[Event "GRENKE Chess Classic 2024"] [Site "Karlsruhe GER"] [Date "2024.03.26"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Fridman, Daniel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D05"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2590"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2024.03.26"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. Nbd2 c5 5. b3 Nc6 6. Bb2 cxd4 7. exd4 g6 8. a3 Bg7 9. Bd3 O-O 10. Qe2 Qb6 11. O-O Nd7 12. Qe3 e5 13. dxe5 Qxe3 14. fxe3 Ndxe5 15. Rab1 Nxd3 16. cxd3 Bf5 17. e4 dxe4 18. dxe4 Be6 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Rfc1 Rfd8 21. Rc3 Rd7 22. Rb2 Rad8 23. Kf2 Nd4 24. Nxd4 Rxd4 25. Ke3 f5 26. Rc7+ R8d7 27. Rxd7+ Rxd7 28. g3 fxe4 29. Nxe4 Bf5 30. Rd2 Re7 31. Rd4 Bd7 32. Kf2 Rf7+ 33. Ke3 Re7 34. Kf2 Rf7+ 35. Ke3 Re7 1/2-1/2 [Event "GRENKE Chess Classic 2024"] [Site "Karlsruhe GER"] [Date "2024.03.26"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2720"] [BlackElo "2830"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2024.03.26"] {[%evp 0,81,24,24,55,60,76,71,66,49,45,34,54,42,74,64,53,44,55,13,17,21,31,-7,-15,5,1,1,-6,-5,0,2,8,3,0,0,12,10,4,-25,33,34,23,32,42,41,28,30,30,31,38,23,38,38,13,28,31,22,22,40,40,43,18,26,20,22,0,10,46,44,53,55,62,50,70,68,63,67,63,68,113,69,361,362]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h5 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. Qxd3 Qa5+ 7. c3 e6 (7... Qa6) 8. a4 c5 9. dxc5 Qxc5 10. Nf3 Qc7 $146 (10... Ne7) 11. Na3 Bxa3 12. Rxa3 Nd7 13. O-O $14 Ne7 14. Re1 Rc8 15. Qd1 a6 16. Bg5 Ng6 17. a5 O-O 18. Ra4 Rce8 19. Rd4 $6 (19. Rb4 $142 $16) 19... Ndxe5 $6 (19... Qxa5 $11) 20. Nxe5 Nxe5 21. Bf4 $6 (21. Qxh5 $16 f6 $2 22. Bxf6 $1 gxf6 23. Rxe5 $1 fxe5 24. Rg4+ Qg7 25. Rxg7+ Kxg7 26. Qxe5+ $18) 21... f6 22. Qxh5 Qf7 23. Qxf7+ Nxf7 24. Bh2 (24. Rd2 $14) 24... Kh7 25. g4 Nd8 $11 26. Bd6 Rg8 27. Rb4 Nc6 28. Rxb7 Nxa5 29. Rd7 Nc4 30. b3 Nd2 31. Re2 Nxb3 32. Be7 Kh6 $1 (32... Kh8 $2 {might seem more secure, but it walks into a nice trap.} 33. Rxe6 $1 $18 Nc5 $2 {The seeming problem with White's last move, but White gets the last laugh:} 34. Rxd5 $1 Nxe6 35. Rh5#) 33. Kf1 e5 34. Rb2 Na5 35. Rb6 Nc4 36. Rxa6 Ra8 (36... Kg6 $11) 37. Rxa8 Rxa8 38. Rxd5 Ra2 39. Bc5 Rc2 $2 (39... Kh7 $1 $11) 40. Rd3 $2 (40. Rd7 $1 e4 (40... Kh7 41. Bf8 Kg8 42. Bxg7 Nb6 43. Rb7 Nd5 44. Bh6 Rxc3 45. Rg7+ $1 Kh8 46. Rd7 Rd3 47. Ke1 $1 $18) 41. Bd4 e3 $1 42. fxe3 Rh2 43. h5 $16) 40... Nd2+ $4 {If White had to move his king, then this check would be among Black's acceptable options. But...