my game against Hikaru

I played a blitz game against GM Hikaru Nakamura I lost but this was quite instructive.

Airthings Masters : all the games in the preliminary

 chess24.com top tournament

Airthings Masters

MVL beats Nakamura Day 1

the players 

 the game

My game against Hikaru Nakamura : PGN and Animated replay

Replay available here

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 

 

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

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

Colle-Zukertort Yusupov style d4,b3,Bb2 and Ne5

Opening prep

Showing a few lines about the Yusupov pet line d4,b3,Bb2 set-up

The system looks like this for White

The idea is to develop along these lines for white and pretty much go for the attack.
Good repertoire for blitz/rapid or even bullet.

and this is what it leads to when played right

__________________________________________________________
Lets see 4 critical positions

POSITION 1

POSITION 2

POSITION 3

Position 4:

and now the 4 games in full

Nakamura-Carlsen Game 4 Annotated Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020

Hikaru with White must win to tie the match 2-2. He is trailing 1-2 in a rapid match of 4 games played online at chess24.com

First key moment

Black (Magnus) to play

Here Magnus saw that 16..c5 worked and would allow Black to equalize. Opening the position will favor the bishop pair.

Second key moment

White (Hikaru) to play 

Here Hikaru played 22bc5!? . He saw 22.Nc5 Nc5 23 bc5  Rdc8 with an extra pawn but the position has opposite bishops. Magnus would put his pieces on black pieces and his next moves would be easy to find. By playing 22bc5!? White keeps more pieces on the board.


Third key moment

White to play

Here Hikaru has an extra pawn and Knight versus Bishop instead of opposite bishops. Magnus drifted as the position was near equal around move 22. The position is now between draw and win for white and chess24.com commentators thought White had good chances to convert.
Here White rushed by playing 41.Ne5 on which Black played Bxe5 to enter the rook endgame. It was much stronger to play 41.a5 or 41 Kg2 to activate pieces. Black is passive and cannot start counterplay so White should improve his position patiently.


Fourth key moment

White to play

Here white played 43 Kg2?. This is a mistake from Hikaru as Magnus replied 43..g5 and later on ..h5 and ..g4. If Hikaru had played the best move 43 h4! , Magnus could have tried 43...h6  on which White would respond 44a5 g5 46 h5!. by not exchanging the h pawns, White would have another target the h6 pawn, on top of the threat of advancing the a pawn. This rook ending is winning for white.


in the end after 43 Kg2 g5! they continued but the game ended up in a draw by perpetual check. full game below.

[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational Final 4"]
[Site "chess24.com "]
[Date "2020.05.03"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D52"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5 7. Nd2 dxc4 8.
Bxf6 Nxf6 9. Nxc4 Qc7 10. Be2 Be7 11. a3 O-O 12. b4 Rd8 13. O-O b6 14. Bf3 Ba6
15. Qb3 Rac8 16. Rac1 c5 17. dxc5 Bxc4 18. Qxc4 bxc5 19. Na4 Nd7 20. Qb5 Qb8
21. Qxb8 Rxb8 22. bxc5 Rdc8 23. c6 Ne5 24. Rc3 Nxf3+ 25. gxf3 Kf8 26. Rd1 Ke8
27. Rd7 Bf6 28. Rc5 Rxc6 29. Rxa7 Rxc5 30. Nxc5 Be7 31. Ne4 f5 32. Ng3 g6 33.
a4 Kf7 34. Ne2 Kf6 35. Ra6 Rb2 36. Nf4 Kf7 37. Nd3 Ra2 38. Ra7 Kf6 39. f4 Bd6
40. Ra6 Ke7 41. Ne5 Bxe5 42. fxe5 Kd7 43. Kg2 g5 44. Rd6+ Ke7 45. Ra6 Kd7 46.
a5 h5 47. Rd6+ Ke7 48. a6 h4 49. Rb6 Kd7 50. Rd6+ Ke7 51. h3 Ra5 52. f4 g4 53.
Rb6 Ra2+ 54. Kh1 Ra1+ 55. Kg2 Ra2+ 56. Kf1 Ra1+ 57. Kg2 Ra2+ 1/2-1/2

Animated Game below

Carlsen-Nakamura Game 3 Analysis : Magnus Carlsen Invitational

after 2 games score was 1-1. Magnus is white against Hikaru. They play a Queen's Gambit again.

