[Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Dominguez Perez, L."] [Black "So, W."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "86"] [GameId "2099740283604813"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,86,30,22,22,33,22,17,21,13,13,9,23,12,34,-32,-6,-7,12,-6,2,-26,21,18,11,10,16,-6,33,42,61,53,57,49,53,53,51,44,38,50,79,79,95,95,91,88,80,12,12,10,10,5,6,6,6,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-5,0,0,8,6,10,11,0,0,56,56,56,35,35,35,35,34,38,24,34,38,39,25,34]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d6 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 a6 8. h3 h6 9. a4 Ba7 10. Nbd2 Qe7 ({Here the most common move is} 10... Re8 {, intending as in the game to play ...Be6 and recapture with the rook, while the immediate}) (10... Be6 {is also quite common, hoping to make something of the f-file and on the kingside in general after} 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. b4 Ne7 {.}) 11. b4 Be6 12. Rb1 {Almost a novelty.} Qd7 $146 13. b5 (13. Bxe6) 13... Ne7 (13... axb5) 14. d4 Bxc4 (14... Ng6 $1 $11 {may be best, offering a piece sac that White pretty clearly can't accept.} 15. d5 $4 Bxh3 16. gxh3 Qxh3 17. b6 {Forced.} Bxb6 18. Rxb6 cxb6 19. Nh2 Qxc3 20. Re3 Qa5 $19 {White has avoided a disaster on the kingside and has two bishops for the rook. The only problem is that Black also has four(!) extra pawns.}) 15. Nxc4 exd4 (15... Rfe8 $1) 16. cxd4 $14 axb5 17. Rxb5 c6 18. Rb3 d5 19. Nfe5 Qd8 $6 (19... Qc7 $11 {/?}) 20. exd5 cxd5 21. Ne3 $14 {/?} Qc8 {Unpleasant, but probably best, defending b7.} 22. Ba3 Re8 23. Qd3 $6 (23. Bxe7 $1 Rxe7 24. Qb1 $1 $14 {/? followed by Qb2 and Rc1 leaves Black in a bind. White's major pieces are great, and even White's "worst" piece, the knight on e3, attacks d5 and may leap into f5. It's very nice for White, though far from winning.} Bxd4 $2 25. Nf5 Rxe5 26. Rxe5 {wins for White, as} Bxe5 $4 {allows} 27. Ne7+ $18) 23... Nc6 $11 {Now Black is okay.} 24. Rc1 Qe6 25. Rxb7 Nxe5 26. dxe5 Qxe5 27. Rcc7 Bxe3 28. fxe3 Qa1+ (28... Qxe3+ 29. Qxe3 Rxe3 30. Bb2 Re1+ 31. Kf2 Rb1 32. Bxf6 Rxb7 33. Rxb7 gxf6 34. Rb5 Rxa4 35. Rxd5 $11) 29. Rc1 Qe5 30. Rcc7 Qa1+ 31. Rc1 Qe5 32. Bb2 {White is pretending to play for a win, but that's all it is.} Qe4 (32... Qxe3+ $11) 33. Rd1 Qxd3 34. Rxd3 Rxa4 35. Bxf6 gxf6 36. Rxd5 Raa8 37. Rdd7 Rab8 38. Rxf7 Rxb7 39. Rxb7 Rxe3 40. Kf2 Ra3 41. Kg1 Re3 42. Kf2 Ra3 43. Kg1 Re3 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Shankland, S."] [Black "Liang, Awonder"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2677"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2099740283670351"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 c5 5. Bg2 (5. cxd5 {is an orthodox Tarrasch in case of 5...exd5, but both 5...cxd4 and 5...Nxd5 are viable alternative captures. Oddly, the engine suggests a move that has only been played once here:} Be7 $5 {Taking on e6 is possible, but the simplest is} 6. Bg2 {, and now Black's best is to turn it into a normal Tarrasch with} exd5 {. So 5...Be7 turns out to reduce Black's options more than increase them.}) 5... cxd4 6. O-O Be7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Nxd4 O-O 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 e5 11. Nc2 Nc6 12. Ne3 Be6 13. Qa4 Bc5 14. Rb1 Bxe3 $146 15. Bxe3 Qc7 16. Rfd1 (16. Rxb7 {looks like it wins a pawn, but it doesn't.} Qxb7 17. Bxc6 Qb2 18. Bxa8 Rxa8 $11 {White will lose a2 or c3 or e2.}) 16... Rac8 17. c4 h6 {White's bishops give him a little pull, enough to outweigh the weakness of his c-pawn. Black shouldn't have any real problems with accurate play, though.} 18. h4 Rfd8 19. Bd5 Re8 (19... Bf5 $1 20. Rbc1 (20. Rb2 b6 $11) 20... Ne7 $11 {is a better way to deal with White's powerful bishop on d5.}) 20. Rd2 (20. Bxa7 $5 b5 $1 (20... Ra8 $6 21. Bb6 $1 Rxa4 22. Bxc7 Rxa2 23. e3 $16) 21. cxb5 Qxa7 22. Qxa7 Nxa7 23. a4 Bxd5 24. Rxd5 Ra8 $1 25. b6 Nc6 26. Rc1 Nd4 27. Rc7 Rxa4 28. b7 Rb4 29. Rc8 Kf8 30. Rdd8 Rxd8 31. Rxd8+ Ke7 32. b8=Q Rxb8 33. Rxb8 Nxe2+ {shouldn't be a difficult draw.}) 20... b6 21. Rbd1 (21. Rc1 $14) (21. Bxe6 Rxe6 22. c5 bxc5 23. Bxc5 a6 $11 {/?}) 21... Bf5 (21... Bg4 $1 $11) 22. c5 $14 bxc5 23. Bxc5 Red8 24. g4 $6 {White will enjoy a big advantage unless Black finds the one and only correct move...} (24. Bg2 Rxd2 25. Rxd2 $14 {isn't the least bit flashy, but it offers White a pleasant long-term edge thanks to the bishop pair.}) 24... Nd4 $1 25. Bxd4 Rxd5 26. gxf5 (26. Bb6 axb6 27. Rxd5 Bc2 $11 {almost seems like good luck.}) 26... exd4 27. f6 (27. Rxd4 Rxf5 $11) 27... Rf5 28. fxg7 (28. Qxd4 {avoids the coming perpetual - but it's not obvious that White *should* avoid it.} Rxf6 $11) 28... Rxf2 $1 29. Kxf2 Qf4+ 30. Kg2 Qg4+ 31. Kf1 Qf4+ 32. Kg2 Qg4+ 33. Kf1 Qf4+ 34. Kg2 Qg4+ 35. Kf1 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Caruana, F."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2796"] [PlyCount "143"] [GameId "2099740283670352"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O d6 5. c3 Bb6 6. d3 h6 7. Re1 Qf6 8. b4 Nge7 9. a4 a5 10. b5 Nd8 11. Be3 Ne6 12. Nbd2 Nf4 13. d4 Bg4 14. h3 Bh5 15. Bf1 O-O 16. Rc1 Ne6 17. g4 Bg6 18. Nxe5 dxe5 19. dxe5 Qxe5 20. Nf3 Qxe4 21. Bxb6 Rad8 22. Nd4 Qf4 23. Bxa5 b6 24. Bb4 Nxd4 25. cxd4 Rxd4 26. Qe2 Rxb4 27. Qxe7 Rxa4 28. Qxc7 h5 29. Qxf4 Rxf4 30. gxh5 Bxh5 31. Rc6 Rb8 32. Re7 Kf8 33. Ra7 Re4 34. Kg2 Re7 35. Ra6 Reb7 36. Kg3 f6 37. Bg2 Be8 38. Re6 Bd7 39. Bxb7 Bxe6 40. Bc6 Kf7 41. Ra7+ Kg6 42. Re7 Bc4 43. h4 Kh6 44. f3 Bd3 45. Rd7 Bf5 46. Rd6 Bc2 47. Bd5 Bd3 48. Bf7 Bf1 49. Kf2 Rf8 50. Kxf1 Rxf7 51. Kf2 Kh5 52. Kg3 Rb7 53. Rd5+ Kh6 54. Kg4 Rc7 55. Rd6 Rc4+ 56. f4 Rb4 57. Rxb6 g6 58. Rxf6 Rxb5 59. Re6 Ra5 60. Re5 Ra1 61. f5 gxf5+ 62. Rxf5 Ra4+ 63. Rf4 Rxf4+ 64. Kxf4 Kh5 65. Kg3 Kh6 66. Kg4 Kh7 67. Kg5 Kh8 68. Kg6 Kg8 69. h5 Kh8 70. h6 Kg8 71. h7+ Kh8 72. Kh6 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Aronian, L."] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C07"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2689"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "51"] [GameId "2099740283670353"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,51,30,20,44,30,26,0,39,39,39,41,49,60,68,69,69,50,50,33,33,2,2,5,25,2,12,19,21,-28,-33,-39,-39,-49,-17,-27,16,16,7,7,7,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. Bc4 Qd7 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nb3 a6 9. a4 (9. Nbxd4 {is the main move, though 9.a4 is also well-established in theory.}) 9... Nf6 10. Qe2 Bd6 11. Rd1 e5 12. Nbxd4 Nxd4 13. Rxd4 Qe7 14. Rxd6 {This has been played in dozens of games.} Qxd6 15. b3 e4 16. Ba3 Qf4 17. Qe1 $1 {A nice move, but we're still well within theory.} Be6 18. Qa5 (18. Qb4 $2 {looks even better at first glance. Unfortunately for White, this is refuted by} O-O-O $1 $19) 18... Rd8 19. Qc5 Nd5 20. Bxd5 Qf6 21. Bc6+ bxc6 22. Qxc6+ Rd7 {All this has been played in at least four previous games. Unless Aronian was sick or tired, or he and Sevian are best friends, it's hard to understand why Aronian would give away the white pieces like this.} 23. Qa8+ Rd8 24. Qc6+ Rd7 25. Qa8+ Rd8 26. Qc6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Robson, R."] [Black "Oparin, G."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E49"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2662"] [PlyCount "110"] [GameId "2099740283670354"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 c6 8. Ne2 b6 9. f3 Ba6 10. cxd5 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 cxd5 12. e4 Nc6 13. O-O Qd7 14. c4 dxc4 15. Qxc4 Rac8 16. Bg5 e5 17. d5 Nd4 18. Qd3 Nxe2+ 19. Qxe2 Ne8 20. Bd2 Nd6 21. Bb4 a5 22. Bxd6 Qxd6 23. Qb2 Rc5 24. h3 Rfc8 25. Rfc1 h5 26. Kh2 f5 27. Rxc5 Rxc5 28. Rb1 fxe4 29. fxe4 Qf6 30. Qe2 Rc1 31. Rxc1 Qf4+ 32. g3 Qxc1 33. d6 Kf8 34. Qf3+ Ke8 35. Qxh5+ Kd7 36. Qf7+ Kxd6 37. Qd5+ Ke7 38. Qxe5+ Kf7 39. Qd5+ Ke7 40. Qe5+ Kf7 41. Qd5+ Ke7 42. Qb7+ Kf8 43. Qxb6 Qxa3 44. h4 a4 45. e5 Qa2+ 46. Kh3 Qc4 47. Qd8+ Kf7 48. Qd7+ Kf8 49. e6 Qf1+ 50. Kg4 Qe2+ 51. Kf4 Qf2+ 52. Ke4 Qg2+ 53. Kf4 Qf2+ 54. Ke4 Qg2+ 55. Kf4 Qf2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Black "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2630"] [BlackElo "2590"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "63"] [GameId "2099740283674451"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,63,30,21,21,28,20,18,14,-1,41,14,63,19,25,9,0,18,30,30,20,20,20,20,51,18,30,7,49,49,38,38,37,40,40,21,21,16,38,21,16,0,-2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-1,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 Nc6 {Murey's old idea is cute, but has long been considered slightly better for White.} 5. Nxe5 $1 ({The stem game went} 5. Bxe4 d5 6. Bg5 (6. Bd3 $143 e4) (6. Nxe5) 6... Qd7 7. Bd3 e4 8. O-O f6 9. Re1 Be7 10. Bf4 exd3 11. Qxd3 O-O $11 {Timman, the better player, went on to win, but not because he has anything here.} 12. Nc3 Bb4 13. Re2 Ne7 14. Qb5 Ng6 15. Qxd5+ Rf7 16. Bd2 Bxc3 17. Qxd7 Bxd7 18. Bxc3 Nf4 19. Re3 Nd5 20. Ree1 Bf5 21. Rac1 Nxc3 22. bxc3 Rd8 23. c4 Bg4 24. c3 Bxf3 25. gxf3 Kf8 26. Rb1 b6 27. Re4 f5 28. Re5 Rd6 29. Rbe1 g5 30. Re8+ Kg7 31. R1e6 Rxe6 32. Rxe6 Rf6 33. Re7+ Rf7 34. Re5 Kf6 35. c5 Rf8 36. Kf1 Rb8 37. Ke2 b5 38. Kd3 b4 39. Re1 bxc3 40. Kxc3 c6 41. d5 cxd5 42. Kd4 Rb2 43. c6 Rc2 44. Kxd5 Rd2+ 45. Kc5 Rc2+ 46. Kd6 Rd2+ 47. Kc7 Rxa2 48. Rc1 Ke7 49. Kc8 Rxf2 50. c7 Rb2 51. Rc5 h6 52. h3 f4 53. Re5+ Kf6 54. Ra5 {1-0 Timman,J (2635)-Murey,J (2530) FRA France 1993}) 5... Nxe5 6. dxe5 Nc5 7. Bc4 d6 8. Qf3 Ne6 9. exd6 (9. Be3 {is also possible, as played by So and Giri in 2022.} dxe5 10. Nd2 Bd6 11. O-O-O O-O 12. Ne4 $44 {/?}) 9... Bxd6 10. Nc3 O-O (10... Qe7 $5) 11. Be3 Bc5 $146 (11... Be5 {has been usual. White has continued} 12. Bd3 $14 {, intending to castle long.}) 12. Bd3 Bxe3 13. Qxe3 $14 Qd6 14. O-O-O Qf4 15. Rhe1 Qxe3+ 16. Rxe3 {The pawn structure is completely symmetrical, but until Black finishes his development White has a small edge.} Rd8 17. Bc4 (17. f4 $1 $14 Nxf4 $4 18. Bxh7+ $18) 17... Rxd1+ 18. Kxd1 Kf8 {Black is equalizing.} 19. Nb5 Bd7 20. Bxe6 Bxb5 21. Bg4 Rd8+ 22. Ke1 Bc6 23. Bf3 Bxf3 24. Rxf3 {I assume the Sofia Rules or some other anti-draw offer measures are in effect, as the game is completely drawn and it's obvious that neither player has any plan in mind except to produce a repetition. They're young and talented, and solve that problem quickly.