[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.22"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "2842"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Bg5 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8.
Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. dxc5 ({White did not get much after} 10. O-O cxd4 11.
Ne4 Qe7 12. a3 Ba5 13. Qxd4 Rd8 14. Qc5 Qxc5 15. Nxc5 Nd7 16. Nb3 Bb6 {Bu,X 
(2718)-Wei,Y (2734) Hangzhou 2018}) 10... Nd7 11. O-O ({The world champ had
lots of experience with Black as well, e.g.} 11. c6 Ne5 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. O-O
bxc6 14. Qe2 Rd8 15. Rfd1 Bb7 {was Giri,A (2790)-Carlsen,M (2863) Shamkir 2015}
) 11... Nxc5 12. Nb5 a6 13. Nbd4 {All of this has been played before and
Navara comes up with a novelty.} b5 ({White did well after} 13... Ba5 14. a3
Bb6 15. b4 Ne4 16. Qd3 Ng5 17. Nxg5 hxg5 18. Qe4 {when the dominant position
of the queen on e4 is a factor, Salem,A (2638)-Peralta,F (2556) Sitges 2017})
14. Be2 $5 {The world champion provokes Black's next.} ({Safer seemed} 14. a3
bxc4 (14... Na4 {might be a possibility as well} 15. Bxb5 axb5 16. axb4 Bb7)
15. Rxc4 Bxa3 16. bxa3 {hoping for an edge in the symmetrical position after}
Nd7 ({Or} 16... Ne4 17. Nc6) 17. Nc6) 14... e5 15. Nc2 (15. a3 {was still
possible, but it would not yield White much after} exd4 16. Nxd4 Rd8 17. axb4
Ne6 18. Bf3 Rb8) 15... Rd8 {The white queen is trapped, but...} ({Of course not
} 15... Ba5 16. b4) 16. Nxb4 {This was on purpose.} Rxd1 17. Rfxd1 {So far
Carlsen collected only a rook and a knight for his strongest piece. However,
he got both the open files for his rooks, the knight on c5 is hanging and
there is also the threat of Nb4-d5.} a5 $1 ({The knight cannot retreat since} 
17... Ne6 $2 18. Nd5 {puts the black queen in danger and he would lose
material after} Qd8 19. Nc7) ({Also bad is} 17... Qe7 $2 18. Nc6) ({whereas} 
17... Qb6 $6 18. Nd5 Qa7 19. b4 Ne6 (19... Nd7 $4 20. Ne7+) 20. Nxe5 {is
clearly inferior pawn loss compared to the game.}) 18. Nd5 Qd6 19. Nxe5 {
Collecting a pawn as well. White has enough material now, but Navara can also
catch his breath...} Bb7 {...and finish the development.} ({There was an
argument for the exchange sacrifice too:} 19... Qxe5 $5 20. Rxc5 Qxb2 21. Bf3
Be6 22. Ne7+ Kf8 23. Bxa8 Kxe7 {since the black queenside passers are
dangerous.}) 20. Bf3 ({Carlsen suggested} 20. f4 {as "a critical try."}) 20...
Rc8 ({Here} 20... Qxe5 {is not as effective for Black, but still playable after
} 21. Rxc5 b4 22. b3) 21. Ng4 {With the threat of Nd5-f6+} Qf8 (21... Kh8 $5)
22. h4 {Opens air for the knight and restricts the black one.} ({White
apparently disliked} 22. h3 Ne6 {followed by Ne6-g5.}) 22... Nd7 {Correctly
trading one of the active white rooks.} 23. Rxc8 Bxc8 24. a3 h5 (24... f5 {
seems good as well, say} 25. Nh2 Nf6 (25... Ne5 $5) 26. Nf1 Be6 {with an
approximately even game.}) 25. Nh2 g6 {Defending the kingside.} ({Instead, I
believe that Navara should have gone for the white queenside pawns with} 25...
Ne5 26. Bxh5 Nc4 27. Rc1 {and now} Bd7 $1 {when it is not that easy to defend
the queenside. For example} ({but not the hasty} 27... Nxb2 $4 28. Rxc8) 28.
Rc2 ({And if} 28. Nf4 Nxb2 29. Rc7 Qd8) 28... Bf5 {Whenever there is play on
two flanks, the queen becomes stronger.}) 26. Be2 Ne5 {Sacrificing a second
pawn.} ({There was nothing wrong with} 26... Qc5 27. Nf3 b4 ({Or} 27... Kg7)
28. axb4 axb4 {and there is no easy way for White to get his hands on the b4
pawn.}) 27. Bxb5 Bb7 28. Nc3 Qe7 29. Rd4 {Now White tries to get the type of
game that the smaller pieces want. Slowly but surely they are shifted to
optimal positions. In the process they defend each other and try to get closer
to the black king.} Qe6 30. Nf1 Qb3 $1 {Naturally Navara does not like to sit
and wait until the white pieces occupy all the good squares.} 31. Rd2 Nc4 32.
Rd7 $1 {Carlsen sacrifices a pawn on his turn.} ({He cannot reach stability
once that the bishop is traded:} 32. Bxc4 Qxc4 {For example} 33. Rd7 Qc6 34.
Rd5 Qb6 35. Rd2 Qc6 36. f3 Qf6 37. Rd4 Qb6 38. b4 Qc7 39. Ne4 Bxe4 40. Rxe4
axb4 41. axb4 Qc1 {followed by Qc1-e1 with a likely draw to follow.}) 32...
Nxb2 33. Rxb7 Qxc3 34. Be8 {That was the point. White makes it to the kingside.
But is he fast enough?} Kf8 35. Bxf7 Qc6 $1 ({Worse was} 35... Qxa3 36. Bxg6)
36. Rxb2 Kxf7 37. Rd2 $1 {Heading for the stable set up with the Rd4 and pawns
on a4 and h4. Next, the knight will come to help.} Qa4 {Grabbing the h-pawn.} (
{It is extremely difficult to say if Black has better defensive chances if he
includes the move} 37... a4 {Most likely White should find a way to break
through, say} 38. Rd4 Qc2 39. Rb4 Kf6 40. g3 (40. e4 $5) 40... Qd1 41. e4 g5
42. Rb6+ Kg7 43. hxg5 Qd3 44. Re6 Qxa3 45. Ne3 {The united efforts of the
white rook, knight and pawn make his chances better.}) 38. Rd3 Qxh4 39. Rd7+
Kg8 40. Rd4 Qe7 41. a4 {White definitely does not risk to lose. The question
is if he has enough resources to bring his e-pawn into motion.} Qa3 42. g3 Qa1
43. Kg2 g5 44. Nd2 g4 $1 {This looks logical as the pawn helps the queen
create perpetual check ideas.} 45. Ne4 Qc1 {But this is unnecessary.} ({
Simple and good seems} 45... Kg7 $1 46. Nc5 Qa2 {The queen is heading to e2
and if the white knight goes too far away-} 47. Nb7 $6 ({Stronger is} 47. Nd3
Qc2 48. Nf4 {although it is still not obvious how realistic White's chances
for a win are-} Qc6+ 49. Kh2 Kh6 {For example} 50. e4 Qc2 51. Kg2 Qb3) 47...
Qe2 48. Nxa5 $2 {White might suffer} Qf3+ 49. Kg1 h4 $1 50. gxh4 g3) 46. Nf6+
Kf7 47. Nxh5 Qc6+ 48. Kg1 Qc1+ {Right after the game Navara thought that this
was the decisive mistake.} 49. Kh2 Kg6 ({Navara had planned} 49... Qc2 {
but here he noticed that after} 50. Rf4+ Kg6 {the knight is not trapped and}
51. Nf6 {is just over.}) 50. Nf4+ Kf6 51. Ng2 Kg5 $2 {Wrong direction.} ({
The king should have stayed in front of the potential passer:} 51... Qc8 52.
Rf4+ Ke5 53. Nh4 Qc2) 52. Rf4 Qd1 53. Nh4 Qc2 54. Nf5 Qd3 55. e4 $1 {The
problem is not that the pawn moves per se. the problem is that the e3 square
is vacated for the knight and thus the g4 pawn cannot be saved.} Qd7 ({Or} 
55... Kf6 56. Ne3+ Ke6 57. Nxg4 Qe2 58. e5 {when White slowly convert.}) 56. e5
Qh7+ ({If} 56... Qd5 57. Ne3 {anyway, since} Qxe5 58. Rf5+) 57. Kg1 Qg6 58. Nd6
Qe6 ({Navara had seen that the pawn ending is losing, but he had also seen that
} 58... Qb1+ {is hopeless:} 59. Kh2 Qh7+ 60. Kg2 Qc7 61. Rf5+ Kg6 62. Rf6+ Kh5
63. Rf4 Kg5 64. Re4) 59. Rf5+ (59. Ne4+ Kg6 60. Rf6+ Kh5 61. Rxe6 $4 {would be
stalemate.} (61. Nd6)) 59... Qxf5 60. Nxf5 Kxf5 61. f4 gxf3 62. Kf2 Kxe5 63.
Kxf3 Kf5 64. Ke3 (64. Ke3 {The endgame is lost by just one tempo:} Kg4 65. Kd4
Kxg3 66. Kc5 Kf4 67. Kb5 Ke5 68. Kxa5 Kd6 69. Kb6 Kd7 70. Kb7) 1-0

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.22"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Georgiadis, Nico"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A15"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2526"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 a6 (4... Be7 5. b3 O-O 6. Bb2 b6 7. cxd5
Nxd5 8. Nxd5 exd5 9. Qc2 c5 10. a3 Nc6 11. Bb5 Bb7 12. O-O Rc8 {Carlsen,M 
(2843)-Karjakin,S (2782) Stavanger 2018}) 5. b3 c5 (5... Bd6 6. Bb2 O-O 7. g4
Nxg4 8. Rg1 f5 9. cxd5 e5 10. h3 Nf6 11. Ng5 Qe7 {Nepomniachtchi,I (2729)
-Anand,V (2782) London ENG 2017}) 6. Bb2 Nc6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Rc1 $1 {Already a
new move, and worked out by Mamedyarov at home.} (8. d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bd6 10.
Be2 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Rc1 Bc7 13. Bf3 Qd6 {Froewis,G (2439) -Schwabeneder,F 
(2382) Graz 2017}) 8... Bg4 {"Not correct." (Mamedyarov)} (8... Be7 9. Be2 O-O
10. d4 {is "a bad position for Black." (Mamedyarov)}) ({He suggested Black
should go} 8... d4 {but White is still better after} 9. Na4 dxe3 10. fxe3 ({or
} 10. dxe3)) ({The best option might be Danny King's suggestion} 8... b5 {
to prevent Na4 altogether when} 9. a4 d4 (9... b4 10. Nb1) 10. exd4 Nxd4 (10...
cxd4 11. Nxb5) 11. axb5 Bd6 {is actually better Black according to the engine.}
) 9. h3 Bh5 10. Na4 Nd7 (10... Ne4 11. g4 Bg6 12. d3 Qa5+ 13. Nd2 {Georgiadis})
11. Be2 b5 (11... Be7 12. O-O (12. g4 Bg6 13. Bxg7) 12... O-O 13. d4 {
Mamedyarov}) 12. Nc3 Nf6 (12... Nb6 13. g4 Bg6 14. Nxb5 $5 axb5 15. Bxb5 Rc8
16. Ne5 Qd6 17. d4) 13. O-O Be7 (13... Bd6 14. a4 b4 15. Nb1 O-O 16. d4 Ne4 17.
Nbd2 {is also good for White.}) 14. a4 Bxf3 (14... d4 15. exd4 cxd4 16. Nxb5 d3
17. Bxd3 Qxd3 18. Nc7+ Kd7 19. g4 Nxg4 20. Nxa8 Nh2 21. Nb6+ Ke8 22. Rxc6 Nxf3+
23. Kh1 {is an amazing computer line.}) 15. Bxf3 Rb8 16. axb5 axb5 17. Ne2 {
White is clearly better.} Qd6 (17... c4 18. d3) 18. Nf4 Nb4 ({The problem with
} 18... Ne5 {is} 19. Bxe5 $1 Qxe5 20. Nd3 Qc7 21. Nxc5 Bxc5 22. b4) 19. Ba3 Na6
$6 {Tactically there's a problem with this.} (19... O-O 20. d4 c4) 20. d4 b4
21. Bb2 O-O 22. Bxd5 $1 Nxd5 23. dxc5 Nxc5 24. Nxd5 Rfd8 $6 ({Protecting the
knight with} 24... Rfc8 {made more sense but} 25. Nxe7+ Qxe7 26. Qg4 f6 (26...
Ne6 27. Bxg7 $1) 27. Rc4 $1 Ne6 28. Rfc1 Rxc4 29. Rxc4 {still gives White an
overwhelming advantage.}) 25. Qg4 Bf8 26. Nf6+ Kh8 27. Qf5 g6 (27... gxf6 28.
Bxf6+ Bg7 29. Bxd8 Rxd8 30. Rxc5) 28. Ne4+ {With 29.Qxc5 next.} 1-0

