[Event "World Rapid 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.27"] [Round "8.47"] [White "Ganguly, S."] [Black "Madaminov, Mukhiddin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2578"] [BlackElo "2494"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "16"] [EventDate "2023.12.26"] [EventType "swiss (rapid)"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,16,22,25,25,25,18,40,12,32,29,35,42,42,59,14,54,-29999,-29999] White is a strong, well-known Indian GM whose classical rating has been as high as 2676. This is a shorter time control, but 15'+10" isn't 15-second chess. And yet...} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qf6 $5 {Less popular than the 4...Nf6 and 4...Bc5 main lines, but a reasonable option that has been played a few thousand times as well.} 5. Nf3 (5. Be3 {is also okay, inviting a transposition to 4...Bc5 after} Bc5 {, when Black has avoided (for better or worse) the 5.Nxc6 line.}) 5... Bb4+ {The point is to take c3 away from White's knight.} 6. c3 Bc5 7. Bd3 (7. Be2 {is more common.}) 7... Ne5 {Black has no problems here, but White should be fine as well after some normal move.} 8. Nxe5 $4 {Amazingly, this is not a novelty! A 2395-rated player named Cortlever also "tried" this move back in 1988, with the same result.} Qxf2# {See also Cortlever (2395) vs. Fico (2083), Imperia (op) 1988. Cortlever was an IM, but in his 70s. (You wouldn't expect an IM of any age to fall for this, but humans are frail creatures.} 0-1 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.29"] [Round "3.17"] [White "Christiansen, Johan-Sebastian"] [Black "Anton Guijarro, D."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "2618"] [BlackElo "2670"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,59,23,14,67,67,64,39,32,32,35,36,40,18,26,34,34,20,24,31,27,24,42,31,31,31,31,-30,-9,-9,-12,-12,0,0,139,134,134,136,166,169,169,169,169,164,240,227,254,212,262,172,338,338,295,229,441,441,788,825,935,948,922,922] Christiansen vs. the Korchnoi line of the Caro-Kann, Episode I.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qc2 Re8+ 9. Ne2 h5 {Very trendy. It looks weird, but Black's kingside is quite stable and the pawn will be especially effective when it reaches h4, taking g3 away from White's knight.} 10. O-O (10. Be3 {is also important, (generally) intending to castle on the queenside.}) 10... h4 11. Nf4 {Not a novelty, but given Christiansen's success in the next two games against elite opposition it's clearly not as well-known as it ought to be.} (11. h3 {is by far the most popular move, with}) (11. Bf4 {a distant second. It may seem like a blunder at first glance due to} Rxe2 $2 {, but it's a trap:} 12. Qxe2 Bxf4 13. Qe4 Bh6 14. Qh7+ Kf8 15. Rae1 $1 Be6 16. f4 $1 {and White will enjoy a decisive material advantage as Black's e6-bishop won't be able to run away after f5 due to Qh8#.}) 11... Nd7 (11... Qc7 {is a good alternative.} 12. g3 Nd7 13. Qd1 Nf8 14. Qh5 {and now Black has several good options. I'll mention one from the engine, which hasn't been tried yet:} b6 $11 {followed by ...Bb7. Black need not worry about the h-pawn (15.Qxh4? g5-+), so he can develop in peace.}) 12. Qd1 g6 $2 {Objectively it's only dubious, but the resulting positions are very difficult for Black to play, and in blitz (or for club players) practically impossible.} (12... Nf8 {is correct, as in the 11...Qc7 line above. After} 13. Qh5 Qc7 14. g3 {we have in fact transposed to that line, where 14...b6 was my recommendation. I should mention that the most popular move here should be avoided:} hxg3 $2 (14... Qd7 {is the second-most popular move, and it's an acceptable option. The idea is that in case the knight retreats to g2 (sometimes with a nudge from ...g5) - or Black snaps it off with ...Bxf4 - he (Black) can follow up with ...Qh3.}) 15. hxg3 {gifts White the open h-file, which will be exploited with Kg2 and Rh1. Black can still defend, but it's a bad idea.}) 13. Nxg6 $1 fxg6 14. Bxg6 Re7 $6 {Played by almost everyone, including Gukesh in the next game, but it's wrong.} (14... Nf8 $1 15. Qh5 $8 Nxg6 16. Qxg6+ Kh8 17. Qh5+ Kg8 18. Bh6 Bf8 19. Rae1 {was played once before. Black did well to get here, but now she swapped on e1, giving White a winning attack. Instead} Re6 $1 $11 {/? is only a little better for White.} (19... Rxe1 $4 20. Rxe1 Bd7 21. Qg6+ Kh8 22. Bxf8 Qxf8 23. Re4 $18 {1-0 Malicka,M (2307)-Bukala,W (1875) POL-ch U20 Girls Pokrzywna 2021 (6)})) 15. Qh5 Nf8 16. Bh6 $16 {This has all happened before - and happens in the next game, too. Surprisingly, White had only gone +1 from five previous games, and in four of the games White was higher-rated, generally considerably so.} Rg7 $2 (16... Bd7 {was better, as played by Gukesh - see the next game.}) (16... Be6 {is also acceptable, but Black should vary on move 14 instead of worrying what to do here.