[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.09"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {One of Nepo's primary weapons the past couple of World Championship cycles. No doubt he was ahead of the pack in his knowledge for most of that time, but this game shows that at least some of that advantage is gone.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Bf5 12. Bg5 Qa5 13. Nh4 {This line exploded back in 2018.} Be6 14. Bxe6 Qxg5 15. Nf3 Qa5 16. Bh3 {Not a novelty, but a rare move - though one Nepo faced once before. Now Black cannot play ...Nd7, at least not right away.} (16. Bb3 {is the main move, after which Black plays} Nd7 {and brings the knight to f6 on the next move or two.}) (16. Qb3 {has also been played a good number of times, and after} Qc7 {Black will again bring the knight to d7, whether White plays 17.Bc4 or 17.Bh3.}) 16... Qxc3 $146 ({Nepo (and everyone else who got here) played} 16... Qc7 {, looking to play - you guessed it - ...Nf6.}) 17. Rb1 b6 18. Rb3 Qa5 19. d5 $1 {Both players had been blitzing to this point, but now Nepo thought for well over half an hour. White's last move is suggested by the engine, so I'm not sure what Nepo had forgotten or where his prep ended.} cxd5 $1 {The best move, after a very long think.} (19... Qxd5 $4 20. Rd3 Bxh2+ 21. Nxh2 Qxa2 22. Bf5 $18 {will win for White: his extra piece and ready-made attack completely outweigh Black's four pawns.}) (19... Qxa2 20. Bf5 $1 {Threatening the Greek gift (i.e. 21.Bxh7+ followed by 22.Ng5+).} g6 $1 21. Ng5 $1 Be5 $1 22. Nxf7 $3 Kxf7 $8 23. Bb1 Qa1 $1 24. Qe2 Kg8 25. Bxg6 Qd4 26. Be4 $1 cxd5 27. Bxh7+ $1 Kxh7 28. Rd3 Qf4 29. Qh5+ Kg8 30. Rg3+ Bg7 31. Qxd5+ Qf7 32. Qxa8 $14 {is a nutty line Nepo could not have worked out at the board.}) (19... Rd8 20. Rd3 cxd5 21. Ng5 h6 22. Nxf7 Kxf7 23. Qf3+ (23. Qg4) (23. Qh5+) 23... Kg8 24. Rxd5 Rf8 $1 25. Qb3 Qa3 26. Rxd6+ Qxb3 27. axb3 Na6 $11 {/? is similar to what eventually happens in the game, though the game version gives White a bigger advantage than here.}) 20. Ng5 $1 h6 {Not the only good move, but one of them.} (20... g6 {leaves White with several practical options, including} 21. Ne6 {, which also leaves Black with various acceptable options. This whole 19.d5 line is a nightmare for Black to have to figure out at the board.} (21. Rd3) (21. Nxf7 $5) (21. Bg4 $5) 21... Nc6 (21... fxe6 22. Bxe6+ Kg7 23. Bxd5 Nc6 24. Bxc6 Rad8 25. Rd3 Be7 26. Rd7 Qe5 $11) (21... Re8 22. Qd4 $1 fxe6 23. Qf6 {Here Black has only one way to stay alive:} Qc5 $1 24. Bxe6+ Rxe6 25. Qxe6+ Kg7 26. Rf3 Qc7 $8 $11 {White can play on (e.g. with 27.Rd1) or make a draw (e.g. with 27.Qf6+ Kg8 28.Qe6+ Kg7 etc.).