[Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R.."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "160"] [GameId "2077916976269710"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,160,18,12,29,-3,0,10,25,-32,8,-14,-1,33,40,8,39,13,25,15,15,36,70,55,107,86,78,89,66,89,70,57,88,70,71,-21,-26,-47,-49,-29,-46,-24,-32,-38,-59,-79,-54,-131,-84,-139,-107,-158,-136,-168,-143,-151,-187,-150,-132,-198,-204,-247,-179,-295,-271,-305,-272,-302,-253,-223,-224,-224,-213,-219,-172,-213,-218,-224,-212,-213,-213,-213,-210,-225,-200,-223,-228,-211,-181,-221,-181,-201,-194,-194,-203,-179,-194,-282,-155,-148,-150,-154,-154,-171,-143,-136,-114,-104,-104,-92,-15,10,0,0,14,8,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,121,126,145,100,88,49,41,33,25,23,84,22,18,0,18,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 c5 5. d5 b5 6. e4 O-O 7. e5 Ne8 8. f4 exd5 9. cxd5 d6 10. Nf3 c4 11. a4 Nc7 12. axb5 Nxb5 13. Bd2 Bxc3 14. bxc3 dxe5 15. Bxc4 Nd6 16. Be2 Ne4 17. Ng5 Nxg5 18. fxg5 Qxd5 19. O-O Bb7 20. Rf2 Nd7 21. Be3 Nb6 22. Qb1 Qc6 23. c4 Nxc4 24. Bxc4 Qxc4 25. h3 $2 {This was not a pressing need. Now Black gets to keep the a-pawn, which represents not just a second extra pawn but a passer as well.} ({White could and should have taken the a-pawn, with equality.} 25. Rxa7 $11) 25... a5 $17 26. Qb2 Qe4 (26... a4 $1 27. Qxe5 Rfe8 28. Qd4 Qb3 $17) 27. Re2 $15 Rfe8 (27... Qd5 $142) 28. Bb6 $11 Qf5 29. Be3 $2 {Very strange, unless Aronian was desperately short of time.} (29. Rxa5 $1 Qxg5 30. Raxe5 Rxe5 31. Qxe5 Qxe5 32. Rxe5 $11 {should draw easily.}) 29... Be4 $19 (29... Bd5 $142 $19) 30. Bd2 Bd3 $2 (30... a4 $19) 31. Re3 $2 {Both players' moves are so odd I wonder if the game score is correct.} (31. Rf2 Qe6 32. Rxa5 $11) 31... e4 $19 32. Rg3 Rec8 33. Qd4 Qc5 34. Qxc5 Rxc5 35. Ra4 Rd5 (35... Bc2 $142 {followed by ...a4 looks like a normal thing to do, taking the a-pawn away from White's bishop's eye. Sure, it's not getting to a3 any time soon, but freeing the a8-rook gives Black more options for creating a second (or rather, third) "weakness" in White's position. [Quotation marks around "weakness" because the term really means something more like a *problem*. That problem could be a weakness, like an isolated or backward pawn, but it could mean something like *having to worry about my opponent's extra, passed pawn*. By that reckoning White already has two "weaknesses"; namely, Black's a- and e-pawns.]}) 36. Bc3 Bc2 37. Ra2 Bd3 38. Ra4 Rf5 39. h4 Rc5 40. Bd2 Ra6 41. h5 Rf5 42. Kh2 (42. h6) 42... Kf8 43. h6 Rc5 (43... g6 $142) 44. Rg4 Kg8 45. Rh4 gxh6 $2 46. Rxh6 $6 (46. gxh6 $15 {is better, intending Rg4. How has White managed to make so much progress down two passed pawns?}) 46... Ra8 $17 47. Rd6 (47. Be3 $142) 47... Bc2 $19 48. Rad4 a4 $4 {Finally! Unfortunately, it's mistimed.} (48... Rcc8 $1 $19 {kills White's counterplay, and then ...a3-a2 wins.}) 49. Rd8+ Rxd8 50. Rxd8+ Kg7 51. Be3 $15 Rc4 52. Ra8 Bd1 $6 (52... f6 $1 {was best, aiming to break White's semi-bind.}) 53. Kg3 $11 Kg6 54. Kf4 {It's just a draw now.} Kg7 55. Rd8 Bc2 56. Bd4+ Rxd4 {As good a try as Black has, but it's all drawn now.} 57. Rxd4 a3 58. Rd6 a2 59. Ra6 Bb1 60. Ke3 Kf8 61. Ra7 Ke8 62. Kd2 Kf8 63. Ke3 Kg8 64. Ra8+ Kg7 65. Ra6 Kf8 66. Ra7 Ke8 67. Kd2 Kd8 68. Kc1 Ke8 69. Kd2 Kd8 70. Kc1 e3 71. Ra3 Kd7 72. Kb2 Ke6 73. Rxe3+ Kf5 74. Rf3+ Kxg5 75. Rxf7 h5 76. Rf3 Kg4 77. Rh3 h4 78. Ka1 Be4 79. Kxa2 Bxg2 80. Rxh4+ Kxh4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "161"] [GameId "2077921052895492"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,161,18,-11,-18,-24,0,2,-21,-47,-23,-23,-18,-18,21,-58,-25,-14,-30,-31,19,-17,-14,8,6,19,69,62,72,72,63,63,68,57,49,31,31,31,31,31,0,0,28,36,36,39,48,56,38,8,55,79,70,-22,33,-25,-4,-12,-6,-6,-6,-6,-26,-26,-65,-120,-93,-120,-40,-149,-123,-123,-104,-80,-79,-67,-32,-29,-43,-50,-54,-24,-31,-31,0,-60,-32,-38,0,-12,0,0,0,0,0,-35,-36,-48,-19,-36,-36,-36,29,29,0,-8,-8,0,18,18,11,6,13,0,44,49,60,60,60,60,60,60,60,33,25,25,86,0,0,0,42,42,118,118,118,81,118,79,110,118,154,0,0,0,144,198,198,175,198,198,236,240,281,281,382,418,458,403,463,468,468,468,470,470]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Bc5 {A trendy move; Nepo's reply is anything but.} 7. Na4 $5 $146 {Nepo is one of the most interesting players to watch in contemporary chess when it comes to finding new ideas, especially ideas for a single game. (Meaning the move won't prove to have enduring value after one takes a close look with the engine, but it presents plenty of trouble to the player seeing it for the first time at the board.)} Be7 ({Interestingly, Stockfish thinks this is fine, allowing White to seize the bishop pair, no questions asked. Firouzja's move is much more natural.} 7... Bb6) 8. O-O {Inviting Black's next move...which probably should have been avoided.} (8. d4) ({and} 8. d3 {look more natural to me.}) 8... e4 $6 {This is the value of ideas like Nepo's 7.Na4; they invite natural, "obvious" moves and plans that are mistaken or at least inaccurate.} 9. Ne1 $14 Bf5 (9... h5 {is Stockfish's suggestion - computers can't help themselves these days, recommending h4/...h5 all over the place.}) 10. Nc3 (10. d3 $142 Nf6 $1 11. Be3 O-O 12. Nc3 exd3 13. Nxd3 $14 {/? retains a healthy advantage.}) 10... Nxc3 11. bxc3 Qd7 $11 {/?} 12. Rb1 Bc5 $2 (12... Na5 $11) 13. d4 $1 $16 {/+-} Bb6 14. Nc2 $16 (14. Qc2 $1 e3 15. Nd3 exf2+ 16. Rxf2 $16 {/+-}) 14... O-O 15. Ne3 Bg6 16. a4 (16. h4 $142 $16 {See the note to Black's 9th move.