[Event "Scottish Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.07.11"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Thorfinnsson, Bragi"]
[Black "Sengupta, Deep"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2465"]
[BlackElo "2548"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

{My good friend Donald Holmes was awarded the best game prize at the Scottish
Championship, but although I was happy for him, this game was my favourite.} 1.
d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bb4 6. e3 b5 7. Bd2 a5 8. axb5 Bxc3
9. Bxc3 cxb5 10. b3 Bb7 11. bxc4 b4 12. Bb2 Nf6 13. Bd3 Nbd7 14. O-O O-O 15.
Nd2 h6 16. Bc2 $146 {A relatively harmless improvement on theory. Black is
fine here.} (16. Qc2 Qc7 17. e4 e5 18. c5 exd4 19. Bxd4 Rfc8 20. Rfc1 Ng4 $15 {
was Akshat - Sengupta, Canberra 2012.}) 16... Qc7 17. f3 Rfe8 18. Kh1 e5 19. d5
Ba6 $6 (19... Nb6 $1 $13) 20. Ba4 Re7 21. f4 $1 $14 {Opening up for the
b2-bishop.} exf4 22. exf4 Qb6 (22... Re3 $5 23. Rc1 Rc8 24. Bc6 $14) 23. Bc6
Bb7 $2 {A blunder that allows White to conclude the game with a nice
combination.} (23... Rd8 $14) 24. c5 $3 {Using the overloaded status of the
black queen.} Nxc5 (24... Qa6 25. Bxb7 Qxb7 26. c6 $18) 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Qg4+
Kf8 27. Qh4 Kg7 (27... Bxc6 28. Qxh6+ Ke8 29. Nc4 Qa6 30. dxc6 Qxc6 31. Ne5 $18
) 28. Rf3 Rg8 (28... Qd8 29. Rg3+ Kh7 30. Bxb7 Nxb7 31. Qg4 Qh8 32. Qf5#) 29.
Rg3+ Kh7 30. Rh3 1-0

[Event "119th Scottish Chess CH 2012"]
[Site "Glasgow"]
[Date "2012.07.15"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Aagaard, Jacob"]
[Black "Hebden, Mark L"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C45"]
[WhiteElo "2506"]
[BlackElo "2525"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[EventCountry "SCO"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

