[Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.13"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2661"] [BlackElo "2738"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "80"] [GameId "2232730534552237"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,80,14,26,18,22,-9,11,13,1,7,7,4,0,-3,-5,0,-3,7,-5,-15,-4,-2,-37,14,35,13,138,26,263,41,66,72,-70,29,74,80,85,75,90,112,90,92,49,68,61,24,40,-124,88,52,239,44,26,35,183,70,46,50,51,60,23,75,24,-149,17,38,38,27,31,26,33,55,38,28,25,1,42,31,41,-16,32,41]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O (4... d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 $5 {was what Caruana played against Oparin yesterday, going on to win in crushing style.}) 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 $5 {If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. This recapture is even rarer here than in the Caruana-Oparin game.} d5 {Had Black castled on move 6 (see the note to move 4) this would have transposed, but Oparin played 6...c6. The games remain distinct.} 7. Nf3 c5 8. e3 Nc6 {Carlsen has had this position with White several times and done well, but how much of that is thanks to the opening and how much thanks to Carlsen is almost always an open question.} 9. dxc5 {Very rare.} (9. Bb2 b6 10. cxd5 exd5 11. c4 Bg4 12. cxd5 Qxd5 13. Bc4 Qh5 14. Ne5 Rac8 15. Nxg4 Qxg4 16. d5 Na5 17. Be2 Qg6 18. Bd3 Qh6 19. Bf5 Rcd8 20. e4 Nb7 21. f3 Nd6 22. Bh3 Nh5 23. g3 f5 24. e5 Nb5 25. Rd1 Rfe8 26. Kf2 Nd4 27. Bxd4 cxd4 28. Rde1 Rc8 29. Qxf5 Rc3 30. Rhf1 d3 31. Kg2 d2 32. Rd1 Re3 33. d6 R3xe5 34. d7 Re2+ 35. Kh1 Rd8 36. Qd5+ Kh8 37. Qf5 Nf6 38. f4 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2859)-Gukesh,D (2725) Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2022 (1.24)}) (9. a4 Re8 10. cxd5 exd5 11. dxc5 Ne4 (11... Qa5 12. Be2 Bf5 13. Qb2 d4 14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. exd4 Bd3 16. Be3 Bxe2 17. Kxe2 Nd5 18. Rhe1 Qa6+ 19. Kd2 h6 20. Qb5 Qf6 21. a5 Qf5 22. Qd3 Qg4 23. g3 Rad8 24. Kc2 Re6 25. Bd2 Nf6 26. Rxe6 Qxe6 27. c4 Qc6 28. Be3 Nd7 29. d5 Qc7 30. Qd4 Rc8 31. a6 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2863)-Giri,A (2764) Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup Final chess24.com INT 2020 (2.7)}) 12. Bd3 h6 13. Ba3 Qa5 14. O-O Nxc5 15. Bb5 Ne4 16. c4 a6 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. cxd5 cxd5 19. Rfc1 Bd7 20. Bb2 Rac8 21. Qd1 Rxc1 22. Qxc1 Rc8 23. Qd1 Qb4 24. Be5 Bxa4 25. Qxd5 Bc6 26. Qa2 Bb5 27. h3 Qc4 28. Qxc4 Bxc4 29. Nd4 Nc5 30. Nf5 Re8 31. Bxg7 Be6 32. Nd6 Rd8 33. Be5 Kh7 34. Ra5 Nd3 35. Bg3 Nb4 36. Ra4 Nd5 37. Rxa6 Nc3 38. Kh2 Rd7 39. Be5 Nd5 40. e4 Ne7 41. Ne8 Ng8 42. Ra8 f5 43. Nc7 Re7 44. Bd6 Rd7 45. Nxe6 Rxd6 46. exf5 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2863)-Giri,A (2764) Chess24 Banter Blitz Cup Final chess24.com INT 2020 (2.1)}) 9... e5 $1 10. a4 Bg4 11. Ba3 $146 (11. cxd5 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Qxd5 13. Be2 Qe6 14. h4 Rfd8 15. h5 h6 16. Ba3 Rd7 17. Rd1 Rxd1+ 18. Kxd1 Rc8 19. Kc1 Na5 20. c4 Re8 21. Kd2 Rd8+ 22. Ke1 Nc6 23. Kf1 a5 24. Kg2 Qe7 25. Bd1 Qe6 26. Be2 Qe7 27. Qb1 Rd2 28. Kf1 Rd8 29. Bc1 Nh7 30. Bb2 Ng5 31. Bc3 Ne6 32. Rg1 Nxc5 33. Qb5 Nd3 34. Qb1 Nc5 35. Qb5 Nd3 36. Qb1 Nc5 {½-½ Szabo,V (2402)-Willmann,B (2365) ST-2021-0-00198 LSS email}) 11... Re8 $11 12. O-O-O e4 $2 ({The crazy-looking} 12... d4 $1 {was the only acceptable move.