ROUND 7 FIDE CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT 2020

Caruana – Wang  DRAW

Vachier-Lagrave – Nepomniachi  WHITE WINS

Ding – Alekseenko  DRAW

Giri – Grischuk  DRAW

Game one is between Fabiano Caruana with White against Hao Wang with Black.

This game features a Petroff Defence. To learn more about the Petroff Defence, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Caruana,Fabiano (2842) - Wang,Hao (2762)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (7.1), 25.03.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 0–0 8.Qd2 C42: Petroff Defence: 3 Nxe5 and unusual White 3rd moves. 

8...Nd7 9.0–0–0 Nf6 The modern move. 

10.Bd3 c5 11.Rhe1 Be6 12.Kb1 Qa5 13.c4 Qxd2 14.Nxd2 Rad8N [14...Rfe8 15.f3 Rad8 16.a4 b6 17.b3 h6 18.Ne4 d5 19.cxd5 Nxd5 20.Bd2 Nc7 ½–½ (30) Razumikhin,A (2433)-Serner,A (2409) ICCF email 2019] 

15.f3 b6 16.g4 d5 17.g5 Nh5 18.cxd5 Bxd5 19.Ne4 f5 20.gxf6 Nxf6 21.Bg5 Kf7 22.Ng3 c4 23.Bf1 b5 24.a4 a6 25.axb5 axb5 26.Nf5 Bc5 27.Re5 Bxf3 28.Rxd8 Rxd8 29.Rxc5 Rd1+ Double Attack 

30.Ka2 Rxf1 31.Rxb5 c3 32.Bxf6 Kxf6 33.Ne3 Rf2 34.Rf5+ Ke6 35.Ka3 cxb2 36.Kxb2 h5 [36...Rxc2+!µ 37.Kb3 Ba8] 

37.h4 Rxc2+! 38.Kxc2 [38.Kb3= remains equal.] 

38...Be4+ Double Attack 

39.Kd2 Bxf5 40.Ke2 Ke5³ 41.Kf3 Bd3 ½–½

Game two is between Maxime Vachler-Lagrave with White against Ian Nepomniachi with Black.

This game features a French Defence. To learn more about the French Defence, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Vachier Lagrave,Maxime (2767) - Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2774)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (7.2), 25.03.2020

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 6...Qa5 deserves study. 7.h4 Qc7 8.h5 C18: French: 3 Nc3 Bb4: Main line: 7 h4 and 7 Qg4. 

8...h6 9.Rb1 b6 10.Qg4 Rg8 11.Bb5+ Kf8N [11...Bd7 12.Bd3 Nf5 13.Qf4 Nc6 14.Bxf5 exf5 15.e6 Qxf4 16.exd7+ Kxd7 17.Bxf4 cxd4 18.cxd4 Nxd4 1–0 (36) Bartel,M (2629)-Jaroch,K (2254) Zgierz 2017] 

12.Bd3 Ba6 13.dxc5 Bxd3 14.cxd3 Nd7 15.d4 bxc5 16.Qd1 Qa5 17.Bd2 Rb8 18.Ne2 c4 19.0–0 Rb6 20.Qc2 Rh8 21.a4 Ke8 22.Rb4 Nc6 23.f4 Ne7 [But not 23...Nxb4 24.cxb4 Qa6 25.b5=] 

24.Rfb1 f5 25.Rb5 Qa6 26.Bc1 Kf7 27.Ba3 Rhb8 

XABCDEFGHY
8-tr-+-+-+(
7zp-+nsnkzp-'
6qtr-+p+-zp&
5+R+pzPp+P%
4P+pzP-zP-+$
3vL-zP-+-+-#
2-+Q+N+P+"
1+R+-+-mK-!
xabcdefghy

28.Bxe7! Kxe7 29.g4! Rxb5 30.axb5 Rxb5 31.gxf5 Rxb1+ 32.Qxb1 exf5 33.Ng3 [White should play 33.Kf2+- ] 

33...Qb6 34.Nxf5+ Kf8 35.Qa1 Qe6 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-mk-+(
7zp-+n+-zp-'
6-+-+q+-zp&
5+-+pzPN+P%
4-+pzP-zP-+$
3+-zP-+-+-#
2-+-+-+-+"
1wQ-+-+-mK-!
xabcdefghy

[¹35...Kg8 36.Ne3 Nf8] 

36.Ng3! Qg4 37.Kg2 Qxf4 38.Qxa7 Ke7 39.Qa3+ Kd8 40.Qd6 g5 41.hxg6 h5 42.g7 1–0

Game three is between Liren Ding with White against Kirill Alekseenko with Black.

This game features a Catalan Opening. To learn more about the Catalan Opening, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Ding,Liren (2805) - Alekseenko,Kirill (2698)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (7.3), 25.03.2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Be7 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 0–0 7.0–0 Nbd7 8.Qc2 c6 9.Bf4 [9.Rc1 a5 10.a3 h6 11.e3 Re8 12.b3 a4 13.b4 Ne4 14.c5 Bf6 15.Nc3 e5 16.Nxe4 dxe4 17.Nxe5 Nxe5 18.dxe5 Bxe5 19.Bc3 Bxc3 20.Qxc3 Bg4 21.Ra2 ½–½ (70) Ding,L (2811)-Alekseenko,K (2671) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019] 

9...b6 10.Rd1 Ba6 E08: Closed Catalan: Main Line: 7 Qc2. 

