[Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.17"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E36"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2690"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 dxc4 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Bg5 Ba6 10. Qc1 h6 11. Bh4 Bb7 12. e3 Nbd7 13. Be2 c5 14. O-O Rc8 15. Qe1 g5 16. Bg3 Ne4 17. Rd1 Nxg3 18. hxg3 Qf6 19. Bb5 Rc7 20. Bxd7 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Rxd7 22. dxc5 Rxd1 23. Qxd1 bxc5 24. Qc2 Rb8 25. Qxc5 Rxb2 26. Kg2 a6 27. Rd1 Kg7 28. Rd4 Ra2 29. Ra4 Qb2 30. Qd4+ Qxd4 31. exd4 Ra1 32. Rxa6 Rd1 33. Ra4 Rd3 34. g4 Kg6 35. Kg3 h5 36. gxh5+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.17"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2710"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Ne7 6. e3 Ng6 7. Bg3 Nh4 8. Nf3 Nf5 9. Qb3 a5 10. Bd3 Nxg3 11. hxg3 g6 12. e4 Bg7 13. exd5 O-O 14. O-O cxd5 15. Qxd5 Nc6 16. Rad1 Bg4 17. Be4 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Nxd4 19. Qxd8 Raxd8 20. Rd3 Ne6 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. Bxb7 Nc5 23. Bc6 Rd6 24. Bb5 Rd2 25. Re1 Rxb2 26. Re8+ Bf8 27. Re2 Rxe2 28. Bxe2 f5 29. Bc4+ Kg7 30. f4 Nd7 31. Nd5 Bc5 32. Kg2 Nb6 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.17"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C22"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2690"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "156"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,156,27,19,19,-6,-1,-20,-10,5,-11,-60,-5,-28,-72,-66,-41,-49,-53,-44,-68,-24,-24,-13,-9,14,5,62,82,93,83,85,106,106,115,107,100,113,113,109,95,106,109,90,93,93,101,105,127,94,122,85,81,95,117,102,108,110,112,98,87,77,77,103,144,137,137,122,137,79,89,107,86,60,77,117,90,90,90,90,80,78,99,93,93,56,72,72,189,184,306,-54,-54,-54,-29,-36,-41,-64,-35,-59,-41,-61,-54,-17,-9,-8,0,0,0,0,0,-22,0,-32,2,2,8,-135,-198,-284,-299,-319,-358,-356,-364,-405,-376,-369,-375,-515,-505,-505,-505,-525,-515,-515,-515,-515,-515,-515,-505,-525,-525,-525,-535,-535,-535,-535,-535,-535,-545,-535,-992,-1032,-1032,-29989,-29984,-29987,-29990]} 1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Qxd4 {I might play this in a meaningless game. In a game that could send me into the Candidates? No way, not unless it was part of my regular repertoire or unless I knew that my opponent was committed to playing some terrible line against it.} Nc6 4. Qe3 ({To the extent that it's a "thing",} 4. Qc4 {is the latest thing.}) 4... Nf6 5. Bd2 (5. Nc3 {used to be automatic (and is still played), only playing Bd2 after} Bb4 {. The delayed version chosen by Erigaisi (and others) makes sense, though.