[Event "FIDE Grand Swiss"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.11.03"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Firouzja, Alireza"]
[Black "Najer, Evgeniy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C43"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2654"]
[Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2021.11.03"]
{[%evp 0,18,19,28,18,17,17,47,47,12,21,22,11,10,35,22,22,33,20,20,30]} 1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. dxe5 d5 5. Nbd2 Nxd2 6. Bxd2 Be7 7. c3 (7. Bd3 {
is much more common.}) 7... c5 8. Bd3 {Transposing to 7.Bd3 lines.} Nc6 9. O-O
Bg4 (9... Be6 10. b4 (10. Re1 O-O 11. b4 c4 12. Bc2 d4 13. b5 dxc3 14. Bxc3
Qxd1 15. Rexd1 Nb4 16. Be4 Rad8 17. Nd4 Bc5 18. a4 Nd3 19. Bxd3 cxd3 20. Rxd3
Rd5 21. Rd2 Bxd4 22. Rxd4 Rxe5 23. Rad1 h5 24. h3 Rf5 25. Rd8 Rf4 26. Rxf8+
Kxf8 27. Rd8+ Ke7 28. Rb8 Rxa4 29. Rxb7+ Bd7 30. Bxg7 Ra5 31. Bc3 Rxb5 32. Rxa7
Rd5 33. Kh2 Ke6 34. Ra6+ Rd6 35. Ra8 Rd3 36. Bb4 Rd5 37. Rh8 Bb5 38. Rh6+ Kd7
39. Ba3 Bd3 40. Bc1 Bg6 41. Rh8 Rc5 42. Be3 Rc8 43. Rh6 Rc4 44. Kg3 Re4 45. Bf4
Rc4 46. Be5 Ke6 47. Bg7 Rc8 48. Kf4 Rg8 49. Bd4 Ra8 50. f3 Ra4 51. Ke3 Ra2 52.
g3 Kd5 53. Bg7 Ra3+ 54. Kf4 Ra4+ 55. Kg5 Ra3 56. g4 Rxf3 57. gxh5 Be4 58. h4
Rf5+ 59. Kg4 Rf1 60. Bf6 Ke6 61. Bd4+ f6 62. Rh8 Kf7 63. h6 Bf5+ 64. Kg3 Be4
65. h7 Kg7 66. Rf8 Bxh7 67. Rxf6 {1/2-1/2 (67) Pridorozhni,A (2596)-Rakhmanov,
A (2646) Sochi 2020}) 10... cxb4 11. cxb4 Bxb4 12. Bxb4 Nxb4 13. Nd4 Nxd3 14.
Qxd3 O-O 15. f4 g6 16. f5 gxf5 17. Nxf5 Kh8 18. Rab1 Qg5 19. Rxb7 Rfb8 20. Rb3
Rxb3 21. axb3 Rc8 22. h4 Bxf5 23. Qxf5 Qxf5 24. Rxf5 Kg7 25. Rf4 Rc1+ 26. Kf2
Rc2+ 27. Kf1 Rc1+ 28. Kf2 Rc2+ 29. Kf1 Rc1+ 30. Kf2 {1/2-1/2 (30) Ragger,M
(2683)-Gelfand,B (2669) Graz 2019}) 10. Re1 Qd7 11. h3 Bh5 12. Bf4 Qe6 13. Be2
(13. a3 O-O 14. b4 h6 15. Bg3 b6 16. Nd4 Bxd1 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Raxd1 c4 19.
Bc2 b5 20. a4 a6 21. f3 Bg5 22. Bf2 Bf4 23. Bc5 Rfd8 24. Bd6 Bg3 25. Re2 g5 26.
Kf1 Kf7 27. Bc7 Re8 28. Bd6 Rac8 29. Ra1 Red8 30. Bb1 Rd7 31. Ra3 d4 32. axb5
axb5 33. cxd4 Nxd4 34. Rea2 Nc6 35. Be4 Bxe5 36. Bxc6 Rxd6 37. Bxb5 Rd1+ 38.
Ke2 Rg1 39. Ke3 Rb1 40. Ra7+ Kf6 41. Bd7 Bf4+ 42. Ke2 Rd8 43. Rc2 Rxb4 44. Bc6
c3 45. Rd7 Rc8 46. Be4 h5 47. Kd3 Rb2 48. Ke2 h4 49. Rd1 Ke5 50. Ra1 Rd8 51.