}) 22. Nxf8 Rxf8 $11) (20... Be7 21. Nxh7 Rd8 22. Rg3 Qb4 $8 23. Qa1 d4 $8 24. Bf5 Rd6 25. Qc1 Nc6 26. Ng5 d3 $11 {is another mess.}) 21. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 (21... Rxf7 $2 22. Be6 Nc6 23. Bxd5 Qc5 24. Bxf7+ Kxf7 25. Qf3+ Kg6 $1 26. Rc3 Qe5 27. Qd3+ $1 Kf6 28. g3 Nd4 29. Rc4 Nf5 30. Re4 Qc5 31. Qf3 $16 {/+-}) 22. Rd3 (22. Rf3+ Kg8 23. Be6+ Kh8 24. Rxf8+ Bxf8 25. Bxd5 Nc6 $8 26. Bxc6 Rb8 $8 $11 {Black is barely okay - he should be able to coordinate before White can set up deadly threats along the b1-h7 diagonal.}) 22... Nd7 (22... g6 {is also playable, once again leaving White a host of options including} 23. Rxd5 (23. Qa1) (23. Re1) ({and even the spectacular} 23. Bf5 {.})) 23. Rxd5 {Nepo has done brilliantly to get here, but now he makes a mistake that could have proved fatal.} (23. Bxd7 Kg8 24. Rxd5 Bc5 $11) 23... Nc5 $2 ({The greedy} 23... Bxh2+ 24. Kxh2 Nc5 $11 {was correct. It seems as if Nepo is gaining a tempo for his king's safety, but it turns out that White can reach essentially the same position in either case, so Black should have grabbed the pawn. Let's see what happens if Pragg goes for something like the game and what he could have had there:} 25. Rd6 Kg8 26. Qd5+ Kh8 27. Qe5 {This would have been winning in the game.} Qxa2 28. Bf5 Kg8 29. Bb1 (29. Rxh6 {is objectively better here, making an immediate draw after} gxh6 ({or} 29... Rxf5 30. Qxf5 gxh6 31. Qg6+ Kh8 32. Qxh6+ Kg8 33. Qg6+ Kh8 $11) 30. Qg3+ Kh8 $8 31. Qe5+ Kg8 32. Qg3+) 29... Qf7 $15 30. Qb2 $4 {and now we see that taking on h2 wasn't just about grabbing a pawn. In the game version (see the 26.Qe5 variation) White is winning; here, with his king on h2, he loses immediately to} Qf4+ $19) 24. Rxd6 Kg8 25. Qd5+ Kh8 {Now Pragg missed his chance.} 26. Bf5 $2 (26. Qe5 $1 Qxa2 27. Bf5 $1 Kg8 28. Bb1 $1 {Not at all obvious.} Qf7 29. Qb2 $1 {Black isn't losing on the spot after} Qf4 30. Qa2+ $1 Rf7 31. Rfd1 $18 {, but White does enjoy a decisive advantage.}) 26... Nb7 $1 27. Qxa5 Nxa5 {This ending is slightly better for White as his bishop should be more effective than Black's knight. But it's not winning, and soon Nepo manages to equalize completely.} 28. g4 Nc4 29. Rd5 (29. Rd4 $142) 29... Rae8 30. h3 Ne5 31. Kg2 g6 32. Bc2 (32. Bb1 $142) 32... g5 (32... Nf3 $11) 33. Bf5 Re7 34. Rd6 Kg7 35. Re1 Rf6 36. Rd5 Ng6 $11 {Black's problems have been solved. The game rapidly peters out to a draw.} 37. Rxe7+ Nxe7 38. Rd7 Kf8 39. Be4 a5 40. Kg3 Ng6 {On f4 Black's knight will be fully the equal of White's bishop, so the swap makes sense. Once that has happened, however, there's no basis for the pretence that White should continue the game, and so the handshake is nigh.