[Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.1"] [White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Black "Woodward, Andy"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2652"] [BlackElo "2590"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "86"] [GameId "2236744619157635"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,86,10,24,29,61,21,21,12,13,13,10,21,21,72,14,18,25,-23,8,-13,31,-11,26,19,35,33,17,21,36,42,30,13,65,1,-53,-34,-1,-30,-25,-25,-53,-11,-1,-23,-60,-16,-16,-88,-42,-14,-36,-7,-42,-8,-6,-73,-8,-9,-7,-6,-18,-11,-30,-1,-20,-1,23,0,-1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,-1,1,1,1,-1,0,0,0,1,1,1,1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Bb7 8. d3 O-O 9. Be3 Be7 10. Nc3 Na5 11. Ba2 b4 12. Ne2 d5 13. Nxe5 dxe4 14. Ng3 exd3 15. Nxd3 Re8 16. Re1 Bd5 17. Bxd5 Qxd5 18. Bf4 c5 19. Re5 Qd7 20. Nh5 Rad8 (20... Nxh5 $142 21. Qxh5 b3 $17) 21. Nxf6+ Bxf6 22. Rxc5 Nb3 23. cxb3 Qxd3 24. Qc2 h6 25. Be3 Bxb2 26. Rb1 Qxc2 27. Rxc2 Bd4 28. Bxd4 Rxd4 29. Kf1 Re6 30. Re1 Red6 31. Re3 g5 32. g3 Kg7 33. Kg2 Rd3 34. Rxd3 Rxd3 35. Rc6 Rxb3 36. Rxa6 Ra3 37. a5 b3 38. Rb6 Rxa5 39. Rxb3 Ra4 40. Rb1 Ra5 41. Rb3 Ra4 42. Rb1 Ra5 43. Rb3 Ra4 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.2"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Liang, Awonder"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2654"] [BlackElo "2710"] [WhiteFideId "2004887"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "81"] [GameId "2236744619174021"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,81,17,27,16,13,13,13,26,11,9,8,18,28,11,3,19,25,30,17,17,16,67,14,24,159,3,7,-4,31,6,5,15,-3,-21,3,2,1,1,-1,0,10,29,1,23,8,-44,-4,-1,-73,-164,-106,-147,-118,-89,-93,-79,-72,-96,-1,-93,-82,-88,-132,-116,-96,-139,-113,-69,-1,-1,-1,1,1,-1,1,1,1,1,-1,-1,1,1,1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 Na5 9. Bc2 d5 10. d4 dxe4 11. Nxe5 c5 12. Bg5 Bb7 13. Nd2 $146 (13. dxc5) 13... cxd4 14. cxd4 Qxd4 15. Nxe4 Qxd1 16. Raxd1 Rac8 17. Bb1 Bxe4 18. Bxe4 Bb4 19. Re2 Nxe4 20. Rxe4 Rfe8 21. Rxb4 Rxe5 22. Rbd4 f6 23. Bf4 Re2 24. h4 Rxb2 25. Rd7 Rxa2 26. h5 Ra4 27. g3 h6 28. R1d6 Nc6 29. Kg2 Rc4 $15 (29... Re4 $142 $17) 30. Kh3 Rc5 31. Kg4 Kh8 32. Rb7 a5 33. Kh4 $1 a4 34. Bxh6 $1 gxh6 35. Rxf6 $11 Ne5 36. Rxh6+ Kg8 37. Rhh7 Nf3+ 38. Kg4 Ne5+ 39. Kh4 Nf3+ 40. Kg4 Ne5+ 41. Kh4 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C80"] [WhiteElo "2722"] [BlackElo "2789"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "50"] [GameId "2236744619174022"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,50,11,28,16,8,11,16,20,10,7,16,30,3,57,73,70,87,69,63,71,63,65,22,-43,16,-186,10,-5,1,62,19,1,-1,-119,9,13,-90,39,1,-1,1,1,-1,1,1,-1,-1,-1,1,1,-1,-1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 Be7 {This has become moderately popular in recent years.} (6... b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 {is the traditional tabiya for the Open Ruy. Tens of thousands of games in the database have reached this position, and surely millions more at the amateur level have put this poisition to the test as well.}) 7. Re1 b5 8. Rxe4 d5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Rxe5 bxa4 11. b3 (11. Qe2 {is most common, when Black has chosen between 11...f6, 11...Be6, and 11...c6.}) 11... O-O 12. Rxe7 (12. Ba3 {is more common, but the text is far from a novelty.}) 12... Qxe7 13. Ba3 Qg5 14. Bxf8 Bh3 15. Qf1 Kxf8 $11 {Still theory.