[Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Liang, Awonder"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "C47"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2831"] [PlyCount "134"] [GameId "2127337686602343"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,134,21,27,16,24,8,8,17,-4,45,12,6,0,4,10,-9,0,0,0,58,-3,-15,4,12,26,61,22,45,36,36,63,44,41,49,31,54,34,60,0,50,-23,77,79,69,127,54,47,41,2,59,-7,-39,-1,-16,-6,-98,-13,-14,-8,1,-15,-3,-11,-14,-24,-62,-10,-12,-5,-12,-17,-9,-18,-28,-15,-9,-13,-12,-9,-8,-3,-9,-8,-11,-22,-26,-15,-19,-9,-10,-12,-11,-13,-9,-11,-8,-11,-7,-12,-8,-8,1,1,1,-13,-13,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 {Unambitious. Years ago, I remember Kasparov getting annoyed when his opponents - even elite opponents - would play for a draw with White against him from move 1. Liang isn't exactly doing that, but...he really is, and he succeeds.} Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 O-O 9. O-O Bg4 10. Ne2 cxd5 11. h3 Bh5 12. c4 dxc4 13. Bxc4 Qe7 14. Qb3 Bxe2 15. Bxe2 Qxe2 16. Qxb4 Rfe8 17. Qb7 Qe5 18. Bd2 Reb8 19. Bc3 Rxb7 20. Bxe5 Nd5 21. Rfd1 c6 22. Rac1 f6 23. Bd4 Rd8 24. Kf1 Rbd7 25. Ke1 Nf4 26. g3 Rxd4 27. Rxd4 Rxd4 28. gxf4 Rxf4 29. Rxc6 a5 30. Kf1 Kf7 31. Rc5 a4 32. Rb5 g5 33. Kg2 Kg6 34. Rb8 Rd4 35. Rb7 h6 36. Rb6 h5 37. Rb8 Kf5 38. Rb6 Ke5 39. b3 h4 40. a3 axb3 41. Rxb3 Ra4 42. Rb5+ Ke6 43. Rb6+ Kf5 44. Rb5+ Kg6 45. Rb3 Ra5 46. Rc3 f5 47. Rb3 Kf6 48. Rc3 Kg6 49. Rb3 Kh5 50. Rc3 g4 51. hxg4+ fxg4 52. Rc8 h3+ 53. Kh2 Rf5 54. Kg1 Rb5 55. Rh8+ Kg5 56. Rg8+ Kf4 57. Rf8+ Ke4 58. Re8+ Re5 59. Rxe5+ Kxe5 60. a4 Ke4 61. a5 Kd5 62. Kh2 Kc6 63. a6 Kb6 64. f3 gxf3 65. Kxh3 f2 66. Kg2 f1=R 67. Kxf1 Kxa6 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Erenburg, Sergey"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "1.7"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2510"] [BlackElo "2763"] [PlyCount "48"] [GameId "2127337686663789"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,48,19,19,20,22,16,7,18,4,7,1,2,1,10,3,3,1,-13,-4,-15,-24,-37,-26,-33,-42,-7,-5,10,-31,53,-11,-32,-39,-42,42,-61,-26,-42,-53,-17,-27,21,-86,-6,-7,-277,-422,-358,-348,-447]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ {A very safe line when Black blocks with the bishop, and a way of "Spanishizing" the game (if White wants it) when Black blocks with the knight.} Nd7 4. c3 (4. d4) ({and} 4. O-O {are also common, while}) (4. a4 {to prevent Black from queenside expansion (and potentially continuing with a4-a5) and}) (4. Ba4 $5 {are all significant alternatives to the text.}) 4... Ngf6 5. Qe2 a6 6. Ba4 b5 7. Bc2 Bb7 8. O-O g6 (8... e6) ({and} 8... e5 {- the most Ruy-like option of all - are alternatives ways of setting up the pawn structure.}) 9. d4 Bg7 10. b3 $2 {Nearly a novelty, and a bad move, even if the one predecessor was none other than Magnus Carlsen.} (10. Re1) ({and} 10. Rd1 {are the most usual moves, while}) (10. e5 dxe5 11. dxe5 Bxf3 12. gxf3 {is the engine's top choice.}) 10... O-O 11. Bb2 Rc8 $1 $146 (11... e5 12. d5 Nh5 13. g3 Nb6 14. a4 f5 15. c4 bxc4 16. bxc4 f4 17. a5 Nd7 18. g4 Nhf6 19. g5 Nh5 20. Kh1 Rf7 21. Nbd2 h6 22. Rg1 Nf8 23. gxh6 Bxh6 24. Nxe5 f3 25. Nxf7 fxe2 26. Nxd8 Rxd8 27. Nf3 Bc8 28. Rae1 Nf4 29. Bc1 Kf7 30. Ng5+ Bxg5 31. Rxg5 Nh3 32. Rg3 Nxf2+ 33. Kg2 Ng4 34. Bb2 Re8 35. Rxe2 Ne5 36. Rf2+ Kg7 37. Rgf3 Nfd7 38. Ba4 Kh6 39. Rh3+ Kg7 40. Bxd7 Bxd7 41. Rhf3 Kh6 42. Bxe5 Rxe5 43. Rf4 Ba4 44. Rb2 Kh5 45. Rb8 g5 46. Rf6 Rxe4 47. Rh8+ {1-0 Carlsen,M (2863)-Grischuk,A (2777) FIDE Steinitz Memorial chess24.com INT blitz 2020 (15)}) 12. a4 cxd4 13. cxd4 Nh5 (13... b4 $142 $17) 14. axb5 $2 (14. g3 $8) 14... Nf4 15. Qd2 Bh6 (15... axb5 $142 $17) 16. Kh1 axb5 17. d5 e5 $1 18. dxe6 fxe6 19. Na3 $2 (19. Ra7 $8 Qb6 20. Qd4 {was best by far. Black is a bit better after} Qxd4 21. Bxd4 Rxc2 22. Rxb7 Nc5 $15 {, but it's not fatal.}) 19... Nf6 $2 (19... d5 $1 $19) 20. Nxb5 d5 $6 (20... Rxc2 $1 21. Qxc2 Nxe4 $15) 21. exd5 $4 (21. Bxf6 $8 Qxf6 22. Nd6 $1 dxe4 $1 23. Bxe4 Bxe4 24. Nxe4 $14) 21... Bxd5 $19 {White is already cooked. The immediate threat is 22...Nxg2, as 23.Kxg2 Bxf3+ and 24...Qxd2 is a free queen.} 22. Qd1 Nxg2 $1 {Anyway!} 23. Kxg2 Nh5 24. Nbd4 {Nothing else makes sense, but now it's time for the next tactical shot.