[Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2835"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,115,18,18,18,-3,-1,4,4,-22,1,3,4,4,10,-45,9,6,6,10,18,22,45,18,11,-5,21,14,4,24,22,18,19,16,26,7,24,-14,-24,-28,-25,-26,-31,-45,-15,-21,-26,-17,-55,-73,-51,-5,-9,-9,4,10,-11,-18,-18,-18,13,-4,31,-29,-9,-28,46,14,20,14,22,25,26,16,72,95,159,155,154,151,149,108,110,129,110,119,136,135,143,158,169,172,180,177,175,177,183,185,232,236,252,292,276,276,319,319,313,338,292,327,329,351,351,366,360,341,382,382]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. e3 h6 7. Bf4 Bf5 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 c6 10. Nge2 Nh5 11. Be5 Nd7 12. h3 Nhf6 13. Bh2 O-O 14. a3 Ba5 15. O-O Re8 16. Rac1 Qe7 17. b4 Bd8 18. Ng3 Bc7 19. Nf5 Bxh2+ 20. Kxh2 Qe6 21. Ng3 Qd6 22. Kg1 a5 23. Qb1 Nb6 24. bxa5 Nc4 25. Qb4 Rxa5 {Everything has gone swimmingly for Carlsen so far. It's not that he's better - the position is equal - but everything has been nice and smooth so far: an easy hold with Black on the way to a likely draw and the white pieces tomorrow.} 26. Nxd5 $1 {A pretty move and a nice tactic, but it's still only equal. That said, it creates some imbalances, and with it opportunities for both sides to make something interesting happen.} Nxd5 (26... cxd5 $2 27. Rxc4 $16 {/+-}) (26... Qxb4 $4 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 28. axb4 $18) 27. Qxc4 Rxa3 28. Qc5 Qxc5 29. Rxc5 Rea8 {The position is still equal. White's pawn structure is in a sense healthier as it's one big pawn island, while Black's has a passed pawn by way of compensation.} 30. Nf5 h5 31. g4 hxg4 32. hxg4 Ra2 33. Rb1 Ra1 34. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 35. Kg2 Kf8 36. g5 {White's position is a tiny bit more comfortable, but that's all. It's still approximately equal, and would be even if it were White to move. Unfortunately for Black, he chose a move that made his position much worse - losing, in fact.} Nc7 $4 {Threatening ...Ne6, but overlooking a small tactic that decides the game.} 37. Nd6 $18 {This defangs the ...Ne6 idea, and comes with a double attack. The first threat is obvious - to take on b7. But the second point is subtler: White to move also has 38.Rf5, when Black's only choice is whether to lose the pawn on f7 or on f6. Just like that, a drawish ending is now winning for White.} g6 38. Nxb7 Rb1 39. Nd8 (39. Nd6 $142) 39... Rb5 40. Rxb5 cxb5 {In theory, the new passed b-pawn could offer Black a measure of counterplay. In practice, it doesn't. Keymer easily neutralizes the pawn and collects the victory.