Levon Aronian wins 2021 Tata Steel India Blitz

Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi and GM Levon Aronian were winners of the 2021 Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz tournaments in Kolkata, India in November. // photo Lennart Ootes

Grandmaster Levon Aronian won the blitz portion of 2021 Tata Steel Chess India Rapid & Blitz event in Kolkata, India in November, scoring 11.5/18 in the double round-robin tournament and defeating Indian upstart GM Arjun Erigaisi in an Armageddon playoff.

The affable Aronian, a world top-10 GM who recently moved to St. Louis and is playing his last events under the Armenian flag before transferring to US Chess, was the headliner of India’s most-prestigious chess tournament, which provided high-level exposure to the nation’s rapidly rising junior players. Launched in 2018, the India Rapid & Blitz event was briefly a part of the Grand Chess Tour and maintained the tournament series' familiar format of 10 GMs in a three-day rapid tournament, followed by a two-day blitz portion.

2021 Tata Steel India Chess Blitz Standings

Both Erigaisi and Aronian were lucky to even reach a playoff, as another young Indian star GM Nihal Sarin put together a fire second day of blitz, scoring 6.5/9 and holding a clear lead entering the final round – though a blunder and loss there left him in third place. Aronian’s luck would continue through two playoff games, salvaging draws after finding himself worse in both, later admitting that he should have lost one of them - maybe both.

