[Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Sadhwani, Raunak"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "6.6"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2777"] [BlackElo "2673"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2127852855881971"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,69,17,31,25,0,0,7,4,7,7,4,2,-3,-27,-1,13,11,11,11,9,9,21,23,3,16,11,26,33,85,46,68,56,99,104,30,175,145,84,118,55,120,86,115,79,122,116,92,128,42,98,105,167,146,104,93,151,102,231,158,229,256,220,246,339,282,175,483,504,599,770,647]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d3 {The English with 1.c4 e5 often turns into a kind of reversed Dragon, but there are other sorts of Sicilians that can be flipped.} d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nf6 7. Be2 h6 ({A less successful outing for Abdusattorov in this line:} 7... Bc5 8. Be3 Bb6 9. O-O Bg4 10. Nd2 Be6 11. Na4 Qd6 12. Nxb6 axb6 13. Kh1 Nd7 14. f4 f6 15. fxe5 fxe5 16. Bg5 Bf7 17. Rxf7 Kxf7 18. Nc4 Qe6 19. Bg4 Qe8 20. Qb3 Kg6 21. h4 Nd4 22. Qd1 Nf6 23. Be3 Rd8 24. Bh3 h6 25. Bxd4 Rxd4 26. Qf3 Kf7 27. Qf5 Rxc4 28. dxc4 Qc6 29. Rf1 Re8 30. h5 Kg8 31. Qg6 Rf8 32. Bf5 Qxc4 33. Rd1 Qf7 34. Rc1 c6 35. Rd1 Qxg6 36. hxg6 Re8 37. Rd3 b5 38. Rb3 Ra8 39. a3 Kf8 40. Rd3 Ke7 41. Kh2 Rd8 42. Rb3 Rd4 43. Kh3 Nxe4 44. g3 Kf6 45. Bc8 Nd6 46. Bd7 Kxg6 47. Re3 e4 48. Kg4 Kf6 49. Re1 Ke5 50. Kh5 Rd2 51. Kg6 Rxb2 52. Kxg7 Rg2 53. g4 h5 54. Kf8 hxg4 55. Ke7 Nf5+ 56. Kd8 g3 57. Kc7 e3 58. Kxb7 c5 59. Bxb5 Rb2 60. Ka6 g2 61. Bc6 Kf4 62. Rc1 Nd4 63. Bd5 Ne2 64. Rc4+ Kg3 65. Bxg2 Kxg2 66. Rxc5 Nf4 67. Rc4 e2 {0-1 Abdusattorov,N (2777)-So,W (2747) Tata Steel India Blitz Kolkata 2024 (15)}) 8. O-O Bd6 9. Be3 O-O 10. h3 a6 11. Rc1 Be6 12. d4 {One benefit of playing a Black opening with White is that the extra tempo can let you achieve things that would otherwise be difficult or even impossible. Black would often like to achieve ...d5 in many Sicilians but is unable to; here, for White, d4 is no problem.} exd4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 {Perhaps *the* critical moment.} Nd7 $2 (14... c5 15. Qd1 b5 $11 {gives Black the activity he needs to prevent White from rolling him in the center.}) 15. Qd2 $1 (15. f4 {is premature on account of} Bc5 16. Qd2 Nb6 $3 $11) 15... Qh4 $2 (15... Ne5 {was better, with a similar trick to that in the last note.} 16. f4 Bc5 $1 {Nevertheless, White has a meaningful advantage after} 17. Nd5 Bxe3+ 18. Qxe3 Bxd5 19. Rcd1 $14 {/?}) 16. f4 $18 {Black has no counterplay, and White's e- and f-pawns threaten to sweep Black off the board.} f5 17. e5 Bc5 18. Bxc5 Nxc5 19. Qe3 $6 (19. Qd4 $142 $18) 19... Qe7 20. Bf3 Rad8 21. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 a5 23. a3 Kh8 24. Kh2 b6 25. Nb5 g5 $2 {Asking too much of the position.} (25... Bb3 26. Rd2 Bg8 $16) ({or} 25... Bg8 $16 {was correct, followed by ...Ne6 and *maybe* ...g5 at some later point.}) 26. b4 $18 axb4 27. axb4 Na6 $2 (27... Ne4 {was necessary.}) 28. Nd4 g4 {Now White powers through the middle of the board.} 29. Nxe6 Qxe6 30. Bd5 Qe7 31. e6 Rg8 32. Bc4 g3+ 33. Kg1 Nxb4 34. Qe5+ Qg7 35. e7 {An impressive victory by the young Uzbek superstar.} 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "6.8"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2700"] [BlackElo "2801"] [PlyCount "83"] [GameId "2127852855886069"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,83,12,32,19,15,16,50,17,38,14,17,17,14,14,115,25,17,29,41,57,19,9,-69,-81,44,84,63,20,-1,21,1,-1,-27,-1,7,38,-239,89,-1,160,178,17,148,167,132,-54,-15,-25,-51,-59,-58,-71,-85,-122,-110,-149,-126,-99,-116,-113,-126,-119,-79,-81,-122,-137,-96,-93,-140,-117,-123,-139,-169,-1,-149,-205,-172,-191,185,-180,-279,-361,-434,-490,-532]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 {Erigaisi is a fan of this dangerous "Triangle" variation.} 4. e4 (4. Nf3 dxc4 {typically heads for the Noteboom Variation, while}) (4. e3 {gives Black the option of heading for a normal Semi-Slav with 4...Nf6 or going for a sort of Dutch with 4...f5 or with the cagey} Nd7 {, which keeps both options open.}) 4... dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 (6. Nc3 {is a good alternative for those who don't like sacrificing pawns or who wish to avoid long and very tactical theoretical lines.}) 6... Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Ne2 (8. Be2 {is the other main line, probably deserving to be known as *the* main line.}) 8... Na6 9. Bf8 {The sort of move that can make you fall off your chair if you've never seen it before, though the idea has been around for many decades.} Qg6 $6 {Probably a semi-bluff.} (9... Ne7 {is just about automatic.} 10. Bxg7 Nb4 11. Qd6 Nd3+ 12. Kd2 Nf5 13. Qxd3 Qxd3+ 14. Kxd3 Nxg7 {is standard, and theory continues well past this point.}) 10. Bd6 (10. Qd6 $1 f5 11. Qa3 $1 Qf6 12. Bd6 Nh6 13. O-O-O Nf7 14. c5 Nxd6 15. cxd6 Nb8 16. Nf4 e5 17. Re1 $1 $14 {favors White, but Erigaisi probably thought that Robson would be unlikely to know this or to have the time to work it out at the board. I doubt Erigaisi will play this again in the near future, though it's not really *that* bad after 17...Be6N.} Nd7 18. Bc4 Qh6 19. g3 e4 20. Qa5 Qf6 21. Ne6 Ne5 22. Nc7+ Kd7 23. Be2 b6 24. Qa4 Rb8 25. Rd1 a5 26. Rhe1 Nf7 27. Rd2 g6 28. Nd5 Qe5 29. Bc4 Nd8 30. f4 Qg7 31. g4 {1-0 Wyngaarden,M (2061)-Maron,P (2020) FICGS rapid A 000263 email FICGS email 2020 (1)}) 10... e5 $5 (10... Nh6 $11) 11. Bxe5 Nb4 $2 {This one doesn't seem to be a bluff or semi-bluff, but simply an error.} 12. Nf4 $1 $16 Qf5 $6 (12... Qe4+ 13. Qe2 Nc2+ 14. Kd2 Qxe2+ 15. Bxe2 f6 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. Kxc2 g5 18. Nh5 Bf5+ 19. Kb3 O-O 20. Nxf6+ Rxf6 $16 {is objectively the best Black can do, trying to survive a pawn down for nothing.}) 13. Qd6 $18 f6 $6 (13... Be6 $142) 14. Bc3 Nc2+ 15. Kd2 Nxa1 16. Bd3 Qd7 {Black is lost - and should be lost, too, given White's enormous lead in development and Black's king being stuck in the center. Accuracy is required, though.} 17. Re1+ $2 (17. Qc5 $1 {first was correct. One point is that if Black tries to evacuate his king with} Kf7 {White has the clever} 18. Qh5+ $1 {, interfering with his attempt to reach safety:} g6 (18... Ke7 19. Rxa1 $18) (18... Kf8 19. Bb4+ Ne7 20. Re1 $18) 19. Nxg6 hxg6 20. Qxg6+ $1 {Better than taking the rook.} Ke7 21. Qg7+ Kd6 22. Qg3+ (22. Qxh8 $18) 22... Ke7 23. Rxa1 $18) 17... Kf7 18. Qc5 g6 $1 {No Qh5+ now.} 19. Ne6 $1 {Threatening 20.Qf8#.} Qxe6 $8 20. Rxe6 Bxe6 21. Qd4 (21. Qd6 $142 $16 {/+-}) 21... c5 22. Qxc5 $2 (22. Qd6 $1 $16) 22... Rd8 $1 $11 {The point of the sac, and the reason why Qd6 was better on the last two moves. Now White will have a hard time collecting the knight on a1, and the bishop on d3 is a big problem. White tries to rectify the latter issue, but his next move only makes things worse - much worse.} 23. Ke2 $4 (23. Bb4 $11) (23. Kc1 Rxd3 24. Bb4 Rd8 $8 25. Qc7+ Rd7 $8 26. Qb8 $8 $11) 23... Nh6 $19 {Now it's Black who takes over the attack - with a material advantage to boot.} 24. Qc7+ Rd7 25. Qf4 Bf5 (25... Ng4 $142 26. h3 g5 27. Qg3 Rhd8 $19) 26. Bxf5 Nxf5 27. Qc1 Re8+ 28. Kf1 Red8 $1 29. Ke2 Nd4+ $1 30. Bxd4 Rxd4 31. g3 (31. Qxa1 Re8+ 32. Kf1 Rd2 $19 {followed by ...Ree2 and much eating.}) 31... Rd1 $1 32. Qxd1 Rxd1 33. Kxd1 {It will take White too long to collect the knight. If he doesn't, though, he's just a piece down.} Ke6 34. Kd2 (34. Kc1 Kd6 35. Kb1 Kc5 36. b3 (36. Kxa1 Kxc4 37. Kb1 Kd3 $19 {White will lose the kingside.}) 36... Nxb3 37. axb3 Kb4 38. Kb2 g5 39. g4 b6 40. Kc2 a5 41. Kb2 a4 42. bxa4 Kxc4 43. Ka3 Kc3 $19 {Sooner or later, White must allow ...Kb4. White will lose the a-pawn and the game.}) 34... Ke5 35. Kd3 a5 36. b3 g5 37. f3 f5 38. Kc3 g4 {Carving out the e4 square for his king.} 39. fxg4 fxg4 40. a3 b6 41. a4 Nxb3 42. Kxb3 {Perhaps Robson lost on time here, or didn't want to see 42...Kd4 appear on the board.} 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Petrosian, Tigran L."] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "6.15"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2551"] [BlackElo "2689"] [PlyCount "42"] [GameId "2127852855890172"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,42,16,31,20,8,19,16,21,0,0,-4,6,-13,-9,-15,-12,-5,-9,-24,12,-16,-7,-11,0,-15,-2,-38,-19,-24,-4,-15,36,3,45,-1,-73,-79,-62,-126,-105,-332,-329,-481,-373] Grischuk went 4/4 on day two, and games like this one certainly helped him fly to the leading boards.} 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. b3 (4. Nc3 $142) 4... Bf5 5. Bb2 e6 6. Be2 h6 $15 7. O-O Nbd7 8. d4 Bd6 9. Nc3 Qe7 (9... O-O {is much more common, but Black is likely to play ...Qe7 in the near future - often as soon as the very next move.}) 10. a3 Ne4 11. b4 a6 12. Rc1 Rd8 13. Nd2 $6 {Hoping to trade his way to equality, but the danger - which we'll see in spades - is that his king will be vulnerable thanks to its being abandoned by the knight.} Ndf6 14. Nf3 $2 {A change of heart. Unfortunately, this makes things even worse!} (14. Ncxe4) 14... Ng4 $1 15. h3 h5 $1 {Taking is suicidal, as Black's attack down the h-file will deliver mate. Not taking isn't much fun either, though, and sooner or later the knight will make its presence felt.} 16. Qe1 Bb8 17. Nxe4 $2 dxe4 $19 18. Ne5 Qg5 19. g3 $2 Nxe5 (19... h4 {is even better, but just showing off (or a sign that one has access to an engine).}) 20. dxe5 $2 (20. h4 {had to be tried, but after} Qe7 21. dxe5 g5 $1 $19 {White is still in huge trouble.}) 20... Bxh3 21. Qc3 h4 {What a massacre.} 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Dardha, Daniel"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "7.