{By winning this game I took the 119th Scottish Championship title - and
shared 1st-5th place in the event.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 {It was a few
days after the event that I realised that I played the Scotch to win the
Scottish!} exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Ne4 7. Be3 Qe7 $146 {A new move.
After 7...d5, we had prepared 8.Nd2 with a slight edge for White.} (7... Rb8 {
is another interesting untried move. Here White could try} 8. Nd2 $5 Nxd2 9.
Qxd2 Rxb2 10. a3 {, when the pressure against a7 and the general lead in
development could lead to an edge for White:} Be7 11. Bd3 O-O 12. O-O c5 13.
Qc3 Rb6 14. Bxc5 Rc6 15. Bxe7 Rxc3 16. Bxd8 Rxd8 17. Rfb1 $14) 8. Qd4 $1 {
White has to accept the exchange of queens or be worse.} Qb4+ {I expected this.
} ({After} 8... Nc5 9. Nd2 Ne6 10. Qe4 $14 {I like White.}) 9. Qxb4 Bxb4+ 10.
Nd2 ({Maybe White is better off playing} 10. Ke2 $5 {, when the threats
against the black knight force} Be7 11. Nd2 Nxd2 12. Kxd2 $14 {, which is
probably a bit better for White, although it is not much.}) {Black exchanges
his good bishop and has for this reason logically lost the opening battle.
Best was} 10... Bxd2+ $6 (10... Nxd2 11. Bxd2 Bc5 12. f4 d6 13. O-O-O $14 {
when White's advantage is very minimal.}) 11. Bxd2 {To my shame I offered a
draw here, just wanting to escape from a "drawish" ending. Stupid and lazy.
Mark was clearly disgusted with me and just refused. My only defence is that I
did not come up with ...Qe7-b4, exchanging queens...} Nxd2 12. Kxd2 Rb8 13. b3
$14 {White's chances should be slightly better here, although I fear that top
class players will expect to draw this with Black every time.} d6 14. Re1 Be6
15. Bd3 Kd7 16. f4 (16. Re4 $5 {was my other idea, but I wanted to put
pressure on his bishop after his last move.}) 16... c5 17. Rhf1 {Preparing
before acting; basic strategy.} f5 $2 {Black cracks under the pressure. It was
better to play} (17... Rhe8 $14 {.}) 18. exf6 $6 {Quite a natural reaction,
creating split pawns and the possibility of an advantage with Bf5+. But White
had a fantastic move here:} (18. exd6 $3 {This is absolutely deadly if Black
accepts a Re1-e5 with full control. And after} cxd6 19. Re3 {he will lose
material. The main point is} g6 20. Rfe1 Rhe8 21. a4 $1 {and there is no
defence against Bb5(+).}) 18... gxf6 19. Rf2 $1 Bf7 $2 {This looks like a
total blunder. The correct defence was} (19... Rbe8 20. Rfe2 Bf7 21. Rxe8 Bxe8
{and Black is worse, but White is not penetrating his position as easily as in
the game.}) 20. Bf5+ Kc6 21. Re7 {I felt sure that the position was winning
here.} Rbf8 22. Rfe2 Bg6 {I sort of expected and not expected this move. I
could not see other active moves for him and thus expected it, but at the same
time I had something strong prepared against it, that I did not think he would
allow. In the end (which came soon after the beginning) he made this move
without too much consideration.} 23. Bd7+ $1 (23. Be6 {was of course also
attractive, but I did not want to allow him to play the passive looking} f5 {
, when the f4-pawn is at least stopped. The computers might love it, but they
do not see the long term patterns.}) 23... Kb6 24. f5 Bf7 (24... Bh5 25. R2e4 {
with the idea Rh4 should win for White as well. For example:} Rfg8 26. g3 Bf3
27. Rf4 Bc6 28. Be6 Rf8 {Otherwise the f6-pawn falls.} 29. Rg4 $1 {and the
appearance on g7 secures White complete domination. Soon he will bring his
king to f4 and create a passed f-pawn. Or win something on the 7th rank. It
all depends on how Black reacts.}) 25. Be6 Bxe6 (25... Be8 {is not working.
White plays Re2-e3-g3 and is winning.}) 26. fxe6 Kc6 27. Ke3 $1 h5 28. Kf4 h4
29. Rf7 Re8 30. Rxf6 Rh5 31. Kg4 Rh7 32. Rf7 $5 (32. c4 $18) 32... Rxe6 33.
Rxc7+ Rxc7 34. Rxe6 Rg7+ 35. Kh3 Rf7 ({During the game I wondered if Mark was
going for} 35... Rh7 36. Re4 Rf7 {, when I was planning to take on h4 with the
rook and win the race. But of course I could keep things simple by just playing
} 37. Re2 {, transposing to the game.}) 36. Re2 Rf4 37. g4 hxg3 38. Kxg3 {For
some reason Mark wrote hxg3 on his scoresheet without looking up. I definitely
want the pawn as far away from the black king as possible. Actually I was
surprised that he did not simply resign here. As far as I could see his
position was hopeless.} Rf8 39. h4 Kd5 40. h5 Kd4 41. c4 $5 {I wanted to fix
his pawn on d6 and not allow his king to be strong on c3. But actually it
would be weak and the d-pawn cannot advance without being exchanged anyway. I
was clearly being too superficial at this point and decided to slow down. An
easy win would have been achieved by} (41. Kg4 {and a simple march up the
board.}) 41... a5 {Here I thought for maybe 40 minutes to get my head around
everything. I was sure that I was winning, but not that the margin was as
great as it actually is. The main thing is to avoid that Black wins the
b3-pawn.} 42. Kg4 a4 43. h6 {This is a simple human way to play. The king
supports the h-pawn and the tactics gets minimised.} Kc3 44. Re3+ (44. Kg5 $2
axb3 45. axb3 Kxb3 46. Re4 {does not win. Black manages to make a draw with}
Rd8 $1 {, when he will get his passed pawn quite soon.}) 44... Kb2 45. Kh5 (45.
bxa4 d5 {was too messy for me, even though I felt sure that pawns on d7 and h7
against a rook (with the black king lost in the far corner) was enough to win.
One of the things I did not want was to allow queen against rook; won in
theory, but not always in practice.}) 45... d5 (45... a3 46. Re2+ Kb1 47. h7 {
also wins easily for White. I had calculated a long line, but easiest is just
Rh2 and go with the king to take the d6-pawn.}) 46. cxd5 Kxa2 ({I had actually
missed the idea of} 46... Rf5+ 47. Kg6 Rxd5 {, but it is not providing a lot
of resistance. I quickly found} 48. h7 Rd6+ (48... Rd8 49. bxa4 c4 50. Rh3 {
and White is many tempos ahead.}) 49. Kf7 Rd7+ 50. Re7 Rd8 51. bxa4 {and the
a-pawn(s) will be glorious assets at the end of the line.}) 47. bxa4 c4 ({On} 
47... Kb2 {I had calculated the following line:} 48. d6 c4 49. d7 c3 50. Re8 c2
51. Rxf8 c1=Q 52. d8=Q {and the white king will hide from the checks on h8
with Qd8-f6 to defend it. I really liked the geometry of this, but of course
there are a lot of other solutions.}) 48. Rc3 $1 {Not the computer's favourite,
