[Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.12"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Ivanchuk, Vasyl"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2835"] [BlackElo "2667"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,85,26,26,26,24,24,13,15,-12,20,-10,6,-17,31,35,20,15,27,-20,-33,-15,-4,-2,20,15,36,19,29,-1,-22,-32,-22,-22,-24,-4,0,-1,0,-9,16,13,20,19,35,10,17,17,9,9,38,20,14,9,5,1,13,23,21,45,39,51,16,41,68,25,39,32,91,77,93,85,192,177,194,97,105,105,194,173,156,156,153,153,153,147,147,193]} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 Nf6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 c6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. Bf4 O-O 9. h4 {Quite rare (nine previous games), but two of them featured Carlsen. This one makes three, and Carlsen has gone 3-0 with it.} (9. O-O {This position has arisen literally thousands of times.}) 9... dxc4 $146 {Possibly best, and certainly a good option. Chuky is prepared.} (9... b6 10. Nc3 Bb7 (10... Ba6 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. O-O b5 13. a3 Rc8 14. Rfc1 Bb7 15. Qb3 a6 16. Na2 Rc4 17. e3 h6 18. Nd2 Rxc1+ 19. Rxc1 Qa8 20. Bc7 Rc8 21. Ba5 Ne8 22. Qd1 Nd6 23. Rxc8+ Qxc8 24. Bb4 Nb6 25. Nc1 Nbc4 26. Nd3 a5 27. Bc5 a4 28. Nxc4 dxc4 29. Nb4 Bxg2 30. Kxg2 Nf5 31. e4 Qb7 32. Kf3 e5 33. Nd5 Bxc5 34. dxc5 Nd4+ 35. Kg2 Kf8 36. f4 Qc6 37. Qh5 f5 38. fxe5 fxe4 39. e6 Qxe6 40. Nf4 Qf5 41. Qd1 g5 42. hxg5 hxg5 43. Qxd4 gxf4 44. c6 fxg3 45. c7 Kf7 46. Qa7 Kg6 47. Qe3 Kf7 48. Qxg3 Qe6 49. Qh3 Qg6+ 50. Kh1 Qf6 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2864)-Ding,L (2799) Charity Cup KO chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (2.23)}) 11. e4 dxe4 12. Ng5 c5 13. d5 exd5 14. cxd5 Nh5 15. Be3 f5 16. Ne6 Qb8 17. g4 fxg4 18. Bxe4 Ndf6 19. Nxf8 Qxf8 20. O-O-O Bd6 21. Bf5 Re8 22. Rhe1 Kh8 23. Kb1 a6 24. Bg5 b5 25. Re6 Rd8 26. Ne4 Bf4 27. Bxf6 Nxf6 28. Nxf6 gxf6 29. Qe4 Be5 30. Qxg4 c4 31. Qh5 Qg8 32. Re7 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2852)-Sarana,A (2668) Airthings Masters Div 1 W Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (1.1)}) 10. Qxc4 Nd5 (10... Qb6 $11 {is a logical alternative.}) 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 $11 13. e4 (13. Nc3) 13... N5b6 14. Qc3 e5 $1 15. O-O (15. dxe5 $6 Na4 16. Qc2 Qb4+ 17. Nbd2 Qxb2 $15) (15. Nxe5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Na4 17. Qc2 Qxe5 18. Nc3 $8 Nxc3 19. Qxc3 {leaves Black with the better "equality" after the queen moves two squares along any diagonal except to g3.}) 15... exd4 16. Qxd4 Nc5 17. Rc1 Na6 {Not bad. It was also possible to boldly capture on e4.} (17... Nxe4 $1 18. Re1 f5 19. Nc3 Rd8 20. Qe3 Nd5 21. Nxd5 cxd5 22. Rad1 a5 $11 {White has enough for the pawn, but not more.}) 18. Nbd2 Bg4 19. Bf1 Rad8 20. Qe3 Nc7 (20... f5 $142 $11) 21. a4 Nc8 {That's a lot of knight moves, and they keep going to stranger and stranger squares.} 22. a5 Bxf3 $2 {Unless there's some tactical justification for this - and I'm not seeing what it's supposed to be - it's odd to give up a good bishop for a superfluous knight (the knight on d2 was mostly serving as a backup to its mate).