[Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.04"] [Round "14.1"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2753"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,48,27,18,22,22,22,22,15,17,19,13,17,9,9,9,9,-5,28,26,51,44,48,48,66, 66,70,61,59,57,55,55,59,39,40,32,32,29,22,-61,68,-108,-96,-96,-82,-82,-13,-60, -83,-167,-71]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 Be6 7. O-O Bd6 8. Nb3 c5 ({Black almost always allows Na5, but one might reasonably wonder why he doesn't play} 8... b6 {. It's not so bad, but the worry is that when d4 comes Black's new structure will cause him some fresh headaches. Here's the one game in which it was played:} 9. d4 (9. Bg5 $5) 9... Nd7 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Qh5 Bf6 13. Rd1 Qc8 14. h3 O-O 15. e5 g6 16. Qe2 Bg7 17. Bf4 c5 $11 {The position is equal, though White went on to win this rapid game. 1-0 (54) Vachier Lagrave,M (2784)-So,W (2770) chess24.com INT 2021}) (8... a5 {is another sensible way to to prevent Na5. It was tried only once, in blitz, and White won that one too.} 9. Qe1 a4 10. Na5 Qb8 11. b4 Bg4 12. Nh4 O-O 13. Nc4 Nh5 (13... Be6 $2 14. Nxd6 cxd6 15. f4 $16 exf4 16. Bxf4 Re8 17. a3 Nh5 18. Bd2 d5 19. Qe2 Nf6 20. Rxf6 gxf6 21. Rf1 dxe4 22. Bc3 Qd6 23. Bxf6 h6 24. Qh5 Kh7 25. Nf5 Qf8 26. dxe4 Rad8 27. Rf4 Rd2 28. Rg4 Rd1+ 29. Kf2 Rd2+ 30. Ke1 Rxc2 31. Bg7 {1-0 (31) Dominguez Perez,L (2763)-Aronian,L (2765) Saint Louis 2019}) 14. h3 Be6 15. Nxd6 cxd6 16. Qe2 g6 $11) (8... Qe7 { was played back in round 1, in Caruana-Nakamura. Nakamura allowed} 9. Na5 $11 { /+/=, and while Nakamura eventually lost the current position isn't so bad.}) 9. Na5 $14 Qc8 10. b3 (10. Ng5 $142) 10... O-O $2 (10... b6 11. Nc4 Bxc4 { followed by ...Qe6 is very solid. The Bd6 is pretty bad, but almost any White plan will involve a pawn break that lets the bishop into the game or to exchange itself.}) 11. Bb2 $16 Bg4 12. Nc4 Re8 13. a4 Bh5 14. Qe2 Nd7 15. Qe3 Qd8 16. Kh1 (16. g3 $5 {prepares Nh4, followed by a quick f4 (the knight may have to move again first, to g2 or f5, depending on circumstances).}) 16... f6 17. Rg1 (17. Nh4 $142 $16 {, planning f4, looks very unpleasant for Black.}) 17... Bf7 18. g4 h6 $2 (18... Nf8 $142 19. g5 Ng6 20. Rg3 Rf8 21. gxf6 Qxf6 22. Rag1 Rae8 23. Ng5 b6 $16 {is a slightly less awful version of terrible.}) 19. g5 $4 {Completely unnecessary.} (19. h4 $16 {followed by g5 is obvious and strong, while}) (19. Nh4 $16 {/+- first, intending Nf5 and only then figuring out what to do with the kingside pawns, is even stronger.}) 19... fxg5 $2 ( 19... hxg5 {is correct,} 20. h4 (20. Nxg5 {Here's another difference. In the game version with 19...fxg5 this loses to} Bxc4 {, but here White has an amazing resource:} 21. Nh7 $3 Kxh7 {Essentially forced.