[Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROM"] [Date "2024.07.03"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C83"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [BlackElo "2747"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "48"] [GameId "2063354363146251"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 10. Bf4 {A rare move, and not an up-and-comer, either.} O-O (10... Nc5) (10... g5 $2 {has been tried by some crazy people. Maybe it's not suitable for the big time, but at the club level it has scored brilliantly. Oh, and there is at least one crazy non-club-level guy who tried it once: Viktor Korchnoi, who drew with it against Yuri Averbakh.}) 11. Nd4 Qd7 (11... Nxd4) 12. Bc2 f6 $146 13. Nxe6 (13. exf6 Nxd4 $1 14. fxe7 Rxf4 15. Qxd4 Qxe7 16. Nd2 (16. f3 $143 Raf8 (16... Qg5 {is a fun alternative.} 17. Bxe4 (17. fxe4 $2 Rxf1+ 18. Kxf1 Qc1+ 19. Qd1 Qe3 $3 (19... Qxb2 $2 20. Nd2 $18) 20. Nd2 dxe4 21. Bxe4 Rf8+ 22. Bf3 Bf5 $1 {Without this move, White would be winning.} 23. g4 {The best try.} Bxg4 24. Qe2 Bh3+ 25. Ke1 Qg1+ 26. Nf1 Bxf1 $1 (26... Qxf1+ $2 27. Qxf1 Bxf1 28. Bd5+ Kh8 29. a4 $11) 27. Qxf1 Qxf1+ 28. Kxf1 Rxf3+ $19) 17... dxe4 18. Nd2 $8 exf3 19. Nxf3 $11) 17. Nd2 c5 18. Qd3 c4 19. Qe3 Nxd2 20. Qxd2 Qd6 $11 {/?}) 16... c5 17. Qe3 Nxd2 $1 18. Qxd2 (18. Qxf4 Nxf1 19. Rxf1 $11 (19. Re1 $5 Rf8 20. Qe5 Nxh2 21. Qxe6+ Qxe6 22. Rxe6 Ng4 23. f3 Rf6 24. Re8+ Kf7 25. Rc8 Ne3 26. Bxh7 c4 27. Bg8+ Ke7 28. Rc7+ Kf8 29. Rc8+ Ke7 30. Rc7+ $11)) 18... Qd6 $11) 13... Qxe6 14. exf6 {Now Pragg shows that 12...f6 was preparation, not over the board inspiration. (If it was cooked up at the board, and he had worked out most of what follows, that's extremely impressive.)} Bc5 $1 (14... Rxf6 15. Be3 $14 {White is better thanks to the two Bs.}) 15. Nd2 (15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Nd2 Rxf6 17. Qb3 Qxb3 18. Nxb3 Bb6 19. Be3 $11) 15... Nxf2 $1 {Nepo is up for the challenge.} 16. Qh5 $1 (16. Rxf2 Qxf6 17. g3 Bxf2+ 18. Kxf2 g5 19. Qh5 $1 h6 20. Nf3 gxf4 21. g4 $44 {is a very interesting alternative.}) 16... Rxf6 17. Qxh7+ Kf8 18. Nb3 $1 Rxf4 (18... Bb6 19. Bg5 Nh3+ ({There are other crazy possibilities that don't result in an immediate draw. For instance:} 19... Re8 20. Qh8+ Kf7 21. Qh5+ Kf8 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. Qf5 Re2 $1 24. Qxd5 Rxc2 25. Nc5 Ne5 26. Rae1 $1 Nf3+ $1 27. Qxf3 Qxf3 28. Nd7+ $1 Kf7 29. gxf3 Ba7 30. Ne5+ Kg8 31. Nc6 Nh3+ 32. Kh1 Nf2+ $11) 20. Kh1 Nf2+ 21. Kg1 $11 (21. Rxf2 Rxf2 22. Bh4 Rf4 $8 23. Bg5 Rf2 24. Bh4 Rf4 $11)) 19. Nxc5 Qe3 $8 {Now the fun and games come to an end, as White has only one fully safe continuation.} 20. Qh8+ (20. h4 $5 Qxc5 21. Rae1 Ne7 22. Qh8+ Ng8 23. Bh7 Kf7 24. b4 $8 Qxc3 25. Bxg8+ Rxg8 26. Qh5+ g6 27. Qh7+ Qg7 28. Rxf2 $1 Rxf2 29. Qxg7+ Kxg7 30. Kxf2 {is "equal", but only in the sense that White should hold the draw. Obviously it's only Black who has winning chances here.