[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2009.07.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ni, Hua"]
[Black "Gerzhoy, Leonid"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B19"]
[WhiteElo "2701"]
[BlackElo "2530"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "135"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5
Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Qc7 13. Ne4 O-O-O 14. g3
Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Bd6 {This move considered to be innacuracy because it allows
white to play c4. However white plays as if normal} (15... Be7 {was played and
as a result black gets a position with extra tempo on move 17!}) 16. Kb1 Rhe8
17. Qe2 e5 $1 {Normally black only plays Be7-d6 here} 18. Rhe1 e4 {Could have
led to a strategically difficult position for black. Simple} (18... Re7 {was
the way to ensure multiple exchanges}) 19. Nh4 Nf6 20. Nf5 Bf8 21. Bf4 Qd7 22.
Ne3 $6 {By Exchaging his superknight on f5 white throws any advantage away.} (
22. g4 Nd5 23. Be5 f6 24. Bg3 $16) 22... Nd5 23. Nxd5 Qxd5 24. c4 Qf5 25. Be3
Qf3 26. g4 Qxe2 27. Rxe2 Rd7 28. Kc2 f5 {Nice break.But} (28... b6) ({or} 28...
b5 {were also interesting alternatives}) 29. gxf5 Rf7 30. d5 Rxf5 31. dxc6 bxc6
32. Red2 Bc5 33. Rd7 Re7 34. Rd8+ Kc7 35. Ra8 Bxe3 36. fxe3 Kb7 (36... Kb6 {
was a safer move}) 37. Rdd8 Rxh5 38. b4 Rh2+ 39. Kb3 Re2 $6 {This logical move
suddenly gives white chances.} (39... g5 {instead could have force white to
start loking for a perpetual.}) 40. Rdb8+ Ka6 {I like Leonid's choice better
than} (40... Kc7 41. Rxa7+ Kxb8 42. Rxe7 Rxe3+ 43. Ka4 g5 44. Ka5 Kc8 45. Kb6
Kd8 46. Re6 Kd7 47. Rxc6 Rd3 48. Rxh6 e3) 41. a3 c5 $4 {Clear case of suicide.
Now black simply gets mated or loses the rook or lets the pawns run. White is
still better, but not by much.} ({After} 41... Rg2 42. Ka4 Rb7 43. Re8 (43. Rc8
Rg6)) 42. Ka4 cxb4 43. c5 Rb7 44. c6 $1 $18 {Pretty, but} (44. Re8 Rc7 45. Rab8
Rc6 46. axb4 {was just as effective}) 44... Rf7 45. axb4 Ra2+ {Leonid makes
sure he delivers all checks he got.} 46. Kb3 Ra1 47. b5+ Ka5 48. Rb7 Rb1+ 49.
Kc3 Rc1+ 50. Kb3 Rb1+ 51. Kc3 Rc1+ 52. Kd4 Rf5 53. Rbxa7+ Kb4 54. Ra4+ Kb3 55.
Ra3+ Kb2 56. Ra2+ Kb3 57. R8a3+ Kb4 58. Ra4+ Kb3 59. R2a3+ Kb2 60. Rc4 Rd1+ 61.
Kxe4 Rg5 62. Raa4 Rd8 63. c7 Re8+ 64. Kd4 Kb3 65. b6 Rb5 66. Rcb4+ Rxb4+ 67.
Rxb4+ Kxb4 68. b7 1-0

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2009.07.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Panjwani, Raja"]
[Black "Kovalyov, Anton"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B91"]
[WhiteElo "2418"]
[BlackElo "2586"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 7. Nb3 Nbd7 8. a4
b6 9. Bg2 Bb7 10. O-O Rc8 11. Re1 Be7 12. Nd2 O-O 13. Nf1 Nc5 $6 {This move is
leads to a passive position. c5 square has to be reserved for a rook.Therefore
the most precise move order is} (13... Re8 14. Bg5 (14. g4 Nc5 15. Ng3 g6 16.
g5 Nfd7 17. h4 Ne6 18. Be3 Bf8 19. Qd2 h6 20. Nd5 hxg5 21. hxg5 a5 22. Rad1 Bg7
23. Nc3 Bf8 24. Nd5 Bg7 25. Nc3 Bf8 26. Nb5 Rc6 27. Na7 Rc7 28. Nb5 Rc6 29. Na7
{[%emt 0:33:26] 1/2 Wang Hao (2622)-Zhao Jun (2539)/Singapore}) (14. Ne3 g6 15.
Re2 Rc5 16. Ra3 Qa8 17. Ned5 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 {[%emt 0:33:25] 1/2 Smirin,I (2652)
-Lerner,K (2524)/ Jerusalem}) 14... Rc5 ({or} 14... Rc4)) ({immediate} 13...
Rc5 {gives white an initiative after} 14. Be3 Rc7 15. g4 $1) 14. Bg5 Ne6 15.
Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Ne3 g6 17. Ncd5 Bg5 18. c3 Kh8 19. Qb3 Rc6 $2 {Simply a losing
move.Black should have to exchange one of white knights in order to hold his
central pawns} (19... Bxe3 20. Rxe3 Rb8 $14) 20. Nc4 Nc5 21. Qd1 $1 a5 {Not a
dream move black would like to make, but 22.Nb4 was too much of a threat.} 22.
b4 Ne6 23. Bf1 axb4 24. Nxb4 Rc5 25. Nxd6 {The weakness on b6 decides. White
is playing with some surgeon like precision for the rest of the game} Ba8 26.
Nc4 Bb7 27. Qb3 Qc7 28. Nd5 Bxd5 29. exd5 Rxd5 30. Qxb6 Rc8 31. a5 Rc5 32. Nd6
Ra8 33. Bg2 Rb8 34. Nxf7+ 1-0

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2009.07.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Davies, Noam"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C95"]
[WhiteElo "2214"]
[BlackElo "2699"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 g6 15.