} 41. Nc6 Ke8 (41... Na6 {lets the pawn get a little further and avoids the blockade on b4, but it's just as hopeless:} 42. Kf3 b4 43. Ke2 Ke8 44. Kd3 Kd7 45. Ne5+ Ke6 46. e4 $18) 42. Nb4 Ke7 43. f4 Kd6 44. Kf3 Ne6 45. Ke2 Ng7 46. e4 Nh5 47. Kf3 Ng7 48. Nd3 Nh5 49. Ke3 Ng3 50. d5 Kc7 51. Kd4 Kb6 52. Ne5 b4 53. Nxf7 $1 {Accurately calculated.} b3 54. Ne5 $1 {Otherwise (e.g. if White instead used the king to deal with the b-pawn), Black would be fine. Now it's over.} Ne2+ (54... b2 55. Nc4+ $18) 55. Ke3 Kb5 56. Nd3 Nc3 57. d6 Kc6 58. e5 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2787"] [BlackElo "2690"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,91,14,-11,-11,-12,19,-9,15,17,23,20,56,36,27,48,47,53,26,38,61,58,60,49,54,70,54,54,70,78,74,29,25,1,-14,22,0,0,4,-24,-1,-28,-13,-1,0,-27,-27,-42,2,-48,-52,-62,-36,-36,-36,-45,-60,-46,-11,0,55,12,58,56,21,9,9,29,29,35,34,48,48,12,54,69,69,7,33,24,53,-5,14,17,72,9,12,-84,27,14,19,-6,-33,0] Both players missed some opportunities in this game, which was very tense. I suspect that Nakamura put in a little extra effort into this game, as Pragg is one of the few players not named "Magnus Carlsen" who could cause him some trouble in rapid & blitz. (Nakamura would still be a favorite, but against most 2690s he'd be an overwhelming favorite. Pragg will be a test at any time control.)} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nc7 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. d3 e5 8. Nd2 Be7 9. Nc4 O-O 10. O-O f6 11. f4 exf4 12. Bxf4 Ne6 13. Bd2 Bd7 14. Nd5 Rb8 15. e4 b5 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Ne3 Ned4 18. Nd5 Qd6 19. Bf4 Ne5 20. Qd2 b4 21. Rac1 Rbc8 22. h3 Bb5 23. Rf2 Kh8 24. g4 Ne6 25. Bf1 Nxf4 26. Qxf4 Bc6 27. Ne3 Bd7 28. Nc4 Qe7 29. Rfc2 Nxc4 30. Rxc4 Be6 31. R4c2 Bxa2 32. Qe3 c4 33. dxc4 Qc5 34. Qxc5 Rxc5 35. Rd2 Rfc8 36. Kf2 a5 37. Rd5 a4 38. Bd3 Kg8 39. Ke3 R5c7 40. Kd4 Rb8 41. c5 Kf8 42. Rf1 a3 43. Ra1 Bb3 44. bxa3 Ra7 45. Rd6 bxa3 46. Rb6 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Abasov, Nijat"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2688"] [BlackElo "2632"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Bg4 8. Nf3 Nbd7 9. Bd3 O-O 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Re8 12. g4 c5 13. O-O c4 14. Bf5 Nb6 15. Rad1 $16 Ne4 $4 {It's hard to believe that both Svidler and Abasov failed to accurately solve the tactics here, but they didn't.} 16. Bg3 $4 (16. Nxd5 $1 Bxh4 (16... Qxd5 17. Bxe4 $18) (16... Ng5 17. Bxg5 $18) 17. Bxe4 $18) 16... Nxc3 17. bxc3 Bd6 $14 18. Bc2 Re6 19. e4 $2 (19. Rb1 $1 $16) 19... dxe4 20. Bxe4 Bxg3 21. fxg3 Qe7 (21... Qc7 $142 $15 22. Bxb7 $2 Rb8 23. Ba6 Rf6 24. Qg2 Nd7 $19) 22. Bxb7 Rd8 23. Bc6 Rdd6 24. d5 Re3 25. Qf4 Rf6 (25... Nc8 $1 $15) 26. Qb8+ Kh7 27. Rxf6 Qxf6 28. Qf4 $11 Qxc3 29. d6 Re1+ 30. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 31. Kg2 Qe2+ 32. Kg1 Kg8 33. d7 Nxd7 34. Bxd7 Qd1+ 35. Kf2 Qxd7 36. Qxc4 a5 37. a4 Qd2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Sarana, Alexey"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2769"] [BlackElo "2685"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. e3 h6 7. Bf4 $5 O-O 8. Bd3 c5 9. dxc5 Nc6 $5 $146 10. Bd6 Re8 11. Nge2 b6 12. Bb5 Bb7 13. a3 Bxc5 14. Bxc5 bxc5 $15 15. O-O Qd6 (15... Qc7 $142 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Qxd5 Ne5 {If White's queen doesn't protect the bishop, there will be ...Bxg2 Kxg2 Qb7+ tactics.} 18. Qb3 Re6 {There's a lot of danger facing White because of the g2 square, but if he does everything right he'll be okay. As we'll see, this issue isn't going away.} 19. Qc3 (19. Nf4 $2 Rb6 20. Qa4 Bxg2 $1 {is another variation on the theme. If the king takes, then 21....Qb7+ regains the piece with interest. And if the knight takes, it's an instant disaster:} 21. Nxg2 $4 Nf3+ 22. Kh1 Qxh2#) (19. Ng3 $6 c4 20. Qc2 {Here ...Bxg2 doesn't work, but there are other problems.} h5 $1 (20... Bxg2 $4 21. Kxg2 Qb7+ $2 22. Qe4 Qxb5 $2 23. Qxa8+ $18) 21. h4 Rb8 $1 {Threatening (again) to take on g2.} 22. Ba4 Qe7 23. Qf5 (23. Nf5 $143 Qf6 $17 {/-+}) 23... Qxh4 24. Qxh5 Qxh5 25. Nxh5 Be4 $17) 19... Bxg2 $1 20. Kxg2 Qb7+ 21. e4 $1 Qxb5 22. Nf4 Ree8 23. Rad1 $11 {/? Black is a little better, but White has done well to stabilize his position.}) 16. Rc1 (16. b4 $1) 16... a6 17. Bd3 $6 ({White needed to swap for the sake of counterplay.} 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. Na4 $15) 17... Ne5 $15 {/?} (17... Rad8 $142 $17) 18. Na4 Nxd3 19. Qxd3 Rac8 20. Qb3 $6 (20. b4 $142 $1 cxb4 21. axb4 Qxb4 $15 {isn't that bad for White, as his king is safe and his structure stable while Black's bishop is underperforming and his queenside pawns are weak.}) 20... Ba8 $17 21. Ng3 d4 22. exd4 cxd4 {Now Black's bishop is terrific.} 23. Qd3 $2 (23. Rxc8 $1 Rxc8 24. Qb4 $17) 23... Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Ng4 $2 {Giving So a big gift, but today just wasn't his day.} (24... Nd7 $1 $19 {was right, followed by a quick ...Bc6 to exploit White's offside knight.}) 25. Qf5 $11 Nf6 26. Nc5 $6 (26. Rc8 {was correct, maintaining full equality. So was probably worried about Black's d-pawn - understandably - but after} d3 {(Not forced, but other ideas look less scary.)} 27. Nf1 d2 28. Nc3 $1 d1=Q 29. Nxd1 Bxg2 $1 30. Kxg2 Qxd1 31. Ne3 $11 {White is fine. (If anything, Black should be more concerned on account of White's queenside pawn majority.)}) 26... h5 (26... g6 $142 $1 $15 {/?