} 13. exd4 exd4 14. cxd4 Ne4 $1 15. d5 Qf6 $1 16. Qb2 $1 Ne5 17. Bd3 Qf4+ 18. Kb1 Nxf3 19. gxf3 Bxf3 20. Rhg1 g6 21. Rc1 Rac8 $1 22. Bxe4 Rxe4 23. Qc3 Be2 24. Bb2 f6 25. Qxf6 Qxf6 26. Bxf6 Kf7 $11 {White is up two pawns for the moment, but between the opposite-colored bishops and White's weak c-pawns this can only end in a draw.}) 13. h3 $1 $18 Be6 14. cxd5 Nxd5 15. c4 Qf6 16. Bb2 $6 (16. cxd5 $1 Qa1+ 17. Kd2 Qxa3 18. dxe6 exf3 19. exf7+ Kxf7 20. Bc4+ Kf6 {It looks ridiculous, I know, but allowing Qf5+ is much worse.} 21. gxf3 Rad8+ 22. Ke2 Nd4+ 23. Rxd4 Rxd4 24. Bb3 $18) 16... Ndb4 $1 $16 {/+-} 17. Bxf6 Nxc2 18. Kxc2 gxf6 19. Nd4 {White still enjoys a hefty advantage.} Ne5 20. Kc3 $6 (20. Nxe6 $142 fxe6 21. Rd4 f5 22. g4 $1 $16 {/+-}) 20... Rac8 21. Nb3 $6 (21. Nb5 $1 Rxc5 22. Nd6 Rb8 23. Nxe4 Rc6 24. Rd6 $16) 21... Nd7 $14 22. Rd4 Nxc5 (22... f5) 23. Nxc5 Rxc5 24. Rxe4 Ra5 25. Kb4 Rxa4+ $1 {A nice trick. White's still very slightly better, but Niemann will hold this - the f-pawns aren't genuinely weak.} 26. Kxa4 Bd7+ 27. Kb4 Rxe4 {In the old days before the Sofia Rules, the draw would be agreed to here.} 28. Bd3 Re5 29. Ra1 Bc6 30. Rxa7 Bxg2 31. Ra1 Bxh3 32. Rh1 Bd7 33. Bxh7+ Kf8 34. Bd3 Ke7 35. Rh4 b6 36. Rh8 Kd6 37. Rh6 Ke7 38. Rh8 Kd6 39. Rh6 Ke7 40. Rh8 Kd6 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.13"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2654"] [BlackElo "2577"] [WhiteFideId "2004887"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "143"] [GameId "2232730534552238"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,143,19,-2,14,17,20,12,14,13,16,11,-87,14,11,18,26,63,34,66,43,30,19,17,11,-3,19,-31,-7,-5,36,24,7,-2,-6,-8,-1,-33,-15,101,-2,37,21,23,28,-7,37,12,29,0,40,-119,-55,-56,-74,-64,-82,-66,-90,-76,-86,-104,-89,-101,-71,-1,-57,-37,-21,-21,-12,-13,-23,-5,-20,0,6,23,17,1,-1,1,27,16,54,50,50,58,46,49,47,47,-1,42,41,31,108,44,208,46,48,44,42,83,37,55,58,67,62,123,71,129,65,67,89,70,70,69,58,46,77,58,76,79,124,186,115,120,139,113,175,293,174,180,205,214,252,316,236,260,334,220,340,362,376,330]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 d6 7. b4 Bb6 8. a4 a5 9. b5 Ne7 10. O-O Ng6 11. d4 Re8 12. Qc2 c6 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 dxe5 15. Ba3 Qc7 16. Rab1 cxb5 17. Bxb5 Rd8 18. Bc4 Bc5 19. Bxc5 Qxc5 20. Qa2 Qc7 21. Rfd1 Rf8 22. Qb3 Bd7 23. Bd5 Bc6 24. Qc4 Rac8 25. Nf3 Qe7 26. Bxc6 Rxc6 $15 {Black is better, but White is the stronger player. In the end, the latter proved more important.} 27. Qd3 Rfc8 28. Rb3 h6 29. h3 Qc7 30. Qb1 b6 31. Rb5 Rxc3 (31... Re8 $142) 32. Rxb6 Rc1 33. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 34. Qxc1 Rxc1+ 35. Kh2 Nxe4 36. Nxe5 $11 Ra1 (36... Nxf2 37. Rb8+ Kh7 38. Nxf7 Ra1 39. Rh8+ Kg6 40. Ne5+ Kf5 41. Nc4 Rxa4 42. Rf8+ Kg5 43. Nb2 Rf4 44. Ra8 Rf5 45. Nc4 $11) 37. f3 Nf6 (37... Nd2 $142) 38. Rb8+ Kh7 39. Nxf7 Rxa4 {It's still equal, but now White has something to hope for; namely, winning the a-pawn and grinding away with his 3 vs. 2 majority on the kingside. That should be drawn (as long as it's not just kings and pawns), but White has hope.} 40. g4 Ra2+ 41. Kg3 Re2 42. Ra8 Re7 43. Nd6 Rd7 44. Nc4 Rc7 45. Ne3 Rc3 46. Kf2 Rc5 47. Ra7 Nd5 48. Nf5 Rc7 49. Rxa5 Nf4 50. h4 g6 51. Ne3 Re7 52. Nc4 Rc7 53. Ra4 Nd5 54. Nd6 Rd7 55. Ne4 Rf7 56. Ra6 Nf4 57. Rd6 Kg7 58. Rd2 Ne6 59. Ke3 Re7 60. Rd5 Nf8 61. Kf2 Nd7 $6 (61... Ne6 $142 {still leaves White without anything useful to do with his extra pawn.}) 62. h5 $1 $14 Ne5 63. Ng3 Nf7 $6 (63... Re6 $142 64. hxg6 Kxg6 $14) 64. Ra5 $16 Rd7 $2 (64... Rb7 65. hxg6 Kxg6 66. Nf5 Rb6 {is the relevant difference.}) 65. hxg6 Kxg6 66. Nf5 $18 Rd3 67. f4 $1 Rb3 {Threatening ...Rb6, when Black's position will be worse but not lost.} 68. Ra6+ $1 {Keeping a decisive plus.} Kh7 69. Rf6 Rb7 70. Kg3 Ra7 71. Kh4 Rb7 72. Kh5 {Winning a second pawn and the game.} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.13"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Liang, Awonder"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2722"] [BlackElo "2710"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "207"] [GameId "2232730534552239"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,207,18,0,20,20,94,19,10,18,18,17,24,20,14,31,26,24,18,-9,22,-5,26,23,21,24,19,23,23,-7,25,-11,22,33,-92,20,-20,12,13,27,48,27,49,54,82,-35,93,46,137,163,84,14,77,54,20,64,56,34,33,50,64,1,-1,-17,-132,-49,40,-70,-85,-116,-79,-100,-76,-79,-77,-92,-52,-46,-60,-60,-60,-59,-12,-59,-55,1,-59,18,-53,-54,-57,-58,-56,-36,-44,-39,-46,-41,-17,-39,-39,-38,-40,-42,-53,-42,-28,-41,-38,-34,-44,-36,-34,-36,-40,-41,-40,-37,-35,-40,-39,-36,-39,-40,-37,-35,-37,-35,-37,-37,-35,-35,-37,-34,-35,-37,-38,-36,-37,-38,-35,-37,-36,-37,-35,-34,-37,-4,-32,38,-37,-25,-36,-21,-34,-32,-1,-37,-33,-32,-48,-34,-31,-42,-33,-33,-39,-36,-32,-33,-40,-40,-49,-35,-60,-32,-34,-37,-41,-32,73,-33,45,-37,-36,-36,-33,-33,-61,-31,-97,-32,-29,-29,-24,1,-19,-12,-16,-13,-16,-4,0,0,-1,-23,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 O-O 8. Bd3 c6 9. Qc2 Re8 10. Nge2 Nbd7 11. O-O Nh5 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. Rae1 Ndf6 14. Nd1 Nd7 15. f3 c5 16. dxc5 Qxc5 17. Nd4 Nhf6 18. Nc3 Ne5 19. Ncb5 Qxc2 20. Bxc2 Re7 21. Bb3 b6 22. Rc1 Ba6 23. Rfd1 Bxb5 24. Nxb5 Nc4 25. e4 Nxb2 26. Rd4 dxe4 27. fxe4 a6 28. Nd6 b5 29. e5 Ne8 30. Bd5 Rd8 31. Rc6 Kf8 32. Bb3 Rxe5 33. Rxa6 Rxd6 34. Raxd6 Nxd6 35. Rxd6 Nc4 36. Rc6 Nd2 37. Bc2 Nc4 38. a4 Ne3 39. axb5 Rxb5 40. Rc8+ Ke7 41. Re8+ Kxe8 42. Ba4 Ke7 43. Bxb5 {This ending is a theoretical draw, but it's not quite trivial as the knight is at least as effective as its counterpart, if not more effective, with all the pawns on the same side of the board. Nevertheless, Aronian is up to the challenge.