[Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.11"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Sarana, Alexey"] [Black "Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2661"] [BlackElo "2644"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "78"] [GameId "2243087199329634"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,78,21,22,18,21,19,24,26,49,32,32767,48,24,0,-5,4,-5,14,48,45,31,5,47,24,51,79,74,53,64,46,53,50,35,51,48,23,18,22,-19,1,-37,-18,-29,24,-32,-28,-49,-36,-69,-42,-68,-44,-88,-54,-69,-62,-58,-43,-57,-34,32767,2,-76,-103,-116,-123,-92,-207,-263,-297,-367,-341,-360,-357,-404,-447,-392,-524,-629,-643] Jospem's dream run continues.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 {The main line, though there's also a case to be made for} (6. Nc3 {, which has also been played many times - notably by Carlsen in his first World Championship match with Anand.}) 6... Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Be2 (8. Ne2 {is another important try, with the well-known but spectacular idea of meeting} Na6 {with} 9. Bf8 {as taking the bishop allows mate in one. Crazy play well-known to fans of this line ensues:} Ne7 (9... Kxf8 $4 10. Qd8#) 10. Bxg7 Nb4 $1 11. Qd6 Nd3+ 12. Kd2 Nf5 13. Qxd3 Qxd3+ 14. Kxd3 Nxg7 $11 {Suddenly: calm. Theory continues well past this point - have fun.}) 8... Na6 9. Ba5 (9. Bd6 {is another main line.}) 9... f6 $5 {It's a known move, but less popular than 9...b6, which also has the engine's approval.} (9... b6 {is usual.} 10. Qd6 Bd7 (10... bxa5 $2 11. Rd1 f6 12. f3 Qe3 13. Qxc6+ Kf7 14. Qxa8 Ne7 15. Qe4 Qb6 $16 {isn't a disaster for Black, but White should nevertheless welcome this variation.}) 11. Bc3 f6 12. Nf3 Nh6 $11 {etc. White has full compensation for the pawn, but whether it's more than that remains to be seen.}) 10. Nf3 (10. Qd8+ Kf7 {has also been tried, when White generally castles long while the engine prefers 11.Rd1 or 11.Nf3.}) 10... b6 11. Nd2 Qf4 12. Bh5+ g6 13. Bf3 Qe5+ 14. Kf1 Qc7 15. Bc3 e5 16. Ne4 {All still standard. There are 37 games with this in the database. In most of them Black played 16...Kf7, so Black's next move pares away most of the predecessors.} Bf5 17. Nd6+ $6 (17. Qa4 $1 {seems to be best, as played in the only other game with 16...Bf5.} Bxe4 (17... Nb8 $14) 18. Bxe4 Nb8 19. h4 Ne7 20. h5 g5 $14 {/? This looks very pleasant for White, even if Black managed to save this in correspondence play. My engine suggests 21.Bb4 with a clear or near-clear plus, though it also likes the continuation in the game.} 21. Qc2 h6 22. Rh3 Nd7 23. Bg6+ Kf8 24. Re1 Kg7 25. Rhe3 Rhf8 26. Kg1 c5 27. Be4 Rad8 28. Bf3 Kh8 29. a3 Rfe8 30. g3 Rg8 31. b4 g4 32. Bg2 Rg5 33. Bd2 Rxh5 34. Rd3 e4 35. Rxe4 Ne5 36. Rxd8+ Qxd8 37. Bc3 Kg7 38. Qa4 Qc7 39. bxc5 bxc5 40. Re3 Kf8 41. Qd1 Rg5 42. Re2 Kf7 43. Rb2 Nf3+ 44. Bxf3 gxf3 45. Qxf3 Qc6 46. Qxc6 Nxc6 47. Kg2 h5 48. Kh3 Rg4 49. f4 Nd4 50. Bxd4 cxd4 51. Rd2 Rg8 52. Rxd4 Rc8 53. Kg2 Rc6 54. Kf2 Ke6 55. Kf3 Rc7 56. Ke3 Rc6 {½-½ Archer,J (2204)-Tsenkov,L (2443) WC-2014-S-00001 LSS email}) 17... Kf8 18. Nxf5 gxf5 19. Qa4 Nc5 20. Qxc6 Qxc6 21. Bxc6 Rd8 22. Bf3 $146 {A new move, but I don't think White has been following preparation for a while now, probably not since 16...Bf5.