[Event "Chennai Women's Chess Olympiad"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.02"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Sandu, Mihaela"] [Black "Socko, Monika"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2297"] [BlackElo "2416"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Romania"] [BlackTeam "Poland"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ROU"] [BlackTeamCountry "POL"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd6 10. Bb3 O-O 11. Ne5 Nd7 12. Nc3 Nf6 13. Qf3 c6 14. d5 c5 15. Re1 Rc8 16. Bg5 h6 17. Bh4 Bh7 18. Ba4 Rc7 19. Rad1 a6 20. Rd2 Qc8 21. g4 Qd8 22. Bg3 Nfe8 23. Rde2 Bf6 24. Bxe8 Nxe8 25. d6 Nxd6 26. Nd5 Bxe5 27. Bxe5 Rd7 28. Bf6 $1 {[%c_effect f6;square;f6;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]} Qa5 $4 { [%c_effect a5;square;a5;type;Blunder;persistent;true]} ({The only way to defend was the dangerous-looking} 28... gxf6 29. Nxf6+ Kg7 30. Nxd7 Qxd7 31. Re7 Qa4 {Only move, keeping an eye on the g4-pawn.} 32. R1e6 Nc8 33. Rxb7 { with a wild position with mutual chances.}) 29. Bxg7 Kxg7 30. Qf6+ Kg8 31. Qxh6 $18 f6 32. Re7 Rf7 33. Nxf6+ Kh8 34. Re8+ 1-0 [Event "Chennai Women's Chess Olympiad"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.02"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Savina, Anastasia"] [Black "Vaishali R"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2377"] [BlackElo "2442"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "India"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "IND"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 c5 6. d5 exd5 7. cxd5 d6 8. Nge2 Na6 9. a3 Ba5 10. Nf4 Nc7 11. Bd3 b5 12. O-O c4 13. Bc2 Bb7 14. e4 Bb6 15. Nh5 Nxh5 16. Qxh5 g6 17. Qg4 a5 18. Bg5 f6 19. Bh6 Rf7 20. Ne2 Qd7 21. Qg3 Re8 22. Nc3 Re5 23. Kh1 b4 24. axb4 axb4 25. Na4 Ba7 26. Bd2 Na6 27. f4 Re8 28. b3 c3 29. Be3 Bxe3 30. Qxe3 f5 31. Qd4 fxe4 32. Bxe4 Nc5 33. Nxc5 dxc5 34. Qc4 Rxe4 35. Qxe4 Qxd5 36. Qc2 c4 37. bxc4 Qxc4 38. Rac1 Be4 39. Qa4 Kg7 40. Qe8 Qd5 ({ Black could have simply won with} 40... c2 41. Rfe1 Bc6 {followed by pushing the b-pawn too.}) 41. Rcd1 {In the press conference, Vaishali claimed this move as \"tricky,\" and lost her nerve at this point.} Rxf4 $4 {[%c_effect f4; square;f4;type;Blunder;persistent;true]} (41... Bxg2+ 42. Kg1 Qe4 {would have still won easily.}) 42. Qd7+ $1 {[%c_effect d7;square;d7;type;GreatFind; persistent;true]} Qxd7 43. Rxd7+ Kh6 44. Rxf4 c2 45. Rc7 b3 46. Rh4+ Kg5 47. Rxe4 b2 48. h4+ Kh6 49. Rec4 b1=Q+ 50. Kh2 Qe1 51. Rc3 c1=R 52. Rxc1 Qxh4+ 53. Kg1 Qd4+ 54. Kh2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chennai Women's Chess Olympiad"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.02"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Tania, Sachdev"] [Black "Navrotescu, Andreea"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D52"] [WhiteElo "2399"] [BlackElo "2373"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "France"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "FRA"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5 7. Nd2 Bb4 8. Qc1 dxc4 9. Bxf6 Nxf6 10. Nxc4 Qc7 11. Be2 O-O 12. O-O Rd8 13. a3 Bf8 14. b4 b6 15. Qc2 Bb7 16. Rfd1 c5 17. dxc5 bxc5 18. b5 g6 19. Rac1 Rac8 20. Qa4 Nd5 21. Nxd5 exd5 22. Na5 Ba8 23. Bg4 Rb8 $2 {[%c_effect b8;square;b8;type;Mistake; persistent;true]} ({Black should have boldly gone for} 23... f5 24. Bf3 Kh8 $1 {Deftly sidestepping White's threat of Na5-c6 $1} (24... Qb6 25. Nc6 Rxc6 $5 { [%c_effect c6;square;c6;type;Interesting;persistent;true] Black is forced to sacrifice an exchange now.