[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.27"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E08"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2830"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "27"]
[GameId "2051051947339647"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,27,25,23,24,0,-7,4,-8,-24,10,9,14,15,30,13,8,11,1,-5,4,-43,-40,-43,-19,-28,-26,-19,-22,-28] Sad to say, this quick repetition with White in a well-known theoretical position is perhaps the highlight of Ding's performance in the classical games in the first half of the tournament.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O c6 7. Qc2 b6 8. Bf4 Bb7 9. Rd1 Nbd7 10. Ne5 Nh5 11. Bd2 Nhf6 12. Bf4 Nh5 13. Bd2 Nhf6 14. Bf4 1/2-1/2
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.27"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Black "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2737"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[GameId "2051051947343744"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,87,23,13,13,-8,-8,6,6,-8,-9,-4,0,7,5,-38,5,-7,20,12,11,17,28,13,30,-12,13,13,24,33,35,16,10,4,-5,-21,3,-17,-31,-28,-19,-25,-17,-7,-14,-19,-16,-6,5,-7,13,18,0,7,-7,0,0,-14,-15,-25,-18,-24,-19,-18,-28,-24,-15,-23,-19,-35,-32,-32,0,-13,19,14,24,-36,-39,-44,0,-26,-30,-53,-21,-26,-14,-50,-26,-26]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Qa4 Bd7 8. dxc5 (8. Qxc4 {is the most popular move, and now Black chooses between 9...cxd4 and 9...b5.}) 8... Bxc5 (8... Na5 {is an important alternative.}) 9. Qxc4 Bb6 (9... Be7 {is far more popular.}) 10. Nc3 Rc8 11. Qh4 Nd5 $146 12. Bg5 f6 13. Bd2 $14 Nxc3 14. Bxc3 O-O 15. Rad1 (15. a4) (15. Rfd1) 15... Qe7 16. Nd2 e5 17. Be4 (17. Nc4 Bd4 18. Bxd4 Nxd4 19. Nxe5 {looks exciting, but} Nxe2+ 20. Kh1 Be6 $11 {seems to neutralize everything and keep the game level.}) 17... g6 18. Nf3 Be6 19. a3 Rc7 20. Rd2 Rd7 21. Rfd1 Rxd2 22. Rxd2 Rd8 {Both Pragg and Firouzja are great fighters, but they probably don't have enough to work with here.} 23. e3 Rxd2 24. Nxd2 Qd8 25. Bf3 Kg7 26. Qa4 Bd5 (26... Nd4 {is cute, though the draw remains inevitable after} 27. exd4 exd4 28. Bb4 a5 $11) 27. Qb5 Ne7 28. Be4 a6 29. Qd3 Bxe4 30. Qxe4 Nd5 31. Qd3 Nxc3 32. Qxc3 Qd5 33. Qc2 f5 34. Qc3 Kf7 35. Kf1 e4 36. Ke1 Ba5 37. b4 Bd8 38. Kd1 Bf6 39. Qc7+ Ke8 40. Qc8+ Ke7 41. Qc7+ Ke8 42. Qc8+ Ke7 43. Qc7+ Ke8 44. Qc8+ 1/2-1/2
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.27"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2794"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[GameId "2051051947343745"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. c3 Bc5 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 (7. b4 {followed by a4 is an important alternative.}) 7... d6 8. h3 (8. Nbd2) 8... Bb6 9. Nbd2 a5 {Nakamura's favorite, seen many times in the database.} (9... Ne7 10. a4 c6 {has been chosen by Carlsen, Caruana, and So, among others.}) 10. Bb5 (10. Nf1) (10. Bb3) 10... Be6 11. a4 (11. Nc4 {was chosen by Nepo against Nakamura a bunch of times (probably all from an online blitz event). Here Nakamura always played 12...Ba7, while just about everyone else has preferred 12...Bc5.}) 11... Nd7 (11... Na7 {is usual, but often as a preamble to a repetition:} 12. Bc4 Nc6 {.}) 12. Nc4 f5 13. exf5 Bxf5 $146 (13... Rxf5 14. Nxb6 Nxb6 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Nd4 exd4 17. Rxe6 Qh4 18. f3 dxc3 19. bxc3 Raf8 20. Re4 Qf6 21. Qe1 Nd5 22. Bd2 Nf4 23. Bxf4 Rxf4 24. Re7 Qg6 25. Kh2 Qxd3 26. Rxc7 Qc2 27. Qe6+ Kh7 28. Rxc6 Rxf3 29. Ra2 Qf5 30. Qxf5+ R3xf5 31. Rxd6 Rc5 32. Rd3 {½-½ Tanti,J (2236)-Nemec,Z (2195) W-ch WS/CCM/B/05 email ICCF email 2019}) 14. d4 e4 15. Nh2 d5 16. Nxb6 Nxb6 17. f3 exf3 $6 (17... Ne7 $142 $11) 18. Qxf3 $14 Ne7 19. Qg3 (19. Ng4 Ng6 20. Nxh6+ $1 gxh6 21. Bxh6 Rf7 22. Re8+ Qxe8 23. Bxe8 Rxe8 24. Rf1 Ree7 25. b3 Be4 26. Qg4 $14) 19... Ng6 20. Rf1 c6 (20... Be4 $142) 21. Rxf5 $1 Rxf5 22. Bd3 $2 {This natural move gives away the advantage.} (22. Ng4 $3 {This gives keeps a clear advantage, though proving it isn't going to be easy:} Kh8 (22... cxb5 $2 23. Nxh6+ Kh7 24. Nxf5 bxa4 25. Qg4 Qf6 26. Qh5+ Kg8 27. Bh6 $1 Rf8 (27... gxh6 $143 28. Rf1 $18) 28. Rf1 $18) 23. Bd3 Qh4 24. Qd6 $1 Qh5 $1 25. Bxh6 $1 Raf8 $1 (25... gxh6 $2 26. Bxf5 Qxf5 27. Nxh6 Qh5 28. Qf6+ Kh7 29. Nf5 Rg8 30. Re1 Nd7 31. Qf7+ Kh8 32. Re8 $1 (32. Qxd7 $2 Nf4 33. Ng3 $1 Qh4 $1 34. Re7 Rxg3 35. Re8+ Rg8 36. Rxg8+ Kxg8 37. Qc8+ $11) 32... Qh7 33. Rxg8+ Qxg8 34. Qxd7 Nf4 35. g3 Nxh3+ 36. Kg2 Nf4+ 37. Kf3 $18) 26. Bc1 $1 (26. Bd2 $2 Nc4 $17) 26... R5f6 27. Nxf6 Qd1+ 28. Kh2 Qxd3 29. Nh5 $16) 22... Qh4 $1 $11 23. Qxg6 Qf2+ 24. Kh1 Qe1+ 25. Nf1 Rxf1+ 26. Bxf1 Qxf1+ 27. Kh2 Qf7 28. Qg3 Kh7 29. Bf4 Re8 30. b3 Re6 1/2-1/2
[Event "12th Norway Armageddon"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.27"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2830"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[GameId "2052299961986251"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 h6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. e4 d6 6. Nge2 Bc5 7. h3 a5 8. O-O Nc6 9. d3 Nh7 10. Kh2 Nf8 11. f4 Ne6 12. f5 Ned4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Rb1 Bd7 15. b3 b5 16. Qg4 Kf8 17. Qh5 f6 18. Qd1 b4 19. Na4 Ba7 20. Bf3 Nxf3+ 21. Rxf3 Qe8 22. g4 Bd4 23. Be3 Bxe3 24. Rxe3 Bxa4 25. bxa4 c5 26. h4 Ke7 27. Rh3 Kd8 28. Qc2 Kc7 29. Rg1 Kb6 30. Rgg3 Qe7 31. Kg2 Rh7 32. Kf2 Rah8 33. Ke1 Qe8 34. Kd1 Ka6 35. Kc1 Kb6 36. Kb2 Ka6 37. Kb3 Kb6 38. Qh2 Qg8 39. Qg2 Qd8 40. Qf3 Qe8 41. Rh1 Qd8 42. Rhg1 Qe8 43. Rh3 Qd8 44. Rgh1 Qg8 45. Qg3 Ka6 46. g5 hxg5 47. hxg5 Rxh3 48. Rxh3 fxg5 49. Rxh8 Qxh8 50. Qxg5 Qh1 51. Kc2 Qa1 52. Qd8 Qc3+ 53. Kb1 Qxd3+ 54. Kb2 Qd4+ 55. Kb1 Qxe4+ 56. Kb2 Qc6 57. Qe7 Qg2+ 58. Kb1 Qe4+ 59. Kb2 Qd4+ 60. Kb1 e4 61. Qd7 Qd3+ 62. Kb2 Qd2+ 63. Kb1 Qd1+ 64. Kb2 Qd2+ 65. Kb1 1/2-1/2
[Event "12th Norway Armageddon"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.27"]
[Round "1.2"]
[White "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Black "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2737"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[GameId "2052299961998540"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c3 c6 4. Qc2 Ne4 5. g3 h6 6. c4 Bf5 7. Qb3 Qb6 8. c5 Qxb3 9. axb3 Na6 10. Bd2 Nxd2 11. Kxd2 Nc7 12. Nc3 g5 13. e3 Bg7 14. b4 a6 15. Bd3 Bg4 16. Ne5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 O-O-O 18. Ne2 Bxe2 19. Kxe2 f6 20. exf6 exf6 21. h4 Kb8 22. hxg5 hxg5 23. Kf3 Ne6 24. Kg4 Ng7 25. Rad1 Rdf8 26. Bf5 Re8 27. Bg6 Ref8 28. Rxh8 Rxh8 29. e4 Rd8 30. Rd3 Kc7 31. Rf3 d4 32. Rxf6 d3 33. Rf7+ Kb8 34. e5 Ne6 35. Kf5 Nd4+ 36. Kf6 d2 37. Bh5 Rh8 38. Bg4 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Armageddon"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.27"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B56"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2794"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[GameId "2052299961998541"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Bb5+ Nbd7 7. Nf5 a6 8. Be2 Nc5 9. Ng3 b5 10. a3 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Be3 Bb7 13. Bf3 g6 14. Qd2 h5 15. Bh6 Re8 16. Rfe1 Ne6 17. Rad1 Nd4 18. Nf5 Nxf5 19. exf5 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Qc8 21. fxg6 fxg6 22. Bg5 Qf5 23. Bxf6 Qxf6 24. Nd5 Qxf3 25. Re3 Qf7 26. Rg3 Bh4 27. Rg2 Kh7 28. Nc3 e4 29. Qe2 Qf3 30. Rxd6 Rad8 31. Rxd8 Rxd8 32. Kf1 Qf4 33. Qe3 Qf3 34. h3 Rd6 35. Rg1 a5 36. b4 axb4 37. axb4 Bf6 38. Qxe4 Rd1+ 0-1
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.28"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C64"]
[WhiteElo "2830"]
