[Event "Sinquefield Cup 2022"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.03"] [Round "2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2864"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ {This line has never been Black's primary choice in the Bogo. But some decades ago, Andersson and Spassky used the line effectively to neutralize White's opening pressure.} 5. Qxd2 d5 6. Nc3 O-O 7. e3 Qe7 8. Rc1 dxc4 ({The text move is departure from what Magnus has previously played in this variation:} 8... Rd8 9. Qc2 ({or} 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bd3 Nc6 11. Bb5 Rd6 12. Bxc6 Rxc6 13. Ne5 Re6 14. f3 b6 15. O-O Bb7 {and White had a tiny edge in Bacrot,E (2713)-Carlsen,M (2837) Biel 2012}) 9... dxc4 ({ in an earlier game between the combatants in the main game, Black continued} 9... a6 10. a3 Nbd7 11. Be2 dxc4 12. Bxc4 c5 13. Be2 b5 14. dxc5 Qxc5 15. b4 Qe7 {and Black had equalized in Aronian,L (2809)-Carlsen,M (2872) London 2013}) 10. Bxc4 c5 11. O-O cxd4 12. Nxd4 Bd7 13. Rfd1 Nc6 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. Bb5 Rac8 16. Rxd8+ Qxd8 17. Rd1 Qe7 18. Bxc6 Rxc6 {and Black had equalized, Nakamura,H (2787)-Carlsen,M (2855) Leuven 2016.}) (8... Nbd7 {was the preferred move by Andersson.}) 9. Bxc4 c5 10. dxc5 Rd8 11. Qe2 Qxc5 12. O-O Nc6 13. Bb3 ({ Rather surprisingly, this natural move is the first new move. Previously, White had tried a few other things in this position: a)} 13. Rfd1 Bd7 14. Bd3 Qh5 15. Ne4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Be8 17. Rxd8 Rxd8 18. Rd1 Rxd1+ 19. Qxd1 Qc5 { with equality in Megaranto,S (2529)-Antonio,R (2541) Tagaytay City 2013.}) ({b) } 13. a3 Bd7 14. b4 Qh5 15. Rfd1 Ne5 16. Nxe5 Qxe5 17. f4 Qc7 18. Bd3 Rac8 19. Qe1 Qb6 20. Ne4 Ba4 21. Nxf6+ gxf6 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 {and the chances are about equal in the endgame, Girya,O (2461)-Mammadzada,G (2438) Antalya 2019.}) 13... Qa5 (13... Qh5 $5) 14. Qc4 Ne5 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 16. Bd1 Bd7 {Black has equalized.} 17. Bf3 Rac8 18. Qb4 b6 19. Rfd1 Qc5 {An invitation to exchange a bunch of pieces and head down the path toward the draw.} 20. Qxc5 Rxc5 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. Bxe4 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Rc8 24. Rxc8+ Bxc8 {It is too early to draw, but the players soon enough find a position where they can repeat moves.} 25. f4 h6 26. Kf2 Kf8 27. Ke1 Ke7 28. Kd2 Kd6 29. g3 e5 30. a3 f6 31. Kc3 Kc5 32. b4+ Kd6 33. Kc4 Ba6+ 34. Kc3 Bc8 35. Kc4 Ba6+ 36. Kc3 Bc8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.03"] [Round "2"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2792"] [BlackElo "2778"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 a6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Qc2 $5 ({ This is a super rare move. The main moves are} 7. Nc3) ({and} 7. e3 {which often even transpose to the same positions.}) 7... Nxd4 8. Nxd4 Qxd4 9. Nd2 c3 10. bxc3 Qc5 11. Ne4 Nxe4 12. Bxe4 Bd6 $6 ({This is possibly not the best. A better choice was} 12... Be7 $5 13. Be3 Qh5 14. Rab1 c6 15. f4 {when White has full, but probably not more than that, compensation for the sacrificed pawn.