[Event "Madrid ESP"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,35,19,38,25,7,21,23,41,27,27,-1,-1,35,66,53,53,41,56,15,114,65,50,50, 122,20,33,33,144,103,360,337,360,360,293,332,315,338]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Qb3 ({Relevant: } 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Nc3 Re8 11. Re1 Nxc3 12. Rxe8+ Qxe8 13. bxc3 Nd7 14. Qb3 Nb6 15. Ba3 Bxa3 16. Qxa3 h6 17. h3 Be6 18. Rb1 Qf8 19. Qa5 Qc8 20. Ne5 Nd7 21. f4 b6 22. Qa3 Nxe5 23. fxe5 Qf8 24. Qxf8+ Kxf8 25. Kf2 Rc8 26. Rc1 Ke7 27. Ke3 f6 28. exf6+ Kxf6 29. h4 Ke7 30. Kd2 Rf8 31. Rf1 Rxf1 32. Bxf1 Kf6 33. Ke3 Bf5 34. g3 Be6 35. Bg2 g5 36. a3 Ke7 37. hxg5 hxg5 38. Bf1 {1/2-1/2 (38) Navara,D (2681)-Vidit,S (2723) Prague 2022}) 9... Bg4 10. Bxe4 dxe4 11. Ng5 Be7 12. Nxe4 Qxd4 13. Qxb7 Qxe4 14. Qxa8 {[#]} Bh3 $146 ({Predecessor:} 14... Bd6 15. Qxa7 Bh3 16. gxh3 Qe5 17. Rd1 Qxh2+ 18. Kf1 Qxh3+ 19. Ke1 Bb4+ 20. Nc3 Bxc3+ 21. bxc3 Qxc3+ 22. Bd2 Re8+ 23. Kf1 Qh3+ 24. Kg1 Qg4+ 25. Kh1 {1/2-1/2 (25) Duhrssen,R-Batik,F corr 1928}) 15. gxh3 Qg6+ 16. Kh1 Qe4+ 17. Kg1 Qg6+ 18. Kh1 Qe4+ 19. f3 Qd3 20. Kg2 Qg6+ 21. Kh1 (21. Bg5 {After the game Nepomniachtchi mentioned to Rapport that this was the best way to avoid repetition.}) 21... Qd3 22. Nd2 {This is not a very sensible decision. Frustration at six draws in a row probably affected Rapport's decision.} Qd7 23. Ne4 Na6 24. Qxf8+ Bxf8 25. Bf4 {Nepomniachtchi I think said that he knew up to this position.} (25. Be3) 25... Qxh3 26. Rad1 h6 27. Bg3 (27. Be3) 27... Nc5 28. Rfe1 Ne6 29. a3 h5 30. Rd3 {Already there's not much hope.} Qf5 31. b4 h4 32. Bb8 Ng5 33. Rde3 Nxe4 { Exchanging off white's best defensive piece quickly ends the game.} 34. fxe4 Qf2 35. h3 Be7 36. Bh2 Bg5 37. Bg1 Qd2 38. R3e2 Qd3 39. Be3 Bf6 40. Bxa7 Qxh3+ 41. Kg1 Qg3+ 42. Kf1 h3 43. Bg1 Bh4 0-1 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E47"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,64,19,27,27,0,4,5,10,14,25,25,28,23,29,15,37,33,30,21,22,25,26,7,30, -9,-22,-31,-19,-17,9,4,15,8,8,8,2,-14,13,0,10,0,7,4,10,3,4,0,0,0,17,0,17,11,17, 11,6,18,23,14,4,4,50,0,68,45,28]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nge2 d5 7. cxd5 cxd4 8. exd4 Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. a3 Bd6 11. Re1 Nce7 {[#]} ({Relevant:} 11... Qh4 12. g3 Qh5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Bf4 Rd8 15. Qd2 Bf8 16. Be3 Bd6 17. Bg5 Rf8 18. Bf4 Be7 19. b4 a6 20. Be3 Bd6 21. Bf4 Be7 22. Be5 Bg5 23. f4 Bd8 24. Nc3 Bb6 25. Be2 Bg4 26. Bxg4 Qxg4 27. Nxd5 Ba7 28. Kg2 Rad8 29. Ne3 Qd7 30. d5 Bxe3 31. Rxe3 Qxd5+ 32. Qxd5 Rxd5 33. Bc3 f6 34. Kf3 Kf7 35. Rae1 Rfd8 36. g4 Rd3 37. f5 Rxe3+ 38. Rxe3 Rd1 39. h3 h5 40. Ke4 Rg1 41. Kf4 { Sarana,A (2675)-Keymer,V (2667) Chess.com INT 2022 1/2-1/2 (66)}) 12. Bc2 $146 ({Predecessor:} 12. Bb1 Re8 13. Qd3 Ng6 14. Nxd5 exd5 15. Bd2 Qh4 16. h3 Be6 17. Ba2 Rac8 18. Rac1 Rxc1 19. Bxc1 Rd8 20. Qf3 Bb8 21. Bd2 b6 22. Bb1 Re8 23. Bd3 h6 24. Bc2 Ne7 25. Bb1 Rc8 26. b4 Ng6 27. Bxg6 fxg6 28. Bf4 Qf6 29. Bxb8 Qxf3 30. gxf3 Rxb8 31. Nf4 Bf7 32. Re7 g5 33. Nd3 a5 34. Kg2 axb4 35. axb4 Kf8 36. Ra7 Be8 37. f4 gxf4 38. Nxf4 Bf7 39. Nd3 Be8 40. Nf4 Bf7 41. Rd7 Rc8 { Struzka,V (2055)-Tauscher,K ICCF email 2013 1/2-1/2 (65)}) 12... Bd7 13. Qd3 { A man after my own heart.} f5 14. Bb3 Qb6 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 exd5 {Black would prefer his f-pawn back on f7 but apart from that he has the two bishops and a reasonable position.