[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B80"]
[WhiteElo "2881"]
[BlackElo "2742"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 15,94,0,0,0,6,0,0,0,0,-27,0,0,10,23,27,0,30,25,23,25,35,47,49,29,42,0,0,8,34,36,29,25,25,25,25,25,27,25,26,24,30,20,113,109,105,36,45,45,50,43,49,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-8,-8,-6,0,0,0,0,5,5,5,5,6,6,6,5,5,5,5,5,5,5,6]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. a3 Bb7 9. Qd2 {B80: Sicilian Scheveningen: 6 g3 and 6 Be3, including English Attack.} h5 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. Rg1 Rc8 12. Be2 Be7 13. Kb1 {[#]} Qc7 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8] New and interesting.} ({Predecessor:} 13... Nb6 14. Qe1 Nfd7 15. g4 hxg4 16. Rxg4 g6 17. Rxg6 Rxc3 18. Nxe6 Qc8 19. Ng7+ Kf8 {½-½ (33) Alekseenko,K (2698)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2767) Ekaterinburg 2020}) 14. Bg5 Qb6 15. Be3 Qa5 16. g3 Rxc3 17. Nb3 Qc7 {[#] And now ...Rxe3! would win.} ({Of course not} 17... Rxb3 $6 18. Qxa5 Rxe3 19. Qd2 $16) 18. Qxc3 Qxc3 19. bxc3 d5 20. exd5 Nxd5 21. Bd2 $1 Bxa3 22. c4 bxc4 23. Bxc4 N7b6 24. Na5 $36 {[%mdl 2048] White is more active.} Nxc4 25. Nxc4 ({Don't blunder} 25. Nxb7 $2 O-O $19) 25... Bc5 26. Rge1 h4 27. f4 hxg3 28. hxg3 Ke7 (28... O-O $11 {remains equal.}) 29. f5 $16 Rb8 {[#]} 30. Ka2 (30. Kc1 $1 $16) 30... Nb4+ $14 31. Bxb4 $1 Bxb4 32. Re3 {fxe6 is the strong threat.} Rc8 33. Ne5 {Black must now prevent Rd7+.} Rxc2+ {The position is equal.} 34. Kb3 Rd2 35. Rxd2 Bxd2 $11 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRN-KB} 36. Re2 Bd5+ 37. Ka4 Bc3 38. fxe6 Bxe6 (38... fxe6 {with more complications.} 39. Ng6+ Kd6 40. Nf4 e5 41. Nxd5 Kxd5 42. Kb3 Kd4) 39. Re3 Bxe5 (39... Bd2 {keeps more tension.} 40. Nc6+ Kf6 41. Re2 Bc3 42. Re3 Bd2) 40. Rxe5 {KR-KB} Kf6 41. Rc5 Bd7+ 42. Kb4 Bb5 43. Kc3 Ke6 44. Kd4 f6 45. Rc7 g5 46. Rb7 Kf5 47. Rb6 Kg4 {Accuracy: White = 83%, Black = 84%.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C28"]
[WhiteElo "2778"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 13,80,0,20,16,32,22,37,40,58,51,68,86,85,81,105,117,114,111,112,111,146,125,127,123,123,117,129,127,129,123,151,149,179,151,151,151,158,126,185,173,206,202,185,200,204,145,134,134,160,164,342,330,333,323,470,495,438,402,386,260,258,235,748,739,877,867,995,970,846]} 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O Bxc3 7. bxc3 Na5 8. Bb3 {C28: Vienna Game: 2...Nf6 3 Bc4 Nc6.} h6 9. h3 {[#]} Qe7 $146 ({Predecessor:} 9... O-O 10. Re1 Re8 11. Bb2 c5 12. c4 a6 13. Qd2 Be6 14. Bc3 Nxb3 15. cxb3 b5 16. Rad1 b4 17. Bb2 a5 {0-1 (54) Sadovy,L (1318)-Dementieva,K (1356) Kimry 2017}) 10. Nh2 {White is slightly better.} Nxb3 11. axb3 g5 12. Re1 Rg8 13. Nf1 g4 14. h4 g3 15. fxg3 ({Much worse is} 15. Nxg3 $6 Ng4 $11) 15... Rg6 16. b4 Nh5 17. Qxh5 Bg4 18. Qxg6 fxg6 19. Bxh6 Kd7 20. Ne3 Be6 21. Rf1 Qh7 22. Bg5 Qg8 23. Rf6 a6 24. Raf1 Re8 25. c4 b6 (25... b5 $16 {was necessary.}) 26. Nd5 Kc6 {[#]} 27. R6f2 $1 {Strongly threatening Nf6.} Qg7 28. Kh2 Kb7 29. Nc3 Ra8 30. Rf6 Qg8 31. c5 Qe8 $2 {[#]} (31... Rc8 {keeps fighting.} 32. Nd1 Qe8 33. cxd6 cxd6) 32. Nd5 $18 dxc5 33. bxc5 bxc5 (33... a5 $142 34. c4 a4) 34. Rb1+ Kc8 35. Bh6 Kd7 36. Rb7 Bxd5 37. exd5 Kc8 $2 (37... Qd8 38. Rxg6 Kc8) 38. Rb1 {White is clearly winning.} Kd7 39. Rbf1 Rd8 40. Rf8 Qe7 {Accuracy: White = 84%, Black = 57%.} 1-0

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A22"]
[WhiteElo "2742"]
[BlackElo "2881"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 9,54,0,2,-21,-18,-38,-15,-52,-18,-35,-21,-55,-16,-59,-57,-73,-58,-52,-52,-88,-60,-104,59,60,46,-83,-89,-92,-91,-99,-89,-261,-264,-272,-265,-266,-261,-257,-261,-247,-138,-309,-284,-403,-381,-468,-468]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bb4 4. e4 Bxc3 5. bxc3 O-O 6. f3 {A22: English Opening: 1...e5 2 Nc3 Nf6.} Re8 {[#]} 7. d4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 7. Kf2 c6 8. d4 d5 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. dxe5 Rxe5 11. c4 d4 12. Ne2 Nc6 13. Nf4 {½-½ (67) Carlsen,M (2863)-Caruana,F (2835) Lichess.org INT 2020}) 7... d6 8. Bd3 {The position is equal.} Nc6 9. Ne2 b6 10. g4 Nd7 11. O-O Ba6 12. Ng3 exd4 13. cxd4 Nxd4 14. Bb2 Ne6 15. f4 g5 $2 {[#]} ({Better is} 15... Rb8 $17 16. Qc2 b5 17. cxb5 Bxb5 18. Bxb5 Rxb5) 16. fxg5 $14 Qxg5 17. Rf5 ({Much weaker is} 17. Qf3 Ne5 $15) (17. Nf5 $14 {stays ahead.