[Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.19"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Ding Liren"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D86"] [WhiteElo "2806"] [BlackElo "2764"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,68,20,19,21,6,25,22,63,51,51,51,51,51,51,36,40,43,36,51,59,49,78,29, 34,6,84,17,35,38,32,35,17,10,42,34,26,-1,-1,27,27,-24,-23,1,-7,-28,50,49,32,46, 67,79,82,83,67,37,79,72,73,55,74,53,43,50,49,52,52,34,37,41,53]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 {The Gruenfeld is almost always high in entertainment value for the spectators, and this game will live up to that expectation.} 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 {The most principled approach, pitting the classical approach of occupying the center against the hypermodern theme of undermining the enemy center from a distance.} Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O b6 11. Rc1 Bb7 12. Bb5 {While this was played once back in 1983, it wasn't on the map until 2019. Now it's a shiny new toy that everyone wants to play with.} (12. Qd2 {is the old standard. As it turns out, though, the way it's played nowadays typically transposes into the 12.Bb5 line.}) 12... Rc8 13. Qd2 (13. Bxc6 {isn't so popular now, but it was for a while. Here's an example from one of Daniel Parmet's correspondence games. (If his name rings a bell, it should: he is a regular commenter and hat-tip recipient on this blog.)} Bxc6 14. d5 Bd7 15. Qd2 e6 16. Rfe1 Re8 17. Bg5 Qc7 18. h4 exd5 19. exd5 Qd6 20. Ng3 {½-½ (20) Parmet,D (2375)-Menendez Rodriguez,G (2357) ICCF email 2019. Not a marathon game, but I have no doubt that he had analyzed the game far more deeply (maybe he will provide a comment to this post, telling us the move number of the deepest line of his analysis) and felt that there was nothing there. In support of this, here's another email game that went a few more moves, but without changing anything:} f5 21. Bf4 Qf6 22. Nf1 Rxe1 23. Rxe1 Qxc3 24. Qxc3 Bxc3 25. Re7 Bb5 26. Rxa7 Bxf1 27. Kxf1 Rd8 28. d6 h6 29. d7 Kf7 30. Ke2 Ke6 31. Ra6 Kxd7 32. Rxb6 {1/2-1/2 (32) Tauber,H (2514)-Bokar,J (2527) ICCF email 2019}) 13... cxd4 (13... e6 {has been the most popular move, though even here ...cxd4 is coming soon, often on the very next move. Some recent high-level, OTB examples follow:} 14. Rfd1 cxd4 15. cxd4 Na5 (15... Qd6 16. h4 a6 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. e5 Qd5 19. f3 f6 20. Nf4 Qd7 21. d5 Bxd5 22. Nxd5 exd5 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Qxd5+ Qxd5 25. Rxd5 fxe5 26. Bxb6 Rc4 27. Ra5 e4 28. fxe4 Rxe4 29. Rxa6 Bd4+ 30. Bxd4 Rxd4 31. g3 Kg7 32. Kf2 Rd3 33. a4 h5 34. a5 Ra3 35. Ra8 Kf6 36. a6 Kg7 37. Ra7+ Kf6 38. Ra8 Kg7 {1/2-1/2 (38) Yu,Y (2713)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2761) Belgrade 2022}) 16. f3 (16. Rxc8 Qxc8 17. Bg5 a6 (17... Qc7 18. d5 exd5 19. exd5 Qc5 20. Qd3 Qd6 21. Bf4 Be5 22. Bxe5 Qxe5 23. d6 Rd8 24. d7 Nc6 25. Nc3 a6 26. Bxa6 Bxa6 27. Qxa6 Qxc3 28. Qc8 Qc2 29. Re1 Qd2 30. Re8+ Kg7 31. h3 Qd1+ 32. Kh2 Qd6+ 33. g3 Rxd7 {0-1 (33) Giri,A (2764)-Ding,L (2791) chess24.com INT 2020}) 18. Bd3 Qd7 19. Bh6 Rc8 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. h4 