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Tactics selection from Skilling Open Chess24 Open

Nakamura with Black finishes off nicely

30... ♗h3+ 31. ♔e2 ♘f4+ 32. ♔d2 ♖d8+

32... ♕b4+ works as well

33. ♔c3

33. ♔c1 ♘e2+

33... ♘e2+ wins the queen

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Next we have Radjabov in the decisive phase of his attack with the Black pieces against Duda

29... ♗f3+! 30. ♔f1 ♘h4 31. exd4 ♗g2+! 32. ♔e2

32. ♗xg2 ♕xg2+ 33. ♔e2 ♕g4+ 34. ♔f1 ♖ce8 35. ♘e3 ♕h3+ 36. ♔g1 ♘f3+ 37. ♖xf3 ♕xf3−+ 38. ♕f1 ♖xe3

32... ♕g4+ 33. ♔e3 ♗xe4

33... ♗f3 works too

34. ♗c3 ♘g2+

34... ♕h3+ stronger 35. ♔d2 ♕xd3#

35. ♔d2

35. ♖xg2 ♕f3+ 36. ♔d2 ♕xd3#

35... ♘xe1

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Next we have Firouzja with White who was temporarily down a piece for 2 pawns. What did he play in the diagram with White ?

23. ♕d6! ♗g4

23... ♗g7 24. ♗xg7 ♕xg7 25. ♖xc8 ♗xc8 26. ♕xb6

24. ♖xc8 ♖xc8 25. ♖xd4 ♖c1+ 26. ♖d1

26. ♗f1 works

26... ♕a1 27. ♕f8+

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We now have MVL ( Maxime Vachier Lagrave) in his element, playing with Black the Sicilian Najdorf.

How did he conclude the game with Black against Le ?

21... ♖xb3! MVL is ruthless in this game!

22. cxb3 ♕xe4+ 23. ♔a1

23. ♔c1 ♗f5! checkmate on b1 is coming.

23... ♗xf6 Black is winning here

24. ♗g2

24. ♗xe5 ♖xb3 25. ♗xf6 ♕a4+ 26. ♔b1 ♗f5+ 27. ♗d3 ♖xd3

24. ♕xd6 ♖xb3 25. ♕d4 ♕f3 26. ♖h2 ♖a3+ 27. bxa3 ♘c6 28. ♕xf6 ♕xd1+ 29. ♔a2 gxf6

24... ♘f3! opening up the h8-a1 diagonal

25. ♕e3

25. ♗xf3 ♕xf3 26. ♕e3 ♕h5 27. ♕d2 ♖xb3 28. ♕d5 ♕xd5 29. ♖xd5 ♖xb2 30. ♖xd6 ♖h2+ 31. ♖xf6 ♖xh1+ 32. ♔b2 gxf6

25... ♕c2! if Rb1 then Rxb3! followed by Ra3#

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And finally a brilliant combination by Hikaru Nakamura against Alireza Firouzja ? White won the game and qualified. Black ended up being eliminated due to tie-breaks. This was a very important game and Hikaru's finish was nothing short of brilliant play in rapid chess.

31. ♕xb7! White is winning after this pseudo queeen sac

31... ♕xb7 32. ♖xd8+ ♔h7 33. ♘g6 threatening mate on h8

33... ♕c8

33... ♕a8 34. ♖xa8 ♘xa8 35. c5

34. ♖xc8 ♘xc8 35. c5‼+− Domination. The knight on c8 has nowhere to go

35. ♘f8+? this wins a pawn but the ending is equal 35... ♔g8 36. ♘xe6 ♘b6 a4 and c4 are attacked, which means Black is holding 37. c5 (37. a5 ♘xc4 38. a6 ♔f7 39. ♘d8+ ♔e7 40. ♘c6+ ♔d7 41. ♘xa7⁇ ♘d6 ) 37... ♘xa4 38. c6 ♘b6 39. c7 a5 40. ♘c5 ♔f7 41. ♔g3 ♔e7 42. ♔f3 ♔d6 43. ♘b7+ ♔xc7 44. ♘xa5

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