2018 Olympiad: Rd2 Canadian Games

The 43rd Chess Olympiad is currently running in Batumi, Georgia, from September 23 - October 7, 2018.

Canada has sent two teams:

• Canadian Men/Open (ranked #28 of 185)
• Canadian Women (ranked #40 of 150) 

Results so far...

Rd. 1

• Men defeated #118 Nepal +3 =0 -1 -- Hambleton upset loss
• Women defeated #114 Uganda: +3 =1 -0

Rd.2 (annotated games below)

• Men defeated #61 Venezeuala: +1 =3 -0  -- Noritsyn win
• Women defeated #46 Moldova:  +2 =2 -0

Rd.3

• Men lost to #5 India: +0 =1 -3  -- Hansen lost to Anand, Bareev with the draw.
• Women lost to #10 USA: +1 =1 -2 -- MJ defeated 2017 US Champ Sabina Foisor with Black

Rd.4

• Men play #58 Columbia
• Women play #92 Syria

Links

see: http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/1081

..

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Hansen, Eric"]
[Black "Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2629"]
[BlackElo "2636"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O Qc7 7. c4 d6 8. Nc3
Nbd7 9. f4 Be7 10. Kh1 b6 11. Qe2 O-O 12. Bd2 Bb7 (12... Re8 13. Rac1 Bb7 14.
b4 Bf8 15. Nb3 Rab8 16. Be3 g6 17. Bd4 Qd8 18. e5 Nh5 $1 (18... dxe5 $2 19.
fxe5 Nh5 20. Be4 (20. a3 Bh6 $1 $15) 20... Bxb4 21. Bxb7 Rxb7 22. Ne4 $16) 19.
Qf2 Qc7 20. Rce1 Bg7 21. Be2 dxe5 22. fxe5 Nxe5 23. c5 $1 $13 {Lagarde,M (2604)
-Shchekachev,A (2540) Brest 2018 (0-1 , 42)}) 13. Rae1 Rad8 (13... Rfd8 14. b4
Rac8 15. a3 Bf8 16. Rc1 g6 17. f5 $1 Re8 (17... e5 $2 18. Nd5 $18 {followed by
cxd5 and Nc6.}) 18. fxe6 fxe6 19. e5 $5 (19. Bb1 $1 Qxc4 $2 20. Qf2 $1 $18 {
and now Ba2 is another attacking vector.}) 19... dxe5 20. Nf3 Nh5 21. g3 $2
Ndf6 22. Kg1 Rcd8 23. Bb1 $2 e4 $19 24. Nxe4 Nxe4 25. Bxe4 Nxg3 $1 26. hxg3
Qxg3+ 27. Qg2 (27. Kh1 {doesn't save the Be4} Qh3+ 28. Kg1 (28. Nh2 Rxd2 $19)
28... Qg4+ $19) 27... Qxg2+ 28. Kxg2 Bxe4 $19 {0-1 (34) Sethuraman,S (2576)-Yu,
Y (2667) Sharjah 2014}) 14. b4 Rfe8 15. a3 Bf8 16. Nf3 g6 17. Qf2 Bg7 18. Qh4
Nh5 (18... d5 19. cxd5 Nf8 (19... e5) (19... exd5 20. e5 Ne4 21. Nxe4 dxe4 22.
Bxe4 $16) 20. Rc1 $16 {1-0 (34) Mas,H (2425)-Cheng,B (2103) Canberra 2009}) ({
Stockfish says:} 18... Rc8 19. Qh3 Nh5 20. Ng5 Re7 $14) 19. Ne2 Ndf6 {[#]
Critical position: g4 or not g4?} 20. Nc3 (20. g4 {wins a N for two pawns, but
Black gets comp on the long diagonal, and Black has a choice of how to play.
Computers prefer White on either continuation, but if you play this sort of
opening as White, you probably prefer to have the initiative, rather than
defending extra material.}) (20. g4 Nxe4 21. Bxe4 {only move.} Bxe4 22. gxh5 Qxc4 23. Qf2
$14 {threatening ...Qd5}) (20. g4 Nxg4 21. Qxg4 Nf6 22. Qg1 $1 {defending and
hitting b6.} (22. Qh3 $5) (22. Qh4 $5) 22... Nxe4 (22... Bxe4 $6 23. Bxe4 Nxe4
24. Rc1 {does not look like long term comp.}) 23. Be3 $1 {White hopes for h3
then Kh2.} (23. Bxe4 Bxe4 24. Qe3 Bb7 $44 (24... Qxc4 $13)) 23... Qc6 (23...
Rd7 $5 24. h3 e5 25. Bxb6 Qc6 26. Kh2 $16) (23... d5 {would be thematic, but
here it blocks the long diagonal.}) (23... Nf6) 24. h3 $14 (24. Bxb6 $4 Nd2 $19
)) 20... Nd7 21. Ne2 Ndf6 22. Nc3 Nd7 23. Ne2 {"Way to defend the White pieces
Eric" was the teasing comment from Yasser Seirawan and Robin Van Kampen when
they saw the end of this game.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Ynojosa Aponte, Felix Jose"]
[Black "Noritsyn, Nikolay"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "2370"]
[BlackElo "2482"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