} Ne5 18. h4 Qxg4+ 19. Qxg4+ Nxg4 20. Be2) 17... Qe3+ $17 18. Kh1 {[#]} Ne5 $1 {[%mdl 512]} 19. Be2 (19. Bxe5 dxe5) 19... Bb7 $36 {[%mdl 2048] Strongly threatening ...Nf4. Keeping White busy.} 20. Qc2 $2 (20. Bxe5 $17 {keeps fighting.} dxe5 21. Qc1 Qxc1+ 22. Rxc1) 20... Nc5 $19 {[%cal Be6c5,Bc5e4,Be4d2][%mdl 32]} 21. Bc1 Bxe4+ 22. Nxe4 Qxe4+ 23. Qxe4 Nxe4 24. Bb2 Re6 (24... Ng6 $19 {aiming for ...Ng3+!} 25. Bd3 Nc5) 25. Raf1 $2 (25. Bxe5 $17 Rxe5 26. Rxe5 dxe5 27. Bf3 Nf2+ 28. Kg2) 25... Rae8 26. g5 (26. R5f4 $142 Nc5 27. Rf5) 26... Nd2 27. R1f2 Nexc4 {Accuracy: White = 43%, Black = 70%.} 0-1

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2778"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]

{[%evp 20,66,20,46,33,24,29,13,19,29,30,16,28,22,26,22,49,0,0,0,15,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-35,254,270,263,-185,-189,-464,-165,-954,-941,-29982,-29983,-29988,-29989,-29990,-29991,-29992,-29976,-29975,-29975]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Be3 c5 8. Rc1 Qa5 9. Qd2 O-O (9... Nd7 10. Nf3 O-O 11. Bh6 Rd8 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. h4 Nf6 14. e5 Ng4 15. d5 h5 16. Rd1 b5 17. c4 Qxd2+ 18. Rxd2 b4 19. Be2 a5 20. O-O a4 21. Rfd1 Rb8 22. d6 Bf5 23. dxe7 Rxd2 24. Rxd2 {0-1 (47) Giri,A (2734)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2721) Beijing 2013}) 10. Nf3 Bg4 11. d5 b5 {[%cal Bb7b5,Bb5b4][%mdl 32] D85: Exchange Grünfeld: Unusual White 7th moves and lines with 7 Nf3.} 12. Bxc5 {Threatens to win with Nd4.} Rc8 13. Bb4 (13. Bxe7 Bxc3 14. Rxc3 Rxc3 $15) 13... Qc7 {The position is equal.} 14. Nd4 a5 $1 {[%cal Ra5b4]} 15. Ba3 b4 $1 {[%cal Rb4a3]} 16. Bb2 Qb6 17. c4 {[#]} Na6 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8] New and interesting.} ({Predecessor:} 17... a4 18. Be2 a3 19. Ba1 Bxe2 20. Kxe2 e6 21. Rhd1 Na6 22. Nc6 Bxa1 23. Ne7+ Kg7 24. Nxc8 Rxc8 25. Rxa1 Rxc4 {1-0 (80) Esipenko,A (2624)-Jones,G (2688) Douglas 2019}) 18. f4 e5 {aiming for ...Nc5.} 19. h3 Nc5 20. fxe5 (20. hxg4 Nxe4 21. Qc2 exd4 $17) 20... Bxe5 21. hxg4 Nxe4 22. Qe3 Re8 $1 23. Kd1 Bg7 {...Nc3+! is the strong threat.} 24. Qg1 {Strongly threatening Rc2.} Nc3+ $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (24... a4 $1 $15 {keeps the upper hand.}) 25. Bxc3 $18 bxc3 26. Nc2 $4 {[%mdl 8192] [#]} (26. Nb5 $18 {is the narrow road to win.} Qf6 27. Rc2 (27. Nxc3 Rab8 $16)) 26... Qf6 $1 $19 {[%cal Rf6f4][%mdl 1024] Black has strong compensation.} 27. Rh2 $2 (27. Qd4 {was the only defense.} Qxd4+ 28. Nxd4 Bxd4 29. Rb1) 27... Rad8 $2 $40 {[%mdl 128] Black is out for blood.} ({Stronger than} 27... Qf4 28. g3 $11) (27... Bh6 {( -> ...Qf4!)} 28. Ra1 (28. Rxh6 $2 Qf4 $19 {[%mdl 64] Double Attack}) 28... Rab8) 28. Rb1 $2 (28. g3 Qf3+ 29. Be2 {[#]} Rxd5+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} 30. cxd5 Qxd5+ 31. Nd4 Bxd4) (28. Ra1 Qe5 29. Bd3) 28... Rb8 {[%cal Rb8b1,Bd8b8,Bb8b2,Bb2c2][%mdl 32]} 29. Rc1 {[#]} Bh6 $1 {[%mdl 512] Black mates.} 30. Ra1 (30. Rxh6 Qf4) 30... Rb2 (30... Qf4 31. g3 $16) 31. g3 Qf3+ {[%mdl 64] Double Attack} 32. Be2 Rxe2 33. Rxe2 {[#]} Rxc2 $1 {[%mdl 576] Pin. Accuracy: White = 47%, Black = 79%.} 0-1

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2778"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "262"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 20,262,29,22,35,31,30,37,61,39,64,66,93,93,91,91,89,97,98,95,102,105,125,90,86,89,93,63,48,36,82,83,85,67,67,67,68,47,47,47,47,47,47,33,33,33,33,33,40,33,68,33,33,33,33,33,33,33,33,25,33,25,33,33,33,40,63,40,63,24,47,41,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,0,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,91,98,98,98,98,98,98,98,91,98,98,98,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,91,98,83,83,83,83,83,83,83,83,83,83,83,83,0,83,83,83,0,83,83,83,83,83,34,83,83,83,63,63,63,63,63,74,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,8,59,0,0,0,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,0,63,63,63,63,63,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Be3 Qa5 9. Qd2 O-O 10. Rc1 Bg4 11. d5 b5 {D85: Exchange Grünfeld: Unusual White 7th moves and lines with 7 Nf3.} 12. Bxc5 {Black must now prevent Nd4.} Rc8 13. Bb4 {[#]} ({Of course not} 13. Bxe7 Bxc3 14. Rxc3 Rxc3 $17) 13... Qb6 $146 {White is slightly better.