[BlackElo "2794"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[GameId "2051051947343746"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,70,21,10,21,29,25,25,16,-13,-7,22,29,53,75,65,65,51,29,43,62,26,26,31,19,21,17,0,-2,-10,-10,-10,-13,-13,-13,-16,-6,-7,-26,-38,-36,-61,-65,-70,-64,-64,-62,-72,-75,-80,-69,-64,-43,-65,-58,-70,-64,-77,-64,-78,-71,-89,-61,-79,-24,-38,5,15,11,6,-20,-22,-21]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Bc5 {Relatively unusual here, not prefaced by 4...Nf6 or 4...b5. Still, it's a reasonably well-known line, used by players like Grischuk, Pragg, and Nakamura himself in a game with Nepo a month or so ago.} 5. c3 Nge7 6. O-O Ng6 7. d4 Ba7 8. Re1 (8. Bg5 {is the main line, and the move used by Nepo as well.} f6 9. Be3 O-O 10. Nbd2 Kh8 11. Re1 exd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 Bxd4 14. cxd4 d5 15. exd5 Qxd5 16. Ne4 Qd8 17. Bc2 f5 18. Nc5 b6 19. Nd3 Bb7 20. Ne5 Qg5 21. d5 Rad8 22. Bb3 c5 23. Nf3 Qh5 24. Ne5 Qg5 25. Nf3 Qh5 26. Ne5 Qg5 27. Nf3 {½-½ Nepomniachtchi,I (2758)-Nakamura,H (2789) Candidates Tournament Toronto 2024 (13.1)}) 8... O-O 9. Be3 (9. Bg5) 9... Qf6 10. Bxc6 exd4 $146 (10... dxc6 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Qxe5 13. Bxa7 Rxa7 14. Nd2 Rd8 15. Qe2 Ra8 16. Nb3 Be6 17. Rad1 h6 18. Nd4 Bd7 19. Rd2 c5 20. Nf3 Qe7 21. Red1 Be6 22. Rxd8+ Rxd8 23. Rxd8+ Qxd8 24. a3 a5 25. h3 b6 26. Qd2 Qe8 27. Qf4 Qb5 28. Qd2 Qe8 29. Qf4 Qc6 30. Qe3 Kf8 31. Qd3 Ke7 32. Ne5 Qd6 33. f4 g5 34. Qxd6+ cxd6 35. Nd3 Bc4 36. Nf2 gxf4 37. Ng4 h5 38. Nf2 Ke6 {0-1 Huschenbeth,N (2605)-Mamedyarov,S (2734) Bundesliga 2324 Germany 2023 (8.4)}) 11. Bxd4 (11. cxd4 dxc6 12. h3 $14) 11... Bxd4 12. Qxd4 Qxd4 13. Nxd4 (13. cxd4 dxc6 14. Nc3 f5 $5 $11) 13... dxc6 $11 {White has nothing.} 14. Nd2 c5 15. Nf5 Be6 16. Nf3 Rad8 17. g3 Rfe8 $15 18. Kg2 f6 19. Re3 (19. b4 $142) (19. b3 $142 {made sense, preparing Rad1 without hanging the a-pawn.}) 19... Nh8 (19... Nf8 $142 20. h3 g6 21. N5h4 h5 $17) 20. h3 g6 21. N5h4 Nf7 $15 22. g4 $1 Bd7 (22... a5 $142 $15 {followed by ...a4 makes it harder for White to neutralize the queenside pressure.}) 23. Rae1 Bc6 24. Kg3 {Now White is just about okay.} Re6 25. b3 Kf8 26. c4 a5 27. a4 $11 b6 28. Ng2 g5 29. R1e2 Rd1 30. Nfe1 Red6 31. Rc3 (31. h4 $142 h6 32. f4 $11) 31... Nd8 (31... Ra1 $142 $15) 32. Ne3 $11 (32. e5 $11) 32... R1d2 33. Rxd2 Rxd2 34. Nf3 Rb2 35. Nd5 Bxd5 1/2-1/2
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.28"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2737"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[GameId "2051051947343747"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Bg4 6. c3 e6 7. Qb3 Qc8 8. h3 Bh5 9. Be2 Be7 10. g4 Bg6 11. Nh4 Be4 12. f3 c4 $1 $146 (12... Bg6 13. Nxg6 hxg6 {½-½ Aronian,L (2782)-Hovhannisyan,R (2622) FIDE Grand Swiss Riga 2021 (4)} 14. dxc5 $14 Bxc5 $6 15. O-O-O $16) 13. Qd1 Nh5 $1 14. gxh5 Bxh4+ 15. Kf1 Bd3 16. Bxd3 cxd3 17. Kg2 Qd8 (17... O-O $1 18. Nf1 e5 $1 19. Bg3 (19. dxe5 Qe6 20. Qxd3 Nxe5 $11) 19... Bxg3 20. Nxg3 f5 $1 21. dxe5 Nxe5 22. f4 Nc4 23. Qxd3 Qe6 $44) 18. Nf1 Qe7 (18... Bg5 $142) 19. Qxd3 $14 Rd8 (19... f5 $142) 20. Rg1 f5 (20... O-O) 21. Kh2 Qf7 (21... Bf6) 22. Nd2 $16 Bf6 23. Bg5 ({It was better to start with} 23. h6 {, as Black will have to spend more time regaining the pawn than in the game.} g6 24. Bg5 Bxg5 25. Rxg5 Qf8 26. f4 Qxh6 27. c4 $16) 23... Qxh5 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Nb3 $6 (25. Rg7 $1 Rd7 26. Rg2 $1 Ne7 27. Rag1 Ng6 28. f4 $14 {/?} (28. Qb5 $14 {/?})) 25... Kf7 $1 $11 26. Nc5 Rdg8 $1 {Black's counterplay on the kingside is fast enough to balance the value of the b-pawn.} 27. Nxb7 Rg6 28. Qb5 Rhg8 $1 29. Nd8+ $1 ({Watch out!} 29. Qxc6 $4 Qxh3+ 30. Kxh3 Rh6#) 29... Rxd8 (29... Nxd8 30. Qd7+ $11) 30. Qxc6 Qxf3 31. Qc7+ Ke8 32. Qxh7 (32. Qxh7 Qf2+ 33. Kh1 Qf3+ 34. Kh2 Qf2+ $11) 1/2-1/2
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.28"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A20"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[GameId "2051051947347844"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,61,13,-20,-29,-36,-27,-30,24,-20,-13,-13,-13,-83,-19,-8,33,38,38,30,28,28,25,27,20,19,19,15,15,15,57,31,64,43,39,39,51,44,44,10,62,9,31,52,64,43,43,-7,37,0,0,0,64,52,79,7,6,4,7,0,0,0,0,-12]} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 d5 (5... Qb6) 6. d3 (6. cxd5) 6... Bc5 7. Nb3 Bb6 (7... Bb4+ {is more common.} 8. Bd2 Bxd2+ 9. Qxd2 dxc4 10. dxc4 Qe7 11. Nc3 {etc.}) 8. cxd5 cxd5 (8... Qxd5 9. O-O Qf5 10. Nc3 exd3 11. e4 Qh5 12. Qxh5 Nxh5 13. Rd1 Nf6 14. Na4 Na6 15. Rxd3 Be6 16. Nxb6 axb6 17. a3 c5 18. Nd2 Nb4 19. Rc3 Na2 20. Rxa2 Bxa2 21. b3 O-O-O 22. e5 Ne8 23. Bh3+ Kc7 24. Bf1 f6 25. e6 Nd6 26. Rc2 Bxb3 27. Nxb3 Rhe8 28. a4 Rxe6 29. a5 c4 30. Bxc4 Nxc4 31. Rxc4+ Rc6 32. Bf4+ Kd7 33. Rb4 bxa5 34. Nxa5 Ra6 35. Rxb7+ Ke8 36. Nb3 Kf8 37. h4 Re8 38. Nd4 Re7 39. Rb8+ Kf7 40. Nf5 Rd7 41. h5 Ra5 42. Nd6+ Ke6 43. Nb5 Kf5 44. Kg2 Kg4 45. h6 g5 46. Be3 Kh5 47. Rb6 Kg6 48. g4 Ra4 49. Kg3 Rb4 50. Kf3 Rd3 51. Rb8 Kxh6 52. Rb6 Kg6 53. Rb8 Rdb3 54. Rg8+ Kf7 55. Rh8 Kg7 {0-1 Ding,L (2805)-Anand,V (2774) Lindores Abbey Stars Cupar rapid 2019 (5)}) (8... exd3 {may be best.}) 9. dxe4 (9. O-O O-O 10. Nc3 {is usual, played in a number of high-level GM games.}) 9... Nxe4 $146 10. O-O O-O 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 $146 (12... Be6 $11 {may be better, even if it was played by a non-GM in a blitz game.} 13. Nd4 Nc6 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. e4 d4 16. Ba3 Rf7 17. cxd4 Nxd4 18. e5 Qc7 19. Bd6 Qc4 20. Kh1 h6 21. Qc1 Qe2 22. Qe1 Qh5 23. f4 Nc2 24. Qd1 Qxd1 25. Raxd1 Ne3 26. Bh3 Nxd1 27. Rxd1 Re8 28. Bg4 g6 29. h4 h5 30. Bf3 Rd7 31. Rb1 Kf7 32. Be2 Rc8 33. Bb5 Rdd8 34. a4 Rc3 35. Kg2 Rdc8 36. Bd7 Rc2+ 37. Kh3 Rc1 38. Rb2 R8c2 39. Rxc2 Rxc2 40. g4 Rc3+ 41. Kg2 hxg4 42. Bb5 Bc5 43. Bb8 a6 44. Be2 Be7 45. Bxg4 Rc8 46. Ba7 Bc5 47. Bxc5 Rxc5 48. h5 gxh5 49. Bxh5+ Ke7 50. Bf3 b6 51. Be2 a5 52. Kf3 Rc3+ {0-1 Jovic,S (2075)-Itgelt,K (2397) Titled Tuesday intern op 22nd Aug Early Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (7)}) 13. Ba3 $146 (13. Qxd5 $14 {was better, putting Black to the test. Black has done poorly in prior games (half a point out of three), but none featured GMs.}) 13... Re8 $11 14. e3 Qf6 15. Qxd5 Qxc3 (15... Be6 $142) 16. Rfc1 (16. Rac1) 16... Qf6 17. Nd2 Be6 18. Qb5 Qh6 {Threatening ...Bxe3.} 19. Bc5 Rad8 20. Ne4 (20. Nb3 $142) 20... Bd5 (20... Qh5 $142 $1) 21. Bxb6 axb6 22. Qxb6 (22. Nf6+ $1) 22... Qg6 23. Nc5 Bxg2 24. Kxg2 Rd2 (24... h5) 25. Rd1 (25. Nb3 $142) 25... Rc2 (25... Re2 $142 {was better, the point being that after} 26. Qxb7 {Black can play} R8xe3 $11 {without worrying about a back rank mate.}) 26. Rac1 $14 Rxa2 27. Qb1 $6 (27. Qxb7 $14 {was better, again, putting Pragg to the test. Of course he has compensation after} Qf5 28. Nd3 $14 {, but is it enough, and will he be able to maintain it?}) 27... Qxb1 28. Rxb1 Rxe3 $11 29. Ra1 Ree2 30. Rxa2 Rxa2 31. Nxb7 1/2-1/2
[Event "12th Norway Armageddon"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.28"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C70"]
[WhiteElo "2830"]
[BlackElo "2794"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[GameId "2052299962002638"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Bc5 5. O-O Nge7 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. d4 b5 8. Bb3 Bxd4 9. Qxd4 d6 10. c3 O-O 11. Bf4 c5 12. Qd1 Bb7 13. Re1 Qc7 14. Bc2 Rad8 15. Nd2 Qc8 16. Qh5 Rfe8 17. Rad1 N7g6 18. Bg3 c4 19. Nf1 Nd3 20. Bxd3 cxd3 21. Rxd3 Rxe4 22. Rxe4 Bxe4 23. Rd4 Bb7 24. Qd1 h6 25. Rxd6 Rxd6 26. Qxd6 Kh7 27. Ne3 Qe8 28. Qd4 Qc6 29. f3 Qe6 30. b3 Ne7 31. Qd3+ Qg6 32. Qxg6+ Kxg6 33. Kf2 Nd5 34. Nd1 f6 35. Ke2 Kf7 36. Kd3 Ke6 37. Kd4 Ne7 38. Kc5 Kd7 39. Ne3 h5 40. c4 bxc4 41. bxc4 g5 42. Kb6 Bc6 43. Be1 h4 44. h3 Ng6 45. Bc3 f5 46. Nxf5 Nf4 47. Ne3 Ba4 48. Bf6 Ne6 49. Kxa6 Kd6 50. Kb6 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Armageddon"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.28"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A06"]
