2018 Olympaid: Rd4 Canadian Games

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Gallego Alcarez, Andres Felipe"]
[Black "Hansen, Eric"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E07"]
[WhiteElo "2511"]
[BlackElo "2629"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "schev"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]

{A closed Catalan. Black equalizes easily, and neither side gets any chance at
an edge.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 $5 {Eric avoids his usual Grunfeld} 3. Nf3 b6 4.
g3 c6 (4... Bb4+ 5. Nbd2 O-O 6. Bg2 d5 7. O-O Bb7 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Ne5 Bd6 10.
Ndc4 $5 $14 {1-0 (74) Akobian,V (2645)-Hansen,E (2616) chess.com INT 2017}) 5.
Bg2 d5 6. O-O Be7 7. b3 (7. Nfd2 Ba6 8. b3 O-O 9. e4 Nbd7 10. Nc3 Rc8 11. e5
Ne8 12. Re1 Nc7 13. Bb2 c5 14. Nxd5 $5 exd5 15. cxd5 cxd4 16. d6 Nc5 {½- ½ 
(60) Le,Q (2718)-Kovalyov,A (2647) Pan Ams 2016}) 7... O-O 8. Bb2 Nbd7 9. Nbd2
Bb7 10. Ne5 (10. Rc1 Rc8 11. e3 dxc4 12. Nxc4 c5 13. Qe2 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Bxg2 15.
Kxg2 a6 16. Nf3 b5 17. Nce5 Qb6 18. Nxd7 {½-½ Dubov,D (2691)-Korobov,A (2664)
Abu Dhabi 2018}) 10... Nxe5 (10... c5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Qb1 $6 Re8 13. e3 Bd6
14. Ndc4 Bf8 15. Rd1 cxd4 16. exd4 Ne4 17. Ne3 $14 Ndf6 18. Qc2 Rc8 19. Qd3 g6
20. Rac1 Qd6 21. f3 Ng5 22. Re1 {1/2-1/2 (22) Dobrov,V (2510)-Oparin,G (2609)
Barcelona 2017}) 11. dxe5 Nd7 12. e3 b5 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Nf3 b4 15. Nd4 Qb6 (
15... Nxe5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bxe5 Bf6 $14) 16. f4 Ba6 17. Rf2 Nc5 18. Rd2 Rac8
19. a3 Ne4 20. Bxe4 dxe4 21. axb4 Bxb4 {Black has the B pair, but the monster
on d4 is full comp.} 22. Rc2 (22. Rf2 $5 $11) 22... Bd3 $15 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24.
Rc1 Rd8 (24... Rc5 $5) 25. Rc6 $11 Qb7 26. Qc1 h6 27. Bc3 Be7 28. Ba5 Rd7 29.
Qc3 Kh7 30. Kg2 Bb5 31. Rc7 Qd5 32. Rxd7 Bxd7 33. Bb4 Bd8 34. Bc5 a6 35. Qc4
Qb7 36. Qc3 Qd5 37. Qc4 Qb7 38. Kf2 {Avoiding the repetition.} Bc7 39. Bd6 Bb6
40. Bc5 Bc7 41. h4 Bd8 42. h5 a5 43. f5 Qc8 44. fxe6 fxe6 45. Ne2 Kg8 46. Nc3
1/2-1/2

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Preotu, Razvan"]
[Black "Rios, Cristian Camilo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B43"]
[WhiteElo "2513"]
[BlackElo "2465"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "schev"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]

