[Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Caruana, F."] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2721"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "90"] [GameId "2081996447049408"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,90,18,18,41,41,81,51,51,50,50,30,64,49,49,21,25,13,39,36,41,38,61,33,46,29,41,38,28,28,44,41,15,9,19,9,9,13,24,16,12,1,0,-2,4,0,10,7,-9,-7,-22,0,4,4,17,6,22,44,40,-3,43,12,-8,-10,-9,0,-23,-31,0,0,1,-21,-22,-22,-22,-22,-30,-31,-31,-37,-44,-49,-26,-23,-5,-28,-20,-29,-22,0,0,-39,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nb3 $5 {One of White's trendy new options. The knight retreats to b3 rather than waiting to be chased by ...e5, and strangely enough doing things this way makes ...e5 a positional error.} g6 (6... e6 {is reasonable, inviting a Scheveningen where Nb3, while not terrible, is hardly the most useful move.}) 7. Be3 Bg7 8. f3 h5 9. Be2 $146 {Less ambitious than 9.Qd2 and castling queenside, but that plan is perhaps more foolhardy than courageous.} Nbd7 10. O-O b6 11. Qe1 Bb7 12. a4 $14 Rc8 13. Qf2 O-O 14. Rfd1 (14. Rad1 {may be a little better, a judgment confirmed (not proved!) by what we see a bit later, when White plays 20.Ra3 and then 22.Raa1.}) 14... Qc7 15. Nd2 (15. Rd2 $142) 15... Nc5 (15... d5 $142 $1 16. exd5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Bxa6 Ra8 19. Bb5 Bxb2 $11) 16. Nc4 Nfd7 $1 17. Bf1 (17. Bd4) 17... Ne5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. Bd4 Nd7 (19... Rfd8 {is an excellent alternative. As we'll see in the game, Black doesn't have much to fear when it comes to the capture on e5.}) 20. Ra3 (20. h3 $142) (20. Kh1 $142) 20... Rfd8 21. Bxe5 (21. f4 $142) 21... dxe5 $11 22. Raa1 {It's not clear what all that accomplished. Black's knight now heads to the weakened dark squares - d4 in particular, but a case can be made that it should head for f4 instead. (And in light of the dual option, it would make sense for Black to play a speedy ...Nc5-e6.) Black instead prioritizes prophylaxis against a possible Nd5.} e6 23. Rd2 Nb8 $1 24. Rad1 Nc6 25. Nb1 $5 {Two can play at that game.} Rxd2 26. Rxd2 Nd4 27. Na3 Bc6 28. Bxa6 Ra8 29. Bf1 Bxa4 30. h4 (30. h3 $142) 30... b5 31. c3 Nb3 32. Rd1 b4 (32... Rb8 33. Nc2 Na5 34. Rc1 Nb3 $11) 33. cxb4 Nd4 (33... Rb8) 34. Rd3 Qe7 35. Nc4 Bb5 $1 36. Ra3 Rxa3 37. bxa3 Bxc4 38. Bxc4 Qa7 $1 {While Black's pawn sac was entirely unnecessary, it was also completely sound. White cannot sensibly defend the pawn, and there's no way to give it up and still make something of the b-pawn. The draw is on the way.} 39. Bf1 Qxa3 40. Qd2 Kh7 41. Kf2 Qa7 42. Kg3 Qa1 43. Kf2 Qa7 44. Kg3 Qa1 45. Kf2 Qa7 1/2-1/2 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Giri, A."