}) 16... f5 17. Bh3 Rf6 18. Rb5 a6 19. Rd5 Qf7 20. Ba3 (20. c4 $142) 20... Re8 (20... Na5 $142 $11 {Black shouldn't allow c4.}) 21. c4 $14 h6 22. Qd2 ({The following line is from the computer; I would be surprised if the players would produce the following variation even in a classical game.} 22. g4 $1 f4 $6 (22... fxg4 $14) 23. g5 $1 Rfe6 $1 24. Kh1 $3 Bxd4 $1 25. Rxd4 $1 Nxd4 26. Qxd4 Bh5 $1 27. Ng4 $1 hxg5 $14 {/?}) 22... Kh7 $2 (22... f4 $11 {This, by contrast, seems like a move Black has to talk himself out of playing.}) 23. a5 (23. Ng2 $142 $16) 23... Ba7 24. Qb2 Nd8 25. Rd1 (25. Bc5 $16) 25... c6 26. Re5 $2 (26. Rd6 {was correct. Unlike the situation in the game,} Ne6 {will not result in the loss of White's rook thanks to} 27. d5 $16) 26... Ne6 $17 {White's rook is trapped and will soon be edible.} 27. Bg2 Bb8 28. Rb1 Qd7 $2 (28... Bc7 $1 $17 29. Qxb7 $2 Rb8 30. Qxb8 Bxb8 31. Rxb8 Qd7 $1 $19) 29. Qxb7 Qxd4 30. Bb2 Qa7 31. Qb6 $2 (31. Qxa7 Bxa7 32. g4 $11 {allows White to extricate his rook, with equal chances.}) 31... Qa8 $6 (31... Qf7 $1 $19) 32. Rd1 (32. h4 $1) 32... Bc7 (32... Rf7 $1 $19) 33. Qb4 (33. Rxe6 $1) 33... Qb8 $2 ({Just take the flippin' rook and win the game.} 33... Bxe5 34. Bxe5 Rf7 $19) 34. Qc3 $2 (34. Qxb8 Rxb8 35. Ba1 h5 (35... Rbf8 36. h4 Bxe5 37. Bxe5 R6f7 38. Rd6 $15) 36. h4 Re8 37. f4 Rf7 38. Kf2 Bxe5 39. Bxe5 $15 {Black's pieces, especially the bishop, are so boxed up that his winning chances are minimal.}) 34... Bxe5 35. Qxe5 Qxe5 (35... Rf7 $1 $19) 36. Bxe5 Rf7 $19 {Black's forces aren't well-coordinated, but it's still a full exchange in his pocket. Black should win, but in time trouble anything is possible. [I don't know if Black was in time trouble, but since it's usual for Firouzja and Nepo is one of the speediest players in chess I suspect that this was the case.]} 37. Rd6 Nf8 $2 (37... Bh5 $19) (37... Nd8 $19) 38. Bc3 $17 Re6 39. Rd8 $15 Nd7 40. h4 Nc5 41. Bh3 $11 h5 42. Bb4 Nb3 43. Bc3 Nc5 44. Rc8 Nb7 45. Ra8 c5 46. Nd5 {Black has not exactly maximized the activity of his pieces, which are all stuck on light squares, bottled up primarily by his own pawns and the knight on d5.} Rc6 $6 47. e3 (47. Nf4 $16) 47... Nd6 $11 48. Bf1 Rb7 49. Nb6 Bf7 50. Be5 Rcxb6 {Unnecessary, but not a bad decision. Black returns some of the material to break the bind and activate his pieces.} 51. axb6 Rxb6 52. Bxd6 Rxd6 53. Rc8 Kg6 (53... a5 54. Rxc5 Rd1 55. Kg2 a4 56. Rxf5 a3 57. Ra5 Ra1 58. Be2 g6 $11 {White's problem is that trying to do something here, e.g. with} 59. c5 $4 {, loses on the spot as Black's bishop now controls a2, so} a2 $19 {followed by ...Rc1 (or wherever) and ...a1Q wins.}) 54. Rxc5 Rd1 55. Kg2 Rc1 {Inviting Ra5 and mass exchanges. The trend has been in White's favor, and as he can play on with only minimal risk he continues.} 56. Be2 a5 57. Rxa5 Rc2 (57... Bxc4 $4 58. Rc5 $18) 58. Ra6+ Kh7 59. Ra7 Kg8 (59... Rxe2 60. Rxf7 Kg6 {is "equal", but not equal. That is to say, the computer will draw this in its metaphorical sleep, but in real life Black will have to suffer at least a little (though not much, frankly) to make the draw. (The reason he shouldn't have to suffer very much is because the c-pawn is close enough to the kingside that Black's king can keep an eye on it, if necessary, without abandoning his kingside to mass destruction.)}) 60. Bd1 Rc1 61. Bb3 g6 62. Rc7 Kf8 63. g4 $5 {A great idea, White jettisons a pawn to activate the king. Nepo has correctly determined that he's not taking undue risk here.} hxg4 64. Kg3 Be8 65. c5 Rc3 $2 {The rook needs to bother White's kingside pawns.} (65... Rg1+ 66. Kf4 Rg2 67. c6 Rxf2+ 68. Ke5 Rf1 (68... g3 {is okay, though it allows the heart-stopping} 69. Rf7+ $1 Bxf7 70. c7 {Fortunately, Black has enough material to allow this.} Bxb3 71. c8=Q+ Kg7 72. Qc6 Ra2 $1 (72... g2 $2 73. Qf6+ Kh7 74. Qe7+ $1 Kh6 75. Qg5+ Kg7 (75... Kh7 76. Kf6 $18) 76. h5 $18) 73. Qf6+ Kh7 $8 74. h5 gxh5 $8 75. Qxf5+ Kh6 76. Qf4+ Kh7 77. Qxg3 Ra6 $11) 69. Kf6 f4 $8 70. Bc4 $8 Rf2 71. Rf7+ $1 Bxf7 72. c7 fxe3+ 73. Ke5 $8 Kg7 74. c8=Q g3 75. Bxf7 Rxf7 76. Qg4 Rf3 77. h5 Rf5+ $8 78. Ke6 Rxh5 79. Qxe4 $11 {White can (and probably will) win the e3- and g3-pawns, but it won't matter as Black can draw by playing ...Rh5, ...Rf5, ...Rh5 forever when he's not in check.}) 66. Be6 Rc2 $2 (66... Rc1 $1 67. Kf4 Rf1 $11) 67. Bb3 $2 (67. h5 $1 gxh5 68. Bxf5 h4+ 69. Kxh4 Rxf2 70. Bxg4 $1 $18) 67... Rc3 68. Bd5 Rc2 69. Be6 Bb5 $2 (69... Rc1 $1) 70. Kf4 $2 (70. h5 $1 $18) 70... Rxf2+ 71. Ke5 f4 $2 {A good idea in general, but it doesn't work here.} (71... g3 72. c6 $1 (72. Kf6 $4 f4 $1 $19) 72... Bxc6 73. Rxc6 Kg7 $11) 72. Rf7+ $1 Ke8 73. Rxf4 $18 {White keeps all his pawns; Black won't keep his.} g3 74. Rg4 g2 75. Rxg6 Ke7 76. h5 Be8 77. Rg7+ Kf8 78. h6 Rc2 79. Rg8+ Ke7 80. h7 Rxc5+ 81. Bd5 1-0 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "1.3"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "147"] [GameId "2077930940106695"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,147,18,18,18,10,13,7,13,4,33,43,43,2,25,13,5,-13,-13,-6,5,-40,25,-17,-23,-25,-25,-13,-19,-17,-7,-17,-8,-29,1,-2,1,1,-7,-16,-7,-11,-5,-21,-20,-20,-20,-28,-21,-22,-7,-3,0,4,1,-4,13,9,23,-31,-24,-31,-6,-17,0,0,21,16,48,39,80,61,62,62,111,77,77,91,91,87,86,88,88,88,88,88,90,58,72,78,72,72,75,76,76,76,73,81,90,95,106,106,106,107,117,106,109,98,101,101,106,106,106,109,109,93,109,0,0,0,0,0,107,107,107,107,151,170,241,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 {I will invoke The Policy here, as usual. So was pressing in the second half of the game, but it wasn't enough to win.