[Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.19"] [Round "1"] [White "Aravindh, Chithambaram VR."] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2767"] [PlyCount "60"] [GameId "2191277598576650"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,33,7,-6,13,11,26,26,15,0,3,14,41,-21,-15,-6,-9,-14,-16,-5,-49,-6,-31,-5,-12,0,3,0,-9,3,0,-6,13,6,-1,31]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bc4 {What? Generations of chess coaches, myself very much included, have been telling kids not to do this because 4...Nxe4 Black instant equality--at least! My only explanation for what happened is that this game was actually played by the Muzychuk sisters, made up by Uzbekistan's equivalent of Hollywood's finest to look like Aravindh and Pragg.} Bc5 {Come on, seriously?} (4... Nxe4 5. Nxe4 (5. Bxf7+ $2 {is terrible and known to be terrible, and the database scores only confirm it. Amazingly, a few GMs have taken it for a spin in the last few years, perhaps hoping that their opponents haven't looked at it since they were five years old. Generally speaking, it didn't work. Here's a very high-level example:} Kxf7 6. Nxe4 d5 $19 {Black has a winning advantage after six moves. Life is good!} 7. Neg5+ Kg8 8. d3 h6 9. Nh3 g5 {Definitely not best, but it's still a +2 advantage for Black, who goes on to win. Incidentally, another problem with this dopey line for White is that it's not even tricky. It's one thing if Black gets to be +2 or +3 after finding a long series of moves in an insane position; another matter altogether if common sense is all that's needed, as is the case here.} (9... Bg4 {is best, when Black's advantage is around +3.4.}) 10. Nhg1 Bg7 11. c3 Bf5 12. Ne2 e4 13. Nfd4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Bxd4 15. cxd4 exd3 16. O-O Kg7 17. h4 Qf6 18. Qf3 Be4 19. Qg3 Qd6 20. Qg4 Raf8 21. hxg5 hxg5 22. f4 Qg6 23. Bd2 Rh4 24. Qg3 Qh5 25. Kf2 Rg4 26. Rh1 Rxg3 27. Rxh5 Rxg2+ 28. Ke1 Rg1+ {0-1 Mamedyarov,S (2767)-So,W (2767) chess.com Speed Chess.com INT blitz 2019 (1.25)}) (5. O-O $5 {is the only move, to my mind, that could justify 4.Bc4. Objectively Black has an edge, but there are tricks and White does enjoy some long-term chances for the pawn.} Nxc3 {The principled move, but also the riskier one.} (5... Nf6 {offers to return the pawn to placate White and nullify his ambitions.} 6. d4 (6. Re1 Be7 7. Nxe5 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 {is every bit as exciting as the 5.Re1 Berlin, but here it's Black with the mini-edge after} d6 $1 9. Re1 d5) 6... e4 7. Ne5 d5 8. Bb5 Bd7 9. f3 a6 10. Bxc6 Bxc6 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. fxe4 dxe4 13. Re1 Be7 14. Nxe4 O-O $11 {½-½ Baltar,A (1325)-Farr,D (1559) OP-2021-0-05155 LSS email The position is a little more comfortable for White, but there's no advantage to speak of. Black's c-pawns won't drop off the board anytime soon, and he'd like to grab some space himself with ...Nxe4 followed by ...f5. The evaluation could be quite different if White had a light-squared bishop, but he doesn't.}) 6. dxc3 {Now 6...f6 and 6...h6 are the principled moves, keeping White's knight off of g5, but it's still possible to try to make the game boring with} Be7 7. Qd5 O-O 8. Nxe5 Nxe5 9. Qxe5 $11 {, which is what I'd recommend for most people who are only going to see this once every several years - at most. Now ...Bf6 followed by ...c6 and ...d5, or ...c6 and ...d5 straight away, gives Black easy and full equality. (That doesn't mean that a draw is guaranteed; plenty of pieces remain, so the better player can still win.)}) 5... d5 6. Bd3 dxe4 (6... Nb4 {is a good alternative that's likely to surprise your opponents.} 7. Ng3 (7. Nc3 e4 8. Bxe4 dxe4 9. Nxe4 Bg4 $1 $44) 7... e4 8. Be2 (8. Bxe4 dxe4 9. Nxe4 {we've already seen. Black usually plays 9...Bf5, but} Bg4 $1 {may be even better.}) 8... exf3 9. Bxf3 $11 {Black maintains equality with pretty much any normal move.}) 7. Bxe4 Bd6 8. O-O (8. d4 exd4 9. O-O O-O {is playable for White but not more than that.}) 8... O-O 9. Re1 (9. d3 {is a move I sometimes see in online blitz and bullet, and I always enjoy seeing them slow down after} Ne7 $1 {, threatening to collect the bishop with ...f5. White's only way to maintain the (marginally worse) half of equality is} 10. d4 $1 f5 11. Bd3 e4 12. Bc4+ Kh8 13. Ne5 Qe8 14. f4 {, with a complicated game ahead after} b5 15. Be2 a5) 9... Nb4 {is my preference.} (9... Bg4 {is also fine, and}) (9... Re8 {is very common, and was played by Aravindh himself a few weeks earlier.} 10. c3 h6 11. h3 Be6 12. d3 Qd7 13. Qa4 Rab8 14. b4 Ne7 15. Qxd7 Bxd7 16. Nd2 f5 17. Bf3 Bc6 18. Bxc6 Nxc6 19. a4 Rbd8 20. Nc4 Nb8 21. Ra2 Nd7 22. Rae2 Kf7 23. Na5 Rb8 24. Bd2 Nb6 25. c4 Nxa4 26. c5 Bf8 27. Nc4 e4 28. dxe4 Rxe4 29. Rxe4 fxe4 30. Ra1 b5 31. cxb6 Nxb6 32. Rxa7 Nd5 33. Ne3 Bxb4 34. Nxd5 Bxd2 35. Rxc7+ Ke6 36. Ne3 Bxe3 37. fxe3 Kf6 38. Kf1 Rb2 39. Ra7 Rc2 40. Rb7 Ra2 41. Rc7 Rb2 42. Ra7 Rc2 43. Rb7 Ra2 44. Rc7 Rb2 {½-½ Pranesh,M (2576)-Aravindh,C (2749) Chess.com Classic Play In Chess.com INT blitz 2025 (4)})) 5. d3 d6 6. h3 {Inviting Black to follow my suggestion for White on his last move. He takes it.} (6. Na4) 6... Na5 $1 7. Bb3 a6 8. O-O h6 9. d4 {Rare, and only played in amateur games. Black has little to fear here, but that has been true for a while.} (9. Ne2 Nxb3 (9... O-O 10. Ng3 Re8 11. Re1 b5 12. c3 Nxb3 13. axb3 Bb6 14. Be3 Bxe3 15. Rxe3 c5 16. d4 exd4 17. cxd4 Ra7 18. Rc1 Rc7 19. dxc5 Rxc5 20. Ra1 Bb7 21. Qd4 Qc7 22. Rae1 Re6 23. R3e2 Rc1 24. Qa7 Rc5 25. b4 Rc4 26. Nd4 Re8 27. Ndf5 Rxb4 28. Nxd6 Qxd6 29. Qxb7 Qe5 30. Qxa6 Rxb2 31. Rxb2 Qxb2 32. Qd6 Qe5 {½-½ Zvjaginsev,V (2643)-Rodshtein,M (2699) EU-Cup 33rd Antalya 2017 (3.5)}) 10. axb3 O-O 11. Ng3 Re8 12. Re1 d5 13. exd5 Qxd5 14. Bd2 e4 15. dxe4 Nxe4 16. Be3 Qxd1 17. Raxd1 Bd6 18. Nxe4 Rxe4 19. Nd2 Re8 20. Nc4 Bf5 21. Nxd6 cxd6 22. Re2 Rac8 23. c3 Be6 24. b4 Bc4 25. Red2 Bb3 26. Ra1 Rc6 27. Ra5 Bc4 28. Rf5 f6 29. Rf4 d5 30. h4 Rce6 31. Kh2 Re4 {½-½ Aronian,L (2764)-Anand,V (2759) Paris GCT rapid 2018 (3)}) 9... Nxb3 10. axb3 exd4 11. Nxd4 O-O 12. Be3 Bb4 (12... Re8 $142) 13. Na2 Bc5 14. b4 Bb6 15. Nc3 Re8 16. Qf3 Bd7 17. Rfe1 a5 18. b5 Bc5 19. Rad1 a4 (19... Bb4 $142 $11) 20. Bf4 (20. Nf5 $142 $14) 20... a3 $6 (20... c6 $11) (20... d5 $1 21. e5 c6 $1 $11 {That's a somewhat unrealistic - but nice - idea from the computer.}) 21. bxa3 Bxd4 22. Rxd4 Rxa3 23. b6 $6 {Plausible, but a missed opportunity.} (23. Rd3 $16 {, intending Qd1 and e5, gives White a meaningful advantage.}) 23... Re6 $1 24. Re3 Ne8 $1 25. bxc7 Qxc7 $11 26. Red3 Qc5 27. Rd5 Qc4 28. R5d4 Qc5 29. Rd5 Qc4 30. R5d4 Qc5 {Was it a "Muzychuk sisters" game? Maybe I'm reading too much into their being friends, countrymen, playing one of the lamest opening lines in all of chess, and agreeing to a draw by repetition after 30 moves. On the other hand, White did enjoy a bit of pressure near the end, so it's hard to be certain.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.19"] [Round "1"] [White "Yakubboev, Nodirbek"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B07"] [WhiteElo "2659"] [BlackElo "2782"] [PlyCount "52"] [GameId "2191277598605323"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 d6 {Erigaisi is nothing if not provocative in his play, and here he's starting from move 1 with the semi-correct Pirc.} 2. e4 Nf6 3. Bd3 {Safety first.} (3. Nc3 {, please. Black must be put to the test.} g6 {Now White's main choices are between the aggressive lines with Be3, Qd2, and f3 on the one hand, the also aggressive 4.f4, and more positional lines with 4.Nf3. Choose according to your style and the time you can spend in preparation; if you're open to all three I'd recommend trying the first two.}) 3... e5 4. c3 Nbd7 5. Nf3 d5 {Nothing new yet. Black's score with this is very good, even if the engine still claims a micro-edge for White after 6.Qe2.} 6. dxe5 dxe4 $11 7. exf6 exf3 8. fxg7 {I can't tell if Yakubboev is playing with ambition or not, but is he following 16 predecessors including several involving GMs.} (8. O-O Qxf6 9. Re1+ Be7 10. Be3 Ne5 11. Bd4 Qg5 12. Bb5+ c6 13. g3 $11 {is a fun, slightly crazy line that may represent best play for both sides.