[Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"] [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"] [Date "2021.04.24"] [Round "12.1"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "2820"] [BlackElo "2776"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2020.03.17"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.07.21"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. a3 (6. Ndb5) (6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. e5 Nd5 8. Ne4) 6... Be7 7. Be3 (7. Be2) (7. Nxc6) (7. f4) 7... O-O 8. Be2 d6 9. Qd3 $146 {A new move in a relatively rare position.} (9. O-O) (9. Qd2 ) 9... Bd7 10. f4 e5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. O-O exf4 13. Bxf4 Be6 14. Qg3 $14 Nd7 $5 (14... Ne8 {may be better, safeguarding the d-pawn and preparing ...Bf6-e5, if possible (prefaced by ...Bh4 if necessary). This is a standard idea in such structures.}) (14... h5 {is an interesting computer idea, intending ...h4.}) ( 14... Qb6+ $6 15. Kh1 Qxb2 $2 16. Rab1 Qxc2 (16... Qxa3 17. Nd5 Qxg3 18. Nxe7+ Kh8 19. hxg3 $18) 17. Bh6 g6 (17... Ne8 18. Rfc1 $18) 18. Bxf8 Bxf8 (18... Rxf8 19. Qe3 $18 {followed by Rfc1 or Bd1 is even worse for Black.}) 19. Rxf6 Bg7 20. e5 $18) 15. Rad1 ({While 14...Qb6+ followed by taking on b2 was bad, after } 15. Bxd6 $2 Bxd6 16. Qxd6 {Black can and should check and capture.} Qb6+ 17. Kh1 Qxb2 $15) 15... Re8 (15... Kh8) (15... Qb6+ $2 16. Be3 Qxb2 $2 17. Bd4 Ne5 18. Rb1 Qxc2 19. Rfc1 Qd2 20. Be3 $18) 16. Kh1 (16. Bxd6 $143 Bxd6 17. Rxd6 Qb6+ 18. Kh1 Qxb2 19. e5 $11) 16... Qb8 17. b4 Ne5 18. b5 Rc8 19. bxc6 Rxc6 20. Nd5 (20. Nb5 {may be the better option here.} Rxc2 21. Nd4 Rc5 22. Bxe5 dxe5 ( 22... Rxe5 $2 23. Nc6 $16) 23. Nxe6 fxe6 24. Qg4 $44) 20... Qf8 $11 21. c3 (21. c4 $11) (21. Bd3 $11) 21... Rac8 22. Rc1 (22. c4 $142 $11 {Better late than never.}) 22... Ng6 (22... Qd8 $142 $15) 23. Bd2 (23. Bg4 $142 $11) 23... Bh4 $15 24. Qe3 (24. Qd3 $142 Ne5 25. Qd4 Nc4 26. Bf4 $15) 24... Rc5 $17 25. c4 h6 $1 26. Qb3 Bg5 27. Bxg5 hxg5 {White's knight looks beautiful on d5, and so it is. Unfortunately for the knight and it's owner, it's headed for the afterlife. Meanwhile, among the battlefield's survivors are the white bishop on e2 and the black knight on g6. The former is a bad piece, while the latter has a glorious future waiting for it on e5 or, if circumstances permit, on f4.} 28. Qg3 Qd8 (28... Bxd5 $142 29. exd5 Qe7 $17 {/-+}) 29. Rcd1 Bxd5 30. exd5 Nf4 ( 30... Qe7 $142 31. Rde1 Ne5 $17 {/-+}) 31. Qf2 {White wants to evict the knight with g2-g3, and Black will work to prevent this.} R8c7 32. Rd4 (32. g3 Nxe2 33. Qxe2 Qc8 $17 (33... Re7 $17)) 32... Qe8 33. Bf3 Rxc4 {First fruits. Unfortunately for White, his other problems remain: a3 is still weak and the bishop on f3 is still bad. And a new problem or two emerges: the d-pawn has lost its most secure base of support, and Black's rooks will roam free in enemy territory.} 34. Rxc4 Rxc4 35. Qxa7 Ra4 36. Qf2 $4 (36. Qc7 {is an obvious move, and I'm sure Caruana saw it. What he probably didn't see is that after} Rxa3 {he has} 37. h4 $1 {, and this keeps him alive and with decent chances to save the game. (At a minimum, he would have had far better chances to save the game than after the text move.)