[Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "12.1"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. h3 ({Relevant:} 6. O-O Nd7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Be3 f6 9. Ne2 a5 10. a4 b6 11. b3 Rf7 12. Ng3 g6 13. Qe1 Bf8 14. Nd2 Nc5 15. Ne2 Ba6 16. Nc4 Ne6 17. f4 exf4 18. Nxf4 Qd7 19. Nd2 Bg7 20. Nxe6 Qxe6 21. Nf3 c5 22. Qd2 g5 23. Rae1 Raf8 24. Qf2 h6 25. h4 g4 26. Nd2 f5 27. Qg3 fxe4 28. Rxf7 Rxf7 29. Bf4 e3 30. Ne4 Bb7 31. Kh1 Bxe4 32. Rxe3 Bxg2+ 33. Kxg2 Qc6+ 34. Kh2 h5 35. Re4 Qf6 {Giri,A (2761)-So,W (2776) Stavanger 2022 1/2-1/2}) 6... Be6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3 Bb6 9. Ng5 {[#]} Bxb3 $146 ({Predecessor: } 9... Qe7 10. Nxe6 Qxe6 11. Qg4 Qg6 12. Bd2 O-O-O 13. Bc3 f6 14. a4 a6 15. Nd2 Qxg4 16. hxg4 h6 17. Nc4 Nc5 18. Ne3 Ne6 19. Nf5 Rd7 20. g3 Re8 21. Ke2 Bc5 22. Raf1 b5 23. f4 Bd6 24. Bd2 Kb7 25. Be3 Bc5 26. Bc1 Bd6 27. b3 bxa4 28. bxa4 c5 29. Be3 Kc6 30. Rb1 exf4 31. Nxd6 f3+ 32. Kxf3 Rxd6 33. Ke2 Nd4+ 34. Kd2 Nf3+ 35. Ke2 Nd4+ 36. Kd1 Nf3 37. Rh5 Ne5 38. Ke2 Rde6 39. Rb3 {Sevian,S (2556) -Radjabov,T (2738) Baku 2015 0-1 (71)}) 10. axb3 f6 11. Nf3 Nc5 12. Nd2 Ne6 13. Nc4 Qd7 14. h4 a6 15. h5 O-O-O 16. Nxb6+ cxb6 17. Be3 c5 18. Qg4 Kb8 19. g3 g6 20. O-O-O Qf7 21. f4 exf4 22. Bxf4+ Ka7 23. Rdf1 f5 24. Qh3 Qf6 25. Kb1 Rhf8 26. Rf2 Qe7 27. Bh6 Rf6 28. Qh4 Rg8 29. exf5 g5 30. Qe4 Qd6 31. fxe6 Rxf2 32. Bxg5 Rxg5 33. e7 Re5 34. e8=Q Rxe8 35. Qxe8 Qxg3 36. Qe4 h6 37. Qg6 Qe3 38. Qg1 Qe2 39. Qd1 Qxd1+ 40. Rxd1 Rh2 41. d4 cxd4 42. Rxd4 Rxh5 {The trouble with this ending for Caruana is that it's not in any way winning.} 43. Rd6 b5 44. b4 Rh4 45. b3 Kb8 46. Kb2 Kc7 47. Rg6 h5 48. Rh6 Kd7 49. Ka3 Rh1 50. c4 bxc4 51. bxc4 h4 52. Rh7+ Kc6 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "12.2"] [White "Ding Liren"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E48"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,52,25,23,28,-3,18,18,28,28,25,22,28,17,22,2,13,10,7,-8,-8,-30,-32,-32, -29,-29,-29,-27,-31,-41,-18,-17,-12,-62,-60,-65,-49,-138,-89,-119,-99,-163, -124,-282,-295,-381,-264,-392,-435,-575,-434,-562,-618,-618,-648]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. a3 ({Relevant:} 7. Nge2 Re8 8. Bd2 Bd6 9. Qc2 Na6 10. a3 c5 11. f3 Nc7 12. O-O b6 13. Rad1 Ba6 14. Bxa6 Nxa6 15. Kh1 Qc8 16. Qd3 Nc7 17. e4 dxe4 18. fxe4 cxd4 19. Nxd4 Qg4 20. Rxf6 gxf6 21. Nf5 Bf8 22. h3 Qg6 23. Nh4 Rad8 24. Qf3 Qg7 25. Nf5 Qg6 26. Nh4 Qg7 27. Nf5 Qg6 28. Nh4 Qg7 {1/2-1/2 (28) Harikrishna,P (2701)-Le,Q (2709) Prague 2022}) 7... Bd6 8. Qc2 Na6 $5 {An interesting move that likely took Ding out of preparation. It also made the game more positional, most likely Ding expected to push in the centre and on the kingside.} 9. Nge2 c5 10. Bxa6 (10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. b4 Nxd3+ 12. Qxd3 Be6 13. Bb2 a5 14. b5 Ng4 15. Nd4 Ne5 16. Qe2 Rc8 17. h3 Nc4 18. O-O Qf6 19. Nd1 Qg6 20. Kh1 Bd7 21. a4 Rfe8 22. Bc3 Re4 23. Nf3 Rce8 24. Ra2 Bb8 25. Ba1 Qd6 26. Nc3 Rh4 27. Rd1 Bxh3 28. g3 Bg4+ 29. Nxh4 Bxe2 30. Rxe2 Nxe3 31. Rxd5 Qe6 32. Rxe3 Qh3+ 33. Kg1 Rc8 34. Nf5 Rf8 35. Ne4 f6 36. Bd4 Be5 37. Ne7+ Kh8 38. Bxe5 fxe5 39. Rf3 Rc8 40. Nxc8 Qxc8 41. Rxe5 h6 42. Re7 Qc2 43. Rff7 Qxa4 44. Nf6 {1-0 (44) Johner,P-Bogoljubow,E Bern 1932}) 10... bxa6 11. dxc5 Bxc5 {[#]} 12. b4 $146 {Radjabov thought that Ding was in two minds what to do here - whether to push or take a draw - and got confused.} ({Predecessor:} 12. O-O Bd6 13. b3 Re8 14. Nd4 a5 15. Ncb5 Ba6 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Rd1 Rac8 18. Qf5 Ne4 19. a4 g6 20. Qf3 Qe5 21. Bb2 Rc5 {1/2-1/2 (21) Vecek, M (2164)-Popov,V (2276) ICCF email 2010}) 12... Bd6 13. Bb2 a5 14. b5 a6 15. h3 (15. a4 {with equality was Radjabov's suggestion.}) 15... Bd7 16. bxa6 (16. a4) 16... Rxa6 17. Rd1 {"Was a very nervous move, maybe the pressure was too high. " Radjabov.} (17. O-O) (17. a4 Qc8 18. Rc1) 17... Rb6 18. Rd2 $2 (18. Ba1 { followed by 0-0 was Radjabov's suggestion.}) 18... Qc8 (18... Qb8 $6) 19. f3 $2 {Good moves are thin on the ground but this loses very quickly.} (19. Ba1 Bxa3 20. O-O Bb4) (19. O-O Bxh3 $1) (19. Qd1) 19... Re8 (19... Qb8 {Is even better.} ) 20. Kf2 Qb8 21. Qc1 Rxe3 {Clearly Ding missed this ahead of time, it's all over.} 22. Nd1 Re8 23. Ne3 Rb3 24. Ng4 Bxg4 25. hxg4 Rc8 26. Qa1 Bf4 0-1 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "12.3"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] 1. d4 {CB} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. a3 a5 12. e4 ({Relevant:} 12. Ng5 h6 13. Nge4 Be7 14. Rd1 Qb6 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. Bd2 e5 17. Bh7+ Kh8 18. Bf5 Rad8 19. Ne4 Be7 20. b4 axb4 21. Bxb4 Bxb4 22. axb4 exd4 23. Rxd4 Nf6 24. Nd6 Nd5 25. Qc5 Qxc5 26. bxc5 Ra8 27. Rxa8 Bxa8 28. e4 Nc3 29. Nxf7+ Kg8 30. Rd7 Na4 31. Ra7 Nxc5 32. Nd6 Rb8 33. e5 Bb7 34. f4 Kf8 35. Kf2 Ra8 36. Rxa8+ Bxa8 37. Ke3 b4 38. Kd4 Na4 39. Kc4 c5 40. g3 Bf3 41. Kb5 Bd1 {So,W (2778)-Navara,D (2751) Prague 2015 CBM 167 [CB] 1-0}) 12... e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. h3 Ba6 16. Be3 b4 17. Bxa6 bxc3 18. Bc4 cxb2 19. Rad1 Qe7 20. Bc5 Qc7 21. Bxf8 Rxf8 22. g3 {[#]} g5 $146 {Finally a new move and a bad one.} ({Predecessor:} 22... c5 23. f4 Bd4+ 24. Kh2 Qb7 25. Rfe1 Rb8 26. Ba2 g6 27. e5 Nd5 28. Rd3 a4 29. Qd2 Qc6 30. Qc2 Qb7 31. Qd2 Qc6 32. Qc2 {1/2-1/2 (32) Dubov,D (2629)-Shirov,A (2695) Moscow 2013}) 23. f4 $1 {Close to a refutation.