[Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.12"] [Round "12"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [BlackElo "2792"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e5 3. Bg2 c6 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 d5 6. cxd5 Qxd5 7. e3 ({Earlier in the tournament, Firouzja survived a scare versus Mamedyarov after} 7. Nc2 Qh5 8. h3 Qg6 9. Nc3 Bc5 10. b4 Bb6 11. Bb2 O-O 12. Ne3 Re8 13. Qc2 Nbd7 14. Rd1 a5 15. b5 Bd4 16. Rb1 c5 17. h4 h5 18. Ncd5 Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Bxf2+ 20. Kxf2 Qf5+ 21. Ke1 Qxd5 22. Rf1 Nf8 23. Qc3 Ne6 24. Rf4 f5 25. d3 Nd4 26. e3 Qxa2 27. Ra1 Qe6 28. dxe4 {1-0 Firouzja,A (2778)-Mamedyarov,S (2757) Sinquefield Cup (St. Louis) 2022.}) 7... Na6 $2 {[%c_effect a6;square;a6;type;Mistake; persistent;true] This is a mistake, but one that Nepomniachtchi had played before $1} ({The main lines are} 7... Qe5) ({and} 7... Bc5 {.}) 8. d3 $1 ({Or} 8. Nc3 Qe5 9. O-O Be7 10. d3 exd3 11. Qxd3 O-O 12. h3 Rd8 {as played in Iturrizaga Bonelli,E (2607)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2789) Chess.com INT 2021, and now } 13. Rd1 {would have been marginally better for White.}) 8... Bb4+ 9. Nc3 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Nc5 11. c4 $6 (11. dxe4 {was better, for instance,} Ncxe4 12. O-O c5 13. Nb3 Qxd1 14. Rxd1 b6 15. Bb2 Bb7 16. c4 {and White has a comfortable advantage.}) 11... Qe5 $2 {[%c_effect e5;square;e5;type;Mistake; persistent;true]} ({Black could have kept the chances even with} 11... Qh5 12. Qxh5 Nxd3+ 13. Ke2 Nxc1+ 14. Raxc1 Nxh5 15. Bxe4 {.}) 12. dxe4 Ncxe4 13. O-O c5 14. Nb3 O-O 15. f3 Nd6 16. e4 Qe7 $4 {[%c_effect e7;square;e7;type;Blunder; persistent;true] A blunder that costs Black a piece.} ({However, after} 16... Nxc4 17. f4 Qe7 18. e5 Nd7 19. Qd5 {, White is clearly better.}) 17. e5 $1 { Boom $1 The pawn cannot be taken because of Bf4, so Nepomniachtchi tries to confuse matters for a bit, but to little avail.} Nxc4 18. exf6 Qxf6 19. Qd5 Be6 20. Qxc5 h6 21. f4 Rad8 22. f5 b6 23. Qc7 Rc8 24. Qf4 Bd7 25. Qd4 $1 { [%c_effect d4;square;d4;type;GreatFind;persistent;true] Forcing the queens off the board, killing Black's hopes for a swindle.} Qxd4+ 26. Nxd4 Rfd8 27. Bf4 Ba4 28. Nf3 Bc2 29. g4 Nb2 30. Ne5 Ba4 31. Rac1 Rxc1 32. Rxc1 f6 33. Ng6 Nd3 34. Rc7 {and Black finally resigned.} 1-0 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.12"] [Round "11"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2792"] [BlackElo "2778"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "139"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,139,16,13,30,-10,-10,-4,6,-34,10,14,-5,20,38,-2,-4,0,-10,-9,-9,0,11, -14,-7,-41,-18,0,13,10,9,-8,22,28,28,25,33,35,48,29,30,15,23,6,0,0,10,1,-6,-25, -10,-9,-3,-6,33,48,32,51,58,67,61,61,70,68,62,68,68,75,75,70,73,52,78,66,67,41, 65,65,60,65,33,53,31,52,36,33,33,36,36,33,53,14,12,-18,46,50,32,28,28,20,21,10, 10,15,15,8,1,1,1,2,2,1,1,1,2,2,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Bd5 11. Qc2 Be4 12. Qc1 Nc6 13. e3 Bb4 14. Nc3 Bxc3 15. bxc3 h6 16. Bxf6 Qxf6 17. Nd2 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Na5 19. Qb1 e5 20. Qe4 Rfe8 21. Qd5 b6 22. Qf3 Qxf3+ 23. Kxf3 Rad8 {Black has, of course, completely equalized at this point.