[Event "AUT-chT 1718"]
[Site "Austria"]
[Date "2018.04.05"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Huschenbeth, Niclas"]
[Black "Nisipeanu, Liviu Dieter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2601"]
[BlackElo "2673"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2017.11.16"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "AUT"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2019"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.10.10"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.10.10"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Goetzis"]
[BlackTeam "Jenbach"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "AUT"]
[BlackTeamCountry "AUT"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Nd7 7. c3 Ne7 8. dxc5
Nc6 9. b4 Be7 10. Nd4 Ndxe5 11. Nxf5 exf5 12. Na3 O-O 13. O-O Ng6 14. Qd2 f4
15. Bd4 Bg5 16. Bf3 Nh4 17. Qd3 Bf6 18. Nc2 Bxd4 19. cxd4 a5 20. b5 Nb4 21.
Nxb4 axb4 22. a4 bxa3 23. Rxa3 Rxa3 24. Qxa3 Re8 25. Qb3 Nxf3+ 26. Qxf3 Qd7 27.
Qd3 g6 28. Rc1 Re6 29. h3 Kg7 30. Kh2 h5 31. Qb3 h4 32. Qd3 Qe8 33. Rb1 Qb8 34.
Qf3 Re4 35. Rc1 Rxd4 36. Qc3 f3+ 37. Kh1 Qe5 38. Qa1 Kh7 39. c6 bxc6 40. bxc6
Qg5 41. gxf3 Ra4 42. c7 Rxa1 43. Rxa1 1-0

[Event "AUT-chT 1819"]
[Site "Austria"]
[Date "2019.01.18"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Nisipeanu, Liviu Dieter"]
[Black "Huschenbeth, Niclas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E05"]
[WhiteElo "2674"]
[BlackElo "2586"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2018.11.15"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "AUT"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 188 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.02.26"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.02.26"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Jenbach"]
[BlackTeam "Goetzis"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "AUT"]
[BlackTeamCountry "AUT"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d4 O-O 6. c4 dxc4 7. Ne5 Nc6 8.
Nxc6 bxc6 9. Na3 Bxa3 10. bxa3 Ba6 11. Qd2 Rb8 12. Qa5 Qc8 13. a4 Rd8 14. Ba3
Rxd4 15. Rfb1 Rxb1+ 16. Rxb1 h6 17. Bc5 Rd5 18. e4 Rd3 19. h3 c3 20. Kh2 Nd7
21. Bxa7 c2 22. Rc1 Qb7 23. Be3 Rxe3 24. fxe3 Bd3 25. Qc3 Qb1 26. Rg1 Ne5 27.
Qxe5 Qxg1+ 28. Kxg1 c1=Q+ 29. Kh2 Qc2 30. Qf4 Qxa2 31. e5 c5 0-1

[Event "POL-chT Ekstraliga"]
[Site "Katowice"]
[Date "2019.09.03"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "Piorun, Kacper"]
[Black "Huschenbeth, Niclas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "2660"]
[BlackElo "2620"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2019.08.28"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2020"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.10.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.10.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Gorzow Wlkp Stilon"]
[BlackTeam "Raciborz Silesia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "POL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. d3 d6 7. c3 O-O 8. Nbd2
b5 9. Bc2 Be6 10. h3 h6 11. Re1 Re8 12. Nf1 d5 13. exd5 Qxd5 14. Ng3 Rad8 15.
b4 Bb6 16. a4 Qd6 17. axb5 axb5 18. Nh4 Nxb4 19. cxb4 Qd4 20. Be3 Qxh4 21. Bxb6
cxb6 22. Rxe5 Rd5 23. d4 Qxd4 24. Rxd5 Qxd5 25. Qb1 Bd7 26. Bb3 Qd2 27. Nf1 Qd4
28. Ra7 Re2 29. Ne3 Qf4 30. Ra8+ Be8 31. Qf1 Rxe3 32. Bxf7+ Kxf7 33. fxe3 Qxe3+
34. Kh1 Bc6 35. Ra7+ Kg6 36. Qb1+ Be4 37. Qa2 Qxh3+ 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2019.09.12"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Huschenbeth, Niclas"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C18"]
[WhiteElo "2620"]
[BlackElo "2643"]
[Annotator "Huschenbeth,N"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2019.09.10"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 192"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.10.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.10.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,10,25,25,42,45,30,24,34,34,34,13,27] In my first World Cup I was
paired against Arkadij Naiditsch. That was good and bad news at the same time.
Bad news, because Naiditsch is a very strong grandmaster and in our three
encounters so far, I lost two and drew one. Good news, because Naiditsch's
fighting nature meant that I certainly would get chances. I was paired to play
with the white pieces in the first game. For me, this meant to apply pressure
right from the start and play aggressively. Bei meinem ersten World Cup wurde
ich gegen Arkadij Naiditsch gepaart. Diese Nachricht war gut und gleichzeitig
auch schlecht. Schlecht, weil Naiditisch ein sehr starker Großmeister ist und
ich von unseren drei bisherigen Begegnungen zwei verlor und eine remisierte.
Gut, weil Naiditschs Kämpfernatur bedeutete, dass ich bestimmt Chancen
bekommen würde. In der ersten Partie bekam ich die weißen Figuren zugelost.
Für mich hieß das, von Beginn an Druck auszuüben und aggressiv zu spielen.} 
1. e4 e6 {A slight surprise. Usually Naiditsch prefers 1...e5 and the Berlin
Defence. Eine leichte Überraschung. Gewöhnlich bevorzugt Naiditsch 1...e5
und die Berliner Verteidigung.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6.
bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 cxd4 {Finally, Naiditsch reveals his cards. In the past he had
played 7...0-0, but I did not really expect it as according to theory it is
not sound for Black. With 7...cxd4 the main line of the Winawer is introduced,
one of the sharpest and most difficult variations in opening theory.
Fortunately, I had an intuition before the game and checked this line briefly.
Schließlich deckt Naiditsch seine Karten auf. In der Vergangenheit hatte er 7.