}) 5... Be7 (5... Bb4 {isn't bad at all, inviting a transposition after 6.Nc3 (which is often played). White can play c3, but that takes the square away from the knight (and loosens the queenside, which is relevant since that's generally where White castles). Another option is} 6. a3 {, which leads to interesting positions that Black shouldn't fear after} Bxd2+ 7. Nxd2 O-O 8. O-O-O d5 ({The needlessly circumspect} 8... Re8 {is also possible, but if 8...d5 is sound - and it seems to be - that should be preferred.})) 6. c4 $2 (6. Nc3 d5 {equalizes for Black, so 6.c4 is understandable. Unfortunately for White, he's worse after that logical move.}) 6... Ng4 $2 (6... O-O $1 7. Nc3 Nb4 $1 8. O-O-O c6 $1 {Preparing ...d5.} 9. a3 a5 $1 $15 {/?}) 7. Qe2 $11 d6 8. Nc3 Bh4 $5 (8... Nd4 $142 9. Qd3 Ne6 $11) 9. g3 Bf6 10. h3 Nge5 11. O-O-O $14 Nd4 $2 (11... O-O 12. f4 Nd7 $14) 12. Qe3 $16 {/+- Black is in serious trouble. His minor pieces look good, but they'll all be shooed away.} c5 13. Nd5 (13. f4 $142 Nec6 14. Nd5 Be6 15. Kb1 $16 {/+- Black's bishop on f6 will be kicked with g4-g5, and the pride and joy of Black's position (the knight on d4) will be dealt with by Bc3 and Ne2.}) 13... Be6 (13... b5 $1) 14. f4 Nec6 15. Bc3 O-O 16. Nxf6+ (16. Kb1 $142 {transposes to the line above.}) 16... Qxf6 17. Nf3 Qe7 18. Bxd4 (18. g4 {is a nice alternative.}) 18... cxd4 19. Nxd4 Nxd4 20. Qxd4 b5 $1 $16 21. Kb1 Bxc4 22. Bxc4 bxc4 23. Qxc4 {This should be a two-results position, and that's what it is for a long time.} a5 24. Rh2 a4 25. a3 Rfc8 26. Qd3 h6 27. Rc2 Rxc2 28. Qxc2 $18 {Now it's really hard to imagine how White could lose this, but 10'+10" isn't exactly correspondence chess.} Qe6 29. g4 Qf6 30. f5 Rb8 31. Ka2 $1 Rb5 32. Rd2 Rb3 33. Rd3 $2 (33. Qc6 {makes White's task much simpler.}) 33... Rb6 $2 (33... Rxd3 $142 34. Qxd3 Kh7 35. Qc4 Qh4 {White is still winning, but Black keeps practical chances.}) 34. Rc3 (34. Qc3 $142) 34... Qd4 35. Qd3 Qe5 36. Qc4 $2 (36. h4) (36. Qc2) 36... Qh2 $1 37. Rc2 Qxh3 38. Qxa4 Rb8 39. Rc7 Qxg4 40. Qc4 Rf8 (40... Qg2 $1 {is a move a human might play in classical chess, but not with time ticking down in a glorified blitz game.} 41. Qxf7+ Kh8 42. Rb7 $8 Rxb7 43. Qxb7 h5 {The race is on.} 44. a4 $8 Qc2 45. Qb5 h4 46. a5 Kh7 $1 47. f6 $3 gxf6 48. a6 Kh6 $1 49. e5 $1 {Clearing the long diagonal so that the one who queens first will control the other player's queening square.} fxe5 50. a7 Qe4 {Now White has only one move to keep any advantage at all.} 51. Qb3 $3 Qc6 52. Qe6+ $1 Kg7 53. Qg4+ Kf8 54. Qf5+ Kg7 55. Qg5+ Kf7 56. Qxh4 Qd5+ 57. Ka3 Qc5+ 58. Kb3 Qe3+ (58... Qxa7 $4 59. Qh7+ {is Black's fundamental problem.