[Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.25"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Ding Liren"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E94"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "63"] [GameId "2082617251926555"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,63,18,27,27,-11,32,40,41,20,46,46,46,41,68,31,24,30,33,24,73,19,38,78,103,84,85,85,100,84,123,120,129,110,103,99,99,99,78,75,75,75,99,24,52,66,59,53,60,30,16,10,8,4,0,9,13,-6,-9,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 {This is about as far from an Italian Game as it's possible to get and still be a mainstream opening. Well done! The King's Indian Defense is high-risk opening, and often a real crowd-pleaser to boot, especially but not only in the Classical main lines.} 5. d4 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O exd4 (7... Nc6 {gets into the friskiest variations. There are other moves worth considering too, like}) (7... Na6) ({and even} 7... Bg4 {.}) 8. Nxd4 Re8 9. f3 c6 10. Kh1 (10. Nc2 {momentarily slows down the ...d5 express, but after} Na6 {followed by ...Nc7 (or sometimes ...h6) Black is still going to play ...d5.}) 10... d5 {As is the case in many openings, if Black can make whatever the appropriate central break is without getting punished, he will equalize.} 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Bg5 Nc6 (12... dxe4 $2 {is a known error most effectively punished by} 13. Ndb5 $1 $18 (13. fxe4 {is also greatly in White's favor, but not by as much.})) 13. Bb5 h6 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. Bxc6 hxg5 16. Bxa8 {This is the punishment, if punishment it be. White is up the exchange and a pawn, but Black gets lots of counterplay.} d4 17. Nd5 (17. Ne2 $14 {is the alternative. White has scored well here; for example, there's this high-level game from last year:} Bd7 18. Bd5 Nxd5 19. exd5 Bb5 20. Re1 Qxd5 21. Ng3 Rxe1+ 22. Qxe1 d3 23. Qd2 g4 24. fxg4 Bc6 25. g5 Bxb2 26. Rg1 Be5 27. a3 a6 28. Nf1 Qe4 29. Ng3 Qd5 30. Nf1 Qd4 31. Qe3 Qc3 32. Qb6 Bd4 33. Qb4 Qxb4 34. axb4 Kf8 35. Nd2 Bxg1 36. Kxg1 Ke7 37. Kf2 Kd6 38. g4 Ke5 39. Ke3 Bb5 40. h4 Bd7 41. Nf3+ Kd6 42. h5 Ke7 43. h6 Kf8 44. Ne5 Be6 45. Kxd3 Kg8 46. Kd4 Bb3 47. Kc5 Bd1 48. Kb6 Be2 49. Kc7 Bd1 50. Kd6 Kf8 51. Nd7+ Kg8 52. Ke7 Bb3 53. Ne5 Bd1 54. Kf6 {1-0 So,W (2766)-Mamedov,R (2646) Airthings Masters Div 1 W Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (1.3)}) 17... Ba6 18. Bc6 ({Stockfish initially suggests the untested} 18. Re1 Qxa8 19. Nc7 Qd8 20. Nxe8 Nxe8 21. Qa4 Nc7 22. Rec1 {, but after} d3 $8 23. Rxc7 Qxc7 24. Qxa6 Qc2 25. Qxa7 d2 26. Qg1 Bxb2 27. Rd1 Bc3 $11 {White's winning chances are non-existent as the d-pawn keeps him bound hand and foot.}) 18... Re6 19. Rc1 Bxf1 20. Qxf1 Qb8 ({There doesn't seem anything particularly wrong with Magnus Carlsen's answer to Ding in this same position a few years ago, either.} 20... g4 21. Nf4 Re7 22. Nd3 gxf3 23. Qxf3 Nd7 24. Bd5 ({Perhaps Ding would have tried to improve with} 24. b4 Ne5 25. Nxe5 Bxe5 26. g3 {, but this doesn't look like much either.}) 24... Ne5 25. Nxe5 Bxe5 26. g3 Kg7 27. Kg2 Rc7 28. Rc4 d3 $1 29. Qxd3 Rxc4 30. Qxc4 Bxb2 31. Bxf7 Qd2+ 32. Kh3 Qh6+ 33. Kg2 Qd2+ 34. Kh3 Qh6+ 35. Kg2 Qd2+ {½-½ Ding,L (2791)-Carlsen,M (2863) Chessable Masters Final chess24.com INT rapid 2020 (2.14)}) 21. Qb5 {This is already giving up, as Black can just trade his way to a trivial draw.} (21. b3 {forces Black to find some good moves before reaching a stable equality.