[pgn][Event "Tata Steel India Blitz TB"] [Site "Kolkata IND"] [Date "2021.11.21"] [Round "1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2627"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 4.1 (2s)"] [PlyCount "162"] [EventDate "2021.11.21"] [EventType "blitz"] {[%evp 18,161,34,25,92,10,47,17,22,0,85,24,171,137,152,69,87,28,29,-37,-42,-32, -27,-144,0,0,93,105,186,-123,-99,-153,-130,-496,-477,-673,-663,-669,-665,-673, -659,-669,-437,-492,-468,-477,-464,-467,-477,-466,-427,-425,-379,-1515,-413, -391,-367,-355,-398,-463,-450,-459,-478,-478,-476,-478,-460,-477,-471,-475, -461,-448,-429,-478,-478,-575,-541,-575,-559,-607,-569,-623,-566,-706,-373, -593,-574,-714,-481,-489,-465,-898,-895,-895,-667,-882,-841,-806,-593,-587, -587,-631,-587,-609,-591,-430,-381,-366,0,-327,0,-488,-560,-480,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000, -28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7 { seems to push 10...Na6 aside. C42: Petroff Defence: 3 Nxe5 and unusual White 3rd moves.} 11. c5 (11. Nc3 $16) 11... Bc7 $11 12. Nbd2 {[%cal Rd2e4]} Be6 { The position is equal.} 13. Nf1 Na6 (13... h6 $1 $11 {keeps the balance.}) 14. Ng3 $146 (14. Ng5 $16) ({Predecessor:} 14. a3 Rae8 15. Qc2 f5 16. b4 Nb8 17. Rb1 h6 18. Ne5 Bxe5 19. dxe5 f4 20. f3 {1-0 (29) Navara,D (2638)-Jakovljevic,V (2420) Budva 2009}) 14... Ba5 (14... Rae8 $1 $11) 15. Re2 $18 Rae8 16. Ne5 (16. Bf4 $1 $16) 16... Qc8 $1 $14 17. Qa4 (17. Nxe4 $6 dxe4 18. Bc4 Bc7 $11) (17. Qa3 $16 Bc7 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Bxe4) 17... Bc7 $11 18. Bxe4 ({Better is} 18. Bxa6 $11 bxa6 19. Qxc6 (19. Nxc6 $2 Bd7 $19) (19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Bd2 Bd5 $11)) 18... dxe4 $15 19. Nxe4 Bd5 20. Nc3 {[#]} (20. Nd6 $11 Bxd6 21. cxd6) 20... Nxc5 $1 {[%mdl 512]} 21. Qxa7 $11 Bxe5 (21... Na6 $11 22. Nxd5 cxd5) 22. dxe5 $16 Qg4 23. f3 $2 (23. f4 $18 Nd3 24. h3) 23... Bxf3 $1 $17 24. Rf2 (24. h3 $142 Qb4 25. a3 (25. gxf3 $2 Ra8 $19)) 24... Rxe5 $40 {[%mdl 128] Black is out for blood.