} (22... Rfe8 {was still equal.}) ({Likewise} 22... Nd6 {.}) 23. Nxf3 $16 a6 24. Ra4 Rfe8 25. e5 Nd5 26. Qb3 Na7 27. Bd3 Nb5 $2 (27... Nc7 $16 {, heading for e6, was better.}) 28. Bb1 $18 {Not long ago the idea of White quickly deciding the game with a kingside attack seemed highly implausible. Now, with moves like Qc2 and Rg4 on tap, it looks almost obvious. Of course Ivanchuk made a couple of mistakes to get into the soup, but it's still a testament to Carlsen's skill that he is so thoroughly ready to take advantage.} h5 29. Re1 $1 {Now there are also e5-e6 ideas for Black to worry about.} Ndc7 30. Qc2 $1 {If White waits, Black will have ...Ne6-f8 to cover the h7 square without creating any further weaknesses around his king.} g6 31. Ba2 {This shift is known from IQP middlegames. The bishop has done its duty on the b1-h7 diagonal by inducing ...e6; now it's time to switch to another useful diagonal. The immediate threat is 32.Qxg6+.} Kg7 32. Ng5 $2 (32. g4 $1 $18 {was best, threatening to wreck Black's kingside, and if Black takes on g4 the obvious response 33.Rxg4 leaves Black with real worries about the g6 square.}) 32... Rf8 $6 (32... Nd5 $142 $16 {/+- improves Black's lot somewhat, though he's still in serious trouble.}) 33. e6 $6 $16 (33. Qe4 $18) 33... f6 $2 (33... Nd4 $1 34. Rxd4 Rxd4 35. Nf3 Rb4 36. exf7 Qf6 37. Ne5 Rd4 $16) 34. Bb1 $1 $18 f5 (34... fxg5 35. Qxg6+ Kh8 36. Qxh5+ Kg8 37. Qg6+ Kh8 (37... Qg7 38. Qxg7+ Kxg7 39. e7 $18) 38. hxg5 {Threatening Rh4, mating.} Nd4 {Stopping that threat, but big deal - White has more than one rook!} 39. Kg2 $18 {Stopping mate requires Black to put the queen on g7 so the king will have g8; unfortunately, that once again allows the e6-e7 fork.}) 35. Qc1 ({Funnily enough, the best move was to once again switch the bishop back to the a2-g8 diagonal, now that it has (again) done its job on the b1-h7 line.} 35. Ba2 $1 $18) 35... Rd5 $2 (35... Rd6 $142) 36. Ba2 {With tempo.} Rc5 37. Qe3 Nd5 38. Qd2 $1 Rf6 39. b4 Rc3 40. Bxd5 cxd5 41. Qxd5 {Simple greed, and it's good. Black's pieces are mostly bad, and White's e-pawn and attacking chances force Ivanchuk to remain in a passive defensive crouch. If he waits, the game will end once White gets the a4-rook back into the action.} f4 {Not a bad idea. White should probably ignore this and bring the wayward rook back into the game with 42.Ra2 or 42.Ra1.} 42. gxf4 $6 Rf5 43. Qe4 {Black's position is thoroughly lost, but then it has been lost for quite some time now. It doesn't seem even worse than it had been, so I'm wondering if he lost on time rather than resigning.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.12"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Abasov, Nijat"] [Black "Salem, A.R. Saleh"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2632"] [BlackElo "2661"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,107,20,20,28,29,14,15,51,13,13,18,30,27,43,44,55,35,35,25,22,19,7,-21,-11,-31,-22,-22,9,-6,8,15,15,4,5,7,4,14,3,-45,-23,-25,-5,-22,-21,-25,22,10,10,0,6,13,31,29,30,29,34,34,31,31,31,29,39,55,32,30,31,15,43,32,26,29,112,103,105,51,3,8,58,58,92,68,63,92,120,88,103,81,114,103,103,117,92,65,133,129,93,93,247,206,324,297,297,321,359,329,521,365,1473,1479]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 