}) 27. b4 $2 {It's hard to believe that Black is completely winning after this, but Sarana proves it.} (27. Qg5 $1 $11) 27... h4 $19 28. Nf1 g6 (28... Nd5 {followed by ....Nc3 may be even better.}) 29. Qd3 $2 (29. Qg5 $142 h3 30. Qg3 Qxg3 31. Nxg3 Bxg2 $19) 29... Nh5 (29... Bxg2 $1 {was even more effective thanks to the loose rook on c1:} 30. Kxg2 Qd5+ $1 31. Kh3 {Other moves can be met by ...Qg5+ and ...Qxc1. The problem with this move is} Nh5 {, e.g.} 32. Qd1 Nf4+ 33. Kxh4 (33. Kg4 Qh5+ 34. Kxf4 Qf5#) 33... Re2 $19 {and it's clear that White's king will not survive (at least not without sacrificing most of his army to delay the inevitable).}) 30. Qxa6 (30. g3 $142 Qd5 $1 31. f3 hxg3 32. hxg3 Nxg3 $1 33. Nxg3 Qg5 34. f4 Qxf4 35. Rf1 Qg5 $19 {White has no satisfactory defense to the coming ...Re3.}) 30... Qxa6 31. Nxa6 Nf4 $1 {You might need to take a few seconds to fully grasp just how horrible this is for White. There's the obvious fork on e2, but ...h3 creates all sorts of mating possibilities for Black as well. There's no defense that even comes to close to saving this mess.} 32. Nc7 h3 $1 {Threatening mate in two.} 33. Ng3 hxg2 $1 {Threatening 34...Nh3#.} 34. Nxa8 d3 $1 (34... d3 $1 {Now the problem is ...d2 followed by ...Re1+. There's only one way to avoid mate or giving Black an extra queen, but it's not good enough.} 35. Nf1 gxf1=Q+ 36. Kxf1 {now Black could grab the rook in the corner, but it's even better to play} d2 37. Rd1 Rc8 38. f3 Rc1 39. Kf2 Rxd1 40. Ke3 {, when White will "only" be a rook down.} Nd5+ 41. Kd3 Ra1 42. Kxd2 Rxa3 $19 {Make it a rook and a knight.}) 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Grandelius, Nils"] [Black "Santos Latasa, Jaime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C12"] [WhiteElo "2684"] [BlackElo "2656"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "201"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. a3 c6 7. Nf3 Qd8 8. Bd3 Nd7 9. O-O Be7 10. Re1 O-O 11. Qd2 b6 12. exd5 exd5 13. Ne2 Re8 14. Ng3 Nf6 15. Ne5 Qc7 16. Re2 Bd6 17. Rae1 Be6 18. Qf4 Re7 19. Nf5 Bxf5 20. Qxf5 Qc8 21. Ng4 Qxf5 22. Bxf5 Rxe2 23. Nxf6+ gxf6 24. Rxe2 Rd8 (24... Kf8 $142 $14) 25. Bg4 Kf8 26. Kf1 a5 27. g3 Kg7 28. Re3 $16 a4 29. Bf5 Kf8 30. Ke2 c5 31. Rf3 Ke7 32. Re3+ Kf8 33. Rf3 Ke7 34. Bd3 cxd4 35. Rf5 $18 {Black's reward for pushing all his pawns his an impressive collection of weaknesses and a lost ending. If even a very strong GM like Santos can speedily reach a lost ending with opposite-colored bishops (and rooks), we should be very careful about assuming that opposite-colored bishop endings are automatically drawn - especially with other heavy pieces still on the board. They most emphatically are not. So, if you are better in such endings, keep playing. If you're worse, stay alert.