{Razvan gets a promising attacking position on the White side of a Sicilian,
finds a combo to unbalance material and expose his opponent's K, and Black
immediately cracks under the pressure.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4
a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Bd3 Nc6 (6... Bc5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Qg4 g6 9. Qe2 d6 10. O-O Nd7
11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. Bh6 $14 {0-1 (43) Fressinet,L (2687)-Caruana,F (2804) Paris
2016}) 7. Nxc6 dxc6 (7... bxc6 {is also playable,} 8. O-O Nf6 9. Qe2 d5 $14 {
when White usually continues with Bg5 or b3.}) 8. O-O e5 9. f4 Nf6 10. Qf3 (10.
Kh1 Bd6 11. f5 Bc5 12. a4 a5 13. Qf3 $14 b6 (13... O-O $2 14. g4 $16) 14. Qg3
$1 Rg8 (14... Nh5 15. Qh4 $16) 15. Bg5 Qe7 16. Rad1 h6 17. Be3 Bxe3 18. Qxe3
Qc5 19. Qxc5 bxc5 20. Nb1 $1 $16 {1-0 (50) Guseinov,G (2621)-Korneev,O (2618)
Nakhchivan 2014}) 10... Bd6 (10... b5 11. a4 b4 12. Nd1 Bg4 13. Qg3 Bxd1 14.
Rxd1 Nh5 15. Qg4 Nxf4 16. Bc4 Bc5+ 17. Kh1 O-O 18. Rd7 Qc8 $4 (18... h5 $1 19.
Qxg7+ Kxg7 20. Rxc7 a5 $14) 19. Bxf4 {Only move.} $18 exf4 {and e5-e6 will make White's
Q R and B the winners.} 20. Rad1 (20. e5 {unclear.} $18) 20... Qe8 21. Qg5 Bb6 22. e5
Bd8 23. Qf5 g6 24. Qxf4 Be7 25. Qe4 $18 {Vallejo Pons,F (2722)-Nyzhnyk,I (2583)
Bahia Feliz 2011 1-0 (42)}) 11. Qg3 Nh5 ({Other ways to defend g7 leave White
with an initiative and clear play; e.g.} 11... Kf8 12. f5) (11... O-O 12. f5)
12. Qg5 g6 13. f5 {Black's kingside is getting tenderized.} b5 14. Be3 Bb7 15.
Rad1 Nf4 {[#]} 16. Bxb5 $5 {Clearing the d-file for the R.} (16. Bxf4 $5 exf4
17. e5 Bxe5 18. Rfe1 O-O 19. fxg6 $16) 16... cxb5 $1 (16... Be7 17. f6 $16) 17.
Qf6 Bc5 {Only move.} 18. Qxh8+ Ke7 19. Qxh7 Bxe3+ 20. Kh1 {White has RPP for the B pair,
and an exposed black K to attack. Black has to defend precisely, but cracks
immediately...} Rf8 $4 (20... gxf5 {Only move.} 21. Qxf5 Rf8 {Only move.} $16 {with a big
initiative.} (21... b4 $2 22. Nd5+ $18)) 21. Rf3 $1 $18 (21. fxg6 $2 Nxg6 22.
Rf3 Bd4 $14 (22... Bg5 $14)) (21. Rxf4 $1 Bxf4 22. fxg6 $18) 21... Bb6 (21...
Bc5 22. Rxf4 $1 exf4 23. fxg6 Qc8 (23... Qe5 24. g7 $18) 24. Qh4+ f6 25. Nd5+
Bxd5 26. Rxd5 $18) 22. fxg6 (22. Rxf4 $2 exf4 23. fxg6 b4 {Only move.} 24. g7 bxc3 {Only move.} $11
{and White will have to force a perpetual.}) 22... Nxg6 23. Rdf1 $1 Qc4 (23...
Nf4 24. g3 b4 (24... Qc4 25. gxf4 $18) 25. Nd5+ Nxd5 26. Rxf7+ $18) 24. Qg7 Bd4
(24... Kd8 25. b3 Qb4 $18) 25. b3 {Only move.} $18 Qe6 (25... Qxf1+ 26. Rxf1 Bxc3 27.
Qf6+ Kd7 28. Qb6 $18 {and one of the loose pieces will drop off.}) 26. Rf6 $1
Bxc3 27. Rxe6+ Kxe6 28. Rf6+ Ke7 29. Rxg6 1-0

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Sanchez, Sebastian Felipe"]
[Black "Noritsyn, Nikolay"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "2424"]
[BlackElo "2482"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "schev"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]