[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational Final 3"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2020.05.03"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2863"]
[BlackElo "2736"]


1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Be2 dxc4 8. O-O c5
9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Bxc4 a6 11. Ng5 b5

Here's the  first key moment after 11..b5

Magus prepared this line and uncorked 12 Be6! fe6 13Ne6 forking the Queen and Rook. Magnus gets Rook and two versus Bishop and Knight.

Second key moment after 17..Qd5 : can you guess what White (Magnus) played ?

18 f3! The point is that White needs to get f3,e4 in motion and play 4 pawns versus 2. Giving the a2 pawn is no big deal, as the two pieces against rook will struggle against pawn advances.

Position after Queens were exchanged (24...Ne8). White to play: what is the best move ?

Here Magnus played 25 Bb4! Excellent move, as praised  by Alexander Grischuk on air (chess.24 commentary with Jan G and Peter Svidler). White locks down pawns a6 and b5 and gets ready to get his kingside pawns rolling. Nakamura said it was a brilliant move by Magnus in his stream recap.Chess engines evaluation don't reflect the fact  it is very hard to defend and save for Black.

 Position after 25.Bb4!

Magnus kept pressing and here's another key moment after 34..a5, White to play

Magnus spotted the best move 35 Rd5! attacking b5 and h5. Hikaru thought a5-a4 was a threat but White is in time to grab several pawns. Next moves were 35..a4? 36 Rxh5 Nef4 37 Rg5

Last key position after 44...Bd3, White to play :

Here Magnus played 45.Kg6! threatening h5-h6 and avoiding 45 e5? Kf7 with Black trying to achieve a blockade on dark squares.

White ended up winning the game in 52 moves , 2-1 in the match with Hikaru in a must-win situation with White in Game 4.

[Event "Magnus Carlsen Invitational Final 3"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2863"]
[BlackElo "2736"]

 1. d4Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Be2 dxc4 8. O-O c5
9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Bxc4 a6 11. Ng5 b5 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Nxe6 Qe7 14. Nxf8 Qxf8
15. Ne4 Bb7 16. Nxc5 Qxc5 17. Rc1 Qd5 18. f3 Qxa2 19. e4 Nf8 20. Rf2 Rc8 21.
Rxc8 Bxc8 22. Qd8 Qe6 23. Bd6 Qe8 24. Qxe8 Nxe8 25. Bb4 Ne6 26. Rd2 Kf7 27. Kf2
Nf6 28. Ke3 g5 29. Rd6 Nd7 30. g3 Ne5 31. b3 h5 32. h4 gxh4 33. gxh4 Ng6 34.
Be1 a5 35. Rd5 a4 36. Rxh5 Nef4 37. Rg5 axb3 38. h5 Nf8 39. Bc3 b4 40. Bb2 N8e6
41. Rf5+ Kg8 42. Rxf4 Nxf4 43. Kxf4 Ba6 44. Kg5 Bd3 45. Kg6 Bb5 46. f4 Be8+ 47.
Kg5 Bc6 48. e5 Bd5 49. f5 Kh7 50. e6 Bc4 51. Kf6 Be2 52. Ke7 1-0

Nakamura-Carlsen Rapid Game- Chess24 Magnus Invitational

This is a rapid game played online April 2020 where Nakamura won against Carlsen.

Game below. Brilliant play by Nakamura with White in this spanish opening game

Carlsen ended up winning the game on tie-break after 2-2 in the rapid match.




Nakamura-Carlsen Rapid Game April 2020- Chess24 Magnus Invitational

Carlsen-Nakamura Wijk 2011 Key Variation Explained

Example of GM Carlsen Attack:

Carlsen again Nakamura in 2011  played 30g7! what are ideas behind this move ?

