21...Bg5?
Wesley could have seized an advantage by capturing White's c4-pawn:
21...N×c4! 22.b×c4 R×c4 -+
22.N×g5 Q×g5 23.Q×g5 h×g5 24.c×d5 N×d5 25.B×d5 e×d5 26.Rc1 g4 =
Wesley could have seized an advantage by capturing White's c4-pawn:
21...N×c4! 22.b×c4 R×c4 -+
22.N×g5 Q×g5 23.Q×g5 h×g5 24.c×d5 N×d5 25.B×d5 e×d5 26.Rc1 g4 =
10.Bc2?
Aronian's carelessness. It would have been better to play 10.Ndf1.
10...Ng4! 11.Re2 B×f2+! 12.R×f2 Ne3 13.Qe2 N×c2 14.Rb1 B×a2 15.b3 B×b1 16.N×b1 N2d4 17.c×d4 N×d4 18.N×d4 e×d4 -/+
Aronian's carelessness. It would have been better to play 10.Ndf1.
10...Ng4! 11.Re2 B×f2+! 12.R×f2 Ne3 13.Qe2 N×c2 14.Rb1 B×a2 15.b3 B×b1 16.N×b1 N2d4 17.c×d4 N×d4 18.N×d4 e×d4 -/+
25.d×e4
Better was 25.R×f5! A shocking combination.
A) 25...Q×f5 26.Qc7 with a forced mate.
B) 25...g×f5 26.N×e4+ Kf7 27.Qg7+ Ke6 28.Qf6+ Kd7 29.Qd6#
25...c4??
Aronian also didn't see the combination.
26.R×f5! g×f5 27.N×h7+ Kf7 28.Qg7+ Ke6 29.Qf6+ Kd7 30.Q×d4+ Kc7 31.Bf4+ Kc6 32.Q×c4+ 1-0
Better was 25.R×f5! A shocking combination.
A) 25...Q×f5 26.Qc7 with a forced mate.
B) 25...g×f5 26.N×e4+ Kf7 27.Qg7+ Ke6 28.Qf6+ Kd7 29.Qd6#
25...c4??
Aronian also didn't see the combination.
26.R×f5! g×f5 27.N×h7+ Kf7 28.Qg7+ Ke6 29.Qf6+ Kd7 30.Q×d4+ Kc7 31.Bf4+ Kc6 32.Q×c4+ 1-0
27. cxd5??
Nakamura blunders a piece. Better was 27. Rb1 g6 28. Rxb4 Qxb4 29. Nf3 Qxc4 30. Qxc4 dxc4 31. Kf1-/+ with some drawing chances.
27... Rxd4 28. Rb1
28. Qxc5 Rxd1+ 29. Kg2 Nxc5-+
28... g6 29. Rb8+ Kg7 30. Qb2 Qxd5 31. Rb4 e5 32. Rb5 Rd2 33. Qb4 Nc5 0-1
Nakamura blunders a piece. Better was 27. Rb1 g6 28. Rxb4 Qxb4 29. Nf3 Qxc4 30. Qxc4 dxc4 31. Kf1-/+ with some drawing chances.
27... Rxd4 28. Rb1
28. Qxc5 Rxd1+ 29. Kg2 Nxc5-+
28... g6 29. Rb8+ Kg7 30. Qb2 Qxd5 31. Rb4 e5 32. Rb5 Rd2 33. Qb4 Nc5 0-1
18.b4!
This move has two critical purposes. It supports the transfer of White's knight to the powerful c5-square, and it also effectively fixes Black's a-pawn on the vulnerable a6-square. Black would like to free his pieces from the worry of defending this pawn by playing ...a5, but now he must always take into account the white reply b5, establishing a strong passed b-pawn.
18...Kf8 19.Nc5 Bc8 20.f3 Rea7!? 21.Re5+/-.
This move has two critical purposes. It supports the transfer of White's knight to the powerful c5-square, and it also effectively fixes Black's a-pawn on the vulnerable a6-square. Black would like to free his pieces from the worry of defending this pawn by playing ...a5, but now he must always take into account the white reply b5, establishing a strong passed b-pawn.
18...Kf8 19.Nc5 Bc8 20.f3 Rea7!? 21.Re5+/-.
27.Nc5!
White can afford to allow his queenside pawns to be broken (and his c-pawns doubled), as long as his rooks still control the d-file and can penetrate on d6. White's pawn on c5 effectively fixes Black's pawn on c6 as a target. Moreover, White's pawn on c4, and his pincer-like, kingside pawns, effectively put a lock on Black's knight, ensuring that White's bishop is the more effective minor piece.
27...Rfe8!? 28.Kc2 bxc4 29.bxc4 Bxc5 30.dxc5 e5 31.Rd6!+/-
White rooks dominate the d-file. Black is seriously devoid of useful squares for his pieces, particularly his knight, and can no longer seriously hope to create any queenside diversion.
White can afford to allow his queenside pawns to be broken (and his c-pawns doubled), as long as his rooks still control the d-file and can penetrate on d6. White's pawn on c5 effectively fixes Black's pawn on c6 as a target. Moreover, White's pawn on c4, and his pincer-like, kingside pawns, effectively put a lock on Black's knight, ensuring that White's bishop is the more effective minor piece.
27...Rfe8!? 28.Kc2 bxc4 29.bxc4 Bxc5 30.dxc5 e5 31.Rd6!+/-
White rooks dominate the d-file. Black is seriously devoid of useful squares for his pieces, particularly his knight, and can no longer seriously hope to create any queenside diversion.
Unity Chess Multiple Choice 517
public poll
B: Rg3 – 2
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 67%
Ramesh, @RichardPeng
C: Nb3 – 1
👍👍👍👍 33%
@Afshin3333
A: a3
▫️ 0%
👥 3 people voted so far.
public poll
B: Rg3 – 2
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 67%
Ramesh, @RichardPeng
C: Nb3 – 1
👍👍👍👍 33%
@Afshin3333
A: a3
▫️ 0%
👥 3 people voted so far.
Unity Chess Multiple Choice 518
public poll
A: Kf2 – 2
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 33%
Ramesh, @RichardPeng
B: Ra5 – 2
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 33%
@AbZarafshan, @ALACIQ
C: Bc6 – 2
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 33%
Silvestre, @Afshin3333
👥 6 people voted so far.
public poll
A: Kf2 – 2
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 33%
Ramesh, @RichardPeng
B: Ra5 – 2
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 33%
@AbZarafshan, @ALACIQ
C: Bc6 – 2
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 33%
Silvestre, @Afshin3333
👥 6 people voted so far.
Nakamura won the Paris leg of the Grand Chess Tour. He scored 11 in Rapid and 12 in Blitz (only 1 loss) for a total of 23. The other scores were Karjakin (21.5), So (21), Aronian (20), MVL (19.5), Anand (17), Grischuk (16), Mamedyarov (15.5), Caruana (13.5), and Kramnik (13).