..0-0 gespielt, aber ich hatte es nicht wirklich erwartet, da es laut Theorie
für Schwarz nicht gesund ist. Mit 7...cxd4 wird das Hauptabpiele von Winawer
eingeleitet, eine der schärfsten und schwierigsten Varianten in der
Eröffnungstheorie. Zum Glück hatte ich vor der Partie eine Eingebung und
checkte dieses Abspiel kurz.} 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 Qc7 {Black sacrifices two
pawns, but hopes to obtain compensation in form of better development and the
often vulnerable white king. Schwarz opfert zwei Bauern, hofft aber,
Kompensation zu erhalten in Form besserer Entwicklung und des oft anfälligen
weißen Königs.} 10. Qd3 $1 {The exclamation mark is not so much for the
objective value of this move (that is still open for discussion), but rather
for the practical value. This rare move, championed by Alphazero in the match
against Stockfish, brought my opponent out of his preparation. And to my mind,
this is an important factor in opening preparation battles these days. Who
surprises who first! Das Ausrufezeichen ist weniger für den objektiven Wert
dieses Zuges (der noch zur Diskussion steht), sondern vielmehr für den
praktischen Wert. Dieser seltene Zug, verfochten von Alphazero im Match gegen
Stockfish, brachte meinen Gegner aus seiner Vorbereitung. Und in meinen Augen
ist dies ein wichtiger Faktor bei Eröffnungsvorbereitungsschlachten
heutzutage. Wer überrascht wen zuerst!} (10. Ne2 {is the clear main line. ist
das eindeutige Hauptabspiel.}) 10... Qxe5+ (10... dxc3 {was Stockfish's choice
and strikes me as the better continuation. Further games will show if Black is
doing fine here. war Stockfishs Wahl und scheint mir die bessere Fortsetzung.
Weitere Partien werden zeigen, ob Schwarz hier ordentlich steht.} 11. Nf3 (11.
Ne2 {with the intention to transpose to the game after 11...Qxe5. But Black
does not have to comply: mit der Absicht, nach 11...Dxe5 zur Partie
überzuleiten. Aber Schwarz muss nicht mitmachen:} Nbc6 12. Qxc3 Bd7 $1 13. f4
{in fact transposes to a main branch of the Winawer. leitet de facto zu einem
Hauptzweig von Winawer über.}) 11... b6 12. h4 Ba6 13. Qd4 Bxf1 14. Kxf1 Nd7
15. h5 Rc8 16. h6 Qc4+ 17. Qxc4 Rxc4 18. Bg5 $14 {was seen in AlphaZero -
Stockfish, London 2018. Alphazero tortured its opponent for 123 moves, but in
the end Stockfish held the draw. sah man in AlphaZero - Stockfish, London 2018.
Alphazero quälte seinen Gegner 123 Züge lang, aber am Ende hielt Stockfish
das Remis.}) 11. Ne2 dxc3 12. Qxc3 Nbc6 (12... Qxc3+ {is the alternative.
Black argues that the white knight is worse placed on c3. However, after ist
die Alternative. Schwarz argumentiert, dass der weiße Springer auf c3
schlechter steht. Doch nach} 13. Nxc3 Bd7 14. h4 f6 15. h5 Kf7 16. h6 $14 {
the strong pawn on h6 promises White an advantage. verspricht der starke Bauer
auf h6 Weiß Vorteil.}) 13. Qxe5 Nxe5 {How should this endgame be evaluated?
The white trumps are the bishop pair and the passed pawn on the h-file. Black,
on the other hand, controls the center and has the slightly better pawn
structure as he has two pawn islands and White three. Therefore, White should
apply pressure before Black is fully coordinated and starts to create threats
of his own. Wie ist dieses Endspiel einzuschätzen? Die weißen Trümpfe sind
das Läuferpaar und der Freibauer auf der h-Linie. Schwarz hingegen
kontrolliert das Zentrum und hat die leicht bessere Bauernstruktur, denn er
hat zwei Bauerninseln und Weiß drei. Daher sollte Weiß Druck machen, bevor
Schwarz vollständig koordiniert ist und anfängt, selber Drohungen
aufzustellen.} 14. Ng3 (14. Nf4 $5 {was chosen in correspondence games and is
likely more precise. wurde in Fernschachpartien gespielt und ist
wahrscheinlich genauer.}) 14... f6 {As Black is lacking the dark-squared
bishop and he is vulnerable on these squares, he tries to build a barricade
with f7-f6 and potentially e6-e5 later. Da Schwarz der schwarzfeldrige Läufer
fehlt und er auf diesen Feldern anfällig ist, versucht er, mit f7-f6 und
später potentiell e6-e5 eine Barrikade zu errichten.} 15. Bb2 Kf7 16. Nh5 Nd7
(16... b6 {allows erlaubt} 17. Nxf6 $1 Kxf6 18. f4 $18) (16... N7g6 {was seen
in another game. geschah in einer anderen Partie.} 17. f4 Ng4 18. Be2 e5 19.
fxe5 N6xe5 20. O-O $18 {was crushing in Beerdsen,T (2488)-Sarvadh,S (2103)
Maastricht 2019 war vernichtend in Beerdsen,T (2488)-Sarvadh,S (2103)
Maastricht 2019}) 17. O-O-O b6 ({So far we were following a game by Van
Foreest which I had briefly clicked though before my game. Here Van Foreest's
opponent played Bis hierher folgten wir einer Partie von Van Foreest, die ich
vor meiner Partie kurz durchgeklickt hatte. Hier zog Van Foreests Gegner} 17...
a6 {and after und nach} 18. Be2 e5 19. Rhg1 b5 20. f4 Bb7 21. g4 {White
obtained a winning position in Van Foreest,J (2626)-Karthik,V (2462) Zuerich
2019 erlangte Weiß Gewinnstellung in Van Foreest,J (2626)-Karthik,V (2462)
Zuerich 2019.}) 18. Rg1 $1 {White wants to push the kingside pawns, expose the
dark squares once again and open up the position for the two bishops and
against the black king. Weiß will die Königsflügelbauern vorstoßen, die
schwarzen Felder erneut exponiert und die Stellung öffnen für die zwei
Läufer und gegen den schwarzen König.} Bb7 19. g4 Rh8 {The start of a
creative, but ultimately flawed maneuver to stop my pawn assault. Der Beginn
eines kreativen, aber letztlich verfehlten Manövers, um meinen Bauernangriff
zu stoppen.} ({As I only found out afterwards, up to this point we followed a
correspondence game. Even there, with lots of time and the assistance of
engines, Black was not able to hold the position. That certainly tells you the
amount of trouble Black is already in. Wie ich erst nachher feststellte,
folgten wir bis zu diesem Punkt einer Fernpartie. Selbst dort, mit massenhaft
Zeit und der Unterstützung von Engines, gelang es Schwarz nicht, die Stellung
zu halten. Das sagt sicher einiges über das Ausmaß an Schwierigkeiten, in
welchen er bereits steckt.} 19... Bc6 20. h4 Rac8 21. Kb1 Ba4 22. Rc1 Rc5 23.