}) 8... Bxg7 9. Qxf3 Ne5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. Qxb7 $4 $146 {A novelty, but one that loses. So this wasn't prep; Yakubboev just got tricked into complications he was unprepared for. So much for 3.Bd3 and "safety first".} (11. Qe2 c6 12. O-O $1 $11 {lets White reach a tolerable position, as has happened in two previous games.}) 11... O-O $1 $19 {Black threatens ...Rb8, so White doesn't have time to evacuate his king before something awful like ...Nd3+ happens.} 12. Bxd7 (12. Be2 Bc6 13. Qa6 Bxg2 14. Rg1 Nf3+ 15. Bxf3 Bxf3 $19) 12... Nd3+ 13. Kf1 Qxd7 {The extra pawn doesn't matter; White is busted.} 14. Na3 Rfe8 15. Be3 Rab8 16. Qf3 Rxb2 17. Nc4 Rc2 18. Rd1 Qa4 19. Nd2 (19. Rxd3 Qxc4 $19) 19... Rxa2 20. h3 Ra1 21. Ke2 Nf4+ 22. Qxf4 Qxf4 23. Rxa1 Bxc3 24. Rxa7 Qg5 25. Nc4 Qb5 26. Kd3 Qb3 {A complete rout thanks to White's prep - or the lack thereof.} 0-1 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.19"] [Round "1"] [White "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B76"] [WhiteElo "2691"] [BlackElo "2714"] [PlyCount "60"] [GameId "2191277598605324"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,60,13,-6,17,24,30,9,11,29,29,30,26,34,15,19,13,11,0,15,19,4,17,17,31,16,-27,-41,-30,-36,-23,-26,-1,50,13,12,12,4,20,18,33,131,76,23,-47,-11,-26,-51,-9,-12,-23,-24,-20,-2,-1,-4,0,-19,-1,-4,1,-20,-38]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 d6 9. f3 Qa5 10. h4 {Trying to surprise Rapport.} (10. Qd2 {is the main move by an overwhelming margin.}) 10... Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Be6 {The best reaction.} 12. g4 Rac8 $146 (12... h6 $146) (12... h5) 13. g5 (13. h5 {is arguably better.}) 13... Nh5 14. Bxg7 Nxg7 $15 15. Qd2 Rc7 (15... Bxb3 16. cxb3 Nh5 $15) 16. Nd5 Qxd2+ 17. Kxd2 Bxd5 18. Bxd5 e6 (18... Nh5) 19. Bb3 f5 $5 (19... Nh5) 20. Rad1 $11 fxe4 21. fxe4 Kf7 22. Ke3 Ke7 23. Rd2 (23. Rhf1 $11) 23... Rc5 24. Rf2 Rxf2 25. Kxf2 Nh5 26. c3 Rc8 27. Bd1 Rf8+ 28. Ke3 Nf4 29. Rh2 e5 30. h5 gxh5 {Another 30-move draw.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.19"] [Round "1"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Sindarov, Javokhir"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2710"] [PlyCount "84"] [GameId "2191277598605325"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 {Will Black park the bishop on e7 rather than play an Italian, or maybe even on g7?} 5. O-O Bc5 {Nope: It's a Giuoco after all.} 6. c3 d6 7. Re1 O-O 8. h3 a5 9. Nbd2 Bb6 (9... Be6) 10. a4 Be6 11. b3 {Rare but not unknown; Carlsen and Niemann have both used it within the last year.} d5 (11... Re8 12. Bb5 (12. Bb2 Ne7 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. Nc4 Ng6 15. Nxb6 cxb6 16. d4 Qc7 17. c4 Rad8 18. Qd2 Rf8 19. Rad1 Nh5 20. Re3 Nhf4 21. Kh2 d5 22. cxd5 exd5 23. Rc1 Qf7 24. Qc2 dxe4 25. Qxe4 exd4 26. Nxd4 Rde8 27. Qc2 Rxe3 28. fxe3 Nd5 29. Re1 Nb4 30. Qe2 Ne5 31. Bc3 Qc7 {0-1 Niemann,H (2733)-Nakamura,H (2802) Chess.com SpeedChess Final Paris blitz 2024 (2.16)}) 12... Bd7 13. Nc4 Bc5 14. Bd2 Ba7 15. Bxc6 Bxc6 16. Nxa5 Bxf2+ 17. Kxf2 Rxa5 18. b4 Ra8 19. b5 Bd7 20. c4 c6 21. Kg1 Be6 22. a5 Nd7 23. Kh1 cxb5 24. cxb5 Nc5 25. Ra3 Bd7 26. Qb1 Ne6 27. a6 bxa6 28. bxa6 Nc5 29. a7 Qc7 30. Qa1 Bb5 31. Be3 Nxd3 32. Rb1 Bc4 33. Nd2 d5 34. exd5 f5 35. Qc3 e4 36. Qxc4 Qg3 37. Nf1 Nf2+ 38. Bxf2 Qxa3 39. d6+ Kh7 40. Qd5 f4 41. Qf5+ {1-0 Carlsen,M (2833)-Nakamura,H (2802) Chessable Masters Winners Chess.com INT rapid 2025 (5.1)}) 12. Bb5 (12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Ne4 {has also been tried in a (very) few GM games.}) 12... Ne7 13. exd5 Nfxd5 14. Qc2 Ng6 $146 (14... c6 15. Bc4 Ng6 16. d4 Ndf4 17. dxe5 Nh4 18. Bf1 Bd5 19. Re4 (19. Nxh4 Nxh3+ 20. gxh3 Bxf2+ 21. Kxf2 Qxh4+ 22. Ke2 Qh5+ 23. Kf2 Qh4+ {½-½ Marbourg,D (2409)-Kamody,M (2489) Champion's League 2019/C4 email ICCF email [1]}) 19... Bxe4 20. Qxe4 Nxf3+ 21. Nxf3 Ng6 22. e6 f5 23. Qc2 Bc5 24. Bc4 Kh8 25. Qe2 Qf6 26. Bd2 Rad8 27. Re1 Rfe8 28. Be3 Bxe3 29. Qxe3 Kh7 30. Nd4 Kh8 31. Nf3 Kh7 32. Nd4 Kh8 33. Nf3 {½-½ Ulasevich,S (2527)-Kovacs,A (2486) WC-2020-S-00001 LSS email}) 15. d4 $1 Ndf4 16. dxe5 Nh4 {Black has good compensation for the pawn. The engine says ?, but at the club level Black will have an easier time of it. Judging by the game, that practical assessment may also hold above the club level.} 17. Bf1 $1 Bd5 $1 18. Re4 $1 (18. Nxh4 {is the only other move that won't leave White with the worse position. This allows for a short, spectacular draw:} Nxh3+ $1 19. gxh3 Bxf2+ $1 20. Kxf2 $8 Qxh4+ 21. Ke2 $8 Qh5+ $8 22. Kf2 $8 Qh4+ $8 $11) 18... Bxe4 19. Qxe4 Nhg6 20. Bc4 ({Now is the time for} 20. g3 {--don't let enemy pieces remain around your king for any longer than necessary - bad things will happen!} Nd5 21. Bb2) 20... c6 21. h4 $2 {Played to prepare g3 without hanging the h-pawn (see the comment on the previous move!), but it's too slow.} (21. Nf1 {Again, aiming to shoo away the knight from f4.} Nd5 22. Be3 $11) 21... Qd7 $1 $19 22. g3 Nd5 $2 $15 ({The brave} 22... Nh3+ $1 {was correct. After} 23. Kg2 (23. Kf1 Nxf2 24. Qxg6 {doesn't walk into a mate in two, but it still loses after} Qh3+ 25. Ke2 Rad8 $19 {intending ...Qg2.}) 23... Nxf2 {moves like 24.e6 or 24.Qxg6 look scary, but they're not.} 24. e6 (24. Qxg6 $2 {is an instant loser:} Qh3+ 25. Kg1 Qh1#) 24... Nxe4 $1 25. exd7 Nf6 $19 {Black will be up the exchange and a pawn, and White has no attack (or anything else) to show for it.}) 23. Ba3 $2 {The right move at the wrong time.} (23. h5 Nge7 24. Qh4 {gives White definite compensation. Net up: Ba3, Re1, Ne4 and so on.}) 23... Rfe8 $19 24. Bd6 (24. Kg2 Bc7 $19 {is also terrible for White, just for a different reason.}) 24... Qh3 25. Nf1 Nxc3 26. Qd3 Nd5 27. Bxd5 cxd5 28. Qxd5 Qd7 $1 29. N1d2 Qg4 $1 30. Ne4 ({In case of} 30. Nf1 {Black will not repeat. Instead,} Rac8 31. Qxb7 Nxh4 $1 32. Nxh4 Bxf2+ $1 33. Kxf2 Rc2+ 34. Kg1 Qd4+ 35. Kh1 Qxa1 $19) 30... Nf4 (30... Kh8 $1 {is also good, and now Black does threaten to take on f3 (Nf6 won't come with check).}) 31. Qxb7 Nh3+ $2 {Sindarov has played a great game overall, but chess is tough. This gives Nepo a chance to survive.} (31... Rac8 $1 {wins - see below.}) 32. Kg2 $2 (32. Kf1 $1 $11) 32... Nf4+ $1 33. Kg1 Rac8 $1 {Back on track.} 34. Nh2 (34. Qxb6 Qxf3 35. gxf4 Qxe4 {White's pawns (and king) are a mess, and his bishop does little to nothing to trouble Black.}) (34. Rf1 Rc2 35. Nh2 (35. Qxb6 Qxf3 36. gxf4 Qxe4 $19) 35... Qg6 $19) 34... Bxf2+ $1 35. Kh1 Qe2 $1 36. Nxf2 Qxf2 37. Rf1 {Good enough, and likewise 37...Qxg3. But Black missed an opportunity to finish in style.} Qe2 (37... Rc1 $3 38. Rxc1 Ne2 39. e6 Nxc1 40. exf7+ Qxf7 41. Qxf7+ Kxf7 $19) 38. Qf3 Rc2 (38... Rc3 {is another chance for some flash.}) 39. Qxe2 Nxe2 40. Kg2 Rec8 41. b4 axb4 42. Bxb4 Nf4+ 0-1 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.19"] [Round "1"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Vokhidov, Shamsiddin"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C44"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2644"] [PlyCount "79"] [GameId "2191277598605326"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,79,16,8,22,15,16,0,-1,0,-3,6,-11,0,-1,-7,-8,-30,-19,-31,-31,-29,1,-24,-118,-24,-26,-148,42,45,68,-1,68,-18,3,-6,0,-24,26,27,38,36,64,39,51,58,47,34,29,17,41,24,32,13,13,178,87,92,83,100,106,-109,152,117,136,149,4,155,263,188,229,173,209,271,276,234,331,437,406,468,462,408]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. g3 {Okay kids, avert your eyes. First White plays e4, opening the diagonal for the bishop, and then he plays g3 so the bishop can to g2, where it's blocked by the e4-pawn. Of course chess isn't as simple as that, and it's good to experiment with different ideas. Moreover, one can only stand so many Italian Games and Berlins before one starts pining for Chess960. So, 3.g3 it is.} Nf6 (3... d5 {isn't bad, even if it partially justifies White's last move.