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Philidor Defence: Hanham Variation — Part 2 of 2

Polgar–Azmaiparashvili, Hotel Bali Stars 2003 · Keymer–Aravindh, Prague Chess Festival 2026 Masters · 5:44 · ECO C41

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In this video

Game 1: Judit Polgar (2722) vs Zurab Azmaiparashvili (2693)

Hotel Bali Stars 2003, 27 November 2003 · Black won (0-1) · 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. 5.Bc4The first move after the opening line0:26
  2. 17.cxb5The queens come off1:14
  3. 20.a7The evaluation moves from −0.40 to −2.391:29
  4. 21.Be3Black stays more than two pawns ahead from here1:34
  5. 26.Nd4The evaluation moves from −3.53 to −4.531:59
  6. 41...Rg3Black wins after 41 moves3:16

Evaluation

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

Game 2: Vincent Keymer (2776) vs Chithambaram Aravindh (2700)

Prague Chess Festival 2026 Masters, 28 February 2026 · White won (1-0) · 29 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. 5.h3The first move after the opening line3:42
  2. 22...Rxc3The evaluation moves from +1.68 to +4.03, and White stays more than two pawns ahead from here4:58
  3. 24...Qh4The evaluation moves from +4.54 to +6.025:08
  4. 29.Rg4The evaluation moves from +8.16 to +5.425:30
  5. 29.Rg4White wins after 29 moves5:30

Evaluation

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

About these games

After 4...Nbd7 Black holds the e5-point with a knight rather than giving up the centre with ...exd4, aiming for a compact setup with ...Be7, ...O-O and ...c6. White has more space and a choice of plans: develop normally and look for a central break, or use the extra room for a kingside pawn advance. The engine gives +0.49 at the end of the line.

Polgar–Azmaiparashvili, Hotel Bali Stars 2003, followed the classical route: 5.Bc4, 6.O-O, 7.Re1, and after 7...c6 8.a4 b6 White broke with 9.d5. The bishop and both knight pairs were traded on d5, leaving Black with two bishops. Polgar pushed the a-pawn to a7, but 20.a7 dropped the score from −0.40 to −2.39, and Black won the pawn with 21...Rbxa7. After 26.Nd4 (−3.53 to −4.53) Black gave up the e7-bishop for a passed d-pawn that reached d2, and 30...Ra2 (−2.79 to −5.24) tied White down. Black won after 41...Rg3.

Keymer–Aravindh, Prague 2026, used the aggressive 5.h3 and 6.g4. Black answered in the centre with 9...d5 and 10...e4, leading to sharp exchanges and an open g-file once 13.g5 hxg5 14.Bxg5 had been played. The score stayed between +0.42 and +0.75 until 22...Rxc3, which jumped it from +1.68 to +4.03 as 23.Qxf5 won a piece. Unlike the endgame of the first game, this was decided by attack: 27.Kf1 reached +6.45, and White won after 29.Rg4.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Introduction and the opening line
  2. 0:10Game 1: Polgar vs Azmaiparashvili, Hotel Bali Stars 2003
  3. 3:25Game 2: Keymer vs Aravindh, Prague Chess Festival 2026 Masters

The opening line

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7

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