} Rxc2 $1 (24... Rxc2 $1 25. Qxc2 (25. Nxc2 Bxf3+ $19 (25... Rxf3 $19) (25... Qg5+ 26. Kh1 Rxf3 $19)) 25... Rxf3 $1 26. Nxf3 Qg5+ 27. Kh3 (27. Kh1 Bxf3#) 27... Nf4#) 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Murzin, Volodar"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2805"] [PlyCount "119"] [GameId "2127337686737602"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,119,22,27,24,11,21,15,29,26,26,25,50,45,30,-3,16,17,17,-29,13,12,28,-28,24,14,24,22,14,-5,7,0,11,-18,-25,-17,0,4,2,-24,-58,-9,9,-88,5,2,10,0,13,99,-6,-18,-12,-5,-5,-16,41,22,13,19,9,173,73,204,125,146,135,147,227,318,344,199,201,210,269,229,34,212,194,309,166,275,166,304,182,140,118,120,101,207,166,122,187,61,115,100,123,124,101,95,116,106,155,-1,160,141,111,62,197,172,320,279,352,325,478,125,247,268,289,415,513,859] Not a perfect game, but still an impressive win by the Russian youngster. There's a reason he's a co-leader after day 1, and defeating the world's #2 certainly helped.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c4 b4 12. Nc2 a5 13. Be2 O-O 14. O-O g6 15. Qd3 Bg7 16. Rad1 Be6 17. Bf3 Qb8 18. b3 Qa7 19. Kh1 Rab8 20. g3 Rb7 21. Bg2 Qc5 22. f4 Nd4 23. Nce3 a4 24. f5 Bxd5 25. Nxd5 axb3 26. axb3 Ra7 27. Qe3 f6 28. h4 Ra2 29. g4 Ne2 30. Qh3 Rf7 31. g5 Qc8 32. Rd3 fxg5 33. hxg5 gxf5 34. exf5 e4 35. Re3 Be5 36. Bxe4 Rfa7 37. Qg4 Nc3 38. Rh3 Kh8 39. g6 Ra1 40. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 41. Kg2 Ra7 42. Rxh7+ Rxh7 43. gxh7 Nxe4 44. Qxe4 Qa8 45. Qc2 Kxh7 46. Kf3 Qa1 47. Ne3 Kg7 48. Qd1 Qc3 49. Ke4 Kf8 50. Qd3 Qc1 51. Kd5 Qa1 52. c5 dxc5 53. Ke6 Qd4 54. Qxd4 cxd4 55. Nd5 Bg3 56. Nxb4 Kg7 57. Nd3 Bh4 58. b4 Bd8 59. b5 Kh6 60. f6 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Sadhwani, Raunak"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.6"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2673"] [PlyCount "88"] [GameId "2127337686741702"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,88,22,26,18,0,28,5,-3,-12,0,0,0,-18,-9,1,-2,-1,0,-2,-2,-7,21,3,8,-57,-9,-18,0,20,20,24,21,3,7,85,30,-1,-14,11,-64,22,76,-45,47,21,17,-234,33,109,18,-1,44,1,-1,-2,-20,-26,-62,-132,-136,-123,-104,-244,-189,-207,-192,-181,-197,-207,-156,-228,-208,-230,-231,-226,-197,-226,-209,-214,-291,-219,-259,-241,-264,-275,-234,-225,-220,-211,-280]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 Bf5 3. Bb2 e6 4. g3 h6 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. O-O Be7 7. d3 O-O 8. Nbd2 Bh7 9. Re1 a5 10. a3 a4 11. b4 c5 12. b5 Nbd7 13. e4 d4 14. Nc4 Nb6 15. Nfd2 Nfd7 16. e5 Nxc4 17. Nxc4 Qc7 18. Bc1 Nb6 19. Nd6 Nd5 20. Qg4 Bg6 21. Be4 $2 {After this, Radhwani is fine and even went on to win. Firouzja thought for a long time here, so it's very possible that he calculated the winning move and simply missed a detail somewhere.} ({As Anand pointed out while sitting in the commentary chair with Maurice Ashley for round 2 (the rest of the time Evgenij Miroshnichenko was the co-commentator with Ashley), White could have won with the beautiful} 21. Nxf7 $3 {. For example:} Bxf7 (21... Kxf7 22. Bxd5 exd5 23. e6+ {regains the piece with a winning position, unless Black would prefer to keep the piece and get mated:} Kf6 24. Qh4+ Kf5 25. g4#) (21... Rxf7 $2 22. Qxg6 $18) 22. Bxh6 g6 23. Bxd5 exd5 24. e6 Be8 25. Bxf8 $18 {There's no immediate win here, and two bishops often dominate a rook and even two pawns. Here, though, Black's bishop are restricted, White's e-pawn is a beast, and Black's king isn't all that safe - especially once White pushes the f- and/or h-pawn.}) 21... h5 22. Qh3 Bxd6 23. Bxg6 fxg6 24. Qxe6+ Qf7 25. exd6 Rad8 26. Bg5 Rxd6 27. Qxf7+ Kxf7 28. Re5 Re8 29. Rae1 Rxe5 30. Rxe5 b6 31. Re1 Re6 32. Kf1 Rxe1+ 33. Kxe1 Ke6 34. Kd2 Kd7 35. Bf4 Nc3 36. Kc1 Nxb5 37. Kb2 Ke6 38. Bb8 g5 39. h3 Nc3 40. f3 Nd5 41. Kc1 h4 42. Kb2 g6 43. Kc1 hxg3 44. Bxg3 Nf4 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Aravindh, Chithambaram VR."] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.13"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "E01"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2718"] [PlyCount "63"] [GameId "2127337686745805"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,63,18,22,21,12,13,27,26,5,32,26,27,27,36,25,33,24,38,42,57,-54,86,-107,79,28,95,78,109,5,122,112,108,128,139,66,134,120,68,-12,207,97,190,231,237,13,196,187,228,169,233,41,267,278,92,210,271,252,118,445,451,484,576,585,600,641]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 h6 5. Bg2 Bd6 6. O-O O-O 7. b3 Nc6 8. Bb2 b6 9. Nbd2 Rb8 10. Rc1 dxc4 11. e4 $18 {Dubov is one of the most creative players on the planet when it comes to finding ingenious opening ideas. This game, however, looks like an own-goal by Aravindh. Dubov has put his pieces on normal squares, and Black's weird grab-bag of moves since move 4 has left him lost after 11 moves. Dubov hammers him into submission.} Be7 12. bxc4 Nb4 13. Qb3 c5 14. a3 Nc6 15. d5 Na5 16. Qc2 exd5 17. cxd5 Re8 18. Rfd1 Bf8 19. e5 Nh7 (19... Nxd5 20. Ne4 {followed by Nc3 will inevitably win a piece. Black's position is so wretched that losing a piece is actually better than what he did.}) 20. Ne4 Bg4 21. h3 Bh5 22. g4 Bg6 23. e6 $1 fxe6 24. dxe6 Qc8 25. Ne5 Rxe6 26. Nxg6 Rxg6 27. Ng3 Re6 28. Bd5 Ng5 29. Qf5 Rb7 30. Re1 Rbe7 31. Rxe6 Nxe6 32. Re1 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Zemlyanskii, Ivan"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "2.40"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2543"] [PlyCount "98"] [GameId "2127337686762216"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,98,15,31,16,23,25,27,17,9,15,17,8,5,37,2,11,16,13,1,-4,4,-2,1,-2,2,16,16,6,-18,-21,-31,-29,-24,-18,-32,-39,-42,-16,-37,-52,-36,-19,-38,-31,111,53,-5,-46,-47,-43,3,-18,-75,-100,-97,-85,-81,-107,52,-81,-133,-79,-111,-111,-120,-171,-112,-101,24,-159,-174,-219,-191,-193,-193,-257,-332,-213,-467,-431,-543,-688,-574,-447,-302,-504,-621,-368,-436,-483,-451,-477,-489,-466,-407,-514,-401,-919,-1732,-1204] Wesley So is a great rapid player, but he didn't get off to a great start, drawing in round 1 and now losing in round 2. He subsequently bounced back somewhat, scoring 2.5 out of his next 3 to finish the day with three points. Not a great day for a player of his caliber...but still half a point better than Carlsen. (So far.)} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. a4 Ngf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. a5 b5 8. axb6 Nxb6 9. Ba2 Bb7 10. d3 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Re1 Nfd7 13. Be3 Qc7 14. d4 cxd4 15. Bxd4 Nc4 16. Bxc4 Qxc4 17. Ra4 Qc7 18. Qe2 Nb8 19. Qe3 Nd7 20. Qe2 Nb8 21. h4 Nc6 22. Be3 Bf6 23. Qd2 h6 24. h5 Rfd8 25. Rea1 Rab8 26. R4a3 Bc8 27. Na4 d5 28. exd5 Rxd5 29. Bf4 Be5 30. Bxe5 Nxe5 31. Qe2 Bb7 32. Ne1 Rbd8 33. Rc3 Nc6 34. Nd3 Qe7 35. Nac5 Nd4 36. Qe3 Rxh5 37. Nxb7 Qxb7 38. Nf4 Rf5 39. Rd3 Rxf4 40. c3 Rg4 41. f3 Nxf3+ 42. Qxf3 Qb6+ 43. Kh2 Rxd3 44. Qxg4 Qb8+ 45. Kg1 Qxb2 46. Rxa6 Qxc3 47. Ra8+ Kh7 48. Qe4+ f5 49. Qxe6 Qd4+ 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.4"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "E14"] [WhiteElo "2480"] [BlackElo "2777"] [PlyCount "111"] [GameId "2127337686799134"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,111,18,26,10,22,24,21,-36,21,11,22,9,9,22,17,18,56,34,20,28,30,35,13,25,131,10,18,-22,18,40,-11,83,128,75,75,86,26,86,97,49,76,92,68,2,80,77,53,86,103,121,100,107,83,66,51,85,107,73,228,122,79,88,178,95,159,91,162,61,69,147,157,153,39,141,125,128,146,31,112,116,117,120,127,153,103,141,140,123,273,441,416,414,280,234,430,434,410,675,752,725,833,721,833,852,767,636,960,936,959,962,1019,1041,1024] Other favorites had their problems. Here's the world's #6 player in classical and #10 in rapid losing to a very good (2621 in classical) but not super-elite U.S. GM in round 3.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 c5 6. O-O g6 7. Nc3 Bg7 8. e4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 O-O 10. Be3 d6 11. Rc1 a6 12. Bb1 Nbd7 13. b3 Rc8 14. Qd2 Re8 15. Rfd1 Qe7 16. Bg5 Nc5 17. f3 Red8 18. Nde2 Qc7 19. Qf4 Qe7 20. Qh4 e5 21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. cxd5 b5 23. Kh1 Ncd7 24. Qe1 Qf8 25. Qd2 Nc5 26. Qa5 Ra8 27. Bc2 Rdc8 28. Qd2 Rc7 29. b4 Ncd7 30. Bb3 Rac8 31. Rxc7 Rxc7 32. Rc1 Qc8 33. Rxc7 Qxc7 34. Qc3 Qb8 35. Qc6 Qa7 36. Qxd6 Qf2 37. Ng1 Bf8 38. Qxa6 Bxb4 39. Qc8+ Kg7 40. Qc2 Qa7 41. Qc1 h5 42. Nh3 Bc5 43. Bh6+ Kg8 44. d6 Bxd6 45. Qg5 Bf8 46. Qxg6+ Kh8 47. Bxf7 Qb6 48. Bb3 Qc6 49. Be3 Qc3 50. Ng5 Bg7 51. Ne6 Bf8 52. Bg1 Qb4 53. Ng5 Bg7 54. Nf7+ Kg8 55. Nxe5+ Kh8 56. Nxd7 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.5"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "C92"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2734"] [PlyCount "159"] [GameId "2127337686799135"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] 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 Bb7 10. Re1 Re8 11. Ng5 Rf8 12. Nf3 Re8 13. Nbd2 Bf8 14. Nf1 h6 15. Ng3 Na5 16. Bc2 c5 17. d4 cxd4 18. cxd4 exd4 19. Nxd4 Rc8 20. b3 d5 21. e5 Ne4 22. Bf4 Nc6 23. Nxc6 Bxc6 24. Nxe4 dxe4 25. Bxe4 Qxd1 26. Raxd1 Bxe4 27. Rxe4 Rc2 28. Rd2 Rc1+ 29. Kh2 f5 30. Ree2 g5 31. Rd8 Rxd8 32. Bxc1 Rc8 33. Bb2 Kf7 34. e6+ Ke8 35. g3 Rc6 36. Kg2 b4 37. Bf6 Bd6 38. Kf3 Be7 39. Bxe7 Kxe7 40. Re5 Rc3+ 41. Kg2 Rc2 42. Ra5 h5 43. Rxa6 g4 44. h4 Rb2 45. Ra4 Kxe6 46. Rxb4 Rxa2 {In this U.S.-U.S. battle, Dominguez has what *should* be the better half of a draw and nothing more. Surprisingly, he doesn't manage to hold it.} 47. Kf1 Rb2 48. Rb5 Kf6 49. Ke1 Ke6 50. Rb8 Ke5 51. Rb4 Ke6 52. Rb5 Kf6 53. Kf1 Ke6 54. Rb4 Ke5 55. Rb8 Kd5 56. Kg2 Rb1 {Locking in White's king is a good idea.} 57. b4 Ke6 58. Rb6+ Kf7 59. Rb8 Kg7 60. b5 Kh7 61. b6 Kg7 62. b7 Kh7 63. f4 $1 {The only winning try.} (63. Rf8 Rxb7 64. Rxf5 Kg6 {is an easy hold.}) 63... Rb2+ $2 (63... gxf3+ $1 {was the only move, because the only really dangerous pawn to Black is a White f-pawn.} 64. Kxf3 Rb3+ 65. Kf4 Rb5 66. Kg5 (66. Ke3 Rb4 67. Kd3 Kg7 68. Kc3 Rb1 69. Kd4 Rb2 70. Ke5 Rb1 71. Kxf5) 66... f4+ $1 (66... Kg7 $1 67. Kxh5 f4+ 68. Kg4 fxg3 69. Kxg3 $11 {also works.}) 67. Kxf4 Kg7 {and there's no win. White can't win the h-pawn, and trading it off is a dead draw. For illustration's sake:} 68. Kf3 Rb1 69. g4 hxg4+ 70. Kxg4 Rb2 71. h5 Rb1 72. h6+ Kh7 {and there's no progress to be made on either side. If White's king heads to the b-pawn, Black will give checks until it releases its protection of the b-pawn.} 73. Kf5 Rb2 74. Ke5 Rb1 75. Kd5 Rb2 76. Kc6 {Now White threatens to move the rook, so it's time to give check.} Rc2+ $8 77. Kb6 Rb2+ $8 78. Kc7 Rc2+ $8 79. Kd7 Rb2 $11) 64. Kf1 {White will eventually win Black's f-pawn by zugzwang, and when he pushes his own f-pawn Black's king must either allow a safe check by White's rook or he must walk into a skewer.} Kg7 65. Ke1 Rb6 66. Kd2 Rb3 67. Kc2 Rb6 68. Kc3 Rb1 69. Kc4 Rb6 70. Kc5 Rb1 71. Kc6 Rc1+ 72. Kd6 Rd1+ 73. Ke6 Rb1 74. Kxf5 Rb5+ 75. Ke6 Rb6+ 76. Kd5 Rb1 77. f5 Rd1+ 78. Kc4 Rc1+ 79. Kd3 Rb1 80. f6+ {The fundamental point, and one that won't arise against a g-pawn or an h-pawn.} (80. f6+ Kf7 (80... Kxf6 81. Rf8+ Ke7 82. b8=Q $18) 81. Rh8 Rxb7 82. Rh7+ $18) 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.7"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2801"] [BlackElo "2696"] [PlyCount "198"] [GameId "2127337686799137"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,198,11,30,11,14,19,18,14,15,22,1,10,-17,-1,19,27,22,0,9,4,13,14,13,-39,31,49,-38,-39,-10,-30,-30,-21,-60,-46,-78,-69,-20,-33,-92,-40,78,-91,-29,-45,-87,-49,-66,-127,-141,-69,-111,-108,-124,-99,-110,-111,-99,-86,2,-96,-109,-105,-103,-116,-174,-104,-168,-174,-167,-162,-153,-235,-232,-305,-260,-251,-149,-249,-104,-278,-140,-207,-157,-216,-302,-248,-291,-252,-290,-144,-282,-136,-255,-305,-283,-300,-36,-312,-309,-187,-352,-421,-409,-415,-393,-180,-439,-272,-423,-410,-396,-234,-402,-223,-346,-401,-165,-431,-495,-317,-472,-171,-391,-251,-352,-295,-381,-430,-468,-262,-398,-460,-382,-538,-538,-533,-527,-495,-404,-426,-463,-439,-527,-528,-503,-510,-525,-554,-536,-479,-584,-570,-554,-522,-731,-632,-685,-581,-541,-498,-541,-517,-519,-556,-570,-366,-597,-586,-601,-461,-619,-500,-612,-633,-626,-610,-615,-615,-618,-640,-638,-649,-646,-656,-575,-583,-599,-576,-622,-580,-661,-730,-747,-722,-754,-804,-985,-1012,-1022,-1012] Facing the world's #4 with Black? No problem! Sevian outplays him from the start, and while it takes him longer than it takes to kill the monster in a horror movie, he eventually finishes the job.