[BlackElo "1777"]
[Annotator "Anand Gupta"]
[PlyCount "132"]
[EventDate "2022.08.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,132,45,39,74,71,53,36,56,28,34,59,54,56,38,34,17,20,26,40,37,18,21,-8,
25,11,18,10,16,6,12,9,10,1,13,5,25,-6,25,-4,-2,-15,9,-10,-9,-12,-9,9,3,-6,19,
-16,-12,-40,5,0,37,15,2,5,21,4,25,16,128,114,153,147,197,153,153,135,153,169,
156,232,198,169,251,302,354,361,375,127,132,131,118,121,106,106,106,101,119,
101,101,101,93,102,135,116,193,202,239,111,213,72,67,46,54,1,86,78,78,13,2,2,2,
1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5
5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. h5 Bh7 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 e6 10. Bd2 Nf6 11. O-O-O Nbd7
(11... Bd6 12. Ne4 Nxe4) 12. Nf3 Bd6 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Nf6 15. Qe2 {
Standard Caro Kann theory} Qc7 16. Rh4 O-O-O {I decided to castle Queenside
even though the best move was to castle kingside because I had more practice
playing this way and was ready to defend against any attack against my King on
the Queenside} 17. c4 c5 18. Kb1 a6 19. Rc1 Kb8 20. a3 Qb6 21. Ka2 cxd4 22.
Nxd4 Bc5 23. Nb3 Qc6 24. Nxc5 Qxc5 25. b4 Qf5 {White tries to attack the Black
king while I try to trade pieces and defend against the attack.} 26. b5 Qd3 27.
Bf4+ Ka7 28. Qxd3 Rxd3 29. bxa6 Kxa6 30. Be3 b6 31. Rb1 Nd7 32. c5 b5 33. a4 b4
{Felt like resigning here as White clearly had two passed pawns and my king
was in danger. But I saw some trades which could make the game a drawn endgame.
} 34. Rhxb4 Rc8 35. Rc1 Ka5 36. Rcc4 Ne5 37. Rb5+ Ka6 38. Rd4 Rd8 39. Rxd8 Rxd8
40. c6 Nc4 41. Kb3 Nxe3 42. fxe3 Rc8 43. Rb7 Rxc6 44. Rxf7 {I got the trades
that I wanted to secure a pretty equal endgame where I can just pick up all of
White's pawns} Rc5 45. g4 Rg5 46. Rf4 Re5 47. Rf7 Rxe3+ 48. Kc2 Rg3 49. Rxg7
Ka5 50. Rg6 e5 {e5 first felt better as when the Rook takes the pawn, my King
can rush over to the Rook to get an extra tempo which I would need to draw the
game} (50... Kxa4 51. Rxe6 Kb4 52. Kd2 Kc4 53. Ke2 Kd4) 51. Re6 Kxa4 52. Rxe5
Kb4 53. Kd2 Kc4 54. Ke2 Kd4 {Rushed my King over towards the pawn using my
tempo to get closer. I could have also just taken the g4 pawn and held the
position but I was not comfortable with a King thats not active} 55. Re6 Rxg4
56. Kf3 Rg5 57. Rxh6 Ke5 58. Ra6 Kf5 59. h6 Rg1 {Rh5 would have lost to the
game to Ra5+} 60. Kf2 Rh1 61. Kg2 Rh4 62. Kg3 Rh1 63. Kg2 Rh4 64. Kg3 Rh1 65.
