Game Analysis: 2026 Bill Wright Open, Round 5

We are back with another classical game from a recent event in St. Louis. This one I think was quite instructive, featuring an unusual opening variation that I knew nothing about over the board.

Sargsyan, Anna (2423) - Paciorkowski, Lev (2448)
2026 Bill Wright Open, St. Louis, MO (Rd. 5)
G/90+30

My opponent is a strong international master from Armenia and now one of the top female players in the US.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 (D)

A small note on opening strategy in these games (at least, at 2400+ level). All the games from this event were publicly recorded, and I had already played the King's Indian in round 1. So from that standpoint, one might say that it is "risky" to repeat the same opening, especially against a strong player who would be able to prepare something serious against it.

However, the other approach is to say that you know your openings like the back of your hand, and that it would be impossible to surprise you with anything, even a super rare sideline. So therefore, you should have nothing to fear in being too predictable. Further, because you play the same opening all the time, you will accumulate a lot of experience in the resulting structures and still be able to "feel" your way through unfamiliar positions if you do get them.

I don't think there is necessarily one right approach. Of course at the top level you see people play different openings almost every game. (I do not qualify as a top player, in case that needed clarifying.) For other players like myself who don't do chess full-time, it's much more practical to have one main opening and stick to it. For the King's Indian specifically, there are a few reasons why I really like it, even as a main weapon in these open tournaments:

• You can almost always guarantee a fight. This makes it especially attractive against lower-rated opponents we want to win against with the black pieces. White does have some options to try and kill the game, like the Exchange Variation, but black can still play to avoid lines like that if desired.
• Black has so many different variations to play, even in the most heavily studied classical main line. This means that you can still surprise people by switching to a different sub-variation that you maybe haven't played in a while, even if it is still all part of the "King's Indian".
• You do not have to worry about any move order tricks white often tries by starting with 1.Nf3 or 1.c4 instead of 1.d4. For instance, if you are a Grunfeld player, after 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 you have to learn a completely separate variation, because if you continue 2. ... g6, white can play 3.e4, when suddenly you will not be playing a Grunfeld anymore. If you play the King's Indian, our first moves are Nf6-g6-Bg7 pretty much no matter what, so we are completely unaffected by these move order shenanigans and can always get our desired opening system.
• In open tournaments there is often not that much time to prepare for each game anyway, so this makes predictability in the opening less of an issue.

Anyway, let's get back to the game. Anna surprised me with the very rare 5.Bd3!? (D)

I am not even sure this system has a name. For some context, it is white's 6th most common move in the position, being played only about 3% of the time. I suppose you could call this the Sarana system, since GM Alexey Sarana has apparently played this a lot, mostly in rapid/blitz games. He scores almost 90% with it too (albeit against mostly lower rated opposition, but still including some strong players), so clearly there is some venom here.

After not too much thought (just a couple minutes), I simply castled 5. ... 0-0. Rare variation or not, opening principles are still opening principles, and I figured this cannot be a bad move. Later I will come back to this point to show how I think black should react to this system, but for now I will just say that the immediate 5. ... Nc6 is the most serious alternative.

6.Nge2 (D)

Here I again thought for a couple minutes and actually came up with what I think is indeed the best move now for black: 6. ... Nc6! It's a little unusual to do this before playing e7-e5, but I do have some general knowledge from similar positions that in the structure after 6. ... e5!? 7.d5!, the bishop on d3 actually can be very well-placed, since it drops back to c2 in response to ...Nc5, and keeps the e4 pawn overprotected.

7.0-0 (7.d5?! Ne5=- did not worry me) 7. ... e5 The other alternative which I will discuss later is 7. ... Nd7. 8.d5 Nd4 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.Ne2 Re8 11.f3 c5 12.Ng3! (D) (White should not entertain 12.dxc6? bxc6 13.Nxd4, when my intended 13. ... Qb6 14.Be3 Ng4! is at least equal for black.)

Unbeknownst to me during the game, I have actually figured out the main line for black in this variation. After Anna's last move though, we reach a position which it turns out is just good for white. At least, that is my opinion after having done some deeper analysis afterwards.

This is kind of like a Benoni structure, except black's pawn which normally would be on e7 (and breaks with ...e6 early on) is on d4. This has the main point of blocking the bishop on g7. Now, normally in these structures, the bishop on g7 is black's best minor piece. But in this case, it is severely restricted by that pawn on d4, which is the main source of black's difficulties here.

