[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.28"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Mamedyarov, S."]
[Black "Eljanov, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E21"]
[WhiteElo "2748"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. Qb3 c5 6. Bg5 Bb7 7. e3 O-O 8. Be2
cxd4 9. Qxb4 Nc6 10. Qa3 dxc3 11. bxc3 h6 12. Bh4 Rc8 13. Rd1 Qc7 14. Bxf6 gxf6
15. O-O Kg7 16. Nd4 Ne5 17. Nb5 Qc5 18. Qb4 a5 19. Qxc5 Rxc5 20. Nd6 Ba6 21.
Rd4 f5 22. Rb1 Rb8 23. f4 Nc6 24. Rd2 Ne7 25. Kf2 Kf8 26. e4 Nc8 27. Nb5 Ke7
28. Rbd1 Rb7 29. exf5 Rxf5 30. g3 Rc5 31. Na3 d6 32. g4 Rd7 33. h4 Rd8 34. Rd4
Na7 35. Rb1 Nc8 36. Nc2 d5 37. cxd5 Bxe2 38. Kxe2 Rdxd5 39. Kd3 h5 40. Ne3 Rd7
41. f5 $1 {A very powerful move. Black has unpleasant choiecs to make now.}
hxg4 (41... exf5 42. Nxf5+ Kd8 43. Rf1 $1 {Holding the knight on f5} hxg4 44.
h5 {and the h-pawn is very dangerous.}) 42. h5 $1 {Excellent! Passed pawns
must be pushed, and this one is not easy to stop.} Nd6 43. h6 Rc8 44. Re1 (44.
f6+ {is some computer move that is very hard to find, but I like Mamedyarov's
human approach}) 44... Nb7 45. Rxd7+ Kxd7 46. Nxg4 Nc5+ 47. Kd4 Kd6 (47... Rh8
48. fxe6+ Nxe6+ 49. Ke5 $18) 48. Ne5 $1 f6 49. Ng6 $1 e5+ 50. Ke3 Rc7 51. Rd1+
Kc6 52. Rd8 {This rook maneuver is the finishing touch. Black can't prevent
the pawn from pushing forward.} Nb7 53. Rc8 $1 {Excellently timed rook trade.}
(53. Rh8 Nd6 54. h7 {might be winning, but is nowhere near as clear.}) 53...
Rxc8 54. Ne7+ Kc5 (54... Kc7 55. Nxc8 {there is no time to capture the knight,
so this would just be similar to the game.}) 55. Nxc8 Nd8 56. h7 Nf7 57. Ne7
Kc4 58. Ng8 $1 Kxc3 59. Nxf6 {The knight remaneuvers to g5, where it cannot be
taken, and then helps push the f-pawn.} 1-0

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.28"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Hou Yifan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C80"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2663"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {Yifan is not known for defending 1.e4 e5 with
Black, but after successfully doing so against Muzychuk it makes sense that
she incorporates it into her normal repertoire.} a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6.
d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Be7 11. Bc2 d4 12. Nb3 d3 13.
Bb1 Nxb3 14. axb3 Bf5 15. Re1 O-O 16. Be3 Qd5 17. Bd4 Rfd8 {A welwl known
position, actually, which has been seen since 1997 when Topalov had it against
Piket. More recently a draw between Wei Yi and Wesley So in January proves
that this variation is still playable.} 18. h4 {The novelty of the game, but
it shouldn't come as a surprise to a very well prepared player: it is after
all Komodo's first suggestion.} Bg6 {Oops, it seems that Yifan was not well
prepared in this line! This inaccuracy was played after a 27 minute think.} (
18... d2 {right away was the better choice} 19. Bxf5 $5 (19. Qxd2 {would
simply be the game down a tempo.}) 19... dxe1=Q+ 20. Qxe1 {seems dangerous for
Black, but at least he has more material in this variation. It is possible
that White is simply better, but we need pratical tests for that.} a5 $5) 19.
b4 {Clamping down on the queenside.} d2 20. Qxd2 Bxb1 21. Raxb1 Bxb4 {This is
the tactical justification for Black's play, but it falls short.} 22. Qf4 Be7
23. e6 $1 fxe6 24. Qg4 Nxd4 25. Nxd4 {White's initiative is strong: the knight
coming to e6 will be difficult to remove.} Bf6 26. Nxe6 Rd7 27. Re3 h5 $2 {
There was no reason to weaken her position so much.} (27... g6 {gave better
chances of survival, with potential ideas of Qf5 or Qh5 to reduces the
pressure.}) 28. Qg6 Rf7 29. Rbe1 {White's attack simply plays itself now.} Rc8
30. Nf4 Qd7 31. Qxh5 Re7 32. Nd5 Rf7 33. Rd1 (33. Nxf6+ Rxf6 34. Re7 {was also
good.}) 33... Qc6 34. Nf4 Rd7 35. Re8+ {A very one-sided game.} 1-0



[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.28"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Radjabov, T."]
[Black "Giri, A."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2726"]
[BlackElo "2790"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1
dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. Ne4 Qe7 13. Be2 Nc6 14. a3 Nxd4
15. Qxd4 Ba5 16. Qc5 Bd8 17. Bf3 Bc6 18. Rfd1 Bxe4 19. Qxe7 Bxe7 20. Bxe4 Bf6
21. b4 Rad8 22. g3 Bb2 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Rc7 Bxa3 25. Rxb7 Kf8 26. Rxa7 Bxb4
27. Ra8 Rxa8 28. Bxa8 Bc5 29. Kg2 Bb4 30. Be4 Bc5 31. h3 Bb4 32. Bf3 g5 33. g4
Bc5 34. Be4 Bb4 35. Bf3 Bc5 36. Be4 Bb4 37. Bf3 Bc5 38. Be4 Bb4 39. Bf3 Bc5 40.
Be4 Bb6 1/2-1/2
[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.28"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Harikrishna, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 O-O
8. Qd2 Nd7 9. O-O-O c5 {An interesting idea, perhaps. The computers really
don't like it and almaost everyone else plays 9...c6 instead.} 10. Bd3 Nf6 11.
Rhe1 Be6 12. Bg5 {Putting some pressure on Black's center.} h6 $2 {This move
simply does not work.} 13. Bxh6 $1 c4 {Played instantly} (13... gxh6 14. Qxh6 {
Is completely lost. For example:} c4 15. Rxe6 {Other moves win, but this is
the cleanest.} fxe6 (15... cxd3 16. Ng5 {threatening Rxf6} fxe6 17. Qg6+ Kh8
18. Rxd3 {with unstoppable mate.}) 16. Qg6+ Kh8 17. Ng5 {the bishop is taboo,
but there is no defense against Qh6+ followed by Bh7+ with a decisive attack.})
14. Bxg7 $1 cxd3 15. Qg5 Ne4 {Nh7 is similar} 16. Qh6 Bg5+ 17. Nxg5 Qxg5+ 18.
Qxg5 Nxg5 19. Bxf8 dxc2 20. Rxd6 Kxf8 $18 {The smoke has cleared. After many
trades the material balance will be of a Rook and three pawns agaisnt two
minor pieces. This is an almost hopeless material difference unless the minor
pieces are well coordinated, which they are not here. White's technical task
is long and not the easiest, but Karjakin eventually reeled in the full point.}
21. h4 Nh7 22. Kxc2 Nf6 23. f3 Ke7 24. Rd4 Rh8 25. c4 Nd7 26. b3 a6 27. Kc3 Nb8
28. g3 Nc6 29. Rd2 Kf6 30. Rh2 b5 31. cxb5 axb5 32. Rd2 Rh5 33. Re3 Ne7 34. Re4
Rf5 35. Rd3 Rc5+ 36. Kd2 Nf5 37. Rg4 Rc8 38. Rc3 Ra8 39. Rc2 Ne7 40. Rf4+ Kg7
41. Ke1 Nd5 42. Rd4 Kf6 43. Kf2 Ke5 44. Re4+ Kd6 45. h5 Ke7 46. g4 Kd6 47. Rd2
f5 48. gxf5 Bxf5 49. h6 Rh8 50. Red4 Be6 51. Rh4 Ke7 52. Rh5 Nf6 53. Rxb5 Rxh6
54. a4 Rh1 55. a5 Nd7 56. b4 Bc4 57. Rg5 Ke6 58. Rd4 Rc1 59. a6 Rc2+ 60. Kg3
Bf1 61. a7 Nb6 62. Rd1 1-0