g5 fxg5 24. hxg5 Rgc8 25. Bd3 Ng6 26. f4 $16 {Guerra,R (2217)-Beer, D (2077)
ICCF 2019 Guerra,R (2217)-Beer, D (2077) ICCF 2019}) 20. f4 Rh6 21. Be2 Rah8 {
Black has stopped g4-g5 successfully (due to Rxh5), but the setup of his
pieces allows a tactical strike. Schwarz hat g4-g5 erfolgreich gestoppt (wegen
Txh5), aber die Aufstellung seiner Figuren erlaubt einen taktischen Schlag.}
22. Nxf6 $1 Nxf6 (22... Rxf6 23. g5 {is the problem for Black. He is losing at
least an exchange. ist das Problem für Schwarz. Er verliert mindestens eine
Qualität.} Rxh2 24. gxf6 Nxf6 25. Bd3 $18 {White should have no difficulties
in converting his extra material. Weiß dürfte keine Probleme haben, sein
Mehrmaterial zu verwerten.}) 23. g5 Rxh2 24. gxf6 (24. Bxf6 $5 {is also
attractive, but I preferred opening the g-file. ist auch attraktiv, aber ich
zog es vor, die g-Linie zu öffnen.}) 24... Nf5 (24... Rxe2 {does not work due
to funktioniert nicht wegen} 25. Rg7+ Kf8 26. Rxe7 Rhh2 27. Rc7 $18 {and the
plan of Be5-d6 will force resignation soon. und der Plan Le5-d6 wird bald die
Aufgabe erzwingen.}) 25. Bd3 {White threatens to take on f5 and intrude on g7,
therefore the reply is forced. Weiß droht, auf f7 zu schlagen und auf g7
einzudringen, daher ist die Antwort erzwungen..} R8h7 {In this position, I
took a long think, pondering how to proceed. In the end I settled on the trade
on f5 which I believe is a good practical choice. In dieser Stellung
überlegte ich lange, wie es weitergehen soll. Am Ende entschied ich mich für
den Tausch auf f5, was meines Erachtens eine gute praktische Wahl ist.} 26.
Bxf5 exf5 27. Bd4 $1 {An important move, stopping the d5-d4 idea and
activating the bishop once and for all. In positions with opposite-colored
bishops the activity of each bishop is crucial. Here my bishop is clearly
superior to the black one. Ein wichtiger Zug, er stoppt ein für allemal die
Idee d5-d4 mit Aktivierung des Läufers. In Stellungen mit ungleichfarbigen
Läufern ist die Aktivität der jeweiligen Läufer äußerst wichtig. Hier ist
mein Läufer dem schwarzen klar überlegen.} (27. Rg7+ Rxg7 28. fxg7 Bc6 $1 (
28... d4 {is premature. White wins after ist verfrüht. Weiß gewinnt nach} 29.
Rxd4 Rh1+ 30. Kd2 Rh2+ 31. Ke1 Rh1+ 32. Kf2 Rh2+ 33. Kg3 Rg2+ 34. Kh3 Ke7 35.
Rc4 $18) 29. Be5 (29. c4 {shows why I placed my bishop on d4. zeigt, warum ich
meinen Läufer auf d4 platzierte.} d4 $1 30. Bxd4 Be4 {and Black is back in
business. and Black is back in business.}) 29... Ba4 30. Rxd5 Rxc2+ 31. Kb1 Rc8
32. Bd4 Kg8 {White still has good winning chances, but it will be anything but
easy to convert this position. Weiß hat noch immer gute Gewinnchancen, aber
es wird alles andere als leicht sein, diese Stellung zu verwerten.}) 27... Ba6
{A creative idea which came as a surprise to me. However, it is not enough to
save Black. Eine kreative Idee, die für mich überraschend kam. Allerdings
reicht sie nicht aus, um Schwarz zu retten.} (27... Bc8 {was the move I
expected. war der Zug, den ich erwartete.} 28. Rde1 Be6 29. Rg7+ Rxg7 30. fxg7
Rh6 31. Re3 $1 {White invades via c3-c7 and one after the other, the black
pawns will fall. Weiß dringt über c3-c7 ein, und die schwarzen Bauern werden
fallen, einer nach dem anderen.}) (27... Bc6 {also does not save Black: rettet
Schwarz ebenfalls nicht:} 28. Rde1 Ba4 29. Re7+ Kf8 30. Rgg7 Rxc2+ 31. Kb1 Rh1+
32. Bg1 {The rooks on the seventh rank are too strong and allow White to pick
up Black's queenside pawns. Die Türme auf der siebten Reihe sind zu stark und
erlauben Weiß, die schwarzen Damenflügelbauern einzusammeln.} Rc4 33. Ref7+
Ke8 34. Rxa7 Kf8 35. Raf7+ Ke8 36. Rb7 Kf8 37. Rxb6 $18) 28. Rg7+ Rxg7 29. fxg7
Be2 30. Rg1 Bg4 {Here we see Black's idea. He is blocking the path ways into
his position with his bishop. Hier sehen wir die Idee von Schwarz. Er blockt
die Zugangswege in seine Stellung mit seinem Läufer.} 31. Re1 Be2 (31... Re2 {
allows the rook to enter after erlaubt das Eindringen des Turms nach} 32. Rh1
Re8 33. Rh8 Rg8 34. Rh6 $18 {and rook to c6 or d6 will come next. und als
Nächstes kommt Turm nach c6 oder d6.}) 32. Rg1 Bg4 33. Re1 Be2 {I repeated
moves once to get closer to move 40 and the time control. Ich wiederholte
einmal die Züge, um näher an den 40. Zug und die Zeitkontrolle heranzukommen.
} 34. a4 $1 {This is the way. White needs to open more files for the rook. In
the meantime, Black is paralyzed. He cannot move the bishop as the white rook
could invade via the e-file. And the rook is tied to defending the bishop. Das
ist der Weg. Weiß muss weitere Linien für den Turm öffnen. In der
Zwischenzeit ist Schwarz paralysiert. Er kann den Läufer nicht ziehen, da der
weiße Turm über die e-Linie eindringen könnte. Und der Turm ist an die
Verteidigung des Läufers gebunden.} Kg8 35. Kb2 a5 {This stops a4-a5, but has
its own drawbacks. There was no salvation for Black anyway. Dies stoppt a4-a5,
hat aber seine eigenen Nachteile. Es gab sowieso keine Rettung für Schwarz.} (
35... a6 36. a5 bxa5 (36... b5 37. Ka3 $18 {and the king enters via the dark
squares. und der König dringt über die dunklen Felder ein.}) 37. Ka3 Kf7 38.