} (22. f4 e4 23. b4 Nd3 24. g3 Kf7 25. Ke2 Ne7 26. Ba4 Rc8 27. Bb3 Rhd8 28. a3 Kg6 29. Rhd1 Rd6 30. Ra2 a5 31. Rad2 Rd7 32. Rxd3 exd3+ 33. Rxd3 Rxd3 34. Kxd3 Rd8+ 35. Ke3 axb4 36. axb4 Ra8 37. Kd3 Nc6 38. b5 Rd8+ 39. Ke3 Nb8 40. Bc2 h5 41. h3 Re8+ 42. Kd2 Rd8+ 43. Ke3 Re8+ {½-½ Aditya,M (2560)-Shankland,S (2670) Fujairah op-A 2025 (7)}) 22... Ne7 23. b3 (23. Ke2 {is better, to get the rooks into play ASAP.}) 23... Kg7 24. Re1 Ng6 25. g3 {Not bad, but not a move White wants to play, either, in light of Black's reply.} Rd3 26. Re3 Rhd8 $1 $17 27. Be2 R3d7 28. Rg1 Ne4 29. Be1 Nd2+ 30. Kg2 f4 31. Rc3 (31. gxf4 $1) 31... e4 $1 32. Bg4 Rd3 33. Rc2 $2 Ne5 {White's pieces are utterly dominated.} 34. Bf5 $2 Ndf3 $1 {Forks everywhere.} 35. Bxe4 (35. Rf1 Nd4 $19) 35... Nxg1 36. Bxd3 Ngf3 $1 37. Bc3 Rxd3 38. b4 Nd4 39. Bxd4 f3+ $1 ({After} 39... f3+ $1 40. Kh3 Rxd4 $19 {White is a piece down with a bad king. Time to give up.}) 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.11"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C26"] [WhiteElo "2722"] [BlackElo "2654"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "73"] [GameId "2243087199329641"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,73,15,19,22,7,25,-6,18,36,20,19,37,16,36,43,25,3,1,4,2,-7,1,-4,-16,32767,32767,17,47,32,35,32767,66,59,27,86,70,67,85,64,105,95,89,91,104,111,32767,124,130,126,156,32767,125,119,127,113,109,96,106,101,135,155,164,180,158,161,146,103,111,146,166,206,174,203,252,256] Aronian joined Martinez as the only other player to reach the winners' circle on day one.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 (2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Qh4 $6 {The Steinitz variation is not a very good line, though it has its fans (like GM Lev Gutman).} 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Be2 Qxe4 7. Ndb5 $1 {gives White the advantage. If there were a Black pawn already on a6 this jump would be unavailable, and then White's advantage would be smaller - if real at all.} Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Kd8 9. O-O $16) 2... Nf6 3. a3 {A fun move to play, especially against players who choose 1.e4 e5 with Black but never try 1.e4 as White. This has a number of points including the following: it cuts out a (reversed) Ruy Lopez, there's no ...Bb4+ (corresponding to the Two Knights line 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+) in a reversed Two Knights, and it gives White a nice extra option in a reversed Scotch.} d5 4. exd5 Nxd5 5. Qh5 Nc6 6. Bb5 Be7 7. Qxe5 Nxc3 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. Qxc3 O-O 10. Nf3 c5 11. d3 Bb7 $44 {In spite of the missing pawn and the ugly queenside structure, Black has sufficient compensation thanks to his impressive bishops. What will White's king do?