} 17. Bf4 Rae8 18. g3 Bxf4 19. Nxf4 Re4 20. Red1 Bc6 21. h4 Rfe8 22. Qc3 g6 23. b4 (23. a4) 23... Ba4 24. Rd2 Qc6 25. Qc5 Re1+ 26. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 27. Kg2 Qxc5 28. bxc5 Bc6 29. Re2 Rd1 30. Ne6 Bd7 31. Nd8 Rxd4 32. Re7 Bc6 {This looks a bit tricky but very soon they arrive in a completely drawn rook and pawn endgame.} 33. Nxc6 bxc6 34. Rc7 Ra4 35. Rxc6 Rxa3 36. Rd6 Rc3 37. Rxd5 a5 38. c6 a4 39. Ra5 a3 40. c7 Rxc7 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Ding Liren"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A20"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,36,27,-27,-3,-42,-32,-38,-32,-57,-26,-26,-5,9,9,15,6,24,8,9,17,-30,-9, -24,-45,-48,-37,-52,-69,-49,-19,-44,-31,-38,-36,-43,-45,-40,-30]} 1. c4 { Giri,Anish} e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bc5 4. d3 O-O 5. Nc3 c6 6. Nf3 d6 7. O-O a5 8. d4 exd4 9. Nxd4 a4 10. Rb1 {[#]} Qa5 $146 ({Relevant:} 10... Re8 11. e3 Qa5 12. Bd2 Bg4 13. f3 Bh5 14. Ne4 Qd8 15. Nxc5 dxc5 16. Ne2 Qd3 17. Nf4 Qxc4 18. b3 axb3 19. axb3 Qb5 20. e4 Bg6 21. Bc3 Na6 22. h4 h5 23. Qc1 Kh7 24. Rd1 Rad8 25. Qb2 c4 26. Bxf6 gxf6 27. Qxf6 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Qc5+ 29. Kh2 Qe7 30. Qxe7 Rxe7 31. bxc4 Kg7 32. Bh3 Nc5 33. Rd6 f6 34. Ne6+ Nxe6 35. Bxe6 Be8 36. c5 Bf7 37. Bc8 Re5 38. Bxb7 Rxc5 39. Rxc6 Rb5 40. Ba6 {So,W (2770)-Caruana,F (2820) Bucharest 2021 CBM 203 [Giri,Anish] 1-0}) 11. Nc2 Bf5 12. Bd2 Nbd7 13. Rc1 Qa7 14. b3 axb3 15. axb3 Rfe8 16. Na4 Be4 17. Bc3 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 d5 {Already the position is pretty equal. Nothing terribly interesting happens as the players slowly trade down to a draw.} 19. Nxc5 Qxc5 20. Ne3 dxc4 21. bxc4 Qh5 22. h3 Rad8 23. Qc2 Ne4 24. Rcd1 Nxc3 25. Qxc3 Nf6 26. Qb2 b5 27. g4 Qc5 28. cxb5 Qxb5 29. Qxb5 cxb5 30. Rxd8 Rxd8 31. Rb1 Rb8 {It's really hard to imagine anything other than a draw.} 32. Rb4 Ne8 33. Nd5 f6 34. e4 Kf7 35. f4 Ke6 36. Kf3 Kd6 37. Rb1 Nc7 38. Nb4 Ra8 39. e5+ fxe5 40. Rd1+ Ke7 41. Nc6+ Ke6 42. fxe5 Ra3+ 43. Ke4 Ra4+ 44. Nd4+ Ke7 45. Kd3 Ne6 46. Nf5+ Kf8 47. Rc1 Nf4+ 48. Kd2 Rc4 49. Rf1 g5 50. h4 Ne6 51. hxg5 Rxg4 52. Nd6+ Rf4 53. Rxf4+ Nxf4 54. Nxb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B28"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,99,27,11,51,51,87,46,44,14,10,10,21,28,46,35,16,14,14,11,11,22,0,7,16, 18,33,39,60,46,58,51,54,89,70,76,80,54,50,56,93,42,32,37,52,36,39,46,36,45,53, 63,70,64,68,51,50,47,38,50,63,55,45,44,59,20,25,19,40,44,43,41,43,47,55,42,14, 10,37,45,185,120,91,95,95,97,123,115,115,137,137,128,176,176,176,176,177,49, 150,170,390,156]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 3. c4 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e5 {Already Caruana had to start thinking hard here. It's nice to surprise your opponent and get lots of time but Radjabov ends up with a worse position and that's no good at all.} 6. Nf5 d5 {Again played quickly.} ({Relevant:} 6... d6 7. Nc3 g6 8. Ne3 Bh6 9. Bd3 Nge7 10. h4 Kf8 11. h5 Kg7 12. Ned5 Bxc1 13. Qxc1 h6 14. hxg6 fxg6 15. Qe3 Nd4 16. O-O-O Nxd5 17. exd5 Bf5 18. f4 Bxd3 19. fxe5 Nf5 20. Qxd3 dxe5 21. Ne4 Rc8 22. Kb1 Nd4 23. Rhf1 b5 24. Qg3 Re8 25. Rf6 g5 26. Qh3 Rh8 27. Rdf1 Rc7 28. d6 Qa8 29. Qg4 Ra7 30. Nxg5 {1-0 (30) Carlsen,M (2862)-Artemiev,V (2708) Chess.com INT 2020}) 7. cxd5 Bxf5 8. exf5 Nd4 9. Bd3 (9. Nc3) 9... Qxd5 10. Nc3 Qd7 11. O-O Nf6 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Re1 {[#]} O-O-O $146 {This seems super-risky and I find it hard to believe this was still preparation.