} gxf4 24. gxf4 Bxf4 25. Qxb2 Nh5 26. Rd3 Qe7 27. Rf2 $2 {Suddenly white lets black back in the game.} ( 27. Ba2) 27... Be5 $11 28. Qe2 Nf6 $2 (28... Nf4 $1) 29. Kh1 (29. Rg2+ Kh8 30. Kh1 Ne8) 29... Kh8 30. Rg2 Rb8 31. Ba2 (31. Rf3) 31... Ne8 32. Qe3 (32. Qg4 Nd6 33. Rdg3 Bxg3 34. Qxg3 Qf6 35. e5) 32... Nd6 33. Rd1 Qf6 34. Rf2 Qg6 35. Rg1 Qxe4+ 36. Qxe4 Nxe4 37. Rxf7 (37. Rfg2 Rf8 38. Bb1 Nf6 39. Re1 Bd4 40. Ba2 a4 41. Rg5) 37... Ng3+ $11 38. Kg2 Rb2+ 39. Rf2 Rxf2+ 40. Kxf2 Bd4+ 41. Kxg3 Bxg1 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "12.4"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [Annotator "Crowther,Mark"] [PlyCount "28"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 Nbd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d5 10. exd6 Qxd6 11. Qe4+ Qe6 12. Qd4 Qd6 {Spassky once won from here.} 13. Qe4+ Qe6 14. Qd4 Qd6 {This position is "hot" in Chessbase meaning it's been played a lot recently. Surprisingly not all the games were drawn, but almost all of them were.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "12.4"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2760"] [PlyCount "28"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 Nbd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d5 10. exd6 Qxd6 11. Qe4+ Qe6 12. Qd4 Qd6 13. Qe4+ Qe6 14. Qd4 Qd6 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "12.3"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D46"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2893"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. a3 a5 12. e4 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. h3 Ba6 16. Be3 b4 17. Bxa6 bxc3 18. Bc4 cxb2 19. Rad1 Qe7 (19... Qb8 20. f4 Bc7 21. e5 Bb6 22. Bf2 Bxf2+ 23. Rxf2 Rd8 24. Rxd8+ Qxd8 25. exf6 Rb8 26. Ba2 { ½-½ (66) Aronian,L (2773)-Shirov,A (2730) Novi Sad 2009}) 20. Bc5 Qc7 21. Bxf8 Rxf8 22. g3 g5 $6 (22... c5 23. f4 Bd4+ 24. Kh2 Qb7 25. Rfe1 Rb8 26. Ba2 g6 27. e5 Nd5 28. Rd3 a4 29. Qd2 Qc6 30. Qc2 Qb7 31. Qd2 Qc6 32. Qc2 {1/2-1/2 (32) Dubov,D (2629)-Shirov,A (2695) Moscow 2013}) 23. f4 $1 gxf4 24. gxf4 Bxf4 25. Qxb2 Nh5 26. Rd3 Qe7 27. Rf2 $2 (27. Kh1 $1) 27... Be5 $1 28. Qe2 Nf6 $6 ( 28... Nf4 29. Qg4+ Kh8 30. Rxf4 Qc5+ 31. Kh1 Qxc4 32. Qf5 Qxd3 33. Qxe5+) 29. Kh1 $1 Kh8 30. Rg2 Rb8 31. Ba2 Ne8 $6 32. Qe3 $5 Nd6 33. Rd1 Qf6 34. Rf2 Qg6 35. Rg1 Qxe4+ 36. Qxe4 Nxe4 37. Rxf7 Ng3+ 38. Kg2 Rb2+ 39. Rf2 Rxf2+ 40. Kxf2 Bd4+ 41. Kxg3 Bxg1 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "12.1"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2676"] [BlackElo "2783"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] {[%evp 0,80,40,41,24,18,15,10,32,13,13,-6,24,13,14,0,-9,-3,-1,4,19,15,7,10,10, 15,11,7,19,4,6,-15,-15,-31,-28,-24,-5,-16,-19,-15,6,-8,-2,8,54,51,52,55,40,10, 36,31,32,17,38,56,48,52,42,0,-5,-13,-9,-21,-38,-38,-30,-22,-18,-30,-24,-26,-25, -33,-36,-59,-65,-85,-85,-100,-108,-103,-108]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. h3 Be6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3 (8. Nf1 f6 9. Be3 Bd6 10. Ng3 g6 11. O-O Qe7 12. c3 h5 13. d4 h4 14. Ne2 Bc4 15. Re1 O-O-O 16. Qa4 {1/2-1/2 (49) Vachier Lagrave,M (2760)-Fressinet,L (2624) Chartres FRA 2022}) 8... Bb6 9. Ng5 Bxb3 (9... Qe7 10. Nxe6 Qxe6 11. Qg4 Qg6 12. Bd2 O-O-O 13. Bc3 f6 14. a4 a6 15. Nd2 Qxg4 16. hxg4 h6 17. Nc4 Nc5 18. Ne3 {0-1 (71) Sevian,S (2556) -Radjabov,T (2738) Baku 2015}) 10. axb3 f6 11. Nf3 Nc5 12. Nd2 Ne6 13. Nc4 Qd7 14. h4 a6 15. h5 O-O-O 16. Nxb6+ cxb6 17. Be3 c5 18. Qg4 Kb8 19. g3 g6 20. O-O-O Qf7 21. f4 exf4 22. Bxf4+ Ka7 23. Rdf1 f5 24. Qh3 Qf6 25. Kb1 Rhf8 26. Rf2 Qe7 27. Bh6 Rf6 28. Qh4 Rg8 29. exf5 g5 30. Qe4 Qd6 31. fxe6 Rxf2 32. Bxg5 Rxg5 33. e7 Re5 34. e8=Q Rxe8 35. Qxe8 Qxg3 36. Qe4 h6 37. Qg6 Qe3 38. Qg1 Qe2 39. Qd1 Qxd1+ 40. Rxd1 Rh2 41. d4 cxd4 42. Rxd4 Rxh5 43. Rd6 b5 44. b4 Rh4 45. b3 $5 Kb8 46. Kb2 Kc7 47. Rg6 h5 48. Rh6 Kd7 49. Ka3 Rh1 50. c4 bxc4 51. bxc4 h4 52. Rh7+ Kc6 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "12.2"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2806"] [BlackElo "2753"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "ESP"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. a3 Bd6 8. Qc2 Na6 9. Nge2 c5 10. Bxa6 (10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. b4 Nxd3+ 12. Qxd3 Be6 13. Bb2 a5 14. b5 Ng4 15. Nd4 Ne5 16. Qe2 Rc8 17. h3 Nc4 18. O-O Qf6 19. Nd1 {1-0 (44) Johner, P-Bogoljubow,E Bern 1932}) 10... bxa6 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. b4 (12. O-O Bd6 13. b3 Re8 14. Nd4 a5 15. Ncb5 Ba6 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Rd1 Rac8 18. Qf5 Ne4 19. a4 g6 20. Qf3 Qe5 21. Bb2 Rc5 {1/2-1/2 (21) Vecek,M (2164)-Popov,V (2276) ICCF email 2010}) 12... Bd6 13. Bb2 a5 14. b5 a6 15. h3 Bd7 16. bxa6 $5 Rxa6 17. Rd1 Rb6 18. Rd2 $6 Qc8 19. f3 Re8 20. Kf2 Qb8 $1 21. Qc1 $2 Rxe3 $3 22. Nd1 Re8 23. Ne3 Rb3 24. Ng4 Bxg4 25. hxg4 Rc8 26. Qa1 Bf4 0-1 [Event "Round 12: Liren Ding - Teimour Radjabov"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Liren Ding"] [Black "Teimour Radjabov"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E48"] [Annotator "Bajarani,Ulvi"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. a3 Bd6 8. Qc2 {The novel fashion in the variation.} Na6 $5 {preparing c7-c5.