Tactics: Back Rank Motif - Advanced level

Exploiting the back rank weakness for the white pieces and more active pieces.

Black to play

Alireza Firouzja bullet win in Taimanov variation Aug 26 2020 Katara

 Alireza Firouzja shows us the black side of a tricky Taimanov line.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Ndb5

6.. Qb8 7. Be3 a6 8. Bb6 !?
Black has to take it and defend.

8..axb5 9. Nxb5
-First idea 9...Ra5 10.Nc7+ Ke7 11.Qf3! Re5 12.Qa3+ d6 13.0–0–0 f6 14.Qa4. 
The queen in  this variation goes to f3 and then a3 with pressure on a3-f8 diagonal.
-The second idea is 9..Bb4+ followed by Ba5 to indirectly cover c7.
lets look at this line.
9.. Bb4+ 10. c3 Ba5 11. Nc7+

11..Qxc7 12. Bxc7 Bxc7 13. g3 Nf6 14. Bg2 O-O 
How to continue here ? Lets see Alireza Firouzja in Katara Event Aug 26 2020 win easily.

My game against Hikaru Nakamura : PGN and Animated replay

Replay available here

My blitz game against Hikaru Nakamura Aug 2020- Scandinavian

 got the privilege to play in a Hikaru arena and got faced with GM Hikaru Nakamura himself in a blitz 3 minutes for each player.

needless to say, I lost but this is quite an instructive loss I think.

[White "thechesscorner64"][Black "Hikaru"][WhiteElo "2402"][BlackElo "3218"]

[Result "0-1"][ECO "B01"][Date "2020.08.22"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. d4 c5

here Hikaru surprised me with 4..c5. The best answer is 5 Nc3 to develop a piece followed by Bf4. I played 5c4 and 6 d5 which is ok.

 5. c4 Qd8 6. d5 g6 7. Nc3 Bg4 8. Be2 Bg7 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Nbd7 11. O-O O-O 12. Bf4

we reached the following position with Black to play.

Here Nakamura uncorked 12..Ne8!An excellent idea ! Black plans to relocate knight from e8 to d6. from there, Black will play Ra8-b8 and a6-b5 creating pressure on my queenside pawn. This move opens the diagonal h8-a1 for the bishop on g7. 

I suggest to replay the moves in the app below.

[#] 12. Bf4 Ne8! An excellent idea ! Black plans to relocate knight from e8 to d6. from there, Black will play Ra8-b8 and a6-b5 creating pressure on my queenside pawn. This move opens the diagonal h8-a1 for the bishop on g7. 13. Qd2 ( 13. Rc1 Nd6 14. b3 a6 15. Re1 b5 16. Ne4 ) 13...  Nd6 14. b3 14...  Re8 15. Bh6?! exchanging the bishops but Black continues with the expansion on the queeside ( 15. Rac1 a6 16. Ne4! the knight on d6 needs to be challenged and this attacks c5 as well 16... Ne5 17. Qe2 b6 18. g4!? ) 15...  Bxh6 ( 15... Bh8 16. Rfe1 ) 16. Qxh6 16...  a6 17. Bg4 17...  Nf6

We reached the following position after 17..Nf6, White to play 

it was time to start white's counterplay on the kingside with f4-f5, starting with 18 f4! instead I played 18 Rfe1 and Black started to put further pressure

18..b5 19. cxb5 axb5 20. Rad1 b4 21. Na4 Black to play

Hikaru played 21..c4 and I cannot capture the pawn as I need to protect the knight on a4. I had to play 22Qf4! attacking b4 if he pushes the c pawn further. Instead I played 22 Re3 and 22.c3 give Black a large advantage which Black converted without trouble.

Here's the replay from 21 Na4

[#] 21. Na4 c4! 22. Re3? ( 22. Qf4! To attack b4 22... c3 ( 22... Ra5 23. Bf3 Qb8 24. Rd4 Qa7 ( 24... Nf5 25. Qxb8 Rxb8 26. Rxc4 ) 25. g4 ) 23. Qxb4 ) 22...  c3! [#] this passed pawn give Black a decisive advantage 23. Rf3 Ra5 24. Qf4 ( 24. Rfd3 Nb5 25. Qf4 Qd6 ) 24...  Rxd5 25. Rxd5 Nxd5 26. Qd4 e6 27. Nc5 Nf5 28. Bxf5 exf5 29. Rd3 ( 29. Qc4 Re1+ 30. Kh2 Qc7+ ) 29...  c2! ( 29... c2 30. Rd1 cxd1=Q+ 31. Qxd1 Qd6 32. Na4 Qe5 33. Qd2 ) 0-1

Final position after 31..c2!