} (21... Bf7 $2 22. Qh6 Bf8 23. f4 $1 Re6 24. f5 g5 (24... Rd6 $143 25. Qh3 $18 {and White's kingside buildup will be unimpeded: Rg3/4, Rag1, Bc1 and then something bad will happen to Black.}) 25. Nxf8 Qxf8 26. Qxf8+ Nxf8 27. fxe6 Nxe6 28. h4 $16) 22. Qh3+ Kg8 23. Rxg7+ $1 {Not a surprise at this point.} Kxg7 24. Rg1+ Kf7 25. Qh7+ Ke6 26. Qf5+ Ke7 27. Rg7+ Bf7 28. Rxf7+ $1 Kxf7 29. Qh7+ Kf8 30. Qh8+ Kf7 31. Qh7+ Ke6 32. Qf5+ Ke7 33. Qh7+ $11) 20... Bxc4 21. dxc4 Kf7 $1 22. hxg5 Rh8+ $1 23. Kg2 Nf8 {is why Black should take with the h-pawn on move 19.}) 20. Nxg5 $4 (20. h4 Bxc4 21. dxc4 Kf7 {(To parallel the 19...hxg5 analysis.)} (21... g6 $142 22. hxg5 h5 23. Nh4 Kh7 24. Nf5 $16 {There won't be an immediate breakthrough, but White has a splendid position and no Black counterplay to worry about.}) 22. hxg5 $18) 20... hxg5 $2 (20... Bxc4 21. bxc4 hxg5 22. Rxg5 Be7 $19 {followed by ...Bf6, and White's attack looks non-existent.}) 21. Rxg5 Qf6 $1 (21... Bxc4 $2 22. Rag1 $1 Bf7 23. Rxg7+ Kf8 24. Rh7 (24. Qh6 Qf6 $1 25. R7g6+ Ke7 26. Rxf6 Nxf6 27. Rg7 Rg8 28. Bc1 Rxg7 29. Qxg7 Rg8 30. Qh6 Rg6 31. Qh4 $11 {White probably has enough play to make a draw, but that's it.}) 24... Qf6 $8 25. Bc1 Ke7 26. Rh6 $8 Rg8 $1 (26... Qf4 $4 27. Qh3 $18) 27. Rxf6 Nxf6 28. Qh3 Be6 29. Rxg8 Rxg8 30. Qh4 Rg6 31. Bg5 Kf7 32. Bxf6 Rxf6 33. Qh7+ Ke8 34. h4 $11) 22. Rag1 (22. Nxd6 $2 cxd6 23. Rag1 g6 $19) 22... Bf8 (22... g6 $2 23. Qh3 $1 (23. f4 $2 {looks tempting, but allows Black to escape. The play is above homo sapiens' pay grade:} Qxf4 24. Qh3 Nf8 25. Ne3 Qf6 26. Bc1 Be6 27. Nf5 Re7 $8 28. Nh6+ $1 Kg7 29. Rf5 Kh8 30. Nf7+ Kg8 31. Nh6+ Kh8 32. Bg5 Qg7 33. Nf7+ Kg8 34. Nh6+ Kh8 35. Qh4 Nh7 36. Bf6 gxf5 37. Rxg7 Rxg7 38. Nxf5 Bxf5 39. exf5 Rf8 40. Bxg7+ Kxg7 41. Qg4+ Kh8 $11) 23... Nf8 24. Ne3 $18) 23. Rf5 $2 (23. Qh3 $11 ) 23... Qh4 $17 {/-+} 24. Nd2 $2 (24. Nxe5 Nxe5 25. Bxe5 Rxe5 26. Rxe5 Bd6 27. Qg5 $8 Qh7 28. f4 Bxe5 29. Qxe5 Qh6 $17 {/-+}) 24... Re6 $19 25. f4 $2 Rg6 26. Nf3 Qh3 (26... Rxg1+ $142 27. Qxg1 Qh6) 27. fxe5 Rxg1+ 28. Qxg1 Bh5 {With an extra piece and the initiative, Black will win the game once he can get another piece or two into play.} 29. Ng5 Qg4 30. Qe3 Be7 31. e6 Rf8 $1 32. Nf7 Bxf7 33. exd7 Be6 {White's d7-pawn drops, and with it his last hopes of survival.} 0-1 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.04"] [Round "14.