but it kills all need for calculation, so for the practical player this is the
right move.} Rf5+ 49. Kg6 Rxd5 50. Rxc4 Rd6+ 51. Kg7 Rd7+ 52. Kf8 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.08.07"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Modern Benoni discussion"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Nikos Ntirlis"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2012.08.09"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nf3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bf4 {advocated
by Aronian and caused a lively discussion at the QC blog} a6 $1 (7... Bg7 8.
Qa4+ (8. h3 O-O 9. e3 a6 {transposes to 7...a6 according to the Greek CCIM  
(Corr chess IM) Kostas Oreopoulos and it seems indeed like a practical way for
White to avoid the complications that follow, but of course Black doesn't have
to go with ...a6}) 8... Bd7 9. Qb3 b5 10. Bxd6 Qb6 {this line was examined in
some detail by GM Marin in his chessbase annotations and also at the November
issue of Chess Evolution at the annotated Game Gelfand-Jobava by GM Kamil
Miton.} (10... c4 {(proposed by tony in the blog) is met by} 11. Qa3 Qb6 12. e4
{according to Kostas Oreopoulos who gives the line} a5 13. Qc5 Qxc5 14. Bxc5 b4
15. Nd1 Nxe4 {and now Houdini proposes} 16. Bd4 {with a healthy edge for White}
) 11. Be5 O-O 12. e3 c4 (12... b4 13. Nb1 (13. Ne2) 13... a5 (13... Bf5 14.
Nbd2 Nbd7 15. Nc4 Qd8 16. d6 Be6 17. Bg3 Nb6 18. Qc2) (13... Bc8 14. Nbd2 Nbd7
15. Nc4) 14. a4 $14 {Gelfand-Gashimov, Linares 2010.} Bg4 (14... Bf5 15. Nbd2
Nbd7 16. Bb5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Ne4 18. Nxe4 Bxe5 (18... Bxe4 19. Nd7 Qd6 20. Nxf8)
19. Ng3 Qf6 20. Rc1 Bxb2 21. Rxc5 Bc3+ 22. Ke2 Rfd8 23. Bc6 (23. Rc1)) 15. Nbd2
Nbd7 16. Bb5 Rfd8 17. Bg3 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Qa7 19. O-O Nxd5 20. Bc6 c4 21. Nxc4
Nc5 22. Qc2 Rac8 23. Bxd5 Rxd5 24. Nd6 Rc6 25. Rad1 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 Qa6 27. Nb5
Ne6) 13. Qd1 b4 {this is an improvement according to Miton and also Kostas
Oreopoulos} (13... Na6 14. a4 $1 {led to an impressive vicotory for White in
Gelfand,B (2746)-Jobava,B (2712)/Rogaska Slatina SLO 2011}) 14. Ne2 (14. Nb1
Rc8 15. Be2 Bf5 (15... Qc5 {is analysed by Miton in CE but let's see how
Kostas Oreopoulos deals with this line at the blog:} 16. O-O Qxd5 17. Qxd5 Nxd5
18. Rc1 c3 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. bxc3 bxc3 21. Ne5 Be6 22. Bf3 Kf6 23. Bxd5 Bxd5
24. Ng4+ Kg7 25. Nxc3 {"and white goes to an endgame a pawn up. Winning? Its
not easy at all, but its so easy to play as white" (K.Oreopoulos). Probably Mr
Oreopoulos meant that is is not so easy to play as Black!}) 16. O-O Nbd7 17.
Bd4 Qa5 18. Nh4 {is a suggestion for White by Miton with the idea} Be4 19. Nd2
Bxd5 20. a3 $14) 14... Bb5 15. Ned4 (15. Nf4 Nbd7 16. Bd4 Qb7 {and now} 17. Rc1
{creates some (at least practical) problems for Black according to Miton})
15... Nbd7 16. Nxb5 Qxb5 17. Bd4 Qxd5 18. Be2 Nb6 (18... Rfc8 19. O-O c3 $13 {
Miton}) 19. O-O Rac8 20. Rc1 Rfd8 21. Qe1 $14 {Aronian,L (2805)-Gashimov,V 
(2761)/Wijk aan Zee NED 2012}) 8. a4 $1 (8. Nd2 $6 b5 9. a4 Nh5 10. Be3 b4 11.
Nce4 Nd7 12. Nc4 (12. g3 Ndf6 13. Nxf6+ Nxf6) 12... Ndf6 13. Nxf6+ Nxf6 14. g3
a5 15. Bg2 Ba6 $15 {/=}) (8. e4 b5 9. Qe2 Be7 {is established as fine for
Black. Some sample lines:} 10. e5 (10. Qc2 {(with the idea a4)} O-O 11. a4 b4
12. Nd1 Re8 (12... b3 13. Qb1 Re8 14. Be2 $14 {is given by "john" at the blog})
13. Bd3 Nh5 {'<=>' Ntirlis,Nikos.} 14. Be3 (14. Bh6 Bf8 15. Bg5 f6 16. Be3 f5
17. exf5 Nf4 18. fxg6 Nxg2+ 19. Kd2 Qf6 $36) 14... Nd7 $11) 10... dxe5 11. Bxe5
Nbd7 12. Bg3 O-O 13. d6 Bxd6 14. Bxd6 Re8 15. Ne5 b4 16. Na4 Nxe5 17. Bxe5 Qa5
18. b3 Ng4 {wins!}) 8... Bg7 9. h3 (9. e4 Bg4 $1 10. Be2 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 O-O 12.
O-O Qe7 13. Qd2 Nbd7 14. Rfe1 Rfe8 15. a5 {and now Black's plan is} h5 16. h3
Nh7 17. Be2 Qf6 18. Ra4 g5) 9... O-O 10. e3 (10. Nd2 {is mentioned by Kostas
Oreopoulos but this transposes to the main line} Re8) 10... Re8 (10... Nh5 11.
Bh2 f5 12. Be2 f4 13. O-O $14 {was proposed by Watson but it is correctly
pointed out by Kostas Oreopoulos (and Kaufman) that White is just better here})
(10... Qe7 11. Be2 ({White often plays Nf3-d2 intending Nc4 at some point, but
he must be carefully not to play it prematurely and allow counterplay. For
example,} 11. Nd2 Nh5 $5 12. Bh2 f5 $1 13. Be2 f4 $1) 11... Nbd7 12. O-O (12.
Nd2 {is again met by} Ne5 $1 {and here} 13. Bxe5 $6 {was an instructive
mistake, giving up the dark-squared bishop for no good reason.} Qxe5 14. Nc4
Qe7) 12... b6 13. Nd2 Rb8 (13... Ne8) 14. Qb3 Ne8 15. Nc4 f5 {and now i propose
} 16. Bh2 {in order to fight against Black's idea of ...g5-f4} (16. Rfe1 {is
also good}) 16... g5 17. f4 $5 $14) (10... Ne8 11. Be2 Nd7 12. O-O Qe7 {and} (
12... Ne5 {are mentioned at the blog by Kostas Oreopoulos who gives a strong
line against each of these}) 13. Nd2 Ne5 14. a5 Rb8 15. Qb3 Qc7 16. Qa3 {
Oreopoulos}) 11. Nd2 Nbd7 12. Be2 (12. Bxd6 Nb6 13. Bxc5 Nfxd5 14. Bxb6 Nxb6 {
comp}) 12... Ne5 13. O-O (13. a5 {may be White's best with a small edge} Nfd7
14. O-O {is given by Kostas Oreopoulos} (14. e4) 14... f5 (14... Rb8 15. Qc2 f5
16. Ra3 $16 {(Kostas Oreopoulos) but as i said there is also the move 14...
b5!? to be considered}) (14... b5 15. axb6 Qxb6 {gave Black counterplay in
Kosteniuk,A (2448)-Cmilyte,V (2503)/Tbilisi GEO 2012 but the machines love
White's position and White won in this game.}) 15. Qc2 b5 16. axb6 Nxb6 $132 {
but it is true that Black has counterchances}) 13... Nfd7 (13... b6 $5) 14. Qc2
(14. e4 b6 {planning ...g5!+Nf8 and ...Ra7!}) 14... f5 15. Bh2 $1 {is
recommended by Kaufman but you cannot expect such a book to be so deep and not
to miss important resources. Take this one for example:} b6 16. b3 Bb7 17. Nc4
Qe7 18. Rab1 {or Rac1 makes no difference. Black follows the same plan played
in Khairullin,I (2642)-Grigoryan,A (2614)/Rogaska Slatina SLO 2011} Rf8 $1 {
with the plan ...Rae8-h5!-h4-Nf7 and start an attack against the King and if
here} 19. b4 $6 {then} Nxc4 20. Bxc4 cxb4 21. Rxb4 Rac8 $15 {Of course this is
not a complete discussion on this subject and we should expect the GM Rep book
to go much deeper and find other resources for Black as well.} *

