[Event "FTX Road to Miami KO 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.07.15"] [Round "2.12"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Wei Yi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2764"] [BlackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2022.07.14"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,82,36,36,50,60,72,51,79,36,66,45,50,22,4,-11,2,5,6,7,-48,-24,-24,-139, -11,-3,-7,-5,-15,2,23,7,7,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,41,5,-32,-41,-32,43,-40,-55, -55,-55,-63,-60,-63,-60,-55,-55,-55,-55,-47,-60,-106,-38,-218,-235,-238,-235, -261,-239,-251,-213,-244,-231,-245,-251,-318,-248,-242,-267,-275,-280]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 (5. Qxd4 {is more popular by more than an order of magnitude.}) 5... Ngf6 6. O-O e5 {Rare, but Wei Yi has played this before.} 7. Nf5 a6 8. Bd3 Nc5 9. Nc3 d5 {This position didn't exist in tournament chess until last September, and now it's on its way to becoming a thing, as the kids say.} 10. Bg5 dxe4 11. Bxe4 {This fun move was played three times over the span of less than a week back in May.} Ncxe4 (11... Qxd1 $6 { was played in the first game, on May 22.} 12. Raxd1 Be6 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. f3 ( 14. Ne3 $16) 14... Rc8 15. Nd5 Nxe4 16. fxe4 Bxd5 17. exd5 Rxc2 18. Rc1 Rxc1 19. Rxc1 Kd7 20. d6 Bxd6 21. Rd1 Ke6 22. Ng7+ Kd7 23. Nf5 Ke6 24. Ng7+ Kd7 25. Nf5 {1/2-1/2 (25) Adhiban,B (2616)-Salem,A (2690) Sharjah 2022}) 12. Nxg7+ Bxg7 13. Qxd8+ Kxd8 14. Nxe4 Ke7 15. f4 Ke6 16. f5+ Ke7 17. Rad1 a5 ({One day after Adhiban-Salem, this was game 2.} 17... h6 {Not terrible, but Black should skip this move and go straight to ...a5.} 18. Bh4 a5 19. Rd5 Ra6 20. Rxe5+ Kd8 $2 ( 20... Kd7 21. Nc5+ Kd6 22. Bg3 Ng4 23. f6 Nxe5 24. fxg7 Rg8 25. Nxa6 bxa6 26. Rxf7 Kd5 27. Rf8 Be6 $14) 21. Rc5 $18 Re8 22. Rd1+ Bd7 23. Nd6 Rb6 24. Nxe8 Kxe8 25. Re5+ Kf8 26. Re2 Bc6 27. Rd8+ Ne8 28. f6 Bh8 29. c4 Ra6 30. b3 b5 31. c5 Ra7 32. Bg3 Bxf6 33. Bd6+ Be7 34. Rc8 Bxd6 35. cxd6 Bd7 36. Rd8 Bc6 37. Rc2 Rd7 38. Rxe8+ Kxe8 39. Rxc6 Rb7 40. Kf2 Kd7 41. Ra6 a4 42. Ke3 axb3 43. axb3 b4 44. Kd4 Rb5 45. Ra7+ Kxd6 46. Rxf7 Rh5 47. h3 Rh4+ 48. Ke3 Ke5 49. Re7+ Kd5 50. Kf3 Kd4 51. Rc7 Kd3 52. Rc6 h5 53. Rc5 Kd2 54. Kg3 Rd4 55. h4 Re4 56. Rxh5 Kc3 57. Kf3 Rd4 58. g4 Kxb3 59. Rb5 Kc4 60. Rb8 Rd3+ 61. Kf4 Rd4+ 62. Kf5 Rd5+ 63. Kf6 Rd4 64. Kf5 Rd5+ 65. Ke6 Rb5 66. Rc8+ Rc5 67. Rf8 b3 68. Rf1 Rc6+ 69. Kf7 Kd5 70. g5 Ke5 71. Kg7 b2 72. Rb1 Rb6 73. g6 Kf5 74. Kh7 Rb7+ 75. g7 Kf6 76. Rf1+ Ke5 77. Kh8 Rb4 78. Rh1 {1-0 (78) Praggnanandhaa,R (2642)-Wei,Y (2727) chess24.com INT 2022}) 18. Rd5 Ra6 19. Re1 Kf8 20. Rd8+ Ke7 21. Rd5 Kf8 22. Rxe5 Ng4 23. Rd5 $2 $146 {It's likely that this was an unintentional novelty, and Rapport intended to follow Libiszewski's footsteps with 23.Be7+ Kg8 and only then 24.Rd5.} ({This was the third game, played on May 29.} 23. Be7+ { This is the correct move.} Kg8 24. Rd5 {Now it's time for this move.