[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.29"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Baburin, Alexander"]
[Black "Anand Kumar, S."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2413"]
[BlackElo "1926"]
[WhiteICU "2369"]
[WhiteClub "Kilkenny"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IND"]
[WhiteFideId "2500914"]
[BlackFideId "5011108"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[ECO "E06"]
[Opening "Catalan"]
[Variation "closed, 5.Nf3"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B">https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. } { Other information: Note: <a
href="../baburin-anandkumar-sligo-2022.jpeg">Photo</a> of game in progress,
via Sligo C.C. web site. }

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O c6 7. Qc2 Ne4 8.
b3 Nd7 9. Bb2 f5 10. Nbd2 Nxd2 11. Qxd2 Nf6 12. Qc1 Qa5 13. Ne5 Ng4 14.
Nxg4 fxg4 15. e4 dxc4 16. Qxc4 Kh8 17. e5 c5 18. Bc3 Qb6 19. Rad1 Rb8 20.
dxc5 Qxc5 21. Qxc5 Bxc5 22. Bd4 Bb4 23. Bxa7 Ra8 24. Be3 Rxa2 25. Rd4 Bc3
26. Rxg4 b5 27. Bc5 Rd8 28. Bd6 b4 29. Rb1 Ba6 30. Bf1 Bb7 31. Bc4 Rda8 32.
Rf4 g5 33. Rf7 Be4 34. Rf1 Ra1 35. Rf8+ Rxf8 36. Rxa1 Bxa1 37. Bxf8 Bxe5
38. Bxb4 Bf5 39. Bc5 Kg7 40. b4 Bb8 41. f3 h5 42. Kf2 Kf6 43. b5 Bg6 44. b6
Be8 45. Bd4+ Ke7 46. Ke3 h4 47. f4 hxg3 48. hxg3 gxf4+ 49. gxf4 Bc6 50. Be5
Bd6 51. Kd4 (51. Ba6 $18 ({ or } 51. Bxd6+ Kxd6 52. Ba6 $18)) 51... Bb7 52.
Bd3 $2 ({ White slips at the final hurdle. } 52. Bxd6+ $1 Kxd6 53. Bd3 {
wins. }) 52... Ba3 $10 53. Be4 Bc5+ 54. Kxc5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.29"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "O'Cuilleanain, Oisin"]
[Black "Doluhanova, Evgeniya"]
[Result "0-1"]
[BlackTitle "WGM"]
[WhiteElo "1868"]
[BlackElo "2280"]
[WhiteICU "1524"]
[WhiteClub "Bray/Greystones"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "UKR"]
[WhiteFideId "2514249"]
[BlackFideId "14112035"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[ECO "E32"]
[Opening "Nimzo-Indian"]
[Variation "classical variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B)"]
[WhiteFullName "O'Cuilleanain, Ois&iacute;n"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B">https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 Ne4 7. Qc2 d5
8. Bf4 c6 9. e3 Nd7 10. Bd3 f5 11. h4 Ndf6 12. f3 Nd6 13. c5 Nf7 14. g4 Qe7
15. O-O-O fxg4 16. fxg4 e5 17. g5 exf4 18. gxf6 Qxf6 19. Bxh7+ Kh8 20. Rf1
Qh6 21. Bg6 fxe3 22. Kb1 Bg4 23. Bxf7 Bh5 24. Nf3 Rxf7 25. Ne5 Rf6 26. Qc1
Rxf1 27. Rxf1 e2 28. Re1 Rf8 29. Qxh6+ gxh6 30. Kc2 Kh7 31. Nd3 Rf1 32. Kd2
Kg6 33. b4 Kf5 34. Ke3 a6 35. a4 Bg4 36. Kd2 Ke4 37. Nc1 Rxe1 38. Kxe1 Kxd4
39. Nb3+ Kc3 40. Na5 d4 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.29"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Flynn, Jacob"]
[Black "Putar, Leon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2185"]
[BlackElo "1841"]
[WhiteICU "2144"]
[BlackICU "1957"]
[WhiteClub "Malahide"]
[BlackClub "St. Benildus"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "2509393"]
[BlackFideId "14546612"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[ECO "E60"]
[Opening "King's Indian, 3.Nf3"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Jacob Flynn; Lichess (https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B)"]
[Annotator "Flynn, Jacob"]

{ Annotator: Jacob Flynn. } { Source: Jacob Flynn, via Craig DuBose;
Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B">https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. e3 { I was not sure what to do against my
opponent's Grunfeld defence. I remembered this option at the board and
decided for it. } 4... O-O 5. Be2 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. e4 Nb6 { I wasn't
familiar with the correct move order if black insists on d5 without my
knight committed to c3. White has many options here. } 8. h3 { I went for
the ambitious 8. h3 to stop Bg4, however since white has wasted a move on
going e3 and then e4, it may be too ambitious to play h3 before developing
the rest of the pieces and castling. } 8... c5 9. d5 e6 10. Nc3 exd5 11.
exd5 Re8 12. O-O { This sequence of moves seemed critical to me and now
black must decide whether to accept the pawn offered. It looks risky for
black but I wasn't happy at the board, I felt that black can accept the
pawn and be better with accurate play. } 12... Bxc3 13. bxc3 Nxd5 ({ I was
surprised to see 13. Nxd5. I was more concerned about } 13... Qxd5 { as I
felt like I must avoid all endgames here. After Qxd5 it seemed to me that I
would have to make some compromises to keep the queens on, I perhaps
intended } 14. Bd2 { after Qxd5. }) 14. Bd3 { I thought for quite a while
before this move. It seems odd to put the bishop on this diagonal where it
is blunted by the pawns. However, electing to place the bishop on the
desirable c4 square allows nb6 in response. I thought if I can get my
pieces out fast here (queen on c2, bishop on b5 or b2 etc) I might have
close to enough compensation to be equal. } 14... b6 ({ A mistake. We both
thought } 14... Nc6 { would be a better move after the game. b6 is too
weakening before developing the pieces, some tactics begin to appear in the
position. }) 15. Bg5 f6 { Here I could sense that the tide had swung my
way, black has created too many weaknesses and my pieces are ready to jump
into action. } 16. Bc4 Be6 17. Re1 { If I can eliminate the light squared
bishop the weaknesses that black created with f6 and b6 will leave white
with a decisive initiative. } 17... Kf7 { Kf7 seems the most resilient
attempt. } 18. Rxe6 ({ &#91;RR } 18. Bh6 $18 { is also winning.&#93; })
18... Rxe6 ({ Definitely black should try } 18... Kxe6 { instead but I was
ready to play } 19. Qb3 { in response, preparing to bring the a1 rook into
the attack. After Qb3 I calculated some forcing variations that all seemed
to lead to a decisive advantage for white, however these were less obvious
than the ones after Rxe6. }) ({ &#91;RR ( } 18... Kxe6 { ) } 19. Qb3 $18 ({
and } 19. Bh6 $18 { are winning, but the most precise seems to be } (19.
Qa4 $3)) { .&#91; }) 19. Qxd5 Qxd5 20. Bxd5 Nc6 21. Re1 Re8 22. Rxe6 Rxe6
23. Be3 g5 24. Bxg5 fxg5 25. Nxg5+ Kf6 26. Nxe6 { I was happy with my play
after a point but my opponent was not in good shape due to an optical
injury he sustained in the sauna prior to the game. I think on a better day
for him he might have punished my complacent play in the opening. } 1-0

