Yue Wang vs Arkadij Naiditsch: game review

24.Ne5 misses the chance 23…Ba5 gave: 24.Bxf6 would have punished it. White's winning chances go from 82% to 58%.

• Black answers 24…c4, which attacks the bishop on b3, which is undefended.
• Better was 24.Bxf6 (+4.18), which takes the knight on f6.

Better: 24.Bxf6 takes the knight on f6. After 24…Nxf6 25.Bxf7+ Kxf7 26.Ng5+ Kg6 27.Ne6 Kxf5 28.Nxd8 Bxd8 29.cxd4 cxd4 30.g4+, White comes out a pawn up (+4.18).

29.Qh3!! A real sacrifice: White gives up material and the engine still rates it best.

• Leaves the knight on e5 and the bishop on g5 where it can be taken.
• Taking is too dangerous: Black's best reply is 29…Ndf6 30.Bxf6 Nxf6 31.Bc2 instead (the engine rates it +0.13).
• Attacks the h7 pawn, which is undefended.
• 29.Qh3 stops …Nxe5.
• Black was threatening …Nxe5, winning a knight. Qh3 takes care of it.
• Black answers 29…Ndf6, leaving White with no bishop pair.

• The idea: 29.Qh3!! gives up the knight on e5 to stay in the game: after it White holds the balance (+0.13); anything else leaves White clearly worse (−1.56).
• What White gives up: The knight on e5 is attacked by the knight on d7, and 29.Qh3 doesn't save it. That's a knight on offer.
• What it does instead: It threatens Nxd7+, winning the queen.
• If Black takes the knight: 29…Nxe5 is met by 30.Qxh7, taking the h7 pawn and threatening Qh8# and mate. Then 31.gxf3 takes the knight on f3, and 32.Qh8+ gives check. The line ends in checkmate.
• If Black takes the bishop: 29…Nxg5 is met by 30.Nxd7+, taking the knight on d7 with check. Then 31.Qxd7 takes the queen on d7, and 32.Qxb7 takes the bishop on b7. White ends up about a queen's worth of material ahead: White is winning (+9.29).
• Black's best try: Black's best is to leave the knight alone and play 29…Ndf6. White answers 30.Bxf6, taking the knight on f6 and threatening Qxh7 and mate. Then 31.Bc2 threatens Bxh7, winning a bishop. Material is level and White holds the balance (+0.13).
• Why not save the knight first?: Saving it with 29.Nxd7+, the best way to do that, is clearly weaker (−1.56 against +0.13). Black answers 29…Qxd7, taking the knight on d7 and threatening …Nxg5, winning a bishop and a pawn. That would leave White clearly worse.

29…Ndf6! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• Protects the h7 pawn, which was hanging.
• The next best move, 29…Nef6, would drop Black's winning chances from 49% to 11% (+5.71).
• 29…Ndf6 gets the knight out of the way of Nxd7+.
• White was threatening Nxd7+, winning the queen for a pawn. The knight steps away.
• White answers 30.Bxf6, taking the knight on f6.
• Engine line: 30.Bxf6 Nxf6 31.Bc2 Qd8 32.Nf5 Bb6 (+0.08).

30.Bxf6! The only good move here: every alternative is clearly worse.

• Takes the knight on f6.
• Shores up the knight on e7, which was under as much attack as it had defence (2 against 1).
• The next best move, 30.Bh5, would drop White's winning chances from 51% to 19% (−4.00).
• 30.Bxf6 trades off the attacked bishop instead of losing it to …Nxg5.
• Black was threatening …Nxg5, winning a bishop. The bishop takes something with it instead.
• Trades bishop for knight.

33…Bc8 is a blunder: Black's winning chances go from 36% to 16%.

• White answers 34.Nc6, which attacks the queen.
• Better was 33…h6 (+1.53), which takes g5 away from the White queen on e3.

Better: 33…h6 stops Qg5. Engine line: 34.h3 Bb6 35.Qf4 Nh5 36.Qd2 Qe8 (+1.53).

36.Ne5 lets the win slip: 36.Nfd4 kept White winning. White's winning chances go from 86% to 69%.

• Black answers 36…Be6: shores up the f7 pawn, which was under as much attack as it had defence (2 against 1).
• Better was 36.Nfd4 (+4.97): plants the knight on d4: a pawn defends it and no enemy pawn can chase it away.

Better: 36.Nfd4 stops …Qxc6. After 36…Bd7 37.Ne5 Qd8 38.Qxf7+ Kh8 39.Nxd7 Qxd7 40.Qf8+, White comes out a pawn up (+4.97).

37…Qd8 is a blunder: Black's winning chances go from 42% to 14%.

• White answers 38.Nfh6+: check, and Black has only two legal replies.
• Better was 37…Bxf5 (+0.91), which takes the knight on f5.

Better: 37…Bxf5 stops the mate threat Nxf6+. After 38.Bxf5 Qd8 39.Ne5 Qxe7 40.dxe7 h5, the queens come off (+0.91).

39.g3 lets the win slip: 39.Ng3 kept White winning. White's winning chances go from 81% to 57%.

• Black answers 39…Bxf5, which takes the knight on f5.
• Better was 39.Ng3 (+3.98): moving away uncovers the bishop on c2, which now hits the h7 pawn.

Better: 39.Ng3 wins a pawn, picking it up with 40.Qxf6. After 39…Qc8 40.Qxf6 Qf8 41.Nh5 Bd8 42.Qf4, White comes out a pawn up (+3.98).

• Both sides followed opening theory up to 10.Re1: 19 moves in all, 10 by White and 9 by Black.
• Black left the book with 10…Nb8. In 26 games from this position, strong players played 10…Qd7 (31%), 10…Na5 (23%), 10…h6 (19%) or 10…Nd4 (15%).
• The main line goes on 10…Qd7 11.h3 Rfe8 12.Bg5.
• From here White scored 65% in those games, with 44% drawn.