[Event "WCh 2023"] [Site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2023.04.13"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2795"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2023.04.09"] {[%evp 0,93,25,-25,-8,-16,-22,-22,-10,-23,-14,-33,-14,-3,0,-9,-1,-6,34,24,47,35,38,44,46,33,41,43,25,25,75,7,12,4,9,-10,-3,-31,15,-3,-2,11,0,0,4,0,0,-1,29,44,26,27,25,21,21,21,21,4,77,38,30,21,24,51,60,56,56,49,54,55,61,96,100,100,318,318,328,328,322,265,278,563,558,633,704,693,675,612,612,663,668,668,670,677,674,674]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 {The f1-bishop doesn't like this move as much as it does 4.g3, but the plus side is that 4...d5 probably isn't as good here.} (4. g3 {is the most common move, inviting a reversed Dragon with} d5 (4... Bb4 {is another important move.}) 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 {, when Black generally plays the old standard 6...Nb6 or the hot} Bc5 {.}) 4... Bb4 (4... d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bb5 {The bishop is better here than on g2 in the 4.g3 line.} (6. Qc2 $5) 6... Nxc3 7. bxc3 Bd6 8. d4 {gives White good chances for an edge.}) 5. Qc2 Bxc3 (5... O-O {used to be popular and is still played from time to time, but White has been doing well with the standard} 6. Nd5 {.}) 6. bxc3 (6. Qxc3 {is the traditional move, keeping a clean pawn structure at the cost of some time (Black will generally play a quick ...Ne4).}) 6... d6 ({Or} 6... O-O {, with a likely transposition.}) 7. e4 O-O 8. Be2 {Preferred by the engine.} (8. g3 {has been more common. The point isn't so much to fianchetto the bishop, though it's headed to g2, but to support a quick Nh4.}) 8... Nh5 {The most commonly chosen move, though super-GMs have been trying several other moves lately.} (8... Ne7 9. O-O Ng6 10. d4 b6 11. Re1 h6 12. Nd2 Nh7 13. Nf1 f5 14. exf5 Bxf5 15. Bd3 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Qf6 17. Be3 Ng5 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. Qd5+ Qf7 20. Bxg5 hxg5 21. Ne3 Qxd5 22. cxd5 Rf4 23. Rad1 Ra4 24. Re2 Rf8 25. h3 g4 26. h4 Ng6 27. g3 Ne5 28. Kg2 Re8 29. Nf5 Kf7 30. Rd4 Ra3 31. Rf4 Kg6 32. h5+ Kh7 33. Rxg4 Nxg4 34. Rxe8 Rxa2 35. Kh3 Nxf2+ 36. Kh4 Ra4+ 37. Nd4 Ra1 38. Re7 Rh1+ 39. Kg5 Nh3+ 40. Kg4 Nf2+ 41. Kg5 Nh3+ 42. Kg4 Nf2+ 43. Kf3 Nd3 44. Ne6 Rxh5 45. Rxg7+ Kh6 46. g4 Rxd5 47. g5+ Kh5 48. Rxc7 Rf5+ 49. Kg3 Re5 50. Nf4+ Kxg5 51. Rg7+ Kf6 52. Rg6+ Kf7 53. Rxd6 Nxf4 54. Kxf4 Rc5 55. Rd7+ Ke6 56. Rxa7 Rxc3 57. Rb7 Rc6 58. Ke4 Rd6 59. Rb8 Rc6 60. Rb7 Rd6 61. Rh7 Rc6 62. Kd4 Rd6+ 63. Kc4 Ke5 64. Rh5+ Ke6 65. Kb5 Rd5+ 66. Rxd5 Kxd5 67. Kxb6 {½-½ Tabatabaei,M (2675)-Giri,A (2768) Chessable Play In Match chess.com INT rapid 2023 (1.3)}) (8... h6 9. O-O Ne7 10. d4 Ng6 11. c5 Re8 12. cxd6 cxd6 13. Rd1 Qc7 14. Ba3 Rd8 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Rxd8+ Qxd8 17. Rd1 Qe8 18. Qb3 b6 19. Bb5 Bd7 20. Bxd7 Nxd7 21. Rd6 Nf6 22. Nd2 Rd8 23. Rxd8 Qxd8 24. Qc2 Qd7 25. f3 h5 26. Nc4 h4 27. Ne3 Nf4 28. g3 Nh3+ 29. Kg2 Ng5 30. g4 Ne6 31. Bc1 Nf4+ 32. Kg1 Qb5 33. Kf2 Nh7 