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "126"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,126,18,8,8,8,8,8,21,19,13,22,14,11,17,23,11,17,17,-31,5,-19,-1,-24,-8, -17,-17,-15,23,24,-15,7,24,-22,-20,-20,-19,-36,-34,-48,38,32,35,35,32,35,35,37, 33,30,41,33,62,43,32,30,1,2,39,45,63,-1,0,-30,-15,-78,-95,-95,-87,-120,-116, -86,-61,-148,-148,-164,-119,-103,-123,-123,-123,-120,-132,-115,-109,-109,-114, -133,-114,-114,-137,-114,-114,-125,-108,-128,-115,-115,-107,-129,-103,-103, -104,-107,-116,-113,-108,-123,-88,-120,-113,-142,-176,-155,-155,-154,-144,-149, -140,-176,-180,-304,-292,-377,-290,-306,-291,-457,-474]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 (5. Nbd2 {was an unusual try in the round 2 encounter between Nakamura and Radjabov.}) (5. O-O {was played in Firouzja-Rapport in round 9.}) ({Also in round 9, Radjabov played} 5. c3 { against Nakamura.}) 5... dxc6 6. Nbd2 (6. O-O {was seen in Rapport-Nakamura from round 4.}) (6. h3 {was played in Rapport-Caruana in round 12.}) 6... Nd7 ( 6... Be6 {was played in Rapport-Radjabov from this same round, and before that in Caruana-Nakamura from the very first round.}) 7. O-O O-O 8. Nc4 f6 9. Kh1 { Rare, and a little surprising given that f3 or f4 are not about to be played. But sometimes moves like this are useful, as they get the opponent to commit to one plan or another, and then White most effectively.} (9. c3) (9. Nh4) 9... Rf7 $146 (9... a5 10. a4 (10. Nh4 Nb6 11. Be3 Bd4 12. Nxb6 cxb6 13. Qc1 Be6 14. f4 exf4 15. Bxd4 Qxd4 16. Rxf4 c5 17. Rf1 a4 18. Nf3 Qd6 19. Qe3 b5 20. h3 b4 21. b3 b6 22. Rae1 Rae8 23. e5 fxe5 24. Qxe5 Qxe5 25. Rxe5 Bd7 26. Rfe1 Rxe5 27. Nxe5 Bb5 28. Kg1 g6 29. h4 Kg7 30. g4 h6 31. Kg2 g5 32. hxg5 hxg5 33. Nf3 Bc6 34. Re3 axb3 35. axb3 Bxf3+ 36. Rxf3 Ra8 37. Rf5 Kg6 38. Rd5 Ra2 39. Rd6+ Kf7 40. Rxb6 Rxc2+ 41. Kf3 Rc3 42. Ke4 Rxb3 43. Rb5 Rc3 44. d4 cxd4 45. Rxb4 d3 46. Rd4 {1/2-1/2 (46) Yu,Y (2729)-Cheparinov,I (2689) Doha 2016}) 10... Nb6 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Nxe3 Be6 13. Ng1 Qd4 14. b3 Nd7 15. Ne2 Qc5 16. Qd2 Rae8 17. f4 f5 18. fxe5 Qxe5 19. d4 Qd6 20. exf5 Bf7 21. Ng3 Nf6 22. Nc4 Bxc4 23. bxc4 b6 24. c3 Ng4 25. Rf3 Re7 26. Raf1 Rfe8 27. f6 gxf6 28. h3 Ne3 29. Rxe3 Rxe3 30. Nf5 Qe6 31. Nxe3 Qxe3 32. Qxe3 Rxe3 33. Rxf6 c5 34. dxc5 Rxc3 35. cxb6 cxb6 36. Rc6 Ra3 37. Rxb6 Rxa4 38. c5 Rc4 39. c6 a4 40. Ra6 a3 41. Kh2 a2 42. Rxa2 Rxc6 43. Ra8+ Kg7 44. Ra7+ Kg6 45. Ra3 h6 46. Rg3+ Kf7 47. Rf3+ Kg7 48. Kg3 Rc4 49. Kf2 Rc2+ 50. Kg3 Rc4 51. Rf4 Rc3+ 52. Kh2 Kg6 53. Rg4+ Kf7 54. Rg3 Rc4 55. Rf3+ Kg7 56. Kg3 Rb4 57. Ra3 Rc4 58. Rb3 Rd4 59. Kf3 Rc4 60. Re3 Rb4 61. Re7+ Kg6 62. Re4 Rb3+ 63. Kf4 Rb1 64. Kg3 Rg1 65. Rg4+ Kf7 66. Kh4 Rb1 67. Kh5 Rb6 68. Rg3 Rc6 69. Ra3 Kg7 70. Ra7+ Kg8 71. h4 Rb6 72. Re7 Rc6 73. Re5 Rb6 74. Rd5 Rc6 75. Rd4 Rb6 76. Rg4+ Kh7 77. Rf4 Rb5+ 78. Kg4 Kg7 79. Rd4 Ra5 80. Rd7+ Kg8 81. Kh3 Rb5 82. Re7 Ra5 83. Kg3 Rb5 84. Kf4 Ra5 85. Re5 Ra4+ 86. Re4 Ra5 87. Re7 Kh8 88. g3 Rb5 89. Re5 Rb6 90. Kf5 Kg7 91. Re7+ Kg8 92. Re6 Rb3 93. g4 Kg7 94. Re7+ Kg8 95. Re6 Kg7 96. Re7+ Kg8 97. Re4 Rb6 98. Re6 Rb4 99. Rxh6 Rb5+ 100. Kf4 Rb4+ 101. Kf3 Rb3+ 102. Ke2 Rb2+ 103. Kd3 Rb4 104. Rg6+ Kh7 105. h5 Ra4 106. Ke3 Rb4 107. Kf3 Ra4 108. Re6 {1-0 (108) Giri,A (2764)-Lysyj,I (2593) Chess. com INT 2020}) 10. Nh4 Bf8 11. Nf5 Nc5 12. Qh5 Be6 (12... Ne6 $142) 13. b3 (13. Nce3 $142) 13... Qd7 14. Be3 (14. Nce3 $142) 14... Kh8 (14... Bxc4 $142 15. bxc4 Ne6) 15. Nh4 Kg8 16. Qe2 Re8 17. a4 b6 18. Rg1 {Subtle! (Not.) Happily for White, it provokes an overreaction.