}) 20... Kf7 21. Qh5+ Kf8 22. Qh8+ Kf7 23. Qh5+ Kf8 24. Qh8+ Kf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROM"] [Date "2024.07.03"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2732"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [GameId "2063354363203596"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] 1. c4 e5 2. d3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. a3 a5 (4... d5) 5. Nc3 Be7 (5... Bc5) (5... d5) 6. e4 {Not as gruesome as it looks, or to put it another way, there are 63 squares other than d4 that White can still contest.} O-O $146 7. Be2 d6 8. Rb1 Bg4 9. Be3 Nd7 10. Nd5 Bxf3 (10... Nc5) (10... f5) 11. Bxf3 a4 12. Bg4 $1 Nc5 13. O-O Nd4 (13... Ne6 14. Bxe6 $1 {is why 12.Bg4 is a good move.} fxe6 15. Nc3 $16) 14. f4 c6 15. Bxd4 exd4 $11 16. Nb4 Bf6 17. Qf3 g6 18. Rbe1 Qe7 19. Re2 Bg7 20. Rfe1 Rae8 21. g3 h5 22. Bh3 Qd8 23. Kh1 Kh7 24. Bg2 h4 $15 25. Bh3 Rh8 26. Rf1 Kg8 (26... hxg3 $142 27. hxg3 Kg8 $15) 27. Rg2 $6 {No doubt exhausted by long, bitter struggle with Abdusattorov yesterday (/sarc), Giri is getting outplayed by MVL today.} (27. g4 $1 g5 $1 28. fxg5 $1 Rf8 29. Ref2 Ne6 30. Qd1 Nxg5 31. Bg2 h3 32. Bf3 Rh6 33. Qxa4 $11 {Most of the positional factors favor Black, but White has a pawn for his troubles.}) 27... hxg3 28. Rxg3 Qh4 (28... Rh6 $15) (28... Bf6 $15) 29. Qg2 (29. Nc2 $142) 29... Rh6 (29... Kf8 $1 {Black should pull a Petrosian, transferring the king to c7 before looking for some way of making meaningful progress on the kingside.}) 30. Bg4 Kh7 31. Rh3 Qf6 32. Qg3 $6 Rxh3 33. Qxh3+ Bh6 $17 34. Qg3 Bg5 (34... Rh8 $17 {Progress won't be easy, but Black has grounds for persisting.}) 35. Qh3+ Bh6 36. Qg3 Bg5 37. Qh3+ Bh6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROM"] [Date "2024.07.03"] [Round "7.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "172"] [GameId "2063354363203597"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bxc4 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. O-O c5 7. Be2 Nbd7 8. Nc3 b5 9. d5 exd5 10. Nxd5 Bb7 11. Nxf6+ Qxf6 12. a4 b4 13. e4 h6 14. Qc2 Bd6 15. Be3 O-O 16. Rad1 Rad8 17. Nd2 Bf4 18. Bxf4 Qxf4 19. g3 Qf6 20. a5 Qe7 21. Rc1 f5 22. Bc4+ Kh8 23. Bd5 Bc8 24. exf5 Ne5 25. Be4 Bxf5 26. Qxc5 Qe8 27. f4 Bxe4 28. fxe5 Rxf1+ 29. Rxf1 {White's weak light squares around his king give Black full compensation for the pawn. Abdusattorov's next move endangers the compensation by moving the bishop off its ideal diagonal.} Bd3 $6 (29... Bd5) (29... Bb7) (29... Ba8) 30. Re1 Qe6 31. Qb6 (31. Qxb4 $142) 31... Qd5 32. e6 {Now the situation is dangerous for Black, though he's still objectively fine.} Bb5 $1 {The bishop is returning to the correct diagonal.} 33. e7 Re8 34. Qf2 Bc6 35. Ne4 Qd7 $2 (35... Qe5 $1 $11 {It's a little weird to talk into a lineup like this, but the threat to capture on e7 more or less forces White's knight from its active square.