34. c4 Qc5 35. Qd2 Nf8 36. Kf1 N8e6 37. Qc3 Nd4 38. Ba3 Qc8 39. Nd5 Nxd5 40. exd5 Nb5 41. Qb3 Nxa3 42. Qxa3 Qxc4+ 43. Kg2 Qe2+ 44. Kh3 g5 {0-1 Tabatabaei,M (2677)-Caruana,F (2766) PRO League Prelim Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (2.3)}) (8... Ne8 9. d4 h6 10. O-O f5 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Ba3 Rf7 13. Rad1 Qf6 14. c5 Rb8 15. Nd2 Be6 16. Bc4 Bxc4 17. Nxc4 Qe6 18. Ne3 fxe4 19. c4 Nd4 20. Qd2 Nf6 21. Bb2 Rd8 22. Qa5 {0-1 Maghsoodloo,P (2719)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2684) Tata Steel India Blitz Kolkata 2022 (12)}) (8... b6 9. d3 Nd7 10. O-O Bb7 11. d4 Re8 12. Bg5 Ne7 13. c5 h6 14. Bh4 Qc8 15. cxd6 cxd6 16. Bg3 Ng6 17. Bd3 Nf6 18. Rfe1 Nh5 19. Rac1 Qc7 20. Nd2 Rac8 21. Qb2 Rcd8 22. a4 Nxg3 23. hxg3 Nf8 24. Nc4 Nd7 25. Ne3 Nf6 26. d5 Rf8 27. a5 bxa5 28. Qa3 Nd7 29. Ra1 Nc5 30. Bc2 a4 31. f3 Bc8 32. Bxa4 f5 33. Bc2 fxe4 34. Bxe4 a6 35. Bc2 Bd7 36. Qa5 Qa7 37. Kh2 Bc8 38. Rab1 Qe7 39. Rb6 Bd7 40. Qb4 Bb5 41. c4 Bd7 42. Nd1 Bf5 43. Bxf5 Rxf5 44. Nf2 Rdf8 45. Qd2 Rh5+ 46. Kg1 Rg5 47. g4 Rg6 48. Rc6 Rgf6 49. Ne4 Nxe4 50. Rxe4 Qb7 51. Qa2 Qa7+ 52. Kh1 a5 53. c5 dxc5 54. Rxe5 Qd7 55. Rxf6 gxf6 56. d6+ Qf7 57. Re6 Kh8 58. Qe2 Rd8 59. Re7 Qd5 60. Re8+ {1-0 Navara,D (2700)-Nihal,S (2652) Belgrade 2022 (7)}) 9. d4 Nf4 {Only played once before. Oddly, it was against Richard Rapport - one of Ding Liren's seconds. It's suspicious and the engine isn't a huge fan, but Nepo the King's Gambiteer has probably developed a very good feel for structures with the Black e-pawn going to f4, possibly supported by ...g5, even if he's usually on the other side of the table.} (9... Qf6) (9... f5 $5) 10. Bxf4 exf4 11. O-O $146 {Better than Rapport's move.} (11. h4 Re8 12. Bd3 Bg4 13. Ng1 f5 14. Kf1 fxe4 15. Bxe4 h6 16. Nf3 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Kh8 18. Qd2 Ne7 19. Bc2 Ng8 20. Kg2 Qd7 21. Rab1 c6 22. Qxf4 Re2 23. Bd3 Rxa2 24. Rhe1 Nf6 25. Bf5 Qf7 26. Qxd6 Nh5 27. Bg4 Nf4+ 28. Kg1 Ne2+ 29. Kh1 h5 30. Qe6 Qxe6 31. Bxe6 b6 32. c5 Rd2 33. d5 Nxc3 34. Re5 g6 35. Ra1 Nxd5 36. cxb6 Nxb6 37. Rg5 Rd6 38. Rxg6 Re8 39. Bf7 Rxg6 40. Bxg6 Re6 41. Be4 Nc4 42. Rc1 Ne5 43. Kg2 Kg7 44. Kg3 Kf6 45. Rc5 Re8 46. f4 Rg8+ 47. Kh3 Ng4 48. Rxc6+ Ke7 49. Rc7+ Kd6 50. Rc2 Rb8 51. Kg3 Rb4 52. Bf3 Rb3 53. Kg2 Ra3 54. Rc6+ Ke7 55. Bd5 Ra5 56. Bc4 Ra4 57. Kg3 Ra3+ 58. f3 Rc3 59. Re6+ Kf8 60. Bb5 Kf7 61. f5 Ne3 62. Be8+ Kf8 63. Bg6 Kg7 64. Rd6 Rc4 65. Rd7+ Kf6 66. Rf7+ Ke5 67. Re7+ Kd4 68. Re4+ Kd3 69. f6 {1-0 Rapport,R (2621)-Zaragatski,I (2460) Bundesliga 1213 Germany 2012 (10)}) 11... Qf6 12. Rfe1 Re8 (12... g5 {is possible. White has a number of reasonable moves, like the active-looking options 13.Bd3 and 13.Rab1, but a prophylactic setup like} 13. h3 Kh8 14. Nh2 $14 {also makes sense, slowing down Black's kingside play.}) 13. Bd3 (13. h3 Qg6 14. Kh2 (14. Qd2 $5 Bxh3 15. Bf1 f5 $1 16. exf5 Bxf5 17. Qxf4 Bg4 $11 {/?}) 14... Qh6 15. Rad1 g5 16. Kg1 g4 17. hxg4 Bxg4 {would make for an interesting battle. White has a beautiful center and a better pawn structure balanced by Black's attacking chances after ...Kh8 and ...Rg8.