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2746"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "115"] [GameId "2081996447073985"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,115,23,18,22,21,25,13,13,12,12,13,10,22,68,-7,-16,-36,-25,-37,4,-31,-30,-48,40,-11,-31,-31,-31,-44,-31,-53,-25,-7,-4,-37,28,-37,82,33,75,51,84,103,93,83,111,103,102,126,116,99,110,85,93,93,88,76,111,111,111,111,103,107,111,44,77,47,111,-19,83,-21,52,60,103,76,77,93,93,79,101,85,85,0,0,-25,161,137,139,139,219,219,219,218,219,227,219,222,237,237,237,239,244,244,244,244,270,271,314,278,280,280,411,421,795,795,158,817]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a5 7. h3 O-O 8. Bb3 h6 9. Re1 Re8 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. Ba4 Qb8 12. Bxc6 $146 (12. Nf1 b5 13. Bc2 Qb6 $11 (13... Qa7 $11)) 12... bxc6 13. Nf1 Bb6 (13... a4) (13... Qb6) 14. Ng3 a4 (14... c5) 15. d4 Qa7 16. Be3 Qa5 (16... exd4) 17. Qc1 Kh7 18. Nh4 Ng8 19. Nhf5 {The tension has been building and, so far, both players have been doing well and the chances are balanced. That comes to an abrupt end.} c5 $4 ({Among Black's good option there's} 19... Bxf5 20. Nxf5 exd4 21. Bxd4 Ne7 $1 (21... Bxd4 22. cxd4 $14) 22. Nxg7 Rg8 23. Nf5 Nxf5 24. Bxb6 cxb6 25. exf5 Qxf5 $11) 20. dxe5 $2 $16 {White's still better after this, but he was winning with the knight sac} (20. Nxg7 $1 Kxg7 21. d5 $1 c4 (21... Bd7 22. Bxh6+ $1 Nxh6 23. Qg5+ Kf8 (23... Kh7 24. Nh5 Rg8 25. Nf6+ Kh8 26. Qxh6#) 24. Re3 $1 Bb5 25. Rf3 Re7 26. Qxh6+ Ke8 27. Nf5 {The rook is stuck, as} Rd7 28. Qh8# {is fatal. Regardless, there are no good 27th move options for Black.}) 22. Bxh6+ $1 Nxh6 23. Qg5+ Kf8 24. Qxh6+ Ke7 25. dxe6 fxe6 26. Nh5 $18) 20... Bxf5 21. Nxf5 dxe5 22. c4 {White's attack is at a standstill, but his positional pluses on the queenside are significant. Black's bishop is especially bad.} Rad8 23. Rd1 Qa8 24. Rd5 c6 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Qc2 $18 Qa6 27. Rc1 Rd7 28. a3 Nf6 29. Qe2 Qc8 30. Qc2 Qa6 31. Qc3 $6 (31. Rd1 $1 Rxd1+ 32. Qxd1 Qxc4 33. Qd6 {Heading for f8.} Qe6 34. Qf8 Ne8 35. Ne7 Nf6 36. Kh2 $18 {Black is paralyzed, and among other ideas White might continue with f3, Bf2-h4.}) 31... Qa5 32. b4 $1 axb3 33. Qxb3 $16 Bc7 34. g3 (34. a4 $142) 34... Qa6 (34... Qa8 $1 {heading for d8.}) 35. Kg2 Rd8 36. Ra1 {Not bad, but once again there was a piece sacrifice that was even stronger.} (36. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 37. Qe3 Ng8 38. Qf3 {White can keep maneuvering with the queen and knight, and eventually the rook, while Black has no way to repulse the invaders.