} Ke6 36. Rh5 Bf8 37. Rh4 Ke5 38. Bb5 Ra8 39. Kd2 (39. Kd3 $142 Ra5 40. Be8 Ra7 41. Rxd4 Bc5 42. Rf4 $18) 39... Ra7 (39... Ra5 $142 $16) 40. Bf1 (40. Kd3 $142 $18) 40... Ra5 $16 41. Rg4 Ra8 42. Bb5 Ra5 43. Bd3 Ra8 44. Kd1 Be7 45. Rh4 Bf8 {Notice that although White has been drifting for a while, he's not shrugging his shoulders and offering a draw. You keep going, trying this and that. Maybe a good idea will come to you, or maybe your opponent will self-destruct. There's essentially no danger whatsoever, so there's no reason not to keep trying.} 46. Bf1 Rb8 $2 {As I said, sometimes your opponent will help you.} (46... Ra7 $16) 47. Rh5+ Kd6 (47... f5 48. Bh3 $18) 48. Bg2 {Had Black played 46...Ra7, he'd have ...Ra5 here.} b5 49. Rxd5+ Ke6 50. Rxd4 b4 {Black's counterplay is inadequate.} 51. Bh3+ f5 52. Rf4 Rb5 53. axb4 Bd6 (53... Bxb4 54. Bxf5+ Rxf5 55. Rxb4 Rxf2 56. Rh4 $18) 54. Re4+ (54. Rd4 $142 $18) 54... Kf6 55. Rh4 $2 (55. Rd4 $142 $18) 55... Rxb4 56. Rxh6+ Ke7 57. Kc1 $16 Rb6 $2 (57... f4 $16) 58. Rh4 $18 f4 59. Rh5 $1 fxg3 60. hxg3 a3 61. bxa3 Bxa3+ {Without the rooks, this may be drawn, so White won't be in any hurry to swap them.} 62. Kd1 Rd6+ 63. Ke2 Rc6 64. Bf5 Rc5 65. Kf3 Rd5 66. Kg4 Bc5 67. f3 Rd8 68. f4 Bf2 69. Kf3 Bd4 70. Bd3 Rd7 71. Rb5 Rc7 72. g4 f6 73. Ke4 Bc3 74. Rh5 Rd7 {Now conditions have changed enough that it should be winning, but Grandelius is being careful. He's definitely winning if the rooks remain, so he won't swap unless he's positive that it wins or unless there's no other way to try to make progress.} 75. Rc5 (75. Rh7+ Kd6 76. Rxd7+ Kxd7 77. Kf5 Kd6 78. g5 fxg5 79. fxg5 Ke7 80. Bc4 Bd2 81. Bb3 Bc3 82. Kg6 {If White can play 83.Kh7 without losing the g-pawn, he wins.} Bd2 (82... Kf8 83. Kh7 Ke7 84. g6 Kf8 85. Bd5 {Black is in zugzwang. If his king moves, then 86.g7 forces Black to surrender the bishop. And if he moves the bishop, then the c-pawn runs until either Black's king or bishop surrenders control of the g7 square, when White will push the g-pawn.} Be5 86. c4 Bd4 87. c5 Bc3 88. c6 Be5 89. c7 Bxc7 90. g7+ $18) 83. c4 Be3 84. Kf5 Bc5 (84... Kd6 85. Kf6 $18) 85. g6 Bd4 86. Ke4 Bc3 87. Kd5 Bb2 88. Bc2 Kd7 89. c5 Bc3 90. c6+ Ke7 (90... Kc7 91. Be4 {followed by Ke6, Kf7, g7 etc.}) 91. Kc5 Ba5 92. Kb5 Bc7 93. Ka6 Be5 94. Kb7 Kd8 95. g7 $18 (95. c7+ $18)) 75... Bb2 76. Rb5 Bc3 77. Rb3 Rc7 78. Kf5 Kf7 79. Rb6 Rc5+ 80. Ke4 Rc7 81. Rb5 Re7+ 82. Kf5 Rc7 83. Be4 Kg7 84. Bd5 (84. Rb7 $18) 84... Rd7 85. Be6 Ra7 86. Rc5 Bd4 87. Rc8 Bb2 (87... Ra5+ $142) 88. c4 Ra5+ 89. Bd5 Bd4 90. Rc7+ Kf8 91. Ke4 Bc3 92. c5 Bb4 93. c6 Bd6 94. Rf7+ Ke8 95. Rxf6 {Now there's no question. Short of blundering his rook for nothing, there's practically no way he can fail to win.