} 16. Nc3 axb3 17. axb3 $146 {As you'll see, this new makes a tremendous difference. (/sarc)} (17. cxb3 {was played in all three prior games. Here's one of them:} Re8 18. Kh1 Qd2 19. Nxd5 Bxg2+ 20. Qxg2 Re1+ 21. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 22. Qg1 Qe4+ 23. Qg2 Qe1+ 24. Qg1 {½-½ Vitiugov,N (2747)-Dubov,D (2683) Tata Steel-A 82nd Wijk aan Zee 2020 (11)}) 17... Re8 18. Kh1 Qd2 19. Nxd5 {And here we go again:} Bxg2+ 20. Qxg2 Re1+ 21. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 22. Qg1 Qe4+ 23. Qg2 Qe1+ 24. Qg1 Qe4+ 25. Qg2 Qe1+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.4"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2698"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "128"] [GameId "2236744619174023"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,128,13,32,19,26,27,-121,22,12,16,23,26,25,3,10,11,5,92,86,47,131,112,82,105,-1,52,20,11,54,47,44,58,44,27,95,29,30,27,29,29,66,22,96,14,17,-6,135,54,92,-3,-1,-58,-12,-4,-15,-9,-24,-38,-11,30,27,-85,1,-8,-143,3,2,19,-41,20,-1,-96,20,26,24,37,41,42,44,56,117,46,1,36,36,50,52,43,69,77,86,80,60,-59,54,47,51,3,1,21,157,18,204,1,192,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,116,1,0,0,21,0,1,0,1,0,0]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Nf3 Be7 8. h4 f6 $2 {Mixing things up.} (8... cxd4 9. cxd4 f6 {is the right way.} 10. Nf4 Ndxe5 $1 11. dxe5 fxe5 12. Nh5 (12. Nh3 $11 {is a little better, but it's still not good enough for an advantage.}) 12... O-O {and now} 13. Ng5 $2 {leaves White with a lost position after} Qb6 $19 ({or} 13... Bc5 $19)) 9. Nf4 $18 Ndxe5 10. dxe5 fxe5 11. Nh5 O-O 12. Ng3 $2 $14 {This gives away most of White's advantage. He's still a little better, but Black's massive center nearly equalizes the chances.} (12. Ng5 $18 {maintains a winning advantage here (as opposed to the corresponding position in the 8...cxd4 line), as the presence of Black's c5-pawn makes 12...Bc5 illegal and 12...Qb6 harmless.}) 12... e4 13. Ng5 h6 14. Qh5 Qe8 15. Qxe8 Rxe8 16. N5xe4 {A reasonable practical decision.} dxe4 17. Nxe4 b6 18. Bf4 Rd8 19. Nd2 Bb7 20. O-O-O Bd6 21. Bxd6 Rxd6 22. Be2 Ne5 23. Nc4 Nxc4 24. Bxc4 Bd5 $11 {The game goes on, but Sevian is all the way back from the dead and makes the draw.} 25. Rhe1 Rad8 26. Bxd5 exd5 27. Re7 R6d7 28. Rde1 Kf8 29. R7e5 Rc8 30. f4 d4 31. g4 dxc3 32. bxc3 Rcd8 33. g5 hxg5 34. hxg5 g6 35. Re6 Rf7 36. R1e4 Kg7 37. Rc6 Rdf8 38. Ree6 Rxf4 39. Rxg6+ Kh7 40. Rh6+ Kg7 41. Kb2 R8f5 42. Rhg6+ Kh7 43. Kb3 Rf2 44. a4 Rf1 45. Rh6+ Kg7 46. Rc7+ Rf7 47. Rhc6 Rg1 48. a5 Rxg5 49. a6 c4+ 50. Kxc4 Ra5 51. Rxf7+ Kxf7 52. Rc7+ Ke6 53. Rxa7 Kd6 54. Kb4 Kc6 55. c4 Ra1 56. Ra8 Kc7 57. Kb3 Ra5 58. Kc3 Ra3+ 59. Kd4 Ra5 60. Ke4 Kc6 61. Ra7 b5 62. cxb5+ Kxb5 63. Kd4 Rxa6 64. Rxa6 Kxa6 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.5"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2756"] [BlackElo "2661"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "120"] [GameId "2236744619186312"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,120,15,2,28,19,23,-11,16,28,38,25,37,37,34,-45,25,34,54,8,21,-8,-9,14,10,1,15,17,13,7,8,8,10,-10,63,60,38,1,74,8,76,84,14,92,88,62,39,134,42,133,23,51,27,19,19,15,-23,8,58,15,76,60,0,65,-1,74,80,74,135,-46,57,43,45,52,28,40,148,12,51,87,31,180,55,186,46,79,52,60,63,39,1,45,-23,53,56,54,-1,53,71,64,-21,8,11,8,-1,66,71,79,66,90,69,82,77,39,31,25,27,5,4,10,11,21,1]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nab1 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. a4 b4 12. Nd5 O-O 13. Bc4 Be6 14. O-O Bg5 15. Qd3 a5 16. c3 {Now Oparin makes the opposite error from Sevian's against Robson in the immediately preceding game. There Sevian forgot to swap pawns (on d4) before moving on to the next thing. Here Oparin mistakenly trades pawns rather than going directly to the "next" thing. In both cases it was the players forgetting their prep. Fortunately for both, they both managed to save their inferior positions.