[Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2024.06.07"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2830"] [BlackElo "2805"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "49"] [GameId "2054013510090285"] [EventDate "2024.05.27"] {[%evp 0,49,17,15,15,15,15,25,24,-8,0,-3,13,5,21,15,17,29,43,41,38,39,25,38,43,2,14,5,22,33,27,3,-5,1,0,-19,-4,3,6,2,0,0,20,0,25,11,0,0,25,13,12,12]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Nc3 {Not unknown by any means, but far less common than 5.0-0 and 5.d3.} Bc5 6. O-O (6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Nxe5 {is equal after either} Bxf2+ ({or} 7... Bd4 {.})) 6... b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Rb8 9. axb5 axb5 {There are only 10 games here in the database, but one featured Caruana with Black.} 10. d3 {Transposing to many more games (47 in total).} (10. Nd5 $5 Nxe4 11. d3 Nf6 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Nxe7+ Qxe7 14. Re1 $44 h6 15. Bh4 Bb7 16. d4 e4 17. d5 Ne5 18. Qd4 d6 19. Nxe5 dxe5 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. Qxe4 Rfe8 22. Qb4 Qb6 23. Ra5 Bc8 24. h3 e4 25. Qc3 Bd7 26. Raa1 Rbc8 27. Qe3 Qd6 28. Qa7 Qe5 29. c3 b4 30. Qc5 bxc3 31. bxc3 Kh8 32. Bc2 f5 33. Ra5 Rb8 34. Ra7 Rec8 35. Rd1 Rb2 36. Ba4 Bxa4 37. Rxa4 f4 38. Qd4 Qh5 39. Re1 e3 40. fxe3 f3 {0-1 Oparin,G (2667)-Caruana,F (2766) Airthings Masters Play In Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (3)}) 10... h6 (10... d6 {is the alternative, with a likely transposition if White doesn't play 11.Bg5.}) 11. h3 (11. Nd5 {is common, clearing the way for c3 and (sooner or later) d4.}) 11... d6 {More transpositions - up to 84 games now, including another of Caruana's efforts.} 12. Ne2 {Less popular than the two moves covered in the following note, but the idea of transferring a knight from b1 to g3 is Ruy Lopez 101.} (12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. Bxd5 Ne7 14. Bb3 Ng6 15. c3 Bb6 16. d4 Qf6 17. Be3 Nf4 18. Kh2 Re8 19. Bc2 c5 20. b4 c4 21. d5 h5 22. Bxf4 Qxf4+ 23. g3 Qf6 24. Kg2 g6 25. Qe2 Kg7 26. Nd2 Rh8 27. h4 Bg4 28. Qe1 Ra8 29. Rc1 Ra2 30. Bd1 Bd7 31. Rc2 Ra1 32. Qe2 Bg4 33. Nf3 Rha8 34. Qd2 R8a3 35. Ng5 Bxd1 36. Rxd1 Qe7 37. Rxa1 Rxa1 38. Ra2 Rxa2 39. Qxa2 Qb7 40. Nf3 Bd8 41. Nd2 f5 42. Qc2 Kf6 43. Nf1 Bb6 44. Nh2 Qa7 45. Nf3 Qa4 46. Qd2 fxe4 47. Qg5+ Kf7 48. Nd2 Qc2 49. Nf1 Qxf2+ {0-1 Indjic,A (2601)-Caruana,F (2782) Titled Tuesday intern op 08th Aug Early Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (11)}) (12. Be3 {is also common.}) 12... Ne7 13. Ng3 Ng6 14. c3 Bb6 15. d4 Bb7 $146 {New, but transposing to one predecessor.} 16. Bc2 c5 $146 {Finally the players are staking out new territory, though positions like this are standard Ruy fare.} 17. Re1 Re8 (17... exd4 18. cxd4 cxd4 19. Nxd4 d5 20. e5 Ne4 $11 {is another typical Ruy idea, and also maintains equality.}) 18. dxe5 dxe5 19. Qxd8 Rexd8 20. Be3 Bc8 21. Nf5 Be6 22. Ra6 {Inviting a speedy end to the game, which Caruana embraces.