} (40... Kh7 $11) (40... e4 $11) 41. Rxd2 $18 (41. Rxd2 Rxd2 42. Be3+ $18) 1-0 [Event "GRENKE Chess Classic 2024"] [Site "Karlsruhe GER"] [Date "2024.03.26"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2728"] [BlackElo "2762"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2024.03.26"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 c5 4. Nf3 e6 5. c3 Bd6 6. Ne5 Nc6 7. Nd2 Qc7 8. Bb5 O-O 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. O-O Ba6 11. Re1 Ne4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Qg4 Rae8 14. b3 f6 15. Nc4 Bxf4 16. Qxf4 Qxf4 17. exf4 Bxc4 18. bxc4 cxd4 19. Rxe4 dxc3 20. Re3 c2 21. Rc3 e5 22. fxe5 Rxe5 23. Rxc2 Kf7 24. g3 Rfe8 25. Kf1 R8e7 26. Rb1 Kg6 27. Rb8 Re1+ 28. Kg2 R1e2 29. Rxe2 Rxe2 30. Rc8 Rxa2 31. Rxc6 a5 32. Ra6 Rc2 33. Rxa5 Rxc4 34. h4 h5 35. Ra6 Rb4 36. Ra5 Rc4 37. Ra6 Rb4 38. Ra5 Rc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "GRENKE Chess Classic 2024"] [Site "Karlsruhe GER"] [Date "2024.03.26"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A63"] [WhiteElo "2762"] [BlackElo "2720"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "35"] [EventDate "2024.03.26"] {[%evp 0,35,18,18,18,12,4,-27,17,10,22,22,45,50,64,51,61,56,35,15,9,31,76,-8,55,29,64,-21,58,41,60,51,49,55,57,1,54,57]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bg2 Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Re1 a6 11. a4 Nbd7 12. Bf4 Qc7 13. h3 Rb8 14. e4 Nh5 15. Be3 (15. Bd2 $142 b5 16. axb5 axb5 17. Bf1 c4 18. g4 Nhf6 19. b4 $14) 15... Nhf6 (15... b5 $142) 16. Bf4 (16. Qd3) (16. Nd2) 16... Nh5 17. Be3 Nhf6 18. Bf4 1/2-1/2 [Event "GRENKE Chess Classic 2024"] [Site "Karlsruhe GER"] [Date "2024.03.26"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Fridman, Daniel"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A50"] [WhiteElo "2590"] [BlackElo "2830"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2024.03.26"] {[%evp 0,136,28,33,18,26,57,44,44,44,57,56,56,56,43,33,34,22,22,30,19,23,33,30,34,33,34,33,41,0,8,8,33,11,21,30,30,13,77,83,94,79,77,40,83,67,123,123,123,24,89,23,-9,-9,-9,41,16,16,16,16,-54,-56,-25,-8,-9,-103,0,-22,-6,0,-9,-133,-141,-167,-180,-180,-185,-183,-147,-104,-106,-106,-96,-148,-178,-118,-128,-131,-117,-114,-79,-124,-133,-111,-110,-103,-103,-151,-117,-126,-135,-134,-114,-157,-177,-179,-125,-119,-113,-107,-107,-107,-96,-193,-99,-108,-139,-154,-154,-166,-216,-216,-128,-128,-128,-703,-962,-1011,-1011,-1011,-1011,-1011,-827,-1022,-1022,-1022,-1022,-1012,-1022]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 g6 5. c4 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. d5 Na6 8. Nc3 Nc5 9. Nd4 e5 10. Nb3 d6 11. Nxc5 bxc5 12. a3 Nd7 13. e4 f5 14. b4 Ba6 15. Qd3 Bc8 16. Na4 $14 Nf6 17. f3 cxb4 18. axb4 f4 19. Nc3 g5 20. g4 (20. c5 $142 fxg3 21. hxg3 Nh5 22. Ne2 g4 23. c6 $16) 20... h5 21. h3 hxg4 22. hxg4 Nxg4 $1 $11 {A good move, but also the only move. Black is worse on the queenside and there's nothing to do on the kingside other than sac on g4.