} 4. O-O d6 5. c3 Nf6 6. d3 h6 7. Nbd2 a5 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nf1 a4 10. Ng3 Ra5 11. Bd2 Be6 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. h3 Bb6 14. b4 axb3 15. axb3 Rxa1 16. Qxa1 Ne7 17. d4 Ng6 18. Be3 Nd7 19. Qd1 Qf6 20. b4 Nf4 21. Kh2 exd4 22. cxd4 Qf7 23. b5 Ra8 24. Qb3 Ng6 25. Re2 Re8 26. Ra2 Rf8 27. Nd2 Nh4 28. Ra1 d5 29. exd5 exd5 30. Qc2 Re8 31. Nb3 Nf8 32. Nc5 c6 33. bxc6 bxc6 34. Nd3 Bc7 35. Ne5 Bxe5 36. dxe5 Nfg6 37. Qxc6 Nxe5 38. Qb5 d4 39. Ra7 Qxa7 40. Qxe8+ Kh7 41. Qxe5 dxe3 42. Qe4+ Ng6 43. h4 Qe7 44. Qxe7 Nxe7 45. fxe3 Kg6 46. Kg1 Kf6 47. Kf2 Ke6 48. Nh5 g6 49. Nf4+ Kf6 50. e4 Nc6 51. Ke3 g5 52. hxg5+ Kxg5 53. Kf3 Ne5+ 54. Kg3 Nc4 55. Nh3+ Kf6 56. Kf4 Ne5 57. Kg3 Nc4 58. Nf2 Ke5 59. Kf3 h5 60. Kg3 Nd6 61. Kh4 Kf4 62. Kxh5 Kg3 63. e5 Nc8 64. Kg5 Kxf2 65. g4 Kf3 66. e6 Nd6 67. e7 Kg3 68. Kh5 Kf4 69. g5 Kf5 70. g6 Kf6 71. Kh6 Nf5+ 72. Kh7 Kxe7 73. g7 Nxg7 74. Kxg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B76"] [WhiteElo "2748"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "58"] [GameId "2077931186277679"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,58,18,18,53,63,79,67,64,53,53,50,95,63,55,28,36,29,29,29,67,67,67,75,65,-7,55,55,55,50,50,22,79,35,59,18,6,14,8,-2,48,42,42,42,42,20,20,20,20,20,13,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bd4 e5 13. Bc5 Be6 14. Ne4 Re8 15. h4 (15. Bc4 {is arguably more popular at the moment.}) 15... h5 (15... h6 {used to be the main move, but its popularity has been supplanted by the text.}) 16. Bc4 Nf4 17. Qxd8 (17. Bxe6 $142 Qxd2+ (17... Nxe6 18. Qc3 $14 {/?}) 18. Rxd2 Nxe6 19. Be3 f5 20. Nd6 Red8 21. c3 $14) 17... Rexd8 18. Bxe6 Nxe6 19. Be7 {This line is objectively harmless, but (assuming Dominguez didn't just misremember something along the way) I guess he's trying a one-off idea, hoping that Black won't solve his problems on move 23.} (19. Be3 $142) 19... Bh6+ 20. Kb1 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 f5 $1 $11 22. Nf6+ Kf7 23. Rd7 Nf4 $1 {Otherwise, White has some advantage.} 24. g3 Ne2 {Now it's White who will be worse unless he finds the right move.} 25. Bf8+ $1 Kxf8 {Allowing an instant draw, which White must accept.} (25... Kxf6 26. Bxh6 Nxg3 27. Bg5+ Ke6 28. Re7+ Kd6 (28... Kd5 29. c4+ $1 $11) 29. Rg7 $11 {could still get messy for either side, though it looks more dangerous for White than for Black.}) 26. Nh7+ Ke8 27. Nf6+ Kf8 28. Nh7+ Ke8 29. Nf6+ Kf8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "1.5"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B21"] [WhiteElo "2802"] [BlackElo "2721"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "74"] [GameId "2077934586556649"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,74,18,18,63,14,7,6,2,2,16,-14,19,-4,46,-26,-9,-35,-29,-35,-11,-22,-23,-23,-4,-21,-2,-12,-23,-28,-21,-51,-12,-17,-2,-2,-2,32,25,45,40,29,29,26,70,-3,12,-15,-23,-23,-51,-40,-31,-29,-35,-35,-43,-33,-2,-12,-20,-27,0,0,14,-20,-20,-13,-22,0,64,0,0,0,17,0,0] White was better - seriously better - for substantial stretches of the game, but never managed to turn that final corner to acehive a decisive plus.} 1. e4 c5 2. f4 d5 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. d3 Nc6 6. Nf3 g6 7. c3 Bg7 8. Qe2 e6 9. Be3 b6 10. e5 f6 11. d4 fxe5 12. fxe5 Nge7 13. O-O O-O 14. g4 Rac8 15. h3 b5 16. Na3 b4 17. Nb5 bxc3 18. bxc3 cxd4 19. cxd4 Nb4 20. Nd6 Rc2 21. Qd1 Rc6 22. Ng5 Nc8 23. Rb1 Nxd6 24. Rxb4 Nc4 25. Bc1 Rcc8 26. Rb3 Rxf1+ 27. Qxf1 h6 28. Nf3 Qa4 29. Rb7 Qc6 30. Rb1 Rf8 31. Qd3 Qd7 32. Rb3 Qf7 33. Kg2 g5 34. Rc3 Bh8 35. Rb3 Bg7 36. Rc3 Rb8 37. Rb3 Rf8 1/2-1/2 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C24"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "63"] [GameId "2077935093687034"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Bc5 4. Nf3 d6 (4... Nc6 {would force me to invoke The Policy.}) 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O Nc6 {Still Policy-ish, but since the game gets spicy, and quickly, it's worth having a look anyway.} 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 a6 (8... a5) (8... g5 {Here the sac is bad, so if Black wants to play ...g5 this is at least as good a time as any.}) 9. b4 Ba7 10. Nbd2 Qe7 (10... g5) 11. a4 Be6 12. Bd5 {Almost a novelty, but the one predecessor was another Firouzja game.} g5 13. Nxg5 Nxd5 ({Carlsen can't be blamed for playing 13...Nxd5 in the first 12.Bd5 game, but it's surprising that So didn't come up with this in his prep. Then again, there are sooooo many Giuoco lines - part of the reason for The Policy - that it's possible that he looked at it and forgot the analysis.} 13... hxg5 $142 14. Bxg5 Kg7 {The position is very sharp (thanks, Captain Obvious!) but Black seems to be okay in every line. White needs to hurry, as Black is ready to play the unpinning ...Qe8. Here's one possible line:} 15. b5 Na5 16. bxa6 c6 17. d4 Bxd5 18. exd5 (18. f4 $5 exd4 $8 19. e5 $1 dxe5 20. fxe5 Qxe5 21. Bxf6+ Qxf6 22. Rxf6 Kxf6 23. c4 Nxc4 24. Qf1+ Kg7 25. Nxc4 d3+ 26. Kh1 Bxc4 27. axb7 Rad8 28. Qf5 Be6 29. Qg5+ Kh7 30. Qh5+ Kg7 31. Qg5+ $11) 18... cxd5 19. Ra3 Nc4 20. axb7 Nxa3 21. bxa8=Q Rxa8 22. Qc1 Nc4 23. Nxc4 dxc4 24. Bh4 $1 Rh8 25. Qg5+ Kf8 26. dxe5 $1 Ng8 $1 27. exd6 $1 Qxd6 28. Bg3 Qe7 $11) 14. Nxe6 Qxh4 15. exd5 fxe6 16. g3 Qh3 17. dxc6 $14 Rf5 (17... bxc6 $142 18. Qe2 Rf7 19. Kh1 Raf8 20. f3 Rg7 21. Ne4 $14 (21. Qg2 $14)) 18. Kh1 $16 bxc6 19. Qe2 Raf8 20. f3 {Everything is protected. Black's pieces all look great, and that's the problem: they've maxed out and there's nothing to do next. White must stay alert, and as long as he doesn't miss a tactic somewhere he can look forward to eventually exploiting one of Black's 250 weak pawns. (Maybe not quite that many, but a6 and h6 are isolated while the c- and e-pawns are doubled, with the c6 and e6 pawns looking very targetable.)