[Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B46"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,30,25,16,58,58,51,52,50,40,28,43,80,40,34,28,33,22,39,46,42,64,37,50, 55,47,37,55,54,53,81,39,57]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g4 ({Relevant:} 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. e5 Qc7 8. Bf4 Ne7 9. Bd3 Ng6 10. Bxg6 hxg6 11. Ne4 c5 12. Qe2 Bb7 13. O-O-O Bxe4 14. Qxe4 Rb8 15. Bd2 Be7 16. Bc3 Rh4 17. f4 Qb7 18. Qxb7 Rxb7 19. g3 Rh3 20. Rdf1 g5 21. f5 exf5 22. Rxf5 Rb6 23. Rhf1 Rxh2 24. Rxf7 Rg6 25. R7f3 g4 26. Rd3 Rg2 27. b3 Rh6 28. Be1 Rhh2 29. Rc3 Re2 30. Rc4 Rxe5 31. Bc3 Ree2 32. Bxg7 d5 33. Rc3 Rhg2 34. Bh6 d4 35. Rc4 Rxg3 {Fedoseev,V (2701)-Andreikin,D (2729) Chess.com INT 2022 0-1}) 6... Nge7 7. Be3 b5 8. Nb3 Na5 {[#]} 9. Qd2 $146 ({Predecessor:} 9. g5 Nec6 10. Bg2 Nc4 11. Bc1 Be7 12. h4 Bb7 13. Qe2 Rc8 14. O-O h6 15. gxh6 gxh6 16. a4 Qb6 17. axb5 axb5 18. Nd2 N6e5 19. Nxc4 Rxc4 20. Be3 Bc5 21. Bf4 d6 22. Kh1 Rg8 23. Bg3 Bd4 24. Nd1 Ng4 25. Ra3 Qc6 26. c3 Bc5 27. Ra1 Nf6 28. b3 Rxe4 29. Bxe4 Nxe4 30. Kh2 Nxc3 {0-1 (30) Hansen,S (2558)-Andersson,U (2623) Germany 2000}) 9... Nxb3 10. axb3 Bb7 11. Bg2 Ng6 12. Rf1 Bc6 $5 13. g5 (13. f4 Qh4+ 14. Rf2) (13. O-O-O a5 14. f4 a4) 13... a5 14. f4 a4 15. Rd1 Bb4 16. Qd4 Qa5 (16... Bxc3+ 17. Qxc3 ( 17. bxc3 O-O {is winning for black.}) 17... O-O) 17. Qxg7 $11 a3 18. Kf2 axb2 19. Ne2 e5 20. f5 Bf8 21. Qf6 Be7 22. Qg7 Bf8 23. Qf6 Be7 24. Qg7 {draw by repetition.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Ding Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E00"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,33,25,28,21,3,-3,-17,0,-5,-5,-2,6,-15,3,-2,1,-3,-6,7,3,-6,4,-4,22,-19, -20,-9,0,15,21,13,30,3,21,37]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Nd2 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. Ngf3 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. b3 Nbd7 ({Relevant:} 8... c5 9. Bb2 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Qe7 11. Rc1 Rd8 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Qc2 Nf6 14. Ne4 Nbd7 15. Nc6 Bxc6 16. Qxc6 Rab8 17. Rfd1 Nxe4 18. Bxe4 Nf6 19. Bf3 h6 20. Kg2 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 Rd8 22. Rxd8+ Qxd8 23. Be5 Bc5 24. h4 Nd5 25. Qb7 a5 26. a4 f6 27. Bb2 Kf8 28. Qc6 Kf7 29. Bh5+ g6 30. Bf3 h5 31. Qb7+ Ne7 32. Bc3 Qd1 33. Qe4 Qxb3 34. Bd2 Qb2 35. Be3 Qe5 36. Qxe5 fxe5 37. Bd2 Nd5 38. e3 {Mamedyarov,S (2759)-Topalov,V (2730) Stavanger 2022 1-0 (61)}) 9. Bb2 Rc8 10. Rc1 Qe7 11. e3 {[#]} c5 $146 ({ Predecessor:} 11... Rfd8 12. Qe2 c5 13. a3 Bxd2 14. Nxd2 cxd4 15. exd4 Nf8 16. Rfd1 dxc4 17. Bxb7 Qxb7 18. bxc4 Ng6 19. Nf1 Ne4 20. h4 h6 21. Ne3 Ne7 22. d5 exd5 23. Qg4 d4 24. Bxd4 f6 25. Nd5 Nxd5 26. Qxe4 Qe7 27. Qg4 Nc7 28. c5 Nb5 29. Re1 Qd7 30. Qxd7 Rxd7 31. Be3 bxc5 32. Rxc5 Rxc5 33. Bxc5 Rd5 34. Bb4 a5 35. Re8+ Kh7 36. Bf8 Rd7 37. Ra8 Rf7 38. Rxa5 Rxf8 39. Rxb5 Ra8 40. Rb3 Kg6 41. Kf1 {Le,Q (2713)-Inarkiev,E (2663) Moscow 2019 1/2-1/2 (101)}) 12. cxd5 Bxd5 13. Qe2 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 Ne5 16. e4 Rfd8 17. Rxc8 Rxc8 18. f4 Ng6 19. Nc4 Qb7 20. a3 Bc5 21. Re1 b5 22. Nd2 a6 23. N2f3 Ne7 24. Qd3 h6 25. Re2 Bb6 26. h3 (26. b4 Rd8 27. Qc2) 26... Rd8 27. Qc2 $6 Rc8 $6 (27... h5) 28. Qd3 Rd8 29. Qc2 h5 {Ding gets the right move second time around.