[Event "Olympiad-41"]
[Site "Tromsoe"]
[Date "2014.08.04"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Black "Kamsky, Gata"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A80"]
[WhiteElo "2631"]
[BlackElo "2706"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2014.08.02"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 162"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2014.09.17"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Netherlands"]
[BlackTeam "US of America"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NED"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bg5 d5 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Be7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Ne2
h6 9. Nf4 Nb6 10. Bxf6 Rxf6 11. Ne5 Bd6 12. Nh5 Rf8 13. f4 c5 14. c3 Bd7 15. g4
Bxe5 16. fxe5 Qg5 17. Rf4 Be8 18. Ng3 fxg4 19. Qxg4 Qxg4 20. Rxg4 Rc8 21. Rf4
cxd4 22. cxd4 Rf7 23. b3 Nd7 24. h4 Nf8 25. Kf2 Rfc7 26. Ke2 Rc1 27. Rf1 Rxa1
28. Rxa1 Bg6 29. Rf1 Be8 30. Kd2 Rc7 31. Ne2 Ng6 32. h5 Nf8 33. Nf4 Bc6 34. Rc1
Kf7 35. b4 Rc8 36. b5 Bd7 37. Rf1 Ke7 38. a4 b6 39. Ra1 Rc7 40. a5 bxa5 41.
Rxa5 Rb7 42. Kc3 Be8 43. Kb4 Bf7 44. Ra2 Be8 45. Ka5 Kd8 46. Rc2 Rc7 47. Rc5
Bd7 48. e4 dxe4 49. Bxe4 Bc8 50. Rc2 Rxc2 51. Bxc2 Bb7 52. Bd1 Ke7 53. Bg4 Kf7
54. Nd3 g6 55. Nc5 Bd5 56. Ka6 Bc4 57. Ne4 gxh5 58. Bxh5+ Kg7 59. Nd6 Bd5 60.
Kxa7 1-0

[Event "Reykjavik op"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "2015.03.15"]
[Round "7"]
[White "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2756"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2015.03.10"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 166"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2015.05.11"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.05.11"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 d6 2. c4 e5 3. Nc3 $5 {The other knight move to f3 is definitely played
more often but I think this move will gain in popularity after this game.} (3.
dxe5 dxe5 4. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {is a pretty toothless endgame for White. He cannot
count on an opening advantage here.}) 3... exd4 {This has been the most
popular choice. Black can maintain his centre without taking on d4 but it then
allows White to develop normally.} (3... Nf6 4. Nf3 {and now the wisest might
be to convert the position into an Old Indian with Nbd7.} Nbd7 (4... e4 5. Ng5
Bf5 6. g4 Bxg4 7. Bg2 $14) 5. e4 $14) 4. Qxd4 Nc6 {With the move 3.Nc3 White
forces Black to give up the centre with 3...exd4 and in return, Black gains a
tempo with Nc6 attacking the queen. So the long term trump of more space lies
with White while the short term advantage of a lead in development is on
Black's side.} 5. Qd2 g6 {This is the normal way of developing the bishop. But
considering how the game continued, Black might want to look for improvements
here.} (5... Be6 $5 {And here we have another game of Erwin himself.} 6. b3 a5
(6... Nf6 {threatening d5.} 7. e4 g6 8. Bb2 Bg7 9. Nf3 O-O 10. Be2 a5 11. O-O
a4 $132 {and even though White has a good space advantage, Black has been able
to create some counterplay on the queenside.}) 7. Bb2 a4 8. Nd5 $5 {I wonder
if this was Erwin's preparation.} axb3 9. axb3 Rxa1+ 10. Bxa1 Bxd5 11. cxd5 $14
{White has not only the double bishop advantage and but also lot of space.} Qa8
12. Bc3 Ne5 13. f4 Nd7 14. g4 $6 {With this White went a little overboard.} ({
The normal way would have been} 14. Nh3 Ngf6 15. Nf2 Nc5 16. e4 $1 Nxb3 17. Qe3
Nc5 18. Bc4 $16) 14... Be7 $6 (14... Qa3 $1) 15. g5 h6 16. Nf3 hxg5 17. fxg5
Ne5 18. Bg2 Rh5 19. h4 Qa7 20. Bd4 Qa3 21. Qc3 Qa2 22. Kf2 {1-0 (22) L'Ami,E 
(2640)-Belkhodja,S (2432) Dieren 2013}) 6. b3 {This is the most common way to
play. The bishop on b2 will try to nullify the powerful bishop on g7.} Bg7 7.
Bb2 Nf6 8. g3 O-O 9. Bg2 Re8 {This is all very standard. You can see that
Black has almost completed his development while the white king is still in
the centre. If Black can get in the d5-break, he will cause huge problems for
White.} 10. Nf3 $1 {Erwin develops the knight towards the centre. As Erwin
mentioned in an interview for ChessBase, "My computer gives White a pleasant
edge after 10...Bf5 11.Nh4! with the point that 11...Ne4 can now be met with
12.Bxe4 Bxe4 13.f3! Therefore, Black has to retreat his bishop but then White
has a risk-free game. I wouldn't mind repeating this line."} (10. Nh3 {was my
choice when I reached this position with the white pieces in a recent game in
Al Ain Open 2014.} Bf5 {was played in the game and after} ({Black could have
got a huge initiative by playing} 10... d5 $1 11. cxd5 $6 (11. Nxd5 Bxh3 12.
Bxh3 Ne4 (12... Nxd5 13. Bxg7 $14) 13. Qc2 Nd4 $13 {leads to crazy
complications!}) 11... Bxh3 12. Bxh3 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Bxb2 14. Qxb2 Qxd5 15. O-O
Qh5 {and Black wins the e2 pawn. White has enough compensation to maintain the
balance but there is not a trace of an advantage.}) (10... Bxh3 {is same as 10.
..d5.}) 11. Nf4 $1 $14 {Sagar Shah-Hojjatova Aydan, Al Ain Classic 2014, (1-0).
White had a very pleasant position.}) 10... Bf5 (10... Ne4 11. Nxe4 Bxb2 12.
Qxb2 Rxe4 13. Ng5 Re8 14. Ne4 $36 {does cause some problems to Black.}) (10...
d5 $2 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. cxd5 $16 {simply loses a pawn.}) 11. Nh4
$1 {A very important move if White is trying to secure an edge in the position.
} (11. O-O $6 {This natural move would allow Black to equalise quite easily.}
Ne4 $1 12. Nxe4 Bxb2 13. Qxb2 Bxe4 $11 {would lead to bland equality. Black
has no problems because he has got rid of the key c3-knight and the f3-knight
is far away from the crucial d5-square.}) 11... Bd7 (11... Ne4 $6 12. Bxe4 $1 (
12. Nxe4 $6 Bxe4 13. f3 Bd3 $1 $17) 12... Bxe4 13. f3 Bf5 14. Nxf5 gxf5 15. Nd5
$14 {Black's pawn structure is ruined and White has a clear advantage.}) (11...
Be6 {was the choice of MVL against the better half of Erwin L'Ami.} 12. O-O a5
(12... d5 $2 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. cxd5 $18) 13. Rac1 Nd7 (13... a4
$6 14. Nxa4 $14 {The rook on c1 prevents Bxc4.}) 14. Nd5 Nc5 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16.
Qb2+ f6 17. Rfd1 $14 {looks like a pretty pleasant position for White.}) 12.
O-O Qc8 {The main problem that Black faces is the lack of space. He hasn't
been able to make use of his lead in development and White has finally caught
up. I would assess this position as being slightly more pleasant for White to
play.} ({Another game by Alina L'Ami continued.} 12... Rb8 13. e4 (13. Rad1 $14
) 13... Nh5 $6 14. Nd5 Be6 15. f4 a6 16. Bxg7 Nxg7 17. Qc3 Bxd5 18. cxd5 Na7
19. f5 $16 {1-0 (58) L'Ami,A (2393)-Ionica,I (2157) Calimanesti 2014. White
had a clear advantage.}) 13. Rfe1 $1 {White keeps pieces on the board as he
has more space. Now Bh3 can be met with Bh1 keeping the bishops.} Bh3 14. Bh1
Qg4 {True to his style Mamedyarov goes for active play.} (14... a5 15. Rad1 $14
{Once again the entire White setup simply looks more cohesive.}) 15. Ng2 (15.
Rad1 {Preventing ...Qd4 would have made the queen look pretty silly on g4.} Qh5
16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. cxd5 $16) 15... Qd4 16. Rad1 Ne4 $6 (16... Qxd2 17. Rxd2 {
was relatively better. Now after} Bf5 18. Nf4 $14 {White definitely has a
pleasant position thanks to his knights coming to d5 but Black can keep
fighting.}) 17. Qxd4 Bxd4 (17... Nxd4 18. Nxe4 Rxe4 19. Rd2 $1 {the black
pieces are extremely clumsily placed. Nf4 is a huge threat.} Ne6 20. Bxg7 Kxg7
21. Nf4 Rxf4 22. gxf4 $16) 18. Rxd4 $1 {A very strong exchange sacrifice by
Erwin.} Nxd4 19. Nf4 {Attacking the bishop on h3 and unleashing an attack on
the e4-knight.} Ng5 $6 (19... Bd7 20. Nxe4 $18) (19... Nxc3 $1 {was the only
way to minimise White's advantage.} 20. Bxc3 g5 $1 {would have kept Black in
the game.} 21. Bxd4 gxf4 22. Bxb7 Rad8 (22... Rab8 23. Bc6 $16) 23. f3 {
Threatening to trap the bishop with g4.} (23. Bc6 Bd7 $11) 23... fxg3 24. hxg3
$14 {White has ample compensation for the exchange and stands better here
thanks to his two powerful bishops.}) 20. Nxh3 Nxh3+ 21. Kf1 {At first this
seems like an illogical resignation. But on closer inspection, things start
becoming clearer. The b7-pawn is hanging. Ne4 is threatened which attacks the
d4-knight and threatens Nf6+. The two bishops are so powerful that White will
inevitably emerge with a crushing advantage.} (21. Kf1 Kf8 (21... c6 22. Ne4
Rxe4 (22... Nc2 23. Rc1 Nb4 24. Nf6+ Kf8 25. Nxh7+ Ke7 26. Bg2 $18) 23. Bxe4
$18) 22. Bxb7 Rab8 23. Bg2 Ng5 24. Nd5 c5 25. Bc1 Nge6 26. Bh6+ Ng7 (26... Kg8
27. Nf6+ $18) 27. Nf6 Re7 28. Nxh7+ Kg8 29. Nf6+ $18) 1-0

[Event "Bundesliga 1718"]
[Site "Germany"]
[Date "2018.02.25"]
[Round "10.7"]
[White "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D52"]
[WhiteElo "2611"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2017.10.21"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 183"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2018.03.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2018.03.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Solingen"]
[BlackTeam "Baden-Baden"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

{[%mdl 2] The crucial game of a crucial match. In the 10th round of the
Bundesliga Solingen managed to defeat the defending champions form Baden,
despite being at least 50 ELO points weaker on every board. The only decisive
encounter was the following one.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 {
Aims for a line with long history.} ({Of course, the classical} 4... Be7 {
has also been around for more than a century, even here new ideas appear in
older lines:} {A modernized version of a classical line has become popular
also after} 5. Bg5 ({After} 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 {the focus has again shifted to
the former main line} c5 (6... Nbd7 {was the popular reaction in the past few
years.}) 7. dxc5 Bxc5 {and now:} 8. Qc2 ({After} 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10.
a3 (10. Bd3 Bb4+ {here} 11. Nd2 $5 (11. Ke2 {used to be the main move}) {
is all the rage:} 11... Nc6 12. O-O Be6 (12... Be7 $5 13. a3 Bf6 14. Nf3 {
and White is a tempo down in comparison with the 8.a3 and 9.cxd5 line.} g6 (
14... Bg4 $5 $132) (14... Qe7 15. h3 g6 16. Qd2 Be6 17. Rac1 Rfd8 18. b4 a6 19.
Rc2 Qd7 20. Rfc1 Bf5 21. Bxf5 Qxf5 22. Bc7 Rd7 23. Bb6 Qe4 24. Rd1 Bd8 25. Bc5
Bc7 26. Qd3 Rad8 27. Rcd2 $14 {Giri,A (2771)-Karjakin,S (2781) Stavanger 2017})
15. Qd2 Qb6 16. Rab1 Bg4 17. Be2 Rad8 18. Bg5 Bxg5 19. Nxg5 Bxe2 20. Qxe2 d4
21. exd4 Nxd4 22. Qg4 h6 23. Nf3 h5 $15 {Bohus,A (2305)-Gaifullin,A (2413)
Mamaia 2017}) ({Black is close to full equality also after} 12... Bd6 $5 13.