} 41. Bxg6 Rxg6 42. h4 Rc6 43. hxg5 hxg5 44. Rb7 a4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.09"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2789"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "126"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 h6 {Although this move is relatively rare, there are still more than 4000 games with this in the database, and the possibility of transposing to positions arising via other move orders is abundant.} 6. b4 {is uncommon in many Giuocos, but here it's one of the normal lines, and one Firouzja has played in several previous games.} Be7 7. Qb3 O-O 8. a4 d6 9. Nbd2 $146 ({For those of you who can't get enough of the Giuoco Piano, here are three super-GM predecessors from 2023:} 9. O-O Bg4 (9... Nb8 10. Nbd2 c6 11. Qa2 d5 12. Bb3 Qc7 13. a5 Be6 14. Re1 Nbd7 15. Bb2 Rfe8 16. h3 Bf8 17. Nf1 a6 18. Rad1 dxe4 19. dxe4 c5 20. Bxe6 Rxe6 21. Qb3 b6 22. Ra1 cxb4 23. cxb4 bxa5 24. bxa5 Rb8 25. Qa2 Bb4 26. Re2 Rb5 27. Rc1 Rc6 28. Rxc6 Qxc6 29. Qa4 Qb7 30. Ng3 Rxa5 31. Qd1 Bf8 32. Kh2 Rb5 33. Qa1 Nc5 34. Bxe5 Nfxe4 35. Nf5 Ne6 36. Qa4 N4g5 37. N3d4 Nxd4 38. Qxd4 Qd5 39. Qg4 f6 40. f4 fxe5 41. fxg5 e4 42. Ng3 Qxg5 43. Qxe4 Rb8 44. Nf5 Kh8 45. Rc2 Rb4 46. Qe6 Rf4 47. g4 Qd8 48. Qxa6 Rb4 49. Qe2 Qb8+ 50. Kg2 Qa8+ 51. Kf2 Qa7+ 52. Kg2 Qa8+ 53. Qf3 Qxf3+ 54. Kxf3 g6 55. Ne3 Rb7 56. Rc6 Kg7 57. h4 Rf7+ 58. Kg3 Rf6 59. Rc8 Bd6+ 60. Kg2 Rf4 61. Rc6 Re4 62. Kf3 Rf4+ 63. Ke2 Be5 64. h5 gxh5 65. gxh5 Rf6 66. Rc4 Bf4 67. Nd5 Re6+ 68. Kf3 Bg5 69. Rc7+ Kf8 70. Kg4 Re5 71. Nb6 Ke8 72. Nc4 Rd5 73. Nb6 Re5 74. Rh7 Kd8 75. Kf3 Re3+ 76. Kg4 Re5 77. Rd7+ Ke8 78. Ra7 Be7 79. Ra8+ Kf7 80. Ra7 Ke8 81. Ra8+ Kf7 82. Ra7 {½-½ Caruana,F (2782)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2690) FIDE World Cup Baku 2023 (7.6)}) (9... Nh7 10. Be3 Ng5 11. Nbd2 Nxf3+ 12. Nxf3 Bg4 13. Nd2 Bg5 14. Rae1 Qe7 15. a5 Rae8 16. a6 b6 17. Bb5 Bd7 18. Qa4 Nb8 19. Bxd7 Qxd7 20. b5 c6 21. bxc6 Qxc6 22. Qxc6 Nxc6 23. Nc4 Rd8 24. Bxg5 hxg5 25. Ne3 Rd7 26. Rb1 Rc8 27. Rfc1 f6 28. Kf1 Kf7 29. Ke2 Ne7 30. Rb5 {½-½ Najer,E (2655)-Grischuk,A (2745) RUS-chT 30th Sochi 2023 (9.5)}) 10. Nbd2 Qd7 11. Re1 Rad8 12. h3 Be6 13. Bd5 Nb8 14. d4 Bxd5 15. exd5 Rfe8 16. c4 exd4 17. Nxd4 c6 18. Bb2 cxd5 19. cxd5 Na6 20. Nf1 Nc7 21. Ne3 Ne4 22. Ndf5 Bf6 23. f3 Bxb2 24. Qxb2 Nf6 25. Nxh6+ gxh6 26. Qxf6 Rxe3 27. Rxe3 Nxd5 28. Qxh6 Nxe3 29. Qxe3 d5 30. Qxa7 d4 31. Qc5 d3 32. b5 d2 33. Rd1 Qd3 34. Qg5+ Kh7 35. Kf2 Qc2 36. Qh5+ Kg8 37. Qg5+ Kh7 38. Qh4+ Kg7 39. Qg4+ Kf8 40. f4 Qxa4 41. Qg5 Rd4 42. Qc5+ Kg7 43. Qg5+ Kf8 44. Qc5+ Ke8 45. Qc8+ Ke7 46. Qc7+ Kf8 47. Qc5+ {½-½ Firouzja,A (2777)-Andreikin,D (2729) Chess.com Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (1)}) 9... Nb8 $1 $11 {The engine's top choice, which may or may not have been prep. The idea is to play for ...c6 and ...d5, while the knight will likely reroute to d7.