[WhiteElo "2737"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[GameId "2052299962002639"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 Bf5 3. Bb2 Nf6 4. g3 c5 5. d3 Nc6 6. Nh4 Bd7 7. Bg2 e5 8. e4 Bg4 9. Qc1 Be7 10. Nc3 d4 11. Ne2 g6 12. h3 Be6 13. Nf3 Nd7 14. h4 h6 15. Qd1 Nf6 16. c3 Ng4 17. cxd4 cxd4 18. a3 a5 19. Rc1 Rc8 20. Nd2 O-O 21. Bh3 b5 22. Nf3 Bd6 23. Qd2 Kh7 24. Rc2 Qf6 25. Neg1 Kg8 26. Kf1 h5 27. Kg2 Bxb3 28. Rc1 b4 29. a4 Ne7 30. Ne2 Rc3 31. Nxc3 dxc3 32. Bxc3 bxc3 33. Qxc3 Bxa4 34. Qxa5 Bd7 35. Qa7 Bc8 36. Rhf1 Bb4 37. Ng5 Bd2 38. Rc7 Re8 39. Nf3 Bb4 40. Qa4 Nc6 41. Qxc6 Qxc6 42. Rxc6 Bd7 43. Rc7 Be6 44. Ng5 Bb3 45. Rb7 Bc5 46. Rxb3 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Armageddon"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.28"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[GameId "2052299962006736"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 d4 5. O-O c5 6. e3 Nc6 7. d3 Be7 8. exd4 cxd4 9. Re1 O-O 10. Na3 h6 11. Bf4 Bc5 12. Nc2 Nd7 13. a3 a5 14. b3 Re8 15. Bd2 e5 16. b4 Bd6 17. c5 Bf8 18. Rc1 axb4 19. axb4 Rb8 20. Na3 b5 21. Nxb5 Ba6 22. Nd6 Bxd6 23. cxd6 Nxb4 24. Qa4 Nxd3 25. Qxa6 Nxe1 26. Rxe1 Rb6 27. Qa3 Qf6 28. Nxd4 Rxd6 29. Nf3 Nb6 30. Bb4 Rde6 31. Nd2 Qg6 32. Ne4 Nd5 33. Nd6 Nxb4 34. Nxe8 Nc2 35. Qa8 Kh7 36. Be4 f5 37. Bxc2 Rxe8 38. Qd5 e4 39. Kg2 Qf6 40. Rb1 Re5 41. Qd4 Qe7 42. Rb3 Rc5 43. Bd1 Rc6 44. Be2 Rd6 45. Qc5 Qf6 46. Qe3 Rc6 47. h4 Rc2 48. h5 Qe5 49. Rb5 Qf6 50. Bf1 Qf7 51. Qf4 Qxh5 52. Rxf5 Qe8 53. Re5 Qc8 54. Qxe4+ 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.29"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2830"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[GameId "2051051947347845"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,73,13,25,56,48,65,28,40,34,89,49,53,92,75,44,66,48,61,38,37,26,73,20,22,24,9,19,64,39,39,16,46,1,18,34,31,27,27,75,75,75,81,66,60,88,48,80,79,16,21,-10,-5,-10,-10,0,12,16,0,25,49,59,252,296,166,257,117,160,180,350,366,359,601,703,690,822]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 {Carlsen has played this a few times in recent years.} 5. Bd3 Qc7 (5... Bc5 {is the hottest move, and one Caruana used to play on a regular basis.}) 6. O-O Nf6 7. Qe2 d6 8. c4 {White's ability to set up the Maroczy Bind in many Kan lines is probably the main reason why Black more often prefers the Kan's "cousin", the Taimanov.} Nbd7 9. Nc3 Ne5 10. h3 (10. f4 {could be played immediately.} Qb6 $5 (10... Nxd3 11. Qxd3 $14) 11. Be3 Neg4 12. Na4 Qa5 13. Bc2 Nxe3 14. Qxe3 $14 {/?}) 10... b6 ({It was better to get the king out of Dodge:} 10... Be7 11. f4 Nxd3 12. Qxd3 O-O) 11. f4 Nxd3 12. Qxd3 Bb7 $146 13. f5 $14 {Believe it or not, Black is already on the edge.} Qd7 $2 (13... e5 {had to be played, despite the ugly hole on d5 and the backward pawn on d6.} 14. Nc2 Rc8 $1 {Not giving White time to play Bg5 before bringing the knight to e3.} 15. Ne3 $14 {White is very comfy, with Rd1 coming next. Black has a fight ahead of him to keep the disadvantage manageable.} (15. b3 b5)) 14. Bg5 Be7 15. Rad1 $16 {/+-} Rc8 (15... O-O $142) 16. Qe2 $1 $18 {White threatens 17.e5, which will be devastating if allowed.} e5 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Nc2 {White gets the big clamp on d5, along with continued kingside attacking chances and a host of weak Black pawns on the queenside to pursue. Even a Magnus Carlsen cannot save this.} Qc6 19. Ne3 Bg5 20. Kh1 $6 {This makes Pragg's job much tougher than it needed to be. To his credit, he played terrifically after this error.} (20. Ned5 $1 Qxc4 21. Qg4 {was even better, with devastation to come on all sectors of the board.}) 20... Bxe3 21. Qxe3 f6 22. b3 b5 23. Nd5 Qc5 (23... bxc4 24. Qf3 $1) 24. Qf3 bxc4 25. Qh5+ Kf8 26. Rf3 $1 Bxd5 (26... cxb3 27. Rxb3 Bxd5 28. Rxd5 Qc7 29. Rdd3 Qc6 30. Rd1 $1 Ke7 31. Rdb1 $18) 27. Rxd5 Qb6 28. bxc4 Rxc4 29. Rb3 Rb4 30. Rdd3 $1 Rxb3 31. Rxb3 Qc7 32. Qd1 $1 {Very good: the queen prevents any ...Qc1+, ...Qf4+ nonsense while preparing the crushing idea of Qb1 followed by the rook's invasion.} g6 33. Qb1 Qc5 34. Rb7 $1 gxf5 35. Kh2 $1 {A wonderful, precise move, allowing the queen to go to b3 without allowing any ...Qc1+, ...Qf4+ ideas.} Rg8 36. Qb3 d5 37. Rxh7 {Black cannot cover all the entry points, and he has no counterplay of his own.} (37. Rb8+ {also did the job:} Kg7 (37... Kf7 38. Qb7+ $18) (37... Ke7 38. Rxg8) 38. Qg3+ $18) 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.29"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[GameId "2051051947347846"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,61,13,25,25,25,13,13,12,12,4,-3,25,-8,2,-6,-9,-4,-6,-25,-9,-26,-20,-18,1,-27,-43,-47,-43,-55,-36,-38,-39,-45,-4,-5,4,9,16,5,2,-11,38,22,32,54,64,36,48,59,71,24,71,71,124,102,136,124,269,251,312,236,407,402]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. Nbd2 d6 7. c3 a5 8. h3 h6 9. Re1 Be6 10. Bb5 Qb8 {Ding has had this position a bunch of times, doing fine with it up through 2022 but less fine - true of his chess in general - this year. I've included all those earlier games so that those looking for an implicit primer on one of the (seemingly countless) Giuoco lines can have one.} 11. Re2 {A rare move, and one Ding hasn't yet faced.} (11. Nf1 Qa7 12. d4 (12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Nxe3 Ne7 14. a4 Ng6 15. d4 (15. Bc4 Bxc4 16. Nxc4 Rfe8 (16... Qa6 17. g3 Rfe8 18. Qb3 Nf8 19. Qb5 Ne6 20. d4 exd4 21. cxd4 Qxb5 22. axb5 b6 23. Ncd2 a4 24. Nb1 d5 25. exd5 Ng5 26. Rxe8+ Rxe8 27. Nbd2 Nxf3+ 28. Nxf3 Re2 29. Rxa4 Rxb2 30. Ra8+ Kh7 31. Ne5 Rxb5 32. Nxf7 Rxd5 33. g4 g5 34. Rc8 Rxd4 35. Rxc7 Rd7 36. Rxd7 Nxd7 37. Nd6 Kg6 38. Kg2 Ne5 39. Kg3 Nd3 40. f3 h5 41. h4 hxg4 42. fxg4 gxh4+ 43. Kxh4 Ne5 44. Kg3 {½-½ Carlsen,M (2837)-Ding,L (2774) Saint Louis Carlsen-Ding Showdown G20 rapid 2017 (3)}) 17. Qc2 Qa6 18. g3 Rad8 19. Ne3 c6 20. Kg2 d5 21. Nf5 b6 22. Re2 Qc8 23. Rae1 Qe6 24. N3h4 Nxh4+ 25. Nxh4 dxe4 26. dxe4 g6 27. Nf3 Kg7 28. Rd1 Rxd1 29. Qxd1 b5 30. Qc2 Nd7 31. b4 Ra8 32. axb5 cxb5 33. bxa5 Rxa5 34. Qb2 Nf6 35. Qb4 Qc4 36. Rb2 Qxb4 37. Rxb4 Nd7 38. c4 bxc4 39. Rxc4 Nf6 40. Rb4 Rc5 41. Ra4 Rb5 {½-½ Leko,P (2663)-Ding,L (2791) Legends of Chess Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2020 (9.2)}) 15... Nxe4 16. Bd3 Nf6 17. Bxg6 fxg6 18. dxe5 dxe5 19. Nxe5 g5 20. Nc2 Rad8 21. Nd4 c5 22. Ng6 Rfe8 23. Rxe6 Rxe6 24. Qb3 cxd4 25. Qxe6+ Kh7 26. Qf5 dxc3 27. bxc3 Qa6 28. c4 Kg8 29. Ne7+ Kh8 30. Ng6+ Kg8 31. Ne7+ Kh8 32. Rb1 Qxc4 33. Ng6+ Kg8 34. Rxb7 Qe4 35. Ne7+ Kh8 36. Ng6+ Kg8 37. Ne7+ Kh8 38. Qxe4 Nxe4 39. f3 Nc5 40. Ra7 Nxa4 41. Nf5 Nb6 42. Rxg7 a4 43. Rg6 a3 44. Rxh6+ Kg8 45. Rxb6 a2 46. Ra6 Rd1+ 47. Kh2 a1=Q 48. Rxa1 Rxa1 49. h4 gxh4 50. Nxh4 Kg7 51. g4 Kf6 52. Kg3 Ra3 53. Ng2 Kg5 54. Nf4 Rb3 55. Nh3+ Kg6 56. Nf2 Ra3 57. Ne4 Rb3 58. Kf4 Ra3 59. Nd6 Rb3 60. Nf5 Rb4+ 61. Kg3 Rb3 62. Nd4 Ra3 63. Kh4 Rd3 64. Nc6 Kf6 65. f4 Rd1 66. Ne5 Rh1+ 67. Kg3 Rg1+ 68. Kf2 Ra1 69. Nf3 Ra3 70. Nh4 Ra2+ 71. Kg3 Ra3+ 72. Kg2 Ra2+ 73. Kg3 Ra3+ 74. Nf3 Rb3 75. Kf2 Ra3 76. Nd4 Kg6 77. Nc6 Kf6 78. Ne5 Rb3 79. Kg2 Ra3 80. Nc4 Ra4 81. Ne3 Rxf4 82. Nd5+ Kg5 83. Nxf4 Kxg4 {½-½ So,W (2773)-Ding,L (2808) Chess.com Rapid Losers Chess.com INT 2022 (4.1)}) (12. Re2 a4 13. Ng3 Qa5 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Bd2 Bb6 16. Qc2 Kh7 17. c4 Qa7 18. Bc3 Ng8 19. Rd2 c5 20. Rf1 c6 21. Nh2 f6 22. Re2 Qd7 23. Bd2 g5 24. Rb1 Ne7 25. b4 axb3 26. Rxb3 Bc7 27. Be3 Qe8 28. Rb7 Qd8 29. Qd1 Bc8 30. Rb3 Qe8 31. Reb2 Qg6 32. Nhf1 Rf7 33. Qe2 Kg8 34. Bd2 f5 35. exf5 Nxf5 36. Nxf5 Bxf5 37. Ng3 Bc8 38. Be3 Kg7 39. Nh5+ Kg8 40. Ng3 Kg7 41. Nh5+ Kg8 {½-½ Duda,J (2750)-Ding,L (2806) Candidates Tournament Madrid 2022 (2)}) (12. Qd2 Rad8 13. Ng3 Ne7 14. d4 Bb6 15. Qc2 Ng6 16. Be3 c6 17. Bd3 Rfe8 18. Qd2 d5 19. Bxh6 dxe4 20. Nxe4 Nxe4 21. Rxe4 Bd5 22. Rg4 e4 23. Nh4 exd3 24. Nf5 Be6 25. Bxg7 Bxf5 26. Qh6 Re6 27. Bh8 {1-0 Anand,V (2767)-Ding,L (2805) Norway Chess Armageddon 7th Stavanger blitz 2019 (4)}) 12... exd4 13. Bxc6 dxc3 14. Ba4 Bxf2+ 15. Kh2 Bxe1 (15... d5 16. e5 Ne4 17. Be3 c5 18. Bxf2 Nxf2 19. Qc2 cxb2 20. Rab1 c4 21. Qxb2 Nd3 22. Qc3 Nxe1 23. Rxe1 Qc5 24. Rb1 Bf5 25. Rb5 Qc7 26. Ne3 Be4 27. Nd2 Rae8 28. Nxe4 Qxe5+ 29. Qxe5 Rxe5 30. Bc2 f5 31. Nxc4 Re7 32. Rxd5 fxe4 33. Ne3 b6 34. Rb5 Rb8 35. Nf5 Rc7 36. Bxe4 Rc5 37. Rb3 Re5 38. Bd3 Rd8 39. Ng3 Rd4 40. Be2 Rb4 41. Rd3 