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "C41"] [WhiteElo "2639"] [BlackElo "2831"] [PlyCount "91"] [GameId "2127852855951688"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,91,17,-5,30,72,36,48,35,29,29,19,26,19,13,24,16,16,32,22,-32,19,38,5,20,25,19,18,6,-11,-60,3,4,-11,-73,-50,-37,-14,-51,-68,-161,-57,-30,-75,-219,-81,-159,-50,-57,-141,-112,-192,-54,-90,-66,-93,-113,-135,-61,-110,-79,-47,-37,-12,-39,-71,-69,-212,-71,-30,-31,-50,-101,-78,-99,-67,66,37,1,3,99,-3,98,78,89,69,1,0,1,74,20,1,-1,238] Carlsen's bad form continues. He won in round 6 to reach a +1 score, but in this game he very nearly dropped back to 50%.} 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. g3 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. a4 b6 9. Nh4 g6 10. Be3 Re8 11. f4 Ba6 12. Re1 Bf8 13. Nf3 Bg7 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. f5 Qe7 16. Bf1 Bxf1 17. Rxf1 Rad8 18. Nd2 Qb4 19. Rb1 Nc5 20. Qf3 Nxa4 21. Nxa4 Qxa4 22. b3 Qb4 23. Rf2 Qc3 24. Nf1 Qb4 25. Nd2 b5 26. Bg5 Rd6 27. c3 Qa5 28. Nf1 h6 29. Bxf6 Bxf6 30. b4 Qc7 31. Ne3 h5 32. Rbf1 Red8 $11 {Carlsen has an extra pawn and control of the d-file. The normal expectation is that Carlsen will figure out how to neutralize White's ideas on the f-file and grind out a victory, but Dardha rises to the occasion. Playing without fear, he brings the fight to Carlsen in a big way, and should have achieved a well-deserved victory.} 33. h4 $1 Qe7 34. Kh1 (34. c4) (34. fxg6) (34. g4 $5) 34... Kh7 (34... Bg7 $1) 35. g4 Bxh4 36. Rh2 g5 37. f6 $5 Qe6 38. Rxh4 $1 gxh4 39. g5 {The threat of Qxh5+ followed by Nf5 is a big deal.} Kg8 (39... Kg6 {is playable, though it's really asking for it.} 40. Nf5 $1 Rd3 $8 41. Ne7+ $1 Kxg5 $8 (41... Qxe7 $4 42. Qf5#) (41... Kh7 $4 42. Qxh5#) 42. Rg1+ Qg4 (42... Kh6 $4 43. Nf5+ Kh7 (43... Qxf5 44. Qxf5 $18) 44. Qxh5#) 43. Rxg4+ hxg4 44. Qf5+ Kh6 45. Qxg4 {and Black is fortunate to have a draw here:} Rd1+ 46. Kg2 R8d2+ 47. Kf3 $8 Rd3+ $11) 40. Nf5 $1 R6d7 $2 (40... Rd3 $1 41. Qxh5 Rh3+ 42. Kg1 Rdd3 $1 43. Ne7+ Qxe7 44. fxe7 {White is up a queen and about to create a second queen, but Black draws by} Rdg3+ $8 45. Kf2 Rh2+ 46. Ke1 Re3+ $11 {and it's a perpetual check - the rook on the third rank will follow White's king on whatever file it moves to.}) 41. Qxh5 $18 Qc4 42. Kg1 $2 {White is still winning after this (or nearly so), but he missed a clear-cut winner.} (42. Rf2 $1 Qxe4+ 43. Kh2 {If Black does nothing, White plays Qh6 followed by Qg7#. There's no perpetual after 43...Qxf5 44.Rxf5 Rd2+ 45.Kg1 Rd1+ 46.Rf1, so the best try seems to be} Qe1 {, but now White finishes Black off with} 44. Nh6+ Kf8 45. Ng4 {. The rook is protected, 46.Qh8# is threatened, and} Kg8 46. Qh6 $18 {results in an inevitable mate by Qg7#.}) 42... Qxe4 43. Nh6+ (43. c4 $1 bxc4 44. g6 $1 fxg6 45. Qxg6+ Kf8 46. Qh6+ Kf7 $1 47. Qh5+ $1 Ke6 48. f7 $1 Rxf7 (48... Kd5 $2 49. Rd1+ $18 {reveals the point of 43.c4.}) 49. Qg6+ Kd7 (49... Kd5 $2 50. Qxf7#) 50. Rd1+ $1 Kc8 51. Qe6+ $1 Rfd7 52. Nd6+ Kc7 53. Nxe4 Rxd1+ 54. Kg2 $1 $18) (43. g6 $1 fxg6 44. Qxg6+ Kf8 45. Qh6+ Kf7 46. Nd6+ $1 (46. Qh5+ $2 Ke6 47. f7 Kd5 $3 48. Qg6 $1 Qe2 $1 $11) 46... Rxd6 47. Qg7+ Ke6 48. Qe7+ Kd5 49. Qf7+ Re6 50. Rd1+ Kc4 51. Qxe6+ Kxc3 52. Qh3+ Kxb4 53. Rxd8 Qg6+ 54. Qg2 Qxf6 $18 {White is winning, but not by making a series of obvious moves.}) 43... Kf8 44. Nf5 Kg8 45. Nh6+ $2 (45. g6 $1 $18) (45. c4 $1 $18) 45... Kf8 46. Nf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Naroditsky, Daniel"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "7.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "B13"] [WhiteElo "2619"] [BlackElo "2777"] [PlyCount "100"] [GameId "2127852855955785"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,100,18,12,41,9,20,20,32,15,22,7,6,0,5,0,1,6,10,18,12,14,10,5,11,11,8,41,6,7,10,-41,31,21,21,43,-4,97,3,3,-30,-72,-46,0,-6,9,27,83,10,-91,-18,59,8,179,18,3,9,30,40,-4,190,32,45,231,50,82,93,-1,-25,-24,55,121,113,69,107,55,-33,1,-1,-24,-28,-77,132,124,73,1,341,85,400,382,355,363,445,433,441,436,393,532,520,377,571,532,675]} 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Ne5 {The so-called Apocalypse Variation. It's a great name for an opening but, like clickbait, it doesn't live up to the expectation. It's best thought of as a twist on the standard Exchange Variation (2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3).} Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nxd7 Qxd7 8. c3 e6 9. O-O Bd6 10. Nd2 O-O 11. Re1 Qc7 12. g3 Rfe8 (12... a6 {is usual, and after} 13. Bd3 {Black generally chooses the minority attack with 13...b5 (followed by ...b4) or active piece play with} e5 {. This move was seen earlier this year in a Naroditsky-MVL game:} 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nf3 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 h6 17. Be3 Rfe8 18. Rad1 Rad8 19. Nd4 Bc5 20. Nf5 Qb6 21. Bxc5 Qxc5 22. Qf3 Qb6 23. b3 Re4 24. c4 Rxe1+ 25. Rxe1 dxc4 26. bxc4 Rd7 27. Ne7+ Kf8 28. Nf5 Qa5 29. Re2 h5 30. Qf4 Nh7 31. Nd6 Nf6 32. Nf5 Nh7 33. c5 Qd8 34. Nd6 Nf6 35. Qb4 Kg8 36. Nxb7 Rd1+ 37. Re1 Rxe1+ 38. Qxe1 Qd5 39. Qe7 Qd1+ 40. Kg2 Qd5+ 41. Kg1 Qd1+ 42. Kg2 Qd5+ 43. Kg1 {½-½ Naroditsky,D (2619)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2732) Titled Tuesday intern op 16th Apr Late Chess.com INT blitz 2024 (7)}) 13. Nf3 Ne4 14. Ng5 $14 f5 $146 (14... Nxg5 15. Bxg5 a6 16. Bd3 Na5 17. Qg4 Be7 18. h4 Nc4 19. Re2 b5 20. Rae1 Qd7 21. Bxe7 Rxe7 22. Qh5 g6 23. Qg5 Ree8 24. h5 Qd8 25. Qf4 Qd6 26. Qg4 Qf8 27. hxg6 hxg6 28. Bxg6 Qg7 29. Bh5 Qxg4 30. Bxg4 Rec8 31. Rc2 a5 32. Be2 b4 33. Rec1 Nd6 34. c4 dxc4 35. Bxc4 Nf5 36. Rd1 a4 37. b3 Nd6 38. Rdc1 Nf5 39. Rd1 Nd6 40. Kf1 axb3 41. axb3 Nxc4 42. Rxc4 Rxc4 43. bxc4 Rc8 44. c5 e5 45. dxe5 Rxc5 46. f4 Rb5 47. Rb1 b3 48. Rb2 f6 49. exf6 Kf7 50. Ke2 Rb8 51. Kd2 Kxf6 52. Kc3 Rg8 53. Rg2 Kf5 54. Kxb3 Ke4 55. Rg1 Rb8+ 56. Kc4 Rc8+ 57. Kb5 Kf3 58. f5 Kg4 59. Rf1 Rf8 60. f6 Kg5 61. f7 Kg6 62. Kc6 Rxf7 63. Rxf7 Kxf7 64. Kd5 Kf6 65. g4 Kg5 66. Ke4 Kxg4 {½-½ Andreikin,D (2710)-Kobalia,M (2619) RUS-ch 71st Satka 2018 (2)}) 15. Qh5 g6 16. Qh6 a6 17. Bf1 e5 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Bg5 Qf7 20. b3 exd4 21. Bc4 Re6 22. Bf4 Bf8 23. Qh3 Rae8 24. g4 $2 (24. cxd4 Nxd4 25. Red1 {was better, with a complicated position where Black's compensation for the (inevitable loss of the) exchange is evident.}) 24... d3 $2 (24... dxc3 $17 {was better, both for the pawn and the d4 square.}) 25. gxf5 Qxf5 26. Qxf5 gxf5 27. Rad1 Kf7 28. f3 Bc5+ (28... Kf6 $142 $17) 29. Be3 (29. Kf1 $142) 29... Bxe3+ (29... Bd6 $142) 30. Rxe3 Kf6 31. Bxe6 Rxe6 $11 32. Rde1 b5 33. Kg2 b4 34. c4 f4 $2 (34... Nd4 $11) 35. Rxe4 Rxe4 36. fxe4 Ke5 37. Kf3 $2 (37. Kf2 $18) 37... Nd4+ $11 38. Kf2 Nc2 $2 (38... Ne6 $1 {was equal. Black will continue with ...Kd4 and ...Nc5.}) 39. Rd1 (39. Rg1 $1 $18) 39... Kxe4 40. c5 $18 Ne3 41. Rg1 Kd5 42. Ke1 $2 (42. Rg7 $1 Kxc5 43. Rd7 Nd5 44. Rxh7 Kd4 45. Rd7 $18) 42... f3 $2 (42... Kxc5 $11) 43. Kf2 $1 $18 Kd4 44. c6 Nd5 45. Rg4+ Kc3 46. Rc4+ Kb2 47. Rd4 Nc7 48. Rxd3 Kxa2 49. Rd7 Nb5 50. Rb7 Kxb3 {Perhaps Abdusattorov lost on time while making this move, or else played it and didn't wait for Naroditsky to play 51.Rxb5 followed by promoting the c-pawn. With this win, Naroditsky found himself in clear first.} 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Pranav, V."] [Black "Grigoryan, Karen H."] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "7.12"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "C47"] [WhiteElo "2621"] [BlackElo "2618"] [PlyCount "45"] [GameId "2127852855963987"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,28,23,7,29,30,23,38,7,-7,19,28,5,20,-55,4,8,-71,1,9,3,-39,-47,-27,84,140,72,50,65,53,61]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nd5 {What is this? I've certainly seen 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5, but this is a new one by me. There aren't a lot of games with this in the database, but it seems to have had a burst in popularity this year, especially in the games of one Aram Hakobyan.} Be7 {Closing the e-file, so ...Nxe4 becomes more of a threat.} ({Of course, Black could take straight away, without the preliminary 4...Be7. Let's have a look.} 4... Nxe4 {. White's best seems to be} 5. d4 {Here Black can play either 5...exd4 (greed is good?) or the more restrained 5...d6.} (5. Qe2 {is okay, and now the biggest test is the committal} f5 (5... Nf6 6. Nxe5 Nd4 $1 7. Qc4 Nxd5 8. Qxd5 Ne6 9. d4 d6 10. Nf3 g6 11. h4 c6 12. Qb3 Bg7 $11) 6. d3 $2 (6. d4 $1 $146 d6 (6... exd4 {transposes to the Belgrade Gambit (4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5). Black is fine here as well.}) 7. Qc4 $1 Be7 8. Be3 Be6 9. Nxc7+ Qxc7 10. Qxe6 Qa5+ 11. c3 Nxc3 12. Bc4 $1 Ne4+ 13. Kf1 Rf8 $1 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. Rd1 Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Kxd8 17. Ke2 $44) 6... Nf6 $146 7. Bg5 (7. Nxe5 $2 Nd4 $1 8. Nxf6+ Qxf6 9. Ng4+ Qe7 10. Qxe7+ Bxe7 11. Ne3 f4 12. Nd5 Nxc2+ 13. Kd1 Nxa1 14. Nxc7+ Kd8 15. Nxa8 d6 $19) 7... d6 8. Bxf6 gxf6 9. d4 Be6 $17 {White doesn't have enough for the pawn.}) {Let's highlight} 5... d6 {, as it leads to new positions.} (5... exd4 {is another transposition to the Belgrade Gambit.}) 6. Bb5 (6. Bc4 Be7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Re1 Nxd5 9. Bxd5 O-O {gets Black to safety. White can regain the pawn, but after} 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. dxe5 c5 ({or} 11... Rb8) 12. exd6 cxd6 {Black has the better half of the approximately equal position thanks to the bishop pair.}) 6... a6 7. Ba4 b5 8. Bb3 Na5 9. Qe2 f5 10. O-O c6 {is equal but complex. In correspondence chess, it is, of course, just one more way to make a draw:} 11. Nb4 Bb7 12. Be6 Qf6 13. d5 Nc5 14. dxc6 Nxc6 15. Nd5 Qg6 16. Nf4 Qf6 17. Nd5 Qg6 18. Nf4 Qf6 19. Nd5 {½-½ Denisov,T (2277)-Moreira,J (2274) FICGS W-ch st2 g01 email FICGS email 2022 (1)}) (4... Bc5 {is another very reasonable alternative. Here Hakobyan and some other specialists have gone for} 5. c3 {, looking to build the big pawn center. Black can and arguably should take on e4, and the position to analyze comes after these moves:} Nxe4 6. d4 exd4 7. Bd3 Nf6 8. Qe2+ Kf8 9. Nxf6 Qxf6 10. b4 Bd6 {and I'll leave this one to you. Objectively, Black is fine.