1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 e5 Vishal had broken his laptop the day he arrived, so his score was very impressive with no computer aid. He reverts to sidelines and uses his years of experience to get him through.  4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 Nf6 6.O-O O-O 7.Ng5 Hague borrows a this line from Daniel - he gets a chance to see how it feels.  7...h6 8.f4 This is just how Daniel plays it, note the Knight can't be taken...  8...exf4 (8...hxg5 9.fxg5 Bg4 10.Qe1 Ne8 11.Rxf7 Rxf7 12.g6 Kf8 13.Qg3 Rf6 14.Qxg4 Nc7 15.Bg5 Ke8 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Rf1 Nc6 No win, but heaps of compensation for the piece - not easy for Black to unwind.) ) 9.Nf3 Be6 (9...g5 10.h4 Nh7 11.Nd5 Nc6 12.b3 Bg4 13.hxg5 hxg5 14.Qd2 Bxf3 15.Rxf3 Bf6 16.c3 Ne5 17.Rh3 Sample computer line, but White looks to have enough for the pawn. ) 10.Nd5 (10.Bxf4 Nc6 11.Nd5 a6 12.Bb3 b5 13.c3 Re8 About equal... ) 10...Bxd5 11.exd5 Nbd7 12.Bb3 Nh5 13.d4 Bf6 14.c3 g6 15.Kh1 Rc8 16.dxc5 Nxc5 17.Bc2 Re8 18.Nd4

18...Be5? (18...Bxd4 19.Qxd4 Re2 20.Bd1 Qh4 21.Kg1 (21.Bxe2?? Ng3+ 22.Kg1 Nxe2+ 23.Kh1 Nxd4 ) 21...Rce8 22.Bxe2 Rxe2 23.Bxf4 Re4 24.g3 Rxd4 25.gxh4 Rxf4 26.Rxf4 Nxf4 And Black should win. ) 19.Qf3 Qf6? (19...Qh4 20.Kg1 Nf6 21.Bd2 Qh5 22.Qxh5 Nxh5 Black is just a cold pawn up and now Queens are gone can go about winning the game. ) 20.Nf5 Kh7 21.Nxd6 Bxd6 22.Qxh5 Ne4 23.Qf3 Ng5 24.Qg4 Kg7 25.Bxf4 Rc4 26.g3 Bxf4 27.gxf4 Qd6 28.Rad1 Ne4 29.Qg2 Nf6 30.Qf3 Nh5 31.f5 Rh4 32.Rf2 g5 33.f6+ Nxf6 34.Qd3 Ne4 (34...Re5 35.c4 Ree4 36.b3 Ng4 37.Qc3+ f6 38.Qd2 Rd4 39.Qe2 Nxf2+ 40.Qxf2 Qf4 ) 35.Rg2 Rf4 36.Qd4+ Nf6 37.Qxa7 Ng4 38.Bb3 Ne3 (38...b6! 39.Rxg4 Rxg4 40.Rf1 Qf6 41.Rxf6 Re1+ 42.Rf1 Rxf1# ) 39.Re1 Nxg2 40.Rxe8 Rh4 (40...Qf6 41.Bc4 Rxc4 42.Qg1 Nh4 and wins ) 41.Qb8 A sad loss for Vishal, Ben needed all of lady luck to turn this one around. 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.dxe5 Nxe4 Alex specialised in these off beat lines in this event, I think he was having too much fun with his friend Vishal being here to really prepare.  5.Qd5 Nc5 6.Bg5 Qd7 7.exd6 Bxd6 8.Nc3 This opening just looks better for White, very classical placing of the bits and the Q on d7 looks weird and will need to move again to unravel. Don't think I'll be recommending this line any time soon...  8...O-O 9.O-O-O

9...Qg4 (9...Nc6 10.Be3 Ne7 11.Qd2 b6 12.Bxc5 bxc5 13.Nb5 Ng6 14.Nxd6 cxd6 15.Qxd6 Shows how easy this position is for White, black needs to perform some magic to get back into this game... ) 10.h3 Qb4 11.Nd4 (11.a3 Qa5 12.Nb5 Be6 13.Qd2 Qxd2+ 14.Nxd2 Nc6 15.Nxd6 cxd6 16.b4 Na4 17.Ne4 d5 18.Nd6 This was easier, the 2 Bishops and the weak d pawn give white an easy press with no chance of losing... ) 11...Nc6 12.Be3 Ne7 13.Qh5 Na4 14.Nxa4 Qxa4 15.Kb1 a6 (15...c6 16.Nb3 Nf5 17.Bg5 h6 18.Bd2 Be6 Black has unravelled and is finally not too bad. ) 16.Bd3