Nc4 22. Bxc4 Rxc4 23. h5 f6 24. Qe3 Qa4 25. Rb1 Qc2 26. Rxb6 Qxe4 27. h6+ Kf7 28. Nf4 e5 29. dxe5 fxe5 30. Qxe4 Bxe4 31. Nh3 Bd5 32. Ng5+ Ke7 33. Nxh7 Rg4 34. g3 Rc4 35. Rb1 Rc8 36. Re1 Rh8 37. Rxe5+ Kd6 38. Rg5 Rxh7 39. Rxg6+ Ke5 40. Rxa6 Bf3 41. Kh2 Kf5 42. a4 Kg5 43. Rb6 Ra7 44. Rb3 Bc6 45. Rc3 Bxa4 46. Ra3 Kxh6 47. f3 {1/2-1/2 (47) Giri,A (2764)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2784) chess24.com INT 2020}) 16... a6 (16... Rxc1 17. Rxc1 a6 18. Bd3 Nc6 19. e5 Qd7 20. h4 Rc8 21. h5 Ne7 22. Rxc8+ Qxc8 23. Bh6 Bxh6 24. Qxh6 Nd5 25. Qg5 Qd7 26. Be4 Kf8 27. Qh6+ Kg8 28. Qc1 Kg7 29. Ng3 h6 30. hxg6 fxg6 31. Ne2 Ne7 32. Qf4 Ng8 33. Bd3 Qf7 34. Qg4 Ne7 35. Nf4 Bd5 36. a3 b5 37. Nh5+ Kf8 38. Nf6 Kg7 39. Qf4 Bc4 40. Bxc4 bxc4 41. Qc1 Nd5 42. Ne4 Qf4 43. Qxc4 Qe3+ 44. Kh2 Qf4+ 45. Kh1 Qh4+ 46. Kg1 Qe1+ 47. Qf1 Qe3+ 48. Qf2 Qxa3 49. Nc5 Nf4 50. Qd2 g5 51. g3 Nd5 52. Kf2 Kf7 53. Qc2 Qe3+ 54. Kg2 Qxe5 55. Qh7+ Qg7 56. Qxg7+ Kxg7 57. Nxa6 Kf6 58. Kf2 e5 59. dxe5+ Kxe5 60. f4+ gxf4 61. gxf4+ Kxf4 62. Nc5 h5 63. Nd3+ Ke4 64. Ne1 Nf4 65. Nf3 Ng6 66. Kg3 Ke3 67. Nh4 Ne5 68. Ng2+ Ke4 69. Nf4 h4+ 70. Kxh4 Kxf4 { 1/2-1/2 (70) Sjugirov,S (2663)-Preotu,R (2487) Lichess.org INT 2021}) 17. Bd3 Nc6 18. e5 Qd7 19. h4 h5 20. Kf2 b5 21. Bh6 Nb4 22. Bb1 Nd5 23. Ng3 Rxc1 24. Bxg7 f5 25. exf6 Nxf6 26. Bxf8 Rxd1 27. Qxd1 Kxf8 28. Bxg6 Bd5 29. a3 Qg7 30. Bb1 Qh6 31. Ne2 Bc4 32. Qc1 Qxc1 33. Nxc1 a5 34. Nd3 Kg7 35. Nc5 b4 36. a4 Kf7 37. Bc2 Bd5 38. Ke3 Bc6 39. Bb3 Nd5+ 40. Kf2 Kf6 41. g4 hxg4 42. fxg4 Nf4 43. g5+ Kf7 44. Bc4 Kg6 45. Kg3 Kf5 46. Kf2 e5 47. Bb5 Bd5 48. Bd7+ Kg6 49. dxe5 b3 50. Nxb3 Bxb3 51. Ke3 Ng2+ 52. Ke4 {1/2-1/2 (52) Sjugirov,S (2663)-Sindarov,J (2587) Tashkent 2021}) 14. cxd4 Qd6 (14... e6 {was played in the Yu-MVL and Giri-Ding games given above. (ChessBase is not always so well-behaved when one tries to include games that are legally consistent with different move orders given in the main game.)}) 15. Rfd1 Qb4 $6 $146 {A novelty, but it will transpose to another game shortly. It doesn't seem to be a very good move, so it seems that Rapport may have gotten mixed up in all the transpositions as well.} (15... Rfd8 16. f3 Qb4 17. Qd3 Ne5 18. Qb3 Qxb3 19. axb3 Nc6 20. d5 Ne5 21. h3 f5 22. Nd4 fxe4 23. fxe4 a6 24. Be2 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Rc8 26. Ne6 Rxc1+ 27. Bxc1 Bf6 28. g4 Nd7 29. g5 Be5 30. Be3 b5 31. Bg4 Nf8 32. Nd8 Ba8 33. Nc6 Bxc6 34. dxc6 Bc7 35. Bc8 a5 36. Ba6 a4 37. Bxb5 a3 38. Bc4+ e6 39. b4 Kf7 40. b5 { 1-0 (40) Sjugirov,S (2663)-Mischuk,D (2339) Lichess.org INT 2021}) (15... a6 { may be best, as played in a 2020 email game:} 16. Bxc6 (16. Bc4 $5) 16... Bxc6 17. f3 Ba4 18. Re1 Bb5 19. d5 Bxe2 20. Qxe2 b5 21. g3 Bc3 22. Red1 Rc4 23. Bf4 e5 24. dxe6 Qxe6 25. Kg2 Rc6 26. g4 Rfc8 27. Rd5 Qf6 28. Bg5 Qe6 29. Qd3 Bf6 30. Rxc6 Qxc6 31. Bh6 Be7 32. Qd2 Qc2 {1/2-1/2 (32) Lombart,P (2072)-Farnik,K (2007) LSS email 2020}) (15... Na5 {also looks sensible, looking to swap some rooks and someday plant the knight on c4.}) 16. Qd3 $1 e6 17. h4 $1 {Here we are, back to a Giri-Nepo game from 2020.} Rfd8 18. Bg5 $1 $146 {+/-/+- A strong novelty. Black is in big trouble here.} (18. a3 $2 Qe7 19. Bg5 Bf6 { This is the reason Ding's move order was better.