[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.28"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Safarli, E."]
[Black "Mamedov, Rau"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E97"]
[WhiteElo "2664"]
[BlackElo "2655"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5
Ne7 9. b4 Kh8 10. c5 Nh5 11. Nd2 Nf4 12. Nc4 f5 13. f3 Ng8 14. cxd6 cxd6 15.
Be3 Bh6 16. a4 Bd7 17. Nb5 Bxb5 18. axb5 fxe4 19. fxe4 Nxe2+ 20. Qxe2 Rxf1+ 21.
Rxf1 Bxe3+ 22. Qxe3 Nf6 23. Qh3 Nxe4 24. Qg4 Nf6 25. Qe6 Ne4 26. Qg4 Nf6 27.
Qe6 Ne4 28. Qg4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.29"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D41"]
[WhiteElo "2790"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

{The last game between these players resulted in an easy victory for Pentala.
Anish was surely out for revenge today.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5
5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 {
This defense really follows the modern approach of drawing black at all costs.
Harikrishna is a true believer on this line, having beaten Li Chao and
Wojtaszek this year with it, however he did suffer a defeat at the hands of
the World Champion.} O-O 11. Rc1 (11. Bc4 {is more common, but Rc1 ha been
tried against Harikrishna before.}) 11... b6 (11... Nc6 {is thet Indian's
usual choice, but he decided to switch it up for this game.}) 12. Bd3 Bb7 13.
O-O h6 14. Qe3 Nc6 {was Mamedyarov-Kramnik from last year's Shamkir, a game
won by the Azerbaijani.} 15. h4 $5 {a Novelty and an interesting one. White
immediately signals his kindside intentions.} Rc8 16. h5 Qe7 17. Bb1 Rfd8 18.
d5 $1 {Played after a significant think, so it is possible that this is no
longer preparation.} exd5 19. e5 {This is the point of White's play. At the
cost of a pawn he has the huge threat of Qd3-h7, and defending against it is
far from obvious.} Ba6 20. Rfe1 Qd7 21. Qf4 {Despite being up a pawn, Black's
position is just very unpleasant. The immediate threat is Bf5.} Ne7 22. Nd4
Rxc1 23. Qxc1 Qa4 $2 {A mistake in a position that I think is just bad for
Black.} 24. e6 $1 {Very strong! The calculations are not the most difficult,
now Black is close to losing.} Qxd4 (24... Rf8 25. exf7+ $6 (25. Qe3 $1 {
Maintains the pressure and seems to lead to a decisive attack for White.})) 25.
exf7+ Kxf7 26. Qc7 Re8 (26... Rf8 27. Qxe7+ Kg8 28. Bh7+ Kxh7 29. Qxf8 {
is simply winning.}) 27. Bg6+ {The entire house falls down.} 1-0



[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.29"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Safarli, Eltaj"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D86"]
[WhiteElo "2726"]
[BlackElo "2664"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8.
Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Qc7 11. Rc1 Rd8 12. f4 Bg4 13. f5 gxf5 14. h3 cxd4
15. Bxf7+ Kxf7 16. Qb3+ e6 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. cxd4 Qb6 19. Qxb6 axb6 20. hxg4
Bxd4 21. Bxd4 Rxd4 22. exf5 Rxg4 23. Rc7+ Kf6 24. fxe6+ Kxe6 25. Rxb7 Rxa2 26.
Rxb6+ Ke5 27. Rf2 Rxf2 28. Kxf2 Kf5 29. Kf3 Rf4+ 30. Kg3 Rg4+ 31. Kf3 Rf4+ 32.
Kg3 Rg4+ 33. Kf3 1/2-1/2
[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.29"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Mamedov, Rauf"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C53"]
[WhiteElo "2655"]
[BlackElo "2804"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 {It's interesting that with the
Berlin being such a difficulty for white players, the Italian is back in vogue.
} a6 6. O-O d6 7. a4 {It's this new a4 stuff that everyone is playing nowadays.
It grabs some space on the queenside and it gives the bishop a retreat square.
Oh and it avoids the Berlin. Caruana himself used to beat Nakamura in a blitz
game last month.} Ba7 8. Bg5 {Kind of rare, and I suspect it won't gather a
great following.} h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Ne7 11. d4 {This idea of breaking
through on the center is too artificial. It's risky for both sides, but
Caruana calculates well.} Nxe4 12. Nxe5 O-O (12... dxe5 13. Bxe5 Rh7 {is a
weird position. White is down a piece but he has a lot of initiative, for
example} 14. Re1 f5 15. Nd2 $1 Nxd2 16. Qxd2 {and Black's king lacks any
shelter. Still, the position is very unclear. Caruana's choice is much safer.})
13. Nxf7 $2 {This is probably too ambitious.} (13. Ng4 d5 $1 14. Bd3 Bxg4 15.
Qxg4 f5 {seems very unclear to me.}) 13... Rxf7 14. Bxf7+ Kxf7 15. f4 g4 (15...
Nf5 $1 16. fxg5 Kg6 $1 17. gxh6 Ne3 {is very coldblooded, but it works.}) 16.
f5 {Otherwise Black blocakdes on f5 with a huge advantage.} Nxg3 17. hxg3 Ng8
$1 (17... Qg8 {There wasn't any need to give up the pawn on g4, but Black does
gain time in this variation. The knight can maneuver to f6 from d5.}) 18. Qxg4
Qg5 $1 19. Qxg5 hxg5 20. Nd2 Nf6 (20... c5 $1) 21. Nf3 Nh7 22. g4 Bd7 23. Rfe1
Rg8 {Despite the computer's evaluation, I much prefer Black's position. The
two pieces are stronger than the rook and once the knight reaches f6 it is
hard to play for White, but easy to come up with moves for Black.} 24. Kf2 Nf6
25. Kg3 c5 26. Re2 cxd4 27. cxd4 Bb6 28. b3 Bc6 29. Rae1 $2 (29. Rc1 $15) 29...
Ba5 $1 30. Re7+ Kf8 31. R1e2 Bd8 32. R7e6 Bd7 {The rooks are rather clumsy and
are kicked around easily. They are quickly running out of squares.} 33. R6e3
Nd5 34. Re4 Nc3 {The finishing touch. Black emerges up a piece and the rest is
technique, which does not need to be too strong.} 35. d5 Bf6 36. Nd2 Rg7 37.
Re1 Nxe4+ 38. Nxe4 Re7 39. Kf3 Kg7 $2 {Quite inaccurate in time trouble, but
it does not matter.} 40. Rh1 Be8 41. Nxd6 Bf7 42. Nxf7 Kxf7 43. Rc1 Bd4 44. Rc4
Bb6 45. Re4 Rxe4 46. Kxe4 Ke7 {The endgame is an elementary win.} 47. b4 Bd8
48. a5 Kd6 49. Kd4 Bf6+ 50. Kc4 Bg7 51. b5 Bf6 0-1