} ({In case you're wondering about} 37. Qxd6 $4 {the problem is} Rxf3 $1 {, which is almost certainly what turned Caruana away from 36.Qc7.} 38. gxf3 (38. Rxf3 Qe1+) 38... Qe2 $19 {with a speedy mate to follow.})) 36... Rxa3 $19 37. h4 Qe5 38. hxg5 Qxg5 39. Re1 Ra8 $1 {A nice move, not only covering the back rank, but with the sneaky idea of shifting it over to h8 at some moment.} 40. Be4 Ra2 41. Rb1 (41. Qxa2 $4 Qh4+ 42. Kg1 Qxe1+ 43. Kh2 Qxe4 $19) ({It wouldn't have saved the game, but it's a pity, aesthetically speaking, that White didn't play the beautiful} 41. Bd3 $3 {, meeting the threat to his queen with a move that also hangs the bishop and allows a fork.} Ra8 $19 {is simplest, defending the back rank and intending to collect the d-pawn next.} (41... Rxf2 $4 42. Re8#) (41... Nxd3 $2 42. Re8+ Kh7 43. Qxa2 $11)) 41... Ra8 42. Re1 f5 43. Bb1 Kf7 $1 {Making way for the check mentioned above.} 44. Re3 Rh8+ 45. Kg1 Nxg2 $1 {is a nice finishing touch to an excellent game by Giri.} ({After} 45... Nxg2 $1 {White can't even struggle his way into an ending two pawns down; this is going to cost him serious material.} 46. Rg3 {would be a cure-all, were it not for} (46. Rf3 Nf4+ 47. Rg3 (47. Kf1 Rh1+ $19) 47... Ne2+ $19) 46... Qc1+ 47. Kxg2 (47. Qf1 Rh1+ $19) 47... Qh1#) 0-1 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"] [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"] [Date "2021.04.24"] [Round "12.2"] [White "Ding Liren"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2791"] [BlackElo "2777"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2020.03.17"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.07.21"] {[%evp 0,93,24,20,25,-8,0,0,-9,7,19,12,6,6,48,28,45,10,4,-10,-11,-16,-16,0,0,5, 28,-30,-14,-28,-29,-29,-22,-22,-21,-41,-36,-46,-32,-52,-40,-40,-22,-25,-25,-48, -32,-36,-45,-26,-28,-29,-25,-55,-33,-55,-33,-48,-34,-34,-33,-37,-24,-41,-47, -55,-49,-35,-20,-28,-7,-26,-16,-12,-14,-10,-9,-19,-13,-11,-17,-18,34,30,21,40, 45,43,45,45,133,150,184,184,168,181]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 8. Bd3 Nxf4 9. exf4 b6 10. b4 a5 11. a3 c6 12. O-O Ba6 {This is a very solid opening choice, the sort of thing one plays as Black when a draw is a fine result, but not when one is in a must-win situation.} 13. Ne2 {Almost a novelty. The only previous time this was played was in a game where Grischuk had White.} (13. Bxa6 {is the main move, played in 79 of the 129 games to see the position after 12...Ba6.} Rxa6 14. Qe2 Ra8 15. b5 (15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. fxe5 b5 17. Rab1 axb4 18. axb4 Qd7 19. Ra1 Ra7 20. Ra2 Rfa8 21. Rfa1 Qb7 22. Qb2 Ra6 23. g3 f5 24. exf6 Bxf6 25. Rxa6 Rxa6 26. Ne2 Qa8 27. Rxa6 Qxa6 28. Kg2 Qa8 29. Ng1 Qa4 30. Nf3 g5 31. Qe2 Kf7 32. Qd3 Kg7 33. Qe3 Kf7 34. Nxg5+ Bxg5 35. Qxg5 Qxb4 36. Qh5+ Kg7 37. Qe5+ Kf7 38. Qc7+ Kf6 39. Qe5+ Kf7 40. g4 Qb1 41. Qc7+ Kf6 42. Qd8+ Kf7 43. Qd7+ Kf6 44. h4 Qe4+ 45. Kg3 h6 46. Qe8 Kg7 47. Qe7+ Kg8 48. h5 b4 49. Qd8+ Kg7 50. Qc7+ Kf6 51. Qb8 Qd3+ 52. Kh4 Kg7 53. Qb7+ Kf6 54. Qb8 Kg7 55. Qxb4 Qe4 56. Kg3 Qd3+ 57. f3 Qe3 58. Qb1 Kf6 59. Qg6+ Ke7 60. Qg7+ Ke8 61. Qg8+ Ke7 