[Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.07.29"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Silva, David"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2315"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "Angola"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ANG"] {[%evp 0,82,26,22,43,48,76,41,67,19,9,-18,16,20,15,19,24,16,15,11,20,10,16,-6, -18,-19,7,6,-2,2,18,-25,8,20,11,0,33,19,47,54,54,54,57,58,71,54,75,75,80,63,63, 89,107,122,128,112,113,101,91,98,92,110,89,87,86,90,80,81,81,78,73,69,78,69, 105,124,140,122,136,122,136,117,140,114,148]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. c3 Ngf6 5. Bd3 Ne5 {This was played *against* Aronian, by MVL, in a couple of games back in 2018.} 6. Nxe5 (6. Be2 Nxf3+ 7. Bxf3 e5 8. d4 Be7 9. dxe5 (9. O-O O-O 10. Be3 b6 11. Nd2 Qc7 12. Re1 Bd7 13. a4 a6 14. b4 cxd4 15. cxd4 Rfc8 16. h3 b5 17. axb5 Bxb5 18. Nb3 Qc2 19. d5 Qxd1 20. Rexd1 Rc4 21. Na5 Rxb4 22. Rdc1 Ra4 23. Nc6 Rxa1 24. Rxa1 Kf8 25. g3 Bd3 26. Bg5 h6 27. Bxf6 Bxf6 28. Ra3 Bb5 29. Bg4 Bd8 30. h4 Bb6 31. Rf3 Be2 32. Rb3 Bxf2+ 33. Kxf2 Bxg4 34. Ra3 Bd7 35. Na5 Ke7 36. Rc3 Rc8 37. Rb3 Bb5 38. Rb2 Rc3 39. Nb3 g6 40. g4 Rh3 41. Nd2 Rxh4 42. Kg3 Rh1 43. Rc2 Kd7 44. Nf3 Rb1 45. Nd2 Rb4 46. Kf3 a5 47. Ke3 a4 48. Ra2 Ke7 49. Ra1 Bd7 50. Kf3 h5 51. gxh5 gxh5 52. Ra3 f5 53. exf5 Bxf5 54. Nf1 Be4+ 55. Ke2 Bxd5 {0-1 (55) Aronian,L (2765)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2781) London 2018}) 9... dxe5 10. Qxd8+ Bxd8 11. Nd2 Be6 12. Be2 Bc7 13. f3 Ke7 14. a4 h5 15. h4 Rhd8 16. Nc4 Ne8 17. Be3 b6 18. Bf2 f6 19. O-O g6 20. Rfc1 Nd6 21. Ne3 f5 22. Nd5+ Bxd5 23. exd5 c4 24. Be3 Kd7 25. Rab1 Rf8 26. b3 f4 27. Bf2 e4 28. fxe4 Rae8 29. bxc4 Nxe4 30. c5 Nxc3 31. Rxc3 Rxe2 32. d6 Bd8 33. c6+ Kc8 34. a5 Rxf2 35. Kxf2 Rf5 36. c7 Bxh4+ 37. Kf3 Rd5 38. axb6 {1-0 (38) Aronian,L (2765) -Vachier Lagrave,M (2781) London 2018}) 6... dxe5 7. Bc2 g6 8. d3 Bg7 9. Be3 b6 10. O-O O-O $11 11. h3 Ba6 12. Re1 Qd6 13. Na3 Rad8 14. Qf3 Nh5 $15 15. Rad1 Bb7 16. Bb3 Kh8 17. Qg4 Qc6 $2 (17... Qc7 $17) 18. Bd5 Rxd5 19. exd5 Qxd5 { Black has sufficient compensation, but I'm reminded of a joke. Q: How do you make a small fortune? A: Start with a large fortune, and open a restaurant. There was simply no need for 17...Qc6 whatsoever.} 20. f3 Qc6 $2 (20... f5) 21. Qc4 $2 (21. Qh4 $16 {/+-}) 21... Qd6 $2 (21... f5 $11 {Isn't this why Black played 16...Kh8?}) 22. Qa4 $2 (22. b4 $1 $18) 22... Qb8 23. b4 $16 cxb4 24. Qxb4 Re8 25. c4 Nf6 $2 26. Nb5 $18 Nd7 27. a4 $6 (27. Qa4 $142) 27... a5 28. Qb1 $6 (28. Qb3) 28... Kg8 29. Bf2 Bc6 30. Qb3 Nc5 31. Bxc5 $2 $16 bxc5 32. Qc2 (32. Qa3) 32... Bd7 33. Rb1 Rc8 34. Qd2 Qb6 35. Rb3 Qd8 36. Reb1 Rb8 37. Qe3 e4 $6 38. Qxe4 $18 e6 39. Qf4 Be8 40. Kh1 (40. Qc7 {is one effective way to bring the win closer.} Qxc7 41. Nxc7 Rxb3 42. Rxb3 Bd4+ 43. Kf1 Bxa4 {was probably what Silva was worried about, but he will recoup the a-pawn to reach a technically won ending.