} 30. h4 Ng4 31. Qc3 Nf6 32. Qc2 Rc8 33. Qd3 Ng4 34. b4 Qd7 35. Rd2 Rc4 36. Qe2 Qb7 37. Qd3 f6 38. Kh3 Qc8 39. e5 fxe5 40. fxe5 g6 $2 (40... Bxd4 {wins.}) 41. Ng5 Bxd4 42. Bxd4 Qa8 43. Qf3 Qxf3 44. Nxf3 Nc6 45. Bc5 Ncxe5 46. Nxe5 Nxe5 47. Re2 Nd3 48. Rxe6 Nxc5 49. bxc5 Kf7 50. Rxa6 Rxc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,72,25,25,20,19,42,42,42,32,32,-11,5,18,39,47,57,57,49,42,36,38,39,39, 42,36,33,22,21,16,58,48,63,28,8,15,45,40,50,61,56,56,77,63,69,46,39,48,48,49, 49,28,59,16,40,0,-15,-14,-9,-7,-2,0,-3,-15,-13,-5,-4,-2,0,-4,-2,-3,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 $1 {[%mdl 4]} Nd6 10. Nf1 c6 ({Relevant:} 10... Bxd3 11. Qxd3 c6 { 1-0 (66)}) 11. Ng3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Na6 13. Bd2 Nc7 14. b3 Re8 15. c4 Bf6 {[#]} 16. Rad1 $146 ({Predecessor:} 16. Ba5 b6 17. Bc3 dxc4 18. bxc4 b5 19. Rxe8+ Ndxe8 20. cxb5 Nxb5 21. Rc1 Qd5 22. a4 Nxc3 23. Qxc3 Rc8 24. h3 g6 25. Qb4 Kg7 26. Ne2 Qe4 27. Nc3 Qf4 28. Re1 c5 29. Qb7 Qb8 30. Qa6 Nc7 31. Qd3 Rd8 32. Rb1 Qa8 33. Ne2 Ne6 34. d5 Qxd5 35. Qxd5 Rxd5 36. Rc1 Rd3 37. Ng3 Ra3 38. Rc4 Bc3 39. Ne4 Bb4 40. Ne5 f5 41. Nd6 Rxa4 42. Nb7 Ra1+ 43. Kh2 Rd1 44. Nc6 Be1 45. f4 Rd3 {Idani,P (2614)-Duda,J (2738) Krasnaya Polyana 2021 0-1}) 16... Rxe1+ { This seems to be the most precise.} 17. Rxe1 dxc4 18. bxc4 b5 $1 {Again the correct plan.} 19. cxb5 cxb5 20. Ba5 Nc4 21. Bxc7 Qxc7 22. Ne4 Qd8 23. a4 a6 24. axb5 axb5 25. Nc3 Qd7 26. Rb1 {The position is equal.} Nd6 27. Nxb5 Nxb5 28. Rxb5 Bxd4 29. Nxd4 Ra1+ 30. Rb1 Qxd4 31. Qf1 Rxb1 32. Qxb1 g6 33. g3 Qe5 34. Qc1 Qd4 35. Qb1 Qe5 36. Qc1 Qd4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,58,16,32,21,8,42,42,42,30,32,18,18,26,18,24,47,31,25,15,30,14,48,55, 55,40,40,32,42,3,16,16,5,7,105,113,94,105,123,94,120,112,106,106,106,106,106, 124,106,106,106,89,106,106,100,63,60,25,50,30,47]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 14. Ra2 ({Relevant:} 14. Bf4 dxc4 15. Bxc4 Bd6 16. Rxe8+ Qxe8 17. Ng5 Bg6 18. Bxd6 cxd6 19. h4 Qe7 20. Qg4 h6 21. h5 Bxh5 22. Qxh5 hxg5 23. Rd1 Rf8 24. Rd3 Qe1+ 25. Kh2 Qxf2 26. Rh3 Qf4+ 27. Kg1 Qc1+ 28. Kh2 Qf4+ 29. Kh1 Qc1+ 30. Kh2 {1/2-1/2 (30) Andreikin,D (2728)-Esipenko,A (2720) Ufa 2021}) 14... Bf8 {[#]} (14... Na5 15. cxd5 Qxd5 16. Rb2 c6 17. Ne5 Bxa3 18. Bf3 Qd6 19. Rbe2 Bxc1 20. Qxc1 Be6 21. Be4 Rad8 22. Qb1 g6 23. f4 c5 24. f5 cxd4 25. fxe6 Rxe6 26. Nxf7 Kxf7 27. Bd5 Qxd5 28. Rxe6 dxc3 29. R6e5 Qd4+ 30. Kh1 b6 31. Qa2+ Kg7 32. Re7+ Kh6 33. Qf7 Nc4 34. Qxh7+ Kg5 35. R7e6 Qd3 36. h4+ Kf4 37. Qh6+ {1-0 (37) Nakamura,H (2787)-Akobian,V (2615) Saint Louis 2016 CBM 172 [Nakamura,H]}) 15. cxd5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 15. a4 Ne7 16. Qb3 c6 17. Qxb7 Rb8 18. Qxa7 Rb1 19. Rb2 Nc8 20. Qa6 Rxb2 21. Bxb2 Qb6 22. Qxb6 Nxb6 23. a5 Nxc4 24. Bxc4 Rb8 25. a6 dxc4 26. a7 Ra8 27. Ra1 f6 28. Ra5 Bd3 29. Ba3 Bxa3 30. Rxa3 Kf7 31. Nd2 Ke7 32. g4 Kd6 33. f3 Kc7 34. Ne4 Bc2 35. Nc5 Kb6 36. Ra6+ Kb5 37. Kf2 f5 38. h4 fxg4 39. fxg4 h6 40. Ke2 Bh7 41. Ra4 g5 42. h5 Bc2 43. Rb4+ Ka5 44. Kd2 Rxa7 {Alekseenko,K (2590)-Lintchevski,D (2548) Khanty-Mansiysk 2017 1-0}) 15... Qxd5 16. c4 Qe4 $2 {Played after 14 seconds "thought".} (16... Qd7) 17. Bf1 Qg4 $2 {Nepomniachtchi has played a couple of bad moves without much thought and is essentially busted. At this stage there's not much he can do but hope.} (17... Qb1) 18. h3 Rxe1 19. Qxe1 Qe4 20. Re2 Qd3 21. Rb2 Qe4 22. Re2 {Nothing wrong with a quick repetition to gain time on the clock.