ROUND 3 FIDE CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT 2020

Ding – Caruana  WHITE WINS!

Giri – Vachier-Lagrava    DRAW

Grischuk – Wang  DRAW

Alekseenko – Nepomniachi  DRAW

Game one is between Liren Ding 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.

Ding,Liren (2805) - Caruana,Fabiano (2842)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (3.1), 19.03.2020

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.f3 Bb4 8.Nxc4 0–0 9.Kf2 now scores much better than the old 9.Bg5. D17: Slav Defence: 5 a4 Bf5: Lines with 6 Nh4 and 6 Ne5. 

9...e5N [9...Nd5 10.Na2 b5 11.Nxb4 bxc4 12.Na2 c5 13.e4 cxd4 14.Bxc4 Nb6 15.Be2 Bg6 16.a5 Nc8 1–0 (60) Anton Guijarro,D (2674)-Hovhannisyan,R (2639) Douglas 2019] 

10.Nxe5 Bc2 11.Qd2 c5 12.d5 Bb3 13.e4 Re8 14.Qf4 c4 15.Nxc4 Nbd7 16.Be3 Nf8 17.Bd4 Ng6 18.Qf5 Bxc4 19.Bxc4 Qc7 20.Be2 Bc5 21.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 22.Kf1 h6 [22...Re5² 23.Qh3 Qb4] 

23.Rd1 Qb6 [¹23...Qb4] 

24.Rd2! Qe3 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+r+k+(
7zpp+-+pzp-'
6-+-+-snnzp&
5+-+P+Q+-%
4P+-+P+-+$
3+-sN-wqP+-#
2-zP-tRL+PzP"
1+-+-+K+R!
xabcdefghy

25.Rc2! a6 26.Qh3 b5 27.Qg3 [Of course not 27.axb5?! axb5 28.g3 Ra1+ 29.Nd1 (29.Kg2 Qg5–+) 29...Qb3=] 

27...b4 28.Nd1 Qb3 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+r+k+(
7+-+-+pzp-'
6p+-+-snnzp&
5+-+P+-+-%
4Pzp-+P+-+$
3+q+-+PwQ-#
2-zPR+L+PzP"
1+-+N+K+R!
xabcdefghy

29.Rd2! Qxa4 30.Qf2 Qd7 31.g3 Qh3+ 32.Kg1 a5 33.Qd4 Nh5 34.Nf2 Qd7 35.f4 Nhxf4 36.gxf4 Nxf4 37.Kf1 Qd6 38.Rg1 f6 39.Bb5 Re7 40.b3 Rf8 41.Rc2 Ne6 42.Qe3 Ng5 43.h4 Nf7 44.Rc6 Qb8 45.Qc5 Qd8 46.Rxf6 Kh8 47.Rf5 Rc7 48.Bc6 a4 49.bxa4 b3 50.Rg3 b2 51.Rb3 Nd6 52.Rxf8+ Qxf8 53.Rxb2 Qf4 54.Rb8+ Kh7 55.Qc2 Re7 

XABCDEFGHY
8-tR-+-+-+(
7+-+-tr-zpk'
6-+Lsn-+-zp&
5+-+P+-+-%
4P+-+Pwq-zP$
3+-+-+-+-#
2-+Q+-sN-+"
1+-+-+K+-!
xabcdefghy

56.e5+ Discovered Attack 

56...Nf5 57.Qe4 Qc1++- 58.Kg2 g6 59.Rb3 1–0

Game two is between Anish Giri 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.

Giri,Anish (2763) - Vachier Lagrave,Maxime (2767)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (3.2), 19.03.2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bd2 Bg7 6.e4 Nxc3 7.Bxc3 c5 8.d5 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 0–0 10.Qd2 D85: Exchange Grünfeld: Unusual White 7th moves and lines with 7 Nf3 [10.Rb1 e6 11.Bc4 Qf6 12.Ne2 Nd7 13.dxe6 fxe6 14.0–0 Nb6 15.Bb3 Qe5 16.Qd3 Qc7 17.Qe3 c4 18.Bc2 e5 19.Qg5 Nd7 20.Rbd1 b6 21.f4 Qc5+ 22.Kh1 exf4 23.Rd5 Qe3 24.Nxf4 Nc5 Lastin,A (2590)-Yandemirov,V (2515)/Voronezh 2007/CBM 118 ext/1–0 (34)] 