} 44. Rb8+ Kg7 45. Ke2 $1 Bd7 46. Ra8 a4 47. Nb5 $18) 40... h5 41. Qd6 Bf8 {White is still very much winning here, but with no chance for his team to save the match he settles for the bird in the hand.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.07.29"] [Round "1.2"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Miguel, Sergio"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2274"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "Angola"] [BlackTeamCountry "ANG"] {[%evp 0,83,26,26,28,-1,15,19,4,20,20,37,17,16,26,-3,11,-1,-8,-6,4,-21,-7,4,1, 4,-1,11,19,-2,1,-6,3,-13,11,33,66,40,31,55,78,75,91,74,91,90,150,158,167,103, 103,134,141,121,142,140,140,140,162,237,224,211,205,244,247,269,254,250,250, 271,252,257,264,293,277,255,346,332,355,371,377,378,370,370,633,621]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 b6 9. Ne2 Ba6 10. O-O Bxd3 11. Qxd3 Qc8 12. f3 Qa6 13. Qxa6 Nxa6 14. g4 c5 15. a4 Rfe8 16. Rd1 cxd4 17. cxd4 Nb4 18. Rb1 a5 19. Bd2 Rac8 20. Rdc1 Rxc1+ 21. Rxc1 h6 22. h4 g6 23. Rb1 Nc2 24. Kf2 Re6 25. Nf4 Rd6 26. Rc1 Na3 27. Rc8+ Kg7 28. Bc1 Nb1 29. Ke2 g5 30. hxg5 hxg5 31. Nd3 b5 32. axb5 Rb6 33. Ne5 Rxb5 34. Rc7 Ne8 35. Rxf7+ Kg8 36. Ra7 Nd6 37. Kd1 Nc4 38. Nxc4 dxc4 39. Kc2 c3 40. d5 Nd2 41. d6 Rd5 42. d7 {A smooth win.} 1-0 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.07.29"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Dias, Vanderson"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B92"] [WhiteElo "2139"] [BlackElo "2754"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "Angola"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ANG"] {[%evp 0,60,26,13,43,35,66,48,48,31,31,33,46,31,45,34,34,29,7,9,-7,-11,-9,-38, -26,-43,-31,-38,-36,-43,-52,-40,-52,-52,-49,-60,-58,-41,-40,-40,-69,-69,-40, -44,-24,-24,-29,-70,-56,-58,-65,-88,-72,-103,-134,-193,-201,-249,-242,-347, -354,-351,-351]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 ({ If one is looking to draw with a player with a 600-point rating advantage,} 6. Bg5 {is the way to go. There's no guarantee, obviously, but there are many forced draw lines, if White wants them, in this system.}) 6... e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bg5 Be6 9. O-O $6 (9. Bxf6 {should be played straight away, as otherwise Black will play ...Nbd7 and recapture with the knight - exactly what happens in the game.}) 9... Nbd7 10. Qd2 $2 {This generic developing move doesn't make much sense in this system.} Rc8 $17 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. h3 {A weird move.} O-O 13. Bd3 h6 {This, by contrast, does make sense, as there's a bishop that could be kicked by Ng5.} 14. Rfe1 Qb6 15. Na4 (15. Nd1 {is better, but hardly inspiring. }) 15... Qc6 16. b3 b5 17. Nb2 Nd7 18. c4 Nc5 19. cxb5 axb5 20. Rac1 Qa8 21. Bb1 Qa3 22. Nd3 Bd8 $1 23. Qb2 Qxb2 24. Nxb2 Ba5 $19 25. Red1 Bb4 26. Nd3 (26. Rxd6 $4 Na4 $19) 26... Ba3 27. Rc2 Nxe4 28. Rxc8 Rxc8 29. Nd2 Nxd2 30. Rxd2 e4 {White is losing a piece (e.g. 31.Nf4 Rc1+), so it's a good moment to resign.