} 10. d4 exd4 11. cxd4 a5 12. e5 (12. b5 d5 $1 13. exd5 Nbd7 {followed by ...Nb6 will almost certainly allow Black to regain the pawn, with what should be a good anti-IQP position.}) 12... Nh5 (12... Nfd7 {is also possible.}) 13. b5 Nf4 14. g3 d5 $1 15. Bf1 (15. gxf4 dxc4 16. Nxc4 Be6 $44 {White has an extra pawn and lots of space, but a LOT of weak light squares, too. (And where is his king going?)}) 15... Ne6 (15... Nh3 $5) 16. Bg2 (16. Ba3) 16... c6 17. O-O Nd7 18. Bb2 Nb6 19. bxc6 bxc6 20. Bc3 c5 21. Rfb1 Ra6 22. dxc5 (22. Bxa5 Rxa5 23. Qxb6 {isn't bad, but Black should manage to regain the pawn after} Bd7 24. dxc5 Nxc5 $11) 22... Bxc5 23. Qb5 Qc7 24. Rc1 (24. Bxa5 Qa7 25. Bb4 Nxa4 26. Bxc5 Naxc5 27. Rxa6 Bxa6 28. Qb6 $11) 24... Qa7 25. Qe2 $6 (25. Nb3 $142 Bd7 26. Qe2 Nxa4 27. Rxa4 $1 Bxf2+ (27... Bxa4 28. Nxc5 Nxc5 29. Bd4 Rc6 30. Qe3 $11 Rfc8 $2 31. Bh3 R8c7 32. e6 $1 $18) 28. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 29. Kxf2 Bxa4 30. Nbd4 Rc8 $11) 25... Bd7 (25... d4 $1 26. Bb2 Rd8 27. Ne4 $8 d3 $11 {/?}) 26. Bf1 (26. Nb3 $142 $11) 26... Nc4 $15 27. Nb3 Bb6 28. Rd1 Qa8 (28... Qb7 $142) 29. Bg2 $11 Nc5 $6 {Black could have been somewhat worse after this move, but both players were in time trouble and looking for simplicity.} (29... Rc8 $11) (29... Ra7 $11) 30. Nxc5 Bxc5 31. Nh4 $6 (31. Nd4 $142 $14 {/?}) 31... Nb6 $11 32. Bd4 Bxd4 33. Rxd4 Ra7 34. h3 Rc7 35. g4 Qc8 {Good both as prophylaxis against Nf5 and for the sake of a possible ...Rc1+.} 36. Qd2 Rc5 37. Qf4 $5 Re8 (37... g5 38. Qf6 Qd8 39. Qxd8 Rxd8 40. Nf5 Bxf5 41. gxf5 Rc4 42. Rd3 Rxa4 43. Rxa4 Nxa4 44. Ra3 Nb6 45. Rxa5 Nc4 46. Rxd5 Rxd5 47. Bxd5 Nxe5 $11 {is equal, but "more equal" for Black than for White and his disgusting kingside pawns.} 48. h4 $1 Kg7 49. hxg5 hxg5 50. Kg2 Kf6 51. Be4 Nc4 52. Bd3 Nd6 53. Kf3 Nxf5 54. Kg4 $11 {followed by f4 (unless Black plays 54...Nh6+, but after the knight moves White's king comes back to g4 to renew the threatened f4), with an elementary draw.}) 38. Nf5 Bxf5 39. gxf5 Qc7 40. Re1 Nd7 {The time control has been made, giving the players an extra half an hour on the clock plus a 30-second bonus after every move.} 41. e6 $6 ({In a couple of moves, Firouzja offers a draw. Had he wanted a draw at this moment, he could have more or less forced it with} 41. Bxd5 Rxe5 42. Bxf7+ Kxf7 43. Rxd7+ Qxd7 44. Rxe5 Rxe5 45. Qxe5 Qxa4 46. Qe6+ Kf8 47. Qc8+ $11) 41... Qxf4 42. Rxf4 Nf6 43. Rd4 {With a draw offer. The position is objectively equal, but as Black's knight is likelier to be effective than White's bishop the game continues.