} 9. Nge2 (9. b4 c6 10. Nge2 Nc7 11. f3 (11. O-O Ne6 $132) 11... a5 12. Rb1 {1/2 (41) Deuer,M (2351)-Hagner,B (2186) Willingen 2022} axb4 13. axb4 Na6 14. Na2 Qe7 $15) 9... c5 10. Bxa6 bxa6 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. b4 $6 $146 {Although it is the novelty, the strength of the move is not high since the "b"-pawn becomes vulnerable.} (12. O-O {is played before} Bd6 13. b3 (13. h3 $5 Qe7 14. Nd4 Qe5 15. f4 Qe7 $132) ( 13. Nd4 $5 Re8 14. Bd2 Bd7 15. Rac1 Rc8 $132) (13. Rd1 $5 Qe7 14. h3 Qe5 15. Ng3 h5 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Qc6 Rb8 18. Rxd5 Rb6 19. Qxb6 Qxd5 20. Qd4 Qxd4 21. exd4 Bxg3 22. fxg3 Be6) 13... Re8 (13... Bxh2+ $2 14. Kxh2 Ng4+ 15. Kg3 Qg5 16. f4 Qh5 17. Nd4 Qh2+ 18. Kf3 Re8 19. Bd2 Qh4 20. Ke2 Qg3 21. Qd3 Qxg2+ 22. Kd1 Nf2+ 23. Rxf2 Qxf2 24. Kc2 $16) 14. Nd4 Ne4 $5 (14... a5 $6 15. Bb2 $5 (15. Ncb5 $2 Be5 (15... Ba6 $2 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Rd1 Rac8 18. Qf5 $16 {1/2 (21) Vecek,M (2164)-Popov,V (2276) ICCF email 2010}) 16. a4 Bd7 $15) 15... Bd7 16. Rac1 $132) 15. Bb2 Qh4 16. f4 (16. g3 Qh3 (16... Qh6 17. Rfe1 Bh3 18. Nxd5 Rac8 19. Qe2 Rcd8 20. Nf4 Nxg3 21. Qf3 Bxf4 22. Qxf4 Qxf4 23. exf4 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Nf5) 17. f3 Nxc3 18. Bxc3 Qh6 19. Rfe1 Bd7 20. Qd3 Rac8 21. Bd2 Be5 22. Rac1 Qf6 23. Rxc8 Rxc8) 16... Nf6 17. Qd2 Bd7 $132) 12... Bd6 13. Bb2 $6 {Starting from here up to the moment when the castling becomes de facto impossible, Ding violates the development rule that requires to make the king safe (usually, including this game, it is done with castling).} (13. O-O a5 (13... Re8 $5 14. h3 (14. Bb2 $4 {allows the typical Bxh2 sacrifice:} Bxh2+ $1 15. Kxh2 Ng4+ 16. Kg3 Qg5 17. f4 Qh5 18. e4 dxe4 19. Rh1 Qg6 $19) 14... Be6 $5 15. Bb2 Qd7 16. Rad1 a5 17. bxa5 Rab8 18. Ba1 Rec8 $44) 14. Nb5 Ba6 15. Nxd6 Qxd6) 13... a5 14. b5 $6 {Trying to keep the pawns on the "a"-file doubled. However, it has been necessary to start to equalize the game.} (14. Nb5 Ba6 15. Nxd6 Qxd6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. O-O axb4 (17... d4 18. exd4 Rfe8 19. Rfe1 Qe7 20. b5 Bxb5 21. h3 Bxe2 22. Ra2) 18. axb4 Rfb8 19. Rfd1 Rxb4 20. Nc3 Bc4 21. Qd2) (14. O-O axb4 15. axb4 Bxb4 16. Ba3 Bxa3 17. Rxa3 $44) 14... a6 15. h3 (15. O-O $2 {loses a pawn after} Qc7 $15) 15... Bd7 16. bxa6 $2 {Completely gives the advantage Black.} ( 16. a4 {It has been the only move keeping equal chances.} Qc8 17. Qd3 axb5 18. axb5 Rd8 19. Nd4 Re8 20. Rc1 $132) 16... Rxa6 $15 17. Rd1 {Attacking to the "d5"-pawn. However, Black's next move prevents the capture.} (17. O-O $15 { Black is better, but White can survive.}) 17... Rb6 $1 {Capturing the "b"-file and creating the trap in the case of the capture of the "d5"-pawn.} 18. Rd2 $2 {White loses the final chance to castle without huge losses.} (18. Nxd5 $2 { doesn't work due to} Nxd5 19. Rxd5 Qb8 $1 20. Bc3 Rc8 21. O-O Bb5 $19) (18. O-O Qc8 19. Nf4 d4 20. Rxd4 Be5 21. Nfd5 Nxd5 22. Rxd5 Rxb2 23. Qxb2 Bxc3 24. Qb6 Bf6 25. Rc5 Qb8 26. Qxa5 h6 $15 {Black is better, but White can also survive.}) (18. Ba1 $5 {Sometimes, it is better to give some material away during the defense.} Bxa3 19. O-O $15 {White can defend here.}) 18... Qc8 $17 (18... Qb8 $5 19. O-O Rc8 $19 {has been better.}) 19. f3 $2 {Preventing the Nf6-e4 idea but the move makes the "e3"-pawn weak.} (19. O-O {loses a pawn after} Bxh3 20. Qd3 Rd8 $17 {Nevertheless, it has been the best choice for White.}) 19... Re8 $19 {Now, it is almost impossible to defend the position for White.} 20. Kf2 ( 20. Nd1 Rc6 21. Qb1 Qb8 22. Qa1 Bg3+ 23. Kf1 Bc8 $19) 20... Qb8 21. Qc1 (21. Bc1 Rc8 $19) 21... Rxe3 $1 {The decisive blow and best option from other moves keeping a huge advantage.} 22. Nd1 (22. Kxe3 {is not possible due to 22... Bc5+ } Bc5+ 23. Nd4 (23. Kd3 Bf5+ 24. Ne4 dxe4+ $19) 23... Qe5+ 24. Kf2 Bxd4+ 25. Kf1 Nh5 $19) 22... Re8 {Paraphrasing the 9th World Champion Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian, White is the pawn down, but White's position is lost. Strictly speaking, White might have resigned here.} 23. Ne3 Rb3 24. Ng4 Bxg4 25. hxg4 Rc8 26. Qa1 Bf4 {0-1 Black wins.} 0-1 [Event "Round 12: Jan-Krzysztof Duda - Alireza"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Jan-Krzysztof Duda"] [Black "Alireza Firouzja"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [Annotator "Bajarani,Ulvi"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O dxc4 {Transposing to the variations with 7. Bd3.} 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. a3 a5 12. e4 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. h3 Ba6 16. Be3 b4 17. Bxa6 bxc3 18. Bc4 cxb2 19. Rad1 Qe7 20. Bc5 Qc7 21. Bxf8 Rxf8 22. g3 {Up to this moment, both sides have shown their theoretical knowledge.} g5 $2 $146 {Firouzja makes the first step to a side. However, the move weakens the black king and gives a significant advantage to White.} (22... c5 $1 {is the best move in the position. The idea is to defend the "d4"-square for the black bishop.} 23. Ba2 $5 {Preventing Be5-d4 for a short time.} (23. Kh2 $5 g5 24. Rd3 h6 25. Rf3 Ne8 26. Rb3 Nd6 27. f4 a4 28. fxe5 Nxc4 29. Rc3 Nxe5 30. Rxc5 Qd6 31. Rd5 Qa6 32. Rb1 Nc4 $132) (23. f4 Bd4+ 24. Kh2 Rd8 (24... Qb7 25. e5 $5 (25. Rfe1 Rb8 26. Ba2 g6 $132 {1/2 (32) Dubov,D (2629)-Shirov,A (2695) Moscow 2013}) 25... Ne4 26. e6 fxe6 27. f5 Nd6 28. fxe6 (28. Ba2 g6 $1 29. fxg6 h5 30. Bxe6+ Kg7 31. Rxf8 Kxf8 $132) 28... Nxc4 29. Qxc4 Qe7 30. Rxf8+ (30. h4 Rf6 31. Rfe1 Rf2+ 32. Kh3 h6 $132) 30... Kxf8 31. Qd5 g6 $14 {With a slightly worse but defendable position for Black.