Rg1 {Now the bishop cannot block all pathways anymore. There are too many open
files. Nun kann der Läufer nicht mehr alle Zugangswege blockieren. Es gibt zu
viele offene Linien.} Kg8 (38... Bg4 39. Rb1 $18) 39. Rg6 Bb5 40. Rd6 Re2 {
Black stays alive for now, but White can just calmly pick up the pawns. Für
den Moment bleibt Schwarz am Leben, aber Weiß kann einfach in Ruhe die Bauern
einsammeln.} 41. Rxd5 Re6 42. Rxf5 $18) 36. Ka1 $1 {An aesthetic move,
preparing Re1-b1. I did not want to place the king on a2 or a3 as it runs into
checks by the rook or bishop. Ein ästhetischer Zug, zur Vorbereitung von
Te1-b1. Ich wollte den König nicht nach a2 oder a3 stellen, da er in Schachs
von Turm oder Läufer hineinrennt.} Kf7 37. Rb1 Rh6 38. Rg1 Kg8 (38... Bg4 39.
Re1 {Now Bg4-e2 is not possible anymore. Nun ist Lg4-e2 nicht mehr möglich.}
Rg6 40. Rh1 $18 {and the rook is going to enter. and the rook is going to
enter.}) 39. Rg3 {Naiditsch resigned as the invasion of the rook cannot be
stopped. Naiditsch gab auf, denn die Invasion des Turms ist nicht aufzuhalten.}
(39. Rg3 {A sample line of how play could have continued: Eine Mustervariante,
wie das Spiel hätte weitergehen können:} Bh5 40. Rc3 Re6 41. Kb2 Kh7 42. Rc7
Kg8 43. Rb7 Be8 44. Rb8 Kf7 45. Kc3 Kg8 46. Be5 Kf7 47. Kd4 $18 {Black is
completely passive and with the white king approaching, it is soon game over.
Schwarz steht komplett passiv, und mit dem herannahenden weißen König heißt
es bald Game over.}) 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2019.09.12"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Black "Huschenbeth, Niclas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2643"]
[BlackElo "2620"]
[Annotator "Huschenbeth,N"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2019.09.10"]
[EventType "k.o."]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 192"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.10.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.10.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,15,25,25,22,13,24,-15,-3,-19,-22,-16,-2,-16,2,0,-8,-32] The second
game in my first round match against Naiditsch in the World Cup. After winning
the first game, it was clear that Naiditsch would come at me with everything
he had.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 {The Catalan certainly came as a
surprise to me. It was not the kind of opening I expected in a must-win
scenario. However, Naiditsch had prepared a sharp line in which White
sacrifices a pawn for long-term compensation.} dxc4 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 $5 (6.
Bd2 {is the clear main move.}) 6... Nc6 7. O-O O-O {This position can also
arise via the Nimzo-Indian with 4.g3. White has many ways to proceed.
Naiditsch's continuation has been popular recently, for example has it been
played several times by Daniil Dubov.} 8. Qa4 Nd5 9. Qc2 Be7 {Vacating the
b4-square for the knights which becomes especially important in case of e2-e4.
So far, I still remembered vaguely my computer notes.} 10. Rd1 Rb8 {This move
makes a lot of sense as b7-b5 is prepared and the rook steps prophylactically
out of the long diagonal.} 11. e4 Ncb4 $1 {This is an important move as the
knight on c6 is often misplaced.} (11... Ndb4 12. Qe2 Nd3 13. Be3 b5 14. b3 {
looks a bit dodgy for Black.}) 12. Qd2 (12. Qb1 {did not scare me much. After}
Nxc3 13. bxc3 Nd3 14. Qb5 c5 15. Qxc4 Nxc1 16. Raxc1 b5 17. Qe2 Qc7 $11 {
Black has equalized comfortably.}) 12... Nxc3 13. Qxc3 {The point behind 12.
Qd2. White is able to take back with the queen and leverage the pawn on c4
with b2-b3.} b5 14. b3 Bb7 15. Ne1 $1 {A good move, protecting the pawn on e4
and stopping any Nb4-d3 ideas.} cxb3 16. axb3 {I was quite happy to see this
move as it allows me to (finally) create some counter play.} ({However, also} 
16. Qxb3 {does not promise White an advantage.} Nc6 (16... a5 $5) 17. d5 (17.
Be3 a6 $15 {with the idea Nc6-a5-c4 and White needs to prove his compensation.}
) 17... Na5 18. Qxb5 c6 $1 19. Qd3 cxd5 20. exd5 Bxd5 $11 {Mass exchanges
follow and the position is equal.}) 16... f5 $1 {attacking the center and
opening up the light squares for my pieces. The pawn on a7 is not important
for now. It is more important that I create some threats of my own.} 17. exf5 (
17. f3 {is not a move White happily plays as it weakens his king and the g1-a7
diagonal.} fxe4 {was my intention.} (17... Ra8 $5 {is the engine's suggestion
and might be just much better for Black.}) 18. fxe4 c5 19. Be3 (19. Bf4 cxd4
20. Rxd4 Rc8 $1 $17) 19... Nc6 20. dxc5 Qc7 $13 {looked fine to me during the
game.}) 17... Bxg2 18. Nxg2 Rxf5 19. Ne3 (19. Rxa7 {can be answered by} Bc5 20.
Ra1 Bd6 $11 {and Black is doing perfectly fine.}) 19... Nd5 {I am happy to
trade the pair of knights, further reducing the white potential.} 20. Qc2 Nxe3
21. fxe3 $5 {Objectively dubious, but White needs to win and this is his best
chance.} (21. Bxe3 Ra8 ({or} 21... Qd5 22. Qxc7 Bd6 23. Qc2 (23. Qxa7 h5 $1 {
looks promising for Black.}) 23... Rf7 $11) 22. Ra6 Qd5 23. Qxc7 Bd8 24. Qc6
Bb6 $15 {Black should never lose this position.}) {White's intentions are
clear. He would like to take on a7 with the rook and follow up with e4-e5,
increasing his space advantage and putting the pawn on c7 under further
pressure. For a while, I could not see a remedy against this simple plan and
as my time became shorter, I was getting nervous. Finally though, I spotted an
important idea...} 21... Rf7 $1 (21... Rd5 {is also possible.} 22. Bb2 (22.
