[Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B46"] [WhiteElo "2783"] [BlackElo "2764"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,47,19,38,40,41,41,32,28,27,46,29,85,36,56,32,25,19,73,46,40,56,56,53, 37,27,40,37,55,52,77,29,71,45,79,47,33,25,18,18,18,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g4 {Isn't there supposed to be a knight on f6 so that there will be something to attack? The move looks funny, but even if Black puts the knight on e7 (which he does) flinging the kingside pawns in the interest of an attack is often a good idea even without the usual target.} Nge7 (6... Nxd4 7. Qxd4 b5 8. Be3 Bb7 9. O-O-O Rc8 10. f3 Bc5 11. Qd2 Bxe3 12. Qxe3 Ne7 13. Qd4 f6 14. Be2 Qc7 15. Kb1 Ng6 16. a4 Bc6 17. axb5 axb5 18. Qb4 Qe5 19. Nxb5 Rb8 20. Nd6+ Ke7 21. Bb5 Bxb5 22. Nc4+ d6 23. Nxe5 { 1-0 (23) Carlsen,M (2856)-Mastrovasilis,D (2627) Warsaw 2021 (blitz)}) (6... d6 7. Be3 Bd7 8. Qe2 Rc8 9. O-O-O Nge7 10. Nb3 Ng6 11. h4 b5 12. f4 Qc7 13. h5 Nge7 14. Kb1 Nd8 15. Qd2 b4 16. Ne2 d5 17. Bg2 Bc6 18. e5 a5 19. Nbd4 Bd7 20. f5 a4 21. Rhf1 b3 22. cxb3 axb3 23. a3 Qb8 24. Nf4 Nec6 25. fxe6 fxe6 26. Bxd5 Nxd4 27. Bxd4 Rc2 28. Qe3 exd5 29. e6 Bb5 30. Qxb3 Rc4 31. Nxd5 Nc6 32. Qxb5 Qxb5 33. Nc7+ Ke7 34. Rf7+ Kd6 35. Rd7# {1-0 (35) Gashimov,V (2758)-Polgar,J (2680) Moscow 2009 (blitz)}) 7. Be3 b5 8. Nb3 Na5 9. Qd2 $146 (9. g5 Nec6 10. Bg2 Nc4 11. Bc1 Be7 12. h4 Bb7 13. Qe2 Rc8 14. O-O h6 15. gxh6 gxh6 16. a4 Qb6 17. axb5 axb5 18. Nd2 N6e5 19. Nxc4 Rxc4 20. Be3 Bc5 21. Bf4 d6 22. Kh1 Rg8 23. Bg3 Bd4 24. Nd1 Ng4 25. Ra3 Qc6 26. c3 Bc5 27. Ra1 Nf6 28. b3 Rxe4 29. Bxe4 Nxe4 30. Kh2 Nxc3 {0-1 (30) Hansen,S (2558)-Andersson,U (2623) Germany 2000}) 9... Nxb3 10. axb3 Bb7 11. Bg2 (11. f3 {avoids the trick in the game, but it allows} d5 {. White may have some advantage after} 12. O-O-O dxe4 13. Qf2 Qc7 14. Kb1 $1 Nd5 (14... exf3 $2 15. Bxb5+ $1 axb5 16. Nxb5 {The point of 14.Kb1 was to avoid ...Ra1+ here. In fact, Black has to play it anyway, though it's not as good in this setting.} Ra1+ 17. Kxa1 Qa5+ 18. Na3 Nd5 19. Qg3 $1 $18 { leaves White with a winning advantage. Black doesn't have time for his attack:} Bxa3 $2 20. Qb8+ Ke7 21. Qxb7+ Kf6 22. Bd4+ {Covering c3, so there's no mate from the Black knight after} Kg6 23. bxa3 Qxa3+ 24. Kb1 $18) 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. fxe4 Bc6 (16... Bxe4 $2 {is too dangerous with Black's king in the center.} 17. Bg2 Bxg2 18. Qxg2 Rc8 19. Bd4 $1 $18 {leaves Black unable to finish his development in peace. The main line of this note is similar, but enough better for Black that he may survive.}) 17. Bb6 $1 Qb7 18. Bd4 Bxe4 19. Rg1 Rd8 20. Be2 $14 {White has more than enough for the pawn, and Black will need to be very careful to survive the middlegame. It seems his best plan is to push ... h6, ...Rd6, ...f6 and ...e5 - if possible.