[Event "9th Sinquefield Cup 2022"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2022.09.08"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2022.09.02"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 h5 9. Nd5 Bxd5 10. exd5 Nbd7 11. Qd2 g6 12. O-O-O Nb6 13. Kb1 Nbxd5 14. Bg5 Be7 15. Bd3 ({The rare} 15. a3 {was Dominguez' choice against MVL in round 1, which was eventually drawn.}) (15. g3) ({and} 15. c4 {are popular alternatives. }) 15... Qc7 16. Rhf1 $146 {White would like to open the center with f4, but this is a new way of doing it. Perhaps the intuition had been that White needed to prevent ...e4 as a reply to f4.} (16. Rhe1 {had been almost automatic, appearing in 36 of 37 games. (16.c4 was played in the 37th.)}) 16... Nh7 (16... Rc8) ({and} 16... O-O-O {look like options to explore.}) 17. Bh6 ( 17. Bxe7 $143 Nxe7 {makes Black's life easier.}) 17... Nhf6 18. c4 Nb6 19. Bg7 $5 {This is a good moment to talk about using a computer to prepare. White's last move isn't an engine recommendation, though it doesn't hate the move, but that's only because it thinks Black has an edge after the ugly and counterintuitive 19...Rh7. After the obvious move played in the game, it thinks White has a tiny edge, but the more important thing is that MVL is unlikely to have looked at this, or at least to have spent much time considering it, because of the engine's dismissal. So unless my engine is misassessing the position after 19...Rh7, it's not a position we'll ever see again at the super-GM level - but it doesn't matter. It was a good weapon for one game, and it worked.} (19. Rc1) 19... Rg8 $6 (19... Rh7 $1) 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Na5 Kf8 (21... Rd8) 22. Be4 Kg7 $6 (22... Nxc4 $142 $1 23. Nxc4 Qxc4 { offers White several ways to maintain the balance, but no path to an edge if Black plays correctly.}) 23. Qxd6 (23. g4 $5) 23... Rac8 $8 24. Bxb7 Nxc4 25. Qxc7 Rxc7 26. Nxc4 Rxb7 27. Rfe1 $14 {/+/- Black's task is unpleasant. The e-pawn is weak, White's queenside majority has potential, and the N vs. B imbalance favors White for the moment.} Rgb8 28. b3 Rc7 29. Re4 Rc5 30. Rd7 Rbc8 31. Re1 R8c7 32. Red1 ({White can safely win a pawn, e.g.} 32. Rxc7 Rxc7 33. Nxe5 Re7 34. Nd3 Rxe1+ 35. Nxe1 Be5 36. h3 Kf6 37. Nd3 Bd6 38. Nc1 { followed by Ne2 keeps the Black king out. Even so, Black's activity is probably enough to make a draw.}) 32... h4 33. h3 Bg5 34. a4 Bf4 35. a5 (35. Rxc7 Rxc7 36. Rd6 e4 37. Rd4 f5 38. fxe4 Re7 39. exf5 g5 $44) 35... e4 $11 { With active defense MVL has managed to equalize.} 36. R7d4 f5 $2 {Alas, he doesn't manage to maintain that equality.} (36... Re7 37. Rxe4 Rxe4 38. fxe4 Rg5 39. Rf1 Bc7 40. Rf2 Bxa5 $11) 37. fxe4 $18 Kh6 38. exf5 Rxf5 39. Rf1 Rcf7 40. b4 Kh5 $6 41. Nd6 Bxd6 42. Rxf5+ Rxf5 43. Rxd6 Rf4 (43... Rb5 44. Rb6) 44. Rb6 g5 45. Rb8 Rf1+ 46. Kb2 Rf2+ 47. Kb3 Rxg2 48. b5 g4 49. Rh8+ (49. Rh8+ Kg5 50. bxa6 gxh3 51. a7 h2 52. a8=Q h1=Q {will result in a speedy mate, e.g.