[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.29"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "Hou, Yifan"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B91"]
[WhiteElo "2663"]
[BlackElo "2748"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 7. Nde2 Be7 8. Bg2
Nbd7 9. a4 b6 10. h3 O-O 11. O-O Bb7 12. g4 b5 13. Ng3 b4 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. exd5
Rc8 16. a5 Rc5 17. Nf5 Re8 18. Nxe7+ Rxe7 19. Bg5 f6 20. Bd2 Rb5 21. Re1 Qc8
22. c3 bxc3 23. bxc3 Bxd5 24. Bxd5+ Rxd5 25. Qb3 Qc6 26. Be3 Nc5 27. Bxc5 dxc5
28. Qc4 Kf8 29. Qe4 g6 30. Rad1 Rd6 31. Rxd6 Qxd6 32. Rb1 Kg7 33. Rb6 Qd2 34.
Rb7 Qd6 35. Rxe7+ Qxe7 36. Qc6 Qa7 37. Qb6 Qa8 38. Qxc5 Qb7 39. c4 Qd7 40. Kg2
Qb7+ 41. Kg1 Qd7 42. Kh2 Qb7 43. Qd6 Qf3 44. Qd7+ Kf8 45. Kg1 Qxh3 46. c5 f5
47. Qd6+ Kf7 48. Qd5+ Kf6 49. c6 Qxg4+ 50. Kf1 Qh3+ 51. Ke2 Qc3 52. Qd8+ Ke6
53. c7 Qc2+ 54. Kf1 Qc4+ 55. Kg2 Qg4+ 56. Kf1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.29"]
[Round "4.5"]
[White "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. e3 h6 6. Bh4 Be7 7. Nbd2 c5 8. Be2
O-O 9. O-O b6 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Bg3 Bb7 12. Nc4 N7f6 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Nfd2 Rc8
15. e4 Ne7 16. e5 Ne4 17. Nxe4 Bxe4 18. Nd6 Bxd6 19. exd6 Nf5 20. Qa4 Bd5 21.
d7 Rc5 22. b4 Nxg3 23. hxg3 Rc7 24. Bb5 Qg5 25. Rfe1 Rd8 26. Re3 h5 27. Rae1 h4
28. Re5 Qf6 29. Qa3 Ba8 30. Qe3 hxg3 31. Qxg3 a6 32. Rxe6 fxe6 33. Qxc7 Rf8 34.
Qxb6 axb5 35. Qxe6+ Qf7 36. Qxf7+ Kxf7 37. Re5 Rd8 38. Rxb5 Rxd7 39. a4 Bc6 40.
Rf5+ Ke6 41. Ra5 Rd1+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Mamedyarov, S."]
[Black "Mamedov, Rau"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2748"]
[BlackElo "2655"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Be2 dxc4 8.
Bxc4 O-O 9. O-O b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. e4 e5 12. h3 Re8 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5
15. Be3 a6 16. f4 Bxc3 17. bxc3 c5 18. e5 c4 19. Bf5 g6 20. Rad1 Nd5 21. Be4
Nxe3 22. Rxd8 Nxc2 23. Rxa8 Bxa8 24. Bxc2 f6 25. f5 gxf5 26. exf6 Re2 27. Rf2
Re1+ 28. Rf1 Re2 29. Rf2 Re1+ 30. Rf1 Re2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Hou Yifan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C80"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2663"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5
Be6 9. Nbd2 Be7 10. c3 O-O 11. Bc2 f5 12. Nb3 Qd7 13. Nbd4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 c5 15.
Nxe6 Qxe6 16. f3 Ng5 17. a4 Rad8 18. axb5 axb5 19. Bxg5 Bxg5 20. f4 Be7 21. Kh1
Qb6 22. Qd3 c4 23. Qh3 g6 24. g4 d4 25. gxf5 Qc6+ (25... d3 $1 $17 {right away
was more precise. Black doesn't have to fear the fxg6 intermezzo} 26. fxg6 Qc6+
27. Rf3 (27. Kg1 Bc5+ $19) 27... hxg6 {and now White can't protect the bishop
and the f4 pawn at the same time.}) 26. Qg2 Qxg2+ 27. Kxg2 d3 28. Bd1 Rxf5 {
This position is rather tricky. One would think that with the protected passed
pawn on d3 it is Black that is pushing for something, but upon closer
inspection it is White that has pressure on the enemy pawns.} 29. Bg4 Rff8 30.
Ra5 h5 {This move is perhaps a bit weakening, but it was already unpleasant to
start defending everything.} 31. Bd1 b4 32. Ra6 bxc3 33. bxc3 Kh7 34. Ra7 Rf7
35. Rc7 {Very precise maneuvers by Karjakin. The c4 pawn falls, though thanks
to the opposite colored bishops the endgame is not hopeless.} Rd5 36. Rxc4 Bf8
$6 (36... Rc5 37. Rxc5 Bxc5 {promised some drawing chances, but with the king
marching to e4 it still looks grim.}) 37. Rc8 Rc5 38. Rd8 {Now Karjakin even
gets to avoid the rook trade.} Bh6 (38... Rxc3 $1 {Since in the game Black had
to give up the bishop anyway, perhaps this was the best way to do it.} 39. e6
Rf6 40. Rd7+ Kh6 41. e7 Bxe7 42. Rxe7 Rc4 43. Rd7 Rcxf4 44. Rxf4 Rxf4 {and now
the king is not trapped in the last rank. If this is winning or not I will
leave it up to Karsten Muller.}) 39. Rxd3 Rxf4 40. Rd7+ Kh8 41. Rxf4 Bxf4 42.
e6 Bg5 43. e7 Bxe7 44. Rxe7 Rxc3 {We can see the stark difference in the
variations. This seems impossible to hold.} 45. Bf3 Rc8 46. Kg3 Rg8 $2 (46...
Rc3 $1 {I played around with the computer and was unable to crack Black's
defense, but intuitively it just feels losing for Black. More analysis will be
required in this endgame.}) 47. Kh4 {Now the result is clear.} Rg7 48. Re8+ Kh7
49. Kg5 Ra7 50. Bd5 Kg7 51. Re6 Kh7 52. Be4 Ra5+ 53. Kf6 {The win in this case
is rather elementary.} 1-0

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Radjabov, T."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2726"]
[Annotator "Ramirez alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. h3 Nf6 7. Nc3 O-O 8.
Bf4 {Actually not the mainline, but played before. 8.Be3 is far more common.}
b6 {Pretty rare. Black usually puts his f6 knight somewhere else.} (8... Nh5 {
was played by Radjabov previously in 2012 against Grischuk. That game ended in
a win for the Russian.}) 9. Qd2 Re8 10. O-O-O {Long castle makes a lot of
sense in this position. Black's rigid structure on the queenside makes an
attack on that flank difficult, while White has the option of going h4-h5 at
any point.} a5 11. Ne5 $1 b5 12. Qe3 Qb6 13. Bh6 Bh8 14. f4 $1 {Also strong is
to start via the f-file.} a4 15. Rhf1 {Black is making some threats on the
queenside, but nothing quite concrete yet.} e6 $2 (15... Nd7 $1 {This was
probably the only move. It was time to remove the powerful e5 knight.} 16. Nxd7
Bxd7 17. e5 {blocking off the bishop on h8.} f5 $5 {Blocking White's attack
for now. The position is complicated and hard to evaluate.} 18. h4 b4 19. Nb1
Be6 {is just unclear.}) 16. g4 a3 (16... Nd7 17. Nxd7 Bxd7 18. e5 {is just
positionally bad now with the f6 square being so weak.}) 17. b4 $1 {Brave!
White accurately calculates that nothing is happening on the h8-a1 diagonal
and he simply threatens the c5 pawn.} Nd7 18. Nxd7 Bxd7 19. e5 f5 20. Ne2 Bg7
21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. h4 $1 {Excellent! Caruana senses that Black has no useful
moves, so he starts with his own attack down  the kingside.} (22. Qxc5 Qxc5 23.
bxc5 {was also a great advantage}) 22... fxg4 23. h5 gxh5 24. Ng3 Kh8 25. Nxh5
Re7 26. Nf6 Be8 27. f5 {Black is already lost. There are too many pieces
attacking the king and simply no counterplay.} exf5 28. Rxf5 Qc7 29. Rg5 Rg7
30. Rh1 Bg6 31. Rxg4 (31. bxc5 {was more accurate, killing off Black's ideas.})
31... Qf7 32. Kb1 $2 (32. Qxc5 Qxa2 33. Qxc6 {is winning, but requires some
calculation}) 32... cxb4 (32... c4 $1 {Was the best way to create counterplay,
but White should still be winning after} 33. d4) 33. Qd4 Bf5 $2 (33... Qa7 {
keeps Black alive for a little bit longer}) 34. e6 $1 {A nice little
combination} Rxg4 35. exf7 Rxd4 36. Ne8 {Black has no defense against f8 queen.
Brilliant finish!} 1-0