} f6 39. Qg4 Rd7 40. Nh4 Re7 41. Qf5+ Kg7 42. Qh5 Rf7 43. Qg4+ Kh8 44. Qe6 Rg7 45. Nf5 Rh7 46. Rd1 $18) 36... Qc8 37. Qc2 $18 Qd7 38. Rb1 Ba5 39. Bxc5 (39. Rb3 $142) 39... Qd3 $16 {/+-} 40. Qxd3 Rxd3 41. Rb7 $2 Nxe4 $11 {/? Will Giri survive?} 42. Be3 Kg6 $4 {No, no he won't.} (42... Rxa3 43. Rxf7 Kg6 44. Rf8 Bb4 45. Nh4+ Kh7 46. Rc8 Bc5 $11) 43. Ne7+ Kf6 44. Nxc6 $18 Bd2 45. Rxf7+ Ke6 46. Re7+ Kd6 47. Rd7+ $1 Kxd7 48. Nxe5+ Kd6 49. Nxd3 Bxe3 50. fxe3 {Many knight endings are lost for the player who is down only one pawn. Down three? Fuggedaboutit.} Nd2 51. c5+ Kd5 52. a4 Nc4 53. Kf3 g5 54. e4+ Kd4 55. e5 $1 {Very nice. The knight is no longer needed.} Kxd3 56. e6 Ne5+ 57. Kg2 Nc6 58. a5 $1 {The only move, but it's obvious and crushing.} (58. a5 $1 Kc4 59. a6 Kxc5 60. a7 ({or the symmetrical} 60. e7 Nxe7 61. a7 $18) 60... Nxa7 61. e7 $18) 1-0 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "92"] [GameId "2081996447073986"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,92,18,18,16,16,16,17,13,4,-1,1,16,10,30,12,43,52,43,45,36,48,47,8,51,49,41,42,31,30,30,23,23,22,64,41,32,22,16,15,37,18,9,30,35,50,49,29,31,35,35,21,27,26,52,50,88,71,69,70,99,88,87,76,85,72,84,84,90,69,69,31,32,6,7,6,3,0,0,0,3,0,3,0,0,0,3,0,3,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Be7 (6... Bc5 {is the opportunity Black obtains thanks to White's playing d3 on move 5 rather than move 6. (This is done to avoid the Open Ruy.) That's not to say that there's anything wrong with 6...Be7, and as a practical matter for club players if you normally play ...Be7 lines there's little benefit in studying 6...Bc5 just for this one move order.}) 7. a4 Rb8 8. axb5 axb5 9. Nc3 O-O 10. O-O d6 11. h3 h6 12. Nd5 (12. Be3 {is the most popular move, while}) (12. Bd2 {is a suggestion of the engine and a move chosen by Abdusattorov in an earlier game against Magnus Carlsen. I've seen Bd2 in other Ruy positions; it's often played to prevent or discourage ...Na5. Here ...Na5 is already impossible, but the idea is similar: to prevent ...Nb4.} Re8 (12... Nb4 13. Ne2 {and Black has nothing better than to retreat to c6 having lost a couple of tempi, as} c5 14. Bxb4 cxb4 15. Qd2 $16 {is clearly better for White, who is picking up a pawn (...d5 allows Nxe5).}) 13. Nd5 Bf8 14. Nxf6+ (14. Ne3 Be6 15. Bxe6 Rxe6 16. Ra6 d5 17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Re1 Nxe3 19. Bxe3 Qc8 20. Ra1 Qd7 21. Nd2 Nb4 22. Rc1 Ra8 23. Nb3 Qc6 24. d4 Rd8 25. c3 Nd5 26. Bd2 e4 27. Na5 Qd7 28. Qg4 Nf6 29. Qe2 Rde8 30. b3 c6 31. Be3 Nd5 32. c4 Nxe3 33. Qxe3 Bb4 34. d5 cxd5 35. cxd5 Rd6 36. Nc6 Bxe1 37. Rxe1 Rxd5 38. Nb4 Rd2 39. Na6 Qd4 40. Qxd4 Rxd4 41. Nc7 Re5 42. Rc1 b4 43. Na6 e3 44. fxe3 Rxe3 45. Rc8+ Kh7 46. Rb8 Rxb3 47. Nc5 Rc3 48. Na4 Rc2 {0-1 Hakobyan,A (2617)-Dubov,D (2707) Chess.com Classic Div 2 W Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (2.2)}) 