Rxa7 Bc5 23. Ra2 e5 $11) 22... Ra8 $13) 22. Rxa7 Bd6 23. e4 $6 {The natural
follow-up, but it runs into a strong counter.} (23. Ra2 {should be played, but
after} Qf6 24. e4 e5 $15 {Black is also quite comfortable.}) 23... e5 $1 {
This is the important idea I had to spot before playing 21...Rf7. Black stops
e4-e5 and secures the bishop on d6. Furthermore, the diagonal g1-a7 will be
opened and tactical ideas hang in the air.} 24. Be3 (24. dxe5 Bc5+ $1 25. Kg2 (
25. Qxc5 Qxd1+ {is mate next move.}) 25... Qf8 26. Ra2 Rf2+ $19) (24. d5 Qe7
25. Be3 Rf3 $19 {shows the troubles along the g1-a7 diagonal. No matter what
White does, Black sacrifices his rook against the bishop and follows up with
Bd6-c5.}) 24... exd4 25. Bxd4 Qg5 26. b4 $1 {Naiditsch keeps posing problems.}
Rbf8 27. Qb3 {I had missed this idea altogether. Due to my weak back rank, I
cannot comfortably unpin my rook on f7. As my time became critically short, I
resorted to a move which looks insane, but ultimately works.} c5 $5 {Opening
the seventh rank for the white rook, but with the intention to either trade a
lot of pieces or close the a2-g8 diagonal with c5-c4.} (27... Kh8 28. e5 {
was my worry. However, Black can force a draw right away with} Qg4 $1 ({not} 
28... Bxe5 29. Qxf7 $18) 29. exd6 Rf1+ 30. Rxf1 Qxd4+ 31. Kg2 Qd2+ 32. Kh3 Qh6+
$11) (27... h6 $1 {keeps the advantage for Black.} 28. Rf1 Qg6 29. Bc5 (29. e5
Bxe5 $1 {This is the idea I missed in my calculations.} 30. Bxe5 Qb6+ $19)
29... Bxc5+ 30. bxc5 Qc6 $17) 28. Rxf7 {Naiditsch spent almost his entire time
to find a way to an advantage. But it turns out, there is nothing White can do.
} Rxf7 29. bxc5 (29. Bxg7 c4 30. Qc3 Bxb4 $1 31. Qxb4 Qe3+ 32. Kg2 Qf3+ $19) (
29. e5 c4 30. Qc3 Qg4 $1 31. Rd2 (31. Re1 Bxb4 $1 $19) 31... Be7 $19) (29. Be3
c4 30. Qa3 {I calculated this move for a while.} (30. Bxg5 {is an important
variation.} cxb3 31. Rxd6 (31. Rb1 {is also no winning attempt.} Bxb4 32. Rxb3
Bc5+ 33. Kg2 Rf2+ 34. Kh3 b4 $17) 31... b2 32. Rd1 Ra7 $19) (30. Qd3 $5 {
is curiously the best move White has.}) 30... Bf4 {was my intention and
secures Black at least an equal position.} (30... Qf6 $1 {is even better.} 31.
Bd4 Qf3 $17) 31. Qa8+ Rf8 32. Bxf4 Qxf4 33. gxf4 (33. Qd5+ Qf7 $17) 33... Rxa8
$15 {Due to his protected passer on c4, Black has nothing to worry about in
this endgame.}) 29... Bxc5 30. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 31. Kg2 {We were both now in severe
time trouble and played the next moves with around one minute on the clock.}
Qf2+ ({It's not too late to go wrong with} 31... Qc4 $4 32. Qxc4 bxc4 33. Rd8+
{White forces the pawn endgame and wins.} Rf8 34. Rxf8+ Kxf8 35. Kf3 Ke7 36.
Ke3 Ke6 37. Kd4 $18) 32. Kh3 Qf6 {Stopping Rd1-d8+ and intending to answer
Qb3xb5 with Qf6-e6+.} 33. Qd5 h6 34. Re1 b4 {Played with only two seconds on
the clock.} 35. Qc4 Kh7 (35... Qc3 $1 {would have been simplest. Black forces
a rook endgame in which White has to defend.}) 36. Qxb4 $4 {This loses. Most
other moves make a draw for White.} Qe6+ 37. Kg2 (37. Kh4 g5+ 38. Kh5 Qh3#) (
37. g4 Rf3+ 38. Kg2 Qxg4+ 39. Kh1 Rf2 $19) 37... Qa2+ $1 {The move that
Naiditsch missed. White has no good way to react to the side-check.} 38. Kh3 (
38. Kh1 Rf2 $19) (38. Kg1 Qf2+ (38... Rf2 39. Qc5 $11) 39. Kh1 Ra7 $1 $19)
38... Qe6+ 39. Kg2 Qa2+ 40. Kh3 {Now I could have repeated the position for a
third time with 40...Qe6+ and secure the match victory. However, I spent my
remaining one an and a half minutes to consider Rf7-f2 and concluded that I
will certainly not lose this position.} Rf2 {Naiditsch resigned right away
which seems a bit premature. However, the position is indeed lost and
Naiditsch likely did not want to continue a game in which he has no chances to
win and even a draw would mean defeat in the match.} (40... Rf2 {Here is a
sample line, how the game could have continued:} 41. e5 Rxh2+ 42. Kg4 Qf7 $1
43. Qe4+ g6 44. Rd1 h5+ 45. Kg5 Qe7+ 46. Kf4 Rf2+ 47. Ke3 Rf5 48. Rd5 Qg5+ 49.
Kd4 Qxg3 $19 {Black has picked up another pawn and the white king is still up
in the open.}) 0-1

[Event "CZE-chT 1920"]
[Site "Czech Republic"]
[Date "2019.12.01"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Huschenbeth, Niclas"]
[Black "Nabaty, Tamir"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2624"]
[BlackElo "2658"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2019.10.12"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 193 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2020.01.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.01.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Brno Duras"]
[BlackTeam "Lysa nad Labem"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "CZE"]
[BlackTeamCountry "CZE"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 7. O-O Be7 8.