} Ke6 44. Kf2 Nd5 45. h4 Ke5 46. Kf3 f5 47. g3 Nc3 48. Bd3 Ne4 49. Bb5 Nd2+ 50. Ke3 Nb3 51. Bc4 Nd4 52. Bd3 Ne6 53. Kf3 Nd8 54. Bc4 Nc6 55. Bd3 Ne7 56. Bc4 Nc8 57. Bd3 Nb6 58. Bb5 Na8 59. Bd3 Nc7 60. Bc4 Ne8 61. Bd3 Nf6 62. Bc2 Ng4 63. Bd3 Nh2+ 64. Kg2 Ng4 65. Kf3 Nf6 66. Bc2 Nd5 67. Bb3 Nb4 68. Ba4 Na6 69. Bb5 Nc5 70. Bc4 Na4 71. Bb5 Nc3 72. Bd3 Nd1 73. Be2 Nb2 74. Bb5 Nd1 75. Be2 Nc3 76. Bd3 Na2 77. Bc4 Nb4 78. Bb5 Nc2 79. Bc4 Nd4+ 80. Ke3 Nc6 81. Bb5 Ne7 82. Kf3 Ng6 83. Bd3 Nf8 84. Bc2 Nd7 85. Ba4 Nc5 86. Bc2 Ne6 87. Bd3 Nd4+ 88. Ke3 Nb3 89. Bc2 Na5 90. Bd3 Nb7 91. Kf3 Nd6 92. Bc2 Nc4 93. Bd3 Nd2+ 94. Ke3 Ne4 95. Kf3 Nc5 96. Bc2 {White's setup has proved impenetrable. After exhausting all his ideas with this pawn structure (and/or trying to get Aronian lower on the clock and more tired than he was at the start of the ending) he finally decides it's time for a change.} g5 97. hxg5 hxg5 98. Bb1 Ne4 99. Ba2 g4+ 100. Kg2 f4 {Giving up.} 101. gxf4+ Kxf4 102. Bd5 g3 103. Bxe4 Kxe4 104. Kxg3 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.13"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2652"] [BlackElo "2698"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "147"] [GameId "2232730534552240"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,147,15,4,16,20,-5,22,1,21,23,10,24,23,49,34,13,-7,-6,8,29,-4,1,-8,6,-65,3,50,3,43,10,3,6,29,17,8,66,29,46,55,34,-1,-101,-44,-97,1,-9,-32,65,-20,33,-1,145,170,243,177,175,176,25,48,59,66,116,65,119,119,67,68,1,76,36,-11,68,-14,97,17,86,55,74,81,114,97,70,111,53,80,69,88,73,83,99,100,22,100,81,-1,82,63,94,66,84,59,84,81,73,70,79,75,63,73,92,92,74,51,82,76,75,76,76,74,97,64,94,67,70,69,81,48,108,70,89,86,127,85,75,72,76,42,74,40,65,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Qa4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Nd5 8. Bxb4 Ndxb4 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. O-O a5 11. Qd1 O-O 12. e3 a4 13. Qe2 Na5 14. Ne5 Nd5 15. Nxd5 exd5 16. Bxd5 Bh3 17. Qf3 Bxf1 18. Bxf7+ Kh8 {With White's pawn on g2 instead of g3 there would be a mate: 19.Ng6+ hxg6 20.Qh3+ and 21.Qxh4#. There's no way for White to set this trick up, alas.} 19. Rxf1 $11 Nc6 20. Qh5 {Threatening mate in one, but the knight won't survive to see 21.Ng6#.} Nxe5 21. dxe5 a3 22. bxa3 Qe7 23. e6 c6 24. a4 Rxa4 25. Rd1 c3 $2 (25... Rxa2 $142) 26. Rd7 $1 c2 27. Rxe7 c1=Q+ 28. Kg2 $18 {Black just lost a valuable pawn for nothing, and White's rook is very active.} Rxa2 29. Rd7 $2 (29. Rxb7 $142 Qxe3 30. Qf5 Re2 31. h4 $18) 29... Qxe3 30. Qf5 Re2 31. Rxb7 h6 $2 (31... c5 $1 {Passed pawns must be pushed!}) 32. Rc7 Qa3 $2 (32... Qe4+ $1 33. Qxe4 Rxe4 34. Rxc6 g5 $1 $11) 33. h4 $2 (33. Rd7 $1 $18) 33... Re1 $1 $14 34. Rxc6 Qa8 (34... Re2 $1) 35. Qd5 $14 Rd8 (35... Re2 $142) 36. Qf3 $16 Rf8 37. Rc3 Qd8 (37... Qxf3+ $142) 38. Re3 Rxe3 39. Qxe3 Qe7 40. Qf4 $16 {/+-} Rd8 $6 41. Qf3 $6 (41. Qe5 $142 $18) 41... Rf8 42. h5 $2 {This takes g4-g5 ideas off the table, and thus should have been avoided.