US Chess Championship 2026

 The field is still very strong even though Nakamura and Dominguez are missing.

2026 US Memory Championship

I was one of 12 who made it through the qualifiers back in July. We were joined by 4 champions: Wes Twiggs, Nelson Dellis, Ron White, and Lance Tschirhart. After my flight was delayed by 4 hours, eventually I made it to Orlando on the night before the competition.

The first event was Long Term Recall. Four weeks earlier, we were given spreadsheets on Preakness winners (horse racing), video games, and signers of the Declaration of Independence. In total, it was about 7 pages. We would have to answer questions about the material; 2 mistakes and you are eliminated. I got a slow start. A few weeks ago, I had memorized a ton of financial regulations for the Security Industry Essentials (SIE) exam, and it takes a while for the images to fade from my memory palaces. So I started preparing about a week late and was still shaky on the video games section. Luckily, the first round of questions was about the Declaration of Independence. Several of my rivals stumbled, and when it was my turn, I nailed it. The next round was about horse racing. Casey Porter, a newcomer, made his second mistake and was eliminated. I had no problems when it was my turn. Then we moved on to the video games. James Cumming made his second mistake and was knocked out. He has been competing for several years and always does very well in the qualifying tournament. Soon it was my turn. Fortunately, I got a question that I knew. We moved on to harder questions about the Declaration of Independence. Sara Morici, competing for her second time, was knocked out. Adam Deng was also eliminated. It was his first time in the championship, but he had made an impression by winning the qualifier. I had talked to newcomer Grace Luo before the event, and she seemed very prepared, but she made her second mistake was knocked out. I advanced to the next round.

Next was words. We had 15 minutes to memorize up to 300 words. I decided to memorize 106. For most of the competition's history, memorizing 100 had always been enough. But a few years ago, I had been knocked out for knowing only 100, so I was a bit more ambitious this year. Competitors are eliminated if they make 2 mistakes. Usually I make 1 error and survive, but this time I was perfect. Dhruv Thogarchedu, competing for his second time, was eliminated quickly. I had met him back at the French Open in March. The rest of the field did very well, but finally they started to crack after about 90 words. Erdem Dulguun has been competing for several years and has done very well in the past, but he was eliminated. We also lost 2-time champion Ron White. Makenna Good (winner of the 2020 online competition) was also knocked out. Meanwhile, former champ Lance Tschirhart flexed his skills by memorizing 166 words. He had come out of retirement but was showing no signs of rust.

The third event was the Tea Party. We watch videos where 5 people introduce themselves, telling us their name, birthday, occupation, etc. This is where I usually stumble; I was eliminated here in 2018, 2021, 2022, and 2024. Finalists are eliminated after 3 mistakes. I trained a bit more this year. There is too much information for me to absorb it all, but now I could handle more of it. I only had to skip about half of it, focusing on memorizing the other half. Then I missed the first question. But I got the next one right. I stumbled on my 3rd question. Reigning champ Wes Twiggs made a few minor mistakes and was knocked out. Newcomers Arnav Ayyalasomayajula and Steve Ruppel were also eliminated. I got my next 2 questions right. However, the remaining finalists were doing very well. Lance had one minor mistake, while Jason Smith and 6-time champion Nelson Dellis had perfect scores. I made my third mistake and was knocked out. I got 3 questions right out of 6, my best performance ever in the Tea Party. Overall I got 4th place, tying my best result ever.

The last event was cards. The remaining finalists were Jason Smith, Lance Tschirhart, and Nelson Dellis. They had 5 minutes to memorize 2 decks of cards. One mistake leads to elimination, and the last man standing is the winner. Jason stumbled early. Nelson was answering quickly and confidently. He and Lance made it through the first deck with no errors. Deep into the second deck, Nelson finally made a mistake and was knocked out. Lance won his second championship.

Congrats Lance!!!

Uzchess Cup Masters

 Abdusattorov is the top seed in the 10-player round robin

MinStrength - Candidates update

Sindarov finished with 10/14,  which is the 6th best performance in history. MinStrength methodology 

1. Caruana, Sinquefield Cup 2014: MinStrength = 2830

2. Gukesh, Olympiad 2024: MinStrength = 2758

3. Carlsen, Nanjing 2009: MinStrength = 2755

4. Fischer, Candidates 1971 match against Larsen: MinStrength = 2737

5. Karpov, Linares 1994: MinStrength = 2736

6. Sindarov, Candidates 2026: MinStrength = 2718

7. Topalov, San Luis 2005: MinStrength = 2699

8. Fischer, Candidates 1971 match against Taimanov: MinStrength = 2697

9. Kasparov, Linares 1997: MinStrength = 2668

Candidates Update - Is Sindarov the GOAT?