} Ra4+ 96. Kf3 Ra3+ 97. Ke2 Bc7 98. g5 Rg3 99. Rf7 Bd6 100. c7 Rc3 101. g6 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "2676"] [BlackElo "2739"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "157"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,157,19,31,14,-14,-11,-21,-23,-23,-5,-5,2,-57,2,-9,-6,3,-4,8,-5,-4,-12,-3,5,-10,2,-35,32,40,22,-14,34,39,29,40,26,7,19,15,8,20,-7,-31,-19,-27,-25,13,-47,-16,-22,-50,-35,-89,-88,-104,-78,-73,-75,-75,-85,-85,-85,-75,-75,-94,-93,-93,-91,-84,-88,-85,-84,-102,-95,-100,-107,-115,-115,-115,-105,-109,-104,-118,-104,-103,-103,-103,-66,-104,-103,-104,-79,-104,-104,-103,-80,-70,-73,-80,-65,-88,-75,-69,-72,-80,-75,-80,-83,-87,-88,-86,-86,-103,-76,-86,-83,-86,-79,-86,-82,-82,-80,-79,-79,-70,-79,-79,-82,-84,-86,-103,-103,-102,-95,-126,-141,-132,-133,-128,-63,-135,-132,-132,-154,-154,-151,-151,-151,-150,-143,-143,-143,-147,-109,-135,-139,-140,-135,-135]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Qc2 c5 7. dxc5 Qa5+ 8. Nc3 dxc4 9. O-O Nc6 10. Ne4 Nxe4 11. Qxe4 Qxc5 12. Be3 Qh5 13. h3 Bd7 14. Rfd1 Rfd8 15. Rac1 Be8 16. Qxc4 Rxd1+ 17. Rxd1 Qa5 18. Nd4 Rd8 19. Rc1 Nxd4 20. Bxd4 b5 21. Bc3 b4 22. Be1 Bb5 23. Qe4 Qxa2 24. Qb7 Bd7 25. Rd1 Qa4 26. b3 Qb5 27. Qxa7 Qxe2 28. Rxd7 Qxe1+ 29. Bf1 Rxd7 30. Qxd7 {It looks as if this ending should be a dead draw, but while it does end peacefully Dominguez does a great job of conjuring a series of problems for Wojtaszek. Kudos to his opponent for hanging on.} Bf8 31. h4 g6 32. Kg2 Qe4+ 33. Kg1 Kg7 34. Qd3 Qe5 35. Kg2 Bc5 36. Qf3 h6 37. Bc4 Qd4 38. Qe2 g5 39. hxg5 hxg5 40. Qf3 Bb6 41. Kf1 Bc5 42. Kg2 Qe5 43. Qe2 Qf6 44. Qf3 Qd4 45. Kf1 Bd6 46. Qd3 Qe5 47. Qf3 Be7 48. Kg2 Qd4 49. Qd3 Qc5 50. Qe3 Qc6+ 51. Qf3 Qc7 52. Qe4 Bf6 53. Qf3 Qc5 54. Kf1 Bd4 55. Kg2 Qd6 56. Qe4 Qb6 57. Qf3 Qa7 58. Qg4 Bf6 59. Qf3 Qd4 60. Qd3 Qb2 61. Qe2 Qc3 62. Qe3 Be7 63. Qf3 Bc5 64. Qg4 Qd2 65. Qe2 Qd4 66. Qf3 Ba7 67. Kf1 g4 68. Qf4 Qxf4 69. gxf4 Kf6 70. Bd3 Bb8 71. f5 exf5 72. Kg2 Kg5 73. Bc4 f6 74. f3 Kf4 75. Bd5 Ke3 76. Bc6 Kd4 77. Bd7 Kc3 78. Be6 g3 79. Bc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B47"] [WhiteElo "2719"] [BlackElo "2662"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,59,20,19,86,77,77,61,65,52,63,39,131,93,93,44,52,14,81,7,56,-39,-23,1,1,-3,9,30,32,17,71,-48,-24,-139,-58,-42,80,-2,99,209,209,250,250,219,259,240,317,400,400,235,326,257,330,234,300,277,308,281,347,373,346,346]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Ncb5 Qb8 7. Bd3 Nf6 8. O-O Be7 (8... a6 9. Nxc6 dxc6 10. Nd4 Bd6 11. Nf3 e5 12. Bg5 Be6 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. Nh4 