In fact, this is already a critical moment for black! I do want to give myself some credit for how I reacted in this unfamiliar position, because I did intuitively sense the long-term danger here. For example, I correctly judged that 12. ... a6?! (a commonly chosen move, even by some strong GMs) is already just bad for black after 13.a4!+/-. Indeed, the best case scenario there will be this kind of position after 13. ... Rb8 14.b3 Bd7 15.a5! b5 16.axb6 Qxb6 17.Ra3! (D)

In this structure, that d4 pawn would typically have gone to e6 and then ultimately been traded for either the pawn on c4 or e4. Compare the position above with the following one:

(Let's pretend white got the free move Kh1 to avoid any ...c4+ tactics.) In the previous version with the pawns still on d4/c4, white had a clear advantage. However, with those pawns traded, even black can be better. There is now the added resource of ...Bb5, and the Bg7 enjoys a completely open diagonal to operate on.

Going back to the position after 12.Ng3, there are only two viable moves for black, and I played one of them: 12. ... b5! (D) (The engine also proposes first 12. ... Nd7 13.f4 and then 13. ... b5!)

Benko gambit style. Black can't afford to sit around and play slowly, because white will not be too far away from organizing a decisive central breakthrough with f4-e5.

13.cxb5!? Actually, I did think during the game that 13.b3! could be even stronger, not even entertaining black's attempts at stirring up trouble on the queenside. Then white can go back to preparing f4-e5. (The engine agrees with this assessment, and this is ultimately why I think black should look for an improvement earlier.) 13. ... a6 14.Bf4 Nd7 (14. ... axb5 15.Bxb5 Re7 also deserved attention, to ensure that the b-file gets opened.) 15.a4! (D)

I have handled things pretty well so far. But, I am only human and here the difficulties of the position exceeded my capabilities. The only idea here to maintain a playable position is 15. ... h5!, when for example after 16.Qd2 (16.Bxd6? c4! and Nd7-b6 is good for black) 16. ... h4 17.Nh1 h3 the position is just messy and unclear.

Instead, I was far too tempted by the prospect of getting white's dark squared bishop, and played a serious inaccuracy: 15. ... Ne5?! to which white replied with the expected 16.Bxe5! Bxe5 17.f4! Bg7 18.Qf3+/- (D)

This is the position I was anticipating we would reach after my 15th move. However, I badly mis-evaluated it from a few moves back. I more or less naively assumed that with my "strong" unopposed dark squared bishop, I can figure something out here. But in fact, this is a dream position for white, all thanks to my own pawn on d4. Further, I actually cannot get the b-file open anymore, which means there is very little counterplay on the queenside. So, white has a free hand to prepare some breakthrough with e4-e5.

18. ... axb5!? (according to the engine, it would have been preferable to try something like 18. ... Ra7!? instead, keeping the tension on the queenside, followed by ...Qa5-b4 at the right moment to look for counterplay with the queen. I did consider this strategy but didn't really believe it could work to send my queen so far away from the kingside where white is planning to break through.) 19.axb5! White importantly keeps the b-file closed. 19.Bxb5? Bd7 lets black right back into the game. 19. ... Rxa1 20.Rxa1 At least now I thought I have less to worry about on the kingside, with white's rook gone from f1. 20. ... Qc7 21.Bc4 (D)

The position is still very unpleasant for black. It's not lost yet, but it is certainly a desperate situation. I considered the option of 21. ... d3!? 22.Qxd3 Bxb2 23.Rb1 but thought that would just be a thankless defensive task where I will have to passively blockade the b-pawn and hope that white cannot crack through in the long-run. While that is a correct assessment, it is unfortunately the best black can do from this position.

Instead, I played 21. ... Bd7? (D)

Actually, this move should lose on the spot! I saw what white's strongest response was here, but I didn't see how I'm supposed to stop it, and reasoned that I can hardly play with my bishop on c8 the whole game and allow Ra8.

If you have any familiarity with Benoni structures, you should immediately be considering the breakthrough 22.e5!, which just wins for white. What I saw during the game was 22. ... dxe5 23.Ne4?! exf4 24.d6 Qd8 25.Qxf4+-, when black's position is simply on the verge of collapse. Actually, even stronger would be 23.d6! exploiting the fact that 23. ... Qxd6? 24.Bxf7+! wins on the spot.

Instead of that, Anna quickly played 22.Qb3?+/-, which I think was her only real mistake this game. White still maintains a clear advantage, but finding this e5-d6 sequence really would have ended the game in short order.

We continued 22. ... Rb8 23.Ra6 Bf8? In practice still a very difficult position for black. An engine will always hold against a human, but I am no engine. Apparently, the surprising 23. ... Bh6! 24.Ne2 Bc8! 25.Rc6!? Qa5! would have given white some more serious problems to navigate. 24.b6+- (D)

White should have a decisive advantage now, and Anna did not give me any more chances. I continued 24. ... Qd8 25.b7 Qc7 26.Ra7 Kg7 27.Ba6 There is just nothing for black to do but wait passively until white maneuvers the Ng3 over to the queenside with decisive effect. I tried the desperate 27. ... c4?! 28.Qxc4 Qb6 29.Ra8 Rxb7 30.Bxb7 Bb5 but there are a million reasons why this doesn't work. Anna ended things convincingly: 31.Qc8 d3+ 32.Kh1 d2 33.Qxf8+ Kf6 34.e5+ dxe5 35.Qh8+ Ke7 36.Qxe5+ Qe6 37.d6+ 1-0

Ouch!

