[Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.26"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2721"] [BlackElo "2746"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "64"] [GameId "2082917628812788"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,26,27,11,12,15,12,4,16,2,20,25,94,63,73,73,55,65,61,71,78,66,71,72,57,35,74,43,63]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Be7 10. h3 Nh4 11. Nxh4 Bxh4 12. Re1 (12. Be3 {is more common, but 12.Re1 seems a bit of an MVL speciality.}) 12... a5 (12... h5 {was Niemann's choice in five games with MVL from their match in the Speed Chess Championship a few weeks ago.}) 13. Be3 $146 ({More MVL:} 13. Ne2 Bd7 14. Bd2 Kc8 15. Bc3 Re8 16. Rad1 g6 17. Nf4 Bg5 18. e6 Bxe6 19. Nxe6 Rxe6 20. Rxe6 fxe6 21. Rd3 b5 22. Rf3 b4 23. Be5 a4 24. Rf8+ Bd8 25. Bf6 Kd7 26. Rh8 b3 27. cxb3 axb3 28. a4 c5 29. a5 c4 30. a6 c3 31. Rxh7+ Kd6 32. Bxc3 Rxa6 33. Kf1 {½-½ Vachier Lagrave,M (2775)-Grischuk,A (2766) Riga FIDE GP 2019 (3.1)}) 13... Be7 14. Rad1+ Ke8 $11 15. Ne2 a4 16. Nd4 Ra5 {With the rook already in play through the side door, he's in fine shape. There's still the h8-rook to take care of, and White ends up solving Black's problem for him.} 17. e6 (17. f4 {is less cooperative, assuming White wants to keep the game going. But should he?} Rd5 18. c4 Rd8 19. f5 Bc5 20. g4 h5 21. Kg2 hxg4 22. hxg4 g6 $11 {is a possible line, and it's just as fine for Black as the game.}) 17... Bd6 18. exf7+ Kxf7 19. Nf3 Re8 {Black has no problems, so White both invites and initiates exchanges.} 20. Bd4 Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 Rf5 22. b3 axb3 23. axb3 c5 24. Ne5+ Kg8 25. Bb2 Rf8 26. Nc4 Bf5 27. Nxd6 cxd6 {Black is out of both bishops and doubled pawns. With the opposite-colored bishops it's obvious - if it wasn't already - that the draw is inevitable. In fact, MVL forces it right now.} 28. Re7 Rf7 29. Re8+ Rf8 30. Re7 Rf7 31. Re8+ Rf8 32. Re7 Rf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.26"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E42"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "75"] [GameId "2082917628825077"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,27,26,27,27,5,4,4,33,25,34,14,38,40,47,43,47,13,28,30,134,122,138,16,34,16,13,-10,53,17]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Nge2 d5 6. a3 Ba5 7. dxc5 dxc4 8. Bd2 O-O ({In the previous year's Sinquefield Cup - oddly, again in round 7 - So lost quickly to Caruana. Maybe he'll try something different if he faces 1.d4 in round 7 of next year's Sinquefield Cup?