[Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.28"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E21"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2083742501102972"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,69,18,15,29,10,10,10,17,28,26,6,9,1,15,11,22,16,26,9,44,29,28,-4,29,27,46,38,52,45,47,50,45,78,90,65,88,98,75,73,85,78,71,71,92,77,85,78,79,59,67,62,44,52,63,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 c5 5. dxc5 (5. g3) 5... Na6 6. Bd2 Nxc5 7. e3 Bxc3 $146 {What's the rush?} (7... O-O) 8. Bxc3 Nce4 9. Bb4 $14 d6 (9... Qb6 $142 10. Qa4 Nc5 11. Qa3 d6 12. Ba5 Qa6 $8 13. Nd4 b6 14. Bb4 Qxa3 15. Bxa3 $14 {White is - and should be - better thanks to the bishop pair. White will play f3 and e4, restricting all of Black's minor pieces, and Black will set up shop with his pawns on dark squares: a5, e5, maybe even g5. His light-squared bishop will be good while White's will find itself constrained. The bishop pair (and the semi-weak d-pawn) give White an edge, but just a small one.}) 10. Be2 (10. Nd4 $142 $14 {/? Again, f3 (and e4) is coming.}) 10... Qb6 $1 11. Ba3 O-O (11... Qa5+ $1 12. Nd2 Nxd2 13. Qxd2 Qxd2+ 14. Kxd2 Ne4+ 15. Ke1 a5 $14) 12. O-O e5 13. Nd2 Rd8 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Qc2 Bf5 16. Bd3 d5 17. Rad1 $1 Rac8 $1 18. Qb1 Bg4 19. cxd5 $1 Bxd1 20. Bxe4 Be2 21. Re1 Bc4 22. Bxh7+ Kh8 23. Bf5 Bxd5 24. Bxc8 (24. Be7 Re8 25. Bxc8 Rxc8 26. Qf5 Qe6 27. Qxe6 Bxe6 28. Bb4 Bxa2 29. Bc3 f6 30. Ra1 Bc4 31. Rxa7 Ba6 {White is "better" because 5 is greater than 4, but he's never winning this.}) 24... Rxc8 25. Rd1 Qc6 26. f3 Qb6 27. Re1 {Black has no real problems here in any case, but it's nice for So that he can force a draw. (It would be nicer for him if he could force a win instead, as MVL had already won to leapfrog him in the overall GCT standings. The top three overall automatically qualify as members of next year's tour, and thanks to the win - and So's failing to win - MVL took that third and final automatic spot.)} Bxa2 $1 28. Qxa2 Rc1 $1 29. Rxc1 Qxe3+ 30. Kf1 Qd3+ 31. Ke1 Qe3+ 32. Kd1 Qd3+ 33. Ke1 Qe3+ 34. Kd1 Qd3+ 35. Ke1 1/2-1/2 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.28"] [Round "9.2"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D94"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "53"] [GameId "2083742501168509"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,53,18,15,29,29,40,37,32,37,60,17,12,29,45,26,18,-15,1,-8,2,-13,2,2,0,0,3,-12,-12,22,30,32,37,16,42,37,56,38,45,-5,-5,-5,20,10,-1,42,21,21,32,32,100,100,255,189,255,297]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d5 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd2 {It seems horrible to think that 5.e3 followed by 6.Bd2 could pose any problems to the Grünfeld whatsoever. This setup reminds me of a biblical proverb about a sluggard who is so lazy that he leaves his hand in the dish rather than bringing the food to his mouth to eat it.} c6 ({It's a Grünfeld, for goodness' sake! Two squares!