14... Qxf6 15. c3 Be6 16. Ra6 Ne7 17. d4 Ng6 18. Bxe6 Qxe6 19. Re1 Qc8 20. Qa1 exd4 21. Nxd4 c5 22. Nf3 Ra8 23. Rxa8 Qxa8 24. Qb1 d5 25. e5 Qc6 26. b4 d4 27. bxc5 dxc3 28. Bxc3 Bxc5 29. e6 Rxe6 30. Rxe6 Qxe6 31. Qxb5 Bf8 {½-½ Abdusattorov,N (2727)-Carlsen,M (2830) CCT Final playoff Toronto rapid 2023 (2.2)}) 12... Nxd5 13. exd5 $5 {This looks ugly and the engine dislikes it as well...and that's probably why Abdusattorov played it: he understands that it's not fatal, and creates unusual positions where his homework might pay dividends against an insufficiently prepared opponent.} (13. Bxd5) 13... Nd4 14. Nxd4 exd4 $15 15. Re1 Bf6 $146 16. Qf3 Kh7 17. Bd2 Bd7 18. Re4 Ra8 19. Rae1 Re8 20. g3 Qc8 21. h4 {There's no sign so far that 13.exd5 has worked out, but things aren't that bad, either. And there are fantasies like c3, Bd1, Bxh6 Kxh6 Qh5# to hope for while Black's pieces have mostly abandoned the king.} Re5 $2 (21... Be5 $142 $15) 22. Rxe5 dxe5 (22... Bxe5 23. Qxf7 Bf5 $44 {might be the better choice, but the bottom line is that 21...Re5 was bad.}) 23. Qh5 (23. d6 $1 cxd6 24. Bxf7 $14 {White's bishop has come back to life and now, oddly, he has the better pawn structure.}) 23... Kg8 (23... Bg4 $1 24. Qxf7 Bf3 25. Qe6 (25. Kh2 Qf5 26. Qe6 $8 Qh5 $1 27. d6 $1 cxd6 28. Qd7 {The point of White's last two moves was to clear the way for Be6.} Rd8 29. Qf7 $11) 25... Qxe6 26. dxe6 c5 $11) 24. d6 $14 Be6 25. Bxe6 Qxe6 26. dxc7 Ra7 (26... Qc6 $142) 27. c3 dxc3 28. Bxc3 Rxc7 29. Bxe5 Rc5 30. d4 Rd5 31. Re3 {White's d-pawn isn't going anywhere soon, but it is an extra pawn.} Qd7 32. Qf3 Bxe5 33. dxe5 Qe6 $1 34. Qe2 Rc5 35. Re4 (35. Kg2 $142) 35... Rc1+ 36. Kh2 Qc6 $11 {The pin on the rook (...Q/Rh1# if it leaves) puts an end to White's winning chances.} 37. Qd3 h5 38. b4 Ra1 39. Qe3 Rb1 40. Qe2 Rc1 41. Qd3 Ra1 42. Qe3 Rb1 43. Qe2 Rc1 44. Qd3 Ra1 45. Kh3 Rc1 46. Kh2 Ra1 1/2-1/2 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "So, W."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "214"] [GameId "2081996447073987"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 a5 8. Nbd2 Ba7 9. O-O g5 10. Bg3 O-O 11. a3 (11. Re1) (11. Bb3) (11. Kh1 $5 Bg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. a3 Ne7 14. Bh2 g4 15. hxg4 Nxg4 16. Bg3 Kh8 17. d4 f5 18. dxe5 fxe4 19. Nxe4 d5 20. Nf6 Nxf6 21. exf6 Nf5 22. Qxd5 Qxd5 23. Bxd5 c6 24. Be4 Nxg3+ 25. fxg3 Rxf6 26. Nh4 Raf8 27. Rxf6 Rxf6 28. Bf3 Bf7 29. Rd1 Be6 30. Kh2 Kg7 31. Rd8 Rf8 32. Rd6 Rf6 33. Be4 Bc5 34. Rd8 Rf8 35. Rd2 Rf2 36. Rxf2 Bxf2 37. Nf5+ Bxf5 38. Bxf5 Be3 39. a4 Bc1 40. b3 Bb2 {½-½ Firouzja,A (2777)-So,W (2753) Chess.com Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (2.31)}) 11... Nh7 12. Kh1 (12. h3 h5 13. d4 g4 