[Event "Politiken Cup 2012"]
[Site "Helsingor"]
[Date "2012.08.02"]
[Round "7.11"]
[White "Colpe, Malte"]
[Black "Schandorff, Lars"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D43"]
[WhiteElo "2284"]
[BlackElo "2516"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2012.07.28"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

{At the Politiken Cup Lars Schandorff had the unpleasant experience of facing
an opponent who had used his book to prepare with! So, he was clearly facing
his own repertoire, but was lucky in that his opponent forgot to include a4
and a6, which makes a big difference.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6
5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 Bg7 10. e5 Nh5 11. Ne4 $6 {
This is weaker without the inclusion of a4 and a6. In a number of lines Black
benefits from a strong knight on b6, supported by the a7-pawn! In other lines
the king has a great square on a2 to hide (see the notes to move 21).} O-O 12.
Nfxg5 Nxg3 13. hxg3 hxg5 14. Bxc4 {"This is hardcore" Lars' opponent said
after the game, quoting the book.} Qe7 {Lars was trying to work out the
differences at the board, but had no real chance to do so. Actually, Black
should take the piece:} (14... bxc4 15. Qh5 Re8 16. Qh7+ (16. O-O-O c3 $1 {and
I believe White is going to be late}) 16... Kf8 17. Rh5 f6 18. exf6 Bxf6 19.
Rxg5 Bxg5 20. Qh8+ $11) 15. Qh5 Rd8 16. Qh7+ $2 (16. Bb3 $1 $13 {was the
correct move, I believe. My analysis run like this:} Rxd4 (16... a5 17. O-O-O
a4 18. Bc2 a3 19. Qh7+ Kf8 20. b3 Nd7 21. Rh5 f5 22. Rdh1 $18) (16... Nd7 17.
Nxg5 Nf8 18. O-O-O c5 19. d5 Bxe5 20. Nxf7 Qxf7 21. Qxe5 Qg7 22. Qh5 $44) 17.
Nf6+ Bxf6 18. Qh7+ Kf8 19. exf6 Qxf6 20. Qh8+ Qxh8 21. Rxh8+ Ke7 22. Rxc8 $44
Rd8 23. Rc7+ Rd7 24. Rc8 $11) 16... Kf8 17. O-O-O bxc4 18. f4 g4 $2 {This is
very slow.} (18... c3 $3 $19 {is generally the answer to everything. White's
kingside is opened or weakened.}) 19. Rh6 $2 ({White had a chance to create a
winning attack with} 19. Rh4 $1 {, when the following line is forced:} f5 20.
exf6 Bxf6 21. Nxf6 Qxh7 22. Rxh7 {and White is more or less winning.}) 19...
Nd7 {Good enough, but} (19... c3 $1 {is still strongest.}) 20. Rdh1 (20. Nd6
Nb6 21. Rh4 Rxd6 {also wins for Black.}) 20... Qb4 $1 {The only winning move,
but not too difficult.} (20... Rb8 $2 {allows a nice draw:} 21. f5 $1 exf5 22.
Qxg7+ Kxg7 23. Rh7+ $11) 21. Nf6 (21. f5 {does not work here. The reason is
quite nice:} exf5 22. Qxf5 Bxh6+ 23. Rxh6 Qe1+ 24. Kc2 Qe2+ 25. Kc1 Qe3+ {and
Black wins.}) 21... c3 22. Qg8+ Ke7 23. Nd5+ cxd5 24. Rxe6+ Kxe6 25. Rh6+ 0-1

[Event "Politiken Cup"]
[Site "Helsingor"]
[Date "2012.07.30"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Cheparinov, Ivan"]
[Black "Danielsen, Henrik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D15"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]
[BlackElo "2511"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

{In my opinion this was the greatest game of the tournament. The fact that
Cheparinov later won it only adds to this impression.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3
Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. a4 e6 6. g3 dxc4 7. e4 Bb4 8. e5 Nd5 9. Bd2 b5 10. Bg2 Bb7 11.
Ng5 {I do not want to come with a survey of this opening, let us just say that
White has compensation here, but nothing is decided.} Nd7 12. Qh5 g6 13. Qh6
Bf8 14. Qh3 Nxc3 (14... b4 15. Nce4 Be7 16. Qh6 $40 Bf8 17. Nd6+ Bxd6 18. exd6
Qf6 19. Bxd5 cxd5 20. Bxb4 $16) 15. bxc3 Be7 16. Ne4 h5 17. O-O Kf8 {Black's
position is already difficult.} (17... O-O 18. g4 $1 hxg4 19. Qh6 $1 $16) 18.
f4 (18. Nd6 $1 $14) 18... Nb6 19. Ng5 {White's attacking stance is very
energetic. Maybe Black can defend better, but at this point it is not a great
surprise that White managed to win the game.} Qd7 $6 ({After} 19... Kg7 {I am
a bit unsure about the evaluation of the position:} 20. g4 $44) 20. f5 $3 {A
fabulous break-through.} exf5 (20... gxf5 21. g4 {does not look any better.})
21. g4 $3 Bxg5 {A big concession, but Black's structure is falling apart.} (
21... fxg4 22. Rxf7+ $18) ({Maybe Black could have put up more resistance with
} 21... Bc8 22. gxf5 gxf5 23. Rae1 Bxg5 24. Bxg5 Nd5 {, but I don't trust his
position at all. White plays} 25. Qh4 {with the idea Rf3-g3 with a strong
attack.}) 22. Bxg5 fxg4 23. Qh4 Re8 24. Rf6 Re6 25. Raf1 Nd5 ({A typical
breakthrough would look like this:} 25... Kg8 26. Rxe6 Qxe6 27. Rf6 Qe8 28. e6
fxe6 29. Be4 {and Black is torn to bits...}) 26. Bxd5 {Black resigned. The
rook comes from f1 to d6 and decides the game.} 1-0

[Event "Politiken Cup"]
[Site "Helsingor"]
[Date "2012.07.31"]
[Round "5.8"]
[White "Burmakin, Vladimir"]
[Black "Svane, Rasmus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2590"]
[BlackElo "2367"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

{In the following game, the ethnically Danish, German junior beat a rushed GM
with some nice tactics.  It was rewarded with the best game prize at the
Politiken Cup.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. O-O Bg4 5. b3 Nbd7 6. Bb2 e6
7. d3 Bd6 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 O-O 10. c4 dxc4 11. dxc4 Qe7 12. Qc2 e5 13. Bg2
Rad8 14. a3 Rfe8 15. b4 e4 16. c5 Bb8 17. Nc3 h5 {It is time for White to play
e3, but no...} 18. h4 (18. e3 h4 19. g4 Qe5 20. Rfd1 Qh2+ 21. Kf1 $14 {was a
possible continuation. The e4-pawn is just weak.}) 18... e3 $5 19. f4 Nf8 20.
Rad1 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 $6 (21. Nxd1 $14) 21... Bxf4 $5 22. gxf4 Ng4 {Suddenly
Black has a lot of play on the dark squares.} 23. Ne4 $2 ({White could have
held the position together with:} 23. Qe4 $1 Ne6 $5 (23... Qxh4 24. Qxe8 $11)
24. Qf3 Qxh4 25. Ne4 Qh2+ 26. Kf1 Nxf4 27. Qg3 $13) 23... Qxh4 24. f5 $2 ({Not
good, but better, was} 24. Qc3 Qh2+ 25. Kf1 Qxf4+ 26. Bf3 Ne6 $17) 24... Rxe4
$1 {Burmakin was playing too fast and had obviously missed the point of this.}
25. Qxe4 Qf2+ 26. Kh1 Qh4+ 27. Kg1 Qf2+ 28. Kh1 Qxe2 {There are too many
threats. Black wins.} 29. Qd4 (29. Rf1 Qxb2 $19) 29... Qxd1+ 30. Qxd1 Nf2+ 31.
Kg1 Nxd1 32. Bc1 e2 33. Bd2 Ne3 34. Be4 Nc4 35. Be1 Nxa3 36. Kf2 Nb5 37. Kxe2
Nd7 38. Ke3 Nf6 39. Bd3 Kf8 40. Kf4 Nd5+ 41. Ke5 a6 42. Bf1 Ke7 43. Bh3 Na3 44.
Ke4 Nc2 45. Bf2 Ndxb4 46. f6+ gxf6 47. Bc8 a5 48. Bh4 a4 0-1