}) 5. Bd3 {"Kopecking" the position. White will typically continue with c3 and Bc2. (Referring to the late American IM Danny Kopec, who tried to name the anti-Sicilian approach 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bd3 [intending to continue with c3, Bc2, and ultimately d4] after himself.)} d6 6. c3 Be6 $146 ({Here's a game featuring the winner of this event (who was also Grigoryan's final round opponent) losing to this variation.} 6... O-O 7. Bc2 Be6 (7... Nxd5 $142 8. exd5 Nb8 $11) 8. Nxe7+ Nxe7 9. O-O Ng6 10. d4 c6 11. h3 Re8 12. Re1 h6 13. Be3 Qc7 14. Qd2 Kh7 15. a4 a5 16. Rad1 Rad8 17. b3 Bc8 18. c4 b6 19. Qc3 c5 20. d5 Rf8 21. Rf1 Kg8 22. Nd2 Nh5 23. Kh2 Nhf4 24. g3 Ne2 25. Qd3 Nd4 26. Bxd4 cxd4 27. f4 f5 28. Qf3 Qf7 29. exf5 Bxf5 30. Bxf5 Qxf5 31. Qe4 exf4 32. Qxf5 Rxf5 33. g4 Re5 34. Nf3 Re2+ 35. Kg1 Re3 36. Rxd4 Rxb3 37. Re4 Re3 38. Rxe3 fxe3 39. Re1 Re8 40. Nd4 Nf4 41. Kh2 Re4 42. Nf5 e2 43. Nxd6 Re3 44. Nf5 Rxh3+ 45. Kg1 Rc3 46. d6 Rd3 47. Kf2 Kf7 48. Rxe2 g6 49. Re4 Nh3+ 50. Ke2 gxf5 51. Re7+ Kf6 52. Kxd3 fxg4 53. Re8 g3 54. d7 {1-0 Hakobyan,A (2617)-Murzin,V (2648) Titled Tuesday intern op 17th Sep Early Chess,com INT blitz 2024 (10)}) 7. Nxe7 Qxe7 8. O-O $14 d5 9. Bb5 (9. exd5 $142 {followed by 10.Re1 gives White a pleasant plus.}) 9... dxe4 10. Nxe5 O-O 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bxc6 Rad8 $44 13. Re1 (13. Qe2 $142) 13... Bg4 $2 (13... Ng4 $1 {with various threats like ...Qh4, ...Qd6, and ...Nxf2 Kxf2 Qc5+.} 14. Rxe4 $8 Qd6 15. Rxg4 Bxg4 16. Qxg4 Qxc6 17. d4 $8 Rfe8 $15 {Black is comfortably better.}) 14. Qa4 $16 Rd3 $2 {It looks like Black has some sort of grip, but as we'll see the tables are rapidly turned.} 15. b3 $18 Qc5 16. Ba3 Qg5 17. Qb5 $1 ({Amazingly, White is still somewhat better even after the very cooperative} 17. Bxf8 $2 Bf3 18. g3 Qf5 19. Re3 $1 Qh3 (19... Rxe3 20. Qb5 $1 Qh3 21. Qf1 $16) 20. Rxf3 Ng4 21. Qxe4 Qxh2+ 22. Kf1 Rxd2 23. Ke1 Rb2 24. Qd3 Qh1+ 25. Qf1 Qh6 26. Rd3 Qe6+ 27. Kd1 Nxf2+ 28. Kc1 Re2 29. Rd2 Re1+ 30. Kb2 Rxf1 31. Rxf1 Nd3+ 32. Kb1 Qxc6 33. Bxg7 Kxg7 34. Rxd3 $14 {This was never going to happen; it's just instructive that White can even survive in the position after 17.Bxf8.}) 17... Nd5 18. h4 Qg6 19. Bxd5 Bf3 {It looks scary, but White has things under control.} 20. g3 Rxd2 (20... Qf5 21. Qxd3 $1 exd3 22. Bxf3 Qxf3 23. Bxf8 $18) 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. Bxf8 Bc6 23. Qg5 {Black can trade queens, allow a trade of queens, or get mated. All three options are hopeless, so he resigned.} (23. Qg5 Qxg5 24. hxg5 Kxf8 25. Rad1 Rxd1 (25... Rxa2 26. Rd8+ {mates.}) 26. Rxd1 $18) 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Tari, Aryan"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "8.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2831"] [BlackElo "2629"] [PlyCount "79"] [GameId "2127852856025505"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,79,17,26,21,0,6,3,-3,-1,-1,2,-9,7,-1,1,3,2,8,-7,-7,-3,14,-5,0,33,22,-6,48,0,-152,33,22,33,-7,28,32,43,50,33,92,82,64,54,-37,32,106,53,75,36,74,45,-58,66,-112,25,27,128,116,154,203,272,283,305,83,290,323,312,312,138,297,533,295,284,313,506,297,299,437,346,419,333] Carlsen's final game of the day, the tournament, the Rapid & Blitz put together, and, one wonders, under FIDE auspices? (Update: Carlsen has agreed to play in the blitz. Still, I suspect that his time playing in FIDE events may come to an end in the near future, though I hope not.)} 1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. b3 Bf5 4. Be2 h6 5. Ba3 Nbd7 6. c4 e6 7. Bxf8 Nxf8 8. O-O N8d7 9. cxd5 exd5 10. b4 O-O 11. Nc3 c6 12. Qb3 Re8 13. b5 Qa5 14. Rfc1 Nc5 15. Qd1 Ne6 16. bxc6 bxc6 17. Qa4 Qb6 18. d4 a5 19. Qd1 Nd7 20. Na4 Qb7 21. Bd3 Bxd3 22. Qxd3 Qb4 23. Qd1 Rec8 24. Rab1 Qd6 25. Nb6 Nxb6 26. Rxb6 Qa3 27. h3 c5 28. Rb3 Qa4 29. dxc5 Rxc5 30. Rxc5 Nxc5 31. Qxd5 Rc8 32. Rc3 Qb4 33. Rc1 Qa3 34. Rc4 Qxa2 35. Rxc5 Qb1+ 36. Kh2 Rxc5 37. Qxc5 a4 38. Nd4 Qb2 39. Qc8+ Kh7 40. Qc2+ 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Naroditsky, Daniel"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "8.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "E94"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2619"] [PlyCount "79"] [GameId "2127852856029602"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,79,20,33,18,8,39,40,44,40,0,36,24,28,53,40,53,35,99,37,74,34,49,48,51,173,57,61,137,44,52,16,41,39,29,26,35,36,73,11,0,0,17,1,1,6,30,9,-38,28,56,61,38,38,22,11,36,16,33,30,30,43,50,-1,1,73,19,19,19,71,53,94,81,224,235,332,392,401,757,764,735,771]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Na6 7. O-O e5 8. Re1 Bg4 9. Be3 exd4 10. Nxd4 Bxe2 11. Qxe2 Re8 12. f3 c6 13. Rad1 Nd7 14. Kh1 Nac5 15. Nb3 Nxb3 16. axb3 Qc7 17. Qd2 Re6 18. Ne2 a5 19. Bd4 Bxd4 20. Nxd4 Ree8 21. Qg5 Kh8 22. Nc2 Re6 23. Ra1 Qb6 24. Qd2 Qd8 25. Ra3 Qf6 26. Rxa5 Rxa5 27. Qxa5 Qxb2 28. Qd8+ Kg7 29. Qxd7 Qxc2 30. Qxb7 Re5 31. Rg1 {White has an extra pawn, but it's not so meaningful just yet as Black has good counterplay and reasonable chances to draw various pawn-down endings (e.g. a rook ending with 4 vs. 3 on the kingside).} Rg5 32. h3 (32. Qxc6 Rxg2 $1 33. Qxd6 (33. Rxg2 Qd1+ 34. Rg1 Qxf3+ 35. Rg2 Qf1+ 36. Rg1 Qf3+ $11) 33... Qf2 $1 34. Rxg2 Qf1+ 35. Rg1 Qxf3+ 36. Rg2 Qf1+ $11) 32... c5 $2 (32... Qc3 $1 33. Qxc6 Qxb3 34. Qxd6 Qxc4 $11 {is another drawish scenario.}) 33. Qe7 $2 (33. Qa6 $1 $18 Qxb3 $2 34. Qa1+ $1 {wins, as we'll see in the game.}) 33... Qd2 34. Qa7 Qb2 $1 {Not only covering the diagonal, but setting a nice if somewhat standard trap.} 35. Qa6 (35. Qa1 $4 Rxg2 $1 $19) 35... Qxb3 $2 (35... Qf6 $1 36. Qa1 (36. Rd1 Qb2 $1 37. Rg1 Qf6) 36... Re5 (36... Qxa1 $2 37. Rxa1 $18 {is not good for Black. The drawish endings are those where all the pawns are on the kingside.}) 37. Rd1 $14) 36. Qa1+ $1 f6 (36... Kg8 37. Rb1 $18) (36... Kh6 37. Qc1 $1 Kh5 38. h4 $1 Kxh4 (38... Rg3 39. Qf4 $18) 39. Qf4+ Kh5 40. Qh2#) 37. Qa7+ Kg8 38. Ra1 {Black's king is too exposed. He will have to give up the queen to avoid mate.} Re5 39. Qd7 Qb8 40. Ra7 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "8.7"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2682"] [BlackElo "2805"] [PlyCount "73"] [GameId "2127852856033703"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,73,19,20,27,77,21,21,13,20,45,30,33,28,9,-7,-33,1,-34,6,10,9,20,107,37,53,53,75,28,55,75,74,68,112,57,54,26,77,71,22,-84,80,144,42,106,100,99,92,99,86,88,97,103,95,107,99,51,92,95,91,88,151,160,239,279,268,315,422,612,953,1146,1148,29993,943,29997,29998] Caruana was in and out of the running throughout the tournament, but games like this kept him from full contention for first.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Nc3 g6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 O-O 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. e5 Nd5 9. Nxd5 cxd5 10. d4 Qb6 11. dxc5 Qxc5 12. Be3 Qc6 13. Qd2 d6 14. Bh6 dxe5 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Rxe5 $14 {If Black could safely achieve ...f6 and ...e5, all would be well. Unfortunately for him, White can maintain a nice dark-squared grip, making for one-way traffic the rest of the game.} e6 17. Rae1 Qc7 18. Nd4 Rb8 19. b3 Rb6 20. h4 Qd8 21. h5 $18 Re8 22. f4 Bd7 23. Qf2 Qf6 (23... f6 {could be played, but (a safe) ...e5 is never going to happen.} 24. R5e2 $18) 24. Qg3 Rc8 25. R1e3 a5 26. a4 Kf8 27. c3 Rcb8 28. h6 Kg8 29. Qf2 Qd8 $2 {Allowing the following breakthrough. It was hard to see Caruana surviving in the long run in any case.} 30. f5 $1 exf5 (30... gxf5 $2 31. Qg3+ Kf8 32. Qg7+ Ke7 33. Nxf5+ Ke8 34. Qh8#) 31. Rxd5 Qc8 32. Qf4 R6b7 33. Re7 Be6 34. Qe5 Kf8 35. Nxe6+ Kxe7 36. Ng5+ (36. Nd8+ $1 Kf8 37. Qg7+ Ke8 38. Qg8+ Ke7 39. Qxf7#) 36... Kf8 (36... Qe6 {has the sole virtue of avoiding mate in two.}) 37. Nxh7+ (37. Nxh7+ Kg8 38. Qg7#) 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "8.9"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2696"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "83"] [GameId "2127852856033705"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,83,12,41,19,68,19,45,35,-119,31,53,17,21,85,24,28,6,5,7,7,4,23,26,35,26,30,10,27,8,3,4,-25,9,10,-4,6,6,23,20,28,4,-8,-28,-15,-29,-22,-4,-9,-17,-38,-22,-40,-9,47,-18,54,109,108,67,106,142,270,-1,41,135,161,271,229,206,261,299,332,140,203,296,395,194,326,299,97,323,128,280,414,392] Sam Sevian had a strong performance. Here's one highlight, beating one of the world's best players and one of the most successful players in 2024.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bc1 Nf6 8. f3 e5 9. Nb3 Be6 10. Be3 Be7 11. Qd2 h5 12. O-O-O Nbd7 13. Kb1 Rc8 14. g3 Qc7 15. Rg1 b5 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 Bf5 18. Bd3 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Qc4 20. Qd2 Bd8 21. h3 f5 22. Rg2 O-O 23. Bg5 Nf6 24. a3 e4 25. Bxf6 Rxf6 26. Qe3 Rb8 27. fxe4 Bb6 28. Qe1 Re8 29. Nd2 Qc8 30. Re2 Re5 31. Nf3 Rxe4 32. Ng5 Rxe2 33. Qxe2 Qd7 34. Qxh5 Rh6 35. Qf3 Bd8 36. Ne6 Rf6 37. Re1 Qe8 38. Re2 Qd7 39. Qc3 Rf7 40. Qc6 Qxc6 41. dxc6 Bb6 42. Nf4 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Murzin, Volodar"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "9.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2802"] [BlackElo "2664"] [PlyCount "120"] [GameId "2127852856095229"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,120,22,25,22,33,18,14,5,10,9,17,17,3,9,0,11,23,20,29,16,18,11,32,31,24,23,23,-67,23,-94,23,38,-36,47,53,32,44,19,92,19,38,26,-102,-195,-21,5,-12,-113,-21,-24,-43,-46,44,-7,1,-10,33,30,0,11,4,-6,24,37,6,28,25,44,28,32,47,-12,55,4,23,70,46,51,58,67,-54,55,55,28,61,1,76,-11,45,-101,23,1,-17,46,1,45,-26,-88,-39,-32,1,15,66,11,0,17,-14,-11,-9,-5,75,-1,-4,0,-70,-78,-64,-70,-103,1,-487,-581] It took Nakamura a while to appear on the absolute top boards, and with Carlsen now out of the tournament it would now be the American's time to shine...right? Nope; the eventual tournament winner took down his second 2800 in the event, having defeated Caruana back in round 2.