Bxd6 Qxd6 14. Rc1 Be6 15. Nf3 Rfd8 16. Qa4 Ne5 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. Rfd1 Rac8 19.
Qxa7 Qxb2 20. Rb1 Qf6 21. Qxb7 d4 22. exd4 g6 23. a4 Rxd4 24. Qa7 Bg4 25. f3
Bxf3 26. gxf3 {½, Grevtsov,V (2223)-Sage,F (2405) email 2009} Qg5+ 27. Kh1 Qe3
28. Qb7 Rcd8 29. Bc2 Rxd1+ 30. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 31. Bxd1 Qe1+ 32. Kg2 Qd2+ $11) 13.
Nf3 (13. Nb3 Qf6 14. a3 Be7 15. Qd2 Rfd8 16. Nd4 Nxd4 17. exd4 Bf5 18. Be2 Rac8
19. Rac1 Qb6 20. Bf3 Be6 21. Be3 $11 {½, Yu,Y (2738)-Nakamura,H (2785) Caleta
rpd 2017}) (13. a3 Be7 14. Rc1 Qb6 15. b4 Rac8 16. Nf3 a5 17. b5 Nb8 18. Ng5
Bxg5 19. Bxg5 Rxc1 20. Qxc1 Rc8 21. Qb2 Nd7 22. Rc1 Rxc1+ 23. Qxc1 Ne5 $132 {
Cyborowski,L (2532)-Psyk,R (2132) Polanica Zdroj 2017}) 13... Be7 14. Rc1 Bf6
15. a3 Qe7 16. b4 a6 17. h3 Rac8 18. Rc5 a5 $5 19. Qb1 axb4 20. axb4 {only the
misguided} b6 $6 (20... h6 $5) (20... g6 $11) 21. Rcc1 g6 $2 (21... Nxb4 22.
Bxh7+ $14) 22. Ba6 Nxb4 23. Bxc8 Rxc8 24. Rxc8+ Bxc8 25. Rc1 $18 {
Nepomniachtchi,I (2742)-Nakamura,H (2792) Saint Louis 2017 cost Black material
and a full point; see the notes to this game in CBM 180 by Sumets.}) 10... Nc6
11. Bd3 Bb6 12. O-O {also gives Black a choice:} Bg4 (12... Qf6 13. b4 h6 14.
b5 (14. Bc2 Bf5 15. Bxf5 Qxf5 16. b5 Na5 17. Be5 Rfc8 18. h3 Qe4 19. Bd4 Bxd4
20. Nxd4 Nc4 21. Qe2 a6 22. Rfd1 axb5 23. Nxb5 Ra5 24. a4 Qe5 25. Rd4 Nd6 26.
Nxd6 Qxd6 27. Qb2 {Grachev,B (2655)-Akobian,V (2619) Moscow 2009} Rc4 28. Qxb7
Raxa4 $1 $11) 14... Nd4 15. h3 $5 (15. Nxd4 Bxd4 16. Rb1 Be5 17. Bxe5 Qxe5 18.
Rb4 Be6 19. Qa1 Qxa1 20. Rxa1 Rfc8 21. Kf1 Kf8 22. Ke2 Ke7 23. Kd2 Kd6 24. a4 {
1/2-1/2 (24) Vachier Lagrave,M (2793)-Nakamura,H (2781) Caleta 2018}) 15... g5
(15... Be6 16. a4 Rfc8 17. a5 Nxf3+ 18. Qxf3 Bc7 $11) 16. Nxd4 gxf4 17. Qf3
Bxd4 18. exd4 Be6 19. Rfe1 Kh8 20. Re5 Rg8 21. Rae1 Rg7 22. g4 Rag8 23. Kf1 Rg5
24. Bc2 Rc8 25. Qd3 $14 {Karjakin,S (2760)-Nakamura,H (2781) London 2017}) 13.
h3 Bh5 14. b4 a6 15. Rc1 d4 16. e4 f6 $5 $146 17. g4 Bg6 18. Re1 Rc8 19. b5
axb5 20. Qb3+ Kh8 21. Qxb5 Ra8 22. a4 Be8 23. Qb3 Bf7 $15 {Mamedyarov,S (2766)
-Nakamura,H (2785) Sharjah 2017}) (8. Bd3 {is Aronian's idea, White gives a
tempo to clarify the central tension:} dxc4 (8... Nc6 9. O-O {is less flexible}
) 9. Bxc4 Qxd1+ $142 (9... a6 10. Bd3 $1 Nc6 11. O-O Nb4 12. Bb1 Qxd1 13. Rxd1
Nbd5 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Be4 $5 Nf6 $6 (15... Nxf4 $142 16. exf4 Ra7 $1 $11 {/+/=
}) 16. Nd2 Re8 17. Bf3 e5 18. Bg3 Ra7 19. Rac1 b6 20. a3 Bd7 21. Nc4 e4 22. Be2
a5 23. Nd6 Re7 24. Nb5 Bxb5 25. Bxb5 $36 {[%csl Gb5,Gg3] Aronian,L (2792)
-Nakamura,H (2791) Saint Louis 2016 See the notes to this game by Krasenkow in
CBM 174.}) 10. Rxd1 Bb4 $1 11. O-O (11. Rd3 Ne4 12. O-O Bxc3 13. bxc3 Nc6 14.
Bb5 f6 15. Bd6 Rd8 16. Rfd1 Rxd6 17. Rxd6 Nxd6 18. Rxd6 Kf7 19. Bxc6 Ke7 20.
Bxb7 Bxb7 21. Rd4 Rc8 22. Rb4 Bd5 23. Ra4 Rxc3 24. Rxa7+ Kf8 25. h3 Rc1+ 26.
Kh2 Rc2 $11 {Aronian,L (2785)-Anand,V (2779) London 2016}) 11... Bxc3 12. bxc3
Bd7 $5 $146 (12... b6 13. Bd6 Re8 14. Bb5 Bd7 15. Be2 Nc6 16. Rc1 Ne4 17. Ba3
Rec8 18. Rfd1 Be8 19. Bd3 Nc5 20. Bxc5 bxc5 21. Rb1 h6 22. Ba6 Rd8 23. Nd2 Ne5
$132 {Adhiban,B (2671)-Radjabov,T (2722) Baku olm 2016}) 13. Ne5 Rc8 14. f3 Ba4
15. Bb3 Bxb3 16. axb3 Nd5 17. c4 Nxf4 18. exf4 f6 19. Nd3 Nd7 20. Rfe1 Nf8 21.
Kf2 a5 22. Nb2 b5 $11 {Aronian,L (2793)-Anand,V (2786) Stavanger blitz 2017})
8... Nc6 9. Rd1 $5 (9. a3 Qa5 (9... Re8 $5 10. O-O-O e5 11. Bg5 d4 12. Nd5 b5
$5 (12... Be6 13. Bd3 $14) (12... Be7 {is a pawn sacrifice, which has been
tested in email practice and is quite interesting as well.}) 13. Bxf6 $6 (13.
cxb5 Na5 (13... Qxd5 $6 14. Bc4 $14) 14. exd4 exd4 15. Nxf6+ gxf6 16. Kb1 Qd5
$13) 13... gxf6 14. cxb5 Na5 15. exd4 exd4 16. Nb4 Bxb4 17. axb4 Be6 18. Nxd4
Rc8 19. Nc6 (19. Nxe6 $1 $15) 19... Nxc6 20. bxc6 Qb6 21. Qa4 {Topalov,V (2760)
-Anand,V (2779) London 2016} Bg4 $1 22. f3 Bf5 $19 {[%csl Ge3] For more
details see the notes to this game in CBM 176 by Marin.}) 10. O-O-O Be7 11. Kb1
({More explored are the alternatives} 11. g4 {and}) (11. h4) 11... a6 12. Nd2
b5 $5 13. Nb3 (13. cxb5 axb5 14. Nxb5 Bd7 $40) 13... Qb6 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Bg5
Be6 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 Rac8 19. Bd3 (19. Qd2 Ne5 $44 20. Qd4
Qc7 21. Rc5 Qb8 22. Qd1 g6 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Be2 Nc4 25. Nd4 Qd6 26. Qd3 Bxd4
27. exd4 Qf4 28. Rd1 Qxf2 29. Qf3 Qe3 30. Ka2 Kg7 $11 {Trembecki,L (2316)
-Mlynarcik,S (2422) email 2009}) 19... Nb4 20. Bxh7+ Kh8 21. Qd1 (21. Rh5 Nxc2
22. Bxc2+ $11 {is an immediate draw}) 21... Nxd5 22. Qh5 Bg5 $1 23. Be4+ Qh6
24. Qxh6+ Bxh6 25. Bxd5 Rcd8 26. e4 (26. Rd1 $11) (26. Bf3 $11) 26... f5 $1 27.
Nc5 $2 (27. f3 $8) 27... fxe4 $17 {Topalov,V (2749)-Nakamura,H (2780) Saint
Louis blitz 2017} {/\} 28. Ne6 Rxd5 29. Nxf8 Rd6 {[%csl Rf8][%cal Rh8f8]}) 9...
Qa5 (9... Re8 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Be2 (11. Nxd5 Qa5+ 12. Nc3 Bf5 $1 13. Qxf5 Bxe3
$11) 11... Bd6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. O-O Be6 14. h3 a6 15. Nd4 Rec8 16. a3 h6 17.
Rd2 Na5 18. Rfd1 Nc4 19. Bxc4 Rxc4 20. Nde2 Qe5 21. Rd4 $14 {Silin,V (2234)
-Sazon,A (2127) email 2010}) 10. a3 {is the main move and now there is a new
approach to Karpov's} (10. Be2 {is an attempt to save a tempo on a3:} Nb4 $142
$5 (10... dxc4 11. Bxc4 a6 (11... Be7 12. O-O a6 13. a3 Nh5 14. Bd6 Bxd6 15.
Rxd6 Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Qxd8 17. Rd1 Qe7 18. Ne4 $32 {Kovalenko,I (2650)-Short,N 
(2665) Tromsoe olm 2014}) 12. O-O b5 13. Be2 Nb4 14. Qb1 $5 (14. Qc1 Qb6 15. e4
Bb7 16. a3 Nc6 17. b4 Bd4 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. Qe3 Nxe2+ 20. Qxe2 Qc6 $15 {
Houska,J (2386)-Zumsande,M (2490) Douglas 2016}) 14... Nbd5 (14... Be7 15. e4
$14) 15. Be5 Be7 16. Ng5 (16. Nxd5 $142 $5 Nxd5 17. Rc1 $14) 16... g6 17. Bf3
Bb7 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Nxd5 Bxg5 20. b4 Qd8 21. Nf6+ Qxf6 22. Bxb7 $11 {½,
Bulski,K (2520)-Tarlev,K (2557) Germany 2014}) (10... Bb4 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3
dxc4 13. Bxc4 b6 14. Bd6 Re8 15. e4 h6 16. e5 (16. a4) (16. a3 $5) 16... Nd5 {
Gupta,A (2625)-Negi,P (2631) Aurangabad 2011} 17. a3 $36 {/\} Ba6 $2 18. Bb4
$16) 11. Qb3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nbd5 13. Be5 Qb4 $1 14. O-O Qxb3 15. Bxb3 (15. axb3
b6 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Bxd5 exd5 18. Rxd5 f6 19. Bd6 Rd8 20. Rfd1 Be6 21. R5d3
Bxb3 22. Rxb3 Rxd6 23. Rxd6 Bxd6 24. Rc3 Kf7 {½, Moiseenko,A (2678)-Akobian,V
(2606) Merida 2008}) 15... Nxc3 16. Bxc3 b6 17. Ne5 Ne4 18. Bd4 Ba6 19. Bxc5
Nxc5 20. Bc4 Bxc4 21. Nxc4 Rfc8 22. Rd4 Kf8 23. Rfd1 Rc7 $11 {Pelletier,Y 
(2541)-Nakamura,H (2793) Zuerich blitz 2017}) 10... Re8 $5 (10... Be7 {used to
be the main move for a long time}) 11. Nd2 e5 12. Bg5 Nd4 13. Qb1 (13. Qc1 Bf5
14. Bxf6 Nc2+ 15. Ke2 Nd4+ {½, Carlsen,M (2827)-Nakamura,H (2781) Douglas 2017
}) (13. Qa4 Qxa4 14. Nxa4 Nc2+ 15. Ke2 Nd4+ $1 {½, Karjakin,S (2773)-Nakamura,
H (2787) Bilbao 2016}) 13... Bf5 14. Bd3 Bxd3 (14... e4 $2 15. Bf1 $16) 15.