16...f5? Position was tough, but Black can't hold it together after this. (16...g6 17.Qf3 Be5 18.Rhe1 Re8 19.c3 c6 20.g4 Qa5 21.Nb3 Qc7 22.Bc4 Be6 23.Bxe6 fxe6 White is still better and has an easy attack...) ) 17.g4 g6 18.Qh6 f4 19.b3 Qa5 20.Bc4+ Nd5

21.Nf5! Bxf5 22.Bxd5+ (22.Rxd5 Qc3 23.gxf5 Rf7 24.Rxd6 cxd6 25.fxg6 Black resigns...you'd hope. ) 22...Qxd5 23.Rxd5 Be4 24.Bd4 Rf7 25.Rg5 Bf8 26.Qh4 c5 27.Re1 Bxc2+ 28.Kxc2 cxd4 29.Rd5 Rc8+ 30.Kb1 Let's shelve that opening as not offering enough... 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.Bxf6 gxf6 This is all part of the new Alexei, worked well for him up to this loss...  4.c4 (4.e3 c5 5.dxc5 e6 6.c4 dxc4 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 8.Bxc4 Bxc5 9.Nc3 Ke7 Still seems to be slightly better for Black with the 2 Bishops. ) 4...dxc4 5.e3 c5 Ben will always play the most active lines ...  6.Bxc4 cxd4 7.exd4 Bg7 (7...Rg8 8.Qh5 e6 9.d5 Rg5 10.Qxh7 exd5 11.Bb5+ Nc6 This is a different game, but the open position tends to favour the Bishops. ) 8.Nc3 O-O 9.Nge2 Nc6 10.O-O Bg4 (10...f5 11.d5 Ne5 12.Bb3 Qd6 13.Nd4 Ng4 14.Nf3 This is a better variant than the game for White as the black Bishop is stuck behind the pawns. ) 11.d5 Ne5 12.Bb3 Rc8 13.f3 Bd7 14.Ng3 b5 15.Bc2 (15.Kh1 b4 16.Nce2 Nc4 17.Bxc4 Rxc4 18.Nd4 Re8 19.Qd2 Position is about even, Knights have good central squares to combat the 2 Bishops. ) 15...b4 16.Nce2 e6 17.Nh5 Bb5 18.f4 Qb6+

19.Nd4? White has lost the thread, and this is a bad move that just loses. (19.Kh1 Ng4 20.Rf3 Nf2+ 21.Rxf2 Qxf2 22.Nd4 f5 23.Nxg7 Rc4 24.Ngxf5 exf5 25.Nxf5 Rxf4 Still probably losing long term, but the d pawn gives hope. ) 19...Rc4 20.Nxg7 Rxd4 21.Qh5 Ng6 22.Qh6 Bxf1 23.Kh1 Bxg2+ 24.Kxg2 Rd2+ 25.Kh1 Qd4 26.Re1 Rxc2 Think the early c4 needs work for Alexei, maybe the e3 version is the line? 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.f4 a6 7.Nxc6 Qxc6 8.Bd3 b5 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Be7 11.a3 Nf6 12.O-O!? (12.e5 Nd5 13.Be4 b4 14.axb4 Bxb4 15.Nxd5 Bxd2+ 16.Qxd2 exd5 17.Bf3 Qb6 18.O-O-O O-O 19.Bxd5 Bxd5 20.Qxd5 Rab8 21.b3 Rfc8 For a pawn, Black has everything he wants, if you don't enjoy this type of position, don't play the Sicilian. ) 12...d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Ne4 (14.f5 This was Lane vs Aagaard which Gary won - maybe he'd forgotten his own line...  14...O-O 15.fxe6 fxe6 16.Ne4 Nf6 17.Ng5 e5 18.c4 e4 19.Bb1 h6 20.Ba2 Qb6+?? 21.c5+ ) 14...O-O 15.Kh1 g6 16.Rac1 Rac8 17.c4 bxc4 18.Bxc4 Qb6 19.b4 Rfd8 20.Ng5 Bf6 21.Nf3 Bb2 22.Bxd5 exd5 (22...Bxd5 23.Be3 Bxf3 24.Qxf3 Qb8 25.Rxc8 Qxc8 26.Bb6 Rd5 About equal ) 23.Rb1 Bg7 24.f5 Re8 25.Qd3 Qb5 26.Qb3 Re2 27.Bg5 gxf5 28.Nh4 Rc3 29.Qd1 d4 30.Rxf5?