} 12. Be3 Re8 13. O-O-O Qd5 14. Rhe1 Qf5 15. Nd2 Bxg2 16. Rg1 Bf6 17. Qxc5 Qxc5 18. Bxc5 Bc6 19. Nc4 h6 20. Rde1 a6 21. Kd2 Kh7 22. f4 Rxe1 23. Rxe1 Bh4 24. Re5 Re8 25. Be3 Rxe5 26. Nxe5 Be8 27. c4 Be7 28. d4 f6 29. Nd3 Kg6 30. d5 c6 31. Bc5 Bd8 32. d6 Kf5 33. Ba7 Ke6 34. c5 f5 35. Bb6 Bf6 36. Nb4 Bxb2 37. a4 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.12"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Donchenko, Alexander"] [Black "Bluebaum, Matthias"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2641"] [BlackElo "2687"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "24651516"] [PlyCount "87"] [GameId "2243530251953839"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,87,23,13,16,23,23,23,23,15,29,21,20,23,18,0,10,6,12,32767,38,29,31,36,25,42,35,36,39,30,42,32767,30,25,33,34,43,32767,45,20,70,24,32,47,43,51,59,33,82,93,72,24,68,30,89,69,157,121,324,330,375,332,375,278,274,222,212,191,277,198,182,208,225,233,255,211,225,248,294,290,243,303,208,268,32767,359,500,451,512,536]} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 O-O 7. h3 {Very rare.} (7. Bd3) 7... c5 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. Bb5 {This is why White played 7.h3. He's going for a sort of Tarrasch.} cxd4 10. Nxd4 Qb6 11. O-O Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Qxd4 13. exd4 Be6 {It's more drawish than not, but White's the one who will have the fun.} 14. Bd3 a6 15. Na4 Nd7 16. b4 Bf6 17. Be3 $14 Nb8 18. Nb6 Ra7 19. f4 (19. a3 $142 $14) 19... Bd8 20. Na4 Nc6 21. a3 f5 $6 {A radical way of preventing f4-f5. The cure is likelier to prove more serious than the disease.} 22. Rac1 Bf6 23. Rfe1 Raa8 24. Nc5 Bc8 25. Bb1 Nxd4 $2 26. Ba2 Rd8 27. Bf2 $16 {/+-} Kf8 $2 {Now when White inevitably takes the d-pawn Black's king will be caught in the center, in a mating attack.} 28. Na4 $1 $18 b5 29. Nb6 Rb8 30. Nxd5 Rd6 31. Nxf6 gxf6 32. Kf1 Bb7 33. Rc7 Be4 34. Rxh7 (34. Rd1 Rbd8 35. Rf7+ Ke8 36. Rxh7 $18) 34... Rbd8 35. Rd1 Ne6 36. Rh8+ Ke7 37. Rxd8 Rxd8 38. Rxd8 Nxd8 {Black has avoided mate or catastrophic material loss, but no matter: this ending is hopeless.} 39. Bc5+ Kd7 40. h4 Ne6 41. g3 Bd3+ 42. Ke1 Ng7 43. Bf7 Bc4 44. Bg6 {There's no good solution to the continued advance of White's h-pawn.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.12"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Yakubboev, Nodirbek"] [Black "Pranav, V."] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2689"] [BlackElo "2641"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "75"] [GameId "2243530251953840"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,75,17,21,23,14,12,14,17,3,35,27,14,10,17,20,12,13,2,-12,11,-2,-1,23,16,15,-15,5,14,-7,5,-4,4,-27,-5,1,32767,-29,-14,-13,25,11,53,-1,27,39,2,-1,27,19,32,-1,19,46,93,78,130,128,149,135,143,32767,280,179,160,187,186,152,147,140,146,165,32767,32767,869,873,1463,1725]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nxc6 bxc6 6. e5 Qe7 7. Qe2 Nd5 8. c4 (8. h4 {has received a lot of attention in recent years.}) 8... Ba6 9. Nd2 (9. b3 {is the absolute main move.}) 9... f6 {A relatively minor line, but not a bad one.} (9... g6 10. Nf3 {is usual, and now Black most commonly goes for} Qb4+ 11. Kd1 $1 {and then either} Ne7 ({or} 11... Nb6 {, with a strategically complicated position.})) (9... O-O-O {is also pretty common, though much less than 9...g6.}) 10. g3 (10. Qe4 {is usual, and now} Nb6 11. exf6 Qxe4+ 12. Nxe4 Bxc4 (12... gxf6 13. Nxf6+ Kf7 14. Ng4 Re8+ 15. Ne3 Bxc4 16. Bxc4+ Nxc4 17. O-O $11) 13. Bxc4 Nxc4 14. O-O Kf7 $11) 10... fxe5 $146 {Playable, but White has at least full compensation for the pawn.