} Rd6 25. Ke2 Ke7 26. Re3+ Kd7 27. Rd3 Ke7 28. Re3+ Kd7 29. Rd3 Ke7 30. Re3+ Kd7 31. Rd3 Ke7 32. Re3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.12"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2796"] [BlackElo "2738"] [PlyCount "158"] [GameId "2100818506688627"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. dxc5 Nc6 7. Bd2 Nxc5 8. Nf3 Be7 9. Be3 O-O 10. a3 a6 11. Be2 b5 12. O-O Bb7 13. Qe1 Ne4 14. Bd3 Nxc3 15. bxc3 f5 16. exf6 Bxf6 17. Bc5 Re8 18. Qg3 Qc7 19. Kh1 g6 20. Bd4 Rf8 21. h4 Qg7 22. Rae1 Rae8 23. Bxf6 Rxf6 24. Nd4 Kh8 25. Rf3 Qe7 26. Qg5 Nd8 27. h5 Nf7 28. Qh4 gxh5 29. g4 e5 30. g5 Rb6 31. Qxh5 e4 32. Rh3 Nd6 33. g6 Bc8 34. Rh2 Rb7 35. Be2 Qf6 36. Rg1 Rg7 37. Qg5 Rf8 38. Qe5 Qxe5 39. fxe5 Nf5 40. Rg5 Ne7 41. Rxh7+ Rxh7+ 42. gxh7 Kxh7 43. e6 Rf6 44. Bh5 Rh6 45. Kg1 Bxe6 46. Re5 Ng6 47. Rxe6 Rxh5 48. Rxa6 Rh3 49. Nxb5 Nf4 50. Ra7+ Kg6 51. Re7 Rh8 52. Nc7 Kf6 53. Nxd5+ Nxd5 54. Rxe4 Kf5 55. Rd4 Nxc3 56. Kf2 Ke5 57. Rd7 Ne4+ 58. Ke2 Rh2+ 59. Kd1 Rh1+ 60. Ke2 Nc3+ 61. Kf2 Rh2+ 62. Ke3 Rh3+ 63. Kd2 Ne4+ 64. Kc1 Rxa3 65. Kb2 Ra8 66. Rd3 Nd6 67. Kb1 Nc4 68. Rd7 Rb8+ 69. Kc1 Ke4 70. Rh7 Rg8 71. Rd7 Ke3 72. Re7+ Kd4 73. Rd7+ Kc3 74. Rd3+ Kb4 75. Rb3+ Kc5 76. Rd3 Ra8 77. Kb1 Ra3 78. Rxa3 Nxa3+ 79. Ka1 Nxc2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.12"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "2689"] [BlackElo "2693"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2100818506688628"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 g6 4. e3 Bg7 5. h4 h5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Ne5 c5 8. Qd2 cxd4 9. exd4 Nc6 10. f3 Bf5 11. Bb5 Na5 12. g4 Be6 13. O-O-O Rc8 14. Kb1 Qb6 15. Be2 Nc4 16. Bxc4 dxc4 17. Bh6 Rfd8 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. gxh5 Nxh5 20. Rhg1 Rh8 21. Rg5 Nf6 22. d5 Rcd8 23. Nxc4 Qc7 24. Qd4 Qh2 25. Ne3 Rxh4 26. Qxa7 Bc8 27. Rgg1 Rf4 28. Rh1 Qg3 29. Ne2 Qxf3 30. Nxf4 Qxf4 31. Qa5 Re8 32. Qc3 Bd7 33. Rd4 Qe5 34. Nc4 Qg5 35. Rdh4 Rg8 36. d6 exd6 37. Nxd6 Kf8 38. Nxb7 Be6 39. Qd4 Nh5 40. Nc5 Bf5 41. a4 Ng3 42. Qd6+ Qe7 43. Qb8+ Kg7 44. Rh7+ Kf6 45. Qxg8 Qxc5 46. Rxf7+ Kg5 47. Rxf5+ Nxf5 48. a5 Nd4 49. Rg1+ Kf4 50. Qxg6 Nf3 51. Qg4+ Ke3 52. Rg3 Kd2 53. Qf4+ Ke1 54. Rxf3 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.12"] [Round "2.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2590"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2100818506688629"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e5 3. Bg2 Bc5 4. d3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nc3 Nxc3 7. bxc3 O-O 8. Nf3 e4 9. dxe4 Qxd1+ 10. Kxd1 Nc6 11. Bf4 f6 12. h4 Bd7 13. e3 Bb6 14. Ke2 Bg4 15. Bh3 Bxh3 16. Rxh3 Rae8 17. Nd2 h5 18. Rb1 Re6 19. Rhh1 a6 20. Rhc1 Nd8 21. c4 Rc6 22. e5 Re8 23. exf6 gxf6 24. Kf3 Kf7 25. Ne4 f5 26. Nd2 Bc5 27. Nb3 b6 28. Rd1 Ne6 29. Rd5 Kg6 30. Rc1 a5 31. a4 Be7 32. Be5 Ba3 33. Rc2 Be7 34. Rc1 Ba3 35. Rc2 Be7 36. Rd7 Bf6 37. Bxf6 Kxf6 38. Rd5 Re7 39. c5 Re8 40. Rc1 Rd8 41. e4 fxe4+ 42. Kxe4 Rb8 43. cxb6 Rxc1 44. Nxc1 cxb6 45. Nd3 Rc8 46. Rd6 Rc4+ 47. Ke3 Rxa4 48. Nf4 Kf5 49. Rd5+ Kf6 50. Rd6 Kf5 51. Rxe6 Rxf4 52. Rxb6 Ra4 53. Kf3 Ra3+ 54. Kg2 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.12"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Black "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2662"] [BlackElo "2630"] [PlyCount "110"] [GameId "2100818506688630"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. a4 Rb8 9. d4 Bb6 10. a5 Ba7 11. h3 Bb7 12. Re1 O-O 13. Be3 exd4 14. cxd4 Nb4 15. d5 Bxe3 16. Rxe3 c5 17. Na3 Qxa5 18. Nc2 Qb6 19. Nxb4 cxb4 20. Qd2 a5 21. Bc2 Nd7 22. Nd4 Ne5 23. Rg3 Bc8 24. Kh2 Bd7 25. b3 Ng6 26. Rf1 Rbc8 27. f4 Rc3 28. Rff3 f6 29. Rxc3 bxc3 30. Rxc3 Nxf4 31. Qxf4 Qxd4 32. Rc7 Rc8 33. Rxd7 Rxc2 34. Rxd6 Qe5 35. Qxe5 fxe5 36. Re6 a4 37. bxa4 bxa4 38. Rxe5 a3 39. d6 Rd2 40. Ra5 a2 41. d7 Rxd7 42. Rxa2 Rd3 43. Kg1 Re3 44. Ra4 Re2 45. Kf1 Rb2 46. Ra1 Kf7 47. Re1 Ke6 48. Re2 Rb3 49. Kf2 Ke5 50. Re3 Rb7 51. Kg3 Rb6 52. Kf3 Rf6+ 53. Kg3 Rb6 54. Kf3 Rf6+ 55. Kg3 Rb6 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.12"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Liang, Awonder"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2733"] [PlyCount "70"] [GameId "2100818506688631"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. d4 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. c3 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 Ne8 13. Bf4 d5 14. Bd3 g6 15. Nd2 Ng7 16. Qe2 c6 17. Re1 Bf5 18. Bxf5 Nxf5 19. Nf3 Ng7 20. Be5 Ne6 21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22. Ne5 Re8 23. Ng4 Qd8 24. Qe5 Ng7 25. Qxe8+ Nxe8 26. Rxe8+ Qxe8 27. Nf6+ Kf8 28. Nxe8 Kxe8 29. f4 f5 30. Kf2 Kf7 31. Ke3 Ke6 32. Kd3 Kd6 33. Ke3 Ke6 34. Kd3 Kd6 35. Ke3 Ke6 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.12"] [Round "2.6"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2677"] [PlyCount "97"] [GameId "2100818506688632"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 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. Nd5 Nxd5 10. exd5 Bf5 11. Qd2 Nd7 12. Na5 Rb8 13. Be2 Qh4+ 14. Bf2 Qf6 15. O-O Be7 16. c4 Qg6 17. Be3 O-O 18. b4 Rfe8 19. Rac1 Bd8 20. Nb3 b6 21. c5 bxc5 22. bxc5 dxc5 23. Nxc5 e4 24. Nxd7 exf3 25. Bxf3 Bxd7 26. Bf4 Rc8 27. Kh1 Rxc1 28. Rxc1 Qf5 29. Be3 g5 30. d6 g4 31. Bc6 Bxc6 32. Rxc6 Qf1+ 33. Bg1 Re2 34. Qd5 Bh4 35. Rc8+ Kg7 36. Qd4+ Bf6 37. Qd5 Re1 38. Qc5 h4 39. d7 h3 40. Qf8+ Kg6 41. Qg8+ Kh6 42. Qf8+ Bg7 43. Rc6+ Kh7 44. Qg8+ Kxg8 45. d8=Q+ Bf8 46. Qg5+ Bg7 47. Qd8+ Bf8 48. Qg5+ Bg7 49. Qd8+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.13"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2796"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "82"] [GameId "2100818506692729"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be6 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Bd3 c6 8. Bf4 g6 $146 {A new move, but with an old idea.} 9. h3 Nh5 10. Bh2 Be7 11. Nf3 O-O 12. O-O Ng7 {Now we see the idea, to swap off the bad light-squared bishop.} 13. Rb1 Bf5 14. b4 a6 15. Na4 b5 {Potentially weakening the c6 pawn, but that won't be a problem if Black can play ...Nb6-c4 to plug up the c-file.} 16. Nc5 Nb6 17. Ne5 Qc8 18. e4 $6 (18. Bxf5 Nxf5 19. Rc1 Nd6 20. e4 (20. a4 $11) 20... dxe4 21. d5 Nxd5 22. Ncd7 Nc4 23. Nxf8 Nxe5 24. Bxe5 Bxf8 25. Ba1 Qe6 $1 26. Re1 $11) 18... dxe4 19. Bxe4 Bxe4 20. Nxe4 f6 $15 21. Nf3 a5 22. a3 $2 (22. a4 $1) 22... axb4 23. axb4 Nd5 $17 {The attack on b4 forces White to block the c-file instead--no need for ...Nc4.} 24. Nc5 Re8 25. Qc2 Ra3 26. Rfc1 $6 (26. Rb3) 26... Qf5 $1 $19 (26... Rxf3 $1 27. gxf3 Qxh3 {could be fun, looking to play ...Nf5-h4 or ...Nh5-f4.} 28. Rb3 {keeps the game from being a complete disaster, but Black is still winning after} Bd6 $1 29. Bxd6 Nf5 30. Qd1 Nxd6 31. Qf1 Qf5 $19 {Caruana's move is simpler; there's no need to bother with this line.}) 27. Qxf5 Nxf5 {White would like to play Nd3, keeping b4 defended while opening the c-file. Perhaps his next move was aimed at something similar.} 28. Rb3 Rea8 29. g4 $6 Bxc5 $1 {Liquidating by force to an easily won rook and knight vs. rook and bishop ending.} 30. Rxa3 Rxa3 31. Rxc5 Rxf3 32. gxf5 Rc3 $1 33. fxg6 hxg6 {White's bishop is useless and his pawns are all weak. Black is winning.} 34. Bd6 Rc4 $1 35. Kg2 Kf7 (35... Nxb4 $4 36. Rxc4 bxc4 37. Bxb4 $18) 36. Kf3 Ke6 37. Bf8 Kd7 38. Ke4 $2 {This allows a tactic and walks into a mating net, but the game was lost in any case.} Rxb4 $1 39. Rc1 (39. Rxd5+ {would work with White's king on any other square, but here} cxd5+ {is check, so 40.Bxb4 is off the table.}) 39... Rb3 40. Rg1 Ke6 $1 {Threatening ...f5#. White's next move is forced, but after} 41. Rxg6 Kf7 {White loses the bishop without getting anything in return.} 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.13"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2741"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "71"] [GameId "2100818506692730"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,71,21,23,36,27,15,10,25,8,12,12,10,4,31,-25,26,-19,9,-14,-9,-3,20,7,9,-25,-10,-17,-14,-23,-25,-34,-28,-48,-44,-36,-33,-70,-30,-33,-19,0,-5,-5,31,0,0,0,49,0,36,40,87,73,82,89,153,150,128,109,151,141,211,209,209,209,244,200,619,623,973,985,985,925]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 {This line with 4.0-0 and following seems to be a bit of a Niemann specialty, at least in recent months.} a5 8. h3 (8. Bg5 {isn't as popular, but it was part of Carlsen's arsenal in 2021 and in Firouzja's just a few months ago.}) 8... h6 9. Nbd2 Be6 10. Bb5 ({Niemann played} 10. b3 {a few times this year, without any success to speak of. There are two draws in the database, plus the following losses:} Re8 (10... d5 11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Ne4 Ba7 13. Bd2 Re8 14. Ng3 Qd6 15. Qe2 Rad8 16. Rad1 Nf6 17. Bc1 Bxc4 18. bxc4 Re6 19. Nh4 Qd7 20. Qf3 Ne8 21. Ne4 Nd6 22. c5 Nxe4 23. dxe4 Qe8 24. Be3 Qf8 25. Rxd8 Nxd8 26. Rd1 Nc6 27. Rd5 g6 28. Qd1 b6 29. Qd2 Kh7 30. Rd7 Re7 31. Qd5 Nb8 32. Rd8 Re8 33. Rxe8 Qxe8 34. Qb7 Nc6 35. Qxc7 bxc5 36. Nf3 Bb8 37. Qb6 Qe6 38. Bxc5 Ba7 39. Qb5 Qxa2 40. Qxc6 Qc4 41. Nxe5 Qxc5 42. Qf6 Qf8 43. Nxf7 a4 44. Ng5+ Kg8 45. Qxg6+ Qg7 46. Qe6+ Kh8 47. Nf7+ Kh7 48. Ne5 a3 49. Ng4 Bc5 50. Nf6+ Kh8 51. Nd7 Be7 52. Ne5 Bf6 53. Nf7+ Kh7 54. Qe5 Bxe5 {0-1 Niemann,H (2689)-Kollars,D (2648) Chess.com Classic Play In Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (9)}) 11. a4 d5 12. Bb5 Bd6 13. Qc2 Bd7 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Nc4 Qf6 16. Ncd2 Qg6 17. Nh4 Qh5 18. Nhf3 Nf4 19. Re4 Bf5 20. Qd1 Nxg2 21. Kxg2 Qxh3+ 22. Kg1 Re6 23. Nf1 Bxe4 24. dxe4 Rg6+ 25. Ng3 Bc5 {0-1 Niemann,H (2733)-Santos Latasa,J (2624) Julius Baer GenCup Pl/In Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (8)}) 10... Bb6 (10... Qb8 {is the main move by a massive margin.} 11. Nf1 Qa7 12. d4 exd4 13. Bxc6 dxc3 14. Ba4 Bxf2+ 15. Kh2 Bxe1 16. Qxe1 d5 17. e5 Ne4 18. Be3 Qa6 19. bxc3 Qc4 20. Bc2 Qxc3 21. Qc1 Bf5 22. Bd4 Qc6 23. Ne3 Bh7 24. Rb1 Rad8 25. Ng4 Rfe8 26. Rb2 b6 27. Kg1 Qe6 28. Ba4 c5 29. Bxe8 Rxe8 30. Be3 d4 31. Bf4 Bf5 {½-½ Aronian,L (2729)-So,W (2752) Julius Baer GenCup Pl/In Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (6)}) 11. Nc4 {Still in theory, including still another Niemann game from earlier this year.} (11. a4 {was played by Caruana and Pragg this year, and So a couple of years ago.}) (11. Nf1 {was played a bunch of times by So in 2020 (and once more in 2022), Kramnik in 2023, and by both Dominguez (in 2022) and Niemann himself both this year and last year.} Bd7 (11... Ne7 12. d4 (12. Ba4 Nd7 13. d4 f5 14. Bb3 Bxb3 15. Qxb3+ Kh8 16. exf5 Nxf5 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 dxe5 19. Ne3 Qf6 20. Qc2 Nxe3 21. Bxe3 Bxe3 22. Rxe3 Rad8 23. Rae1 Rd5 24. c4 Rd4 25. Rxe5 Qd8 26. R1e2 b6 27. b3 Qd6 28. c5 Qf6 29. Re8 Rd8 30. Rxf8+ Qxf8 31. Re5 Qf4 32. Re2 Qd4 33. cxb6 Qd1+ 34. Kh2 Qxc2 35. Rxc2 cxb6 36. Kg3 Rd3+ 37. Kf4 Rd5 38. Ke4 Rb5 39. Rc4 Kh7 40. f4 h5 41. g4 hxg4 42. hxg4 g6 43. Rc7+ Kg8 44. f5 gxf5+ 45. gxf5 a4 46. bxa4 Ra5 47. Rc4 Kf7 48. Kf4 Kf6 49. Rc6+ Kf7 50. Kg5 Rxa4 51. Rc7+ Kg8 52. Kg6 Rg4+ 53. Kf6 Rg2 54. Rc8+ Kh7 55. Ra8 {1-0 Dominguez Perez,L (2743)-Navara,D (2680) Titled Tuesday intern op 01st Nov Early Chess.com INT blitz 2022 (8)}) 12... exd4 13. cxd4 d5 14. e5 Ne4 15. Ng3 Nxg3 16. fxg3 c6 17. Bd3 Nf5 18. Bxf5 Bxf5 19. Be3 Be4 20. Nd2 Bg6 21. Bf2 a4 22. a3 Qd7 23. Qe2 Rae8 24. g4 Ba5 25. Rf1 f6 26. Nf3 Be4 27. exf6 Bxf3 28. Qxf3 Rxf6 29. Qd3 Bc7 30. Kh1 Qd6 31. Bg1 Rxf1 32. Rxf1 b5 33. Qc2 Rf8 34. Re1 Rf6 35. Qe2 Qd7 36. Bh2 Bxh2 37. Kxh2 Rf4 38. Qe5 Rf2 39. Qb8+ Rf8 40. Qg3 Qd8 41. Re6 Rf6 42. Re5 Qf8 43. g5 hxg5 44. Rxg5 Re6 45. Re5 Qf6 46. Rxe6 Qxe6 47. Qf3 Qd6+ 48. Kg1 Qg6 49. Qc3 Qf6 50. g3 g5 51. Kg2 Kg7 52. Qe3 Qf5 53. Qe7+ Kh6 54. Qe2 Kg7 55. Qd2 Qe4+ 56. Kf2 Kf6 57. Qe3 Qc2+ 58. Qe2 Qc1 59. Qf3+ Kg6 60. Qd3+ Kf6 61. Qc3 Qh1 62. Qxc6+ Kf5 63. Qd7+ Ke4 64. Qe6+ Kd3 65. Qe3+ Kc2 66. Qe2+ Kb3 67. Qxb5+ Ka2 68. Qf1 Qe4 69. Qd1 Qf5+ 70. Kg2 Kxb2 71. Qxa4 Qe4+ 72. Kf2 Qf5+ 73. Ke3 Qe4+ 74. Kf2 Qf5+ 75. Kg1 Qb1+ 76. Kg2 Qe4+ 77. Kf2 {½-½ Niemann,H (2675)-Tari,A (2635) Titled Tuesday intern op 13th Feb Late Chess.com INT blitz 2024 (5)}) 12. Ba4 Ne7 13. Bc2 Ng6 14. d4 Re8 15. Ng3 Bc6 16. Be3 a4 17. a3 exd4 18. Bxd4 Nd7 19. Nf5 Nde5 20. Bxb6 cxb6 21. N3d4 b5 22. Ne3 Qg5 23. Ndf5 h5 24. Kh1 h4 25. Qd2 Nf4 26. f3 g6 27. Nd4 d5 28. exd5 Nxd5 29. Nc4 Qxd2 30. Nxd2 f5 31. Re2 Nf4 32. Re3 Nd5 33. Re2 Nf4 34. Re3 Kf7 35. Rae1 Kf6 36. Kh2 Nd5 37. R3e2 Nf4 38. Re3 Re7 39. Kg1 Rae8 40. Kh1 Nd5 41. R3e2 Nf4 42. Re3 Nxf3 43. Rxe7 Nxe1 44. Rxe8 Bxe8 45. Bd1 Nexg2 46. Bf3 Ne3 47. Bxb7 Nxh3 {0-1 Niemann,H (2667)-Shankland,S (2698) USA-ch Saint Louis 2023 (3)}) 11... Bc5 12. Ba4 ({Niemann did the hokey pokey in the earlier game, deciding to reroute the knight to f1.