} 8... Nbd7 9. Ng3 b6 10. Qf3 Rb8 11. c6 Ne5 12. Qf4 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 Nxc6 14. Rd1 Qe7 15. Bxc4 b5 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Qd6 e5 18. Bxf7+ Kxf7 19. Qc7+ Qe7 20. Qxc6 Bb7 21. Qxb5 Bxg2 22. Qc4+ Kf8 23. Nf5 Qf6 24. Qc5+ Kg8 25. Qc7 {1-0 Caruana,F (2795)-So,W (2752) Sinquefield Cup 10th Saint Louis 2023 (7)}) 9. Ng3 b6 10. Bxc4 bxc5 11. O-O Nbd7 12. Qc2 Bb7 13. Rfd1 h5 $5 (13... Qe7 $142) (13... Bc7 $142) 14. h3 (14. Nge4 Rb8 15. Rab1 Qc7 16. Ng5 Ba8 17. Bf1 c4 18. Ne2 Rb5 19. Bxa5 Rxa5 20. h4 Rc8 21. Nf4 Nf8 22. Rbc1 Rc5 23. Rd4 c3 24. b4 e5 25. bxc5 exd4 26. Bc4 dxe3 27. fxe3 Qxc5 28. Qxc3 Nd5 29. Bxd5 Qxc3 30. Rxc3 Rxc3 31. Bxa8 Rxe3 32. a4 Nh7 33. Nxh7 Kxh7 34. Nxh5 Kg6 35. g4 Rb3 36. Nf4+ Kh7 37. Be4+ Kg8 38. Kf2 Rb4 39. Ke3 Rxa4 40. Bd5 a5 41. g5 Kf8 42. h5 Ra1 43. g6 fxg6 44. hxg6 Ke7 45. Nh5 Kf8 46. Nf4 Ke7 47. Nh5 Re1+ 48. Kd4 a4 49. Nxg7 Kf6 50. Nh5+ Kxg6 51. Nf4+ Kf5 52. Nd3 Rd1 53. Kc3 a3 54. Ba2 Rxd3+ 55. Kxd3 Ke5 56. Kc3 Kd6 57. Kb3 Kc7 58. Kxa3 {½-½ Giri,A (2764)-Duda,J (2731) Meltwater Tour Final chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (3.2)}) 14... h4 15. Nge4 $14 {White has more active pieces and potential targets on c5 and h4. What's not to like?} Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Bxe4 17. Qxe4 Nf6 18. Qc2 Qb6 $6 (18... Bxd2 19. Rxd2 Qa5 $14) 19. Qa4 $1 $16 Bxd2 20. Rxd2 Rad8 21. Rc2 $1 {Black has three weak(ish) pawns dangling in the air, on h4, c5, and a7. Between them and White's having the better minor piece Black is already in some trouble.} Qb7 $2 (21... g5 22. Rac1 Kg7 $16) 22. Be2 $18 Qe4 23. Rc4 $1 Qf5 24. Rac1 Rd2 25. Rxc5 e5 26. R5c2 Rfd8 27. Qa5 $1 Ne4 28. Bf3 $6 (28. f3 {just ends the game, winning at least a piece for nothing.} Qg5 {is perhaps the only hope, and at first glance} 29. fxe4 Qxe3+ 30. Kh1 Qxe2 {looks like Black has escaped. Only one problem, and it's fatal:} 31. Qxd8+ $1 Rxd8 32. Rxe2 $18) 28... R8d6 {White is still winning with room to spare, but he's not picking up a free piece.} 29. Qb4 $1 {Threatening three pieces.} Rxc2 30. Rxc2 Ng5 31. Qxd6 Nxf3+ 32. gxf3 Qxc2 33. Qb8+ Kh7 34. Qxe5 {What are two pawns between friends?} g6 35. Qd4 {Or three pawns?} Kg8 36. Qd8+ Kg7 37. Qxh4 Qxb2 38. Qd4+ {A very easy win for Abdusattorov. It was his first win of the tournament, and So's first loss, kicking him out of his tie for second place.} 1-0 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.26"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "37"] [GameId "2082917628825078"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,26,25,16,10,25,48,17,35,31,23,-22,-11,33,58,75,60,45,42,46,65,60,52,48,49,49,74,81,65]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bg4 (9... Bf5 {is the main move, played by Nepo himself many times.}) 10. h3 (10. Bxe4 dxe4 11. Rxe4 f5 12. Re6 $1 (12. Re1 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 Qh4 $11 {This double attack is precluded by 10.h3.}) 12... Na6 13. Nbd2 $11 {/?}) 10... Bh5 (10... Bxf3 $2 11. Qxf3 f5 12. Nc3 $16 {/+- Maintaining the knight on e4 isn't worth the bishop pair and the potential weaknesses created by ...f5.}) 11. Bxe4 dxe4 12. Rxe4 Nd7 ({Now there's no point to} 12... f5 {, as after} 13. Re1 $16 {there's no ...Bxf3, ...Qh4 double attack.