} 36. Nd2 Qd5 37. Ne4 Qe5 38. Nc5 (38. Qf8+ Kh7 39. Re3 Qxb2 40. Qf5+ Kh8 41. Qf8+ Kh7 42. Qf5+ $11) 38... Qd6 $11) 36. Qf8+ $18 Kh7 37. Qf7 Kh8 38. Qf8+ Kh7 39. Qf7 Kh8 40. Nf2 $1 Bb7 41. h4 Bc6 42. Qe6 Qc7 43. Kh2 Bb5 44. Qe5 {White is winning, but turning into a full point is still difficult.} Qc2 45. Kg1 Qb3 46. Re3 Qc4 47. Kh2 $6 (47. Rf3 $1 Kg8 48. Rf4 $1 Qb3 49. Kh2 $18 {and now White is ready to make decisive progress with Qd6 and Rf8+.}) 47... Qf7 48. Nh3 Qf1 49. Re1 Qd3 50. Nf4 Qd2+ 51. Kg1 Bc6 52. h5 b3 53. Re2 (53. Rf1 $1 {is best, intending g4-g5.}) 53... Qd1+ 54. Kf2 Qh1 55. Ng6+ Kh7 56. Nf8+ $2 (56. Nh4 {keeps a winning advantage, though one that must still be worked out to become an actual win.}) 56... Kh8 $2 (56... Kg8 $11 {White's advantage is gone here.}) 57. Ng6+ Kh7 58. Qf5 $2 $11 (58. Nh4 $1 $18) 58... Qh2+ 59. Ke3 Qxg3+ 60. Kd4 Qd6+ $1 61. Kc3 Qg3+ $1 62. Kb4 Qd6+ 63. Kc3 Qg3+ $1 64. Kd2 Qd6+ $1 65. Kc1 Bb5 $1 66. Nf8+ Kg8 67. Qh7+ Kf7 68. Qf5+ Kg8 69. Qh7+ Kf7 70. Rf2+ Kxe7 71. Qe4+ Kd8 72. Qa8+ Kc7 73. Rf7+ Re7 74. Qa7+ Kd8 75. Qa8+ Kc7 76. Qa7+ Kd8 77. Rxe7 Qc6+ (77... Qxe7 $4 78. Qb8#) 78. Kd2 Qc2+ 79. Ke3 Qe2+ 80. Kf4 Qh2+ $1 81. Ke3 Qg3+ 82. Kd2 Qd3+ 83. Ke1 Qf1+ 84. Kd2 Qd3+ 85. Ke1 Qf1+ 86. Kd2 Qd3+ {From move 57 on, it was perfect defense by Abdusattorov.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROM"] [Date "2024.07.03"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E43"] [WhiteElo "2692"] [BlackElo "2737"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "89"] [GameId "2063354363203598"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] {[%evp 0,89,8,15,25,-16,-29,-17,4,-1,30,32,17,19,47,41,36,-22,-6,-12,44,48,62,37,42,42,57,32,24,27,21,-3,31,16,13,13,22,6,78,-2,46,28,7,7,32,17,9,-3,0,-45,-48,-45,-58,-36,-23,-23,10,-34,-22,-33,-1,-38,-91,-36,-8,-24,-19,-12,-14,-18,-11,-8,-8,-8,-15,-4,-8,-8,-10,-7,-3,0,0,-5,0,0,0,-6,0,-2,0,-2]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 {After Caruana-Deac and Firouzja-So, I'm now surprised *not* to see a Saemisch against the Nimzo-Indian.} c5 6. Nf3 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. Na4 cxd4 9. exd4 Re8 10. a3 Bf8 11. b4 d6 12. Nc3 (12. Re1) (12. Bb2) 12... a5 $146 13. Rb1 axb4 14. axb4 e5 15. Be2 Ne4 16. Nxe4 (16. Qc2) 16... Bxe4 $11 17. Rb2 Nc6 18. Be3 Rc8 (18... exd4) 19. dxe5 Bxf3 20. Bxf3 Nxe5 21. Bd5 Nxc4 22. Rc2 b5 23. Qe2 Qd7 24. Bxc4 bxc4 25. Rxc4 Rxc4 26. Qxc4 d5 27. Qb3 Qb5 28. Rd1 Rd8 29. Bd2 d4 30. h3 Qe2 31. Qf3 d3 32. b5 Rb8 33. Qxe2 dxe2 34. Re1 Rxb5 35. Rxe2 {Without the anti-draw offer rules, the game would end here (if it hadn't already). The rules are helpful in general, even if they're pretty stupid when it comes to positions like this.