} 20. Qe3 h6 $1 21. Bxh6 (21. Bxc6 $142 hxg5 22. Bxb7 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Qxb7 24. hxg5 Be7 $44 {/+/=}) 21... Nxd4 $11 22. Rxc8 Nxe2+ 23. Bxe2 Bxc8 24. h5 Rxd1+ 25. Bxd1 Qd8 26. Bc2 Qc7 27. Bd1 Qd8 28. Bc2 Qc7 29. Bd1 Qd8 {½-½ (29) Giri,A (2764)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2784) chess24.com INT 2020 (rapid)}) 18... Nxd4 $1 {The best try, offering material for activity.} 19. Bxd8 Rxd8 20. h5 (20. Ba6 {was probably best, keeping things (relatively) simple.}) 20... Be5 (20... Bf6) 21. a4 (21. Ba6 $142 Nxe2+ 22. Qxe2 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 Qxe4 24. Qxe4 Bxe4 25. Re1 f5 26. Bc4 Kf7 27. f3 Bg3 28. Re2 Bd5 29. Bxd5 exd5 30. Kf1 $16 {/+-}) 21... Kg7 $2 (21... Nxe2+ $142 22. Qxe2 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 Kg7 $16) 22. Kf1 $1 Nxe2 $2 23. Qxe2 $2 {A big mistake, and an inconsistent decision after his last move. The big point behind 22.Kf1 is that 22...Nxe2 doesn't come with check, so that White can take on d8. Obviously Ding didn't suffer from a sudden spell of amnesia, but must have seen a variation somewhere that he didn't like, causing him to change his mind. Too bad for him, as his initial assessment was correct, and he was winning with 23.Qxd8.} (23. Qxd8 $1 Qxe4 (23... Nxc1 {is the other key line; this one is met by} 24. Qg5 $1 {, threatening not only the bishop but 25.h6+ followed by 26.Rd8+/#. Black has no good reply:} Bd4 (24... Bc7 25. h6+ Kg8 26. Qf6 Qf8 27. Rd7 $18) (24... Nd3 25. h6+ Kg8 26. Qd8+ Qf8 27. Rxd3 Bxe4 28. Rd7 Bd5 29. Qg5 f6 30. Qc1 $18 {Black is fine, materially, but White is so active that Black's position is hopeless.}) 25. h6+ Kg8 (25... Kf8 26. Qd8#) 26. Qd8+ Qf8 27. Rxd4 $18) 24. Bxe2 Qxg2+ 25. Ke1 Qh1+ (25... Bf4 26. h6+ $1 {Nice, but unnecessary.} Bxh6 27. Qd4+ Kg8 28. Bf1 $18) 26. Kd2 Bf4+ 27. Kc3 Qc6+ 28. Kb3 Bxc1 {Black even has a material advantage here, but with two accurate moves White can prove that he retains a winning position.} 29. Qd4+ $1 Kh6 (29... Kg8 30. Qf6 Bh6 31. Rd8+ Bf8 32. h6 $18 {is game over.}) (29... f6 $2 30. Qd7+ $18) 30. hxg6 $1 {Black is toast, as the following lines demonstrate.} Qd5+ (30... hxg6 31. Qh8+ Kg5 32. Rg1+ $18 {White mates or wins the queen.}) (30... fxg6 31. Qh4+ Kg7 32. Qe7+ Kh6 33. Qf8+ Kg5 34. Rg1+ $18 {Again, White gives mate or collects Black's queen.}) 31. Qxd5 Bxd5+ 32. Bc4 Bxc4+ (32... Bf4 33. gxf7 Kg7 34. Bxd5 exd5 35. Rxd5 $18) (32... Bg5 33. gxf7 Kg7 34. Bxd5 exd5 35. Rxd5 Be7 36. Rd7 Kxf7 37. Rxa7 h5 38. Rb7 h4 39. Rxb6 Kg7 40. a5 h3 41. Kc4 h2 42. Rb1 $18) 33. Kxc4 Ba3 34. gxf7 Kg7 35. Rd7 $18) 23... Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 $16 a6 $2 {Trying to swap off pawns is generally in Black's interest, but this is a mistake for concrete reasons.} (24... Bf6) (24... Bd4 $16) 25. Bxa6 Bxa6 26. Qxa6 Qxe4 27. Re1 $2 (27. Qe2 $1 $18 {As the ending with queens off will be a routine for White, Black must retreat the queen to f4 or f5. In both cases, his position is rather clumsy, and White will have time to consolidate and enjoy what should be a winning grip on the position.