10...Qd6 11.f4 e6 12.Bc4 b5 Black threatens to win material: b5xc4 

13.Bxb5 exd5 14.Bc4 White threatens to win material: Bc4xd5 

14...Bb7 15.Nf3 White plans e5 

15...Nd7 16.0–0 Nb6 Black threatens to win material: Nb6xc4 

17.Be2 d4 18.e5 White threatens to win material: e5xd6 

18...Qd7 19.cxd4 Rad8 20.Rad1 Bxf3 21.Rxf3 [21.gxf3?! cxd4 22.Qb4 Nd5 23.Qxd4 Qc8=] 

21...Qxd4+ 22.Qxd4 Rxd4 23.Rxd4 cxd4 Black has a new passed pawn: d4.  

24.Rd3 White threatens to win material: Rd3xd4 

24...Rd8 25.Bd1 Nc4 26.Kf2 Nb2 Black threatens to win material: Nb2xd3 

27.Rd2 White threatens to win material: Rd2xb2 

27...Nc4 Black threatens to win material: Nc4xd2 

28.Rd3 Nb2 29.Rd2 Twofold repetition 

29...Nc4 30.Rd3 ½–½

Game three is between Alexander Grischuk with White against Hao Wang with Black.

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

Grischuk,Alexander (2777) - Wang,Hao (2762)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (3.3), 19.03.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d3 Nf6 6.d4 d5 7.Bd3 Bd6 8.Qe2+ Be6 C01: French: Exchange Variation. 

9.Ng5 Qe7 10.Nxe6 fxe6 11.c3 c5 12.Nd2N [12.dxc5 Bxc5 13.Nd2 e5 14.Nb3 Bb6 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.Qxe3 0–0 17.0–0 Nc6 18.Rad1 Rae8 19.Qc5 Qe6 20.f3 ½–½ (43) Szczepanski,Z (2337)-Andeer,S (2383) ICCF email 2004] 

12...Nc6 13.Nf3 0–0 14.0–0 cxd4 15.cxd4 e5 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Nxe5 Qxe5 18.Qxe5 Bxe5 19.f3 Bd4+ 20.Kh1 Rac8 21.Rd1 Rfe8 22.g3 Kf7 23.Kg2 g6 24.Bd2 Be3 25.h4 Re6 26.Bxe3 Rxe3 27.Kf2 Re6 28.Rd2 Ke7 29.Rad1 Rec6 30.g4 a6 31.h5! Kf7 32.a3 Re8 33.hxg6+ hxg6 34.g5 [White should play 34.Rc2± ] 

34...Ne4+! 35.Bxe4 dxe4 36.Re1 exf3 37.Rd7+ Double Attack 

37...Kf8 38.Rh1 Kg8 39.Rxb7 Rc2+ 40.Kxf3 Rc5 41.Rh4 Rxg5 42.b4 Rge5= 43.Rd4 Re3+ 44.Kf4 Rxa3 45.Rd6 Ra1 46.Rxg6+ Kh8 47.Rh6+ Kg8 48.Rg6+ Kh8 49.Rh6+ Kg8 ½–½

Game four is between Kirill Alekseenko 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.

Alekseenko,Kirill (2698) - Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2774)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (3.4), 19.03.2020

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.h4 Qc7 8.Nf3 b6 9.Bb5+ C19: French: 3 Nc3 Bb4: Main line: 7 Nf3 and 7 a4. 

9...Bd7 10.Be2 Ba4 11.0–0N [11.Bd3 cxd4 12.cxd4 Qc3+ 13.Bd2 Qxd3 14.cxd3 Bxd1 15.Rxd1 Nbc6 16.h5 h6 17.g4 0–1 (24) Borgmeyer,M (2044)-Doering,A (1895) Chemnitz 2009] 

11...Nd7 12.Be3 h6 13.Ra2 Nf5 14.Bf4 Qc6 15.Rb2 a6 16.dxc5 Qxc5 17.Rb4 b5 18.Bd3 Ne7 19.Bd2 Nc6 Double Attack 

20.Qe2 Nxb4 21.axb4 Qc7 22.Re1 Nb8 23.Nd4 Nc6 24.Qg4 Nxd4! 25.cxd4 g6 [Wrong is 25...Bxc2? 26.Qxg7 0–0–0 27.Rc1+-; 25...g5!?] 