b5 42. Bh5 Kh7 43. Rd6 Rg5 44. Be2 Kg8 45. Bd3 Kf8 46. Nf5 Rb2 47. Be4 g6 48. Rf6+ Ke8 49. Bc6+ Kd8 50. Nd4 Ke7 51. Re6+ Kf7 52. Rd6 Rxa2 53. Nxb5 Rb2 54. Rd7+ Kf6 55. Nc3 Ke6 56. Rd3 h5 57. Bd5+ Ke7 58. Bf3 Re5 59. Rd4 Kf8 60. Rd8+ Kg7 61. Ra8 Rf5 62. Be4 Rg5 63. Ra7+ Kh6 64. Ra6 Rd2 65. Bf3 Rf5 66. Be4 Rg5 67. h4 Rg4 68. Kh3 Rd4 69. Bf5 Rxh4+ 70. Kg3 Kg5 71. Bxg6 Rhg4+ 72. Kh2 a4 73. Bh7 h4 74. Rg6+ Kh5 75. Re6 a3 76. Bf5 Rg5 77. Be4 Ra5 78. Bf3+ Kg5 79. Re2 Rd3 80. Rc2 Rxc3 81. Rxc3 a2 82. Rc1 a1=Q 83. Rxa1 Rxa1 84. Bc6 Kf4 85. Bb7 Rc1 86. Bd5 Rc2 87. Be6 Rc3 88. Bd7 Rg3 89. Bh3 Ke3 90. Kg1 Ke2 91. Bc8 Ra3 92. Bg4+ Ke3 93. Kh2 Kf2 94. Bf3 Ra1 95. Bb7 Ra7 96. Bd5 Ke3 97. Bc6 Kf4 98. Bd5 Ra3 99. Be6 Rg3 100. Bh3 Ke3 101. Kg1 Rg7 102. Be6 Re7 103. Bh3 Rc7 104. Be6 Rc6 105. Bd7 Rd6 106. Bc8 Rd8 107. Be6 Rd6 {½-½ Anand,V (2767)-Ding,L (2805) Norway Chess 7th Stavanger 2019 (4)}) 16. Qxe1 d5 17. Be3 Qa6 18. e5 Ne4 19. bxc3 Qc4 20. Bb3 Qxc3 21. N1d2 a4 22. Rc1 Qa5 23. Bc2 Bf5 24. Qh4 Rfe8 25. Qf4 Bg6 26. Nxe4 dxe4 27. Bxe4 Bxe4 28. Qxe4 c6 29. a3 Re6 30. Rc4 Qd5 31. Qxd5 cxd5 32. Rd4 Rb6 33. Rxd5 Rb3 34. Bc5 Rb5 35. Nd4 Rba5 36. Nf5 Kh7 37. Ne7 Rb5 38. Bb4 Rxd5 39. Nxd5 Re8 40. Bd6 Ra8 41. Kg3 Ra6 42. Nb4 Rb6 43. Kf4 f6 44. Ke4 fxe5 45. Kd5 Rb5+ 46. Kc4 Ra5 47. Bc7 Ra8 48. Bxe5 g5 49. Nd5 h5 50. g3 Kg6 51. h4 Kf5 52. Bf6 Rc8+ 53. Kb4 Ke6 54. Ne7 gxh4 55. gxh4 Rc1 56. Bg5 Rb1+ 57. Kxa4 b5+ 58. Ka5 Rb3 59. Kb6 Rxa3 60. Kxb5 {½-½ Alekseenko,K (2671)-Ding,L (2811) FIDE World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk 2019 (4.2)}) (11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. d4 exd4 13. cxd4 Bb4 (13... Bb6 14. a4 (14. b3 Re8 15. Bb2 d5 16. e5 Nd7 17. Nf1 c5 18. Ng3 cxd4 19. Nxd4 Bxd4 20. Qxd4 c5 21. Qd2 a4 22. f4 d4 23. bxa4 Rxa4 24. Qf2 f5 25. exf6 Nxf6 26. Re5 Bd5 27. Rxe8+ Qxe8 28. Re1 Qd7 29. a3 Ra8 30. Qc2 Rb8 31. Ba1 Rb3 32. Kh2 Qd6 33. Re5 Rb7 34. Nf5 Qf8 35. Qe2 Kh8 36. a4 Rb1 37. Bb2 Qb8 38. Ba3 Ra1 39. Qd3 Ra2 40. Nh4 c4 41. Qg3 c3 42. Qg6 Rxa3 43. Nf5 Qf8 44. Ne7 Bf7 {0-1 Hansen,E (2606)-Ding,L (2799) Charity Cup Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (2)}) 14... Re8 (14... Qa7 15. Nf1 d5 16. Ng3 dxe4 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. Rxe4 Rae8 19. Ra3 Bd5 20. Rg4 Re4 21. Rg3 Bxd4 22. Nxd4 Qxd4 23. Qxd4 Rxd4 24. Bxh6 Kh7 25. Bxg7 Rd1+ 26. Kh2 Re8 27. Rg5 Ree1 28. Bf6 Kh6 29. Rg4 Kh5 30. Re3 Rxe3 31. fxe3 Rd2 32. e4 Be6 33. Rg5+ Kh6 34. Rxa5 Kg6 35. Bc3 Re2 36. Rc5 Rxe4 37. a5 Bd5 38. a6 Re2 39. Kg3 Rxg2+ 40. Kf4 Re2 41. a7 Re8 42. Ra5 Ra8 43. Bd4 c5 44. Rxc5 c6 45. Rxd5 cxd5 46. b4 {1-0 Wang,H (2702)-Ding,L (2780) Chengdu Chess King rapid 2024 (3.2)}) 15. Ra3 Qa7 16. Nf1 d5 17. e5 Ne4 18. N1d2 Bf5 19. Re2 Rad8 20. Nb3 c5 21. dxc5 Bxc5 22. Nxc5 Qxc5 23. Nd4 Bd7 24. Bf4 Qe7 25. Nb5 Bxb5 26. axb5 Ng5 27. Rxa5 Ne6 28. Bd2 d4 29. Ra3 Qc5 30. Rg3 d3 31. Re1 Qxb5 32. Qh5 Qxb2 33. Bxh6 d2 34. Rd1 Rd5 35. Bxg7 Nxg7 36. Rxg7+ Kxg7 37. Qg5+ Kf8 38. Qh6+ Kg8 39. Qg5+ Kf8 40. Qh6+ Ke7 41. Qf6+ Kf8 42. Qh6+ Kg8 {½-½ Nakamura,H (2760)-Ding,L (2806) Candidates Tournament Madrid 2022 (6)}) 14. a3 Bxd2 15. Nxd2 Re8 16. b3 d5 17. e5 Nd7 18. Qh5 c5 19. Re3 f5 20. exf6 Bf7 21. Qh4 Rxe3 22. fxe3 Qe8 23. Nf3 Nxf6 24. dxc5 Bg6 25. Bb2 Qxe3+ 26. Kh2 Rf8 27. Bd4 Qxb3 28. Ne5 Be4 29. Ng4 Qc2 30. Rg1 Nxg4+ 31. Qxg4 Rf7 32. Rf1 Bf5 33. Qf4 Qe2 34. Rf2 Qe6 35. Qe5 Qxe5+ 36. Bxe5 c6 37. g4 Be4 38. Rxf7 Kxf7 39. h4 g6 40. Kg3 Ke6 41. Bd4 h5 42. gxh5 gxh5 43. Kf4 a4 {½-½ Giri,A (2797)-Ding,L (2809) Shenzhen Du Te Cup 3rd 2019 (8)}) (11. Nh4 a4 (11... Ne7 12. Ndf3 c6 13. Ba4 Qc7 14. d4 Ba7 15. Bc2 Rad8 16. Be3 d5 17. exd5 exd4 18. Nxd4 Bxd5 19. Qe2 Rfe8 20. Rad1 Bb8 21. g3 c5 22. Nb5 Qc8 23. c4 Bc6 24. Rxd8 Rxd8 25. Kh2 Re8 26. Qd2 Qd7 27. Bxh6 gxh6 28. Qxh6 Ng6 29. Nf5 Nh5 30. Rxe8+ Qxe8 31. Qxh5 Qe1 32. Nh6+ Kf8 33. Qxc5+ Ne7 {0-1 Bacrot,E (2718)-Ding,L (2778) CHN-ROW Summit Liaocheng rapid 2018 (5.3)}) 12. Nf5 Re8 13. Nc4 Bxf5 14. exf5 Qa7 15. Qf3 e4 16. dxe4 Ne5 17. Nxe5 Rxe5 18. Bd3 d5 19. Bf4 dxe4 20. Bxe4 Rxe4 21. Rxe4 Nxe4 22. Qxe4 Bxf2+ 23. Kh2 Qb6 24. Rd1 Qxb2 25. f6 Qxc3 26. fxg7 Qc6 27. Qf5 Re8 28. Bxh6 Qxh6 29. Qxf2 Qg5 30. Kh1 Re4 31. Rf1 Qe7 32. Qd2 Kxg7 33. Qb2+ Qe5 34. Qxb7 Re1 35. Qf3 Rxf1+ 36. Qxf1 c5 37. Qc4 Qe1+ 38. Kh2 Qb4 39. Qd3 a3 40. Qg3+ Kh7 41. Qd3+ Kg7 42. Qg3+ Kh7 43. Qd3+ Kg7 {½-½ Nepomniachtchi,I (2774)-Ding,L (2805) Sinquefield Cup 7th Saint Louis 2019 (6)}) 11... Qa7 12. Bxc6 $146 (12. Ba4 Rab8 13. Nf1 b5 14. Bb3 a4 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. Rxe3 d5 18. Ng3 b4 19. Re2 bxc3 20. bxc3 a3 21. Rb1 Rxb1 22. Qxb1 Rb8 23. Qc1 Qa6 24. Rd2 Rb5 25. Kh2 Qa5 26. exd5 exd5 27. d4 Ne4 28. Nxe4 dxe4 29. Nxe5 Nxe5 30. dxe5 Rxe5 31. Rd4 Re8 32. Qe3 Qe5+ 33. g3 Qe6 34. c4 Qb6 35. Kg2 Qb2 36. Rd2 Qb4 37. Rc2 Qb1 38. Rd2 Qb4 39. Rd4 Qb2 40. Rd2 {½-½ Vachier Lagrave,M (2789)-Nakamura,H (2769) Paris GCT rapid 2018 (5)}) 12... bxc6 $11 13. a4 Nd7 14. Nf1 d5 {A very sharp move, destabilizing the board for both players.} (14... f5 {is also sharp but otherwise very different.} 15. exf5 Bxf5 16. d4 exd4 17. cxd4 Bb4 18. d5 $11) 15. d4 exd4 $6 (15... dxe4 $142 16. Rxe4 (16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Rxe4 Bxd4 18. cxd4 Ng6 19. Ra3 Rad8 $11) 16... exd4 17. Nxd4 Nf6 $11) 16. Nxd4 $14 Qb6 17. Be3 Bxd4 18. Bxd4 $1 Qb7 19. exd5 cxd5 20. Ng3 {Objectively, Black's position isn't so bad; practically, it's another matter. White has ideas like f4-f5, Nh5-f4, and especially Bxg7 followed by Nh5(+). Black's pieces are not well suited to fighting against this, especially with the queen stranded on the queenside.} Rae8 21. Qd2 (21. f4 $142 f6 22. Qd2 $14) 21... c5 22. Be3 {Now Bxh6 is on the radar. Black does have one equalizer, and I think pre-world championship Ding would have found it.} Kh7 (22... Bxh3 $3 23. Bxh6 $1 (23. gxh3 Ne5 24. Kf1 {Surprisingly, the only move that doesn't lose.} Qd7 25. Kg2 {Likewise.} Ng6 (25... d4 26. cxd4 Nf3 27. Qxa5 Nh4+ 28. Kh2 $8 Nf3+ 29. Kg2 $8 Nh4+ $11) 26. Rh1 {Best.} d4 27. cxd4 f5 28. f4 cxd4 29. Qxd4 Qxd4 30. Bxd4 Nxf4+ 31. Kf2 Nxe2 32. Nxe2 Re4 $11) 23... Rxe2 24. Qxe2 Be6 $11) 23. Rae1 $14 Qc6 $2 (23... Qb3 $14) 24. Bf4 $2 $14 (24. b4 $1 cxb4 25. cxb4 axb4 26. Bd4 f6 27. a5 Bf7 28. Qxb4 $16) 24... Qxa4 25. Nf5 {A critical moment.} Qc6 $2 (25... Rg8 $1 {had to be played.} 26. Nd6 Ref8 27. Qd3+ Kh8 {Black's position is uncomfortable but tenable.}) 26. Nxg7 $1 $18 Kxg7 27. Bxh6+ Kh7 28. Bxf8 Rxf8 (28... Nxf8 29. Qg5 Qd7 30. f4 f5 31. Re3 $18 {There's no immediate win, but Black won't be able to keep White's forces at bay for very long.}) 29. Qg5 {Re3-g3 ideas are coming, and f4-f5 is another problem for Black.} Re8 30. c4 Rb8 31. Rxe6 $1 (31. Rxe6 $1 fxe6 32. Qe7+ Kh8 33. Rxe6 $18 {White mates or wins Black's queen.}) 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.29"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D33"]
[WhiteElo "2794"]
