[Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.07"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Gukesh, D.."] [Black "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D20"] [WhiteElo "2684"] [BlackElo "2759"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "India 2"] [BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"] [BlackTeamCountry "AZE"] {[%evp 0,24,30,26,23,4,11,23,20,20,37,16,20,33,29,37,21,29,40,48,51,42,66,40, 49,39,22] No notes (excluding this one) - it was a fairly uneventful game. I present it only as proof that Gukesh can still be stopped, or at least slowed. } 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 exd4 7. Qxd4 Qxd4 8. Nxd4 a6 9. Bxc4 Ne7 10. Nc3 b5 11. Be2 c5 12. Nb3 c4 13. Nd4 Nbc6 14. O-O-O Bd7 15. Nxc6 Nxc6 16. Rd6 O-O-O 17. Rhd1 Kc7 18. f4 Be6 19. e5 Rxd6 20. Rxd6 Rd8 21. Rxd8 Kxd8 22. Kd2 f6 23. exf6 gxf6 24. Ke3 f5 25. Bf3 Kc7 26. Ne2 Ne7 27. h3 Kd6 28. g4 fxg4 29. hxg4 Bd5 30. Bxd5 Nxd5+ 31. Kd4 Nb4 32. Nc3 Nd3 33. b3 Nxf4 34. Ne4+ Kc6 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.07"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R.."] [Black "Durarbayli, Vasif"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2648"] [BlackElo "2638"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "131"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "India 2"] [BlackTeam "Azerbaijan"] [BlackTeamCountry "AZE"] {[%evp 0,131,23,23,28,5,-3,6,33,-9,13,-15,9,11,11,11,32,42,36,17,21,0,6,-1,9,6, 8,0,7,7,9,10,22,23,24,9,0,0,25,-3,7,5,36,29,24,28,49,50,36,52,60,39,46,39,41, 41,42,40,61,60,57,66,79,22,41,42,12,12,12,12,-2,-5,-41,-44,-99,-95,-95,-95,9, -95,-95,-94,-26,-26,-26,-17,-46,-8,-23,-23,-16,-16,-23,0,28,23,-8,54,156,162, 196,196,192,157,214,218,289,38,355,159,159,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,125,164,188,347,441, 444,461,483,489,457,530,625,376,625,664]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 c6 8. Bg2 d5 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Rc1 O-O 11. a4 Bb7 12. Nc3 Rb8 13. Ne1 c5 14. cxd5 cxd4 15. Qxd4 Nc5 16. Rab1 exd5 17. Nf3 Ne6 18. Qd1 Ne4 19. Nb5 Qf6 20. Rc2 a5 21. e3 Rbc8 22. Rbc1 N6c5 23. Nfd4 g6 24. Qf3 Qe7 25. Bf1 Ng5 26. Qd1 Qf6 27. Qg4 Nge4 28. Qf4 Qe7 29. h4 Ba6 30. h5 Bxb5 31. axb5 Rce8 32. Rd1 Qd7 33. Bg2 f5 34. Qf3 g5 35. Rb2 Kh8 36. b4 axb4 37. Rxb4 Nc3 38. Rd2 N3e4 39. Rd1 Nc3 40. Rd2 N5e4 41. Rc2 Ra8 42. Rb3 Ra1+ 43. Bf1 Na4 44. Rd3 Re1 45. Ra3 Nac5 46. Rca2 f4 47. exf4 g4 48. Qh1 Ne6 49. Ra8 Nxd4 50. Rxf8+ Kg7 51. Rfa8 Nf3+ 52. Kg2 Kh6 53. Rc2 Qe7 54. Rc6+ Nf6 55. Ra3 Qxa3 56. Rxf6+ Kg7 57. Rxb6 h6 58. Rg6+ {Many crazy things have happened in the game up to this point, and I'll leave their exploration up to you. Here was the final critical moment.