11.Nbd2 Rc8 12.Rac1 Nh5 13.Be3 Nhf6 14.Bg5 Bb7 15.Ne5N [15.Qb1 h6 16.Bxf6 Nxf6 17.e4 dxc4 18.Nxc4 b5 19.Ne3 Qb6 20.b4 a5 21.a3 Rfd8 22.e5 Nd5 23.Ne1 axb4 24.Bxd5 bxa3 1–0 (31) Joie,S (2363)-Monceau,E (1987) Charleville Mezieres 2017] 

15...Nxe5 16.dxe5 Ng4 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.Nf3 f6 19.exf6 Nxf6 20.Bh3 Rce8 21.Qa4 c5 22.b4 cxb4 23.Qxa7 Ne4 24.Qxb6 Nc3 Double Attack 

25.Re1! dxc4 26.a3! Bd5 [Black should try 26...Nxe2+!= 27.Rxe2 Bxf3 28.Rxe6 Qg5 29.Rxc4 Rb8] 

27.Qxb4 Qxb4 28.axb4 Nxe2+ 29.Rxe2 Rxf3 30.Bg2 Rff8 31.Rd2 Rb8 32.Bxd5 exd5 33.Rxd5 Rxb4 34.Rc2 Rc8 35.Kf1 c3 36.Ke2 Rb7 37.Rd3 Rb2 38.Kd1 Rb1+ 39.Ke2 Rb2 40.Kd1= Rb1+ ½–½

Game four is between Anish Giri with White against Alexander Grischuk with Black.

This game features an English Opening. To learn more about the English Opening, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Giri,Anish (2763) - Grischuk,Alexander (2777)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (7.4), 25.03.2020

1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Nd4 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.Nc2 A20: English Opening: 1...e5. 

6...Nf6 7.Nc3 Qe5 8.Bg2 Na6 9.0–0 Be7 10.Ne3N [10.d3 exd3 11.Qxd3 Nc5 12.Qd4 Qxd4 13.Nxd4 0–0 14.Bf4 g6 15.b4 Ne6 16.Nxe6 Bxe6 1–0 (64) Tomashevsky,E (2705)-Grischuk,A (2777) Moscow 2019] 

10...h5 11.d4 exd3! 12.exd3 Qd4 13.Nc2 Qg4 14.Bf4 Qxd1 15.Raxd1 Bg4 16.Rd2 0–0–0 17.d4 Nc7 18.Ne3 Be6 19.d5 Ncxd5 20.Ncxd5 Nxd5 21.Nxd5 Bxd5 22.Rxd5 Rxd5 23.Bxd5 cxd5 24.Rc1+ Kd7 25.Rc7+ Ke6 26.Rxb7 Rc8 27.Rxa7 Rc2 28.Be3 Bf6 29.Ra4 Bxb2 30.Kg2 d4= 31.Bxd4 Bxd4 32.Rxd4 Rxa2 33.Re4+ Kf6 34.Rf4+ Ke6 35.Re4+ Kf6 36.Rf4+ Ke6 37.Re4+ Kf6 38.Rf4+ Ke6 39.h4 g6 40.Re4+ Kf6 ½–½

ROUND 6 FIDE CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT 2020

Grischuk – Caruana  DRAW

Alekseenko – Giri  BLACK WINS!

Nepomniachi – Ding  WHITE WINS!

Wang –  Vachier-Lagrave  DRAW

Game one is between Alexander Grischuk with White against Fabiano Caruana with Black.

This game features a Ruy Lopez. To learn more about the Ruy Lopez, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Grischuk,Alexander (2777) - Caruana,Fabiano (2842)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (6.1), 23.03.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 [5.Kf1] 5...b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 [Not 7...Nxe4? 8.axb5 Ne7 9.Nxe5+-] 

8.c3 d6 [Of course not 8...Nxe4 9.Qe2±] 

9.d4 Bb6 10.a5 C78: Ruy Lopez: Archangelsk and Möller Defences. 

10...Ba7 11.h3 0–0 12.Be3 Re8 13.Ng5N Rf8 14.Nf3 Re8 now supersedes 14...Ra8. 