} Rd8 43. Qe4 Rf8 44. Qf4 Qb7+ 45. Kh2 Qe7 46. Qf5 Qc7 47. Kh3 Qb7 48. f3 Qc7 49. Qd5 Qe7 50. f4 Rd8 51. Qc6 Rf8 52. Qc4 Qb7 53. Kg4 Qe7 54. Bg6 Kg8 55. Qd5 Rd8 56. Qc6 Kh8 57. Bf7 Rf8 58. Qd5 Rd8 59. Qe5 Rf8 60. Bg6 Rf6 61. Qb8+ Rf8 62. Qe5 Rf6 63. Bf5 Rf8 64. Qe4 Re8 65. Qc6 Kg8 66. Kh3 Kf8 67. Kh2 Rd8 68. Bg6 Rd6 69. Qa8+ Qd8 70. Qe4 Rxe6 $1 {Enough suffering; this alert move brings the game to a speedy end.} 71. Qxe6 Qd2+ 72. Kh3 Qg2+ 73. Kh4 Qxg3+ 74. Kxg3 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.13"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Robson, Ray"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2664"] [BlackElo "2756"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "94"] [GameId "2232730534552241"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,94,19,24,7,11,10,11,15,19,34,21,49,42,41,39,31,39,39,26,25,27,37,25,42,41,52,33,37,38,34,44,61,53,9,-18,29,-70,40,-7,4,-20,-55,-7,-107,-34,-20,-147,-1,165,13,1,35,-6,17,-97,4,-1,9,-1,140,-18,62,0,115,42,1,-37,87,-55,-72,-58,-106,-84,-59,20,-91,-92,-77,-185,-103,-139,-179,-268,-98,-273,-146,-152,-282,-204,-385,-405,-379,-407,-394,-496,-508]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. Nxb5 Nb6 8. Be3 Nc6 9. a3 (9. Be2) 9... Qd7 10. Nc3 Bb7 11. Qc2 {Black's score has generally been good in this line, but there are a couple of exceptions.} Be7 (11... Na5 12. Rd1 Rb8 ({A game featuring another player from this tournament:} 12... O-O-O 13. Be2 f5 14. Kf1 Be7 15. h4 g6 16. Ng5 Rdf8 17. Bf3 h6 18. Bxb7+ Kxb7 19. Nf3 Nd5 20. Bc1 Nb3 21. Nxd5 Qxd5 22. Nd2 Nxd4 23. Qxc4 Rd8 24. Rh3 Qxe5 25. Re1 Qd5 26. Qxd5+ Rxd5 27. Nb3 Nc2 {0-1 Dragun,K (2557)-Oparin,G (2667) USA-chT College final Webster Groves 2023 (1.1)}) 13. Be2 Be7 14. h4 Bc6 (14... h6 15. Rh3 g6 16. Kf1 Kf8 17. Rg3 Nd5 18. Bd2 Nb3 19. Bxc4 Nxd2+ {1-0 Kuzubov,Y (2644)-Abdusattorov,N (2677) TUR-chT Ankara 2022 (6.5) White probably does have a decisive advantage here, but it's too soon to resign. Maybe the game score was lost?} 20. Rxd2 $18) 15. h5 Ba4 16. Nxa4 Qxa4 17. Rc1 Nb3 18. Rb1 Qa5+ 19. Kf1 c5 20. h6 g6 21. dxc5 Bxc5 22. Bxc5 Qxc5 23. Rh4 O-O 24. Bxc4 Rfc8 25. Bxb3 Qb5+ 26. Qe2 Qxb3 27. Rb4 Qa2 28. Rd1 a5 29. Rb5 a4 30. Qe4 Qc4+ 31. Qxc4 Nxc4 32. Rxb8 Rxb8 33. Rd4 Rc8 34. Rd7 Nxb2 35. Ng5 Rf8 36. Rd4 Rc8 37. Rf4 Rc1+ 38. Ke2 Rc2+ 39. Ke3 Rc3+ 40. Kd2 Rc7 41. Rb4 Nc4+ 42. Ke2 Rc8 43. Rxa4 Nxe5 44. Ra7 Ng4 45. Nxf7 Rb8 46. f3 Rb2+ 47. Kd3 Nf2+ 48. Kd4 Rd2+ 49. Ke3 Ra2 50. Ng5 Nd1+ {1-0 Carlsen,M (2852)-Nakamura,H (2768) Airthings Masters Div 1 W Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (4.1)}) ({A blitz game featuring the 11-year-old Turkish superstar, possibly destined to break Mishra's record as the youngest GM ever.} 11... f5 12. exf6 gxf6 13. Nd2 Nxd4 14. Qd1 O-O-O 15. Nxc4 Nxc4 16. Bxc4 Qc6 17. Bf1 Bc5 18. Rc1 Nf5 19. Qe2 Nxe3 20. fxe3 Qd6 21. Na4 Bb6 22. Qf2 Rhg8 23. Nxb6+ axb6 24. Rg1 Kb8 25. g3 Rg5 26. Bg2 Rf5 27. Qc2 Rc5 28. Qd1 Qe7 {0-1 Kuzubov,Y (2600)-Oro,F (2465) Abu Dhabi Online Chess.com INT blitz 2025 (8)}) 12. Rd1 Na5 13. Be2 {Suddenly transposing to a bunch of games that most likely split off on move 9.