2018 Olympiad: Rd3 Canadian Games

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Hansen, Eric"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C70"]
[WhiteElo "2629"]
[BlackElo "2771"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

{BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
Eric gets White against one of the three living legends in Batumi (Kramnik and Ivanchuk are the others), and gets a lesson in dynamic central play. }
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 {Steinitz played this against the Lopez, but
it's still called the "Smyslov variation". "He played the one thing I hadn't
prepared for" - Hansen.} 4. c3 {This is currently more popular than the
historically most-played move 4.d4} ({Here's Smyslov against a 13-year old
Kasparov. Garry gets a very good position, but falls apart quickly after
Smyslov's surprise 21...g5 starts some unexpected counterplay:} 4. d4 exd4 5.
Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. O-O Re8 (8... Ne7 9. Qd2 d5 {0-1 (43)
Englisch,B-Steinitz,W London 1883; this is the famous game that every book
uses to illustrate how to win an endgame with BB vs NB.}) 9. f3 Ne5 10. h3 a6
11. Be2 d5 $6 (11... d6 $1 $11) 12. f4 Nc4 13. Bxc4 dxc4 14. Qf3 c5 15. Nde2
Bd7 16. e5 Bc6 17. Qf2 $16 Nd7 18. Bxc5 Nxc5 19. Qxc5 Rc8 20. Rad1 Qh4 21. Qe3
g5 $5 22. Nd5 gxf4 23. Rxf4 Qg5 24. Nf6+ Kh8 25. Qf2 Rxe5 26. Nd4 $4 Bxf6 27.
Rxf6 Bxg2 28. Kh2 Re3 29. Qxg2 Qxf6 30. Qxb7 Qf4+ {0-1 (30) Kasparov,G-Smyslov,
V Leningrad (Russia) 1975}) 4... a6 5. Ba4 (5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nxe5 Qg5 $15) 5...
Bg7 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 exd4 8. cxd4 d6 9. h3 Nf6 (9... Nge7 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1
Na5 12. Bc2 c5 13. Nc3 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Bb7 15. Bg5 h6 16. Bh4 Re8 17. Nd5 Bxd5
18. exd5 Qb6 19. Nf3 (19. Ne6 $13) 19... Qb7 $11 {0-1 (27) Najer,E (2679)
-Grischuk,A (2737) Doha (blitz) 2016}) 10. O-O O-O {[#]Classical center, safe
K, sensible places to put your pieces -- what more could White ask for?} 11.
Re1 {White has previously reached this position a tempo down (having played
d2-d3-d4 rather than d2-d4) and that did not go well either in Romanishin,O (2580)-Dorfman,J 
(2515) Lvov (Ukraine) 1984 (0-1, 31)} (11. Bg5 $5 h6 12. Bh4 g5 13. Bg3 g4 $5) 11... Bb7
12. Nbd2 Nb4 13. Nf1 c5 (13... Nxe4 $4 14. a3 $18 {and the Nb4 can't retreat
without losing the Ne4.}) (13... Bxe4 14. Rxe4 Nxe4 15. a3 $1 (15. Qe1 $6 Nxf2
$14) 15... Nc6 16. Bd5 $16 {is the fork we saw earlier/}) ({So} 13... a5 $1 {
threatens to take on e4, as well as ...a4, kicking around the B.}) 14. a3 Nc6
15. d5 Nd4 {move the Nd4 back to d7 and it would be a pretty standard Benoni.}
16. Nxd4 cxd4 17. Qxd4 $6 {"I was a bit surprised he took it" - Anand} ({
Rather than the game move, which opens lines for both black Bs, maybe White
should try to play around the d4 pawn with} 17. Nh2 $5 Nd7 18. Nf3 Qb6) 17...
Nxd5 18. Qd3 Nb6 {[#]} 19. Rd1 (19. Bf4 {is the move White obviously want to
play; it allows Black to take on b2 and a3, but that leaves his kingside dark
squares weak:} d5 (19... Bxb2 20. Rad1 Bxa3 $2 21. Nh2 {and Ng4 will give
White an attack.}) 20. Qg3 Re8 21. Rad1 (21. e5 Nc4 22. Ne3 $13) 21... Bxb2 22.
exd5 Rxe1 23. Rxe1 Bxa3 24. Bc7 Qf6 25. Be5 Qd8 (25... Qe7 $2 26. Ne3 $18 {
crushes with Nf5 and d6.}) {and White can take a draw with} 26. Bc7 $11 ({
or play for the attack with} 26. d6 $1 $16)) 19... Rc8 20. Ng3 (20. Ne3 Qh4 21.
