[Event "TePe Sigeman"]
[Site "lichess.org"]
[Date "2026.05.03"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Erigaisi, Arjun"]
[Black "Grandelius, Nils"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "carlc-ENG"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2751"]
[BlackElo "2662"]
[WhiteFideId "-1"]
[BlackFideId "-1"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[GameId "2305751623856302"]
[EventDate "2026.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2026.05.03"]

{[%evp 0,83,21,23,22,12,20,25,14,12,15,14,35,31,26,39,31,25,72,60,50,102,67,21,17,24,52,13,20,40,28,20,28,23,71,8,76,31,38,56,64,47,51,0,13,10,-5,4,36,44,43,28,35,25,15,-44,-80,-56,-66,-26,-44,-10,14,-60,9,12,24,37,26,51,70,125,73,128,210,187,265,179,172,240,248,270,335,348,504,547]} {Nils has had an unfortunate start, but came out guns blazing with the Dragon - somewhat of a rarity on the top level. Nils himself has not played it in standard games since 2021 - it must have come as a surprise to Arjun.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 ({Lines with} 6... a6 $5 {have gained some attention of late.}) 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O {The modern main line.} (9. Bc4 $5 {is the other (and more theoretically demanding) main option. This line results in the classic Dragon battles, of Fischer 'sac-sac-mate' fame. 9.0-0-0 is considered as giving more controlled play for White, though fireworks may still ensue.}) 9... d5 10. Nxc6 $5 {An interesting secondary option.} (10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 {is the main line; White usually presses in a slightly better middle- or endgame.}) 10... bxc6 11. Bc4 $5 {An unusual (though solid) line within an unusual line.} (11. Bh6 $5 {is more often played, aiming to trade off Black's pride and joy.}) 11... e6 12. Bb3 Bb7 13. h4 $5 {The h4 advance is almost always critical in the Dragon; though in this position it allows Black to strike back concretely in the center.} (13. Na4 $5 {with the idea of placing the knight on c5 is an interesting option. The e4-pawn does not hang due to the fork on c5 after} dxe4 14. Qxd8 Rfxd8 15. Nc5 $16) 13... dxe4 $1 $132 14. Qf2 Qc7 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. fxe4 c5 $1 {Sacrifices a pawn in order to activate the bishop, though considering the weakness of the e4 pawn it can hardly be termed a real sacrifice.} 17. Bxc5 Rfd8 ({It says something about the value of the bishops in a position like this that Black can even leave the rook hanging with} 17... Bxe4 $5 18. Bxf8 Rxf8 19. Rhe1 Qe5 {and White is practically forced to give back the exchange with} 20. Rxe4 $1 Qxe4 $132 {with slightly easier play for Black.}) 18. Bxa7 Qe5 (18... Bxe4 $5 {remains possible, though impractical:} 19. Bb6 Qe5 $1 20. Rxd8+ Rxd8 21. Bxd8 Qxb2+ 22. Kd2 Bc3+ $1 23. Ke2 Bxc2 $1 24. Bxc2 Qxc2+ 25. Kf3 Qf5+ $11 {and White cannot escape the checks.}) 19. c3 Qxe4 20. Rxd8+ Rxd8 21. Re1 Qxg2 22. Qxg2 Bxg2 {We have reached the game's second phase. Material is equal, though White has slightly easier play - his queenside majority is not as restrained as Black's on the kingside.} 23. a4 Ra8 $6 {Forces the bishop to a better square, from where it supports the a-pawn's advance.} ({Better was the immediate} 23... h5 $132) ({or} 23... Bf6 $132 {, commencing kingside counterplay.}) 24. Bb6 Bc6 $2 {Once again forcing White into playing what he wanted to anyway. The immediate h5 or Bf6 remained Black's best options.} 25. a5 Bf6 {The right idea, though belatedly played.} 26. h5 $1 $18 {Blocks Black from gaining two supported passed pawns. He must now choose whether to let White blockade the h-pawn forever or to only have one passed pawn.} gxh5 {Nils chose the latter option.} 27. Bc2 $2 {A step in the wrong direction, illustrating the low margin for error in these types of "simple" positions. Moves often gain a concretely 'binary' character in that they either draw or win/lose.} ({Better was} 27. Bc4 $1 {with the subtle double points of supporting a5-a6 and stopping the h-pawn in its tracks after} h4 28. Bf1 $18) 27... Bg5+ $4 (27... h4 $1 {was forced here, exploiting White's failure to control the h3 square as in the above line. After} 28. Be4 Bxe4 29. Rxe4 h3 30. Re2 Bg5+ $1 31. Kc2 Bf4 $1 $11 {Black is able to push his h-pawn to h2 under good conditions: White's pawns have not begun rolling, meaning that Black still has time to march his king down to g2.}) 28. Kb1 h4 29. Be4 Bxe4+ 30. Rxe4 h3 31. Kc2 $4 {White transposes back into the 27...h4 line above.} (31. Re1 $1 {was winning, as he economizes on two tempi by playing the rook immediately to e1 instead of e2 and not playing Kc2. The pawns can start their march down the queenside. My hunch is that Arjun forgot that after} h2 32. Rh1 Bf4 33. b4 $18 {the rook has left e1 and there is no Bd2, forking the rook and the c3 pawn. The king therefore does not need to guard the d2 square from c2.}) 31... h2 32. Re1 Bf4 $1 33. b4 {To illustrate the above point: This pawn could have already been on b5.} e5 $4 (33... Kg7 $1 {was the only move, with the non-obvious point of marching straight down to g2.} 34. b5 Kg6 35. a6 Kf5 36. c4 Kg4 37. c5 Kh3 38. c6 Kg2 $11 {is equal, but all three results remain possible.}) 34. b5 $18 {White's mistakes are no longer of any import; Black lacks counterplay against the march of the queenside pawns.} e4 35. a6 e3 36. Kd3 e2 37. Rh1 $1 Re8 38. Bf2 $1 Bc7 39. a7 Kg7 40. c4 Bb6 41. a8=Q $1 {The simplest.} e1=N+ {Some gallows humor at the end. Note how the queen on a8 covers the h1 square.} 42. Rxe1 {A tough fighting game, illustrating the difficulty in navigating queenless endgames with pawn storms on either side of the board.} 1-0
