[Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.01.20"] [Round "5"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R..."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E36"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2612"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 {Still the main choice against the Nimzo-Indian Defense.} O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Bg5 c5 ({Another fashionable choice is:} 7... h6 8. Bh4 c5 9. dxc5 d4 10. Qf3 Nbd7 11. O-O-O e5 12. e3 e4 13. Bxf6 Nxf6 14. Qf4 d3 {White can also undermine the opponent's center here with} 15. f3 Be6 16. fxe4 g5 17. Qe5 Bxc4 18. Qc3 Ba6 19. Bxd3 Bxd3 20. Qxd3 Qxd3 21. Rxd3 Nxe4 22. Nh3 Nxc5 {and Black was doing fine in Mamedyarov,S (2767)-Piorun,K (2640) Warsaw 2021}) ({The main line, however, remains} 7... dxc4 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Rd1 Ba6 {Here is an effort by Rapport from last year} 10. Qa4 h6 11. Bh4 Qe7 12. Nf3 Rd8 13. e3 Bxf1 14. Rxf1 c5 15. dxc5 Rxd1+ 16. Qxd1 g5 17. Bg3 Qxc5 18. Qd8+ Kg7 19. Be5 Qc1+ 20. Ke2 Qc4+ 21. Ke1 Qc1+ 22. Ke2 Qc4+ {1/2-1/2 (22) Rapport,R (2763)-Nakamura,H (2736) Saint Louis 2021}) 8. dxc5 d4 9. Qg3 {Rapport has an opinion of his own. The move 9.Qf3 gained popularity, thanks to the efforts by the world champion.} ({This is what the world champion played recently} 9. Qf3 Nbd7 10. e3 h6 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. O-O-O e5 13. Ne2 Bg4 14. Qg3 Ne4 15. Qxg4 Nxf2 16. Qf3 Nxd1 17. exd4 Nxb2 18. Kxb2 {Carlsen,M (2847)-Aronian,L (2781) chess24.com INT 2021}) 9... Nbd7 10. Nf3 e5 11. Rd1 {A risky move. White postpones castling, thus putting his king in serious danger. On the other hand, in an over-the-board game, this is a novelty. It happened in an email game though.} ({White dared to capture the second pawn in the following game} 11. Nxe5 Nxc5 12. Nd3 Nce4 13. Bxf6 Nxf6 14. e3 Re8 15. O-O-O dxe3 16. fxe3 Bg4 17. Rd2 Qb6 {but Black had more than enough for the pawn in Georgiev,K (2669)-Kosintseva,N (2552) Caleta 2011. Mainly because of the loose white king.}) 11... Re8 12. b4 a5 $1 {All is correct—the white king can be attacked from any open file.} 13. Nd2 axb4 14. axb4 Kf8 $146 {Only this, technically speaking, is a novelty, played after more than 20 minutes on the clock. Praggnanandhaa prepares the swap of the opponent's dark-squared bishop.} ({An email predecessor saw:} 14... Qc7 15. e3 Nh5 16. Qh4 Nf4 17. Ne4 Ng6 18. Qg3 f6 19. Bd3 fxg5 20. O-O Nf6 21. Nd6 Re7 22. Bxg6 hxg6 23. exd4 exd4 24. Qxg5 Bf5 25. Rxd4 {with enough compensation for a piece in Lautenbach,W (2260)-Ugrinovsky,A (2167) ICCF email 2011}) ({The move in the game looks safer than} 14... Kh8 {which prepares the same idea, but the king is more exposed in the corner. For instance after} 15. Qb3 h6 {the bishop does not even need to leave, and White can try} 16. h4 {besides the simple retreat.}) 15. Qb3 {Rapport also hesitates. And he keeps neglecting the development of the kingside.} ({Had the Hungarian wanted to play it safe, he would have opted for} 15. e4 h6 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. Be2 Bd7 18. O-O Ra2 19. Qb3 { but Black seems to have enough activity after} Qa8 {to compensate him for the slight material deficit.