}) 17. Bxg7 $6 (17. Bc2 $1 Be6 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. f4 $1 Qd7 20. f5 $1 Bd5 21. Qg4+ Kh8 22. Qxh4+ Nh7 23. Bb3 $18 {White intends to continue with Rae1 and (once it's safe) Rf3.}) 17... Kxg7 18. Bd3 (18. Bc2 $142 $16) 18... f5 $2 (18... Qd7 $1 {was better, heading to f7 or g4 as circumstances dictate.} 19. Qxh4 $146 {?} (19. h3 $2 Qf7 20. Qxh4 Ng6 {If anything, Black is a little better now.} 21. Qh5 f5 22. Rfe1 Bd7 23. Qg5 Rh8 24. Qe3 Nh4 25. Qg5+ Ng6 26. Qe3 Nh4 27. d5 c5 28. Qg5+ Ng6 29. Qe3 Nh4 30. Qg5+ Ng6 {½-½ Ochedzan,T (2350)-Richter,N (2270) Marianske Lazne IM-B2 20th 2022 (5)})) 19. Bxf5 $18 Bxf5 20. Qxf5 {With a material advantage and ongoing attacking prospects, White is clearly winning.} Qf6 21. Qg4+ Kf7 22. Rae1 Ne6 23. Qh5+ Kg7 24. Re4 Rh8 25. Qg4+ Kf7 26. Rfe1 Nf8 27. R1e3 Rg8 28. Qh5+ Qg6 29. Rf3+ Kg7 30. Rg4 1-0 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.29"] [Round "4.8"] [White "Christiansen, Johan-Sebastian"] [Black "Gukesh, D."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "2618"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,53,23,14,67,64,74,32,34,38,30,40,40,18,34,34,24,26,32,32,44,16,45,31,31,31,9,-9,-12,-12,-12,-12,0,-5,10,-35,154,78,145,154,154,75,296,302,713,761,976,1163,1230,1145,1554,1468,883,883,29985,29990] Christiansen vs. the Korchnoi line of the Caro-Kann, Episode II.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qc2 Re8+ 9. Ne2 h5 10. O-O h4 11. Nf4 Nd7 12. Qd1 g6 $2 {Exactly one round later, Gukesh, bound for the Candidates, makes the same error as Anton.} (12... Nf8 13. Qh5 Qc7 14. g3 b6 $11) 13. Nxg6 fxg6 14. Bxg6 Re7 15. Qh5 Nf8 16. Bh6 Bd7 $146 {One of two playable moves, and certainly better than Anton's 16...Rg7.} (16... Be6 {, the most frequently chosen move, is the only other acceptable option.}) 17. Rfe1 (17. Rae1 f5 $4 (17... Be8 $8 18. Bxf8 (18. Rxe7 Qxe7 19. Bxf8 Bxg6 20. Bxe7 Bxh5 21. Bxd6 Re8 22. h3 Re2 23. d5 $1 cxd5 24. Rd1 $1 Rxf2 25. Rxd5 Bf7 26. Kxf2 Bxd5 27. a4 $16) 18... Bxg6 19. Qxg6+ Kxf8 20. Qxf6+ Kg8 21. Qxh4 $16) 18. Qg5 $18 {wins - 18...Rxe1 doesn't come with check. Here it's good that White moved the a-rook to e1.}) 17... Ne6 $2 (17... f5 $1 18. Re3 (18. Qg5 $4 Rxe1+ 19. Rxe1 Qxg5 20. Bxg5 Nxg6 $19) 18... f4 19. Re2 $16) (17... Be8 18. Rxe7 Qxe7 19. Bxf8 Bxg6 20. Bxe7 Bxh5 21. Bxd6 Re8 22. h3 Re2 23. b3 $18 {Here it's better to have the rook on a1.}) 18. Bc2 (18. Re4 {is best, but Christiansen's move doesn't spoil anything.}) 18... Qe8 19. Bg6 $2 (19. Qxh4) 19... Qd8 $2 (19... Nf4 $1 20. Bxe8 Nxh5 21. Rxe7 Bxe8 22. Rxb7 {is less clear than it ought to have been, but White should still win with good play.}) 20. Qxh4 Ng5 21. f4 (21. Bxg5 $4 fxg5 $11 22. Qxg5 $4 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Qxg5 $19 {is of course to be avoided.}) 21... Nf7 22. Bg7 $1 {Not the only winning move, but the best and most attractive.} Kxg7 23. Qh7+ Kf8 24. Bxf7 Rxe1+ (24... Rxf7 25. Qh8#) 25. Rxe1 Be5 26. fxe5 fxe5 (26... Bf5 {allows the game to continue in some meaningless sense.}) 27. Rxe5 {A speedy mate is coming, and even if White somehow failed to find it Black's posiiton would remain utterly hopeless.} 1-0 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.29"] [Round "8.10"] [White "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2667"] [BlackElo "2740"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,142,23,14,14,24,14,9,24,32,13,-3,-4,0,34,-30,6,1,-14,0,3,3,-3,3,-9,-11,1,-7,8,-9,-5,-15,-6,-22,0,-11,25,-3,18,-6,-4,-42,-44,-8,4,-37,73,-32,-15,-35,-29,-58,-5,-18,-21,-21,102,-62,4,-19,-3,-16,-45,-62,-26,-67,-67,-75,82,-54,-17,-135,-111,-111,-110,-129,-130,-130,-132,-152,-139,-402,-274,-349,-219,-268,-234,-267,-239,-246,-226,-208,-221,-230,-212,-215,-215,-204,-194,-194,-194,-192,-192,-190,-174,-180,-184,-176,-187,-187,-187,-193,-182,-183,-182,-193,-182,-182,-182,-182,-182,-182,-182,-187,-183,-226,-206,-246,-191,-190,-197,-259,-261,-240,-264,-294,-287,-293,-288,-286,-290,-324,-327,-362,-366]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 a6 7. Re1 Ba7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Nf1 Na5 10. Bb3 Nxb3 11. axb3 h6 12. h3 c6 13. Ng3 Re8 14. Bd2 Bb8 15. d4 Bc7 {White has a little more space and a lead in development; in compensation, Black has the bishop pair. Overall, White has a slight pull, and I really like the way Niemann played the next few moves.} 16. b4 {Not only with an eye to ...c5 and ...a5 possibilities, but - spoiler alert! - starting to clear the third rank.} Be6 17. Qc1 {Telegraphing a possible sac on h6, and as on the last move played with a second (and even third) idea in mind.} Qe7 18. c4 $1 {Usefully gaining space and creating ideas like d5, c5, or b5. That's part of the story, and the other part is that the third rank is now open for business.} Bd7 $6 19. Ra3 $1 $16 {Now Black has something to be nervous about. White wants to play Nh4 followed by Ngf5, when Black's kingside will collapse thanks to White's pressure against h6 and g7 (especially after Rg3).