}) 13... Bg4 14. Nd2 Na5 {Perhaps looking to play ...b6 and ...c5 to fix the c4 pawn, which he'll eventually pressure, Nimzo-Indian style.} (14... Rad8 $142 15. h3 Bc8 $11) 15. c5 $1 {Telling Black that he need not spend 10 moves building an attack on the c4-pawn - he'll just give it away! Indeed - but not for nothing. This typical sac is more effective than usual with Black's ex-e-pawn sitting on f4.} dxc5 16. e5 Qh6 17. d5 {White is a pawn down, but Black has two pairs of doubled pawns, his knight is stranded on a5 and his pieces look disjointed, and White has an impressive pawn center. It's surprising - at least I was surprised to discover - that the engine thinks the position is essentially equal (only +.15 for White). Nepo has correctly assessed that this position is entirely playable for him, even if the aesthetics are all on white's side. (On the other hand, it looks very easy for White to play without any risk. Black only needed to make one misjudgment, and he went from equal/equalish to lost in a single move.)} Rad8 18. c4 b6 19. h3 Bh5 20. Be4 Re7 21. Qc3 Rde8 22. Bf3 Nb7 {Bringing the knight back to civilization.} 23. Re2 f6 24. e6 Nd6 {Now the knight is good, and while his rooks are choking on White's e-pawn it's also hard to see how White will make further progress.} 25. Rae1 ({The engine recommends trading bishops followed by an unobvious retreat as the only way to keep an edge.} 25. Bxh5 $142 Qxh5 26. Ree1 $14) 25... Nf5 (25... Bg6 $142) 26. Bxh5 Qxh5 27. Re4 $14 Qh6 28. Qf3 (28. Kh2 $14) 28... Nd4 $4 (28... g5 $1 {was right, reminiscent of a King's Gambit. White doesn't have the pieces he'd need to prove that Black's kingside is weak.} 29. g4 $1 Nd6 30. R4e2 Rf8 31. Qd3 f5 $11 {White's center is blockaded, and meanwhile Black can drum up enough kingside play for equality. Here's a plausible line where it ends peacefully:} 32. Qf3 Qh4 33. Re5 h5 $1 34. gxf5 $8 Nxf5 $8 35. Qd3 Nd6 $8 36. Qg6+ Rg7 $8 37. Qh6 $8 Qxh3 $8 38. Rxg5 Rxg5+ $8 39. Qxg5+ $8 Kh7 $8 40. Qe7+ Kg8 $8 41. Qg5+ Kh7 $8 $11) 29. Rxd4 $1 cxd4 30. Nb3 $18 g5 $6 {Here, however, White will be able to access Black's weak kingside; in particular, his knight will have a glorious future on f5.} 31. Nxd4 Qg6 32. g4 fxg3 33. fxg3 h5 34. Nf5 {Oof. White's knight, in conjunction with the c4-d5-e6 pawn chain, is way, way better than Black's extra rook.} Rh7 35. Qe4 {Threatening Ne7+.} Kh8 36. e7 Qf7 37. d6 cxd6 38. Nxd6 Qg8 (38... Qxe7 39. Nxe8 Qxe4 40. Rxe4 $18 {Black won't be able to swap off all of White's pawns - there is no realistic chance of escaping to R vs. R+N.}) 39. Nxe8 Qxe8 40. Qe6 Kg7 ({Of course Black would like to put the rook on f7 first, but it loses immediately.} 40... Rf7 $2 41. Qxf7) 41. Rf1 $1 (41. Rd1 Kg6 {Prevents 42.Rd8, as Black can take on e7. Thus the text move.}) 41... Rh6 42. Rd1 f5 43. Qe5+ Kf7 44. Qxf5+ Rf6 (44... Kxe7 45. Re1+) 45. Qh7+ Ke6 46. Qg7 Rg6 47. Qf8 (47. Qf8 Rg8 48. Rd8 $18 ({Or} 48. Qxg8+ Qxg8 49. Rd8 $18 {, if White wants to be fancy.})) 1-0