Qxd3 Ne4 $1 {and now:} 16. Nxd5 (16. Ndxe4 dxe4 17. Qd2 (17. Qxe4 Bxa3 18. O-O
Bxb2 19. Nd5 Ne2+ 20. Kh1 Nc3 21. Nxc3 Qxc3 22. Rd7 Rac8 23. Rxb7 {Babula,V 
(2540)-Sebenik,M (2526) Baku olm 2016} a5 $1 24. Qd5 Qxc4 25. Qxc4 Rxc4 26.
Rxb2 h6 $11) 17... Ne6 18. Bh4 Qa6 19. Qe2 Rac8 20. O-O (20. Nxe4 f5 21. Nxc5
Rxc5 $11 {[%csl Rc4,Rh4]}) 20... Bf8 21. Qg4 Qxc4 22. Nxe4 Kh8 23. h3 Nc5 24.
Nxc5 Qxg4 25. hxg4 Rxc5 26. Rd7 Rb5 27. b4 f6 $11 {Mamedyarov,S (2804)-Anand,V
(2767) Wijk aan Zee 2018}) (16. cxd5 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Nb5 18. Ne4 Nd6 19. Nxd6
Bxd6 20. e4 Rec8 (20... b5 21. Bd2 Qa4 22. O-O Rac8 23. Rb1 a6 24. Rfd1 Rc4 25.
Qh3 Qa5 26. a4 {Lalith,B (2586)-Tarjan,J (2420) Douglas 2016} bxa4 $1 {/\} 27.
Rb7 a3 28. Qd7 Re7 29. Rb8+ Bxb8 30. Qxe7 Qc5 $11) 21. Bd2 Qa4 (21... Qxa3 $5)
22. O-O Qc4 23. Qf3 Bxa3 24. h4 Rf8 (24... a5 $142 $1 25. h5 Bf8 $132) 25. h5
f6 26. Ra1 Bd6 27. Qf5 Qc8 28. Qxc8 Rfxc8 29. Rfb1 b6 {Le,Q (2726)-Yu,Y (2753)
Danzhou 2017} 30. Be3 $1 $14) (16. Ncxe4 dxe4 17. Qxe4 Qb6 18. Rb1 (18. Qb1 Ne6
19. Bh4 Bxe3 20. fxe3 Qxe3+ 21. Kf1 Qf4+ 22. Bf2 Rad8 23. g3 Qh6 24. Ne4 Qh3+ {
Tarjan,J (2479)-Zumsande,M (2422) Douglas 2015} 25. Ke1 $8 Nd4 $44) (18. b4 Bf8
19. Nf3 a5 20. c5 Qb5 21. Nxd4 exd4 22. Qd3 Qxd3 23. Rxd3 axb4 24. axb4 h6 25.
Bf4 g5 26. Bg3 dxe3 27. fxe3 Ra1+ 28. Rd1 Ra4 $11 {Mesaros,F (2335)-Zumsande,M
(2467) Karlsruhe 2017}) 18... h6 19. Bh4 g5 20. b4 Bf8 21. Bg3 Rad8 {[%cal
Rf7f5]} 22. exd4 exd4 23. Be5 Bg7 24. O-O Rxe5 25. Qd3 Qg6 26. Rb3 g4 27. c5 b6
28. cxb6 {½, Ding,L (2760)-Nakamura,H (2785) Sharjah 2017}) 16... Nxg5 17. b4
Qd8 (17... Qa6 $6 18. bxc5 Rad8 19. Nb4 Qa4 20. Qb1 a5 21. Nd5 Nc2+ 22. Ke2 Ne4
23. Nxe4 Qxc4+ 24. Kf3 Rxd5 25. g4 $1 $16 {[%csl Rb7,Rc2] Aronian,L (2801)
-Inarkiev,E (2683) Palma de Mallorca 2017}) 18. bxc5 Nde6 19. O-O (19. Nb3 Nxc5
$1 20. Nxc5 Qa5+ $11) 19... Nxc5 20. Qb1 Rc8 (20... b6 $11 {or}) (20... Nge6 $5
{are probably more accurate moves.}) 21. f4 exf4 22. exf4 Nge4 23. Nxe4 Rxe4
24. Rde1 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Rb8 26. Qb5 Nd7 27. h3 Nf6 28. Nxf6+ gxf6 29. Kh2 Qd6
30. Qf5 b6 31. c5 bxc5 32. Rc1 Kh8 33. Rxc5 Rg8 $14 {Aronian,L (2805)-Nakamura,
H (2781) London 2017 In the end Black held the _|_ with some problems.}) 5...
h6 (5... O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd5 {is the famous
Capablanca manoeuvre, the position after} 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. Ne4 (11. O-O Nxc3
12. Rxc3 e5) 11... N5f6 12. Ng3 Qb4+ 13. Qd2 Qxd2+ 14. Kxd2 {arose in 7 (!)
World Championship games in 1927 between Alekhine and Capblanca.} c5 $5 ({
The Cuban played} 14... b6 {and especially}) (14... Rd8 {While all the games
were drawn, mainly White had chances to achieve more.}) 15. Ke2 b6 {should
equalize, but a draw is definitely a maximum for Black in this line.}) 6. Bh4
O-O 7. e3 Nbd7 (7... Ne4 {by Lasker, and Tartakower's}) (7... b6 {haven't been
refuted, people are simply trying something else for a change...}) 8. Rc1 (8.
Be2 c5 9. O-O dxc4 10. Bxc4 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Ne5 12. Be2 Bd7 13. Qb3 Qb6 14. Qxb6
axb6 15. Bg3 Nc6 16. Ndb5 Na7 17. Nxa7 Rxa7 18. Rfd1 Rc8 19. Bd6 Kf8 20. Bxe7+
Kxe7 21. Rd4 Bc6 22. Rb4 Nd7 23. Rd1 Ra5 24. f3 Rc5 25. Kf2 Ra8 26. h4 g5 27.
Rc1 Rca5 28. e4 Rg8 $11 {So,W (2792)-Giri,A (2752) Wijk aan Zee 2018 White
didn't get anything tangible from his better pawn-structure.}) (8. Qc2 c5 9.
cxd5 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd5 11. Bxe7 Nxe7 12. Be2 Nf6 13. O-O Bd7 14. Rfd1 Qb6 15.
Qb3 Qxb3 16. axb3 a5 17. Bf3 Bc6 18. Nxc6 bxc6 19. Ra3 Rab8 20. Kf1 g5 21. Rc1
Rfd8 22. Ke1 Rb4 (22... Ned5 $5 $11) 23. Bd1 Ng6 24. Rxa5 Rh4 25. h3 g4 $44 {
Wang,Y (2699)-Kramnik,V (2812) Dortmund 2017}) 8... c5 9. dxc5 {gives Black a
choice:} (9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Bxe7 Nxe7 11. Bb5 (11. Be2 b6 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. b4
Qxd1+ 14. Rxd1 Nd7 15. Nd4 a5 16. b5 Nc5 17. f3 Bb7 18. e4 Rac8 19. Kf2 e5 20.
Nf5 Nxe4+ 21. Nxe4 Nxf5 22. Nd6 Nxd6 23. Rxd6 Rc2 {Ivanchuk,V (2733)-Kramnik,V
(2810) Novi Sad 2016 Here already White has to tread with care to hold the
balance.}) 11... cxd4 12. Qxd4 Nf6 13. O-O Qxd4 14. Nxd4 Rd8 15. Rfd1 Bd7 16.
Kf1 Rac8 17. Bxd7 Rxd7 18. Ke2 Kf8 19. Na4 Rdc7 20. Rxc7 Rxc7 21. Nb5 Rc2+ 22.
Rd2 Rxd2+ 23. Kxd2 Nc6 $11 {Erdos,V (2624)-Karjakin,S (2765) Antalya 2017})
9... Nxc5 (9... dxc4 10. c6 (10. Bxc4 Nxc5 11. O-O Bd7 12. Ne5 Be8 13. Qe2 Nfd7
14. Bg3 Nxe5 15. Bxe5 Nd7 16. Bg3 Nf6 17. Nb5 Bxb5 18. Bxb5 Rc8 19. Bd3 Qa5 20.
a3 Nh5 21. Qf3 Nxg3 $11 {½, Korobov,A (2652)-Anand,V (2782) Riadh blitz 2017})
10... bxc6 11. Bxc4 Rb8 (11... c5 12. O-O Bb7 13. Be2 Nd5 14. Bg3 N7f6 15. Ne5
Nxc3 16. Rxc3 Qxd1 17. Rxd1 Rfd8 18. Rxd8+ Rxd8 19. Rb3 Bd5 20. Ra3 Ra8 21. f3
Bd6 22. Nd3 Bxg3 23. hxg3 Bc4 24. Kf2 $14 {Stupak,K (2573)-Harika,D (2526) Abu
Dhabi 2017}) (11... Bb7 12. O-O Nb6 13. Be2 Qxd1 14. Rfxd1 c5 15. Ne5 Rfd8 16.
Ng4 Kf8 17. Nxf6 Bxf6 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. f3 f5 20. Kf2 Ke7 21. h3 Bc6 22. Rxd8
Rxd8 23. Nb1 Bd5 {Almeida Quintana,O (2526)-Ochoa de la Rosa,M (2423) Havana
2018} 24. b3 $14) 12. Qc2 (12. Qe2 Nd5 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. O-O N7b6 15. Bd3 e5
16. Nd2 Nxc3 17. Rxc3 Na4 18. Rb3 Be6 19. Bc4 Rfd8 20. Bxe6 Qxe6 21. Rxb8 Rxb8
22. Nb3 c5 23. Rc1 Nxb2 24. Rxc5 {Lintchevski,D (2524)-Elistratov,S (2407)
Moscow 2017} Rd8 25. h3 Nd3 $11) 12... Nd5 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. O-O Bb7 15. Rfd1
Rfd8 16. Be2 c5 17. b3 Rbc8 18. Qb2 N7b6 19. Nxd5 Rxd5 (19... exd5 $132) 20.
Qa3 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Bd5 22. Rc1 Rc7 23. h3 g6 24. Nd2 Qg5 25. Bf3 Bxf3 26. Nxf3
$14 {/<=>, Nielsen,P (2645)-Andersen,M (2542) Germany 2017}) 10. cxd5 g5 11.
Bg3 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 13. Qxd5 exd5 14. Be2 (14. Be5 Bf5 15. Be2 Rac8 16. O-O
Bd3 (16... Nd3 $5 $11) 17. Rce1 (17. Bxd3 Nxd3 18. Rcd1 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Rc2 20.
Rxd5 Rxb2 21. Rd7 Bf6 22. Nc4 Rxa2 23. Rxb7 Rd8 $11 {So,W (2812)-Kramnik,V 
(2808) Leuven blitz 2017}) 17... Be4 (17... Bxe2 18. Rxe2 f6 19. Bd4 Ne4 $132)
(17... Rfe8 $5) 18. Rd1 a6 19. Bd4 Ne6 20. Bc3 b5 21. Rc1 b4 $6 22. Be5 f6 23.
Bg3 a5 24. Bb5 Kf7 25. Nd4 Nc5 $2 (25... Nxd4 $142 $11 {/+/=}) 26. f3 Bg6 27.
Rfd1 h5 28. Nc6 $16 {Wojtaszek,R (2737)-Kramnik,V (2783) Sochi 2015}) 14... Bd7
(14... Ne4 15. Nd4 Bb4+ 16. Kd1 Re8 17. Bb5 Re7 18. Ke2 Nxg3+ 19. hxg3 Kg7 20.
a3 Ba5 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Nf5+ Kf6 23. Bd3 Rh8 24. Nxe7 Kxe7 25. Bf5 Bc7 26. Rc1
Be5 27. Rc2 d4 $11 {Wojtaszek,R (2741)-Lupulescu,C (2626) Germany 2016}) 15.