30...Qxf5 31.Nxf5 Rxg2 0-1

1.b3 A la Nakamura maybe ... think this is best reserved for rapid. If you pick up the b pawn, it should go to b4 :-)  1...e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.g3 OK, so Alex is transposing to a Hippo as White - again think it was more because he was enjoying the sightseeing than anything else...  4...d5 5.Bg2 Bg4 6.Ne2 Qd7 7.h3 Be6 8.d3 O-O-O 9.Nd2 d4 10.e4 Ne8 11.a3 g6 12.b4 Could have gone here on move 1 :-)  12...h5 13.f4 f6 14.Nf3 Bh6 15.b5 Ne7 16.a4 Bg7 17.Ba3 Nd6 18.Qb1 Kb8 19.a5 Nec8 20.b6 cxb6 21.fxe5 fxe5 22.axb6 a6 23.Ng5 Rhf8 24.Bc5 Qe7 25.Nf3 g5 26.Ra5 g4 27.hxg4 Bxg4

White has lost the thread, Black is taking over.  28.Neg1 Rf7 29.Ba3 Rdf8 30.Ke2 Qg5 31.Qc1 Bxf3+ Possibly cashing in too early, White is all tied up...no need to rush. (31...Qg6 32.Qe1 Nxb6 33.Rh4 Rc8 34.Rc5 Rxc5 35.Bxc5 Na4 36.Bb4 Nc3+ 37.Bxc3 dxc3 38.Qxc3 Nb5 Not all forced, but an example showing White is at Black's mercy. ) 32.Nxf3 Qxg3 33.Qf1 Qg6 34.Rh4 Bf6 35.Rh3 Rg8 36.Bh1 Nb5 37.Rxb5 axb5 Still, a cold Exchange and a pawn up, White is doomed.  38.Qb1 Qg4 39.Rh2 Be7 40.Bxe7 Nxe7 41.Qa2 Qf4 42.Qa7+ Kc8 43.Qa8+ Kd7 44.Qxb7+ Ke6 45.Rf2 Qe3+ 46.Kf1 Qc1+ 47.Ke2 Qxc2+ 48.Kf1 Qd1+ 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Qc7 6.f4 a6 7.Nb3 Not the favourite move at the top level - by 3:1 it is taking the Knight (7.Nxc6 Qxc6 8.Bd3 b5 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Bc5 11.O-O-O Ne7 12.a3 O-O 13.h4 f5 14.h5 d5 15.exf5 exf5 16.h6 g6 I think White has something to work with here ) 7...d6 (7...b5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.Be3 d6 10.Qf3 Nf6 11.Qh3 Na5 This is the way to play these days, pretty equal ) 8.Bd3 Nf6 9.Qf3 Be7 10.Be3 O-O 11.g4 d5 12.e5 Nd7 13.O-O-O Nb4 14.Kb1 b5 15.Qf2 f6 16.exf6 Bxf6 17.Ne2 Bb7 18.Rhg1

18...e5? This must be wrong, the position looks more like a French and you need to prepare it first - improve the worst piece and then strike in the middle... (18...Rae8 19.Bd2 Nxd3 20.cxd3 e5 21.f5 Bd8 22.Ba5 Qd6 23.Bxd8 Rxd8 ) 19.Bf5 Now the key White squared Bishop gets to live and will win the game  19...g6 20.Be6+ Kh8 21.c3 d4 22.cxb4 dxe3 23.Qxe3 Nb6 24.Nc5 exf4 25.Nxf4

T he position has changed completely, White is a pawn up and dominating the board...  25...Bc6? This just loses, again the Rook needs to be brought to the middle (25...Rae8 White is still better, but in the game Black is just lost. ) 26.g5 Be5 (26...Bxb2 27.Rd7 Bxd7 28.Nxg6+ Kg7 29.Qh3 ) 27.Nxg6+ hxg6 28.Rd7! Rf3 29.Qe1 Bg3 30.hxg3 Nxd7 31.Rh1+ Kg7 32.Rh7+ Kf8 33.Bxd7 Kg8 34.Be6+ A nice win by Sareen. 1-0

1.e4 g6 A new opening for Alphaeus, it should be a lot more testing than his Qd6 Scandinavian stuff.  2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 Nf6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.e5 dxe5 7.fxe5 Nd5 8.Bc4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 c5 10.O-O Bg4 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 Nc6

