MegaBase 2024: Chess marches on!

by Nagesh Havanur
2/8/2024 – MegaBase 2024 is Chess History in action. Regularly updated every month, the Main Database currently offers 10.6 million games, many of them annotated. Our columnist Nagesh Havanur offers a review with focus on chess in the 21st Century.
The ChessBase Mega Database 2024 is the premiere chess database with over 10.4 million games from 1475 to 2023 in high quality.

Carlsen, Ding Liren and rivals

The ChessBase Mega Database 2024 is the premiere chess database with over 10.6 million games from 1475 to 2024 in high quality.

There are more than 10.6 million games in this database. The first of them was played in Valencia, Spain way back in 1475. The last of them updated in my database is Wei Yi-Gukesh, Tata Steel Playoff, from 28 January 2024. On my last count I have had 10,636,228 games. The number is still growing. So when you see this MegaBase on your screen, you have nearly six centuries of chess before you. It’s impossible to do justice to this kind of work in one review.

Suppose, I ask the readers here, “What would you like to see from this new edition of MegaBase?”

  • A young player might say, “Show me the latest games and no draws, please. I want to win”.
  • A player of my generation might say, “Show me games of great masters and remember that I love combinational play”.

That places me in a dilemma. Whose demand may be met first?

Young players do not like to wait. So let me make them happy first.

I have something else to share with you, older friends. Rest assured that you don’t have to wait for long.

The first question that a young reader here would ask is, “What about Carlsen? How many of his games are in the new database?” As of now, the MegaBase here has more than 4,000 games played by Magnus. He has himself analysed about 26 games during the period 2006–2016. Thereafter, Peter Heine Nielsen, his long-time second, has annotated about 50 of his games to date. Why not Magnus himself? He is too busy playing, hopping from one tournament to another. Besides, he is not all that anxious to reveal his mind to his rivals!

To return to the present, Magnus represents the ultimate test for both his peers and younger rivals. As for his own generation, Hikaru Nakamura has offered him the longest competition.

Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura

Magnus Carlsen playing white against Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: FIDE / Fischer Random World Chess Championship

In the MegaBase there are about 240 games between them played at various levels, classical, rapid and blitz. Not all of them will stand the test of time. Still a number of them are outstanding.

The following game is a memorable encounter, and I have annotated it for our readers:

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.d4 Nf6 A flexible move that can transpose to a variety of openings. For a while Nakamura keeps his opponent guessing. 1...d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 is the Queen's Gambit Accepted. 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 Thus we have reached the Queen's Gambit Accepted by transposition. 5.e4 b5 6.e5 Nd5 7.Nxb5 White has regained the pawn. However, the Black pawn on c4 remains a thorn in his flesh. Nb6 8.a4 Carlsen had tried 8.a3 in a previous game and lost to Nakamura. So this committal move, yielding b4 and fighting for space on the queenside. 8.Be2 followed by 0-0 preserves White's options. 8.a3 Nc6 9.Be3 Na5 10.Qc2 a6 11.Nc3 Be7 12.Rd1 Bb7 was seen in the game, the day before. Carlsen-Nakamura, Carlsen Tour Final, 2020 (0-1, 56 moves) 8...Qd7 This move prevents a4-a5 push dislodging the knight. But it loses a tempo in developing other pieces. Subsequently the line 8...Nc6 9.a5 Ba6 10.Na3 Or 10.axb6 Bxb5 11.bxa7 Rxa7 12.Rxa7 Nxa7= 10...Bb4+ came to be preferred. If 10...Nxa5!? 11.Nc2 Qd5 12.Bd2 c3 13.Bxa6 cxd2+ 14.Nxd2 Nc6 15.0-0 9.Be2 Nc6 10.0-0 If 10.a5? Nxa5! 11.Rxa5 Bb4+-+ 10...Na5 "Black's position is ugly, with split pawns on the queenside and a knight on the rim; but modern chess is all about dynamics."- Simen Agdestein 11.Ng5 The engine suggests 11.d5 Nxd5 12.Bd2 Bb4 Not 12...Nb3? 13.Bxc4 Nxa1 14.Bxd5 exd5 15.e6!+- 13.Bxb4 Nxb4 14.Qe1 Nbc6= 11...h6 12.Ne4 Bb7 13.Nc5 The bishop on e2 has to keep the c-pawn in view. If he leaves his post with 13.Bf3?! there follows Nb3 13...Bxc5 14.dxc5 Nd5 15.Ra3 Or 15.Nd4 0-0-0∞ 15...a6 16.Nd4 Ne7! Making way for the queen to occupy the d5 post. The immediate 16...0-0-0 may be premature on account of 17.Qe1 Nc6 18.Nxc6 Qxc6 19.Qa5 17.Qd2 The engine offes a wild tactical line with 17.Rg3 0-0-0 18.Be3 Nac6 19.Nxc6 Qxc6 20.Qc1 Nf5 21.Rg4 h5 22.Bf3 Qxf3 23.gxf3 hxg4 24.fxg4 Rxh2 25.f3 Nxe3 26.Kxh2 Nxf1+ 27.Qxf1 Rd3 28.Qc1 Bd5 29.c6 Rxf3 30.b4 Bxc6 Not 30...cxb3?? 31.Qc5!+- 31.Qxc4 Kb7= 17...Qd5 Or 17...0-0-0 18.Qxa5 Qxd4= 18.Rg3 Qxc5 19.b4 This is risky. Not 19.Rxg7? 0-0-0!-+ Safer was 19.Qf4! Nd5 If 19...Ng6? 20.Rxg6 fxg6 21.Nxe6 Qe7 22.Qg4+- 20.Qh4 Qe7 21.Qxe7+ Kxe7= 19...cxb3 20.Ba3? Courting danger. 20.Nxb3! Nxb3 21.Rxb3 Qd5= was the safe option. 20...Qxa3 21.Qxa5 Bd5 22.Rxg7? Tempting and wrong. He had to try 22.Rxb3! Bxb3 23.Nb5 Qxa4 24.Nxc7+ Kd7 25.Qb6 Qc6 26.Nxa8 Qxb6 27.Nxb6+ Kc6 28.Rb1 Rb8 29.Rxb3 Rxb6 22...c5-+ 23.Bh5 cxd4 24.Rxf7 Kd7 25.Bg4 Kc6 26.Bxe6 Bxe6 27.Rf6 Kd7!? The monarch defends the bishop. In retrospect it was not mandatory. 27...Kb7! 28.Rxe6 Nc6-+ was immediately decisive. 28.Qb6 Bd5 29.Rd6+ Ke8? This is only good enough for a draw. Stronger was 29...Kc8! 30.Qxd4 Or 30.Rxd5 Nxd5 31.Qc6+ Nc7-+ 30...b2 31.Rxd5 Nxd5 32.Qxd5 Ra7-+ 30.Rxd5 Nxd5 31.Qc6+ Ke7 32.Qb7+ Ke6 33.Qc6+ Ke7 34.Qb7+ Ke6 35.Qc6+ Kf5 36.Qxd5 Qe7 37.e6+?? It's incredible that this is a losing move. He had a draw with 37.Rc1! Rhc8 Or 37...b2 38.Qf3+ Kg6 39.Rc6+ Kg7= Black cannot escape from checks. 38.Qf3+ Kg6 39.Qg4+ Kf7 40.Qh5+ Ke6 41.Qg4+ Kxe5 42.Re1+ Kd6 43.Qg3+ Kd7 He cannot venture too far with 43...Kd5?? 44.Qxb3+ Kd6 45.Qb4++- 44.Rxe7+ Kxe7 45.Qe5+ and draws by perpetual check. 37...Kg6 38.Qe4+ The queen can give only a few more checks before the time control. If 38.Qxd4 Qxe6-+ White cannot afford to lose this pawn. 38.Qxb3 loses to Rhd8 followed by...Rac8 preparing the promotion of the d-pawn. 38...Kg7 39.Qxd4+ Kg8 40.Qg4+ Qg7 41.Qc4 b2 42.f4 Or 42.e7+ Qf7 43.Qg4+ Kh7 44.Qe4+ Qg6-+ White has no more checks. 42...Rb8 43.Qe4 Freeing the queen from shieding the king against checksand also joining the final effort to promote the b-pawn. Rh7! 44.Rb1 Qb7 45.Qe2 Rc7 0–1
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2863Nakamura,H27360–12020