}) 13. Rb1 f5 14. Bg2 O-O 15. Be3 ({The computer assesses} 15. c4 $5 {as the better option.}) 15... Qa5 16. c4 f4 17. Bd4 Be5 18. Qb2 ({Here,} 18. Rfd1 Bxd4 19. Rxd4 fxg3 20. hxg3 {gives White a small but clear advantage. Black has problems getting his queenside pieces developed without losing a bunch of pawns.}) 18... Bxd4 19. Qxd4 e5 20. Qd5+ Qxd5 21. Bxd5+ Kh8 22. Bxb7 Rb8 23. Bxc8 Rfxc8 {It could look like the game would be heading toward a draw, but due to Black's countless pawn weaknesses, particularly the advanced e- and f-pawns, White has excellent practical chances.} 24. Rfd1 Kg8 25. Rxb8 Rxb8 26. Rd5 Rb4 $2 ({A mistake; now Black's problems get serious. A better option was} 26... fxg3 27. hxg3 e4 28. Rd4 Rb2 {when Black has excellent chances of holding the draw.}) 27. Rxe5 fxg3 28. hxg3 Rxc4 29. Ra5 Rc6 30. Kg2 Kf7 31. f4 Ke7 32. e4 Rb6 $2 ({This endgame is already very difficult for Black, but apparently the text move makes everything much worse. The better defense was} 32... h6 33. Kh3 Kf6 34. Kg4 g6 {, but after} 35. e5+ Kf7 36. Ra4 {, White has excellent winning chances.}) 33. Kf3 Rc6 34. f5 $2 (34. g4 $1 {was much better. }) 34... Kf7 $2 35. g4 {Now the engine claims this as completely winning for White and Nepo takes home the full point in convincing fashion.} h6 36. Kf4 Ke7 37. Ra4 Rb6 38. Rc4 Kd8 39. e5 Rb1 40. Rc6 Rb4+ 41. Kf3 Rb5 42. Ke4 Rb4+ 43. Kd5 Rxg4 44. Ke6 Kc8 45. Rxa6 Kb7 46. Ra3 Rg2 47. Kf7 Rf2 48. f6 Kc6 49. Kxg7 Kd7 50. Kf7 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.03"] [Round "2"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2773"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 ({Earlier this year, So tried} 11... Bb4 12. Ne2 Be6 13. Ned4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bd5 15. a3 Be7 16. Nf5 Be4 17. Nxe7 Kxe7 {with equal chances in Shirov,A (2704)-So,W (2772) Berlin 2022.}) 12. Rad1 Nh4 ({Or} 12... Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. g3 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Nxh4 19. f3 {is considered marginally better for White and was seen in, among others, Naiditsch,A (2718)-So,W (2719) Wijk aan Zee 2014.}) 13. Nd4 ({MVL has also tried} 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Ne2 g5 15. Bg3 Bxg3 16. Nxg3 Ke7 17. f4 gxf4 18. Rxf4 Be6 19. Nf5+ Bxf5 20. Rxf5 Rag8 {with an equal endgame in Vachier Lagrave,M (2757)-Caruana,F (2776) Saint Louis 2022.}) 13... Nf5 14. Nce2 g5 ({Or} 14... Nxd4 15. Nxd4 g5 16. Bh2 Rh6 17. f4 gxf4 18. Bxf4 Rg6 19. Kh2 Bd7 20. Be3 Rd8 {with equal chances in Vachier-Lagrave,M (2766) -Martirosyan,H (2624) Terme Catez 2021.}) 15. Bh2 Rh6 ({Black should not play} 15... a6 $6 16. e6 Nd6 17. Rfe1 Rh6 18. exf7+ Kxf7 19. Nf3 g4 20. Ne5+ Kg7 21. Bf4 {and Black was in serious trouble in Vachier-Lagrave,M (2703)-Caruana,F (2670) Biel 2009.}) 16. Rfe1 ({White achieves less after} 16. Nxf5 Bxf5 17. Nd4 Bd7 18. f4 gxf4 $6 (18... Rd8 $1 {seems to equalize}) 19. Bxf4 Rg6 20. e6 Bxe6 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bxc7 {with a tiny edge for White in Muzychuk,A (2533) -Goryachkina,A (2604) Terme Catez 2021.