 David Navarro scores a dramatic win in the final round of the Gibraltar Masters. Unfortunately his TPR is not good enough to make it to the playoffs. Still a beautiful game, David joins us in our studio. David, congratulations on the last round win. Thank you very much, Tanya. Seven and a half points in an interesting game as well, quite fascinating. Yes, it was quite interesting but not that well played on my part because I believe in this position after C5, DC5, QD2 if Black plays B6 which is not forced, maybe there is something like Knight A6 returning in the pawn. I believe F4 should be really promising for White because Black is underdeveloped. You played quite aggressive today. Yes, but okay, in this position I did not exactly have to but if Black completes his development and then pushes F5, I might end up worse. Yes, so I sort of had to. Okay, F4, Qe7 and now the position looks quite promising for White but it's not easy to suggest anything concrete. For example, I can play a useful development move, Rd1 but okay, d6 is not such a strong threat yet. The question is what is Black going to play now? For example, H6 is not that great as White can take on H6 when this fails to Ng5. Ah, yes, I have just spotted it as well, great. Okay, so it fails to d2 I hope this time really. It works. I'm not 100% sure if it works. So you want Ng5, you want to play F6? F6, I mean it's still... Maybe R1, Q6, yeah. I mean it's tricky, I'm not even sure. Can you go F1? Yes, I can, good idea. And now maybe Rd4, Qd4, I mean it's tricky. I think it's probably winning somehow but by far not as clear. This is a very creative play. So you just want to get your knight on g5 after cutting off the queen. But you decided to go for F5 instead? Yes, I believed it to be good by the way. Then it's proposed Fe5, which I discarded in view of Qe5. But after Rb1 it's true that the queen is not that well placed here. So I don't know, it was another option. But okay, f5, H6, I believed to have some tactics here but I could not find anything. I calculated, literally, Nf7, Fg6, Ne6, F6. All the lines would sacrifice something. Yes, even D6. But I mean, I mostly realized on this move but unfortunately then I realized that Black can just play Kh7 because it's very important to bring the pieces into play for him because if he plays Be8 I can take this pawn and those pieces remain out of play. Whereas after Kh7... So you think it's best for Black to sacrifice the piece back? Yes, okay, he would be a pawn up I don't have compensation perhaps and if I play this there is just Be8 and Black protects everything. Okay, he cannot develop that quickly but I don't have any mating threats, I'm afraid. So it's unclear to me. So Nf3. And now I still believe the position to be good but I could not find anything special. Ef5 should be fine. And now Dennis Kaddrich proposed Bh6 which I also saw but now I rejected Nh4 on account of probably on account of this. Sorry, thank you. Because there might be some Qd4 if nothing else. And then in some lines he can just trade off the Queen, right? But he suggested Nd4 which is probably stronger So you just want to take on f5? Yes, it's dangerous for Black. Black can also transpose into some end game but more difficult for him but maybe he can take and play Nd5. I mean it's complex and I believe Nh4 to be a good move. But in this tournament situation that you came in today morning complex is exactly the kind of game you were hoping for? If I were not so tired I would be hoping for it but I believe the sacrifice to be good and I believe no position to be good I mean probably everybody was tired towards the end of the tournament now. You mentioned you had gone to the Rock and that's why up to the Rock? Not today, yesterday in the morning. But you say you got tired but the last two games have been very beautiful games David from your end. I'm not sure but I think this was not. I mean this was very dramatic with some beautiful ideas but the game itself was not beautiful but okay I mostly expected Bh3 and I can either play similarly as in the game when it's similar but I'm not tempo up but in the game there was queen on h4 and my pawn on h3 and it was black to move and here I have some quite dangerous threads but it's 4-3 pawns so it's double-edged and another option was queen e1 which I also saw but I was not 100% sure about moves like f5 when black just returns an exchange and hopes to survive somehow. Okay, after all three pawns... It's a lot of pawns. Yes, I mean it's unclear to me. How did it proceed after this? Yes, I just blinded something here. I think probably already h4 was not that great and now I played something really wrong. I should probably play something like rook