[Event "Superbet Classic 2022"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2022.05.09"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A30"] [WhiteElo "2765"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2022.05.05"] {[%evp 0,78,19,-12,13,7,2,13,4,13,22,27,25,23,1,-1,-23,-10,-3,3,6,-49,-47,-38, -38,-51,-42,-8,-5,14,26,31,16,5,34,27,34,11,22,27,24,21,27,13,2,0,0,0,0,-8,29, 8,24,-10,-9,-36,0,-3,19,7,13,13,3,0,0,0,0,0,0,-16,-27,-20,-24,-21,-4,-3,-2,-4, 0,0,0]} 1. c4 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Ndb4 8. Nxc6 Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 Nxc6 10. Bxc6+ bxc6 11. Be3 e5 12. f3 (12. Nc3) (12. Nd2) 12... Be6 13. Ke1 a5 $146 14. Kf2 Bb4 $5 {The idea is that if White plays a3, he's weakening himself on the b-file (b2 and b3 in particular) and on the light squares, and if he doesn't Black will chop off White's knight wherever it goes, trusting in the opposite-colored bishops to make a draw.} 15. Rc1 Kd7 16. Nd2 Bxd2 17. Bxd2 Rhb8 18. Bc3 f6 19. f4 exf4 20. gxf4 Bd5 21. Rg1 Rg8 22. Rg3 Ke6 23. Rag1 g6 24. Rh3 Kf5 (24... h5 {is also fine.}) 25. Rxh7 Rh8 26. Re7 (26. Rxh8 Rxh8 27. Kg3 {keeps the extra pawn, but White's winning chances are pretty close to zero after} a4 28. a3 Re8 $11) 26... Rxh2+ 27. Ke1 Rhh8 28. Rg7 Rhg8 29. R1xg6 Rxg7 30. Rxg7 Bxa2 {I guess the Sofia rules are in effect, as there's no other reason for the players to continue here.} 31. e3 a4 32. Bd4 a3 33. bxa3 Rxa3 34. Ra7 Rxa7 35. Bxa7 Ke4 36. Bd4 Be6 37. Bxf6 Kxe3 38. Be7 c5 39. Bxc5+ Kxf4 {There is still the legal possibility of a mate (e.g. W: Kh1, Bg1; B: Kh3 Bb7/c6/d5/e4/f3/g2 [there's no legal way for it to go to a8 in this scenario]), but the arbiter thoughtfully allowed the players to end the game here rather than forcing them to continue.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet Classic 2022"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2022.05.09"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B54"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2022.05.05"] {[%evp 0,84,20,22,49,33,86,61,72,39,39,30,25,-19,-4,10,28,8,16,14,6,5,5,-10, -16,-8,0,-1,42,-1,26,26,19,26,26,27,26,2,12,-16,-9,-2,0,0,0,-7,-4,0,-32,-26, -35,-32,-30,-20,-41,-32,-33,-36,-45,-47,-41,-36,-33,-47,-26,-61,-52,-43,-43, -43,-53,-53,-26,-15,-27,-28,-26,-70,-28,-28,-28,-28,-28,-28,-28,-28,-50]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Bb5+ $5 {What to do with the light-squared bishop is often an issue in the Open Sicilian. On e2 it's passive, on g2 or d3 it's blocked by the e-pawn, and on c4 it can be kicked in various ways. Going to b5 allows it to be active or traded, and then the question is whether that outweighs the benefit Black enjoys by swapping off a minor piece, given that he has less space and can have tactical problems due to his frequent lag in development.