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Petroff Defence: Three Knights, 3...Bb4

Sutovsky–Sakaev, TCh-SRB 1. League Kragujevac 2009 · Harikrishna–Wang, IMSA Basque 2016 · 8:24 · ECO C42

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In this video

Game 1: Emil Sutovsky (2676) vs Konstantin Sakaev (2625)

TCh-SRB 1. League Kragujevac 2009, 11 September 2009 · Black won (0-1) · 57 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. 4.Nxe5The first move after the opening line0:23
  2. 28.f4The evaluation moves from −0.65 to −3.32, and Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here2:09
  3. 31.Qh5The evaluation moves from −2.05 to −4.982:24
  4. 34.Kf2The evaluation moves from −2.93 to −5.762:39
  5. 57...Rf4Black wins after 57 moves4:36

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Pentala Harikrishna (2753) vs Wang Yue (2718)

IMSA Basque 2016, 2 March 2016 · White won (1-0) · 45 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. 4.Nxe5The first move after the opening line4:59
  2. 22.Nd4The evaluation moves from +1.13 to 0.006:15
  3. 26.Kxf2The queens come off6:35
  4. 38...Kf6White stays more than two pawns ahead from here7:38
  5. 45.Be2White wins after 45 moves8:10

Evaluation

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

About these games

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 Black ignores the attack on e5 and develops with a pin, so both games continue 4.Nxe5 and Black castles. Black then gives up the bishop on c3 to win back the e4-pawn. White ends up with the bishop pair, doubled c-pawns after dxc3 and a queenside pawn majority, while Black has easy development and play on the e-file.

Sutovsky–Sakaev went 5.Be2 Re8 6.Nd3 Bxc3 7.dxc3 Nxe4. Black's rook took control of the e-file, and the 13.Ra3 rook lift led only to repetition before 18.Rxe8+ cleared the file. Black won a pawn with 19...Nxa5 and pressed with queen and knight. The turning point was 28.f4, which moved the score from −0.65 to −3.32. After 31.Qh5 it reached −4.98, and Black's 32...d4 let it drop back to −3.01. The passed d-pawn still advanced to d3 and then captured with 37...dxc2, and Black won with 57...Rf4.

Harikrishna–Wang Yue went 5.Nd3 at once. Black regrouped with ...Nd7 and ...b6, but 21.Bxf6 gxf6 damaged Black's kingside. Black equalised briefly, with 22.Nd4 taking the score from +1.13 to 0.00, and the queens came off with 26.Kxf2. Unlike Game 1, White's bishop and queenside majority decided the ending. White played 30.b4, the rook won back the a-pawn with 34.Rxa5, and the c-pawn ran forward with d5 in support. By 38...Kf6 White was +2.12, and White won after 45.Be2.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Sutovsky vs Sakaev, TCh-SRB 1. League Kragujevac 2009
  3. 4:45Game 2: Harikrishna vs Wang, IMSA Basque 2016

The opening line

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4

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