{How'd That Happen? A Philidor Defence leaves White with more space and easier
development, until it turns into six major piece ending where Black has all
the trumps, wins by pushing his kingside passers. Nikolay's third win in a row,
all with Black.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 {Philidor's Defence. Black gives up
central space, but it requires some skill for White to turn that into anything
approaching a win.} 3. d4 exd4 ({Not Morphy's Opera Box game :)} 3... Bg4 $2)
4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Be2 O-O 7. Bf4 Nc6 {[#] With extra space come extra
choices, and White can castle either side.} 8. Qd2 (8. O-O {is also common.}
Bd7 9. Re1 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Bc6 11. Bb5 Bxb5 12. Nxb5 Nd7 13. Rad1 a6 14. Nc3 Bf6
15. Qd2 Be5 16. Bxe5 Nxe5 {White has more space, better developed Rs which he
can bring into the game faster.} 17. Nd5 Re8 18. Qc3 c6 19. Ne3 Qf6 20. Nf5 d5
21. f4 Nd7 22. Qxf6 Nxf6 23. e5 Nd7 24. Nd6 $16 Reb8 25. c4 Nb6 26. b3 dxc4 27.
bxc4 Na4 28. f5 Kf8 29. Rd3 Nc5 30. Rh3 h6 31. f6 $18 Nd7 32. Nf5 gxf6 33. Rxh6
Ke8 34. Rh8+ Nf8 35. exf6+ {1-0 (35) Fercec,N (2460)-Loncar,R (2368) Pula 2017}
) 8... Nxd4 (8... a5 9. O-O-O Nxd4 10. Qxd4 a4 11. a3 Be6 12. e5 dxe5 13. Qxe5
Bd6 14. Qd4 Bxf4+ 15. Qxf4 Qe7 16. Bf3 c6 17. Rd4 $1 Nd7 18. Rhd1 Nc5 19. h4 h6
20. Nxa4 $16 g5 $2 {Black overloads the Q and wins the Na4, but...} 21. hxg5
hxg5 22. Qh2 {Only move.} $18 {...White has a win on the opposite edge.} Rxa4 23. Rh1
Nb3+ (23... f5 24. Qh8+ Kf7 25. Bh5# {show why White can give up the piece on
a4.}) 24. cxb3 Qc5+ 25. Kb1 {Only move.} Bf5+ 26. Be4 Qxd4 27. Bxf5 {1-0 (27) Perunovic,
M (2565)-Bogosavljevic,B (2561) Kragujevac 2011} (27. Bxf5 Qg7 {stops the mate,
but loses the Ra4 to go a full piece down.})) 9. Qxd4 Be6 10. O-O-O Re8 11. f3
Nd7 (11... a6 12. Kb1 c5 $5 13. Qd2 b5 14. g4 b4 15. Na4 Bd7 16. b3 Bxa4 17.
bxa4 Nd7 (17... Qa5 $2 18. Bxd6 Rad8 (18... Red8 19. Qf4 $1 $16) 19. Qf4 Bxd6
20. Rxd6 Qc7 21. Rxf6 $1 $18) 18. Bxd6 Nb6 19. Qf4 Bg5 20. Bxc5 Bxf4 21. Rxd8
Rexd8 22. Bxb6 Rd2 23. Bd3 Rxh2 24. Rxh2 Bxh2 25. a5 Be5 26. a3 {Fier,A (2624)
-Gelashvili,T (2570) Ureki 2015 0-1 (50)}) (11... a6 12. Bc4 $14) 12. g4 ({Both
} 12. Qd2 {and}) (12. Kb1 {avoid White's next.}) 12... Bg5 {Simple chess:
White has more space, so Black trades his worst minor.} 13. Qd2 Bxf4 14. Qxf4
a6 15. h4 b5 16. g5 Nb6 17. a3 Qe7 {[#]} 18. Rd4 $6 {Is White switching
directions, or just playing some prophylactic moves before going back to the
kingside?} (18. h5 $5 {and computers rate it as clearly better for White, but
Black's flat kingside pawns don't offer any hooks, and the typical g5-g6 then
h5-h6 pawn sac doesn't look like it works either.}) 18... Rf8 $1 {Black spots
a hook to activate his Rs.} 19. Rhd1 (19. Rdd1 f6 $5 (19... f5)) 19... Rae8 20.
Qg3 f5 21. Kb1 fxe4 22. fxe4 Bf7 23. h5 Qe5 24. Qg1 Be6 (24... Bc4 25. Bxc4+
Nxc4 26. h6 $11) 25. Bg4 $2 (25. h6 g6 26. Rxd6 $5 cxd6 27. Qxb6 $13) 25...
Bxg4 $15 26. Qxg4 Qf4 27. Qg1 Re5 28. Nd5 Nxd5 29. exd5 $6 {Fixes the
Iso, but Black's majors control the open files and White's advanced kingside
pawns are dropping.} (29. Rxd5 {unclear.} Rxe4 30. Qa7 Rc4 $13) 29... Qxg5 30. Rg4
Qh6 $1 $17 31. Qa7 Qxh5 32. Rgd4 (32. Rdg1 Re7 $19) 32... Qf7 33. Qxa6 Qd7 34.
Rb4 (34. Qb7 $17) 34... h5 $19 35. Rxb5 Qg4 $1 36. Rc1 h4 (36... Qc4 $1 {
ties White up.}) 37. Rb4 (37. Rb7 h3 38. Rxc7 h2 39. Qxd6 Rh5 $19) 37... Re4
38. Rb3 h3 39. Qd3 (39. Rd3 Qe2 40. Qb7 h2 $19) 39... h2 40. Qg3 Qxg3 41. Rxg3
Rf2 42. b3 Ree2 43. Rh3 g5 44. a4 g4 45. Rh4 Rg2 46. a5 g3 47. a6 Rg1 48. a7
Re8 49. Kb2 Rxc1 50. Kxc1 g2 0-1

[Event "Olympiad"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Bareev, Evgeny"]
[Black "Martinez Romero, Martin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D03"]
[WhiteElo "2666"]
[BlackElo "2438"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "schev"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]

