[Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.08"] [Round "6"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B45"] [WhiteElo "2792"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,106,17,8,58,46,56,34,40,31,50,35,28,4,62,29,30,30,30,30,30,34,31,36, 41,43,34,41,49,45,87,87,60,61,116,56,56,63,64,64,64,43,39,40,51,34,46,56,49,38, 39,43,42,29,54,48,58,47,54,46,75,58,52,66,54,62,55,41,55,65,47,45,47,66,51,65, 53,65,55,48,46,40,46,46,46,46,51,46,51,44,76,60,69,65,50,50,76,50,43,42,14,21, 14,12,7,12,12,7,7]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O Bg4 12. f3 Bh5 13. Bg5 Qb6+ 14. Kh1 Ne4 {A spectacular move, but a well-known one. It was also featured in a game from last year by Nepomniachtchi.} 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Bxe4 Qxb2 17. Qb1 Qb6 18. Qxb6 axb6 19. Rfb1 Bg6 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21. Rxb6 h6 22. Bf4 ({The first departure from the previously trodden path, a path laid out in another Nepo game:} 22. Be7 Rfe8 23. Bb4 Rac8 24. a4 c5 25. Bc3 Re3 26. Bd2 Re2 27. Bf4 Rce8 28. Bg3 Rxc2 29. a5 Ree2 30. a6 Ra2 31. Rxa2 Rxa2 32. Kg1 Bd3 33. Rc6 Ra1+ 34. Kf2 Ra2+ 35. Kg1 Ra1+ 36. Kf2 Ra2+ {and draw agreed, ½-½, Nepomniachtchi,I (2792)-Rapport,R (2763) Paris 2021.}) 22... Bxc2 23. Rxc6 Rfc8 24. Bc7 Ba4 25. Rc3 f6 {It was only around here that Caruana starting thinking but in reality, the game is already decided, it will be a draw. To his credit, Nepomniachtchi, kept trying for a while longer.} 26. h4 h5 27. Kh2 Kf7 28. Rac1 Bd7 29. Kg3 Ra4 30. Bb6 Rxc3 31. Rxc3 g5 {Caruana tries to force the draw. The computer claims 31...Bb5 as better, but in reality, it is a case of all roads leading to Rome... in this case, representing the draw.} 32. hxg5 fxg5 33. Bd8 Kg6 34. Rd3 h4+ 35. Kh2 Bf5 36. Rd6+ Kh5 37. Rf6 Bc8 38. Rc6 Bf5 39. Be7 Rd4 40. Rf6 Bd7 41. Rf8 Kg6 42. Rd8 Rd1 43. Bc5 Kf7 44. Bf2 g4 45. fxg4 Bxg4 46. Ra8 Rd2 47. Ra7+ Ke6 48. Ra6+ Kd7 49. Ra4 Bf3 $1 50. Kg1 Rd1+ 51. Kh2 Rd2 52. Kg1 Rd1+ 53. Kh2 Rd2 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.08"] [Round "6"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 ({In the Candidates tournament in Madrid, Nepomniachtchi was a good game against Ding Liren after} 2... c6 3. Nf3 e4 4. Nd4 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nc2 Nf6 7. Nc3 Qe5 8. Bg2 Na6 9. O-O Be7 10. Ne3 O-O 11. a3 Re8 12. b4 Ng4 13. Bb2 Qh5 14. h4 Bf6 15. Qc2 Nxe3 16. dxe3 Bf5 17. Na4 Bxb2 18. Nxb2 Nc7 19. Nc4 Re6 20. Rfd1 Nd5 21. Rd4 h6 22. Qd2 Rae8 23. Kh2 Bg4 24. Na5 Rf6 25. Kg1 g5 26. Nxb7 gxh4 27. Nc5 h3 28. Rxe4 hxg2 29. Rxe8+ Kg7 30. f4 Qh1+ 31. Kf2 Qxa1 32. Kxg2 Bh3+ {0-1 (32) Ding,L (2806)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2766) Madrid 2022} ) ({One of the Rapid & Blitz games between Firouzja & Mamedyarov saw} 2... Be7 3. Nc3 d6 4. d4 f5 5. Bh3 exd4 6. Qxd4 Nc6 7. Qd3 Bf6 8. Bxf5 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Ne5 10. Qc2 Bxf5 11. Qxf5 Qd7 12. Qxd7+ Kxd7 {and although Black is somewhat better in this position, White managed to win, Firouzja,A (2778)-Mamedyarov,S (2758) Saint Louis 2022.