26.h5 [26.Bxg6!² fxg6 27.Qxe6+ Qe7 28.Qxg6+ Double Attack 28...Kd7 29.Qb6] 

26...gxh5 27.Qxh5 0–0–0 28.f4 Kb8 29.c3 Bb3 30.f5 Bc4 31.Bc2= Rdg8 32.Kf2 a5 33.bxa5 Qxa5 34.Qxf7 Qa2 35.Qxe6 Qxc2 36.Qb6+ Kc8 37.Qc6+ Kb8 38.Qb6+ Kc8 39.Qc6+ Kb8 40.Qb6+ ½–½

ROUND 2 FIDE CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT 2020

Caruana – Alekseenko  WHITE WINS!

Nepomniachi – Grischuk  DRAW

Wang – Giri  DRAW

Vachier-Lagrava –  Ding  WHITE WINS!

Game one is between Fabiano Caruana with White against Kirill Alekseenko with Black.

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

Caruana,Fabiano (2842) - Alekseenko,Kirill (2698)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (2.1), 18.03.2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 dxe4 E20: Nimzo-Indian: 4 g3 and 4 f3. 

7.fxe4 c5 now scores much better than the old 7...e5. Played by Viswanathan Anand in January 2020. 

8.d5 exd5 9.exd5 0–0 10.Be2 Re8 11.Nf3 Bg4 12.0–0 Nbd7 13.d6N [13.Bg5 h6 14.Bh4 Bd6 15.Qc2 Qb8 16.Kh1 Bh5 17.Nb5 Bf4 18.d6 Bxd6 19.Nxd6 Qxd6 0–1 (55) Lombaers,P (2383)-Schoppen,C (2489) Leiden 2020] 

13...Bf8 14.h3 Bh5 15.Nb5 Re6 16.Bf4 a6 17.Nc7 Double Attack 

17...Re4 18.Bh2 [Of course not 18.Nxa8?! Rxf4 19.Nc7 Nb6³; 18.Qd2±] 

18...Rc8 19.g4 Bxg4 20.hxg4 Nxg4 21.Bd3 Nxh2 22.Bxe4 Nxf1 23.Qxf1 Bxd6 24.Nd5 g6 25.Qh3 Kg7 26.Kh1 Ne5 27.Nh4 h5? [27...Rc6±] 

28.Rg1 Bf8? 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+rwq-vl-+(
7+p+-+pmk-'
6p+-+-+p+&
5+-zpNsn-+p%
4-+P+L+-sN$
3zP-+-+-+Q#
2-zP-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-tRK!
xabcdefghy

[28...Rc6 29.Nf4 Ng4 30.Nxh5+ Deflection 30...gxh5 31.Nf5+ Discovered Attack 31...Kf8 32.Rxg4 Be5 33.Bxc6 (33.Qxh5? Qd1+ 34.Kg2 Qe2+ Double Attack 35.Kg1 Rg6–+) 33...hxg4 34.Qh6+ Kg8] 

29.Nf4 [¹29.Nxg6! fxg6 (29...Nxg6 30.Nf4) 30.Nf4] 

29...Ng4 30.Nxh5+! gxh5 31.Bf5 Be7 32.Bxg4 hxg4 33.Qxg4++- Bg5 34.Qh5+- 1–0

Game two is between Ian Nepomniachi 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.

Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2774) - Grischuk,Alexander (2777)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (2.2), 18.03.2020

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.Nc3 Ke8 10.h3 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.Kh2N [17.Ne4 Rg6 18.g4 hxg3 19.fxg3 Kf8 20.Kh2 Ne7 21.g4 Re8 22.Rd3 Kg8 23.Ng3 ½–½ (49) Vachier Lagrave,M (2778)-Karjakin,S (2750) Saint Louis 2019] 

17...Kf8 18.Rb1 b6 19.Rb4 Re8 20.Ra4 a5 21.Bd2 c5 22.Rf4 Rh5 23.Rf3 Kg8 24.Bc1  

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+r+k+(
7+-zp-+pzp-'
6-zp-+l+-+&
5zp-zp-zPnsNr%
4-+-+-+-zp$
3zP-zP-+R+P#
2-+P+-zPPmK"
1+-vL-tR-+-!
xabcdefghy

[24.g3= keeps the balance. 24...hxg3+ 25.fxg3] 

24...Ne7 25.g4 hxg3+! 26.fxg3 Nc6 27.Bf4 Bc8 28.Rfe3 Nd8 [28...Ne7!µ] 

29.Kg2 Ne6 30.Nxe6 Bxe6 31.g4 Rh8 32.Bg5 Kh7 33.Kg3 Rb8 34.Rd3 Rhe8 35.Red1 b5 36.Rd8 b4 37.Rxe8 Rxe8 38.cxb4 cxb4 39.axb4 axb4 40.Rd8 Rxd8² ½–½

Game three is between Hao Wang with White against Anish Giri 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.