} bxc3 $6 (16... Rc8 $142 {is correct, as played twice by his (most-of-the-time) boss:} 17. b3 (17. Ba6 bxc3 18. Nbxc3 Rb8 19. Bb5 Nd4 20. Rfd1 f5 21. exf5 Bxf5 22. Ne4 Kh8 23. Re1 Bh6 24. Rad1 Bg6 25. b3 Rb7 26. Bc4 Rbf7 27. Qg3 Bf4 28. Qh3 Bf5 29. Qc3 Bxh2+ 30. Kxh2 Qh4+ 31. Kg1 Bxe4 32. Qg3 Qxg3 33. fxg3 Bg6 34. Nc3 Rf2 35. Nb5 Bc2 36. Rc1 Rd2 37. Nxd6 g6 38. Rxe5 Rff2 39. Bd5 Rfe2 40. Re1 Rxe1+ 41. Rxe1 Ne2+ 42. Kh2 Rxd5 43. Rxe2 Bxb3 44. Nb7 Kg7 45. Re7+ Kh6 46. Re4 Rh5+ 47. Kg1 Bd5 48. Re7 Bc6 49. Nd6 Bxa4 50. Ra7 Rd5 51. Nf7+ Kg7 52. Ne5+ Kf6 53. Nc4 Bb5 54. Nxa5 h5 55. Kh2 Rd2 56. Rb7 Bf1 57. Kg1 Bxg2 58. Rb4 Bd5 59. Kf1 Kf5 60. Rf4+ Kg5 61. Nc4 Ra2 62. Ne3 Be6 63. Re4 Bh3+ 64. Ke1 Kf6 65. Rf4+ Kg7 66. Rf2 Ra3 67. Kd2 Bd7 68. Rf4 Bb5 69. Rd4 Ra2+ 70. Kd1 Rf2 71. Rd5 Bc6 72. Rd6 Bf3+ 73. Kc1 Re2 74. Rd3 Be4 75. Rc3 Rf2 76. Nd1 Rg2 77. Re3 Bf5 78. Nc3 Kh6 79. Kd1 Kg5 80. Ke1 Kg4 81. Ne2 Rh2 82. Kf1 Rh1+ 83. Kf2 Ra1 84. Ng1 g5 85. Rc3 Be4 86. Rc4 Kf5 87. Rc5+ Kf6 88. Ne2 Ra3 89. Nc3 Bf5 90. Nd5+ Ke6 91. Nc7+ Kf6 92. Nd5+ Kf7 93. Ne3 Ra2+ 94. Kg1 Be4 95. Rxg5 Re2 96. Nc4 Rg2+ 97. Kf1 Kf6 98. Rxh5 Rxg3 99. Kf2 Rf3+ 100. Ke1 Rf5 101. Rxf5+ Bxf5 {½-½ Bharath,S (2561)-Caruana,F (2798) Julius Baer GenCup D3 W Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (3.1)}) 17... Kh8 18. Ba6 Rb8 19. Bb5 Qc8 20. Qc4 Ne7 21. cxb4 axb4 22. Qxc8 Rfxc8 23. Bc4 Nxd5 24. exd5 Bd7 25. Rd1 Rc5 26. Nd2 f5 27. a5 Ra8 28. a6 Ra7 29. Nf3 Bf6 30. Ra2 e4 31. Nd4 Bxd4 32. Rxd4 Bb5 33. Bxb5 Rxb5 34. g4 g6 35. gxf5 gxf5 36. Rc4 Kg7 37. Rc6 Rxd5 38. Rb6 Kf6 39. Kf1 f4 40. Rxb4 Kf5 41. Rb7 f3 42. Ke1 Ra8 43. Rxh7 Rd3 44. Ra5+ d5 45. Rh5+ Ke6 46. a7 Kd6 47. b4 Kc6 48. Rh6+ Kb7 49. b5 d4 50. Raa6 Rc3 51. Rh7+ Rc7 52. Rxc7+ Kxc7 53. h4 e3 54. h5 Rg8 55. Rg6 Rh8 56. h6 Kb7 57. b6 Rc8 58. fxe3 dxe3 59. Kd1 e2+ 60. Kd2 Rd8+ 61. Ke1 Rd1+ 62. Kf2 e1=Q+ 63. Kxf3 Qf1+ {0-1 Bharath,S (2561)-Caruana,F (2798) Julius Baer GenCup D3 W Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (3.3)}) 17. Nbxc3 $14 Rc8 18. b3 Kh8 (18... Ne7 $142) 19. Nb5 {Black's position is unpleasant, but still far from losing.} g6 20. Rad1 Bg4 21. f3 (21. Rb1 $142 $16) 21... Be6 22. Qc3 (22. Kh1 $142) 22... Nd4 23. Nxd4 (23. Rxd4 $1 exd4 24. Qxd4+ Kg8 25. f4 Bxd5 $1 26. Qxd5 Be7 $14) 23... Bxd5 $1 $11 24. Nb5 Bxc4 25. bxc4 Qb6+ 26. Kh1 Be7 27. Rd5 Rc6 (27... Kg8 $142 $11) 28. f4 $14 Kg8 (28... f6 $142) 29. f5 {White's advantaqe is growing again.} Bg5 $1 {Jettisoning the d-pawn, lest f5-f6 bury the bishop forever.} 30. Rxd6 $1 Qc5 $1 (30... Rxd6 $143 31. c5) 31. Rxc6 Qxc6 32. c5 Be7 33. Rc1 Rd8 34. Qxe5 Bxc5 $11 {Despite White's extra pawn and the pin on the c-file the position is equal. (White's weak back rank helps.)} 35. Qc3 (35. g3 Bd4 $1 36. Rxc6 Bxe5 $11) 35... Qb6 $1 36. h3 Bf8 37. Rf1 Bg7 38. Qf3 (38. f6 {keeps the f-file closed and makes it easier for Black to cope with White's e-pawn (which has a harder time forcing its way through e6 now that its chum is on f6 rather than f5.} Bf8 39. e5 h5 $1 $11) 38... Be5 39. fxg6 Qxg6 (39... fxg6 $11 {is also playable, but who wants to invite the enemy queen into f7?}) 40. Nc3 Qg3 {With queens coming off Black is drawing comfortably. His king is safe and the superior minor piece gives him full compensation for the missing pawn.