Kg2 {Position is just a draw as White cant push their pawns. I remember seeing
a lot of people gathering around during this endgame.} Rh4 66. Kg3 Rh1 {
I defended against White attack to the best of my ability and even in a
completely lost position, I looked for the best moves, found the right trades
to simplify to a drawn endgame against a 2000} 1/2-1/2

[Event "US Open"]
[Site "Palm Springs, CA"]
[Date "2022.08.04"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Gupta, Anand"]
[Black "Starkman, Eric"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "1777"]
[BlackElo "2020"]
[Annotator "Anand Gupta"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2022.08.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,76,19,31,14,1,-3,6,6,-40,36,36,8,-23,8,-15,-4,-4,-9,8,16,-118,-118,
-101,-135,-130,-135,-124,-130,-196,-187,-187,-216,-195,-195,-217,-267,-274,
-274,-285,-305,-305,-320,-319,-319,-315,-144,-151,-190,-179,-158,-219,-143,
-193,-226,-244,-268,-263,-288,-302,-298,-302,-333,-325,-313,-326,-365,-361,
-364,-420,-435,-435,-421,-448,-453,-929,-1044,-29999,-30000]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4
e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 dxc4 5. e4 {e4 is usually played in Semi Slav type
structures but I had forgotten my theory a little bit which caused to be
disastrous.} b5 6. e5 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Nxg5 hxg5 9. Bxg5 Nbd7 {This is all
theory in the Semi Slav, although the current position isn't so bad after I
play Nc3 a4 and then Ne4. However I thought Black would have time to
consolidate his Queenside pawns so I just played a4 immediately which allowed
a tactic by Black} 10. a4 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Qxd1+ 12. Kxd1 Ng4 {I spent about an
hour here looking at variation with Nc3 where I would give up my Rook on h1
but threaten to win my own Rook on a8 and get Black's king to the center.
However in most of the variations, Black had Be7 to trade pieces and defend
his positions. So I ended up playing Ke2 which was the best move to try to
play Be3 next move} 13. Ke2 (13. Nc3 Nxf2+ 14. Kc2 Nxh1 15. Nxb5 Kd7 (15... Rb8
16. Rd1 Be7) 16. Rd1+ Kc6 17. Be2 Rb8 18. Bf3+ Kb6 19. Bd8) 13... Bc5 14. Be3
Bxe3 15. fxe3 b4 16. Nd2 Ba6 17. Nf3 c3+ 18. Ke1 Bxf1 19. Rxf1 cxb2 (19... Nxe3
20. Rf2 Nc4) 20. Rb1 Nxe3 21. Rf2 Nc4 22. Re2 O-O-O {Position was already
worse for me but now Black simply is winninng with their Queenside pawns} 23.
Re4 Na3 24. Rxb2 c5 25. h3 Rd5 26. Ke2 a5 27. Nd2 Rh5 28. Nc4 Nxc4 29. Rxc4
Rhxe5+ 30. Kf3 Kd7 31. g4 Rd3+ 32. Kf4 f6 33. h4 Rh3 34. h5 Ree3 35. Rf2 Kd6
36. Re4 Rd3 37. Rc4 Kd5 38. Rc1 Rd4# {An opening failure which snowballed to a
dead lost position. I still should have been able to hold if I played Nc3
instead of a4 first.} 0-1

[Event "US Open"]
[Site "Palm Springs, CA"]
[Date "2022.08.04"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Yibei Xiao, Jim"]
[Black "Gupta, Anand"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D87"]
[WhiteElo "1208"]
[BlackElo "1777"]
[Annotator "Anand Gupta"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2022.08.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,88,19,31,14,1,42,37,62,56,50,57,45,51,51,51,45,37,45,30,38,53,67,58,
60,51,44,47,66,42,27,53,49,52,59,-75,-88,-112,-118,-105,-66,-91,-91,-102,-90,
-85,-95,-99,-101,-778,-783,-826,-813,-878,-846,-948,-937,-998,-1047,-1123,
-1132,-1188,-1221,-29987,-1221,-1614,-1939,-29969,-29974,-29975,-29976,-29979,
-29980,-29983,-29988,-29987,-29988,-29989,-29992,-29993,-29992,-29993,-29994,
-29995,-29996,-29997,-29996,-29997,-29998,-29999,-30000]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 (2.