[Event "Politiken Cup 2012"]
[Site "Helsingor"]
[Date "2012.08.04"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Aabling-Thomsen, Jakob"]
[Black "Aagaard, Jacob"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2331"]
[BlackElo "2506"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2012.07.28"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Nf6 $1 {With an iffy stomach and a dangerous book
just out, there was no way I was going to take the risk of accepting the Morra!
} 4. e5 Nd5 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 Nb6 7. Bb3 dxe5 8. Nxe5 e6 9. O-O ({Against} 9.
cxd4 {then} Be7 {is apparently very rare, but unless there is a direct problem,
this seems more natural to me than the immediate 9...Nc6. Maybe it is a
question of transpositions leading back to normality that boosts 9...Nc6
popularity here, rather than actual choices in this this position.}) 9... Nc6 {
Black gets an isolated pawn as well, but rids himself of the only attacking
asset White has. The future is quite safe now! Besides, Black's isolated pawn
is not as weak as White's at the moment, as Black can force an exchange of
them with ...c5, a liberty White does not have.} 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. cxd4 Be7 {
The opening is over and it is time to lay a plan for the middlegame. From
Black's perspective, it is all about solving problems one by one. Get good
squares for the bishop on c8 and the knight on b6 and put pressure on d4; so
simply it can be put. I decided to put the bishop on d5 and the knight on f5
around here, rejecting all early ideas of ...c5.  The downside of this plan is
that the bishop on d5 could be in the way, but then I am not trying to prove
anything, just to put my pieces on decent squares and see how my opponent
decides to react.  You don't beat many grandmasters like this, but you get to
the level of GM, which many people failed to do even after years and years of
trying.} 12. Nc3 ({White had the chance to play} 12. Qf3 {, leading to an
exchange of pawns after} O-O {. The position is equal, but White will have to
give up all ambition to play like this. Maybe it was something he should have
considered!?}) 12... O-O 13. Qf3 Ba6 {By having castled, Black is given an
extra option. The regrouping starts.} 14. Rd1 (14. Re1 {was more logical in
some way, to place the other rook on d1, but the computer points out that} Qxd4
15. Qxc6 Rac8 16. Qf3 Rfd8 {is nice for Black.}) 14... Rc8 15. Bc2 Bc4 $1 {The
bishop goes to d3 before White has time to play b3.} 16. b3 {Played to
dominate the knight, but also weakens some squares. All moves are a bit like
that.} Bd5 17. Qh3 g6 18. Bh6 Re8 19. Rd3 {One of my three universal questions
are: which is your worst placed piece (and where would it like to be placed)?
Here the b6-knight belongs on f5. And the rook on c8 on d7, putting pressure
on the d4-pawn.} Rc7 $1 20. Rad1 {Jakob is starting to lose his way. It was
time to play} (20. Bf4 Bd6 21. Be5 $1 {forcing some kind of concession. In
this way the struggle would have stayed tense, probably with no worse chances
for Black.}) 20... Rd7 21. Qg4 {To deliver mate you usually need something
extra; a very solid centre, a nice pawn or knight on e5 or maybe a serious
weakness of the kingside. Here there are none of those things, so White's
attacking pose is over-optimistic.} Nc8 {The knight is coming to f5.} 22. Rg3
Bf6 $1 {I did not want to think too much about the possible pawn structure
after} (22... Nd6 23. Nxd5 cxd5 {, which is probably good for Black.}) 23. Ne2
$6 {Clearly losing the touch. After} (23. Bf4 Ne7 24. Be5 Nf5 25. Rh3 Bg7 {I
like my position, but I am not sure I am really better. But now White's
position disintegrates.}) 23... Nd6 $15 24. Nf4 $2 (24. Bg5 {was the last
chance to keep things together.}) 24... Nf5 $1 25. Rh3 (25. Bxf5 exf5 26. Qxf5
{I was planning the simple 26...Be4, followed by taking on e4. But even more
accurate is} Bxd4 $1 {with a winning position. The obvious threat is ...Be4
and ...Bxf2+, but we should also notice} 27. Rf1 Bxf2+ $3 {and White can only
resign.}) {Now we had a clear moment, where it makes sense to calculate. Black
can take on h6 and have a very nice and safe advantage. But there is also the
pawn on d4.  From afar I was sure that I could take on d4, but I still checked
everything carefully, looking for plausible faults, but found nothing at all.}
25... Nxd4 $1 26. Bxg6 {White has to do something.} ({Looking for possible
ideas, I also saw} 26. Nxg6 fxg6 27. Rxd4 Bxd4 28. Qxd4 {, which looks not too
silly, but where Black can win by both taking on g2 and the move I had planned:
} Be4 $1) 26... fxg6 27. Nxg6 hxg6 {Simplest; eliminating the attacker.} (27...
Bf3 28. gxf3 Ne2+ 29. Kg2 Rxd1 {looked promising, but unlike computers, I find
the position quite unclear!}) 28. Qxg6+ Bg7 29. Bg5 {Jakob was running out of
time and could find nothing.} ({On} 29. Rxd4 {I had found the only winning
move at move 23:} Be4 $3 (29... e5 30. Rxd5 cxd5 31. Bg5 {and White actually
has a real attack going, which Black will have to defend accurately against to
survive.}) {Here I found} 30. Qg3 {to be the most challenging (30.Rxd7 is
objectively better, but by force leads to an endgame where Black has a great
bishop against two weak pawns), but after some time I found} Qf6 $3 {, winning.
}) 29... Be4 $1 {Easiest against everything.} 30. Rh8+ Kxh8 31. Qh5+ Kg8 32.
Bxd8 Rexd8 {With four pieces for the queen, the victory will be easy.} 0-1