Position after 30 g7! - Black to move

Carlsen-Nakamura Wijk Aan Zee 2011

Nakamura tried 30..Be7 31 Rh6 Nf7 32 Qg6! and lost quickly.
A) Whatif Naka simply tried 30..Bxg7 in the diagram above ? Carlsen would play 31Nf5 Rc7 32 Nh6+ with discovery checks to follow winning the queen
B) What happens after 30..Nf731 gf8+ Kf8 32 Nf5 Qe5 and we reach position Analysis I

White to play and win - Position I

Solution below

________________________________________________
------------------------------------------------
________________________________________________

33 Nh6!! leaving the queen en prise because of Rf7 with mate.

Position II after White's 33th move

33.. Rc7 34 Qg6! renewing the threat on f7 34..Qe6 35 Qh7! wins for White

The threat is Rhg1 and if 35..Ke7 36Re1! wins the queen on the e-column.


This is why Nakamura played 30..Be7 but lost anyway

Amber Chess 2011 (Monaco)

Official site: Amber Chess Tournament here

And the winner of the 2011 edition is Levon Aronian. Congratulations to the armenian GM who came first ahead of top players such as Anand, Kramnik, Carlsen ...

King's Indian Defense & Attack by Hikaru Nakamaru today !

Fireworks start around move 20 ! A few comments on the following site:
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1554908

I'd say that in the pure tradition of former world champs Robert J. Fischer and Gary K. Kasparov, Nakamura has now created his own KI Brilliancy !!

Beliavsky-Nakamura Amsterdam 2009 , after 28 Ba7
Black to play 28...?

You can play through older but classic King's Indian Defence games here, including the famous Kasparov wins against Korchnoi and Piket: http://games.top10chess.com/kingsindiandefence.htm

Quick attacking repertoire against the Pirc

A little introduction to the Austrian attack against the Pirc. Even though this blog is primarily focused on tactics, the following opening primer is geared at creating tactical and sharp positions from White's perspective.
It also gives supporting material to the tactical puzzle Nakamura-Smirin presented in an earlier post ( look for tag Nakamura to see previous Naka puzzles !)
http://www.top10chess.com/2008/05/tactical-quiz-easy-medium-level.html

1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 g6 4 f4 Bg7 5 Nf3



A) Black can simply castle here 5..0-0
6 e5 Nfd7 7 h4 !?
Start of the attack.



7..c5 8 h5 cd4 9 hg6 dc3 10 gf7+ Rf7 11 Bc4
This is the tabiya (key position) in this variation.


Here Black can play 11..Nf8 or 11..e6. Current theory suggests the latter is better.
The Nakamura-Smirin Foxwoods 2005 game featured 11..Nf8 with a spectacular win for White ( 22 moves !).

B)

5..c5 Black delays castle to react in the center

6 Bb5+



After 6..Bd7 7 Bd7+ Black can recapture in two different ways

B1)7.. Nbd7 8 d5 0-0 9 0-0 Ne8 10 Kh1

White has attacking prospects with f4-f5. See Le Quang-Gurevich 2008 for more.

B2)7.. Nfd7 8 d5 Na6 9 Qe2 0-0 10 0-0


White has a pleasant position. See Shirov-Hulak 1992 for more.



NOTE:
In Variation B ( 5..c5 6 Bb5+ Bd7 ), I chose 7 Bd7+ but the main theoretical move is 7 e5. Here's an important game for this continuation ( 18 f5 and 20 f6 are typical of this variation ):

[Event "Dortmund"]
[Date "1994.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Artur Yusupov"]
[Black "Michael Adams"]


1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5
Ng4 8.Bxd7+ Qxd7 9.d5 dxe5 10.h3 e4 11.Nxe4 Nf6 12.Nxf6+ Bxf6
13.O-O O-O 14.Be3 Na6 15.Ne5 Qd6 16.Ng4 Bxb2 17.Rb1 Bg7 18.f5
Nc7 19.Rxb7 Nxd5 20.f6 exf6 21.c4 h5 22.Nh6+ Kh7 23.Nf5 gxf5
24.cxd5 Kg8 25.Rxf5 Qa6 26.Qb1 Rfe8 27.Bf2 Re5 28.Rb8+ Rxb8
29.Qxb8+ Kh7 30.Qb1 Kg8 31.Qb8+ Kh7 32.Qb1 Kg8 33.Rxe5 fxe5
34.Qb8+ Kh7 35.Qc7 Qxa2 36.Qxf7 Qb1+ 37.Kh2 Qg6 38.Qxa7 c4
39.Qc7 Qd3 40.d6 c3 41.d7 c2 42.Be3 Qxe3 43.Qxc2+ e4 44.Qc7
1-0