Bf4 g6 3. Nc3 d5) 2... g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4
O-O 8. Ne2 c5 9. Be3 Nc6 10. O-O Bg4 {Gruenfeld theory to provoke f3 which
would weaken the Bishop on e3 and allow my Queen to pin the d4 pawn in the
future} 11. f3 Bd7 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Qd2 a6 14. Bh6 {I felt like this was an
innaccuracy by my opponent as he weakened his d4 pawn even more} cxd4 15. Bxg7
Kxg7 16. cxd4 b5 17. Bd3 Qb6 {I am able to get my Queen on b6 and without the
Bishop on e3, the d4 pawn is pinned and will be mine for the taking in the
insuing moves} 18. Bb1 e5 19. Rcd1 (19. Rfd1 Be6 20. Kh1 Nxd4 21. Nxd4 Qxd4 22.
Qxd4 exd4) 19... Be6 20. Kh1 Nxd4 {This tactic wins a pawn as after all the
trades, Black will have a more active rook and Bishop as White has back rank
problems. Trading would just favor Black in this position} 21. Nxd4 Qxd4 22.
Qxd4 exd4 23. Rxd4 Rfd8 24. Rfd1 Rxd4 {Opponent ends up blundering Rook due to
weak back rank and the game is pretty much over now} 25. Re1 (25. Rg1 Rd2)
25... Rd2 26. Kg1 Bxa2 27. Bxa2 Rxa2 28. Kf1 Rcc2 29. Rd1 Rf2+ 30. Kg1 Rxg2+
31. Kf1 Rxh2 32. Kg1 Rag2+ 33. Kf1 Rh1+ 34. Kxg2 Rxd1 35. f4 b4 36. f5 b3 37.
fxg6 Kxg6 38. e5 b2 39. e6 fxe6 40. Kf3 b1=Q 41. Ke3 Qd3+ 42. Kf4 Rf1+ 43. Kg4
Qf3+ 44. Kh4 Rh1# {Pretty much a failure to defend the center by White caused
Black to just be better and win the game.} 0-1

[Event "US Open"]
[Site "Palm Springs, CA"]
[Date "2022.08.05"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Gupta, Anand"]
[Black "Imada, Todd"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "1777"]
[BlackElo "1923"]
[Annotator "Anand Gupta"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2022.08.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,96,28,25,36,-11,37,43,24,33,42,39,40,36,51,14,21,7,14,26,44,33,55,49,
41,21,19,23,34,-4,-3,-3,-3,-52,-19,0,140,96,12,-66,-134,-116,-127,-127,-146,
-136,-149,-197,-102,-189,-109,-98,37,-38,-42,-50,47,0,0,0,212,124,153,142,112,
43,46,31,42,41,40,19,41,50,50,0,0,-29,0,0,0,19,49,44,44,51,52,57,57,64,64,64,
176,247,354,166,159,157,153]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O
6. Nf3 e5 7. d5 Na6 8. Bg5 h6 {Makagonov System against the Kings Indian} 9.
Be3 Nh5 10. g3 Qe8 11. Be2 Bd7 12. Nd2 Nf6 13. g4 Nh7 14. Rg1 Nc5 15. b4 Na4
16. Ncb1 {Trading too early on is usually not good for White as they have more
space so I avoided the trade by play Ncb1.} Kh8 17. c5 {c5 plans to attack the
Queenside which is usually the plan against the Kings Indian} f5 18. gxf5 gxf5
19. Bh5 {Bh5 was a blunder as Black can play Qe7 and potentially fork my
Bishop and King if I play f3.} Qe7 20. Nc4 fxe4 {Better would have been to
play f4 and gain space} 21. cxd6 cxd6 22. Rg6 Rf6 23. Nbd2 Rc8 24. Rc1 b5 25.
