[Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Woodward, Andy"] [Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2590"] [BlackElo "2577"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "73"] [GameId "2234503313302831"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,73,20,22,26,14,23,4,22,42,25,13,-21,11,8,1,9,12,18,-50,6,3,6,10,9,9,6,14,8,8,12,-3,-78,4,9,8,89,94,121,122,161,222,213,250,155,161,146,165,208,160,197,67,249,74,305,320,185,318,307,303,166,319,331,370,394,332,374,252,415,419,537,357,519,309,802,792]} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 b6 {Very rare; I don't even know what this is called. It could transpose into a Queen's Indian or a Catalan, but there's no guarantee that this will happen.} 4. c4 dxc4 5. Bg2 {Already down to four games in the database.} Bb7 6. Qa4+ Nd7 7. Bg5 $146 {Already terra incognita!} Be7 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 {Back to one game.} 9. Nbd2 $146 Ngf6 10. Nxc4 O-O 11. O-O {Back to the one game that came up on move 8.} c5 12. Rfd1 $146 Rfc8 13. Rac1 {Re-transposing one final time.} Rc7 $146 {=} (13... h6 14. Qa3 Qf8 15. Qe3 Rc7 16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Nd4 Nce4 18. Ne5 Rac8 19. Rxc7 Rxc7 20. Nb5 Rc2 21. Nd7 Nxd7 22. Bxe4 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 Rxb2 24. Rxd7 Rxb5 25. Rxa7 Ra5 26. Rxa5 {½-½ Ludevid Masana,J (2306)-Conde Poderoso,A (2367) ESP-Cup14 final email ICCF email 2018}) 14. Qa3 Rac8 15. Nfe5 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Qf8 (16... Kf8 $142 $11 {is a more typical way of unpinning the c-pawn going back at least 60 years in the Tartakower Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined.} 17. Nxd7+ Nxd7 18. dxc5 Rxc5 $11) 17. Nxd7 Nxd7 $2 (17... Rxd7) 18. dxc5 $16 {Here Black can't play ...Rxc5 (compare 16...Kf8) because the knight would hang.} Nxc5 $2 (18... Qxc5 $142 19. Qxc5 bxc5 {A sad necessity.} (19... Nxc5 $2 20. Nd6 Ra8 21. b4 Na6 22. a3 $18) (19... Rxc5 $2 {doesn't lose a piece:} 20. Rxd7 g5 {takes care of the back rank issue and allows Black to regain the piece thanks to the pin. Still, he'll be down a pawn, and this is not one of those "all rook endings are drawn" situations.} 21. Rxa7 Rxc4 22. Rxc4 Rxc4 23. Rb7 $18) 20. Rd6 $16) 19. Nd6 $18 Rd8 20. Nb5 $1 Rcd7 21. Rxd7 Rxd7 22. b4 $1 Ne4 23. Nxa7 {Black has a bad position in addition to being a pawn down. The b-pawn is weak, for starters, and if White gets a 2-0 pawn majority on the queenside it's almost impossible to see Black surviving or even putting up much of a fight.} Nd6 24. Nc6 b5 25. Qd3 Rc7 26. Rc5 Nc4 27. a4 {Winning a second pawn, even if it's going to be doubled.} h6 28. axb5 Nb6 29. e4 Rd7 30. Qe3 Rb7 31. Rc3 Nd7 32. Rd3 Qe8 33. Qd2 Kh7 34. Rd6 Qc8 35. Na5 $1 {Winning even more material.} Rc7 36. b6 Rc2 {The only try.} 37. b7 $1 (37. b7 $1 {This wins a lot of material. It might seem for a moment that Black can escape with} Qb8 38. Qxc2 Qxd6 {, but there's a teensy problem.