O-O Rac8 16. Be5 g4 17. Nd4 f6 (17... h5 18. Nb5 f6 19. Bd4 Ne6 20. Nxa7 Ra8
21. Nb5 Rxa2 22. Bc3 Kf7 23. Rcd1 Bc6 24. f3 Bc5 25. Kh1 Bxe3 26. Nd6+ Kg8 27.
fxg4 Nf4 $132 {Topalov,V (2741)-Kramnik,V (2811) Shamkir 2017}) 18. Bg3 h5 19.
f3 f5 20. Rfd1 a6 21. Bf4 Rfe8 22. Rd2 Bf6 23. Bd1 Ne6 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. Ne2
Bb5 $1 $132 {Wang,Y (2699)-Nisipeanu,L (2683) Dortmund 2017}) 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3
Qa5 {This leads to the Cambridge Springs variation, another antiquated system,
which has survived all the way to the 20-th century.} ({Mamedyarov lately
experimented a bit with} 6... Be7 7. Qc2 O-O {Although White's road to a
tangible advantage is not simple, he has a better version of the lines form
the above note-to play c5 later on, Black will have to waste a tempo.}) 7. Nd2
{This is considered to be the softer of the two main moves.} ({We'll have a
closer look at the sharper} 7. cxd5 {and now:} {More consistent and important
is} Nxd5 {when White again has two main options:} (7... exd5 8. Bd3 Ne4 9. O-O
(9. Qc2 Nxg5 10. Nxg5 h6 11. Nf3 Bd6 12. O-O Nf6 {-9.0-0} (12... O-O 13. e4 $36
)) 9... Nxg5 (9... Nxc3 10. bxc3 Qxc3 $2 11. e4 $32 {->}) 10. Nxg5 Nf6 (10...
h6 $2 11. Qh5 $1) 11. Qc2 $142 (11. f4 {is less flexible:} h6 (11... Bb4 12.
Qc2 h6 13. Nf3 O-O 14. Ne5 Re8 15. a3 Bxc3 16. bxc3 c5 17. Qb2 Ne4 18. Bxe4
dxe4 19. Rad1 (19. a4 $14) (19. f5 $5) 19... cxd4 20. cxd4 Qd5 21. Rc1 b6 {
Salem,A (2638)-Naiditsch,A (2705) Riadh blitz 2017} (21... f6 $142 $11) 22. Rc3
$1 {/\} f6 23. Nc6 $14) 12. Nf3 Bg4 $5 13. h3 (13. Qb3 Qb6 14. Ne5 Qxb3 15.
axb3 Bd7 16. Na4 Rd8 17. h3 h5 18. Kf2 Bd6 19. Nc5 Bxc5 20. dxc5 a6 21. b4 g6
22. Ke2 Kf8 23. Nf3 Kg7 24. Nd4 Rde8 25. Kd2 h4 $11 {Moiseenko,A (2689)-Moroni,
L (2466) Doha 2015}) 13... Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Bd6 15. a3 Qc7 16. Rae1 O-O 17. g4 g6
18. Qg2 Rae8 19. g5 hxg5 20. Qxg5 {Ulko,J (2459)-Burmakin,V (2567) St
Petersburg 2000} Nh5 $1 $13) ({Interesting is} 11. e4 dxe4 12. Ngxe4 Nxe4 13.
Bxe4 Be6 14. Qf3 $5 O-O-O 15. Rad1 $13 {/+/=}) 11... h6 12. Nf3 Bd6 (12... Bb4
{gives White a pleasant choice between} 13. a3 $14 ({and} 13. Ne5 $5)) 13. Rae1
O-O 14. Ne5 Bxe5 (14... Be6 15. f4 Rae8 16. h3 Bc8 17. g4 (17. a3 $5 $14) 17...
Bb4 18. g5 Ne4 $2 (18... hxg5 $1 19. fxg5 Ne4 $13) 19. gxh6 g6 {Janowski,
D-Jaffe,C New York,NY 1916} 20. f5 $1 $40 {s mohutnym utokom.}) (14... c5 15.
Nb5 $5 $14) 15. dxe5 Nd7 (15... Ng4 16. f4 Nxe3 17. Rxe3 d4 {Bacrot,E (2715)
-Fressinet,L (2650) Agen rpd 2017} 18. Rg3 $5 dxc3 19. bxc3 $36 {[%cal Yf4f6]})
16. f4 $14 Nc5 17. Bh7+ Kh8 18. a3 g6 19. Bxg6 fxg6 20. Qxg6 Bf5 21. Qxh6+ Bh7
22. f5 Qc7 23. e6 Qe5 {Wagner,D (2583)-Bu,X (2724) Moscow 2016} 24. e4 $1 dxe4
25. f6 Nxe6 26. Rxe4 Qg5 27. Qh3 $40) 8. Rc1 {became popular after
Gelfand-Carlsen, Candidates 2013. Compared with the pervious line, the line
can have an independent character:} (8. Qd2 Bb4 ({Nowadays Black only rarely
ventures to accept the pawn sacrifice after} 8... N7b6 9. Bd3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Nd5
11. O-O Qxc3 12. Qe2 $44 {White's lead in development and central control
gives him serious attacking chances after} h6 13. Bh4 Be7 14. Bg3 O-O 15. Rac1
Qa5 16. Ne5 Qd8 (16... Nf6 17. Bb1 Rd8 18. Bh4 Kf8 19. f4 Qa3 20. Rce1 Bb4 21.
Rd1 Be7 22. g4 Nd5 23. Rd3 Qa6 24. g5 $40 {Koch,H (2096)-Meissner,R (2042)
email 2011}) 17. Bb1 f5 18. Ng6 Re8 19. e4 Nf6 20. Bh4 fxe4 21. Bxe4 Qxd4 $6
22. Nxe7+ Rxe7 23. Rfd1 Qb6 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Rc3 Rg7 26. Rcd3 $18 {
Johannessen,L (2543)-Baburin,A (2523) Gothenburg 2005 See the notes to this
game in CBM 109 by Postny.}) 9. Rc1 h6 (9... b6 {usually only tranposes after}
10. a3 Bxc3 11. bxc3 h6 12. Bh4 c5) 10. Bh4 {and now:} {However, Black has also
} O-O {and now:} (10... c5 {However, recently White started doing well in the
simplified position after} 11. a3 (11. Bd3 cxd4 12. exd4 b6 13. O-O Bb7 14. a3
Bxc3 15. bxc3 Rc8 16. Bg3 (16. Be4 {Massimini Gerbino,M (2369)-Balabaev,F 
(2437) Chessfriend.com 2005} f5 $5 $13) 16... O-O (16... Rxc3 $6 17. Bd6 Rxc1
18. Qxc1 $44 {Ulko,J (2470)-Michalczak,T (2297) Senden 2008}) 17. c4 Qxd2 18.
Nxd2 N5f6 $11 (18... Ba6 $5 $132)) (11. Bc4 N7b6 {has turned out to be the
best reaction:} (11... O-O 12. Bxd5 exd5 13. Be7 Re8 14. Bxc5 Bxc3 (14... Nxc5
15. dxc5 Qxc5 16. a3 $14) 15. Qxc3 Qa6 16. Bb4 (16. Qb3 $5 $14) 16... Re6 17.
Qc7 b6 (17... Rc6 $5 $132) 18. h4 $1 Qb5 19. Qd8+ Kh7 20. Ng5+ $1 hxg5 21.
hxg5+ Kg6 22. Qh8 Qxb4+ 23. Kd1 Nf6 24. gxf6 Kxf6 {Babula,V (2559)-Velicka,P 
(2432) Ostrava 2017} 25. Rh7 $18) (11... cxd4 12. Qxd4 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 O-O 14.
O-O N5b6 15. Bb3 Re8 16. Rfd1 $32 {|^, Aronian,L (2805)-Shirov,A (2722) Wijk
aan Zee 2011}) (11... Nxc3 12. bxc3 Ba3 13. Rb1 a6 14. Be2 O-O 15. O-O b5 16.
c4 Bb4 17. Qc2 Bb7 18. Rfd1 bxc4 $6 (18... Rac8 $142 $5 {Marin}) 19. dxc5 Nxc5
20. Rd4 $1 Rab8 21. Ne5 Bd5 22. Be7 Rfe8 23. Bd6 Rbd8 24. Bh5 $1 $18 {Anand,V 
(2810)-Shirov,A (2722) Wijk aan Zee 2011}) 12. Bd3 (12. Bb5+ Bd7 13. Bxd7+ Nxd7
14. O-O cxd4 15. Qxd4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 O-O 17. c4 N5f6 18. Rfd1 Rac8 19. e4 e5 20.
Qb2 Rc7 21. Bxf6 Nxf6 22. Nxe5 Re8 23. Nf3 Nxe4 $11 {/=/+, Bacrot,E (2718)
-Ponomariov,R (2714) Beijing rpd 2014}) (12. Bxd5 Nxd5 13. a3 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Bd7
$5 15. Ne5 cxd4 $132) 12... cxd4 13. Nxd4 (13. exd4 Bd7 14. a3 Bxc3 15. bxc3
Rc8 16. c4 Qxd2+ 17. Kxd2 Nf4 18. Bf1 Bc6 19. Ke3 g5 20. Bg3 Ke7 $32 21. Bxf4 {
½, Mamedyarov,S (2765)-Zherebukh,Y (2590) Khanty-Mansiysk 2011} gxf4+ 22. Kxf4
Rhd8 $44) 13... Nxc3 $5 (13... Bxc3 $6 14. bxc3 O-O 15. Nb3 Qa4 16. c4 Nb4 17.
Bb1 Nc6 18. O-O Ne5 19. Nc5 Qa3 20. Qd4 Nc6 21. Qd6 Qb4 22. Rfd1 e5 23. h3 Re8
24. a3 Qa5 25. Be4 f6 26. Bxf6 $1 gxf6 27. Qxf6 $18 {Babula,V (2581)-Manik,M 
(2413) Teplice 2013}) 14. bxc3 Ba3 15. Rb1 Bd7 16. Nb5 O-O 17. Nxa3 (17. O-O
Rac8 $132) 17... Qxa3 18. O-O Rac8 19. Rfc1 e5 20. c4 Be6 21. Rb3 Qa4 22. Qb4
Qxb4 23. Rxb4 {Deskin,G (1908)-Weiss,L (2073) email 2011} Nd7 $1 $15) 11...
Bxc3 12. bxc3 b6 13. c4 Qxd2+ 14. Nxd2 Ne7 15. f3 (15. Bd3 {is less flexible:}
f5 16. Bg3 Bb7 17. O-O Kf7 18. Rfd1 Rac8 19. d5 $5 Nf6 20. f3 exd5 21. cxd5
Bxd5 22. e4 fxe4 23. fxe4 {Kramnik,V (2780)-Shirov,A (2749) Shanghai 2010} Be6
$1 24. Nc4 Kg8 $13 {Krasenkow}) 15... Ba6 16. Be2 f5 (16... cxd4 17. exd4 Nf5
18. Bf2 Rc8 (18... O-O $142 $5) 19. g4 Nd6 20. c5 $1 Bxe2 21. Kxe2 bxc5 22.
dxc5 Nb5 23. a4 Nc7 24. c6 Ne5 25. Bg3 $16 {[%csl Gc6] Donchenko,A (2577)
-Basso,P (2428) Douglas 2015}) 17. O-O Kf7 18. Nb3 Rac8 19. Rfe1 Rhd8 20. Bf1
g5 21. Bf2 cxd4 22. exd4 f4 23. a4 Nf5 24. a5 Rc7 25. axb6 axb6 26. Nd2 Nd6 27.
g3 $36 {[%csl Gf1,Gf2] So,W (2822)-Dreev,A (2651) chess.com INT 2017 The
position is starting to open up for White's ^^.}) {The most complex
alternative is the sacrificial} 11. a3 (11. Bd3 e5 12. O-O Re8 13. Qc2 exd4 14.
Nxd5 Qxd5 15. Nxd4 Bf8 $5 (15... Nb6 16. Rfd1 Qh5 (16... Qxa2 $5) 17. Bg3 Bg4
18. f3 Bd7 19. Qf2 Be7 20. Bb1 g6 21. e4 c5 22. Ne2 $16 {Moiseenko,A (2715)
-Esen,B (2543) Khanty-Mansiysk 2011}) 16. Rfd1 (16. Bg3 Nc5 17. Bc4 Qe4 18. Qd2
Qe7 19. Qe2 Ne4 20. Bf4 a6 21. Rfd1 c5 22. Nb3 b5 23. Bd5 Bb7 24. Bxb7 Qxb7 25.
f3 c4 26. Na5 Qb6 27. Nxc4 bxc4 28. fxe4 g5 $15 {Lange,S-Grott,P email 2010}) (
16. Bc4 $5 Qe4 17. Qxe4 Rxe4 18. Bg3 $11 {/+/=}) 16... Nc5 17. Be2 Ne4 18. f3
Qh5 19. Be1 Nf6 20. Bf2 Nd5 21. e4 Nf4 22. Bc4 Bd6 23. Bg3 Be5 24. Qf2 Rd8 25.