62. Qg7+ Ke8 63. Qe5 Qg1+ 64. Kh3 Qh1+ 65. Kg3 Qg1+ 66. Kf4 Qh2+ 67. Ke3 Qg1+ 68. Kd2 Qf2+ 69. Kc3 Qxf3+ 70. Kb4 Qxg4 71. Ka5 Qf5 72. Qc7 Qxh5 73. Qxc6+ Ke7 74. Qd6+ Kf6 75. c6 {1-0 (75) Ding,L (2755)-Shankland,S (2661) Tsaghkadzor 2015}) 15... Rc8 16. f5 exf5 17. bxc6 Rxc6 18. Nxd5 Re6 19. Qb5 bxc5 20. Nxe7+ Qxe7 21. Qxa5 g6 22. Rfd1 Rb8 23. Qc7 Rb2 24. d5 Ree2 25. Re1 Ra2 26. h3 Rxa1 27. Rxa1 Nf6 28. d6 Qe8 29. Rd1 Nd7 30. a4 h6 31. a5 g5 32. Nh2 Ra2 33. Nf3 Qe2 34. Rf1 Qe8 35. Re1 Re2 36. Rxe2 Qxe2 37. Qxd7 {1-0 (37) Firouzja,A (2749)-Grischuk,A (2777) Lichess.org INT 2020}) 13... Qc7 14. h4 $146 (14. g3 Bf6 15. Rb1 axb4 16. axb4 Qb7 17. Nc1 Bxd3 18. Nxd3 Ra3 19. Qc2 Rfa8 20. Rfc1 b5 21. Kg2 Nf8 22. Qd1 Ng6 23. Ra1 {1/2-1/2 (23) Grischuk,A (2777)-So,W (2770) chess.com INT 2020}) 14... h6 (14... Ra7 $11 {followed by ...Rfa8 is a constructive option.}) 15. g3 Bc4 16. Qc2 (16. Bxc4 $6 dxc4 17. cxb6 Nxb6 $11 {might seem at first as if it should be good for White, given Black's doubled, isolated c-pawns. They are weak, it's true - at least the c4-pawn is - but White's a & b-pawn duo is also weak, and only one of them can be traded off. White's d-pawn is potentially weak, too, so there's no reason why Black should be worried about this.}) 16... b5 17. Rfe1 Ra7 18. Nc3 Rfa8 19. Rab1 axb4 20. axb4 Bxd3 21. Qxd3 $11 {Back to a conventional sort of position. White has a little more space, Black has the a-file and a solid setup. It's probably a little easier for White to play and find ideas, but it's equal.} Bf6 {Activating the bishop and sidestepping White's idea of f4-f5. Still, there was better, and the bishop isn't so fantastic here in any case.} ( 21... h5 $142 $11 {This is structurally desirable, and the tactical justification is that} 22. f5 {is well met by} Nf8 {, and although the e-file opens for White's benefit - including the e5 square - Black's play against d4 should help keep the balance, along with the doubled rooks on the a-file.} 23. fxe6 Nxe6 24. Re3 Bf6 25. Rbe1 Qd7 26. Kg2 Ra1 27. Rxa1 Rxa1 28. Qf5 Ra7 29. Ne5 (29. Qxh5 Nxd4 $11) 29... Bxe5 30. Qxe5 g6 $11 {is a nice illustrative line that highlights several of the points made in the last comment.}) 22. h5 $14 Ra3 23. Qc2 Be7 (23... Bd8 {isn't a bad idea, likewise clearing f6 for the knight's use without having to worry about any f4-f5 ideas. Also, the bishop could switch to c7, monitoring the e5 square without getting in the knight's way.}) 24. Kg2 Bf6 (24... Nf6 $142 25. Rh1 Qc8 26. Ne5 Qe8 27. g4 {looks a little scary, but} Nh7 {seems sufficient to put out the fire - or rather, prevents the fire from being lit in the first place.}) 25. Rec1 (25. Rb3 $16) 25... Bd8 26. Qe2 (26. Rh1 $14) 26... Bf6 {Good for the bishop, less good for the knight.} (26... Qc8 {seems preferable, preparing ...Bc7.}) 27. Rc2 Qb8 28. Rbb2 Bd8 29. Nb1 R3a6 30. Ne5 Nf6 31. Nd2 Bc7 32. Nb3 {This strongly discourages Black from taking on e5, when White's remaining knight will beautifully placed on either a5 or d4 (after dxe5). However, the knight is out of the game on b3 as long as Black refrains from the exchange on e5. It seems the position is equal.