} 0-1 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.07.29"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Junior, Domingos"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E17"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2107"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "Angola"] [BlackTeamCountry "ANG"] {[%evp 0,105,26,26,28,19,19,15,25,3,17,-2,19,12,12,10,11,13,13,13,13,13,10,10, 12,-11,22,-9,5,5,10,17,21,21,23,-5,11,9,20,25,28,21,39,39,80,108,107,105,101, 101,101,99,108,54,62,66,68,68,69,62,67,67,64,64,69,65,72,69,69,74,73,70,70,64, 105,103,109,109,109,109,109,71,71,71,71,62,82,25,61,67,83,147,147,141,149,149, 204,192,227,243,291,300,296,299,307,305,367,367]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. Bf4 Ne4 11. Rc1 c5 12. dxc5 Ndxc5 13. Be5 Nxc3 $6 (13... Re8 {is normal.}) 14. Bxc3 Ne4 15. Bd4 Bb4 16. Rf1 {Black's last three moves look active, but it's a dead end. Swapping minor pieces helps White to emphasize his static advantages - the eventual weakness of the isolated d-pawn and the passivity of Black's light-squared bishop.} Qe7 17. Qa4 Bc5 18. e3 Rfd8 19. Rfd1 a6 20. Ne1 Rac8 21. Nd3 b5 $2 22. Bxc5 $1 Rxc5 23. Qa3 Rc7 24. Qxe7 Rxe7 25. Nb4 $18 {An in-form Shankland would have won this easily, but his attempt to finish everything "academically" leads to some slips.} g6 26. Rd4 $6 (26. Nc6 Bxc6 27. Rxc6 { leads to the speedy win of a pawn without allowing Black any counterplay.}) 26... Red7 27. Nd3 f5 28. b4 $2 Kg7 (28... Rc8 $1 29. Rxc8+ Bxc8 {and Black will gain some counterplay with a quick ...Rc7.}) 29. h4 $2 (29. f3) 29... Kf6 $2 (29... Rc8 $1) 30. Nc5 Nxc5 31. Rxc5 Ke5 32. Kf1 Rd6 33. Ke2 Bc6 34. Rd2 R8d7 35. Rdc2 Bb7 36. Kd3 Rb6 37. Rc7 Rbd6 38. R2c5 Ba8 39. Rc8 (39. f4+ $142 Ke6 40. h5) 39... Bb7 40. Rb8 Re7 41. Bf3 Rdd7 42. g4 $2 Rc7 $2 (42... f4 { and it's suddenly rather messy.}) 43. Re8 $4 Kd6 $2 (43... Rxe8 44. Rxc7 Bc8 $14) 44. Rd8+ Red7 $4 45. Rxc7 Kxc7 46. Rxd7+ Kxd7 47. g5 $18 {Now it's easy, provided one understands what must be done. If you're not sure, try to work it out for yourself before seeing the rest.} Kd6 48. Kd4 Ba8 49. h5 $1 {The pawn must go to h6 first.} Bb7 50. h6 Ke6 51. Bg2 $1 (51. Kc5 $2 {allows needless counterplay with} f4 ({or} 51... Ke5 {. It's not good enough, but it's foolish to allow it in the first place.})) 51... Kd6 52. f4 {Now Black's king is in a genuine zugzwang.} Bc6 53. Bf3 $1 (53. Bf3 $1 Bb7 54. Bh5 $18 {followed by something to g6 on the next move and something to h7 on the move after that.}) 1-0 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.07.30"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Bachmann, Axel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C64"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2588"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] {[%evp 0,69,26,13,13,21,13,17,19,6,46,58,55,55,55,55,55,47,36,20,15,32,21,25, 19,30,38,17,40,3,8,19,25,18,19,22,28,-8,-1,-7,10,2,18,16,7,-7,-14,-7,0,-17,-16, -19,-19,-5,-1,0,0,0,-23,-23,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. O-O Nd4 5. Nxd4 Bxd4 6. c3 Bb6 7. d4 c6 8. Ba4 d6 9. Bc2 {Less popular than 9.Na3, but it's Stockfish's top choice. Q.E.D.