{A Torre-London System leads to a complicated and unbalanced middlegame where
Black's attempts to stir up piece play leave his position with holes which
White exploits masterfully and eventually creates a zugzwang. See esp. 15.Rae1
and 23.f4!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bg5 Bg7 4. Nbd2 O-O 5. c3 d5 6. e3 Nbd7 7.
Be2 Re8 8. O-O e5 9. Bh4 c5 $5 (9... c6 {is much more common} 10. Bg3 (
10. c4 exd4 11. Nxd4 dxc4 12. Nxc4 Nc5 13. Qc2 Qe7 $14 {1-0 (44) Ye,R (2500)
-Chiburdanidze,M (2520) Kuala Lumpur 1994}) 10... e4 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. Bxe5 Bf8
13. Bg3 Bd6 14. Bh4 h6 $11 {½-½ (73) Kramnik,V (2811)-Radjabov,T (2710)
Shamkir 2017}) 10. dxc5 $14 Nxc5 11. b4 Ncd7 12. c4 h6 13. Qb3 (13. Rc1 a5 14.
b5 d4 15. exd4 exd4 16. Nxd4 Nc5 $14) 13... d4 $6 {Black plays for activity,
but the Iso will be a problem.} (13... dxc4 14. Nxc4 (14. Qxc4 Nb6 15. Qc2
g5 $15) 14... Nb6 15. Rad1 $11 (15. Nfxe5 $6 Nxc4 16. Nxc4 Be6 $13) (15. Rfd1
Qe7 16. Ncxe5 $4 g5 17. Bg3 Ne4 $19) 15... Qc7 $14) 14. exd4 (14. c5 $1 g5 15.
Bxg5 $1 hxg5 16. Nxg5 Re7 17. Bc4 Qf8 18. exd4 {White has more than enough,
since} exd4 $2 19. Rae1 {is close to winning.}) 14... exd4 $14 {White has
a mobile queenside majority and Black's passed d-pawn shouldn't get far.} 15.
Rae1 $1 {This gets the Ra1 off the long diagonal, but don't both c1 and d1
look like they would both leave the Rf1 more active? But White sees that with
Black's Ra8 shut out by the Bc8 that the upcoming R exchange on the e-file
will leave him in charge of the e-file -- currently the only open file on the
board, and the one both sides want to use for their minors.} (15. Nxd4 $2 g5
16. Bg3 Ne4 17. Nxe4 Rxe4 $17) (15. Bd3 $5 g5 16. Bg3 g4 17. Nh4 a5 $5 (17...
Ne5)) 15... a5 {activating the Ra8} 16. a3 (16. Nxd4 Nf8 17. Qd3 axb4 $17)
16... axb4 17. axb4 g5 18. Bg3 b6 $2 (18... g4 {unclear.} $5 19. Nh4 Ne5 $11) 19. Bd3
$1 $16 (19. Nxd4 $2 Nc5 $1 20. bxc5 Qxd4 $13 21. Bf3 Rxe1 22. Rxe1 Qxd2 23. Rd1
Qa2 {Only move.} $14) 19... Bb7 (19... Rxe1 20. Rxe1 Nh5 21. c5 $5 (21. Bd6 $14) 21...
bxc5 $2 22. Bg6 $18) 20. Rxe8+ Nxe8 21. Re1 {White might consider Bc2, Qd3
with pressure on the kingside and on d4.} g4 $2 22. Nh4 {The f5 square is too
big a hole.} Qg5 23. f4 $1 Qd8 (23... gxf3 24. Ndxf3 Bxf3 25. Nxf3 $18 {
White has the B pair, and four isolated pawns to target.}) 24. Nf5 Bf8 25. Ne4
Ndf6 (25... Qc7 26. Qb2 Bxe4 27. Rxe4 $16) 26. Nxf6+ (26. Bh4 $1 $18) 26...
Qxf6 (26... Nxf6 {unclear.} 27. Bf2 Bc8 28. Nxd4 Qd6 $16) 27. Qb2 $18 {There's
no way to defend d4.} Qc6 (27... Rd8 $2 28. Bh4 $18) (27... Bg7 $4 28. Bh4 {
leaves the Q with no safe squares} Qc6 29. Ne7+) 28. b5 Qd7
29. Bf2 Ra3 $2 30. Nxh6+ $1 {Overloading the B.} Kg7 (30... Kh8 31. Bf5 $18)
31. Nf5+ Kg8 32. Nh6+ $1 Kg7 33. Nf5+ Kg8 34. Qe2 Nf6 35. Bh4 ({or} 35. Qe5 $18
) 35... Rxd3 36. Qxd3 Be4 37. Rxe4 (37. Qg3 {unclear.} Qxf5 38. Bxf6 d3 $18) 37...
Nxe4 38. Qxe4 d3 39. Qd5 {Wins, but white had to see the following
series of only moves...} (39. Ne3 Bc5 40. Bf2 (40. Kf2 Bxe3+ 41. Kxe3 d2 42.
Bf6 $18) 40... Bxe3 41. Bxe3 (41. Qxe3 $4 d2 $19) 41... d2 42. Bxd2 Qxd2 43. f5
$18) 39... Qxd5 40. cxd5 d2 41. Ne3 {Only move.} Bc5 42. Kf1 {Only move.} Bxe3 43. Ke2 {Only move.} $19 Kf8
44. f5 Ke8 45. Bg3 Kd7 46. h3 gxh3 47. gxh3 Bh6 48. h4 Be3 49. Be5 Bh6 50. h5
Ke7 51. Kd1 Kd7 52. Kc2 Ke7 53. Kd1 Kd7 54. Bc3 Kd6 55. Bxd2 Bg7 56. h6 Bh8 57.
Bb4+ Kxd5 58. Bf8 Bf6 59. Bg7 Ke5 60. Bxf6+ Kxf6 61. Ke2 {Zugzwang - the K has
to move out of the square, allowing promotion.} 1-0

