[Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.10"] [Round "8"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C83"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "170"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,48,19,38,25,16,14,15,25,-4,-2,3,23,-14,0,0,1,7,33,-19,14,-15,17,28,17, -41,-11,4,4,45,21,3,33,-40,-13,-44,-41,-37,-58,-77,18,-37,-58,-70,9,-6,22,13,0, -18,19]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 10. Nbd2 Nc5 11. Bc2 d4 12. Nb3 d3 13. Bb1 Nxb3 14. axb3 Bf5 15. b4 O-O 16. h3 Qd7 17. Re1 Rfd8 18. Re3 {A novelty.} ({Both} 18. g4 ) ({and} 18. Bf4 {has been played countless times, including in games featuring Mamedyarov.}) 18... h5 19. Ba2 Be6 20. Bb1 Bf5 21. Ba2 Be6 22. Bd2 ( 22. Bb1 Bf5 {would be the path to the repetition.}) 22... g6 23. Bb1 Bf5 24. Ba2 Be6 25. Bxe6 ({Or} 25. Bb1 Bf5 26. Qe1 Kg7 27. Ba2 Be6 28. Bxe6 Qxe6 29. Rd1 {with a clear advantage for White, whereas}) (25. Ne1 $2 Bxa2 26. Rxa2 Qd5 {is fine for Black.}) 25... Qxe6 26. Ne1 $6 ({Not the best. White should have played} 26. Qe1 Qb3 27. e6 f5 28. Qf1 Qxb2 29. Rae1 {which looks odd, but after } Qc2 30. g4 $3 fxg4 31. hxg4 hxg4 32. Qg2 {it becomes obvious what White was up to; Black is completely busted.}) 26... a5 27. Nxd3 axb4 28. Rxa8 Rxa8 29. cxb4 Rd8 30. Qf1 Nd4 31. Bc3 Qf5 32. Ne1 c6 33. Qd3 Qd7 34. Qe4 Ne6 35. Rd3 Qc8 36. Rxd8+ Bxd8 37. Nd3 Be7 38. Kf1 Qd7 39. Ke2 Kf8 40. Bd2 Nd4+ 41. Kf1 Ke8 42. Be3 Ne6 43. Ke2 Kf8 44. Bc5 Bxc5 45. Nxc5 Nxc5 46. bxc5 Qe6 47. b4 {White is clearly better, but there is still a lot of work to be done.} Qa2+ 48. Kf3 Qa3+ 49. Kf4 Qc1+ 50. Kg3 Qc3+ 51. Kh2 $2 (51. f3 $1) 51... Qd2 $2 (51... Qc4 $3 { saves the game $1}) 52. Kg3 $6 (52. f3 $1) 52... Qc3+ $2 (52... h4+ $1) 53. f3 Kg7 54. h4 $1 {Now, White's win begins to look like a formality.} Qd2 55. Qf4 Qe1+ 56. Kh2 Kg8 57. Qd4 Kh7 58. Qf4 Kg8 59. Qf6 Qxb4 $4 (59... Qc3 $1) 60. e6 fxe6 61. Qxg6+ Kf8 62. Qf6+ Kg8 63. Qxe6+ Kg7 64. Qe5+ Kg8 65. Qe8+ Kg7 66. Qe7+ Kg8 67. Qe8+ Kg7 68. Qe5+ Kf8 69. Qf6+ $2 (69. Kg3 $1 {was the winning move.}) 69... Kg8 70. Qg5+ Kf8 71. Qxh5 $2 {For some reason, the pawn should only be taken if Black's king is on the g-file.} Qf4+ 72. g3 Qd2+ 73. Kh3 b4 $4 ({The computer indicates} 73... Qe3 74. Qg4 Qxc5 {as best when White's chances of converting are quite limited.}) 74. Qh8+ ({White's simplest win was} 74. Qf5+ Ke7 75. Qe5+ Kf7 76. Qc7+ Kf8 77. Qxc6 {which wins according to the computer...}) 74... Kf7 75. Qh7+ Kf6 76. Qb7 $4 {No no no no no no $1 You do not put your queen on such a passive square.} ({White wins after} 76. g4 Qe2 77. g5+ Ke6 78. Qg8+ Kd7 79. Qg7+ Kc8 80. Qf8+ Kb7 81. Qf7+ Ka6 82. g6 { and White's king will run to safety while helping the g-pawn become a queen.}) 76... Qe1 $3 {Brilliant $1 The c6-pawn cannot be captured because of ...Qe6+. Now Black saves the draw.} 77. h5 Qe6+ 78. Kh4 Qc4+ 79. f4 Qd5 80. Qxb4 Qh1+ 81. Kg4 Qd1+ 82. Kh3 Qh1+ 83. Kg4 Qd1+ 84. Kh3 Qh1+ 85. Kg4 Qd1+ {with a draw by perpetual check and repetition. What a disaster for Dominguez.