}) 11... Ng6 $1 {This is useful in general, but there's a specific threat of ...Nh4! It's funny: when I saw 6.g4 I was reminded of the worst white opening in chess, the Spike/Grob (1.g4). It's almost impossible to find a bad reply to that opening, but one interesting idea I learned about several years ago was 1...e5 2.Bg2 Ne7, intending ...Ng6-h4. It looks good both here and there.} 12. Rf1 {Allowing the bishop to retreat to h1 in case of ...Nh4, while also supporting the advance of the f-pawn. There is the question of where White's king is going, however. Castling queenside is possible, but the c-file is open and ...a5-a4 might also be dangerous (after first protecting the b-pawn).} (12. O-O-O Nh4 13. Bg5 Be7 14. Bxh4 Bxh4 15. f4 O-O {looks fairly comfortable with Black and his two bishops.} 16. e5 {eliminates a bishop, and leaves both sides fairly safe after} (16. Qxd7 $6 Qb6 $15) 16... Bxg2 17. Qxg2 f6 18. exf6 Bxf6 $11) 12... Bc6 ( 12... Bb4 {also made sense, and also supported ...a5.} 13. f4 a5 14. f5 Ne5 15. O-O-O O-O {would also be entertaining after 16.Bf4 or 16.Bd4.}) 13. g5 (13. O-O-O) (13. f4) 13... a5 14. f4 a4 15. Rd1 $6 (15. e5 {probably improves, though this doesn't look like a panacea either.} axb3 (15... Bxg2 16. Qxg2 Bb4 17. Qe4 Qa5 18. Bd2 O-O 19. bxa4 Rac8 20. Qd3 Rc5 {is obviously very complicated, but the engine assures us that it's triple-zero equal. One line:} 21. Ke2 Bxc3 22. axb5 Bxd2 23. Rxa5 Bxa5 24. c4 {doesn't feel like 0.00 to me (I don't have trouble with "="), but the engine lives in rarified air.}) (15... Qc8 16. Bxc6 Qxc6 17. Qd3 Bb4 18. Qd4 Bxc3+ 19. Qxc3 Qxc3+ (19... Qe4 20. Qd3 Qxd3 21. cxd3 Nh4 22. Kd2 h6 $11) 20. bxc3 a3 21. O-O-O $11) 16. Rxa8 Bxa8 17. Bxa8 Qxa8 18. Nxb5 Qc6 19. Nd6+ Bxd6 20. Qxd6 bxc2 21. Kd2 h6 22. Qb8+ Ke7 23. Qb4+ d6 24. Qxd6+ Qxd6+ 25. exd6+ Kxd6 26. f5 $1 Ne5 27. gxh6 Nc4+ 28. Ke2 Re8 $1 29. Bc1 gxh6 30. fxe6 Kxe6 31. Bxh6 Kd5+ 32. Kd3 $8 Rc8 33. Rc1 $11 { and it's a draw.}) 15... Bb4 16. Qd4 Qa5 $6 {This tempting move lets White escape with a draw.} (16... Bxc3+ $1 17. Qxc3 O-O $15 {/-/+ was best. Black will play for ...e5 or ...f5, and will have lots of positional targets given White's overextended pawns.}) 17. Qxg7 a3 18. Kf2 $1 axb2 19. Ne2 $1 e5 $1 { Otherwise, White is winning.} 20. f5 {Forced, as are the remaining moves for both sides.} (20. fxe5 $5 {/?! could be played in a must-win situation.} Bf8 21. Qf6 Be7 22. Qf5 b4 23. Kg1 O-O 24. Nd4 Qb6 $15 {/-/+ followed by ...Bc5 is comfortably better for Black.