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Zhou, Qiyu"]
[Black "Murad, Fatema"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C16"]
[WhiteElo "2207"]
[BlackElo "1649"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "schev"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]

{Canada scores 4-0 in a mismatch where they outrated their opponents by 300+ points on each board, and more on their board 1, who was lower-rated than her teammates. But the result could have been very different as Canada was losing on board 2 and down a pawn for nothing on board 4.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 b6 5. a3 (5. Qg4 $5) 5... Bf8 $5 {Played more often than you might think, mostly by
theory-avoiders like Yusupov and Vaganian.} 6. Be3 {White wants to avoid
losing tempi with Bf1 moves then ...Ba6, but this is probably not the most
useful other move to make.} (6. b4 $5 c5 7. bxc5 bxc5 8. dxc5 Qc7 $2 9. Nb5 $1
$18 Qc6 (9... Qxe5+ $2 10. Be3 Bxc5 11. Nf3 $18) 10. Be3 (10. Qg4 {unclear.}) 10...
a6 11. Nd4 $2 (11. Nd6+ $1 Bxd6 12. exd6 Nd7 13. Nf3 Nxc5 $2 14. Qd4 $18 {
Forking c5 and g7}) 11... Qc7 12. f4 Bxc5 $14 {½-½ (34) Velimirovic,D (2570)
-Portisch,L (2605) Reggio Emilia 1986}) (6. Nf3 Ne7 7. Bb5+ c6 8. Ba4 a5 9. Ne2
Ba6 10. c3 h6 11. O-O Nd7 12. Re1 g6 13. h4 Rc8 14. h5 $16 {1-0 (67) Benjamin,
J (2544)-Jussupow,A (2580) Dresden 2018}) (6. Bb5+ c6 (6... Bd7 7. Bd3 $14 (7.
Nf3 $14)) 7. Ba4 a5 (7... Bd7 {unclear. Marin}) 8. Nce2 Ba6 9. c3 $14 {1-0 (43)
Morozevich,A (2675)-Vaganian,R (2562) Biel 2017}) (6. f4 Ba6 7. Bxa6 Nxa6 8.
Qd3 Nb8 9. f5 Qh4+ 10. g3 Qg4 11. h3 $5 (11. fxe6 $1 fxe6 12. Nge2 $16 {
White will get the f-file and where is Black's K going?}) 11... Qxf5 12. Qxf5
exf5 13. Nxd5 Kd7 14. Nf3 $16 {1/2-1/2 (74) Samsonkin,A (2594)-Sambuev,B (2632)
Ottawa 2009}) 6... Ba6 7. Nge2 $6 (7. Bxa6 $1 {simplifies and trades the good
B, but also drags the N offside and increases White's lead in development.})
7... Ne7 (7... c5 $14) 8. Ng3 $14 h6 (8... Bxf1 9. Rxf1 (9. Kxf1 {unclear.} c5 $15) (
9. Nxf1 $6 c5 $11) 9... Nd7 10. Qg4 $14) 9. h4 (9. Bxa6 Nxa6 10. Qg4 c5 $16)
9... Bxf1 $14 10. Rxf1 c6 $2 {How will Black get any play without ...c5?} 11.
Qd3 Ng6 $6 (11... c5 $5 12. O-O-O Nec6 $16) 12. h5 $16 Nh4 13. Rg1 (13. O-O-O
$1 Nxg2 14. Bd2 {and White gains more time off the offside Ng2.}) 13... Nd7 14.
O-O-O Qc7 $2 (14... b5 {unclear.} 15. f4 b4 16. axb4 Bxb4 $16 (16... a5 $6 {but
could make it a fight.} 17. b5 $1) (16... Rb8)) 15. f4 $1 $18 c5 16. dxc5
$2 {This capture opens the center and could spark tactics with Nxd5 or f5, but
it gives up most of White's advantage, which is mainly based on Black's minors
having no good squares.} (16. Qe2 $1 {unclear.}  cxd4 (16... Be7 17. Qg4 O-O $18) (
16... Rc8 17. Qg4 $18) 17. Nb5 $1 $18) 16... Nxc5 $4 (16... bxc5 {Only move.} {and White
is still better, but Black can get more play on the b-file this way than she
can on the c-file in the game, unless White tries to blow things up
immediately...} 17. Nxd5 $6 {looks tempting, but Black is OK} (17. Bf2 $14) (
17. f5 $5 Qxe5 $6 (17... Be7 $13) 18. Rge1 Qxg3 19. Nxd5 $1 $18) 17... exd5 18.
Qxd5 Nb6 19. Qe4 Be7 {Only move.} 20. f5 (20. Ne2 {threatening g3} Qc8 $13) 20... O-O 21.
Rh1 (21. f6 $2 Bxf6 $19) 21... Rfe8 $1 $15) 17. Qe2 Be7 18. Qg4 $16 Rg8 (18...
O-O 19. Rh1 Nxg2 20. Bxc5 Bxc5 21. Nxd5 $1 (21. Nf5 $16) 21... exd5 22. Nf5 $18
) 19. f5 Qxe5 {Might as well} (19... O-O-O 20. fxe6 fxe6 21. Nxd5 $18) 20. Bd4
$1 (20. Bxc5 $1 Bxc5 21. fxe6 (21. Rge1 $18) 21... Qg5+ 22. Qxg5 hxg5 23. exf7+
Kxf7 24. Rgf1+ Ke6 25. Rde1+ Kd6 $18) 20... Qd6 21. f6 $1 Nf5 22. Nxf5 exf5 23.
Qxf5 gxf6 24. Bxc5 Qxc5 25. Nxd5 Rg5 26. Qe4 Re5 27. Nxf6+ $1 Bxf6 28. Qxa8+
Ke7 29. Qd8+ Ke6 30. Qd7# 1-0