} a5 (18... g6 $15) 19. Nd2 f5 $2 { This does prevent g4, but it's positionally horrible.} (19... g5 {followed by . ..h6 (as needed) is similar to a the sort of setup we've seen earlier in the tournament.}) (19... Na6 20. g4 Nb4 21. Nf1 g6 22. Nf5 Kh8 23. N1g3 Rd8 24. Rad1 c5 {Black must respect White's kingside buildup, but he has good ideas fo his own including ...Nc6-d4 and ...b5 followed by ...a4 to make progress on the queenside.}) 20. exf5 Bxf5 21. Nxf5 Qxf5 22. Bxc5 Bxc5 23. Ne4 $16 { From here one would expect that White would keep the game static from here, looking to use the good knight against Black's lame bishop, trying to exploit the weaknesses of e4 and e5, and either win a long game or accept Black's ability to save it after a lot of suffering. I'm sure that's what a well-rested, in-form Caruana would have done--but not the guy who's playing this game.} Bb4 24. Rgf1 Qg6 25. Rad1 h5 $6 26. g3 $6 (26. f3 Ref8 27. Rf2 Rf5 28. Qe3 {The rook goes to e2 next, and then White has to figure out how to make progress. Maybe Nd2-c4?} Rf4 (28... h4 29. Rg1) 29. Re2 Kh7 30. Nd2 Bxd2 ( 30... Bd6 31. Rde1 R4f5 32. Nc4 $16 {/+-}) 31. Qxd2 h4 32. h3 R8f5 33. Re3 Qd6 34. Rde1 Kg6 35. Re4 c5 36. R1e2 $16 {I don't know if White can break through. What is clear is that he will have chances to win, and barring a blunder cannot lose.}) 26... Ref8 27. d4 $6 {Completely renouncing the positional approach.} exd4 28. Rxd4 h4 $14 29. gxh4 (29. f4 $142 $14) 29... Rf4 (29... Qe6 $11) 30. Qc4+ (30. h5) 30... Kh8 31. Ng5 (31. Rg1) 31... b5 32. Qd3 $6 (32. Qe6 Qxe6 33. Nxe6 Rxd4 34. Nxd4 bxa4 35. bxa4 Rf4 36. Nxc6 Bc3 $11) 32... Qxd3 33. Rxd3 bxa4 34. bxa4 (34. Kg2 Rxh4 35. Kg3 Rh5 36. Kg4 Rxh2 37. Kg3 Rh6 38. bxa4 $15) 34... Bd6 $15 35. Rc3 $2 (35. Ne6 $1 Rxf2 36. Rxf2 Rxf2 37. Rc3 Re2 $1 38. Ng5 Rxh2+ 39. Kg1 Rxh4 40. Nf7+ Kh7 41. Nxd6 cxd6 42. Rxc6 Rxa4 43. Rxd6 { "All rooks are drawn" is false, but this one should be.}) 35... Rxa4 $19 { Quite the collapse from Caruana. Unfortunately, the adventures are not over.} 36. Rxc6 Rxh4 37. f4 $2 (37. Ra6 $1 {kept chances for a draw.}) 37... Rhxf4 $2 (37... Bxf4 $1 {won easily.} 38. Ne6 (38. Rxc7 Ra8 39. Nf3 Rxh2+ 40. Nxh2 Bxc7 $19) (38. Nf3 Rh6 $19) 38... Rxh2+ 39. Kg1 Rh6 $1 $19 {is the witty retort that refutes White's idea.