} ({ Predecessor:} 13... Nc6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Be4 Rd8 16. Nd5 Bg5 17. Qh5 Be7 18. Rad1 Nd4 19. f6 gxf6 20. Rxd4 exd4 21. Bf3 {1-0 (21) Schrancz,I-Roth,E Hungary 1969}) (13... h6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6) 14. Rxe5 Nc6 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Rd5 Qe7 17. Bc4 Kb8 18. Qd3 $6 (18. Qb3 {Seems to be the way to go.} Nd4 19. Qb6) 18... Qb4 $6 (18... Qc7 $11) 19. Bb3 Nd4 20. Qc4 Qxc4 21. Bxc4 Rc8 22. Bd3 Nc6 {White is a pawn up but it's unclear how useful the extra pawn is.} 23. Be4 Rhe8 24. f3 Re7 25. Rad1 {Already the computer says white's advantage is quite serious.} h6 26. Kf2 Rcc7 (26... Bxc3 27. bxc3 Ne5) 27. R5d2 Bxc3 28. bxc3 Ne5 29. Rc1 (29. Kg3 Rxc3 30. Kh4 Rcc7) 29... f6 $6 {Things are pretty difficult from now on.} ( 29... Ng4+ $5) 30. Kg3 Ka7 31. Rd4 Rc5 32. Kh4 Rec7 33. Kh5 b5 34. f4 Nd7 35. Rcd1 Nb6 36. R1d3 Na4 37. Kg6 Nxc3 38. Bf3 Nxa2 39. Rd7 Nc3 40. Kxg7 b4 { White is winning. Caruana takes his time and makes sure.} 41. Kxf6 b3 42. Rd2 a5 43. Ke6 Rxd7 44. Rxd7+ Ka6 45. f6 b2 46. f7 b1=Q 47. f8=Q Qg6+ 48. Qf6 Qe8+ 49. Kd6 Rc4 50. Rc7 Kb5 51. Qe5+ Qxe5+ 52. fxe5 Rxc7 53. Kxc7 Kc5 54. e6 Nb5+ 55. Kd7 a4 56. e7 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "2806"] [BlackElo "2793"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bc5 4. d3 O-O 5. Nc3 c6 6. Nf3 d6 7. O-O a5 8. d4 exd4 9. Nxd4 a4 10. Rb1 Qa5 $5 (10... Re8 11. e3 Qa5 12. Bd2 Bg4 13. f3 Bh5 14. Ne4 Qd8 15. Nxc5 dxc5 16. Ne2 {1-0 (52) So,W (2770)-Caruana,F (2820) Bucharest ROU 2021}) 11. Nc2 Bf5 12. Bd2 Nbd7 13. Rc1 Qa7 14. b3 axb3 15. axb3 Rfe8 16. Na4 Be4 17. Bc3 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 d5 19. Nxc5 Qxc5 20. Ne3 dxc4 21. bxc4 Qh5 22. h3 Rad8 23. Qc2 Ne4 24. Rcd1 Nxc3 25. Qxc3 Nf6 26. Qb2 b5 27. g4 Qc5 28. cxb5 Qxb5 29. Qxb5 cxb5 30. Rxd8 Rxd8 31. Rb1 Rb8 32. Rb4 Ne8 33. Nd5 f6 34. e4 Kf7 35. f4 Ke6 36. Kf3 Kd6 37. Rb1 Nc7 38. Nb4 Ra8 39. e5+ fxe5 40. Rd1+ Ke7 41. Nc6+ Ke6 42. fxe5 Ra3+ 43. Ke4 Ra4+ 44. Nd4+ Ke7 45. Kd3 Ne6 46. Nf5+ Kf8 47. Rc1 Nf4+ 48. Kd2 Rc4 49. Rf1 g5 50. h4 Ne6 51. hxg5 Rxg4 52. Nd6+ Rf4 53. Rxf4+ Nxf4 54. Nxb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2766"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,28,17,25,17,25,66,23,30,30,30,12,13,12,59,59,53,52,52,35,95,48,54,53, 97,58,9,0,118,118,438]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Qb3 Bg4 10. Bxe4 (10. Nbd2 Nxd2 11. Nxd2 Qb6 12. c5 Qxb3 13. axb3 Bf4 14. b4 Na6 15. Bxa6 bxa6 16. Nf3 Bxc1 17. Rfxc1 Bc8 18. Ne5 Bb7 19. f3 f6 20. Nd3 {1-0 (69) Short,N (2649)-Harikrishna,P (2668) Kemer 2007}) 10... dxe4 11. Ng5 Be7 12. Nxe4 Qxd4 13. Qxb7 Qxe4 14. Qxa8 Bh3 15. gxh3 Qg6+ 16. Kh1 Qe4+ {1/2-1/2 (16) Marquardt,G (2250)-Cantelli,A (2253) ICCF email 2019} 17. Kg1 Qg6+ 18. Kh1 Qe4+ 19. f3 Qd3 20. Kg2 Qg6+ 21. Kh1 Qd3 22. Nd2 $6 Qd7 23. Ne4 Na6 24. Qxf8+ Bxf8 25. Bf4 Qxh3 26. Rad1 h6 27. Bg3 Nc5 28. Rfe1 Ne6 29. a3 h5 30. Rd3 Qf5 31. b4 h4 32. Bb8 Ng5 $5 (32... c5 33. b5 Nd4) 33. Rde3 $6 (33. Ree3 $1) 33... Nxe4 34. fxe4 Qf2 35. h3 Be7 36. Bh2 Bg5 37. Bg1 Qd2 38. R3e2 Qd3 39. Be3 Bf6 40. Bxa7 Qxh3+ 41. Kg1 Qg3+ 42. Kf1 h3 43. Bg1 Bh4 $1 0-1 [Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2760"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,26,26,19,19,4,1,8,22,26,29,28,28,21,21,7,51,36,42,13,24,19,19,10,26, -22,3,-29,-25]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nge2 d5 7. cxd5 cxd4 8. exd4 Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. a3 Bd6 11. Re1 Nce7 $5 (11... Re8 12. Bc2 Qh4 (12... Bf8 13. Ng3 g6 14. Nge4 h6 {½-½ (104) Bluebaum,M (2637)-Nakamura, H (2750) INT 2022}) 13. g3 (13. Ng3 Bd7 14. Re4 Qd8 15. Qd3 f5 16. Re1 Qf6 { 0-1 (28) Sarana,A (2685)-Nakamura,H (2750) INT 2022}) 13... Qh5 14. Ne4 Bf8 15. N2c3 Qxd1 16. Rxd1 Rd8 17. Bg5 {1/2-1/2 (71) Caruana,F (2806)-Nakamura,H (2736) Saint Louis USA 2021}) (11... Qh4 12. g3 Qh5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Bf4 Be7 15. h4 Bg4 16. Qd2 h6 17. Be3 g5 18. Bc2 f5 19. Nc3 Rad8 20. hxg5 Bf3 {0-1 (20) Bluebaum,M (2663)-Nakamura,H (2766) INT 2022}) 12. Bc2 Bd7 13. Qd3 f5 14. Bb3 Qb6 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 exd5 17. Bf4 Rae8 18. g3 $5 Bxf4 19. Nxf4 Re4 20. Red1 Bc6 21. h4 Rfe8 22. Qc3 g6 23. b4 Ba4 24. Rd2 Qc6 25. Qc5 Re1+ 26. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 27. Kg2 Qxc5 28. bxc5 Bc6 29. Re2 Rd1 30. Ne6 Bd7 31. Nd8 Rxd4 32. Re7 Bc6 33. Nxc6 bxc6 34. Rc7 Ra4 35. Rxc6 Rxa3 36. Rd6 Rc3 37. Rxd5 a5 38. c6 a4 39. Ra5 a3 40. c7 Rxc7 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B28"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2753"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 a6 $5 3. c4 (3. d4 $6 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5) (3. c3 $5) 3... Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e5 6. Nf5 d5 7. cxd5 Bxf5 8. exf5 Nd4 9. Bd3 Qxd5 10. Nc3 (10. O-O O-O-O 11. Nd2 Nf6 12. Bc4 Qd7 13. Nf3 Qxf5 14. Nxd4 exd4 { 1/2-1/2 (42) Kaiumov,D-Polovodin,I (2355) Moscow 1979}) 10... Qd7 (10... Bb4 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Qe2 Nf6 14. Rb1 (14. Ba3 O-O-O 15. Bc4 Qe4 16. Qxe4 Nxe4 17. Rfe1 Nxc3 18. Bxf7 Rd2 19. Bc1 Ne2+ 20. Kf1 Nxc1 21. Raxc1 Kb8 { 1/2-1/2 (64) Horvath,A (2437)-Varga,Z (2518) Koszeg 1999}) 14... O-O 15. Rxb7 e4 16. Bxa6 Qxf5 17. Rb3 Ne5 18. Bb7 Ra4 19. Be3 {0-1 (39) Teuschler,B (2218) -Horvath,P (2422) Austria 2017}) 11. O-O Nf6 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Re1 O-O-O $6 14. Rxe5 Nc6 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Rd5 Qe7 17. Bc4 Kb8 18. Qd3 Qb4 19. Bb3 Nd4 20. Qc4 Qxc4 21. Bxc4 Rc8 22. Bd3 Nc6 23. Be4 Rhe8 24. f3 Re7 25. Rad1 h6 26. Kf2 Rcc7 27. R5d2 Bxc3 28. bxc3 Ne5 29. Rc1 f6 30. Kg3 Ka7 31. Rd4 Rc5 32. Kh4 Rec7 33. Kh5 b5 34. f4 Nd7 35. Rcd1 Nb6 36. R1d3 Na4 37. Kg6 Nxc3 38. Bf3 Nxa2 39. Rd7 Nc3 40. Kxg7 b4 41. Kxf6 b3 42. Rd2 a5 43. Ke6 Rxd7 44. Rxd7+ Ka6 45. f6 b2 46. f7 b1=Q 47. f8=Q Qg6+ 48. Qf6 $1 Qe8+ 49. Kd6 $1 Rc4 50. Rc7 Kb5 (50... Rd4+ $5 51. Kc5+ $1 (51. Qxd4 $4 Nb5+ $19) 51... Rd6 52. Qxd6+ Qc6+ 53. Qxc6#) 51. Qe5+ Qxe5+ 52. fxe5 Rxc7 53. Kxc7 Kc5 54. e6 Nb5+ 55. Kd7 a4 56. e7 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B28"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "samsh"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 $1 {Radjabov has gotten a lot of very understandable heat in the past few years for showing no ambition, forcing draws with White in well known lines, never trying to win, drawing nearly all his games, you name it. In my opinion, much of this heat is fully justified. That said, I do have to give him props for showing a willingness to fight today as early as the first move 1.