} 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Nc3 Qd6 6. Bg2 Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 {is a funny position and possibly the greatest "Scandinavian" line for Black of all time. There aren't many games from here, but many feature elite GMs. Black has done well here - extremely well, in fact, winning six games and losing only one (with 10 draws). The only player to lose with Black? Magnus Carlsen, who also lost with White.} 8. g4 (8. d3 f6 9. O-O O-O-O 10. b4 Qxb4 11. Bd2 Qa5 12. a3 Nge7 13. Re1 Bf7 14. Ne4 Qa4 15. Nc5 Qb5 16. Bb4 Nxb4 17. axb4 Nc6 18. Ng5 fxg5 19. Qg4+ Kb8 20. Nd7+ Rxd7 21. Qxd7 Bxb4 22. Reb1 a5 23. Bxc6 Qb6 24. c3 Rf8 25. cxb4 a4 26. Qe7 {1-0 Duda,J (2750)-Carlsen,M (2864) Charity Cup KO chess24.com INT rapid 2022 (3.23)}) 8... Bg6 9. Nh4 O-O-O 10. d3 Nd4 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. Ne4 Qd7 13. c3 Ne6 14. Qb3 Qxd3 15. Be3 Qa6 16. Bf1 Qc6 17. Bg2 Qa6 18. Bf1 Qc6 19. Qc4 Nf6 20. Qxc6 bxc6 21. Ba6+ Kb8 22. Ng5 Nxg5 23. Bxg5 Bc5 24. Ke2 Rd6 25. f3 Nd5 26. Rad1 f6 27. Bc1 g5 28. Rd3 Nf4+ 29. Bxf4 exf4 30. Kd2 Be3+ 31. Kc2 c5 32. Rxd6 cxd6 33. Bc4 Kc7 34. Bd5 a5 35. Kd3 Kb6 36. Kc4 Bf2 37. Rh2 Be3 38. Be4 Bg1 39. Rd2 Kc7 40. Kb5 Rxh3 41. Kxa5 g6 42. Rd1 Be3 43. Rf1 Rh2 44. b4 Rxa2+ 45. Kb5 cxb4 46. cxb4 f5 47. gxf5 gxf5 48. Bxf5 d5 49. Rh1 Kd6 50. Rh5 Rb2 51. Rxg5 Bd2 52. Rg6+ Ke5 53. Bd3 Kd4 54. Bf5 Bxb4 55. Kc6 Ra2 56. Rg4 Bd2 57. Rg1 Ra6+ 58. Kb5 Ra3 59. Bg4 Rc3 60. Rh1 Ke3 61. Rh8 d4 62. Rd8 d3 63. Bf5 Be1 64. Re8+ Kf2 {0-1 Carlsen,M (2872)-Aronian,L (2775) London Classic 11th 2019 (2.8)}) 4. d3 Bc5 {The difficulty for Black in lines like these is that his pieces come out to the most beautiful squares straight away, and then there's nothing for them to do. White will make his slow buildup, and if Black doesn't come up with some clever ideas he'll get pushed back a rank at a time. In particular, White will expand on the kingside with h3, Kh2, N-somewhere and f4. This is a reason I like 3...d5 as a practical matter, not letting White set up his bunker in peace.} 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O h6 7. h3 O-O 8. Nc3 a5 {Preserving the bishop from exchange by Na4.} 9. Kh2 Be6 10. Nd2 d5 11. f4 {Putting the aforementioned plan into effect.} exf4 12. gxf4 dxe4 13. dxe4 Nd4 14. Nb3 $1 $146 (14. e5 Nd5 15. Nde4 Bb6 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. c3 Bxe4 18. Bxe4 Ne6 19. Qg4 Kh8 20. f5 Nc5 21. f6 Rg8 22. Bc2 Qf8 23. Qh4 Ne6 24. Bf4 g5 25. Qh5 Nxf4 26. Rxf4 gxf4 27. Qf5 Rg6 28. e6 Qg8 29. exf7 Rg2+ 30. Kh1 Rg1+ {0-1 De Boer,E (2384)-Paravyan,D (2608) Titled Tuesday intern op 02nd Jul Early Chess.com INT blitz 2024 (6)}) 14... Nxb3 15. axb3 $14 c6 16. Qe2 Re8 17. Bf3 (17. e5) 17... Nd7 18. Bd2 f5 $11 19. e5 Nf8 20. Na4 Ba7 (20... Bd4 $1) 21. Be3 $14 Bxe3 22. Qxe3 Bf7 $6 (22... Qe7 23. Nb6 Rad8 $11 24. Rxa5 Qb4 25. Ra4 Qd2+ 26. Qf2 Re7 $44) 23. Be2 (23. Nb6 $142 $16) 23... b5 $11 24. Rad1 Qe7 25. Nc5 Rad8 26. Rg1 Rxd1 27. Rxd1 Ne6 $2 (27... g5 $1 {is marginally better for Black.}) 28. Nxe6 Bxe6 29. Rd6 $16 {Now White's dark-squared control in and around the center and Black's weak c-pawn are the most important factors in the game.} Bd5 30. Bxb5 cxb5 (30... Rd8 $1) 31. Rxd5 $18 Rc8 32. c3 a4 33. Rxb5 a3 34. bxa3 Qxa3 35. Qd2 Qa1 36. e6 Qf1 37. c4 Ra8 38. e7 Kh7 39. Rxf5 Qb1 (39... Ra1 40. Qg2 $18) 40. Rd5 {Threatening both Rd8 and Qd3+. Black had enough.} 1-0 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Black "Vokhidov, Shamsiddin"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2644"] [PlyCount "65"] [GameId "2191277598605327"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,65,15,20,12,1,0,2,0,-3,5,-7,6,7,6,-36,0,-34,17,3,0,-12,3,-10,6,-24,0,0,-5,-11,-17,-19,-12,-7,-12,-38,25,-8,-80,-16,-98,-12,-5,94,63,112,95,-5,19,111,151,249,159,163,254,250,261,331,298,296,324,252,179,415,224,501,492,563]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 (2. g3 {can be tried, to avoid the ...Bb4 lines we'll see in the game.} e5 3. Bg2 Nc6 {White has no particularly useful waiting moves, but can and should commit with} (3... c6 {is also possible, and as we'll see in a similar position below White's chief options are 4.Nf3 and 4.d4.}) 4. Nc3 {. Now that the knight is on c6 White can meet} Bb4 (4... Bc5 {is more popular here.}) {with} 5. Nd5 $14 {as the trade on d5 is unappealing for Black.}) 2... e5 3. g3 {This move order sidesteps the 6...Bc5 option given in the following note.} (3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Bc5) 3... Bb4 ({After} 3... d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 {Black cannot play 5...Bc5, which is a trendy option when Nf3 and ...Nc6 have been included.} Nb6 6. Nf3 Nc6 {etc.}) (3... c6 {is the "punishment" for White's not playing 3.Nf3, but whether it really is a punishment of any sort is another matter. Still, White must know what to do, whether he goes for 4.Nf3 or 4.d4.}) 4. e4 {The Botvinnik-style approach. White will set up a light-squared pawn triangle and go for a gradual kingside buildup, a little like what we saw in the round 1 game between Abdusattorov and Vokhidov. Poor Vokhidov is going to get a double dose. Incidentally, while Botvinnik is the founding father of this strategic approach, Fabiano Caruana is his heir apparent, at least when it comes to this line. He lost to it at the hands of Magnus Carlsen in 2018 and 2020, but since then he has mostly been beating the tar out of people with it from the white side. Here are all the games in the line featuring the two great Cars:} (4. Nd5 $6 {is useless here (compare the 2.g3, 4...Bb4 variation given above), as Black is a little better after} Nxd5 5. cxd5 O-O $11 {/?}) (4. Bg2 {is fine, but after} O-O {White has nothing better than to "go Botvinnik" with} 5. e4 {all the same.}) 4... d6 (4... Bxc3 5. bxc3 (5. dxc3 d6 6. f3 (6. Qc2 O-O 7. Nf3 Be6 8. Ng5 Bd7 9. f3 a5 10. Nh3 a4 11. Nf2 Nc6 12. Be2 Na5 13. b4 axb3 14. axb3 Nc6 15. Rb1 Be6 16. Nd1 Ne7 17. O-O c6 18. Bg5 Nd7 19. Qd2 h6 20. Be3 Nf6 21. Nf2 d5 22. Rfd1 Qc7 23. Bc5 b6 24. Bxe7 Qxe7 25. cxd5 cxd5 26. exd5 Bxd5 27. c4 Bc6 28. Qe3 Ra2 29. Ra1 Rxa1 30. Rxa1 Nd7 31. Bd3 f5 32. Bc2 e4 33. fxe4 Ne5 34. Bd1 fxe4 35. Be2 Nf3+ 36. Bxf3 Rxf3 37. Qxb6 Qf6 38. Rd1 e3 39. Ng4 Qe6 40. Qb8+ Kh7 41. Ne5 Qh3 {0-1 Aronian,L (2752)-Caruana,F (2819) Norway Chess 7th Stavanger 2019 (8)}) 6... a5 (6... O-O 7. Nh3 a6 8. a4 Nbd7 9. Nf2 a5 10. Be2 Nc5 11. O-O Bd7 12. Be3 b6 13. Kh1 Kh8 14. b3 Ng8 15. g4 Ne7 16. Rb1 Ng6 17. Qd2 Ne6 18. Nd3 Nc5 19. Rg1 Nxd3 20. Bxd3 Bc6 21. Rg3 Qe7 22. Rbg1 Kg8 23. Bc2 Kh8 24. Kg2 Kg8 25. Kf2 f6 26. Ke1 Kf7 27. g5 Ke8 28. Kd1 Bd7 29. gxf6 Qxf6 30. Bg5 Qe6 31. h4 Rf7 32. h5 Nf8 33. Kc1 g6 34. f4 exf4 35. Bxf4 Bc6 36. e5 dxe5 37. Bxe5 Re7 38. hxg6 hxg6 39. Bxg6+ Nxg6 40. Rxg6 Qxe5 41. Rg8+ Kf7 42. Qf2+ Ke6 43. R1g6+ Kd7 44. Qd2+ Bd5 45. Rxa8 Qe1+ 46. Qxe1 Rxe1+ 47. Kd2 Bxa8 48. Kxe1 Be4 49. Rg7+ Kd6 50. Kd2 c5 51. Kc1 Kc6 52. Kb2 Bd3 53. Rg4 Be2 54. Rf4 Bd3 55. Rh4 Be2 56. Kc2 Bf3 57. Rf4 Bh5 58. Rf6+ Kc7 59. b4 Bg4 60. bxc5 bxc5 61. Kd3 Bd1 62. Ke4 Bxa4 63. Kd5 Bb3 64. Kxc5 a4 65. Kb4 Kb7 66. c5 Kc7 67. Ra6 Kb7 68. Rxa4 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2861)-Karjakin,S (2752) Abidjan GCT blitz 2019 (14)}) (6... Be6 7. Nh3 h6 8. Nf2 a5 9. f4 Na6 10. f5 Bd7 11. Bg2 b5 12. cxb5 Bxb5 13. b3 a4 14. c4 Bc6 15. Be3 axb3 16. axb3 Nc5 17. Bxc5 dxc5 18. Qxd8+ Kxd8 19. Rxa8+ Bxa8 20. Kd2 Ke7 21. Kc3 Bc6 22. Re1 Ra8 23. Nd3 Nd7 24. Kb2 Kd6 25. Bf3 Ke7 26. h4 Rh8 27. g4 g5 28. Rh1 Rg8 29. hxg5 hxg5 30. Rh6 f6 31. Kc3 Kf7 32. Rh7+ Rg7 33. Rh2 Rg8 34. Ne1 Kg7 35. Nc2 Rh8 36. Rxh8 Kxh8 37. Ne3 Kg7 38. Nd5 Bxd5 39. cxd5 Kf7 40. Kc4 Ke7 41. Kb5 Kd6 42. Be2 Nb6 43. Ka6 Nd7 44. Bc4 Nb6 45. Kb7 Kd7 46. Bb5+ Kd6 47. Kb8 Nd7+ 48. Bxd7 Kxd7 49. Kb7 Kd6 50. Kc8 c6 51. dxc6 Kxc6 52. Kd8 Kb5 53. Ke7 Kb4 54. Kxf6 Kxb3 55. Kxe5 c4 56. f6 c3 57. f7 c2 58. f8=Q c1=Q 59. Qf7+ Kb2 60. Qf5 Qc7+ 61. Kf6 Qd8+ 62. Kg6 Qg8+ 63. Kh6 Kc3 64. Qc5+ Kb2 65. Qb6+ Ka1 66. Qf6+ Kb1 67. e5 Qc4 68. Kxg5 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2835)-Petrov,N (2593) Wch Rapid St Petersburg 2018 (8)}) 7. Be3 (7. a4 Be6 8. Nh3 h6 (8... O-O 9. b3 Na6 10. Ng5 Bd7 11. Be3 Nc5 12. Ra2 Ra6 13. Rd2 Rb6 14. Bxc5 dxc5 15. Bh3 h6 16. Bxd7 hxg5 17. h4 Rd6 18. Rxd6 cxd6 19. Bf5 Nh5 20. Kf2 g6 21. Bg4 Nf6 22. Qd2 Nxg4+ 23. fxg4 Kg7 24. h5 Rh8 25. Ke2 f6 26. Kd1 Qd7 27. Qe2 