} 6... c5 $1) 7. Qb3 Qb6 (7... e6 {is the most popular move, followed by ...b6, ...Bb7, and ...Nbd7 in some order. (Most likely with ...Bb7 coming some time after ...b6.) Black is not forsaking dynamic options, but finishing his development before deciding what's next.}) 8. Qa3 Bf5 {Healthy.} (8... Re8 {is usual, though probably not best.}) (8... e6 {is almost hypersolid, but White should watch for possible tricks down the road with ...Bf8.}) 9. Rc1 Nbd7 (9... Rc8) (9... a5) 10. cxd5 {Following the well-known rule to always play cxd5 on move 10...just kidding. But there is a standard rule of thumb in positions like this: when the side with the less active c-pawn develops the knight from b1/b8, it's okay (or better than ok) to take on d5, as that knight can no longer go to c3/c6 (without losing two tempi).} cxd5 11. Be2 Rfc8 12. O-O Bf8 $6 (12... e6 {first, and then wait and see if there's any sense to ...Bf8. There is, *unless* White plays Na4 followed by Bb4.}) 13. Na4 $1 Qd8 14. Qb3 $14 Rcb8 15. Nc3 (15. h3 $14) 15... e6 16. h3 (16. Nh4 Ne4 17. Nxe4 Bxe4 18. f3 $5 $11 {/?}) 16... Ne4 (16... b5) 17. g4 Nxc3 18. Bxc3 Be4 19. Ne5 (19. Nd2 $142 Qh4 20. Nxe4 $1 dxe4 21. Kg2 $14) 19... Nxe5 20. dxe5 Qh4 $6 (20... Qg5 $1 $11 {/? This stops f3, and if} 21. Bd4 $2 {(which shouldn't be played) now} Qh4 $1 $15 {is alright as there's no Be1 to worry about.}) (20... Rc8 $1 $11 {/?}) 21. Be1 (21. Kh2 h5 22. Be1 hxg4 23. Bxg4 Qe7 24. f3 Bf5 25. Bxf5 exf5 26. f4 (26. Qxd5 $6 Rd8 27. Qa5 b6 28. Qb5 a6 29. Qxb6 Qxe5+ 30. f4 Qe4 $15) 26... Qe6 $11 {/?}) 21... Qxh3 $11 22. f3 {The engine gives triple-zeros, but Black has to find several precise and unobvious moves to prove it.} Bh6 $2 (22... Rc8 $1 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. fxe4 Rc1 $1 25. Qxb7 (25. Qd3 Rxe1 26. Rxe1 Qg3+ 27. Kf1 Qh3+ 28. Kf2 Qh4+ $11) 25... Qxe3+ 26. Kh2 (26. Bf2 Qxe2 27. Rxc1 Qxg4+ 28. Kf1 Qh3+ $11 {Between the Black queen and the dormant bishop, Black always has at least a perpetual in every line.}) 26... f5 $8 27. Qd7 Qxe2+ 28. Rf2 Qxe1 29. Qxe6+ Kg7 30. Qf6+ Kh6 31. Qh4+ Kg7 32. Qf6+ Kg8 33. Qe6+ $11) 23. Rf2 $1 $16 Qg3+ $2 (23... d4 $1 24. Rh2 $1 Bxe3+ 25. Qxe3 Qxh2+ 26. Kxh2 dxe3 27. fxe4 $16 {is very likely winning for White in the long run.}) 24. Rg2 Qxe5 25. Bg3 Qf6 26. fxe4 $1 dxe4 (26... d4 27. e5 Qe7 28. Bf4 $18) 27. Rf2 $1 ({After} 27. Rf2 $1 {there is nominal material equality on the board, but with Rc7 coming White's pieces will dominate Black's position.} Qg7 28. Rc7 Rf8 29. Bc4 Rae8 30. Kg2 $18 {Freeing up the queen so there aren't any worries about ...Bxe3. White has threats all over the place, especially taking on b7 and playing Bd6.}) 1-0 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.28"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A14"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2746"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [GameId "2083742501168510"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,93,18,-15,10,10,14,-27,-17,-12,14,-4,11,23,30,-34,-1,-6,-7,-18,-19,17,15,25,21,21,47,25,55,50,62,49,38,41,41,13,44,34,37,30,46,49,62,62,55,57,64,68,74,64,54,56,61,48,48,76,77,74,71,66,88,147,147,145,145,145,146,150,153,153,149,149,119,124,119,124,119,124,124,124,124,194,209,227,252,259,252,275,286,281,281,279,279,288,282,283]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 c5 7. Ne5 Nbd7 8. Nxd7 Bxd7 9. e4 dxe4 10. dxe4 Bc6 11. Qe2 Nd7 12. f4 a6 $146 13. a4 Qc7 14. Nc3 $11 {/?