}) 25. Rfe1 (25. Rf3 h5 26. e5 Nd5 27. e6 fxe6 28. f5 Ne3 29. Rxe3 Bxe3 30. fxe6 Kh8 {1/2 (34) Saint Arnaud,P (2152)-Kogan,B (2289) ICCF email 2015}) (25. e5 Nd5 26. e6 fxe6 27. f5 Ne3 28. fxe6 Kh8 29. Qe4 Nxf1+ 30. Rxf1 Bf6 31. Bd3 Rxd3 32. Qxd3 h6 {1/2 (36) Lujambio,A (2088) -Domancich,E (2439) ICCF email 2020}) 25... g6 (25... Kh8 26. Rb1 Rb8 27. e5 Ng8 {1/2 (32) Poehr,A (2465)-Gerasimov,V (2507) ICCF email 2015} 28. e6 fxe6 29. Rxe6 Nf6 30. Ba2 Qd7 31. Rbe1 g6 $132) (25... Qe7 {1/2 (30) Weber,K (2313) -Cilloniz Razzeto,A (2354) ICCF email 2014} 26. Qb3 a4 27. Qxa4 g5 28. e5 Nd5 29. Bxd5 Rxd5 30. Qb3 Rd8 31. f5 c4 32. Qxc4 Bxe5 33. Rxe5 Rxd1 34. Rxe7 Rd2+ 35. Re2 Rxe2+ 36. Qxe2 b1=Q 37. f6 Qb8 38. a4 Qd8 39. a5 Qxf6 40. a6 Qa1) 26. e5 Nh5 ( 26... Nd5 27. e6 fxe6 28. Rxe6 Kh8 {1/2 (42) O'Hare,C (2450) -Broniek,M (2420) ICCF email 2016}) 27. e6 fxe6 28. Rxe6 (28. Rxd4 Rxd4 29. Rxe6 Kg7 30. Qxb2 Qd7 31. Qe2 Rd2 32. Re7+ Qxe7 33. Qxd2 Nf6 34. Bf1 (34. Qxa5 Qe3) 34... Qc7 { 1/2 (34) Rivas Maceda,J (2302)-Yanez Garcia,J (2126) ICCF email 2018}) 28... Kg7 29. Rde1 Rd7 30. Bb5 Rf7 31. Be8 Nxg3 32. Bxf7 Nf5 33. Qe4 Kxf7 $44 { 1/2 (34) Tyulenko,Y (2413)-Kohlstetter,P (2146) ICCF email 2018}) 23... Qb6 24. Kh2 (24. f4 Bd4+ 25. Kh2 Qb7 (25... g6 $1 26. e5 {is the transposition.}) 26. Rde1 Qd7 {1/2 (42) Hybl,V (2387)-Feldborg,B (2318) ICCF email 2019} 27. e5 $5 Nd5 28. Qe2 $14) 24... g6 25. f4 (25. Rfe1 Re8 26. f4 Bd4 27. e5 Nh5 28. Qc4 Re7 29. Rd3 Kg7 $132) 25... Bd4 26. e5 Nh5 (26... Ne8 $5 27. f5 Bxe5 28. Rde1 Qd6 29. fxg6 Bxg3+ 30. Kh1 Bxe1 31. gxf7+ Kh8 32. Qxb2+ Ng7 33. Rxe1 Qg3) 27. Rf3 Ng7 28. Rb3 Qa6 29. Rxd4 cxd4 30. Rxb2 Rc8 {1/2 (42) Keevil,P (2353)-Tritt, M (2394) ICCF email 2021}) 23. f4 $18 gxf4 24. gxf4 Bxf4 (24... Bd4+ $5 { creates more difficulties for White. Indeed, the position remains winning for White.} 25. Kh2 $1 {The only winning move.} (25. Kh1 c5 26. e5 Nh5 {Now, the difference between 25. Kh1 and 25. Kh2 is clearly seen. It is necessary to defend the "g3"-square in advance.} 27. Qg2+ Kh8 28. Qf3 Rg8 29. Kh2 (29. Qxh5 $4 Qb7+ 30. Qf3 Rg1+ $19) 29... Nxf4 30. Rxd4 Rg2+ 31. Kh1 cxd4 32. Qxf4 Qb7 33. Qxf7 Qxf7 34. Bxf7 Rf2 35. Rb1 Rxf7 36. Rxb2) (25. Rxd4 $6 Qb6 {The idea behind 24... Bd4+} 26. Qf2 (26. Rfd1 $4 Rd8 27. Bd5 cxd5 28. Kh2 Nxe4 $19) 26... b1=Q 27. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 28. Kh2 c5 $5 $132) 25... c5 26. e5 Ne8 (26... Nh5 $4 27. Be2 $1 Nxf4 28. Rxd4 $18) 27. Rg1+ Kh8 (27... Bxg1+ 28. Rxg1+ Kh8 29. Qxb2 Rg8 30. Rxg8+ Kxg8 31. Qg2+ Kf8 32. Qd5 $18) 28. Rg3 Ng7 29. Ba2 Qb6 30. Qe4 f5 31. Qd5 $18) 25. Qxb2 Nh5 (25... Be5 26. Qf2 Qe7 27. Qe3 Kh8 28. Kh1 $18) 26. Rd3 (26. Rf3 $1 {seems to be more precise way. Because it closes the main diagonal for the white king, which might be seen after} Qe7 27. Kh1 $1 Qxe4 28. Qg2+ Kh8 29. Bxf7 $1 $18) 26... Qe7 27. Rf2 $4 {Closing the 2nd rank for the white queen and allowing Black to regroup its pieces.} (27. Kh1 $5 {Seems to be the simplest way to increase an advantage. For example,} Be5 (27... Ng3+ 28. Rxg3+ Bxg3 29. Qg2 $18) (27... Qxe4+ 28. Qg2+ Qg6 29. Rdf3 Ng3+ 30. Rxg3 Bxg3 31. Rg1 $18) 28. Qg2+ Kh8 29. Qg4 Nf6 30. Qf5 $18) 27... Be5 $1 $132 28. Qe2 ( 28. Rd7 Qg5+ 29. Rg2 Ng3 $132) 28... Nf6 $4 {An unnecessary switch from an active play.} (28... Nf4 {equalizes.} 29. Rxf4 (29. Qg4+ Kh8 30. Rd7 Qxa3 31. Rxf7 Nxh3+ 32. Kg2 Nxf2 33. Rxh7+ Kxh7 34. Qh5+ Kg7 35. Qg5+ Kh7) 29... Bxf4 30. Qg4+ Bg5 31. Rd7 (31. h4 $2 {doesn't work due to} Kh8 $1 {Maybe, this move has been missed by Black.} (31... Qc5+ $4 {Before playing Qe7-c5+, it is necessary to close the "g"-file. Otherwise, White can mate. That's why 31... Qc5+?? doesn't work.} 32. Kh1 $18 Qxc4 $4 33. Qxg5+ Kh8 34. Qf6+ Kg8 35. Rg3#) 32. hxg5 (32. Qxg5 $4 Rg8 $19) 32... Qc5+ 33. Kg2 Qxc4 34. Rf3 Kg8 $5 $17) 31... Qc5+ $5 32. Kg2 Kh8) 29. Kh1 $1 $18 Kh8 30. Rg2 Rb8 31. Ba2 $5 { Preventing the Rb8-b1 idea in the future.} (31. Rf3 $5 $18 {is another option.} ) 31... Ne8 32. Qe3 Nd6 33. Rd1 $6 {Allows Black to activate the queen.} (33. Qc5 $1 Re8 (33... Qf6 $2 34. Rf3 $18) 34. Rf3 $18 {moves the rook to the "f"-file, which is necessary for White to increase its advantage.}) 33... Qf6 34. Rf2 (34. Rdg1 $5 $18 {preventing Qf6-g6 deserves an attention.}) 34... Qg6 35. Rg1 $6 {giving the key pawn.} (35. Rg2 $1 {It is better to move back with 35. Rg2} Qxe4 (35... Qf6 {leads to the transposition.}) (35... Qh5 36. Rdg1 h6 37. Rc1 $5 $18) 36. Qxe4 Nxe4 37. Bxf7 $18) 35... Qxe4+ 36. Qxe4 Nxe4 37. Rxf7 $4 {The final error from White missing all of the winning chances.} (37. Rfg2 $1 {Preventing the movement of the "f"-pawn.} Rf8 {The best defending move. Now, 38. Bxf7 is not possible due to 38... Ng3+. The question if the position is winning for White requires the detailed analyses, but White keeps a huge advantage and has enough paths to check. The following variaitons are two of them.} (37... Nd6 38. Rc1 Ne4 39. Re1 f5 (39... Ng3+ 40. Kg1 Bd4+ 41. Kh2 Nf5 42. Bxf7 $18) 40. Reg1 Nf6 41. Rg5 a4 42. Rxf5 Bd4 43. Rb1 Re8 44. Rf3 $18) ( 37... Bd4 38. Rf1 Nf6 39. Bxf7 $18) 38. Bb1 $5 (38. Rd1 $5 Nc3 (38... Ng3+ 39. Kg1 f5 40. Kf2 Nh5 41. Kf3 $5) 39. Rd7 Nxa2 40. Rxa2 c5 41. Ra7 Bc3 42. Rc2 Bd4 43. Rxa5 $18) 38... Nc3 39. Bd3 $18) 37... Ng3+ {Now, it is impossible to avoid an exchange loss.