A long line of theory, all the most popular stuff at GM level, they start to get on their own soon...  13.Bxf7+ Kh8 14.e6 (14.Bb2 cxd4 15.cxd4 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Qb6+ 17.Kh1 Qxb2 18.Rab1 Qxe5 19.Rxb7 This is the other obvious type of line - all very balanced. ) 14...cxd4 15.Rb1 dxc3 16.Rxb7 Qc8 17.Rd7 White is committed to this Exchange sacrifice, it holds the balance, but it's easier to play as Black and White needs to be wary of the weak black squares, Daniel forgets and gets punished.  17...Ne5 18.Qd5 Nxd7 19.exd7 Qc7

20.Ba3? White does not see the risk and moves the Bishop away from the key diagonal by his King. It's amazing to think he resigns in 6 moves... (20.Re1 Rad8 21.Rxe7 Bf6 22.Be3 Rb8 23.Re8 Kg7 24.Rxf8 Rb1+ 25.Kf2 Bh4+ 26.Kf3 Qg3+ 27.Ke4 Qxg2+ 28.Kd4 Rd1+ 29.Kc5 Qxd5+ 30.Bxd5 Kxf8 ) 20...Rad8 21.Rd1 Qf4 22.Be6 Be5 23.g3 Qxg3+ 24.Qg2 Qe3+ 25.Kh1 Rf2 26.Bc1 Qb6 0-1

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5 5.Nxe5 c6 6.Bc4 Nd7 7.O-O Nxe5 8.dxe5 Be6 This is not the popular move, it seems to be more obvious to shove the Bishop to the outside of the pawn chain, play e6 and develop the dark squared Bishop to e7 (8...Bf5 9.Nd2 e6 10.Bb3 Be7 Black has easy equality ) 9.Nd2 Qc7 (9...g6 Surely this had to be the follow-up to the Be6 idea...  10.Nf3 Nc7 11.Bxe6 Nxe6 12.Be3 Qc7 13.c3 Bg7 Black is in a better space than in the game. ) 10.Re1 Bf5 11.Nf3 e6 12.Nd4 Bg6 13.Qg4 Bc5 14.c3 O-O-O 15.Bg5 Rd7 16.Rad1 Qb6 17.Bb3

The position is equal, but White's game looks easier to play, he has more space and can slowly work up a Queenside attack.  17...Re8 18.Rd2 Qc7 19.Bh4 Kb8 20.Red1 Ka8 21.c4 Nb6 22.Nf3 Be7? (22...Rxd2 23.Rxd2 Nd7 24.Bg3 h5 25.Qg5 Bb4 26.Rd1 Nc5 Black is much more comfortable here and there is everything to play for ) 23.Rxd7 Nxd7 24.Bxe7 Rxe7 25.Qd4 Nb8 26.Qd8 Bh5 27.Qf8 Rd7 28.Rd6 White is better now, all Black's pieces look pretty miserable.  28...f6 29.Rxd7 Qxd7 30.exf6 Qd3 31.h3 gxf6 32.Qxf6 Bxf3 33.Qxf3 Qb1+ 34.Kh2 Qxb2 35.g3 c5 36.Kg2 Qe5? A tough position to play, but now the re routing of the White squared Bishop will be too much for Black to defend. (36...a5 37.h4 Qb1 38.Qe3 Nc6 39.Qxc5 Qe4+ Black is still worse, but at least the immediate danger has passed and the White Bishop is passive. ) 37.Bc2 a5 38.Bxh7 Nd7 39.Be4 Qc7 40.h4

White is just gathering the point now, Black can squirm, but it is over.  40...Ne5 41.Qf4 Qg7 42.h5 Ng4 43.Qd6 Qb2 44.Qxc5 a4 45.Bf3 Ne5 46.h6 a3 47.h7 Ng6 48.Be4 Nh8 49.Kh3 Kb8 50.f4 Qe2 51.Qd6+ Ka7 52.Qxa3+ Kb8 53.Qd6+ Ka7 54.Qc5+ Kb8 55.Qe5+ Ka7 56.Bg2 Qd1 57.Qb5 b6 58.a4 e5 59.Qe8 b5 60.Qa8+ Kb6 61.Qc6+ 1-0

1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.d4 e4 6.Nh3 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 We have transposed to a reversed c3 Sicilian, it pays to know your openings. Alex does well to convert this game.  8...Ne7 9.Nf4 O-O 10.Nc3 Nbc6 11.Rc1 Re8 12.h4 Bg4 13.f3 exf3 14.exf3

14...Bd7!? (14...Be6 15.Nxe6 Nf5 16.O-O Rxe6 It was probably the intermediate Nf5 that Gary missed. He was really off his game in this event ) 15.Kf2 Nf5 16.Ncxd5 Nfxd4 17.Rhe1 Be6 18.Rc4 Bxd5 19.Rxe8+ Qxe8 20.Nxd5 Ne6 21.f4 White is slightly better now, and difficult for Black to sit and do nothing.  21...Rd8 22.Qe3