Na5 Rg8 26. Nxe4 Rxg6 27. Bxg6 Nf6 28. Rc7 Nxe4 29. Bxe4 Bf8 {I just develop
my pieces and pick up some hanging pawns to get to a better position.} 30. Qh5
Rg1+ 31. Kd2 Be8 32. Rxe7 {Better was Qxh6 just winning a pawn.} Bxh5 33. Rxa7
Ra1 34. Rc7 Rxa2+ 35. Rc2 Ra1 36. Rc7 Ra2+ 37. Bc2 Kg8 38. Nb3 Bf7 39. Nc1 Rb2
40. Nd3 {The Knight on d3 ended up being killer to the Black position as when
White takes the d6 pawn in the future, the e5 would be under attack by the
Knight} Ra2 41. Rc8 Kg7 42. Bxh6+ Kxh6 43. Rxf8 Bxd5 44. Rf6+ Kh5 45. Rxd6 Bg2
46. Re6 Kh4 47. Nxe5 Bd5 (47... Be4 48. Rh6+ Kg5) 48. Rh6+ Kg5 49. Rg6+ Kh5 50.
Rg3 Be4 51. Nd3 Nb6 52. Kc1 Nd5 53. Bb3 Ra1+ 54. Kb2 Rf1 55. Bxd5 Bxd3 56. Rxd3
Rxf2+ 57. Kc3 {A wild Kings Indian game where my opponent let me develop for
free which allowed me to win some pawns.} 1-0

[Event "US Open"]
[Site "Palm Springs, CA"]
[Date "2022.08.05"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Gupta, Anand"]
[Black "Luchan, Jason"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "1777"]
[BlackElo "2023"]
[Annotator "Anand Gupta"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2022.08.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nf3 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. h3 O-O 6. e4 e5 7. d5 a5 8. Bg5 Na6
9. g4 Qe8 10. Be2 Nd7 11. Nd2 Ndc5 (11... Nac5 12. b3 f6 13. Bh4 Bh6 14. a3
Bxd2+ 15. Kxd2) 12. b3 f6 13. Bh4 Bh6 14. a3 Bxd2+ 15. Kxd2 Bd7 16. Qb1 a4 17.
Bd1 axb3 18. Bxb3 Nxb3+ 19. Qxb3 Nc5 20. Qc2 Ba4 21. Nxa4 Qxa4 22. Rhb1 Qxc2+
23. Kxc2 Ra4 24. Rb4 g5 25. Rxa4 Nxa4 26. Bg3 Ra8 27. f3 Nc5 28. Bf2 Nd7 29.
Kb3 b6 30. a4 Kf7 31. Kb4 Ra5 32. Rh1 Nc5 33. Bxc5 dxc5+ 34. Kb3 1/2-1/2

[Event "US Open"]
[Site "Palm Springs, CA"]
[Date "2022.08.06"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Benedek, Roy"]
[Black "Gupta, Anand"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A37"]
[WhiteElo "1997"]
[BlackElo "1777"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2022.08.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nc3 e5 6. O-O Nge7 7. a3 d6 8. b4
cxb4 9. axb4 Nxb4 10. Ba3 Nbc6 11. Ne4 O-O 12. Nxd6 Qc7 13. Rb1 Rd8 14. c5 Nf5
15. Ng5 Nxd6 16. cxd6 Qd7 17. Bd5 Rf8 18. Qa4 Qf5 19. d7 Bxd7 20. Bxf8 Rxf8 21.
Rxb7 Nb8 22. Qh4 h6 23. Nxf7 Kh7 24. e4 Qg4 25. Qe7 Re8 26. Qd6 Bf8 27. Nxe5
Qh5 28. Rxd7+ Nxd7 29. Qxd7+ Re7 30. Qd8 Kg7 31. Nd7 Qf3 32. Ra1 g5 33. Rxa7 g4
34. Ra1 h5 35. Nxf8 h4 36. Qxe7+ Kh6 37. Qh7+ Kg5 38. Qxh4# 1-0

[Event "US Open"]
[Site "Palm Springs, CA"]
[Date "2022.08.07"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Mork, Nick"]
[Black "Gupta, Anand"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "1434"]
[BlackElo "1777"]
[Annotator "Anand Gupta"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2022.08.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,104,19,31,14,19,46,39,39,8,25,23,23,9,46,51,36,0,64,24,40,46,58,19,42,
49,91,35,33,16,21,-33,-30,-72,-76,-74,-8,-18,8,-50,-45,-48,0,-54,26,27,15,20,
155,151,152,165,165,175,172,179,168,173,180,198,200,130,189,152,189,189,187,
190,186,192,188,227,249,245,259,274,270,266,236,178,175,193,224,118,101,101,
101,101,213,0,0,0,0,0,0,-196,-198,-637,-730,-749,-749,-758,-749,-758,-466,-766,
-774]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Qd2 Ne4 5. Nxe4 dxe4 6. c3 c5 7. e3 Bg7
8. h4 h6 9. O-O-O Nc6 10. f3 e5 11. dxe5 Qxd2+ 12. Rxd2 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Bxe5 14.