} ({Predecessor:} 13... Qc7 14. Nd4 a5 15. Ba3 b4 16. Bb2 Qb6 17. c4 a4 18. Be2 a3 19. Ba1 Bxe2 20. Kxe2 {1-0 (80) Esipenko,A (2624)-Jones,G (2688) Douglas 2019}) 14. Be2 e6 15. O-O Na6 16. Be7 Nc5 17. Qf4 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 ({But not} 18. Bxf3 Nd3 $17) 18... exd5 19. exd5 Re8 20. d6 {Hoping for Rb1.} Bf8 21. Rb1 Bxe7 22. dxe7 a6 23. Bc4 {[%mdl 64] Pin} Ne6 24. a4 {[%cal Ra4b5]} Qc5 25. Bxe6 $1 ({Don't go for} 25. axb5 $2 Qxc4 26. b6 Rab8 $19) 25... fxe6 26. axb5 axb5 27. Rfe1 Ra3 28. Qf6 Qxe7 29. Qe5 Rc8 30. Rxb5 Raxc3 31. h3 Rc1 32. Rb1 Rxb1 33. Rxb1 $14 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KQR-KQR} Rf8 34. Rb6 Qf6 35. Qe3 Qa1+ 36. Kh2 Qf6 37. Kg3 Re8 38. Rc6 Re7 39. f3 Kg7 40. Kh2 Qf5 41. Rc4 Rf7 42. Re4 Qf6 43. h4 $36 {[%mdl 2048] White has good play.} e5 44. h5 gxh5 45. Rxe5 Qf4+ 46. Qxf4 Rxf4 $16 {KR-KR} 47. Kg3 Ra4 48. Rxh5 Kg6 49. Rh4 (49. Rb5 {looks sharper.} Ra2 50. Rb6+ Kg5 51. Rb4 Kg6 52. Rg4+) 49... Ra5 50. Rg4+ Kf6 51. Kh4 Rb5 52. Ra4 h6 53. Ra6+ Kg7 54. Re6 Rb2 55. Kh3 Rb4 56. Ra6 Rc4 57. Rb6 Ra4 58. Rc6 Rb4 59. Rd6 Ra4 60. Rd3 Kg6 61. Re3 Kg5 62. Re5+ Kf6 63. Re3 Kg5 64. Re6 Rh4+ 65. Kg3 Ra4 66. Rb6 Ra3 67. Rb5+ Kg6 68. Kg4 Ra2 69. Kh3 Ra3 70. Rd5 Rb3 71. Rd8 Ra3 72. Rg8+ Kf7 73. Rg4 Kf6 74. Kh4 Ra5 {[#]} 75. Rc4 $1 Ra2 76. Rf4+ Kg6 77. Rg4+ Kh7 78. Kg3 Ra3 79. Kh2 Rb3 80. Ra4 Kg6 {[#]} 81. Ra6+ $1 Kg5 82. Kh3 Rc3 83. Ra8 Kg6 84. Ra5 Rc4 85. g3 Rb4 86. Ra6+ Kg7 87. Re6 Ra4 88. Re4 Ra5 89. Kg4 Rg5+ 90. Kh4 Ra5 91. f4 Ra1 92. Re5 Rb1 93. Ra5 Rc1 94. Kh5 Rh1+ 95. Kg4 Rg1 96. Kf3 Kg6 97. g4 Rf1+ 98. Kg3 Rg1+ 99. Kh3 Rf1 100. Ra6+ Kg7 101. Ra4 Kg6 102. Ra6+ Kg7 103. Ra7+ Kf6 104. Ra4 (104. Kg3 {keeps more tension.} Rg1+ 105. Kf3 Rf1+ 106. Ke3 Re1+ 107. Kf2) 104... Kg6 $1 105. Kg2 Rb1 106. Ra6+ Kg7 107. Kg3 Rg1+ 108. Kf3 Re1 109. f5 Rf1+ 110. Ke4 Re1+ 111. Kd5 Rd1+ 112. Ke6 (112. Ke5 $16 {Strongly threatening Ra7+.} Re1+ 113. Kf4) 112... Re1+ $11 113. Kd7 Re4 114. Re6 Ra4 115. Rg6+ Kf7 116. Kc7 Rf4 117. Kd6 h5 $1 118. Ke5 Rxg4 119. Ra6 (119. Rxg4 $14 hxg4 120. Kf4) 119... Rb4 120. Ra7+ Kf8 (120... Kg8 $11) 121. Kf6 $1 $14 {Ra8+ would kill now.} Rb6+ 122. Kg5 Rc6 123. Rh7 Rb6 124. Rxh5 (124. Kxh5 $14 Kg8 125. Rd7) 124... Ra6 ({Black should play} 124... Kg7 $11) 125. Rh7 Rb6 126. Rc7 Ra6 127. f6 ({Better is} 127. Kf4 $14) 127... Ra1 $11 {The position is equal.} 128. Rc8+ Kf7 129. Rc7+ Kf8 130. Rc8+ Kf7 131. Rc7+ Kf8 {Accuracy: White = 92%, Black = 92%.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2881"]
[BlackElo "2742"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 11,82,16,14,13,8,8,6,8,14,0,23,22,31,27,53,35,52,41,113,80,89,47,64,49,65,47,31,17,18,15,20,4,6,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-9,-9,-9,-7,-8,-5,-8,-7,-8,0,-8,-8,-8,-8,-13,-13,-13,-13,-12,-12,-12,-12,-15,-12,-12,0,-12,0,-12,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Qxd4 a6 6. Bxd7+ Bxd7 7. c4 {B51: Sicilian: Moscow Variation (3 Bb5+) without 3...Bd7.} e5 8. Qd3 b5 9. Nc3 bxc4 10. Qxc4 Qc8 (10... Be6 $5 {[%cal Re6c4]} 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. Qxd5 (12. exd5 Qd7 $11) 12... Rb8 $14) 11. Qd3 Qb7 12. O-O $36 {[%mdl 2048] White fights for an advantage.} h6 13. Nd2 Be6 14. Nc4 {[#]} Qc6 $146 (14... Bxc4 $14 15. Qxc4 Nf6) ({Predecessor:} 14... Rd8 15. f4 Nf6 16. f5 Bxc4 17. Qxc4 Be7 18. Be3 O-O 19. Nd5 Nxd5 20. exd5 Rc8 {0-1 (39) Lugovskoy,M (2431)-Fedoseev,V (2659) St Petersburg 2015}) 15. b3 Nf6 16. Ne3 Rc8 17. Bd2 Be7 18. Rac1 Qb7 19. Ncd5 {Hoping for Rxc8+.} O-O $1 {The position is equal.} 20. Nxe7+ Qxe7 21. Rxc8 (21. Bc3 {seems wilder.} Rcd8 22. Rfd1 Qb7 23. f3 Rd7 24. Kh1) 21... Rxc8 22. Rc1 Rxc1+ 23. Bxc1 Qc7 24. Bd2 Qc6 25. f3 d5 26. exd5 Nxd5 27. Nxd5 Bxd5 28. Qc3 Qe6 29. Qc5 f6 30. h3 Qd7 31. Be3 (31. Qc2 {with more complications.} Kh8 32. Kf2 Bc6 33. Be3 Bb5 34. Qd2) 31... Qe6 (31... Qc6 {keeps more tension.} 32. Qxc6 Bxc6 33. Kf2 Kf7 34. g4 g5) 32. Qb6 Qxb6 33. Bxb6 $11 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KB-KB} Kf7 34. Bc5 g5 35. Kf2 h5 36. Bb6 h4 37. Bd8 Ke6 38. Ke3 Kf5 39. Kf2 Ke6 40. Ke3 Kf5 41. Kf2 Ke6 {Accuracy: White = 93%, Black = 92%.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B84"]
[WhiteElo "2881"]