15.Re1 [15.dxe5² Bxe3 16.exf6 (16.fxe3 Nxe5 17.Nbd2 Bb7µ) 16...Bh6 17.fxg7 Qf6 18.Nh2 Ne5 19.Qh5 Nc4 20.Bc2 Qxg7 21.Ng4 Bxg4 22.hxg4 b4 23.b3 Rb5 ½–½ (21) Libiszewski,F (2458)-Guadalpi,D (2281) Aix les Bains 2003] 

15...exd4 [But not 15...Nxe4?! 16.d5±] 

16.cxd4 Nxe4 17.d5 Bxe3 18.Rxe3 Na7! 19.Qd4 Bf5 20.Nbd2 Nc5 21.Rxe8+ Qxe8 22.Re1 Qf8 23.Bd1 b4 24.Be2 Qd8 25.Bf1 h6 26.Re3 b3 27.Qf4 Bd7 28.Nd4 Rb4 29.Rg3 Qe7 30.Bc4 [Not 30.Qxh6? Qe5–+ Double Attack] 

30...Nb5 31.N4xb3 Nxb3 32.Rxb3 Qe1+ 33.Kh2! Rxb3 34.Nxb3 Qb4 35.Qe4 c5 36.Qd3 [Wrong is 36.dxc6? Be6!–+] 

36...g6 37.g4 Kg7 38.Kg2 Nc7 [38...Bc8µ] 

39.Qc3+ Qxc3 40.bxc3 f5 41.Nd2 Kf6 42.Kg3 Bb5 43.Bb3 Be2 44.gxf5 gxf5 45.f4 Nb5 46.c4 Nc3 47.Bc2 Bd1 48.Bd3 Na2 49.Kf2 Nb4 50.Ke3 Bc2 51.Be2 Na2 52.Nf1 Nc1 53.Kd2 Nxe2= 54.Kxe2 Ba4 ½–½

Game two is between Kirill Alekseenko with White against Anish Giri with Black.

This game features a Giucco Piano. To learn more about the Giucco Piano, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Alekseenko,Kirill (2698) - Giri,Anish (2763)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (6.2), 23.03.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0–0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 0–0 7.Re1 outshines the older 7.Bb3. 

7...a5 C54: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3. 

8.Nbd2 Be6 9.Bb5 Ba7!? The position is equal. An interesting side line. 

10.Nf1 Ne7 11.Ng3 c6 12.Ba4 Ng6 13.h3 d5 14.exd5 Nxd5 15.Bc2 Qc7 16.d4 exd4! 17.Nxd4 Rae8 18.Bg5 Ndf4 19.Qd2 Bd5 20.Rxe8 [20.Bxg6 is more complex. 20...Nxg6 21.Ndf5 f6 22.Be3 Bxe3 23.Rxe3 Rxe3 24.Nxe3 Be6 25.Qc2] 

20...Rxe8 21.Re1 [21.Bxg6!= Nxg6 22.Ndf5] 

21...Re5N [21...Rxe1+µ 22.Qxe1 Qb8; 21...Rxe1+ 22.Qxe1 Ne6 23.Be3 Bxd4 24.cxd4 Nh4 25.Ne4 f5 26.f3 Qe7 27.Bf2 Nxf3+ 28.gxf3 fxe4 29.Bxe4 Bxe4 30.Qxe4 0–1 (51) Grandelius,N (2687)-Hovhannisyan,R (2630) Reykjavik 2019] 

22.Bxf4= Rxe1+ 23.Qxe1 Qxf4 24.Qe8+ Nf8 25.Bb3 Bxd4 26.cxd4 Bxb3 27.axb3 Qf6 [27...h6 with more complications. 28.Qe3 Ne6 29.Ne2 Qf5 30.Qd2 Qb5] 

28.Qe4 g6 29.Ne2 Ne6 30.h4 h5 31.g3 Qd8 32.Qe5 Qb6 33.d5 cxd5 34.Qxd5 Kf8 35.Nc3 Qc7 36.Ne4 Qc1+ 37.Kg2 Qxb2 38.Qd7 b6 39.Nd6 Qf6 40.Qe8+! Kg7 41.Qd7 Black must now prevent Ne8+. 

41...Kg8 42.Qe8+! Nf8 43.Qc6! Qd8 44.Nc4 [44.Nb7!= Qd3 45.Qxb6] 

44...Ne6 [44...Qd7!µ 45.Qxd7 Nxd7] 

45.Nxb6 Nd4 Double Attack 

46.Qc5 [46.Qb7= remains equal.] 

46...Nxb3µ 47.Qb5 Nd2 48.Qxa5 Qd3 (Qf1+) 

49.Qa1 Qe4+ 50.Kg1 Nf3+ 51.Kf1 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+k+(
7+-+-+p+-'
6-sN-+-+p+&
5+-+-+-+p%
4-+-+q+-zP$
3+-+-+nzP-#
2-+-+-zP-+"
1wQ-+-+K+-!
xabcdefghy

51...Nxh4! 52.Qa8+ [52.gxh4 Qh1+] 

52...Qxa8 53.Nxa8 Endgame KN-KN 

53...Nf3 54.Kg2 Ne5 [54...Nd4 feels hotter. 55.f4 f6 56.Nc7 Kf7 57.Nd5 Nf5] 

55.f4 Ng4 56.Nb6 Kf8 57.Nd5 Ke8 58.Nc3 Ke7 59.Ne4 Ne3+ 60.Kf3 Nc4 61.Ng5 Kf6 62.Ne4+ Kf5 63.Nf2 Nd2+ 64.Ke3 Nf1+ 65.Kf3 Nh2+ 66.Kg2 Ng4 And now ...Nxf2 would win. 