Wang,Hao (2762) - Giri,Anish (2763)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (2.3), 18.03.2020

1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.h4 A37: Symmetrical English vs ...g6: 4 Bg2 Bg7 5 Nf3. 

6...h6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nb5 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.0–0 Nf6 11.Bf4 0–0 12.Qc1N [12.Nfxd4 a6 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Nd4 Qb6 15.Nb3 Ng4 16.Bd6 Re8 17.Bc5 Qb5 18.Rc1 Qxe2 19.Qxe2 Rxe2 ½–½ (37) Sandipan,C (2575)-Leenhouts,K (2486) Dieren 2017] 

12...a6 [Black should try 12...Ne4³ ] 

13.Nbxd4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Kh7 15.Rd1 Re8 16.Qc7 Qxc7 17.Bxc7 Bg4 18.f3 Rac8 19.Ba5 Bd7 20.Kf2 h5 21.Bf1 Ng8 22.Bc3 Bh6 23.Rd3 Ne7 24.Rad1 Bg7 25.e3 Kg8 26.R3d2 Ba4 27.Re1 Bd7 28.Ne2 Rc7 29.Bxg7 Kxg7 30.Nc3 Be6 31.Red1 b5 32.a3 Rb8 33.Ne2 a5 34.Nd4 Bd7 [34...b4=] 

35.b4 axb4 36.axb4 Ra8 37.Rb2 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-+-+-+(
7+-trlsnpmk-'
6-+-+-+p+&
5+p+p+-+p%
4-zP-sN-+-zP$
3+-+-zPPzP-#
2-tR-+-mK-+"
1+-+R+L+-!
xabcdefghy

[Reject 37.Nxb5 Bxb5 38.Bxb5 Rb8=] 

37...Ra4 38.Rdb1 [Reject 38.Nxb5?! Rb7=] 

38...Rb7 39.Rc1 Rba7 40.Nxb5 Bxb5 41.Bxb5 Ra3 42.Be2! Rb7 43.b5 Rb6 44.Rd1 Kf6 45.Rdd2 Rb7 46.Bd3 Nc8 47.e4 dxe4 48.Bxe4 Rb6 49.Rd7 Rc3 50.Rb7 Rxb7 51.Bxb7 Nb6 52.Be4 Ke5 53.Rd2 Rb3 54.Bc6 [54.Bd3!±] 

54...Nc4 55.f4+ Kf6 56.Rd8 Rb2+ 57.Kf3 Nd2+ 58.Ke3 Nf1+ 59.Kf3 Nd2+ 60.Ke2! Ne4+± 61.Kf3 ½–½

Game four is between Maxime Vachler-Lagrave  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.

Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime (2767) - Ding,Liren (2805)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (2.4), 18.03.2020

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 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Qd7 Nowadays more popular than 10...Na5. 

11.Nc3 Rfe8 C88: Closed Ruy Lopez: Anti-Marshall Systems. 

12.Bd2 Nd8 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 c5 15.a4 f5N [15...f6= keeps the balance. 16.axb5 axb5 17.Rxa8 Bxa8 18.c4 Rf8 19.cxb5 Qxb5 20.Bc4 Qb7 21.b4 cxb4 22.Qb3 Nf7 23.Ra1 f5 24.Ra4 Qd7 25.Rxb4 Bf6 26.Bc3 h6 ½–½ (26) Zeihen,P (2315)-Schulz,R (2263) ICCF email 2019] 

16.axb5 axb5 17.Rxa8 Bxa8 18.c4 Nf7 19.cxb5! g5 20.Nh2 Kg7 21.Bc4 Kg6 22.g4 Nh6 23.Qf3 Bd8 24.Qg2 f4 [24...Kg7±] 