Nakamura's 7.5/8 in French team championships

Here's Hikaru's game-per-game results:

Nakamura-David (2603) 1-0
Marcelin(2495)- Nakamura 1/2-1/2
Nakamura-Maze(2571) 1-0
Delcev(2648)-Nakamura 0-1
Nakamura-Bauer(2605) 1-0
Nakamura-Krasenkow(2622) 1-0
Fontaine(2546)- Nakamura 0-1
Hamdouchi(2596)- Nakamura 0-1

[Event "Top16 Mulhouse2"]
[Date "2009.04.30"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Alberto, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2699"]
[BlackElo "2603"]


1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Be7 7. f4 d6 8. Be3
Nf6 9. N1d2 Nc6 10. Qe2 Nb4 11. O-O O-O 12. Bd4 Nxd3 13. cxd3 b5 14. Rfc1 a5
15. Bf2 e5 16. fxe5 dxe5 17. Nf3 Bg4 18. d4 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 a4 20. dxe5 Nd7 21.
Nd4 Nxe5 22. Qg3 Bf6 23. Nxb5 Rb8 24. Rd1 Rxb5 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Rf1 h5 27. Be1
Rd3 28. Qf2 Nf3+ 29. Kh1 Rxb2 30. Qc5 Nd2 31. Bxd2 Rdxd2 32. Qc8+ Kh7 33. Qh3
Kg8 34. Qf3 Rb5 35. a3 h4 36. h3 Rb3 37. Qf5 Rg3 38. Rc1 Rgd3 39. Rc7 Rd8 40.
Rc1 Rd1+ 41. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 42. Kh2 Bd4 43. Qc8+ Kh7 44. g4 Rd2+ 45. Kh1 Rd3 46.
Qd7 Rxh3+ 47. Kg2 Rg3+ 48. Kh2 Bg1+ 49. Kh1 f6 50. Qxa4 Rxg4 51. Qd1 Rg3 52.
Qxg1 Rxa3 53. Qb1 Rh3+ 54. Kg2 Rg3+ 55. Kf2 Kh8 56. e5 fxe5 57. Qf5 Kg8 58.
Qxe5 Kh8 59. Qf5 Kg8 60. Qe4 Rg5 61. Kf3 h3 62. Kf4 Rg1 63. Qe6+ Kf8 64. Qc8+
Kf7 65. Qc4+ Kg6 66. Qd3+ Kf7 67. Qd5+ Kg6 68. Qf5+ Kh6 69. Qxh3+ Kg6 70. Qf5+
Kh6 71. Qh3+ Kg6 72. Qd3+ Kh6 73. Kf5 Kh7 74. Ke6+ Kg8 75. Qc4 Rg2 76. Ke7+ 1-0


[Event "Top16 Mulhouse2"]
[Date "2009.05.01"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Marcelin, Cyril"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2495"]


1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Be3 Bg7 4. Nc3 a6 5. Nf3 b5 6. Bd3 Bb7 7. h3 Nd7 8. Ne2 c5
9. c3 Ngf6 10. Ng3 h5 11. d5 c4 12. Bc2 Nc5 13. Ng5 h4 14. Ne2 Rh5 15. Qb1 Nfd7
16. f4 e5 17. Nf3 a5 18. O-O b4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Top16 Mulhouse2"]
[Date "2009.05.2"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Maze, Sebastien"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2701"]
[BlackElo "2571"]

