[Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.14"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [BlackElo "2789"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] {[%evp 0,71,30,26,28,26,28,18,24,18,20,-12,-8,2,18,17,24,-2,16,-7,-4,13,-5,-24,22,6,15,16,16,-3,16,-3,-13,-9,11,8,26,17,23,19,23,30,13,21,23,49,0,-2,43,53,46,62,62,40,20,68,120,99,97,101,97,103,150,110,143,181,184,184,403,733,870,898,1311,1377]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 {This is not about preventing Bg5, but in preparation for ...g6 or ...g5. It's an interesting alternative to the usual Italian lines, and it has been tried, at least occasionally, by a number of super-GMs including Caruana, Mamedyarov, Nepomniachtchi, So, Aronian, etc.} 5. c3 d6 6. O-O (6. a4 {isn't bad, not hurrying to commit the king and waiting to see what Black will do next.}) 6... g5 $5 {Caruana hasn't played this, but Mamedyarov, Wei Yi, Shirov, Firouzja, Naroditsky and other strong GMs have, some more than once.} (6... g6 {is common, and we should note that Black isn't forced to commit to a fianchetto but can instead play}) (6... Be7 {.}) 7. Nbd2 Bg7 8. Bb3 a5 ({Here are some examples of Black going full blast for the attack, with varying degrees of success. Note that the games Black won were in blitz, while things went a little less well for Black at the slower time control. This is not a coincidence.} 8... g4 9. Ne1 (9. Nh4 Nxe4 10. Nxe4 Qxh4 11. f4 Be6 12. f5 Bd7 13. d4 exd4 14. f6 Bf8 15. cxd4 Qh5 16. Ng3 Qg6 17. Bc2 Qg8 18. Re1+ Kd8 19. Bf4 h5 20. Nf5 h4 21. Qe2 Rh5 22. Ne7 Bxe7 23. fxe7+ Ke8 24. Qd2 Rd5 25. Bb3 Rxd4 26. Qe3 Be6 27. Rac1 Bxb3 28. axb3 Rd5 29. Qe4 f5 30. Qa4 Ra5 31. Qc4 Qxc4 32. Rxc4 Kd7 33. Bg5 Re8 34. Bxh4 Re5 35. Rxe5 Nxe5 36. Rc1 Ng6 37. Bg5 Nxe7 38. Rf1 Rf8 39. h4 gxh3 40. gxh3 Ng6 41. h4 Rh8 42. Rxf5 Nxh4 43. Rf7+ Kc6 44. Bf6 Rg8+ 45. Kf2 Ng6 46. Ke3 Rf8 47. Rxf8 Nxf8 48. Kd3 Kb5 {0-1 Praggnanandhaa,R (2536)-Wei,Y (2736) chess.com Speed U20 Chess.com INT blitz 2019 (1.14)}) 9... h5 10. f4 exf4 11. Rxf4 Qe7 (11... d5 12. Rf1 Be6 13. d4 dxe4 14. Qe2 Qd7 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Qxe4 O-O-O 17. Nc2 Bxb3 18. axb3 Rde8 19. Qf5 Qxf5 20. Rxf5 f6 21. Bf4 Re2 22. Ne3 Rxb2 23. b4 b6 24. Nd5 h4 25. Re1 h3 26. gxh3 Rxh3 27. Bg3 a5 28. bxa5 bxa5 29. Ne7+ Nxe7 30. Rxe7 Bh6 31. Rxc7+ Kb8 32. Re7+ Rxg3+ 33. hxg3 {1-0 Dominguez Perez,L (2752)-Shirov,A (2704) Berlin FIDE GP 1 Pool-D 2022 (6)}) 12. d4 Bd7 13. Nd3 O-O-O 14. Rf1 Rdf8 15. Qe2 g3 16. h3 Re8 17. Nf4 h4 18. Qd3 Bh6 19. Bc2 Kb8 20. b4 Nd8 21. a4 Bxf4 22. Rxf4 Ne6 23. Rf1 Ng5 24. Rf4 Bxh3 25. Nf3 Bxg2 26. Nxg5 h3 27. Bd2 Reg8 28. Nf3 Ng4 29. Rxg4 Rxg4 30. e5 dxe5 31. Nxe5 Bd5 32. Nxg4 h2+ 33. Nxh2 gxh2+ 34. Kf2 h1=Q {0-1 So,W (2773)-Naroditsky,D (2617) Titled Tuesday intern op 16th Aug Late Chess.com INT blitz 2022 (9)}) 9. a4 O-O (9... Qe7 {has also been played, e.g. by Sam Shankland.