So actually, if we go back to the position after 5.Bd3 (D)

in my humble opinion, an easier way for black to play is with the immediate 5. ... Nc6! (instead of my 5. ... 0-0). After 5. ... Nc6 6.Nge2, now black can carry out the following idea: 6. ... 0-0! 7.0-0 Nd7! (D)

Hitting the d4 pawn. Notice how we are avoiding 7. ... e5!? 8.d5 Nd4 which would transpose into the game after 9.Nxd4 cxd4 10.Ne2. Our goal is to get a position without this blocking pawn on d4 so that the Bg7 keeps an open diagonal.

After 7. ... Nd7, the two most sensible moves are 8.Be3 and 8.Bc2. Black does not need to worry about 8.d5!? Nce5 9.f4 Nxd3 10.Qxd3 when there 10. ... f5!= puts white's center under a lot of pressure, with our other knight coming to c5.

So let's first look at 8.Be3 (D)

Now the circumstances have changed, and black should proceed with 8. ... e5! 9.d5 Nd4, since if white tries 10.Bxd4?! exd4 11.Nb5 black is in time to get good piece activity, e.g. 11. ... Ne5 12.Nbxd4 c5 13.dxc6 bxc6=-. There is more than enough for a pawn in that position. So white needs to try to play more slowly and live with the knight on d4; this is a position that can be explored deeper.

In case of 8.Bc2 (D)

Now again, 8. ... e5! seems to be working out for black. After 9.d5 Nd4 10.Nxd4 exd4 11.Ne2, the difference is that our knight is already on d7, which means 11. ... Ne5! (D) is possible

White cannot comfortably defend the c4 pawn (12.Bb3? d3 13.Nf4 f5!-/+ is just bad for white). This means that we will end up exchanging c4 for d4 and the Bg7 will enjoy an open diagonal. After 12.Nxd4 Nxc4 13.Rb1 (D)

Black should further continue with 13. ... Re8!=, and then look to play c7-c5 soon.

By the way, I do think that starting with 5. ... Nc6! is important. In case of 5. ... 0-0!? (which is the move order I played in the game), white actually has the option of 6.Nf3 (although it's rarely played). That would still be playable for black (e.g., 6. ... e5 7.d5 a5+=), but starting with 5. ... Nc6! takes that option out entirely, because then 6.Nf3!? Bg4 is completely fine for black, with e7-e5 and Nd4 coming next. (It is important to note that 5. ... 0-0!? 6.Nf3 Bg4!? 7.Be2!+= is not the same, because black's knight isn't already on c6, and 7. ... Nc6 can be met strongly with 8.d5!+/-.)

That's all for this time. We'll see if we can look at a few other games from this event later.

April 29th - Chess Lecture with Candidate Master Clif Kharroubi

                                     Topic: Unpleasant Double King Pawn Surprises

Time/Place: 5:00-6:30pm at the Chess Center in Rochester

$3 for CCCR members; $5 for non-members. Free for children 12 and under.   

(The small fee helps the chess club provide snacks) Free Pizza (while it lasts!) 

for those who attend the chess lecture. 

Registration is Required: Call 585-442-2430 to register or register on-site at the Chess Center.

Schedule: 5pm-5:30pm: Pizza and on-site lecture registration

5:30-6:30pm: Lecture 

The lecture will be recorded and made available on YouTube. Watch Clif's lectures here.

Game Analysis: 2026 Bill Wright Open, Round 1

Hello, and welcome back! We have a game to analyze from a new tournament played in St. Louis. This is my first round game from the event. My opponent is a 13-year old expert, quite a talented youngster. Let's see what happened.

Rana, Oliver (2071) - Paciorkowski, Lev (2448)
2026 Bill Wright Open, St. Louis, MO (Rd. 1)
G/90+30

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0 Re8 7.Nc3 Bd7!? (D) This is a super rare line I wanted to try out for black in the fianchetto KID. There is very little established opening theory in this position.

The idea is simply to block the d-file so that we can now play e7-e5. In some positions the bishop can go to c6, or black might even entertain ...Qc8, depending on what white does.

8.b3!? A slightly unusual move, but not necessarily bad. At this point I was out of my "book".

8. ... e5 (D) I saw no reason to reject this.

The most principled way for white to fight for an advantage would be to go into the closed structure 9.d5 a5 (black could also consider 9. ... e4!? 10.Nd4 h6) 10.e4. I would have been quite happy to go into that, when we would likely see a classic KID fight with black preparing f7-f5 while white plays on the queenside. However in that position the move b3 would just turn out be a waste of time, since white will want to go b4-c5 anyway. Therefore, probably 8.b3!? is not a dangerous move for black to deal with.