} 24. Ra2 f5 25. Rb1 Rd6 26. Rc2 c5 $2 (26... Kf7 { would have been about equal.}) 27. d5 $3 e4+ $1 {Only move.} 28. Ke2 c4 { Another only move.} 29. Rcb2 Rxd5 30. Rxb6 Red8 31. R1b2 {White has a slight advantage in the endgame, but thanks to precise play from Firouzja, it never gets beyond that.} R8d6 32. Rxd6 Rxd6 33. Rb4 Rc6 34. h3 Kf7 35. g4 $6 ({ Logical, but} 35. f3 $5 {was a better try.}) 35... g6 36. Rb8 Kf6 37. gxf5 gxf5 38. Rf8+ Kg6 39. Rb8 Kg5 40. f3 Nb3 $3 {This forces a drawn rook ending.} 41. Nxb3 cxb3 42. Rxb3 Kh4 43. fxe4 fxe4 44. Rb4 Re6 45. c4 Kxh3 46. c5 Rc6 47. Rb6 Rxc5 48. Rxh6+ Kg4 49. Rg6+ Kf5 50. Rxa6 Rc2+ 51. Kd1 Ra2 52. a5 Kg4 53. Rf6 Rxa5 54. Rf4+ Kg5 55. Kd2 Rd5+ 56. Kc2 Rd6 57. Rxe4 Kf5 58. Rd4 Rxd4 59. exd4 Ke4 60. Kc3 Kd5 61. Kd3 Kd6 62. Kc4 Kc6 63. d5+ Kd6 64. Kd4 Kd7 65. Ke5 Ke7 66. d6+ Kd7 67. Kd5 Kd8 68. Kc6 Kc8 69. d7+ Kd8 70. Kd6 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.02"] [Round "9"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E35"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2759"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] {[%evp 0,77,14,19,27,-11,-6,13,15,0,5,-12,-12,-60,-21,-57,-16,-34,-32,2,12,15, 22,-33,11,14,54,56,56,55,55,56,58,40,10,31,31,-13,0,19,15,-13,0,10,0,-8,-13,-9, 3,-15,5,5,19,10,10,14,14,41,36,36,36,15,39,42,27,16,21,11,12,0,0,-10,-3,-4,0, -8,-4,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. dxc5 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. e3 Qa5 11. Rc1 Nc6 12. Bd3 Nxg3 13. hxg3 d4 14. exd4 Nxd4 15. Qd2 Bxc5 16. Nf3 ({A new move. Previously, White had tried} 16. Nge2 Nc6 17. a3 Bb6 18. Bb5 Be6 19. Ra1 a6 20. b4 Bxf2+ 21. Kxf2 Qb6+ 22. Qd4 Qxd4+ 23. Nxd4 axb5 24. Ncxb5 {and draw agreed, ½-½, in Sargsyan,S (2628) -Pashikian,A (2606) Yerevan 2022.}) 16... Nxf3+ 17. gxf3 Be6 18. O-O O-O-O { This move looks crazy but just works tactically, allowing Black's king to get to safety on the queenside.} 19. Qe2 ({The tempting} 19. Ne4 $4 Qxd2 20. Rxc5+ Kb8 21. Nxd2 Rxd3 {actually wins for Black $1}) 19... Kb8 20. Qe5+ Ka8 21. Nb5 Bd6 $5 22. Qe3 Rhe8 23. Nxd6 Rxd6 24. Bc4 Qb6 25. Bxe6 Qxe3 26. fxe3 Rdxe6 { The dust has settled and the chances are close to completely equal.} 27. e4 g4 28. fxg4 Rxe4 29. Rxf7 Rxg4 30. Kf2 a6 31. Rcc7 Rb4 32. b3 Re5 33. Rf4 Rb6 34. Rcc4 Ka7 35. Rc7 Ra5 36. Rc2 Re5 37. Rc7 Ra5 38. Rc2 Re5 39. Rc7 {with a draw by repetition.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.02"] [Round "9"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D27"] [WhiteElo "2771"] [BlackElo "2745"] [Annotator "cahan"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 a6 8. dxc5 Qxd1 9. Rxd1 Bxc5 10. Bd2 O-O 11. Rac1 Bd7 12. Be2 Rfd8 13. Na4 Ba7 14. Nc5 Bxc5 15. Rxc5 Ne4 16. Rcc1 Nxd2 {Here the commentators considered that So could take the draw with} 17. Nxd2 $5 {[%c_effect d2;square;d2;type; Interesting;persistent;true]} (17. Rc2 Be8 18. Rcxd2 Rxd2 19. Rxd2 Rd8 20. Rxd8 Nxd8 {after which the players would have to engineer a repetition of moves to get the draw in place. So, however, was not ready for a peace treaty just yet.