} g4 $1 22. Nxf6+ Rxf6 23. Bd7 Qf4 $1 24. Bxg4 d3 $1 25. Rc8+ Kh7 26. Qxd3 Rd6 27. Qb1 Qd2 28. Rc1 Qh6 {followed by ...Be5 keeps the balance. White's king is too weak, and Black's pieces too active, for White to have any real chances to use his extra pawns.}) 21... Qxb5 22. Bxb5 Nxd5 23. exd5 Re5 24. Bc4 d3 25. Bxd3 Rxd5 26. Bc4 Bxb2 27. Bxd5 Bxc1 28. g3 Kg7 29. Kg2 Kg8 30. Kh1 Kg7 31. Kg2 Kg8 32. Kh1 1/2-1/2 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.25"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2766"] [BlackElo "2721"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "144"] [GameId "2082617251992092"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,144,18,18,40,41,79,67,53,37,37,30,64,23,13,13,13,12,7,-48,40,24,26,37,37,37,35,33,33,0,2,0,27,0,19,0,-12,0,4,3,21,11,0,-57,-9,0,58,7,-16,-5,13,-4,13,12,13,12,21,0,49,49,51,34,51,62,51,62,55,62,64,72,71,63,55,53,64,37,30,39,62,57,101,109,109,105,113,0,0,0,0,0,-58,-113,-113,-104,-113,-124,-102,-102,-108,-108,-108,-108,-108,-108,-108,-108,-108,-108,-108,-112,-116,-116,-116,-112,-116,-241,-241,-241,-241,-241,-241,-241,-241,-241,-241,-241,-241,-241,-241,-241,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bd3 {The days of 6.Bg5 and 6.Be3 are gone, my friends, at least for now (at the top level).} e5 7. Nde2 Nc6 (7... Be7 {is way more common, and after} 8. O-O O-O {White generally delays f4 (compare the note to White's 8th move in the game) and plays} (8... Be6 9. f4 exf4 10. Nxf4 Nc6) 9. Ng3 {, meeting 9...Bg4 with 10.Be2 and 9...Be6 with 10.Nd5.}) 8. Be3 (8. O-O {followed by f4 is usual.}) 8... Be6 9. f4 (9. O-O) 9... exf4 (9... d5 $1 10. exd5 (10. f5 d4 $1 11. fxe6 fxe6 $1 $11 {/?}) 10... Nxd5 (10... Bxd5 $5 11. fxe5 Ng4 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 13. Nf4 Qxe5 14. Qxg4 Qxe3+ 15. Qe2 $11) 11. Qd2 Ncb4 $11) 10. Nxf4 $14 Ne5 11. O-O (11. Qd2 {is possible, looking to castle long.}) 11... Be7 (11... g6) 12. Bd4 Rc8 13. h3 O-O 14. Nce2 Bd7 15. Qe1 Bc6 16. Rd1 Re8 17. Ng3 g6 18. Bxa6 $1 {A nice shot, but the position remains equal.} Nfd7 $6 (18... Bf8 $142 {was better, looking to speedily gang up on the e4-pawn. It also threatens to take on a6, as Black can recapture on e5 with the rook.} 19. Bd3 Bg7 $44) ({Taking isn't bad:} 18... bxa6 $5 19. Bxe5 dxe5 $1 20. Rxd8 Bxd8 $1 21. Nfe2 (21. Nd3 h5 $1 $44 {Black will pick up the e-pawn, with sufficient compensation for the queen.}) 21... Nxe4 22. Nxe4 Bxe4 23. Nc3 Bxc2 24. Qe2 Bf5 25. Qxa6 $11 {/?}) 19. Bd3 $14 Bh4 20. Nfe2 $6 $11 (20. Qe3 $142) 20... Nc5 (20... d5 $1 $11) 21. Nc3 Ne6 (21... Qg5 $142 $11) 22. Be3 $14 Ng7 23. Be2 {White wants to have every advantage, but this lets Black underscore White's *dis*advantages: the pin on the h4-e1 diagonal, the opposition of Black's rook and White's queen on the e-file, and the potential strength of the bishop on c6.} (23. Bf2 $142 $14) 23... f5 $1 $11 {Now White has something to worry about.} 24. Bf2 f4 25. Nh1 Bg5 $1 {No sense in making it easy for White's knight to escape the corner.} 26. Bd4 Bh4 $1 27. Qd2 Ne6 28. Nf2 Nxd4 $6 (28... h5 $1 {takes g4 away from White's pieces and keeps the ...Nxd4 idea in reserve. Of course White can take on e5, but Black's dark-squared control and kingside majority are worth it.} 29. Bxe5 dxe5 30. Qxd8 Bxd8 $44) 29. Qxd4 $14 {/?} Qg5 (29... h5 $142) 30. Nd3 $16 Bg3 (30... f3 $1 31. Bxf3 Bg3 32. Ne2 Rf8 33. Bg4 $1 {Black equalizes (or better) after everything else.