}) 10. Nc4 (10. h3) 10... Be6 (10... d5 11. Ncxe5 dxe4 $11) 11. Re1 Re8 12. h3 $146 Qd7 13. Bd2 Rad8 14. Qc2 b6 $146 (14... Nh5 $142 15. Rad1 d5 16. exd5 Bxd5 17. Nh2 f5 18. Na3 Nf6 19. Bxd5+ Qxd5 20. Bc1 Qf7 21. Nb5 Rd7 22. d4 e4 23. f3 Rde7 24. fxe4 Nxe4 25. Be3 Ng3 26. Bf2 Ne2+ 27. Kh1 g4 28. Nxc7 Ncxd4 29. cxd4 Rxc7 30. Qd3 Rce7 31. hxg4 fxg4 32. Nxg4 Re4 33. Rd2 Nf4 34. Qf1 Qh5+ 35. Nh2 Ne2 36. Rd3 Qf5 37. Rf3 Qd5 38. Rh3 Qc4 39. Nf3 Ng3+ 40. Rxg3 Rxe1 41. Qxe1 Rxe1+ 42. Bxe1 Qxa4 43. Rg6 Qb5 44. Re6 Qxb2 45. Bxa5 Qa2 46. Re8+ Kf7 47. Ra8 b6 48. Ra7+ Kg8 49. Bxb6 Qb1+ 50. Kh2 Qxb6 51. Ra2 Qb8+ 52. Kh3 Qf4 53. Ra8+ Bf8 {0-1 Kurmann,O (2454)-Petrov,N (2585) Bad Ragaz Accentus YM 2019 (7)}) 15. Ba2 (15. Rad1 $142 $14) 15... Nh5 {Going for the f4 square. White in turn goes for f5.} (15... g4 16. hxg4 Nxg4 $1 $11) 16. Ne3 Bxa2 17. Rxa2 Ne7 {Black's kingside buildup will be very dangerous for White if allowed to continue unchecked, so White needs to break open the board to create play.} (17... Nf4 $142 18. b4 d5 $1 $11 19. b5 Ne7 20. c4 dxe4 21. dxe4 f5 $1 22. Nxf5 Nxf5 23. Bxf4 (23. exf5 $2 Nd3 24. Rf1 Qxf5 $17) 23... exf4 24. exf5 Rxe1+ 25. Nxe1 Bf6 $44) 18. d4 (18. b4 {may be even better, even though it may seem too far from where the "real" action is taking place.} axb4 19. cxb4 Nf4 20. a5 d5 21. Ra3 Ra8 22. a6 $14) 18... exd4 (18... d5 19. exd5 exd4 20. cxd4 Nxd5 $11) 19. cxd4 d5 20. e5 Rc8 $6 {Certainly a logical move, as ...c5 belongs on Black's agenda (see the variation in the note for 20...Nf4). It's all about the timing, though, and Black needed to do something else first.} (20... Nf4 {was best, when some crazy lines are possible. Here's an especially insane, obviously computer-generated variation:} 21. Ng4 Neg6 22. Ra3 c5 $1 23. dxc5 Rc8 24. Bxf4 Nxf4 25. Nd4 h5 $1 26. e6 $1 Nxe6 27. c6 $1 Nxd4 $1 28. cxd7 Rxe1+ 29. Kh2 Rxc2 30. d8=Q+ Kh7 31. Nf6+ Kg6 32. Nxd5 Be5+ 33. f4 gxf4 34. Qg8+ Kh6 35. Qf8+ Kg6 36. Qg8+ $11) 21. Ra3 $6 (21. Ng4 $1 {stymies Black's idea of posting up on f4. Doing so immediately results in the exchange on f4, while trying to prepare it with 21...Ng6 allows White to stop both knights with 22.g3. (The knight on g4 shields the h-pawn from capture after 22.g3, while it also clears the bishop's defense of f4.)} Nf4 (21... Ng6 $2 22. g3 $18) 22. Bxf4 gxf4 23. Ra3 $16) 21... c5 $2 ({Again, first things first:} 21... Nf4 $11 {and only next ...c5.}) 22. dxc5 $2 (22. Ng4 $1 $16) 22... Rxc5 (22... Nf4 $1 $11) 23. Qd1 (23. Qb3 $142 d4 $1 24. Ng4 Nd5 25. Raa1 Nhf4 26. Bxf4 Nxf4 27. Qxb6 Ne6 28. b4 axb4 29. Qxb4 $14) 23... Nf4 {Not too late.} 24. b4 Rcc8 {An unnecessary pawn sac, but it's still not too late.} (24... axb4 $142 25. Bxb4 Rcc8 26. Bxe7 Rxe7 27. Qb1 Re6 28. Nf5 Rc4 {is a little better for White, but not much.}) 25. bxa5 bxa5 26. Bxa5 Nc6 27. Bc3 $14 Nxe5 $2 (27... Rcd8 $1 28. Ng4 d4 29. Bd2 d3 30. Bxf4 gxf4 31. Rc3 d2 32. Re2 {And now White wins the second pawn and lives happily ever after? Not quite.} Nxe5 $1 33. Ngxe5 Qxa4 $3 34. Qxa4 d1=Q+ 35. Qxd1 Rxd1+ 36. Kh2 f6 37. Rc4 fxe5 38. Rxf4 exf4 39. Rxe8+ Kh7 40. Re1 ({It's a bit of bad luck that White isn't still winning at the end of this craziness with} 40. Re4 {, as Black has the tactical defense} Bf8 41. Rxf4 $6 Bd6 {, after which it's White who's slightly fortunate to still be in the drawing zone after} 42. g3 Bxf4 43. gxf4 $11) 40... Rxe1 41. Nxe1 {with a drawn ending.