} ) 17... Ne7 18. Nb3 Ba4 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. Nc5 Rc8 21. Kf1 b6 22. Nd3 Rxc1+ 23. Nxc1 a5 {The position is completely equal and the draw is now only a matter of time.} 24. Nd3 Kf8 25. Ke1 Nf5 26. Ne5 Nd6 27. Nc4 Nxc4 28. Bxc4 Ke7 29. Kd2 Bc6 30. g3 e5 31. f4 f6 32. a3 h6 33. h4 Kd6 34. b4 axb4 35. axb4 Be4 36. Bb3 Bc6 37. Bc4 Be4 38. Bb3 Bc6 39. Bc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Chess.com"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2022.09.02"] [Round "9"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Niemann, Hans Moke"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A21"] [WhiteElo "2792"] [BlackElo "2688"] [Annotator "Rafael Leitão"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2022.??.??"] [TimeControl "5400+30"] 1. c4 {The English Opening is very popular right now at top level.} e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 {Hans played this same position yesterday, with the white pieces, against Caruana.} 3. Nd5 Be7 {Caruana played the slightly less popular 3...a5.} 4. d4 exd4 (4... d6 {is considered the main move, but probably without good reason.} 5. e4 Nf6 6. Nxe7 Qxe7 7. f3 {and White has chances to achieve a better position due to the bishop pair.}) 5. Qxd4 Nf6 6. Nxe7 Qxe7 7. Bg5 Nc6 8. Qc3 d6 9. Nf3 Be6 {All this is still theory.} 10. g3 {A new move. White played 10. e3 in a high profile recent game.} (10. e3 Rg8 $5 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Qxf6 gxf6 13. g3 {and White won this endgame in Donchenko - Ter Sahakyan, Jermuk 2022.}) 10... h6 {A logical move, forcing White to take on f6 and simplifying the position.} 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Qxf6 gxf6 13. Nd2 $6 {This move is wrong. Maybe Nepomniachtchi confused his opening prepartion, since Black can achieve comfortable equality now.} (13. b3 {is the best move. After} d5 14. cxd5 Bxd5 15. Bg2 O-O-O 16. O-O-O {it remains to be seen whether white's better pawn structure is enough for any serious winning attempt, but he certainly can try.} ) 13... d5 $6 (13... Nb4 $1 {forces White to move the king and this gives Black a good game after} 14. Kd1 d5 $1 15. a3 Nc6 16. cxd5 Bxd5 17. e4 Be6 18. Bb5 Bd7) 14. Bg2 (14. cxd5 {is a good option and was suggested by Firouzja in the interview after his game.} Bxd5 15. e4 Be6 16. Bb5 O-O-O (16... Bd7 { is also playable.}) 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. Ke2 {with an unbalanced endgame where Black's activity should be enough to compensate the damaged pawn structure.}) 14... dxc4 (14... O-O-O {This move seems more logical, since Black is not really afraid of a capture on d5 and he can decide later whether to take on c4 or not.} 15. O-O-O {Now Black can decide if he captures on c4 or if he plays a move 15...Rhe8 or 15...f5. The position remains equal.