f3 d5 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. exd5 Rfe8 24. Be3 Bxb2 (24... Nc4 $1) 25. Bxb6 (25. Ra2
Nc4 $13) 25... Bxa1 26. Rxa1 Re1+ 27. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 28. Kh2 Qe5+ 29. f4 {Only move.} $16 {
gives up a pawn to escape the back-rank tactics.}) 20... Nc4 21. Rb1 h5 22. f3
Qb6+ {"The N doesn't belong on g3, the R doesn't belong on d1.... we were both
surprised at how good it became [for Black] and very fast" - Anand} 23. Kh1 d5
$1 $17 {A strong temporary pawn sac that opens lines in the center to gain
time off White's Q.} 24. exd5 Rfd8 25. Bf4 (25. Bg5 $4 Rxd5 {forks the Q and
Bg5.}) (25. Qe4 Bxd5 (25... Qf2 26. Qe1 Qxe1+ 27. Rxe1 Rxd5 $15) 26. Rxd5 Re8
{Only move.} 27. Qd3 Re1+ 28. Nf1 {Only move.} Qf2 29. Bd2 (29. Bf4 Nxb2 30. Rxe1 {Only move.} Nxd3 31. Bg3
Qb2 32. Rxd3 Bc3 $1 $17) 29... Nxd2 30. Rxe1 Qxe1 31. Qxd2 Qxf1+ 32. Kh2 $15) (
{"I don't see that he has any way to save himself; maybe takes on c4 and Qe2,
but he's going to be worse anyway" - Anand} 25. Bxc4 bxc4 26. Qe4 (26. Qe2 Rxd5
$17) 26... Bxd5 $1 $17 {is similar to the above line.}) 25... Qf6 $1 (25...
Nxb2 $2 26. Rxb2 Bxb2 27. d6 {White has a winning attack; e.g.} Kg7 28. Nxh5+
$1 $18) 26. Bc1 Rxd5 27. Qe2 Re5 28. Qf2 Rce8 29. Bxc4 bxc4 30. Nf1 ({White
would actually be better here... if only his B was on c3. :) But,} 30. Bd2 {
invites a pretty finish} h4 31. Nf1 Re2 32. Qg1 Qxf3 $1 $19) 30... Be4 31. Ra1
Bd3 32. Ne3 Qb6 33. Re1 R5e6 {There are too many pins, and ...Bd4 will be one
more.} 0-1

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Sasikiran, Krishnan"]
[Black "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B49"]
[WhiteElo "2672"]
[BlackElo "2492"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

{Aman play the Taimanov against an opponent nearly 200 points higher-rated, and just like his game against Shirov he equalizes comfortably. However, here he plays like he is either afraid or unwell -- and between move 14-20 his position gets more uncomfortable until Aman is looking for a way to sac for a fortress (!?). White avoids that line, and a few moves later, Aman blunders terribly.
IMO, a much more disturbing loss than in round 1.}  1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 {[#]Aman used
to always play the French, but got his final GM norm when he switched to the
Taimanov (see inserted games).} 7. a3 (7. Qf3 Bd6 8. O-O-O Be5 9. g3 Nge7 10.
Qe2 b5 11. f4 Bxd4 12. Bxd4 Nxd4 13. Rxd4 Rb8 14. e5 Bb7 15. Bg2 Bxg2 16. Qxg2
b4 $11 {0-1 (38) Shirov,A (2693)-Hambleton,A (2434) Reykjavik 2017}) 7... b5 8.
Nxc6 Qxc6 9. Be2 Bb7 10. Qd2 (10. O-O Bd6 11. Qd4 e5 12. Qd3 Nf6 13. Rad1 Bc5
14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Qd6 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. c4 bxc4 18. Qxc4 Qxc4 19. Bxc4 Rc8
20. Bd3 $11 {1/2-1/2 (72) Motylev,A (2675)-Hambleton,A (2474) London 2017})
10... Rc8 11. Rd1 Nf6 12. Bf3 b4 13. axb4 Bxb4 14. O-O $11 (14. e5 Nd5 15. Bxd5
exd5 $11) 14... Bxc3 15. bxc3 {[#]It might be worth noting that there are many
lines from here that result in materially unequal but drawish positions with
opposite-coloured Bs.} O-O (15... Qxc3 $1 {looks like comfortable equality:}
16. Qd6 (16. Qxc3 Rxc3 17. Rb1 Bc8 $11) 16... Qc7 17. Qxc7 (17. Qb4 a5 18. Qa3
(18. Qb2 O-O $15) 18... Bxe4 $15) (17. Bf4 Qxd6 18. Rxd6 (18. Bxd6 Nxe4 $17)
18... Bxe4 $15) 17... Rxc7 18. Rb1 Bc8 $11 (18... e5 $11)) 16. e5 Nd5 (16...
Ne4 $6 {might be playable, but looks squirmy after} 17. Qd3) 17. Bd4 a5 18. Ra1
Ba6 $2 (18... Ra8 19. Ra3 Qc7 20. Rfa1 Rfb8) 19. Rfe1 a4 20. Bxd5 (20. Re4 $5
Ne7 21. Rg4) 20... Qxd5 (20... exd5 21. Qg5 $14) 21. Rxa4 Bb7 22. f3 {[#]} Bc6
$5 {If you're looking only at the computer evals, then this -- and White's
responses for the next half-dozen moves -- are all blunders.} 23. Rb4 (23. c4
Qxd4+ 24. Qxd4 Bxa4 {computers rate this around +3, but both players thought
this was a (near) fortress for Black. Instead, White just keeps manoeuvering,
and Black soon makes a horrible blunder.}) 23... Rb8 24. Ra1 h6 25. h4 Rfc8 26.
Kh2 Re8 27. Qe3 Bb5 $4 28. Rab1 1-0

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Harikrishna, P."]
[Black "Preotu, Razvan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B53"]
[WhiteElo "2743"]
[BlackElo "2513"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. e4 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Qe3 $5 Nf6 6. Be2 Bg4 7. O-O {
[#] I thought White might just have been playing junk to get Black out of book,
but he's played this against a fellow 2700+ player.} e6 (7... g6 8. Rd1 Bxf3 9.