} 53. Qd5+ Kf4 54. Qd4+ Kf3 55. Qd3+ Kg4 56. Rg8+ Kf4 57. Rf8+ Kg5 58. Qf5+ Kh6 59. Rh8+ Kg7 60. Rh7+ Kg8 61. Qf7#) 1-0 [Event "9th Sinquefield Cup 2022"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2022.09.08"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2688"] [BlackElo "2771"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2022.09.02"] {[%evp 0,118,33,18,25,25,36,25,30,31,27,-9,22,35,32,32,33,58,56,27,31,44,71,59, 44,44,47,32,46,9,14,0,20,2,37,31,44,44,45,43,33,25,21,-46,-41,-22,-60,-70,-81, -71,-59,-57,-83,-83,-67,-72,-72,-119,-84,-81,-81,-101,-100,-100,-104,-105,-107, -107,-106,-97,-106,-105,-102,-105,-106,-105,-105,-105,-105,-105,-105,-105,-72, -69,-60,-78,-83,-68,-84,-86,-88,-90,-108,-114,-97,-108,-129,-134,-121,-142, -145,-157,-149,-149,-148,-153,-150,-156,-170,-157,-151,-167,-154,-190,-187, -253,-323,-322,-362,-420,-434]} 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 (10... Bxd3) ({ and} 10... Bg6 {- the latter is a Jeffery Xiong specialty - are also common moves at present.}) 11. Bf4 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Na6 13. Ne3 (13. h4 {has been the most popular move here, intending Ng5.}) 13... Nc7 14. b3 $146 Ne6 15. Be5 Ne4 16. c4 Nf6 (16... Bb4 $142 17. Red1 f6 18. Bg3 Rf7 19. a3 Bf8 $11) 17. Rad1 ( 17. g3 $142 $14) 17... g6 18. g3 (18. h4 $142) 18... a6 (18... Nh5 $1) 19. Re2 (19. h4 $142) 19... Re8 (19... Nh5 $1) 20. h4 Nh5 $1 {Intending ...f6. It may not be as scary as it looks, but White must be careful in how he meets this. In the game, Niemann doesn't find the best answer.} 21. cxd5 (21. b4 $5) 21... cxd5 22. Ng2 $2 (22. b4 $1 $11 f6 23. Qb3 {is the point.} a5 $1 {Much of the following - all of it, from Black's side - is forced. If he can run this long gauntlet, he will survive; otherwise, White wins.} (23... fxe5 $2 24. Nxd5 Nhg7 25. dxe5 Kh8 26. Nf6 Bxf6 {Best.} 27. Rxd8 Bxd8 $16 {/+-}) 24. Nxd5 a4 25. Qc4 fxe5 26. dxe5 Qc8 27. Qe4 Qc6 28. Rc2 Qb5 29. Nd4 Nxd4 30. Rxd4 Bd8 31. e6 Nf6 32. Qe5 Nxd5 33. Rxd5 Qxb4 34. Rd7 Re7 35. Kg2 Bb6 36. h5 Rae8 37. a3 Qa5 38. Qd6 Rxe6 39. Qxe6+ Rxe6 40. Rc8+ Bd8 41. Rcxd8+ Qxd8 42. Rxd8+ Kf7 $11) 22... f6 23. Bb8 Kf7 24. g4 Qxb8 25. gxh5 Nf4 $17 26. Nxf4 Qxf4 27. hxg6+ hxg6 28. Rde1 Bd6 29. Rxe8 Rxe8 30. Rxe8 Qg4+ 31. Kf1 Kxe8 {I wouldn't claim that the ending is a forced win for Black, but with White's weak d- and h-pawns it's not pleasant, either, and he didn't manage to hold it.} 32. a4 Kf7 33. Qe3 Bf4 34. Qd3 Qh3+ 35. Ke2 Qe6+ 36. Kf1 Qe4 37. Qc3 Bd6 38. Kg2 Qg4+ 39. Kf1 Ke7 40. Ng1 Qf5 41. Qe3+ Qe4 $2 {A serious inaccuracy...that wins the game.} (41... Kd7 {maintains White's lousy, but not yet fatal, situation.}) 42. Ke2 $2 (42. Ne2 Kd7 43. Qh3+ Kc7 44. h5 $11 {/=/+ and White should draw.}) 42... Bh2 $1 43. Nf3 Bf4 {Forcing a favorable alteration of the pawn structure. Now Black is clearly winning.