}) 16... Rg6 ({Or} 16... a6 17. Nxf5 Bxf5 18. Nd4 Be6 19. Nxe6 Rxe6 20. g4 hxg4 21. hxg4 {and White was marginally better in Karjakin,S (2775)-Aronian,L (2815) Beijing 2012.}) 17. Nxf5 Bxf5 18. Nd4 Bd7 ({This appears better than} 18... Be6 19. Nxe6 Rxe6 20. f4 Bc5+ 21. Kf1 gxf4 22. Bxf4 {and soon a draw was agreed in Blank,W (2453)-Osipov,A (2406) ICCF email 2019.}) 19. e6 Bxe6 20. Nxe6 ({Or} 20. Bxc7 Bd7 21. Re5 Kf8 22. Nf5 Bxf5 23. Rxf5 {and a draw was agreed, ½-½ , in Shpakovsky,A (2531)-Voll,A (2572) ICCF email 2015.}) 20... Rxe6 21. Rxe6 fxe6 22. Bxc7 Bf6 {White has a minimal edge, but I find it difficult to believe that So would lose this endgame. However, the French grandmaster gives it a good try.} 23. Kf1 a5 ({Or } 23... c5 24. Ba5 b6 25. Bd2 Bxb2 26. Bxg5 Bd4 {and Black should not be worse in any meaningful way.}) 24. a4 b5 25. b3 Ra7 26. Bb6 Rb7 27. Bxa5 bxa4 28. bxa4 Rb2 29. c3 Ra2 30. Rd6 Rxa4 31. Bb4 c5 32. Bxc5 Bxc3 33. Rxe6+ {White has won a pawn, but the sober engines and soon also the players agree that there are no chances for White to win.} Kf7 34. Re7+ Kf6 35. Rc7 Bd4 36. Ra7 Rc4 37. Ra6+ Kf7 38. Bxd4 Rxd4 39. Ra7+ Kg6 40. Ra6+ Kg7 41. Ra7+ Kg6 42. Ra6+ Kg7 43. Ra7+ Kg6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.03"] [Round "2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "*"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2776"] [BlackElo "2754"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. O-O-O Nf6 10. Bd3 Re8 11. h3 c5 12. g4 Qa5 ({Here, the players depart from official theory. Previously, Black had played} 12... Be6 13. g5 Nd5 14. h4 Nxe3 15. Qxe3 d5 16. Ne5 Bd6 17. f4 Qc7 18. Qg3 Rad8 19. Rhe1 c4 20. Bf1 Kh8 21. Qf3 f6 22. gxf6 gxf6 {which the computer assesses as equal and also eventually led to a draw in Pirs,M (2510)-Bondars,G (2423) ICCF email 2017.}) 13. a3 d5 14. c4 Qa4 15. c3 dxc4 16. Bc2 Qa6 17. g5 Nh5 18. Ne5 Be6 19. f4 Ng3 20. Rhe1 Nf5 {Thus far, both players were happily playing their prep, although Dominguez must have wondered what Caruana had in mind, considering that the engines assess this position as completely equal. Well, he soon found out. It may be equal to an engine, but faced with surprises and adversity, things are rarely completely equal.} 21. Bxc5 $3 {BOOM $3 The exclamation points are exclusively for style points and surprise value. The position is still equal according to the engines, but now Dominguez faces serious practical problems to solve.} Bxc5 22. Bxf5 Bxf5 23. Qd5 Bf2 $1 {Dominguez defends with precision. } 24. Qxf7+ Kh8 25. Qxf5 Bxe1 26. Rxe1 Rf8 $4 ({This is a blunder. It is necessary to play} 26... Rad8 $1 {(only move), when} 27. h4 g6 28. Qe4 Kg8 { accurately allows Black to hold the balance. After the text move, White is winning.}) 27. Qe4 $2 ({With an hour left on the clock, Caruana misses the winning line} 27. Qd7 $1 Rxf4 28. Nf7+ Rxf7 29. Qxf7 Qg6 30. Qxg6 hxg6 31. Re7 {which is trivially won for someone like Caruana: Black's king is boxed in, the pawns are weak, and the rook is hopelessly passive.}) 27... Rad8 $2 ({ Black makes another mistake. After} 27... Qe6 28. g6 Qf5 29. Nf7+ Rxf7 30. gxf7 Qxf7 {, Black should be able to hold the draw.