25.b4 Bb6 

XABCDEFGHY
8l+-+r+-+(
7+-+q+-+p'
6-vl-zp-+ksn&
5+PzpPzp-zp-%
4-zPL+-zpP+$
3+-+P+-+P#
2-+-vL-zPQsN"
1+-+-tR-mK-!
xabcdefghy

[25...Nf7 might work better. 26.bxc5 dxc5] 

26.Qe4+ Kg7 27.bxc5 dxc5 28.Nf3 Nf7 29.Bc3 Bc7 30.b6 Bb8 31.Qf5 [¹31.Bb3] 

31...Qxf5 32.gxf5 Kf6 33.Nd2 Rd8 34.d6 Rxd6 35.Rb1 Nd8? [35...Bc6 36.Ne4+ Bxe4 37.dxe4 h5] 

36.b7 Bxb7+- 37.Ba5 1–0

ROUND 1 FIDE CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT 2020

Vachier-Lagrava – Caruana  DRAW

Ding – Wang  BLACK WINS!

Giri – Nepomniachi  BLACK WINS!

Grischuk – Alekseenko  DRAW

Game one is between Maxime Vachler-Lagrave 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.

Vachier Lagrave,Maxime (2767) - Caruana,Fabiano (2842)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (1.1), 17.03.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.a5 C78: Ruy Lopez: Archangelsk and Möller Defences. 

10...Ba7! 11.h3 11.Be3 is the modern continuation. 

11...0–0 12.Be3 exd4 13.cxd4 Nb4 14.Nc3 Bb7 15.Ng5 Qe7N [15...Qe8 16.e5 dxe5 17.dxe5 Qc6 18.Nf3 Bxe3 19.fxe3 Ne4 20.Qd4 Nxc3 21.Qxb4 Ne4 1–0 (46) Sasikiran,K (2648)-Moroni,L (2532) Caleta 2020] 

16.e5 dxe5 17.Nxf7 e4 [Not 17...Rxf7? 18.dxe5 c5 19.exf6±] 

18.Nd6+ [18.Ng5+ seems wilder. 18...Kh8 19.Ne6 Rfc8 20.Qe2 Nbd5 21.Nxd5 Bxd5 22.Bxd5 Nxd5 23.Qg4] 

18...Kh8 19.Nxb7 Rxb7 20.Qe2 c6 21.Rad1 Rd7 22.f3 exf3 23.Rxf3 c5 24.dxc5 Rxd1+ 25.Nxd1 Bxc5 26.Qf2 Bd6 27.Nc3 Nd3 28.Qe2 Nc5 29.Ba2 Re8 30.Qd2 Nce4 31.Nxe4 Nxe4 32.Qd3 Ng5 33.Bxg5 Bc5+ 34.Kh1 Qxg5 35.Rf1 Qe5 36.Qd5 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+r+-mk(
7+-+-+-zpp'
6p+-+-+-+&
5zPpvlQwq-+-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+-+-+-+P#
2LzP-+-+P+"
1+-+-+R+K!
xabcdefghy

Threatens to win with Rf8+! 

36...Qe2 37.Qf5 Bb1 is the strong threat. 

37...Qe5 38.Qxe5 The position is equal. 

38...Rxe5= Endgame KRB-KRB 

39.Rd1 White wants to mate with Rd8+. 

39...g6 40.Bd5 Re7 41.Bc6 Re2 42.Bb7 Rxb2 43.Bxa6 Ra2 44.Bxb5 Rxa5  ½–½

Game two is between Ding Liren with White against Wang Hao 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.

Ding,Liren (2805) - Wang,Hao (2762)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (1.2), 17.03.2020

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.d3 0–0 5.Nc3 c6 6.Nf3 A22: English Opening: 1...e5 2 Nc3 Nf6. 

6...d6 7.0–0 Re8 7...a5 is a critical line. 

