[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.20"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Eljanov, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Rd1+ Ke8 10. Nc3 Be7 11. Bg5 Bxg5 12. Nxg5 h6 13. Nge4 g5 $5 {
An interesting approach. Black severely wekens the f6 square, but he halts the
advance of White's pawns on the kingside. The computer seems to approve of
this idea, though computers aren't always the most reliable in the Berlin.} 14.
b4 {White takes a similar approach on Black's queenside pawns! However, if
this is the best MVL can do, Black should be ok.} a6 15. a4 Ke7 16. a5 Nh4 17.
Nc5 Ng6 18. f3 b6 19. Nd3 Bf5 20. Na4 Rhb8 21. Nab2 Rd8 22. Kf2 Rd4 23. Ke3 Rh4
24. h3 Ke6 25. c3 Nxe5 26. Nxe5 Kxe5 {Black managed to pick up the e-pawn, but
with an awkward rook on h4 and some problems with his queenside structure
there is no way to claim an advantage.} 27. axb6 cxb6 28. Na4 b5 (28... Rb8 $5
29. Nb2 c5 30. Rxa6 cxb4 31. c4 $1 $11) 29. Nc5 Rc4 30. Ra3 Ra7 31. g4 Bg6 32.
Nd7+ Ke6 33. Nc5+ Ke5 34. Nd7+ Ke6 35. Nc5+ Ke7 {Playing for a win, but Black
doesn't have anything real here.} 36. Rd4 Rxd4 37. Kxd4 Bc2 38. Ra2 Bd1 $6 {
this is even over-ambitious.} 39. Ke3 Ra8 40. f4 f6 41. f5 (41. Ra1 $1 gxf4+
42. Kxf4 Bc2 43. h4 $14) 41... h5 42. Ra1 Ba4 43. Nxa4 bxa4 44. Rxa4 hxg4 45.
hxg4 Kd6 {Black has an uncomfortable endgame to defend, but it is still a draw.
} 46. Kd4 Rh8 47. Rxa6 Rh4 48. b5 Rxg4+ 49. Kd3 Rg3+ 50. Kc4 Rg4+ 51. Kb3 Kc5
52. Rxc6+ Kxb5 53. Rxf6 Rf4 54. Rf8 g4 55. Rg8 Rxf5 56. Rxg4 1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.20"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Wojtaszek, R."]
[Black "Rapport, R."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D07"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2671"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 3. cxd5 Qxd5 4. e3 e5 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Nf6 8.
c4 Qd6 9. d5 Nb8 10. Ne2 O-O 11. Nc3 Bf5 12. a4 Na6 13. Ba3 Nb4 14. Be2 a5 15.
O-O Rfe8 16. Rc1 c5 17. f3 Bd7 18. e4 Nh5 19. Nb5 Qh6 20. Rc3 Nf4 21. g3 Nh3+
22. Kh1 Rac8 23. Bd3 Qg6 24. Bb1 h5 25. Qe1 Ng5 26. Re3 $2 {Until now
Wojtaszek had done an excellent job of beating back Black's attack and
obtaining a nice positional advantage. All that was left was to break through.}
(26. f4 $1 exf4 (26... Nh7 27. fxe5 Rxe5 28. Bb2 {is really bad for Black.}
Rce8 29. Re3 Bh3 30. Bxe5 Rxe5 31. Rf4 {with some compensation, but it should
not be enough for a full exchange.}) 27. e5 Bf5 28. Bxf5 Qxf5 29. Nd6 $18 (29.
gxf4 $16)) 26... Bxb5 27. axb5 f6 28. f4 Nf7 {Black's blockade gives him a
sustainable position.} 29. Qe2 Nd6 30. Bb2 b6 31. h3 Rc7 32. Kh2 Rce7 33. f5
Qh7 34. Rg1 Kf7 35. g4 hxg4 36. Rxg4 Rh8 37. Reg3 Ke8 38. Bc1 Kf8 39. Kg2 Qh5
40. Bd2 Rh7 41. Bc1 Rh8 42. Bd2 1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.20"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Adams, Mi"]
[Black "Navara, D."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B91"]
[WhiteElo "2740"]
[BlackElo "2724"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 7. Nde2 Be7 8. Bg2
b5 9. Nd5 Nbd7 10. Nec3 Bb7 11. a4 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 O-O 13. axb5 axb5 14. Rxa8
Bxa8 15. O-O Nc5 16. b4 Ne6 17. h4 Bxd5 18. Qxd5 Nd4 19. c3 Ne2+ 20. Kh2 Nxc1
21. Rxc1 Qb6 22. Kg1 Rb8 23. Ra1 g6 24. Ra8 Rxa8 25. Qxa8+ Kg7 26. Bf1 {White
has obtinaed a very nice endgame. The pawn on b5 cannot be defended, and Black
is not in time to create real counterplay.} Qc7 27. Qe8 Bf6 28. Bxb5 Qxc3 29.
Bc6 $1 {Material is still even, but the b-pawn is passed and Black's king is
weak, for now b4 is untouchable.} Qf3 (29... Qxb4 30. Bd5 {and the kingside
falls, starting with f7.}) 30. Qd7 $1 {Very accurate!} (30. Bd5 Bxh4 31. gxh4
Qg4+ {is nothing more than a perpetual.}) 30... g5 31. hxg5 $2 {Almost ruining
the game.} (31. Bd5 gxh4 32. Qxf7+ Kh6 33. Qf8+ Kg6 34. Bf7+ $1 Kg5 35. gxh4+
$1 {This move is surprisingly tricky to find when analyzing quickly.} Kxh4 (
35... Kf4 36. Be6 $1 {And this move is VERY tricky to find when analyzing
quikcly! It is the only winning move!} (36. Qh6+ Kxe4 {doesn't work.}) 36...
Kxe4 (36... Qd1+ 37. Kh2 Kxe4 38. Qxf6 {and the game is over.}) 37. Bd5+ Kxd5
38. Qa8+ {skewers the queen.}) 36. Qh6+ Kg4 37. Qh5+ Kf4 38. Qf5#) 31... Bxg5
32. Qxd6 {This endgame is not easy to evaluate. Clearly White is pressing for
a win, but making progress is not trivial. Black will have a decent blockade
on the darksquares and it is unclear that trading queens is a good or bad
thing for Adams.} Qc3 33. Kg2 Qb2 34. Qc5 Qd4 {The computer recommendation,
but is the endgame a draw?} 35. Qxd4 exd4 36. f4 Be7 37. b5 Bc5 38. e5 d3 39.
Be4 d2 40. Bc2 {Everything has been basically forced since the queen trade up
to this point.} f6 (40... h6 {looks more logical to me. I don't think giving
White a passed pawn is a good idea.}) 41. exf6+ (41. e6 f5 {simply loses the
e-pawn.}) 41... Kxf6 42. Kf3 h5 43. Ke2 Bd6 (43... Bb6 $1 44. Kxd2 Bf2 45. Ke2
Bxg3 46. Kf3 Be1 47. b6 Bb4 48. b7 Bd6 49. f5 {the two passed pawns being so
far apart from each other looks dangerous, but I can't imagine any way of
making progress for White.}) 44. Ke3 (44. Kxd2 h4 45. gxh4 Bxf4+ {is a dead
draw, as White has the wrong bishop for his h-pawn.}) 44... Bc7 $2 (44... Bc5+
45. Kxd2 Bf2 $11) 45. Bd1 $1 h4 (45... Bb6+ 46. Kxd2 Bf2 47. g4 hxg4 48. Bxg4 {
is winning.}) 46. gxh4 Kf5 47. Bc2+ Kg4 48. Ke4 {very importantly, White
preserves his f-pawn. Now the rest is easy.} Kxh4 49. Bd1 $1 {Black's king is
cut off! A deadly zugzwang.} Bd8 50. Kd5 Kg3 51. f5 Kf4 52. Ke6 Ke4 53. Bc2+
Kd4 54. Kd7 Bb6 55. f6 Kc3 56. Bd1 1-0