}) 3. Bg2 c6 4. Nf3 ({The other game between the combatants from the Rapid & Blitz event saw} 4. d4 e4 5. a3 d5 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Bg5 Nbd7 8. Qb3 O-O 9. e3 h6 10. Bxf6 Nxf6 11. cxd5 cxd5 {and once more, Black was better but White eventually won the game, Firouzja,A (2778)-Mamedyarov,S (2758) Saint Louis 2022.}) 4... e4 5. Nd4 d5 6. cxd5 Qxd5 7. Nc2 Qh5 {The main line.} 8. h3 Qg6 9. Nc3 Bc5 ({The other main move is} 9... Bd6 10. O-O O-O 11. d3 exd3 12. Qxd3 Qxd3 13. exd3 Be6 {with equal chances in Ding Liren (2791) -Giri,A (2764) chess24.com INT 2020.}) 10. b4 Bb6 11. Bb2 O-O 12. Ne3 Re8 13. Qc2 Nbd7 14. Rd1 $6 ({Apparently, White is considering an advance of the d-pawn at some point but this is definitely not the best. Another try was} 14. Rb1 h5 15. h4 Bd4 16. Na4 Bxb2 17. Rxb2 {as seen in Hertneck,G (2455)-Lehmann, K (2320) Germany 1989, and here} Ne5 18. O-O b6 19. Nc3 Neg4 {would have given Black a satisfactory position.}) 14... a5 $6 (14... a6 $5) 15. b5 Bd4 $6 16. Rb1 $6 (16. h4 $5) 16... c5 17. h4 $6 ({Here, the positional, temporary pawn sacrifice} 17. b6 Nxb6 18. Nb5 {was the to go.}) 17... h5 18. Ncd5 $2 (18. b6 { was again better.}) 18... Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Bxf2+ $1 {It seems almost too trivial to have been something Firouzja had overlooked, but now Black is clearly better.} 20. Kxf2 Qf5+ 21. Ke1 Qxd5 {As Peter Svidler said in the official broadcast, it is rather remarkable that Mamedyarov manages to take this position, which is much better for Black, to a point where he resigns just six moves later.} 22. Rf1 Nf8 $2 (22... b6 {intending ...Bb7 is better.}) 23. Qc3 Ne6 24. Rf4 f5 $2 ({After} 24... Bd7 25. Rxe4 Qf5 {, both sides would have chances.}) 25. d3 Nd4 $4 {A bizarre blunder.} 26. e3 Qxa2 ({Or} 26... Ne6 27. dxe4 Qxa2 28. Ra1 {and White wins.}) 27. Ra1 Qe6 28. dxe4 {and Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.08"] [Round "6"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2757"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,97,19,31,72,53,68,72,74,26,26,35,67,42,50,23,37,36,64,29,28,45,31,47, 48,15,11,-53,30,25,19,-26,-7,-42,-3,-3,0,-20,-20,-65,-31,-29,-30,-33,-23,-31, 31,48,45,45,51,49,45,45,36,36,59,60,58,47,61,64,61,58,67,42,72,68,61,55,36,17, 15,11,59,65,89,75,86,81,80,84,146,169,169,186,181,203,242,183,245,163,218,230, 251,282,266,326,716,884]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 h5 ({In round 4, against Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave tried} 8... Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. g5 Nh5 13. Kb1 Nb6 14. Na5 Rc8 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 Bxd5 17. Qxd5 Qxa5 18. c4 Nf4 19. Bxf4 exf4 20. h4 Qa4 21. Rc1 Rc5 22. Qe4 Re5 23. Qxf4 f6 24. Qh2 {and White had a clear advantage in Caruana,F (2758) -Vachier-Lagrave,M (2757) Sinquefield Cup 2022.}) 9. Nd5 Bxd5 10. exd5 Nbd7 11. Qd2 g6 12. O-O-O Nb6 13. Kb1 Nbxd5 14. Bg5 Be7 15. Bd3 ({In the first round of the event, Dominguez here tried} 15. a3 Qc7 16. g3 O-O-O 17. Qf2 Kb8 18. Rd3 Nd7 19. Bd2 N5f6 20. Ba5 b6 21. Bd2 Rc8 22. Bg5 { and White had phenomenal compensation for the sacrificed pawn, Dominguez Perez, L (2745)-Vachier-Lagrave, M (2757), Sinquefield Cup 2022.