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 h6 6. Nd5 d6 7. Be3 a6 8. Bxc5 dxc5 9. Ne3 Qd6 10. O-O O-O 11. a4 Be6 12. a5 Rad8 13. h3 Bxc4 14. Nxc4 Qe6 15. Nfd2 Nd4 16. c3 Nc6 17. Qe2 Ne7 18. Kh2 Ng6 19. g3 Qd7 20. Nb3 Qb5 21. Qc2 Nxe4 22. Rae1 Nf6 23. Nxe5 Nxe5 24. Rxe5 b6 25. axb6 cxb6 26. Re3 Nd5 27. Re2 Nc7 28. d4 Qc6 29. dxc5 bxc5 30. Nd2 Rfe8 31. Rfe1 Rxe2 32. Rxe2 Ne6 33. h4 Qd5 34. Qa4 Qb7 35. Qc2 Qd5 36. Qe4 Qxe4 37. Nxe4 Rd1 38. Kg2 Kf8 39. Nd2 h5 40. Nc4 Ke7 41. Ne3 Rb1 42. Rd2 a5 43. Nc4 a4 44. f4 g6 45. Ne5 Ke8 46. Kf3 a3 47. bxa3 Rb3 48. Ra2 Rxc3+ 49. Kf2 c4 50. a4 Nc5 51. a5 f6 52. Nf3 Na6 53. Ke2 Kd7 54. Rb2 Ra3 55. Rb6 Ra2+ 56. Kd1 Nc5 {The game has been roughly equal for a long time, and still is. But now things go sideways for Nakamura.} 57. Rb4 $6 (57. Rxf6 c3 58. Ne5+ Ke7 59. Rb6 $11 {covers the d3 and b3 squares so Black can't play ...c2+ followed by a winning knight check.}) 57... Nd3 (57... Ne4 $1 58. Rxc4 Nxg3 {gives Black chances thanks to the weakness of all three of White's pawns.}) 58. Rb5 Kd6 59. Nd2 $2 (59. Nd4 $11 {was the only move.}) 59... Kc6 $6 (59... Nf2+ $142 {followed by ...c3 was even better.}) 60. Rb8 $4 (60. Rb6+ $8 Kd5 61. Nb1 $15) 60... Kc7 {brought the game to an immediate end, as White cannot both save the rook and have a decent reply to ...c3, threatening both ...Rxd2# and ...c2+.} 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "9.7"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "E28"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2657"] [PlyCount "63"] [GameId "2127852856095233"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,63,22,30,17,2,24,13,8,11,16,-2,-35,-21,9,-2,2,-49,86,-42,-56,-30,-36,-43,40,-66,-6,-68,-76,-113,-100,-89,-92,-93,-33,-32,-72,-70,-111,-50,-54,-1,-31,-40,30,97,33,49,50,21,97,-57,4,47,47,34,164,60,80,91,55,193,143,153,295,355] It was nice seeing Old Man Gelfand get to the top boards. Alas, he was just visiting...} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 d6 7. f3 e5 8. Ra2 {Development in the 21st century.} Nc6 9. Rf2 b6 10. e4 Nd7 11. g4 Ba6 12. h4 Na5 {Ok, 13 moves in, time to develop a second piece.} 13. Ne2 Bxc4 14. Ng3 d5 15. g5 Re8 (15... Bb3 $1 16. Qd2 c5 $17 {/-+}) 16. Bxc4 Nxc4 17. O-O Nf8 18. h5 Ne6 19. Nf5 Nf4 (19... c5 $142 $17) (19... exd4 $142 20. cxd4 Nd6 $17) 20. Bxf4 exf4 21. Qc1 Ne3 (21... dxe4 $142 22. Qxf4 e3 $15) 22. Nxe3 fxe3 23. Qxe3 $11 Qd7 24. Qf4 c6 $6 (24... Rac8 25. e5 c5 $11 {was more in the spirit of the position. Black should not just try to be solid, but should aim for counterplay before White's kingside buildup starts bearing fruit.}) 25. h6 Re6 26. hxg7 Rg6 27. e5 Re8 $2 (27... c5 $1) 28. Rh2 Rxg7 29. Kf2 $16 Qe7 $2 {The queen needs to be on the c8-h3 diagonal to stop Qf5.} (29... c5 $1 30. Rfh1 cxd4 31. cxd4 b5 32. Rh6 a5 $16 {keeps the game alive.}) 30. Rfh1 $18 Qd7 31. Rh6 Re6 $4 32. Qf5 (32. Qf5 Re7 33. Rxh7 $1 {forces a quick mate.}) 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Lazavik, Denis"] [Black "Lu, Shanglei"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "9.12"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "E24"] [WhiteElo "2578"] [BlackElo "2609"] [PlyCount "31"] [GameId "2127852856099334"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,31,21,18,2,21,24,15,17,8,-73,1,9,-24,17,0,0,1,49,38,47,65,95,45,100,99,128,129,138,135,148,79,295,338] If you liked Nepo's attack in the last game, here's an even speedier White win in another Saemisch Nimzo-Indian.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 c5 6. f3 Nc6 7. e4 O-O 8. e5 Ne8 9. f4 f6 {Again, White waits a long to develop something other than the departed b1-knight. Despite that, he's already clearly better.} 10. Nf3 fxe5 $2 11. dxe5 $18 {And now White is winning, despite having developed only one piece.} d6 12. Bd3 dxe5 13. fxe5 Qc7 14. Qe2 Rxf3 15. Qxf3 Nxe5 $2 {Black was already completely lost, so this just expedites matters.} 16. Bxh7+ (16. Bxh7+ Kxh7 17. Qh5+ Kg8 18. Qxe8+ Kh7 19. Qh5+ Kg8 20. O-O {etc.}) 1-0 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Lee, Alice"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "5.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "E24"] [WhiteElo "2563"] [BlackElo "2398"] [PlyCount "141"] [GameId "2127852824817109"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,141,22,6,13,15,13,21,15,8,11,11,14,20,20,11,12,4,3,1,3,-20,24,-28,36,36,26,37,31,-60,-17,1,47,-40,0,32,-16,64,58,54,48,38,45,36,37,11,78,24,66,62,0,42,28,9,-87,26,52,50,-40,61,51,67,47,41,71,-18,29,-39,142,34,1,-6,2,-1,1,-1,1,-37,1,-4,1,1,-5,8,-1,-1,1,1,-1,1,81,24,1,1,1,1,1,18,54,1,175,218,249,273,208,281,299,408,744,405,427,468,849,476,353,314,303,584,584,572,562,651,586,665,647,711,624,639,651,700,724,853,839,962,1043,1095,1423,29984,29989,29990,29993,29994,29995,29996] Alice Lee finished the first day with a 4-0 score and the clear lead in the Women's event. Now for a major test: could she hold off the Women's World Champion? She succeeds for a very long time, but finally cracks.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. e3 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 O-O 10. Ne2 c5 11. Nf4 Rd8 12. Be2 Nc6 13. O-O c4 14. Bf3 Ne7 15. Rb1 Rb8 16. Rb5 Qa6 17. Qb1 Qxa3 18. Nxd5 Nxd5 19. Bxd5 Qxc3 20. Rc1 Qa3 21. Bxc4 b6 22. h3 Qf8 23. Qa2 a6 24. Rb2 b5 25. Bb3 Qe7 26. Qa5 Bb7 27. Qc7 Qf6 28. Qg3 Rbc8 29. Rbc2 Rxc2 30. Rxc2 Bd5 31. Bxd5 Rxd5 32. Rc8+ Rd8 33. Qc7 Rxc8 34. Qxc8+ Kh7 35. Qc5 g5 36. d5 Qa1+ 37. Kh2 Qe5+ 38. g3 Qf5 39. Kg1 Qb1+ 40. Kg2 Qe4+ 41. Kh2 Qf5 42. e4 Qxe4 43. d6 Qd3 44. Qc7 Qf5 45. Qa7 Qd5 46. d7 b4 47. Qc7 Qf5 48. Kg1 {Black has been hanging on by a thread, based in part on perpetual check mechanisms. Here she needed to switch from that - which was very hard to do with almost no time on her clock, and recognize the value of her passed pawn. Even though White queens first, she (Ju) will have no checks nor the ability to prevent Black from safely queening after 48...b3.} Qb1+ $2 (48... b3 $3 49. d8=Q b2 $11 {The queen on f5 covers f7 and b1, so it's a draw.}) 49. Kg2 Qe4+ 50. Kf1 {There will be many checks, but they'll eventually run out.} Qd3+ 51. Ke1 Qe4+ 52. Kd2 Qd4+ 53. Kc2 Qe4+ 54. Kb2 Qd4+ 55. Kb3 Qd1+ 56. Kxb4 Qd2+ 57. Kc5 Qxf2+ 58. Kc6 Qf3+ 59. Kb6 Qb3+ 60. Ka7 Qe3+ 61. Kb7 Qb3+ 62. Qb6 Qd5+ 63. Kc7 Qe5+ 64. Kc8 Qf5 65. g4 Qc2+ 66. Qc7 {No more checks, no more pins. White will promote, and there's no perpetual check after that, either.} Qe4 67. d8=Q Qa8+ 68. Kd7 Qd5+ 69. Ke8 Qe4+ 70. Kxf7 Qg6+ 71. Kf8+ {Unfortunately, Lee did not bounce back from this game, and did not manage to remain among the leaders. She's very young though - just 15 - so I'm sure she'll contend in future editions of the tournament.} 1-0 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Black "Ju, Wenjun"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "6.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2561"] [BlackElo "2563"] [PlyCount "100"] [GameId "2127852824862220"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,100,22,18,6,17,21,21,17,24,25,25,-81,14,18,0,17,0,-5,-19,1,-9,8,0,0,-7,28,-105,11,8,12,-6,24,13,35,6,-52,-19,-44,-22,12,12,21,-11,-20,-22,0,-15,23,21,36,19,43,37,29,14,21,-9,25,-29,9,3,6,8,13,15,1,10,-40,117,37,-63,-92,-1,98,-87,-88,-101,-187,-256,-208,-244,-108,-91,-85,-228,-277,-88,-211,-218,-196,-92,-202,-198,-154,-1034,-1117,-29993,-1314,-29991,-29992,-29993,-29994] Meanwhile, Ju asserted herself again in the next round against the woman who was her rival for the Women's World Championship titled back in 2018 and who will face her again for the title this coming April.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 Ne4 9. Qb3 a5 10. Bd3 Nb4 11. Bb1 c5 12. O-O cxd4 13. exd4 dxc4 14. Qxc4 Nd6 15. Qc5 Nd5 16. Bg5 f6 17. Qc2 g6 18. Bd2 Bd7 19. Re1 Rc8 20. Qd1 Qb6 21. Bc1 a4 22. a3 Nc4 23. Qe2 Na5 24. Bh6 Rf7 25. Bd3 Nb3 26. Rad1 Qd6 27. g3 Re8 28. Qc2 Ne7 29. Bf4 Qc6 30. Qe2 Nd5 31. Bh6 Qd6 32. Nh4 Nxd4 33. Qe4 e5 34. Bc4 Ne7 35. Bxf7+ Kxf7 36. Be3 Bc6 37. Qg4 h5 38. Qh3 Qd5 39. f3 Nxf3+ 40. Kf2 Nd4 41. Bxd4 exd4 42. Qg2 Qc5 43. Nf3 d3+ 44. Kf1 Nf5 45. Qf2 Rxe1+ 46. Rxe1 Qd5 47. Ng1 d2 48. Rd1 Bb5+ 49. Ne2 Qh1+ 50. Qg1 Ne3+ 0-1 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Black "Ju, Wenjun"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "7.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.27"] [ECO "C56"] [WhiteElo "2484"] [BlackElo "2563"] [PlyCount "58"] [GameId "2127852824899139"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,58,17,22,24,21,18,0,10,-15,-21,-16,-18,-6,-12,-16,3,-2,-8,125,-8,-8,-14,-3,-11,17,7,-6,50,7,30,-7,10,13,14,23,15,19,19,9,-25,-56,-14,21,21,16,22,11,14,13,22,-5,25,8,-2,-5,2,-8,0,-31,10] I mentioned in the first day's game selection that Carlsen's opponents, like Kasparov's opponents in an earlier generation, would often play for a draw from the beginning, even with White, and even when they are themselves elite players. So too here: Kosteniuk, herself a former Women's World Champion, plays an absolutely insipid line whose solution has been known for many years.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bc5 8. Be3 O-O 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bxc5 Nxc5 11. Bxc6 Rb8 12. Qxd5 Qe7 13. O-O Rxb2 14. Nc3 Rxc2 (14... Rd8 {is the older solution, which still seems entirely viable.}) 15. Qd4 Ne6 16. Qd3 Rb2 17. Nd5 Qc5 18. Rac1 Qd4 $11 {Black has full equality.} 19. Qa3 Qxe5 20. Ne7+ Kh8 21. Nxc8 Rxc8 22. Bd7 Rcb8 23. Bxe6 Qxe6 24. Qxa7 Qxa2 25. Qxa2 $146 (25. Qxc7 h6 26. Qd7 Rd2 27. Rc8+ Rxc8 28. Qxc8+ Kh7 29. Qf5+ g6 30. Qf6 Re2 31. h4 Qe6 32. Qc3 h5 33. Rd1 Qe5 34. Qxe5 {½-½ Ker,A (2407)-Van der Hoorn,T (2095) Wellington CC Autumn Cup-A 2023 (1)}) 25... Rxa2 26. Rxc7 Kg8 27. Rfc1 g6 28. Rc8+ Rxc8 29. Rxc8+ Kg7 {I suppose Black should have waited one more move to offer a draw, though this sort of "miracle" isn't going to happen.