}) 38. Rxf4 Bxf4 39. Ne4 Ra8 40. Rc4 Be5 $19 { The time control has been made, and Black is winning. Normally we'd expect this to lead to victory, but both players are exhausted and punch-drunk.} ( 40... a4 $4 41. Nc3 $11) 41. Ra4 Kg8 $1 {Correct: Black aims to bring the king to the queenside as quickly as he can.} 42. Kg2 Kf7 43. Nd2 Bc3 (43... Ke6 $142 ) 44. Ne4 Bb4 $6 (44... Be5 {was better, followed by the correct choice of plan in case White repeated moves.}) 45. Kf3 Ke6 46. c3 Be7 47. Ke3 c6 $2 { The Black king can use this square; the pawn, by contrast, does little to nothing here.} (47... Kd5 48. Kd3 Kc6 49. Kc4 Kb6 $19 {was better, intending to activate the rook ASAP.}) 48. h3 Bd8 49. Nc5+ Kf5 (49... Kd5 $142 50. Nb3 c5 51. Kd3 Ra6 $17) 50. Nb3 Bb6+ 51. Kf3 (51. Kd3 $142 $15 {was better. White's king doesn't need to serve as the enemy king's minder on the kingsde.}) 51... Ke5 52. h4 $2 (52. Ke2) 52... Kd5 (52... Rf8+ $1 53. Kg4 Ke6 $1 {Staying away from squares where a knight on a5 could move to give check.} 54. Nxa5 $4 Ra8 $19) 53. h5 c5 $2 (53... Rh8) 54. Nd2 {This should still be good enough to draw, but there was better.} (54. Rg4 $1 a4 (54... c4 55. Nd2 a4 56. Rg5+ Kc6 57. Nxc4 a3 58. Nxa3 Rxa3 59. Rxg7 $11) 55. c4+ $1 Ke5 56. Rg5+ Kd6 57. Rg6+ Kc7 58. Rxg7+ Kc6 59. Rg6+ Kb7 60. Rg7+ Ka6 61. Nc1 $11) 54... Bc7 55. Ke2 $2 ( 55. Ke3 $142) 55... Rh8 56. Rg4 $1 (56. Nb3 $2 Rxh5 57. Nxa5 Bxa5 58. Rxa5 Kc4 59. Ra3 Rh2+ 60. Kd1 g5 $19) 56... Rxh5 57. Rxg7 Kc6 $11 (57... Be5 $1 { was best. It doesn't win a pawn, but White has to immobilize himself to keep the pawn protected.} 58. Rd7+ Kc6 59. Rd3 Kb5 {gives Black better chances than in the game.}) 58. Kd3 (58. Nc4) 58... Be5 59. Rf7 a4 60. Ne4 $2 {Losing the game for the last time.} (60. Nb1 {is just one of the moves that save the game. }) 60... Rh3+ 61. Kd2 (61. Kc4 Rh4 62. Kd3 c4+ 63. Ke3 Rh3+ 64. Kd2 a3 65. Ra7 Kd5 66. Nf2 Bf4+ 67. Ke2 (67. Kc2 Rh2 $19) 67... Rxc3 $19) 61... Kd5 {It really is that simple. The knight must leave, and then the c-pawn goes the way of all flesh.} 62. Nf2 Rxc3 63. Rf5 Rg3 0-1 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.04"] [Round "14.3"] [White "Ding Liren"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D40"] [WhiteElo "2806"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,45,18,18,39,4,4,-2,6,6,37,16,21,16,41,12,25,20,39,21,29,37,34,47,58, 58,42,7,10,16,6,-3,11,5,16,0,10,-2,11,8,7,2,21,17,6,35,33,13]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. e3 Nc6 6. a3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 a6 8. Bd3 (8. O-O b5 9. Ba2 {is far more popular, and White wins games here, too. But it's also a relatively forcing line, and there's the danger that Black will manage to kill the game before anything happens.} (9. Bd3 {is a significant secondary option.