} Bc8 23. Raa1 Be6 24. Ra6 Bc8 25. Raa1 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2024.06.07"] [Round "10.2"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C70"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [GameId "2054013510090286"] [EventDate "2024.05.27"] {[%evp 0,61,19,15,15,15,15,14,24,0,7,-35,28,28,28,28,30,35,15,20,27,23,23,23,40,28,28,19,19,40,26,19,51,18,35,-1,45,25,78,22,37,37,34,21,22,17,12,19,11,20,-15,-11,-13,-8,0,-22,0,0,0,-55,-42,-17,-17,-13]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Bc5 5. c3 Nge7 {Going for something a little offbeat (relatively speaking) - though Pragg himself has used this line - to create a position with higher than usual winning chances. (As far as the race for first is concerned, Nakamura is in something like an Armageddon situation in that a draw is no better than a loss, provided that Carlsen doesn't lose his classical game to Caruana - an unlikely state of affairs given that he has White and Caruana has no special motivation to play risky chess.)} 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 Bxd2+ 9. Qxd2 d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 {Less popular than the recapture with the queen, which has become the dominant choice the last couple of years. Perhaps players feel that the damage to Black's structure after the trade makes it too much of a two-results game.} (10... Qxd5 11. Nc3 (11. O-O O-O 12. Nc3 Qd6 13. Ne4 Qb4 14. Qxb4 Nxb4 15. a3 Nbd5 16. Rac1 Rd8 17. Rfe1 c6 18. h3 Kf8 19. Nc5 a5 20. Kh2 Ra7 21. Bc2 Bf5 22. Ne5 Bxc2 23. Rxc2 Nf6 24. Rce2 b6 25. Na4 b5 26. Nc3 Rb7 27. Ne4 Nxe4 28. Rxe4 f5 29. Rh4 h6 30. Nd3 Kf7 31. Nc5 Ra7 32. Rd1 Nd5 33. g4 fxg4 34. Rxg4 Rd6 35. Nd3 Nf6 36. Rf4 Re7 37. Rc1 Re2 38. Ne5+ Kg8 39. Nxc6 a4 40. Ne5 Rd8 41. Nc6 Rde8 42. Rc5 Rxb2 43. Re5 Kf7 44. d5 Rxe5 45. Nxe5+ Ke7 46. Rd4 Kd6 47. Nf7+ Kc5 48. Rd1 Nxd5 49. Rc1+ Kb6 50. Ne5 Rxf2+ 51. Kg3 Ra2 52. Rc6+ Kb7 53. Rd6 Rxa3+ 54. Kg4 Nc7 55. Nd3 Rc3 {0-1 Giri,A (2768)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2691) Chessable Masters Play In Chess.com INT rapid 2023 (6)}) 11... Qe6+ 12. Qe3 O-O 13. O-O Qd6 14. Rad1 Nb4 15. Ne5 Nbd5 16. Qf3 c6 17. Bb3 h6 18. Rfe1 Be6 19. Ne4 Qc7 20. Nc5 Bc8 21. h3 a5 22. a3 b6 23. Ne4 Be6 24. Ng3 Rae8 25. Rc1 Qd6 26. Ne4 Qc7 27. Ba4 Bd7 28. Qg3 Rc8 29. Qf3 f6 30. Nxd7 Qxd7 31. Ng3 Kh8 32. Nh5 Qd6 33. Qg4 g6 34. Ng3 h5 35. Qf3 Kg7 36. Ne4 Qf4 37. Qd3 Rfd8 38. Rcd1 Nf5 39. g3 Qc7 40. Qf3 Re8 41. Kg2 Re7 42. Qd3 h4 43. Nc3 Nde3+ 44. fxe3 {0-1 Najer,E (2648)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2707) World-chT Rapid Dusseldorf 2023 (5.9)}) 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. O-O O-O 13. Ne5 (13. Rc1 Ne7 14. Rc5 Re8 15. Nc3 f6 16. Re1 Bg4 17. Nh4 Qd7 18. h3 Be6 19. Re3 Nd5 20. Rg3 Kh8 21. Nf3 Nxc3 22. Qxc3 Bd5 23. Qd3 Re4 24. Rc1 Rae8 25. Nd2 Re2 26. Nc4 Bxc4 27. Qxc4 h6 28. b4 Qd6 29. Rf1 Rb2 30. a3 Ree2 31. Qxa6 Qxd4 32. Qc8+ Kh7 33. Qf5+ Kg8 34. Rd3 Qe5 35. Rd8+ Kf7 36. Rd7+ Ke8 37. Qxe5+ fxe5 38. Rxg7 e4 39. Rxc7 e3 40. Rxc6 exf2+ 41. Kh2 Re1 42. Rc1 Re3 43. a4 Rxb4 44. Rxf2 Rxa4 45. Rc8+ Ke7 46. Rc7+ Kd6 47. Rh7 Re6 48. Rb2 Kc6 49. Rbb7 Kd5 50. Rb5+ Ke4 51. Rh5 Raa6 52. Rb7 Rg6 53. Rb4+ Ke3 54. Re5+ Kd3 55. Rf5 Ra2 56. Rf3+ Ke2 57. Rb5 Rd2 58. Rb1 h5 59. Kg1 Rgd6 60. Rb5 Rd1+ 61. Kh2 R1d5 62. Rb2+ Rd2 63. Rxd2+ Kxd2 64. Kg3 Rg6+ 65. Kf2 Rg5 66. Rf4 Kd3 67. g4 Re5 68. Kg3 Ke3 69. Rf5 Ke4 70. Rxe5+ Kxe5 71. Kh4 hxg4 72. hxg4 Kf6 73. Kh5 Kf7 74. Kh6 {1-0 Saric,I (2644)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2618) FIDE Grand Swiss Riga 2021 (9)}) (13. Nc3 Nxc3 14. Qxc3 Be6 15. Ne5 Bd5 16. b3 Re8 17. Rfe1 Re6 18. f3 Qh4 19. Ng4 Rae8 20. Re5 Rxe5 21. dxe5 Qg5 22. Re1 Re6 23. Qe3 Qf5 24. Nf2 Rg6 25. Kf1 h5 26. Nd3 