Kf1 Re8 26. Rd2 Qg5 27. Rcd1 Qf6 28. Kg1 Bc7 29. a3 Ba5 30. b4 Bb6 31. Qe1 Be6
$11 {Salzmann,S (2156)-Ramponelli,R (2156) email 2011}) (11. e4 Nxc3 12. bxc3
Ba3 13. Rb1 b6 14. Bd3 Ba6 15. O-O Rfe8 16. Rfe1 Rac8 17. e5 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 c5
19. Re3 cxd4 20. cxd4 Be7 21. Bxe7 Rxe7 22. a3 Nf8 23. h4 Rec7 $15 {L'Ami,E 
(2541)-Gurevich,M (2652) Germany 2006 is something Erwin wasn't intent on
repeating - see the notes in CBM 112 by Gurevich.}) 11... Bxc3 12. bxc3 Qxa3
13. e4 (13. Bd3 e5 $5 (13... Ne7 14. Bg3 $5 (14. e4 {-13.e4}) 14... Nf5 15. Bf4
$44) 14. Nxe5 (14. Bg3 exd4 15. cxd4 Qb4 $13 {/=/+}) 14... Nxe5 15. dxe5 Re8
16. Bg3 Be6 17. O-O Rad8 18. Qc2 Nxc3 19. Bh7+ Kh8 20. Ra1 Qb4 21. Rfc1 g6 22.
Bxg6 fxg6 23. Qxg6 Ne2+ 24. Kf1 Nxg3+ 25. hxg3 Qf8 26. Rxa7 Rd7 $17 {
Bogoljubow,E-Alekhine,A WCh GER/NLD 1929}) 13... Ne7 14. Bd3 Ng6 15. Bg3 e5 16.
h4 $5 (16. O-O Re8 17. Rfe1 Qe7 $1 (17... Qa5 18. Qb2 Qd8 19. Bb1 a5 20. Rcd1
a4 21. Ba2 Qe7 22. Qc1 Ra5 23. Qd2 $44 exd4 $6 24. Nxd4 Qc5 $2 25. Bc7 Ra8 26.
Bxf7+ $1 Kxf7 27. Qa2+ $18 {->, Kramnik,V (2729)-Bruzon Batista,L (2652) Turin
olm 2006}) 18. h4 a5 19. h5 (19. Bb1 {Erdos,V (2608)-Volkmann,F (2410) Austria
2011} a4 $132) 19... Nf4 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. e5 a4 22. Qxf4 Nf8 23. Ra1 (23. c4
Rd8 24. Ra1 Be6 25. Ra2 a3 26. Rea1 b5 27. d5 cxd5 28. cxb5 d4 $17 {Bredenhof,
B (2151)-Steinkellner,P (2257) email 2012}) 23... b5 24. Re3 Bd7 {and in this
complex position White didn't find anything better than} 25. e6 $5 Bxe6 26. d5
cxd5 27. Bxb5 Rec8 28. Rxa4 Rxa4 {½, Bubir,A (2546)-Szczepanski,Z (2547)
email 2013}) 16... Re8 (16... exd4 17. cxd4 Re8 18. h5 Ngf8 19. O-O Nf6 20. Ra1
Qe7 21. Bh4 Qe6 22. Ra5 b5 23. d5 cxd5 24. exd5 Qd6 25. Bxb5 {½, Khalifman,A 
(2702)-Gurevich,M (2635) Lanzarote 2003} {The draw was perhaps premature, after
} Bd7 26. Bg3 Qb6 27. Bd3 Nxh5 28. Bh2 $44 {White has excellent compensation.})
17. h5 Nf4 18. Bxf4 (18. Bb1 Qa6 $5 {is recommended by Zidu:} 19. Bxf4 exf4 20.
Qxf4 Nf6 $13 (20... c5 21. g4 $5 $13 {/+/=})) 18... exf4 19. Qxf4 Nf6 20. e5 (
20. Ne5 Be6 21. O-O Nxh5 22. Qe3 Nf6 23. f4 Rad8 24. Be2 Qf8 25. Rb1 Re7 26. c4
Qe8 27. d5 Bc8 28. Bf3 cxd5 29. cxd5 Rxe5 30. fxe5 Qxe5 31. Qxa7 Nxe4 32. Qe3
f5 $11 {Xiong,J (2642)-Smirnov,A (2495) Saint Louis 2017}) 20... Nd5 21. Qd2 a5
22. Be4 (22. Nh4 a4 23. c4 Nc7 24. Bb1 Bg4 $5 $132) 22... b5 (22... Bg4 $5) 23.
O-O Be6 24. Rfe1 a4 25. Bb1 $1 Kf8 26. Qd3 Rec8 27. Qh7 Nxc3 28. Bd3 Ke8 $1 29.
d5 cxd5 30. Qxg7 Qf8 31. Qh7 Kd8 32. Nd4 a3 $13 {Privoznik,L (2381)-Nickel,A 
(2642) email 2010 After some fascinating complications the game was drawn.}) {
If Black doesn't like the whole concept of Nxc3, b6 and Ba6, he can go for the
aforementioned lines with 8.Qd2 after} 8... Bb4 (8... Nxc3 9. bxc3 Ba3 10. Rc2
b6 {and now:} {White started to prefer} 11. Be2 (11. Bd3 Ba6 12. O-O Bxd3 13.
Qxd3 O-O 14. Rb1 {Po} (14. e4 Rfe8 15. e5 $6 h6 16. Bh4 c5 17. Nd2 cxd4 18.
cxd4 Rac8 19. Nc4 Qb5 20. f4 Rc7 21. Qxa3 Rxc4 22. Rxc4 Qxc4 23. Bf2 Qc7 24.
Rc1 Qb7 25. Qd6 Nf8 26. g3 Rc8 27. Rxc8 Qxc8 28. d5 exd5 29. Qxd5 g6 30. Kg2
Ne6 $11 {/+/=, Gelfand,B (2740)-Carlsen,M (2872) London ct 2013}) 14... Rfe8
15. c4 (15. Bh4 Rac8 16. c4 Bd6 $6 17. Ng5 Qf5 18. Qxf5 exf5 19. Bg3 Bxg3 20.
hxg3 c5 21. Nf3 Nf6 22. Kf1 Ne4 23. d5 Nd6 24. Ke2 f6 25. Nd2 Kf7 26. a4 $14 {
Moiseenko,A (2703)-Dreev,A (2679) Jakarta 2013 The transformation of the
pawn-structure gave White a long-term strategic advantage.}) 15... Bf8 16. Bh4
h6 $5 17. Bg3 Rad8 18. Qb3 Rc8 19. h3 Nf6 20. Bh4 Nd7 21. Rd1 Qh5 22. Qa4 a5
23. Bg3 Qf5 24. Rcc1 Red8 25. Nd2 Bb4 26. Qc2 {Moiseenko,A (2692)-Agrest,E 
(2596) Berlin rpd 2015} Qxc2 27. Rxc2 c5 $132) 11... Ba6 12. O-O Bxe2 {now
both recaptures deserve attention:} {More usual is} 13. Qxe2 (13. Rxe2 O-O 14.
e4 {is sharper, White focuses on the kingside. Black should probably dare to
play} Qxc3 $5 (14... h6 15. Bf4 Qxc3 16. Rc2 Qb4 17. Rxc6 Rac8 18. Qc2 Rxc6 19.
Qxc6 Nf6 20. g3 b5 21. Be5 Ng4 22. Bc7 Qc4 23. Qxc4 bxc4 24. Ne1 Bb2 25. Nc2
Rc8 26. Ba5 Rb8 27. Rd1 Nf6 28. f3 g5 29. Ne3 c3 30. Nc2 $14 {[%csl Gc2,Rc3]
Reichert,T (2338)-Saitou,A (2224) email 2016}) (14... e5 15. Qc2 Rfe8 16. Rd1
$14) (14... Rfe8 15. Re3 (15. e5 $5) 15... Bf8 (15... Be7 $142 $13) 16. e5 Qxa2
$2 (16... c5 {/\} 17. Nd2 cxd4 18. cxd4 f6 $132) 17. Nd2 c5 $2 18. Ne4 cxd4 19.
cxd4 Rac8 {Tomashevsky,E (2743)-Ipatov,A (2624) Reykjavik 2015} 20. Rh3 $1 Qc2
21. Qg4 $40 {[%cal Rg4h4] See the notes by Tomashevsky in CBM 170.}) 15. Rc2 ({
Tomashevsky suggests} 15. e5 {or}) (15. Re3 $5 Qa5 16. Qd3 {, but this is far
from clear and subsequently he refrained from 13.Rxe2.}) 15... Qa5 16. Rxc6
Rac8 17. d5 exd5 18. exd5 Nb8 19. Rxc8 Rxc8 $13 {/=}) 13... O-O (13... h6 $5)
14. e4 (14. Rd1 Rfe8 15. c4 Bf8 (15... e5 $5 $132) 16. e4 Qa4 17. e5 c5 18. d5
exd5 19. Rxd5 Be7 20. Rcd2 Nf8 21. h4 Bxg5 22. Nxg5 f6 23. Ne4 Rxe5 24. Rxe5
fxe5 25. Nd6 Qd7 26. Qxe5 Qe6 27. Qxe6+ Nxe6 28. Nb5 {Tomashevsky,E (2722)
-Artemiev,V (2669) Sochi 2016} Nd8 $1 $132 {[%csl Rc4][%cal Yd8c6,Yc6a5,Yd8b7,
Yb7a5] Transferring the N to attack the ><c4 gives Black good chances to hold
the game.}) 14... Qa4 $5 (14... Rac8 $6 15. e5 {is Gelfand's plan, only the Q
is better placed on e2, than on d3.} Qa4 16. c4 Rfe8 17. Rd1 c5 18. d5 exd5 19.
Rxd5 (19. cxd5 $1 Nxe5 20. Nxe5 Rxe5 21. Qxe5 Qxc2 22. Re1 $36 {[%csl Gd5]})
19... Nf8 $6 (19... Nb8 $13 {[%cal Yb8c6]}) 20. h4 h6 21. Be3 Ng6 22. Qd3 Re6
23. h5 Ne7 24. Rd6 Bb4 25. Rc1 Re8 26. Rxe6 fxe6 27. Nh4 Qc6 28. a3 Ba5 29. Rd1
$16 {[%csl Ra5] /+-, Carlsen,M (2881)-Mamedyarov,S (2760) Shamkir 2014 See the
notes to this game in CBM 160 by Krasenkow.}) (14... Rfe8 15. Rd1 (15. e5 c5
16. Rd1 cxd4 17. Rxd4 Nf8 18. h4 Rac8 19. h5 h6 20. Bd2 Kh8 21. Rg4 Nd7 $2 (
21... Nh7 $11) (21... Bc5 $5) 22. Bxh6 $1 $16 {Yankelevich,L (2421)-Svetushkin,
D (2574) Hofheim 2017}) 15... Rac8 16. e5 Nf8 17. c4 (17. Nd2 $5 {is also
promising}) 17... h6 18. Be3 Ng6 19. h4 Qa4 20. h5 Ne7 21. Nh4 c5 22. d5 $1
exd5 23. cxd5 Nxd5 24. Rc4 Qc6 {Kosteniuk,A (2543)-Pogonina,N (2482) Bilbao
2014} 25. Rd3 Bb4 26. Qg4 $1 $40 {/\} Rxe5 27. Bxh6) 15. Rd2 b5 16. Rd3 f6 17.