} (25... Bxc6 $4 {[%c_effect c6;square;c6;type; Blunder;persistent;true]} 26. bxc6 $18) 26. bxc6 Bxc6 27. Qc2 {and though chess engines claim compensation, it is a different question to handle the position over the board with the black pieces.}) 25. Nc6 Bxc6 26. bxc6 Qxc6 27. Qxc6 Rxc6 28. Rxd5 Rxd5 29. Bxd5 Ra6) 24. Nc6 Bxc6 25. bxc6 Bd6 26. g3 h5 27. Bd7 $16 {White enjoys a healthy advantage now.} d4 28. exd4 cxd4 29. Qxd4 Bxa3 30. Ra1 {and White went on to win:} Bb2 31. Qxa7 Be5 32. Qxc7 Bxc7 33. Ra7 Bb6 34. Rb7 Rxb7 35. cxb7 Bc7 36. Rc1 Bd6 37. Rc8 Rf8 38. Be8 1-0 [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.02"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Rodshtein, Maxim"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C00"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2596"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "Israel"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "ISR"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. Nbd2 dxe4 8. dxe4 Qe7 9. h3 a5 10. a4 Rd8 11. Qc2 Nb8 12. Re1 Ne8 13. Rb1 Nd6 14. Bd3 Nc6 15. Nf1 f6 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. Nxe3 Be6 18. b4 b6 19. b5 Nb8 20. Nd5 Qf7 21. c4 Nb7 22. Nh4 Nc5 23. Be2 Kh8 24. Bg4 Bxd5 $2 {[%c_effect d5;square;d5;type; Mistake;persistent;true] This gives White a long-term advantage.} ({Black's best counterplay was the creative} 24... Ra7 $1 {Black is aiming to play the unusual looking ...Ra7-b7 followed by ...c7-c6 creating counterplay for himself.} 25. Red1 Qf8 (25... Rb7 26. Nxb6) 26. Nf5 Rb7) 25. cxd5 Nbd7 26. Re3 g6 27. Rc3 Nf8 28. Rc1 Rd6 29. g3 Rad8 30. Rxc5 {An excellent positional sacrifice by Dominguez. He conducts the remainder of the game near-flawlessly.} bxc5 31. Qxc5 f5 32. Bf3 Rf6 33. Rc2 Nd7 34. Qxc7 Rf8 35. Qa7 Nb6 36. Rc7 Qg8 37. Rc6 Nxa4 38. Qxa5 fxe4 39. Bxe4 Rxf2 40. Qxa4 Qf7 41. Rc1 Qf6 42. Qa3 Rf1+ 43. Rxf1 Qxf1+ 44. Kh2 Rf2+ 45. Ng2 Qxb5 46. Qe7 Qe2 47. Qxe5+ Kg8 48. Qe8+ Kg7 49. Qe7+ Rf7 50. Qe5+ Rf6 51. d6 Qa6 52. d7 Qd6 53. Qe8 Rf8 54. Nf4 1-0 [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.02"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Albornoz Cabrera, Carlos Daniel"] [Black "Mamedov, Rauf"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2566"] [BlackElo "2656"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Cuba"] [BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "CUB"] [BlackTeamCountry "AZE"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 Nb8 9. a4 Be7 10. Be2 O-O 11. Bd2 a6 12. Na3 a5 13. Bb5 f5 14. Qe2 Nd7 15. Nc4 Nc5 16. Be3 Qc7 17. f4 e4 18. O-O-O Bd7 19. Bxd7 Nxd7 20. Na3 Rac8 21. Kb1 Nc5 22. Nb5 Qd7 23. b3 {White has a good hold over the queenside here.} Bf6 24. h3 {White is ready to roll his pawns on the kingside. Black has no choice but to search for counterplay.