} )) 8... b5 9. dxc5 (9. O-O {transposes to 8.0-0 b5 9.Bd3.}) 9... Bxc5 10. b4 Be7 11. O-O Bb7 12. Bb2 O-O {White's minuscule edge in this symmetrical position seems harmless.} 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 f5 15. Bb1 Qxd1 16. Rxd1 Rfd8 17. Ba2 Kf7 $11 18. h4 h6 ({The direct} 18... Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Rd8 20. Rxd8 Bxd8 21. Ng5+ Bxg5 22. hxg5 Ne7 {looks like absolutely nothing for White. The bishop pair seems useless here. White must act right away, or Black will force a draw with ...Bd5-e4-d5, as the trade will end the game immediately.} 23. f3 Bd5 24. Bb1 Nc8 25. Kf2 Nd6 26. Bd3 Nc4 27. Bc1 Kg6 $11 {Black is not threatening to take the g-pawn at the moment, but the real question is, what can White do? This is drawn.}) 19. Rdc1 Bd6 (19... Bf6 $142 20. Nd4 Nxd4 21. Rc7+ Kg6 22. Bxd4 (22. Rxb7 $4 Ne2+ 23. Kf1 Bxb2 24. Rb1 Nc3 25. Rxb2 Rd1#) 22... Bxd4 23. exd4 Bd5 24. Bxd5 Rxd5 25. Re1 Rd6 26. d5 Re8 27. h5+ Kf6 28. Rxe6+ Rdxe6 29. dxe6 Rxe6 $11) 20. Rc2 Ne7 (20... a5 $11) 21. Nd4 $14 Bd5 22. Bxd5 Nxd5 23. Rac1 {White has managed to achieve a little edge. The game should still be drawn, obviously, but it's not longer dead/dead-ish.} Rd7 24. Nb3 Be7 25. h5 (25. g3 {is less ambitious but more stable.}) 25... Bf6 26. Bd4 (26. Bxf6 $1 Nxf6 27. Rc6 Nxh5 28. Nc5 Re7 29. Rxa6 $14) 26... e5 $1 {This destabilizes the knight on d5 and could create a target of the pawn. Nevertheless, it's a good idea.} 27. Bc5 $5 {An odd-looking move, plugging up the c-file (White's rooks are scratching their heads) and taking c5 away from the knight. How do we make sense of it? One idea is to play Nd2, intending e4 (maybe the preliminary g3 should be included, so Black won't have ...Nf4 in reply). If Black stops this with ...e4, then White can bring the knight back to b3 and either put a minor piece on d4 and reopen the c-file, or switch his rooks to the d-file.} (27. Bb2 Nb6 {followed by ...Nc4 was Nakamura's idea.}) 27... Bd8 (27... Rad8) 28. Rd2 Nf6 29. Rxd7+ Nxd7 30. Rd1 Nf6 31. Bd6 Ng4 $1 32. Bc5 Bh4 {A good move, but only if Nakamura plays ...Rd8 in one of the lines before.} (32... Nf6 $11 {offers a repetition. It's not a bad idea in its own right, while putting the pressure on Ding to try something else.}) 33. Rd7+ Kg8 34. g3 Bg5 (34... Rd8 $1 $11 35. Ra7 Bg5 36. Rxa6 Rd3 37. f4 Rxb3 38. fxg5 hxg5 39. Rg6 Kf7 40. Rxg5 Ke6 41. Rxg7 Kd5 42. Rxg4 fxg4 43. h6 Rxa3 44. Bf8 Rxe3 45. Kg2 $8 Re2+ 46. Kg1 Re1+ 47. Kg2 Re2+ 48. Kg1 $11 {is a nice (if implausible) variation.}) 35. Kf1 (35. Bd6 {would be trouble for Black, were it not for} Rd8 $1 36. Rxd8+ Bxd8 37. Nc5 a5 $8 38. Nb7 axb4 $1 {The justification of the whole line.