[Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Crowther,Mark"]
[ECO "B72"]
[WhiteElo "2695"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[GameId "2135482526831163"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Be2 g6 7. Be3 Bg7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O d5 10. Bf3 {[#]} (10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. Qxd5 Qc7 14. Qxa8 Bf5 15. Qxf8+ Kxf8 16. Rd2 Qb8 17. b3 Bc3 18. Bh6+ Kg8 19. Rd5 Be4 20. Rc5 Bg7 21. Be3 Bxg2 22. Ba6 Bh3 23. c3 h5 24. Bc4 Bf6 25. Rg1 Kh7 26. Bxf7 Bf5 27. f4 Qb7 28. Rxf5 gxf5 29. Bg6+ Kh8 30. Bxf5 Qf3 31. Bd2 Bxc3 32. Bxc3+ Qxc3+ 33. Kb1 Qd2 34. h3 Qxf4 35. Bg6 Qe3 36. Rh1 h4 37. Bc2 Qf3 38. Rh2 Qg3 39. Rh1 Qg2 {0-1 Shyam,S (2528)-Erigaisi,A (2660) BAN-chT Dhaka 2022 (10.6)}) 10... dxe4 $146 (10... Nxd4 11. Bxd4 dxe4 12. Nxe4 Qc7 13. Nxf6+ exf6 14. Qc3 Qf4+ 15. Be3 Qa4 16. Qb3 Qa6 17. Bc5 Be6 18. Qa3 Qb5 19. Bxf8 Bxf8 20. Qd3 Qa4 21. Bd5 Rd8 22. Bb3 Qf4+ 23. Qe3 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Qxh2 25. Rd8 Qc7 26. Qd4 Bxb3 27. axb3 Kg7 28. Rd7 Qa5 29. Kb1 Bc5 30. Qc4 Qe1+ 31. Ka2 Qa5+ 32. Qa4 Qxa4+ 33. bxa4 Bxf2 34. Rxb7 h5 35. Kb3 g5 36. Kc4 g4 37. Kd3 h4 38. Ke2 Bb6 39. b4 f5 40. Rxb6 {1-0 Mihaljevic,E (1858)-Grbac,B (2039) Vrsar op 2023 (5)}) 11. Nxc6 Qc7 12. Nxe7+ Qxe7 13. Be2 Ng4 14. Bxg4 Bxg4 15. Qd6 {White has played quite solidly, now black decides to keep Queens on.} Qe8 (15... Rfe8 {is slightly better.}) 16. Rd2 Rc8 $6 (16... Bxc3 {Breaking up white's Queenside where his King is had to come into consideration.}) 17. Bd4 (17. Nd5 $5) 17... Rd8 18. Qxd8 $1 {Giving up the Queen in an advantageous way.} Qxd8 19. Bxg7 Qe8 (19... Qc8) 20. Bxf8 e3 $1 21. fxe3 Kxf8 22. Re1 Qe5 23. g3 Be6 24. a3 Kg7 25. Rd4 Qh5 (25... Qf6 {is slightly better.}) 26. Re2 Qf3 (26... Qc5) 27. b3 h5 28. Kb2 Qf6 29. a4 b6 30. Red2 Qe5 31. e4 Kh6 32. Rd6 (32. Rd5 $5) 32... Kg7 33. R6d4 Kh6 34. Nd5 (34. Rd5) (34. Rd8) 34... Bg4 35. Ne3 Be6 36. Ka2 Qg5 37. Nd5 h4 38. gxh4 Qxh4 39. Nc7 Bh3 40. R4d3 Bg4 {The players have made first time control. White is probably winning, but there is much work to do.} 41. Nb5 (41. h3 $1) 41... Qe7 42. Nd6 Qf6 43. e5 Qf1 44. Rd4 Be6 45. Rh4+ Kg5 {Forced.} 46. Re4 Kh6 (46... Qf3) 47. Kb2 g5 48. Nb5 Bf5 49. Ree2 Bg4 50. Rg2 Qe1 51. Nd4 Qe4 52. Ka2 (52. Rg3) 52... Bh5 53. Nc6 Bg6 54. Ne7 Bh5 $2 {The last few moves have seen black's position deteriorate. Not a surprise, it's very difficult. Now Harikrishna closes in on the win.} 55. Ng8+ Kg6 56. Ne7+ (56. h4) 56... Kh6 57. h4 $1 {The clean way to win.} g4 58. Ng8+ Kg6 59. Nf6 Qf3 (59... Qxe5 60. Nxg4) 60. Rg1 Kh6 61. Rdg2 Qf5 62. Kb1 Bg6 $2 {A final mistake that ends the game.} 63. h5 1-0

[Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Michiel Abeln notes from players with additional lines and comments by Mark Crowther"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2768"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[GameId "2135473924573238"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Nd5 a5 4. Nf3 ({Relevant:} 4. a3 Bc5 5. e3 c6 6. d4 Ba7 7. Nc3 d6 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Nf3 f6 11. b4 Bb6 12. Rb1 axb4 13. axb4 Be6 14. Be2 Nd7 15. O-O Nh6 16. Rd1 Nf7 17. c5 Bc7 18. b5 Ke7 19. Ne4 Bf5 20. Nfd2 Rhd8 21. g4 Be6 22. bxc6 bxc6 23. Rb7 Rdc8 24. Nc4 Nd8 25. Rb1 Ra4 26. Ned6 Rca8 27. Bd2 g6 28. Bb4 Rb8 29. Nb6 Bxb6 30. cxb6 c5 31. Be1 Nxb6 32. f3 Ra2 33. Bf1 Nc6 {1-0 Nepomniachtchi,I (2767)-Caruana,F (2793) Saint Louis Blitz 2024 (6)}) 4... d6 5. a3 Bc5 6. e3 c6 7. d4 Ba7 {Pragg was aware that this line was also played by Vishy Anand in the past.} 8. Nc3 Nd7 9. Qc2 (9. Ne4 Bb8 10. d5 Ngf6 11. dxc6 Nxe4 12. cxd7+ Bxd7 13. b3 Bc6 14. Bb2 Qb6 15. Qc2 Nc5 16. Nd2 O-O 17. Be2 Bxg2 18. Rg1 Bc6 19. O-O-O Qd8 20. Rg3 Qh4 21. Rdg1 g6 22. f4 Qxh2 23. Kd1 Bc7 24. Nf3 Bxf3 25. Bxf3 Qxc2+ 26. Kxc2 Rab8 27. Rh3 Kg7 28. Rgh1 Rh8 29. b4 Nd7 30. Rd1 Rhd8 31. Kb3 h5 32. Rd5 b6 33. Ka4 Nf6 34. Rd2 Ng4 35. Bc6 Kh6 36. Kb5 f5 37. Bc3 Rf8 38. Bf3 Rbe8 39. Rg2 Bd8 40. Kc6 Bf6 41. Bxg4 fxg4 42. Rxg4 exf4 43. Bxf6 Rxf6 44. Rxf4 Rxf4 45. exf4 axb4 46. axb4 Re4 47. Rc3 Rxf4 48. Kxb6 g5 49. Kc6 g4 50. b5 h4 51. b6 h3 52. b7 Rf8 53. Kxd6 h2 54. Rc1 g3 55. Rh1 Kg5 {0-1 Nepomniachtchi,I (2751)-Anand,V (2776) Moscow Tal Memorial rapid 11th 2018 (2)}) 9... Ngf6 10. Bd2 O-O 11. O-O-O Re8 12. h3 e4 13. Nh2 d5 {[#] Here White should take on d5, an option that Pragg considered but he thought the game move was also fine. Later he regretted this decision.} 14. g4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. g4 Nb6 16. g5 Nfd7 17. Rg1 Nf8 18. h4 Bd7 19. Kb1 Rc8 20. Qb3 a4 21. Qb4 Be6 22. Nxa4 Qc7 23. Bb5 Nxa4 24. Qxa4 Nd7 25. Ng4 Nb6 26. Qb3 Red8 27. Rc1 Nc4 28. Bb4 Bxg4 29. Qa4 Bb8 30. Bxc4 dxc4 31. Rxg4 Qh2 32. Qc2 Re8 33. Rxe4 Rxe4 34. Qxe4 Qxf2 35. Qxb7 Re8 36. Rc3 Qxh4 37. Qd5 g6 38. Rxc4 Bg3 39. Rc3 Be1 40. Rc7 Qf2 41. Bxe1 Qxe1+ 42. Ka2 Rf8 43. e4 Qg3 {0-1 Donchenko,A (2633)-Bjerre,J (2653) Biel GM2 Blitz 57th 2024 (4)}) 14... dxc4 15. g5 Nd5 16. Nxe4 Qe7 17. Ng3 b5 18. Nf5 Qe6 19. h4 c5 20. Bh3 Qa6 21. h5 b4 22. Bf1 cxd4 23. Bxc4 {Now starts a remarkable sequence where black's Queen is en prise for 5 moves [MC].} b3 ({Much stronger would have been} 23... Qc6 {Pragg had not seen this move but would probably have played} 24. g6 {although after} fxg6 25. hxg6 Ne5 {Black has a clear advantage.}) 24. Qxb3 Nc5 25. Qa2 Nd3+ 26. Kb1 Bxf5 27. Bxa6 {Finally white captures the Queen in a position where it's forced.} N3b4+ 28. Ka1 Nxa2 29. Kxa2 dxe3 30. fxe3 {With little time on the clock Black lets most of his advantage slip in this phase. He could have played Be4 here and on the next move Bb6 was more precise.} Nxe3 (30... Be4 {was better but the position remains a complete mess.} 31. Bb5 Reb8 32. Bc6 Nb4+ 33. Bxb4 Bxc6 34. Bd6) 31. Rc1 Rab8 {The position is almost equal now.} (31... Bb6 32. Bb7 Rad8 33. Bc3 Nd5) 32. Bxa5 $6 {And black is again much better according to the engines.} Nc2 (32... Be6+ $5) 33. Bc4 Bd4 34. b3 Rec8 $6 $11 (34... Ra8 {was the best continuation.} 35. Rxc2 Bxc2 36. Bb4 Rab8 37. Nf3 Rxb4 38. Rh2 Rxc4 {is a computer line which is winning for black.}) 35. Rhf1 Ne3 36. Rxf5 Nxf5 37. g6 hxg6 38. hxg6 Nd6 39. gxf7+ Kf8 40. Bb4 Rxb4 41. axb4 Nb5 42. Kb1 Na3+ 43. Ka2 Nc2 44. Kb1 Na3+ 45. Ka2 Nc2 46. Kb1 1/2-1/2

[Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Mendonca, Leon Luke"]
[Black "Keymer, Vincent"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Michiel Abeln notes from players with additional lines and comments by Mark Crowther"]
[ECO "C58"]
[WhiteElo "2639"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[GameId "2135475904862758"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 {The Two Knights variation has a good reputation for black but it's sometimes very tough to remember these irrational variations. [MC]} 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3 Nd5 9. Nf3 Bd6 10. Nc3 ({Relevant:} 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 f5 12. Nxe5 Qf6 13. Nf3 g5 14. c4 Nf4 15. Bf1 g4 16. c5 Bc7 17. d4 gxf3 18. Bxf4 Bxf4 19. Qxf3 Bc7 20. Qc3 Kh8 21. b4 Nb7 22. d5 cxd5 23. Qxf6+ Rxf6 24. Nc3 Be6 25. Nb5 Bf4 26. Rad1 Nd8 27. g3 Bh6 28. Nc7 Rc8 29. Nxd5 Bxd5 30. Rxd5 Nc6 31. a3 Bf8 32. Rd7 a5 33. Rb7 axb4 34. axb4 f4 35. Bh3 Rd8 36. g4 f3 37. b5 Bxc5 38. bxc6 Rxc6 39. Rf7 Bb4 {½-½ Erigaisi,A (2799)-Keymer,V (2733) Tata Steel India Blitz Kolkata 2024 (12)}) 10... f5 {16 games, mostly high level have been played in this position.} 11. Nxd5 cxd5 12. b4 Nc6 13. Bb5 Bb7 14. Bb2 O-O 15. Bxc6 Bxc6 16. Nxe5 Re8 17. f4 {[#]} d4 $146 {The clearly favoured engine line.} ({Predecessor:} 17... Qb6 18. a3 a5 19. Qf3 axb4 20. axb4 Bxe5 21. fxe5 Qxb4 22. Rxa8 Rxa8 23. Qc3 Qe4+ 24. Kd1 Qxg2 25. Re1 Qg4+ 26. Kc1 Qc4 27. e6 Qxc3 28. Bxc3 Ra4 29. d3 d4 30. Bb2 Kf8 31. Re5 g6 32. Rc5 Ra6 33. Bxd4 Ke7 34. Re5 Be8 35. Kd2 Rxe6 36. h4 f4 37. Ra5 h6 38. Bg7 f3 39. Re5 Rxe5 40. Bxe5 g5 41. hxg5 hxg5 42. Ke3 {½-½ Kevlishvili,R (2521)-Sethuraman,S (2598) Qatar Masters op Doha 2023 (5)}) 18. O-O Bxe5 19. fxe5 Rxe5 20. c4 Qh4 21. b5 Bb7 22. Rf2 Rae8 23. Qf1 {Here Keymer was digging deep in his memory and eventually figured it was a rook to e6, but he chose the wrong one!} R5e6 $2 {Stockfish really doesn't like this move claiming +3.} (23... R8e6 24. c5 Rxc5 25. Rf4 Qd8 26. Rxd4 Qe8 {with equality.}) 24. c5 $1 Be4 25. Qc4 {And this is the move Keymer had missed when he played the wrong rook to e6.} d3 26. Rxf5 (26. c6 {Is clear and straightforward.} Qe7 27. c7 Rc8 28. Rc1 h5 29. Bd4) 26... Qg4 ({Keymer rejected} 26... h6 {because of} 27. Rf3 {and White is winning.}) 27. Rf2 h5 28. h3 $6 {The start of white drifting.} (28. Be5 {would have been stronger and was in fact anticipated by Black.}) 28... Qg3 {+0.4} 29. c6 Kh7 30. Qc5 Rg6 31. Rc1 $4 {A huge blunder. A very strange move with a couple of minutes left on the clock.} ({Keymer had expected the following moves:} 31. Qe3 Qh4 32. c7 Rg3 33. Rf4 Qxh3 34. Qxg3 Qxg3 35. Rxe4 Rf8 {with a balanced position.}) ({The engine recommends White plays} 31. Qxh5+ $1 Kg8 32. Bd4 {but the players did not see this line.}) 31... Qxh3 $1 {Mendonca realised straight away what he'd done and he resigned when his clock had almost clicked down to zero. There's no fixing the error.} 0-1

[Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Gukesh, D.."]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Michiel Abeln notes from players with additional lines and comments by Mark Crowther"]
[ECO "A05"]
[WhiteElo "2777"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[GameId "2135479282126548"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]
 
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c5 4. O-O Nc6 5. d4 e6 6. c4 dxc4 7. Qa4 Bd7 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Qxc4 Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. e4 Rc8 12. Qe2 Bc5 {[#]} ({Relevant:} 12... Qa5 13. Rd1 Rfd8 14. Bd2 Qb6 15. Be3 Qa5 16. Nd2 Be8 17. Nb3 Qb4 18. f4 Nd7 19. e5 Nb6 20. Bf2 a5 21. Be1 a4 22. Nd5 Qc4 23. Qxc4 Nxc4 24. Nxe7+ Nxe7 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Na5 Nxa5 27. Bxa5 Ra8 28. Bb4 Nd5 29. Bd2 Rc8 30. Rc1 Rxc1+ 31. Bxc1 Bc6 32. Bd2 h5 33. Kf2 Kf8 34. h3 Ke8 35. g4 hxg4 36. hxg4 Kd7 37. Bf1 Nc7 38. Bd3 Bd5 39. a3 Bb3 40. f5 Bd1 41. Kg3 Nd5 42. Kh4 {½-½ Esipenko,A (2675)-Duda,J (2729) Duesseldorf WR Masters 2023 (3)}) 13. Bg5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 13. e5 Nd5 14. Ne4 Nd4 15. Nxd4 Bxd4 16. Nd6 Rc6 17. Nb5 Bc5 18. Qg4 f5 19. exf6 Qxf6 20. Nc3 Nxc3 21. bxc3 Bxf2+ 22. Kh1 Qxc3 23. Bf4 Bd4 24. Rac1 Qd3 25. Rcd1 Qc4 26. Rfe1 Rf7 27. Rc1 Qxa2 28. Rcd1 e5 29. Qg5 Rc2 30. Bd2 Bc6 31. Re4 h6 32. Qd8+ Rf8 33. Rxd4 Bxg2+ 34. Kxg2 exd4 35. Qxd4 Qb3 36. Re1 Qf3+ 37. Kh3 Qf5+ 38. Kg2 Qf2+ 39. Qxf2 Rxf2+ 40. Kxf2 Rxd2+ 41. Ke3 Rb2 42. Rf1 a5 {0-1 Bronstein,O (2448)-Creanga,R (2182) Arad op 16th 2023 (3)}) 13... h6 $11 14. Bh4 $6 {Too optimistic.} (14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. e5 Qf5 16. Rfd1 $11) 14... g5 15. Nxg5 hxg5 16. Bxg5 e5 17. Qd2 Be7 18. Bh6 Kh7 19. Bxf8 Bxf8 $6 (19... Qxf8 {is quite a bit better.}) 20. f4 $6 (20. Rad1 $1 $11) 20... Be6 (20... Ng4) 21. Nd5 Nb4 22. fxe5 Ng4 23. Rad1 Kh8 $1 24. Kh1 $2 {Black is now winning.} (24. Qf4) 24... Rc2 $1 25. Qf4 Nxd5 26. Qf3 Qb6 {Good but there is better.} ({Giri had seen this option but thought it was not that clear.} 26... Rxg2 $1 27. Qxg2 Nge3 28. Qf3 Nxf1 29. exd5 {Possibly Giri missed in his calculations the next move:} Ne3 30. Qxe3 Bxd5+) 27. exd5 Rf2 $1 28. Qc3 Bb4 $2 $11 (28... Bf5 29. e6+ Bg7 30. exf7 Kh7) 29. Qc1 $1 Bf5 30. Qg5 Bf8 31. Qh4+ $2 Bh6 $2 $11 (31... Kg8 32. e6 Rxf1+ 33. Rxf1 Nf2+ 34. Rxf2 Qxf2 35. Qg5+ Bg6 36. h4 Kh7 {is winning.}) 32. Rde1 Qxb2 33. h3 $2 $19 (33. Rxf2 Nxf2+ 34. Kg1 Ng4 35. Rf1 $11) 33... Be4 $1 {The only winning move and made with only a second to spare.} 34. Rxf2 Nxf2+ 35. Kg1 Qb6 $4 {Giri had little time and as he said afterwards: 'I panicked'. The position now turns from winning for Giri to winning for Gukesh.} (35... Ng4 $1 {Completely winning:} 36. Rxe4 Qb6+ 37. Kh1 Qb1+) 36. Qf6+ {This is clearly what Giri missed. He slumped back as he realised he was lost.} Qxf6 37. exf6 Bxg2 38. Kxg2 Nd3 39. Re8+ Kh7 40. d6 Nc5 41. Re5 Nd7 42. Re7 1-0

[Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Wei Yi"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Crowther,Mark"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2803"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[GameId "2135485418046850"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 {Not the most thrilling line. Clearly Wei Yi had some ideas but an accurate, but dull game follows.} O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 {10...Re8 scores better than 10...Nf5.} 11. Bf4 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. c3 d5 14. Nd2 c6 (14... Nd6 15. Qe3 Bf5 16. h3 c6 17. g4 Bg6 18. Re1 h6 19. Nf3 Be4 20. Ne5 Bg5 21. f3 Bxf4 22. Qxf4 Bh7 23. Bd3 Bxd3 24. Nxd3 Qc7 25. Nc5 Rd8 26. h4 b6 27. Nd3 Kf8 28. Ne5 Kg8 29. g5 hxg5 30. hxg5 Nc4 31. Kg2 Nxe5 32. Rxe5 Qd7 33. Qe3 Kf8 34. Kg3 Re8 35. Rxe8+ Qxe8 36. Qxe8+ Kxe8 37. Kf4 Kd7 38. Ke5 Ke7 39. a4 a6 40. b3 Kd7 41. f4 Ke7 42. Kf5 Kd7 43. Kg4 Ke6 44. f5+ {½-½ Carlsen,M (2831)-So,W (2747) Tata Steel India Blitz Kolkata 2024 (12)}) 15. Qe3 g6 16. Re1 Ng7 17. Nf3 Bf5 18. h3 h5 {[#]} 19. Be5 $146 (19. Ne5 g5 20. Bh2 Bxe5 21. Qxe5 f6 22. Qe2 Qf8 23. Qd2 Re8 24. Rc1 Qe7 25. b3 Bg6 26. c4 Bf7 27. Bd3 Qe6 28. c5 {½-½ Villaescusa Navalon,M (2306)-Evtyukhin,S (2268) Champion's League 2017/C3 email ICCF email [3]}) 19... Ne6 20. Bd3 Bxd3 21. Qxd3 Kg7 22. h4 Bxe5 23. Rxe5 Qd7 24. Ng5 Nc7 25. Qe3 Re8 26. g3 Kg8 27. Qf4 Rxe5 28. Qxe5 Ne8 29. Nh3 Nd6 30. Nf4 Qd8 31. Kg2 {Wei Yi offered a draw which was accepted.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Van Foreest, Jorden"]
[Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Crowther,Mark"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2680"]
[BlackElo "2717"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[GameId "2135488298432519"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Bd3 Ng5 {A very unusual reply. Just six games played.} (5... Nf6 6. O-O Be7 7. h3 O-O 8. c3 b6 9. Bc2 Bb7 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Bb3 b5 12. Re1 Rb8 13. Qe2 Ne4 14. Nbd2 Nxd2 15. Bxd2 Bf6 16. Nh2 Bg5 17. Ng4 Bxd2 18. Qxd2 h5 19. Nh2 Qf6 20. Bd1 g6 21. a4 a6 22. axb5 axb5 23. Ra7 Nb6 24. b3 Kg7 25. Bf3 Bxf3 26. Nxf3 Nd5 27. c4 bxc4 28. bxc4 Nf4 29. Kh2 Rfe8 30. Re3 Rxe3 31. Qxe3 Rb2 32. Nd2 Qg5 33. g3 Ne6 34. Qxg5 Nxg5 35. h4 {½-½ Nepomniachtchi,I (2758)-Yu,Y (2698) Wch Rapid New York 2024 (11)}) 6. O-O {[#]} d5 $146 (6... Nc6 7. Re1+ Be6 8. Bb5 Be7 9. d4 Nxf3+ 10. Qxf3 d5 11. c3 Qd7 12. Bf4 O-O 13. Nd2 a6 14. Bd3 Bd6 15. Nb3 b6 16. a4 a5 17. Bb5 Bxf4 18. Qxf4 Rad8 19. Nc1 Qd6 20. Nd3 Na7 21. Ba6 Nc6 22. Bb5 Na7 23. Ba6 Nc6 {½-½ Thesing,M (2432)-Teske,H (2522) Bundesliga 1011 Germany 2010 (3.7)}) (6... Nxf3+ 7. Qxf3 Be7 {seems about equal.}) 7. Re1+ Ne6 8. c4 $6 (8. Bf1) 8... d4 9. Qc2 $6 {and now black is a bit better.} (9. Bf5) 9... g6 (9... Na6 $5) 10. c5 Bg7 11. Bc4 O-O 12. d3 Nc6 13. a3 Nxc5 $6 $11 (13... a5) 14. Bg5 Qd6 15. Nbd2 Bf5 16. b4 Ne6 17. Bh4 Rac8 $6 {+1} (17... Rae8 $11) 18. Ne4 Bxe4 19. Rxe4 Ncd8 $2 (19... Rce8) 20. Rae1 a6 21. Ne5 (21. Qa2 $1) 21... Bxe5 22. Rxe5 Re8 (22... c5) 23. Qa2 Kg7 (23... Nc6) 24. Bb3 (24. Bg3 $1) 24... Nc6 25. R5e4 Qd7 26. Qe2 $6 (26. Bxe6 Rxe6 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Rxe6) 26... h6 $1 {Forced.