} Qf5 (27... Qf4 28. g3 Qf5 29. hxg6 Bxg3 (29... hxg6 30. Kg2 $18) 30. gxf7 Qh3+ 31. Ke1 Qh1+ 32. Kd2 Bf4+ 33. Kc3 Qc6+ 34. Kb3 Kxf7 35. Qh5+ Kf6 36. Qh4+ Bg5 37. Qc4 $18) 28. hxg6 hxg6 29. Kg1 $18 {It's not that the win is going to be easy, but Black has three problems. First, the ending without queens is hopeless. Second, he must keep his king safe. (Imagine, for instance, that White plays Kg2, Rd7, and Qf3. Either he trades queens or is in danger of getting mated.) And third, he must keep the b6-pawn safe. In the long run, White should be able to successfully exploit one of these three possibilities.}) ({It is possible to swap on g6 first, and then play Qe2.} 27. hxg6 hxg6 28. Qe2 $18) 27... Qd4 28. Qe2 Bf6 { Now Black's coordination is good, though White can still play for the win.} 29. hxg6 $2 {Well, not any more. The pawn was valuable on h5, because of the possibility of playing h6 in some circumstances. Now Black's king has no worries at all, and his defensive task has been greatly simplified.} (29. Qe4 $16 {/+-}) 29... hxg6 30. Qe4 Qd2 (30... Qxe4 $4 {What was said above about the ending was not contingent upon White's h-pawn remaining where it was. This is hopeless for Black.}) 31. Re2 Qd1+ 32. Re1 Qd2 33. g3 {Here, however, if Black does not play the right move White will regain a winning position.} (33. Qb1 Bd4 34. Re2 Qa5 35. Ra2 {maintains a meager edge; even here, White's prospects for a win are minuscule.}) 33... Bd4 $1 $11 34. Qe2 Qc3 35. Rd1 Qc6 $1 36. Qg4 (36. Rxd4 $4 Qh1#) 36... e5 {Black's bishop is fully the equal of White's rook - especially with the a4-pawn ready to drop off thanks to the monster bishop. So White decides to liquidate and call it a day.} 37. Rxd4 exd4 38. Qxd4+ Kg8 39. Qd8+ Kg7 40. Qd4+ Kg8 {A big miss for Ding, especially after his huge advantage out of the opening.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.19"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "102"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,78,20,13,44,61,76,51,51,38,48,38,61,32,33,38,38,46,63,42,45,38,36,36, 49,-6,14,16,-2,10,10,10,10,7,5,5,-13,-7,-7,-7,-7,-19,-6,-12,-6,-11,11,-18,-12, -20,-17,-13,-13,-10,-21,-33,-33,-35,-2,-4,-8,-14,-18,-12,-12,-12,-2,-10,-1,-1, -5,-8,-10,-29,0,0,-16,-76,-45,-77,-77]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 h5 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. O-O-O (10. Nd5 { is the other main move, one which Duda faced at least three times in 2021.}) 10... Be7 11. Kb1 b5 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 Nb6 14. Bxb6 Qxb6 15. Na5 Rc8 { This position is well-known, having appeared 370 times in the database.} 16. Nc6 {The main line, with lots of games and lots of draws.} (16. Bd3 {used to be played a lot, until players fully appreciated that it was Black, not White, who was better after} b4 17. Nc4 Qc5 $15) (16. c4 {is the rarest of White's three options, but it's not a bad choice.} bxc4 17. Nxc4 Qa7 18. Na5 Rc5 19. Nc6 Qd7 20. Bd3 (20. Be2 O-O (20... Rxd5 $2 21. Qc2 $16 Rc5 $4 22. Qxc5 dxc5 23. Rxd7 Nxd7 (23... Kxd7 24. Nxe5+ $18) 24. Bxa6 $18) 21. Rc1 Rxd5 22. Qe3 $11 {/+/= White's edge may not be enough for correspondence chess, but OTB it might be worth a try.