} 2. Nf3 a6 {I can't remember analyzing this move in the last 10 years $1} 3. c4 (3. c3 {I always thought this was supposed to be the best way to punish the line, but that may be outdated.}) 3... Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e5 6. Nf5 d5 { Radjabov was still blitzing to here, suggesting he was still in his preparation. The position is not great though.} 7. cxd5 Bxf5 8. exf5 Nd4 9. Bd3 $1 {I like this decision from Caruana. The computer wants to try to hang onto the d5-pawn with Nc3, but this feels more human and less risky.} Qxd5 10. Nc3 $1 {Another good move. White makes sure to grab a tempo on the queen before castling.} (10. O-O O-O-O $1 {Now it is too late for Nc3, as it can be met with a check on f3. Black should be fine.}) 10... Qd7 11. O-O Nf6 $6 {This is not a bad move, but I think it was played with the wrong plan in mind. Given that Black ended up castling long in the game, he probably should have done so right away.} (11... O-O-O {If Black was going to castle long, he should have done so immediately. Still, he looks a little worse to me after} 12. Be3 Kb8 13. Rc1 $14) 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Re1 O-O-O (13... O-O $1 {Had Radjabov found this idea, I would not think to criticize Be7. But, if you play Be7 and don't go for this... I don't like it.} 14. Rxe5 Rfe8 {White is a little better with the pawn up, but he struggles to coordinate and Black has some counterplay with Rad8 coming next. In the game, Black's kingside got ransacked because it lacked defenders, while now the king can keep it safe.}) 14. Rxe5 Nc6 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. Rd5 Qe7 17. Bc4 Kb8 18. Qd3 $6 {This allows Black a bunch of extra options.} (18. g3 {More pawns on dark squares, make room for the king. White is much better but the game goes on.}) 18... Qb4 {Not bad, but not best either. The computer wants Qc7, but I think Nb4 looks best to a human eye.} (18... Nb4 $5 {This would have been my choice and looks like a pretty convincing route to a defensible position. White is forced to give Black the d-file.} 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. Qf3 Qc7 {Black is ready for Rd2 next. He looks fine to me.}) 19. Bb3 Nd4 20. Qc4 Qxc4 21. Bxc4 Rc8 22. Bd3 Nc6 {White is a pawn up, but with a doubled pawn and opposite bishops, the win is not certain. Caruana found the best plan by far: Put the bishop on e4 and anchor it with f3.} 23. Be4 $1 Rhe8 24. f3 $1 {White's extra pawn is on full display. He has one f-pawn anchoring his bishop on a fantastic square, and another f-pawn ruining any hope of dislodging it with f7-f5. Now, Radjabov defended passively. This will absolutely not work, he needs counterplay.} Re7 $2 {Way too passive.} (24... Ne5 $1 {The only try. The knight is coming to c4, and Black gets some counterplay. He is worse but the game goes on.}) 25. Rad1 h6 26. Kf2 Rcc7 27. R5d2 Bxc3 28. bxc3 Ne5 29. Rc1 {The computer claims that Caruana's last few moves were a little careless because now Black can go Ng4+ and Nf6. This is true in theory, but I don't think it's as big a deal as the machine implies.} f6 $2 {Eschewing the last chance. Now White's king runs straight to g6 and he wins the game on the kingside.} (29... Ng4+ $1 30. Kg3 Nf6 $1 31. Kf4 {In human terms I still think Black is very likely to lose here to h2-h4 and g2-g4-g5. Stockfish might hold it... but flesh and blood beings, I don't see it happening.