} 23. fxg4 Bxg4 24. Bh3 Qd7 25. Bxg4 $6 (25. Rf3 $1 {is a nice blockading move that buys White some time to bolster his kingside defenses.} Kf7 26. Ra2 Rh8 27. Rh2 a5 $1 {Opening, or at least trying to open, a second front before White manages to nail everything down on the kingside.} 28. b5 a4 29. Ba3 Rh6 30. Nd1 Rah8 31. Nf2 Bxh3 32. Rfxh3 g4 33. Rxh6 Rxh6 34. Rxh6 Bxh6 {The somewhat forced play comes to an end, and now both sides have options. Nevertheless, the chances remain level. Here's a fun and logical possibility:} 35. c5 g3 36. b6 gxf2+ 37. Kxf2 cxb6 38. c6 Qg4 39. c7 Ke7 40. Qc3 Qg3+ $8 41. Qxg3 fxg3+ 42. Kxg3 Kd7 43. Bxd6 Bc1 44. Bxe5 a3 45. d6 Bb2 46. Bf4 a2 47. e5 {Just in time.} a1=Q 48. e6+ Kxe6 49. c8=Q+ Kf7 50. d7 Qe1+ $11) 25... Qxg4+ 26. Kf2 Qh4+ 27. Ke2 g4 28. Kd1 f3 29. Kc2 (29. Be3 $142 $15) 29... f2 30. Qe2 $1 {After a pretty long think. Fridman's idea wasn't the best one - see the next note - but it is a clever trap that Carlsen blunders right into.} Rf3 31. Be3 $2 (31. Qxf3 $1 gxf3 32. Be3 $15 {White might achieve a fortress, whether Carlsen believes in it or not.}) 31... Raf8 $19 32. Rxa7 g3 $4 {Played instantly.} (32... Bh6 $19) (32... Rxe3 33. Qxe3 g3 $19) 33. Ra8 $3 $11 {Now, of course, Carlsen got the point, but had he not assumed his opponent was rolling over and playing dead he'd have saved himself a lot of time and effort and won the game without risking half a point.} Rxa8 (33... g2 $2 34. Rxf8+ Bxf8 (34... Rxf8 35. Rxf2 g1=Q 36. Rxf8+ Bxf8 37. Bxg1 $18) 35. Rxf2 $1 g1=Q 36. Qxf3 Bg7 37. Qf7+ Kh7 38. Qxc7 {White has no immediate win, but apparently he doesn't need one. Even with two queens Black has no way to get to White's king. White has a rook, knight, and two pawns for the queen, and Black's bishop is bad, and White's pawns aren't so far from promotion. Black is (very) lost.}) 34. Qxf3 Qh3 35. Rh1 (35. Qd1 g2 36. Rxf2 Qxe3 37. Rxg2 Ra2+ $1 38. Nxa2 Qxe4+ 39. Kb3 Qxg2 40. Qc2 $11 {might have been easier for White to handle.}) 35... Rf8 $8 36. Rxh3 $2 (36. Qxf8+ $1 Kxf8 37. Rxh3 f1=Q 38. Rxg3 Qxc4 39. Rf3+ Ke7 40. b5 $11 {seems to be a fortress.}) 36... Rxf3 37. Bxf2 Rxf2+ 38. Kb3 g2 $2 (38... Rf3 $1 39. Rh4 Rf4 40. Rh1 g2 41. Rg1 Rg4 $19) 39. Rg3 $17 Kf7 $2 (39... Kh7 $1) 40. c5 $1 $11 Bf8 41. Kc4 Bh6 42. b5 dxc5 43. d6 $3 {Fridman found several great ideas in this game; unfortunately, they were interspersed with too many errors.} cxd6 44. b6 Rb2 45. b7 Rb4+ 46. Kd5 Rxb7 47. Rxg2 Rb6 48. Ra2 Rb3 49. Ra7+ $2 (49. Kc4 Rb4+ {Else Nd5.} 50. Kd5 Rd4+ 51. Kc6 c4 52. Nd5 Rxe4 53. Kxd6 {is still computer-equal. (Not human-equal, as almost all of the suffering will be White's, suffering that will continue for another 50-75 moves in case the ending transitions to R+B vs. R.)