} 44. Qxe4+ dxe4 45. Ne1 Ke6 46. Ng2 Bb8 47. Ne3 Ba7 48. d5+ Kd6 $1 49. Ng2 Ke5 50. d6 Kxd6 51. Nf4 g5 52. hxg5 fxg5 53. Nh3 g4 54. Ng5 Ke5 55. Nf7+ Kf4 56. Kf1 Bb6 57. Nd6 Kf3 58. Nc4 Bxf2 59. Nd2+ Kf4 (59... Kf4 60. Kxf2 e3+ $19) 0-1 [Event "9th Sinquefield Cup 2022"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2022.09.08"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "2792"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2022.09.02"] {[%evp 0,106,34,18,53,43,56,37,48,39,30,30,34,33,65,-3,28,32,37,37,40,34,43,43, 35,35,65,60,91,62,65,62,52,81,99,69,60,39,70,52,67,32,48,52,35,41,56,47,54,34, 42,38,39,33,53,56,49,55,55,46,70,64,55,48,49,49,41,40,58,46,51,46,44,44,49,66, 54,66,52,40,53,45,56,59,59,59,45,41,52,44,83,63,74,53,70,75,64,63,64,52,12,21, 13,14,1,16,8,7,8]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 {A very rare bird even in GM play, let alone super-GM action.} 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O Bg4 12. f3 Bh5 13. Bg5 Qb6+ 14. Kh1 Ne4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Bxe4 Qxb2 17. Qb1 Qb6 18. Qxb6 axb6 19. Rfb1 Bg6 20. Bxc6 ({Caruana thought the more common} 20. Bxg6 {was a better try for an edge, but gave the following line to show how Black would play for (and should manage to achieve) a draw:} hxg6 21. Rxb6 Nd4 22. c3 Nc2 23. Rc1 Nxa3 24. Rxb7 f6 (24... Rfc8 25. h4 Nc4 26. Bf4 Ra3 27. Kh2 Na5 28. Ra7 Nc4 29. Rb7 Na5 30. Rb5 Nc4 31. Kh3 Ra6 32. Rcb1 Kf8 33. Rb7 Rac6 34. Ra7 Nb6 35. Be5 f6 36. Bh2 Kg8 37. c4 Kh7 38. c5 Nd5 39. Rbb7 Rg8 40. Bd6 Ne3 41. Rf7 Nf5 42. Rxf6 {1-0 (42) Adhiban,B (2672)-Bellahcene,B (2522) Sharjah 2021}) 25. Be3 Nc4 26. Bd4 g5 $1 {Important, to stop h4.} 27. Rc7 Rfc8 28. Rxc8+ Rxc8 29. Kg1 Ra8 30. Rc2 Kf7 31. Kf2 Ke6 { with what is essentially a fortress.}) 20... bxc6 21. Rxb6 h6 22. Bf4 $146 (22. Be7 Rfe8 23. Bb4 Rac8 24. a4 c5 25. Bc3 Re3 26. Bd2 Re2 27. Bf4 Rce8 28. Bg3 Rxc2 29. a5 Ree2 30. a6 Ra2 31. Rxa2 Rxa2 32. Kg1 Bd3 33. Rc6 Ra1+ 34. Kf2 Ra2+ 35. Kg1 Ra1+ 36. Kf2 Ra2+ {1/2-1/2 (36) Nepomniachtchi,I (2792)-Rapport,R (2763) Paris 2021}) 22... Bxc2 23. Rxc6 Rfc8 24. Bc7 Ba4 25. Rc3 f6 26. h4 h5 27. Kh2 Kf7 28. Rac1 Bd7 29. Kg3 Ra4 30. Bb6 Rxc3 31. Rxc3 g5 {was unhappy with this move, as it gave Nepo some play and made the draw more difficult to achieve.} 32. hxg5 fxg5 33. Bd8 {Now Black's kingside pawns are vulnerable.} Kg6 34. Rd3 h4+ $1 (34... Be6 35. Rd6 Kf5 36. Bxg5 {would have been messier, though still objectively drawn.}) 35. Kh2 Bf5 36. Rd6+ Kh5 37. Rf6 Bc8 38. Rc6 Bf5 39. Be7 Rd4 $1 ({Caruana worried that} 39... g4 {would allow} 40. Bb4 { , not only shutting the rook out of play for the moment but preparing Bd2, putting Black's king into a mating net. Even this is still drawn, but there's no reason for Caruana to allow it.} gxf3 41. gxf3 Bd7 $8 42. Rd6 Bc8 {and the point is that} 43. Bd2 {is comfortably met by} Ra6 {- the only move, but one which draws easily.