[BlackElo "2742"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 15,51,22,40,25,21,20,46,27,30,50,81,54,59,49,112,91,242,107,139,144,147,140,152,149,386,322,320,308,294,325,315,311,308,298,280,285,367,364]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. Be2 Qc7 {now scores much better than the old 7...Be7.} 8. Qd2 b5 9. a3 {B84: Sicilian Scheveningen: 6 Be2 a6, lines without early Be3.} Bb7 10. f3 Nbd7 11. O-O-O {White is slightly better.} d5 12. exd5 Bxd5 {[#]} 13. Bf4 $1 {[%cal Rf4c7]} ({But not} 13. Nxd5 $6 Nxd5 14. Kb1 b4 $11) 13... Qb6 {[#]} 14. Rhe1 $146 {[%cal Re2b5][%mdl 2048] Bxb5! is the strong threat. White is more active.} ({Predecessor:} 14. Nf5 O-O-O 15. Bg5 Ne5 16. Nxd5 Rxd5 17. Qe3 Qxe3+ 18. Nxe3 Nd3+ 19. Rxd3 Rxg5 20. b4 {1-0 (64) Bacrot,E (2669)-Andersen,M (2601) Germany 2019}) 14... O-O-O (14... b4 $14 15. Nxd5 Nxd5) 15. Be3 {[%cal Rd4b5]} Qb7 $2 (15... b4 $16) 16. a4 (16. Ndxb5 $18 axb5 17. Nxb5) 16... b4 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. Nb3 Qc6 19. Qd4 {Threatens to win with Qa7.} Bd6 $2 (19... Nb8 $16 20. Bc4 Rd7) 20. Na5 Qc5 21. Bxa6+ Kc7 {[#] Strongly threatening ...Ra8.} 22. Nb7 $1 {[%cal Rb7c5][%mdl 64] Double Attack} Qxd4 23. Rxd4 Ra8 24. Nxd6 Kxd6 25. Bb5 N7f6 26. Bd2 {Accuracy: White = 80%, Black = 40%.} 1-0

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2778"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 13,130,7,7,15,12,12,22,15,19,7,11,-11,7,11,7,11,8,4,27,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,-16,0,0,0,-67,-58,-60,-43,-51,-44,-35,-40,-63,-56,-42,-36,-65,0,0,0,0,0,-83,-81,-83,-80,-75,-77,-251,-238,-298,-298,-298,-298,-298,-322,-331,-312,-281,-290,-289,-295,-298,-290,-259,-269,-345,-417,-311,-208,-199,-116,-122,-122,-122,-113,-212,-140,-1187,-1055,-5189,-1096,-5189,-4898,-6544,-5510,-6524,-6528,-6102,-5093,-2378,-262,-29965,-581,-12804,-29969,-29965,-29968,-29973,-29974,-29965,-29966,-29981,-29982,-29982,-29983,-29986,-29987,-29986,-29987]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Qxd4 a6 6. Bxd7+ Bxd7 7. Nc3 (7. O-O Nf6 8. c4 g6 9. Nc3 Bg7 10. Bg5 O-O 11. Rad1 h6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. e5 Bg7 14. Qe3 Bc6 15. exd6 exd6 16. Nd4 Re8 17. Nxc6 bxc6 18. Qd3 Qa5 19. Qxd6 Bxc3 20. bxc3 Qxa2 21. Qxc6 Rac8 22. Ra1 Qxf2+ 23. Rxf2 Rxc6 24. Rfa2 Ree6 25. Ra4 h5 {½-½ (73) Nepomniachtchi,I (2784)-Giri,A (2764) chess24.com INT 2020}) 7... e5 8. Qd3 {B51: Sicilian: Moscow Variation (3 Bb5+) without 3...Bd7.} Rc8 9. O-O h6 10. Rd1 {The position is equal.} Nf6 11. h3 Be7 12. a4 Qc7 13. Nd2 O-O 14. Nf1 Be6 15. Ne3 Qc5 16. Qe2 Bd8 17. Qf3 b5 18. axb5 axb5 19. Ne2 {[%cal Bc3e2,Be2g3,Bg3f1,Bf1d2,Bd2c4][%mdl 32] [#]} g6 $5 $146 {[%mdl 8] New and interesting.} ({Predecessor:} 19... Bb6 20. Ng3 Ra8 21. Rxa8 Rxa8 22. c3 Ra1 23. Nef5 Ne8 24. Be3 Rxd1+ 25. Qxd1 Qc7 26. Bxh6 gxh6 {½-½ (37) Nepomniachtchi,I (2773)-Wojtaszek,R (2724) Moscow 2019}) 20. Ng3 Kg7 21. Ra3 b4 22. Rad3 Be7 23. b3 (23. c4 $11) 23... Rh8 $15 24. Bb2 h5 25. Ngf1 Qc6 26. Nd2 $1 Rhd8 27. Nec4 Bxc4 28. Nxc4 Nxe4 29. Qe3 Nf6 (29... d5 $15 30. Nxe5 (30. Bxe5+ $2 f6 $19) 30... Qxc2 31. Nc6+ Qxb2 32. Nxe7 Rc2 33. Rxd5 Re2) 30. Qe1 $11 Qc5 31. Kh1 Kf8 32. f4 (32. c3 $11) 32... exf4 $17 33. Bxf6 Bxf6 34. Rd5 Qa7 $1 ({Much weaker is} 34... Re8 $6 35. Qf1 $14) 35. Qe4 $2 (35. Qxb4 $17 {was worth a try.} f3 36. gxf3) 35... Qf2 $19 36. R5d2 {[#]} d5 $1 {[%cal Rd5e4][%mdl 64] Double Attack} 37. Rxf2 (37. Rxd5 Re8) 37... dxe4 38. Rxd8+ Bxd8 39. Rxf4 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRB-KRN} f5 40. Rf1 Bc7 41. Ra1 Bg3 42. Kg1 f4 43. Kf1 f3 $1 44. Ra6 Kg7 45. Ra7+ Kh6 46. gxf3 exf3 (46... Rf8 $1 $19 47. Nd2 exf3) 47. Rf7 $17 f2 $1 {White must now prevent ...Ra8.} 48. Kg2 Bh4 {...Rc5 is the strong threat.} 49. Ne3 (49. Rf4 $17 Kg5 50. Rd4) 49... Rc3 50. Rf3 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (50. Nf1 $17) 50... Kg7 $19 51. Nf1 Rxf3 52. Kxf3 {KB-KN} Kf6 53. Ke4 g5 54. Ne3 Ke6 55. Kf3 Ke5 56. Kg2 Kd4 $2 (56... Ke4 57. Nc4 g4 58. hxg4 hxg4) 57. Nd1 $2 (57. Kf3 $19) 57... Bg3 (57... g4 $142 58. hxg4 hxg4 59. Nb2 {[#]} Kc3 $1 {[%mdl 576] Double Attack} 60. Nd3 g3 61. Kf1 Kd2 62. Nf4 Kxc2 63. Ng6 Kxb3 64. Nxh4 Kc3 65. Nf5 b3 66. Nxg3 Kd3 67. Kxf2 b2 68. Kf3 b1=Q 69. Kg4 Qg1 $1 {[%mdl 512]} 70. Kf4 Qc1+ 71. Kf5 Qd1 72. Kf4 Qd2+ 73. Kf5 Qf2+ 74. Kg4 Ke3 75. Nf5+ Ke4 76. Nd6+ Ke5 77. Nc4+ Kf6 78. Na3 Qc5 79. Kf4 Qxa3 80. Ke4 Qd6 81. Kf3 Qd3+ 82. Kf2 Kf5 83. Kg1 Kf4 84. Kh2 Qe2+ 85. Kh1 Kg3 86. Kg1 Qg2#) 58. Nb2 {[#]} Kc3 $1 59. Nd3 {Black mates.} Bd6 60. Nxf2 Kxc2 61. Ne4 Be7 62. h4 g4 63. Ng3 Kxb3 64. Nxh5 Kc2 65. Nf4 b3 {Accuracy: White = 65%, Black = 79%.} 0-1