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 Ne4 7. Rc1 Nd7 8. e3 g5 9. Be5 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 Qf6 11. Qc2 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bd6 13. Bd3 Bxe5 14. dxe5 Qxe5 15. O-O Be6 16. Rb1 b6 17. Kh1 g4 18. Qa4+ Ke7 19. e4 dxe4 20. Bxe4 Rad8 21. f4 Qa5 22. Qc6 Qc5 23. Qa4 Qc4 24. Qa3+ Rd6 25. f5 Qxe4 26. Rbe1 Qc6 27. fxe6 fxe6 28. Qb4 Kd7 29. Qxg4 Kc8 30. c4 h5 31. Qe2 Rg8 32. c5 Qxc5 33. Rc1 Qg5 34. Qc2 Qg7 35. a4 a5 36. Rf3 Rgd8 37. Rf2 Kb8 38. Rcf1 Qg5 39. h3 Rd2 40. Rxd2 Rxd2 41. Qc6 Qe7 42. Qc3 Rd8 43. Rb1 Qg5 44. Qc4 Qd5 45. Qf4 e5 46. Qf6 Rg8 47. Rb2 Kb7 48. Qf5 h4 49. Kh2 Qd4 50. Rf2 Qxa4 51. Qxe5 Qc6 52. Qh5 Qe4 53. Qf7 Qe5+ 54. Kg1 Rd8 55. Qf3+ Ka7 56. Rc2 Rd4 57. Rc1 Qd6 58. Kh1 a4 59. Ra1 Qc5 60. Qf1 Rc4 61. Qd1 a3 62. Qb1 Ra4 63. Qb3 Ra5 64. Qa2 Qc3 65. Rb1 Re5 66. Qf2 Kb7 67. Rd1 Re4 68. Rf1 Qd3 69. Rc1 Re6 70. Qxh4 Rc6 71. Ra1 Qc3 72. Rg1 a2 73. Qa4 Qb2 74. Kh2 Rc5 75. Re1 Re5 76. Rd1 Re2 77. Kh1 Qc3 78. Rg1 Qe5 79. Qa3 Qd4 80. Rc1 Qe4 81. Qg3 Rc2 82. Rf1 b5 83. h4 b4 84. Qg5 Qxg2+ 85. Qxg2+ Rxg2 86. Kxg2 b3 87. Ra1 b2 88. Rxa2 b1=Q 89. Rf2 Qg6+ 90. Kh3 c5 91. Rf4 Kc6 92. Rg4 Qf5 93. Kg3 Qd3+ 94. Kf4 c4 95. h5 c3 96. Rg6+ Kd5 97. Rg8 Qe4+ 98. Kg5 Qe5+ 99. Kh4 Qf4+ 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Safarli, Eltaj"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.8"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "C07"] [WhiteElo "2610"] [BlackElo "2737"] [PlyCount "49"] [GameId "2127337686803234"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,49,15,13,20,81,16,15,1,18,16,25,13,-60,-1,0,-16,-5,-9,1,-5,-1,0,9,-7,-13,-42,-25,-48,-5,-11,2,-25,-88,30,36,118,110,212,222,198,314,245,286,308,247,404,413,414,413,466,513]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. g3 {What is this? Apparently it's a Safarli specialty, whose prior victims include Erigaisi and Bluebaum.} Nc6 7. Bg2 Qb5 8. a4 Qa6 9. Bf1 Qa5 10. Bg2 {Draw?} e5 {Nope. This is a good move, notwithstanding the final result.} 11. O-O Be6 12. c3 dxc3 13. bxc3 Nf6 $146 (13... Qxc3 14. Rb1 O-O-O 15. Ng5 Nf6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. a5 a6 18. Qa4 Rd4 19. Qa2 Nd5 20. Nf3 Rd3 21. Ng5 Nd4 22. Nf7 Rg8 23. Nxe5 Nb4 24. Rxb4 Bxb4 25. Nxd3 Qxd3 26. Be3 Kb8 27. Qb2 Ne2+ 28. Kh1 Qb5 29. Qc2 g6 30. Bb6 Nc3 31. Rc1 Rc8 32. Qb3 Nd5 33. Ba7+ Kxa7 34. Rxc8 Qxa5 35. h4 Bc5 36. Kh2 Bxf2 37. Qf3 Qe1 38. Re8 Bg1+ 39. Kh3 Qe5 40. Rf8 Bb6 41. Rf7 h5 42. Qd3 g5 43. hxg5 Qxg5 44. Qh7 Bc7 45. Rxc7 Nxc7 46. Qxc7 Qg4+ 47. Kh2 Qb4 48. Qf7 a5 49. Qxe6 a4 50. Qe3+ Qb6 51. Qe7 Qa6 52. Kh3 a3 53. Bxb7 Qxb7 54. Qxa3+ Kb8 55. Qd6+ Ka8 56. Qd8+ Ka7 57. Qa5+ Kb8 58. Qe5+ Ka8 59. Qxh5 Qh1+ 60. Kg4 Qe4+ 61. Kg5 Qe5+ 62. Kh4 Qe4+ 63. g4 Qe1+ 64. Kg5 Qe5+ 65. Kg6 Qe6+ 66. Kg7 Qd7+ 67. Kh6 Qd6+ 68. Qg6 Qh2+ 69. Kg7 Qc7+ 70. Qf7 Qe5+ 71. Kh7 Qe4+ 72. Qf5 Qb7+ 73. Kg8 Qb3+ 74. Qf7 Qe3 75. Qd5+ Kb8 76. g5 Qe8+ 77. Kg7 Qe7+ 78. Kh8 Qe3 79. Qd6+ Ka8 80. Qc6+ Ka7 81. g6 Qh3+ 82. Kg7 Kb8 83. Kf6 Qf1+ 84. Ke7 Qg1 85. Qd6+ Ka8 86. Qd5+ Ka7 87. Kf7 Qf2+ 88. Kg8 Qg3 89. g7 Qb8+ 90. Kf7 Qc7+ 91. Kf6 Qc3+ 92. Kf7 Qc7+ 93. Kf8 Qb8+ 94. Ke7 Qb4+ 95. Ke8 Qb8+ 96. Kd7 Qb4 97. g8=Q Qb5+ 98. Ke7 Qb4+ 99. Kf6 Qf4+ 100. Kg7 Qg4+ 101. Kh8 {1-0 Rodrigue Lemieux,S (2509)-Christiansen,J (2661) Olympiad-45 Budapest 2024 (2.7)}) 14. Rb1 Qc7 15. Qe2 O-O-O $2 {Seriously?} (15... Bd6 16. Nc4 Bxc4 17. Qxc4 O-O 18. Bg5 Be7 $11 {is a much saner way to handle the position.}) 16. Re1 $2 (16. Nc4 $142 $18) 16... Bf5 17. Rxb7 $1 Kxb7 $2 (17... Qxb7 $1 18. Nxe5 Rd5 $1 {is only slightly better for White if Black continues to successfully navigate the tactics.} 19. Bxd5 (19. Nxc6 Qxc6 20. c4 Rxd2 $1 21. Bxd2 Qe6 $1 22. Qf3 Ne4 $1 23. g4 Bg6 24. Bh3 Qc6 25. g5+ Kb7 26. Bg2 Bc5 $1 27. Qxe4 Bxe4 28. Bxe4 $11) 19... Nxd5 20. Qc4 Nb6 21. Qxc6+ Qxc6 22. Nxc6 Nxa4 23. Nxa7+ Kb7 24. Nb5 Bd7 25. c4 Bb4 $11 {/?}) 18. Nxe5 $18 {It's over; the rest is a series of hammer blows.} Nd5 19. Qb5+ Qb6 20. Nxc6 $1 Bc5 21. Nxd8+ Rxd8 22. Re5 $1 Bxf2+ 23. Kf1 Kc7 24. Bxd5 Bh3+ 25. Bg2 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Shimanov, Aleksandr"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "4.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2831"] [BlackElo "2593"] [PlyCount "134"] [GameId "2127337686877045"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,134,15,29,38,5,18,24,-26,11,9,14,-1,15,31,29,43,0,17,21,19,20,25,5,10,15,15,10,13,76,30,18,55,55,-1,48,12,-10,38,165,67,151,68,86,3,77,111,106,91,186,148,144,144,245,148,146,-15,142,154,147,180,169,192,153,195,195,207,225,205,206,203,70,167,204,190,186,170,203,131,140,133,1,-1,43,302,147,167,49,52,112,180,52,149,136,116,6,1,-22,-154,-118,-190,-113,-50,-20,-39,-53,-139,-80,-121,-93,-68,-3,-164,-81,-115,-117,-117,-106,-115,-99,-79,-6,-79,-5,0,-1,1,0,-1,-1,0,-1,-1,0,-1,-1,0]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 c5 6. c3 cxd4 7. cxd4 f6 8. exf6 Nxf6 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. Nc3 Bd6 11. Bb5 O-O 12. O-O Qb6 13. Re1 Bd7 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Na4 Qc7 16. Ne5 Be8 17. Bf4 Ne4 18. Bg3 c5 19. Nxc5 Bxc5 20. Rc1 Qb6 21. dxc5 Nxc5 22. Re3 Ne4 23. Rb3 Nxf2 24. Rxb6 Nxd1 25. Rb3 a5 26. Rxd1 Ba4 27. Nf3 Bxb3 28. axb3 {A strategically winning ending for Carlsen. We can already write 1-0 on the wall chart, right? Not quite: the endgame GOAT slips, and in the end he's fortunate not to lose.