}) 40. Rf6 Bd7 41. Rf8 Kg6 42. Rd8 Rd1 43. Bc5 Kf7 44. Bf2 g4 45. fxg4 Bxg4 46. Ra8 Rd2 47. Ra7+ Ke6 48. Ra6+ Kd7 49. Ra4 Bf3 50. Kg1 Rd1+ 51. Kh2 Rd2 52. Kg1 Rd1+ 53. Kh2 Rd2 1/2-1/2 [Event "9th Sinquefield Cup 2022"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2022.09.08"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2022.09.02"] {[%evp 0,55,33,-6,-5,-42,-42,-44,16,-28,1,-18,1,-41,1,-9,-40,-2,-8,-8,3,-6,-1, -11,1,-11,18,-7,18,-16,19,16,17,6,9,0,3,-57,-78,-62,-66,-66,-66,-68,-90,-77, -75,-54,-29,-71,49,71,103,2,103,86,256,255]} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 d5 6. cxd5 Qxd5 7. Nc2 (7. e3 {scores better, and seems to be the move Firouzja intended to play.}) 7... Qh5 8. h3 Qg6 9. Nc3 Bc5 10. b4 $5 Bb6 11. Bb2 (11. a4) 11... O-O 12. Ne3 Re8 13. Qc2 Nbd7 14. Rd1 a5 $6 $146 ( 14... Bd4 15. O-O Nb6 16. a3 Bd7 17. Na4 Bxb2 18. Nxb2 Qh5 19. g4 Qb5 20. Nbc4 Nxc4 21. Nxc4 Re6 22. d3 h5 23. dxe4 hxg4 24. hxg4 Nxg4 25. f3 Nf6 26. e5 Nd5 27. e4 Nb6 28. Nd6 Qxe5 29. f4 Qh5 30. Qc5 Qg4 31. f5 Rh6 32. Rd3 Be8 33. Qe5 Nd7 34. Qc3 Nf6 35. Rg3 Qh4 36. Rh3 Qg5 37. Rxh6 Qxh6 38. e5 Ng4 39. Qg3 Qe3+ 40. Qxe3 Nxe3 41. Rc1 Nxg2 42. Kxg2 Bd7 43. Kg3 a5 {1/2-1/2 (43) Brodowski,P (2445)-Kasperek,R (2197) Krakow 2019}) (14... h5 $5 $146) 15. b5 Bd4 16. Rb1 $6 (16. O-O $142) 16... c5 17. h4 $6 (17. b6 $5) 17... h5 18. Ncd5 $2 {Either an oversight or a misassessment of the compensation White will have after Black cashes in.} (18. b6) (18. O-O) 18... Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Bxf2+ $1 20. Kxf2 Qf5+ ( 20... e3+ $4 21. Nxe3 $18 {defends the queen.}) 21. Ke1 Qxd5 22. Rf1 Nf8 $2 ( 22... b6 $19 {leaves White with two big problems: the missing pawn and a weak king. If White doesn't manage to pull off a miracle before Black finishes his development, he's finished.} 23. d3 Qd6 24. Bxe4 Ra7 $1 {White has regained the pawn, but now the problem is the open center and White's vulnerable king.} 25. Rf4 Ne5 $19 {Black will double rooks on the e-file and look to infiltrate on the weak kingside light squares.}) (22... Qd6 {is also strong, immediately breaking the pin on the e-pawn.}) 23. Qc3 $44 Ne6 (23... f6 $2 24. Rxf6 $1 gxf6 $2 25. Qxf6 $18) 24. Rf4 $1 {Now Black should surrender the pawn and get on with his development; if he does this, his position will remain playable, though no longer advantageous. Instead, he doubles down.} f5 $2 (24... Bd7 25. Rxe4 (25. Bxe4 Qd6 $11) 25... Qf5 $11) (24... f6 $2 25. Bxe4 $16) 25. d3 $16 Nd4 $4 (25... Qxa2 26. Ra1 Qd5 27. dxe4 Qd4 {had to be tried. White is clearly better, but not winning (let alone mating) after} 28. Qxd4 Nxd4 29. Bxd4 cxd4 30. exf5 $16) 26. e3 $18 {Black has no successful tactical tricks on the e-file that will allow him to keep the knight on d4.} Qxa2 (26... Ne6 27. dxe4 Qd7 28. Qc4 $18) 27. Ra1 Qe6 28. dxe4 $1 {The knight is lost, simple as that.} 1-0