[Event "Gashimov Memorial 5th"] [Site "Shamkir"] [Date "2018.04.27"] [Round "8"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2843"] [Annotator "Stohl,Igor"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2018.04.19"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "AZE"] [EventCategory "21"] [SourceTitle "CBM 184"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "2018.05.16"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2018.05.16"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,86,14,0,3,-12,-18,-19,-20,-5,-47,-22,-20,-27,-8,7,5,0,13,-3,0,7,-4,0,2,-1,14,-11,26,45,-20,5,-10,-42,0,-11,-3,1,-8,4,6,-7,1,-64,-99,-63,-68,-71,-68,-68,-53,-80,-71,-43,-11,-64,-53,-98,-41,-14,-14,-53,7,18,16,20,20,-47,-47,-40,-43,-67,-40,-31,-62,-139,-147,-100,-96,-96,-94,-104,-102,-311,-484,-395,-395,-404,-286]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 ({The immediate fianchetto} 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 {gives some extra options:} d5 (3... c6 {is another topical line, the direct} 4. d4 {seems harmless;} (4. Nf3 {is the main try to fight for an advantage}) {a recent example went} 4... e4 5. Nc3 d5 6. Bg5 Bb4 7. Qb3 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 O-O 9. f3 dxc4 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. fxe4 c5 12. e5 cxd4 13. exf6 dxc3 14. fxg7 Re8 15. bxc3 Nc6 16. Rb1 Re3 17. Kd2 Re7 18. Nf3 Bf5 19. Rb5 Rd8+ 20. Nd4 Nxd4 21. cxd4 Be4 22. Bxe4 Rxd4+ 23. Bd3 Red7 $11 {McShane,L (2647)-Anand,V (2783) Germany 2018 The resulting endgame is drawish.}) 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O Nb6 7. d3 Be7 8. a3 O-O 9. Nbd2 {develops the ?b1 differently, but this is also no novelty.} a5 10. b3 Be6 11. Bb2 f6 12. Qc2 Qd7 {and now:} 13. Nc4 (13. e3 Rfd8 14. d4 exd4 15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16. Bxd4 c5 17. Bxc5 Rac8 18. b4 Nd5 $1 19. Qd3 (19. Nb3 b6 20. e4 Nxb4 21. axb4 axb4 22. Rfd1 Qc7 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Bf1 Bxc5 $17 {Thiede,L (2416)-Graf,A (2624) Germany 2003}) 19... b6 20. Bxd5 bxc5 21. Bxe6+ Qxe6 22. Qb3 Qf7 $5 23. Qxf7+ Kxf7 24. Nb3 cxb4 25. axb4 axb4 26. Ra7 Ke8 27. Nd4 Rd7 28. Rxd7 Kxd7 29. Rd1 g6 30. Kf1 Rc4 {½, Kuhn,C (1981)-Avdeev,S (2032) email 2011}) 13... Rfd8 14. Rfc1 (14. Rfd1 Qe8 15. d4 $6 a4 $15 {Ponomariov,R (2723)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2710) Beijing blitz 2011.}) 14... Qe8 15. Nxb6 cxb6 16. Nd2 Rac8 17. a4 Bc5 18. Qd1 h5 19. Nc4 Qe7 20. e3 Bg4 21. Qf1 Nb4 22. Rd1 $5 Bxd1 23. Rxd1 Qf7 {Gordievsky,D (2622)-Vidit,S (2718) Wijk aan Zee 2018} 24. d4 exd4 25. exd4 Bf8 26. Nxb6 Rc2 27. Nc4 b5 28. axb5 a4 29. Rb1 $1 axb3 30. Ne3 $44) 2... Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 ({The Dragon with reversed colours is very popular, but} 4... Bb4 5. Bg2 {only somewhat less so:} O-O ({Less usual, but also playable is} 5... d6 6. O-O O-O 7. d3 Re8 8. Bd2 (8. Nd5 $5 Nxd5 9. cxd5 Ne7 10. d4 e4 11. Ng5 {is perhaps more promising}) 8... Nd4 9. a3 Nxf3+ 10. Bxf3 Bxc3 11. Bxc3 c6 12. e4 Bh3 13. Re1 c5 14. b4 b6 15. a4 Nd7 16. a5 Be6 17. Ra3 Rb8 18. b5 Qc8 19. axb6 axb6 20. Re2 Ra8 21. Rea2 Rxa3 22. Rxa3 Qc7 23. Bg2 Nf8 24. f4 f6 25. f5 Bc8 26. Bd2 Bb7 27. g4 h6 28. h4 Nh7 $11 {Ding,L (2778)-Wojtaszek,R (2744) Shamkir 2018 With patient defence Black held his fortress.}) 6. O-O e4 7. Ng5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Re8 {featured some recent experiments with} 9. Qc2 (9. f3 {is the main line of this branch}) {, but they didn't bring White success after} 9... d5 $5 ({More active, than} 9... Qe7 10. d3 exd3 11. exd3 d6) 10. cxd5 Qxd5 11. d3 (11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. d3 Bf5 13. Bf4 Qe6 14. dxe4 Bxe4 15. Bxe4 Qxe4 16. Qb2 b6 17. Rfe1 Rac8 18. Qb5 Ne7 19. Rad1 c6 20. Qa6 Nd5 $15 {Dimitrov,R (2493)-Georgiev,K (2596) Skopje 2018}) 11... Bf5 12. Bf4 h6 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Qb2 b6 15. Rfd1 Qc5 16. dxe4 Bxe4 17. Bf1 Re7 18. a4 Rae8 19. Rac1 $2 (19. Qb5 $1 $11 {is still roughly equal.}) 19... g5 $1 20. Bd2 Qf5 21. f3 Qc5+ 22. Kh1 Bd5 23. Be1 Bc4 24. e4 Bxf1 25. Bf2 Qc4 26. Rxf1 Qxa4 27. c4 Ne5 28. Bd4 g4 $17 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2789)-Caruana,F (2784) Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden 2018}) 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 (6... Bc5 $5 {is also viable, Illingworth wrote an article about this novel line in CBM 181. Since then there haven't been too many new games, after} 7. O-O O-O 8. d3 {Black also has} Re8 ({Illingworth concentrated on} 8... Bb6 {proving Black holds his own in the tactical labyrinth of Dubov-Karjakin, WCup Tbilisi 2017. Black also equalises after} 9. Bd2 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 Re8 11. b4 Bg4 12. Nd2 Nd4 13. Bxd4 exd4 14. Re1 c6 15. a4 a6 16. Nb3 Qf6 17. Qd2 Re7 18. h3 Be6 19. Nc5 Rae8 20. Nxe6 Qxe6 21. b5 axb5 22. axb5 c5 $11 {Nepomniachtchi,I (2751)-Aronian,L (2789) chess.com blitz 2017}) 9. Ng5 Nf6 10. Qb3 Qe7 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. Bxd5 Nd8 13. Qc4 Bd4 14. Bg2 h6 15. Nf3 Nc6 16. Be3 $5 Bxe3 17. fxe3 e4 18. dxe4 a5 $1 19. a3 Ra6 20. Rac1 Rb6 21. Rc2 Be6 22. Qc3 Rb3 23. Qd2 Rd8 24. Qc1 a4 $44 {The tripled pawns are comical and Black would have enough compensation even without trying to undertake anything. As it is, he allowed White to untangle with} 25. Rc5 Rd7 26. h3 Qd8 27. g4 g6 28. Kh1 Kg7 29. e5 Bd5 30. Kg1 Be6 31. Kf2 Qe7 32. Kg1 Rd5 33. Rc4 Ra5 34. Rc2 Bd5 $6 35. Nd4 $1 Nxd4 36. exd4 Rg3 37. Rf3 $1 Bxf3 38. exf3 $16 {Caruana,F (2799)-Adams,M (2715) London 2017 After regaining the exchange by trapping the ?g3 White already had a healthy extra pawn. For more details see the notes to this game in CBM 182 by Fernandez.