} Qd3 23. Re3 (23. Nh4 {is the computer move.} Qb1 24. d5 Nd4 25. Rb2 Qe4 26. Qxe4 Bxe4 27. Rxb7) 23... Qb1 24. d5 Ne7 25. Nd2 $2 {Nakamura was extremely upset with himself after the game over this move. Nakamura is still much, much better here with good winning chances.} (25. Nd4) 25... Qa1 26. Nb3 Qf6 27. Bd2 Ng6 28. Na5 $2 {The final mistake that restore equality.} ( 28. Bc3 {is the best move.}) 28... b6 29. Nc6 Bd7 30. Bc3 Qd6 31. Bb4 Qf6 32. Bc3 Qd6 33. Bb4 Qf6 34. Bc3 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B46"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2764"] [Annotator "samsh"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {The fifth round of the Candidates saw all draws again, but with a lot of missed chances. Ding is clearly very strong and very off form-this is really the only explanation for a guy who is coming better prepared than everyone, getting good positions, chances to win, and then squandering them. Even though he is on a minus-one score, I could easily see him staging a comeback if he can start cashing in when those moments come. In what was a painful game for me to witness, Hikaru also let some chances slip today against the leader, and a win against Nepo would have blown the standings wide open. But, for today's game, I'll be covering an interesting Sicilian between Caruana and Rapport.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 $5 {The first surprising move. Rapport has always preferred Qc7 here in the past, which is far and away the main move in modern times.} 6. g4 {Bold, but probably not best. Caruana's time management suggested that he hadn't checked 5...a6 much.} (6. Nxc6 {This has to be the critical line. I've never really believed Black is equalizing here, but Rapport probably had some ideas. He seems to be doing his homework pretty well here.}) 6... Nge7 7. Be3 b5 8. Nb3 Na5 {Rapport was still playing pretty fast at this point, but we are already well outside of normal theory. This position had only been seen once before, in an Ulf Andersson game from 2000.} 9. Qd2 (9. h4 {If White has already pushed g4, it feels consistent to continue with the kingside pawn advances. Black's position optically looks fine to me, but the machine does claim White is a little better.}) 9... Nxb3 $6 {This feels unnecessary to me. The knight on b3 was not going anywhere, so did we need to take it right away $2 It means White no longer has to ever worry about Nc4 and can put the bishop on g2 more comfortably.} (9... Bb7 {This would be my choice. I guess Rapport was worried about} 10. Nc5 {But Black seems happy enough after} Bc6) 10. axb3 Bb7 11. Bg2 (11. f3 {This move feels more consistent with the English Attack setup that Caruana is playing. I presume he disliked d5 here, as otherwise I can't see much reason to put the bishop on g2. } d5 12. O-O-O $1 dxe4 13. Qf2 $1 {White still has some pressure.}) 11... Ng6 12. Rf1 {This weird-looking move has clear merit. The bishop can hide on h1 after Nh4, White is ready for f4-f5 later, and he can still castle long.} Bc6 13. g5 $6 (13. f4 $1 {It's always easy to sacrifice other people's pawns, especially when the computer tells you to.} Qh4+ 14. Rf2 Qxg4 15. Bf3 Qh4 16. O-O-O {Apparently White is better here despite the pawn less. I would not necessarily have come to that conclusion without the engine running, since Black still looks pretty solid.