1. g3 Nf6 2. Bg2 d5 3. d3 Bf5 4. c4 c6 5. Qb3 Bc8 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Nc3 e6 8. e4
dxe4 9. dxe4 Nc6 10. Nge2 Bc5 11. O-O O-O 12. Na4 Be7 13. Rd1 Qa5 14. Bd2 Qa6
15. Nac3 e5 16. Bf1 Qb6 17. Qxb6 axb6 18. Bg5 Bg4 19. h3 Bxe2 20. Bxe2 Nd4 21.
Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Bg4 g6 23. h4 Be7 24. Nd5 Bd8 25. Rd3 f5 26. exf5 gxf5 27. Bh3
Bf6 28. Bg2 Rac8 29. Rad1 Bg7 30. f4 exf4 31. Rxd4 Bxd4+ 32. Rxd4 fxg3 33. Bf3
f4 34. Kg2 Kh8 35. Rb4 Rf5 36. Nxf4 Kg8 37. Ne2 Kf8 38. Rb3 b5 39. Nd4 Rfc5 40.
Kxg3 Kg8 41. Kh3 1-0

[Event "Top 16 Mulhouse2"]
[Date "2009.05.3"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Delchev, Aleksander"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2648"]
[BlackElo "2701"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Be3 Bg7 4. Nc3 a6 5. f4 b5 6. Bd3 Bb7 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. e5 c5
9. Be4 Qc8 10. Bxb7 Qxb7 11. dxc5 dxe5 12. Qd5 Qxd5 13. Nxd5 Rc8 14. Nb6 Nxb6
15. cxb6 Nf6 16. O-O-O Ng4 17. b7 Rb8 18. Bb6 f6 19. Rd8+ Kf7 20. Rd7 Bh6 21.
g3 exf4 22. Kb1 Ne5 23. Nxe5+ fxe5 24. Ba7 Ke6 25. Rhd1 f3 26. Rc7 e4 27. Rdd7
Rhe8 28. a3 Bg5 29. h4 e3 30. Bxb8 f2 31. Ba7 f1=Q+ 32. Ka2 e2 0-1


[Event "TOP 16 Poule Haute"]
[Date "2009.05.28"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "Bauer, Ch"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "2701"]
[BlackElo "2605"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Bc4 Bg4 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Bb5 Nd5 8.
Qd3 Ndb4 9. Qe4 Bxf3 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. gxf3 e6 12. Bd2 Qa6 13. Ne2 Nd5 14. b3
Nf6 15. Qe3 O-O-O 16. c4 Nd7 17. Bc3 c5 18. Rd1 cxd4 19. Nxd4 Bc5 20. Qe4 Nb8
21. O-O Qb7 22. b4 Bxd4 23. Bxd4 Nc6 24. Bc5 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Nxd8
27. Qxh7 Qxf3 28. Qxg7 Qe4 29. h3 Qxc4 30. Be7 Nc6 31. Qxf7 Nd4 32. Bc5 Nf5 33.
a4 a6 34. Qg8+ Kd7 35. Qg4 Qc1+ 36. Kg2 a5 37. Qe4 Qg5+ 38. Kh2 axb4 39. Bxb4
Nd6 40. Bxd6 cxd6 41. Qb7+ Kd8 42. Qb8+ Ke7 43. Qc7+ 1-0

[Event "TOP 16 Poule Haute"]
[Date "2009.05.29"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "Krasenkow, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2701"]
[BlackElo "2622"]


1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Bb3 Bb6 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. h3
Ne7 9. Nf1 Ng6 10. Ng3 c6 11. O-O d5 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. exd5 cxd5 15.
Bxd5 Nf4 16. Be4 Qd6 17. d4 f5 18. Bc2 e4 19. Ne5 Bc7 20. Nh5 Ng6 21. f4 exf3
22. Nxf3 Be6 23. Re1 Rae8 24. Bb3 Kh7 25. Bxe6 Rxe6 26. Qd3 Qc6 27. d5 Qb6+ 28.
Kh1 Rxe1+ 29. Rxe1 Qxb2 30. d6 Bb6 31. c4 Qxa2 32. Qd5 Qa5 33. Qxb7 Qc3 34. Kh2
Bd4 35. Qd5 Bb6 36. Re6 Qc1 37. Qb7 Qa1 38. Re1 Qb2 39. c5 1-0



[Event "TOP 16 Poule Haute"]
[Date "2009.05.30"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Fontaine, R."]
[Black "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2546"]
[BlackElo "2701"]