Nakamura also shone in saving hopeless positions, finding magical resources when all appeared lost:

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
At first sight it seems that Black would be promoting his pawn first. However, appearances are deceptive. 48.Ng7+ Weaving a mating net. Kf8 49.Nf5 f2 50.e6 Suddenly Black is faced with the prospect of mate. Rd3+‼ A magical move. Not 50...f1Q?? 51.Rb8# 51.Ke2 f1Q+ 52.Kxf1 Rf3+ 53.Kxg2 Rxf5 The storm has ceased. White is still a pawn up. But the rook ending is a theoretical draw. 54.Rb5 Rf4 55.Ra5 Ke7 56.Ra6 h5 57.a5 Ra4 58.Kh3 h4 59.Ra8 Kxe6 60.a6 Kd7 61.a7 Kc7 62.Rh8 Rxa7 63.Rh7+ Kb8 64.Rxa7 Kxa7 65.Kxh4 ½–½
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M-Nakamura,N-½–½2021NIC Classic KO 2021

Nakamura has been a wonderful street fighter and here he beats Caruana, a major rival:

Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana

Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Norway Chess

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 To me, Hikaru Nakamura is the perfect example of someone who starts playing better the moment they stopped caring about results or achievements. Playing for nothing is really hard in chess, but thanks to his newfound financial stability Hikaru is able to do something close to it and achieve great results! Of course, losing to Ding in 2023 must have really hurt (considering Ding went on to win the world crown), but his 'literally don't care' attitude will ensure that Naka comes back strong! c5 2.d4 Hikaru has always been really good dynamically, so it's great to see him give gambits like the Morra a go in faster time controls. cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 3...Nf6 In hindsight, this would probably have been a safer option for Fabiano, but I think he is too principled a player not to take the pawn. 4.Nxc3 e6 5.Nf3 a6 Not the most critical setup against the Morra by any means, though I think Fabiano was just surprised with Hikaru's choice. 6.Bf4!? An interesting choice by Hikaru. He played a very similar setup against Erigaisi as well in later games. This is the top choice of my computer as of writing, so it was perhaps a case of great preparation. In my Chessable course I gave the move 6.Bc4 which is the main line and is doing quite well objectively. I think one of the recent trends here for Black has been to go for an early b5 with b5 but in my course I've revived a new bishop retreat with 7.Bd3!? with ideas of an early h4. 6...Nc6 7.Be2 d6 8.0-0 Be7 9.Qb3 So far so good from both sides. White hasn't done anything dramatic, but the recent developments of NN engines has allowed long-term pawn sacrifices to become more popular. This is exactly the case here. e5N A decent novelty, but nothing ground breaking. I venture to guess that Fabiano was already out of book by this point. 9...Nf6 10.Rfd1 Qc7 11.Qa3 e5 12.Bg5 was a 2013 CC game that ended in a draw after few more moves. 10.Be3 Nf6 11.Bb6! This is very important. White plays for positional domination, so it's important to keep the queenside under check. Qd7 12.Rfd1 0-0 13.Rac1 h6 14.Nh4!? Starting very direct play. Perhaps not fully correct from an objective perspective, but it pays off in a practical game. 14.h3 The computer is chilling with this move and feels Black is still the one who has to show how to equalise. It shows how the compensation is of a long-term nature. 14...Qe8 I'm not sure what the point of this move is, since it does nothing to stop Ng6. Yes, Black is still objectively fine, but there was no need to allow White's next move. The position is also transformed in a way that seems to benefit White, who wins the bishop pair by force. 14...Kh8! Getting out of the pin was more natural. Black prepares Qe8 next and the position remains complex. 15.Ng6! Forcing Black's next. Be6 16.Bc4 fxg6! 16...Bxc4 17.Qxc4+- leaves Black a full exchange down as White will take on f8. 17.Bxe6+ Kh7 17...Kh8 was perhaps more prudent. 18.Nd5 This is way too direct. One of Nakamura's great strengths is his ability to play very aggressive chess, but sometimes this can be a drawback as well. The position's still flowing at a slow pace, so such fast-paced action is not correct. 18.Bh3 Bd8 19.Be3 is suggested by the computer to keep more tension. 18...Bd8! Perhaps Naka underestimated this resource. 19.Nxf6+ Rxf6 20.Bd5! Sadly this is forced. Now Fabiano makes the first real inaccuracy. Rb8?! Criticizing a player in a rapid game might not be prudent all the time, but this is one moment where Fabiano underestimated the potential of White's dark squared bishop. 20...Bxb6! Simple chess - eliminate your worst placed piece for your opponent's good pieces. 21.Qxb6 Rb8 Yes, White wins back the pawn following 22.Bxc6 bxc6 23.Qxc6 Qf7 But Black's army has suddenly become very active and this should give great counterplay. 21.Be3! A great move. The bishop returns, not allowing the exchange, and White's positional pressure increases. Be7 21...Ba5 is a better square. 22.Qa4 22.g3! Keeps a lot of control. White can play h4 next. 22...Rc8 22...Rf8 is better, grovelling for equality. 23.Rc3 White slowly builds up the pressure. g5 Another pseudo active move. 23...Rf8 Once again it was imperative to retreat the rook. 24.Rdc1 g4 25.b4 This is way too sophisticated. 25.Bxc6 bxc6 26.Rxc6± Wins back the pawn and keeps a large edge. 25...Qg6 26.Bxc6 Now this exchange occurs in far worse circumstances. 26.b5! Nakamura should have continued with his plan of advancing the b-pawn. axb5 27.Qxb5 White keeps a lot of pressure. If for example, Black tries to get active with Rcf8 27...Rc7 Is better, holding on for the moment. 28.Qxb7 Nd4 29.Qxe7 Ne2+ 30.Kf1 Nxc1 31.Rxc1 White's two bishops are better than the enemy rook, and even though Black starts some concrete counterplay with g3 32.hxg3 Qxg3 33.Qa7 Qh2 White is much better after 34.Qa5! Qh1+ 35.Ke2 Rxf2+ 36.Bxf2 Qxc1 37.Qe1!± thanks to the fact that the a-pawn is a real monster here. 26...bxc6 26...Rxc6! was stronger, exchanging some pieces. But we get the same position as in the game. 27.Rxc6 Missing a chance. 27.Qxa6! Re8 28.Qxc6 d5 29.Qxd5 Bxb4 30.Rc6± White remains a pawn up. 27...Rcf8 Going for a direct attack paid off in the game, but there were better alternatives. 27...Rxc6 28.Qxc6 d5 29.Qxd5 Bxb4 Leads to a holdable middlegame. 28.Qc2 Hikaru fails to call the bluff. 28.Qxa6! Qxe4 29.Rc7± and White has a great advantage. 28...h5 29.Rxa6 h4 Fabiano has suddenly got a lot of counterplay. Fabiano hat plötzlich eine Menge Gegenspiel. 30.Ra7 30.Rc6!? was cleaner, intending to meet g3 with 31.fxg3 hxg3 32.hxg3 Qxg3 33.Rc3 30...R6f7? Missing a great chance. 30...g3! leads to forced equality. For example, 31.fxg3 hxg3 32.Qd3 Rf2‼ A beautiful interference pattern. 33.Bxf2 Qh6 34.hxg3 Qxc1+ 35.Qf1 Qc2= 31.Qe2? A case of mutual blindness! 31.g3!± preventing Black's counterplay, would have been very strong! 31...g3! 32.f3 gxh2+ 32...h3! would have been more aggressive and stronger. 33.Kh1 33.Kxh2‼ Qg3+ 34.Kh1 h3 35.Rg1 is apparently best play here, but I fully understand Hikaru's move as this position looks really scary. 33...h3 34.Rcc7 Hikaru stays precise in a crazy position. Qe6? Gambling way too much. Now the position is lost. 34...hxg2+ 35.Qxg2 Qxg2+ 36.Kxg2 Rxf3 37.Kxh2 Rxe3 38.Rxe7 Rxe4= leads to forced equality. 35.g3 35.b5! is more stone-hearted, but Hikaru's move is winning as well. 35...Kh8 36.Kxh2 d5 37.Rxe7! Finishing off with a flourish. Rxe7 38.Rxe7 Qxe7 39.Bc5 Qf7 40.Bxf8 Qxf8 41.exd5 Qxb4 42.Qxe5 Too many extra pawns for Black to hope for a draw. Qd2+ 43.Kxh3 Qd3 44.Qe8+ Fabiano resigned. A terrific fight by Nakamura, showcasing the one quality that distinguishes him from the rest of the pack - the ability to play 'good' moves all the time and not blunder anything big! 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2775Caruana,F27641–02023Chessable Masters Div 1 Win4.4

