[Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Liang, Awonder"] [Black "Robson, Ray"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2664"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "133"] [GameId "2236285958368838"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,133,24,27,16,19,19,18,19,14,9,15,22,4,9,9,2,-4,5,3,-45,-5,0,14,-5,-15,-38,0,-82,-27,-67,-27,-2,-68,7,-26,-22,-201,13,-30,-94,-58,-120,-62,-152,-68,-60,-36,-1,-1,-1,1,1,23,33,48,42,12,-92,13,74,32,42,-63,54,33,44,18,108,126,123,105,133,125,171,127,175,147,162,140,183,313,206,201,270,395,326,361,276,156,245,258,246,257,301,250,350,337,354,342,352,307,287,323,514,340,303,263,254,265,430,288,526,302,414,450,489,246,385,439,513,434,451,336,423,317,415,405,482,477,29989,487,29981,482,534,454]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Qd3 {One of the newer moves, looking to hasten the queen's activity (e.g. by sliding across to g3 in some cases) and to castle long.} Nbd7 7. f3 {Like 7.g3, it's very rare. (It's hard to see how this fits with Qd3.)} (7. Be2 {is the most popular move, while}) (7. g3 {, though very rare, has been played twice by Caruana.}) 7... e6 8. Bd2 h5 {Preventing g4.} 9. O-O-O b5 10. a3 Bb7 (10... Qc7 11. Kb1 Rb8 {was the received wisdom when I was a teenager, more than a couple of years ago, about Najdorfs where White has castled long and played a3. Black aims to play ...b4, punishing White for creating a hook. (Not about this exact position, which wasn't on anyone's radar.)}) 11. Kb1 Rc8 12. Qe3 g6 13. Nb3 Qc7 14. Be1 Be7 15. Be2 {White's scheme of development from move 6 to this point would have struck the grandmasterdom of my youth as completely insane. (I'm not sure how happy they'd have been about ...g6 and ...h5, for that matter.) I'm slightly relieved that the engine thinks that Black is (a little) better.} h4 (15... O-O $142) 16. Rf1 Nc5 (16... Kf8 $142 {was better, looking to play ...d5.}) 17. g4 (17. Nxc5 $142 dxc5 18. e5 $14) 17... hxg3 18. hxg3 Nfd7 (18... d5 $142 19. exd5 Nxb3 20. cxb3 Nxd5 21. Nxd5 Bxd5 22. Bc3 $11) 19. Rc1 $6 (19. g4 $14) 19... Qb6 $15 20. Nxc5 Qxc5 21. Qd3 Ne5 (21... Rh2 $142 $15) 22. Qd1 (22. Qd2 $142) 22... Rh2 (22... Nc4 $142 23. Bxc4 Qxc4 $15 {[%CAl Ba6a5,Bb5b4]}) 23. Bd2 $2 (23. g4 $11) 23... Nc4 $2 (23... Qd4 $1 $17) 24. Bxc4 Qxc4 25. Rh1 Rxh1 26. Qxh1 $14 Kd7 27. Qh7 Qd4 28. Qh2 Kc7 $6 (28... g5 $14) 29. Rd1 $16 Rh8 30. Qg2 Qc4 31. Bf4 g5 32. Be3 Kb8 33. Qd2 g4 $2 (33... f6 $142) 34. fxg4 $18 {White is winning, and plays very well the rest of the way to bring home the full point.} Rg8 (34... Bxe4 35. Bd4 e5 36. Nxe4 exd4 37. Qf2 $1 $18) 35. Qf2 $1 Rg7 36. g5 Qc8 37. Qd2 Rg8 38. Qf2 Rf8 39. Rh1 f5 40. Rh7 fxe4 41. Rf7 Rxf7 42. Qxf7 Qf8 43. Qxe6 Bc8 44. Qxe4 Qf1+ 45. Ka2 Qf7+ 46. b3 Qg7 47. Qd3 Bb7 48. Bf4 Kc8 49. Nd5 Kd8 50. Nxe7 Qxe7 51. g6 Ke8 52. Bxd6 Qe4 53. g7 Kf7 54. Qc3 Kg8 55. Qc7 Bc6 56. Kb1 Qe8 57. Be5 Bd7 58. Kb2 a5 59. Qd6 a4 60. bxa4 bxa4 61. c4 Be6 62. Kc3 Qf7 63. Qd8+ Kh7 64. Qf6 Qd7 65. c5 Bg8 66. Bf4 Qh3 67. Qh4+ 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.2"] [White "Sevian, Samuel"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2738"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "117"] [GameId "2236285958372935"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,117,18,26,9,18,14,13,16,-22,-17,-13,15,18,-2,13,28,27,13,25,14,17,32,26,21,32,32,46,40,18,20,15,37,0,24,2,8,9,15,0,51,-10,27,11,-10,-24,-13,-39,-14,-21,1,-34,34,-11,-1,-1,0,-16,-6,-1,-1,-11,-107,-42,-107,-66,-106,-26,56,-152,1,-10,-69,-79,-213,-56,5,-51,125,78,128,149,132,36,127,118,148,135,163,156,147,173,163,191,186,156,153,119,120,123,130,125,222,52,242,78,160,52,205,68,186,170,191,125,223,218,208,261,351,418]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Be7 6. e4 dxe4 7. fxe4 c5 8. d5 exd5 9. exd5 O-O 10. Bd3 Re8 11. Nge2 Bg4 12. O-O Nbd7 13. h3 Bxe2 $146 14. Bxe2 Bd6 15. Bf4 Qb6 16. Qc2 a6 17. Bd3 Re7 18. Bg5 h6 19. Bh4 Rae8 20. Rae1 Be5 21. Kh1 Bb8 22. Bf2 Nh5 $15 23. Rxe7 Rxe7 24. Ne4 f5 25. Be2 $1 Nf4 26. Ng3 Nxe2 27. Nxe2 Qd6 28. Bg1 $11 g6 29. Nf4 Re4 30. Ne6 Qe5 31. Qb3 b6 32. a4 Bd6 33. a5 bxa5 34. Qb7 Nf8 35. Nxf8 Kxf8 36. Qc8+ $2 (36. Qh7 $11) 36... Kg7 $17 37. Qb7+ Bc7 (37... Kf6 $19) 38. Qc6 Re3 $4 {A pity for Niemann, who has played very well so far and was well on his way to victory. The move looks nice: the rook can't be taken because of mate on h2, and he's threatening ...Rxh3+ gxh3 Qe4+ and mate next move. It works brilliantly against *almost* every move.