}) 59. Kc2 Qe2+ 60. Kc1 Qe3+ 61. Kd1 Qd3+ 62. Ke1 Qb1+ 63. Kf2 Qxb2+ {Can White win this? I'm not sure...my guess is that he can't, but I'll leave that to the readers to determine. What we can say is that 40...Qg2 either saves the game or makes winning it almost impossible for White.}) 41. a4 $1 {Still winning, but thanks to Black's h-pawn it's not trivial.} h5 42. a5 h4 43. a6 d5 $5 44. Qxd5 Qe2 45. Qc4 $4 (45. Qc6 $1 Qd2 (45... h3 46. a7 h2 47. Rc8 h1=Q 48. Rxf8+ Kh7 (48... Kxf8 49. a8=Q+ Ke7 50. Qae8#) 49. a8=Q $18 {wins immediately, as Black can only delay mate by giving a few spite checks.}) 46. a7 Qa5+ 47. Kb3 Kh7 48. Rxf7 $1 Rxf7 49. a8=Q $18) 45... Qxc4+ 46. Rxc4 Ra8 47. b4 (47. Ra4 h3 48. Kb3 $1 h2 49. Ra1 Rxa6 50. Rh1 Rh6 51. Kc4 g5 52. fxg6 fxg6 $11) 47... Rxa6+ 48. Kb3 h3 49. b5 Rh6 50. Rc8+ Kh7 51. Rc1 g5 52. fxg6+ fxg6 53. b6 $2 (53. e5 {was the only way to avoid losing.}) 53... g5 $19 54. Rc7+ Kg8 55. Rc8+ Kf7 56. Rc7+ Ke8 57. b7 Rb6+ 58. Kc4 g4 59. Rh7 Rxb7 $1 {The rule of thumb in endings with two connected passers vs. a rook is this: if the pawns are on their sixth rank, they win against a rook; if one is on the sixth and the other on the fifth, they can maintain the status quo (all else being equal). Once White takes on b7, they pass the status quo line, and since White's king is too far from both the pawns and from creating mating threats against Black's king, Black wins.} 60. Rxb7 h2 61. Rh7 g3 62. Kd5 g2 63. Rxh2 g1=Q {Rook and pawn vs. queen is only a draw in a few special cases; this isn't one of them. That doesn't mean that the win is automatic, so of course White plays on.} 64. Rb2 (64. Rh8+ Ke7 65. Rh7+ Kf6 66. Rh6+ (66. e5+ Kg6 67. Rd7 Qd1+ 68. Ke6 Qb3+ 69. Kd6 Qb8+ 70. Kd5 Qa8+ 71. Kd6 Kf5 72. Rf7+ Ke4 73. e6 Qd5+ 74. Ke7 Ke5 {wins the pawn, as} 75. Rf6 $2 {loses the rook.} Qb7+ $19) 66... Kg5 67. Re6 {wouldn't save the game, but would let White keep the pawn for a while.}) 64... Qg8+ 65. Kc5 Qg5+ 66. Kc4 Qc1+ 67. Kb3 Qe3+ 68. Kc4 Qxe4+ {From here, the win should be routine for Pragg.} 69. Kc3 Kd7 70. Rb4 Qe1+ 71. Kb3 Kc6 72. Rd4 Kc5 73. Rd8 Qg3+ 74. Kc2 Qg6+ 75. Kd1 Kc4 76. Rc8+ Kd3 77. Kc1 (77. Rd8+ Ke3 {and there's no (safe) check on the e-file.}) 77... Qg4 78. Rc2 Qa4 (78... Qa4 79. Rb2 (79. Rc8 Qa1#) (79. Rd2+ Kc3 80. Rb2 Qa3 $19) 79... Qa1+ 80. Rb1 Qc3+ 81. Kd1 Qd2#) 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.17"] [Round "6.6"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,56,27,27,27,6,7,20,18,20,40,7,31,26,26,15,59,43,50,50,53,53,74,-4,0,-1,2,-11,18,31,28,-43,-44,-26,-36,-96,-85,-186,-167,-181,-170,-268,-275,-275,-275,-298,-300,-300,-300,-300,-292,-292,-314,-305,-327,-351,-334,-336,-256]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bf4 Bb4 {A good choice for a must-win game.} 6. e3 (6. cxd5) 6... c5 7. Be2 Qa5 $6 (7... dxc4 {is better, but maybe too "dry" for a must-win situation.