} f6 36. g3 Kf7 37. Be3 Bc5 38. Bxc5 Rxc5 39. h4 h5 40. Kg2 Ra5 41. Rd2 Rc5 42. Re2 Ra5 43. Rd2 Rc5 44. Re2 Ra5 45. Rd2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet ROM Classic 2024"] [Site "Bucharest ROM"] [Date "2024.07.03"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2805"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "124"] [GameId "2063354363207695"] [EventDate "2024.06.26"] {[%evp 0,124,15,8,11,21,21,25,17,19,19,-23,43,18,19,24,55,50,36,40,27,27,27,34,23,20,22,10,21,21,30,32,36,35,39,35,46,-13,23,29,19,19,16,-22,23,4,38,29,29,-10,21,11,19,19,32,24,26,26,16,12,32,37,32,31,24,19,32,32,51,23,34,7,0,-22,-22,16,18,18,5,17,50,-9,10,27,5,0,15,3,15,0,0,-7,-4,-4,0,-14,-27,-40,-20,-61,-29,-91,-57,-91,-56,-108,-92,-91,-77,-48,-67,-80,-60,-56,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 {I invoke The Policy...but there are some comments near the end of the game.} 4. d3 d6 5. a4 a5 6. Nc3 h6 7. Be3 Bb4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 Nf6 10. Nd2 O-O 11. f4 Be6 12. Bb5 Ng4 13. Qe1 Nxe3 14. Qxe3 exf4 15. Rxf4 Ne5 16. d4 Ng6 17. Rf2 Qg5 18. Nf1 Rad8 19. Rb1 b6 20. g3 Ne7 21. Qe2 Bg4 22. Qd3 Kh8 23. Ne3 Bh3 24. Qd2 d5 25. exd5 Nxd5 26. Re1 c5 27. Nxd5 Qxd5 28. Rf4 Qd6 29. Qf2 Be6 30. Bd3 Rfe8 31. Rfe4 Rf8 32. Rf4 Rde8 33. Rb1 Rc8 34. Rf1 cxd4 35. cxd4 Bc4 36. Qe3 f6 37. Rb1 Bxd3 38. Qxd3 Qc6 39. d5 Qc5+ 40. Rf2 Rfe8 41. Rb5 Qd6 42. Qd4 Rc5 43. Rxc5 bxc5 44. Qd3 Qd7 45. Rf4 Re5 {The position is equal, but Black's pressure against White's d-pawn forces him to make an important decision.} 46. c4 $1 {This is correct: White abandons the a-pawn for the sake of his protected passed d-pawn. The position remains equal - for now - but the burden is on White to keep it that way.} Qxa4 47. Rf1 (47. Re4 $1 {is best, trading Black's active rook and increasing the meaningful mobility of his d-pawn.} Rxe4 48. Qxe4 Qa1+ 49. Kg2 Qb2+ 50. Kh3 Qb6 51. Qe8+ Kh7 52. Qe4+ $11) 47... Qd7 48. Rb1 Re8 49. Qa3 $6 Qe7 $6 (49... a4 $1 $17 50. Qxc5 $2 Re2 $19 {White doesn't have a perpetual check after piling up on the 8th rank, which means that Black's mating threats plus his a-pawn will decide the game.}) 50. Rf1 Ra8 51. Qa4 $2 {Freezing Black's passer as far up the board as possible is a good idea in general; unfortunately, allowing Black's queen to invade is a bigger problem.} (51. Rf2 a4 52. Qd3 $8 $15) 51... Qe3+ $19 52. Kg2 Rb8 $1 53. Rf2 Qe4+ $1 54. Kh3 Rb4 $2 {Proving the win wasn't a trivial task, and this seems to give it away.} (54... Qe3 55. Rf4 Qe2 56. Qc6 h5 $1 57. d6 g5 $1 58. Rxf6 Rg8 $1 59. Qh1 Qg4+ 60. Kg2 Qe4+ 61. Kg1 Qd4+ 62. Rf2 Rf8 63. Qg2 a4 64. d7 Kg7 65. d8=Q Rxd8 66. Kh1 Qxc4 $19) 55. Rf4 $2 (55. Qd7 $1 Rxc4 56. Rf4 Qd3 57. Qe8+ Kh7 58. Rxf6 $3 {It's not so hard to find here, but to find it before playing 55.Qd7, when there are so many other lines to calculate, is another matter.} Qe4 59. Qxe4+ Rxe4 60. Ra6 Rd4 61. Rxa5 Rxd5 62. Kg4 {is drawn.}) 55... Qe2 $2 (55... Qe7 $1 $19) 56. Qd7 $11 Rb2 {Giving up on trying to win.} 57. Qc8+ $1 Kh7 58. Qf5+ Kg8 59. Qc8+ Kh7 60. Qf5+ Kg8 61. Qc8+ Kh7 62. Qf5+ Kg8 1/2-1/2