My opponent played much more conservatively with 9.dxe5 (9.e4 Nc6! would be quite nice for black, intending 10.d5 Nd4!) 9. ... dxe5 I think black has mostly equalized now. After 10.Bb2 I proceeded with the principled 10. ... e4 (D)

In general in these structures, if white allows this advance, black should take up the offer.

11.Nd4 (D) In case of 11.Ng5?! I was considering 11. ... h6! 12.Nh3 and felt like that position should be somewhat good for black with white's knight now out of play. That assessment would be correct; after 12. ... c6! black is doing very well.

11. ... Nc6!? This is actually a small imprecision. I wasn't appreciating this during the game, but in fact in this type of situation, black should prefer 11. ... Na6! and then to put the pawn on c6, to keep the Nc3 restricted.

12.Nxc6!? But this is a little too compliant. After 12.Nc2!+= white could end up with some pressure, intending Ne3 and then either knight to d5.

12. ... Bxc6= Now black definitely has no problems. 13.Qxd8!? (13.Qc2; there is no need to centralize black's rooks) 13. ... Raxd8 (D)

This endgame of course should just be equal, but I would say it is a little more "equal" for black than for white. I have all my pieces activated and the pawn on e4 cramps white's position slightly.

In general against high rated young players, the advice I give is to "trade queens and win the endgame". Now it's not always that easy, and I don't even follow my own advice all the time, but it worked out well for me this game. It is instructive to see how in less than 10 moves white managed to give himself a lost position from here.

14.Rad1 This is fine. 14. ... Ng4 I want to support my e-pawn with f7-f5. 15.h3! This is also good, as otherwise black was even threatening ...e3. 15. ... Nh6 (D)

16.e3!? This is the start of white's problems, since now the d3 square becomes a serious weakness. During the game I thought white could try 16.g4, when I was intending 16. ... f5 and thought that is still pleasant for black, but it should still objectively be equal.

16. ... f5=- (D)

17.b4?! Another pawn move that greatly weakens white's position. Gaining space with b4-b5 might superficially seem attractive, but white's pieces are too passive to support this kind of operation. Preferable was 17.Rxd8 Rxd8 18.Rd1 when I still would have been content to play the minor piece endgame after 18. ... Rxd1+ 19.Nxd1 Bxb2 20.Nxb2=-

17. ... Nf7-/+ I am not worried about b4-b5, and now have my eyes set on the weak c4 pawn. 18.b5 Bd7 (D)

This is already a difficult position for white. It is not clear what should be done against my intended ...Be6 and ...Ne5. At least, during the game, I did not see what white should even try. The engine, realizing how desperate the situation is, thinks that the only way for white to continue fighting is to sacrifice a pawn with 19.Rb1! intending 19. ... Be6 20.Nd5! Bxd5 21.cxd5 Rxd5 22.Rfc1-/+ with some counterplay on the c-file.

19.Rfe1?! This does not work out though, and after 19. ... Be6-+ (D) black is winning material, probably with a decisive advantage already.

20.Bf1 (20.c5 Ne5 is no better, when the knight will wreak havoc on d3) 20. ... Ne5 21.Rxd8!? (Keeping rooks on the board with 21.Be2 would have been more resilient) 21. ... Nf3+! I thought this was the most precise, because of my strong 23rd move. 22.Kh1 Rxd8 23.Rd1 (D)

23. ... Rd2! What I had planned from move 21. Black is winning. 24.Rxd2 forced, otherwise white loses a piece 24. ... Nxd2 25.Be2 Bxc4 26.Bc1 (26.Bxc4 Nxc4 27.Ba1 Bxc3 28.Bxc3 Na3-+) 26. ... Bxc3 27.Bxd2 Bxe2 28.Bxc3 Bxb5 29.Kg2 (D)

29. ... Be2 One last finesse, trapping white's king in a box. The only way out is to jettison a third pawn, but otherwise my king will simply march to the queenside unhindered. The rest is straightforward. 30.Be5 c6 31.a3 Kf7 32.g4 fxg4 33.hxg4 Bxg4 34.Kg3 Bf3 35.Kf4 Ke6 36.Bd4 b6 37.Be5? a blunder, but the endgame is hopeless either way 37. ... g5+ 0-1

A good illustration of how just a few careless pawn moves in an endgame can be disastrous. We'll be back to see what happens in future rounds.

Rapid Game Analysis: 10 April 2026 (Part 1)

We have a few new instructive rapid games to look at. Let's jump right in with the first one, where I'm white against another master.