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.21"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Rapport, Richard"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C36"]
[WhiteElo "2671"]
[BlackElo "2740"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d5 4. exd5 Nf6 5. Be2 Nxd5 6. c4 Ne7 7. Nc3 Ng6 8.
h4 Be7 9. h5 Nh4 10. Nd5 Nc6 11. d4 Nxg2+ 12. Kf1 Ne3+ 13. Nxe3 fxe3 14. d5 Nb4
15. a3 Na6 16. Bxe3 O-O 17. Qc2 Bg4 18. h6 g6 19. Qc3 Bf6 20. Bd4 Be7 21. c5
Re8 22. c6 Bf8 23. cxb7 Rb8 24. Bxa6 Qxd5 25. Kf2 Bxf3 26. Bc4 Re2+ 27. Bxe2
Bxh1 28. Rxh1 Qxh1 29. Qxc7 Qh4+ 30. Kf1 Qh1+ 31. Kf2 Qh4+ 32. Kf1 Qh1+ 33. Kf2
1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.21"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A49"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2724"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 5. O-O c6 6. Bf4 O-O 7. Qc1 Bg4 8. Nbd2
Nh5 9. Bg5 f6 10. Be3 e5 11. h3 Be6 12. g4 Nf4 13. Bxf4 exf4 14. Nb3 Qc7 15.
Nc5 Bf7 16. b3 g5 17. c4 Nd7 18. Nd3 Rae8 19. Re1 h5 20. gxh5 dxc4 21. bxc4 Nb6
22. c5 Nd5 23. Qa3 Bxh5 24. Nb4 Nxb4 25. Qxb4 Re7 26. Rab1 Rfe8 27. d5 cxd5 28.
Nd4 Qd7 29. Qb3 Kh8 30. Qxd5 Qxd5 31. Bxd5 Rd7 32. Bf3 Bxf3 33. Nxf3 Bf8 34. c6
bxc6 35. Kf1 Kg7 36. Rec1 c5 37. Rc2 Kg6 38. Ne1 f5 39. Rbc1 g4 40. hxg4 fxg4
41. Rc4 Kg5 42. Ng2 Rh7 43. Rxc5+ Bxc5 44. Rxc5+ Re5 45. Rxe5+ Kf6 46. Rd5 0-1

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.21"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A14"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. d4 dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4
Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Bd5 11. Qd3 c5 12. Nc3 Bc6 13. Rfd1 Qa5 14. Bxf6 Bxf6
15. d5 exd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Ng5 g6 18. Qxd5 Nc6 19. Ne4 Bxb2 20. Rab1 Rad8
21. Qb3 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Bg7 23. e3 Ne5 24. Nd6 b5 25. axb5 axb5 26. Qxb5 Qxb5
27. Nxb5 c4 28. Bd5 Rb8 29. Nc3 Rc8 30. Bb7 Rb8 31. Bd5 Rc8 32. Bb7 Rb8 33. Bd5
Rc8 1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.22"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Adams, Mi"]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2740"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. c3 Ngf6 5. Qe2 a6 6. Ba4 e5 7. O-O Be7 8. d4
b5 9. Bc2 O-O 10. Rd1 Qc7 11. a4 {The position more resembles a Spanish than
any Sicilian, though the move order was of Bb5+ Sicilian. The theme here is
quite Spanish: White has a nice center that is being challenged by Black's
pawns on c5 and e5. White has the choice of attacking anywhere on the board,
and this time he chooses to strike at the queenside with a4.} Rb8 12. Na3 c4 {
The novelty of the game, though rather logical. Black expands on the queenside
and gains some space. On the other hand, once White has locked up the
queenside he can start figuring out how to put pressure on the other side of
the board.} 13. Bd2 (13. Nh4 $5 g6 14. axb5 axb5 15. Bg5 {is interesting.})
13... Re8 14. axb5 axb5 15. h3 d5 $5 {Opening up the center at an opportune
moment. This is Black's main resource if White 'does nothing'.} 16. dxe5 Nxe5
17. Nxe5 $2 {This is based on a miscalculation: MVL had a better grasp of the
tactics of this position than Adams!} (17. exd5 Ng6 $11 {Black will get back
his d-pawn sooner or later.} (17... Neg4 $5 {is possible because of the
discovery from the rook on e8.} 18. hxg4 Bxa3 19. Be3 $13)) 17... Qxe5 18. f4
Bc5+ (18... Qc7 19. e5 {is not bad for Black, but he has much better.}) 19. Be3
Qh5 $1 {Adams must have underestimated or completely missed this move.} 20. Rd2
(20. Qxh5 Bxe3+ 21. Kh2 Nxh5 {leaves Black up a piece.}) (20. g4 {and Black
has several wins, the clearest seems to be:} Bxe3+ 21. Qxe3 Bxg4 22. hxg4 Qxg4+
23. Kh2 Nxe4 {White's king is about to get mated, and he isn't even up
material.}) 20... dxe4 {Simple. Black is up a pawn.} 21. Re1 Qxe2 22. Rdxe2
Bxe3+ 23. Rxe3 Rb6 24. Kf2 {Black is not winning yet, but the position is
rather ugly for White. He is down a pawn for no compensation, all he can do is
try to pressure e4 in hopes that Black cannot make progress.} Bf5 25. Rd1 h5
26. Kg3 g6 27. Rd4 Kg7 28. Kh4 {White's king march is aimed at playing g4 at
some point. It is more suicidal than brave.} Be6 29. Re2 (29. Bxe4 Bf5) 29...
Rbb8 30. Bd1 (30. Bxe4 Bd5 31. Bf3 Rxe2 32. Bxe2 Bxg2 $17) 30... Bf5 31. Bc2
Rec8 32. Re1 Rc5 33. Bd1 $2 Nd5 34. g3 {White has successfully woven a mating
net around his own king. MVL scoops up the victory:} Rh8 35. Nc2 Ne7 {Oh oh,
suddenly g5 is almost mate, followed by Ng6.} 36. Rd6 Be6 {Nf5 and mate is the
threat. Also, g5 and Ng6 isn't too bad.} 0-1

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.22"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Navara, D."]
[Black "Rapport, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D07"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2671"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 {another Chigorin, why not?} 3. Nc3 Nf6 (3... dxc4 {is the
main line, but to be fair it is rather dubious.}) 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 e5 {
surprisingly, this is the only move that makes sense. If Black plays passively
White will simply establish a strong pawn center and roll over his opponent.}
6. dxe5 Be6 (6... Bb4 7. Bd2 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Ba5 {might be close to enough for
the pawn, but the position needs more practical tests.}) 7. Bg5 Nxc3 8. Qxd8+
Nxd8 9. bxc3 {Black's down a pawn for now, but White's structure is ghastly
and he still has a ways to go before finishing development. Black has
reasonable chances of equalizing.} h6 10. Bh4 Nc6 11. e3 Bd5 12. Bb5 g5 13. Bg3
O-O-O 14. O-O a6 15. Bxc6 bxc6 $5 {What a decision! I think 90% of
grandmasters would simply take with the bishop and think later. I have a hard
time understanding the advantages of taking with the pawn, as there is no
immediate need to keep the bishop on d5.} (15... Bxc6 16. Nd4 Bd5 17. Rfd1 Ba3
$44) 16. h4 Rg8 17. hxg5 hxg5 18. Nd4 c5 19. Nb3 {Black's pair of bishops
still compensate for the pawn, but White is for preference.} Rg6 20. Rfd1 Be7
21. Rd2 Rb6 22. Nxc5 $1 {A nice tactic. Black cannot take on c5.} (22. Rad1
Bxb3 23. Rxd8+ Bxd8 24. axb3 Rxb3 {already favors Black.}) 22... Rh6 $1 {And
an appropiate counter! White's knight on c5 is hanging. Also dangerous is 
Rdh8, threatening mate!} (22... Bxc5 23. Rad1 {loses the bishop on d5 and
Black is simply down material.} c6 $6 24. c4 $18) 23. Rad1 {forced but
sufficient.} Rdh8 24. f3 Bxa2 $1 25. Kf2 Bc4 {Black keeps his pair of bishops,
and the compensation!} 26. Ne4 Rh1 27. f4 $2 {over ambitious.} (27. Rd4 Rxd1
28. Rxd1 Rd8 29. Ra1 $11) 27... gxf4 28. exf4 a5 {In endgames, the quantity of
pawns is not as important as the quality of pawns. This guy is rolling, and
rolling quickly.} 29. f5 a4 (29... Bb3 $1 {Would have given White some serious
difficulties.}) 30. e6 fxe6 31. f6 {following a rule I wrote up a couple of
sentences ago.} Rxd1 32. Rxd1 Bf8 33. Bf4 Bd5 34. Nd2 (34. Ke3 $1 $11) 34...
Rg8 35. g3 Bc5+ 36. Be3 Bd6 {Black is clearly in the lead. White's connected
passed pawns on the kingside are not connected yet, and they have problems
making progress. Meanwhile the bishops are tearing the board apart.} 37. c4 Bc6
38. Ke2 a3 $2 (38... Rxg3 $1 {Sometimes you just have to be greedy.} 39. f7 Bf8
$1 $17 (39... Rg7 $15 40. Ne4 $1 Bxe4 41. Rxd6 Rxf7 42. Rxe6)) 39. f7 Rxg3 $2 {
This is already playing with fire, probably missing the continuation in the
game.} 40. Ne4 $1 Rg2+ $2 (40... Bxe4 41. Rxd6 Rf3 42. Rxe6 Rxf7 43. Rxe4 a2
44. Bd4 Rh7 $1 {Holds, barely. White cannot prevent Black from winning the
bishop!} 45. Kd2 (45. Kf2 Rh2+ 46. Kf3 Rh1 $11) 45... Rd7 $1) 41. Kf1 Bf8 (
41... Bxe4 42. Rxd6 {is now losing.}) 42. Kxg2 Bxe4+ 43. Kg3 {Black's down the
exchange, but it is not over yet.} e5 $1 44. Bg5 a2 45. Bf6 Bd3 $2 (45... c5 $1
{Black had to play this move, giving c7 for the king. The threat is Bg6.}) (
45... Bg6 46. Rd8+ Kb7 47. Bxe5 {doesn't work yet.}) 46. Bxe5 {White now
controls a1...} Bxc4 47. Bf6 {and ther is no stopping Rd8+.} a1=Q 48. Rd8+ (48.
Rd8+ Kb7 49. Bxa1 {and it is all over.}) 1-0