Bb5+ Ke7 15. Rd5 Bd6 16. a3 Be6 17. Rd2 Bb3 18. fxe4 c4 19. e5 Bc5 20. Rd7+ Ke6
21. Rxb7 Rhd8 22. Nf3 (22. Rc7 Bxe3+ 23. Kb1) 22... Bxe3+ 23. Kb1 Rd3 (23...
Rd5 24. Rc7) 24. Rc7 Rad8 25. Bxc4+ Bxc4 (25... R8d5) 26. Rxc4 Rd1+ 27. Rxd1
Rxd1+ 28. Kc2 Rf1 (28... Rc1+) 29. Kd3 (29. Re4 Bb6 30. Re2 Kf5) 29... Bb6 30.
Re4 Kf5 31. Re2 Kf4 (31... Rd1+ 32. Kc2 Rf1) 32. e6 fxe6 33. Rxe6 Kf5 (33... g5
34. Rxh6 g4 35. Nd2 Rg1 36. b4 Be3 37. c4) 34. Re2 Kf4 35. c4 Rd1+ 36. Kc2 Ra1
37. Re6 g5 38. Rxh6 g4 39. Nd2 Rg1 40. b4 Be3 41. c5 Rxg2 42. Rd6 g3 43. c6 Ke5
44. c7 Kxd6 45. c8=Q Rxd2+ 46. Kc3 g2 47. Qd8+ Ke5 48. Qe7+ Kf4 49. Qg5+ Kf3
50. Qf5+ (50. Qf6+) 50... Kg3 51. Qe5+ Kf2 52. Qf5+ Ke1 0-1

[Event "Irwin"]
[Site "Palm Springs, CA"]
[Date "2022.08.01"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Readey, John"]
[Black "Altchur, James"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A41"]
[WhiteElo "2286"]
[BlackElo "2079"]
[Annotator "John Readey"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. d4 d6 2. c4 e5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Nf3 g6 5. g3 {I had the feeling that James was
trying to lure me into playing d5. Black could then play Ne7, f5, and Nf6
trying to get a KID structure saving two tempos with the knight. That's likey
not too bad for White either, but keeping the center fluid seems like a better
try.} Bg7 6. dxe5 Nxe5 7. Nxe5 Bxe5 (7... dxe5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Bg5+ f6 10.
O-O-O+ Bd7 11. Bh3 $18 {so Black has to put his Bishop on the awkward e5
square.}) 8. Bg2 c6 9. O-O Be6 10. Qd3 (10. Ne4 Bxc4 11. Bg5 {is an
interesting possibility}) 10... Qc7 11. Be3 $6 {there was no reason not to
play e4 right away} Ne7 12. Rac1 Nf5 13. Bd2 h5 $2 {this is too agressive. O-O
was about equal} 14. e4 Nh6 15. f4 Bg7 16. f5 Bd7 17. f6 ({I spend along time
looking at fxg6, but after} 17. fxg6 fxg6 18. e5 Bf5 19. Qxd6 Qxd6 20. exd6
Bd4+ 21. Kh1 Ng4 22. Rce1+ Kd7 23. Re7+ Kxd6 24. Rxb7 Nf2+ 25. Rxf2 Bxf2 {
The computer says white is better, but this was hard to figure out at the
board.}) 17... Bf8 18. h3 {Now the f8 bishop, knight, and h8 rook are stuck.}
Be6 19. Nd5 Qd7 20. Nf4 {I could have just left the N on d5 and played Rfe1}
O-O-O 21. Be3 Kb8 22. Qa3 b6 23. Qa4 c5 24. Qd1 Kc7 25. Qf3 Rb8 26. Rfd1 g5 27.
