62. Ra5?
Vachier misses a drawing chance by 62. Rg5! Rf7 63. Rxe6 a3 64. Ra5 Rd7 65. Kf1 Rd2 66. Re2 = it is difficult for Black to make progress.
62... a3 63. Rda6 Rff3 64. Ra7+ Kc6 65. R7a6+ Kd7 66. Ra7+ Kd6 67. R7a6+ Ke7 68. Re5 Rfc3 69. Rexe6+ Kd7 70. Kf2 Rb2+ 71. Re2 Rh3 72. Kg2 Rxe2+ 73. Kxh3 a2 74. Kg3 Kc7 75. Kf3 Kb7 76. Ra4 Rh2 77. Ke3 Kb6 78. Kd3 Kb5 79. Ra8 Kb4 80.Kd4 0-1
Vachier misses a drawing chance by 62. Rg5! Rf7 63. Rxe6 a3 64. Ra5 Rd7 65. Kf1 Rd2 66. Re2 = it is difficult for Black to make progress.
62... a3 63. Rda6 Rff3 64. Ra7+ Kc6 65. R7a6+ Kd7 66. Ra7+ Kd6 67. R7a6+ Ke7 68. Re5 Rfc3 69. Rexe6+ Kd7 70. Kf2 Rb2+ 71. Re2 Rh3 72. Kg2 Rxe2+ 73. Kxh3 a2 74. Kg3 Kc7 75. Kf3 Kb7 76. Ra4 Rh2 77. Ke3 Kb6 78. Kd3 Kb5 79. Ra8 Kb4 80.Kd4 0-1
With a bang 39.Nxh6!, White capitalised on his advantage here. Black cannot take the knight because then White would get an unstoppable mating attack with the queen and rook. Black continued defending himself tenaciously, but could not avert defeat.
39...Kh7
(39... gxh6 40. Qg6+ Kf8 41. Qxh6+ Kf7 42. Qh7+ Kf8 43. Qe7+ Kg8 44. Re5)
40. Ng4 Rf8 41. Kg1 Qd4+ 42. Kh1 Bxf3 43. gxf3 Rxf3 44. Qe6 Qd3 45. Ne3 bxa4 46. Kg2 Rf6 47. Qd5 +-
39...Kh7
(39... gxh6 40. Qg6+ Kf8 41. Qxh6+ Kf7 42. Qh7+ Kf8 43. Qe7+ Kg8 44. Re5)
40. Ng4 Rf8 41. Kg1 Qd4+ 42. Kh1 Bxf3 43. gxf3 Rxf3 44. Qe6 Qd3 45. Ne3 bxa4 46. Kg2 Rf6 47. Qd5 +-
21...Ne6?
Mamedyarov should have played 21...Rhe8 and then ...Kf8.
22.Qh4 g5 23.Qb4+
23.Nf5+! Ke8 24.Qh6 QĂe5 25.g4 +-
Black king is unsafe, his rooks are unconnected and White's threats are extremely strong.
23...Qc5+ 24.Qe4 Qc4! 25.Nf5+ Ke8 26.QĂc4 bĂc4 27.Rfc1 +/-
Mamedyarov should have played 21...Rhe8 and then ...Kf8.
22.Qh4 g5 23.Qb4+
23.Nf5+! Ke8 24.Qh6 QĂe5 25.g4 +-
Black king is unsafe, his rooks are unconnected and White's threats are extremely strong.
23...Qc5+ 24.Qe4 Qc4! 25.Nf5+ Ke8 26.QĂc4 bĂc4 27.Rfc1 +/-
7.Qe2
This move has been introduced in 1972, But since 2010, much attention has been paid.
The variation with 6.Bg5 is very dangerous for Black. White even has the option to test the lesser known line. The queen on e2 is less exposed than on f3 and what is more - supports the pawn advance e4-e5.
7...h6 8.Bh4 g6 9.f4 Qc7 10.o-o-o Bg7 11.g4
This move has been introduced in 1972, But since 2010, much attention has been paid.
The variation with 6.Bg5 is very dangerous for Black. White even has the option to test the lesser known line. The queen on e2 is less exposed than on f3 and what is more - supports the pawn advance e4-e5.
7...h6 8.Bh4 g6 9.f4 Qc7 10.o-o-o Bg7 11.g4
15. Bb5!?
Carlsen offered a bishop sacrifice on b5, which Black did not accept as it gave White a direct attack against the king still in the center.
15...O-O
In case of 15...axb5, White had a nice combination that finished in checkmate: 16.Ncxb5 Qa5 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.Nxd6#. After this sacrifice was correctly rejected, Carlsen tried another one with his knight on f5, but once again Svidler kept his cool and returned the piece quickly to keep the balance. The excitement was over on move 26, when the players repeated the position three times. It was a short but flashy struggle.