}) (27... Bxe5 {isn't as good as 27...Rcd8, but it's far more human and keeps Nakamura in the game.} 28. Nxd5 $1 Qxd5 29. Qxd5 Nxd5 30. Bxe5 Ra8 $14) 28. Bxe5 Bxe5 29. Nxd5 $1 $16 {/+- Clearly missed by Nakamura, or else there was something later than this that only occurred to him at this point. Either way, he's in big trouble.} Nxd5 (29... Qd6) 30. Nxe5 Qe6 $2 (30... Qd6) 31. Rd3 $18 Nf4 32. Rd6 Qa2 33. Rxh6 Qb2 $2 {When it rains, it pours.} (33... Rb8) 34. Qd7 {Now Black will get mated or suffer heavy material losses.} Qb3 35. Qf5 {Threatening 36.Qh7+ Kf8 37.Nd7#.} Ng6 36. Rxg6+ (36. Rxg6+ fxg6 37. Qxg6+ Kh8 (37... Kf8 38. Nd7#) 38. Qh6+ Kg8 39. Qxg5+ Kh7 40. Qg6+ Kh8 41. Re4 {leaves Black without any sensible moves. Mate is coming soon.}) 1-0 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.14"] [Round "9.2"] [White "Gukesh, D."] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "2743"] [BlackElo "2747"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] {[%evp 0,81,26,26,14,14,14,11,25,3,3,-2,-2,-17,-11,-48,-8,-21,-5,-14,12,-8,36,17,24,2,19,9,58,26,26,27,20,10,9,20,60,26,26,21,29,21,30,24,26,11,44,48,41,26,45,44,30,41,40,40,39,37,80,43,85,89,99,80,103,48,51,51,57,32,75,44,37,46,42,14,17,16,20,15,22,14,14,14]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 Bc5 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. c3 {Rare here. It has only been played three times: once in 2014, once in 2012, and once...in 1877 by Anderssen of Immortal and Evergreen Game fame.} (7. Nbd2) 7... Qe7 $146 8. h3 Bd6 9. Nbd2 a5 10. O-O Nd7 (10... g5 {is playable (and in keeping with Pragg's hyperaggressive style). It would have made an interesting echo of the Vidit-Nakamura game, too.} 11. d4 g4 12. dxe5 $1 Bxe5 13. Nxe5 Qxe5 14. h4 $1 Be6 $11) 11. Nc4 b6 12. Nxd6+ (12. Re1 $14) (12. d4) 12... cxd6 13. Bg5 $1 Nf6 (13... f6 $142) 14. Nd2 {Clearly intending f4, when White will have pressure down the f-file and perhaps against d6 (i.e. after f4 exf4 Bxf4, with Nc4).} (14. Qb3 $1 Ra6 (14... Rb8 $143 15. d4 $14) 15. d4 $14) 14... h6 $1 15. Be3 Ba6 $1 16. Qc2 (16. c4 b5) 16... Nd7 (16... O-O $1 17. Bxb6 $6 c5 18. Bxa5 Nh5 $1 {and all of a sudden Black obtains a dangerous initiative with ...Nf4, ...Qg5, ...f5 and so on. White's bishop, d-pawn, and king are all potential targets.}) 17. f4 exf4 (17... O-O 18. f5 $14 {Here the game could bear some resemblance to Firouzja-Nepo - see the next game.}) 18. Bxf4 (18. Rxf4 $14 {might improve, looking to double on the f-file.}) 18... O-O 19. Rae1 Ne5 20. c4 b5 $1 21. b3 c5 $1 22. Nf3 Ng6 (22... a4 $11) 23. Bg3 Qd7 (23... f6 {was better, ruling out e4-e5.}) 24. Nh2 $5 {The knight is heading to g4, when Black will have to be wary of tactical tricks involving the h6 and f6 squares. The knight would also support a possible e4-e5, and for good measure it might keep maneuvering via e3 to the glorious f5 square, especially if Black plays ...f6 at some point.