1. d4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. c3 Nf6 5. Nbd2 O-O 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O e5 8. dxe5
Nxe5 9. Nxe5 dxe5 10. Nc4 Qe7 11. a4 Nh5 12. Re1 Nf4 13. Bxf4 exf4 14. e5 Be6
15. Bf1 Qg5 16. Nd2 Rfd8 17. Nf3 Rxd1 18. Nxg5 Rxe1 19. Rxe1 Bb3 20. a5 b6 21.
a6 Rd8 22. Nf3 c5 23. Bb5 h6 24. h3 Kf8 25. Kf1 Ke7 26. Ke2 Ke6 27. Nd2 Bd5 28.
f3 Bxe5 29. Nc4 Bc7 30. Rd1 Ke7 31. Na3 Be6 32. Rxd8 Kxd8 33. Kd3 Bd6 34. Nc4
Ke7 35. Nd2 g5 36. Ne4 f6 37. Ke2 Be5 38. Nd2 Bd7 39. Bxd7 Kxd7 40. Kd3 b5 41.
c4 b4 42. Kc2 Kc6 43. h4 f5 44. hxg5 hxg5 45. Nb3 Kb6 46. Nc1 Bd4 47. Nd3 Kxa6
48. Kb3 Ka5 49. Ne1 Be5 50. Nd3 Bd6 51. Nf2 Kb6 52. Ka4 Be5 53. Nd3 Bc7 54. Kb3
Kc6 55. Ka4 a6 56. Kb3 Kd6 57. Kc2 Bb6 58. Kb3 Ke6 59. Kc2 Kf6 60. Nc1 Kg6 61.
Kd2 a5 62. b3 Kf6 63. Nd3 Ke6 64. Nb2 Bd8 65. Na4 Kd6 66. Kd3 Bf6 67. Nb6 Kc6
68. Na4 Be7 69. Ke2 Kd6 70. Nb6 Ke6 71. Na4 Kf7 72. Kf1 Kg6 73. Nb2 Bf6 74. Nd3
Bd4 75. Nc1 Be3 76. Nd3 Kh5 77. Ne5 Bd4 78. Nd3 Kh4 79. Nc1 Be3 80. Nd3 Kg3 81.
Ne1 g4 82. fxg4 fxg4 83. Ke2 Bf2 84. Nd3 Bd4 85. Ne1 Be3 86. Kf1 Kh2 87. Nd3 f3
88. gxf3 g3 89. Ne1 a4 0-1


[Event "TOP 16 Poule Haute"]
[Date "2009.05.31"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Hamdouchi, H."]
[Black "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B75"]
[WhiteElo "2596"]
[BlackElo "2701"]


1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 a6 8. Qd2
Nbd7 9. a3 b5 10. a4 b4 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. exd5 Bb7 13. Nc6 Bxc6 14. dxc6 Ne5 15.
Qxb4 Nxc6 16. Qa3 d5 17. Rb1 Bd4 18. Bxd4 Nxd4 19. Bd3 Qb6 20. a5 Qa7 21. Qa4+
Kf8 22. O-O Nxf3+ 23. Kh1 Nd2 24. Rxf7+ Kxf7 25. Qf4+ Kg7 26. Qe5+ Kh6 27. Qf4+
g5 28. Qxd2 e5 29. Re1 Qe7 30. Bf5 Rad8 31. Re3 Kg7 32. Qe2 e4 33. Qxa6 Rd6 34.
Qe2 h5 35. g4 hxg4 36. Qxg4 Rh4 37. Qg3 Rf4 38. Bh3 d4 39. Re1 Qf6 40. Qg1 d3
41. cxd3 exd3 42. Rd1 d2 43. Bg2 Ra4 44. b4 Rxb4 45. a6 Rxa6 0-1

U.S Grandmasters (Tactical Quiz)

Special Tactical Quiz from U.S grandmasters participating in the upcoming 2009 U.S Championship ( http://www.uschess.org )

GM Hikaru Nakamura

I-Nemeth-Nakamura 2009
Black to play and win


II-Nakamura-Mikhalevsky 2007
White to play and win

GM Gata Kamsky

III-Kamsky-Bacrot 2007
White to play and win


IV-Kamsky-Krai 2007
White to play and win

GM Alexander Shabalov

V-Shabalov-Arenas 2008
White to play and win



VI-Izoria-Shabalov 2007
Black to play and win

IM versus GM, upset games

Once in a while, we see the underdog ( e.g. the lower rated player) win. Here are three games, where the International Master beats the Grandmaster. In each case, the rating difference is about 200 points, which makes the performance noteworthy. The games themselves are spectacular as well.