} (38... Rxc4 $19) 39. d6 $1 $18 Bxd6 40. Rd1 {The bishop can't be defended, and if it moves to c7 or b8 41.Rd8+ will be devastating.} Be7 $1 {The best try, but now White can take on e3. Black will have two pawns for the exchange, but they're bad pawns.} 41. Bxe3 Qxe3 42. Qxa6 $2 {Cashing in too quickly. White loses coordination while Black regains it.} (42. Qd7 $1 $18) 42... Qe2 $14 43. Rb1 $6 (43. Rg1 Qxb2 44. Re1 $14) 43... Qe4 $2 (43... h5 $1 $11 {was best, making a nook for the king on h6.}) 44. Rc1 $6 (44. Ra1 $1 $18) 44... Qe5 45. Qxa5 Qxb2 46. Re1 Qb7 47. Qb5 Qc7 $1 48. Qa6 h5 $1 49. Re6 $1 $14 Kf7 50. Qc6 Qa7 $4 (50... Qxc6 51. Rxc6 h4 $1 {had to be tried, when I wouldn't be surprised if White was winning but I couldn't guarantee it.}) 51. Qd5 $18 {This is over.} Kg7 52. Qe5+ Kf7 53. Rc6 Qd7 54. Qd5+ Qxd5 55. cxd5 {Thanks to the passed d-pawn White is clearly winning.} g5 56. Kg1 g4 57. Kf1 f4 58. d6 Bf8 59. d7 (59. d7 Be7 60. Rc8 $18) 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.3"] [White "Swiercz, Dariusz"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A06"] [WhiteElo "2577"] [BlackElo "2756"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "144"] [GameId "2236285958372936"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,144,17,-9,8,-3,7,1,2,1,2,0,-125,5,-1,4,2,0,-4,-7,0,-32,-30,-60,-15,-55,-11,-14,-17,1,34,18,33,33,17,14,25,13,-8,0,17,7,10,5,37,6,10,80,0,23,33,-3,-6,3,40,36,-102,36,-1,8,33,33,10,16,51,54,43,35,49,44,48,23,8,-2,-24,6,-28,-39,-29,-101,-48,-106,-96,-136,-87,-105,-70,-107,-118,-22,-124,128,-115,-105,-113,-68,-117,-83,-134,-102,-180,-134,-256,-217,-135,-137,-104,-252,-185,-192,-163,-244,-161,-177,-219,-251,-264,-233,-105,-222,-256,-258,-318,-310,-285,-275,-248,-274,-177,-190,-208,-266,-314,-507,-428,-505,-525,-525,-525,-525,-614,-633,-609,-841,-896,-1044,-1198]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 {An indication that Swiercz is playing for a win, as he ought to as a self-respecting GM playing White. (That's not to praise his choice of opening, but to note that this isn't the sort of opening one plays to kill the game and make the draw.)} Bg4 3. Bb2 Nd7 4. e3 e6 5. h3 Bh5 6. d3 h6 7. Nbd2 Ngf6 8. g4 Bg6 9. Rg1 {Still following some previous games. (Not a lot, though.)} Bd6 10. h4 Qe7 11. Bh3 $6 $146 (11. g5 {had been played in all three previous games, two of which featured GMs and one featured a then-future correspondence IM (who, happily, reads this blog).} hxg5 (11... Nh5 12. c4 c6 13. Be2 hxg5 14. hxg5 e5 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. a3 O-O-O 17. b4 Kb8 18. Rc1 Bf5 19. Nh4 Be6 20. Nhf3 f6 21. Nb3 d4 22. Na5 dxe3 23. fxe3 Ng3 24. Rxg3 e4 25. Rg1 exf3 26. Bxf3 Rh2 27. Bd4 Bxb4+ 28. axb4 Qxb4+ 29. Kf1 Bh3+ 30. Bg2 fxg5 31. Bxg7 Qxa5 32. Bxh3 Rxh3 33. Qg4 Rh4 34. Qg2 Qf5+ 35. Ke1 Nc5 36. Rxc5 Qxc5 37. Qxg5 Qxg5 38. Rxg5 Rxd3 39. Be5+ Kc8 40. Bf4 Rh1+ 41. Ke2 Ra3 42. Rc5+ Kd8 43. Rd5+ Ke7 44. Kf3 b6 45. Rg5 Kd7 46. Ke4 a5 47. Rg2 Kc6 48. Rc2+ Kb5 49. Rb2+ Ka6 50. Kf3 b5 51. Rd2 b4 52. Rd8 Kb5 53. Kg2 Raa1 54. Re8 Raf1 55. Bc7 Rhg1+ 56. Kh2 a4 57. Bd6 b3 58. Re5+ Kc4 {0-1 Owens,J (2113)-Anikeev,V (2265) W-ch WS/M/583 email ICCF email 2016}) 12. hxg5 Nh5 13. c4 (13. Nh4 e5 14. Qg4 O-O-O 15. O-O-O Kb8 16. Kb1 Nf4 17. Re1 Ne6 18. Nxg6 fxg6 19. Bg2 c6 20. f4 Nc7 21. Nf3 Rhf8 22. d4 e4 23. Nh4 Qf7 24. Ref1 Nb6 25. Bh3 Nc8 26. f5 gxf5 27. Nxf5 Qd7 28. a4 g6 29. Nxd6 Qxd6 30. Ka2 Rxf1 31. Rxf1 Qh2 32. Bg2 Qh7 33. Ba3 Ne7 34. Rf6 Nf5 35. Qf4 Kc8 36. Bf1 Ne8 37. Rf8 Nc7 38. Rf6 Ne8 39. Rf8 Nc7 40. Rxd8+ Kxd8 41. Bc5 Qh4 42. Qe5 Qf2 43. Qf6+ Kc8 44. Qf8+ Kd7 45. Qf7+ Kc8 46. Kb2 Qh2 47. Qf8+ Kd7 48. Qf7+ Kc8 49. Qf8+ Kd7 50. Qf7+ {½-½ Romanov,E (2573)-Makhmutov,R (2390) RUS-chT 26th Sochi 2019 (2.5)}) 13... c6 14. Qc2 e5 15. O-O-O a5 16. Bh3 a4 17. Nh4 axb3 18. axb3 O-O 19. Kb1 Ba3 20. Ba1 Nc5 21. Nxg6 fxg6 22. d4 exd4 23. exd4 Ne4 24. Nxe4 Qxe4 25. Qxe4 dxe4 26. Rge1 Rxf2 27. Rxe4 Rf3 28. Be6+ Kh7 29. c5 Bb4 30. Bb2 Bc3 31. Bxc3 Rxc3 32. Kb2 Rg3 33. Rd2 Rxg5 34. d5 cxd5 35. Bxd5 Rb8 36. b4 Nf6 37. Rh4+ Rh5 38. Rxh5+ gxh5 39. Bh1 g5 40. Rd6 Kg6 41. Rb6 g4 42. c6 h4 43. c7 Rc8 44. Rxb7 h3 45. b5 g3 46. b6 g2 47. Bxg2 hxg2 48. Rb8 g1=Q 49. Rxc8 Qxb6+ 50. Ka1 Qa6+ {0-1 Rozum,I (2529)-Vastrukhin,O (2382) Sochi Lobanov Memorial Blitz 2021 (5)}) 11... Ba3 $6 (11... O-O-O $15) (11... a6 12. a4 O-O-O $15) 12. Qc1 (12. Bxa3 $142 Qxa3 13. Qc1 $11) 12... Bxb2 (12... Bb4 $142 $15) 13. Qxb2 O-O-O $11 14. a4 (14. h5 Bh7 15. b4 $11) 14... a5 (14... h5 $142) 15. Qc3 $14 Qb4 16. Qxb4 axb4 17. Ke2 (17. Nd4 $142) 17... c5 $11 18. Nh2 Bh7 19. f4 g5 20. Raf1 Rdg8 21. fxg5 hxg5 22. h5 Kd8 23. Rf2 (23. Bg2 Ke7 24. e4 $11) 23... Ke7 24. Rgf1 Rf8 25. Bg2 Ne8 26. e4 dxe4 27. Bxe4 Nd6 28. Bxh7 Rxh7 29. Nhf3 f6 30. Ne4 Nf7 31. Rg1 Nh6 32. Rfg2 Rc8 33. Rf2 Rf7 34. Rff1 Rff8 35. Rf2 Nb6 36. c4 $6 {Trying for a win by weakening his queenside pawn structure?!