[Event "Chennai Women's Chess Olympiad"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.01"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Heinemann, Josefine"] [Black "Sandu, Mihaela"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2321"] [BlackElo "2297"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Germany"] [BlackTeam "Romania"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GER"] [BlackTeamCountry "ROU"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 a6 8. a4 h6 9. h3 Ba7 10. Nbd2 Ne7 11. Nf1 Ng6 12. Bb3 Be6 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. Be3 Bxe3 15. Rxe3 Nf4 16. d4 exd4 17. cxd4 Qe8 18. Kh2 Qh5 19. N3d2 Qh4 20. Kg1 N6h5 21. Nf3 Qf6 22. Kh2 Ng6 23. g3 e5 24. d5 c5 25. a5 Qd8 26. N1d2 b5 27. axb6 Qxb6 28. Nc4 Qd8 29. Rea3 Qf6 30. Kg2 Nh8 31. Rxa6 Rxa6 32. Rxa6 Nf7 33. Qe2 Qg6 34. Kh2 Nf6 35. Nfd2 Rd8 36. h4 Ne8 37. Ne3 Qf6 38. Nf5 g6 39. Ne3 Rb8 40. Ndc4 h5 41. Ra7 Ng7 42. Kg2 g5 43. hxg5 Qg6 44. Qc2 Qxg5 45. Rd7 Qf6 46. Nf1 Rf8 47. Qe2 Qg6 48. Nh2 Ne8 49. Nf3 Qg4 50. Ra7 Ng5 51. Ncd2 Nf6 52. Qe3 Nfxe4 53. Nxe4 $4 (53. Ra4 Qh3+ 54. Kg1 Nxf3+ 55. Nxf3 Qf5 $11) 53... Qh3+ 54. Kg1 Nxf3+ 55. Qxf3 Rxf3 56. Ng5 Rxg3+ {0-} 0-1 [Event "Chennai Women's Chess Olympiad"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.01"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Krasteva, Beloslava"] [Black "Ushenina, Anna"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2249"] [BlackElo "2423"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "158"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Bulgaria"] [BlackTeam "Ukraine"] [WhiteTeamCountry "BUL"] [BlackTeamCountry "UKR"] [WhiteClock "0:02:14"] [BlackClock "0:01:48"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 cxd4 6. exd4 Bf5 7. Bb5 Bd7 8. Nb3 g6 9. O-O Bg7 10. Re1 a6 11. Bd3 O-O 12. c3 Nh5 13. Bd2 Qc7 14. Nc5 Bc8 15. Bf1 b6 16. Nd3 Na5 17. b3 Nc6 18. Rc1 Rd8 19. Nfe5 Nxe5 20. Nxe5 b5 21. Qf3 Be6 22. Nd3 Nf6 23. Bf4 Qa7 24. Nc5 Bf5 25. Qe3 Re8 26. f3 Nd7 27. g4 Nxc5 28. gxf5 Nd7 29. fxg6 hxg6 30. Bg3 Rac8 31. Kh1 e6 32. Bf2 Nf6 33. c4 bxc4 34. bxc4 dxc4 35. Bxc4 Qa8 36. Bg3 Rc6 37. Bb3 Rec8 38. Rxc6 Qxc6 39. Be5 Nd5 40. Qe4 Bxe5 41. dxe5 Qc3 42. Bxd5 exd5 43. Qe2 Rc6 44. Rd1 Rb6 45. Qd3 Qxe5 46. Qxd5 Qxd5 47. Rxd5 Rb1+ 48. Kg2 Rb2+ 49. Kg3 Rxa2 50. h4 Rb2 51. h5 gxh5 52. Rxh5 Rb5 53. Rh6 a5 54. Ra6 Kf8 55. Kf4 f5 56. Ke3 (56. Ra7 Ke8 57. Kg5 Kd8 58. f4 Kc8 59. Rh7 Kb8 60. Rh8+ Ka7 61. Rh7+ Ka6 62. Rh6+ Rb6 63. Rh3 {should be a simple draw.}) 56... Rd5 57. Kf4 Ke7 58. Kg5 Kd7 59. f4 Kc7 60. Re6 Kb7 61. Re5 $4 { A blunder, which enables Black to win the game easily.} ({An easy drawing method is} 61. Re1 Kb6 62. Rb1+ Ka6 63. Ra1 Kb5 64. Rb1+ Kc4 65. Ra1 Kb3 66. Rb1+ Ka2 67. Rb8) 61... Kc6 62. Re8 a4 63. Ra8 Kb5 64. Kf6 Kb4 65. Ke6 Rb5 $19 {The point is tht Whiate can't stop the a-pawn's march.