8.Na4 Bb4N [8...Na6 9.Nxc5 Nxc5 10.d4 exd4 11.Nxd4 Bg4 12.Re1 Qd7 13.Qc2 Bh3 14.Bh1 Qg4 ½–½ (32) Sucikova,S (1934)-O'Donnell,D England 2013] 

9.a3 Ba5 10.b4 Bc7 11.e4 a5 12.Bb2 Na6 13.b5 cxb5 14.cxb5 Nc5 15.Nxc5 dxc5 16.a4 Bg4 17.Ra3 Nd7 18.h3 Bh5 19.Qb1 b6 20.Nd2 Nf8 21.Bf3 Qg5 22.h4 Qg6 23.Qd1 Bxf3 24.Qxf3 h5 25.Qf5 Rad8 26.Qxg6 Nxg6 27.Kg2 f6 28.Nc4 Kf7 29.Bc1 Rd7 30.f4 exf4 31.Bxf4 Nxf4+ 32.gxf4 f5! 33.e5 Re6 34.Kf3 [34.Ne3= keeps the balance.] 

34...Rg6! 35.Ne3 Ke6 36.Rd1 Bd8 37.Ra2 Rd4 38.Nc2 Rd5 39.Ne3 Rd7 40.Rdd2? [40.d4= and White stays safe. 40...Rxd4 41.Rxd4 cxd4 42.Nc2] 

40...Bxh4 41.Rg2 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+r+-zp-'
6-zp-+k+r+&
5zpPzp-zPp+p%
4P+-+-zP-vl$
3+-+PsNK+-#
2R+-+-+R+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy

41...Rg4! 42.Rh2 g6 43.Nxg4 fxg4+ 44.Ke3 Be7 45.Rac2 h4–+ 0–1

Game three is between Anish Giri with White against Ian Nepomniachi 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) - Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2774)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (1.3), 17.03.2020

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e6 6.g3 Qb6 7.Ndb5 Ne5 8.Bf4 A33: Symmetrical English: 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 e6 5 Nc3 Nc6. 

8...Nfg4 9.e3 a6 10.h3 axb5 11.hxg4 Nxc4 12.Rc1 [12.Qb3= d5 13.Bxc4 dxc4 14.Qxb5+ Qxb5 15.Nxb5] 

12...d5!N [Much weaker is 12...Nxb2?! 13.Qb3² Double Attack; 12...Qa5 13.b3 Ba3 14.bxc4 Bxc1 15.Qxc1 bxc4 16.e4 b5 17.Rh5 d5 18.exd5 g6 1–0 (33) Sedlacek,P (2478)-Suarez Sedeno,M (2426) ICCF email 2004] 

13.b3 Bb4! 14.bxc4 Ra3! 15.Be5 f6! 16.Bd4 Qa5 17.Be2! [Not 17.cxd5? e5–+] 

17...Bxc3+ 18.Rxc3 Rxc3 19.Kf1 b4 [19...dxc4 20.g5µ] 

20.g5! e5 [Wrong is 20...fxg5? 21.Bxg7 Qxa2 22.Bxh8+-] 

21.Bxc3 bxc3 22.gxf6 gxf6 23.Qb1 Qc7 24.Qd3 b5! 25.Qxc3 bxc4 26.e4! dxe4 27.Rh4 Be6 28.Rxe4 0–0 [Black should try 28...Kf7³ ] 

29.Bxc4 Kg7! 30.Qb3 Rb8 31.Bxe6 Rxb3 32.Rg4+ Kf8 33.Bxb3 Qc1+ 34.Kg2 Qc6+ 35.Kg1 h5 36.Rg8+ Ke7 37.Rg7+ Kd6 38.Rh7 Qf3 39.Rh8 e4 40.Rd8+ Ke7 41.Bd1 Qc3 [41...Kxd8? loses. 42.Bxf3 exf3 43.Kh2+-] 

42.Rd5 h4! 43.gxh4 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-mk-+-'
6-+-+-zp-+&
5+-+R+-+-%
4-+-+p+-zP$
3+-wq-+-+-#
2P+-+-zP-+"
1+-+L+-mK-!
xabcdefghy

43...f5! 44.Rxf5 Qe1+ Double Attack 

45.Kg2 Qxd1 46.Rg5 Qa1 47.Rg4 Qb1 48.Rg3 Qxa2 49.Rh3 Qd5 50.Kf1 Qd1+ 51.Kg2 Qg4+ 52.Rg3 Qh5 53.Ra3 Qd5 54.Kg1 Kf6 55.Rg3 Qd1+ 56.Kg2 Kf5 57.Rg5+ Kf4 58.Rg3 Qd5 59.Kf1 Qd2 60.Kg2 Qd1 61.Re3 Kf5 62.Rg3 Kf6 63.Rh3 Kg6 64.Rg3+ Kh5 65.Rh3 Qb1 66.Re3 Kxh4 67.Rg3 Kh5 68.Rh3+ Kg4 69.Rg3+ Kf4 70.Re3 Qd1 71.Ra3 Ke5 72.Rg3 Kd4 73.Re3 Qd3 0–1

Game four is between Alexander Grischuk with White against Kirill Alekseenko 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.