Bxf3 Bg7 10. c4 Qc7 11. Nc3 Ne5 12. b3 Nxf3+ 13. Qxf3 O-O 14. Be3 Qa5 15. Rac1
a6 16. Bd2 Rfc8 17. h3 b5 18. Nd5 (18. e5 $1 {is a neat tactic:} dxe5 19. Na4
$1 Qd8 (19... b4 20. a3 $16) (19... Qc7 20. cxb5 $18) 20. Be3 $18 {with a
double threat to the Qd8 and Nb6 fork.}) 18... Qd8 19. Be3 Nxd5 20. cxd5 $11 {
1-0 (33) Harikrishna,P (2732)-Navara,D (2727) Prague (rapid) 2018}) 8. Rd1 Qb8
9. c4 Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. b3 Bd8 12. Na4 (12. Ba3 Bb6 13. Qd2 Rd8 {and White
keeps squeezing.}) 12... d5 $1 13. h3 {[#]} Bh5 (13... Bxf3 14. Bxf3 d4 15. Qe2
Nd7 {White has the Bs, but central cloggage and the d4 pawn are some comp.
White could continue with Bg4, maybe Nb2-d3 and aim to open the kingside with
f2-f4.}) 14. g4 (14. exd5 $1 {forces Black to dance at the gunslingers ball}
exd5 15. cxd5 Re8 16. Qd2 Ne4 17. Qf4 Bc7 18. Qh4 Nf6 19. Bg5 Rxe2 {with a
sharp position; e.g.} 20. Bxf6 Bxf3 21. Qg5 g6 (21... Qf8 $142 $16) 22. gxf3 (
22. Qh6 $4 Bh2+ $19 {is mating:} 23. Kf1 (23. Kh1 Bxg2+ 24. Kxg2 Qg3+ $19)
23... Rxf2+ {Only move.} 24. Kxf2 Qg3+ $19) 22... Bf4 23. Qh4 Be3 24. dxc6 (24. d6) 24...
Bxf2+ 25. Qxf2 Rxf2 26. Rd8+ $18) 14... Bg6 15. e5 Ne4 16. Ba3 Be7 $2 (16...
Re8 17. cxd5 exd5 18. Rxd5 Bc7 (18... Bf6 $5) 19. Bb2 (19. Bb5 $13) 19... Nb4
$13 {and the threats on d5 and c2 cost White an exchange.}) 17. cxd5 exd5 18.
Bxe7 Nxe7 19. Nc5 Rd8 20. Rac1 {[#]} (20. Nh4 $2 Nxc5 21. Qxc5 Qxe5) 20... Nc6
$4 (20... Nxc5 $142) (20... h6 $142 21. e6 $5 (21. Bd3 $5)) 21. Na6 $1 $18 {
Certainly missed by Razvan. Now nothing works.} Qc8 (21... bxa6 22. Rxc6 Rc8
23. Rxc8+ Qxc8 24. Rxd5 Nc3 25. Rd6 Nxe2+ 26. Qxe2 $18) 22. Nd4 Nxd4 (22... f5
23. Nb4 $18 {I don't recall ever seeing this way of attacking c6}) (22... bxa6
23. Nxc6 $18 {threatens Nxd8 and Ne7+.}) 23. Rxd4 $1 (23. Rxc8 $4 Nxe2+ 24.
Qxe2 Raxc8 $19) 23... bxa6 (23... Qd7 24. Nc7 Rac8 25. Nxd5 $18) 24. Rxc8 Raxc8
25. Bxa6 Rc3 26. Qe1 Rxh3 27. Qa5 Rf8 28. Rxd5 h5 29. Bf1 Rc3 30. Rd8 Rc8 31.
Rxf8+ Rxf8 32. gxh5 Bxh5 33. e6 1-0

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Bareev, Evgeny"]
[Black "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2666"]
[BlackElo "2711"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "144"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

{With an average rating of 2690, this is almost certainly the highest-rated
board 4 game Canada will play at any Olympiad.  A long theoretical line in the
Closed Catalan leads to a balanced position where Black has an extra pawn but
White has the center. Vidit plays ambitiously, and is forced to give a N for
two more pawns, and later offers an exchange sac to repair his doubled c-pawns.
Bareev reaches a position which is probably won, but misses key chances to
activate his Rs and the game ends in a repetition.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4
e6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Bf4 b6 10. Rd1 Ba6
{[#]} 11. b3 (11. Ne5 Rc8 12. Nc3 Bxc4 13. Nxc4 dxc4 14. e4 b5 15. a4 a6 16. d5
$5 cxd5 17. exd5 e5 18. Bg5 b4 19. d6 bxc3 20. Qxc3 $13 {1/2-1/2 (44) So,W 
(2773)-Karjakin,S (2769) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) 11... Rc8 12. Nc3 h6 (12... Nh5
13. Bc1 Nhf6 14. e4 dxc4 15. Bf4 Bb4 {1/2-1/2 (63) Kovalyov,A (2622)-Nakamura,
H (2787) Tromsoe 2014}) 13. e4 dxc4 14. Nd2 b5 (14... cxb3 $2 15. axb3 $16 {
skewers the a7 pawn.}) 15. bxc4 bxc4 16. Na4 g5 (16... c5 17. d5 exd5 18. exd5
Nh5 19. Be3 Bf6 20. Rab1 Bd4 21. Nxc4 Bxc4 22. Qxc4 Bxe3 23. fxe3 {0-1 (44)
Nielsen,P (2620)-Sasikiran,K (2670) Hastings 2003}) 17. Be3 Ng4 18. Nf1 (18.