}) 28. f5 $1 {Despite having just a pawn for the exchange, White has a large advantage because of the powerful knight on e5 and the pawn majority marching toward Black's king.} b5 $2 (28... Qd6 {is better but still miserable for Black. Now, however, things get worse.}) 29. Nc6 $1 Rc8 ({For a moment during the game, the transmission showed Black playing} 29... Rd7 $4 {at this point, allowing White to win with} 30. Nb8 Qd6 31. Nxd7 Qxd7 32. Rd1 Qc8 33. Rd5 {and Black is hopelessly tied down and missing a pawn .}) 30. Ne7 Rce8 31. Qh4 $2 ({A mistake. White is winning after} 31. f6 Qd6 (31... gxf6 {is met by} 32. g6 $1) 32. fxg7+ Kxg7 33. Nf5+ Rxf5 34. Qxe8 Qf4+ 35. Kb1 Qxg5 36. Re7+ Kh6 37. Qd7 {and Black, with his open king, will not survive for long.}) 31... Qd6 32. Re4 $6 ({Although it is difficult to think that Black will lose after} 32. Ng6+ Kg8 33. Nxf8 Rxe1+ 34. Qxe1 Qf4+ 35. Qd2 Qf1+ 36. Qd1 Qf4+ 37. Kb1 Qxf5+ 38. Ka2 Kxf8 39. Qd6+ Kf7 { , the computer considers this best.}) 32... Rd8 33. Ng6+ Kg8 34. Rd4 hxg6 35. Rxd6 Rxd6 36. fxg6 Rxg6 {The troubles are mostly over for Black.} 37. a4 a6 38. Qg3 Re6 39. axb5 axb5 40. g6 Rff6 41. Qb8+ Rf8 42. Qxb5 Rf1+ 43. Kd2 Rf2+ 44. Kd1 Rf1+ 45. Kd2 Rf2+ 46. Kd1 Rf1+ * [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.03"] [Round "2"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2687"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitão"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] {[%evp 0,98,19,-12,-12,-15,-18,-24,-24,-32,17,22,32,35,29,41,41,41,22,18,28,30, 34,58,56,55,54,14,32,24,50,-48,32,12,116,-79,-1,7,-28,-30,-18,-26,5,-32,-26, -42,3,-41,69,69,71,63,61,56,82,82,102,102,117,100,115,119,127,109,119,73,76,82, 75,84,86,88,129,101,155,171,176,201,201,223,220,226,236,94,123,138,234,234,234, 234,234,492,367,368,768,640,768,435,540,468,768] Hans Niemann is a very popular figure right now in the chess world. He gave some hilarious interviews during the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz Championship, and those were always a joy to watch. He is young, confident, and plays all his games to win; he is never afraid even when facing the absolute elite of chess. More than all this, what strikes me as particularly interesting about this player is that he seems to work very hard on his chess, and his rise to the top has been meteoric. His opponent in this game is the already legendary Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, a player who is admired all over the world for his fearless style. This clash promised and delivered fireworks.} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e4 {This is currently a fashionable variation of the English Four Knights Opening. It's curious that I have become a sort of \"specialist\" in this line, although I have never played it in an official over-the-board game. But times have changed, and when searching in an online database, I found no fewer than 16 of my own games, all played in Titled Tuesdays. Of course, the reader can find more qualified players to follow in case they decide to study this variation, but I must say my score is not bad at all. Given my poor Titled Tuesday record, this shows that this line must be really very good for White.