} Qe8 $11 33. Nc1 Ra4 34. Ncd3 Ne4 35. g4 {Black must be on alert for the sake of his king, but for now there's nothing to worry about.} R8a6 (35... Bxe5 36. Nxe5 f5 $11 {is a very direct way of handling the situation, though it's not easy to make such a committal move. White's knight has e5 for eternity - and can trade it in for g6 - while Black's knight can be ousted by f3. That's only part of the story, though; Black's rooks are superior to their white counterparts, and prevent White from getting too rambunctious.} (36... Ra1 $11) (36... Ra3 $11)) (35... Ra3 $11) 36. f3 Nf6 37. Kf2 Ra1 38. Ra2 Qa8 39. Nc1 R1xa2 40. Rxa2 Ra3 $6 {In inaccuracy on the final move of the time control.} (40... Ra4 $142 $11) 41. Rxa3 Qxa3 42. Qd2 {White has an advantage, but there's no need for Grischuk to lose in five moves.} Bxe5 $4 (42... Qa8 $14) 43. dxe5 $1 {This gives Black a protected passed pawn, but it's going nowhere. The important aspect of White's move is that it frees the d4 square for his knight, and that's probably enough to win the game.} Nd7 44. Ne2 {Rather than suffering for another hour or two, Grischuk lashes out in a bid for counterplay. He loses quickly, but at least there's no suffering.} f6 45. exf6 e5 46. fxg7 e4 47. Qc3 (47. Qc3 Qxc3 48. Nxc3 exf3 49. Kxf3 Kxg7 50. Ne2 Nb8 51. Nd4 Kf6 52. Ke3 Kg7 53. g5 $18) 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"] [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"] [Date "2021.04.24"] [Round "12.3"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Alekseenko, Kirill"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2696"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2020.03.17"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.07.21"] {[%evp 0,89,26,24,92,73,69,-2,-5,0,0,-17,60,25,-3,-46,62,24,76,59,59,58,84,100, 93,91,112,93,98,76,100,85,123,122,116,116,135,136,160,81,83,81,124,96,82,66,71, 64,95,95,95,92,94,88,98,94,88,90,115,101,108,108,108,99,94,88,117,117,117,111, 111,113,113,113,113,113,112,118,120,127,121,118,118,118,127,116,148,121,119, 117,202,213]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. f3 {This is the way to play in a must-win situation in the Candidates.} dxe4 (3... Qb6) (3... e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bd2 Ne7 6. Bd3 b6 7. a3 Bxc3 8. Bxc3 O-O 9. f4 c5 10. dxc5 bxc5 11. Qh5 Ba6 12. Nf3 d4 13. Bd2 c4 14. Ba5 Qc8 15. Be2 Nbc6 16. Qc5 d3 17. cxd3 cxd3 18. Bd1 Nxa5 19. Qxa5 Rb8 20. b3 Rd8 21. O-O d2 22. Rf2 Rb5 23. Qa4 Ng6 24. g3 Rc5 25. Rxd2 Rxd2 26. Nxd2 Rc1 27. Rxc1 Qxc1 28. Qxa6 Qxd1+ 29. Nf1 Qd4+ 30. Kg2 Qxe4+ 31. Kf2 Qd4+ 32. Ke2 h5 33. Qc8+ Kh7 34. Qc2 Qd5 35. Kf2 Kg8 36. Qc8+ Nf8 37. Qc4 Qd6 38. b4 Nd7 39. Ke2 Nf6 40. Ne3 Qd8 41. b5 Qf8 42. Qc3 Qd8 43. a4 Nd5 44. Qd4 Qe7 45. Nxd5 exd5+ 46. Kf2 Qa3 47. Qxd5 Qxa4 48. Qxh5 Qd4+ 49. Kf1 Qa1+ 50. Kg2 a6 51. bxa6 Qa2+ 52. Kh3 Qe6+ 53. Qg4 Qxa6 54. Qf3 Qe6+ 55. g4 f5 56. g5 Qe1 57. g6 Qe8 58. Qd5+ Kh8 59. Qxf5 Qe3+ 60. Kh4 Qe1+ 61. Kh5 Qe2+ 62. Qg4 Qe6 63. f5 Qe5 64. Qh3 Qf4 65. f6 {1-0 (65) Vachier Lagrave,M (2784)-Donchenko,A (2668) Wijk aan Zee 2021}) 4. fxe4 e5 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. c3 Nf6 (6... Nd7 {is far more common.