b6 28. Qf3 Rh6 29. Kc2 Qe6 30. Kb2 Qd7 31. Ka3 Qe6 32. Rd1 Rh8 33. Rd5 Rd8 34. Rd2 Rd7 35. Rh2 Rd8 36. hxg6 Kxg6 37. Qh1 Qg8 38. Rh6+ Kf7 39. Qh5+ Ke6 40. Rg6 Qf7 41. Qxg5 Ke7 42. Qf5 Rg8 43. Rh6 Rg5 44. Qc8 Rg8 45. Qc7+ Ke6 46. Qc6 Re8 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2863)-Aronian,L (2773) Clutch-ch June Lichess.org INT rapid 2020 (2.5)}) 9. Nf2 Na6 10. Be3 Nc5 11. Qc2 O-O 12. g4 Nfd7 13. h4 c6 14. Be2 b5 15. axb5 cxb5 16. cxb5 d5 17. exd5 Bxd5 18. c4 Bb7 19. Rd1 Qe7 20. g5 e4 21. f4 Nd3+ 22. Kf1 N7c5 23. gxh6 gxh6 24. Rg1+ Kh8 25. Qc3+ f6 26. Rg6 Rg8 27. Qxf6+ Qxf6 28. Rxf6 Nxf2 29. Kxf2 Nd3+ 30. Bxd3 exd3 31. Rxh6+ Kg7 32. Rb6 Be4 33. Re6 Bf5 34. Re5 Kf6 35. Bd4 Rad8 36. Rd5+ Kg6 37. Rg1+ Kh6 38. Rxg8 Rxg8 39. Rxf5 Rg2+ 40. Kxg2 d2 41. Rd5 {1-0 Caruana,F (2792)-Navara,D (2697) Gashimov Memorial Rapid 7th Baku 2021 (4.3)}) (7. Nh3 a4 8. Nf2 Be6 9. Bd3 Nbd7 10. Qe2 c6 11. f4 Nb6 12. Be3 c5 13. O-O-O Qe7 14. f5 Bd7 15. g4 h6 16. h4 O-O-O 17. g5 Ne8 18. Bd2 hxg5 19. hxg5 Nc7 20. Ng4 Rdg8 21. Rh2 Qf8 22. Rdh1 Kb8 23. b4 axb3 24. axb3 Nc8 25. Kb2 Qd8 26. Rh7 Rxh7 27. Rxh7 Rh8 28. Qh2 Rxh7 29. Qxh7 Qf8 30. Ne3 Ne7 31. Kc2 Qg8 32. Qh4 Qf8 33. Kd1 Nc6 34. Qh7 Ne7 35. Ke2 Nc8 36. Kf2 Ne7 37. Be2 Qg8 38. Qh1 g6 39. Qh6 Ne8 40. f6 Nc6 41. b4 Nc7 42. bxc5 dxc5 43. Nd5 Ne6 44. Be3 Ka7 45. Bg4 b6 46. Nc7 Qc8 47. Nb5+ Kb8 48. Nd6 Qg8 49. Qh1 Qf8 50. Qd1 Ncd8 51. Nb5 Bc6 52. Kg1 Nc7 53. Bf2 Nb7 54. Bg3 Bxb5 55. cxb5 Qd6 56. Qe2 Ne6 57. Bxe6 Qxe6 58. Qh2 Qg4 59. Kf2 Qxe4 60. Bxe5+ Kc8 61. Qh3+ Kd8 62. Qh8+ Kd7 63. Qh3+ Kd8 {½-½ Carlsen,M (2845)-Anand,V (2774) Grenke Chess Classic 6th Karlsruhe/Baden Baden 2019 (3)}) 7... Nc6 (7... Be6 8. Nh3 h6 9. Nf2 Nbd7 10. Be2 a4 11. g4 b6 12. h4 Nc5 13. Qd2 Qe7 14. Rb1 Nfd7 15. Nd1 h5 16. g5 f5 17. gxf6 gxf6 18. Rg1 Qf7 19. b3 axb3 20. axb3 f5 21. b4 Na4 22. exf5 Bxc4 23. Ra1 b5 24. Nb2 Bxe2 25. Qxe2 Qb3 26. Kf2 Kf7 27. Nxa4 Rxa4 28. Qxb5 Ra2+ 29. Rxa2 Qxa2+ 30. Qe2 Ra8 31. Rd1 Qxe2+ 32. Kxe2 Kf6 33. Rg1 Kxf5 34. Rg5+ Ke6 35. Rxh5 Ra2+ 36. Bd2 Nb6 37. Kd3 Kd5 38. Rg5 Nc4 39. Rg2 Ra1 40. Rh2 Nxd2 41. Rxd2 Rh1 42. c4+ Ke6 43. Ra2 Rxh4 44. Ra7 Rd4+ 45. Kc3 Rf4 46. Rxc7 Rxf3+ 47. Kc2 Rf2+ 48. Kd3 Rf3+ 49. Kd2 Rf2+ 50. Kd3 Rf3+ 51. Kd2 Rf2+ 52. Kd3 {½-½ Caruana,F (2781)-Sjugirov,S (2680) Chess.com Rapid Wk7 Swiss Chess.com INT 2022 (2)}) (7... O-O 8. Nh3 Nfd7 9. Nf2 Nc5 10. Bxc5 dxc5 11. Qxd8 Rxd8 12. Nd3 Nd7 13. O-O-O Re8 14. Bh3 b6 15. Bxd7 Bxd7 16. Nxe5 Bh3 17. Nc6 Bg2 18. Rhe1 Re6 19. Nd8 Re8 20. Rd2 Bxf3 21. Nxf7 Bxe4 22. Rd7 Bg6 23. Ne5 Re6 24. Rd2 Rae8 25. Rde2 Bf5 26. b3 g5 27. Re3 h5 28. h4 gxh4 29. gxh4 Kg7 30. R1e2 R6e7 31. Kd2 Rd8+ 32. Ke1 Rde8 33. Kf2 Bb1 34. a3 Bf5 35. b4 axb4 36. cxb4 cxb4 37. axb4 Kf6 38. Nc6 Rxe3 39. Rxe3 Ra8 40. Nd4 Bg4 41. Nb5 c5 42. bxc5 bxc5 43. Nc7 Ra4 44. Nd5+ Kf5 45. Re8 Ra2+ 46. Kg3 Ra3+ 47. Re3 Ra4 48. Nb6 Rb4 49. Nc8 Kf6 50. Nd6 Be6 51. Ne4+ Kg6 52. Nxc5 Bf7 53. Nd7 Bxc4 54. Re4 Rb3+ 55. Kf4 Bd5 56. Rd4 Be6 57. Ne5+ Kf6 58. Nf3 Bg4 59. Ng5 Rb1 60. Rd6+ Ke7 61. Rh6 Rf1+ 62. Ke5 Re1+ 63. Kd4 Rd1+ 64. Ke3 Rh1 65. Kf4 Rxh4 66. Ke5 Rh1 67. Rh7+ Kd8 68. Nf7+ Kc7 69. Nd6+ Kc6 70. Ne4 Re1 71. Rh6+ Kb5 72. Kd4 Rd1+ 73. Ke3 Re1+ 74. Kf4 Kc4 75. Nd6+ Kd5 76. Nb5 Re6 77. Nc7+ Kd6 78. Nxe6 Bxe6 79. Rxh5 Bd5 80. Rh4 Be6 81. Ke4 Bd5+ 82. Kd4 Be6 83. Rh6 Kd7 84. Ke5 Bf7 85. Rh7 Ke7 86. Rg7 Kf8 87. Kf6 Bd5 88. Rg5 Bc6 89. Rc5 Kg8 90. Rxc6 Kh7 91. Rc8 Kh6 92. Rh8# {1-0 Caruana,F (2781)-Robson,R (2676) Chess.com Rapid Wk7 Swiss Chess.com INT 2022 (5)}) 8. Nh3 h6 9. Nf2 Be6 10. Be2 a4 11. f4 exf4 12. gxf4 Qe7 13. Rg1 g5 14. fxg5 hxg5 15. Bxg5 Rxh2 16. Qd3 Ne5 17. Qg3 Rh8 18. Qf4 Rg8 19. O-O-O Rxg5 20. Rxg5 O-O-O 21. b3 Ng6 22. Qe3 Kb8 23. Ra5 b6 24. Rxa4 Bd7 25. Ra3 Bc6 26. b4 Nd7 27. Nd3 Bb7 28. c5 dxc5 29. bxc5 f5 30. Nb4 Nxc5 31. Rxd8+ Qxd8 32. exf5 Nh4 33. f6 Nf5 34. Qe5 Nd6 35. c4 Qh8 36. Nd5 Bxd5 37. Qxd5 Ncb7 38. Rf3 Nc5 39. Ra3 Ncb7 40. f7 Qh6+ 41. Kd1 Qf6 42. Rf3 Qa1+ 43. Kd2 Qxa2+ 44. Ke1 Qa1+ 45. Kf2 Nxf7 46. Rxf7 Qh8 47. Bf3 Qh2+ 48. Kf1 c6 49. Rxb7+ Ka8 50. Qxc6 Qh3+ 51. Ke2 Qh2+ 52. Kd3 {1-0 Caruana,F (2781)-Van Foreest,J (2714) Chess.com Rapid Wk7 Swiss Chess.com INT 2022 (4)}) 5... O-O 6. f3 b5 (6... d6 7. d4 Nc6 8. Nh3 Nd7 9. Nf2 b6 10. h4 Ba6 11. h5 h6 12. g4 Na5 13. Rg1 f6 14. Qa4 c5 15. d5 Qe8 16. Nd1 Nb8 17. Qxe8 Rxe8 18. Ne3 Nd7 19. Nf5 Nb7 20. a4 Nf8 21. Rg2 Rad8 22. Raa2 Na5 23. g5 fxg5 24. Bxg5 hxg5 25. Rxg5 Rd7 26. Rag2 Ree7 27. h6 g6 28. Rxg6+ Nxg6 29. Rxg6+ Kh7 30. Nxe7 Rxe7 31. Rxd6 Bc8 32. Kf2 Nb7 33. Rc6 Re8 34. f4 Rf8 35. Ke1 Na5 36. Rc7+ Kxh6 37. fxe5 Re8 38. Kd2 Kg5 39. Ke3 Ba6 40. e6 Bxc4 41. Rg7+ Kf6 42. Rf7+ Kg6 43. Bh3 Bb3 44. Kf4 Kh6 45. Bf5 Rh8 46. e7 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2835)-Aronian,L (2742) Titled Tuesday intern op 01st Aug Early Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (9)}) (6... Re8 7. d4 (7. Kf2 c6 8. d4 d5 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. dxe5 Rxe5 11. c4 d4 12. Ne2 Nc6 13. Nf4 Nd7 14. Nd5 Re8 15. Bf4 Nde5 16. Bxe5 Rxe5 17. Bd3 f5 18. Re1 fxe4 19. Bxe4 Bf5 20. Bxf5 Rxf5 21. f4 Qd7 22. Rb1 Raf8 23. Kg1 R5f7 24. Rb2 Re8 25. Rbe2 Rff8 26. a4 Qf7 27. Qd3 Rxe2 28. Qxe2 Rd8 29. Qe4 g6 30. g4 Kf8 31. Kf2 Kg7 32. Kg3 Kf8 33. h3 a6 34. Kf3 Kg7 35. Qe6 Qxe6 36. Rxe6 Kf7 37. f5 gxf5 38. gxf5 Rg8 39. Rh6 Kg7 40. Rd6 Rf8 41. Kf4 d3 42. Nc7 Rc8 43. Ne6+ Kf7 44. Rxd3 Ne7 45. Ng5+ Ke8 46. Ke5 Rc5+ 47. Ke6 Nxf5 48. Ne4 Ng7+ 49. Kd6 Rxc4 50. Ke5 Rxa4 51. Nd6+ Ke7 52. Nxb7 Rh4 53. Ra3 Rh6 54. Nc5 Rh5+ 55. Kd4 a5 56. Rxa5 Ne6+ 57. Kc4 Nxc5 58. Rxc5 Rxh3 59. Kd4 Kf6 60. Ke4 Kg6 61. Kf4 Rh5 62. Rxh5 Kxh5 63. Kg3 Kg5 64. Kh2 Kh5 65. Kh1 Kg5 66. Kg1 Kh5 67. Kh1 {½-½ Carlsen,M (2863)-Caruana,F (2835) Clutch-ch June Lichess.org INT rapid 2020 (3.1)}) (7. Nh3 c6 8. Nf2 d5 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Bg2 b6 11. O-O Ba6 12. Re1 Nc6 13. d3 h6 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. f4 Rc8 16. c4 Nf6 17. fxe5 Rxe5 18. Rxe5 Nxe5 19. Bb2 Ned7 20. Qa4 Nc5 21. Qa3 Bb7 22. Bxb7 Nxb7 23. Qxa7 Nc5 24. Qa3 h5 25. Re1 Ng4 26. Nxg4 hxg4 27. Qc3 f6 28. Re3 Qd7 29. Qd4 Rd8 30. Qxd7 Rxd7 31. d4 Na4 32. Ba1 Rc7 33. c5 bxc5 34. Ra3 cxd4 35. Bxd4 Rc4 36. Be3 Nc3 37. Kf1 Kh7 38. Ke1 Kg6 39. Ra7 Rb4 40. Kd2 Nd5 41. Bc5 Rb2+ 42. Kd3 Rxh2 43. Rd7 Rh5 44. Bf8 Re5 45. Kd4 Nb6 46. Rxg7+ Kf5 47. Ra7 Re4+ 48. Kd3 Nc4 49. Bh6 Ne5+ 50. Kc3 Rc4+ 51. Kb3 Rd4 52. Rc7 Ke4 53. a4 Rd3+ 54. Rc3 Rxc3+ 55. Kxc3 Kd5 56. Bg7 Nf3 57. Bxf6 Nh2 58. Kb4 Kc6 59. Bd4 Kb7 60. Bg1 Nf3 61. Bf2 Nh2 62. Kb5 Ka8 63. a5 Kb7 64. a6+ Ka8 65. Kc6 Nf1 66. Kd5 Nxg3 67. Bxg3 Ka7 68. Ke4 Kxa6 69. Kf4 Kb5 70. Kxg4 {½-½ Carlsen,M (2863)-Aronian,L (2773) Clutch-ch June Lichess.org INT rapid 2020 (2.3)}) 7... d6 8. Bd3 Nc6 9. Ne2 b6 10. g4 Nd7 11. O-O Ba6 12. Ng3 exd4 13. cxd4 Nxd4 14. Bb2 Ne6 15. f4 g5 16. fxg5 Qxg5 17. Rf5 Qe3+ 18. Kh1 Ne5 19. Be2 Bb7 20. Qc2 Nc5 21. Bc1 Bxe4+ 22. Nxe4 Qxe4+ 23. Qxe4 Nxe4 24. Bb2 Re6 25. Raf1 Rae8 26. g5 Nd2 27. R1f2 Nexc4 {0-1 Svidler,P (2723)-Carlsen,M (2863) Legends of Chess Final chess24.com INT rapid 2020 (1.11)}) 7. d4 exd4 8. cxd4 bxc4 9. e5 Nd5 10. Bxc4 Bb7 11. Nh3 d6 12. O-O Nd7 13. Re1 dxe5 14. dxe5 N7b6 15. Bb3 Qe7 16. e6 fxe6 17. Ng5 Rf6 18. Qc2 Rg6 19. Rxe6 Qxe6 20. Nxe6 Rxe6 21. Bb2 Rae8 22. Bd4 Kh8 23. Qf5 Bc8 24. Qh5 c5 25. Bxc5 Re5 26. Qf7 Bh3 27. Bf8 Re1+ 28. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 29. Kf2 Rf1+ 30. Ke2 Nc3+ 31. Kd3 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2863)-Caruana,F (2835) Clutch-ch June Lichess.org INT rapid 2020 (3.12)}) (4... O-O 5. Nge2 Nc6 (5... b5 6. cxb5 a6 7. b6 cxb6 8. Bg2 Nc6 9. O-O Bc5 10. d3 d6 11. h3 Bd7 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. fxe3 Ne7 14. d4 b5 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Qd6 Ng6 17. Nd5 Be6 18. Qxd8 Rfxd8 19. Nec3 Ne8 20. a4 Nd6 21. h4 Bg4 22. Rfc1 h5 23. Bf1 Rac8 24. axb5 axb5 25. Bd3 Nc4 26. Nxb5 Nxb2 27. Bf1 Rxc1 28. Rxc1 Rc8 29. Rxc8+ Bxc8 30. Be2 Bg4 31. Bxg4 hxg4 32. Nd6 Nd3 33. h5 Nh8 34. h6 gxh6 35. Nf5 Kh7 36. Nf6+ Kg6 37. Nxg4 h5 38. Nf2 Nxf2 39. Kxf2 f6 40. Kf3 Nf7 41. Kg2 Ng5 42. Nd6 Kg7 43. g4 hxg4 44. Kg3 Nxe4+ 45. Nxe4 f5 46. Nf2 f4+ 47. exf4 exf4+ 48. Kxf4 g3 49. Kf3 gxf2 50. Kxf2 {½-½ Svidler,P (2723)-Carlsen,M (2863) Legends of Chess Prelim chess24.com INT rapid 2020 (7.3)}) (5... d6 6. h3 Nc6 7. Bg2 a6 8. O-O b5 9. d3 bxc4 10. dxc4 Bc5 11. Kh2 Rb8 12. b3 a5 13. Nd5 a4 14. Be3 axb3 15. axb3 Bxe3 16. fxe3 Nd7 17. Nec3 Nc5 18. Nb5 Ne6 19. h4 Bd7 20. Bh3 Rb7 21. b4 Ne7 22. Ra2 Nc8 23. Ra8 Kh8 24. Qh5 Qe8 25. Bf5 h6 26. Bh3 c6 27. Nxd6 Nxd6 28. Rxe8 Rxe8 29. Nf6 Re7 30. c5 Nc4 31. Nxd7 Rbxd7 32. Rxf7 Rxf7 33. Bxe6 Rf2+ 34. Kh3 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2863)-Aronian,L (2773) Clutch-ch June Lichess.org INT rapid 2020 (2.8)}) ({Caruana's first loss against the system came at the worst possible time: in the first tiebreak game of his World Championship match with Carlsen.