Sicilian 2Nc3 Nc6 3Bb5!? trap

This occurs after 1e4 c5 2Nc3 Nc6  3Bb5 Nd4 4Bc4

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4..g6 5 Nge2 Bg7 6 Nd4 cd4 7Qf3! 

Here Black can play 7..Nh6 or 7..Nf6 but the most natural human move is 7..e6?! which leads to the trap White has set up !

7..e6?! 8 Nb5 d6 9Qa3!

Black has to defend d6 and play 9..Ke7

White has exploited the weaknesses of dark squares after 5..Bg7 by targetting c7 and d6 playing Nb5 as Black didn't have time to play a7-a6.

after 9..Ke7 10c3! white is better. You Hifan won against Pia Cramling in 19 moves.

Note that Black can try 8..d5 instead of 8..d6 but White has 9Qg3! with Nc7+ winning the exchange.

Breaking news: Hikaru wins first blitz game in finals against Magnus Day 7

official site:

www.chess24.com

Magnus needs two wins in a row : first 2nd blitz game and second the armageddon after game 1.

Hikaru very close to win the whole thing !

Hikaru wins critical Ruy Lopez game on day 7 to level the score : details inside

Hikaru went for a sharp version of the anti-berlin 4d3. 

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. h3 Nd7 8. Nc4 a5 9. g4 Re8 10. Rg1! a411. Ne3 Bxe3 12. Bxe3 Nf8 13. h4 Qd6 14. Qd2 c5 15. h5 b5 16. Nh4 Qc6 17. Nf5!

www.chess24.com for full coverage 

 

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. h3 Nd7 8. Nc4 a5 9. g4 Re8 10. Rg1 a4 11. Ne3 Bxe3 12. Bxe3 Nf8 13. h4 Qd6 14. Qd2 c5 15. h5 b5 16. Nh4 Qc6 17. Nf5! c4 18. Qb4 a3 19. b3 cxd3 20. cxd3 Qc2 21. h6! g6 22. Rc1 Qxd3 23. Rd1 Qc2 24. Ng7 Bb7 25. Nxe8 Rxe8 26. f3 Qxa2 27. Rd2 Qb1+ 28. Kf2 a2 29. Qc3 Ra8? 29 ..b4! was needed to deflect the queen from a1-g8 30. Rxb1 axb1=Q? 31. Qxe5 Black resigned as 31..Ne6 32 Bd4! with Qh8 checkmate threat. Black cannot defend 1-0

incredible win in Nimzo by Hikaru Nakamura against Magnus Carlsen

Armageddon game today. Hikaru must draw, Magnus must win for day 5.

 official site: http://www.chess24.com 

  1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 c5 6. e3 Nc6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Ne2 b6 9. e4 Ne8!

a very important move to prepare f7-f5 and the knight will go back to f6 or d6. Black wants to play Ba6 pressuring c5. Magnus had played this against Giri and Anand in the last months so Hikaru was prepared.

  

  10. O-O Ba6 11. f4 f5! 

White to play

 

The game continued and Hikaru increased his advantage with Black. After his move 30..Nd2! we reached the following 

White to play

If white takes the knight 31 Nxd2 31..Qe3+ wins it back with attack against the king. Magnus pieces ( queen and rook) are too far to defend the lone white king. Magnus played 31 Rd8 but the following occured:31. Rd8 Nxf1 32. Qxf1 Qe3+ 33. Kh2 Re4

www.chess24.com for full coverage 

Colle-Zukertort ideas

Colle Zukertort is the system where white decides to fianchetto his dark square bishop b3,Bb2, plays e3,d4 as well as Bd3,Nbd2 and Nf3. Here is what white starts the game with

 

and in a real life game, here's the position for white where f2-f4 is also played.

Remember to play actively with White, setting the board on fire. Use the a1-h8 and b1-h7 diagonals with your bishops. Bring your knights to the kingside.