}) 7. Bc4 Qc7 $2 8. dxe5 $16 {We're already out of theory, and White has a big advantage. As MVL had played the Fantasy Variation (3.f3) before, in Wijk aan Zee (not some obscure "Banter Blitz" game against a club player) and plenty of other GMs have used it on occasion, this is incredibly bad preparation by Black for a Candidates tournament.} Bxf3 $6 (8... Nxe4) 9. Qxf3 Qxe5 10. Bf4 $18 Qh5 (10... Qc5 $142) 11. Nd2 $1 {Vachier-Lagrave is rightly unafraid of losing his advantage after the trade of queens. White's lead in development and central control will not disappear after that exchange.} Nbd7 12. O-O-O Nb6 13. Bb3 Be7 14. Rhg1 $5 {A combination "mysterious rook move" in Nimzowitsch's technical sense and threat, and the two aspects work together. The threat is g4, and that more or less obliges Black to trade queens, thereby opening the file for the otherwise strangely posted rook on g1.} (14. a4 $142 {was a good move, undermining the already poorly placed knight on b6.}) 14... Qxf3 15. gxf3 g6 16. Nc4 Nxc4 17. Bxc4 b5 (17... Rd8 {was better, not (preparing to) offer a pawn to eliminate White's bishop pair.}) 18. Bb3 Nd7 19. Bxf7+ Kxf7 20. Rxd7 Ke6 21. Rc7 (21. Rgd1 {was a good alternative.} Rhf8 {poses White a dilemma. What would you do?} 22. Bg3 $1 (22. Rxe7+ $2 {looks tempting, holding the f-pawn after} Kxe7 23. Bd6+ Ke6 24. Bxf8 Rxf8 25. Rf1 {, but Black is so active that the chances are equal here.} (25. Rd3 Rf4 $11 {is also equal.}) 25... g5 26. Kd2 Rf4 27. Ke3 Rh4 28. Rf2 Ke5 $11) 22... Rxf3 23. Rc7 Bg5+ 24. Kc2 Bf4 25. Rxc6+ Ke5 26. Bxf4+ Rxf4 27. Kb3 $18 {White may still be winning, but hope springs eternal in rook endings.}) 21... Rhc8 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23. Be3 a5 24. Kd2 {Now White will be able to protect everything, and despite what your engine is telling you Black's long-term prognosis is terrible. White will take turns making small positional gains and consolidating those games, until Black eventually runs out of room. This is exactly what happens in the game.} a4 25. f4 Rd8+ 26. Ke2 Rf8 27. Kf3 Rd8 28. Rc1 c5 29. c4 {Of course: White wants to fix Black's pawns on dark squares, while making sure his own pawns aren't restricted in that way.} b4 30. Ke2 Rd7 $2 (30... Bf6 {was much better.}) 31. Rd1 Rxd1 32. Kxd1 {Now there's no hope whatsoever. Pretty much the worst ending to be in, other than a lost king and pawn ending, is a same-colored bishop ending where the strong side's pawns aren't fixed on the bishop's color. The weaker side typically has no counterplay at all, and if his pawns *have been* fixed on the bishop's color, then in addition to a passed pawn or a potential passed pawn, the strong side will also have targets to aim at. There are always exceptions in chess, but it's often an easy win for the stronger side, and that's true here as well.} Bf8 33. Kc2 (33. b3) 33... Be7 34. b3 { Taking care of business on the queenside. Now that there's no longer anything to worry about over there, White's king can return to the kingside and center, looking for fresh targets.} a3 35. Kd3 Bf8 36. Bf2 Be7 37. Ke3 Bd8 38. Kf3 Be7 39. Kg4 h5+ {Else White could play Bh4 or f5+.