{A really nice game by Nikolay, and another where he shows exceptional scoring
ability with Black. An unusual Nimzo-English, where Black concedes the B pair
to mangle White's pawns, a middle game where Black's Q looks trapped, followed
by an endgame where Black convincingly shows that there are some positions
with pawns on both sides where a N is (much) better than a B.} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3
Bb4 3. e4 $5 {[#] Rare, and not particularly well-scoring, but Black does well
after any of the main moves.} (3. Qc2 {and}) (3. g3 {and}) (3. Nd5 {are far
more common.}) 3... Nc6 (3... Nf6 4. Bd3 $5 {A standard development in lines
with ...b6 and ...Bb7, but "creative" here.} O-O 5. Nge2 Bc5 6. O-O a6 7. Bc2
Nc6 8. h3 b5 (8... d6 {looks perfectly OK.}) 9. d3 bxc4 10. dxc4 h6 11. Rb1 Rb8
12. a3 a5 13. Bd2 d6 14. Nd5 Bd7 (14... Nd4 $5 15. Nxd4 Bxd4 16. Bxa5 Nxd5 17.
cxd5 Rxb2 {White might have an edge.}) 15. Bc3 Ra8 $2 16. Kh1 Nh7 17. b4 $16 {
1-0 (31) Jobava,B (2699)-Zvjaginsev,V (2658) Sochi 2015}) 4. Nf3 d6 5. d4 exd4
6. Nxd4 Nf6 (6... Qh4 $5 {poses interesting problems, which Stockfish solves
with} 7. Be2 Qxe4 8. Ndb5 Qe7 9. O-O Bxc3 10. Nxc3 Nf6 {and White has comp
after Bg5 or Nd5 or Re1.}) 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Bd3 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Nd7 10. Be3 (10.
Qg4 $2 Qf6 $1) 10... c5 11. f4 $6 {The right idea -- pushing the pawn majority
with the chance of opening the center for the Bs with d5 -- but incautious.
Better was 00 and then f4.} Qh4+ $1 12. g3 Qh3 13. Qc2 O-O 14. O-O-O {[#]} Nf6
({Stockfish immediately rates} 14... Rb8 $1 {as winning (+1.8), but it's not
clear why. The reason seems to be that, in addition to putting the R on an
open file and restricting the white K, it also gets out of long diagonal
tactics based on Be4.} {Here is one amusing possiblity, which shows that
Black's Q in no sitting duck:} 15. e5 (15. f5 f6 $19) 15... Nb6 16. Rhe1 Bg4
17. Rd2 Rfe8 18. Bf1 Qh6 19. f5 Rxe5 $3 20. Bxh6 Rxe1+ 21. Kb2 Nxc4#) 15. Rhe1
(15. e5 $1 Ng4 16. Rhe1 Nxe3 17. Rxe3 Rb8 18. exd6 cxd6 19. Rde1 {Black's K is
safer and the White pawns are a bit worse.}) 15... Bg4 16. Rd2 Rfe8 {It would
be really easy to burn a lot of time here trying to trap Black's Q... because
it's so close, and yet it can't be done for free.} 17. Bf1 Qh6 18. f5 $2 (18.
e5 {only move.} $11 dxe5 19. fxe5 Rxe5 {only move.} 20. Bxh6 Rxe1+ 21. Kb2 Rxf1 $13) 18... Qh5 $19
19. h3 Bf3 20. g4 Qh4 21. Bf2 Qh6 22. Be3 {[#]} Bxe4 $1 (22... g5 $1 $19 {
saves the Q and wins the e4 pawn.}) 23. Bxh6 Bxc2 24. Rxe8+ Rxe8 25. Bxg7 Kxg7
26. Kxc2 {[#]Material is equal but Black has a much better minor piece --
White's B won't be able to attack any of Black's pawns.} Kh6 27. Re2 $2 {
Trading Rs increases Black's advantage as White cannot defend the dark squares.
} Rxe2+ 28. Bxe2 Kg5 29. Kb3 Ne4 30. Bd3 Kf4 31. a3 {[#]} c6 $1 (31... f6 $6 {
is tempting (pawns on opposite colour of opponent's B) but gives White chances:
} 32. Ka4 (32. h4 h6 $1 (32... Nf2 $4 {33.Be2 -3.51} 33. g5 $1 $18) 33. g5 Nxg5
$3 34. hxg5 hxg5 $19) 32... Nxc3+ 33. Ka5 h6 34. Ka6 Nd1 35. Kxa7 {is NOT a
race Black should allow.}) 32. Kc2 (32. Ka4 {this time there's no race at all:}
Nxc3+ 33. Ka5 Ke3 34. Bf1 d5 $19 {shows one point of ...c6.}) 32... h6 33. h4 (
33. Bxe4 Kxe4 {and Black's K collects like one of those instructive Capablanca
endgames.}) 33... Nf6 $1 {Almost all of the remaining moves drive home one
point: this N is better than that B.} 34. g5 hxg5 35. hxg5 Kxg5 36. Bf1 Kxf5
37. Bg2 d5 {No diagonal for you!} 38. Kd3 Ke5 39. Bh3 Kd6 40. Ke3 Nd7 41. Kf4
Ne5 42. cxd5 cxd5 43. Bf1 (43. Kf5 Nc4 44. a4 a5 45. Bg4 Nb2 {and takes a4.
Who knew a N could cover both sides of the board so well?}) 43... c4 44. Kf5
Nd7 45. Bg2 Nc5 46. Kf6 Ne4+ 0-1