} 39. e5+ {wins the queen.}) 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2661"] [BlackElo "2654"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "2004887"] [PlyCount "120"] [GameId "2234503313327409"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,120,20,12,30,24,25,8,31,35,13,28,28,21,44,19,15,1,37,26,4,-4,-12,-3,-8,0,21,-39,-23,-30,-9,-62,-79,-67,-90,-4,-34,-65,-78,-90,-52,-46,38,-17,-31,-42,-44,-41,54,-99,-122,-74,-79,0,-53,-1,-48,5,-30,-71,-70,-82,-121,-98,-87,-132,-92,-6,-45,-55,43,-24,-41,-68,-43,36,-32,-9,-1,-1,4,83,27,92,3,11,-1,-1,9,1,28,-1,1,-1,1,1,-1,-1,-1,-1,9,15,15,39,-44,8,29,1,1,1,1,-1,-30,-1,-1,-1,-1,-5,-1,44,-1,-48,-13]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nd2 e6 5. Nb3 Nd7 6. h4 h5 7. Be2 c5 8. dxc5 (8. c3 {looks much more natural, as does}) (8. Nf3) 8... Qc7 (8... Nxe5) 9. Be3 (9. Nf3) 9... Nxe5 10. Nf3 $6 (10. Bf4 {is better, but no one is going to throw away a tempo like this.}) 10... Nxf3+ 11. Bxf3 Nf6 $15 {Black's opening has been a success.} 12. Qe2 Be7 13. c4 Be4 14. cxd5 Bxd5 15. Bd4 $2 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 O-O 17. O-O $2 Ng4 $19 18. g3 {Black's advantage has grown, but here he loses much of it chasing a shiny object.} Bxh4 $2 $17 (18... Rad8 19. Rac1 Rd5 $19 {was better, activating the rest of his army before trying to cash in.}) 19. Qh1 Be7 20. Qxh5 f5 21. Qg6 e5 $6 (21... Bf6 $17) 22. Qe6+ Rf7 23. Bc3 Bxc5 24. Rac1 $2 (24. Nxc5 Qxc5 25. Rad1 $15) 24... Bb6 25. a4 e4 {Threatening ...Qxg3+, mating.} 26. Kg2 Qd7 27. Qxd7 Rxd7 28. a5 Bc7 29. Rfd1 Rf7 30. Rd5 Re8 31. Bd4 b6 $6 (31... a6) 32. Rc3 (32. axb6 $142 $15) 32... Re6 33. axb6 Bxb6 34. Rc8+ Kh7 35. Nc5 $15 Rh6 36. b4 Rh5 37. Re8 Rh2+ 38. Kg1 Rh6 39. Kg2 Rg6 40. Ne6 $11 {The game stays interesting to the end, but neither player manages to shake the equilibrium the rest of the way.} Bxd4 41. Rxd4 Nf6 42. Rf8 Re7 43. Nf4 Rg4 44. Rd1 Kh6 45. f3 exf3+ 46. Kxf3 Re4 47. Rh1+ Kg5 48. Nh3+ Kg6 49. Nf4+ Rexf4+ 50. gxf4 Nd5 51. b5 Rxf4+ 52. Ke2 Rg4 53. Kf3 Nf6 54. Ra8 Rb4 55. Rxa7 Rb3+ 56. Kf4 Rb4+ 57. Kf3 Rxb5 58. Rg1+ Ng4 59. Rxg4+ fxg4+ 60. Kxg4 Rb4+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E28"] [WhiteElo "2722"] [BlackElo "2738"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "82"] [GameId "2234503313327410"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,82,15,20,20,19,21,9,-76,15,10,0,-36,-5,4,-31,83,-3,-34,-20,-41,-58,-16,-42,-2,-44,-32,-56,-3,2,6,7,27,-27,-18,-26,-24,-25,36,-50,-18,-18,7,-31,-26,-24,9,162,10,13,46,-17,-1,-41,-1,-9,-21,-8,-27,-28,-29,-15,-26,-31,-30,-41,-12,-33,-39,-47,-39,-43,-43,-45,-26,-47,-34,-33,-34,-38,-35,-31,-29,-36,-38]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 d6 7. f3 c5 8. Bd3 Nc6 9. Ne2 Na5 {Very rare - only one precedent. That said, it could transpose to main lines, as Black often plays some combination of ...Na5, ...b6, and ...Ba6 to go after White's c4-pawn.} (9... b6) ({and} 9... e5 {are normal.