}) 13. Nc3 $14 {White has a very healthy edge according to the engine, which is not impressed by Black's compensation. On the other hand, it's not as if Nepo couldn't have predicted this position, so he has almost certainly analyzed this position to the point where he's pretty confident in his ability to hold a draw, even if some groveling is required. As we'll see, no groveling was necessary.} h6 14. Re1 (14. Re3 {This is the engine's preference, but at least in correspondence games it hasn't paid off.} Nf6 15. g4 Bg6 16. Ne5 h5 (16... Bc7 17. b3 Bb6 18. Nxg6 fxg6 19. Ne2 h5 20. g5 Nh7 21. f4 Bc7 22. Rg3 Qd7 23. Qd3 Rae8 24. Kg2 Rf5 25. Bd2 Nf8 26. h4 Ne6 27. Rf1 Bb6 28. Re3 Rd8 29. Bc3 Bc7 30. Ref3 b5 31. a4 bxa4 32. bxa4 Qf7 33. R1f2 Qd7 34. a5 Rdf8 35. Bd2 a6 36. Kh2 Re8 37. Bc3 Qf7 38. Kg3 Bb8 39. Bd2 Ba7 40. Qc3 Qd7 41. Be3 Rd8 42. c5 Qd5 43. Qc2 Bb8 44. Kh3 Rdf8 45. Kh2 Kh7 46. Qa4 Re8 47. Ng3 Rff8 48. Qa2 Rd8 49. Qxd5 Rxd5 50. Ne2 Bc7 51. Rf1 Rb8 52. Kg2 Rb2 53. R3f2 Bxa5 54. Ra1 Bd2 {½-½ Saxena,A (2248)-Kayser,P (2283) ICCF izt 08 email ICCF email 2015 [7]}) 17. f4 hxg4 18. hxg4 Bxe5 19. fxe5 Nh7 20. Rg3 f6 21. e6 Qd6 22. Re3 Rae8 23. d5 Ng5 24. dxc6 Qxc6 25. e7 Rf7 26. b3 f5 27. Nd5 f4 28. Re5 Bc2 29. Qf1 Qc5+ 30. Be3 fxe3 31. Nf6+ Rxf6 32. Rxc5 Rxf1+ 33. Kxf1 Bd3+ 34. Kg2 Nf7 35. Rc7 Ne5 36. Re1 e2 37. Kg3 Kf7 38. Kf4 Ke6 39. Rxb7 g5+ 40. Ke3 Rxe7 41. Rxe7+ Kxe7 42. Rh1 a6 43. Rg1 Ke6 {0-1 Heiermann,L (2024)-Rossi,F (2082) EU-ch SC-OR/460 email ICCF email 2021}) 14... f5 $146 15. Qd3 Nc5 {Nepo has been moving instantly, while Pragg has been burning loads of time since 9...Bg4.} 16. Qc2 Nd7 17. Qd3 Nc5 18. Qc2 Nd7 19. Qd3 {And that's all, folks. Nepo finished the game with three extra minutes, at 2:03, while Pragg was down to 43 minutes.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.26"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Ding Liren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2745"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "85"] [GameId "2082917628825079"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,72,27,12,12,12,18,16,18,18,14,-2,18,-12,4,4,-1,-18,-8,-10,-10,-10,-4,-4,3,11,2,-12,-12,-16,8,22,26,13,43,8,70,36,89,12,22,9,43,33,50,50,66,19,21,-14,34,13,60,14,44,22,31,9,45,54,61,76,218,244,243,212,230,211,211,213,213,235,236,233,238]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. a4 a5 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 Qe7 9. O-O g5 10. Bg3 Bg4 (10... Bd7 11. Re1 Rg8 12. d4 Ba7 13. Na3 h5 14. h4 gxh4 15. Bxh4 O-O-O 16. Nc2 Rg4 17. Bb5 exd4 18. cxd4 Rdg8 19. Ne3 Rxh4 20. Nxh4 Nxe4 21. Nef5 Qg5 22. Qf3 d5 23. Rad1 Kb8 24. g3 Nxd4 25. Nxd4 Bxb5 26. Kh2 Bxa4 27. b3 Be8 28. Re2 Bb6 29. Ng2 Bd7 30. Qxf7 Bg4 31. Nf3 Qg7 32. Qxg7 Rxg7 33. Ngh4 Bxf2 34. Rxf2 Nxf2 35. Rxd5 b6 36. Nd4 Kb7 37. Ng2 Ne4 38. Re5 Nd2 39. Nf4 Rd7 40. Nb5 Nf3+ {0-1 Firouzja,A (2759)-Giri,A (2780) FTX Crypto Cup Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2021 (8)}) 11. Nbd2 Ba7 $146 {=} 12. Bb5 O-O {This gives White the option of playing h3, which could have been prevented by} (12... Nh5 {- now} 13. h3 $4 {loses on the spot to} Nxg3 $19) 13. Re1 (13. h3 $14) 13... Nh5 14. Kh1 $6 (14. h3 $142 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 Nxg3 16. Qxg3 Nd8 17. Bc4 Ne6 18. Nf1 $14 {followed by Ne3 (and ultimately Nf5) gives White a small advantage. Black's knight can reach f4, but Black's kingside structure makes a white knight on f5 more threatening than Black's knight on f4.}) 14... Ng7 $11 (14... Qf6 $142 $15 {Not only pressuring f3, but clearing e7 for the c6-knight.}) 15. h3 Bh5 16. Bc4 (16. Qc2 $142) 16... Kh8 17. Bd5 (17. Qb3 $142) 17... Nd8 $11 (17... Qd7 $142 $15) 18. d4 f6 (18... exd4 $6 19. e5 $1 $14 {/?}) 19. Nf1 (19. Bh2 $142) 19... c6 (19... exd4 $142 20. cxd4 Nc6 $15) 20. Ba2 (20. Bb3 {looks more natural.}) 20... Nde6 21. Ne3 Rad8 $6 (21... Bg6 $142 $11) 22. Ng4 $6 (22. Nf5 $14 Nxf5 (22... Qd7) 23. exf5 Ng7 24. Bh2 $1 {keeps the f-pawn alive, and it may be defended in any case with g4.}) 22... Kh7 $11 23. Bb1 $2 (23. Bh2) 23... Bg6 $2 $11 (23... Bxg4 $1 24. hxg4 h5 $1 25. gxh5 Rh8 26. Nh2 Kg8 27. Ng4 Nxh5 28. Bh2 Kg7 $17 {/-+ White is in real trouble here, with Black ready to double rooks on the h-file. Both White bishops look sad, especially the mopey prelate on h2.}) 24. Qd2 Nf4 $2 (24... Qf7 $11) (24... Bh5 $11) 25. Bc2 $2 (25. Bxf4 $1 gxf4 (25... exf4 26. Nh4 $1 gxh4 27. Qxf4 Kh8 $8 28. Qxh6+ Bh7 29. e5 f5 30. Nf6 Rxf6 (30... Ne6 $4 31. Bxf5 $18) 31. Qxf6 $16) 26. Nh4 Ne6 27. Nxg6 Kxg6 28. Nh2 $16 {The knight comes to f3, looking to continue to h4 and f5, and the bishop goes back to a2.}) 25... Qe6 $6 {Ding is down to eight minutes.} (25... Nge6 $142 $11) 26. Rad1 (26. Bxf4 $1 exf4 27. Nh4 $5 gxh4 28. Qxf4 h5 $1 29. Qh6+ Kg8 30. e5 $1 Bxc2 31. exf6 Qf7 32. fxg7 Qxg7 33. Qxh5 Qg6 $8 34. Nh6+ Kh8 35. Nf7+ Kg7 36. Qxg6+ Kxg6 37. Nxd8 Rxd8 $14) 26... h5 27. Ngh2 (27. Ne3 $142 $14) 27... Qf7 $1 {Down to 5:42 on the clock. With all 32 pieces left on the board, a crisis is inevitable. Firouzja has about 38 minutes remaining.} 28. Nf1 {Heading for e3...where he could have been on move 27.} Nfe6 {3:37 left.} (28... Nge6 $142) 29. Ne3 $14 {White will be slightly better against most sensible moves (e.g. 29...Rfe8), but Ding, very short of time, makes the losing move..} exd4 $4 {This is a blunder. Maybe if Black's pawn were on a6 rather than a5 it would be fine - or at least not disastrously bad - but it's not.} 30. cxd4 $18 d5 {The idea behind Black's last move, but Black will have no compensation for the pawn(s) he's surrendering.} (30... Bb6 31. d5 $18) 31. exd5 cxd5 32. Bxg6+ Qxg6 (32... Kxg6 33. Qxa5 b6 34. Qd2 $18) 33. Qxa5 {, hitting a7 and d5. White will be up two pawns for essentially nothing.} Bb8 34. Bxb8 Rxb8 35. Qxd5 {The rest was simple.