} Rad8 $2 $18 {So far, so good, but now Niemann makes a surprising error. I don't mean that his making the error is surprising; rather, it's surprising that the move he makes is an error.} 20. dxe5 $2 (20. Nh4 $1 {was the right way.} Qf8 (20... Kh7 21. Ngf5 Bxf5 22. Nxf5 Qf8 23. Rg3 Nh5 24. Rxg7+ $1 {is essentially the same.}) 21. Ngf5 (21. Rf3 {is also excellent.}) 21... Kh7 22. Rg3 Nh5 23. Rxg7+ $1 Nxg7 24. Bxh6 $18) 20... dxe5 21. Nh4 $14 Qf8 $2 (21... Kh7 22. Ngf5 Bxf5 23. Nxf5 Qf8 24. Rg3 Nh5 25. Rxg7+ (25. Nxg7 $1 Nxg3 $8 (25... Nxg7 $4 26. Bxh6 $18) 26. Nxe8 $1 Nxe4 $1 27. Rxe4 Rxe8 28. Rh4 Re6 29. c5 $14) 25... Nxg7 26. Bxh6 {Black is completely lost in the version with the d-pawns still on the board. Here, amazingly, he lives:} Qxb4 $1 {This would be impossible with a Black pawn on d6.} 27. Qg5 $1 (27. Bxg7 $2 Qd2 $19 {And even if Black's last move were somehow legal with a Black pawn on d6, this would be a blunder with White's pawn on d4 and/or a Black pawn on d6.}) 27... Qxe1+ 28. Kh2 Nxf5 {and White must gratefully seize a perpetual, down two rooks and a bishop.} 29. Qxf5+ Kxh6 30. Qf6+ Kh7 31. Qxf7+ Kh8 32. Qf6+ $8 $11) 22. Ngf5 $2 (22. Rf3 $1 {Threatening Bxh6.} Nh7 23. Nh5 $1 Qe7 $8 24. Bxh6 $1 Qxh4 25. Nxg7 Rf8 26. Rg3 Kh8 27. Nf5 Bxf5 28. Bg7+ Kg8 29. Bxe5+ $1 Bg6 30. Bxc7 Rd7 31. Rg4 $16 {/+-}) 22... Kh7 (22... Nh5 $142 $11) 23. Rf3 $2 (23. Rg3 {returns to a line we've already seen - see 21...Kh7.} Bxf5 $8 24. Nxf5 Nh5 $8 25. Nxg7 $1 Nxg3 $1 26. Nxe8 Nxe4 27. Rxe4 Rxe8 28. Rh4 Re6 29. c5 $14) 23... Ng8 ({or} 23... Nh5) 24. c5 (24. Rg3 $142 g6 25. Ne3 Qe7 26. Nf3 Nf6 27. Ng4 $1 $11) 24... Be6 $15 {Now Black is fine, and prevailed after a long fight.} 25. Ne3 Rd7 26. Bc3 Red8 27. Ng4 Bb3 28. Ne3 Be6 29. Ng4 Bb3 30. Qe3 Rd1 31. Kh2 Rxe1 32. Qxe1 Qe8 33. Nf5 Be6 34. g3 Bc8 35. Nd6 Bxd6 36. cxd6 Bxg4 37. hxg4 Rxd6 38. Rf5 f6 39. Kg2 Qd7 40. Qh1 Ne7 41. Rh5 Qxg4 42. Rh4 Qd7 43. Qe1 Rd1 44. Qe2 Qd3 45. Qxd3 Rxd3 46. Rh1 Nc8 47. f3 Nd6 48. Kf2 Nb5 49. Ke2 Rd7 50. f4 Kg6 51. Ke3 Kf7 52. fxe5 Nxc3 53. bxc3 fxe5 54. Rf1+ Ke6 55. Rf8 Rc7 56. Re8+ Kf6 57. Rf8+ Ke7 58. Rb8 Kd6 59. Rd8+ Rd7 60. Re8 Re7 61. Rd8+ Kc7 62. Ra8 Kb6 63. Kd3 c5 64. Kc4 cxb4 65. cxb4 Rd7 66. Rg8 Rd4+ 67. Kc3 g5 68. Rg6+ Kb5 69. Rxh6 Rxe4 70. Rg6 Re3+ 71. Kc2 Rxg3 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.26"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Khismatullin, D."] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2579"] [BlackElo "2830"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2023.12.26"] [EventType "swiss (rapid)"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,100,23,23,15,6,6,6,26,30,38,43,43,22,21,25,48,0,19,30,8,13,13,-6,6,5,14,8,19,-7,-1,-5,-13,-6,12,21,19,0,-15,-2,-11,-1,-3,-2,-5,1,-4,0,-4,-4,-4,-4,-4,-3,3,-6,1,-1,3,-8,-9,-7,-9,-3,-5,-6,-2,-12,-12,-10,0,0,0,-41,-41,-54,-66,-86,-105,-116,-123,-122,-122,-107,-111,-136,-142,-164,-176,-176,-161,-169,-204,-216,-187,-171,-161,-228,-235,-161,-161,-486,-486]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 b6 7. cxd5 cxd5 8. Nb5 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Nxd2 O-O 11. Be2 Ba6 12. O-O Bxb5 13. Bxb5 a6 14. Bxd7 Qxd7 15. Rfc1 Rfc8 16. Qd1 Qb5 17. Rc2 Ne8 18. Nf3 Rxc2 19. Qxc2 Nd6 20. a4 Qe8 21. Qc7 Qd8 22. Rc1 Qxc7 23. Rxc7 Rc8 24. Rxc8+ Nxc8 $11 {There's no way Carlsen can win this, right?} 25. Ne5 f6 26. Nd3 Kf7 27. Kf1 Ke7 28. Ke2 Kd6 29. f4 a5 30. g4 Kc6 31. h4 Nd6 32. h5 h6 33. b3 Kd7 34. Nf2 f5 35. g5 Kc6 36. Nd3 Ne4 37. Ne5+ Kd6 38. gxh6 gxh6 39. Kd3 Nf6 40. Kc3 Nxh5 41. b4 Ng3 42. bxa5 bxa5 43. Kd3 h5 44. Ng6 Ne4 45. Kc2 Nf6 46. Kc3 Nd7 47. Nh4 Nb6 48. Kb3 Nc4 49. Ng2 Nd2+ 50. Kc3 Nf3 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.26"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2742"] [BlackElo "2830"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "172"] [EventDate "2023.12.26"] [EventType "swiss (rapid)"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,172,23,23,15,10,10,26,21,21,24,20,20,21,65,48,55,28,28,29,49,1,1,-8,-2,-43,3,3,4,-4,25,-13,-8,-36,-36,-37,-58,-56,-53,-125,-88,-116,-98,-149,-142,-185,-133,-192,-201,-194,-212,-253,-243,-243,-244,-244,-190,-240,-247,-246,-227,-278,-278,-299,-234,-250,-248,-354,-210,-210,-145,-145,-129,-130,-148,-146,-145,-150,-154,-154,-154,-154,-154,-158,-142,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-176,-167,-176,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-131,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-97,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-167,-97,-167,-167,-215,-222,-222,-206,-224,-224,-280,-353,-355,-354,-397,-326,-517,-653,-656,-784,-836,-846,-846,-842,-858,-898]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. a3 Nc6 9. Qc2 Re8 10. Rd1 e5 11. Bg5 d4 12. Nd5 Be7 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Bd3 g6 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Be4 Bf5 17. Bxf5 gxf5 18. exd4 Nxd4 19. Qc3 Rad8 20. Rd2 Qg6 21. Kf1 f4 22. Ne1 Qa6 23. h4 Rc8 24. b3 b5 25. Kg1 bxc4 26. bxc4 Rxc4 27. Qh3 Qe6 28. Kh2 Qxh3+ 29. Kxh3 e4 30. f3 e3 31. Rd1 h5 32. Nd3 e2 33. Rb1 Rc3 34. Nxf4 Nc2 35. Nd5 Rc6 36. Nb4 Nxa3 37. Nxc6 Nxb1 38. Rxb1 e1=Q 39. Rxe1 Rxe1 40. Nxa7 f5 41. Kg3 Kf7 42. Nc6 Kf6 43. f4 Rd1 44. Kf3 Ke6 45. Ke3 Re1+ 46. Kf2 Re4 47. g3 Kd5 48. Ne5 $11 {There's no way Carlsen is going to win this one though, right?