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Italian Game: Evans Gambit, Accepted 5.c3 Ba5

Short–Gupta, Commonwealth Championship 2006 · Erigaisi–Abdusattorov, Tata Steel Chess Masters 2026 · 7:54 · ECO C52

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In this video

Game 1: Nigel Short (2677) vs Abhijeet Gupta (2481)

Commonwealth Championship 2006, 24 November 2006 · White won (1-0) · 41 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 6.d4The first move after the opening line0:29
  2. 30.Kg2The evaluation moves from +3.73 to +2.242:19
  3. 31...Qa5The evaluation moves from +0.76 to +3.17, and White stays more than two pawns ahead from here2:26
  4. 36...Qd2The evaluation moves from +4.91 to +7.682:52
  5. 41.Bd5White wins after 41 moves3:14

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

Game 2: Arjun Erigaisi (2775) vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2751)

Tata Steel Chess Masters 2026, 15 January 2026 · Black won (0-1) · 55 moves

Click a move to jump the video to it. Dotted moves are the opening line the video is about.

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Key moments

  1. 6.d4The first move after the opening line3:42
  2. 31.Re3The evaluation moves from −1.37 to −2.28, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here5:38
  3. 40.Kxc2The queens come off6:22
  4. 44.Kc3The evaluation moves from −3.35 to −4.746:42
  5. 55.Kb3The evaluation moves from −5.47 to −4.277:38
  6. 55...Bd3Black wins after 55 moves7:40

Evaluation

Above the line, White is better; below it, Black. Scores are in pawns, capped at five either way.

About these games

After 4.b4 White gives up a pawn to gain time: 5.c3 hits the bishop and prepares d4, aiming for a broad centre and quick development before Black can castle. With 5...Ba5 Black keeps the bishop pinning along the a5–e1 diagonal. After 6.d4 Black chooses between taking on d4 and holding e5 with ...d6.

Short–Gupta continued 6...exd4 7.Qb3 Qf6 8.O-O b5. White developed with 10.Bg5 and 11.Bxe7, recaptured 12.cxd4 and used the c-file: 16.Rxc7 and 17.Rxc8 removed Black's light-squared bishop. The score stayed near +0.50 until 27.d5 and 28.d6 created a passed pawn. After 30.Kg2 (+3.73 to +2.24) and 31.Ne1 the lead fell to +0.76, but 31...Qa5 put it back at +3.17. After 34.d7 Nxd7 35.Nxd7, 35...Qc3 raised it to +4.92, and White won after 41.Bd5.

Erigaisi–Abdusattorov went 6...d6 7.Qb3 Qd7. Instead of returning the pawn early, Black traded off the Italian bishop with 9...Na5 and 10...Nxc4, and White regained the pawn with 14.Nxe5. White pushed 15.f4, 16.c4 and 21.e5, but the score was 0.00 at 20...Nc5. Black won the f-pawn with 24...Nxf4, reached −1.37 by 30...Qe7 and stayed more than two pawns ahead from 31.Re3. The queens came off with 40.Kxc2, leaving a bishop endgame with extra pawns for Black. After 44.Kc3 (−3.35 to −4.74) Black's queenside pawns advanced, and Black won after 55...Bd3 at −5.63.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Short vs Gupta, Commonwealth Championship 2006
  3. 3:23Game 2: Erigaisi vs Abdusattorov, Tata Steel Chess Masters 2026

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5

See every video from this position →