} 38. Kg2 Rb2+ 39. Rf2 Rxf2+ 40. Kxf2 Bd4+ 41. Kxg3 Bxg1 {1/2-1/2 The game is a draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Round 12: Richard Rapport - Fabiano Car"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Richard Rapport"] [Black "Fabiano Caruana"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [Annotator "Bajarani,Ulvi"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. h3 Be6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. Nb3 Bb6 9. Ng5 Bxb3 $1 $146 {Destroying White's structure.} (9... Qe7 $2 { gave an advantage to White in the game Sevian vs Radjabov after} 10. Nxe6 Qxe6 11. Qg4 $5 Qg6 12. Bd2 O-O-O 13. Bc3 f6 14. a4 a6 15. Nd2 Qxg4 16. hxg4 $14 { 0-1 (71) Sevian,S (2556)-Radjabov,T (2738) Baku 2015}) 10. axb3 f6 {The closed type of the position doesn't allow sides to get any significant advantage, so the game remains equal for several moves.} 11. Nf3 (11. Qh5+ $2 g6 12. Qg4 { is the tempo loss due to} Qe7 $1 $15) 11... Nc5 {Black moves the knight to the "e6"-square.} (11... Qe7 $5 $132 {it has also been possible not to rush with a knight maneuver.}) 12. Nd2 Ne6 13. Nc4 Qd7 14. h4 {Rapport tries to create an unbalanced point in the position. After the move, White deprives itself from the castling on the kingside.} (14. Qh5+ $5 g6 15. Qg4 Nd4 16. Qxd7+ Kxd7 17. Kd1 Ne6 $132) (14. O-O O-O 15. Qg4 a6 $132) 14... a6 {Defending the "a"-pawn.} (14... Bd4 $5 {the idea of the move is to provoke c2-c3 and weaken the "d3"-pawn.} 15. c3 Bb6 16. Qh5+ (16. Nxb6 cxb6 17. Be3 O-O 18. O-O c5 $132) 16... Ke7 17. Rh3 (17. Qg4 Qxd3 (17... h5 18. Qg6 Qxd3 19. Nxe5 fxe5 20. Bg5+ Nxg5 21. Qxg5+ Kf7 22. Qf5+ Kg8 23. Rd1 Qc2 24. Qe6+ Kh7) 18. Nxe5 Qb5 (18... fxe5 $4 19. Bg5+ Nxg5 20. Qxg5+ Kf7 21. Qf5+ Kg8 22. Rd1 Qc2 23. Qe6+ Kf8 24. O-O Qxe4 25. Rd7 Qg6 26. Qe7+ Kg8 27. Rd8+ Rxd8 28. Qxd8+ Kf7 29. Qxh8 $18) 19. Nc4 Qxb3 20. e5 h5 21. Qe2 f5 22. Bg5+ Nxg5 23. hxg5 Rad8 24. e6 Qb5 25. O-O f4 $132) 17... Nc5 18. Rg3 g6 19. Qh6 Rag8 20. Nxb6 axb6 21. Be3 Nxd3+ (21... Nxb3 22. Rd1 Ke6 $1 {Preparing the queen trade with Qd7-g7.} (22... c5 $6 23. f4 exf4 24. Qxf4 Re8 25. d4 cxd4 26. cxd4 Kd8 27. Qxf6+ Kc8 28. Rf3 Qg4 29. Kf1 Qxe4 30. Kg1 $14) 23. f4 (23. d4 Qg7 24. Rf3 Qxh6 25. Bxh6 b5 26. g3 Na5 27. dxe5 fxe5 28. Bg5 Rf8 29. Rfd3 Rf7 30. Rd8 $44) 23... Qg7 24. fxe5 Qxh6 25. Bxh6 fxe5 $44) 22. Kf1 Nc5 23. Bxc5+ bxc5 24. Kg1 Kf7 25. h5 Qd8 $44) 15. h5 $6 {Allows Black to keep its bishop.} (15. Qh5+ {Provoking g7-g6 for the future h4-h5.} g6 (15... Qf7 $2 {The endgame is in the favor of White because of the fact that it is very difficult to disturb the white king for Black without the black queen.} 16. Qxf7+ Kxf7 17. g3 $14) 16. Qf3 Rf8 17. h5 Nd4 18. Qd1 O-O-O $132) (15. Nxb6 cxb6 16. Be3 c5 $132) 15... O-O-O $6 {Caruana allows the trade, not keeping the bishop.} (15... Bd4 $1 {might have given Black a slight advantage.} 16. Be3 O-O-O $15 {Black's pieces are more active.}) (15... Bc5 $5 $15 {is another alternative keeping the bishop.}) (15... Ba7 $5 $15 {Even this move gives better chances. Indeed, the best move is 15... Bd4!}) 16. Nxb6+ cxb6 17. Be3 $132 {Now, White is OK.} c5 18. Qg4 Kb8 19. g3 {Rapport prepares f2-f4. } g6 $6 {It is usually not recommended to play on the weaker side if it is not necessary. In this situation, however, it is necessary to prevent White's game with f6-f5. The drawback of the move is that it creates the tension on the "h"-file, and restricts the "h8"-rook.} (19... Rhf8 $5 {is one of the options keeping an equality.} 20. O-O-O f5 $1 {The tactical trick equalizing the game.} 21. exf5 Nd4 $132) 20. O-O-O $14 Qf7 21. f4 exf4 22. Bxf4+ {Opening the "f"-file.} (22. gxf4 f5 23. Qg2 Ka7 $14 {It is hard for White to break the position.}) 22... Ka7 23. Rdf1 f5 24. Qh3 Qf6 25. Kb1 (25. Be3 {allows Black to centralize the queen with} Qe5 $132) 25... Rhf8 26. Rf2 Qe7 $2 {Creates the problems for the "f5"-pawn.} (26... Nd4 $132 {keeps the chances equal.}) 27. Bh6 Rf6 28. Qh4 $6 {Puts the white queen under an attack and loses all of the slight advantage.} (28. exf5 {It has been necessary to capture the "f5"-pawn.} Rxf5 (28... gxf5 29. Bd2 $14) 29. Rxf5 gxf5 30. Qxf5 Nd4 31. Qf2 (31. Qe4 Qf7 $1 {The threat is Rd8-e8.} 32. Be3 Re8 33. Qf4 Qd5 34. Rf1 Nxb3 35. g4 Qg2 36. cxb3 Rxe3 37. Qxe3 Qxf1+ 38. Ka2 Qd1) 31... Re8 32. b4 Qe5 33. bxc5 (33. Bf4 Qd5 34. Re1 Rxe1+ 35. Qxe1 Qg2) (33. Bc1 cxb4 $5 (33... Re6 34. h6 Ne2 35. bxc5 Nxc1 36. Kxc1 bxc5 $14 {with good chances to draw the game for Black.}) 34. Rh4 Nc6 35. Re4 Qxh5 36. g4 Qg6 37. Be3 Rxe4 38. Bxb6+ Kb8 39. dxe4 Qxg4 40. Qf8+ Qc8 41. Qf7 b3 42. Qxb3 Qf8) 33... Qxc5 34. Bg7 Nf5 35. Qxc5 bxc5 36. Bc3 Nxg3 37. Rg1 Nf5 (37... Nxh5 $2 38. Rg5 Nf4 39. Rxc5 $16) 38. b4 Kb6 39. bxc5+ Kxc5 $14 {with good chances to draw the game for Black.}) 28... Rg8 $1 {the g6-g5 idea closing the "d8-h4" diagonal for the white queen saves the Black's position.} 29. exf5 g5 $1 {The idea behind 28... Rg8!} 30. Qe4 (30. Qc4 b5 31. Qd5 Rxh6 32. fxe6 Rxe6) 30... Qd6 31. fxe6 Rxf2 32. Bxg5 (32. e7 Qxh6 33. e8=Q Rxe8 34. Qxe8 Qf8 $5) 32... Rxg5 33. e7 Re5 34. e8=Q Rxe8 35. Qxe8 Qxg3 36. Qe4 (36. Re1 $5 $132 {activating the rook is also possible.}) 36... h6 37. Qg6 { Rapport tries to trade the queen.