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C47"]
[WhiteElo "2778"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 16,80,0,0,7,0,27,-10,0,0,0,12,18,16,16,0,0,-7,11,10,5,0,10,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Bd3 d5 8. Bd2 O-O 9. O-O Bxc3 {9...Rb8 is the hot move. C47: Scotch Four Knights and Four Knights with 4 g3.} 10. Bxc3 dxe4 {[#]} 11. Bc4 $146 (11. Bxf6 $5 Qxf6 12. Bxe4 $11) ({Predecessor:} 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Bxe4 Qxb2 13. Bxc6 Rb8 14. Rb1 Qxb1 15. Qxb1 Rxb1 16. Rxb1 Rd8 17. Bf3 {½-½ (52) So,W (2765)-Carlsen,M (2872) Wijk aan Zee 2020}) 11... Nd5 {The position is equal.} 12. Qd4 {[%csl Gc3][%cal Rd4g7] [#]} Nxc3 13. Qxc3 Re8 14. Bb3 Qf6 15. Qxf6 gxf6 16. Rfe1 Re5 17. Rad1 {Threatening Rd8+.} Bf5 18. Re3 Rb8 19. f3 exf3 20. Rxf3 c5 21. Rdf1 Be6 22. Bxe6 Rxe6 $11 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRR-KRR} 23. b3 Rd8 24. Rxf6 Rxf6 25. Rxf6 {KR-KR} Rd2 26. Ra6 {Threatens to win with c4.} Rxc2 27. Rxa7 c4 28. bxc4 Rxc4 29. Kf2 Rc2+ 30. Kf3 c5 31. h4 c4 32. Rc7 Rxa2 33. Rxc4 Ra5 34. g4 h6 35. Kg3 Kg7 36. Rf4 Ra3+ 37. Rf3 Ra4 38. Rf4 Ra3+ 39. Rf3 Ra4 40. Rf4 Ra3+ {A rather calm draw. Accuracy: White = 96%, Black = 100%.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2778"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "151"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 11,151,0,7,-46,-39,-43,-10,-6,0,0,-12,-14,-1,-21,-19,-13,-20,-53,-42,-85,-56,-78,0,0,29,18,27,20,24,0,12,0,2,10,52,36,167,0,0,0,0,-22,0,-37,66,58,67,66,63,21,151,146,203,176,168,175,237,225,231,198,265,254,240,214,564,72,114,101,169,166,226,207,207,220,210,211,408,206,193,106,234,88,112,93,85,82,1852,1859,1859,1852,1822,1790,1675,1653,1585,1577,1410,1396,1143,1129,975,781,685,613,554,537,820,838,785,714,1058,1061,29975,29961,29976,29960,2421,2432,10451,597,29976,29977,29977,29976,29976,29951,29974,29975,29974,29975,29974,29973,29977,29978,29977,29968,29979,29980,29980,29980,29996,436]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Rg1 b5 {[%cal Bb7b5,Bb5b4][%mdl 32]} 7. a4 $5 {[%mdl 4] A promising side line. B90: Sicilian Najdorf: Unusual White 6th moves, 6 Be3 Ng4 and 6 Be3 e5.} (7. g4 $11) 7... b4 $15 8. Nd5 e6 9. Nxf6+ {The position is equal.} Qxf6 10. Be3 Bb7 11. Qd2 Bxe4 12. f3 {[#]} Bb7 $146 ({Predecessor:} 12... Bd5 13. Bg5 Qe5+ 14. Kf2 Nc6 15. c3 bxc3 16. bxc3 Be7 17. h4 g6 18. Re1 Qg7 {1-0 (35) Motylev,A (2654)-Kokarev,D (2609) Yaroslavl 2019}) 13. Qxb4 Qe7 14. Qb6 Qd7 $1 15. O-O-O Qc8 16. Nb3 Nc6 ({Black should try} 16... Be7 $1 $17) 17. Bd4 $11 e5 18. Bc3 $1 Be7 19. Bd3 O-O 20. Be4 Rb8 21. Kb1 Ba8 22. Qe3 Qc7 23. f4 Bf6 (23... exf4 $14 24. Qh3 (24. Qxf4 Ne5 $11) 24... g6) 24. f5 $2 (24. Qd3 $18 Rfd8 25. Bxh7+ Kf8 26. fxe5 (26. Qxa6 Nb4 $11) 26... dxe5 27. Qc4 (27. Qxa6 g6 $14)) 24... h6 25. g4 Rfc8 26. Qf2 Qe7 27. Qg2 Nd4 ({Better is} 27... a5 $15) 28. Bxa8 $1 $14 (28. Bxd4 $6 exd4 29. Bxa8 Rxa8 $11) 28... Nxb3 29. cxb3 {Hoping for Bd5.} Rxa8 30. Qd5 e4 (30... Rab8 $11) 31. Bxf6 $16 ({Inferior is} 31. Qxd6 Qxd6 32. Rxd6 Bxc3 $11) 31... Qxf6 (31... gxf6 $16 32. Rge1 (32. Qxd6 Re8 $16) 32... Re8) 32. Qxe4 Rab8 33. Rg3 a5 (33... Qe5 $142 34. Qxe5 dxe5) 34. Qd4 Qh4 35. Rd2 Rb4 (35... Rc6 $142 36. Ka2 Rbc8) 36. Qxd6 $18 Rxg4 37. Qa6 Rc5 $2 (37... Re8 {is a better chance.} 38. Ka2 (38. Qxa5 Rxg3 39. hxg3 Re1+ 40. Ka2 Qh1 $14) 38... Rxg3 39. hxg3 Qxg3) 38. Ka2 $2 (38. Qa8+ $18 {is the precise move to win.} Kh7 39. Rd8 $1 {[%mdl 512]} Rxf5 40. Rh8+ Kg6 41. Qe4) 38... Rxg3 $16 39. hxg3 Qxg3 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KQR-KQR} (39... Qg5 $16 40. Rd6 Qxf5) 40. f6 $18 {And now Qa8+ would win.} Qg6 (40... Kh7 $142) 41. Rd8+ $1 Kh7 {[#]} 42. fxg7 $1 {[%mdl 512]} Kxg7 (42... Qxg7 43. Qd3+) 43. Qa8 Qh7 $2 (43... Qf6 {might work better.} 44. Rh8 Kg6) 44. Qg2+ (44. Qb8 $142) 44... Qg6 45. Qd2 (45. Qe2 $1 $18 {[%cal Re2e8] Strongly threatening Qe8.} Qe6 46. Qg2+ Rg5 47. Qa8) 45... Re5 {[#]} (45... Qf6 $16 {keeps fighting.}) 46. Qc3 (46. Ra8 $1 $18 {and White stays clearly on top.}) 46... Qf6 $16 47. Ra8 h5 {[#]} 48. Qc8 $1 $36 {[%cal Rc8h8][%mdl 2048] aiming for Qh8+. White is really pushing.} h4 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (48... Kh7 $16) 49. Qh8+ $18 Kg6 50. Rg8+ Kf5 51. Qh5+ Ke6 52. Re8+ Kd6 53. Qd1+ Rd5 54. Qe2 Kd7 55. Ra8 Qe5 56. Qc4 Qd4 57. Qa6 Ke7 58. Qh6 Rd7 59. Qf8+ Kf6 60. Rxa5 Kg6 61. Qg8+ Kh6 62. Qg5+ Kh7 63. Qh5+ Kg7 64. Rg5+ Kf8 65. Rg4 (65. Re5 $142 {[%cal Rh5h8]} f6 66. Qh8+ Kf7 67. Qe8+ Kg7 68. Rh5) 65... Qe3 66. Qh8+ {White mates.} Ke7 67. Qxh4+ Kd6 68. Qf6+ Kc7 69. Rc4+ Kb8 70. Qh8+ Ka7 71. Rc8 Qe4 72. Qc3 Kb7 73. Rc4 Qd5 74. Qb4+ Ka8 75. Rc5 Qd3 76. Rc8+ {Accuracy: White = 72%, Black = 47%.} 1-0