} bxc3 37. Nxc3 Rcd8 38. Rfg2 Rd7 39. Rd1 $6 (39. Nd2 $142 $11) 39... Rfd8 40. Rgg1 Nd5 $17 41. Nxd5+ Rxd5 42. Rd2 R8d6 (42... f5 $1) 43. b4 (43. a5 $1) 43... cxb4 44. Rb1 Nxg4 $2 (44... f5 $1 $17) 45. Rxb4 Nh6 46. Rxb7+ $11 Rd7 47. Rdb2 (47. Rxd7+ Kxd7 48. Ra2 $11) 47... g4 48. Nh4 Rxh5 49. Ng6+ Ke8 50. Rxd7 Kxd7 51. Rb7+ Kc6 52. Rh7 Rh3 {It's equal to the engine, but obviously not for people. Black is up a pawn and enjoys two connected passers. What keeps White alive is the inconvenience of the pin; if Black can break it without paying a heavy price for it the position won't be equal at all.} 53. Nf4 $2 {Trying to force the issue.} (53. d4 $11) 53... Rf3 $1 $19 {Black returns the extra pawn, but it's the relatively unimportant e-pawn. He keeps his connected passers, and the coordination between his rook, knight, and g-pawn is great for that pawn and bad for White's king.} 54. Nxe6 Nf5 55. Nd8+ Kd6 56. a5 Nd4+ 57. Ke1 g3 58. Rg7 Nf5 59. Rg8 Rxd3 60. a6 Ra3 61. Rg6 Ra1+ 62. Ke2 Kd5 63. a7 Ra2+ 64. Kd3 Rxa7 65. Rxf6 Ke5 66. Re6+ Kf4 67. Re8 g2 68. Ne6+ Kf3 69. Rg8 Rd7+ 70. Kc3 Ng7 $1 71. Ng5+ Kg4 72. Ne4 Rc7+ {Great technique by So, who took advantage of Swiercz's impatient play.} 0-1 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.4"] [White "Oparin, Grigoriy"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A18"] [WhiteElo "2661"] [BlackElo "2722"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "86"] [GameId "2236285958372937"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,86,13,18,18,3,17,6,-52,4,20,10,31,-96,39,13,63,49,30,51,65,56,69,58,60,86,49,55,63,65,50,49,54,67,65,56,70,92,74,58,55,56,64,93,49,46,39,7,-56,10,2,0,9,6,-153,8,10,10,11,-105,9,1,32,27,58,37,50,16,-38,-17,-21,-26,-9,-38,1,-48,137,-15,66,2,-10,-20,-23,-47,-17,-45,-43,-50,19]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 d5 {A very solid line. That's fine for a situation where a draw is desirable, but a point behind Caruana with two rounds to go this is unlikely to succeed unless one has the grinding ability of a Magnus Carlsen.} 4. cxd5 exd5 5. e5 d4 6. exf6 dxc3 7. Bb5+ Nc6 8. Qe2+ Be6 9. dxc3 Qxf6 10. Nf3 Bd6 11. Nd4 O-O 12. Nxe6 Rfe8 13. Bc4 Na5 14. Bg5 Qg6 15. Bd3 Qxe6 16. Qxe6 Rxe6+ 17. Kd2 h6 18. Be3 Nc6 19. Rae1 Ne5 20. Be2 Rd8 21. Kc2 Rg6 22. g3 Ng4 23. Bc4 Nxe3+ 24. Rxe3 Rf6 25. f4 Kf8 26. a4 Re8 27. Rxe8+ Kxe8 28. Re1+ Kf8 29. a5 g5 30. fxg5 Rf2+ 31. Re2 Rxe2+ 32. Bxe2 hxg5 33. Bf3 b6 34. a6 f5 35. Kd3 g4 36. Bb7 Ke7 37. Bc8 f4 38. gxf4 Bxf4 39. Bxg4 Bxh2 40. Bh3 Bg3 41. Bg4 Bh2 42. Bh3 Bg3 43. Bg4 Bh2 {An easy draw for Aronian, but thanks to Caruana's win he's now out of the race for first.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.5"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Mishra, Abhimanyu"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B91"] [WhiteElo "2789"] [BlackElo "2652"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "185"] [GameId "2236285958372938"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 {One of the least interesting and least dangerous options against the Najdorf - and that's probably the point. Caruana wants a long game where his superior ability will have the chance to grind out a win, not a sharp position where good computer prep or a few accurate calculations can kill the game.} e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg2 (8. Bg5 {is the alternative.}) 8... O-O 9. O-O b5 10. a4 b4 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. Qxd5 Ra7 13. Be3 Be6 14. Qd3 Ra8 (14... Rb7 {is also standard.}) 15. f4 a5 16. Nd2 $146 Nc6 17. Nc4 Nd4 $1 $15 18. Bxd4 exd4 19. Nd2 Rc8 20. Rf2 Bf6 21. Bf1 Qb6 (21... Re8 $17) 22. Kg2 Rc7 (22... g5 $5 $15) 23. Nb3 Bxb3 $2 {This keeps the a- and d-pawns safe but turns White's bishop into a monster.} (23... Bd7 $15) 24. cxb3 $5 Rfc8 25. Qd1 Qb7 26. Bd3 $14 (26. Qf3 {is hasty.} Rc1 $11) 26... g6 27. h4 Kg7 28. Kh2 Rc5 29. Qf3 Kh8 ({Now} 29... Rc1 $4 {is impossible:} 30. Rxc1 Rxc1 31. e5 Qxf3 32. exf6+ $18) 30. Bc4 Re8 31. Re1 Re7 32. Rfe2 Qd7 33. Kg2 Kg7 34. Bd3 h5 35. Kh2 Qg4 36. Qf1 Kh7 37. Rf2 Qd7 38. Bb5 Qg4 39. Bc4 Kh8 40. Bd3 Kg8 {The time control has been made, and now Caruana has some more time to come up with as many ways to probe Black's position as possible.