GOTW2: 2017 World Cup - Rd1.2

[Event "2017 World Cup"]
[Site "Tibilisi"]
[Date "2017.09.04"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Wei, Yi"]
[Black "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C19"]
[WhiteElo "2748"]
[BlackElo "2529"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "91"]

1. e4 e6 {I had expected this or the Philidor, though Bator has had
some very sketchy positions in it.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 ({The only other
Wei Yi game from this Winawer position in the database continued:} 4. a3 Bxc3+
5. bxc3 dxe4 6. Qg4 Nf6 7. Qxg7 Rg8 8. Qh6 {(2331)-Ismagambetov,A (2476)
Moscow 2012 ½-½ (57) Wei,Y.}) 4... c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ ({Bator has played the
Armenian variation with} 5... Ba5 {a lot, and must have expected White to have
been well-prepared for it.}) 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 {Frees a3 for the DSB.} ({
The main line starts} 7. Qg4 {with loads of theory after every one of Black's
responses:} Qc7 (7... O-O) (7... cxd4) (7... Kf8)) 7... Qc7 8. Nf3 b6 {Black
hopes for ...Ba6, trading the bad LSB for White's good one.} 9. Bb5+ {Cuts
across Black's plan, since blocking with a queenside minor will prevent ....
Ba6, while ...Nec6 will leave the kingside short of defenders if White can get
in Ng5 and Qg4, or if he plays like Khalifman in the next note.} Bd7 (9... Nec6
$6 {lets Black play ...Ba6, but the following game is a tremendous example of
how to exploit the tempi and kingside weaknesses.} 10. O-O Ba6 11. c4 $1 dxc4
12. d5 $1 exd5 13. Qxd5 O-O 14. Qe4 h6 15. Ra3 Qd7 $2 (15... Bb7 16. Bxh6 $3
$18 gxh6 17. Qg4+ Kh7 18. Ng5+ $1 {#7}) 16. Ng5 $3 hxg5 17. Rh3 f5 18. Qxc4+
Qf7 19. e6 Qe8 (19... Qe7 20. Bxg5 $18) 20. e7+ Rf7 21. Bxg5 Nd4 22. Qxd4 $1
cxd4 23. Bxe8 Bxf1 24. Bxf7+ Kxf7 25. Rh8 $1 {1-0 Khalifman,A (2640)-Vysochin,
S (2480) St Petersburg, 1996.}) 10. Bd3 Nbc6 11. O-O {[#] White had played
very quickly up to here, but now spent 9 and 11+ minutes on his next two moves.
} h6 (11... O-O $4 12. Bxh7+ $18) (11... c4 12. Be2 f6 {White has scored well
here by giving the e-pawn for development and open lines:} 13. Re1 {indirectly
defends e5 because Bh5+ would win the Q for a piece.} (13. Ba3 fxe5 14. dxe5
Nxe5 15. Re1 N7c6 (15... N5c6 16. Ng5 $14) 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. f4 Nc6 18. Bg4
O-O-O 19. Bxe6 $14 {1-0 (30) Fischer,R-Darga,K Berlin West 1960; see also
Fischer - Larsen Candidates match g1, 1971.}) 13... O-O-O (13... fxe5 14. dxe5
Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 16. Bh5+) 14. Ba3 Be8 15. Bf1 Qd7 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Qe2 Bf7
18. g3 Nf5 19. Bh3 Rde8 20. Qd2 Bg6 21. Qf4 Qc7 22. Qxc7+ Kxc7 $15 {and
White's DSB spent the rest of the game staring into empty space from a3...
until it was driven in desperation back to a1 in Van der Vorm,T (2405)
-Korchnoi,V (2635) Antwerp 1995 (0-1, 67).}) 12. Re1 O-O {Despite the French
pawn center (d4/e5 vs d5/e6) there are several ways the overall pawn structure
can change: in the game we see ..f6xe5, in the notes we see dxc5 and ...f5.}
13. h4 {A strange-looking move if you've never seen these middlegames. White
is going to try to apply piece pressure to Black's kingside, and his h5-pawn
will give him more options against any pawn push Black tries there; e.g. if
Black moves his f-pawn then g6 will be very weak.} (13. Ba3 Na5 14. dxc5 bxc5
15. Qd2 Rab8 16. Qe3 Rfc8 17. Bc1 Nc4 $2 (17... Qd8 $5 {heading to e8.}) 18.
Bxc4 dxc4 19. Nd2 Bc6 20. Nxc4 $14 {1/2-1/2 (29) Acs,P (2599)-Szabo,G (2562)
Hungary 2016}) 13... c4 (13... f5 14. Ba3 Na5 15. h5 Rf7 16. Nh4 Bxa4 17. g4 $1
Raf8 18. Bc1 Be8 19. g5 {with an attack in: Van den Berg,A (2200)-Keene,R 
(2445) Amsterdam, 1973.}) 14. Bf1 f6 {Black has to play this or he will get
squashed on the Kingside.} 15. h5 (15. g3 $5 Be8 16. Bh3 f5 17. Nh2 {also
looks promising for White.}) 15... fxe5 16. dxe5 {13min on this move. FWIW,
the computer rates the position as equal.} Rf7 (16... Rxf3 $2 17. Qxf3 Nxe5 18.