} 40. Kf3 {Black is in zugzwang. His bishop can't retreat along the d8-h4 diagonal, as he'd drop the c-pawn. If he moves the bishop along the f8-d6 diagonal, then White can play Bh4, and his bishop will fruitfully penetrate Black's side of the board. If the king retreats to the 7th rank, White can play f5. If ...Kf6, then Bh4+ leads to a trivially easy to win king and pawn ending. And if ...Kd6, then too f5 will win, though it's slightly more complicated than in the ...Kf7/...Kd7 case.} Bf8 (40... Kd6 41. f5 gxf5 42. exf5 Ke5 43. f6 $1 $18 {is the nice move that does the trick. White wins easily if Black doesn't take the pawn - that's case 1. Case 2: 43...Kxf6. This is met by 44.Bh4+, 45.Bxe7, and then 46.Ke4. White will set up a winning zugzwang, penetrate with his king, and win. Case 3: 43... Bxf6. This is met by the simple 44.Bxc5, when the b-pawn will fall as well.}) 41. Bh4 Bd6 42. e5 Bc7 43. Ke4 Ba5 44. Bg5 Bb6 45. Bh6 (45. Bh6 Bc7 46. Bf8 Bb6 47. Bd6 Ba7 {represents the last line of the defense. So how does White win now?} 48. Bc7 Kd7 49. Ba5 Ke6 50. h3 {and this time the zugzwang is fatal.} Bb8 (50... Kd7 51. Kd5 $18) (50... h4 51. Bd8 $18) 51. Bb6 $18) 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2020"] [Site "Yekaterinburg RUS"] [Date "2021.04.24"] [Round "12.4"] [White "Wang Hao"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2789"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2020.03.17"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.07.21"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {It's a bit early for Nepomniachtchi to turn into a risk-averse drawmeister, isn't it?} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d3 {Really? In the Candidates?} Nf6 6. d4 d5 7. Bd3 Bd6 8. Qe2+ Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Kxe7 10. O-O Nc6 11. c3 $146 ({The obvious} 11. Re1+ {is usual, though it shouldn't cause Black any particular problems after} Kd8 {.}) 11... h6 (11... Re8 $142 12. Bg5 h6 13. Re1+ Be6 14. Bh4 g5 $11 {is fine for Black, so 11...h6 was unnecessary.}) 12. Nh4 (12. Re1+) 12... Re8 13. Nf5+ Bxf5 14. Bxf5 $14 Kf8 15. g3 (15. Nd2) (15. Bd3) 15... Ne7 16. Bh3 Nc8 17. Nd2 a5 18. a4 c6 19. Rd1 h5 20. Nf1 g6 21. f3 Nb6 $11 (21... Kg7 22. Bg5 Nb6 $11) 22. b3 (22. Bh6+) 22... Kg7 23. Kf2 Nbd7 ( 23... h4 {is (almost) always worth considering, and will eventually be played.} ) 24. Bg5 Nf8 25. Re1 Ne6 {Who is playing for something here? If White is satisfied with a draw, taking on e6 followed by Ra2-e2 looks like a pretty effective way to do the job.} 26. Be3 Rac8 27. Bd2 c5 $1 {This does not change the assessment - it's still equal. (Very much so.) But White's queenside pawns are a bit loose, and Black can play in this way, making the position more dynamic, without any undue risk.} 28. dxc5 Bxc5+ (28... Nxc5 {would be terrific, were it not for the hanging rook on c8. Even here it's okay, but not a winning try.} 29. Bxc8 Nd3+ 30. Kg2 Nxe1+ 31. Rxe1 Rxc8 32. Ne3 $14 {/=}) 29. Kg2 Bb6 30. Rab1 Rc6 31. b4 Nc7 32. Rxe8 Ncxe8 33. bxa5 {Now White definitely seems intent on securing the draw.} ({It was possible to maintain the structure with} 33. Rb3) ({or} 33. Kh1 {.