}) 30. Kg3 Ka7 31. Rd4 Rc5 32. Kh4 Rec7 33. Kh5 {Around here Radjabov stopped trying to defend and started looking for queenside counterplay. It's the right call to make, but it is way too slow.} b5 34. f4 Nd7 35. Rcd1 Nb6 36. R1d3 Na4 37. Kg6 Nxc3 {Now, Caruana needed to find a couple only moves to win the game. But, they were not particularly difficult, and even with the clock ticking down on the last few moves before time control, he found them easily.} 38. Bf3 $1 Nxa2 39. Rd7 $1 {White's pawns will be much better than Black's, and White's king and bishop are both much more active than Black's king and knight.} Nc3 40. Kxg7 b4 41. Kxf6 b3 {Sadly for Radjabov, right around the moment when White's moves become a little harder was when he got another hour. I think had that hour been absent, Caruana very likely still would have won the game, but the certainty would not be 100\%. With that hour, it's game over.} 42. Rd2 $1 a5 43. Ke6 Rxd7 44. Rxd7+ Ka6 45. f6 (45. Rd8 { Getting the rook behind the b-pawn worked too, but the position with both sides queening wins easily.}) 45... b2 46. f7 b1=Q 47. f8=Q {Without time on the clock, it's easy to see this position from afar with Black to move and get spooked since he gets the first check. But, with even not that much time to calculate, it becomes clear that the checks rapidly run out, and White is winning.} Qg6+ 48. Qf6 Qe8+ (48... Qxf6+ 49. Kxf6 $18 {The f-pawn will win the game.}) 49. Kd6 $1 {A final accurare move. It's not even that stressful since Black has no checks.} (49. Re7 $2 {It was still not too late to blunder.} Rc6+ 50. Bxc6 Qxc6+ 51. Kf7 Qxf6+ 52. Kxf6 Nd5+ 53. Ke6 Nxe7 54. Kxe7 a4 {Suddenly, Black can reach a drawn queen endgame, though even this might be hard to hold in practice.}) 49... Rc4 50. Rc7 {Just one winning move among many.} Kb5 51. Qe5+ Qxe5+ 52. fxe5 Rxc7 53. Kxc7 {There is no stopping the e-pawn.} Kc5 54. e6 Nb5+ 55. Kd7 a4 56. e7 {Radjabov called it a day. Coming into the tournament, I had two main hopes. One would be that it would be a compact event with a lot of excitement and a lot of guys fighting for first, and the other (and bigger one) was that Hikaru would be one of those guys and that he would eventually win the tournament. This was not a great day for either of those hopes. But, it has to be said that the two guys atop the leaderboard have clearly been playing the best chess of the tournament by a wide margin, which always feels better than someone winning because they are getting lucky. I'm hopeful that the guys who are struggling will be able to find the best versions of themselves in the second half. I can't really see anyone catching the leaders barring some really bizarre circumstances, but I hope they face a tougher challenge in the remaining rounds.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "2806"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitao"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 {Nepomniachtchi played 2...c6 against Ding in round one.} 3. Bg2 Bc5 4. d3 O-O 5. Nc3 c6 6. Nf3 d6 7. O-O {A typical position from the English Opening. Lots of maneuvering ahead.} a5 8. d4 {They are following the game So vs. Caruana from 2021.} exd4 9. Nxd4 a4 10. Rb1 Qa5 {A novelty. White has more space and some positional trumps, so Black must get counterplay quickly. But he is in time.