Paciorkowski, Lev (2448) - Troutman, Charles (2216)
10-Apr-2026 Rapid, St. Louis, MO (Rd. 1)
G/15+3

1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 (D)

While we are here, I think it's useful to lay out exactly what systems black can choose from. There are a lot of transpositions which can make things a bit confusing, but the way I see it we have 8 different main line systems that would account for the vast majority of games from this point:

• Reversed Grunfeld if black plays 3. ... d5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e5
• The "e6-d5" system: 3. ... d5 4.d4 e6 (Just for my own convenience I sometimes call this the "Xiong system" because it's what GM Jeffrey Xiong once played against me)
• A Tarrasch, which would happen if black plays e6-d5 only after white has played c2-c4, at which point white can play c4xd5, then after ...e6xd5, to play d2-d4
• A variety of independent systems after 3. ... Nf6, where black plays for an early d7-d5 (in response to c2-c4) to try and get a reversed Maroczy bind structure
• The "e6-Nge7 system", where black develops g6-Bg7-e6-Nge7
• Botvinnik System, involving a e5-g6-Bg7-Nge7 setup
• The mainline Symmetrical English
• Symmetrical English with an early ...d6. There are some independent systems here; in fact, this was GM Bryan Smith's choice against me in Round 6 of the 2018 New York State Championship.

In this game, my opponent chose a mainline Symmetrical English:

3. ... g6 4.c4 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.d4 (Starting with 6.0-0 would at least give black the extra option of transposing to some type of early d6 system with 6. ... d6; e.g. 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bd7, which is distinct from the mainline Symmetrical English tabiya we get in the game)

6. ... cxd4

Just for completeness, I want to mention how should white react to 6. ... d5!? (D)

It's a very rare move and doesn't have the best reputation for black. After some digging around, it appears there is not much to know. White should respond with 7.dxc5! now attacking the d5 pawn. Then:

• 7. ... dxc4 8.Qxd8+ Nxd8 9.Ne5 (9.0-0!?) leads to a typical Catalan-type position where white is enjoying a tiny plus in piece activity.
• 7. ... Qa5!? should be met with 8.Nd4! (8.cxd5!? Nxd5! 9.Qxd5 Bxc3+ is black's idea) when black has to come up with 8. ... Nxd4! (8. ... Qxc5? 9.Ndb5+/-) 9.Qxd4 Nh5! and there I think it's enough to know that white should play 10.Qd2! (10.Qd3? d4) 10. ... dxc4 11.c6! Rb8 12.0-0 0-0 13.Qg5! essentially forcing a very pleasant endgame after 13. ... Qxg5 14.Bxg5 bxc6 15.Bxe7 Re8 16.Ba3!+=.
• 7. ... d4? is just bad after 8.Nb5!, because 8. ... Ne4? can be strongly met with 9.Nfxd4!+- when the tactics are all working out for white.

Ok, back to the game.

7.Nxd4 0-0 8.0-0 (D)

This is the very well-known tabiya of the mainline Symmetrical English, with thousands of games played here. Since it is such an important position, perhaps it is good to talk a little history. This was a pretty obscure variation entirely until the early-mid 1960s when it started to appear in high-level games, involving such legends as (in no particular order) Averbakh, Polugaevsky, Portisch, Hort, Pirc, Gligoric, Szabo, Larsen, Spassky, Korchnoi, Geller, Reshevsky, Stein, Smyslov and Tal.

What is going on in this position? White is basically saying that we have some pressure on the Nc6 and arguing that makes it difficult for black to finish development, particularly to play ...d6 or ...b6 to get the Bc8 out. Meanwhile, white is thinking long-term about establishing a Maroczy Bind with e2-e4.

Originally, the main line (which I guess is still considered the "main line" in 2026) was 8. ... Nxd4 9.Qxd4 d6. This is the most obvious continuation to relieve the pressure on the Nc6 so that black can start to develop the queenside. A ton of theory developed from that point, with white trying all sorts of moves over the years: Qd3 (what emerged as the most popular), Qd2!? (with the idea b3-Bb2), Qh4, even Bg5!? just to name a few.

It was early on discovered that black could actually just offer a pawn with 8. ... d6, with the idea being that after 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bxc6 Rb8 11.Bg2 Qa5, there appears to be quite a lot of compensation. With the open b/c files plus the a1-h8 diagonal, it isn't clear how white should finish development. As a matter of fact, you can find a game in the database where GM Alex Yermolinsky (a familiar name) played this pawn sac as black in the '80s. Over time, white found good ways to quell black's initiative, and the line is not that popular today, except in faster time controls where white can still quickly get into trouble if you don't know what to do.

Also in the 1980s, the curious-looking 8. ... Ng4!? started to become fashionable, although it never fully surpassed the old main line. The idea is to attack the Nd4 again, and if it retreats, then black could continue ...d6 without losing material. I think eventually the line garnered a suspicious reputation and wasn't fully solving black's problems after 9.e3, so it has fallen out of fashion since then, although you still see it occasionally.

For some reason, the move 8. ... a6?! has always lurked in the background, even being consistently more common than either of 8. ... Ng4!? or 8. ... d6, although almost never used by any strong players. In fact, this move is simply not very good because of 9.c5! which greatly cramps black's position and scores over 85% for white.