}) 33... Bxa5 34. Rxb7 (34. Bf4) 34... Nd6 35. Ra7 Bxc3 36. Bd7 Nxd7 37. Bxc3+ Rxc3 38. Rxd7 Rc6 39. Re7 $6 (39. Ne3 d4 40. Nd5 Rc2+ 41. Kh3 Nc4 42. Nf4 {should succeed in eliminating the d-pawn, and with it any non-trivial winning chances Black might have.}) 39... Rc2+ 40. Kg1 d4 (40... Nf5 $142 $17) (40... Rc1 $142 $17) 41. Rd7 Nf5 42. a5 Ra2 43. Ra7 $2 (43. a6 $1 {is not an easy move to make. With the game having been equal and "drawn" for so long it's psychologically difficult to give up a pawn and keep defending, but White should do this for the sake of activating his knight. } Rxa6 44. Nd2 $15) 43... Kf6 $2 {Nepo errs in turn.} ({The immediate} 43... h4 $1 {was correct. After} 44. g4 Nd6 45. Rd7 Nb5 46. g5 Kf8 47. Rd8+ Ke7 48. Rh8 Rxa5 49. Rxh4 Ra2 $19 {the win is not automatic, but it is inevitable. (And to look ahead a bit, Black's advantage here is greater than it was in the final position.)}) 44. a6 h4 45. Ra8 h3 46. a7 Ke7 47. g4 $2 (47. Nd2 $1 $11 { is a good option. If the knight isn't captured White can activate it and/or the rook rather than waiting passively for the axe to fall. And if it is, White has a pleasant choice between 48.Re8+ and safe rooks, though, in both cases it's still a draw.} Rxd2 48. Re8+ (48. Rb8 Rg2+ 49. Kf1 (49. Kh1 Rc2 50. Kg1 Rg2+ $11) 49... Ne3+ 50. Ke1 d3 51. Re8+ $8 Kf6 (51... Kxe8 52. a8=Q+ Kd7 53. Qa7+ Kc6 $11 54. Qxe3 Re2+ 55. Qxe2 dxe2 56. Kxe2 Kd5 $11) 52. Rxe3 Ra2 53. Rxd3 Rxa7 $11) 48... Kxe8 49. a8=Q+ Ke7 $11) 47... Nd6 $15 {Now ...Nb5 is coming, so White jettisons the pawn straight away.} 48. Rb8 $1 Rxa7 49. Rb4 d3 50. Rb3 Ra2 51. Rxd3 Nc4 {Thanks to the pawn on h3, it's not a dead draw yet. But is should finish peacefully, and it's remarkable that Nepomniachtchi pulled a rabbit out of this hat against a fellow candidate.} 52. Ng3 Rg2+ 53. Kh1 Kf8 54. Rc3 $6 (54. g5 {looks like a smart idea, ready to go for Ne4-f6 at a moment's notice to cage the enemy king.}) 54... Nb2 {Threatening ...Nd1-f2+.} 55. Rc8+ Kg7 (55... Ke7 $6 56. Rh8 {would finally be a dead draw.}) 56. Rd8 $8 Rf2 57. Kg1 Rxf3 58. Ne4 {Black has regained his extra pawn, but with the knight actively placed on e4, headed to f2 or g5, it seems that White should draw this - and he should. I was watching here, and was shocked to see, several minutes later, that White lost within two moves.} Re3 $1 59. Ng3 $2 ( 59. Nd6 $1 $15 {/-/+}) 59... Ra3 $1 {A nice move, and perhaps Black is winning here, but resignation is premature.} (59... Ra3 $1 60. Re8 f6 61. Re1 Kf7 { White has a variety of ways to proceed, and Black's reply will depend on what White does - there's no straightforward one-size-fits-all plan. Here's one possibility:} 62. Rf1 Ke6 (62... Nc4 $2 63. Ne4 Ke6 64. Rxf6+ Ke5 {wins a piece, but not the game.} 65. Rc6 Na5 66. Rxg6 Kxe4 67. Ra6 Kf3 68. Rf6+ Kxg4 69. Rg6+ Kh5 70. Ra6 Nc4 71. Rxa3 Nxa3 {This is a draw, believe it or not (work it out for yourselves, if you're not sure), which is one of the reasons White's resignation was premature.}) 63. Re1+ Kd5 64. Ne4 Rf3 65. Nd2 Rf4 66. g5 f5 67. Re3 Rg4+ 68. Kf1 Rg2 69. Nf3 Nc4 70. Re2 Rxe2 71. Kxe2 Ke4 72. Ng1 Ne5 73. Kf2 (73. Nxh3 Ng4 $19) 73... Nd3+ 74. Kf1 (74. Kg3 $2 f4+ $19) 74... f4 75. Nxh3 Ke3 76. Ng1 f3 77. Nh3 Ne5 78. Nf2 Kf4 79. Nd1 Kxg5 80. Nc3 Nd3 81. Nd5 Kg4 $19) 0-1