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Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, 4.d3 Nf6 5.c3 a6

Adams–Shirov, WCh Candidates Elista 2007 · Vachier-Lagrave–Aronian, FIDE World Cup 2019 · 8:34 · ECO C50

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In this video

Game 1: Michael Adams (2734) vs Alexei Shirov (2699)

WCh Candidates Elista 2007, 3 June 2007 · Black won (0-1) · 51 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.Bb3The first move after the opening line0:29
  2. 45.Kd2The evaluation moves from −1.61 to −4.62, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here3:34
  3. 47.Qg2The evaluation moves from −4.73 to −6.883:44
  4. 51.Rh7The evaluation moves from −6.89 to mate in 4 for Black4:04
  5. 51...Qc3Black wins after 51 moves4:06

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2774) vs Levon Aronian (2758)

FIDE World Cup 2019, 25 September 2019 · White won (1-0) · 53 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.O-OThe first move after the opening line4:35
  2. 30.Rxe3The evaluation moves from −0.66 to −4.346:25
  3. 32...Nxd3The evaluation moves from −4.71 to −0.536:38
  4. 38...h4The evaluation moves from −1.05 to +5.46, and White stays more than two pawns ahead from here7:08
  5. 40...Nxd1The queens come off7:18
  6. 53.f6+White wins after 53 moves8:20

Evaluation

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

About these games

After 4.d3 and 5.c3, White builds slowly, keeping a later d4 or b4 in reserve, and Black's 5...a6 gives the c5-bishop a safe retreat on a7 so that neither advance can win time against it. The centre stays closed with pawns on e4/d3 and e5/d6, and play turns on manoeuvres: Re1, h3 and Nbd2-f1 for White, a choice of castling and pawn breaks for Black.

Adams–Shirov reached the line by transposition. After 6.Bb3 Ba7 7.O-O d6 8.h3 h6, Black left the king in the centre, attacked with 9...g5 and 10...g4, opened the g-file and castled long on move 18. The evaluation sat near −0.80 through the middlegame and reached −1.51 after 25...Qxe6, with heavy pieces doubling on the g- and h-files. In the queen-and-rook ending, 45.Kd2 moved the score from −1.61 to −4.62. Black's queen and rook then hunted the white king, 47.Qg2 took it to −6.88, and after 51.Rh7 Black had mate in four. Black won after 51...Qc3.

Vachier-Lagrave–Aronian followed the modern plan instead: 6.O-O d6 7.a4, then Re1, h3, Nbd2-f1 and b4-b5 to gain queenside space. Black castled short and replied in the centre with 15...d5 and 17...d4. Both sides erred: 30.Rxe3 moved the score from −0.66 to −4.34, but 32...Nxd3 brought it back to −0.53. Then 38...h4 swung it from −1.05 to +5.46, and after 40...Nxd1 the queens came off with White's rook against Black's knight. White won the ending, finishing with 53.f6+.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Adams vs Shirov, WCh Candidates Elista 2007
  3. 4:15Game 2: Vachier-Lagrave vs Aronian, FIDE World Cup 2019

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. c3 a6

See every video from this position →