g6 4. Nbd2 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6. c3 b6 7. Be2 c5 8. O-O Nc6 9. Ne5 Bb7 10. Qa4 Qc8 11. b4 c4 12. Bf3 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Ne4 14. Bxe4 dxe4 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Qb5 Qe6 17. a4 Bd5 18. a5 Rfb8 19. Qa4 b5 20. Qc2 f5 21. Rae1 Rf8 22. f3 g5 23. fxe4 fxe4 24. Rxf8 Rxf8 25. Qd1 Kg6 26. Nf1 h6 27. Ng3 a6 28. Rf1 Rxf1+ 29. Kxf1 Kg7 30. Ke1 Bc6 31. Qh5 Qc8 32. Kf2 Bd5 33. Kg1 Bc6 34. h4 Be8 35. Qe2 gxh4 36. Nxe4 h3 37. g3 $2 (37. Nc5 $18) 37... Qf5 $11 38. Nf2 Qb1+ 39. Kh2 Qc1 40. Qg4+ Bg6 41. Qe6 Qxc3 42. Qxe7+ Bf7 43. Qe5+ Kf8 44. Qd6+ Kg8 45. Qxa6 Qxe3 46. Qf6 c3 47. a6 Bd5 48. a7 Bf3 $4 (48... c2 49. Qg6+ Kh8 50. Qxc2 Qf3 51. Qc8+ Kh7 52. Qc7+ $11 {and White needs to make a perpetual to draw.}) 49. Kxh3 $18 c2 50. Qg6+ Kh8 51. Qxc2 Qxd4 52. Qf5 Qe3 53. Nd3 Be4 54. Qe5+ {White will promote next, either enjoying two queens to Black's one or one queen to Black's none.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.12"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Sarana, Alexey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B45"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [BlackElo "2685"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 (6. Nxc6 {is more critical IMO, but transposing to the Sveshnikov (what Dominguez does) - or rather, trying to - isn't a bad approach either.}) 6... Bb4 {a solid line (at least when White plays 7.a3), but not an equalizer.} (6... d6 7. Bf4 e5 8. Bg5 a6 {transposes to the main line Sveshnikov, with each player needing an extra move to get there. For Black, it was ...e6 and then ...e5, while for White it was the bishop's stutter-step to f4 and only then to g5.}) 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 9. exd5 exd5 (9... Nxd5 {is less popular, though it has been played in many games as well.}) 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O Bg4 12. f3 Bh5 13. Bg5 Qb6+ 14. Kh1 Ne4 {It all looks spectacular - and it is - but this is the 68th game to reach this position. The players are still making others' moves.} 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Bxe4 Qxb2 17. Qd6 (17. Qb1 {had been the main move, when Black's best is probably} Qb6 18. Qxb6 axb6 19. Rfb1 Bg6 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21. Rxb6 $11 {and now either ..Bxc2 or ...h6 (or ...f6) first and only then ...Bxc2 equalizes. This position has been reached in six previous games, all of which were drawn. Here's a very high-level battle between two world championship finalists:} h6 22. Bf4 Bxc2 23. Rxc6 Rfc8 24. Bc7 Ba4 25. Rc3 f6 26. h4 h5 27. Kh2 Kf7 28. Rac1 Bd7 29. Kg3 Ra4 30. Bb6 Rxc3 31. Rxc3 g5 32. hxg5 fxg5 33. Bd8 Kg6 34. Rd3 h4+ 35. Kh2 Bf5 36. Rd6+ Kh5 37. Rf6 Bc8 38. Rc6 Bf5 39. Be7 Rd4 40. Rf6 Bd7 41. Rf8 Kg6 42. Rd8 Rd1 43. Bc5 Kf7 44. Bf2 g4 45. fxg4 Bxg4 46. Ra8 Rd2 47. Ra7+ Ke6 48. Ra6+ Kd7 49. Ra4 Bf3 50. Kg1 Rd1+ 51. Kh2 Rd2 52. Kg1 Rd1+ 53. Kh2 Rd2 {½-½ Nepomniachtchi,I (2792)-Caruana,F (2758) Sinquefield Cup 9th Saint Louis 2022 (6)}) 17... Bg6 (17... Qc3 $146 {is also worth considering.