} Bc5 (4... Bb4 { is a more reliable move.}) 5. Nxe5 $1 {This is the point; otherwise, Black has very comfortable play.} Nxe5 (5... Bxf2+ $2 {is a typical resource, but here it's just losing.} 6. Kxf2 Nxe5 7. d4 {and White has an overwhelming advantage. I played a few online games in this position, but since they were not played in any official event, they cannot (luckily) be found.}) (5... O-O $5 { Nakamura played this against me in a Titled Tuesday once. I was surprised and reacted poorly with} 6. Nxc6 $2 (6. Nf3 $1 {is better.} Nxe4 7. Nxe4 Re8 8. d3 f5 9. Be2 fxe4 10. dxe4 {with the advantage.}) 6... dxc6 {Black has great compensation for the pawn.}) 6. d4 Bb4 7. dxe5 Nxe4 {Now White has a difficult decision between 8.Qd4 and 8.Qf3. To me, it's not clear which is better, but the latter is more popular these days.} 8. Qf3 (8. Qd4 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Be7 10. Qg4 {with a complicated game.}) 8... Nxc3 (8... Qh4 $2 {loses after} 9. g3 Ng5 10. Qe2 Qe4 11. Bxg5 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Qxh1 13. f3 {and the h1-queen will soon be captured.}) 9. bxc3 Ba5 (9... Bc5 {This was played against me by German GM Rasmus Svane.} 10. Qg3 g6 $2 (10... Kf8 {is necessary.}) 11. Bd3 {and I had such a good position that even my poor play was unable to spoil it.}) 10. Bf4 O-O 11. O-O-O $5 {It looks crazy for the untrained (or unprepared) eye to direct the king toward such a scattered pawn structure. But if the computers say it's good, we have to study it. More conservative (or lazier) players might consider 11.Rd1 or 11.Be2 and castling short.} Qe7 12. Kb2 {This is necessary to avoid a queen invasion.} Rb8 $1 {An excellent move, creating an x-ray with the king and getting ready for counterplay with b7-b5. This is still mainstream opening theory.} 13. Qe3 $1 {A strong prophylactic move. White gets ready to meet 13...b5 with 14.c5. If White manages to stop Black's counterplay on the queenside, then he is ready for a devastating kingside attack. Let's not forget that Black's king is completely abandoned by his pieces. When the bishop gets to d3, checkmate is going to be a real possibility.} (13. Bd3 {This was played by Carlsen against Caruana, when all this was still new to everyone. Black has good counterplay after} b5 $1 14. cxb5 Bb7 {Carlsen - Caruana, Douglas 2019.}) 13... b6 $6 $146 {This is a new and strange move. Black's counterplay is usually connected with b7-b5, so why advance this move only one square $2} (13... b5 {was tried in a few games.} 14. c5 $1 b4 15. c4 b3 16. a3 $1 {and it seems Black still has problems to solve.} (16. axb3 $6 Bb4)) (13... Bb6 {was played in a recent email game and is the first suggestion of the computer. I guess future games will say whether this move is enough to solve Black's problems.}) 14. Bd3 (14. h4 $1 {is a typical plan and also very strong. White prepares 15.Rh3, and the rook is useful both on attack and defense.