67.Nh3 f6 68.Kf3 Ke6 69.Ke4 Kd6 70.Ng1 Kc5 71.Kd3 Nh6 72.Ke3 Nf5+ 73.Kf3 Kc4 74.Nh3 Nd4+ 75.Ke3 Nf5+ 76.Kf3 Kd4 77.Nf2 Nd6 78.Nh3 [78.Nd1µ] 

78...Ne4 [78...Kd3–+ 79.Nf2+ Kd2] 

79.Ng1 Kd3 80.Kg2 Nd2 Threatens to win with ...Ke3. 

81.Kf2 Ke4 aiming for ...h4! 

82.Ne2 Nb1 83.Ng1 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+-+-'
6-+-+-zpp+&
5+-+-+-+p%
4-+-+kzP-+$
3+-+-+-zP-#
2-+-+-mK-+"
1+n+-+-sN-!
xabcdefghy

83...h4! 84.Nh3! [84.gxh4 Kxf4] 

84...Kf5 Hoping for ...Kg4. 

85.gxh4 Kg4 86.f5 gxf5 Black wants to play ...Nc3. [86...Kxf5!? 87.Kg3 Na3µ] 

87.Ke3 Nc3 88.Nf2+ Kg3 Strongly threatening ...f4+. [88...Kxh4!? 89.Kf4 Nd5+ 90.Kxf5 Kh5=] 

89.Nd3? [89.Nh1+= Kh2 90.h5 Nd5+ 91.Kf3 Kxh1 92.h6] 

89...Nd5+!–+ 90.Kd4 Nf4 91.Nc5 Kxh4 92.Ke3 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+-+-'
6-+-+-zp-+&
5+-sN-+p+-%
4-+-+-sn-mk$
3+-+-mK-+-#
2-+-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

92...Kg3! Black mates. 

93.Nb3 Ne6 94.Nd2 f4+ 95.Ke2 Ng5 96.Kf1 f3 97.Kg1 f2+ 98.Kf1 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+-+-'
6-+-+-zp-+&
5+-+-+-sn-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+-+-+-mk-#
2-+-sN-zp-+"
1+-+-+K+-!
xabcdefghy

98...f5!  0–1

Game three is between Ian Nepomniachi with White against Liren Ding with Black.

This game features a Ruy Lopez. To learn more about the Ruy Lopez, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2774) - Ding,Liren (2805)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (6.3), 23.03.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 outshines the older 8.a4. Played by Alireza Firouzja in February 2020. 

8...0–0 9.Nc3 Na5 C77: Ruy Lopez: 3...a6 4 Ba4 Nf6, unusual lines. 

10.Ba2 Be6 11.b4 Bxa2 12.Rxa2 Nc6 13.Bg5 Qd7 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.Nd5 a5 16.Rb2N [16.c4 Ne7 17.Qb3 bxc4 18.Nxe7+ Bxe7 19.dxc4 axb4 20.axb4 Qc6 21.Re1 Rxa2 22.Qxa2 ½–½ (90) Vachier Lagrave,M (2780)-Ding,L (2801) London 2019] 

16...axb4 17.axb4 Bd8 18.c4 Nd4 19.Nxd4 exd4 20.Qc2 Re8 [20...c6!? 21.Nf4 Qb7=] 

21.g3 bxc4 22.Qxc4 c6 23.Nf4 Bg5 24.Ne2 d5 25.exd5 cxd5 26.Qb3 h5 27.b5 h4 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+r+k+(
7+-+q+pzp-'
6-+-+-+-+&
5+P+p+-vl-%
4-+-zp-+-zp$
3+Q+P+-zP-#
2-tR-+NzP-zP"
1+-+-+RmK-!
xabcdefghy

28.b6 [And not 28.Nxd4 Bf6µ] 

28...h3 29.Kh1 [Reject 29.Nxd4 Bf6³] 

29...Reb8 30.Rfb1 [Don't go for 30.Nxd4? Bf6–+] 

30...Bd8 31.Qb5 [Not 31.Nxd4? Rxb6 32.Qxb6 Bxb6–+] 

31...Qg4? 

XABCDEFGHY
8rtr-vl-+k+(
7+-+-+pzp-'
6-zP-+-+-+&
5+Q+p+-+-%
4-+-zp-+q+$
3+-+P+-zPp#
2-tR-+NzP-zP"
1+R+-+-+K!
xabcdefghy

[31...Qf5± 32.Nxd4 Qf6] 

32.Qxd5 [32.Qe8++- and the rest is easy. 32...Kh7 33.Qxf7] 

32...Ra5 33.Qc6 [33.f3± Rxd5 34.fxg4] 

33...Rc5? [33...Rxb6!= and Black is okay. 34.Rxb6 (34.Qe8+? Kh7–+) 34...Qxe2] 

34.Qe8+ Kh7 

XABCDEFGHY
8-tr-vlQ+-+(
7+-+-+pzpk'
6-zP-+-+-+&
5+-tr-+-+-%
4-+-zp-+q+$
3+-+P+-zPp#
2-tR-+NzP-zP"
1+R+-+-+K!
xabcdefghy

35.Ng1! Rxb6 36.Qxd8 Rxb2 37.Rxb2 Rc1 38.Qh4+ Qxh4 39.gxh4 Rd1 40.f3+- 1–0

Game four is between Hao Wang with White against Maxime Vachler-Lagrave with Black.