Bf4 Nb6 18. h4 Qc4 19. h5 Rad8 20. h6 g6 21. Qc2 e5 22. Be3 Rf7 $132 {Walczak,
P (2485)-Miettinen,K (2436) email 2015}) ({The above lines indicate it's
probably in Black's interest to insert an earlier} 8... h6 9. Bh4 Nxc3 10. bxc3
Ba3 11. Rc2 b6 {Po} 12. Bd3 (12. Be2 Ba6 13. O-O Bxe2 14. Qxe2 Qa4 $5 15. c4
O-O 16. e4 Rfe8 17. Rd2 b5 $1 18. c5 e5 19. Bg3 Bb4 20. Rd3 exd4 21. Rxd4 Nxc5
22. Ne5 Ne6 23. Rd7 Re7 24. Rxe7 Bxe7 25. Nxc6 Bc5 26. Qd3 {Timofeev,A (2583)
-Goryachkina,A (2438) Khanty-Mansiysk 2014} b4 $17) 12... Ba6 13. O-O Bxd3 14.
Qxd3 O-O 15. c4 (15. Bg3 Rfd8 16. c4 e5 $2 {Moiseenko,A (2692)-Navara,D (2727)
Wroclaw blitz 2014} 17. Bxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Qxe5 19. Qxa3 $16) 15... Rfe8 16.
Bg3 Rad8 17. Qb3 Bf8 18. h3 Nf6 19. Ne5 Rc8 20. Rd1 (20. Bh4 $5) 20... Qa6 21.
a4 {v pravý čas prišlo} c5 $1 22. d5 exd5 23. cxd5 Bd6 24. f4 Ne4 $132 {
Sargissian,G (2677)-Smirnov,A (2527) chess.com INT 2018}) 9. a3 ({White for
the time being avoids} 9. Qd2) 9... Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 h6 11. Bh4 Qxa3 {Here
already there is nothing better than} 12. Qd2 b5 {is a risky attempt to avoid
these lines:} (12... e5 13. e4 ({or} 13. Bd3 O-O) 13... Nf4 14. Bg3 Ng6 15. Bd3
O-O {, as well as}) (12... O-O {was already featured above.}) 13. Bd3 Bb7 14.
O-O O-O 15. e4 $5 (15. c4 bxc4 16. Bxc4 N5b6 17. Bd3 Rfc8 18. Bb1 c5 19. dxc5 (
19. Be7 $5 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Nd5 21. Bd6 Rc6 22. dxc5 Rac8 23. e4 Qxf3 24. exd5
Rxd6 25. cxd6 Qg4+ $11 {is a typical engine line...}) 19... Nxc5 20. Qd6 Qa4 (
20... Nd5 $5) 21. Nd4 Qd7 (21... Ne4 $5) 22. Qf4 g5 $6 (22... Ba6 $15) 23. Qf6
gxh4 24. Qxh6 f5 25. Rxc5 $1 Rxc5 26. Nxe6 $36 {Kramnik,V (2790)-Shirov,A 
(2739) Moscow 2010 White already has a guaranteed draw, see the notes to this
game in CBM 139 by Krasenkow.}) 15... N5b6 16. Ra1 Qd6 17. Rfe1 Rfc8 18. e5 Qf8
19. Re4 c5 (19... Nc4 $5) 20. Rg4 Kh8 21. Ng5 cxd4 22. Nh7 $1 dxc3 23. Qc1 Qg8
24. Nf6 Qf8 25. Bg5 $1 Nxe5 26. Rh4 Ng6 27. Bxg6 Rc4 28. Rxh6+ $1 gxh6 29. Nh7
Qg7 30. Bf6 $16 {Happe,R (2307)-Pasierb,S (2218) email 2012}) 7... dxc4 {
Resolving the tension immediately, but more popular is} (7... Bb4 8. Qc2 {
and now:} {Modern players prefer a more active apporach, after} O-O {Black
retains more possibilities to free his position:} (8... dxc4 9. Bxf6 Nxf6 10.
Nxc4 Qc7 (10... Qd5 $5 {is less tested, but certainly deserves attention:} 11.
a3 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 (12. Qxc3 c5 $11) 12... c5 13. f3 cxd4 14. cxd4 O-O 15. Ne5
Bd7 16. Bc4 Rac8 17. Qb3 Qa5+ 18. Qb4 Qc7 19. O-O Bc6 20. Rfc1 Nd7 21. Nxc6
Qxc6 22. Rc2 Nb6 23. Bb3 Qd7 $11 {Baraeva,M (2182)-Marek,M (2326) Pardubice
2015}) 11. a3 (11. Be2 c5 $1 12. O-O Bd7 13. Qb3 O-O 14. Ne5 cxd4 15. Nxd7 Qxd7
16. Qxb4 dxc3 17. Qxc3 Rac8 18. Qb3 Rfd8 19. Rfd1 Qc7 20. Rxd8+ {½, Nihal,S 
(2532)-Bluebaum,M (2635) Moscow 2018}) 11... Be7 12. b4 $5 ({The most accurate
move-order.} 12. Be2 O-O 13. O-O Bd7 14. b4 b6 15. Bf3 Rac8 16. Rfd1 Rfd8 17.
Rac1 Be8 18. g3 Nd5 19. Nb2 Qb8 20. Nd3 Bg5 21. Rb1 Qb7 22. e4 Nxc3 23. Qxc3
Qe7 24. h4 Bh6 25. Ne5 g6 26. Ng4 Bg7 27. e5 h5 28. Ne3 c5 $1 $11 {/=/+,
Capablanca,J-Alekhine,A Buenos Aires 1927 This game was the turning point of
the great match, Alekhine went on to win and by scoring another win in the
very next game, he gained a lead he never relinquished.}) (12. g3 {was played
in game 29, but here Black has} c5 $1 13. Bg2 Bd7 14. Ne5 cxd4 15. exd4 Bd6 $11
) 12... O-O ({Similar is} 12... b6 13. Be2 O-O 14. O-O Bb7 15. Bf3 Rac8 16.
Rab1 Rfd8 17. Rfc1 Ba8 18. h3 h6 19. Qb3 Qb8 20. Ne4 Nxe4 21. Bxe4 Bf6 22. a4
$14 {Ribli,Z (2590)-Smyslov,V (2565) Las Palmas 1982}) 13. g3 Bd7 14. Bg2 b6
15. O-O Rac8 (15... a5 $6 16. Ne5 axb4 17. axb4 Rxa1 18. Rxa1 Rc8 19. Nxd7 Qxd7
20. Na4 Qd8 21. Qb3 Nd5 22. b5 cxb5 23. Qxb5 $16 {[%csl Rb6] Capablanca,
J-Alekhine,A Buenos Aires 1927}) 16. Rfc1 Rfd8 17. Rab1 {White is 1-2 tempi up
compared with our game, but his plus is still minimal and he went on to win
only after a long fight:} Be8 18. Ne4 Nd5 19. Ne5 Qb8 20. Qa2 Qa8 21. Qb3 $14 {
Kasparov,G (2640)-Averbakh,Y (2490) Kislovodsk 1982}) {Therefore the main
continuaiton is the developing} 9. Be2 ({Alekhine stopped playing this because
of} 9. Bh4 {Even more energetic is} e5 $5 {White with his last move has given
Black a lead in development:} ({After} 9... c5 10. Nb3 Qa4 (10... Qc7 $5) 11.
Bxf6 Nxf6 12. dxc5 Bxc3+ (12... Ne4 $2 13. cxd5 Bxc3+ 14. bxc3 Nxc5 15. Rd1
exd5 16. Rxd5 Nxb3 17. axb3 Qc6 18. Rd4 Re8 19. Bd3 $1 Qxg2 20. Bxh7+ Kf8 21.
Be4 $16 {Capablanca,J-Alekhine,A Buenos Aires 1927}) 13. Qxc3 Ne4 14. Qa5 Qxa5+
15. Nxa5 Nxc5 16. cxd5 exd5 {Black is close to equality:} 17. Be2 Rd8 18. O-O
d4 19. Rfd1 Ne6 20. exd4 Nxd4 21. Kf1 b6 22. Nb3 Ne6 23. Rxd8+ Nxd8 24. Rd1 Ne6
{½, Dzieciolowski,A-Szukszta,J Szczawno Zdroj 1957}) 10. dxe5 (10. Nb3 Qc7 11.
a3 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 b6 13. Nd2 Ba6 14. Be2 exd4 15. cxd4 c5 16. Bg3 Qc6 $5 17.
cxd5 Qb7 18. Bf3 cxd4 19. d6 Qc8 20. Qxc8 Raxc8 21. exd4 Rfe8+ 22. Kd1 Nd5 $1
23. Re1 Nc3+ 24. Kc2 Ne4+ 25. Kd1 Nc3+ {½, Narozhny,Y (2338)-Yurov,A (2330)
email 2010}) 10... Ne4 11. Ncxe4 ({Risky is} 11. e6 Ndc5 $5 $32) 11... dxe4 12.
a3 Nxe5 13. O-O-O Bxd2+ 14. Qxd2 Qxd2+ 15. Rxd2 Be6 16. b3 f6 17. Bg3 Rad8 18.
Rd4 c5 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20. Be2 Bg4 21. Bxg4 Nxg4 22. h3 Ne5 23. Bxe5 fxe5 24. Rd1
Rxd1+ {½, Zlatariu,M (2401)-Laurenc,P (2398) email 2013}) {However, the most
reliable road to equality seems to be} 9... c5 $5 (9... e5 {Thus the attention
turned to} 10. O-O (10. dxe5 Ne4 11. Ndxe4 dxe4 12. O-O Bxc3 13. bxc3 Nxe5 14.
Qxe4 (14. Bf4 Bf5 $11) (14. Be7 Re8 15. Bb4 Qc7 16. Qxe4 c5 17. Ba3 Bd7 $44 {
[%csl Ra3,Rc3,Rc4]}) 14... Ng6 $5 (14... f6 15. Bh4 (15. Bf4 $2 Bf5 $19) 15...
Qxc3 16. f4 $5 (16. Rfd1 $14) 16... Ng4 17. Bd3 f5 18. Qd4 Qd2 19. Rf3 c5 20.
Qd5+ $36 {Lambrechts,C-Oliveira,A corr 1988}) 15. Bf4 Bf5 (15... Nxf4 16. Qxf4
Be6 17. Rfd1 Rad8 $11) 16. Bc7 (16. Qd4 $142 $5 $11) 16... Bxe4 17. Bxa5 b6 18.
Bb4 c5 19. Ba3 Rad8 20. Rad1 Bc2 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Bc1 Ne5 23. f4 Nc6 $44 {
/=/+, Vasin,M (2334)-Ermolaev,M email 2009 White's bishops present a sorry
picture.}) 10... exd4 11. Nb3 Qb6 (11... Qc7 12. Nxd4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 $14) 12.
exd4 (12. Nxd4 Bxc3 $5 (12... dxc4 13. Bh4 $1 $14 (13. Bxc4 $6 Qc5) {/\} 13...
Qc5 14. Na4) 13. bxc3 dxc4 $132) 12... dxc4 13. Bxc4 a5 14. Ne4 $5 (14. a4 Qc7
15. Rae1 h6 16. Bh4 Nb6 (16... Bd6 $6 17. h3 Nb6 18. Bxf6 Nxc4 19. Ne4 Bh2+ 20.
Kh1 Nd6 21. Kxh2 Nxe4+ 22. Be5 Nd6 23. Qc5 Rd8 24. d5 $16 {Carlsen,M (2484)
-Kasparov,G (2831) Reykjavik rpd 2004}) 17. Bd3 Nbd5 $11) 14... Nxe4 15. Qxe4
Qc7 (15... a4 16. a3 Bd6 17. Bd3 g6 18. Nd2 Qc7 19. Qh4 Ra5 20. Ne4 f6 21. Nxd6
Rxg5 22. Bc4+ Kg7 23. Qf4 Qd8 24. h4 Ra5 25. Rfe1 $18 {Ma,Z (2262)-Yu,L (2404)
Ningbo 2011}) 16. Bd3 f5 17. Qh4 Nb6 18. a3 Bd6 19. Rfe1 Nd5 20. Bc4 Bd7 21.
Nc5 {has been played in a few email games. White holds the initiative and
although this might not be enough against accurate defence, it's still rather
unpleasant after} Rfe8 22. Rac1 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 b6 24. Nd3 Re8 25. Be7 h6 26.