} h6 $2 ( 24... f6 $1 {was correct, and it's equal after} 25. h3 ({or} 25. Rd8+ Kf7 26. Rxh8 Bxh8 27. Nd6+ Rxd6 28. Bxd6 Ne5 $11) 25... Ne5 26. Bxf6 Bxf6 (26... Rxf6 27. Nxf6+ (27. Rxe5 $2 Rxf5 $19) 27... Bxf6 28. Rexe5 Bxe5 29. Rxe5 Kf7 30. g4 $11 (30. Rxa5 h5 31. g4 hxg4 32. hxg4 Rg8 $11)) 27. Nxf6+) 25. h3 $18 Nf6 26. Nxf6+ Rxf6 27. Bxf6 Bxf6 28. Re8+ Kh7 29. Rxh8+ Bxh8 30. c3 a4 31. g4 b6 32. Rd8 a3 33. b3 Ba6 34. c4 Bb7 35. Kf2 Be4 36. Ke3 Bb1 37. Kd2 Be5 38. Re8 Bg3 39. Kc3 Kg7 40. Re3 Bf2 41. Re2 Bg3 42. b4 Kf6 43. c5 Be5+ 44. Kb3 bxc5 45. bxc5 Bd3 46. Re3 Bf1 47. Kb4 Bd4 48. Rxa3 Ke5 49. Ra7 Bxh3 50. Rxf7 Bxg4 51. c6 Kd6 52. Rd7+ Kxc6 53. Rxd4 Bxf5 54. Rh4 {1-0 (52) Libiszewski,F (2514) -Wachinger,N (2376) Germany 2022}) 23... f6 24. Bf4 Ne5 $2 (24... Rc6 $17 {/-+} ) 25. Rc5 $2 (25. Bxe5 fxe5 26. Rc5 {was the right way, with at most a minimal disadvantage after} Rc6 27. Rxc6 bxc6 28. f6 Bh6 29. Nd6 Bd7 30. Rxe5 Bf4 31. Re7 Bxd6 32. Rxd7 Bc5+ 33. Kf1 $11) 25... Bxf5 $19 26. Bxe5 Bxe4 27. Rc8+ Kf7 28. Rc7+ Kg8 29. Rc8+ Kf7 30. Rc7+ Kg8 31. Rc8+ Bf8 32. Bd4 $2 (32. Rxe4 fxe5 33. Rxe5) 32... Re6 (32... Rc6 $142) 33. Re3 $2 (33. Rxe4 Rxe4 34. Bxf6 Rf4 35. Rxf8+ Kxf8 36. Bxh8 {looks good materially, but it may just mean that Rapport will have to suffer for a very long time before resigning.}) 33... Kf7 34. Rc7+ Be7 35. Bc5 Re8 36. Kf2 Bc6 37. Ra3 a4 38. b4 axb3 39. axb3 Kg6 40. Rxe7 R8xe7 41. Bxe7 Rxe7 0-1 [Event "FTX Road to Miami KO 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.07.15"] [Round "2.12"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D20"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate "2022.07.14"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,142,36,18,18,-17,38,-1,0,24,57,37,34,27,27,26,37,37,37,31,31,25,23,29, 34,19,42,35,44,48,72,35,72,62,64,59,80,58,58,47,51,53,47,42,40,26,36,40,34,21, 44,16,31,24,5,0,38,31,30,-11,0,-12,-11,4,33,11,13,26,10,8,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,-13, -14,-25,-12,-31,-42,-64,-61,-111,-141,-139,-122,-111,-81,-119,-102,-142,-110, -127,-104,-79,-39,-66,-16,-89,-69,-60,-70,-73,-72,-71,-72,-94,-69,-77,-77,-161, -59,-59,-52,-52,-52,-52,-44,-92,-38,-47,-51,-45,-50,-52,-52,-52,-61,-61,-65, -79,-89,-89,-101,-99,-109,-140,-86,-159,-194,-265,-275]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 exd4 7. Qxd4 Qxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 9. Bxc4 Nc6 10. Nxc6 Bxc6 11. Nc3 Ne7 12. f3 O-O 13. Kf2 Rfd8 14. Rhd1 Kf8 15. Ne2 Ba4 16. b3 Be8 17. Ke3 c5 18. Nf4 b6 19. Rac1 Rxd1 20. Rxd1 Nc6 21. Rd2 Rd8 22. Nd3 Rd4 23. Rc2 a5 24. a3 Bd7 25. Rc3 f5 26. Nf4 fxe4 27. fxe4 Rd6 28. Bb5 Ke8 29. Nd5 Ne7 30. Bc4 Nxd5+ 31. Bxd5 a4 32. b4 cxb4 33. axb4 Kd8 34. Kd4 Rg6 35. g3 { The game was initially drifting towards a quick and easy draw, but Duda has been trying to keep the pressure on. For now, the position is equal, with White's space advantage in the center balanced by Black's passed a-pawn.