} 41. Bc4 Kh8 42. Rfe2 Kg7 43. Qf2 Qd7 44. Rf1 Qg4 45. Ree1 Qd7 46. Qf3 Qg4 {Keeping queens on hasn't led to anything, so Caruana swaps them and moves on to the next set of ideas.} 47. Qxg4 hxg4 48. Bd3 Rec7 49. Kg2 Kf8 50. Kf2 Bg7 51. Ke2 Bf6 52. Kd2 Re7 53. Re2 Bg7 54. Rfe1 Bf6 55. Bc4 Kg7 56. Kd3 Kh6 57. Rf1 Bg7 58. Rfe1 Bh8 59. Kd2 Bg7 60. Bd3 Rec7 61. Rf1 Kh7 62. Bc4 Re7 63. Kd3 Kh6 64. Ree1 Bf6 65. Rc1 Rec7 66. Rc2 Kg7 67. Rfc1 Kf8 $2 {It looks like absolutely nothing has happened for more than 40 moves, and in a sense that's true. But it doesn't mean that the position is one where nothing *can* happen. White has lots of possible ways to make progress: grabbing the g-pawn, going for a break with e5 (especially with the rooks on the f-file) or f5, moving the bishop to swap rooks and penetrate with the king, etc, breaking with h5, etc. Black must be ready to react to all of these and to be able to switch from defending against one idea to another as quickly as possible, to keep pace with White's switches. And all of this must be done without falling too low on the clock, or having one's vigilance dulled. That's not easy, and the first crack in Mishra's defense finally appears.} (67... Kh6 68. Ba6 Rxc2 69. Rxc2 Rxc2 70. Kxc2 Bxh4 $1 {is a necessary resource, without which Black loses.} 71. gxh4 Kh5 72. e5 dxe5 73. fxe5 Kxh4 74. Bf1 Kg3 75. Bc4 Kf4 76. Bxf7 Kxe5 77. Be8 $1 Ke4 78. Kd2 $11 {It's a close call, but Black survives.}) 68. Kd2 $2 $16 (68. Ba6 $1 {wins.} Bd8 69. Rxc5 dxc5 (69... Rxc5 70. Rxc5 dxc5 71. Bc8 $18) 70. Rh1 Kg7 71. Kc4 Be7 72. e5 Kh6 73. Kd5 Bd8 (73... Rd7+ 74. Kc6 $18) 74. Bd3 Be7 75. Rf1 $18 {and White is ready to break in with f5.}) 68... Ke7 69. Be2 d3 $1 {Black needs the activity for his bishop.} 70. Rxc5 dxc5 71. Bxd3 Bxb2 (71... Bd4 {goes after the important pawn on g3.} 72. Ke2 Rc8 $1 $16 {Now White isn't in time with Rh1 and h5, so the game goes on. White's extra pawn matters, but it isn't yet decisive.}) 72. Rh1 $1 {Black has new problems to solve.} Bd4 $2 (72... Bc3+ $1 73. Ke2 f5 $1 74. exf5 gxf5 75. Bxf5 c4 $1 76. Rb1 Bh8 $1 $14 {somehow seems to hold for Black.}) 73. Ke2 $2 (73. h5 $1 $18 {This is more important than preventing ...Bf2.} gxh5 74. Rxh5 Bf2 75. Rg5 Bxg3 76. Rxg4 Bf2 77. Bc4 Bd4 78. e5 $18 {Material is still equal, but White can make easy progress with the king going to e4, the rook attacking f7 from f5 or the 7th rank, etc. Black has no activity and no targets, and his bishop is locked out unless he plays ...f6 - and that creates a new batch of problems.}) 73... Rc8 $1 $11 74. e5 (74. h5 gxh5 75. Rxh5 Rh8 76. Rxh8 Bxh8 77. e5 f6 78. exf6+ Kxf6 $11 {White will win the g-pawn (e.g. with Ba6-c8xg4), but it won't matter.}) 74... Rh8 $1 75. Rd1 f6 (75... f5 $11) 76. Bxg6 fxe5 77. fxe5 Bxe5 78. h5 Kf6 $6 {This makes things worse, allowing White's rook in without getting anything in return.} (78... Rd8 $11) (78... c4 $1 $11) 79. Rf1+ Kg7 80. Rf5 Bxg3 81. Rxc5 {The position is still drawn, but it's still not easy as he must worry about both White's h-pawn and his queenside weaknesses.} Rf8 82. Rxa5 Rf2+ 83. Kd3 Rf3+ 84. Kc4 Rf4+ $2 ({The paradoxical} 84... Rc3+ $3 {is the best answer, meeting} 85. Kxb4 {with} Be1 {to set up a nasty battery.} 86. Ra6 (86. Ra7+ $4 Rc7+ $1 $19) 86... Rh3+ 87. Kc4 g3 88. Re6 Bf2 {White has three pawns, but Black's single pawn is more dangerous.} 89. Be8 Kf8 90. Bc6 Rh4+ 91. Kb5 Rxh5+ {and Black should hold.}) 85. Kd5 $16 Bf2 $2 (85... Kh6 $1 86. Ra6 Kg5 $1 {probably gives Black enough counterplay to draw.}) 86. Ra6 $1 $18 g3 87. Be4 Rh4 88. Rg6+ Kh7 $2 {This makes it easy, but Black was lost in any case.} (88... Kf7 89. Bf3 $18) 89. Rg4+ Kh6 90. Rxh4 g2 91. Bxg2 Bxh4 92. Bf3 {Black's king is stuck guarding the h-pawn, so White's king will go to the queenside to escort the a-pawn up the board. Black will give up the bishop for it, and then White wins and queens the b-pawn.} Bd8 93. Kc5 {Glorious grinding! Caruana is winning Magnus Carlsen-like games, which isn't surprising: if we don't learn from Carlsen's games, what are we doing - especially if we're usually the #2 or #3 player in the world?} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.6"] [White "Woodward, Andy"] [Black "Shankland, Sam"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A43"] [WhiteElo "2590"] [BlackElo "2654"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "2004887"] [PlyCount "120"] [GameId "2236285958372939"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,120,15,22,17,18,30,43,37,16,16,9,16,18,18,16,34,20,22,11,9,-30,32,1,-4,0,81,108,95,108,119,156,99,105,88,98,100,87,156,157,168,158,188,134,190,166,157,136,106,110,129,151,175,171,186,164,68,152,155,138,63,111,161,122,187,253,200,169,60,147,144,142,139,163,150,1,92,75,149,38,50,59,49,44,50,1,44,44,43,51,53,25,153,84,93,1,75,-1,41,52,65,44,50,64,47,34,24,88,22,36,18,3,19,2,3,1,17,0,1,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. d5 b5 4. Bg5 g6 5. Bxf6 exf6 6. e4 b4 7. Nbd2 Bg7 8. Nc4 O-O 9. Bd3 d6 10. Nfd2 f5 11. exf5 Bb7 12. Be4 gxf5 13. Bxf5 Nd7 14. O-O Nf6 15. Ne3 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Bxh7+ Kxh7 18. Qh5+ Bh6 19. Qxd5 Qg5 20. Qxg5 Bxg5 21. Ne4 Bf4 22. Rad1 Rad8 23. Rd5 f5 24. Nd2 Rfe8 25. Rd1 Re2 26. Kf1 Rxd2 27. R1xd2 Bxd2 28. Rxd2 Kg6 29. f4 d5 30. h3 Rd6 31. b3 Ra6 32. Rxd5 c4 33. Rd4 c3 34. Ke2 Rxa2 35. Kd3 a5 36. Rd6+ Kg7 37. Rd5 Kg6 {White is winning, but Black's queenside pawns aren't yet completely harmless.} 38. g4 $4 (38. Rd6+ Kg7 39. Ra6 {keeps the queenside under control, and then g4 will lead to an easy win. Shankland might even resign here or on the next move, once the time control has been made.}) 38... a4 $1 39. Rxf5 ({After} 39. bxa4 b3 40. cxb3 (40. Kxc3 bxc2 41. Kd2 fxg4 42. hxg4 Rxa4 43. Rf5 Rc4 $11) 40... Rd2+ {White is a little lucky that the pawns vs. rook ending after} 41. Kxc3 Rxd5 {is a draw.} 42. b4 Rd1 43. a5 Rh1 44. Kc4 Rxh3 45. gxf5+ Kxf5 46. a6 Ra3 47. Kb5 Kxf4 48. Kb6 Ke5 49. a7 Kd6 50. Kb7 Kd5 51. b5 Kc5 52. b6 Kb5 53. a8=Q Rxa8 54. Kxa8 Kxb6 $11) 39... axb3 40. cxb3 Rd2+ $1 41. Ke4 (41. Ke3 Rb2 $11) 41... Re2+ $1 (41... Rb2 $2 42. h4 Rxb3 43. h5+ Kh6 44. Rf6+ Kh7 45. Rf7+ Kg8 46. Rc7 $8 Rb1 47. g5 b3 48. Rc8+ $1 Kf7 49. g6+ Ke7 50. g7 $18) 42. Kd3 Rd2+ $1 43. Ke3 Rb2 $1 44. h4 Rxb3 45. h5+ Kg7 46. Rc5 c2+ 47. Kd2 $8 Rf3 48. Rc7+ Kh6 49. Rc6+ Kh7 50. Kxc2 Rxf4 51. g5 Rh4 52. Rc7+ Kh8 53. Rc8+ Kh7 54. Rc7+ Kh8 55. h6 Rg4 56. Rc5 Rg3 57. Rb5 b3+ 58. Rxb3 (58. Kb2 Kh7 $11) 58... Rxg5 59. Rb2 Rg2+ 60. Kb1 Rxb2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Yu, Jennifer"] [Black "Pourkashiyan, Atousa"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2256"] [BlackElo "2291"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "113"] [GameId "2236285972934291"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. Bd3 Ne7 9. Qc2 b6 10. O-O-O Ba6 11. f3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Nd7 13. e4 O-O 14. Nge2 Rfd8 15. e5 Qg6 16. g4 Qxd3 17. Rxd3 c5 18. f4 Rac8 19. Re1 cxd4 20. Rxd4 Nc6 21. Rxd5 Nb4 22. Rd6 Nxa2+ 23. Kb1 Nxc3+ 24. Nxc3 Nc5 25. Red1 Rxd6 26. Rxd6 Kf8 27. Nb5 a6 28. Na3 b5 29. b4 Ne6 30. f5 Nf4 31. f6 Ng6 32. fxg7+ Kxg7 33. e6 fxe6 34. Rxe6 Ra8 35. Kb2 a5 36. bxa5 Rxa5 37. h3 Nf4 38. Re3 Ra7 39. Rf3 Ne6 40. Rf5 b4 41. Nc2 Rf7 42. Rxf7+ Kxf7 43. Nxb4 Ng5 44. Kc3 Nxh3 45. Kd4 Nf2 46. Ke3 Nxg4+ 47. Kf4 Nf6 48. Kg5 Kg7 49. Nd3 Ne4+ 50. Kh5 h6 51. Nf4 Nf6+ 52. Kh4 Kf7 53. Nh5 Nd5 54. Kg4 Nf6+ 55. Nxf6 Kxf6 56. Kh5 Ke6 57. Kxh6 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.2"] [White "Krush, Irina"] [Black "Abrahamyan, Tatev"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E91"] [WhiteElo "2388"] [BlackElo "2406"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "65"] [GameId "2236285972958868"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Be2 Na6 {It's unusual to see this move played so early, but as Stockfish likes it it's not surprising that it has caught a bit of attention lately, even from Firouzja and Carlsen.} 6. Nf3 (6. Be3 e5 7. dxe5 dxe5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. O-O-O+ Ke8 10. c5 c6 11. Bxa6 bxa6 12. Rd6 Bd7 13. h3 Ke7 14. Nf3 Ne8 15. Rhd1 Nxd6 16. cxd6+ Ke8 17. Na4 f6 18. Nd2 Kf7 19. Nc5 Be6 20. Nxe6 Kxe6 21. Nb3 Rhb8 22. Nc5+ Kf7 23. Nxa6 Rd8 24. Nc7 Rac8 25. Bxa7 Bf8 26. Bc5 Rd7 27. b4 Rcd8 28. a4 Bxd6 29. Bxd6 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 Rxd6 31. a5 Rd7 32. Na6 Ke7 33. Kc2 Rd4 34. f3 Kd6 35. Kc3 Rd1 36. Nc5 Rc1+ 37. Kb3 Kc7 38. Ne6+ Kb7 39. Nf8 Rg1 40. Nxh7 f5 41. g4 Rg3 42. Ng5 fxe4 43. Nxe4 Rxf3+ 44. Kc4 Rxh3 45. Nc5+ Kc7 46. a6 Rh1 {0-1 Lupulescu,C (2584)-Carlsen,M (2835) Zagreb SuperUnited Rapid 2023 (9)}) 6... O-O 7. Be3 (7. O-O e5 8. Be3 Qe7 9. Nd5 Nxd5 10. cxd5 exd4 11. Bxd4 Nc5 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. Qd4+ f6 14. b4 Nd7 15. Rac1 Ne5 16. Nd2 g5 17. Rc3 c6 18. Rfc1 Bd7 19. Nf1 a5 20. a3 axb4 21. Qxb4 c5 22. Qb1 f5 23. exf5 Bxf5 24. Qb2 Rf7 25. Ng3 Bg6 26. Bh5 Ra4 27. Bxg6 hxg6 28. Re3 Rd4 29. Rce1 Qf6 30. Qe2 Rxd5 31. Ne4 Qf4 32. Nxd6 Ng4 33. g3 Qxd6 34. Qxg4 Rdf5 35. Rf1 b5 36. a4 b4 37. Qc4 Qd5 38. Re4 Qxc4 39. Rxc4 Ra7 40. Ra1 Ra5 41. Kf1 Kf6 42. Ke2 Ke6 43. Re4+ Kd5 44. f3 Re5 45. Kd3 Rf5 46. Ke3 Rf6 47. h4 gxh4 48. gxh4 Kc6 49. f4 Rd6 50. Rc4 Re6+ 51. Kd3 Ra8 52. Rg1 Rd8+ 53. Kc2 Re2+ 54. Kb1 Rdd2 55. Rg5 Rd1+ 56. Rc1 Rxc1+ 57. Kxc1 c4 58. Rxg6+ Kc5 59. h5 b3 60. h6 c3 61. Rg1 Ra2 62. Kb1 c2+ {0-1 Sarana,A (2699)-Firouzja,A (2760) Titled Tuesday intern op 05th Mar Early Chess.com INT blitz 2024 (11)}) 7... e5 {Back to mainstream theory.} 8. d5 Ng4 9. Bg5 f6 10. Bh4 g5 (10... Nh6) 11. Bg3 Nh6 12. Nd2 f5 13. exf5 Nxf5 14. O-O {A novelty, but one that transposes to other games.} (14. Nde4 {is the only move that had been played in prior games, some of which featured GMs, but Krush is following Stockfish's main line.}) 14... Nd4 15. a3 $146 {Stockfish again. Good prep. The point is of course to play b4 and shut the a6-knight out of the game.} (15. Nde4 {(again) is the known move.}) 15... Bf5 16. Nde4 $14 {At last! And...it again transposes to an earlier game.} Nxe2+ $6 $146 {The final novelty of the game.} (16... Qe8 17. b4 Nxe2+ 18. Qxe2 Qg6 19. c5 Rf7 20. f3 Raf8 21. c6 g4 22. cxb7 Nb8 23. fxg4 Bxg4 24. Qc4 Bh6 25. Rxf7 Rxf7 26. Re1 Bf4 27. Nb5 Bf5 28. Nxa7 Bxg3 29. Nxg3 Bd3 30. Qh4 Rf8 31. Nc6 Qf7 32. Qg4+ Kh8 33. Qf3 Qxf3 34. gxf3 Ba6 35. Na5 Rxf3 36. Rc1 Rf7 37. a4 Bd3 38. Nc6 Nd7 39. b8=Q+ Nxb8 40. Nxb8 e4 41. Nc6 e3 42. Re1 Bc4 43. Rxe3 Bxd5 44. Re7 Rf3 45. Rxc7 Ra3 46. a5 Ra2 47. Nf5 {1-0 Candela Perez,J (2393)-Moreno Ruiz,J (2492) Madrid-chT 1213 Honor 2012 (7.21)}) (16... c6 $1 $146 {?}) 17. Qxe2 $16 g4 $6 (17... Qe8 {followed by ...Qg6 was better.}) 18. f3 $18 {The kingside will open up, and it will be entirely in White's favor. Black's knight on a6 is completely out of play and the bishop on g7 is passive, so there's no reason to expect good things from Black's position.} h5 19. b4 $1 h4 20. Be1 gxf3 21. Rxf3 h3 22. Bd2 Qh4 23. Rg3 Rf7 24. Ng5 Qd4+ 25. Kh1 Rf6 26. Rg1 $1 {A funny move, "pre-doubling" on the g-file, and strong. Black's pieces look active, but they don't coordinate in any defensively useful way.} Qh4 27. Ne6 Rg6 28. Rxg6 Bxg6 29. gxh3 Qf6 30. h4 {Winning a piece.} ({The more immediately forcing} 30. Qg4 Kh7 31. Ne4 {also does the trick and wins a piece, as} Qf5 {saves the queen and the bishop on g6 at the cost of the g7-bishop:} 32. Qxf5 Bxf5 33. Rxg7+ $18) 30... Kh8 31. Nxg7 Rg8 (31... Qxg7 32. h5) 32. Ne6 Qf7 33. Qe3 {A very smooth win for White. Krush has finished the event very strongly - but is it too late?} 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.3"] [White "Yip, Carissa"] [Black "Paikidze, Nazi"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2452"] [BlackElo "2297"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "73"] [GameId "2236285972958869"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,73,15,23,24,46,29,25,24,16,27,11,21,16,23,28,31,30,52,54,58,33,51,51,94,25,9,-3,0,28,14,35,35,16,81,-33,112,74,89,61,68,99,70,90,83,163,85,193,144,195,103,99,155,179,114,85,84,66,141,180,223,83,154,154,552,605,730,798,915,965,1062,1231,1219,1221,1290,783] Yip entered the round in a three-way tie for first, and had the game finished in a draw it would have been a four-way tie for first. Instead, thanks to this win, she's the sole leader heading into the final round.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O h6 (6... c5 {is a good but very sharp alternative, allowing White to blow open the center with} 7. c4) 7. Nbd2 Nd7 8. c3 {An important secondary line.} (8. Nb3 {is usual.}) 8... g5 {It's risky, obviously, but it's one of Black's reasonably well-known options. (Excepting David Anton, it doesn't look like the strongest Caro-Kann players are using it any more.)} (8... Bh7) (8... a5) (8... Qc7) 9. Re1 Qc7 (9... Bg6 {seems to be the move of choice.} 10. Nf1 c5 {and so on. Here are two of Anton's games from the last couple of years, against the same opponent.