}) 8. O-O $1 Bxc3 9. bxc3 Ne4 (9... O-O $142) 10. Bd3 $16 Nxc3 11. Qc2 $2 (11. Qd2 dxc4 12. Bxc4 O-O 13. Rfc1 cxd4 14. Qxd4 (14. exd4 $143 b5 15. Bd3 b4) 14... Nd5 {Best.} 15. Bd6 Rd8 16. Bd3 Re8 $1 17. Rab1 $16 {/+- White has loads of compensation for the pawn - Black is in huge trouble here.}) 11... dxc4 12. Bxc4 b5 13. Bd3 c4 14. Be4 Nd5 15. a4 $2 {This is good if White can win one of Black's pawns and a bad idea otherwise. It seems that Pragg missed a tactical point somewhere - not a shocking possibility in a 10'+10" game (especially when it's the sixth game of the match in a tournament that's in its third week).} (15. Rfb1 $142 $11 {/?}) 15... b4 16. Nd2 (16. Qxc4 $2 Ba6 $19 17. Qc6 $2 Rc8 {is 0-1.}) 16... b3 $1 17. Nxc4 Qb4 18. Qd3 $2 {After this, the game is gone if Erigaisi plays well, and he does.} (18. Nd6+ $1 Ke7 (18... Qxd6 19. Qxc8+ Rxc8 20. Bxd6 $11) 19. Qb2 Nxf4 20. Bxa8 Kxd6 21. Rfb1 $1 (21. exf4 $2 Ba6 22. Bf3 Bxf1 23. Kxf1 Rb8 $19) 21... Ba6 22. Bf3 Nd5 23. Qxb3 Qxb3 24. Rxb3 Rc8 $15) 18... Nxf4 19. exf4 Ba6 20. Qd2 (20. Bxa8 Bxc4 21. Qe4 Bxf1 22. Rxf1 O-O 23. Bc6 Nf6 24. Qd3 b2 25. Rb1 Rc8 26. Qa6 Rd8 $19) (20. Rac1 Rc8 $19) 20... Rb8 $1 21. Qxb4 Rxb4 22. Nd6+ Ke7 23. Nb5 b2 24. Rab1 Bxb5 25. axb5 Rxb5 26. Rfe1 Nf6 27. Bc6 Rb6 28. d5 Kd6 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.17"] [Round "6.7"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2690"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,62,27,19,19,25,21,12,12,4,4,-4,5,11,43,-9,10,-7,0,-19,-9,-7,44,-51,-53,-15,-53,-48,-12,-42,-8,-57,-30,-96,-44,-127,-119,-134,-95,-86,-86,-113,-93,-187,-198,-224,-217,-208,-209,-262,-199,-199,-206,-169,-204,-301,-301,-557,-604,-1160,-1550,-1482,-1764,-29997,-1571]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O a6 7. Bg5 {Not one of the most popular moves, but he has played it before.} (7. a4) 7... Ba7 (7... h6 8. Bh4 Qe7 9. Nbd2 Ba7 10. a4 g5 11. Bg3 Rg8 12. b4 h5 (12... Bg4 13. b5 Nd8 14. d4 a5 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Bxe5 Ne6 17. Bxe6 fxe6 18. Bd4 Bxd4 19. cxd4 O-O-O 20. Qc2 Bxf3 21. Nxf3 g4 22. Nd2 Rxd4 23. Rfc1 b6 24. Nc4 Qc5 25. e5 Ne4 26. Qb3 g3 27. hxg3 Rxc4 28. Qxc4 Qxf2+ 29. Kh1 Nxg3+ 30. Kh2 Qf7 31. Kg1 h5 32. Ra3 Rg4 33. Qc2 Qe7 34. Rc3 c5 35. Rd1 Qh4 36. Rxc5+ {1-0 Erigaisi,A (2718)-Mamedyarov,S (2741) Tata Steel India Rapid Kolkata 2022 (6)}) 13. h4 Bg4 14. Qe1 gxh4 15. Bxh4 Qd7 16. Kh1 Rg6 17. Nh2 Bh3 18. Rg1 Be6 19. a5 Ng4 20. b5 Ne7 21. Bxe6 Rxe6 22. bxa6 bxa6 23. Rf1 Ng6 24. f3 Ne3 25. Bf2 Nxf1 26. Ndxf1 Bxf2 27. Qxf2 Nf4 28. d4 Rb8 29. Ne3 Qb5 30. Nf5 Rg6 31. Rg1 Qe2 32. Qh4 Qxg2+ {0-1 Erigaisi,A (2702)-Radjabov,T (2747) Global Chess League Dubai rapid 2023 (1.3)}) 8. a4 h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Ne7 (10... Qe7 {was played in the Erigaisi-Mamedyarov game (given above).