[Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.16"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A57"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2734"] [PlyCount "37"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. e3 e6 6. Nc3 exd5 7. Nxd5 Be7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. b3 Nxd5 10. Qxd5 Qb6 11. Bb2 Bb7 12. Qf5 axb5 13. Bd3 g6 14. Qe5 f6 15. Qxe7 Rf7 16. Qe8+ Rf8 17. Qe7 Rf7 18. Qe8+ Rf8 19. Qe7 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.16"] [Round "1.2"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2729"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 c5 4. O-O Nc6 5. d4 e6 6. c4 dxc4 7. Qa4 Bd7 8. Qxc4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Rc8 10. Nc3 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Bc5 12. Qh4 Bc6 (12... O-O) (12... h6) 13. Rd1 Qb6 $2 {This tempting error has been played in 32 previous games, with several GMs (Radjulov, Ljubojevic, Van Wely, and Sjugirov) included in the list of victims. Threatening to take on f2 makes sense, but there's a problem.} (13... Qa5 {must be played here. White is only a little better after, say,} 14. Bxc6+ (14. Bd2 Be7 15. Nd5 Nxd5 $1 16. Qxe7+ Nxe7 17. Bxa5 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Nc6 19. Bc3 f6 {is equal enough from Black's perspective.}) 14... Rxc6 15. Bg5 (15. Bh6 O-O 16. Bxg7 (16. Qg5 $2 Ne8 $19) 16... Bxf2+ 17. Kxf2 Kxg7 $11 {With Black's queen on a5, there's no Qg5+.}) 15... Be7 16. Ne4 Qe5 17. Nxf6+ Bxf6 18. Bxf6 Qxf6 19. Qb4 Qe7 20. Qd4 O-O 21. Rac1 $11 {/?} (21. Qxa7 Rc2 $11)) 14. Bxc6+ Rxc6 15. Bh6 $3 $18 {The problem.} Bf8 (15... O-O $2 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qg5+ Kh8 18. Qxf6+ Kg8 19. Qg5+ Kh8 20. Ne4 $18) 16. Rd3 $1 Nd5 (16... e5 17. Be3 $1 Qa5 18. Rad1 Be7 19. b4 $1 Qc7 20. Nb5 Qb8 21. Bxa7 Qa8 22. Bc5 $146) 17. Nxd5 exd5 18. Be3 Qxb2 $146 19. Bd4 Qb4 20. Rb3 Qe7 21. Qxe7+ Kxe7 22. Rxb7+ Ke6 23. Rb8 $1 {Black cannot untangle, so while he's not losing right away there's no way to repair his position while White finishes mobilizing and goes for the kill.} h5 24. Rab1 h4 25. Kg2 {Not allowing Black to (try to) bury White's king on the first rank with ...h3.} Kf5 26. Kf3 hxg3 27. hxg3 Rc4 28. e3 Rc2 29. R1b5 Kg6 30. Rxd5 Rxa2 31. Rdd8 {Winning a piece and the game. Black will get White's f-pawn, but that's it - there's no check, nor any realistic prospect of reaching rook vs. rook and bishop (with no pawns).