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A11"]
[WhiteElo "2742"]
[BlackElo "2881"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 10,64,9,5,20,2,21,7,46,0,-5,-16,1,-13,98,91,93,91,89,85,89,85,110,106,104,108,115,104,114,54,60,53,47,55,62,63,54,56,39,19,42,31,58,53,60,10,12,-269,-252,-529,-528,-525,-525,-520,-519,-507,-506]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. c4 e6 5. O-O Nf6 6. d3 Bd6 {A11: English Opening: 1...c6.} 7. Qb3 {[#]} (7. h3 $5 {[%cal Rh3g4]} Bxf3 8. Bxf3 $11) 7... Qe7 $146 ({Predecessor:} 7... Qb6 8. Be3 Qxb3 9. axb3 a6 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Nbd7 12. Rc1 Ke7 13. Nc3 Rhc8 14. d4 {1-0 (53) Aronian,L (2799)-Matlakov,M (2728) Tbilisi 2017}) 8. Nc3 Na6 {The position is equal.} 9. cxd5 ({Better is} 9. d4 $14) 9... exd5 $11 10. e4 dxe4 (10... Nc5 {keeps more tension.} 11. Qc2 dxe4 12. dxe4 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Ne6) 11. dxe4 {Black must now prevent e5!} O-O {[#]} (11... Nc5 $11 12. Qc2 O-O) 12. e5 $1 $36 {[%cal Re5d6][%mdl 2560] Keeping Black busy.} Bxe5 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 14. Qxb7 Nc5 15. Bf4 {Threatens to win with Qxa8.} Qh5 16. Qxc6 Rac8 17. Qb5 $1 a6 {[#]} 18. Qa5 $1 Rfe8 19. f3 (19. Be3 $16) 19... Nd3 $14 20. Qxh5 ({Reject} 20. Qxa6 Qc5+ 21. Kh1 Bf5 $11) 20... Bxh5 21. Bg5 Nxb2 22. Bxf6 gxf6 23. Ne4 Rc6 24. Rac1 Ree6 25. Nc5 Re7 26. f4 Rb6 27. Bd5 Kg7 28. Rf2 $2 {[%mdl 8192] [#] White does not recover from this.} (28. h3 $11 {and White stays safe.} f5 29. Bf3 Bxf3 30. Rxf3) 28... Nd1 $1 $19 29. Bb3 $2 (29. Rf1 Ne3 {[%mdl 64] Double Attack} 30. Bf3 Nxf1 31. Bxh5) 29... Nxf2 {Black is clearly winning.} 30. Kxf2 Re2+ 31. Kg1 Bf3 32. Rc3 {[#]} Bd5 $1 {[%mdl 576] Back Rank. Accuracy: White = 66%, Black = 80%.} 0-1

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A33"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2778"]
[Annotator "TA RC"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 12,108,0,12,10,5,21,0,0,-55,23,18,58,64,54,69,62,70,66,46,66,31,32,26,67,29,82,0,58,56,56,52,39,0,52,0,50,0,69,63,100,19,29,15,13,9,42,0,0,7,29,-5,-12,-15,-12,-35,-30,-30,-40,-31,-31,-21,-29,-32,0,-18,-9,-88,-56,-165,-181,-173,-131,-199,-56,-158,-18,-18,-25,-18,-25,-12833,-12833,-1835,-1395,-29991,-29992,-29992,-29993,-29993,-29994,-29994,-29993,-29993,-29994,-29994,-29994,-29997,-29998]} 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. a3 (6. g3 Qb6 7. Ndb5 Ne5 8. Bf4 Nfg4 9. e3 a6 10. h3 axb5 11. hxg4 Nxc4 12. Rc1 d5 13. b3 Bb4 14. bxc4 Ra3 15. Be5 f6 16. Bd4 {0-1 (73) Giri,A (2763)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2774) Ekaterinburg 2020}) 6... Be7 {6...Bc5 is the hot move. Played by Anish Giri in July 2020.} 7. e4 O-O {A33: Symmetrical English: 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 e6 5 Nc3 Nc6.} 8. Nf3 Qa5 {Black wants to play ...Nxe4.} 9. Bd2 Qh5 {[#] The position is equal.} 10. Rg1 $146 (10. Be2 $11) ({Predecessor:} 10. Be2 d5 11. exd5 exd5 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Nd4 Qh4 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. O-O Be6 16. Bf3 {½-½ (45) So,W (2760)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2767) Jerusalem 2019}) 10... a6 (10... d5 $1 $15 11. g4 Nxg4) 11. h3 $11 Ne5 12. g4 Nxf3+ 13. Qxf3 Qc5 14. g5 Ne8 15. h4 b5 16. cxb5 axb5 17. Bxb5 Bb7 18. Bd3 Nd6 (18... Ba6 $11 {remains equal.}) 19. Qe2 ({White should try} 19. Qe3 $16 Qxe3+ 20. Bxe3) 19... Rfc8 (19... f5 $1 $11) 20. Rc1 $14 Qb6 21. Be3 Qa5 22. Bd2 Qb6 23. Be3 Qa5 24. Bd2 Ba6 (24... Qb6 $1 $11) 25. Bxa6 Rxa6 26. Kf1 (26. Nd1 $16 Qa4 27. Rxc8+ Nxc8 28. h5) 26... Rac6 $11 27. Be1 Qc7 28. Rg3 Nc4 {White should prevent ...Qf4.} 29. Rc2 Qf4 30. Rh3 Bf8 31. Nd1 d5 32. exd5 exd5 33. Qf3 (33. b3 $5 {[%cal Rb3c4]} Nxa3 34. Rxc6 Rxc6 35. Bd2 $15) 33... Qd6 34. Re2 d4 35. Bb4 Qd7 {aiming for ...Bxb4.