} Bf6 15. e5 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Be7 17. Bd2 Rae8 18. Ne4 Qc6 $2 (18... Nb8 $1 $11 {/? was best, looking to speedily reroute the knight to d4.}) 19. Qf3 $16 f5 20. exf6 gxf6 $6 (20... Bxf6 $2 21. Nxf6+ Nxf6 22. Qxc6 bxc6 23. Rfe1 $18) (20... Nxf6 {was best, though not fully satisfactory.} 21. Ng5 $16) 21. Bc3 $16 {/+- Black is going to suffer from structural problems, no matter what. His one consolation is that he gets to choose which ones they will be.} f5 22. Rfd1 $2 (22. Ng5 Qxf3+ (22... Bxg5 $2 23. Qxc6 bxc6 24. fxg5 $18) 23. Nxf3 Bf6 24. Rfd1 Re7 25. Bxf6 Nxf6 26. a5 $16 {/? White's last move is nice, artificially isolating Black's c-pawn. Between that and the e5/e6 weaknesses, White should eventually win this.}) 22... Nb6 $16 23. Nd2 Qxf3+ 24. Kxf3 Rd8 25. Ke2 Rd6 26. a5 (26. h3 $142) 26... Nd7 27. Ne4 $5 {A spectacular move, but perhaps not best.} (27. Nf3 $142) 27... Rxd1 (27... fxe4 $2 28. Rxd6 Bxd6 29. Rd1 $18 {is the tactical point, regaining the piece with a winning advantage.}) 28. Rxd1 Rd8 29. Nd6 $6 {Giri has made it almost all the way back from the dead; unfortunately, he now hops back into the coffin - and hands Caruana some nails just to make sure he can't escape again.} (29. Ng5 $142 Nf8 $8 30. Rg1 $1 $16 {Who's going to find this?}) 29... Nf6 $4 (29... Nb8 $1 30. Nxb7 Rxd1 31. Kxd1 Nc6 $11 {takes advantage of White's knight being essentially stuck *and* White's kingside pawns all being on dark squares. Surprisingly, perhaps, this is completely equal. Black will play ...Nd8 on the next move or two, and with almost all of Black's pawns hiding on dark squares there's little White can do.}) (29... Bxd6 30. Rxd6 Kf7 {is more natural than the last line. White has a small edge here - so that's something. But it's nothing real:} 31. b4 Ke7 32. bxc5 Rc8 33. Bb4 Rc6 $14 {It's hard to see how White is going to make progress.}) 30. Bxf6 Bxf6 31. Nxb7 Rxd1 32. Kxd1 Be7 33. b4 $1 cxb4 34. c5 Kf7 35. Kc2 Ke8 36. c6 $1 {Black's king is cut off, so it's not surprising that he'll lose.} Bf8 37. Kb3 Be7 38. Kc4 h5 39. Kd3 Bf8 40. Kd4 $1 Bg7+ (40... Be7 41. Ke5 b3 42. Kxe6 Bd8 (42... b2 43. c7 b1=Q 44. c8=Q+ Bd8 45. Qxd8#) 43. Nd6+ Kf8 44. Nc4 Ke8 45. Kd6 Bxa5 46. Nxa5 b2 47. c7 b1=Q 48. c8=Q+ Kf7 49. Qb7+ $18) 41. Kc5 Bf8+ (41... b3 42. Kd6 b2 43. c7 b1=Q 44. c8=Q+ Kf7 45. Qxe6+ Kf8 46. Kc7 $1 $18 {Black has no perpetual check or anything close to it.