[Event "Superbet Classic 2022"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2022.05.11"] [Round "6.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2022.05.05"] {[%evp 0,100,30,21,21,-10,30,19,43,36,48,55,35,28,25,43,20,30,23,45,57,38,24, 23,23,23,24,11,15,20,-7,7,60,60,53,53,53,54,54,53,45,15,12,11,11,22,40,40,42, 42,47,57,57,61,80,85,85,81,70,49,66,37,48,53,54,54,53,53,53,61,59,58,51,46,47, 50,55,30,48,48,47,21,55,33,55,28,27,26,51,32,53,51,59,51,52,51,59,52,52,60,63, 52,60]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 a6 10. a4 c5 11. Rd1 Qc7 12. Ne4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 Nf6 14. Qh4 cxd4 15. Bd3 {An old line that, once upon a time, was played by some of the world's top players (Kasparov in 2000, Anand in 1998, etc.).} e5 $146 (15... h6 16. e4 (16. exd4 Nd5 17. Bd2 Qe7 18. Bg5 f6 19. Qe4 fxg5 20. Qh7+ Kf7 21. Qg6+ {1/2-1/2 (21) Zvjaginsev,V (2650)-Anand,V (2795) Tilburg 1998}) 16... Nd7 17. Bxh6 gxh6 18. Rac1 Qd8 19. Qxh6 Qf6 20. Qxf6 Nxf6 21. e5 Be7 22. exf6 Bxf6 23. Be4 Rd8 24. g4 Rb8 25. g5 Bh8 26. Ne1 Bd7 27. a5 Ba4 28. Rd2 d3 29. Rxd3 Bb5 30. Rxd8+ Rxd8 31. Nf3 Bxb2 32. Rc7 Ba3 33. Rxb7 Rd1+ 34. Kg2 Bd6 35. Kh3 Rc1 36. Nd4 Bf1+ 37. Bg2 Rc3+ 38. f3 Bd3 39. Rb3 Rxb3 40. Nxb3 Bb4 41. f4 Bc4 42. Nd4 Bxa5 43. f5 Bc3 44. Nc6 a5 45. Nxa5 Bxa5 46. Be4 Bd5 47. Bd3 Bc7 48. f6 Bf4 49. Kg4 Bxh2 50. g6 e5 51. Kf5 Be6+ 52. Kg5 Bf4+ 53. Kh5 Bd5 54. Kg4 fxg6 55. Bxg6 Be6+ 56. Kf3 Bg5 {0-1 (56) Van Wely,L (2646)-Kasparov,G (2851) Internet 2000}) 16. exd4 e4 17. Bxe4 Nxe4 18. Qxe4 Qd7 {The good news for White is that he has an extra pawn, and he's going to keep it. No strings attached. The bad news is that Black's bishop pair will make it just about impossible to use.} 19. Bf4 Re8 20. Ne5 Qf5 21. Qxf5 Bxf5 22. Nd3 Bxd3 23. Bxd6 {It's often extremely hasty to infer from the presence of opposite-colored is an endgame that a draw is inevitable, especially when, as here, all the rooks remain. In this case, however, it seems that this structure does White no favors at all, and Black held without much difficulty.} Bc2 24. Rdc1 Rac8 25. a5 f6 26. f3 Bb3 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Re1 Ba4 29. Ba3 Re8 30. Rxe8+ Bxe8 {Now the draw is a certainty, at least for a player of Rapport's caliber.} 31. d5 Bf7 32. d6 Be8 33. Kf2 Kf7 34. Ke3 Ke6 35. Kd4 Bc6 36. h4 h5 37. Bb4 Bb5 38. g4 hxg4 39. fxg4 Be2 40. Kc5 Kd7 (40... Bxg4 41. Kb6 Kd7 (41... Bf3 $6 42. Kc7 Bc6 43. h5 { is incredibly foolish for Black, but even this is a draw after} Bb5 $1 { The only move!} 44. Kxb7 Kd7 $11) 42. Kxb7 Be2 {is also drawn.}) 41. Kb6 Kc8 42. d7+ Kxd7 43. Kxb7 Ke6 {Black's bishop can take care of the queenside by itself.