} 25. Rxf3 $2 {[%mdl 8192] [#]} (25. Bd2 $17 Be4 26. h3) 25... Qd4+ $1 $19 ({And not} 25... Re1+ 26. Kf2 $11) 26. Kf1 (26. Be3 $142 Rxe3 27. Rxe3 Qxe3+ 28. Kh1) 26... Qc4+ 27. Kf2 {Threatens to win with Be3.} Qd4+ (27... Qh4+ $2 28. Kg1 $19) 28. Kf1 Qc4+ 29. Kf2 {And now Be3 would win.} Qh4+ {[%mdl 64] Double Attack} 30. Kg1 {Hoping for Be3.} Re1+ 31. Rf1 Qd4+ 32. Be3 Qxe3+ 33. Kh1 Rxa1 34. Rxa1 {Black must now prevent Na4.} Re8 {( -> ...Qe1+!)} 35. Rf1 { [#]} (35. h3 f5 36. Rf1) 35... h5 (35... Qf2 $142 $3 {[%cal Rf2f1][%mdl 512]} 36. h4 (36. Rg1 Nd3) 36... Qxf1+ 37. Kh2 Qf2 {[%mdl 64] Double Attack} 38. Ne4 Qxh4+ {[%mdl 64] Double Attack} 39. Kg1 Qxe4 40. Qa5 Qd4+ 41. Kh2 Qh4+ 42. Kg1 Nd3 43. Qd2 Re1+ 44. Qxe1 Qxe1+ 45. Kh2 Nf4 46. b3 Qf2 {[%mdl 64] Double Attack } 47. Kh1 Qxg2#) 36. h3 Qe7 37. Qa5 g6 38. Qb4 Ne4 39. Qxe4 Qxe4 40. Nxe4 Rxe4 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KR-KR} 41. Rf3 Rb4 42. b3 h4 43. Rd3 Kg7 44. Kg1 g5 45. a3 Rb5 46. b4 Kg6 47. Rd7 Kf6 48. Rc7 Ke6 49. Kf2 f6 50. Ke3 Re5+ 51. Kf2 (51. Kf3 {was necessary.} Rd5 52. Rxb7) 51... Rb5 52. Ke3 Kf5 53. Kf3 Rb6 54. Rf7 (54. Re7 $142 Ra6 55. Re3) 54... Ra6 55. Rxb7 Rxa3+ 56. Kf2 Kf4 57. Rd7 Ra2+ 58. Kg1 Ke5 59. Rc7 Kd5 60. Rf7 Ke5 61. Rc7 Ra1+ 62. Kf2 Ra6 $2 (62... Kd5 $19 63. Rf7 Ke5 64. Re7+ Kd6) 63. Kf3 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (63. b5 $1 $11 {and White has nothing to worry.} cxb5 64. Rc5+ Kf4 65. Rxb5) 63... Rb6 $2 ({Black should play } 63... Ra3+ $19 64. Ke2 Ra6) 64. Rc8 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (64. Re7+ $1 $11 { and White is okay.} Kd6 65. Rf7) 64... Kd5 65. Rd8+ Kc4 $2 (65... Ke5 $19 66. Re8+ Kd5 67. Rd8+ Ke5 68. Re8+ Kd6) 66. Rd6 $11 Kxb4 (66... f5 {feels hotter.} 67. Rg6 Rxb4 68. Rxg5 Rb3+ 69. Ke2 f4) 67. Rxf6 Kb5 68. Rf5+ c5 69. Rxg5 Rh6 70. Ke3 Kb4 71. Kd2 c4 72. g3 Rd6+ 73. Kc1 Rd3 (73... c3 {looks sharper.} 74. gxh4) 74. gxh4 Rxh3 75. Rg2 {Mate.} Rxh4 76. Kb2 Rh3 77. Re2 Rb3+ 78. Kc2 Ra3 79. Kb2 c3+ 80. Kb1 Kb3 81. Rb2+ cxb2 {A wild game.} 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