22...Nf8 The endgames are not good, Black should have resisted this. (22...Qd7 23.Qc3 f5 24.Ne3 Ne7 25.Qe5 Qd2+ 26.Kg1 Qe1+ 27.Kh2 Kf7 Black has much better prospects of holding ) 23.Qxe8 Rxe8 24.Nc7 Rd8 25.Bxc6 bxc6 26.Ke3 The c pawn will fall and White should win - Alex shows good skill and adds to Gary's miserable event.  26...Rb8 27.b4 Rc8 28.Rxc6 Ne6 29.Nd5 Rd8 30.Ke4 g6 31.Rc8 Kf8 32.Rxd8+ Nxd8 33.Ke5 Nb7 34.a4 h5 35.a5 Ke8 36.a6 Nd8 37.Kd6 1-0

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 a6 (5...c6 6.Bh6 Bxh6 7.Qxh6 e5 8.O-O-O Qe7 9.h3 b5 10.dxe5 dxe5 This is preferred to the a6 plans at the high level. ) 6.Bh6 O-O 7.O-O-O (7.Bxg7 Kxg7 8.h4 h5 9.f3 b5 ) 7...b5 8.f3 Nbd7 9.h4 c5 (9...e5 10.d5 b4 11.Nce2 a5 This is the way, in boots and all in the King hunt race ) 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.h5 (11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.h5 Nxh5 (12...Qa5 13.Nge2 Bb7 14.hxg6 fxg6 15.Qh6+ Kf7 16.Nf4 Ncd7 17.Kb1 Rfc8 18.Nh3 Kg8 19.Ng5 Nf8 ) 13.g4 b4 14.Nd5 Nxe4 15.fxe4 Bxg4 16.Be2 ) 11...Qa5 12.Kb1 b4 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.Bxg7 Nc3+ 15.bxc3 Be6 16.c4 Kxg7 17.hxg6 fxg6 18.Qh6+ Kf7 19.Qxh7+ Ke8 20.Qxg6+ Kd7 21.Qg5 Rg8 22.Qe3

Although 2 pawns up, the key point is White's King is exposed and very lonely. Black is winning (or 22.Qe5 Kc6 23.Qf4 Na4 24.Re1 Nc3+ 25.Kc1 Nxa2+ 26.Kd1 Nc3+ 27.Kd2 b3 28.Ke3 bxc2 ) 22...Na4 23.Re1 Nc3+ 24.Kc1 Qxa2 Wrong way, Black tries to cash in, see a check and play it is often the right way. (24...Nxa2+ 25.Kd1 b3 26.cxb3 Nc3+ 27.Kc2 Qa2+ 28.Kxc3 Rgb8 29.b4 Rxb4 30.Kxb4 Rb8+ 31.Kc3 Qb2+ 32.Kd3 Rb3# ) 25.g4 Rac8 26.e5 d5? Black has lost the thread and all his advantage, he continues downhill from here and loses. (26...Bxc4 27.Bxc4 Rxc4 28.exd6 Nd5 29.Qe6+ Kc6 30.dxe7+ Kc5 31.Rh2 b3 Black crashes through, Black's King is perfectly safe while White is getting mated.) ) 27.Rh7 Rge8 28.Qb6 Qa3+ 29.Kd2

29...Na4?? A terrible blunder, he had forgotten the point of the Rook on h7. (29...Rc6 30.Qd4 Kc8 31.c5 Qa5 White is better, but Black is still alive ) 30.Qd6# 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.e5 Ng4 6.Qe4 d5 7.exd6+ Be6 8.Ba6 Qxd6 9.Bxb7 Qb4+ 10.Qxb4 Nxb4 11.Bxa8 Nxc2+ 12.Ke2 Nxa1 13.h3 Bc4+ 14.Kf3 Ne5+ 15.Kg3 Bd6 16.f4 Nd3 17.Bc6+ Kd8 18.Nf3 Bxa2 19.Nc3 Bc4 20.Bb5 Bxb5 21.Nxb5 Nb3 22.Nxd6 cxd6 23.Be3 Kc7 24.Bxa7 Ra8 25.Bd4 Nxd4 26.Nxd4 Nxb2 27.Rc1+ Kd7 28.Nb5 Rb8 29.Nd4 Na4 (29...Rb4 30.Ne2 d5 This is easy, the pawn starts to roll... ) 30.Re1 Nc5 31.Nf5 Ne6 (31...g6 32.Nd4 d5 Again, the pawn starts to roll - no problems. ) 32.Rd1 Rb6 33.Ra1 Rb3+ 34.Kh2