}) 13... a5 $1 {It turns out White's king will have nowhere safe to hide. Already Black is a bit better.} 14. f4 a4 $1 15. Rd1 Bb4 {Not a bad move by any stretch. The machine gives Black a slight edge after a lot of continuations, but one in particular stands out most to me.} ( 15... axb3 $5 16. cxb3 Nh4 $1 17. Bh1 h6 $1 {This looks really unpleasant for White to me.}) 16. Qd4 Qa5 {This forces a draw.} (16... Bxc3+ $5 {Black could have continued the game.} 17. Qxc3 O-O $15 {It's a very unusual position and a hard one to evaluate, and I can understand why Rapport might not have been too confident in his chances here. With the computer running it's easy to criticize him for not going for it, but he is a human being after all.}) 17. Qxg7 a3 18. Kf2 axb2 19. Ne2 e5 $1 {White's queen is cut off and will be hit with a perpetual.} 20. f5 Bf8 21. Qf6 Be7 22. Qg7 Bf8 23. Qf6 Be7 24. Qg7 { A short but interesting game $1} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitao"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {Two Petroffs in the same round $1 This defense is known to be very reliable and rock-solid, maybe even more than the Berlin. It was regularly used by Karpov and Kramnik and it also shows up in games of the best elite players nowadays. Because of its tendency to steer the game toward a draw, it is not a fan favorite.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 { This is only the fifth most popular move, but it has served Duda well before. He is a specialist in this sideline.} 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 (9. c4 { is also popular.}) 9... Nd6 10. Nf1 c6 11. Ng3 (11. Bxf5 Nxf5 12. Qd3 Nd6 13. b3 Na6 14. Ng3 Re8 15. c4 {This was Carlsen's try when he faced Duda in an online blitz game. The position is very similar to the one we will have in the game.} Bf8 16. Bd2 f6 $6 17. h4 (17. c5 $1 Nf7 18. b4 {with the advantage.}) 17... Qd7 18. c5 Ne4 $1 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Rxe4 Nxc5 21. Qc4+ Ne6 22. Rae1 b5 23. Qc2 Nc7 24. Rc1 Rxe4 25. Qxe4 Nd5 {and the game later finished in a draw. Carlsen-Duda 2022.}) 11... Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Na6 13. Bd2 (13. b3 Re8 14. c4 { transposes to Carlsen-Duda, but with one move less.}) 13... Nc7 14. b3 { Firouzja goes for the standard plan.} (14. Re2 Re8 15. Rae1 Bf8 {and White is not making much progress.}) 14... Re8 15. c4 Bf6 16. Rad1 {A new move.} (16. Ba5 b6 17. Bc3 {and now Duda plays the same plan we will see in today's game.} dxc4 18. bxc4 b5 $1 19. Rxe8+ Ndxe8 20. cxb5 Nxb5 {And in the end he won an important game in the World Cup. Idani-Duda, Fide World Cup 2021.}) 16... Rxe1+ 17. Rxe1 dxc4 $5 (17... Ne6 {is also possible and perhaps more reliable.}) 18. bxc4 b5 $1 {The same idea Duda played against Idani. This is an important plan to free Black's position.} 19. cxb5 cxb5 20. Ba5 Nc4 21. Bxc7 Qxc7 22. Ne4 (22. Nh5 $5 {was an interesting alternative. Play may continue:} Qd6 23. a4 a6 24. axb5 axb5 25. Qf5 b4 26. Nxf6+ Qxf6 27. Qb5 Nd6 28. Qxb4 g6 {and Black should hold this easily, but a pawn is a pawn.}) 22... Qd8 {White looks slightly better with active pieces and the passed d-pawn, but Firouzja is unable to prove an advantage.} 23. a4 (23. Nxf6+ Qxf6 24. Qe4 Rf8 25. Qb7 a6 {gives nothing.}) (23. d5 Be7 $1 {and Black is fine.}) 23... a6 24. axb5 axb5 25. Nc3 {A clear indication that Firouzja will simplify and accept a draw.