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Safarli, E."]
[Black "Giri, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2664"]
[BlackElo "2790"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. c4 Ngf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. O-O Bg7 7. Ba4 O-O 8. h3
Nb6 9. Bb3 e5 10. d3 Ne8 11. Bg5 f6 12. Be3 f5 13. Bg5 Bf6 14. Bh6 Bg7 15. Bg5
Qd7 16. exf5 gxf5 17. a4 a5 18. Nb5 Kh8 19. Re1 Bf6 20. Bxf6+ Nxf6 21. d4 e4
22. dxc5 dxc5 23. Qxd7 Nbxd7 {It's hard to believe this endgame is not about
even. Black might have the slightest of pulls, but White's pieces are ok and
he should have enough counterplay against the pawns.} 24. Nd2 $6 {Putting the
knight here is the first step towards passive play, which soon will cost
Safarli ldearly.} (24. Nh4 Ne5 25. Bc2 {with an idea of f3 coming up, for
example} Nxc4 26. b3 Ne5 27. f3 $11) 24... Ne5 25. Bc2 Bd7 26. f3 Rad8 27. Rad1
Rg8 $1 28. Kh2 (28. fxe4 Bxb5 29. cxb5 Rxd2 30. Rxd2 Nf3+ {is a problem}) 28...
Be8 $1 29. Nc7 (29. fxe4 Bh5 {is another problem}) 29... Bh5 30. Ne6 Rde8 31.
Nc7 $6 (31. Nf4 exf3 32. Ra1 {is plain ugly, but surprisingly better than what
was played}) 31... Re7 32. Nd5 Nxd5 33. cxd5 exf3 34. d6 Reg7 $1 {White is
just getting mated now} 35. g4 Nxg4+ {Of course} 36. hxg4 Rxg4 37. Nxf3 (37.
Kh3 Rg3+ 38. Kh2 Rg2+ 39. Kh3 f4 {mates in 10, though there were other ways of
winning besides 39...f4}) 37... Rg2+ 38. Kh3 Bxf3 39. Bb3 R8g3+ 40. Kh4 Rg4+
41. Kh3 Bxd1 42. d7 R4g3+ 43. Kh4 Rd3 {Black's up too much material and is
threatning mate in two with Rg4 and Rh3.} 0-1

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.05.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Harikrishna, P."]
[Black "Eljanov, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C49"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Bxc3 7. bxc3 d6 8.
Nd2 Bd7 9. f4 exf4 10. Rxf4 Ne7 11. Bxd7 Nxd7 12. c4 Ne5 13. Bb2 f6 14. Nf1 Qd7
15. Ne3 a6 16. Qh5 b5 17. Rh4 h6 18. Rf1 bxc4 19. d4 Nf7 20. Ng4 Qb5 21. Nxf6+
gxf6 22. e5 Kh8 23. Bc1 Ng8 24. Qg6 dxe5 25. Rxf6 Qb1 26. Rf1 {What a crazy
position! White is down a full piece, but his attack is strong. For now his
threat seems to be Bxh6 with a discovered attack against the queen. The
logical thing would be to, well, move it out of the way.} exd4 $4 {Rather
inexplicable. Even in time pressure I would not consider taking this silly
pawn when I'm about to get mated.} (26... Nd6 {is some computer move that
seeks to take advantage of the fact that f1 is under attack. It works rather
well, for example:} 27. Rxf8 $2 (27. Bf4 $2 Qxf1+ 28. Kxf1 Rxf4+ 29. Rxf4 exf4
$17 {is too much material for the queen.}) (27. Rxh6+ Nxh6 28. Qxh6+ {just
forces the draw}) 27... Qxc1+ $1 28. Rf1 Qe3+ 29. Kh1 Rf8 $1 $17) (26... Qb4 {
also seems to be nothing more than a draw in most variations} 27. Rxf7 Qe1+ {
is of course not playable}) 27. Bxh6 Qxf1+ 28. Kxf1 Nfxh6+ 29. Kg1 Rab8 30.
Rxh6+ Nxh6 31. Qxh6+ {Eljanov must have underestimated how bad this endgame is
for him. Hint: it's very bad.} Kg8 32. Qg6+ Kh8 33. h3 {The problem is that
due to Black's weakened king all of Black's pawns fall like flies. In the
ensuing endgame the two connected passed pawns on the kingside will be
unstoppable.} d3 34. Qh6+ Kg8 35. Qxa6 dxc2 36. Qxc4+ Kh8 37. Qc3+ Kg8 38. Qxc2
Rfc8 39. Qc6 Kf7 40. a4 Ke7 41. a5 {The a-pawn is a rather big asset as well.}
1-0

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.06.01"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Hou Yifan"]
[Black "Harikrishna, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2663"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Nc6 8.
Nc3 Bf5 9. Re1 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 O-O 12. Re2 Qd6 13. Rb1 b6 14. Bd2
Bf6 15. Rbe1 Na5 16. Qf5 g6 17. Qh3 Qc6 18. Bg5 Nc4 19. Bxf6 Qxf6 20. Ne5 Nxe5
21. Rxe5 Qc6 22. R1e3 $6 (22. Qe3 $14 {followed by h4-h5 still laves Black
with some problems to solve.}) 22... Rae8 $11 23. Qh6 Rxe5 24. dxe5 Qb5 25. g4
{White goes for the all out attack, but Black is just in time for a perpetual.}
Qb1+ 26. Kg2 Qxc2 27. Rh3 Qe4+ 28. Kf1 Qb1+ 29. Kg2 Qe4+ 30. Kf1 Qb1+ 1/2-1/2



[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.06.01"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Giri, A."]
[Black "Eljanov, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2790"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. h3 Bh5 5. O-O Nd7 6. d4 e6 7. c4 Ngf6 8. cxd5
cxd5 9. Qb3 Qb6 10. Nc3 Be7 11. Ne5 Qxb3 12. axb3 a6 13. g4 Bg6 14. g5 Nh5 15.
Nxg6 hxg6 16. e4 dxe4 17. d5 exd5 18. Nxd5 Bd6 19. Be3 f5 20. gxf6 Ndxf6 21.
Rfd1 O-O-O 22. Ra5 Bc7 23. Ne7+ Kb8 24. Raa1 Rhe8 25. Nxg6 Nd5 26. Bg5 Rd6 27.
Ra4 Rxg6 28. Rxd5 Nf4 29. Bxf4 Bxf4 30. Rb4 e3 31. fxe3 Bxe3+ 32. Kh1 b5 33.
Re4 Rxe4 34. Bxe4 Rg1+ 35. Kh2 Rf1 36. Kg3 Kc7 37. b4 Rf4 38. Re5 Kd6 39. Re8
g5 40. Bb7 Bc1 41. Bxa6 Rxb4 42. Rb8 Ke5 1/2-1/2
[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.06.01"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Safarli, E."]
[Black "Caruana, F."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E12"]
[WhiteElo "2664"]
[BlackElo "2804"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Ba6 5. Qc2 Bb7 6. Nc3 c5 7. e4 cxd4 8. Nxd4
Bc5 9. Nb3 Nc6 10. Bg5 a6 {An old move, and judging by its results not a very
good one. Perhaps Caruana was simply trying to strafe away from the known path.
} (10... h6 11. Bh4 Nd4 12. Nxd4 Bxd4 {has been seen in many grandmaster games}
) 11. Rd1 (11. O-O-O $5 {was played by every White player here, including
Kasparov against Van der Wiel back in 1988.}) 11... Qc7 12. Be2 (12. Nxc5 bxc5
{gives up the d4 square and I'm not as thrilled about it as the computer is.})
12... Be7 13. Bh4 (13. Qd3 $1 {Reminds me of a strong Sicilian motif -
trasnfering the queen to g3 to reach a superior endgame.}) 13... Ne5 14. Bg3 h5
$5 {Going for it!} 15. O-O g5 {Black's plan is actually quite justified. There
are no good breakthroughs in the center and White has to deal with the
incoming pawn storm somehow.} 16. Nd4 (16. f4 $2 h4 $1 17. fxe5 hxg3 18. exf6
Bc5+ {is too dangerous for White.}) (16. c5 $5 bxc5 17. Na5 {initiates some
kind of weird counterplay}) 16... h4 17. Bxe5 Qxe5 18. Nf3 Bxe4 19. Nxe5 Bxc2
20. Rd2 {Black emerges up a pawn from the opening. Safarli now has to suffer
considerably.} Bf5 (20... Bb3 {seemed cleaner, forcing White to simply the
game a little more in order to double on the d-file.}) 21. Rfd1 Ra7 22. Na4 Rc7
(22... d6 23. Rxd6 $5 (23. Nc6 Rc7 24. Nxe7 Kxe7 25. Nxb6 Ne4 $17)) 23. Nxb6 d6
24. Nf3 Ne4 25. Rd3 Rb7 {Even though Safarli has recovered his pawn, he still
faces serious difficulties. Black's bishops are about to become very powerful.}
26. Na4 Nc5 $1 27. Nxc5 dxc5 28. R3d2 Bf6 29. b4 $1 {A good practical decision.
White gives up the pawn on b4 in order to start pushing his c-pawn.} g4 (29...
cxb4 30. axb4 Rxb4 31. c5 O-O $1 32. Bxa6 Ra8 {leaves Black with the much
better game, but still a lot of work to be done and great drawing chances due
to all the pawns for Black being on the same side of the board.}) 30. Ne1 cxb4
31. axb4 Rxb4 32. c5 O-O 33. Bxa6 {This is similar to the previous variation,
except g4 seems more weakening than it is useful.} Be4 34. Be2 Bc3 35. Rd6 Bd5
36. Rb6 Re4 37. Kf1 Be5 38. h3 Bc7 39. Rb2 f5 40. Nd3 Rb8 {With time control
reached the smoke has cleared a bit. White is basically out of danger.} 41.
Rxb8+ Bxb8 42. Rb1 Bh2 43. Nb4 (43. Nb4 Rxe2 $5 {was a cool but futile attempt.
} 44. Nxd5 (44. Kxe2 Bxg2 45. hxg4 fxg4 {is a bit scary with the h-pawn
rolling down.}) 44... Rc2 45. Ne3 Rxc5 46. hxg4 {with a draw being the most
likely outcome.}) 1/2-1/2