These two players will face each other in the Candidates’ Tournament in April.

This brings us to the young talents in the world arena. Currently the Indian quartet, Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi. Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi, have taken the chess world by storm, and rightly so. The MegaBase has a number of their games, both annotated and unannotated.

Perhaps the strongest among them is Praggnanandhaa. Here is an incredible game that deserves greater recognition.

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+ 3.Bd2 Bxd2+ 4.Qxd2 f5 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.e3 d6 7.Bd3 e5 8.Nge2 c5 9.d5 e4 10.Bc2 Nbd7 11.Ba4 0-0 12.Bxd7 Nxd7 13.h4 Ne5 14.b3 Nd3+ 15.Kf1 Qf6 16.Nf4 b5 17.Nxd3 exd3 18.cxb5 a6 19.Rd1 axb5 20.Nxb5 f4 21.exf4 Bg4 22.f3 Bf5 23.Kf2 Rfe8 24.Nc3 h5 25.Rde1 Rxe1 26.Rxe1 Qxh4+ 27.Kg1 Qf6 28.Nb5 h4 29.a4 c4 30.bxc4 Rxa4 31.Rc1 Kh7 32.Kh2 Bg6 33.Rc3 Ra2 34.Qxa2 Qxf4+ 35.Kh1 d2 36.Qa1 Qe5 37.Rc1 dxc1R+ 38.Qxc1 Bd3 39.Qd2 Bf5 40.Qg5 h3 41.Nxd6 hxg2+ 42.Kg1 Qe1+ 43.Kxg2 Qe2+ 44.Kg3 Qe5+ 45.Kf2 Qb2+ 46.Kg1 Qd4+ 47.Kg2 Qb2+ 48.Kh1 Bd3 49.Qe3 Bf1 50.Qg1 Qc1 51.Nf5 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Praggnanandhaa,R2661Carlsen,M28641–02022Miami FTX Crypto Cup7.4

Pragg’s performance close on the heels of Carlsen did not go unnoticed:

Even when Pragg is in poor form, he is not easy to beat, as Carlsen found to his cost last year:

Magnus Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa

Magnus Carlsen playing white against Praggnanandhaa in Wijk aan Zee | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
This was the penultimate game, after starting with +2 in the tournament, I lost last 3 games out of 4. I was not in a great form, but as always, was excited to play Magnus! 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.a3 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bb5 Magnus played this twice against me in online rapid games. 6...dxc4 7.Bxc4 a6 8.Bd3 This was played by Ding Liren in the final round of the Candidates' against Hikaru Nakamura. cxd4 Hikaru opted for b5 here. I decided to release the tension in the centre. 8...b5 1-0 (58) Ding, L (2806) -Nakamura,H (2760) Madrid 2022 CBM 209 [Giri,Anish] 9.exd4 g6 This idea was recently shown by Anish in World Rapid. 10.Bg5 Bg7 11.Be4N 11.Ne4 h6 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Nxf6+ Qxf6 14.0-0 0-0 15.Be4 Bd7= Black was fine and soon the game ended in a draw. 1/2-1/2 (27) Nepomniachtchi,I (2766) -Giri,A (2708) Almaty 2022 11...Ne7 12.h4 h6 12...0-0!? The computer shows, this is possible. But it's very difficult practically to play this move. 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Qd2 Nd5?! After some moves in the game I realised, I should have gone for 14...h5! 15.0-0-0 Kf8! 16.Ne5 Kg7 Black is fine here. 15.h5 g5 16.Ne5 Bg7 17.Bxd5 17.0-0 Keeping the bishop on c8 closed. After Nf6 18.Bc2 Nxh5 19.Rfe1 0-0 20.Rad1± White is better due to a huge development advantage. 17...exd5 18.0-0 Be6 19.Rae1 0-0 20.Re3 Keeping the option of f4 Bf5?! 20...Rc8! 21.f4 I was worried about this move during the game. gxf4 22.Rxf4 Bf6! An important move. 23.Rg3+ Bg5 24.Nf3 f6! Black stabilizes the kingside in time. 21.Qd1! Improving the queen's position Re8? 22.Rfe1? Magnus rarely misses such a chance. I was very lucky at this moment. 22.Nxf7! Kxf7 23.Rf3! Somehow I missed this move. During the game I only saw 23.Qf3? Qd7 24.g4 Bxd4∞ 23...Ke6 24.Re1+ Be4 25.Qb3+- 22...Be6 23.Na4 b6 24.Rb3 24.Qb3!± This is better as the rook on is already good on e3. 24...Qc7! 25.Nxb6?! I was plesantly surprised to see this move. 25.Rxb6 Bd7! 26.Nxd7 Qxd7 27.Rxe8+ Rxe8 28.Nc5 Qf5 29.Rxa6 g4 with some practical counterplay although White should be better. 25...Rab8 26.Na4 Rxb3 27.Qxb3 Bxe5! 28.dxe5 28.Rxe5 Qc1+ 29.Kh2 Qf4+= 28...Qa5!? 28...d4!? 29.Qb4 d3 30.Nc5 Bf5∞ 29.Qd1 Bg4! provoking f3 and weakening the g1-a7 diagonal. 30.f3 Bd7 31.Nc3 Qc5+ 32.Kh2!? The best try here. 32.Kh1 d4 33.Re4 dxc3 34.Qxd7 cxb2 35.Qxe8+ Kg7 36.Re1 Qc1= 32...d4 Black is also fine after 32...Bc6 33.Re4 dxc3 34.Qxd7 c2 The real fun starts here !! ! I had foreseen 34...Rxe5 when I went for Qa5-Bg4. 35.b4 Qd5 36.Qxd5 Rxd5 37.Rc4 Rd3 38.a4 I thought there is still some pressure for black. 35.Qxe8+ Kg7 36.b4! 36.Re1 Qf2 37.Qa4 Qxe1 38.Qxc2 Qh4+= 36...Qc3 37.f4! 37.e6 Qc7+ 38.g3 c1Q 39.exf7 Qxf7 40.Re7 Qc2+= 37...c1Q 38.f5 Qc7! 38...Qc4 is another move that saves Black. I saw it during the game, but preferred Qc7. 39.Rxc4 Qxc4 40.f6+ Kh7 41.Qd7 Qf4+= 39.f6+ Kh7 40.Qf8 Qxe5+! 41.Rxe5 Qf4+ 42.Kg1 42.g3 Qf2+ 43.Kh3 Qf1+ 44.Kg4 Qd1+!= Very important to save the game. 44...Qc4+ 45.Kf3 45.Kh3 45.Kf5?? Qf3# 45...Qh1+ 42...Qc1+ 43.Kf2 Qf4+ 44.Ke2 Qxe5+ 45.Kd3 Qxf6 Till here everything was forced. 46.Qe8 Magnus still continues to play for win. Qf1+ 47.Kd4 Kg7 48.Qe5+ Kg8 49.Qb8+ Kg7 50.Qg3 Qd1+ 51.Kc5 Qxh5 Here I have nothing to play on the queenside. So I decided to capture the pawn and tried to create my own passed pawn on the kingside. 52.Qe5+ Kg8 53.a4 Qd1 54.a5 Qg1+ 55.Qd4 Qxg2 56.b5 g4! 56...axb5 holds as well. But I saw this g4 direct way 57.bxa6 g3 58.a7 Qa8 59.Kd6! This is still a draw. But I was very impressed with the way Magnus continues to play with the idea of Ke5-Kf4-Kg3-Kh2! going all the way to stop the Black pawn with the king. 59.Qg4+ Kh7 60.Qxg3 Qxa7+ 61.Kb5 Qb7+= I was expecting that the game would end like this. 59...g2 59...Qd8+!? 60.Ke5 Qxa5+ 61.Kf4 g2 62.Kf3 62.Kg3?! Qc3+! 63.Qxc3 g1Q+ 64.Kh3 Qxa7 65.Qg3+ Still White holds. 62...Qa2= Should also be a draw. 60.Ke5 Trying to get the king to h2 Qf3 I felt this was the safest for Black to prevent the White king's walk! 61.Qd8+ Kh7 62.a8Q Qc3+ 63.Qd4 I was hoping to get four queens on the board. But it looked risky for white. So it's understandable that Magnus played Qd4. 63.Kd6 g1Q 64.Qd5!? Four queens! The computer says, this is still possible to keep the game going. 63...Qxd4+ 64.Kxd4 g1Q+ 65.Kd3 Qd1+ 66.Ke3 Qe1+ 67.Kd3 Qd1+ I was very happy to save such a difficult position! also managed to stop my losing streak! ½–½
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2859Praggnanandhaa,R2684½–½2023Tata Steel-A 85th