14. hxg4 hxg4 15. Bh4 Qd7 16. Nh2 exd4 17. Be2 dxc3 18. Nc4 cxb2 19. Rb1 Ne5 20. Rxb2 Ng6 21. Bg3 Nf6 22. Ne3 Nxe4 23. Nhxg4 f5 24. Qd5+ Kg7 25. Bh2 Nc3 26. Qc4 Nxe2+ 27. Rxe2 fxg4 28. Nd5 Qc6 29. Qb3 Bf5 30. Ne7 Qd7 31. Rfe1 Bxf2+ 32. Rxf2 Nxe7 {0-1 Praggnanandhaa,R (2612)-Ding,L (2799) Airthings Masters Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (3)}) 12... h5 $146 {Given the engine's disapprobation of this move, and especially of So's next move, I wonder if he just mixed up or forgot something in his preparation.} (12... Kh8 13. b4 h5 14. h4 g4 15. Nh2 f5 16. exf5 Ne7 17. d4 exd4 18. cxd4 Nxf5 19. Bd3 Bxd4 20. Rc1 axb4 21. axb4 Bb2 22. Rc4 Bg7 23. Qc2 Be6 24. Rxc7 Ra2 25. Qc1 Bb2 26. Qc2 Be5 27. Qc1 Bb2 28. Qc2 Bg7 29. Qc1 Nxg3+ 30. fxg3 Rxd2 31. Rxg7 Kxg7 32. Qxd2 Rxf1+ 33. Nxf1 Qf6 34. Kh2 Nf8 35. Ne3 d5 36. Bb5 Qe5 37. Nc2 Ng6 38. Nd4 Bf7 39. Kg1 Ne7 40. Ne2 Nf5 41. Bd3 Qe3+ 42. Qxe3 Nxe3 43. Kf2 Nd1+ 44. Ke1 Nb2 45. Kd2 Kf6 46. Kc3 Nxd3 47. Kxd3 Ke5 48. Ke3 Bg6 49. Nd4 Be4 50. Ne2 Bg6 51. Nd4 Be8 52. Kd3 Ba4 53. Ke3 Be8 54. Kd3 Bc6 55. Ke3 Bd7 56. Kd3 Bf5+ 57. Ke3 Bg6 58. Ne2 Bf7 59. Nd4 Be8 {½-½ Praggnanandhaa,R (2676)-Le,Q (2728) Julius Baer GenCup Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (10)}) 13. h4 $14 Bg4 $2 14. hxg5 (14. Qe1 $18 {is even better, so that} Ne7 {can be met by the better} 15. Nxg5 $18 {rather than capturing with the pawn.}) 14... Ne7 15. Qe1 Ng6 16. d4 $16 {/+-} Re8 (16... h4 $1 17. Nxh4 Qxg5 {gives Black some activity for his troubles.}) 17. Qe3 (17. Nh4 $1) 17... Kg7 18. Rae1 Qe7 (18... f6 $142 {It won't fix all that ails him, but it's still in Black's interest to get rid of White's g5-pawn to get some room for his own pieces.}) 19. Nh2 $18 h4 20. Nxg4 hxg3 21. Nf3 $1 Rh8 22. Kg1 exd4 23. cxd4 Ne5 24. Ngxe5 dxe5 25. Nxe5 Nxg5 26. Qxg3 {With two extra pawns and the better position to boot it's a near-miracle that So survived this.} Raf8 27. Rd1 f6 28. Nf3 Rh5 29. Nxg5 $6 {Pragg's nervousness about the h-file is understandable.} ({Still, after} 29. Rfe1 $1 Rfh8 30. Kf1 Rh1+ 31. Ke2 {Black's flurry of play comes to an end. The point is that if he attempts to cash in with} Qxe4+ $2 {he will only make things worse:} 32. Kd2 Rxe1 33. Rxe1 Qg6 34. Qxc7+ Nf7 35. Bxf7 Qxf7 36. Re7 $18) 29... fxg5 30. Qe5+ Qxe5 31. dxe5 {White is still winning, but with the doubled pawns and the opposite-colored bishops it's not as clear-cut as it once was.} g4 (31... Rfh8 32. g3) 32. Rd7+ Kh6 33. g3 Rxe5 34. Rxc7 (34. Bd5 $142 c6 $2 35. Bxc6 $1) 34... Rxe4 35. Rxb7 (35. b3 $5 Re5 36. Rxb7 Bc5 37. Rd7 $1 Bxa3 38. Kg2 $1 {wins, intending Rh1+ followed by Rh4.