Nxe6+ fxe6 28. Bxg5 {better was e5!} Nf7 29. Bf4 e5 30. Be3 Bh6 31. Bxh6 Rxh6
32. h4 {Now that Black has gotten rid of his bad bishop white is only slightly
better} Qe6 33. Rf1 Rf8 34. Qf5 Nd8 35. Qg5 Rfxf6 36. Qg7+ Qf7 37. Qxf7+ Rxf7
38. Rxf7+ Nxf7 39. Rf1 Nd8 40. Bf3 Nc6 41. Bd1 Nb4 (41... Nd4 42. Rf7+ Kb8 $16
{The knight looks good on d4, but doesn't actually threaten anything. White
will move his King up and break with g4.}) 42. Rf7+ Kb8 43. Rf5 Nxa2 44. Rxh5
Rg6 $2 (44... Rxh5 $16) 45. Rg5 Rh6 46. h5 Kc7 $2 (46... Rh8 $142) 47. Rg6 Rh7
48. h6 $18 Kc6 49. Ba4+ b5 50. Bxb5+ Kb6 51. Rxd6+ Kc7 52. Rd7+ 1-0

[Event "Northwest Summer Chess960 Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.08.07"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Razmov, Valentin"]
[Black "Razmov, Gabriel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1849"]
[BlackElo "1639"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[Variant "chess 960"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "nqbbrnkr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/NQBBRNKR w HEhe - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[TimeControl "1800+10"]

1. e4 e5 2. Bf3 ({This would not be my first choice. The a2-g8 diagonal looks
like a much more active placement for the bishop.} 2. c3 $5) (2. Ne3 {or 2.Ng3
planning 0-0 also looks natural.}) 2... Ne6 3. g3 Bf6 $6 ({Why the fianchetto
obsession? Let's take a look at an active possibiity:} 3... Ng5 $5 4. Bg2 $2 (
4. Bd1 $15 {is the engine's "better" choice here, for what that's worth.}) 4...
d5 $1 {with threats of both ...Nh3+ and ...Nxe4, picking up the bishop for a
knight, and likely leaving White with a serious kingside light-square weakness.
} 5. exd5 (5. h4 Nxe4 {is something of a train wreck.}) 5... Nh3+ 6. Bxh3 Bxh3
$17) (3... O-O $15 {is simple and conservative as well, just highlighting how
much time White is taking to place one minor piece on a fairly passive square.}
) 4. c3 g6 $6 5. d3 Ng5 $6 ({Now this move just costs a tempo, as h4 will kick
it back where it came from. Prefer development with} 5... Nb6 {, perhaps, or
even 5...h5.}) 6. Bg2 d6 7. h4 Ne6 8. Nh2 Ng7 9. Be3 Be6 10. d4 {Somewhat
unconventional development decisions over the last few moves have offered
White good central control, and White accepts the gift.} O-O-O $2 ({Connecting
the rooks, but simultaneously self-entombing the black queen. What's worse,
the king is not going to be safer on the queenside! A normal continuation
might have looked something like} 10... Nb6 11. Nc2 c6 12. Nf3 O-O $14 {
, when White maintains a small advantage in space.}) 11. d5 $1 Bd7 12. O-O-O $2