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Bareev, Evgeny"]
[Black "Zavarce, Oscar Enrique"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A47"]
[WhiteElo "2666"]
[BlackElo "2346"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

{Black plays an interesting manoeuver against the Colle-Zukertort to get the B
pair, and White goes for an early repetition.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4.
Bd3 Bb7 5. Nbd2 c5 6. b3 (6. O-O {is better} {would avoid Black's upcoming manoeuver})
6... cxd4 7. exd4 Nd5 $5 8. Bb2 (8. c4 Nf4 9. Bf1 Bb4 $5 (9... d5 $11)) 8...
Bb4 $5 {Can White hold onto the Bs after this?} (8... Nf4 9. Bf1 Be7 10. g3 Nh5
11. Bd3 Nf6 12. Qe2 d6 13. O-O O-O {with a hedgehoggy position where White has
more space but Black has no weaknesses; ½-½ (40) Rakhmanov,A (2579)
-Shaposhnikov,E (2533) Voronezh 2011}) 9. c4 (9. Be4 f5 {looks like it
equalizes for Black.}) 9... Nf4 10. Bf1 Qf6 11. a3 Bxd2+ 12. Qxd2 Nxg2+ (12...
Bxf3 $1 13. gxf3 O-O 14. Rg1 d5 $15 {1/2-1/2 (31) Zarkova,G-Vasilev,V (2285)
ICCF email 2011} 15. Bc1) 13. Bxg2 Bxf3 14. d5 e5 15. Bxf3 Qxf3 16. Rg1 $11 d6
17. Rxg7 Nd7 18. Rg3 Qh1+ 19. Ke2 Qe4+ 20. Qe3 Qc2+ 21. Qd2 Qe4+ 22. Qe3 Qc2+
23. Qd2 Qe4+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Vivas Zamora, Fabian Ernesto"]
[Black "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B48"]
[WhiteElo "2363"]
[BlackElo "2492"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qf3 b5 (7...
Nf6 8. O-O-O Ne5 9. Qg3 b5 10. a3 Bb7 11. Bxb5 Rc8 12. Ba4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Bxe4
14. Bf4 Qc4 15. Bxe5 Qxa4 16. Rd2 f6 17. Bd6 Kf7 18. Re1 Bg6 {unclear 1-0 (38)
Vachier Lagrave,M (2789)-Anand,V (2776) Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden 2018}) 8. O-O-O (
8. Nxc6 Qxc6 9. Bd3 Nf6 10. e5 Qxf3 11. gxf3 b4 12. exf6 bxc3 13. Bd4 g6 14.
Bxc3 Bb7 15. Ke2 $14 {1-0 (39) Van Kampen,R (2623)-Ingvason,J (2142) Reykjavik
2015}) 8... Bb7 9. Qg3 ({An exciting 2017 game between Canadian juniors
continued:} 9. Nxc6 Bxc6 10. Bd4 Rc8 11. Bd3 Ne7 12. Rhe1 $2 Nf5 $1 $15 13. Be3
(13. Ne2) 13... Nxe3 14. Qxe3 {preparing Nd5} Be7 (14... Qa5 $1 15. Kb1 Bb4 $15
) 15. Nd5 $1 {unclear} Bxd5 16. exd5 O-O 17. Kb1 Bf6 {unclear} 18. Qe4 g6 19.
h4 Qc5 20. dxe6 dxe6 21. Qf4 Bg7 22. g4 Rfd8 23. Qc1 $2 Qxf2 $17 (23... Rd4 $19
) 24. h5 Rd4 25. Rf1 Qg2 26. hxg6 hxg6 27. Rg1 Qf3 28. Qd2 (28. Rdf1 Qd5 $19)
28... Rxg4 29. Rgf1 Qd5 30. Qf2 Qb7 31. c3 Rg2 32. Qf4 Qc7 (32... b4 $1) 33.
Qf3 Rxb2+ $1 34. Ka1 Bxc3 35. Bxg6 Rb4+ 36. Qxc3 Qxc3# {0-1 Shi,D (2261)-Cao,J
(2328) Calgary, 2017.}) 9... Bd6 10. f4 Nxd4 11. Rxd4 Bf8 12. Be2 (12. Rd2 Nf6
(12... b4 $1 $17 {is better}) 13. Bd3 $2 (13. e5 {is better}) 13... Qa5 (13...
b4 $1 {is better}) 14. Kb1 b4 $1 15. Ne2 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Bxe4 $17 {0-1 (32)
Anton Guijarro,D (2634) -Ivanisevic,I (2653) Berlin 2015}) (12. Bd3 $5 {
Leaving the Rd4 to its fate.} Rc8 13. Kb1 Ne7 14. a4 Nc6 15. axb5 Nxd4 16. Bxd4