} Rh2 32. Rxf8 Raxf2+ 33. Ke4 f6 34. Rb7 a6 35. Ra8 Ra2 36. Raa7 Rh7 37. Kf3 Ra5 38. Rb6 Rg5 39. Kg2 a5 40. e4 Rg4 41. Kf3 Rg5 42. Be3 Re5 43. Bf4 Rc5 44. e5 Rh8 45. Rba6 Rd8 46. exf6 gxf6 47. Rxa5 Rc3+ 48. Kg4 1-0 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.16"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2718"] [PlyCount "164"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 Nf6 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Ne2 e5 9. dxe5 Ng4 10. cxd5 Nxe5 11. e4 f5 12. O-O Nxd3 13. Qxd3 fxe4 14. Qxe4 cxd5 15. Qd3 Bf5 16. Qg3 Nc6 17. Be3 Qe8 18. Rad1 Qf7 19. Rd2 Rad8 20. Rfd1 Rd7 21. Nd4 Bg6 22. Nxc6 bxc6 23. c4 Bh5 24. f3 Re8 25. Bf2 Bg6 26. cxd5 cxd5 27. h3 h6 28. Rc1 Kh7 29. Bd4 Bf5 30. Kh2 Re6 31. Rc8 Re8 32. Rxe8 Qxe8 33. Rb2 Qg6 34. Qe5 Bd3 35. a4 Bc4 36. a5 Qf7 37. Rb8 Re7 38. Qg3 Rb7 39. Rc8 a6 40. Qd6 Qe7 41. Qc6 Qf7 42. Qd6 Qe7 43. Qxe7 Rxe7 44. g4 Rf7 45. Kg3 g5 46. Rh8+ Kg6 47. Re8 Kh7 48. Re6 Bb5 49. Be5 Rd7 50. Bd4 Rf7 51. Re3 Kg6 52. Re5 Bc4 53. Re6+ Kh7 54. Re3 Kg6 55. h4 gxh4+ 56. Kxh4 Rf4 57. Be5 d4 58. Ra3 Rf7 59. Bxd4 Bd5 60. Kg3 h5 61. Rc3 hxg4 62. fxg4 Rd7 63. Be3 Kf6 64. Rc1 Ke6 65. Bb6 Rf7 66. Re1+ Kd6 67. Kh4 Be6 68. Kg5 Rf3 69. Rd1+ Kc6 70. Rc1+ Kd5 71. Rc5+ Kd6 72. Rc2 Kd5 73. Rd2+ Kc6 74. Re2 Kd7 75. Rd2+ Kc6 76. Rc2+ Kd5 77. Bc7 Rf8 78. Rd2+ Kc4 79. Rd6 Rg8+ 80. Kf6 Bxg4 81. Rxa6 Rc8 82. Ra7 Kb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.16"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2690"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. d4 e4 4. d5 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Qe7 6. Nh3 Nf6 7. Nc3 cxd5 8. Nf4 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 dxc4 10. e3 Nc6 11. g4 h6 12. Bxc4 d6 13. Rg1 Bd7 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. Qxd5 O-O-O 16. Qxf7 Qxf7 17. Bxf7 Ne5 18. Bxe5 dxe5 19. Bd5 Bc6 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21. Rc1 Rd6 22. Ke2 Rhd8 23. Rc2 g5 24. Rgc1 Kb7 25. b3 Rd5 26. Ke1 R8d6 27. Rc4 Rd3 28. R1c2 Rd1+ 29. Ke2 Rh1 30. Rxe4 Rd5 31. Rec4 Rd6 32. Rb4+ Kc7 33. Rb5 Re6 34. Ra5 Rxh2 35. Rxa7+ Kb6 36. Rf7 e4 37. a4 Rh1 38. b4 Ra1 39. a5+ Kb5 40. Rb7+ Ka4 41. Rb6 Rd6 42. Rd2 Rxd2+ 43. Kxd2 c5 44. bxc5 Kxa5 45. Kc3 Ra2 46. Rf6 Ra4 47. Rb6 Ra2 48. Rb2 Rxb2 49. Kxb2 Kb5 50. Kb3 1-0 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.16"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Black "Keymer, Vincent"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2675"] [BlackElo "2690"] [PlyCount "201"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c6 6. O-O b5 7. a4 Bb7 8. Ne5 a6 9. b3 cxb3 10. Qxb3 Qxd4 11. Bb2 Qb4 12. Qc2 Qc5 13. Qd3 Be7 14. Nd2 Nd5 15. Rfc1 Qb6 16. Nec4 bxc4 17. Nxc4 Nb4 18. Qb1 Qc5 19. Bxg7 Rg8 20. Qxh7 Rxg7 21. Qxg7 Nd7 22. Qh8+ Bf8 23. a5 Rb8 24. Rab1 Bc8 25. Rb2 Qg5 26. Rd2 Nd5 27. e4 Qh6 28. Qa1 N5f6 29. Nd6+ Bxd6 30. Rxd6 c5 31. Rb1 Rb4 32. Rxb4 cxb4 33. Rc6 Kd8 34. Qb2 Ng4 35. h3 Qf6 36. Rc2 Qxb2 37. Rxb2 Nge5 38. Rxb4 Nc6 39. Ra4 e5 40. f3 Ke7 41. Bf1 Nc5 42. Ra3 Be6 43. h4 Nd4 44. Kf2 Bb3 45. Ra1 Bc2 46. g4 Kf6 47. Kg3 Kg6 48. Re1 Ncb3 49. Bxa6 Nxa5 50. f4 exf4+ 51. Kxf4 Ne6+ 52. Ke3 Nb3 53. Bc4 Nbd4 54. Rf1 Ba4 55. g5 Bb5 56. Rf6+ Kg7 57. Bxb5 Nxb5 58. h5 Nf8 59. Rc6 Ne6 60. g6 Nbc7 61. gxf7 Kxf7 62. e5 Nd5+ 63. Ke4 Ne7 64. Rd6 Nc8 65. Rd1 Ne7 66. Rf1+ Kg7 67. h6+ Kg8 68. Rf6 Ng5+ 69. Kf4 Nh7 70. Rd6 Kf7 71. Kg4 Ke8 72. Kh5 Kf7 73. Ra6 Nf8 74. Rb6 Nh7 75. Rd6 Nf8 76. Kg5 Nh7+ 77. Kg4 Nf8 78. Ra6 Nh7 79. Kf4 Nf8 80. Ke4 Ne6 81. Ra7 Ng5+ 82. Kf4 Nh7 83. Ra6 Nf8 84. Kg5 Nh7+ 85. Kh5 Nf8 86. Rf6+ Kg8 87. Rf1 Nc6 88. Rf5 Nd7 89. e6 Nf8 90. Rc5 Ne7 91. Rc7 Nd5 92. Rg7+ Kh8 93. e7 Nxe7 94. Rxe7 Kg8 95. Kg5 Nh7+ 96. Kf5 Nf8 97. Rg7+ Kh8 98. Rf7 Kg8 99. Kf6 Nh7+ 100. Kg6 Nf8+ 101. Rxf8+ 1-0 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.17"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E42"] [WhiteElo "2780"] [BlackElo "2766"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Nge2 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. a3 Nxc3 8. Nxc3 Ba5 9. dxc5 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxd1+ 11. Kxd1 Nd7 12. c6 Ne5 13. a4 Nxc6 14. a5 e5 15. e4 Be6 16. Be3 O-O 17. Kc2 Rac8 18. Kb2 Rfd8 19. Be2 f6 20. Rhd1 Rxd1 21. Bxd1 Kf7 22. Be2 Ke7 23. h4 a6 24. Bc5+ Ke8 25. g3 Nd8 26. Bb4 Nc6 27. Bc5 Nd8 28. Bb4 Nc6 29. Bc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.17"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Esipenko, Andrey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2734"] [BlackElo "2675"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] {[%evp 0,81,29,27,16,6,6,10,28,20,33,34,36,28,27,32,23,21,26,30,61,70,67,47,40,47,54,13,64,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-65,0,0,0,-252,-97,-289,0,-452,-87,-151,-57,-4,180,224,238,207,207,207,254,158,216,309,326,330,335,293,344,259,305,327,358,328,347,300,317,175,207,223,228,232,233,228,235,298,374,428]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 b6 6. Bd3 d5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Nf3 Re8 9. Rc1 Bf8 10. O-O Bb7 11. Ne5 c5 12. f4 Nc6 {The 5.Bd2 line has really exploded in popularity. While there have been reasonable deviations between that point and this one, the game is still well within theory with 45 games in the database.} 13. Ne2 Ne4 (13... Rc8 {is more common.}) 14. Ng3 Nxd2 $2 $146 {A novelty, and to all appearances a pretty obvious error.