} 36. Bxf8 Rxf8 37. Kg2 $1 f6 {[%mdl 1024] Black has compensation.} 38. Qe4 f5 39. Qf3 (39. Qe7 $11 Qd5+ 40. Kh2) 39... f4 $17 40. b4 {[#]} (40. Kh2 $15) 40... Ne3+ $1 $19 41. fxe3 fxe3 42. Qe4 (42. Qg3 $17) 42... Re6 {[%cal Bc6e6,Be6e4,Be4d4][%mdl 32]} 43. Qd3 {[#]} (43. Qb1 $1 $15) 43... Qc6+ (43... Qb7+ $1 $17 44. Kg1 Qf7) 44. Kg1 $11 {[%cal Rd1e3] Threatens to win with Nxe3!} Re4 $1 $40 {[%cal Re4g4][%mdl 128] ( -> ...Rg4+). Black attacks.} 45. Nxe3 dxe3 46. Rexe3 $2 {[%mdl 8192] Now White is beyond hope.} (46. Rhxe3 $11 Rxh4 47. Rh3 Rg4+ 48. Rg3 Qc1+ 49. Kh2) 46... Qc1+ $19 47. Kg2 {[#]} Rd4 $1 {[%mdl 512]} 48. Qb3+ (48. Qxd4 Qf1+) 48... Kh8 {Black mates.} 49. Rhf3 Rd2+ 50. Kh3 Qh1+ 51. Kg4 Rg2+ 52. Rg3 Rh2 {[%csl Gh1][%cal Rh2h4]} 53. Rh3 Qg2+ 54. Reg3 Qe4+ {Accuracy: White = 59%, Black = 75%.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.07.30"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2778"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 12,95,25,0,0,-1,0,0,6,0,33,0,27,0,0,0,112,116,110,115,1012,981,1004,1000,980,979,918,335,340,340,346,342,983,987,973,966,868,858,950,326,331,297,443,486,469,453,964,892,581,450,460,335,335,321,321,300,295,288,516,451,450,414,450,439,425,335,743,743,736,715,706,687,1514,885,828,792,570,0,555,0,1435,1299,5497,2248,29980,29981]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 g6 7. Qb3 e6 {[#] A34: Symmetrical English: 2 Nc3, lines with ...d5.} 8. Ne4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 8. O-O Bg7 9. Qb5 Qb6 10. Qc4 O-O 11. d3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Na5 13. Qh4 Bd7 14. Bf4 f6 15. Rab1 {½-½ (42) Almasi,Z (2682)-Piorun,K (2634) Germany 2019}) 8... b6 9. d4 cxd4 {The position is equal.} 10. O-O Bb7 11. Rd1 Bg7 12. Bg5 $36 {[%mdl 2048] White is pushing.} f6 13. Bf4 {Nd6+ is the strong threat.} e5 {[#]} (13... O-O $11) 14. Nxd4 $1 $16 {[%mdl 512] Black is on the road to losing.} Nxd4 {[#]} 15. Rxd4 $1 {[%mdl 512] And now Rad1 would win.} f5 $2 {[%mdl 8192] [#]} (15... O-O $16) (15... exd4 16. Nd6+) 16. Nd6+ $1 $18 {[%mdl 512]} Qxd6 17. Bxd5 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 Qe7 {[#]} 19. Bxe5 $1 {[%mdl 512]} Bxe5 20. Qb5+ Kf8 21. Rxe5 Qf6 $2 (21... a6 22. Rxe7 axb5) 22. Rd1 Kg7 23. Rd7+ Kh6 24. Ree7 Rae8 25. Qb4 $2 (25. Rf7 Qe5 26. Qc4) 25... Rxe7 26. Rxe7 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame aiming for Qf4+. KQR-KQR} Rd8 (26... f4 $142 27. Rxa7 (27. gxf4 Rd8 $18) 27... Rf8 28. gxf4 Qxf4 29. Qxf4+ (29. Qxb6 Qg5+ 30. Kh1 Qc1+ 31. Kg2 Qg5+ 32. Kh1 Qc1+ 33. Kg2 Qg5+ 34. Kh1 $11) 29... Rxf4) 27. Qf4+ g5 28. Qc7 {[%mdl 64] Double Attack} Rd1+ (28... Rc8 $142) 29. Kg2 Kg6 30. Rxh7 Rc1 31. Qxc1 Kxh7 {KQ-KQ} 32. b3 Kg6 33. Qc4 Qe7 34. a4 Qd7 $2 (34... Kg7 35. h4 gxh4 36. gxh4 Kg6) 35. Qd3 Qc6+ 36. f3 g4 37. h3 gxf3+ 38. Qxf3 Qe6 $2 (38... Qc5 39. h4 Kg7) 39. g4 f4 40. Qd3+ Kg7 41. Kf3 Qe5 42. Qd7+ Kh8 43. Qc8+ Kg7 44. Qd7+ Kh8 $1 45. Qd3 (45. Qd8+ $142 Kg7 46. Qd2) 45... Kg7 46. h4 Qe7 47. g5 (47. Qd4+ $142 Kg8 48. h5) 47... Qe6 48. Qd4+ {Accuracy: White = 72%, Black = 44%.} 1-0

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.08.01"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2778"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 9,127,10,16,8,8,4,14,10,8,10,14,14,0,0,0,2,18,0,3,-12,-12,-10,-8,-18,-15,-20,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-6,0,0,0,-4,0,-5,0,0,0,0,8,15,19,16,39,42,64,23,24,21,31,21,19,13,16,14,15,13,69,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-22,-14,-12,-20,-104,-104,-96,-104,-103,-100,-102,-75,-154,-112,-121,-76,-144,-62,-62,-60,-60,-29,-29,-8,-8,-8,-8,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O (5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 Nd7 7. Qe2 f6 8. Nh4 Nf8 9. f4 Ng6 10. Qh5 O-O 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Qxg6 exf4 13. Nb3 Bb4+ {½-½ (30) Nepomniachtchi,I (2784)-Giri,A (2764) chess24.com INT 2020}) 5... Nd4 6. Bc4 {C65: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence (3...Nf6), unusual lines and 4 0-0 Bc5.} d6 7. a4 {[#]} c6 $146 ({Predecessor:} 7... a5 8. Nxd4 Bxd4 9. c3 Bb6 10. h3 c6 11. Re1 h6 12. Be3 O-O 13. Nd2 Bxe3 14. Rxe3 {½-½ (25) Jonvik,A (2133)-Berg,A (2385) ICCF email 2015}) 8. Nxd4 Bxd4 9. a5 {next c3 is good for White.