} 5... c6 6. Bg2 a6 7. O-O b5 8. d4 d6 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Nxc3 bxc4 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Na4 Be6 13. Qxd8 Rxd8 14. Be3 Nbd7 15. f3 Rab8 16. Rac1 Rb3 17. Rfe1 Ne8 18. Bf1 Nd6 19. Rcd1 Nb5 20. Nc5 Rxb2 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bxc4 Nd4 23. Bxd4 exd4 24. Bxe6+ Kf8 25. Rxd4 Ke7 26. Rxd7+ Rxd7 27. Bxd7 Kxd7 28. Rd1+ Ke6 29. f4 c5 30. Rd5 Rc2 31. h4 c4 32. f5+ Kf6 33. Rc5 h5 34. Kf1 Rc3 35. Kg2 Rxa3 36. Rxc4 Ke5 37. Rc7 Kxe4 38. Re7+ Kxf5 39. Rxg7 Kf6 40. Rg5 a5 41. Rxh5 a4 42. Ra5 Ra1 43. Kf3 a3 44. Ra6+ Kg7 45. Kg2 Ra2+ 46. Kh3 Ra1 47. h5 Kh7 48. g4 Kg7 49. Kh4 a2 50. Kg5 Kf7 51. h6 Rb1 52. Ra7+ Kg8 53. Rxa2 Rb5+ 54. Kg6 Rb6+ 55. Kh5 {1-0 Carlsen,M (2835)-Caruana,F (2832) World-ch Carlsen-Caruana Tiebreak London rapid 2018 (1)}) 6. Bg2 Nd4 (6... Bc5 7. O-O a6 8. d3 d6 9. h3 h6 10. Kh2 Rb8 11. f4 b5 12. f5 Nd4 13. Nxd4 Bxd4 14. cxb5 axb5 15. Ne2 Bb6 16. g4 d5 17. Qe1 dxe4 18. dxe4 Bb7 19. Ng3 Ra8 20. Bf3 Ra4 21. Kg2 Qa8 22. b3 Rxa2+ 23. Rxa2 Qxa2+ 24. Qd2 Qxd2+ 25. Bxd2 Rd8 26. Bc3 Bd4 27. Ba5 Ra8 28. b4 c5 29. h4 cxb4 30. Bxb4 Ra2+ 31. Kh3 Rf2 32. Rxf2 Bxf2 33. g5 hxg5 34. hxg5 Bxg3 35. Kxg3 Nxe4+ 36. Kg2 f6 37. g6 Bd5 38. Ba5 Bb7 39. Bb4 Bd5 40. Ba5 Bb7 41. Bb4 {½-½ Caruana,F (2764)-Grigoriants,S (2562) Titled Tuesday intern op 16th May Late Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (10)}) ({Caruana's only loss from the white side (AFAIK) came in this game, and the opening wasn't to blame.} 6... d6 7. O-O a5 8. d3 h6 9. h3 Bc5 10. Kh2 Nd4 11. Nxd4 Bxd4 12. f4 c6 13. f5 Bxc3 14. bxc3 d5 15. Qe2 dxe4 16. dxe4 Qe7 17. a4 Rd8 18. g4 Nh7 19. Be3 c5 20. Rab1 Ra6 21. Qf2 b6 22. h4 f6 23. Rfd1 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Bd7 25. Qc2 Bc6 26. Bf3 Ra8 27. Rb1 Qc7 28. Rd1 Rd8 29. Rd5 Bxd5 30. cxd5 Qe7 31. Be2 Rd6 32. Bc4 Kh8 33. Qb1 Nf8 34. Kg2 Qd7 35. Bb5 Qc7 36. Qh1 Kg8 37. Kf2 Qe7 38. Qb1 Qc7 39. Bc4 Qf7 40. Qb5 Qd7 41. Qb3 Kh8 42. Qd1 Kg8 43. Bb5 Qc7 44. Be2 Nh7 45. Qb3 Qd7 46. Ke1 Kh8 47. Kd2 Kg8 48. Qc4 Kh8 49. Kc2 Kg8 50. Kb3 Kh8 51. Qa6 Nf8 52. Bb5 Qc7 53. Kc4 Kg8 54. Qa8 Rd8 55. Qc6 Qb8 56. Ba6 Rd6 57. Qb7 Qd8 58. Bb5 Nd7 59. Bc6 Nb8 60. Bb5 Nd7 61. Qa7 Qb8 62. Qxb8+ Nxb8 63. g5 hxg5 64. hxg5 Kf8 65. g6 Ke7 66. Bf2 Rd8 67. Bc6 Kd6 68. Kb5 Kc7 69. Ba8 Rh8 70. Be3 Rh3 71. Bd2 Rd3 72. Be1 Re3 73. Bd2 Re2 74. Bc1 Rc2 75. Be3 Rb2+ 76. Kc4 Kd6 77. Bg5 Rg2 78. Be3 Re2 79. Kd3 Ra2 80. Bd2 Ke7 81. Be3 Rxa4 82. Bb7 Ra1 83. Kc4 Re1 84. Bd2 Rxe4+ 85. Kb5 Re2 86. Bh6 Rb2+ 87. Kc4 Kf8 88. Be3 a4 89. Bc1 Rb1 90. Ba3 Ke7 {0-1 Caruana,F (2766)-Makhnev,D (2483) Titled Tuesday intern op 14th Mar Early Chess.com INT blitz 2023 (11)}) 7. O-O Bc5 8. d3 d6 9. h3 a6 10. Kh2 Bd7 11. Nxd4 Bxd4 12. Ne2 Bc5 13. f4 h6 14. a3 a5 15. Bd2 a4 16. Rc1 Qe7 17. Nc3 Bd4 18. Qf3 Rab8 19. Be3 b5 20. Bxd4 exd4 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. cxd5 Rb7 23. Qf2 Qf6 24. Qe1 b4 25. axb4 Rfb8 26. e5 Qg6 27. e6 fxe6 28. dxe6 Bxe6 29. Bxb7 Rxb7 30. g4 Bd5 31. f5 Qf6 32. Rc2 c5 33. bxc5 dxc5 34. Qe8+ Kh7 35. Re1 c4 36. Qg6+ Qxg6 37. fxg6+ Kxg6 38. dxc4 d3 39. Rd2 Bxc4 40. Re4 Rc7 41. Kg3 Bb5 42. Re5 Bc4 43. h4 Rd7 44. h5+ Kf6 45. Re4 Bb3 46. Rf2+ {1-0 Caruana,F (2805)-Svane,R (2635) Chess.com Classic Play In Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (3)}) 5. d3 {Very rare, and not yet played at the GM level. We leave the world of Carlsen and Caruana behind, and resume our regularly scheduled programming.} (5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Nge2 (6. h3 Be6 7. d3 Nd7 8. Nge2 f5 9. O-O O-O 10. f4 Bxc3 11. Nxc3 fxe4 12. Nxe4 h6 13. g4 exf4 14. Bxf4 d5 15. cxd5 Bxd5 16. Qd2 Nd4 17. Rae1 Ne6 18. Bg3 Rxf1+ 19. Rxf1 Ndc5 20. Qc3 Nxe4 21. dxe4 Bc6 22. Qb3 Qd4+ 23. Kh2 Re8 24. Rd1 Qa4 25. Qxa4 Bxa4 26. Rd5 Bc6 27. Re5 g5 28. Bf1 Kg7 29. Kg2 Kf6 30. Kf2 Nf4 31. Rxe8 Bxe8 32. Ke3 Ke5 33. Be1 Ne6 34. Bc4 Bg6 35. b4 a6 36. a4 Nf4 37. Bc3+ Kd6 38. Bg7 h5 39. Bf1 hxg4 40. hxg4 Ne6 41. Bf6 Kd7 42. a5 Kd6 43. Bc4 Kd7 44. Bd5 c6 45. Bc4 Bh7 46. Bd4 Bg6 47. Bf6 Bh7 48. Bf1 Ke8 49. Bd3 Bg6 50. Bc4 Kd7 51. Bd4 Bh7 52. Ba7 Bg6 53. Bb3 Ke7 54. Bc2 Kd7 55. Kf3 Bh7 56. Be3 Bg6 57. Bd3 Ke7 58. Ke2 Ke8 59. Kd2 Kf8 60. Bc5+ Kg7 61. Ke3 Kg8 62. Bc4 Bf7 63. Be7 Kg7 64. e5 Kg8 65. Kd2 Kg7 66. Bd3 Kg8 67. Bf5 Kg7 68. Kd3 Nf4+ 69. Kd4 Ne6+ 70. Kc4 Kg8 71. Bxg5 Nxg5+ 72. Kc5 Bd5 73. Bc8 Ne6+ 74. Kd6 Kf7 75. Bxb7 Bc4 76. Bxc6 Nd4 77. Bd5+ Bxd5 78. Kxd5 Nb5 79. g5 Ke7 80. g6 Nc3+ 81. Kc6 Na2 82. b5 axb5 83. Kxb5 Nc3+ 84. Kc4 Na4 85. Kb4 Nb2 86. a6 Nd3+ 87. Kb5 Nf4 88. g7 Kf7 89. a7 Nd5 90. g8=B+ {1-0 Caruana,F (2800)-Robson,R (2669) USA-ch Saint Louis 2021 (7)}) 6... h5 (6... Bg4 7. h3 Bxe2 8. Nxe2 Bc5 9. d3 a5 10. O-O Nd4 11. Be3 Nxe2+ 12. Qxe2 Nd7 13. Rad1 O-O 14. d4 exd4 15. Bxd4 Bxd4 16. Rxd4 Qf6 17. Rdd1 Rfe8 18. Qd2 a4 19. Rfe1 Nc5 20. f4 h6 21. Re2 Re6 22. Rde1 Rae8 23. Kh2 Qe7 24. Qc2 Qf6 25. b4 axb3 26. axb3 c6 27. b4 Nd7 28. Qd3 Qe7 29. Qd4 Nf6 30. c5 dxc5 31. bxc5 Rd8 32. Qc3 Nd7 33. Rd2 Nf6 34. Rxd8+ Qxd8 35. e5 Nd5 36. Qd2 Re7 37. f5 Qc7 38. e6 fxe6 39. fxe6 Nf6 40. Qd4 Re8 41. Qd6 Qe7 42. Bf3 Kf8 43. Re2 Rd8 44. Qe5 Kg8 45. Kg2 Nd5 46. Qd4 Nc7 47. Qe4 Na6 48. Rc2 Nxc5 49. Qb4 b6 50. Qxb6 Nxe6 51. Re2 Qd6 52. Rxe6 Qxe6 53. Qxd8+ Kh7 54. Qd3+ Kh8 55. Qc2 c5 56. Qxc5 Qa2+ 57. Qf2 Qe6 58. Qe2 Qd7 59. Be4 {1-0 Caruana,F (2794)-Praggnanandhaa,R (2740) Wch Blitz Samarkand 2023 (18)}) 7. h3 Bc5 8. d3 Nh7 9. Na4 h4 10. g4 Nf8 11. Nxc5 dxc5 12. Be3 Ne6 13. O-O g5 14. a3 a5 15. Rb1 b6 16. Nc3 Ncd4 17. Ne2 a4 18. Nxd4 cxd4 19. Bd2 Bd7 20. Qf3 f6 21. Bb4 Kf7 22. Rfc1 c5 23. Bd2 Ra6 24. Bf1 Kg7 25. Be2 Qe7 26. Bd1 Rb8 27. Kh2 Qd6 28. Qe2 Rb7 29. Qe1 Qb8 30. Ra1 b5 31. b4 axb3 32. Bxb3 Qa7 33. Qd1 bxc4 34. Bxc4 Bb5 35. Bxb5 Rxb5 36. a4 Rb2 37. a5 Nf4 38. Rcb1 Qb7 39. Bxf4 gxf4 40. Qc1 Rxb1 41. Rxb1 Qc7 42. Qc4 Rxa5 43. Qd5 Ra7 44. Rb5 Qf7 45. Qxc5 Rc7 46. Qa3 Rc2 47. Kg2 Kg6 48. Qa8 Rc7 49. Rb6 Kg7 50. Qd8 Rd7 51. Qc8 Rc7 52. Qf5 Qg6 53. Qe6 Qf7 54. Qd6 Rd7 55. Qb4 Qe7 56. Qb5 Rc7 57. Rb8 Qd7 58. Qb6 Qf7 59. Qb5 Qd7 60. Qa5 Qf7 61. g5 f3+ 62. Kxf3 Qh5+ 63. Kg2 Qxg5+ 64. Kh2 Qf4+ 65. Kg2 Qg5+ 66. Kh2 Qf4+ 67. Kg2 Qg5+ {½-½ Caruana,F (2805)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2732) Chess.com Classic Play In Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (5)}) 5... Nc6 6. h3 a6 $146 7. Nge2 b5 8. Bg2 Rb8 $146 9. O-O Bc5 10. Rb1 $146 O-O 11. Kh2 h6 12. f4 $146 {The game has periodically transposed to a (very) few other games, but from here on out they're breaking new ground.} (12. a3 Ba7 13. b4 Bd7 14. Bd2 Nh7 15. Rc1 Ne7 16. Nd5 c6 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. f4 f5 19. cxb5 axb5 20. exf5 Bxf5 21. Rxc6 Bxd3 22. Qb3+ Bc4 23. Bd5+ Bxd5 24. Qxd5+ Kh8 25. Qxd6 Qb7 26. Rc7 Qe4 27. Nc3 Qc2 28. Nxb5 Qa4 29. Qd7 {1-0 Conquest,S (2455)-Garcia Palermo,C (2505) Catania op 1995 (9)}) 12... bxc4 13. dxc4 Nd4 $11 {It's equal but very imbalanced. White is going for the kingside buildup now, and Black must find counterplay somewhere or he'll get squashed.} 14. f5 a5 15. g4 Ba6 16. b3 c6 (16... a4 $1 {is a nice way to make some progress, with the tactical point that} 17. Nxa4 $2 {is hit by} Bxc4 $1 $19) 17. Ng3 Nh7 18. Nh5 {"Launching", as Tal would call it.} g6 $6 {Black doesn't want to tolerate this knight, but this move is begging for trouble.} (18... a4 $1) 19. Bxh6 $1 gxh5 $2 (19... Qh4 $3 {isn't obvious, but it's the only way to stay afloat.