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.29"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Putar, Lara"]
[Black "Cabanas Jimenez, Manuel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1827"]
[BlackElo "2122"]
[WhiteICU "1883"]
[WhiteClub "St. Benildus"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "ESP"]
[WhiteFideId "2514249"]
[BlackFideId "2268647"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[ECO "D77"]
[Opening "Neo-Gruenfeld, 6.O-O"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B)"]
[BlackFullName "Caba&ntilde;as Jimenez, Manuel"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B">https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. O-O dxc4 7. Nc3 Nbd7
8. e4 c6 9. a4 e5 10. dxe5 Ng4 11. e6 fxe6 12. Bh3 Nde5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14.
Qxd8 Rxd8 15. f4 Nd3 16. e5 Bf8 17. Ne4 Be7 18. Rd1 b6 19. Rb1 Kf7 20. Be3
Ba6 21. Nd2 Nxb2 22. Rxb2 c3 23. Rc2 Be2 24. Rxc3 Bxd1 25. Rxc6 Bxa4 26.
Bxe6+ Ke8 27. Rc7 Bd7 28. Bd5 Rac8 29. Rxa7 Bh3 30. Bc4 Rxd2 31. Bb5+ Bd7
32. Rxd7 Rxd7 33. e6 Rb8 34. Bxd7+ Kf8 35. g4 Bc5 36. Bxc5+ bxc5 37. Kf2
Rb3 38. Ke2 Ke7 39. h4 Rg3 40. g5 Rh3 41. Bc8 c4 42. Ba6 c3 43. Bd3 Rh2+
44. Kd1 Rd2+ 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.29"]
[Round "1.5"]
[White "Esteve Sanchez, Sergio"]
[Black "Liu, Jason"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2017"]
[BlackElo "1724"]
[BlackICU "1586"]
[WhiteNationality "ESP"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "22221913"]
[BlackFideId "2514656"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[ECO "A01"]
[Opening "Nimzovich-Larsen attack"]
[Variation "classical variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B">https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. b3 d5 2. Bb2 c6 3. e3 Qc7 4. f4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. Ne5 Bxe2
8. Qxe2 e6 9. O-O Bd6 10. Nxd7 Qxd7 11. c4 Qe7 12. Be5 O-O 13. d4 Ne4 14.
Bxd6 Qxd6 15. Nd2 Nxd2 16. Qxd2 f6 17. c5 Qc7 18. b4 e5 19. e4 Rad8 20.
fxe5 fxe5 21. Rxf8+ Rxf8 22. exd5 cxd5 23. dxe5 Qxe5 24. Re1 Qf5 25. h3 h6
26. a4 Kh8 27. Qd4 Qf4 28. Rd1 Qxd4+ 29. Rxd4 Rd8 30. Kf2 Kg8 31. Ke3 g5
32. Rg4 Kf7 33. Kd4 Ke6 34. Rg3 Rf8 35. Re3+ Kd7 36. Kxd5 Rf5+ 37. Kd4 Rf4+
38. Re4 Rf2 39. Rg4 Ra2 40. h4 Rxa4 41. Kd5 gxh4 42. Rg7+ Kc8 43. Rg8+ Kc7
44. Rg7+ Kc8 45. b5 Ra1 46. Rg8+ Kc7 47. Rg7+ Kc8 48. Kd4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.29"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Ivanov, Andrey"]
[Black "Morriss, Pete"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1694"]
[BlackElo "2017"]
[WhiteICU "1555"]
[BlackICU "1781"]
[WhiteClub "Malahide"]
[BlackClub "Galway"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "2514311"]
[BlackFideId "2500230"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[ECO "B10"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann"]
[Variation "two knights variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B">https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6 6. d4 Bg4 7. c3 e6
8. Bf4 Bd6 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. g3 Nd7 11. Bg2 O-O-O 12. Qa4 Kb8 13. O-O-O Nb6
14. Qb3 h5 15. Rde1 $6 (15. Rd2 $10) 15... c5 $5 16. Nd2 $2 (16. Qa3 $15)
16... cxd4 $19 17. Nc4 Qc5 18. Nxb6 Qxb6 19. Qc2 Bf5 20. Be4 Bxe4 21. Rxe4
f5 22. Ree1 h4 23. Kb1 Rc8 24. Ka1 Qc6 25. Rc1 dxc3 26. bxc3 h3 27. Rhd1
Rhd8 28. Rd2 a6 29. Qd1 Rxd2 30. Qxd2 Qg2 31. Rb1 Qxh2 32. Qd6+ Ka8 33. Qd7
Rb8 34. Qd6 Qg2 35. Rb6 Qf1+ 36. Kb2 h2 37. c4 h1=Q 38. Ka3 Qxc4 39. g4
Qhc1+ 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.29"]
[Round "1.7"]
[White "Toon, James M. G."]
[Black "Mize, Dylan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[BlackElo "1603"]
[WhiteLocal "ECF:2011"]
[WhiteClub "Guildford ENG"]
[WhiteNationality "ENG"]
[BlackNationality "USA"]
[WhiteFideId "343401392"]
[BlackFideId "30932599"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[ECO "A36"]
[Opening "English"]
[Variation "symmetrical, Botvinnik system"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B">https://lichess.org/broadcast/the-sligo-spring-tournament-2022--master/round-1/QVm7N13B</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. } { Other information: Note: This game won the Best Game prize.
}

1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. e4 Nf6 6. Nge2 O-O 7. O-O Ne8 8.
d3 Nc7 9. Be3 Ne6 10. Rb1 d6 11. a3 a5 12. f4 Ned4 13. h3 Bd7 14. g4 e6 15.
Ng3 Kh8 16. g5 f5 17. exf5 Nxf5 18. Nxf5 exf5 19. Nb5 Be6 20. b3 Qd7 21. d4
cxd4 22. Nxd4 d5 23. Nxe6 Qxe6 24. Bc5 Rfd8 25. Bxd5 Qc8 26. Qd2 Qc7 27.
Qf2 Rac8 28. Rbd1 Re8 29. b4 axb4 30. axb4 Ne7 31. Be6 Rcd8 32. Bb6 Rxd1
33. Bxc7 Bd4 34. Qxd4+ 1-0

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Doluhanova, Evgeniya"]
[Black "Toon, James M. G."]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteTitle "WGM"]
[WhiteElo "2280"]
[BlackLocal "ECF:2011"]
[BlackClub "Guildford ENG"]
[WhiteNationality "UKR"]
[BlackNationality "ENG"]
[WhiteFideId "14112035"]
[BlackFideId "343401392"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[ECO "B10"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann"]
[Variation "closed (Breyer) variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/iLmHDyey)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/iLmHDyey">https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/iLmHDyey</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. dxe4 Qxd1+ 5. Nxd1 Nf6 6. e5 Nd5 7. c4 Nc7
8. Ne3 g6 9. Bd2 Bg7 10. Bc3 Nd7 11. f4 Nc5 12. b4 Na4 13. Bd2 O-O 14. Nf3
Rd8 15. Be2 Ne6 16. g3 Nd4 17. Nxd4 Rxd4 18. O-O-O Be6 19. Kc2 f6 20. exf6
Bxf6 21. Bc1 Nc3 22. Bg4 Bxg4 23. Rxd4 Bf3 24. Rf1 Bxd4 25. Rxf3 a5 26.
bxa5 Rxa5 27. Kd3 Bg7 $2 (27... Rxa2 28. Kxd4 Ne2+ $15) 28. Bd2 Rxa2 $2 (
28... b5 $16) 29. Bxc3 $18 Ra3 30. Nd1 b5 31. cxb5 cxb5 32. Ke2 Bxc3 33.
Nxc3 b4 34. Nb1 Ra2+ 35. Nd2 h6 36. Rb3 g5 37. fxg5 hxg5 38. Rxb4 Kf7 39.
Rb5 Kg6 40. Ke3 Ra1 41. Nf3 Ra3+ 42. Ke4 1-0

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Cabanas Jimenez, Manuel"]
[Black "Flynn, Jacob"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2122"]
[BlackElo "2185"]
[BlackICU "2144"]
[BlackClub "Malahide"]
[WhiteNationality "ESP"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "2268647"]
[BlackFideId "2509393"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[ECO "C44"]
[Opening "Ponziani"]
[Variation "Steinitz variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Jacob Flynn, via Craig DuBose"]
[Annotator "Flynn, Jacob"]
[WhiteFullName "Caba&ntilde;as Jimenez, Manuel"]