axb5 17. Nxb5 Qa5 18. Bc3 Qb6 19. Bd4 Qa5 20. Bc3 (20. f5 $5) 20... Rxc3 $5 {
unclear 0-1 (42) Ter Sahakyan,S (2580)-Ivanisevic,I (2638) Jerusalem 2015})
12... Rc8 13. Rhd1 Nf6 14. Bd3 {Without ...Nc6 coming White isn't committed to
the exchange sac on d4.} b4 15. Na4 d5 16. exd5 Nxd5 17. Rc4 {One of the
points of leaving the R in the center.} Qa5 18. b3 Be7 $4 (18... Nxe3 {is
better} 19. Qxe3 {Black hasn't finished developing, and his queenside looks
loose, but there is a way through the minefield:} Rxc4 $1 (19... Be7 20. Qa7 (
20. Qd4 Rxc4 21. Qxg7 Rxf4 22. Qxh8+ Bf8 {unclear}) 20... Rxc4 {Only move.} 21.
Qxb7 $2 Rd4 $19 {Only move.}) 20. Bxc4 Be7 (20... Qc7 $2 21. f5 $18) 21. Qa7 (
21. Qd4 Qc7 {Only move.} (21... O-O $4 22. Qd7 $18) 22. Qxg7 $4 Qxf4+ 23. Kb1
Bf6 $19) 21... Bc8 22. Nb6 Bc5 $1 23. Qb8 O-O {Only move.} 24. Nxc8 Qxa2 {
Only move. unclear}) 19. Bd4 $1 Bf6 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Rxc8+ (21. f5 $1) 21...
Bxc8 22. Be4 Nc3 23. Qg7 $2 ({White should change gears, collecting Black's
loose pawns and aim to win the endgame:} 23. Nxc3 {is better} bxc3 24. Kb1 Ke7
(24... f5 $2 25. Bc6+ $18) 25. Rd3 Bd7 26. Rxc3 $18) 23... Rf8 24. Bc6+ $2 Ke7
25. Rd3 Ne2+ 26. Kb1 Nxf4 27. Rf3 Qc7 (27... Qg5 $1 {is better} 28. Qxh7 (28.
Qxg5 fxg5 $17) 28... Rd8 $19) 28. Qg3 e5 29. Qe1 Qxc6 30. Rxf4 a5 31. Rc4 Qd6
32. Qe3 Rd8 $17 33. Qa7+ Kf8 34. Qxa5 Be6 $19 35. Rh4 (35. Rxb4 Qd1+ $1 (35...
Rc8 $1) 36. Kb2 Rd2 37. Qc5+ Kg7 38. Nb6 Rxg2 {would be a better version of
the game for Black.}) 35... Qd1+ 36. Kb2 {Not a good time to be low on time.}
Rb8 $4 (36... Bf5 {is better} 37. Qxb4+ Kg7 $19) (36... Kg7 {is better}) 37.
Rxb4 $16 Rc8 38. c4 $4 {Yasser and Robin both thought this was suicidal. They
were right -- White is lost -- but not for what looks like the obvious reason..
..} (38. Nc5 Bf5 39. Rc4 $18) 38... Rd8 $2 {Playing for the attack.} (38...
Qd2+ {is better} 39. Ka3 e4 $19 {and despite White's boxed in K, the game is
not decided by an attack, but by the passed e-pawn.} 40. Rb5 Qc1+ $1 41. Kb4 e3
$19) 39. Rb7 Rd2+ 40. Ka3 Qc1+ (40... Rc2 {threatens ... Qc1+ then ...Rxc4+})
41. Kb4 {unclear} Rxa2 $2 (41... Rd4 42. Qa6 Qd2+ 43. Kb5 (43. Ka3 Qc1+ $11)
43... Rxc4 $3 44. bxc4 (44. Qa8+ Rc8 $19) 44... Bxc4+ {and skewer from e2.})
42. Qd8+ $1 Kg7 43. Nc5 $1 Bf5 44. Kb5 Qd2 45. Qe7 Ra5+ 46. Kc6 Rxc5+ $5 {
A good practical choice, especially after the exhausting complications of the
previous 20 moves.} 47. Kxc5 Qa5+ 48. Kd6 Qa6+ 49. Kd5 Be6+ $2 ({The engine's
mainline is:} 49... Qa5+ 50. Kd6 Qa6+ 51. Kc5 Qa5+ 52. Rb5 Qa3+ 53. b4 Qe3+ 54.
Kd6 Qd4+ 55. Kc7 Qxc4+ 56. Qc5 Qe6 {which is still better for White, but it's
not clear if it's enough to win.}) 50. Kc5 {Only move.} Qa5+ 51. Kc6 Qa6+ 52.
Kc7 Qa8 53. Qc5 Qc8+ 54. Kb6 Qd8+ 55. Ka7 (55. Qc7 $1 $16) 55... Qd2 $1 56. Qc6
$2 Qa5+ $1 57. Kb8 (57. Qa6 Qxa6+ {Only move.} 58. Kxa6 Bc8 59. c5 e4 $11 {
would have continued the excitement, but looks like it ends with both sides