}) 15... h6 16. Bh4 e4 $1 {A very logical follow-up, e4-e3 is a huge threat. Therefore} 17. e3 {Is forced, and now, unfortunately for him, Praggnanandhaa closed the position with} d3 ({A pity, as the bold} 17... Ne5 $1 {would have led to much more interesting play, when Black seems more than fine, for example} 18. Nxe4 ({Worse seems} 18. Bxf6 Qxf6 19. Nxe4 ({ Or} 19. exd4 Nf3+ $1 {and White collapses at once.}) 19... Qh4 {and Black crashes through.}) 18... g5 19. Nd6 gxh4 20. Rxd4 h3 $1 {and Black mounts enough kingside pressure.}) ({Note that the preliminary} 17... g5 18. Bg3 { and then} Ne5 {is not as effective due to} 19. Bxe5 ({Or even} 19. Qb2) 19... Rxe5 20. Qb2 $1) 18. h3 {Finally preparing the kingside development with g2-g4 and a fianchetto.} (18. Bg3 Ne5 {is not as effective for White.}) 18... g5 { Black prevents this plan.} 19. Bg3 Ne5 {But it also commits a serious inaccuracy at once.} (19... Kg8 $1 {is necessary, when Black is still in game after} 20. Bd6 b6) 20. Qb2 {Now Rapport makes the best out of his dark-squared supremacy to force massive trades.} (20. Qc3 $5 {would have been similar.}) 20... Qe7 21. Ra1 $1 {Safeguards the king from the left.} Rxa1+ 22. Qxa1 Bf5 23. Bxe5 Qxe5 24. Qxe5 Rxe5 25. g4 $1 {Both the white extra pawn and the iffy king survived the middlegame, and now it is Black's turn to suffer.} Bg6 26. Bg2 {White's plan is obvious: bring the king out, ideally to c3 or even d4, and then get the open file for the rook. Since Rapport owns all the long-term trumps, Praggnanandhaa needs to find counterplay as soon as possible.} (26. Kd1 $5) 26... Re8 ({In case of} 26... Re6 {White can parry the opponent's activity with} 27. Nb3 Ra6 28. Na5 Nd7 29. Nxb7 Ra1+ 30. Kd2 Ra2+ 31. Kc3 Rxf2 32. c6 $1 ) 27. Nb1 $5 {Looks like the fastest way to achieve the desired setup.} (27. Nb3 Ra8 28. Na5 Nd7 {would have likely transposed to the line from above.}) 27... Nd7 {Black is wasting a precious tempo.} ({The only chance is the dynamic play with} 27... Ra8 $1 28. Nc3 Nd7 {Then} 29. Nxe4 ({Whereas the planned} 29. Kd2 {is not as clear as it seems as the line} Ne5 30. Bxe4 Bxe4 31. Nxe4 Ra2+ 32. Kc3 Ra3+ 33. Kd4 Nc6+ 34. Kd5 d2 $1 {shows. Black is suddenly threatening mate in one, and a possible (but certainly not forcing) follow-up might be} 35. Kd6 Rd3+ 36. Kc7 d1=Q 37. Rxd1 Rxd1 38. Kxb7 Nxb4 39. c6 Rb1 40. c7 Nd5+ 41. Kc6 Ne7+ 42. Kd7 Rc1 43. c5 Rc2 44. c8=Q+ Nxc8 45. Kxc8 Ke7 {with a likely draw.}) 29... Ra2 30. O-O Rb2 {should not scare Black too much.}) 28. Kd2 Ra8 29. Kc3 {Now White is almost in time.} Ra2 30. Rd1 ({ Nothing is clear yet in case of} 30. Kd4 Rxf2 31. Bxe4 Bxe4 32. Kxe4 Rb2 33. Kxd3 Rxb4 34. Kd4 Rb2) 30... Rxf2 31. Rd2 Rf6 {There is simply no time for this. After this, Black's central pawn pair cannot survive.} ({It sounds counterintuitive, but the rook swap would have helped better.} 31... Rxd2 32. Nxd2 Nf6 33. Kd4 ({Or} 33. Nb3 Nd7 34. Na5 Ne5 {when} 35. Nxb7 $2 {fails to} Nxc4 $1) 33... Ke8 $1 {The neatest. We can see clearly now why the rooks are better off the board for Black—his pawn on e4 is immune. Furthermore, it seems that White cannot force zugzwang, say} 34. b5 (34. Ke5 Ke7) 34... Ke7 35. Ke5 Nd7+ 36. Kd5 Nf6+ 37. Kd4 Bh7 {shuffling the bishop back and forth.}) 32. Kd4 Re6 33. Nc3 Nf6 34. b5 {Black has too many things to worry about as the a-file becomes another weakness.} Kg7 35. Ra2 h5 36. gxh5 Bf5 37. Rb2 ({Or} 37. Ra7 d2 38. Ra1 {liquidating the pawn.}) 37... Kh6 38. Rf2 Bh7 39. Nd5 {Rapport does not want to rush in the time trouble.