Qg3 $18 {and White threatens both Bxh6 and Bf4.}) (16... Rf5 $5 17. g4 Rf7) 17.
Ba3 Raf8 {Threatening ...Rxf3.} 18. Bd6 Qd8 19. Be2 Rf5 20. Nh4 Rf4 21. Bg4
R8f7 (21... Rxf2 $5 {is an exchange sac for a pawn:} 22. Bf3 (22. Nf3 Rf4 $44)
22... R2xf3 23. Nxf3 Be8 24. Nh4 Nf5 $1 $15 {this second exchange sac is
crushing if White accepts:} 25. Bxf8 $2 Qxh4 26. Bd6 Bxh5 $19 {Black is down
two exchanges for two pawns, but has a winning attack; for example:} 27. Qd2
Ng3 28. Rad1 Qh1+ 29. Kf2 Qh4 30. Kg1 Bf3 $3 {clears the second rank so the K
has nowhere to hide} 31. gxf3 Qh1+ 32. Kf2 Qh2+ 33. Ke3 Nf5#) 22. f3 d4 23. Ng6
Nd5 24. Nxf4 Rxf4 25. cxd4 Rxd4 (25... Nxd4 26. c3 (26. g3 $2 Nc3 {Only move.} 27. Qd2
Nxf3+ $19) 26... Nb3 $13 {attacking a1 and threatening ...Nxc3.}) 26. Qe2 Qg5
27. Qf2 Rd2 {[#] Times: WY: 4:26 BS:23:35 "Wei Yi is in very serious trouble
and might not live to see another round" - GM Ivan Sokolov in live commentary.}
28. Re2 Rd4 29. Ree1 (29. a5 $1 {a really hard move for a human to spot when
the play has all been focused on the kingside and the center. The point is
either to open the a-file for the Ra1 (which Black does not want) or wreck
Black's queenside pawns while regrouping the Bd6. Here's a (bad) example of
what happens if Black tries to hold his queenside pawns:} bxa5 (29... Nc3) 30.
Bc5 Rf4 31. Rae1 a6 32. g3 Rf7 33. Re4 c3 34. Qe2 Ncb4 35. f4 Qd8 36. Bxb4 Nxb4
(36... Bb5 37. Qf2 {blocking the check from b6 leaves e6 hanging.}) 37. Rd1 {
and White's R's will crash through.}) 29... Rd2 30. Re2 Rd4 {With a draw Black
would advance to the next round, so White cannot allow a repetition. But Wei
Yi was in serious time trouble (again) so the repetition helped him reach the
time control.} (30... c3 $2 31. Rxd2 cxd2 32. Rd1 Nxe5 33. Bxe5 Qxe5 34. Qxd2
$18 {leaves White up an exchange and Black without any counterplay.} Bxa4 $2
35. Re1 {Xe6}) 31. Qe1 g6 $5 {Opening the g-file.} 32. Re4 (32. hxg6 h5 33. Bh3
Nf4 {and Black gets back the exchange.}) ({The computer suggests} 32. Ba3 gxh5
33. Bc1 Qg6 34. Bh3 {and rates White as better, possibly because the Bd6 is
now covering some of the kingside dark squares..}) 32... gxh5 33. Bh3 (33. Rxd4
Nxd4 34. Qe4 (34. Bh3 $4 Nxf3+ $19) 34... hxg4 35. Qxd4 gxf3 36. Qf2 $11 {
Black has enough pawns for the exchange.}) 33... Rd2 {Threatening ...Nf4 when
Qxd2 loses to ...Nxh3+.} 34. Kh1 Rxc2 35. f4 {[#]} Qg6 $2 {Bator spent less
than 4 minutes on this move.} (35... Nxf4 $1 {that's the square the N has been
aiming at for so long, so it is hard to imagine why Black didn't take it.
Maybe a tactical hallucination?} 36. Qe3 (36. Qd1 $6 Rf2 37. Bc5 $2 {was one
of Sokolov's guesses, but it loses to} (37. Qg1 Nxh3 $11) 37... Nxh3 $19) (36.
Rxf4 Qxf4 37. Qd1 {was another of Sokolov's guesses, but Black has an obvious draw in hand (and is actually winning) after either ...Nd4 or ...Rf2.}) 36... Nxh3 37. Qxh3 $11) 36. f5 $1 exf5 {Only move.} 37.
Qd1 $1 {Now this bishop [on h3] makes sense and I think Wei Yi is going to
live to see the tiebreaks - Sokolov} fxe4 $2 (37... Nc3 {Only move.} 38. Qxc2 Nxe4 39.