[Event "Politiken Cup 2012"]
[Site "Helsingor"]
[Date "2012.08.02"]
[Round "7.15"]
[White "Jensen, Michael Agermose"]
[Black "l'Ami, Alina"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B21"]
[WhiteElo "2113"]
[BlackElo "2372"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2012.07.28"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

{The following game gives a fresh take on one of the critical lines in the
Morra Gambit, referred to on page 214 in Mayhem in the Morra.} 1. e4 c5 2. d4
cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 a6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Bf4 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5
10. g4 $5 (10. Qb3 $1 {is Marc's main recommendation here.}) 10... Bg6 11. Qe2
$1 $146 {I am not fully convinced that White has more than adequate
compensation here, but certainly I like the idea behind this better than
Marc's 11.e5, leading to a drawish endgame.} e5 {This looks necessary. Black
has to do something to solve his problems immediately.} (11... b5 12. Bd5 Rc8
13. Rfd1 $14) 12. Rfd1 $1 {The critical position. From here on the analysis
are a bit concrete in nature.} Nd7 $6 (12... exf4 $6 13. e5 Be7 (13... Qe7 14.
Rxd6 Nd7 15. Nd5 Qd8 16. Rxc6 $3 bxc6 17. e6 fxe6 (17... Bd6 18. exd7+ Kxd7 19.
Ne5+ Bxe5 20. Qxe5 cxd5 21. Rd1 Qb8 22. Rxd5+ Kc6 23. Qd4 Qb4 24. Rd7 Be4 25.
Qxe4+ Kxd7 26. Be6+ fxe6 27. Qxb4 $16) 18. Qxe6+ Be7 19. Nxf4 Qc7 20. Nxg6 hxg6
21. Rd1 $16) (13... Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Be7 15. g5 $1 Nh5 16. Nxg6 (16. Bxf7+ Bxf7
17. Nxf7 Kxf7 18. Qxh5+ g6 19. Qf3 Bxg5 20. Qxb7+ Qe7 21. Qd5+ Kg7 22. Re1 Qd8
23. Re6 $14) 16... hxg6 17. Re1 Kf8 18. h4 $14) 14. exd6 (14. exf6 gxf6 15. Nd5
h5 16. gxh5 Bxh5 17. Nxf6+ Kf8 18. Nxh5 Rxh5 19. Qe4 Qd7 20. Qxf4 Qf5 $11)
14... O-O 15. dxe7 Qxe7 16. Qxe7 Nxe7 17. Ne5 $40) ({I think the critical line
might be} 12... Qc8 $1 13. Bg3 {(13.Bg5!?)} Be7 14. Rac1 Qb8 $13) 13. Bg5 Be7
$2 (13... Nf6 {does not repeat the position (although this is White's
prerogative. But after} 14. Bd5 $1 $14 {Black has constant problems to solve.
Still this was to be preferred.}) 14. Rxd6 $1 {A nice combination, but not too
difficult.} Bxg5 15. Rad1 Ncb8 $2 (15... Be7 {was better, but the position
after} 16. Rxd7 Qxd7 17. Rxd7 Kxd7 18. Bd5 $16 {is rotten.}) 16. Nxe5 $18 Bf4
17. Rxd7 Nxd7 18. Nxd7 Rc8 19. e5 Qc7 ({Or} 19... Qg5 20. Ne4 Bh2+ 21. Kg2
Bxe4+ 22. Qxe4 Qf4 23. Bxf7+ $1 Qxf7 (23... Kxf7 24. Qd5+) 24. Qxb7 Qc4 25.
Kxh2 $18) 20. Bb3 Bg5 21. e6 f5 {Clear desperation.} 22. Nd5 Qc6 23. Qe5 Rg8
24. gxf5 Bh5 {In this "anything wins" position, White finds a way that does
not.} 25. f6 $4 {As said (almost) anything wins:} (25. Nb8 $1 Qc5 26. Ba4+ b5
27. Nxa6 Qc4 28. Bxb5+ $18) (25. Qg3 h6 26. f6 gxf6 27. N7xf6+ Kf8 28. e7+ Kg7
29. Nxh5+ Kh8 30. Kh2 $18) 25... gxf6 26. Qg3 Rg6 27. N7xf6+ $4 (27. Re1 $13)
27... Bxf6 28. Nxf6+ Rxf6 29. Qg8+ Rf8 30. Qxh7 Bxd1 $1 31. Qg6+ Kd8 32. e7+
Kxe7 33. Qg7+ Kd6 0-1

[Event "Politiken Cup 2012"]
[Site "Helsingor"]
[Date "2012.08.05"]
[Round "10.7"]
[White "Glud, Jakob Vang"]
[Black "Malakhov, Vladimir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2498"]
[BlackElo "2712"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r3k1/5p2/q7/p2p2p1/5nP1/2B1RPK1/P4Q2/8 b - - 0 41"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2012.07.28"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

{After having survived miraculously against Burmakin in the last round, I went
to the commentary room to find out if I had really been as lucky as I believed.
It took only a few minutes to confirm this. Then we turned to this position
where my team mate from the Danish national team has just played 41.Bxc3!?. We
felt sure that Black had something decisive, but what?}  0-1

[Event "Politiken Cup 2012"]
[Site "Helsingor"]
[Date "2012.08.05"]
[Round "10.7"]
[White "Glud, Jakob Vang"]
[Black "Malakhov, Vladimir"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2498"]
[BlackElo "2712"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r3k1/5p2/q7/p2p2p1/5nP1/2B1RPK1/P4Q2/8 b - - 0 41"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2012.07.28"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