}) 7. O-O Be7 8. a3 (8. d3 O-O 9. Be3 {was played in Kamsky-Svidler, Thessaloniki 2013, which I annotated for CBM 155:} Be6 (9... Re8 10. Rc1 Bf8 11. Na4 Nd4 12. Nc5 {gives Black also the sharper option} a5 $5 (12... Bxc5 13. Rxc5 Bg4 {and}) (12... Nxf3+ 13. Bxf3 c6 {are restrained continuations, leading to approximate equality.}) 13. Bxd4 exd4 14. Nb3 g5 $1 15. Qd2 g4 $13 {Granda Zuniga,J (2648)-So,W (2794) Douglas 2016}) 10. Rc1 Qd7 ({Svidler's choice} 10... f5 {is perhaps not bad, but more risky.}) 11. Re1 (11. Ne4 f6 12. Nc5 Bxc5 13. Bxc5 Rfd8 14. Qc2 Qf7 $5 15. Nd2 Nd5 {Kashlinskaya,A (2201)-Bukavshin,I (2350) Pardubice 2008} 16. a3 $11) (11. a3 Bh3 12. b4 Bxg2 13. Kxg2 Qe6 14. Ne4 Nd5 15. Bc5 b6 16. Bxe7 Ncxe7 17. Neg5 Qd6 18. Ne4 Qe6 $11 {Carlstedt,J (2432)-Volokitin,A (2632) Berlin blitz 2018}) 11... f6 12. a3 Rfd8 (12... Rad8 13. Na4 Rfe8 14. Nc5 Bxc5 15. Rxc5 Nd4 16. Bxd4 exd4 17. Qc2 c6 18. b4 {Martinez,R (2422)-Sanchez,J (2529) Civitanova Marche 2012} a6 $11) 13. b4 Nd5 14. Nxd5 Bxd5 15. Bc5 b6 ({Possible improvements are} 15... Bxc5 16. Rxc5 Ne7 17. e4 Bf7 18. d4 Nc6 $5 $13 {or the simpler}) (15... a6 $5 $11) 16. e4 $1 Bf7 17. Bxe7 Nxe7 18. d4 exd4 19. e5 d3 20. exf6 gxf6 21. Nd2 $44 {Lagarde,M (2594)-Fressinet,L (2660) Caleta 2017} (21. Re4 $5)) 8... a5 $5 {This prophylactic move was considered weakening and long had a dubious reputation. However, there might be more to it than meets the eye...} ({Far more usual is} 8... O-O 9. b4 Be6 {After} 10. Rb1 f6 {White has lately tested} 11. b5 (11. d3 {has long been the main move and I mentioned} a5 {as Black's main reaction in the notes to So-Navara, Prague 2015 in CBM 167.}) 11... Nd4 12. e3 Nxf3+ 13. Bxf3 {and now:} {And finally there is} Qc8 $5 (13... Rb8 14. d4 exd4 15. exd4 Re8 (15... Qd7 $6 16. Re1 Rfe8 17. a4 Bf7 18. a5 Nd5 19. Nxd5 Bxd5 20. Bf4 Rbc8 21. Bg4 $1 f5 22. Bf3 Bf6 23. Be5 Bxe5 24. dxe5 Rcd8 25. Bxd5+ Qxd5 26. Qc2 Qf7 27. a6 $16 {Gelfand,B (2737)-Edouard,R (2607) Heraklio 2017}) 16. Re1 Bf7 17. a4 Bf8 18. Rxe8 Qxe8 19. Bf4 Qd7 20. a5 Nc4 21. b6 axb6 22. axb6 Bd6 {and White found nothing better than liquidating with} 23. bxc7 Bxc7 24. Bxc7 Qxc7 25. Nd5 Qd7 26. Nb6 Nxb6 27. Rxb6 Bd5 {½, Nepomniachtchi,I (2751)-Karjakin,S (2783) chess.com blitz INT 2017}) ({Black can also hold the balance with} 13... Nd5 14. Ne2 (14. Bb2 