This game features a Grunfeld Defence. To learn more about the Grunfeld Defence, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Wang,Hao (2762) - Vachier Lagrave,Maxime (2767)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (6.4), 23.03.2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 0–0 9.0–0 Nc6 10.Be3 b6 The modern move. 11.h4 D87: Exchange Grünfeld: Classical Line: Variations without ...cxd4. 

11...e6 12.h5 Qh4 13.hxg6 hxg6 14.f3 Bb7 15.Qd2 cxd4 16.cxd4 Rfd8 17.Rac1 Qe7N [17...Be5 18.f4 Bg7 19.Rf3 Rac8 20.Rh3 Qg4 21.Qe1 Nxd4 22.Nxd4 Bxd4 23.Bxd4 Rxd4 ½–½ (44) Dubov,D (2676)-Svidler,P (2719) Hamburg 2019] 

18.Rfd1 Rac8 19.Bg5 Bf6 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 21.Qe3 Kg7 22.Kf2 Rh8 23.Rh1 Rxh1 24.Rxh1 Rh8 25.Rxh8 Kxh8 26.Qc3 Kg8 27.d5 Qxc3 28.Nxc3 Na5 29.Bd3 exd5 30.exd5 Kf8 31.Ke3 Ke7 32.Kd4 Bc8 33.Nb5 a6 34.Nc7 Kd6 35.Nxa6 Nb7 36.g4 [Better is 36.Nb4+- ] 

36...g5 37.Nb4 Bd7 38.Nc2 Ke7 39.Ne3 Nd6 40.Nd1 Ba4 41.Nf2 f6 42.Be2 Be8 43.Nd1 Ba4 44.Nb2 Be8 45.Bd1 [45.Bd3±] 

45...Nb5+ 46.Kc4 Nc7! 47.Bb3 Kd6 48.Kd4 Nb5+ 49.Kd3 Nc7 50.Nc4+ Kc5 51.Nd2 Bb5+ 52.Ke4 Bd7! 53.Nf1 Nb5 54.Ng3 Nd6+ 55.Ke3 f5 56.gxf5 Bxf5 57.Nxf5 Nxf5+ 58.Ke4 Nh4 59.Ba4 Kd6 60.Be8 Ng2 61.Bf7 Ne1 62.a4 Nc2 63.Be8 Ne1 64.Bb5 Ng2 65.Bc4 Nh4 66.Bf1 Kc5 67.Bh3 Kd6 68.Be6 Ng6 69.Bf7 Nh4 70.Be8 Ng2 71.Bb5 Nh4 72.Bd3 Kc5 73.Bf1 Kd6 74.Bh3 Ng6 75.Be6 Nh4 [Better is 75...Ne5² ] 

76.Bf7 Ke7 77.Bh5 Kd6 78.Bg4! Ng2! 79.Kf5 Kxd5 80.Kxg5 Ke5 81.Kg6 [81.Bd7±] 

81...Nf4+ 82.Kf7 Nd3 83.Ke7= ½–½

ROUND 5 FIDE CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT 2020

Giri – Caruana  DRAW

Grischuk – Ding  DRAW

Alekseenko –  Vachier-Lagrave  DRAW

Nepomniachi – Wang  WHITE WINS!

Game one is between Anish Giri with White against Fabiano Caruana with Black.

This game features a Slav Defence. To learn more about the Slav Defence, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Giri,Anish (2763) - Caruana,Fabiano (2842)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (5.1), 22.03.2020

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 D12: Slav Defence: 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 e3 Bf5. 

8.Bd2 Be7 outshines the older 8...Nbd7. Played by Xiangzhi Bu in October 2019. 8...Nbd7 is not played anymore. 

9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Qc2 Nbd7 11.0–0–0 Nb6N [11...Qc7 12.h4 dxc4 13.Bxc4 b5 14.Bd3 a6 15.Ne4 Nxe4 16.Bxe4 Rc8 17.Kb1 Nf6 ½–½ (67) Lupulescu,C (2643)-Bu,X (2721) Douglas 2019] 

12.c5 Nbd7 13.Kb1 Qb8 14.h4 g5 15.Be1 g4 16.e4 [16.Be2!?] 

16...gxf3 17.gxf3 b6 18.exd5 exd5 19.cxb6 axb6 20.Ne2 Qa7 21.b3 Nh5 22.Ng3 g6 23.Nxh5! Rxh5 24.f4 Kf8 25.Be2 Rh8 26.Bd3 c5 27.Bc3 cxd4 [27...Nf6±] 

28.Bxd4 Bf6 29.Bxf6 [29.Bb5+- is the precise move to win.] 

29...Nxf6 30.f5 gxf5 31.Bxf5 b5 [31...Qe7±] 

32.Rh2 [32.Qb2+- has better winning chances.] 