} (14... Nxe5 $1 15. fxe5 g6 $1 $146 {=}) 15. Bxh7+ $1 {A stock tactic. It's surprising that Esipenko would overlook/allow this.} Kxh7 16. Qh5+ Kg8 17. Qxf7+ Kh8 (17... Kh7 18. Qg6+ Kg8 19. Nf5 Nxe5 20. fxe5 Kh8 21. Rf4 Rc8 22. Qh5+ $1 Kg8 23. Nh6+ gxh6 24. Qf7+ Kh8 25. Rg4 Qg5 26. Rxg5 hxg5 27. Qxb7 $18 {Without this loose piece dropping off, Black would be winning in the final position.}) 18. Ng6+ Kh7 19. Nh5 $1 {Threatening 20.Nxf8+ followed by 21.Qxg7#} Re6 $8 20. f5 $2 ({The boring, obvious} 20. Qxe6 {was best, winning.} Nxf1 21. Rxf1 Qd6 22. Nxf8+ Qxf8 23. Rf3 $18) 20... Nxf1 21. Rxf1 Qg5 $2 (21... Qe8 22. Nxf8+ Qxf8 23. fxe6 Qxf7 24. Rxf7 Ba6 25. Nf6+ Kg6 26. Nxd5 cxd4 $8 27. Nc7 dxe3 $1 28. Nxa8 Nd4 29. Rc7 Ne2+ 30. Kh1 Nf4 31. Rc3 Bd3 32. Rc1 Kf6 33. Re1 e2 34. Nc7 g5 $11) 22. Qxe6 $18 Qxh5 23. Rf3 cxd4 24. Qf7 $1 {Threatening both bishops while looking to exploit Black's unprotected queen (e.g. 25.Nxf8+ Rxf8 26.Qxh5+).} Bd6 25. Nf8+ Rxf8 (25... Kh6 26. Rh3 Qxh3 27. Qg6#) 26. Qxh5+ Kg8 27. f6 $1 {Black's material situation isn't too bad, but his king's position is very poor and his minor pieces are a little loose.} Ne5 28. Rf5 g6 29. Qg5 dxe3 30. Rxe5 Kf7 (30... Bxe5 31. Qxg6+ Kh8 32. Qg7#) 31. Rxe3 Bc5 32. b4 Bxe3+ 33. Qxe3 Re8 34. Qc3 Bc8 35. a4 Bf5 36. h3 Rd8 37. Qd4 Be6 38. g4 Rc8 39. g5 Rc1+ 40. Kf2 Rc2+ 41. Kg3 1-0 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.17"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A15"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2736"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. f4 Bd6 7. Nf3 Bc7 8. d3 e5 9. fxe5 Ng4 10. Bf4 Qe7 11. Qd2 O-O 12. Rf1 b6 13. e6 Bxe6 14. h3 Nf6 15. Ng5 h6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Bxc7 Qxc7 18. Qe3 Nh5 19. Rg1 Rae8 20. O-O-O Qd6 21. Qe4 Nf6 22. Qg6 e5 23. g4 Re6 24. Rgf1 e4 25. g5 Nh7 26. Rxf8+ Nxf8 27. Qf5 exd3 28. Rxd3 Qe7 29. gxh6 Rxh6 30. Rf3 Rf6 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.17"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2793"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. Bxf5 Qxf5 13. bxc3 b6 14. Nh4 Qd7 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. g3 Be7 17. Rxe7 Qxe7 18. Ba3 Qd7 19. Bxf8 Kxf8 20. Re1 Nc6 21. Qa3+ Kg8 22. Ng2 h6 23. h4 Re8 24. Rxe8+ Qxe8 25. Qd6 Qe6 26. Qc7 b5 27. h5 b4 28. Nf4 Qe8 29. cxb4 Nxd4 30. Kf1 Ne6 31. Qxa7 Nxf4 32. gxf4 Qb5+ 33. Kg2 Qxb4 34. Qa8+ Kh7 35. Qxd5 Qxf4 36. Qd3+ Kg8 37. Qd8+ Kh7 38. Qd3+ Kg8 39. Qd8+ Kh7 1/2-1/2 [Event "WR Chess Masters 2023"] [Site "Dusseldorf GER"] [Date "2023.02.17"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Gukesh, Dommaraju"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2718"] [BlackElo "2690"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2023.02.16"] {[%evp 0,63,29,29,31,31,13,17,35,35,35,-13,21,19,30,15,24,22,21,17,27,22,23,18,36,28,50,-2,19,11,50,66,57,0,163,118,107,91,88,55,128,110,88,73,40,29,62,69,51,97,83,1,20,-46,0,0,0,14,0,0,0,0,1494,1826,1826,1941]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. b4 Bb6 7. a4 a5 8. b5 Ne7 9. O-O Ng6 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Bb3 c6 12. Nc4 Bc7 13. Bg5 (13. Re1 {is usual here.}) 13... d5 (13... h6 {had been played in all the previous games - probably rightly.} 14. b6 Bb8 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 $11) 14. Bxf6 (14. exd5 $142 cxd5 15. Ne3 Be6 16. d4 e4 17. Nd2 $14 {is a little better for White - Black's problem is that his center will be undermined by c3-c4.}) 14... Qxf6 15. exd5 Bg4 $1 $44 16. Ne3 Bh5 17. dxc6 bxc6 18. bxc6 e4 $1 19. dxe4 Nh4 (19... Rad8 $142 20. Nd5 $8 Rxd5 $1 21. Bxd5 Ne5 22. Nxe5 $1 Bxd1 23. Nd7 Bxh2+ 24. Kxh2 Qh6+ 25. Kg1 Bf3 $1 {Otherwise, Black is lost.} 26. gxf3 (26. Bxf7+ Rxf7 27. c7 Rf8 28. gxf3 $8 (28. Nxf8 $4 Qg5 29. g3 Qh5 30. c8=Q Qh1#) 28... Qg5+ 29. Kh1 Qh4+ 30. Kg2 Qg5+ $11) 26... Qg5+ 27. Kh2 Qh4+ 28. Kg2 Qg5+ 29. Kh3 Qh5+ 30. Kg3 Qg5+ $11) 20. Nd5 (20. Qd7 Ra7 $1 21. Qh3 Nxf3+ 22. gxf3 Bxf3 23. Bd5 Qg6+ 24. Ng2 Bxe4 25. c4 $11 {/?}) 20... Qh6 21. Re1 Bxh2+ $2 (21... Rad8 22. Qd3 Bxf3 23. gxf3 Bf4 $44 {Three pawns is a lot, but White's king is shaky enough for Black's activity to compensate for the missing material.}) 22. Kf1 $2 (22. Nxh2 $1 Bxd1 23. Raxd1 $16 {Black's slight material plus is more than compensated for by White's mighty knight and c6-pawn.}) 22... Ra7 $2 (22... Kh8 $44) 23. Qd3 $16 Bxf3 24. gxf3 Qxc6 25. f4 {Now Black's pieces on the kingside don't look threatening; they look vulnerable.} Qh6 26. f5 $6 (26. e5 $142 $16 {/+-}) 26... Rb7 $1 $14 27. Rab1 (27. Bc2 $142) 27... Rfb8 (27... Qg5 $142 28. Qh3 Rfb8 $11) 28. Bc2 (28. e5 Qg5 $8 29. e6 fxe6 30. Qe4 $1 Qg1+ $1 31. Ke2 Qg2 32. Qxe6+ Kh8 33. f6 Rf8 34. Bc2 Qf3+ $8 35. Kd2 Rxb1 36. fxg7+ Kxg7 37. Bxb1 Qxf2+ 38. Re2 Nf3+ 39. Kc2 Qg1 $8 40. Qe7+ Rf7 41. Qe4 {is approximately equal. Realistically, the game will be settled by a player overlooking some tactic leading to his king's demise.}) 28... Qg5 $2 (28... Rxb1 29. Rxb1 Rxb1+ 30. Bxb1 Qc1+ 31. Ke2 h5 $11) 29. Rxb7 Rxb7 30. e5 $16 Rb2 $2 {Missing a nice tactic.} (30... Qg2+ $8 31. Ke2 g6 $8 $16) 31. Ne7+ $1 Qxe7 {Otherwise 32.Qd8#, but now} 32. f6 {finishes Black off thanks to the threats of fxe7 and Qxh7+ followed by Qh8#.} 1-0