} (10... O-O-O $11) 11. Bg2 Nf6 12. O-O Qe6 $1 13. a3 $1 Bc5 14. b4 Bd4 15. Rb1 Rb8 16. Bb2 Bxb2 17. Rxb2 O-O 18. Rc1 c5 {Very good play by both sides up to this point.} 19. Nb3 $5 (19. Ne4 $11) 19... cxb4 20. Nc5 Qd6 21. axb4 Bc8 {A horrid square for the bishop, but a pawn's a pawn.} 22. Ra1 a6 23. h3 {White is doing a great job of maintaining his compensation. He's not forcing anything, but he's also not letting his opponent break out.} Qe7 24. Qe1 $1 {A nice move, defending b4 and clearing the way for Re2.} Rb6 $1 25. Na4 (25. Re2 d6 26. Ne4 Nxe4 27. Bxe4 (27. Rxe4 Bb7 28. Re2 Bxg2 29. c5 $1 dxc5 30. bxc5 Qxc5 31. Kxg2 $15) 27... Bxh3 28. c5 $1 dxc5 29. Bd5+ Kh8 30. Rxe5 Qf6 31. bxc5 Rb2 32. Ra2 Rb1 33. Qxb1 Qxe5 34. Qe4 $11) 25... Rd6 $6 {A first misstep, though nothing too serious just yet.} (25... Rb8) 26. Re2 Qf7 $2 (26... Re8 27. Nc3 Kh8 28. Nd5 Nxd5 29. cxd5 {is still fine for Black, just a little more comfortable for White.}) 27. Rxe5 Qxc4 28. Rc5 $16 {Maybe Pranav missed this simple move? That seems unlikely, but everything is possible in time trouble.} Qd4 29. Rxc7 Re6 30. Qd1 (30. Qc3 $142 Qxc3 31. Nxc3 $16 {/+-}) 30... Qxb4 $2 (30... Qxd1+ 31. Rxd1 d5 32. Nc5 $16 {/+- Black will spend the rest of the game groveling, but with non-trivial chances of making a draw. (Black's hope is of course that all the queenside pawns and a few sets of pieces will be traded off so that he can make a draw in a traditional rook + two pawns vs. rook and three pawns ending.)}) 31. Qc2 Rc6 {Desperation.} (31... Ree8 32. Rb1 Qa5 33. Nb6 $18 {and the bishop is trapped in broad daylight!}) 32. Bxc6 dxc6 33. Qxc6 {Good enough.} (33. Rxc6 $142) (33. Rb1 $142) 33... Bxh3 34. Nc3 h6 35. Qxa6 Ng4 36. Qe6+ Kh8 37. Qd7 Rg8 38. Ra8 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.12"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Karthik, Venkataraman"] [Black "Le, Quang Liem"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E47"] [WhiteElo "2579"] [BlackElo "2729"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "12401137"] [PlyCount "136"] [GameId "2243530251962040"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,136,19,13,23,17,17,19,12,17,11,7,22,17,18,16,68,19,40,12,19,5,25,5,8,5,18,19,0,6,10,30,23,-17,-13,-15,-8,-28,-15,-13,30,-8,-55,-52,-68,-72,-105,-83,-118,-90,-67,-131,-158,-213,-150,-152,-149,-192,-172,-184,-128,-102,-105,-160,-111,-109,-142,-155,-121,-148,-100,-163,-173,-234,-127,-281,-310,-257,-147,-244,-276,-291,-217,-202,-247,-210,-238,-245,-221,-284,-277,-327,-299,-310,-299,-294,-278,-324,-321,-321,-316,-323,-328,-311,-315,-330,32767,-307,-310,-284,-314,-339,-379,-293,-323,-305,-275,-290,-307,-294,32767,32767,32767,-236,-238,-283,-300,-346,-305,-346,-269,-350,-403,-409,-451,-448,-395,-453,-441]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 Re8 6. Nge2 d5 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 a6 9. a3 Bf8 10. Rd1 $146 h6 11. b3 dxc4 12. bxc4 c5 13. h3 (13. d5 $6 {is sometimes automatic in similar positions, but here it's not very good.} exd5 14. Nxd5 (14. cxd5 $2 b5 $19) 14... Nxd5 15. Bh7+ Kh8 16. Rxd5 b5 $15 {/?}) ({After the preliminary} 13. a4 {the d5 idea becomes feasible, but even here it's nothing special.} b6 14. d5 exd5 15. cxd5 $2 (15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. Bh7+ Kh8 17. Rxd5 {is okay for White, but it's not generally for positions like this that players go for d4-d5.