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.22"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Wojtaszek, R."]
[Black "Eljanov, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E17"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d5 exd5 8. Nh4
c6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nf5 Nc7 11. e4 d5 12. Nc3 Bf6 13. exd5 cxd5 14. Bf4 Nba6
15. Re1 Qd7 16. Bh3 Qd8 17. Nd6 Bc6 18. Rc1 Nc5 19. b4 N5e6 20. Nce4 dxe4 21.
Rxc6 Nxf4 22. gxf4 Ne8 23. Nxe4 Qxd1 24. Rxd1 Rd8 25. Bd7 Be7 26. b5 g6 27. Kg2
Kg7 28. f5 Nf6 29. Nxf6 Bxf6 30. Rc7 Be5 31. Rxa7 Ra8 32. Ra6 Rfd8 33. Rd5 f6
34. Rd3 gxf5 35. Rda3 Rab8 36. Bxf5 Rg8 37. Ra7+ Kf8+ 38. Kf1 Rg5 39. Bxh7 Bxh2
40. Rh3 Rg1+ 41. Ke2 Re8+ 42. Kf3 Bd6 43. Be4 Rg7 44. Rh8+ Rg8 45. Rh6 Re7 46.
Rxf6+ Kg7 47. Rg6+ Kh8 48. Rh6+ Kg7 49. Rxe7+ Bxe7 50. Rg6+ Kh8 51. Rxb6 Rf8+
52. Ke2 Rxf2+ 53. Kxf2 Bc5+ 54. Kf3 Bxb6 55. Kf4 Kg7 56. Ke5 Kf7 57. Kd6 Ke8
58. Kc6 1-0

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.23"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Navara, D."]
[Black "Wojtaszek, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. h3
{Not the most common move, but certailny one that is gaining momentum. It was
used by Navara this year already, against Wesley So in their match in Prague.}
Be7 9. g4 $5 {Usually this move is done to hinder d5, but d5 is fully playable
here!} (9. f4 exf4 10. Bxf4 Nc6 11. Qe2 Nd7 12. O-O-O Nce5 {with a complex
position, Navara-So, 2015.}) 9... d5 {definitely the test of fire.} (9... O-O
10. g5 Nfd7 11. h4 {is more or less White's idea: now he controls d5 and
starts attacking on the kingside.}) 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Bg2 Nxe3 12. Qxd8+ Bxd8
13. fxe3 {White has some pressure on the queenside with his powerful bishop on
g2, but his king is a bit exposed and Black does have the pair of bishops.}
Bh4+ (13... Nc6 14. Nc5 $14 {runs into White's plan.} Bh4+ 15. Ke2 Bc4+ 16. Nd3
$1 $14 {White follows up with b3 and a very nice position.}) 14. Kf1 Nc6 {
Black has to play this sooner or later.} 15. Nc5 Bc4+ 16. Kg1 O-O-O (16... Bg5
17. Kf2 (17. Re1 O-O-O 18. b3 {transposes back into the game.}) 17... Bh4+ 18.
Kg1 (18. Kf3 O-O {seems to risky for White.}) 18... Bg5 $11) 17. b3 Bg5 18. Re1
Bh4 19. Rb1 $1 {Beautiful! The rook is very slightly better placed on b1 as
when White takes on c4 it will be hitting b7.} Bg5 20. Kf2 Bh4+ 21. Kf3 {White
is fearless, and I guess it is easier to do so when you have prepared the
whole thing, but it is still impressive. How do we know it was all prep? well,
he spent less than 30 seconds per move up to this point!} e4+ {Played aftre a
long think, and still the computer recommendation.} (21... Bd5+ 22. Nxd5 Rxd5
23. Ne4 $14 {White's powerful knight on e4 gives him a small advantage.}) (
21... Rd2 22. N5e4 Bd5 23. Nxd5 Rxd5 $16) 22. Kf4 {played instantly, of course.
} (22. N5xe4 Ne5+ 23. Kf4 Ng6+ {is a draw by perpetual.}) 22... g5+ (22... Rd6
$5 {was looked at in depth in the post-mortem. You will be able to find Danny
King's comments on this move later on.}) 23. Kf5 {Black seems to be on the
verge of mating his opponent, but no such thing is available.} Rhe8 (23... Be6+
24. Nxe6 $8 fxe6+ 25. Kxe4 $8 Rd2 $1 26. Bf3 {should give Black enough
counterplay to claim equality. Perhaps this is the correct continuation.}) 24.
Rhd1 Re5+ 25. Kf6 Rg8 (25... Rxc5 26. Rxd8+ Nxd8 27. bxc4 Rxc4 28. Nxe4 Rc6+
29. Ke7 Rc7+ 30. Kf8 Rxc2 31. Nd6+ Kc7 32. Be4 {favors White, slightly.}) 26.
bxc4 {The first move that Navara realy thought about, though it was kind of
forced.} Rg6+ 27. Kxf7 Re7+ 28. Kf8 Rf6+ $6 {Perhaps the truly first
inaccurate move from Wojtaszek.} (28... Reg7 $1 {Was the way to equalize. The
silicon beast claims that there is a draw by perpetual.}) 29. Kg8 Rg6+ 30. Kh8
$1 {Fearless!} Rf6 31. Rf1 {White is not interested in repeating moves when he
is up so much time on his opponent.} Bf2 32. Rxf2 Rxf2 33. Rf1 {There is no
checkmate.} Rxg2 $2 (33... Re8+ $1 34. Kxh7 Rxg2 35. N3xe4 Re7+ 36. Kg6 b6 {
prevents the game continuation.}) 34. Rf8+ Kc7 35. Nd5+ $2 (35. N5xe4 $1 {Was
a hard move to spot, but very strong. Black's king is the one that comes under
fire, suddenly!}) 35... Kd6 36. Nxe7 Kxc5 37. Rf5+ Kxc4 38. Nxc6 bxc6 39. Rxg5
{A complex endgame, in which either side can easily go wrong.} Rg3 $2 (39...
Rxc2 40. Kxh7 Kd3 41. Rh5 Kxe3 42. g5 Rc5 {will probably end up in a drawn
queen endgame.}) 40. h4 h6 $2 (40... Rxe3 41. Kxh7 Rg3 42. h5 e3 43. h6 Kc3 44.
Kg6 e2 45. h7 e1=Q 46. h8=Q+ {is only a little better for White, close to a
draw.}) 41. Rg6 Rxe3 42. Kg7 {Black is in serious trouble now. The two passed
pawns are too strong.} Rg3 43. Kxh6 e3 44. Kg5 $2 (44. g5 $1 $18) 44... Kd5 $2
{Black had to be active in the endgame!} (44... Kc3 45. h5 e2 46. Re6 Kd2 47.
h6 e1=Q 48. Rxe1 Kxe1 49. h7 Rh3 50. Kg6 Ke2 51. Kg7 Kf3 $11) 45. Kf4 Rh3 $6 {
making it easy for White.} (45... e2 46. c4+ Kxc4 47. Re6 Rh3 48. Rxe2 Rxh4 49.
Rc2+ Kd5 50. Kf5 {looks very bad for Black.}) 46. h5 c5 47. Rg5+ Kd4 48. Re5 {
Re4+ cannot be stopped.} 1-0