} Nxg4 34. hxg4 Bh4 35. Rf4 Rxf4 36. Ndxf4 $16 {White is better, but given his ugly kingside structure and Black's bishop pair, his advantage isn't that stable.}) 31. Nxe5 $1 dxe5 32. Qb6 Kh8 $6 (32... Kg7 $1 $16 {was a better square, allowing the king to more securely hide out on h6 (after ...h5, generally).}) 33. Bb5 $2 {Getting rid of this bishop was a great idea. That bishop covers b7, d7, and d5 while hitting the e4-pawn. But this was the wrong way to do it.} (33. b4 $1 $18) 33... Red8 $1 34. Bxc6 bxc6 $2 {It looks good, as d7 and d5 are now covered while b7 is less important now that the pawn has gone to c6. But Black is still a pawn down, and he missed a great (though hidden) opportunity.} (34... Rxd1 $1 35. Rxd1 (35. Nxd1 bxc6 {and now Black is fine. None of the squares mentioned above are a problem any longer, and Black is looking for activity with ...Rd8-d2.}) 35... f3 $3 {This isn't easy to see at all, especially if one is low on time.} 36. gxf3 $8 (36. Bd7 $4 Bh2+ $1 {is the point, mating.}) 36... Bh4+ $1 37. Kf1 Qg3 38. Ke2 Qg2+ 39. Kd3 Rxc6 $1 {Finally!} 40. Qe3 $8 $11) 35. Ne2 (35. Rxd8+ $1 Rxd8 36. Ne2 $18) 35... Bh4 36. Rxd8+ Qxd8 37. Qxd8+ $2 {Up a pawn and going from a middlegame with a somewhat weak king to an endgame would normally seem like the most obvious thing in the world. Here, however, Black's pieces are so much better than their counterparts that it's a mistake.} (37. Qc5 $18 {was right, looking to advance the a-pawn in particular while taking advantage of Black's overextended kingside.}) 37... Rxd8 $11 38. Rc1 Rd2 $2 (38... h5 39. Kf1 g5 40. a4 g4 41. a5 f3 $11 {is the way to go.}) 39. Kf1 $16 g5 40. a4 h5 41. a5 g4 42. hxg4 $2 {A seemingly innocuous simplification that bought him 30 seconds on the clock. It turns out that this is an error though; believe it or not, the h-pawn could have been the MVP against MVL.} (42. a6 $1 f3 43. gxf3 gxf3 44. Nc3 Rh2 45. Kg1 Bg3 $2 (45... Rg2+ {is better:} 46. Kh1 Bf2 47. Rf1 $1 {Getting rid of Black's f-pawn and the bind.} Bd4 48. Rxf3 Rxc2 49. Rf8+ Kg7 50. Rc8 {Black will still need to prove the draw down a piece after} Rxb2 51. a7 Bxa7 52. Rc7+ Kg6 53. Rxa7 $16) 46. a7 f2+ 47. Kf1 Rh1+ 48. Kg2 Rxc1 49. a8=Q+ Kg7 50. Qb7+ $1 Kg6 51. Qxc6+ Kg5 {and only now, finally, do we see the difference with the game, the critical reason why 42.hxg4 is a mistake:} 52. Kxg3 $1 $18 f1=Q 53. h4# {White needs his h-pawn!}) 42... hxg4 43. a6 f3 44. gxf3 gxf3 45. Nc3 Rh2 46. Kg1 Bg3 47. a7 f2+ 48. Kf1 Rh1+ 49. Kg2 Rxc1 50. a8=Q+ Kg7 51. Qb7+ Kg6 52. Qxc6+ Kg5 53. Qc4 ({Now} 53. Kxg3 $4 {is a blunder, as White no follow-up after} f1=Q $19) 53... Rg1+ 54. Kh3 f1=Q+ 55. Qxf1 Rxf1 56. Kxg3 Rc1 {It's a draw, with MVL getting to enjoy the easier time of it.} 57. Kf3 Rxc2 58. Nd1 Rd2 59. Nf2 Rxb2 60. Nd3 {This will tie one Black piece or another to the defense of his pawn. As the pure rook vs. knight ending (in case Black gives up his e-pawn to win White's) is a trivially easy task, the rest is a piece of cake for White.} Rb5 61. Ke3 Kg4 62. Ke2 Ra5 63. Ke3 Ra3 64. Ke2 Rxd3 65. Kxd3 Kf3 66. Kd2 Kxe4 67. Ke2 Kd4 68. Kd2 e4 69. Ke2 e3 70. Ke1 Kd3 71. Kd1 e2+ 72. Ke1 Ke3 1/2-1/2 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.25"] [Round "6.