} Ne7 10. dxe5 $146 (10. Nd2) 10... dxe5 11. Qxd8+ Bxd8 12. Be3 $6 (12. Nd2 $142 $14) 12... Bb6 13. Bxb6 axb6 $11 14. Nd2 Be6 15. Bb3 Kd7 16. Nc4 Bxc4 17. Bxc4 f6 18. h4 Nc8 $1 19. Rad1+ Ke7 20. Bb3 Rd8 21. Rxd8 Kxd8 22. a4 $6 {Prophylaxis against ...b5, but the pawn isn't well-placed here.} Nd6 $15 23. f3 Ke7 (23... Kc7) 24. Kf2 c5 25. Rb1 c4 26. Bd1 b5 27. axb5 Nxb5 28. Be2 Nd6 29. b3 b5 (29... cxb3 $142 30. Rxb3 Kd7 {followed by ...Kc6, with an edge for Black.}) 30. bxc4 bxc4 31. Rb4 Ra2 32. Kf1 Ra1+ 33. Kf2 Ra2 34. Kf1 Ra1+ 35. Kf2 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.07.30"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Delgado Ramirez, Neuris"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C49"] [WhiteElo "2614"] [BlackElo "2773"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. d3 Qe7 7. h3 h6 8. Bd2 Bd6 9. Ne2 Be6 10. Ng3 O-O-O 11. Qe2 g6 12. a3 Nd7 13. Bc3 f6 14. h4 h5 15. Nf1 c5 16. Ne3 Nb8 17. Bd2 Nc6 18. c4 Qf7 19. Bc3 a5 20. Qc2 b6 21. Nd5 Kb7 22. Rb1 Ra8 23. O-O a4 24. b4 axb3 25. Rxb3 Ra6 26. Nd2 Rha8 27. Rfb1 Kc8 28. Bb2 Qf8 29. f4 exf4 30. Bxf6 Bxd5 31. cxd5 Qxf6 32. dxc6 Rxa3 33. Nf3 Be7 34. Rxa3 Rxa3 35. Qc1 Ra8 36. d4 Qxc6 37. d5 Qd6 38. Qc3 Ra4 39. Re1 c4 40. Rd1 b5 41. Qh8+ Qd8 42. Qg7 Ra6 43. e5 Bc5+ 44. Kh2 Qf8 45. Qh7 Qe7 46. Qg8+ Qd8 47. Qf7 Qf8 48. Qh7 Qe7 49. Qg8+ Qf8 (49... Qd8 50. Qf7 c3 51. e6 Be7 52. Qxg6 b4 53. d6 $1 Bxd6 54. Qe4 Qe8 55. Rxd6 cxd6 56. e7 b3 57. Qd3 Rb6 58. Qxc3+ Kb7 59. Qg7 Kc7 (59... b2 60. Qf8) 60. Qc3+ Kd7 61. Qa5 Qb8 62. Nd4 f3 63. g3 f2 64. Kg2 Kxe7 65. Kxf2 d5 $19 {is a messy line that gives an inkling of the game's complexity. As the draw clinched match victory for the U.S., it's understandable that So just wanted a safe result for the good of the team.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.07.30"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Cubas, Jose Fernando"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B32"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2451"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] {[%evp 0,61,26,21,43,35,50,21,21,21,13,40,27,-14,-11,-48,-16,-24,-12,-10,5,2, 22,31,5,-2,31,27,76,82,63,68,69,60,60,77,77,105,93,127,117,76,74,71,128,145, 170,181,235,217,246,251,273,274,281,292,269,276,276,338,349,358,453,473]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Be7 7. N5c3 (7. N1c3 { is by far the main move here.}) 7... Nf6 8. Na3 (8. Bd3 {is much more common.}) 8... O-O 9. Nc2 Be6 10. Be2 Rc8 11. O-O a6 12. Be3 {After a detour, play has transposed to a position that often arises via a 7.N1c3 move order.} Nd7 (12... Na5) ({and} 12... Nb8 {are usual.}) 13. Qd2 Nc5 $2 (13... f5) 14. b4 Nd7 { If Black's last two moves had induced a weakness in White's position, the loss of time might have been worthwhile. This isn't the case here.