}) 49... Kf6 $17 {From here, Carlsen plays like an engine. (No insinuation here, except to "insinuate" that Carlsen's endgame prowess is incredible.)} 50. Kc4 Rb4+ 51. Kd5 Bd2 52. Ne2 Rb3 $1 53. Ra2 Bb4 $1 $19 54. Kxd6 Rd3+ 55. Kc6 Kg5 $1 {Everything else is a draw, at least for the computer.} 56. Kb5 Kg4 $1 57. Kc4 Rd1 $1 {Best, but not the only move. (Likewise on the previous move and elsewhere. My use of '!' isn't according to the Nunn convention.)} 58. Rc2 Kf3 $1 59. Nc1 Kxe4 60. Nb3 Rd3 {Not bad, but it's the first time in a long time that Carlsen doesn't play the engine's top choice. All his remaining moves? Back to #1.} 61. Re2+ Re3 62. Nc1 Rxe2 63. Nxe2 Kf3 64. Ng1+ Kg2 65. Ne2 Kf2 66. Nc1 e4 67. Kd5 e3 68. Nd3+ Kf1 0-1 [Event "GRENKE Chess Classic 2024"] [Site "Karlsruhe GER"] [Date "2024.03.26"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Keymer, Vincent"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D20"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2728"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate "2024.03.26"] {[%evp 0,142,19,26,31,-14,35,15,19,19,57,37,44,-5,-11,-7,41,41,35,-25,-2,-14,2,29,82,44,48,71,51,61,62,61,56,70,1,-24,0,0,0,0,0,0,27,-18,0,0,0,0,11,11,0,-13,33,12,0,0,5,3,-5,-20,-11,0,58,58,61,66,86,91,104,98,106,102,93,119,110,117,113,125,184,181,184,183,183,124,118,132,153,154,154,154,155,155,154,154,152,155,155,155,152,150,150,150,150,150,150,142,150,150,150,150,150,148,146,149,150,150,142,140,140,142,142,142,142,142,142,140,142,91,91,85,146,136,121,114,105,75,69,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ 6. Nbxd2 exd4 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O Nge7 9. Ng5 Ne5 10. Bb3 N7c6 11. f4 Bg4 12. Bxf7+ Nxf7 13. Qxg4 Nxg5 14. fxg5 Qc8 15. Qg3 Qd7 16. g6 O-O-O 17. Rf7 Qd6 18. Qxd6 Rxd6 19. gxh7 Rxh7 20. Raf1 b6 21. Rc1 Rd7 22. Rxd7 Kxd7 23. Nf3 Rh5 24. Rd1 Ke6 25. Kf2 Rc5 26. Ke2 Rc2+ 27. Rd2 Rc1 28. a3 a5 29. h4 g6 30. Kf2 Ne5 31. Nxd4+ Kf6 32. Ne2 Rb1 33. Nc3 $16 Rxb2 $2 {Black's position was worse, but the knight ending is lost.} 34. Nd5+ Kf7 35. Rxb2 Nd3+ 36. Kf3 Nxb2 37. Nxc7 $18 Nc4 38. Nb5 a4 39. Kf4 Ke6 40. g4 Kf6 41. h5 $2 (41. Nc7 $18) (41. g5+ $18) (41. Nc3 $18) 41... g5+ $11 42. Kf3 Ne5+ $2 (42... Kg7 $1 $11) 43. Kg3 $18 Nc4 44. Nc3 $1 Kf7 45. Nxa4 b5 46. Nc5 $1 Nxa3 47. e5 Nc4 48. Ne4 $2 ({White needed to keep the e-pawn.} 48. Nd3 $18) 48... Nxe5 49. Nd6+ Ke6 50. Nxb5 Nf7 $11 {Black's king is too active and the g-pawn is too weak. The draw is inevitable.} 51. Nd4+ Ke5 52. Nf5 Ke4 53. Ne7 Nh6 54. Nc6 Nf7 55. Nb8 Ke3 56. Nd7 Ke4 57. Nc5+ Ke3 58. Ne6 Ke4 59. Nc7 Nh6 60. Ne8 Nf7 61. Nf6+ Ke5 62. Ng8 Ke4 63. h6 Ke5 64. Kf3 Ke6 65. h7 Nh8 66. Ke4 Kf7 67. Kf5 Kg7 68. Ne7 Nf7 (68... Kxh7 {was fine.}) 69. Ke6 Nd8+ 70. Kd7 Nf7 71. Ke6 Nd8+ 1/2-1/2