[BlackElo "2737"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[GameId "2051051947347847"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,64,13,13,24,-4,6,4,23,14,35,30,30,-30,25,8,25,14,16,16,16,26,30,34,23,23,14,21,7,21,-13,-30,-9,2,53,28,4,23,22,15,42,10,23,7,9,11,4,0,4,4,11,-2,-3,-3,-3,-3,27,17,0,17,15,1,1,1,1,0,0]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 {While this move was first played more than 100 years ago, Daniil Dubov put this on the map a few years back with some terrific ideas. It's remarkable, really: one of Black's main ideas is to go into a pawn down ending where White has no king safety issues and no weaknesses to speak of, and yet it's almost impossible for him to garner serious winning chances.} 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. O-O d4 11. Na4 O-O 12. Bg5 h6 (12... Re8 13. Re1 h6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Nxb6 axb6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Qxd4 Qd8 $3 {is probably my favorite idea in the Dubov Tarrasch.}) 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Rc1 ({The more common approach has been} 14. Nxb6 axb6 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Qxd4 Rd8 17. Qxf6 gxf6 18. Rfd1 (18. Rfc1 {is another try, but Black has been fine here as well after} Be6 19. Kf1 Ra4 20. Ke1 Rda8 21. Rc3 Rxa2 22. Rxa2 Rxa2 23. Nc1 Rxb2 24. Rxc6 {and here too we have three draws in three outings.}) 18... Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Be6 {, but since White never wins here (16 games, 16 draws) it's not surprising that alternatives like 14.Rc1 are gaining attention.} 20. Nc1 Bxa2 21. Nxa2 Rxa2 22. Rd6 Kg7 23. Rxc6 Rxb2 $11) 14... Re8 15. h3 (15. Nac5 Bg4) 15... Bf5 (15... h5 $5 $146) 16. Nbc5 Bxc5 $146 (16... Rac8 17. Nxb7 Nb4 18. a3 Nc2 19. Qd2 Qe7 20. b4 Nxa3 21. Nbc5 Nb5 22. Rfe1 Red8 23. e4 Bd7 24. Qd3 Bc6 25. e5 Bxg2 26. Kxg2 Qe8 27. e6 Qc6+ 28. Kg1 Re8 29. exf7+ Kxf7 30. Qc4+ Kg6 31. Qd3+ Kf7 32. Qc4+ Kg6 33. Qc2+ Kf7 34. Qc4+ {½-½ Iturrizaga Bonelli,E (2607)-Abdusattorov,N (2627) Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup Qual-F chess24.com INT 2020 (1.4)}) 17. Nxc5 b6 18. Nd3 (18. Qa4 Rac8 19. Nd3 Ne5 $11) 18... Be4 19. Bxe4 Rxe4 20. Qc2 Re6 21. Nf4 Rd6 22. Qe4 Rad8 {It's not clear if the pawn on d4 should be classified as a weakness; in any case, White isn't going to win it. The position is equal, and the players soon agree it's time to head for Armageddon.} 23. Rfd1 g5 24. Nd3 Re6 25. Qg4 Ne5 26. Nxe5 Qxe5 27. Rc2 Qf6 28. h4 Rde8 29. hxg5 hxg5 30. Rxd4 Rxe2 31. Rxe2 Rxe2 32. Qxe2 Qxd4 1/2-1/2
[Event "12th Norway Armageddon"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.29"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D12"]
[WhiteElo "2794"]
[BlackElo "2737"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[GameId "2052299962006737"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6 8. Bd2 Be7 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. Qc2 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Nd5 12. O-O-O Nd7 13. Kb1 Rc8 14. Ne2 b5 15. Bd3 c5 16. dxc5 O-O 17. Bxb5 Nxc5 18. e4 Qb6 19. exd5 Qxb5 20. Nc3 Qb7 21. dxe6 Nxe6 22. Qe4 Rc6 23. Nd5 Ba3 24. Bb4 Bxb4 25. Nxb4 Rb6 26. Qxb7 Rxb7 27. Nd5 g5 28. h4 gxh4 29. Rxh4 f6 30. Re4 Kf7 31. Ne3 Rc7 32. Nf5 Ng5 33. Red4 g6 34. Nd6+ Kg8 35. b3 f5 36. Nc4 Kg7 37. Re1 Rh8 38. Nd6 Rc6 39. Ne8+ Kf8 40. Rd8 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.30"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2830"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "132"]
[GameId "2051051947351944"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,132,13,25,12,16,14,10,8,10,8,10,4,9,43,10,38,16,40,26,6,6,15,10,12,12,12,-7,4,-18,-9,0,22,25,23,10,9,5,12,7,3,2,23,-2,8,-14,16,14,10,-27,-27,-46,-46,-46,-29,-29,-29,-44,-40,-33,-32,-32,-52,-41,-55,-56,-55,-82,-45,-39,-44,-83,-24,-24,-42,-24,-24,-34,-34,-33,51,-28,-88,-90,-69,-69,-23,-94,-100,-99,-94,-95,-92,-92,-94,-110,-86,-92,-90,-90,-93,-95,-94,-95,-94,-105,-108,-113,-113,-113,-113,-108,-113,-113,-115,-109,-117,-115,-119,-114,-104,-121,-44,-43,-39,-114,-112,-200,-200,-200,-200,-335,-331,-29991,-29992] Caruana won in the last round with Black, while Carlsen lost. With White and the psychological momentum you might expect Caruana to do the pressing...but no.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 {Carlsen has had the white side of this as well - three times, in fact, just 2-3 weeks ago.} 8. h3 ({Carlsen (and Caruana in the Candidates in April) were on team} 8. Nbd2 {.}) 8... h6 9. Be3 Bxe3 10. fxe3 Be6 $146 {A very common move in this line and similar ones, but in this particular case it only happened after Black castled.} 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. Nbd2 O-O {Back to predecessors, albeit only a couple.} 13. Rf2 $146 Qe7 14. Qb3 Rab8 15. Raf1 Nd8 16. Qd1 ({White is still in the fight for an edge after} 16. a5 $142 {or}) (16. d4 $142 {.}) 16... b5 $11 17. axb5 axb5 18. Nh2 Nf7 19. Ng4 Nd7 20. d4 c5 21. Qe2 (21. Qa1 $142 $11) 21... c4 22. Nh2 (22. b3 $142) 22... Nf6 23. Ng4 Nd7 24. Nh2 Ra8 25. b3 cxb3 26. Nxb3 Rac8 27. Qd3 Nf6 28. Nd2 Qc7 29. Qxb5 Qxc3 30. Nhf3 $1 Qxe3 31. dxe5 dxe5 32. Nxe5 Ng5 $1 33. Qd3 $1 Qc5 34. Nef3 Rcd8 35. Qb1 Nh5 36. Qc1 Qa7 37. Qa1 Qb6 38. Qb1 Qc5 39. Qc1 Qe7 {Carlsen keeps finding ways to keep the game going. It's very close to being a dead draw, but it never quite gets there.} 40. Nxg5 (40. Kh2 $11) 40... Rxf2 41. Rxf2 Qxg5 42. Qc3 (42. Qc7 Rxd2 43. Qf7+ Kh7 44. Rxd2 Qxd2 45. Qxh5 Qd4+ {is a lot like what we'll see a little later. The position is "officially" equal, but obviously Black has winning chances and White doesn't.}) 42... Ng3 43. Kh2 $1 {Not a blunder, though it looks like one at first glance.} Rxd2 44. Qxg3 (44. Rxd2 $4 Nf1+ $19) 44... Rxf2 45. Qxf2 Qe5+ 46. Kg1 Qxe4 {It "should" be drawn, but that hasn't saved Carlsen's opponents for 20 years now.} 47. Qa7 h5 48. Qe7 Qe1+ 49. Kh2 Qe5+ 50. Kg1 Kh7 51. Qe8 h4 52. Qe7 Qd4+ 53. Kh1 Qa1+ 54. Kh2 Qf6 55. Qe8 Kh6 56. Kg1 e5 57. Qa4 Qf4 58. Qc6+ Kg5 59. Qc7 Qd4+ 60. Kf1 Kf4 {It's getting dangerous for White, who will lose if Black gets in ...Kg3, as the king can safely hide on h2. White's next move isn't so much a matter of greed but of necessity, preventing ...Kg3.} 61. Qxg7 $8 Ke3 {Somewhat better than putting the queen on that square. (A little joke; I trust you'll all get it or quickly work it out.)} 62. Kg1 $8 (62. Qg5+ $2 Qf4+ 63. Qxf4+ Kxf4 64. Kf2 e4 65. Ke2 Ke5 $1 (65... Kg3 $2 66. Ke3 Kxg2 67. Kxe4 Kxh3 68. Kf3 $11) 66. Ke3 Kd5 $19 {and Black will win by bringing the e-pawn down the board and stalemating White's king. It won't be a true stalemate because the g-pawn can advance, and then Black simply captures it and gives mate by promoting on g1 while White's h-pawn takes its useless steps up the board.}) 62... e4 63. Qh6+ Ke2+ 64. Kh1 e3 65. Qa6+ Kf2 {Only one move keeps the game going, and this time Caruana fails to make it.} 66. Kh2 $2 (66. Qa2+ $8 e2 67. Qf7+ Ke1 68. Qe6 Kd1 69. Qb3+ Kc1 70. Qa3+ Kb1 71. Qb3+ Qb2 72. Qd3+ Qc2 73. Qb5+ $8 {etc. Black can try lots of things, and White must keep balanced on the cliff's edge to maintain the draw.}) 66... e2 {There are no (good) checks, and the attempt to pin the e-pawn results in mate.} (66... e2 67. Qa2 Qf4+ 68. Kh1 Qc1+ 69. Kh2 Qg1#) 0-1
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.30"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E46"]
[WhiteElo "2794"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "171"]
[GameId "2051051947351945"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,171,13,10,30,6,6,6,28,27,29,23,37,27,34,29,27,11,11,11,30,11,49,49,52,54,62,13,7,3,3,3,3,-3,-3,-25,3,3,3,-1,102,109,82,88,66,55,99,113,121,112,138,117,117,123,127,137,114,131,137,137,126,126,118,126,128,80,127,127,163,176,189,172,189,201,205,204,199,206,218,218,218,219,223,210,210,185,211,210,211,186,218,210,211,210,210,210,201,174,200,210,211,210,210,218,219,217,213,207,207,215,210,208,227,227,220,219,219,220,237,227,227,227,232,232,230,235,235,232,235,231,232,233,240,239,239,239,239,247,240,240,254,254,254,240,254,254,254,238,238,228,228,227,253,253,261,263,263,263,263,263,263,263,286,296,296,318,327,327,333,337,368,371,28067,28493]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 c5 6. a3 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 Ne4 8. Ne2 b6 9. d5 Ba6 10. b3 b5 11. Qc2 exd5 12. cxd5 Nxc3 13. Qxc3 d6 14. Ng3 Nd7 15. Be2 Nf6 16. Qd2 Re8 17. f3 Qb6 18. e4 Bc8 19. a4 Bd7 $2 (19... bxa4 20. bxa4 Rb8 $14) 20. axb5 Bxb5 21. Bxb5 Qxb5 22. Nf5 $16 {Somehow Pragg either missed or badly underestimated this move. White threatens Nxd6 *and* Qg5. Pragg pushes the panic button and tries to randomize the game.} Nxe4 $5 (22... Qb6 $1 23. Qg5 (23. O-O $142 $16) 23... g6 {looks like it should be awful for Black, but somehow it's not. (It helps that b3 is hanging and that White's king is still in the center.)}) 23. fxe4 Rxe4+ 24. Kf2 $18 {Black really doesn't have enough (anything) by way of compensation. Nevertheless, he defends like a superhero from here almost to the very end, and the "easy" and "obvious" win never materializes.