} (10... Re8 11. e3 Qa5 12. Bd2 {and Wesley So won a good game against Caruana in Bucharest, 2021.}) 11. Nc2 (11. e3 {is a natural move, but Black gets a good position after} Bg4 $1) 11... Bf5 12. Bd2 Nbd7 13. Rc1 (13. b4 axb3 14. axb3 Qc7 {with an equal position.}) (13. Ne4 $6 Qa6 14. Nxc5 Nxc5 {and Black is too active.}) 13... Qa7 (13... Rfe8 $11) 14. b3 axb3 15. axb3 Rfe8 16. Na4 Be4 $1 17. Bc3 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 d5 $1 {Firouzja solves all his problems after this move.} 19. Nxc5 Qxc5 20. Ne3 dxc4 21. bxc4 Qh5 22. h3 Rad8 23. Qc2 Ne4 24. Rcd1 Nxc3 25. Qxc3 Nf6 26. Qb2 b5 {It was clear for everyone now that this game was going to end in a draw.} 27. g4 Qc5 28. cxb5 Qxb5 29. Qxb5 cxb5 30. Rxd8 Rxd8 31. Rb1 Rb8 32. Rb4 Ne8 33. Nd5 f6 34. e4 Kf7 35. f4 Ke6 36. Kf3 Kd6 37. Rb1 Nc7 38. Nb4 Ra8 39. e5+ (39. Rd1+ Kc5 40. Rc1+ Kb6 $11 (40... Kxb4 $6 41. Rxc7 {this might be somewhat dangerous for Black.}) (40... Kd6 $11)) 39... fxe5 40. Rd1+ Ke7 41. Nc6+ Ke6 42. fxe5 (42. f5+ Kf6 43. Rd6+ Kg5 44. Rd7 Ra3+ 45. Kg2 Ra2+ {with a draw.}) 42... Ra3+ 43. Ke4 Ra4+ 44. Nd4+ Ke7 45. Kd3 Ne6 46. Nf5+ Kf8 47. Rc1 Nf4+ 48. Kd2 Rc4 49. Rf1 g5 50. h4 Ne6 51. hxg5 Rxg4 52. Nd6+ Rf4 53. Rxf4+ Nxf4 54. Nxb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitao"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nge2 d5 7. cxd5 cxd4 8. exd4 Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 10. a3 Bd6 11. Re1 {This move is the most fashionable nowadays. The other possible moves are:} (11. Nxd5) (11. Bc2) (11. Ne4) 11... Nce7 {A move Nakamura clearly had prepared. I found only one correspondence game with it.} (11... Re8 {Nakamura played this move three times recently.}) 12. Bc2 {A natural and new move.} (12. Bb1 Re8 13. Qd3 Ng6 {ended in a draw in Struzka-Tauscher, ICCF email 2013}) 12... Bd7 13. Qd3 f5 {This looks like a concession, but it's a typical way to gain space and stop any White attack on the kingside. Of course, it also gives away the e5-square.} (13... Ng6 14. Nxd5 exd5 15. Bf4 Qc7 16. Bxd6 Qxd6 17. h4 {with a slight advantage for White.}) 14. Bb3 Qb6 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 exd5 17. Bf4 {There is a complex positional fight on the board. If White manages to exchange bishops and land a knight on e5, then he is just winning. But life is never so easy when playing Nakamura.} Rae8 18. g3 (18. Qd2 $5) 18... Bxf4 19. Nxf4 Re4 $1 20. Red1 $1 Bc6 $6 (20... Qxb2 $2 {Of course not this one.} 21. Rab1 Qa2 22. Rxb7 {and White is much better.}) (20... Ba4 $1 {leads to an equal endgame after:} 21. Nxd5 (21. Rd2 Bb3 {and Black improves the bishop and has no problems.}) 21... Qxb2 22. Rab1 Qc2 23. Ne3 Qxd3 24. Rxd3 b6) 21. h4 $1 {Preventing the g7-g5 advance.} Rfe8 22. Qc3 g6 {A difficult move to play. The position looks dangerous for Black.} 23. b4 $6 (23. a4 $1 {was the right way.} a5 24. b3 $14 {Black is without counterplay for now, and White might try to improve the position with Rac1-Rd3-Qd2-Rc5 and so on.}) 23... Ba4 $1 {Now Black's bishop is not so passive.} 24. Rd2 Qc6 $1 25. Qc5 Re1+ (25... Bb5 $11) 26. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 27. Kg2 Qxc5 28. bxc5 (28. dxc5 Ra1 {and Black is fine.}) 28... Bc6 29. Re2 Rd1 30. Ne6 Bd7 {Now the position simplifies to a draw.