}) 35... Bc5 36. Bf7 $2 (36. b3 $1 Bxa3 37. Kg2 $1 $18) 36... Re2 {Now Black should be fine, but there are more adventures ahead. (For engine-watchers: The computer gives 0.00 or thereabouts, which is great for correspondence chess. If you're sitting at the board against a strong and determined human player and can't get advice from Stockfish, it's not as meaningful. Sure, you know that you *should* draw it, but that doesn't provide a blueprint for how to prove it against all of White's different tries.)} 37. Kg2 Bd4 38. Rd7 Rd2 $8 39. b4 axb4 40. axb4 Rb8 $2 (40... Kg5 $1 {was the only move to keep full equality. The idea is to play ...Kf6, and when the bishop runs away the king returns to g5 so that the f8-rook joins the pile-up against f2. When White's bishop returns to f7 the Black king returns to f6, and so on. White can avoid the immediate repetition, though not a draw. For example:} 41. b5 Kf6 42. Bc4 Kg5 43. Be2 Rxe2 44. Rxd4 Rb2 45. Rd5+ Kg6 $11 {White is stuck.}) 41. b5 $16 Kg5 42. Rd5+ Kf6 43. Bh5 Ke6 $2 (43... Rg8 $8) 44. Rg5 $18 {Winning again, though just as the "0.00" exaggerated Black's chances on move 40, so too the "winning" evaluation is likewise something of an overstatement about White's practical chances.} Kf6 $1 45. Rg6+ Kf5 46. Rxg4 Rxb5 47. Rf4+ Kg5 48. Bg4 $2 (48. Be2 $1 Rbb2 49. Re1 Bb6 50. Re4 $18 {It might appear that White is stuck, but there's a way to make progress: Kf1, Rf4, Bg4, and then Re2. Once White manages to break the pressure against f2 he can begin the conversion process in earnest.}) 48... Rb3 $2 (48... Rbb2) 49. Kh3 $2 (49. Be2 $1) 49... Rbb2 50. Rf5+ Kg6 51. Kg2 Rb6 $6 (51... Bb6) 52. Rd5 $1 Rbb2 $2 (52... Rf6 $16) 53. Be2 $1 $18 Kf6 54. Re1 Ra2 55. Kf3 Kg6 $2 56. Rd6+ (56. Bc4 $1 {wins, but the following lines are essentially impossible for a human to work out at the board:} Rxf2+ 57. Kg4 Rad2 58. Rg5+ Kf6 (58... Kh6 59. Bd3 $1 Bb2 60. Rg6+ Kh7 61. Re7+ Kh8 62. Re8+ Kh7 63. Be4 Rde2 64. Rg5+ Rxe4+ 65. Rxe4 $18) 59. Re6+ Kf7 60. Re4+ Kf6 61. Rg8 Bc3 62. Re6+ Kf7 63. Re2+ Kf6 64. Rxf2+ Rxf2 65. Rf8+ $18) 56... Kg7 57. Rd7+ Kf6 58. Bc4 $1 {You might say that my previous comment was in error, but as Pragg doesn't in fact end up winning I'm standing by it.} Ra5 (58... Bc3 $142) 59. Kg4 (59. Re6+ $1 Kg5 60. Ke4 $3 Bc3 61. f4+ Kg4 62. Rg6+ Kh3 63. Kf3 $1 Kh2 64. Rh6+ Kg1 65. Rxd2 Bxd2 66. Ra6 {and Black either trades rooks and enters a lost bishop ending or tries} Rc5 {, which goes into a lost rook ending instead.} 67. Ra1+ Kh2 68. Ra2 Rxc4 69. Rxd2+ Kh3 70. f5 $1 Rc3+ 71. Kf4 Rxg3 72. f6 $18) 59... Rg5+ 60. Kh4 Re5 61. Rxe5 Kxe5 {Is White winning this? I'm not sure. The engine's evaluation of +2 isn't helpful - that reflects only Captain Obvious information: White is up two pawns. The question is if White will be able to prevent Black from giving up his bishop for both pawns, reaching a theoretically drawn rook vs. rook and bishop endgame.