 Halfway through the Candidates Tournament, Sindarov leads with 6.0/7. This is an incredible score against such a strong field. Here is how it compares with other great performances.

A few years ago, I developed MinStrength as an improvement over performance ratings. The updated list of top MinStrengths:

1. Caruana, Sinquefield Cup 2014: MinStrength = 2830

2. Gukesh, Olympiad 2024: MinStrength = 2758

3. Carlsen, Nanjing 2009: MinStrength = 2755

4. Sindarov, Candidates 2026: MinStrength = 2741*

*After 7 games

5. Fischer, Candidates 1971 match against Larsen: MinStrength = 2737

6. Karpov, Linares 1994: MinStrength = 2736

7. Topalov, San Luis 2005: MinStrength = 2699

8. Fischer, Candidates 1971 match against Taimanov: MinStrength = 2697

9. Kasparov, Linares 1997: MinStrength = 2668

Surviving against a GM

 I went to the St. Louis Chess Club on Friday and played in the rapid quads. After losing to a 2400, I faced former US champ GM Alexander Yermolinsky:

[Event "Friday Action Quads"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2026.04.03"] [Round "2"] [White "Wilson, Matthew"] [Black "Yermolinsky, GM Alex"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B42"] [WhiteElo "2108"] [BlackElo "2442"] [Annotator "Wilson,Matthew"] [PlyCount "79"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. Qe2 Bc5 $6 {Mixing up the move order} 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O $6 { Soon we transpose back into the main line} ({ I trusted my opponent and didn't seriously consider} 8. e5 { . Stockfish thinks White is clearly better after} Nd5 9. c4 Nb4 10. Be4 d5 11. exd6 Qxd6 12. Nc3 $16) 8... d6 9. c4 Qc7 10. Nc3 b6 11. Bd2 Bb7 12. f4 Nbd7 13. Rae1 Rd8 14. Kh1 ({Stockfish wants to play} 14. g4 $1 { even though Black hasn't castled yet. This felt too aggressive to me.}) ({ The point of Black's move is that it tactically prevents} 14. e5 $4 { since that loses to} dxe5 15. fxe5 Nxe5 16. Qxe5 Qxe5 17. Rxe5 Rxd3 $19) 14... O-O 15. Nd4 Rfe8 16. b4 (16. f5 { is Stockfish's suggestion. It thinks it can put pressure on Black with} Bf8 17. fxe6 fxe6 18. Bc2 {followed by Bg5 and possibly Bb3}) (16. g4 $6 Nc5 17. Bc2 d5 18. cxd5 exd5 19. e5 Nfe4 {is good for Black}) 16... d5 $2 {During the game, I felt this was incorrect. However, I thought he might play it anyways, since otherwise Black just suffers.} ({Stockfish calmly plays} 16... g6 { and claims White is only slightly better after} 17. Nf3 Bf8 18. a3) 17. cxd5 exd5 (17... Bxb4 18. Ncb5 axb5 19. Bxb4 exd5 20. e5 {transposes into the game}) 18. e5 Bxb4 19. Ncb5 $1 (19. Rc1 { was my first instinct, but Black can plug the c-file with} Bc5) 19... axb5 20. Bxb4 Ne4 21. Nxb5 Qc6 22. Bxe4 dxe4 23. Nd6 Re6 24. Nxb7 $2 { I jumped at the chance to get a risk-free advantage against a GM} ({After} 24. Qh5 $1 {Stockfish thinks White's attack is so strong that Black should sacrifice the rook for the knight immediately}) 24... Qxb7 25. Qxe4 Qxe4 26. Rxe4 Nc5 27. Bxc5 bxc5 28. Rc4 Ra6 29. a4 (29. Rxc5 Rxa2 {and maybe in my time trouble he would find a way to double rooks on the 2nd rank. My move is safer}) 29... g6 30. g3 Rd4 31. Rfc1 Rxa4 32. Rxc5 Rd2 33. R5c2 Ra2 34. Rxa2 Rxa2 35. h3 h5 36. Rg1 f6 37. exf6 Kf7 38. Rg2 Ra1+ 39. Kh2 Kxf6 40. Re2 {We played a few more moves before agreeing to a draw. My first draw against a GM in rapid!!!} 1/2-1/2