[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.06.01"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Mamedov, Rau"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2655"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3
Be7 9. f4 Nc6 10. f5 Bxb3 11. axb3 Nb4 12. g3 d5 13. exd5 Qc7 14. d6 Bxd6 15.
Nb5 Nxc2+ 16. Ke2 Qc6 17. Nxd6+ Ke7 18. Rc1 Nxe3 19. Rxc6 Nxd1 20. Nxb7 Rhb8
21. Rc7+ Kf8 22. Kxd1 Ra7 23. Bc4 Raxb7 24. Rxb7 Rxb7 25. Re1 Nd7 26. Kc2 Rb6
27. Ra1 Nb8 28. Kd3 Nc6 29. Ra4 Ke7 30. Ke4 f6 31. h4 Nb8 32. Kd5 Rd6+ 33. Ke4
Rb6 34. Kd5 Rd6+ 35. Ke4 Rb6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.06.01"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Radjabov, T."]
[Black "Mamedyarov, S."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B18"]
[WhiteElo "2726"]
[BlackElo "2748"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nf6 8. Ne5
Bh7 9. Bd3 Nbd7 10. Bxh7 Nxe5 11. dxe5 Qa5+ 12. Kf1 Nxh7 13. e6 Qd5 14. Qxd5
cxd5 15. Ne2 fxe6 16. Nf4 Rg8 17. Nxe6 Rc8 18. c3 Kf7 19. Nxf8 Rgxf8 20. Be3
Nf6 21. Bxa7 b6 22. Bxb6 Rb8 23. Bd4 Rxb2 24. a4 e5 25. Bxe5 Ng4 26. Bd4 Nxf2
27. Bxf2 Kg8 28. Kg1 Rfxf2 29. Rh2 Ra2 30. Rxa2 Rxa2 31. g3 Ra1+ 32. Kf2 Ra2+
33. Kg1 Ra1+ 34. Kf2 Ra2+ 35. Kg1 Ra1+ 36. Kf2 1/2-1/2

[Event "3rd Shamkir Chess 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir"]
[Date "2016.06.02"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Black "Mamedov, Rauf"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2655"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. e4 {(4s)} c5 {(11s)} 2. Nf3 {(7s)} Nc6 {(5s)} 3. Bb5 {(7s)} g6 {(6s)} 4.
Bxc6 {(13s)} bxc6 {(4s)} 5. O-O {(18s)} Bg7 {(4s)} 6. Re1 {(83s)} Nh6 {(9s)} 7.
c3 {(27s)} O-O {(4s)} 8. h3 {(16s)} f5 {(5s)} 9. e5 {(131s)} Nf7 {(20s)} 10. d4
{(263s)} cxd4 {(159s)} 11. cxd4 {(9s)} c5 {(1s)} 12. dxc5 {(203s)} Bb7 {( 18s)}
13. Nc3 {(215s)} e6 {(541s)} 14. Nd4 {(257s)} Bxe5 {(1127s)} 15. f4 {(749s)}
Bg7 {(262s)} 16. Be3 {(30s)} g5 {(630s)} 17. fxg5 {(1747s)} f4 {(42s)} 18. Bf2
{(236s)} Qxg5 {(309s)} 19. c6 {(449s)} Bxd4 {(286s)} 20. Qxd4 {(120s)} Bxc6 {
(19s)} 21. Ne4 {(8s)} Qg7 {(910s)} 22. Qxg7+ {(943s)} Kxg7 {(8s)} 23. Rad1 {
(4s)} Rg8 {(482s)} 24. Bh4 {(537s)} Kh6 {(537s)} 25. Rd2 {(76s)} Rg6 {(518s)}
26. Nf6 {(21s)} e5 {(423s)} 27. b4 {(300s)} Kg7 {(206s)} 28. b5 {(156s)} Bxb5 {
(51s)} 29. Nxd7 {(9s)} Re8 {(254s)} 30. Nc5 {(25s)} Nd6 {(32s)} 31. Ne4 {(183s)
} Nxe4 {(71s)} 32. Rxe4 {(5s)} Bc6 {(1s)} 33. Rc4 {(25s)} e4 {(6s)} 34. Rdc2 {
(95s)} Ree6 {(7s)} 35. Be1 {(85s)} h5 {(72s)} 36. Kh2 {(24s)} Kh6 {(18s)} 37.
Rd4 {(40s)} f3 {(38s)} 38. Bh4 {(49s)} e3 {(22s)} 39. gxf3 {(1s)} e2 {(13s)}
40. Be1 {(0s)} Bxf3 {(0s)} 41. Bd2+ {(19s)} Kh7 {(306s)} 42. Rc7+ {(292s)} Rg7
{(55s)} 43. Rxg7+ {(19s)} Kxg7 {(2s)} 44. Kg3 {(13s)} Bc6 {(160s)} 45. Kf2 {
(58s)} Kg6 {(33s)} 46. a4 {(453s)} a6 {(180s)} 47. Be1 {(203s)} Kf5 {(56s)} 48.
Bd2 {(268s)} Kg6 {(59s)} 49. Be1 {(15s)} Be4 {(2s)} 50. Kxe2 {(55s)} Bf5+ {(4s)
} 51. Kf2 {(101s)} Bxh3 {(12s)} 52. Bb4 {(9s)} 1/2-1/2