} 66. Rh8 a3 67. Rh3 a2 68. Rh1 Ka3 69. Rd1 Kb2 70. Rd2+ Kb1 71. Rd1+ Kc2 72. Rh1 Rc5 73. Kd6 Ra5 74. Ke6 Kd3 75. Ra1 Ke4 76. Kd6 Kxf4 77. Kc6 Ke3 78. Kb6 Ra8 79. Kc5 f4 {0-} 0-1 [Event "Chennai Women's Chess Olympiad"] [Site "chess24.com"] [Date "2022.08.01"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Gaal, Zsoka"] [Black "Tania, Sachdev"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A46"] [WhiteElo "2313"] [BlackElo "2399"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Hungary"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "HUN"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. Nf3 b5 5. O-O Bb7 6. a4 b4 7. a5 Be7 8. c3 bxc3 9. bxc3 O-O 10. c4 $2 (10. Ne5 Nfd7 11. Nxd7 Qxd7 12. c4 {is the routine continuation.}) 10... dxc4 11. Qc2 c5 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Bb2 Nbd7 14. Qxc4 Rb8 15. Qc1 Qe7 16. Nc3 Rfc8 17. Ra4 $6 {The start of the misadventure that costs White a lot in the long run.} Bc6 18. Rh4 Nf8 19. Qa1 Ng6 20. Rh3 {Rook on the edge $2} e5 21. Na2 Bd7 {...and it dies there $1} 22. Nxe5 Bxh3 $2 (22... Rxb2 $1 23. Nxd7 Bxf2+ $1 24. Rxf2 Ng4 25. Rh5 (25. Qxb2 Qe3) 25... Rcc2 {would have been a deadly attack.}) 23. Bxh3 Rc7 24. Nc1 Nxe5 $2 (24... Rxb2 $1 25. Nxg6 Bxf2+ $1 26. Rxf2 Qb4 27. Nf4 Rb1 {with an easy win.}) 25. Bxe5 Bd6 26. Bd4 Rb5 27. e3 Be5 28. Ne2 Bxd4 29. Nxd4 Rbc5 30. Rd1 g6 31. a6 Qe5 32. Rb1 Qe4 33. Rd1 Kg7 34. Nb3 Rb5 35. Nd4 Rbc5 36. Nb3 Rc3 37. Nd4 Rd3 38. Re1 Qe7 39. Bf5 $2 (39. Qb2 Qc5 40. Bf1 Rc3 {and Black is better, but she still has to win the game.}) 39... Ra3 40. Qb2 Rxa6 41. g4 Rb6 42. Qa1 Kg8 43. Rd1 Rd6 44. Re1 gxf5 45. Nxf5 Qd7 46. Rb1 Rc8 47. Nh6+ Kf8 48. g5 Ng8 49. Qh8 {Black has to survive some anxious moments here.} Rd1+ 50. Kg2 (50. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 51. Kg2 Qd5+ 52. f3 Qxg5+ {wins.}) 50... Qd5+ 51. e4 Qxg5+ 52. Kf3 Rxb1 {0-} 0-1 [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.01"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Moroni, Luca Jr"] [Black "Nihal Sarin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "2584"] [BlackElo "2651"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Italy"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ITA"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. Nbd2 d6 6. h3 c5 7. c3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Nc6 9. Bc4 Qb6 10. b3 e5 $1 {A well-known device in the London System that takes advantage of the x-ray attack of Ra1 by Black's dark-square bishop.} 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Bh2 (12. Nxe5 Nh5 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. Rc1 Nxf4 15. exf4 Qxg2 $19) 12... e4 13. Ne5 Qa5 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. a3 Rd8 16. b4 $2 {[%c_effect b4;square; b4;type;Mistake;persistent;true]} ({Better is} 16. Qc1 Nd5 (16... Qg5 17. Bf4 Qxg2 18. Rh2 Qg1+ 19. Bf1 {would have been equal.}) 17. Ra2 {with a slight advantage for Black.}) 16... Qg5 17. Qb3 Nd5 18. O-O Bxh3 19. Bg3 Bxa1 20. Nxe4 Qe7 21. gxh3 Be5 {Black is winning.} 22. Rc1 Bxg3 23. Nxg3 Nf6 24. Be2 Rac8 25. Bf3 c5 26. b5 c4 27. Rxc4 Rxc4 28. Qxc4 Qxa3 29. Ne2 Rd2 30. Qf4 Qd6 31. Qa4 Qc5 32. Qf4 Kg7 33. Nd4 Rb2 34. Bc6 h6 35. h4 Nh5 36. Qe4 Qc1+ 37. Kg2 Rb1 38. Kh3 Qf1+ 39. Qg2 Qxg2+ 40. Kxg2 Nf6 41. Bf3 Rb2 42. Kg3 Ne8 43. h5 Nd6 44. Bc6 Nf5+ 45. Nxf5+ gxf5 46. f3 Kf6 47. Kf4 Rh2 48. Kg3 Rc2 49. Kf4 Rc4+ 50. e4 fxe4 51. fxe4 Rc5 {0-} 0-1 [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.01"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Gukesh D"] [Black "Vocaturo, Daniele"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D50"] [WhiteElo "2684"] [BlackElo "2616"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Italy"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "ITA"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 {A familiar gambit in the Semi-Tarrasch Defense.