}) 18. Rab1 Qc3 19. Bd5 (19. Rxb7 Bxe4 20. fxe4 Qc4 21. Qd3 Ne5 22. Qxc4 Nxc4 23. a4 Nd6 24. Re7 Rfe8 25. e5 Rxe7 26. Bxe7 Nc4 27. Re1 Re8 28. Bc5 a6 29. Bd4 Re6 30. Bc3 Rc6 31. Bd4 Re6 32. Bc3 Rc6 33. Bd4 Re6 {½-½ Xu,Y (2527)-Bai,J (2557) CHN-chT Hangzhou 2023 (1.1)}) (19. Bxg6 hxg6 20. Rxb7 Rac8 21. Qd3 Qa5 22. Bd2 Qa4 23. Be3 Rfe8 24. Qd5 Nd8 25. Rxa7 Qxc2 26. Bb6 Qe2 27. Rg1 Ne6 28. a4 Qb2 29. a5 Rf8 30. Rb7 Qe2 31. Rd7 Rc2 32. Qd3 Qxd3 33. Rxd3 Ra2 34. Rgd1 Rc8 35. R3d2 Ra4 36. g3 Ra3 37. Kg2 g5 38. Rf1 Rcc3 39. Rff2 g6 40. Rc2 Rcb3 41. Rb2 Rd3 42. Rfd2 Rxf3 43. a6 g4 44. a7 Kg7 45. Ra2 Rfd3 46. Re2 {1-0 Ptacnikova,L (2183)-Bakalarz,G (2068) Olympiad Women-37 Turin 2006 (4)}) 19... Rab8 $146 {An improvement over the earlier game.} (19... Rac8 20. Rxb7 Nd4 21. Qd7 Qxc2 22. Rg1 Qf2 23. Qe7 Nf5 24. Qb4 h6 25. Bf4 a5 26. Qxa5 Rc5 27. Qb6 Qd4 28. Be4 Rfc8 29. Rb8 Rxb8 30. Qxb8+ Kh7 31. Qb6 Qc4 32. Qb1 Qa4 33. Qb4 Rc4 34. Qxa4 Rxa4 35. Bc1 Nd6 36. Bxg6+ Kxg6 37. Rd1 Nb5 38. Bb2 h5 39. Kg1 f6 40. Kf2 Ra6 41. Rd3 Nd6 42. Ke2 Kf5 43. Kd1 g5 44. Kc2 Nc4 45. Rc3 Ne5 46. Bc1 g4 47. f4 Ng6 48. g3 h4 49. Rc4 h3 50. a4 Nh4 51. Rc5+ Kg6 52. gxh4 g3 53. h5+ Kh6 54. Rc3 Rc6 55. f5+ Kxh5 56. Bf4 g2 57. Be3 Ra6 58. Ra3 Kg4 59. Kd2 Kxf5 60. a5 Kg4 61. Ke2 f5 62. Ra4+ Kh5 63. Kf3 f4 64. Bg1 Kg5 65. Ra1 Kf5 66. Bb6 Kg5 67. Kf2 Kg4 68. Rd1 {1-0 Sindarov,J (2587)-Jumabayev,R (2658) FIDE Grand Swiss Riga 2021 (6)}) 20. h4 Nd4 (20... Bxc2 $142 21. Rfc1 h6 $1 22. Bxc6 (22. Bf4 $4 Rbd8 $19) 22... Qxc6 23. Qxc6 bxc6 24. Rxb8 Rxb8 25. Bxh6 Rb1 $11) 21. Rfe1 $142 $11 {/? It's very hard to get a handle on what's going on here, and there doesn't seem at first sight to be anything wrong with Sarana's next move.} b5 $2 (21... Rbc8 $1 22. Bxb7 Nf5 23. Qd2 Qxd2 24. Bxd2 Rxc2 25. Bb4 Rb8 26. Rbc1 Rxc1 27. Rxc1 h5 28. Rc8+ Rxc8 29. Bxc8 Nxh4 $11) 22. Qe5 $1 $18 {Black's knight is vulnerable due to the pin, and all the attempts to wriggle out fail for one tactical reason or another.} Rbc8 (22... h5 23. Be7 Rfe8 24. Rbd1 $18) (22... b4 23. h5 $1 Bxh5 24. axb4 Rbc8 25. Be7 Nxc2 (25... Rfe8 26. Qxh5 $18) 26. Bxf8 Nxe1 27. Rxe1 Qxe5 28. Rxe5 Kxf8 29. Rxh5 $18) 23. h5 $1 Bxc2 (23... Bxh5 24. Be7 Nxc2 (24... Nxf3 25. Qxc3 Rxc3 26. Bxf3 $18) 25. Bxf8 Nxe1 26. Qxc3 Rxc3 27. Bb4 $18 Rd3 28. Rxe1 Rxd5 29. Re8#) 24. Re3 $1 Qc5 (24... Qd2 25. Re4 $18) 25. Be7 Qb6 26. Bxf8 Rxf8 27. Rc1 Bf5 28. Rc5 Ne6 (28... Qxc5 29. Bxf7+ Rxf7 30. Qxc5 $18) 29. Rc6 Qd4 30. Qxd4 Nxd4 31. Rc7 Be6 32. Bxe6 fxe6 33. Re4 Rd8 34. Rxa7 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.12"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Grandelius, Nils"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C13"] [WhiteElo "2684"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,106,20,19,47,47,30,41,62,23,40,40,30,37,25,34,47,12,36,14,42,31,33,21,11,-21,-19,-13,6,6,71,56,43,43,46,39,39,37,37,37,11,16,3,-8,-9,-9,-4,-16,-11,-35,-21,-21,-13,-37,-13,-11,-11,-11,-14,-8,0,0,0,-16,16,15,31,0,0,0,0,0,0,-23,-32,-15,-12,-16,-17,-44,-40,-45,-55,-81,-51,-75,-87,-125,-132,-156,-163,-214,-220,-235,-232,-247,-252,-268,-255,-255,-260,-237,-507,-509,-509,-527,-527,-527,-547]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nf3 