}) 15... Ne5 $17) 13... b6 14. Ne4 Bb7 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Bh7+ (16. Rb1 $142 Rac8 17. Nc3 $11 {/?}) 16... Kh8 17. Be4 Bxe4 18. Qxe4 cxd4 19. exd4 Qf5 (19... e5 {was better, securing c5 for his minor pieces.}) 20. Qb7 (20. Qxf5 $142 exf5 21. Rd2 $11) 20... Red8 $15 (20... Qc2 $15) 21. Rd2 $6 (21. Bf4) 21... Qa5 $17 22. Qf3 Kg8 {White's last few moves make a strange impression. He has not finished developing, but has instead discoordinated his pieces.} 23. Qb3 b5 $6 {Hitting White's hanging pawns is correct, but it's the other one that should have been targeted.} (23... e5 $1 $17) 24. cxb5 $15 axb5 25. Rd1 $2 (25. Rb1 {was correct, both to pressure b5 and to avoid the pin that arises in the game.}) 25... b4 $19 26. d5 $6 Nc5 (26... exd5 $1 27. Rxd5 Nc5 28. Qc4 Rxd5 29. Qxd5 b3 $19) 27. Qf3 Qa4 $1 28. Bxh6 bxa3 (28... Rxd5 $142) 29. Nc3 Qc4 30. Bg5 Rdc8 (30... f6 $142 31. Bxf6 gxf6 32. dxe6 Nxe6 33. Nd5 {looks a little scary, but after two precise moves Black will be most of the way out of the woods.} Qh4 34. Nxf6+ Kh8 $19) 31. d6 Nd7 $2 {Black is being safe, but it's safe for White as well.} (31... f6 {and Black is still probably winning.}) 32. Na2 $2 (32. Ne4 $15) 32... Qc5 $2 (32... g6 $19) 33. Qg3 $2 (33. Be7 $1 Bxe7 34. Rac1 $1 Qxd6 $1 35. Rxd6 Bxd6 36. Rd1 Ne5 37. Qe4 Ra6 38. h4 $15 (38. Rxd6 Rxd6 39. Qxe5 Rd2 40. Nb4 Rb2 41. Qa5 Rxb4 42. Qxa3 $15)) 33... Rc6 $19 34. Be3 Qf5 35. Bg5 g6 36. Be7 Bg7 $1 37. Rac1 Rc2 $1 38. Nb4 Be5 39. Qe3 Rxc1 40. Rxc1 a2 (40... Bf4 $142 41. Qf3 Rb8 $19) 41. Nxa2 Bf4 (41... Bb2) 42. Qd4 Bxc1 43. Nxc1 Qc2 44. Bg5 Ra4 45. Qd2 Qxd2 46. Bxd2 Rd4 47. Be3 Rxd6 {The rest is routine.} 48. f4 Nf6 49. Kf2 Nd5 50. Bd2 Ra6 51. Nd3 Ra2 52. Ke1 f6 53. g4 Kf7 54. g5 Ra4 55. h4 e5 56. fxe5 f5 57. e6+ Ke7 58. Kd1 Re4 59. Be1 Rxe6 60. Bf2 f4 61. Nc5 Rc6 62. Ke2 Kd6 63. Kf3 Ke5 64. Bg1 Kf5 65. Ne4 Re6 66. Nd2 Re1 67. Bf2 Rd1 68. Nc4 Nc3 0-1 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.13"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Harikrishna, Pentala"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2697"] [BlackElo "2645"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "67"] [GameId "2243812754056785"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,65,20,26,23,12,21,14,9,9,25,7,26,9,24,12,31,37,37,36,32767,32767,26,-12,3,6,1,-1,14,6,30,6,18,17,7,29,46,38,85,87,70,115,107,96,109,84,79,83,73,32767,151,130,110,32767,106,160,135,164,215,226,179,200,191,209,135,186,536,485] Harikrishna's great run continues.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. c3 d6 {Black is serious - no Giuoco.} 6. O-O a6 {Threatening to swap the c4-bishop with ...Na5.} 7. a4 g6 8. b4 $146 Bg7 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. Ba3 (10. Re1 {is more common (the earlier "novelty" immediately transposed to a few games).}) 10... Re8 11. b5 $146 (11. Qb3 $142 $146) 11... Na5 12. Ba2 b6 $11 13. Re1 Nb7 (13... axb5 14. axb5 Qd7) 14. Bb4 Be6 (14... d5) 15. Bxe6 Rxe6 16. d4 (16. c4 {is common in such positions: having swapped off the light-squared bishops it makes sense to put more pawns on light squares to take over the bishop's responsibilities. This concept wouldn't be a revelation to Harikrishna, but I'll note that the engine goes along with it as well.