Drawing an IM and almost beating a GM

On Friday nights, the St. Louis Chess Club hosts a rapid tournament. Sometimes I get a chance to face titled players. In Round 1, I was black against former US champ GM Alex Yermolinsky. He's also the author of "The Road to Chess Improvement," which is an excellent book. He was winning for most of the game, and we reached this position:

Obviously, the knight is immune (white would win with either Qd8+ or Qc8+). I was under 10 seconds and blitzed out 27...Qb8 as I was about to flag. But if I had a bit more time, I would have found 27...Nf6! After the queen escapes, the f7-knight can be captured safely: 28.Qc7 Qxf7 29.Qd8+ and now I have 29...Ne8 and I'm up a piece. White's best chance was 28.Qa4 Qxf7 29.Qxc4 Qxd5 and I am up two pawns for nothing.

In the next round, I had the white pieces against IM Kostya Kavutskiy. In my notes, "(SF)" means that Stockfish suggested this move.

[Event "Friday Action Quads"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2026.03.27"] [Round "2"] [White "Wilson, Matthew"] [Black "Kavutskiy, IM Kostya"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2108"] [BlackElo "2390"] [Annotator "Wilson,Matthew"] [PlyCount "65"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 { In our previous game, he played the Najdorf and I held a draw.} 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bf4 e5 8. Bg5 a6 9. Na3 b5 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nd5 Bg7 12. Bd3 Ne7 13. Nxe7 Qxe7 14. O-O O-O 15. c3 f5 16. Nc2 Bb7 17. exf5 e4 18. Be2 Qe5 $146 19. a4 ({I rejected} 19. Ne3 { because of} b4 {, but I missed} 20. Qb3 $1 { (SF). White wins a pawn thanks to the pin:} a5 21. a3 {and if Black tries} Rab8 {, it only gets worse.} 22. axb4 axb4 23. Ra4 bxc3 24. Rb4 Qe7 25. bxc3 { . Reinforcements are coming to the b-file, so Black will lose a piece. But my move is about equally good.}) 19... Qxf5 $6 (19... d5 20. axb5 axb5 21. Rxa8 Rxa8 22. Bxb5 Qxf5 $16 {was the lesser evil}) 20. axb5 axb5 21. Rxa8 Bxa8 22. Qxd6 Be5 23. Qd2 Kh8 24. f4 $6 ({ Stockfish doesn't fear ghosts and confidently plays} 24. Rd1 { . I was spooked by ...Rg8 followed by ...Qh3.} Rg8 25. Ne3 Qh3 26. g3 Bxg3 27. fxg3 Rxg3+ 28. hxg3 Qxg3+ 29. Ng2 e3 30. Qd4+ $1 Kg8 31. Qg4+ {and White wins.} ) 24... Bf6 25. Nd4 $2 ({The engine fearlessly goes pawn-hunting:} 25. Qd6 Rd8 26. Qb6 $18) 25... Qc5 $2 (25... Qd5 $142 $14) 26. b4 $1 {Otherwise Black will play ...b4, liquidating his weakness and undermining my knight.} Qb6 27. Kh1 $2 {It is more accurate to play Rd1 first.} Rd8 28. Rd1 Bxd4 29. cxd4 {We were bot h in time pressure and I am not entirely sure about the remaining moves} Bd5 30. Bf1 Ra8 31. Qc1 Rd8 32. Qd2 Qd6 33. Bxb5 {In the time scramble, we eventually found ourselves in a dead equal rook ending. I offered a draw, and he accepted.} 1/2-1/2

French Open Memory Championship

Today we take a break from chess stats and dive into the world of memory competitions. I've been to the USA Memory Championship many times, but it doesn't count toward the international rankings since it has a different format. So last weekend, I flew to France for my first IAM (International Association of Memory) competition. There were 10 events. I was hoping to score 3000 points (for reference, beating the world records in all 10 events would correspond to about 10,000 points).

