Puzzling Times in Stavanger'

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "Armenia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ARM"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:25"]
[BlackClock "0:00:19"]

{In this blog post I'll be taking the most instructive mistakes made in the
Norway Chess blitz tournament (even the best make mistakes in blitz - there's
no time to calculate!) and seeing if you can do better!} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3.
Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. h3 h5 7. d3 Qf6 8. Be3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Qxf3 10.
gxf3 Bd6 11. Rd1 Ne7 12. Nd2 Ng6 13. Kf1 f6 14. c3 c5 15. Nc4 Be7 16. Rac1
O-O-O 17. a3 Nf8 18. b4 Ne6 19. Rb1 b6 20. Ke2 Rd7 21. b5 a5 22. Rg1 Kd8 23.
Rbd1 Ke8 24. a4 Kf7 25. Na3 g6 26. Nc4 Bf8 27. Rg2 Bh6 28. Rdg1 Bxe3 29. fxe3
g5 30. Na3 Rhd8 31. Rd1 h4 32. c4 {This move was a mistake, but can you see
how to punish it? ................ ............................................
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Ng7 $1 33. Nb1 $2 (33. Nc2 $8) 33... Nh5 34. Nc3 Ng3+ 35. Ke1 Rxd3 {and Black
eventually won.} 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2773"]
[BlackElo "2876"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Netherlands"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NED"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:07"]
[BlackClock "0:00:15"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 a6 6. Ba4 d6 7. d4 Bd7 8. Re1 b5
9. Bc2 Nf6 10. h3 O-O 11. Nbd2 Re8 12. Nf1 Na5 13. b3 c5 14. d5 Nh5 15. Bg5 Qc7
16. Ng3 Nf4 17. Qd2 c4 18. b4 Nb7 19. Bxf4 exf4 20. Ne2 a5 21. a3 Qd8 22. Qxf4
Qe7 23. Ned4 Ra6 24. h4 Rea8 25. e5 axb4 26. cxb4 dxe5 27. Nxe5 Bxe5 28. Rxe5
Qf6 29. Qxf6 Rxf6 30. g3 Kf8 31. Re3 Rfa6 32. Kg2 Nd6 33. Ne2 Bf5 34. Nd4 Bc8
35. h5 Bb7 36. Nc6 Bxc6 37. dxc6 Rxc6 38. hxg6 hxg6 39. Rd1 c3 40. Rd5 Rxa3 41.
Red3 Nf5 42. g4 Ra2 43. gxf5 Rxc2 44. Rxb5 {In this position Carlsen went into
a think but missed the win on offer...can you do better? ......................
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......................} gxf5 $2 (44... Rxf2+ 45. Kxf2 c2 46. f6 Rxf6+ {is game
over.}) 45. Rc5 Rxc5 46. bxc5 Rd2 47. Rxc3 Ke7 48. Kf3 Kd7 49. c6+ Kc7 50. Rc5
Ra2 51. Ke3 f4+ 52. Kf3 Rb2 53. Rc4 Ra2 54. Rc1 Rb2 55. Rc3 Ra2 56. Rc4 Rb2 57.
Rxf4 Kxc6 58. Rxf7 Kd6 59. Ra7 Ke5 1/2-1/2 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2802"]
[BlackElo "2798"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Bulgaria"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "BUL"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:53"]
[BlackClock "0:01:03"]

1. b3 d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. Nf3 e6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O c5 7. e3 Nc6 8. d4 b6
9. dxc5 bxc5 10. c4 Bb7 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Nc3 Rc8 13. Re1 Re8 14. Nh4 Ne5 15.
Nb5 {This one isn't really a blunder, but even so: how would you meet White's
threats? ......................................................................
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.....................................................} a6 $1 (15... Bf8 $6 16.
Nxa7 Ra8 17. Nb5 Qb6 18. a4 {left Black without serious compensation for the
pawn in the game.}) (15... Nc6 16. Nf5 (16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nf5 Bxa1) 16... Bf8
17. e4 Nxe4 18. Bxe4 dxe4 19. Nfd6 Bxd6 20. Nxd6 Nd4 {should be fine for Black,
but is understandably not the sort of thing one goes for in blitz.}) 16. Na7
Ra8 17. Bxe5 Rxa7 18. Bb2 {and White has light positional pressure, but Black
is OK.} 1-0 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2781"]
[BlackElo "2804"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]
[BlackClock "0:00:37"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 c5 4. dxc5 Nc6 5. Bb5 Qa5+ 6. Nc3 a6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8.