{ Annotator: Jacob Flynn. } { Source: Jacob Flynn, via Craig DuBose. } {
Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5 { My opponent had games in the database in
both this line and the King's Gambit. I knew if I prepared thoroughly I
could get an advantage in either line, so it was a busy morning. } 4. Qa4
f6 5. Bb5 Ne7 6. d3 { I was not familiar with this plan. I recalled from my
preparation that if white wants to meet the d5 f6 plan with d3 to hold the
centre in Philidor style, then they should leave the light squared bishop
on e2. White has played c3 and weakened the light squares, yet this setup
forces them to part with the light squared bishop in due course. } 6... Be6
7. O-O a6 8. Bxc6+ Nxc6 9. Be3 Qd7 { Of course here I knew I should be
clearly better. Black has to watch out for d4 but the opening has been a
big success. } 10. Rd1 Rd8 { Long castles was a big option here for me, but
I didn't feel it was necessary. I liked Rd8 just to discourage any d4 plans
further. } 11. Nbd2 d4 { White seems to be angling to control the c5 square
at some point with a well timed exd5 and Ne4. This is why I felt it was the
right time to take direct action in the centre and change the structure. }
12. cxd4 exd4 13. Bf4 g5 14. Bg3 h5 15. h4 g4 16. Ne1 Ne5 { This was what I
had in mind when I went d4. I perhaps overestimated how useful my knight
would be on e5. It seemed like a good square but it leaves white with some
f4 options and white was never really going to go e5 anyway. It also gives
white the option to take on e5, which becomes a very serious option in some
lines. } 17. Qxd7+ Rxd7 18. b3 { My opponent offered a draw here. The draw
offer would be maybe a good idea vs a lower rated opponent but it only
served to annoy me really, of course black should play for a win here. }
18... Kf7 { Maybe the draw offer destabilised me, because I couldn't quite
figure out a plan to proceed. I was slow to realise that my Ne5 move had
been counter-productive and that I should go Nc6 back. Kf7 gives me the
option to swing my other rook at some point but it is a bit slow. I didn't
know how to proceed so it just acted as a semi-useful passing move, to
allow him to think and then react. } 19. Rac1 Bh6 { I wasn't convinced that
this diagonal was the best home for my dark squared bishop. I thought I
could annoy him with this move and buy some time to get in some ideas of my
own. } 20. Rc2 Nc6 { Now that I've forced his rook to c2 I can hint at
targeting it with this Nc6 move. At this point I'm starting to find my feet
again and put him on the back foot. } 21. Nc4 f5 { This is the move that I
was the most proud of. White cannot allow f4 so has to make some
compromise. I realised that instead of blockading the e5 square I should
just give it up and open some lines for my bishop pair and rooks. Once the
position opens up more white is very badly co-ordinated, and weaknesses
appear. When it was more closed with my knight on e5, white was able to
hold things together. } 22. Ne5+ Nxe5 23. Bxe5 Rc8 24. f4 Bf8 { I played
this move quite quickly. The f4 move has closed the diagonal and fixed the
white bishop to a pretty useless square on e5. Now I can transfer my bishop
to the weakened queenside dark squares, squares that the white bishop
cannot contest from e5. } 25. Rdc1 c6 { c6 is a bit slow but at this point
I knew I didn't need to rush, I just needed to keep the pressure and keep
white passive, white doesn't have many ideas other than to wait and then
react. } 26. Kf2 Ra8 { This is a good move practically because it hints at
a5 a4 without committing to anything or weakening my position. I just give
my opponent a problem to solve and allow him the chance to hurt his own
position. } 27. Rb1 Be7 28. g3 c5 { The engine likes Bb4 first instead of
c5 locking my bishop out. This is understandable, but I was happy enough
with this more straightforward plan. } 29. Rd2 { This move is a sign that
my opponent is just hanging on for dear life. At this point I just need to
turn the dial up until his position melts without allowing any cheap
tricks. } 29... a5 30. a4 b5 { This move is the key move to break through.
White will have critically vulnerable targets and my c4 and a4 breaks will
be constantly irritating. } 31. Nc2 Rb7 32. exf5 Bxf5 33. axb5 Rxb5 34. Na3
Rb4 35. Nc2 Rb7 36. Ke2 { After a natural sequence it's time for me to
break through. } 36... a4 37. Na1 c4 { I knew after this move with my
opponent's knight dead on a1, it would be very difficult to mess this up. }
38. Bxd4 axb3 39. Bc3 Rd7 40. Rbd1 Rxd3 41. Rxd3 Bxd3+ 42. Rxd3 cxd3+ 43.
Kxd3 Rb8 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Morriss, Pete"]
[Black "Baburin, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2017"]
[BlackElo "2413"]
[WhiteICU "1781"]
[BlackICU "2369"]
[WhiteClub "Galway"]
[BlackClub "Kilkenny"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "2500230"]
[BlackFideId "2500914"]
[PlyCount "38"]
[ECO "A00"]
[Opening "Polish (Sokolsky) opening"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/dLYhcpx7)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/dLYhcpx7">https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/dLYhcpx7</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. b4 e5 2. Bb2 Bxb4 3. Bxe5 Nf6 4. a3 Ba5 5. c4 O-O 6. e3 Re8 7. Nf3 d5 8.
cxd5 Nxd5 9. Be2 c5 10. O-O Nc6 11. Bg3 Be6 12. d4 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14.
Qxd4 Nc3 15. Bf3 Qxd4 16. exd4 Nd5 17. a4 Rad8 18. Na3 Bb6 19. Nb5 a6
1/2-1/2

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Anand Kumar, S."]
[Black "Esteve Sanchez, Sergio"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1926"]
[BlackElo "2017"]
[WhiteNationality "IND"]
[BlackNationality "ESP"]
[WhiteFideId "5011108"]
[BlackFideId "22221913"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[ECO "D47"]
[Opening "QGD semi-Slav"]
[Variation "Meran, Wade variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/1hYkIfDv)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/1hYkIfDv">https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/1hYkIfDv</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8.
Bd3 Bb7 9. O-O a6 10. b3 c5 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Qe2 cxd4 13. exd4 Nd5 14. Nxd5
Bxd5 15. Rac1 Rc8 16. Bb1 O-O 17. Rfd1 Nf6 18. Ne5 Rxc1 19. Rxc1 Qa8 20. f3
Rc8 21. Qd2 Qb7 22. Rc2 Bd6 23. Qd3 Rxc2 24. Bxc2 Qc7 25. Bb1 g6 26. Qd2
Kg7 27. Qe3 Ng8 28. g3 Qb7 29. Kf2 Qc7 30. Bc1 a5 31. Bd2 a4 32. b4 Bxe5
33. Qxe5+ Qxe5 34. dxe5 Ne7 35. a3 Bc4 36. g4 Nc6 37. f4 Kf8 38. Be4 Nb8
39. Ke3 Nd7 40. Kd4 Ke8 41. h4 Be2 42. f5 Bc4 43. h5 gxh5 44. fxe6 fxe6 45.
gxh5 Nf8 46. Bh6 Be2 47. Bxf8 Kxf8 48. Bxh7 Bxh5 49. Bd3 1-0

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "2.5"]
[White "Liu, Jason"]
[Black "O'Cuilleanain, Oisin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1724"]
[BlackElo "1868"]
[WhiteICU "1586"]
[BlackICU "1524"]
[BlackClub "Bray/Greystones"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "2514656"]
[BlackFideId "2514249"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[ECO "B90"]
[Opening "Sicilian"]
[Variation "Najdorf, Lipnitzky attack"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/VdVEIKHA)"]
[BlackFullName "O'Cuilleanain, Ois&iacute;n"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/1hYkIfDv">https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/1hYkIfDv</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Be3 b5 8.
Bb3 b4 9. Na4 Nxe4 10. Nf3 Nd7 11. Bd5 exd5 12. Qxd5 Rb8 13. Qxe4+ Be7 14.
Bd4 O-O 15. O-O Nf6 16. Qd3 Bd7 17. Qb3 Qa5 18. Nb6 Rxb6 19. Bxb6 Qxb6 20.
Rfe1 Bd8 21. Rad1 a5 22. Qd3 Be6 23. Nd4 d5 24. Qe3 Ne4 25. Qd3 Bf6 26. f3
Nd6 27. Kh1 Bxd4 28. Qxd4 Qxd4 29. Rxd4 Rc8 30. Re2 Kf8 31. Kg1 Rc5 32. g4
Ke7 33. Kf2 Nc4 34. f4 Kd6 35. f5 Bd7 36. c3 bxc3 37. bxc3 Ne5 38. Red2 Bc6
39. Rc2 a4 40. h3 a3 41. Kg3 Nc4 42. h4 Rb5 43. Rf4 Rb2 44. Rff2 Ba4 45.
Rce2 Bd1 46. Re1 Bxg4 47. Rxb2 axb2 48. Kxg4 Nd2 49. f6 gxf6 50. Kf5 b1=Q+
51. Rxb1 Nxb1 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "2.6"]
[White "Putar, Leon"]
[Black "Ivanov, Andrey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1841"]
[BlackElo "1694"]
[WhiteICU "1957"]
[BlackICU "1555"]
[WhiteClub "St. Benildus"]
[BlackClub "Malahide"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "14546612"]
[BlackFideId "2514311"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[ECO "B27"]
[Opening "Sicilian"]
[Variation "Hungarian variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/HsRPxNlV)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/1hYkIfDv">https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/1hYkIfDv</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. c3 Bg7 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 d5 6. exd5 Nf6 7. Nc3 Nxd5
8. Bc4 e6 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Qc7 12. Qe2 Nc6 13. Rac1 b6 14.
Rfd1 Bb7 15. d5 Na5 16. Bb5 Bxd5 17. c4 Bc6 18. Qe3 Qb7 19. Bxc6 Nxc6 20.
c5 bxc5 21. Qxc5 Rac8 22. Qd6 h6 23. Be3 Rfd8 24. Qf4 Ne7 25. Qa4 Rxc1 26.
Rxc1 Nd5 27. Bd4 Nf4 28. Bxg7 Ne2+ 29. Kh1 Nxc1 30. Bxh6 Nd3 31. Qc2 Qc8
32. Qe2 Qc3 33. h3 Qb2 34. Qe3 Nxf2+ 35. Kh2 Qb8+ 36. Bf4 Qb6 37. Qc3 Qb1
38. Qe5 Qf5 39. Qc7 Re8 40. Be5 Ne4 41. Nd4 Qg5 42. Bf4 Qd8 43. Qc4 Qd5 44.
Qa4 Rc8 45. Nf3 Nc5 46. Qxa7 Qb7 47. Qa5 Nd3 48. Bg3 Rc2 49. Qd8+ Kg7 50.
Qxd3 Rxa2 51. Qd4+ f6 52. Qc3 e5 53. h4 e4 54. Nd4 e3 55. Ne6+ Kh7 56. Nf4
Qe7 57. Nd5 Rxg2+ 58. Kh1 Rf2 $4 ({ An unfortunate end. } 58... Qb7 59.
Nxf6+ Kh6 60. Ne4 { (threatening mate) } 60... Kh7 61. Kxg2 Qxe4+ { and
it's not evident how White will make any progress. }) 59. Nxe7 1-0