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D91"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "64"] [GameId "2082617251992093"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,64,26,15,27,-22,40,37,58,18,47,29,29,30,51,40,119,11,104,17,14,17,18,13,19,2,-2,9,13,6,38,17,22,40,35,30,65,46,30,30,21,43,95,-11,-14,-8,-12,-15,-12,-12,-3,-9,-8,0,0,0,8,0,6,-15,0,-11,2,-10,-4,-8,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Bg7 (4... Ne4 {used to be automatic, and it's still common.}) 5. Nf3 (5. Bxf6 Bxf6 6. cxd5 (6. Nxd5 Bg7 {is even slightly in Black's favor.}) 6... c5 $1 $11) 5... Ne4 {Now there's nothing better or even equally good.} 6. Bf4 O-O (6... Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 {is standard, and only after} 8. e3 {does Black take time out to castle.} O-O $11) 7. e3 (7. Nxd5 {is the critical test. There haven't been many games with this, but White has a terrific score with this greedy move. It seems, however, that Black should be fine with} c6 $1 (7... c5 $1 {also works, even if White has gone 3.5/4 from here.}) 8. Nc3 $1 (8. Nc7 $4 e5 9. Nxa8 exf4 $19 {The a8-knight will drop, and - worse still - White's king will have a hard time escaping the center without making unpleasant concessions.}) (8. Bc7 $2 Qd7 9. Bxb8 cxd5 10. Be5 Bxe5 11. dxe5 (11. Nxe5 Qc7 $17 {/-+}) 11... Rd8 $17 {/-+}) 8... Nxc3 9. bxc3 Nd7 $44 {Admittedly, Black's compensation is scarcely visible to the naked eye, but White's underdeveloped kingside and the coming ...e5 will soon allow us to see that Black is perfectly fine.}) 7... c5 8. cxd5 Bf5 $5 {An interesting option, inviting the greedy 9.Bc4 (otherwise Black regains the d5-pawn as usual).} (8... Nxc3 9. bxc3 {transposes to hundreds of games - we've returned to the 6...Nxc3 line noted above.}) 9. Be5 (9. Bc4 Nd7 10. Bb3 Nb6 11. dxc5 $5 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxc3+ 13. Ke2 Bxa1 14. Qxa1 Nxd5 15. Bh6 (15. Rd1 $4 {would be great if} Nxf4+ $19 {didn't come with check.}) 15... Nf6 $1 16. Ne5 $1 Qa5 $1 17. Rc1 $1 Be6 $1 {Ugly but strong. Now White must regain the exchange, and after} 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. Bxf8 Rxf8 $11 {both sides' liabilities result in an equal (but not dull) position.}) 9... Nxc3 10. bxc3 Qxd5 11. Qb3 $146 (11. Bxg7 Kxg7 12. Qb3 Qxb3 13. axb3 cxd4 14. exd4 Nd7 15. Kd2 Rfd8 16. Bd3 Bxd3 17. Kxd3 e5 18. Rhe1 exd4 19. Nxd4 a6 20. Rad1 Rac8 21. Kc2 Kf8 22. Kb2 (22. Nf3 Nc5 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. b4 Ne6 25. g3 b5 26. Ne5 Rd6 27. Nd3 Rc6 28. f4 h5 29. Kb3 f6 30. Rf1 Ke7 31. f5 gxf5 32. Rxf5 h4 33. gxh4 Rc4 34. Rh5 Re4 35. Nc5 Nxc5+ 36. bxc5 Rc4 37. Rh7+ {½-½ So,W (2778)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2761) Berlin FIDE GP 3 Pool-C 2022 (3)}) 22... Nf6 23. c4 Rd7 24. Nc2 Rcd8 25. Rxd7 Rxd7 26. Kc3 Re7 27. Kd4 Rd7+ 28. Kc3 Re7 29. f3 Rxe1 30. Nxe1 Ke7 31. Nd3 Kd6 32. Kd4 Nd7 33. b4 b6 34. Nb2 a5 35. Kc3 axb4+ 36. Kxb4 Kc6 37. Nd3 g5 38. g4 f6 39. h3 h6 40. f4 Nc5 41. fxg5 Nxd3+ 42. Kc3 hxg5 43. Kxd3 Kc5 {½-½ So,W (2760)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2736) Speed Chess Chess.com INT blitz 2022 (2.26)}) 11... Qxb3 12. axb3 Nd7 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. Bb5 (14. Kd2 cxd4 15. exd4 $11 {would transpose to the So-MVL games given above.}) (14. Nd2 $5 {looks worth exploring for those interested in this variation. White prepares e4 or Be2-f3.}) 14... Nf6 $11 (14... cxd4 $11) 15. dxc5 a6 16. Bc4 Ne4 17. b4 a5 $1 {Black will regain the pawn momentarily, and it seems that all the queenside pawns are likely to disappear. If that happens, the rest of the game will be a formality.