} Qd7 26. Rb1 Nd6 (26... Rb8 {I first analyze the games without the engine, making some sketch annotations that are checked with the machine later. In the sketch, I gave this move two question marks, indicating a win for White after 27.Qxc4. The computer seems to disagree.} 27. Qxc4 {Of course White is not forced to play this, but who can resist such a temptation $2} bxc4 28. Rxb8+ Bd8 29. Ne5 {I thought White was winning here, but the machine indicates a draw with 29... Qe8, 29...Qc7 or 29...Qe7. This is not an important line and there is no reason to investigate it further. But it shows how difficult chess is.}) 27. Nxb5 Nxb5 28. Rxb5 Bxd4 $1 {A nice tactical show that forces a draw.} 29. Nxd4 Ra1+ 30. Rb1 Qxd4 $1 {The point.} 31. Qf1 Rxb1 32. Qxb1 g6 33. g3 Qe5 34. Qc1 Qd4 35. Qb1 Qe5 36. Qc1 Qd4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitao"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] {Nepomniachtchi was not his usual self today but managed a lucky escape. He is certainly satisfied with the result.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {The Petroff is not what you expect from such a bold player like Nepomniachtchi, but he used it in the match against Carlsen and also played it this year, so it was not a surprise for Nakamura.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 {Nakamura goes for the old main line.} Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 {When I was in my 20's, at the beginning of the 21st century, I remember analyzing this position a lot, trying to find an advantage for White. I even prepared something to play against the great Karpov, but he chose another line. There are many important games here, including a few by Kasparov and Leko-Kramnik from the 2004 World Championship match.} 13. Re1 Re8 14. Ra2 $5 {14.cxd5 and 14.Bf4 are much more popular. Nakamura used the text move to beat Akobian in the 2016 US Championship. It should not come as a surprise to Nepomniachtchi, but surprisingly he will get an inferior position very quickly.} Bf8 {A rare move, played in a few correspondence games.} (14... Na5 15. cxd5 Qxd5 16. Rb2 c6 {was Nakamura-Akobian, St. Louis 2016.}) 15. cxd5 {A new move.} (15. Bf4) (15. a4) 15... Qxd5 16. c4 Qe4 $6 {A surprising move.} (16... Qd7 {is natural and good.}) 17. Bf1 Qg4 $2 {Now Black is virtually lost. } (17... Qb1 $1 {is forced.} 18. Rxe8 Rxe8 19. Rb2 Qa1 20. Rxb7 Be4 $1 { and Black is ok, for example:} 21. Rxc7 Bd6 $1 (21... Bxa3 $2 22. d5) 22. Rd7 Bxa3 23. Nd2 $1 Qxc1 24. Qxc1 Bxc1 25. Nxe4 Rxe4 26. d5 Re7 $1 27. Rd6 Rc7 28. dxc6 Ba3 29. Rd8+ Bf8 30. Ra8 Rxc6 31. Rxa7 g6 {with a draw. My computer said, “Hello $1”}) 18. h3 Rxe1 19. Qxe1 Qe4 (19... Qg6 20. d5 Ne7 21. g4 Bc8 22. Re2 {is just ugly.}) 20. Re2 Qd3 21. Rb2 Qe4 22. Re2 Qd3 23. Re3 (23. Nh4 $5 { is algo good.} Qb1 (23... Nxd4 $2 24. Rd2) 24. d5 Nd4 25. Rb2 Qe4 26. Qxe4 Bxe4 27. Rxb7 c6 28. Be3 {and White should win.}) 23... Qb1 24. d5 Ne7 25. Nd2 $2 { Nakamura said in the post-game interview that he was very upset after this move. He was going to play 25.Nd4 but saw 25.Nd2 and thought it was simpler. He overlooked the Qa1-f6 maneuver.} (25. Nd4 $1 Qb6 (25... Bg6 26. Rb3 Qa1 27. Nb5 c6 28. Nc3 cxd5 29. Qd2 d4 30. Bb2 dxc3 31. Bxc3 $1 {trapping the queen.}) 26. Qd2 {with more space and more active pieces, White has a nearly winning advantage.