} Bd7 6. c4 {Sure, setting up the Maroczy Bind is pleasant, but, um, isn't there an unprotected pawn on e4? There is, but there's also an unprotected pawn on b7.} Nc6 (6... Nxe4 $6 7. Qf3 Nc5 (7... Nf6 $4 8. Qxb7 $18) (7... d5 8. cxd5 $14 {/+/-}) 8. b4 a6 9. Bxd7+ Ncxd7 10. Qxb7 Qb6 $8 11. Qc8+ $1 Qd8 12. Qxd8+ Kxd8 13. O-O $14 {/+/-}) (6... Bxb5 7. Nxb5 Nxe4 $2 {is no better.} 8. Qf3 Nc5 9. b4 a6 10. bxc5 axb5 11. O-O $1 $16 { /+-}) 7. Nc3 g6 8. h3 {To prevent ...Ng4 after Be3.} Nxd4 (8... Bg7 {is more common, but White has a very good score here.} 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O {etc.}) 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 10. Qxd4 Bg7 11. Be3 (11. O-O O-O 12. Qd3 {is more common here.}) 11... O-O 12. Qd3 Qc6 13. Bd4 a6 $146 (13... Nd7 14. Nd5 Rfe8 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Qd4+ {1/2-1/2 (16) Vedmediuc,S (2459)-Szabo,G (2553) Bucharest 2012}) 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Qd7 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. O-O b5 $11 18. b4 Qf5 19. Qe2 {If anything, Black is a little better after this.} (19. Qxf5 gxf5 20. c5 $11) 19... bxc4 20. Qxc4 Rfc8 21. Qd4+ Qf6 22. Qe4 Rc3 23. Rac1 Rac8 24. Rxc3 Qxc3 25. Qxe7 $6 (25. Rb1 $142 $11) 25... Qxb4 26. Qe2 a5 27. Rd1 $6 (27. g3 $142 h5 28. h4 $15) 27... a4 $6 (27... h5 $1 $17 {is best, intending ...h4 at some convenient moment. This structure favors Black, as White's king safety is slightly compromised. (Imagine, for instance, a situation where Black gives a back rank check with the rook, and after Kh2 gives a queen check on the b8-h2 diagonal. Then g3 hxg3+ fxg3 will leave White with an open and vulnerable second rank.)}) 28. g3 $1 a3 29. Kg2 Rc3 30. h4 h5 31. Rd2 {White is very passive, but can hold everything together.} Rc1 32. Qd3 Rc3 33. Qe2 Qb1 34. Rd1 Qf5 35. Rd2 Rc1 36. Qe3 Qb1 37. Qd4+ Kg8 38. Re2 Rg1+ 39. Kh2 Rh1+ 40. Kg2 Rg1+ 41. Kh2 Rh1+ 42. Kg2 Rg1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet Classic 2022"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2022.05.09"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E73"] [WhiteElo "2671"] [BlackElo "2804"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "135"] [EventDate "2022.05.05"] {[%evp 0,135,22,14,27,-23,54,39,37,27,46,33,37,-17,14,0,-1,-6,51,54,48,36,67, 71,88,46,45,28,77,54,72,56,51,-17,58,19,-3,-35,69,21,70,69,69,38,78,18,23,23, 23,-54,-24,-24,-47,-75,-105,-141,-134,-142,-150,-150,-153,-139,-140,-149,-149, -152,-158,-168,-162,-165,-152,-144,-172,-165,-133,-177,-125,-97,-91,-97,-66, -77,-70,-60,-23,-26,-48,79,77,-38,25,0,0,0,0,1,0,16,-6,19,25,26,37,53,38,41,35, 51,19,-1,0,-26,0,0,17,21,21,14,17,11,6,6,7,6,33,6,22,27,33,15,30,19,13,12,16,5, 24,5]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. h4 {Deac may be the bottom seed, but he's not shy!} Nc6 (6... c5 {is usual.