} Kf8 44. Rd2 (44. Red1 fxe6 45. fxe6 Rc4 46. R4d3 Rxa4 47. Bxd5 Nxd5 48. Rxd5 Rxe6 $11 {wins a pawn, but the resulting double rook ending should still be drawn thanks to White's active rooks.}) 44... fxe6 45. fxe6 Ke7 46. Rb2 (46. Rb1 $142) 46... Rec8 47. Bf1 $6 (47. Kf1 $142) (47. Bf3 $142) 47... Ne4 $15 48. Bd3 Nc3 (48... Rc1 49. Rb7+ Kf6 50. Rf1 $1 {Otherwise, White is in serious trouble.} Rxf1+ 51. Bxf1 Nc5 52. Ra7 Nxe6 53. Rxa5 $11) (48... Nd6) 49. f4 $1 $11 d4 50. Rg2 (50. f5) 50... g5 51. f5 Nd5 52. Re4 Nb4 (52... Nf4 {was also fine. If White takes on d4, then Black will take on d3 with a transposition to the 53.Rxd4 line given below. White should not get excited about the exchange sacrifice, however:} 53. Rxf4 $2 gxf4 54. Rg7+ Kd6 $1 {Black is winning, e.g.} 55. e7 Rc3 $1 56. Bb5 Re3 $1 57. f6 d3 58. e8=Q Rcxe8 59. Bxe8 Rxe8 60. f7 Rf8 61. Kf2 Ke5 $19) 53. f6+ (53. Rxd4 Nxd3 54. Rxd3 Rxf5 55. Re2 Rc7 $11) 53... Kxf6 54. Rf2+ Rf5 {Rightly unafraid of the coming discovered check setup.} 55. Rxf5+ Kxf5 56. e7 $1 Nxd3 57. e8=Q Rxe8 58. Rxe8 {Remarkably, the position is still equal. The level of accuracy in this game has been very high.} Nf4 59. Kf1 d3 60. Kf2 $1 ({White has no time to chase Black's a-pawn:} 60. Ra8 $2 Ke4 $1 $19 61. Rxa5 $2 d2 {and the pawn queens (with a speedy mate to boot).}) 60... Nxh3+ 61. Ke3 g4 {Now White can go after the a-pawn with 62.Ra8, or the h-pawn with something like 62.Rf8+ Ke~ 63.Rh8. What he can't do is...what he does.} 62. Kxd3 $4 {Firouzja was short of time by this point, and here he let his clock get down to around five seconds or even less when, panicking, he played the losing move.} g3 63. Rf8+ (63. Rg8 g2 $1 64. Rxg2 Nf4+ $19) 63... Ke6 0-1 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.09"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Abasov, Nijat"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2632"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "173"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. dxe5 Nc5 6. Be2 Be7 7. O-O O-O {A calmer Petroff line than we saw in the Pragg-Nepo game.} 8. Re1 (8. Be3 {is far more common.}) 8... c6 9. Nbd2 Nbd7 10. h3 $146 a5 $11 11. Nb3 f6 $5 (11... a4 12. Nbd4 a3 $11) 12. exf6 Nxf6 13. Be3 (13. c4) (13. Nxc5 Bxc5 14. Bd3) 13... Nce4 14. Nbd2 a4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. a3 Bc5 (16... Bf6 17. c3 Qd6 $11) 17. Bd3 Bxe3 18. Rxe3 $11 {/?