} 12. Ncd2) 12... Bxc4 13. dxc4 Nh5 (13... Nh7 14. Bc2 Qf6 15. Qe2 Ng5 16. Nxg5 hxg5 17. Rf1 Nd8 18. Qg4 Ne6 19. g3 g6 20. Kg2 Kg7 21. Qf3 Qxf3+ 22. Kxf3 f5 23. exf5 gxf5 24. Bd2 Bb6 25. Rae1 Kf6 26. Kg2 Rh8 27. Rh1 c6 28. Bc1 Rad8 29. Rd1 e4 30. g4 Nf4+ 31. Bxf4 gxf4 32. f3 Ke5 33. h4 exf3+ 34. Kxf3 fxg4+ 35. Kxg4 Rdg8+ 36. Kf3 Rg3+ 37. Ke2 Rg2+ 38. Kd3 Rhg8 39. Rhe1+ Kf6 40. Bb3 Kf5 41. Rd2 R8g3+ 42. Kc2 Rxd2+ 43. Kxd2 Be3+ 44. Kd1 Rh3 45. Bc2+ Ke5 46. a3 Rxh4 47. b4 Rh2 48. Re2 Rh1+ 49. Re1 Rh2 50. Re2 Rh8 51. bxa5 Rh1+ 52. Re1 Rh5 53. Bg6 Rg5 54. Bd3 Kf6 55. Rh1 Rxa5 56. Rh6+ Ke7 57. Rh7+ Ke6 58. Rxb7 Rxa3 59. Kc2 f3 60. Kb2 Ra8 61. Be4 f2 62. Bxc6 Rf8 63. Bd5+ Kf6 64. Bg2 Rg8 65. Bh3 Rg3 66. Bf1 Rg1 67. Bh3 f1=Q 68. Bxf1 Rxf1 69. Rh7 Rf2+ 70. Kb3 Bc5 71. Rh5 Rf5 72. Rh4 Ke5 73. Ka4 Rf4 74. Rh5+ Ke4 75. Kb3 Rf5 76. Rh4+ Kd3 77. Rh3+ Be3 78. Rh8 Rf7 79. Rb8 Rf1 80. Rd8 Rb1+ 81. Ka2 Rb6 {0-1 Tabatabaei,M (2651)-Santos Latasa,J (2680) ESP-chT CECLUB Honor Linares 2022 (2.2)}) 14. g4 $146 {Finally something new, offering a very direct challenge to Dominguez' play.} (14. a3 Bb6 15. Bc2 Qf6 16. b3 Nf4 17. Ra2 Qe6 18. a4 Rae8 19. Bb1 g5 20. Nh2 Kh8 21. Ng4 Rg8 22. Be3 Bc5 23. Bxc5 dxc5 24. Rd2 Rd8 25. Rd5 h5 26. Ne3 Qf6 27. Nf5 b6 28. Re3 Rde8 29. Rd7 Ne7 30. Kf1 Nxf5 31. exf5 Rd8 32. Be4 g4 33. hxg4 Rxd7 34. Qxd7 Rd8 35. g5 Qxg5 36. Qc6 Kg7 37. Bc2 h4 38. g3 Nh5 39. Qxc7 h3 40. g4 Qxg4 41. Qxd8 h2 42. Be4 Qg1+ 43. Ke2 Nf4+ 44. Kd2 Qxf2+ 45. Kd1 Qxe3 46. Qg5+ {½-½ Hagelstein,D (2320)-Mihai,P (2339) ROM-ch62 email ICCF email 2023}) 14... Nf6 $1 ({Many of us would ache to play} 14... Nf4 $2 {, not wanting to go back, but Dominguez's restraint is absolutely correct.} 15. Bxf4 exf4 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Kg2 $16 {leaves Black statically inferior without any real dynamism to compensate.}) 15. g5 hxg5 16. Bxg5 Qc8 (16... Qe7 {was a decent alternative, intending either ...Qe6 or ...Nd8-e6. The position is a real mess though. For example:} 17. Kh2 $1 Nd8 (17... Bxf2 $6 18. Re2 Bc5 19. Rg2 $14) 18. Rg1 Ne6 19. Qd2 g6 {and now, just to show that there are surprises lurking around every corner, White's best is the flashy} 20. Bd7 $1 {, with a nice mess on tap.}) 17. Kh2 $1 (17. Bxf6 $2 Qxh3 $1 18. Nh2 (18. Bg5 $2 Rae8 $1 $19) 18... Bxf2+ $1 19. Kxf2 Qxh2+ 20. Ke3 Qf4+ 21. Kd3 Qxf6 22. Rf1 $1 Qe6 23. Qh5 f5 $17) 17... Nh7 (17... Qe6 $142 $11) 18. Rg1 $14 Qe6 19. Rg2 Ne7 (19... Nxg5 $142 20. Nxg5 Qh6 21. Bxc6 bxc6 22. Qg4 $14) 20. Bd2 $1 $16 Ng6 $6 (20... f5 $142) 21. Qe2 Qf6 22. Rg4 $16 {/+- So that ...Nf4 Bxf4 won't be met by ...Qxf4+.} c6 23. Rag1 $18 Kh8 24. Bc2 Bb6 25. R1g2 (25. h4) 25... Bd8 26. c5 (26. h4 $142) 26... dxc5 (26... Qe6 $1) 27. h4 {It's still very strong.} c4 28. h5 Ne7 29. Rxg7 Rg8 (29... Qxg7 $2 30. Rxg7 Kxg7 31. Nxe5 $18) 30. R7g3 b5 31. Ng5 Nxg5 32. Bxg5 Qe6 33. Qf3 Nc8 $2 {Black's position was lost in any case, but this expedites his defeat.} (33... Kh7) 34. Bf6+ $1 Bxf6 35. Rxg8+ Kh7 36. Re8 $1 {Black is tied down in addition to being out the exchange with a shaky king. An excellent game and some fine prep by Niemann.} (36. Qg3 $1 {was also crushing, intending 37.Rh8+.}) 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.13"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"] [Black "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2590"] [BlackElo "2662"] [PlyCount "40"] [GameId "2100818506692731"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. a3 c5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. dxc5 Nxc5 11. Be5 Bg4 12. Be2 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Bf6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Qc2 Rac8 16. Bxd5 Ne6 17. Qb3 Nc5 18. Qc2 Ne6 19. Qb3 Nc5 20. Qc2 Ne6 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.13"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2630"] [BlackElo "2689"] [PlyCount "96"] [GameId "2100818506692732"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. O-O a5 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 h6 9. Nbd2 Be6 10. Bb5 Nd7 11. Nf1 d5 12. Ne3 dxe4 13. dxe4 Re8 14. a4 Na7 15. Bd3 Nc8 16. Ng4 Qe7 17. Ngxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Bxf2+ 19. Kxf2 Qc5+ 20. Be3 Qxe5 21. Qf3 Ne7 22. Bf4 Qc5+ 23. Qe3 Qxe3+ 24. Rxe3 Rac8 25. b4 Ng6 26. Bg3 Re7 27. bxa5 Ra8 28. Rb1 Rxa5 29. Rxb7 Rxa4 30. Rxc7 Rxc7 31. Bxc7 Bc4 32. Bxc4 Rxc4 33. Bg3 Ra4 34. Re2 Rc4 35. Re3 Ra4 36. Re2 Rc4 37. Rc2 Rxe4 38. c4 Re6 39. c5 Ne7 40. Re2 Nc6 41. Bd6 h5 42. Rxe6 fxe6 43. Ke3 Kf7 44. Ke4 g6 45. Kf4 Kf6 46. Ke4 Kf7 47. Kf4 Kf6 48. Ke4 Kf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.13"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2751"] [PlyCount "139"] [GameId "2100818506692733"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nbd2 d6 6. c3 O-O 7. h3 Bb6 8. O-O Ne7 9. d4 exd4 10. cxd4 d5 11. e5 Ne4 12. a4 a5 13. Re1 Bf5 14. Ra3 c5 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Bg5 h6 17. Bh4 cxd4 18. Nxd4 Qc7 19. f3 Bc2 20. Qd2 Bxd4+ 21. Qxd4 Nf5 22. Qf2 Nxh4 23. Rc3 Qe7 24. Rxc2 Rac8 25. Rd2 Rfd8 26. f4 Qc5 27. e6 fxe6 28. Rxe6 Rf8 29. Kh2 Qb4 30. Rd4 Rc2 31. Re2 Rxe2 32. Bxe2 Qb6 33. Bg4 Nf5 34. Bxf5 Rxf5 35. Qd2 Qd6 36. Qxa5 Rxf4 37. Rxd5 Rxa4+ 38. Rxd6 Rxa5 39. Rb6 Rd5 40. Rxb7 Rd2 41. h4 h5 42. Kg3 Rd4 43. Rb5 Rg4+ 44. Kh3 Rd4 45. b3 Rd3+ 46. Kh2 Rd4 47. Kg3 Rd3+ 48. Kf4 Rd4+ 49. Kg3 Rd3+ 50. Kf2 Rd4 51. g3 Rd3 52. b4 Rb3 53. Ke2 Kf7 54. Kd2 Ke6 55. Kc2 Rxg3 56. Rxh5 Rh3 57. b5 Kd6 58. Kd2 g6 59. Rh6 Kc5 60. Ke2 Kxb5 61. Kf2 Kc6 62. Kg2 Ra3 63. h5 Kd6 64. Rxg6+ Ke7 65. h6 Ra2+ 66. Kh3 Ra3+ 67. Rg3 Rxg3+ 68. Kxg3 Kf7 69. h7 Kg7 70. h8=B+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.13"] [Round "3.6"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Liang, Awonder"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2677"] [PlyCount "194"] [GameId "2100818506696830"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. a3 O-O 9. Nc3 Bb7 10. Bg5 Qd7 11. Re1 Rfe8 12. Ba2 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nd5 Bd8 15. c3 Ne7 16. Ne3 Ng6 17. Qc2 Bf6 18. Rad1 Nf4 19. g3 Qh3 20. Kh1 Qh5 21. Ng1 Ne6 22. f3 Rad8 23. Qf2 Bg5 24. d4 Bxe3 25. Rxe3 exd4 26. cxd4 d5 27. e5 c5 28. Ne2 Rc8 29. Nf4 Nxf4 30. gxf4 cxd4 31. Red3 Rc4 32. Rg1 Re6 33. Bb1 Rec6 34. Rdd1 d3 35. f5 Rf4 36. Bxd3 Qxf3+ 37. Qxf3 Rxf3 38. f6 g5 39. Rge1 Rf2 40. Kg1 Rxb2 41. Rc1 Rb3 42. e6 fxe6 43. Bg6 Rxc1 44. Rxc1 Rf3 45. Rc7 Rxf6 46. Bh7+ Kf8 47. Rxb7 Rf7 48. Rb8+ Kg7 49. Bd3 Rf3 50. Be2 Rxa3 51. Bg4 Kf6 52. Rb6 Ke5 53. Bxe6 Rf3 54. Bg8 Rf6 55. Rb8 Kd4 56. Rd8 Rf5 57. Ra8 Rf6 58. Rd8 Kc3 59. Rxd5 b4 60. Rc5+ Kb2 61. Kg2 b3 62. Ra5 Kc3 63. Ra3 Rb6 64. Kf2 h5 65. Ke2 g4 66. Ra4 Kc2 67. Bf7 Rc6 68. Bd5 Rd6 69. Rc4+ Kb2 70. Bf7 Ka3 71. Rc1 Rf6 72. Bd5 Rd6 73. Bf7 Rf6 74. Bd5 Rf5 75. Bg8 a5 76. Kd3 a4 77. Bh7 Rf2 78. Kc3 Rf3+ 79. Kc4 Rf7 80. Ra1+ Kb2 81. Rb1+ Ka2 82. Bg6 Rf6 83. Bh7 Rf7 84. Bg6 Rf4+ 85. Kc3 Rf6 86. Bh7 Rf7 87. Bg6 Rg7 88. Bf5 Rc7+ 89. Kb4 b2 90. Re1 Rc1 91. Re3 b1=Q+ 92. Bxb1+ Kxb1 93. Kxa4 Kc2 94. Kb4 Kd2 95. Re5 h4 96. Re4 Rg1 97. Kc4 h3 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.14"] [Round "4.1"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2662"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2100818506696831"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c5 6. e3 Nc6 7. Nge2 Nf6 8. g3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bc5 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bg2 O-O 12. O-O Bd6 13. Qa4 Rb8 14. b3 Rb4 15. Qxc6 Rb6 16. Qa8 Bxf4 17. exf4 d4 18. Rad1 Rd6 19. Ne4 Nxe4 20. Qxe4 d3 21. Rd2 Re8 22. Qf3 Bf5 23. h3 g6 24. Qd1 h5 25. g4 hxg4 26. hxg4 Bc8 27. Qf3 Qd7 28. Rfd1 Rd8 29. f5 gxf5 30. Qe3 fxg4 31. Be4 Qe6 32. Rxd3 Rxd3 33. Rxd3 Rxd3 34. Qxd3 Qf6 35. b4 Be6 36. a3 Qf4 37. Qe3 Qxe3 38. fxe3 Bc8 39. a4 Bd7 40. a5 Bc8 41. Bd3 Kf8 42. b5 axb5 43. Bxb5 Ke7 44. a6 Kd6 45. Bf1 Kc7 46. a7 Bb7 47. Bg2 Bxg2 48. Kxg2 Kb7 49. e4 Kxa7 50. Kg3 Kb6 51. Kxg4 Kc5 52. Kg5 Kd4 53. Kf6 Kxe4 54. Kxf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.14"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2733"] [PlyCount "142"] [GameId "2100818506696832"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. d4 dxc4 7. Qa4 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2 Be4 11. Qc1 c6 12. a4 Nbd7 13. Nc3 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 Qb6 15. e3 Rac8 16. axb5 axb5 17. Qc2 c5 18. dxc5 Nxc5 19. Rfc1 Rfd8 20. Ne2 b4 21. Be1 e5 22. Qc4 Rb8 23. Rd1 Rdc8 24. Rac1 g6 25. Bg2 Kg7 26. Qa2 h5 27. h3 Bf8 28. Kf1 Qb5 29. Qc4 Qb6 30. Qa2 Qb5 31. Qc4 Qa4 32. Ra1 Qb3 33. Qxb3 Nxb3 34. Rab1 Rd8 35. Ng1 e4 36. Ne2 Rxd1 37. Rxd1 Nc5 38. Nc1 Na4 39. Rd2 b3 40. Rd4 Nxb2 41. Bc3 Ba3 42. Bxe4 Kg8 43. Bb1 Rc8 44. Ne2 Ne8 45. Bxb2 Bxb2 46. Rb4 Rd8 47. Ke1 Be5 48. Rxb3 Nf6 49. f4 Rb8 50. Rxb8+ Bxb8 51. Kf2 Ba7 52. Kf3 Nd5 53. e4 Nc7 54. e5 Kg7 55. f5 gxf5 56. Bxf5 Nd5 57. Ke4 Ne7 58. h4 Bf2 59. Bd7 Ng6 60. Kf5 Bb6 61. e6 fxe6+ 62. Kg5 Nf8 63. Bc8 Nh7+ 64. Kf4 Bc7+ 65. Kf3 e5 66. Nc3 Nf6 67. g4 hxg4+ 68. Bxg4 e4+ 69. Nxe4 Nxe4 70. Kxe4 Bd8 71. Bc8 Bxh4 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.14"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Liang, Awonder"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2693"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "56"] [GameId "2100818506696833"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,56,31,35,53,53,80,56,49,51,30,27,59,32,26,19,40,1,30,12,21,6,30,-4,26,26,50,19,25,51,14,27,0,0,49,-44,-23,-32,-46,-44,-42,0,-10,-19,12,-26,-21,-56,-51,-111,-115,-115,-114,-265,-274,-290,-284,-542,-535]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Qf3 {Quite rare, and at least prior to this game there was no sign that this was an up-and-coming move.} (8. f4) (8. Be3) 8... Be7 9. Bd2 $146 {A seemingly odd square for the bishop. You might think the main point is to pre-empt an exchange sac on c3, but Liang has a different idea in mind.} O-O 10. O-O-O b5 (10... a5 {may be better, and it would in any case take White's idea off the table.} 11. a4 Nc6 12. Kb1 Rc8 $11) 11. Nd5 $1 Nxd5 12. exd5 Bc8 13. Ba5 (13. Kb1 $142 $1 $14 {/?} f5 14. Na5 $1 $16) 13... Qe8 14. Kb1 f5 15. Bb4 Nd7 16. Na5 $14 {Better late than never.} Nf6 17. Qa3 $6 (17. g3) (17. Nc6) (17. c4 $5) 17... Ne4 $1 18. Rg1 $2 (18. Be1 Bh4 19. f3 Bxe1 20. Rxe1 Nc5 $15) 18... Nxf2 $17 19. Re1 Ne4 20. Bd3 {White presumably counted on this move to regain his pawn, and likely expected that whether he wins the d6-pawn or the f5-pawn he'd be in good shape. This turns out not to be the case.