Like this :

Now lets see full games with this system with the white pieces.

here's another one

and one more example without Qc2/f5 inserted

and a final one with early Rc1 and c4-c5

Berlin Defense rapid games between Nakamura(white) and Carlsen(black) annotated

In this entry, I will analyze Nakamura versus Carlsen game the Ruy Lopez ( Spanish) Berlin Defense with White getting a better opposite bishop ending

  www.chess24.com for full coverage 

 
Great example where White built pressure

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. Qe2 ( 7. Nc4 Nd7 8. O-O f6 9. a4 a5 10. Be3 b6 11. h4 Qe8 12. g3 ( 12. Nfd2 ) 12... Be7 13. Ne1 Nc5 14. Ng2 Be6 15. b3 Qd7 Nakamura-Carlsen Game1. Carlsen went on to win the game ) 7...  Re8 8. Nc4 Nd7 9. h4 a5 10. h5 b5 11. Ne3 Nf8 12. Bd2 ( 12. h6 g6 ) 12...  Ne6 13. a4 b4?! this locks queenside where blacks play resides. White will have chances on the kingside ( 13... Nf4 14. Qd1 f5 ) 14. b3 Ba6? ( 14... Nf4 ) 15. g3 Bxe3 ( 15... Nd4 16. Nxd4 Bxd4 17. O-O-O ) 16. Bxe3 f5 17. Rh4! f4 ( 17... Qf6 ) 18. Bd2 Nd4? ( 18... Qf6 19. O-O-O Rad8 ) ( 18... Rf8 ) 19. Nxd4 Qxd4 20. Rc1 fxg3 21. fxg3 ( 21. Rg4! gxf2+ 22. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 23. Kxf2 Re7 ) 21...  Qg1+ ( 21... Rf8 22. Be3 Qc3+ 23. Qd2 ) 22. Qf1 Qxg3+ 23. Qf2 Qxf2+ 24. Kxf2 += the ending is better for White despite being a pawn down. White will activate king and has control on dark squares. Blacks bishop a6 has no prospects and cannot easily attack c2.Strategically White is much better 24...  Re6 25. Rg1 Rf8+ 26. Ke1 Bc8 27. h6 g6 28. Bg5 Ree8 ( 28... c5 29. Ke2 ) 29. Rh2 Rf3 30. Rf2 Rxf2 ( 30... Rh3 ) 31. Kxf2 Rf8+ 32. Ke3 Kf7 33. Rf1+ Ke8 34. Rxf8+ Kxf8 35. Bd8 c5 36. Bxc7 Ke7 37. Bxe5 Kd7 38. Bf6 Bb7 39. Kf4 Bc6 1-0 (39) Nakamura,H-Carlsen,M chess24.com2020 ( 39... Bc6 illustrating whites plan to win 40. Ke5 Bb7 41. Bg5 Bc8 42. Be3 Kc6 ( 42... Ke8 43. Bxc5 Bg4 44. Bb6 Bd1 45. Kd4 Bxc2 46. Kc4 g5 47. Bxa5 g4 48. Bxb4 g3 49. Bc5 Kd7 50. a5 Kc6 51. a6 Bd1 52. a7 Kb7 53. b4 Bh5 54. b5 Bf7+ 55. Kb4 Bg8 56. Be3 g2 57. b6 Bf7 58. Kc5 ) 43. Kf6 ) 1-0

Berlin Wall destroyed: Hikaru Nakamura wins in 22 moves against Magnus Carlsen day 3 chess24.com finals

 Berlin Wall is the position after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 in the www.chess24.com finals.

Hikaru chose anti-berlin 4 d3 on which Carlsen plays the most popular and active 4..Bc5 

6. Nbd2 O-O (6..Bg4 was played by Carlsen before)  7. Qe2

White hasn't decided where his king will castle

7..Re8 8. Nc4 Nd7 9. Bd2 b5 10. Ne3 Nf8 11. h4 Ne6? (11..a5 was safer) 

White to play , what did Magnus miss with Black ? I am sure he intended 12..Nd4 but white has 13Nf7! Ne2 14Nd8 with  2 pawns up

12. Nxe5 a5? 13. Qh5! g6 14. Qf3 f6 15. Nxc6! Qd7 16. Qxf6 Qxc6 17. Bc3 

Position after 17 Bc3!

White threatens 18 Qh8+ and h7, and has already 3 pawns for the piece. White can continue the attack with h4-h5 as well as 0-0-0 followed by d3-d4

17...Rf8 18. Qh8+ Kf7 19. Qxh7+ Ke8 20. Qxg6+ Kd7 21. d4 b4 22. dxc5 1-0

very convincing win by Hikaru today in the berlin 

Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen trade wins in Berlin Defense: Day 3 chess24 chess tour finals

Featuring the new pgn viewer from chesstempo.com along many other features you can find on the website like tactics training, database games, play online, guess the move, and much more.