Qd4 e6 9. b4 Qa3 10. Nge2 a5 11. Rb1 axb4 12. Rxb4 Ba6 13. O-O Bxe2 14. Nxe2
Be7 15. Bd6 Bxd6 16. cxd6 O-O 17. Ng3 Rfc8 18. Qd2 Rd8 19. e4 dxe4 20. c4 Qxa2
21. Qxa2 Rxa2 22. Rb6 h5 23. Rxc6 h4 24. Nh1 Rc2 25. Rd1 Ng4 26. c5 {Can you
find how Anand converted his advantage here? It's Black to play and win. ......
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......................................} e3 $1 27. Rc7 (27. h3 exf2+ 28. Kf1
Ne3#) (27. fxe3 Nxe3 28. Nf2 Nxd1 29. Nxd1 Rc1) (27. f3 h3 $1 {(but other
moves also win)} 28. fxg4 (28. gxh3 Nxh2 29. Re1 Nxf3+ 30. Kf1 Nxe1) 28...
Rxg2+ 29. Kf1 e2+) 27... exf2+ 28. Nxf2 Nxf2 29. Rf1 Ne4 30. Rfxf7 Rc1+ 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "France"]
[BlackTeam "Italy"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ITA"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:13"]
[BlackClock "0:00:12"]

1. g3 d5 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O e5 5. d3 Ne7 6. e4 O-O 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Nc3
Ne7 9. a4 Nbc6 10. a5 Rb8 11. Nd2 b6 12. axb6 cxb6 13. Re1 Bb7 14. Nc4 a6 15.
Ne4 Nf5 16. c3 h6 17. b3 Qc7 18. Ba3 Rfd8 19. Qe2 b5 20. Ne3 Nxe3 21. fxe3 Ne7
22. Bb4 Bxe4 23. Ba5 Qd7 24. Bxe4 Rdc8 25. c4 bxc4 26. bxc4 h5 27. Bc3 Rb6 28.
Reb1 Rcb8 29. Rxb6 Rxb6 30. c5 Rb5 31. Rxa6 Rxc5 32. Bb4 Rc1+ 33. Kg2 Qc7 34.
Ra2 Bf6 35. h4 Kg7 36. Qf2 Nf5 37. Bxf5 gxf5 38. Bd2 Qc6+ 39. e4 Rd1 40. Qxf5 {
Now for more of a challenge. What is the only move for Black that doesn't lose
immediately? ..................................................................
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.........................................................} Qb6 $1 ({The game
went} 40... Qb5 $4 41. Bh6+ Kxh6 42. Qxf6+ Kh7 43. Qxf7+ Kh6 44. Qf6+ Kh7 45.
Ra7+) 41. Qf2 {White is up a pawn but the game continues.} (41. Qxh5 $4 {would
lose to} Qg1+ 42. Kf3 (42. Kh3 Qf1+ 43. Kg4 Qe2+ 44. Kf5 Qxh5+) 42... Rf1+ 43.
Kg4 Rf4+ $1 44. Bxf4 Qd1+ 45. Kh3 Qxh5) 1-0 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2876"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "148"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "France"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "FRA"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:10"]
[BlackClock "0:00:13"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 b5 3. Bg2 Bb7 4. O-O e6 5. d3 c5 6. e4 d6 7. a4 b4 8. Nbd2 Be7
9. Nc4 O-O 10. Re1 Nbd7 11. Bf4 d5 12. Nd6 Bc6 13. Ng5 Nb6 14. Ndxf7 Rxf7 15.
Bh3 Bd7 16. a5 e5 17. axb6 Bxh3 18. b7 Rb8 19. Bxe5 Rxb7 20. Nxh3 Qd7 {White
is winning here, but with one poor move Carlsen threw away his advantage. Can
you do better? ................................................................
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...........................................................} 21. Nf4 $2 (21.
Ng5 $1 Rf8 22. exd5 Qxd5 23. Ra6 {is the simplest way to keep a winning
advantage.}) (21. Kg2 {however is also good, as is}) (21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. e5 $1
Qxh3 23. exf6 Rxf6 24. Re8+ Kf7 25. Ra8 $16) 21... dxe4 22. dxe4 Ng4 $1 {
Suddenly Black is in the game and after some further mistakes he even won.} 23.
Qd5 Nxe5 24. Qxe5 Bd6 25. Qd5 Bxf4 26. Qxd7 Rbxd7 27. gxf4 Rxf4 28. Re2 Re7 29.
e5 Rf5 30. e6 g6 31. Ra6 Kg7 32. Kg2 Kf6 33. Re3 Re5 34. Rxe5 Kxe5 35. Kf3 Kd5
36. h4 h6 37. b3 Rxe6 38. Rxa7 Kd4 39. Rc7 Rf6+ 40. Ke2 Rf5 41. Rc6 Kc3 42. Kd1
g5 43. hxg5 hxg5 44. Kc1 Kd4 45. Rg6 Ke4 46. Kd2 Kf3 47. Ke1 g4 48. Kf1 Rd5 49.