} Rf6 $17 (20... Bh4 $1 {was even better, not returning either pawn.} 21. Re2 Qf7 $1 $17 {/-+}) 21. g4 (21. Bxe4 fxe4 22. Rxe4 Bd7 $19 {leaves White without any active options. Black will penetrate on the f-file and put the other rook on c8, with loads of pressure (especially against c2).}) 21... Ng5 $1 22. Bxf5 $2 (22. Be2 fxg4 23. hxg4 Bd7 $17) 22... Bxf5 23. gxf5 Rxf5 $19 24. Nc6 $2 ({The tactics keep working out in Robson's favor, as in this line:} 24. Bxd6 $2 Bxd6 25. Qxd6 Nf3 $19) (24. Ref1 {was probably best, accepting the permanent loss of the pawn and looking to avoid making things worse.}) 24... Nf3 25. Rgf1 e4 $1 {Another nasty tactic probably missed by White. The knight is anchored, d5 is hanging, and e4 can't be taken.} 26. Rxe4 $2 {Err, can't *safely* be taken.} Nd2+ 27. Bxd2 Rxf1+ 28. Be1 Bh4 $1 {A powerful finishing blow.} (28... Bh4 $1 29. Rxe8+ Rxe8 30. c4 Rexe1+ 31. Kc2 Re2+ 32. Kd3 Rh2 (32... Rf3+ 33. Kxe2 Rxa3 34. bxa3 bxc4 {is good enough.}) 33. Qxa6 Rxh3+ 34. Ke4 Re1+ 35. Kf5 h5 $19 {White will have to cough up the queen with Qa3 now or soon to avoid a speedy mate.}) 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.14"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2738"] [PlyCount "86"] [GameId "2100818506696834"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. Qd2 b5 9. Be2 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bc5 12. Bxc5 Nxc5 13. Qd4 Qb6 14. a3 Rb8 15. O-O Na4 16. Qxb6 Rxb6 17. Nxa4 bxa4 18. Rab1 Bd7 19. b3 axb3 20. Rxb3 Rxb3 21. cxb3 Bb5 22. Rc1 Kd7 23. Bf3 Rf8 24. Kf2 f6 25. exf6 Rxf6 26. Ke3 h6 27. h4 Bc6 28. Rc5 Kd6 29. Ra5 Bb7 30. h5 g6 31. hxg6 Rxg6 32. b4 h5 33. f5 exf5 34. Bxd5 Bxd5 35. Rxa6+ Bc6 36. b5 Rxg2 37. Rxc6+ Kd5 38. Rh6 Rg3+ 39. Kf4 Rxa3 40. Rxh5 Rb3 41. Kxf5 Rxb5 42. Kf6+ Kc4 43. Rxb5 Kxb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.14"] [Round "4.5"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2689"] [BlackElo "2590"] [PlyCount "102"] [GameId "2100818506700931"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 exd5 7. e4 dxe4 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Ng5 Be6 10. a3 Nc6 11. Bf4 Bb3 12. Ngxe4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Be7 14. Nd2 Be6 15. O-O-O Rc8 16. Kb1 Ke8 17. Bc4 Rd8 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. Ne4 Kf7 20. Bd6 Rd7 21. Bxe7 Rxe7 22. Nd6+ Kg6 23. Rc1 Nd4 24. Rc4 Nf5 25. Nc8 Rd7 26. Rhc1 a6 27. Re4 Kf6 28. Nb6 Rd6 29. Nc4 Rc6 30. Rce1 Rd8 31. Na5 Rb6 32. Nc4 Rc6 33. Na5 Rb6 34. g4 Nd4 35. Nc4 Rb5 36. h4 Ke7 37. Rd1 Nc6 38. Rde1 Nd4 39. Rd1 Nc6 40. Rxd8 Nxd8 41. Kc2 Nf7 42. Rd4 Ne5 43. Nxe5 Rxe5 44. Kd3 Re1 45. Rb4 b5 46. a4 Re5 47. axb5 axb5 48. Rd4 Re1 49. Rb4 Re5 50. Rd4 Re1 51. Rb4 Re5 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.14"] [Round "4.6"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2796"] [BlackElo "2630"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "119"] [GameId "2100818506700932"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,119,27,35,53,30,18,33,46,39,38,-11,-13,-8,-14,-6,-7,-15,-8,-6,-6,8,8,-43,-30,-30,-25,0,7,9,19,3,18,-7,-5,-20,0,-40,-11,-26,-32,-81,-11,-14,36,43,43,47,55,0,75,66,81,76,79,72,95,46,76,76,93,62,67,67,97,101,108,-5,106,63,101,77,76,101,102,95,113,111,96,87,100,77,71,117,126,133,134,142,130,138,182,202,229,228,266,262,262,265,263,272,281,284,297,303,300,289,304,295,298,339,348,378,398,423,426,428,428,471,527,544,688,850]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 (5. f4 {has been analyzed to death, so Caruana chooses the secondary main line instead.}) 5... c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Nf3 Be7 {One of the main moves.} 8. g3 {Likewise. The paths aren't as clearly delineated in the 5.Nce2 universe.} O-O 9. h4 (9. Bg2) 9... cxd4 10. cxd4 f6 11. exf6 $146 Bb4+ 12. Nc3 Nxf6 13. Bg2 Bd7 14. O-O Be8 {It's equal, but not dead equal.} 15. Bf4 Bh5 16. Qd3 Bd6 17. Ne2 Ne4 18. Qe3 {Guarding against a possible exchange sac on f4.} (18. Rad1 Bxf4 19. Nxf4 Rxf4 20. gxf4 Qd6 $44) 18... Qf6 19. Rad1 Rae8 20. Ne5 Bxe2 21. Qxe2 Nxd4 (21... Nxe5 22. Bxe5 Bxe5 23. dxe5 Qxe5 24. Rd3 $1 Qf5 25. Re3 Nd6 26. Re1 Rf6 27. Re5 Qg6 28. b3 h6 29. Qe3 b6 30. Bxd5 exd5 31. Rxe8+ Nxe8 32. Qxe8+ Qxe8 33. Rxe8+ Rf8 34. Re7 Rf7 $11) 22. Rxd4 Bxe5 23. Bxe5 Qxe5 24. Rb4 Re7 25. Bxe4 dxe4 26. Rxe4 $14 {The ending should be drawn with best play, but in the meantime the weak e-pawn will keep White motivated and Black suffering for hours to come.} Qd5 27. b3 e5 $6 {This makes Black's position a bit less compact and makes it possible for White to add a fourth attacker of the e-pawn with f4.} (27... Rd8 $142) 28. Qe3 b6 29. Re1 Rfe8 30. Qe2 Qc5 31. Kh2 Rd8 (31... a5 $142) 32. f4 Qc3 33. Qg4 $6 {A slip that could have allowed Black a speedy escape.} (33. Re3 $1 Qc6 34. Rxe5 Rxe5 $8 35. fxe5 Qe6 $8 $14) 33... Rde8 $6 (33... Rd2+ 34. R1e2 h5 $1 35. Qg5 (35. Qxh5 $2 exf4 $1 36. Rxe7 Qxg3+ 37. Kh1 Rd1+ 38. Re1 Rxe1+ 39. Rxe1 Qxe1+ $19) 35... Qd3 $1 36. Qxe7 Rxe2+ 37. Rxe2 Qxe2+ $11) 34. R1e3 (34. Qh5 $142 $14) 34... Qd2+ (34... Qc2+ $142 35. Re2 Qc7 $11) 35. Re2 $14 Qc3 36. Qh5 $1 h6 $6 (36... Qc5 $1 37. fxe5 h6) 37. Rxe5 Rxe5 38. fxe5 $16 Qc6 39. Qg4 Rf8 $2 (39... Re6 {As Nimzowitsch famously said, the passed pawn is a dangerous criminal who must be kept under lock and key.}) 40. e6 $1 $18 Rf1 $2 (40... h5 $1 41. Qxh5 Rf1 {forces White's king to leave his encampment. He has bodyguards, but it's still the sort of position where accidents can happen.} 42. Kh3 $1 Qh1+ 43. Rh2 Qe4 44. Qe2 $1 Qf5+ 45. Qg4 $1 Qe5 46. e7 $1 Qxe7 47. Qc4+ Qf7 48. Qxf7+ Rxf7 49. Rc2 $18) 41. Qe4 Qxe4 42. Rxe4 {From here it's fairly easy.} Rf8 (42... Rf2+ 43. Kh3 Rxa2 $4 44. e7 $18) (42... Kf8 {would be nice for Black if he could also play ...Ke7, but before that happens there's} 43. Rf4+ Rxf4 44. gxf4 g6 45. h5 $18 {and the e-pawn will be safely defended.}) 43. Kh3 Rc8 44. Kg4 Kf8 45. Rc4 Rd8 46. Rc7 Rd5 47. Rf7+ Kg8 48. Kf4 (48. Rxa7 Re5 {is what White wanted to prevent, but even so he's comfortably winning after} 49. e7 $18) 48... Rd2 49. Rxa7 Kf8 50. Rf7+ Ke8 51. Rxg7 Rxa2 52. Rb7 {Why is Black still playing?} Rb2 53. Rxb6 Ke7 54. Kg4 Re2 55. Kh5 Re3 56. g4 Re4 57. b4 Kf6 58. b5 Rb4 59. Rc6 Rxb5+ 60. Kxh6 {One need not be Fabiano Caruana to win this. Even Tom, Dick, and Harry Caruana could win from here.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.16"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B72"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2677"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "57"] [GameId "2101566206107472"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,57,39,45,44,41,45,41,89,75,69,69,51,39,51,31,34,16,20,17,11,12,12,-6,2,-5,-19,-19,-14,5,-2,-17,-3,-3,-3,-12,-37,-37,-21,-43,-4,-42,-42,-45,-53,-205,-236,-364,-311,29990,492,471,471,545,541,541,729,724,936,679]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nge2 g6 $1 {This way of reaching the Dragon cuts out some of White's better options, like the Maroczy Bind vs. the Accelerated Dragon or the 9.0-0-0 lines against the regular Dragon.} 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 d6 (8... Na5 $2 9. e5 Ne8 $2 (9... Nxb3 {is better but still terrible.} 10. exf6 $1 Nxa1 11. fxg7 $18) 10. Bxf7+ $1 {leaves Black the not so pleasant choice fo losing the queen or getting mated.} Rxf7 (10... Kxf7 11. Ne6 Kxe6 (11... dxe6 12. Qxd8 $18) 12. Qd5+ Kf5 13. g4+ Kxg4 14. Rg1+ Kh5 15. Qg2 {and it's mate next move, either by 16.Qg4 or 16.Qg5.}) 11. Ne6 $18 {"mates" the queen.}) 9. h3 ({Another disadvantage of White's move order is that} 9. f3 {, aiming to transpose to the 9.Bc4 main line of the Dragon, can be sidestepped by} Qa5 10. Qd2 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Be6 12. O-O-O b5 {, which looks pretty healthy for Black, and comparatively low-risk to boot.}) 9... Na5 {This is fine once Black has played 8...d6 - see the 8...Na5 variation for details. This line is well-known, having been played hundreds of times.} 10. O-O b6 11. Re1 Bb7 12. Qd3 {Rare.} (12. Bg5 {is usual, practically automatic.}) 12... Rc8 13. Rad1 Nxb3 14. axb3 (14. cxb3 Nd7 15. Bg5 h6 16. Bh4 Rc5 17. f4 Rh5 18. Nf3 Nc5 19. Qc2 Ne6 20. Qd2 Qd7 21. Nd5 Re8 22. Nc3 f5 23. exf5 Rxf5 24. Bg3 g5 25. Ne5 Qc8 26. Nd3 Ref8 27. fxg5 Rxg5 28. Kh2 Nd4 29. Rxe7 Rxg3 30. Rxb7 Rxh3+ 31. gxh3 Nf3+ 32. Kg3 Nxd2 33. Rxg7+ Kxg7 34. Rxd2 Qe6 35. Kh2 Qe3 36. Rg2+ Kh7 37. Rg3 Rf3 38. Nd5 Qe2+ 39. Rg2 Qxd3 {0-1 Kovalev,V (2623)-Giri,A (2773) Chess.com Rapid Wk8 Swiss Chess.com INT 2022 (5)}) 14... a6 15. b4 $146 (15. Bg5 Re8 16. Qe3 Rc5 17. b4 Rxc3 18. Qxc3 Nxe4 19. Qe3 Nxg5 20. Qxg5 Bf6 21. Qg3 Qc8 22. c3 b5 23. Nc2 Qc6 24. Ne3 Be5 25. f4 Bg7 26. Rd2 Qb6 27. Qf2 e6 28. Ng4 Qc7 29. Qh4 Qd8 30. Qxd8 Rxd8 31. Red1 h5 32. Ne5 Bf8 33. Kf2 Kg7 34. g3 Be7 35. Nf3 f6 36. Nd4 Kf7 37. Nc2 d5 38. Ke2 Bd6 39. Rf1 Ke7 40. Ne3 Bb8 41. g4 hxg4 42. hxg4 Rh8 43. f5 g5 44. fxe6 Kxe6 45. Kd1 Be5 46. Nf5 Rh3 47. Re2 Bc8 48. Kc1 Bd7 49. Ree1 Rh2 50. Rh1 Rg2 51. Reg1 Rxg4 52. Rxg4 Kxf5 53. Rg2 d4 54. Rf2+ Ke6 55. cxd4 Bxd4 56. Re2+ Kd5 57. Rd2 Bg4 58. Rh6 Kc4 59. Rxd4+ Kxd4 60. Rxf6 Kc4 61. Rxa6 Bf3 62. Rf6 g4 63. Rf4+ Kd3 64. Rf5 Kc4 65. Kd2 Kxb4 66. Kd3 Bd1 67. Rg5 Bf3 68. Kd4 Be2 69. Re5 Bf3 70. Re3 Bh1 {½-½ Gavrikov,V (2545)-Schneider,A (2420) Barcza Memorial Debrecen 1988}) 15... Qc7 16. b5 a5 $11 17. Bg5 Rfe8 18. Qe3 (18. Qd2 $142) 18... Qc4 $15 19. Bh6 Bh8 20. Rd3 Qb4 $17 21. Bg5 Rc4 $2 (21... h6 $1 22. Bxh6 Nd7 23. f4 Rc4 $1 $17 {Black's bishop pair and significant pressure in the center more than compensates for the sacrificed pawn.}) 22. Nf5 $1 {The position is very complicated, and Black immediately goes astray.} gxf5 $4 {Losing, if White plays correctly.} (22... Qxb2 $11) (22... Qc5 $11) (22... Rc5 $11) 23. Bh6 $1 $18 Nxe4 24. Nxe4 Be5 25. Nxd6 $1 {A real crusher. Black has three ways to capture on d6, and all lose badly.} f6 (25... Qxd6 26. Rxd6 exd6 27. Qg5+ Kh8 28. Rxe5 $18) (25... Bxd6 26. Qg5+ Kh8 27. Qg7#) (25... exd6 26. Qg5+ Kh8 27. Qg7+ Bxg7 28. Rxe8+ Bf8 29. Rxf8#) 26. Nxc4 Qxc4 27. f4 $1 {Winning more material, assuming Black doesn't want to get mated in two moves.} Kh8 (27... Bc7 28. Qg3+ Kf7 29. Qg7#) 28. fxe5 Rg8 29. Rd2 {An extra rook generally comes in handy.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.16"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2662"] [BlackElo "2689"] [PlyCount "99"] [GameId "2101566206107473"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O d6 7. c3 e5 8. a3 h6 9. b4 Nf6 10. b5 Ne7 11. a4 a6 12. Na3 O-O 13. Bb2 axb5 14. axb5 Be6 15. Re1 Nd7 16. d4 exd4 17. cxd4 Nb6 18. Rb1 c4 19. d5 Bxb2 20. Rxb2 Bxd5 21. Nc2 Be6 22. Nfd4 Qd7 23. Ne3 Qc7 24. Rc2 Bd7 25. Qd2 Ra4 26. Rec1 Qc5 27. Rc3 Rfa8 28. Bf1 d5 29. exd5 Nexd5 30. Nxd5 Qxd5 31. Bg2 Qd6 32. Bxb7 Rd8 33. Qe3 Bh3 34. Nf3 Kh7 35. Qe5 Rb4 36. Re3 Na4 37. Qe7 Qxe7 38. Rxe7 Kg7 39. Ne5 Kf6 40. Nc6 Rxb5 41. Ba6 Rb6 42. Bxc4 Rd7 43. Rxd7 Bxd7 44. Nd4 Rb4 45. Nf3 Nb6 46. Bd3 Rb3 47. Be4 Rb4 48. Bd3 Rb3 49. Be4 Rb4 50. Bd3 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.16"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Black "Liang, Awonder"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2630"] [BlackElo "2677"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "86"] [GameId "2101566206107474"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. e3 Nf6 5. Bxc4 a6 6. a4 c5 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. O-O Be7 9. d5 exd5 10. Nxd5 O-O 11. Nxe7+ Qxe7 12. b3 Be6 13. Qc2 $146 Nb4 14. Qe2 Ne4 15. Bd2 Bg4 $15 16. Rfd1 Qf6 17. h3 Bh5 18. g4 Bg6 19. Be1 Qe7 $2 (19... Nc2 $1 $17 {/-+} 20. Qxc2 $2 Ng5 $19) 20. Qb2 (20. Nh2 $11) 20... Rae8 $15 21. Bc3 $6 (21. Rac1) 21... Nxc3 22. Qxc3 Be4 $17 23. Nd2 Bc6 24. e4 Rd8 25. Re1 Rd4 26. Bf1 Rfd8 27. Nc4 $2 {It's a pretty square for the knight, but the most important feature of the position is the weakness of White's king, which can ill afford to have its defenders take leisure trips to the other side of the board.