}) 20... Bf8 21. Qf6 Be7 22. Qg7 Bf8 23. Qf6 Be7 24. Qg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Ding Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E00"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2806"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,100,23,23,23,11,6,-17,3,-17,-1,-6,-13,-2,1,-9,-4,-11,4,4,8,14,15,0,20, -19,-19,-4,7,-1,6,0,19,16,24,24,24,0,19,-48,-48,-49,10,10,23,0,-7,0,0,0,0,0,0, -13,0,-13,-6,-12,-13,-6,0,-43,-43,-25,-43,-43,-43,-43,-20,-34,-33,-64,-64,-57, -61,-49,-44,-39,-22,-25,0,0,0,0,0,0,14,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Nd2 O-O 5. Bg2 d5 6. Ngf3 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. b3 Nbd7 9. Bb2 Rc8 10. Rc1 Qe7 11. e3 (11. cxd5 exd5 12. Ne5 c6 {has been tested in eight correspondence games. The result? You won't be shocked by this: eight draws. Still, that this is what most players have chosen on move 11 suggests that this is White's best try. It's good to remember that what can be held in correspondence chess may not be so easy to defend OTB.}) 11... c5 $146 12. cxd5 (12. a3 $1 Bxd2 (12... Ba5 13. Qe2 $14 {and now Black can't play} cxd4 $4 { , as in the game, because of} 14. b4 $18) 13. Nxd2 $14) 12... Bxd5 13. Qe2 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 Ne5 (15... Bxd2 16. Qxd2 e5 $11) 16. e4 (16. N4f3 $142) 16... Rfd8 17. Rxc8 Rxc8 18. f4 {The first of a series of pawn moves that gets Radjabov into trouble. This one's okay, but Black's pieces are well suited to seep into the gaps left behind as White's pawns advance.} (18. N2f3 {is safe but unenterprising. Radjabov wants to play for something.}) 18... Ng6 19. Nc4 $6 (19. f5 {was best.} e5 $5 (19... Ne5 $11) 20. fxg6 exd4 21. gxf7+ Qxf7 22. Nf3 (22. Bxd4 $4 Rc2 23. Be3 Qd7 24. Rd1 Nxe4 $19) (22. e5 $4 Rc2 23. Bc1 Qd5+ 24. Kg1 Bc5 $19) 22... Bc3 23. Nxd4 Bxb2 24. Qxb2 Qb7 $11) 19... Qb7 $15 { /-/+ White is already in a bit of a bother.} 20. a3 Bc5 21. Re1 b5 22. Nd2 a6 23. N2f3 Ne7 24. Qd3 h6 25. Re2 Bb6 26. h3 $2 Rd8 27. Qc2 Rc8 28. Qd3 Rd8 29. Qc2 h5 $1 $17 {Now White is in serious trouble. The threat is ...h4. White can't take it with the knight, as the other knight would be lost, while pushing the g-pawn weakens the f4 pawn and square - ...Ng6 would be unpleasant. } 30. h4 {An unpleasant concession, but there was no way to proceed without some pain.} Ng4 31. Qc3 {Watch out for g7!} Nf6 32. Qc2 Rc8 33. Qd3 Ng4 34. b4 {Now the c4 square beckons. In return, White can play Nb3 and Bd4, to fight for useful dark squares like c5.} Qd7 35. Rd2 Rc4 $2 36. Qe2 $2 (36. Nf5 $1 Qxd3 37. Nxe7+ Kf8 38. Rxd3 Rc2+ $1 39. Rd2 Ne3+ $1 40. Kh3 Kxe7 41. Rxc2 Nxc2 42. Bxg7 f5 $1 {Without all these "!" moves by Black, his advantage would minimal. As it turns out, it's still minimal, if White plays} 43. Kg2 $1 { Radjabov thought for a long time before playing 36.Qe2, presumably considering 36.Nf5 and finding something he didn't like.