} 20. fxg6 fxg6 21. Bxf8 Rxf8 22. Rxf8+ Nxf8 23. Ng3 Bc8 $44 {All of Black's pieces except for the knight on f8, which will return to the action momentarily via h7 or e6, are in the attack. This gives him full compensation for his large material deficit, and quite possibly better chances in a game between humans.}) 20. g5 $1 $18 {Now Black is cooked, as the kids say. White's f- and g-pawns keep the defenders away, and Black has no meaningful counterplay elsewhere that will be fast enough to dissuade White from going for mate.} Kh8 21. Qxh5 Rg8 22. g6 fxg6 23. fxg6 Rb7 $1 {A nice try, met by an equally nice reply.} 24. Rf7 $1 (24. gxh7 $4 Rxh7 $19 {and it's suddenly Black who has the makings of a winning attack.}) 24... Rxf7 25. gxf7 Rg7 26. Rf1 $1 Qf8 27. Bxg7+ Kxg7 28. h4 $1 {Intending Bh3 followed by Rg1(+). Pragg is conducting the attack perfectly.} Bc8 29. Bh3 $1 {Anyway!} Bxh3 30. Rg1+ (30. Kxh3 {was also strong. If Black tries to stop Rg1+ with} Nc2 {, White just does a rook lift and gives the check from another rank.} 31. Rf3 Be3 32. Ne2 $18) 30... Kf6 31. Rg8 Qxf7 32. Qh6+ Ke7 33. Rg7 {White wins the queen for his rook, and - crucially - will also win either the bishop on h3 or the knight on h7, leaving him with a queen and pawn vs. two minor pieces. With this win Pragg went to #5 in the world, leapfrogging his countryman (and incidentally, the World Champion) Dommaraju Gukesh.} 1-0 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Sindarov, Javokhir"] [Black "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D24"] [WhiteElo "2710"] [BlackElo "2767"] [PlyCount "84"] [GameId "2191277598605328"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,84,11,32,11,24,25,19,24,18,30,-24,39,50,26,26,26,51,45,37,44,31,29,42,17,53,33,43,41,64,32,39,67,211,60,71,74,63,81,46,29,66,61,58,84,72,91,71,82,87,100,164,12,127,130,130,127,112,127,83,139,119,12,115,106,125,74,71,23,24,30,49,23,43,-41,17,3,6,-1,-1,-72,-1,-154,-1,-73,-6,-33]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. Nxb5 Nb6 8. Be2 Nc6 9. Be3 Be7 10. Nc3 Bb7 11. O-O Qd7 12. Qb1 {White had a 100% score (6-0) with this move going into the game, though there were no GM games in the small sample.} O-O 13. Ne4 h6 $146 14. Rd1 Rfd8 15. Nc5 Bxc5 16. dxc5 Nd5 17. Bxc4 Qe7 18. Qc1 a5 19. Bxd5 Rxd5 20. Rxd5 exd5 21. Qc3 Bc8 (21... d4 $1 22. Nxd4 Qxe5 {keeps some compensation for the pawn. The opposite-colored bishops in particular give Black good chances to hold.}) 22. Re1 $16 Bd7 23. Bd2 a4 24. Nd4 Qh4 $2 25. e6 $1 fxe6 26. Nxe6 $2 (26. Nxc6 Bxc6 27. Rxe6 Be8 28. Qe5 Qe4 {Not forced, but the middlegame doesn't hold good prospects for Black either.} 29. Qxe4 $1 dxe4 30. h3 $18 {Here the opposite-colored bishops are not going to save Black. He's down a pawn and very likely to lose at least one more as e4, c7, and g7 are all weak.}) 26... Bxe6 27. Rxe6 Qg4 $16 {/+-} 28. Re1 $6 $16 (28. Qe3 $1) 28... Qg6 $6 (28... Rb8) 29. h3 (29. Qf3 $1 $18) 29... d4 $6 (29... Rf8 $142) 30. Qf3 $2 {This gives away almost all of White's advantage.} (30. Qc4+ $1 Qf7 31. Qb5 Qd5 32. Qb7 $18 {followed by 33.Qxc7 is clearly winning for White.}) 30... Rf8 $14 31. Qd5+ $6 (31. Bf4 $142 $1) 31... Qf7 $11 32. Qe6 Nd8 $1 33. Qxf7+ Kxf7 {Black's queenside counterplay will suffice for a draw.} 34. b4 axb3 35. axb3 Ne6 36. Kf1 Ra8 37. Re5 Ra2 38. Ke1 c6 39. f4 d3 40. Re3 Ra1+ 41. Kf2 Ra2 42. Ke1 Ra1+ {A big missed opportunity for the Uzbek #2 to take a bite out of the country's #1 player.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Rapport, Richard"] [Black "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A46"] [WhiteElo "2714"] [BlackElo "2757"] [PlyCount "114"] [GameId "2191277598605329"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 h6 {The idea is to meet 4.e3 with 4...Nh5, forcing the bishop's exchange. Nepo has played this twice before, even if the move is quite uncommon overall. (There are only 84 games in the database with this, as compared with} (3... d5 {, which (through various move orders) has been reached almost 35,000 times.)}) 4. h3 (4. e3 Nh5 5. Bg3 d6 6. Bd3 Nd7 (6... g6 7. c3 Bg7 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nfd2 Nf4 10. exf4 gxh4 11. Qh5 Qf6 12. g3 hxg3 13. hxg3 Nc6 14. Na3 Bd7 15. Nac4 O-O-O 16. O-O-O Kb8 17. Rhe1 Rdf8 18. Kb1 a6 19. Nf3 Qd8 20. Ne3 Bc8 21. Be4 Ne7 22. Bc2 b6 23. f5 Bb7 24. Nh4 Bf6 25. fxe6 fxe6 26. Ng4 Bxh4 27. Qxh4 h5 28. Ne3 Rxf2 29. g4 Rf4 30. Qg5 Qf8 31. Rf1 Bf3 32. gxh5 Rg8 33. Bg6 Nxg6 34. hxg6 Rf6 35. Rde1 Rgxg6 36. Qh4 Qg7 37. Ka1 Rh6 38. Qf2 Qh7 39. Qd2 Rh2 40. Rf2 Rfh6 41. a3 Kb7 42. c4 Rxf2 43. Qxf2 Bc6 44. c5 Rh2 45. Qg3 Rh3 46. Qf2 Qh4 47. Qd2 Rh1 48. Rxh1 Qxh1+ 49. Ka2 Bd5+ 50. b3 dxc5 51. dxc5 bxc5 52. Kb2 Qe4 53. b4 Qd4+ 54. Qc3 Qxc3+ 55. Kxc3 Kc6 56. Ng4 Kb5 57. Nf6 cxb4+ 58. axb4 a5 59. bxa5 Kxa5 60. Ng4 Kb5 61. Ne5 Kc5 62. Nd3+ Kd6 63. Kd4 c5+ 64. Ke3 e5 65. Nf2 c4 66. Kd2 Kc5 67. Kc3 Bf3 68. Nh3 Kd5 69. Ng5 e4 70. Kd2 Kd4 71. Ne6+ Ke5 72. Nc7 Bg4 73. Ke3 Bd7 74. Na6 c3 75. Nb4 Ba4 76. Na2 c2 77. Nc1 Bb5 78. Kd2 Bd3 79. Ke3 Kd5 80. Kd2 Kc4 81. Na2 Kd4 82. Nc1 e3+ {0-1 Le,T (2568)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2770) CrunchLab Masters PlayIn Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (4)}) 7. c3 g6 8. e4 Bg7 9. Nbd2 b6 10. Qe2 Bb7 11. O-O a6 12. Rfe1 O-O 13. Nf1 Nxg3 14. Nxg3 c5 15. a4 cxd4 16. cxd4 Qe7 17. Rac1 Rfc8 18. Rxc8+ Bxc8 19. Rc1 Qd8 20. Qc2 Kf8 21. Qc6 Rb8 22. Qxd6+ Qe7 23. Qxb8 Nxb8 24. Rxc8+ Qe8 25. Rxe8+ Kxe8 26. e5 {1-0 Le,T (2598)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2754) Titled Tuesday intern op 28th Jan Early Chess.com INT blitz 2025 (7)}) 4... c5 5. e3 d5 6. Be2 $146 {Already a brand-new position.} Qb6 7. b3 Bd6 8. Be5 Nbd7 9. O-O Qc7 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. c4 dxc4 12. Bxc4 a6 13. Be2 O-O 14. Nbd2 cxd4 15. Nc4 Qc7 16. Qxd4 b5 17. Nce5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Bb7 19. Rfc1 Qe7 20. Qc5 Qxc5 21. Rxc5 Rfc8 22. Rac1 Rxc5 23. Rxc5 Rc8 24. Rxc8+ Bxc8 {One might expect a handshake here (or at move 30), but the game keeps going and things happen.} 25. Bf3 Kf8 26. Kf1 Ke7 27. Ke2 Nd7 28. Nc6+ Kd6 29. Na7 Kc7 30. Nxc8 Kxc8 {Oddly enough, Rapport lost a somewhat similar endgame with Black in the next round} 31. Kd3 Kc7 32. Kd4 a5 33. a3 Kd6 34. Be2 e5+ 35. Kc3 Kc5 36. b4+ axb4+ 37. axb4+ Kc6 {Black's b-pawn is a liability, but as long as he can avoid the creation of the famous "second weakness" a draw is still the expected result.} 38. Bh5 g6 39. Bf3+ Kd6 40. Be2 Kc6 41. f4 Nf6 $1 42. fxe5 Nd5+ 43. Kb3 Nxe3 44. Bf3+ Kd7 45. Kc3 Ke6 46. Kd4 Nc2+ 47. Kc5 Kxe5 48. Kxb5 f5 49. Kc5 Nxb4 {Not strictly forced, but there's no sensible reason to delay the sac. It is inevitable, so it's best to do it while it's easy. White's problem in the ensuing ending is the infamous bishop and wrong-colored rook pawn issue: Black can give up all three of his pawns if it lets him get rid of White's g-pawn. If he does that, then if his king can reach h8 it's an elementary draw.} 50. Kxb4 Kf4 51. Kc5 g5 52. g4 fxg4 53. Bxg4 Kg3 (53... Ke5 54. Kc6 Kf6 55. Kd7 Kg7 {also draws, but Nepo's more direct approach is preferable.}) 54. Kd5 h5 55. Bd7 g4 56. Bxg4 hxg4 57. hxg4 Kxg4 1/2-1/2 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Black "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B48"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2691"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2191277598605330"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,69,11,21,-17,24,27,19,21,21,22,46,24,42,31,39,33,25,35,18,24,32,37,-73,-6,16,0,15,7,18,7,28,28,28,44,21,-11,13,11,6,15,36,4,120,-7,-7,-4,-4,-11,-1,2,21,14,12,-2,-24,4,-4,-32,-1,0,1,1,5,85,41,24,17,102,19,22,15]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. a3 {One of White's many attempts to break the Taimanov.} b5 8. Nxc6 Qxc6 9. h4 {It looks odd, but when you see h4 just mutter "AlphaZero" under your breath and move on.} ({In ancient times (six years ago, but even today) people would play} 9. Be2 {, and do reasonably well with it.}) 9... Nf6 10. h5 h6 {Almost a novelty.} ({Black had almost always preferred} 10... Nxe4 {in prior games, when play continued} 11. Nxe4 Qxe4 12. Be2 $11 {/? and now either 12...Rb8 (the engine's preference) or 12...Qc6.