Rg4 27. Nf2 Rg6 28. h3 Rg3 29. Ne4 Rg6 30. Nc3 Re6 31. Kg1 f6 32. f4 g5 33. Rf1 gxf4 34. Rxf4 Qxe5 35. Qxe5 fxe5 36. Rf5 h4 37. Kf2 Kg7 38. Rg5+ Kh6 39. Rg4 Kh5 40. Ne4 a5 41. g3 hxg3+ 42. Nxg3+ Kh6 43. Nf5+ Kh7 44. Ke3 Rf6 45. Rg7+ Kh8 46. Rg5 Kh7 47. h4 Rf7 48. h5 Rf6 49. Rg7+ Kh8 50. Rg5 Kh7 51. h6 Rg6 52. Rxg6 Kxg6 53. a3 Bxb3 54. Ne7+ Kxh6 55. Nxc6 Kg5 56. Nxe5 Kf6 57. Nd7+ Ke7 58. Nc5 Bd5 59. Kd4 Kd6 60. Nd3 Bg8 61. Nc5 Kc6 62. Nd3 Kb5 63. Kc3 c5 64. a4+ Kc6 65. Nxc5 Kxc5 66. Kb2 Kb4 67. Ka1 Kxa4 68. Kb2 Kb4 69. Ka1 Kb3 70. Kb1 a4 71. Ka1 a3 72. Kb1 a2+ 73. Ka1 Ka3 {½-½ Karthikeyan,M (2606)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2608) Meltwater Indian Qualfier chess24.com INT rapid 2021 (1.3)}) 13... Re8 (13... Ne7 14. Nc3 f6 15. Nc4 Be6 16. Na5 Bf7 17. Rfe1 Qd7 18. Nb7 Ng6 19. Nc5 Qf5 20. Re4 Rfd8 21. Qe3 h5 22. Re1 a5 23. b3 Bd5 24. Nxd5 Rxd5 25. h3 h4 26. Ne6 Rd7 27. Qe2 Re8 28. Qc4 Qd5 29. Qxd5 cxd5 30. R4e3 Rb8 31. Rc1 a4 32. Nc5 Rd6 33. Nxa4 c6 34. Nc5 Kf7 35. Rce1 Rb4 36. Ne6 Rd7 37. a3 Rb8 38. b4 Ra7 39. Nc5 Nf4 40. Kh2 g5 41. g3 Ng6 42. Kg2 Ne7 43. Rf3 Rba8 44. a4 Rb8 45. Re6 Ng8 46. Rb3 Ne7 47. gxh4 gxh4 48. Rf3 Ng8 49. Rxc6 Rxb4 50. Rf4 Rc4 51. Rd6 Re7 52. Rxd5 Rc2 53. a5 Ra2 54. a6 Ree2 55. Rd7+ Kg6 56. Ne4 Rxa6 57. Rg4+ Kh6 58. Rxh4+ Kg6 59. Rg4+ Kh6 60. Ng3 {1-0 Kasimdzhanov,R (2662)-Van Foreest,J (2682) Tashkent Kasimdzhanov Cup-A 1st 2023 (4)}) 14. Re1 Bf5 $146 (14... Be6 15. Nxc6 Qd6 16. Na5 {½-½ D'Oliveira,M (2137)-Msellek,I W-ch WS/M/812 email ICCF email 2021}) 15. Nc3 Nb4 16. Qf4 Be6 17. Re2 Nd5 18. Qg3 Nxc3 19. bxc3 c5 20. dxc5 Qd5 21. c6 Qd6 22. Nf3 Qxc6 23. Nd4 Qd7 24. Rae1 $5 (24. Nxe6 {was the expected choice, but Pragg has his own ambitions. If he had won this game, he'd have leapfrogged Nakamura into second place.} Rxe6 25. Rxe6 Qxe6 26. Qxc7 {nets a pawn, but after} g6 $11 {Black will play ...Rc8 next. He may not regain the pawn immediately, but White won't be able to make progress.}) 24... Bc4 $1 (24... Bxa2 $2 25. Nf5 $1 g6 26. Ne7+ Kg7 27. c4 $1 $18 {Black's bishop is shut ouf of the game and can't take on c4 (27...Bxc4 28.Qc3+ and 29.Qxc4). Between that problem and the vulnerability of Black's king, he is lost.}) 25. Nf5 g6 26. Re7 $1 Rxe7 $8 27. Nxe7+ Kg7 28. h4 {Solving any back rank problems while bringing another attacker into the action - the pawn may keep advancing, and it could also anchor White's queen on g5 in some cases.} h5 29. Qg5 (29. Re4 Be6 (29... Re8) 30. Qe5+ Kh7 31. Nxg6 $1 Kxg6 32. Qg5+ Kh7 33. Qxh5+ Kg7 34. Qg5+ Kf8 ({Black need roll the dice. It's simpler to allow the immediate repetition:} 34... Kh7 35. Qh5+ Kg7 36. Qg5+ $11) 35. Qf6 Kg8 36. Re5 Rd8 37. Qh6 $1 Qd1+ 38. Kh2 Rd5 {Just in time.} 39. Re3 $8 Rd3 40. Re5 Rd5 $11) (29. Qf4 Re8 30. Qxc4 Rxe7 $11) 29... Re8 30. Nf5+ Kg8 31. Rxe8+ (31. Rxe8+ Qxe8 32. Ne3 Be6 $11 (32... Bxa2 33. Qa5 Be6 34. Qxa6 $11 (34. Qxc7 $5 $11 {White is not objectively better here, but it still feels as if Black may be risking more with this.