 

I encourage you to check it out !

we want show here games between Magnus and Hikaru on day 3  

They played the Berlin Defense several times, with white and Black. Hikaru lost game 1 with white, drew with Black easily in game 2 and won game 3.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 O-O

  

and replay with my comments below 

Accessible board description

White pieces

Pawn a2
Pawn b2
Pawn c2
Pawn d2
Pawn f2
Pawn g2
Pawn h2
Pawn e4
Bishop c1
Bishop f1
Knight b1
Knight g1
Rook a1
Rook h1
Queen d1
King e1

Black pieces

Pawn a7
Pawn b7
Pawn c7
Pawn d7
Pawn e7
Pawn f7
Pawn g7
Pawn h7
Bishop c8
Bishop f8
Knight b8
Knight g8
Rook a8
Rook h8
Queen d8
King e8

Black to move

Nakamura, Hikaru - Carlsen, Magnus 1-0

Carlsen Tour Final 2020 (chess24.com INT) [3] C65 2020.08.16

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.Qe2 + 7. Nc4 − [ 7.Nc4 Nd7 8.O-O f6 9.a4 a5 10.Be3 b6 11.h4 Qe8 12.g3 + 12. Nfd2 − ( 12.Nfd2 ) 12...Be7 13.Ne1 Nc5 14.Ng2 Be6 15.b3 Qd7 16.Qe2 Rae8 17.f3 + 17. f4 − ( 17.f4 ) 17...Bxc4 18.dxc4 Qh3 19.Kf2 Qe6 20.Kg1 f5 21.exf5 Qxf5 22.Rad1 Qh3 23.Bf2 Bd6 24.Rfe1 Re7 25.Qe3 Ref7 26.f4 exf4 27.gxf4 Qg4 ∓ 28.Qe2 Rxf4 29.Qxg4 Rxg4 30.Rd4 Rg6 31.h5 Rh6 32.Rh4 Rf5 33.Be3 Rhxh5 34.Rxh5 Rxh5 35.Bf4 Bxf4 36.Nxf4 Rf5 37.Ne6 Nxe6 38.Rxe6 c5 39.Re7 h5 40.Rxc7 Kh7 41.Kg2 Kh6 42.c3 Rf6 43.Rc8 Kg5 44.Rd8 Kg4 45.b4 h4 0-1 game 1 day 3 Magnus won with Black ] 7...Re8 8.Nc4 Nd7 9.h4 a5 10.h5 b5 11.Ne3 Nf8 12.Bd2 + 12. h6 − [ 12.h6 g6 ] 12...Ne6 13.a4 b4?! + 13... Nf4 − [ 13...Nf4 14.Qd1 f5 ] 14.b3 Ba6? + 14... Nf4 − [ 14...Nf4 ] 15.g3 Bxe3 16.Bxe3 f5 17.Rh4! f4 18.Bd2 Nd4? + 18... Qf6 − [ 18...Qf6 19.O-O-O Rad8 ] 19.Nxd4 Qxd4 20.Rc1 fxg3 21.fxg3 + 21. Rg4 − [ 21.Rg4 gxf2+ 22.Qxf2 Qxf2+ 23.Kxf2 Re7 ] 21...Qg1+ 22.Qf1 Qxg3+ 23.Qf2 Qxf2+ 24.Kxf2 ⩲ Re6 25.Rg1 Rf8+ 26.Ke1 Bc8 27.h6 g6 28.Bg5 Ree8 + 28... c5 − [ 28...c5 29.Ke2 ] 29.Rh2 Rf3 30.Rf2 Rxf2 + 30... Rh3 − [ 30...Rh3 ] 31.Kxf2 Rf8+ 32.Ke3 Kf7 33.Rf1+ Ke8 34.Rxf8+ Kxf8 35.Bd8 c5 36.Bxc7 Ke7 37.Bxe5 Kd7 38.Bf6 Bb7 39.Kf4 Bc6 1-0 (39) Nakamura,H-Carlsen,M chess24.com INT 2020

1-0

folder storage edit play_circle_outline playlist_add format_align_right fullscreen settings computer cached

Breaking news: Nakamura defeats Magnus Carlsen in day 1, game 2 for Magnus tour finals on chess24.com

official coverage chess24.com

Critical position where Magnus sacrificed the exchange on move 19 with 19Rg7?!