A more trendy move in the last decade or so has been 8. ... Qa5. It goes for a typical idea you see in these positions, where black wants to put the queen on h5, then later after ...d7-d6 there will be the option of ...Bh3, ...Ng4 with some kind of pressure on the kingside. This is where a lot of current theoretical discussions are, and strong players like Caruana, Svidler, Wang Hao, Dominguez Perez, Bacrot and Navara have all used this line in serious games.

Last but not least, there is the move my opponent chose in the game, 8. ... Qb6!? (D)

Somehow I never learned anything concrete about this natural move! It is actually the 2nd most common in the database, so better late then never to finally study it.

Of course, black is trying to disturb the knight on d4, but this also seems to be an awkward square for the queen, as she could get hit with Be3 and will not be able to swing over to h5. I didn't know anything about this move, and just quickly played 9.Nb3?! which believe it or not is slightly inaccurate and lets black completely equalize. I found out afterwards that Anand also once played Nb3 in a rapid game, so that's not the worst company to have!

We'll see what happened in my game, but I'll just say before continuing that I think white has much more dangerous options to try which I will know about for next time.

In the game we got 9. ... d6 10.Be3 Qd8 This looks like a very strange way to play for black. After all, can you really waste two full moves like this bringing the queen out and right back again, while white seemingly is close to finishing development? However, the problem is that the Nb3 is really poorly placed (which I understood, but didn't think it was a big deal). Also, the Be3 is constantly vulnerable to ...Ng4 shots. This position is simply equal!

I tried 11.c5 it's as good an attempt as any, and worked out, because it's not super obvious how black should react to this. My opponent played 11. ... Be6?! (Actually 11. ... d5! is the only move that keeps equality, because of 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Qxd5 Qxd5 14.Bxd5 and black can even play 14. ... Bf5!= as there is no way to comfortably defend b2. Not easy to figure out in a rapid game though.) 12.cxd6 exd6+= (D)

So after our mutual imprecisions, we end up reaching an IQP middlegame where I understood white should have a stable (but not too serious) advantage.

13.Nd4 I think this is a good strategic decision, wasting no time in re-improving the poorly placed Nb3. I had to calculate something in case of 13. ... Ng4 (D), which my opponent indeed played.

Without this move I think black would just be really suffering.

14.Nxc6?! I like bishops, but I somehow talked myself out of the stronger 14.Nxe6! on general grounds, not wanting to activate black's rook on f8. I think I even saw during the game that after 14.Nxe6! fxe6 15.Bd2+= Qb6!? 16.e3!+/- there is just nothing impressive for black since I am gaining a tempo on the Ng4, so there is no time to take on b2. (Even without the hanging knight, Rb1-xb7 would still be plenty good for white.) Also not possible would be 15. ... Bd4? 16.e3+-. So black really has no counterplay and white just enjoys two bishops. Not working is 14.Nxe6 Nxe3? 15.Nxd8 Nxd1 16.Nxc6+- when white ends up winning a piece.

14. ... bxc6 The thing is, black now gets an open b-file, so it's not like this doesn't activate one of his rooks too. 15.Bd4 Ne5 (D)

The engine still thinks white is slightly better, but I am not sure how true that is. During the game I wanted to play 16.b3, which initially is also one of the engine's top moves. However, I think I was correct not to like 16. ... c5! 17.Be3 (I don't want 17.Bxe5 Bxe5 18.Bxa8 Qxa8= in my experience these positions are way easier to play for the side with the bishops, even if you can keep the exchange) 17. ... Ng4! again offering the exchange 18.Bd2 d5 and black is the one fighting for an advantage in my opinion.

Maybe 16.Rc1 is a healthier move instead. But I think the real inaccuracy was not taking on e6 earlier. I ended up playing 16.Qa4!? which turned out not to be very impressive. 16. ... Rb8 17.b3 a5! 18.Rad1 Rb4 19.Qa3= This position is just balanced. Black's piece activity compensates for the long-term strategic risk of the hanging pawns. 19.  ... Qc7 20.Ne4 Bd5 21.e3 Re8 22.Nd2 Trying to exchange some of black's active pieces. 22. ... Bxg2 23.Kxg2 Qb7 24.Bxe5 Bxe5 25.Nc4 a4 By this point we are both down to under a minute, so it basically becomes a blitz game. It's all still level. 26.Nxe5 dxe5 27.bxa4 Ra8 28.a5 Qb5 29.Rd6 Rxa5 30.Qc3 Rxa2 31.Qxc6 Qxc6+ 32.Rxc6 (D)

Another rook endgame! You would be forgiven for thinking that nothing interesting could possibly happen from this position. However, we both were down to about 15 seconds (still with the +3 second increment), and the funny thing is I think both of us were still playing for a win. Black's rooks are more active, but there isn't a way to really crack white's position, unless I blunder...