promoting and White giving a perpetual on the c8-h3 diagonal.}) 57... Qd8+ $11
58. Ka7 Qa5+ 59. Kb8 Qd8+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Matras-Clement, Agnieszka"]
[Black "Baciu, Diana"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B34"]
[WhiteElo "2225"]
[BlackElo "2124"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Be3 {[#]} Qa5 $6 {
A rare and poor-scoring sideline... possibly a move-order error.  The usual 6..
.Nf6 aiming for a quick ...d5 is one of the main points of the accelerated
Dragon. If White stops ...d5 with 7.Bc4 then Black might try 7...Qa5!?, which
probably doesn't equalize, but White's best response (8.0-0) means there's no
Yugoslav Attack.} (6... Nf6 7. Bc4 Qa5 $5 8. O-O $1 $14) 7. Qd2 Nf6 8. f3 a6 9.
O-O-O b5 10. Nb3 Qc7 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. exd5 Ne5 {[#]} 13. d6 $5 (13. Bh6 $1 Bxh6
(13... O-O 14. h4 $16 {with a Yugoslav-type attack where Black is already
missing his crucial Nf6.}) 14. Qxh6 Bb7 15. Kb1 Rc8 16. c3 b4 {looks deadly
for Black, but White comes out on top:} (16... Qd6 17. Qg7 $14) 17. Qg7 Rf8 18.
c4 $1 $18 (18. d6 $1 {also wins} exd6 19. Qf6 bxc3 20. Rxd6 c2+ 21. Kc1 Nc6 22.
Bc4 $18) 18... Nxc4 19. Bxc4 (19. Rc1 $4 Nd2+ $19) 19... Qxc4 20. d6 $1 Rc6 (
20... exd6 21. Rhe1+ $18) (20... Bd5 21. Rc1 $18) 21. Na5 Qc2+ 22. Ka1 Rb6 23.
Nxb7 Rxb7 24. Rc1 $19) 13... exd6 14. Qxd6 (14. f4 Nc4 15. Bxc4 bxc4 16. Bd4 $1
{clearing the center files for White's majors while trading the Bg7 might be a
better way to exploit Black's mangled pawns.}) 14... Qxd6 15. Rxd6 O-O 16. Nc5
Re8 17. Bf2 Bf8 18. Rd1 d6 19. Ne4 Re6 20. h4 Bb7 21. Ng5 Ree8 22. Bd3 $6 {
Why you no love your Bishop? Why??!!??} (22. h5 $5 Bh6 (22... h6) (22... gxh5)
23. f4 Ng4 24. Bd4 $13) 22... Nxd3+ 23. Rxd3 Re2 24. Rd2 Rae8 25. Kd1 Rxd2+ 26.
Kxd2 f6 27. Nh3 Bh6+ 28. Kd3 $2 (28. Kd1 $15) 28... Bc8 $1 29. Re1 $1 (29. g4
$2 Bb7 $17 {makes things worse.}) 29... Bf5+ 30. Kd4 (30. Kc3 $4 Rc8+ $19)
30... Rxe1 31. Bxe1 Bxc2 32. Bg3 (32. Kd5 $5 {is a good practical try. White
can win the d6 pawn, but there's a risk of the Nh3 getting trapped; e.g.} Kf7
$1 (32... Bb1 33. a3 Bf8 34. Bb4 Ba2+ 35. Kc6 $132) (32... Bf8 33. Bb4) (32...
Bc1 33. Bc3 Kf7 34. Kxd6 Be3 35. Kc6 Bd3 $17) 33. Kxd6 Bb1 34. a3 Bc1 35. Bc3
Be3 $17 {threatening ...Bd3-f1.}) 32... Bb1 33. a4 $5 (33. a3 Bc1 $17) 33...
bxa4 34. Bxd6 $17 {With the B pair and an extra (half) pawn, Black should win
this... but her next move cuts her advantage in half.} Bf8 $2 (34... Bg7 $17) (
34... Kf7 $17) 35. Bxf8 Kxf8 36. Nf4 Kf7 37. Nd5 h5 38. Nb4 $1 a5 39. Nc6 Ke6
40. Nxa5 Kf5 41. Ke3 Ba2 42. Nc6 g5 43. hxg5 fxg5 44. Nd4+ Ke5 45. Ne2 h4 46.
Nc3 Bb3 47. Ne4 Kf5 48. Nd6+ Ke5 49. Ne4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Hincu, Olga"]
[Black "Zhou, Qiyu"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A17"]
[WhiteElo "2124"]
[BlackElo "2207"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