Bxd6 Qxd6 27. Re5 Kh7 28. h3 Nf6 29. Qf4 g5 30. Qe3 $14 {Alexa,J (2343)-Mezera,
L (2364) email 2015}) (9... dxc4 10. Bxf6 Nxf6 11. Nxc4 Qc7 {transposes after}
12. a3 Be7 13. b4 b6 {into the aforementioend game Ribli-Smyslov.}) {More
promising is the relatively untested} 10. Bf4 $5 {, po} (10. Nb3 Qa4 ({Less
played, but also viable is} 10... Qc7 $5 11. O-O dxc4 12. Bxc4 cxd4 13. Nb5 Qb8
14. N5xd4 Bd6 15. f4 h6 16. Bh4 a6 17. Be2 Nd5 18. Qd2 N7f6 19. Rad1 Bb4 20.
Qd3 Bd7 21. Bf3 Ba4 22. Kh1 Be7 23. Rc1 Rc8 24. Na5 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Qd8 26. Nxb7
Qb6 $132 {Ivanchuk,V (2740)-Kasparov,G (2825) Frankfurt rpd 1998}) 11. Bxf6
Nxf6 12. dxc5 ({Sterile and boring is} 12. O-O Bxc3 13. Qxc3 cxd4 14. Qxd4 dxc4
15. Nc5 (15. Qxc4 Qxc4 16. Bxc4 Bd7 $11) 15... Qc6 16. Bf3 Nd5 17. Rfc1 b6 18.
Nd3 Qe8 19. Qxc4 Bb7 20. Qb3 {½, Ionov,S (2530)-Oll,L (2625) Vilnius 1997})
12... dxc4 13. Bxc4 Qc6 14. O-O Bxc5 15. Nxc5 Qxc5 16. Ne4 Nxe4 17. Qxe4 Qb6
18. Rad1 $5 (18. Bd3 g6 19. Qe5 Bd7 20. h4 Rac8 21. Rac1 Bc6 (21... f6 $5 22.
Qg3 Qxb2 23. Rxc8 Bxc8 24. h5 Rd8 25. Bxg6 hxg6 26. Qxg6+ Kf8 27. Qh6+ Kg8 {
½, Sokolov,I (2696)-Dreev,A (2694) Stepanakert 2005}) 22. h5 Qc7 23. Qc3 Qe7
24. h6 f6 25. Rfd1 Rfd8 26. Be2 Kf7 $11 {Rodriguez Rey,J (2349)-Romero
Rodriguez,J (2276) email 2016}) 18... Qxb2 19. Rd4 g6 $5 20. Rfd1 Qa3 {seems
dangerous, but after} 21. Qh4 $6 (21. h4 $5 $44) 21... b6 22. Bb3 Qc5 23. Qh6
Qe5 24. Rd8 Qg7 25. Qg5 Bb7 $13 {/=/+, Korinek,J (1643)-Habes,J (1674) email
2013 it was already White, who was searcing for ample compensation.}) (10. O-O
cxd4 11. Nb3 (11. exd4 dxc4 12. Bh4 Nb6 13. Nxc4 Nxc4 14. Bxc4 Bd7 15. Bxf6
gxf6 16. d5 Bxc3 17. dxe6 Bxe6 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. bxc3 Rac8 $11 {[%csl Rc3,Rg8]
½, Kramnik,V (2710)-Ivanchuk,V (2705) Luzern 1993}) 11... Qb6 (11... Qd8 $5 {
deserves attention, after} 12. Nxd4 Bxc3 13. bxc3 dxc4 14. Bxc4 Qe7 15. Be2 h6
16. Bh4 Ne5 17. Rfd1 Ng6 18. Bg3 e5 19. Nf5 Bxf5 20. Qxf5 Rac8 {the ^^ are not
so tremendous and White's queenside is vulnerable:} 21. h4 $6 Rfe8 22. h5 Nf8
23. Bb5 Qe6 $1 24. Qf3 Re7 25. Ba4 N8h7 26. Bh4 Ng5 $36 {Parligras,M (2572)
-Dreev,A (2679) Yerevan 2014}) 12. Na4 (12. exd4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 Qc7 14. Qe2 Bxc3
15. bxc3 b6 $11 {is like a well-known line from the Nimzoindian, only White's
knight is on b3 instead of f3. Black shouldn't have any serious problems here.}
(15... Ne4 $5)) 12... Qc7 13. Nxd4 dxc4 14. Bxc4 Bd6 15. Rac1 $1 (15. h3 a6 16.
Bd3 Qxc2 17. Bxc2 b5 18. Nc3 Bb7 19. Rfd1 Be5 20. Bh4 Rac8 21. Rac1 h6 22. f4
Bb8 23. a3 Ba7 24. Kf2 Rfe8 25. Bb1 e5 $11 {/=/+, Hildebrand,G (2193)
-Gonschior,M (2153) email 2008}) {This pawn sacrifice is the only way to fight
for an advantage, but Black holds his own after} 15... Bxh2+ 16. Kh1 Bd6 17.
Nb5 Qc6 18. Nxd6 Qxd6 19. Rfd1 (19. Be2 Nd5 20. Rfd1 Qe5 21. Bh4 N7f6 22. Kg1
Bd7 23. Nc5 Bc6 24. Rd4 Rac8 $13 {Kulakiewicz,M (2019)-Panman,H (2319) email
2013}) 19... Qe5 20. Bf4 Qh5+ $5 (20... Qa5 21. b4 Qxb4 22. Bd6 Qa5 23. Bxf8 (
23. Nc3 $1 {/\} Re8 24. Nb5 $14) 23... Nxf8 24. Bb3 Qh5+ 25. Kg1 Bd7 26. Qc7
Bc6 27. Qh2 Qg5 $11 {Grischuk,A (2760)-Shirov,A (2739) Moscow 2010}) 21. Kg1
Ne5 22. Be2 Neg4 $1 23. Bxg4 (23. f3 $2 e5 $1 24. fxg4 Bxg4 $17) 23... Qxg4 24.
f3 Qh4 25. Rd4 Qh5 26. g4 Qh3 27. Qg2 Qxg2+ 28. Kxg2 Bd7 29. e4 Bc6 30. Nc5 $44
{/=, Morley,P (2376)-Wojtyra,S (2330) email 2015 White's compensation is
barely enough for equality.}) 10... cxd4 (10... b6 $5 {was featured only in
one game, but might well be the best:} 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Ba6 13. a4 cxd4
14. cxd4 Rfc8 15. Qa2 dxc4 16. Nxc4 Qd5 17. Rfc1 g5 $1 18. Bg3 Ne4 19. Rc2 Rc6
20. Ne5 Rxc2 21. Qxc2 Rc8 22. Qb2 Bxe2 23. Nxd7 Qxd7 24. Qxe2 Rc3 $11 {Atalik,
S (2565)-Dreev,A (2638) Kragujevac 2015}) 11. exd4 dxc4 12. Nxc4 Qd8 ({Po} 
12... Qd5 13. O-O Qxd4 14. Bg3 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Qe4 16. Qb2 Qc6 17. Nd6 Ne4 18.
Nxe4 Qxe4 19. Rad1 Qf5 20. Bd6 Re8 21. c4 $32 {/+/-, Najer,E (2653)-Bareev,E 
(2701) Sochi 2006}) 13. O-O Nb6 14. Qb3 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Nxc4 16. Bxc4 Qa5 (16...
b6 17. Rfe1 Bb7 18. Bf1 $14 {was featured in mail games and is also more
pleasant for White}) 17. Rfe1 Bd7 18. Re5 Qc7 19. Bd3 b5 20. Qc2 Rfc8 21. Rc1
Qb6 {Ponomariov,R (2723)-Dreev,A (2710) Melilla 2011} 22. Qd2 $1 $36 {/\} b4
23. c4) 8. Bxf6 Nxf6 9. Nxc4 Qc7 10. Rc1 {Black has the bishop pair, but lacks
space. White's first task will be to prevent the liberating c5.} (10. Be2 Bd7
11. O-O (11. Rc1 $142 $5 {/\} c5 12. Ne5 $36) 11... c5 12. Rc1 $6 (12. Ne5 $1
cxd4 13. Nxd7 Nxd7 14. Qxd4 $14) 12... cxd4 13. exd4 Bd6 14. Nxd6+ Qxd6 15. Nb5
Bxb5 16. Bxb5+ Ke7 17. Qb3 Rac8 18. Be2 b6 19. Bf3 Rhd8 $11 {/=/+, Van der
Sterren,P (2460)-Seirawan,Y (2600) Arnhem/ Amsterdam 1983}) (10. g3 Bd7 11. Bg2
c5 $5 12. d5 exd5 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Bxd5 O-O-O 15. a4 f5 16. Qf3 Kb8 17. O-O h5
18. Rfd1 Bc8 19. a5 g5 20. Ra3 Rh6 21. Rdd3 h4 $13 {Timman,J (2605)-Seirawan,Y
(2600) Arnhem/ Amsterdam 1983}) 10... Be7 {Naiditsch sets up the
Alekhine-Smyslov fortress and relies on later activity - unfortunately for him
this will never come to be.} (10... c5 $2 11. Nb5 $16 {is premature}) (10...
Bd7 11. g3 Be7 (11... c5 12. Ne5) 12. Bg2 O-O 13. O-O {/\} c5 $6 14. dxc5 Bxc5
15. Na4 $36 {also isn't ideal.}) 11. g3 O-O 12. Bg2 Rd8 13. O-O Nd5 ({After} 
13... Bd7 {White can prevent the knight menoeuvre with} 14. e4 $5 b5 (14... Be8
15. e5 Nd5 16. Ne4 Nb6 17. Ncd6 Nc8 18. Nxe8 Rxe8 19. Qg4 $5 (19. f4 {()})
19... Rd8 20. Rfd1 Nb6 21. h4 h6 22. Rc3 $14 {Sasikiran,K (2573)-Barua,D (2502)
Kelamabakkam 2000 White has space and kingside attacking chances.}) 15. Ne3 Qb6
16. e5 Nd5 17. Ne4 Be8 18. Nc5 Bxc5 19. Nxd5 $1 cxd5 20. Rxc5 b4 21. Qd2 Rac8
22. Rfc1 Rc6 23. Qg5 Rxc5 24. Rxc5 Kf8 25. Bf1 h6 26. Qc1 Bd7 27. Bd3 Qb8 28.
Ba6 Qb6 29. Bd3 Qb8 30. f4 Rc8 31. Kf2 $14 {Wojtaszek,R (2745)-Banusz,T (2611)
Linares 2017 White has a riskless endgame pull here.}) 14. a3 (14. Qb3 Bd7 15.
Ne5 Qb6 16. Qc2 Be8 17. Na4 $5 $146 (17. a3 Rac8 18. Nd3 Qc7 19. Ne2 Nf6 20.
Rfd1 Qb8 21. b4 a5 $5 22. bxa5 Qa7 23. Rb1 Rc7 24. Rb3 c5 25. Rc3 Qxa5 $11 {
Nakamura,H (2729)-Gelfand,B (2739) Moscow 2010}) 17... Qc7 18. Rfd1 Rac8 19.
Nd3 Nb6 20. Nac5 Nd7 21. Nb3 Qb8 22. Qe2 e5 23. Bh3 $1 exd4 24. Nxd4 Rc7 25. e4
Nf8 26. Nf4 Bf6 27. Nf3 g6 28. e5 Rxd1+ 29. Qxd1 Be7 30. Qb3 $36 {Krasenkow,M 
(2610)-Saada,J (2296) Montpellier 2015 White once again switched his
attentiton to the kingside.}) 14... Bd7 (14... a5 15. Qc2 (15. Ne4 $5) 15...
Nxc3 16. Qxc3 Bd7 17. Ne5 Be8 18. Rfd1 f6 19. Nd3 Bh5 20. Nf4 Bf7 21. Bh3 Rd6
22. Nd3 Rad8 23. f4 a4 24. Bg2 Qb6 25. Nc5 (25. Bf3 $1 $14) 25... e5 26. Qb4
Qxb4 27. axb4 {½, Miras Garcia,E (2524)-Szczepanski,Z (2515) email 2014} exf4
28. Nxb7 fxe3 29. Nxd8 Rxd8 $44) 15. b4 (15. Ne5 Be8 16. Nd3 f6 17. Ne4 Bf7 18.
Qe2 Re8 19. Rfd1 Rad8 20. Bh3 a5 21. Nec5 Bxc5 22. Nxc5 b6 23. Na4 e5 24. dxe5
fxe5 25. Bg2 h6 26. Qc2 c5 27. Bf1 Nf6 28. Rxd8 Qxd8 29. Rd1 Qc7 30. Bc4 Bxc4
31. Qxc4+ Kh8 $14 {Peet,W-Urban,M (2253) email 2014 White is slightly better,
but couldn't increase his edge in a simplified position.}) 15... Be8 16. Qb3
Rac8 (16... f6 17. Na5 Bf7 18. Qc2 Rab8 19. Na4 Qc8 20. Nb2 Qc7 21. Nd3 Qc8 22.