Bg5 h6 16. Bd2 Bg7 17. dxe5 $6 {White is always slightly better while he keeps
central tension.This exchange gives black a very easy play and Michael duly
overplays his opponent.} (17. a4 c5 {This is what Topalov's camp thinks about
this position} 18. d5 c4 19. b4 cxb3 20. Bxb3 Nc5 21. c4 Qd7 22. Ba5 Rec8 23.
Bc2 Rab8 24. Nd2 Ba8 25. axb5 axb5 26. Qe2 Bf8 27. Reb1 bxc4 28. Nxc4 Rxb1+ 29.
Rxb1 Qe8 30. Bb4 Nfd7 31. Na5 Rb8 32. Nf1 Bb7 33. Ne3 Ba6 34. Qd2 Qc8 35. Nc6
Ra8 36. Qc3 Bb7 37. Na5 Ba6 38. Kh2 Nd3 39. Nc6 N7c5 40. Bxd3 Bxd3 41. Rd1 Nxe4
42. Qxd3 Nxf2 43. Qf1 Nxd1 44. Qxd1 Qa6 45. Ng4 Kh8 46. Nf6 Qc4 47. Qf3 Ra1 48.
Nxe5 Qxb4 49. Nxf7+ Kg7 50. Ne8+ Kg8 51. Nd8 Ra7 52. Nf6+ Kh8 53. Nc6 Qa4 54.
Nd7 Bg7 55. Nf8 Rb7 56. Nxg6+ Kh7 57. Qf5 Qa8 58. Nce7 Rxe7 59. Nxe7+ Kh8 60.
Ng6+ Kg8 61. Ne7+ Kh8 62. Ng6+ Kg8 63. Qe6+ Kh7 64. h4 Qa4 65. Qf5 Qe8 66. Nf4+
Kh8 67. Ng6+ Kg8 68. h5 Qf7 69. Nh4 Be5+ 70. Kh3 Qxd5 71. Qg6+ Bg7 72. Nf5 Qb3+
73. g3 Qb7 74. Nxh6+ Kf8 75. Qf5+ Ke8 76. Qe6+ Qe7 77. Qxe7+ Kxe7 78. Nf5+ {
[%emt 0:33:29] 1-0 Cheparinov,I (2678)-Koneru,H (2612)/Zafra ESP}) 17... dxe5
18. Be3 Qe7 19. Nd2 h5 20. Ne2 Red8 21. Nc1 Nc5 22. f3 Ne6 23. Qe2 c5 24. Ncb3
Rac8 25. Na5 Ba8 26. a4 c4 27. Qf2 Nd7 28. axb5 axb5 29. Reb1 Ndc5 30. b3 Nd4
$1 {Nice shot, which has more psychological than objective value.} (30... cxb3
31. Naxb3 Na4 32. c4 Nc3 33. Rb2 bxc4 $17) 31. b4 $2 {White gets overwhelmed
by the amount of threats.} (31. Rc1 $17 {was still holding material even.})
31... Nxc2 32. Bxc5 Rxc5 33. Qxc5 Qxc5+ 34. bxc5 Nxa1 35. Rxa1 Rxd2 36. c6 Rd8
37. Nb7 Re8 38. Ra7 Bf8 39. c7 Rc8 0-1

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2009.07.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Hansen, Eric"]
[Black "Mikhalevski, Victor"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C90"]
[WhiteElo "2472"]
[BlackElo "2631"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. Re1 Bb7 10. Nbd2 Na5 11. Bc2 c5 12. Nf1 Re8 13. Ng3 g6 14. Bg5 {Too
timid.} (14. d4 cxd4 15. cxd4 Nc6 16. d5 Nb4 17. Bb1 a5 18. a3 Na6 19. Bd3 Qd7
20. Qe2 Nc7 21. Be3 a4 22. Rac1 Rec8 23. Rc2 Bd8 24. Rec1 Qe8 25. Nd2 h5 26. f3
h4 27. Ngf1 Nh5 28. g3 hxg3 29. hxg3 Kg7 30. Nb1 Qe7 31. Nc3 Ne8 32. Nxb5 Rxc2
33. Qxc2 Rc8 34. Nc3 Qf6 35. Qf2 Ba5 36. Nxa4 Rxc1 37. Bxc1 Bc8 38. b4 Bd8 39.
Be3 Bh3 40. Nb6 Kg8 41. a4 Nf4 42. gxf4 exf4 43. Bd4 Qg5+ 44. Kh1 Qh5 45. Nh2
Bh4 46. Qg1 Bg3 47. Be2 Qh4 48. a5 Ng7 49. a6 Bxh2 50. Qxh2 Qe1+ 51. Bg1 Nh5
52. Qf2 Ng3+ 53. Kh2 Qa1 54. Qd4 Qe1 55. Kxh3 Nxe4 56. Kg2 Qxe2+ 57. Bf2 Nxf2
58. Qxf2 Qxa6 59. Nd7 Qb5 60. Nf6+ Kf8 61. Qd2 {[%emt 0:33:27] 1-0
Nepomniachtchi,I (2587) -Van der Wiel,J (2511)/Wijk aan Zee}) 14... Nd7 15. Bh6
Bf6 16. Qd2 Nf8 17. b4 cxb4 18. cxb4 Nc6 19. Bb3 Ne6 20. Bd5 Nc7 21. Bxc6 Bxc6
22. d4 Rc8 23. Rac1 Na8 24. d5 Bd7 25. Bg5 $6 {Eric usually doesn't show that
much respect for GMs.This exchange leads for a slightly better ending for
black, which Victor skilfully converts into the point. Any middlegame
continuation would be better.} (25. Rxc8 $14) 25... Bxg5 26. Qxg5 Qxg5 27. Nxg5
Nb6 28. Nf3 Nc4 29. Rc3 f5 30. Rec1 Rf8 31. a4 fxe4 32. Nxe4 Bf5 33. Ng3 Bg4
34. Ng5 Nb6 35. Rxc8 $6 {It was hard to see from that faraway that white was
needed to throw in f3 (move 43!), which he could have done right now,holding
the balance.} (35. f3) 35... Rxc8 36. Rxc8+ Bxc8 37. axb5 axb5 38. N3e4 Nxd5
39. Nxd6 Bd7 40. Nf3 Kf8 $1 $17 {Excellent judgement from Victor.Despite the
fact that white will temporarily have an extra pawn,the endgame is hardly
defendable for him.} 41. Nxe5 Ke7 42. Ne4 Bf5 43. f3 Bxe4 44. fxe4 Nxb4 45. Kf2
Kd6 46. Nf3 Nc6 47. Ke3 Kc5 48. Kd3 h6 49. Nh4 $2 {The endgame must be winning
for black,but not in 7 moves.} (49. h3) 49... Ne5+ 50. Kc3 b4+ 51. Kb3 Kd4 52.