}) 7. d5 Ne5 8. h5 c6 9. h6 {The Alpha Zero recipe.} (9. Nf3 Nxf3+ 10. Bxf3 cxd5 11. cxd5 Bd7 12. hxg6 fxg6 13. Bh6 Bxh6 14. Rxh6 Rc8 15. Qd4 Kg7 16. Rh1 Qb6 17. Qxb6 axb6 18. Rd1 Rc4 19. a3 Rfc8 20. Be2 Rxc3 21. bxc3 Nxe4 22. c4 Ra8 23. Ra1 Nc5 24. f3 h5 25. Kf2 Bf5 26. Rhd1 Bc2 27. Rd2 Bf5 28. Rb2 Ra6 29. Rb4 h4 30. Ra2 Kf6 31. a4 g5 32. Rab2 Nxa4 33. Ra2 Nc5 34. Rxa6 bxa6 35. Rxb6 Ke5 36. Rb8 Kd4 37. Re8 a5 38. Rxe7 a4 39. Ra7 Bc2 40. Ra5 Kc3 41. Bd1 Bxd1 42. Rxc5 dxc5 43. d6 a3 44. d7 a2 45. d8=Q Kc2 46. Qf6 Kb1 47. Qb6+ Kc2 48. Qa5 Kb1 49. Qe1 Kc2 50. Qe5 Kb1 51. Qxc5 Ka1 52. Qd4+ {1-0 (52) Artemiev,V (2709)-Dubov,D (2710) Lichess.org INT 2021}) 9... Bh8 10. Nf3 Neg4 $2 $146 (10... Nxf3+ $142 11. Bxf3 Nd7 12. Be3 c5 13. Be2 Qb6 14. Qd2 Ne5 15. f4 Ng4 16. Bg1 Bd7 17. Rc1 a6 18. Nd1 f5 19. exf5 Bxf5 20. Rh4 Nf6 21. g4 Ne4 22. Qd3 Qb4+ 23. Nc3 Qxb2 24. gxf5 Bxc3+ 25. Rxc3 Qxc3+ 26. Qxc3 Nxc3 27. fxg6 Nxe2 28. Kxe2 hxg6 29. a4 Kh7 30. Be3 b5 31. axb5 axb5 32. cxb5 Rab8 33. f5 gxf5 34. Ra4 Rxb5 35. Ra7 Rf7 36. Bg5 c4 37. Ra5 Rxa5 {0-1 (37) Aravindh,C (2641)-Adhiban,B (2660) chess24.com INT 2021}) 11. O-O $16 {/+-} Qb6 12. Qb3 $2 $14 (12. a4 $1 a5 13. Ne1 $1 Ne5 14. Be3 $1 Qxb2 15. Rc1 Neg4 16. Bd4 c5 17. Rb1 Qxb1 18. Nxb1 cxd4 19. Nd2 $18) 12... Nh5 13. Nh2 Nhf6 14. Nf3 Nd7 15. Qc2 Nc5 16. Bf4 a5 17. Rae1 (17. Rad1 $142 $16) 17... f5 $6 (17... a4 $142) 18. exf5 Rxf5 19. Bg5 Qd8 20. Qd2 $16 Qf8 21. Bd1 $1 Rf7 22. b3 (22. Ne4 $142 $18) 22... Nxh6 23. dxc6 $2 (23. Na4 $142 $16) 23... bxc6 24. Nd4 $6 (24. Na4 $1 Ng4 $8 25. Nxc5 dxc5 26. Bh4 Bf6 27. Bc2 $14) 24... Nf5 $15 (24... Bxd4 $1 25. Qxd4 Nf5 26. Qd2 e5 $15) 25. Nxc6 $2 (25. Nxf5 $142) 25... Bb7 $17 26. Bf3 $4 {Apparently the players were already in serious time trouble. This accounts for the mistakes made here, and Firouzja's subsequent failure to cash in on his winning advantage.} (26. b4 $8) 26... Ra6 (26... Rc8 $142 $19) 27. Nxe7+ $8 Nxe7 28. Bxb7 Bxc3 29. Qxc3 Nxb7 $19 {White's position looks great until you realize that he's down a piece for just one pawn. But time trouble giveth, and time trouble taketh away...} 30. Re2 h6 31. Bc1 Ra8 32. Bb2 Kh7 33. Rfe1 Nc5 34. Qd2 Nf5 35. Qd5 h5 36. Bc3 Nd7 37. Re6 Rc8 38. Bxa5 $2 Nf6 $2 (38... Rc5 $1 39. Qd2 Ne5 $1 {followed by ...Qc8 should do the trick - just in time for the time control.}) 39. Qd2 Re8 $2 (39... Ng4) 40. Bc3 Rxe6 41. Rxe6 Nd7 $2 {A final error right after the time control. Now the position is equal, and stays that way to the end.