} Kh7 $2 (58... Kf7 $1 {(or 58...Kf8) would have retained a winning advantage.} 59. Rxg4 Nd2 $1 60. Kh3 Ne4 61. Qg2 Qc1 $19 { White is finished.}) 59. Rxg4 d4 $2 {Losing.} (59... Nd2 $4 60. Bd3+ Qxd3 61. Qxe1 $18 {is the reason Black's king needed to go to the f-file instead on move 58.}) (59... Qa4 60. Qh3 Qe4 {was one of several ways to maintain equality. In this case, the question is who will give perpetual check?} 61. f5 (61. Rg7+ Kxg7 62. Qd7+ Kh8 (62... Qe7 $6 63. Qxe7+ Rxe7 64. Kxf3 {is still drawn, but realistically only White can win this.}) 63. Qd8+ Kg7 64. Qd7+ $11) 61... Nh4+ 62. Kg1 Nf3+ 63. Kg2 Nh4+ 64. Kh2 Nf3+ $11) 60. Rg6 $18 Qe7 $2 ( 60... Nd2 $142 $1 61. Kh3 $1 Ne4 62. Qg2 $18 {White will untangle and win.}) 61. Bd3 Qa3 62. Re6+ Qxd3 63. Rxe1 Nxe1+ 64. Qxe1 Qxb5 65. Qe4+ Kg8 66. Qg6+ $1 {Even better than taking on d4.} (66. Qg6+ Kf8 67. Qxh6+ Ke8 (67... Kg8 68. Qg5+ Qxg5 69. fxg5 $18) 68. Qg6+ Kd7 69. h6 $18) 1-0 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.07"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Abasov, Nijat"] [Black "Sadhwani, Raunak"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2633"] [BlackElo "2611"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "Azerbaijan"] [BlackTeam "India 2"] [WhiteTeamCountry "AZE"] {[%evp 0,105,28,16,13,13,13,12,13,33,40,30,35,35,33,-13,7,-12,0,3,-6,18,-1,-22, -19,-19,-26,-34,-35,-59,-21,-112,-23,-7,-5,0,0,-11,49,26,40,39,23,29,36,16,19, 4,5,-1,36,38,42,19,19,14,31,17,-17,4,0,-16,-24,-14,-20,-13,-17,-20,-33,23,18, 10,20,0,0,0,1,30,52,60,64,74,80,105,103,61,65,69,93,94,112,136,126,137,139,142, 149,142,179,179,188,147,160,160,170,150,490,655]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 Bf6 10. Re1 Re8 11. Nd5 Rxe1 12. Qxe1 b6 13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 14. d3 Bb7 15. Qe3 c5 16. Qf4 Qxf4 17. Bxf4 Nf5 18. a4 Nd4 19. c3 Ne6 20. Bd6 a5 21. Be2 f6 22. f4 g6 23. g4 Rc8 24. f5 gxf5 25. gxf5 Ng7 26. Rf1 Bd5 27. c4 Bc6 28. Bd1 Kf7 29. Bg3 d5 30. cxd5 Bxd5 31. Rf4 Re8 32. Kf2 Re5 33. Rh4 Rxf5+ 34. Ke1 Rg5 35. Rxh7 Kg6 36. Rh8 Nf5 37. Bf2 Nd4 38. h4 Rf5 39. Bxd4 cxd4 40. Rb8 Re5+ 41. Kd2 Rf5 42. Rd8 Bf7 43. Rxd4 b5 44. Ke3 Rf1 45. Bf3 b4 46. Rg4+ Kh6 47. Rf4 Kg7 48. Rf5 Rb1 49. Rxa5 Rxb2 50. Rb5 b3 51. Rb7 Kf8 52. Bd1 {White has been winning, on and off, for a long time, but this is one of the "off" moments. Black may be able to save the game with 52...Rb1; no guarantees, but he'd have decent chances. Instead...} Ra2 $4 {Blundering into an elementary tactic. Even the young get tired.} (52... Rb1 53. Kd2 Bd5 $16 {and the game goes on.