} 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. Bg5 Be7 8. e3 O-O 9. Rd1 Be6 10. Qa4 h6 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nxd5 Bxd5 13. Qb5 Bxb2 14. Rxd5 $6 {Opening preparation $2 Gukesh was playing his moves fluently here, indicating that he had come to the board well-armed.} (14. Qxb2 Nc6 15. Qb5 Ne7 16. Be2 {should be just equal.}) 14... Bc3+ 15. Kd1 Qe7 16. Bc4 Na6 17. Ke2 Rac8 18. Qb3 Nb4 19. Rf5 Bf6 $2 { Played after a 30-minute thought, and a mistake as it happens often.} (19... Qd7 20. g4 Qc7 21. Qxc3 Qxc4+ 22. Qxc4 Rxc4 {with a level position.}) 20. Rb5 a5 21. Rxa5 Nc6 $2 (21... Rc7 22. Rc1 {with equality.}) 22. Rb5 b6 (22... Rc7 23. Bd5 {and White is looking for Rh1-b1 with some initiative.}) 23. Bd5 Na7 $2 (23... Na5 24. Qa4 Rfd8 25. Rd1 $16) 24. Rxb6 {Black has no compensation for the pawn now.} Rc3 25. Qb1 Qc5 26. Rd1 Rc2+ 27. Kf1 Rd8 28. Ne1 Rc3 29. Bxf7+ $1 Kf8 (29... Kxf7 30. Rxf6+ $1) 30. Bh5 $18 Nc6 31. Rxd8+ Bxd8 32. Qg6 Qc4+ 33. Kg1 Ke7 34. Rb7+ 1-0 [Event "WCO"] [Site "Chennai, India"] [Date "2022.08.01"] [Round "4.13"] [White "Carlsen Magnus"] [Black "Batsuren Dambasuren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2518"] [Annotator "Kuljasevic, Davorin"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {The world's number one played a perfect and instructive attacking game against Mongolian GM Dambasuren Batsuren. Let's hope Carlsen is just getting started and has more such performances in store for the remainder of the Olympiad $1} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. d4 d5 4. Nc3 {The players reached a popular Queen's Gambit tabiya by a less common move order. The Mongolian first board opts for the Ragozin Defense out of many reasonable possibilities.} Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 $5 {A clever choice by Carlsen. It was safe to assume that his young opponent was booked up in the main lines after 6.Bxf6 Qxf6, so the Norwegian deviates early. With this move, he tries to steer the game into less explored territories.} O-O {Judging by the time spent on this move, it seems Batsuren was surprised by the world champion's move and decided to play it safe instead of going for the critical continuation.} ({The principled reply is } 6... dxc4 {since White cannot play 7.e4 (due to 7...g5). Carlsen would probably continue} 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 {as he did in a similar position against Aronian in the Aimchess Rapid last year. White can undoubtedly show compensation for the pawn in the arising positions, although Black should be fine with correct play, as demonstrated by the following super-GM game:} c5 9. e3 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qa5+ 11. Nd2 Ne4 12. Bxc4 Bd7 13. Bd3 Bc6 14. Bxe4 Bxe4 15. O-O Bc6 16. Rc1 O-O 17. Nc4 Qd5 18. f3 Bb5 19. e4 Qh5 20. Bf2 Nc6 {1/2-1/2 (30) Ding,L (2805)-Karjakin,S (2750) Saint Louis 2019}) 7. e3 Nbd7 {Black continues developing in a relatively passive fashion.