} g6 $19 (27... h5 $1) 28. Ne3 Qxe4 29. Bg2 Qf4 30. Bxc6 Rd2 $1 31. Rf1 Nxc6 32. Ng2 (32. Qxc5 Ne5 $19) 32... Qd6 33. Qg3 Qxg3 34. fxg3 {The absence of the queens lets White's king breathe a sigh of relief. The bad news for White? Everything else. He's down a pawn, and will lose another pawn momentarily. His king is still somewhat exposed, and he has no counterplay. The end is nigh.} R8d3 35. Rf2 Nd4 36. Rxd2 Rxd2 37. Nf4 Nxb3 38. Re1 Kf8 39. Re5 c4 40. Nd5 Nd4 41. Re3 Ne2+ 42. Kf1 Nxg3+ 43. Rxg3 Rxd5 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.16"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "84"] [GameId "2101566206107475"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,84,45,20,25,19,19,15,78,54,54,56,60,64,57,57,57,57,49,49,49,35,33,11,56,64,73,36,43,43,32,25,33,39,27,11,21,21,29,2,9,0,41,21,27,13,61,20,31,9,9,1,-13,-32,0,0,0,-38,-1,-61,-47,-33,-16,0,41,53,62,51,34,32,37,46,27,33,29,29,29,25,18,20,22,25,22,22,22,24,19]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 Nxe4 $5 4. Qe2 Qe7 5. Qxe4 d6 6. d4 dxe5 7. dxe5 Nc6 8. Nc3 {Probably best, returning the pawn for a slight but persistent endgame edge.} Qxe5 9. Qxe5+ Nxe5 10. Bf4 $14 (10. Nb5 $14 {is also good.}) 10... f6 (10... Bd6 {is more common.} 11. Bg3 $1 $14 (11. Nb5 $2 Nf3+ $1 $15)) 11. O-O-O $14 Bd7 12. Bxe5 (12. Nb5 $14 {is best, according to the engine, but some FM named Marco Riehle keeps playing this with Black against strong GMs, and with absurdly good results.}) 12... fxe5 13. Bb5 c6 14. Rhe1 $1 {This is a line that Riehle hasn't done so well against, though the engine claims it's equal.} O-O-O 15. Bc4 b5 (15... Kc7 16. Ne4 Be7 17. Rd3 b5 18. Bb3 Bf5 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20. c3 a5 21. Bc2 h6 22. Re2 a4 23. Nd2 Bxc2 24. Kxc2 Bf6 25. Ne4 Kb6 26. f3 c5 27. Nd2 Kc6 28. Ne4 b4 29. Rd2 Rxd2+ 30. Nxd2 Kd5 31. Kd3 Bg5 32. c4+ Kc6 33. Ne4 Bc1 34. b3 a3 35. h3 Bf4 36. Nf2 Kd6 37. Ke4 Bg3 38. Ng4 Bf4 39. Kf5 Bg3 40. Ne3 Bf4 41. Nd5 Bg3 42. Ke4 Ke6 43. Ne3 g6 44. Nf1 Bf4 45. g3 Bc1 46. Nh2 h5 47. Nf1 Kd6 48. h4 Ke6 49. Nh2 Kd6 50. Kd3 Ke6 51. Nf1 Kf5 52. Ne3+ Bxe3 53. Kxe3 Kf6 54. Ke4 Ke6 55. g4 Kf6 56. Kd5 g5 57. hxg5+ Kxg5 58. gxh5 Kf4 59. h6 Kxf3 60. h7 e4 61. h8=Q e3 62. Qh1+ Ke2 63. Kxc5 Kd2 64. Kxb4 Kc2 65. Kxa3 Kd2 66. c5 e2 67. c6 Ke3 68. c7 Kd2 69. c8=Q e1=Q 70. Qxe1+ Kd3 71. Qc4# {1-0 He,A (2501)-Riehle,M (2368) Titled Tuesday intern op 08th Aug Late Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (4)}) 16. Bd3 $146 (16. Bb3 Bc5 17. Ne4 Be7 18. f3 Kc7 19. c3 Bf5 20. Bc2 Rxd1+ 21. Kxd1 Rd8+ 22. Ke2 h6 23. Bd3 a5 24. Rc1 a4 25. a3 Bg5 26. Rc2 Be7 27. c4 Kb6 28. Nf2 Be6 29. Ne4 Bf5 30. cxb5 cxb5 31. g4 Be6 32. Nc3 Bb3 33. Rc1 b4 34. axb4 Bxb4 35. Ne4 Be7 36. h3 Rb8 37. Nd2 Bg5 38. Nxb3 Bxc1 39. Nxc1 Ka5 40. Kd2 Rxb2+ 41. Bc2 a3 42. Kc3 Rb8 43. Nb3+ Kb5 44. Bd3+ Kc6 45. Bc4 Rf8 46. Nd2 Rb8 47. Bb3 Kd7 48. Nc4 Ra8 49. Nb6+ {1-0 Giri,A (2775)-Riehle,M (2368) Julius Baer Play In Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (1.21)}) 16... Re8 17. Ne4 Be7 $11 {In general, we should expect White to do most of the pressing here thanks to the isolated e-pawn, but the bishop pair is good enough for Black to enjoy equal chances.} 18. Nd2 Bf6 19. h3 Kc7 20. Kb1 h5 21. Re2 g5 22. Ne4 Rhf8 23. c4 bxc4 24. Bxc4 Be7 25. Bd3 Rd8 26. Kc2 g4 27. hxg4 hxg4 28. b3 Bc8 29. Rh1 Bf5 30. f3 gxf3 31. gxf3 Bxe4 32. Bxe4 Rh8 33. Rxh8 Rxh8 34. Rg2 Bb4 35. Kb2 Rd8 36. Kc2 Kb6 37. Bd3 Rf8 38. Rg4 a5 39. Be4 Rd8 40. Bd3 Rf8 41. Be4 Rd8 42. Bd3 Rf8 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.16"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2590"] [BlackElo "2796"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "96"] [GameId "2101566206107476"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,96,20,19,62,14,43,37,39,24,21,9,9,9,-6,-1,-1,-1,0,-56,3,3,27,5,-12,-10,18,43,82,47,83,78,81,89,83,75,87,78,82,74,74,67,70,52,74,85,79,89,36,39,31,27,27,21,16,36,0,-38,-34,-34,-54,-258,-199,-199,-120,-120,-29,-93,-56,-75,-7,-221,-255,-359,-359,-359,-237,-321,-321,-359,-358,-358,-379,-453,-456,-456,-483,-496,-496,-496,-521,-582,-966,-29989,-29990,-29991,-29992,-29993,-29994] Here's a game that never happened, and it never happened because it happened. The explanation will come at the end.} 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. e4 e6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nf6 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Nxc6 dxc6 9. e5 $6 $146 Nd7 (9... Ng4 $1 $11 {is even better - slight shades of Rotlewi (author of the imaginary book How to Absolutely, Positively NOT Play with the White Pieces) vs. Rubinstein. Black has the better half of equality.}) 10. Bf4 Qc7 11. Qe2 O-O-O 12. Bg3 h5 13. Bh4 Nxe5 $2 (13... Qxe5 {was the right way to sac the exchange.} 14. Bxd8 Qxe2+ 15. Kxe2 Kxd8 $44 {Here White's pawn and bishop pair offer full compensation for the exchange.}) 14. Bxd8 Nxd3+ 15. Qxd3 Qxd8 16. O-O-O $1 $16 Qc7 (16... Qxd3 $142) 17. Kb1 $18 Be7 18. Rhe1 g6 19. g3 Kb8 20. Qe3 (20. f4 $142) 20... Ba6 {This doesn't really threaten to take on c4, as Qd4 in reply would win the bishop.} (20... Bc8 $142 {is better, aiming to play ...e5 at some moment to activate the c8-bishop on e6 or f5.}) 21. b3 $6 (21. Ne4 $142) 21... Bc8 (21... Bb4 $142 22. Kb2 Bc8 $16) 22. f4 $6 (22. Ne4 $142 $16) 22... h4 $14 {Now Black is fine. White has targets and hooks for Black all over the board, and his rooks have little to do.} 23. Qe5 f6 $1 $11 24. Qe3 hxg3 25. hxg3 e5 $1 26. fxe5 fxe5 (26... Bc5) 27. Rh1 Bc5 28. Qg5 $2 (28. Qe2 $11) 28... Rxh1 29. Rxh1 Qd6 $1 $19 {The evaluation has completely flipped even though the material balance remains the same. The board has opened beautifully for Black's bishops, while White's king is now seriously exposed.} 30. g4 Qd3+ 31. Kb2 Bd4 32. Rc1 a5 (32... e4 $142) 33. a4 Qe4 $6 (33... Kc7 {followed by ...Bd7 was best, tightening everything up in the position before looking for a way to make further progress.}) 34. Qf6 Kc7 $6 35. g5 $2 (35. b4 $1 axb4 36. Qe7+ Bd7 37. Qxb4 Bxg4 38. a5 $1 $17 {lets White make a real pest of himself.}) 35... Qd3 $19 {It should be totally over now, and thanks to Caruana's incisive play from here to the end, it is over.} 36. Qe7+ Kb8 37. Qd6+ Kb7 38. Qe7+ Ka6 39. b4 Qxc4 40. Qe8 Qxb4+ 41. Ka2 Qc4+ 42. Kb2 Kb7 43. Qe7+ Kb8 44. Qd6+ Ka8 45. Qxg6 Be6 46. Rc2 Qa2+ 47. Kc1 Be3+ 48. Kd1 Bg4+ {At this point, according the St. Louis club's press release, Yoo "crumpled his scoresheet, stormed out of the tournament hall, and struck a videographer from behind". I hope that there's some misunderstanding and it was that he was in such a rush to leave he accidentally bumped the videographer from carelessness, maybe turning a corner, rather than intentionally trying to harm the poor woman. The press release continues: "The Saint Louis Chess Club immediately provided assistance to the videographer and called the police who responded." Moreover, "Chief Arbiter Chris Bird expelled Yoo from the tournament due to gross violations of our code of conduct and the US Chess Safe Play policy. The Saint Louis Chess Club fully supports this decision, and has banned Yoo from the club." So, what does it mean that the game never happened? Of course it did, literally, but because Yoo was thrown out of the tournament just before its halfway point, all his results were annulled (though the games will still be rated) and rounds where people did or were going to play him count as byes. This is obviously terrible for Caruana and So, who both defeated him, but that has been the FIDE rule since before I was a kid, and possibly from when my parents were kids. There's no justification for what Yoo did, if what he did was intentional, and there's not much of an excuse, either. Sure, he was winning or nearly winning, from a computer perspective, at least for a little while after Caruana made the wrong capture on e5. But then he was outplayed by the better player, which is the sort of thing that happens all the time in games between players with a significant rating gap. I can understand why Yoo would be irritated and annoyed - with himself. But how is that the fault of the woman with a camera?} 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.16"] [Round "5.6"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2741"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "115"] [GameId "2101566206107477"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,115,20,19,23,5,12,34,36,31,41,40,62,69,69,42,59,26,42,25,31,31,39,-5,47,18,45,32,15,15,31,45,20,30,58,42,31,42,42,17,34,9,9,9,9,9,39,4,4,9,30,27,28,33,39,31,34,15,10,7,13,13,24,28,49,54,54,58,56,56,84,57,91,99,109,70,142,167,155,152,150,147,147,145,138,143,173,183,213,224,224,214,255,243,289,246,266,269,279,280,298,282,408,450,454,454,440,465,606,456,885,942,1136,1182,1198,29982,29989,29990]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. e4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Qc7 10. Qe2 Nc6 11. Nf3 Ng4 12. g3 a6 $15 {Black is already better.} 13. Bf4 Bd6 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. Rfd1 Qc7 16. Rac1 $11 {But not anymore.} Bd7 17. Bb3 Rfd8 18. Ng5 Nf6 $15 {Back to better.} 19. f4 h6 20. Nf3 Qb6+ 21. Qf2 Qb4 $1 22. Qe2 Qb6+ 23. Qf2 Qb4 24. Qe2 Na5 $1 {With 20-20 hindsight, the repetition would have been better. Objectively, however, Dominguez made the right decision.} 25. e5 Nxb3 26. axb3 Ne8 27. Nd4 Bc6 28. Nxc6 bxc6 29. Qc4 Qb6+ 30. Kg2 Nc7 31. Rd6 Rab8 (31... Qe3 $142) 32. Qxc6 Rxd6 33. Qxd6 Qb7+ 34. Kh3 Ne8 (34... Nb5 $11) 35. Qd3 Qxb3 36. Qxa6 Nc7 (36... g6 $11) 37. Qd6 Nd5 $2 {It's still equal after this, but it doesn't seem like a very practical decision.} (37... Qb7 $11) (37... Qc4 $11) 38. Nxd5 exd5 39. e6 {Of course. Now the Black king will be exposed, and in fact Black only has one move that doesn't lose here.} fxe6 $2 {This isn't it.} (39... Qxb2 $1 40. exf7+ Kxf7 41. Qxd5+ Kg6 42. Qe4+ Kf7 43. Rc7+ Kg8 $11 {Black has everything under control, and should draw despite the missing pawn.}) 40. Qxe6+ Kh8 41. Qe5 $1 $18 {Covering everything and preparing Rc7. Note that 41...Qxb2 loses to 42.Rc8+.} Qb6 42. Rc7 Rg8 43. Rd7 Qa6 44. Rxd5 Qc8+ (44... Qf1+ {is nothing.} 45. Kh4 $18) 45. Kh4 Qc2 46. h3 Kh7 47. Rd7 Qb3 48. Re7 Qb6 49. f5 Kh8 50. Kh5 Qc6 51. b4 Qf3+ 52. Kh4 Qd1 53. b5 Qa4+ 54. g4 Qc2 55. b6 Qf2+ 56. Kh5 Kh7 (56... Qxb6 57. Re6 {wins, as there is no move that allows Black to simultaneously save his queen and prevent 58.Rxh6#.