} 39. Bxb4 (39. Nxd8 $4 b3 $19) (39. axb4 Bb6 $11) 39... Bc7 $11) 35... Bd8 $4 {A big error, and with plenty of time on the clock (he had almost 27 minutes left after this for his last five moves).} ( 35... Rd8 $1 $11 36. Rxd8+ (36. Rd6 Rxd6 37. Bxd6 Kf7 38. Nc5 Be7 39. Bxe7 Kxe7 40. Nxa6 Kd6 $11 {is identical to the main line.}) (36. Ra7 $6 Rd3 37. Na5 Rxa3 $15 {can only be trouble for White, as Black's rook is headed for the second rank.}) 36... Bxd8 37. Bd6 Kf7 38. Nc5 Be7 39. Bxe7 Kxe7 40. Nxa6 Kd6 $11 { Having stopped Nc7xb5, Black is ready to regain his pawn on the other side with ...Nf6xh5.}) 36. Rb7 $18 f4 37. gxf4 exf4 38. e4 $4 (38. exf4 $1 {was correct. It's not about greed (though even the doubled extra pawn could come in handy) but about taking squares away from Black's pieces - particularly the e5 square.}) 38... Bf6 $2 {Giving White another chance.} (38... f3 $1 39. Nd4 Ne5 $1 $14 {Impossible with a white pawn on f4.}) 39. Nd4 $16 {/+-} ({It was better to first improve the position of the king. Black is not going anywhere but must wait.} 39. Ke2 $1 Ne5 40. Nd4 Nc4 {is an attempt to do something, but} 41. Nf5 Nxa3 42. Kf3 Nc4 (42... Be5 43. Ne7+ Kh7 44. Ng6 $18) 43. Kxf4 a5 44. bxa5 Rxa5 45. Bd4 Bxd4 46. Nxd4 {will win for White.}) 39... Re8 $1 40. Kg2 $1 (40. Ke2 $1 Bxd4 (40... Rxe4+ $2 41. Kf3 Nxf2 42. Ne2 $18) 41. Bxd4 Nf6 (41... Rxe4+ $2 42. Kd3 {and Black loses a piece, as White threatens both Kxe4 and Rxg7+ followed by Rxg4.}) 42. Kd3 Nxh5 43. Rb6 Kf7 $1 (43... Ra8 $2 44. e5 $18 {wins. Black's knight is cut off, so White will play Ke4-f5, improving his position before shepherding the e-pawn up the board.}) 44. Rxa6 Nf6 {is the only way for Black to keep the game going, though White is probably going to win after} 45. Ra5 Nxe4 46. Rxb5) 40... Ne5 (40... Bxd4 41. Bxd4 Nf6 42. Bxf6 gxf6 43. Kf3 $18) 41. Nf5 f3+ (41... Nc4 42. Be7 $1 Be5 43. Ra7 Nxa3 44. Rxa6 $18) 42. Kg3 Nc4 43. Be7 $1 Bb2 44. Kxf3 Bxa3 45. Kg3 Ne5 46. Bc5 $1 { Enfeebling the Black knight. Otherwise, Black would have played ...Bb2 or ... N~ followed by ...Bb2 (as necessary), keeping all his pieces active.} Nf7 47. f3 Bc1 48. Ra7 Bd2 49. Rxa6 {Finally collecting material.} Be1+ 50. Kg2 Bc3 51. Ra7 Ng5 52. Ne7+ Kh8 53. Ng6+ {The odds of a three-time repetition are zero. This is smart anyway, to get closer to the third time control after move 60.} Kg8 54. Ne7+ Kh8 55. Nd5 Bb2 56. Ra2 $1 Bc1 {This loses the bishop, but other moves also failed to offer any hope.} (56... Bf6 57. Nxf6 gxf6 58. Ra6 Kg7 59. Rb6 $18) 57. Rc2 Ba3 58. Be3 {White's rook returns to a2, and the bishop is gone (defending it with ...Ra8 is met by Bc1). Nakamura gives up, Ding surpasses him for second, and now it's up to Carlsen whether it's Carlsen-Nepo II or Nepo-Ding I for the World Championship.