}) 11. d4 Nxe4 $15 12. dxe5 $2 $146 (12. Nxe5 O-O 13. Nxf7 Rxf7 14. Bxf7+ Kxf7 15. f4 g4 16. f5 Nxg3 17. hxg3 Ng8 18. Qxg4 Qg5 19. Qxg5 hxg5 20. Nd2 Nf6 21. Nf3 Nh7 22. g4 Bd7 23. Rfe1 Rg8 24. Kf2 Nf6 25. Kg3 c5 26. Re2 cxd4 27. cxd4 Bb6 28. b3 Bc6 29. Rae1 Ba5 30. Re7+ Kf8 31. R1e2 Bd8 32. R7e6 Bd7 33. R6e3 Nd5 34. Re4 Nc3 35. d5 Bf6 36. Nd2 Rg7 37. Re1 Nxe4+ 38. Nxe4 Re7 39. Kf3 Kg7 40. Rh1 Be8 41. Nxd6 Bf7 42. Nxf7 Kxf7 43. Rc1 Bd4 44. Rc4 Bb6 45. Re4 Rxe4 46. Kxe4 Ke7 47. b4 Bd8 48. a5 Kd6 49. Kd4 Bf6+ 50. Kc4 Bg7 51. b5 Bf6 {0-1 Mamedov,R (2655)-Caruana,F (2804) Gashimov Memorial 3rd Shamkir 2016 (4)}) 12... d5 $19 {Strange prep by Erigaisi. He played a pet line, and with White is lost after 12 moves.} 13. Bd3 Bf5 $6 $17 (13... h5 $142) 14. Nd4 Qd7 $6 (14... h5 $142) 15. Kh1 $2 (15. Nxf5 Qxf5 16. Nd2 h5 17. h3 h4 18. Bxe4 $8 dxe4 19. Bh2 $11) 15... h5 $19 16. h4 O-O-O 17. Qe2 Bg4 18. Qe1 Nf5 (18... Bxd4 $142 {is best, but in a 5'+3" game there's pretty much no chance of Black finding and working out the idea we'll see starting on move 20.} 19. cxd4 gxh4 20. Bxh4 Bf3 $3 21. Kh2 Qg4 22. g3 Ng5 23. Bxg5 h4 {and Black mates.}) 19. Bxe4 (19. Nd2 $142) 19... dxe4 20. Qxe4 Bxd4 21. cxd4 gxh4 22. e6 Nxg3+ 23. fxg3 Bxe6 24. gxh4 Rhg8 25. Nc3 Qxd4 {With an extra pawn, an attack, and material targets (e.g. h4) Black's position is completely winning.} 26. Rf4 Qd2 27. Qf3 Rxg2 28. Ne4 (28. Qxg2 Qxf4) 28... Rh2+ 29. Kg1 Rg8+ 30. Ng5 Bd5 31. Rd1 Rh1+ {Certainly good enough to force resignation, but missing a speedy and attractive mate.} (31... Qf2+ $1 32. Qxf2 Rh1#) 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.17"] [Round "6.8"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,72,27,27,27,27,27,20,18,25,35,26,42,39,51,-6,1,6,10,-8,4,-23,-33,-28,-41,-47,-47,-34,-45,-19,-8,-61,31,31,31,7,9,9,9,9,-1,-7,42,33,68,68,39,66,66,55,105,20,12,0,0,-327,-400,-395,-395,-426,-400,-423,-427,-438,-418,-605,-551,-621,-644,-682,-681,-687,-694,-711,-711]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bf4 Bb4 {Again needing a win, Erigaisi goes for the unbalancing ...Bb4 in the QGD. (In the previous game White hadn't taken on d5, so it's not identical, though in that game 6.cxd5 probably would have transposed to what we get here.)} 7. a3 (7. e3 {is usual and probably best.}) 7... Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Ne4 (8... c5 $142) 9. Qc2 (9. Nd2 $1 $146 {?} Nxc3 10. Qc2 Nb5 11. e3 c6 12. a4 Nc7 13. Bd3 $14 {/?}) 9... g5 $1 $146 {Exactly the sort of thing Erigaisi needs in this most-win situation.} 10. Be5 {It's hard to know what's best - it seems that every bishop move that doesn't lose the piece is okay.