} Rg5 21. Ne4 $1 $146 (21. Qg2 {wasn't terrible either, notwithstanding the result of the game. His 21st move in this game is even better, and the question is once again whether So prepared badly or (more likely) just forgot something.} Qf5 22. Rad1 h5 23. Nb3 h4 24. g4 Qh7 25. Qe2 h3 26. d4 exd4 27. cxd4 e5 28. Na5 Bxd4 29. Nxc6 Qf7 30. Rc1 Rg6 31. Qxa6 Rf6 32. Qe2 Rxf3 33. Rxf3 Qxf3+ 34. Qxf3 Rxf3 35. Nxd4 exd4 36. Ra1 Rb3 37. a5 Rxb4 38. a6 Rb8 39. a7 Ra8 40. Kg1 c5 41. Kf2 Kf7 42. Ke2 c4 43. Ra5 d3+ 44. Kd2 Kg6 45. Kc3 d5 46. Ra2 Kg5 {0-1 Firouzja,A (2737)-Carlsen,M (2830) Norway Chess Armageddon 12th Stavanger rapid 2024 (9)}) 21... Rg6 $6 22. d4 $1 $18 {Hitting a6 - for starters. White is already winning, having made two new moves, at most one of which was found at the board.} d5 23. Nf2 Qf5 24. Ng4 {Good enough, but 24.f4 was even better.} (24. f4 $1 exf4 25. gxf4 $1 $18 {Gruesome at first glance, but the opening of lines is now entirely in White's favor now that Black's bishop is blocked out of the game.}) 24... exd4 25. Ne5 $1 d3 (25... Rg7 $142 26. Nxc6 $1 dxc3 $1 27. Nxa7 d4 28. Nc6 d3 {is still lost, but may offer some swindling chances.}) 26. Qxd3 Qxd3 27. Nxd3 {Material is equal, but Black's structure is so terrible - and his bishop so useless - that White is simply winning now that the queens are off the board and king safety isn't a factor.} c5 28. bxc5 e5 29. Nxe5 Re6 30. f4 c6 (30... Bxc5 $2 31. Nd7) 31. Rab1 Rfe8 32. Nd7 {Next up: 33.Rb7.} 1-0 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2748"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "76"] [GameId "2077970498545859"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,76,18,18,18,10,20,7,13,16,6,7,6,-1,35,23,33,22,33,25,25,-2,29,29,18,17,17,19,27,11,24,3,8,32,23,-5,13,-5,33,35,30,30,53,34,97,75,105,69,87,75,89,75,102,84,81,59,86,65,124,124,124,17,40,20,20,0,0,0,19,6,36,-7,18,32,32,-40,0,-348,-343]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 {The Policy...but come back at the end of the game.} 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. h3 h6 10. Re1 Re8 11. b4 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. Qc2 Ne7 14. Nf1 d5 15. Ng3 dxe4 16. dxe4 Qe8 17. c4 Nc6 18. Rb1 a5 19. bxa5 Nxa5 20. Rb5 Nc6 21. Nf5 Nd7 22. Ba3 Bb6 23. Rd1 Ra7 24. c5 Ba5 25. Ne3 b6 26. cxb6 Bxb6 27. Nd5 Nf6 {White has been a little better for a while, and after this move his advantage will be even bigger after 28.Bc5.} 28. Bb2 (28. Bc5 $1 Nd7 $8 29. Nxc7 $1 {Probably the move Caruana missed, at least/especially if they were short of time by now.} Rxc7 30. Bxb6 Nxb6 31. Rxb6 $14 {/? Because Black's rook is unprotected on c7 there are no viable discovered attacks, so White is just up a pawn for essentially nothing. (Maybe not the greatest extra pawn ever, but it's useful.)}) 28... Qa8 29. Nxb6 cxb6 30. Ra1 $6 {Ambitious, perhaps, but it was better to have an extra pawn and an advantage than equal material and no advantage. That's not a law: Caruana almost certainly calculated the 30.Rxb6 line given below and felt that Dominguez would hold without any problem, and maybe felt that he would have better chances to win from here, with no advantage, by virtue of being the better player (or perhaps because Dominguez was short on time). If so, he might have been right, but it didn't work out this time.} (30. Rxb6 Rxa4 31. Nxe5 Ra6 $8 32. Nxc6 Rxc6 33. Qxc6 Qxc6 34. Rxc6 Rxc6 $14 {White can play this forever without risk, but with all the pawns on the kingside a draw is the likeliest result by far.}) 30... Ra6 $11 31. Ra3 Nd7 32. Bc3 Nc5 33. a5 Nd7 34. Qd3 Qc8 35. Qc4 bxa5 36. Nxe5 {Still trying to keep it interesting.} (36. Rbxa5 Rxa5 37. Bxa5 Qf8 $11 {is essentially dead.}) 36... Ndxe5 37. Bxe5 Qe8 38. Rb1 $4 {Indirectly defending the bishop by counterattacking against the rook on a6. Just one problem...} (38. Bb2 Rxe4 {is only equal - White has enough play to retain the balance - but it can't be said that this is a winning try for White, either.}) 38... Nxe5 {Now the rook is defended; game over.} 0-1 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R.."] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A35"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2721"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "114"] [GameId "2077973382744273"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,114,18,-12,21,5,16,15,22,7,28,14,17,27,49,-18,-34,-45,26,-11,-9,-55,-45,-52,-48,-48,-22,-47,-14,-31,-23,-58,-21,-30,6,6,63,59,45,45,45,45,52,43,29,41,41,41,31,31,31,30,30,20,42,26,44,38,55,52,64,30,30,15,25,20,20,11,20,11,5,10,11,11,7,0,12,0,0,0,0,0,13,0,0,7,5,-8,0,-10,0,-82,-54,-102,-102,-108,-88,-78,-82,-19,54,0,0,0,0,-45,-45,-45,-45,-144,-144,-188,-105,-333,-413,-384,-407]} 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 g6 7. h4 {A reasonably popular line that fits the AlphaZero ethos even though it predates it, going back to at least 1978.} (7. O-O) 7... Bg7 (7... h6 {used to be preferred, to meet 8.h5 with 8...g5.}) 8. h5 Bf5 (8... O-O {is fine too, castling into it. It's not for everyone though, and MVL decides that his king will be better off on the other flank.