}) 15... Qc7 16. Rhf1 ({A new move. Thus far, the main line has been} 16. Rhe1 {. The text move prepares f3-f4, giving White some positional compensation for the sacrificed pawn.}) 16... Nh7 17. Bh6 Nhf6 {Draw $2} 18. c4 $1 {No draw for you $1} Nb6 19. Bg7 $5 Rg8 $6 ({According to the engines,} 19... Rh7 $5 {was better but it is a decidedly non-human move. It makes more sense to keep the rook on the back rank, potentially connectiing it to the other rook if Black decides to castle queenside, or, as in the game, castle by hand to the kingside.}) 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Na5 (21. Rc1 $5) 21... Kf8 22. Be4 {For the sacrificed pawn, White has nice light-squared compensation as well as better coordinated pieces. The entire black set-up is somewhat disjointed, even if the computer thinks Black's position is entirely acceptable.} Kg7 $6 (22... Nxc4 23. Nxc4 Qxc4 { was possibly better, forcing White to demonstrate what he has mind for the material investment he has made.}) 23. Qxd6 Rac8 24. Bxb7 Nxc4 25. Qxc7 Rxc7 26. Nxc4 Rxb7 27. Rfe1 Rgb8 28. b3 {This position is somewhat better for White: the queenside majority, the good knight vs inferior bishop and weakness free position whereas Black has both the a6- and e5-pawns to worry about. However, at present, White is still far away from converting his advantage.} Rc7 29. Re4 Rc5 $6 (29... Rb5 {was apparently the more accurate move.}) 30. Rd7 Rbc8 31. Re1 R8c7 32. Red1 ({It seems that Aronian wasn't sure if White's advantage after} 32. Rxc7 Rxc7 33. Nxe5 {would be convertable.}) 32... h4 ({Or} 32... Rxd7 33. Rxd7 Rc6 34. a4 Re6 {, and it is far from obvious that White will win. }) 33. h3 Bg5 34. a4 Bf4 35. a5 e4 $1 ({Or} 35... Rxd7 $1 36. Rxd7 Rb5 37. Kc2 e4 $1 38. fxe4 Rg5 {and Black has excellent drawing chances.}) 36. R7d4 $6 (36. fxe4 {would transpose to the above mentioned line.}) 36... f5 $2 ({A blunder. After} 36... Re7 $1 37. Rxe4 Rxe4 38. fxe4 Rg5 39. Rf1 Bc7 40. Rf2 Bxa5 { , White is, if anything, slightly worse $1}) 37. fxe4 Kh6 38. exf5 Rxf5 39. Rf1 {Now, White has a clear advantage.} Rcf7 $2 40. b4 Kh5 $6 41. Nd6 $1 {Now the game is swiftly over.} Bxd6 42. Rxf5+ Rxf5 43. Rxd6 Rf4 44. Rb6 g5 45. Rb8 Rf1+ 46. Kb2 Rf2+ 47. Kb3 Rxg2 48. b5 g4 49. Rh8+ 1-0 [Event "St. Louis"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2022.09.08"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2688"] [BlackElo "2771"] [Annotator "Bojkov,Dejan"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "United States"] [BlackTeam "United States"] [WhiteTeamCountry "USA"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {So noticed that his opponent has thousands of games against 2...Nc6 in the database, but very few with 2...Nf6. \"We had a rest day yesterday and Hans prepares extremely well the openings, so why not the Petroff $6\"} ({Despite the fact that So rarely plays the Petroff he should have felt pretty confident, as the arising pawn structures were familiar to him thanks to his Berlin experience. One example:} 2... Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nf5 8. Nf3 d5 9. d4 O-O 10. c3 Bd6 11. Bd3 Re8 12. g3 Rxe1+ 13. Qxe1 Nfe7 14. Nbd2 Bf5 15. Qe2 Qd7 16. Nf1 Re8 17. Ne3 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 Nd8 19. Bd2 c6 20. Re1 f6 21. Nf5 Nxf5 22. Rxe8+ Qxe8 {and a draw later in Tari,A (2639)-So,W (2772) chess24.com 2021}) 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 {Black solves the problem of his most problematic piece. A very good sign for the second player.} 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 { Main theory so far as expected.} Nd6 10. Nf1 c6 ({Instead:} 10... Bg6 11. Bf4 Nd7 {has been tried in another top-GM game and after} 12. Ng3 Re8 13. c3 Nf8 14. Bxg6 hxg6 15. Qc2 Qc8 16. Qb3 Nc4 17. Nf1 Ne6 18. Bg3 c5 {it was dynamically balanced in Aronian,L (2775)-Xiong,J (2690) Saint Louis 2022}) 11. Bf4 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Na6 {Looks like the best path for the knight.} ({A creative GM chose instead} 12... Nd7 13. Qb3 Nb6 14. a4 Nbc4 {and Black held this, although the knight's position seemed a tad artificial in Esipenko,A (2677) -Duda,J (2743) Wijk aan Zee 2021}) 13. Ne3 Nc7 {[#]} 14. b3 $146 {This is a novelty, and a logical one. Niemann prepares the c2-c4 advance, the only realistic chance to put the opponent's center under pressure.} ({Black felt confidently in the predecessor:} 14. Re2 Ne6 15. Bxd6 Bxd6 16. g3 Qd7 17. Rae1 Rae8 18. b3 Nc7 19. c4 Bb4 {Anand,V (2767)-Yu,Y (2738) Stavanger 2019}) 14... Ne6 15. Be5 {So assumed that his opponent's opening preparation ended here.} Ne4 $1 {A nice maneuver $1 \"Black's only problem is the d5 -pawn.\"} 16. c4 Nf6 {\"I thought this equalizes well.\" (So)} 17. Rad1 ({Another idea was} 17. Qf5 g6 18. Qh3 {(So) in order to try and organize some play on the kingside, but Black should be very solid there as well.}) (17. g3 $5 {at once also made sense.}) 17... g6 18. g3 {Covers the f4 square in advance, and prepares the double trade on f6 and d5.} ({Black carefully checked if he is not mated after } 18. Nf5 gxf5 19. Nh4 Ne4 20. Nxf5 {and came to the conclusion that the attack is insufficient after both} Bf6 ({Or} 20... f6)) ({And in case of} 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. cxd5 Nf4 20. Qe4 {\"completely equal.\" (So)}) 18... a6 19. Re2 Re8 20. h4 {A very risky attempt to play for the win. \"I thought this move a blunder because after:\"} ({If Niemann was content with the draw, he would have instead chosen} 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Ng4 Bg7 {with approximate equality.}) 20... Nh5 {\"his bishop is getting trapped.\" (So)} 21. cxd5 { Played after more than twenty-three minutes of thought. It was evident that Niemann had missed something.} ({After} 21. Ng4 {Black planned} f6 22. Rde1 Bf8 $1 {with an edge.} ({But not the other move suggested by So} 22... Qd7 {due to} 23. c5 $1 {and the bishop is immune} fxe5 $2 24. Nfxe5 Qc8 25. Nxg6 $1 { simply crushes Black.