} Qe3 38. Qg1 Qe2 39. Qd1 Qxd1+ {Caruana trades the queens. Otherwise, it is impossible Black to progress.} 40. Rxd1 Rh2 41. d4 {After the trade of a pawn pair, the white rook becomes active and the position becomes drawn.} cxd4 (41... Rxh5 $5 42. dxc5 bxc5 43. Rd8 $15 { Doesn't change White's draw chances.}) 42. Rxd4 Rxh5 43. Rd6 b5 44. b4 Rh4 45. b3 Kb8 46. Kb2 Kc7 47. Rg6 h5 48. Rh6 Kd7 49. Ka3 Rh1 50. c4 bxc4 51. bxc4 h4 52. Rh7+ Kc6 {1/2-1/2 The game is a draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "12"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2783"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitao"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 {Another anti-Berlin with the bishop capture on c6. These positions are deceptively simple. They are full of nuances, and it's not so easy for Black to equalize as it appears at first sight.} 6. h3 {Rapport has a fondness for these little pawn moves, as he demonstrated several times in the tournament.} Be6 7. Nbd2 Nd7 {Now the knight has two different routes.} 8. Nb3 (8. Nf1 {is also possible.}) 8... Bb6 (8... Bd6 9. Na5 $1 {would be similar to the game Caruana played against Nakamura in the first round.}) 9. Ng5 Bxb3 $1 {A new move. Caruana is not afraid to open the a-file. This capture has the benefit that he can win a tempo attacking the knight with the useful f7-f6 move.} (9... Qe7 10. Nxe6 Qxe6 11. Qg4 Qg6 {was played in Sevian-Radjabov, Baku 2015.}) 10. axb3 f6 11. Nf3 Nc5 12. Nd2 {The knights are surely working in this game $1 It's time to pursue happiness on the c4-square.} Ne6 13. Nc4 Qd7 14. h4 {Another subtle pawn move by Rapport. That's kind of his trademark already. He wants to gain space on the kingside with h4-h5. A lesser player, like myself, would think only about developing the d2-bishop.} a6 {Caruana prepares to retreat the bishop or just castle queenside without losing to Nxb6.} (14... O-O {This doesn't look so dangerous for Black.}) 15. h5 (15. Nxb6 {is more accurate, not giving the bishop any chances.}) 15... O-O-O {I'd rather remove the bishop from b6 now.} (15... Ba7) (15... Bd4 $5 {is my favorite.}) 16. Nxb6+ $1 cxb6 17. Be3 c5 18. Qg4 Kb8 {As I teach my students: always play Kb1 or Kb8 first thing after castling queenside. It may not be the most precise in some cases, but it's hardly a bad move.} 19. g3 {Preparing the only possible plan: to play f2-f4.} g6 (19... Rhf8 $1 20. O-O-O f5 $1 21. exf5 Nd4 {is the computer way to equalize.}) 20. O-O-O {During the game, I believed White was slightly better at this point. The bishop against the knight might not be a particular advantage here, but White has some unpleasant activity on the kingside.} Qf7 21. f4 exf4 22. Bxf4+ {This is the right choice. White wants to press using the f-file.} (22. gxf4 f5 23. Qf3 {White doesn't have much.}) 22... Ka7 (22... Ka8 {In hindsight, this might've been a better square for the king, at least in some cases, as we will see later.}) 23. Rdf1 f5 $1 {Caruana plays with utmost precision.} 24. Qh3 Qf6 25. Kb1 {It may not be the best move, but we can't call it a bad one. I believe I wrote this somewhere.} Rhf8 26. Rf2 Qe7 $1 {Precise calculation. Caruana wants to capture on e4.} (26... fxe4 $4 27. Bb8+ {This would not be possible with the king on a8, but it's probably too much to foresee all these non-forcing moves when choosing the square for the king.}) 27. Bh6 {But what to do after this move $2 Now we begin a game of cat and mouse.} Rf6 $1 28. Qh4 $1 (28. exf5 gxf5 {and the f-pawn cannot be captured because the bishop is hanging.}) 28... Rg8 $1 29. exf5 g5 $1 30. Qe4 $1 Qd6 $1 {Maybe I should stop giving exclamation marks now. But I wanted to stress how well calculated this sequence was.} (30... Rxh6 $6 31. Re2 $1 Re8 32. Rhe1 Qf7 33. fxe6 Rhxe6 34. Qxe6 Rxe6 35. Rxe6 Qxh5 {and only White can win this position.}) 31. fxe6 Rxf2 32. Bxg5 $1 Rxg5 (32... Qxg3 $4 33. Bh4) 33. e7 Re5 34. e8=Q Rxe8 35. Qxe8 Qxg3 {We can finally breathe. The draw is close.} 36. Qe4 $6 (36. Re1 $1 {is more accurate.} Qg2 37. Qh8 $1 {This is the idea. The queen must protect b2.} Rf1 (37... Rxc2 $4 38. Re8 {with a decisive attack.} b5 39. Ra8+ Kb6 40. Qd8+ Kc6 41. Rc8#) 38. Rxf1 Qxf1+ 39. Ka2 {with a draw.}) 36... h6 37. Qg6 Qe3 38. Qg1 Qe2 39. Qd1 {Rapport decides to go for a rook ending a pawn down, but it's not too difficult to secure a draw.} (39. Qc1 { is too passive. He will have to play Qd1 sooner or later.}) 39... Qxd1+ 40. Rxd1 Rh2 41. d4 $1 cxd4 (41... Rxh5 42. dxc5 bxc5 (42... Rxc5 43. Rd6) 43. Rd6 {is also an easy draw.}) 42. Rxd4 Rxh5 43. Rd6 b5 44. b4 Rh4 45. b3 {White prepares c2-c4, and this is just a draw.} Kb8 46. Kb2 Kc7 47. Rg6 h5 48. Rh6 Kd7 49. Ka3 Rh1 50. c4 bxc4 51. bxc4 h4 52. Rh7+ Kc6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "12"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D46"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitao"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 {The Semi-Slav is one of the most reliable defenses for Black against 1.d4. It's solid but also gives winning chances. No wonder this is GM Alexey Shirov's favorite. More about him later.} 5. e3 (5. Bg5 {is the more aggressive option.}) 5... Nbd7 6. Qc2 (6. Bd3 { was Vladimir Kramnik's choice in his World Championship match against Viswanathan Anand. He went down in two games with White in this variation.