Qxc4+ {is better for White, but Black still has chances.}) 38. Qxd5+ (38. Qxc2
$2 Bxh3 $11) 38... Kg7 (38... Kh7 39. Rg1 $1 $18) 39. Rg1 $1 {defending g2 to
threaten Bxd7 and the g-file skewer prevents ...Bxh3, a good move in time
trouble, but White had better:} (39. Bf8+ $3 Kxf8 (39... Kh8 40. Qxd7 $18) 40.
Rf1+ {wins, with quick mates in most lines:} Kg7 41. Qxd7+ Kg8 42. Be6+) 39...
Be8 40. Rf1 h4 {Played quickly. Black stops Rf8 (which now gets mated), but
White finds a very nice regrouping:} 41. Bf8+ {Only move.} Kh8 42. Ba3 $1 $18 {
Threatening Rf8 with check and also defending c1.} Kg7 43. Rf6 e3 44. Rxg6+
Bxg6 45. Qd7+ Kh8 46. Bf8 {Match tied after 2 games, players go to rapid
tie-breaks tomorrow.} 1-0

[Event "World Cup 2017"]
[Site "Tbilisi"]
[Date "2017.09.04"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Kovalyov, Anton"]
[Black "Akobian, Varuzhan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A25"]
[WhiteElo "2641"]
[BlackElo "2662"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:47:38"]
[BlackClock "0:12:04"]

1. c4 {Anton has a well worked out repertoire and is a very tough player to
beat with either colour; but here he is White and needs only a draw to advance
to the next round. I doubt Var spent a sleepless night looking for some way to
break 1.c4 2.g3.} e5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 f5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. e3 g6 6. d3 Bg7 7. Nge2
d6 8. O-O O-O 9. b3 {[#]} g5 (9... e4 10. Bb2 {and eventually Black will have
to take on e3, with no hope for activity, let alone an advantage.}) (9... f4 $2
{is obviously what Black wants, and just as obviously doesn't work yet:} 10.
exf4 exf4 11. Bxf4 $18 {with a free extra pawn and lead in development.}) (9...
Ne7 10. Ba3 Rb8 11. Qd2 a6 12. Rac1 b5 13. Nd5 Bb7 14. Nxf6+ Rxf6 15. Bxb7 Rxb7
16. d4 $14 {1/2-1/2 (40) Kovalyov,A (2593)-Alekseenko,K (2434) St Petersburg
2012}) (9... Be6 10. Nd5 Qd7 11. Bb2 Rae8 12. Qd2 Nd8 {1-0 (28) Leko,P (2732)
-Ding,L (2702) Beijing 2012}) 10. f4 {stopping Black's best try for activity,
and blunting the Bc8 too.} h6 11. Qd2 a5 12. Bb2 Be6 13. Nd5 Qd7 14. Rae1 Rae8
(14... Bxd5 $2 15. cxd5 Nb4 16. fxe5 $1 dxe5 17. e4 $1 $16 (17. Bxe5 $14) 17...
f4 $2 18. d4 $18 {White's center wins.}) 15. Bc3 Bxd5 16. cxd5 Nb4 {[#]} 17.
fxg5 (17. e4 $5 {is good, but too double-edged for a game where a draw is good
enough.}) 17... hxg5 18. e4 f4 19. gxf4 gxf4 {[#] and suddenly the positon
resembles a KID. Black would have good chances if only his Nb4 was somewhere
on the kingside.} 20. Kh1 $1 Ng4 21. Bh3 {trading the bad B for a potentially
very good N.} Nf2+ 22. Rxf2 Qxh3 23. Bxb4 {saves d3 and turns the game into a
good N vs bad B.} axb4 24. Ng1 Qh5 25. Nf3 Bf6 26. Rg1+ Kh8 27. Qxb4 Rg8 (27...
Bh4 28. Nxh4 Qxh4 29. Qd2 $16) 28. Qd2 Rxg1+ 29. Nxg1 c6 30. dxc6 bxc6 31. Qe2
Qxe2 {otherwise White takes the g-file with an attack.} 32. Rxe2 {White is up
a pawn and has two passers on the rook files. Anton would normally win this,
but since a draw is good enough he just keeps an eye on Black's center pawns
and trades them when they become a nuisance.} Kg7 33. Nf3 Kf7 34. Rc2 Ra8 35.
Kg2 Ke6 36. Kf1 Kd7 37. Rg2 d5 38. Re2 c5 39. Rc2 Kd6 40. Ke2 c4 41. bxc4 dxe4
42. dxe4 Ra3 43. c5+ Kc7 44. h4 Re3+ 45. Kf2 Rxe4 46. Re2 Rc4 47. Nxe5 Bxh4+
48. Kf3 Rxc5 49. Kxf4 Be7 50. Kf5 Bd6 51. Ke6 Bxe5 52. Rxe5 Rxe5+ 53. Kxe5 Kc6
54. a4 {Quicker than stalemate on a8.} Kc5 55. a5 Kb5 56. a6 Kxa6 {Anton wins
the match 1.5 - .5 and advances to the next round.} 1/2-1/2