} ({It would have been more in the spirit of the chosen opening to play} 7... c5 {instead, preparing counterplay against the c3-knight with ...Qa5 and ...Ne4. For example:} 8. cxd5 exd5 9. dxc5 Nbd7 10. Rc1 Qa5 {with interesting play.}) 8. cxd5 {This is a good moment to make this exchange for two reasons: (1) White doesn't want to lose a tempo developing his light-squared bishop to d3, so he eliminates the dxc4 possibility. (2) Having put his knight on d7, Black has blunted the c8-h3 diagonal for his light-squared bishop, so we don't have to worry about moves like ...Bg4 anymore.} exd5 9. Bd3 c6 {Black is going for the classical QGD setup with the Carlsbad structure, although that means his bishop on b4 is misplaced.} (9... c5 {is the last opportunity to play in the spirit of the Ragozin Defense. However, after the standard} 10. O-O Bxc3 11. bxc3 c4 { White would have an important extra option compared to a similar Ragozin line,} 12. Bb1 $1 {and with Qc2 to follow, he would have a pleasant attacking position.}) 10. O-O Bd6 11. Qc2 Re8 {Interestingly, we have reached a position from the 4.Qc2 Nimzo-Indian Defense by transposition. White wins over 70\% in the Mega database, so it's not something I'd recommend for Black. It is instructive to see how Carlsen increased the advantage in the game.} 12. Rfe1 { With this move, he indicates that the e4-break is in the cards. This idea makes sense considering the pin on the f6-knight.} ({The other typical plan is } 12. Rab1 {preparing the minority attack with b2-b4, etc.}) 12... Be7 { It's not a good idea to play so often with the same piece in the opening, but Black can almost get away with it here since the position is relatively closed. Still, he is facing problems with his development.} 13. Bg3 {A strong prophylactic move that avoids 13...Ne4.} ({If White had played anything else, such as} 13. h3 {Black would have had an opportunity to alleviate his development woes by exchanging some pieces after} Ne4) 13... Nf8 ({It is important to note that Black cannot win the bishop pair with} 13... Nh5 $2 { due to one of the oldest tricks in the book} 14. Nxd5 $1 Nxg3 15. Nxe7+ { and White emerges with an extra pawn.}) 14. h3 b6 $6 {Batsuren's previous play wasn't particularly inspiring, but this is where his real troubles start. This move weakens the c6-pawn, and Carlsen will exploit it to the fullest.} ({ It would have been more prudent to complete his development with} 14... Be6 { followed by ...Rc8. Black would have a very passive yet quite solid position where Carlsen would have to put his positional skills to display. Then again, he's beaten Mamedyarov in a similar position once, so it probably wouldn't be too difficult for him :)}) 15. e4 $1 {A move that yells, \"Play me $1\" Carlsen doesn't miss his chance to open the center at the right moment.} dxe4 { It is difficult to criticize this natural reply, but it's probably already a decisive mistake.} ({Black had to keep the position closed at all costs and, thus,} 15... Be6 {is required. His position doesn't look great after} 16. e5 Nh5 17. Bh2 g5 {but he's still holding on.