32...Rh5 [32...Re8±] 

33.Re2? [33.Rf2+-] 

33...d4 34.Re5 [White should try 34.Be4!± Re8 35.Bd3] 

34...Ng4! 35.Rc5 Ne3 36.Rc8+ Rxc8 37.Qxc8+ Ke7 38.Rc1 Nd5 39.Re1+ Ne3 40.Rc1 Nd5! 41.Re1+ Ne3= 42.Rc1= ½–½

Game two is between Alexander Grischuk with White against Liren Ding with Black.

This game features a Ruy Lopez. To learn more about the Ruy Lopez, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Grischuk,Alexander (2777) - Ding,Liren (2805)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (5.2), 22.03.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0–0 8.h3 Bb7! The main line 8...Bb7 scores better than 8...d6. 

9.d3 d5 C88: Closed Ruy Lopez: Anti-Marshall Systems. 

10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nbd2 Qd7 12.a4 f6 13.Ne4 Hoping for c4. 

13...Na5 14.Ba2 c5 15.Be3 Rfc8 16.axb5 axb5 17.Nxc5 Remove Defender, Decoy 

17...Rxc5 18.b4! Double Attack 

18...Rcc8 19.bxa5 Kh8 Threatens to win with ...Nc3. 

20.Bd2 Nb4 21.Bb3 Bd5 22.Bxd5 Qxd5 23.Rc1N [23.c4 bxc4 24.dxc4 Qxc4 25.Ra4 Rcb8 26.Qa1 Qd3 27.Rd1 Rd8 28.Rb1 Na6 29.Be3 1/2–1/2 (48) Boada Marti,M (2196)-Padilla Lopez,D (2155) ICCF email 2018] 

23...Nc6 24.c4 bxc4! 25.Rxc4 aiming for Qa4. 

25...Nxa5 [25...Rcb8 seems wilder. 26.Qc2 Nb4 27.Bxb4 Bxb4 28.Rc1 Bxa5 29.d4 e4] 

26.Rxc8+ Rxc8 27.d4 Nc6 28.dxe5 Nxe5 29.Nxe5 fxe5 30.Qg4 Rd8 31.Be3 Bf6 32.Rc1 Qd7 33.Qh5 Qe8 34.Qf3 Rc8 35.Rd1 Rd8 36.Rc1 Rc8 37.Rb1 Rb8 38.Re1 Qg6 39.Ba7 Rc8 40.Qb7 Qc2 41.Be3 Black must now prevent Rc1! 

41...Qc6 42.Qb4 h5 43.Bc1 Qc2 44.Be3 Rd8 45.Qb1 Qxb1 The position is equal. 

46.Rxb1= Endgame KRB-KRB 

46...Kh7 47.g4 hxg4 48.hxg4 Rd6 49.Kg2 Kg6 50.Kf3 Bg5 51.Ke4 Bxe3 52.fxe3 Re6 53.Rb7 [53.Kd5!? Re7 54.Rh1=] 

53...Re8 54.Ra7  ½–½

Game three is between Kirill Alekseenko with White against Maxime Vachler-Lagrave with Black.

This game features a Sicilian Scheveningen. To learn more about the Sicilian Scheveningen, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Alekseenko,Kirill (2698) - Vachier Lagrave,Maxime (2767)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (5.3), 22.03.2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e6 7.Be3 b5 8.Qd2 Nbd7 9.a3 B80: Sicilian Scheveningen: 6 g3 and 6 Be3, including English Attack. 

9...h5 10.0–0–0 was the old line (10.Be2). 

10...Bb7 11.Kb1 Be7 12.Rg1 Rc8 13.Be2 Nb6 14.Qe1 Nfd7 15.g4 hxg4 16.Rxg4 g6N [16...Bf8 17.Rg2 Ne5 18.f4 Nec4 19.Bc1 Qc7 20.Bxc4 Nxc4 21.Rd3 g6 0–1 (82) Carlsen,M (2872)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2780) London 2019] 

17.Rxg6 Rxc3! The position is equal. 

18.Nxe6 [Much worse is 18.bxc3 fxg6 19.Nxe6 Qc8µ] 

18...Qc8 19.Ng7+ Kf8 20.Rh6! Rxh6 21.Bxh6 Rxc2 22.Nf5+ Ke8 23.Nxe7 Kxe7 24.Qh4+! f6 25.Bf4 Rxb2+! 26.Kxb2 Na4+ 27.Kb1 Nc3+ Double Attack 

28.Ka1 Nxd1 29.Qh7+ Kd8 30.Qg8+ Ke7 31.Qh7+ Kd8 32.Qg8+ [Of course not 32.Bxd1 Qc3+ 33.Kb1 Qd3+ 34.Bc2 Qxa3³] 

32...Ke7 [...Qc3+] 

33.Qh7+ Not much happened in this game.  ½–½

Game four is between Ian Nepomniachi with White against Hao Wang with Black.

This game features a Petroff Defence. To learn more about the Petroff Defence, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2774) - Wang,Hao (2762)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (5.4), 22.03.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bf5 7.0–0 Be7 8.Re1 0–0 9.Nbd2 outshines the older 9.c4. C42: Petroff Defence: 3 Nxe5 and unusual White 3rd moves. 