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "2.7"]
[White "Mize, Dylan"]
[Black "Putar, Lara"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1603"]
[BlackElo "1827"]
[BlackICU "1883"]
[BlackClub "St. Benildus"]
[WhiteNationality "USA"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "30932599"]
[BlackFideId "2514249"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[ECO "D74"]
[Opening "Neo-Gruenfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/Jt1wVZUu)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/1hYkIfDv">https://lichess.org/study/WZpM36bH/1hYkIfDv</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. O-O Nc6
8. Nc3 Nb6 9. e3 e5 10. d5 Ne7 11. e4 h6 12. Qb3 c6 13. Rd1 cxd5 14. exd5
Bg4 15. h3 Bxf3 16. Bxf3 Nf5 17. Ne2 Re8 18. Bg2 Rc8 19. Bd2 Nd4 20. Nxd4
exd4 21. Rac1 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Re2 23. Qd3 Re8 24. Ba5 Qg5 25. Bd2 Qf6 26. Qb5
Rd8 27. Bf4 Bf8 28. a4 g5 29. Bd2 a6 30. Qb3 Re8 31. a5 Re2 32. Be1 Nd7 33.
Kf1 Re3 34. Qc2 Nc5 35. Kg1 Rb3 36. Qc4 Rxb2 37. Rd1 d3 38. Qc3 Rxf2 39.
Qxf6 Rxf6 40. Bb4 b6 41. axb6 Rxb6 42. Bxc5 Bxc5+ 43. Kf1 Rf6+ 44. Ke1 Bb4+
45. Rd2 Bxd2+ 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Flynn, Jacob"]
[Black "Doluhanova, Evgeniya"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[BlackTitle "WGM"]
[WhiteElo "2185"]
[BlackElo "2280"]
[WhiteICU "2144"]
[WhiteClub "Malahide"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "UKR"]
[WhiteFideId "2509393"]
[BlackFideId "14112035"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[ECO "E01"]
[Opening "Catalan"]
[Variation "closed"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/jszdGBON)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/jszdGBON">https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/jszdGBON</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Nd2 O-O 6. Nf3 c5 7. dxc5 dxc4
8. O-O Bxc5 9. Nxc4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Anand Kumar, S."]
[Black "Morriss, Pete"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1926"]
[BlackElo "2017"]
[BlackICU "1781"]
[BlackClub "Galway"]
[WhiteNationality "IND"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "5011108"]
[BlackFideId "2500230"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[ECO "D32"]
[Opening "QGD"]
[Variation "Tarrasch defence"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/OKc4sAhk)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/OKc4sAhk">https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/OKc4sAhk</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. exd4 dxc4
8. Bxc4 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Bb5 Nd5 11. Qe2 Bf6 12. Rd1 Nce7 13. Ne5 Qc7 14.
Ng4 Rd8 15. Ne4 Ng6 16. Ngxf6+ gxf6 17. Bh6 Kh8 18. Rac1 Qe7 19. Bc4 b6 20.
Qf3 Bb7 21. Bxd5 Bxd5 22. Qxf6+ Qxf6 23. Nxf6 Bxa2 24. Rc7 Rf8 25. Bxf8
Rxf8 26. Ra1 Kg7 27. Nd7 1-0

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Baburin, Alexander"]
[Black "Putar, Leon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2413"]
[BlackElo "1841"]
[WhiteICU "2369"]
[BlackICU "1957"]
[WhiteClub "Kilkenny"]
[BlackClub "St. Benildus"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "2500914"]
[BlackFideId "14546612"]
[PlyCount "155"]
[ECO "D75"]
[Opening "Neo-Gruenfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O c5, 8.dc"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/81w0r5HC)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/81w0r5HC">https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/81w0r5HC</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. O-O c5 8.
dxc5 Na6 9. Ng5 Nf6 10. Nc3 Nxc5 11. Qxd8 Rxd8 12. Be3 Ne6 13. Rfd1 h6 14.
Rxd8+ Nxd8 15. Rd1 Bf5 16. Nf3 Nc6 17. Nd4 Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Nd7 19. Bxg7 Kxg7
20. Bxb7 Rb8 21. Be4 Be6 22. Bd5 Nc5 23. Bxe6 Nxe6 24. Rd2 Nc5 25. h4 e6
26. Kf1 Kf6 27. Ke1 g5 28. hxg5+ hxg5 29. Kd1 Ke7 30. Kc2 f5 31. Rd4 Rb6
32. b4 Nb7 33. g4 Rc6 34. b5 Rc5 35. gxf5 exf5 36. Ra4 Nd6 37. Rxa7+ Kd8
38. b6 Rc6 39. Rg7 Kc8 40. Kd3 Rxb6 41. Rxg5 Kd7 42. Rg7+ Ke6 43. Re7+ Kxe7
44. Nd5+ Ke6 45. Nxb6 Ne4 46. f3 Nd6 47. a4 Nb7 48. Kd4 Na5 49. Nc4 Nb3+
50. Kc3 Nc1 51. Kd2 Na2 52. a5 Nb4 53. a6 $4 (53. Kc3 Nc6 54. a6 $18) 53...
Nxa6 $14 54. Ke3 Nb4 55. Kf4 Kf6 $2 (55... Nd5+ 56. Kg5 f4 $10) 56. Ne3 $18
Ke6 57. Nxf5 Nd5+ 58. Kg5 Ke5 59. e3 Nc3 60. Ng3 Nd5 61. f4+ Ke6 62. e4 Nf6
63. Kg6 Ng4 64. Nh5 Ke7 65. Kg5 Ne3 66. Ng7 Kf7 67. Nf5 Nc4 68. Nd4 Nd6 69.
e5 Ne4+ 70. Kg4 Kg6 71. f5+ Kf7 72. Nf3 Nf2+ 73. Kf4 Nd3+ 74. Ke3 Nc5 75.
Kd4 Nb7 76. Ng5+ Kg7 77. Kd5 Na5 78. e6 1-0

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "O'Cuilleanain, Oisin"]
[Black "Cabanas Jimenez, Manuel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1868"]
[BlackElo "2122"]
[WhiteICU "1524"]
[WhiteClub "Bray/Greystones"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "ESP"]
[WhiteFideId "2514249"]
[BlackFideId "2268647"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[ECO "A15"]
[Opening "English opening"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/8qUidPlj)"]
[WhiteFullName "O'Cuilleanain, Ois&iacute;n"]
[BlackFullName "Caba&ntilde;as Jimenez, Manuel"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/8qUidPlj">https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/8qUidPlj</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1
Bg7 8. Bf4 c6 9. Nd2 Nd7 10. Kc2 Ne5 11. Be2 b6 12. a4 Be6 13. Rhd1 O-O 14.
Ba6 Rad8 15. Bb7 c5 16. Bxe5 Bxe5 17. Nf3 Bf4 18. h3 Bc4 19. Ng1 Rb8 20.
Bc6 Rfd8 21. g3 Bh6 22. Bb5 Be6 23. f4 a5 24. b3 Bg7 25. Bc4 Bd7 26. Nf3 e6
27. Bb5 Bxb5 28. axb5 c4 29. bxc4 Rdc8 30. Kb3 Rb7 31. Nd4 Bf8 32. Nc6 Bc5
33. Rd3 h5 34. Rad1 Kg7 35. Rd7 Rcc7 36. Ne5 Bf2 37. Rxc7 Rxc7 38. g4 f6
39. Nd3 Bg3 40. Rg1 h4 41. c5 bxc5 42. Kc4 Kf7 43. b6 Rc8 44. b7 Rb8 45.
Rb1 Ke7 46. Nxc5 Bxf4 47. Na6 Rf8 48. b8=Q Bxb8 49. Rxb8 Rxb8 50. Nxb8 Kd6
51. Kb5 g5 52. c4 f5 53. c5+ Ke5 54. Nd7+ Kxe4 55. c6 fxg4 56. hxg4 Kd5 1-0