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.10"] [Round "8"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A21"] [WhiteElo "2688"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "138"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Nd5 a5 4. a3 Bc5 5. Nf3 d6 6. e3 c6 7. d4 Ba7 8. Nc3 Nd7 9. b4 Ngf6 10. Bb2 O-O 11. Be2 exd4 ({A novelty. Previously, Black had tried} 11... Re8) ({and} 11... Bb8 {, though, in both cases, with better chances for White.}) 12. Nxd4 Ne5 13. h3 Re8 14. O-O Bd7 15. Qd2 Bb6 16. Rad1 $6 (16. Rfd1 {is the right rook to put on d1.}) 16... axb4 17. axb4 Qc8 18. f4 $6 ({This move somewhat resembles ideas that White use in the main line of Budapest Gambit, but somewhat surprisingly, it is not as good here despite the similarity in pawn structure and pice distribution.} 18. e4 {was apparently better, although fully ok for Black.}) 18... Ng6 19. Kh2 c5 $6 (19... Nh4 $1 { intending ...Bf5 was better for Black.}) 20. bxc5 Qxc5 21. g4 $2 ({Aggressive and an outright mistake. White would have had an advantage after} 21. Rf3 Qb4 22. Bd3 {.}) 21... Ba5 22. Qd3 Bxc3 23. Qxc3 Ne4 {Black chases the queen away from the long diagonal and is now better.} 24. Qd3 Qb4 25. Rb1 $2 ({A blunder, losing/sacrificing the exchange. White should have played} 25. Ra1 {although} Rxa1 ({White survives after} 25... Qxb2 26. Rxa8 Rxa8 27. Qxe4 Bc6 28. Qb1) 26. Bxa1 Nc5 27. Qd1 Qa3 {and Black is better but White is alive.}) 25... Nd2 26. Bc3 Nxf1+ 27. Bxf1 Ra2+ 28. Kg1 Qa4 29. Rxb7 Nh4 30. Bb2 Qa8 31. Qb3 Ra7 32. Rxa7 Qxa7 33. Qc3 f6 $1 {Nope, no fun for you on that diagonal $1} 34. Qd2 Qxd4 35. Qxd4 Nf3+ 36. Kf2 Nxd4 37. Bxd4 Rc8 {The endgame should win for Black but with pawn and bishop pair for the exchange, there are some technical difficulties that Black has to handle. Unfortunately for Niemann, Caruana has both the patience and the ability to deal with such obstacles.} 38. Bg2 Kf8 39. Bd5 Ke7 40. f5 Ba4 41. Ke2 Bb3 42. Kd3 Ba2 43. Ba7 Bb3 44. Kd4 h5 45. gxh5 Rh8 46. Bf3 Bc2 47. Bg4 Ra8 48. Bb6 Ra3 49. c5 Rd3+ 50. Kc4 dxc5 51. Bxc5+ Kf7 52. Bd4 Ra3 53. Bc3 Be4 54. Kd4 Ra4+ 55. Kc5 Bc2 56. Bb4 Ra1 57. Kd4 Rf1 58. Be2 Rxf5 59. Bd6 Bb3 60. Bf4 Ra5 61. h4 Kg8 62. h6 g6 63. Bc7 Rd5+ 64. Kc3 Rc5+ 65. Kxb3 Rxc7 66. Bd3 f5 67. h5 gxh5 68. Bxf5 h4 69. e4 Rc5 0-1 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.10"] [Round "8"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2792"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "104"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Qc2 Bg6 11. c5 Bc7 12. Nbd2 $6 (12. Nc3 {is the main line which is supposed to give White a tiny edge and generally scores well for White. But it would be very surprising if Nepomniachtchi hhad not looked at this as part of his preparation for the world championship match against Magnus Carlsen last year.}) 12... f5 13. Qb3 $6 Rf7 14. Bc2 $6 h6 15. Nf1 a5 16. a4 $2 Na6 17. Bd2 Bh5 18. Rad1 $6 Qf6 19. Ng3 Bxf3 20. Qxf3 Bxg3 21. hxg3 Qxd4 22. Bxa5 Qxb2 {At this point, Black is much better or even winning..} 23. Re2 Naxc5 24. Be1 Qf6 25. a5 Rd8 26. Bb1 Rfd7 $6 ({Surprisingly, this is a mistake. A better option was} 26... Ne6 {.