Be7 7. Nxf6+ Bxf6 8. h4 O-O 9. Qe2 c5 10. O-O-O cxd4 11. Rxd4 Qa5 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. a4 Rd8 14. Qb5 Qxb5 15. Rxd8+ Qe8 16. Rxe8+ Nxe8 17. Bb5 Kf8 18. Rd1 Ke7 19. b3 Nd6 20. Bd3 b6 21. Ne5 Bb7 22. g3 f6 23. Nc4 Ne4 24. Re1 Nxf2 25. Bxh7 Bd5 26. Ne3 Be4 27. Bxe4 Nxe4 28. g4 g6 29. g5 Rh8 30. gxf6+ Kxf6 31. Rf1+ Kg7 32. Rf4 Ng3 33. Rc4 Kf6 34. Ng4+ Kf5 35. Ne3+ Ke5 36. Ng4+ Kd6 37. Ne3 Nf5 38. Ng2 Ke5 39. b4 Rd8 40. Nf4 Kf6 41. c3 Rd7 42. Kb2 Nxh4 {It's amazing that Black has managed to scrape up some chances in what was a "dead" drawn middlegame and ending. Even so, White still has a way to save the game.} 43. Rc6 $2 (43. Nxe6 $142 Kxe6 44. Rxh4 g5 45. Rg4 $8 Kf5 46. Rg1 $8 {Black is still the one playing for a win, but it's objectively equal.}) 43... Nf3 44. a5 $5 (44. Nxe6 Ne5 $19) (44. Rxe6+ Kf5 45. Rxg6 Kxf4 $19) 44... Ne5 $1 (44... bxa5 $4 45. Nxe6 $1 Ne5 46. Ra6 $11) 45. Rxe6+ Kf5 46. Rxe5+ Kxe5 47. Nxg6+ Kf5 48. Nh4+ Ke4 49. axb6 axb6 {Materially, White is fine. The "only" problem is that his knight is trapped, and will be lost, and his queenside majority is far too slow to provide genuine drawing chances.} 50. Kb3 Rg7 51. Kc4 Rg4 52. Kb5 Rxh4 53. Kxb6 Kd5 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.12"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Wang, Hao"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E35"] [WhiteElo "2709"] [BlackElo "2744"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,76,20,20,29,-14,0,4,30,-10,-10,-17,-12,-80,-69,-96,-70,-32,-27,-31,1,8,20,-40,-43,-21,-5,-2,4,-5,8,3,24,-3,15,-53,-31,16,10,11,18,9,-5,5,0,1,-6,13,11,21,13,22,16,0,-8,-30,-18,-17,-58,-91,-57,-119,-84,-74,-44,-172,-178,-178,-218,-261,-140,-234,-218,-576,-624,-633,-641,-641,-648]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. e3 c5 9. dxc5 Be6 10. Nf3 Nbd7 11. c6 bxc6 12. Be2 Qa5 13. O-O Bxc3 14. bxc3 Ne4 15. Rfc1 (15. c4) 15... c5 16. c4 Rab8 17. Ne1 Qa3 18. cxd5 Bxd5 19. Qd3 Qxd3 20. Bxd3 g5 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. Bg3 Rb7 23. f3 Bg6 24. Rd1 Rc8 25. e4 c4 26. Nc2 c3 27. Rd6 (27. Ne3 $142 c2 28. Rdc1 Rb2 29. Kf1 $11) 27... Nf8 28. Rc1 f5 29. Rd4 $2 (29. Be5 $1 fxe4 30. Ne1 $1 exf3 31. Rxc3 Rxc3 32. Bxc3 fxg2 33. Nxg2 $11) 29... Ne6 $2 (29... fxe4 $142 30. fxe4 Ne6 $19) 30. Rb4 $2 (30. Rd6 $1 Kf7 31. Be5 $1 $15) 30... Rd7 $19 31. Ne3 fxe4 32. fxe4 Rd3 33. Bf2 (33. Rc4 Rxc4 34. Nxc4 Nd4 35. Kf1 c2 36. Ke1 Bh5 37. Nb2 Re3+ 38. Kd2 Rxe4 $19) 33... Nf4 34. Rc2 Rd2 35. h3 Nd3 36. Rxd2 cxd2 37. Rd4 Rc1+ 38. Kh2 Nxf2 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.13"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Ivanchuk, Vasyl"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2667"] [BlackElo "2835"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,86,18,40,30,11,32,25,25,4,12,12,21,1,6,8,15,-9,70,44,71,71,54,76,73,68,64,53,39,49,47,60,60,40,28,-1,55,36,59,51,44,44,62,57,51,-21,-11,-7,22,-7,16,2,10,0,-23,0,-28,-29,14,11,11,-47,-47,-68,-32,-26,-31,-31,-31,-29,-30,-34,-23,-80,-60,-64,-62,-81,-87,-84,-84,-84,-82,-91,-5,-47,-40,-76,-76]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Rb8 9. axb5 axb5 10. c3 (10. h3) 10... d6 11. d4 exd4 12. cxd4 d5 (12... Bg4 {has been more common, but it's not as good.