} 41. Qxg3+ Bxg3 42. Nd5 Kf8 43. Rf3 Be5 44. Rf5 Re8 45. Nb6 Bc3 46. Nd7+ Ke7 47. Nb6 Kf8 48. Rc5 Bb4 49. Rc4 f5 $1 {There's no need to suffer indefinitely.} 50. e5 (50. exf5 Re1+ 51. Kh2 Bd6+ 52. g3 Re2+ 53. Kg1 Bxg3 $11) 50... Kf7 51. Nd5 Rxe5 52. Nxb4 axb4 53. Rxb4 Re3 $1 {This is a routine draw.} 54. Rb5 Kg6 55. a5 Ra3 56. Kg1 Kg5 57. Kf2 h5 58. g3 Ra2+ 59. Kf3 Ra3+ 60. Kf2 Ra2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.6"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B95"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2577"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "36"] [GameId "2236744619186313"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,36,9,32,16,17,15,15,18,16,13,20,24,6,3,11,-6,15,10,4,0,0,-51,67,14,-18,-3,1,1,-1,1,-1,1,-1,-1,1,1,-1,1]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f3 {This is common when White's bishop is on e3 rather than g5, but very rare here.} h6 8. Be3 {And now it's an English Attack where Black has the move h6 in "for free". Is it useful, or is it a hook?} Be7 (8... b5 {was MVL's choice in a couple of games with Carlsen back in 2019.}) 9. Qd2 b5 10. O-O-O (10. a3) (10. a4) 10... b4 11. Na4 Qa5 12. b3 Bd7 {It looks like White is in trouble, but he has a resource.} 13. Nf5 $1 exf5 (13... Bxa4 $2 14. Nxe7 $18 {and White wins due to the coming collapse on d6.}) 14. Bb6 Qe5 15. Bd4 Qa5 16. Bb6 Qe5 17. Bd4 Qa5 18. Bb6 Qe5 {Nothing new: this happened in a 2021 correspondence game between Tornow and Cardoso.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.1"] [White "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Black "Atwell, Rose"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2297"] [BlackElo "2353"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "119"] [GameId "2236744627185813"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nf3 c6 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Nd2 b6 9. cxd5 exd5 10. e4 dxe4 11. Ndxe4 Bb7 12. Qb3 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Nf6 14. Rd1 Qd7 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. Be3 Rfd8 17. a4 Qc7 18. Rac1 Qd7 19. a5 bxa5 20. Rc5 $14 Qc7 $2 {Very careless.} 21. d5 Qb6 22. Qc2 $1 cxd5 23. Rc7 Qb5 24. Bf1 Qb4 25. Bc5 Qg4 26. Rxb7 {Black is completely lost here, as her two scattered pawns offer essentially no compensation for the piece. Nevertheless, she starts to outplay Paikidze from this point.} Rac8 27. Rb5 Be7 28. Rc1 d4 29. Qd2 Bg5 30. f4 Bf6 31. Bd3 h5 32. Re1 h4 33. Qe2 Qd7 34. Rxa5 $6 (34. Qe4 $1 g6 35. Rb7 {was much better.}) 34... Re8 35. Qf2 Re3 $1 36. Rxe3 dxe3 37. Qxe3 $2 {Tactics time!} Bxb2 $2 ({Black would love to play} 37... Rxc5 $2 {followed by ...Bd4, but it doesn't work.} 38. Rxc5 $1 Bd4 39. Rc8+ $1 Qxc8 40. Qxd4 $18 {ends Black's "attack" and wins quickly. But there was a way to set up the ...Rxc5, ...Bd4 trick.}) (37... Qd8 $3 {covers the back rank so there's no check, and now} 38. Rb5 (38. Rxa7 Rxc5 $1 $11) 38... Rxc5 $1 39. Rxc5 $4 Bd4 $19 {and because 40.Rc8 wouldn't come with check, Black wins.}) ({However, for all of the move's ingenuity,} 37... Qd8 $3 {Black is still in trouble if White finds} 38. Qe4 $1 {, threatening mate and getting the queen off the dangerous diagonal. After} Rxc5 $1 (38... g6 $2 39. b4 $18 {and there's nothing to discuss.