} Re8 23. Bxa6 Bf8 24. a4 Qf5+ 25. Rc2 Rc5 26. Bd3 e4 27. fxe4 Nxe4 28. Qf3 Qd5 29. Bxe4 Rxe4 30. Rxc5 dxc5 31. Nd8 g5 32. Rd1 g4 33. Rxd5 gxf3 34. gxf3 Rxa4 35. Rxh5 {1/2-1/2 (35) Wosch,A (2277)-Trofimov,V (2399) ICCF email 2017}) 20... O-O (20... Rxd5 21. Nb4 Rc5 22. Nxa6 $14) (20... Nxd5 21. Nb8 Qd8 22. Nxa6 Bg5 23. Qe1 Ra5 24. h4 Bh6 25. Nb4 $14) 21. Be4 $14) 16... Nxd5 17. Nxe7 Nxe7 18. Qxd6 Qxd6 19. Rxd6 Nc6 20. Rd2 (20. c3) ({and} 20. Rd1 { are the most common draw machines.}) 20... Ke7 21. Bd3 Rhd8 22. Rhd1 g6 (22... Rc7 23. c3 Na5 24. Kc2 h4 25. g3 hxg3 26. hxg3 g6 27. a4 Nc4 28. Re2 Rcd7 29. axb5 axb5 30. Bxc4 Rxd1 31. Rxe5+ Kf8 32. Rxb5 R8d2+ 33. Kb3 Rb1 34. Ka2 Rc1 35. Kb3 Rb1 36. Ka2 Rc1 37. Ka3 Ra1+ 38. Kb3 Rb1 39. Ka2 {1/2-1/2 (39) Dominguez Perez,L (2754)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2721) Beijing 2013}) 23. c3 (23. a4 Rb8 24. axb5 axb5 25. Be4 Rxd2 26. Rxd2 Nd4 27. b4 f5 28. Bd3 h4 29. c3 Ne6 30. Bf1 Nf4 31. Kc2 Kf6 32. g3 hxg3 33. hxg3 Nh5 34. Rd5 Nxg3 35. Bxb5 e4 36. fxe4 Nxe4 37. Bd3 g5 38. Bxe4 fxe4 39. Kd2 g4 40. Ke3 Rc8 41. Kxe4 Rxc3 42. Kf4 { 1/2-1/2 (42) Dominguez Perez,L (2717)-Anand,V (2791) Linares 2009}) 23... Na5 { Caruana's preparation the first two rounds was brilliant, but it's hard to know what happened in this game. Duda went straight down the main line, and a main line that could have been predicted. White has nothing here, and has had essentially nothing in this line for a very long time. So I don't think his next move was an intended novelty, or if it was it's an indication of how little White has against the Najdorf.} 24. Re2 $146 (24. Kc2 f5 25. a4 (25. g3 Nc6 26. Kb1 Rd6 27. a4 Rcd8 28. axb5 axb5 29. Kc2 b4 30. Bb5 Rxd2+ 31. Rxd2 Rxd2+ 32. Kxd2 bxc3+ 33. bxc3 Na7 34. Ba4 Nc8 35. Kd3 {1/2-1/2 (35) Boumbar,M (2188)-Saitou,A (2153) ICCF email 2012}) 25... Nc4 26. Re2 Kf6 27. axb5 axb5 28. Ra1 Nd6 29. Kb3 Rc6 30. Ra5 Nb7 31. Rxb5 Nc5+ 32. Rxc5 Rxc5 33. Kc2 Rcd5 34. Bc4 Rd1 35. b4 h4 36. b5 Rg1 37. b6 Rb8 {0-1 (37) Jens,J (2376)-Le,Q (2687) Mulhouse 2011}) 24... Kf6 25. h4 Nb7 (25... Rd5 {is a good alternative, creating the possibility of doubling while preparing a possible ...g5.}) 26. Red2 Nc5 27. Bf1 Rxd2 28. Rxd2 Ke6 29. c4 {Very committal. It creates a passed pawn, but one which is securely blockaded and which locks in White's bishop. In general, White would like to play Kc2, b4, Kb3 and then a4 or c4, mobilizing the queenside, but here that plan is impracticable.} b4 {The position is drawish, but only Black could play for a win, thanks to his good knight against White's mediocre-to-bad bishop.} 30. Kc2 a5 31. b3 Nb7 32. g3 Rd8 33. Rxd8 Nxd8 34. Kd3 Nb7 35. Ke3 Nc5 36. f4 a4 37. bxa4 Nxa4 38. c5 $1 { White doesn't need this to draw, but it's a decision worth noting. Rather than worry about the fate of his a-pawn and suffering with a useless bishop, White jettisons the c-pawn to activate both the bishop and the king.} exf4+ 39. gxf4 Nxc5 40. Kd4 Kd6 41. Kc4 Ne6 42. f5 gxf5 43. Be2 Nf4 44. Bf3 Ng6 45. Bxh5 Nxh4 46. Bxf7 f4 47. Bh5 f3 48. Bxf3 Nxf3 49. Kxb4 Nd4 50. a3 Nc2+ 51. Kb3 Nxa3 { A very comfortable draw for Duda, and a slightly strange game from Caruana.