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "3.5"]
[White "Toon, James M. G."]
[Black "Putar, Lara"]
[Result "0-1"]
[BlackElo "1827"]
[BlackICU "1883"]
[WhiteLocal "ECF:2011"]
[WhiteClub "Guildford ENG"]
[BlackClub "St. Benildus"]
[WhiteNationality "ENG"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "343401392"]
[BlackFideId "2514249"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[ECO "A36"]
[Opening "English"]
[Variation "symmetrical, Botvinnik system"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/es3tUncx)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/es3tUncx">https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/es3tUncx</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. e4 e6 6. Nge2 a6 7. O-O Nge7 8.
d3 O-O 9. Be3 Nd4 10. Rb1 Nec6 11. f4 d6 12. a3 a5 13. h3 f5 14. Bf2 e5 15.
Nd5 Nxe2+ 16. Qxe2 fxe4 17. Qxe4 Bf5 18. Qe2 exf4 19. Nxf4 Nd4 20. Qd1 Qd7
21. Nd5 Rae8 22. Bxd4 Bxd4+ 23. Kh2 Be5 24. Qd2 Qg7 25. b4 axb4 26. axb4 g5
27. bxc5 Bxg3+ 28. Kh1 dxc5 29. Rxb7 Bd7 30. Rbb1 g4 31. hxg4 Bxg4 32. Nc3
Bf4 33. Bd5+ Kh8 34. Rxf4 Qh6+ 35. Qh2 Qxf4 36. Qxf4 Rxf4 37. Kg2 h5 38.
Kg3 Rf6 39. Be4 Ref8 40. Rb5 Rg8 41. Kh4 Bd7 42. Rxc5 Rf4+ 43. Kxh5 Be8+
44. Bg6 Rxg6 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "3.6"]
[White "Esteve Sanchez, Sergio"]
[Black "Mize, Dylan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2017"]
[BlackElo "1603"]
[WhiteNationality "ESP"]
[BlackNationality "USA"]
[WhiteFideId "22221913"]
[BlackFideId "30932599"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[ECO "A01"]
[Opening "Nimzovich-Larsen attack"]
[Variation "Indian variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/CLQcUODZ)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/CLQcUODZ">https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/CLQcUODZ</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. b3 Nf6 2. Bb2 d5 3. e3 Bf5 4. f4 Nbd7 5. Nf3 c6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O h6 8.
Ne5 Nxe5 9. fxe5 Nd7 10. Bg4 Bg6 11. Bh5 Qg5 12. Bxg6 Qxg6 13. Qf3 Be7 14.
d3 O-O 15. Qh3 Qg5 16. d4 Qh4 17. Qxh4 Bxh4 18. Ba3 c5 19. Nc3 Bg5 20. Rf3
f6 21. h4 Bxh4 22. Nb5 fxe5 23. dxc5 Rxf3 24. gxf3 Be7 25. Nc7 Rc8 26. Nxe6
Rc6 27. Nc7 Rxc7 28. c6 Bxa3 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.04.30"]
[Round "3.7"]
[White "Ivanov, Andrey"]
[Black "Liu, Jason"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "1694"]
[BlackElo "1724"]
[WhiteICU "1555"]
[BlackICU "1586"]
[WhiteClub "Malahide"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "2514311"]
[BlackFideId "2514656"]
[PlyCount "14"]
[ECO "C02"]
[Opening "French"]
[Variation "advance, Euwe variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/G8rY0g4t)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/G8rY0g4t">https://lichess.org/study/1eKTakEU/G8rY0g4t</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. a3 Qb6 7. b4 cxd4
1/2-1/2

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Doluhanova, Evgeniya"]
[Black "Anand Kumar, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteTitle "WGM"]
[WhiteElo "2280"]
[BlackElo "1926"]
[WhiteNationality "UKR"]
[BlackNationality "IND"]
[WhiteFideId "14112035"]
[BlackFideId "5011108"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[ECO "B10"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann"]
[Variation "closed (Breyer) variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/CV6JfUjX)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/CV6JfUjX">https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/CV6JfUjX</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_allfiles/pairings_sligo-masters2022.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nc3 d4 4. Nce2 e5 5. f4 Bg4 6. fxe5 Nd7 7. h3 Bh5 8.
Qd2 Bxe2 9. Bxe2 Qh4+ 10. Kf1 Qe7 11. Nf3 c5 12. Qf4 g6 13. Qg3 h6 14. h4
Bg7 15. Bf4 Qe6 16. c3 Qb6 17. cxd4 cxd4 18. Rc1 Ne7 19. Nd2 O-O 20. Nc4
Qa6 21. Kg1 Rac8 22. Kh2 Nc5 23. Nd6 Rc6 24. b4 Ne6 25. b5 Qa5 26. bxc6
Nxf4 27. Nc4 Nxe2 28. Nxa5 Nxg3 29. Kxg3 Bxe5+ 30. Kh3 b6 31. Nb3 Rc8 32.
c7 f5 33. Rhe1 Bf4 34. Rc4 b5 35. Rxd4 g5 36. hxg5 Rxc7 37. exf5 Bxg5 38.
g4 Kf7 39. Re2 Bf6 40. Rd6 Nc8 41. Rd5 Rc3 42. Rd7+ Ne7 43. Kg2 a6 44. d4
Rc4 45. Kf3 Ra4 46. d5 Ke8 47. Rdxe7+ 1-0

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Putar, Lara"]
[Black "Flynn, Jacob"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1827"]
[BlackElo "2185"]
[WhiteICU "1883"]
[BlackICU "2144"]
[WhiteClub "St. Benildus"]
[BlackClub "Malahide"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "2514249"]
[BlackFideId "2509393"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[ECO "E76"]
[Opening "King's Indian"]
[Variation "Four pawns attack, dynamic line"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/4WTN90Ew)"]
[Annotator "Flynn, Jacob"]

{ Source: Jacob Flynn, via Craig DuBose; Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/4WTN90Ew">https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/4WTN90Ew</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_allfiles/pairings_sligo-masters2022.html">Tournament
report</a>. } { Annotator: Jacob Flynn. }

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 g6 { My style is not really suited to crazy
positions with high stakes on every individual move. I thought that with
this g6 move I could copy Magnus and try to set up with Bg7 d6 0-0 and a
well timed e5 move. After this I could try to outplay my opponent in a
position with all of the pieces on. This may have been a poor choice, since
my opponent demonstrated in this game and our last classical game that she
is more than able to keep up with me and find strong moves under pressure
in sharp unbalanced positions. } 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. e4 d6 6. f4 O-O 7. Nf3 { I
had never seen this plan from white before against my g6 move. I was
considering Bg4, b5 and e6 here. I didn't like b5 because axb5 a6 a4 seemed
strong. Bg4 seemed ok but I figured white would get an easy advantage. e6
seemed most critical, attempting to transpose to a favourable benoni line.
} 7... e6 8. Bd3 exd5 9. cxd5 { I knew black must be fine here. It's like
the mainline except white goes Bd3 instead of Bb5 check. There is a line in
the benoni with this exact position except white has a pawn on h3 and the
f4 pawn is on f2. In that position black goes b5 and enters a long sharp
variation with some reasonable chances to hold. I figured the inclusion of
f4 instead of h3 should be favourable for black, not white, in these sharp
lines. } 9... b5 10. Bxb5 Nxe4 11. Nxe4 Qa5+ 12. Kf2 { White makes use of
f4 by tucking the king away. It does look like the king is safe enough but
I knew that I could gain some indirect tempos against it to grow my
initiative, having sacrificed a pawn. } 12... Qxb5 13. Nxd6 Qb6 14. Nxc8
Rxc8 15. Ne5 c4+ 16. Kg3 { I was happy with my compensation here. My play
against b2 combined with the king forced to g3 should give me plenty of
play for my pawn. I considered c3 here but couldn't figure out how to meet
Qb3, of course I don't want to trade c4 for b2 unless it wins by force.
Computer thinks I should meet Qb3 with Qd4, I considered this but couldn't
work out a clear advantage. Maybe I needed to play more critically. } 16...
Qd6 17. Re1 Nd7 18. Nc6 ({ ( } 18. Nc6 { ) } 18... Re8 { was my first
thought but I was too tempted by Bf6. Re8 is better because white struggles
to contest the e file without development of the bishop on c1. The bishop
is tied down to b2. Bf6 is silly because it ties down my bishop to e7 and
allows white to develop theirs. }) 18... Bf6 19. Be3 Nb6 20. Bxb6 axb6 21.
a4 Kg7 ({ This is an odd move. I wanted to free my bishop from e7 but }
21... Re8 { is again preferable and much more active. My bishop will never
find a secure home without the g7 retreat. It becomes a target on f6 later
on. }) 22. Rc1 { Here I understood I have gone wrong somewhere. I was also
getting low on time. } 22... Rxc6 { I talked myself into this sacrifice. I
dreamt of winning the a4 pawn and then targeting b2. I also thought the
king would become weaker without this big block in the centre. } 23. dxc6
Qxc6 24. b3 c3 { I had foreseen all of this so I played c3 immediately,
however I missed that after Qf3 I no longer have a move such as Qxa4, so
now there's no good way to continue. } 25. Qf3 Qc8 { I must keep the queens
on for now. } 26. Qd5 ({ I had expected } 26. Re3 { with the idea to give
back an exchange for a safe pawn up advantage. I was not looking forward to
seeing that move, but my opponent played the more ambitious Qd5, completely
missing the Ra5 move that soon appeared. }) 26... Ra5 { I knew activating
my rook with tempo would cause the momentum to swing again. } 27. Qd6 c2
28. Qxb6 Rd5 { I played this move immediately and felt I had a decisive
advantage. There are many tricks now. } 29. h3 { A crucial move to allow
Kh2 so as not to allow a Bd4 fork upon a retreat to f2. I think this move
signalled the start of a new phase where play became extremely critical
with so many tricks. I have a huge initiative with so many tricks but my
opponent starts to play extremely well. } 29... Qc3+ 30. Kh2 Rd2 31. Qe3
Rd3 32. Qe4 Qd2 33. Qe2 Qxf4+ 34. Kh1 Rd2 35. Qg4 { The endgame after Qe4
is losing, so my opponent finds Qg4 instead. Here a simple retreat along
the diagonal is winning, but I make a fatal error. } 35... Qf2 ({ &#91;RR }
35... Qb8 $1 $19 { , e.g. } 36. Qc4 Bb2 37. Rxc2 Qg3 $1 { and White’s
position collapses.&#93; }) 36. Rf1 { I failed to notice that allowing Rf1
with tempo would give my opponent so many tricks along the f file. I have
to worry about Qxf6 endgames after the queen appears on the f file and mine
becomes tied to f6. } 36... Qe3 37. Qc4 { Qc4 is the engine's top move,
pressuring f7 and c2. My ideas of Qg3 Be5 now seem more like fantasies. }
37... Qg3 38. Qg4 Qc3 39. Qf4 { My clock was ticking down towards 0 and I
completely misevaluated the endgames after Qxf6. My king will just run to
b2 and I will win. I was very scared by these prospects so I went for the
more desperate seeming Be5. } 39... Be5 40. Qxf7+ Kh6 41. Qf8+ Kg5 42. Qe7+
Kh6 43. Qh4+ Kg7 44. Rfe1 { My opponent could play the perpetual but she
understood that the momentum has swung again and that black has a very
difficult task practically with little time. } 44... Bf6 45. Qf4 Rd7 { Rd7
is a decisive mistake. I was aware of Rxc2 ideas but I just couldn't find a
harmonious solution. Rd4 is the key move instead, gaining some time against
the queen which has no checks to give. Even had I found this move I don't
feel like I would have survived, white's play is very straightforward and I
am on the ropes. } ({ &#91;RR } 45... Rd4 $1 46. Qb8 Bg5 47. Qe5+ Bf6 48.
Qb8 $10 { .&#93; }) 46. Rf1 Rb7 47. Rxc2 Qxc2 48. Qxf6+ Kh6 49. Qf8+ Rg7
50. Rf7 { My hopes of some random perpetual bailing me out are not based in
reality as white covers all the squares. It was a messy game with many
swings in momentum and evaluation but my opponent found difficult moves in
the critical moments and deserved to come out on top. } 1-0