} 15. Nd5 $18 f5 $2 16. exf5 Bxf5 17. b5 Ncb8 18. Ncb4 Nc5 19. f3 h6 20. Nxe7+ Qxe7 21. Rad1 a5 22. Nd5 {White's position is a dream come true; Black's is the kind of dream we don't want.} Qd8 23. Nc3 Ne6 24. Qd5 $1 Re8 25. Qxb7 Nf4 26. Bxf4 exf4 27. Qd5+ Be6 28. Qd4 Nd7 29. Ne4 Bf7 30. Rf2 Re5 31. Nxd6 {A massacre.} 1-0 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.07.30"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Zacarias, M Ruben D"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2175"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] {[%evp 0,64,26,21,43,44,66,36,63,63,65,54,43,50,47,38,29,16,16,18,39,44,35,5,3, 3,3,34,34,40,40,40,41,26,13,12,25,29,29,5,5,13,8,-6,-6,-2,61,71,51,60,54,54,62, 60,84,8,29,29,44,30,35,35,49,27,16,0,22]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. a4 Ngf6 5. Nc3 a6 (5... g6 6. a5) 6. Be2 b6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 Bb7 9. Bg5 (9. O-O {is usual.}) 9... h6 $6 (9... e6 $142 $11) 10. Bxf6 Nxf6 11. Nd2 $1 $14 {/+/-} e5 12. Qe3 Be7 13. O-O O-O 14. Rfd1 Qc7 15. Nc4 Nd7 16. Nxd6 $2 {White's calculations are fine, and he's not taking any risks with this. It's the missed opportunity that's the issue.} (16. Qf3 $1 $16 {/+- was best, clearing e3 for the knight. White has a large positional advantage.}) 16... Bxd6 17. Qd3 Bb4 18. Qxd7 Rac8 (18... Qxd7 $142 19. Rxd7 Bxc3 20. Rxb7 Bxb2 21. Rb1 Bd4 $11) 19. Na2 Bc5 (19... Be7 $142) 20. Qxc7 Rxc7 21. Bd3 g6 22. Nc3 $14 f5 23. exf5 gxf5 24. Bc4+ Kg7 25. Bd5 Bd4 $6 (25... Bc8 $1) 26. Bxb7 Rxb7 $2 (26... Bxc3 27. bxc3 Rxb7 28. Rd5 $16 {is unpleasant for Black, but it's better than what could have happened.}) 27. Ra3 $2 (27. Ne2 $1 Bxb2 {The best of a bad lot.} 28. Ra2 Bd4 29. Nxd4 exd4 30. Rxd4 $18) 27... Rc8 $14 28. Rb3 Bxc3 29. bxc3 Rc4 30. a5 b5 31. Rd6 Ra7 $2 ({Why not} 31... Ra4 {, regaining the pawn?}) 32. Rb4 $2 { This is also mysterious - it's not as if White can't give away the c3-pawn whenever he wants to.} ({White should first take care of his back rank problem, with} 32. h3) ({or, better still,} 32. Kf1 $16 {, and then decide whether or not to play Rb4.}) 32... Rxc3 (32... Rxc3 33. Rh4 Rxc2 34. h3 {is "officially" equal, but it's still messy enough for White to come out on top. Given the match situation, Zacarias should have kept playing.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.07.30"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Meier, Georg"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "2864"] [BlackElo "2613"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "159"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] {[%evp 0,159,26,21,49,43,45,41,54,54,54,45,43,32,45,33,37,17,27,27,27,29,48,21, 22,26,45,33,31,25,47,29,34,13,13,0,14,-20,2,-4,-17,0,12,-14,-17,-17,-6,-6,0,-9, 6,9,5,5,5,8,82,83,83,83,87,76,76,84,84,84,84,82,84,84,84,84,84,92,91,79,87,85, 99,99,99,102,101,97,94,97,102,96,97,92,92,92,92,93,93,93,93,93,93,90,84,84,84, 84,93,84,84,86,83,83,83,83,153,153,150,153,150,150,150,150,150,150,150,150,150, 80,95,76,166,150,150,148,159,144,158,164,164,150,164,164,164,156,164,48,103,99, 127,49,6,6,394,359,362,344,355,338,362,375,1016,1016,2353,29976]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 {This dull line has been Meier's bread and butter for a long time, unfortunately. He can play interesting chess, but seems almost addicted to this variation.