32. ... Rbb2 33.Rc3 Kind of with the idea of e3-e4, although I am not sure I really want to play that now because of ...Re2. 33. ... e4!? Either way, my opponent believed me. Now I actually get a target to attack. 34.g4 Trying to discourage black from uniting his pawns with f7-f5. Now we shuffle around a lot. 34. ... Ra4 35.Kg3 Kg7 36.Rfc1 Raa2 37.Rf1 Ra4 38.Rc5 Rd2 39.h3 h6 40.Rfc1 Raa2 41.Rf1 Ra4 42.h4 Rb2 43.Rfc1 Raa2 44.Rf1 Ra6 Black now tries to reposition his rook. 45.Rc4 Re6 46.Rd1!? Rf6! (D)

I have to say I missed that one. We are basically just playing an over-the-board bullet game at this point, with only the 3 second increment each move. In the few seconds I had I didn't notice that black actually has two threats to win a pawn!

47.Rf1?! (47.Rxe4 Rfxf2 48.Rf4 is arguably easier for white to defend) 47. ... Rf3+ 48.Kg2 Rxe3 (D)

Black has stolen a pawn. Here I made a split-second decision to force a rook trade, which I thought would make my defensive task easier. That was a good idea on my part, but I didn't execute it in the best way.

49.Rb4!? I didn't consider the other option of 49.Rb1! which is a much cleaner solution, getting rid of my passive rook. Black even would have a chance to lose there after 49. ... Rbe2?? 50.Kf1!+-.

49. ... Rxb4 50.fxe3 This is still a draw, but now it gets tougher, especially with no time to think. 50. ... Rb3 51.Kf2 f5 52.gxf5 gxf5 53.Rg1+ Kf6 (D)

The best technique here would be to right away get the rook active to hit one of black's weaknesses, the pawn on h6. This can be done with 54.Ra1!, intending 54. ... Kg6 55.Ra6+ Kh5 56.Rf6 Kg4 57.Rg6+!= (only move). I had the right idea, but unfortunately the way I chose to carry it out blunders my e3 pawn.

54.h5? I simply missed or forgot about the possibility now of 54. ... Rb2+! 55.Kg3 Re2 56.Kf4 Rf2+ 57.Kg3 Rf3+ which is winning for black.

54. ... Ke5? (D) Returning the favor.

55.Rg8? The comedy of errors continues. This is a completely ridiculous move, explainable only by the fact that I have 10 seconds on my clock. 55.Rg6 should draw easily, always meeting Rb2+ with Kf1/e1.

55. ... Rb2+ 56.Kg1 I realized now that otherwise black will simply play ...Rh2, picking up the h5 pawn. 56. ... Re2 57.Rg3 (D) Now it is black's turn to make a mistake with under 10 seconds!

Black can win just by marching the king to d3. After 57. ... Kd5! there is literally nothing white can do. 58.Kf1 Rh2-+, and otherwise the best I can do is trade h6 for e3, when the resulting position is winning for black with two connected passers vs. my one passer.

57. ... f4? 58.exf4+ Kxf4 59.Rg6 Now it should be a draw again. 59. ... Re1+ 60.Kf2 Rh1 61.Rxh6 Rh2+ 62.Kg1 Rh4 63.Kg2 Ke3 (D)

White has numerous ways to make a draw. By far the easiest is just to run up with the king to support the h-pawn, preparing to sac the rook for black's e-pawn at the last moment. Somehow I was still entrenched in the pure "defense" mindset and the thought of playing actively with my king didn't occur to me.

64.Kg3 Rh1 65.Kg2!? (65.Kg4 Ke2 66.Kg5 e3 67.Re6 is much simpler) 65. ... Rh4 66.Kg3 Rh1 67.Kg2 Ra1 68.Re6!? Another strange decision. Much easier is 68.Rh8! Kd2 69.h6 when now black even has to be careful. 68. ... Kd3 69.h6 Ra7 70.Kf2 Rf7+ 71.Ke1 (71.Kg3! e3 72.Kg4 e2 73.Kg5) 71. ... Ke3 72.Ra6 Kf3 73.Ra3+ e3 74.Rb3 Rf6 (D)

If you calmly look at the position for a few seconds, it will quickly become clear that white will still draw this trivially after a move like 75.Rb8! Rxh6 76.Rf8+ (the Philidor technique). This is of course something I am familiar with, but somehow my brain didn't recognize that pattern quickly enough in this specific case with the h6-pawn. Both of us had been about to flag for the last 50 or so moves, and here I make the last comical blunder: 75.h7?? Rh6-+ (D)

Whoops! Now it is just game over. 76.Kd1 Rxh7 77.Rb8 e2+ 78.Kd2 Rd7+ 0-1

An very well-played game by my opponent. Except for his one opening imprecision with 11. ... Be6?! and our back-and-forth mistakes in the time scramble, I don't think he made a single inaccuracy giving me a chance for an advantage. In the future, I will have a better idea of how to meet 8. ... Qb6.