}) 9. h6 Bf6 10. Nh2 (10. O-O) 10... Nxc3 11. dxc3 (11. bxc3 Qd7 $11 (11... O-O $11)) 11... Qxd1+ 12. Kxd1 O-O-O+ $11 13. Ke1 Na5 $146 (13... Ne5 14. f3 g5 15. Kf2 Rhg8 16. Nf1 Nc4 17. Ne3 Nxe3 18. Bxe3 b6 19. f4 gxf4 20. Bxf4 Bg5 21. Rag1 f6 22. Bf3 Rg6 23. Rh5 Rdg8 24. Bxg5 Rxg5 25. Rxg5 Rxg5 26. Rd1 Rg6 27. Rh1 Kc7 28. a3 Kd6 29. Rh5 Rg5 30. Rh4 {½-½ Sjugirov,S (2651)-Ragger,M (2603) CrunchLab Masters PlayIn Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (1)}) 14. e4 Bd7 15. Bf1 Be5 16. Nf3 Bg4 17. Be2 $14 Nc4 $6 18. Ng5 $16 Bxe2 19. Kxe2 Nd6 20. Rd1 Rd7 21. Rd5 (21. Nf3 f6 22. Nxe5 fxe5 23. Rd5 $16 {is a free pawn.}) 21... f6 22. Rxc5+ Rc7 23. Rxc7+ Kxc7 24. Nf3 Nxe4 25. Nxe5 fxe5 {No free pawn this time, but it's still a significant White edge thanks to Black's putrid kingside structure.} 26. Be3 Rd8 27. a4 a5 28. Ra3 Kc6 $2 29. Rb3 $18 Nd6 30. Rb6+ $2 $14 {A big missed opportunity.} (30. c4 $1 Nxc4 $4 31. Rc3 b5 32. b3 $18) 30... Kc7 31. b3 $6 Ne4 $1 $11 32. Re6 Nxc3+ 33. Kf1 Nd5 (33... Rd1+ $142 34. Kg2 Nd5 $11) 34. Bd2 b6 35. Ke2 Kd7 36. Rxe5 e6 {The knight is a rock, keeping the queenside pawns secure and White's rook at bay. Still, it should be practically impossible for White to lose this.} 37. Re4 Rf8 38. Rc4 Rf5 39. g4 Rf8 40. Be3 Rf6 41. Bd2 Rf8 42. f3 Kd6 43. Be1 e5 {In theory this could destabilize the knight and make the pawn a target, but there's no way for White to exploit either.} 44. Bg3 g5 45. Be1 $6 (45. Rc1 Rf6 46. Rh1 $11) 45... Rf6 {Why not?} (45... Nf4+ 46. Kf1 Rf6) 46. b4 Nf4+ $1 47. Kf1 Kd5 48. Rc7 (48. Rc8 $1 $11) 48... axb4 $1 49. Rxh7 $2 (49. Bxb4 $142 Rxh6 50. Bd2 $1 {should still be held.}) 49... Kc4 $2 (49... b3 50. Bc3 Rc6 {Chasing the bishop to b2 where it can be attacked by ...Nd3.} 51. Bb2 Rd6 $3 $19) 50. Rc7+ Kb3 51. h7 Rh6 52. Bd2 $6 (52. Ra7 $1 $11) 52... Kxa4 53. Bxf4 $2 (53. Re7 $1 b3 54. Bc3 Nd3 55. Ra7+ Kb5 56. Kg1 $3 b2 57. Bxb2 Nxb2 58. Ra2 $11 {and if the knight moves, then 59.Rh2. Black is still the only one with practical winning chances, but it's objectively drawn.}) 53... exf4 $19 {Now it's over.} 54. Ke2 b3 55. Kd3 Kb4 56. Rb7 b5 57. Rd7 Rh1 0-1 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2729"] [BlackElo "2767"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "119"] [GameId "2077977237713814"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,119,18,12,20,10,10,-2,25,34,31,31,26,28,52,39,45,45,46,42,41,41,41,41,41,39,47,17,17,28,28,27,37,44,52,52,53,53,49,29,42,42,55,55,68,49,63,49,63,63,63,61,76,52,77,67,80,73,96,97,172,172,199,199,184,198,198,198,198,199,194,126,160,157,157,144,158,123,123,119,159,151,147,156,156,157,157,126,203,126,155,155,150,164,148,134,227,227,227,227,280,230,215,218,200,191,217,217,374,420,433,464,1471,1130,1130,1358,29979,29982,29995,29996,29997,29998]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. a3 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 Ne4 9. Rc1 Nxc3 10. Rxc3 cxd4 11. Qxd4 Nc6 12. Qd2 Qf6 13. cxd5 Rd8 14. Bb5 ({White's 14.Bb5 Rxd5 15.Bd3 looks weird, but the idea is to prevent ...exd5.} 14. Bd3 exd5 $1) 14... Rxd5 (14... exd5 $2 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. O-O $16 {White will play Nd4 and pile up on the c-pawn, either winning it or forcing Black into total passivity.}) 15. Bd3 Bd7 16. e4 $14 Rh5 17. Be2 Be8 18. O-O Rd8 19. Qc1 Rh6 20. Rd1 e5 21. Rd5 Qe7 22. Bc4 Rhd6 23. Qe3 Bd7 24. Rxd6 Qxd6 25. Rd3 Qe7 26. Bd5 h6 27. h3 Rc8 28. b4 b6 $6 {This takes b5, Qxa7 ideas off the table but destabilizes the knight.} (28... Kh7 $1 29. b5 Nd8 30. a4 (30. Qxa7 Bxb5 $11) 30... a6 $11) 29. Qd2 $14 {/?} Kh7 $2 (29... Be8) 30. Bxf7 $18 {Winning an important pawn and the game. Now e5 is weak, and the light squares around Black's king are also a problem.} Rc7 31. Bd5 a5 32. bxa5 bxa5 33. Rc3 a4 34. Qd1 Rc8 35. Kh2 Nd4 36. Rxc8 Nxf3+ 37. Qxf3 Bxc8 38. g3 (38. Bc6 $1 {Black cannot defend the pawn with ...Bd7 as White trades bishops and then queens, and 38...Qa7 39.Qf8 will soon prove fatal as well.}) 38... Bd7 39. h4 g5 40. hxg5 (40. Qf7+ $18) 40... hxg5 41. Kg1 Kg7 42. Qc3 Qd6 43. Kf1 Kf6 44. f4 gxf4 45. gxf4 Qb8 46. Ke2 Qe8 47. Qf3 $2 Qc8 {In principle a good move, looking for counterplay. It just doesn't work tactically.} (47... exf4 48. Qxf4+ Ke7 {should be drawn, despite White's extra pawn.}) 48. fxe5+ $1 Kxe5 49. Qg3+ $1 Kd4 $2 (49... Kf6 $142 50. Qd6+ Kg5 51. Kd3 $1 $18 {White's king is well shielded, and so he can continue to pester Black's king while pushing his e-pawn.}) 50. Qg7+ (50. Kd2 $1) 50... Kc5 51. Qe7+ $1 Kb6 (51... Kd4 $8) 52. Qd6+ Ka7 53. Kd3 $1 Bb5+ 54. Kd4 Qh8+ (54... Qb8 55. Qxb8+ Kxb8 56. Kc5 Be8 57. e5 Kc7 58. e6 Bh5 (58... Kd8 59. Kd6 Bb5 60. e7+ Ke8 61. Be6 $22 $18) 59. Bc6 Bd1 60. e7 $18) 55. e5 Qh4+ 56. Kc5 Qf2+ (56... Be2 57. Qb6#) 57. Kxb5 Qb2+ 58. Qb4 $1 ({It's never too late to throw away the expected result:} 58. Kxa4 $4 Qb5+ $1 59. Kxb5 $11 {Oops.}) 58... Qxe5 59. Qa5+ Kb8 60. Qd8+ (60. Qd8+ Ka7 61. Qb6#) 1-0 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2802"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "97"] [GameId "2077980482982817"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Nh5 6. Bg5 (6. dxc5 Nxf4 7. exf4 {is more frequently seen.}) 6... h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Ne5 Nxe5 9. dxe5 Ng7 10. Bg3 Nf5 $11 {There haven't been a lot of high-level games so far, but in general Black's results have been very good.