}))) 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Norway Chess 2024"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2024.06.07"] [Round "10.3"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2737"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "70"] [GameId "2054013510090287"] [EventDate "2024.05.27"] {[%evp 0,70,19,19,19,6,6,13,6,-17,-22,-19,-22,-36,4,-32,24,30,4,12,36,23,45,23,8,-9,51,24,37,25,23,19,26,15,39,28,29,9,26,39,62,48,53,56,57,56,82,88,70,59,59,68,63,62,68,43,59,53,89,71,59,56,54,46,50,50,50,50,50,45,50,50,45]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. dxc5 Qxd1 8. Rxd1 Bxc5 9. Nbd2 c3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Nb3 Be7 12. Nfd4 Nxd4 13. cxd4 Nd5 14. Bd2 f5 15. Na5 b6 16. Nc6 Bf6 {Still in theory, including a prior game of Ding's.} 17. e3 (17. a4 Bb7 18. Bxd5 exd5 19. Ne5 Ba6 20. Kf1 Rfe8 21. f4 Rec8 22. Ke1 Bc4 23. Rdb1 Rab8 24. Rb2 a6 25. Bb4 b5 26. Bd6 Ra8 27. a5 Rd8 28. Bc5 Rac8 29. Kd2 g5 30. Kc3 h5 31. e3 Kg7 32. Kb4 Rh8 33. h3 g4 34. Rh2 Bxe5 35. fxe5 Bd3 36. e6 Be4 37. e7 Kf7 38. h4 Rhe8 39. Ra3 Rxe7 40. Bxe7 Rc4+ 41. Kb3 Kxe7 42. Kb2 Kd6 43. Rc3 b4 44. Rc1 Kc6 45. Rd2 Kb5 46. Rdd1 Bf3 47. Rf1 Kxa5 48. Rxc4 dxc4 49. d5 c3+ {0-1 Ding,L (2799)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2619) Charity Cup Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (8)}) 17... Bb7 18. Nb4 {Still 21 games in the database. It's hard to escape theory.} Rfd8 19. a4 Rab8 20. a5 (20. Nd3 Rdc8 (20... Be7 21. a5 b5 22. a6 Ba8 23. Rdb1 Rdc8 24. Rb2 Bd6 25. Ne5 Bxe5 26. dxe5 h5 27. h4 b4 28. e4 fxe4 29. Bxe4 Kf7 30. Bf3 g6 31. Kh2 Bc6 32. Bxd5 Bxd5 33. Rxb4 Rxb4 34. Bxb4 Rc2 35. Kg1 Rb2 36. Bc5 Ra2 {½-½ Nouveau,L (2104)-Owens,J (2333) W-ch WS/M/877 email ICCF email 2023}) 21. a5 Bc6 22. Rdc1 Bb5 23. Nb4 Rxc1+ 24. Rxc1 Nxb4 25. Bxb4 bxa5 26. Bxa5 Bd3 27. Bf1 Be4 28. Bg2 Bd3 29. Bf1 Be4 30. Bg2 Bd3 {½-½ Yilmazyerli,M (2520)-Yilmaz,M (2634) TUR-chT Ankara 2022 (11.5)}) 20... Nxb4 21. Bxb4 Bxg2 22. Kxg2 e5 23. axb6 $146 {Finally a novelty.} (23. dxe5 Bxe5 24. Rac1 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 bxa5 26. Bxa5 a6 27. Rd7 Rb5 28. Bd2 Rb6 29. Ra7 h5 30. Ba5 Rc6 31. h3 Rc4 32. Bd8 Ra4 33. Rd7 Rb4 34. Ra7 Ra4 35. Kf3 Kh7 36. Bb6 h4 37. Bd4 Bxd4 38. exd4 hxg3 39. fxg3 Rxd4 40. Rxa6 {½-½ Papaioannou,I (2645)-Yilmaz,M (2595) FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss Douglas 2019 (9)}) (23. d5 e4 24. Ra2 Rd7 25. axb6 Rxb6 26. Bc5 Rbb7 27. h3 Kf7 28. Ra5 Bd8 {½-½ Armstrong,K (2242)-Chronopoulos,A (2196) FICGS W-ch st2 g02 email FICGS email 2022 (1)}) 23... axb6 24. dxe5 Bxe5 25. Rxd8+ Rxd8 {White's novelty is obviously harmless. This ending is entirely drawn, and most likely reflects the desire of both players to put a disappointing tournament in the rearview mirror.} 26. Ra6 Rb8 27. h3 Rb7 28. f4 Bb2 29. g4 g6 30. Kf3 Kf7 31. Ra8 Bf6 32. Rf8+ Kg7 33. Rc8 Kf7 34. Rf8+ Kg7 35. Rc8 Kf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "12th Norway Armageddon"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2024.06.07"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E12"] [WhiteElo "2830"] [BlackElo "2805"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "103"] [GameId "2054021376618529"] [EventDate "2024.05.27"] {[%evp 0,103,19,19,19,6,17,27,23,24,24,17,47,47,23,35,35,32,32,36,36,32,32,34,31,37,42,45,53,47,40,27,43,20,56,54,76,41,41,40,40,40,36,40,45,48,58,22,60,53,58,70,91,68,46,61,50,88,67,57,64,27,16,15,19,-33,0,0,14,19,78,71,72,58,75,95,62,89,66,70,106,97,98,92,83,84,89,83,195,195,195,197,191,191,264,463,1054,1106,1138,1139,1161,1112,1279,1279,1288,1357]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. d4 e6 5. a3 Ne4 {When I was a teenager this was considered inferior to 5...d5, because White could meet this by swapping knights followed by 7.Nd2 and 8.e4. That's still a viable plan, but it's no longer thought that this is bad for Black.