}) 16... Qd7 (16... Re8 $11) 17. Qe2 a5 $6 {Now White has more space while Black's opportunities for counterplay are limited.} (17... exd4 18. cxd4 axb5 {is creeping up towards a slight edge for Black. He has more space but the a- or b-pawn (depending on how the captures and recaptures go on b5) and the d- and e-pawns are all potential targets.}) 18. Ba3 $14 {/?} exd4 (18... Rae8 $142) 19. cxd4 Rae8 20. Qd3 $16 {Black's play against e4 comes to a dead end, and White's extra space and possible play down the c-file are more important. Black must also worry about White's center pawns going forward.} Nd8 21. Rac1 R6e7 22. d5 {This weakens the e5 square but Black can't really use it.} (22. e5 {is also pretty good. It was also possible to build a while before pushing either central pawn.}) 22... Nh5 (22... Ng4 $2 23. h3 Ne5 24. Nxe5 Bxe5 25. Nf3 Bg7 26. Re2 $18 {Black can't do anything with the e5 square; in fact, it's very possible that White will play e4-e5 despite Black's apparent control of the square.}) 23. g3 Qg4 24. Qc4 (24. e5 $1 Bxe5 25. Re4 Qf5 26. Nxe5 Rxe5 27. Rxe5 Rxe5 28. Qxf5 gxf5 29. Rxc7 Rxd5 30. Nc4 $18) 24... Rd7 $2 (24... f6 $142) 25. e5 $1 $18 {Black is finished. White's central strategy comes through with flying colors.} Qxc4 26. Nxc4 dxe5 27. d6 $1 e4 28. Nce5 Rxd6 29. Bxd6 cxd6 30. Nc4 Nb7 31. Nxb6 Nc5 32. Nd2 Nd3 33. Rxe4 $1 Rxe4 34. Rc8+ $1 {Not only will White be up the exchange for nothing, he'll end up even further ahead soon thanks to his b-pawn.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.13"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Grebnev, Aleksey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C43"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2611"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "41"] [GameId "2243812754056787"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,40,20,27,26,0,22,31,35,26,112,5,24,25,2,3,13,1,16,10,16,1,-1,-43,-44,1,-42,-80,-29,-59,1,1,-1,1,7,-1,1,32767,32767,-1,1,-1,-1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 (4. dxe5 {was played in the entertaining game Harikrishna vs. Nesterov in round 2 (covered earlier on the blog).}) 4... Nc6 {Murey's old line. It's playable, though not considered as dependable as the obvious} (4... d5 {.}) 5. Nxe5 (5. Bxe4 d5 6. Bd3 e4 {is the point - it's not a real sacrifice.}) 5... Nxe5 6. dxe5 Nc5 7. Bf4 {Rare, though it has been played in grandmaster games. It would seem that it shouldn't be, unless White wants a draw.} (7. Bc4 d6 8. Qf3 Ne6 {is how the line usually goes, and now White chooses between} 9. exd6 ({and} 9. Be3 {.})) 7... d6 $11 8. exd6 Bxd6 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Bxd6 Bxb5 11. Bxc5 {This whole branch of the Petroff seems completely harmless for Black (assuming he's properly prepared), and this is already more or less a draw offer.} Qg5 12. Qd4 Qc1+ 13. Qd1 Qg5 14. a4 $146 {I guess Grebnev hit the jackpot and found a line MVL wasn't ready for, because this is a pretty harmless novelty. Pretty much any sensible reply maintains equality, and the move he chooses forces White to allow a speedy draw.