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Murzin, Volodar"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "10.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2740"] [PlyCount "153"] [GameId "2128013663391908"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,153,21,28,12,-7,26,0,0,7,4,0,14,-4,-12,0,9,-16,8,-38,15,-4,-79,-33,-126,-22,-28,-22,-27,-57,-26,-50,-50,-40,-42,-21,-28,-26,-27,-16,7,-3,20,19,0,0,-1,-1,27,-65,22,57,121,41,76,38,42,17,84,18,25,17,5,-1,132,65,110,64,52,56,109,86,24,111,108,14,86,68,82,151,74,118,128,101,145,96,101,46,14,-78,-186,-77,-131,-137,-102,-70,-259,-246,-84,-79,-3,-68,-108,-90,-144,-142,-116,-123,-61,-102,-52,-120,1,-1,1,1,1,1,242,257,330,355,351,143,147,1,103,197,220,166,166,224,208,195,202,224,432,485,238,475,485,497,497,487,497,496,497,208,497,497,497,557,567,567,577,577] The 18-year-old starts the last day with another win.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. c3 e6 4. Bf4 d5 5. e3 Bd6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. Ne5 Nc6 8. Bd3 Qc7 9. Ndf3 h6 10. Bg3 Ne4 11. Nxc6 Nxg3 12. hxg3 bxc6 13. g4 Rb8 14. Qe2 c4 15. Bc2 e5 16. dxe5 Bxe5 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. O-O-O Re8 19. Rh5 Qe6 20. Rd4 Re7 21. Bf5 Qf6 22. Bxc8 Rxc8 23. Qf3 Re6 24. Qxf6 Rxf6 25. Rf5 Re6 26. Rff4 g5 27. Rf3 Rb8 28. e4 dxe4 29. Re3 Rf6 30. Re2 Re8 31. f3 Rfe6 32. fxe4 Rf6 33. e5 Rfe6 34. Rxc4 Kg7 35. Kd2 Kg6 36. Rf2 Rb8 37. b3 Rb5 38. Re2 h5 39. gxh5+ Kxh5 40. Rce4 Rd5+ 41. Kc2 Kg6 42. c4 Rd8 43. g4 c5 44. Rd2 Rxd2+ 45. Kxd2 f5 46. Re1 fxg4 47. b4 cxb4 48. Kd3 g3 49. Ke4 Ra6 50. Re2 Kf7 51. Kd5 Ke7 52. c5 Ra3 53. c6 Rc3 54. e6 a5 55. Re5 a4 56. Rxg5 b3 57. axb3 axb3 58. Rg7+ Kf6 59. e7 Rd3+ 60. Kc4 Re3 61. Rxg3 Re4+ 62. Kd5 b2 63. Rb3 Re5+ 64. Kd4 Rxe7 65. Rxb2 Re1 66. Kc5 Ke7 67. Kb6 Kd8 68. Kb7 Rc1 69. Rd2+ Ke7 70. c7 Rb1+ 71. Kc8 Rb3 72. Re2+ Kf7 73. Re4 Rb1 74. Kd7 Rd1+ 75. Kc6 Rc1+ 76. Kd6 Rc2 77. Re5 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "10.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "2689"] [BlackElo "2801"] [PlyCount "147"] [GameId "2128013663391909"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,147,19,22,30,59,19,17,16,45,20,16,12,10,5,3,1,5,0,0,-21,-34,-19,-7,-43,-11,7,-44,6,-22,18,24,7,-18,41,20,20,-45,-8,8,-1,11,32,13,-119,-10,-12,53,-14,6,36,39,66,-55,95,102,95,87,119,118,144,109,163,136,165,149,192,306,195,219,145,186,190,206,269,229,229,280,230,230,280,279,244,342,327,146,408,118,351,250,243,143,97,106,90,90,117,91,166,198,328,135,317,120,262,287,302,445,403,389,388,461,390,348,317,329,326,331,307,349,325,253,238,232,286,316,313,366,400,348,396,396,382,473,448,466,428,448,459,451,459,360,493,455,759,610,762,795,944,867] Grischuk's great run continues with a win over the world's #4 player.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 a6 3. Nge2 Nf6 4. g3 b5 5. Bg2 e5 6. d3 d6 7. O-O Be7 8. f4 O-O 9. h3 b4 10. Nb1 Nc6 11. Nd2 a5 12. Nc4 Ba6 13. Ne3 a4 14. c4 bxc3 15. bxc3 Re8 16. c4 Nd4 17. Nc3 Bb7 18. Rb1 Bc6 19. fxe5 dxe5 20. Ned5 h6 21. Rb2 Nxd5 22. exd5 Bd7 23. Qh5 Bf5 24. Be4 g6 25. Qxh6 Bf8 26. Qg5 Qxg5 27. Bxg5 Bxh3 28. Rfb1 f5 29. Bh1 Ra7 30. Rb6 Bg7 31. Rxg6 Kh7 32. Rgb6 e4 33. dxe4 fxe4 34. Nxe4 Bf5 35. Re1 Nc2 36. Re2 Nd4 37. Rh2+ Kg8 38. Rh4 a3 39. Bg2 Bxe4 40. Rxe4 Ne2+ 41. Kh2 Rxe4 42. Bxe4 Nc3 43. Bg6 Bf8 44. Bf6 Nxa2 45. Rb8 Nb4 46. Bf5 Kf7 47. Ba1 Bg7 48. Be6+ Kg6 49. Rg8 a2 50. d6 Kh7 51. Bxg7 Rxg7 52. Ra8 Kg6 53. d7 Nc6 54. Rxa2 Kf6 55. Bh3 Nd8 56. Re2 Re7 57. Rf2+ Kg7 58. Ra2 Kf7 59. Rf2+ Kg7 60. Kg2 Re4 61. Rf4 Re2+ 62. Kf3 Rd2 63. Ke3 Rd1 64. Ke2 Rd6 65. Re4 Kf6 66. Re8 Nf7 67. Rc8 Ke7 68. Re8+ Kf6 69. Rc8 Ke7 70. Rxc5 Rh6 71. Bf5 Nd6 72. Rc8 Nf7 73. Re8+ Kf6 74. Rf8 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Sindarov, Javokhir"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "10.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2682"] [BlackElo "2755"] [PlyCount "60"] [GameId "2128013663391910"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,60,11,35,21,17,19,3,20,28,14,20,19,15,19,-10,14,27,22,24,40,50,49,13,64,5,29,10,26,2,3,-4,30,114,15,36,210,248,-26,129,-71,-69,-171,-24,-168,-119,-42,-213,-212,-281,-204,-314,-290,-333,-330,-304,-342,-324,-432,-415,-393,-420,-478] Nepo too starts the last day on a high note.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bd3 {A trendy option in the Najdorf.} e5 7. Nde2 Nc6 8. O-O Be6 9. f4 exf4 10. Nxf4 Ne5 11. b3 (11. Kh1 Be7 12. Be3 O-O 13. a4 Qd7 14. Bd4 Rae8 15. Qe1 Nc6 16. Bg1 Bd8 17. Qg3 Kh8 18. Rad1 Bg4 19. Rd2 Nh5 20. Nxh5 Bxh5 21. Bc4 Ne5 22. Bb3 Qc6 23. Bd5 Qc8 24. Bd4 Bg6 25. Rdf2 f6 26. Ne2 Nc6 27. Rf4 Ne7 28. Rxf6 Rxf6 29. Bxf6 Nxd5 30. Bxd8 Qxd8 {0-1 Vidit,S (2720)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2770) Zagreb Superbet Rapid 2024 (9)}) (11. Be3 Be7 12. h3 O-O 13. Kh1 Qd7 14. Bd4 Rae8 15. Qd2 Bd8 16. Rae1 Nc6 17. Bf2 Ne5 18. Bd4 b5 19. a3 Qc6 20. Qf2 Qb7 21. Qg3 Bb6 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Bxe5 dxe5 24. Qxe5 Bc7 25. Qg5 h6 26. Qg6 Be5 27. Rxf6 Bxf6 28. e5 Rd8 29. Qh7+ Kf7 30. Bg6+ Ke7 31. exf6+ Kxf6 32. Ne4+ {1-0 Suleymanli,A (2632)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2755) Gashimov Memorial Blitz 10th Shusha 2024 (7)}) 11... g6 (11... Be7 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Qe1 (13. h3 Re8 14. Kh1 Bf8 15. Qe1 g6 16. Rd1 Rc8 17. Nce2 Bd7 18. Qf2 Bg7 19. Nd5 Nxd5 20. Bxe5 Bxe5 21. Qxf7+ Kh8 22. exd5 Rf8 23. Qxf8+ Qxf8 24. Rxf8+ Rxf8 25. Ng1 Bc3 26. Ne2 Be5 27. Re1 g5 28. Ng1 g4 29. hxg4 Bxg4 30. Be2 h5 31. Bf3 b5 32. c4 bxc4 33. bxc4 Bg3 34. Re3 Bf2 35. Re4 Bf5 36. Re2 Bc5 37. Rd2 h4 38. Ne2 Be3 39. Rd1 Bc2 40. Re1 Bf2 41. Rf1 Bc5 42. Nc3 Bd3 43. Rd1 Bxc4 44. Ne4 Rc8 45. Rc1 Bxa2 46. Nxd6 Rc7 47. Ne8 Re7 48. Rxc5 Rxe8 49. Kh2 Kg7 50. Kh3 Rh8 51. Rc7+ Kf6 52. Rc6+ Kg5 53. Rxa6 Bb1 54. Ra4 Bf5+ 55. Bg4 Bg6 56. d6 Rd8 57. d7 Bd3 58. Rd4 Bf1 59. Rd5+ Kg6 60. Rd1 Bc4 61. Kxh4 Kf6 62. Kg3 Ke5 63. Re1+ {1-0 Aronian,L (2729)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2731) Julius Baer GenCup D1 W Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (1.4)}) 13... Nfd7 14. Ncd5 Rc8 15. Rd1 Rc6 16. Kh1 Bg5 17. c4 Re8 18. h3 Bxf4 19. Nxf4 Qg5 20. Bb1 Nc5 21. Qf2 Qe7 22. Qg3 h6 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. exd5 Rcc8 25. Rf5 Ncd7 26. Rdf1 f6 27. R5f2 Rc7 28. a4 b5 29. cxb5 axb5 30. axb5 Rb7 31. Bf5 Rxb5 32. Bxd7 Nxd7 33. Bxf6 Nxf6 34. Rxf6 Rxd5 35. Rf7 Qg5 36. Qf3 Rde5 37. b4 Kh7 38. Rf4 Re3 39. Qc6 Qe5 40. Qc2+ Kg8 41. Qg6 Qe6 42. Rf6 Qe4 43. Qf7+ Kh7 44. R6f3 Rxf3 45. Rxf3 Re7 46. Qb3 Qe1+ 47. Kh2 Qe5+ 48. Kh1 Qe1+ 49. Kh2 Qe5+ 50. Rg3 h5 51. Qd3+ Kh8 52. h4 Qf4 53. Kh3 Re1 54. Kh2 Qxh4+ 55. Rh3 Qf4+ 56. Qg3 Qxg3+ 57. Rxg3 Re5 {0-1 Sindarov,J (2668)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2735) London WR Masters 2024 (1.3)}) 12. Bb2 Bg7 13. Qd2 $146 (13. Qe1 O-O 14. Nce2 Bd7 15. Nd4 Re8 16. Qg3 Bc6 17. Nxc6 bxc6 18. Rad1 Qa5 19. Ne2 Nfd7 20. a3 Re7 21. Kh1 Rae8 22. b4 Qb6 23. Bc1 d5 24. Bg5 f6 25. Be3 Qb7 26. exd5 cxd5 27. Nf4 f5 28. Bg1 Nf6 29. Be2 Ned7 30. Qf3 Qc8 31. Rfe1 Qxc2 32. Bd3 Qc6 33. Rc1 Qd6 34. Rxe7 Rxe7 35. Rc8+ Kf7 36. Bc2 Re1 37. Qg3 Rf1 38. Ne2 Qxg3 39. Nxg3 Re1 40. Bb3 f4 41. Ra8 fxg3 42. hxg3 Bh6 {0-1 Costa,L (2472)-Svane,R (2628) German Masters Rosenheim 2023 (8)}) 13... O-O 14. Kh1 Rc8 15. Rad1 Nfg4 {Not messing around.} 16. h3 $6 (16. Qe1 $142) 16... Qh4 $17 17. Ncd5 $2 (17. Nfd5 $8 {had to be played, to meet ...Qg3 with Qf4.}) 17... Qg3 $19 18. hxg4 Nxg4 {White can just avoid getting mated, but he's still lost.} 19. Ne7+ Kh8 20. Bxg7+ Kxg7 21. Nh5+ gxh5 22. Qg5+ (22. Qf4 $2 {avoids the mate but loses the knight on e7.} Qh4+ 23. Kg1 Qxe7 $19) 22... Kh8 23. Qxh5 Ne3 $1 {Threatening mate while forking the rooks.} (23... Rc5 $4 24. e5 $18 {Note the threat of mate on h7.}) 24. Rg1 Rc5 (24... Nxd1) 25. e5 Qg7 (25... f5 {was also possible, with a funny en passant pin.} 26. exf6 $4 Rxh5#) 26. Rde1 Rxe5 27. Qh4 Re8 28. Rxe3 Rxe3 29. Rf1 Re5 30. Rf2 Rg5 {White is losing more material, with no compensation.} 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Murzin, Volodar"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "12.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2664"] [PlyCount "90"] [GameId "2128013663510862"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,90,12,23,26,119,0,4,22,2,0,45,62,62,6,13,5,20,-5,-6,-18,-3,19,-15,28,35,52,-5,6,-42,-109,22,26,30,30,30,33,36,152,46,48,116,116,89,88,138,97,97,-67,71,96,94,126,246,165,187,181,356,217,243,255,449,412,477,221,302,259,310,272,-252,1,1,-74,-107,-195,-1,-128,-297,-278,-336,-365,-393,-407,-95,-385,-449,-154,-480,-551,-632,-720,-633,-519] The game of the tournament. Murzin's amazing king march bewildered Pragg, flipping what could have been a loss - and yet another triumph for Indian chess - into a win.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 d5 7. Bb5 Ne4 8. cxd4 Bb6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Be3 Bf5 (10... Bg4 $142 {is the most usual move, by miles.}) 11. O-O Nxc3 (11... Ne7 $142 {is more common.}) 12. bxc3 $16 {Despite the result of the game, Murzin's opening shouldn't be repeated.} f6 13. Qd2 $146 (13. a4 $142 $16) 13... Be4 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. exf6 Bxf3 16. fxg7 Rf7 17. gxf3 Qf6 18. f4 Qf5 19. Kh1 Rxg7 20. Qe2 {White's extra pawn isn't beautiful in its own right, but it's useful for keeping Black restricted. Also, while White's bishop isn't brilliant, Black's bishop is also incarcerated.} Kf7 {The king's journey begins. I doubt that Black had an inkling of what was to come; for now, he's clearing g8 for for the a-rook.} 21. Qf3 (21. Rg1 $142) 21... Rag8 22. Rae1 Qg4 23. Qxg4 Rxg4 24. Rc1 $1 {A good move, preparing c4 followed by either cxd5 to open the file for the rook or c4-c5 to try to trap Black's bishop on the edge of the board.