} Re5 25. Nxd6 Qb6 26. Nc4 Qf6+ 27. Kg1 Re2 28. Rf1 Rxd2 29. Rxf6 Rxd5 30. Rf3 Rd1+ 31. Rf1 Rd3 32. Na5 Rd2 33. h4 Ra2 34. Nc4 a5 35. Rh3 a4 36. Nb6 Rb8 37. Nxa4 Rc2 38. Rf4 h5 39. Rd3 f6 40. Re4 Rb7 41. Kh2 Kf7 42. Kh3 Kg6 43. Kg3 Kh6 44. Kf3 Kg6 45. Kg3 Kh6 46. Kh2 Kg6 47. Rg3+ Kf7 48. Rf4 Rb8 49. Rgf3 Kg6 50. Kh3 Kf7 51. g3 Kg6 52. Re4 Kh6 53. Rfe3 Rb5 54. Rd3 Rb8 55. Rc4 Rxc4 56. bxc4 Rb4 57. Nxc5 Rxc4 58. Ne6 g5 59. Rd5 gxh4 60. gxh4 Kg6 61. Nd4 Rc3+ 62. Kg2 Rd3 63. Nf5 Ra3 64. Ng3 Ra2+ 65. Kf3 Ra3+ 66. Kf4 Ra4+ 67. Ne4 Ra1 68. Rd6 Rf1+ 69. Ke3 Rf5 70. Rc6 Rf1 71. Ra6 Rf5 72. Ra1 Re5 73. Kd4 Re6 74. Rf1 Ra6 75. Nc3 Ra3 76. Rf4 Ra6 77. Nd5 Re6 78. Re4 Rd6 79. Rf4 Re6 80. Kd3 Kf7 (80... Ra6) 81. Ra4 Rd6 (81... Re1) 82. Ke4 Re6+ 83. Kf3 Re5 84. Ra7+ Kg6 (84... Kf8) 85. Nf4+ {Nakamura has had a hard time making progress, and was very short of time himself. Perhaps Pragg would have saved the game had he played 85...Kh6 (though he remains objectively lost). Instead, he finally cracks after a long and heroic defense.} Kf5 $2 86. Rh7 $1 {It's mate next move unless Black gives up the rook, and of course that won't save the game either.} 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.05.30"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "2737"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[GameId "2051051947351946"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,67,13,10,30,7,30,30,57,39,46,-28,36,52,32,26,26,10,38,15,18,-7,-8,-17,-2,23,70,74,73,69,69,69,63,66,66,78,68,78,74,76,120,117,66,136,140,123,140,132,342,352,341,330,323,319,335,215,333,245,223,235,365,355,350,359,380,394,591,358,324,324]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Bg4 6. c3 e6 7. Qb3 Qc8 8. h3 Bh5 9. Be2 Be7 10. g4 Bg6 11. Nh4 Be4 12. f3 {So far, just as in the game Firouzja-Caruana from round 2. There Caruana played 12...c4, which seemed to be a good move, but Ding decides to try something else.} Nh5 $6 $146 (12... c4 {seems obviously better. The point is that here White must play 13.Qd1 - as Firouzja did in the earlier game - because} 13. Qa4 b5 $1 14. Qxb5 $2 (14. Qd1 $15 {is forced, but then Black has achieved the useful ...b5 for free.}) 14... Bc2 $1 {leaves White's queen in a mess. Sooner or later White will have to sac a piece, e.g.} 15. Nxc4 a6 16. Qb6 dxc4 17. Qc7 $8 Nd5 18. Qxc8+ Rxc8 $19 {, and White does not get enough in return.}) 13. gxh5 c4 14. Qa4 $1 (14. Qd1 Bxh4+ {would transpose to the game, but Firouzja improves. This makes Ding's decision rather strange.}) 14... Bxh4+ 15. Kd1 $14 Bd3 16. Bxd3 cxd3 17. Qb5 O-O 18. Qxd3 f6 $6 {This strands Black's bishop, and White takes immediate advantage.} (18... h6 $142) 19. Rg1 $1 $16 {Now 20.Rg4 is a clear problem.} e5 $2 (19... Kh8 20. Rg4 e5 {was the best chance.}) 20. dxe5 fxe5 21. Bh6 Rf7 22. Qxd5 $18 {White's king isn't great, but he's two pawns up and Black's king isn't amazing either.} Kf8 23. Qe4 Qxh3 $2 (23... Bf6 24. Qxh7 Qd7 $1 25. Qh8+ Ke7 26. Qxa8 Rf8 {was the only way to stay in the game. The rest is a massacre.}) 24. Qxh7 $1 Rd8 25. Rxg7 Rxg7 26. Qxg7+ Ke8 27. Qg6+ Ke7 28. Bg5+ Bxg5 29. Qxg5+ Kf7 30. Qg6+ Ke7 31. Kc2 Qh2 32. Rd1 Qe2 33. Qh7+ Ke6 34. Qe4 {White is up three pawns and everything is safe. It was a very poor game by Ding from start to finish.} 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.06.01"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2830"]
[BlackElo "2737"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "163"]
[GameId "2052185828868222"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,163,13,25,12,16,8,25,26,3,26,6,10,-4,10,11,0,4,11,-12,5,18,10,21,16,0,31,-3,29,-36,-19,-47,-38,-36,-21,-31,29,28,28,32,13,18,20,24,15,15,70,70,65,64,62,48,50,33,31,57,79,72,83,34,49,48,40,23,7,7,4,27,59,54,76,79,75,83,113,116,139,142,142,142,149,147,152,162,150,139,142,139,139,142,142,142,142,112,103,115,122,87,142,142,142,142,142,142,142,136,136,136,136,136,136,136,136,136,135,136,136,132,133,136,136,136,136,137,137,137,137,137,137,137,136,121,129,137,137,119,137,119,137,137,137,103,108,104,183,104,120,124,194,199,197,198,199,198,201,204,1934,2554,29963,1964,29965,29966,29967,29968,29969,29970]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. d5 (13. Bf4) 13... Qe7 14. Qd1 b6 15. a4 a5 16. Na3 $146 Bb7 17. Nc4 (17. g3 $142) (17. Nb5 $142) 17... Bg5 (17... Nd6 $142 18. Nxd6 Qxd6 {already leaves Black with the brighter side of equality.}) 18. d6 $1 Nxd6 19. Bxg5 Qxg5 20. Nxd6 cxd6 21. Qxd6 Bc6 22. Re1 Qf6 $1 {Despite the obvious damage to Black's pawn structure, this enables him to reach a drawish ending he'd normally hold.} (22... h6 {is a good "normal" move.}) 23. Qxf6 gxf6 24. b3 Rb8 25. c4 {Else ...b5, but now Black liquidates another way.} d5 26. Re7 Rc8 (26... Rb7 $11 {was preferable, with an easy draw the likeliest result.}) 27. f3 dxc4 28. Bxc4 Bxa4 29. Bxf7+ Kf8 30. Ra7 Bb5 {The position is equal, but with imbalances that keep some hopes for a non-draw alive.} 31. h4 Rc5 (31... Rd8 {looks like a smoother path to a draw. Black threatens ...Rd7, and ...Rd6 is also a good continuation.}) 32. Kf2 Rc2+ 33. Kg3 Re2 {Intending ...Re7, when only Black will have winning chances.} 34. Rb7 Bd3 (34... Re5) 35. Bc4 Bxc4 36. bxc4 {Now only White can win, though a draw is still the normal result.} Rc2 37. Rxb6 Kg7 38. Ra6 Rxc4 39. Rxa5 Rc7 40. Kg4 Kg6 41. h5+ Kf7 42. Kf5 h6 {This is a standard sort of drawn ending, though Black's pawns are normally connected. You'd normally expect Firouzja to hold this against Carlsen, but Firouzja was short of time and Carlsen...well, he's Carlsen, who has been winning "drawn" endings on a regular basis against the world's elite for the past 15 years. So, sure, Firouzja "should" hold it, but we all know by now that it's easier said than done.} 43. Kg4 Rc4+ 44. Kh3 Rc7 45. Ra4 Rb7 46. Rg4 Rb5 47. Kh4 Rb1 48. Ra4 (48. Rg6 {doesn't pay off here:} Rh1+ 49. Kg4 f5+ $11 {But having to worry about this idea means that Firouzja has to keep burning time, and can't just move immediately and accumulate increments.}) 48... Rb7 49. Kg4 Rc7 50. Ra5 Rb7 51. Kf5 Re7 52. f4 Rb7 53. g3 Rc7 54. Ke4 Re7+ 55. Kf3 Kg7 56. Ra1 Kf7 57. Rh1 {With Rh4-g4-g6 coming? Again, Black has to keep worrying about little ideas like this.} Ra7 58. Rd1 Rb7 59. Ke4 Re7+ 60. Kf5 Ra7 61. Rd5 Rb7 62. Ra5 Rc7 63. Ke4 Re7+ 64. Kf3 Rb7 65. f5 $5 {Now a new structure, which has new ideas.} Rc7 66. Ke4 Re7+ 67. Kd4 Rd7+ 68. Kc5 Rb7 69. g4 Re7 70. Kd6 Re4 71. Ra7+ Kf8 72. Rb7 {Black is in a sort of zugzwang here, though he's not losing.} Rxg4 (72... Kg8 73. Re7) 73. Ke6 Ra4 74. Rd7 (74. Kxf6 Ra6+ 75. Ke5 Ra5+ $11 (75... Ra1 $11)) 74... Ra1 75. Kxf6 Ra6+ 76. Ke5 Rb6 (76... Ra1 {was a better practical choice.}) 77. Rd6 Rxd6 $4 {It is a blunder, time trouble notwithstanding, because even though it's unpleasant the ending after 77...Rb1 is a known theoretical draw while this quickly results in a textbook king and pawn endings that is even sometimes found in beginners' books.} (77... Rb1 78. Rxh6 Kg7 $8 {is a well-known sort of ending. It's drawn, but a bit like rook and bishop vs. rook: everyone knows it's a draw and knows the basic drawing ideas, but even GMs can be tricked and sometimes lose it anyway.}) 78. Kxd6 Kf7 79. Ke5 Ke7 80. f6+ Kf8 {This exact position can be found in pretty much every book ever written on king and pawn endings, and in practically every general endgame primer as well. White can't make progress with the direct moves (81.Ke6 and 81.Kf5), but creates the same position with Black to move by triangulating.} 81. Kf4 Ke8 82. Ke4 (82. Ke4 Kf8 83. Ke5 Ke8 (83... Kf7 84. Kf5 Kf8 85. Kg6 $18) 84. Ke6 Kf8 85. f7 Kg7 86. Ke7 {and White wins. A very small trap:} Kh7 87. Kf6 (87. f8=Q $4 {is the (very small) trap, stalemating.}) (87. f8=R {wins, of course, but it's much simpler to play 87.Kf6.}) 87... Kh8 88. f8=Q+ Kh7 89. Qg7#) 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.06.01"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Ding, Liren"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2762"]