} Na6 25. g4 Nc7 26. Nxc7 Qxc7 27. c4 {White shuts the door on the queenside.} b5 $2 {[%c_effect b5;square;b5;type;Mistake; persistent;true] Desperation. Though Black's counterplay looks creative, White comes up with equally creative defense.} (27... Bc3 {followed by ...Bc3-b4-c5 might have been worth the try.}) 28. axb5 a4 29. b6 Qb7 30. b4 $1 {[%c_effect b4;square;b4;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] White sets his pawns rolling for a massive buildup on the queenside.} Qa6 31. Rc1 a3 32. Ka2 Rb8 33. Rc2 Rfc8 ( 33... Rxb6 {was the final try, though White is clearly better after accepting the exchange sacrifice.} 34. Bxb6 Qxb6 35. c5 $1 Qxb4 36. c6 Rb8 37. Qc4 { should win for White.}) 34. c5 {White's pawns are too strong now.} Qa4 (34... Qxe2 35. Rxe2) 35. c6 Qxb4 36. Rb1 Bb2 37. Qa6 Rf8 38. b7 1-0 [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.02"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Melkumyan, Hrant"] [Black "McShane, Luke J"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E19"] [WhiteElo "2634"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Armenia"] [BlackTeam "England"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ARM"] [BlackTeamCountry "ENG"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Qc2 Nxc3 9. Qxc3 a5 10. Rd1 Na6 11. Ne5 Bxg2 12. Kxg2 d6 13. Nf3 c6 14. h4 d5 15. Bg5 f6 16. Bf4 Qd7 17. a3 Rfd8 18. Rac1 Rac8 19. Qd3 dxc4 20. Qxc4 b5 21. Qa2 Bf8 22. e4 a4 23. Rd2 h6 24. Rcd1 Qf7 25. b4 axb3 26. Qxb3 {White can claim a slight edge here due to his central pawns, but there is no easy breakthrough in the position, and Black should be able to hold the game with passive defense.} e5 $2 {[%c_effect e5;square;e5;type;Mistake;persistent;true] In his eagerness to simplify the position, McShane misses a tactical detail.} ({ Black should set his eyes on White's weak a-pawn with} 26... Ra8 27. Rc1 Rdc8 { and Black should be able to hold with a passive defense.}) 27. Qxf7+ Kxf7 28. dxe5 Rxd2 29. Bxd2 {The point $1 Black can't touch the a3-pawn now.} Nc5 (29... Bxa3 30. Ra1 b4 31. Bxb4 $1 {[%c_effect b4;square;b4;type;GreatFind;persistent; true] The point $1 White still emerges a pawn up with a winning position.} Nxb4 32. Rxa3 {and White remains a healthy pawn up.}) 30. exf6 Kxf6 31. e5+ Kf7 32. Bb4 $16 {White emerges with a clear pawn up.} Ne6 33. Bxf8 Kxf8 34. Nd4 $6 { [%c_effect d4;square;d4;type;Inaccuracy;persistent;true] An error in conversion. White need not rush into exchanging the knights off.} (34. Rd6 $1 { [%c_effect d6;square;d6;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]} Ke7 35. Nd2 c5 36. Ne4 {and White has a considerable advantage.}) 34... Nxd4 35. Rxd4 c5 36. Rd5 Ke7 37. Kf3 b4 38. axb4 cxb4 39. Rb5 Ke6 $4 {[%c_effect e6;square;e6;type;Blunder; persistent;true] The decisive mistake in the rook ending.} (39... Rc4 {More than supporting the b4-pawn, the black rook stops the white king from getting active.} 40. Ke3 Ke6 {and it is difficult win the rook ending:} 41. h5 (41. Kd3 Rg4 42. h5 (42. f4 Kf5 $1 {[%c_effect f5;square;f5;type;GreatFind;persistent; true]}) 42... Kf5) 41... Kf5 42. Kd3 Rg4) 40. Kg4 b3 41. f4 $18 {White is winning now.