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "O'Cuilleanain, Oisin"]
[Black "Baburin, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[BlackTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "1868"]
[BlackElo "2413"]
[WhiteICU "1524"]
[BlackICU "2369"]
[WhiteClub "Bray/Greystones"]
[BlackClub "Kilkenny"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "2514249"]
[BlackFideId "2500914"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[ECO "D35"]
[Opening "QGD"]
[Variation "exchange, positional line, 5...c6"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/d8lUtwCJ)"]
[WhiteFullName "O'Cuilleanain, Ois&iacute;n"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/d8lUtwCJ">https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/d8lUtwCJ</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_allfiles/pairings_sligo-masters2022.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Be7 7. Bd3 Nbd7
8. Qc2 O-O 9. Nge2 Re8 10. O-O Nf8 11. f3 Ng6 12. Rad1 Be6 13. e4 dxe4 14.
fxe4 Ng4 15. Bc1 c5 16. Bb5 Qc7 17. Nf4 cxd4 18. Bxe8 dxc3 19. h3 Rxe8 20.
hxg4 Nxf4 21. Bxf4 Qb6+ 22. Kh1 Bxg4 23. Rd3 Qb5 24. Qxc3 Qh5+ 25. Kg1 Bf8
26. Rd5 Qg6 27. Rg5 Qe6 28. Re5 Qd7 29. Rxe8 Qxe8 30. Qd4 Qe6 31. Be3 b6
32. Qd5 Qe8 33. Bd4 Be6 34. Qb7 Qa4 35. Be5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "4.4"]
[White "Morriss, Pete"]
[Black "Cabanas Jimenez, Manuel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2017"]
[BlackElo "2122"]
[WhiteICU "1781"]
[WhiteClub "Galway"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "ESP"]
[WhiteFideId "2500230"]
[BlackFideId "2268647"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[ECO "A00"]
[Opening "Polish"]
[Variation "Outflank variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/JMM3pcVJ)"]
[BlackFullName "Caba&ntilde;as Jimenez, Manuel"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/JMM3pcVJ">https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/JMM3pcVJ</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_allfiles/pairings_sligo-masters2022.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. b4 c6 2. e3 d5 3. Bb2 Qb6 4. a3 a5 5. b5 Bf5 6. Nf3 Nd7 7. Be2 Ngf6 8.
a4 e6 9. O-O Bd6 10. d4 O-O 11. c4 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Rfc8 13. Nc3 Bb4 14. Qb3
Bg4 15. Rac1 Nd5 16. Ne2 Qd8 17. bxc6 bxc6 18. Qd3 Bd6 19. e4 Nf4 20. Nxf4
Bxf4 21. Rc2 Nb6 22. Bb3 c5 23. d5 c4 24. Bxc4 Bxf3 25. Qxf3 Rxc4 26. Rxc4
Nxc4 27. dxe6 Nxb2 28. exf7+ Kxf7 29. Qb3+ Kf8 30. Qxb2 Qb8 31. Qa3+ Kg8
32. g3 Be5 33. Qa2+ Kh8 34. Rb1 Qd6 35. Rb5 Bc3 36. Qc4 Bb4 37. e5 Qd1+ 38.
Kg2 Rf8 39. Qe4 Qxa4 40. Rb7 Qa2 41. Qd4 Qd2 42. Qa7 Qd5+ 43. Kg1 Qxe5 44.
Rf7 Rxf7 45. Qxf7 Qf6 46. Qe8+ Qf8 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "4.5"]
[White "Liu, Jason"]
[Black "Toon, James M. G."]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1724"]
[WhiteICU "1586"]
[BlackLocal "ECF:2011"]
[BlackClub "Guildford ENG"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "ENG"]
[WhiteFideId "2514656"]
[BlackFideId "343401392"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[ECO "B13"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann"]
[Variation "exchange variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/BrcLLk59)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/BrcLLk59">https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/BrcLLk59</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_allfiles/pairings_sligo-masters2022.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. h3 e5 7. dxe5 Nxe5
8. Nf3 Nxd3+ 9. Qxd3 Bd6 10. O-O O-O 11. Bg5 h6 12. Be3 Bd7 13. Nbd2 b5 14.
Bd4 a5 15. Rfe1 b4 16. Ne5 Be6 17. Qf3 Re8 18. Rac1 Ne4 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20.
Qxe4 Bxa2 21. Qf3 Be6 22. cxb4 Bxb4 23. Nc6 Qd7 24. Red1 Bd5 25. Qg3 Bf8
26. Ne5 Qe6 27. Ng4 Bd6 28. Qd3 Bb3 29. Rf1 Bf4 30. Be3 Rad8 31. Qc3 Bb8
32. Bd4 h5 33. Ne5 Rxd4 34. Qxd4 Bxe5 35. Qd2 Qf6 36. Rfe1 a4 37. Rc5 Re6
38. Qa5 Bd4 39. Rc8+ Kh7 40. Qxh5+ Qh6 41. Qf5+ Qg6 42. Qxg6+ Kxg6 43. Rb1
Re2 44. Rc6+ f6 45. Kf1 Rxf2+ 46. Ke1 Rxg2 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "4.6"]
[White "Putar, Leon"]
[Black "Mize, Dylan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "1841"]
[BlackElo "1603"]
[WhiteICU "1957"]
[WhiteClub "St. Benildus"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "USA"]
[WhiteFideId "14546612"]
[BlackFideId "30932599"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[ECO "B12"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann"]
[Variation "advance variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/TdeHvzGx)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/TdeHvzGx">https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/TdeHvzGx</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_allfiles/pairings_sligo-masters2022.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Be3 Nh6 6. c4 e6 7. Nc3 Nf5 8.
cxd5 cxd4 9. dxc6 dxe3 10. Bb5 exf2+ 11. Ke2 bxc6 12. Bxc6+ Bd7 13. Qxd7+
Qxd7 14. Bxd7+ Kxd7 15. Rhd1+ Ke8 16. Nb5 f1=Q+ 17. Rxf1 Rb8 18. a4 a6 19.
Nc7+ Kd7 20. Rac1 Rxb2+ 21. Kd3 Rb3+ 22. Ke4 Rb4+ 23. Kd3 Rb3+ 24. Ke2 Rb2+
25. Kd3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "4.7"]
[White "Ivanov, Andrey"]
[Black "Esteve Sanchez, Sergio"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1694"]
[BlackElo "2017"]
[WhiteICU "1555"]
[WhiteClub "Malahide"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "ESP"]
[WhiteFideId "2514311"]
[BlackFideId "22221913"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[ECO "B90"]
[Opening "Sicilian"]
[Variation "Najdorf, Lipnitzky attack"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/3ft81KJ5)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/3ft81KJ5">https://lichess.org/study/PBgmtzcw/3ft81KJ5</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_allfiles/pairings_sligo-masters2022.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Nbd7
8. Be3 Nc5 9. f3 Be7 10. Qd2 Nxb3 11. Nxb3 Bd7 12. O-O b5 13. Rad1 Qc7 14.
a3 Rc8 15. f4 Bc6 16. Qd3 O-O 17. Nd4 Bb7 18. f5 e5 19. Nf3 h6 20. Nd2 Rfd8
21. Qe2 d5 22. exd5 Bxd5 23. Kh1 Ba8 24. Nb3 Bxa3 25. Nxb5 axb5 26. bxa3
Kh7 27. Nc5 Nd5 28. Rxd5 Rxd5 29. Qh5 e4 30. Nxe4 Re5 31. Bxh6 Bxe4 32.
Bxg7+ Kxg7 33. f6+ Kg8 34. Qh6 Bxg2+ 35. Kg1 Qc5+ 36. Kxg2 Rg5+ 37. Kf3
Qd5+ 38. Kf4 Qe5+ 39. Kf3 Rc3+ 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Putar, Lara"]
[Black "Doluhanova, Evgeniya"]
[Result "0-1"]
[BlackTitle "WGM"]
[WhiteElo "1827"]
[BlackElo "2280"]
[WhiteICU "1883"]
[WhiteClub "St. Benildus"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "UKR"]
[WhiteFideId "2514249"]
[BlackFideId "14112035"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[ECO "E00"]
[Opening "Catalan opening"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/i6yHxSnZ)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/i6yHxSnZ">https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/i6yHxSnZ</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Nf3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. b3 O-O 7. Bf4 Nh5 8.
Bc1 dxc4 9. bxc4 c5 10. e3 Nc6 11. Bb2 cxd4 12. exd4 Nf6 13. Bg2 Bb4+ 14.
Nc3 Ne4 15. Rc1 Qa5 16. Qb3 Nxc3 17. Bxc3 Bxc3+ 18. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 19. Rxc3 Rd8
20. Rb3 Nxd4 21. Nxd4 Rxd4 22. Bxb7 Bxb7 23. Rxb7 Rxc4 24. O-O Ra4 25. Rfb1
g5 26. R1b2 Kg7 27. Rc7 a6 28. Rbb7 Rf8 29. Rb6 Kg6 30. Ra7 Rxa2 31. Rbxa6
Rxa6 32. Rxa6 h5 33. h3 Rb8 34. Kf1 Rb4 35. Ke2 h4 36. gxh4 Rxh4 37. Ra3 e5
38. Kf1 Rb4 39. Kg2 Rb2 40. Re3 f6 41. Kg3 Rd2 42. Kg2 Kf5 43. Rf3+ Ke6 44.
Ra3 e4 45. Ra6+ Kf5 46. Ra5+ Kf4 47. Ra4 f5 48. Rb4 Rd5 49. Ra4 Ke5 50. Kg3
Rd3+ 51. Kg2 f4 52. Ra5+ Rd5 53. Ra3 Kf5 54. Ra2 Rd1 55. Ra5+ Kg6 56. Ra6+
Kh5 57. Ra2 Re1 58. Ra3 Re2 59. Kf1 f3 60. Ra5 Rb2 61. Ke1 Rb1+ 62. Kd2 Rf1
63. Ke3 Re1+ 64. Kd4 e3 65. Ra2 e2 0-1

