nihalsarin vs Njal28: game review

21…c4 is a mistake: Black's winning chances go from 45% to 31%.

• White answers 22.Bxg6, which takes the pawn on g6.
• Better was 21…cxd4 (+0.51), which takes the pawn on d4.

Better: 21…cxd4 stops dxc5. Engine line: 22.cxd4 Rc8 23.Qe2 Nc4 24.Bh6 Qe7 (+0.51).

22.Bxg6!! A real sacrifice: White gives up material and the engine still rates it best.

• Puts the bishop on g6 where it can be taken.
• Black can take, but after 22…fxg6 23.Qxg6 Nf8 24.Qg4 the engine rates it +2.45.
• Takes the pawn on g6.
• 22.Bxg6 trades off the attacked bishop instead of losing it to …cxd3.
• Black was threatening …cxd3, winning a bishop. The bishop takes something with it instead.
• Takes the g6 pawn.

• The idea: 22.Bxg6!! offers the bishop on g6. Taking it still leaves White a little better.
• What White gives up: 22.Bxg6 puts the bishop on g6 where it can be taken by the f7 pawn. That's a bishop on offer.
• If Black takes the bishop: 22…fxg6 is met by 23.Qxg6, taking the g6 pawn and threatening Ng5, winning the queen for a knight. Then 24.Qg4 threatens Rh6, winning a pawn, and 25.Bg5 threatens Bxd8, winning the queen for a bishop. White is a pawn down: White is a little better (+1.49). This is Black's best try.
• Without the sacrifice: The best move without the sacrifice, 22.Be2, is clearly weaker (+0.98 against +2.45). Black answers 22…Nf8. That would leave White a little better.

23.Bg5 is a blunder: White's winning chances go from 71% to 39%.

• Black answers 23…Qc7, which moves the attacked queen to safety.
• Better was 23.Qxg6 (+2.40), which takes the pawn on g6.

Better: 23.Qxg6 wins a pawn and threatens Ng5, winning the queen for a knight. After 23…Nf8 24.Qg4 Nbd7 25.Bg5 Nf6 26.Bxf6 Qxf6 27.Rh5, White comes out a pawn up (+2.40).

23…Qc7! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• Moves the attacked queen to safety.
• Connects the rooks: development is complete and they can now support each other.
• The next best move, 23…Re7, would drop Black's winning chances from 61% to 34% (+1.86).
• 23…Qc7 gets the queen out of the way of Bxd8.
• White was threatening Bxd8, winning the queen for a bishop. The queen steps away.
• White answers 24.Bf4, winning two pawns.

24…Nf8! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• Attacks the queen.
• Shores up the e6 pawn, which was under as much attack as it had defence (1 against 1).
• The next best move, 24…Nc8, would drop Black's winning chances from 63% to 8% (+6.71).
• 24…Nf8 threatens …Nxg6, winning the queen, and stops Qh7+.
• It threatens …Nxg6, winning the queen, so White has to spend the next move on it.
• White was threatening Qh7+, with a dangerous check. Nf8 takes care of it.

30.Rf4 is a mistake: White's winning chances go from 21% to 10%.

• Black answers 30…Qb7: the queen lines up with the White king, behind the d5 pawn.
• Better was 30.Bh6 (−3.65), which moves the attacked bishop to safety.

Better: 30.Bh6 gets the bishop out of the way of …Rxg5. After 30…Ng6 31.R4h2 Rae8 32.Bxg7 Qxg7 33.Qd2, the bishops are traded (−3.65).

35…Rh8! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• Skewers the queen: when it moves, the rook on h6 behind it falls.
• The rook takes the open h-file, aiming at the queen on h7.
• The next best move, 35…Qf5, would drop Black's winning chances from 92% to 64% (−1.54).
• 35…Rh8 skewers the queen and the rook on h6 and takes the open h-file, aiming at the queen on h7.
• Attacks the queen.
• White answers 36.Rxe6, taking the queen on e6.

• Both sides followed opening theory up to 2…Nf6: 4 moves in all, 2 by White and 2 by Black.
• White left the book with 3.e4. In 26,386 games from this position, strong players played 3.c4 (35%), 3.Bf4 (16%), 3.g3 (14%) or 3.Bg5 (12%).
• The main line goes on 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 O-O 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6.
• From here White scored 53% in those games, with 13% drawn.