16. Bxd7 Qxd7 17. Nf5?! gxf5 18. gxf5 Kh7 19. Rhg1 Bh8 20. Bg3 Rac8 21. Bf4 Qe7 22. fxe6 fxe6 23. Qg3 Rg8 24. Qf2 Rgf8 25. Qg3 Rg8 26. Qf2 Rgf8 1/2-1/2
Carlsen offered a bishop sacrifice on b5, which Black did not accept as it gave White a direct attack against the king still in the center.
15...O-O
In case of 15...axb5, White had a nice combination that finished in checkmate: 16.Ncxb5 Qa5 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.Nxd6#. After this sacrifice was correctly rejected, Carlsen tried another one with his knight on f5, but once again Svidler kept his cool and returned the piece quickly to keep the balance. The excitement was over on move 26, when the players repeated the position three times. It was a short but flashy struggle.
16. Bxd7 Qxd7 17. Nf5?! gxf5 18. gxf5 Kh7 19. Rhg1 Bh8 20. Bg3 Rac8 21. Bf4 Qe7 22. fxe6 fxe6 23. Qg3 Rg8 24. Qf2 Rgf8 25. Qg3 Rg8 26. Qf2 Rgf8 1/2-1/2
12...Qc7
Not an obvious decision, but one I was quite proud about, especially as I made the choice fairly quickly. The aim is to play ...b6 and develop the light-squared bishop to b7 or a6 without leaving the queen cut off on a5. It was counterintuitive to allow White to liquidate her doubled c-pawns with c4-c5, but I felt that the remaining c3-pawn would prove to be just as tempting a target, especially as White is wasting time with her dark-squared bishop (Sadler).
13.c5 dxc5 14.Bxc5 b6 15.Be3
Solid, keeping the dark squares around the e4-pawn covered (and thus preventing ...Qf4).
15...Bb7.
Not an obvious decision, but one I was quite proud about, especially as I made the choice fairly quickly. The aim is to play ...b6 and develop the light-squared bishop to b7 or a6 without leaving the queen cut off on a5. It was counterintuitive to allow White to liquidate her doubled c-pawns with c4-c5, but I felt that the remaining c3-pawn would prove to be just as tempting a target, especially as White is wasting time with her dark-squared bishop (Sadler).
13.c5 dxc5 14.Bxc5 b6 15.Be3
Solid, keeping the dark squares around the e4-pawn covered (and thus preventing ...Qf4).
15...Bb7.
29.c5
The whole strength of the plan with ...e5 and ...f5 is that White's dark-squared bishop is short of squares and vulnerable to ...f4. If White plays c5, then her bishop gains squares, and all I might have to show for my plan is a draughty king:
29...bxc5 30.Nb3 c4 31.Nc5! Nxc5 32.Rxc4
The whole strength of the plan with ...e5 and ...f5 is that White's dark-squared bishop is short of squares and vulnerable to ...f4. If White plays c5, then her bishop gains squares, and all I might have to show for my plan is a draughty king:
29...bxc5 30.Nb3 c4 31.Nc5! Nxc5 32.Rxc4
Unity Chess Multiple Choice 575
public poll
B: Qc1 â 6
đđđđđđđ 60%
@Hesi2004, @saeidbiranvand, Ramesh, Jayden, @SinaKhansharifan, George
A: Ra2 â 2
đđ 20%
@Sophia_Peng, Zhenrui
C: Bf1 â 2
đđ 20%
@RichardPeng, Rachel
đĽ 10 people voted so far.
public poll
B: Qc1 â 6
đđđđđđđ 60%
@Hesi2004, @saeidbiranvand, Ramesh, Jayden, @SinaKhansharifan, George
A: Ra2 â 2
đđ 20%
@Sophia_Peng, Zhenrui
C: Bf1 â 2
đđ 20%
@RichardPeng, Rachel
đĽ 10 people voted so far.
Unity Chess Multiple Choice 576
public poll
B: g4 â 6
đđđđđđđ 67%
@saeidbiranvand, H, Ramesh, Jayden, @SinaKhansharifan, @Sophia_Peng
A: Rdd7 â 3
đđđđ 33%
@RichardPeng, Rachel, Zhenrui
C: h5
âŤď¸ 0%
đĽ 9 people voted so far.
public poll
B: g4 â 6
đđđđđđđ 67%
@saeidbiranvand, H, Ramesh, Jayden, @SinaKhansharifan, @Sophia_Peng
A: Rdd7 â 3
đđđđ 33%
@RichardPeng, Rachel, Zhenrui
C: h5
âŤď¸ 0%
đĽ 9 people voted so far.