})) 21... cxd5 22. Ng2 {The most natural reaction is not the best one.} ({The fabulous defense} 22. b4 $3 {was suggested by the engine and the online commentators (Svidler, Seirawan, Ramirez), with the main points that after} Qd7 (22... f6 23. Qb3 $1 fxe5 24. Nxd5 {is fact more than dangerous for Black.}) 23. Qb3 Rad8 24. Rde1 f6 {The bishop suddenly goes numb} 25. Bb8 $3 {with equality, since none can do anything to it} Rxb8 $2 26. Nxd5 $1 {and again White takes over.}) 22... f6 23. Bb8 {Same trick here is simply ignored with} Kf7 {And White has no other choice but to weaken his kingside with} 24. g4 Qxb8 25. gxh5 Nf4 26. Nxf4 ({Once again So calculated everything neatly and was not afraid of the aggressive} 26. hxg6+ hxg6 27. Ne5+ fxe5 28. Nxf4 exf4 29. Rde1 {Due to the cool} (29. h5 Rg8 $1) 29... Qc8 $1 {\"probably the only move that wins.\" (So)} ({Indeed} 29... Qd6 30. h5 $1 {is likely a draw according to the quick machine check.})) 26... Qxf4 27. hxg6+ hxg6 28. Rde1 Bd6 {Now that Black relives the pressure along the d-file, he is clearly better in the endgame.} 29. Rxe8 Rxe8 30. Rxe8 Qg4+ 31. Kf1 Kxe8 32. a4 Kf7 { \"I thought the endgame was unpleasant (for White) but it was not clear if was gonna win.\" (So)} 33. Qe3 Bf4 {Missing his best plan, for which So regretted later.} ({He realized later that the knight should have been controlled with} 33... Bb4 $1 {(intending Qg4-e4 and Kf7-e6-f5 $1), when a possible line like} 34. Ke2 Qe4 35. Qxe4 dxe4 36. Ng1 Ke6 37. Ke3 {would have led to an endgame, similar to the actual game.}) 34. Qd3 Qh3+ 35. Ke2 Qe6+ 36. Kf1 Qe4 37. Qc3 $1 {That is the difference, if the black bishop stood on b4-square, this counterplay would not have been possible.} Bd6 38. Kg2 (38. Ne1 $1 {might have been more precise as White needs not to worry} Qxh4 39. Qc8 $1) 38... Qg4+ 39. Kf1 Ke7 40. Ng1 Qf5 41. Qe3+ Qe4 {And just when Niemann came that close to the draw...} 42. Ke2 {\"I thought this is a serious blunder.\" (So)} ({White would have likely survived after} 42. Ne2 $1 Ke6 43. Qh3+ f5 44. h5 $1) 42... Bh2 $3 {So needs to trade the queens but he needs them out on his own terms. The move in the text looks very illogical as it chases the knight towards the center, but it is far more important that this same knight will block its own pawn.} ({ Apparently the younger player only concentrated on the line} 42... Bf4 43. Qxe4+ dxe4 44. f3 {with chances to hold.}) 43. Nf3 (43. Nh3 Kd6 $1 44. Kf1 Qg4 {is equally hopeless for White as all his pieces are dominated.}) 43... Bf4 $1 {Now this is good.} 44. Qxe4+ dxe4 45. Ne1 Ke6 46. Ng2 ({In comparison to the line from above Black won a couple of valuable tempoes and} 46. f3 {is well met with} Kd5) 46... Bb8 {A very concrete approach.} (46... Bh6 47. Ne3 f5 { should also do.}) 47. Ne3 Ba7 {White cannot hold all his weaknesses.} 48. d5+ Kd6 49. Ng2 Ke5 50. d6 Kxd6 51. Nf4 g5 52. hxg5 fxg5 53. Nh3 g4 54. Ng5 Ke5 55. Nf7+ Kf4 56. Kf1 (56. Nd8 e3 $1) 56... Bb6 $1 57. Nd6 (57. Kg2 Bc7 $1 {traps the knight.}) 57... Kf3 58. Nc4 Bxf2 {A nice finish $1} 59. Nd2+ Kf4 0-1