Ne5 Nd7 9. Nc3 Nxe5 10. dxe5 Qd7 11. Qf3 Bg4 12. e6 Bxe6 13. Nxe4 Bg4 14. Qe3
dxe4 15. Bxe4 c6 16. Re1 Be6 17. Bd2 O-O 18. Bc3 Rfe8 19. Qg3 Bf8 20. Rad1 Qe7
21. Re3 Rad8 22. Rde1 Qd6 23. Be5 Qc5 24. Bf6 Rd7 25. Bd3 g6 26. h4 Bg7 27. Re5
Rd5 28. Bxg7 Kxg7 29. h5 Rxe5 30. Rxe5 Qd4 31. c3 Qd8 32. Qe3 Qb6 33. h6+ Kf8
34. Qe2 Qd8 35. a3 Re7 36. Qf3 Ke8 37. Re3 Rd7 38. Qg3 Kf8 39. Be2 Rd5 40. Qf4
Qd6 41. Qf6 Rd2 42. Bg4 Ke8 43. g3 Qd8 44. Qh8+ Ke7 45. Qxh7 Rd1+ 46. Kh2 Rd6
47. Qg7 Qb6 48. h7 1-0

[Event "Bundesliga 1920"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2021.10.14"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Areshchenko, Alexander"]
[Black "Huschenbeth, Niclas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2675"]
[BlackElo "2628"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2019.11.23"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2022"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.06"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.06"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Werder Bremen"]
[BlackTeam "Bayern Muenchen"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be3
h6 9. g3 Be6 10. Bg2 Nbd7 11. O-O Rc8 12. a4 Nb6 13. Nd2 O-O 14. a5 Nbd7 15. f4
Nc5 16. Kh1 d5 17. Bxc5 Bxc5 18. fxe5 d4 19. Na4 Nd7 20. Nxc5 Rxc5 21. Nf3 Rxa5
22. Qxd4 Rxa1 23. Rxa1 Qc8 24. c3 Nc5 25. Rd1 Bxh3 26. b4 Bxg2+ 27. Kxg2 Ne6
28. Qe3 Qc7 29. Rd5 Rc8 30. Nd4 Qxc3 31. Qxc3 Rxc3 32. Nxe6 fxe6 33. Rd8+ Kh7
34. Rd7 Rc4 35. Rxb7 Rxe4 36. Rb6 Rxe5 37. Rxa6 Kg6 38. Kf3 Kf6 39. Rb6 h5 40.
Rb8 Re1 41. b5 Rb1 42. b6 Kg5 43. b7 Rb3+ 44. Ke4 Kg4 45. Ke5 Kxg3 46. Kd6 h4
47. Kc6 g5 48. Rg8 g4 49. b8=Q+ Rxb8 50. Rxb8 h3 51. Kd6 h2 52. Rh8 Kg2 53. Ke5
g3 54. Kf4 e5+ 55. Kg4 Kf2 56. Rh3 e4 0-1

[Event "German Masters"]
[Site "Magdeburg"]
[Date "2020.08.19"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Huschenbeth, Niclas"]
[Black "Donchenko, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C90"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2657"]
[Annotator "Huschenbeth,Niclas"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2020.08.16"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 198 extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2020.09.21"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.09.21"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%evp 0,85,19,38,25,16,14,23,25,0,4,0,9,7,7,4,-1,-1,1,-15,5,-35,-9,-37,23,-30,
-26,-28,-34,-31,-19,-19,-17,-16,-11,-8,3,-15,8,14,2,-14,-14,0,39,52,76,93,105,
121,175,217,202,192,184,186,158,158,210,190,179,181,172,175,175,196,208,149,
132,151,139,186,186,250,311,281,625,747,767,807,805,873,904,976,995,1028,1038,
1048] In the fourth round of the German Masters, I faced the young and
talented Alexander Donchenko, who had just recently become the new No. 1 in
Germany. In the first three rounds, I had lost one and drew two, while
Alexander had stormed ahead with two wins and was leading with 2,5/3 points.
In hindsight, this game would mark a turning point in the tournament for both
of us.} 1. e4 e5 {Alexander plays a lot of different openings, yet he had
rarely chosen 1...e5 before and I did not spend a single second in my
preparation on this move. It's always a bit of an unpleasant feeling to invest
a good amount of time in the preparation and have it dodged already in the
first move...} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O
{Now, Alexander shows his cards. He likely wants to play the Marshall Gambit
after 8.c3 d5. This choice made a lot of sense, because it was easy to prepare
against me. I had never played another move than 8.a4 and would not deviate
now, going into another line that I don't know anything about.} 8. a4 b4 (8...
Bb7 {is the alternative that Nils Grandelius has successfully employed against
me. It leads to much quieter, more "normal" positions than the more played 8...
b4.}) 9. a5 {The new, trendy move. White stops Black from going a6-a5 himself
and thus, marks b4 and sometimes a6 as a possible target. The drawback lies in
the fact that the a5-pawn can become a weakness as well.} (9. d3 {is still the
most played move, but rarely chosen anymore. If so, it may transpose anyway to
9.a5 after} d6 10. a5) (9. d4 {is another popular attempt to pose problems and
leads to completely different positions after} d6 10. dxe5 dxe5 {According to
the current state of theory, Black does not have to fear this variation very
much.} ({or} 10... Nxe5 11. Nxe5 dxe5)) 9... d6 10. c3 {This is a more precise
move order than 12.d3 as it limits Black's options.} ({After} 10. d3 Be6 11.
Bxe6 fxe6 12. Nbd2 {Black has the additional option} d5 {which was just fine
for Black in Vachier Lagrave,M (2773)-Aronian,L (2763) Karlsruhe/Baden Baden
2019}) 10... Rb8 11. h3 $5 {This move is rarely chosen and was supposed to
surprise my opponent. As White is covering the g4-square, he is preparing to
play d2-d4 in one go.} (11. d3 {is the quiet alternative which can also be
reached after 10.d3.} Be6 12. Bxe6 fxe6 {Interestingly, just six days after
our game, Alexander had the same variation on the board again against Ivan
Saric. The strong Croatian grandmaster surprised him with the rare 13.d4 and
went on to win.} 13. d4 bxc3 14. bxc3 Qe8 (14... exd4 $5 15. cxd4 d5 $11) 15.
Nbd2 Qg6 16. Qe2 (16. Qa4 $1 $16) 16... exd4 17. Qxa6 dxc3 18. Qxc6 cxd2 19.