}) 10. e4 $146 Nd7 {But this may be a new idea. Retreating the knight before the Bg5 pin shows up has been around since before my parents' time, but it was ...Ne8 that was the commonplace. Note, though: that often happened with a Black pawn on d7, which meant that the knight could subsequently go to d6 to help gang up on White's c4-pawn. So in this respect it's similar: the knight is headed to b6.} 11. O-O Nb6 12. e5 cxd4 13. cxd4 dxe5 14. c5 Nd5 15. dxe5 b6 16. Qc2 h6 17. Rb1 {This move wasn't liked by the engines or the commentators, though it's not really a *bad* move.} (17. c6 $5 Qc7 18. Nd4 Qxe5 19. Bb2 $44) (17. Qa4 {appeals to me, preparing to swing the queen to g4 where it's already creating threats against the lonely black king.}) 17... Bd7 (17... Bb7) 18. Ng3 Qc7 19. Ne4 Nb7 {I was watching the broadcast at this point, and here GM Yasser Seirawan proposed a very nice attacking idea. He got a detail or two wrong, but the basic idea, refined by GM Maurice Ashley (and the computer), was both spectacular and good:} 20. cxb6 {Playing it safe. White retains a pull thanks to the bishop pair, but nothing serious comes of it.} (20. c6 $1 Qxc6 $8 (20... Bxc6 $2 21. Nf6+ $3 gxf6 {So far Seirawan (and also the 20...Qxc6 lines, I think), but now Ashley & compy produced} (21... Kh8 {is better, but that's not to say that things are going well in the black army.} 22. Bb5 $1 {Threatening especially 23.Qh7#.} gxf6 23. Qd2 $1 Kg8 24. Qxh6 Qxe5 $1 25. Bxc6 Nd6 26. Bxa8 Rxa8 27. Bb2 $18 {The game goes on, but it's certainly White's game to win.}) 22. Bh7+ $3 Kh8 23. Qd2 Kxh7 24. Qxh6+ Kg8 25. Rb4 $1 Nxb4 26. exf6 $18 {and it's mate in at most two moves.}) 21. Qf2 Nc5 22. Bxh6 $1 (22. Qg3 $1 Kh8 23. Bxh6 $1 ({I don't think} 23. Bc2 {was discussed, but this may be even better, keeping the game going.} Nxe4 24. Bxe4 {White will play Kh1 to avoid annoying checks, and then resume building his kingside play.}) 23... gxh6 24. Qh4 Kg7 25. Qg3+ Kh8 26. Qh4 $11 {comes to the same thing.}) 22... gxh6 23. Qg3+ Kh8 24. Qh4 Kg7 25. Qg3+ Kh8 26. Qh4 $11) 20... Qxc2 21. Bxc2 axb6 22. Bb3 Nc5 23. Bxd5 exd5 24. Nd6 d4 25. Rxb6 Rfb8 26. Rb4 Nb3 27. h4 Rxb4 28. axb4 Rb8 29. Ba3 d3 30. Rd1 d2 31. Bb2 Rxb4 32. Bc3 Rxh4 33. Ne4 Rxe4 $1 {A nice way to end the battle.} 34. fxe4 Bg4 35. Rxd2 Nxd2 36. Bxd2 {The rest is necessary only to satisfy the arbiters.} Be2 37. Kf2 Bd3 38. Ke3 Bf1 39. Kf2 Bd3 40. Ke3 Bf1 41. Kf2 Bd3 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2789"] [BlackElo "2756"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "124"] [GameId "2234503313327411"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 d4 5. O-O Nc6 6. d3 Bc5 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. Nb3 Be7 9. h3 {Extremely rare, though it was played in a single (very) high-level game.