} Qf6 19. c3 (19. Qe1 $1 b5 20. c4 $1 bxc4 21. Bxe4 dxe4 22. Nd2) 19... Bf5 20. Qe2 Nd6 $11 21. Bxf5 Nxf5 $2 (21... Qxf5 $11) 22. Re6 $16 {Abasov gets in trouble for the first time. He'll escape.} Qf7 23. Re1 h6 24. Qc2 $1 Qd7 (24... Qh5 $142) 25. c4 (25. g4 Nd6 26. Re7 Qd8 27. Qg6 Rf7 28. Rxf7 Nxf7 29. Nd4 Qg5 $1 30. Qe6 {may not quite be losing for Black, but it's very unpleasant.}) 25... d4 26. c5 Qf7 $6 (26... d3 $142 27. Qc4 Rad8 $3 {A very difficult move to play, and probably to fully believe when considering it in advance. Somehow, it's not only sound but even the best option Black has.}) 27. R6e4 $18 Qd5 28. Re5 (28. Qd3 $142 Rad8 29. g4 Ne7 30. Nxd4 Ng6 31. Qc3 $18) 28... Qf7 (28... d3 $142 $1 $16) 29. R5e4 $18 Qd5 30. Re5 Qf7 31. R1e4 Rad8 32. Rf4 d3 33. Qxa4 Qa2 34. Kh2 (34. Qb4 $142) 34... g6 35. Qb4 $1 {Gukesh was very short of time, but to this point he had played very well to keep his winning advantage.} Qf7 36. Re1 $6 (36. g4 $1 d2 37. Nxd2 Qc7 38. Nf3 Ne7 39. Kg3 Nd5 40. Rxf8+ Rxf8 41. Qe4 $18) 36... Rfe8 $16 {/+-} 37. Rfe4 Rxe4 38. Rxe4 (38. Qxe4 $142) 38... Rd5 39. Nd2 $6 $16 (39. Qd2) 39... Ng7 40. Kg1 $6 (40. Nf3 $16) (40. Rf4 $16) 40... Ne6 $11 {Abasov is right back in the game. Gukesh may have been discouraged, but if he was he was also undeterred, and is soon outplaying Abasov for a second time.} 41. Re3 ({White could try to keep the pawn with} 41. Rc4 {, but Black is fine here after, say,} g5 $44 {, looking to put the knight on f4 at a convenient moment.}) 41... Nxc5 42. Qc4 Ne6 $2 {I don't know why Abasov sacrificed the pawn - there was no need for this, and he had time to find alternatives.} (42... g5 {retains equality, and if White tries to be greedy with} 43. b4 Nd7 44. Rxd3 $4 {he loses immediately to} Ne5 $19) 43. Rxd3 $16 {/+- And so Abasov is in trouble once again; and once again, he will escape.} b5 44. Qc3 Nf4 45. Re3 Rg5 $5 {Objectively bad, but a good practical choice.} (45... Rd3 $1 46. Qc2 $1 (46. Rxd3 $2 Ne2+ 47. Kf1 Nxc3 48. Rxc3 $11) 46... Rxe3 47. fxe3 Ne2+ 48. Kh2 Qf6 49. Nf3 $1 Qd6+ $1 50. Kh1 Ng3+ 51. Kg1 Nf5 {keeps some hope alive, though White keeps excellent winning chances.}) 46. Ne4 $2 ({The cold-blooded} 46. Qxc6 $1 {was best.} Rxg2+ 47. Kf1 Rh2 48. Re8+ Kh7 49. Rb8 $1 {There's no mate for Black or even any decent checks. Worse still, there's no sensible way of coping with the threatened 50.Rb7, so the game is essentially over.} Nd5 50. Rb7 Ne7 {is probably the best try, but now} 51. Qf3 Qe6 52. Kg1 Rxh3 53. Qe4 $1 $18 {finishes Black off.}) 46... Rxg2+ 47. Kh1 Nd5 $11 {Covers f6 and keeps White from taking the rook - sort of. Gukesh was presumably counting on} 48. Nf6+ {, but after} Nxf6 49. Kxg2 {The knight simply returns. White will be up a pawn in the resulting queen ending, but it should be drawn.