Rf6+ Ke4 50. Ke2 Kd4 51. Rf4+ Kc3 52. Rc4+ Kb2 53. Ke3 Re5+ 54. Kd2 Rf5 55. Ke2
Rh5 56. Kf1 Re5 57. Kg2 Re2 58. Rxc5 Rxc2 59. Rg5 Kxb3 60. Rxg4 Ka3 61. Rg8 b3
62. Ra8+ Kb2 63. Kg3 Rc3+ 64. Kg4 Kc2 65. Rb8 b2 66. Rxb2+ Kxb2 67. f4 Rc4 68.
Kf5 Kc3 69. Ke5 Rc5+ 70. Ke4 Rc8 71. f5 Kc4 72. Ke5 Kc5 73. Ke6 Rc6+ 74. Ke7
Kd4 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2677"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "33"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "India"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "IND"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:20"]
[BlackClock "0:00:08"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. c4 dxc4 5. Na3 c5 6. Nxc4 Nc6 7. d3 Nh6 8. Be3
Be6 9. O-O b6 10. Rc1 Nf5 11. Bd2 Rc8 12. Bc3 Nfd4 13. Nxd4 Bxd4 {This
recapture was unfortunately a blunder; can you see how to punish it? ..........
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..................................} 14. Bxc6+ $1 (14. Qa4 Bd7 $6 (14... Qd7 15.
Bxc6 Qxc6 {is better}) 15. Bxc6 Bxc6 16. Qxa7 {was an extra pawn for nothing
in the game.}) 14... Rxc6 15. Qa4 {and White wins a free pawn:} Bd7 (15... Qd7
$2 16. Bxd4 cxd4 17. Ne5) 16. Bxd4 cxd4 17. Qxa7 1-0 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2802"]
[BlackElo "2781"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Russia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:04"]
[BlackClock "0:00:09"]

1. f4 g6 2. e4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 d4 5. Bd3 Nh6 6. Be4 Bg7 7. d3 O-O 8. Nf3 Kh8
9. Qb3 Nc6 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. cxd4 cxd4 12. O-O c5 13. Nbd2 Be6 14. Qc2 Rc8 15.
b3 Bd5 16. Ne4 f5 17. Neg5 Nf7 18. Nxf7+ Rxf7 19. Ba3 e6 20. Rac1 Rfc7 21. Nd2
g5 22. Nc4 gxf4 23. Nd6 Bxe5 24. Nxc8 Qxc8 25. Bxc5 Rg7 26. Rf2 f3 27. Bb4 Qxc2
28. Rfxc2 h5 29. Re1 Bf4 30. Bc5 e5 31. Bd6 {This was a very sharp game so
naturally there were some blunders to choose from, but out of respect for the
players I'll only pick out one. What would you play here as Black?} Be3+ $1 (
31... Kh7 $2 32. Bxe5 Re7 {was the game, when White should play} 33. gxf3 $1 (
33. Kf2 $4 Be3+ {was dead lost for White in the actual game.}) 33... Be3+ (
33... Rxe5 34. Rxe5 Bxe5 35. Rc5) 34. Rxe3 dxe3 35. f4 {with a big advantage.})
32. Rxe3 (32. Rf2 Rxg2+) 32... dxe3 33. Bxe5 f2+ 34. Rxf2 (34. Kf1 Bxg2+) 34...
exf2+ 35. Kxf2 Kh7 36. Bxg7 Kxg7 {and Black will win this easily.} 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2798"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"]
[BlackTeam "Italy"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ITA"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:12"]
[BlackClock "0:00:17"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. b4 Bg7 4. Bb2 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. O-O c6 7. d3 a5 8. a3
axb4 9. axb4 Rxa1 10. Bxa1 Na6 11. c3 Re8 12. Nbd2 e5 13. e4 Nc7 14. Qc2 b5 15.
Re1 Nd7 16. Nb3 Nb6 17. Na5 Qd6 18. Bb2 h6 19. Bc1 Na4 20. Be3 Ne6 21. Bd2 Bd7
22. c4 dxc4 23. dxc4 Nd4 24. Nxd4 exd4 25. Qb3 Nc3 26. Nb7 Qe7 27. Nc5 Be6 28.