}) 13. e5 Ne4 14. Nc3 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Bf5 16. h3 $146 (16. Ra6 {was played in the few previous, non-super-GM (and non-correspondence) games to reach the position after 15...Bf5.}) 16... Qd7 17. Be3 (17. Bg5) 17... Nd8 (17... Ra8 $11) 18. Nd2 b4 (18... c5 19. dxc5 Ne6) 19. c4 dxc4 20. Bxc4 c6 21. Qa4 (21. Ra6 $142 $14) 21... Rb7 (21... Be6 $142) 22. Nf1 (22. f4 $142) 22... Ne6 $11 23. Ng3 Bg6 24. Red1 (24. Ne2 $142) (24. Qd1 $142) 24... Nc7 25. Qb3 Nd5 26. Ra5 (26. Ne2 $142) 26... Ra7 (26... Nb6 $142 $15) 27. Rda1 Rfa8 28. Rxa7 Rxa7 29. Rxa7 Qxa7 30. Ne2 $6 (30. Bxd5 cxd5 31. Qxd5 $11 {doesn't favor White. Black's b-pawn and bishop pair offer full compensation - but no more than that.}) 30... Qa3 (30... Bf8 $1 $15) 31. Bc1 $1 Qxb3 32. Bxb3 Bd3 33. Nf4 Nxf4 34. Bxf4 $11 c5 35. dxc5 Bxc5 36. e6 Kf8 37. exf7 Bg6 38. Kf1 Bxf7 39. Bxf7 Kxf7 40. Ke2 Bd4 {The position is equal, and should soon result in a draw. This, admittedly, is the same as a loss as far as the tournament is concerned - only a win would keep the match alive and force tiebreaks. Still, what happens from here is rather weird.} 41. Kd3 $6 (41. Be3 $11) 41... Bxf2 42. Bd2 Bc5 43. Kc4 Bf8 (43... Bf8 44. g4 (44. Bxb4 $2 {This loses, but if White doesn't take the ending should be drawn. Unless Chuky lost on time here, I guess he just didn't feel like suffering when the result would be his elimination from the tournament even after the draw.} Bxb4 45. Kxb4 Kf6 46. Kc4 Ke5 47. Kd3 Kf4 48. Ke2 Kg3 49. Kf1 Kh2 $1 50. Kf2 g5 51. Kf3 h5 $19) 44... Ke6 45. Bf4 Be7 46. Kd4 g6 47. Bc1 Bf6+ 48. Kc4 Bc3 49. Bf4 {White holds.}) 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.13"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Berkes, Ferenc"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2615"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,97,10,30,29,36,36,27,27,-2,2,19,13,10,5,-6,-7,14,5,5,18,16,13,6,-16,-15,-3,-23,-26,-31,6,0,17,9,-34,-32,-57,-62,2,17,-7,-41,-7,-40,52,0,0,0,37,5,83,83,0,31,89,86,99,137,164,171,171,140,140,140,140,140,155,143,161,161,166,158,165,186,272,196,197,155,155,167,207,215,215,181,166,57,181,170,170,252,173,210,286,311,321,334,336,340,343,351]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 Bd7 7. b4 cxd4 8. cxd4 Rc8 9. Bb2 Nge7 10. Nc3 Na5 11. Bd3 (11. Na4 Qc6 12. Nc5 Nc4) 11... Nc4 12. Bc1 a5 13. O-O axb4 14. Rb1 Qa7 15. axb4 b5 16. h4 Qb6 17. Re1 h6 18. Re2 Bc6 $2 (18... Nc6 19. Bxc4 dxc4 20. d5 {is clearly what Berkes was concerned about. It is scary, but Black can keep his position together after} exd5 $1 21. e6 Bxe6 $1 22. Qxd5 Nxb4 $1 23. Qh5 Be7 $1 24. Ba3 Nd3 $1 25. Rxb5 g6 $1 26. Rxb6 (26. Qd5 {is cute, but again, Black has one way - and only one way - to survive.} Qxf2+ $1 27. Rxf2 Bxd5 28. Bxe7 Bxf3 29. Rxf3 Kxe7 30. Rb7+ Ke6 $11) 26... gxh5 27. Bxe7 Kxe7 28. Nd4 Nc5 29. Re5 Nd7 30. Rb7 Rb8 31. Rxb8 Rxb8 32. Rxh5 $11 {/? Calculating all of this is challenging even on a very good day, so it's not surprising that Berkes avoided 18...Nc6.