({Returning the favor! White should be looking for ways to open lines against
the monarch.} 12. c4 Nb6 13. Rc1 {looks very dangerous.} c5 14. dxc6 bxc6 (
14... Bxc6 15. b4 {is even worse}) 15. b4 {and Black's king is the focus of
attention. Chess960 openings are hard.}) 12... c6 13. c4 $6 (13. dxc6 $16 {
still offers White good play despite his king being a bit of an obstruction
now.}) 13... Qc7 14. Qc2 cxd5 15. cxd5 Qxc2+ 16. Kxc2 Be7 17. Rc1 b6 $2 ({
That a-pawn isn't actually hanging (yet?), so this doesn't seem a necessary
pawn move -- limiting the a8-knight and leaving weaknesses in its wake. Instead
} 17... Kb8 18. Kb1 {, and it's a whole new game. Black even appears to have
the better lever (...f5).}) 18. f4 $6 (18. Kb1+ Kb8 19. Nc2 f5 20. Bh6 $14 {
with Nb4 coming, eyeing the a6 and c6 squares.}) 18... exf4 (18... Nh5 $5 $13)
19. Bd4 $6 (19. Bxf4 $14) 19... Rhg8 (19... fxg3 $5 20. Bxg7 Rhg8 21. Bd4 gxh2
22. Rxh2 $15) 20. gxf4 Nh5 21. Rhf1 $2 (21. Be3 $5 Bxh4 ({Perhaps the threat
is stronger than the execution; in this case Black can wait, with the weakness
of the h- and f-pawns remaining issues for White.} 21... Nc7) 22. Nf1 Bf6 23.
Nd2 {with the center and tangled kingside pieces offering good compensation
for the pawn.}) 21... Bxh4 22. Nf3 Be7 (22... Bg3 $1) 23. Ng5 $2 (23. Be3 $15)
23... Nxf4 $1 $17 24. Kd2+ Kb7 (24... Nc7) 25. Nxf7 (25. Nxh7 Nxg2 26. Rxf7)
25... Nxg2 26. Nxd8+ Bxd8 (26... Rxd8 $17 {adds a guard for the bishop on d7.})
27. Rf7 Bg5+ 28. Kd1 Bxc1 29. Rxd7+ Kc8 (29... Nc7 30. Kxc1 Re8) 30. Rxa7 Kb8
31. Rxh7 Be3 32. Nc2 Bxd4 33. Nxd4 Nc7 34. Nc6+ Kb7 35. Kd2 g5 $2 (35... Re8 {
keeps some winning chances. Things are quite complicated here, with pins,
passed pawns, active knights and rooks -- it's very hard to navigate perfectly
in practical play.}) 36. e5 $4 (36. Nd4 $1 {threatens Nb5, working the pin on
the c7-knight and keeping an eye on the d6-pawn, from which, incidentally, a
knight would fork b7 and c8. This appears to rescue the draw in all lines. One
example:} g4 (36... Kc8 37. Nc6 Re8 38. Ne7+ Kb7 39. Nf5 Rd8 40. Nd4) 37. Nb5
g3 38. Rxc7+ Kb8 39. Re7 $1 Ne3 40. Nd4 $1 g2 (40... Nc4+ 41. Ke2 Ne5 42. Kf1
g2+ 43. Kg1) 41. Nc6+ Kc8 42. Na7+ Kd8 43. Nc6+ Kc8 {etc.}) 36... dxe5 37. Nxe5
Rd8 {Now Black converts the win fairly smoothly.} 38. Nd7 Nxd5 39. Nf6+ Kc6 40.
Nxd5 Rxd5+ 41. Ke2 Rf5 42. Rh6+ Kc5 43. b4+ Kxb4 44. Rxb6+ Kc5 45. Rb3 Nh4 46.
Rg3 Ng6 47. Ke3 Kd5 48. Rg4 Ne5 49. Rb4 g4 50. Rb8 g3 51. Rg8 Rf3+ 52. Ke2 Ke4
53. a4 Rf2+ 54. Ke1 Nf3+ 55. Kd1 g2 56. Re8+ Ne5 57. Rg8 Rf1+ {A nice upset in
terms of both rating points and generations. 0-} 0-1