34...Nxf4? (34...g6 35.Ra7+ Nc7 36.Nh6 f5 37.g4 Rf3 38.gxf5 gxf5 39.Nxf5 Rxf4 40.Ne3 Rf7 41.Kg3 Ke6 Again, easy, time control reached, force the Knight to sac on the d pawn, win the h Pawn and finally the game. White could struggle but would lose. Gary makes a horrible mess of this and actually loses... ) 35.Ra7+ Ke6?? 36.Nd4+ What a horrible way to lose, Gary lost a few hours of sleep, losing to one of Kirill's nonsense openings after he was completely winning 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Na6 8.Be3 c6 9.d5 Ng4 10.Bg5 f6 11.Bc1 (11.Bd2 f5 12.Ne1 (12.Ng5 Nf6 13.exf5 gxf5 14.f4 e4 15.Be3 c5 ) 12...Nf6 13.f3 f4 14.Nd3 c5 15.a3 Nh5 This is the kind of thing Daniel likes, just send the pieces and pawns over to the King ) 11...c5 12.a3 f5 13.Ng5 Nh6 14.b4 (14.exf5 gxf5 15.Qc2 Qf6 16.h4 Nc7 17.Bh5 b6 18.Re1 Ba6 19.b3 b5 20.Nxh7 Qxh4 21.Nxf8 Qxh5 22.Bxh6 Qxh6 23.cxb5 Bb7 24.Nd7 Rd8 25.Nxc5 dxc5 26.Qxf5 Long line, but White is better and no kingside attacks to worry about. The Nxh7 line is not even necessary if the final position is not to the liking. ) 14...f4 15.Ne6 Bxe6 16.dxe6 Nc7 17.Nb5 Nxe6 18.Nxd6 b6

19.Qd5? (19.Nb5 Nf7 20.Rb1 Nd4 21.bxc5 bxc5 22.Nxd4 cxd4 23.a4 Position is equal, now White goes downhill. ) 19...Qe7 20.bxc5 bxc5? (20...Rad8 21.Rb1 Nf7 22.cxb6 Rxd6 23.Qa5 axb6 24.Rxb6 Nd4 White is a cold piece down and losing, the pawns will drop. ) 21.Rb1? White had to get the piece out. (21.Nb5 Rad8 22.Qc6 Nd4 23.Nxd4 exd4 24.Rb1 (24.Bd3? Ng4 25.Qa4 Nxh2 26.Kxh2 Qh4+ 27.Kg1 f3 28.gxf3 Rxf3 ) 24...d3 25.Bf3 d2 26.Bb2 Bxb2 27.Rxb2 Nf7 28.Rd1 Ne5 Black is better, but White is in the game ) 21...Rfd8 22.Rd1 Nf7? (22...Bf8 23.Qc6 Nd4 24.Rxd4 cxd4 25.c5 Rab8 This will win much quicker than the game. ) 23.Bg4 Neg5 24.h4 Qxd6 25.hxg5 Qxd5 26.Rxd5 (26.exd5 Nxg5 27.Rb7 h5 28.Be2 Rdb8 29.Rc7 Rc8 30.d6 Bf6 A pawn down, but the d pawn makes life difficult for Black ) 26...Nxg5 27.f3 h5 28.Bd7 Rab8 29.Rb2 Nf7 30.Rbd2!? Giving away the b file is not a good plan, things start going wrong for White now.  30...Rb1 31.Rd1 Kf8 32.Ba4 Rxd5 33.cxd5 Ke7 34.Bc2 Rb8 35.a4 Kd7 36.Rd3 Bf8 37.Rc3 Bd6 38.Ba3 c4 39.a5 Bxa3 40.Rxa3 Nd6 41.Ra2 g5 42.Kf2 g4 43.g3 Rf8 44.Bd1 fxg3+ 45.Kxg3 Rf4 46.Rh2 gxf3 47.Bxf3 h4+ 48.Rxh4 Rxh4 49.Kxh4 c3 50.Bd1 Nc4 51.Kg3 Na3 52.Kf2 c2 53.Bxc2 Nxc2 54.Ke2 Nd4+ 55.Kd3 Nb3 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e4 Bg7 5.f3 O-O 6.Nge2 Not the most popular move, but is hot move with all the top players.  6...c5 7.d5 Nbd7 8.Ng3 Rb8 (8...Ne5 9.Be2 h5 10.f4 Neg4 11.h3 Nh6 12.O-O e6 13.dxe6 fxe6 14.Be3 Nf7 15.Qd2 Bd7 16.Bd3 Bc6 This is how to play this kind of line, the Queenside play is too slow and not very successful at the top level. ) 9.Be2 a6 10.a4 Ne8 11.f4 e6 12.O-O exd5 13.cxd5 Nc7 14.Be3 b5 15.Qd2 So we are basically in a full blown Benoni. The rule with this opening is Black must play actively at every opportunity. Trying to defend e5 is not possible, you must point White's eyes to the queenside.  15...Re8 (15...bxa4 16.Rxa4 Nb5 17.Ra2 Nb6 18.Bd3 Re8 This gives Black a lot more breathing room than the immediate Re8. ) 16.e5 dxe5 17.f5 b4 (17...bxa4 18.d6 Nb5 19.Nce4 Rf8 20.Bh6 (20.Nxc5 Nd4 21.Nxa4 Nb3 ) 20...f6 21.Rxa4 Nd4 Again Black is well in the game. Daniel does not appreciate the dynamics of the opening and his position goes bad fast. ) 18.Nce4 Nb6 19.d6 Ncd5 20.Bh6? (20.Bg5 f6 21.a5 fxg5 22.axb6 Nf4 23.fxg6 hxg6 24.Bxa6 Qxb6 25.Bc4+ The pawn deficit means nothing, it's the pawn on d6 that is key. Daniel gets a chance to recover. ) 20...Nf4 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.f6+ Kg8