} Nd5 50. Qxc6 Nxe3+ 51. fxe3 Qf5 $1 52. b3 h5 53. a4 bxa4 54. bxa4 {I won't analyze this ending in details, but will give the highlights.} Qg5+ (54... Qd3 $142) 55. Kf2 $14 Qf5+ 56. Kg2 (56. Ke2 $142) 56... Qg5+ (56... Qd3 $1) 57. Kf2 Qf5+ 58. Ke2 $1 g5 $2 (58... Kh8 $1) 59. e4 $1 $16 Qxh3 60. Qg6+ Kh8 61. Qh6+ Kg8 62. Qxg5+ $18 {Abasov is lost for the third time, but once again Gukesh's adventures have not yet come to an end.} Kh8 63. Qh6+ Kg8 64. Qg5+ Kh8 65. a5 $2 {The question mark is from the engine's perspective. Working out such positions with precision, unless there's a simple forced win, is impossible for humans.} (65. Qd8+ Kh7 66. Qe7+ Kg8 67. Qe8+ Kg7 68. Qe5+ Kg8 69. Kf2 Qh1 70. a5 $18) 65... h4 $11 {Once again, Abasov has escaped, though he is by no means safe.} 66. Qh6+ Kg8 67. Qg6+ Kh8 68. a6 Qh2+ $1 69. Ke3 Qh3+ $1 70. Ke2 Qh2+ $1 71. Kd3 Qh3+ $1 72. Kc4 Qc8+ 73. Kd5 Qd8+ 74. Qd6 Qa5+ $1 75. Ke6 h3 $1 {Black is finding one only-move after another. That's impressive, but almost certainly unsustainable.} 76. Kf7 Qa2+ $1 77. Qe6 Qxe6+ 78. Kxe6 {Queens come and go.} h2 79. a7 h1=Q 80. a8=Q+ Kg7 81. Qa7+ Kh6 $1 {Again the only move.} 82. Qe3+ Kh5 $2 {This loses, but not for the reason Gukesh thought.} (82... Kh7 $1 {was the only move to draw (from a tablebase perspective).}) 83. Kf5 $2 {Gukesh thought he was winning here, and soon enough that belief became a reality.} (83. Qc5+ $1 {was the only move that guarantees a win after best play by both sides.}) 83... Qf1+ $2 {Now it ends quickly. Abasov will not get to escape for a fifth time.} ({Only} 83... Qg2 $1 {keeps Black alive.}) 84. Qf4 $1 {Fortunately for Gukesh, one need not be an engine (or have access to one) to win from here.} Qb5+ (84... Qh3+ {was a better try.} 85. Kf6 Qg2 86. Qe5+ Kh6 87. Kf7 $18) 85. Qe5 $1 {Black will either get mated or have to allow a queen trade.} Qd7+ 86. Kf6+ Kh4 (86... Kh6 87. Qh2+ Qh3 88. Qxh3#) (86... Kg4 87. Qf5+) 87. Qg5+ {Impressive perseverance from Gukesh, who is now tied for first place with Nepomniachtchi.} (87. Qg5+ Kh3 88. Qf5+ $18) 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.09"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2803"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] {[%evp 0,60,15,14,39,51,51,66,66,3,54,38,38,31,63,42,101,30,33,49,52,45,44,44,45,27,44,10,21,-8,14,17,21,23,29,20,83,77,79,66,54,69,48,47,67,66,67,116,133,99,112,162,165,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {This (reputationally) dubious move again. Caruana played it against Firouzja in round 3, but didn't face the most testing line.