} 11. Qf3 (11. e4 {is the most common move, but it has fared terribly: two draws, four Black losses, and no White wins. Here are two games involving World Championship finalists:} Nxg3 12. hxg3 e6 (12... Bg7 13. Bb5+ Bd7 14. Bxd7+ Qxd7 15. f4 O-O-O 16. Qe2 h5 17. O-O-O h4 18. Nf3 Qg4 19. exd5 hxg3 20. Rxh8 Qxf4+ 21. Kb1 Bxh8 22. Qb5 Qe3 23. Rd3 Qf2 24. Rd2 Qe3 25. Rd3 Qf2 26. Rd2 a6 27. Qc4 Qe3 28. a4 Kb8 29. Re2 Qf4 30. Qxf4 gxf4 31. c4 b5 32. axb5 axb5 33. b3 Kc7 34. Kc2 Kb6 35. Kd3 Ra8 36. Ke4 Ra3 37. Rb2 f6 38. exf6 Bxf6 39. Rb1 Kc7 40. Kxf4 bxc4 41. bxc4 Rc3 42. Kxg3 Rxc4 43. Kf2 Kd6 44. Rd1 Bd4+ {0-1 Kamsky,G (2674)-Gorodetzky,D (2489) Titled Tuesday intern op 9th June Chess.com INT blitz 2020 (5)}) 13. f4 Bd7 14. exd5 exd5 15. Qh5 Qb6 16. O-O-O c4 17. c3 Bc5 18. Be2 Be3 19. Bg4 O-O-O 20. Kb1 Bxg4 21. Qxg4+ Kb8 22. Qf5 Qe6 23. Qc2 gxf4 24. gxf4 Bxf4 25. Nf3 Bxe5 26. Rhe1 f6 27. Ka1 Rhg8 28. Nd4 Qg4 29. Nf5 Qxg2 30. Qa4 Rge8 31. Nd6 Re7 32. Rg1 Qf2 33. Nxc4 Qf4 34. Qb3 Rc7 35. Na3 Qe3 36. Rge1 Qc5 37. Nc2 h5 38. Nb4 Qc4 39. Nxd5 Qxb3 40. axb3 Rh7 41. Re3 h4 42. Rh3 Bg3 43. c4 f5 44. Rf1 Rf8 45. Rf3 f4 46. Ka2 Rh6 47. b4 Rh5 48. b5 Re5 49. Rh1 Re2 50. Kb3 Rfe8 51. c5 R8e5 52. Rd3 f3 53. c6 bxc6 54. bxc6 f2 55. c7+ Kb7 56. Rc1 Re8 57. Rd4 a5 58. Nf6 Rc8 59. Rd5 Rxc7 60. Rb5+ Ka6 61. Rxc7 Kxb5 {0-1 Sevian,S (2693)-Caruana,F (2781) American Cup-ch Saint Louis 2022 (2.3)}) 11... a6 $146 (11... Bg7) 12. Bd3 Nxg3 $15 13. Qxg3 c4 14. Be2 Qb6 15. O-O-O c3 {It's hard to resist this.} 16. Nb3 cxb2+ 17. Kb1 Bf5 (17... e6 $11 {seems to be better, though as with 15...c3 it's hard to resist.} 18. e4 $5) 18. Nd4 $14 Bg6 19. e6 (19. f4 {is also good; likewise the seemingly innocuous}) (19. Bd3 {.}) 19... Bg7 20. Bd3 (20. exf7+ $142 Bxf7 21. h4 O-O-O $11 {/?}) 20... Bxd4 $6 (20... O-O-O) (20... Bf6) 21. exf7+ Bxf7 22. exd4 $14 O-O-O 23. h4 (23. f4) 23... Qf6 24. Rde1 e6 25. Qe5 Qxe5 26. Rxe5 {White has a small but "forever" advantage, as Black has too many pawns on light squares. Black's bishop will be passive for the rest of the game, and even his "good" pawns on dark squares are targets as well. The engine thinks White's advantage is small, but in a real game Black's task is between difficult and impossible. With White I would expect to defeat a peer much of the time, and at the considerably more exalted level of these opponents Nakamura couldn't save the game either.} g4 ({Maybe} 26... gxh4 {is worth considering, aiming for as many open files as possible. Black probably can't protect all his weaknesses in the long run, so he'll need to be ready to jettison a pawn (or two) as necessary in search of counterplay.}) 27. Kxb2 (27. h5 $5) 27... Rdf8 28. Rf1 Bg8 $6 (28... Kd7) 29. Kc3 Rf6 $6 (29... Kd7 $1 {frees up the bishop for ...Bh7-f5.}) 30. Be2 $1 $16 Rg6 31. Kd2 Bf7 32. Rb1 {This gives Black a tempo to improve his rooks.} (32. Ke3 $1) 32... Kc7 $6 (32... Rf6 $1 33. Ke3 Rg8) 33. Ke3 (33. c4 $1 $18) 33... Be8 $2 {Trying to improve the bishop but blundering a pawn.} (33... b5 $1) 34. h5 $1 $18 Rg7 35. Rxe6 Bxh5 36. Reb6 {Black must lose the b7- or the a6-pawn (or both).} Re8+ 37. Kd2 Kc8 38. Bxa6 Rf7 39. Bxb7+ Kc7 40. Bxd5 Rxf2+ 41. Kd3 Ree2 42. Rc6+ Kd8 43. Rb8+ Kd7 44. Rb7+ Kd8 45. Rxh6 Be8 46. Rb8+ Kc7 47. Rb7+ Kc8 48. Rb2 Ba4 49. Rh8+ (49. Rh8+ Kc7 (49... Be8 50. Be4 $18 {is bad for the health of Black's bishop.}) (49... Re8 50. Rxe8+ Bxe8 {leaves Black three pawns down without counterplay.}) 50. Rb7+ Kd6 51. Rd8+ Bd7 52. Rbxd7# {is an aesthetically pleasing "tower of power".}) 1-0 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C60"] [WhiteElo "2802"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "57"] [GameId "2077984507386122"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,57,20,18,20,40,22,22,56,44,47,35,33,34,62,48,90,71,71,71,71,71,114,15,15,15,15,15,15,-70,134,134,134,134,134,134,154,102,151,112,219,219,219,222,234,208,213,201,340,340,373,373,379,370,379,402,432,410,410,345] Nakamura bounced back from his loss to Abdusattorov; Caruana not so much after his entirely unnecessary loss to Dominguez. If anything, this game is even worse: Nakamura falls into a trap that everyone else walked into and is lost after eight moves, and yet he - Caruana - loses anyway.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7 {This has become a thing recently.} 4. Nc3 Ng6 5. h4 (5. d4 exd4 6. Nxd4 Nxd4 7. Qxd4 c6 8. Be2 Qb6 9. Qd3 {is the alternative.}) 5... Nd4 (5... Be7) (5... h5) 6. Bc4 (6. h5) 6... h5 7. Ng5 d5 {Black has done well with this aggressive move, albeit in limited outings.} 8. Bxd5 $2 {Remarkably, this losing move has been played in all seven games (including this one) to see 7...d5. It's a great trap - provided Black follows up correctly.} (8. Nxd5 $1 Nxh4 9. d3 Nxg2+ 10. Kf1 Bg4 11. f3 Nf4 12. Nxf7 (12. Nxf4 exf4 13. Nxf7 Bxf3 14. Nxd8 (14. Qxf3 Nxf3 15. Nxd8 Rxd8 16. Bxf4 Bd6 $11) 14... Bxd1 {gets to the same place.}) 12... Bxf3 $1 13. Nxd8 (13. Qxf3 Nxf3 14. Nxd8 Rxd8 15. Bxf4 c6 $1 16. Be3 cxd5 17. Bxd5 Nd4 $11) 13... Bxd1 14. Nxf4 exf4 15. Nf7 Rh7 16. Bxf4 Bxc2 17. Be3 $1 b5 $1 18. Bd5 $11) 8... Bg4 $19 9. f3 Nxh4 10. d3 Be7 11. Bxf7+ $146 (11. Nxf7 {was tried in three earlier games.} Nhxf3+ $1 12. gxf3 Bh4+ 13. Kd2 (13. Kf1 Qf6 14. Rxh4 Qxh4 15. fxg4 Qh1+ 16. Kf2 Qh2+ 17. Kf1 h4 (17... O-O $19 {is both stronger and cooler.}) 18. g5 h3 19. Qg4 Rh4 20. Qg1 Qxc2 21. Qg3 Rh5 22. Kg1 Ne2+ 23. Nxe2 h2+ 24. Qxh2 Qd1+ {0-1 Allahverdiyeva,A (2198)-Srija,S (2214) Tamil Nadu IM 2nd Chennai 2023 (2)}) 13... Qf6 14. Ne2 (14. Na4 Bxf3 $1 $146 {-+}) 14... Nxf3+ 15. Kc3 Nd4 16. Rxh4 Nxe2+ (16... Qxh4 $142 $19) 17. Qxe2 Bxe2 18. Rh2 Rf8 19. Rxe2 Qf1 (19... Rxf7 $19) 20. Rh2 c6 (20... h4 $1) 21. Be6 Rxf7 22. Bxf7+ Kxf7 23. Rxh5 Kg8 24. Rf5 Qg1 25. Rxe5 c5 $1 {0-1 Cheparinov,I (2658)-Shevchenko,K (2671) Bundesliga 2324 Germany 2023 (6.1)}) 11... Kd7 $2 $15 (11... Kf8 $1 12. fxg4 Bxg5 13. O-O Bxc1 $1 {Yes, there are discovered checks, but they achieve nothing.