Among other young players, Abdusattorov, Firouzja, Duda and Abasov deserve mention. As is known, Abasov became a candidate on account of Carlsen’s non-participation in the World Championship cycle. Here is a game in which he came close to beating Magnus, but lost:

For some inexplicable reasons this game appears in the MegaBase without annotations. However, it appears with a detailed commentary in CBM 216:

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 Abasov I recall as a good teammate in the football tournament during a Gashimov Memorial. But of course also a talented young chess player. In this event he had his deserved breakthrough, and qualified for the candidates as perhaps the most surprising player in modern times. In general he plays several different openings, but during his run in the World Cup, he stayed very loyal to his prepared repertoire, which gave us a target to aim for. Abasov erinnere ich als einen guten Mannschaftskameraden im Fußballturnier während eines Gashimov Memorials. Aber natürlich auch ein talentierter junger Schachspieler. Bei dieser Veranstaltung hatte er seinen verdienten Durchbruch und qualifizierte sich als der vielleicht überraschendste Spieler der Neuzeit für das Kandidatenturnier. Im Allgemeinen spielt er mehrere verschiedene Eröffnungen, aber während seiner Teilnahme am World Cup blieb er seinem vorbereiteten Repertoire sehr treu, was uns ein Ziel gab, auf das wir hinarbeiten konnten. 3.Bb5 e6 4.Bxc6 Of late a less popular option. In letzter Zeit eine weniger beliebte Option. bxc6 5.b3!? Vidit had played 5 b3 against Abasov in the quarterfinals, and it obviously caught my attention, as this area was heavily debated during the 2012 World Championship Match netween Anand and Gelfand, where I was in the seconding team of Anand. We started with 5 b3 there, as suggested to us by Michael Adams who became our online-consultant for the 3 Bb5 Rossolimo during the match! We then switched 5 d3 Ne7 6 b3!? as 5 b3 e5!? caught us by surprise, only to return to 5 b3 for the playoffs, finally succeeding and eventually winning the match. Vidit hatte 5.b3 gegen Abasov im Viertelfinale gespielt, und das erregte natürlich meine Aufmerksamkeit, da dieses Gebiet während des Weltmeisterschaftsmatchs 2012 zwischen Anand und Gelfand, bei dem ich im zweiten Team von Anand war, heftig debattiert wurde. Wir begannen dort mit 5 b3, wie es uns von Michael Adams vorgeschlagen wurde, der während des Matches unser Online-Berater für 3.Lb5- Rossolimo wurde! Wir wechselten dann zu 5 d3 Se7 6 b3!?, da uns 5 b3 e5!? überraschte, nur um dann im Playoff wieder zu 5 b3 zurückzukehren, womit wir schließlich Erfolg hatten und die Partie gewannen. 5.d3 used to be the main line, but recently black had good results with 5 d3 war früher die Hauptvariante, aber in letzter Zeit hatte Schwarz gute Ergebnisse mit Qc7 , including Magnus himself. , einschließlich Magnus selbst. 5...d6!? The 2012 playoff game continued Die Playoff-Partie 2012 ging weiter 5...e5 6.Nxe5 Qe7 7.d4 d6 8.Nxc6 Qxe4+ 9.Qe2 Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 Bb7 11.Na5 Bxg2 12.Rg1 with a promising intitiative for white. A verdict the computer still agrees with. mit einer vielversprechenden Initiative für Weiß. Ein Urteil, dem der Computer immer noch zustimmt. 6.e5 dxe5 7.d3!? However Abasov played 7...Qg5! obtaining an equal position. However, the computer suggests not retaking the pawn, but just continiuing to develop normally. Abasov spielte jedoch 7...Qg5! und erreichte eine ausgeglichene Stellung. Der Computer schlägt jedoch vor, den Bauern nicht zurückzunehmen, sondern einfach normal weiterzuentwickeln. Vidit played Vidit spielte 7.Nxe5 which is also what we prepared in 2012. The flashy point is that , was wir auch 2012 vorbereitet hatten. Die spektakuläre Pointe ist, dass Qd4 is met by either beantwortet wird mit entweder 8.Nc4 or oder 8.Bb2 Qxb2 9.Nc3 Ba6 10.Rb1 Qa3 11.Qf3 when black's position immediately collapses. , wonach die schwarze Stellung sofort zusammenbricht. 8...Qxa1 9.Nc3 when the black queen will be eventually trapped in the corner wonach die schwarze Dame schließlich in der Ecke gefangen ist. 7...f6 7...c4!? somewhat similar to Gelfand's approach in the 12th match game was possiple, when white continues in the same spirit and plays , etwas ähnlich wie Gelfands Ansatz in der 12. Matchpartie war möglich, wonach Weiß im gleichen Sinne weitermacht und 8.0-0 cxd3 9.Nxe5!? with intiative. mit Initiative spielt. 8.Nbd2 Evaluating a position like this is hard. Normally we can rely on some kind of intuition, but such is connected to experience and for this structure, basically none exists. Black is a pawn up, ahs the pair of bishops, and at first only the doubled c-pawns can be counted as obvious compensation. But there is something very inflexible about blacks pawn-structure. Its solid, but very imobile. Basically white can prepare an attack on the kingside, and unless ...c4 happens under favourable circumstances, black can end up in deep trouble. It was Ganguly who realised that while we prepared for game 12, and it was very impressive to see Gelfand realize the dangers over the board, and come up with a timely antidote. These days things are easier. The computer already give whit e a small edge. All left, is just rtying to understand why. Die Bewertung einer solchen Position ist schwierig. Normalerweise können wir uns auf eine Art Intuition verlassen, aber die ist mit Erfahrung verbunden und für diese Struktur gibt es im Grunde keine. Schwarz hat einen Bauern mehr, hat das