} 6. Nxe4 Bxe4 7. e3 ({Here's a famous game that was responsible for much of the chess world's rejection of 5...Ne4. The problem isn't so much with 5...Ne4, as it turned out, as with Andersson's next move - not that it's losing, but White does seem to have a nice edge.} 7. Nd2 Bg6 (7... Bb7 {is the better (and more popular) move, and here White fixes his inaccuracy on move 1:} 8. e4 $11 {/? followed by Bd3.}) 8. g3 $14 Nc6 9. e3 a6 $6 {Black's plan is far too slow.} 10. b4 $16 b5 11. cxb5 axb5 12. Bb2 (12. Bxb5 $2 Nxb4 $15) 12... Na7 {Give Black a bunch of tempi to play ...c6, ...d5, ...Nc8-d6-c4 and he'll be in great shape. But why do that? Kasparov characteristically goes straight for the throat:} 13. h4 ({The immediate} 13. d5 {was also good.}) 13... h6 $6 (13... f6 $142) 14. d5 $1 $18 exd5 15. Bg2 c6 16. O-O f6 17. Re1 {Preparing e4, which Kasparov plays at exactly the right moment.} Be7 18. Qg4 $1 Kf7 19. h5 $1 Bh7 20. e4 dxe4 21. Bxe4 Bxe4 22. Nxe4 Nc8 23. Rad1 {White's pieces are perfect, so you can expect the bone-crushing tactics to come next.} Ra7 24. Nxf6 $1 gxf6 (24... Bxf6 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Qg6+ Kf8 27. Re6 $1 $18 {will leave White with more than enough extra material to finish Black off.}) 25. Qg6+ Kf8 26. Bc1 $1 (26. Rxe7 Qxe7 27. Bxf6 Qf7 28. Bxh8 {is a less elegant but equally effective way to continue.}) 26... d5 27. Rd4 $1 Nd6 28. Rg4 Nf7 29. Bxh6+ $1 Ke8 (29... Rxh6 30. Qg8#) (29... Nxh6 30. Qg7+ Ke8 31. Qxh8+ Kd7 32. Qxh6 $18) 30. Bg7 {1-0 Kasparov,G (2630)-Andersson,U (2610) Interpolis-05 Tilburg 1981 (8)} ({After} 30. Bg7 Rg8 31. h6 {White will soon enjoy a heaping helping of Black's pieces.})) (7. Bf4 {is another (currently) popular move.}) 7... Be7 8. Bd3 Bxd3 (8... d5) 9. Qxd3 O-O 10. O-O d6 11. b4 $14 Nd7 12. Rd1 $146 a5 $146 13. Bb2 axb4 $146 {The final novelty of the game - there won't be any more transpositions to earlier games, as far as I can tell.} 14. axb4 Qb8 {A nice idea, intending ...Qb7 followed by swaps on the a-file.} 15. Qe4 {This looks like a nice prophylactic move, but if Black finds the right idea he equalizes.} (15. d5 $142 $14) 15... d5 $1 16. cxd5 Nf6 {Not bad, but not the best idea.} (16... Qb7 $1 $11 {was the nice little trick that ensured Black of full equality.}) 17. Qc2 exd5 18. Ne5 Bd6 19. b5 Qe8 20. Rxa8 Qxa8 21. Ra1 Qe8 {Even here it's still essentially equal, but it's obviously Black who must work to keep it that way.} 22. Qc6 Qe7 23. Ra7 h5 24. h3 Rd8 (24... Rc8 $142 $11) 25. Qc1 $1 {Intending Ba3 to swap off Black's beautiful bishop on d6. That bishop not only maintains the perpetually annoying option of taking on e5, but also safeguards Black's weakness on c7.} Qe6 26. Nc6 (26. Ba3 $5 Bxe5 27. dxe5 Qxe5 28. Bb2 Qe8 29. Bxf6 gxf6 30. Qxc7 {looks fantastic for White at first glance, but Black has a saving resource:} d4 $1 31. exd4 Rxd4 32. Rb7 (32. Qxb6 $4 Rd1+ 33. Kh2 Qe5+ 34. g3 Qe4 $19) 32... Qe1+ 33. Kh2 Qe5+ 34. Qxe5 fxe5 35. Rxb6 h4 {Obviously it's White who is playing for a win, but the position is drawn with good play by Black, without needing to do anything extraordinary.}) 26... Re8 (26... Rc8 $142 {should have been played - see move 29 in the game.