} Ra4 49. Nf7 Ra2+ 50. Kf3 Ra7 51. Ng5 Kd4 52. Ke2 Ra2+ 53. Kf3 Ra3+ 54. Kf2 Kd3 55. Ne6 Ra1 56. Nc5+ Kc4 57. Ne6 Kd5 58. Ng5 Ra6 59. Ke3 Kc4 60. Nf7 Re6+ 61. Kf2 Kd3 62. Ne5+ Ke4 63. Nf7 Ra6 64. Ng5+ Kd3 65. Nf7 Ra7 66. Ng5 Ra2+ 67. Kf3 Kd2 68. Kf2 Rc2 69. Ne6 Kd3+ 70. Kf3 Rc3 71. Kf2 Rc6 72. Ng5 Ra6 73. Nf7 Ra2+ 74. Kf3 Ra3 75. Kf2 Ra7 76. Nd6 Rd7 77. Ne8 Rf7 78. Nd6 Rf6 79. Ne8 Rg6 80. Kf3 Kc4 81. Kf2 Kc5 82. Nc7 Kc6 83. Na6 Rd6 84. Ke3 Kb5 85. Nc7+ Kb6 86. Na8+ Kb7 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.27"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Vidit, S."] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E00"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2830"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "144"] [EventDate "2023.12.26"] [EventType "swiss (rapid)"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,144,23,23,15,10,21,-37,6,10,16,5,1,-12,-4,1,43,11,4,13,11,23,22,24,30,15,16,16,29,23,-13,-24,-15,-20,3,3,9,3,5,0,3,-11,4,4,-2,-15,22,22,12,12,8,8,0,-8,-18,-18,-18,-20,-14,-11,-8,-17,-20,-34,-42,-38,-47,-50,-34,-41,-10,-12,-13,-13,-7,-14,-18,-18,-11,-19,-19,-5,-12,-12,-10,-4,-22,-18,-18,-18,-18,-31,-17,-31,-25,-30,-29,-32,-26,-29,-32,-45,-73,-37,-78,-67,-67,-106,-105,-108,-108,-115,-115,-113,-119,-109,-116,-119,-115,-122,-122,-180,-187,-204,-241,-254,-238,-269,-201,-286,-310,-312,-322,-454,-248,-276,-305,-307,-307,-375,-386,-386,-386,-500,-405,-490,-473]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Bxd2+ 5. Qxd2 O-O 6. Bg2 d5 7. Nf3 c6 8. b3 b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Nc3 Nbd7 11. Rfd1 Qe7 12. Rac1 Rfd8 13. Qf4 Ba6 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. g4 Rac8 16. g5 Nh5 17. Qd2 g6 18. h4 Qb4 19. e3 Ng7 20. Bh3 Rc7 21. Qb2 Rdc8 22. Nb1 Ne8 23. Rxc7 Rxc7 24. Rc1 Qd6 25. Rxc7 Qxc7 26. Qa3 Be2 27. Nbd2 Nd6 28. Bf1 Bxf1 29. Kxf1 Nf5 30. Ke2 h5 31. gxh6 Nf6 32. Qa4 Nxh6 33. Ne5 Nf5 34. Qc6 Qxc6 35. Nxc6 a5 36. Nf3 $11 {Another "hopelessly" drawn ending.} Ne4 37. a4 Kf8 38. Nce5 Ke7 39. Ke1 Nf6 40. Ng5 Nd6 41. Ke2 Nd7 42. Nc6+ Ke8 43. Kd3 Nf5 44. Nf3 Nf6 45. Ke2 Ng8 46. b4 axb4 47. Nxb4 Nge7 48. Nd3 Nc8 49. Nde5 Ncd6 50. Nc6 f6 51. Nb4 Ne4 52. Na2 Kd7 53. Nd2 Nxd2 54. Kxd2 Nxh4 55. Nb4 Nf5 56. Nd3 g5 57. Kc3 Kc6 58. Kd2 Nd6 59. f3 Kb7 60. Nf2 Ka6 61. e4 dxe4 62. fxe4 Ka5 63. Kd3 Kxa4 64. e5 fxe5 65. dxe5 Nf7 66. Kd4 Nd8 67. Ne4 g4 68. Ke3 b5 69. Kf4 b4 70. Kxg4 b3 71. Kg5 Nc6 72. Nc5+ Kb4 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.28"] [Round "11.1"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Idani, P."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B50"] [WhiteElo "2830"] [BlackElo "2602"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2023.12.26"] [EventType "swiss (rapid)"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,101,23,14,56,40,75,57,58,47,89,39,43,32,43,9,1,-15,14,14,-11,-8,8,10,10,10,-4,-4,-4,-4,37,-46,0,-32,-32,-34,-28,-48,-35,-40,-25,-25,-29,-23,-35,-35,-12,-25,-18,-17,8,-13,8,0,0,0,47,53,28,38,32,49,66,66,62,62,66,55,53,55,56,51,45,33,24,0,39,0,65,84,111,98,79,79,97,97,97,101,101,102,182,181,318,366,461,495,465,527,527,547,537,598,745,1173]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 g6 5. O-O Bg7 6. a4 O-O 7. c3 Nc6 8. h3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Re1 b6 11. Nbd2 e6 12. Nb3 Bb7 13. Bg5 Qc7 14. d4 Nce7 15. Qe2 h6 16. Bd2 Nf4 17. Bxf4 Qxf4 18. Ne5 Nf5 19. Qg4 Qxg4 20. hxg4 Nd6 21. Bf1 cxd4 22. Nxd4 Bd5 23. a5 Bxe5 24. Rxe5 bxa5 25. Rxa5 Rab8 26. b4 Rfc8 27. Re3 Ne4 28. Nb5 Nd2 29. Nxa7 Nxf1 30. Kxf1 Rc7 31. Kg1 Bc4 32. Ree5 Bd5 33. Nb5 Rc4 34. f3 Bc6 35. Nd6 Rxc3 36. Rec5 Rxc5 37. Rxc5 Bd5 $11 {Of course, this is another drawn ending.} 38. b5 Rb6 $2 39. Nc8 Rb8 $2 40. Ne7+ $18 Kf8 41. Nxd5 exd5 42. Kf2 $1 {Very alert.} ({It's easy to unthinkingly, automatically play} 42. Rxd5 $2 {, especially in blitz, but it's a blunder:} Ke7 $1 43. Kf2 Ke6 $1 44. Rc5 Kd6 $1 45. Rc6+ Kd7 $11 {is the problem: White must allow a repetition or lose the b-pawn (in which case calling it a "dead" draw won't be hyperbolic).}) 42... Ra8 (42... Ke7 43. Ke3 Kd6 44. Kd4 $18 {and the king is there in time.}) 43. Ke3 $1 {Again the only winning move.} (43. Rxd5 $2 Ra2+ $1 44. Ke3 (44. Kg3 Ke7 $11 {and the problem we saw earlier (repetition or goodbye b-pawn) shows up once again.}) 44... Rxg2 45. Kd4 Ke7 $11) 43... Ra2 44. Kd4 $1 Rxg2 45. Kxd5 {Black has regained his pawn, but White's b-pawn will cost Black his rook. Sometimes the weaker side can save the ending by creating his own passed pawn which will eventually cost the strong side his rook, but not here.