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "El Yazji, Mada"]
[Black "Ouellet, Maili-Jade"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B84"]
[WhiteElo "1726"]
[BlackElo "2144"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "schev"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]

{A close call for Canada. White gets a winning attack in a Schevenningen, and
plays most of it very accurately, but one bad move and Black is equal, and MJ
plays the rest very well to win.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5.
Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 Nf6 7. O-O d6 8. Be3 Be7 {The game has turned into a
Schevenningen where White is using one of the classical (in both senses)
approaches rather than the very familiar English Attack.} 9. Kh1 (9. a4) (9. f4
{are both more common, though Black is OK on both.}) 9... b5 10. a3 Bb7 11. Bd3
Nbd7 12. f4 O-O 13. Qe2 (13. Qf3 Nc5 14. Bd2 $6 Qb6 15. Qe3 Rfe8 16. b4 Nxd3
17. cxd3 Rac8 18. Rac1 Ng4 19. Qg1 Bh4 $1 20. g3 Bf6 $15 {1-0 (83) Atabayev,M 
(2460)-Sjugirov,S (2647) Kazan 2013}) (13. Qe1) 13... Rac8 14. Rae1 Rfe8 (14...
Qb8 15. Bd2 Qa8 16. Nf3 Nc5 17. b4 Nxd3 18. cxd3 Rc7 19. Rc1 Rfc8 $13 {0-1 (50)
Karthikeyan,M (2432)-Akopian,V (2704) Dubai 2013}) 15. Bd2 Nf8 $5 {Prepares to
retreat the Nf6 if e4-e5} (15... g6 $5) 16. f5 (16. e5 N6d7 $15) 16... Rcd8 $2
(16... e5 {unclear.} $1 $15 17. Nb3 N8d7 (17... d5 $11) 18. g4 $6 d5 $1 $17) 17. fxe6
$14 Nxe6 $2 {If this N was on e5 then Black would be equal, but here
she's lost after...} 18. Nxe6 $4 {Not this.} (18. Nf5 {unclear.} $1 {and White has
too many ways to bring pieces to attack Black's K.} Nc5 (18... Nf8 19. Bg5 $18)
19. Bg5 $1 $18 (19. Nxg7 {is way too hasty, but even this leaves White better!}
) (19. Qf2 $5)) 18... fxe6 $14 19. Qe3 Bc8 {White missed a huge chance with
Nf5, but now she plays really well and is soon winning again.} 20. e5 $1 (20.
Qh3 e5 21. Qh4 Rf8 $14) 20... dxe5 21. Qh3 $1 Rf8 $2 (21... g6 {unclear.} $14) 22.
Rxf6 $1 $18 Bxf6 (22... Rxf6 23. Qxh7+ Kf7 24. Ne4 {Only move.} $18) 23. Qxh7+ Kf7 24.
Qg6+ $6 (24. Rf1 {unclear.} $18) (24. Nxb5 {unclear.} $5 axb5 25. Qh5+ Ke7 26. Bb4+) (24.
Qh5+ {unclear.}) 24... Ke7 25. Ne4 $1 a5 (25... Rd4 26. Bb4+ Rxb4 27. axb4 Bb7 $18)
26. b4 $1 a4 27. Be3 (27. Bg5 $1 $18) 27... Rd4 (27... Rd5 28. Bg5 $1) 28. c3
$1 (28. Qh7 Rf7 29. Bxb5 Bb7 30. Bxd4 exd4 $18) 28... Rd5 (28... Rxd3 29. Bc5+
$18) 29. Bc5+ (29. Be2 Kd8 $18) 29... Rxc5 30. Nxc5 Bd7 {White has played
the past 10 moves much better than her rating, but one weak move gives away
her whole advantage.} 31. Nxd7 $4 (31. Be4 {unclear.} $18) (31. h3 {unclear.} e4 32. Qxe4
Bxc3 33. Nxe6 $18) (31. c4 {unclear.} $16) 31... Qxd7 {Only move.} $11 {Material is equal, and
although Black's pawn structure looks terrible, everything is defended and
White's c-pawn is weak.} 32. Qe4 (32. c4 Rd8 33. Bf1 Qd2 {and Black has
threats.}) 32... Rd8 33. Rd1 (33. Be2 $5 $11) 33... Qd5 $1 $15 34. Qxd5 (34.
Qe2 e4 35. Bc2 Qc4 (35... Qa2 36. Qxb5 $11) 36. Qxc4 Rxd1+ 37. Bxd1 bxc4 38.
Bxa4 $11) 34... Rxd5 35. Be2 e4 $1 36. Rc1 e3 37. Kg1 Kd6 38. Kf1 Be5 39. g3
Rd2 40. c4 $4 (40. Bxb5 {unclear.} $15 Rxh2) 40... Bb2 {Only move.} $19 41. Rd1 bxc4 42. Ke1 c3
0-1