} (24. e5 $1 Nxe5 25. Nxe5 dxe5 26. Rxe5 Bb7 $1 (26... Rac8 $143 27. Rd5 $14 {ìsn't *that* bad for Black, but it's White who's having all the fun here.}) 27. Rxc5 Rac8 $1 28. Rxc8 (28. Rxb5 $4 Qxb5 29. cxb5 $2 Rxc2 $19) 28... Rxc8 29. Rd1 $14) 24... a4 25. Ng4 axb3 26. axb3 bxc4 27. bxc4 Bb7 (27... Bc8 $142 $11 {The bishop has nothing to do on b7, while on c8 it can look to swap itself for White's knight, whether the latter piece is on g4 or f5.}) 28. Rb1 $14 Ra6 (28... Ra3 29. Qb2 $2 Rxd3 $19) 29. Qf2 {Now Qf5 tricks are in the air, especially if Black blunders with ...f6.} (29. Ne3) 29... Bc8 (29... f6 $4 30. Qf5 $18 {wins at least two pieces for a rook, exploiting Black's overloaded queen.}) 30. Ne3 Qa7 $1 31. Rb2 (31. Nf5 Ne5 32. Bxe5 dxe5 33. Qg3 Bxf5 34. Rxf5 Ra1 $11 (34... f6 $11)) 31... Rd8 32. Kh2 Ra3 $1 33. Qe2 Be6 34. Nd5 Ra1 $1 35. Rfb1 Rxb1 36. Rxb1 f6 {Finally. Now Black can park the knight on e5 and/or swap on d5, and there's nothing left for White to do or even try.} 37. Rb3 Ne5 38. Qb2 Bxd5 39. exd5 Qe7 40. Rb7 Rd7 41. Rb8+ {Gukesh was pressing Pragg, while Pragg's defense was impressing all of us.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.14"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] {[%evp 0,88,26,27,27,-9,-26,-22,-23,-36,-22,-8,0,0,-5,-11,24,18,19,11,17,26,46,38,31,34,31,54,66,64,59,38,67,73,67,45,57,50,67,50,63,56,51,25,22,19,26,13,19,31,46,20,5,22,56,47,53,46,54,55,55,45,21,5,8,4,5,-27,0,0,0,0,-26,-41,-24,0,0,0,0,0,0,-39,-46,-49,-44,-46,-46,-47,-46,-49,-46]} 1. Nf3 (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Bxc6 bxc6 6. Nc3 d6 7. d4 Nd7 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. O-O Bd6 10. Ne2 O-O 11. Ng3 Rb8 12. b3 Re8 13. Be3 g6 14. c3 a5 15. Qc2 Qe7 16. Rfd1 Nc5 17. Ne1 Ne6 18. Nd3 Nf4 19. f3 Ba6 20. c4 c5 21. Qd2 Nxd3 22. Qxd3 Red8 23. Ne2 c6 24. Nc3 Bc7 25. Qc2 $16 Rd4 $1 {At a minimum, this is one of the first line-clogging exchange sacs to become well-known. Black's queenside structure is terrible, so this is a necessity. White should ignore the rook for the time being, perhaps swinging the knight to d3 via a4 and b2, looking for the right moment to make the capture. White would be better in that case.} 26. Ne2 Bc8 27. Nxd4 $5 {Not awful, but Black is happy to see this.} cxd4 28. Bf2 c5 29. Rf1 f5 30. Bg3 $2 (30. a3 {followed by, say, Rfb1 and b4 would keep the upper hand.}) 30... Bd7 31. Rad1 f4 32. Bf2 g5 $11 {Now Black has at least full compensation, and his position is easier to play. From here on out Botvinnik overwhelms his weaker opponent.} 33. g4 fxg3 34. Bxg3 Bh3 35. Rf2 h5 36. Rfd2 h4 37. Bf2 Rf8 38. Rd3 Rf4 39. Kh1 Kh7 40. Rg1 Bd8 41. Qe2 Qf7 42. Qd1 Qh5 43. Be3 Qxf3+ 44. Qxf3 Rxf3 45. Bxg5 Rxd3 46. Bxd8 Re3 47. Bb6 Rxe4 48. Bxc5 Re2 49. Rd1 Bg4 50. h3 Bxh3 51. b4 Bf5 52. Bd6 d3 53. bxa5 h3 {0-1 Liublinsky,V-Botvinnik,M Moscow-ch23 1943}) 1... d5 2. b3 {If it's good enough for blitz, it's good enough for the Candidates, right? Those interested in this opening should look at several thousand Nakamura games and a few hundred Artemiev games afterwards.