} h5 46. b6 Rb2 (46... h4 47. b7 Rb2 48. Rc8+ Kg7 49. b8=Q Rxb8 50. Rxb8 $18) 47. Kc6 hxg4 48. fxg4 Ke7 49. b7 Rxb7 50. Kxb7 Ke6 51. g5 1-0 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.29"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Radjabov, T."] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2723"] [BlackElo "2830"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,114,23,14,14,24,14,14,35,-3,-3,17,19,3,7,7,7,7,16,-4,0,-6,18,-18,72,70,68,52,64,53,70,61,67,59,55,43,48,35,58,58,62,61,61,51,52,52,49,55,79,71,63,49,51,29,56,56,49,0,22,-17,-17,-23,-23,-80,-75,-79,-34,-98,-79,-79,-55,-98,-98,-105,-107,-110,-106,-129,-129,-126,-128,-147,-143,-143,-157,-153,-153,-153,-153,-153,-151,-168,-178,-179,-155,-183,-191,-190,-196,-196,-196,-196,-213,-204,-207,-200,-208,-215,-215,-209,-209,-209,-209,-209,-209,-209,-209]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d3 d6 9. a4 Bd7 10. Bd2 h6 11. h3 Rb8 12. axb5 axb5 13. Nc3 Re8 14. Nd5 Bf8 15. c3 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Ne7 17. Bb3 Ng6 18. Be3 Be6 19. Bxe6 Rxe6 20. Qb3 Be7 21. Ra7 Nh4 22. Nxh4 Bxh4 23. Rea1 c6 24. g3 Bg5 25. Bxg5 Qxg5 26. Rc7 Rf6 27. Qc2 $11 {It's hard to see White losing this, but we've said that once or twice before.} Qh5 28. Kh2 Qf3 29. Rf1 d5 30. Kg1 Rd8 31. Re7 dxe4 32. dxe4 Qh5 33. Kg2 Qf3+ 34. Kg1 Qh5 35. Kg2 Qg5 36. h4 Rxf2+ 37. Rxf2 Qxe7 38. Qe2 Qe6 39. Qe3 Qg4 40. b4 h5 41. Rf3 f6 42. Rf2 Rd1 43. Rf3 Kh7 44. Qe2 Rc1 45. Qd3 Re1 46. Re3 Qd1 47. Qxd1 Rxd1 48. Kf2 Rd2+ 49. Ke1 Rg2 50. Kf1 Rc2 51. Rd3 Kh6 52. Ke1 Kg6 53. Kf1 Kf7 54. Rd7+ Kf8 55. Rd3 Ke7 56. Ke1 Ke6 57. Kd1 Rg2 0-1 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.30"] [Round "18.1"] [White "Duda, J."] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2830"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "162"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,162,23,14,14,24,23,22,27,-3,3,5,19,7,7,7,7,3,3,9,9,9,2,-9,-17,-23,31,-15,21,-20,-2,-2,-8,-21,15,12,16,0,0,0,0,0,2,5,5,9,6,6,6,6,12,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,-27,-19,-59,-20,-22,-13,-64,-112,-112,-103,-119,-127,-91,-95,-117,-110,-110,-95,-110,-73,-113,-101,-119,-63,-64,-64,-63,-64,-64,-69,-60,-49,-47,-49,-61,-13,-47,0,-40,-44,-17,0,0,0,-17,-29,0,0,0,0,-60,-75,-92,-103,-92,-92,-92,-92,-92,-89,-89,-89,-89,-87,-87,-81,-81,-81,-83,-81,-83,-83,-83,-83,-89,-77,-81,-81,-61,-61,-61,-61,-69,-61,-61,-61,-80,-109,-141,-153,-203,-224,-242,-240,-324,-240,-244,-250,-250,-251,-256,-262,-299,-272,-962,-992]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 b4 9. d4 d6 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Nbd2 Bc5 12. h3 Qe7 13. a5 h6 14. Qe2 Be6 15. Bxe6 Qxe6 16. Nb3 Ba7 17. Be3 Bxe3 18. Qxe3 Rfd8 19. Qe2 Nh5 20. Nc5 Nf4 21. Nxe6 Nxe2+ 22. Kf1 Ng3+ 23. fxg3 fxe6 24. Red1 Kf7 25. Ke2 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 $11 {No way to lose this ending, right?} Ke7 27. g4 Rb8 28. Ke3 Rb5 29. g5 hxg5 30. Nxg5 b3 31. Rc1 Nxa5 32. Nf3 Nc4+ 33. Ke2 bxc2 34. Rxc2 Rxb2 35. Rxb2 Nxb2 36. Nxe5 Kd6 37. Nf7+ Ke7 38. Ne5 Na4 39. h4 Nc5 40. Ke3 Nd7 41. Nc4 e5 42. g4 Ke6 43. g5 g6 44. Kf3 Nc5 45. Na5 Nd3 46. Ke3 Nf4 47. Kf3 c5 48. Nc4 Nd3 49. Ke3 Nb4 50. Na5 Nc2+ 51. Kd3 Nd4 52. Nb7 Nf3 53. Nxc5+ Kd6 54. Nxa6 Nxh4 55. Ke3 {Now, surely it's impossible for White to lose!} Ng2+ 56. Kf3 Nf4 57. Nb8 $2 Ne6 58. Na6 $1 {White corrects his mistake. He loses a pawn, but the position is still objectively drawn.} (58. Kg4 $2 Nc5 59. Kf3 Kc7 $19 {Whoops!}) 58... Nxg5+ 59. Ke3 Ne6 60. Nb4 Nc5 61. Nd5 Ke6 62. Kf3 Kf7 63. Ke3 Kg7 64. Ne7 Kf6 65. Nc6 Ne6 66. Kf2 Nd4 67. Nb4 Nb5 68. Nd3 Nd6 69. Kf3 Nf7 70. Nc5 Kg5 71. Kg3 Nd6 72. Kf3 $6 (72. Ne6+ Kh5 73. Nc5) 72... Kh4 73. Nd7 $2 (73. Nd3 {was the right way, keeping the knight close to home.} Nf7 74. Nf2 $11) 73... Nf7 $19 74. Nf6 Kh3 75. Kf2 g5 76. Nh5 Kg4 77. Nf6+ Kf4 78. Kg2 Nd6 79. Nh5+ Kxe4 80. Kg3 Kf5 81. Ng7+ Kf6 (81... Kf6 82. Nh5+ Kg6 83. Kg4 Nf5 {gets the knights off the board.}) 0-1 [Event "World Rapid 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.28"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Fedoseev, Vl3"] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E21"] [WhiteElo "2683"] [BlackElo "2830"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2023.12.26"] [EventType "swiss (rapid)"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,114,23,23,15,10,19,21,24,28,18,18,22,19,62,11,67,15,20,32,38,10,8,13,27,43,53,59,91,31,49,-5,16,-10,-10,-29,-17,-37,-1,10,78,52,9,9,5,-3,-20,-9,-9,-9,-6,-36,-47,-55,-30,-52,-53,-53,49,-31,-34,-38,-22,-22,-39,-39,-60,-68,-107,-68,-107,-107,-93,-94,-84,-94,-85,-105,-104,-110,-110,-201,-222,-222,-222,-253,-247,-271,-238,-262,-262,-468,-183,-290,-329,-342,-294,-352,-229,-612,-462,-496,-596,-593,-610,-546,-403,-403,-403,-403,-660,-964,-1629,-29995,-29996,-29997,-29998] Fedoseev was leading at this point, and if he survived this game he'd keep (at least) half a point ahead of Carlsen going into the last three rounds.