} (9. e3 {is normal, when play often continues} dxe3 10. Bxe3 Ng4 11. Bc5 Bxc5 12. Nxc5 b6 {when White can move either knight or play 13.Qa4. As So has been on the white side of this let's include the game:} 13. Nb3 Bb7 14. d4 Rb8 15. Qe2 Nf6 16. Rad1 Ne7 17. Rfe1 Ng6 18. h4 Qc8 19. Bh3 Qe8 20. Ng5 h6 21. h5 Ne7 22. Nf3 Nc6 23. Nh4 a5 24. Rd2 a4 25. Na1 Na5 26. b4 axb3 27. axb3 b5 28. d5 exd5 29. Qd1 Qd8 30. cxb5 Bc8 31. Bxc8 Qxc8 32. Qf3 Re8 33. Rxe8+ Qxe8 34. Re2 Qxb5 35. Nf5 Nxb3 36. Nc2 d4 37. Re7 Nd2 38. Nxh6+ Kh7 39. Qd1 Qd3 40. Nxf7 Rb1 41. Ng5+ Kh6 42. Nf7+ Kh7 43. Ng5+ Kh6 44. Nf7+ {½-½ So,W (2747)-Keymer,V (2733) Oslo CCT Final 2024 (4.3)}) 9... a5 10. e3 e5 11. exd4 exd4 12. a4 {Creating a hole on b4 looks ugly, but stopping ...a4 was a priority.} Bb4 (12... Ra6 13. Re1 Bb4 14. Bd2 Rb6 15. Bxb4 Rxb4 16. Ra3 Qd6 17. Qd2 Nd7 18. Ng5 Rb6 19. Bd5 Ne7 20. Bg2 Nc6 21. Ne4 Qb4 22. c5 Ra6 23. Rc1 Qxd2 24. Nbxd2 Rd8 25. f4 Nb4 26. g4 h5 27. gxh5 Nd5 28. c6 bxc6 29. Rf1 Ne3 30. Rc1 Nf8 31. Nc5 Rb6 32. Nc4 Nxc4 33. Rxc4 Rxb2 34. Rb3 Ra2 35. Rb8 Rxg2+ 36. Kxg2 Bxh3+ 37. Kxh3 Rxb8 38. Kg4 f6 39. Rxd4 Kf7 40. Rc4 Ke7 41. Kf5 Rd8 42. Kg4 Rd5 43. Re4+ Kf7 44. Rc4 f5+ 45. Kf3 Ke7 46. d4 Nd7 47. Nb7 Nf6 48. Rxc6 Rxd4 49. Rxc7+ Ke6 50. Rxg7 Nxh5 51. Rg6+ Ke7 52. Rg5 Rxf4+ 53. Ke3 Re4+ 54. Kf3 {½-½ Eljanov,P (2691)-Erigaisi,A (2727) Chennai 2023 (4)}) 13. Bd2 $146 (13. Bf4 Re8 14. g4 h5 15. g5 Nh7 16. Bd2 Bf5 17. Nc1 Qd7 18. Bxb4 Nxb4 19. h4 Nf8 20. Qd2 Ng6 21. Nb3 Bxd3 22. Nc5 Qg4 23. Nxd3 Nxd3 24. Nh2 Qf5 25. Rad1 Ndf4 26. Qxd4 Ne2+ {0-1 Assaubayeva,B (2440)-Lagno,K (2560) Astana Satty Zhuldyz Blitz 2023 (1)}) 13... Bf5 14. Qc2 Re8 15. Rae1 Qd6 16. g4 Bd7 17. c5 Qf8 18. Rxe8 Rxe8 19. Bf4 {Caruana was cranking out the moves - all prep - while So was falling behind on the clock. The position on the board is still even, but Caruana's familiarity with the position along with So's need to speed up start to turn the game in White's favor.} Rc8 20. Rc1 h5 $6 (20... b6 $1 $11 {was best, not fearing the seemingly shaky position of the knight on c6. The rook on c8 suffices for its protection, for now, and there's value in trying to extricate the b4-bishop as well.}) 21. g5 $14 Nd5 22. Bg3 b6 $2 {The right idea...at the wrong time.} 23. g6 $1 $18 {Now Black is in serious trouble.} Nde7 (23... fxg6 $2 24. Qc4 {This is the problem.} Nce7 (24... Be6 $2 25. Ng5 $18) 25. Ng5 c6 26. cxb6 $18 {Black is cooked. White threatens b6-b7, also taking on d4, and also enjoys a serious attack.}) 24. gxf7+ Qxf7 25. Ng5 Qg6 26. h4 Kh8 27. cxb6 $2 {A mistake, though White retains a substantial advantage in any case.} (27. Qc4 $1 Qf6 28. Be4 Nd8 29. Nxd4 $18) 27... cxb6 28. Qc4 $16 Qf6 $2 (28... Qe8 $1 29. Nf7+ Kh7 30. Be4+ Nf5 31. Qd5 Nce7 $16 {White's pieces can jump all around Black's king, but there's no way to land a decisive blow.}) 29. Qb5 $18 Qf5 30. Qa6 Rf8 31. Qb7 {Step by step, the White queen invades. It has been slow but it's bearing fruit.} Be8 $6 (31... Nd8 32. Qxb6 Bxa4 33. Nxd4 Qf6 {is comparatively better, activating the bishops and keeping the kingside safe(ish).}) 32. Bxc6 $1 Bxc6 33. Rxc6 Qxd3 (33... Nxc6 34. Qxc6 Qxd3 35. Qxb6 $1 Qxb3 $4 36. Qg6 {mates.