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.19"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,59,19,19,20,6,6,6,-3,-20,-7,0,31,21,27,26,29,13,13,21,12,18,12,2,2,0, 0,8,-2,5,2,2,17,23,14,16,13,13,29,31,31,27,27,20,44,41,35,42,39,34,36,24,40,25, 25,24,20,25,19,20,18,22]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 ({Nepo has generally met the Catalan with} 4... Be7 {, heading for the traditional Open Catalan lines that start with} 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 {. This is if anything the absolute main line of the Catalan, and it's how Nepo played against Carlsen in the World Championship last year and even earlier this year in an online event. So 4...dxc4 must have come as a bit of a shock to Radjabov, even though it's a well-known line in its own right.}) 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. dxc5 Qxd1 8. Rxd1 Bxc5 9. Nbd2 c3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Nb3 Be7 {This position is rare compared to the line mentioned on move 4, but it's very common by everyday standards. There are more than 650 games in the database from this position, with players like Caruana, Giri, Aronian, and MVL represented in recent games.} 12. Nfd4 (12. c4 {has given White good results over the last several years.} Bd7 13. Bb2 Rfd8 14. Nfd4 Rac8 15. Nb5 b6 16. Nd6 Bxd6 17. Rxd6 Be8 $14 { is an important branch of the 12.c4 line, and now White generally chooses between 18.Rxd8 and 18.Rd3, with an edge.}) 12... Bd7 (12... Nxd4 13. cxd4 Nd5 {is another important option.}) 13. Nxc6 ({Other moves:} 13. Bg5 {and}) (13. Nb5 {.}) 13... Bxc6 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Be3 (15. c4 {is the usual move, precisely because of what Black plays on the next move.}) 15... Nd5 16. Bd4 c5 17. Nxc5 $146 {This is not a prepared novelty, as it's completely harmless. It looks like Radjabov was surprised on move 4 and had nothing special prepared for this line. From here, the game quickly heads to a draw.} (17. Be5 c4 $146 { =}) 17... Bxc5 (17... Nxc3 {also equalizes.}) 18. Bxc5 Rfc8 19. Bd4 Nxc3 20. Bxc3 (20. Rd2 Rc4 $11) 20... Rxc3 {Already there is nothing left but to engineer a repetition.} 21. Rac1 Ra3 22. Rc2 h5 23. Rd7 a6 24. Kg2 g6 25. e3 Kg7 26. Rcc7 Rf8 27. Rd6 {Threatening to take on e6.} Re8 28. Rdd7 Rf8 29. Rd6 Re8 30. Rdd7 {An effective surprise from Nepo, but it was also surprising that Radjabov had nothing prepared in a main line.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.19"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2760"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Bg5 dxc4 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Rd1 Ba6 10. Qa4 h6 11. Bh4 Qe7 12. Nf3 Rd8 13. Qc2 {Rare.} (13. e3 { is the most popular of White's several known options, with lots of draws - especially in Nakamura's black games - after} Bxf1 14. Rxf1 c5 15. dxc5 Rxd1+ 16. Qxd1 g5 17. Bg3 (17. Nxg5 {was played once, and also ends in a draw.} hxg5 18. Bxg5 Nbd7 19. Qf3 Rc8 20. c6 Qc5 21. Bxf6 Qc1+ 22. Ke2 Qc2+ 23. Ke1 Qc1+ 24. Ke2 Qc2+ 25. Ke1 Qc1+ {1/2-1/2 (25) Wang,H (2763)-Wei,Y (2732) Chess.com INT 2020}) 17... Qxc5 18. Qd8+ Kg7 19. Be5 Qc1+ 20. Ke2 Qc4+ 21. Ke1 Qc1+ {etc. }) 13... c5 14. e4 (14. Bxf6 $143 Qxf6 $15 15. dxc5 $2 Rxd1+ 16. Kxd1 {1/2-1/2 (20) Seresin,F (2300)-Schitco,I (2424) Karlsruhe 2019} Bb7 $1 17. e4 Nd7 18. c6 Rc8 19. Bb5 Nb8 20. c7 Na6 21. Bxa6 Bxa6 22. Re1 Qe7 23. Re3 Rxc7 24. Rc3 Rd7+ $19) 14... Bxf1 15. Rxf1 g5 16. Nxg5 $146 {A novelty, but the only move and obviously prepared beforehand.