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Baburin, Alexander"]
[Black "Flynn, Jacob"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteTitle "GM"]
[WhiteElo "2413"]
[BlackElo "2185"]
[WhiteICU "2369"]
[BlackICU "2144"]
[WhiteClub "Kilkenny"]
[BlackClub "Malahide"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "2500914"]
[BlackFideId "2509393"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[ECO "E32"]
[Opening "Nimzo-Indian"]
[Variation "classical variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/wxyeg07H)"]
[Annotator "Flynn, Jacob"]

{ Source: Jacob Flynn, via Craig DuBose; Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/wxyeg07H">https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/wxyeg07H</a>).
} { Annotator: Jacob Flynn. } { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 { I had expected a Catalan but of course my
opponent is flexible. I had to put faith in my Nimzo repertoire here
despite the fact it had remained more or less untested in classical over
the past 2 years and I hadn't checked the lines in a while. } 3... Bb4 4.
Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 { I'm sure this is very common at titled level
but I had not reached this position before in classical chess. It was a
good opportunity for me to gain experience. } 6... d5 { This is the move
fashionable at top level and is maybe the main reason why no one allows the
Nimzo at top level anymore. It's difficult for white to get a small edge
against a well prepared opponent because black tries to play extremely
direct chess for equality. } 7. Nf3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Bg5 Ba6 10. Qc2 { I
had forgotten my theory here. I knew sometimes you go h6, sometimes you
don't, sometimes you go Nbd7, sometimes c5 straight away etc. I found Qc6
annoying in the Nbd7 lines at the board but when I checked my files after
it seems to be not much of an issue against accurate play. } 10... c5 11.
dxc5 { c5 is an interesting idea but the correct way is to take back. I
instead went for an idea to try and win back the pawn in the long-term. }
11... Qc7 12. Bxf6 gxf6 { Usually in this opening the weakening of the
kingside isn't a big deal. } 13. e3 Bxf1 14. Kxf1 { The point of the
opening is also to try and cause this bother to the white development after
e3. } 14... Qxc5 { I wasn't happy with the positions after Nd7 or Rc8. My
opponent noted after the game that pawn takes would be better. I think this
is true, the endgame I got is quite miserable and with the queens on it
feels like I can have more counterplay. } 15. Qxc5 bxc5 16. Ke2 Nd7 17.
Rhd1 Nb6 18. Rac1 Rfc8 19. Rc2 Rab8 { My idea is to try and put pressure on
b2 with Na4 ideas in the air. I also have the option of c4 to save my c5
pawn. I thought this setup would be ok but my opponent is of course very
capable of grinding out these positions. } 20. Nd2 f5 { Seemed necessary to
stop Ne4. } 21. Rdc1 c4 22. Kf3 { Funnily enough this position has occurred
in a master game before. Black was able to make a draw in that game. Kf3 is
a clever move as white wants to take everything on c4 and avoid Rxb2 coming
with a check. Then white can win the a7 pawn. I felt that endgame should be
extremely difficult for me, however the computer spots a well timed f4 move
at the end of the line to at least damage his structure and trade a pawn.
Probably a computer holds it but I didn't fancy my own chances against this
opponent so I went for something a bit more active. } 22... c3 23. Rxc3
Rxc3 24. Rxc3 Na4 25. Rc7 Rxb2 26. Rxa7 Nc3 { I again felt the need to
avoid the rook endgame, I try to get counterplay by attacking his kingside.
} 27. Nc4 Ra2 28. Nd6 Nd1 { Now play becomes interesting, we both start
attacking each other, of course white should be better but I felt I had
chances. } 29. Nxf7 Rxf2+ 30. Kg3 Ra2 31. Kf4 { White decides to activate
the king. I feared this option. } 31... Rxg2 { I felt I must grab this pawn
as it also helps to keep his king at bay. } 32. a4 Kf8 { I thought this
move would be useful, I needed to free my king a bit and get out of the way
of some knight checks. } 33. Nd8 { I didn't even see this one, there are
just so many ways for white to try and press and I wasn't able to
anticipate so much, I could only react. } 33... Rxh2 34. Nxe6+ Ke8 35. Ng7+
Kd8 36. Nxf5 { At this point I started to think maybe we could end up in
some rook and knight vs rook. I knew that was a draw but I was starting to
wonder if I'd be able to hold it, I couldn't remember if it was easy or
not. I felt that given how the game had went, getting to it should be a
success and I'd take it from there. } 36... Nc3 37. a5 Kc8 38. Ne7+ Kb8 39.
Nc6+ Kc8 40. Rg7 Rh6 41. Ne7+ Kd8 42. e4 Re6 { I was happy to get this move
in. At this point I felt a draw was possible. I calculated Nd5 and the rook
endgame and I was like oh yeah that's just the 6th rank defence or
whatever, my king is behind the pawn, that should be a draw. } 43. Nd5 ({ (
} 43. Nd5 { ) } 43... Nxe4 { should make a draw, although white will keep
playing and it's not the end just yet. }) 43... Nxd5+ 44. exd5 Ra6 45. Ke5
Rxa5 46. Ke6 { Here I realised the error of my ways. I didn't take into
account that the time I have to waste grabbing the a pawn leaves me a tempo
short of a draw. I did all the hard work defending a very difficult
position but it was just when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel that
I messed it all up. This is probably a common phenomenon when a weaker
player defends for a long time vs a stronger player. It's important to keep
focused right until the draw is agreed but it's difficult to keep focus for
so many hours in the final game. } 46... Ra1 47. Rg8+ Kc7 48. d6+ Kc6 49.
Rc8+ Kb7 50. d7 1-0