} 4. Nxe4 Nd7 ({Other thrill-seekers prefer} 4... Bd7 5. Nf3 Bc6 6. Bd3 Nd7 {.}) 5. c3 {Not the main move, but it makes sense, clearing c2 for the bishop.} Ngf6 6. Bd3 Nxe4 7. Bxe4 Nf6 8. Bc2 c5 9. Nf3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Bc5 11. O-O Bxd4 {A standard idea in this particular branch. Black surrenders the bishop pair, counting on his light-squared control to give him sufficient compensation.} 12. cxd4 b6 (12... Bd7 {is more common, avoiding the check we'll see in the game.}) 13. Qd3 $146 Bb7 (13... O-O $4 14. Bg5 $18 g6 $4 15. Qf3 {is game over.}) 14. Ba4+ Kf8 $14 {/+/- Black's king isn't in danger, the issue is a lack of harmony with the Rh8 cut out of the game.} 15. Bd2 (15. Bf4 $142 $1) 15... h5 $1 16. Rac1 h4 17. h3 Qd6 18. Bd1 Rd8 19. Re1 Kg8 20. Be3 Nd5 $11 21. Qd2 Nxe3 22. fxe3 Rh6 23. Rf1 Rg6 24. Bg4 f5 25. Bf3 Bxf3 26. Rxf3 Rg3 27. Qf2 e5 $6 {This is based on a miscalculation.} (27... Rxf3 28. Qxf3 f4 $11) 28. Rxf5 exd4 29. exd4 Qxd4 $6 (29... Qg6 $1 30. Rf4 Rxh3 $14) 30. Rf8+ Kh7 31. Rxd8 Qxd8 32. Qf5+ $6 (32. Rc4 $16 {was strong, intending Qc2+.}) 32... g6 $6 ( 32... Rg6 $1 $11 {looks dangerous, but White cannot exploit the pin.}) 33. Qf4 Rd3 $1 34. Rc7+ Rd7 35. Rxd7+ Qxd7 36. Qxh4+ $14 {/+/- There are few things worse in chess than being on the worse side of a queen ending. Chances are that the game will go on for hours, so you'll be exhausted no matter what the result, and chances are good that all that suffering will be in vain. It's likely that this ending *should* be a draw, but Carlsen will enjoy torturing him for hours without any risk. In those circumstances, it's very hard to maintain a successful defense over the long haul.} Kg7 37. Qf4 Qd5 38. a3 b5 39. Qc7+ Kh6 40. Qxa7 (40. b4 $1) 40... Qd1+ 41. Kh2 Qd6+ 42. Kh1 Qd2 (42... Qd1+ $2 43. Qg1 $18) 43. b4 Qc1+ 44. Qg1 Qxa3 45. Qe1 Qd3 46. Qh4+ Kg7 47. Qe7+ Kh6 48. Kh2 Qd4 49. h4 Qf4+ 50. Kh3 Qf5+ 51. Kg3 Qd5 52. Qc5 Qd3+ 53. Kh2 Qe4 54. Qg5+ Kh7 55. h5 Qxb4 56. Qxg6+ Kh8 57. Qf6+ Kh7 58. Qf5+ Kg8 59. Qe6+ Kh7 60. Qf7+ Kh8 61. Qf6+ Kh7 62. Kh3 Qe4 63. g4 Qe3+ 64. Kg2 Qe2+ 65. Kg3 Qe1+ 66. Qf2 Qc3+ 67. Kh4 b4 68. Qf7+ Kh8 69. Qe8+ Kg7 70. Qe7+ Kh8 71. h6 b3 72. Kh5 b2 73. Qe8+ Kh7 74. Qe4+ Kh8 75. Kg6 b1=B $1 76. Qxb1 Qc6+ 77. Kg5 Qc5+ 78. Qf5 { Meier has defended well, and the position is still objectively drawn. But it's getting tougher, and here only one move is satisfactory.} Qe3+ $2 (78... Qc7 $1 $11) 79. Qf4 Qc5+ 80. Kg6 (80. Kg6 Qc2+ 81. Qf5 {is the end. There are no good checks, no stalemate tricks, and no good ways to avoid mate other than trading queens, which is hopeless.}) 1-0