} 18. O-O (18. Bd5 $4 axb4 $19) 18... Nxc3 19. bxa5 Rfc8 20. Rfc1 Ne4 21. Bd5 Rxc5 22. Bxb7 Raxa5 {See the last clause of the comment to Black's 17th move.} 23. Nd4 Rxa1 24. Rxa1 Nd6 25. Nxf5+ Rxf5 26. Bf3 Rc5 27. g3 Rc7 28. h4 h5 29. Rd1 Rc5 30. Ra1 Rc7 31. Rd1 Rc5 32. Ra1 Rc7 1/2-1/2 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.25"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B76"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "50"] [GameId "2082617251992094"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] {[%evp 0,50,18,18,58,55,100,81,60,89,66,60,44,38,69,58,36,16,22,23,40,22,36,21,7,-23,-11,1,-4,-4,-2,-2,19,19,-8,-1,-17,-186,-186,-147,-134,-138,-131,-200,-162,-159,-160,-211,-271,-286,-234,-223,-89]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 (3. c3) ({and} 3. c4 {are decent alternatives - there's no law decreeing that 3.d4 must be played here.}) 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 (4. Qxd4 {is a playable alternative that might also have some surprise value at the club level.}) 4... Bg7 5. Nc3 (5. c4 {is another standard move, when play generally continues} Nc6 6. Be3 Qb6 {, and now either 7.Nb5 or 7.Nb3.}) 5... Nc6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 d6 9. f3 Qa5 (9... Bd7 {can lead to classical Dragon lines.}) 10. Qd3 {Very rare.} (10. Qd2 {is usual, when} Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Be6 12. O-O-O b5 13. Kb1 b4 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15. exd5 Qb5 {is likely (though not forced).}) (10. O-O {is considerably less exciting, but certainly playable.}) 10... Ne5 $5 $146 ({At least one point of Nepo's 10th move is that it makes no sense for Black to continue as he would after 10.Qd2.} 10... Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Be6 12. O-O-O $16 {Now 12...b5 just blunders a pawn, and so his counterplay is slower than usual.}) (10... Nd7 {may be best.}) 11. Qd2 (11. Qe2 {forsakes the Qd2/Be3 battery and a subsequent Bh6, for also keeps Black's knight out of c4 (at least for now).}) 11... Bd7 12. O-O-O Rfc8 {This is a well-known position...with White's king already on b1. There he's doing great, but with Black having an extra tempo White's advantage is minimal at best.} (12... Z0 {Let's give White the extra move that he would normally have here. Now:} 13. Kb1 Rfc8 14. h4 h5 15. Bg5 $16 {is clearly better for White according to the engine, and in the database his score is around 70%. Not recommended for Black.}) 13. Kb1 $146 Nc4 14. Bxc4 Rxc4 15. g4 (15. Nb3 Qa6 16. e5 Ne8 $8 (16... dxe5 $4 17. Nc5 $18) 17. Nd5 Bxe5 18. Nxe7+ Kf8 19. Nd5 Be6 {gives both sides chances. White hopes he can liquidate enough pieces that he can hope to win the d-pawn someday, while Black is of course hoping to stir up trouble on the queenside.}) 15... Be6 (15... Rac8 $142) 16. Nb3 (16. Nce2 $1 $14 {looks good, aiming to swap queens to prevent any fires from starting around his king.}) 16... Qa6 17. Bd4 Rac8 $11 {/? Oddly, we've transposed to another game. Nepo copied the earlier game; unfortunately for Nepo, Caruana improved on it.} 18. g5 $4 (18. Qg5 h6 19. Qa5 {was safest and best.