Qc7 15. Qf3 Be7 16. Nf5 O-O-O 17. Rfd1 h5 18. h4 Bc5 19. b3 Kb8 20. Bc4 Rdg8 21. Kf1 Rg4 22. g3 Rd8 23. a4 Ka7 24. Rxd8 Qxd8 25. Rd1 Bxc4+ 26. bxc4 Qb6 27. Kg2 Qb4 28. Nh6 Rg7 29. Qb3 Rh7 30. Qxb4 Bxb4 31. Ng8 Kb6 32. Rd7 Ka5 33. Rxb7 Kxa4 34. Nxf6 Rh6 35. Nd7 a5 36. c3 Ba3 37. c5 Bc1 38. Rb1 Ka3 39. Nxe5 Bb2 40. Nc4+ Kb3 41. Nxa5+ Kc2 42. Re1 Bxc3 43. Re2+ Kd3 44. Re3+ Kd4 45. Nb7 Bb4 46. Rf3 f6 47. Rf4 Bd2 48. Rf5 Kxe4 49. Nd6+ Kd4 50. Ne8 Rh8 51. Nxf6 Rf8 52. Rf3 Rh8 53. Rf5 Rf8 54. Kf3 Bh6 55. g4 hxg4+ 56. Kxg4 Rf7 57. f3 Rg7+ 58. Kh5 Be3 59. Ne4 Kd3 60. Rf6 Ke2 61. Ng5 Bxc5 62. Rxc6 Be3 63. Kg4 Ra7 64. Re6 Kd3 65. h5 Ra1 66. f4 Rg1+ 67. Kf5 Rh1 68. Rd6+ Kc4 69. h6 Rh4 70. h7 Bxf4 71. Rd7 Be3 72. Kg6 Rh1 73. Nf3 Rh3 74. Ne5+ Kc5 75. Rd8 Bd4 76. Ng4 Ba1 77. Ra8 Bb2 78. Rd8 Rg3 79. Kf5 Rh3 80. Rd7 Bh8 81. Kg6 Rg3 82. Rd8 Ba1 83. Kg5 Rh3 84. Nh6 Rg3+ 85. Kf5 Rh3 86. Kg5 Rg3+ 87. Kh4 Rg1 88. Rg8 Rh1+ 89. Kg5 Rg1+ 90. Kh5 Rh1+ 91. Kg6 Rg1+ 92. Kf7 Rf1+ 93. Ke7 Re1+ 94. Kd7 Rd1+ 95. Kc8 Rh1 96. Rg6 Kd5 97. Kd7 Bc3 98. Ke7 Ra1 99. Rg5+ Ke4 100. Nf7 Rh1 101. Rg3 Rxh7 102. Rxc3 Kd4 103. Rf3 Ke4 104. Rf6 Rh1 105. Ke6 Ra1 106. Nd6+ Ke3 107. Rh6 Ra6 108. Rh4 Ra1 109. Nc4+ Kf3 110. Kf5 Rf1 111. Rh8 Kg3+ 112. Kg5 Rc1 113. Ne5 Rc5 114. Kf5 Ra5 115. Rb8 Kf2 116. Rb3 Ke2 117. Ke4 Ra4+ 118. Kd5 Ra5+ 119. Kd4 Ra4+ 120. Nc4 Ra8 121. Ke4 Re8+ 122. Ne5 Kd2 123. Rd3+ Kc2 124. Rd7 Rh8 125. Rc7+ Kb3 126. Kd4 Rh4+ 127. Kd5 Rh5 128. Rc8 Rh1 129. Nf3 Rh5+ 130. Kd4 Rh7 131. Nd2+ Kb2 132. Kd3 Rh3+ 133. Kd4 Rh4+ 134. Kd3 Rh3+ 135. Kd4 Rh4+ 136. Kd3 Rh3+ {½-½ Erigaisi,A (2728)-Carlsen,M (2856) Aimchess Rapid KO chess24.com INT 2022 (1.11)}) 9. Qe2 $146 O-O 10. Kh1 a6 11. Nxc6 dxc6 12. Nc3 Nd7 13. f4 b5 $6 (13... Nc5 $11 {was better, eliminating the dangerous attacking bishop.}) 14. e5 $14 c5 15. f5 $1 Nxe5 (15... Qxe5 16. Qf3 $1 Qb8 17. fxe6 $1 fxe6 18. Bf4 Rxf4 $1 (18... Qa7 $2 19. Be4 e5 20. Bxa8 exf4 21. Rae1 $18) 19. Qxf4 Qxf4 20. Rxf4 $16) 16. f6 $1 gxf6 (16... Bxf6 $142 17. Rxf6 $1 Nxd3 $1 (17... gxf6 $4 18. Bxh7+ Kxh7 {Black won't be any better off not taking the bishop; I'll leave the details as an exercise to the reader.} 19. Qh5+ Kg8 20. Ne4 Nd7 21. Bh6 {mates quickly.}) 18. cxd3 gxf6 19. Ne4 Qe5 20. Bd2 b4 21. Rf1 f5 {It looks as if Black has successfully parried White's threats and is about to enjoy life with an exchange and two pawns in his pocket. Unfortunately for him, White has a nice resource:} 22. Bg5 $1 Qg7 $8 23. Nf6+ $1 Kh8 24. Bf4 $1 Bb7 $8 25. Be5 Qg6 26. h4 $1 h5 $1 27. Rf2 $1 $16 {/+- White's attack will progress, and despite Black's material advantage the problem is that his bishop and rooks can do little to nothing to fight against White's dark-squared domination on the kingside.