}) 53. Rxf7+ $18 (53. Rxf7+ Kxf7 54. Bxb3+ $18) 1-0 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.07"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Sindarov, Javokhir"] [Black "Ter-Sahakyan, Samvel"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2629"] [BlackElo "2625"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "Uzbekistan"] [BlackTeam "Armenia"] [WhiteTeamCountry "UZB"] [BlackTeamCountry "ARM"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bd3 {This sideline has become quite popular.} e5 7. Nde2 Be7 8. O-O Be6 9. f4 exf4 10. Nxf4 Nc6 11. b3 O-O 12. Bb2 Ne5 13. Qe1 Re8 14. Kh1 Bf8 15. Rd1 g6 16. h3 Rc8 17. Qf2 Bg7 18. Na4 Qe7 19. Nb6 Rc6 20. Bd4 Qc7 21. Qg1 Qe7 $2 {Now Black gets squeezed to death.} (21... Nxd3 $142 22. Rxd3 ({Perhaps the players missed that in case of } 22. cxd3 $143 $6 {Black has the nice shot} Nxe4 $1 {, when White must fight for a draw after} 23. dxe4 Bxd4 24. Rxd4 Qxb6 $15) 22... Nxe4 23. Nbd5 Bxd5 24. Nxd5 Qa5 25. c4 $44) 22. c4 $16 Nfd7 23. Nbd5 Qh4 24. Bf2 Qg5 25. Be3 Qh4 26. Bf2 Qh6 27. Bg3 $2 (27. Be2 $16) 27... Qg5 $2 (27... g5 $1 28. Ne2 Nxd3 29. Rxd3 Nc5 $11 (29... Bxh3 $5 30. Qh2 Bg4 31. Qxh6 Bxh6 32. Nd4 Bf8 $1 33. Nxc6 bxc6 34. Nc3 $14)) 28. Qf2 $18 Qd8 29. a4 Rc8 30. Bc2 Rf8 31. Ne3 Nc5 32. Nf5 $1 gxf5 33. exf5 Bd7 34. Nh5 f6 35. b4 Ncd3 36. Bxd3 Bxa4 37. Rd2 Bh6 38. Bf4 Bxf4 39. Nxf4 Rf7 40. c5 Nxd3 41. Rxd3 Bc6 42. Rxd6 Qf8 43. Ne6 Qh6 44. Rfd1 Re8 45. Kh2 Rfe7 46. R1d4 Kh8 47. Rh4 Qc1 48. Qd4 Rf7 49. Rd8 {Aside from the hiccup on move 27, it was a very impressive game by Sindarov.} 1-0 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.07"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2599"] [BlackElo "2783"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "Greece"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GRE"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 f5 11. Bd3 Be6 12. O-O Bg7 13. Qh5 Rb8 {The engine on my computer isn't impressed by this, but I trust Caruana to have gone much deeper.} (13... f4 {is usual.}) 14. c3 f4 15. Nc2 O-O 16. Ncb4 Nxb4 17. Nxb4 $14 Qb6 (17... Bd7 $146 {is a sneaky move, with the tactical idea that if} 18. Nxa6 $2 {Black whips up a nasty attack in a hurry:} Rb6 19. Nb4 d5 $1 20. Nxd5 Rh6 21. Qf3 $8 (21. Qd1 $4 Qh4 22. h3 Bxh3 $19) 21... Qh4 22. h3 Qg5 23. g4 $8 Rh4 24. Qg2 Bxg4 25. Be2 h5 $1 26. hxg4 hxg4 27. Rad1 f5 $19 {and if Black isn't winning, he's at least much better and enjoying a huge initiative.}) 18. Rad1 (18. a4 bxa4 19. Rxa4 a5 20. Nd5 Qxb2 21. Rxa5 $14 {/+/-}) 18... a5 (18... Kh8 $1) 19. Nd5 Qd8 20. Bc2 $2 (20. Be2 $142 Qd7 (20... Kh8 $6 21. Bg4 $16 {/+- }) 21. Rd2 f5 22. Bf3 $16) 20... Kh8 21. Rd2 $2 Rg8 22. Rfd1 $2 {Consistent, but the whole plan is bad.