23.Rxf4! Back on track again, masters look for these type of Exchange sacrifices.  23...exf4 24.Qxf4 Re6 (24...Nd5 25.Qg5 Rxe4 26.Nxe4 Bf5 27.Ng3 Be6 28.Bxa6 Qxf6 29.Qxf6 Nxf6 White is still better, it's the a4 pawn that is the key now. ) 25.Rf1? Not the best, White needs to get on with it. (25.Nf5 Rxe4 (25...Nd5 26.Qh6 Qf8 27.Ne7+ Nxe7 28.Qxf8+ Kxf8 29.dxe7+ Ke8 30.Rd1 Bd7 31.Bg4 Rxe7 32.Nd6+ Kf8 33.fxe7+ Kxe7 34.Bxd7 Kxd7 ) 26.Ne7+ Kf8 27.Qxe4 Qxd6 28.Rd1 Qxf6 29.Rd8+ Kg7 30.Rg8+ Kh6 31.Rxg6+ fxg6 32.Ng8+ ) 25...Qf8? (25...Bb7 26.Ng5 Rxe2 27.Nxe2 Nd5 28.Qh4 h5 Note how in each of the lines, Black getting back into the game meant sacrificing the Exchange back. The White pieces were too dominant and Black had to reduce the pressure. ) 26.Nxc5 Nd5 27.Nxe6 Nxf4 28.Nxf8 Nxe2+ 29.Nxe2 Kxf8 There was no salvation in this endgame, Black is just a cold pawn down in a worse position - Sareen calmly takes the point.  30.Rc1 Bd7 31.a5 Rd8 32.Ng3 Bb5 33.Ne4 Ke8 34.Rc7 Rd7 35.Rc8+ Rd8 36.Rxd8+ Kxd8 37.Nc5 h6 38.h4 h5 39.Kf2 Kc8 40.g3 Kd8 41.Ke3 Ke8 42.Kd4 Kd8 43.Kd5 Kc8 44.Ne4 Kd8 45.Ng5 Be8 46.Nf3 Bb5 47.Ne5 Ke8 48.b3 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bc4 This is too slow and Black gets what he wants, Kirill needs to take advantage of Blacks time wasting (4.h4 h6 5.h5 g5 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 Bg7 8.Be3 Now this is a better position for White to play. ) 4...Bg7 5.d3 h6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.h3 d6 8.a3 Nd7

This is not what you want against an experienced titled player, White has no play, his pieces are all on good squares, but he will start getting pushed back and lose - do not play like this.  9.O-O Nd4 10.Nb5 Nxb5 11.Bxb5 c6 12.Bc4 O-O 13.Nh2 Kh7 14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 Nb6 16.Rb1 d5 17.exd5 Nxd5