}) 25... Qa1 26. Nb3 Qf6 27. Bd2 {White is still much better, but Nakamura had not enough energy to keep the pressure.} Ng6 28. Na5 $6 (28. Bc3 $1) 28... b6 29. Nc6 Bd7 {Now the worst is over.} 30. Bc3 Qd6 {Nakamura was getting in time trouble and decided to repeat moves.} 31. Bb4 Qf6 32. Bc3 Qd6 33. Bb4 Qf6 34. Bc3 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E16"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2806"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitao"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] {Ding Liren missed another big chance in this game.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Nd2 (4. Bd2 {is more popular.}) 4... O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. Ngf3 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. b3 Nbd7 9. Bb2 Rc8 $5 10. Rc1 Qe7 11. e3 c5 {This natural move is a novelty.} (11... Rfd8 {This move was played in a game by two legends: Ulf Andersson, one of the greatest endgame players of all time, and Jaime Sunye Neto, a Brazilian grandmaster who taught many positional lessons when I was a kid.} 12. Qe2 c5 13. Rfd1 cxd4 14. Nxd4 a6 15. cxd5 Nxd5 16. Nc4 b5 17. a3 bxc4 18. bxc4 Bxa3 19. cxd5 Rxc1 20. Rxc1 Ne5 21. Ra1 Bxb2 22. Qxb2 Nc4 {and a draw was agreed in Andersson-Sunye Neto Hastings, 1981.}) 12. cxd5 (12. Qe2 Rfd8 { transposes to the aforementioned game.}) 12... Bxd5 13. Qe2 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 {Not a very impressive opening preparation by Radjabov.} Ne5 (15... Bxd2 $5 {is an interesting move suggested by the computer.} 16. Qxd2 e5 17. Nf5 Qe6 18. Rxc8 Rxc8 19. Nd6 Rd8 20. Nc4 Ne4 {with an excellent position for Black.}) 16. e4 Rfd8 17. Rxc8 Rxc8 18. f4 $6 {A very committal move. I don't see what White gets by advancing the f-pawn. It would be safer to go f2-f3 at some point, protecting the e4-pawn and preventing any trouble on the h1-a8 diagonal.} (18. Rd1 $11) (18. N2f3 Nxf3 19. Nxf3 $11) 18... Ng6 19. Nc4 $6 (19. f5 {The only way to justify the previous move.} Ne5 20. fxe6 fxe6 21. N2f3 { with an equal position.}) 19... Qb7 {Radjabov certainly would like to play f4-f3 in this position. Alas, it's not legal according to the current rules.} 20. a3 Bc5 21. Re1 b5 $1 {Gaining space and sending the knight back.} 22. Nd2 a6 {Ding Liren already has the more comfortable position. Only he can play for a win.} 23. N2f3 Ne7 24. Qd3 h6 $1 {My 6-year-old son always plays h6 or h3 after castling. \"No back-rank problems\", he says. This is a strategy even super grandmasters approve.} 25. Re2 Bb6 26. h3 Rd8 27. Qc2 Rc8 28. Qd3 Rd8 29. Qc2 h5 $1 {After consolidating the position, Ding Liren advances the pawn and prepares h5-h4 to disrupt White's pawn structure. Just observe how big of a problem the e4-pawn is. He ties White's pieces to its defense.} 30. h4 { Radjabov knows this is a horrible move to make. He must have been disgusted with his position at this point.} Ng4 {The knight can't ask for a better square.} 31. Qc3 Nf6 32. Qc2 Rc8 33. Qd3 Ng4 34. b4 Qd7 35. Rd2 Rc4 36. Qe2 Qb7 37. Qd3 f6 (37... Ng6 {with the idea of e6-e5 is also very good.}) 38. Kh3 Qc8 39. e5 fxe5 (39... f5 {leads to a dream position for Black, with total light-square dominance. As I say to my students, this is a position you should take a picture to look at every time you feel sad. White might as well resign here. He has no plan and Black can just prepare to land the knight on the monster square d5.