9...Nd6 10.Nf1 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 c6 12.Bf4 Na6 13.h4N [13.Ne3 Nc7 14.Re2 Ne6 15.Bxd6 Bxd6 16.g3 Qd7 17.Rae1 Rae8 18.b3 ½–½ (31) Anand,V (2767)-Yu,Y (2738) Stavanger 2019] 

13...Nc7 14.Ng5 Bxg5 15.Bxg5 f6 16.Bf4 Qd7 17.Ng3 Rae8 18.Bxd6 Qxd6 19.Nf5 Qd7 20.Qh3 Kh8 21.h5 Rxe1+ 22.Rxe1 Re8 23.Rxe8+ Nxe8 24.g4 a6 25.b3 Qe6 26.Ne3 Nd6 27.h6 g6 28.c4 dxc4 29.bxc4 Kg8 [29...Nxc4 30.Nxc4 Qxc4 Double Attack 31.Qh2+-] 

30.Qh2 Kf7 31.c5 Nb5 32.Qb8 Qd7? [32...Nxd4= and Black has nothing to worry. 33.Qxb7+ Qe7 34.Qxa6 Qxc5] 

33.Qh8 Ke6 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-wQ(
7+p+q+-+p'
6p+p+kzppzP&
5+nzP-+-+-%
4-+-zP-+P+$
3+-+-sN-+-#
2P+-+-zP-+"
1+-+-+-mK-!
xabcdefghy

34.f4! Nxd4 35.Qg8+ Qf7 36.Qc8+ Qd7 37.Qg8+ Qf7 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+Q+(
7+p+-+q+p'
6p+p+kzppzP&
5+-zP-+-+-%
4-+-sn-zPP+$
3+-+-sN-+-#
2P+-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-mK-!
xabcdefghy

38.Qd8! Qd7 39.f5+ gxf5 40.gxf5+ Nxf5 41.Qxd7+ Kxd7 42.Nxf5 Ke6+- 43.Ne3+- 1–0

ROUND 4 FIDE CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT 2020

Caruana – Nepomniachi  DRAW

Wang – Alekseenko  DRAW

Vachier-Lagrave – Grischuk  DRAW

Ding – Giri  DRAW

Game one is between Fabiano Caruana with White against Ian Nepomniachi with Black.

This game features a Grunfeld Defence. To learn more about the Grunfeld Defence, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Caruana,Fabiano (2842) - Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2774)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (4.1), 21.03.2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 0–0 9.0–0 Nc6 10.Be3 b6 now supersedes 10...Qc7. 

11.Qd2 D87: Exchange Grünfeld: Classical Line: Variations without ...cxd4. 

11...Bb7 12.Rfd1 cxd4 13.cxd4 Rc8 14.Rac1 Na5 15.Bd3 Qd7 16.h4 Rxc1 17.Rxc1 Rc8 18.h5 Rxc1+ 19.Qxc1 19...Qc8N [19...e6 20.h6 Bf8 21.Bg5 Qa4 22.Qb1 Nc6 23.Bc2 Qc4 24.Bd3 Qa4 25.Bb5 Qa5 26.Be3 ½–½ (26) Hort,V (2595)-Chiburdanidze,M (2555) Biel 1988] 

20.h6 Bf8 21.d5 e6 22.Nc3 Nc4 23.Bxc4 Qxc4 24.Qd2 exd5 25.Nxd5 Bxd5 26.exd5 Qb4 27.Qd3 Qa3 [27...Bd6= 28.g3 Kf8] 

28.Qc2 [28.Qd1²] 

28...Qa5 29.Qd1 Bd6! 30.g3 Kf8! 31.Qf3 Qe1+ 32.Kg2 f5 33.g4 Qb1 34.Bd4 Kf7 35.Qe3 Qe4+ 36.Qxe4 fxe4 37.f3 exf3+ 38.Kxf3 Ke7 39.Ke4 Kd7 40.a4 Bc7 41.Be3 a6 42.Bd2 b5 43.axb5 axb5 44.Kd4 Bb6+ 45.Kd3 Bc5 [45...Kd6!? 46.Ke4™ Bc5=] 

46.Bc3 Ba3 47.Bg7 Bc5 48.Bc3 Bf8 [48...Kd6!? 49.Ke4™ Kd7=] 

49.Bg7 Be7 50.Kd4 Bd6 51.Bf6 Kc7 52.Bg5 Kb6 53.Bd8+ Ka6 54.Kd3 Bf8= 55.Kd4 Bd6 ½–½

Game two is between Hao Wang with White against Kirill Alekseenko with Black.

This game features a Grunfeld Defence. To learn more about the Grunfeld Defence, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Wang,Hao (2762) - Alekseenko,Kirill (2698)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (4.2), 21.03.2020

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 Nf6 5.0–0 0–0 6.c4 c6 7.Nbd2 a5 8.b3 Bf5 9.Bb2 a4 D78: Fianchetto Grünfeld: 6 0–0 c6. 