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.23"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Rapport, R."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A15"]
[WhiteElo "2671"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 f6
8. h4 h5 9. e5 Nc6 10. Bd3 Kf7 11. Re1 Bf5 12. Bxf5 gxf5 13. e6+ Kg6 14. Ng1
Bh6 15. Ne2 Rad8+ 16. Kc2 Rd6 17. Nf4+ Bxf4 18. Bxf4 Ne5 19. Bxe5 fxe5 20. Rxe5
Rhd8 21. Re2 Kf6 22. Rae1 Ra6 23. Re5 Rdd6 24. Rc5 Rac6 25. Ra5 a6 26. Ra4 Rxe6
27. Rxe6+ Rxe6 28. Kd2 Rd6+ 29. Ke2 e5 30. Rc4 c6 31. a4 a5 32. b4 Rd5 33. bxa5
Rxa5 34. Rb4 Ra7 35. f3 f4 36. Kd3 Kf5 37. a5 Kf6 38. Ke4 Rxa5 39. Rxb7 Ra4+
40. Kd3 Ra2 41. Rh7 Rxg2 42. Rh6+ Kf5 43. Rxh5+ Kf6 1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.23"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Adams, Mi"]
[Black "Eljanov, P."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D10"]
[WhiteElo "2740"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. c4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bf4 Nc6 6. e3 Bg4 7. Qb3 Na5 8.
Qa4+ Bd7 9. Qc2 e6 10. Nf3 Be7 11. Bd3 Nc6 12. a3 Nh5 13. Be5 f6 14. Bg3 f5 15.
Be5 O-O 16. h3 Nf6 17. Bf4 Ne4 18. O-O Rc8 19. Rfc1 Bf6 20. Qb3 Na5 21. Qa2
Nxc3 22. bxc3 b5 23. Nd2 Nc4 24. a4 a6 25. axb5 axb5 26. Bxc4 dxc4 27. Nf3 Bc6
28. Qe2 Qd5 29. Qf1 Ra8 30. Ne5 Bb7 31. f3 Be7 32. Bg3 Bg5 33. Qe1 Ra4 34. Rxa4
bxa4 35. Ra1 Ra8 36. Bh4 Bh6 37. Be7 Bc6 38. h4 Be8 39. Rb1 (39. Bc5 $14) 39...
a3 40. e4 Qa5 41. exf5 (41. Nxc4 $13) 41... a2 42. Ra1 exf5 43. Nxc4 (43. Bb4
$15) 43... Qb5 44. Nd6 (44. Qe6+ Bf7 45. Qxf7+ Kxf7 46. Nd6+ Kxe7 47. Nxb5 Bc1
{is ugly for White. The endgame is very bad:} 48. Rxc1 a1=Q 49. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 50.
Kf2 Ra2+ 51. Kg3 Kd7 $17) 44... Qd5 $1 {Suddnely White's pieces are in
horrible positions. He is, surprisingly, lost. The threat is Bf4.} 45. Qe2 (45.
Nxe8 Rxe8 {and White has no good answer to Kf7.}) 45... Bf4 46. Nxe8 Rxe8 47.
Rxa2 Kf7 {White is simply losing a piece.} 48. Ra7 Bb8 49. Qa2 Qxa2 50. Rxa2
Bg3 $1 {More precise than taking the bishop right away. A nice finishing touch.
} 0-1

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.24"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Wojtaszek, R."]
[Black "Adams, Mi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E07"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2740"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez, Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Nf3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 c6 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Nc3
O-O 9. Bf4 Nh5 10. Bc1 Nhf6 11. Qd3 b6 12. b3 Ba6 13. Rd1 c5 14. Nb5 Bxb5 15.
cxb5 a6 16. bxa6 Qc8 17. Bb2 Qxa6 18. Qxa6 Rxa6 19. a4 Rc8 20. Rdc1 Ne4 21. e3
Ra7 22. Bf1 f5 23. Rc2 g5 24. dxc5 bxc5 25. Nd4 Kf7 26. Nb5 Raa8 27. f3 Nef6
28. a5 g4 29. f4 Nb8 $1 {The position is complicated. Black's last move was
great, transfering the knight to the much more useful square c6. The position
should be close to equal, but easier to play for Black.} 30. Be5 Nc6 31. Nd6+
$6 (31. Bc3 $1 $11) 31... Bxd6 32. Bxd6 Ne4 33. Bxc5 Rxa5 (33... Nb4 34. Bxb4
Rxc2 35. Be1 {is an extra exchange for Black, but with the two passed pawns
things are not so clear yet.}) 34. Rac1 Rb8 (34... Ne5 $1 35. b4 (35. fxe5
Raxc5 36. Rxc5 Rxc5 37. Rxc5 Nxc5 38. b4 Nd7 {is probably just a winning
endgame for Black.}) 35... Nf3+ 36. Kg2 Ra3 {with very real pressure on
White's king and pawns.}) 35. Bd6 Nxd6 36. Rxc6 Ne8 37. Rb1 Rb4 38. Ra6 Rxa6
39. Bxa6 {Black is still marginally better, but converting seems very
difficult.} Nd6 40. Bd3 Kf6 41. Kf2 e5 42. fxe5+ Kxe5 43. Ke2 Ne4 44. Bxe4 Kxe4
45. Kf2 h6 46. Ke2 1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.24"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Eljanov, P."]
[Black "Rapport, R."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A95"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2671"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Nf3 d5 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2
Ne4 9. Bf4 Nd7 10. Rad1 g5 11. Be3 Nd6 12. b3 Bf6 13. Bc1 Rf7 14. Ba3 Ne4 15.
Nxe4 fxe4 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Be7 18. Bd6 Bxd6 19. exd6 Bd7 20. f3 exf3 21.
Bxf3 Qa5 22. c5 b6 {A very unusual situation. White has a protected passed
pawn on d6, but for now its support is being ripped apart. Eljanov tries to
use his initiative on the f-file to keep the d-pawn active and alive.} 23. Bh5
Rxf1+ 24. Rxf1 Qxc5+ 25. Qxc5 bxc5 26. Rf7 Rd8 {awkward, but forced.} (26...
Be8 27. Rc7 Bxh5 28. d7 {simply wins for White.}) 27. Re7 e5 $1 {Without
activity Black cannot survive. He tries to at least push his pawns forward.}
28. g4 (28. Rxe5 Kg7 29. Re7+ Kf6 $11 {Escaping the last rank allows Black to
move his bishop.}) 28... e4 29. Kf2 a5 30. h3 a4 $6 {Rapport is trying to use
his passed pawns to some effect, but he is too paralyzed to use them.} (30...
h6 31. Ke3 Kf8 32. Kd2 Kg8 {White simply wants to bring his king to a4 and
break through there! Still, things might not be so easy.} 33. Kc3 Kf8 34. Kb2
Kg8 35. Ka3 Kf8 36. Ka4 Be8 $1 $14) 31. bxa4 c4 32. a5 c3 33. Ke1 c5 34. a6 e3
35. Rxe3 d4 36. Re7 {Black's c-pawn is not dangerous enough.} Bc6 37. a7 Rxd6
$1 {Setting a last trap.} 38. Re8+ $2 (38. Rc7 $1 Be4 39. Bf7+ Kf8 40. Bc4 Rd8
41. Bd3 $18 Bxd3 42. exd3 {is winning due to Rb7 and Rb7.}) 38... Kg7 39. a8=Q
$2 {White underestimates Black's passed pawns!} Bxa8 40. Rxa8 d3 $1 {Suddenly
White has to give a perpetual!} 41. Ra7+ Kh6 42. exd3 Rxd3 43. Ra6+ Kg7 44.
Ra7+ (44. Ke2 c2 $17 45. Ra7+ Kf6 46. Rf7+ Ke5 47. Rf1 Kd4 {And White is the
only one that will lose this endgame. Once the king comes to c3 it is very
dangerous for Eljanov.}) 44... Kh6 (44... Kf6 45. Rf7+ Ke6 (45... Ke5 46. Rf2
$16) 46. Ke2 Rd2+ 47. Ke3 Rxa2 48. Rf5 $18) 1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.24"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Navara, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2724"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. O-O Bg6 7. Nbd2 Nh6 8. Nb3
Nf5 9. a4 a6 10. a5 c5 11. c4 dxc4 12. Bxc4 cxd4 13. Nbxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 Bc5
15. Qf4 O-O 16. Be3 Rc8 17. Bxc5 Rxc5 18. b4 Rc6 19. b5 Rc5 20. bxa6 bxa6 21.
Rfd1 Qc7 22. Bxa6 Rxa5 23. Rxa5 Qxa5 24. Rxd7 Qxa6 25. h3 h6 26. Kh2 Qc6 27.
Rd6 Qe4 28. Qxe4 Bxe4 29. Nd2 Bd5 30. Nf1 Rc8 31. Ne3 Bb7 32. Rd7 Bc6 33. Rd2
Bb7 34. Rd7 Bc6 35. Rd2 Bb7 36. Rd7 1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.25"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Navara, D."]
[Black "Adams, Mi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2740"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 {More and more people are
adding this Classical set up against the Queen's Gambit in their Repertoire.
Only a decade ago, allowing the exchange Queen's Gambit was basically extinct.}
c6 6. e3 h6 (6... Bf5 7. Qf3 Bg6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 {has shown to be
very solid for Black.}) 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Bd3 Nh5 {most of the people
playing this system with Black are now depending on some sort of early Nh5 to
try to equalize. Black will castle in the same side that White does.} 10. Bxe7
Qxe7 11. Nge2 Nb6 12. O-O O-O 13. Rae1 Be6 14. Nc1 Rad8 15. Nb3 Rfe8 16. Nc5 {
At the end of the day it still seems that White's position is slightly
preferable, but Black remains extremely solid and his pieces are all developed.
} Bc8 17. b4 Nc4 $1 {This move requires some calculation, despite the apparent
simplicity of it.} 18. Qe2 Qg5 19. f4 $6 {Overly ambitious.} (19. Bxc4 dxc4 20.
Qxc4 Bh3 $15) 19... Qh4 20. Bxc4 dxc4 21. g3 $2 {Allowing a rather obvious
"sacrifice".} (21. Qxc4 Nxf4 $1 {and because of the multiple pins and hanging
rooks, White simply can't take this intruding knight. Black stands slightly
better due to his pawn structure.}) 21... Nxg3 22. hxg3 Qxg3+ 23. Kh1 (23. Qg2
Rxe3 24. N5e4 Qxg2+ 25. Kxg2 Bh3+ 26. Kh2 Rd3 {gives Black at least three
pawns for a knight, which is enough material. Combined with the superior
activity and the potential passed pawns in the endgame, Black is almost
winning.}) 23... Qh3+ 24. Qh2 (24. Kg1 Rd6 {is rook lift 101.}) 24... Rxe3 25.
Nd1 Rxe1 26. Qxh3 Bxh3 27. Rxe1 b6 28. Ne4 Rxd4 {Four pawns. Black has more
material and the better position. White's knights lack good squares.} 29. Kh2
Bf5 30. Ndc3 Rd3 31. b5 {Desperation.} cxb5 32. Nxb5 Bd7 33. a4 a6 34. Nc7 Bxa4
35. Nxa6 c3 36. Nb4 Rd4 {White loses a piece, and after that he is down too
many pawns.} 37. Na2 Rd2+ 0-1