[Event "3rd Shamkir Chess 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir"]
[Date "2016.06.02"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C18"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2726"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. e4 {(3s)} e6 {(4s)} 2. d4 {(7s)} d5 {(3s)} 3. Nc3 {(22s)} Bb4 {(6s)} 4. e5 {
(6s)} c5 {(4s)} 5. a3 {(4 s)} Bxc3+ {(4s)} 6. bxc3 {(3s)} Qa5 {(5s)} 7. Bd2 {
(7s)} Qa4 {(5s)} 8. h4 {(142s)} Nc6 {(179s)} 9. Nf3 {(403s)} Nge7 {(924s)} 10.
h5 {(46s)} h6 {(6s)} 11. Rb1 {(629s)} c4 {(94s)} 12. g3 {(12s)} b6 {(29s)} 13.
Bh3 {(70s)} Bd7 {(19s)} 14. O-O {(137s)} O-O-O {(16s)} 15. Nh4 {(228s)} Rdg8 {
(690s)} 16. Ng2 {(194s)} Kb8 {(883s)} 17. Re1 {(705s)} Bc8 {(178s)} 18. Kh2 {
(141s)} Ka8 {(499s)} 19. Bf4 {(266s)} Rf8 {(436s)} 20. Qc1 {(480s)} Rhg8 {
(986s)} 21. Re2 {(262s)} Rh8 {(7s)} 22. Re1 {(944s)} Rh7 {(43s)} 23. Bd2 {
(154s)} Rhh8 {(25s)} 24. Re2 {(142s)} Rh7 {(144s)} 25. Kg1 {(147s)} Rhh8 {(18s)
} 26. Ra1 {(6s)} Rh7 {(44s)} 27. Kh2 {(110s)} Rhh8 {(7s)} 28. Ne3 {(37s)} Ng8 {
(429s)} 29. Ng2 {(181s)} Nge7 {( 20s)} 30. Bf4 {(195s)} Ng8 {(51s)} 31. Bd2 {
(111s)} Nge7 {(10s)} 32. Bf4 {(4s)} Ng8 {(3s)} 33. Bd2 {(4s)} 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Shamkir Chess 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir"]
[Date "2016.06.02"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Safarli, Eltaj"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2746"]
[BlackElo "2673"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. d4 {(3s)} Nf6 {(13s)} 2. c4 {(4s)} e6 {(5s)} 3. Nc3 {(5s)} Bb4 {(21s)} 4. g3
{The move 4.g3 is not the most common idea in the Nimzo-Indian, but it's one
of the many ways in which White can try to get a small but riskless edge.} d5 {
(179s)} 5. Bg2 {(14s)} O-O {(12s)} 6. a3 {(2s)} Bxc3+ {(144s)} 7. bxc3 {(2s)}
c5 $5 {This exact position had been seen in the game... Kuzubov-Safarli, from
eleven years ago! I doubt that Mamedyarov prepared against that game, but you
never know.} (7... dxc4 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. O-O {was Ivanchuk-Fressinet from March.
The position is very interesting with Black having a material advantage but
White having the pair of bishops and easier play overall.}) 8. cxd5 {(3s)} exd5
{( 250s)} 9. Nf3 {(3s)} cxd4 {(356s)} 10. Nxd4 {(65s)} (10. cxd4 {looks more
natural at first, but it is slower and it prevents White from having any
breaks. The move played in the game is much stronger and shows a great feel
for the position.}) 10... Nc6 {(231s)} 11. O-O {(94s)} Ne4 $6 {Underestimating
White's resources.} 12. c4 {This move is obvious, White just needs to make
sure it works.} Re8 {(882s)} (12... dxc4 13. Nxc6 {just loses for Black.}) (
12... Nc3 13. Nxc6 bxc6 (13... Nxd1 14. Nxd8 Nc3 15. Nxf7 $18) 14. Qd3 {
with a very clear advantage for White. That dark squared bishop will become a
monster.}) 13. Bb2 {(830s)} Na5 {(806s)} 14. cxd5 {(75s)} Nc4 {(88s)} 15. Rb1 {
(238s)} (15. Qb3 $1 Ned2 (15... Ncd2 16. Qd3 Nxf1 17. Bxe4 $18) (15... Nxb2 16.
Qxb2 Qxd5 17. Rfc1 {was very strong, as White has a huge development advantage
and will continue with Rc7.}) 16. Qc3 $18) 15... Nxb2 {(375s)} (15... Qxd5 16.
Ba1 {is better for White as he has the bishops, but it was the lesser evil.})
16. Rxb2 {(61s)} Qxd5 {(90s)} 17. Qd3 {(1053s)} Bd7 {(476s)} 18. Rfb1 {(23s)}
Rab8 {(194s)} 19. Rb5 $1 {A simply but nice tactical coup. Black is forced to
give up two of his pieces for one rook.} Bxb5 {(154s)} 20. Rxb5 {The queen
cannot keep protection of the black knight.} Nxf2 {(116s)} 21. Kxf2 {(91s)} Qd6
{(398s)} 22. Bxb7 {(337s)} Rbd8 {(703s)} 23. e3 {Unfortunately for Safarli the
material disadvantage here is just too big. Mamedyarov has all he needs to
take the point home.} Re5 {(49s)} 24. a4 {(114s)} h5 {(275s)} 25. h4 {( 165s)}
Rde8 {(177s)} 26. e4 {(158s)} Qf6+ {(302s)} 27. Kg2 {(60s)} Rxb5 {(55s)} 28.
axb5 {(30s)} g6 {(77s)} 29. Bd5 {(77s)} Re7 {(4s)} 30. Qd2 {(353s)} a6 {(88s)}
31. bxa6 $2 {Somehow Mamedyarov really lets go of his advantage in the next
few moves.} (31. Nc6 Rb7 32. e5 $18) 31... Qxa6 {(5s)} 32. Nc6 {(13s)} Rc7 {
(96s)} 33. Nd8 $6 {(428s)} (33. Ne5 $16) 33... Qa4 {(102s)} 34. Qh6 $2 {
A time pressure blunder. The players missed an incredible resource here} Rc2+
$2 {(26s)} (34... Qc2+ 35. Kh3 Qd1 $1 36. Qxg6+ Kf8 37. Qd6+ Kg7 {Surprisingly,
White has no way of avoiding the perpetual. This would have been a crazy end
to the game and a dissapointment for Mamedyarov, but Safarli did not find it.})
35. Kh3 {(7s)} Qd7+ {(15s)} 36. Ne6 $1 {A resource that keeps the advantage in
White's camp} fxe6 {(1s)} 37. Qxg6+ {(5s)} Kf8 {(4s)} 38. Bxe6 {(14s)} Qg7 {
(18s)} 39. Qxh5 {(11s)} Rc3 {(11s)} 40. Qg4 {(0s)} Qxg4+ {This leads to a lost
endgame. More resistance was put up by not trading the queens, but the endgame
is lost anyway.} 41. Kxg4 {(134s)} Kg7 {(513s)} 42. Kf4 {(45s)} Rc1 {(164s)}
43. Kg5 {(20s)} Re1 {(577s)} 44. Bf5 {(24s)} 1-0

[Event "3rd Shamkir Chess 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir"]
[Date "2016.06.02"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C81"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2790"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. e4 {(3s)} e5 {(3s)} 2. Nf3 {(5s)} Nc6 {(6s)} 3. Bb5 {(3s)} a6 {(5s)} 4. Ba4
{(4s)} Nf6 {(4s)} 5. O-O {(5s)} Nxe4 {(15s)} 6. d4 {(8s)} b5 {(3s)} 7. Bb3 {
(4s)} d5 {(4s)} 8. dxe5 {(5s)} Be6 {(8s)} 9. Qe2 {(80 s)} Be7 {(183s)} 10. Rd1
{(6s)} O-O {(6s)} 11. c4 {(4s)} bxc4 {(46s)} 12. Bxc4 {(5s)} Bc5 {(30s)} 13.
Be3 {(6s)} Bxe3 {(8s)} 14. Qxe3 {(4s)} Qb8 {(48s)} 15. Bb3 {(5s)} Na5 {(6s)}
16. Nd4 {(9s)} c5 {(61s)} 17. Nxe6 {(8s)} fxe6 {(2s)} 18. f3 {(10s)} c4 {(38s)}
19. fxe4 {(6s)} cxb3 {(2s)} 20. exd5 {(15s)} bxa2 {(415s)} 21. Rxa2 {(6s)} Nc4
{(5s)} 22. Qd4 {(85s)} Qb3 {(124s)} 23. Nc3 {(34s)} Rac8 {(103s)} 24. Rb1 {
(1619s)} Ne3 {(771s)} 25. Qxe3 {(301s)} Rxc3 {(11s)} 26. Qxc3 {(5s)} Qxa2 {(3s)
} 27. Rd1 {(72s)} exd5 {(5s)} 28. Qd4 {(171s)} Re8 {(460s)} 29. Rc1 {(271s)} h6
{(932s)} 30. h3 {(1029s)} Kh8 {(1078s)} 31. e6 {(1739s)} Rxe6 {(268s)} 32. Rc8+
{(18s)} Kh7 {(2s)} 33. Qd3+ {(11s)} Re4 {(13s)} 34. Qf1 {(13s)} Re5 {(295s)}
35. Qd3+ {(6s)} Re4 {(4s)} 36. Qf1 {(10s)} Re5 {(4s)} 37. Qd3+ {(201s)} Re4 {
(18s)} 38. Qf1 {The draw was agreed at this point. Fortunate for Giri, as he
is completely lost:} (38. Qf1 Re5 39. Qf7 {snuffing out the Black king. The
strange part of not going for this is that White cannot possibly lose, worst
case scenario there is another perpetual.} Qa4 (39... Qxb2 40. Qg8+ Kg6 41.
Rc6+ Kf5 42. Qf7+ Ke4 43. Qf3+ Kd4 44. Qd1+ Ke4 45. Kh2 {again this important
move, safeguarding the king before going for the kill.}) 40. Kh2 $3 {Is the
winning trick. A computer move, simply making the king a bit safer. The
"threat" is b3, removing the defender of either the fourth rank or of the c6
square. You can try to work out the variations on your own.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "3rd Shamkir Chess 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir"]
[Date "2016.06.02"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Black "Hou, Yifan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2663"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventCountry "AZE"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]