} 14. Qxc1 hxg4 $1 15. Bh5+ Kg8 16. Bf7+ Kh7 $19 {Black has the better pieces and serious attacking chances; White has nothing.}) 12. fxg4 Bxg5 13. gxh5 Nxg2+ 14. Kf2 $2 (14. Kf1 $1 Bxc1 15. Qg4+ $1 Kd6 16. Qg6+ Qf6+ 17. Qxf6+ gxf6 18. Kxg2 Bxb2 19. Nb5+ $1 Ke7 $1 20. Rab1 Kxf7 21. Rxb2 Nxb5 22. Rxb5 Rag8+ 23. Kf2 b6 24. Rbb1 Rg5 25. Ke3 Rhxh5 26. Rxh5 Rxh5 27. Kd2 {Black cannot create a passed pawn without swapping off pretty much the entire board, so this will be trivially easy for White to hold.}) 14... Nf4 $4 (14... Ne3 $1 15. Bxe3 Bxe3+ $1 ({The obvious} 15... Qf6+ $2 {is a mistake.} 16. Kg2 Bxe3 17. Qg4+ Kd6 18. Raf1 Qg5 19. Kh3 Qxg4+ 20. Kxg4 {gives White the better half of what should be a drawn ending.}) 16. Kg3 $1 (16. Kxe3 $2 Qg5+ 17. Kf2 Raf8 $19) 16... c6 $1 17. Qg4+ Kc7 $19 {Black will build with ...Qe7 and ...Raf8, and his attack is likely to prove decisive.}) 15. Qg4+ Kd6 16. Bxf4 Bxf4 17. Qxg7 $18 {Now White is up two pawns and has the better attacking prospects as well. A nice save (and then some) by Nakamura, and a catastrophe for Caruana.} c6 18. Rag1 Rh6 19. Bb3 b5 (19... Qf8 {was better, hoping to create some sort of fortress/blockade thanks to the opposite-colored bishops.}) 20. Ne2 Nxe2 21. Kxe2 Kc5 22. c3 Kb6 23. Rg6 Rxg6 24. Qxg6 Qd7 25. h6 Rd8 26. Bd5 $1 Kc7 27. h7 Rh8 28. Be6 Qe7 29. Qf7 1-0 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2721"] [BlackElo "2762"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "97"] [GameId "2077992293849025"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,97,20,40,63,37,79,53,65,46,41,41,48,51,51,69,107,28,11,11,28,28,69,32,38,26,63,25,25,25,27,26,107,40,8,-1,-1,-1,54,42,17,12,17,17,25,14,20,34,38,46,54,58,58,58,59,55,54,45,61,62,65,65,53,14,18,8,14,22,85,85,116,124,134,135,135,89,90,74,133,134,134,134,134,134,134,128,244,209,290,290,368,360,410,410,509,545,542,510,446,510]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Qxd4 a6 6. Be2 Ngf6 7. Nc3 g6 8. e5 dxe5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Qxe5 Bg7 11. O-O Be6 12. Rd1 Qc8 13. Be3 O-O 14. Bd4 Rd8 15. Bf3 Qc4 16. Qc5 Rac8 17. Qxc4 Rxc4 18. Be3 Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 h5 20. h3 b5 21. a3 Bf5 $2 ({Black is fine after} 21... Nd7) ({or} 21... Bd7 {.}) 22. Bb7 $16 b4 (22... a5 $2 23. Ba6 $18 {is even worse for Black.}) 23. Bxa6 Rc6 (23... Rh4 $142) 24. Bb5 bxc3 $8 25. Bxc6 cxb2 26. Rb1 Ne8 $1 27. Bxe8 Bxc2 28. Rxb2 Bxb2 29. a4 $2 (29. Bc5 $18) 29... Bc3 (29... Bd3 $1 $14 30. Bb6 Ba6 31. Bb5 Bxb5 $1 32. axb5 Kf8 $11 {Black's king is just in time.}) 30. Bb6 (30. Bb5 $1 Ba5 $1 31. Kf1 $16) 30... Bd3 $1 $14 31. a5 Ba6 $1 32. g3 e5 $2 (32... Kf8 33. Bc6 e6 34. Bg2 Ke8 35. Bf1 Bxf1 36. Kxf1 Kd7 $11 {Again, the Black king is just in time. Meanwhile, Black's kingside structure is ideal as the pawns with the bishop make it difficult-to-impossible for White's king to achieve anything.}) 33. Bc6 $1 $18 f5 34. Bg2 $1 Kf7 35. Bf1 Bb7 36. a6 Bc6 37. h4 $1 {Fixing the g-pawn as a target. Once it goes, the h- and/or f-pawns are bound to drop as well.} Ke7 38. Bg2 Kd6 39. a7 $1 e4 40. Bf1 $1 Ba8 41. Bc4 Ke7 42. Be3 Bf6 43. Bg5 Bxg5 44. hxg5 Kf8 {Black can hold out against White's bishop and pawns acting by themselves. Once White's last piece enters the fray, however, it's all over.} 45. Kf1 Ke7 46. Ke2 f4 47. gxf4 h4 48. Kf1 $1 {White's king will round up the h-pawn, then return to the center to win Black's remaining pawns or queen his a-pawn, depending on what Black does with his king.} Kd6 {Choosing an immediate death.} 49. Bf7 1-0 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "2748"] [BlackElo "2751"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "114"] [GameId "2077995246925772"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,114,20,22,70,74,59,41,41,41,46,46,46,34,61,40,40,28,28,27,30,30,30,16,16,16,20,4,4,4,4,-9,-6,-17,8,-12,-12,-12,10,-30,12,6,6,6,79,16,14,34,34,44,97,76,82,82,75,62,75,67,73,46,80,46,48,38,54,44,23,34,51,45,69,64,50,50,61,61,68,68,110,110,103,87,100,116,123,139,283,309,617,167,173,115,289,289,366,99,104,104,104,99,104,104,104,104,96,95,122,122,111,104,122,130,148,104,148,126,112]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 {Between 3.e5 for White and 4...Nf6 for Black, it seemed that the old Classical Variation - for many decades of the 20th century White's main line against the Caro-Kann - had disappeared. It's nice to see it make a cameo in top-level chess in 2024.} 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Be7 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Nf6 15. Qe2 Qd5 16. Kb1 Qb5 (16... Qe4 {was the main move, at least in the 2010s.}) 17. c4 Qf5+ 18. Ka1 Qe4 19. Be3 Ng4 20. Nd2 Qf5 21. Nf1 (21. Nb3 $5 $146) 21... Bd6 $2 (21... Nxe3 22. Nxe3 Qg5 23. g3 O-O 24. f4 Qa5 25. g4 Qc7 26. Qf2 Bf6 27. Rhg1 Rad8 28. g5 hxg5 29. Ng4 Qe7 30. fxg5 Bxg5 31. a3 f6 32. Qc2 Kh8 33. h6 gxh6 34. Rh1 Qh7 35. Qf2 Kg7 36. Rdg1 Qe4 37. d5 cxd5 38. Rxh6 Kf7 39. Rh5 Ke7 40. Qc5+ Ke8 41. Qc7 Qxc4 42. Qxb7 Qc5 43. Re1 Rd7 44. Rxe6+ Kd8 45. Qb8+ Qc8 46. Qb4 Qc1+ 47. Ka2 Qc4+ 48. Qxc4 {½-½ Maioriello,G (1574)-Bloemacher,W W-ch WS/O/1371 email ICCF email 2021}) 22. Bd2 $16 O-O-O 23. f3 Nf6 24. Ne3 Qg5 $6 (24... Qh7) 25. Nd5 $1 $18 Qf5 26. g4 Qc2 27. Rc1 Qa4 28. Nxf6 gxf6 29. Be3 (29. Rhd1 $142 $18) 29... Kb8 30. Rhd1 Qa5 31. Rd3 (31. d5 $142 cxd5 32. cxd5 exd5 33. Kb1 $1 Rhe8 (33... f5 $5 34. Qc2 $1 $18 {The queen is headed to f5, whether there's a Black pawn there or not.