Bxd2 $14 {Saric,I (2646)-Donchenko,A (2657) Skalica 2020}) (11. Bc4 {is the
most played move in this position to target the a6-pawn and prophylactically
move the bishop out of the b-file. I had played this move (unsuccessfully)
against Harikrishna last year, so it was not an option for this game as
Alexander most certainly had prepared against it.}) 11... h6 $146 {Played
after over half an hour of thought. Now I used as much of my own time to
decide between 12. d3 and 12.d4.} ({Black had two good alternatives. One is
the direct} 11... Rb5 {going after the a5-pawn.} 12. cxb4 (12. d4 Rxa5 13. Rxa5
Nxa5 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. Nxe5 Qxd1 16. Bxd1 Rd8 $11 {promises White nothing.})
12... Rxb4 13. d3 Be6 14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. Bd2 Rb7 $11 {is fine for Black, but of
course there is still plenty of play ahead.}) ({The standard} 11... Be6 {
feels like a concession as White can play d2-d4 in one move. However, after}
12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. d4 bxc3 14. bxc3 exd4 15. cxd4 d5 {Black counters in the
center and should not have any issues.}) 12. d3 (12. Bc4 {By the way
transposes once more to my game against Harikrishna; a transposition that
Alexander probably was happy to welcome. Interesting complications emerge after
} Nxe4 13. Bd5 Nxf2 14. Kxf2 Nxa5 $1 15. cxb4 c6 16. Ba2 Rxb4 $13) (12. d4 {
I really tried to make this move work in my favor, but I couldn't.} bxc3 13.
bxc3 exd4 14. Nxd4 {must be the critical way to challenge the eleventh black
move. However, after} (14. cxd4 d5 $1 {is already more pleasant for Black and
was concerning me.}) 14... Bd7 15. Bc4 Re8 {it seems to me that Black has
enough play against the center as well as the a5-pawn.}) 12... Be6 13. Bxe6
fxe6 14. Nbd2 {Now, we have reached a similar position as in the game
Saric-Donchenko (see note for the 11th white move), just with the insertion of
h3 and h6. In the game, I thought this should be more beneficial for White
than for Black, but probably it does not make that much of a difference anyway.
} (14. Qe2 $5 {to prepare d3-d4 and aim at the pawn at a6 is a noteworthy
alternative. Still, after} Qe8 15. d4 Rb5 {Black is covering everything.})
14... bxc3 15. bxc3 Qe8 16. d4 {White needs to strike in the center as long as
Black has not organized his pieces yet.} exd4 $6 {While objectively fine, I
don't like this decision for Black. The resulting positions seem easier to
play for White.} (16... Rb5 17. dxe5 dxe5 {looks ugly, but is surprisingly
tough to crack for White. The rook on b5 does a great job.} 18. Nc4 Qg6 $11)
17. cxd4 d5 $6 {Alexander chooses to force matters, but the timing is not
perfect. Improving the pieces first seems preferable.} (17... Qg6 $5 18. Qe2
Nh5 $1 19. Nf1 Rb5 {and Black's activity compensates for his weaknesses.}) 18.
exd5 $6 {I overestimated the resulting position a bit and therefore did not
really look for alternatives. 18.Ba3 should give White a slight edge.} (18. Ba3
Bxa3 19. Rxa3 Rb4 $1 {Black needs to play actively.} 20. Ra4 Rb5 21. e5 Nh5 22.
g3 $1 {remains complex, but should give White the better play.}) 18... Nxd5 19.
Qe2 {Bringing the queen to the wonderful e4-square made a lot of sense to me.
Black has various ways to equalize though.} Nf4 (19... Qg6 {is fine as the
endgame after} 20. Qxe6+ Qxe6 21. Rxe6 Rf6 $1 {never promises White much. The
black pieces are too active and the white pawns on a5 and d4 too weak.}) (19...
Bb4 20. Qxe6+ (20. Qxa6 Bc3 $1 21. Ra3 Bxa5 $11 {Black regains the pawn as
White cannot take on a5.} 22. Rxa5 Rb6 $17) 20... Qxe6 21. Rxe6 Rf6 {is once
again fine for Black.}) 20. Qe4 Bb4 $1 {A nice prophylactic measure as my next
move would have been Nd2-c4.} 21. Ba3 (21. g3 $5 {was an alternative I
considered.} Nd5 (21... Nxh3+ {is also possible, but seems dangerous for Black.
} 22. Kg2 Ng5 23. Nxg5 hxg5 24. Rh1 Rf5 25. Nf3 g4 $1 26. Qxg4 Qd7 $11 {
Black keeps his house together.}) 22. Qxe6+ Qxe6 23. Rxe6 {This endgame is
again harmless and the reason why I decided against 21.g3.} Bc3 24. Ra4 Nxa5
25. Rxa6 Nb3 $11) 21... Bxd2 (21... Qd7 {with the idea to bring the queen on
d5 is best. It makes sense to let White trade on b4 as it would improve
Black's pieces.} 22. Re3 Qd5 $11) 22. Nxd2 (22. Bxf8 {might give White a
microscopic edge after} Bxe1 23. Rxe1 Qxf8 24. Qxc6 Qd6 {But realistically,
this will just end in a draw.}) 22... Rf5 $2 {Up until here, we both played a
reasonable game of chess. Now, Alexander is losing the thread. The rook seems
active on f5, but does not protect e6 from here and could become a tactical
target himself in some variations.} (22... Rf6 $1 23. Rac1 (23. Kh2 {might be
best, but who plays like this...}) 23... Nxd4 $1 {The saving tactical shot for
Black in many variations.} 24. Bc5 (24. Qxd4 Rd8 25. Qe4 (25. Qe3 Qg6 $17 {
and defending against mate on g2 cannot be conveniently done.}) 25... Rxd2 26.
Rxc7 $11 {Black is not having any problems here, quite the opposite.}) (24.
Rxc7 {is double-edged.} Nb5 25. Rxg7+ $1 Kxg7 26. Bb2 Nd5 27. Qg4+ Qg6 28.
Bxf6+ Nxf6 29. Qxg6+ Kxg6 30. Rxe6 {This endgame is equal as Black cannot
conveniently hold on to the a6-pawn.}) 24... Nb5 25. Be3 {White's active piece
placement compensates for the pawn.}) 23. Rac1 $2 {Logical and wrong. Just
after I played it, it dawned on me that 23...Nxd4 might be a dangerous option
and likely Alexander's idea. I was quite relieved when he did not play it.} (
23. Nf3 $1 {protecting d4 and being ready to meet Qg6 with Nh4.} Rf6 24. Bc1 $1
{gets rid of the unpleasant knight on f4.} Nd5 25. Bd2 $16 {White has
consolidated and is ready to attack the countless weaknesses in the black camp.
}) 23... Nxa5 $2 (23... Nxd4 $1 {must be the right move, even if only for
practical reasons.} 24. Qxd4 Qg6 (24... Rd8 25. Qe4 Qg6 {see 24...Qg6.} (25...