Nxc4 Bxc4 (18... c5 $5) 19. Qxc4 Nxe3 20. fxe3 Qa5 21. Rab1 c5 $11 {0-1 (36)
Neelotpal,D (2428)-Castellanos Rodriguez,R (2474) Lille 2014}) 18... Qc7 19.
Bd2 c5 20. d5 Nde5 {Threatening ...Nd3} 21. h3 $1 {[#]Black has a choice of
two ways to give up a N for PP.} Nf6 $2 (21... Nxf2 $1 22. Kxf2 exd5 23. exd5
Nd3+ 24. Kg1 Bf6 25. Bc3 Bd4+ {with comp. White's K is more exposed here than
in the game line.}) 22. Bc3 Nd3 23. d6 $1 Qxd6 24. e5 Qd8 25. exf6 Bxf6 26.
Bxf6 Qxf6 $16 {Black has given up a N for three pawns and the d3-octopus, but
his c-pawns are immobile and his B is not much good.} 27. Rab1 Rfd8 28. a3 {
Possibly trying to stop Nb4-d5?} (28. Ne3 $1 Nb4 29. Rxd8+ Rxd8 30. Qc3 $18)
28... Rd4 {[#]} 29. Nh2 (29. Nc3 Rcd8 30. Rd2 R4d7 31. Ne3 $1 {looks like a
blunder, but...} Nb4 $2 {(or ...Ne1) ...fails to a nice tactical sequence:} (
31... Kf8 32. Bc6) 32. Rxd7 Nxc2 33. Ne4 $1 $18 {Black's Q is overloaded and
White ends up with way too many pieces.}) 29... Rcd8 30. Nf3 $6 (30. Nc3 Qg7
31. Nf1 f5 32. Nb5 $16) 30... R4d7 31. Nh2 h5 32. Rf1 Qg7 33. Qc3 Qxc3 34. Nxc3
f5 35. Rfd1 {[#]} Kg7 (35... h4 $5 {Threatening hxg3 -- which would at least
give Black a passed e-pawn -- is a deep pawn sac to open files on the kingside;
e.g.} 36. gxh4 gxh4 37. Nf3 Kg7 38. Nxh4 Kf6 $13 {with counterplay on the
g-file and N hops to f4.}) 36. Nf1 Kf6 37. Rd2 g4 38. h4 Rd6 39. Ne3 Rb6 40.
Rxb6 axb6 41. a4 Rd4 42. Nc2 Rd6 43. Na3 Rd4 44. Nc2 Rd6 45. Kf1 e5 46. Rd1 Ke6
47. Ke2 e4 48. Ke3 Ke5 49. Bf1 Bc8 50. Ne2 {[#] Black's extra pawns are well
blockaded, but what is White suppsed to do with his tangled pieces? With such
an unusual position, and well into the second time control, it is not
surprising that both sides make mistakes.} Bd7 $6 51. Na3 $1 Rd4 $5 52. Nxd4 $2
(52. Rb1 $1 {activates the R by trading a4 for b6.}) 52... cxd4+ 53. Ke2 (53.
Kd2 $4 c3+ $19) 53... Kd5 $2 (53... Nb2 54. Rb1 d3+ 55. Ke3 c3 56. Rxb2 {Only move.} cxb2
57. Nc4+ Kd5 58. Nxb2 Kc5 $11) 54. Nxc4 $1 Kxc4 55. Kd2 Bxa4 {[#]} 56. Bxd3+ $2
$11 {White misses his last chance.} ({An in-form Bareev would certainly have
found the win here with:} 56. Rc1+ {Only move.} {puts the R on an open file and pushes
the black K further away from supporting his queenside pawns.} Kd5 57. Bxd3
exd3 58. Rc8 $1 (58. Kxd3 $2 Bc6) 58... Ke4 (58... b5 59. Rh8 b4 60. Rxh5 b3
61. Rh8 $18) 59. Rh8 Kf3 60. Rxh5 Kxf2 61. Rxf5+ Kxg3 62. h5 $18) 56... exd3
57. Re1 b5 58. Re8 b4 59. Rc8+ Kd5 (59... Kb3 $11) 60. Rb8 b3 61. Kxd3 {Only move.} {
Otherwise ...Kc4 and either ...Bb5 or ...K walks to a3.} Kc5 62. Kd2 Kc4 63.
Rb7 Bb5 64. Rb8 d3 65. Kc1 $1 Bc6 66. Kd2 Be4 67. Kc1 Kc3 68. Rc8+ {Only move.} Kd4 69.
Kd2 Bd5 70. Re8 Kc4 71. Rb8 Kd4 72. Re8 Kc4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Zatonsikh, Anna"]
[Black "Matras-Clement, Agnieszka"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D10"]
[WhiteElo "2431"]
[BlackElo "2225"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Nc3 a6 7. Bd3 e6 8. Rc1
Bd6 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. f4 $14 {White has a Stonewall with the favourable B trade.
This is the kind of position we'd see Capablanca win in a totally one-sided
game. The embedded games show modern Black players sac'ing a pawn for activity.