} 27. Qf3 $6 {Black is even slightly better now.} (27. Qd2) 27... Ng5 28. Bxg5 hxg5 29. h3 Rxe4 30. Qxe4 Rh8 31. Ba4 (31. Qd5) 31... Rh4 (31... b5) 32. Qe2 b5 33. Bb3 Rf4 34. Rc1 Qd6 35. Rc5 Rf5 36. Qe8 $2 Nd8 $2 $11 {The second time in the game Fedoseev played this move and it was bad both times.} (36... Ne5 {and black is close to winning.}) 37. g3 c6 38. Kg2 Qc7 (38... Rxc5 39. bxc5 Qf6) 39. Qe4 Rxc5 40. bxc5 Qd7 41. Qe5+ f6 42. Qb8 a5 43. a4 bxa4 44. Bxa4 Nf7 45. Bb3 a4 (45... Qe7) 46. Bxa4 Qd5+ {draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "87th Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.7"]
[White "Warmerdam, Max"]
[Black "Sarana, Alexey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Crowther,Mark"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2646"]
[BlackElo "2677"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[GameId "2135491154206819"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bf5 4. c4 dxc4 (4... e6 5. Qb3 Qb6 6. d3 Nd7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Qc2 Ngf6 9. O-O Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. e4 Bg6 12. Be3 Qa6 13. h3 Rfd8 14. Nh4 Ne5 15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. d4 Nc4 17. e5 Nh7 18. h4 Nf8 19. Bh3 c5 20. Rad1 Qc6 21. Ne2 Ne6 22. Bxe6 Qxe6 23. Nf4 Qg4 24. Kh2 Rac8 25. e6 cxd4 26. exf7+ Kh7 27. Bxd4 Ne3 28. Qd3 Nxf1+ 29. Rxf1 Bd6 30. Nh3 Qxh4 31. Kg2 Qe4+ 32. Qxe4 dxe4 33. Rh1 {1-0 Ding,L (2811)-Grischuk,A (2745) Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2022 (1.26)}) 5. Na3 e5 {[#]} 6. Nc2 $146 (6. Nxc4 e4 7. Nfe5 Be6 8. Qc2 Nf6 9. O-O Be7 10. Rd1 Na6 11. a3 O-O 12. d3 exd3 13. Rxd3 Qc7 14. Bf4 Nd5 15. Bxd5 cxd5 16. Ng6 Qxc4 17. Nxe7+ {1-0 Ding,L (2811)-Grischuk,A (2745) Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2022 (1.31)}) 6... e4 7. Nh4 Be6 8. Bxe4 Nf6 9. Bg2 Bc5 10. O-O O-O 11. Ne3 Na6 12. b3 Bd4 13. Rb1 cxb3 14. axb3 Nb4 15. Nef5 Bb6 16. Bb2 g6 17. Ne3 Bd4 18. Qc1 a5 19. Nf3 Bxb2 20. Qxb2 Re8 21. Rfc1 Ng4 22. Nc4 Qe7 23. d3 Bd5 24. h3 Nf6 25. Ne3 Rad8 26. Ra1 b6 27. d4 $6 {A slight inaccuracy.} (27. Rd1) 27... h5 (27... Be4) 28. Nxd5 cxd5 29. Ne5 Rc8 30. Qd2 Kg7 31. Rc3 (31. Rxc8) 31... Nd7 32. Nxd7 Rxc3 33. Qxc3 Qxd7 34. Qd2 Rc8 (34... Qc7) 35. Rc1 Rc6 36. Rc3 Qc7 37. Rxc6 Qxc6 38. e3 Kf6 39. Qd1 Qc3 40. Bf1 Qc2 41. Qf3+ Qf5 42. Qe2 Qd7 43. Qf3+ Qf5 44. Qe2 Qe6 45. Qf3+ Ke7 46. g4 hxg4 47. hxg4 Kf8 48. Qf4 Na2 49. Bg2 Kg7 50. Qc7 Nb4 51. Bf3 Nd3 {Sarana offered a draw.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tata Steel Challengers"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Divya, Deshmukh"]
[Black "Yakubboev, Nodirbek"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteTitle "IM"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2490"]
[BlackElo "2659"]
[ECO "B54"]
[Opening "Sicilian"]
[Variation "Prins (Moscow) variation"]
[WhiteFideId "35006916"]
[BlackFideId "14203987"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. f3 e5 6. Nb3 Be7 7. c4 a5 8. Be3