I arrived a day early to get over the jet lag. Even though I barely slept on the plane, I forced myself to stay awake during the day and went sight-seeing. The Arc de Triomphe:

And the Eiffel Tower:

The next morning, we started with Speed Numbers. We had 5 minutes to memorize as many digits as possible. I attempted 206 digits, which I knew I could do comfortably. I nailed it. I had done this event before in the USA Memory Championship, and this was my best result ever in a competition. The nervousness went away. I knew I hadn't travelled across an ocean just to embarrass myself. This result earned me 317 points and put me in 12th place. Since this was the first of 10 events, I was on track to get 3000. Meanwhile, World Champion Vishvaa Rajakumar memorized 442 digits, scoring 681 points.

Me and Vishvaa

Next, we did the event again with a different number. They take the top score out of both attempts, so I was more ambitious this time and tried 240 digits. But I made two mistakes, so my score was lower this time. The numbers are in rows of 40. If there is one mistake in a row, you are only credited with memorizing 20 digits from it. If there are two mistakes, you get 0 points from that row. In the last row, you can get partial credit if you memorize part of it. After deducting points for my mistakes, I was credited with memorizing 182 digits. Not a bad start to the tournament.

Event #2: 10 minute cards.

We had 10 minutes to memorize as many decks of cards as possible. I tried 4 decks. This was a little bit more than I had ever done successfully in training, but I felt it should be achievable. Everything went smoothly at first. Then midway through recalling the third deck, I realized I was actually doing the fourth deck. I managed to fix the error in time. I had rushed the end of the fourth deck, but I was still fairly sure I had gotten it. I submitted my results, and then found out that I had switched the last two cards. Ouch! The scoring is similar to the numbers event, so two wrong cards means no points for that deck. So I was credited with memorizing 3 decks. That earned me 265 points, putting me a bit behind on my goal of 3000 overall. Vishvaa continued to dominate, memorizing over 7 decks.

Event #3: Binaries

We had 5 minutes to memorize as many binary numbers as possible. I had not trained much for this event. I had a system for translating binaries into regular numbers, but I was slow with it. I attempted 330 digits, but thanks to a few mistakes, I was credited with memorizing 264, which was worth 170 points. I needed to average 300 points per event to hit my goal, so now I was well behind. The top score was from Guamaral Purevdavaa, who memorized a staggering 1074 digits.

Event #4: Historic Dates

We were given a list of dates with fictional events (e.g. "1701 - Ikea sells mountable cars"). We had 5 minutes to memorize as many of them as possible. Then in the recall period, we were given the fictional events (e.g. "Ikea sells mountable cars") and we had to remember which year it happened in (1701). This event is harder to train for. Generating a list of random numbers to practice with is easy, but the fictional events could be anything. But all my training with numbers paid off, and I got credited with remembering 38 dates. This was worth 268 points, so I was falling further behind my goal. Nicolas Pommies won the event by memorizing 93 dates.

Event #5: 15 minute numbers

This is similar to Speed Numbers (the first event), except that now we have 15 minutes to memorize instead of just 5. I attempted 440 digits. This is slightly more than I have ever done in training, but I felt that on a good day I should be able to get it. During recall, there were several rows where I wasn't sure what some of the numbers were. But I filled in almost all of them. There was just one part left where I was uncertain. I had seen something hitting a rocket (the rocket represents 131 in my memory system), but I wasn't sure what it was. I went through my entire system from 000 to 999. I still wasn't sure. I took a guess and missed it. But the other 10 rows were perfect, so I got 400 digits and 289 points. Vishvaa reminded us that he was the world champion by memorizing 860 digits.

Event #6: Spoken numbers

The computer reads a random number aloud at a rate of 1 digit per second. The scoring is brutal: you could memorize 100 digits, but if you make a mistake on the 20th digit, you only get credited with memorizing 19. In the first trial, we get a 100-digit number. I usually can't get 100 digits, so I stopped listening after about 75. I got 73, a solid start that was good enough for 4th place. That netted me 404 points, partially recovering for the earlier events. Vishvaa and Suzanne Hippauf both got all 100 digits correct. 

In the next trial, we listened to a 300-digit number. I wanted to go further than I did last time, since only my top score counts. But I fell behind around the 70th digit and got 72. Vishvaa got all 300 correct. The last trial was supposed to be 550 digits. But no one felt that they could memorize that much, so the arbiter asked if we would prefer it to be shortened to 300 digits. Everyone agreed. I tried 123. But I missed the 104th digit, so I scored 103. This was the top score on the 3rd trial, and I earned 480 points. I finished the first day with 1790 points in 6 events, slightly behind pace to get 3000 in 10 events.