} O-O 11. Nf3 b5 $5 (11... Bd7 12. Ne5 {White scores 64% but only +10 Elo from
here.} Rfc8 13. O-O Be8 14. g4 $5 Nd7 15. g5 Ne7 16. Qf3 b5 17. a3 Rc7 18. Ne4
$2 {A clever try, but only good enough for equality.} dxe4 19. Qxe4 {Forking
a8 and h7.} Rxc1 20. Rxc1 Qd5 {Only move.} 21. Qxh7+ Kf8 22. Be4 (22. Qh8+ Ng8 23. Bh7
Nxe5 24. fxe5 Bc6 25. Rxc6 Qxc6 26. Qxg8+ Ke7 27. Qxg7 {should end in a
pepetual.}) 22... Qb3 23. Qh8+ Ng8 24. Rc3 Qd1+ 25. Kf2 Qd2+ 26. Kg3 $4 (26.
Kf3 {Only move.} Nxe5+ 27. fxe5 Qd1+ $11) 26... Qe1+ 27. Kg2 b4 $3 {An excellent
line-opening sac by Black.} 28. axb4 Nxe5 29. fxe5 Rb8 30. Bh7 Ke7 31. Qxg7
Rxb4 32. Rc2 Qxe3 33. Qxg8 Rxd4 34. Rf2 Rg4+ 35. Kf1 Bb5+ {0-1 (35) Volkov,S 
(2627)-Cori Tello,J (2636) Sitges 2017}) 12. O-O Bb7 13. Ne5 Rac8 14. Qe2 {
The Q usually goes to f3 to discourage ...Ne4.} (14. a3 Ne7 15. Qf3 Rc7 16. g4
Rfc8 17. Rcd1 b4 18. axb4 Qxb4 19. Rf2 Ne4 $5 {White plays nervously, but
Black shouldn't get enough for the pawn.} 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. Qxe4
Rc1 23. Rdf1 (23. Rxc1 $1 {Stockfish} Rxc1+ 24. Kg2 Qe1 25. Nf3 $16) 23...
Rxf1+ 24. Rxf1 (24. Kxf1 $1) 24... Qxb2 25. f5 exf5 26. gxf5 Qb6 27. Ng4 h5 {Only move.}
(27... Qd6 28. f6 $18) 28. f6 Ng6 $4 29. Qf5 $1 $18 Qb7 30. Qxh5 Rc2 31. d5 {Only move.}
$18 gxf6 32. Qh6 {1-0 (32) Naiditsch,A (2712)-Movsesian,S (2705) Sibenik 2012})
14... Ne7 $1 {The N retreat lets the Bb7 fight for e4 and the Q defend a6.} 15.
Bb1 Ne4 16. Nd3 f5 17. a4 $6 bxa4 $1 $11 (17... b4 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Nc5 $14)
18. Nxa4 Bc6 19. Ndc5 Bxa4 $11 20. Bxe4 dxe4 21. Nxa4 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Rb8 23. Nc5
Rb6 24. Rc4 h6 25. Qd2 Nd5 26. b3 a5 27. h3 Rb4 28. Rc1 Kh7 29. Ra1 Qb6 30. Kh2
Nf6 31. Qe2 Kg8 32. Qa2 Rb5 33. Qc2 Nd5 34. Re1 Qd6 35. Qe2 Rb4 36. Kh1 Kh7 37.
Qh5 Qe7 38. Qe2 Qd6 39. Ra1 Qb6 40. Qd2 Kg8 41. Re1 Qb5 42. Qd1 Nf6 43. Qc2 Qc6
44. Qd2 Nd5 45. Rc1 Qb5 46. Re1 Kh7 47. Qd1 Nf6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Zhou, Qiyu"]
[Black "Krush, Irina"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B43"]
[WhiteElo "2207"]
[BlackElo "2423"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

{GM Irina Krush is the 7-time US Champion, and her experience shows in the opening, where she chooses an excellent line/move order vs Qiyu, whose attempt to go into an English Attack (?) allows an early ...d5 and a middle game where White has no active play. Qiyu uses a lot of time early, and blunders late.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 $1 6. Be3 $6 Bb4 $1 {
delaying ...Nc6 means Black now threatens to win a pawn with Xc3.} 7. Qd2 (7.
Qd3 $5 {1/2-1/2 (20) Vovk,A (2644)-Werle,J (2514) Fagernes 2015}) (7. Nb3 Nf6
8. a3 $6 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 d6 (9... Qxc3+ $15) 10. Bd3 Qxc3+ 11. Nd2 O-O 12. O-O
$15 {0-1 (35) Abrahamyan,T (2239)-Krush,I (2479) Tulsa US Ch, 2008}) (7. Nde2
Nf6 8. a3 Be7 {1/2-1/2 (27) Gamundi Salamanca,A (2443)-Delchev,A (2638) Jaen
2014}) 7... Nf6 8. Bd3 (8. f3 d5 $15) 8... d5 $1 {"This timely blow ensures
equality, or even a slight advantage." - Johan Hellsten, Play the Sicilian Kan
(Everyman, 2010)} 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nde2 Nxe3 $1 11. Qxe3 Nc6 $17 {[#] It's
hard to be sure what evauation symbol to put here. Optically, White's position
isn't so bad -- she has development for the B-pair, and engines rate it as
close to equal -- but there's no clear way to improve White's position, while
Black's play is obvious: extra center pawn, B pair, queenside minority attack.
In part that may explain White's time use for her next six moves.} 12. O-O {
White spend 12 min on this.} (12. O-O-O $5 {would leave White free to push her
K side pawns.}) 12... O-O 13. Rad1 {3 min on this} (13. Na4 Bd7 14. Nb6 Rad8
15. Nxd7 Rxd7 16. Qe4 g6 17. c3 Be7 $15 {0-1 (57) Moshina,C (2185)-Hegedus,I 
(2325) Deva 1998} (17... Rfd8 $1 $15)) 13... b6 14. Na4 {12 min on this} (14.