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Demchenko, Svitlana"]
[Black "Al-Mahmoud, Rola"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B84"]
[WhiteElo "2134"]
[BlackElo "1795"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "schev"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]

{A second Schevenningen, and a second game where Black hands the f5 square to White. This time White plays Nf5 and Black is crushed.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 a6 7. a4 {Restricting
Black's queenside play (...b5), which was how Karpov played this. A much more
aggressive continuation involves f4 and Qe1-g3 or a pawn storm with g2-g4;
for example} (7. f4 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Be3 Qc7 10. g4 Re8 11. g5 Nfd7 12. Bd3
Nc6 13. Qh5 g6 14. Qh4 Bf8 15. Rf3 Bg7 16. Nde2 b5 17. Rh3 Nf8 18. f5 Ne5 19.
f6 $18 {1-0 (35) Kasparov,G (2775)-Anand,V (2725) Moscow 1996}) 7... Be7 8. O-O
O-O 9. Be3 Qc7 10. f4 Nbd7 (10... Nc6 {is more common. In part, it hits the
centre more directly, and it also leaves a retreat square for the Nf6 if White
hits it with a pawn via g2-g4-g5 or e4-e6.}) 11. Bf3 (11. a5 $6 b5 $1) (11. g4
$5 d5 (11... Nb6 $2 12. g5 Nfd7 13. a5 Nc4 14. Bxc4 Qxc4 15. f5 $16) 12. e5 $14
(12. exd5 $5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 {1/2-1/2 (53) Kovacevic,A (2575)-Ivanovic,B 
(2415) Cetinje 2009})) 11... Nb6 12. Kh1 Nc4 13. Bc1 Bd7 (13... e5 14. Nde2
exf4 15. Nxf4 Be6 16. b3 Ne5 17. Bb2 Rac8 18. Qe2 Rfe8 19. Rad1 Qc5 20. Rfe1
Bd8 21. Nd3 Nxd3 22. Rxd3 Nd7 23. e5 Nxe5 24. Ne4 Qb4 25. Bxe5 dxe5 26. Nd6
Rxc2 27. Qd1 Rf8 28. Nxb7 {Garcia,G (2400)-Ftacnik,L (2515) New York 1986 1/
2-1/2 (64)}) 14. Qe1 Rac8  (14... Qc5 15. Qf2 $11) 15. b3 {Now both sides miss some game winning/losing tactics.} Qc5 $4 (15... Na5 16. Bb2 $14) 16. Nce2 $4 (16. Nde2 $18 Nb6 (16... Ne3 17. b4 {Only move.} Qa7 (17... Qb6 18. a5 $18) 18. Qf2 {Only move.} $18 {pins and wins the N.}) 17. a5 Na8 18. e5 $1 (18. Ba3 Qc7 19. e5 $18) 18... dxe5
19. Ba3 {skewers the Be7.}) 16... e5 $16 17. bxc4 exd4 18. Bb2 Qxc4 19. Nxd4 Bxa4 $4 (19... Rfe8 {unclear.} $13) 20. Nf5 $18 {As in the MJO game, the f5 square is worth at least a pawn in the Scheveningen} Qe6 (20... Rfe8 21. Qg3
Bf8 (21... g6 22. Nxe7+ Rxe7 23. Bxf6 $18) 22. Bxf6 $18 (22. Nxg7 $18)) 21.
Rxa4 Rxc2 22. Bc3 Rc8 23. Nd4 Qd7 24. Ra3 d5 25. Nxc2 dxe4 26. Rb3 (26. Bxf6
{unclear.} $18) 26... exf3 27. Rxf3 Qd5 28. Rb1 Ne4 29. Ne3 Qc6 30. Bd4 b5 31. Nf5
Bf8 32. Re3 Nd6 33. Nxd6 Bxd6 34. Rc3 Qb7 35. Rxc8+ Qxc8 36. Rc1 Qa8 37. Qg3
Bf8 38. f5 Qe4 39. Bxg7 $1 Bxg7 40. Rc8+ 1-0