} 44. Bc3 Kf7 45. b4 Bb5 46. h5 Be2 47. Bb2 Bb5 48. Bc3 Be2 49. Bd2 Bb5 50. Bc3 Be2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet Classic 2022"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2022.05.11"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D39"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2022.05.05"] {[%evp 0,50,30,21,13,-28,-11,-3,11,20,20,1,11,30,30,63,45,45,45,53,84,13,32,19, 33,27,8,8,8,17,10,19,3,-6,-18,-11,-9,-37,-2,-13,-28,0,-69,-82,-56,-60,-60,-91, -77,-79,-86,-501,-513]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bg5 dxc4 { Aronian's favorite, which he has played many times (with fantastic results).} ( 5... h6 {is the most popular move, preferred by Ding, Nepomniachtchi, and Ding, among others.}) 6. e4 c5 ({Aronian has also played on numerous occasions. Here's his most recent game with it:} 6... b5 7. a4 c5 8. axb5 cxd4 9. Nxd4 h6 10. Bxf6 Qxf6 11. Bxc4 O-O 12. O-O Bb7 13. Qb3 Bc5 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Bxe6+ Kh8 16. Bd5 Qe7 17. Kh1 Bxd5 18. Nxd5 Qf7 19. f4 Nd7 20. Rac1 Bb6 21. Qf3 Rad8 22. Rc6 Qe8 23. Rd6 Bc5 24. Nc7 Qe7 25. Re6 Qf7 26. Qc3 Bb6 27. Rxh6+ Kg8 28. Rc6 Nf6 29. Qc2 Ng4 30. Ne6 Ne3 31. Qe2 Nxf1 32. Qxf1 Qxe6 33. Rxe6 Rxf4 34. Re8+ Kh7 35. Qc1 Be3 36. Rxd8 Bxc1 37. g3 Rxe4 38. Rd7 Be3 39. Kg2 Rb4 40. Kf3 Bb6 41. Rd5 Rxb2 42. h4 Rb3+ 43. Kg2 Rc3 {0-1 (43) Duda,J (2760)-Aronian,L (2772) chess24.com INT 2022}) 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bxc3+ (8... Qa5 {has also been tried many times - by Aronian and others.} 9. Bxf6 (9. Bd2 Qc5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Nb3 Qc7 (11... Qe7 {used to be automatic, but as the engine recommends ...Qc7 humanity has gotten on the bandwagon.}) 12. O-O O-O 13. Rc1 (13. Bd3 Nc6 14. f4 e5 {etc.}) 13... Nc6 14. Qe2 Rfd8 15. Bg5 Be7 16. Be3 {etc.}) 9... Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 gxf6 (11... Qxc4+ {is playable (though probably worse), but it's not a free piece:} 12. Kg1 $14 {/+/-} gxf6 $4 13. Rc1 $18) 12. Rc1 Qa5 13. Bb5+ {Essentially a draw offer.} (13. h4) ({and} 13. Qg4 {don't necessarily promise White an advantage, but they do keep the game going.}) 13... Ke7 14. e5 fxe5 15. Qh5 Nd7 16. Qg5+ Kf8 17. Rxc8+ Rxc8 18. Bxd7 Qd8 19. Nxe6+ fxe6 20. Qh6+ Ke7 21. Qxe6+ Kf8 22. Qh6+ {etc. is a perpetual check line that Aronian has played at least four times, three times against Mamedyarov and once against Radjabov.}) 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Bb5+ Nbd7 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Ke2 (12. Kf1 { is far more common.} gxf6 13. h4 Qb4 14. Rh3 a6 15. Be2 Ne5 16. Rb1 Qd6 17. Rc3 {and here Black typically chooses between 17...Bd7, 17...0-0, and 17...b5.}) 12... Qb2+ 13. Qd2 Qxd2+ 14. Kxd2 gxf6 {MVL has left the realm of GM praxis behind. At the amateur level, Black has done very well here: five wins, five draws, and only one loss. The engine thinks White has just about enough for the pawn, but not more, which seems plausible. At any rate, if this was something he played with deep prep or as a surprise for Aronian, the remainder of the game doesn't bear it out.