} Rfc8 29. Nd4 Ra6 30. Ra1 Rca8 31. Kf2 Kf7 32. Be5 a4 33. Rc1 R8a7 34. Nc6 Ra8 35. Nb4 Rb6 36. Rc7+ Kg6 37. Nc6 Rxb3 38. Rxg7+ Kf5 39. Rf7+ Ke4 40. Rxh7 Rf8+ 41. Kg1 Kd3 42. h4 Rb6 43. Rc7 Ke4 44. Bc3 a3 45. bxa3 Rb1+ 46. Kh2 Rc1 47. Bg7 Rf2 48. Kg3 Rcc2 49. Kg4 Rxg2+ 50. Kh5 Rxg7 51. Rxg7 Rxc6 {The ending is now definitely winning for Black.} 52. Kg5 d4 53. Rd7 Rc5+ 54. Kg6 Rd5 55. Rxd5 exd5 56. h5 d3 57. h6 d2 58. h7 d1=Q 59. h8=Q Qg1+ $2 {This prevents 60.Kf6 (which didn't need to be prevented - see the following note - but allows White to avoid a queen trade.} (59... Qg4+ {was an immediate win, but Shimanov probably fell prey to an illusion that caught me while I was watching this as well.} 60. Kf6 {Other moves lose more easily.} Qf5+ 61. Ke7 Qe5+ $1 62. Qxe5+ Kxe5 63. a4 {and both sides queen, right? Wrong.} d4 64. a5 Kd5 {and Black wins the a-pawn.}) 60. Kf7 Qa7+ 61. Ke6 Qa6+ 62. Kd7 d4 $2 {This is very bad - not because Shimanov should have a tablebase in his mind, but because because a critical principle of queen endings is that the queen should be centralized as much as possible. Compare the following line.} (62... Qa4+ 63. Ke6 Qc6+ 64. Ke7 Qc5+ 65. Kd7 d4 $19 {and Black is still objectively winning in the queen ending.}) 63. Qh1+ $1 {The only move, and it results in a straightforward draw.} Ke5 ({Black's king can't escape to the queenside with} 63... Kd3 $4 {because of} 64. Qf1+ $18) 64. Qh5+ Ke4 65. Qh1+ Ke3 66. Qg1+ Ke4 67. Qh1+ Ke5 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Lazavik, Denis"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "5.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "D13"] [WhiteElo "2553"] [BlackElo "2838"] [PlyCount "101"] [GameId "2127337686950863"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,101,16,23,23,0,9,10,53,15,-55,18,18,3,24,2,-1,3,7,17,20,27,28,21,15,17,19,25,25,1,14,39,69,12,73,62,45,67,84,95,101,78,75,78,49,244,67,64,45,87,75,253,105,88,88,85,122,215,165,116,1,156,66,112,170,192,359,191,322,329,328,400,327,332,352,313,351,337,112,271,384,322,447,277,393,460,492,406,217,459,461,397,419,440,177,481,112,419,328,539,333,543,472,572] From bad to worse: Carlsen had already given up three draws, and now he suffers his first loss to fall to 50%, two points behind the leaders.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bf4 Nc6 6. e3 a6 7. Rc1 Bf5 8. Nf3 e6 9. Qb3 Ra7 10. Be2 Be7 11. O-O Nd7 12. Na4 g5 13. Be5 O-O 14. Bg3 h5 15. h3 g4 16. hxg4 hxg4 17. Nh2 Nf6 18. Qd1 Ne4 19. Bf4 Bg5 20. Bxg4 Bxf4 21. exf4 Kg7 22. Bxf5 exf5 23. g3 Rh8 24. Nf3 Ra8 25. Kg2 Qf6 26. Nc3 Rad8 27. Qd3 Rh5 28. Rh1 Qh6 29. Qe3 Rh8 30. Rxh5 Qxh5 31. Nh4 Nf6 32. Rh1 Kf8 33. Qd3 Ne7 34. Ng6+ fxg6 35. Rxh5 gxh5 36. Ne2 Kf7 37. Ng1 h4 38. gxh4 Rxh4 39. Nh3 Kg6 40. Qb3 Nc6 41. Qxb7 Nxd4 42. Qxa6 Rg4+ 43. Kf1 Rh4 44. Qd3 Ne6 45. Qg3+ Rg4 46. Qe3 Rh4 47. Qxe6 Rxh3 48. Ke2 Rh1 49. a4 Ra1 50. Qc6 Ra2 51. Qb5 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Naroditsky, Daniel"] [Black "Jacobson, Brandon"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "5.6"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "A15"] [WhiteElo "2638"] [BlackElo "2459"] [PlyCount "77"] [GameId "2127337686950868"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,77,16,26,18,2,9,-2,-2,7,8,16,23,14,19,67,16,53,20,12,-14,9,9,7,19,2,-15,0,-11,-6,-5,-8,-14,-11,-52,-50,-31,-41,14,19,0,-121,0,-49,-32,16,17,-6,8,4,49,12,123,18,-22,20,22,11,375,304,333,337,429,360,364,434,416,395,445,410,399,407,406,379,427,260,522,496,623,730] You might remember Brandon Jacobson as the player who faced Naroditsky in an online blitz match of around 100 games, scoring around 2/3 against him while playing the "Meadow Hay" Gambit (1.a4 e5 2.Ra3) with both colors in every game. Naroditsky was surprised by the results but stopped short of accusing Jacobson of cheating, while others were less charitable. Anyway, in this game, where it actually mattered, Naroditsky won, joining the leading group with 4.5/5.