} ({Also good is} 39. Rxf6+ $1 Rxf6 40. Bxe4 Bxe4 41. Nxe4 Rf1 42. Kxd3 {gradually winning.}) 39... Nxh5 40. Rxf7 d2 41. Nc3 Ng3 {Black tries his last chance.} 42. Nd1 Ne2+ 43. Kd5 Re8 44. Kd6 ({Actually} 44. Rxb7 {wins as well after} Nf4+ 45. exf4 e3 46. Bf3 e2 47. fxg5+ Kxg5 48. Bxe2 Be4+ 49. Kd4 Bxb7 50. Bg4) 44... Bg6 45. Rd7 Nf4 $1 {That's the tactic Praggnanandhaa was looking for.} 46. Kc7 $1 {The simplest. The advanced passer quickly wrap up the game tahnks to the king support.} ({The alternative is} 46. exf4 gxf4 47. Bxe4 Rxe4 48. Kc7 Rxc4 49. c6 bxc6 50. b6 Rb4 51. Rxd2) 46... Nxg2 47. Rxd2 Ne1 48. Kxb7 Nd3 49. c6 Bf5 50. c7 Re5 51. Nb2 Nc5+ 52. Kc6 Nb3 53. Rd8 Rc5+ 54. Kd6 g4 55. hxg4 Bxg4 56. b6 1-0 [Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.20"] [Round "5"] [White "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C80"] [WhiteElo "2702"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. a4 $5 b4 10. Be3 Be7 11. a5 O-O 12. Qd3 Nc5 13. Bxc5 Bxc5 14. c3 Ne7 $146 (14... d4 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. c4 Rf4 17. Nbd2 Qd7 18. b3 Rf5 19. Rfe1 Raf8 { Louro,E (1906)-Cabrera Trujillo,C (1876) IECC email 2018}) 15. Nbd2 bxc3 16. bxc3 Ba7 17. Nd4 Bd7 18. N2f3 c5 19. e6 $5 Be8 20. Ng5 $6 {Too risky, according to Mamedyarov.} f5 21. Nf7 Rxf7 $1 ({Not} 21... c4 22. Qd2 Bxf7 23. exf7+ Rxf7 24. Ba4 {with nice compensation.}) 22. exf7+ Bxf7 {It's easy to see that White will lose another minor piece for the rook.} 23. Nxf5 c4 24. Bxc4 Nxf5 25. Bxa6 Nd6 26. Qf3 Bc5 27. Bd3 Rxa5 28. Rxa5 Qxa5 29. h4 h5 30. g3 Ne8 31. c4 dxc4 32. Bh7+ Kf8 33. Bg6 Nf6 34. Bxf7 Kxf7 35. Rc1 Qc7 36. Kg2 Bd4 37. Qa8 c3 38. Qa2+ Kg6 39. Qc2+ Kh6 40. Qd3 Qb7+ 41. f3 Qb2+ 42. Rc2 Qb1 43. Qf5 Be3 44. Kh3 Qd1 0-1 [Event "Wijk aan Zee"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2022.01.20"] [Round "5"] [White "Grandelius, Nils"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B48"] [WhiteElo "2672"] [BlackElo "2865"] [Annotator "Peter,Doggers"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. g4 Nxd4 (7... b5 8. Nxc6 Qxc6 9. Qd2 b4 10. Ne2 Qxe4 11. Rg1 Qc4 12. Nf4 Qc7 13. O-O-O Nf6 14. Bg2 Bb7 15. g5 Ne4 16. Qd4 Nd6 17. Qxb4 Bxg2 18. Nxg2 Rb8 19. Qa4 a5 { Karjakin,S (2758)-Rapport,R (2760) Stavanger 2021}) 8. Qxd4 b5 9. O-O-O Bb7 10. f3 Rc8 11. Qd2 Bb4 12. Bd4 f6 13. g5 h6 $146 (13... Bd6 14. Kb1 Bf4 15. Qg2 Bxg5 16. e5 b4 17. Ne4 Bxe4 18. fxe4 Qc6 19. Bd3 Ne7 {Tari,A (2642)-Suvorov,A (2363) Struga 2021}) 14. gxh6 Nxh6 15. a3 Bxa3 16. bxa3 e5 17. Nxb5 axb5 18. Bb2 {So far this must have been in either player's laptop but with the following move, Carlsen seems to be mixing up things.} d5 $6 19. Bxb5+ Kf8 20. Ba4 ({Best was} 20. Qb4+ $1 Kg8 21. Qb3 {and White can take on d5 next. After} Nf7 22. exd5 Nd6 23. Rd3 {White is doing quite well.}) 20... d4 21. Bb3 Nf7 22. Qb4+ Kg8 23. Rd2 Ba6 24. f4 Rb8 25. Qa4 Bb5 26. Qb4 Ba6 27. Qa4 Bb5 28. Qb4 Rh3 29. fxe5 fxe5 30. Rg1 Be2 31. Bxf7+ Kxf7 32. Qa4 Qb7 33. Qb4 Qc7 34. Qa4 Bb5 35. Rdg2 Rh7 36. Qb3+ Bc4 37. Qg3 Qb6 38. Qg6+ Qxg6 39. Rxg6 Rc8 40. R6g5 $6 ({ After} 40. Kb1 {White doesn't have any problems.}) 40... Bd3 $1 {Slightly unpleasant.} 41. Rf5+ Kg8 42. Rf2 Rh6 43. Rd1 Bxe4 (43... Bb5 $5) 44. Re1 Rh4 45. a4 Rc5 $6 46. Ba3 Rc8 47. Be7 Rg4 48. h3 Rg2 49. Rxg2 Bxg2 50. Rxe5 d3 51. Bc5 Ra8 52. cxd3 Rxa4 53. Kd2 Bxh3 54. Re4 1/2-1/2