41... Qh6 $6 {With this move Malakhov looks towards a promising ending. He did
so because he could not make the following combination work:} (41... d4 42.
Bxd4 Qh6 $2 43. Qh2 Rc2 $4 {, where Black would win instantly, was it not for}
44. Re8+ $18 {.}) ({White's clever tactical point was that} 41... Rxc3 $2 42.
Re8+ Kg7 (42... Kh7 $2 {is even worse:} 43. Qh2+ Kg6 44. Rg8+ Kf6 45. Qh6+ Ng6
46. Qg7+ Ke7 47. Qxc3 $16) {is met nicely with} 43. Qd4+ $1 f6 44. Qxc3 Ne2+
45. Rxe2 Qxe2 46. Qxa5 $11 {.}) ({After looking for some minutes I found the
solution to the problem. It is all about prophylaxis! With} 41... Qd6 $3 {
White is forced to block the diagonal:} 42. Be5 (42. Qd2 {is a computer like
defence, but it has a simple refutation:} d4 $1) {And now Black wins as
programmed with} 42... Qh6 43. Qh2 Rc2 $3 {and White is mated in three moves
if he starts doing stupid things, or otherwise after 44.Qxh6 Rg2# or} 44. Qxc2
Qh4# {.}) 42. Qh2 Qxh2+ 43. Kxh2 Kh7 {Black won the game and this sort of
confirms his strategy as adequate; but for me it does not make sense
exchanging the a-pawns.} (43... a4 $1 {is the move I have been schooled to
choose in such a position.}) 44. Bxa5 Rc2+ 45. Kg1 $6 (45. Kh1 $1) 45... Rxa2
$2 {Missing a tactical chance:} (45... d4 $1 46. Re7 Rxa2 47. Bc7 Nh3+ 48. Kf1
Rf2+ 49. Ke1 Rxf3 $19) 46. Bc7 d4 47. Rb3 Ne6 48. Be5 Re2 49. Bd6 Rc2 50. Rb5
Kg6 51. Rd5 f6 52. Kf1 Kf7 53. Ke1 Ra2 54. Kf1 Ke8 55. Ke1 Rc2 56. Kf1 Rb2 57.
Ke1 Ra2 58. Kf1 Ra7 59. Bb4 Rd7 60. Rxd7 $6 (60. Ra5 $17 {was a better defence.
}) 60... Kxd7 61. Ke2 Nf4+ 62. Kd2 Ke6 63. Ba5 Ng6 64. Kd3 Kd5 65. Bd8 Ne5+ 66.
Ke2 Ke6 67. Bc7 d3+ 68. Ke3 d2 69. Kxd2 Nxf3+ 70. Kd3 Kd5 0-1

[Event "119th Scottish Championship"]
[Site "Glasgow"]
[Date "2012.07.11"]
[Round "5"]
[White "McNab, Colin"]
[Black "Bryson, Douglas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A14"]
[WhiteElo "2445"]
[BlackElo "2350"]
[Annotator "Colin McNab"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2012.07.07"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SCO"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. b3 Nf6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O c5 7. e3 Nc6 8. Bb2 d4
{This line is covered in Chapter 23 of Mihail Marin's Grandmaster Repertoire 4.
} 9. exd4 cxd4 10. Re1 Ne8 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. Rxe5 f6 13. Re1 e5 {Marin comments:
"Once Black has safely blocked the long black diagonal, White is willing to
spend another tempo to exchange his passive bishop. The last move also pursues
a long-term plan: in certain cases, the white knight may reach the d6-square,
where it will be supported by the c-pawn.} 14. Ba3 Bxa3 15. Nxa3 Nc7 16. Rc1
Kh8 $6 (16... Rb8 17. c5 Be6 {Manouck - Colin, Chartres 2005, and now Marin
gives} 18. Qe2 $1 $146 {leading to an advantage for White.}) 17. c5 Nd5 18. Qe2
Rb8 19. Nb5 Nb4 20. Qc4 Nc6 21. Nd6 {Following the plan outlined by Marin has
given White an overwhelming position.} Qc7 22. b4 a6 23. a3 Nd8 24. f4 Be6 25.
Qe2 Nc6 26. Qf3 Bd7 27. Qd5 Be8 28. fxe5 Nxe5 (28... fxe5 29. Rf1 {also leaves
Black helpless, for example} Bg6 30. Nxb7 $1 $18) 29. Qxd4 Bc6 30. Re3 Rbd8 31.
Bxc6 Qxc6 32. Rxe5 $5 {Forcing an easily won rook ending.} fxe5 33. Nf7+ Kg8
34. Nxd8 exd4 35. Nxc6 bxc6 36. Kg2 Re8 37. Kf3 Kf7 38. Rc4 Rd8 39. Ke4 Re8+
40. Kd3 Re1 41. Rxd4 Ra1 42. Rd6 Rxa3+ 43. Kc4 a5 44. bxa5 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.07.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Esserman"]
[Black "Kim"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B21"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "26"]
[EventDate "2012.07.29"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

{The following game was played in a Simul by Marc and puts one of the
"missing" lines in the grave. The thing is that the lines were of course not
missing. Marc did not aim to be comprehensive in his book and anticipate all
moves. In this case the idea is bad and easily refuted.} 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3.
c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 a6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Bf4 e5 {This is the idea.
But there is a problem...} 9. Ng5 $1 Be6 $2 (9... exf4 $1 {is critical, but I
favour White.} 10. Nxf7 Qd7 {This looks the most dangerous; in some lines
there are ...f3 and ...Qg4.} 11. Nxh8 Ne5 $1 {This is the critical line. But
White looks better to me.} 12. Be2 (12. Qb3 f3 $1 (12... g6 13. Rfc1 Qg7 14.
Nd5 $16 {looks completely hopeless.}) 13. Rfd1 Be7 $1 $13) 12... g6 13. Rc1 (
13. Qd2 f3 $1 $13) 13... Qg7 14. Na4 $1 (14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. Qxd5 Rb8 $1 $13) (14.
Qa4+ Bd7 15. Bb5 Rb8 16. Bxd7+ Qxd7 $13) 14... Rb8 (14... Nfd7 15. Qd5 $1 $14
Qxh8 16. Rc7 $36) 15. Nb6 Bd7 16. Qd2 (16. Nxg6 hxg6 17. Qd2 Nxe4 18. Qxf4 Bc6
19. Rxc6 bxc6 20. Qxe4 Rxb6 21. f4 $14) 16... Bc6 (16... f3 17. gxf3 Qxh8 18.
f4 Nc6 19. Rfe1 $40) 17. Qxf4 Qxh8 18. Qe3 $14) 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Nxe6 Qd7 12.
Nd5 $5 $14 (12. Nxf8 Rxf8 13. Be3 $16 {seems more clean cut to me.}) 12... Nxd5
13. exd5 Nd8 {You can debate how big the advantage is at the moment, slight or
large? Anyway, Marc won the game quickly after 12.Nd5.} 1-0

[Event "Netherlands"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Stuart"]
[Black "Soltau"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B21"]
[WhiteElo "2455"]
[BlackElo "2565"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2012.07.29"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