a6 $1 15. a4 axb5 16. axb5 Nxc3 17. Bxc3 Bd5 18. Bxd5+ Qxd5 19. Qb3 Rfd8 20. d4 Qxb3 21. Rxb3 exd4 22. Bxd4 Rd5 23. Kg2 Ra5 $11 {Gordon,S (2528)-Alsina Leal,D (2507) England 2017}) 14... Qd7 15. d4 Rad8 16. Qc2 Kh8 17. Bg2 Bh3 18. Bxh3 Qxh3 19. e4 Nb6 20. Be3 (20. Qxc7 Rd7 21. Qc2 Qh5 $1 $44) 20... Qe6 $5 21. d5 Qd7 22. a4 f5 23. f3 fxe4 24. fxe4 Qg4 25. Kg2 Qg6 $132 {Edouard,R (2612)-Xiong,J (2640) Saint Louis 2018}) 14. Qc2 Rd8 (14... Bf5 15. d3 Rd8 16. e4 Be6 17. a4 Qd7 18. Rd1 a5 19. bxa6 Rxa6 20. Be3 Qc6 21. Qb2 Nxa4 22. Nxa4 Qxa4 23. Qxb7 Qc6 $11 {Polatel,A (2243)-Guaimare,C (2113) email 2017}) 15. d4 (15. Rd1 Bf5 16. d3 Kh8 17. e4 Bd7 18. a4 c6 19. Be3 cxb5 20. axb5 Be6 21. Qb2 Bc5 22. Bxc5 Qxc5 $11 {Svoboda,F (2406)-Betker,J (2451) email 2015}) 15... Bf5 16. Qb3+ (16. Be4 Bxe4 17. Qxe4 f5 $1 18. Qxe5 Bd6 19. Nd5 Kh8 20. Nxb6 axb6 21. Qd5 Bxg3 $15 {[%csl Rg1]}) (16. e4 Bh3 17. Rd1 Rxd4 18. Rxd4 exd4 19. Ne2 Qd7 $13) 16... Be6 (16... Kh8 $5) 17. Qc2 Bf5 18. Qb3+ Be6 19. Qc2 Bf5 {½-½ (19) Nihal,S (2534)-Vaibhav,S (2544) Reykjavik 2018}) 9. d3 O-O 10. Be3 Be6 11. Rc1 {Natural, but we'll check also the alternatives:} ({Considering Black's following move,} 11. Na4 {certainly deserves attention:} {Later Black's efforts concentrated on} Nd5 (11... e4 12. Ne1 exd3 13. Nxd3 Nd5 14. Bc5 b6 15. Bxe7 Ndxe7 16. Rc1 (16. Nc3 $142 $5 $14) 16... Bd5 17. Bxd5 Qxd5 18. Nc3 Qc4 19. b3 Qg4 ({An enterprising idea is} 19... Qe6 $5 20. Nb5 Rad8 21. Nxc7 Qf5 $44) 20. e3 Qd7 $6 (20... Qf5 $142 $5) 21. Nf4 $1 Rad8 22. Qh5 Ng6 23. Nfd5 Nce7 24. Rfd1 Nxd5 25. Nxd5 $36 {Vidit,S (2723)-Petrosyan,M (2569) Moscow 2018}) (11... Nxa4 12. Qxa4 Bd5 13. Rfc1 Re8 14. Rc2 Bf6 $5 (14... Bf8 $2 15. Rac1 Nb8 16. Rxc7 Bc6 17. R1xc6 bxc6 18. Rxf7 $1 h6 19. Rb7 Qc8 20. Qc4+ Kh8 21. Nh4 $1 Qxb7 22. Ng6+ Kh7 23. Be4 Bd6 24. Nxe5+ g6 25. Bxg6+ Kg7 26. Bxh6+ {1-0, Botvinnik,M-Portisch,L Monte Carlo 1968 This beautiful and famous game discouraged people from playing 8...a5 for quite a while.}) 15. Rac1 (15. Rc5 $5 $14) 15... Nd4 16. Nxd4 Bxg2 17. Nb5 Bc6 18. Rxc6 $5 bxc6 19. Rxc6 $44 {/?}) 12. Bc5 {and now:} {In mail practice Black has been holding his own with} b6 $5 (12... Bd6 13. Rc1 h6 14. d4 $5 (14. Nd2 Rc8 (14... Rb8 15. Ne4 f5 $132) 15. Ne4 b6 $6 16. Nxd6 cxd6 17. Bxb6 Nxb6 18. Rxc6 (18. Bxc6 $142 $1 $14) 18... Rb8 19. Nxb6 Rxb6 20. Qc2 Qb8 21. Rxb6 Qxb6 22. Rb1 Bb3 23. Qd2 Rb8 24. Rc1 Be6 25. Rc2 d5 $44 {Kasparov,G (2750)-Georgiev,K (2595) Saint John blitz 1988}) 14... e4 $142 $5 (14... exd4 15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16. Qxd4 b6 17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. Rfd1 Rfd8 19. e4 Ne7 20. Qxd6 Rxd6 21. Rxd6 cxd6 22. f4 (22. Nc3 $5 $36) 22... b5 23. Nc3 b4 24. Nb5 bxa3 25. bxa3 $14 {Kasparov,G (2750)-Georgiev,K (2595) Saint John blitz 1988}) 15. Ne5 f5 16. Nxc6 bxc6 17. Bxd6 cxd6 $5 18. Rxc6 Qb8 $44 (18... Qd7 $5)) 13. Bxe7 Ndxe7 14. Nc3 (14. Rc1 Qd7 15. Nc3 f6 16. Qa4 Rac8 17. Rfd1 Rfd8 18. e3 Qe8 19. d4 exd4 20. Nxd4 Nxd4 21. Qxe8+ Rxe8 22. exd4 c6 23. b4 axb4 24. axb4 Kf7 25. b5 $11 {½, Vidit,S (2723)-Melkumyan,H (2664) chess.com rpd INT 2018}) 14... Qd7 15. Qa4 Rab8 16. Qb5 (16. Rfc1 f6 17. b4 Rfd8 18. b5 Na7 19. Rab1 Kh8 20. Qc2 Nf5 21. Qd2 Nc8 22. Rd1 Nce7 23. Qb2 Nd6 24. a4 Bg8 25. Nd2 Qe8 $11 {Degerhammar,R (2475)-Rogos,J (2518) email 2014}) 16... f6 17. e3 Rbd8 18. Rfd1 Nd5 19. Rac1 Nxc3 20. bxc3 Na7 21. Qxd7 Bxd7 22. d4 Nc6 23. dxe5 fxe5 24. Ng5 Ne7 25. Bf1 g6 26. Be2 h6 27. Nf3 Ba4 28. Rxd8 Rxd8 29. Nxe5 Rd2 $44 {Kazantsev,R (2376)-Brugger,A (2528) email 2015}) ({Nor can one ignore} 11. Bxb6 cxb6 12. Nd2 f5 (12... Rc8 13. Nc4 f6 14. e3 Na7 15. Bxb7 Rc7 16. Bg2 Rd7 17. Qa4 Rxd3 18. Rfd1 Bc5 19. Be4 Rd7 20. b4 $16 {Van Wely,L (2675)-Mosadeghpour,M (2469) Bandar e Anzali 2017}) 13. Nc4 e4 (13... Bxc4 $5 14. dxc4 e4 {is more solid, Black is close to full equality.}) 14. Ne3 exd3 15. Ned5 $1 dxe2 16. Qxe2 Bxd5 17. Nxd5 Bf6 {½, Opocensky,K-Flohr,S Podebrady 1936 Despite the quick draw in this historic game White has obvious compensation and pressure here.} 18. Rad1 Kh8 19. Rfe1 (19. Rd2 $5) (19. Qb5 $5) 19... Re8 20. Qxe8+ Qxe8 21. Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. Nxf6 gxf6 23. Kf1 Re5 24. Bd5 f4 $1 25. gxf4 Rf5 $132 {Mueller,H (1764)-Mair,E (1643) email 2013}) 11... a4 $5 {[%mdl 512] A positional sacrifice, to take this pawn White will have to give up his important dark-squared ?.} ({Otherwise White occupies the a4-square himself, a model example is} 11... Re8 12. Na4 Nxa4 13. Qxa4 f6 $6 ({We had} 13... Bd5 $142 $5 {above, only the other rook was on c1.}) 14. Nd2 Bd5 15. Qb5 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Qc8 17. Rc4 Bf8 18. Rfc1 Ra6 19. R1c2 Kh8 20. Nf3 Qa8 21. Ra4 Na7 22. Qb3 b5 23. Rh4 a4 24. Qf7 Re7 25. Qg6 h6 26. Bc5 Rd7 27. Bxf8 Qxf8 28. Nxe5 $1 $18 {Hracek,Z (2625)-Simacek,P (2508) Czechia 2010}) ({In practice Black also had to fight for equality after} 11... Nd5 12. Nxd5 Bxd5 13. Qa4 $14 {, or}) (11... f5 12. Na4 $14) 12. Nd2 ({The immediate} 12. Bxb6 cxb6 13. Nxa4 e4 14. Ne1 (14. Nd2 {is also met by} Bg5 $1 $44 {, when} 15. Rxc6 bxc6 16. Nxe4 Be7 $13 {is at best unclear.