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.22"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3
Na5 ({In earlier years Svidler played} 8... O-O {a couple of times.}) 9. Ba2 c5
10. Nc3 (10. Bg5 Nc6 11. b4 cxb4 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Bd5 Qc7 14. axb4 Rb8 15. Qd2
O-O 16. Qc3 Bb7 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. Rxa6 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2798)-Svidler,P 
(2759) Biel SUI 2016}) 10... Be6 11. Nh4 (11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. Ne2 Nc6 13. Ng3 O-O
14. Re1 (14. c3 Qd7 15. Qe2 Rad8 16. Rd1 d5 {Topalov,V (2816)-Svidler,P (2727)
Baku 2015}) 14... a5 15. a4 b4 16. c3 Qd7 {Zhigalko,S (2635)-Svidler,P (2756)
Khanty Mansiysk RUS 2017}) 11... O-O 12. Nf5 Nc6 13. Nd5 (13. Ne3 Nd7 14. Ncd5
Bg5 15. Bd2 a5 16. a4 b4 17. c3 Rb8 18. Bc4 Bxe3 19. Bxe3 Nb6 {Nepomniachtchi,
I (2757)-Svidler,P (2753) Jerusalem 2018}) 13... Bxf5 14. exf5 Rc8 (14... Nxd5
15. Bxd5 Rc8 16. a4 Bf6 17. axb5 axb5 18. c4 bxc4 19. dxc4 Bg5 {Vachier
Lagrave,M (2791)-Svidler,P (2749) Saint Louis 2017}) 15. a4 b4 16. Be3 Nxd5 17.
Bxd5 Bf6 18. c4 bxc3 19. bxc3 Ne7 20. Bb7 Rb8 21. Bxa6 Nxf5 22. Bd2 d5 23. Rb1
Nd6 24. Rxb8 Qxb8 25. Qb1 Qa7 26. Bb5 Rb8 27. c4 Nxb5 28. axb5 Qa4 29. Rc1 e4
30. Bf4 Rb7 31. dxe4 dxc4 32. e5 Be7 33. e6 fxe6 34. Qe4 Qxb5 35. Qxe6+ Kf8 36.
Qf5+ Kg8 37. Qe6+ Kf8 38. Qf5+ Kg8 39. Qe6+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.23"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2842"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "158"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Bf4 c6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. Qd2 O-O 7. h3 ({Nothing
much is} 7. Bh6 Bg4 8. Bxg7 Kxg7 9. Ng5 {½-½ Burdalev,K (2377)-Frolov,A 
(2406) Prague 2018}) 7... Qa5 8. e5 {A novelty, which does not provide White
any advantage.} ({Instead, in an earlier game White opted for the sharp} 8.
O-O-O b5 9. a3 b4 10. axb4 {Which also led to complex endgame after} Qa1+ 11.
Nb1 Nxe4 12. Qe3 Nf6 13. Qa3 Qxa3 14. Nxa3 {in Yemelin,V (2522)-Utkin,A (2345)
St Petersburg 2001}) 8... dxe5 9. dxe5 Nd5 10. Nxd5 Qxd2+ 11. Bxd2 cxd5 12.
O-O-O {The opening part did not last long. Straight from the opening a complex
endgame arose which probably made some of the chess fans unhappy. But since
both players are amazing masters of that part of the game as well, the best is
yet to come. [Peter Svidler noted that the endgame is not as comfortable for
White as the typical French endgames from e.g. the Vacuum Cleaner variation
because his pawn is not on f4 (yet). - PD]} Nc6 13. Bc3 e6 {Not worrying about
the light-squared bishop. It will get its chance later.} ({Although} 13... Be6
14. Bb5 Rac8 {was also possible.}) 14. h4 {The position resembles the French
defense, but with a strong black bishop on g7. Both players try to play on
their flanks.} h6 15. Bd3 Bd7 16. Rhe1 Rfc8 17. Rd2 Rab8 18. Rde2 b5 19. Nd4 ({
If} 19. b3 Bf8) 19... b4 20. Nxc6 Bxc6 21. Bd4 Bb5 $1 {The chance for the
bishop had come.} 22. Kd2 (22. Bxa7 $2 {loses material to} Bxd3 23. Bxb8 Bxe2)
({However} 22. Bxb5 Rxb5 23. h5 {looked OK for White.}) 22... h5 {"It's
already slightly unpleasant." (MVL)} 23. f4 ({Here and on the next few moves
Vachier-Lagrave avoids the capture of the a7 pawn. After} 23. Bxa7 Ra8 {
Black will regain the pawn and take control of the open a-file:} 24. Bxb5 ({Or
} 24. Bd4 Bxd3 25. Kxd3 Rxa2 26. b3) 24... Rxa7 {In both cases with some small
advantage for the world champion.}) 23... Bf8 24. g4 $1 {Once more
Vachier-Lagrave searches his chances on the kingside.} (24. Bxa7 Bxd3 (24...
Ra8) 25. Kxd3 Ra8 {is again somewhat better for Black.}) 24... hxg4 25. Rg1 (
25. h5 gxh5 26. Rh1 {"Somehow it felt a bit suspicious." (MVL)}) 25... Bc5 26.
Bxc5 Rxc5 27. Rxg4 Kf8 28. Rh2 ({More precise in order to hold the balance was
} 28. h5 Bxd3 29. Kxd3 gxh5 30. Rh4 Ke7 31. f5 exf5 32. Rxh5 {with likely draw.
}) 28... Bxd3 29. Kxd3 {We are entering the most exciting part of the game, a
four-rook complex endgame.} Rc4 $1 {This is the thing. The white rook is
pinned and experiences difficulties in maneuvering. MVL had missed this.} 30.
h5 gxh5 31. Rxh5 Ke7 32. Rgh4 {A second inaccuracy after which Carlsen
completely takes over the initiative.} (32. Rh6 $1 {was strong with the idea
to release the g4 rook and resume the kingside assault. For example} a5 33. Rf6
a4 34. Rg7 Rf8 35. f5 exf5 36. Rxf5 Re4 37. Rf6 Rxe5 38. Ra6 {when again the
most likely outcome would be the draw.}) 32... Rg8 $1 {The white king is
danger, so MVL  needs to part with material.} 33. f5 $1 {In activity we trust!
One cannot allow passive defense in the rook endgame.} Rg3+ 34. Kd2 Rg2+ 35.
Kd1 (35. Ke3 exf5 36. Rxc4 dxc4 37. Rxf5 Rxc2 38. Kd4 b3 {is "resignable"
according to MVL.}) 35... Rcxc2 36. f6+ Kd7 {Moving away from the danger zone.}
(36... Ke8 37. Rxb4 {would have been easier to defend.}) 37. Rxb4 a5 ({Black
has winning chances with all rooks on the board.} 37... Rxb2 $2 {would lead to
a position where it is even White to fights for the win after} 38. Rxb2 Rxb2
39. Rh7 Ke8 40. Rh8+ Kd7 41. Rf8) 38. Rb8 $1 {Vachier-Lagrave activated his
rooks in return and is ready for a perpetual.} Rcf2 39. Ke1 Kc6 $1 {The king
takes care of himself.} ({After} 39... d4 40. Rhh8 d3 {White starts the
perpetuum mobile} 41. Rhd8+ Kc6 42. Rbc8+ {with a draw as the king has nowhere
to hide.}) 40. Rc8+ ({Here} 40. Rhh8 {just pushes the black king towards the
white pawns (or the white king).} Kc5) 40... Kb5 41. Rh7 d4 {With the cruel
intention to turn this pawn into a queen by force. This requires desperate
measures by the French GM.} 42. Rg8 $1 Re2+ ({Once more} 42... Rxg8 $2 43. Kxf2
{is plain wrong for Black.}) 43. Kf1 ({Similar was} 43. Kd1 Rgf2) 43... Rgf2+
44. Kg1 Rf4 ({A quicker win was} 44... Rc2 45. Rxf7 Rfe2 46. Kh1 d3 47. Rd7 d2
48. f7 Re1+ 49. Rg1 Rcc1 {(MVL)}) 45. Rxf7 Rxe5 {More and more pawns leave the
stage. But this does not relief White's problems. His king is weak, constantly
in danger of getting mated, the d-pawn is a monster and the black rooks are
doing whatever they want.} 46. Rc7 {Trying an attack again.} ({Here's an
eternal mating threat:} 46. Rd8 $4 Rg5+ 47. Kh2 Rh4#) ({MVL would be happy to
get rid of the d-passer at once. However, after} 46. Rd7 {some neat
intermediate moves allow Carlsen a chance to win a pawn with} Kc6 $1 47. Rxd4 (
47. Rgd8 $4 Rg5+) 47... Rxd4 48. f7 Rf5 49. f8=Q Rd1+ $1 ({Not the immediate} 
49... Rxf8 50. Rxf8) 50. Kg2 Rd2+ 51. Kg3 Rxf8 52. Rxf8 Rxb2 {when Black
should be able to convert.}) 46... Rxf6 ({MVL mentioned} 46... d3 {here.}) 47.
Rb8+ Ka6 ({The black should be careful too} 47... Ka4 $4 48. Rc4#) 48. Rc6+ Ka7
49. Rg8 Rf7 $1 {Saveguarding the king. There is also a threat-put the rook
behind the d-pawn and push it.} 50. Rg6 ({After} 50. Rd6 Re1+ 51. Kg2 e5 {
the pawn duo should win.}) 50... Re1+ {Chasing the king to a dangerous
position.} 51. Kg2 d3 52. Rd6 Re2+ 53. Kh3 d2 ({Also interesting was} 53...
Re3+ 54. Rg3 (54. Kg4 e5 {intending Rf7-f4-d4}) 54... Rh7+ 55. Kg2 Re2+ 56. Kg1
d2 57. Rgd3 Rc7 58. Rxd2 Rc1+ 59. Rd1 Rxd1+ 60. Rxd1 Rxb2 {but these makes
White's life is easier and} 61. a3 {might well be a draw.}) 54. Rg8 Kb7 $1 {
“At this point I was about to give up but then I saw there were some chances.
Not even some chances, probably major chances." (Carlsen)} 55. Rgd8 {Finally
the d-pawn leaves the board. Two more left and the draw will be there.} (55. b3
Kc7) 55... d1=Q (55... Rff2 $2 {allows perpetual} 56. R8d7+) 56. Rxd1 Rxb2 57.
Re1 {Trying to reduce the material to the max.} ({Perhaps White should have at
least for once tried to defend passively with} 57. R1d2 Rxd2 58. Rxd2 Kc6 {
Would he hold, is another question.}) 57... Rf6 58. Rd6 Rxa2 59. Kg3 ({Instead
} 59. Rdxe6 Rxe6 60. Rxe6 Rb2 {is a tablebase win for Black.}) ({However} 59.
Rb1+ Kc7 60. Ra6 {would have kept reasonable drawing chances for White.}) 59...
Rb2 60. Re5 Rb3+ $1 {One more of those little nasty checks that somehow
miraculously turn White's position into a hopeless one. No sourcery here; the
king is simply pushed backwards.} (60... a4 $5) 61. Kg2 ({If} 61. Kg4 Rg6+ 62.
Kh5 Rg8 63. Rg5 Rh3+ {forces a win after} 64. Kg4 Rxg5+ 65. Kxg5 a4) 61... a4
62. Ra5 a3 {And since the white king is on the second rank, Carlsen will
manage to push the a-passer far enough.} 63. Rda6 Rff3 64. Ra7+ ({After} 64.
Rxe6 {Black wins with} Rfc3 65. Re2 Kc6 {followed by Rb3-b2.}) 64... Kc6 65.
R7a6+ Kd7 {One more king dance.} 66. Ra7+ Kd6 67. R7a6+ Ke7 68. Re5 Rfc3 $1 {
A beautiful final touch of a brilliant game.} (68... Rf6 69. Re2 {is less
convincing.}) 69. Rexe6+ Kd7 70. Kf2 ({Nothing helps, although Black still has
to be very careful:} 70. Re2 Kc7 ({But not} 70... Rb2 $2 71. Rxb2 axb2 72. Rb6)
71. Re7+ ({If} 71. Ra4 Rc6 ({But not} 71... Rb2 $2 72. Rxb2 axb2 73. Rb4) 72.
Rf2 Kb7 73. Rf7+ Kb6 74. Ra8 Rc2+ 75. Rf2 Kb7 76. Ra4 Rcb2 $1 ({Once again
avoiding a reef} 76... Rxf2+ 77. Kxf2 Rb2+ 78. Ke3 a2 79. Kd3 {with a draw.})
77. Kf1 Kb6 78. Rf6+ Kb5 79. Ra8 (79. Rfa6 Ra2 $1) 79... Rc3 $1 {and wins.})
71... Kb8 72. Re2 Rc7 $1) 70... Rb2+ 71. Re2 Rh3 $1 ({Very nice, even though} 
71... Kc7 $1 {would have also won.}) 72. Kg2 ({Since} 72. Rxb2 axb2 73. Rb6 {
loses to the tactical shot} Rh1 $1 74. Rxb2 Rh2+) 72... Rxe2+ 73. Kxh3 a2 74.
Kg3 Kc7 {The king's last dance. Triumphal.} 75. Kf3 Kb7 76. Ra4 Rh2 77. Ke3 Kb6
78. Kd3 Kb5 79. Ra8 Kb4 ({White resigned as the king will support the passer
after} 79... Kb4 80. Rb8+ Ka3 81. Ra8+ Kb2 82. Rb8+ Kc1 83. Ra8 Kb1 84. Rb8+
Rb2 {All the black pieces did a tremendous job. Rubinstein would have enjoyed
the spectacle!}) 0-1