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 d6 6. Qc2 Qe7 7. a4 c5 8. e4 e5 9. d5 Nbd7 10. h4 (10. a5 $142 $14) 10... h6 11. Be2 Kd8 (11... a5 $142) 12. Nd2 (12. a5 $142) 12... Kc7 13. Nf1 (13. a5 $142) 13... g6 (13... a5 $142) 14. g4 (14. a5 $142) 14... a5 $1 15. h5 $6 {Looking to create a hole on f5 for his knight, but the drawbacks outweigh the (potential) benefit.} gxh5 16. gxh5 Nb6 17. Ng3 Bd7 18. Qb3 Ne8 $15 (18... Qf8 $1 $17) 19. Be3 Ng7 20. Kd2 $11 f5 21. exf5 Nxf5 22. Rab1 $2 (22. Nxf5 Bxf5 23. Rag1 {followed by Rg3 and Rhg1, with equality.}) 22... Ra6 $17 23. Nxf5 Bxf5 24. Rb2 (24. Rbg1 $142) 24... Qg7 $17 25. Qd1 Rg8 26. Kc1 Qh7 27. Ra2 Nd7 (27... Rg2 $142) 28. Rb2 Nf6 (28... Rg2 $142) 29. Rg1 $2 (29. Qb3 $1 $11) 29... Rxg1 30. Qxg1 Ra8 $1 $17 31. f4 $2 Rg8 32. Qh2 e4 $19 {White's bishops are dead and his structure is garbage. The only question is whether Black will manage to break through, and with so many open lines there's little question about it - it's going to happen.} 33. Rb1 Qd7 $1 34. Bd1 Bg4 35. Bc2 Qf5 36. Kb2 Bxh5 37. Re1 b6 38. Kb3 Rg6 39. Qh1 Rg3 40. Qh4 Rh3 41. Qf2 Bf3 42. Rg1 Ng4 43. Qe1 h5 44. Bc1 Rh2 45. Qg3 Be2 46. Re1 Bxc4+ 47. Kxc4 Rxc2 48. Qh4 Kd7 {The king takes care of the problem all by himself, keeping the queen (and knight) free to maraud.} 49. Be3 Rg2 50. Qh1 Rg3 51. Bc1 Nf6 52. Rd1 Rd3 53. Rxd3 exd3 54. Kb5 Qxd5 55. Qh3+ Kc7 56. c4 Qc6+ 57. Ka6 b5+ {It's mate next move.} 0-1 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.29"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Tsaruk, Maksim"] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C00"] [WhiteElo "2460"] [BlackElo "2830"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,62,23,24,57,46,57,54,54,20,22,25,29,29,43,39,78,47,63,24,35,24,30,29,28,26,27,32,44,32,38,33,33,33,33,16,16,0,0,-5,8,-33,-38,-450,-450,-458,-459,-467,-484,-484,-484,-484,-484,-492,-492,-492,-492,-500,-490,-516,-517,-517,-489,-517,-509]} 1. e4 a6 {Trolling, but in a few moves it transposes to a normal French.} 2. d4 e6 3. Bd3 d5 4. e5 c5 5. c3 Bd7 6. Nf3 cxd4 (6... Nc6 {is objectively better, but it's not clear that ...a6 has any purpose here.}) 7. cxd4 Bb5 8. O-O (8. Bc2 $1) 8... Nc6 9. a3 (9. Nc3 $142) 9... Nge7 10. Nc3 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 Nf5 {White is still a little better, but strategically Black has achieved a lot. He has swapped off his bad bishop, has the better remaining bishop, and can hope for pressure against White's d-pawn. The burden is on White to find active chances.} 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Rac1 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Qxh4 16. f4 O-O 17. Rf3 g6 $5 (17... h6 $11) 18. Rcf1 Rac8 19. Rh3 Qd8 20. f5 $1 {Black is in danger here, even if Carlsen doesn't think so.} Qb6 $2 (20... exf5 $8 21. Rxf5 $1 Nxd4 $1 22. Qxd4 gxf5 23. Nxd5 Rc1+ 24. Kf2 Rc6 $11 {White has enough for the exchange, but not more.}) 21. Rxh7 $4 (21. Rh4 $1 $18 Nxe5 (21... exf5 22. Nxd5 Nxe5 23. Qd2 $18) (21... gxf5 22. Qg3+ Kh8 23. Qh3 $18) 22. Qe3 Nd7 (22... f6 23. fxe6 Qxe6 (23... g5 24. Rh5 Ng6 25. Nxd5 $18) 24. Qh6 $18 (24. dxe5 $18)) 23. Qh6 Nf6 24. fxg6 fxg6 25. Rxf6 Rxf6 26. Qxh7+ Kf8 27. Qh8+ Ke7 28. Qxc8 $18) 21... Kxh7 $19 22. Qh3+ Kg8 23. fxg6 (23. f6 Qxd4+ 24. Kh1 Qd2 $19) 23... Qxd4+ 24. Kh1 fxg6 25. Qxe6+ Kg7 26. Qd7+ Kh6 27. Qh3+ Kg5 28. Qg3+ Qg4 29. Qe3+ Kh5 30. Rxf8 Rxf8 31. h3 Rf1+ (31... Rf1+ 32. Kh2 Qf4+ $19) 0-1 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.29"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Vokhidov, Shamsiddin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B44"] [WhiteElo "2830"] [BlackElo "2596"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,73,24,24,46,40,48,47,44,55,40,3,1,18,50,-19,-1,-38,-24,-5,-4,-4,-19,-9,-5,-17,2,-13,-1,-1,-4,-31,2,-2,16,15,18,-46,-46,-69,-39,-58,-42,-52,-36,-37,-1,-59,-13,-52,20,16,17,-13,-7,-7,26,-14,41,-8,2,-37,-6,-41,-33,-93,-111,-139,-131,-90,-62,-45,53,53,61,82]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bc5 7. Nc2 O-O 8. Be3 b6 9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O Qe7 11. Qd2 Rfd8 12. Rfd1 Rac8 13. Bxc5 bxc5 14. Qe3 d6 15. f4 a6 16. Rd2 Qc7 17. Rad1 e5 18. f5 Nd4 19. Bd3 h6 20. Qh3 Bc6 21. Ne3 Qb7 22. Qh4 Qe7 23. Rf1 Rb8 24. g4 Nd5 25. Qxe7 Nxe7 26. h4 Rb7 27. Rg2 Rdb8 28. Rff2 Kf8 29. Kh2 a5 30. Kg3 a4 31. Ned1 Ng8 32. Nb1 Nf6 33. Ndc3 $2 (33. Nbc3 $11) 33... Rb4 $17 (33... Ke7 $142 $19) 34. Na3 Ke7 (34... h5 $142 35. g5 Ng4 $17) 35. Nc2 $15 Rxb2 $4 {Carlsen generally made his own luck in the tournament, but this was just a gift. Maybe Vokhidov subconsciously thought the rook on g2 was the king, as that's a far more common arrangement?} 36. Nxd4 cxd4 37. Rxb2 {Oops - too many White rooks.