} Kf6 {Here he comes.} 25. c4 Kf5 $2 ({After} 25... dxc4 $1 26. Rxc4 R4g6 27. Rxc6+ Kf5 {it's not clear if White will manage to win despite his two extra pawns. His structure is terrible.}) 26. c5 Ba5 27. Rb1 $1 $18 Rg2 $3 {Up to this point Pragg had been in control on the board and the clock, but now Pragg had to dig deep to figure out what was going on and then what to do about it. Of course Black can't continue with ...Kg4-h3, as the first step would leave the rook hanging. So what's the idea? It's ...Ke4-f3 followed by ...R8g4, threatening to win with ...Rh4 and ...Rhxh2# or (if necessary) to draw with ...Rxh2+ Kxh2 Rh4+-g4+-h4+ etc.} 28. Rb3 {This way there will be a discovered check to chase Black's king away once it goes to f3; it also threatens Rfb1 followed by Ra3, winning Black's wayward bishop. What does Black do?} Ke4 $1 {Who cares? Go forward!} 29. Rfb1 Kf3 $1 30. f5 (30. Bd2+ Kxf2 $1 {keeps the bishop safe, but White does have a nice way to put out the fire:} 31. Be1+ $1 (31. Bxa5 $4 Rg1+ 32. Rxg1 Rxg1#) 31... Bxe1 32. R3b2+ $1 Kf3 33. Rxg2 Rxg2 34. Rb3+ $1 (34. Rxe1 $4 Rg4 $19) 34... Kf2 35. Rb2+ {and wins. Pragg was *this close* to winning the game, and most likely the tournament, too.}) 30... Ke2 $1 {Threatening ...Be1! Black is playing for mate.} 31. f6 $1 R2g6 (31... Be1 32. Rxe1+ $1 Kxe1 33. Rb1+ Ke2 34. f7 $18 {puts an end to the attack; White will emerge with an extra bishop.}) 32. R3b2+ {By this time Pragg was just as low on the clock as Murzin, with both players more or less living off of the 10-second increment.} (32. f7 $1 {was the cleanest way to win.} Rf8 33. R1b2+ Kf1 34. f4 {Threatening 35.Rf2+ followed by 36.Rb1#.} Be1 35. Rc2 $1 Rxf7 36. Rb1 {Threatening 37.Rf2#. Black has one last arrow:} Rxf4 $1 {This defends the f2 square, and if the rook is taken Black mates on g1. Unfortunately for Black, White still wins with} 37. Rcc1 $18 {, picking up the bishop. Here the game would be over.}) 32... Kf3 33. Rb3 Ke2 34. R1b2+ $4 {Trying to repeat without repeating, I guess, hoping that something will turn up. It does - or has - but for Black.} (34. f7 {still wins.}) (34. R3b2+ Kf3 35. f7 {would also work.}) 34... Kf1 $1 $19 {All the way to the end of the board! Black no longer needs to repeat and hope for a draw, as White must now give up the exchange to avoid mate.} 35. Rb1+ Be1 $1 {The bad bishop finally proves its worth. Now the threat of ...Rg1# forces White to cough up the exchange, and Black goes on to convert his material advantage into a win.} ({Black need not go for a three-time repetition with} 35... Ke2 $4) 36. Rxe1+ Kxe1 37. Rb1+ Ke2 38. Bf4 Rxf6 39. Bg3 Kd3 40. Rb4 Rg4 41. Rb7 Rf7 42. f4 h5 $1 {Threatening to flood in after ...h4. White tries to escape with a tactical trick, but the final point is in Black's favor.} 43. Kg2 $1 h4 $1 44. Kf3 hxg3 $1 45. Kxg4 g2 (45... g2 46. Rb1 g1=Q+ 47. Rxg1 Rg7+ {is the sting in the tail. With this win, Murzin took a half point lead over Grischuk going into the last round, and a larger lead over everyone else.}) 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Svane, Rasmus"] [Black "Karthik, Venkataraman"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "12.40"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "E68"] [WhiteElo "2628"] [BlackElo "2603"] [PlyCount "411"] [GameId "2128013663535476"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,411,21,25,9,4,7,5,15,5,-4,19,29,19,57,51,46,38,32,55,51,45,91,83,21,44,57,55,41,84,80,105,108,140,139,9,164,179,167,168,193,58,333,231,320,298,293,293,106,285,320,341,331,280,76,198,249,248,322,140,201,307,309,302,184,278,203,195,218,217,235,195,202,194,191,222,78,191,175,186,216,245,193,194,180,170,159,188,76,185,169,153,143,127,149,43,127,148,160,22,172,137,137,154,185,171,147,164,170,141,136,160,151,130,132,135,64,159,232,135,67,137,101,139,136,145,157,179,160,150,163,131,182,49,76,208,198,206,252,37,176,134,62,98,128,0,82,133,135,1,94,137,149,123,75,132,107,138,123,162,117,146,139,124,142,104,82,72,9,122,112,127,146,97,171,114,19,137,57,135,82,68,69,16,-15,29,24,13,-10,0,1,1,1,1,0,0,-1,-1,1,1,0,1,0,1,1,1,1,1,87,0,80,28,95,17,17,1,18,0,5,25,17,1,18,26,23,8,40,20,15,16,9,2,155,12,196,42,174,25,5,19,7,12,10,10,7,16,15,10,40,5,32,10,28,19,15,23,24,12,19,35,31,58,40,28,25,8,7,39,27,8,26,-1,26,28,26,20,93,108,84,46,79,76,97,231,74,286,88,76,88,85,109,63,40,50,15,35,497,31,37,278,40,297,29,311,25,28,216,30,266,47,313,51,121,39,494,199,138,45,68,51,42,341,68,42,115,63,62,491,62,392,67,408,64,53,50,319,93,428,51,464,63,421,80,305,94,317,54,410,84,348,81,393,42,311,48,11,23,380,40,23,33,260,35,23,89,40,195,50,108,63,100,85,298,249,349,85,141,67,132,74,262,91,305,263,381,168,145,123,391,128,99,249,110,232,81,231,105,244,121,201,108,233,152,177,120,209,146,256,156,255,140,262,150,246] If you were watching the live broadcast, you'll remember that it took a very long time for the final round to start. This is why. It may have been a "rapid" game with a 15'+10" time control, but 205.5 moves could last almost an hour and a half.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. c4 O-O 5. O-O d6 6. d4 Bd7 7. Nc3 Re8 8. e4 e5 9. h3 a5 10. Be3 exd4 11. Nxd4 Na6 12. Qc2 Nc5 13. Rfe1 a4 14. Rad1 Qc8 15. Kh2 h6 16. f4 h5 17. Ndb5 Bxb5 18. cxb5 Nfd7 19. e5 h4 20. gxh4 Nb6 21. Bxc5 dxc5 22. h5 Qf5 23. Qxf5 gxf5 24. Bxb7 Rab8 25. Bc6 Red8 26. Kg3 Rd4 27. Kf3 Rbd8 28. Rxd4 cxd4 29. Rd1 Bf8 30. Nd5 Bc5 31. Ne3 d3 32. b3 axb3 33. axb3 d2 34. Nxf5 Bb4 35. Ke2 Nd5 36. Bxd5 Rxd5 37. Ne3 Rxb5 38. Nc4 f6 39. Rg1+ Kh7 40. exf6 Rf5 41. Rg7+ Kh6 42. Nxd2 Rxf4 43. Rxc7 Rxf6 44. Ne4 Rb6 45. Kd3 Kxh5 46. Nc3 Bf8 47. Kc2 Kh4 48. Nd5 Rh6 49. Rc3 Rg6 50. Rf3 Bd6 51. Ne3 Be5 52. Kd3 Rb6 53. Ke4 Bb8 54. Nf5+ Kg5 55. Nd4 Rb7 56. Nc6 Bd6 57. Kd5 Ba3 58. Kc4 Kh4 59. Nd4 Rb4+ 60. Kc3 Rb7 61. Nf5+ Kg5 62. Ne3 Bb4+ 63. Kc4 Bd6 64. Nd5 Kh4 65. Rf6 Be5 66. Re6 Bb2 67. Re3 Bc1 68. Rd3 Ba3 69. Re3 Rb8 70. Ne7 Rb4+ 71. Kd5 Rb7 72. Nf5+ Kg5 73. Nd4 Kh4 74. Nf5+ Kg5 75. Nd4 Kh4 76. Rf3 Rd7+ 77. Kc4 Rc7+ 78. Kb5 Rb7+ 79. Kc6 Rb8 80. Nb5 Be7 81. Rf7 Bg5 82. Rh7+ Kg3 83. Kc5 Be3+ 84. Kc4 Rc8+ 85. Kd3 Bc5 86. Nc3 Bb4 87. Ne4+ Kf4 88. Rh4+ Ke5 89. Ke3 Rb8 90. Rh5+ Ke6 91. h4 Be7 92. Rh6+ Kf5 93. Ng3+ Ke5 94. Rh5+ Ke6 95. Rh6+ Ke5 96. Rh5+ Ke6 97. Ne4 Rxb3+ 98. Kf4 Rh3 99. Rh6+ Kf7 100. Rh7+ Ke6 101. h5 Rh4+ 102. Kf3 Rh3+ 103. Kf2 Rh4 104. Kf3 Rh3+ 105. Kg2 Rh4 106. Nd2 Bf6 107. Nf3 Ra4 108. Kg3 Kf5 109. Rf7 Rg4+ 110. Kf2 Ra4 111. Rf8 Ke6 112. Kg3 Ke7 113. Rb8 Kf7 114. Rb7+ Kg8 115. Rd7 Re4 116. Rb7 Re7 117. Rb6 Rf7 118. Kg4 Kh7 119. Rd6 Rf8 120. Rd7+ Kh6 121. Rd6 Kh7 122. Re6 Rf7 123. Nd2 Bd8 124. Ne4 Rg7+ 125. Kh3 Rd7 126. Ng3 Rd5 127. Kg4 Rg5+ 128. Kf4 Rg7 129. Nf5 Ra7 130. Rh6+ Kg8 131. Rc6 Kh7 132. Rc4 Bf6 133. Kg4 Rb7 134. Rc6 Bd8 135. Rd6 Be7 136. Rh6+ Kg8 137. Rg6+ Kf8 138. h6 Rb4+ 139. Kf3 Rb3+ 140. Kg2 Ba3 141. h7 Bb2 142. Rg8+ Kf7 143. Nd6+ Ke6 144. Ne4 Rb4 145. Nc5+ Kf7 146. Nd3 Rh4 147. Nxb2 Rxh7 148. Rb8 Rh4 149. Nd3 Rd4 150. Rb3 Ke6 151. Kf3 Kd5 152. Ke3 Re4+ 153. Kd2 Rh4 154. Rb5+ Kd6 155. Ke3 Rh3+ 156. Ke4 Rh4+ 157. Nf4 Rh1 158. Kd4 Rd1+ 159. Nd3 Kc6 160. Rc5+ Kd6 161. Rh5 Ke6 162. Ke4 Kd6 163. Rh6+ Ke7 164. Nf4 Re1+ 165. Kf5 Rf1 166. Ra6 Kd7 167. Ke5 Re1+ 168. Kd4 Rd1+ 169. Nd3 Ke7 170. Ke4 Rd2 171. Nf4 Rd1 172. Nd5+ Kd7 173. Nf6+ Ke7 174. Ke5 Re1+ 175. Ne4 Kd7 176. Rd6+ Kc7 177. Rd4 Rh1 178. Rc4+ Kb6 179. Nf6 Kb5 180. Rc3 Rh6 181. Ne4 Rh5+ 182. Kd4 Kb6 183. Nf6 Rh1 184. Nd5+ Kb7 185. Rc7+ Ka6 186. Rc6+ Kb7 187. Rb6+ Kc8 188. Kc5 Kd7 189. Rd6+ Ke8 190. Rf6 Kd7 191. Rd6+ Ke8 192. Re6+ Kf7 193. Rf6+ Kg7 194. Rf3 Re1 195. Ne3 Kg6 196. Kd4 Ra1 197. Ke5 Ra5+ 198. Nd5 Rb5 199. Ke6 Kg5 200. Rg3+ Kh4 201. Rg8 Kh3 202. Ke5 Ra5 203. Ke4 Ra4+ 204. Kf3 Ra3+ 205. Ne3 Kh4 206. Rg1 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Murzin, Volodar"] [Black "Grigoryan, Karen H."] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "13.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "B52"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2618"] [PlyCount "86"] [GameId "2128013663670693"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,86,11,23,23,81,26,22,23,23,23,24,23,17,17,8,16,16,0,21,3,0,2,17,29,17,17,8,11,7,1,29,0,-4,-28,123,-31,148,-29,-61,22,-46,57,-65,-43,70,-40,-9,-40,9,-21,-25,-7,-3,-32,-20,-17,-52,97,-51,-53,-49,-67,-76,-25,-55,-53,-48,-109,-41,-57,-87,-58,-62,-61,-43,-62,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,1,-22,-1,1,-1,-1] Murzin looked a little nervous in the game, especially after Grischuk's quick draw meant that he would clinch tournament victory with his own draw. Once again, he rose to the occasion, staying out of trouble and making the draw in relative comfort. Congrats to the year's second 18-year-old world chess champion!} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. O-O Nc6 6. c3 Nf6 7. Re1 e6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 d5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 12. Bxd2 Be7 13. Rc1 O-O 14. Re3 Rfc8 15. Rec3 a6 16. h3 Na7 17. Rxc8+ Rxc8 18. Rxc8+ Qxc8 19. Qc1 Qxc1+ 20. Bxc1 Nc6 21. Bd2 f6 22. Kf1 Kf7 23. Ke2 Bd8 24. g4 b5 25. Be3 Bc7 26. exf6 gxf6 27. Ne1 e5 28. Nd3 exd4 29. Bd2 Bd6 30. f3 Ke6 31. Be1 f5 32. Bd2 Kf6 33. h4 fxg4 34. fxg4 Bg3 35. h5 Bh4 36. Bf4 Bg5 37. Bg3 h6 38. b3 a5 39. a4 bxa4 40. bxa4 Be3 41. Bh4+ Bg5 42. Bg3 Be3 43. Bh4+ Bg5 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "13.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2689"] [PlyCount "23"] [GameId "2128013663670694"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,23,13,28,14,110,24,0,4,16,15,15,18,9,7,9,9,13,10,12,6,2,20,-15,22,30] Here's Grischuk throwing away his chance at a gold medal and Dominguez throwing away his shot at the podium. Unbelievable.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. d5 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "13.