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.23"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Navara, David"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C80"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5
Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 d4 11. Bxe6 Nxe6 12. cxd4 Ncxd4 13. a4 Rb8 14. axb5 axb5
15. Ne4 Qd5 (15... Be7 16. Nxd4 Qxd4 17. Qxd4 Nxd4 18. Be3 Nc2 19. Ra7 Nxe3 20.
fxe3 Rc8 {Mazur,S (2459)-Talla,V (2436) Senica 2017}) 16. Nxd4 Nxd4 17. Ng3 (
17. Nc3 Qc4 18. Be3 Nf5 19. Qf3 Nh4 20. Qh3 Be7 21. Rfd1 O-O {De Firmian,N 
(2595)-Abdel Megid,M (2370) Luzern 1989}) 17... g6 {"My home preparation." 
(Mamedyarov)} 18. Be3 Rd8 (18... c5 $6 19. b4) 19. Bg5 Be7 20. Bxe7 Kxe7 21.
Qg4 $1 {Missed by Mamedyarov, who immediately errs.} Ne6 $6 ({Navara expected} 
21... Rhe8 {and White might only have a slight edge.}) 22. Qh4+ (22. f4 {
was also strong.}) 22... g5 23. Qb4+ ({Very strong was} 23. Nf5+ Ke8 {and now}
24. Qh6 $1 Qxe5 25. g4 $1 {as shown by the engine. When looking at this
position, Mamedyarov quickly realized he is lost here.}) 23... Qc5 24. Qe4 Qc4
25. Nf5+ Ke8 26. Qxc4 bxc4 27. Rfc1 Rd2 28. Ra8+ Rd8 29. Rca1 $6 {Losing a
tempo compared to the game.} ({Initially Navara thought it's not much for
White after} 29. Rxd8+ Kxd8 30. Rxc4 Kd7 31. h4 Rb8 {but later he realized
that this is much better compared to the game. After} 32. hxg5 Rxb2 33. f4 c5
34. g3 Kc6 35. Ra4 {Navara pointed out a funny self-mate:} Kd5 36. Ne7#) 29...
Rf8 $1 {Missed by Navara.} 30. h4 Rxa8 31. Rxa8+ Kd7 32. Ra4 Rb8 33. Rxc4 Rxb2
34. hxg5 c5 35. Rh4 Nxg5 36. f4 Ne6 37. Nd6 Rb4 38. g3 c4 39. f5 Ng5 40. Kf2
Rb2+ 41. Ke3 c3 42. Nxf7 c2 43. e6+ Ke7 44. Rc4 Nxf7 1/2-1/2

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.23"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Georgiadis, Nico"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2526"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bd3 Ngf6 6. Re1 (6. c3 b5 7. a4 c4
8. Be2 Bb7 9. axb5 axb5 10. Rxa8 Bxa8 11. Na3 Bxe4 12. Nxb5 d5 13. b3 cxb3 14.
Qxb3 e6 {Svidler,P (2753)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2757) Jerusalem 2018}) 6... e6 7.
a4 b6 8. c3 Bb7 9. Qe2 Qc7 10. Na3 Be7 11. Bc2 Rc8 12. d3 O-O 13. Bd2 Rfe8 14.
Rac1 (14. b4 cxb4 15. cxb4 Qb8 16. Bb3 a5 17. bxa5 bxa5 18. Reb1 Qa8 19. h3 Ba6
{Iordachescu,V (2600)-Sadzikowski,D (2547) Gallipoli 2017}) 14... e5 15. Bb3 d5
16. exd5 Nxd5 ({Svidler preferred} 16... Bxd5 {saying "I have zero hopes of
anything at all."}) 17. Qe4 Nxc3 (17... Nf4 $5) 18. Bxf7+ Kxf7 19. Qf5+ Kg8 20.
Bxc3 Bf6 21. Nc4 Qc6 22. Ncxe5 Nxe5 23. Bxe5 Qd5 24. Re3 Bxe5 25. Rxe5 Rxe5 26.
Qxe5 Qxd3 27. Qe6+ Kh8 28. Re1 h6 (28... Qg6 $5 29. Qd7 Qc6 30. Qe7 {Svidler})
29. h3 (29. h4 $5 {Svidler}) 29... b5 30. Ne5 Qd5 31. Qg4 Kh7 $6 ({Better was} 
31... Rd8 {and after} 32. Ng6+ Kh7 33. Nf4 Qf7 34. axb5 axb5 {it's still
unpleasant but probably equal, e.g.} 35. Re5 Rf8) 32. Qg6+ Kg8 33. f3 Qd2 $6 ({
There was actually time for} 33... bxa4 {since} 34. Ng4 {can be met by} Qg5)
34. Qf7+ Kh7 35. Kf1 $1 Qd5 36. Qg6+ Kg8 37. Ng4 Qg5 {Missed by Svidler, so he
might have missed it in the earlier line as well.} 38. Qb6 ({Strong was} 38.
Qe6+ Kh8 39. Ne5) 38... Qd5 39. Nxh6+ $5 ({Even better was to return to} 39.
Qg6 Qg5 {and then} 40. Qe6+ Kh8 41. Ne5) 39... Kh7 40. Ng4 Rf8 41. Kg1 ({
There's no time for} 41. axb5 {as Black was threatening to draw with} Rxf3+ 42.
gxf3 Qxf3+ 43. Nf2 Qg2+ 44. Ke2 Qf3+ 45. Kd2 Qxf2+ 46. Re2 Qd4+ 47. Ke1 Qg1+)
41... Qd4+ 42. Kh1 Bxf3 $1 {The best chance.} 43. gxf3 Rxf3 44. Qe6 Qd3 $6 ({
Georgiadis should have tried} 44... Rxh3+ 45. Kg2 Rh5 {when} 46. Qe4+ (46. Kg3
$5 {Svidler}) 46... Qxe4+ 47. Rxe4 Rd5 {is very close to a draw.}) 45. Ne3 $1 {
Missed by Georgiadis.} bxa4 46. Kg2 Rf6 47. Qd5 {With the black pawns crumbled,
White can easily go for the ending.} Qg6+ 48. Kh1 Rf2 49. Rg1 Qh6 50. Rg3 Qf6
51. Qd3+ Kh8 52. Ng4 Qc6+ 53. Kg1 Rxb2 54. Qd8+ Kh7 55. Qh4+ Kg8 56. Nh6+ {
Black is getting mated.} 1-0