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.25"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Eljanov, P."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8.
a3 O-O 9. d3 Re8 10. b4 Bf8 11. Bb2 a5 12. b5 Nd4 13. Nd2 c6 14. bxc6 Nxc6 15.
Rc1 a4 16. Nce4 Ra5 17. Nc4 Nxc4 18. dxc4 Bg4 19. Qxd8 Rxd8 20. e3 h6 21. Rfe1
Be6 22. Bf1 Bf5 23. Bg2 Ra6 24. c5 Ra5 25. Rc4 Rb5 26. Bc3 Rb3 27. Ra1 Be6 28.
Bf1 f5 29. Nd2 Rxc3 30. Rxc3 Rxd2 31. Rb1 f4 32. Bc4 Bxc4 33. Rxc4 fxe3 34.
fxe3 Ra2 35. Rc3 Na5 36. Rb4 Nb3 37. Rxa4 Nxc5 38. Ra8 b6 39. Rc1 Rd2 40. Rf1
Ne6 41. Re8 Rd6 42. Rf5 e4 43. h4 Rc6 44. g4 Kh7 45. Re5 Nc5 46. Rxf8 Nd7 47.
Rfe8 1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.25"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Rapport, R."]
[Black "Wojtaszek, R."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "2671"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 Bb4+ 5. Nbd2 (5. Nc3 {is the main line
Ragozin.}) 5... dxc4 {This is why most people don't play this line as White.}
6. Qc2 b5 7. a4 c6 8. Bxf6 gxf6 {To me it is unclear what Raport has for his
pawn. Yes, Black's pawn structure on the kingside is crippled, but it controls
the important e5 square. Black also has the pair of bishops and a future break
on c5 or e5. White's development advantage and central control is not amazing
enough to compensate for a pawn. Black should already be better.} 9. g3 Bb7 10.
Bg2 Nd7 11. O-O a5 12. b3 cxb3 13. Nxb3 bxa4 14. Rxa4 Ba6 15. Ra2 Bb5 16. Rfa1
O-O 17. Nc1 Rc8 18. Nd3 {White retains some compensation, but he is also still
down a pawn. Black finally stabilizes his extra material by achieving the c5
break.} Bxd3 19. Qxd3 c5 20. dxc5 (20. d5 Nb6 21. dxe6 fxe6 $17) 20... Nxc5 21.
Qe3 Kg7 {Black is by no means winning, but with his extra pawn, he is clearly
in the driver's seat.} 22. h4 Qd6 23. Rc1 Nd7 24. Raa1 Rxc1+ 25. Rxc1 Bc5 26.
Qc3 a4 27. Qa1 a3 28. Rd1 Qc7 (28... Qxg3 29. Rxd7 Qxf2+ 30. Kh1 Qxe2 $19 {was
possible, but why complicated matters?}) 29. h5 h6 30. Rc1 Qb6 31. e3 Rb8 32.
Bf1 Bxe3 $1 {this time the bishop simply cannot be taken.} 33. Rc2 Bc5 34. Rd2
Qb1 {A very straightforward game for Wojtaszek.} 0-1

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Navara, D."]
[Black "Eljanov, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A33"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. a3 Bc5 7. Nb3 Bb6 8. e4
O-O 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 d6 11. Be2 a5 12. O-O a4 13. Nd2 Nd4 14. Nf3 e5 15. Nxd4
Bxd4 16. Nb5 Bc5 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. Bg4 Be6 19. Qe2 Qg6 20. h3 Rac8 21. Kh1 f5
22. exf5 Bxf5 23. Bxf5 Rxf5 24. Rad1 Rf4 25. Nc3 Rcf8 26. f3 Rh4 27. Nxa4 Bd4
28. Nc3 Bxc3 29. bxc3 Rc8 30. Qd3 Qxd3 31. Rxd3 Rhxc4 32. Rxd6 Rxc3 33. Rb1
Rc1+ 34. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 35. Kh2 Rc3 36. a4 Rc4 37. Rb6 e4 38. fxe4 Rxe4 39. a5 Re5
40. Rxb7 Rxa5 1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Adams, Mi"]
[Black "Rapport, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C03"]
[WhiteElo "2740"]
[BlackElo "2671"]
[PlyCount "236"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 c5 6. e5 Nfd7 7. c3 Nc6 8. O-O
h5 9. Qe2 a5 10. dxc5 Qc7 11. Bb5 a4 12. b4 axb3 13. Nxb3 Nxc5 14. Nxc5 Bxc5
15. c4 O-O 16. Bf4 dxc4 17. Bxc4 Be7 18. Rac1 Ra3 19. Rfe1 Rd8 20. Bb3 Ra5 21.
Ng5 g6 22. Qe3 Bb4 23. Re2 Ba3 24. Rc3 Bb4 25. Rc1 Ba3 26. Rc3 Bb4 27. Rc4 Rad5
28. h4 b5 29. Rc1 Rd3 30. Qe4 {After much maneuvering, Rapport finds himself
in a difficult situation. He is less active than his opponent, who has some
threats down the c-file and potentially some ideas with sacrifices on the
kingside.} R3d4 31. Qf3 $1 Bb7 (31... Rc4 {is not something anyone wants to
play, but was maybe objectively better.}) 32. Qg3 $2 (32. Rec2 $1 {Seems to
already put impossible problems for Black:} Rc8 (32... Ba3 33. Rxc6 Bxc1 34.
Rxc7 Bxf3 35. Bxc1 $1 {Doesn't work for Black.}) 33. Nxe6 fxe6 34. Bxe6+ Kg7
35. Bxc8 Qxc8 36. Rxc6 {simply wins.}) 32... Ba3 33. Rc3 {White's position is
very strong nonetheless.} Bf8 34. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 35. Qxg6+ Qg7 36. Bxe6+ $6 (36.
Qxe6+ Kh8 37. Rg3 {is completely crushing.} Rxf4 38. Rxg7 Bxg7 39. Qg6 {
material is roughly equal, but Black is simply getting mated.}) 36... Kh8 37.
Qxh5+ Qh7 38. Qxh7+ Kxh7 39. Bf5+ Kh8 40. Be4 b4 {Time trouble is over. White
has a bunch of pawns for the piece. He isn't quite winning, but its close.} 41.
Rc1 Rd1+ 42. Re1 Rxc1 43. Rxc1 Nd4 44. Bxb7 Ne2+ 45. Kh2 Nxf4 46. g3 Ng6 (46...
Ne6 $1 {The knight on g6 is not well placed.}) 47. f4 Rd2+ 48. Kh3 Rxa2 49. Rc8
$1 Rf2 $6 {This move fails tactically but this was already awful.} (49... Kg7
50. h5) 50. h5 $1 Nxf4+ 51. gxf4 Rxf4 52. Kg3 {Black is paralyzed. He will
soon lose the bishop.} Rf5 53. Kg4 Rxe5 54. Rxf8+ Kg7 55. Rf3 Rc5 56. Ba6 Rc6
57. Bb5 Rc5 58. Ba6 Rc6 59. Bb5 Rc5 60. Be8 Rc4+ 61. Kg5 Rc5+ 62. Kg4 Rc4+ {
The endgame is winning, but Adams takes a long, long time to do so.} 63. Kf5
Kh6 64. Re3 Rc5+ 65. Kf6 Rc8 66. Ke7 Rb8 67. Rb3 Kg5 68. Bg6 Kh6 69. Kd6 Rb6+
70. Kc7 Rb5 71. Kc6 Rb8 72. Bf7 Rf8 73. Bg6 Rb8 74. Kc5 Rb7 75. Kd4 Rb8 76. Kd3
Rd8+ 77. Kc2 Rb8 78. Kb2 Rb7 79. Re3 Kg7 80. Kb3 Kh6 81. Re5 Rb8 82. Be8 Rb7
83. Re6+ Kg7 84. Bg6 Rb8 85. Be4 Kh8 86. Re7 Rb5 87. Bg6 Rb6 88. Bd3 Rb8 89.
Rd7 Rb6 90. Rd5 Kg7 91. Bb5 Kh6 92. Kxb4 Rb8 93. Kc3 Rb6 94. Kd4 Re6 95. Bd3
Re1 96. Ra5 Re7 97. Be4 Rg7 98. Bf3 Re7 99. Ra6+ Kg7 100. Be4 Kh8 101. Ra5 Kg7
102. Ke3 Rf7 103. Bg6 Rf6 104. Ke4 Rf8 105. Ra6 Rf6 106. Ra7+ Kh8 107. Bf5 Rf8
108. Kf4 Rb8 109. Kg5 Rg8+ 110. Bg6 Rg7 111. Ra5 Rg8 112. Ra4 Rg7 113. Kf6 Rg8
114. Ra7 Rg7 115. Bf7 Kh7 116. Ra8 Kh6 117. Rb8 Rh7 118. Bg6 Rg7 1-0