Läuferpaar, und zunächst kann man nur die verdoppelten c-Bauern als offensichtliche Kompensation ansehen. Aber die schwarze Bauernstruktur hat etwas sehr Unflexibles an sich. Sie ist solide, aber sehr unbeweglich. Im Grunde kann Weiß einen Angriff am Königsflügel vorbereiten, und wenn nicht unter günstigen Umständen ...c4 passiert, kann Schwarz in große Schwierigkeiten geraten. Es war Ganguly, der das erkannte, während wir uns auf die Partie 12 vorbereiteten, und es war sehr beeindruckend zu sehen, wie Gelfand die Gefahren auf dem Brett erkannte und ein rechtzeitiges Gegenmittel fand. Heutzutage sind die Dinge einfacher. Der Computer gibt dem Weißen bereits einen kleinen Vorteil. Alles was bleibt, ist zu verstehen, warum. Nh6 The top computer move, and we hoped Abasov might have ended his prep here. Der Top-Computerzug, und wir hatten gehofft, dass Abasov seine Vorbereitung hier beenden würde. 9.Rg1! A nice move, but as Magnus said in the interview after the game, not exactly a grand concept invented by humans, but the top move of the computer. Its very simple: white wants to push g4 as soomn as possible, and with the king typically ending up castling long, giving up the right to castling is not a major concession. Ein schöner Zug, aber wie Magnus im Interview nach der Partie sagte, nicht gerade ein großartiges Konzept, das von Menschen erfunden wurde, sondern der beste Zug des Computers. Es ist ganz einfach: Weiß will g4 so schnell wie möglich vorantreiben, und da der König normalerweise lange rochiert, ist es kein großes Zugeständnis, das Recht auf Rochade aufzugeben. Ba6? Played after considerable thought, and already a major mistake. Blacks major problem is the inactivity of his bishops, especially the light squared one. Being a pawn up, the possibility of sacrificing a pawn with ...c4 is always there, but one need to find favourable circumstances for it to work. Nach reiflicher Ãœberlegung gespielt, und schon ein großer Fehler. Das Hauptproblem von Schwarz ist die Inaktivität seiner Läufer, insbesondere des Läufers im Leichtfigurenfeld. Da er einen Bauern mehr hat, ist die Möglichkeit, mit ...c4 einen Bauern zu opfern, immer gegeben, aber man muss günstige Umstände finden, damit es funktioniert. The immediate Dem sofortigen 9...c4 e.g. would be met just with. z.B. würde man einfach mit. 10.Nxc4 begegnen The correct move was Der richtige Zug wäre 9...Qa5! as it threatens 10...c4. Whites best according to the computer is 10.Kf1! taking the sting out of ...c4 as white can now again recapture with the knight. The king on f1 and Rook on g1 indeed looks very weird, but as white does g4 next, some breathing space for the king will exist. Modern (computer) chess at its best. , das ...c4 den Stachel nimmt, da Weiß nun wieder mit dem Springer zurückschlagen kann. Der König auf f1 und der Turm auf g1 sehen in der Tat sehr seltsam aus, aber da Weiß als nächstes g4 spielt, gibt es etwas Spielraum für den König. Modernes (Computer-)Schach in seiner besten Form. 10.g4 Nf7 11.Qe2 Be7 12.Bb2 It is noteworthy that the computers considers white´s position borderline winning. Safe king, long castling and h4+g5 is an easy and simple way to attack. As long as one does not start counting material, evaluating the position is easy. Es ist bemerkenswert, dass der Computer die weiße Stellung als nahezu gewonnen ansieht. Der sichere König, die lange Rochade und h4+g5 sind ein einfacher und bequemer Weg zum Angriff. Solange man nicht anfängt, Material zu zählen, ist es einfach, die Stellung zu bewerten. Qa5 13.c4? A logical move, blocks the bishop on a6, stops any ...c4 ideas, but a surprisingly bad one giving away a considerable part of white's advantage. Simply Einfach 13.0-0-0 was very strong. If war sehr stark. Wenn Qxa2 then , dann 13...0-0-0 is a move, with ist ein Zug, wobei 14.g5 Nd6 15.h4 Nf5 16.h5 Nd4 17.Qe4 followed by 18 h6 undermining the black structure being a sample line underlining white's positional potential. gefolgt von 18 h6, das die schwarze Struktur untergräbt, eine Variante ist, die das positionelle Potential von Weiß unterstreicht. 14.c4! followed by 15 Kc2 and 16 Ra1 when white will also use the a-file for an attack. Chess becomes simple, if you stop counting pawns it seems! gefolgt von 15 Kc2 und 16 Ta1, wonach Weiß auch die a-Linie für einen Angriff nutzen wird. Schach wird einfach, wenn man aufhört, Bauern zu zählen, wie es scheint! 13...g5! A good defensive move, white now faces a serious challenge breaking through blacks defensive line. Ein guter Verteidigungszug, Weiß steht nun vor einer ernsthaften Herausforderung, die schwarze Verteidigungsvariante zu durchbrechen. 14.h4 h6 15.Rh1 0-0-0 16.0-0-0 Qc7 The question for white is what's next? Black is in the process of consolidating, ...Kb8, ...Bc8 etc. Die Frage für Weiß ist, was als nächstes kommt? Schwarz ist gerade dabei, sich zu konsolidieren, ...Kb8, ...Lc8 usw. 17.Ne4 Doubling in the h-line starting with 17 Rh2 or 17 Rh3 is interesting but the most noteworthy is the computer suggestion Die Verdoppelung in der h-Linie, beginnend mit 17.Th2 oder 17.Th3, ist interessant, aber am bemerkenswertesten ist der Computervorschlag 17.hxg5 hxg5 18.Qe4 The idea is to "invade" on g6, and at times to Rh7 and take over the h-line. Die Idee ist, auf g6 'einzudringen', und manchmal nach Th7 und die h-Linie zu übernehmen. Nd6 19.Qg6 Rhg8 looks logical, but the computer happily plays sieht logisch aus, aber der Computer spielt fröhlich 20.Qh7 and rightfully claim it has conquered the h-file! und behauptet zu Recht, die h-Linie erobert zu haben! 