[pgn][Event "Tata Steel India Blitz TB"] [Site "Kolkata IND"] [Date "2021.11.21"] [Round "2"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2627"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 4.1 (2s)"] [PlyCount "175"] [EventDate "2021.11.21"] [EventType "blitz"] {[%evp 15,175,34,38,41,43,40,125,32,26,22,149,50,102,60,188,107,99,127,132,118, 116,45,139,51,136,125,120,0,142,124,461,420,545,463,485,481,491,484,479,481, 567,555,562,549,698,668,792,239,268,222,642,646,633,308,734,706,721,526,489, 473,678,150,169,105,143,94,97,74,80,81,88,50,88,50,65,62,150,75,240,220,347,88, 299,267,477,444,469,391,571,568,566,560,773,575,585,562,585,578,585,573,772, 789,783,778,653,775,789,780,827,792,947,893,792,792,848,789,1639,1644,1821, 1702,1579,0,0,0,15263,15264,15263,15264,29976,15262,15263,15261,15262,15260, 15261,15260,15261,15259,15260,15257,15258,15254,15255,15254,15253,15253,15254, 15253,15247,0,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000, -28000,-28000,-28000]} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 a6 6. O-O c5 7. b3 Nbd7 8. Bb2 Be7 $1 {8...Be7 scores better than 8...b5.} 9. Nbd2 { D27: Queen's Gambit Accepted: Classical main line: 7 e4!? and 7 a4.} b6 10. dxc5 Nxc5 (10... Bxc5 $14 11. Qb1 Bb7) 11. Qc2 $146 (11. b4 $16 Ncd7 12. Qb3) ( {Predecessor:} 11. Ne5 Bb7 12. Ndf3 O-O 13. Qxd8 Rfxd8 14. Rfd1 Nd5 15. Nd4 Rac8 16. Rac1 Bf6 17. Ng4 {0-1 (60) Dittmar,P (2380)-Maksimenko,A (2545) Geneve 1996}) 11... Bb7 $14 12. Rfd1 Qc7 (12... Ncd7 $11) 13. Be5 (13. Rac1 $1 $16) 13... Qc6 ({Black should try} 13... Qc8 $14) 14. Bf1 (14. Be2 $16) 14... Rc8 (14... Ncd7 $1 $14 15. Qxc6 Bxc6) 15. Nd4 ({White should play} 15. Rac1 $18 ) 15... Qd5 $16 16. Nc4 Ncd7 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Nf3 (18. Ne2 $16) 18... Qc6 ( 18... Qc5 $1 $14) 19. Qd2 (19. Qe2 $1 $16) 19... Nc5 ({Better is} 19... Rd8 $14 ) 20. Nd4 $36 {[%mdl 2048] White has strong initiative.} Qc7 21. f3 (21. Rac1 $16) 21... Rg8 (21... O-O $11 {keeps the balance.}) 22. Rac1 Rg5 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (22... Rd8 $16) 23. b4 $1 $18 {[%cal Rb4c5]} e5 24. bxc5 exd4 25. cxb6 Qd7 {Black hopes to continue with ...Bxf3.} 26. Qxd4 Rd5 27. Qa1 Qe6 {and the idea ...Rxd1 leaves Black hopeful.} 28. Rxd5 Bxd5 {[#]} 29. Kh1 $1 Bc5 (29... Kf8 30. Qb1) 30. e4 Bxc4 31. Bxc4 ({Weaker is} 31. Rxc4 Bxb6 32. Qc1 (32. Rxc8+ Qxc8 33. a4 Kf8 $16) 32... Rxc4 $16) (31. b7 Rd8 32. Bxc4) 31... Qxb6 { Strongly threatening ...Bd4.} 32. Qc3 Ke7 $2 (32... Kf8 33. Qd3 Bb4) 33. Bb3 Rc7 34. Qd3 (34. e5 $142 Kf8 35. Qd2) 34... Bd6 $2 (34... Qd6 35. Qe2 Qf4) 35. Rd1 Qc5 36. Qxa6 h5 37. Qd3 h4 (37... Qe5 $142 38. g3 Rc3) 38. Qd5 $2 (38. f4 $18) 38... Qxd5 $16 39. Bxd5 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRB-KRB} ({Don't play} 39. exd5 Rc3 $16) (39. Rxd5 $18 Rc1+ 40. Rd1 Rxd1+ 41. Bxd1) 39... Rc2 40. Bb3 (40. a4 $142) 40... Rb2 41. Rc1 Bf4 42. Rd1 Bd6 43. Re1 Bf4 44. Rf1 Be5 45. Bd5 Bf4 {[#]} (45... Rd2 $14) 46. a4 (46. Rg1 $142 $1) 46... Bc7 $2 (46... Rb4 $16) 47. Rc1 $18 Bb6 {[#]} (47... Bf4 {was worth a try.} 48. Rg1 h3) 48. Rd1 $2 (48. g3 $1 $18) 48... Ba5 $2 (48... Rb4 $16) 49. g3 h3 (49... Rf2 50. gxh4 Rxf3) 50. Bc4 Rb4 51. Bf1 Rxa4 (51... f5 {was necessary.} 52. exf5 Rxa4 53. Bxh3 Bc3) 52. Bxh3 Ra3 53. Bg4 Ra2 54. Rf1 Bb6 55. Bf5 Bd4 56. h4 Kf8 57. Rd1 Ra1 58. Rxa1 Bxa1 {KB-KB} 59. Kg2 Kg7 60. f4 Bc3 61. Kf2 Bd2 62. Ke2 Bc3 63. Bd7 Bb4 64. Bb5 Ba5 65. Bc4 Bb4 66. g4 Bd6 67. Kf3 Bc7 68. g5 $2 (68. Bd3 $18 {And now Bc4 would win.} Bb6 69. Bc4) 68... fxg5 $11 69. hxg5 {aiming for e5.} ({But not} 69. fxg5 f6 $16) 69... Ba5 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (69... f6 $11) 70. e5 $18 Bd2 71. Kg4 Bc3 72. Bd5 Bb2 73. Kf5 Bc1 74. Ke4 Bd2 75. Bc4 Bc1 76. Be2 Bd2 77. Bh5 Bc1 78. Bg4 Bd2 79. Bd7 Bc1 80. Kf5 Bd2 81. Be8 Bc1 82. Bxf7 $4 {[%mdl 8192]} Kxf7 {KB-K3P} 83. g6+ {Mate.} Kg7 84. Kg5 Bd2 85. Kf5 Bc1 86. e6 Ba3 87. Kg5 Be7+ 88. Kf5 {[%mdl 32768] Never resign too early! An unexpected result.} 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