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.24"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B94"]
[WhiteElo "2842"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 ({For
reference on White's 15th move, here's Dubov-Artemiev, Tbilisi 2017:} 6... e6
7. f4 h6 8. Bh4 Be7 9. Qf3 Nbd7 10. O-O-O g5 11. fxg5 hxg5 12. Bg3 Qc7 {
and now the same idea} 13. Bb5 $5 {and White won in 41 moves.}) 7. Qe2 ({
Another important move is} 7. Bc4 {e.g.} h6 8. Bh4 g6 9. Qe2 Bg7 10. O-O-O O-O
11. Bb3 Qc7 12. Kb1 Rb8 13. f4 e5 14. fxe5 dxe5 15. Nf3 b5 {Nepomniachtchi,I 
(2751)-Korobov,A (2678) Poikovsky 2018}) 7... h6 8. Bh4 g6 9. f4 Qc7 ({In his
2015 Najdorf book, Parimarjan Negi had} 9... e5 10. fxe5 dxe5 11. O-O-O Qc7 12.
Nb3 {as his main line. It still is, and Svidler knew that, but since Carlsen
was playing quite fast, he felt it was time to deviate.}) 10. O-O-O {Around
here Svidler started to regret including ...h6, Bh4.} Bg7 11. g4 (11. Kb1 O-O
12. Nf3 e5 13. f5 b5 14. g4 b4 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 a5 {Melia,S (2400)
-Travkina,A (2287) Riga 2017}) 11... e5 12. fxe5 ({Svidler mentioned} 12. Ndb5
axb5 13. Nxb5 Qc6 (13... Qa5 14. Nxd6+ Kf8 {is the actual refutation}) 14. Rxd6
Qxe4 {and here, listening to these moves blindfold, Carlsen after just a few
seconds came up with with the beautiful} 15. Re6+ $1 Kf8 (15... fxe6 16. Nd6+)
16. Re8+ $3 {and White wins.}) 12... Nxe5 13. h3 (13. Nf5 $5) 13... Be6 14. Qf2
Nfd7 15. Bb5 $5 {A move that reminds of the Gothenburg variation, but also, as
Anish Giri pointed out, Dubov-Artemiev, Tbilisi 2017! In this case the move is
purely positional.} O-O ({Of course not} 15... axb5 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Nxb5 {
and Black can resign.}) 16. Bxd7 Qxd7 ({Svidler didn't like} 16... Nxd7 17. Be7
Rfc8 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Bxd6 Qa5 20. Rhf1 Kh8) 17. Nf5 $5 gxf5 18. gxf5 Kh7 ({
After} 18... Bc4 19. f6 Bh8 20. Qf4 Ng6 21. Qxh6 Qe6 22. Rhg1 Bxf6 23. Bxf6
Qxf6 24. h4 Qg7 25. Qg5 Qe5 26. h5 {was Carlsen's intention. He called it
"horrible" for Black.}) 19. Rhg1 Bh8 (19... Rg8 20. Rxg7+ $1 Rxg7 21. Bf6 {
is promising for White.}) 20. Bg3 ({Carlsen spent most of his time on a third
piece sac:} 20. Bg5 $5 hxg5 (20... Bg7 21. f6 $1) 21. Rxg5 Ng6 22. fxg6+ fxg6
23. Qh4+ Kg7 24. Rdg1 {but after} Qf7 $1 (24... Rf6 $2 25. Rh5 Rf1+ 26. Kd2 $1)
25. Qh5 Qf4+ 26. Kb1 Kf7 27. Rxg6 Ke7 {the king runs and now, in order for
White not to lose, he needs to play} 28. Rxe6+ Kxe6 29. Qd5+ Ke7 30. Qxb7+ Ke6
31. Qd5+) ({The players didn't see it immediately for White after} 20. Bg5 hxg5
21. Rxg5 Ng6 22. Rdg1 Bg7 ({The best chance is probably} 22... Rac8) {but the
computer goes} 23. Rh5+ Kg8 24. f6 $1 Qd8 25. fxg7 Kxg7 26. Qd4+ f6 27. Rhg5
Bf7 28. h4 {and Black won't survive this.}) 20... Rac8 21. Bf4 Qe7 22. fxe6
fxe6 23. Qg3 Rg8 24. Qf2 Rgf8 25. Qg3 Rg8 26. Qf2 Rgf8 ({Svidler wasn't sure
about} 26... Nc4 27. Rxg8 Rxg8 28. Qe2 {when} b5 29. Qd3 Be5 $5 30. Bxe5 Qg5+
31. Kb1 Qxe5 32. a4 $5 {is probably equal.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.24"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. e3 Nf6 5. d4 e4 6. Ne5 ({Earlier this year
the French GM held the world champion after} 6. d5 exf3 7. dxc6 fxg2 8. cxd7+
Bxd7 9. Bxg2 g6 10. b3 Bg7 11. Qd6 Qb6 12. Qxb6 axb6 13. Bb2 Bc6 14. O-O Ke7
15. Nd5+ Bxd5 16. cxd5 Rhg8 {Carlsen,M (2843)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2789), Grenke/
Baden-Baden 2018 which I annotated as well.}) 6... g6 7. g4 {Vachier-Lagrave
remembered that he had looked at this move in the past and thought that leads
to rich play, but could not remember much of his analyzes during the game.} h6
8. Bg2 Bg7 9. h3 $1 {The novelty. The idea is to keep all the options open. It
certainly poses a ton of practical problems for both the players.} (9. h4 cxd4
10. exd4 d5 11. g5 hxg5 12. hxg5 Rxh1+ 13. Bxh1 Nh5 14. cxd5 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Bxe5
16. Qa4+ Kf8 17. Qxe4 Qe7 {was the sharp course of the game Movsesian,S (2699)
-Ponomariov,R (2743) Khanty-Mansiysk 2013}) 9... Qe7 (9... O-O) 10. b3 $1 cxd4
({Mamedyarov revealed one of his key ideas in the post mortem. If} 10... Nb4
11. a3 Na6 {with the strong threat d7-d6 White prepared the fantastic:} 12. O-O
$1 d6 13. f4 $1 O-O 14. Ra2 $1 {Followed by Ra2-f2 with an attack for the
piece. "Computer says 0.00 but I like it."}) ({The capture of the central pawn
} 10... Nxe5 11. dxe5 Qxe5 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Rb1 Qe7 14. h4 {leads to bad
position according to Mamedyarov.}) ({Vachier-Lagrave did not consider} 10...
d6 {seriously as it loses a tempo. White is better after} 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Qc2
({Or} 12. O-O)) (10... Nd8 11. O-O d6 12. f4 {would be similar as the last
line.}) 11. exd4 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Qxe5 13. Bb2 d5 ({On} 13... O-O {Black did not
like} 14. Qd2 {For example} Re8 ({And} 14... e3 15. Qxe3 Qxe3+ 16. fxe3 {
leads to clear edge for White in the endgame.}) 15. Nd5 {when the queen
sacrifice is forced} Qxb2 16. Qxb2 Nxd5 17. Qc1 Bxa1 18. Qxa1 Nf4 19. O-O {
but not as sound as Carlsen's sacrifice against Navara.}) 14. Qe2 $1 {MVL had
missed this.} (14. Qd2 {can be met with} dxc4 15. Nxe4 Qe6 16. O-O Nxe4 17.
Bxe4 O-O) 14... Qe7 ({After} 14... d4 15. Nb5 (15. Nxe4 {(Mamedyarov) is also
good as the d4 pawn will soon disappear from the board.}) 15... O-O 16. Bxd4
Qf4 17. Qe3 {(MVL) Black is in very bad shape.}) ({Here} 14... dxc4 $2 {
drops a piece due to the pin} 15. Nxe4 Qe6 16. Nxf6+) 15. cxd5 O-O 16. O-O {
Simple and good. The e4-pawn went too far and White will win it in the coming
moves.} ({Mamedyarov also considered the long castle-} 16. O-O-O Qd6 (16... Bd7
)) 16... Re8 ({After the game Vachier-Lagrave regretted that he did not follow
his original intention:} 16... b6 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Qxe4 Qxe4 20.
Bxe4 Bb7 {with chances to defend despite the pawn deficit.}) (16... b6 17. Rad1
$5 {(MVL) intending d5-d6 is also strong for White.}) 17. Rfe1 Bd7 ({This was
the last chance for} 17... b6 {when the forced line leads to a rook endgame:}
18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Qxe4 Qxe4 21. Rxe4 Bb7 (21... Rxe4 22. Bxe4 Bb7
23. Rc1 Rd8 24. Rc7 Bxd5 25. Bxd5 Rxd5 26. Rxa7 {which players were inclined
to consider more lost than draw for Black.}) 22. Rd4) 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Bxg7
Kxg7 20. Qxe4 Qxe4 ({Black could not find way to improve his pieces after} 
20... Qf6 21. Qf3) 21. Bxe4 h5 {"A terrible move, based on oversight" (MVL)} ({
Black should have defended with} 21... b6 22. d6 Rac8 23. Bb7 Rcd8 ({Or} 23...
Rc2 24. Rxe8 Bxe8 25. Rd1 Bd7 26. a4 Rc3 27. Bd5 Kf8) 24. Rxe8 Bxe8 25. Re1 {
although the French GM was not optimistic about his chances here neither.}) 22.
gxh5 gxh5 ({Only here did Black realize that his active idea} 22... Re5 23.
hxg6 Rg5+ 24. Kh2 Bxh3 {will be refuted with the zwischenzug} 25. f4 $1 {
For example} (25. Kxh3 $4 Rh8#) 25... Rh5 26. Kg3 fxg6 27. Bf3 {and White wins.
}) 23. h4 $1 {Fixes the pawn on a light square. The rest was easy for
Mamedyarov.} Rac8 24. Bf3 Rxe1+ 25. Rxe1 Kf6 ({The passive defense will not
help-} 25... Kg6 26. Kh2 {followed by Kh2-g3-h4 and then say Re1-g1-g5 would
be soon over.}) 26. d6 ({Not the immediate} 26. Bxh5 Rh8) 26... b6 27. Re7 Rd8
28. Bxh5 Be6 29. Rxa7 Rxd6 30. Kg2 Rd8 31. Bf3 Ke5 32. Ra4 1-0

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.24"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Georgiadis, Nico"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E62"]
[WhiteElo "2526"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O e5 8. dxe5
dxe5 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Qa4 Qc8 (10... h6 11. Rad1 Qe7 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. Bxf6 Bxf6
14. cxd5 Nd4 15. e4 Nxf3+ 16. Bxf3 Rfd8 {Edouard,R (2628)-Bacrot,E (2692) Cap
d'Agde 2016}) 11. Rfd1 Nd7 12. Nd5 e4 13. Ne1 Nb6 14. Qb3 (14. Qc2 f5 15. Rd2
Kh8 16. Rad1 Ne5 17. b3 c6 18. Nf4 Bg8 19. Be7 Re8 20. Bc5 Qc7 21. Qc1 Qf7 {
Akopian,V (2615)-Nijboer,F (2505) Wijk aan Zee 1993}) 14... Bxd5 15. cxd5 Nd4
16. Qe3 Nc4 17. Qxe4 Re8 18. Rxd4 ({Georgiadis didn't like} 18. Qh4 Nxe2+ 19.
Kf1 Nxb2 ({but Navara was planning} 19... Nd6 {when} 20. Be3 {is actually
quite playable for White.})) 18... Rxe4 19. Rxe4 Nd6 $1 {Now Black is much
better but it's not easy to convert the advantage.} ({Georgiadis had expected} 
19... Nxb2 20. Rc1 {with good compensation.}) 20. Re3 Bxb2 21. Rd1 a5 {
Georgiadis had missed this plan of running with the a-pawn.} 22. Rb3 (22. Re7
Qd8 $1) 22... Bg7 23. Bf4 b5 24. Rc1 Qd7 25. Nd3 b4 26. e4 Nb5 27. e5 (27. Ne5
Qe8 28. Nc6 Nc3 $1) 27... Rd8 {Navara forgot that his a-pawn will be hanging...
} (27... Re8 28. d6 Nc3) 28. Nc5 Qe8 $6 ({Black should play} 28... Qf5 {when}
29. Nb7 Re8 30. Nxa5 {can be answered by} Nd4 $1 31. Rb2 g5) 29. Nb7 Rb8 30. d6
$5 {With three minutes on the clock Georgiadis decided to go for complications.
} (30. Nxa5 {would have been quite OK for White.}) 30... cxd6 31. Bc6 Qe6 32.
exd6 $2 {But this is clearly wrong.} (32. Bxb5 Rxb7 33. Bc4 Qf5 (33... d5 34.
Bxd5 $1) 34. exd6 Bf6 35. Rd3 {would have been unclear.}) 32... Nc3 33. Rb2 g5
34. Be3 (34. Bxg5 Nxa2) 34... Nxa2 35. Rxa2 Qxa2 36. d7 Bf6 37. Ba7 Rf8 38. Re1
Qd2 39. Kf1 b3 0-1