} Rc3 42. f5+ Ke7 43. Rb7+ Kf8 44. Rb4 h5+ 45. Kf4 Ke7 46. g4 hxg4 47. Kxg4 Re3 48. Rb7+ Kf8 49. e6 Re4+ 50. Kg5 Re3 51. h5 Rg3+ 52. Kf4 Rh3 53. Kg4 Re3 54. h6 gxh6 55. Kf4 Re1 56. Rxb3 Rf1+ 57. Ke5 1-0 [Event "Chennai Chess Olympiad | Open"] [Site "chess.com"] [Date "2022.08.02"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Adhiban, B..."] [Black "Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E49"] [WhiteElo "2598"] [BlackElo "2619"] [Annotator "Saravanan,V"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Spain"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "ESP"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. Bd3 d5 8. cxd5 Qxd5 9. Nf3 b6 10. c4 Qc6 11. Qe2 Bb7 12. O-O Nbd7 13. Bb2 Rfd8 14. a4 Rac8 15. a5 Qc7 16. axb6 axb6 17. Nd2 Ra8 18. Rfd1 Rxa1 19. Rxa1 Ra8 20. Rxa8+ Bxa8 21. h3 h6 22. Qe1 Bc6 23. Bf1 cxd4 24. exd4 Qb7 25. Nb3 Qa8 26. Qb4 Be4 27. Nd2 Bc6 28. Nb1 Be4 29. Nc3 Bc6 30. Nd1 Qb8 31. Ne3 Qf4 32. Qe1 Bb7 33. d5 exd5 34. cxd5 Qe4 35. f3 Qf4 36. Qc3 Nc5 37. Bb5 Qg5 38. Bc6 Bxc6 $2 { [%c_effect c6;square;c6;type;Mistake;persistent;true]} ({It is already a difficult position for Black, and his best chance for a fight was} 38... Ba6 39. Qe5 Qxe5 40. Bxe5 Nfd7 41. Bc7 f6 {followed by bringing the black king to the center.}) 39. dxc6 Ne6 40. Qe5 Nc7 $6 {[%c_effect c7;square;c7;type; Inaccuracy;persistent;true] A mistake, but Black faced an uphill task anyway.} (40... b5 41. h4 $1 {[%c_effect h4;square;h4;type;GreatFind;persistent;true]} Qxh4 42. Qb8+ Kh7 43. c7 Qe1+ 44. Nf1 Nxc7 45. Qxc7 {and the resultant position should be a win for White too.}) 41. Qxc7 Qxe3+ 42. Kh2 {Now the c-passer proves to be lethal.} Qe8 43. Qd6 Qc8 44. Bxf6 gxf6 45. Qd7 1-0 [Event "WCO"] [Site "Chennai, India"] [Date "2022.08.02"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Shirov Alexei"] [Black "Gukesh D."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2704"] [BlackElo "2684"] [Annotator "Kuljasevic, Davorin"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {Dommaraju Gukesh is currently one of the most exciting young players in the world of chess. The third-youngest grandmaster in history has recently crossed the super-GM 2700 barrier. Thanks to his excellent performances in the Olympiad, he currently stands at 2714 (#27) on the live rating list. Today, he showed his positional prowess and strong endgame technique to beat the legendary Alexey Shirov, who was already featured in GOTD with his flashy first-round win.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 {Shirov uses a well-known move order designed to avoid the infamous Sveshnikov Sicilian. This variation of the Sicilian is one of Gukesh's favorite weapons with the black pieces; his recent, brilliant win over Nodirbek Abdusattorov in Biel is the best example.} e5 {This is the most principled reply, ensuring that White can no longer get the open Sicilian.} 4. Bc4 d6 5. d3 h6 $5 {Some decades ago, this would have been considered a second-rate move. However, almost everything Magnus Carlsen touches turns to gold, so this approach recently gained traction among the strong players.