Later I went out to a restaurant with a bunch of the other competitors. Yes, the French are amazing cooks! That was a terrific burger.

Event #7: Words

We had 5 minutes to memorize a list of random words. I attempted 60 but rushed the end. I wasn't sure if the last word was "steak" or "stake." I was also unsure if the 55th and 56th words were "hope - bird" or "bird - hope." I felt it was probably "hope - bird." But if I got it wrong, I would score 0 points for the entire column of 20 words, so I would be left with just 40. I decided to be safe and stop after the 54th word. I got all of them right and scored 353 points. But my instincts were right about the 55th and 56th words, so I could have gotten 59. Vishvaa won the event by memorizing 141 words, nearly breaking the world record of 145.

Event #8: Images

Each row had 5 pictures. We had 5 minutes to memorize the sequence.

Then in the recall period, each row was scrambled and we had to put it back in the original order. This event was substantially different from how it is done on Memory League. I did terribly. I attempted 100 pictures (20 rows), but when I was midway through review, I completely forgot where I was in the memory palace. Somehow I still remembered most of the rows, but I messed up 4 of them and was credited with memorizing 76 pictures. That put me in 44th place in this event out of 51 competitors. I only scored 112 points, so I was going to miss my goal unless I did a lot better in the last two events. Dorian Huchard won with 555 pictures.

Event #9: Names and Faces

We were shown pictures of people with their names for 5 minutes. Then in the recall period, we had just the pictures and we had to remember what their names were. Unfortunately, they started using AI-generated faces, and many of them were similar to each other. I had a hard time telling them apart and had to guess a bunch of times. I attempted 37 names, but I only got 20. This scored 211 points, so I felt that my goal was out of reach. Vishvaa won with 61 names.

Event #10: Speed cards

The goal is to memorize a deck of cards as quickly as possible. We had two attempts with two different decks, and only the top score counts. I figured I would need to do it in about 30 seconds to hit my goal. But that would be a miracle. If I tried that, the most likely result would be that I mess up and get an embarrassing score. So in the first round, I was cautious, taking my time and reviewing the deck before stopping the clock after 72 seconds. I recalled everything easily. In the next trial, I decided to go faster and skip review. But I didn't think I could do it in 30 seconds, so I went at a pace that is around my average and stopped the clock after 41.79 seconds. At first I was unsure about a few of the cards, but I figured it out and got another perfect deck, scoring 417 points. I have done this event before in the USA Memory Championship and the Canadian Open, and this was my best result ever in a competition. Vishvaa won the event by memorizing a whole deck in just 20.68 seconds.

I finished 15th overall with 2882 points, narrowly missing my goal. The winners:

The best competitors from France:

Nicolas Pommies, Dorian Huchard, and Nathan Renaud flanked by two arbiters

I know Dorian and Nathan from Memory League. We have played a few matches against each other, including a France vs. USA team event a few months ago (I had been on Team USA with Jason Smith and John Lance). 

Team Australia. Unfortunately I don't know their names

At the end, I went out to lunch with some of the other competitors and had more great food. Overall, I'm happy with my performance. When the results are submitted, I should be #8 in the US (USA rankings). My best event was Spoken Numbers, where I will be almost in the world top 100 (Spoken Numbers Ranking). If I train harder with images and binaries, then getting 3000 points shouldn't be a problem next time.

*******************************************************************

Impressions of Paris

Great food. So many bicyclists. So many runners. And so much smoking. On the day after the tournament, I passed through the Luxembourg Gardens on the way to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Some of the people there were tourists, but there were also tons of French people there on the middle of a work day. A few of them were drawing sketches of the many statues in the park. Though the cathedral was a major tourist attraction, it did try to maintain a reverent atmosphere. We were encouraged to be quiet and dress modestly. A few nuns were praying, and a priest was speaking to a few congregants. The artwork in the cathedral was amazing. It was a great trip.

Candidates Tournament 2026

 Nakamura is the favorite, though the field is very strong.

Prague Masters 2026

 Keymer is the top seed in the 10-player round robin

Tata Steel 2026

 Keymer is the top seed in the 14-player round robin.

London Chess Classic 2025

 Firouzja is the top seed in the 10-player round robin.

Uzchess 2025

 Erigaisi is the top seed in a 10-player round robin

Grand Chess Tour - Superbet 2025

 World Champion Gukesh is the top seed in the 10-player round robin.