Kxb4 Kxe4 53. g3 g5 54. Ng2 Nd3+ 55. Kc3 Kf3 56. Kxd3 Kxg2 0-1

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2009.07.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Mulyar, Michael"]
[Black "Bluvshtein, Mark"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B66"]
[WhiteElo "2440"]
[BlackElo "2598"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8.
O-O-O a6 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 b5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. f5 Qa5 {A rare move, which
draws a natural reaction from Michael - to punish it right away.} (12... Bd7 {
is much more common} 13. Kb1 Qc7 14. Be2 Qc5 15. Qxc5 dxc5 16. Bh5 Rd8 17. fxe6
Bxe6 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. exd5 Rg8 20. Bf3 Bd6 21. c3 Kd7 22. Kc2 Rde8 23. a4 b4
24. Kd3 Be5 25. Kc4 Rb8 26. d6 Bxd6 27. Rd5 Rg5 28. Rhd1 Rxd5 29. Rxd5 h6 30.
Rh5 Bf8 31. h3 bxc3 32. bxc3 Rb1 33. Be4 Ra1 34. Bc2 Rg1 35. Be4 Ra1 36. Bc2
Rg1 37. Be4 Ra1 {[%emt 0:33:29] 1/2 Leko,P (2751)-Mamedyarov,S (2725)/Nalchik
RUS}) 13. fxe6 fxe6 14. e5 $5 fxe5 15. Qg4 {White is very creative in his
attempts to get closer to black king.This is typical sicilian middlegame where
black must be able to hold the balance with precise defence.Both players are
doing a good job for a while.} Bd7 16. Qg7 Rf8 17. Be2 Qb4 18. Bh5+ Kd8 19.
Rhf1 Rxf1 20. Rxf1 Bc6 21. Bg4 Qc4 $2 {It is often the case when the change of
heart in the middle of variation produces the losing move.With his previous
move black prepared Kd7,but decided to "improve" on variation.It was
imperative for rook a8 to join the defence} (21... Kd7 22. Rf6 Re8 {with
unclear position}) 22. Rf7 Ra7 23. Qg8+ Be8 24. Rf3 $2 {It takes white two
blunders in a row to throw the game away when he was one step away from the
victory.} (24. Bh5 Qh4 25. Rf5 $3 exf5 26. Qxe8+ Kc7 27. Nd5+ Kb7 28. Qxe7+
Qxe7 29. Nxe7 $18) 24... e4 25. Bh5 $2 (25. Bxe6 Qc5 26. Rf1 Rc7 {worst is
over for black,but no more than that.}) 25... Kc7 $1 {This particular move
order must have been missed by white.His queen gets overloaded and he suffers
heavy material losses.} 26. Qxh7 Kb6 $1 0-1

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2009.07.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Panjwani, Raja"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2748"]
[BlackElo "2418"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

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. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. b3 b6 12. Bb2 Kc8 13. Rad1 Ne7 14. Rd2
c5 15. Rfd1 Be6 16. Ne2 Ng6 {The choice is between this move and} (16... g5 17.
c4 (17. Nh2 Ng6 18. Ng4 Bg7 19. Nf6 Kb7 20. Ng3 {[%emt 0:33:26] 1/2-1/2 Haba,P
(2596) -Bindrich,F (2401)/Czechia}) 17... Kb7 18. Nc3 Ng6 19. Nd5 {[%emt 0:33:
27] 1/2-1/2 Volokitin,A (2654)-Eljanov,P (2686)/Dresden}) 17. Rd8+ Kb7 18. Rxa8
Kxa8 19. Ng3 {New plan by Alexey and it seems to lead to an advantage.} (19.
Rd8+ Kb7 20. g4 Rh7 21. Nh2 Be7 22. Rd1 Bg5 23. Nf3 Be7 24. Nh2 Bg5 25. Nf3 {
1/2-1/2 Baramidze,D (2551)-Naiditsch,A (2663)/Bad Koenigshofen 2007/CBM 116 ext
}) 19... Be7 20. Nh5 Rg8 21. c4 Nh4 22. Nxh4 Bxh4 23. Nf4 Rd8 24. Rxd8+ Bxd8
25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. g4 Bg5 27. Kg2 Bd2 28. h4 g6 29. h5 {logical continuation,
but forcing black to play h5 after} (29. Kf3 Kb7 30. Ke2 Bf4 31. Bc3 {
threatening Bd2, was also interesting.}) 29... g5 30. Kf3 Kb7 31. Ke2 Bf4 32.
Bc3 Kc6 33. b4 cxb4 34. Bxb4 Kd7 35. Kd3 {Again Alexey changes his mind in the
middle of variation.Ask him if} (35. Bf8 Ke8 36. Bxh6 Kf7 37. Kd3 c5 38. Kc2 a6
39. Kd3 Kg8 40. a4 a5 41. Ke4 Kf7 42. Bxg5 Bxg5 43. f4 {was winning. It
certainly looks that way.}) 35... c5 36. Bd2 Bxe5 37. Ke4 Bg7 $1 {best move
for a draw.} (37... Bd6 38. Bc3 Ke8 39. Bg7 Bf8 40. Be5 Kd7 41. a4 {led to
some difficulties.}) 38. f4 gxf4 39. Bxf4 a6 $6 {It is not that easy to
realize that black should not play this position for a win.} (39... Ke7 40. Bb8
Kd8 {held an easy draw.Now white suddenly gets good winning chances.}) 40. a4
Kc6 41. Be5 Bf8 42. Bf6 b5 43. Ke5 $1 {White wins} Kd7 44. cxb5 axb5 45. axb5
Bd6+ 46. Ke4 Bf8 47. g5 hxg5 48. Bxg5 Kc7 49. Kd3 e5 50. h6 Kb6 51. Kc4 e4 52.