}) 40. fxe5 g6 $4 {We see it once again: Ding Liren builds a winning position after a series of powerful moves but lets the win slip when it’s very close. It was the last move of the time control, but on a better day he would certainly find the win.} (40... Bxd4 $1 {This knight is tying White's position together, it is essential to remove it.} 41. Nxd4 (41. Bxd4 Qc6) 41... Qa8 $1 42. Nf3 Rc8 {followed by Rf8.}) 41. Ng5 {Now white gets some miraculous counterplay.} Bxd4 42. Bxd4 Qa8 43. Qf3 Qxf3 44. Nxf3 Nc6 45. Bc5 Ncxe5 46. Nxe5 Nxe5 47. Re2 Nd3 48. Rxe6 Nxc5 49. bxc5 Kf7 50. Rxa6 Rxc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Madrid"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2804"] [BlackElo "2750"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 Nd6 10. Nf1 c6 11. Ng3 (11. Bf4 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Nd7 13. Qb3 Nb6 14. a4 Nbc4 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Ne4 17. Ng3 Nxg3 18. Qxg3 Re8 {1/2-1/2 (30) Esipenko,A (2677)-Duda,J (2743) Wijk aan Zee NED 2021}) (11. Bxf5 Nxf5 12. Qd3 Nd6 13. b3 Na6 14. Ng3 Re8 15. c4 (15. Bd2 Nc7 (15... Bf6 16. Rxe8+ Nxe8 17. Re1 g6 18. h4 Nac7 19. h5 Ng7 20. Ne5 Bxe5 21. Rxe5 Qd7 22. Bg5 Re8 23. Bf6 Rxe5 24. Bxe5 Nce8 25. Qf3 Qe7 26. Bxg7 Nxg7 27. hxg6 hxg6 28. Qf4 Ne6 29. Qb8+ Kg7 30. Qe5+ {1/2-1/2 (29) Pruijssers,R (2512)-Wegerle,J (2425) Germany 2018}) 16. c4 Bf6 17. Ba5 b6 18. Bc3 dxc4 19. bxc4 b5 20. Rxe8+ Ndxe8 21. cxb5 Nxb5 22. Rc1 Qd5 23. a4 Nxc3 24. Qxc3 Rc8 25. h3 g6 26. Qb4 Kg7 27. Ne2 Qe4 28. Nc3 Qf4 29. Re1 c5 30. Qb7 Qb8 31. Qa6 Nc7 32. Qd3 Rd8 33. Rb1 Qa8 34. Ne2 Ne6 35. d5 Qxd5 36. Qxd5 Rxd5 37. Rc1 Rd3 38. Ng3 Ra3 39. Rc4 Bc3 40. Ne4 Bb4 41. Ne5 f5 42. Nd6 Rxa4 43. Nb7 Ra1+ 44. Kh2 Rd1 45. Nc6 Be1 46. f4 Rd3 {0-1 (45) Idani,P (2614)-Duda,J (2738) Krasnaya Polyana RUS 2021}) 15... Bf8 16. Bd2 f6 17. h4 Qd7 18. c5 Ne4 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Rxe4 Nxc5 21. Qc4+ {½- (50) ½ (50) Carlsen,M (2864)-Duda,J (2750) INT 2022}) 11... Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Na6 13. Bd2 (13. Nf5 Nxf5 14. Qxf5 Nc7 15. c3 Ne6 16. Ne5 Bd6 17. Bd2 Qc7 18. Re3 Rae8 19. Rae1 g6 20. Qg4 Ng7 21. Qh3 f6 22. Ng4 Rxe3 23. Bxe3 h5 24. Nh6+ Kh7 25. Ng4 Kg8 26. Nh6+ Kh7 27. Ng4 Kg8 {1/2-1/2 (27) Vachier Lagrave,M (2779)-Anand,V (2768) Saint Louis 2018}) (13. c3 Nc7 14. Re2 Re8 15. Bd2 f6 16. b3 Bf8 17. c4 Rxe2 18. Nxe2 Qd7 19. Bf4 Re8 20. Nc3 b5 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Rc1 b4 {½-½ (59) Aronian,L (2767)-Giri,A (2782) INT 2018}) 13... Nc7 14. b3 (14. Ne5 f6 15. Nf3 Qd7 16. h4 Rfe8 17. h5 Bf8 18. Nh2 Rxe1+ 19. Rxe1 Re8 20. Kf1 Rxe1+ 21. Bxe1 Qe6 22. Qf3 {1/2-1/2 (45) Jakel,W (2250)-Malek,D (2348) Innsbruck AUT 2021}) 14... Re8 $5 15. c4 Bf6 16. Rad1 Rxe1+ 17. Rxe1 dxc4 18. bxc4 b5 $5 19. cxb5 cxb5 20. Ba5 Nc4 21. Bxc7 Qxc7 22. Ne4 Qd8 23. a4 a6 24. axb5 axb5 25. Nc3 $5 ( 25. Qb1 $1 Qd5 26. Nc3 Qd7 27. Qxb5 Qxb5 28. Nxb5) 25... Qd7 26. Rb1 Nd6 27. Nxb5 Nxb5 28. Rxb5 Bxd4 $1 29. Nxd4 Ra1+ 30. Rb1 Qxd4 31. Qf1 Rxb1 32. Qxb1 g6 33. g3 Qe5 34. Qc1 Qd4 35. Qb1 Qe5 36. Qc1 Qd4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E01"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2806"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,22,34,34,34,4,4,-23,11,-5,7,1,-13,-13,-6,-6,-14,-8,3,3,12,12,7,-9,20] } 