[BlackElo "2794"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[GameId "2052185828868223"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,108,25,10,22,6,35,49,61,57,60,60,80,90,63,60,78,69,89,56,55,59,34,1,43,5,-8,-21,0,-12,-9,-9,-19,-24,-17,-62,-54,-78,-74,-102,-105,-120,-106,-106,-108,-107,-110,-106,-102,-101,-120,-131,-110,-129,-143,-138,-155,-158,-157,-157,-170,-164,-160,-148,-153,-187,-195,-187,-177,-189,-192,-188,-181,-196,-181,-203,-174,-193,-166,-193,-183,-193,-188,-180,-178,-210,-209,-210,-189,-198,-161,-198,-161,-183,-170,-198,-162,-165,-135,-135,-147,-177,-178,-183,-180,-200,-202,-218,-208,-262,-257]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c5 $5 {A pet line of Mamedyarov's that Nakamura has used a few times the past half-year.} 3. cxd5 Nf6 $5 (3... Qxd5 {is more common, when most games continue} 4. Nf3 cxd4 5. Nc3 Qa5 6. Nxd4 Nf6 {and here the lines start to diverge.}) 4. Nc3 (4. e4 $142 $1 Nxe4 5. dxc5 Qa5+ (5... Nxc5 6. Nc3 $16) 6. Bd2 Nxd2 7. Qxd2 Qxd2+ (7... Qxc5 8. Na3 $1 $16) 8. Nxd2 $14 {/?}) 4... Nxd5 $11 {/?} 5. Nf3 cxd4 $5 (5... Nxc3 6. bxc3 g6 {is arguably better, inviting transposition to a main line Grünfeld after} 7. e4) 6. Qxd4 Nxc3 7. Qxc3 Nc6 8. e4 $14 a6 9. Be2 (9. a3 $142) 9... e5 10. a3 (10. O-O) 10... Bg4 $146 (10... Bd6 $11) 11. O-O (11. Bc4) 11... Rc8 12. Qb3 (12. Bc4 {is best, if slightly absurd:} Nd4 13. Nxe5 Ne2+ 14. Kh1 Nxc3 15. Bxf7+ Ke7 16. Bg5+ Kd6 17. Nc4+ Rxc4 18. Bxd8 Be6 19. Bxe6 Kxe6 20. bxc3 Bc5 $44) 12... Na5 $1 $15 13. Qa4+ b5 14. Qd1 Qxd1 15. Rxd1 $6 (15. Bxd1 $8) 15... Nb3 16. Rb1 Bc5 (16... f6 $142 $15 {/?}) 17. Kf1 (17. a4 $142 {was better - was feistier. Ding's play has an air of fatalism about it. He's not fighting back, but almost seems to be letting things happen to him.}) 17... f6 $15 18. Rd3 Be6 19. Nd2 $6 Nd4 $17 20. b4 Bb6 21. Bb2 Nxe2 22. Kxe2 Ke7 23. f3 $2 (23. Rc3 {Swapping a pair of rooks (Black trying to avoid the swap with 23...Rcd8 allows 24.Rc6) will ease White's burden.}) 23... Rc2 $6 (23... g5 $1 24. Rc3 Rxc3 25. Bxc3 g4 $19 {Black can add the g-file to his list of assets, especially since his bishop on b6 prevents White from contesting it with Rg1.}) 24. Rc3 $8 Bc4+ 25. Ke1 Bf2+ 26. Kd1 $2 (26. Kxf2 Rxd2+ 27. Kg1 Rhd8 28. Rcc1 $8 $17 {is no fun for White, but it's what he has to do to stay alive.}) 26... Rxc3 27. Bxc3 Rd8 $19 28. Ra1 Bf1 29. g3 Be3 30. a4 {White will open the a-file, but it won't give him any counterplay.} bxa4 31. Rxa4 Bb5 32. Ra1 Rd3 33. Rc1 h5 34. Kc2 Bxd2 35. Bxd2 Rxf3 {White may draw this with the rooks off, but with the rooks on he has too many problems - the pawn he's already down, the e-pawn, and the h- or g-pawn (depending on whether he plays h4 at some point). It's clearly winning for Black.} 36. Re1 Bc6 37. Re3 Rf2 (37... Rxe3 38. Bxe3 Bxe4+ {should win with the two extra pawns, but why risk it?}) 38. h4 Ba4+ 39. Kc3 Ke6 40. Re1 Rg2 41. Re3 g6 42. Be1 Bb5 43. Kb3 Be2 44. Bc3 Rf2 45. Kc2 Bg4+ 46. Bd2 Be2 47. Bc3 Bf3+ 48. Kd3 Bg2 49. Re1 g5 {This will break White's resistance. White can't take, as Black will recapture and then create a winning passed h-pawn. Not taking leaves him with another weakness, however, and he'll soon suffer a two pawn deficit.} 50. Bd2 gxh4 51. gxh4 Bf1+ 52. Kc3 Be2 53. Be3 Rh2 54. Bc5 Bb5 {World champions lose games, but not like this.} 0-1
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.06.01"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E05"]
[WhiteElo "2747"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "153"]
[GameId "2052185828868224"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,153,22,10,30,6,6,6,6,-8,-10,2,17,14,2,-51,-5,-21,-20,-20,-3,-30,-30,-30,7,-12,5,-2,0,4,32,13,25,18,24,18,14,37,17,6,29,34,34,28,28,7,51,44,33,44,22,41,40,57,33,30,35,33,33,35,90,98,127,120,122,117,131,136,133,132,130,134,136,128,126,124,134,130,134,100,105,115,120,118,134,126,134,134,133,127,134,131,132,132,142,145,134,142,133,126,143,120,143,120,119,120,127,119,119,116,127,133,157,157,157,140,156,140,136,138,138,137,163,170,171,174,174,174,174,174,177,178,155,165,265,278,265,273,308,304,296,322,322,322,322,322,800,689,949,1002,1012,1002,1012,1064,1002,1259]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qa4 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bf4 Nc6 11. Nbd2 Nxd4 12. Nxd4 Bxg2 13. Nxe6 fxe6 14. Kxg2 Nd5 15. Be5 c5 16. Nf3 Qe8 17. Rad1 Qh5 18. Qe4 Rad8 19. a4 Qf5 20. Qxf5 exf5 21. axb5 axb5 22. Ra1 Ra8 23. Rfd1 Nf6 24. b3 Ne4 25. Rd7 Bf6 26. Bxf6 Nxf6 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28. Rc7 Ne4 29. Ne5 Re8 30. Nd3 Nd2 31. Rxc5 Nxb3 32. Rxf5 Nd4 33. Rd5 Nxe2 34. Rxb5 Nc3 35. Rb7 Nd5 36. Rd7 Nf6 37. Ra7 Kf8 38. Kf3 Re7 39. Rxe7 Kxe7 {There are two kinds of textbook endings: those where the result is known and it's easy for the side with the task to prove what everyone "knows", and those where the result is known but the side with the task often fails to achieve what they're "supposed" to. Knight and four pawns vs. knight and three pawns (with all the pawns on the same side - assume this qualification throughout the discussion) is generally winning for the stronger side, while knight and three vs. knight and two is generally drawn but possible to lose. In this respect it's like rook vs. rook and bishop or the rook, h- and f-pawn vs. rook endings. Even with a moderate amount of time and his great strength as the world's #2 player, Caruana was unable to save this game.} 40. Nc5 Kf7 41. Kf4 Nd5+ 42. Ke5 Ne7 43. h4 Nc6+ 44. Ke4 h6 45. g4 Ne7 46. Nd3 Kf6 47. Nf4 g5 {Not bad, but it's committal, as Black must recapture with the king, giving White a passed f-pawn.} 48. hxg5+ Kxg5 (48... hxg5 $4 49. Nd5+ $18) 49. f3 Nc6 50. Ne6+ Kf6 51. Nd4 Ne5 52. Kf4 Nd3+ 53. Ke3 Ne5 54. Kf4 Nd3+ 55. Kg3 Ne1 56. f4 Nd3 57. Nf3 Nb4 58. Nd2 Nd5 59. Ne4+ Ke6 60. Kf3 Ne7 61. Ng3 {In many lines Black's knight will find itself stuck, at least semi-forced to prevent Nf5.} Kd5 62. Ke3 Ke6 63. Kd4 Kf6 64. Ke4 Ke6 65. Ne2 Ng8 66. Nd4+ $1 Kf6 $2 {The most natural move - and it loses. Black needed to keep the square free for his knight.} (66... Kf7 $1 67. Nf5 Nf6+ $8 68. Kf3 Kg6 {and Black remains fine for the time being.}) 67. Nf5 $1 Ke6 68. Kd4 $1 {Black is in zugzwang.} Kf6 (68... h5 69. Ng7+ $18) (68... Nf6 69. Nxh6 Nxg4 70. Nxg4 Kf5 71. Ke3 Kxg4 72. Ke4 $18) (68... Kf7 69. Ke5 Kg6 (69... Kf8 70. Ke6 Ke8 71. g5 hxg5 72. fxg5 Kf8 73. g6 Ke8 74. g7 $18) 70. Ke6 Nf6 71. Nxh6 $18) 69. Nxh6 $1 {If the knight is taken, White gets an elementary winning king and pawn ending; if not, White wins the knight ending with his two extra pawns. Either way, it's hopeless for Black.} Ne7 (69... Nxh6 70. g5+ Kg6 71. gxh6 Kxh6 72. Ke5 Kg6 (72... Kg7 73. Ke6 Kf8 74. Kf6 Kg8 75. Ke7 Kg7 76. f5 $18) 73. Ke6 Kg7 74. f5 Kf8 75. Kf6 Kg8 76. Ke7 $18) 70. Ke4 Kg6 71. g5 Kh5 72. Nf7 Ng6 73. Kf5 Ne7+ 74. Ke6 Nc6 75. f5 Nd4+ 76. Kf6 Kg4 77. Nd6 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.06.02"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "2830"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[GameId "2052185828872321"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,59,22,22,26,-12,1,-15,-9,-1,31,0,25,-29,-20,-16,-31,-19,-25,-31,0,1,-8,-1,34,-2,58,-43,-9,-17,-17,-12,-13,-28,-10,18,20,22,21,-14,-4,-4,-4,-10,47,47,55,27,39,46,27,6,61,77,99,103,97,18,63,61,29997,29998] Another Ding disaster.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c5 4. O-O e6 5. c4 d4 6. e3 Nc6 7. exd4 cxd4 8. d3 Bd6 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. Ng5 Be7 11. f4 Rb8 12. Qe2 Qc7 13. g4 b5 14. b3 bxc4 15. bxc4 Rb6 16. Nde4 Nxe4 17. Nxe4 Bb7 (17... f6 $142 $11) 18. f5 exf5 19. gxf5 $14 Ne5 20. Bf4 f6 21. Rae1 Bxe4 $6 22. Qxe4 (22. Bxe5 $5 Qxe5 23. Bxe4) 22... Bd6 23. Kh1 Qc5 24. Bg3 $16 {Looking to play Bf2.} Rd8 25. Qe2 Nd7 26. Bf2 Be5 27. Bd5+ Kh8 28. Qh5 $2 {Natural, but - surprisingly - it's a mistake.} (28. Rg1 $18 {was best, bringing two new attackers into the game with Rg4 and Reg1.}) 28... Qf8 $11 29. Re4 Rb2 $4 {A good move, positionally speaking, but perhaps something of a non-positional matter is afoot?} (29... h6 $8 30. Bxd4 Bxd4 31. Rxd4 Ne5 $11) 30. Qxh7+ {This is the sort of move many of us would find in under a second - it's the sort of thing you'd find in an elementary tactics book or relatively early in a Puzzle Rush setting. Ding's mind just isn't working right when it comes to chess.} 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.06.02"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D25"]