} Nf6 {One of many, many reasonable options.} 3. Bb2 Bf5 (3... e6 4. e3 Be7 5. d4 O-O 6. Nbd2 (6. Bd3 b6 7. c4 Bb7 8. Nbd2 Nbd7 9. cxd5 exd5 10. O-O Bd6 11. Rc1 Re8 12. Bf5 h6 13. Bh3 a5 14. Qc2 Ba6 15. Rfe1 Ne4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Bxe5 19. Bxe5 Rxe5 20. Qxc7 Qxc7 21. Rxc7 Rd8 22. Rc6 Rd2 23. Rxb6 Bd3 24. a4 g6 25. g3 Rc5 26. Bg2 Rcc2 27. Rf6 Kg7 28. Rf4 f5 29. g4 fxg4 30. Ra1 h5 31. h3 g3 32. Bxe4 gxf2+ 33. Kh1 Bxe4+ 34. Rxe4 f1=Q+ {0-1 Nakamura,H (2787)-Firouzja,A (2777) Bullet Chess Winners Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (4.13)}) 6... b6 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. O-O Nbd7 9. c4 c5 10. Rc1 dxc4 11. Nxc4 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Rc8 13. Be2 a6 14. Bf3 Bxf3 15. Nxf3 b5 16. Nce5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Qb6 18. Bd4 Qb7 19. Qf3 Qxf3 20. gxf3 Ba3 21. Rc6 Rxc6 22. Nxc6 Rc8 23. Rc1 Bxc1 24. Ne7+ Kf8 25. Nxc8 Ba3 26. Na7 Nd5 27. Nc6 f6 28. f4 Bd6 29. Bb2 Ke8 30. Kf1 Kd7 31. Nd4 Nb4 32. a4 Nd3 33. Bc3 b4 34. Bd2 a5 35. Ne2 Kc6 36. Nc1 Nc5 37. Ke2 Kd5 38. f3 f5 39. Kd1 e5 40. fxe5 Bxe5 41. h3 Bb2 42. Kc2 Bxc1 43. Bxc1 g5 44. Bd2 h5 45. Be1 g4 46. hxg4 fxg4 47. e4+ Kc6 48. fxg4 hxg4 49. e5 Kd5 50. Bf2 Ne4 51. Bg1 g3 52. Kd3 Nc5+ 53. Kc2 g2 54. Be3 Ne6 55. Bg1 Kxe5 56. Kd3 Kd5 57. Kc2 Nd4+ 58. Kb2 Nf3 {0-1 Nihal,S (2688)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2771) Wch Blitz Samarkand 2023 (15)}) 4. g3 c5 {Fairly uncommon.} (4... e6 {is the most common move, while}) (4... h6 {is another reliable option, giving the bishop a flight square in case of Nh4.}) 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. O-O e6 7. d3 Be7 (7... Bd6 {is playable, though rare. In general, Black should try to develop more actively and fight for central squares, but there are dangers associated with (an eventual) e4-e5. These have persuaded almost everyone, and all GMs, to stick with 7...Be7. Nevertheless, this is playable if you know what you're doing.}) 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Re1 h6 ({Perhaps Black should join the fight for the e5 square with} 9... Nd7 $5) ({or} 9... Qc7 {.}) 10. e4 Bh7 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. Bxe5 Nd7 (12... Rc8 {is a good alternative, intending ...b5 followed by ...c4.}) 13. Bb2 d4 $6 (13... Bf6 14. e5 Be7 $11 {gives White a couple of tempi, but in return the B@b2 is depressed, the B@h7 is happy, and the (eventual) ...b5, ...c4 idea gains in strength.}) 14. a4 e5 $6 $16 {Black has gained space, but it's White who gets the squares. White's knight can park itself on c4 and the f4 break is significant, while the ...f5 break is structural suicide. (White will take, opening the long diagonal for his bishop while his knight picks the right time to take ownership of the beautiful e4 square.)} 15. f4 ({It may have been slightly better to put all the pieces on their best squares first, e.g. with} 15. Nc4 $16 {and Bc1.}) 15... Qc7 16. Qf3 b6 (16... Kh8 {prepares a possible ...f5 without allowing any possible checks on d5.