} Rh6 36. h4 (36. e5) 36... Rg6 37. Kc4 Rf6 38. e5 Rg6 39. Be4 Rg4 $2 (39... Be6+ 40. Kb5 (40. Kd4 $4 Rg4 $19) (40. Bd5 Rg4+ 41. Kb5 Bxd5 42. Rd3 $11) 40... Bd7+ 41. Kc4 Be6+ $11) 40. Kd5 h5 $2 (40... b5 $8) 41. Re3 $4 (41. Bf3 $1 Rxg3 42. e6 $18 {forces Black to cough up his bishop - but that won't be enough to save the game.}) 41... Ke7 $19 {Now Black is winning. White's e-pawn is going nowhere and the Black king is safe.} 42. e6 Bxe6+ 43. Ke5 g6 $2 (43... Bd7 $19) 44. Rc3 $1 $15 Bf5 (44... Bd7 $142) 45. Bd5 Kd8 46. b5 (46. Rc6 Rxb4 47. Rf6 $11) 46... Bd7 47. Kd6 Rd4 48. Rf3 Bxb5 49. Rf8+ $6 (49. Rf7 {was better. White needs to keep his rook flexible, able to switch from the kingside to the queenside and back again.} a3 50. Ra7 Ra4 51. Rb7 Ra8 52. Rh7 Rc8 (52... a2 $4 53. Rh8+ Be8 54. Bc6 {shows why the rook goes to c8.} a1=Q 55. Rxe8#) 53. Ra7 $11) 49... Be8 50. Ke5 $2 (50. Rh8 $1 {, intending Rh7 and (as needed) Ra7, would still save the game.}) 50... Rd2 $19 {Black is winning again, but not yet for good.} 51. Bc6 Re2+ 52. Kd6 a3 53. Bxe8 Rxe8 54. Rf3 Kc8 $2 (54... a2 $1 55. Ra3 Kc8 56. Rxa2 Kb7 $19 {gains a critical tempo, as White does not want to allow ...Re3.}) 55. Rxa3 Kb7 56. g4 $2 ({White cannot hold the game with passive defense, and must activate his rook while Black's b-pawn is still closer to home than the promotion square. The only move that saves the game is } 56. Rf3 $1 {, intending Rf6.}) 56... hxg4 57. Ra4 g3 $3 58. Rg4 Rh8 59. Kd5 g2 60. Rxg6 Rxh4 61. Rxg2 {White's king is cut off along the 4th rank, and will not be able to get in front of the black pawn.} Ka6 62. Ra2+ Kb5 63. Ra1 Ra4 64. Rb1+ Ka5 65. Kc6 Rc4+ 66. Kb7 b5 67. Ra1+ Ra4 68. Rh1 Ra2 69. Rh8 Rg2 70. Ra8+ Kb4 71. Ra1 Kc3 0-1 [Event "FTX Road to Miami KO 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.07.15"] [Round "2.23"] [White "Wei Yi"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B42"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2764"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2022.07.14"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,71,36,36,60,65,56,28,28,34,104,49,52,58,40,39,39,33,49,33,37,10,39,24, 23,24,16,17,22,22,145,140,131,59,76,76,76,187,193,179,167,167,167,164,174,143, 150,103,95,116,122,97,108,115,124,126,125,123,125,125,146,155,155,170,198,154, 173,183,183,187,236,216,306,323]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Ba7 7. Qe2 Nc6 8. Be3 Nge7 9. Nc3 b5 10. O-O-O O-O 11. f4 b4 12. Na4 d6 13. e5 Nd5 14. Bxa7 Nxf4 $4 $146 {An even worse novelty than his last one. I'm sure that Rapport was fatigued by this point, playing 20-some games in this event over a six-day stretch, on top of the mental, physical and emotional toll of the Candidates. Normally, a good player - to say nothing of a top player like Rapport - would double-check such a move if only out of suspicion: surely a player of Wei Yi's caliber isn't just going to blunder a pawn. Rapport must have been completely gassed.