Women's World Chess Championship 2025

Ju Wenjun is the slight favorite to win the 12-game match. The percentages don't add up to 100 since the match could be drawn. 

Why you should try openings that don't suit your style

I'm a chess coach. Sign up for lessons on my website.

The short version: if you try an opening that clashes with your style, you get to learn about unfamiliar positions and fix your weaknesses. It helped me gain hundreds of rating points.

The longer version:

I was always a solid, positional player. I didn't feel at home in tactical complications. I could outplay higher rated opponents. But then they would try to complicate, and I would often fail to convert my advantage. At the US Open, I scored just half a point out of three winning positions:

Wilson-Schmakel. White to move

Wilson-Cohen. White to move.

Ji-Wilson. Black to move.

Doing tactical puzzles isn't enough. Navigating complications is about more than avoiding blunders. So I started playing the Benoni. This forced me to get more experience in dynamic positions. I also worked through books of Tal's games. He aimed for the types of positions that I would avoid. His books were written before the computer era, so he mostly explains the ideas and provides a few sample lines instead of overwhelming the reader with lengthy variations (as some modern authors do).

The last round of the Chicago Open was my first serious game in the Benoni. Prize money was at stake.  (I don't recommend this. Try a new opening in a training game first. Make sure there is a long time control. In blitz, we have to rely on our instincts, but in a new opening, our instincts haven't been developed yet. If you don't have a sparring partner, test your new openings against an old computer. I train with games against Fritz 5.32 from the 1990s. It's definitely stronger than I am, but most of the games are very competitive; I'm not getting demolished. Modern engines are too strong and will crush you regardless of what opening you play).