}) 57. f6 Qxb6 58. Qf5+ (58. Qf5+ Kh8 59. fxg7+ Rxg7 60. Re8+ Rg8 61. Qe5+ Kh7 62. Re7+ {and mate next move.}) 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.17"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2630"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "133"] [GameId "2101883562293033"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,133,29,42,33,42,70,58,65,36,30,31,55,48,37,36,25,26,26,31,30,19,18,-9,25,27,31,27,30,20,30,27,27,23,22,17,14,17,23,19,24,28,28,16,4,21,14,31,29,26,26,26,37,11,20,24,22,33,43,21,43,43,54,21,49,31,30,23,17,27,27,30,30,24,27,27,58,51,54,47,45,10,14,4,39,25,76,37,19,26,26,37,32,27,32,32,37,37,37,65,52,28,54,54,65,35,40,40,30,52,82,62,41,18,59,55,51,63,120,121,971,178,191,191,228,176,191,195,1191,1285,1358,1426,2254,2256,29985,29986]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bc4 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Bg5 Be6 11. Qe2 Nd7 $146 {A standard idea in the 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Najdorf. Black does not want to let White trade his way to a good knight (on d5) vs. bad bishop (on e7) middlegame.} 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. Nd5 Bxd5 (13... Qd8 {may improve, aiming to swap on d5 with a knight or to eliminate White's bishop before dealing with the knight.}) 14. Bxd5 Nf6 15. Rad1 Rac8 16. c3 Rfd8 17. g3 Nxd5 18. Rxd5 Qe6 19. Rfd1 $14 Ne7 20. R5d3 f6 21. Nh4 {Heading for e3.} Rd7 22. b3 {White would like to play c4 (though even then Black will generally be fine after ...b5), so Black gets in ...d5 while he still can.} d5 23. exd5 Rxd5 24. c4 Rxd3 25. Qxd3 {It's equal according to the engine, but White's position is "more equal", to use an Orwellism, thanks to his possession of the d-file.} b6 26. Ng2 Nf5 27. Qe4 Re8 28. Ne3 Nd4 29. Nc2 (29. Nd5 $1 {is surprisingly awkward for Black.} f5 {is forced, but that destabilizes the pe5/Nd4 construction.} 30. Qe3 Qg6 $1 31. Ne7+ $1 Rxe7 32. Rxd4 $14) 29... Nc6 30. Ne3 Nd4 31. Nc2 Nc6 32. Qe3 $14 Rb8 33. Rd2 h6 34. h4 f5 35. Nd4 Nxd4 36. Rxd4 Re8 37. Rd5 Kh8 38. Qd3 Qf6 $6 (38... f4 $1) 39. Rd6 $16 Re6 40. Rxe6 $6 (40. Rd8+ $1 Kh7 41. h5 e4 $8 42. Qd4 $16) 40... Qxe6 $11 41. b4 Qc6 $2 (41... f4 $1 $11) 42. h5 $1 $18 Kg8 43. a3 $2 (43. c5 $1 bxc5 44. Qc4+) 43... e4 44. Qd4 Kf7 $6 (44... Qa4 $1 $11) 45. c5 (45. Kh2 $1 $16) 45... bxc5 46. bxc5 Qe6 47. Kf1 g5 $1 48. hxg6+ Kxg6 49. Qc3 Qc6 50. Ke1 $14 h5 51. Qe5 Qd7 52. Qc3 Qc6 53. Qb4 Kf7 $1 54. Qb6 Qb5 $1 $11 55. Qc7+ Ke8 (55... Ke6 $142 $11) 56. Qe5+ Kd8 57. Qd4+ (57. Qd6+ $142) 57... Kc8 (57... Kc7 $142) 58. a4 Qb3 $2 {Black has no real threats here, so this is a big mistake, allowing White's pawn to make the huge jump to c6.} (58... Qd7 $11) 59. c6 $18 Qd3 60. Qb6 {There's no perpetual, and White threatens to promote.} Qd6 61. Qxa6+ Kd8 62. Qa8+ Ke7 63. Qb7+ Kf6 64. c7 e3 65. Qb2+ $1 Kg6 66. c8=Q exf2+ 67. Kxf2 {Black doesn't even have a (safe) check.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.17"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2796"] [BlackElo "2662"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2101883562301226"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 $5 (4... Bc5 5. Bg5 {has become moderately popular, and there are other lines where Bg5 happens sooner or later. So Black takes a tempo to rule them out entirely.}) 5. a3 $5 Bc5 6. Nc3 a6 7. Be3 d6 8. Bxc5 dxc5 $11 9. O-O $146 Qd6 10. Nd5 Nxd5 $6 {Clearly not expecting White's next, or at least the plan associated with the two moves after that.} (10... O-O) (10... Ne7) (10... Be6 $5) 11. exd5 $1 Ne7 12. Qe1 $1 f6 13. Nd2 $1 Bf5 (13... Nxd5 14. f4 $1 {is the point of White's play (prep) since 11.exd5. White has a strong initiative after} Be6 $8 15. fxe5 fxe5 $8 16. Ne4 Qe7 17. Ng3 Qd6 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. Rxf5 {such that Black should immediately return the pawn and defend the worse endgame after} O-O-O 20. Qxe5 Qxe5 21. Rxe5 c6 22. Rae1 $14) 14. Ne4 Bxe4 15. dxe4 $14 O-O 16. b4 (16. a4 {may improve, with two ideas: a5 to clamp down on the queenside and to lift the rook to a3.}) 16... b6 (16... cxb4 $142) 17. bxc5 Qxc5 18. Qb4 Qd6 19. Qxd6 cxd6 20. Rfb1 $16 {Put Black's knight on c5 and he'd take this ending any day; here, White will enjoy permanent pressure against Black's queenside until Oparin inevitably cracks.} Nc8 21. Be2 {To play Bg4.} f5 22. f3 {This isn't a problem for White's bishop, as there's always possibility of g3, Bf1-h3.} Ra7 23. Rb3 fxe4 24. fxe4 Rc7 25. c4 g6 26. a4 a5 27. Rc1 h5 28. g3 Kg7 29. h4 Rff7 30. Kg2 Rf6 31. Bf3 Rff7 32. Be2 Rf6 33. Ra1 Rff7 34. Rf3 Rxf3 35. Kxf3 Ne7 36. Rb1 Rb7 37. Ke3 Ng8 38. g4 (38. c5 $1 dxc5 39. Ba6 Rb8 40. Bc4 Nf6 41. d6 $16) 38... hxg4 39. Bxg4 Nf6 40. Be6 Rb8 $2 (40... Ne8 {and Black is fine, though not to the extent that White can't keep trying.}) 41. c5 $1 {Up to now Oparin had done a better job of defending than Caruana had of maximizing his advantage, but this timely breakthrough puts White back in the driver's seat. (And see again the note on move 20.)} dxc5 42. d6 $1 $16 Rh8 $2 (42... Kf8 43. Kd3 Kg7 44. Rb2 c4+ $1 (44... Kh6 45. Kc4 $1 Nxe4 46. d7 Nf6 47. Kb5 $18 (47. Rxb6 $4 Nxd7 $11)) 45. Bxc4 Kh6 $1 {Black's last moves look almost impossible to find for a non-computer. Only this kept the game going.}) 43. d7 $18 (43. Rxb6 $18) 43... Rd8 44. Rxb6 $1 Kf8 (44... Nxd7 {and now pick your pin:} 45. Rd6 $18 (45. Rb7 $18)) 45. Bc4 Kg7 (45... Nxd7 46. Rxg6 $18) 46. Bb5 Kf7 47. Rc6 Nxd7 48. Bc4+ $1 Ke7 (48... Kg7 49. Rd6 $18) 49. Re6+ Kf7 50. Rxe5+ Kf8 51. Re6 Rb8 52. Bb5 Rb7 53. Rxg6 Ne5 54. Rg5 {A nice grinding victory for Caruana's 4th win in a row (only three of which counted, unfortunately).} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.17"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2738"] [PlyCount "68"] [GameId "2101883562301227"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. Qd2 b5 9. h4 Bb7 10. Qf2 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Qc7 13. Bd3 Bc5 14. Ne2 f6 15. O-O O-O 16. Qe3 fxe5 17. fxe5 Rxf1+ 18. Rxf1 Bxd4 19. Nxd4 Qxe5 20. Qxe5 Nxe5 21. Re1 Nc4 22. Bxc4 dxc4 23. Rxe6 c3 24. b4 Rd8 25. Nb3 Bd5 26. Re3 Bxb3 27. axb3 Rd4 28. Rxc3 Rxb4 29. Rc8+ Kf7 30. Rc7+ Kf8 31. Rc8+ Ke7 32. Rc7+ Kf8 33. Rc8+ Ke7 34. Rc7+ Kf8 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.17"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2693"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "73"] [GameId "2101883562301228"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,73,37,11,33,50,7,21,21,1,18,-8,-8,-21,-9,-13,6,6,20,10,39,36,36,-13,-13,-10,-19,-10,24,22,27,22,27,32,33,4,15,10,5,9,11,10,39,29,24,22,29,23,30,18,67,40,69,56,89,96,92,86,235,254,261,302,366,367,370,377,400,407,410,410,623,631,637,637,1457,1688]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Nf3 cxd4 8. cxd4 f6 9. Nf4 Bb4+ 10. Bd2 Qe7 11. exf6 Nxf6 12. a3 Bxd2+ 13. Qxd2 e5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Qxe5+ 16. Qe2 Qxe2+ 17. Nxe2 Ke7 18. Nd4 Bd7 19. Bd3 Kd6 20. f3 g5 21. Kd2 $14 {A textbook ending where White is always going to be a little better thanks to Black's d-pawn which is isolated and hems in both of Black's minor pieces. Still, one would expect this to be drawn.} h5 22. Rae1 (22. h4 {looks good, fixing another Black pawn on a light square.}) 22... Rae8 (22... h4) 23. Bg6 Rc8 (23... Rxe1 24. Rxe1 h4 {still seems to me well within the drawing margin.}) 24. Re3 g4 $6 25. Rhe1 $16 Rhf8 26. Kd3 gxf3 27. gxf3 Rc4 28. b3 {That's why White played 26.Kd3.} Kc5 $2 {Black's position was bad; now it's lost.} 29. Ne6+ $1 ({The mundane} 29. bxc4 dxc4+ 30. Ke2 Kxd4 31. Rd1+ Kc5 32. Re5+ $18 {was also clearly winning. Black went crazy for no reason.}) 29... Bxe6 30. Rxe6 {Black's king is in loads of trouble, and keeping him alive will be a costly proposition.} Rf4 31. Rc1+ Kb5 32. Ke2 Nd7 33. Bd3+ Ka5 34. Rc7 R8f7 35. Rxb7 Nb6 36. Rc6 $1 {A nice finishing touch, even if any non-blunder retains a completely won position.} Rc4 (36... Rxb7 37. Rc5# $1) 37. Rxf7 $1 (37. Rxf7 $1 {Very nice! If one rook doesn't mate Black, the other will.} Rxc6 38. Rxa7#) 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.17"] [Round "6.5"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2689"] [PlyCount "92"] [GameId "2101883562301229"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8. Rb1 a5 9. d3 Be6 10. Be3 O-O 11. a3 Re8 12. Re1 Nd5 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. Qa4 Bf6 15. Rbc1 Nd4 16. Nxd4 Bxg2 17. Ne6 Rxe6 18. Kxg2 c6 19. Qe4 Be7 20. Rc4 g6 21. g4 Bg5 22. Rh1 Bxe3 23. Qxe3 Qd5+ 24. f3 b5 25. Rc2 Qd4 26. Qe4 Rf8 27. Qxd4 exd4 28. a4 Rfe8 29. Kf2 Re5 30. axb5 Rxb5 31. Ra1 g5 32. b3 c5 33. Ra4 h6 34. Rca2 Rxb3 35. Rxa5 Rc3 36. Ra8 Rxa8 37. Rxa8+ Kg7 38. Rc8 Rc1 39. Rc6 f6 40. h3 Kg6 41. Re6 Kf7 42. Re4 Rh1 43. Kg2 Re1 44. Kf2 Rh1 45. Kg2 Re1 46. Kf2 Rh1 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.18"] [Round "7"] [White "Oparin, G."] [Black "Liang, Awonder"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2662"] [BlackElo "2677"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "78"] [GameId "2102178800285948"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 {Feel the excitement of this super-symmetrical line, beloved by scholastic players.} 5. d3 d6 (5... a6 {is worth considering, not surrendering the bishop pair. It warms my heart to see that Black has a plus score here, a fitting punishment for White's choice of the excruciatingly dull 4.Nc3.}) 6. Na4 {Best and most principled, and the only move (with a non-trivial number of instances) where White rather than Black has a plus score, albeit a slight one.} Bb6 7. a3 {Avoiding a case of tit-for-tat.} h6 8. b4 {Quite rare.} O-O 9. O-O Ne7 10. h3 Ng6 11. Re1 Re8 $11 12. Bb3 c6 (12... Nh5 13. Nxb6 axb6 14. Ng5 hxg5 15. Qxh5 Be6 16. Bxe6 Rxe6 17. Bxg5 Qd7 18. c4 b5 19. Qg4 bxc4 20. dxc4 Qc6 21. h4 Nf8 22. h5 Nh7 23. Re3 Qxc4 24. Rg3 g6 25. Rc1 Qb5 26. Rxc7 Qe8 27. Rf3 gxh5 {1-0 Aronian,L (2772)-Mikhalevski,V (2562) Wch Blitz Warsaw 2021 (2)}) 13. Nxb6 axb6 14. a4 (14. d4 {is better, IMO.} exd4 (14... Qc7 $11 {is a good alternative, maintaining the strong point on e5.}) 15. Qxd4 Be6 (15... c5 $11) 16. Bb2 Qc7 17. Qc3 Rad8 18. Nd4 Bxb3 19. cxb3 Rxe4 20. Nf5 Re5 21. Qf3 Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Re8 23. Rd1 Re6 24. Nxh6+ gxh6 25. Bxf6 d5 26. Bd4 b5 27. g3 Qe7 28. h4 Re4 29. Qh5 Kh7 30. Be3 Qf8 31. Qf5 Re5 32. Qf3 Qe7 33. h5 Nf8 34. Bc5 Qe8 35. Bd4 Re1+ 36. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 37. Kh2 Qe6 38. Qf4 Nd7 39. a4 bxa4 40. bxa4 Kg8 41. Qc7 Nf6 42. Qd8+ Ne8 43. Qb8 Qd7 44. a5 Kh7 45. Qa7 Qg4 46. Qxb7 Nd6 47. Qa7 Qxh5+ 48. Kg2 Nb5 49. Qc5 Qf5 50. Be3 Qe4+ 51. f3 Qd3 52. Bf2 Na3 53. Qe3 {1-0 Aronian,L (2772)-Matlakov,M (2674) Wch Rapid Warsaw 2021 (13)}) 14... Be6 15. c4 {The pro is that it keeps Black somewhat cramped, the con is that the b3-bishop looks pretty sad after ...c5. Neither issue need be permanent, but it will take time for each side to fix his respective problem.