} 1-0 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.30"] [Round "13.1"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2731"] [BlackElo "2830"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,93,24,24,46,40,40,10,10,26,60,43,31,31,31,31,31,34,34,-2,38,9,38,38,38,51,77,77,77,61,76,73,73,77,77,31,33,28,35,0,36,-31,-3,24,98,61,62,62,64,23,35,38,55,37,41,32,73,24,42,33,44,39,39,50,50,69,56,65,234,230,281,224,219,131,156,157,373,377,766,477,484,557,716,777,1205,411,411,708,804,804,866,829,1011,1007,1044,1239]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 Ne7 {Carlsen has had this position seven times, but in each case White played 9.c4. MVL plays a rare move instead, and Carlsen forgets his prep (or forgets to recall it, if you catch my meaning).} 9. a4 $5 Ng6 $6 (9... a6) 10. a5 $6 {An amnesty, but he gets a second chance.} (10. Be3 $16) 10... Be7 $6 (10... a6) 11. Be3 $16 {Black's position is already terrible. He can't play 11...a6 because of 12.Bb6 followed by 13.Nc7+, so he has to surrender the valuable a-pawn. MVL goes on to win without much trouble.} O-O 12. Bxa7 Bd7 $2 (12... Qd7 $142) (12... Bf5 $142) 13. Bb6 $18 Qc8 14. Ra3 Bxb5 15. Bxb5 Bd8 16. Bxd8 Rxd8 17. O-O Qc5 18. c4 Qb4 19. Qa1 Nf4 20. Re1 Qd2 21. Kf1 e4 22. Qc1 Qxc1 23. Rxc1 Nd3 24. Rxd3 exd3 25. b4 Rac8 26. Rd1 Rc7 27. Rxd3 Re7 28. Re3 Kf8 29. Ke2 f5 30. Kd3 Rxe3+ 31. fxe3 Ke7 32. Kd4 Rf8 33. c5 f4 34. e4 f3 35. gxf3 Rf4 36. a6 bxa6 37. Bxa6 g5 38. b5 g4 39. b6 dxc5+ 40. Kxc5 gxf3 41. d6+ Kd7 42. Bb5+ Ke6 43. Bc4+ Ke5 44. b7 Rf8 45. d7 f2 46. Kc6 Kd4 47. Bf1 1-0 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.30"] [Round "14.1"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Sarana, A."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B50"] [WhiteElo "2830"] [BlackElo "2688"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,71,24,24,40,40,66,58,76,30,69,36,80,80,83,58,57,39,74,2,98,67,88,33,102,118,118,120,123,120,132,125,125,125,125,121,159,121,121,121,135,120,87,75,75,74,88,61,78,73,73,68,96,27,39,-9,-9,-19,-2,-16,6,0,25,9,10,13,53,58,146,120,632,649,705,711] We've mostly seen Carlsen's technical triumphs. Now for something tactical:} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Be2 a6 5. O-O b5 $6 (5... e5 $1) (5... e6) 6. d4 $1 cxd4 7. Nxd4 (7. Nd5 $1 $16) 7... Bb7 8. Bf3 $5 (8. Nd5 $142 $16) (8. a4 $142 b4 9. Nd5 $16) 8... Nbd7 9. a4 bxa4 $6 (9... b4 $142 10. Nd5 e6 11. Nxb4 Ne5 $14) 10. Rxa4 $16 e6 11. Rb4 $1 Nc5 $2 (11... Rb8 $8) 12. Rxb7 $3 $18 Nxb7 13. e5 dxe5 14. Bc6+ (14. Bxb7 $142 exd4 15. Bc6+ $1 Ke7 16. b3 $1 e5 17. Qe2 $1 $18) 14... Nd7 (14... Ke7 15. Bxb7 exd4 16. Bxa8 dxc3 17. Qf3 $1 $18) 15. Nxe6 $3 fxe6 16. Qh5+ Ke7 17. Bxb7 Rb8 18. Rd1 $1 Qc7 (18... Rxb7 $2 19. Bg5+ Nf6 20. Rxd8 $18) 19. Bxa6 Nf6 {From here, unfortunately, Carlsen's play is far less precise.} 20. Qe2 $2 (20. Bg5 $18) 20... Kf7 $16 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. Qxe4 Be7 23. Bd3 Rb4 24. Qf3+ Bf6 25. c3 (25. b3 $142) 25... Ra4 26. Bc2 Ra1 27. g3 Rd8 28. Re1 h6 29. Kg2 Qd7 30. h4 Ke7 31. Be4 Qb5 32. g4 $6 Bxh4 33. Bg5+ hxg5 $11 {All the way back from the dead. Still, it's blitz, and it's not as if his king is especially safe.} (33... Bxg5 $11) 34. Rxa1 Rd2 $4 (34... Qxb2 $11) 35. Ra7+ Rd7 36. Bc6 {Easy come, easy go.} 1-0 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.30"] [Round "19.1"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [Black "Rapport, R."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2830"] [BlackElo "2731"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,113,24,24,40,44,33,26,26,25,51,12,23,-11,25,28,13,0,0,0,0,0,23,8,7,1,15,15,5,10,19,3,10,-7,52,55,60,60,60,60,62,23,40,28,38,34,73,73,160,107,96,96,102,83,67,75,99,80,74,92,156,156,190,115,141,123,125,125,133,110,160,168,219,222,210,213,219,227,218,77,91,83,190,190,190,196,246,212,278,285,822,868,847,719,318,336,807,371,304,304,375,382,690,849,852,966,1011,1011,1017,1033,1064,1136,1419,1057,1178,1178] This was Carlsen's last victory of the tournament, and it was a masterpiece. (Especially for blitz.)} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. h3 Ne7 6. c4 c6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd7 10. O-O Nb6 11. Bb3 Ned5 12. Bg5 f6 13. Bd2 Be6 14. Re1 Bf7 15. Ne4 Re8 16. a4 a5 $2 {Natural, but bad. Black is looking forward to using the b4 square, but the reality is that the a5-pawn is the real weakness.