f1. I mean the problem is if I play like this there is not e4 and black is fine or perhaps more than fine because he is 2 pawns up. So rook h5 but I just missed that I was not trapping the queen and if I take on h6 I'm at least a pawn down which was not exactly my intention. What you wanted? I wanted to play a3 winning the queen and then I spotted queen e4 winning the game. So I played bishop c4 threatening a3 or bishop d2. So black can't take on h5 because the queen is getting trapped? He can but it's a variable for white. So b5 but okay now I'm fighting for survival. Rook h4, luckily this gives white quite a serious counter play. It's probably a draw because if black takes... Do you want to go queen f4? Yes, exactly. There's also a c3 which should probably be a draw. Queen f5, thank you. And it's probably a draw. Right, so you'll just give up a bet? Yes. A pretty line. Yes, and after e4 I probably was. I did not go bishop e2 for some reason. It's connected with knight d5. I mean the bishop was sometimes hanging here but... Okay here. So you were still evaluating this position as bad for you when you were playing? I was trying to calculate lines. You were not thinking about the evaluation? I mean it depends on concrete lines. Yes. And first I spoiled my position quite a lot but I did not know how much. So I don't know how but it seems to me that black was better somewhere. But there always seems like you'll have counter play on the king side after taking the 8-6 pawn. Like it is a dangerous position for black. No. I always have counter play but another question if it is enough. It's enough for us. Yes, exactly. Yes, so rook d5. There were possibly also other options but I mean the trick is that after king g7 I have queen's history once again. So you have this nice way of repeating moves after king f6, 8-6 and then you take and it's perpetual. Not even sure if it's perpetual because if I manage to bring my second rook in play it can be dangerous. But most likely it's perpetual. Right. Yes, so rook d5 and I mean I unfortunately don't have queen c1 in view of knight e8. So this position is where we had Vasily with us. Ivanchuk with us here and he was looking at this and he was thinking about queen c1. Me too but I just couldn't see how to equalize here. I mean I don't know if f6 or f5 is the move but probably f5. Right. I know something like this and now black protects everything. I don't have a... I mean I'm still two pawns down and I couldn't see anything concrete. Actually when we were looking at this position we were also thinking if black has a move like knight h5 here. Did this come into your... were you thinking about this at all? No. No, you just knight e8. I just like knight e8. Actually even after queen c3 we were wondering what you had in mind after knight e8 now? I believed it to be the only move but in fact bishop takes h6 is perfectly playable. I wanted to play rook g4 to provoke f6 and now either a4 or without a4 I want to play something... I don't know let's say a4, c6 I take probably. I'm not 100% sure if I should take but yeah. Okay black has some ideas connected with f5 that's the problem. And you just take a pawn? Yes. I mean here it's fine because white plays queen c7. I'll give some good check. I mean this looks really good. And if black goes here he will be mated by queen g4. But okay black can play a rook f8 but I have at least the perpetual here. But the problem is if black plays f5 in such lines I can also have such a position with... a2 and c7. Yes. The problem is that if I go here now there is a real issue with the queen d1. Sorry. No it's not true. Because now if I play the same I don't have check on h4 and I just... Oh right this is such a subtle point that your rook is worse placed on g5. And now he can just go king g7 and you just get that try and get that on the board. Let's say something like this and then you just run. Yes. I mean he played bishop h6 here David and after rook h6. Okay this is probably the only move. I actually considered bishop h6 impossible but it's not. It still works and you're thinking maybe after a4 he could have gone c6 here. Is this something that... I would have exchanged queens and... And just grab the pawn back. Yes. Okay. The reason why I didn't do it now was that after queen g3 if I decided to grab the b5 pawn by means of rook h5... Don't they have f6... Sorry. Okay. Is there not any... Okay can I use my pen for this... I'm not sure maybe you can try this one. Okay I will try... From this side. No from this side. Really? f6? It's great. Or not. Maybe not. So h4 the problem is black can play rook d8. I'm not sure about moves like king h2 but the real problem is that there will be d3. Yes exactly. And if I