}) 16. Nxe4 Bb7 17. Ne5 $1 {The side with the isolated queen's pawn should strive to attack the king, and this knight sortie is the first step toward this goal. The f7-pawn is an immediate target.} Ne6 ({Interestingly, this exact position was reached more than 20 years ago in the game Thorsteins,K (2493)-Kristjansson,O (2245) Reykjavik 1999, 1-0 (31). Black played} 17... Rc8 $6 {which allowed his opponent to carry out a decisive combination:} 18. Nxf6+ Bxf6 19. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 20. Bc4+ Ne6 21. Rxe6 Rxe6 22. Re1 Qd5 23. Rxe6 {and White won shortly after.}) ({I should also note that the greedy} 17... Qxd4 $2 {is refuted, among other things, by} 18. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 19. Bc4+ Nd5 20. Rad1 {and the black queen meets its fate by getting trapped in the center of the board.}) 18. Nxf6+ Bxf6 19. Bh7+ $1 {An essential check that uses the poorly defended f7-pawn to force the black king to move to f8. The point is that it will be much more exposed here than on h8. I'd like to point out that Carlsen carried out a similar attack against GM Granda Zuniga in the Isle of Man, 2017, where Bh7+ $1 was equally instrumental.} Kf8 20. Rad1 {You have to admire the elegancy with which Carlsen solves minor problems, such as the hanging isolani on d4. Black cannot take it for tactical reasons, meaning he has no real counterplay left.} Bxe5 {This seems like a sad necessity.} (20... Nxd4 {fails to} 21. Qe4 {and Black loses material.}) 21. dxe5 {The most natural recapture. White creates a powerful kingside majority with a tempo.} Qe7 22. f4 c5 {Black was approaching time trouble, so he tried at least to create some semblance of counterplay with ...Nd4. However, it's all too little too late.} ({Unfortunately for him, the endgame after} 22... Qc5+ 23. Qxc5+ Nxc5 24. f5 {is just as gloomy as the game since White is simply going to push e5-e6 next to threaten the decisive Bd6+.}) 23. f5 Nd4 24. Qf2 Qd7 {This move invites white pawns to continue advancing, though it's difficult to suggest anything better for Black.} 25. e6 Qc6 26. Be5 {There are many ways to prepare for the final blow. Magnus, as usual, chooses the most aesthetic one, hitting Black's strongest (d4) and weakest point (g7) simultaneously. He also clears a square for his next move.} ({Another way to secure the victory is} 26. exf7 Rxe1+ 27. Rxe1 Kxf7 28. Bh4 {when the black king would be defenseless against the concentrated attacking effort of white pieces.}) 26... Rad8 27. Qg3 $1 {The most clinical. Carlsen gives away the exchange to finalize the attack.} Ne2+ 28. Rxe2 Rxd1+ 29. Kh2 Ke7 (29... f6 { wouldn't save Black in the view of} 30. Bxf6) 30. Bf6+ $1 {Among many winning continuations, Carlsen delivers this pretty check and forces his opponent's immediate resignation. Let's consider the possible variations:} gxf6 (30... Kxf6 31. Qe5+ Ke7 32. exf7+ Kxf7 33. Bg6+ {with mate on e8 to follow.}) 31. exf7+ {and Black either loses a decisive amount of material or gets checkmated after} Kxf7 32. Qg6+ Kf8 33. Qg8# 1-0 [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.01"] [Round "4.