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid ESP"] [Date "2022.07.04"] [Round "14.4"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,63,27,18,22,22,22,10,10,18,18,12,12,11,17,8,17,9,4,2,-3,7,27,-12,-11, -6,-3,-16,-15,-69,-68,-36,-36,-33,10,-29,-9,-32,-23,-33,-33,-36,-36,-36,-21, -95,-95,-97,-66,-87,-91,0,0,0,0,0,8,31,68,-12,5,8,15,-12,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 d5 5. Nbd2 Qd7 6. Bd3 Nc5 7. Be2 Ne6 8. O-O Be7 9. Re1 $146 O-O 10. Nf1 c5 11. Bd3 Rd8 12. Ng3 g6 13. c3 Nc6 14. h4 $5 c4 15. Bc2 a5 ( 15... d4 {looks natural. White will not swap everything, but will allow the pawn to d3 and work around it.} 16. Ne4 d3 17. Ba4 a6 18. Qd2 b5 19. Nf6+ Bxf6 20. exf6 Qd5 $1 (20... bxa4 $4 21. Qh6 Ra7 22. Ng5 $18 {Black can only prevent Qxh7+ followed by Qh8# by taking White's knight and allowing Qg7# instead.}) 21. Qh6 Qh5 22. Qxh5 gxh5 23. Bd1 Nc7 24. b3 Nd5 25. bxc4 bxc4 26. Re4 Nxc3 27. Rxc4 Nxd1 28. Rxc6 Bb7 29. Rc5 Bxf3 30. Bh6 d2 31. gxf3 Nc3 {and White must either force perpetual right now, or do so after a nonsensical move or two (like 32.Kh2 d1Q 33.Rxd1 Rxd1 and now it's time).} 32. Rg5+ Kh8 33. Bg7+ Kg8 34. Bh6+ $11) 16. h5 Ra6 $6 ({It was time to get on with it.} 16... d4 $1) 17. Be3 $6 (17. Qd2 $1 {Intending to take on g6 and then play Qh6. (The preliminary swap is necessary so that after Qh6 Bf8 the queen can stay active by retreating to h4.)}) 17... d4 $1 18. cxd4 Ncxd4 (18... Nexd4 $1 19. Ne4 Nxc2 20. Qxc2 Qd3 $11 21. Rac1 (21. Rec1 $6 Bf5 $1 $15 {shows the value of taking with the e-knight.}) 21... Bg4 {is likewise made possible by taking with the e6-knight.}) 19. Ne4 Nxf3+ (19... Nxc2 $142 20. Qxc2 Qd3 21. Rec1 $1 $14 { /+/- If Black could play ...Bf5 (see the note to move 18) he'd be fine.}) 20. Qxf3 Nd4 21. Bxd4 Qxd4 22. Rad1 Qxb2 23. hxg6 $2 {Missing his chance. Now Nepo reaches safety, a draw, and a happy conclusion to his victorious and undefeated 2022 Candidates.} (23. Rxd8+ $1 Bxd8 24. Rd1 Be7 25. Nf6+ Rxf6 ( 25... Bxf6 $2 26. exf6 Qxf6 (26... Rxf6 27. Rd8+ Kg7 28. Qe3 {Threatening h6#.} Re6 29. h6+ Kf6 30. Qf4+ Ke7 31. Rxc8 Re1+ (31... Qxc2 32. Qg5+ $1 Rf6 33. Qc5+ Rd6 34. Rc7+ Ke6 35. Qe3+ Kf5 36. Rc5+ Kf6 (36... Kg4 37. Qg5#) 37. Qe5#) 32. Kh2 Qe5 (32... Qxc2 33. Rc7+ $18 {is mating.})) 27. Qxf6 Rxf6 28. Rd8+ Kg7 29. Rxc8 $18) 26. exf6 Bxf6 27. Qf4 Be6 28. Be4 Be7 $14 {/+/-}) 23... hxg6 24. Rxd8+ Bxd8 25. Nd6 Be6 26. Bxg6 $1 fxg6 27. Qe4 $8 Kg7 28. Rb1 $8 Bd5 $1 $11 { It's possible that Duda missed this move when initiating the forced sequence back on move 23.} 29. Rxb2 $8 Bxe4 30. Nxe4 Rb6 31. Rxb6 Bxb6 32. Kf1 Bd4 33. Nd6 Bxe5 34. Nxc4 Bc7 35. Ke2 Kf6 36. Kd3 Ke6 37. Ke4 b5 38. Na3 b4 39. Nc4 a4 40. f4 b3 41. axb3 axb3 42. g4 Kf6 43. f5 gxf5+ 44. gxf5 Bb8 45. Kd3 Kxf5 46. Nd6+ Bxd6 47. Kc3 b2 48. Kxb2 1/2-1/2