} (15. cxd5 Bxd5 16. Bxd5 Rxd5 {This is an easy equality because black's pieces are very active.})) 15. Bxc6+ bxc6 16. O-O-O (16. Rc1 {leads to simplification and a possible draw after} Rb8 17. Nxc4 Bxc4 18. Rxc4 Rxb2 19. O-O Rxa2 20. Rxc6 Rxe2) 16... c3 { This is not necessary, but it it's not easy to evaluate that Black is ok with such a bad structure. It was crucial to see that White cannot force the exchange of all the rooks on the d-file.} (16... O-O-O 17. Nb1 (17. Ne4 { The computer suggest this, but I think no human player would ever allow 17... Bd5.} Bd5 18. f3 Bxe4 19. fxe4) 17... Rd6 $1 {This is a very important move. If White exchanges rooks, than the position can become very unpleasant for Black because it will be difficult to defend the weaknesses.} 18. Nc3 f5 { and it seems that White can't make progress here - at least that's what my computer thinks.}) 17. bxc3 Ke7 (17... Bxa2 $2 {Of course this is not possible since the bishop is trapped after} 18. c4) 18. Kc2 Rhb8 19. Rb1 Rb6 $1 { This is the point of the move 16...c3. Since White can't exchange rooks, Black is able to activate the rook and attack the a-pawn. This is enough for equal chances.} 20. c4 Ra6 (20... Bf5+ 21. e4 Be6 {This bishop dance is interesting, because White doesn't really want to place the pawn on e4. Now it's possible to play f6-f5 at some point, activating the bishop and improving the pawn structure.}) 21. Rb2 Rg8 $5 {Attempting an interesting rook maneuver that is similar to the one employed in the famous rook ending of the game Capablanca x Alekhine, New York 1924 (in that game the maneuver was Rh8-h5). By the way, I have a short story to tell about this reference game. The endgame played by those giants of chess history is so complex, that once the famous coach Mark Dvoretsky gave it as an analytical task to a young Garry Kasparov, during one of the camps of the Botvinnik School. Dvoretsky told me that, upon studying the analysis written in the young player's notebook, he was sure that Kasparov would be World Champion one day.} (21... Ra4 22. Kc3 c5 {and Black is ok. It's not easy for White to improve the knight's position.}) 22. h4 $5 {White avoids the Rg5-a5 maneuver. Incidentally, a similar approach should have been taken by Capablanca in the aforementioned game. I'm sure Nepomniachtchi knows everything about it.} (22. Ra1 Rg5 $1 {leads to a draw after} 23. a4 Rga5 24. Rba2 c5 $1 25. Kc3 (25. Nb3 Bxc4) 25... Bd7 26. Nb3 Rxa4 27. Rxa4 Rxa4 28. Rxa4 Bxa4 29. Nxc5 Bc6) 22... Ra4 23. Kc3 Rg4 $5 {Niemann's rook is persistent $1} ( 23... c5) 24. Kb3 Ra5 $6 {After this move White gets a large advantage.} (24... Ra6 $1 {is necessary. If White now conitnues} 25. a4 {then} c5 $1 {and White is not in time to stabilize the position, since after} 26. Ra1 Rb6+ 27. Kc3 Rxb2 28. Kxb2 Bxc4 29. f3 Rd4 {the d4-rook is protected and 30.Kc3 is not a double attack.}) 25. Rc2 $6 (25. a4 $1 {This is very strong. The a4 idea will be a common recurrence in this endgame. If now} Ra6 26. Ra1 Rb6+ 27. Kc3 Rxb2 28. Kxb2 Bxc4 $2 29. f3 Rd4 30. Kc3 {and White wins a piece.