}) 42. Kb6 b3 43. c7 Kd7 44. Nc5+ Kc8 (44... Bxc5+ 45. Kb7 $1 $18) 45. Nxb3 Bd6 46. Nd4 Bxc7+ 47. Kxa6 1-0 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.28"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C12"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [GameId "2083742501168511"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,93,18,18,35,36,40,49,49,35,102,-3,41,17,37,60,60,60,55,55,30,31,21,23,26,18,21,15,76,39,43,15,20,66,35,34,30,16,20,-20,6,4,4,-3,-3,6,-9,-41,-32,-42,-25,-73,-28,-19,-14,-14,-9,-30,-12,-22,-15,-17,0,-22,-15,-18,-18,-29,-28,-30,-14,-9,-8,-7,-12,-6,-8,-6,0,-11,-11,-13,-12,-11,0,-11,-6,-8,-6,-11,-11,-6,-6,-6,-6,-9]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 $5 {The McCutcheon Variation is awfully provocative, most apt in a situation like this where White is very happy with a draw and could hardly care at all about winning; all that matters is that he doesn't lose.} 5. exd5 {Safety first.} (5. e5 {is the main, principled, and best move.}) 5... Qxd5 6. Nf3 (6. Bxf6 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 gxf6 $11) 6... Ne4 7. Bd2 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Nxd2 9. Qxd2 b6 10. Bd3 Bb7 (10... Ba6 $11) 11. O-O Nd7 12. Rfe1 {Threatening 13.Be4. As nice as the battery along the a8-h1 diagonal is, there's no good way for Black to maintain it.} Qd6 13. Qe3 $146 (13. Re3 {was better, but not by much.}) 13... Bxf3 14. Qxf3 O-O 15. a4 (15. h4) (15. g4) 15... c5 16. a5 Rad8 17. axb6 axb6 18. Qg3 Nf6 19. Reb1 cxd4 20. Qxd6 Rxd6 21. cxd4 Rxd4 22. Rxb6 Nd7 (22... g5) 23. Rc6 (23. Rb5) 23... Ne5 24. Rc3 {Black is a little better, as his knight is more effective than White's bishop. But it's not enough to win or even come close to winning (at least when Black isn't Magnus Carlsen).} g6 (24... Nxd3 25. cxd3 Rfd8 26. Raa3 g5 {looks nice, but how will Black play for a win?}) 25. Ra5 Rb8 26. Bf1 Ng4 27. h3 Nf6 28. Rd3 Re4 29. Rd1 Reb4 30. g3 Rc8 31. Bd3 h5 32. h4 {A good move. You hate to give up the g4 square, but it's important to set up this pawn chain both for their own sake and to cooperate with the light-squares-only bishop.} Kg7 33. Kg2 Rc7 34. Rda1 Ng4 35. Ra7 Rxa7 36. Rxa7 Kf6 37. Rc7 Rb1 38. Be2 Ne5 39. Bf3 Re1 40. Bb7 Rd1 41. Ba6 Kg7 42. Rc5 Re1 43. Rc7 Rd1 44. Rc5 Kf6 45. Rc7 Rd2 46. Kf1 Rd1+ 47. Kg2 1/2-1/2 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.28"] [Round "9.5"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Ding Liren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2721"] [BlackElo "2745"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "73"] [GameId "2083742501168512"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,73,20,18,16,25,25,19,18,-1,-1,4,-5,16,8,-22,-25,-48,-27,-38,-13,-17,-14,-17,0,-7,8,0,45,16,61,12,42,24,36,18,51,35,78,16,69,45,84,64,67,50,46,35,53,24,39,35,59,55,87,58,67,51,80,108,113,101,209,212,279,215,223,237,263,287,255,259,356,357,366,397] With the White pieces against one of the tailenders, and especially needing a win in the hopes of securing automatic qualification to next year's Tour, MVL is playing for a win in this game.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 (7... h6 $2 8. d4 $16) 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 Ba7 10. O-O Na5 11. Bc2 c5 12. Nbd2 g5 13. Bg3 Nh5 {Ding would have had happy memories of this position. This game will add a slightly bitter after taste to them.