GM Dmitri Petrov(Russia)
White
GM Wei Chen (china)
Black
Black wins by resignation
The Post Winter Goodbye 2025 tournament in Mersin keeps delivering absolute thrillers. After the brutal knockout drama of the main event, this follow-up brought together strong representatives from various federations, and one game that had everyone glued to the board was Dmitri Petrov (Russia) against Wei Chen (China). Both players are known for deep preparation and rock-solid chess, but this game turned into a tactical war that ended with one of the wildest endgame finishes you will see.
Petrov opened with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3, choosing a quiet setup against the Sicilian. Wei Chen responded with the French-style 3...d5, immediately challenging the center. After 4.exd5 exd5 5.d4, the game transposed into an isolated queen pawn position for Black, but with White's bishop on g2 and a kingside fianchetto. Both sides castled quickly, and the early moves looked calm: pieces developed, small pawn moves like a3 and a6 (both a bit slow).
The tension started building around move 14. Petrov played Na4, trying to reroute the knight, but it gave Wei Chen time to centralize with 14...Ne5. Black grabbed space, White pushed b3 and c4, and then came the first big moment: 16...Qc8 was a bit awkward, and Petrov pounced with 17.Nxd5. A bold pawn sacrifice in the center. Wei Chen took 17...Nxd5 18.Bxd5, and then grabbed the h3 pawn with 18...Bxh3. Material was even, but Black's bishop was temporarily out of play.
Petrov kept the pressure with moves like Bf4 and c4, trying to open lines. Wei Chen defended actively with ...Ng6 and ...Ne5, shuffling the knight to strong squares. Both players made small inaccuracies here (Bf4, c4, Qf3 all tagged as slightly dubious), but the position stayed sharp. Then came the critical error: 23...b5 from Wei Chen, weakening the queenside. Petrov immediately struck with 24.Nc6, invading the outpost and forcing massive complications.
The tactics exploded. Petrov grabbed material with Nxe5 and Bd4, and after some exchanges, White emerged with an extra pawn and dangerous passed c-pawn after 31.c5. Queens came off, rooks traded in a way that favored White, and by move 33, Petrov had a clear advantage: passed c-pawn, active rook on the eighth rank, Black's king cut off.
It looked like Russia would score a smooth technical win. Petrov activated the rook with Ra8 and Re8, maneuvering the king up the board. Wei Chen defended stubbornly, pushing kingside pawns with ...h5 and ...g5 to create counterplay. The position was still better for White, but then came the turning point.
On move 37, Petrov played Ke4. A natural centralizing move, but it was a serious mistake. Wei Chen instantly grabbed the passed pawn with 37...Bxc5. Now Petrov went 38.Kd5, eyeing the rook on c6 and threatening to march forward. Here Wei Chen unleashed the move of the game: 38...Bxd4. Brilliant and cold-blooded. This takes White's strong dark-square bishop and completely ignores the threat to the rook on c6.
Petrov took the gift with 39.Kxc6, winning the exchange and seemingly crushing. But Wei Chen had seen deeper. After 39...Bxf2, Black snatched the f2 pawn, activated the bishop, and suddenly the kingside pawns became monsters. Petrov grabbed the a6 pawn with 40.Rxa6, but it was too slow. Wei Chen pushed ...g4, ...h4, ...h3, racing the h-pawn while the bishop and king supported perfectly.
Petrov tried to hold with Rb6 and Ra6, bringing the rook back, but the h-pawn was unstoppable. By move 45...h2, it was clear: Black promotes and wins. Petrov fought to the end, but after 48.Ke2 Kh3, White resigned. The h-pawn queens next move with check, and there is no defense.
What a finish. Wei Chen sacrificed the exchange (effectively giving up rook for bishop and pawns) but calculated that the kingside majority would decide the game. The h-pawn raced through while White's rook and king were too far away to stop it. Petrov had everything under control until that one king move to e4, which allowed Black to liquidate the c-pawn and flip the evaluation completely.
This was classic high-level chess: quiet opening, building tension, tactical outburst in the middlegame, and then a razor-sharp endgame where one misstep cost the game. Wei Chen showed incredible depth to spot that 38...Bxd4 idea and trust the pawn race. Petrov played creatively and had winning chances, but couldn't convert.
Huge result for China in the Post Winter Goodbye event. Games like this are why we love watching ChessVault tournaments. If you haven't replayed this one yet, do it now. The final ten moves are pure gold.