}) 27. Ba3 Ne4 28. Bxd6 Qxd6 29. Ne5 $14 Rc8 $8 30. f3 $6 {This weakening move makes what had been a two-results game into a three-"resultser". The now very weak dark squares around White's king not only create possibilities for perpetual check, but some mating nets as well if/when Black plays ...Ng3 and ...h4.} Ng3 31. Qa1 f6 {Objectively okay, but it's risky for similar reasons to 30.f3.} (31... h4) 32. Nd3 h4 (32... Re8) 33. Kf2 Kh7 $6 {The king is more likely to become a target here than on g8.} (33... Re8) (33... g5) (33... Qd7) 34. Qb1 Re8 $5 (34... g6 $11 {is equally good, and a lot easier on the gut.}) 35. Qc2 Re7 $6 (35... Nh1+ 36. Kg1 Ng3 $11) 36. Ne5+ (36. Nf4+ $142 f5 $8 (36... Kg8 $4 37. Ra8+ Kf7 38. Qg6#) 37. Ra1 $14 {Now that Black's pawn has gone f5, White will steer the knight to e5.}) 36... Ne4+ $1 $11 {The only move.} 37. fxe4 fxe5 38. exd5+ e4 39. Kg1 Qxd5 40. Rxc7 Rxc7 41. Qxc7 Qxb5 42. Qf4 {Caruana has done very well so far in defending under pressure, but now he goes astray.} Qb1+ $2 {This loses a critical tempo, and unfortunately that takes him straight to a lost position rather than one which is merely inferior.} (42... Qd3 43. Qxh4+ Kg6 $11 {White's d-pawn isn't speedy, Black's b-pawn is ready to make progress, and White's e-pawn is not only vulnerable but will be taken (if it is taken) with check.}) 43. Kh2 $18 b5 44. Qxh4+ Kg6 45. d5 Qd3 46. Qg4+ Kh7 47. Qf5+ g6 48. Qf7+ Kh6 49. Qf8+ Kh7 50. d6 b4 (50... Qxe3 {doesn't help, as there's no check for Black's queen on the h2-b8 diagonal.} 51. d7 Qg5 52. d8=Q Qe5+ {Now there's one, but subsequent checks are easily parried.} 53. Kg1 Qa1+ 54. Qf1 Qa7+ 55. Kh1 $18 {is the end.}) 51. Qe7+ Kh6 52. d7 (52. d7 Qxe3 53. Qf8+ Kh7 54. d8=Q $18) 1-0 [Event "12th Norway Armageddon"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2024.06.07"] [Round "10.2"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2747"] [BlackElo "2794"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "61"] [GameId "2054021376618530"] [EventDate "2024.05.27"] {[%evp 0,61,19,17,27,17,27,27,54,23,71,17,67,5,41,57,60,38,59,42,62,57,83,68,71,71,49,60,62,66,89,94,73,73,74,87,89,25,76,104,99,106,103,103,118,116,197,132,116,121,102,95,166,149,153,123,279,337,365,351,519,816,816,424]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bb5 Qb6 (5... Qa5+ $142 6. Nc3 Ne4 7. O-O Nxc3 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. bxc3 Qxc3 {is objectively equal, but White has a nice initiative after either} 10. Ne5 ({or} 10. e4 dxe4 11. Ng5 Bf5 12. Qe2)) 6. c4 $1 $14 Bg4 $6 $146 7. Nc3 $6 $14 (7. Qa4 $1 cxd4 (7... Bxf3 $2 8. dxc5 $1 Qxc5 9. b4 Qb6 10. c5 Qd8 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. Qxc6+ Nd7 13. gxf3 $18) 8. Ne5 $16) 7... e6 8. O-O a6 $6 (8... cxd4 $142) 9. dxc5 Qxc5 10. Na4 $1 Qa7 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. Rc1 $16 (12. cxd5 $142) 12... Be7 13. cxd5 Nxd5 14. h3 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 Rc8 16. Be5 O-O 17. Rc4 {An unpleasant move for Black to face. Not only does he have to worry about c-pawn, but even more the possibility of White's rook switching over to the kingside.} c5 18. Rfc1 (18. Qg4 $142) (18. b3 $142) 18... Nb6 $2 (18... Nb4 $1 $14) 19. Qg4 $1 g6 20. Nxb6 Qxb6 21. b4 $18 {Black loses the c-pawn while retaining all his problems on the kingside. Pragg had a significant time advantage as well, so the game was lost by this point. The youngster finishes powerfully.