{White gets creative in a nearly symmetrical Colle-Zukertort vs QID, and Black
turns those wasted tempi into a winning advantage before move 20. White misses
chances to escape to a slightly worse ending and gets completly tied up by
Black's far more active pieces.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. e3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 b6 5. b3
Bb7 6. Bb2 a6 $5 (6... Nbd7 7. g3 Bd6 8. Bg2 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Rc1 a6 11. Qe2
dxc4 12. bxc4 b5 13. cxb5 axb5 14. Nxb5 Rxa2 15. d4 Qb8 16. Ra1 Rxa1 17. Rxa1
Bf8 18. Nc3 c5 19. Rb1 cxd4 20. Nxd4 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 Qa8+ {½-½ Wei,Y (2743)
-Giri,A (2752) Wijk aan Zee 2018}) 7. Qc2 (7. cxd5 exd5 8. d4 Bd6 9. g3 O-O 10.
Bg2 Nbd7 11. O-O Qe7 12. a4 Ne4 $11 {1/2-1/2 (22) Karjakin,S (2785)-So,W (2808)
Wijk aan Zee 2017}) 7... Bd6 8. Be2 h6 9. d4 Nbd7 10. Nd2 $6 {A very strange
move. Was White hoping to force through e4 before castling?} c5 (10... Rc8 11.
e4 $5 c5 $1 12. e5 cxd4 $13) (10... dxc4 $2 11. Nxc4 Bxg2 12. Rg1 $14) 11. a4
$6 (11. dxc5 Nxc5 $11 (11... bxc5 $11)) 11... O-O 12. Ba3 $6 ({I don't
understand why, but after} 12. O-O {engines rate Black around a 1/2 pawn
better. That's hard to explain, since both sides have all their pieces
developed, and White already has his Rs connected while Black does not. Is it
the superior activity of Black's DSB? Maybe it has something to do withthe d4
square?}) 12... Qc7 $15 13. Bf3 Rfe8 {Black has other ways to play, but Qiyu
points her pieces at the K.} (13... Rfc8 $5 14. cxd5 $2 cxd4 15. Bxd6 (15. exd4
Bxa3) 15... Qxd6 16. exd4 Ne5 $1 $19 {pepetrating.} (16... Nxd5 $17)) 14. Kf1 {
After this, when the center opens White will be playing without his Rh1.} (14.
O-O $2 Bxh2+ $17 {shows why the N belongs on f3.}) (14. Ne2 e5 $17) (14. cxd5
cxd4 15. Bxd6 Qxc3 $17) 14... cxd4 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 16. exd4 e5 $1 $19 17. Nxd5
Nxd5 18. cxd5 Bxd5 (18... exd4 19. Nc4 Qc5 $19 {the d5 pawn will drop and
White is playing with only one R.}) 19. Nc4 Bxc4+ 20. bxc4 Rac8 21. d5 Qb4 $2 (
21... b5 {is better} $1 {wins a pawn and rips open central lines for Black's Rs.} 22.
axb5 axb5 23. Be2 Nb6 $19) 22. Be2 Nc5 23. Rb1 (23. Ra2 {is better} $15 {hoping for
g3 and Kg2.}) 23... Qxa4 24. Qxa4 Nxa4 25. Rb4 b5 26. g3 (26. cxb5 $4 {loses to
} Rc1+ $19) 26... Nc3 27. d6 $4 (27. cxb5 $1 {could reach a technical ending
which would be very hard for Black to win; e.g.} Nxd5 28. Rb2 Rc1+ 29. Kg2 Rxh1
30. Kxh1 axb5 31. Rxb5 $15) 27... Red8 28. cxb5 axb5 29. d7 Rc5 $1 (29... Rxd7
$2 {is bad, but doesn't even give away all of Black's advantage after} 30. Bg4
f5 31. Bxf5 Rd1+ $17) 30. Bg4 g6 $1 31. Kg2 f5 32. Bd1 Rxd7 {Black is up two
pawns and White is still playing without her Rh1.} 33. Bb3+ Kg7 34. Be6 Rd6 35.
Bb3 Rd2 36. h4 Rb2 37. Ra1 Nd5 {What a predicament. White plays some spite
checks to avoid resigning (in a team game) so early.} 38. Ra7+ Kf8 39. Ra8+ Ke7
40. Ra7+ Kd8 41. Ra8+ Kc7 42. Ra7+ Kb6 0-1