Bf1 Ra8 29. e5 Na4 30. Nxe6 Qxe6 31. Qc2 Nc3 32. Bxc3 dxc3 33. Qxc3 Qe7 34.
cxb5 cxb5 35. Bxb5 Rb8 36. Qc4 Bxe5 {Here Topalov, who by the way is running
away with the Norway Chess real tournament, missed an easy win here - can you
spot it? ......................................................................
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.....................................................} 37. Qd5 $1 {wins a
piece after} (37. Bc6 {was the game, after which White even found a way to
lose later.}) 37... Qxb4 38. Rxe5 Rxb5 39. Qxb5 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2780"]
[BlackElo "2773"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "25"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Armenia"]
[BlackTeam "Netherlands"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NED"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:19"]
[BlackClock "0:00:06"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 7. Bf4 a6 8. Nd2
Nh5 9. Qa4+ b5 {Can you see why this move is a blunder? .......................
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.....................} (9... Qd7) 10. Nxb5 $1 axb5 (10... Qd7 11. Nc7+) (10...
Nxf4 11. Nxd6+ Ke7 12. Nxc8+ Qxc8 13. Qxf4) 11. Qxa8 Qb6 (11... Nxf4 12. Qxb8)
12. e3 Nxf4 13. exf4 {and White converted his material advantage.} 1-0 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2773"]
[BlackElo "2804"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Netherlands"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NED"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:40"]
[BlackClock "0:00:29"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a6 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nbd2
Be6 9. Bc2 Ba7 10. h3 Re8 11. Ng5 Bd7 12. Ngf3 Be6 13. Re1 h6 14. Nf1 d5 15.
exd5 Bxd5 16. Ng3 Qd7 17. Nh4 Rad8 18. Nhf5 Kh8 19. d4 exd4 20. Nxg7 Rxe1+ 21.
Qxe1 Kxg7 22. Bxh6+ Kh8 23. Qd2 Rg8 24. Qf4 {Rather than give you a chance to
punish a blunder, I'll see how you go with avoiding one! Here Anand was unable
to find the right defence - what would you do? ................................
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............} Nh5 $1 (24... Qd6 $2 25. Qh4 Qxg3 (25... Nh7 26. Bf4 Qg6 27. Bxg6
) 26. fxg3 {and resigns was the game.}) (24... Nh7 25. Bxh7 Kxh7 {also averts
defeat.}) 25. Bg7+ $1 (25. Nxh5 $2 Rxg2+ 26. Kf1 Qxh3 27. Qf6+ Kg8 28. Ke1 dxc3
29. bxc3 Bxf2+) (25. Qh4 Rxg3 $1 26. fxg3 d3+ 27. Kh2 Qf5 {just as amazingly
holds for Black}) 25... Kxg7 (25... Nxg7 26. Qh6#) (25... Rxg7 26. Qh6+ Kg8 27.
Nxh5) 26. Nxh5+ Kf8 27. Qh6+ Ke7 28. Re1+ (28. Qf6+ Ke8 29. Re1+ Ne7) 28... Kd8
29. Nf6 Rxg2+ 30. Kf1 Rxf2+ 31. Kxf2 d3+ 32. Re3 Bxe3+ 33. Kxe3 Qe6+ 34. Kxd3
Bc4+ 35. Kd2 Qe2+ 36. Kc1 Qf1+ 37. Kd2 {and the position is about equal.} 1-0 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "France"]
[BlackTeam "Armenia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ARM"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:22"]
[BlackClock "0:00:03"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. e4 dxe4 8.
dxe4 e5 9. c3 a5 10. Qc2 Be6 11. Rd1 Qc8 12. Nf1 Bc5 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Nxe3 Rd8
15. Ng5 Rxd1+ 16. Rxd1 Bg4 17. f3 Bd7 18. Qb3 Qe8 {OK, time for an easier one..
.can White take the pawn on b7? ...............................................
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19. Qxb7 $1 {Yes, he can!} h6 (19... Rb8 20. Qxc7 Rxb2 21. Bh3 $1 Bxh3 22. Nxh3
Rxa2 23. Rd6 {wins.}) 20. Bh3 $1 Rd8 (20... Rb8 21. Qxc7) (20... hxg5 21. Bxd7
Nxd7 22. Qxc6 Nf6 23. Qxc7) 21. Bxd7 Rxd7 22. Nh3 Rxd1+ 23. Nxd1 Qd7 24. Nhf2 {
and White won in the end.} 1-0 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2781"]
[BlackElo "2798"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "Bulgaria"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "BUL"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:07"]
[BlackClock "0:00:36"]

1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 Bd6 4. Bg3 Ne7 5. Nf3 c5 6. c3 Nbc6 7. Nbd2 Nf5 8.