} Bh6 $1 $19 23. h3 (23. Qxh6 Rg6 24. Qh5 Bg4 $19 { traps and wins the queen.}) 23... Rg6 24. Qf3 $2 Qh4 {Thank you!} 25. Kf1 Rxg2 $1 26. Kxg2 (26. Qxg2 Bxh3 $19) 26... Rg8+ 27. Kf1 (27. Kh2 Bg4 28. Qd3 f3 $19) 27... Bxh3+ 28. Ke1 Bg2 29. Rd3 (29. Qd3 Qh1+ 30. Ke2 f3+ $19) 29... Bxf3 30. Rxf3 Rg2 {White's last hope is a fortress on the light squares.} 31. Ke2 Bg5 32. Rf1 Qg4 33. Bd1 f5 34. Bc2 Rh2 35. exf5 Rh3 36. Be4 Rxf3 37. Bxf3 Qxf5 { The coming ...e4 puts an end to any dreams of a fortress. White's material deficit already suffices for resignation, and more losses are on the way.} 0-1 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.07"] [Round "9.2"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Theodorou, Nikolas"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E73"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2575"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "Greece"] [BlackTeamCountry "GRE"] {[%evp 0,66,28,25,28,5,40,36,37,42,46,46,46,33,29,13,25,10,53,55,85,45,105,98, 98,7,-36,5,38,-43,-43,-24,-24,-24,0,0,-29,-6,-26,-15,-10,-83,-83,-321,-60,-31, -31,-31,-42,-82,-81,-76,-123,-122,-119,-197,-231,-256,-179,-185,-189,-347,-189, -335,-205,-237,-454,-454,-592]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 Na6 8. h3 c6 9. Nf3 Nh5 10. g3 f5 11. exf5 gxf5 12. c5 $6 $146 {Extremely aggressive.} (12. dxc6 bxc6 13. Qd2 $146 (13. Nxe5 {is a good practical option.} dxe5 $1 (13... Nxg3 $4 14. Nxc6 Qe8 15. Rg1 (15. fxg3 $4 Qxe3 $19 16. Qd3 Qxd3 17. Bxd3 Re8+ 18. Kd2 Bh6+ 19. Kc2 Bb7 20. Bxf5 Bxc6 21. Rhd1 Nb4+ 22. Kb3 Rab8 23. Nb5 Bxb5 24. cxb5 Rxb5 25. Bd7 Nc6+ 26. Kc4 Rc5+ 27. Kb3 Re3+ {0-1 (27) Jakovenko,D (2736)-Tkachiev,V (2642) Moscow 2009 (blitz)}) 15... f4 (15... Nxe2 16. Nxe2 Qxc6 17. Bh6 Rf7 18. Qd4 Qc7 19. Bxg7 Rxg7 20. Rxg7+ Qxg7 21. Qd5+ Kf8 22. Qxa8 $18) 16. Bd4 Qxc6 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Qd4+ Kh6 ( 18... Kg8 19. O-O-O $18) 19. fxg3 f3 20. Rf1 $18) 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Bxh5 f4 16. gxf4 Nb4 17. fxe5 (17. Rd1 Rxd1+ 18. Nxd1 exf4 19. Bd2 $14) 17... Nc2+ 18. Ke2 Nxa1 19. Rxa1 Bxe5 20. Rg1+ Kh8 21. Ne4 $14) 13... Nf6 {White should put a rook on d1, with or without a king on c1, with a pleasant advantage.}) 12... f4 $1 13. gxf4 Nxf4 14. Rg1 Nxc5 15. b4 (15. dxc6 bxc6 16. Nxe5 dxe5 17. Bxc5 Bxh3 18. Bxf8 Qxf8 $44) 15... Ncd3+ (15... e4 $1 16. Bd4 (16. bxc5 $2 exf3 17. Bxf3 Ng6 $17 {/-+}) 16... Ng6 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Qd4+ Qf6 19. Qxf6+ Rxf6 20. Ng5 Nd3+ 21. Bxd3 exd3 22. Nce4 Rf4 23. Nxd6 Rxb4 $11) 16. Bxd3 Nxd3+ 17. Qxd3 Rxf3 18. dxc6 bxc6 19. O-O-O (19. Qc4+ d5 20. Qxc6 Bxh3 21. Nxd5 Kh8 {is roughly level and very messy.