I think it is also interesting for me to note how my split-second intuition never led me to consider ditching passive defense with my king on moves 65 and 71, and to instead run up the support my own h-pawn. That would have been far easier than what I did in the game.

Game Analysis: 2026 Mid-America Open, Round 1

Continuing our series of looking at my games from the 2026 Mid-America Open, we have a quick one today. In the first round of the event I managed to win a miniature against an expert.

Previously we've covered rounds 3, 4 and 5 from this event.

Paciorkowski, Lev (2446) - Boaz, Ben (2051)
2026 Mid-America Open, St. Louis, MO (Rd. 1)
G/60 d10

To fit all the games in one weekend, the tournament used a faster time control in the first two rounds of one hour with a ten-second delay.

1.Nf3 e6 2.g3 f5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.0-0 d5!? (D)

A Stonewall Dutch! Actually, one advantage of starting with Nf3-g3-Bg2 is that in particular against the Stonewall, white does not need to play d2-d4, but instead has a stronger plan of playing for a quick e2-e4 break which is what I tried to go for in the game.

Although I did win quickly with 5.d3!? here, I will be nitpicky and point out an even more precise way for white to play that begins with 5.c4! c6 and only now 6.d3 (D)

This position scores over 70% for white according to my database. The point of including c2-c4 is that black's central formation will come under even more pressure after later including e2-e4. I will not delve into all the details here, only to say that after the most commonly played 6. ... Bd6!? (which I think is already slightly imprecise) 7.Nc3 0-0 8.e4+/- black just doesn't have a good way of keeping the tension in the position (e.g., 8. ... fxe4 9.dxe4 dxe4 10.Ng5+/- already scores in the 80-90% range for white). In light of this, I honestly think the Stonewall just is not a viable setup against Nf3-g3-Bg2, if white knows about this most critical line (which I definitely will know for next time).

In the game, after my 5.d3!? we continued 5. ... Bd6 6.Nbd2 (6.c4!) 6. ... 0-0 7.Re1 (I had come to the realization that 7.e4!? fxe4 8.dxe4 dxe4 9.Ng5 e3! 10.fxe3+= really isn't that impressive for white, which is one reason why the knight is much better on c3 than on d2, as we could then take with the bishop on e3 to avoid ruining our pawn structure.) 7. ... e5 (7. ... f4!? deserved attention) 8.e4 fxe4 (don't blink; this game is already halfway over...) 9.dxe4 d4 (D)

This position we got out of the opening is unusual and perfectly playable for black, in my opinion.

10.Nc4 (I actually did not even consider 10.Nxd4!? dxe4 11.e5 here, although I later thought about this idea.) 10. ... Qe7!? I think this is the start of black's problems. 10. ... Nc6 is a much healthier developing move. I thought for about 13 minutes before playing 11.c3 (D)

My intention was 11. ... dxc3 12.Qb3 Kh8 13.bxc3 which I thought would be comfortable for white. That perhaps may be true, but objectively black would be doing fine there after 13. ... Nc6 or 13. ... Nbd7.

However, my opponent played a much more ambitious move that, perhaps surprisingly, turns out to be the decisive mistake.

11. ... c5? Although it would be nice to keep the cramping pawn on d4, unfortunately black's position is just not well developed enough to support such an extension. As invariably happens in the Dutch, the open diagonal to the king on g8 will turn out to play an important role.

12.b4! (D) I played this quickly. During the game I only thought white would be much better, but black's position is in fact just collapsing.

12. ... Nc6?! not the most resilient, but the position is very difficult. During the game I had seen after 12. ... b6 I have at the very least 13.Nxd6 Qxd6 14.bxc5 bxc5 15.cxd4 cxd4 (15. ... exd4 16.e5+-) 16.Qb3+ Be6 17.Ba3 Qa6 18.Qb2 Rc8 19.Nxe5+- when white wins a pawn, gets the bishop pair, and will likely pick up d4 later as well. The engine confirms that is indeed winning for white.

I also had considered 12. ... Bc7 for black, which is what the engine wants to play. There I saw 13.bxc5 Qxc5 (otherwise black just lost a pawn for nothing) 14.Bf1!?+- threatening Ba3 and still triple attacking the d4 pawn. White wins material there.

After 12. ... Nc6 the game ended quickly: 13.Nxd6 Qxd6 14.bxc5 Qxc5 15.Qb3+ Kh8 16.Ba3 1-0 Black resigned as he is losing a full rook.

Actually, my opponent went on to have a really good tournament after this game, ultimately finishing with 3.5/5 and a performance over 2300, gaining 40+ rating points.

Next time though, I will know to play 5.c4! c6 6.d3 against the Stonewall.