17...gxh4!? An interesting and active choice, but passivity was a decent alternative. Eine interessante und aktive Wahl, aber Passivität war eine gute Alternative. 18.Nxh4 Rhg8 19.f4 exf4 Wenn 19...Kb8 , then , dann 20.f5 and white will get control of the f5 square. und Weiß bekommt die Kontrolle über das Feld f5. 20.Nxf6 Bxf6 21.Qxe6+ Kb8 22.Qxf6 Bc8 The smoke has cleared and the exchanges has made black's position much less cramped. But of course the doubled c-pawns, especially the weak one on c5, mean his position is not fully safe yet. Der Rauch hat sich gelichtet, und durch den Abtausch ist die schwarze Stellung viel weniger beengt. Aber natürlich bedeuten die verdoppelten c-Bauern, insbesondere der schwache auf c5, dass seine Stellung noch nicht völlig sicher ist. 23.Rde1 Rd6 24.Qxf4 Rxg4 25.Qe3 An unneccesary move, better was the direct retreat to d2. Ein unnötiger Zug, besser war der direkte Rückzug nach d2. Re6 26.Qd2 Ne5 27.Kc2 Kb7 28.Re3 Qe7 Equal material, but black having 4 isolated pawns while white has a beautiful pawn chain. One would expect it to matter, but the computer disagrees! Black's conunterplay is sufficient, and for the first time in the game, white's king starts feeling unsafe. Gleiches Material, aber Schwarz hat 4 isolierte Bauern, während Weiß eine schöne Bauernkette hat. Man würde erwarten, dass dies eine Rolle spielt, aber der Computer ist anderer Meinung! Schwarzes Konterspiel ist ausreichend, und zum ersten Mal in der Partie fühlt sich der weiße König unsicher. 29.Nf5 Qg5 30.Bxe5 Rg2! A strong intermezzo. Ein starkes Intermezzo. 31.Re2 Rxe2 32.Qxe2 Qxf5 33.Rh5 Qf7 We can make the same structural remark once again, but reality is that it dosent really matter. Blacks counterplay is sufficient, and white has difficulties untangling himself. Best would be first to care about king safety, and start with Kb2-a3. Wir können dieselbe strukturelle Bemerkung noch einmal machen, aber die Realität ist, dass es nicht wirklich wichtig ist. Schwarz' Gegenspiel ist ausreichend, und Weiß hat Schwierigkeiten, sich zu entwirren. Am besten wäre es, sich zuerst um die Königssicherheit zu kümmern und mit Kb2-a3 zu beginnen. 34.Qh2?? Abasov´s´s hard defensive works gets rewarded. Magnus move is logical in terms of untangling, but it misses that black gets the chance to counterattack! Abasovs harte Verteidigungsarbeit wird belohnt. Magnus' Zug ist logisch im Sinne der Entwirrung, aber er verpasst, dass Schwarz die Chance zum Gegenangriff bekommt! Rg6 The computer shows Der Computer zeigt 34...Qf1! winning. Whites problem is that 35...Rg6 invading on g2 is threatened, and e.g. als Gewinn an. Der Problem von Weiß ist, dass 35...Tg6 ein Eindringen auf g2 droht, und z.B. 35.Rxh6 However, to claim that black's win was trivial is wrong. After Zu behaupten, dass Schwarz' Sieg trivial war, ist jedoch falsch. Nach 35.Qd2 Black has to find muss Schwarz Rg6 36.Rh2 Rg1 37.Bb2 Qb1+ 38.Kc3 Bf5! 39.Qc2 Qe1+! 40.Qd2 Qe5+! 41.Kc2 Bxd3+! Now white can't take with the queen as the rook on h2 then would be hanging, and after finden. Jetzt kann Weiß nicht mit der Dame nehmen, da der Turm auf h2 dann hängen würde, und nach 42.Kxd3 Rg3+ 43.Kc2 Qe4+ followed by 44...Rg1+ it is indeed finally over. gefolgt von 44.. .Tg1+ ist es tatsächlich endgültig vorbei. 35...Rxh6 36.Qxh6 Qe2+ wins the bishop on e5. den Läufer auf e5 gewinnt. 35.Bf4 Rf6 36.Be3 Bf5 37.Bxc5 Qg6? It is somewhat surprising that only now the computer gets exited for white. Es ist etwas überraschend, dass erst jetzt der Computer für Weiß aufgeregt wird. After Nach 37...Re6 38.Bd4 a5!? it still considers the black position very holdable. hält er die schwarze Stellung immer noch für sehr haltbar. 38.Kc3 Re6 39.Rh4? A strange miss. Ein seltsames Versäumnis. After Nach 39.Bxa7 Kxa7 there is the simple gibt es das simple 40.Qf2+! picking up the bishop on f5, with an easily winning position. , was den Läufer auf f5 einsammelt, leicht gewonnener Stellung. 39...Bg4 40.Bxa7?! The winning mistake. It looks like Magnus got a second chance, but the circumstances has changed. Der siegreiche Fehler. Es sieht so aus, als hätte Magnus eine zweite Chance bekommen, aber die Umstände haben sich geändert. The win was still there by technical means, regrouping with Der Gewinn war immer noch mit technischen Mitteln möglich, mit 40.Qf4 h5 41.Rh1 and white wins eventually. und Weiß gewinnt schließlich. 40...Qf6+?? A crucial error just before the time control. Ein entscheidender Fehler kurz vor der Zeitkontrolle. Giving a check was the right idea, but Ein Schach zu geben, war die richtige Idee, aber 40...Qg7+‼ 41.Bd4 , but If now Wenn jetzt 41.Kb4 black can simply play kann Schwarz einfach Kxa7 as both the c7 square and the g4 bishop now is protected. spielen, da sowohl das Feld c7 als auch der Läufer auf g4 nun geschützt sind. 41...Qg5! aiming foir c1 secures enough counterplay for the draw, with 42...Re2! being the imminent threat. mit dem Ziel c1 sichert genug Gegenspiel für das Remis, wobei 42...Te2! die unmittelbare Drohung ist. 41.Kb4! White's king is now perfectly safe, the same, however, cannot be said about black's. Der weiße König ist nun vollkommen sicher, was man von Schwarz jedoch nicht behaupten kann. 41.Bd4? Qg5 41...Re5 42.d4 Qe7+ 43.c5 And as black now either loses his rook, or has to allow 44 Qb8+ mating on b6 next, Abasov resigned. Und da Schwarz nun entweder seinen Turm verliert oder als nächstes 44 Db8+ mit Matt auf b6 zulassen muss, gab Abasov auf. 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2835Abasov,N26321–02023FIDE World Cup7.1