}) 19... d5 20. Rxg7+ (20. Qe4 Rf7 21. Qxe5 Qe7 22. Qxe7 Rxe7 23. b5 $11) 20... Kxg7 21. Rg1+ Kh8 22. Bd4 $1 exd4 (22... Rxd3 $4 23. Bxe5+ Qf6 24. Bxf6#) 23. Qxf3 Qd6 {Thus far the game has been both entertaining and well-played. It remains entertaining...} 24. Rg5 $4 (24. Ne2 $8 Bd7 25. Qf7 Qh6+ 26. Kd1 $11) 24... h6 $2 (24... Bd7 25. Qf7 Qf8 26. Qxf8+ (26. Qxd7 $4 Qf4+ 27. Kc2 Qxg5 $19) 26... Rxf8 27. Nd1 Bxh3 $19) 25. Rg3 Ba6 26. Qf7 $2 (26. Ne2 $11 {/=/+}) 26... Qf8 $19 27. Qc7 Qf6 $1 (27... dxc3 $4 28. Qe5+ Kh7 29. Qc7+ Kh8 30. Qe5+ $11) 28. Nd1 Be2 29. f4 Re8 30. Qd7 Rf8 31. Rg1 d3 (31... Qxf4+ $19) 32. Qxa7 Bxd1 33. Kxd1 Qb2 (33... Qb2 34. Qe3 Qc2+ 35. Ke1 d2+ 36. Qxd2 Re8+ $19) 0-1 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.07"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Mastrovasilis, Athanasios"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E48"] [WhiteElo "2527"] [BlackElo "2773"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "Greece"] [BlackTeam "United States of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "GRE"] {[%evp 0,108,28,25,28,6,6,-4,17,14,33,20,30,14,24,-3,38,23,-1,15,28,23,58,45, 59,33,47,45,51,22,12,-7,-3,1,16,-42,27,-8,24,-7,-26,-31,-24,-31,-31,-33,-29, -43,-54,-64,-73,-73,-77,-77,-80,-81,-81,-81,-69,-73,-73,-75,-77,-84,-73,-77, -74,-77,-91,-93,-85,-97,-94,-123,-95,-134,-95,-95,-79,-85,-101,-106,-106,-147, -137,-141,-173,-204,-205,-205,-225,-256,-256,-270,-282,-282,-228,-232,-274, -265,-282,-314,-405,-527,-527,-527,-640,-640,-641,-641,-641]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nge2 dxc4 7. Bxc4 c5 8. O-O cxd4 9. exd4 Nc6 10. a3 Bxc3 11. bxc3 h6 12. Qd3 Na5 13. Ba2 b6 14. Re1 $146 (14. Bf4 Bb7 15. Ng3 Rc8 16. Rac1 Nd5 17. Bd2 Ne7 {1/2-1/2 (17) Farago,I-Savon,V Cienfuegos 1973}) 14... Bb7 15. Nf4 $6 {If there's no good sac on e6, then the knight is poorly placed here, both in its own right and insofar as it interferes with the Bc1.} ({Here's an interesting line:} 15. c4 Rc8 16. Bd2 Be4 17. Qg3 Nxc4 18. Bxh6 Bg6 19. Nf4 gxh6 20. Bb1 Kh8 21. Bxg6 Ng8 (21... Rg8 $2 22. Qh4 $16 fxg6 $2 23. Qxh6+ Nh7 24. Nxg6+ Rxg6 25. Qxg6 $18) 22. h4 $14) 15... Re8 { Since the "sacs" on e6 don't work, this move is probably unnecessary.} (15... Rc8 $1 {sweetens the xe6 pot, but White should resist the temptation(s).} 16. Nxe6 $2 (16. Bxe6 $4 fxe6 17. Nxe6 Re8 18. Bxh6 Qd5 19. Qg3 Qxg2+ 20. Qxg2 Bxg2 21. Nxg7 Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Bd5 $19 {White's three pawns are nearly worthless compensation for the piece.