} Rc6 22. bxc5 Qb7 23. h4 $1 f6 $6 {It seems likely from Hikaru's expression after White's next move that he missed that his e-pawn was under attack. Whether that's what he missed or something else, his disgust was palpable and entirely justified. That said, there wasn't some great alternative to 23...f6 that would have given him much to hope for.} 24. Bd6 $1 f5 (24... Bxd6 25. Qxe6+) 25. Qg3 Rd8 26. h5 $1 g5 27. e4 $1 {Very energetic play. White's initiative quickly overwhelms Black's defenses.} fxe4 (27... f4 28. Qg4) 28. Qe5 Qd7 29. h6 Bf8 30. Qxg5+ Kf7 31. Bxf8 (31. Bxf8 Kxf8 ({After} 31... Rxf8 32. Rxe4 {Black may have some say in where the final blow comes - from the b-file after Rb1, or down the e-file, or in some way that involves g7 - but he has little choice about whether it comes.}) 32. Qf6+ Ke8 33. Qh8+ Kf7 34. Qxh7+ Kf6 35. Qxe4 $18) 1-0 [Event "12th Norway Armageddon"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2024.06.07"] [Round "10.3"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2737"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "58"] [GameId "2054021376618531"] [EventDate "2024.05.27"] {[%evp 0,58,19,27,17,17,46,40,41,48,30,26,41,19,18,18,18,19,24,-12,33,-6,-12,-11,-11,-21,-25,-34,-35,-46,-59,-77,-50,-99,-100,-128,-119,-81,-81,-128,-125,-121,-120,-134,-135,-135,-144,-132,-149,-136,73,-177,-147,-179,-156,-149,-155,-176,-173,-218,-312] Ding has been on a bit of a roll in recent rounds. Would he finish the tournament in a way that built on his momentum? (Spoiler alert: No.)} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. Be2 d6 6. h3 b6 7. O-O Bb7 8. a4 (8. c4) 8... a6 9. c4 {I've seen this in positions without a4 and ...a6, and there it makes sense. Here, however, White is giving up the b4 square without getting anything in return.} (9. a5 b5 10. c4) 9... Nc6 (9... a5 $1) 10. Nc3 a5 $1 11. d5 $6 $146 {White throws the c5 square into the bargain.} Nb4 12. e4 (12. Nd4 $142) 12... Nd7 13. Qd2 $6 Nc5 $17 14. Rad1 e5 $1 15. dxe6 fxe6 16. Bg5 (16. e5 $142) 16... Qe8 17. Bh6 $2 Bxe4 $19 {An all-around disaster for Ding. Maybe he only considered 17...Nxe4?} (17... Nxe4 $4 18. Nxe4 Bxe4 (18... Bxh6 19. Qxh6 Bxe4 20. Ng5 $18) 19. Bxg7 Bxf3 (19... Kxg7 20. Qd4+ $18 {wins a piece.}) 20. Bxf8 Bxe2 21. Qxe2 Kxf8 $18 {Black is only down the exchange for a pawn, but after} 22. Rde1 {it seems that Black is losing the e-pawn due to tactics.} Kf7 (22... e5 23. f4 $18) 23. Qf3+ Kg7 24. Rxe6 Qxe6 25. Qxa8 Qxc4 26. Re1 $18) ({In case you think that all of Ding's previous moves were just fine except for his missing 17...Bxe4, they weren't. If Black plays} 17... e5 {, for example, White can keep his e-pawn but his position is still lost or very nearly so.}) 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Nxe4 Nxe4 20. Qd4+ Nf6 21. b3 e5 22. Qe3 Nd7 23. Nh2 Nc5 24. Ng4 Qf7 25. Bf3 Rae8 26. Bd5 Qf4 27. Qc3 h5 28. Ne3 Qf6 29. Rb1 $2 {A final blunder to close the tournament.} e4 $1 {There's no good answer to the coming ...c6, winning the trapped bishop.