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O O-O 7. c4 e6 8. d4 Qe7 9. Nc3 d5 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Rc1 Rd8 12. Rc2 Na6 13. a3 c5 14. e3 Nc7 15. Qa1 c4 16. a4 cxb3 17. Ba3 Qe6 18. Rb2 Ba6 19. Rc1 Bc4 20. Nd2 Rac8 21. Nxb3 h5 22. Nd2 Bd3 23. Nf3 Nce8 24. Ne5 Bf5 25. a5 Ne4 26. Ne2 {Threatening to win Black's queen with Nf4.} Rxc1+ 27. Qxc1 Rc8 28. Qe1 bxa5 $4 {This version doesn't work.} (28... Bxe5 29. dxe5 bxa5 $11 {is equal and sharp.}) 29. Nf4 $1 $18 Qa6 30. Bf1 $1 Rc4 (30... Qf6 31. Nxd5 Qe6 32. Ne7+ Kh7 33. Nxc8 Qxc8 (33... Bxe5 34. dxe5 Qxc8 35. Bg2 $18) 34. Nxf7 $18) 31. Rb8 Kh7 32. Rxe8 {An extra piece should come in handy.} Bxe5 33. Rxe5 Ng5 34. Qd1 Bg4 35. Be2 Nh3+ 36. Kg2 Nxf4+ 37. exf4 Bf5 38. Bxc4 Qxc4 39. Rxf5 1-0 [Event "World Rapid 2024"] [White "Martirosyan, Haik M."] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "5.11"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "0-1"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "E73"] [WhiteElo "2609"] [BlackElo "2740"] [PlyCount "62"] [GameId "2127337686954969"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,62,11,33,18,22,35,37,40,26,33,25,44,33,36,47,45,24,29,37,58,43,55,33,23,33,16,41,44,23,43,45,36,48,29,16,20,-10,-11,-28,-34,-49,-58,-57,-54,-114,-152,-71,-59,-385,-372,-372,-374,-407,-336,-388,-388,-354,-429,-310,-482,-518,-642,-687,-577]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Be3 Nc6 7. d5 Ne5 8. Nf3 Nxf3+ 9. Bxf3 e5 10. c5 Ne8 11. h4 f5 12. cxd6 cxd6 13. h5 Nf6 14. exf5 gxf5 15. h6 Bh8 16. Bg5 (16. g3 $142 $14 {/?}) 16... Bd7 17. Qd2 Rc8 18. Be2 Qe8 $15 19. f4 exf4 20. Bxf4 Ne4 21. Nxe4 Qxe4 22. Rh3 $2 {A good idea in principle, allowing the rook to come to e3 for defense or g3 for attack.} (22. O-O $1 $15) 22... Rc2 $2 (22... Bf6 $1 $19) 23. Rg3+ $1 Kf7 24. Qe3 $2 (24. Re3 $1 Rxd2 $1 25. Rxe4 Rxb2 26. Bh5+ $1 {Forced, so there's no ...Rxe2+ desperado.} Kg8 27. Re7 Bc3+ 28. Kf1 Bd4 $1 29. Rxd7 Rf2+ 30. Ke1 Rxf4 31. Rb1 Rh4 32. Bd1 Re8+ 33. Kd2 Bb6 34. Rxb7 Rxh6 $15 {White had to walk a tightrope to get here. If he could have done it, a likely draw would have been his reward, though I'm sure Abdusattorov would have played this out another 100 moves trying to squeeze out a win.}) 24... Qb4+ $1 25. Kf1 {White has a monster threat of Bh5+ followed by Bg5#, and Black has no (sensible) checks. What does he do?} Rxe2 $1 $19 26. Qf3 {The best try, but this time a check on h5 won't be such a big deal.} (26. Qxe2 Bb5 27. Rd3 Bxd3 28. Qxd3 Qxf4+ $19) (26. Kxe2 Re8 $19) 26... Re4 27. Qh5+ Ke7 28. Bg5+ Bf6 29. Rc1 Qd4 30. Bxf6+ Rxf6 31. Rg7+ Kf8 {White has no sensible checks, and the coming ...Rf4+ or ...Qd3+ followed by ...Qe3+ will lead to a speedy mate and/or massive material gains.} 0-1 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Sukandar, Irine Kharisma"] [Black "Ju, Wenjun"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "3.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2330"] [BlackElo "2563"] [PlyCount "115"] [GameId "2127339658096040"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,115,19,23,-26,10,0,7,8,7,13,4,15,22,28,0,12,11,8,-11,-96,-13,-1,0,8,46,46,9,47,5,38,-26,-13,-32,-35,-37,-46,-56,-12,-25,4,-17,0,-1,42,27,43,60,59,64,77,18,64,22,49,80,61,64,3,-1,1,1,122,168,168,176,168,168,164,188,1,137,162,143,51,180,166,74,117,1,138,151,204,153,195,161,184,202,212,1,73,62,57,60,61,60,117,126,194,119,111,118,102,116,106,106,104,108,110,105,109,112,115,115,108,105,75,123]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. a4 O-O 6. Nc3 d6 7. h3 Be6 8. O-O Nxe4 9. Nxe4 d5 10. Bb5 dxe4 11. dxe4 Nd4 12. Nxe5 Nxb5 13. axb5 Bd6 14. Nd3 Qe8 15. Bd2 Qxb5 16. Ra5 Qc6 17. Re1 b6 18. Rh5 g6 19. Rh4 Be7 20. Rf4 Rad8 21. Bc3 f6 22. Rf3 Bc4 23. Qa1 a5 24. Nf4 a4 25. Nd5 Bxd5 26. exd5 Qd7 27. Re6 Bc5 28. Bxf6 Qxd5 29. Qe1 Rd6 30. Re8 {White's attack is dangerous - she's threatening mate in three with 31.Rxf8+, 32.Qe7+, and 33.Qg7# - so Black must defend precisely to stay alive.} Qf7 $2 {A mistake, but a very tricky move.} (30... Rd7 $11 {was correct, with equal chances.