}) 34. Re6 Nf5 ({Greed will hasten Black's demise:} 34... Qxb3 35. Rxe7 Bxe7 36. Qxe7 Kg8 37. Ne6 Rf7 38. Qe8+ $18) 35. Be5 $3 {Threatening Rh6+. Caruana is closing in on a beautiful victory against one of his main rivals.} Qxb3 36. Rh6+ Kg8 37. Rh7 $1 Rf7 $1 (37... Rf6 38. Qc8+ Rf8 39. Qd7 Rf6 40. Bxf6 $18) 38. Nxf7 Kxh7 39. Ng5+ Kh6 40. Qxb6+ g6 {Perfect timing: it's move 41. The time control has passed, so Caruana can slow down and calculate the win to the end. Instead, sadly, he moved quickly and missed two ways to win that would have ended the contest.} 41. Qf6 $2 (41. Qd8 $1 Nxh4 42. Bf6 {Threatening mate on h8. Black can delay the inevitable with some checks, but they run out:} (42. Qf6 {isn't quite as clean, but it's still winning - ironically.} Qg8 {Just like the game, but with Black's knight on h4. That makes a critical difference, and now White wins with} 43. Ne4 {, discovering an attack on the knight, and if} Nf5 {White wins directly with} 44. Qg5+ Kh7 45. Nf6+ $18) 42... Qd1+ 43. Kh2 Nf3+ 44. Nxf3 {and Black has nothing sensible to do about Qh8#.} Bd6+ 45. Qxd6 Qxf3 46. Qf8+ Kh7 47. Qh8#) (41. Qb8 $1 {comes to the same thing.} Nxh4 42. Bf6 $18 {etc. It's not even all that difficult; it's just a matter of slowing down, calming down, and noticing the idea.}) 41... Qg8 $1 {The only move, but good enough to avoid an immediate loss. What was automatic a move ago, if Caruana spotted 41.Qd8/Qb8 is now work.} 42. Nf7+ Kh7 43. Ng5+ Kh6 44. Bxd4 $2 (44. Nf7+ Kh7 45. Bf4 $1 {was the key idea, without which there may not be a win.} Be7 46. Ng5+ Kh6 47. Qe5 Qc8 (47... Bb4 $4 48. Ne4+ Kh7 49. Nf6+) 48. Qxa5 d3 49. Ne4+ Kg7 50. Qe5+ Kf7 51. Ng5+ Bxg5 (51... Ke8 52. Qd5 $18) 52. Bxg5 Qc6 53. a5 $18) 44... Nxd4 45. Qxd4 Qg7 $1 {Now there's no win, or even any advantage. A self-inflicted tragedy for Caruana, who spoiled a great game and a chance to take the clear lead in the tournament.} 46. Qe4 Qxb2 47. Nf7+ Kh7 48. Ne5 Qc1+ 49. Kg2 Qh6 50. Nc6 Qf8 51. Ne5 Qg7 52. Nf3 Qd7 53. Ne5 Qg7 54. Qd5 Qf6 55. Nf3 Qf4 56. Qe6 Kg7 57. Qd7+ Kh6 58. Qc6 Qg4+ 59. Kf1 Qh3+ 60. Ke2 Qg4 61. Kf1 Qh3+ 62. Ke2 Qg4 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Liang, Awonder"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2698"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "68"] [GameId "2234503313327412"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Be2 Nge7 7. O-O Nf5 8. dxc5 a5 9. Bd3 Bxc5 10. a4 h6 11. Qe2 Nh4 12. Nbd2 O-O 13. Nxh4 Qxh4 14. Nf3 Qh5 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. Qxe3 f6 17. Bb5 Qe8 18. exf6 Rxf6 19. Rfe1 Qe7 20. Qb6 Qd8 21. Qc5 Qf8 22. Qb6 Qd8 23. Qe3 Qc7 24. Qd2 Raf8 25. Re3 Ne7 26. Rae1 Nf5 27. R3e2 Bxb5 28. axb5 Qb6 29. Ne5 Qxb5 30. c4 Qa4 31. Ng4 Rg6 32. Ne5 Rgf6 33. Ng4 Rg6 34. Ne5 Rgf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.6"] [White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B54"] [WhiteElo "2652"] [BlackElo "2664"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "89"] [GameId "2234503313327413"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,89,8,26,27,44,22,45,24,19,16,2,18,49,7,-1,12,1,16,5,8,-10,-21,41,-43,32,1,265,22,19,43,47,19,11,38,29,56,183,55,46,68,64,24,53,61,151,58,69,84,60,92,198,74,74,72,60,-1,93,115,82,114,26,1,1,1,1,9,9,1,-1,1,25,65,34,64,14,1,-7,1,1,-1,0,-10,-1,1,-1,-1,-1,-1,1,-9,1]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Bd3 {A rare line. You and I might be unprepared for this but, as you'll see, Robson knew and/or figured out what to do.} Nc6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Bd2 g6 9. Bc3 Nf6 10. e5 Nd5 11. Be4 Nxc3 12. Bxc6+ Bd7 13. Bxd7+ Qxd7 14. Nxc3 Bg7 15. exd6 Bxc3+ 16. bxc3 O-O {White's two extra pawns aren't the most impressive ones we'll ever see. While Black is the one who must prove the draw, we'll see that he copes with the challenge without any real trouble.} 17. O-O Qxd6 18. Qxd6 exd6 19. Rfb1 $146 (19. Rfd1 Rfc8 20. Rxd6 Rxc3 21. Ra6 Rxc2 22. g3 Rd8 23. Rxa7 Rdd2 24. Rf1 Rxa2 25. Rxa2 Rxa2 26. Kg2 {½-½ Matlakov,M (2673)-Giri,A (2775) Julius Baer Play In Match Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (1.1)}) 19... Rfe8 20. Kf1 Re5 21. Rb3 Rd5 22. Re1 Rd2 23. Rb2 Rc8 24. Re7 Rc5 25. Ke1 Rdd5 26. Rb8+ Kg7 27. Rbb7 Re5+ 28. Rxe5 Rxe5+ 29. Kd2 Ra5 30. Rb2 Rd5+ 31. Ke3 Re5+ 32. Kd3 Rd5+ 33. Ke2 Re5+ 34. Kd2 Rd5+ 35. Kc1 Ra5 36. f4 Kf6 37. Kd2 Ra4 38. g3 Ke6 39. Kd3 d5 40. Ke3 h5 41. Kd3 Kf6 42. Rb5 Ke6 43. Rb2 Kf6 44. Rb5 Ke6 45. Rb2 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Yip, Carissa"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E92"] [WhiteElo "2388"] [BlackElo "2452"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "66"] [GameId "2234503320081789"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. c4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Nf3 e5 7. d5 {Petrosian's system (which this will transpose into it, though I suppose it could with at least equal justice be referred to as the Makagonov once White plays h3) is another reliable option.} ({There's nothing wrong with Old Faithful:} 7. O-O) 7... a5 8. h3 Na6 9. Bg5 Qe8 10. Nd2 Nd7 11. g4 Ndc5 12. Rg1 {Prophylaxis against and preparation for Black's eventual ...f5.} Kh8 13. Nf1 {Not popular, and rightly so.} (13. Nb3) (13. a3) 13... f5 $15 14. Qd2 $6 (14. gxf5 gxf5 15. Kd2 $1 $15 {If you've got to play Kd2 here, it's not much of a sales pitch for 13.Nf1.}) 14... Nb4 $6 (14... f4 $17) 15. Be3 $1 $11 Nxe4 (15... Ne6 $1 $11 16. dxe6 $6 f4 $15 {/?}) 16. Nxe4 fxe4 17. Ng3 Nd3+ $1 18. Bxd3 exd3 19. Qxd3 e4 $5 (19... Rf3 $1 20. Qe2 e4 $11) 20. Nxe4 Qe5 21. Rb1 (21. Rg3 $142 $14) (21. Rd1 $142 $14) 21... Bd7 $11 22. Ke2 $2 {The king is not safe here, and the fact that this move connects White's rook is not a sufficient justification.} (22. f4 $1 Qe7 23. Kf2 Rae8 24. Nd2 $11 {There's quite a bit of air around White's king, but for now Black is unable to bring enough pieces into the gaps to make something bad happen to his majesty.