Be3 Kb7 53. h7 1-0

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2009.07.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Bradford, Joseph"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C06"]
[WhiteElo "2699"]
[BlackElo "2459"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Ngf3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O
a5 9. a4 ({An alternative} 9. Re1 {allows} g5 {among others.}) 9... cxd4 10.
cxd4 Nb4 11. Bb5 O-O 12. Nb1 Nb6 13. Nc3 Bd7 14. b3 Rc8 15. Bd2 Rc7 16. Qe2 Qa8
17. Rfc1 Rfc8 18. h4 Bxb5 19. axb5 Nd7 20. g3 h6 {It is hard to tell why this
position attracts Michael so much,but he scores here consistently.} (20... Qa7
21. Kg2 Nf8 22. Qf1 Nd7 23. Na4 b6 24. Rxc7 Rxc7 25. Rc1 Qb7 26. Kh2 Qc8 27.
Rxc7 Qxc7 28. Nc3 Qc8 29. Qe2 Qc7 30. Ne1 Nf8 31. Kg2 Nd7 32. Kf1 Nf8 33. Na4
Nd7 34. Bc3 Kf8 35. Ng2 Ke8 36. Nf4 g6 37. Ke1 Kd8 38. Kd1 Kc8 39. Nh3 h6 40.
h5 g5 41. Ng1 Kb7 42. Nf3 Qc8 43. g4 Ka7 44. Ne1 Kb7 45. f3 Nf8 46. Nd3 Nxd3
47. Qxd3 f5 48. exf6 Bxf6 49. Be1 Qc7 50. Nc3 Be7 51. Ne2 Bd6 52. Bd2 Qf7 53.
Ke1 Nd7 54. Kf2 Nf6 55. Kg2 Bc7 56. Be1 Kc8 57. b4 axb4 58. Bxb4 Qd7 59. Bf8
Qd8 60. Bxh6 Qd6 61. Kf1 e5 62. Qf5+ Nd7 63. Bg7 e4 64. fxe4 dxe4 65. h6 Qe7
66. Qg6 Nf8 67. Bxf8 Qxf8+ 68. Qf5+ {[%emt 0:33:29] 1-0 Adams,M (2703)-Caruana,
F (2649)/Zafra ESP}) 21. Kh2 b6 22. Ne1 Nf8 23. Na4 Nd7 24. Bc3 Qb8 {Black is
safely better here. Somehow in the process of regrouping he loses control over
c file.} 25. Ng2 Nf8 26. Ne3 Kh8 27. Qd2 Qb7 28. Re1 Rb8 29. Rac1 Qc8 30. Qe2
Qd7 31. Bd2 Rxc1 32. Rxc1 {According to engines,the main feature of the
position still is the weak pawn on b5.Therefore black is slightly better.
However he overreacts to his temporary lack of space and prospects of white
kingside storm and lets his time expire(?)} Qd8 33. Kg2 Nd7 34. Bxb4 Bxb4 35.
Rc6 Kg8 36. f4 1-0

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2009.07.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Hommeles, Theo"]
[Black "Samsonkin, Artiom"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2412"]
[BlackElo "2612"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. Qd2 Nc6 8. f3
O-O 9. O-O-O d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bd4 e5 13. Bc5 Be6 14. Ne4 Re8
15. g4 h6 16. h4 Qc7 17. g5 h5 18. Bc4 Red8 19. Qe1 $5 {Everything before was
standard d5 dragon tabia,but the last move is a rare one. While yielding in
popularity to} (19. Qf2 {by huge margin, the logic is there. White keeps an
eye on a5 square in case of Qb7 and prepares Rh2-d2}) 19... Rab8 20. Rh2 Qb7
21. b3 Nf4 {It is hard to suggest any other ideas for black in this typical
position,but after all the exchages a7 pawn is just weaker than h4.} 22. Rxd8+
Rxd8 23. Qa5 Rd7 24. Ba6 Qb8 25. Rd2 Rxd2 26. Qxd2 Bd5 27. Qa5 Bxe4 28. fxe4
Ne6 29. Be3 Bf8 30. Bc4 Nd4 31. c3 Nb5 32. a4 Nd6 33. Qa6 $6 {White plays
better position very safe.} (33. Qxe5 Bg7 34. Qf4 Qd8 35. e5 Nxc4 36. Qxc4 $16
{was the position from the game with extra pawn for white.}) (33. Qxa7 {was
too dangerous.} Qc8) 33... Nxc4 34. Qxc4 Qb7 35. b4 Qd7 36. a5 Qh3 37. Bf2 a6
38. Kb2 Qg2 39. Qe2 {White allowed black too much of the activity.Probably
Artem got under impression that his opponent will continue oh this road,so he
throws the caution away.} Bd6 {Prelude to a blunder.If black wanted to play
c6-c5} (39... Be7 {was necessary}) 40. Kb3 c5 $2 {And this simply loses.
Instead it looks like neither side can make progress after} (40... Kh7 $1 41.
Qc2 Bf8 42. Kb2 $11) ({not} 40... Kg7 41. Qd3 Bxb4 42. Bg3) 41. Qxa6 Qxe4 42.