Bxd6 Qxd6 9. Bd3 Nfe7 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 h6 12. e4 cxd4 13. e5 Qc7 14. cxd4
Qb6 15. Nb3 a5 16. a4 Nb4 17. Bb5 Rd8 18. Nc5 Na6 19. Rc1 Nxc5 20. Rxc5 Bd7 21.
Qd2 Bxb5 22. Rxb5 Qa7 23. Rc1 b6 24. Rb3 Rac8 25. Rbc3 Qd7 26. b3 Rxc3 27. Rxc3
Rc8 28. g3 Rxc3 29. Qxc3 Qc6 30. Qd2 Qc8 31. Kg2 Nf5 32. h3 Qc6 33. g4 Ne7 34.
Ng1 Ng6 35. Ne2 b5 36. Qc3 Nf4+ 37. Kf3 {White's last move would be very good
if it didn't lose a piece...how? ..............................................
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.............................................................................}
Nxe2 {and White resigned because of} 38. Qxc6 Nxd4+ 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2876"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Italy"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ITA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:11"]
[BlackClock "0:00:03"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. d4 c6 6. Bc4 Bg4 7. h3 Bxf3 8.
Qxf3 e6 9. Bd2 Qc7 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. Ne4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 Bd6 13. Kb1 Nf6 14. Qf3
O-O 15. Bd3 a5 16. h4 Nd5 17. h5 Rfd8 {White is obviously much better, but in
the game he drifted and soon lost his advantage. What would you suggest
instead? ......................................................................
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.....................................................} 18. c4 $1 (18. Qe4 Nf6
19. Qe2 $6 (19. Qf3 {was still OK}) 19... Bf4 $1 {allowed Black to survive in
the game.}) (18. h6 $5 g6 19. c4 Nb4 20. Qf6 Bf8 21. Be2 {also paralyses
Black's position.}) 18... Nb4 19. Be2 {and with ...h6 coming, White has a very
large advantage, and if} h6 20. a3 Na6 21. Qg4 $1 {threatening Bxh6 is a tough
blow to counter.} 1/2-1/2 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]
[BlackElo "2802"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackClock "0:00:09"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Nxd7 5. O-O Ngf6 6. Re1 e6 7. c4 a6 8.
d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Be7 10. b3 O-O 11. Bb2 Re8 12. Nc3 Bf8 13. Qd2 Rc8 14. Rad1 Qc7
15. Nf3 Qb8 16. h3 b5 17. cxb5 axb5 18. Qd3 b4 19. Na4 d5 20. exd5 Nxd5 21. Ng5
N7f6 22. Ne4 Nxe4 23. Qxe4 Qc7 24. g3 Red8 25. h4 h6 26. Rc1 Qd7 27. Red1 Rxc1
28. Rxc1 Rc8 29. Rc4 Rd8 30. Bd4 Qb5 31. Nc5 {Although Nakamura won this in
the end, here he missed a golden opportunity; what exactly was Black's best
move?} Rc8 $1 (31... Bxc5 32. Rxc5 Qa6 33. Qg4 {was balanced in the game.}) 32.
Qe5 (32. Nxe6 Re8 $1 {wins a piece, e.g.} 33. Nc7 Nxc7) (32. Rc2 Nc3 $5 33.
Bxc3 Qxc5) 32... Nb6 33. Rc2 Nd7 34. Nxd7 Qxe5 35. Rxc8 Qxd4 36. Nxf8 Qa1+ 37.
Kg2 g5 {and Black obtains a decisive material advantage.} 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2781"]
[BlackElo "2677"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Russia"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "RUS"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:10"]
[BlackClock "0:00:15"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 e6 4. Nd2 Bd6 5. Bg3 c5 6. c3 O-O 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Ngf3
Qe7 9. Ne5 Nd7 10. Nxd7 Bxd7 $2 {How should White punish this move? ...........
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.................................} ({The correct} 10... Qxd7 {was played in
the game.}) 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. dxc5 Qxc5 13. Bxh7+ $1 Kxh7 14. Qh5+ Kg8 15. Ne4
{and White is already winning:} Qc4 (15... g6 16. Nxc5 gxh5 17. Nxd7) (15...
Qe7 16. Ng5 Rfe8 17. Qh7+ Kf8 18. Qh8#) 16. Ng5 Rfd8 (16... Qd3 17. e4) 17.