[Event "2016 Chicago Open"] [White "Hamilton, Mark"] [Black "Wilson, Matthew"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A70"] [WhiteElo "2046"] [BlackElo "1942"] [Annotator "Wilson,Matthew"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. h3 { I wasn't familiar with this move order - a gap in my preparation.} a6 8. a4 Bg7 9. e4 O-O 10. Bd3 Nbd7 11. O-O Qe7 12. Bf4 Re8 13. Re1 Nh5 14. Bh2 Ne5 15. Be2 Nxf3+ $6 ({Stockfish (hereafter SF) suggests} 15... Bd7 {as an improvement. I thought White was threatening to win a pawn here, but that isn't true. Black hangs on with a tactic very similar to the one in the game:} 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 17. Bxh5 Bxh2+ 18. Kxh2 Qe5+ {. The text does White's work for him, but 15...Bd7 would develop a piece. If White played the same way he did in the game, I would be a tempo up in this variation.}) 16. Bxf3 Be5 17. Bxh5 Bxh2+ 18. Kxh2 Qe5+ 19. g3 {A few moves ago, I thought I could play 19...gxh5 and the game bears some resemblence to the famous Spassky-Fischer duel. But then I noticed that after 20.f4, Black has to retreat (or try the excessively optimistic 20... Qd4) and the h-pawn falls.} ({Stockfish insists that} 19. Kg1 { is best. Its idea is} gxh5 20. Qd2 {and Black's dark squares are weak. If 19... Qxh5, then White swaps the queens. It turns out that in the game, a tempo spent on Kg1 is better than a tempo spent on g2-g3 - but this is far from obvious.}) 19... Qxh5 20. Qxh5 gxh5 21. f4 f6 22. Ra3 $6 ({During the game, I was initially concerned about 22.f5 followed by Nc3-e2-f4, but Black should get enough counterplay.} 22. e5 $1 {(SF)} dxe5 23. Ne4 { and White recovers his pawn with a comfortable advantage.}) 22... Rb8 23. Rb3 b5 $6 ({I can't believe that I missed} 23... b6 {. I thought that I had to prevent Rb6, or else I get crushed positionally. Because Black almost always goes for ...b7-b5 in the Benoni instead of ... b7-b6, this move didn't occur to me until after the post-mortem was over!}) 24. axb5 axb5 25. Rxb5 Ba6 26. Rxb8 Rxb8 27. Nd1 Bc4 28. Kg2 $6 ({I was worried about} 28. Kg1 $1 {, since if I play in the same way that I did in the game, then the b2-pawn does not fall with check. That extra tempo is crucial. I was planning} Re8 { , but I wasn't fully convinced by it.}) 28... f5 29. Ne3 Rxb2+ 30. Kg1 Bd3 31. Nxf5 c4 32. Re3 $2 {At first glance, Black is stymied. If he moves the bishop, then the c-pawn is halted. Advancing the c-pawn loses. Initially, I was concerned about this move, but then I found a resource.} 32... Rd2 $1 {Now the c-pawn can safely advance.} (32... c3 $2 { wins the exchange but loses the game:} 33. Rxd3 c2 34. Rc3 Rb1+ 35. Kf2 c1=Q 36. Rxc1 Rxc1 37. Nxd6 { and Black's rook will be overwhelmed by the phalanx of White pawns}) 33. Nd4 { The d6-pawn is obviously untouchable} c3 34. Nb3 ({ After the game, we probably looked at lines like} 34. e5 c2 35. Nxc2 Bxc2 36. e6 Kf8 {Now Stockfish recommends} 37. Rc3 (37. g4 Rxd5 38. f5 Rd3 39. Re2 Bb3 { freezes the pawns}) 37... Be4 38. Rc8+ Ke7 39. Rc7+ Kd8 40. Rf7 Bxd5 41. f5 Rd3 {and the advance of the pawns is halted - Black wins}) 34... c2 (34... Rd1+ 35. Kf2 c2 36. Re1 {transposes}) 35. Re1 Rd1 36. Kf2 Rxe1 $2 (36... Kf7 $1 { (SF) and White is in zugzwang! Obviously, I know about zugzwang, but here my brain was still in tactics mode rather than endgame mode.} 37. Nc1 ({ White can't blast his way out:} 37. e5 dxe5 38. fxe5 Bc4 { and Black soon mops up the pawns.}) 37... Bxe4 38. Rxe4 (38. Ke2 Bf3+ 39. Kf2 Bxd5) 38... Rxc1 39. Rc4 {and the move I probably missed was} Rh1 $1) 37. Kxe1 Bxe4 38. Kd2 Bxd5 39. Kxc2 h4 $1 {The only way to keep Black's winning chances alive. If White is permitted to play h3-h4, then he draws easily.} 40. g4 $2 ({ Missing a forced draw.} 40. gxh4 Bxb3+ 41. Kxb3 Kf7 42. Kc4 Ke6 43. Kd4 Kf5 44. Kd5 Kxf4 (44... h5 45. Kxd6 Kxf4 46. Ke6 Kg3 47. Kf5 Kxh4 48. Kg6 $11) 45. Kxd6 Kg3 46. Ke5 Kxh4 47. Kf5 $11 {. But seeing all of this requires a lot of calculation for Round 7 on the last move of the first time control. In these lines, Black doesn't have to take on b3, but the bishop vs. knight ending doesn't pose any problems for White.}) 40... Bg2 (40... Bxb3+ 41. Kxb3 { and the pawn ending should be an easy draw for White.}) 41. Nd4 Bxh3 42. Nf5 { White offered a draw. I declined since Black can play on without any risk.} h5 $2 ({I had looked at the piece sac} 42... Bxg4 43. Nh6+ Kg7 44. Nxg4 Kg6 { and then noticed that White hangs on after} 45. Nf2 $1 Kf5 46. Nh3 {. Black can 't play ...Kf5-g4xh3 without allowing the f-pawn to promote. It's a draw.}) ( 42... d5 $1 {(SF)} 43. Kd2 ({I probably dismissed this line due to} 43. Ne7+ Kf7 44. Nxd5 {, but actually Black wins easily after} Bg2 { . White can't stop the pawn.}) 43... Kf7 44. Nxh4 Bxg4 {and there is a crucial difference compared to the game: Black's king can penetrate on the h-file.}) 43. Nxh4 Bxg4 44. Kd3 Kf7 45. Kd4 Ke6 46. Ke4 d5+ 47. Kd4 Kd6 48. Ke3 $6 ({ This doesn't lose the game, but White had a fairly straightforward draw:} 48. f5 Bh3 49. f6 Ke6 50. Ng6 Kxf6 51. Nf4 { . White reocvers at least one of the pawns and Black has no winning chances.}) 48... Kc5 49. Kd3 d4 50. Kd2 $2 {Now White is lost} 50... Kc4 51. Kc2 Kd5 52. Kd3 Bh3 $1 { Zugzwang} 53. Nf3 Bf5+ 54. Kd2 Ke4 55. Ke2 Bg4 0-1