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Demchenko, Svitlana"]
[Black "Petrenko, Svetlana"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B09"]
[WhiteElo "2134"]
[BlackElo "2156"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

{A complicated game. Black plays a passive line in the Pirc (...c6) and gets
into serious trouble, but both players make similiar mistakes -- bringing
pieces to the queenside when they could crash through on the kingside -- and
eventually settle on a draw in an equal and almost totally blocked position.} 
1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. f4 Nf6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 c6 7. Be3 {This may
be a bit slack: the B is exposed here, it's not needed to defend d4, it might
go directly to g5 or h6; and since White is almost certainly going to castle
kingside,} (7. O-O $1 {is more popular, better scoring, and recommended in
recent repertoire books by John Shaw (Quality) and Alex Kornev (Chess Stars).}
Qb6 {hitting d4 and b2 isn't a real threat; e.g.} 8. Kh1 Bg4 9. a3 $5 {sets a
cute trap} Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Qxd4 $2 11. Be3 {traps the Qd4.}) 7... b5 8. e5 Ng4 (
8... dxe5 $2 9. fxe5 Nd5 10. Nxd5 Qxd5 11. O-O $16) 9. Bg1 f5 (9... Na6 10. h3
Nh6 11. a4 b4 12. Ne4 f6 (12... Nc7) 13. Qd2 Rb8 14. h4 d5 15. Ng3 {not a
position to look at on a full stomach. 1-0 (33) Vegjeleki,A (2320)-Deneuville,
C (2187) ICCF email 2014}) 10. h3 Nh6 11. h4 Qe8 12. Ne2 Na6 13. h5 (13. Qd2
{is better} {doesn't let Black trade the Na6 for the Bd3.} c5 14. c4 $1 $16 (14. Qa5
$1 $16)) 13... Nb4 14. a3 Nxd3+ 15. Qxd3 Be6 16. hxg6 (16. Ng5 Bc4 17. Qh3 gxh5
18. b3 Bd5 19. Nc3 Bf7 20. Nxf7 Qxf7 21. Qxh5 $14) 16... Qxg6 17. Ng5 Bc4 18.
Qf3 Bd5 (18... Ng4 19. Nxh7 (19. Qxc6 h6 20. Nf3 Rac8 $17) 19... Rfd8 20. exd6
Rxd6 21. O-O-O Bh6 $13) 19. Qh3 Rfc8 20. O-O-O a5 21. Ng3 b4 22. Nh5 (22. a4 $1
) 22... bxa3 23. Qxa3 Bxg2 $4 (23... Bf8 24. Rd3 Ng4 25. Rg3 Rab8 26. Rh4 Rb5
27. Nh3 Rcb8 28. b3 Qe6 29. Ng5 Qg6) 24. Rh2 $18 Bd5 25. Nxg7 $1 Kxg7 26. Bf2
$2 (26. Rd3 $1 {aiming for Rdh3 is crushing.}) 26... Bg8 (26... Rh8 {is better} 27. c4
Ng4 $132) 27. Bh4 $4 (27. Rdh1 $18 Ng4 28. Rxh7+ Bxh7 29. Rxh7+ Kg8 (29... Qxh7
30. Nxh7 Nxf2 (30... Kxh7 31. Bh4 $18) 31. Ng5 $18 {By a standard point count
Black is ahead (RR v Q), but Black's K is exposed and has a lot of loose pawns,
both of which tip the scales toward the Q.}) 30. Be1 $18 (30. Qh3 $2 Nxf2 31.
Rh8+ Kg7 32. Rh7+ Kg8)) 27... Ng4 28. Re2 Ra7 (28... Re8 {is better} $14) 29. Be1 (29.
d5 $1 {a line clearing sac} cxd5 (29... Bxd5 $2 30. Qc3 {threatening Rxd5 and
exd6+}) 30. Nf3 Kh8 31. Be1 Qh6 32. exd6 Qxf4+ 33. Bd2 Qxd6 34. Bc3+ Rxc3 {only move.}
35. Qxc3+ $14) 29... Bc4 30. Rg2 Bd5 31. Rg3 Rca8 32. Nf3 Be4 33. Nd2 Bd5 34.
c4 Bf7 35. Rc3 Qh6 36. Bg3 Kh8 37. Nf3 Bg8 (37... d5 38. c5 a4 {all the play
in the center and kingside is gone and Black is up a pawn.}) 38. Nh4 Rf8 39.
Kb1 (39. exd6 $1 exd6 40. d5) 39... d5 40. c5 e6 41. Qa4 Rc8 42. Rb3 Bf7 43.