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Sindarov, Javokhir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2629"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Uzbekistan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "UZB"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. h4 $5 {In hindsight, the device which enabled the U.S. to hold on to dear life $1} c5 4. d5 b5 5. cxb5 a6 6. e3 axb5 7. Bxb5 Qa5+ 8. Nc3 Ba6 9. Bxa6 Qxa6 10. Nge2 Bg7 11. O-O O-O 12. a4 Qc4 13. g3 e6 14. b3 Qg4 15. Ba3 Na6 16. Rc1 $16 {White seems to have survived the Benko threat and emerges a pawn up.} exd5 $2 (16... e5 17. Kg2 (17. f3 Qh3) 17... d6 18. f3 { might have been a better try.}) 17. Nf4 $1 Rfb8 18. Nb5 Qxd1 19. Rfxd1 d6 20. Bb2 {So conducts the game flawlessly. Black almost never succeeds in a typical Benko counterplay on the queenside.} Rb7 21. Bxf6 $1 {It doesn't matter which pieces you exchange; what matters is what remains on the board.} Bxf6 22. Nxd5 Bg7 23. Rd3 {White calmly targets the d6-pawn now.} Rab8 24. g4 $1 {Excellent play. Even though the position is clearly better for So, you have to credit him for his calm demeanor. White calmly proceeds to fix up with g4-g5 and a clamper on the kingside.} c4 {A mark of desperation.} 25. Rxc4 Nc5 26. Rd1 Nxb3 27. Nxd6 Ra7 28. Nc8 1-0 [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.01"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Vakhidov, Jakhongir"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2564"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Uzbekistan"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UZB"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. Qb3 c5 7. dxc5 Nc6 8. O-O-O Qa5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. e3 Be6 11. Kb1 O-O-O 12. Nxd5 Bxc5 13. Nf3 Bxe3 14. fxe3 Bxd5 15. Bc4 Bxc4 16. Qxc4 Qf5+ 17. Ka1 Qe6 18. Qf4 Rhg8 19. Nd4 Nxd4 20. exd4 {White has emerged from the opening with a sizable advantage.} Qd6 21. Qf5+ Kb8 22. g3 h6 23. Rhf1 Rg6 24. a3 Qd5 25. Qf4+ Qd6 26. Rde1 Qxf4 27. Rxf4 {White's passed pawn in the center and Black's fractured pawn structure on the kingside mean it is going to be a difficult task for Black to survive the ending.} Kc7 28. Kb1 Kd6 29. Kc2 h5 30. Kd3 Rh8 31. Ree4 a6 32. Rf5 Rhh6 33. Ref4 Ke6 34. Kc4 {Black's position looks dangerously close to a loss here.} b6 35. Rd5 Rg4 36. Rf2 Re4 37. Rd8 Ke7 38. Rb8 b5+ 39. Kd5 {White is winning; his king in the center of the board is a treat to watch.} Re6 40. Rc2 f5 41. Rc7+ Kf6 42. Rf8 $2 (42. Kc5 {and a march of the d-pawn would have been disastrous for Black here.}) 42... Rh7 (42... Re7 43. Rc6+ Kg7 44. Rxh6 Kxh6 45. Kc6 { would have been difficult for Black as well.}) 43. Rc6 Rxc6 (43... Ke7 44. Rxf7+ $3 Kxf7 45. Rxe6 $18) 44. Kxc6 h4 45. d5 hxg3 46. hxg3 Rh2 47. d6 Rc2+ 48. Kd7 Rxb2 49. Kd8 (49. Ra8 a5 50. Kc7 Rc2+ 51. Kd8 {would have been a simple win.}) 49... a5 50. d7 Rc2 51. Rh8 b4 52. a4 $4 {The blunder of the day. White misses out on a certain win that would give his team the glory of beating the U.S.} (52. axb4 a4 53. Rh6+ Kg7 54. Ra6 {is a simple win.}) 52... b3 53. Rh6+ Kg7 54. Rb6 b2 {The point is that the white rook is stuck on b6 and the white king cannot get out of his shadow at d8 to promote the passed pawn.