}) 6... Bd6 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 (10. Be2 {is also critical.} ) 10... Bb7 11. a3 {Still following one of the main lines. White's idea is to avoid b5-b4 and also prepare the typical b2-b4.} a5 (11... a6 {is possible, and now White must choose between 12.Ng5 or 12.b4.}) (11... Rc8 {This move was played in some important recent games, with big complications. Duda probably had something in store against it.} 12. b4 a5 13. Rb1 axb4 (13... c5 $5 { is also possible.}) 14. axb4 c5 $5 {and some games ended in perpetual check after} 15. bxc5 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Nxc5 $1 17. dxc5 Rxc5 18. Rxb5 Nd5 19. Rxc5 Qg5+ 20. Kh1 Qh5 21. f4 Qf3+) 12. e4 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. h3 Ba6 { This is an important moment. The position is common in correspondence games, so theory is highly developed. White has two moves that are more popular than Duda's choice.} 16. Be3 (16. Rd1) (16. Rb1 {This curious move has been the choice in most recent correspondence games.}) 16... b4 {Played after a long think. I suppose Firouzja was out of book here.} 17. Bxa6 bxc3 18. Bc4 cxb2 19. Rad1 Qe7 $1 {An important move, sacrificing the exchange.} (19... Qb8 $6 20. f4 Bc7 21. e5 {gave White an advantage in Aronian-Shirov, Novi Sad 2009.}) 20. Bc5 {It looks like Black has just blundered, but it's a well-calculated sacrifice. This has actually already been played in a few games.} (20. f4 {doesn't work anymore.} Bd6 21. e5 Bxa3 {and Black is better.}) 20... Qc7 21. Bxf8 Rxf8 { Both players apparently didn't know all the details, but this position was tried in one of Shirov's games and also passed the difficult test of correspondence chess. We can assume that Black is fine here. The compensation for the exchange might not seem very clear at first sight. Yes, Black has this b2-pawn, but it looks vulnerable. What is he going to do once White prepares f2-f4 $2 That's exactly the question Duda posed right now.} (21... Kxf8 { is also possible, but correspondence players usually prefer capturing with the rook.}) 22. g3 g5 $2 {The third consecutive game where Firzouja makes a blunder with a pawn move. It seems that he has lost his sense of danger.} ( 22... c5 $1 {was played in all games. Black secures the d4-square for the bishop.} 23. f4 Bd4+ 24. Kh2 Qb7 (24... Rd8 $1 {is the choice of correspondence players. All games ended in a draw, as usual.}) 25. Rfe1 Rb8 26. Ba2 g6 {and the game later ended in a draw: Dubov-Shirov, Moscow 2013.}) 23. f4 $1 {A simple refutation.} gxf4 24. gxf4 Bxf4 (24... Bd4+ {This surprising move didn't cross my mind until I decided to check the game with a computer.} 25. Kh2 (25. Rxd4 $2 Qb6) 25... c5 26. e5 {and white is winning.}) 25. Qxb2 Nh5 { Another move that surprised me.} (25... Be5 {I expected this.} 26. Qe2 { The compensation is not enough. White should win.}) 26. Rd3 Qe7 27. Rf2 $2 { Missing an immediate win.} (27. Kh1 $1 {This is the simplest.} Qxe4+ (27... Ng3+ 28. Rxg3+ Bxg3 29. Qg2 {wins the bishop.}) (27... Be5 28. Qf2 Kh8 29. Rf3 f6 30. Rg1 Ng7 31. Rd3 {with an easy win.}) 28. Qg2+ Qxg2+ (28... Qg6 29. Rdf3 $1) 29. Kxg2 {With an easy win in the endgame.}) 27... Be5 {Now Black somehow organizes his pieces.} 28. Qe2 Nf6 $2 (28... Nf4 $3 {This looks like a blunder, but it's actually a brilliant move.} 29. Rxf4 Bxf4 30. Qg4+ Bg5 31. Rg3 $1 (31. h4 {White seems to be winning, but always be careful with your opponent's resources.} Kh8 $3 32. hxg5 (32. Qxg5 Rg8) 32... Qc5+ {and now Black is better $1}) 31... h6 32. h4 Qc5+ 33. Kh2 Qxc4 34. hxg5 h5 $1 35. Qxh5 Rd8 {and Black escapes with a deserved draw.}) 29. Kh1 Kh8 30. Rg2 Rb8 31. Ba2 {There are other moves, but there's nothing wrong with this one.} Ne8 {An unexpected maneuver.} (31... Rb2 32. Rd2 {And White wins. I ask the reader to offer me poetic license to show a seemingly irrelevant variation that showcases one of my favorite drawing themes in chess.} Qxa3 $4 33. Rxb2 $4 (33. Rd8+ {mates.}) 33... Qxh3+ 34. Rh2 Bxh2 35. Qxh2 Qf1+ 36. Qg1 Qh3+ 37. Rh2 Qf3+ {This is a fantastic drawing pattern. As a child, I remember watching this type of perpetual and just couldn't believe there was no way to block the checks even with two heavy pieces. But I learned my lesson and used this same idea to make a draw against GM Leonid Kritz in 2004.}) (31... c5 $5 {[%CAl Ge5d4]}) 32. Qe3 (32. Rb3 $18) 32... Nd6 33. Rd1 Qf6 34. Rf2 (34. Rdg1 {with the idea of Rf2 and White has an easy win.}) 34... Qg6 35. Rg1 $6 (35. Rg2) 35... Qxe4+ 36. Qxe4 Nxe4 37. Rxf7 $4 {This allows Firouzja to escape with a draw.} (37. Rfg2 $1 {White is just winning in this endgame. Black's pawns are too weak, and the rooks are very active.}) 37... Ng3+ 38. Kg2 Rb2+ 39. Rf2 Rxf2+ 40. Kxf2 Bd4+ { A game both players would like to forget as soon as possible.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.07.01"] [Round "12"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2806"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "samsh"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. a3 {This variation has become a very hot trend as of late, and I have no idea why. Vidit has lost this position three times with the black pieces, but he always seemed better out of the opening in all three games $1 In more recent times, it seems like the variation is one you choose when you want to lose with White to a lower-rated player, and badly—the So-Sevian game comes to mind as well. According to my understanding of chess, it cannot be right to go for a Carlsbad structure with the c1-bishop looked inside the pawn chain.