}) 36... Qb7 37. Qd3 f6 38. Kh3 Qc8 $19 {White is in deep trouble, so Radjabov goes all out for counterplay.} 39. e5 $5 fxe5 (39... f5 {was best. White gets the juicy g5 square, but it's not enough.} 40. Ng5 (40. Nxe6 $4 Qxe6 41. Qd8+ Bxd8 42. Rxd8+ Kf7 43. Ng5+ Kg6 44. Nxe6 {would be brilliant, were it not for} Rc2 $19 {with unstoppable mate.}) 40... Bxd4 $1 41. Bxd4 Nd5 $19 {Black will play ...Qc6, with a likely breakthrough.}) 40. fxe5 {Ding thought for a long time here, and in the end chose a move that surrendered his advantage. White's threat of Ng5 is obvious; what to do about it is less obvious.} g6 $2 (40... Bxd4 $1 41. Bxd4 Qc6 $1 42. Bc5 Nf5 $1 $19 {White has too many weaknesses in his position, and his desperate attempts at a counterattack will come up short.} 43. Qd8+ $6 Kh7 44. Ng5+ $2 Kg6 {wins for Black - White's attack is at a standstill, while Black is ready to give mate starting with ...Qh1+.} 45. Rd5 $5 exd5 46. Qg8 {is cute, but a dead end after} Nxe5 $19) 41. Ng5 $11 {Ding thought for a long time here, too, before finally going for safety. The game soon finished in a draw.} Bxd4 ( 41... Nxe5 42. Qe2 $11) 42. Bxd4 Qa8 43. Qf3 Qxf3 44. Nxf3 Nc6 (44... Nf5 45. Bc5 Rc3 46. Rd8+ Kg7 47. Bf8+ Kg8 48. Bc5+ Kg7 49. Bf8+ $11 {is a flashier way to finish the game.}) 45. Bc5 Ncxe5 46. Nxe5 Nxe5 47. Re2 Nd3 48. Rxe6 Nxc5 49. bxc5 Kf7 50. Rxa6 Rxc5 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2750"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,72,30,30,17,17,41,43,34,26,37,7,7,34,14,32,66,53,54,38,45,40,59,43,27, 46,45,39,32,24,40,24,24,14,16,22,47,43,41,72,40,35,45,45,45,53,48,42,42,42,49, 19,19,8,45,-13,-7,-2,-2,0,0,0,0,-12,-8,-8,-2,-3,0,-1,-3,-4,0,-2,-4]} 1. e4 (1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 c5 5. d4 Nc6 6. a3 cxd4 7. exd4 Be7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O b6 10. Bf4 Bb7 11. Rc1 Rc8 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Bd2 Bf6 14. Qa4 Nxc3 15. bxc3 e5 16. Be3 exd4 17. cxd4 Qe8 18. Bb5 a6 19. Bxa6 Bxa6 20. Qxa6 Rb8 21. Bf4 Ra8 22. Qxb6 Ne7 23. Bd6 Nc8 24. Rxc8 Qxc8 25. Bxf8 Qxf8 26. Ra1 Rxa3 27. Rxa3 Qxa3 28. Qb8+ Qf8 29. Qc7 g6 30. h3 Qb4 31. Qf4 Kg7 32. Qe4 h5 (32... Qd6 { gives almost exactly the position given in the note to White's 25th move. While we can expect that Duda would defend better than Bente did in this game, it's still interesting to see how marathon went. Taking a quick look at it, it suggests to me that the ending should be drawn, and that Duda would have drawn it.