Rd1 Rdb8 52. Ra1 Bd2 53. Ra6 Rd8 54. Rc6 Rb1 55. Kf2 Ra1 56. Rc4 Rd4 57. Rc8
Rb4 58. Ke2 Kf4 59. Kf2 Rbb1 60. Rf8+ Ke5 61. Bd3 Rb2 62. Ke2 Re1+ 63. Kf2 Rc1
64. Rxb2 cxb2 65. Rb8 Bc3 66. Be4 Bd4+ 67. Ke2 Kf4 68. Rb4 e5 69. Rb7 Kg3 {
0-1 (69) Grischuk,A (2767)-Caruana,F (2784) Berlin 2018}) 13... O-O 14. Qd2 Bg6
15. Rad1 Be4 16. Ng5 Bxg5 17. Bxg5 d4 $146 {This is all very surprising, as
the predecessor game featured players in the absolute elite, and it was even a
classical game. The engine definitely dislikes Black's position, claiming that
White's advantage is already more or less decisive. So this whole opening is a
very surprising choice by Najer.} (17... h6 18. Be3 d4 19. cxd4 Rfd8 20. Qc3
Qg6 21. g3 cxd4 22. Bxd4 Qe6 23. Kh2 Rac8 24. Qe3 Bf5 25. Bc3 Rxd1 26. Rxd1
Qxa2 27. g4 Be6 28. Qe4 Ne7 29. Qxb7 Nd5 30. Bd4 a5 31. Bf3 Qc4 32. b3 Qc2 33.
Bxd5 Bxd5 34. Qxd5 Qxd1 35. e6 Qc2 36. exf7+ Kh7 37. Qe5 Qg6 38. Qe7 {1-0 (38)
So,W (2760)-Yu,Y (2738) Jerusalem 2019}) 18. Bf1 Qg6 19. Qf4 $16 (19. f4 $142)
19... Bc2 (19... Bf5 $142) 20. Rd2 Rae8 21. Bh4 Kh8 22. f3 (22. Bb5 $1 $18)
22... a6 23. Bf2 Rd8 24. Rc1 Bb1 25. cxd4 Nxd4 26. Bxd4 cxd4 27. a3 Ba2 28.
Rxd4 Qb6 29. Rcd1 Rfe8 30. Kh2 $2 (30. b4 $18) 30... Rxd4 31. Qxd4 Qxd4 32.
Rxd4 g5 $1 {Artificially isolating the e-pawn, while also, of course, taking
care of the back rank.} 33. Rd7 b5 34. Rd6 Rxe5 35. Rxa6 Bc4 36. Bxc4 bxc4 37.
a4 Rc5 38. Rb6 c3 39. bxc3 Rxc3 {This ending is probably drawn with best play.}
40. a5 Kg7 41. a6 (41. Ra6 {offers fewer winning chances.}) 41... Ra3 42. Kg3
Ra2 43. f4 {Probably necessary sooner or later.} gxf4+ 44. Kxf4 Rxg2 45. Ke5
Ra2 46. Kd6 f5 $8 {The right reaction. Black must hurry, as White's a-pawn
will cost Black his rook in a very few moves.} 47. Kc7 f4 $8 48. Kb8 f3 $8 49.
a7 f2 $8 50. Rb1 f1=Q $2 {/?? What is this? White's winning method after this
is something a player of Najer's age would have learned from an endgame primer
before puberty. The addition of the h-pawns makes little difference.} (50...
Kh6 {(or 50...Kg6, or 50...Kf6, all with the same idea) is a surprising way to
draw, but it works. By the time White has finished collecting things, Black's
h-pawn will be ready to save the game.} 51. a8=Q Rxa8+ 52. Kxa8 Kg5 53. Rf1 Kh4
54. Rxf2 Kxh3 {It may look impossible at a glance, but this is a draw. All of
Black's moves will be obvious, too, so there's little to calculate; Najer only
needed to assess everything correctly.}) (50... Rb2+ {is a very different
approach that also draws.} 51. Rxb2 f1=Q 52. Rb7+ (52. a8=Q Qf8+ 53. Kb7 (53.
Ka7 Qa3+ $11) 53... Qe7+ 54. Kc8 (54. Kb8 Qe5+ $11) (54. Ka6 Qa3+ $11) (54. Kb6
Qf6+ $11) (54. Kc6 Qf6+ $11) 54... Qe8+ 55. Kb7 Qe7+ $11) 52... Kg6 53. Rb6+ (
53. a8=Q Qf8+ 54. Ka7 Qa3+ $11) 53... Kg5 54. a8=Q Qf8+ 55. Ka7 Qa3+ 56. Ra6
Qe3+ {and as long as Black doesn't let White's queen interpose a check and
doesn't blunder into allowing a cross-check by the rook, the perpetual will be
easy to prove.}) 51. Rxf1 Rb2+ 52. Ka8 Rb3 53. Rc1 Kg6 54. Rc7 {Intending Rb7
followed by Kb8 and promotion.} h5 55. Rb7 Rxh3 56. Rb6+ Kg5 (56... Kg7 57. Kb7
Ra3 58. Ra6 Rb3+ 59. Kc6 Rc3+ 60. Kd5 Rc8 61. a8=Q Rxa8 62. Rxa8 $18) 57. Kb7
Ra3 58. Ra6 Rb3+ 59. Kc7 {If Black keeps checking, White's king will waddle
along the 7th rank until it reaches g7. No more checks, and no opportunity for
Black to give up his rook for the a-pawn/new queen.} 1-0