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.25"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Georgiadis, Nico"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C17"]
[WhiteElo "2526"]
[BlackElo "2842"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. e4 e6 {Carlsen noticed that Georgiadis does not have any games in a
particular line of the French defense and decided to test his opening
knowledge there.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Ba5 6. b4 cxd4 7. Qg4 Kf8
8. Nb5 Bc7 {"A bluff." (Carlsen)} ({Instead} 8... Bb6 {"I know this is the
strongest move." (Georgiadis)} 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. Bb2 Nge7 11. Bd3 Ng6 12. Qg3 f6
13. Bxg6 hxg6 14. Nbxd4 Nxd4 15. Bxd4 Kf7 {as in Inarkiev,E (2683)-Vallejo
Pons,F (2705) Sochi 2017}) 9. Qxd4 ({The world champion knew a recent blitz
game of Mamedyarov which went} 9. Qg3 Nc6 10. f4 a6 11. Nxc7 Qxc7 12. Bb2 Nge7
13. Bd3 Nf5 14. Qf2 {and apparently prepared something there, Fedoseev,V (2724)
-Mamedyarov,S (2809) Moscow 2018}) 9... Nc6 10. Qc5+ Nge7 11. Nxc7 Qxc7 12. Nf3
b6 13. Qd6 $5 {The bluff did not work well. It is even Georgadis who comes up
with an interesting over-the-board novelty.} ({It is interesting that players
knew that the correct continuation is:} 13. Qc3 {"with advantage for White" 
(Carlsen)} a6 14. Bd3 Bb7 15. Bf4 (15. O-O $5) 15... Rc8 16. O-O h6 17. Rfe1 {
Van Haastert,E (2440)-Berelowitsch,A (2549) Belgium 2014}) 13... Qxd6 14. exd6
Nf5 {The pawn is seemingly doomed, but White has foreseen this.} 15. Bf4 f6 16.
g4 Nfd4 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. O-O-O e5 19. Rxd4 {All of this has been calculated
by the young Swiss GM when he opted for the novelty. In return for the
exchange he gets the bishop pair, a strong passer and piece activity. The rook
on h8 looks particularly ugly.} ({However, it made sense to postpone the
capture for a move and use Carlsen's suggestion} 19. h3 $1 {which saves the
important pawn. After} Bb7 20. Rxd4 exd4 {White has full compensation for the
exchange in many ways:} 21. Bb5 (21. Bg2 $5) (21. h4 $5) 21... a6 22. Bd7 Rd8
23. Be6 {with an interesting endgame ahead.}) 19... exd4 20. Bb5 Bxg4 ({
Carlsen did not consider seriously the cementing move} 20... Be6 {as after} 21.
Rd1 {followed by Rd1xd4 "White does not risk to lose."} ({White can also save
the g4 pawn, but not with} 21. h3 $6 g5 $1 22. Bg3 h5) ({Better is to save it
with} 21. g5 $5)) 21. Re1 g5 {Opening some room for the pieces with tempo.} 22.
Bg3 Rd8 {Missed by White.} ({Georgiadis was hoping for} 22... h5 23. d7 Kf7 24.
Re8 ({Weaker is} 24. Bc7 Be6) 24... Raxe8 25. dxe8=Q+ Rxe8 26. Bxe8+ Kxe8 {
with a draw in the opposite-colored bishop endgame.}) 23. Re7 h5 (23... Rg8 {
leads Black nowhere after} 24. Rxh7 Rg7 25. Rh8+ Rg8 26. Rh7) 24. h4 gxh4 25.
Bf4 ({The other way to defend was} 25. Bxh4 Rxd6 26. Rxa7 {but then White
parts with his main asset.}) 25... Bf5 {Brining the kingside rook out.} ({
Carlsen did not like this move and suggested instead} 25... a5 $5 {to clear he
seventh rank out of his pawns, thus not allowing White too many passers. The
arising lines are extremely interesting. Most logical seems to bring the king
out:} 26. Kd2 ({not} 26. Bd3 Rd7) {when after the sequence} 26... Bf5 27. bxa5
bxa5 28. Bd3 Bxd3 29. Kxd3 Re8 30. Rb7 h3 {both sides have dangerous passers.
Play may continue:} 31. Kxd4 $1 Re4+ 32. Kc5 $3 ({But not} 32. Kxd5 {when
Black has a study-like win:} Rxf4 33. d7 ({If} 33. Rb8+ Kg7 34. Rxh8 Rf5+ $1 {
The neatest solution.} (34... h2 $1 35. Rxh5 Rf5+ {would also do.}) 35. Kd4 h2
36. d7 h1=Q 37. d8=Q Qd1+ 38. Kc3 Rc5+ {and mate comes soon.}) 33... Ke7 34.
d8=Q+ Kxd8 35. Rb8+ Kd7 36. Rxh8 Rf5+ $1 37. Ke4 h2 {and the pawn queens.})
32... Rxf4 ({Objectively best is:} 32... Rc4+ 33. Kb5 Rxf4 34. Rb8+ Kf7 35.
Rxh8 Ke6 36. Rxh5 Rxf2 37. Rxh3 Kxd6 {when Black preserves winning chances.})
33. Rb8+ Kf7 ({Here} 33... Kg7 $2 34. Rxh8 Rc4+ 35. Kxd5 Rxc2 36. Rxh5 {
is awkward for Black.}) 34. Rxh8 Rc4+ 35. Kxd5 Rxc2 36. d7 h2 {and it all ends
peacefully after} 37. Rxh5 Rxf2 38. Rh7+ Kg6 39. Rh8 Rd2+ 40. Kc6 Rc2+) 26.
Rxa7 Rh7 ({The computer suggestion} 26... Rc8 27. a4 Rxc2+ 28. Kd1 {makes
little sense for a human being. The d6 passer is left almost on its own. Is
the pawn on c2 worth the journey?}) 27. Rc7 Bd7 {A critical moment of the game.
Although Georgiadis was in time-trouble already and Carlsen had more than an
hour on his clock, it is the world champion who misses an important detail.} ({
From afar Black calculated} 27... Rxc7 28. dxc7 Ra8 29. a4 Ke7 30. Bc6 Rh8 {
(rook anywhere)} 31. a5 ({Carlsen's intuition did not fail him. White indeed
wins here with the precise:} 31. b5 $1 {when} Bd7 {is met with} 32. Bxd5) 31...
bxa5 32. bxa5 {and thought he should be winning with} ({Then it dawned to him
that} 32. b5 $1 {is in fact better and he might even lose the game. It might
however be still a draw after} Bd7 33. Bb7 Bxb5 34. c8=Q Rxc8 35. Bxc8 d3 {
as there are almost no white pawns left alive.}) 32... Bc8) ({On} 27... h3 28.
Kd2 {should not change much.}) ({The big question is if Black was winning
after:} 27... Kg8 {which intends Rh7-g7. A possible line is:} 28. Bc6 Rg7 29.
a4 ({But not the other way round} 29. Bxd5+ Kh8 30. a4 $4 Rxc7 31. dxc7 Rxd5)
29... Rg1+ 30. Kd2 Kh8 31. Bxd5 Ra1 32. Re7 {Prepared Bf4-h6.} (32. Bh6 Rxd6)
32... Rxa4 33. Bh6 h3 34. Bg7+ Kh7 35. Bxf6+ Kg6 36. Be5 Rc8 37. Bb3 Rxb4 38.
Rg7+ Kh6 39. Rf7 {Nothing is clear here neither, but the unsafe position of
the black king and the limited material on the board should be objectively
enough for the first player to survive.}) 28. Bc6 $1 {This is what Carlsen
missed.} h3 ({It is too late to revert to the previous line} 28... Bf5 29. a4)
29. Kd2 (29. a4 Rg7 30. Bh6 Bxc6 31. Rxg7 {should also suffice for a draw.})
29... Rg7 {Forcing matters.} ({After} 29... h2 30. Bxh2 Rg7 31. Bxd5 {the
bishops are at least not worse than the rooks.}) 30. Bh6 Bxc6 31. Rxg7 Rxd6 32.
Rg5+ $1 {Another neat move by the Swiss GM.} ({Black was hoping to push after} 
32. Rg3+ Kf7 33. Rxh3 Kg6 34. Bf4 Re6 {It is the more or less the same
position as the game except that the h5 pawn is still alive. And} 35. Kd3 $2 {
is not good to} Bb5+ 36. Kxd4 Re4+ {(Carlsen)}) 32... Kf7 33. Rxh5 Bb5 ({
Black cannot keep the h3 passer alive-} 33... Bd7 34. Bf4 Rc6 35. Rh7+ Ke8 36.
Rh8+ Ke7 37. Rh7+ Kd8 38. Rh8+) 34. Rxh3 Re6 35. Rf3 {The opposite-colored
bishops determine the draw outcome, but Carlsen keeps on trying to squeeze
water from stone.} Kg6 36. Bf4 Rc6 37. Bg3 Rc4 38. Rd3 Kf5 39. Rf3+ Ke6 40. Rd3
f5 41. f3 f4 ({Or} 41... Ba4 42. c3) 42. Bf2 Ke5 43. c3 {One more pair of
pawns is traded as well as the rooks. Many people would have accepted the draw
now, but the world champion found one more resource.} Rc6 $1 44. Rxd4 Rh6 45.
Kc1 ({There was another way to the peace:} 45. c4 Bxc4 46. Rxf4 Rh2 47. Ke3
Rxf2 48. Rxc4 Rxf3+ 49. Kxf3 dxc4 50. a4 {(Carlsen) For instance:} Kd4 51. Ke2
c3 52. a5 bxa5 53. bxa5 Kc5 54. a6 Kb6 55. Kd3) 45... Rh3 46. Rd2 Rxf3 47. Bd4+
Ke4 48. Kb2 Rd3 49. Rxd3 Kxd3 50. Bxb6 Ba4 ({Unfortunately for Black, he
cannot win the bishop and save his last pawn from the trade at the same time.
For example:} 50... Ke2 51. Kb3 f3 52. a4 Bc4+ 53. Kc2 f2 54. Bxf2 Kxf2 55. b5
Ke3 56. b6 Ba6 57. Kb3 ({But not} 57. c4 d4 $1) 57... Ke4 58. Kb4 Kd3 59. Kc5 (
{Or} 59. a5 Kd2 60. Kc5 Kxc3 61. Kxd5) 59... Bb7 60. a5 Kxc3 61. a6 ({The pawn
endgame is also a draw:} 61. Kb5 d4 62. a6 Bxa6+ 63. Kxa6 d3 64. b7 d2 65. b8=Q
d1=Q) 61... Bxa6 62. Kxd5) 51. Ba7 f3 52. Bg1 Kd2 ({If} 52... Ke2 53. c4 dxc4
54. Kc3 Bb5 55. a4) 53. Ba7 $1 ({"The only thing White should avoid is"} 53.
Bd4 Ke2 54. c4 Kd3 $1 {(Carlsen) although even this is a draw after} 55. Bf2
dxc4 56. Kc1 Ke2 57. Bg1 f2 58. Bxf2 Kxf2 59. Kd2) 53... Bd1 54. Bc5 Ba4 55.
Ba7 Ke2 56. c4 d4 57. Bxd4 Kd3 58. Ba7 Kxc4 1/2-1/2

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.25"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 d5 5. Qa4 dxc4 6. Qxc4 Be6 7. Qa4 Bg7 8. Nf3
O-O 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Nc3 Nd5 (10... Nb6 11. Qc2 Bc4 12. Rd1 Nfd5 13. e4 Nxc3 14.
bxc3 Qc8 15. a4 h6 {Dreev,A (2653)-Izzat,K (2484) chess.com INT 2018}) 11. Rd1
N7f6 (11... Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bd5 13. Qc2 Nf6 14. Ba3 Qc7 {Ushenina,A (2443)
-Bodnaruk,A (2446) Sochi 2018}) 12. h3 $6 Qb6 $6 {The only move Svidler played
without thinking but he misses a tactic which Mamedyarov noticed right after
playing h3.} ({After} 12... Qc8 $1 {White has to play} 13. Nxd5 (13. Kh2 Nxc3
14. bxc3 Ne4 {is the tactic; both f2 and c3 are hanging.}) (13. g4 h5) 13...
Bxd5 {and Black has equalized.}) 13. Ne1 Rfd8 (13... Nxc3 $5 14. bxc3 Bd5) 14.
e4 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Qb5 16. Qxb5 (16. Qc2 $5) 16... cxb5 17. Ba3 Bf8 18. d5 Bc8
19. Rac1 (19. e5 Nd7 20. f4 Nb6 21. Bc5 {King} Na4 22. Bd4 b6 {Svidler}) (19.
Nc2 e5 $1 {and Black is fine.} (19... Nd7 20. Nd4 a6 21. Ne6 {Mamedyarov}))
19... e6 20. d6 e5 21. Nd3 (21. f4 Be6 22. Nf3 Nd7 $1) 21... Ne8 22. Nxe5 Be6
23. Rd2 Bxd6 24. Rcd1 Bc7 25. Nd7 Nd6 26. Nf6+ Kg7 27. Nd5 Bxd5 28. Rxd5 Nc4
29. Bc5 a6 30. f4 Rxd5 31. Rxd5 Bb6 32. e5 ({Svidler was very much worried
about} 32. Bd4+ Bxd4+ 33. cxd4 {but Mamedyarov pointed out} Rc8 34. Rd7 Nb6 35.
Rxb7 Rc1+ {and Black might just survive, e.g.} 36. Kh2 Nc4 37. e5 Rc2 38. e6
Ne3 39. e7 Rxg2+ 40. Kh1 Re2) 32... Rc8 33. Bxb6 Nxb6 34. Rd6 Na4 35. Bxb7 Rxc3
36. Bxa6 Rxg3+ 37. Kh2 Ra3 38. Bxb5 Rxa2+ 39. Kg3 Nc5 40. Rd4 Ra3+ 41. Kg2 Ne6
1/2-1/2

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.25"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Navara, David"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8.
Be3 Qa5 9. Nd2 (9. Qd2 O-O 10. Rc1 Rd8 11. d5 e6 12. Bg5 f6 13. Be3 Nc6 {
Yu,Y (2759)-Svidler,P (2753) Shenzhen 2018}) 9... Bd7 10. Rb1 Ba4 11. Qxa4+
Qxa4 12. Bb5+ Qxb5 13. Rxb5 b6 14. dxc5 {MVL said he "forgot this is better
for White."} Nd7 (14... Bxc3 15. Ke2 Bxd2 16. Kxd2 Nd7 17. c6 Nf8 {Melkumyan,H
(2620)-Khalifman,A (2632) Moscow 2012}) 15. Ke2 Bxc3 {Navara thought for 43
minutes here because there's a big choice to make.} 16. Nb3 (16. c6 $1 {
was probably best:} Nf8 (16... Nf6 17. Nc4 O-O-O 18. f3) 17. Nf3 $5) (16. Rc1
$5) 16... O-O 17. c6 (17. Rc1 $5) 17... Nf6 18. Kd3 Bb2 19. Nd2 Rfd8+ 20. Kc4
Ba3 21. e5 Rac8 (21... Ng4 $5) 22. exf6 Rxc6+ 23. Kb3 Rd3+ 24. Ka4 Bd6 25. Rb3
Rd5 26. Rb5 Rd3 27. Rb3 Rd5 28. Rb5 Rd3 1/2-1/2