}) 39. Rxc5 $1 Bd4+ 40. Kg2 Bxc5 41. Qh7+ Kf8 42. Qh8+ Ke7 43. Qxh4+ f6 44. Qh7 $18 {White retains excellent winning chances. The extra pawn matters (of course, it was an extra piece not all that long ago) as do the weak light squares in Black's camp. Because of them the opposite-colored bishops help White rather than making the game drawish.}) 38. Qe4 $4 (38. Rxa7 $18) 38... Rxc5 $1 {Now it works, as ...Bd4 is a check (so there's no Rc8+ rejoinder).} 39. Rxc5 Bd4+ 40. Kg2 h3+ 41. Kf3 Bxc5 {Now it's just equal, and the game soon peters out to a draw.} 42. Qa8+ Bf8 43. Qe4 g6 44. f5 gxf5 45. Qxf5 Qxf5+ 46. Bxf5 a5 47. Bxh3 a4 48. Bf5 a3 49. Bb1 Kg7 50. Ba2 f5 51. g4 fxg4+ 52. Kxg4 Kf6 53. h4 Ke5 54. h5 Bh6 55. Bg8 Kd4 56. Kf5 Kc3 57. Kg6 Bd2 58. h6 Bxh6 59. Kxh6 a2 60. Bxa2 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.2"] [White "Pourkashiyan, Atousa"] [Black "Paragua, Megan Althea"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "2291"] [BlackElo "2259"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "104"] [GameId "2236744627185814"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,104,19,-2,21,-49,25,30,5,26,14,35,21,13,23,19,14,16,11,0,-4,-12,0,-6,-13,-29,20,-67,4,-5,36,17,57,58,45,64,56,179,60,11,58,57,31,129,-5,-34,-98,-68,-227,-81,-138,-205,-257,-254,-196,-243,-196,-248,-139,-55,-162,-131,-135,-139,-132,-102,-139,-75,-59,-27,-65,-141,-11,-18,48,16,31,-1,111,75,127,104,161,1,147,-23,1,-1,-1,-134,-90,-201,-156,-753,-711,-758,-870,-1331,-1340,-1427,-1434,-1579,-1604,-1669,-1704,-1740,-925] 12-year-old Megan Paragua gets her first win of the event, which will surely be the first of many, many U.S. Women's Championship wins over the course of her career--and I wouldn't rule out the possibility that she eventually wins games in the U.S. Championship itself.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. a3 d6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qe2 e5 9. Nf3 Be6 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Bg5 O-O 12. Qd2 Ne8 13. h4 a6 14. Bd3 f6 15. Be3 Na5 16. Kb1 b5 17. h5 Nc4 18. Bxc4 Rxc4 19. Qd3 (19. b3 $16) 19... f5 20. exf5 Rxf5 21. Nd2 Rg4 22. Nde4 Qa8 $1 $15 23. f3 Rxg2 24. Qf1 Rg4 $17 25. Qh3 Rh4 26. Qg2 Rxh1 27. Rxh1 d5 $19 {A speedy turnaround over the past few moves! But the tide will turn again...} 28. Ng5 Bxg5 29. Bxg5 Qc6 (29... d4 $142) 30. h6 g6 31. Re1 Nd6 (31... a5 {followed by ...b4 was better.}) 32. f4 Nf7 (32... Nc4 $142 $19) 33. Qg1 Nxg5 34. fxg5 Qc7 (34... d4) 35. Qg3 $11 (35. Ne2 $1 $11) 35... Kf7 36. Nd1 d4 37. Nf2 Bc4 38. Ng4 Ke6 39. Nf6 Qb7 $2 (39... Qa5 $142 $11) 40. Ne8 $18 {Now White's winning - but this won't last.} Kd7 41. Ng7 Rf4 42. b3 $2 (42. Qh3+ $1 Kd6 43. Ne8+ Kc6 44. b3 Bd5 45. Rxe5 $18) 42... Bf7 $11 43. Rxe5 Qf3 44. Qh2 $4 {A surprising oversight, but things like this can happen before the time control. But afterwards? Just a bad moment for Pourkashiyan.} (44. Qxf3 Rxf3 45. Re4 Rg3 46. Rxd4+ Ke7 47. Re4+ Kd7 48. Rd4+ Ke7 $11) 44... Bxb3 $1 45. Re1 (45. cxb3 Qxb3+ 46. Kc1 Rf1+ 47. Kd2 Qd1#) 45... Bd5 46. Ne8 Qxa3 47. Nf6+ Rxf6 48. gxf6 Qb4+ 49. Kc1 Qxe1+ 50. Kb2 Qb4+ 51. Kc1 Qa3+ 52. Kd1 Qe3 0-1 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.3"] [White "Lee, Alice"] [Black "Sargsyan, Anna M."] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2409"] [BlackElo "2369"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "72"] [GameId "2236744627185815"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,72,22,27,7,9,17,16,15,17,14,31,26,26,34,14,25,3,27,0,19,-2,-121,-35,4,1,35,-5,-11,24,54,11,-18,22,15,-4,-39,14,26,-18,57,26,-25,43,26,61,-54,-27,-23,-39,-35,-26,-178,-79,-19,-28,-18,-37,-7,95,-35,-38,76,-52,63,-65,-43,-49,95,-373,-301,-581,-633,-29997,-29998]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. c4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd2 a6 8. Qc2 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Bd6 10. O-O e5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. f4 Bd6 14. Bd3 h6 (14... Kh8 15. Kh1 b5 16. Ne4 Bf5 17. Nxf6 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 Qxf6 19. Bc3 Qe6 20. e4 f6 21. b3 {½-½ Radjabov,T (2648)-Kramnik,V (2785) Dortmund SuperGM 31st 2003 (6)}) ({The engine recommends the as-yet untested} 14... b5 $146 {, which makes good sense.}) 15. Ne4 (15. h3 $142 $14) (15. Kh1 $142 $14) 15... Nxe4 16. Bxe4 $11 Re8 17. Bf3 Qe7 18. Rac1 Rb8 19. e4 b6 20. e5 Bc5+ 21. Kh1 Bd7 22. Rfd1 Rbd8 23. b4 Bd4 24. Bc6 Qe6 25. Bxd7 Rxd7 26. f5 $6 (26. Re1 $11) (26. h3 $11) 26... Qd5 $11 (26... Qe7 $142 $1 27. f6 $1 Qd8 $1 $17) 27. Bf4 c5 28. f6 (28. Qd3 $142 $11) 28... Qe6 (28... gxf6 $142) 29. bxc5 bxc5 30. fxg7 Rb7 31. Qe4 Rb2 $11 32. h3 Reb8 33. Be3 (33. Bg3 $11) (33. Rd2 $11) 33... Re2 34. Re1 $4 {A gross oversight. It happens, especially at the end of a long tournament.} (34. Rd3 Bxe5 35. Qf3 $11) 34... Bxe3 $1 $19 35. Rf1 Rbb2 36. Rf6 Qxh3+ $1 (36... Qxh3+ 37. gxh3 Rh2#) 0-1 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.4"] [White "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"] [Black "Yip, Carissa"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A41"] [WhiteElo "2311"] [BlackElo "2452"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "110"] [GameId "2236744627194008"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,110,13,-6,34,16,19,20,30,100,31,24,25,31,32,26,68,26,61,26,57,53,34,46,12,25,37,57,49,25,21,62,20,137,90,157,39,23,-61,-85,-118,-90,-92,-211,-67,-199,-326,-235,-1,-146,-157,69,-176,-180,-16,-213,-1,-222,-98,-249,-124,-258,-166,-313,-303,-308,-260,-326,-318,-357,-280,-401,-99,-339,-28,-379,-388,-475,-303,-441,-353,-211,-409,-419,-424,-182,-350,-223,-400,-240,-340,-378,-319,-224,-323,-342,-420,-350,-394,-457,-230,-515,-502,-380,-504,-422,-536,-542,-561,-636,-265,-709,-758] With a win in this game Yip wins her third straight U.S. Women's Championship title; anything else and there could be a playoff or someone else might take the crown.} 1. d4 d6 {Not a great opening from a "correctness" standpoint, but for creating imbalanced positions with a fight it's terrific.} 2. c4 e5 3. d5 (3. Nf3) 3... Nd7 ({The immediate} 3... f5 {is playable; indeed, it's better here than when Yip played it on move 12.}) 4. Nc3 a5 5. e4 Nc5 6. Be3 b6 7. Bd3 (7. a3 {makes sense, preparing to "disinvite" the knight with b4.}) 7... Nxd3+ 8. Qxd3 Nf6 9. f3 g6 10. Nge2 Nd7 11. O-O Nc5 12. Qc2 f5 $6 (12... Be7 {was better, looking to swap off the bad bishop with ...Bg5. The ...f5 break isn't running away, so Black should develop first.}) 13. f4 $1 {Now Black must be careful - the center is about to open and White has a considerable lead in development.} Bg7 $8 14. fxe5 Bxe5 (14... dxe5 {is structurally ugly but controls some important squares (especially d4, which is a transit point to c6).} 15. Bxc5 bxc5 16. exf5 gxf5 17. Ng3 $1 f4 18. Nh5 Qg5 19. Nxg7+ Qxg7 20. Rae1 O-O 21. Rf2 {Black has lots of weak squares and weak pawns, but at least all her pieces have good prospects.}) 15. Nd4 $16 O-O 16. Nc6 Qe8 $6 (16... Qh4 {is objectively better, but it has a couple of downsides: it *forces* White to make the swap on e5 which, together with the follow-up trade on c5, leaves Black with the sort of strategically awful position discussed above.