} (14. Qd4 Qc1+ 15. Qd1 Qg5 16. Qd4 Qc1+ {and draw agreed was the conclusion of Erdos (2559) vs. Lupulescu (2581) in last year's Hungarian Team Championship.}) 14... Qxg2 $1 15. axb5 {Obviously forced.} Qxh1+ 16. Ke2 {Forced again.} (16. Kd2 $4 O-O-O+ $19) 16... Qe4+ 17. Be3 (17. Kf1 Qh1+ {repeats.}) 17... Qg4+ {Both 18.Kd3 and 18.Kf1 hang the queen, 18.Kd2 allows 18...Rd8+/18...0-0-0+ to win the queen, and while 18.f3 isn't quite as bad it's losing as well. That leaves only 18.Ke1, but that's a repetition.} 18. Ke1 (18. f3 $2 Qg2+ 19. Ke1 (19. Bf2 O-O 20. Nd2 Rae8+ 21. Ne4 f5 $19) 19... Qh1+ 20. Ke2 {Now Black can play for the win, but since a draw's just as good under the circumstances he can repeat.} Qg2+ {etc.}) 18... Qg1+ 19. Ke2 Qg4+ 20. Ke1 Qg1+ 21. Ke2 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.13"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Shankland, Sam"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2654"] [BlackElo "2724"] [WhiteFideId "2004887"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "49"] [GameId "2243812754060885"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,47,17,21,33,39,37,42,32767,37,28,45,48,27,32767,32767,68,63,70,72,120,32767,129,152,141,139,183,32767,167,139,244,205,342,32767,384,327,368,32767,32767,32767,320,370,392,413,32767,32767,208,239,479,512] When you see that a player of Rapport's caliber gets crushed in 25 moves it's worth checking on the tournament situation. It turns out that he lost the previous game and had to win with Black, leading him to play extremely risky chess in this game. It backfired, but rest assured that he wouldn't have played like this under different circumstances.} 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3 a6 5. g4 {White has a very good score in the database with this extravagant move, though it Carlsen and some other elite players have handled the black side of this line with success in recent years...in blitz.} Nc6 (5... b5 {has been the usual choice by Carlsen et al, and rightly so according to the engine. (It is after all the main point of 4...a6, so why not?)}) 6. h3 (6. d5) 6... e5 7. dxe5 $1 {A good practical choice, keeping a more open board.} (7. d5 {will lead to more complicated positions that Black would prefer, especially in a rapid game.}) 7... Nxe5 $2 (7... dxe5 {is much better, objectively, but Rapport may have feared that the position would be too dry to play for a win after the exchange of queens. (Would Carlsen agree?)} 8. Qxd8+ Nxd8 9. Nf3 Ne7 10. O-O-O Ne6 $14) 8. f4 $16 Nd7 $6 (8... Nc6 $142) 9. Qd2 $6 Ngf6 (9... Ne7) 10. O-O-O $18 {White already enjoys a clearly winning position thanks to his huge space advantage.} O-O 11. Bg2 Re8 12. Nge2 Rb8 13. Ba7 Ra8 14. Be3 {Draw?} h5 15. Bf3 hxg4 $2 {Begging to get mated.} 16. hxg4 Nb6 {Threatening both ...Nc4 and to capture on g4. White could allow either threat and maintain a winning plus, but Shankland plays simply and directly - and strongly.} 17. Bxb6 cxb6 18. g5 Nh7 19. Qxd6 Qxd6 20. Rxd6 {Black's position is completely gone.} b5 21. Nd5 Rb8 22. Nf6+ Nxf6 23. gxf6 Bh8 {Bad for both the bishop and the king.} (23... Bf8 {is better for the bishop, but not for the king.