}) 14... Qe6 (14... f6 {Maybe Black should try this move. With the bishop on d3, 15.exf6 is not so good because the c3-pawn will be hanging after 15...Qxf6.}) 15. Qg3 {Not the most accurate. I think 15.Qe4 or 15.h4 is better.} (15. Qe4 g6 16. Bh6 Re8 17. Rhe1 {with the advantage.}) (15. h4 $5 {and the idea of Rh3 is also promising.}) 15... Re8 {The idea of this move is to avoid Bg5.} (15... b5 {is interesting. Play might continue:} 16. c5 (16. cxb5 {This move is not what White usually wants to play.} Bb7 {[%CAl Gb7c6,Ga7a6] With the idea of Bc6 followed by a6 with good compensation.}) 16... Ba6 {with a very complicated position. One of the computer lines goes} 17. Bg5 b4 18. c4 b3 $1 19. axb3 Bxc4 20. Bxc4 Qxc4 21. Bh6 Qe2+ 22. Ka1 g6 23. Bxf8 Kxf8 24. Qe3 Qxe3 25. fxe3 Bc3+ 26. Ka2 Ke7 {and the e5-pawn will fall, and Black has good drawing chances.}) 16. Rhe1 {Preparing Bg5 again now that the e5-pawn is protected.} b5 {Mamedyarov starts his counterplay. This is a critical position.} 17. c5 $2 {This is a mistake because the e1-rook will be hanging. I understand Niemann probably saw this and decided to sacrifice the exchange, but the stone- hearted computer is not impressed.} (17. cxb5 $1 { is better with big complications.}) 17... b4 18. c4 b3 $1 {This is the point.} 19. axb3 Bxe1 20. Rxe1 a5 $2 {After this move, the exchange sacrifice is fully justified, and White achieves enormous compensation. Black should open the center with 20...d6 or 20...d5.} (20... d6 $1 {20...d5 is the same.} 21. cxd6 cxd6 {[%CAl Gd6d5] and White has some compensation for the exchange, but objectively Black is better.}) 21. Bd2 $1 {A very good move, preparing to meet 21...a4 with 22.b4.} (21. Qh4 g6 22. Bd2 $1 {is also good with the same idea.}) 21... Ba6 (21... a4 22. b4 {with a winning position for White due to the big space advantage. The rooks have no columns to control, and the king is very insecure.}) 22. Qh4 g6 23. Qd4 $1 {I like this move a lot, centralizing the queen.} (23. Bxa5 $6 {is not so clear after} Qc6 $1) 23... Rb7 {This is the only plan for counterplay. The game flows logically.} 24. Bxa5 Reb8 25. b4 Rxb4+ $1 {Otherwise Black can resign.} 26. Bxb4 Rxb4+ 27. Kc3 Rb8 28. Be4 Qe8 ( 28... Bxc4 $5 {is an interesting try to complicate the game. After} 29. Qxc4 Qxe5+ 30. Kd3 Qb2 $1 {White has to find the precise} 31. Bd5 $1 Qxf2 32. Qc3 $1 {Everything is protected, and the position is winning.}) 29. Bd5 (29. Rd1 $1 { is more accurate.}) 29... Bb7 30. Rb1 Ba8 $2 {This move loses.} (30... Bxd5 $1 {is the only chance. After} 31. Rxb8 Qxb8 32. cxd5 (32. Qxd5 Qe8 $14) 32... Qb5 {Black can fight for the draw.}) 31. Rxb8 Qxb8 32. Bxa8 Qxa8 33. Qxd7 Qa1+ 34. Kb4 Qxe5 35. Kb5 {The c7-pawn will fall, and White has an easy winning position. This is a good time to pay respect for the doubled pawns, an often-misunderstood positional element of chess. Doubled pawns are usually not as bad as people think. Here, for instance, this extra pawn on c4 serves as a shelter for the king against the checks.} h5 36. Kc6 Qxh2 37. Qd8+ Kh7 38. Qf6 Qxg2+ 39. Kxc7 {The rest is easy.} Qe4 40. Qxf7+ Kh6 41. Qd5 Qe7+ 42. Kb6 Qf6+ 43. c6 Qxf2+ 44. Kb7 Qb2+ 45. Qb5 Qg2 46. Kb8 h4 47. c7 Qg3 48. Kb7 Qf3+ 49. Qd5 Qb3+ 1-0