} 0-1 [Event "12th Norway Chess Women"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2024.06.07"] [Round "10.3"] [White "Ju, Wenjun"] [Black "Lei, Tingjie"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D14"] [WhiteElo "2559"] [BlackElo "2548"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "89"] [GameId "2054042313863797"] [EventDate "2024.05.27"] {[%evp 0,89,19,17,27,5,23,25,34,39,25,22,22,24,17,9,8,8,12,12,7,10,0,4,3,-17,22,20,7,19,22,17,63,71,80,74,89,80,95,105,83,146,130,125,121,122,127,121,121,121,123,125,173,188,183,184,193,187,199,191,183,200,199,205,200,179,205,203,214,205,219,207,212,217,217,211,211,211,211,203,213,201,212,199,197,204,304,353,393,424,1066,1017]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 {Very safety-minded. With a win, Ju guarantees herself clear first, while a draw with an Armageddon win secures at least a tie for first - only Anna Muzychuk could catch her in that case if she could defeat Humpy Koneru in the classical game. In the end Muzychuk drew that game, though she did win in Armageddon, while Ju won this game, the classical game, as you can see here.} cxd5 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bf5 7. Nf3 e6 8. Qb3 Bb4 9. Bb5 O-O 10. Bxc6 Bxc3+ 11. Qxc3 Rc8 12. Ne5 Ng4 13. Nxg4 Bxg4 14. Qb4 Rxc6 15. Qxb7 {This has all happened many times.} Qb6 $2 $146 {An apparent and surprising gap in Lei's knowledge. The Exchange Variation against the Slav isn't rare, and Black's antidote to this particular line has been known for decades.} (15... Qc8 {is standard, allowing Black full use of the c-file in return for the pawn. Chances are equal here, as was seen in the following World Championship game and many others.} 16. Qxc8 Rfxc8 17. O-O a5 18. f3 ({Another example, with someone even greater than Kramnik trying to prove there's something there (if only in blitz):} 18. b3 h5 19. h4 f6 20. Kh2 Kh7 21. Kg3 Kg6 22. Rfe1 Bf5 23. Re2 Rc1 24. Re1 R1c6 25. Re2 Rc1 26. Rxc1 Rxc1 27. Bd6 Rc2 28. Rxc2 Bxc2 29. Kf4 Bb1 30. a3 Bc2 31. b4 axb4 32. Bxb4 Kf7 33. f3 Ba4 34. e4 dxe4 35. fxe4 Bc6 36. g3 Ke8 37. e5 Kf7 38. Bc5 Kg6 39. Be7 Kf7 40. Bd8 Ba4 41. exf6 gxf6 42. g4 e5+ 43. dxe5 fxe5+ 44. Kg3 hxg4 45. h5 Ke6 46. h6 Bc2 47. a4 Kd7 48. Bb6 Kc6 49. a5 Kb7 50. Kxg4 Ka8 51. a6 Kb8 52. Kg5 Ka8 53. Kf6 Kb8 54. Kxe5 Ka8 55. Kf6 Bd3 56. Kg7 Be4 57. Ba7 Kxa7 58. h7 Bxh7 59. Kxh7 Kxa6 {½-½ Carlsen,M (2853)-Giri,A (2768) Warsaw Superbet Blitz 2023 (16)}) 18... Bf5 19. Rfe1 Bg6 20. b3 f6 21. e4 dxe4 22. fxe4 Rd8 23. Rad1 Rc2 24. e5 fxe5 25. Bxe5 Rxa2 26. Ra1 Rxa1 27. Rxa1 Rd5 28. Rc1 Rd7 29. Rc5 Ra7 30. Rc7 Rxc7 31. Bxc7 Bc2 32. Bxa5 Bxb3 {½-½ Kramnik,V (2772)-Anand,V (2783) World-ch Anand-Kramnik +3-1=8 Bonn 2008 (1)}) 16. Qxb6 axb6 $2 17. Kd2 $18 Rfc8 18. Rhc1 {Black is not in time to win the file, her bishop is out of the game, and so she's down a pawn with a bad position to boot - White's majority will start moving very soon.} Kf8 19. a4 Ke8 20. Rxc6 Rxc6 21. b4 Bf5 22. a5 bxa5 23. bxa5 Ra6 24. Bc7 Kd7 25. Bb6 Ra8 {Around here I saw the commentators claim that Ju's Chess.com accuracy score was at 100%. I don't know if she maintained that measure of perfection to the very end, but she never let the win slip.} 26. a6 Kc6 27. Bc5 e5 28. a7 Kb7 29. dxe5 Rc8 30. Ra5 Ka8 31. Kc3 Be6 32. Kb4 Rc7 33. Ra6 Rc8 34. Rd6 Kb7 35. Kb5 h5 36. Bd4 Re8 37. Ka5 Rc8 38. Rb6+ Ka8 39. Ka6 g5 40. Rd6 Rg8 41. Kb6 g4 {White has made steady progress, and now it's time to finish things off.} 42. Rc6 h4 43. Rc7 h3 44. gxh3 gxh3 45. Rb7 {Black has no adequate response to the coming Bd4-c5-d6 and Rb8+.} 1-0