Qxd6 Qb1+ 43. Ka4 Qc2+ 44. Kb5 Qe2+ 45. Kb6 Qxf2 46. Qxc5 1-0

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2009.07.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Gardner, Robert"]
[Black "Porper, Edward"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B21"]
[WhiteElo "2272"]
[BlackElo "2510"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. f4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. e4 g6 4. Be2 Bg7 5. O-O e6 6. c3 d5 7. d3 Nge7 8. Kh1 b6
9. Be3 Bb7 10. a4 Qc7 11. Na3 Rd8 12. e5 a6 13. d4 c4 {The opening was quite
off-beat, but closing the center leaves white with big space advantage.} (13...
Nf5 14. Bf2 cxd4 15. cxd4 O-O $14) 14. Nb1 Nf5 15. Bf2 h5 16. Nh4 Nce7 17. Nd2
Bh6 18. Nxf5 Nxf5 19. g3 Kd7 20. Kg2 g5 $5 {Interesting pawn sac.} 21. Bxh5
gxf4 22. g4 Rdg8 23. Kh1 Ne7 24. Bxf7 Rf8 25. Bh5 Kc8 26. Nf3 {The position is
quite complicated,but the general feeling is that black's compensation is not
enough.} Bc6 27. Bh4 Bg7 28. Ng5 Qd7 29. Nh3 Ng6 30. Bg5 Bxe5 $6 {The other
capture was more precise.} (30... Nxe5 31. dxe5 (31. Nxf4 Nf7) 31... d4+ 32.
Kg1 Qd5 $15) 31. Ng1 Bd6 32. Bxg6 Qg7 33. Qc2 Rhg8 34. Nh3 $2 {White did not
realize that he won't be able to get f4 pawn.} (34. Nf3 Qxg6 35. Qxg6 Rxg6 36.
h4 $16 {led to a technically winning position.Now the tables are turning.})
34... Qxg6 35. Qxg6 Rxg6 36. Rf2 {leads to heavy material losses.} ({But} 36.
Bxf4 {would not save either. Black had to find} e5 37. Bg5 (37. dxe5 d4+ 38.
Kg1 Bc5) 37... Rh8) 36... e5 37. a5 Rh8 38. Kg2 Rxh3 39. Kxh3 Rxg5 40. dxe5
Rxe5 41. axb6 Kb7 42. Raf1 Re4 43. g5 Bd7+ 44. Kh4 {Stepping right into the
checkmate, but} (44. Kg2 Kxb6 45. h4 Bg4 {is completely lost as well.}) 44...
f3+ 45. Kh5 Be8+ 46. g6 Be7 47. Kh6 Bf6 0-1

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton"]
[Date "2009.07.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Quan, Zhe"]
[Black "Pechenkin, Vladimir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A96"]
[WhiteElo "2465"]
[BlackElo "2366"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. c4 Be7 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O O-O 7. b4 $1 {Modern
treatment of Dutch.} Ne4 8. Bb2 a5 9. b5 a4 10. Qc2 c6 11. bxc6 bxc6 12. Nbd2
Nxd2 13. Nxd2 Qc7 14. Rfe1 Nd7 15. e4 f4 16. Nf3 e5 17. c5 $1 {Typical
breakthrough which leads to interesting complications} dxc5 18. dxe5 a3 19. Bc3
Nb6 $6 (19... fxg3 20. hxg3 Nb6) 20. e6 $6 {Correct idea,which would work
nicely after preliminary} (20. gxf4 Rxf4 21. e6 Rg4 22. Be5 Qa7 23. Bg3 $36)
20... fxg3 21. hxg3 Bxe6 {Time was more important than the pawn structure.Now
white has to be very precise to prove any compensation for a pawn.} 22. Be5 Qc8
23. Rac1 Nc4 24. Bf4 Nb2 25. Bg5 Qd8 26. Bxe7 Qxe7 27. Ne5 Qc7 28. f4 Ra5 {Not
the most active defence there is.} (28... c4 29. Qc3 Nd3 {looks better to me.})
29. Qc3 Rfa8 30. f5 $2 {In his encounter with Micky Adams Vladimir already
demonstrated what a cold-blooded defender he is.This agressive push eventually
lead to three! pawns loss.A little preparation was due} (30. Ra1 {followed by
31.f5 and white's attack looks very dangerous.}) 30... Bxa2 31. f6 Be6 $1 {It
is all over now,because white does not have a defence against Na4-b2 maneuvre
shutting off his queen.} 32. Rf1 c4 33. f7+ Kf8 34. Qb4+ c5 35. Qc3 Na4 36. Qa1
Nb2 37. Nf3 Qxg3 38. Rc2 Bxf7 39. e5 Kg8 40. Re1 Bd5 41. Re3 Bxf3 42. Rf2 Rf8
43. e6 {Black is completely winning,but the following checkers combination is
still pretty.} Qxf2+ 44. Kxf2 Nd1+ 45. Kg3 Nxe3 46. Bxf3 Nf5+ 47. Kh3 a2 48.
Bd5 Ra3+ 49. Kh2 Ne7 0-1

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton Canada"]
[Date "2009.07.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Porper, Edward"]
[Black "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D87"]
[WhiteElo "2510"]
[BlackElo "2748"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2009.07.11"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8.
Ne2 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 Na5 11. Bd3 b6 12. Rb1 cxd4 13. cxd4 Bb7 {Black
must be very creative fighting for the initiative here. Both players follow
Alexey's recent game. Another possibility here was} (13... e6 14. Qd2 Bb7 15.
Bh6 Bxh6 16. Qxh6 Rc8 17. Rfd1 Nc6 18. e5 Qe7 19. Be4 Rfd8 20. Ng3 f5 21. exf6
Qxf6 22. h4 Rf8 23. Rd2 Ba6 24. h5 Ne7 25. hxg6 hxg6 26. Re1 Rf7 27. Bf3 Rh7
28. Qe3 Bc4 29. Rc2 Kg7 30. Qe5 Qxe5 31. Rxe5 Rhh8 32. Bb7 Rb8 33. Rxc4 Rxb7
34. Rxe6 Rd7 35. d5 Nxd5 36. Rd4 Kf7 37. Rc6 Rhd8 38. Ne4 Ne7 39. Ng5+ Ke8 40.
Re4 Rd6 41. Rc7 R8d7 42. Rc8+ Rd8 43. Rc7 R8d7 {[%emt 0:33:28] 1/2-1/2
Beliavsky, A (2619) -Topalov,V (2791)/Dresden GER}) 14. h4 Rc8 15. h5 Nc4 16.