} Nf4 36. Qb5 g4 37. hxg4 hxg4 38. Nh4 Qg5 39. Nef5 Nxf5 40. Qxf5+ Qxf5 41. Re7+ Kh6 42. Nxf5+ Kg6 43. Nh4+ {This more or less secures victory in the tournament and in the race for the Grand Chess Tour title, especially in combination with Caruana's draw against Gukesh. It's also a worrisome game for Ding's fans ahead of the match with Gukesh in November. Firouzja kept the pressure on Ding, and his response was to make a series of errors, to get into time trouble, and then make a fairly obvious blunder to lose.} 1-0 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.26"] [Round "7.5"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "120"] [GameId "2082917628825080"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,15,25,15,14,11,11,11,11,11,21,16,32,-17,11,-6,19,-13]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 {Black now demonstrates that developing moves are overrated.} a6 5. O-O h6 6. c3 ({Gukesh played this way in the Candidates, too, and it eventually led to an important triumph on the way to tournament victory.} 6. a4 Bc5 7. Be3 d6 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. c3 Re8 10. b4 Bxe3 11. fxe3 Be6 12. b5 Nb8 13. Bxe6 Rxe6 14. Qc2 Nbd7 15. d4 Qe8 16. Rae1 axb5 17. axb5 Ra5 18. c4 Qa8 19. h3 Re8 20. Kh2 b6 21. Rf2 Ra2 22. Qd3 Ra3 23. Qb1 Qa4 24. Nh4 Ra8 25. Nf5 Kf8 26. Ref1 Ra1 27. Qd3 Qb4 28. Rxa1 Rxa1 29. c5 bxc5 30. Nc4 Qe1 31. Re2 Qg1+ 32. Kg3 Nh5+ 33. Kh4 Ndf6 34. Nxh6 Qh2 35. Nf5 Rf1 36. g4 Rxf5 37. exf5 Qg3+ 38. Kg5 Nh7+ {0-1 Vidit,S (2727)-Gukesh,D (2743) Candidates Tournament Toronto 2024 (8)}) 6... d6 7. Re1 {Quite rare. As I mentioned in a somewhat similar situation earlier in the tournament, White typically plays something like Bb3 or a4 when Black seems to be threatening to win the bishop pair with ...Na5.} g5 $146 {Now *this* is the kind of Italian we'd all like to see more of. (At least for now. Give super-GMs and super-computers a few months or years to work on it, and it will eventually lose its luster.)} (7... Na5 $146 {is fine, but leads to some randomness after} 8. Qa4+ c6 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7 10. b4 b5 11. Qxa5 Qxa5 12. bxa5 Be7 {Black will regain the a-pawn (...Bd8xa5) at the cost of a few tempi. It's roughly equal, but a little nicer for White.}) 8. Na3 $146 {No games with this, and no transpositions either. The knight will head for e3 via c2 or (after Bb3) c4, and White chooses this route instead of the usual Nd2-f1-e3 path to keep d2 clear for the other knight (if necessary).} (8. a4 {had been played in all the earlier games.}) 8... Bg7 9. Nc2 b5 $6 $146 (9... Na5 $142 $11 {Just grab it directly.} 10. Bb3 Nxb3 11. axb3 Be6 12. Ne3 O-O 13. Qc2 Nh5 14. Nd2 Nf4 15. Ndf1 d5 16. Ng3 dxe4 17. dxe4 Qd3 18. Qxd3 Nxd3 19. Rd1 Rfd8 20. c4 c6 21. h4 gxh4 22. Ngf1 Bf8 23. Nf5 Nc5 24. Bxh6 Bxh6 25. Nxh6+ Kg7 26. Nf5+ Bxf5 27. exf5 Nxb3 28. Rxd8 Rxd8 29. Ra3 Nd4 30. Ne3 Kf6 31. Ra5 Rg8 32. b4 Nxf5 33. Nxf5 Kxf5 34. b5 axb5 35. cxb5 f6 36. Ra7 Rb8 37. b6 Ke6 38. Ra4 Rd8 39. Kh2 c5 40. Rc4 Rc8 41. Kh3 Kd5 42. Rxh4 c4 43. Rh7 Kc6 44. Rf7 c3 45. Rxf6+ Kb5 46. Re6 Rc5 {0-1 Czernek,T (2302)-Jarocka,L (2143) Bialystok Zamenhof Memorial 41st 2022 (7)}) 10. Bb3 Na5 11. Ne3 Nxb3 12. axb3 $14 {/?