} (41... Ng7 $15 {/-/+}) 42. Qg5 $11 Qg8 (42... Qh6 $142 43. Re8 Nf6 44. Bxf6 Rxf6 45. Qxf6 Qc1+ 46. Kh2 Qf4+ $11) 43. g4 hxg4 44. Qxg4 Ne5 45. Qh3+ Nh6 46. Rxd6 Qe8 47. Qe6 Re7 48. Qd5 Nef7 49. Rf6 Rd7 50. Qe6 Rd1+ 51. Kg2 Qxe6 52. Rxe6 Nf5 53. Re1 Rd3 54. Rc1 Ng5 55. Kf1 Ne6 56. Be5 Rd2 57. b4 Rxa2 58. c5 Ra4 59. c6 Rxb4 60. c7 Nxc7 61. Rxc7+ Kg8 62. Bg3 Ra4 63. Kg2 Rb4 64. Ra7 Rc4 65. Rb7 Kf8 66. Ra7 Kg8 67. Rb7 Kf8 68. Ra7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet Classic 2022"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2022.05.09"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2759"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "131"] [EventDate "2022.05.05"] {[%evp 0,131,22,22,22,18,25,14,58,41,33,-2,4,13,27,40,76,80,56,43,45,43,44,42, 30,37,34,16,27,-3,7,-12,13,-13,8,7,2,-5,8,-12,-10,6,15,6,42,68,41,-90,35,21,25, 5,0,55,33,33,45,15,41,15,82,40,82,52,117,96,86,109,97,149,125,80,72,70,39,35, 45,45,45,64,49,46,46,59,60,54,53,65,91,29,29,48,68,68,68,73,168,73,33,33,198, 184,189,188,201,207,213,213,221,188,166,169,299,188,149,165,307,282,339,321, 245,188,245,279,279,319,311,304,304,301,299,303,303,201]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Bf5 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 Nd6 10. Nf1 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 c6 12. Bf4 Na6 13. h4 Nc7 14. Ng5 g6 (14... Bxg5 15. Bxg5 f6 16. Bf4 Qd7 {is the alternative.}) 15. Nh2 (15. Ne3 {is the other approach, as played in a So-Duda game, among others.} Qd7 16. h5 Nce8 17. Nf3 Ng7 18. Ne5 Qd8 19. Bh6 Bg5 20. N3g4 gxh5 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. Nh2 f6 23. Nef3 Ne4 24. Re2 Kh8 25. Rae1 Bf4 26. Nf1 f5 27. c4 Rg8 28. cxd5 cxd5 29. Ne3 Qd7 30. Ne5 Qg7 31. f3 Ng3 32. Rc2 Bxe5 33. dxe5 Qxe5 34. Qxd5 Rae8 35. Qxe5+ Rxe5 36. Rc4 b5 37. Rd4 Rf8 38. Kf2 f4 39. Nc2 Rxe1 40. Nxe1 Re8 41. Rxf4 Nh1+ 42. Kf1 Ng3+ 43. Kf2 Nh1+ 44. Kf1 Ng3+ 45. Kf2 {1/2-1/2 (45) So,W (2770)-Duda,J (2743) chess24.com INT 2021}) 15... Qd7 $146 (15... f6 16. Ne6 Nxe6 17. Rxe6 Qd7 18. Rae1 Ne4 19. Rxe7 Qxe7 20. f3 f5 21. Bg5 Qb4 22. c3 Qxb2 23. fxe4 dxe4 24. Qc4+ Rf7 25. a4 Qa3 26. Rb1 Qd6 27. Rxb7 Qd5 28. Qa6 c5 29. Rb5 Rc7 30. Bf4 Rc6 31. Qb7 Rd8 32. Qxa7 {1-0 (32) Brkic,A (2621)-Matlakov,M (2682) Riga 2021}) 16. h5 Bxg5 17. Bxg5 Rfe8 18. hxg6 hxg6 19. Bf6 Rxe1+ 20. Rxe1 Re8 21. Rf1 Na6 $2 { Underestimating the danger on the kingside.} (21... Qe6 $11) (21... Qf5 $11) 22. Be5 $18 Qe6 23. f4 $2 (23. Qg3 $142 Ne4 24. Qh4 f6 25. f3 $1 fxe5 26. fxe4 Rf8 27. Rxf8+ Kxf8 28. Qh8+ Ke7 29. Qg7+ $1 Kd8 30. Qxb7 Nc7 31. Nf3 $18) 23... Nb8 24. Qa3 (24. f5 $1 Nxf5 25. Qh3 f6 26. g4 fxe5 27. gxf5 gxf5 28. Kh1 $1 Rf8 $8 29. Nf3 Rf6 $8 30. Rg1+ Rg6 31. Ng5 Qd7 32. Rg3 Qg7 33. Qxf5 Nd7 34. dxe5 $16) 24... Ne4 25. f5 $1 gxf5 26. Qh3 f6 27. Rxf5 Nd7 28. Bf4 $14 Kf8 29. Qa3+ Kg7 30. Rh5 a6 $6 (30... Nf8) 31. Qb3 b6 (31... Nf8) 32. Qf3 $16 Rh8 33. Rxh8 Kxh8 34. Qh5+ Kg8 35. Qg6+ $2 (35. Ng4 $18) 35... Kf8 36. Ng4 Ke7 37. Nh6 Kd8 38. Nf7+ Ke7 39. Nh6 Kd8 40. Nf5 Kc8 (40... Nf8 $11) 41. Qg4 Kd8 42. Qh3 Qe8 $2 (42... Nf8 $1 $11) 43. Qh7 $1 (43. Bh2 $1 $16 {The idea is Qh4-f4.}) 43... Ng5 $6 44. Bxg5 fxg5 45. Qg7 Qe1+ 46. Kh2 Qd2 47. Qe7+ Kc7 48. Qd6+ Kd8 49. Ne7 Qxc2 $2 (49... Qf2 {is better, though it's also probably losing in the long run.