} (15. Bxe6 Rxe6 16. c4 d5 $11) 15... c5 $146 (15... Nh7 16. Be3 Qc7 17. Qd2 c5 18. Reb1 Ne7 19. a5 bxa5 20. bxc5 dxc5 21. Qb2 b6 22. Ba4 Reb8 23. Qxe5 Qd8 24. Ra3 Nf8 25. Qg3 Kh8 26. Rab3 Rc8 27. Bf4 Nfg6 28. Bd6 Nc6 29. Rxb6 Nb4 30. Rb7 Nxd3 31. h4 Qf6 32. Kh2 Ndf4 33. Bxf4 Nxf4 34. Bc2 Ne2 {½-½ Piorun,K (2603)-Chen,Q (2485) Riga Tech op-A 2024 (7)}) 16. Bd2 Nd7 {Heading for c6 if White doesn't prevent it.} (16... Nh5 {is a standard idea, heading for f4 and taking advantage of the loose pawn on d3.} 17. Nd4 $1 (17. Nxe5 $2 dxe5 18. Qxh5 Qxd3 $17 {/-+ is the explanation of my comment to 16...Nh5.}) 17... Nhf4 18. Nxe6 Rxe6 $11 (18... Nxe6 $11)) 17. Nh2 Nb8 $5 18. a5 $2 {A nice and energetic move, though a bit of an error.} (18. b5 $14 {isn't positionally ideal, but Black will have lost a good deal of time taking the knight away from civilization and then bringing it back from its desert isle.}) 18... cxb4 $15 19. axb6 (19. Bxb4 $143 Nf4 20. Nf3 Nc6 21. Bc3 Nxa5 $17) 19... Rxa1 20. Qxa1 Qxb6 21. Be3 Qc7 22. Ba4 Nc6 23. Qb2 Nge7 (23... f5 24. Bxc6 bxc6 25. Qxb4 f4 26. Bb6 Qd7 $15 {/?}) (23... Rb8 $15 {/? is a clever way of defending the pawn on b4.}) 24. f4 $2 {Once again, Oparin goes for an active option, and once again - even more than back on move 18 - it's a serious error.} exf4 25. Bxf4 Ra8 $1 $19 26. Bc2 Ng6 27. Be3 Ra3 28. Nf3 Qa5 29. Nd2 Nh4 {Suddenly the kingside, where nothing was going on, becomes the focus of play and where the game is won.} 30. Nb3 {The knight was on f3, and now that it has abandoned the king it's time for Black to pay his majesty a visit.} Qh5 31. Bd1 Qg6 32. Kh2 Ne5 33. Nc1 {The only sensible way to defend the d-pawn.} Rxd3 $1 {Two pawns up.} 34. Qf2 Qxe4 {Three pawns up.} 35. Bg5 (35. Bxh6 Rxh3+ $1 36. gxh3 Nhf3+ 37. Bxf3 Nxf3+ 38. Kg3 Nxe1 $19) 35... Rxh3+ $1 {Four pawns up.} 36. Kg1 (36. gxh3 Nhf3+ $19) 36... Qxg2+ $1 {Five pawns up.} 37. Qxg2 Nxg2 38. Kxg2 hxg5 39. c5 Rc3 {Apparently being five pawns down was tolerable, but six? Forget it.} (39... Rc3 40. cxd6 {reduces the margin to four extra pawns...and a piece.} Rxc1 41. Rxe5 Rxd1 42. Rxg5 Rxd6 {and here it's possible that a player rated 677 could finish the job, even against Oparin.}) 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.18"] [Round "7"] [White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Black "Shankland, S."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2630"] [BlackElo "2677"] [PlyCount "159"] [GameId "2102178800290045"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. c3 Nf6 6. Re1 O-O 7. d4 a6 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. h3 cxd4 10. cxd4 c5 11. d5 b5 12. Nc3 Bb7 13. Bf4 Re8 14. Qc2 e6 15. d6 Nd7 16. Rad1 Rc8 17. Bg5 Qa5 18. a3 Bc6 19. Ra1 Qb6 20. Be7 c4 21. Rad1 a5 22. Ne2 Bb7 23. Ned4 b4 24. e5 b3 25. Qc1 Qc5 26. Qf4 Rxe7 27. dxe7 Qxe7 28. Rc1 Rc5 29. a4 h6 30. h4 Bd5 31. Nd2 Nb6 32. Ne4 Nxa4 33. Nxc5 Nxc5 34. Re3 Nd3 35. Rxd3 cxd3 36. Nf3 Qb7 37. Rd1 Bxf3 38. gxf3 Qb5 39. Qe4 Bxe5 40. Qxd3 Qb4 41. h5 g5 42. Qd8+ Kg7 43. Rd7 g4 44. Qe8 Qf4 45. Qxe6 Qh2+ 46. Kf1 Qh1+ 47. Ke2 Qxf3+ 48. Ke1 Qe4+ 49. Kf1 Qh1+ 50. Ke2 Qxh5 51. Qxb3 Qg6 52. Rd3 Bf6 53. Qd5 a4 54. Qc4 h5 55. Qxa4 Bxb2 56. Qf4 h4 57. Rd6 Qh5 58. Kf1 h3 59. Kg1 Be5 60. Rd5 Bxf4 61. Rxh5 Kg6 62. Rh4 Kg5 63. Rh7 f5 64. f3 h2+ 65. Kg2 g3 66. Rg7+ Kf6 67. Ra7 Be3 68. Ra5 Kg5 69. Ra4 f4 70. Ra5+ Kf6 71. Rb5 Ke6 72. Ra5 Bd4 73. Rb5 Kd6 74. Ra5 Bc5 75. Ra4 Be3 76. Re4 Kd5 77. Kh1 Kd6 78. Kg2 Kd5 79. Kh1 Kd6 80. Kg2 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.18"] [Round "7"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Caruana, F."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2689"] [BlackElo "2796"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "51"] [GameId "2102178800290046"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,51,21,27,27,4,4,4,21,27,31,36,36,10,46,23,39,40,35,35,36,30,34,34,41,23,55,70,70,71,46,34,35,15,30,1,-6,10,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 d5 6. a3 Be7 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bd3 c6 10. Qc2 Re8 11. O-O (11. Ne5 Nf8 (11... Nxe5 12. dxe5 Ng4 13. f4 d4 14. Bxh7+ Kh8 15. exd4 Qxd4 16. O-O-O Ne3 17. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 18. Kb1 Qxf4 19. Rhf1 Qh6 20. Bf5 Be6 21. Rd3 Kg8 22. Rh3 Bxf5 23. Rxf5 Qg6 24. Rg3 Qe6 25. Ne4 Rad8 26. Ng5 Rd1+ 27. Qxd1 Qxf5+ 28. Qc2 Qf1+ 29. Ka2 Bxg5 30. Rxg5 Qf4 31. Rf5 Qd4 32. Qb3 Re7 33. e6 fxe6 34. Rh5 Qg4 35. Re5 Kf7 36. g3 Rd7 37. h3 Qxh3 38. Qf3+ Ke7 39. Qe3 Qg4 40. Qc5+ Kf7 41. Qf2+ Ke8 42. Qc5 a6 43. Qc3 Rd5 44. Re3 Kf7 45. Rf3+ Kg8 46. Rf4 Qg6 47. Qb3 Rb5 48. Qc4 Rd5 49. Qb3 b5 50. Qc3 e5 51. Rf2 Qe6 52. Kb1 Rd1+ 53. Kc2 Rd4 54. Kb1 Rd1+ 55. Kc2 Rg1 56. Qd3 Qd5 57. Qf5 Qc4+ 58. Kd2 Qc1+ 59. Kd3 Rxg3+ {0-1 Anton Guijarro,D (2670)-Niemann,H (2689) Chess.com Play In Match Div 3 Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (1.2)}) 12. O-O Bd6 13. f4 c5 14. Bb5 Re7 15. Be1 Ng6 16. Nxg6 hxg6 17. Bh4 Be6 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. f5 gxf5 20. Bd3 cxd4 21. exd4 Qc7 22. h3 Bf4 23. Kh1 Be3 24. Qe2 Bxd4 25. Nb5 Qe5 26. Nxd4 Qxd4 27. Bxf5 Rae8 28. Rad1 Qh4 29. Qd3 Kg7 30. Qf3 Bxf5 31. Qxf5 Re5 32. Qf3 Rd8 33. Kh2 b6 34. Rd4 Re4 35. Rd3 Qg5 36. Kh1 Qe5 37. Qg3+ Kf8 38. Qf2 Rd6 39. Rf3 d4 40. Rf5 Qe6 41. Qg3 Ke7 42. Kh2 Re5 43. R5f3 Re3 44. Rxe3 dxe3 45. Re1 Rd3 46. Qc7+ Qd7 47. Qxd7+ Kxd7 48. Kg3 Rb3 49. Re2 Ke6 50. Kf3 Kf5 51. h4 Kg6 52. g4 f5 53. gxf5+ Kxf5 54. h5 Kg5 55. Ke4 f5+ 56. Ke5 Rb5+ 57. Kd4 f4 58. Ke4 Rf5 59. Rg2+ Kf6 60. Rg6+ Kf7 61. Kxf5 e2 62. Rg1 f3 63. h6 f2 64. Rg7+ Kf8 65. Kf6 f1=Q+ 66. Kg6 e1=Q 67. Rxa7 Qe6+ 68. Kh7 Qff5+ 69. Kh8 Qxh6+ 70. Rh7 Qhxh7# {0-1 Bluebaum,M (2647)-Caruana,F (2805) Chess.com Classic Play In Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (4)}) 11... Bd6 12. Rfe1 Nf8 13. e4 $146 (13. h3) 13... dxe4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Bxe4 Be6 16. Ng5 g6 $11 17. h4 Be7 {Inviting White to force a draw.} 18. Nxe6 Nxe6 19. Bxg6 hxg6 20. Rxe6 Bxh4 21. Rxg6+ fxg6 22. Qxg6+ Kh8 (22... Kf8 $4 23. Bh6+ Ke7 24. Qg7+ $1 Kd6 25. Bf4+ Kd5 26. Qf7+ Ke4 27. Re1+ Kxd4 28. Rd1+ $18) 23. Qh6+ Kg8 24. Qg6+ Kh8 25. Qh6+ Kg8 26. Qg6+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.18"] [Round "7"] [White "Aronian, L."] [Black "So, W."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C24"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "80"] [GameId "2102178800290047"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,80,27,19,15,6,6,6,6,6,20,18,18,18,36,48,31,23,28,27,31,39,39,39,29,29,50,0,15,11,11,11,8,18,15,15,15,25,14,14,26,-22,-25,-22,-20,-12,-12,-12,-11,-13,-14,-8,-9,-3,4,0,26,43,55,23,47,31,21,34,30,30,30,6,19,22,30,30,8,20,34,0,25,0,0,0,19,29,27]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 d5 $1 {The exclamation point is for its directness. If Black can get away with this, then White will either have to play 4.Ng5 or give up the Italian. Gosh, wouldn't that be a shame.} 5. exd5 Nxd5 6. O-O Be7 7. Re1 f6 8. a3 (8. c3) (8. d4) 8... Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. Nc3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Na5 12. Ba2 c5 13. Be6 Qd6 14. Bf5 Rd8 15. Qe2 O-O 16. Qe4 g6 17. Bg4 Bxg4 (17... f5 18. Qa4 $1 Bxg4 $1 19. hxg4 Nc6 20. Rb1 b6 21. Bh6 $14) 18. hxg4 Nc6 19. Bh6 (19. a4 $11 {/?}) 19... Rfe8 20. Nh4 Bf8 $11 21. Bxf8 Kxf8 22. Nf3 Kg7 23. Nd2 b6 24. Nc4 Qd5 25. Qxd5 Rxd5 26. a4 Rd7 {White's position is still slightly more comfortable.} 27. Rab1 f5 28. gxf5 gxf5 29. Re3 Re6 30. g3 (30. Rbe1 Rde7 31. Rg3+ $14) 30... Kf6 31. Kg2 h5 32. Rbe1 Rde7 33. Kh3 Re8 34. Kg2 (34. Kh4 $6 {doesn't actually threaten the h-pawn (Kxh5 is met by ...Rh8#), and it also gives Black the opportunity to improve his knight.} Ne7 $1 {and White can't take on e5 due to ...Ng6+ forks.}) 34... R8e7 35. Rh1 Rh7 36. Re2 Rh8 37. Rhe1 Rhe8 38. Kh3 R6e7 39. Re3 Re6 40. Kg2 R8e7 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.18"] [Round "7"] [White "Robson, R."] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2693"] [BlackElo "2733"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "79"] [GameId "2102178800290048"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,79,19,6,12,14,6,15,35,28,16,-4,11,18,22,9,13,-6,-2,-15,-4,1,-8,-18,-6,-4,13,-10,2,-8,12,50,40,41,48,37,69,76,44,65,44,32,32,20,72,62,64,60,57,49,44,51,60,53,58,52,62,53,58,63,53,48,58,16,70,70,97,83,102,102,100,115,120,120,189,213,185,155,400,259,741,1173]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. O-O Bd6 ({Niemann played} 6... Nd7 {several times against Giri in their match in August, while}) ({Wesley So was a fan of} 6... Qe7 {back in July. Ancient history.}) 7. Nbd2 Be6 8. d4 Nd7 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 Bxe5 11. f4 Bd4+ 12. Kh1 f5 13. Qh5+ g6 14. Qe2 O-O {All fairly well-known, having happened in games featuring players like Caruana, Nakamura, Anand, So and other super-GMs.} 15. Rd1 {This is rare and was played in the only prior game *not* involving super-GMs, though it did involve GMs.} Qe8 $146 (15... Bf6 16. Nf3 Qe8 17. e5 Be7 18. Nd4 Qf7 19. Nxe6 Qxe6 20. Be3 Rfd8 21. a4 a5 22. h3 Kf7 23. b3 b6 24. c4 Ke8 25. Bf2 Rab8 26. Qc2 Rxd1+ 27. Rxd1 Rd8 28. Rxd8+ Bxd8 29. Qd1 Be7 30. g4 fxg4 31. hxg4 g5 32. Qd3 Qxg4 33. f5 Qh5+ 34. Kg2 Qg4+ 35. Kh2 Qh5+ 36. Kg2 Qg4+ 37. Kh2 Qh5+ 38. Kg2 {½-½ Motylev,A (2628)-Kozak,A (2549) Budapest Kallai Memorial Rapid 2022 (8)}) 16. e5 Bc5 17. Nb3 Be7 18. Be3 Qf7 19. Nc5 Bc4 20. Qf2 b6 21. b3 $1 Be6 22. Nxe6 Qxe6 $11 {/?} 23. Qe2 a5 24. a4 Rfd8 25. h3 h5 {A little risky with the queens still on the board, but only a little risky.} 26. Bf2 Rd5 (26... c5 $1 $11 {isn't bad, though as with ...h5 it's a move one prefers to play with the queens off the board, as at least in theory it offers White's queen more opportunities to (try to) invade.}) 27. c4 Rdd8 28. Qe1 Bb4 (28... c5 $11) 29. Qe2 Be7 30. c5 $1 {White may not be "officially" better, but practically this is terrific for White, ruining the health of Black's queenside structure.} bxc5 31. Qc2 c4 $2 (31... Rxd1+ $1 32. Rxd1 Rb8 $11) 32. bxc4 $16 {Black's c-pawns have been shielded at the cost of restoring material equality. The pawn is great on c4, keeping Black's queen out of d5 and everywhere else, while the a5-pawn is a target.} Kf7 33. Be1 Bc5 $2 (33... Rxd1 34. Rxd1 c5 $1 {is not easy to consider. The idea makes perfect sense once one sees it, though: Black will put the queen on c6, eyeing both sides of the board and especially tying White down to the a4 pawn.}) 34. Bh4 $1 $18 Rdb8 (34... Be7 35. Bxe7 Qxe7 36. Rxd8 Qxd8 37. Rd1 Qe7 38. Qc3 $18) 35. Rd3 $1 Rb4 36. Rad1 $1 {White's activity is much more significant than Black's.} Rxc4 37. Qb3 Re8 38. Rd7+ Kg8 39. Bf6 Rxf4 $2 {Black was losing in any case, but this finishes things immediately.} 40. Qg3 {White wins the rook or gives mate.