}) 16... fxe6 17. Bxe6+ Kh8 18. Bxc8 Qxc8 $19 { Black's light squared control gives him a large, even winning advantage.}) 16. Bd2 Qd6 17. c4 Ba6 18. d5 (18. Rac1 $1 Rac8 19. d5 exd5 20. Nxd5 Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 Qxd5 22. Qxd5 Nxd5 23. cxd5 Bc4 {This looks like a tempo-up version of the game, where Black has received ...Rc8 for free. As in real life, however, supposedly "free" things often come with a price, and in this case it allows the pinning} 24. Rc1 {, giving White an easy draw after} Rc5 $8 25. Bxa5 Bxa2 26. Rxc5 bxc5 27. d6 Be6 28. Kf1 $11 {etc.}) 18... exd5 19. Nxd5 Rxe1+ 20. Rxe1 Qxd5 21. Qxd5 Nxd5 22. Bxa5 (22. cxd5 Bc4 $15 {Here there's no pinning 23.Rc1, so while it should nevertheless finish in a draw with best play, it's not quite as easy as it was before. Either White takes on c4, when Black has an edge thanks to his superior minor piece, or White goes for the opposite-colored bishops at the cost of his d-pawn.} 23. Bxa5 Bxa2 24. Bb4 Bxd5 {and so on. White should still make a draw, but there's work ahead of him.}) 22... Nf4 23. Bb4 (23. Bd2 $142 $11) 23... Rc8 24. g3 $6 (24. Re4 $142) 24... Nd3 25. Re7 Bxc4 26. Bxc4 Rxc4 27. Rxa7 Nxb4 28. axb4 g5 $1 {White's b-pawn can't be saved, so Black decides to grab some space and prevent White from setting up the standard f2-g3-h4 pawn chain.} 29. b5 Rb4 30. Rb7 (30. Rd7 $1 Rxb5 31. Rd6 Kg7 32. h4 $1 {was better, aiming to swap a pair of pawns and immobilizing Black's king for the time being. Remember, that even if Black can win both of White's kingside pawns (assuming a swap here on h4) for his b-pawn, that ending is still a theoretical draw, provided White's king isn't cut off on the back rank. On the other hand, if Black plays ...g4, then White's king has more freedom to move to the queenside, as he would only lose his f-pawn for Black's b-pawn, and not both his f- and h-pawns. (See the note in the game after Black's 33rd move.)}) 30... Rxb5 31. Kg2 Kg7 32. Kf3 $2 (32. g4 $142 { is probaby still drawn.}) 32... Rb3+ 33. Ke2 g4 $1 $19 {With the current kingside configuration, White's king can't run to the queenside as he'll lose two pawns, not just one, and with it the game.} 34. Rb8 h5 35. Rb7 Rb5 36. Kf1 Kf6 37. Rc7 Rc5 38. Rb7 b5 39. Ke2 Rf5 {All three loose pawns are defended by the rook (the f-pawn implicitly at the moment, for those inclined to nitpick), so Black's king can head to the queenside to escort the b-pawn up the board. Again, White's problem (one of them) is that his king can't shadow its rival without surrendering most or maybe all of his kingside inventory.