}) 17. Bf4 (17. Bxh7+ $1 {works here, and may be even better. Still, the text is good enough.}) 17... Rd8 (17... Bb7 18. Bxh7+ $1) 18. Rae1 (18. Bxh7+ $1) 18... Rd4 (18... Rxd3 {is the best try and thematic, taking the Bxh7+ idea off the table for good. (I'm assuming that White isn't going to promote a pawn on a light square, make it a bishop, and do so in such a way that a subsequent Bxh7+ sac would not only be possible but sensible.) White can take the rook and enjoy what should prove to be a winning advantage, but it's even better to play} 19. Qh5 $1 {Threatening Bxe5 (...fxe5 Qxf7+).} Rxc3 20. Bxe5 Rxc2 (20... fxe5 21. Qxf7+ Kh8 22. Qe8+ Kg7 23. Rf7+ Kh6 24. Qg8 Bb7 25. Rxh7#) 21. Bxb8 Bb7 22. Rf3 Bxf3 23. gxf3 Rxb8 24. Rg1+ Kf8 25. Qxh7 Bd6 26. Qxc2 $18) 19. Bxh7+ $1 {Finally! It's still winning.} Kf8 20. Qh5 {Threatening 21.Bxe5.} Rxf4 21. Rxf4 {Now the main threats are 22.Ne4 and 22.Be4.} Ke8 22. Be4 Bb7 23. Bxb7 Qxb7 24. Ne4 Ng6 (24... Nd7 25. Qh8+ Nf8 26. Nxf6+ Bxf6 27. Rxf6 Qe7 28. Ref1 Rd8 29. Qg7 Rd7 30. h4 $18) 25. Nxf6+ Kd8 26. Rf2 Kc7 27. Qh7 Rf8 28. Ng4 Nh8 29. Rxe6 $1 Kb8 30. Re1 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.09"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Berkes, Ferenc"] [Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E25"] [WhiteElo "2615"] [BlackElo "2664"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. e4 Nf6 10. Be3 O-O 11. h4 {Almost a novelty - Giri beat him to it by four months.} (11. Qb3 {has been played (at least) 462 times,}) (11. Kf2 {at least 198 times.}) 11... Qxc3+ $6 $146 (11... Nfd7 {was played in the earlier game, and is a better choice. Giri won, but not because there was anything so wrong with Lazavik's last move.} 12. h5 h6 13. g4 Nxc5 14. g5 Rd8 15. Qc2 hxg5 16. h6 g6 17. h7+ Kh8 18. Nh3 Nbd7 19. Nxg5 Rf8 20. f4 f6 21. Nf3 Qa4 22. Qxa4 Nxa4 23. e5 fxe5 24. Nxe5 Nxe5 25. Bd4 Rf5 26. Bd3 {1-0 Giri,A (2768)-Lazavik,D (2544) Chessable Masters Div 2 Lose Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (4.2)}) (11... b6 $146 {is another good idea.}) 12. Kf2 $14 Nc6 13. Ne2 Qa5 14. Qe1 e5 15. Qxa5 Nxa5 16. Nc3 Be6 17. Rb1 Rfc8 18. Bb5 Nb3 19. Na4 Rc7 20. Rhd1 $16 h6 21. Rd6 Na5 22. g4 Rac8 23. g5 hxg5 24. hxg5 Ne8 25. Rd2 g6 26. Nc3 Nb3 27. Rxb3 $1 Bxb3 28. Nd5 Kf8 $2 (28... a6 $1 29. Nxc7 Nxc7 30. Bd7 Rd8 31. Rd6 Kf8 32. c6 bxc6 33. Bc5 Kg8 34. Bb6 Nb5 35. Rd2 Rb8 36. Bc5 Be6 $16 {Black is hanging on.}) 29. Nxc7 Nxc7 30. Bd7 Rd8 31. c6 b6 32. f4 $1 $18 Ke7 33. f5 gxf5 34. exf5 Bd5 35. g6 Rh8 36. gxf7 Kxf7 37. Rxd5 Nxd5 38. Be6+ Kf6 39. Bxd5 Kxf5 40. Kf3 Rf8 41. Bf2 Rh8 42. a4 Rc8 43. Ke2 Rd8 44. Bg2 Kg4 45. Be3 1-0