}) 19. Ra2 $16 {/+-} Bb7 (19... Bd7) 20. Ra5 $1 (20. h5 $1 $18) 20... Bc6 (20... Nxa5 $6 21. bxa5 Qxa5 22. Nxb5 Nc6 23. Bf4 $18 {is winning for White, even though he's a full exchange down.}) 21. Qe2 $2 (21. Rba1 $1 Nxa5 22. bxa5 $1 Qb8 23. Bd2 b4 24. Na4 $16 {/+-}) 21... g6 $2 (21... Nf5 $1 $11) (21... Nxa5 $1 22. bxa5 Qxa5 23. Nxb5 Bxb5 24. Bxb5+ Nc6 25. Qc2 Qb6 $11) 22. Rba1 $1 $18 Nf5 $2 23. Ra6 Qd8 24. g4 $6 (24. h5 $1 Bxb4 25. Qc2 $18) 24... Nxh4 $2 (24... Ne7 $1) 25. Nxh4 Qxh4 26. Bxc4 bxc4 27. Rxc6 $1 Rxc6 28. Ra8+ Kd7 29. Qf3 $1 {If it were just the threat against f7, it wouldn't be a big deal. Black's problem is that White also threatens Nxd5.} f5 30. b5 $1 Rc8 31. Nxd5 $1 Qxg4+ 32. Qxg4 fxg4 33. Nb6+ Kc7 34. Nxc8 Kb7 35. Ra6 Kxc8 36. Rxe6 {The long combination comes to an end, and the result is...equal material. Yes, that's true - for a moment. But White has three passed pawns, and Black has weak pawns on g6 and c4. Add to this that Black's pieces are slumbering, and the result is a clearly winning position for White.} Kb7 37. Rxg6 c3 38. Rc6 Bb4 39. Bxh6 Rd8 40. Rc4 Ba5 41. e6 Kb6 42. e7 Re8 43. Bg5 Kxb5 44. Rc5+ Kb6 45. Rd5 Bb4 46. Rd8 Rxe7 47. Bxe7 Bxe7 48. Rc8 g3 {There's no real chance that White will fall for it, but it's a nice little trick all the same.} 49. Rxc3 (49. fxg3 Bf6 50. Rxc3 $4 Bxd4+ $11) (49. Rxc3 Bf6 50. Rxg3 $18 (50. fxg3 $4 Bxd4+ $11)) 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.13"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B14"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2782"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,84,38,27,29,-14,-14,-3,6,11,22,22,31,26,26,20,33,47,55,58,60,49,50,51,33,25,26,19,32,43,47,15,8,9,18,9,17,4,26,24,57,-8,-8,-22,-1,-1,0,-21,4,-16,-49,-29,-18,-77,-48,-126,-77,-98,-119,-109,-94,-94,-94,-129,-52,-130,-141,-174,-235,-268,-262,-262,-262,-287,-287,-511,-528,-522,-515,-616,-286,-513,-330,-831,-1113,-1664,-1664]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nf3 d5 7. cxd5 cxd4 8. exd4 exd5 9. O-O Bg4 10. h3 (10. Bg5 {is the main alternative.}) 10... Bh5 11. g4 $5 {It looks risky, because it is.} (11. Bg5) 11... Bg6 12. Ne5 Nbd7 $146 (12... Nc6) 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. Qb3 Bxc3 15. Qxc3 Ne4 16. Qb3 Nb6 $11 17. Kg2 (17. Bf4 $142 f5 18. f3 Ng5 19. Kg2 Ne6 20. Be5 Qh4 $11) 17... Rc8 (17... f5 $142 $15 18. f3 $2 Qh4 $1 19. Bf4 g5 $1 20. Be5 Nd2 $17 {/-+}) 18. Be3 (18. Bf4 $11) (18. Re1 $11) 18... f5 (18... Nc4 $142 $15) 19. f3 $2 (19. Rac1 Rxc1 20. Bxc1 Qh4 21. Bxe4 fxe4 22. Qg3 $11) 19... Nc4 $1 20. Bxe4 $2 (20. Bxc4 $142 dxc4 21. Qa3 Nf6 22. Bg5 Qd7 $15 (22... Qd5 $15)) 20... fxe4 $19 21. fxe4 Rxf1 22. Rxf1 dxe4 23. Qc3 Kh7 24. Bf4 Qd5 $1 25. Kg3 Rf8 $1 26. Qb4 (26. Rf2 e3 $1 27. Bxe3 Nd6 $19) (26. b3 g5 27. Qxc4 gxf4+ 28. Kh2 Qd6 29. Qc5 Qxc5 30. dxc5 g5 $19) 26... Rf7 27. Rc1 g5 $1 28. Qxc4 gxf4+ 29. Kg2 f3+ 30. Kf1 Qd7 $1 31. d5 Re7 $1 32. Qc5 Re5 33. Re1 Rxd5 34. Qc2 {It looks like White will regain the pawn and survive, but Caruana has it all calculated to the end.