}) 14... Bg5 $142 $1 (14... Nd4 $2 15. Nc3 Bg5 16. e3 Nb3 17. Bxe4 (17. Rc2 $5 $16) 17... Nxc1 18. Qxc1 Qd7 19. d4 $40 Qxd4 $2 20. f4 $18 {Nepomniachtchi,I (2730)-Bocharov,D (2609) Apatity rpd 2011}) (14... e3 15. fxe3 $5 Bg5 {again allows an exchange sacrifice} 16. Rf4 $14) 15. Rc3 (15. e3 $6 exd3 16. Nxd3 Rxa4 17. Qxa4 Qxd3 18. Be4 b5 19. Qc2 Qxc2 20. Rxc2 Bf6 $15 {Deneuville,C (2206)-Weber,K (2313) email 2014}) (15. Rxc6 bxc6 16. Bxe4 f5 $1 17. Bg2 (17. Bxc6 $6 Rc8 18. f4 Bf6 $17) 17... Ra7 $15) 15... e3 ({Apart from} 15... Bf6 16. Rc1 Bg5 $11 {Black has other interesting options, namely}) (15... f5 {and}) (15... Qd4 $5 $44) 16. f4 Bf6 17. f5 Bd7 18. Rc1 Nd4 19. Nc3 Ra5 20. Bxb7 Bxf5 $44 {Zielinski,S (2159)-Kuzmin,K (2167) LSS email 2014}) 12... f5 ({Ambitious, but Black can change his mind about the sacrifice. Roughly equal is} 12... Nd5 $5 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. Qc2 f5 15. Bxd5+ Qxd5 16. Qc4 Ra5 17. Nb1 Qxc4 18. Rxc4 Bd6 19. Rfc1 Rfa8 20. h3 Nd8 21. g4 f4 22. Bd2 Rb5 23. Bb4 Bxb4 24. axb4 Nc6 25. Kg2 Rf8 $11 {Leal,P (2343)-Genga,S (2400) email 2013}) 13. Bxb6 cxb6 14. Nxa4 (14. Re1 Bg5 15. e3 Qxd3 16. Bf1 Qd7 17. Nc4 Qf7 18. Nxb6 Rad8 19. Qe2 f4 20. Nbxa4 Bf5 21. Nc5 fxe3 22. fxe3 b6 23. N5e4 Nd4 $1 24. exd4 Bxc1 25. Rxc1 exd4 26. Ng5 Qg6 27. Qe7 b5 $1 28. Bxb5 {½, Recasens Sanchez,J (2048)-Gudkov,A email 2012} dxc3 29. Bc4+ Kh8 30. Nf7+ Qxf7 31. Bxf7 cxb2 32. Re1 b1=Q 33. Rxb1 Bxb1 $11) 14... Bg5 15. Nc3 e4 16. Kh1 $146 {[%mdl 8] A novelty, but not necesarily an improvement.} ({This position is not new at the highest level, last year featured a game with} 16. Rb1 Rf7 $5 (16... Ne5 17. Nb3 Ng4 18. Qc2 (18. h3 $142 $1) 18... Be3 19. dxe4 $2 (19. Bh3 $1 {was already necessary, although} Nxf2 20. Rxf2 Qd7 21. Rbf1 f4 $1 22. Bxe6+ Qxe6 $44 {gives Black enough play.}) 19... Qg5 $2 (19... Nxf2 $1 20. Rxf2 fxe4 21. Rbf1 Qc7 22. Bxe4 Rxf2 23. Rxf2 Qf7 24. Bf3 Bxb3 $15) 20. fxe3 Qxe3+ 21. Kh1 Qh6 {Nepomniachtchi,I (2742)-Aronian,L (2809) Geneva 2017} 22. h4 $1 Ne3 23. Qc1 f4 24. Rf3 Bxb3 25. gxf4 Nxg2 26. Kxg2 Qxh4 27. f5 $16 {For more details see the notes to this game in CBM 180 by Yuffa.}) 17. Nc4 $5 (17. Nb3 Rd7 $36) 17... Rd7 18. b3 {[%CAl Yc3b5]} Bf6 (18... exd3 19. exd3 Rxd3 20. Qc2 $14) 19. Nb5 Nd4 20. Nxd4 Bxd4 $44) 16... Qd7 {Natural, Carlsen connects his rooks asap.} ({However, considering the following note, the prophylactic} 16... g6 $13 {or}) (16... Rf7 $13 {also deserved consideration} {?} 17. g4 g6 18. gxf5 gxf5 19. Rg1 Rg7) 17. Rb1 {Unpins the ?c1 after all.} ({However, the active} 17. g4 $142 $1 {would better profit from the previous move:} Bxd2 (17... g6 18. gxf5 gxf5 19. e3 $1 Qxd3 20. Rg1 $36) (17... exd3 18. f4 dxe2 19. Qxe2 Bf6 20. g5 $11) 18. Qxd2 exd3 19. gxf5 dxe2 20. Qxe2 Rxf5 21. f4 $5 $13 {All White's pieces are active and the position is roughly equal.}) 17... Rad8 18. Nc4 $6 {Black will easily parry the threat against ?b6.