} (5... Be7 {is the main line, when White typically has two directions: the positional one with} 6. Nd2 ({or a sharper one with} 6. O-O Nf6 7. Ng5 $5 O-O 8. f4) 6... Nf6 7. Nf1 {The idea behind Gukesh's useful pawn move is to remain flexible and send the ball into White's court. Black can still choose how to continue developing, depending on what his opponent does.}) 6. Nd5 {A rare but reasonable continuation.} ({Let's understand what happens if White follows the two most common plans. Firstly, in the event of the positional maneuver} 6. Nd2 {Black could develop more flexibly with} g6 $5 7. Nf1 Bg7 {when his knight could go to e7 instead of f6. This is the plan that Carlsen popularized back in 2018.}) ({On the other hand, if White goes for} 6. O-O {then after} Nf6 {he would not have the dangerous Ng5 sortie, as in the main line.}) 6... Nf6 7. c3 Be7 8. a3 {Shirov's play is logical—he is preparing to seize space on the queenside with b2-b4. Gukesh decides to stop this plan in its tracks with} a5 {This is a novelty.} ({Previously,} 8... O-O { was played and White was for preference after} 9. b4 Be6 10. O-O {in the game Gruenfeld,Y (2505)-Grivas,E (2425) Tel Aviv 1991, 0-1 (63)}) 9. Rg1 $5 { Shirov's trademark approach $1 He plans to exchange the f6-knight and push g2-g4, which usually gains in strength with the presence of the h6-hook.} ({ However, a more classical response} 9. a4 $1 {would have been objectively better, fixing the queenside structure and planning to exploit the b5/d5 weaknesses in the long run. This way, White could claim a slight edge.}) 9... Nxd5 10. Bxd5 Be6 {While it is vital to deal with the strong d5-bishop, this move could wait.} (10... a4 $1 {was more urgent as Black could fix the queenside in his favor.}) 11. Bxe6 $6 {There are instances when this exchange works well for White (the game Santos Latasa-Praggnanandhaa from the same match is a case in point), but this is not one of them.} ({It would have been better to play} 11. a4 {again, when} Bxd5 12. exd5 Nb8 13. Nd2 {would lead to a position where, in the long run, Black still might have some issues with his weak light squares and pawns on the dark squares.}) 11... fxe6 {As a result of the exchange, Black gets an open f-file and stabilizes the center, but what does White get in return $2 Shirov tries to take the initiative with} 12. g4 Qd7 {Gukesh opts for the most pragmatic move, preparing queenside castling.} ( 12... g5 $5 {was an interesting alternative. White would have to look for a different plan.}) 13. g5 hxg5 14. Bxg5 Bxg5 15. Rxg5 O-O-O {Shirov got what he wanted—he opened the g-file. However, this whole plan seems doubtful in hindsight since his opponent obtained semi-open h- and f-files, and two is more than one $1} 16. Qe2 Rdf8 17. O-O-O Rf7 {Gukesh plays logically—not only does he overprotect the g7-pawn, but he also threatens to double his rooks on the f-file to put pressure on white pieces. This virtually forces Shirov to play} 18. Rg2 {to cover these weaknesses on the second rank. So far, the game has been more or less balanced. Here comes the turning point as Gukesh plays} a4 $1 {With this move, he indicates that he is ready to fight for the initiative on both fronts.