1. d4 {(3s)} Nf6 {(5s)} 2. Nf3 {(8s)} d5 {(17s)} 3. Bf4 {(11s)} e6 {(44s)} 4.
e3 {(37s)} c5 {(89s)} 5. c3 {(8s)} Nc6 {(51s)} 6. Nbd2 {(6s)} Bd6 {(29s)} 7.
Bg3 {(10s)} O-O {(205s)} 8. Bb5 {(65s)} a5 {(539s)} 9. a4 {(451s)} Ne7 {(289s)}
10. Qe2 {(574s)} Nf5 {(859s)} 11. Bd3 {(688s)} Be7 {(1133s)} 12. Be5 {(376s)}
b6 {(285s)} 13. Bxf6 {(526s)} Bxf6 {(6s)} 14. g4 {(5s)} Nd6 {(294s)} 15. h4 {
(201s)} Be7 {( 225s)} 16. g5 {(1001s)} Bb7 {(174s)} 17. Ne5 {(15s)} Qe8 {(235s)
} 18. Rg1 {(272s)} f5 {(202s)} 19. gxf6 {(29s)} Bxf6 {(5s)} 20. Qg4 {(183s)}
Ba6 {(378s)} 21. Bc2 {(93s)} Ra7 {(118s)} 22. Ndf3 {(598 s)} Bxe5 {(161s)} 23.
dxe5 {(412s)} Nf5 {(244s)} 24. Ng5 {(172s)} h6 {(548s)} 25. Nh3 {(4s)} d4 $2 {
(81 s)} (25... b5 $1 {Counterattack is the only way. Black keeps options open
by taking on a4 and opening the b-file.}) 26. e4 {(101s)} d3 {(192s)} 27. Bb3 {
(46s)} c4 {(168s)} 28. Bd1 {Black has established a strong pawn chain, but now
her knight on f5 is doomed as it has nowhere to go: putting it on e7 would
allow Qxg7#.} Qb8 {(71s)} 29. exf5 {( 55s)} Qxe5+ {(5s)} 30. Kd2 {(56s)} Rxf5 {
(9s)} 31. f4 {(65s)} Qf6 {(88s)} 32. Bf3 {(304s)} Bb7 {(15s)} 33. Bxb7 {(435s)}
Rxb7 {(1s)} 34. Qf3 {Black simply does not have enough for the piece.} Rf7 {
(103s)} 35. h5 {(91s)} Qh4 {(17s)} 36. Rg4 {(57 s)} Qxh5 {(81s)} 37. Rag1 {
(22s)} Rd5 {(131s)} 38. Nf2 {(38s)} Qf5 {(67s)} 39. Ne4 {(32s)} Rdd7 {(2s)} 40.
Qe3 {(0s)} b5 {(0s)} 41. Nc5 {(1660s)} Rde7 {(557s)} 42. Qe5 {(4s)} bxa4 {
(750s)} 43. Ke3 {(47 s)} Kh7 {(164s)} 44. Rh4 {(563s)} Qxe5+ {(473s)} 45. fxe5
{(5s)} Rf5 {(4s)} 46. Rxc4 {(37s)} Rxe5+ {(5s)} 47. Ne4 {(128s)} g5 {(223s)}
48. Rxa4 {(30s)} Kg6 {(67s)} 49. Kxd3 {(251s)} Rf7 {(215s)} 50. Nd2 {(225s)} h5
{(137s)} 51. Re4 {(14s)} Rxe4 {(207s)} 52. Nxe4 {(6s)} g4 {(3s)} 53. c4 {(249s)
} Rf3+ {(353s)} 54. Kd4 {(5s)} Kf5 {(9s)} 55. Ng3+ {(73s)} Rxg3 {(311s)} 56.
Rxg3 {(4s)} h4 {(4s)} 57. Rg1 {(14s)} g3 {(1s)} 58. Ke3 {(7s)} Kg4 {(1s)} 59.
Rd1 {(8s)} e5 {(124s)} 60. c5 {(0s)} 1-0

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.06.03"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Radjabov, T."]
[Black "Harikrishna, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2726"]
[BlackElo "2763"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 Bb7 6. Bg2 c5 7. d5 exd5 8. cxd5
Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Qa4 Nf6 12. Nh4 O-O 13. Nf5 d5 14. Nc3 Nd4 15.
Nxd4 cxd4 16. Qxd4 Bc5 17. Qh4 Ne4 18. Qxd8 Raxd8 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. Be3 Bxe3
21. fxe3 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Bc6 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. Rxd5 Rc8 25. Rd7 h5 26. Rxa7 Rc2
27. Kf2 Rxb2 28. a4 g6 29. a5 bxa5 30. Rxa5 f5 31. h4 Kg7 32. Ra7+ Kf6 33. Ra6+
Kf7 34. Ra7+ Kf6 35. Ra6+ Kf7 36. Ra7+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.06.03"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Mamedyarov, S."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2748"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.
Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c4 b4 12. Nc2 O-O {This variation of the
Sveshnikov is not known for the most exciting games, but it is a positional
and hard strugge usually.} 13. h4 $5 {The idea of this move is to take away
the g5 square from the Black bishop as well as to give White the option of
play Bh3 in the future. It has been tested at the top level a few times.} a5
14. g3 Be6 15. Bh3 Rb8 16. Qd3 Qd7 {Played before but not a move easily played.
It is true that it's awkward to make a decision with the bishop on h3, but
Black is sacrificing his structure at the moment without a clear option of
going f5 in the future.} (16... a4 {Caruana himself had this position
previously, against Van Wely in 2014. He won that game.}) 17. Nxf6+ gxf6 18.
Bf5 (18. Bg2 f5 $6 (18... Rbd8 $13) 19. O-O-O {leads to some Sveshnikov play
that I suspect favors White.}) 18... Qb7 19. Ne3 Nd4 20. O-O b3 21. a3 Kh8 22.
Rac1 {Black's structural problems on the kingside are clear. In compensation
he has a powerful knight on d4 that is not very easily dislodged, pressure
against e4 and c4, and space on the queenside. The game is dynamically
balanced at the moment.} Rbc8 23. Rfe1 Rc5 (23... Nf3+ 24. Kg2 Nxe1+ 25. Rxe1 {
looks like a free exchange, but upon closer inspection it is unclear if the
rook on e1 is worth less than the knight on d4.}) 24. Qd1 Bxf5 25. Nxf5 Nxf5
26. exf5 {Mamedyarov decides to swap some pieces. The structural weakness of
f6 is now hidden behind the f5 pawn, so it is not a problem for the moment.
Meanwhile Black has active pieces and pressure on c4.} Rd8 27. Qh5 Kg7 {
Wouldn't want to allow a queen to h6.} 28. Rc3 (28. Qg4+ Kf8 29. Qh5 {would
ask for a draw, but Black doesn't have to oblige.} Ke7 $5) 28... h6 29. Ree3 $6
{White's strange configuration with the rooks I can only guess is aimed at
opening the kingside somehow. However it simply does not work, and now Black
takes the opportunity to open up the position.} a4 30. Qe2 d5 $1 {The break
exposes a couple of key features of the position: one is that White gets
backrank mated in any many variations as long as the queen is on b7, the other
is that the pawn on b3 can potentially become a monster.} 31. Qf3 Rdc8 $1 32.
cxd5 Rxc3 33. Rxc3 Rxc3 34. Qxc3 Qxd5 {The queenendgame is lost for White.
There will be no defense against Qd1-c2.} 35. Qb4 h5 $2 {Black's king is very
safe against perpetuals, so this wasn't necessary.} (35... e4 $1 36. Qxa4 Qd1+
37. Kg2 (37. Kh2 Qe2 38. Qd4 e3 39. Qxe3 Qxb2 {changes very little.}) 37...
Qf3+ 38. Kg1 e3 $19 {is a far more accurate approach.}) 36. Qxa4 Qd3 $6 37. g4
Qb1+ 38. Kg2 Qxb2 39. gxh5 Qc2 {As your computer will tell you, the drawing
move here is} 40. Qg4+ (40. Qb4 $1 b2 41. h6+ $1 Kxh6 (41... Kh7 42. Qf8 Qe4+
43. f3 $1 Qe2+ 44. Kg3 Qe1+ 45. Kg2 $11) 42. Qf8+ Kh5 43. Kg3 $1 {Again a
quiet king move in a Caruana variation. This threatens a perpetual with Qh8-g8
and it cannot be stopped. Unless, of course, Black doesn't see the other
threat, Qxf7 and Qg6 mate.} Qxf5 44. Qh8+ Kg6 45. Qg8+ Kh6 46. Qf8+ Kh7 47.
Qxf7+ Kh6 48. Qf8+ Kg6 49. Qg8+ Kh6 50. Qf8+ Kg6 51. Qg8+ Kh5 52. Qh8+ $11)
40... Kh7 41. h6 $2 (41. Qa4 $1 {Was the only way to still keep the pawn in
check. The computer still claims this is drawn.}) 41... Kxh6 42. Qg8 Qxf5 43.
Qf8+ Kh5 (43... Kg6 $1) 44. f3 Kxh4 (44... Qc2+ $1 45. Kg3 Qc4 {is some
computer shenanigans.}) 45. Qb4+ Qf4 46. Qxb3 Qd2+ 47. Kf1 Kg3 {This positoin
is still totally winning for Black.} 48. f4+ Kxf4 49. a4 f5 50. Qb5 Qd1+ 51.
Kf2 Qc2+ 52. Kf1 f6 53. Qb4+ {This just helps Black, but Caruana was busted no
matter what he did.} e4 54. Qb5 Kg3 55. Qe2 Qxe2+ 56. Kxe2 f4 57. a5 f3+ 58.
Kf1 e3 (58... e3 59. a6 e2+ 60. Ke1 Kg2 61. a7 f2+ 62. Kxe2 f1=Q+ 63. Ke3 Qa6)
0-1