} O-O 11. e3 g4 12. Nd2 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Nc5 14. Bd3 $2 (14. h3 $11) 14... Qg5 $1 $17 15. h3 $1 Qxe5 $2 {Letting White open the h-file is a clear error.} (15... Nxd3+ 16. Qxd3 gxh3 $17) 16. hxg4 $11 Bxg4 17. Bxh7+ Kg7 18. Nf3 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Rh8 20. Ke2 a5 $5 (20... Rae8 $11) (20... Kf8 $11) 21. Rag1+ Kf8 22. f4 Qf6 23. Rh5 Ne4 $1 24. c4 Qa6 $2 (24... Qc3 $11) 25. Qb2 $2 (25. Rhh1 $1 $18 {is the only move that punishes Black's last move. By this point the players were very low on time, so neither player should be judged harshly for missing this.}) 25... Nf6 (25... Qxc4+) 26. Rh6 Rxh7 27. Qxf6 $4 {A mental blackout, but - again - the players were down to seconds, and this was their sixth game of the day, in a tournament that has gone on for more than two weeks, in an incredibly high-stress situation - the winner of the match is probably headed for the Candidates.} (27. Rxh7 Nxh7 28. Qg7+ Ke7 29. Qe5+ $1 (29. Qxh7 Qxc4+ 30. Kf3 $8 Ra6 $15) 29... Qe6 30. Qxc7+ Kf6 31. Qxb7 $11) 27... Rxh6 {Whoops. Now Black is a rook up and his king is safe. The rest is just Erigaisi being super-careful to avoid blundering.} 28. Qg7+ Ke7 29. Qg5+ Qf6 30. Qxd5 Rd8 31. Qxb7 Qc6 32. Qb3 Rhd6 33. Qc3 Rd2+ 34. Qxd2 Qxc4+ 35. Ke1 Rxd2 36. Kxd2 Qa2+ 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2023"] [Site "Baku AZE"] [Date "2023.08.17"] [Round "6.9"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2690"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "143"] [EventDate "2023.07.30"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. b3 d5 3. Bb2 Bf5 4. g3 e6 5. Bg2 Be7 6. d3 h6 7. O-O O-O 8. Nbd2 a5 9. a3 Bh7 10. Ne5 Nbd7 (10... c6 11. c4 Nbd7 (11... Nfd7)) (10... Nfd7) 11. Nxd7 Qxd7 (11... Nxd7) 12. Nf3 c5 (12... Rfe8) (12... Rfd8) 13. c4 (13. a4) 13... a4 (13... d4 $142 14. b4 Qc7 $1 15. bxc5 e5 16. e3 dxe3 17. Nxe5 (17. fxe3 Bxc5 18. Nxe5 Bxe3+ 19. Kh1 Rad8 20. Qe2 Bd4 $11) 17... exf2+ 18. Rxf2 Bxc5 19. d4 Rad8 20. Ng4 Nxg4 21. Qxg4 f5 22. Qf4 $11) 14. Ne5 Qc7 15. cxd5 exd5 16. bxa4 Qa5 $6 (16... Rfd8 $11) 17. Qb3 $14 {Erigaisi seems to have overlooked this. It's not the end of the world, but it's irksome.} Qxa4 18. Bxd5 (18. Qxb7) 18... Nxd5 19. Qxd5 Qa6 $2 (19... Rad8 20. Qc4 (20. Qxb7 Bf6 21. Bc3 Qc2 22. Qb2 Qxb2 23. Bxb2 Bxe5 24. Bxe5 Rfe8 25. Bc7 Rd7 26. Bb6 Rxe2 27. Bxc5 Bxd3 {should be drawn.}) 20... Qxc4 21. Nxc4 b5 22. Ne3 Ra8 {is objectively good enough for Black, though in the short time control (3'+2") White's chances with the extra pawn are probably better than Black's with the bishop pair.}) 20. a4 $16 Rad8 $6 (20... Bf5 $142 {was better, hastening the bishop back to the battlefield.