[Site "Hoogeveen NED 2007"]
[White "Hillarp Persson,T"]
[Black "Grooten,H"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2567"]
[BlackElo "2350"]
[ECO "B90"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. f3 Nc6 9. g4 O-O 10. O-O-O Nxd4 11. Bxd4 b5 12. g5 Nd7 13. h4 Rb8 14. Be3 Qa5 15. Kb1 b4 16. Ne2 Nc5 17. Nd4 Bb7 18. h5 Rfd8 19. g6 Bf6 20. gxf7+ Kxf7 21. Rg1 Na4 22. Bh3 Nc3+ 23. bxc3 bxc3 24. Nb3 Bxe4 25. Qc1 Rxb3+ 26. axb3 Rb8 27. fxe4 Rxb3+ 28. cxb3 c2+ 0-1

Position after 27 fxe4. Black to play and win


















Hillarp Persson-Grooten



[Event "TCh-FRA Top 16 Poule Haute 2008"]
[White "Bergez,L"]
[Black "Apicella,M"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2367"]
[BlackElo "2533"]
[ECO "E91"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Na6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 Qe8 9. e5 Nd7 10. Bg3 dxe5 11. dxe5 e6 12. Qd2 Qe7 13. O-O-O Qb4 14. h4 Qa5 15. h5 g5 16. Nxg5 Nxe5 17. Nf3 Nc6 18. Bf4 Kh7 19. g4 Nab4 20. g5 Bxc3 21. bxc3 Rd8 22. g6+ Kh8 23. Qxd8+ Nxd8 24. Be5+ 1-0

Position after 21..Rd8. White to play and win


















Bergez-Apicella


[Event "ch-USA GpA 2006"]
[White "Nakamura,H"]
[Black "Friedel,J"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2644"]
[BlackElo "2455"]
[ECO "A09"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 c6 3. e3 e6 4. Qc2 Bd6 5. Nc3 f5 6. h3 Nf6 7. g4 O-O 8. gxf5 exf5 9. b3 Qe7 10. Bb2 Na6 11. Rg1 Bd7 12. cxd5 Nb4 13. Qb1 cxd5 14. a3 Nc6 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bc4 Be6 17. Rxg7+Qxg7 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Qb2+ Rf6 20. O-O-O h6 21. d3 Kf7 22. e4 fxe4 23. dxe4 Rxf3 24. exd5 Bf4+ 25. Kb1 Bf5+ 26. Ka2 Ne5 27. d6+ Kg6 28. Be2 Rxh3 29. Qd4 Rf8 30. Bb5 Be6 31. Qe4+ Kh5 32. Be2+ Kh4 33. d7 Bxd7 34. Rxd7 Nxd7 35. Qe7+ Bg5 36. Qxd7 Rf4 37. f3 Rh2 38. Qd3 Kg3 39. b4 Rf2 40. Kb1 Kg2 41. Bd1 Bh4 42. Qg6+ Bg3 43. Bc2 h5 44. Qxh5 Rc4 45. Be4 Rd4 46. f4+ Rxe4 47. Qd5 Rfe2 48. Qxb7 Kg1 0-1

Position after 45 Be4. Black to play and win


















Nakamura-Friedel

Tactical Quiz (Easy Level)

Here are 3 new positions for you to solve, starting from easy to medium level of difficulty. All are about attacking the king. The first exercize features GM Botvinnik, the second GM Piket and the last is from the analysis of a game from GM Nakamura ( Nakamura-Smirin to be precise) . That's a prestigious roster if you ask me!

Calculate well !

1.White to play and win

2.White to play and win

3.White to play and win

Feel free to post in the Comments section if you need a hint or the solution to any of the positions above!