play something... Let's try and get it. Yes. And if king... If king g1 there is e3 and black is winning. Yes. Which is not nice. Very nice. Okay it is nice but not for me. Yes sorry. And now black can just play e3 and then take on f6. Yes. Remaining a pawn up with... Not a pleasant ending for you at all. Yes exactly. So you provoked a4 and c6 but instead you went rook c6 and where do you think was the final mistake from black? Okay. It came later. I was more afraid of queen g5 when it might transpose. If I allowed the transposition and rook d8 and I think my position is actually dangerous. I wanted to play like this and perhaps give check even though I'm not sure if it's obligatory if I cannot start with this and at least I could not see how black is going to win. And just take on c4. I mean after queen f4 I have king g1 and it seems to... I mean at least there is no easy win. Right. But it might be winning for black. Maybe so rook d8. Rook h4 is a tricky move. Here I probably could have taken transposing to the previous line. Rook h4 was a very tricky move actually because now black has to make some unpleasant choice. It's not so easy to find a move. Yes. I'm threatening queen g3 and there is no longer queen g5. Rook g4. This is your threat. Rook g4. And I decided on it after I realized that bishop e2 can be a good move. Now your bishop comes into the game as well. Now I have compensation. I don't know how good is my position but I really don't like queen g6. We are both short of time but okay. You thought king f8 here. King f8 because if I give a check there follows king e7. Queen c7. Yes okay. Rook d7. Queen a5. Yes queen a5. You are right. And okay queen f2. Yeah. Sorry. And I just couldn't see anything special. I mean I don't know what's happening. I have no idea really. I can give a check. Yeah I mean why shouldn't be in danger here I don't know. I'm not even sorry not even sure about that. Okay. So instead of when queen g6 and queen c7. Yes now it's over probably. Okay. Why is queen g6 such a bad move? Because now black's rook cannot go forward because of mate on h8. Very nice. And otherwise I just get a passed pawn which probably decides the issue. But here after king f8 I probably would have taken like this. When white's position seems to me more pleasant to play given that I'm still winning some checks here and that there might also be some queen a3 ideas. But I mean it's still quite unclear and maybe it's still around equal. I have no idea. Right. But here it collapsed simply because you placed black's rook in a bad spot. And then after this this is just there's nothing to play for for black anymore. Yes. Because if he plays queen g3. Queen g4. Yes exactly. Right. Yes. Very nice. And then this runs into you and the queen. Yeah. I agree David that it wasn't the perfect game. I'm still trying to get this. Yeah it wasn't a perfect game and maybe it had mistakes but you took your chances in the last round. Yes. Because also you had to to fight for the top prizes. Okay I did not have to but I wanted to. You wanted to. I mean it was not a perfect game but nice to watch probably. Nice to watch and also very interesting to analyze. Now going into this the playoff situation you were mentioning that you're probably not going to be in the top four. No. My tie break is rather bad. So I will happily watch. Happily watch everyone else gets dressed. Yes. I need some rest already. I played a tough tournament. It looked like a failure just some four runs ago and then I bought a chocolate and there was written on it that I don't know that there is something like smooth finish. So I was joking that if I score less than three points out of last four games I am going to claim the money back but I did not have to as I scored three and a half out of four. The chocolate message turned out to be right because also the last two games you just won back to back and well a strong finish. Yes. Happy with the way Gibraltar 2020 has gone for you. Yes. Actually I was quite lucky because many players deserved my place more than me because they faced a much stronger opposition. I mean I had no weak opponents but still they had even considerably stronger opponents. But I mean last year I scored seven out of ten even though I was in shared lead after around eight and basically all the time until around nine and then I performed badly in the last two games and even though my number had been quite good. So this time it's the other way around. Well done and thank you so much for coming in and sharing your insights on your game. It has been an absolute pleasure to have you in the studio. Thank you very much for letting me show the game. Our viewers love it. Thank you so much David. Thank you.