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Anand Kumar, S."]
[Black "O'Cuilleanain, Oisin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "1926"]
[BlackElo "1868"]
[BlackICU "1524"]
[BlackClub "Bray/Greystones"]
[WhiteNationality "IND"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "5011108"]
[BlackFideId "2514249"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[ECO "D40"]
[Opening "QGD"]
[Variation "Semi-Tarrasch defence"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/jASTVs5Q)"]
[BlackFullName "O'Cuilleanain, Ois&iacute;n"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/jASTVs5Q">https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/jASTVs5Q</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. e3 Nc6 6. Be2 dxc4 7. Bxc4 a6 8.
O-O b5 9. Be2 Bb7 10. a3 cxd4 11. exd4 Be7 12. Bg5 O-O 13. Qd3 Rc8 14. Rfd1
Na5 15. Ne5 Nd5 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Bf3 Qb7 19. Rac1 Nc4 20.
Bxd5 Qxd5 21. Nxc4 bxc4 22. Qc3 g6 23. h3 Rc7 24. Rd2 Rd8 25. Re1 Qb7 26.
Rc1 Rb8 27. Rdc2 Qd5 28. Qd2 a5 29. Qf4 Rbc8 30. Re1 Rd7 31. Re5 Qxd4 32.
Qxd4 Rxd4 33. Rxa5 Rd5 34. Ra4 Rdc5 35. Rb4 c3 36. Rxc3 Rxc3 37. bxc3 Rxc3
38. Ra4 h5 39. g3 h4 40. gxh4 Rxh3 41. Kg2 Rb3 42. Ra7 Kg7 43. a4 Rb4 44.
Kg3 e5 45. a5 Rb3+ 46. Kg2 Rb4 47. Kg3 Rb3+ 48. Kg2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Cabanas Jimenez, Manuel"]
[Black "Toon, James M. G."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2122"]
[BlackLocal "ECF:2011"]
[BlackClub "Guildford ENG"]
[WhiteNationality "ESP"]
[BlackNationality "ENG"]
[WhiteFideId "2268647"]
[BlackFideId "343401392"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[ECO "B10"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann"]
[Variation "Goldman (Spielmann) variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/smLVw685)"]
[WhiteFullName "Caba&ntilde;as Jimenez, Manuel"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/smLVw685">https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/smLVw685</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Qf3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Bc4 Nbd7 6. d4 Nb6 7. Nxf6+
gxf6 8. Bb3 Qxd4 9. h3 Qe5+ 10. Ne2 Bf5 11. Bf4 Qe4 12. O-O-O Qxf3 13. gxf3
e5 14. Be3 Be7 15. Ng3 Be6 16. Nh5 Rg8 17. Rhg1 Rxg1 18. Rxg1 O-O-O 19.
Bxe6+ fxe6 20. Rg7 Rd7 21. Rxh7 Bd8 22. Rh8 Kc7 23. f4 Kd6 24. Ng3 f5 25.
b3 e4 26. c4 c5 27. h4 Bf6 28. Rh6 Rf7 29. Ne2 Nd7 30. Ng1 Bg7 31. Rg6 Nf8
32. Rg2 Bf6 33. h5 Rh7 34. Rh2 Ng6 35. Ne2 Nh4 36. Ng3 b6 37. Rh1 Nf3 38.
Kc2 a5 39. Bc1 Bd4 40. Be3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "5.5"]
[White "Esteve Sanchez, Sergio"]
[Black "Morriss, Pete"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "2017"]
[BlackElo "2017"]
[BlackICU "1781"]
[BlackClub "Galway"]
[WhiteNationality "ESP"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "22221913"]
[BlackFideId "2500230"]
[PlyCount "25"]
[ECO "A01"]
[Opening "Nimzovich-Larsen attack"]
[Variation "Polish variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/DGVeV6rf)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/DGVeV6rf">https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/DGVeV6rf</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. b3 b5 2. Bb2 Bb7 3. e3 b4 4. Nf3 e6 5. a3 a5 6. axb4 axb4 7. Rxa8 Bxa8
8. d3 Nf6 9. Nbd2 c5 10. g3 Be7 11. Bg2 O-O 12. O-O Nc6 13. Qe2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "5.6"]
[White "Liu, Jason"]
[Black "Putar, Leon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "1724"]
[BlackElo "1841"]
[WhiteICU "1586"]
[BlackICU "1957"]
[BlackClub "St. Benildus"]
[WhiteNationality "IRL"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "2514656"]
[BlackFideId "14546612"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[ECO "C00"]
[Opening "French"]
[Variation "Reti (Spielmann) variation"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/XAgni9mw)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/XAgni9mw">https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/XAgni9mw</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. e4 e6 2. b3 d5 3. Bb2 c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Nf6 7. O-O Be7
8. Ne5 Qc7 9. Re1 Be6 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Nf3 d4 13. Ng5 Bd5 14.
c4 Be6 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. d3 Rae8 17. Nd2 Qf4 18. Nf1 Bd6 19. f3 e5 20. Ng3
Re6 21. Bc1 Qh4 22. Nf5 Qh5 23. Nxd6 Rxd6 24. Qxe5 Qxe5 25. Rxe5 Nd7 26.
Re2 Rf5 27. Kf2 Kf7 28. h3 Rdf6 29. Ba3 Re6 30. Rxe6 Kxe6 31. Rd1 g5 32.
Ke2 h5 33. Kd2 Kd6 34. Re1 Ne5 35. Re4 Ng6 36. Rxd4+ Ke6 37. Re4+ Kd7 38.
Bb2 Kd6 39. Ke3 a6 40. Bc3 Rf4 41. Rxf4 Nxf4 42. Bd2 Ke5 43. Bc3+ Ke6 44.
Kf2 Nxd3+ 45. Ke3 Nc1 46. Bd2 Nxa2 47. Ke4 Kf6 48. Be3 Nc3+ 49. Kd3 $18 {
White, with one minute left to his opponent's 13, agreed a draw in a3
winning position. } 1/2-1/2

[Event "Sligo Spring Tournament Masters 2022"]
[Site "Sligo IRL"]
[Date "2022.05.01"]
[Round "5.7"]
[White "Mize, Dylan"]
[Black "Ivanov, Andrey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1603"]
[BlackElo "1694"]
[BlackICU "1555"]
[BlackClub "Malahide"]
[WhiteNationality "USA"]
[BlackNationality "IRL"]
[WhiteFideId "30932599"]
[BlackFideId "2514311"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[ECO "A57"]
[Opening "Benko gambit"]
[Venue "Clayton Hotel"]
[EventDate "2022.04.29"]
[Source "Lichess (https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/lcnJBy1w)"]

{ Source: Lichess (<a
href="https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/lcnJBy1w">https://lichess.org/study/UzPcthIy/lcnJBy1w</a>).
} { Event information: <a
href="https://www.irlchess.com/sligo-masters2022_pairings.html">Tournament
report</a>. }

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. Qc2 bxc4 5. e4 d6 6. Bxc4 g6 7. b3 Bg7 8.
Bb2 O-O 9. Ne2 Ba6 10. Nd2 Bxc4 11. Nxc4 Nbd7 12. O-O Nb6 13. Nd2 a5 14. a4
Qd7 15. Nc3 Rfc8 16. Nb5 Ne8 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Nc4 Nxc4 19. bxc4 Nc7 20.
Nxc7 Qxc7 21. Rfb1 Rcb8 22. Rb5 Rxb5 23. axb5 Qb6 24. g4 Kg8 25. Kg2 Qa7
26. Ra4 Qb6 27. Kg3 Qc7 28. Qd2 e5 29. h4 Kg7 30. h5 h6 31. g5 gxh5 32.
gxh6+ Kh7 33. f3 Rg8+ 34. Kf2 Qe7 35. Rxa5 Qh4+ 36. Ke3 Qf4+ 37. Kd3 Qxf3+
38. Qe3 Qd1+ 39. Kc3 Rg2 40. Qd3 Qe1+ 41. Kb3 Qb4# 0-1