}) 27. Qa3 (27. g4 $5) 27... d4 28. Bb4 Na6 29. Be1 c5 $4 (29... Nac5 {was still much better for Black. After the text move, rather surpringly, nearly all of Black's advantage is gone.}) 30. g4 $3 {Now White is back in business, the knight on e4 is being undermined, the light-squared bishop on b1, springs to life, and nothing is clear.} g6 $2 { Another mistake by Nempomniachtchi.} 31. Qc1 $6 ({White is almost better after } 31. gxf5 gxf5 32. Bxe4 fxe4 33. Rxe4 Rg7 34. Qb3+ Qf7 35. Qh3 {.}) 31... Kg7 $2 (31... Nc7 $1 {was much better.}) 32. gxf5 gxf5 33. Rd3 $2 ({Aronian misses his chance. After} 33. Bxe4 fxe4 34. Rxe4 Qg6 35. f3 Kh7 36. Rg4 Qf5 37. Bd2 { , Black's king is in trouble, the knight is out of play and the passed pawns cannot be pushed in a meaningful way.}) 33... Re7 34. Rf3 Rde8 35. Rxe4 Rxe4 36. Bxe4 Rxe4 37. Bd2 {White is two pawns down but as Seirawan said in the broadcast, the passed pawns are like stuck in mud.} Qe6 38. Qb1 Qd5 39. Rh3 $6 ({White has the wonderful rook manouver} 39. Rb3 $1 Re7 40. Rb6 $1 Kg8 41. Rf6 $1 {available which would leave White with a fully playable position, in fact, one could argue that White's position is easier to play.}) 39... Re6 40. Qc1 $4 ({Noooo $1 Now Black is winning again. On the last move before the time control, White blunders the game away. After} 40. Rb3 {, White would still be in the game.}) 40... Rg6 41. Bxh6+ Kf6 $2 ({According to the engine,} 41... Kf7 $1 {was better, but maybe Nepo was concerned about} 42. Bg5 {followed by Rh7+, but} Nc7 $1 43. Rh7+ Rg7 {wins for Black.}) 42. f3 $2 (42. g3 {would have kept the game going a bit longer.}) 42... Nc7 43. Qf4 $2 Ne6 44. Qb8 Qa2 45. g4 $2 fxg4 46. Qh8+ Kf7 47. Rg3 Qb1+ 48. Kh2 Qc2+ 49. Kh1 Qd1+ 50. Kh2 Qe2+ 51. Rg2 g3+ 52. Kh3 Qf1 0-1 [Event "St. Louis"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2022.09.10"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2771"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "France"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "FRA"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {The Italian is the new Ruy Lopez in complexity and a chance to play for a win nowadays.} Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 O-O 7. h3 h6 8. Re1 a6 ({So deviates from an earlier game of theirs that went} 8... a5 9. Bb3 Be6 10. Ba4 Bb6 11. d4 Bd7 12. Be3 exd4 13. cxd4 Re8 14. d5 Ne5 15. Nxe5 Bxa4 16. Qxa4 Bxe3 17. Rxe3 Rxe5 18. Nd2 Qd7 19. Qc2 Rae8 20. Rae1 R5e7 21. Qc3 Qa4 {and Black won later, Firouzja,A (2759) -So,W (2770) chess24.com 2021}) 9. a4 {9.Nbd2 is the topical line these days.} ({And has been tried by So, with reversed colors:} 9. Nbd2 Na5 10. b4 Nxc4 11. bxc5 Nxd2 12. Qxd2 Re8 13. cxd6 cxd6 14. a4 d5 15. exd5 Qxd5 16. c4 Qd6 17. Ba3 Qc7 18. Bb2 Nd7 19. Qc3 f6 20. d4 {and this was another success for the American GM, So,W (2773)-Sjugirov,S (2696) Chess.com 2022}) 9... a5 {\"He surprised me [with this move], of course. I knew the move, but there are better tries for Black\" (Firouzja). So spent his rest day well and as we shall see got more than he could have dreamt for from the opening.