Rb6 $2 (43. Rdd3 Be8 44. Rb6 $11) 43... Be8 (43... Ne3 $1 $17 44. Rg1 Qh5 45.
Rxc6 Rg8 $1 {a hard move to see, switching sides and going away from
opponent's K.} 46. Qb3 (46. Bf2 Rxg1+ 47. Bxg1 Nc4) 46... Nc4 $19) 44. Rd3 Qg7
45. Be1 Rca8 46. Rdb3 Qc7 47. Nf3 h6 48. Bh4 Kg8 49. Nd2 Kf8 50. Nf3 Kf7 51.
Nd2 Bd7 52. Nf3 Kf8 53. Kc1 Be8 54. Kb1 Bd7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Partac, Elena"]
[Black "Agbabishvili, Lali"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B53"]
[WhiteElo "2051"]
[BlackElo "2128"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 {An anti-Najdorf line that several top
players, including Karjakin, regularly play in blitz.} a6 {prevents Bb5, and
so guarantees that ...Nc6 gets a tempo off the impatient Q.} 5. c4 Nc6 6. Qd2 {
The most popluar retreat, though currently 6.Qe3 is more fashionable at the
top levels.} (6. Qe3 Bg4 7. Nd4 g6 8. Nc3 Bg7 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. h3 Be6 11. Be2
Nf6 12. O-O O-O $14 {1-0 (50) Karjakin,S (2763)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2751) Moscow
2018}) 6... Nf6 7. Nc3 Bg4 (7... g6 8. b3 Bg7 9. Bb2 O-O 10. h3 Qa5 11. Bd3 Re8
(11... b5 $5 12. cxb5 axb5 13. a4 $1 Qb4 14. axb5 Rxa1+ 15. Bxa1 Na5 16. Ne2 (
16. O-O $2 Nxb3 $15 17. Qb2 Be6 {0-1 (52) Bengherabi,K (2201)-Savchenko,S 
(2521) Algiers 2015}) 16... Qxb3 17. O-O $14) 12. a3 e6 13. b4 Qd8 $14 {
1/2-1/2 (78) Heidenfeld,M (2376)-Jones,G (2670) Bunratty 2015}) 8. Nd4 (8. Be2
g6 9. b3 Bg7 10. Bb2 O-O 11. O-O Qa5 12. Qe3 Rfc8 13. Rab1 Nd7 14. a3 Bxf3 15.
Bxf3 Qb6 16. Qxb6 Nxb6 17. Nd5 Nd7 18. Bg4 e6 19. Ne3 h5 20. Bf3 Bxb2 21. Rxb2
Nf6 22. Rd1 Ne8 23. Be2 Kf8 24. h3 Ke7 {1/2-1/2 (64) Dzhumaev,M (2457)-Motylev,
A (2532) Linares 2000}) 8... g6 (8... Nxd4 9. Qxd4 g6 {looks like an OK
Maroczy for Black.}) 9. Nc2 Bg7 10. h3 Bd7 11. Be2 Rc8 12. Rb1 Ne5 13. b3 Bc6
14. f4 $6 (14. Qe3 b5 $5 15. cxb5 Bxb5 16. Nxb5 Rxc2 17. Nc3 d5 $1 $13) 14...
Ned7 15. Bf3 O-O 16. O-O Nc5 17. Qe3 b6 18. Bb2 a5 $2 (18... Nfd7 19. Nb4 Ba8
20. e5 $14) 19. Nd5 (19. Nd4 {is better} Ba8 (19... Bd7 20. e5 $16) (19... Nfd7 20.
Nxc6 Rxc6 21. Rbd1 $16) 20. e5 Nfd7 21. Bxa8 Rxa8 22. Nc6 Qe8 23. Nd5 $18 {
hitting e7 and c7.}) 19... e6 20. Nxf6+ Bxf6 21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22. Rbd1 e5 $1 23.
fxe5 (23. f5 $5) 23... Qxe5 (23... dxe5 $2 24. Bg4 $16) 24. Rd4 Rce8 25. Rfd1
$2 {White definitely missed something here, though there's no telling what.} (
25. Qd2 {is better} Bxe4 26. Re1 f5 27. Rxd6 $13) 25... Bxe4 $1 26. Bxe4 (26. Rxd6 $2
Bxc2 $19) 26... Nxe4 {defending d6.} 27. Re1 f5 $17 28. Rd5 $6 (28. Qd3 Qc5 29.
Kh2 Re5 30. Ne3 Rfe8 31. Rd5 Qc6 $17) 28... Qb2 {only move.} $19 29. Nd4 Nf6 $19 30. Ne6
Nxd5 31. cxd5 Rf7 32. Re2 Qa1+ 33. Kf2 Qd1 34. Rd2 Qc1 35. Qd4 b5 36. Rd1 Qc2+
37. Rd2 Qe4 38. Qxe4 fxe4+ 39. Ke3 Rc8 40. Kxe4 Rf5 41. g4 Rf1 42. Kd4 Rcc1 43.
Rd3 Rfd1 44. Ng5 Rxd3+ 45. Kxd3 Rd1+ 46. Ke4 Ra1 47. Kd4 Kg7 48. Ne4 Rd1+ $1 {
Wins the d pawn.} 0-1