} 4. Bxc6 ({Firouzja played} 4. Nc3 {in that game, and after} Nd4 5. e5 Nxb5 6. Nxb5 Nd5 {I recommended that White castle rather than play 7.c4.} 7. O-O $14) 4... dxc6 5. d3 Bg4 6. h3 Bh5 7. Bf4 {A relatively rare move.} (7. Nc3) (7. Nbd2) (7. g4 $5) 7... c4 {A typical if slighly time-consuming idea.} 8. Nc3 cxd3 (8... e6 {is also possible. It can transpose back to the game.}) 9. cxd3 e6 10. g4 Bg6 11. Qb3 $146 {?} (11. Ne5 Nd7 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. d4 Qa5 14. Qc2 Bb4 15. a3 e5 16. dxe5 Bxc3+ 17. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 18. bxc3 Nc5 19. Rd1 Rd8 20. Be3 Nxe4 21. c4 Ke7 22. Rb1 Nc3 23. Rxb7+ Ke6 24. Kf1 Rd7 25. Rxd7 Kxd7 26. Kg2 Rb8 27. Bxa7 Ra8 28. Bc5 Ne4 29. Bd6 Ra4 30. c5 Nc3 31. Bf8 Rxa3 32. Bxg7 Nd5 33. h4 Nf4+ 34. Kh2 Ke6 35. Rd1 Rh3+ 36. Kg1 Nd5 37. Bf6 Nxf6 38. exf6 Kxf6 39. Rd6+ Ke5 40. Kg2 Rxh4 41. f3 g5 42. Rxc6 Rh8 43. Rc7 f6 44. Kg3 Rh1 45. Re7+ Kd5 46. Rf7 Ke6 47. Ra7 Rc1 48. Rc7 Kd5 49. Rd7+ Ke6 50. Rd6+ Ke5 51. Rc6 Rc2 52. Kh3 Rf2 53. Kg3 Rc2 54. Rc8 Kd5 55. Rd8+ Ke5 56. Re8+ Kd5 57. Rd8+ Ke5 58. Re8+ {½-½ Macieja,B (2574)-Gorovets,A (2515) US Masters op Greensboro 2015 (9)}) 11... Qb6 12. Be3 Qc7 13. O-O-O $1 Nd7 14. Nh4 ({An interesting line:} 14. Kb1 O-O-O 15. h4 $5 h5 16. Nb5 $1 cxb5 17. Rc1 Nc5 18. Bxc5 Bxc5 19. Rxc5 Qxc5 20. Rc1 Qxc1+ 21. Kxc1 hxg4 22. Ne5 $14) 14... Bd6 (14... e5 $142) 15. Kb1 (15. d4) 15... a5 $6 (15... Nc5 16. Qc2 e5 17. Nf5 $14) 16. Nxg6 hxg6 17. d4 $16 a4 $1 {Black has to mix things up before White can open the board in the center beginning with d4-d5.} 18. Nxa4 b5 19. Nc5 Nxc5 20. dxc5 Be7 21. h4 (21. a3 $142) 21... Ra4 $6 (21... Qa7 $1 $14) 22. Bd4 $16 (22. h5 $1 $16 {/+-}) 22... e5 $2 (22... O-O $16 {looks risky - obviously - with moves like} 23. h5 {on tap (though the defensive 23.a3 may be a slightly better choice), but it's better for Black than the game.}) 23. Qg3 $1 $18 Qa7 24. Qxe5 $1 Rxa2 25. Qxg7 Rf8 {White has two extra pawns and Black has a bad king, but White's king isn't great either. Black threatens ...Qa4 followed by ...Ra1#, and this is what White needed to avoid to play for a win.} 26. Qe5 $2 (26. Kc2 $1 Kd8 27. Kd2 Kc8 28. Ke2 $18 {White's king will be comfy and cozy on the kingside, and then the extra pawns will decide.}) 26... Qa4 $11 27. Qb8+ (27. b3 {was the only other non-losing move available to White.} Qxb3+ 28. Bb2 $8 f6 29. Qc3 $8 Qxc3 30. Bxc3 Rxf2 31. h5 gxh5 32. gxh5 Re2 33. h6 Rxe4 34. h7 Rh8 $11 {White's proud h-pawn is strong enough for him to keep the balance, but not more.}) 27... Bd8 28. Qe5+ Be7 29. Qb8+ Bd8 30. Qe5+ Be7 1/2-1/2