}) (16... f6) 17. Bh3 $1 {One more advantage on White's side.} Rae8 18. Nc4 (18. Bxd7 $5 Qxd7 19. f5 {White will have a lot of pawns on light squares, so it's not the worst idea to swap off the bishop before it's incarcerated by his own army.}) 18... Bd6 (18... exf4 $142 19. gxf4 Kh8 20. e5 f5 {is a bold attempt to create some sort of blockade, taking matters into his own hands rather than waiting around for White to choose the moment the position opens up.}) 19. Bc1 $16 Qc6 20. Nxd6 (20. Bxd7 $142 Qxd7 21. f5) 20... Qxd6 21. Bxd7 Qxd7 22. f5 f6 23. g4 {There is so much that's wrong with Black's position, but the one thing he's got going for him is that it will be a while before White can open the board with h4, g5, and so on. Nepo takes a page out of the old Petrosian playbook and has his king take a hike out of town.} Kf7 $1 24. h4 Ke7 $1 25. Re2 Kd6 26. Bd2 a5 {Taking a precious tempo to take a4-a5 and b3-b4 ideas off the table.} 27. Rh2 Kc7 ({Maybe Black should play} 27... Bg8 {and ...Bf7; his king is far enough away from the kingside for the moment.}) 28. Rf1 Rh8 $5 29. g5 {Black's kingside, and the pitiful bishop, are almost unspeakably ugly. Still, ugly positions can hold together.} Bg8 30. gxf6 (30. g6 {is initially tempting, killing both Black's bishop and the rook, too. Okay, fair enough, but how is White supposed to break through? There are no kingside breaks, and playing c3 or c4 will bring Black's "terrible" bishop back to life.}) 30... gxf6 31. h5 Bf7 32. Rg2 Reg8 33. Rg6 $1 {This line-clogging exchange sac goes back to Botvinnik if not earlier - see the game given in the note to move 1. It's a good idea, but White doesn't quite have enough room to break through.} Bxg6 34. fxg6 Re8 $1 (34... Rf8 $2 35. Qf5 Qe7 36. Kh2 $18 {followed in most cases by Be1-h4xf6, winning.}) 35. Be1 (35. Qxf6 Rhf8 36. Qh4 (36. Qxf8 $4 Qg4+ 37. Kh2 Qxh5+ 38. Kg3 Qxg6+ 39. Kh4 Rxf8 40. Rxf8 Qg2 $19) 36... Rxf1+ 37. Kxf1 Rf8+ 38. Ke2 Qg7 $14) 35... Re6 $1 36. Bh4 Rf8 $8 37. Qg4 Qe7 {There's no way in.} 38. Kh2 Kd6 $1 {Necessary to free up the queen to go to g7.} 39. Rf5 Qg7 40. Qf3 Kc7 41. Qf2 Kb7 42. Qg2 Rc6 43. Qg4 Ka6 44. Rf1 Rd6 {The doors are locked, the windows are sealed, and the invaders can't get in. Another narrow escape for Nepo, who continues to share the lead.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "FIDE Candidates 2024"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "2024.04.14"] [Round "9.4"] [White "Abasov, Nijat"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E40"] [WhiteElo "2632"] [BlackElo "2803"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2024.04.04"] {[%evp 0,87,27,27,23,6,-14,6,28,8,18,18,14,18,33,-9,45,32,22,-13,-1,-25,-28,-39,-30,-23,-23,-47,-28,-40,-45,-23,-39,-60,-55,-67,-71,-81,-61,-74,-78,-140,-144,-105,-99,-99,-81,-51,-28,-28,45,31,-4,4,55,46,38,37,44,22,24,10,39,39,17,19,5,16,22,10,35,3,57,41,63,13,13,24,10,23,-6,-6,-3,1,41,22,42,27,25,21]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 {After his loss in the previous round to Nakamura, Caruana has to press more than he might prefer to catch up to the leaders. This is a provocative line, a subpar hybrid of the Nimzo-Indian and the Queen's Gambit Declined.