O-O 9. Be2 Nc6 10. O-O Nh5 11. Qd2 Nf4 12. Bxf4 exf4 13. Nc3 Bf6 14. Rad1 Be6
15. Nb5 Be5 16. N3d4 Nxd4 17. Nxd4 a4 18. Qb4 Qc7 19. Rd2 Qc5 20. Qxc5 dxc5 21.
Nb5 g6 22. Rfd1 Ra6 23. Kf2 Kg7 24. Rg1 Kf6 25. g4 Raa8 26. h3 h5 27. Rc1 Rh8
28. Bf1 Rad8 29. Rcd1 Ra8 30. Rc1 hxg4 31. fxg4 Kg5 32. Rcc2 Rad8 33. Kf3 Rd7
34. Nc3 Rxd2 35. Rxd2 a3 36. Nd1 axb2 37. Nxb2 Ra8 38. a4 Bd4 39. Be2 Ra6 40.
Bd1 Rb6 41. Nd3 Bxc4 42. Nxf4 Kh4 43. Nd5 Rb1 44. Kg2 Ra1 45. Nb6 Ba6 46. g5 Be3
47. Rd8 Bd4 48. Bg4 Ra2+ 0-1

[Event "Tata Steel Challengers"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Nguyen, Thai Dai Van"]
[Black "Pijpers, Arthur"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[WhiteElo "2668"]
[BlackElo "2474"]
[ECO "A49"]
[Opening "King's Indian"]
[Variation "fianchetto without c4"]
[WhiteFideId "358878"]
[BlackFideId "1019554"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 c5 5. dxc5 Qa5+ 6. c3 Qxc5 7. Nd4 O-O 8. e4
Nc6 9. O-O d6 10. h3 Bd7 11. Be3 Qa5 12. Na3 Rac8 13. Qe2 Qa6 14. Qxa6 bxa6 15.
Rfd1 Rc7 16. Ne2 Rb8 17. Rab1 a5 18. b3 Nd8 19. c4 Bc6 20. Nc3 Rcb7 21. Nab5 Nd7
22. Nd5 Bxd5 23. exd5 a6 24. Na7 Ne5 25. Rbc1 a4 26. bxa4 Rc7 27. a5 Rxc4 28.
Nc6 Ndxc6 29. dxc6 Rc8 30. Bb6 e6 31. c7 d5 32. Bf1 Rxc1 33. Rxc1 Nc4 34. Bxc4
dxc4 35. Rd1 Bf6 36. Rd8+ Bxd8 37. cxd8=Q+ Rxd8 38. Bxd8 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel Challengers"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Suleymanli, Aydin"]
[Black "Bok, Benjamin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2623"]
[BlackElo "2583"]
[ECO "C53"]
[Opening "Giuoco Piano"]
[WhiteFideId "13413937"]
[BlackFideId "1017063"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O a5 7. h3 Ba7 8. Be3
Bxe3 9. fxe3 O-O 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. d4 Ng6 12. a4 b6 13. Qc2 Bb7 14. Rae1 Qe7 15.
Bd3 h6 16. Rf2 Rfe8 17. Bb5 Rec8 18. Bc4 Re8 19. Bb5 Rec8 20. Bc4 Re8 21. Nh2
Nf8 22. Ng4 N8h7 23. Ref1 Bc8 24. Nxf6+ Nxf6 25. Qd1 Be6 26. Bb5 Rf8 27. d5 Bd7
28. Rxf6 Bxb5 29. axb5 gxf6 30. Qg4+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tata Steel Challengers"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Gurel, Ediz"]
[Black "Bulmaga, Irina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[WhiteElo "2624"]
[BlackElo "2386"]
[ECO "D37"]
[Opening "QGD"]
[Variation "classical variation (5.Bf4)"]
[WhiteFideId "44507356"]
[BlackFideId "13903063"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Ne4 8. h4 f5
9. Nxe4 fxe4 10. Ng5 Nf6 11. g3 a5 12. Be2 h6 13. Nh3 Nd7 14. Rc1 e5 15. Bxe5
Nxe5 16. dxe5 Bxh3 17. Rxh3 Qd7 18. Bg4 Qc6 19. Qc2 Rad8 20. Kf1 d4 21. Qc4+ Kh8
22. exd4 Rd5 23. Rd1 Rfd8 24. Ke1 Qg6 25. Be2 Qe6 26. g4 Bxc5 27. Re3 b5 28. Qc2
Bxd4 29. Rxe4 Qf7 30. f4 Qe7 31. g5 Qe6 32. Rd3 Qf5 33. Rexd4 1-0