Ne4 Be7 15. Ng5 h6 16. Nf3 $14 {might improve the Nc3 while preparing for
Black's c-file pressure.}) 14... Rb8 15. Be4 {14 min on this} Be7 16. Qc3 {
12 min on this} Bb7 {[#]} 17. Qe3 $6 {... and 15 min on this. That's 68
minutes on seven indifferent moves. Even equality would be hard to hold with
that much of a time disadvantage against the multi-time US Women's Champion
and GM.} (17. Nd4 $1 {looks strategically right, trying to force off the the B
pair.} Bb4 (17... Bf6 18. Bxc6) 18. Qh3 $15) 17... Nb4 18. Nac3 Rfd8 19. a3
Bxe4 20. Qxe4 Nc6 21. h3 g6 22. Nf4 Bf6 23. Nfe2 Na5 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Rd1 {
[#]} Rc8 $1 {The c-file is where the action is.} 26. Nd4 (26. Qe3 b5 27. Qc1
Nc4 28. Rd3 Kg7 $17) (26. h4 {is too slow} Nc4 27. h5 Nxb2 $19) 26... Be5 (
26... Bg7 27. Rd3 Nc4 28. Nd1 b5 $17) 27. Nce2 Nc4 28. b3 Nxa3 29. Ra1 Nb5 30.
Rxa6 $4 {A bunder in time pressure: White's weak back rank will cost her the
game.} Nxd4 31. Nxd4 Rd8 {Only move.} $19 32. Ra4 (32. Nf3 Rd1+ 33. Ne1 Bc3 $19) 32... b5
33. Rb4 Qc5 $1 34. c3 Qxc3 35. Qxe5 Qxb4 36. Nc6 (36. Nxe6 {is nothing} fxe6 (
36... Rd1+ 37. Kh2 Qd6 $19) 37. Qxe6+ Kg7 $19) 36... Rd1+ 37. Kh2 Qd6 38. Qxd6
Rxd6 0-1

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Foisor, Sabina-Francesca"]
[Black "Ouellet, Maili-Jade"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2311"]
[BlackElo "2144"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "142"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. Qc2 g6 7. e3 Bf5 8. Qd2
Nf6 9. f3 h5 {The main move in this position. It looks loose, but keeps the
Bf5 in place(for now), and can be useful later to nudge a piece off g3.} 10.
Bd3 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 Nbd7 12. Nge2 {"The statistics of these variations are
depressing for Black..." - Kasparov.} b5 $5 (12... Nf8 13. O-O-O (13. e4 $5)
13... Ne6 14. Be5 O-O 15. h4 Nd7 16. g4 Nxe5 17. dxe5 hxg4 18. h5 gxf3 19. hxg6
fxe2 20. Rdg1 e1=Q+ 21. Rxe1 Bh4 22. Ref1 f5 23. Rxf5 Kg7 $4 24. Rh5 $18 Rh8
25. R1xh4 Qxh4 26. Rxh4 Rxh4 27. Qf5 Rh1+ 28. Nd1 Rf8 29. Qxe6 Rff1 30. Kc2 {
1-0 (30) Mastrovasilis,A (2517)-Rychagov,A (2552) Kavala 2015}) 13. O-O O-O 14.
Rad1 (14. a3 a5 15. e4 $1 dxe4 16. fxe4 Nc5 17. Qf3 Ne6 18. Rad1 $14 {1-0 (41)
Yu,Y (2759)-Xu,Y (2536) Hangzhou 2018}) 14... b4 15. Nb1 $6 (15. Na4 {is
better, but doesn't stop ...c5, which is always Black's way to get play after
f2-f3.}) 15... c5 $1 $11 16. b3 Qb6 17. Nd2 Rfe8 18. Bg3 (18. Rfe1 cxd4 (18...
a5 $5) (18... Rac8) 19. exd4 Bd6 20. Bxd6 Qxd6 $11) 18... Rac8 19. Bf2 cxd4 $15
(19... c4 $1 20. bxc4 Qa6 $1 21. Rc1 Nb6 $17) 20. exd4 Nf8 21. Kh1 Bd6 22. Bh4
Bb8 23. Rc1 N8h7 24. Bg3 Bxg3 25. hxg3 Ng5 26. Nf4 Ne6 27. Nxe6 (27. Nxg6 $2
fxg6 28. Qxg6+ Ng7 $19) 27... Qxe6 {how can White defend g3?} 28. Qb5 $2 (28.
Kg1 Qd6 29. Rxc8 Rxc8 30. Rd1 (30. Kf2 h4 31. gxh4 Nh5 $19) 30... Rc3 31. Qe2
Qxg3 $17) 28... Qd6 29. f4 (29. Kh2 h4 $19) 29... Rxc1 30. Rxc1 h4 $1 31. Nf3
Re4 $4 (31... hxg3 $1 $19 {this pawn now creates both back rank and h-file
threats.} 32. Ne5 Qe6 33. Qb7 (33. Rc6 Qf5 $19) 33... Ne4 34. Qc6 Qe7 {heading
to h4} 35. Kg1 Nc3 $19) 32. Qc5 (32. gxh4 Qxf4 33. Rc8+ Kg7 34. Qxb4 $11) 32...