Qxf7+ Kh8 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. Rd1 {and White has a winning attack; you are
welcome to check this position with your chess engine to verify that.} 1/2-1/2 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2798"]
[BlackElo "2876"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "32"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:05"]
[BlackClock "0:00:16"]

1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Bc4 c6 4. Qf3 e6 5. Ne2 d5 6. Bb3 Nd7 7. Nbc3 Ne7 8. O-O
O-O 9. Rd1 b6 10. Bf4 Bb7 11. Bd6 Re8 12. h3 Nf6 13. e5 $2 {This was a big
strategic mistake...} Nd7 14. Ng3 $2 {But how will you refute White's play? ...
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.........................................} Nc8 $1 (14... c5 15. Nb5 $1 {is a
lot less clear.}) 15. Ba3 {Else Black takes on d6 and wins the ensnared d6
pawn.} c5 16. dxc5 bxc5 {e5 is about to fall, and with such a massive centre
Black won easily.} 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2780"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Armenia"]
[BlackTeam "Italy"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ITA"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:15"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8.
Qb3 Nb6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bb4 Bxb4 11. Qxb4 a5 12. Qc3 c6 13. Ne5 Re8 14. Nd2
Ng4 15. Nxg4 Bxg4 16. e3 Qd6 17. Rfe1 Be6 18. Nb3 Qc7 19. Nc5 Nd7 $2 {Black
has made a positional misjudgement here; how would you capitalise? ............
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................................} 20. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 (20... Rxe6 $2 21. Bxd5) 21.
e4 $1 {and White is better because of the backward e6-pawn and the superior
minor piece. In the game White's advantage soon increased after} Qd6 22. Re2 (
22. a3 $5) (22. exd5 $5) 22... dxe4 23. Bxe4 Nf6 24. Bc2 $1 Rad8 25. Qxa5 $1
Qxd4 26. Rd1 (26. Bb3 $5) 26... Ra8 27. Qxa8 Qxd1+ 28. Bxd1 Rxa8 29. Bb3 1-0 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "4.5"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2723"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "India"]
[BlackTeam "France"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "IND"]
[BlackTeamCountry "FRA"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:17"]
[BlackClock "0:00:07"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 Qa5 8.
O-O O-O 9. Bb3 d6 10. h3 Bd7 11. f4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bc6 13. Qe1 Qb4 14. Bxf6 Bxf6
15. Nd5 {Now for an easy puzzle; Anand had fallen into an opening trap, now
how will you take advantage? ..................................................
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..............................} Qc5+ 16. Kh1 Bxd5 17. Bxd5 e6 18. Bb3 (18. Bxb7
Rab8 19. Ba6 Qxc2) 18... Bxb2 19. Rd1 {and while Anand escaped with a draw in
the game, the outcome would be a lot more bleak after} a5 $1 20. a4 b5 21. axb5
a4 1/2-1/2 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2804"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Italy"]
[BlackTeam "India"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ITA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "IND"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:04"]
[BlackClock "0:00:44"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qa4 a6 8. Qxc4
b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2 Bd6 11. Nh4 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 Nbd7 13. e4 Be7 {Time for
another exercise of a more positional nature? What move must White play here? .
...............................................................................
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......} 14. Ba5 $1 {By preventing the ...c5 break, White obtains a decent
position.} (14. Nc3 $6 c5 15. dxc5 Nxc5 {gave Black a strong initiative in the
game and after} 16. Be3 Qd3 $1 {White soon had to sacrifice a pawn for no real
compensation.}) 14... Nb6 (14... Qc8 15. Qc6) 15. Nf3 Nc4 16. Bc3 c5 17. dxc5
Bxc5 18. b3 {and White is doing just fine.} 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]
[BlackElo "2798"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "Bulgaria"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "BUL"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:16"]
[BlackClock "0:00:47"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 a6 4. Bd3 c5 5. dxc5 Bxc5 6. exd5 exd5 7. Ngf3 Nf6 8.
O-O O-O 9. h3 Nc6 10. Nb3 Bb6 11. Re1 Ne4 12. Be3 Bc7 13. c4 Be6 14. Nc5 Nxc5
15. Bxc5 Re8 16. Qc2 g6 17. Rad1 Qf6 18. cxd5 Bxd5 19. Bxg6 $2 {Hammer thought
he was being clever, but he had tricked himself...what would you do as Black?}
Bxf3 $1 20. Bxh7+ Kh8 21. gxf3 (21. Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. gxf3 Qg7+ 23. Kf1 Qxh7)
21... Qg7+ 22. Kf1 Rxe1+ 23. Kxe1 Qxh7 {and Black was up a piece and won.} 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2802"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "France"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:05"]
[BlackClock "0:00:34"]

1. Nf3 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Be3 c6 6. a4 a5 7. h3 Na6 8. Be2 O-O
9. O-O Nb4 10. Re1 Qc7 11. Bf4 Nh5 12. Bh2 e5 13. Bc4 Qe7 14. Ne2 d5 15. Bb3
dxe4 16. Nxe5 Be6 17. Bxe6 Qxe6 18. g4 Nf6 19. Nf4 Qc8 20. f3 exf3 21. c3 f2+
22. Kxf2 Nbd5 23. Nfd3 Nd7 24. Qb3 Nxe5 25. Bxe5 f5 26. g5 {White has left his
queen too far from the defence of her majesty...how would you punish that as
Black? ........................................................................