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Wojtaszek, R."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D83"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6. Rc1 Be6 {Super solid.
This move is largely replacing 6...c5 as the main line.} 7. c5 c6 8. Bd3 Bg4 9.
Nge2 (9. Qc2 {Wang Yue-Carlsen, 2009.}) 9... Re8 10. f3 Bc8 11. O-O Nbd7 {
Black's only plan is e5. Luckily for him, it's impossible to avoid.} 12. Bg5 e5
13. b4 Nf8 14. Bh4 Bh6 15. f4 {Black's problems aren't over quite yet. He
managed to break on e5 but White is trying to punish Black for his lack of
space anyway.} e4 (15... g5 $5 {Is a very inhuman move:} 16. fxg5 (16. fxe5
gxh4 17. Rxf6 Bxe3+ 18. Kh1 Bg4 $1 $13) 16... Ng4 17. Rf6 $1 {With a wild
position.}) (15... exd4 16. exd4 {seemed much more logical to me, at least
keeping the e-file open and the e4 post for the knight, potentially.}) 16. Bc2
Bg7 17. b5 Bd7 18. Ba4 Qc8 19. h3 Nh5 20. Rb1 f5 (20... Bxh3 21. bxc6 $1 Qg4 (
21... bxc6 22. gxh3 Qxh3 23. Bxc6 {doesn't quite work.}) 22. Rf2 $18) 21. Qb3
Bf6 22. Bxf6 Nxf6 23. bxc6 bxc6 24. Qb7 {Without a doubt White is much better,
the only question is how much progress can he make. Wojtaszek slowly inches in,
first bringing in some knights.} Ne6 25. Nc1 Rb8 26. Qxc8 (26. Qxa7 Ra8 27. Qb7
Qxb7 28. Rxb7 Ra6 {perhaps gives Black a little counterplay, but it does seem
like an extra pawn.}) 26... Rexc8 27. Nb3 Nc7 28. Na5 $16 {Black's position is
simply terrible. c6 is too weak.} Nb5 29. Ne2 (29. Bxb5 cxb5 30. Rb3 $16) 29...
Na3 {MVL decides to give up his pawn in order to get counterplay.} 30. Rxb8
Rxb8 31. Bxc6 Bxc6 (31... Rb2 32. Bxd7 Rxe2 33. c6 Rc2 {is very unpleasant,
but it was probably Black's best try.}) 32. Nxc6 Rb2 33. Nc3 Rc2 34. Ne7+ Kf7
35. Ncxd5 Nc4 36. Rb1 Nh5 $2 {Black's position is very difficult, but this
accelerates defeat.} 37. Nc6 Nd2 38. Ncb4 (38. Ne5+ Kf8 39. Rb8+ Kg7 40. Rb7+
Kg8 41. c6 {and Black has no real threats, despite the aggressive look of his
pieces.}) 38... Nxb1 39. Nxc2 Ke6 40. Nc7+ Kd7 41. Nd5 Ke6 42. Ndb4 Nf6 43. d5+
Kd7 (43... Nxd5 44. Nd4+ {and the king cannot defend the knight.}) 44. d6 Nc3
45. Nd4 Nfd5 46. Na6 1-0

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.28"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Rapport, R."]
[Black "Navara, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D47"]
[WhiteElo "2671"]
[BlackElo "2724"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3
Bd6 9. O-O O-O {A well known position in which White has basically tried
everything under the sun.} 10. Ne2 {This move hasn't been played in a while,
but it is still valid.} a6 11. a4 Bb7 12. axb5 $6 {It's not clear to me why
White releases the pressure on the queenside and allows Black to take on b5
with the c-pawn, liberating the bishop on b7.} cxb5 13. Ng3 {White is prepared
against e5. Black could first play 13...g6 to defend f5, but Navara evaluates
that as unnecessary.} e5 (13... g6 14. Bd2 $15) 14. Bb1 (14. Nf5 Bb8 (14... Bc7
$5) 15. dxe5 Nxe5 {and Black has a more comfortable position.}) 14... Re8 15.
Ba2 {White targets the soft f7 pawn. However with Black's superior development
(compare the power of Black's two bishops and White's two bishops, not just
the one on a2), it is clear that Black is to be prefered.} h6 $6 {This move
looks natural, to stop Ng5, but it was perhaps a good time to bring some other
pieces into the game.} (15... exd4 16. Nxd4 Ne5 {and the knight lands on e5
immediately, unlike the long route it takes in the game to achieve some
activity.}) 16. Bd2 Bc7 17. Nh4 Nf8 18. Nhf5 Ne6 19. dxe5 (19. Bc3 $1) 19...
Bxe5 20. f4 $2 {A very ambitious pawn sacrifice (?) but it is completely
unclear what Rapport actually gets for his pawn.} Bxb2 (20... Bc7 21. Bc3 $16 {
is not even an option.}) 21. Rb1 Ba3 22. Bc3 Qxd1 23. Rbxd1 {There is plenty
of pressure on the kingside, but Navara has a good way of beating back the
attack.} Ne4 24. Bxg7 $2 (24. Nxe4 Bxe4 25. Nd6 Bxd6 26. Rxd6 {White is just
down a pawn, but at least he has some fighting chance.}) 24... Nxg3 25. hxg3
Be4 {White isn't losing a piece, but he is losing the game.} 26. Bb2 Bxb2 27.
Nd6 Bc6 28. f5 Ng5 29. Nxe8 Bxe8 {The smoke has basically cleared. Black has a
completely won position: two pieces for a rook with two passed pawns on the
queenside that are very dangerous. Navara mops up nicely.} 30. Rd6 Kh7 31. f6
Be5 32. Rd5 Bxg3 33. Rfd1 Kg6 34. Rf1 Kh7 35. Rfd1 Bc7 36. Bb1+ Kg8 37. Kf2 Nh7
38. Rc5 Bb6 39. Rcd5 Nxf6 40. Rd6 Ng4+ 0-1