} 17. Nxd6 Qxd6 18. Rxe8+ Bxe8 (18... Rxe8 19. Bxa5 $16) 19. Qe1 Bh5 20. Nh4 Re8 21. Qc1 Ra8 22. Nf5 Qd7 23. Qc5 $1 Kh8 $2 (23... Qxf5 24. Qxb6) 24. Ng3 Bf7 25. Bxa5 $18 Nc8 26. Re1 (26. Qf8+ $142 Bg8 27. Re1 $18) 26... Nd6 27. Bb4 Nxb4 28. Qxb4 Bxb3 29. Qxb3 b5 30. Qe6 Qd8 31. axb5 cxb5 32. Ne4 Nxe4 33. Rxe4 h6 34. g3 Ra1+ 35. Kg2 Rd1 36. Qc6 Kh7 37. Qc2 Qd5 38. f3 f5 39. Qxd1 fxe4 40. Qc2 Kh8 41. Qxe4 Qb3 42. Qe2 b4 43. Qd2 Kg8 44. d5 Kf7 45. d6 Ke8 46. Qe2+ Kd7 47. Qe7+ Kc6 48. Qc7+ Kb5 49. h4 Qxb2+ 50. Kh3 Qe5 51. Qb7+ Kc5 52. d7 Qe6+ 53. g4 Qf6 54. Qc7+ Kb5 55. Kg3 Qa1 56. d8=Q Qg1+ 57. Kf4 1-0 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.29"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2740"] [BlackElo "2710"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,76,24,24,24,24,25,9,13,13,33,28,31,3,2,-26,-27,-41,-25,-20,-13,-14,-16,-20,1,-9,8,-5,15,9,17,38,38,7,11,30,71,51,49,40,32,31,74,64,39,37,106,98,84,45,30,19,19,39,13,8,0,0,23,0,7,7,-1,-23,32,-2,59,11,56,-265,-254,-280,-282,-1257,-1324,-1324,-1324,-739,-1226] Dubov took second in the blitz, and won many games in his characteristically aggressive style. Here's one of them, against Candidates-qualifier Praggnanandhaa.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Re1 d6 7. c3 Na5 8. Bb5 a6 9. Ba4 b5 10. Bc2 c5 11. Nbd2 Re8 12. Nf1 h6 13. Ng3 Bf8 14. h3 Nc6 15. d4 cxd4 16. cxd4 exd4 17. Nxd4 Ne5 18. Bf4 Bb7 19. Ndf5 Rc8 20. Bb3 a5 $146 21. a4 b4 22. Qd4 Rc7 23. Rad1 Rd7 24. Kh1 Kh7 25. f3 g6 26. Ne3 Bg7 27. Qd2 Ba6 28. Bxe5 Rxe5 29. Nd5 Nxd5 30. Bxd5 $17 {White's beautiful bishop might lead you to think White is better. Unfortunately for Pragg, it's like the hood ornament on a car: attractive but useless. The action is going to take place on the kingside (which White's bishop has no access to), where White has lots of weak dark squares.} Qh4 $1 $17 31. Ne2 Rc7 $5 (31... Ree7 $17 {/-+ was better, getting out of the g7-bishop's way.}) 32. Nd4 (32. f4 $142 Ree7 33. Nd4 $15) 32... Rg5 33. f4 Rg3 34. Nf3 $2 {Time for a combination: Black to move and win.} (34. Nb5 $8 {was the only good move, though he's still in trouble after} Rc5 35. Bxf7 b3 36. Rc1 $8 Bc8 $1) 34... Rxf3 $1 35. gxf3 Qxh3+ 36. Kg1 (36. Qh2 Qxf3+ 37. Qg2 (37. Kg1 $2 Rc1 $1 38. Rxc1 $2 Bd4+ {mates.}) 37... Qxf4 $19 {gives Black three pawns and an unending attack with a pair of glorious bishops for the exchange.}) 36... Bd4+ $1 37. Qxd4 Qg3+ $1 (37... Rc2 $2 38. Qf2 {will be much harder to win, though in the end Black should still collect the full point.}) 38. Kh1 Rc2 {White will be mated immediately, or lose all his heavy pieces in exchange for Black's rook and be mated soon afterward.} 0-1 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.29"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Artemiev, V."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2711"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "3"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,3,24,23,23,25] An acceptable way to make a short draw:} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.29"] [Round "11.2"] [White "Dubov, Daniil"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, I."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A05"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2771"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "24"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,24,24,20,20,-92,44,-3,35,26,29,-96,21,-27,57,12,16,-82,33,-67,38,-7,60,-1,43,-80,24] An unacceptable way to make a short draw:} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. Nd4 Nd5 3. Nb3 Nb6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Ne4 Ne5 6. Ng5 Ng4 7. Nf3 Nf6 8. Ng1 Ng8 9. Nc5 Nc4 10. Na4 Na5 11. Nc3 Nc6 12. Nb1 Nb8 {The arbiter changed the result to 0-0 - both sides "lost" - due to the game's obviously being a prearranged draw. People prearrange draws all the time, but doing it this way is so blatant, and is such an over-the-top way of rubbing the tournament officials noses in the muck, that they really have no choice but to award the players a double forfeit.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Blitz 2023"] [Site "Samarkand UZB"] [Date "2023.12.30"] [Round "15.2"] [White "Svidler, P."] [Black "Artemiev, V."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2689"] [BlackElo "2711"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2023.12.29"] [EventType "swiss (blitz)"] [EventRounds "21"] [EventCountry "UZB"] [SourceTitle "The Week in Chess 1521"] [Source "Mark Crowther"] [SourceDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.01.01"] [SourceQuality "2"] {[%evp 0,48,24,24,24,24,25,27,23,5,2,-10,19,2,20,19,23,3,47,47,49,49,43,5,50,58,74,53,59,9,7,2,1,-3,-7,-9,-6,-20,-37,-94,-73,-114,-107,-123,-119,-119,-107,-242,-242,-338,-383] Finally, a win by the third place finisher, who led much of the way before faltering near the end.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Rb8 9. axb5 axb5 10. Nc3 d6 11. h3 h6 12. Re1 Re8 13. Nd5 Bf8 14. c4 $5 (14. c3) (14. Bd2) 14... Bd7 15. Ne3 $6 (15. cxb5 $142) 15... Nb4 $1 16. cxb5 (16. Nd5 $142) 16... Bxb5 17. Bc4 c6 (17... Bxc4 $142 18. Nxc4 Qc8 $15) 18. b3 $6 (18. Nc2) (18. Bd2) 18... d5 19. Bxb5 $6 ({One hates to surrender the center like this, but it had to be done.} 19. exd5) 19... Rxb5 $6 (19... cxb5 $142 $17) 20. Bb2 $2 (20. Ng4 $142 $15 {/?}) 20... dxe4 21. dxe4 Nd3 $1 $19 22. Re2 Nxe4 23. Nc4 $2 Nexf2 24. Rxf2 Bc5 {Strong play by Artemiev, but admittedly a disastrous round for Svidler.} 0-1