} 14. h3 $146 (14. a3 Rb8 15. Kh1 Rb7 16. b4 Nc6 17. Bb3 Rc7 18. Bd5 g4 19. Bh4 Ne7 20. Ng1 cxb4 21. axb4 Rxc3 22. Ne2 Rc7 23. f4 f6 24. fxe5 dxe5 25. Ng3 Nxg3+ 26. hxg3 Rf8 27. Rxf6 Rxf6 28. Bxf6 Qd6 29. Qf1 Bd4 30. Bf7+ Kd7 31. Rd1 Rc2 32. Bb3 Rc7 33. Nc4 bxc4 34. dxc4 Rc6 35. Ba4 Kc7 36. Bxc6 Nxc6 37. b5 Nb4 38. c5 Qe6 39. Bh4 Bxc5 40. Rc1 Qd6 41. Qc4 Nd3 42. Rc3 axb5 43. Qxd3 Qxd3 44. Rxd3 Bd4 45. Bf6 Kb6 46. Rxd4 exd4 47. Bxd4+ Ka5 48. Kg1 b4 49. Kf2 Ka4 50. Ke3 Kb3 51. Kf4 Kc2 52. Ke5 b3 53. Kd6 Kd3 54. Ba1 Kxe4 55. Kc5 Kd3 {0-1 Rapport,R (2764)-Ding,L (2806) Candidates Tournament Madrid 2022 (10)}) 14... Rb8 15. Kh1 Rb7 (15... Qf6) 16. Nh2 Nf4 17. Ng4 h5 (17... c4 $142 18. dxc4 Nxc4 19. Nxc4 bxc4 20. Ne3 Be6 21. b4 Kf8 22. Qf3 h5 23. Bxf4 gxf4 24. Nf5 Qg5 $11 25. Nxd6 $4 Bg4 $19) 18. Ne3 g4 $6 (18... Kf8 $142) 19. h4 $14 {The kingside files won't stay closed forever (and it's also unclear who will benefit most by their opening), but this at least slows down Black's attacking ambitions.} Ng6 $6 (19... Nc6 $142 20. a4 O-O 21. axb5 axb5 22. f3 c4 $1 23. Rxa7 $1 Rxa7 24. dxc4 b4 $1 25. fxg4 hxg4 26. Nxg4 Kg7 $14 {would have been fun.}) 20. Qe1 $1 $16 Kf8 $6 (20... Nxh4 $6 21. f4 Ng6 22. f5 h4 23. Bh2 g3 24. fxg6 fxg6 25. Bg1 Qg5 {This looks scary, but everything is under control:} 26. Nf3 Qh5 27. Nd5 $1 Rf7 28. Bd1 $1 h3 29. Qxg3 hxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Bh3+ 31. Kf2 g5 $1 32. Ke1 $1 g4 33. Rf2 gxf3 34. Rxf3 Rxf3 35. Bxf3 Qh4 36. Qxh4 Rxh4 37. Bf2 Rh8 38. a4 $16 {/+-}) (20... c4 $1 21. Nd5 cxd3 22. Bxd3 Nxh4 23. f4 Ng6 24. f5 h4 25. Bh2 Nf4 26. Rxf4 $1 exf4 27. Bxf4 $16 {Black is a full exchange ahead, but there's no way for him to do anything on the kingside anymore. White's pieces are beautifully centralized and his e- and f-pawns are both cramping Black *and* potentially mobile.}) 21. f3 $6 (21. f4 $142 $18) 21... c4 (21... Nc6 $1 $16) 22. dxc4 $2 {A reprieve for Ding (and for So, whose draw would have secured him third place in the GCT if MVL failed to win).} (22. Nd5 $1 $18) 22... Bxe3 $1 23. Qxe3 Nxc4 24. Nxc4 bxc4 $11 {/?} 25. b4 gxf3 26. Qxf3 Bg4 $2 (26... Nxh4 27. Qf6 Qxf6 28. Rxf6 Ng6 29. Rxd6 h4 30. Bf2 Kg7 $11 {Black is okay, with moves like ...Nf4 and ...Rd7 coming. Everything holds together.}) 27. Qf2 $16 {/+-} Kg7 28. a4 Re8 (28... Rh6 $142 {was better, looking to fish on the kingside with ...Nf4 and ...Rg6.}) 29. Bd1 $1 $18 {The bishop on g4 is holding Black's position together. If it retreats, h5 is lost; if it exchanges itself on d1, White's queen will soon land on f5 and (among other things) the h5 pawn will again probably be lost.} Rd7 30. a5 $1 Nf4 $2 (30... Bxd1 31. Raxd1 Re6 {isn't good, but it's a lot better than what was played.}) 31. Ba4 (31. Bxf4 exf4 32. Ba4 $18 {was slightly more accurate, but the text was good enough.}) 31... Nd3 32. Qb6 Re6 33. Bxd7 Qxd7 34. Qxa6 Be2 35. Rf5 Rg6 36. Kh2 d5 37. Rg5 $1 {A nice finishing touch. Once Black's rook is gone there is nothing (plausible) Black can do to White's king. So White is simply up the exchange and a pawn, and the a-pawn will cost Black at least a piece in the near future. Ding gave up.} 1-0