} 15. Rac1 O-O $1 16. Rc7 $146 (16. Rhd1) ({and } 16. Ke3 {had been played in previous games.}) ({Of course not} 16. Rxc8 $4 Rfxc8 17. Bxd7 {, as Black has two ways of winning a piece here.} Rd8 {is the obvious way, but there's also} (17... Rc7 18. Bb5 Rd8 {, as} 19. Ke3 Rc3+ 20. Bd3 {is pushed over the edge by} e5 $19)) 16... Rd8 17. Ke3 Nb6 18. Nb3 f5 $1 $15 {A small tactic (19.exf5?? Nd5+ and gg) enables Black to improve his pawn structure and worsen White's.} 19. Bd3 (19. f3 $142) 19... Rb8 $1 20. f4 $2 ( 20. f3 $142) 20... e5 $1 $17 21. fxe5 f4+ 22. Kd2 (22. Ke2 $2 Bg4+ $19) 22... Be6 23. Kc3 $2 (23. Rhc1 Nd7 24. Ke1 Nxe5 25. Be2 {was White's best try, hoping to hold a depressing ending after} Bxb3 26. axb3 Rd4 $17 {/-+}) 23... Rbc8 $19 24. Rxc8 Rxc8+ 25. Kd4 $4 (25. Kd2 Nd7 26. Rf1 Nxe5 27. Bb1 (27. Rxf4 $4 Rd8 28. Nc1 Bc4 $19) 27... Nc4+ 28. Ke2 Bg4+ 29. Kd3 Na3 $19 {is lousy for White, but paradise compared to the game.}) 25... Na4 $1 {White's king is in a mating net - ...Rd8 is mate in one. Only 26.Bxc4 allows White to avoid mate in one or two, but as that is only infinitesimally less hopeless, MVL resigned. What a disaster.} 0-1 [Event "Superbet Classic 2022"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2022.05.11"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Deac, Bogdan-Daniel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2671"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "133"] [EventDate "2022.05.05"] {[%evp 0,133,30,14,58,76,90,61,72,65,40,26,60,40,40,40,40,40,60,36,50,45,45,45, 42,25,-14,-5,37,37,14,-34,15,-8,-8,-37,-25,-37,8,-32,-25,-4,29,4,46,46,19,-41, -72,-77,-69,-100,-68,-68,-61,-37,-52,-118,-60,-74,-49,-39,-27,-73,-1,-13,0,18, 18,18,26,30,18,29,169,18,31,20,0,0,40,40,70,70,70,77,179,145,153,150,197,197, 203,167,150,150,197,203,236,174,188,119,135,128,134,125,176,0,55,0,0,74,119,74, 74,86,119,102,108,93,190,190,184,175,174,174,217,217,277,220,266,264,286,288, 293,300]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 h5 9. Nd5 Bxd5 10. exd5 Nbd7 11. Qd2 g6 12. O-O-O Nb6 13. Kb1 Nbxd5 14. Bg5 Be7 15. a3 {Almost a novelty, played just once in 184 previous games.} (15. Bd3) (15. c4) 15... Qc7 16. g3 $146 Rd8 (16... O-O-O $142 $11) 17. Bd3 Nb6 18. Rhe1 (18. f4 $142 Nfd5 19. f5 $14) 18... d5 (18... O-O $142) 19. Qe2 Nbd7 ( {The surprising} 19... Nfd7 {was a little better. Black's king will find its way to safety (or at least get off the e-file) soon enough.