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.19"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Liang, Awonder"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2677"] [BlackElo "2689"] [PlyCount "54"] [GameId "2102559855047814"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 Bg4 8. Bg5 Nbd7 9. Nbd2 c6 10. c3 Qc7 11. Qc2 Rfe8 12. h3 Bh5 13. Rxe8+ Rxe8 14. Re1 Rxe1+ 15. Nxe1 a5 16. a4 Bg6 17. Nef3 Kf8 18. Nh4 Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Bf4 20. Bxf4 Qxf4 21. g3 Qd6 22. Kg2 g6 23. Nhf3 Nb6 24. Qc2 Nbd7 25. Qd3 Nb6 26. Qc2 Nbd7 27. Qd3 Nb6 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.19"] [Round "8.2"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2796"] [PlyCount "148"] [GameId "2102559855047815"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qb3 c5 6. dxc5 Nc6 7. Bg5 Qa5 8. Bxf6 dxc4 9. Qxc4 gxf6 10. Rc1 Qxc5 11. Qh4 Bxc3+ 12. Rxc3 Qb4 13. Qxb4 Nxb4 14. a3 Nd5 15. Rc2 Bd7 16. e4 Nb6 17. Bd3 Ke7 18. Ke2 Rac8 19. Rhc1 e5 20. Nd2 Rxc2 21. Rxc2 Rc8 22. Rxc8 Bxc8 23. Ke3 Be6 24. f4 exf4+ 25. Kxf4 Nd7 26. Nf3 Kd6 27. Bb5 Nf8 28. e5+ fxe5+ 29. Nxe5 f6 30. Nf3 Ng6+ 31. Ke3 Ne5 32. Nd2 Bd5 33. g3 h6 34. b4 b6 35. Be2 Ke6 36. Kf4 Ke7 37. Ke3 Ke6 38. Kf4 Ke7 39. Kf5 Be6+ 40. Ke4 Kd6 41. Kf4 Bd5 42. Ne4+ Ke6 43. Nc3 Bc4 44. Bd1 f5 45. Ke3 Ba6 46. a4 Bf1 47. h4 Nc6 48. b5 Ne5 49. Kd4 a6 50. Nd5 axb5 51. axb5 Kd6 52. Ne3 Bd3 53. Bh5 Be4 54. Be2 Bb1 55. Nd5 Nd7 56. Bf1 Be4 57. Ne3 Ne5 58. Be2 Bb1 59. h5 Nd7 60. Nc4+ Ke7 61. Bf3 Ba2 62. Ne3 Be6 63. Bd5 Nc5 64. Nc4 Nd7 65. Ne5 Nxe5 66. Kxe5 Bd7 67. Bc6 Be6 68. Bd5 Bd7 69. Bc4 Be8 70. Be2 Bd7 71. Bf1 Be6 72. Be2 Bd7 73. Bf1 Be6 74. Be2 Bd7 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.19"] [Round "8.3"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2741"] [BlackElo "2662"] [PlyCount "129"] [GameId "2102559855047816"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a5 7. Re1 h6 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. h3 Bd7 10. Nf1 a4 11. d4 Bb6 12. Ng3 Re8 13. Bf1 Ba5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Be3 b5 16. Nxe5 dxe5 17. Qf3 Rb8 18. Rad1 Qe7 19. a3 Be6 20. Nf5 Bxf5 21. Qxf5 c6 22. Rd3 g6 23. Qf3 Kg7 24. Red1 Red8 25. g3 Rxd3 26. Bxd3 Bb6 27. Bc1 Rd8 28. Kg2 Ne8 29. h4 Qe6 30. Qe2 Nd6 31. Bc2 h5 32. Bg5 Rd7 33. Rd3 Ne8 34. Rxd7 Qxd7 35. b3 axb3 36. Bxb3 Bd8 37. Bc1 Nf6 38. f3 Bb6 39. Qd2 Qxd2+ 40. Bxd2 Ne8 41. c4 Bc5 42. cxb5 cxb5 43. Bc1 Nd6 44. Kf1 Nc4 45. Bxc4 bxc4 46. Ke2 Kf6 47. a4 Ke6 48. a5 Kd7 49. Be3 Bb4 50. a6 Kc6 51. f4 exf4 52. gxf4 Be7 53. Bf2 Bd6 54. f5 gxf5 55. exf5 Be7 56. Kf3 Bf6 57. Ke4 Kc7 58. Kf3 Kc6 59. Ke2 Be7 60. Kd2 Bf6 61. Kc2 Kc7 62. Kd2 Kc6 63. Kc2 Kc7 64. Kd2 Kc6 65. Kc2 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.19"] [Round "8.4"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2733"] [BlackElo "2630"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "145"] [GameId "2102559855047817"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] {[%evp 0,145,29,11,19,25,25,22,11,23,5,17,10,5,21,-18,-5,-5,6,-2,25,10,18,8,5,-6,-1,-5,-12,-28,-11,-44,-17,-35,-27,-42,-40,-38,-23,-22,-32,-21,0,-24,-39,-38,-22,-17,-12,-24,-13,-21,-13,5,12,22,26,19,19,39,23,34,62,53,62,68,62,54,62,43,76,43,76,43,69,48,55,60,74,69,92,100,96,104,93,106,106,106,110,91,106,105,125,120,120,131,145,153,90,72,135,107,100,95,92,95,85,91,82,97,97,96,85,83,88,83,83,83,80,84,86,36,37,39,89,89,93,93,100,99,108,108,114,121,124,124,124,79,527,537,557,557,547,557,557,557,557,557]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 {Sigh.} 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 Bb6 8. h3 h6 9. Nbd2 Ne7 (9... a5 10. Bb3 Be6 11. Ba4 Nd7 12. Nf1 f5 13. exf5 Bxf5 14. d4 e4 15. N3h2 d5 16. Ng3 Bg6 17. f3 Nf6 18. Be3 Ne7 19. Rf1 c6 20. fxe4 dxe4 21. Bb3+ Ned5 22. Qd2 Kh7 23. Bxd5 Nxd5 24. Ng4 Qh4 25. Ne2 Bc7 26. Ne5 Bxe5 27. dxe5 Qe7 28. Nf4 Qxe5 29. Nxd5 cxd5 30. Bd4 Qe7 31. a4 Rae8 32. Be3 Qe5 33. b4 axb4 34. cxb4 Qe6 35. b5 Rxf1+ 36. Rxf1 Rc8 37. a5 Rc4 38. Ra1 d4 39. Bxd4 Qd5 40. Be3 Qxb5 41. Qd6 Rc3 42. Bxh6 Rd3 43. Qf8 Kxh6 44. Qh8+ Bh7 45. Rf1 Qc5+ 46. Kh1 Qd6 {0-1 Niemann,H (2733)-Nakamura,H (2802) Chess.com SpeedChess Final Paris blitz 2024 (2.22)}) 10. Bb3 (10. Nf1 c6 11. Ng3 Ng6 12. d4 exd4 13. cxd4 Nxe4 14. Nxe4 d5 15. Bd3 dxe4 16. Bxe4 Qf6 17. a4 Bf5 18. Bxf5 Qxf5 19. Qb3 Rad8 20. Be3 Qd5 21. Qc2 Rfe8 22. b4 Re6 23. Reb1 Bc7 24. b5 Bf4 25. Rb3 Rde8 26. Raa3 Bd6 27. Ra1 Ne7 28. bxc6 bxc6 29. Rc3 Nf5 30. Qb3 Qxb3 31. Rxb3 Nxe3 32. fxe3 Rxe3 33. Rxe3 Rxe3 34. Rc1 Ra3 35. Rxc6 Bg3 36. Kf1 Rxa4 37. Rc8+ Kh7 38. d5 Ra2 39. Rd8 Kg6 40. d6 Ra6 41. d7 Rd6 42. Ke2 Rd5 43. Ke3 Bc7 44. Ke4 Rd1 45. Ne5+ Kf6 46. Rc8 Bb6 47. Re8 Rd4+ 48. Kf3 h5 49. g4 hxg4+ 50. Nxg4+ Kf5 51. Re5+ Kg6 52. Re8 f6 53. Re7 Bc5 54. Re6 Kf7 55. Rc6 Bb6 56. h4 Rxd7 57. h5 Rc7 58. Rd6 Ke7 59. Rd1 Rc5 60. Re1+ Kf7 61. h6 gxh6 62. Nxh6+ Kg6 63. Ng4 Rc3+ 64. Kg2 Kg5 65. Nh2 Rc2+ 66. Kh3 f5 67. Nf3+ Kf6 68. Re8 Rf2 69. Kg3 Ra2 70. Rf8+ Ke6 71. Ng5+ Ke5 72. Nf3+ Ke6 73. Ng5+ Ke5 74. Nf3+ Ke4 75. Ng5+ Kd3 76. Rxf5 a5 77. Rb5 Bd4 78. Ne6 Be3 79. Kf3 a4 80. Rd5+ Kc4 81. Ke4 Bb6 82. Rd6 Kb5 83. Nd4+ Bxd4 84. Rxd4 Rc2 85. Kd3 Rc6 86. Rd8 a3 87. Rb8+ Ka4 88. Ra8+ Kb3 89. Rb8+ Ka2 90. Kd2 Ka1 91. Rb7 Rc5 92. Rb8 Rh5 93. Kc2 Rh2+ 94. Kc1 Rb2 95. Ra8 Rb3 96. Kc2 Rb2+ 97. Kc1 Rb3 98. Rc8 a2 99. Kc2 Rb2+ 100. Kc1 Rb1+ 101. Kc2 Rb2+ 102. Kc1 Rb1+ 103. Kc2 Rb2+ {½-½ Niemann,H (2687)-Alekseenko,K (2707) Chess.com Rapid Wk24 Swiss Chess.com INT 2022 (2)}) 10... c6 11. d4 Ng6 12. Nc4 {Very rare.} (12. Nf1) (12. Bc2) 12... Bc7 13. dxe5 dxe5 $146 (13... Nxe5 14. Nfxe5 dxe5 15. Qf3 Qe7 16. Ne3 Bb6 17. Bd2 Be6 18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. Qxf5 Rad8 20. Rad1 Rd6 21. Bc1 Rfd8 22. Rxd6 Rxd6 23. g3 Nd7 24. Rd1 Rxd1+ 25. Bxd1 Nc5 26. Be2 Qe6 27. Qxe6 fxe6 28. Kg2 Nxe4 29. f3 Nd6 30. g4 Bd8 31. Be3 b6 32. Bd3 Bg5 33. Bf2 Bc1 34. b3 Bd2 35. c4 c5 36. Kf1 Kf7 37. Ke2 Bc3 38. h4 Bd4 39. Bg3 g5 40. h5 a5 41. Be1 Ke7 42. Bd2 Kd7 43. Bg6 Ke7 44. Kd3 Kf6 45. a3 Ke7 46. b4 axb4 47. axb4 cxb4 48. Bxb4 Bc5 49. Bc3 Kf6 50. Be4 Nf7 51. Kc2 Nd6 52. Kb3 Nf7 53. Ka4 Nd6 54. Bd3 Be3 55. Bb4 Bc5 56. Bc3 Bd4 57. Bd2 Bc5 58. Bc1 Bd4 59. Kb3 e4 60. fxe4 Ke5 61. Ba3 Bc5 62. Bb2+ Bd4 63. Ba3 Bc5 64. Bb2+ Bd4 65. Ba3 {½-½ Vachier Lagrave,M (2763)-Carlsen,M (2855) Meltwater Tour Final chess24.com INT rapid 2021 (3.6)}) 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. a4 a5 $146 {White has less than nothing in terms of the position's evaluation. There's enough going on to keep the game going, though, and that's what the stronger player - in this case Niemann - wants.} (15... Be6 16. Ncd2 Bxb3 17. Nxb3 Nf8 18. Nfd2 Ne6 19. Nc4 Rd7 20. f3 Rad8 21. Be3 b6 22. Kf2 Kf8 {½-½ Matikozian,A (2429)-Amanov,Z (2399) Los Angeles Metropolitan 25th 2013 (1)}) 16. Na3 Rb8 17. Bc4 Bd7 18. Bf1 Be6 19. Nc4 Ra8 20. g3 b5 {Showing some signs of antsiness. This is the sort of move I tell students is wrong, even when it's right. What I mean is that it may be perfectly fine according to the engine, but it creates a situation where the likelihood of further problems and further errors is raised considerably. There's a sense in which this is the losing move - not because it's a blunder, but because Black is going to have make concessions after White's next move, concessions that will force him to play with much more precision than was necessary in positions where he doesn't play ...b5 (especially on this move).} ({The engine is on board with ...b5, but wants to first prepare it with} 20... Rdb8 $142 $11) 21. Na3 $1 bxa4 {Not the end of the world, but it wasn't necessary to take on three isolated pawns to maintain equality.} 22. Nc4 Nd7 23. Be3 Bxc4 24. Bxc4 Bb6 25. Bc1 Nc5 26. h4 Nd3 $2 {This eliminates White's bishop pair, but the knight on c5 helped glue Black's fragmented queenside together.} (26... Bc7 $1 $11 {was correct, overprotecting e5 in anticipation of h4-h5.}) 27. Bxd3 Rxd3 28. Kg2 $16 Bc7 29. Nd2 (29. Rxa4 $16) 29... Rb8 30. Nc4 Nf8 31. Rxa4 Rb5 32. Be3 Ne6 33. Rea1 {Holding such a position is bad enough against a peer; against a stronger opponent one's chances are slim.} Rd8 $6 (33... g6 $1 {was best, aimed against White's 34th move in the game. Note that} 34. Bxh6 $2 {doesn't work because of} Nc5 $11 {, regaining the pawn. (And White's e-pawn is far more valuable than Black's h-pawn.)}) 34. h5 $18 Rdb8 35. Kf3 Kf8 36. R1a2 Ke7 37. Ke2 Nc5 38. Bxc5+ $1 {Forced in any case, but the exchange helps White.} Rxc5 39. Kd3 Kf6 40. Kc2 Kg5 41. Nxa5 Bxa5 42. Rxa5 Rxa5 43. Rxa5 Kxh5 44. Rxe5+ Kg4 45. Rf5 {This ending *looks like* it should be a breeze, as White's 2-1 queenside majority is quickly and easily advanced. In reality, it proves surprisingly tricky.} f6 46. b4 Rd8 47. c4 h5 48. Kc3 Rd6 49. c5 Re6 50. Kd4 g5 51. Ke3 $1 h4 52. gxh4 gxh4 53. Rf4+ (53. f3+ $1 {was more precise and would have made the win a lot easier.} Kg3 54. Rf4 h3 55. Rg4+ Kh2 56. Rg6 $1 $18) 53... Kg5 $1 54. Kf3 $2 {Surprisingly, this is a serious error.} (54. f3 Re8 55. Rg4+ Kh5 56. Rg1 $1 Rb8 57. Kf4 $1 Rxb4 58. Kf5 $1 h3 59. Kxf6 Rb8 60. Rh1 Kh4 61. e5 Rf8+ 62. Ke7 Rxf3 63. e6 $1 Rd3 64. Kf6 Rf3+ 65. Ke5 Re3+ 66. Kd6 {This is progress, but even here it's not completely obvious how White is going to win if Black's rook alternates between checks and attacks on whichever White passer is unprotected at any given moment.} Rd3+ 67. Kxc6 Re3 68. Kd5 Rd3+ 69. Ke4 $1 Rd2 70. Kf3 $1 Rd3+ 71. Kf4 Rd4+ 72. Ke5 Rd2 73. Re1 $1 $18) 54... Re8 $1 {Now it should be drawn, believe it or not.} 55. Rg4+ Kh5 56. Rg7 h3 (56... Rh8 {is also good.}) 57. Rg3 h2 58. Rh3+ Kg6 59. Rxh2 Rb8 60. Kg4 Rxb4 61. f3 f5+ $5 (61... Rc4 62. Rh5 Rc1 63. Rf5 Rc4 64. Kf4 Rc3 65. Kg3 Rc2 {and White can't make progress.}) 62. Kf4 Rc4 63. Ke5 fxe4 64. fxe4 Rxc5+ 65. Kd6 Ra5 66. e5 c5 (66... Rd5+ 67. Ke6 Kg7 $11) 67. e6 c4 $1 68. Rg2+ Kf5 $2 {Black hopes for a scenario where he gives up his rook for the e-pawn while his king shepherds the c-pawn to the point where White must in turn give up his rook for the pawn. It's a typical idea, but it doesn't work here.} (68... Kf6 $1 69. Rf2+ Kg7 $1 70. Rf7+ (70. e7 Ra6+ $11 {draws. Black's rook has enough distance between itself and the king, so White must either allow an eventual repetition or surrender his e-pawn.}) 70... Kg6 $1 71. Rf8 Ra6+ $1 72. Kd7 Ra7+ $1 $11) 69. e7 Ra6+ 70. Kd5 $1 Ra5+ 71. Kd4 $1 {A sideways "umbrella" - the Black's c-pawn shields White's king from checks.} Ra8 (71... Re5 72. Rf2+ $18) 72. Rf2+ Ke6 73. Rf8 {No c-pawn would mean this was drawn - 73...Ra4+ and 74...Kxe7. Black was betrayed by his own pawn.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.10.19"] [Round "8.5"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2693"] [PlyCount "120"] [GameId "2102559855047818"] [EventDate "2024.10.11"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. Nge2 Nf6 4. g3 g6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Bg7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. h3 Nc6 9. Be3 Bd7 10. O-O Qc8 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Kh2 Rb8 13. Rb1 c5 14. Re1 Re8 15. Qd2 Bc6 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. exd5 Qa6 18. a3 Rb7 19. b4 Reb8 20. Rb3 cxb4 21. axb4 Qc4 22. Kg1 Rc8 23. Re2 Ne4 24. Bxe4 Qxe4 25. Bg5 Qd4 26. Qxd4 Bxd4 27. Bxe7 Re8 28. Rd2 Bxf2+ 29. Kxf2 Rexe7 30. c4 Re4 31. Rc2 a6 32. b5 axb5 33. cxb5 Rd4 34. b6 Kg7 35. Rb5 Kf6 36. Ke3 Ke5 37. Rc8 Rd1 38. g4 Rh1 39. Re8+ Kf6 40. Kf4 Rxh3 41. g5+ Kg7 42. Rd8 h5 43. gxh6+ Rxh6 44. Kg3 g5 45. Rc8 Rh8 46. Rxh8 Kxh8 47. Kg4 Kg7 48. Kxg5 Kf8 49. Kf5 Ke8 50. Ke4 Kd8 51. Kd4 Kc8 52. Rb1 Rb8 53. Rc1+ Kb7 54. Rc6 Rd8 55. Ke4 Re8+ 56. Kf4 Re5 57. Rxd6 f6 58. Rxf6 Rxd5 59. Rf5 Rxf5+ 60. Kxf5 Kxb6 1/2-1/2