One player who deserves special mention is Daniil Dubov. He came second, right behind Carlsen in the World Blitz Championship 2023. Dubov is a daredevil and his play is especially reminiscent of young Tal. However, he is a hit-or-miss player. You can learn from both his wins and losses in this MegaBase. The following game is a duel between him and Alexei Shirov, who was also once seen as the successor of the great Latvian player:

Alexei Shirov, Daniil Dubov

Alexei Shirov playing Daniil Dubov in 2013 | Photo: ChessPro.ru

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 e6 Young Dubov chooses the combative French Defence. 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 This move was initiated by Louis Paulsen way back in 1879. It prevents...Bb4+ and also prepares cxd4 followed by b2-b4. f6 "I have suggested this move as a good move in every edition of "Play The French" and I am continually surprised that so few people have used it." -John Watson 6...c4 countering a possible 7.b4 is the standard move from the old days. 6...a5 7.Bd3 Bd7 8.0-0 cxd4 9.cxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Qxd4 11.Nc3 Qb6 was seen in Shirov-Anand,( 1/2 - 1/2 , 34 moves) World Chess Championship, K.O.2000, New Delhi/Teheran Greedy is 11...Qxe5?! White has lead in development after 12.Re1± 6...Nh6 is currently in vogue. 7.b4 This pawn advance delays piece development. 7.Bd3 fxe5 8.dxe5 c4 9.Bc2 Nh6= is better known. 7...fxe5 8.bxc5 This move opening up the b-file and forcing the queen to retreat appwars attractive. However, White still lags in development. After 8.dxc5 Qc7 White's far advanced queenside pawns are vulnerable to attack and Black has a free hand in the centre. 8.Nxe5 may be met by cxd4!? 9.Qh5+ g6 10.Nxg6 Nf6 11.Qh4 hxg6 12.Qxh8 Kf7 13.Bh6 Bxh6 14.Qxh6 e5 Perhaps 8.dxe5 c4 9.Be2 Nge7= is a reasonable line. 8...Qa5 9.Bd2? This move threatens c2-c4 and if 9... exd4 10.cxd4 again targeting the queen. However, it underestimates Black's next move. 9.dxe5 Bxc5 10.Bd3 Nge7 11.0-0 0-0 is best. 9...e4 10.Ng5 Nf6 11.Be2 Be7 12.Bh5+ g6 13.Be2 Qd8? The queen gets back into the game, indirectly targeting the knight on g5. But Black missed 13...h6! 14.Nh3 e5 14.h4 h6 15.Nh3 e5 16.Be3 Kf7? Clearing the first rank so that the queen and the two rooks remain together in action. Reminiscent of a famous game, Bondarevsky-Botvinnik, USSR Championship 1941. But this could have waited. First, he should have completed development with 16...Bf5! 17.Nd2 Kg7? Dubov was probably concerned about a possible knight sacrifice on g5. 17...Qc7 keeping an eye on e5 is preferable. 18.Nf1? The knight is headed for g3 and then White would launch an attack on the Black king. However, White's pawn position, c3-d4-c5 is vulnerable. 18.Rb1! instead countered any freeing move like ...b7-b6. 18...Qa5 The queen is back again to target c3. Perhaps he could have paid more attention to the protection of e5 with 18...Qc7 19.Bd2 The White bishop is also back at his old post. For now the d-pawn is only indirectly defended. Instead he could have tried the line, 19.Nd2 Bd7 Pawn humting with the queen, 19...Qxc3 20.Rc1 Qxa3 21.Nb3 exd4 22.Ra1 Qb2= fetches only a draw. 19...Qc7 The queen is in the right position, protecting e5 and also ready for a freeing move like...b7-b6. 20.Be3? White is ready to meet ...b7-b6 with cxb6 and dxe5. Yet it is rather late. 20.Ne3 b6 21.cxb6 axb6 22.Nc2 Bd6 was the lesser evil. 20...Be6 Better is 20...b6! 21.dxe5 Qxe5 22.Bd4 Nxd4 23.cxd4 Qc7 24.c6 Qxc6 21.Ng3 Rad8 Again better is 21...b6! 22.dxe5 Qxe5 23.Bd4 Nxd4 24.cxd4 Qc7 25.c6 Qxc6 similar to the previous line of analysis. 22.0-0? From the frying pan into the fire! The king is also in danger. 22.Rb1 keeps Black's pawn advance, ...b7-b6 in check. 22...Qc8 23.dxe5 Nxe5 This is not bad. But 23...Ng4! targeting both the d-pawn and the h-pawn may be better. 24.Nf4 Bf7 25.Bd4 Nc6 26.Bg4 Qc7 27.Ne6+ Bxe6 28.Bxe6 Nxd4 29.cxd4 h5 30.Qb3 b6 31.cxb6 axb6 32.Rac1? This natural move looks obvious and is still wrong. It allows the Black queen to target both the a-pawn and f4 square. 32.Ne2! was necessary to prevent the invasion of the Black queen on dark squares. 32...Qd6 33.Bh3 Ng4 34.Rc3? Shirov brings the rook to the third rank both for attack and defence. However, he allows the h-file to be opened with fatal consequences. He missed 34.Bxg4! hxg4 35.h5 Bg5 36.hxg6 Kxg6= 34...Bxh4 35.Bxg4? This move should lose. 35.Qc2 was the lesser evil. 35...hxg4-+ 36.Rfc1 Rd7 37.Rc6 Qf4 38.R1c2 After the better try, 38.Re1 Re7 39.Qe3 Qxe3 40.Rxe3 Rf8-+ Black wins as White cannot defend his vulnerable pawns on a3, d4 and f2. The rook on e3 cannot leave his post without allowing the advance of the Black e-pawn. If the rook on c6 captures the b-pawn, his counter part enters the c-file with decisiive effect. 38...Rh6? Guarding g6 against possible surprises and also preparing... Rd8 and...Rh8. However, this preparation is too elaborate. With a litte more time on the clock he would have found 38...e3! 39.Qd3 Rd6 40.Rxd6 exf2+ 41.Rxf2 Qxd6-+ 39.Nf1 Bxf2+! The beginning of a brilliant combination just before the first time control in a rapid game. As it turns out, it only draws. 40.Rxf2 Rh1+! 41.Kxh1 Qxf2 42.Rc1 An understandable decision. Shirov preserves the knight on f1 so that it can cover the king with Nh2 in the event of a check. However, 42.Ng3 also draws. Rd8 43.Rc7+ Kh6 43...Kf6?? 44.Nxe4+! dxe4 45.Qf7++- 44.Kh2 Kg5= 42...Rd8 43.Rc7+ Kf6 44.Rc6+ Kg7 45.Rc7+ Kf6 46.Rc6+ Kf5?? Dubov does not want a draw. But the king steps over a minefield! 46...Kg7! 47.Rc7+ Kf6= 46...Kf7! 47.Rc7+ Kf6= comes to the same thing. 47.Ne3+?? The wrong check! He would have won with 47.Ng3+! Kg5 48.Qxd5+! Rxd5 49.Nxe4+ Kf5 50.Nxf2+- Sveshnikov. 47...Kg5 Now the tide turns. 48.Rxg6+ Kxg6 49.Qxb6+ Qf6 50.Qc7 Qd6 51.Qb7 Rb8 0–1
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Shirov,A2675Dubov,D26290–12014Moscow Nutcracker rap

Last but not least is Ding Liren. As is known, the World Champion has had a modest score (+2 -3 =8) in the recent Wijk aan Zee Tournament. However, he is expected to do better in the coming days. The MegaBase has nearly 2000 games played by him. Here is a dramatic contest from the World Championship Match that he won last year:

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Position not in LiveBook
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Ding's opening choice in game 12 would have been quite surprising if we had not know about Richard Rapport serving as his second. This move definitely is the kind of thing that Richard likes to try. It's surely harmless objectively, but it can be a bit annoying for Black to face if he does not know what he is doing. c5 3...e6 I never saw any issue with continuing copycat. It would be interesting to know what Ding had in mind here. 4.Nbd2 cxd4 5.exd4 Qc7 This is an odd looking move, but it is the computer's top choice and Nepo played it immediately, so I'm quite sure it was still preparation. 6.c3 Bd7? But this was a big surprise to me, and Nepo played it so fast! It's a bad move and White has an easy edge with Nf3-e5 followed by Nd2-f3. I assume Ian must have confused his preparation somehow. 7.Bd3?! Obviously this is not a terrible move, but it misses out on a big chance. 7.Ne5 This looks incredibly natural. Nc6 8.Ndf3 White has a fantastic version of the Exchange Caro-Kann and looks pleasantly better to me. 7...Nc6 8.0-0 Bg4 Black has survived the worst of it, but this move clearly indicates that Bc8-d7 was wasted time. 9.Re1 This is a bit slow. 9.Qa4! I like the machine's recommendation. Ne5 comes next. 9...e6 10.Nf1 Bd6 Black should be fine now. 11.Bg5?! I really don't like the way Ding handled the early phase of this game. He certainly made up for it later on, but I think trying to double Black's pawns and play for mate is a bit too optimistic here. Black's king should be safe enough on g8. 11.Ng3 I'd think aiming to take the bishop pair with h2-h3 next would give White a little pull. 11...0-0 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Ng3 f5! This was a good decision from Nepo. Shutting down the d3-bishop makes it unlikely that he will be checkmated. 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 Now, the only issue Black is that his king's cover is somewhat compromised. He has no other weaknesses. He certainly will not be checkmated if he can maintain his f5-pawn, and as such, White only has two serious ideas at his disposal. He can either aim to sacrifice a piece on f5, or he can hope to push g2-g4 to tear open the diagonal. Ne7! This is definitely the safest move, and the best one from a human perspective. 15...Kh8 My computer gives a slight not to putting the king in the corner and preparing for Rg8. I won't beat the machine, but it seems insane to me to allow White to take on f5. 16.Nxf5! exf5 17.Qxf5 f6 18.Re6! A computer might survive here, but it looks terrifying to a human. 16.Nh5 Kh8! Black anticipates g2-g4 and gets ready to bring his rook to g8. 17.g4 Rg8 18.Kh1 Ng6! An excellent decision from Nepo, albeit a not too difficult one. Black points out that gxf5 is not happening, and as such, he will be able to secure his kingside. 19.Bc2?! I'm not really sure what this move was about. 19.gxf5? Nh4! White will find himself mated by a rook on g2 sooner rather than later. 19.Rg1 This looks much more natural to me than the game continuation. 19...Nh4! 20.Qe3 Rg6! The tables have turned completely. Black is ready for f5-f4 and to bring his rook to h6, when his king will be totally safe and only White will have trouble on the kingside. The machine claims Black is nearly winning, and around here, it really felt like Nepo was going to become the next World Champion. 21.Rg1 f4! 22.Qd3 Qe7 23.Rae1 Qg5 White should be pretty helpless to stop Black's pieces from coming to the kingside and giving mate. Next up will be Rag8, Rh6, and some day, f5 will come. Ding lashed out here, aiming to complicate the game. This was not optional, it clearly had to be done, but ultimately, it also should not have worked. 24.c4 dxc4! 25.Qc3 25.Qxc4 Nf3 White loses material. 25...b5 26.a4 After his weird opening hiccup, Nepo had played a spectacular game up to this point, and he should be ready to bring the point home and all but close out the match. While his next move is not a mistake per se, and in fact the computer gives it as best, it was the first sign of the tide turning. b4? I don't care that my computer claims this is best, it is absolutely the wrong move, and I could just have easily given it a second question mark. White grabs a pawn and all of a sudden has room for his pieces to work with on the queenside. The whole match was a back and forth affair, with missed chances and mistakes from both sides. The players were extremely well matched and it definitely could have gone either way. Among all of the ample interesting moments, my suspicion is that some years down the road, this move is the one Nepo will regret the most. 26...a6!-+ This is the move anyone would play in a bullet game, and it is absolutely winning. White does not have a shred of counterplay, his pieces are all kept out, Black is a clean pawn up, and the kingside play will end the game in due time. 27.Qxc4 Rag8 27...Nf3 The machine claims, this is absolutely over. It's not so easy in human practice! 28.Qc6 28.Bxg6 Qh4! The point. White has three hanging pieces, and Black's only winning move is to not take any of them. 28...Nxe1! 29.Qxa8+ Rg8 30.Qe4 Nxc2 31.Qxc2 The computer says, Black wins here. To an human eye, this is not obvious at all. Qh4! 32.Qd3 f5! It takes a lot of super precise moves to bring the point home. I can't fault Nepo for not finding Nf3, but I do think b5-b4 was a horrible decision. 28.Qc6 Now, Black is still winning, but his task has gotten so much harder. Bb8? This not only misses the win, but also allows White a winning chance of his own! The position is incredibly complicated and rich, and its unsurprising to me that even 2800 level players made a lot of mistakes. 28...Nf5‼ This was the only winning move. Black clears the h4-square for his queen. 29.Rd1 Still, even this does not look so clean. 29.gxf5? Qxh5-+ 29...Qh4! 30.Qf3 Ng3+! 31.Rxg3 fxg3 32.Bxg6 Now, it's hard to get this far in your calculations, and even if you do, it's easy to get frustrated when you can't find mate here. Indeed, there isn't one. Black has to win an endgame. Qxh3+! 33.Kg1 gxf2+! 34.Kxf2 Qxf3+! 35.Kxf3 fxg6! This is a very obvious move once the position is on the board, but a hard one to see from afar. Normally when calculating a line like this, you'd think of the more positionally sound recapture with the h-pawn. That would leave White with very good drawing chances. 35...hxg6? 36.Nf6! This knight is very annoying and Black needs to be careful of mating threats on the h-file. White should not lose with good defense. 36.Nf6 Rf8! 37.g5 Be7! It took a lot of tough moves, but eventually Black wins. I think an on-form Nepo early in the tournament would have found this sequence, but he was a bit off this game, and has always struggled at the end of long events. 29.Qb7 29.Bxg6! This was a winner. The point is that after hxg6 White's knight actually is not so easy to capture, as the opening of the g-file will be dangerous for Black. He can ignore everything Black is up to and proceed along with his own play. 30.d5‼ White blasts through on the e-file. The e-pawn cannot move without allowing a check on f6 to transition into a winning endgame, and the knight cannot be taken. gxh5 What else? 31.dxe6! White's rooks enter the game, and Black is done for. This is obviously a computer line and it proved too counterintuitive for either player to notice, but it's a nice one all the same. 29...Rh6? On the last 3 ply, both sides missed wins. It is clear at this point that it's anyone's game, and Nepo ended up making the last mistake. 29...Nf5! Again, this move was strong. 30.Be4 Rf8 31.Qxb4! Qd8 32.Qc3 Ng6 This is a very bad sign for Black. He is only slightly worse still, but the trend of the game for the last several moves has been horrible. He is a pawn down, his knight is retreating and he won't give mate, and the queenside has been opened. 33.Bg2 Qh4 34.Re2 f5?? I don't know what this move was about. The pressure of a high stakes game can get to anyone, and fatigue after 12 rounds is very real. Still, this move is surprising and hard to explain. 34...Bd6 Some move like this one would be normal enough. White is a bit better but the game goes on, and Black is not without counterplay, or saving chances thanks to the opposite colored bishops. 35.Rxe6+- Just like that, the game is over. Losing a pawn is the least of Black's concerns. The real problem is he just lost the only hope he had of keeping the a1-h8 diagonal closed. next up is d4-d5+, and Black is absolutely checkmated. Rxh5 36.gxh5 Qxh5 37.d5+ Kg8 38.d6 Nepo resigned. This must have been the most critical game of the match, as it easily could have all but ended Ding's hopes of winning the match if it had gone differently at one or two moments. As is, it blew the match wide open, evening the score with just two games to go. 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ding,L2788Nepomniachtchi,I27951–02023World-ch Nepomniachtchi-Ding12

Annotations

This brings me to the subject of annotations in this database. The games in recent years are annotated in detail, thanks to their main source, ChessBase Magazine, right up to 2024. Not so with games from the past. A number of them are unannotated. Others have annotations of varying length and quality in Informant style.

Which annotations are best? Those that offer a judicious blend of explanation and analysis.

Magnus Carlsen, Anish Giri

Magnus Carlsen congratulating Anish Giri for his victory at the 2023 Tata Steel Masters | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Here Anish Giri sets an example. He is among the professional elite, actively playing in tournaments. He has personally known fellow grandmasters and understands how they think during the course of the game. His commentary is lucid and offers a very good introduction to the game. As of now, he has annotated 126 games in the MegaBase.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find annotations by Caruana, Karjakin and Ding to their games. This was in the years before they contested the World Championship title on their own.

Seeing the games in the MegaBase is the first step. Thereafter, one has to supplement one’s understanding with some good reading and, importantly, practice over the board.

Notes

  1. Anish Giri’s annotations appear in both New in Chess Magazine and ChessBase Magazine.
  2. Leading GMs as annotators in MegaBase:
  • Caruana: 47 Games
  • Nakamura: 6 games
  • Ding Liren: 5 games
  • Praggnanandhaa: 17 games
  • Vidit Gujrathi 35 games

The ChessBase Mega Database 2024 is the premiere chess database with over 10.4 million games from 1475 to 2023 in high quality.

Links

  1. In a previous review of the MegaBase I dealt with its treatment of three world championship matches: https://en.chessbase.com/post/megabase-2022-three-epic-matches
  2. In another review I have dealt with the coverage of Carlsen and his peers along with the play of veterans and young talents in the MegaBase: https://en.chessbase.com/post/megabase-2023-modern-master-play
Prof. Nagesh Havanur (otherwise known as "chessbibliophile") is a senior academic and research scholar. He taught English in Mumbai for three decades and has now settled in Bangalore, India. His interests include chess history, biography and opening theory. He has been writing on the Royal Game for more than three decades. His articles and reviews have appeared on several web sites and magazines.
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.