}) 20. c4 O-O 21. cxd5 Nxd5 22. Bh6 Rfe8 23. Rc1 $6 (23. Qc2 $1 Kh7 $1 24. Bc1 Kg7 25. Qxc7 Nxc7 26. Be4 Nc5 27. Rxd8 Rxd8 28. Nxc5 Bxc5 29. Bxb7 Rb8 30. Bc6 Bd4 $11 (30... Bxa3 31. Rxe5)) 23... Qd6 $15 24. h4 $6 (24. Bc2 $142) 24... b5 $17 (24... Qe6 $142 $17) 25. Nd2 $2 Nc5 $19 26. Ne4 Nxe4 $2 (26... Qb6 $19) 27. Bxe4 $15 Qe6 28. Bc2 $1 Bxa3 29. Bb3 $44 Bf8 30. Bg5 Rd6 (30... Be7 31. Qxe5 Qxe5 32. Rxe5 Bxg5 33. Rxg5 Ne7 34. g4 $11 {Deac probably chose the objectively right move, but had he gone this route it's very unlikely that he would have lost the game. }) 31. Red1 Qf5+ 32. Qe4 Nb6 (32... Nb4) 33. Rxd6 Bxd6 34. Rc6 Nc8 35. Rxa6 Kg7 36. Rc6 Qd7 $2 (36... f6 37. Bd2 Bb8 $11) (36... Rf8 $11) 37. Qd5 $2 (37. g4 $1 $16) 37... e4 $1 38. Be3 exf3 39. Bd4+ f6 40. Qxf3 Rf8 $6 (40... Qf5+ 41. Qxf5 gxf5 $11) 41. Qd5 Qe7 (41... Re8 $142 $14) 42. Qe6 Qd8 $4 (42... Bxg3 43. Bc5 ( 43. Rxc8 Qxe6 44. Bxe6 Rxc8 45. Bxc8 Bxh4 $11 {should be drawn, but it's easy to doubt this at the board.}) 43... Qxe6 44. Bxe6 Re8 45. Bxc8 Bxh4 $14) 43. Rxc8 Qxc8 44. Qxd6 $18 {It's a rare day when a rook (and pawn) can compete against two bishops starting in a "normal" position, and this is *not* a normal position: White is starting out with fantastically placed bishops.} Qd8 45. Qe6 Kh7 46. Bd5 Qe8 47. Qb6 Qd7 48. Be6 Qd8 49. Qa7+ Kh8 50. Ka2 $6 { This will prove a source of trouble for White, as the a-file places the king in a shooting gallery, not a haven.} Qd6 51. Bb3 $4 {White is still winning, but now there are land mines aplenty he must avoid.} (51. Qd7) 51... Qc6 $1 { Not threatening ...Ra8 yet - there's Bxf6+ in reply - but it's always looming.} 52. Bc3 Qf3 $2 (52... Re8 $1) 53. Be6 $4 (53. Ka3 $1) 53... b4 $2 (53... Re8 $1 54. Bb3 b4 $1 55. Bd4 Qc6 $1 {White is stuck!} 56. Ba4 Qc4+ 57. Bb3 $8 Qc6 { Let's try again:} 58. Kb1 Re1+ 59. Ka2 Re8 $11 {Now what?}) 54. Bd4 $18 Rd8 55. Bc4 $1 Rf8 56. Be6 Rd8 57. Bc4 Rf8 58. Qe7 Ra8+ 59. Ba7 Qc6 60. Kb3 $1 Rc8 61. Qe6 Qxe6 {Equivalent to resignation.} (61... Qf3+ 62. Kxb4 {isn't much better, but it's the only way to keep a glimmer of hope alive.}) 62. Bxe6 Rd8 63. Kxb4 Rd3 64. Bb8 Kg7 65. Kc4 Re3 66. Bd5 Re8 67. Bf4 {Everything is protected (except the b-pawn, which will be protected - and advancing - momentarily).} 1-0 [Event "Superbet Classic 2022"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2022.05.11"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2786"] [BlackElo "2773"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2022.05.05"] {[%evp 0,79,58,14,38,14,20,-12,35,35,26,-9,11,16,25,25,19,30,35,17,20,25,25,20, 15,9,13,-15,15,-23,-20,-29,-29,-43,-48,-48,-55,-52,-48,-38,-37,-25,-35,-29,-29, -46,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-4,0,0,12,0,5,0,13,0,8,0,0,0,0,0,0,-25,-25,-25,-25,-26, -26,-28,-25,-26,-28,-26] Caruana apparently mixed something up in the opening and wound up somewhat worse. Clever defense saved the day, and cliches about the drawishness of the Petroff and rook endings found one more confirmatory instance.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. Nbd2 Bf5 9. Qe2 Nd6 10. Bxf5 Nxf5 11. Qd3 Qd7 12. Nb3 O-O 13. Nc5 Qc8 14. Bf4 Nfxd4 15. Nxd4 Bxc5 16. Nb3 Bb6 17. Qxd5 Qg4 18. Qg5 Qxg5 19. Bxg5 Rfe8 20. Rfe1 Nb4 21. Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. Bd2 Nxc2 23. Rc1 Re2 24. Rxc2 Rxf2 25. Nc5 Bxc5 26. Rxc5 Rxd2 27. Rxc7 h5 28. Rxb7 h4 29. a4 a5 30. Rb5 f6 31. h3 Kf7 32. b3 Rb2 33. Rxa5 Rxb3 34. Rb5 Ra3 35. Rb4 g5 36. Kf2 Kg6 37. Rc4 Kf5 38. Rb4 Kg6 39. Rc4 Kf5 40. Rb4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Superbet Classic 2022"] [Site "Bucharest ROU"] [Date "2022.05.11"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E39"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2804"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "191"] [EventDate "2022.05.05"] {[%evp 0,191,30,26,29,-3,-3,-3,28,-35,0,-35,13,9,11,-18,-29,-10,22,28,26,26,73, 85,64,60,66,45,66,45,42,42,31,2,2,0,33,33,33,33,11,8,21,21,21,43,27,-18,43,11, 33,33,17,-1,-1,-1,5,-5,-5,0,-5,-8,-8,-28,2,2,22,22,0,0,0,7,0,0,38,0,33,22,44, 40,40,30,20,37,42,41,38,40,48,35,59,59,64,71,53,71,83,86,94,89,85,37,39,39,84, 39,41,37,44,39,36,39,39,39,51,59,52,59,59,59,59,51,59,39,39,39,39,39,55,51,51, 51,51,26,2,2,2,2,80,82,82,36,82,36,82,84,78,87,87,95,108,107,102,102,106,94, 105,106,107,106,107,105,107,107,107,107,107,107,108,108,106,102,105,105,102, 107,113,107,113,113,113,49,49,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. Nf3 Na6 7. g3 Nxc5 8. Bg2 Nce4 9. O-O Bxc3 10. bxc3 Qc7 11. Nd4 d5 12. cxd5 exd5 13. Bf4 Qc5 14. Rac1 Bd7 15. Nb3 Qe7 16. c4 Rac8 17. Qd3 dxc4 18. Rxc4 Rxc4 19. Qxc4 Rc8 20. Qd3 Nc3 21. Nd4 Qb4 22. Bf3 Bh3 23. Ra1 h6 24. Nf5 Bxf5 25. Qxf5 Re8 26. Be3 Qb2 27. Re1 Qxa2 28. Qc5 Nfe4 29. Qxa7 Qxa7 30. Bxa7 b5 31. Bd4 Rd8 32. e3 b4 33. Rc1 Nd2 34. Bxc3 bxc3 35. Bg4 Ne4 36. Bf5 Nd6 37. Bh3 Ne4 38. Bf5 Nd6 39. Bd3 Rc8 40. Kf1 f5 41. Ke2 Kf7 42. Kd1 Kf6 43. Ra1 Ne4 44. f3 Nf2+ 45. Kc2 Nxd3 46. Kxd3 Ke5 47. Kc2 Rc7 48. Ra3 Rb7 49. Rxc3 {Black has a better than usual R+3 vs. R+4 ending, and Mamedyarov doesn't come too close to the full point.} Ra7 50. Rc6 Ra2+ 51. Kd3 Ra3+ 52. Ke2 Ra2+ 53. Kf1 Rxh2 54. Rg6 h5 55. Rxg7 Kf6 56. Rg8 Kf7 57. Rh8 Kg7 58. Kg1 Re2 59. Re8 Kf7 60. Re5 Kf6 61. f4 Kg6 62. Re8 Kg7 63. Re6 Ra2 64. Re7+ Kg6 65. Re6+ Kg7 66. e4 fxe4 67. Rxe4 {This is about the best R+2 vs. R+1 ending White can get in a same-side scenario (short of having two connected passers). It's worth paying attention to Firouzja's technique.} Kf6 68. Re5 Kg6 69. Rg5+ Kh6 70. Kf1 Rb2 71. Re5 Kg6 72. Re2 Rb4 {Threatening ...h4, with a dead draw.} 73. Rh2 Rb3 74. Kg2 Rb2+ 75. Kh3 Rb1 76. Ra2 Rh1+ 77. Kg2 Rb1 78. Ra6+ Kg7 ({Please avoid the pseudo-active} 78... Kf5 $4 {in situations like this; it loses to the standard tactical idea} 79. Rh6 Kg4 (79... Rb2+ 80. Kh3) 80. Rg6+ Kf5 81. Rg5+ $18) 79. Ra3 Kg6 80. Kf3 Rf1+ 81. Kg2 Rb1 82. Ra6+ Kg7 83. Re6 Ra1 84. Kf2 Rb1 85. Re1 Rb2+ 86. Kf3 Kf6 87. Re5 Kg6 88. Re6+ Kg7 89. f5 {A bit of progress - the last bit White will achieve.} Rb4 90. Re4 Rb6 91. Rh4 Kh6 92. Kf4 Rb4+ 93. Ke5 Rb5+ 94. Kf4 Rb4+ 95. Ke5 Rb5+ 96. Kf4 1/2-1/2