Bxc4 Rxc4 17. h6 Bh8 18. Qd3 Ra4 19. Qb3 Qd7 20. Nc3 Ra5 21. d5 Ba6 $5 {This
and also 21...f5 are among alternatives to} (21... Rc8 22. Nb5 Rxb5 23. Qxb5
Qxb5 24. Rxb5 Ba6 25. Rb4 Bxf1 26. Kxf1 Bc3 27. Ra4 Ba5 28. Ke2 f6 29. Kd3 Kf7
30. Rc4 Rxc4 31. Kxc4 a6 32. g4 Ke8 33. g5 fxg5 34. Bxg5 Kd7 35. a4 e6 36. Be3
Kd6 37. Bf4+ Kd7 38. Be3 Kd6 39. Bf4+ Kd7 {[%emt 0:33:29] 1/2-1/2 Wang Yue 
(2738)-Shirov,A (2745)/Sofia BUL}) 22. Rfd1 Rc8 23. Rbc1 Qg4 {Alexey counts on
his flashy 25th move.Maybe for the next game he will choose a positional} (
23... Bc4 24. Qb4 Be5 25. a4 Qd6 $15) 24. f3 Qh4 25. Ne2 Rac5 26. Rxc5 bxc5 27.
Nf4 Be5 {White's previous move created a threat of 28.Qa4 bb7 29.Qd7, so black
defends against it.The alternative} (27... Bd4 28. Bxd4 cxd4 29. Nh3 Qxh6 30.
Rxd4 {was not enough for the advantage either}) 28. Qa4 $1 {White's only move
anyway.} Bxf4 29. Bxf4 Be2 {it looks like black tricked his opponent, but in
fact this line leads to a forced draw!} 30. Qd7 Rf8 31. g3 Qf6 (31... Qh5 $6 {
is way too risky after} 32. Qxe7) 32. e5 Qb6 33. Re1 Bxf3 34. e6 {the key move
of white's counterplay. A very exciting encounter ends in a perpetual.} Qb2 35.
exf7+ Rxf7 36. Qc8+ Rf8 37. Qe6+ Rf7 38. Qc8+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton Canada"]
[Date "2009.07.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Ganguly, Surya"]
[Black "Hommeles, Theo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B67"]
[WhiteElo "2637"]
[BlackElo "2412"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2009.07.11"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8.
O-O-O Bd7 9. f3 Rc8 10. Kb1 Be7 11. Nxc6 Bxc6 12. h4 Qc7 {It seems like black
can play this position any way he likes.} (12... h6 13. Be3 h5 14. Qf2 b5 15.
e5 Nd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Bb6 Qd7 18. Bd4 O-O 19. Bd3 dxe5 20. Bxe5 Bd6 21. Rhe1
Rfd8 22. Bd4 Qc6 23. Qd2 Be7 24. Qf4 Kf8 25. Be5 Bd6 26. Qg5 Bxe5 27. Qxe5 Qc5
28. b3 Bb7 29. Qxc5+ Rxc5 30. b4 Rc7 31. Be2 Rdc8 32. Bd3 Bd5 33. Re5 g6 34.
Re3 Rd7 35. Kb2 Bc4 36. Rde1 Rdc7 37. c3 Rd8 38. Bxc4 Rxc4 39. g3 e5 40. R1e2
f6 41. Kc2 Kf7 42. Rd3 Rdc8 43. Kb3 Ke6 44. Rc2 g5 45. hxg5 fxg5 46. a4 h4 47.
axb5 axb5 48. Rh2 Kf5 49. Rh3 R8c6 50. Kb2 Ke6 51. Re3 Kf5 52. Rd3 Ke6 53. Re3
Kf6 54. Rd3 Ke6 {[%emt 0:33:27] 1/2-1/2 Kulaots,K (2525)-Kozul,Z (2610)/
Dresden}) (12... O-O 13. Bd3 b5 14. Ne2 Bb7 15. Nd4 Nd7 16. Qe3 Ne5 17. Be2 Qc7
18. f4 Nc6 19. Nxc6 Bxc6 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Bf3 Qc7 22. Rd2 Rfd8 23. Rhd1 b4 24.
h5 d5 25. e5 Ba4 26. b3 Bb5 27. Qd4 Qc3 28. Qxc3 Rxc3 29. Kb2 Rdc8 30. Ra1 g6
31. hxg6 hxg6 32. Bd1 Rg3 33. Bf3 g5 34. fxg5 Rxg5 35. Rd4 a5 36. a3 bxa3+ 37.
Rxa3 Rxe5 38. Rxa5 Be2 39. c4 {[%emt 0:33:27] 1/2-1/2 Jakovenko,D (2708)
-Timofeev,A (2658)/Sochi}) 13. Bf4 Rd8 14. g4 h6 {interesting concept.Black
simply leaves king in the center.} (14... b5 15. a3 Qb7 16. Bd3 d5 17. g5 Nxe4
18. fxe4 dxe4 19. Nxe4 Bxe4 20. Rh3 O-O 21. h5 b4 22. Be5 bxa3 23. b3 Bxd3 24.
Rxd3 Rxd3 25. Qxd3 Bxg5 26. Qc3 f6 27. Bg3 Rc8 28. Qa5 f5 29. Be5 Qe4 30. Rd3
Qh1+ {[%emt 0:33:29] 0-1 Maze,S (2579)-Guilleux,F (2303)/Reykjavik ISL}) 15.