Qe2 Qd7 23. Rfd1 Qe8 24. Bf3 Bf8 25. Qb2 Be7 26. Kg2 Bg6 27. e4 Nc7 28. Nc5
Bxc5 29. bxc5 f5 30. exf5 exf5 31. Nc4 Bh5 32. Bxh5 Qxh5 33. Ne5 f4 34. Rd3 $36
{Vasilev,V (2399)-Szczepanski,Z (2515) email 2014}) 17. Ne5 $146 {Formally
this is a novelty, but the character of the position remains unchanged.} (17.
Rc2 f6 $5 (17... Qb8 18. Rfc1 h6 19. Ne4 Qa8 20. Ne5 a6 21. Nc5 b6 22. Ncd3 Bd6
23. a4 Qb7 24. Nc4 Bf8 25. h4 $36 {/+/-, Ivanchuk,V (2705)-Asrian,K (2591)
Yerevan 2004}) 18. Rfc1 Bf7 19. b5 Rb8 20. Ne4 Kf8 21. bxc6 Qxc6 22. Ne5 Qb6
23. Qxb6 Nxb6 24. Nxf7 Kxf7 {Fister,B (2319)-Sidenko,A (2255) email 2013} 25.
Nc5 $14) 17... Qb8 18. Nd3 Rc7 $6 {Black trusts his ramparts and prepares for
the siege.} (18... a5 $5 $14 {came into consideration, we have seen this motif
in Nakamura-Gelfand above. Black seeks active counterplay, after} 19. bxa5 Qa7
{his pieces come to life.}) 19. Rc2 Rdc8 20. Rfc1 Nf6 (20... f6 $2 {fails to}
21. Bh3 Bf7 22. e4 {[%csl Re6]}) ({Black still marks time, but perhaps the
exchange} 20... Nxc3 {would ease the defence.}) 21. a4 b6 {Weakening.} ({
However, no better is} 21... Nd5 22. Ne4 $36 {moreover Black would admit his
last move was not a success.}) 22. b5 $5 {[%csl Rc6] Action time, the target
is c6 - pawn, or square!} cxb5 (22... c5 23. Ne5 cxd4 24. exd4 $16 {[%cal
Re5c6] lands a mighty passed pawn on c6, supported by the major pieces.}) (
22... Bd6 $142 $5 23. bxc6 (23. e4 c5 $1 24. dxc5 Bxc5 25. e5 Nd7 $14) 23...
Bxc6 24. Bxc6 (24. Nb5 Bxb5 25. axb5 $36 {[%csl Gd6,Gg2] also gives a
long-lasting edge, but with ^-}) 24... Rxc6 25. Nb5 Rxc2 26. Rxc2 $36 {White
has strong pressure, as he wins the fight for the open file.}) 23. axb5 {
[%cal Yd3e5,Ye5c6]} Nd7 ({Prevents Ne5, after} 23... Bd6 {White has} 24. e4 {/\
} Rc4 25. e5 Rxd4 26. exd6 Rxd3 27. Ne4 $1 $16 {/+- winning at least an
exchange.}) 24. Bc6 $1 {[%cal Yd4d5,Ye3e5] Preparing central expansion, while
Black's bunch of major pieces can only passively follow the proceedings.} a5
25. e4 Rd8 26. e5 Ra7 {Prevents the immediate central break.} (26... Nc5 $2 27.
dxc5 Rxd3 28. cxb6 $18) (26... Nf8 27. d5 $16) 27. Na4 {Nimzowitsch: "The
passed pawn is a criminal and should remain under lock and key."} Nf8 28. Bxe8
Rxe8 29. Rc6 Rb7 30. R1c4 ({Roughly equivalent is} 30. h4 Qd8 31. R1c4 $16 {
[%cal Yd3f4]}) 30... Ng6 31. Nf4 $1 {A pretty move, which prevents a possible
knight transfer to d5 and strengthens White's central influence. The weakened
>> is drawback Black can't exploit due to his passive pieces.} Nxf4 32. gxf4
Qd8 (32... Rf8 33. f5 $1 exf5 34. Qc2 {[%cal Yc2f5]} g6 35. Rc8 Qa7 36. d5 $18)
33. Qf3 {[%csl Rb7][%cal Rc6c8]} Rb8 34. f5 $1 {Time to act. White has
improved his pieces to the maximum extent, now by opening the position he can
target the weaknesses on b6 and f7.} exf5 ({A concession, but Black can hardly
avoid this after} 34... Bf8 35. Qg4 $5) 35. Qxf5 $16 {/+-} Bb4 (35... Qd5 36.
Nc3 {and the Q can only helplessly return.}) 36. Rc7 Rf8 (36... Qd5 37. R4c6
$16 {/\} Rf8 38. Nxb6 Qxd4 39. Nd7 {and White should gradually convert the
extra exchange.}) 37. Rd7 g6 ({The endgame is hopeless, but no better is} 37...
Qh4 38. Rcc7 g6 39. Qf3 $18 {[%csl Rf7]}) 38. Rxd8 gxf5 39. Rxb8 Rxb8 40. Kg2
Kf8 41. Kf3 f6 {Belated activity.} (41... Ke7 42. Rc7+ Ke6 43. Rc6+ $18 Kd5 $2
44. Ke3 {and the K ends in a mating net.}) 42. Kf4 fxe5+ 43. dxe5 Rd8 44. Nxb6
Rd2 45. Kxf5 Rxf2+ 46. Ke6 (46. Ke6 Kg7 (46... Rb2 47. Rg4 $1 $18 {[%cal Rb6d7,
Rg4g8]}) 47. Nd5 ({or} 47. Nd7 $18 {[%csl Gb5] and the o^b5 advances with the
full support of White's army.})) 1-0

[Event "FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss"]
[Site "Douglas"]
[Date "2019.10.10"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Shankland, Samuel L"]
[Black "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2705"]
[BlackElo "2619"]
[PlyCount "124"]
[EventDate "2019.10.10"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "IOM"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 193"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2019.12.31"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2019.12.31"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 h6 6. c3 d6 7. b4 Bb6 8. a4 a5
9. b5 Ne7 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Re1 Ng6 12. d4 Re8 13. Qb3 Be6 14. Bxe6 Rxe6 15. Ba3
Qb8 16. Nc4 exd4 17. Nxb6 cxb6 18. Nxd4 Rxe4 19. Rxe4 Nxe4 20. Re1 Nf6 21. c4
Qc7 22. Nf5 Re8 23. Rd1 Ne4 24. Qb2 Re5 25. Ne3 Nc5 26. Qc2 Ne7 27. h3 Qd7 28.
Bb2 Re4 29. Bd4 Qe6 30. Bxc5 bxc5 31. Rxd6 Qxd6 32. Qxe4 b6 33. g3 g6 34. Kg2
Kg7 35. Kf3 Qf6+ 36. Ke2 Qb2+ 37. Kf1 Qf6 38. Qb7 Qe6 39. h4 Nf5 40. Nd5 Qe4
41. Kg1 Nd4 42. Qe7 Nf3+ 43. Kh1 Qxe7 44. Nxe7 Ne5 45. Nd5 Nxc4 46. Kg2 f5 47.
Kf1 Kf7 48. Ke2 Ke6 49. Nf4+ Kf6 50. Kd3 Ne5+ 51. Kc3 Nd7 52. f3 g5 53. hxg5+
hxg5 54. Nd5+ Ke6 55. Ne3 f4 56. gxf4 gxf4 57. Ng2 Kf5 58. Kd3 Ne5+ 59. Ke2 Kg5
60. Ne1 Kh4 61. Kf2 Kh3 62. Nc2 Nd3+ 0-1

[Event "Bundesliga 1920 final"]
[Site "Karlsruhe"]
[Date "2020.09.18"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2620"]
[BlackElo "2835"]
[Annotator "Edouard,Romain"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2020.09.16"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2022"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2021.10.06"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2021.10.06"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Solingen"]
[BlackTeam "Baden-Baden"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "GER"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 h6 $5 5. Bf4 ({Usually an interesting way
to play against slow moves like ...h6 is} 5. g3 $5 {- at least that's what
another GM told me once!}) 5... Bb4 (5... Bd6 {would be too much of an
equalizer - so Caruana, who already showed his will to win by avoiding theory
from move 4, went for a more aggressive approach.}) 6. cxd5 Nxd5 (6... exd5 7.
e3 {would be a good Ragozin for White: in the Bf4 variation why should Black
play ...h6¿}) 7. Bd2 O-O 8. g3 $5 (8. e4 {looks perfectly logical as well:}
Nxc3 9. bxc3 Ba5 10. Bc4 c5 11. O-O $14 {0-1 (38) Bok,B (2624)-Fedoseev,V 
(2678) lichess.org 2020}) 8... Nxc3 9. bxc3 Ba5 10. g4 $5 {Brave play again by
L'Ami, who goes (after playing g3 two moves earlier) for a typical attempt of
punishing ...h7-h6.} (10. Bg2 c5 11. O-O {would be very safe - and probably a
bit better - for White.}) 10... c5 11. Rg1 Nc6 12. dxc5 $1 {Not a good
positional move - but playing g3-g4 White clearly announced he's in there for
a mating attack!} e5 {The most natural answer.} ({According to the engine,} 
12... Qd5 {leads to unclear positions:} 13. g5 h5 (13... hxg5 14. Nxg5 f6 15.
Bg2 Qxc5 16. Ne4 Qh5 $13) 14. Qb3 Qxc5 15. g6 f6 $13) 13. Qc2 Re8 14. g5 g6 $2
{A human move, but already a crucial mistake.} (14... h5 15. g6 f6 $1 {was
required, although after 16.e4 or 16.0-0-0 Black's position is already
unpleasant.}) 15. gxh6 e4 16. Ng5 Bf5 17. O-O-O Qf6 $2 {Agan a natural move by
Black.} (17... e3 18. Bxe3 Bxc2 19. Rxd8 Bxd8 20. Kxc2 Bxg5 21. Bxg5 $16) 18.
Bh3 $3 {What a refutation of Black's idea!} e3 {The logical follow-up.} (18...
Bxh3 19. Nxh3 {is just winning for White: count the pawns!}) 19. Bxf5 $1 exd2+
20. Rxd2 Re5 (20... Qxf5 $2 21. Qxf5 gxf5 22. h7+ {and Black gets mated:} Kh8
23. Nxf7+ Kxh7 24. Rd6 $18) (20... gxf5 $2 21. Ne4+) 21. Nxf7 $1 Qxf7 (21...
Rxf5 22. Rd7 $18 (22. Nd6 $18)) 22. Bxg6 Qxf2 (22... Qf6 23. Qb3+) 23. Bf7+ $3
{The only winning move! What a game!} Kh8 24. Qg6 Rg5 25. Rxg5 (25. Qxg5 Bxc3
26. Rd7 {with the idea of Qg7+, was totally winning as well.}) 25... Bxc3 26.
Kc2 (26. Bg8 $5 Bxd2+ 27. Kxd2 Rd8+ 28. Bd5 Qd4+ 29. Ke1 Ne7 30. Qg7+ Qxg7 31.
hxg7+ Kh7 32. g8=Q+ {with a winning pawn ending.}) 26... Ne7 27. Qe4 Bf6 28.
Re5 {The best move again! I stopped trying to understand what's going on:
White is a lot of material up.} Rf8 29. e3 Qf1 30. Bc4 Qa1 31. Rxe7 $2 (31. Rd4
$5) 31... Qc3+ 32. Kd1 Qa1+ 33. Kc2 Qc3+ 34. Kd1 Qa1+ 35. Ke2 Bxe7 36. Qd4+
Qxd4 37. exd4 {Now White will need to pull up a bit of work again, but with
three extra pawns and such a strong d-passer, he is totally winning.} Rf4 38.
Bd5 Bf6 39. Ke3 Rh4 40. Rd3 Rh3+ 41. Kd2 Rxh2+ 42. Kc3 Kh7 43. Bxb7 Rxa2 44.
Kb3 Ra1 45. c6 Bd8 46. d5 Ba5 47. d6 Rc1 48. Rd5 Bd8 49. Rd4 $1 {And Rc4 next.
What a game by Erwin L'Ami!} 1-0