}) 31. Rxf8+ Qxf8 32. Bg7 $1 {Spectacular and good.} (32. Be7 $4 Qxe7 $1 33. Qxe7 Rd1+ 34. Kh2 Bxe7 $19) (32. Be5 $2 Qe7 $11) 32... Kxg7 (32... Qxg7 $4 33. Qe8+ Qf8 34. Qxf8#) 33. Rxf8 Kxf8 {White should win, but it's not automatic.} 34. Kh2 $6 (34. Kf1 $142) (34. Qc3 $142) 34... Rf6 35. f3 Bd6+ 36. Kg1 b5 37. Qe4 Rf5 38. g4 Re5 39. Qa8+ Kg7 40. Qc6 g5 41. Qd7+ Kg6 42. Kf1 h6 43. Qc8 b4 $1 44. h4 a3 $1 45. h5+ Kg7 46. bxa3 bxa3 47. Qd7+ Re7 (47... Kf8 $1 $11) 48. Qf5 $16 a2 $2 {It's a mistake, but also the best practical try.} (48... Kg8) 49. Qa5 $2 ({White needed to play the greedy} 49. Qg6+ Kf8 50. Qxh6+ Ke8 51. Qh8+ Kd7 {and only now round up the a-pawn.} 52. Qb2 $18 {White will win easily thanks to her passed h-pawn.}) 49... Re3 $1 {Threatening ...Rxf3+ - the little threat - *and* ...Ra3 - the big threat.} 50. Qxa2 Rxf3+ 51. Ke2 Rf7 52. Qb2+ Rf6 53. Qd4 Kf7 54. Qd3 Kg7 55. Qd4 Kf7 56. Qd3 Kg7 57. Qd4 Kf7 58. Qd3 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid Women 2024"] [White "Lee, Alice"] [Black "Gunina, Valentina"] [Site "New York USA"] [Round "4.1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [Result "1-0"] [Date "2024.12.26"] [ECO "D11"] [WhiteElo "2398"] [BlackElo "2425"] [PlyCount "78"] [GameId "2127339658157535"] [EventDate "2024.12.26"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,78,13,13,14,8,94,19,21,15,33,25,30,44,35,22,30,12,9,18,15,21,18,14,36,8,5,18,0,27,31,30,-4,44,25,25,3,51,25,-92,-116,-108,-177,-103,-134,-159,-90,-161,-43,-135,-159,-72,-117,123,-43,-1,-40,-28,-1,46,111,96,96,74,-96,98,174,65,57,92,-36,92,610,367,650,715,969,1,-67,-1,-67]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Qxf3 e6 7. Nc3 Nbd7 8. Qd1 Bd6 9. Bd3 O-O 10. O-O Qe7 11. e4 dxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 Nf6 14. Bf3 Rad8 15. Qb3 Bb8 16. Be3 {Gunina, long known and rightly celebrated as an attacking/tactical maniac, comes up with a remarkable idea.} h5 $5 17. h4 Nh7 $5 18. g3 f5 {It's a great idea! She now threatens ...f4, of course.} 19. d5 $2 (19. Bd2 $1 f4 $1 20. Bb4 Bd6 {is equal, though I'm pretty sure I would take Black seven days a week.}) 19... f4 $19 20. Bxf4 Bxf4 21. gxf4 Rxf4 22. Bg2 Rxh4 (22... exd5 23. cxd5 cxd5 24. Bxd5+ Kh8 $19 {was better, dissolving all the central tension and only then getting back to headhunting.}) 23. Rfe1 (23. Rad1 $142) 23... Ng5 $2 $17 (23... Rg4 $1 $19) 24. dxe6 Rg4 25. Kf1 $6 (25. Rad1 $142 Rf8 26. Rd3 $17) 25... Rf8 $1 $19 26. Rad1 Rgf4 $2 (26... Qf6 $1 27. Re2 Rxg2 $3 28. Kxg2 Nf3 29. Rh1 $8 Qg5+ 30. Kf1 Nd2+ 31. Rxd2 Qxd2 32. Qg3 Rf5 $1 33. e7 Qd1+ 34. Kg2 Qe2 $19 {isn't an easy line even in classical chess.}) (26... Nxe6 $17 {/-+ isn't quite as good as 26...Qf6, but it's much simpler and effective enough.}) 27. Re2 $11 R4f6 (27... h4 $142) 28. c5 $14 Kh8 $1 29. Rd6 b6 $2 30. Qc4 $18 (30. Bxc6 $18) 30... Rf5 31. b4 $2 $16 (31. Rd7 $1 Qf6 (31... Qxc5 32. Qxc5 Rxc5 33. e7 Re8 34. Rd8 $18) 32. e7 $1 Rxf2+ 33. Ke1 Rxe2+ (33... Rf1+ 34. Bxf1 Qxf1+ 35. Kd2 $18) 34. Qxe2 $18) 31... bxc5 32. bxc5 Rb8 $6 (32... Nf3 $1 33. Qc3 $1 Kg8 $1 34. Qb3 $1 Kh7 $1 35. Rd7 Qg5 36. e7 Nh2+ 37. Ke1 Qxg2 38. exf8=Q Rxf8 {White should eventually win, but given the time situation the board's messiness is the most important factor.}) 33. Kg1 $2 (33. Qc2 $1 $18) 33... Nf3+ $11 {Now Black is objectively fine and not just fishing around for tactics.} 34. Bxf3 Rxf3 35. Re5 g6 $2 (35... Rb1+ 36. Kg2 Rxf2+ $1 37. Kxf2 Qf6+ 38. Kg2 Qxe5 (38... Qg6+ 39. Kf2 Qf6+ $11 (39... Qg1+ 40. Kf3 Rf1+ 41. Qxf1 Qxf1+ 42. Ke4 $11)) 39. Rd8+ Kh7 40. Qd3+ g6 41. Qxb1 Qg5+ 42. Kf1 Qxd8 $11) 36. Qd4 $1 $18 Kg8 37. Rd7 Qf6 38. Rf7 $2 (38. e7 {won.} Rb1+ 39. Kg2 Rxf2+ 40. Qxf2 Qxe5 41. Qf8+ Kh7 42. e8=Q+ Qg7 43. Qh8#) 38... Rb1+ $8 39. Kg2 Rxf2+ $1 {The only way to save the game. Gunina found it, but too slowly - she lost on time making the move.} (39... Rxf2+ $1 40. Qxf2 Qxe5 41. Rf8+ $8 Kg7 42. Rf7+ $8 Kh6 (42... Kg8 43. Rf8+ {etc.}) 43. Qd2+ Qg5+ (43... g5 44. Qd3 $8 Qb2+ $8 45. Rf2 $8 Qa1 $8 46. Qf3 $8 {All these "box" moves are the only way for each side to avoid losing. More are coming.} Rg1+ $8 47. Kh2 $8 Rh1+ $8 48. Qxh1 $8 Qe5+ $8 $11 {Here all three king moves are acceptable, but none avoid a perpetual.}) 44. Qxg5+ Kxg5 45. Kf2 Rb8 46. Rxa7 Re8 47. e7 Kf6 $8 48. Rc7 Rxe7 49. Rxc6+ $11) 1-0