} 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. b3 Re8 12. Bb2 $146 {A top novelty, but most likely we shall not see it too often... In hindsight, White regretted playing this, and felt that he should have played better.} ({Giri did not get much after} 12. Qc2 Ba7 13. Nf1 Nh5 14. Ne3 Bxe3 15. Bxe3 Qf6 16. Qe2 Nf4 17. Bxf4 Qxf4 18. Nd2 Qf6 19. Qf3 Qxf3 20. Nxf3 Nb8 21. Nd2 Nd7 {Giri,A (2761) -Praggnanandhaa,R (2642) chess24.com 2022}) ({The main line is} 12. Bb5) 12... d5 $1 {Forcing an immediate resolution in the center. That is Black's key resource.} 13. Bb5 dxe4 14. dxe4 {Only this is the real mistake.} ({Had Firouzja known how bad things might get, he would have still bailed out with} 14. Nxe4 $1 Nxe4 15. Rxe4 {Then the forcing continuation} Bd5 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Rxe5 Rxe5 18. Nxe5 Qg5 19. Nf3 Bxf3 20. Qxf3 Qd2 21. Rf1 Bd6 22. Qxc6 Rb8 { would soon lead to a mass annihilation of the queenside pawns and a draw. One funny line to prove this runs} 23. Bc1 Qxd3 24. b4 axb4 25. cxb4 Rxb4 26. Qe8+ Kh7 27. Qxf7 Rb1 28. g4 Qxh3 29. Qf5+ Kg8 30. Qe6+) 14... Nh5 $3 {\"I completely underestimated this move. I felt kind of stupid, as it is an only move. If he backs up, he is worse. Then I felt I should hold here, but with very precise play.\" (Firouzja)} ({Indeed, White would have been happy after} 14... Nd7 15. Qe2 ({Or} 15. Nc4)) 15. Nc4 {Played after a bit more than five minutes on the clock. It seems as Firouzja did not yet feel how bad the situation is.} ({Otherwise he would have tried to defend with} 15. Ba3 Bxa3 16. Rxa3 {Although Black is doing more than fine after} Qf6 ({Or} 16... Nf4)) ({ Or even} 15. b4 $5 axb4 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. cxb4 {and the complications after} Bxb4 18. Bxe5 Bxh3 {clearly favor Black, but at least it is still playable.}) 15... Qf6 $1 {So does not back up and launches a decisive attack.} 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Ncxe5 Bxh3 {Not bad at all, but that was the first moment when the inclusion of the reserves could have settled the game at once.} ({The move} 17... Rad8 $1 {could have led Black to the win as} 18. Nd3 {is spectacularly refuted with} Bxb3 $3 ({Firouzja mainly expected} 18... Nf4 19. Nd4 {and then} Bxb3 $1 {but here White manages to consolidate with} 20. Qf3 Nxd3 21. Qxd3) 19. Qxb3 Rxd3 20. Qc4 {This is how far Firouzja saw, but it seems as they both missed} Rxf3 21. Qxc5 Nf4 $3 {with unstoppable attack.}) 18. Nd3 $1 {The knight are covering a lot of squares, but will this be enough $2} Qg6 {The second most obvious move throws away the largest chunk of the attack.} ({ So could have still won spectacularly with} 18... Rad8 $3 {first and only after } 19. Nd4 Qg6 20. Qf3 Bg4 21. Qe3 Bb6 $3 {\"Because I don't have\"} ({And even better might have been} 21... Ba7 $3 {with the idea to meet the defense} 22. Nf4 Nxf4 23. Qxf4 c5 24. Nb5 {with an amazing inclusion back in the game} Bb8 $3) 22. c4 ({It seems as they both missed the stunning} 22. Ba3 Rxd4 $3 23. cxd4 Bxd4 24. Qxd4 Bf3 $3 {and mate follows $1}) ({Therefore White needs to try } 22. Nf4 Nxf4 23. Qxf4 {which is clearly better for the second player, but not yet over.