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.26"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "2842"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. Bg5 (
8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Nf1 d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Ng3 f6 12. O-O Be6 {Caruana,F (2799)
-So,W (2788) London 2017}) 8... h6 9. Bh4 O-O 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. O-O Bb6 12. Re1
Bxb3 (12... Kh7 13. Bc2 Ne7 14. d4 Ng6 15. Bg3 Re8 16. Nf1 Nh5 {Grischuk,A 
(2761)-Mamedyarov,S (2800) Paris 2017}) 13. Nxb3 Nb8 14. d4 Nbd7 15. a4 Re8 16.
Qc2 Qe7 17. h3 Rab8 18. axb5 axb5 19. Na5 Bxa5 20. Rxa5 c6 21. Ra7 Qe6 22. Rd1
Nf8 ({Not} 22... Ra8 $6 23. d5 cxd5 24. exd5 Nxd5 25. Rxd7 Qxd7 26. Rxd5) 23.
Rc7 Rec8 24. Rxc6 Rxc6 25. d5 Qc8 26. dxc6 Ne8 $1 (26... Qxc6 $2 27. Bxf6 gxf6
28. Nh4 {is horrible for Black.}) 27. Be7 $5 Qxc6 28. Nh4 Ng6 29. Nf5 Rb7 30.
Bxd6 Rd7 31. Ba3 Rxd1+ 32. Qxd1 Qxe4 33. Ne3 Nf6 34. g3 h5 35. h4 Qc6 36. Bb4
Kh7 37. b3 Qa8 38. c4 bxc4 39. bxc4 Qc6 40. Bd6 Kg8 41. c5 Qe4 42. Qf1 ({
Interesting, and perhaps the last chance for something tangible, was} 42. Be7
$5 Nxe7 43. Qd8+ Kh7 44. Qxe7 Kg6 45. Qd6) 42... Nd5 43. Nxd5 Qxd5 44. Qc1 f6
45. Qc2 e4 46. Kf1 Kf7 47. Qa4 Qd3+ 48. Kg1 Kg8 49. Qa2+ Kh7 50. Kh2 Qd1 51.
Qa3 Qd2 52. Qe3 Qd5 53. Qc1 Kg8 54. Kg1 Kf7 55. Qa1 Kg8 56. Qc1 Kf7 57. Qb1 Ne7
58. Bxe7 Kxe7 59. Qb6 Qd1+ 60. Kh2 Qd4 61. Qb7+ Ke6 62. Qc6+ Ke7 63. Kg2 e3 64.
Qb7+ Ke6 65. Qc8+ Kd5 66. fxe3 Qg4 67. Qd8+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.26"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A28"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 6. Qxc3 Qe7 7. b3 (7. Be2
O-O 8. O-O e4 9. Nd4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 c5 11. Qc3 d5 12. b3 Rd8 {Vachier Lagrave,M
(2789)-Karjakin,S (2782) Leuven 2018}) 7... d5 8. d4 exd4 9. Nxd4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4
c5 11. Qf4 O-O 12. Bb2 d4 13. O-O-O ({Danny King suggested} 13. Bd3 dxe3 14.
O-O {and Svidler agreed he should have at least considered it.}) 13... dxe3 (
13... Qe4 14. Qg3 Bg4 15. Bd3 Qe6 16. Rde1 {is bad for Black (Navara).}) 14.
Re1 (14. fxe3 Ng4 15. Re1 (15. Bd3 $5) 15... Re8 {Svidler}) 14... Qe4 $1 {
Otherwise White is actually close to winning (Svidler).} 15. Qxe3 Bf5 16. Qxe4
Nxe4 17. Bd3 Rfe8 ({Navara showed the difference with} 17... Rae8 18. Bc2 Bg6
19. Re2 $6 Nc3 $1 20. Rxe8 Nxa2+) 18. Bc2 ({Navara didn't trust} 18. f3 Ng3 19.
Bxf5 {(Svidler forgot that this is "a legal move.")} Nxf5 20. Rxe8+ Rxe8 21.
Rd1 b6 {very much and Svidler also would have liked to get this endgame.})
18... f6 19. f3 {Only this is new actually.} (19. Rhf1 Nd6 20. Bd1 Be4 21. f3
Bg6 22. Bc3 b6 23. g4 h6 24. h4 h5 {Harsha,B (2471)-Mozharov,M (2558) Mumbai
2018}) 19... Nd6 20. Bd1 b6 21. Bc3 Nf7 22. g4 Bd7 23. f4 Bc6 24. Rxe8+ Rxe8
25. Re1 Kf8 26. Rxe8+ Kxe8 27. Bc2 h6 28. Kd2 Bf3 29. h3 Bg2 30. h4 Bf3 31. g5
hxg5 32. hxg5 fxg5 33. fxg5 Nxg5 34. Ke3 Bc6 35. Bxg7 Kd7 36. Be5 Kc8 37. Bf5+
Bd7 38. Bc2 Kb7 39. Bc3 Ne6 40. Bf5 Nf8 1/2-1/2

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.26"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Georgiadis, Nico"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A18"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2526"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 d5 4. e5 d4 {The Mikenas variation.} 5. exf6 dxc3 6.
bxc3 Qxf6 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. d4 e5 9. Be2 exd4 10. Bg5 Qg6 11. O-O Be7 ({According
to Vachier-Lagrave} 11... dxc3 {which happened in a recent game is more
interesting, for example} 12. Bd3 Qd6 13. Re1+ Be7 {as in Dubov,D (2701)
-Nakamura,H (2787) Moscow 2018. "But it is a draw," added the Frenchman.}) 12.
Bd3 {A novelty, which improves on an earlier game.} ({After} 12. Bxe7 Nxe7 13.
cxd4 O-O 14. Bd3 Qf6 15. Qc2 h6 16. Rab1 {White also got a better position in
Foglieni,M (2021) -Fantinel,T (2429) Bratto 2016}) 12... Qd6 (12... Qh5 {
"is too dangerous for Black" (MVL). The French GM continued the line with} 13.
Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Re1 {but was not exactly sure what he would do after} dxc3 {
Most likely it would be:} 15. Qa4+ (15. Rb1 $5) 15... Bd7 16. Qb4 Be6 17. Re5
Qh6 18. Qb5+ c6 19. Qxb7 {with strong initiative.}) 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 ({White
seriously considered the odd-looking} 13... Kxe7 14. Re1+ Be6 {when} 15. c5 $1
{is strong:} Qxc5 16. cxd4 Nxd4 17. Rc1 {For example} Nxf3+ 18. Qxf3 Qd6 19.
Qxb7 Rhc8 20. Qe4 g6 21. Rc6 Qd7 22. Qb4+ Kf6 23. Qc3+ Ke7 24. Bb5 $1 {and
White wins.}) 14. cxd4 O-O 15. Re1 {"This is just slightly better for White, a
very unpleasant position." (MVL)} b6 ({On} 15... Bf5 16. c5 Qd8 ({Not} 16...
Qd7 $2 17. Rxe7) ({But Vachier-Lagrave considered seriously the pawn sacrifice
} 16... Qf6 17. Rxe7 ({Now} 17. Ne5 {does not yield White much after} Rad8 18.
Bc4 Ng6) 17... Bxd3 18. Rxc7 Be4 19. Ne5 {White is a pawn up, but a strong
bishop can sometimes compensate for it.} ({Georgiadis also calculated this
line, but missed the little tactics} 19. d5 $2 Bxd5 {from afar.} 20. Qxd5 $4
Qxa1+)) 17. Bc4 {White preserves the advantage.}) 16. c5 Qf6 (16... bxc5 {
"is a more serious try" (MVL) when} 17. dxc5 Qxc5 {Here} 18. Re5 {was the
forcing line that Vachier-Lagrave considered seriously, but at the end of it} (
{Georgiades apparently wanted to avoid the endgame after} 18. Rc1 Qd6 19. Bxh7+
Kxh7 20. Qxd6 cxd6 21. Rxe7 Kg6 {The less pieces (and pawns) the higher the
drawing chances in my opinion, but apparently Black did not like to defend
this.}) 18... Qd6 19. Be4 Ng6 20. Rb5 Qxd1+ 21. Rxd1 {The rook is trapped and}
Ba6 22. Ra5 {is a double attack, but Black has a defense:} Rad8 ({Or even} 
22... Be2 23. Re1 Bxf3 24. Bxf3 Rae8 25. Rxe8 Rxe8 26. g3 {although this is
definitely big advantage for White thanks to the better minor piece.})) 17. Be4
c6 {A blunder, although the alternative wasn't much better.} ({If} 17... Rb8
18. Ne5 ({Or} 18. Qa4)) 18. cxb6 axb6 19. Qb1 {The double attack nets White a
pawn.} Bf5 20. Qxb6 Bxe4 21. Rxe4 Qd6 {A good decision according to
Vachier-Lagrave.} ({On} 21... Nd5 {White intended to consolidate with} 22. Qc5
Rfb8 ({There is also the cute line} 22... Qg6 23. Rae1 Rxa2 24. Qxf8+ Kxf8 25.
Re8# {(MVL)}) 23. Qc2) 22. Qc5 Qxc5 23. dxc5 Nd5 {Next White consolidates his
position.} 24. a4 g6 25. g3 Rfb8 26. Rc4 Ra6 27. Nd4 Rb2 28. Ra3 Kg7 29. Rd3
Ne7 (29... Nf6 {was mandatory according to White when} 30. Rb3 Ra2 31. Rb7
R2xa4 (31... Kg8 {is not completely clear.}) {loses to} 32. Rxa4 Rxa4 33. Ne6+
{(MVL)}) 30. Nf3 Nd5 ({If} 30... Ra2 31. Rd7) ({However} 30... Ra7 {was a
decent defensive try when} 31. Ne5 Ra2 32. Rd6 ({Therefore White needs to play
for a win with something like} 32. Rdd4) 32... R2xa4 33. Rxa4 Rxa4 34. Nxc6
Nxc6 35. Rxc6 {should be a draw.}) 31. Ne5 Rb4 ({Here} 31... Nf6 {is met with}
32. Rd6) 32. Rxb4 Nxb4 33. Rd7 Kg8 ({If} 33... Kf6 34. Nxf7 Rxa4 35. Nd8 {
an White gets closer.}) 34. Nxf7 Ra5 ({White should also win after} 34... Rxa4
35. Ng5 h6 36. Nf7 h5 37. Ng5 Ra1+ 38. Kg2 Rc1 39. Ne6) 35. Ng5 Rxc5 $2 {
This hangs a rook but the position was lost anyway.} (35... Rxa4 36. Rxh7 {
also wins.}) 36. Rd8+ Kg7 37. Ne6+ 1-0

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.27"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Navara, David"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D41"]
[WhiteElo "2741"]
[BlackElo "2842"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 {Navara said he was a bit surprised
about this.} 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.
Qxd2 O-O 11. Rc1 b6 12. Bd3 Ba6 {Here Navara was "out of book." "I remembered
this was supposed to be the best here." (Carlsen)} 13. Bxa6 (13. O-O Bxd3 14.
Qxd3 Nd7 15. e5 Re8 16. Rc3 Nf8 {Li,C (2725)-Wei,Y (2734) Ningbo 2018}) 13...
Nxa6 14. O-O Rc8 (14... Qe7 15. Qe2 Qb7 16. Ne5 Rac8 17. h4 Nb8 18. Nc4 Qa6 19.
Rc2 Nd7 {So,W (2788)-Dominguez Perez,L (2739) Saint Louis 2017}) 15. Rxc8 (15.
h4 $5 Qd6 (15... h6 $5)) 15... Qxc8 16. Rc1 Qb7 17. Qc2 Nb4 {Navara was
surprised that this move "worked."} 18. Qc4 a5 19. a3 b5 20. Qc7 Qxc7 21. Rxc7
Nd3 22. g3 (22. Rc3 Nf4 {and}) (22. d5 exd5 23. exd5 Rd8 24. Nd4 g6 {are equal.
}) 22... Rb8 {Navara expected it to finish in a draw but then got surprised
about this move.} (22... f5 23. Ng5 b4 24. axb4 axb4 {is equal.}) (22... Ra8 $6
23. Kf1 b4 (23... a4 24. Ke2 Nb2 25. Nd2) 24. Ke2 Nb2 25. axb4 axb4 26. Rb7) (
22... h6 23. Rc3 Nb2 24. Rb3 Nc4 25. Rxb5 Ra8 26. Rb3 a4 27. Rc3 Nd6 {might
also be possible.}) 23. Rc3 {"A winning attempt." (Navara)} (23. d5 exd5 24.
exd5 g6) 23... Nb2 24. Ne5 f6 $1 {With this move Carlsen calculated more or
less everything that follows.} (24... Nc4 $6 25. Nxc4 Rc8 26. Kf1 bxc4 27. Ke2
Kf8 28. Kd2) 25. Nc6 Ra8 26. Rb3 Nc4 27. Rxb5 a4 28. d5 exd5 29. exd5 Nxa3 30.
Rc5 (30. Rb4 Nc2 31. Rb2 a3 ({not} 31... Na3 $2 32. d6 Nc4 33. d7 Nxb2 34. Ne7+
Kf7 35. Nc8) 32. Ra2 Ra6 33. Kf1 Kf7 {is also a draw.}) 30... Kf7 31. Nd4 Ke7 (
{Navara had seen} 31... Ra7 32. d6 Ke8 33. Rc7 Rxc7 34. dxc7 Kd7 35. Ne6 {
followed by 36.Nc5+.}) 32. Rc3 Nb1 33. Rc7+ Kd6 34. Nb5+ Kxd5 (34... Ke5 35.
f4+ (35. Re7+ Kxd5 36. Re1 Nd2 37. Nc7+ Kd6 38. Nxa8 Nf3+ 39. Kf1 Nxe1 40. Nb6)
35... Ke4 36. d6 a3 37. Re7+ Kd5 38. d7 a2 39. Re8 a1=Q 40. Rxa8 Qxa8 41. Nc7+
Kc6 42. Nxa8 Kxd7 43. Nb6+ {Navara}) 35. Rc1 a3 36. Rxb1 a2 37. Nc3+ Kd4 38.
Nxa2 ({Carlsen pointed out a line another drawing that Navara hadn't seen:} 38.
Ne2+ Kd3 39. Nc1+ Kc2 40. Ra1 Kb2 41. Rxa2+ Rxa2 42. Nxa2 Kxa2 43. Kg2 Kb3 44.
Kf3 Kc4 45. Ke4 Kc5) 38... Rxa2 39. Rb7 Ke4 40. Kg2 g5 41. Rxh7 Kf5 42. Rg7 g4
43. Rh7 Kg6 44. Rh4 f5 45. h3 1/2-1/2