}) 18... Nxe4 $1 $19 {A stock sac in the Dragon. A bit of wisdom, for those who have ears to hear: none of us is very good at tactics. What we are good at is pattern recognition, and by studying certain tactical patterns in a diligent and systematic way (or at least through sheer volume) we get good at recognizing *them*. Even great players will miss tactics when they don't suspect that tactics are present. It's possible that Nepo has rarely played or faced the Dragon, and thereby failed to so much as notice this move. A Dragon player of even moderate experience will know about this trick and find it, especially when, as here, the calculations really aren't that difficult. Had this been Puzzle Rush, Nepo would have found the most almost instantly even if he had never played or studied either side of the Dragon.} (18... Nh5 $2 19. Bxg7 Nxg7 20. h4 R4c7 21. Rc1 Qc6 22. Ne2 Qd7 23. Nf4 Nh5 24. Nxh5 Bxb3 25. Nf6+ exf6 26. axb3 f5 27. h5 fxe4 28. fxe4 Qe6 29. Rh4 Qe5 30. c3 Rc5 31. Rch1 R8c7 32. b4 Rc4 33. Qd3 b5 34. Qf3 Qxg5 35. Rf4 Re7 36. hxg6 fxg6 37. Rf8+ Kg7 38. Rh8 {1-0 Papp,P (2352)-Carlsten,P (2047) Gibraltar Masters 15th Caleta 2017 (3)}) 19. fxe4 (19. Nxe4 Rxd4 $1 $19 {and White can't take play 20.Nxd4 because of mate in two.}) 19... Bxd4 20. Nxd4 Rxc3 21. a3 {Sometimes one can survive a pawn down, but not here. Caruana puts the game to bed with a few powerful moves.} (21. bxc3 Qxa2+ 22. Kc1 Qa1#) 21... Qc4 $1 22. b3 (22. bxc3 Qa2+ 23. Kc1 Qa1#) (22. Qxc3 Qa2+ 23. Kc1 Rxc3 24. bxc3 Qxa3+ $19) (22. Nxe6 Rxc2 $19) 22... Qc5 23. Rc1 (23. a4 $142) 23... Qxa3 24. h4 R8c5 $1 {Threatening ...Ra5 followed by mate on a2 or a1.} 25. Rcf1 Bxb3 $1 (25... Bxb3 $1 26. Nxb3 Rxb3+ 27. cxb3 Qxb3+ 28. Qb2 (28. Ka1 Rc4 $19) 28... Qd3+ 29. Ka1 Ra5+ 30. Qa2 Qc3+ 31. Kb1 Rb5+ {mates.}) (25... Rxc2 $1 {is also crushing.}) 0-1 [Event "11th Sinquefield Cup"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.25"] [Round "6.5"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A24"] [WhiteElo "2746"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "112"] [GameId "2082617251996191"] [EventDate "2024.08.19"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. c4 d6 {Seeing two Italians or two Ruys in one day (or both) isn't unusual, but two King's Indians??} 5. O-O (5. d4) 5... O-O 6. Nc3 {No second KID, but a KID-like English instead after Black's next move.} (6. d4) 6... e5 7. d3 Bd7 $5 {Reminiscent of one of Hikaru Nakamura's pet blitz openings, though as far as I can tell Nakamura hasn't had this position. (But maybe he has, and will let viewers know about it "in todayyyyyyyyyyyyy's video"?)} (7... Nc6 {is normal, developing and more or less forcing to surrender the a-file if he wants to play b4.} 8. Rb1 a5 9. a3 {etc. Here Black's main moves are 9...h6 (taking Bg5xf6 ideas off the table), 9...Re8 (to play ...e4) and 9...Nd4 (clearing the way for ...c6). Here's one of each, with two Giri games to set the table:} h6 (9... Re8 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nd2 Bg7 13. e3 Ne7 14. b4 axb4 15. axb4 c6 16. b5 d5 17. bxc6 bxc6 18. cxd5 cxd5 19. Nb3 Rb8 20. Qc2 h5 21. h4 Qd6 22. Na4 Bf5 23. Nbc5 Rec8 24. Rxb8 Qxb8 25. Qa2 Qd6 26. e4 dxe4 27. Nxe4 Qxd3 28. Nac5 Qd4 29. Qa3 Nd5 30. Nb3 Qb4 31. Qxb4 Nxb4 32. Nd6 Rc3 33. Nxf5 Rxb3 34. Ne7+ Kf8 35. Nd5 f5 36. Nxb4 Rxb4 37. Rc1 e4 38. Rc2 Bd4 39. Bf1 Rb3 40. Kg2 Rf3 41. Bc4 Ke7 42. Rd2 Bc5 43. Rc2 Kf6 44. Ba2 Bd4 45. Rd2 Ke5 46. Bf7 Bc3 47. Ra2 Kf6 48. Be8 Bd4 49. Rd2 Be5 50. Ra2 Rd3 51. Ra6+ Bd6 52. Ra2 e3 53. f4 Bb4 54. Bb5 Rd5 55. Be2 Be1 56. Kf3 Rd2 57. Ra1 Bf2 58. Ra6+ Kg7 59. Ra7+ Kf8 60. Ra6 Bxg3 61. Rxg6 Bxh4 62. Rh6 Bf2 63. Rxh5 Rd5 64. Bc4 Rc5 65. Bd3 Ke7 66. Rxf5 {½-½ Giri,A (2745)-Shevchenko,K (2677) Warsaw Superbet Blitz 2024 (11)}) (9... Nd4 10. b4 axb4 11. axb4 Re8 12. b5 Ne6 13. Ng5 Nc5 14. Nge4 Nfxe4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Bh3 