Qf2 b5 16. Bg2 Nd7 17. g5 hxg5 18. hxg5 Rxh1 19. Bxh1 Rc8 20. Qd2 Ne5 21. Ne2
Bb7 22. b3 g6 (22... Ng6 $5 23. Be3 (23. Bg3 $2 Bxg5) 23... e5 (23... d5 24.
exd5 Bxd5 25. f4) 24. Ng3 d5 25. exd5 Bxd5 26. Nf5 Bf8 $15) 23. Bg2 Bf8 24. Be3
d5 $1 25. Bd4 Rd8 {Suddenly the endgame creates some problems for black. He
should have stay in the middlegame with} (25... Nc6 26. Bf6 dxe4 27. fxe4 Nb8)
26. Qc3 Qxc3 27. Nxc3 Nc6 ({white is better in the endgame after} 27... dxe4
28. Bxe5 exf3 29. Rxd8+ Kxd8 30. Bf1) 28. Bb6 Rc8 29. exd5 Nb4 30. d6 Bxd6 $2 {
A blunder.} ({After} 30... Kd7 31. Ba5 Rxc3 32. Bxb4 Re3 33. c4 $14 {white
retains the initiative,but position is still very unclear.}) 31. Rxd6 Rxc3 32.
Ba5 Rxc2 33. Rd8+ 1-0

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton Canada"]
[Date "2009.07.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Pechenkin, Vladimir"]
[Black "Kovalyov, Anton"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "2366"]
[BlackElo "2586"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2009.07.11"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. f4 d5 2. Nf3 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Be2 Nd7 5. O-O c6 6. c4 Ngf6 7. Nc3 dxc4 8.
Bxc4 O-O 9. d4 Nb6 10. Bd3 Nfd5 11. e4 Nxc3 12. bxc3 c5 13. Be3 Bg4 {After
unorthodox opening we've got some sort of "strange Grunfeld".Last move offers
a pawn sac,which white absolutely correctly accepts.} 14. dxc5 Nd7 15. Bb5 Qc7
16. Bxd7 Bxd7 17. Qc2 Rfd8 18. Rab1 Be6 19. Rf2 Rd7 20. Bd4 f6 21. Nd2 Bf7 22.
f5 Qc6 23. Re1 Rad8 24. Nf1 e5 25. fxe6 Qxe6 26. Re3 {It is hard to comment a
complicated middlegame like this.There's array of possibilities on every move,
but position becomes unchanged for a long time.} Re8 27. h3 Qc6 28. Ng3 Re6 29.
Ref3 h5 30. h4 Qa6 31. Qb1 Rc6 32. Qf1 Bc4 33. Qb1 Rf7 34. Kh1 Bf8 35. e5 fxe5
36. Bxe5 Bxc5 37. Rxf7 {It was almost impossible to find a winning} (37. Qc1 $3
{with the idea of Qh6.}) 37... Bxf7 38. Rd2 Be7 39. Rd7 Re6 40. Bb8 Bxh4 41.
Qxb7 $2 {This endgame is hopeless. Only total exchange of heavy pieces offered
some chances.} (41. Rxb7 Rb6 42. Rxb6 Qxb6 43. Qxb6 axb6 44. a3) 41... Qxb7 42.
Rxb7 Bf6 43. Kg1 a6 44. Rc7 h4 {Despite an even material white scattered
pieces don't stand a chance against black bishops.} 45. Nf1 Re2 46. Ba7 Bxa2
47. Ne3 Bg5 48. Ng4 Be6 49. Rc6 Kf7 50. Nh2 Rxg2+ 0-1

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton Canada"]
[Date "2009.07.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Zhao, Xue"]
[Black "MacKinnon, Keith"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A58"]
[WhiteElo "2544"]
[BlackElo "2241"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2009.07.11"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 g6 6. Nc3 Bxa6 7. Nf3 d6 8. g3
Bg7 9. Bg2 Nbd7 10. Rb1 Qa5 {The choice of Magnus Carlsen.} 11. Bd2 ({Precise
move order.If} 11. O-O Nb6 $1 {Carlsen got what he wanted in his Candidate's
match against Aronian, Elista 2007.} 12. a3 Nc4 13. b4 Qc7 14. Qa4+ Nd7 15. Nb5
Qb8 16. bxc5 Bxb5 17. Qxb5 Qxb5 18. Rxb5 Nxc5 19. Nd2 Nxa3 20. Bxa3 Rxa3 21.
Ne4 {[%emt 0:01:59] 1/2-1/2 Aronian,L (2759)-Carlsen,M (2693)/Elista 2007/CBM})
11... O-O 12. O-O Nb6 (12... Rfb8 {is more flexible.Now after} 13. b3 Qa3 {if
white tries Ne1 like in the game,queen can retreat all the way to c7, and if
he plays} 14. Qc2 {then} Nb6 {and there's no Ne1 stuff.}) 13. b3 Qa3 (13...
Rfb8 14. a4 $14 {[%csl Ga5]}) 14. Ne1 Bb7 15. Nc2 Qa6 16. e4 Ne8 {A popular
position in women chess.} (16... Nfd7 17. a4 c4 18. Nb4 Qa5 19. Nb5 c3 20. Nxc3
Qxb4 21. Nb5 Qc5 22. Rc1 Nxa4 23. Rxc5 Naxc5 24. b4 Na4 25. Nc7 Nb2 26. Qb3
Rac8 27. Rc1 Nb6 28. Be3 Na8 29. Nxa8 Rxa8 30. Bf1 Rfb8 31. Bb5 Bc8 32. Bc6 Ra6
33. Rb1 {[%emt 0:33:28] 1-0 Krush,I (2473)-Burtasova,A (2345)/Moscow}) 17. Re1
Nc7 18. a4 e6 (18... Rae8 19. b4 $1 {White was much better in Van Wely,L (2681)
-Carlsen,M (2733)/Wijk aan Zee 2008. But Keith's move is not an improvement})
19. Ne3 {Marin gives +/- here in his comments to Van Wely - Carlsen game and
also suggests more energetic way} (19. a5 Nd7 (19... Qxa5 $2 20. Ra1 $18) 20.
b4 $5 cxb4 21. Nxb4 Qxa5 22. Nc6 Bxc6 (22... Qa6 23. Bf1 $18) 23. dxc6 Bxc3 24.