} 62. f4+ Kf5 63. Kh3 Bc3 64. Rf7+ (64. Rxd2 Bxd2 65. Bd3+ Kf6 {is easily drawn. One effective setup is to put the bishop on d8 or e7 and the king on g7, to play ...Bxf6+ gxf6 Kxf6 when White's pawns try to get further than g5 and f5.}) 64... Ke4 $2 (64... Kg6) 65. Kg4 Rg2 $2 (65... Kd4 66. Ba6 Ke3) 66. Rd7 (66. Re7+ {is better, cutting the king off.}) 66... Rg1 67. Rd3 Be1 {Before it was f2, now it's g3.} 68. Rb3 Kd4 69. Ba6 Bf2 70. Rf3 Be1 71. Bb7 Rh1 72. Kf5 $2 (72. f5 $18) 72... Rh5+ 73. Kg4 Rh7 74. Ba6 Rg7+ $1 75. Kh3 Ke4 76. Kg2 $8 Rd7 (76... Kf5) 77. Rf1 (77. Rb3) 77... Bd2 {With the bishop and the king in touch with f4, White's options are limited because of the threat to reach rook vs. rook and bishop. White must therefore either drive the king (or the bishop) away from f4, or must use tactical tricks to prevent the sac.} 78. Rb1 (78. Be2) 78... Re7 (78... Bxf4 $4 79. Rb4+ $18) (78... Rd4 $1 {threatens the sac.}) 79. Rb3 Rc7 80. Rb5 Re7 81. Bc8 Be1 82. Rb1 Bd2 83. Ra1 Rc7 84. Ra4+ Ke3 85. Bf5 Ke2 86. Re4+ Be3 87. Re8 Rc3 88. Bg6 Kd2 $2 89. Rd8+ Ke1 {White now, finally!, has an easy win - at least to the extent that there are easy wins available after playing for five and a half hours.} 90. Bd3 $2 (90. Rd3 $1 {The pure bishop ending is an elementary win with Black's king where it is, and the attempt to avoid a rook trade won't work either:} Rc2+ (90... Rc6 91. Rxe3+ Kd2 92. Re5 Rxg6 93. f5 $18) 91. Kf3 Bd2 {(or pretty much anywhere else)} 92. Re3+ $1 Bxe3 93. Bxc2 $18) 90... Kd2 $2 91. Bb5+ $2 (91. Bg6+ {gives White a second bite at the apple.}) 91... Ke1 92. Bd3 Kd2 93. Bf5+ $1 Ke1 94. Bg6 $2 (94. Rd3 Rc2+ 95. Kf3 {and again, Re3+ next reaches a dead won bishop ending.}) 94... Ra3 {Now 95.Rd3 won't work.} 95. Rd6 (95. Re8 $18 {is a good move though, driving the king further away.}) 95... Bc5 96. Rd5 (96. Re6+) 96... Be3 97. Kf3 (97. Rd3 Ra2+ 98. Kf3 Bc5 99. f5 $18) 97... Bd4+ 98. Ke4 $2 {Now the win is gone for good.} Bb6 99. g4 Kf2 $1 100. f5 Ra4+ 101. Ke5 Rxg4 102. Be8 Ke3 103. Bc6 Rd4 104. f6 ({To add insult to injury, Pragg needs to swap rooks, as trying to avoid it with} 104. Rb5 $2 Bc7+ 105. Ke6 Rd6+ {blunders a piece. Now it's White who may have to defend the rook vs. rook and bishop ending.}) 104... Rxd5+ 105. Kxd5 Bd8 106. f7 Be7 107. f8=B Bxf8 1/2-1/2 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, I."] [Black "Ding Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2745"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "131"] [GameId "2081996447078084"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,131,18,18,22,13,21,21,25,16,12,16,18,-4,-6,-3,-3,-8,4,0,-1,42,20,15,19,-12,13,31,31,25,9,34,85,31,31,34,12,-3,-3,-3,-3,-1,-1,-8,-2,46,61,45,45,29,48,47,51,30,28,30,30,22,7,0,0,0,36,0,16,43,0,0,7,7,24,0,103,103,99,99,94,94,96,99,101,98,104,106,98,91,96,94,108,84,79,81,95,85,71,68,70,72,126,72,72,72,72,72,76,67,57,67,67,45,48,48,56,48,48,48,48,20,20,10,11,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nbd2 Nd4 (11... Qd7) 12. Nxd4 exd4 13. Qf3 Rb8 14. Ne4 c5 15. a4 Nf6 16. axb5 Nxe4 (16... axb5 17. Bf4 Nxe4 18. Bxb8 Qxb8 19. Rxe4 Bf6 20. g3 h6 21. Qf5 Bxe4 22. Qxe4 Rc8 23. Ra6 Qc7 24. Bd5 Qd7 25. Rb6 Rd8 26. Bc6 Qxh3 27. Bxb5 Qh5 28. Bc4 Rf8 29. Kg2 Qg5 30. Rb7 h5 31. Bxf7+ Rxf7 32. Qe6 Be7 {0-1 Moussard,J (2639)-Adams,M (2670) London Classic 13th 2023 (6)}) 17. bxa6 Nd2 18. Qe2 Nxb3 19. cxb3 Bd6 20. axb7 Rxb7 $11 {It's likely that the players' preparation extended at least to here. White's extra pawn is of little value, but he can hope that Black's queenside pawns being stuck on dark squares might give him targets down the road.} 21. Qc2 Qd7 (21... Qb8 22. Ra6 Rc8 $11 {The bishop will drop back to f8, and then what becomes of the b3-pawn?}) 22. Bd2 Rfb8 23. b4 $1 cxb4 24. Qb3 {Black has restored material equilibrium, but now it's his weak pawns that will come under fire.} Bf8 (24... Rc7 $142 $11) 25. Rac1 Rc7 26. Rxc7 Qxc7 27. Re4 (27. Qa4) (27. Qd5) 27... Ra8 28. Bf4 Bd6 29. g3 Bxf4 30. Rxf4 Ra1+ 31. Kh2 Qb7 32. Re4 {The main coincidence in this game appears after Black's 37th move, but that's not the only one. We see a very similar construction to the one in the Abdusattorov-Gukesh game from this same round, with the e4 rook pinned (assuming there's no Re8#, of course!) because of ...Q/Rh1#. There Abdusattorov had no way to break the pin on the rook; here, Nepo can make some progress, though not enough to win.} h6 33. Qc4 Rf1 34. Kg2 Rb1 35. Qxd4 f5 36. Qxb4 Rxb2 37. Qxb7 Rxb7 {This is almost identical to the endgame Nepo lost to So in the previous round. I would not want to hazard a guess about the odds of this arising, but they must be amazingly low. It was funny watching Nepo on camera, who was at times almost giggling at the bizarre coincidence. To Nepo's misfortune, Ding defended it better than Nepo did in the previous round, and held easily. One problem for Nepo, and boon for Ding, is that his pawn is excellently placed on f5. Nepo had a chance to push the pawn against So, but to his misfortune failed to do so.} 38. Rd4 Kf7 39. Kf3 Ke6 40. Ra4 Rb6 41. Ra5 Kf6 42. Rc5 Ra6 43. Ke3 g5 44. g4 f4+ 45. Ke4 Ra2 46. Rc6+ Kg7 47. Kf3 Rd2 48. Rd6 Rd1 49. Rd8 Rh1 50. Kg2 Rd1 51. d4 Rd3 52. Rd6 Kh7 53. Rd7+ Kg6 54. d5 Kf6 55. d6 Kg6 56. Rd8 Kg7 57. d7 Kh7 58. h4 gxh4 59. Rf8 Rxd7 60. Kh3 Rd3+ 61. Kxh4 Rf3 62. g5 hxg5+ 63. Kxg5 Rxf2 64. Rf7+ Kg8 65. Rxf4 Rxf4 66. Kxf4 1/2-1/2