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2755"] [BlackElo "2696"] [PlyCount "101"] [GameId "2128013663674791"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,101,28,5,0,0,0,4,4,62,17,6,1,2,0,-23,-13,-27,-27,-21,-21,-13,-13,5,39,28,23,21,-20,9,17,15,13,12,23,20,20,39,29,85,4,7,37,47,26,21,57,55,-61,43,54,36,30,22,-63,1,12,0,-27,-1,8,0,3,-14,58,0,58,75,71,-88,129,132,127,22,125,-35,118,112,110,118,110,77,117,136,54,178,215,123,97,240,223,190,214,247,231,238,238,262,71,357,420,430,448,440] Nepo, by contrast, knows that he needs to win, and plays like it.} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bxc3 6. Qxc3 Qe7 7. a3 d5 8. d4 exd4 9. Nxd4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 c5 11. Qh4 O-O 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Qxe7 Nxe7 14. h4 Be6 15. h5 h6 16. Bd2 Rfd8 17. Rc1 b6 18. Rh4 a5 19. Bc3 f6 20. Bb5 Bb3 21. e4 Rac8 22. Rh3 Be6 23. Rd3 Rxd3 24. Bxd3 Rd8 25. Be2 Bb3 26. f3 Nc6 27. Kf2 Kf7 28. Ke3 Nd4 29. Bd3 Nc6 30. Be1 Ne5 31. Be2 {White is a little more comfortable thanks to the bishop pair, but Black is active enough that it's objectively equal. Sevian doesn't want to be tortured by the bishop pair forever, though, and decides to force the issue, sacrificing a pawn to achieve opposite-colored bishops. Bad idea.} c4 $6 32. Bc3 Nd3 $6 33. Rg1 Rd7 34. Bd4 b5 35. Bxd3 cxd3 36. Kxd3 Rc7 37. Bc3 Rd7+ 38. Ke3 a4 {The engine doesn't think it's that bad for Black, and presumably Sevian didn't either. And if he's allowed to force the trade of rooks with ...Rd1 the draw will be very likely.} 39. Rh1 $1 Rd1 40. Rh4 {White wins from here with surprising ease; a saultary reminder to all of us that opposite-colored bishops don't guarantee a draw, especially when other pieces remain on the board.} Be6 41. Rf4 {The engine still says ?, but it will only remain that way if he plays the unobvious 41...Kg8. The point is threefold: it gets off the f-file so that e5 won't win material, it keeps the g7-pawn protected, and it allows a subsequent ...Rd6 without walking into the Bb4 pin that would result from ...Ke7.} Ke7 $2 (41... Kg8 $3 42. g4 Bd7 $1 43. Ke2 Rd6 $1 {and Black is surviving.}) 42. g4 $18 {Threatening e5 - g4 prevents ...f5 in reply.} Kd6 (42... Bd7 43. Ke2 Rd6 $2 44. Bb4 $18) 43. e5+ $1 fxe5 44. Re4 Rd5 45. Bb4+ Kc6 46. Bf8 {If only the Black king were still on the kingside! There's no need for it on the queenside.} Rd7 47. Rxe5 Bc4 48. Re7 {Now the trade is fine, Black will lose a second pawn if the rooks are traded.} Rd3+ (48... Rxe7+ 49. Bxe7 Bf7 50. Bf8 g6 51. hxg6 Bxg6 52. Bxh6 $18) 49. Kf4 Bd5 50. Re3 {Likewise here.} Rd4+ 51. Kg3 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "13.12"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2802"] [BlackElo "2734"] [PlyCount "179"] [GameId "2128013663678896"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,179,13,32,27,15,22,13,17,11,8,16,11,12,12,10,15,22,24,15,14,-1,35,39,44,24,2,42,29,0,49,31,8,45,38,104,37,61,169,148,181,181,159,161,146,167,-28,139,154,147,131,111,111,82,80,79,82,100,80,7,81,110,54,-35,41,43,45,1,-66,-4,-25,-35,-35,-71,-184,-100,-79,-79,-109,-150,-121,-169,-83,-237,-104,-63,-75,-57,-62,-41,31,-17,-78,-70,-54,-57,-8,2,-118,-107,-133,-168,-169,-196,-205,-178,-191,-189,-198,-199,-150,-184,-200,-198,-209,-167,-168,-276,-205,-187,-243,-185,-191,-207,-353,-229,-283,-235,-246,-233,-257,-334,-260,-369,-338,-309,-243,-342,-249,-297,-264,-321,-272,-291,-301,-307,-304,-335,-308,-329,-304,-369,-308,-312,-525,-325,-308,-328,-304,-348,-345,-330,-293,-304,-298,-345,-304,-290,-271,-312,-291,-345,-331,-381,-298,-574,-348,-395,-391,-370,-1242,-1252] The soap opera continues; this episode finishes in Niemann's favor.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nd5 h6 7. Be3 d6 8. Bxc5 dxc5 9. Ne3 O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. a4 b6 12. h3 Rb8 13. c3 Qd6 14. Qe2 g6 15. Rad1 b5 16. axb5 axb5 17. Bxb5 Rxb5 18. d4 exd4 19. Qxb5 Rxe4 20. Nc4 Qd5 21. cxd4 cxd4 22. Qxd5 Nxd5 23. Ncd2 Re2 24. Rfe1 d3 25. Rxe2 dxe2 26. Rc1 Ncb4 27. Ne1 Ba6 28. Nb3 Kf8 29. Nc5 Bb5 30. f3 Ne3 31. b3 Nd1 32. Ra1 Ke7 33. Ra7 Kd6 34. Ne4+ Kc6 35. Nf2 f5 36. Ra8 Ne3 37. Ra1 Kd5 38. Rc1 c6 39. h4 Kd4 40. g3 Nec2 41. Rxc2 Nxc2 42. Nxc2+ Kc3 43. Ne1 Kd2 44. Ng2 e1=Q+ 45. Nxe1 Kxe1 46. Nh3 Kd2 47. Kf2 Kc3 48. Nf4 Kxb3 49. Nxg6 c5 50. g4 $2 (50. Nf4 c4 51. Ne2 c3 52. Nd4+ Kb2 53. Ke3 c2 54. Nxc2 Kxc2 55. g4 Bd3 56. h5 {White will manage to swap off Black's remaining pawns, and draw.}) 50... c4 $19 51. gxf5 c3 52. f6 Bc4 53. Nf4 c2 54. Ne2 Bxe2 55. f7 c1=Q 56. f8=Q {This may or may not be a "mathematically" winning position for Black, but at least practically his winning chances are better than White's drawing chances.} Bb5 57. Qb8 Qb2+ 58. Kg3 Qg7+ 59. Kf4 Qf6+ 60. Kg3 Kc4 61. Qg8+ Kc5 62. Qg4 Bc6 63. h5 Qe5+ 64. Kg2 Qf6 65. Kg3 Kd6 66. Qb4+ Kd7 67. Qg4+ Ke7 68. Kf2 Be8 69. Qb4+ Kf7 70. Qe4 Kf8 71. Qb4+ Kg7 72. Qg4+ Kh8 73. Qc8 Qh4+ 74. Kg2 Qxh5 75. Qc3+ Kh7 76. Qc7+ Bf7 77. Qa7 Qg5+ 78. Kh2 Kg7 79. Qb7 Qe5+ 80. Kg2 h5 81. Qd7 Kg6 82. Qc8 Qg5+ 83. Kh1 h4 84. Qc2+ Kg7 85. Qb2+ Qf6 86. Qb7 Qe5 87. Kg2 Kg6 88. Kh1 Bd5 89. Qb1+ Qf5 90. Qb6+ {Time? Regardless, Black will either mate or force White to allow a queen swap.} (90. Qb6+ Kh5 91. Qf2 Qxf3+ 92. Qxf3+ Bxf3+ $19 {is an elementary win for Black as the bishop covers the queening square.}) 0-1 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Lagno, Kateryna"] [Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "9.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2515"] [BlackElo "2484"] [PlyCount "97"] [GameId "2128013719349088"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,97,14,25,37,30,28,24,19,49,42,23,90,30,26,28,71,62,58,80,61,80,74,74,70,59,72,96,77,77,86,15,73,63,54,99,90,111,8,73,85,52,27,92,57,188,22,39,-4,-3,44,-14,48,192,149,143,18,114,135,-22,179,73,89,145,246,271,83,75,291,492,521,473,446,478,495,475,444,585,826,432,471,419,580,309,523,536,367,475,489,527,564,546,579,398,983,29980,29989,1193,29372,1950] Lagno was very much in the race for first in the women's event, with this game helping a great deal.} 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d3 {This has been relatively popular lately - the endgame for pros, the gambit for low- and mid-level club players.} Bg4 (3... dxe4 4. dxe4 (4. Ng5 $6 {is mainly a cheapo.} exd3 (4... Nf6 $11 {/? is a good, safe, simple way to meet 4.Ng5.}) 5. Bxd3 {Black has several decent moves here, but White's dream - which has often come true - is that Black will play 5...h6?? or 5...Nf6??} Nf6 6. Nxf7 $1 {and White is winning, with the chief point that Black loses the queen after} Kxf7 7. Bg6+ hxg6 8. Qxd8 $18) 4... Qxd1+ 5. Kxd1 {has generally fared well for White except when Carlsen is sitting on the other side of the board.}) 4. h3 Bh5 5. Nc3 (5. Qe2 {is a popular move, used by elite GMs like Aronian, Niemann, and even Carlsen.}) 5... e6 6. g4 Bg6 7. h4 dxe4 8. h5 Bxh5 9. Ne5 $1 Bg6 10. Nxg6 fxg6 11. Nxe4 (11. g5 $1 $146 {is even better.}) 11... Nf6 12. Bg2 Be7 $146 (12... Nbd7) (12... Nxe4 $1 13. Bxe4 Qf6 $14) 13. g5 (13. Qe2 $142) (13. Ng5 $142) 13... Nxe4 14. Bxe4 Kd7 $2 (14... Bxg5 $1 15. Bxg6+ (15. Qg4 $142 Bxc1 16. Qxe6+ Qe7 17. Bxg6+ Kd8 18. Qxe7+ Kxe7 19. Rxc1 h6 $11 {/?}) 15... Kd7 $11) 15. Qg4 $16 {/+- White has a big advantage, and went on to win.} Na6 16. d4 Qb6 17. Bf4 Nb4 18. O-O Nd5 19. Be5 h5 20. Qg2 Rhf8 21. Qg3 h4 22. Qxh4 Rh8 23. Qg3 Rh5 24. f4 Rah8 25. Bg2 Qxb2 26. Rab1 Qxc2 27. Rxb7+ Ke8 28. Bxg7 R8h7 29. Bh6 Qd2 30. Qf2 Qxf2+ 31. Rxf2 Rf7 32. Rxa7 Rh4 33. Be4 Nxf4 34. Bxc6+ Kd8 35. Rb2 Ne2+ 36. Rxe2 Rxd4 37. Kg2 Rg4+ 38. Kh3 Rff4 39. Bf3 Rh4+ 40. Kg2 Bd6 41. Rd2 Rh2+ 42. Kxh2 Rd4+ 43. Kh3 Rxd2 44. Bg7 Rd3 45. Kg4 Re3 46. Bf6+ Ke8 47. Bc6+ Kf8 48. Ra8+ Kf7 49. Be8+ 1-0 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Garifullina, Leya"] [Black "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "9.6"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2451"] [BlackElo "2561"] [PlyCount "64"] [GameId "2128013719349091"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,64,29,33,21,140,16,10,15,15,8,15,9,30,68,65,74,74,103,84,83,96,76,49,84,86,63,71,96,111,-110,34,15,110,59,49,14,-93,-81,-87,-74,-107,-235,-91,-87,-206,-223,-237,-170,-217,-161,-114,53,-70,-59,-403,-626,-546,-380,-663,-888,-961,-974,-981,-1018,-1009,-838]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 Be7 {Less popular than the main line with 6...b5, but not bad as a surprise weapon.} 7. Re1 b5 8. Rxe4 d5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Rxe5 bxa4 11. Qe2 f6 12. Re3 c5 13. dxc5 Kf7 14. Nc3 Bxc5 15. Rd3 $14 {White has scored 2.5/3 from here, which isn't so surprising given Black's pawn structure. Black has chances too, though, thanks to the bishop pair.} Re8 $146 16. Qh5+ Kg8 17. Bd2 (17. Bf4 $142 Qe7 18. h3 Bb7 19. Nxd5 Qe4 $1 20. Rad1 $14 {White has an extra pawn, but her position feels fragile.}) 17... Re5 18. Qd1 $2 (18. Qf3 $14) 18... Bf5 $15 19. Rg3 $2 Qb6 $17 {/-+} 20. Qf3 Qxb2 $6 (20... Qe6 $1) 21. Rf1 Qxc2 22. Bh6 $2 (22. Nxd5 $1 Rf8 (22... Qxd2 {isn't as good - provided White succeeds in finding several brilliant moves.} 23. Nxf6+ Kf7 $1 24. Ne4 $1 (24. Qxa8 $4 Qxf2+ 25. Rxf2 Re1#) 24... Qd8 $1 25. Rxg7+ $3 {Otherwise Black is winning.} Kxg7 26. Qg3+ Kf8 27. Qxe5 Bxe4 28. Qxe4 Bd4 $1 29. Rd1 Rb8 30. Kf1 $1 Rb4 31. Rd3 $1 Rc4 32. h4 $44) 23. Bc3 Re6 $15) 22... Bg6 $19 23. Nxd5 Rd8 (23... Rae8 24. Nxf6+ gxf6 25. Qxf6 R5e7 $19 {This version works. The point is that here} 26. Rf3 {can be met by} Rf7 $19 {- there's no hanging rook on d8.}) 24. Nxf6+ gxf6 $2 (24... Kh8 $1 $19) 25. Qxf6 Re7 $6 (25... Rd7 $15 {/?}) 26. Rc3 $2 (26. Rf3 $1) 26... Qe2 $4 {Giving White a fantastic opportunity to win the game.} (26... Qb2 $19) 27. g3 $4 (27. Re3 $3 Bxe3 28. fxe3 $18 {and Black can't cover all four critical squares: f8, g7, e7, and d8 except by giving up his queen.}) 27... Bd4 {Now it's over.} 28. Qc6 Bxc3 29. Qxc3 Rd1 30. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 31. Kg2 Be4+ 32. f3 Bxf3+ 0-1 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Black "Yip, Carissa"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "10.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "E71"] [WhiteElo "2561"] [BlackElo "2432"] [PlyCount "97"] [GameId "2128013719390103"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {American youngster and two-time defending U.S. Women's Champ Carissa Yip had a nice run, but it came to an end in this game. Had she won this game - and she could have - she may have enjoyed a sensational tournament. In the end, though, the more experienced player prevailed.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5. h3 d6 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 Na6 8. Bd3 Nc5 9. Bc2 a5 10. Nge2 c6 11. O-O Bd7 12. a3 cxd5 13. cxd5 a4 14. Ng3 b5 15. Rc1 Qa5 16. Na2 h5 17. Bg5 Rfc8 18. Re1 Nh7 19. Bd2 Qb6 20. Nb4 Bf6 21. Kh2 Qd8 22. f4 exf4 23. Bxf4 Bxb2 24. Rb1 Qf6 25. Rf1 Be5 26. Ne2 Ng5 27. Nd3 Nxd3 28. Bxd3 Bxf4+ 29. Rxf4 Qe5 30. Kh1 Rc5 $2 $17 (30... Rc3 $19) 31. Qd2 Nh7 32. Rbf1 Be8 33. Bb1 Ra7 34. Nd4 Kg7 $6 $15 (34... Rac7 $17) 35. Ba2 Rac7 36. Nc6 Qc3 (36... Bxc6 $142 37. dxc6 f6 $15) 37. Qf2 $11 Ng5 38. h4 Nh7 $2 (38... Nh3 $1 39. gxh3 Qxh3+ 40. Kg1 (40. Qh2 Rc3 $1 $11 {/?}) 40... Rc3 $1 41. Rf3 Qg4+ 42. Kh2 Rxf3 43. Qxf3 Qxh4+ $11) 39. Rf3 $18 Qc2 40. Qd4+ Kg8 41. e5 $2 (41. R1f2 $142 $18) 41... Qxa2 $14 42. exd6 $1 Rxd5 43. dxc7 Rxd4 44. c8=Q (44. Ne7+ $142 Kg7 45. c8=Q Rxh4+ $14 (45... Qc4 $14) (45... Qb2 $14)) 44... Rxh4+ 45. Kg1 Qe6 $2 (45... Re4 $1 $11) 46. Qd8 $2 (46. Qxe6 fxe6 47. Rc3 $16) 46... Rg4 $4 {A blunder in time trouble, alas.} (46... Re4 47. Na7 $1 {is White's best move, or she's at least clearly worse. Still, Black is doing well in this complicated position; one good option is} Ng5 $1 48. Rg3 (48. Qxg5 $2 Qb6+ 49. Kh1 Qxa7 $17) 48... Qe7 $1 49. Qxe7 $8 Rxe7 50. Nc8 Re5 51. Nd6 Bd7 $11 {Black has three pawns for the exchange, so although it won't be easy for Black to (intelligently) create a passed pawn, it's still very much White who has the harder task.}) 47. Ne7+ Kg7 (47... Kf8 48. Rxf7+ Qxf7 49. Rxf7+ Kxf7 50. Nc8 $1 $18 {and the threats of 51.Qe7+ and 51.Nd6+ decide.}) 48. Qxe8 Qb6+ 49. R1f2 1-0 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Dronavalli, Harika"] [Black "Tan, Zhongyi"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "11.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2489"] [BlackElo "2561"] [PlyCount "45"] [GameId "2128013719427020"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,45,18,-5,6,-2,38,-11,-7,-3,13,28,28,40,40,50,57,31,45,-37,25,7,8,25,-21,104,99,125,69,107,67,47,44,60,44,44,-28,-3,-106,16,33,8,-53,6,-54,-2,-39,36] Coming into the last round, seven(!) players were tied for first. The tournament rules dictate that in case more than two players are tied for first, only the top two on tiebreaks get to participate in the playoff. You'd therefore expect the players to be motivated to fight for a win, but...you'd mostly be wrong. Case in point #1.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. d4 Nf6 5. O-O cxd4 6. Nxd4 e5 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. c4 Be6 9. Qa4 Qd7 10. Nc3 Rc8 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Qxd7+ Kxd7 13. Rd1 Bc5 14. Nxd5 {This is essentially a draw offer. No guts, no glory.} (14. Na4 {is what White plays when playing for a win.}) 14... Nxd5 15. Bxd5 Bxd5 16. Rxd5+ Ke6 17. Rd1 Rhd8 18. Bg5 f6 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20. Rc1 Bb6 21. Be3 Bxe3 22. fxe3 Rd2 23. Kf2 {Not a single new move in the game.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Lagno, Kateryna"] [Black "Khamdamova, Afruza"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "11.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "C90"] [WhiteElo "2515"] [BlackElo "2354"] [PlyCount "55"] [GameId "2128013719431117"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,55,12,43,23,38,28,13,30,9,6,15,40,21,12,17,8,8,6,11,29,19,16,14,10,26,26,37,28,-1,-5,22,22,21,21,-4,50,4,74,78,86,62,68,63,52,54,39,31,119,31,78,222,64,50,35,54,64,62] Another non-effort. If you can't be motivated by a world championship title, what does motivate you as a chess player?} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. Re1 h6 10. Nbd2 Na5 11. Bc2 c5 12. d4 cxd4 13. cxd4 Qc7 14. b3 Nc6 15. Bb2 Bg4 16. h3 Bh5 17. Rc1 Rac8 18. Bb1 Qb8 19. d5 Na7 20. b4 Nd7 21. Nb3 Nb6 22. g4 Bg6 23. Bc3 Nc4 24. Nbd2 Nxd2 25. Bxd2 Rxc1 26. Qxc1 Rc8 27. Qb2 (27. Qa3 $142 $16) 27... Rc7 28. Rc1 {It is equal now, but it's not dead.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Sukandar, Irine Kharisma"] [Black "Koneru, Humpy"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "11.3"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2330"] [BlackElo "2523"] [PlyCount "134"] [GameId "2128013719431118"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,134,15,5,23,81,24,23,15,9,32,10,17,3,7,5,9,8,23,13,-87,-13,13,-6,16,-14,-35,-4,10,56,-1,13,35,6,33,14,23,-20,-44,-28,-41,-26,49,1,-41,-55,-55,-56,-20,-30,-2,-31,-20,-50,-22,121,-10,0,-32,12,0,-57,-149,-48,-60,-68,-97,-72,-63,-36,-67,-63,-65,-58,-31,-87,-53,-75,-29,-39,-24,-19,-19,-43,-37,-52,-39,-27,-34,1,-14,-38,-28,-41,-51,-55,-33,-128,-127,-136,-153,-142,-142,-148,-142,-144,-148,-147,-164,-223,-219,-238,-230,-207,-165,-175,-151,-135,-143,-141,-176,-165,-214,-185,-277,-248,-273,-252,-252,-314,-345,-282,-352,-294,-361,-355,-337] Humpy, with Black, plays it out to the end. There was no guarantee of success, but there didn't have to be. You keep playing, keep trying, and see what happens. There's no need to go crazy - the point isn't to go bonkers and take undue risks, treating a draw as if it were a loss. It's to keep fighting, trying to give your opponent new problems to solve. If they succeed, good for them; if not, good for you.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 h6 5. a4 Nf6 6. Be3 Bxe3 7. fxe3 d6 8. O-O Be6 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. Qe1 Nb4 11. Rc1 c6 12. Kh1 d5 13. Bb3 dxe4 14. Nxe4 Nxd3 15. cxd3 Bxb3 16. Nc5 Be6 17. Nxe5 Qe7 18. Qh4 Rfe8 19. d4 Ng4 20. Qxe7 Rxe7 21. Nxg4 Bxg4 22. Rfe1 Rae8 23. Rc3 Rd8 24. h3 Bc8 25. Nd3 Bf5 26. Kg1 Bxd3 27. Rxd3 f5 $11 {The position in this rook ending is equal, but not really. White's center pawns will always be at least a little weak, and it's difficult to see how White generates any counterplay. It's a free roll for Black: a draw is likeliest, with some winning chances and virtually no losing chances.} 28. Rc1 f4 29. exf4 Re4 30. Rcd1 Rxf4 31. b3 {The a-pawn would have hung after 31.d5, but now White is ready to liquidate her isolated d-pawn.} Rd5 32. g3 Rf7 33. b4 a5 $1 34. bxa5 Rxa5 {Now White has two isolated pawns. It's still "drawn", but it's getting a little less drawn every few moves.} 35. d5 $1 cxd5 36. Rd4 $1 {White wants to swap her a-pawn for Black's b-pawn instead of the d-pawn. The closer Black's extra pawn is to the kingside, the easier White's defensive task.} Rf3 37. Kg2 Ra3 38. Rb1 R3xa4 39. Rxa4 Rxa4 40. Rxb7 {Still "drawn".} Rd4 41. Kf3 Kh7 42. Ke3 (42. Rb6 {would be my choice, cutting off the king.}) 42... Re4+ 43. Kf3 Kg6 44. Rd7 Re5 45. Rd6+ Kf5 46. Rd7 Kf6 47. g4 $6 {One of those moves the engine won't care about but humans should. Remember what I said about White's smart decision to go after Black's b-pawn rather than her d-pawn? This is bad for the same reason the other decision was good. White's king needs to keep an eye on both Black's d-pawn and her kingside pawns, and the closer they are to each the better. So White shouldn't make her h-pawn the more vulnerable pawn; that worry should belong to the g-pawn.} (47. h4) 47... h5 48. Kf4 $4 (48. gxh5 {was correct. My suspicion is that this capture makes the "loneliness" of the h-pawn more obvious, while it's shielded by the presence of a g-pawn, even a g-pawn that will never again be able to help the h-pawn. White should have made the swap: fewer pawns, fewer problems.} Rxh5 49. Kg3 Rf5 50. h4 g6 51. Rd6+ {leaves Black with a problem: either babysit the g-pawn and fail to advance the d-pawn, or help the d-pawn and lose the g-pawn, when White will be able to draw thanks to her h-pawn. Either way, White's task shouldn't be too difficult.} Ke5 52. Rxg6 d4 53. Rg5 $1 $11) 48... g5+ 49. Kf3 h4 $19 {Just like that, it's over. White's h-pawn is still a problem, and the addition of g-pawns makes Black's position even better.} 50. Rd6+ Ke7 51. Ra6 Re6 52. Ra7+ Kd6 53. Ra6+ Ke5 54. Ra5 Rb6 55. Ra3 Kd4 56. Ra4+ Kc3 57. Ra5 Rf6+ 58. Ke2 Re6+ 59. Kf2 Re5 60. Rc5+ Kb4 61. Rc8 d4 62. Rb8+ Kc3 63. Rc8+ Kd2 64. Ra8 d3 65. Ra2+ Kc3 66. Ra3+ Kc2 67. Ra2+ Kb3 {Congratulations to Humpy Koneru, the deserved winner of the Women's World Rapid Chess Championship!} (67... Kb3 68. Ra8 d2 69. Rd8 Kc3 70. Rc8+ Kd4 71. Rd8+ Rd5 72. Rxd5+ Kxd5 73. Ke2 Ke4 74. Kxd2 Kf3 $19 {Note that this position would be drawn without the g-pawns.}) 0-1 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Assaubayeva, Bibisara"] [Black "Ju, Wenjun"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "11.4"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.28"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2492"] [BlackElo "2563"] [PlyCount "47"] [GameId "2128013719431119"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,47,18,24,17,-6,-9,0,-1,11,5,4,24,27,34,-12,38,29,35,15,35,33,-30,29,29,1,36,36,28,-21,43,45,52,21,35,38,-95,44,-164,59,52,5,7,5,14,17,17,17,10,-2] Meanwhile, here's a third example of how not to play with a world championship on the line.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c5 4. O-O Nc6 5. d4 e6 6. c4 dxc4 7. dxc5 Qxd1 8. Rxd1 Bxc5 9. Nbd2 c3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Nb3 Be7 12. Nfd4 Nxd4 13. cxd4 Nd5 14. Bd2 f5 15. Na5 b6 16. Nc6 Bf6 17. Rac1 Bb7 18. Rc2 Rfc8 19. Rdc1 Kf8 20. Bf4 Rxc6 21. Rxc6 Bxc6 22. Rxc6 Nxf4 23. gxf4 Bxd4 24. Rc7 1/2-1/2