Qxc5 33. dxc5 hxg3 34. c6 Re8 {Only move.} 35. Nd4 Rc8 36. Kg1 Kf8 $15 37. Rc5 Ke7 38.
Ra5 Rc7 39. Rb5 (39. Ra6 Nh5 40. Nb5 Rc8 41. Nxa7 Rc7 42. Nb5 Rc8) 39... Kd6
40. Rxb4 $6 (40. Kf1 $142 $17) 40... Kc5 $6 {This will force off White's c6
pawn, leaving a two-result game, so it's a practical choice, especially at the
time control; but it's not objectively best.} (40... Re7 $142 $19 {keeps the
pieces on so mate threats will force White back.} 41. Nf3 (41. Kf1 Ng4 $1 $19)
41... Re2 $18 (41... Kxc6 $19)) 41. Rb7 $1 Ne8 {Only move.} $17 (41... Kd6 $4 42. Nb5+
$18) (41... Rc8 $2 42. Ne2 $13) 42. Ne2 Kxc6 43. Rxc7+ $6 {There may be more
chances for errors with the Rs on.} Nxc7 44. Nxg3 {[#] Black is a passed pawn
up in a N ending with a more active K. Black has a lot of opportunities to
throw away the win through carelessness, but she accurately enough the rest of
the way.} Kc5 45. Ne2 Kb4 46. Kf2 Ka3 47. Nd4 Kxa2 48. b4 Ne6 49. Nc6 a6 50.
Ke3 Kb3 51. g4 Kc3 $1 {Supporting the d-passer.} 52. Ne5 d4+ 53. Ke4 f6 54. Nd3
(54. Nxg6 d3 {Only move.} 55. Ne7 d2 56. Nd5+ Kc2 57. Ne3+ Kc1 $19 58. Kf5 (58. g5 fxg5
59. f5 Nf8 $19) 58... Nd4+ 59. Kxf6 Nc2 $1 $19) 54... Ng7 55. f5 gxf5+ 56. gxf5
Nxf5 $1 57. Nc5 Nd6+ 58. Kd5 Nb5 59. Nxa6 f5 {Only move.} (59... d3 $2 60. Nc5 d2 61.
Ne4+ Kd3 62. Nxd2 Kxd2 63. Ke6 $11) 60. Nc5 Kxb4 {Only move.} 61. Nd3+ Kc3 {Only move.} 62. Nf2 d3
{Only move.} 63. Ke5 d2 {Only move.} 64. Kxf5 Kc2 65. Ke5 Nc3 66. Kd4 Ne2+ (66... Nd1 $2 67. Ne4
$11) 67. Kc4 Nf4 $1 68. Kb5 Nh3 $1 69. Ng4 Kd3 $1 70. Ne5+ Ke4 71. Nc4 d1=Q 0-1

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Agbabishvili, Lali"]
[Black "Yu, Jennifer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2128"]
[BlackElo "2268"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "170"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

{Black equalizes in a not-very theoretical London System. White has a nominally better LSB, but (as Kramnik asked about the the LSBs in the Stonewall -- why IS White's B better than Black's when it has so little to do? The game goes into a Rook ending where Black has the initiative, and when White doesn't find a way to activate her Rook -- going into a drawn PPP vs R ending -- Black converts to win the match.}1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. Ne5 (5. Bg3 {is more common; one
shocking example being} O-O 6. Nbd2 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. Bd3 Qe7 9. Ne5 Nd7 10. Nxd7
$1 Bxd7 $2 11. Bxd6 $1 Qxd6 12. dxc5 $1 Qxc5 13. Bxh7+ $3 Kxh7 14. Qh5+ Kg8 15.
Ne4 $18 {and White had a winning attack in Kamsky,G (2709)-Shankland,S (2611)
Sturbridge 2014 (1-0, 31)}) 5... O-O 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. Nd2 Qc7 9. Ndf3 {
[#]} b6 (9... Nd7 $2 10. Ng5 $1) 10. Nxc6 (10. h4 $5 {(followed by g4 if Black
closes the queenside with ...c4) is recommended in "The Agile London System"
by Holmes and de Prado (New in Chess, 2016).}) 10... Qxc6 11. Bxd6 (11. Ne5 Qc7
12. Qf3 Ne4 13. Nc4 $6 (13. Bxe4 $2 dxe4 14. Qxe4 Bb7 15. Qd3 cxd4 16. cxd4 (
16. exd4 $4 f6 $19) 16... a5 $1 $17 {aiming for ...Ba6.} (16... Bxg2 $15 {
is obviously riskier.})) 13... Bxf4 14. Qxf4 Qxf4 15. exf4 Ba6 $15 {1/2-1/2 
(95) Giri,A (2798)-Hou,Y (2673) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) 11... Qxd6 12. Ne5 Bb7 13.
O-O Ne4 14. f3 f6 {[#]} 15. Ng4 Ng5 16. f4 (16. h4 Nf7 17. f4) 16... Ne4 17.
Qe2 Qe7 18. Rad1 Rad8 19. Rf3 Bc6 20. Qc2 Be8 21. Rh3 (21. Bxe4 $2 dxe4 22.