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.06.03"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Safarli, E."]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2664"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. c4 c6 2. e4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 {The Caro-Kann (which this now is) is not
part of Karjakin's repertoire, but since the Panov-Botvinnik is considered
acceptable for Black in most variations, a lot of Black players are not afraid
of answering 1.c4 with c6.} Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Be6 {This line has been
considered good for Black for a while now, though White keeps trying to find
an edge somehow. The most popular move here is 7.a3.} 7. Be2 (7. a3 Qd7 8. b4
$5 $13) 7... Qa5 8. Bf3 {By far not the most common move, but it scores well.
Both Nf3 and c5 are more common but score badly.} dxc4 9. d5 O-O-O 10. Bd2 Nxd5
11. Nxd5 Rxd5 12. Bxd5 {The novelty, although of questionable value.} (12. Bxa5
Rxd1+ 13. Rxd1 Nxa5 14. Bd5 {led to a win for White in Naiditsch-Dreev from
2014, but Black should be at least fine here.}) 12... Qxd5 13. Nf3 Bf5 {
White is up the exchange, but as soon as Black finishes development he not
only has enough material for the exchange, but a fantastic position.} 14. O-O
e6 $6 {This inaccuracy lets the advantage slip away.} (14... Bd3 15. Re1 e5 $1
{With real pressure}) 15. b3 $1 Bd3 16. bxc4 {With the c-file open like this
it's hard to believe Black can be better. On the other hand his pieces should
be strong enough to not be worse either.} Qf5 17. Re1 Bc5 18. Be3 Bb4 19. Bd2
Bc5 20. Be3 Bb4 21. Bd2 Bc5 22. Be3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.06.03"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Mamedov, Rau"]
[Black "Eljanov, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B11"]
[WhiteElo "2655"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. d4 Nf6 7. Bd3 dxe4 8.
Nxe4 Qxd4 9. c3 Qd8 10. O-O Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Bd6 12. Rd1 Qc7 13. Qd3 Be5 14. Bxh7
Nd7 15. Be4 O-O-O 16. Qf3 Nf6 17. Bg5 Qa5 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. Qe2
Bc7 21. Bf3 f5 22. a4 Bb8 23. Kf1 a6 24. Qe3 Bc7 25. Qe2 Kb8 26. Bh5 Qc5 27.
Rd1 Rxd1+ 28. Qxd1 Qc4+ 29. Be2 Qh4 30. Qd4 Qxd4 31. cxd4 Bb6 32. Bh5 Kc7 33.
Bxf7 Kd6 34. Ke2 Bxd4 35. b3 b5 36. axb5 cxb5 37. g4 Ke7 38. Bg8 fxg4 39. hxg4
a5 40. f4 a4 41. bxa4 bxa4 42. Bh7 a3 43. Bb1 e5 44. fxe5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Vugar Gashimov Mem 2016"]
[Site "Shamkir AZE"]
[Date "2016.06.03"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Hou, Yifan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2790"]
[BlackElo "2663"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "206"]
[EventDate "2016.05.26"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. Qb3 c5 8.
cxd5 exd5 9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 Nd7 11. g3 O-O 12. Bg2 Re8 13. e3 b6 14. O-O Bb7
15. Rfc1 a5 16. dxc5 Qxc3 17. Rxc3 Nxc5 18. Rac1 Kf8 19. Nd4 Rad8 20. Bf1 Re7
21. Bb5 g6 22. b4 axb4 23. axb4 Ne4 24. Rc7 Nd6 25. Rxe7 Kxe7 26. Rc7+ Kf8 27.
Bd3 Rb8 28. g4 Ke8 29. Bb5+ Kf8 30. Bd7 Bc8 31. h3 Bxd7 32. Rxd7 Ne4 33. Nc6
Ra8 34. Ne5 Ra1+ 35. Kg2 Ra2 36. Rxf7+ Kg8 37. h4 Rb2 38. Rf4 Kg7 39. Nc6 b5
40. Nd8 Rxb4 41. Ne6+ Kg8 42. Rf8+ Kh7 43. Rf7+ Kh8 44. Rf8+ Kh7 45. Rf7+ Kh8
46. f3 {Black has been against the ropes for a while, but this position is
already not as bad as it used to be. Black could move her knight to c3 and
hope to hold, though it is still very unpleasant, but Yifan has a clear cut
solution.} Rb2+ $1 47. Kh3 Re2 48. Rf8+ Kh7 49. Rf7+ Kh8 50. Rf8+ Kh7 51. fxe4
{Black gives up her knight, but this time she gets enough pawns and the pawn
count from White is too reduced.} Rxe3+ 52. Kh2 Rxe4 53. Rf7+ Kh8 54. Rf8+ Kh7
55. Rf7+ Kh8 56. Nc7 Kg8 57. Rd7 Rxg4 58. Kh3 Rc4 59. Nxd5 Kf8 60. Nf6 Rc6 $1
61. Ng4 Rb6 $1 62. Nxh6 b4 {By sacrificing the h6 pawn and pushing the b-pawn
Black guarantees that the rook will remain passive. This gives her enough time
to bring in her king and easily draw, as White cannot both take the b-pawn and
hang on to her h-pawn.} 63. Rf7+ Ke8 64. Rf2 b3 65. Rb2 Ke7 66. Ng4 Ke6 67.
Re2+ Kf7 68. Rb2 Ke6 69. Kg3 Rb5 70. Nf2 Kf6 71. Ne4+ Kg7 72. Ng5 Kh6 73. Nf3
Rb4 74. Kf2 (74. Nd2 Kh5 75. Nxb3 {is a draw either by taking the h-pawn or
just keeping the rook on the b-file. White can't make progress.}) 74... Kh5 75.
Ke3 Rb8 76. Ke4 Rb4+ 77. Kd5 Kg4 78. Ne5+ Kh5 79. Nf3 Kg4 80. Kc5 Rb8 81. Ne5+
Kh5 82. Nc6 Rb7 83. Na5 Rb8 84. Nc6 Rb7 85. Ne5 Rb8 86. Kc4 Rc8+ 87. Kd4 Rb8
88. Kc3 Rb5 89. Nf3 Rb8 90. Nd4 Kxh4 91. Nxb3 g5 92. Rh2+ Kg3 93. Rh7 g4 94.
Nd2 Rg8 95. Kd3 Kg2 96. Nc4 Rf8 97. Nd2 g3 98. Rg7 Ra8 99. Ke3 Ra3+ 100. Kf4
Kg1 101. Nc4 g2 102. Nxa3 Kf2 103. Rxg2+ Kxg2 1/2-1/2