Grischuk,Alexander (2777) - Alekseenko,Kirill (2698)

FIDE Candidates 2020 Yekaterinburg (1.4), 17.03.2020

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.d3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Nc3 A20: English Opening: 1...e5. 

6...Nxc3 7.bxc3 0–0 8.Qc2 Nc6 9.Nf3 h6 10.0–0 Rb8N [10...Re8 11.Rd1 Bf5 12.Qb3 Bb6 13.Bb2 Rb8 14.Nd2 a6 15.Ne4 Qc8 16.Rac1 Be6 17.c4 Nd4 18.Bxd4 exd4 1–0 (35) Mrakovcic,K (1685)-Detelic,M Bjelolasica 2008] 

11.Bb2 b6 12.Rad1 Qe8 13.e4 Bd6 14.Nh4 Bg4 15.f3 Bd7 16.f4 exf4 17.gxf4 Na5 [17...f6=] 

18.Rde1 Qd8! 19.Qf2 Nc4 [19...Bc5= 20.d4 Be7] 

20.Bc1! [Wrong is 20.dxc4? Bc5–+] 

20...Bc5 21.d4 Be7 22.Nf3! f5 23.Qe2 Nd6 24.e5 Ne4 25.Nd2 Nxd2 

XABCDEFGHY
8-tr-wq-trk+(
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4-+-zP-zP-+$
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26.Bxd2 [Don't play 26.Qxd2?! Bb5²] 

26...Be6 27.Qd3 Qd7 28.Be3 c6 29.a4 a6 [29...Rfd8²] 

30.Qxa6 Ra8 31.Qxb6 Bd5 32.Qb2 Rxa4 33.Ra1 Rfa8 34.Rxa4 Rxa4 35.Ra1 Rxa1+ 36.Qxa1 Bxg2! 37.Kxg2 Qd5+ 38.Kf2 Bh4+ 39.Ke2 Qg2+ 40.Kd3 Qe4+ 41.Kd2 Qg2+= ½–½

KRUSH vs YU – ROUND 3 US CHAMPIONSHIP - Women 2019

This game is from round 3 of the US Championship Women 2019, fully annotated. It is between Irina Krush with White against Jennifer Yu with Black.

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

Krush,Irina (2451) - Yu,Jennifer (2273)

US-ch Women 2019 Saint Louis (3.1), 22.03.2019

1.c4 c6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Be6 7.a3 Qd7 [7...dxc4? 8.Bxf6 Qa5 9.Be5+-] 

8.Be2 B13: Caro-Kann: Exchange Variation and Panov-Botvinnik Attack [8.Nge2 dxc4 9.Bxf6 exf6 10.d5 0–0–0 11.dxc6 Qxc6 12.Qa4 Qb6 13.Qb5 Qc7 14.Ng3 a6 15.Qa4 Qf4 1–0 (39) Inarkiev,E (2693)-Dreev,A (2670) Moscow 2018] 

8...Rd8 [Of course not 8...dxc4?! 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.d5±] 

9.Bxf6 exf6 10.c5 The position is equal. 

10...g6 11.Nf3 

XABCDEFGHY
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11...h5 [11...Bh6 12.b4 a6 13.0–0 0–0 14.Rb1 Rfe8 15.a4 a5 1–0 (64) Sanchez Rodenas,J (2342)-Fetisov,A (2429) ICCF email 2014] 

12.b4 Bh6 13.b5 Ne7 14.h4 [14.a4±] 

14...Kf8 15.a4 Kg7 16.a5 

XABCDEFGHY
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16...Nc8 [16...Bg4=] 

17.b6 a6 18.Na2 Ne7 19.Nb4 Qc8 20.Ra3 Rde8 21.Rc3 Bd7 [21...Bg4=] 

22.0–0² Bc6 [22...Bf4²] 

23.Ne1 Nf5 24.Nxc6 Qxc6 

XABCDEFGHY
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25.Nc2! Nxh4 26.Nb4 Qe6 27.Bd3 [White should play 27.Bf3± ] 

27...Bf4 28.c6 [White should try 28.Bb1± ] 

28...Bd6= 29.Rc5 [29.Nc2!= keeps the balance. 29...bxc6 30.Bxa6] 

29...Bxc5‚ White is in trouble. [¹29...f5 White must now prevent ...Qf6. 30.cxb7 Qf6] 

30.dxc5µ bxc6 31.Nxa6 Qe5 Strongly threatening ...Qg5. 