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.28"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Adams, Mi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C89"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2740"]
[Annotator "Ramriez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3
d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d3 Bd6 13. Re1 Bf5 14. Qf3 Qh4
15. g3 Qh3 16. Be3 Bxd3 17. Nd2 Qf5 18. Bd4 Rae8 {Adams has played the Berlin
his entire life. This Rae8 move is a slight divergence from Rfe8, which was
the game between Caruana-Aronian in Zurich last year. Caruana annotated that
game in detail, you can find that in the Megabase 2015.} (18... Rfe8 19. a4)
19. Kg2 (19. a4 {would have been the "equivalent" of the other line. It
probably would just transpose.}) 19... h6 20. a4 Qxf3+ 21. Kxf3 Re6 22. axb5
axb5 {The position has a symmetrical pawn structure, but White is slightly
better. He has control over the a-file, Black has some problems with the
pressure generated by the b3 bishop, and he doesn't have any clear targets.}
23. Kg2 Rfe8 24. Rxe6 Rxe6 25. c4 $5 {Semewhat counterintuitive, but the point
is that the activity given to the White knight with this break is worth the
trade of a couple of pawns.} bxc4 26. Nxc4 Be4+ $6 (26... Bc7 $1 27. Ne3 $5 Be5
$1 {and Black is close to equalizing.} (27... Nxe3+ 28. Bxe3 {is slightly
annoying, with Ra7 coming next.})) 27. f3 Bd3 28. Nxd6 Rxd6 29. Kf2 {The pair
of bishops is a nice advantage to have. Material is reduced, yes, but White is
clearly better here. Black's pieces cannot compete with the power of that
bishop on d4.} Rd7 30. Ra3 Nc7 31. Be3 Nd5 32. Bc5 f6 33. Ba4 Bb5 34. Bc2 Nc7
35. Bg6 $6 Na6 (35... Rd2+ {was a nice time to get some activity. For example:}
36. Ke1 (36. Ke3 Re2+ 37. Kd4 Re5 {does not look right at all.}) 36... Re2+ 37.
Kd1 Na6 {but White is still a bit better.}) 36. Re3 Rd8 37. Be7 Rc8 (37... Rd2+
38. Ke1 Rxh2 39. Bc5 {doesn't get Black mated, but it is still unpleasant.}
Rh1+ 40. Kf2 Rh2+ 41. Kg1 Re2 42. Rxe2 Bxe2 43. Bd6 {and even though Black is
up a pawn, he is completely paralyzed. He cannot even take on f3 here because
Bd3 traps the knight! That being said, Black might have had no choice but to
go for this line.}) 38. b4 c5 $2 {A blunder.} (38... Nc7 39. Bd6 Nd5 40. Ra3
$16) 39. Bf5 $1 Rc6 (39... Rc7 40. Bd6 Rc6 41. Re8+ Kf7 42. Rf8# {is not an
option.}) 40. Bd7 $1 cxb4 41. Bxc6 Bxc6 42. Re6 {Black will lose the b4 pawn
next move and the resulting endgame is lost. Arguably Black could keep on
playing, but MVL would definitely convert this.} 1-0

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.29"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Navara, D."]
[Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A37"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O Nge7 (6... d6 {I
think is more accurate, with the idea of meeting} 7. Ne1 {with} Be6 8. d3 Nge7
9. Nc2 d5 $5 {as in Hevia-Ramirez, 2014. But who am I to tell MVL what to do?})
7. Ne1 {White rushes his knight to e3, where it controls d5.} a6 $5 {Usually
in these systems Black tries to play a5 against White's early a3, but here MVL
tries to break on b5 as quickly as possible. An interesting though unusual
approach.} (7... d6 8. Nc2 Be6 9. Ne3 {is not as effective, put also possible.}
) 8. d3 Rb8 9. a4 d6 10. Nc2 O-O 11. Rb1 a5 $1 {Quite interesting. White hard
counters b5 with this a4 move, but Black now makes sure the queenside is
completely locked up, giving him easy access to adventures on the kingside.}
12. Bg5 f6 13. Bd2 f5 14. f4 {Navara decides that he doesn't want to sit and
watch as Black improves his kingside position.} Be6 15. Nd5 Nb4 16. fxe5 $6 {
I don't like this move at all. It gives Black too much space and central
control.} (16. Ncxb4 axb4 17. fxe5 Bxd5 18. cxd5 Bxe5 19. Bg5 $11) 16... Nbxd5
17. cxd5 Nxd5 18. exd6 Qxd6 {Black has two pawn islands against White's three;
also his pieces just seem to be in better positions.} 19. Bxa5 {The greedy
option, and the only way to justify Navara's decision, but now Black starts
rolling the kingside:} f4 $1 20. Qe1 (20. Be1 Be5 21. b4 $1 {Was probably the
best option, trying to create some kind of counterplay. However after} fxg3 22.
Rxf8+ Rxf8 23. bxc5 gxh2+ 24. Kh1 Qc6 $1 $17 {With some checkmate threats,
including Bh3, I would much rather be Black.}) 20... Be5 $1 {It's easy to see
that this pressure is close to insurmountable.} 21. e4 fxe3 22. Bc3 Rxf1+ 23.
Bxf1 Re8 24. Na3 {White isn't even up a pawn anymore, and his position is very
bad. Black's passed pawn on e3, his excellent centralized pieces and safer
king give him an almost decisive advantage.} Nxc3 (24... Bd4 {was pretty
logical.}) 25. bxc3 Bd5 {Having two bishops shooting lasers at the White king
position is also pretty logical.} 26. Nc4 Bxc4 27. dxc4 Qd2 28. Qe2 (28. Qxd2
exd2 29. Rd1 Bxc3 {is just losing.}) 28... Rf8 29. Rxb7 Bxc3 30. Rb1 {losing
by force, but already Navara's position was miserable.} Qxe2 31. Bxe2 Rf2 32.
Bd3 Rd2 33. Be4 e2 34. Kf2 Ra2 {Black wins the exchange (Re1 is forced) and
the endgame is won easily.} 0-1

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.29"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Adams, Mi"]
[Black "Wojtaszek, R."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2740"]
[BlackElo "2733"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 c4 7. Bc2 d5 8. exd6
e5 9. O-O Bxd6 10. d3 cxd3 11. Qxd3 Be6 12. Bb3 Qe7 13. Re1 Bxb3 14. axb3 O-O
15. Na3 f5 16. Nc4 Nxc4 17. Qxc4+ Kh8 18. Bg5 Qf7 19. Qxf7 Rxf7 20. b4 e4 21.
b5 exf3 22. bxc6 bxc6 23. Ra6 h6 24. Rxc6 hxg5 25. Rxd6 Rb8 26. b4 Rc7 27. Rd3
fxg2 28. Re5 Rbc8 29. Rxf5 Rxc3 30. Rdd5 g4 31. Kxg2 Rf3 32. Rxf3 gxf3+ 33.
Kxf3 Rb8 34. b5 Rb6 35. h4 a6 36. bxa6 Rxa6 37. Kg4 Kh7 38. f4 Ra1 39. Rd6 Rg1+
40. Kf3 Rh1 41. Kg3 1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.29"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Rapport, R."]
[Black "Eljanov, P."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2671"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. g4 $5 {The
Shabalov-Shirov attack in the Meran fell out of fashion years ago, but it is
hard to imagine a player who is more suited to play it than Rapport.} Nxg4 8.
Rg1 Nxh2 9. Nxh2 Bxh2 10. Rxg7 Nf8 11. Rg2 Bd6 12. e4 {Even though this has
been played many times, it hasn't been seen in top tournament play. The idea
has been known for some time, though: Black is greedy, captures the pawn, but
his development is not as good as White's and Rapport's Central expansion
gives him good chances for compensation.} Ng6 13. Bg5 {It's interesting how
often this simple attack of the queen in the Meran forces an awkward reaction.
Black doesn't want to give up the f6 square (if he moves the queen), doesn't
want to weaken with f6, and he doesn't want to retreat his developed bishop -
but he has to choose!} Be7 14. Be3 (14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. O-O-O $13) 14... dxe4 15.
O-O-O $5 (15. Nxe4 f5 16. Nc3 f4 {is not good for White.}) 15... f5 16. d5 {
White is down two pawns, but things are about to get crazy! The center is
exploding and Black's lack of development is dangerous.} Qa5 17. Kb1 (17. d6
Bf6 18. Na4 $1 {was perhaps a better version of what happened in the game.})
17... Bd7 18. d6 $1 {Going for some positional compensation. Instead of
blasting the position open, Rapport closes it, but with the idea of curring
Eljanov's army in half. It will be difficult for him to make his king safe, as
well.} Bf6 19. Bd2 Qe5 20. Nb5 $6 {A nice tactical detail, but it is not
necessarily such a strong move. Black avoids the trap and asks the knight what
it is doing on b5.} (20. Qb3 $5 {counter pressuring b7, ocmes to mind.}) 20...
Kf7 (20... cxb5 21. Bc3 Qc5 22. b4 $1 Qc6 23. Bxf6 Rf8 {and White retains a
lot of compensation.}) 21. Bc3 Qf4 22. Nc7 $6 {White commits a lot of pieces
to the queenside, but Black simply migrates his remaining pieces to the
kingside, makes sure nothing happens in the center, and he uses his
overwhelming pawn majority to finish the game.} Rag8 23. c5 Bxc3 24. Qxc3 Ne5 {
Taking a look at the position, it is clear that Black has an excellent set of
pieces and he is up two pawns. It's true that the bishop on d7 is just a big
pawn, but if that piece on d7 was actually a real pawn, Black would be better
anyway.} 25. Rxg8 Rxg8 26. Be2 Qxf2 {Third pawn, why not?} 27. Qxe5 Qxe2 28.
Rh1 Qd3+ (28... Qd3+ 29. Ka1 Qh3 $1 30. Rb1 Qg3 {is just embarassing for
White's pieces.}) 0-1