Rxd2 $4 26. Qxf5 $18 {This is what I meant with tactical target.})) 25. Qe4 Rd8
$1 {During the game, I thought I can answer this move with Nf1, but that would
be a bad idea.} (25... Nxh3+ $5 26. Kh2 Nf4 {also gives Black quite adequate
compensation.}) 26. Rc3 (26. Nf1 Nxh3+ 27. Kh2 Ng5 $1 {is the problem as Black
defends e6 and avoids the queen trade.} 28. Qe2 Nf3+ $1 29. Qxf3 Rxf3 30. gxf3
Rd3 $17 {can only be better for Black as the white king is wide open.}) 26...
Rxd2 27. Bc1 Rd4 $1 28. Qc6 Rd6 29. Qe4 Rd4 $11) 24. Rxc7 Qg6 $2 (24... Qd8 $1
{is the only move for Black to stay in the game.} 25. Rc5 $5 {probably best
for White.} (25. Rc3 Qd5 26. Rf3 Qxe4 27. Rxe4 Nd5 28. Rxe6 Rxf3 29. Nxf3 Nc7
30. Re4 Nb5 {White is up a pawn in the endgame, but this is far from over.})
25... Rxc5 26. Bxc5 Nxh3+ $1 {is a nice tactical shot for Black.} 27. gxh3 Qg5+
28. Kf1 Qxd2 29. Bd6 $1 Rd8 30. Qxe6+ Kh8 31. Be5 $16 {The well-placed bishop
and active white pieces give the first player a clear advantage.}) 25. Re3 $1 {
A very satisfactory move to play. The rook defends against the threat of Nxh3+
and threatens to enter the attack with Re3-g3. Black is already lost.} Nd5 (
25... Qh5 26. Rg3 Ne2+ 27. Qxe2 Qxe2 28. Rgxg7+ Kh8 29. Rh7+ Kg8 30. Rcg7# {
was one nice line I calculated.}) (25... Qf6 26. Be7 $1 Qf7 27. Bd6 Qf6 28. Be5
$18) 26. Rg3 Rg5 (26... Qxg3 27. Qxe6+ $1 {An important intermezzo which makes
this whole line work.} Kh7 28. fxg3 $18) 27. Rxg5 Qxg5 (27... Qxe4 28. Rgxg7+
$1 $18 {Again the intermediate check!}) 28. Qxe6+ Kh7 29. Qe4+ Kh8 30. Nf3 (30.
Rf7 {is apparently very strong, but this move did not cross my mind. White is
starting an attack against the black king.} Nf6 (30... Qxd2 31. Bf8 {with the
deadly threat of Qg6.}) 31. Qd3 Nc6 32. Bf8 $1 {A key move in many of the
lines.} Nh5 33. Bxg7+ Nxg7 34. Ne4 $18 {The white attack is crushing.}) 30...
Qf4 31. Qxf4 Nxf4 {Black has survived to get into a difficult endgame.} 32. Bd6
Nd3 $6 (32... Nd5 {This move offers Black the best defensive chances.} 33. Ra7
Rb6 34. Be5 Nf6 {White still needs to show some precision to bring the point
home.}) 33. Ne5 $1 Rb1+ 34. Kh2 Nxf2 35. Bf8 $1 {In my calculations I had
actually missed that Black can still defend with Rb7. It does not matter
though, as the d-pawn becomes too strong.} (35. d5 $4 {It's never too late to
blunder!} Rh1+ 36. Kg3 Ne4+ 37. Kf4 Nxd6 $19) 35... Rb7 (35... Kg8 {Probably a
better try, but also lost.} 36. Bxg7 Rb7 37. Rxb7 Nxb7 38. Bxh6 $18) 36. Rc8 {
Threatening Bf8-b4+ and winning the knight.} Kh7 37. d5 {The d-pawn is
perfectly supported by the white forces as every piece covers one of the
squares ahead. Black needs to give a knight to stop the pawn.} Rb5 (37... Ne4
38. d6 Nxd6 (38... Nf6 39. Rc7 {is almost a zugzwang for Black.}) 39. Bxd6 $18
{The game may continue for a little bit, but the white victory is out of
question.}) 38. Rc7 $1 (38. d6 {Actually I only did not play this move,
because I thought the endgame with an exchange up would take more work to win.
Well, I missed something there...} Rxe5 39. d7 Nb7 $1 {would have been a
really unpleasant surprise.} 40. Rb8 Nd8 $1 41. Rxd8 Rd5 $11) 38... Kg8 (38...
Rxd5 39. Rxg7+ Kh8 40. Ng6# {is an unusual mating construction you won't see
every day.}) 39. Ng6 Rb7 40. d6 Kh7 41. d7 Rxc7 42. d8=Q Rf7 43. Ne5 {
Alexander resigned. While it was certainly not a flawless game, I was proud to
handle the critical phase of conversion well and beat my very strong opponent.
This win pushed me forward and I managed to score another one the next day
against Dmitrij Kollars. In the end, I tied for second place together with
Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu. Alexander lost the next crucial game against later
winner Matthias Blübaum and tied for fourth place.} 1-0

[Event "POL-chT Ekstraliga"]
[Site "Legnica"]
[Date "2021.10.08"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Grandelius, Nils"]
[Black "Huschenbeth, Niclas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2662"]
[BlackElo "2608"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2021.10.02"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2022"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.06"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.06"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Wroclaw Polonia"]
[BlackTeam "Raciborz Silesia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "POL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "POL"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. a3 Bxd2+ 8.
Nbxd2 b5 9. b3 cxb3 10. Qxb3 c6 11. O-O O-O 12. Rfc1 Nd5 13. Ne4 Bd7 14. Nc5
Be8 15. e4 Nb6 16. Qc3 Qe7 17. Ne5 f6 18. Ned3 Bf7 19. Re1 Rd8 20. Rac1 Ra7 21.
Bf3 Nc4 22. e5 f5 23. h4 h6 24. h5 Rc7 25. a4 Nd7 26. Bxc6 Nxc5 27. Nxc5 b4 28.
Qxc4 Rxc6 29. Qb5 Qc7 30. Nxe6 Rxc1 31. Nxc7 Rxe1+ 32. Kg2 Kh7 33. e6 Bxh5 34.
d5 f4 35. gxf4 Bg6 36. f3 Rf8 37. d6 Rf5 38. Qc4 b3 39. Kf2 b2 40. Kxe1 b1=Q+
41. Kd2 Qb2+ 42. Ke3 Qa3+ 0-1