} f5 14. exf6 gxf6 15. O-O (15. Ne4 Qa4 16. Qb1 O-O-O 17. Nc5 Bxc5 18. dxc5 Nd5 19. O-O Rdg8 20. g3 h5 21. Rd4 Qc6 22. Rh4 Nxe3 23. fxe3 Rg4 24. Qc1 Rxh4 25. gxh4 Nb3 26. Qc3 Nxc5 27. Qxf6 Rg8+ 28. Kh1 Qe4 29. Rg1 Rd8 {0-1 Warmerdam,M (2625)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2769) Tata Steel-A 86th Wijk aan Zee 2024 (1)}) 15... Rg8 (15... O-O-O {has been both more common and more successful.}) 16. Ne4 $6 (16. g3 $14) 16... Qa4 $1 $11 {/?} 17. Qxa4+ Nxa4 18. Nc5 $2 $146 {The game finally breaks new ground with this error.} (18. Nc3 Nxc3 19. bxc3 Bd5 20. g3 Nb3 21. Nd2 Nxd2 22. Rxd2 Kd7 23. a4 Rgb8 24. Bd1 Rb3 25. Bxb3 cxb3 26. Ra1 Rb8 27. Rb2 c5 28. dxc5 Kc6 29. f4 Bxc5 30. Kf2 Bxe3+ 31. Kxe3 Kc5 32. Kd2 Kc4 33. Re1 Rd8 34. Kc1 Kxc3 35. Re3+ Kb4 36. Rd2 Ka3 37. Rc3 f5 38. a5 a6 39. Rd4 Rd6 40. g4 fxg4 41. Kd2 Rd8 42. f5 Rf8 43. fxe6 Bxe6 44. Rd6 Rf2+ 45. Kd1 Bf5 46. Rxa6 Ka2 47. Rb6 b2 48. a6 b1=Q+ 49. Rxb1 Kxb1 50. Rc1+ Kb2 51. a7 Be4 52. Rc4 Bf3+ 53. Ke1 Rxh2 54. Rb4+ Kc3 55. Rxg4 Bd5 56. Rg5 Bh1 57. Ra5 Ba8 58. Rc5+ Kd3 59. Rc8 Re2+ 60. Kd1 Bf3 61. Rd8+ Ke3 62. a8=Q Ra2+ 63. Qxf3+ Kxf3 64. Rh8 Ra1+ 65. Kd2 Rh1 66. Rf8+ Kg3 67. Ke2 h5 68. Rg8+ Kh3 69. Kf2 h4 70. Rg1 Rh2+ 71. Kf3 Rb2 72. Rh1+ {½-½ Amartuvshin,G (2392)-Jani Kushal,R (2326) Qatar Masters op-A Doha 2024 (3)}) 18... Nxc5 $2 $15 (18... Bxc5 19. dxc5 Bd5 $19) 19. dxc5 Rb8 20. g3 Bd5 21. Nd4 Rxb2 22. Bh5+ Rg6 $8 (22... Kd7 $4 23. Nxe6 $1 Kxe6 24. Rfe1 $18 {wins material while keeping a powerful attack.}) 23. Rb1 $6 (23. Ne2) 23... Rxb1 (23... c3 $1 $17 24. Rxb2 $2 cxb2 25. Rb1 Nc4 $19 {intending ...Be4 is fatal for White.}) 24. Rxb1 Nb3 25. Nxb3 cxb3 26. Bd1 Kd7 27. Bxb3 Bxb3 28. Rxb3 $11 Kc6 29. Rb4 a5 30. Ra4 Kb5 31. Rh4 Rg7 32. a4+ Kc6 33. Bd2 Bxc5 34. Rf4 $6 (34. Bxa5 $11 {/?}) 34... Rf7 $6 (34... Kd5 $142) 35. Bxa5 $11 Kd5 36. Rg4 $2 (36. Rf3 $11) 36... Bd4 $17 37. Rg8 c5 38. Bb6 e5 $2 (38... Rd7 $1 $19 {followed by ...c4 should win.}) 39. Rd8+ $2 (39. Kf1 $15) 39... Ke4 $1 $19 40. Rc8 Kf3 $1 {Powerful play.} 41. Bxc5 Rb7 $1 42. h3 Rb1+ 43. Kh2 Rc1 {Winning the exchange. White will not manage to create a fortress here.} 44. Bxd4 Rxc8 45. Bb6 Rc1 46. g4 Ra1 47. Bd8 (47. a5 e4 {and White's first problem is that this is zugzwang. He must lose either the a-pawn, the f-pawn, or the g-pawn (in case of 48.h4); in every case the resulting position is hopeless for White.}) 47... Ra2 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.13"] [Round "2.6"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Woodward, Andy"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "2789"] [BlackElo "2590"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "111"] [GameId "2232730534552242"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,111,20,12,-8,6,8,-2,30,-9,-2,-12,-18,-19,-10,36,34,23,-11,0,29,-63,8,-116,-25,-65,-127,142,-38,1,-63,1,-9,-132,-121,-146,-56,-118,-129,27,-111,-144,-170,-182,-125,-135,-18,-89,-109,-68,-104,-33,-47,-15,-27,-30,-1,44,-1,69,-1,-33,79,-50,-23,-1,-1,-83,-53,125,-19,-15,-34,-1,-21,-1,58,48,42,44,41,47,74,-8,-8,-12,-19,-6,-29,1,-1,-1,1,1,-1,-1,1,-1,72,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,-1,350,726,719,656,719,624,608,0]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e3 Nc6 4. Qb3 {This feels like a joke, but it has received some high-level attention lately, having been played by Carlsen (at least twice), Gukesh, and Yu Yangyi.