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Nd2 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. Ngf3 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. b3 Nbd7 9. Bb2 Rc8 10. Rc1 Qe7 11. e3 c5 $5 (11... Rfd8 12. Qe2 c5 13. a3 (13. Rfd1 cxd4 14. Nxd4 a6 15. cxd5 Nxd5 16. Nc4 b5 17. a3 bxc4 18. bxc4 Bxa3 19. cxd5 Rxc1 20. Rxc1 Ne5 21. Ra1 Bxb2 22. Qxb2 Nc4 {1/2-1/2 (22) Andersson,U (2610)-Sunye Neto,J (2435) Hastings 1981}) 13... Bxd2 14. Nxd2 cxd4 15. exd4 Nf8 16. Rfd1 dxc4 17. Bxb7 Qxb7 18. bxc4 Ng6 19. Nf1 Ne4 20. h4 h6 {1/2-1/2 (101) Le Quang Liem (2713)-Inarkiev,E (2663) Moscow RUS 2019}) 12. cxd5 Bxd5 13. Qe2 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 Ne5 16. e4 Rfd8 17. Rxc8 Rxc8 18. f4 Ng6 19. Nc4 Qb7 20. a3 Bc5 21. Re1 b5 22. Nd2 a6 23. N2f3 Ne7 24. Qd3 h6 25. Re2 Bb6 26. h3 Rd8 27. Qc2 Rc8 28. Qd3 Rd8 29. Qc2 h5 $1 30. h4 Ng4 31. Qc3 Nf6 32. Qc2 Rc8 33. Qd3 Ng4 34. b4 Qd7 35. Rd2 Rc4 $5 36. Qe2 $6 (36. Nf5 $1 $11) 36... Qb7 $1 37. Qd3 f6 38. Kh3 Qc8 $1 39. e5 $6 fxe5 40. fxe5 g6 $2 (40... Bxd4 $1 41. Nxd4 (41. Bxd4 Qc6 42. Bc5 Nf5 $19) 41... Qa8 42. Nf3 Nf5 $19) 41. Ng5 $1 Bxd4 42. Bxd4 Qa8 (42... Rc1 43. Bg1 $3 Rxg1 44. Qd8+ Qxd8 45. Rxd8+ Kg7 46. Nxe6+ Kf7 47. Ng5+ Kg7 48. Ne6+ Kh7 49. Ng5+ $11) 43. Qf3 Qxf3 44. Nxf3 Nc6 45. Bc5 Ncxe5 46. Nxe5 Nxe5 47. Re2 Nd3 48. Rxe6 Nxc5 49. bxc5 Kf7 50. Rxa6 Rxc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B46"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2776"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,31,14,25,40,43,43,38,43,43,43,51,75,42,40,40,27,33,62,22,39,-22,-22, -63,-51,-59,-42,-48,-6,-56,-21,-41,-41,-32]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g4 Nge7 7. Be3 b5 8. Nb3 (8. Bg2 Bb7 9. Nb3 Ne5 10. Nc5 Bc6 11. Nd3 N7g6 12. Nxe5 Nxe5 13. O-O Nc4 14. Bc1 Bc5 15. g5 h6 16. Qh5 g6 17. Qh3 Bd4 18. gxh6 Qf6 {1/2-1/2 (66) Piscopo,P (2407)-Fedorchuk,S (2631) Porticcio 2019}) 8... Na5 9. Qd2 (9. g5 Nec6 10. Bg2 Nc4 11. Bc1 Be7 12. h4 Bb7 13. Qe2 Rc8 14. O-O h6 15. gxh6 gxh6 16. a4 {0-1 (30) Hansen,S (2558) -Andersson,U (2623) Germany 2000}) 9... Nxb3 10. axb3 Bb7 11. Bg2 Ng6 12. Rf1 Bc6 13. g5 a5 14. f4 a4 15. Rd1 Bb4 16. Qd4 Qa5 17. Qxg7 a3 18. Kf2 axb2 19. Ne2 e5 20. f5 Bf8 21. Qf6 Be7 22. Qg7 Bf8 23. Qf6 Be7 24. Qg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2773"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,67,34,21,25,25,41,39,39,31,26,1,8,1,8,3,25,1,-7,-21,-42,-42,-29,-5,31, 17,39,28,59,16,14,35,40,18,11,75,47,115,65,91,90,90,95,69,59,95,92,116,99,99, 99,99,99,99,88,68,64,47,87,61,45,45,69,45,78,45,70,71,71,45]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 14. Ra2 Bf8 (14... Bf6 15. Rb2 b6 16. Bf4 Na5 17. cxd5 Qxd5 18. Ne5 Bxe5 19. Bf3 Qd7 20. Bxe5 Nc4 21. Rbe2 c6 {1/2-1/2 (31) Alekseev,E (2679)-Kramnik,V (2772) Dortmund 2007}) 15. cxd5 (15. a4 Ne7 16. Qb3 c6 17. Qxb7 Rb8 18. Qxa7 Rb1 19. Rb2 Nc8 20. Qa6 Rxb2 21. Bxb2 Qb6 22. Qxb6 Nxb6 23. a5 {1-0 (48) Alekseenko,K (2590) -Lintchevski,D (2548) Khanty-Mansiysk 2017}) 15... Qxd5 16. c4 Qe4 $6 17. Bf1 Qg4 18. h3 Rxe1 19. Qxe1 Qe4 20. Re2 Qd3 21. Rb2 Qe4 22. Re2 Qd3 23. Re3 (23. Nh4 $1 Qb1 (23... Bg6 24. d5 Nd4 25. Rd2 Nc2 26. Qd1 Qe4 27. Nxg6 $18) 24. d5 Nd4 25. Rb2 Qe4 26. Qxe4 Bxe4 27. Rxb7 $18) 23... Qb1 24. d5 Ne7 25. Nd2 Qa1 26. Nb3 Qf6 27. Bd2 Ng6 28. Na5 b6 29. Nc6 Bd7 30. Bc3 Qd6 31. Bb4 Qf6 32. Bc3 Qd6 33. Bb4 Qf6 34. Bc3 1/2-1/2