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.30"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Vachier Lagrave, M."]
[Black "Rapport, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2671"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 {The variations with exd4
have fallen out of grace in the eyes of theoreticians. White has a couple of
ways of getting an advantage.} 6. g3 {This has been known for some time to
give White at least a slight edge.} O-O (6... d5 {is complex, but probably
just bad if White knows the correct continuation.}) 7. Bg2 Re8 8. O-O Bf8 9.
Bf4 Nbd7 10. Qd2 Ne5 11. Rad1 c6 12. h3 b5 13. b3 {Black's position is not
that bad, but White is to be preferred. He has better development and is
controlling all of Black's pieces. Now MVL puts in the squeeze.} b4 14. Na4 c5
{Seeking complications, but its unclear that it gives Black anything.} 15. Nb5
d5 {A very Rapport-like solution.} (15... Ba6 16. c4 Bxb5 17. cxb5 {doesn't
look good for Black. b5 is weak, but the nice light square control more than
makes up for it.}) (15... Bxh3 16. Bxe5 Rxe5 17. Bxh3 a6 18. Nxd6 $18) 16. exd5
Bxh3 (16... Bd7 17. Rfe1 Ng6 18. Bc7 Rxe1+ 19. Rxe1 Qc8 20. d6 Bxb5 21. Nxc5
$16) 17. Bxe5 Rxe5 (17... Bxg2 18. Bxf6 Qxf6 19. Kxg2 $18) 18. Bxh3 a6 {Black
regains his piece, but his position is trash.} 19. Nbc3 bxc3 20. Nxc3 {Black
is down a pawn and White's passed pawn on d5 is a strong asset. Black's best
hope is to blockade on the dark squares and hope White doesn't make any
progress.} Bd6 21. Rfe1 Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Qc7 23. Ne4 Nxe4 24. Rxe4 Qb6 25. Qe3 g6
26. Bd7 Rd8 27. Be8 {White is in control of the position. Black has to be
careful not to weaken his king too much.} Qc7 28. Kg2 Rb8 29. Rh4 h5 30. Re4
Rb4 31. c4 {MVL has no interest in exchange rooks, of course.} Rb8 $2 (31...
Rb7 {offers more resistance.} 32. Qf3 $2 (32. Bc6 Rb8 33. Qf3 Be5 {at least
improves the bishop.}) 32... Qd8 {with some chances to hold, Black wants to
play Re7 next move and exchange pieces.}) 32. Qf3 Bf8 33. Qf6 a5 (33... Bg7 34.
Qxa6 {is another pawn.}) 34. d6 $1 Qb7 (34... Bxd6 35. Bxf7+ Qxf7 36. Qxd6 {
costs Black a pawn and trades the opposite colored bishops.}) 35. f3 Bg7 36.
Qe7 (36. Qf4 {with the threat of Re7 was also completely winning.}) 36... Qxe7
37. Rxe7 Bf8 38. Bxf7+ Kg7 39. Ra7 Bxd6 40. Bd5+ Kf6 41. Rxa5 {two pawns are,
after all, two pawns.} Rb6 42. f4 g5 43. Kf3 h4 44. fxg5+ Kxg5 45. gxh4+ Kxh4
46. Ke4 Kg5 47. Rb5 Rb8 48. Rxb8 {White rushes his king to b6 and advances the
a-pawn.} 1-0

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.30"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Wojtaszek, R."]
[Black "Navara, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D98"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2724"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez, Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 Bg4 8.
Be3 Nfd7 9. Nd2 Na6 10. h3 Nb6 11. Qb3 Be6 12. d5 Bd7 13. Bxa6 bxa6 14. O-O c6
15. dxc6 Bxc6 16. Rfd1 Qc7 17. Rac1 Qb7 18. Qb4 Rab8 19. Nb3 Qa8 20. Qxe7 Rfe8
21. Qg5 h6 22. Qg3 Na4 23. Nd5 Nxb2 24. Rd2 Bxd5 25. exd5 Rbc8 26. Nc5 Re4 27.
d6 Rc4 28. Rb1 R8xc5 29. Bxc5 Qe4 30. Rf1 $6 (30. d7 Qxb1+ 31. Kh2 {Seems
simple enough:} Bf6 32. d8=Q+ Bxd8 33. Rxd8+ Kh7 34. Qe5 {and Black simply
gets mated.}) (30. Rbxb2 Rc1+ 31. Kh2 Be5 32. d7 Bxg3+ 33. fxg3 Qe1 34. d8=Q+
Kh7 35. g4 {And Black doesn't have any real threats:} Qh1+ 36. Kg3 Qe1+ 37. Kf3
Rc3+ 38. Rd3 Qf1+ 39. Ke4 Rxc5 40. Qd4 $18) 30... Rxc5 31. d7 Bf6 32. Rxb2 $6 (
32. d8=Q+ Bxd8 33. Rxd8+ Kh7 34. Qd6 {is stronger, as the attack is lethal, at
least once one realizes Black has nothing after:} Rg5 35. g4 h5 36. Qf6 Rxg4+
37. hxg4 Qxg4+ 38. Kh2 $18) (32. Qd6 $18 Qe7 33. Qxe7 Bxe7 34. Re1 $18) 32...
Rg5 33. Qb8+ Kg7 34. g3 $2 (34. Qb7 $1 $18 {But this would be a little unusual
to play with seconds on your clock.}) 34... Qd4 $1 35. Rb4 Qxd7 {With the
passed pawn eliminated, Navara has reasonable chances to hold this game.} 36.
h4 Rf5 37. Rbb1 Qd2 38. Rbd1 Qxa2 {With this pawn gone, White's winning
chanecs basically evaporate.} 39. Qxa7 Qc4 40. Qe3 a5 41. Qd3 Qxd3 42. Rxd3
1/2-1/2

[Event "48th Biel GM 2015"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2015.07.30"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Eljanov, P."]
[Black "Adams, Mi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E06"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2740"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2015.07.20"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4
Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nc3 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 c6 14. e3 a5 15.
h4 Na6 16. Rfd1 Qb6 17. Qe2 Rad8 18. Ne4 Be7 19. Nd2 Nb4 20. Nc4 Qa6 21. b3 Bf6
22. Rac1 Rd7 23. Be4 Rfd8 24. Qh5 Na2 25. Rc2 Nb4 26. Rcd2 Nd5 27. Rc1 Qa7 28.
Bb1 Ne7 29. Rdd1 Rd5 30. Qf3 R5d7 31. Nd2 Kf8 32. Ne4 Ng8 33. Nc5 Rd6 34. Bd3
Be7 35. Bc4 Nf6 36. g4 b6 37. Nd3 Nd7 38. Nf4 Kg8 39. Qg3 Qb8 40. g5 hxg5 41.
hxg5 b5 42. Bd3 e5 43. Ne2 g6 44. Kg2 exd4 45. e4 Kf8 46. Rh1 Ke8 47. Rh8+ Bf8
48. axb5 cxb5 49. e5 Rd5 50. Qf4 $2 (50. Re1 $1 $16 {Black's very weak king
will be difficult to hold. A timely e6 break will cost Black dearly.} Nxe5 51.
Nf4 $5 (51. Nxd4 $1 {is decisive.})) 50... Qxe5 {A free pawn is a free pawn,
after all.} 51. Re1 $4 {Perhaps a big oversight.} Qxh8 {Nicely calculated.
White has no real threats.} 52. Nxd4+ Re5 53. Rh1 Qg7 54. Bxb5 Be7 $19 {
Black's position is uncomfortable, but a rook is a rook after all...} 55. Ba4
Rxg5+ 56. Kf1 Qe5 {The rest is very easy. White cannot even avoid the queen
trade.} 57. Qxe5 Rxe5 58. Rh8+ Bf8 59. Nc6 Rh5 {Black is up way too much
material.} 0-1