[WhiteElo "2737"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[GameId "2052185828872322"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,68,28,30,30,6,14,33,33,22,51,10,62,79,71,71,71,71,68,79,100,71,43,45,43,15,26,17,28,-19,-3,1,-3,-35,-36,-53,-50,-74,-39,-55,-6,20,23,-46,-74,-73,-79,-38,-19,-50,-16,-110,43,30,56,55,51,63,66,37,42,25,33,40,41,41,54,48,48,29,27]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 b5 5. a4 c6 6. axb5 cxb5 7. b3 e6 8. bxc4 bxc4 9. Bxc4 Bd6 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. e4 $146 Bb4 12. O-O Nc6 (12... a5 $11) 13. e5 Nd5 14. Bd3 (14. Ne4 $142 $14) 14... Be7 (14... a5 $142 15. Qc2 Ba6 $1 16. Bxh7+ Kh8 17. Bd3 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 Nf4 19. Qe4 Nxd4 $1 {is a nice tactical trick that ensures Black of at least equality.}) 15. Ne4 $14 a5 16. Re1 Ncb4 $6 (16... Bb7 $142) 17. Bb1 $16 {White's bishops look extremely menacing, especially with moves like Ne/fg5 and Ra3-g/h3 coming.} h6 18. h3 $1 {A good move. Black's last move took away jumps to g5, so the knight will go to h2 instead, both to jump forward to g4 and to clear the third rank for a lifted rook (e.g. Ra1-a3-g3).} Ra6 19. Ra3 $2 {Surprisingly, this gives away much of the advantage.} (19. Bd2 $1 Rc6 20. g4 $1 $18 {followed by g5 is the best way for White to prosecute the attack.}) 19... Nc6 20. Nc5 $6 {It's tempting to defend the rook with a gain of tempo while opening the b1-h7 diagonal, but it seems in retrospect to have been a missed opportunity.} (20. Qd3 $1 Ncb4 21. Qd2 Nc6 22. Nc5 Rb6 23. Ra1 Ncb4 {and now, since rook lift #1 didn't work, it's time for rook lift #2:} 24. Re4 $1 {If White is permitted to play Rg4 he'll be winning again, so Black must try} f5 25. exf6 Nxf6 $16 {with a worse but tenable position.}) 20... Rb6 21. Qc2 Rxb1 $1 22. Qxb1 Nxd4 23. Nxd4 Bxc5 24. Nc6 $1 (24. Rg3 $1 {is extremely dangerous for Black, but with correct play he's okay.} Bxd4 25. Bxh6 f5 $1 {Absolutely the only move, and although it looks very dangerous (as if anything else isn't also dangerous!) Black seems to be fine.} (25... Qh4 $4 26. Rxg7+ Kh8 27. Qh7#) (25... Bxf2+ $2 26. Kxf2 Qh4 27. Bxg7 Qf4+ (27... Nc3 28. Qd3 $18) 28. Rf3 Qd2+ 29. Kg1 Kxg7 30. Rg3+ Kh8 31. Re4 Qh6 32. Rgg4 Nc3 33. Qe1 Nxe4 34. Rh4 $18) 26. Bxg7 (26. Rxg7+ Kh8 27. Rg5 Nf4 28. Qd1 Bb7 29. Rh5 $1 Nxh5 30. Qxh5 Qe8 $1 31. Qh4 Qc6 $1 32. Be3+ Kg8 33. Qg5+ Kf7 34. Qf6+ Kg8 35. Qg6+ Kh8 36. Bxd4 Rf7 $1 $11) 26... Qh4 $1 27. Qd3 $1 (27. Bf6+ $4 Qxg3 $19) 27... Bxf2+ $1 28. Kxf2 f4 29. Bxf8+ Kxf8 30. Rf1 Ke7 31. Kg1 Qxg3 32. Qxg3 fxg3 33. Rf3 Bd7 34. h4 Be8 35. Rxg3 a4 $11) 24... Qc7 25. Rg3 $1 Kh8 $1 26. Qb5 $8 Qb6 27. Qxb6 Bxb6 $14 {After Black's small sacrifice and a bunch of exchanges, Black's king is safe, White is up the exchange for a pawn, and his advantage is too small to win against best play.} 28. Bd2 a4 29. Nb4 Bb7 30. Rb1 Bc7 31. Ra3 Ra8 32. Nxd5 Bxd5 33. Rb4 Bxe5 34. Rbxa4 Rc8 $11 {A good save by Pragg, but Firouzja did have his chance back on move 19.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.06.02"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E45"]
[WhiteElo "2794"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[GameId "2052185828872323"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
{[%evp 0,60,22,30,25,6,6,6,27,23,27,10,41,-13,16,23,52,-15,21,-3,102,-35,-23,-58,-57,-61,-53,-53,-56,-54,-64,-66,-46,-62,-55,-54,-5,-24,-39,-27,22,2,2,0,4,-3,0,0,15,0,9,0,23,19,19,14,18,22,22,23,54,47,53]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Nge2 Ba6 6. Ng3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 d5 8. Qf3 O-O 9. cxd5 Bxf1 10. Kxf1 (10. dxe6 {was the critical line. Nakamura considered it and claimed it was advantageous for White, but he was afraid he wouldn't be able to solve Black's preparation at the board. Caruana pointed out that if you go deeply enough into the analysis, White's supposed advantage eventually disappears, which is the conclusion I'm drawing as well. He tried to remember everything when he joined the commentators after the game, and while it's not clear that he perfectly succeeded he came up with the following crazy analysis:} Bc4 $1 11. Qxa8 Nd5 12. e4 $1 (12. Qxa7 Na6 13. Ba3 Re8 14. Ne4 Rxe6 15. Nd2 Bd3 16. Nf3 Qc8 17. Rc1 Bc4 18. Nd2 Bd3 19. Nf3 Bc4 20. Nd2 Bd3 21. Nf3 Bc4 22. Nd2 {½-½ Scheffknecht,P (2119)-Loeschnauer,R (2448) AUT-ch34 email ICCF email 2020}) 12... a6 $3 13. Ba3 $1 Re8 14. Kd2 $1 Nf4 $1 {Best, but Caruana had forgotten it in his training game. Caruana didn't give any further from here, switching to his training game with Cristian Chirila. Let's add a little analysis.} (14... fxe6 15. exd5 Bxd5 16. Qa7 Qc8 17. Bd6 $1 Bb7 18. d5 $3 {Chirila didn't find/remember this move in a training game he played with Caruana, panicking about his queen and losing.} Nd7 19. Ne4 ({DM:} 19. Rae1 $142 cxd6 20. Rxe6 Rf8 21. Ne4 Bxd5 22. Re7 Bxe4 23. Qxd7 Rxf2+ 24. Kd1 Qxd7 25. Rxd7 Rxg2 26. Rxd6 $14) 19... exd5 20. Nc5 $3 $11) 15. exf7+ Bxf7 16. Qb7 Qd7 17. Rhd1 h5 18. f3 h4 19. Nf5 Qb5 20. Qxc7 Qe2+ 21. Kc1 Nd3+ 22. Rxd3 Qxd3 23. d5 Nd7 $1 24. Nd6 Ne5 25. Nxe8 Nc4 26. Nf6+ $1 gxf6 27. Qc8+ Kg7 28. Qg4+ Bg6 29. Qd7+ Bf7 30. Qg4+ $11) 10... exd5 11. e4 {A move played to accept a slightly worse but safe move, ready to play for a draw.} dxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 Nd7 14. Qf3 c5 15. Be3 cxd4 16. Bxd4 Re8 17. g3 Nf8 18. Kg2 Ne6 19. Rhe1 $1 {A cute idea, sacking a pawn for an easy draw in a rook ending.} Nxd4 20. cxd4 Qxd4 21. Re7 Qf6 (21... Rxe7 $4 22. Qxa8+ {mates.}) 22. Qxf6 gxf6 23. Rb7 Re2 24. a4 Re4 25. a5 bxa5 26. Rxa5 a6 27. f4 Kg7 28. Kf3 Ree8 29. Kg4 Reb8 30. Rxb8 Rxb8 1/2-1/2
[Event "12th Norway Armageddon"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.06.02"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2737"]
[BlackElo "2747"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[GameId "2052299962006738"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 O-O 5. a3 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 d5 7. e3 b6 8. b3 Bb7 9. Bb2 Nbd7 10. Be2 dxc4 11. bxc4 c5 12. O-O Rc8 13. Rac1 Qc7 14. h3 Rfd8 15. Rfd1 Nf8 16. Ne5 Ng6 17. Nxg6 hxg6 18. Qe1 cxd4 19. exd4 Qf4 20. Bf1 Rd7 21. a4 Ne4 22. Rd3 Nd6 23. Rg3 Nf5 24. Rg4 Qd6 25. a5 Rdc7 26. d5 Re7 27. Qc3 Ree8 28. Bd3 e5 29. axb6 axb6 30. Qa3 Ra8 31. Qxd6 Nxd6 32. Rg5 e4 33. Bf1 Rec8 34. Be5 Nf5 35. Bf4 Ra4 36. Rd1 Ba6 37. d6 Bxc4 38. d7 Rd8 39. Bc7 Rxd7 40. Rxd7 Ra1 41. Bxb6 Rxf1+ 42. Kh2 Rb1 43. Bc5 Be6 44. Rd8+ Kh7 45. Rg4 Rc1 46. Be3 Rc4 47. Re8 Bd7 48. Rexe4 Rc2 49. Bb6 f6 50. Rc4 Ra2 51. Rc7 Be6 52. Re4 Bd5 53. Rf4 Rb2 54. Bc5 Rc2 55. Bb6 Rb2 56. Bd4 Rb4 57. Be5 Rb5 58. Bxf6 Rb6 59. Bd4 Re6 60. Bxg7 1-0
[Event "12th Norway Armageddon"]
[Site "Stavanger NOR"]
[Date "2024.06.02"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E45"]
[WhiteElo "2794"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[GameId "2052299962010835"]
[EventDate "2024.05.27"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Nge2 Ba6 6. Ng3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 d5 8. cxd5 Bxf1 9. Rxf1 Qxd5 10. f3 Nc6 11. Qe2 Na5 12. e4 Qc4 13. Qxc4 Nxc4 14. Bg5 Nd7 15. Ke2 O-O 16. Rab1 a6 17. Rfd1 b5 18. d5 Ndb6 19. dxe6 fxe6 20. Ke1 h6 21. Bc1 Rad8 22. f4 Na4 23. Ne2 Nc5 24. Ng3 Na4 25. Ne2 Nc5 26. e5 Nd3+ 27. Kf1 c5 28. Kg1 Rd5 29. Rf1 Nxc1 30. Rbxc1 Rd2 31. Ng3 Rxa2 32. Ne4 Ne3 33. Rf2 Rxf2 34. Kxf2 Nc4 35. Kg3 Rc8 36. Rb1 Ne3 37. Kf3 Nd5 38. Ra1 Rc6 39. g4 c4 40. f5 b4 41. cxb4 c3 42. b5 axb5 43. Ra8+ Kh7 44. Nd6 Nb6 45. Re8 c2 46. Nf7 Rc8 0-1