GMs Levon Aronian and Arjun Erigaisi face off for Armageddon at the 2021 Tata Steel Chess India Blitz finals. // photo Lennart Ootes

In Armageddon, Aronian won as White in a Queen’s Pawn game, finding his way through Black’s frontline after Erigaisi swapped his knight for three pawns at 23. Ngxe5.

“I think throughout the day I played one good game,” Aronian said. “It was the Armageddon.”

[pgn][Event "Tata Steel India Blitz TB"] [Site "Kolkata IND"] [Date "2021.11.21"] [Round "3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2627"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 4.1 (2s)"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2021.11.21"] [EventType "blitz"] {[%evp 9,75,25,33,14,30,22,36,-17,28,16,32,19,61,27,45,-46,0,0,0,-24,0,-39,-23, -72,85,79,131,113,135,115,149,115,207,159,188,192,292,101,488,486,473,287,312, 286,280,279,339,197,508,508,433,475,473,468,722,712,711,706,704,636,15248, 15250,5599,1629,29996,29997,29997,29995]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 Bf5 4. Bd3 Bxd3 5. cxd3 e6 6. Qb3 {D00: 1 d4 d5: Unusual lines.} b6 7. Nc3 {Threatening Nb5.} Bd6 8. Bg3 (8. Bxd6 $14 Qxd6 9. Nf3) 8... c6 $146 (8... O-O {deserves consideration.}) ({Predecessor:} 8... O-O 9. Nf3 c5 10. Ne5 Bxe5 11. dxe5 Nfd7 12. O-O Nc6 13. f4 a6 14. Qd1 b5 {0-1 (50) Frank,W (1892)-Roeder,G (2194) Grossenseebach 2004}) 9. Nf3 $11 Bxg3 10. hxg3 Nbd7 11. e4 h6 12. Rh4 (12. Qc2 $14) 12... Qe7 (12... Nf8 $15) 13. e5 Nh7 14. O-O-O Nhf8 15. Kb1 Ng6 16. Rh5 Qd8 $2 {[#]} (16... O-O $17 {stays on course.}) 17. Rdh1 b5 (17... f6 $142) 18. Ne2 Qb6 19. g4 O-O-O 20. g5 hxg5 (20... c5 $16 {was worth a try.}) 21. Nxg5 $18 Rxh5 22. Rxh5 Rf8 (22... Rh8 $142 23. Rxh8+ Nxh8) 23. Rh7 $2 (23. Qc2 $18) 23... Ngxe5 $2 {[%mdl 8192] This costs Black the game.} (23... Qd8 $16 { is more resistant.} 24. Rh5 Qe7) 24. dxe5 Qxf2 25. Qc2 Nxe5 26. Nf3 ({Inferior is} 26. Rxg7 Qf6 $15) 26... Nxf3 27. gxf3 ({Stronger than} 27. Qxc6+ Kd8 $11) 27... Kb7 28. a3 (28. Rxg7 $142 Qxf3 {[#]} 29. Qxc6+ $3 {[%mdl 576] Decoy} Kxc6 30. Nd4+ {[%mdl 64] Double Attack} Kd6 31. Nxf3) 28... Qxf3 (28... Rg8 { is tougher.} 29. b4 e5) 29. Nd4 Qf1+ 30. Ka2 Rc8 31. Nb3 Qg1 (31... c5 $142 32. Nxc5+ Kb6) 32. Qc3 c5 33. Rxg7 Qf2 34. d4 cxd4 35. Na5+ Kb8 36. Qb4 (36. Nc6+ $142 Kc7 37. Qc5 {[%mdl 64] Double Attack}) 36... d3 37. Qd6+ Ka8 38. Qd7 1-0 [/pgn]

Erigaisi, 18, made the most of his coming-out weekend, taking first place in the rapid portion earlier in the week, and then unexpectedly stepping into the blitz tournament as a last-minute alternate to earn second place. In the rapid, Erigaisi scored 6.5/9 and finished a full point ahead of Aronian and fellow Indian star GMs Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi. Afterward, Erigaisi revealed he had been working under GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov, the longtime second of former World Champion and Indian hero Viswanathan Anand, and that of American GM Fabiano Caruana in the 2018 World Championship.

2021 Tata Steel India Chess Rapid Standings

American GM Sam Shankland and Webster University head coach GM Le Quang Liem, ranked the 31st and 30th GMs in the world in November, compete in the 2021 Tata Steel Chess India. // photo Lennart Ootes

Also competing for the first time in Kolkata was American GM Sam Shankland as well as the new coach of Webster University in St. Louis, GM Le Quang Liem, who plays under the Vietnamese flag. The soon-to-be-teammates Shankland and Aronian split their blitz games with a win each, but the American was dropped late by Aronian in their one rapid matchup.