} 17. Nxe5 dxe5 18. Bxc5 bxc5 19. Qf2 $16) 17. Nb5 $2 {The knight is beautiful; the only problem is that as long as the c7 pawn can be defended the knight is useless there. Meanwhile, the e-pawn is under pressure.} ({Now there's less urgency for} 17. Nxe5 $1 {as White's kingside isn't facing any real pressure, and since Black will recapture with the queen Bxc5 won't be as attractive. It turns out, however, that this is best, and after} Qxe5 18. Qd2 $18 {Black is simply lost as White's bishop will be a monster on d4 (or even h6). Black's king will be in dire straits (but without Mark Knopfler [ask your parents]) for the rest of its days - which may not be many.}) 17... Rf7 $14 18. Nxe5 (18. exf5 {would have been good for Cervantes, and quite possibly for Sargsyan as well.} Bxh2+ (18... Bxf5 {seemed like an alternative to keep the game going, but here too White can offer a repetition that Black denies at her peril.} 19. Qd2 Ne4 20. Qe2 Nc5 {Other moves are clearly worse for Black.} (20... h5 {prevents g2-g4, but White is in great shape after} 21. Nbd4 $1 {Back to civilization.} Bd7 22. Rae1 Nc5 23. Rxf7 Qxf7 24. Nxe5 dxe5 25. Rf1 Qe7 26. Nf3 $16 {/+- It's not as bad as in the 17.Nxe5 line, but here too White's remaining bishop will cause Black lots of problems. Many of Black's pawns are on dark squares, where they are targets, and there are plenty of dark-squared gaps in front of Black's under-defended king.}) 21. Qd2 $11) 19. Kxh2 Qxe3 20. fxg6 Qh6+ 21. Kg1 Qe3+ 22. Kh2 Qh6+ $11 {If Black avoids the perpetual she's lost.}) 18... Qxe5 19. Bd4 $2 (19. Rae1 $1 Nxe4 $8 20. Bd4 Qe7 21. Nc3 $44 {gives White excellent compensation for the sacrificed pawn, thanks as usual to her terrific bishop.}) 19... Qxe4 {Thank you!} 20. Qd2 $6 (20. Qc3) 20... Ba6 $17 21. Rad1 $4 {Completely losing the thread.} Bxb5 $19 22. Rfe1 (22. cxb5 Qxd5 $19) 22... Qd3 23. cxb5 Qxd2 24. Rxd2 {You might think this isn't so bad for White. Sure, she's a pawn down, but her bishop is beautiful and she possesses the e-file. The d-pawn is isolated but easily defended, so is it really that bad? The answer is that it is. The bishop has no parishioners (i.e. it has no targets and no pieces to work with) while the e-file is closed for business after the next move.} Ne4 25. Rc2 {When God closes a door, he opens a window, as the old saw has it. You might think that the c-file is just as good as the e-file, maybe even better since there's a pot of gold (or a pawn of Black) at the end of the rainbow. The problem is that once White doubles over there Black closes that window with ...Nc5, and White's problem is that Black only has to switch the knight every other move. Black makes one move of progress and one knight jump while White is making two rook moves.} a4 {Now White must worry about ...Ra5, when b5 and d5 are sitting ducks.} 26. Rec1 Nc5 27. Bxc5 {Now the hopping horse is no more, but Black's recapture keeps the c-file closed in any case. White has nothing useful to do with the e-file, and the threat to the b-pawn's safety remains in place. Also, finally, White's bishop is no more.} dxc5 28. Re1 Rd7 29. Re6 Ra5 30. Rc6 Rxb5 {Two pawns.} 31. h4 Rb4 32. h5 Kf7 33. hxg6+ hxg6 34. Re2 Re4 {Nope, no entry.} 35. Kf2 {Resigning was a viable alternative, but look at Atwell's save against Paikidze in this round. The odds of a player of Yip's strength blowing this are negligible, but you never know unless you try.} Rxe2+ 36. Kxe2 g5 37. a3 Ke7 38. d6+ cxd6 39. Rxb6 Ra7 40. Kd3 Ke6 41. Rb8 Ke5 42. g3 Rh7 43. Re8+ Kf6 44. Rf8+ Ke6 45. Rg8 Rh2 46. Rg6+ Ke5 47. Rxg5 Kf6 48. Rg8 Rxb2 49. Ke3 Rb3+ 50. Kf4 Rxa3 {Three pawns.