} (16. Bg3 $2 Nc6 $1 17. dxc5 {Bach (2192) - Johnson (2061) Internet blitz 2022} bxc5 $19) 16... hxg5 17. Bxg5 {Black has at least four acceptable options here, and as he chose in 25 seconds it's at least possible that this was home prep. (On the other hand, he spent 14 minutes on 13...c5 and another six on 15...g5, so he might have solved the problem then rather than at home.)} Nc6 (17... Nbd7 18. e5 (18. f4 cxd4 19. e5 Qc5 20. Qxc5 bxc5 21. exf6 Rab8 $11 {we'll see again in the 18.e5 line.}) 18... cxd4 19. Qe2 (19. exf6 Qc5 20. Qxc5 bxc5 21. f4 Rab8 $11 {produces a complicated ending with equal chances.}) 19... Qc5 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. exf6 Qg5 $11) (17... cxd4 18. e5 Nbd7 {transposes to the 17...Nbd7 line.}) (17... e5 { keeps the piece. Now} 18. d5 Rd6 19. Qe2 Nbd7 20. Rd3 Nf8 21. Rg3 Ng6 22. Qf3 Rad8 23. Qf5 Kg7 24. h4 Qe8 $11 {The position is still complicated. Two possibilities:} 25. b3 (25. f3 Qb5 26. h5 Nxh5 27. Bh6+ $1 Kxh6 28. Rh1 Kg7 29. Rxh5 Qd7 30. Qxe5+ Kf8 31. Rh8+ Nxh8 32. Qxh8+ Ke7 33. Qe5+ Kf8 34. Qg7+ Ke7 35. Rg5 Re8 36. Rf5 Kd8 37. Rxf7 Qa4 38. Rxa7 Rxe4+ 39. fxe4 Qxe4+ 40. Kf1 Qc4+ 41. Kf2 Qf4+ 42. Kg1 Qe3+ 43. Kf1 Qf4+ $11) 25... Nxd5 26. Bxd8 Qxd8 27. exd5 Rxd5 28. Qg5 Qd6 $8 29. Ke2 $8 e4 30. Qc1 Kf8 31. Rg4 Qe6 $8 32. Rg5 Qd6 $1 33. Rxd5 Nf4+ $8 34. Ke1 Nxg2+ 35. Kd2 (35. Ke2 Nf4+ $11) 35... Qxd5+ 36. Kc2 Qd3+ 37. Kb2 Qd4+ 38. Kb1 Qd3+ 39. Ka2 Qe2+ 40. Ka1 e3 41. fxe3 Nxe3 42. Rg1 Qf2 43. h5 Nc2+ 44. Kb1 Nxa3+ 45. Ka1 Nc2+ 46. Kb1 $11) 18. Qc1 (18. e5 Nxd4 19. Qb1 ( 19. Qd3 Nf5 $8 20. Qf3 Rxd1+ 21. Qxd1 Qb7 22. Bxf6 $8 Qxg2 23. Kd2 (23. Qh5 Qe4+ 24. Qe2 (24. Kd1 Qd3+ 25. Ke1 Qe4+ $11) 24... Qb1+ $11) 23... Kh7 24. Rg1 (24. Kc1 Rg8) 24... Qxf2+ 25. Kc1 Rg8 26. Qh5+ Nh6 27. Rxg8 Qe3+ 28. Kb1 Kxg8 $11) 19... Qb7 $1 20. Bxf6 $8 Qxg2 21. Kd2 $1 Qf3 (21... Nf5+ 22. Bxd8 Rxd8+ 23. Kc3 Rxd1 24. Qxd1 Nd4 $11) 22. Rg1+ $1 Kf8 23. Qh7 $8 Qe2+ 24. Kc3 $8 Qf3+ 25. Kd2 $8 Qe2+ $11) 18... Rxd4 (18... e5 {also holds.} 19. d5 (19. Bh4 Rd6 20. Qg5+ Kh7 21. Qf5+ Kg8 22. Qg5+ Kh7 $11) 19... Nd4 20. Rd3 Qd6 21. Rh3 Nxe4 22. Bxd8 Rxd8 23. f3 Qxd5 24. fxe4 Qxe4+ 25. Kf2 Qf5+ 26. Ke1 (26. Ke3 Nc2+ 27. Ke2 Qe4+ 28. Kf2 Qd4+ 29. Ke2 (29. Kf3 e4+ 30. Ke2 Qc4+ 31. Kf2 Qd4+ $11 (31... e3+ 32. Rxe3 Nxe3 33. Qxe3 Rd6 $11)) 29... Qe4+ $11) 26... Qe4+ $11) 19. Rxd4 Nxd4 20. Qf4 Nc2+ $6 {Playable, but not the most precise move.} (20... Qd7 $1 21. Bxf6 $8 Nc2+ 22. Ke2 Qb5+ 23. Kf3 (23. Kd2 Qxf1 24. Qg5+ Kf8 25. Qg7+ Ke8 26. Qg8+ Kd7 27. Qxa8 (27. Qxf7+ Kc6 28. Qxe6+ Kb5 29. Qd7+ Ka6 30. Qa4+ Kb7 31. Qd7+ Ka6 $11) 27... Qxf2+ 28. Kc1 Qxf6 29. Qxa7+ Kc6 30. Kxc2 $11) (23. Kd1 Qxf1+ 24. Kxc2 Qxg2 25. Qh4 Kf8 26. Qh6+ Ke8 27. Qh8+ Kd7 28. Qxa8 Qxf2+ 29. Kb1 Qxf6 30. Qxa7+ $11) 23... Qd3+ $1 (23... Qxf1 $2 24. Qg5+ Kf8 25. Qg7+ Ke8 26. Qg8+ Kd7 27. Qxf7+ $1 Kc6 28. Qxe6+ Kb5 29. Qd7+ $1 Ka6 30. Qa4+ Kb7 31. Qxc2 $16) 24. Kg4 Qxf1 25. Kh3 Ne1 $1 {The only move.