}) 33. g3 Qc4 34. Kg2 Kf8 35. Qb7 Kg7 36. Qd7 Qd3 37. Qc6 Qf5 38. h4 Qg4 39. Qc5 Qe4 40. Qc3 Kf8 41. Qc8+ Ke7 42. Qc7+ Ke6 43. Qb6+ Ke7 44. Qb4+ Ke6 45. Qb3+ Qd5 46. Qe3+ Kd6 47. Kh2 Kd7 48. Qf4 Ke6 49. Kg2 Bg7 50. Kf1 Bf6 51. Qe3+ Kd6 52. Qd3 Kd7 53. Ke2 Ke6 54. Ke3 Kd6 55. Nd2 Bg7 56. Ne4+ Ke7 57. Qa3+ Ke8 58. Qa4+ Kf8 59. Qb4+ Kg8 60. Qb8+ Kh7 61. Ng5+ Kh6 62. Qf4 Qb3+ 63. Ke2 Qb5+ 64. Kf3 Qd5+ 65. Qe4 Qxd4 66. Nxf7+ Kh7 67. Ng5+ Kh6 68. Qa8 Qf6+ 69. Kg2 Qf8 70. Qb7 Qe8 71. Qa7 Qc6+ 72. Kh2 Qf6 73. Qe3 Qd4 74. Nf7+ Kh7 75. Ng5+ Kh6 76. Qf3 Qf6 77. Qe2 Qb2 78. Qe1 Bf6 79. Ne6 Qe5 80. Qd2+ Kh7 81. Qd7+ Kh6 82. Qf7 Bxh4 83. Nf4 Bxg3+ 84. fxg3 Qe4 85. Qf6 Qc2+ 86. Kh3 Qb1 87. Qh8+ Kg5 88. Qd8+ Kh6 89. Qd5 Qf1+ 90. Kh4 Qb1 91. Qg5+ Kh7 92. Qe5 Qb7 93. Kg5 Qd7 94. Ne6 Qd2+ 95. Qf4 Qd5+ 96. Kf6 Qc6 97. Qe5 Kh6 98. Qe3+ Kh7 99. Qa7+ {1-0 (99) Van Foreest,L (2293)-Bente,B (2312) Lueneburg 2015}) 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 {A line that was developed relatively recently by Chinese GMs, and is now one of the main lines of the Petroff. Duda in particular has become a big fan of the variation, having played it many times, against most of the world's super-elite, with very good results.} 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 Nd6 10. Nf1 c6 (10... Bxd3 {is common, and has been played by Duda himself on three previous occasions.}) (10... Bg6 {seems to be Xiong's favored way of playing the line.}) 11. Ng3 (11. Bxf5 Nxf5 12. Qd3 Nd6 13. b3 Na6 14. Ng3 Re8 15. c4 Bf8 16. Bd2 f6 17. h4 Qd7 18. c5 Ne4 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Rxe4 Nxc5 21. Qc4+ Ne6 22. Rae1 b5 23. Qc2 Nc7 24. Rc1 Rxe4 25. Qxe4 Nd5 26. a4 a6 27. h5 Re8 28. Qc2 Re6 29. g3 Qe8 30. Qf5 Re2 31. Kf1 Re6 32. Nh4 Qd7 33. Qf3 Ne7 34. Bb4 Qxd4 35. Bxe7 Bxe7 36. Nf5 Qd5 37. Qxd5 cxd5 38. Rc8+ Kf7 39. axb5 axb5 40. Rb8 Re5 41. Nd4 Bc5 42. Nc6 Rf5 43. f4 Ke6 44. Rb7 Kd6 45. Nd8 Rxh5 46. Rxg7 Rh2 47. Nb7+ Kc6 48. Nd8+ Kd6 49. Nb7+ Kc6 50. Nd8+ Kd6 {1/2-1/2 (50) Carlsen,M (2864)-Duda,J (2750) chess24.com INT 2022}) (11. Bf4 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Nd7 13. Qb3 Nb6 14. a4 Nbc4 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Ne4 17. Ng3 Nxg3 18. Qxg3 Re8 19. Rad1 Qd7 20. c4 Bb4 21. Bh6 Bf8 22. Be3 Qf5 23. cxd5 Rxe5 24. dxc6 bxc6 25. Rc1 Rae8 26. Red1 Qe4 27. Qf4 Qxf4 28. Bxf4 Re4 29. Be3 Rxa4 30. Rxc6 Rb4 {1/2-1/2 (30) Esipenko,A (2677)-Duda,J (2743) Wijk aan Zee 2021}) 11... Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Na6 13. Bd2 Nc7 14. b3 Re8 15. c4 Bf6 16. Rad1 $146 (16. Ba5 b6 17. Bc3 dxc4 18. bxc4 b5 19. Rxe8+ Ndxe8 20. cxb5 Nxb5 21. Rc1 Qd5 22. a4 Nxc3 23. Qxc3 Rc8 24. h3 g6 25. Qb4 Kg7 26. Ne2 Qe4 27. Nc3 Qf4 28. Re1 c5 29. Qb7 Qb8 30. Qa6 Nc7 31. Qd3 Rd8 32. Rb1 Qa8 33. Ne2 Ne6 34. d5 Qxd5 35. Qxd5 Rxd5 36. Rc1 Rd3 37. Ng3 Ra3 38. Rc4 Bc3 39. Ne4 Bb4 40. Ne5 f5 41. Nd6 Rxa4 42. Nb7 Ra1+ 43. Kh2 Rd1 44. Nc6 Be1 45. f4 Rd3 {0-1 (45) Idani,P (2614)-Duda,J (2738) Krasnaya Polyana 2021}) 16... Rxe1+ 17. Rxe1 dxc4 $6 (17... g6 $11) 18. bxc4 b5 19. cxb5 cxb5 20. Ba5 Nc4 21. Bxc7 Qxc7 22. Ne4 Qd8 23. a4 a6 24. axb5 axb5 25. Nc3 $6 {White had played perfectly since Black's inaccuracy, but now lets him small advantage slip.} (25. Qb1 $1 Nd6 26. Nxd6 Qxd6 27. Qxb5 g6 28. Re8+ Rxe8 29. Qxe8+ Kg7 30. Qe4 $14 {White can and will play forever - see the game given in the note to move 1 - though it should finish in a draw.}) 25... Qd7 $11 26. Rb1 Nd6 $1 {Inviting exchanges. Firouzja obliges, and the game is quickly drawn.} 27. Nxb5 Nxb5 28. Rxb5 Bxd4 29. Nxd4 Ra1+ 30. Rb1 Qxd4 ({Not} 30... Rxb1+ $4 31. Qxb1 Qxd4 32. Qb8+ $18) 31. Qf1 Rxb1 32. Qxb1 g6 33. g3 Qe5 34. Qc1 Qd4 35. Qb1 Qe5 36. Qc1 Qd4 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2022"] [Site "Madrid"] [Date "2022.06.22"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2766"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.06.17"] {[%evp 0,67,21,17,17,17,43,43,24,23,19,7,14,36,34,34,34,29,37,3,25,6,40,40,37, 36,36,49,27,-4,16,7,24,24,44,85,83,108,115,115,115,115,115,115,115,107,115,110, 110,110,90,116,121,108,100,58,62,52,38,42,38,30,40,44,48,30,40,42,57,40]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 { This used to be almost automatic, and now it's almost forgotten. That makes it ideal for a surprise.} Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 14. Ra2 {One of the rarer options, though Nakamura did try it once, six years ago. (Of course, if Nepo is supposed to remember everything Nakamura has tried once in the last 5-10 years, he would have to be superhuman.)} (14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Bf4 {and}) (14. Bf4 dxc4 15. Bxc4 {start the two main lines of this system.}) 14... Bf8 {Only played three times before, and only once in a GM game. It may not be as good as 14...Bf6, but seems better than 14...Na5.} ( 14... Na5 {is the move that has been chosen more than any other in this sideline, but its results have been poor. Here's the earlier Nakamura game:} 15. cxd5 Qxd5 16. Rb2 c6 17. Ne5 Bxa3 18. Bf3 Qd6 19. Rbe2 Bxc1 20. Qxc1 Be6 21. Be4 Rad8 22. Qb1 g6 23. f4 c5 24. f5 cxd4 25. fxe6 Rxe6 26. Nxf7 Kxf7 27. Bd5 Qxd5 28. Rxe6 dxc3 29. R6e5 Qd4+ 30. Kh1 b6 31. Qa2+ Kg7 32. Re7+ Kh6 33. Qf7 Nc4 34. Qxh7+ Kg5 35. R7e6 Qd3 36. h4+ Kf4 37. Qh6+ {1-0 (37) Nakamura,H (2787)-Akobian,V (2615) Saint Louis 2016}) (14... Bf6 {is the second-most common move, and this seems to be the right way. Here's the highest-level game in this variation:} 15. Rb2 b6 16. Bf4 Na5 17. cxd5 Qxd5 18. Ne5 Bxe5 19. Bf3 Qd7 20. Bxe5 Nc4 21. Rbe2 c6 22. d5 Nxe5 23. Rxe5 cxd5 24. Qxd5 Rad8 25. Rxe8+ Rxe8 26. Rxe8+ Qxe8 27. g4 Be6 28. Qb7 Qc8 29. Qxa7 Bxg4 30. Bd5 Bh5 31. Qxb6 { 1/2-1/2 (31) Alekseev,E (2679)-Kramnik,V (2772) Dortmund 2007}) 15. cxd5 $146 { Best.