} 51. Rf8+ Ke6 52. Re8+ (52. Rxf5 Rf3+ 53. Kxf3 Kxf5 {and Black's a-pawn cannot be stopped.}) 52... Kd5 53. Rf8 Ra1 54. Ra8 c4 55. Kxf5 c3 {Cervantes decided that the odds of Yip dying of a heart attack or being struck by a meteor were no longer sufficient interesting, and resigned.} 0-1 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.5"] [White "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Black "Krush, Irina"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E65"] [WhiteElo "2310"] [BlackElo "2388"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "56"] [GameId "2236744627194009"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {Both players were still in the running for first, especially Krush, but perhaps neither player felt like pushing by the end, when they saw that Yip was winning and (maybe) that Lee had blundered against Sargsyan. (I'm not sure about the timeline.)} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O c5 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. h3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bd7 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Qd3 Rb8 12. Rb1 c5 13. b3 a5 14. Bb2 Qc8 15. Kh2 Qa6 16. Qc2 a4 17. Nxa4 Bxa4 18. Bxf6 Bxb3 19. Rxb3 Bxf6 20. Rfb1 Rxb3 21. Qxb3 Qa5 22. a4 Qd2 23. Bf3 h5 24. Kg2 h4 {White is meaningfully better here thanks to her passed a-pawn, so there was no reason why she needed to repeat.} 25. Qd3 (25. g4 $18 {is safe enough for White's king, and now she can get on with her queenside play.}) 25... Qa2 26. Qb3 Qd2 27. Qd3 Qa2 28. Qb3 Qd2 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.24"] [Round "11.6"] [White "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [Black "Yu, Jennifer"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C26"] [WhiteElo "2406"] [BlackElo "2256"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "98"] [GameId "2236744627194010"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,98,15,-15,4,-3,-1,-1,-21,1,11,2,0,0,21,-1,12,2,-5,-6,-102,11,7,-15,-223,-28,-10,-16,-12,-9,-169,-19,-119,-13,-15,-16,-38,0,0,-42,1,3,69,37,76,80,86,80,75,80,93,108,96,105,-21,94,5,87,58,22,81,93,106,134,59,67,79,1,77,75,78,74,167,-8,60,1,142,29,76,67,161,86,120,42,-51,16,3,22,61,0,0,0,0,-76,0,0,108,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Bc5 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nge2 Re8 6. O-O Nc6 7. d3 a6 8. h3 d6 9. Kh2 b5 10. f4 b4 11. Na4 Ba7 12. f5 h6 13. g4 Bd7 14. c3 a5 15. a3 Rb8 16. axb4 axb4 17. Ng1 Nh7 18. Nf3 Ng5 19. Nxg5 hxg5 20. h4 f6 21. hxg5 fxg5 22. Kg3 Qf6 23. Rh1 Nd8 24. cxb4 Bd4 25. Nc3 c6 26. Ne2 Rxb4 27. Nxd4 exd4 28. Qd2 Rb3 29. Ra7 Nb7 30. Qxg5 Rxd3+ 31. Kf2 Qxg5 32. Bxg5 Rb3 33. Bc1 Nc5 34. Rd1 Bc8 35. e5 d5 36. f6 gxf6 37. exf6 Bb7 38. Rxd4 Kf7 39. g5 Kg6 40. Rd1 Re5 {White is winning and the time control has been made. That's a perfect situation for Abrahamyan, but she didn't manage to find either of the two moves that kept a winning advantage.} 41. Ra3 $2 (41. Rf1 $18 {followed by Kg1, or 41.Kg1 followed by Rf1, would have done the trick. White's f-pawn forces Black's pieces to beat a hasty retreat, and then White can resume progress with her extra pawn and strong bishops.}) 41... Rxa3 42. bxa3 Ne6 43. Rg1 Nxg5 44. Bxg5 Rxg5 45. Bxd5 $1 {Cute, but all it does is make a draw.} Rxg1 (45... cxd5 $4 46. Rxg5+ Kxg5 47. f7 $18 {is the tactical justification.}) 46. Be4+ Kxf6 47. Kxg1 Ke5 48. Bxc6 Bxc6 49. a4 Bxa4 1/2-1/2