}) 21. Qf3 Bf6 22. Nc4 Bxb2 23. Nxb2 Rfe8 24. Nc4 {(?) Right in principle, but both sides missed a nice trick.} (24. a5 $16 {/+-}) 24... Qe6 {(?)} (24... Be4 $3 {Thanks, computers. (By itself, I'd only give the move one exclam, but given how many subsequent moves must be found to justify it, it merits a second helping of punctuation.)} 25. Qf4 Rd4 $1 26. Qc7 Qc6 $1 27. Qxc6 Bxc6 28. Rfe1 Bxa4 $1 29. e3 (29. Rxa4 b5 $11) 29... Rxd3 30. Nb2 Bb5 31. Nxd3 Bxd3 $44 {I'm not sure Erigaisi would have found this in a g/25', though he's probably a favorite to spot it and work it out in a classical game. But under these circumstances? Basically no chance, unless he has just seen the tactic somewhere else.}) 25. Ne3 {(?) Again it's a mistake, but only because of another unobvious idea.} (25. Rfe1 $18 {A case where the obvious move is better.}) 25... b6 {(?)} (25... c4 $3 26. dxc4 Be4 27. Qf4 Rd2 {Black may not have enough for two pawns, but it's enough for at least one, and in time trouble it's going to be easier for White to blow up than for Black.}) 26. Rfc1 {Stopping any ...c4 tricks. White is ready to play a5, undermining Black's structure and probably leading to the win of a second pawn. Once that happens, Black's chances to hold the game are exceedingly slim.} Ra8 27. Qf4 (27. Rcb1) 27... Ra5 28. Rcb1 Bg6 {The bishop isn't that much better on g6; the main purpose was to create room for the king, to avoid back rank mates.} 29. Rb2 (29. Qc4) 29... Qc6 30. Rab1 (30. Qc4) 30... Qxa4 {Of course White is delighted to get the queens off the board; now he can pursue the win in safety.} (30... Rxa4 $142 31. Rxb6 Qd7) 31. Qxa4 Rxa4 32. Rxb6 Kh7 33. R1b2 Ra1+ 34. Kg2 Rc1 35. Rc6 Re5 36. Rc8 Bf5 37. Nxf5 Rxf5 {Fewer pieces, fewer problems (for White).} 38. f4 Rd5 39. Rc7 Rf5 40. Kf3 h5 41. Rb5 g6 42. e4 Rf6 43. Rbxc5 Rf1+ 44. Kg2 Rd1 45. Rd5 h4 46. Rdd7 Kg8 {Getting off the 7th rank avoids e5-e6 problems taking advantage of the pinned f-pawn.} 47. e5 Rf5 48. Kf3 hxg3 49. hxg3 Rf1+ 50. Kg2 Re1 51. Kf3 Rf1+ 52. Ke2 Rg1 53. Kf2 Rd1 54. e6 $6 (54. Rc8+ $142 Kg7 55. Rdd8) 54... fxe6 55. Rg7+ Kf8 56. Rxg6 Rf7 57. Rc8+ Ke7 58. Rc6 Rf6 59. Rc7+ Kd6 60. Rxf6 Kxc7 61. Rxe6 Rxd3 62. Re3 {The rest is trivial. White would win easily even if Black's king were on g6; cut off, it's almost as easy as mating with king and queen against king.} Rd2+ 63. Kf3 Kd6 64. f5 Kd7 65. g4 Ra2 66. g5 Kd6 67. Kg4 Ra4+ 68. Kh5 Rf4 69. f6 Rf1 70. Kg6 Kd7 71. f7 Kd6 72. Kg7 {It was a very tough match, and it's good that Pragg won the last game (in the sense of making good moves and outplaying his opponent); it wasn't that Erigaisi self-destructed or made a terrible blunder. Pragg's reward is a match vs. Caruana.} 1-0