}) 22... Rae8 $19 23. f3 $2 (23. Nc3 Qh2 24. Kd2 $1 Qxh3 $19) 23... Qh2+ $1 24. Nf2 (24. Bf2 Rxe4+ $1 25. Qxe4 (25. fxe4 $2 Rxf2+ 26. Kd1 Qxg1+ 27. Qf1 Qxf1#) 25... Re8 $19) 24... Bh6 25. Qd4+ Kg8 26. g5 Bg7 27. Qh4 Bf5 {White's king cannot escape what Aagaard (I think this is his term) calls the kill zone.} 28. Rbd1 Qe5 29. Ne4 Bxe4 30. fxe4 Qxb2+ 31. Rd2 Qc3 32. e5 Qxe5 33. Rg3 Rf4 {Oof. White put her king on e2, and the rest of the game saw it attacked from its right, from its left, and head-on. A bad day at the office for Krush, whose odd run of alternating wins and losses continues.} 0-1 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Atwell, Rose"] [Black "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteElo "2353"] [BlackElo "2406"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "115"] [GameId "2234503320081790"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Be2 Nge7 7. Na3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Nf5 9. Nc2 Nb4 10. Ne3 Rc8 11. O-O Nxe3 12. fxe3 Be7 13. a3 Nc6 14. b4 O-O 15. Ne1 f6 16. exf6 Bxf6 17. Bb2 Ne7 18. Bd3 Bg5 19. Rxf8+ Qxf8 20. Qe2 Nf5 21. e4 dxe4 22. Bxe4 Bc6 23. Bxc6 Rxc6 24. b5 Rd6 25. Nf3 Bf6 26. Qe4 Qf7 27. g4 Nh4 28. Nxh4 Bxh4 29. Rf1 Qe7 30. Bc3 Rd8 31. Be1 Bf6 32. Bf2 Rd5 33. Re1 Rxb5 34. Qxe6+ Qxe6 35. Rxe6 Kf7 36. Re3 Bxd4 37. Rf3+ Bf6 38. Bxa7 Kg6 39. Kg2 Be7 40. Re3 Rb2+ 41. Kf3 Kf7 42. Ke4 Rxh2 43. Rb3 Rg2 44. Rxb7 Rxg4+ 45. Kf3 Rc4 46. a4 Ke6 47. a5 Ra4 48. Rb6+ Kd5 49. a6 Bf6 50. Bb8 Bd4 51. Rd6+ Kc4 52. Ke4 Kc5 53. Rd5+ Kb6 54. Rxd4 Rxd4+ 55. Kxd4 Kxa6 56. Be5 Kb6 57. Bxg7 h6 58. Bxh6 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Lee, Alice"] [Black "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2409"] [BlackElo "2311"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "81"] [GameId "2234503320085887"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e3 e6 6. Be2 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. d4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bd7 11. Rb1 e5 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. Bb5 Qc7 14. Qd5 O-O 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Qc4 Rab8 17. Rb3 Rfd8 18. e4 h6 19. Be3 Bg5 20. Bc5 Qa5 21. Rbb1 Bd2 22. Rb4 Rxb4 23. cxb4 Qa4 24. Qb3 Qxb3 25. axb3 Rb8 26. g3 Bxb4 27. Bxa7 Rb7 28. Ra1 Bf8 29. Be3 Rxb3 30. Rc1 c5 31. Bxc5 Bxc5 32. Rxc5 f6 33. Kg2 Rb4 34. Kf3 h5 35. Rc3 Kh7 36. h4 Kg6 37. Ra3 Rc4 38. Re3 Rb4 39. Ra3 Rc4 40. Re3 Rb4 41. Ra3 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Sargsyan, Anna M."] [Black "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2369"] [BlackElo "2297"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "170"] [GameId "2234503320085888"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. Be2 Nd7 7. O-O dxe4 8. Nxe4 Ngf6 9. d4 Nxe4 10. Qxe4 Nf6 11. Qe3 Bd6 12. a4 a5 13. Bd3 O-O 14. Re1 Re8 15. Qf3 h6 16. Bd2 Bc7 17. Rad1 Qd5 18. Qe3 e5 19. Qg3 Nh5 20. Qg4 exd4 21. c4 Qd6 22. g3 Nf6 