} 40. Rb6+ Ke7 41. f4 $5 gxf3+ 42. Kf2 Kd7 43. h3 Kc7 44. Ra6 b4 45. Ra4 Rb5 46. Kxf3 b3 47. Ra1 Kb6 48. g4 b2 49. Rb1 hxg4+ 50. Kxg4 {Hoping the h-pawn will divert Black's rook in time for him to collect the b-pawn. Alas for White and the Greek team, the plan is two tempi too late.} Ka5 51. h4 Ka4 52. h5 Kb3 53. h6 Ka2 54. h7 Rb8 0-1 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.07"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Banikas, Hristos"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2598"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "United States of America"] [BlackTeam "Greece"] [BlackTeamCountry "GRE"] {[%evp 0,117,28,16,71,56,70,65,50,60,61,42,55,34,62,29,34,32,45,21,18,-7,25,37, 37,34,40,18,83,44,34,41,22,22,29,24,79,39,27,14,49,56,49,44,53,59,54,35,35,52, 52,51,58,68,81,67,69,42,100,116,113,49,127,83,108,-2,34,17,66,56,56,56,56,37, 66,40,45,53,42,49,47,27,75,33,53,66,66,70,70,70,65,87,72,84,84,74,79,77,49,34, 67,66,66,28,24,1,19,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] Dominguez was better almost until the very end, and winning at several points as well. He should have won the game, but the main thing is that he didn't lose it, and so the U.S. team won the match to keep their medal hopes alive.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. O-O a6 7. a4 h6 8. a5 Rc8 9. Nbd2 Ne7 10. c3 c5 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Nb3 Nc6 13. Be3 Nd7 14. Nfd4 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 Bg6 16. f4 Bc5 17. b4 Bxd4 18. Bxd4 O-O 19. Qd2 Re8 20. Qe3 Nb8 21. Rad1 Qh4 22. g3 Qh3 23. Rf2 Nc6 24. Bc5 Qf5 25. Bf1 Bh5 26. Re1 Qh7 27. Rb2 Bg6 28. Ra1 Be4 29. b5 axb5 30. Rxb5 g5 31. Ra2 Qg7 32. Bd4 gxf4 33. Qxf4 Nxd4 34. cxd4 Re7 35. Rab2 Rcc7 36. Kf2 Qg5 37. h4 Qxf4+ 38. gxf4 Kg7 39. Be2 Kg6 40. R2b3 Rc2 41. h5+ Kg7 42. Ke3 Ra2 43. Bd3 Bxd3 44. Kxd3 Rd7 45. Ke3 Kf8 46. f5 exf5 47. Rxb7 Rxb7 48. Rxb7 Rxa5 49. Rd7 Ra3+ 50. Kf4 Rh3 51. Rxd5 Rxh5 52. Rd6 Ke7 53. d5 Rh4+ 54. Kxf5 Rd4 55. Rxh6 Rxd5 56. Rd6 Rxd6 57. exd6+ Kxd6 58. Kf6 Kd5 59. Kxf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "44th Olympiad 2022"] [Site "Chennai IND"] [Date "2022.08.07"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Megaranto, Susanto"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "2529"] [BlackElo "2864"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "2022.07.29"] [WhiteTeam "Indonesia"] [BlackTeam "Norway"] [WhiteTeamCountry "INA"] [BlackTeamCountry "NOR"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 Bb4+ {Not a popular choice among top players, but many of them have all used it every once in a blue moon: Carlsen, Caruana, Anand, Kramnik, Aronian, Giri, etc.