SPOT ON CHESS PUZZLES: Nepo steals Tata Steel round 8 show!

Hard fought tournaments produce chess art...

I remember as a really young child watching "ABC's Wild World of Sports" and always being amazed at the opening where the narrator spoke of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. At the mention of "defeat" they show a skier come flying off of a jump arms all akimbo!

The 2024 edition of Tata Steel Masters has produced a lot of thrills and spills thus far. But who will end up with top honors? So many players are within striking distance and all are fighting tooth and nail for top honors. Over the course of the final five rounds we should see some top level fighting chess.

Today's featured game is between Grandmasters Ian Nepomniachtchi and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Ian defeated the tournament leader and now first place really is up for grabs! Enjoy today's technical game that features: Knights on the Rim are, in deed, Grim; Pawn Sac for Pawn Weaknesses & Line/square clearance; Pawn Structure awareness; Trapping a piece and Exchanging down to win in the endgame. All good things to keep in mind when playing chess!

THE MOVES:

GM Nepomniachtchi, Ian vs GM Abdusattorov, Nodirbek
Round 8; Result 1-0; Date 01/21/2024
Event: Tata Steel Masters 2024

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Re1 d6 7. a4 Be6 8. a5 Bxc4 9. dxc4 b6 10. Bd2 Nxa5 11. Bxa5 bxa5 12. Rxa5 c6 13. Ra2 Qc7 14. Nc3 a5 15. Qe2 Nd7 16. b3 Nc5 17. Na4 Ne6 18. c5 dxc5 19. Nb2 Nd4 20. Qd3 Qb8 21. Rea1 Rd8 22. g3 Qb4 23. Nc4 Nb5 24. Qe3 Qc3 25. Nfxe5 Rac8 26. Qxc3 Nxc3 27. Rxa5 Nxe4 28. Nb6 Rc7 29. Ra8 f6 30. Rxd8+ Bxd8 31. Ra8 fxe5 32. Rxd8+ Kf7 33. Nc4 Ke6 34. Kg2 Nf6 35. Kf3 e4+ 36. Kf4 Ke7 37. Rd6 Rc8 38. h3 Ne8 39. Rd1 Nf6 40. Rd6 Ne8 41. Rd2 Nf6 42. Nd6 Ra8 43. Nxe4 Nd5+ 44. Ke5 c4 45. bxc4 Nb6 46. Re2 Nxc4+ 47. Kd4 Na3 48. c4 Rb8 49. Ra2 Ra8 50. Rb2 Ke6 51. Kc3 Ke5 52. Nd2 Ra7 53. Rb3 Ke6 54. Nf1 Kd6 55. Nd2 Ke6 56. h4 Kf5 57. f3 h6 58. Rb6 Re7 59. Ne4 g5 60. hxg5 hxg5 61. Rxc6 g4 62. Nd6+ Kf6 63. Nc8+ Re6 64. Rxe6+ Kxe6 65. f4 1-0

Enjoy ~ S.