23. Qf3 Nd7 24. Bf4 Qf6 25. Qg4 Ne5 26. Bxe5 Rxe5 27. Rxe5 Qxe5 28. Qf3 Re8 29. Kg2 g6 30. Rd2 Qg5 31. Re2 Rxe2 32. Qxe2 h5 33. h4 Qd8 34. Qe4 Kg7 35. b3 Qd6 36. Qe8 Bd8 37. Qe4 Bf6 38. Qe1 Qa3 39. Qb1 Qc5 40. Qe1 Be5 41. Qe2 Kf8 42. Qe1 Bf6 43. Qe2 Qb4 44. Bc2 Qc3 45. Qe4 Qd2 46. Bd3 Qb4 47. Bc2 Qc5 48. Bd3 Be5 49. Qe1 Bf6 50. Qe4 Qe7 51. Qf4 Qe5 52. Qd2 Be7 53. Qd1 Bb4 54. Qf3 Ke7 55. Bc2 f5 56. Qd1 Kd6 57. Kf1 Kc7 58. Qe2 Qd6 59. Bd3 Kb6 60. Qe8 Bc3 61. Kg2 Kc5 62. Qf7 Kb6 63. Qe8 Bb4 64. Kf1 Qf6 65. Kg2 Be7 66. Qd7 Qd6 67. Qe8 Ka7 68. Qh8 Kb6 69. Qh6 Qf6 70. Qd2 Bd6 71. Qc2 Qe7 72. Qd1 Qe5 73. Kf1 Bb4 74. Qc1 Ka7 75. Qd1 Bc3 76. Qc1 Qe7 77. Bc2 Qd6 78. Qd1 Qa3 79. Kg2 Kb6 80. Qe2 Qc1 81. Bd1 Qd2 82. Kf1 d3 83. Qxd2 Bxd2 84. f3 Kc5 85. g4 f4 0-1 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Yu, Jennifer"] [Black "Paragua, Megan Althea"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2256"] [BlackElo "2259"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "115"] [GameId "2234503320085889"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 Be7 5. b3 O-O 6. Bb2 b6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. d4 Bb7 9. Bd3 Nbd7 10. O-O Ne4 11. Ne5 Nxc3 12. Bxc3 Nf6 13. Bb2 c5 14. Rc1 Bd6 15. dxc5 bxc5 16. Ng4 Nxg4 17. Qxg4 g6 18. Rfd1 Qe7 19. h4 h5 20. Qg5 Qxg5 21. hxg5 Be7 22. f4 Rac8 23. Kf2 Rfd8 24. Be2 Rc6 25. Be5 Re6 26. Bf3 a5 27. g4 Bxg5 28. Rxc5 Bh4+ 29. Kg2 Bf6 30. Bxf6 Rxf6 31. gxh5 gxh5 32. Rxa5 Rg6+ 33. Kf2 Rc8 34. Rd2 h4 35. Bxd5 Rd8 36. Bxf7+ Kxf7 37. Rxd8 Rg2+ 38. Ke1 Bf3 39. Rh8 Rh2 40. Ra7+ Kg6 41. Rah7 Rxa2 42. Rxh4 Kf5 43. Rh2 Ra1+ 44. Kf2 Bd1 45. b4 Rb1 46. Rd8 Bc2 47. Rh5+ Kg6 48. Rc5 Be4 49. Rd6+ Kf7 50. Rc7+ Ke8 51. Rh6 Rb2+ 52. Kg3 Kd8 53. Ra7 Rg2+ 54. Kh4 Rg8 55. Re6 Bf3 56. e4 Rg4+ 57. Kh3 Rg1 58. Rf6 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.18"] [Round "6.6"] [White "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Black "Pourkashiyan, Atousa"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2310"] [BlackElo "2291"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "125"] [GameId "2234503320085890"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bd2 b6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Bd3 d5 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nbd7 10. Qe2 c5 11. Rfd1 Rc8 12. Bb3 cxd4 13. exd4 Bxc3 14. Bxc3 Bd5 15. Bc2 Qc7 16. Ne5 Qb7 17. f3 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Nd7 19. Rd4 Rfd8 20. Rad1 Qc7 21. f4 Nf8 22. Qd2 Re8 23. a3 Bc6 24. Qd3 Bb7 25. Rd2 a5 26. Rd6 Bd5 27. Bd4 Rb8 28. Qb5 Bc4 29. Qc6 Qxc6 30. Rxc6 b5 31. a4 Ng6 32. g3 Ne7 33. Rc5 Rec8 34. b3 Bd5 35. axb5 Kf8 36. b6 Nc6 37. Be3 Ke8 38. Bd1 Rb7 39. Be2 Rbb8 40. Ba6 Ne7 41. Bxc8 Nxc8 42. Rxa5 Nxb6 43. Rb5 Nd7 44. Rxb8+ Nxb8 45. b4 Kd7 46. b5 Kc7 47. Rc2+ Kb7 48. Rc3 Nd7 49. Bd4 f6 50. b6 Nxb6 51. Bxb6 Kxb6 52. exf6 gxf6 53. Rc8 h5 54. Kf2 Kb7 55. Rf8 f5 56. Rh8 Kc6 57. Rxh5 Kd6 58. Rh7 e5 59. fxe5+ Kxe5 60. Ke3 Kf6 61. Kf4 Bc4 62. Rh6+ Kg7 63. Rd6 1-0