}) 50. Nxc6+ $18 Kc8 51. Ne7+ Kd8 52. Nc6+ Kc8 53. Ne7+ Kd8 54. Nxd5 Qh7+ 55. Kg1 Qb1+ 56. Kh2 Qh7+ 57. Kg1 Qb1+ 58. Kf2 Qc2+ 59. Ke3 Qc1+ 60. Kd3 Kc8 61. Qe6 Qf1+ 62. Kc3 Qc1+ 63. Kb3 Qd1+ 64. Ka3 Qd3+ 65. b3 {The checks are at an end, and so are Black's chances.} Qb5 66. Kb2 $1 ({The immediate} 66. Nf6 $4 {was a blunder, allowing perpetual check, but the idea is preempted by White's 66.Kb2.} Qa5+ 67. Kb2 Qd2+ 68. Ka3 Qa5+ $11) (66. Kb2 $1 {Threatens Nf6, or even better, a4. Black's queen is stuck - trying for the perpetual we just saw won't work here:} Qa5 67. Qe8+ {and White wins everything on the way to a speedy mate.}) 1-0 [Event "Superbet Classic 2022"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2022.05.09"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C20"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2022.05.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Ne2 {For most of us, this would be just another step in the desperate search to avoid the Berlin (and the Marshall, and the Petroff, and to avoid the unbearable boredom of the Italian Game), but to his credit Rapport has always been willing to try one oddball line after another. I believe this rare bird is named for Alapin, the same Russian master known for 1.e4 c5 2.c3.} Nf6 (2... Bc5) (2... d5) ({and} 2... Nc6 {are all reasonable (and frequently chosen) alternatives.}) 3. d4 exd4 (3... d5 {is rare, but it was chosen by no less a player than Viswanathan Anand.} 4. exd5 exd4 5. Qxd4 Nxd5 6. Nbc3 $14 {1-0 (53) Ivanchuk,V (2738)-Anand,V (2786) Leuven 2017}) (3... Nxe4 {is usual. White doesn't take on e5 now - 4...Bc5 would be an excellent rejoinder - but first kicks the Black knight.} 4. f3 Ng5 5. dxe5 $11) 4. e5 Ne4 $146 5. Qxd4 d5 6. exd6 Nxd6 7. Nbc3 Nc6 $11 {One doesn't play the Alapin for the sake of an advantage, but to reach fresh positions. To that end, White has succeeded.} 8. Qa4 Bd7 9. Bd2 g6 10. O-O-O Bg7 11. Ne4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4+ Qe7 13. Nc3 O-O-O 14. Qxe7 Nxe7 15. Bc4 Bc6 16. Rhe1 (16. f3 $14) 16... Nd5 17. Nb5 Kb8 18. Bg5 Bf6 19. h4 Bxg5+ 20. hxg5 Nb6 $11 {In the old days, the players would probably call it a day here. Thanks to the Sofia rules, the players had to continue for a while, but you, the reader, do not. Go outside and take a walk! Play with your children! Smell the flowers! Life is too short to spend time on games like this one.} 21. Bf1 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Nc8 23. Nd4 Bd7 24. Bd3 h5 25. b4 Re8 26. c4 b6 27. f3 c5 28. bxc5 bxc5 29. Nb3 Ba4 30. Kd2 Kc7 31. Rf1 Bxb3 32. axb3 a5 33. Ra1 Kb6 34. Be4 Nd6 35. Bd5 Re5 36. f4 Re7 37. Re1 Rxe1 38. Kxe1 Kc7 39. Kd2 Kd7 40. f5 gxf5 41. Ke3 Ke7 42. Kf4 f6 43. g3 fxg5+ 44. Kxg5 Ne4+ 45. Bxe4 fxe4 46. Kf4 Kf6 47. Kxe4 Ke6 48. Kf4 Kf6 49. Ke4 Ke6 50. Kf4 Kf6 1/2-1/2