Compare this position to move 8, Black is in control.  18.Bd2 Be6 19.Qf3 Qh4 20.Ng4 f5 21.Nh2 b5 22.Bb3 Bxb2 A small combination wins a pawn, it happens against these guys...  23.Rxb2 Qd4+ 24.Qf2 Qxb2 25.Re1 Qf6 26.Qc5 Bg8 27.Nf3 Rfe8 28.Rxe8 Rxe8 29.Kh1 g5 30.Nd4 f4 31.Nxc6 f3 32.Qxa7+ Kg6 33.Qf2 fxg2+ 34.Qxg2 Qxc6 35.c4 Ne7 36.Qxc6+ Nxc6 37.cxb5 Bxb3 38.bxc6 Rook up should be enough to win 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 Nf6 6.O-O O-O 7.Ng5 h6 8.f4 Ed: The same idea as in Hague-Sareen in round 1, and the identical position to Gong-Hague in the Trustsreport  8...exf4 9.Nf3 d6 10.Bxf4 Be6 11.Nd5 Nb4 12.Nxb4 Ed: The first deviation from Gong-Hague at the Trusts  12...cxb4 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Qd2 Only one game in my database here and 14...e5 was played.  14...a5 (14...e5 15.Bg3 a5 16.Nh4 Nxe4?? (16...Nh5 17.Rxf8+ Qxf8 18.Rf1 Qd8 19.Nf5 Nxg3 20.Nxg3 Qb6+ 21.Kh1 Rf8 Position is dead even, White can't get to the d6 pawn. ) 17.Rxf8+ Kxf8 18.dxe4 Bxh4 19.Bxh4 Qxh4 20.Qd5 Re8 21.Rf1+ Ke7 22.Rf7+ Kd8 23.Qxd6+ 1-0 Kovalev-Sveshnikov Latvia 2014 ) 15.Kh1 Rc8 16.e5 Nd5

17.Bxh6 This got Ben thinking, I think originally he thought it was not possible due to taking and playing Nf4, but White can just kick it with g3... 1  17...gxh6 18.Qxh6 Qe8 19.Ng5 Bxg5 20.Qxg5+ Kh7 21.Qh4+ (21.exd6 Qg6 22.Qh4+ Qh6 23.Qe4+ Kg7 24.Rae1 Rxf1+ 25.Rxf1 Rf8 26.Qe5+ Kg8 The position is equal - Black's King can't get safe ) 21...Kg7 22.Rxf8 Qxf8 23.Qg4+ Kh8 24.Qh3+ Kg7 25.Qxe6 Nf4 26.Qd7+ Kh8 27.Rf1 dxe5 28.g3 Rxc2 29.gxf4 Qh6 30.Qe8+

Again the position is equal and the active Black Rook ensures Ben stays in the game. I suspect Daniel thought he was winning and keeps trying.  30...Kh7 31.Qf7+ Kh8 32.Qe8+ Kh7 33.Qe7+ Kh8? (33...Qg7 34.Qxg7+ Kxg7 35.Rg1+ Kf6 36.fxe5+ Kxe5 37.Rg5+ Kf4 38.Rxa5 Rxb2 39.Rb5 Rxa2 40.Rxb4+ Kf3 41.Rb1 Rd2 The active Black King saves Black. ) 34.Qxe5+ Kh7 35.Qe4+ Kh8 36.Rf2

36...Qh3?? 37.Rg2 (37.Qd4+ Kh7 38.Rxc2 Qf3+ 39.Rg2 Qd1+ 40.Qg1 Game over ) 37...Rxg2 38.Qxg2 Qxd3 39.Qf2 Qd5+ 40.Kg1 Qxa2 41.Qd4+ Kh7 42.Qd7+ Kh6 43.Qd6+ Kg7 44.Qe5+ Kh7 45.Kg2 Qb3 46.Qc7+ Kh8 47.Qe5+ Kh7 48.f5 Qc2+ 49.Kg3 Qb3+ 50.Kf4 Qc4+ 51.Ke3 a4 52.f6 Kg6 53.Qe8+ (53.h4 Qc1+ 54.Kf2 Qc2+ 55.Ke3 Qc1+ Draw - White is mesmerised thinking it's still winning ) 53...Kxf6 54.Qxa4 Qc1+ 55.Ke4 Qxb2 56.Qa5 Qe2+ 57.Kd4 Qb2+ 58.Ke4 Qc2+ 59.Kd4 Qc3+ 60.Ke4 Qc4+ 61.Ke3 b3 62.Qd8+ Kg6 63.Qd6+ Kh5 64.Qe5+ Kg6 65.Qd6+ Kg7 66.Qe7+ Qf7 67.Qg5+ Kf8 68.Qc5+

68...Qe7+ 69.Kd4 A horrendous blunder, Daniel had lost the thread - he was deceived into continuing to try and when the draw should have been accepted.  69...Qxc5+ Great fighting spirit by Ben, had his luck, but still a well-deserved win and his 2nd IM norm. 0-1 0-1