17. Bxb7 Bxf1 18. Kxf1 Rb8 19. Bc6 Rf8 20. e3 f5 21. Kg2 h5 22. Bd5+ Kh7 23. Qf3 Qe7 24. h3 h4 25. gxh4 Qxh4 26. Qg3 Qe7 27. Bd2 Bh6 28. Kh1 f4 29. Qg2 Qh4 30. Rg1 Rf6 31. Be4 Rg8 32. exf4 Bxf4 33. Be1 Qh5 34. Qg4 Qh6 35. h4 Bd2 36. Bxd2 Qxd2 37. h5 Kh8 38. Qh4 Qf4 39. Rg4 Qxf2 40. hxg6+ Qxh4+ 41. Rxh4+ Kg7 42. Rh7+ Kf8 43. Rxc7 Rf4 44. b6 Rh8+ 45. Kg2 {1-0 Giri,A (2745)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2747) Warsaw Superbet Blitz 2024 (3)}) 10. b4 axb4 11. axb4 Be6 12. Ne1 Qd7 13. b5 Nd8 14. Nc2 Bh3 15. e4 c6 16. Be3 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 d5 18. bxc6 bxc6 19. Bb6 Ne6 20. Nb4 Ng5 21. f3 Rfb8 22. Bg1 Qe6 23. cxd5 cxd5 24. Nbxd5 Nxd5 25. Rxb8+ Rxb8 26. Nxd5 Rb2+ 27. Rf2 Rb7 28. Rc2 Bf8 29. Be3 Qh3+ 30. Kg1 Ne6 31. Qf1 Qxf1+ 32. Kxf1 f5 33. h4 h5 34. exf5 gxf5 35. Nf6+ Kf7 36. Nxh5 Rb4 37. Kg2 Rb3 38. g4 fxg4 39. fxg4 Rxd3 40. Kf2 Nd4 41. Bxd4 Rxd4 42. Kf3 Ke6 43. Rc8 Be7 44. Ng7+ Kd7 45. Rh8 Rf4+ 46. Kg3 Bc5 47. Nf5 Bf2+ 48. Kh3 e4 49. Rh7+ Ke6 50. Re7+ Kf6 51. Re8 Rf3+ 52. Kg2 Rf4 53. Nd6 Bxh4 54. Rxe4 Rxe4 55. Nxe4+ Kg6 56. Nf2 Bxf2 57. Kxf2 Kg5 58. Kf1 Kg6 59. g5 Kxg5 {½-½ Caruana,F (2782)-Erigaisi,A (2704) Titled Tuesday intern op 08th Aug Early Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (7)}) 8. b4 Qc8 {Black wants to swap off White's light-squared bishop; not because he's going for mate (for one thing - and it's an important detail - Black has already caslted kingside, so there's no ...h5-h4xg3...Qh1# business on the way) but because that bishop is very strong.} 9. Bg5 (9. Re1 Bh3 10. Bh1 {is possible, but a little dangerous to the long-term well-being of White's king.}) (9. a4 Bh3 10. Rb1 Bxg2 11. Kxg2 $14 {and next White will play e4, using pawns to do what the dearly departed bishop no longer can.}) 9... Bh3 10. Qd2 {Turnabout is fair play?} Bxg2 11. Kxg2 Nh5 12. Rac1 (12. Bh6) 12... f5 (12... Nc6 $142) (12... f6 $142) 13. Bh6 (13. c5 $1) 13... Bxh6 (13... Nc6) 14. Qxh6 Qd7 15. b5 (15. c5 {isn't bad, hoping to use the c-file and, in case of something like ...Nc6 cxd6 cxd6, the d5 square for his knight.}) 15... f4 $2 {Way too ambitious. This creates hooks (e3xf4) and holes (e4 for the knight, g4 for a pawn) without offering any real attacking chances. If Giri had been in good form and his confidence at its usual levels, he surely would have punished this on his way to a comfortable win.} (15... Qg7 $11 {/? was better, followed by ...Nd7.}) 16. h3 $6 $16 (16. Ng5 $18 {is very strong. Black's problem is that he can hardly do anything; White, on the other hand, has multiple useful moves on tap including Nd5/Nce4 and then e3 to open either the e- or the f-file. It doesn't look like it's *that* bad, so here are some lines to show that yes, it really is a bit of a disaster for Black.} c6 (16... Qg7 17. Qxg7+ Nxg7 18. Nd5 Ne8 19. c5 dxc5 20. Rxc5 c6 21. Ne7+ Kh8 22. bxc6 bxc6 23. Nxc6 $18) (16... a6 17. Nd5 {Threatening ...b6.} b6 18. d4 exd4 19. Nxc7 $1 Ra7 (19... Qxc7 20. Qxf8+ $1 Kxf8 21. Ne6+ $18) 20. Nce6 $18) 17. Nce4 a6 (17... Rd8 18. g4 $1 Qxg4+ 19. Kh1 Qd7 (19... Rd7 20. Rg1 Qf5 21. c5 $1 d5 22. Nd6 Qf8 23. Qxh5 $1 gxh5 24. Ne6+ Qg7 25. Nxg7 Rxg7 26. Rxg7+ Kxg7 27. Ne8+ Kg6 28. Nc7 $18) 20. Rg1 Qg7 21. Qxh5 gxh5 22. Ne6 Rd7 23. Nxg7 Rxg7 24. Nf6+ Kf7 25. Rxg7+ Kxg7 26. Ne8+ Kf7 27. Nc7 $18) 18. b6 c5 19. Nxd6 $18) 16... c6 $6 (16... Qg7 $16 {was better, as it would have been on the previous move as well.