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.27"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Georgiadis, Nico"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B92"]
[WhiteElo "2526"]
[BlackElo "2801"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be3
Be6 9. Nd5 Nbd7 10. Qd3 Bxd5 11. exd5 Rc8 12. c4 O-O 13. O-O Ne8 14. Qd2 (14.
f3 g6 15. Kh1 Ng7 16. Bg1 Bg5 17. Rad1 h5 18. Nd2 f5 {Karjakin,S (2782)
-Grischuk,A (2766) Paris 2018}) 14... b6 15. Rac1 a5 16. Na1 f5 (16... g6 17.
b4 Ng7 18. bxa5 bxa5 19. Bd3 Nc5 20. Bc2 a4 {Carlsen,M (2853)-Grischuk,A (2771)
Saint Louis 2015}) 17. f3 (17. f4 $5) 17... f4 18. Bf2 Bh4 19. Bd3 Bxf2+ 20.
Qxf2 Nc5 21. Bc2 g6 $5 {"If I play ...g6, I can always play ...g5. If I play ..
.g5, I can never play ...g6 anymore." (Mamedyarov)} (21... g5 22. Nb3 Nxb3 23.
Bxb3 Ng7 24. Bc2 {was what Georgiadis was hoping for.}) 22. Rfe1 Ng7 23. Be4
Qd7 24. Nc2 Nf5 25. b3 Kh8 26. Rb1 Ng7 ({Mamedyarov wasn't sure of} 26... g5
27. a3 Rg8 28. b4 axb4 29. axb4 Nxe4 30. fxe4 (30. Rxe4) 30... Nh4 31. Qxb6 g4
32. c5 g3 {but Georgadis was completely right when he said: "This looks like
mate."}) 27. Na3 Nf5 28. Nb5 Rf6 (28... Ne3 29. Rxe3 fxe3 30. Qxe3 {and White
is OK (Mamedyarov).}) 29. a3 g5 30. Nc3 $2 ({White had to take here:} 30. Bxf5
Qxf5 (30... Rxf5) 31. b4 axb4 32. axb4 Nd3 {and now the point missed by
Georgiadis:} 33. Qc2 $1 Nxe1 34. Qxf5 Rxf5 35. Nxd6 {Mamedyarov}) 30... Nd4 31.
b4 axb4 32. Rxb4 g4 33. Qh4 ({After} 33. Rxb6 {Black has many strong moves, e.
g.} g3 (33... Rg8) (33... gxf3)) 33... Nxe4 34. Nxe4 Rg6 35. fxg4 Nc2 36. Rxb6
Nxe1 37. Nf6 Qg7 38. Rxd6 Rh6 39. Qxe1 Rxf6 0-1

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.27"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Svidler, Peter"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2753"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb4 6. Bc4 Nd3+ 7. Ke2 Nf4+ 8.
Kf1 Ne6 9. d3 ({Both games in Georgia went} 9. h4 {One of them was decisive
for the match and continued} Nd4 10. d3 e6 11. Bf4 a6 12. Nxd4 cxd4 13. Ne2 Nc6
14. a3 Bd6 15. Bxd6 Qxd6 16. Qd2 Bd7 17. f4 e5 18. f5 g6 {as was annotated
here on Chess. com; Svidler,P (2751)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2804) Tbilisi 2017})
9... Nc6 ({According to Svidler there is nothing wrong with} 9... g6 10. h4 h5
{The Russian GM in fact was astonished that his opponent never used the idea
in none of their three games.}) 10. h4 g6 11. h5 ({A predecessor saw:} 11. Be3
Ned4 12. Nd5 Bg7 13. Nxd4 Bxd4 14. h5 Bxe3 15. Nxe3 g5 {Krassowizkij,J (2452)
-Clitan,Z (2115) Ditzingen 2017}) 11... Bg7 12. Be3 ({In the press conference
players briefly discusses another way to improve, the clever} 12. Qd2 $1 {
The idea is to trade everything along the h-file and sneak into the black camp
via the h6 square. After} Ne5 ({Perhaps Black needs to proceed with the
development with} 12... Bd7 13. hxg6 {and agree to worsen his pawn structure}
fxg6 ({As} 13... hxg6 $6 14. Rxh8+ Bxh8 15. Qh6 Bg7 16. Qh7 {is excellent for
the first player.})) 13. Nxe5 ({Or the immediate} 13. hxg6) 13... Bxe5 14. hxg6
hxg6 15. Rxh8+ Bxh8 16. Qh6 Bg7 17. Qh7 {the plan is fulfilled and White is
definitely better.}) ({White avoided the natural-looking} 12. h6 Bd4 13. Nxd4
Nexd4 {"which only developes the black pieces" (Svidler)}) ({Also interesting
was} 12. Nd5 $5 Ned4 13. h6 Be5 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15. Bf4 {which they both liked a
lot for White, although things might not be that clear after} f6) 12... Ned4
13. h6 ({Nothing yields} 13. Nb5 Nxf3 14. Qxf3 Ne5) 13... Bf6 14. Nd5 Bg4 15.
Nxf6+ exf6 16. Bxd4 Nxd4 ({Both players saw the tricky:} 16... Bxf3 17. Bxf7+
$1 Kxf7 18. Qb3+ Ke8 {when Vachier-Lagrave believed that best is:} 19. Qe6+ $1
({Whereas Svidler was tempted by} 19. Bxc5 Bg4 20. Qxb7 Bd7 {although it seems
as Black can hold his position together in this line.}) 19... Qe7 20. Qxe7+
Nxe7 21. Bxf6 Rf8 22. Bxe7 Kxe7 23. gxf3 Rxf3 {with winning chances for White.}
) 17. Qa4+ Qd7 ({Black did not want to play the position after} 17... Bd7 18.
Qa3 Qe7 ({Although MVL was seriously investigating the line} 18... b5 19. Bd5
$1 (19. Nxd4 bxc4 {seems to work well for Black.}) 19... b4 20. Qa6 Bb5 {
Hoping to trap the white queen. Unfortunately for him} 21. Qb7 {creates a
double threat and} Bxd3+ {can be met with the key move} 22. Ke1 $1 {Prevents
the trade of the queens and wins material for White after say} ({Worse is} 22.
Kg1 Ne2+ 23. Kh2 Qb8+ {and Black saves everything.}) 22... O-O 23. Nxd4 cxd4
24. Qxa8 {and White should win.}) 19. Nxd4 cxd4 20. Qb3 {With the queens on,
White should be better.}) ({Svidler expected} 17... Ke7 18. Nxd4 Qxd4 19. Qb3 {
but Vachier-Lagrave calculated that he will lose a pawn after} Rab8 ({It seems
as Svidler's intuition was correct though as Black has the strong resource} 
19... b5 $1 {When White cannot capture anything:} 20. Bxf7 $2 (20. Qxb5 $2 {
leads to decisive attack for Black after} Rhb8 21. Qc6 Rxb2) ({And} 20. Bxb5 a6
21. Bc4 Rhb8 22. Qc3 Rxb2 23. Qxd4 cxd4 {regains the pawn with advantage for
Black.}) ({Best would be} 20. Bd5 Be6 21. Bxe6 fxe6 {with equality as} 22. Qxb5
$2 Rhb8 {does not work again.}) {drops a piece to} 20... c4) 20. Bxf7 Rhd8 21.
Bd5 {and dismissed the line.}) 18. Qxd7+ Bxd7 19. Nxd4 cxd4 20. e5 ({Correct
was} 20. Ke2 Ke7 21. Rhc1 Rhc8 22. Bd5 (22. a4 f5) 22... Be6 {(MVL, Svidler)
with a likely draw.}) 20... fxe5 21. Re1 f6 22. f4 Rf8 23. Kg1 Ke7 24. fxe5 f5
25. Rh4 f4 ({White was hoping to torture his opponent in the line:} 25... Be6
26. Bxe6 Kxe6 27. Rxd4 Rfd8) 26. Re4 g5 27. Rh5 (27. Rh1 Rf5 28. Kf2 Bc6 {
is clearly better for Black.}) 27... Rf5 {Missed by Svidler. Now he thought
for about twenty minutes in order to repair the damage. However...} 28. g4 ({
Perhaps White should have tried} 28. Rxd4 Rxe5 29. Rd5 Rxd5 30. Bxd5 Kf6 31.
Bxb7 Rb8 32. Be4 Bf5 {although Black's edge is indisputable here.}) 28... fxg3
29. Rg4 Raf8 30. Rhxg5 {Svidler realized that he had missed something else, a
mate...} ({From afar the Russian GM thought that he forces a draw with} 30.
Rgxg5 Rf1+ 31. Kg2 {but spotted at the last moment that} R1f2+ $1 {is a forced
mate-} 32. Kxg3 (32. Kg1 Bc6 $1 33. Rxg3 Rf1+ 34. Kh2 Rh1#) 32... R8f3+ 33. Kh4
Rh3#) ({Neither does} 30. Rxg3 {help after} Bc6 31. Rgxg5 Rf1+ 32. Kh2 R8f2+
33. Kg3 ({Or} 33. Kh3 Rh1+ 34. Kg3 Rg2+ 35. Kf4 Rf1#) 33... Rg2+ 34. Kh4 Rh1#)
30... Rf1+ 31. Kg2 Bc6+ ({White resigned due to} 31... Bc6+ 32. Kxg3 Rg1+ (
32... R8f3+ {would also do as White needs to part with the rook in order to
avoid mate:} 33. Kh2 R3f2+ 34. Kh3 (34. Rg2) 34... Rh1+ 35. Kg3 Rg2+ 36. Kf4
Rf1#) 33. Kh2 Rh1+ 34. Kg3 Rf3+ 35. Kg2 Rxd3+ 36. Kf2 {And now the rook
returns to f3 with the following maneuver:} Rd2+ 37. Kg3 Rg2+ 38. Kf4 Rf2+ 39.
Kg3 Rf3+ {to win the bishop as well.} 40. Kg2 Rc3+) 0-1