Bxc3 Qxc3 25. Rc1 Qe5 26. cxd7 $36 {[%csl Rc7,Gd7]}) 19... exd5 20. Ncxd5 Ncxd5
21. exd5 Qd3 22. Rc1 Rfe8 (22... Nxd5 {won't help because of} 23. Nc4 $18) 23.
Bc3 $1 {After these exchanges white's position is simply winning} Qxd1 24.
Rexd1 Bxc3 25. Rxc3 Ra5 26. Bf1 Ba6 27. Bxa6 Rxa6 28. f3 Rb8 29. Ra1 Kf8 30.
Kf2 Ke7 31. g4 h6 32. h4 Kd7 33. f4 c4 34. a5 cxb3 35. Rxb3 Rba8 36. Re1 $1 Nc8
37. Rb7+ 1-0

[Event "2009 Canadian Open Chess Championship"]
[Site "Edmonton Canada"]
[Date "2009.07.16"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Hansen, Eric"]
[Black "Plotkin, Victor"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2472"]
[BlackElo "2310"]
[Annotator "Alexander Shabalov"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "2009.07.11"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. d4 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. a3
Nc6 9. b4 $5 {or ?!} Be7 {Black did not call white's bluff . It is possible
that Eric found some improvement for white after} (9... Nxb4 $1 10. axb4 Bxb4
11. Qb3 ({Dangerous is} 11. Be5 Ne4 12. Qb3 a5 13. cxd5 f6 14. Bd4 (14. dxe6
Qe7 15. Bd4 Bxe6) 14... e5 15. Ke2 Bf5 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 $40) 11... a5 12. Be5 {
White has huge room for a novelty in one of the three other lines:} (12. O-O-O)
(12. Nd2) (12. Be2) 12... Nd7 13. Bd4 Re8 14. cxd5 e5 15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. Bb5 Nc6
17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. dxc6 Qd4 19. Rc1 Rxe3+ {'!'} 20. fxe3 Qxe3+ 21. Kd1 Be6 22.
Qb2 Rd8+ 23. Nd5+ Kg8 {[%emt 0:33:22] 0-1 Gretarsson,H (2520)-Ehlvest,J (2589)/
Reykjavik}) ({Black is safe,but worse after} 9... Bd6 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. Be2 Rd8
12. O-O Qe7 13. cxd5 exd5 14. h3 Be6 15. Rc1 Rac8 16. Qd3 a5 17. b5 Nb8 18. Na4
Nbd7 19. Nd4 Ne4 20. f4 Ng3 21. Rfe1 Rc4 22. Nxe6 Nxe2+ 23. Qxe2 Qxe6 24. Rxc4
dxc4 25. Rd1 Rc8 26. Nc3 Nc5 27. f5 {[%emt 0:33:22] 1-0 Mamedyarov,S (2522)
-Onischuk,A (2655)/ Moscow}) 10. Be2 {Much more ambitious is an attempt to
keep the bishop on the diagonal} (10. h3 $5 Bd6 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13.
Be2 Be6 14. O-O Rfc8 15. Qd3 a5 16. bxa5 Nxa5 17. Rfb1 Nc4 18. a4 Qd7 19. Qd4
h6 20. Bxc4 dxc4 21. Qxd7 Bxd7 22. Rxb7 Ra5 23. Nd4 Rca8 24. Ndb5 Bxb5 25. Rxb5
Rxb5 26. Nxb5 Ra5 27. f3 Nd7 28. Kf2 Kf8 29. e4 Nc5 30. Nc3 f5 31. Ke3 fxe4 32.
fxe4 Nb3 33. Rd1 Ke7 34. Rd5 Ra8 35. Rb5 Rd8 36. Nd5+ Ke6 37. Rb6+ Ke5 38. Nf4
{[%emt 0:33:29] 1-0 Bluvshtein,M (2558)-Leveille,F (2261)/Montreal CAN}) 10...
dxc4 11. Bxc4 Nh5 12. O-O Nxf4 13. exf4 Qxd1 14. Rfxd1 Rd8 15. Rxd8+ Nxd8 16.
Rd1 Kf8 {White is the one who must be cautious in such an ending. In the
meantime the threat of a7-a5 has to be adressed.it can be done by freeing c
file} 17. Nb5 {Eric fails to recognize the danger and soon finds himself in
worse position.} (17. Be2 b6 (17... a5 $2 {loses material} 18. Na4 axb4 19. Nb6
Rb8 20. axb4 Nc6 21. Ne5) 18. Ne5 f6 19. Nc4 {with the balanced position.})
17... a5 18. Nd6 axb4 19. axb4 Bxd6 20. Rxd6 Ra1+ 21. Bf1 Ke7 22. Rd2 Rb1 23.
b5 f6 24. g3 $6 {white offers no resistance at all.} (24. Nd4 Bd7 25. g4 {
would be much tougher stance.}) 24... Bd7 25. Kg2 Bxb5 26. Bxb5 Rxb5 27. Ra2
Nc6 28. Ra8 Rd5 29. Rc8 Rd8 30. Rc7+ Rd7 31. Rc8 Kd6 32. Nd2 Rd8 $1 33. Ne4+
Kd7 34. Rxd8+ Nxd8 {Eric has some "luck" with knight endings in this
tournament.If you take away white f4 pawn and black's e6 and f6 it would be
his game from two rounds ago against Mikhalevsky ,which he lost.} 35. Kf3 Kc6
36. Ke3 Kd5 37. Kd3 b5 38. Nc3+ Kc5 39. Ne4+ Kc6 40. Kd4 Nb7 41. g4 Nd6 42. Ng3
g6 43. h4 b4 44. h5 Kb5 45. hxg6 hxg6 46. Ne2 Ka4 47. g5 Nb5+ 48. Kd3 f5 49.
Kc2 Ka3 0-1