} 19. Rdg1 b5 $5 {The young Indian player continues with the plan but also sets up a small psychological trap for his legendary opponent.} ({It would have been “safer” to start with} 19... Na5 20. Nd2 {and play} b5 {only when the pawn is protected. That said, Gukesh's choice turned out to be even stronger.}) 20. Ng5 Re7 21. d4 $6 {True to his style, Shirov tries to create fire on the board, using the fact that the b5-pawn is hanging. Unfortunately for him, this double-edged idea will be neutralized, and I have a feeling that Gukesh saw this in advance.} ({It is no fun to sit and wait with something like} 21. Kb1 {but that's probably what White has to do at this point.}) 21... exd4 22. Qxb5 Ne5 $1 {That's the key move that kills White's ambitions. Shirov won't be able to avoid the queen trade, and the resulting endgame will be in Black's favor because of his big pawn center.} 23. Qa6+ ({Alternatively,} 23. Qe2 d3 {looks pretty miserable for White.}) 23... Qb7 24. Qxb7+ (24. Qxd6 {fails to} Nd3+ 25. Kc2 Rd8) 24... Kxb7 25. cxd4 cxd4 {Black has a protected passer in the center, whereas White's pawn structure holds much less potential. Not everything is lost for White, but he needs to play precisely to keep chances in this endgame.} 26. Rd1 ({The trouble is that} 26. f4 {is not possible due to} Nd3+) 26... Nc6 27. f4 e5 (27... Rf8 $1 {would have been even more accurate since after} 28. Nf3 e5 { White could not capture on e5 and he would be forced to play} 29. f5 Na5 { which would be similar to the game.}) 28. f5 $2 {A decisive mistake. Searching for counter-chances, Shirov underestimated the strength of the black pawn center.} ({Instead, he would have kept realistic drawing chances with} 28. fxe5 dxe5 29. Nf3 Na5 30. Rdg1) 28... Na5 29. Ne6 Nb3+ 30. Kb1 Kb6 $5 {Gukesh is in no hurry. It makes sense to activate the king.} ({Many other moves were winning, including directly attacking the e4-weakling with} 30... Rh4) 31. Rc2 {This move is equivalent to strategic resignation. Shirov probably realized too late that his plan to capture the g7-pawn was conceptually flawed.} ({ We can see this in the following two lines where Black blocks the kingside pawns first and then pushes his central passers.} 31. Nxg7 Rg8 32. f6 Rf7 33. Rg6 Nc5 34. Re1 d3) (31. Rxg7 Rxg7 32. Nxg7 d5 $1 33. exd5 Kc5 34. f6 Kxd5 { Black has a winning endgame in both cases.}) 31... Rh4 {The e4-pawn is beyond salvation. Shirov captures the a4-pawn as a consolation, but it is clear that this is not a fair exchange.} 32. Rc4 Rxe4 33. Rxa4 Nc5 {The simplest. By exchanging the e6-knight, Gukesh eliminates his opponent's last-minute tricks and ensures that his central pawns have smooth sailing toward the first rank.} 34. Rb4+ Kc6 35. Rc1 Re2 36. h4 Kd5 $1 {Of course $1 We should play actively with our king in the endgame when we have a chance.} 37. Rb5 Ke4 38. Nxc5+ dxc5 39. Rcxc5 d3 40. Kc1 Kf3 $1 {The king joins to support the connected passers; there is nothing White can do anymore to save the game.} 41. Rc3 e4 42. Rd5 Ke3 43. b4 {Shirov's connected passed pawns are miles away from their destination while Gukesh is just about to promote his.} Re1+ 44. Kb2 Ke2 {and there is no good defense against 45...d2, so Shirov resigned. 0-} 0-1