} 55. Rb5 Kg6 56. Ke7 Re2+ 57. Kd6 Rd2+ 58. Kc6 Rc2+ 59. Kb7 Rd2 60. Kc7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.01"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2688"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "122"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Uzbekistan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "UZB"] {0-} 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 cxd4 6. exd4 Bf5 7. Bb5 Qb6 8. c4 dxc4 9. a4 Bd3 10. Ne5 e6 11. Qf3 $2 {Peter Svidler marked this as the moment that Caruana mishandled the opening and terming it as the pivotal moment. He attributed the probable reason for the misstep to the fact that Caruana was playing this setup of the London system for the first time.} (11. Ndxc4 Bb4+ 12. Bd2 Bxc4 13. Nxc4 Bxd2+ 14. Qxd2 {is probably the best way to continue.}) 11... Rc8 12. Nxd3 cxd3 13. Qxd3 a6 14. Nc4 Bb4+ 15. Bd2 Bxd2+ 16. Qxd2 Qc7 17. Bxc6+ Qxc6 {Black has a long-term advantage here, due to White's isolated pawn on the d-file.} 18. Ne3 O-O 19. O-O Ne4 20. Qb4 Rfd8 21. a5 Nd6 22. Rfd1 Nb5 23. d5 exd5 24. Nf5 Qc5 25. Qh4 f6 26. Qg4 g6 27. Nd4 Nxd4 28. Rxd4 Kf7 (28... Kg7 29. h4 h5 30. Qf4 Rd7 {could have been a better way to go, daring White to open up the kingside and weakening his own monarch too.}) 29. h4 Qb5 (29... h5 30. Qf4 Kg7 31. b4 {and White creates some counterplay attacking the d-pawn.}) (29... Rc7 $1 30. h5 Re7 31. hxg6+ hxg6 {and Black holds the initiative in the major-pieces ending.}) 30. Re1 Re8 (30... Qxa5 31. Qe6+) 31. Red1 Rc4 32. Rxc4 dxc4 {White has equalized. It looked like the former challenger would survive the ending after all.} 33. h5 $2 {But this proves to be a misadventure now, as the extra pawn will haunt Caruana later.} ( 33. Qd4 Re7 34. Qd8 {with enough counterplay for the pawn deficit.}) 33... gxh5 34. Qf4 Kg6 35. Qc7 (35. Qg3+ Kf7 36. Qf4 {looked like a better defense, challenging Black to show his cards.}) 35... Re4 (35... h4 $1 {Scare them on the kingside $1} 36. Rc1 Re4 37. Qd8 Qc5 {The crucial square for the queen, watching over the f8-square.} 38. Qg8+ Kh6) 36. Qc8 Re8 37. Qc7 Re4 38. Qc8 { Showing his willingness for a draw.} Qb4 $2 (38... Re7 39. Qg8+ Rg7 {would have kept the advantage.}) 39. Kh2 $2 {Another misstep, missing a chance for counterplay.} (39. Qg8+ Kh6 40. Qh8 $1 Rf4 41. Rd4 $3 {The resource that Caruana probably missed $2} Qe1+ 42. Kh2 Qe5 43. Qf8+ Kg6 44. Qg8+ $11) 39... Qe7 40. g3 h4 41. Qg8+ Kh6 {White doesn't have the counterplay he could have obtained earlier.} 42. Kg2 f5 $2 (42... Qe8 $1 43. Qxe8 Rxe8 44. Rh1 Re5 45. Rxh4+ Kg6 46. Rxc4 Rxa5 $17) 43. Qc8 hxg3 44. Qxf5 $2 (44. Rd7 $1 {An important intermezzo.} Qe8 45. Qxb7 {Very important to create an attack on the opponent's king in a major-pieces endgame $1} Qg6 46. Qc7 $1 gxf2+ 47. Kxf2 { and though the position looks scary for both the sides, White gets counterplay because of the weak black king.}) 44... Rh4 45. Kxg3 Rh5 46. Qf4+ Qg5+ 47. Qg4 Qxg4+ 48. Kxg4 Rg5+ 49. Kf4 Rxa5 $19 {Black has a clear advantage here.} 50. Rd6+ Kh5 51. Rd7 Rb5 52. Rxh7+ Kg6 53. Rc7 Rxb2 54. Ke5 b5 55. Rc6+ Kh5 56. f4 a5 57. f5 a4 58. Rc8 a3 59. Rh8+ Kg5 60. Rg8+ Kh6 61. f6 Rf2 (61... Rf2 62. Ra8 b4 {and Black's pawns roll on effortlessly.}) 0-1