Novelty of the Week – TWIC 1644

In the rapid section of the Grand Chess Tour in Poland, the new World Championship Challenger, Javokhir Sindarov, won a spectacular game featuring an impressive pawn mass in the center.

11.Nxe5!, which initiates the tactical sequence leading to the material imbalance, made it to the selection of the Novelty of the Week from TWIC 1644.
The alternatives are worse: for example, a move like 11.Nbd2 would give Black the better position after 11...Qf6.

The next moves are forced:
11...Nxg3 (black cannot recapture on e5 as Qxh5 is threatened)
12.Bxf7+ Kf8
13.Pg6+

The game continued with the logical 13...Kxf7 and White reached a favorable position with a strong pawn mass in the center after 14.Nxh8+ Qxh8 15.hxg3.

However, with the suprising move 13...Kg7!! Black could have kept the balance.
Here 14.hxg3 doesn't work well as White will lose a piece after 14...Qf6 15.d4 Rh7.
Instead, white should opt for 14.fxg3 and after 14...Kxf7 15.Nxh8+ Qxh8 16.d4 the game remains dynamically balanced and the fight continues.

An instructive example why chess is such a complicated but beautiful game: even the most natural and obvious moves can be a mistake, while strange-looking defensive resources may completely change the evaluation of a position.
Who knows, perhaps one day 13...Kg7!! itself will become a future Novelty of the Week.