[Event "Spring Chess Classic Group B 2023"] [Site "https://www.chess.com"] [Date "2023.04.10"] [Round "6"] [White "Chandra, Akshat"] [Black "Blohberger, Felix"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "2493"] [BlackElo "2468"] [Annotator "Gledura,Benjamin"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "C67"] [Opening "Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rio Gambit Accepted"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/c11NJVjr/7ZoZrsMB"] [Orientation "white"] { This was one of the most important games in Group B with respect to the standings. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 { The Berlin Defense. Usually Black employs this opening when a draw is a fine result. However, if White wants to achieve something significant out of the opening, they must go into complications. } 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 (9. d4 { This is a more popular move, but it is hard to say which choice is better for White. } 9... Bf6 10. Re2!? { Carlsen,M - Karjakin,S, New York, 2016. }) 9... Ne8 { Black eventually has to move the knight from d6 so they could develop the queenside properly. } 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re2!? { An interesting move by Chandra. I am sure that both people knew of this move. The main idea for placing the rook on e2 and not e1 is that when later White develops the queenside, the rook from a1 could land on e1 in one move. Of course, there are some disadvantages to this move as well. The most obvious one is that it blocks the light-squared bishop's diagonal. } 11... c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 { A very logical move. Black hides the bishop on c7, eyeing White's kingside. Black plans to develop the queenside starting with d5. } (12... Be7!? { Another way to continue the development is to place the bishop on f6, which will control the very important e7-square. } 13. Nf5 Bf6 14. Qe1 d5 15. Ne7+ Bxe7 16. Rxe7 Nd6 { Dominguez Perez, L - Karjakin, S chess24.com INT 2021 Black's development advantage compensates for White's bishop pair. }) 13. Nf5 { White's main idea is to get the bishop pair by playing Nf5-e7, otherwise, the position will become too dry. } 13... d5 14. Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 16. d3 f5! { [#] If you were to check this position with an engine then it would show a slight advantage for White. However, I believe that both sides have to be careful here. Black gave up the bishop pair but now has some space advantage. White needs to stop Black from putting more pressure on the kingside. } 17. g3! { This move blocks the c7-bishop's diagonal and prepares to develop the bishop from f1. } 17... Nf6 18. Bh3 Qd7 19. Bg5!? { White forces Black to play ... h7-h6. The point behind this move is that Black often would like to play ... g7-g6 to strengthen the pawn structre, but it will be slightly problematic with the hanging pawn on h6. } (19. Bd2 Rce8 20. Rxe8 Rxe8 21. Qf3 Ng4 { Hracek,Z - Heimann,A Germany 2017 }) 19... h6 20. Bd2 Rce8 { Felix continues playing healthy moves. } 21. a4!? { Perhaps Chandra was still in his preparation at this point. White would like to grab some space on the queenside. Usually, engines prefer to play moves like a2-a4 and h2-h4 in certain positions to gain space. } 21... g5! { It is all about space! Black tries to develop an attack on the queenside. } 22. Rxe8 Rxe8 23. Qc1!? { White must have been afraid of ... g5-g4 followed by ... f5-f4. } 23... a5!? { A logical move but not necessary. } (23... Kh7 24. a5 a6 { Black is completely fine. }) 24. Bc3 (24. b4! { Opening the position helps the bishop pair. } 24... axb4 25. Bxb4 $14) 24... Kg7 25. Bd4 Kg6! { It is slightly unusual to place the king on g6 in a middlegame but it is the safest square for now. } 26. Qd2 Qe7 27. Bc3 Qd8 28. Bxf6 (28. Bd4 Bb6) 28... Qxf6 { Going for this opposite-colored position with White means that Chandra is fine with playing a position that will most likely end up in a draw. Or will it? } 29. d4 Qe6! { Black now has the control over the only open file. } 30. Bf1 f4 (30... h5 { This might be the safer option as the king remains covered. } 31. Bd3 Kf6 32. h4?! f4 $17) 31. c4!? dxc4 32. Qc2+ Kg7 33. Bxc4 Qf6 { The position is equal but rather complex. Black's king is exposed and White can play for that. On the other hand, White's pawn structure is worse than Black's. } 34. Qb3 Re7! { A smart move. It is often a good idea to use squares that your opponent's bishop cannot exploit. In this case, those are the Black squares. } 35. Rd1 h5 36. d5 cxd5 37. Bxd5 Bb6 { Strangely enough, the white king is in more trouble. } 38. Qc2 g4! { Black uses its space advantage very effectively, and it is hard to find counterplay for White. } 39. Bc4 h4! 40. gxf4?! { The last move in time trouble is always important. } 40... g3!? { Finally, both players are out of time trouble, as it is move 40. An additional 30 minutes are added to both player's clocks. } (40... Qxf4 $15) 41. hxg3 hxg3 42. Kg2 gxf2 43. Rd5! { A good move. White is seeking counter-chances against the black king. If White would just sit around passively, the f2-pawn would become too powerful. } 43... Kh6 44. Qd1? (44. Qf5! { White's position would become easier to play once the queens are exchanged. } 44... Rg7+ 45. Kf3 Qxf5 46. Rxf5 Rg1 47. Rf6+! { Perhaps this was the move that White missed. } 47... Rg6) 44... Rg7+ 45. Kf3 Rg6? { Black returns the favor, and misses the win. } (45... Qh4! { This would be winning for Black but not that easy to oversee all the complications. } 46. Rd6+ Kh7 47. Qc2+ Kh8 48. Rxb6 Qh5+! 49. Ke3 Qc5+ $19) 46. Qh1+ Kg7 47. Qh5 (47. Rd7+ { This would have led to a drawish endgame. } 47... Kf8 48. Rf7+ Qxf7 49. Bxf7 Kxf7 50. Qh7+) 47... Qe6! 48. Qe5+ Qxe5 49. fxe5 Rg1 { White has to solve the f2-pawn issue. } 50. Rd7+? (50. Rb5! f1=Q+ 51. Bxf1 Rxf1+ 52. Ke4 Bd8 53. Rxb7+ Kg6 54. b4) 50... Kf8 51. Rxb7? { White loses the thread in a hard position. } (51. b4 { Not an easy move to spot. We should also consider that by this point both players are in time trouble again. } 51... axb4 52. Rxb7 Bc5 (52... f1=Q+ 53. Bxf1 Rxf1+ 54. Ke2 Rf2+ 55. Ke1 Bc5 56. Rxb4) 53. a5 f1=Q+ 54. Bxf1 Rxf1+ 55. Ke4 { White has good chances to save the game thanks to his two passed pawns. }) 51... f1=Q+ 52. Bxf1 Rxf1+ 53. Ke4 Bc5! $19 { Now Black will be able to stabilize the position by placing the bishop on b4! } 54. Kd5 Bb4 55. Kc4 Re1 56. Rb5 Re2 { White will eventually lose its pawns. The result only depends on Felix's technique at this point. } 57. Kb3 Ke7 58. Ka2 Ke6 59. Kb3 Rxe5 { Black has the dark-squared bishop, which enables Black to exchange rooks. } 60. Rb7 Kd5 61. Rb8 Re3+ 62. Ka2 Kc6 63. Rb5 Be1 64. Rh5 Bb4 65. Rb5 Re4 66. Kb3 Rg4 67. Ka2 Bd2 68. Ka3 Rg5 69. Rb8 Rg3+ 70. Ka2 Rg4 71. Ka3 Bb4+ 72. Kb3 Bd6 73. Rc8+ Kd7 74. Rc2 Rb4+ 75. Ka2 Rxa4+ 76. Kb1 Rf4 77. Ka2 Rf3 78. Rd2 Kc6 79. Rc2+ Bc5 80. Re2 Bd4 81. Re8 Re3 82. Rd8 Be5 83. Rd2 Rh3 84. Re2 Kd5 85. Rd2+ Ke6 86. Rd8 Rh2 87. Ra8 Rxb2+ 88. Ka3 Rb1 89. Ra6+ Kd7 90. Rxa5 Ra1+ 91. Kb4 Bc3+ { A good game by both players. Felix played healthy and logical moves which eventually gave him the full point. } 0-1