} 24. Rd2 $18 {and White will move the knight (possibly e5 first), double rooks on the h-file, and give mate or win tons and tons of material.}) 24. e5 Be6 25. Rd2 {Next up, Nd4 and Rdh2.} 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup 2025"] [Site "Goa IND"] [Date "2025.11.13"] [Round "4.11"] [White "Lodici, Lorenzo"] [Black "Sevian, Samuel"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2560"] [BlackElo "2698"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "82"] [GameId "2243812754064995"] [EventDate "2025.11.01"] [EventType "k.o."] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,81,17,27,24,7,19,32767,9,14,31,17,14,0,-2,7,-4,8,12,32767,-2,-27,-18,-54,-8,-7,-6,-123,-86,-107,-94,-91,-134,-108,-107,-81,-107,-146,-96,-152,-75,-82,-51,-304,32767,-302,-258,-367,-317,-290,-296,-565,-265,-265,32767,-265,-275,-292,-245,32767,-244,-352,-334,-397,-347,-399,-359,-332,-309,32767,-359,-332,-317,-298,-336,-505,-500,-514,-463,-572,-338,-355,-347,-478] The crazy see-saw match between Lorenzo Lodici and Sam Sevian finally came down to an Armageddon game. Lodici had 4 minutes to Sevian's 2:41, with a two-second increment for both players from move 1. Black has draw odds, meaning that a draw wins the match for him.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 d6 5. a4 Nf6 6. Be3 {Releasing the tension surprisingly early.} Bxe3 7. fxe3 Be6 8. Bxe6 fxe6 9. Qe2 d5 10. Nc3 O-O {Black has no opening problems, but White's next move is crazy.} 11. O-O-O $2 {With ...d4 in the offing and the White pawn on a4 this seems especially nutty.} Qd6 $6 {Not great, though Black's position is still preferable.} ({The immediate} 11... d4 $142 $17 {was the way to go, with a budding initiative.}) 12. Kb1 a6 13. g4 $2 {Practically forcing Black to make the best move.} d4 $1 14. exd4 exd4 15. e5 (15. Na2 $2 Nxg4 $19 {followed by either a knight coming to e5 or even to e3 is horrible for White.}) 15... Nxe5 16. Nxe5 dxc3 $19 17. Nc4 Qc6 (17... Qb4 $142) 18. Rhe1 cxb2 (18... Rae8 $142) 19. Kxb2 $2 {One bizarre move after another. (Or at least bizarre when you haven't already played eight incredibly tense games that day in a tournament that has already lasted almost two weeks.) Black has a material advantage and a ready-made attack.} Qxa4 $2 {A mistake, but Sevian probably realized that White's best continuation would lead to a very safe endgame (from Black's point of view).} (19... Rae8 $19) 20. Qxe6+ Kh8 21. g5 $2 (21. Ne5 {was of course correct, but there's a problem.} Qb5+ 22. Kc1 Qd5 $17 {gets the queens off the board, and while White might make a draw he's not going to win the endgame unless Black blunders.}) 21... Qb5+ 22. Ka1 Qa4+ 23. Kb2 Qb5+ {Giving White the "opportunity" to make a draw and thereby lose the match.} 24. Ka2 {To block a further check with Na3.} Rae8 25. Qh3 Qxg5 {White is completely busted, down two pawns with a weak king and no play. Of course Lodici keeps trying, but there's no salvaging the game.} 26. Rg1 Qb5 27. Qg3 Re7 28. Rde1 Qa4+ 29. Na3 Qd7 30. Ref1 b5 31. Rf4 Qe6+ 32. Kb1 Qd6 33. Kb2 Qe5+ 34. Kb1 Qd6 35. Kb2 Qe5+ {Again implicitly offering a draw.} 36. d4 Qd6 37. Qf2 Rfe8 38. Rf3 Re2 39. Qg3 Qxg3 40. hxg3 Kg8 41. Rc3 {This won't help White's cause, but there was no saving the game at this point given the two-second increment.} b4 0-1