} 4. Bd2 (4. Nbd2) 4... a5 (4... Qe7) (4... Bxd2+) 5. a3 (5. g3) 5... Bxd2+ 6. Nbxd2 (6. Qxd2 {is more popular and probably better.}) 6... d6 {In support of the previous claim, the engine really wants to play 7.Nb1 here, to put the knight where it belongs, on c3.} 7. e3 Qe7 8. Bd3 e5 9. Qc2 Nbd7 10. O-O O-O 11. b3 $146 (11. Ng5 h6 12. Nge4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Nf6 $14) 11... Re8 12. e4 Nf8 13. Rfe1 Bg4 14. d5 N8d7 15. h3 Bxf3 16. Nxf3 g6 $11 17. b4 $6 {Surprisingly, it turns out that Black is better suited to the opening of the queenside.} Ra7 (17... c6 $1) 18. Nd2 (18. c5 $1 dxc5 19. bxa5 Rxa5 20. a4 $44) 18... Rea8 19. Nb3 b6 $6 (19... axb4 20. axb4 b6 $11) 20. Qc3 $6 (20. bxa5 $14) 20... axb4 21. axb4 h5 $1 {White kept the queenside from becoming Black's domain by abandoning the kingside, and now Carlsen starts taking advantage. Black's last move initiates the stock plan of ...h4 followed by ...Nh5-f4.} 22. Rxa7 (22. h4 $6 Rxa1 (22... Ng4 $143 23. Rxa7 Rxa7 24. g3 g5 $1 25. f3 $15) 23. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 24. Qxa1 Nh7 25. g3 g5 26. hxg5 Qxg5 $17) 22... Rxa7 23. Ra1 Rxa1+ 24. Qxa1 Qd8 25. Nd2 (25. h4 $6 {is still a bad idea:} Nh7 26. g3 g5 $17) 25... h4 26. Be2 {Preventing the aforementioned ...Nh5-f4 idea.} Kg7 27. Qa3 Nh7 28. Bg4 (28. Nb1 $11 {is still sensible, looking to migrate the knight to b5.}) 28... Ndf6 29. Bd1 (29. Be2 $142 $11) 29... Ng5 $15 30. Qe3 Qa8 31. Kf1 $2 (31. Be2 $15) 31... Qa1 $17 32. Ke1 Ngh7 33. c5 $6 (33. Qb3 $142 ) 33... Nh5 $2 {A mistake, almost a blunder. (Even Magnus Carlsen gets tired.) If the knight reaches f4, it's over, but there's no reason for White to allow the knight to survive.} (33... bxc5 34. bxc5 Nd7 $1 35. cxd6 cxd6 36. Nb3 Qa4 37. Bg4 Qb4+ 38. Kf1 Nb6 $17 (38... Nb8 $17)) 34. g3 $2 $19 (34. Nb3 $1 { White will keep attacking the queen until she quits the back rank, whereupon Bxh5 happens and the position is equal and likely drawn.} Qb1 35. Nd2 $1 Qxb4 ( 35... Qc1 36. Nb3 Qxe3+ 37. fxe3 $11) 36. Bxh5 gxh5 37. c6 $11 (37. cxb6 cxb6 38. Qf3 Nf8 (38... Nf6 39. Qf5 Nh7 $8 40. Qxh5 $11) 39. Qxh5 Ng6 40. g3 $11)) 34... hxg3 35. fxg3 b5 36. Qd3 N7f6 37. c6 Qb2 $1 38. Qxb5 (38. Qb3 $142) 38... Qc3 39. Bf3 Nxe4 $1 {Nicely calculated - and it was almost certainly worked out before playing 37...Qb2.} 40. Bxe4 Qc1+ 41. Ke2 Nxg3+ 42. Kf2 (42. Ke3 Nxe4 43. Kxe4 Qxd2 $19) (42. Kd3 Nxe4 43. Kxe4 (43. Nxe4 $2 Qf1+ $19) 43... Qxd2 44. Kf3 f5 $19) 42... Qxd2+ 43. Kxg3 Qf4+ 44. Kg2 Qxe4+ 45. Kf2 Qc2+ 46. Ke1 e4 47. Kf1 Qd1+ (47... Qd1+ 48. Kf2 (48. Kg2 e3) 48... Qd2+ 49. Kf1 (49. Qe2 Qxb4 $19) 49... Kf6 50. Qc4 Ke5 51. b5 e3 52. Qe2 Kxd5 $19) 0-1