} a6 10. Nd2 O-O 11. Bb3 h6 12. h3 Ba7 13. Nc4 Be6 14. c3 Bxc4 15. Bxc4 d5 16. exd5 cxd5 17. Bb3 Qd6 18. Qf3 Rfe8 19. Qg3 Nh5 20. Qh4 Nf6 21. Be3 d4 22. cxd4 Bxd4 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. Bc4 Re2 25. Qg3 Qe7 {[#]} 26. b4 $1 {[%mdl 512]} Qxb4 27. Rab1 Qe7 28. Qf3 Ra7 29. Rb6 Re1 30. g3 {[#]} (30. Qg3 {feels hotter.} Ra8 31. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 32. Kh2 Qe7 33. Qf3) 30... Qe2 $1 {[%cal Re2f1]} 31. Qxe2 Rxe2 32. Rfb1 Re7 33. Rd6 Ra8 34. Rxd4 Rc8 35. Kg2 g6 ({Black should play} 35... Rcc7 $11) 36. Rd6 ({Better is} 36. Rb6 $14 Kg7 37. Rf4) 36... Kg7 $11 37. Rdb6 Rcc7 38. R1b2 Red7 39. Ba2 Ng8 40. d4 Ne7 41. h4 h5 42. d5 (42. Rd2 $11) 42... Nxd5 $17 43. Bxd5 Rxd5 44. Rxb7 Rxb7 45. Rxb7 Rxa5 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KR-KR} 46. Rb6 ({White should try} 46. f3) 46... Ra3 47. f3 Kf8 48. Rb7 (48. g4 $142) 48... Re3 (48... a5 $17 {...a4 is the strong threat.} 49. g4 hxg4 50. fxg4 a4) 49. Ra7 $1 $15 Re6 50. g4 hxg4 51. fxg4 Kg7 52. Kf3 {The position is equal.} Rb6 53. h5 g5 54. Kg3 Rb3+ 55. Kg2 Ra3 56. Kf2 Ra4 57. Kg3 Ra3+ 58. Kf2 a5 59. Ra6 Ra4 60. Kg3 Ra3+ 61. Kg2 Ra4 62. Kg3 Ra3+ 63. Kg2 Ra4 64. Kg3 {Accuracy: White = 87%, Black = 88%.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.08.01"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2778"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 18,85,24,25,23,15,22,12,24,3,14,-12,15,0,0,0,0,0,0,-10,-6,-15,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-7,-10,-4,-6,-20,0,0,0,-19,-5,-37,-20,-34,-34,-66,-63,-86,-18,-13,-16,-23,-26,-15,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-18,-14,-14,-14,-14,-14,-14,-10,-23]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 {C67: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence: 4 0-0 Nxe4.} 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. d5 d6 {[#]} 14. a4 $1 $146 {[%mdl 8] A top novelty.} ({Predecessor:} 14. Na3 Bf5 15. Nc4 a5 16. a4 Bd7 17. Be3 g6 18. Qd1 Ng7 19. f3 Nf5 20. Bf2 {½-½ (32) Nepomniachtchi,I (2773)-Karjakin,S (2752) Abidjan 2019}) 14... a5 (14... c6 {with more complications.} 15. Bd3 g6 16. Be3 cxd5 17. Na3 Ng7) 15. Na3 Bd7 16. Nc4 Bg5 17. Be3 Bxe3 18. Nxe3 Nf6 19. Qd1 Qe7 20. Qb3 b6 21. Qc4 Rc8 22. Bd3 Qe5 23. h3 Nh5 24. Re1 Nf4 25. Bf1 Qf6 26. Rd1 {[%cal Be1d1,Bd1d4,Bd4e4][%mdl 32]} h6 27. Rd4 Ng6 28. Re4 Qd8 29. Qe2 f5 30. Rd4 Qg5 31. g3 f4 32. h4 Nxh4 (32... Qf6 $17 33. Nc4 Re8) 33. Rxf4 $11 Ng6 34. Re4 h5 35. Ng2 Rf8 {The position is equal.} 36. Qe3 Qf5 37. Nf4 Nxf4 38. Rxf4 Qb1 39. Qe4 Qxe4 40. Rxe4 Re8 41. Rc4 Re1 {[#] Hoping for ...Bh3.} 42. Kg2 Re7 43. Bd3 {[%mdl 32768] Accuracy: White = 88%, Black = 92%. . Loss on time!?} 1-0

[Event "Chess24 Legends of Chess Final 4"]
[Site "Online"]
[Date "2020.08.01"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D06"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2778"]
[Annotator "TA"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2020.07.31"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 12,80,29,34,58,57,55,58,56,66,68,46,51,47,54,47,63,51,62,18,71,31,39,33,37,44,36,46,54,58,48,54,76,26,79,43,70,21,15,16,16,0,0,0,0,0,6,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Bf5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 Nf6 7. e3 Bd6 {D06: Queen's Gambit: Symmetrical and Baltic Defences.} 8. Bg5 Bb4 9. Bd3 Bxd3 {White is slightly better.} 10. Qxd3 {[#]} h6 $146 ({Predecessor:} 10... O-O 11. O-O a6 12. a3 Bxc3 13. bxc3 h6 14. Bh4 Qd6 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. Rab1 b6 17. c4 dxc4 18. Qxc4 {1-0 (51) Terlouw,W (1159)-Meert,M (475) Borne 2019}) 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. O-O Bxc3 13. Qxc3 O-O 14. Rfc1 Rfd8 15. Ne5 Rd6 (15... Nxe5 $11 16. dxe5 Qa6) 16. Qb3 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Qxe5 18. Qxb7 {[%mdl 64] [#] Double Attack} Rad8 19. Qxa7 d4 20. exd4 ({Don't go for} 20. Rxc7 $2 dxe3 21. fxe3 Rd2 $19) 20... Rxd4 21. Re1 Qd6 22. Rac1 Rd1 (22... Rd2 $11 {keeps the balance.}) 23. Qe3 Rd2 24. Rb1 Qf6 {The position is equal.} 25. Qf3 Qd4 26. Rbc1 c5 27. g3 Qxb2 28. Rxc5 Qxa2 29. Rce5 Qa8 30. Qxa8 Rxa8 31. Re8+ Rxe8 32. Rxe8+ $11 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KR-KR} Kh7 33. Kg2 g6 34. h4 h5 35. Re3 Kg7 36. Rf3 Ra2 37. Re3 Rb2 38. Rf3 Ra2 39. Re3 Rb2 40. Rf3 Ra2 {Accuracy: White = 83%, Black = 88%.} 1/2-1/2