2nd Critical position where Hikaru played 36..Kg7 with a clear plan to activate rooks as indicated by arrows and explanation below. turning point of the game 2 with Hikaru(Black) in the driver seat

Ding Liren wins Brilliant Game against Magnus Carlsen in King's Indian Defence: chess24 magnus tour finals Aug 2020

In this entry, I will analyze a game where Magnus plays the King's Indian Defense with Black and Ding outplays it with near perfect play. lots of tactics to calculate and Ding was up to the task.

  www.chess24.com for full coverage 

 
Great example where Ding Liren quickly built pressure againt Magnus who wasn't really up to speed with KID structures. Ding has mastered positions with 1d4 and g3,Bg2 fianchetto. His calculation ability is world class level even though he started poorly in candidates 2020 first half and will not challenge Magnus for World Championship ( it will be either Nepo,MVL or Caruana again).

Ding was impressive with the line starting with 24Bh6! and played perfectly until 31 Qf4 checkmate. Magnus could have defended better if he found Bd4+ in several instances but instead lost very quickly

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 Magnus going for Kings Indian 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O e5 8. d5 Ne7 9. e4 white will play on the queenside, black will move Nf6 to start f7-f5, but needs to play h7-h6 first to prevent Nf3-g5! 9...  b6 10. Rb1 a5 11. Re1 Nd7 12. a3 h6 13. Nh4! the best approach against f7-f5 plan from Black 13...  f5 14. exf5 gxf5 15. Qc2 Nf6 16. b4 Bd7 17. c5! Blacks plan of Nf6-d7,h6,f7-f5 and Nd7-f6 is too slow. White is making progress on the queenside and does not have any large weakness 17...  axb4 18. axb4 e4? this is clearly a mistake as white can attack e4 and f5 which will open up kingside. opening went wrong for Magnus. ( 18... Bc8 19. c6 ) ( 18... Qe8! the best move 19. c6 ( 19. cxd6 cxd6 20. Bb2 Qf7 ) 19... Bc8 20. Qb3 ) ( 18... bxc5 19. bxc5 Ra5 20. c6 Be8 ) 19. c6 Be8 20. f3! [%csl Bg6,Be6,Bf5,Be4,Gh4][%cal Gh4g6,Gg2e4,Gh4f5] Ding undermines the center right away. Black has lots of weaknesses on light squares 20...  Nfxd5 21. Nxd5 Nxd5 22. fxe4 fxe4 23. Bxe4 Nc3 very sharp ( 23... Bd4+! check first was much better than the game 24. Kh1 Nc3 25. Bb2 Rf2 extremely complicated ) 24. Bxh6! the best move deflecting bishop would allow White to win the knight on c3. losing the exchange is not important, the blacks king is wide open 24...  Qf6? Magnus tries to defend but White has a tactical resource here. Ding calculated very well ( 24... Bxh6 25. Qxc3 ) ( 24... Nxb1? 25. Bh7+ Kh8 26. Rxe8 Qxe8 27. Ng6+ Kxh7 28. Nxf8+ Kxh6 ) ( 24... Bd4+! This was the only move to survive with Black. Magnus used a lot of time and is in big trouble 25. Kh1 ( 25. Be3 Qf6 ) 25... Rf2! ) 25. Bh7+! ( 25. Bxg7 Qxg7 26. Nf5 Rxf5 27. Bxf5 Qd4+ 28. Qf2 Qxf2+ 29. Kxf2 Nxb1 30. Bxb1 Bxc6 31. Rc1 ) 25...  Kh8 26. Rxe8! Brilliant, White wants to play Ng6+ with devastating impact #impactchess 26...  Rfxe8?? ( 26... Bxh6 27. Re7!! Qxe7 ( 27... Bg7 28. Rbe1 Qd4+ 29. Kh1 Qd5+ 30. Be4 ) 28. Ng6+ ) 27. Ng6+ Kxh7 28. Nf8+ Kxh6? ( 28... Kg8 29. Qh7+ Kf7 30. Rf1 wins the queen 30... Qxf1+ 31. Kxf1 Rxf8 32. Bxg7 Ke6+ 33. Bxf8 Rxf8+ 34. Kg2 winning for white ) 29. Qh7+ Kg5 30. Qh4+ Kf5 31. Qf4# 1-0 White wins by checkmate. amazing finish with checkmate played.Ding played an excellent game and showed much stronger understanding of Kings Indian Defense than Carlsen. Magnus was too confident after winning game 1 and decided to play an opening which is not part of his standard repertoire. Ding is very strong in g3,Bg2 structures. 1-0

Carlsen tactics (Carlsen-Ding Liren 2020 Chess24.com Finals)

today I'd like to go over the game from Magnus Carlsen against Ding Liren, a sharp sicilian defense game.www.chess24.com for full coverage

Critical position 1:

Both players went into a dynamic types of positions ( Sicilian Najdorf by Ding Liren). with Kings on opposite sides. 