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........} f4 $1 27. Bxg7 Kxg7 28. Kg2 Qf5 29. Qxb7+ Kh8 30. Ne5 f3+ 31. Kf2
Rab8 {and White resigned as his king is effectively getting mated should the
queen move.} 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2798"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"]
[BlackTeam "Armenia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ARM"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:24"]
[BlackClock "0:00:11"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 a6 6. O-O d6 7. a4 Ba7 8. h3 Ne7
9. Re1 Ng6 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Rxe3 O-O 12. Nbd2 d5 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Bxd5 Qxd5
15. Qb3 Qxb3 16. Nxb3 f6 17. d4 exd4 18. Nfxd4 Ne5 19. a5 Rd8 20. Ra4 b6 21.
axb6 cxb6 22. f4 Bd7 23. Rb4 $4 {This was unfortunately a blunder...what does
Black play in response?} a5 $1 24. fxe5 (24. Rxb6 Nc4) 24... axb4 25. exf6 bxc3
26. bxc3 gxf6 {and Black soon won.} 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2802"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "34"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "United States"]
[BlackTeam "Italy"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ITA"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:27"]
[BlackClock "0:00:07"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. a3 Bc5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. e4
O-O 9. Be2 b6 10. O-O Ba6 11. Be3 Rc8 12. f4 d6 13. Rc1 Nd7 14. Nd2 Bf6 15. Nf3
Na5 16. b3 Nc5 17. Nd2 {How should Black play from this somewhat cramped
position? .....................................................................
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...........} Nd7 $6 {This was too passive.} (17... Bxc3 $1 18. Rxc3 d5 {is
playable for Black, based on} 19. b4 $2 (19. cxd5 Bxe2 20. Qxe2 exd5 21. exd5
Ncxb3 22. Rxb3 Nxb3 23. Nxb3 Qxd5) 19... d4 $1 20. Rc2 dxe3 21. Nf3 Qc7 22.
bxc5 Qxc5) 1-0 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2804"]
[BlackElo "2876"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "India"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "IND"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:06"]
[BlackClock "0:00:15"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 a6 6. Ba4 d6 7. d4 Bd7 8. Bg5 f6
9. Be3 Nh6 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. h3 Nf7 12. c4 O-O 13. Nc3 f5 14. Re1 Re8 15. Nd5
f4 16. Bd2 g5 17. Bc3 h5 18. Nh2 g4 19. hxg4 hxg4 20. Nxg4 Qh4 21. Ndf6+ Bxf6
22. Qxd7 Rad8 23. Qf5 Bg7 24. Bxc6 bxc6 25. Rad1 Rd6 26. Rxd6 cxd6 27. c5 dxc5
28. Rd1 Rd8 29. Rxd8+ Qxd8 30. Nxe5 Bxe5 31. Bxe5 Nxe5 32. Qxe5 Qd2 33. Qc3
Qd1+ 34. Kh2 Qe2 35. b3 Qh5+ 36. Qh3 Qe2 37. Qf3 Qd2 38. e5 Kf7 39. Kh3 Ke7 40.
Kg4 Qxa2 41. Qxf4 Qxb3 42. Qf6+ Ke8 43. e6 Qd1+ {How does White maintain his
decisive advantage? ...........................................................
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.....................} 44. Kg5 $1 (44. f3 $4 Qd4+ 45. Kf5 Qxf6+ 46. Kxf6 c4 47.
g4 c3 48. g5 c2 {and 0-1 was the tragic end to the game.}) 44... Qd2+ 45. Kg6
Qd3+ 46. Kh6 Qd2+ 47. f4 {and the king evades the checks, with an easy win.}
0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "6.5"]
[White "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2677"]
[BlackElo "2773"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "Netherlands"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NED"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:19"]
[BlackClock "0:00:05"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8.
Bd3 d5 9. e5 Nd7 10. f4 c5 11. Bf2 g5 12. Qh5 gxf4 13. O-O Bg7 14. Rae1 c4 15.