} Qb5+ 35. Kf2 Qb6+ 36. Kf1 Rd4 37. Qf2 (37. Rxe4 Qg6 $19) 37... Qa6+ 38. Kg1 Qd6 $1 39. Kf1 Rd1 40. Qe3 Qd3+ 41. Kf2 (41. Qxd3 Rxe1+ $1 42. Kxe1 exd3 $19 {and if nothing else, Black will win by zugzwang. Sooner or later White will have to move his king, and then the opposite passed pawn will advance and promote.}) 41... Rd2+ 42. Kg3 f2 $1 {An impressive win by Caruana.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.13"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Salem, A.R. Saleh"] [Black "Abasov, Nijat"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A08"] [WhiteElo "2661"] [BlackElo "2632"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2021.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,74,24,23,38,-7,-11,15,20,-3,16,-3,-3,-37,-2,-59,-11,-26,-26,-19,-14,-22,-17,-39,-16,-22,-20,-4,-14,-23,-24,-61,-51,-61,-62,-62,-78,-71,-68,-78,-78,-78,-34,-78,-79,0,12,-37,-70,-70,-55,-45,-38,-63,-61,-50,4,-38,0,-99,-92,-97,-74,-79,-76,-79,-86,-96,-88,-103,-90,-105,-118,-269,-311,-328,-328]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. O-O e5 5. d3 d5 6. Qe1 Bd6 7. e4 d4 8. a4 O-O 9. Na3 Re8 10. Nh4 Bc7 11. Nc4 Nb4 12. Qd1 Bg4 13. Bf3 Bh3 14. Re1 a6 15. a5 Be6 $17 {White's opening has gone poorly, but since he lost the first game he's taking extra risks to imbalance this one.} 16. b3 Bxc4 17. bxc4 Bxa5 18. Rf1 Nc6 19. Nf5 Bc3 20. Rb1 Qc7 $2 (20... Bb4) 21. Bg4 $2 (21. Bg5 $44) 21... a5 $6 (21... Kh8 $1 22. Qf3 Rg8 $1 23. Bg5 Ne8 $1 $19 {keeps the kingside snug and safe, and *now* the a-pawn will advance.}) 22. Bg5 Re6 $2 ({The position is extremely complicated. Here's a fun line that may (or may not!) represent something approximating best play for both sides:} 22... Nd7 23. Bh5 $1 g6 24. Qg4 $1 gxf5 25. exf5 Kh8 26. f6 Nf8 27. Bh6 Ng6 28. Bg7+ Kg8 29. Qg5 e4 $1 30. Qh6 Nd8 $1 31. Bg4 $1 Ne6 32. Rbd1 $1 a4 $1 33. h4 a3 34. h5 Nh4 $1 35. dxe4 a2 36. Bxe6 Nf3+ 37. Kg2 fxe6 38. Kxf3 a1=Q 39. Rxa1 Rxa1 40. Qg5 Kf7 41. Qh6 Kg8 $11) 23. f4 ({While it doesn't seem to win for White, Black is hanging on by a thread in the following line, with many chances to go wrong and lose.} 23. Nxg7 $1 Kxg7 24. Bxe6 fxe6 25. f4 Rf8 $8 26. f5 exf5 $8 27. Rxf5 Ne7 $8 28. Bxf6+ Rxf6 29. Rxf6 Kxf6 30. Qg4 Ng6 $8 31. h4 a4 $8 32. h5 a3 $8 33. hxg6 a2 $8 34. Rf1+ Kg7 {Somehow, Black is surviving.} 35. Qe6 {is one of White's trickier tries.} hxg6 $8 36. Rf6 a1=Q+ 37. Kg2 Kh7 $8 {Once again, the only move to avoid losing.} 38. Rxg6 Qg7 $8 {Black is finally safe.} 39. Rxg7+ Kxg7 40. Qxe5+ Kh6 41. Qxc5 Qd1 $11) 23... Rae8 $1 24. Bh3 (24. Nxg7 Kxg7 25. Bxe6 Rxe6 26. f5 Re8 27. Qc1 $44) 24... h6 (24... a4 $142) 25. fxe5 $2 {Losing.} (25. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 26. Nxh6+ Kg7 27. Bxe6 Rxe6 28. f5 Rd6 29. Qc1 $14 {was White's best option.}) 25... hxg5 26. exf6 Rxf6 $19 27. Qc1 Ne7 $2 (27... Ne5 $1 28. Qxg5 Rg6 $19) 28. Qxg5 Nxf5 (28... Rg6 $142 $15 {/?}) 29. Bxf5 $2 (29. Rxf5 $11) 29... a4 $19 {Just like that, it's over. White can't create any threats, and Black's speedy a-pawn forces White to beat a hasty retreat.} 30. Qc1 Ra6 31. Qa3 Bb4 32. Qa2 a3 {White has no attack with his queen buried on a2.} 33. Bh3 Re5 34. Rf3 Rh6 35. Bg2 Reh5 36. Qb3 Rxh2 37. Qa4 Qc8 0-1