} Bc5 5. g3 {This looks suspicious too. I'm sure Caruana has done some work on it, but I suspect that he trotted out this dubious line because he didn't want to "waste" real preparation on a comparatively low-rated opponent. If so, it was a mistake. I'm reminded of Viktor Korchnoi, who would play real preparation even against players who weren't of his class, believing in his ability to find more ideas.} d6 $146 {?} 6. a3 O-O 7. Bg2 Bf5 8. Qxb7 Nd4 $1 9. exd4 $2 (9. Qxa8 $1 Qxa8 10. Bxa8 Nc2+ 11. Ke2 Nxa1 12. Bc6 Nb3 13. Nf3 Rb8 $15 {is how the game should have gone.}) 9... exd4 $19 {Caruana is a great player and great at opening preparation, but today's product was entirely substandard; he's losing, with White, in just nine moves against a considerably lower-rated opponent.} 10. Qf3 ({Trying to keep the extra piece only makes things worse. For example:} 10. Nce2 $2 Rb8 11. Qf3 Be4 12. Qxe4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 Re8 14. d3 Rxe4 $1 15. dxe4 Qe8 $1 16. f3 Qa4 $19) 10... Bg4 11. Qd3 dxc3 12. dxc3 Re8+ (12... Qd7 $1 $19) 13. Kf1 Nd7 $6 (13... Qc8 $1 $19) 14. Nf3 $17 {/-+} Ne5 15. Nxe5 Rxe5 16. Bf4 Re2 17. Qxe2 Bxe2+ 18. Kxe2 Rb8 19. b4 Bb6 20. Bc6 $17 Qf6 21. Rac1 Rd8 22. Rhe1 Qf5 (22... g5 $142 23. Be3 Bxe3) 23. h4 h6 24. Be3 Bxe3 25. Kxe3 Qc8 $2 (25... Qg4 $17) (25... g6 $17) 26. Kf3 $1 $11 {The king gets to safety and White's rooks start to operate. Now it's anyone's game.} Qa6 27. b5 Qxa3 28. Bd5 Kf8 29. Kg2 g6 30. Rc2 Re8 $1 {If White is permitted to double and then play Re7 Black will be toast.} 31. Rxe8+ Kxe8 32. Re2+ Kf8 33. Re3 h5 34. Rf3 f5 35. Re3 a5 36. bxa6 $8 {That pawn cannot be allowed to live.} Qxa6 37. Re6 Qa4 38. Rxg6 c6 39. Bf3 Ke7 40. Rg7+ Kd8 41. Rg5 f4 42. g4 hxg4 43. Rxg4 Qxc4 44. h5 Qxc3 45. h6 {White threatens h7 and Rg8 (in either order), so Black's next move is completely forced.} Qh8 $8 46. Rh4 (46. Rg6) 46... Qh7 47. Bxc6 Ke7 48. Bf3 Qg6+ 49. Kh2 Qc2 50. Rxf4 Qxf2+ 51. Kh3 Qd2 52. Kg4 Qxf4+ {Pulling the plug. The game ends quickly.} 53. Kxf4 Kf7 $1 {The only move, though not one that's hard to find. (And if he hadn't found it he wouldn't have sacrificed his queen.)} (53... Kf8 $4 54. Bd5 $22 $18) (53... Kf6 $4 54. Bh5 $18) 54. Kf5 Kg8 55. Kg6 Kh8 56. Bd5 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.13"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Atwell, Rose"] [Black "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B25"] [WhiteElo "2353"] [BlackElo "2311"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "117"] [GameId "2232730558653159"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Nge2 e6 7. O-O Nge7 8. Bg5 O-O 9. Qd2 Rb8 10. Rab1 