} 31. Nd8 Rxd4 32. Re7 Bc6 33. Nxc6 bxc6 34. Rc7 Ra4 35. Rxc6 Rxa3 36. Rd6 Rc3 37. Rxd5 a5 38. c6 a4 39. Ra5 a3 40. c7 Rxc7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.06.25"] [Round "7"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitao"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {By now, it's clear what Nepomniachtchi’s first choice is as Black against 1.e4.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Qb3 {A rare move. Rapport decides to go for a theoretical battle in a forcing variation. This will backfire.} Bg4 $1 10. Bxe4 dxe4 11. Ng5 Be7 12. Nxe4 Qxd4 13. Qxb7 Qxe4 14. Qxa8 Bh3 $1 {This move just forces a draw. It has been played before in two correspondence games, and it's also the first choice of my computer. I wonder what went wrong with Rapport's opening preparation.} 15. gxh3 Qg6+ 16. Kh1 Qe4+ 17. Kg1 Qg6+ 18. Kh1 Qe4+ 19. f3 { Rapport decides not go for a draw just yet.} Qd3 20. Kg2 Qg6+ 21. Kh1 Qd3 22. Nd2 $2 {A brave decision, but a bad one too. It's clear that Nepomniachtchi is still on preparation, and it's better to just accept the draw. Instead, Rapport trusts his ability to evaluate the position correctly, plays with less time, and goes for a position that is known to his opponent. I think he didn't understand how dangerous his position really is with two rooks against a queen. } Qd7 $1 {This nice queen swing is the justification for Black's 14th move. Now White's queen is trapped. Usually two rooks are better than a queen, but this position is an exception. White has too many weaknesses and it's hard to defend against the queen invasion.} 23. Ne4 Na6 24. Qxf8+ Bxf8 {The position is much worse for White than it seems at first sight. Black is actually winning here. The main problem is the damaged pawn structure on the kingside. White's king will never have an easy time.} (24... Kxf8 {During the game I expected this capture, leaving the bishop on a more active position. Black is also better here but capturing with the bishop is better.}) 25. Bf4 (25. Kg2 { was the move I expected when following the game, but White is just lost.} Qd4 { the c4-pawn falls.}) 25... Qxh3 26. Rad1 h6 {A good human move, giving some air to the king and also preparing to advance the pawns on the kingside if necessary.} (26... h5 {was also good.}) 27. Bg3 Nc5 $1 28. Rfe1 (28. Nxc5 Bxc5 {White has no counterplay. Black will advance the kingside pawns and eventually win. For instance:} 29. a3 a5 30. Rfe1 h5 $19) 28... Ne6 $5 (28... Nxe4 {was also winning.} 29. Rxe4 (29. fxe4 Bc5 {Followed by h5-h4, winning.}) 29... Bc5 {White has no counterplay. The plan is f6-h5-Kh7-g5 and so on.}) 29. a3 h5 (29... Nf4 $5 30. Rd2 (30. Bxf4 Qxf3+ 31. Kg1 Qxf4 {wins.}) 30... f5 31. Nc3 h5 {with a winning attack.}) 30. Rd3 Qf5 31. b4 h4 $1 32. Bb8 (32. Bxh4 Nf4 33. Rd2 (33. Rde3 Qh3 $19) 33... Qh5 $1 {wins.}) 32... Ng5 33. Rde3 $2 { losing on the spot.} (33. Ree3 {was the only chance to keep the game going.} Nxe4 34. Rxe4 h3 {It's impossible to defend this with White.}) 33... Nxe4 34. fxe4 Qf2 35. h3 Be7 $1 36. Bh2 Bg5 37. Bg1 Qd2 38. R3e2 Qd3 39. Be3 Bf6 $1 ( 39... Qxe4+ $6 40. Kg1 Bxe3+ $6 41. Rxe3 Qxc4 $2 42. Re8+ Kh7 43. R8e4 { and this would be a nice way to give up all of Black's advantage.}) 40. Bxa7 Qxh3+ 41. Kg1 Qg3+ 42. Kf1 h3 43. Bg1 Bh4 {Another convincing win by Nepomniachtchi. He showed great preparation and accepted his luck. He played quickly and confidently. By now, it's clear there is a two-man race for the title of the Candidates Tournament. 0-} 0-1