}) 22... Bxd4 $1 ({The already familiar resource} 22... Rxd4 23. Bxd4 Bxd4 24. Qxd4 Bf3 $3 {works again} 25. g3 Nxg3) 23. Bxd4 Qd6 {\"This is what I blundered.\" (Firouzja)}) 19. Nh4 Qg5 20. Nxc5 Qxh4 {Missing his last chance for an advantage.} ({This was the last moment for} 20... Rad8 $1 21. Qf3 Bg4 22. Qe3 Qxh4 23. Nd3 Rd5 $1 {and Black should be still better.}) 21. gxh3 { A lot of pieces have been swapped and White does not risk to be mated anymore. On the other hand, the possibility of an ugly endgame (for Black) with a strong bishop versus a poor knight starts to frighten the second player.} Qg5+ ({Here a better try seemed} 21... Re5 $1 22. Bc1 {And here White expected} ({ More precise looks} 22. Qf3 $5 Rxc5 23. Bc1) 22... Rxc5 ({But} 22... Qxh3 $1 { is better when after} 23. b4 (23. Be3 $2 Rxc5 $1 24. Bxc5 Nf4) 23... Rae8 { with serious attack for Black.}) 23. Qg4 (23. Qd4 $5) 23... Qxg4+ 24. hxg4 Nf6 25. c4 (25. f3) 25... Nxg4 26. Bf4 {\"I am not better, but I am playing.\" (Firouzja)}) 22. Qg4 ({White can already feel safe, and has a good choice, for instance} 22. Kh1 Qxc5 23. Qf3) 22... Qxc5 23. c4 {\"Here I felt it is getting very tricky for him.\" (Firouzja)} Rab8 {\"I thought this is correct, actually. \" (Firouzja)} ({It was time to think about equality, but how exactly $2 A move like} 23... Re6 24. Qf5 Rg6+ 25. Kh2 Qxf5 26. exf5 Rg5 {Looks too risky for Black, as both his rook and knight might end up stranded on the kingside. Nevertheless, it seems as Black can fix a draw with some cunning knight hocus-pocus:} 27. Re5 f6 28. Rc5 Nf4 $1 29. Bd4 Nd3 30. Rxc6 Nb4 31. Rxc7 Nc2 { A relentless knight $1} 32. Rd1 Rd8 33. f4 Rxf5 34. Rg1 Nxd4 35. Rgxg7+ { and perpetual.}) ({Maybe the safest was} 23... Qg5 24. Bc1 Nf6 25. Qxg5 hxg5 26. e5 Nd7 27. Bxg5 Rxe5 28. Rxe5 Nxe5 {with a likely draw.}) 24. e5 g6 { \"This is really bad. When he played it, I thought for about one minute and then I saw... \"} ({Firouzja felt that his opponent should have gone for} 24... Rxb3 25. Bd4 Qxc4 26. Be3 Qxg4+ 27. hxg4 Rxe5 28. gxh5 Rxh5 {\"At first I thought I was winning with\"} 29. Rec1 {\"but then I saw\"} ({Then White switched to} 29. Reb1 $1 Rd3 30. Rb7 {\"I thought, I am a little better, but I should be equal at the end.\" (Firouzja) But the machine claims a large advantage for White.}) 29... Rb4 $1 {\"and if\"} 30. Rxc6 $4 Rg4+ 31. Kf1 Rh1+ {(Firouzja)}) 25. Ba3 $3 {The black queen is removed from the kingside and this is suddenly deadly for the second player.} ({From afar White was thinking of bailing out with} 25. e6 {when indeed White has nothing to worry about after } Rxb3 ({White is better in the line} 25... Qg5 26. exf7+ Kxf7 27. Rxe8 Rxe8 28. Bc3) 26. exf7+ Kxf7 27. Rxe8 Rg3+ 28. Qxg3 Nxg3 29. Rae1 Nh5 30. Rc8 Qg5+ 31. Kh1 Qf4 {with unclear play.}) 25... Qb6 26. e6 $1 c5 {Trying to block the bishop, but in vain.} 27. exf7+ Kxf7 28. Qd7+ Kf8 29. Qd5 Kg7 30. Bxc5 { White wins a bunch of pawns and the game.} Nf6 31. Bxb6 Nxd5 32. Rxe8 1-0