} 11. h3 (11. Ng3 Nc6 12. Bd3 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 g4 14. Nd2 Qb6 15. c4 O-O-O 16. cxd5 exd5 17. Nf5 Nb4 18. Qc3 Qg6 19. Ne3 Nxe5 20. dxc5 Nbd3 21. Nb3 Bg7 22. Qa5 Nxe1 23. Qxe1 d4 24. Nf1 Rhe8 25. Qa5 Nc6 26. Qd2 h5 27. Na5 Bh6 28. Qxh6 Qxh6 29. Bxh6 Nxa5 30. Nd2 Nc6 31. Kf1 Rd5 32. Rc1 Nb4 33. Nc4 Nd3 34. Rd1 Nxc5 35. Bf4 Re6 36. Ne3 Rd7 37. Nf5 Rf6 38. Ne7+ Rxe7 39. Bg5 Rxf2+ 40. Kxf2 Ne4+ {0-1 Volokitin,A (2569)-Anton Guijarro,D (2635) Wch Rapid New York 2024 (13)}) 11... Nc6 12. Bd3 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Be7 14. Bd2 Qb6 15. Ng3 Qxb2 16. Reb1 c4 17. Qe2 Qc2 18. Rxb7 Nb6 19. Rc7 Qa4 20. Nh5 Kd8 21. Rxe7 Nxe7 22. Ne1 Kc7 23. Qf3 Raf8 24. g4 Nd7 25. Qe2 Ng6 26. Be3 Rb8 27. Bc1 Rb7 28. Nc2 Rhb8 29. Ba3 Rb1+ 30. Rxb1 Rxb1+ 31. Kh2 a5 32. Qd2 Nh4 33. Qe2 Kc6 34. f4 Ng6 35. fxg5 hxg5 36. Qf2 Rd1 37. Ne3 Rd3 38. Qxf7 Rxe3 39. Qxe6+ Kb7 40. Qxg6 Qd1 41. Nf4 gxf4 {0-1 Volokitin,A (2643)-Anton Guijarro,D (2668) Chessable Masters Play In Chess.com INT blitz 2025 (2)}) 10. a4 (10. Nf1 {is usual, though a4 often ensues a little later, after Ng3.}) 10... Bg7 $6 $146 (10... c5 11. Nb3 c4 12. Nbd2 Nc6 13. b3 cxb3 14. Nxb3 O-O-O $14 {isn't so bad for Black even if castling in the face of the b-file is a bit scary, and indeed the one game that reached this position soon ended in a draw.} 15. Ba3 Bxa3 16. Rxa3 Kb8 17. a5 a6 18. Ra2 Ka7 19. Nfd2 Rc8 20. Rb2 f6 21. exf6 Rhf8 22. h3 Rxf6 23. c4 Rff8 24. Bf3 Nb4 25. Nc1 Nc6 26. Ncb3 Nb4 {½-½ Praznik,N (2451)-Filin,E (2410) W-Cup21 final email ICCF email 2019}) 11. Nf1 $16 c5 12. dxc5 $2 (12. Ng3 Bg6 13. b4 $1 $16) 12... Nxe5 (12... Nxc5 {is also about equal.}) 13. Nd4 (13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Bb5+ Kf8 $1 15. Be3 $11 {/?}) 13... O-O 14. Ng3 Bg6 15. Nh5 Bxh5 16. Bxh5 Nd7 $6 (16... N5g6 $1 17. b4 a6 $11) 17. h4 $1 $14 g4 $2 (17... gxh4 18. Qg4 Nf6 19. Qxh4 Ne4 $1 20. Qg4 Kh8 $14 {is still tenable for Black.}) 18. Bxg4 $6 (18. Qxg4 Nf6 19. Bf4 $1 $18 {is the reason to recapture on g4 with the queen.}) 18... Nxc5 $14 {/?} 19. Be3 Ng6 (19... Ne4 $142) 20. h5 Ne7 (20... Ne5 $142) 21. Nb5 (21. Bf3 $142) 21... Qc6 22. Bd4 f5 (22... Bxd4 23. Nxd4 Qd6 {is better, hoping to expand in the center with ...f5 and/or ...e5.}) 23. Bf3 Ne4 $6 (23... a6) 24. Bxg7 (24. Nxa7 $1 $18) 24... Kxg7 25. Qd4+ Rf6 26. Nxa7 Qd7 27. Nb5 $2 (27. Bxe4 $1 $18) 27... Nc6 $14 28. Qb6 Rc8 $2 (28... Ne5 $14) (28... Rg8 $14) 29. Rad1 $16 {/+-} Qe7 (29... Kh8 $142 30. c4 Ng5) 30. Be2 $2 (30. Qe3 $142) 30... e5 $2 {Time trouble? Paikidze sets up a trap, but she's the one who falls into it.} (30... Kh8 $1 $11 {followed by ...Qg7 and/or ...Rg8 gives Black a relatively safe king and genuine counterplay against White's king.}) 31. Rxd5 Nd4 $4 {It's hard to say if this was the point of 30...e5, as White is winning even after something like 32.Qa7. But there's a simple and crushing refutation available instead:} 32. Nxd4 $1 {Just like that, the game is over. Paikidze's chances of winning the title are gone (had she won, she would have been in the four-way tie for first entering the last round) and Yip takes sole possession of first.} Qf7 (32... Rxb6 33. Nxf5+ Kf8 34. Nxe7 Kxe7 35. Rxe5+ {will leave White with a colossal material advantage. She's already up a bishop and four pawns, and the knight is dropping too unless Black prefers to lose a rook:} Re6 36. Rxe6+ Kxe6 37. Bg4+ $18) 33. Qb5 Nd6 34. Rxd6 Rxd6 35. Qxe5+ Rf6 36. Nxf5+ Kh7 37. Nd6 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.4"] [White "Atwell, Rose"] [Black "Lee, Alice"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2353"] [BlackElo "2409"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "121"] [GameId "2236285972958870"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,121,18,27,27,0,25,6,15,9,9,20,19,9,23,24,26,27,18,28,28,19,4,8,31,22,28,20,-65,1,-1,0,44,16,29,59,61,84,61,27,59,171,127,185,60,39,70,236,107,73,64,26,42,32,66,47,53,75,46,17,21,43,25,21,-21,30,1,38,81,-46,-69,-53,-16,-37,52,-60,-69,1,-94,-132,-75,-123,-6,-114,1,-122,-67,-50,-50,-16,-26,-52,-48,-49,65,23,40,218,118,0,87,110,159,161,56,55,84,67,63,31,80,27,42,1,43,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0] Both sides had their chances in this game, first Atwell and then Lee, before it came to a peaceful conclusion.