} 4. a3 $1 {The normal Saemisch is strategically suspicious, but this version is fine for White, as he can swap off the c4 pawn.} Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 Nf6 6. e3 c6 {This is the key strategic element of this hybrid system. I mentioned that White can swap off the c4-pawn, but then Black takes with his c-pawn and will (ideally) use the c-file to annoy the c3 square and/or conquer the c4 square. Unfortunately for Black, White need not rush with the exchange, and the value of his dark squared bishop gives Black something to worry about.} 7. a4 O-O 8. Bd3 {A slightly careless move, allowing Black a nice trick:} (8. Ba3 $142 Re8 9. Nf3 $14) (8. Nf3 $142 $14) 8... e5 $1 9. dxe5 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Qxd1+ 11. Kxd1 Ng4 {Here Abasov misses (or rejects) his best option.} 12. Ke1 $6 (12. f4 $1 Nf2+ 13. Ke2 Nxh1 14. Ba3 {followed by Nf3. White will have a pawn for the exchange, two monster bishops, a great pawn center, and possible pressure against f7. Black needs to make some impressive moves to come out of this alive.} Re8 15. Nf3 Nd7 $1 16. Ng5 $1 (16. Rxh1 $2 Nb6 17. Bb3 Be6 $17) 16... Nxe5 $3 17. fxe5 Bg4+ $1 18. Kd2 Rxe5 $1 19. Nxf7 Re4 20. Bb3 Be6 21. Ng5 Rd8+ $1 22. Ke2 Bxb3 23. Nxe4 Bc4+ 24. Kf3 $1 Bd5 $1 25. c4 Bxe4+ 26. Kxe4 Nf2+ {Who'd have guessed that the knight would escape?} 27. Kf3 Nd3 $11) 12... Nxe5 13. Be2 Rd8 {Black is very slightly better due to his superior pawn structure, but it's not enough for a real edge. As he has through most of the tournament, Abasov defends well (though not perfectly), and Caruana never manages to obtain a tangible plus.} 14. Nf3 Nd3+ 15. Bxd3 (15. Kf1 $142) 15... Rxd3 16. Bb2 Be6 $15 17. Ke2 Rd8 18. Nd2 $1 c5 19. c4 $6 Nc6 $6 (19... a5 $3 $15 {/? This looks slightly insane, as it seems to render Black's queenside majority useless. But what it also does is prevents White from getting any queenside play himself, and Black will bring his knight to b4, where it will be a real thorn in White's side.}) 20. a5 $11 Rd7 21. Bc3 Rad8 22. Rhc1 h6 23. Rab1 {This is annoying, and something that the 19...a5, (eventual) ...Nb4 idea was aimed against.} Bf5 24. Rb5 Ne5 $1 {The only try, but Abasov is ready.} 25. Bxe5 Rxd2+ 26. Kf3 Ra2 27. Rxb7 Rdd2 28. Bg3 {Black has achieved all there is to achieve, and White is still completely fine. Caruana keeps trying through the time control, but against Abasov's reliable defense there's not much he can do.} a6 29. Rc7 Rxa5 30. h4 h5 31. Kf4 Be6 32. Ke5 Kh7 33. Ke4 Rb2 34. Rc3 Rd2 35. Rc1 Rd8 36. Rc6 Rd7 37. Bd6 Ra4 38. Kf3 f6 39. Kg3 Bxc4 40. Rxc5 Bf7 41. Bf4 Rb4 42. Rc7 Rb7 43. Rxd7 Rxd7 44. Rc7 (44. Rc7 Rxc7 45. Bxc7 {is hopelessly drawn. The only pretend plan for Black is to bring the king all the way over to the queenside, which can be met by White's doing the same thing or by going after and exchanging - or winning - Black's kingside pawns.}) 1/2-1/2