10.bxa4 Qa5 11.Qb3 Nbd7 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.Rfc1 13...Ra6N [13...Qxa4 14.Qxa4 Rxa4 15.Ne5 Rb8 16.Rc7 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Ne8 18.Rc5 e6 19.a3 Bf8 20.Rcc1 b5 21.Bf1 b4 22.axb4 Rxa1 23.Rxa1 Bxb4 24.Nf3 Nc7 25.h4 ½–½ (25) Sukhanitskij,S (2083)-Fekih,B (2269) ICCF email 2015] 

14.e3 Qxa4 15.Bf1 Qxb3 16.axb3 Rxa1 17.Rxa1 Nb6 18.Ra7 Rb8 19.Ne5 Nfd7 20.Bb5 f6 21.Nxd7 Bxd7 22.Ra5 Bf5 23.Ba3 Bf8 24.Bc5 Nd7 25.Ra7 Nxc5 26.dxc5 e5 27.b4 b6 28.c6 Bxb4 29.e4 Promotion 

29...dxe4 [Avoid the trap 29...Bxd2? 30.exf5 Kh8 31.c7+-] 

30.Nxe4 Bxe4 31.c7 Rf8 32.Bc4+ Kh8 33.Be6 Bf5 34.c8Q! Rxc8 35.Bxc8 Bxc8 36.Ra8 Kg7 37.Rxc8 Bc5 38.Rc7+ Kh6 39.h4 f5 40.Kg2 e4 41.Kf1= ½–½

Game three is between Maxime Vachler-Lagrave with White against Alexander Grischuk with Black.

This game features a Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence. To learn more about the Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime (2767) - Grischuk,Alexander (2777)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (4.3), 21.03.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Ke8 10.Nc3 h5 C67: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence: 4 0–0 Nxe4. 

11.Bf4 Be7 12.Rad1 Be6 13.Ng5 Rh6 14.Rfe1 Bb4 15.a3 Bxc3 16.bxc3 h4 17.g4 hxg3! 18.fxg3 Ne7 19.h4N [19.g4 Nd5 20.Bd2 Nb6 21.Kg2 Rd8 22.Kg3 Nc4 23.Bf4 Rxd1 24.Rxd1 Nxa3 25.Ra1 ½–½ (67) Vachier Lagrave,M (2779)-Nakamura,H (2777) chess.com INT 2018] 

19...Nd5 20.Bc1 Nxc3 21.Rd3 Na4 22.Rf3 Bd5 23.Rf4 Nb6! 24.Ref1 Rg6 25.Rf5 Bc4 26.Re1 Ke7 27.h5 Rh6 28.g4 Rhh8 29.a4! Nxa4 [29...Be6= remains equal. 30.Ba3+ Kd7] 

30.Ba3+ [30.Re4!± Be6 31.Nxe6] 

30...c5 31.e6 f6 32.Bxc5+ Nxc5 33.Rxc5 Double Attack 

33...fxg5 34.Rxc7+ Double Attack 

34...Kd6 35.Rxc4 a5 36.Rd1+ [36.Rd4+± Kc5 37.Rd7] 

36...Ke7 37.Re4 Rhd8 38.Rb1 Rdb8 39.Rb5 a4 40.Rxg5 Rg8 41.h6 gxh6 [41...a3!? 42.h7™ Rge8=] 

42.Rxg8 Rxg8 43.Rxa4 h5 44.Kf2 Rxg4 45.Rxg4 hxg4 46.Kg3 Kxe6 47.Kxg4 Ke5 48.Kf3 Kd4 49.Ke2 Kc3 50.Kd1 b5= [50...b6!?] 

51.Kc1 b4 52.Kb1 b3 53.cxb3 Kxb3 ½–½

Game four is between Liren Ding with White against Anish Giri with Black.

This game features a Bogo-Indian Defence. To learn more about the Bogo-Indian Defence, here is the best instruction book I could find on Amazon.

Ding,Liren (2805) - Giri,Anish (2763)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (4.4), 21.03.2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 a5 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 0–0 7.Qc2 is now more promising than 7.0–0. Played by Ian Nepomniachtchi in December 2019. 

7...c5 E11: Bogo-Indian. 

8.cxd5 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Qb6 10.e3 exd5 11.0–0 Nc6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.Rc1 Rb8N [13...Be6 14.Nc3 c5 15.Na4 Qa7 16.Bc3 Bxc3 17.Qxc3 Rac8 18.Qa3 c4 19.Rd1 h5 ½–½ (86) Esipenko,A (2590)-Riazantsev,A (2594) Tallinn 2019] 

14.Bxb4 Qxb4 15.b3 h5 16.Nc3 h4 17.Ne2 Bd7 18.Nf4 hxg3 19.hxg3 Rfc8 20.Bf3 a4 21.bxa4 Ra8 22.Nd3 Qxa4 23.Qxa4 Rxa4 24.Nc5 Ra5 25.a4 Rca8 26.Bd1 Be8 27.Kf1 Kf8 28.Rab1 Ne4 29.Nxe4 dxe4 30.Rb7 c5 31.Bb3 R5a7 32.Rxa7 Rxa7 33.Ke1 Ke7 34.Ra1 c4 35.Bc2 Kd6 36.Kd2 Kc5 37.Kc3 Ra6! 38.g4 g5 39.a5 Bc6 40.Ra2 Ra7 41.Ra1 Ra6= 42.Ra2 Kd5 ½–½