} Qxd5 16. c4 (16. Rb2 {is also possible.}) 16... Qe4 $6 (16... Qd7 $11 { is both more natural and better. White has enough possibilities from here to make it difficult to give a quick variation or two, but it is possible to give a quick and relevant idea for Black: play ...Be4, intending to take on f3 and fight for the dark squares in the center.}) 17. Bf1 $14 {/+/-} Qg4 $2 (17... Qb1 {is dangerous, of course, but at the end of a deep line it seems that Black can reach an opposite-colored bishop ending that can be survived.} 18. Rxe8 Rxe8 19. Rb2 Qa1 $8 20. Rxb7 Be4 21. Rxc7 Bd6 22. Rd7 Bxa3 23. Nd2 Qxc1 24. Qxc1 Bxc1 25. Nxe4 Rxe4 26. d5 Re7 27. Rd6 Rc7 28. g3 Kf8 29. dxc6 Ke7 30. Rd1 Bb2 31. Rb1 Bd4 32. Rb7 Rxb7 33. cxb7 Be5) 18. h3 $1 $18 Rxe1 19. Qxe1 Qe4 20. Re2 Qd3 {It's almost miraculous that Black isn't winning on the spot. White does have a decisive advantage, but nothing trivial.} 21. Rb2 (21. Nh4 $1 Qb1 $8 22. d5 Nd4 23. Rb2 Qa1 (23... Qe4 24. Qxe4 Bxe4 25. Rxb7 $18) 24. Nxf5 Nxf5 25. Rxb7 Bxa3 26. Bd2 Qxe1 27. Bxe1 Rc8 28. Ba5 Bd6 29. Rxa7 $18) 21... Qe4 22. Re2 Qd3 23. Re3 ({As on move 21, likewise now:} 23. Nh4 $1) 23... Qb1 24. d5 Ne7 25. Nd2 (25. Nd4 $142 Qb6 26. Qd2 Bg6 27. Rb3 Qa6 28. g4 $1 $18 { leaves Black with badly uncoordinated pieces, while White's pieces look quite nice. Nakamura will still have to push Black over the edge, eventually, and this is a great headstart.}) 25... Qa1 $8 26. Nb3 Qf6 27. Bd2 Ng6 28. Na5 $2 { While commentators made a big deal of Nakamura's missing or avoiding Nh4 earlier, it's only this move (ironically another move by the knight to the edge of the board) that tosses it all away.} (28. Bc3 $1 Qd8 29. g3 $16 { /+- followed by h4 is still much better for White.}) 28... b6 $11 29. Nc6 { Okay, the knight is on c6. So?} Bd7 $1 30. Bc3 (30. g3 $142) 30... Qd6 $2 ( 30... Qg5 $142 $11) 31. Bb4 $2 (31. g3 $142 $16) 31... Qf6 32. Bc3 (32. g3 $142 ) 32... Qd6 $2 {Carlsen: "How do you play ...Qd6 in one second? That's so undisciplined! Smell the blood in the water, dude! Be a ****ing shark!" Polgar: "This is the reason why you are the world champion for quite some years [laughing]. You are the shark. No matter how much you eat other people you stillllll want to eat one more!"} ({After} 32... Qg5 {, Black is in good shape. But more than that, Nakamura was short on time and visibly upset at having lost his enormous advantage. Alas, he wasn't sharky enough...}) 33. Bb4 $2 Qf6 34. Bc3 1/2-1/2