32.Nc7? [32.b7µ might work better.] 

32...Re7!–+ 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-tr(
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33.Qa4? [33.a6 d4 34.a7 Qxc5 35.a8Q Rxa8 36.Nxa8] 

33...Qg5 Black is clearly winning. 

34.g3 Nf3+ 35.Kg2 Ne1+ 36.Rxe1 Rxe1 37.Qf4 Qg4 38.f3 Qd7 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-tr(
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39.a6 White hopes to continue with Qd6. 

39...Qe7 40.Qd2 Ra1 [Don't go for 40...Qe3? 41.Qxe3 Rxe3 42.a7+-]  0–1

ESWARAN vs WANG – ROUND 1 US CHAMPIONSHIP - Women 2019

This game is from round 1 of the US Championship Women 2019, fully annotated. It is between Ashritha Eswaran with White against Annie Wang with Black.

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

Eswaran,Ashritha (2234) - Wang,Annie (2304)

US-ch Women 2019 Saint Louis (1.4), 20.03.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Ne2 d6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.c3 d5 [5...e6 6.d4 Be7 7.d5 exd5 8.exd5 Ne5 9.f4 Ng6 10.c4 h5 11.h3 Bf5 12.Nbc3 Qd7 1/2–1/2 (31) Ma,Q (2637)-Xu,Y (2536) Beijing 2017] 

6.exd5 B20: Sicilian: Unusual White 2nd moves 

6...Nxd5 7.d4 e6 8.0–0 White is slightly better. 

8...Be7 

XABCDEFGHY
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9.a4 [9.Nd2 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nxd4 11.cxd4 0–0 12.Qb3 b6 1/2–1/2 (38) Kalvach,L (1815)-Aytmukhametov,B (1000) Prague 2018] 

9...0–0 10.Na3 cxd4 11.Nxd4 Bf6 12.Nac2 Nce7 

XABCDEFGHY
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13.f4 [White should play 13.Re1² ] 

13...Qc7= 14.Qf3 Bd7 15.Kh1 g6 16.Bd2 Rac8 17.Qf2 a6 18.Ne1 [18.Kg1=] 

18...Nc6 [Better is 18...Bxd4µ 19.Qxd4 Nf5] 

19.Ndf3 Na5 20.Nd3 Nb3 21.Ra3 Nxd2 22.Nxd2 Bc6 23.Ne4 Black must now prevent c4. 

23...Bg7 24.Nec5 Nb6 25.Raa1 Rfd8 26.Rfd1 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+rtr-+k+(
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26...Nc4 aiming for ...Bxg2+. 

27.Ne4 b6 28.Nb4 [28.Bf3µ was worth a try.] 

28...Bb7 [28...Bxe4–+ 29.Bxe4 29...Nxb2!] 

29.Qe2 a5 30.Nd3 Bc6 31.Ndf2 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+rtr-+k+(
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31...Bd5 [31...Rxd1+µ 32.Nxd1 Bb7] 

32.Ng5 [32.Rab1³] 

32...Bxg2+ [32...Qc6–+ and Black stays clearly on top. 33.Bxd5 exd5] 

33.Kxg2µ Qc6+ 34.Nf3 [White should try 34.Kh3 ] 

34...Rxd1 35.Nxd1 Rd8 36.Kg1 Bf8 37.Nd4 Bc5 38.Ne3? [38.Nf2µ Bxd4 39.cxd4 Rxd4 40.Rd1 Rxd1+ 41.Qxd1] 

38...Rxd4–+ 39.cxd4 

XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+k+(
7+-+-+p+p'
6-zpq+p+p+&
5zp-vl-+-+-%
4P+nzP-zP-+$
3+-+-sN-zP-#
2-zP-+Q+-zP"
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39...Bxd4 Double Attack 

40.Rc1 Qe4 41.Qxc4 Bxe3+ 42.Kf1 Qf3+  0–1