}) 11. e5 $146 (11. f3) 11... Ne4 12. Bd4 (12. Nxe4 Qxe4 13. Qd4 Bb7) (12. Qf3 Bb7 13. Nxe4 Qxe4 14. Rh3) 12... Nxc3 13. Bxc3 Qe4+ 14. Qe2 (14. Be2 Bb7 15. f3 Qe3 $11) 14... Bb7 15. Qxe4 (15. f3) 15... Bxe4 $11 16. O-O-O Be7 17. Rd4 Bc6 18. Rh3 O-O 19. Bb4 Bxb4 20. axb4 f6 21. exf6 Rxf6 22. f3 e5 23. Rg4 e4 24. Rhg3 g5 25. hxg6 exf3 26. gxf3 Rxf3 27. Rg1 Kg7 28. Bd3 Re8 29. Kd2 Rf6 30. Rd4 Re7 31. b3 Rf2+ 32. Kc3 Rf6 33. Kd2 Rf2+ 34. Kc3 Rf6 35. Kd2 {A comfortable hold for Maghsoodloo.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.20"] [Round "2"] [White "Aravindh, Chithambaram VR."] [Black "Yakubboev, Nodirbek"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2749"] [BlackElo "2659"] [PlyCount "94"] [GameId "2191277598605331"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,94,26,21,16,0,-63,8,19,-36,19,15,20,35,30,31,145,28,53,52,19,30,73,98,61,-4,2,0,-30,-18,-27,-28,-50,-17,-31,-37,-34,-34,-77,-95,-65,-7,2,-108,-116,-153,-146,-174,-106,-115,-120,-81,-97,1,-91,-33,-95,-119,-124,-51,-94,-56,-71,-6,-75,-65,-57,-77,-58,-58,-77,-62,-50,-48,-61,-82,-82,-92,-238,-124,-134,-128,-135,-262,-200,-191,-117,-95,-52,-90,-196,-115,-254,-236,-296,-290,-286]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Nf3 Bf5 4. Nh4 Bd7 (4... Be4) 5. Bg2 c5 {Rare but reasonable.} 6. c4 e6 $146 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Nc3 Bc6 (8... Nc6 $1 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. dxc5 Be6 11. Be3 Qa5+ 12. Qd2 Qxd2+ 13. Kxd2 Rd8 14. Rhc1 Be7 15. Nf3 Bf6 16. Rab1 Bf5 17. b4 Bxb1 18. Rxb1 O-O 19. a3 $11 {/? is a nice, somewhat overly long but plausible line.}) 9. Nxd5 Bxd5 10. e4 $14 Bc6 $2 (10... Bc4 11. Qa4+ b5 12. Qd1 b4 $14 {was what Black needed to do to justify surrendering the center.}) 11. d5 $16 {/+- Black is already in serious trouble.} Bb5 12. e5 $2 (12. Bd2 {followed by Bc3 would keep turning the screws.}) 12... exd5 13. Bxd5 Qd7 $11 14. Be3 (14. a4) 14... Nc6 $15 15. Be4 Nxe5 16. Qxd7+ Kxd7 (16... Bxd7 $142 17. Bxb7 Rb8 18. Bd5 Nd3+ $15) 17. Bxb7 (17. O-O-O+ $11) 17... Nd3+ 18. Kd2 $2 (18. Kf1 $1 {is psychologically difficult to play, but Black has no consequential discovered check.} Nxb2+ 19. Kg2 Rb8 20. Bf3 $44) 18... Rb8 $17 {/-+ Now it's White who is in trouble.} 19. Bd5 $2 (19. a4 $1 Bc4 20. b3 $1 Bxb3 21. Ba6 Nb4 22. Bb5+ Kc7 23. Rab1 $17 {/-+ Black is much better but the game goes on.}) 19... Nxb2 $2 (19... Be7 $19) (19... g6 $19) 20. Rhc1 $2 (20. Rab1 Ba6 21. Rhc1 $11 {/?}) 20... Be7 (20... g6 $142 $19) 21. Rab1 $2 (21. Bxc5 $142 $17) 21... Bc4 $1 $19 22. Be4 Rhd8 (22... Rhe8 $1) 23. Nf3 (23. Ke1 $1) 23... Ke6+ (23... Bxa2 $142 24. Ra1 Ke8+ $1 25. Ke1 Bd5 $1 26. Bxd5 Nd3+ $1 27. Kf1 Rxd5 $19) 24. Kc2 f5 25. Ng5+ Bxg5 26. Bxg5 Na4 27. Bxd8 Rxd8 28. Bc6 Bd3+ 29. Kb3 Rb8+ 30. Kxa4 Rxb1 $2 (30... Bxb1 $142 {should be played, as White's king is thereby kept on the a-file.} 31. Bb5 $1 (31. Rxc5 $2 Rb2 $1 $19 {will cost White his kingside.}) 31... Bxa2 32. Rxc5 Bd5 $19 {should eventually win for Black.}) 31. Rxc5 $1 $17 Rb2 (31... Kd6 $142 32. Rc3 Rb2 $1 33. Rxd3+ Kxc6 34. Rf3 Rxa2+ 35. Kb3 Ra5 36. Re3 $1 {gives White good chances to save the game.}) 32. Bd5+ Kd6 33. Ra5 Rxf2 34. Bb3 (34. Bg8 $142 $15) 34... Ke7 $1 35. Rxa7+ Kf6 36. Rf7+ Kg6 37. Rd7 Be4 38. Kb4 Rxh2 39. a4 Rb2 40. Re7 (40. Rc7 $15) 40... Kf6 41. Re6+ Kg5 42. Re5 $4 {Losing immediately.} (42. Re7 Bd5 43. Re3 h5 44. a5 h4 45. gxh4+ Kxh4 46. a6 f4 47. Rd3 $1 Bg2 48. a7 g5 {Black is better, but White should survive.}) 42... Bc2 43. Re3 f4 44. Rc3 (44. gxf4+ Kxf4 45. Rc3 Rxb3+ 46. Rxb3 Bxb3 47. Kxb3 Ke5 $19 {transposes to the game.}) 44... Rxb3+ 45. Rxb3 Bxb3 46. gxf4+ Kxf4 47. Kxb3 Ke5 $1 {Black's king is in the square of White's a-pawn, and while White can do the same with Black's kingside pawns the difference is that Black will be able to take all of White's pawns (all one of them) while White cannot return the favor.} 0-1 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.21"] [Round "3"] [White "Yakubboev, Nodirbek"] [Black "Praggnanandhaa, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "E10"] [WhiteElo "2659"] [BlackElo "2767"] [PlyCount "100"] [GameId "2191277598605332"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,100,19,23,18,17,25,35,39,20,25,13,22,27,35,10,-14,18,-9,-9,-9,-18,10,12,0,23,-58,32,5,7,60,99,101,110,63,75,75,72,86,86,92,89,88,58,62,61,62,69,105,110,40,107,114,107,118,118,121,97,110,122,122,115,116,102,113,111,44,100,32,86,53,106,95,85,94,95,100,75,99,76,74,96,87,55,48,117,91,81,88,66,112,37,87,74,119,237,122,106,211,118,118,106,144]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 h6 {Another 3...h6 game - we saw it against the London in the round 2 game between Rapport and Nepomniachtchi.} 4. a3 d5 5. Nc3 c6 6. c5 {Rare but playable.} Nbd7 $1 7. g3 $146 (7. Bf4 g5 $1 8. Bg3 Nh5 $11) 7... e5 $1 8. dxe5 Ne4 9. Qc2 Ndxc5 (9... Nxc3 $142 10. Qxc3 Nxc5 $15) 10. Nd4 Qe7 (10... Nxc3 $142) 11. f4 f6 $2 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Bg2 $16 fxe5 14. fxe5 Qxe5 15. Nxc6 Qf6 16. Bxe4 dxe4 17. Qxe4+ Qe6 18. Ne5 Bd6 19. Qg6+ Qxg6 20. Nxg6 Rg8 {After a semi-forced sequence White has an extra pawn and a very annoying knight on g6; in return, Black has the bishop pair. Black can't do anything about the pawn for the time being, but he can do something about the knight. Therefore, White should play 21.Rf1 to prevent both ...Kf7 and ...Bf5, and thereby keep a pleasant advantage.} 21. Bf4 $2 (21. Rf1 $1 Bh3 $1 22. Rf2 Rc8 $14 {/?}) 21... Kf7 $1 $11 {Now Black is okay: his king and especially the rook on g8 come into the game, and the opposite-colored bishop endgame that's likely to ensue gives him great drawing chances.} 22. Bxd6 Kxg6 23. Rf1 Bf5 24. Rd1 Rgd8 25. Rf4 Rac8 26. h4 Be6 27. Re4 Re8 28. Bb4 Bc4 29. Rdd4 Bb5 30. Kf2 Rxe4 31. Rxe4 Re8 32. Rg4+ Kh7 (32... Kh5 33. Rxg7 Rxe2+ 34. Kf3 Rxb2 $11 {It's easy to see why Black would reject this - one missed line somewhere and the king gets mated. Objectively though, it's fine.}) 33. e3 Bc6 34. Rd4 Re6 35. Ke2 h5 36. Kd3 Bb5+ 37. Kd2 Bc6 38. Bc5 a6 39. Kd3 Bb5+ 40. Kd2 Bc6 41. Rd8 Kg6 42. Bd4 Re8 43. Rd6+ Kf7 44. Kc3 Re6 $1 {The further loss of the g-pawn doesn't matter. Black can easily defend the pure opposite-colored bishops ending.} 45. Rd8 Re8 46. Rd6 Re6 47. Rxe6 Kxe6 48. Bxg7 Kf5 49. Kd4 Bf3 50. Be5 Bg2 1/2-1/2 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.21"] [Round "3"] [White "Maghsoodloo, Parham"] [Black "Aravindh, Chithambaram VR."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "A15"] [WhiteElo "2691"] [BlackElo "2749"] [PlyCount "119"] [GameId "2191277598605333"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 a6 3. g3 b5 4. b3 c5 5. Nc3 Bb7 6. cxb5 axb5 7. Nxb5 e5 8. Bb2 d6 9. Bg2 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. d3 Nc6 12. a4 Qd7 13. Nd2 Rab8 14. Nc4 Ba6 15. f4 exf4 16. Rxf4 d5 17. Ne3 Bxb5 18. axb5 Nd4 19. Bxd4 cxd4 20. Nf5 Rxb5 21. Ra6 Rfb8 22. Bf3 Rxb3 23. Kg2 Ra3 24. Rc6 Rc3 25. Ra6 Ra3 26. Rc6 Rc3 27. Qa4 $2 {A bad way to reject the draw.} Bd6 $1 {Now White is in trouble, but only for a moment.} 28. Nxd6 Qxc6 $2 (28... Rxc6 29. Nf5 Kh8 30. Nxd4 Rc7 $17 {leaves White with minimal compensation for the draw, though his compact position will be hard to breach.}) 29. Qxd4 Rxd3 30. Qxd3 Qxd6 $11 31. Rd4 Rd8 32. e4 g6 33. exd5 {White has won a pawn, but he will never break Black's dark-squared fortress.} Nd7 34. Qe3 Ne5 35. Be2 Rc8 36. Rd2 Ra8 37. Qd4 Ra5 38. Qe4 h5 39. Qd4 Kh7 40. Qe4 Kg7 41. Qd4 f6 42. Qb2 Ra7 43. Qd4 Ra5 44. Qb2 Ra4 45. Qb7+ Kh6 46. Qc8 h4 47. Qe6 Qb4 $1 {As on move 27, so too here: Maghsoodloo's desperate efforts to win are only endangering him. Fortunately, he has one way to save the game, and he grabs it.