[Event "Tata Steel Challengers"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Black "Svane, Frederik"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2614"]
[BlackElo "2664"]
[ECO "B90"]
[Opening "Sicilian"]
[Variation "Najdorf, Byrne (English) attack"]
[WhiteFideId "1007998"]
[BlackFideId "12923044"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be2
Be7 9. f4 exf4 10. Bxf4 Nc6 11. Qd2 d5 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. O-O-O
Qxd2+ 15. Rxd2 h5 16. Rhd1 Rc8 17. Bf3 g5 18. Bd6 g4 19. Bxc6+ Rxc6 20. Bxe7
Kxe7 21. Nd4 Rc7 22. b3 Rg8 23. Re1 Rc5 24. Rde2 Rg6 25. Re5 Rxe5 26. Rxe5 h4
27. Rh5 g3 28. Rxh4 gxh2 29. Rxh2 Kd6 30. Kd2 Bd5 31. Nf3 Kc5 32. c3 a5 33. Ke3
b5 34. Kf2 b4 35. cxb4+ axb4 36. Rh1 Ra6 37. Rc1+ Kd6 38. Rc2 Be4 39. Rd2+ Kc5
40. Ke3 Bb1 41. Rb2 Re6+ 42. Kf2 Bg6 43. g4 f6 44. Kg3 Ra6 45. Kf4 Re6 46. Rd2
Re4+ 47. Kg3 Re3 48. Rd8 Be4 49. Kf4 Rd3 50. Rxd3 Bxd3 51. Ke3 Bb1 52. Nd2 Bxa2
53. Ke4 Kd6 54. Kd4 Ke6 55. Kc4 Ke5 56. Kxb4 Kf4 57. Ka3 Bxb3 58. Kxb3 f5 59.
gxf5 Kxf5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Tata Steel Challengers"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Oro, Faustino"]
[Black "Vaishali, Rameshbabu"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteTitle "IM"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2447"]
[BlackElo "2476"]
[ECO "D78"]
[Opening "Neo-Gruenfeld, 6.O-O c6"]
[WhiteFideId "20000197"]
[BlackFideId "5091756"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 c6 7. Nc3 dxc4 8. e4 b5
9. Qe2 a5 10. Rd1 Nbd7 11. d5 cxd5 12. e5 b4 13. exf6 Nxf6 14. Nb5 Bd7 15. Nbd4
Rc8 16. Ne5 e6 17. Bh3 Re8 18. Qf3 c3 19. bxc3 Rxc3 20. Be3 Ba4 21. Rdc1 Qc7 22.
Ng4 Nxg4 23. Qxg4 h5 24. Qg5 e5 25. Nb3 d4 26. Bd2 Rc2 27. Bf1 e4 28. Bb5 Bxb5
29. Qxb5 Rf8 30. Rab1 Kh7 31. Qd5 e3 32. fxe3 Rd8 33. Qe4 d3 34. Na1 f5 35. Qf3
Bc3 36. Nxc2 Bxd2 37. Nd4 Bxc1 38. Rb3 d2 39. Rd3 Rd7 40. Qa8 Bb2 41. Qe8 Bxd4
42. exd4 Re7 43. Qa4 Qc4 0-1

[Event "Tata Steel Challengers"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2025.01.18"]
[Round "1.7"]
[White "Lu, Miaoyi"]
[Black "Nogerbek, Kazybek"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteTitle "IM"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2429"]
[BlackElo "2514"]
[ECO "C44"]
[Opening "Scotch gambit"]
[Variation "Dubois-Reti defence"]
[WhiteFideId "8618020"]
[BlackFideId "13710427"]
[EventDate "2025.01.18"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 Ne4 6. Qe2 Nc5 7. O-O Be7 8. Rd1
Ne6 9. c3 d5 10. exd6 Qxd6 11. Na3 a6 12. Nc2 O-O 13. cxd4 Nf4 14. Bxf4 Qxf4 15.
d5 Na5 16. Bd3 Bf6 17. b4 Bxa1 18. Rxa1 c6 19. bxa5 cxd5 20. Ncd4 Bd7 21. Qe5
Qxe5 22. Nxe5 Ba4 23. Bf5 Rfe8 24. f4 g6 25. Bh3 f6 26. Nef3 f5 27. Ne5 Rac8 28.
g4 Rc3 29. Bg2 fxg4 30. Bxd5+ Kh8 31. Rb1 Bc6 32. Bxc6 bxc6 33. Ndxc6 g5 34. f5
Rf8 35. Rb8 Rxb8 36. Nxb8 Rc1+ 37. Kf2 Rc2+ 38. Kg3 h5 39. f6 Rc1 40. f7 Kg7 41.
Nbd7 Rf1 42. f8=Q+ Rxf8 43. Nxf8 Kxf8 44. Nxg4 1-0