} ({It was stronger to win back some space with} 18. f4 $1 {, although Black has indisputable compensation after} Bf6 $44) 18... Qf7 $1 19. b3 (19. Nxb6 $2 Bb3 20. Qe1 exd3 {[%csl Gd3] and the ?d3 is taboo:} 21. exd3 Rfe8 22. Ne2 Rxd3 $19) 19... exd3 20. exd3 f4 21. Ne4 ({The engine briefly prefers} 21. Re1 f3 22. Bf1 {, but still doesn't relish White's position after} Nd4 $36) 21... Be7 22. gxf4 Qxf4 {[%csl Rd3,Ge6,Ge7,Rf2,Rh2][%mdl 2048] Giri has managed to prevent the f3 advance, but defending the numerous white weaknesses against Black's active pieces is very difficult. Carlsen has strong long-term pressure.} 23. a4 {Prevents b5, but allows Black to activate his knight.} Nb4 24. Qe2 Qh6 $1 {A strong manoeuvre, freeing f4 for other pieces.} 25. Rbd1 (25. d4 $5 $15 {was probably more resilient}) 25... Nd5 26. Rg1 Kh8 (26... Nf4 27. Qe3 {helps the defence, but a more energetic try was the immediate}) (26... Rf4 $1 $36) 27. Bf1 ({White could have begun with} 27. d4 Rf4 28. f3 Rh4 29. Bf1 $15 {The position is unpleasant, but there is no direct tactical refutation.}) 27... Rf4 28. Ne5 $6 (28. f3 $142 Rh4 29. d4 {transposes to the previous note.}) 28... Rdf8 $2 ({Carlsen hesitates, after the stronger} 28... Rh4 $1 29. f3 Ne3 30. Rd2 Nf5 $17 {the knight aims for d4 and the defence is under great strain.}) 29. f3 Rh4 30. d4 Nf4 (30... Ne3 {is unconvincing:} 31. Rd3 $15) ({as is} 30... Bf5 31. Ng5 $1 {?} Bxg5 $4 32. Nf7+ $18) 31. Qd2 Bxb3 {Although White couldn't hang on to his extra pawn, he has activated his forces and clawed his way back into the game. In the final phase probably time trouble played an important role.} 32. Rb1 $2 {Why give up a pawn?} ({After} 32. Rc1 {the outcome of the game remains open; the greedy} Bxa4 $2 {runs into} 33. Rc7) 32... Bxa4 33. Bb5 (33. Bc4 Be8 $15) 33... Bxb5 34. Rxb5 Qe6 35. Qb2 ({Engines also mention the passive, but more solid} 35. Rb2 $15) 35... Bd8 36. Ng5 ({Here} 36. d5 $5 {deserves attention, after} Nxd5 37. Ng5 Bxg5 38. Rxg5 {Black faces serious technical problems.}) 36... Qe8 37. Rb3 Bxg5 $6 ({A cleaner solution is the tactical} 37... Rf5 $1 38. Ne4 Rxh2+ $1 39. Qxh2 Rh5 {and Black should gradually win.}) 38. Rxg5 Ne6 39. Rg4 $6 ({White should have avoided the ? swap, after} 39. Rg1 $1 Nxd4 40. Re3 $15 {Black must still work hard for the full point.}) 39... Rxg4 40. fxg4 (40. Nxg4 Qa4 $17 {doesn't help much.}) 40... Qd8 41. Rh3 $6 ({Hastens the end, but even after the better} 41. Rf3 Rxf3 42. Nxf3 Qd5 $17 {Black should prevail in the long run.}) 41... Qd5+ 42. Kg1 Qe4 43. Qb4 Rf6 {The ?f8 has left its vulnerable square and the ? is ready to pounce either on d4, or f4. Further resistance is futile.} 0-1