My performance was shaky. You could say I was lucky. But a few years earlier, I would have lost positions like that 10 times out of 10. I kept working on the Benoni and studying Tal's books. A year later, I returned to the Chicago Open and got to play the Benoni again:

[Event "2017 Chicago Open"] [Site "Chicago"] [White "Stinson, Marcus"] [Black "Wilson, Matthew"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E10"] [WhiteElo "1832"] [BlackElo "2014"] [Annotator "Wilson,Matthew"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 a6 {This surprised him. Obviously, the e4-pawn is untouchable.} 7. Bd3 Bg4 ({ Black could "punish" White's move order by playing} 7... b5 {, but after} 8. a4 b4 {he only succeeds in handing White the c4-square} (8... c4 9. Bc2 b4 10. Qe2 {and Black's queenside is shaky})) (7... g6 {seems natural, but after} 8. h3 { I could be move-ordered out of my preferred setup. Here and on the next moves, I took time to check that Qb3 doesn't work.}) 8. a4 g6 9. Nc3 Bg7 10. O-O Bxf3 11. Qxf3 O-O {Here I felt that Bf4 and Qg3 were harmless due to ...Nh5. His next move came as an unpleasant surprise to me.} 12. Qh3 {With the unsubtle intention of rolling Black off the board. After f2-f4, White can follow up with either f4-f5 or e4-e5.} Re8 13. Bh6 { This allows Black to equalize, but perhaps that is okay with White, given the difference in the ratings. If White wants to preserve the tension, he should play 13.f4.} Bh8 (13... c4 14. Bxg7 (14. Bc2 Nbd7 { and Black gets good counterplay}) 14... Kxg7 15. Bxc4 Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Rxe4 { was playable. It's also Stockfish's first choice; the machine is critical of my decision. But the text keeps the game imbalanced, and this is important when your opponent is nearly 200 points below you.}) 14. Bg5 Nbd7 15. f4 { Stockfish is critical of this move, saying that it throws away White's advantage. It prefers 15.a5. This is a good suggestion, since the b6-square and ...b7-b5 will both be quite useful to Black in the game.} Qc7 16. Rae1 c4 17. Bb1 b5 $1 {Creating counterplay} 18. e5 { I thought this was a blunder, but Stockfish says it's still about equal.} 18... dxe5 19. fxe5 $2 { This is White's real mistake (SF).} (19. f5 $1 {was necessary (SF). White is permanently down a pawn, but he has gained access to e4 and Black's e5-pawn gets in the way of his own pieces.}) 19... Rxe5 20. Rxe5 (20. Bf4 { keeps things more complicated, but Black is still winning after} Qa7+) 20... Qxe5 21. Bf4 Qd4+ 22. Be3 Qg4 23. axb5 axb5 24. Qf3 $2 ({ He had 12 minutes to make it to move 40 at this point.} 24. Nxb5 Qxh3 25. gxh3 Nxd5 {put up more resistance.}) (24. Qxg4 $2 {doesn't work. After} Nxg4 { , White has no time to take on b5 due to his hanging bishop on e3.}) 24... Qxf3 25. Rxf3 b4 26. Nd1 $4 {Losing a piece} (26. Ne2) 26... Ra1 $1 27. Bc2 b3 { It's over} 28. Bxb3 cxb3 29. Rf1 Nxd5 30. Bh6 Bd4+ 31. Kh1 Bxb2 32. Re1 Be5 33. Bd2 b2 0-1

My prep had improved; I was ready for the sideline that he played. But more importantly, my understanding of dynamic positions was much better. I won a bunch of games like this one. My rating soared by 200 points, and now I'm in the 2100s. Eventually I switched to the Queen's Gambit Declined - it is much more compatible with my positional style - but I learned a ton from playing the Benoni. My next mission is to learn the Sicilian Scheveningen. There are lines where my opponent gets a big attack, and I'm not very comfortable there. But I'm going to learn a lot about defending.

Want me to be your chess coach? Sign up for lessons on my website coachmatt.awardspace.us.

World Chess Championship: Game 12 update

 Ding Liren bounced back with a win, so his chances of retaining the title increased substantially. Since he is the favorite in the rapid tiebreaks, his overall chances are around equal.

World Chess Championship: Game 11 update

Gukesh leads with 3 games to go, so he is likely to win.

World Chess Championship 2024: Game 10 update

 Gukesh's chances improve after a draw with Black

World Chess Championship: Game 9 update

As usual, the player who draws with Black sees their chances improve.