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. h3 Bb6 7. a4 a6 8. b4 Ne7 9. a5 Ba7 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. fxe3 Ng6 12. O-O c6 13. Nbd2 O-O 14. Ba2 d5 15. Qc2 Kh8 16. exd5 Nxd5 17. Nc4 Qe7 18. e4 Ndf4 19. Kh2 f6 20. Nb6 Rb8 21. Nxc8 Rbxc8 22. Bc4 Rcd8 23. g3 Ne6 24. h4 Qd7 25. Qg2 Nc7 26. h5 Ne7 27. Qh3 Qxh3+ 28. Kxh3 g6 29. h6 Ng8 30. Bxg8 Kxg8 31. d4 exd4 32. cxd4 Nb5 33. Rad1 Rfe8 34. d5 cxd5 35. Rxd5 Rxd5 36. exd5 Rd8 37. Nh2 Kf7 38. Ng4 f5 39. Ne3 Kf6 40. g4 Re8 41. Ng2 Re4 42. gxf5 g5 43. Re1 Rxe1 44. Nxe1 Kxf5 45. Nd3 Nd6 46. Nc5 Kg6 47. b5 Nxb5 48. Nxb7 Kf5 49. Nc5 Ke5 50. Nxa6 Kxd5 51. Kg4 Nd6 52. Nb4+ Kc5 53. Nd3+ Kb5 54. Ne5 Nc8 55. Ng6 Nd6 56. Nh8 Nc8 57. Kxg5 Ne7 58. Kf6 Ng8+ 59. Kg7 Nxh6 60. Kxh6 Kxa5 61. Kxh7 1/2-1/2 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.5"] [White "Sargsyan, Anna M."] [Black "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2369"] [BlackElo "2310"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "101"] [GameId "2236285972958871"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,101,18,18,15,24,16,18,18,16,11,13,7,6,13,4,28,-1,22,26,31,33,45,43,38,38,35,34,32,55,49,48,-27,49,45,38,-4,4,4,22,11,11,10,15,15,8,52,18,52,84,41,66,49,56,57,43,46,44,86,-166,46,41,38,-18,25,43,34,40,28,36,30,62,7,-1,33,-37,67,74,68,28,194,156,132,191,195,289,163,152,168,102,776,692,806,713,802,846,852,454,667,687,732,714,29999,29999] Sargsyan's outstanding tournament continues, while Zatonskih received no further "reward" from her fellow competitors for defeating Alice Lee yesterday.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. Nf3 Nh5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. O-O Nhf6 12. Rb1 a5 13. a3 O-O 14. Qc2 Nb6 15. Ne5 Ng4 16. Nf3 Be6 17. b4 axb4 18. axb4 Nf6 19. b5 c5 20. dxc5 Qxc5 21. Rfc1 Rfc8 22. Qd2 Qd6 23. h3 Rc7 24. Ne2 Rac8 25. Rxc7 Rxc7 26. Nf4 Bd7 27. Nd4 Qc5 28. Qe2 Qa3 {So far, everything has been very "professional": Black has been solid while White has enjoyed a small but enduring edge based on her control over d4 - typical IQP chess. But now things get out of control.} 29. Rb3 $4 {Scratch what I said above about "no further 'reward'": Zatonskih has been given a one-move opportunity to achieve a winning advantage.} Qd6 $4 (29... Rc1+ $1 30. Kh2 Qa1 $19 {Black will play ...Rh1+ and ...g5, imperiling both White's king and the stranded knight on f4. Black is winning here.}) 30. Rb1 $14 {Back for now to business as usual.} Qa3 31. Qd1 Rc8 32. Bf5 Qd6 33. Qf3 Rc7 34. g4 $5 Bxf5 35. Nxf5 Qe5 $11 36. Rd1 Rc2 (36... Ne4 $142) 37. Nd3 $14 Qc3 $2 (37... Qe4 $1 {allows} 38. Nxh6+ {, but this turns out to be no big deal:} Kf8 39. Qxe4 Nxe4 40. Nf5 g6 41. Nd4 Ra2 $44 {and Black's activity suffices for the pawn, especially with ...Nc4 on tap.}) 38. Kg2 $2 (38. Qf4 $1 $18 {is very strong as White's queen has several great options from here: go to d6, to b8, or play g4-g5 and land the queen there after the pawns are traded.}) 38... Kh7 (38... Nc4 $1 $11) 39. Nd4 $14 Rd2 $2 {Losing.} (39... Ra2 $8 $14) 40. Rxd2 Qxd2 41. Ne5 $18 Kg8 42. Nf5 Nbd7 43. Nxd7 Nxd7 44. Qf4 $1 {As noted above. Here too the queen is looking to penetrate via the queenside, and Black has no good defense. Note that Nd6 is also a potential threat.} Nc5 $2 45. Ne7+ (45. Qb8+ Kh7 46. Ne7 {is simpler.}) 45... Kf8 46. Ng6+ Ke8 (46... Kg8 47. Qb8+ Kh7 48. Ne7 {transposes to the last note.}) 47. Qb8+ Kd7 48. Ne5+ ({Or} 48. Nf8+ $1 Ke7 49. Qc7+ Kf6 (49... Kxf8 50. Qd8#) 50. Qxc5 $18) 48... Ke7 (48... Ke6 $142) 49. Qc7+ $1 Ke6 50. Qxc5 Kxe5 51. Qe7# 1-0 [Event "ch-USA w 2025"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2025.10.23"] [Round "10.6"] [White "Paragua, Megan Althea"] [Black "Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2259"] [BlackElo "2311"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "165"] [GameId "2236285972962968"] [EventDate "2025.10.12"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Re1 e5 6. c3 Nge7 7. Na3 O-O 8. Nc4 d6 9. Ne3 a6 10. Bf1 b5 11. a4 Rb8 12. axb5 axb5 13. Nc2 f5 14. exf5 gxf5 15. d4 e4 16. Ng5 cxd4 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. cxd4 h6 19. Nh3 Nd5 20. Nf4 Nxf4 21. Bxf4 Be6 22. Qd2 Rf6 23. d5 Bf7 24. Ra7 Bh5 25. Rc1 Rg6 26. Rc6 Ra8 27. Rxa8 Qxa8 28. Rxd6 Rxd6 29. Bxd6 Bf7 30. Bf4 Qxd5 31. Qxd5 Bxd5 32. Bxb5 Bxb2 33. Bd7 Kg7 34. Bxf5 Bc3 35. Be3 Be5 36. h3 Bc3 37. Bf4 Bc6 38. Kh2 Bd4 39. Kg3 Kf6 40. Bg4 Kg6 41. h4 h5 42. Bc8 Bc5 43. Be3 Bd6+ 44. Kh3 Bb5 45. Bd4 Bc7 46. g3 Be2 47. Kg2 Bf3+ 48. Kf1 Ba5 49. Bh3 Bb4 50. Kg1 Ba5 51. Bf1 Bb4 52. Bb5 Bd6 53. Be8+ Kf5 54. Kh2 Bc7 55. Ba7 Bd6 56. Bb5 Kg6 57. Kg1 Kf5 58. Kf1 Bb4 59. Bd4 Ba5 60. Kg1 Bc7 61. Bf1 Bd6 62. Kh2 Kg6 63. Be3 Kf5 64. Bh3+ Bg4 65. Bf1 Bf3 66. Ba6 Kg6 67. Bb5 Kf5 68. Ba4 Kg6 69. Bc2 Kf5 70. Bb1 Bc7 71. Bg5 Bb6 72. Kg1 Bc5 73. Ba2 Bb6 74. Bg8 Kg6 75. Bd5 Kf5 76. Bc6 Bc5 77. Kf1 Bb4 78. Bd8 Bc3 79. Bd7+ Kg6 80. Be8+ Kf5 81. Bc6 Bb4 82. g4+ Bxg4 83. Bg5 1/2-1/2