Nxd5 cxd3 16. Bh4 Qa5 17. Rxf4 O-O 18. Rg4 f6 19. exf6 Qc5+ 20. Kh1 Rf7 {Here
White has many ways to win...picking one will do just fine. ...................
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.............................................................} 21. Qh6 $1 (21.
Qxf7+ Kxf7 22. fxg7 Kg8 23. Ne7+ Qxe7 24. Bxe7) (21. Rf1 Qf8 22. Rgf4 Bh6 23.
Ne7+ Kh8 24. Bg5 Bxg5 25. Ng6+ Kg8 26. Nxf8) (21. Rg5 exd5 22. Rxg7+ Rxg7 23.
Re8+ Nf8 24. fxg7 Kxg7 25. Be7) (21. Rxg7+ Rxg7 22. Ne7+ Rxe7 23. Qg4+ Kh8 24.
fxe7 Bb7 25. Qxe6 Re8 26. Qxd7) (21. fxg7 Bb7 22. Qxf7+ Kxf7 23. Rf1+) 21...
Nxf6 (21... Qf8 22. Ne7+ Rxe7 23. fxe7 Qf7 24. e8=Q+ Qxe8 25. Qxg7#) 22. Nxf6+
Kf8 (22... Rxf6 23. Qxg7#) 23. Qxh7 Bxf6 24. Rg8+ Ke7 25. Bxf6+ Kxf6 26. Qh4+
Kf5 27. Qg5# 0-1 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2781"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Italy"]
[BlackTeam "Russia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ITA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "RUS"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:06"]
[BlackClock "0:00:05"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 Rb8 7. c3 Nf6 8.
d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 O-O 10. Nc3 d6 11. h3 Nd7 12. b3 c5 13. Be3 Bb7 14. Rc1 Rc8 15.
Qd2 Re8 16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Bd4 Bf8 18. Qe3 a5 {For some reason I like to make
Caruana's games the positional puzzles...anyway, can you find the right way
for White to improve his position? ............................................
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....................................} 19. Nd5 $1 {As played in the game.} (19.
Red1 {is also possible, but less incisive after} e6) 1-0 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2677"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "France"]
[BlackTeam "Norway"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "NOR"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:24"]
[BlackClock "0:00:36"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O e5 5. d3 Ne7 6. e4 O-O 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Nc3
Nb6 9. a4 a5 10. Bg5 f6 11. Be3 Nc6 12. d4 Nc4 13. dxe5 Qxd1 14. Raxd1 Nxb2 15.
Rb1 Nc4 16. Bc5 Rf7 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. Nd5 Bd8 19. Rfe1 b6 20. Re8+ Kg7 21. Nd4
Bd7 22. Ne6+ Kh6 23. Nxd8 Rxd8 24. Rxd8 Nxd8 25. Bd4 {Black to play; what's
his best survival chance?} Bxa4 $1 (25... Ne6 26. Bc3 Bxa4 27. Re1 Nc5 {
unfortunately doesn't work now that White's rook is in the attack, and here}
28. Nf6 $1 {with the threat of Ng8 and Bd5 would have won.}) 26. Bf6 c6 27.
Nxb6 (27. Bxd8 cxd5 28. Bxd5 Rd7 29. Bxc4 Rxd8 30. Rxb6 Bxc2 $11) 27... Nxb6
28. Bxd8 Nc4 29. Ra1 Bxc2 30. Bxa5 Nxa5 31. Rxa5 Rc7 {and Black should draw
without any problems.} 1-0 

[Event "Norway Chess Blitz"]
[Site "chess24.com"]
[Date "2015.06.15"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2876"]
[BlackElo "2802"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[Source "ChessPublishing"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Norway"]
[BlackTeam "United States"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:16"]
[BlackClock "0:00:14"]

1. Nf3 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. Bc4 c6 5. Bb3 d5 6. Qe2 dxe4 7. Qxe4 Nf6 8. Qh4
h6 9. Ne5 e6 10. c3 Nbd7 11. Nc4 Nb6 12. Nba3 Nxc4 13. Nxc4 Qe7 14. O-O Nd5 15.
Qg3 O-O 16. Re1 c5 $2 {Unfortunately this thematic freeing break doesn't work
in this exact position. How would you punish it? ..............................
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..................................................} 17. Nd6 $1 Qc7 18. Bxd5
exd5 19. dxc5 $1 (19. Bf4 g5 $1 {greatly reduced Carlsen's advantage in the
game.}) 19... Qxc5 {(else Black is a pawn down)} 20. Ne8 $1 {and the loss of
the dark-squared bishop will spell terrible omens for Black.} 1-0