[pgn][Event "Tata Steel India Rapid"] [Site "Kolkata IND"] [Date "2021.11.17"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2708"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 4.1 (2s)"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2021.11.17"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 15,92,19,19,18,12,32,28,11,25,11,29,25,29,31,38,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-42,0,-29,-14,-21,-14,-34,-29,-78,-62,-68,-70,-53,-36,-55,-16, -18,-16,-8,-8,-8,-1,-1,0,-30,0,-5,-5,-6,-5,-5,-6,-7,-7,-13,-10,-186,-193,-393, -393,-29994,-15259,-29986,-15255]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Qa4 {7.dxc5 gains popularity.} Bd7 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc3 { E04: Open Catalan: 5 Nf3.} b4 $1 {[%cal Rb4c3]} 10. Qd3 Rc8 11. dxc5 {White has an edge.} Bxc5 12. Nbd2 O-O 13. Nb3 Bb6 14. Be3 e5 15. Ng5 $146 ({ Predecessor:} 15. Nfd2 Bg4 16. Qxd8 Rfxd8 17. Bxb6 axb6 18. Rfc1 Na5 19. Rxc8 Rxc8 20. Rc1 Rxc1+ 21. Nxc1 {1/2-1/2 (65) Roiz,M (2598)-Yilmaz,M (2607) Chess. com INT 2020}) 15... h6 16. Ne4 Bf5 17. Bxb6 axb6 18. Nxf6+ Qxf6 19. Qb5 Nd4 20. Nxd4 exd4 21. Qxb4 Rc2 22. Rad1 d3 23. exd3 Rxb2 24. Qf4 Rxa2 25. d4 (25. Be4 $11 Ra5 26. Rb1) 25... Ra4 (25... b5 $15) 26. Qe3 Bd7 27. d5 Re8 28. Qb3 Qd6 29. Bh3 Ra3 $17 30. Qxa3 Qxa3 31. Bxd7 Rd8 (31... Rb8 {looks sharper.} 32. Bc6 Qd6 33. Rb1 h5 34. Rfd1 f5) 32. Bc6 g5 33. Rb1 h5 34. Rxb6 h4 {White must now prevent ...h3.} 35. Rfb1 Rd6 36. R6b3 Qc5 {...h3 is the strong threat.} 37. Rf3 Qc2 38. Re1 Qd2 39. Rfe3 Rf6 40. R1e2 Qc1+ 41. Re1 Qc2 42. R3e2 Qc5 43. Kg2 $2 {[#] This move loses the game for White.} (43. Bd7 $11 {and White is okay.}) 43... h3+ $1 $19 44. Kxh3 $2 (44. Kg1 {was worth a try.}) 44... Rxf2 45. Kg4 $2 (45. Re8+ $19 Kg7 46. R1e2) 45... Qc4+ {[%mdl 64] Double Attack} 46. Re4 f5+ { [%mdl 64] Double Attack, Pin. 0-1 [/pgn]

Liem left an impact on the rapid portion, dealing Aronian his only rapid loss of the event. Before this fourth-round Queens Gambit Accepted, Aronian had led the tournament with a perfect 3/3 score.