} Bd6 8. Qc2 Na6 {This move has already been tried by Oparin in 2022, and he is generally very well prepared. It looks a bit weird to me and I certainly don't think it is the only way to a comfortable position, but Black should be fine.} (8... c6 {This move looks incredibly obvious to me, and no recent games or engine analysis have done anything to convince me that Black does not have the more comfortable side of equality.}) 9. Nge2 (9. Nf3 {In hindsight, this may have been a safer way to develop the knight, though Black is surely fine here as well.}) (9. Bxa6 $2 {Doubling the pawns plays right into Black's hands. The bishop was White's best piece, and he is in no position to make use of Black's weakened queenside structure.} bxa6 {With …Re8 and …Ne4 coming soon, Black has a built-in kingside attack and looks clearly for choice.}) 9... c5 10. Bxa6 bxa6 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. b4 (12. O-O {In light of the calamity that came later, Ding was well advised to get castled here. It was actually his last moment to do so $1 I presume he did not like that after} a5 $11 {He is unable to push b2-b4 as he did in the game, and Black should be fine here. But White is not going to get crushed and it's just a normal game.}) 12... Bd6 $1 13. Bb2 { Ding's reluctance to castle into an attack is understandable, but his king will not be any safer in the center.} (13. O-O {I suppose White could castle here as well. …Bxh2+ looks very scary but does not quite work.} Bxh2+ (13... Re8 {A simple developing move like this one should be preferred. Black can look to sac on h2 in a move or two, and h2-h3 always can be met with some kind of …Bd7, …Qc8, and sac on h3. The machine claims this is equal, but it looks very scary for White to me.}) 14. Kxh2 Ng4+ 15. Kg3 Qg5 16. f4 Qh5 17. Nd4 $1 {With a bunch of only moves, White beats back the attack and should be much better.}) 13... a5 14. b5 $6 {This feels way too ambitious.} (14. O-O { Even at the cost of a pawn, I think White needed to evacuate. After} axb4 15. axb4 Bxb4 16. Ba3 {White has fair compensation and should not be worse.}) 14... a6 $1 {Now it truly is too late. White never got another decent moment to castle.} 15. h3 (15. O-O Qc7 $1 {Black gains a tempo by hitting h2, and will take the b5-pawn next.}) 15... Bd7 16. bxa6 Rxa6 17. Rd1 (17. O-O Qc8 $1 { There is not a thing White can do about a sac on h3 coming on the next move, and in time, the rook on a6 can even lift to g6 or h6. In human terms, White should be done for here.}) 17... Rb6 18. Rd2 {I'm not sure what this move was all about—I guess maybe Ding wanted to castle and then be able to move the c3-knight after …Qc8. But it feels way too slow. Still, there were already no good moves $1 It's hard to play an open position with your king in the center and your rook out of play.} (18. O-O Qc8 $1 {Again, this would lead to a deadly sacrifice on h3.}) 18... Qc8 {Apparently …Qb8 was even stronger, but who cares. White cannot castle, ever, and Black should win routinely.} 19. f3 {I guess if White really can't castle, it makes some sense to try to play Kf2, but it's hard to imagine this working. Radjabov did not hesitate with the punishment.} (19. O-O {It's very sad that this is White's best chance.} Bxh3 20. Qd3 $1 {By some miracle, Black does not have a direct win here, and is only up a pawn for nothing. Fine, he will win on move 45 instead of 25.}) 19... Re8 $1 20. Kf2 Qb8 {Black is now threatening to take on e3, and there is more or less nothing White can do about it. Ding allowed the threat to be executed, but other moves would not have saved him.} (20... Rxe3 $2 {Black is not ready for this yet.} 21. Kxe3 Bc5+ 22. Nd4 $18 {The winning move in this position is Qe5+. So, Radjabov put the queen on b8 before going for the sac.}) 21. Qc1 (21. Nd1 {This looks like the most resilient defense to me, overprotecting e3 and looking to anchor the bishop on d4. There is no direct breakthrough for Black, but after a simple move like} Nh5 {My computer gives a -3.5 evaluation. Still, this felt like the way to go since Black can't just start taking stuff.}) 21... Rxe3 $1 {The rook is immune from capture. I can't think of a compelling reason for White to continue this game any further, but Ding played a few more moves.} 22. Nd1 (22. Kxe3 Bc5+ 23. Nd4 Qe5+ {White is done for.}) 22... Re8 {Nice and simple, no need to anything messy. …Rxe2+ worked, but retreating the rook and continuing the devastating attack with extra material is the professional way to go.} 23. Ne3 Rb3 24. Ng4 (24. Bd4 Bxa3 $5 {Why not $2 White is getting killed in the center and is also down two pawns for dead nothing.}) 24... Bxg4 25. hxg4 Rc8 26. Qa1 Bf4 {White had seen enough. The rook on h1 never moved once, and playing an open game with a lot of open lines without five points of material is not a recipe for success. A tough loss for Ding, especially after he really found his form and played very well to score three wins in a row, but I don't think he would have had any serious chance of winning the tournament at this point anyway. 0-} 0-1