Qxe4 $4 f5 $19) 21... Bg6 22. Nf2 Nxf2 23. Kxf2 f5 24. Be2 Rc8 25. Qd2 (25. b3
$5) 25... Rc7 26. Kg1 c4 $1 $15 {[#] Black wouldn't take on d4 when exd4 would
leave the e6-pawn on a half-open file, so Black loses no real flexibility in
pushing to c4. Conventionally, this push makes Black's LSB even worse than it
was, but Black's Rs are more mobile than White's (esp the Rh3) and so can
benefit more from the chance to open the a or b-file.} 27. Rf1 b5 28. a3 a5 29.
g4 (29. Rhf3) 29... fxg4 (29... b4 $1 30. axb4 (30. gxf5 $2 Bxf5 $19 {
White is hanging on h3 and a3.}) 30... axb4 31. cxb4 Rb7 $19) 30. Bxg4 Rf6 $6 (
30... Bf5 31. Qd1 (31. Rg3 Rb7)) 31. Rg3 Rb7 32. Qg2 Bd3 33. Be2 Bf5 34. Bf3
Bd3 35. Be2 Bxe2 36. Qxe2 Qd6 (36... b4 37. axb4 axb4 38. e4 $132) 37. Qg2 (37.
e4 $1 Rxf4 (37... dxe4 38. Qxe4 Rbf7 39. Rg5 Rxf4 40. Rxf4 Rxf4 41. Qe5 $1 $11
(41. Qa8+ Rf8 42. Qxa5 $4 Qf4 $19)) 38. Rxf4 Qxf4 39. exd5 $11) 37... Rbf7 38.
Kh1 Kf8 39. Rg1 Qd7 40. Qh3 Rh6 41. Qg4 Qe7 42. Rh3 Qf6 43. Rxh6 Qxh6 44. Rg3
Qf6 45. h3 Qf5 46. Kh2 Ke8 (46... Qc2+ 47. Rg2 Qe4 48. Qg5 g6 49. Qe5 Qxe5 50.
dxe5 b4 $15) 47. Qe2 h6 48. Qg2 Kf8 49. Qe2 Rb7 50. Qd2 g6 51. Rg2 Kf7 52. Re2
Qe4 53. Rg2 Kg7 54. Re2 Rf7 55. Rg2 Kh7 56. Qc2 Qxc2 57. Rxc2 g5 (57... b4 58.
axb4 axb4 $15) 58. fxg5 hxg5 59. Kg2 Kg6 60. Re2 e5 61. dxe5 Re7 62. Kf3 Rxe5
63. e4 Kh5 64. exd5 Rxd5 65. Ke4 Rd3 {[#]White can bail out to P vs R endings
if she activates her R now.} 66. Rh2 $2 (66. Rf2 Rxh3 (66... Kh4 67. Rf5 Rg3
68. Rxb5 Kxh3 69. Rxa5 $11) 67. Rf5 Rh1 (67... Rh4+) (67... Kh4 68. Rxb5 g4 69.
Rxa5 Rd3 70. Rc5 g3 71. Rxc4) 68. Rxb5 Kh4 69. Rxa5 g4 {[#]} 70. Ra8 (70. Kd4
g3 71. Ra8 g2 72. Rh8+ (72. Rg8 g1=Q+ 73. Rxg1 Rxg1 74. Kxc4 Kg5 $19) 72... Kg3
73. Rg8+ Kf2 74. Kxc4 g1=Q 75. Rxg1 Rxg1 76. b4 $11) 70... Re1+ 71. Kd5 g3 72.
Rg8 Kh3 73. Rh8+ Kg4 74. Rg8+ Kf3 75. Rf8+ Ke2 76. Rg8 Kf2 77. Rf8+ Kg1 78.
Kxc4 g2 79. Rg8 Kf2 (79... Kf1 80. b4 g1=Q $4 81. Rxg1+ Kxg1 82. a4 $18) 80. b4
(80. Rxg2+ Kxg2) 80... g1=Q 81. Rxg1 Rxg1 {Only move.} $11) 66... Kh4 $19 67. Kf5 Rf3+
68. Kg6 Rg3 {Only move.} 69. Kf5 (69. Rh1 Rg2 $1) 69... Rg1 (69... a4 70. Kg6 (70. Rh1
Rg2 $19) 70... Rg1 {Only move.} 71. Kf5 Kg3 $19) 70. Ke4 Kg3 71. Re2 (71. Rd2 $142 Kxh3
72. Rd5 g4 73. Rh5+ Kg2 74. Rxb5 $17) 71... Kxh3 72. Kd4 Rf1 (72... g4 $1) 73.
Re5 g4 74. Rxb5 (74. Rh5+ Kg2 75. Rxb5 g3 76. Rxa5 Rf4+ $1 77. Ke3 Rg4 $19)
74... g3 {[#]} 75. Rb8 (75. Rxa5 g2 76. Rg5 (76. Rh5+ Kg4 {Only move.} 77. Rh8 g1=Q+ {
and there's no skewer because the promotion comes with check.}) 76... Rf4+ $1
77. Ke3 Rf5 $1 78. Rg8 Kh2 $19 79. Kd4 Rf4+ 80. Ke3 (80. Ke5 Rh4 $19) 80... Rf8
$1 $19) 75... g2 76. Rh8+ Kg3 77. Rg8+ Kf3 78. Kxc4 g1=Q 79. Rxg1 Rxg1 80. b4
axb4 81. axb4 {[#] White to move would be a draw, but Black to move wins} Ke4
$19 82. b5 Ke5 83. Kc5 Ke6 84. Kc6 (84. c4 Kd7 $19) 84... Rc1 85. b6 Rxc3+ 0-1