}) 34. Qd3 $18 {Black's horrid pawn structure should prove his undoing.}) 31... f5 32. Bd2 (32. d5 $142) (32. a3 $142) 32... Qc7 $16 33. gxf5 (33. a3 $142) 33... exf5 34. d5 (34. a3 $142) 34... c5 $2 (34... cxd5 35. Rxd5 Bf4 $14) 35. a3 $16 (35. Re1 $142 $16 {/+-}) 35... f4 $1 36. Bc3 Rde8 (36... Rhe8 $142) 37. Qc2 Rhg8 38. Rdd1 $1 Rg5 39. Qh7 (39. Re1 $1) 39... Rxh5 40. Rh1 Rg5 (40... Rxh1 $142 41. Rxh1 a6 $16) 41. Rxh6 $18 a6 $2 42. Rf6 Re3 $2 {Black's last two moves are mistakes, at least objectively, but they're practical. Black is abandoning the kingside and going all in on whatever desperate play he can muster against White's king. If it results in a speedier loss, so be it, but he's giving himself a chance for a bit of good luck.} 43. Rxf7 Qb6 $2 44. Rf6 $2 (44. Ba5 $1 {essentially wins on the spot.} Qxa5 (44... Rxa3+ 45. bxa3 Qb3 (45... Be5+ 46. Bc3 $18) 46. Qh8+ Ka7 47. Qb2 Be5 48. Bc3 $18) (44... Qb3 45. Qh6 $18) 45. Rxb7+ Ka8 46. Ra7+ Kb8 47. Qb7#) 44... Rg2 45. Rc2 Rxc3 $5 46. Rxg2 Qb3 47. bxc3 $4 (47. Qh8+ $1 Ka7 48. Rg1 $1 {wins the game, but it's difficult to spot in time pressure.} Be5 (48... Rc2 49. Rxd6 $18) 49. Rxa6+ $1) (47. Rg1 $1 {is essentially the same, with a likely transposition.}) 47... Qxa3+ $11 48. Kb1 Qb3+ 49. Ka1 Qa3+ 50. Kb1 Qb3+ 51. Kc1 Qxc3+ 52. Qc2 Qe1+ 53. Qd1 Qc3+ 54. Qc2 Qe1+ 55. Qd1 Qc3+ 56. Qc2 Qe1+ 57. Qd1 Qc3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "3.4"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2751"] [BlackElo "2729"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [GameId "2077998455524410"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,61,20,22,63,47,81,66,50,62,38,38,58,42,42,37,37,31,26,-1,-5,-5,10,10,10,10,37,12,21,17,24,24,24,19,19,27,28,23,62,70,57,61,52,40,40,40,44,40,99,58,36,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bc4 Be6 9. Bxe6 fxe6 10. Ng5 Qd7 11. Qf3 Nc6 12. Qh3 Nd8 13. Bb6 h6 14. O-O-O O-O 15. Bxd8 hxg5 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. Qg3 (17. Rd2) 17... Rac8 $6 $146 (17... b5 {is usual (and better).}) 18. Qxg5 Rc6 19. f3 (19. Kb1 $142 $16) 19... Rfc8 20. Kb1 Qc7 21. Rd3 $6 (21. Rhe1 $142) (21. Qe3 $142) 21... d5 $1 $11 22. exd5 exd5 23. Nxd5 Nxd5 24. Rxd5 Rxc2 25. Rhd1 {Probably best, forcing Black to make a draw.} Rxb2+ 26. Kxb2 Qc2+ 27. Ka1 Qc3+ 28. Kb1 Qc2+ 29. Ka1 Qc3+ 30. Kb1 Qc2+ 31. Ka1 1/2-1/2 [Event "Saint Louis Rapid 2024"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2024.08.12"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R.."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "91"] [GameId "2077999187423633"] [EventDate "2024.08.12"] [EventType "rapid"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O {This position has occurred almost 8,000 times, with more than 7,000 games seeing White castle. Here Nepo produces a brand-new move.} 6. Nh4 $146 (6. O-O {is generally met by} e4 {, and White's second main line,}) (6. Nd5 {, is also most frequently met by} e4 {.}) (6. d3 $6 {doesn't stop Black from playing} e4 {, so Nepo decides to do what he must to stop it.}) 6... d6 ({To be fair, Black could play} 6... Bxc3 7. bxc3 (7. dxc3 $5 {stops ...e4, but I'm not sure that it's the right recapture if Black plays something else.} e4 $2 (7... h6) (7... d6) 8. Bg5 $16 {and the e-pawn will drop.}) 7... e4 {with an interesting and approximately equal position. White will probably play f3 or d3 to eliminate the pawn, either immediately or after castling.}) 7. O-O a5 8. d3 h6 $11 9. Bd2 Re8 (9... a4 $5) 10. Rc1 {Momentarily transposing to a single predecessor.} Be6 $146 (10... Bd7 {was played in a non-professional game.}) 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. cxd5 Bxd2 13. Qxd2 Nb4 14. e4 (14. Nf5 $142 Nbxd5 15. Rc4 $44 {followed by Rh4, with excitement afoot.}) 14... Nxa2 $1 $15 15. Rce1 Nb4 $17 16. f4 $2 (16. Nf5) 16... c6 $19 {Black handled White's new move very well, and has outplayed him since then. His reward is a winning position, and in a classical game I'm sure he would have converted his advantage. The game is quite sharp though, and White's attacking prospects are not easily dispensed with without a lot of time on the clock.} 17. dxc6 Nxc6 18. Nf5 Ra6 (18... Nd4 $142 19. Nxd4 Qb6 20. Qf2 $2 Ng4 $19) 19. h3 Nd4 $2 (19... Ne7 {was the right way.}) 20. Nxd4 Qb6 21. Qf2 $1 $15 Qxd4 22. Qxd4 exd4 23. e5 dxe5 24. fxe5 $2 (24. Rxe5 $15) 24... Rae6 $1 25. Bxb7 Rxe5 26. Rxe5 Rxe5 $19 {This should be a two-results game, but "miracles" happen.} 27. Rf4 Nh5 (27... Re3 $142) 28. Rxd4 Nxg3 29. Kf2 Nf5 30. Rd7 g5 31. Bd5 Re7 32. Rd8+ Kg7 33. Ra8 Re5 34. Bc4 Nd6 $2 (34... Nh4 $17 {/-+}) 35. b3 $1 $15 Rf5+ 36. Kg2 h5 (36... f6) 37. Ra6 (37. d4 $1) 37... Ne8 (37... Nxc4 $142 38. bxc4 f6 39. Ra7+ $8 Kg6 $15) 38. Ra7 (38. d4 $1 $11) 38... Nd6 39. Rd7 (39. d4 $142) 39... Nxc4 40. bxc4 Kg6 (40... Rc5 $142 $15) 41. d4 $11 a4 42. c5 a3 43. c6 Rf6 $2 (43... Rb5 $1 44. Ra7 Rb2+ 45. Kf3 Rc2 46. d5 Kf5 47. Rxa3 g4+ 48. hxg4+ hxg4+ 49. Kg3 Ke5 50. Rd3 Kd6 51. Kxg4 Ra2 52. Kf5 Ra7 $11 {gives Black a fortress.}) 44. d5 $18 Rf5 $2 (44... Rf4 {is a better try, but inadequate against} 45. Ra7 Rc4 46. Rxa3 Kf6 47. Re3 $1 $18 {Finishing the job will still take some doing, but with Black's king unable to "cross the street" White's victory is inevitable.}) 45. c7 a2 46. Rd6+ $1 (46. Rd6+ Rf6 (46... Kg7 47. Ra6 $18) 47. Rxf6+ Kxf6 48. c8=Q a1=Q 49. Qh8+ $18 {may have been what Black missed when making his 43rd or 44th move.}) 1-0