b5 11. a3 a5 12. a4 bxa4 13. Nxa4 Bd7 14. b3 Re8 15. Nb2 Qc7 16. Nc4 Ra8 17. Bf4 e5 18. Be3 Nd4 19. f4 Nxe2+ 20. Qxe2 Nc6 21. f5 f6 22. h4 Nd4 23. Qd2 gxf5 24. c3 Nb5 25. h5 d5 26. exd5 Nd6 27. Qf2 Bf8 28. Bxc5 Ne4 29. Bb6 Nxf2 30. Bxc7 Nxd3 31. d6 Ra7 32. Bb6 Ra6 33. Bb7 Rxb6 34. Nxb6 Be6 35. Nd5 Kf7 36. Nc7 Rb8 37. Nxe6 Kxe6 38. Ba6 e4 39. Bxd3 exd3 40. Rfd1 Bxd6 41. Rxd3 Rg8 42. Kf2 Bc5+ 43. Ke2 Bd6 44. Ra1 Bxg3 45. Rxa5 Be5 46. Ra6+ Ke7 47. Ra7+ Ke6 48. Rxh7 Rg2+ 49. Kf1 Rh2 50. Kg1 Rh4 51. c4 f4 52. c5 Kf5 53. c6 Ke4 54. Rd1 Rh3 55. Rg7 Bd4+ 56. Rxd4+ Kxd4 57. h6 Ke3 58. c7 f3 59. Re7+ 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.13"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Lee, Alice"] [Black "Yu, Jennifer"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2409"] [BlackElo "2256"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "59"] [GameId "2232730558653161"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 a5 7. Ne5 c6 8. Nc3 Nbd7 9. e4 dxc4 10. Nxc4 b5 11. Ne3 b4 12. Na4 Ba6 13. Re1 Bb5 14. b3 Qc7 15. Nc4 e5 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. dxe5 Qxe5 18. Bb2 Qe6 19. Qc2 Rfd8 20. e5 Nd5 21. Be4 g6 22. Nc5 Qg4 23. e6 f5 24. Bg2 f4 25. Nd7 f3 26. h3 Qh5 27. Re5 g5 28. Rxd5 cxd5 29. Qf5 Rxd7 30. exd7 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.13"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Pourkashiyan, Atousa"] [Black "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2291"] [BlackElo "2297"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "92"] [GameId "2232730558653163"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h5 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. Qxd3 e6 7. Nf3 Qa5+ 8. Nbd2 Nh6 9. O-O Nf5 10. Nb3 Qa6 11. Qd1 Nd7 12. c3 Be7 13. g3 Qb6 14. Bg5 c5 15. dxc5 Nxc5 16. Nbd4 Nxd4 17. cxd4 Ne4 18. Rc1 Nxg5 19. Qa4+ Kf8 20. hxg5 Qd8 21. Rc3 g6 22. Rfc1 Bxg5 23. Nxg5 Qxg5 24. Rc7 Qf5 25. Rxb7 Kg7 26. Rcc7 Raf8 27. Qc2 Qg4 28. Qd2 g5 29. Qb4 Qf5 30. Qe7 Rh6 31. Rc3 h4 32. gxh4 gxh4 33. Kf1 Qg4 34. Ke1 Rg6 35. Rbb3 Qe4+ 36. Re3 Qc2 37. Kf1 h3 38. Rbc3 Qd1+ 39. Re1 Rg1+ 40. Kxg1 Qxe1+ 41. Kh2 Qxf2+ 42. Kxh3 Rh8+ 43. Kg4 Qf5+ 44. Kg3 Rh3+ 45. Kg2 Qg4+ 46. Kf1 Rh1+ 0-1 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.13"] [Round "2.6"] [White "Sargsyan, Anna M."] [Black "Krush, Irina"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2369"] [BlackElo "2388"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "93"] [GameId "2232730558653164"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. Nxb5 Nb6 8. Nc3 Bb7 9. Bxc4 Nxc4 10. Qa4+ Nc6 11. Qxc4 Nb4 12. Nb5 c6 13. Nd6+ Bxd6 14. exd6 a5 15. O-O Ba6 16. Qc5 Bxf1 17. Bg5 f6 18. Rxf1 O-O 19. Bh4 Qd7 20. Bg3 Nxa2 21. Nd2 Nb4 22. Qc4 Rfb8 23. Nb3 Nd5 24. Nc5 Qf7 25. Qa4 Rxb2 26. Qxc6 Rbb8 27. d7 Rd8 28. Ra1 h5 29. h3 Ra7 30. Nxe6 Rdxd7 31. Qc8+ Kh7 32. Nf8+ Kh6 33. Qc1+ g5 34. Nxd7 Qxd7 35. h4 a4 36. hxg5+ fxg5 37. Qc5 h4 38. Be5 Ra6 39. Qf8+ Kg6 40. Qg8+ Kh6 41. Ra3 g4 42. f4 Qf5 43. Ra1 Nxf4 44. Qc4 Rb6 45. Rf1 Rb1 46. Bxf4+ Kg6 47. Qg8+ 1-0