[Event "Olympiad w"]
[Site "Batumi GEO"]
[Date "2018.09.28"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Agbabishvili, Lali"]
[Black "Aborova, Sabrina"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2128"]
[BlackElo "1685"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "schev"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]

{A second close call for Canada. Lali gets a comfortable position, but
overextends her queenside and loses her d4-pawn for nothing. Luckily, Black
misses a back-rank mate tactic to blunder back a pawn (Bxd5), after which the
major piece ending is clearly in White's favour. Lali plays the rest
purposefully and wins.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 5. e3 O-O 6.
Be2 c5 7. O-O cxd4 (7... Nc6 8. d5 Na5 {is a more combative line for
Black, which also scores better than ...d5.} 9. a3 e6 10. Nd2 a6 11. b4 Nxc4
12. Nxc4 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 (13... Bxa1 $2 14. Ndb6 $18) 14. Nb2 Be6 15. Bf3 c4
16. Bxd5 c3 17. Ra2 {with an interesting mess in: Pantsulaia,L (2606)-Short,N 
(2674) Kolkata 2014 ½-½ (43)}) 8. exd4 d5 ({Here's a game which shows how
difficult it can be for Black to stir up play if White just plays super-solid:
} 8... Bg4 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Nc6 11. Be3 Nd7 12. Qd2 Rc8 13. Rad1 a6 14. Rfe1
Re8 15. Nd5 Nf6 16. Nb4 a5 17. Nc2 d5 18. b3 a4 19. Nb4 axb3 20. axb3 {1/2-1/2
(20) Dreev,A (2606)-Amonatov,F (2598) Krasnoyarsk 2007}) 9. b3 Nc6 10. Bb2 b6 (
10... Bg4 {looks OK.}) 11. Ne5 $14 Bb7 12. Bf3 e6 {[#]} 13. Nxc6 $6 {White
plays to activate her queenside majority, but this helps Black.} (13. Re1 $5) (
13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 exd5 {looks like the kind of advantage -- symmetrical,
one tempo up -- Ulf Andersen would win as White.}) 13... Bxc6 14. b4 $6 Rc8 $15
15. b5 (15. c5 {this wouldn't be bad if White's Bb2 was on g3, but on b2 it
makes it harder to support the queenside pawns.} bxc5 16. dxc5 (16. b5 $2 cxd4
$19) 16... Rb8 $17 (16... d4 $17)) 15... Ba8 16. Ba3 (16. cxd5 Nxd5 {is a good
IQP for Black.}) 16... Re8 17. c5 {Only move.} bxc5 18. Bxc5 Qa5 19. Qb3 Nd7 $1 $17 20.
Bb4 Qb6 21. Rad1 {[#]} Rc4 $1 $17 (21... Bxd4 $4 22. Na4 $16 {and Black has to
give the B for two pawns.}) 22. Be2 Rxd4 23. Na4 Qb8 24. Nc5 Nxc5 (24... Rxd1
$5 25. Rxd1 Nb6 26. Bf1 $19) 25. Bxc5 $17 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 Bf8 27. Bxf8 Rxf8 $17 {
Black is just up a pawn.} 28. Bf3 Rc8 29. h4 {The standard way to stir up
trouble... (esp. when nothing else will)} Qc7 30. h5 Qc4 31. Qb2 Qc3 32. Qe2 (
32. Qxc3 Rxc3 33. Rd4 Ra3 $17) 32... Rc4 (32... Bb7 33. g3 $17) 33. h6 {[#]}
Bb7 $2 (33... Kf8 {unclear.}) (33... Rc5 {unclear.}) 34. Bxd5 $1 $11 {Recovering the pawn
and forcing Black into a major piece ending.} Bxd5 35. Rxd5 Rc8 $6 (35... Kf8
$5 36. Rd7 (36. Rd8+ Ke7 37. Rh8 $2 Rh4 $1 $19) 36... Ke8 37. Rxa7 Rh4 $11) (
35... Qc1+ $2 {hangs the R} 36. Rd1 Qxh6 37. Qxc4) 36. Rd1 $16 e5 $6 {[#]This
gives Black one more loose bit to defend.} 37. a4 {White has more than one way
to win. Keeping the Qs on makes the h6-pawn a constant mating threat, but the
extra firepower on the board also increases the chance of a tactial oversight
by White.} (37. Qd2 $1 {exchanging Qs would allow Rd7 and White's queenside
pawns march in, so} Qc7 38. Qd6 $18) 37... Re8 38. Qe4 Qc5 39. Qh4 Qb6 40. Rd7
e4 41. Re7 Rc8 42. Qxe4 ({or} 42. Qf4 $1) 42... Rc1+ 43. Kh2 Qb8+ 44. g3 Rc8
45. Qd4 1-0