} (14... Rxa7 $11 15. exd6 Qxd6 16. g3 Bd7 17. Nb6 Nd4 18. Nxd4 Qxb6 19. Bc4 Qc5 20. Nb3 Qe3+ 21. Qd2 Bc6 22. Rhe1 Qxd2+ 23. Rxd2 g6 24. Nc5 Nb6 25. Rd6 Rc8 26. Bxa6 Rcc7 27. Bd3 Nd5 28. Na6 Rc8 29. Re4 Nc3 30. Red4 Nxa2+ 31. Kb1 Bd5 32. R4xd5 {1-0 (32) Shaposhnikov,E (2533)-Iljin,A (2500) Kazan 2005}) 15. Qf3 ({Rapport's move was so bad that White had at least two other ways to win. The best move is} 15. Bxh7+ $1 {, when} Kxh7 16. Qe4+ Ng6 17. exd6 Rxa7 18. h4 {will leave White with extra material and an attack. But this is needlessly showy.}) (15. Qe3 { also wins. White doesn't come out of this with extra material, if Black recaptures on a7, but his positional advantage is decisive.} Nxd3+ 16. Rxd3 Nxe5 (16... Rxa7 17. exd6 $18) (16... Nxa7 17. exd6 $18) 17. Qxe5 dxe5 18. Rxd8 Rxd8 19. Bb6 Rd5 20. Bc5 Rb8 21. Nb6 $18 {Black has a small material plus, but White's minor pieces have incarcerated most of Black's army.}) 15... Nxd3+ 16. Rxd3 {I don't think that Rapport missed this skewer, though he might have.} Rxa7 (16... Nxa7 17. Qxa8) 17. Qxc6 Bd7 {It's likelier that Rapport got here in his calculations, and didn't take the cursory check required to spot White's next move.} 18. Qb6 {Keeping the extra piece. The rest was easy for Wei Yi.} Qb8 19. Qa5 dxe5 20. Nac5 Bc6 21. Rhd1 Bd5 22. g3 Qb5 23. Qxb5 axb5 24. Re3 f6 25. Nd3 Ra4 26. Nbc5 Rxa2 27. Nxb4 Ra1+ 28. Kd2 Rxd1+ 29. Kxd1 Kf7 30. Nxd5 exd5 31. Ra3 g5 32. Ra5 b4 33. Nd3 d4 34. Nxb4 Ke6 35. g4 h5 36. Ra6+ 1-0 [Event "FTX Road to Miami KO 2022"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2022.07.15"] [Round "2.24"] [White "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D20"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2775"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2022.07.14"] [EventType "k.o."] {[%evp 0,50,36,27,25,-17,20,-1,0,24,57,31,31,43,124,63,68,39,39,-1,-7,9,22,2,1, -5,-21,-95,-115,-121,-105,-171,-171,-193,-219,-170,-158,-355,-363,-411,-411, -428,-425,-413,-415,-417,-424,-443,-357,-394,-388,-423,-404]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 exd4 6. Nxd4 Nd7 7. Bxc4 Ngf6 8. O-O O-O 9. Nde2 $146 {A novelty, but a bit of low-hanging fruit as it goes back and forth between #1 and #2 for the engine.} (9. f3) ({and} 9. Bg5 {are usual.}) 9... Ne5 10. Bb3 c6 (10... Be6 $5) 11. h3 Qe7 12. f4 $6 (12. Be3) ({and} 12. Qc2 { were better choices, offering White a pleasant edge.}) 12... Rd8 13. Qc2 $2 { This loses, full stop.} (13. Qxd8+ $8 Qxd8 14. fxe5 {had to be tried.} Nd7 15. Rxf7 Kh8 16. e6 Nf8 17. Nf4 Qd4+ 18. Kh1 Nxe6 19. Nxe6 Bxe6 20. Bxe6 Rf8 21. Rxf8+ Bxf8 22. Bg4 $11) 13... Bc5+ 14. Kh1 Nd3 15. e5 Ng4 $1 $19 {Not a difficult move to spot at this point, and normally one would expect Duda to see this coming from a mile away. But as with his fellow Candidate, Richard Rapport, fatigue was almost certainly a factor.} 16. Ne4 (16. hxg4 $4 Qh4#) 16... Bf5 $1 17. N2g3 Ndf2+ 18. Nxf2 Bxc2 19. Nxg4 Bxb3 20. axb3 Rd3 {The rest is easy.} 21. Ne4 f5 22. Nxc5 Qxc5 23. Nf2 Rd5 24. Ra4 Rad8 25. Rc4 Qb5 0-1