} 26. Qg4+ Kf8 27. Qg7+ Ke8 28. Qg8+ Kd7 29. Qxf7+ $8 Kc6 30. Qxe6+ Kb5 31. Qd7+ Kc4 32. Qd5+ Kb5 33. Qd7+ Ka6 (33... Ka5 34. Bc3+ Ka6 35. Qa4+ Kb7 36. Qd7+ $11) 34. Qa4+ Kb7 35. Qd7+ $11) 21. Kd1 Qd7+ 22. Kxc2 Qa4+ 23. Kb1 Qxe4+ 24. Qxe4 Nxe4 25. Bf4 $14 { White's kingside majority is more dangerous than Black's majority on the queenside, so while the position is still drawn with best play Nakamura will not have an easy time of it. (As we'll see, it is only thanks to study-like defense at the end that he manages to save the game.)} Nf6 (25... e5 $1 26. Re1 $1 f5 $8 27. Bxe5 Nxf2 {is a nice option for Black.}) 26. h4 Nd5 27. Bd2 f5 28. g3 Kf7 29. f3 Rh8 30. Bg5 c4 (30... e5 $142) 31. g4 b5 32. Rd1 fxg4 33. fxg4 a5 $6 (33... Rg8 $142 {freezes White's kingside advance for the moment, buying more time for his queenside play.}) 34. h5 Rg8 $6 (34... b4 $142) 35. Rf1+ $16 Ke8 (35... Kg7 {seems safer, even though it gives White the chance to retreat the bishop and play g5. What is crucial here, and in this ending in general, is that White's bishop cannot easily find a safe perch on the a1-h8 diagonal; if it could do that, the game would end almost immediately. (This is a critical fact that will eventually allow Nakamura to save the game.)} 36. Bc1 b4 37. g5 Rh8 $1 38. h6+ Kg6 39. Re1 Re8 40. Re5 Re7 {should hold.}) 36. h6 Rf8 37. Rxf8+ {Criticized by Polgar and Gustafsson, and it does lead to a "mathematically" drawn position - though not a trivial one. Nevertheless, while keeping the rooks on may have offered more practical chances, I don't see a win there, either.} (37. Rg1 Kf7 38. Bd2 Kg6 39. Re1 Re8 40. Re5 Re7 41. Kc2 b4 42. g5 Kf7 43. h7 Re8 44. g6+ Kg7 {The blockade seems secure.} (44... Kxg6 $4 45. Rxe6+ $18)) (37. Rc1 Kf7 38. Bd2 Kg6 39. a4 (39. Re1 {transposes to the 37.Rg1 line.}) 39... bxa4 $1 40. Rxc4 Rf1+ $1 41. Rc1 (41. Bc1 e5 $1 42. Rc6+ Kh7 43. g5 Rg1 44. Ra6 Nf4 45. Ra7+ Kh8 46. Kc2 a3 47. bxa3 Rxg5 48. Rxa5 Rg6 49. Bb2 Rc6+ 50. Kd2 Kh7 51. Bxe5 Ne6 {is also drawn.}) 41... Rxc1+ 42. Kxc1 e5 43. g5 e4 44. Bxa5 e3 45. Bd8 Nf4 46. Bf6 e2 {Not necessary, but good enough.} 47. Kd2 Kh7 48. Ke1 Kg6 49. Bc3 Kh7 50. Bd2 Nd3+ 51. Kxe2 Nxb2 $11) 37... Kxf8 38. Bd8 a4 39. g5 Kf7 40. h7 Kg7 41. g6 {A little unluckily for Firouzja, Nakamura gets to make this crucial decision on move 41, with lots of time on the clock, rather than on move 40.} c3 $8 (41... e5 $2 42. Kc1 Kh8 43. Bg5 Kg7 44. Kd2 Kh8 45. Ke1 b4 46. Kf2 Kg7 47. axb4 c3 48. Bh6+ Kh8 49. bxc3 a3 50. Bc1 a2 51. Bb2 Nf4 52. Ke3 Nxg6 53. b5 Nf4 54. c4 Ne6 55. Bxe5+ Kxh7 56. Ke4 Kg6 57. Kd5 $18) 42. bxc3 (42. Bh4 {intends Bg3-e5+, which must be stopped. } e5 $8 43. Bg3 Nf4 $11) 42... Nxc3+ 43. Kc2 Nd5 44. Bg5 (44. Kd2 e5 45. Bg5 { transposes to the game.}) 44... e5 $8 45. Kd2 (45. Bc1 Nf4 $11) 45... Kh8 $8 ( 45... b4 $2 46. axb4 a3 47. Kc1 e4 48. b5 e3 49. b6 e2 (49... Nxb6 50. Bf6+ $18 ) 50. Bd2 a2 51. Kb2 $18) 46. Ke1 $1 b4 $1 47. axb4 a3 $8 48. Bc1 Nxb4 $8 49. Kd2 Nd5 $8 50. Bxa3 Nf4 (50... Nf6 {and ...Nxh7 also works.}) 51. Bb2 Nxg6 52. Bxe5+ Nxe5 53. Kc3 Kxh7 {Firouzja came prepared with a new idea, and while he had Nakamura under pressure he never seemed to have a winning advantage. Nakamura's play may not have been perfect, but it was very good, and holding this game was a genuine accomplishment.} 1/2-1/2