}) 17. e3 $6 (17. Rb1 $1 $16 {/+-}) 17... fxg3 18. fxg3 $16 Qe7 19. bxc6 bxc6 20. c5 $1 dxc5 $1 {It's ugly as sin, but the "pretty" move is worse.} (20... d5 $2 21. Nxe5 $1 $18 {takes advantage of Black's weak back rank, e.g.} Rxf1 $2 22. Rxf1 Qxe5 $2 23. Rf8#) 21. Qg5 $1 {Removing the guard. It's amazing that a player of Giri's strength and technical prowess failed to win this.} Qxg5 22. Nxg5 Nd7 23. Nce4 Ng7 24. Rxf8+ Rxf8 25. Nxc5 Nxc5 26. Rxc5 Rd8 27. Rc3 Nf5 28. Kf2 (28. Kf3 {was better, as there are lines where the king proceeds on its merry way to e4. For example:} h6 29. Ne6 Rc8 (29... Rd7 30. g4 Ne7 31. a4 $18) 30. Ke4 $1 Nxg3+ 31. Kxe5 Nf5 32. d4 Re8 33. Rxc6 Nxe3 34. Rc7 $18) 28... Rf8 (28... h6 $1 29. Ne6 Rc8 {and here White has nothing better than} 30. Kf3 {, continuing a tempo down on the 28.Kf3 line. This gives Black the opportunity to keep the king out with} Nd6 $1 {/+- White is still much better, but it's still a step down from what he could have had.}) 29. g4 (29. Rc5 $1 h6 30. Ne4 Nd6+ 31. Ke2 Nxe4 32. dxe4 $18 {Many pawn-down rook endings are drawn, but this isn't one of them.}) 29... Ne7+ $1 30. Ke2 Rb8 $1 31. Ra3 Rb7 (31... h6 $1 32. Nf3 Rb2+ $1 33. Kd1 $1 Nd5 34. e4 Nf4 35. h4 $18) 32. e4 $1 $18 c5 33. Ra5 Rb2+ 34. Ke3 Rc2 35. Ra6 $1 c4 {Trading pawns is almost always the right policy for the defender in rook endings. Fewer pawns = fewer problems (all else being equal).} 36. Nf3 (36. Re6) 36... Kf8 37. g5 $6 (37. Nxe5 cxd3 38. Nxd3 Nc6 39. h4 $18) 37... c3 $6 (37... cxd3 38. Kxd3 Rc5 39. Rxa7 Nc6 40. Ra4 Nd8) 38. Nxe5 Rh2 39. Ra5 (39. Ra3 $1 Rxh3+ 40. Kf4 $1 c2 41. Rc3 Rh2 42. Nf3 Rg2 43. Nd4 c1=Q+ (43... Rd2 44. Nxc2 $18) 44. Rxc1 Rxa2 45. Ke5 Ra5+ 46. Kd6 $18) 39... Rxh3+ 40. Nf3 $2 (40. Kf4 h6 41. gxh6 Rxh6 42. Rc5 Rh2 43. Rxc3 Rxa2 44. d4 $18 {The connected passers and White's more active pieces beat Black's split pawns and passive pieces.}) 40... h6 $1 {More trades to the rescue, but that's not the main point of this excellent move.} 41. gxh6 c2 42. Rc5 g5 $1 {Here's the problem: ...g4 is an irksome threat, and the pawn can't be captured either way.} 43. Kf2 g4 (43... Rxh6 44. Rxc2 (44. Nxg5 $4 Rc6 $19) 44... g4 45. Ne1 $8 Rh3 46. Rc5 $1 {The only move to keep a genuine advantage. If we compare this position to the one at the end of the 40.Kf4 line we can see that White was far more active and better coordinated there. Nevertheless, White still has decent chances for the full point, even here.}) 44. Nd4 $2 {This is the wrong way to win the c-pawn. Now White is not only not winning, he's not even better.} (44. Ne1 $1 Rxh6 45. Rxc2 {transposes to the last note, which continued} Rh3 46. Rc5 $1) 44... Ng6 (44... Rxd3 {is slightly better.} 45. Nxc2 Rh3 $11) 45. Nxc2 $5 (45. Rxc2 $142 {Now Black must find} Nf4 $1 {to stay out of trouble.} 46. Nf5 $1 Nxd3+ $1 (46... Rh2+ $4 47. Kg3 Rxc2 48. Kxf4 $1 (48. h7 $4 Ng6 $19) 48... Rxa2 49. e5 $18 {Black won't be able to stop all of White's pawns before his a-pawn can save the day.}) 47. Kg1 $14) 45... Rxd3 $2 (45... Rf3+ $1 46. Ke1 (46. Kg1 Rg3+ $1 $11) 46... Rxd3 $11) 46. Rf5+ $2 (46. Ne3 $1 $18 {Now the h-pawn survives, and White is winning once more. This is why Black has to check the White king until it surrendered control over e3.}) 46... Kg8 $11 47. Rg5 (47. Ne3 g3+ 48. Ke2 Ra3 $11 {Black's king has no trouble coping with the h-pawn.}) 47... Kh7 48. Ne3 Kxh6 49. Rxg4 Rd2+ 50. Ke1 Rxa2 51. Nf5+ Kh5 52. Rg3 Ra4 53. Ng7+ Kh6 54. Nf5+ Kh5 55. Ng7+ Kh6 56. Nf5+ Kh5 1/2-1/2