{Page 72 of from Mayhem in the Morra. This is the famous "missing line", which
is little more than another reasonable option against the Morra (which despite
rumours to the contrary, does not win by force).} 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3
dxc3 4. Nxc3 d6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 a6 ({The line that Marc included in the book
went like this:} 6... Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. Qe2 Nf6 9. Rd1 Bd7 {and here he said
that 10.Bf4 e5 11.Be3 was a sort of transposition to Esseman - Bartell, (page
68); which was not entirely true. So Andrew and I inserted the following
improvement, not understanding that Marc wanted to deal with two positions in
one go:} 10. Nb5 $1 Qb8 11. Bf4 Ne5 12. Nxd6+ Bxd6 13. Rxd6 Qxd6 14. Nxe5 Qe7
15. Rd1 O-O 16. Nxd7 Nxd7 17. Bd6 $14) 7. O-O Be7 8. Qe2 Nc6 9. Rd1 Bd7 {This
position is therefore not covered in the book. Marc does not consider it a
main line at all, as he has only faced it 1-2 times in 1000s of his own games.
However, it is a "reputable line" as he told us. White simply has compensation
for the pawn, but maybe nothing more.} 10. Bf4 (10. a3 $5 Nf6 (10... Rc8 11.
Ba2 $5) 11. Bf4 e5 12. Be3 $44 {makes sense to me as well. I like to have the
a2-square for the bishop early on.}) 10... e5 11. Be3 Nf6 12. Rac1 O-O 13. a3
b5 14. Bd5 (14. Ba2 {is more natural to me.} Rc8 (14... b4 $2 15. Nd5 bxa3 16.
bxa3 $14 {looks like a disaster for Black.}) 15. Nd5 (15. Bg5 $2 Bg4 $15 {
Schmeisser - Atanasov, Wunsiedel 1990. Here the best move might be to return
to e3 with the bishop!}) 15... Nxd5 16. Bxd5 $44) 14... Rc8 15. h3 h6 (15... b4
16. axb4 Nxb4 17. Bb3 $44) 16. b4 Qe8 17. Ba2 Be6 {Black is certainly ok here,
but not more. Now White blundered.} 18. Qd3 $2 (18. Nh4 Nd4 $5 19. Bxd4 exd4
20. Rxd4 Bxa2 21. Nxa2 d5 $11) 18... Bxa2 19. Nxa2 d5 $1 20. exd5 e4 21. Qf1
Nxd5 (21... exf3 22. dxc6 Rxc6 $17) 22. Rxd5 exf3 23. Rcd1 fxg2 24. Qxg2 Kh7
25. Nc3 f5 26. Ne2 Rf6 27. Qf3 Rd8 28. Nf4 Rfd6 29. Bb6 Ne5 30. Qc3 R8d7 $4 {
A horrific blunder.} (30... Rxd5 31. Rxd5 Rxd5 32. Nxd5 Nc4 $19) 31. Qxe5 1-0

[Event "Politiken Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.07.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Skovgaard, Ib"]
[Black "Brorson, Jacob"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B95"]
[Annotator "Jacob Aagaard"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2012.07.29"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

{Best game prize for U-2200 at the Politiken Cup, sponsored by Quality Chess.} 
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd3 b5 8. f4
Nbd7 9. O-O-O b4 10. Nd5 Nc5 11. Qe3 Bb7 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Nxb4 Qa5 14. a3 Bxe4
15. Nxa6 Nxa6 16. Bb5+ Kd8 17. Qxe4 Nc5 18. Qc6 Bh6 19. Nxe6+ fxe6 20. Qxd6+
Kc8 21. Qxc5+ Kb8 22. Qd6+ Ka7 23. Rd4 Rad8 24. Qe7+ Kb8 25. Bc6 Bxf4+ 26. Rxf4
Qd2+ 27. Kb1 Qxf4 28. Qb7# 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.08.14"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Question on the blog"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D43"]
[Annotator "Nikos Ntirlis"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.16"]

{We were asked about this line on the blog. Nikos investigated it deeper than
Schandorff did in his recent book as an answer.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 e6 4.
Nc3 Nf6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 b4 10. Na4 Nxe4 11. Be5
Nf6 12. Nc5 c3 13. bxc3 (13. O-O $5 g4 14. bxc3 gxf3 15. Bxf3 {is mentioned in
a footnote in Dreev's book. He claims good compensation for the piece. The
great man is probably correct despite the disaproval by the machines. Of
course Black has alternatives at move 13}) 13... bxc3 14. Qb3 $5 {One of the
possible attractive options in White's disposal. The position is probably
unclear but White has the more dangerous play} Nbd7 (14... Bxc5 15. dxc5 Nbd7
16. Bxc3 {"with more than enough compensation" is given by Dreev} O-O 17. h4 g4
18. Ne5 Nd5 19. Nxd7 Qxd7 20. Be5 h5 21. O-O a5 {and now a bunch of promising
moves} 22. Rab1 (22. Rfd1) (22. Bd6) (22. f3 {are just some of them. White has
good play and definitely an edge})) (14... g4 15. Nb7 Qd5 16. Bxf6 Rg8 17. Nc5
{is very promising for White according to Dreev but things are not so simple.
For example} Nd7 18. Nxd7 gxf3 19. Nxf8 fxe2 20. Qxc3 (20. Qb4 c5 21. Qxc3 Kxf8
(21... Rxf8 22. Qxc5 {it is a worse version of the same endgame for Black
because his Rook doesn't capture the g2 pawn}) 22. Qxc5+ Qxc5 23. dxc5 Rxg2 24.
Kxe2 Bb7 25. Rhg1 Rxg1 26. Rxg1 Rc8 27. Be5 Ke7 28. Bd6+ Kf6 29. Ke3 {and I
think that White is a bit better in this unclear endgame due to the power of
the passed pawn}) 20... Rxf8 21. Kxe2 Rg8 22. Qa3 Qd7 23. g3 {but after} Rg6
24. Be5 {or} (24. Bh4 {Black plays ...f6 and the situation is still unclear}))
15. Nxd7 (15. Nxe6 {is the only move examined in Dreev's book, leading to a
draw}) 15... Bxd7 16. O-O Be7 17. Qxc3 {and White has slightly the more
pleasant position despite the pawn deficit} Nd5 18. Qc2 f6 19. Bg3 Kf7 {is
Houdini's top choice. After} 20. Rab1 {most of you would agree that White's
compensation looks real and promising. Still, not so easy but we cannot
complain} *