} 48. Qxf6 $1 Qxd2 49. Qh8+ Kg5 50. Qxe5+ Kh6 51. Qh8+ Kg5 52. gxh4+ Rxh4 53. Qd8+ Kf5 54. Qxh4 Qxe2+ 55. Qf2+ Qxf2+ 56. Kxf2 Ke5 57. h4 Kxd5 58. h5 gxh5 59. Kg3 h4+ 60. Kxh4 1/2-1/2 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.21"] [Round "3"] [White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"] [Black "Erigaisi, Arjun"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C82"] [WhiteElo "2757"] [BlackElo "2782"] [PlyCount "63"] [GameId "2191277598605334"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,63,17,27,22,22,22,24,22,0,2,1,9,6,6,-72,23,46,29,14,27,1,-3,-13,114,-8,91,47,-13,-8,12,40,94,19,23,-74,41,43,-6,29,29,4,-62,25,34,4,14,14,21,183,20,1,11,-37,-22,-12,-10,-25,1,1,-5,-1,-10,-8,-6,-6]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 {It's not as if the Open Ruy is a rare line, historically, but in comparison with the Italian, the Berlin, and the threat of the Marshall Gambit it's a breath of fresh air.} 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Bc5 10. Bc2 O-O 11. Nbd2 Nxf2 {When I was a lad, back in the 1700s or thereabouts, the Dilworth was considered a bit iffy. Nowadays, it's one of Black's most reliable options, at least theoretically. (In real life, White still does pretty well.)} 12. Rxf2 f6 13. Nf1 Bxf2+ 14. Kxf2 fxe5 15. Kg1 Qd6 (15... Bg4) 16. Be3 Rad8 17. Qe1 Bf5 18. Bxf5 (18. Bb3 {is more common, when the line generally continues} Na5 19. Qf2 Nb7 20. Re1 {and here there isn't an absolute consensus, but it seems that} Rde8 {is probably the most trusted option.} 21. Qd2 c6 22. Bd1 $11 {/? and so on.}) 18... Rxf5 $11 19. Rd1 h6 20. Bf2 e4 (20... Rf7 21. Bg3 Qc5+ 22. Bf2 Qd6 23. Qe2 Rdf8 24. Bg3 Qc5+ 25. Bf2 Qd6 26. Bg3 Qc5+ 27. Bf2 {½-½ Caruana,F (2792)-Van Foreest,J (2702) Tata Steel-A 84th Wijk aan Zee 2022 (8)}) 21. Nd4 $146 {This doesn't give White anything if Black has done his homework. Has he?} Nxd4 22. cxd4 Rdf8 $1 23. Rd2 Qb4 $1 24. a3 Qb3 $1 25. h3 R5f7 $1 $11 {The answer is a very clear "yes".} 26. Ng3 {Here, finally, Black has many moves that maintain equality.} Rf6 27. Kh2 (27. Nf1 $142) 27... a5 $15 28. Nh5 Rf5 29. Ng3 R5f6 30. Nh5 Rf5 (30... R6f7 $15 {should be played if Erigaisi wants to keep the game going, continuing with ...b4 and recapturing with the queen.}) 31. Ng3 R5f6 32. Nh5 1/2-1/2 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.21"] [Round "3"] [White "Abdusattorov, Nodirbek"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "B88"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2714"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2191277598605335"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,107,14,31,19,13,20,30,24,31,16,15,37,18,18,10,8,1,-9,2,5,5,30,12,17,12,10,-48,61,0,16,-39,-51,106,45,-17,13,0,26,140,52,169,19,25,32,16,31,88,25,42,15,20,30,40,51,50,44,57,36,19,108,26,24,23,19,43,26,65,69,40,-1,50,5,80,122,95,85,121,87,96,34,94,1,67,67,108,-8,40,95,56,153,149,72,156,58,171,266,214,270,270,323,314,314,360,360,373,901,925,945,913]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 {The Classical Sicilian is often out of favor but never dead.} 6. Bc4 (6. Bg5 {has been and continues to be the line that poses the most serious problems for Black, but it's nice to see a Sozin every once in a while.}) 6... e6 ({Benko's} 6... Qb6 {is the other main move, used by Rapport himself a couple of times last year.}) ({The real shocker is that} 6... e5 {is fully playable. There are plenty of Sicilians where Black plays this, but rarely in reply to to Bc4. One recent game:} 7. Nf5 Bxf5 8. exf5 Qa5 9. O-O d5 10. Nxd5 O-O-O 11. Bd2 Qc5 12. Ne3 Ne4 13. b4 Nxb4 14. Bxb4 Rxd1 15. Bxc5 Rxa1 16. Rxa1 Bxc5 17. Bxf7 Rd8 18. Rd1 Bxe3 19. Rxd8+ Kxd8 20. fxe3 Ke7 21. Bd5 Nc3 22. Bxb7 Nxa2 23. Kf2 Nb4 24. Be4 Kf6 25. Ke2 Na6 26. g4 Nc5 27. Bd5 h5 28. h3 hxg4 29. hxg4 Kg5 30. Kd2 Kxg4 31. Be6 Kf3 32. Bc8 a5 33. Kc3 Kxe3 34. Kc4 Ne4 35. Be6 a4 36. Kb4 Kd4 37. Kxa4 Nc3+ {0-1 Karthikeyan,M (2624)-Caruana,F (2798) Julius Baer GenCup P/I m D3 Chess.com INT rapid 2024 (1.3)}) 7. Be3 {Will we get a Velimirovic Attack? That's one of the most exciting variations in all of chess.} a6 8. Bb3 Na5 {Alas, no, though the position is still plenty sharp.} 9. f4 Qc7 10. g4 d5 $1 {The best move, but almost a novelty. It was only played once, back in 1973.} (10... Nc4 {is the most common move, and it's a mistake--even if it has been played by (a young) Firouzja and Hou Yifan.} 11. Bxc4 Qxc4 12. g5 Nd7 13. Rf1 $1 $16) 11. exd5 $146 (11. e5 {was played in the 1973 game, and it's probably both safer and better.}) 11... Bb4 $1 12. dxe6 Nxb3 13. cxb3 $1 Bxc3+ 14. bxc3 Qxc3+ 15. Kf2 Bxe6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Rc1 Qb2+ 18. Kf3 Rd8 {Everything has been good and crazy. The play remains accurate, but not crazy after the queen swap:} 19. Qc2 Qxc2 20. Rxc2 Nd5 21. Re1 O-O $11 {It's equal, but will it be drawn?} 22. h4 Rc8 (22... h5 $1 {is a nice move, carving out the f5 square while fixing White's pawns on dark squares (and thereby playing against the bishop).}) 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Bd4 Kf7 25. Re5 Ne7 26. Rc5 Rxc5 27. Bxc5 Nc6 {Still equal. Also, as noted in the earlier game, this ending is strikingly similar to Rapport-Nepomniachtchi from round 2. There it was Rapport with White and playing with the bishop - a light-squared bishop in that case - against a knight. He did manage to pose a few small problems for Nepo, but never really came close to winning. Will he do as well on the defensive side?} 28. Ke4 g6 29. Bb6 h5 30. gxh5 gxh5 31. f5 Ne7 32. fxe6+ Kxe6 {So far, so good. Still, because White's king is more active he retains practical chances. One thing to note is that if White didn't have a b-pawn, Black could play ...Nf5/g6xh4 and bring his king to a8 with an elementary draw. However, it's not going to be possible to force that draw with White's b-pawn on the board, and it's not so easy to get rid of it. (IIRC, something similar happened at the end of the famous first game of the 1972 Spassky-Fischer match, the 29...Bxh2? game.)} 33. Bf2 Nd5 (33... Ng6 {seems better, hitting the h-pawn and keeping f4 covered.}) 34. Be1 b6 35. Bd2 b5 36. Ba5 {Black is still okay, but he's running out of moves.} Ne7 37. Kf4 Nc6 $1 (37... Kf6 $4 38. Bd8 {loses immediately.}) 38. Bc3 a5 $2 ({Only} 38... b4 $8 {drew.} 39. Bb2 Ne7 $8 40. Kg5 Nd5 $8 41. Kxh5 Kf5 $8 42. Kh6 Kg4 $8 43. h5 Nf4 $8 $11) 39. Kg5 $18 a4 40. b4 $1 Ne7 41. Kxh5 Nd5 42. Bd2 Kf5 43. a3 Nb6 44. Kh6 Nc4 45. Bc3 (45. Bc1 {allows} Kf6 {keeping White's king sealed in for the moment, but White nevertheless prevails with} 46. h5 Nd6 47. Bb2+ Kf7 48. Kg5 {followed by the king's migration to the queenside.}) 45... Nxa3 46. h5 Nb1 47. Ba1 Nd2 48. Kg7 Ne4 49. h6 Ng5 {White has only one winning move. Fortunately, it's logical and thus relatively easy to find.} 50. Bb2 $1 {White cannot afford to let the pawn advance to a2.} Ne6+ 51. Kg8 Ng5 52. Bc1 $1 (52. h7 $4 Nxh7 53. Kxh7 Ke4 54. Kg6 Kd3 55. Kf5 Kc4 {and it's White who will have to be happy that he can still save the game.}) 52... a3 (52... Ne4 53. Kg7 Nf6 54. Bb2 Ne8+ 55. Kf8 a3 (55... Kg6 56. Kxe8 Kxh6 57. Kd7 $18) 56. Bxa3 Nf6 57. Bb2 Kg6 58. Bxf6 $18) 53. Bxg5 $1 (53. Bxa3 $2 Kg6 54. Bc1 Nh7 $1 55. Bf4 Nf6+ 56. Kf8 Kh7 $11 {followed by ...Nd5xb4.}) 53... a2 {Did White miscalculate?} 54. Bf6 $1 {No! A beautiful finish.} (54. Bf6 $1 Kxf6 55. h7 a1=Q {Black queens first...} 56. h8=Q+ $18 {...but White queens best.}) 1-0 [Event "2nd UzChess Cup Masters"] [Site "Tashkent UZB"] [Date "2025.06.21"] [Round "3"] [White "Vokhidov, Shamsiddin"] [Black "Sindarov, Javokhir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Monokroussos,Dennis"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2644"] [BlackElo "2710"] [PlyCount "42"] [GameId "2191277598605336"] [EventDate "2025.06.18"] [SourceVersionDate "2025.01.05"] {[%evp 0,42,16,26,21,16,12,20,18,6,8,94,58,35,26,12,18,20,-24,9,10,18,-22,12,-30,37,47,29,19,39,63,56,60,126,75,-1,1,1,-1,-1,1,1,1,1,-1]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d3 Bc5 8. Be3 Bxe3 9. fxe3 O-O 10. Nc3 d6 11. a3 Ne7 12. Nh4 Kh8 13. Rxf6 gxf6 14. Qh5 $146 Bc8 (14... Qd7 15. Rf1 Rg8 16. Rxf6 Qg4 17. Qxg4 Rxg4 18. Rxf7 Rxh4 19. Rxe7 Rg4 20. Rxc7 Rg7 $11 {is apparently equal despite White's having three pawns for the exchange.}) 15. Rf1 Be6 16. Rxf6 (16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. Bxd5 Bxd5 18. exd5 Rg8 $14 {is a little better for White, according to the engine, so I'm not sure how much of what we're seeing is prep.}) 16... Ng8 $11 17. Rf3 Nf6 18. Qh6 Ng4 19. Qh5 Nf6 20. Qh6 Ng4 21. Qh5 Nf6 1/2-1/2