} Ng8 $6 {Resetting the board for the next game...or preparing ...Ne7 and ...f5.} (12... Be6) (12... O-O) 13. Nf5 (13. d4 $142 $16) 13... Bxf5 $1 14. exf5 g4 $14 15. Nd2 (15. Nd4 $142) 15... Qg5 $11 {/?} 16. c4 bxc4 $8 17. Nxc4 Qxf5 18. d4 Ne7 19. dxe5 dxe5 20. Ne3 (20. Ra5 Nc6 21. Rc5 Qe6 22. h3 h5 23. Rxc6 Qxc6 24. Nxe5 Bxe5 25. Rxe5+ Kf8 {is *almost* promising for White, but with accurate play Black is alright.} 26. Be3 Rh7 27. hxg4 hxg4 28. Qxg4 Rg7 29. Qh3 Kg8 $1 30. Rh5 f6 $1 $11) 20... Qd7 21. Qxg4 Qxg4 22. Nxg4 f6 23. f4 {Here too Black is *almost* in trouble, but not quite.} h5 24. Nf2 O-O $11 25. Bd2 Rab8 (25... Rfb8) (25... Bh6) 26. Ra3 (26. Rxa6 Rxb3 27. fxe5 Nd5 $1 {Aimed against a possible Bc3.} 28. Ra5 (28. e6 Re8) 28... c6 29. exf6 Bxf6 $11 {The b-pawn will drop and the draw will be inevitable.}) 26... Nf5 (26... Nd5 $142 27. fxe5 fxe5 28. Ne4 Rb6 29. g3 Rfb8 $11) 27. fxe5 fxe5 28. b4 $11 {/?} (28. Rxa6 Rxb3 29. Bc3 $14) 28... Rb6 29. Rh3 h4 (29... Rg6 $1 30. Rxh5 Nd4 $44) 30. Bc3 Re8 (30... Rc6 $1 $11 {/?}) 31. Re4 Rg6 $6 32. Nd3 $6 $14 (32. Rf3 Rg5 33. Nh3 Rh5 34. Nf4 Rg5 35. Nd5 c6 36. Ne3 Nxe3 37. Rfxe3 Rh5 $16 {Black is tied down to his weak e- and h-pawns, and one can't really heap praise on his c- and a-pawns either. He's holding on for now, but hours of misery lie ahead.}) 32... Re7 33. Nc5 Bf6 34. Rf3 Nd6 35. Re2 Nb5 36. h3 Bg7 37. Re4 Bf6 38. Nd3 Reg7 $2 {A big mistake, giving Caruana his one opportunity to win the game and stay in the race for tournament victory and (maybe, but probably not) in the hunt for the overall GCT title.} (38... Nxc3 39. bxc3 Reg7 $14 {was the right way, when White continues to enjoy pressure but nothing tangible.}) 39. Rf2 $2 (39. Rxf6 $1 {wins. For example,} Nxc3 (39... Rxf6 40. Bxe5 Rh6 41. Bxg7 Kxg7 42. Rg4+ Kf6 43. Ne1 $18 {followed by 44.Nf3 and the disappearance of Black's h-pawn.}) (39... Rxg2+ $2 {is a complete non-starter. There's neither an attack nor so much as a whisper of a perpetual check.} 40. Kf1 Rg1+ 41. Ke2 $18) 40. Rxg6 Nxe4 41. Rh6 Re7 42. Rxh4 $18 {and it's not just the extra pawn but the two connected passers that should eventually prove too much for Black.}) 39... Nxc3 40. bxc3 Rg3 $1 $11 {Black has escaped. Caruana gets about as much as he can out of the coming double rook ending, to no avail.} 41. Nxe5 (41. Rxf6 Rxd3 42. Rc4 (42. Rxe5 Rxc3 $11 (42... Rxh3 $11)) (42. Rxh4 Rxc3 43. Rxa6 Rc1+ 44. Kh2 Rc2 45. Rg4 Rxg4 46. hxg4 Rc4 $11) 42... Rdg3 43. Rf2 Rxh3 $11) 41... Bxe5 42. Rxe5 Rxh3 43. Rc5 Rd3 44. Kh2 Rgg3 45. Rc2 h3 46. Rxc7 Kf8 47. gxh3 Rxh3+ 48. Kg2 Ke8 49. c4 Rhg3+ 50. Kf2 Rgf3+ 51. Ke1 Kd8 52. Rg7 Rde3+ 53. Kd1 Rf1+ 54. Kd2 Rb3 55. Ke2 Rh1 56. Rd2+ Kc8 57. Rg8+ Kc7 58. Rg7+ Kc8 59. Rg8+ Kc7 60. Rg7+ Kc8 1/2-1/2