[pgn][Event "Tata Steel India Rapid"] [Site "Kolkata IND"] [Date "2021.11.18"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Le, Quang Liem"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D20"] [WhiteElo "2709"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 4.1 (2s)"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2021.11.17"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 14,93,48,48,54,46,43,52,45,28,51,0,41,9,36,13,66,0,0,-25,33,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0,-106,-132,-137,-114,-120,-161,-112,-164,-167,-121,-118,-131,-242, -209,-243,-246,-563,-512,-907,-902,-915,-886,-881,-884,-880,-818,-923,-684, -892,-852,-974,-938,-925,-871,-841,0,0,61,0,0,0,0,0,29992,29993,29993,29994, 29994,29995]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Bxc4 Nc6 6. O-O Be6 7. Bxe6 fxe6 8. Qb3 Qd7 {D20: Queen's Gambit Accepted: 3 e3 and 3 e4.} 9. Qxb7 Rb8 10. Qa6 Nge7 {White is slightly better.} 11. Nbd2 Ng6 12. a3 (12. Ne1 $14) 12... Bd6 (12... Be7 $11) 13. g3 O-O 14. Ne1 $146 ({Predecessor:} 14. b4 e5 15. Ne1 Nd8 16. Qe2 Ne6 17. Nc4 c5 18. Nd3 Rfc8 19. Bd2 cxb4 20. Nxd6 Qxd6 21. axb4 {1/2-1/2 (51) Fier,A (2589)-Karpatchev,A (2501) Chefchaouen 2017}) 14... e5 ( 14... Nce5 $11) 15. Qe2 (15. b4 $14) 15... a5 $11 16. Nc4 Qc8 ({Black should play} 16... Qe6 $11) 17. Nd3 Qa6 18. Qc2 a4 19. Bd2 Rb3 $36 {[%mdl 2048] Black has good play.} 20. Rac1 h5 21. f4 exf4 22. gxf4 Qb5 23. e5 (23. Kh1 $1 $11) 23... Be7 $1 $17 24. Be1 {[#]} Rxd3 $1 {[%mdl 576] Remove Defender} 25. Qxd3 Nxf4 26. Qe4 Nh3+ 27. Kg2 {[#]} Ng5 $1 {[%cal Rg5e4]} 28. Rxf8+ Bxf8 29. Qf5 ( 29. Qd3 $17) 29... Qd5+ $19 {[%mdl 1024] Black has strong compensation.} 30. Kf1 {[#]} Nf3 31. Bg3 $2 ({Reject} 31. Qxh5 Qe4) (31. Nd2 {is tougher.} Nxh2+ 32. Ke2 (32. Kg1 $2 Nxe5 33. Qe4 Nhf3+ 34. Kg2 Qxe4 $19)) 31... d3 32. Ne3 {[#] } (32. Rd1 $142 Bc5 33. Qxd3 Nxh2+ 34. Ke1 Nf3+ 35. Kf1) 32... d2 $1 {[%mdl 512]} 33. Rd1 Qb5+ {[%mdl 64] Double Attack} 34. Kg2 Qe2+ (34... Ncd4 $2 35. Qe4 $19) 35. Kh1 Ncd4 36. Qe4 h4 37. Bf4 Qe1+ 38. Kg2 Qe2+ 39. Kh1 Qe1+ 40. Kg2 Ng1 $2 41. h3 $1 $11 (41. Qxd4 {leads to mate.} h3+ 42. Kh1 Nf3+ 43. Nf1 Nxd4 44. Be3 Qxd1 45. Bxd4 Qxf1+ 46. Bg1 Qg2#) 41... Ndf3 ({Black should try} 41... Nge2 $11 42. Bh2 Ng3) 42. Qd5+ (42. Qc4+ $1 $14 Kh7 43. e6) 42... Kh7 $1 { ...Qe2+ is the strong threat.} 43. e6 Qe2+ $1 44. Kh1 Bd6 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} ( 44... Qe1 $11 45. Qxd2 (45. Rxe1 dxe1=Q 46. Qh5+ Kg8 $11) 45... Qxd2 46. Rxd2 Nxd2 47. Kxg1 Nf3+ 48. Kg2 Nd4) 45. Qh5+ {White mates.} Kg8 46. Qf7+ Kh7 {[#]} 47. Nf5 $1  1-0 [/pgn]

Full information on the 2021 Tata Steel India Chess Rapid & Blitz may be found on the official website.