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.29"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Navara, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E10"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "135"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 c5 5. Nc3 a6 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Be2 Nc6 8. O-O
cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bd6 ({Navara did not like} 9... Bc5 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Qa4) 10. b3
({Instead} 10. Nf3 O-O 11. b3 Be6 12. Bb2 Qe7 13. Qd3 Rfd8 14. Rac1 Ne5 15. Qd4
{was the course of the game Grigoriants,S (2563)-Matlakov,M (2694) Tallinn 2016
}) 10... Be5 11. Nxc6 {A novelty.} (11. Ba3 Nxd4 12. exd4 Bd6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14.
Bf3 {Biljanic,L (2322)-Todorovic, N (2100) Nis 2013}) 11... bxc6 12. Bb2 h5 ({
Black can also play something normal like} 12... O-O) ({or} 12... Bf5 {with a
typical, slightly better position for White thanks to the isolated pair of
pawns on c6 and d5.}) 13. f4 $1 Bb8 ({From afar Navara calculated the line} 
13... Bd6 14. Na4 Ng4 15. Qd4 ({but then he saw both} 15. Qc1 $1) ({and} 15.
Qc2 $1 {which are very unpleasant for Black to say the least.}) 15... Qh4 16.
h3 Qg3 17. hxg4 hxg4 18. Qxg7 Rh2 {The Czech GM thought that at least he is
not losing here. Indeed,} 19. Qg8+ $2 {would be mate to the white king after} (
{However White can fight for the advantage with the only move:} 19. Rf2 Qh4 20.
Qh8+ Qxh8 21. Bxh8 Rxh8) 19... Bf8 20. Bf3 Qh4) 14. Na4 Ba7 15. Bd4 {Now
Mamedyarov fixes the isolated pawns and also his advantage.} Bg4 16. Bxg4 hxg4
17. Rc1 Qd6 18. Qc2 (18. Nc5 $5 {was also interesting.}) 18... Bxd4 19. exd4
O-O $1 {The best way to part with the pawn.} ({On} 19... Rc8 20. Rfe1+ Ne4 {
White has the tactical resource} 21. Nb6 Rc7 22. Nxd5 $1) 20. Qxc6 Qa3 21. Qc2
Rac8 22. Qb2 Qxb2 23. Nxb2 {Navara believed that he has enough compensation
for a pawn here but this is hardly the case.} Rxc1 ({The Czech GM suggested
instead:} 23... Rfe8 {when something passive like} 24. Rxc8 ({However} 24. Nd3
{makes things much harder for Black and in order to stay in the game he has to
find some non-trivial resources:} Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Re2 26. Nb4 a5 27. Rc2 Re1+ 28.
Kf2 g3+ $1 29. hxg3 ({Of course not} 29. Kxe1 $4 gxh2) 29... Re4 30. Nd3 Ng4+ {
although White's chances are superior here as well.}) 24... Rxc8 25. Nd3 Rc3
26. Rd1 a5 {would indeed promise Black compensation.}) 24. Rxc1 Re8 25. Kf1 $1
{Missed by Black. Mamedyarov sacrifices the pawn back but increases the
activity of his pieces and maintains the better pawn structure. His queenside
potential passers are particularly dangerous.} ({He was probably hoping for
either} 25. Na4 Re2) ({or} 25. Rc2 g3 $1 26. hxg3 Ng4 27. Nd3 Re4 {when things
are not clear at all.}) 25... Re4 26. g3 Rxd4 27. Ke2 g5 ({Navara regretted
that he did not do this a move later:} 27... Re4+ 28. Kd3 g5 29. fxg5 Nd7 {
when Nd7-e5 comes with a tempo.}) 28. fxg5 ({Back was also worried about} 28.
Rc6 {but hoped he can survive after the tactical line:} Ne4 29. Nd3 gxf4 30.
gxf4 g3 31. hxg3 Nxg3+ {"when I do not lose material at once" (Navara). If} 32.
Ke3 ({Best is} 32. Kd2 Kg7 {when Navara foresaw the trick:} 33. Rxa6 $2 ({
However} 33. b4 $1 {preserves White's winning chances.}) 33... Ne4+ 34. Ke3
Rxd3+ 35. Kxd3 Nc5+ 36. Kd4 Nxa6 37. a4 {with a draw.}) 32... Re4+) 28... Ne4
29. Nd3 Nxg5 30. Nf2 $1 {Also missed by Navara. The knight is working
perfectly from here.} Rb4 31. Rc5 ({Here stronger was:} 31. Rc6 $1 {when Black
cannot save all his pawns:} Ne4 ({Or} 31... a5 32. Ra6 Rb5 33. Nxg4) 32. Rxa6
Nxf2 33. Kxf2 {in comparison to the game White is a valuable tempo ahead.})
31... Ne4 {The best chance is the rook endgame. Very often the weaker side can
save themselves down a pawn or even two.} 32. Ra5 Nxf2 33. Kxf2 Rb6 34. Rxd5
Rh6 35. Ke3 $1 {Excellent decision. Rook endgames are never won with passive
play.} ({After} 35. Kg2 Rc6 36. Rd2 Rc3 {(Navara) Black should indeed survive.}
) 35... Rxh2 36. Ra5 f5 37. Rxa6 Rg2 38. Kf4 Rf2+ 39. Kg5 Rf3 40. Kh4 $1 {
Keeping the things together on the kingside and gaining time to advance the
passers on the other wing. With careful play White should win now.} Kf7 41. b4
Ke7 42. b5 Kd7 43. Ra7+ Kd6 44. Rf7 Rf2 45. b6 Rxa2 46. Rxf5 Rb2 47. Rh5 ({
Mamedyarov could have won faster with the simple} 47. Kxg4 Ke7 48. Kh5 Rxb6 49.
g4 Rb8 50. g5 {(Navara). The pawn has passed the equator and the frontal
defense does not work:} Rh8+ 51. Kg6 Rg8+ 52. Kh6 Rh8+ 53. Kg7) 47... Rb4 48.
Rh8 Ke5 49. Rb8 Kf6 50. Kh5 Kg7 51. Kg5 {White is winning here as well (unless
the tablebase will prove me wrong), but he has to be careful for some things.
In particular, he should never push his pawn to the seventh rank as then even
if he wins the g-pawn it will be a theoretical draw.} Kf7 52. Rb7+ Ke8 53. Kh4
Kf8 54. Kh5 Ke8 55. Rb8+ Kf7 56. Kg5 Kg7 57. Rb7+ Kf8 58. Kf6 Ke8 59. Rb8+ ({
Easier would have been} 59. Re7+ Kf8 (59... Kd8 60. b7) 60. Rf7+ Kg8 61. Rb7
Rb3 62. Kg6 Kf8 63. Rf7+ Ke8 64. b7 {When Black cannot avoid the rook trade
after:} Rb6+ 65. Kg7 Kd8 66. b8=Q+ Rxb8 67. Rf8+ Kc7 68. Rxb8 Kxb8 69. Kf6)
59... Kd7 60. Kg5 Kc6 61. Kh5 Re4 62. Rg8 Kxb6 63. Rxg4 Re3 64. Rg7 Kc6 65. g4
Kd6 66. g5 Ke6 67. Kg6 Rg3 68. Ra7 1-0

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.29"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2842"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3
h5 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. Nd5 Bxd5 11. exd5 g6 12. Be2 (12. O-O-O Nb6 13. Kb1 Nbxd5
14. Bg5 Be7 15. Bd3 Rc8 16. Rhe1 O-O 17. h3 b5 18. g4 h4 19. Bxh4 Nf4 {Vidit,S
(2707)-Korobov,A (2678) Poikovsky 2018}) 12... Bg7 13. O-O a5 $5 {"I tried a
little experiment in the opening that was a little dubious but gave plenty of
play." (MVL)} 14. a4 O-O 15. Bb5 (15. Nc1 Nc5 16. c3 Qc7 17. Rd1 Kh7 18. Ra2
Ng8 19. Bb5 e4 20. f4 Ne7 {Palekha,A (2421)-Kovchan,A (2536) Serpukhov 2003})
15... Qc7 16. c4 b6 17. h3 Nc5 18. Nxc5 bxc5 19. Ra3 Nh7 20. Rb3 f5 21. Bc6 ({
In hindsight, Carlsen suggested} 21. Qe1) 21... Rab8 {"I think this was a
miscalculation but still it's not so simple." (Carlsen)} (21... Ra7 22. Qe1 {
was "terrible" according to MVL.}) 22. Rb5 f4 23. Bf2 e4 24. Qc2 $1 {Missed by
MVL. "I was counting on that from far away and I was very optimistic about my
chances for sure." (Carlsen)} Qe7 (24... e3 25. Be1 {attacks a5 and g6.}) 25.
Qxe4 Qxe4 26. fxe4 Ng5 27. Re1 Nf7 28. Rb1 Ng5 29. Rxa5 $2 {"Basically I just
missed that the d3-square existed, which is pretty unforgivable." (Carlsen)} (
29. Bh4 $6 Nxe4 30. Be7 f3 {MVL}) (29. Be1 f3 $5 30. h4 Bd4+ 31. Kf1 Nxe4 32.
Rxb8 fxg2+ 33. Kxg2 Rxb8 34. Bxa5 Rb3 {and Black is OK. "Long variation, wrong
variation," - Carlsen.}) 29... Rb3 30. Rb5 Rd3 {"Here I was terrified. It's
coming apart." (Carlsen)} 31. Re1 ({Carlsen really wanted to play} 31. b4 Nxe4
32. bxc5 {but he thought} Rd2 {was very strong. However, it's not completely
clear after} 33. cxd6 Rxf2 34. Re1 Rxg2+ 35. Kxg2 f3+ 36. Kh1 Ng3+ 37. Kh2 f2
38. Rbb1) 31... f3 (31... Bd4 {is also interesting (MVL).}) 32. h4 Nf7 ({
Engines point out that} 32... Rd2 $3 {was a winning move here, and MVL did
consider it. However, after} 33. hxg5 fxg2 34. Be3 {it's very hard for humans
to find the quiet} Rc2 $3 ({MVL looked at} 34... Bd4 {but the simple} 35. Rb3 {
just wins}) {when Black wins beautifully. As soon as he was told Rc2 is the
winning move, MVL saw why:} 35. Bd7 (35. Ra5 Rf3 $1) 35... Be5 $1 36. Bh3 Rf1+
37. Rxf1 Bh2+ $1 38. Kxh2 gxf1=Q+ {Amazing stuff.}) 33. a5 Ne5 34. a6 Rd2 35.
a7 fxg2 (35... Rxf2 36. Kxf2 Ng4+ 37. Kf1 Nh2+ 38. Kf2 Ng4+ {is just a draw.})
36. a8=Q ({Also interesting was} 36. Rb8 Nf3+ 37. Kxg2 Nxe1+ 38. Kf1 Rdxf2+ 39.
Kxe1 Kh7 $1 40. Rxf8 Rxf8 41. a8=Q Rxa8 42. Bxa8 {but Carlsen felt his bishop
was "so terrible" that this could well be lost for White, although a
study-like draw might still exist after} Bf6 43. e5 Bxh4+ 44. Ke2 Be7 45. b4 (
45. e6 g5 46. Kf3 Kg6) 45... dxe5 46. bxc5 Bxc5) 36... Nf3+ 37. Kxg2 Nxe1+ 38.
Kf1 Rdxf2+ 39. Kxe1 Rxa8 40. Kxf2 Rf8+ 41. Ke2 Rf4 42. b4 cxb4 (42... Rxe4+ 43.
Kf3 Rxc4 44. bxc5 {is an obvious draw (MVL).}) 43. c5 Be5 44. cxd6 Bxd6 45. Kd3
Kf7 46. Rb6 Bc5 ({"I'm not really in danger after} 46... Rxh4 {" - MVL. "But
you're not really in danger of winning either!" - Carlsen.}) 47. Rb5 Bd6 48.
Rb6 Bc5 49. Rb5 1/2-1/2

[Event "51st Biel GM 2018"]
[Site "Biel SUI"]
[Date "2018.07.29"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Georgiadis, Nico"]
[Black "Svidler, Peter"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2526"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2018.07.22"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 {Svidler spent
eight minutes on this move...} 7. g4 h6 8. h4 e5 {...and 18 minutes on this
one. Svidler said that when this line in fashion and he played it as White, he
tried all kinds of moves but not h4.} ({He also looked at} 8... d5 {quite
deeply.}) 9. Nf5 g6 (9... Nc6 10. Bc4 Be6 11. Bb3 h5 12. gxh5 Bxf5 13. exf5 Qd7
{Kobalia,M (2677)-Inarkiev,E (2707) Konya 2012}) 10. Nxh6 (10. Bg2 d5) 10...
Bxh6 11. Bxh6 (11. g5 Ng4 12. gxh6 (12. Bc1 Qb6 {was what Svidler had
calculated.}) 12... Nxe3 13. fxe3 Rxh6 14. Qf3 Be6 15. O-O-O Nc6 16. h5 Qg5 {
Kurmann,O (2456)-Fier,A (2573) Basel 2013}) 11... Bxg4 12. f3 ({Svidler
expected} 12. Qd2 Nc6 13. Bg5 Nd4 14. Bg2 Bf3 15. Kf1 {and now} Qd7 ({not
Svidler's} 15... Qc8 16. Bxf3 Nxf3 17. Qxd6) 16. Bxf6 Bxg2+ 17. Kxg2 Qg4+ 18.
Kf1 Qf3 19. Rh2 Qxf6 20. Nd5 Qd8 {is equal.}) 12... Bxf3 13. Qxf3 Rxh6 14.
O-O-O (14. Bc4 Nbd7 15. O-O-O) 14... Nc6 15. Bxa6 (15. Qf2 Nd4 16. Bh3 Nh5 17.
Nd5 Ng3 18. Rhf1 Nxf1 19. Rxf1 f5 {Boemelburg,H-Kosmol,H Germany 1996}) ({
Svidler thought} 15. Bc4 Nd4 (15... Rc8 $5) 16. Rxd4 exd4 17. e5 {was strong
but after} dxc3 (17... dxe5 18. Ne4 g5 19. Rf1 $1) 18. exf6 {he might have
missed} Rh5 $1 19. Qxb7 d5 20. Bd3 Rb8 21. Qc6+ Kf8 22. Qxc3 Rb6 {and it's not
clear if White has enough compensation.}) 15... Rxa6 16. Rhf1 ({Georgiadis
suggested} 16. Rdf1 {but Svidler had spotted} Nb4 $3 {during the game:} 17. a3
d5 18. axb4 dxe4 19. Qe3 Ra1+ 20. Nb1 Rh5) 16... Nd4 17. Rxd4 (17. Qxf6 Qxf6
18. Rxf6 {is good for Black but he should avoid} Rxh4 $6 (18... Ne6 $1 {
Georgiadis.}) 19. Rdf1 Rh7 20. Nd5 Rxa2 21. Kb1 Ra5 22. Rxd6 Rh2 23. Nc7+ Ke7
24. Rdf6) 17... exd4 18. Nd5 Rxa2 $1 19. Nxf6+ Kf8 20. Kb1 Ra5 ({The engine
says} 20... Ra7 {is more accurate.}) 21. Qf4 Kg7 22. b4 Rb5 23. Nd5 (23. Kc1 $5
) 23... f5 $1 {Now everything works for Black.} 24. exf5 Rxd5 25. f6+ Kh7 26.
Qe4 Rhh5 27. Qe6 Qf8 28. Qd7+ Kh6 0-1