}) 25... Rb5+ 26. Kc3 Rc5 $6 {The rook is not well placed here.} (26... Ra5 {is necessary.}) 27. Kb2 $6 (27. a4 $1 {Once again this move $1 White wants to improve the position with Ra1 and to limit black's rook activity. If he manages that, the better pawn strucutre is going to te felt and Black will have a hard time defending the endgame.} Bxc4 28. Kb2 $1 {This is the tactical justification.} Bd5 29. Rxc5 Bxh1 30. Ra5 {and Black has a painful defence ahead.}) 27... Re5 (27... Ra5 $1 28. Ra1 Rf5 29. Rf1 Ra5 {And Black holds.}) 28. e3 Rf5 29. Rf1 Rg8 $6 ( 29... Ra5 $1 {The common pattern is that Black should leave the rook on the a-file before White can shut it down with a4 and Ra1. An interesting variation is} 30. Ra1 Ra4 31. Kb3 Ra6 32. a4 c5 33. Kc3 Bf5 $1 34. Rb2 Rd6 $1 {and Black saves the game.}) 30. Kc3 {Both 30.a4 and 30.Nb3 are also very good.} (30. a4) (30. Nb3) 30... Ra5 31. Rb1 $1 {Now White can play 32.Rb3 in case Black checks on a3.} Rg4 $6 {This makes things worse because white's rook can attack from the rear with a possible Rb8.} (31... c5) 32. Rb4 c5 33. Rb7 Kd7 34. Rb8 $1 Ra3+ $6 35. Kb2 Ra6 36. Rh8 {Now the h6-pawn falls and White is winning.} Ra4 37. a3 {A refined move, but the pawn could be taken immediately.} (37. Rxh6 { Black cannot take on c4 and the check on b4 is not dangerous.} Rb4+ (37... f5 38. Rh8 Bxc4 (38... Rb4+ 39. Kc3 $18) 39. f3 $1 Rxa2+ 40. Kb1 Rxc2 41. Kxc2 { and White wins material.}) 38. Kc3 {The c4-pawn is taboo because the bishop is lost after} Bxc4 39. f3) 37... f5 38. Rc3 {White misses another chance of taking the pawn.} (38. Rxh6 Rg8 39. Rc3 {with a winning position.}) 38... Ke7 39. Rb8 $2 {This gives up the idea of taking on h6 altogether and this deserves a question mark. I suspect Nepomniachtchi was uncomfortable leaving the rook on h6 more or less trapped after} (39. Rxh6 Rg8 {but the rook will soon start to play again after} 40. e4 {White is winning easily (for Nepomniachtchi standards, at least).}) 39... Ra6 40. Kc2 Rb6 {Now things are not clear anymore.} 41. Ra8 Ra6 42. Kb2 Rb6+ 43. Kc1 (43. Rb3 {leads to a rook endgame that is probably not enough for a White win after} Bxc4 44. Nxc4 Rxc4 45. Rxa7 Rc6) 43... Ra6 44. Kc2 Bd7 $1 {An excellent move, activating the bishop now that 46.Nb3 is not so dangerous.} 45. Kb2 (45. Nb3 {After this move Black can choose between taking the a3-pawn or playing 45...Ba4.} Ba4 (45... Rxa3)) 45... Be6 $6 (45... Rgg6 $1 {It's more accurate to activate the rook now. As my former coach liked to say, the rooks should always be enamored.}) 46. Rh8 Rd6 (46... Bd7 $1) 47. Kc1 Bd7 48. Nb3 $2 {This leads to a forced draw. White still has the advantage here.} (48. a4 $5 {Is one of the computer's suggestions, but if Nepomniachtchi didn't play it before, I guess it's too late to play it now.}) (48. Ra8 Ra6 49. Rb3 $1 {And White is still pressing.}) 48... Ba4 $1 49. Nxc5 Rd1+ {White can't escape perpetual check now.} 50. Kb2 Rd2+ 51. Kb1 Rd1+ 52. Kb2 Rd2+ 53. Kb1 Rd1+ 54. Kb2 Rd2+ 1/2-1/2