White to play in diagram above.

Hint: Magnus was looking at 27 Rf3 and 27Rf7+. Can you calculate the lines ?

Critical position 2 (analysis):

White had to evaluate 27Rf7+ Kf7 28 Qe6+ Kg7 leading to the following diagram, white to play.

can Black defend and what is White's best move ?

_____________________________________________________________________

Solution

_____________________________________________________________________

Magnus looked at 29 Qe7+ Kg8  30 Nxe5 but 30..Rh7! saves Black.

White would win by playing 29 Ne7! , and here's why:

if 29..Rab8 30 Qg6+ Kf8 31Rf1+ wins

if 29..Rh7 30 Rf1! Qc4 31 Qf7+ Kh8 32 Ng6 checkmate

if 29..Qxc4 30 Qg6+ Kf8 31 Nf5! Qe4+ 32 Ka1 wins.

in the game Magnus played 27Rf3 f5 28 gf6+ Nf6 29 Qg2 Qd7 which allowed Ding to come back into the game. But eventually Magnus won the game anyway.

Hikaru Nakamura wins against Danil Dubov on Magnus Final Tour tournament

 Hikaru Nakamura played a quite instructive game against Daniil Dubov and scored a key win in his match.

This is a rapid game played online in the chess24.com chess24 Magnus Finals tournament, in August 2020.

The Sveshnikov Variation has become very popular in master level chess

Hikaru is White, and Dubov is Black.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7

Nakamura continued with 10Bf6

They reached the following position after Black played 19..Qe8 to prevent b4-b5

White has a passed pawn on the b column and played 20 Be2. Dubov started counterplay with f7-f5 which is standard in this sicilian opening.

Eventually, they reached the following with white to play 

Hikaru played 31 Ne3! the best move of the game. It deprives black from the bishop pair and targets the d6 pawn. Also the knight will jump to c4-a5-c6 which will be hard to defend against, as the dark square bishop is weaker than White's knight

and here is the final key moment, White to Play

Here Hikaru played 38 Rdc1! with the idea Nc6. Black tried 38..Bf4. Hikaru continued 39 Qc8+ Rd8 40 Qxd8 queen sacrifice with advantage but either 39 Qc7 or 39Nc6 was winning on the spot .

Here's the full replay

and the game notation (PGN)

[Event "Carlsen Tour Final 2020"]

[Site "chess24.com INT"]

[Date "2020.08.10"]

[Round "1.23"]

[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]

[Black "Dubov, Daniil"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B33"]

[WhiteElo "2736"]

[BlackElo "2699"]

 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4

cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6

Bxf6 11. c3 Rb8 12. Nc2 Bg5 13. a4 bxa4 14. Ncb4 Nxb4 15. cxb4 Bd7 16. Bxa6 O-O

17. b3 axb3 18. Qxb3 Kh8 19. O-O Qe8 20. Be2 f5 21. exf5 Bxf5 22. b5 Be6 23.

Ra6 Qf7 24. Bc4 Rfd8 25. Rd1 e4 26. b6 Rf8 27. Ra2 Bd8 28. Rb2 Qh5 29. Qc2 Bf5

30. Qd2 Be6 31. Ne3 Bxc4 32. Nxc4 Bf6 33. Rbb1 Rfd8 34. b7 d5 35. Na5 Be5 36.

g3 Qg6 37. Qc2 Rd6 38. Rdc1 Bf4 39. Qc8+ Rd8 40. Qxd8+ Rxd8 41. Rc8 Qe8 42.

Rxd8 Qxd8 43. gxf4 1-0

advanced tactics puzzles

presenting more difficult tactics, how to conclude an attack

Position 1: White to play and win

replay solution 

solution here

Position 2 : White to play and win

 

 chp10 solution. can you find the right move ?

Position 3 : White to play and win

can you figure out a way to finish off with the white pieces ?

solution (ch14)